During World War II, many people in Australia rallied to the aid of those in Britain by sending food parcels and gifts of knitted and crocheted goods. A baby’s layette, knitted by Miss Pearl Blundell of Lower Portland in 1941, was passed to a very grateful Mrs S. Wilson of Paisley in Renfrewshire, Scotland. Continue reading A grateful gift in time of war
Christopher Lawrence has been described as ‘a man with a heart of gold, a voice like a foghorn, a thump like a mule, a master of his own trade, and a cornerstone in Hawkesbury tradition’. Continue reading From bricklaying to egg-laying: Christopher Lawrence, poultry expert Hawkesbury Agricultural College
This is the third post in my series on the importance of objects as holders of memories and I have chosen two SylvaC bird’s nest planter jugs – identical except for colour. Continue reading The importance of objects as holders of memories – two Sylvac bird’s nest planter jugs
How can objects bring back memories and engender a sense of place? Because they carry the history of families. This is my second post on the importance of keeping objects and documenting provenance and significance. The subject of this post … Continue reading The importance of objects as holders of memories – the family piano
The importance of research, documentation and conservation in regard to objects in museum or private collections cannot be over-estimated. To explain that importance, I’ve chosen to carry out qualitative research on a sample of three items from my family collection. Continue reading The importance of objects as holders of memories – a family scrapbook
Guy Lambton Menzies, 20 August 1909 – 1 November 1940, photograph c1939, courtesy Canada Bay Library. In early 1931, Guy Lambton Menzies took off from Mascot in an Avro-Avian aircraft (the Southern Cross Junior), flew solo across the Tasman Sea and landed upside down in a swamp near Hokitika on the South Island of New Zealand in the record time of eleven hours and forty-five minutes. Just 21 years of age, the intrepid aviator was an experienced pilot with more than 800 hours in his logbook. When I first started my research on Guy Lambton Menzies I had no … Continue reading Guy Lambton Menzies: courageous aviator with family links to pioneers of the Hawkesbury
Photograph of William Norris from the Jean Welch collection courtesy Carol Roberts. Venturing into research on members of the Norris family in the Hawkesbury can prove confusing, especially if researching William Norris. The reason being that, as with many old families, there are many generations with the same name. The William Norris who features in this article was born at Cornwallis in 1840, the son of William Norris and Lucy Upton (Brown) and grandson of Richard Norris and Mary (Williams). William, who married Susannah Martin, was the brother of Emma Amelia (married William Wood), Alfred (married Mary Ann Hand), Jane … Continue reading William Norris, farmer and publican
Photograph of Myra McCabe courtesy of Carol Roberts from the Iris Cammack Collection. As well as letters, one of the most popular forms of communication between families during the early 1900s was the privately-printed postcard. Postcards were introduced into Australia from about 1875 and twenty years later, the Victorian Government gave permission for privately-printed postcards to be used under the conditions that they be made of ordinary cardboard, measure no more than 13.3 x 8.3 cms and nothing except the address, stamps and a brief message could be included. From 1898, the NSW Government Printing Office released a series of … Continue reading Picture postcards and family communication
Photograph of Cec Hall and Glenelg on Hawkesbury River c1933 by Bert Hornery from Iris Cammack Collection in possession of Carol Roberts, Windsor. The Upper Hawkesbury Motor Boat Club (UHMBC) formed on 24 October 1932 with the aims of improving access to the river, encouraging aquatic sports and competitions, assisting Council in times of flood and generally making the sport of motor boating more popular on the Upper Hawkesbury. The UHMBC quickly became one of the most highly regarded in NSW, not only because of its popular social functions and well-run competitions but also because it promoted the annual boat … Continue reading Upper Hawkesbury Motor Boat Club, Cecil Hall and ‘Glenelg’
Few people in the Hawkesbury would know that William Thomas Charley invented the concept of the Wallaby Sniping Cage at Gallipoli in 1915. The cage was used mainly for night firing and held a rifle in a fixed position after aiming, enabling it to be fired again without re-aiming. William Charley was born in 1868 in Ballarat, Victoria. His mother, Catherine, died when he was two years of age and his father neglected the children to the extent that from 1871, he and some of his siblings were made Wards of the State and placed in various institutions. His brother … Continue reading William Thomas Charley and the Wallaby Sniping Cage
Recording Hawkesbury history 