Ann Forrester, Charles Homer Martin, Colo Shire Family History Group, Cupitt family, Ebenezer, Floods Hawkesbury, Freemans Reach, Genealogy, Hawkesbury, Hawkesbury Family History Group, History and heritage, Hotels, Windsor NSW, Lamond family, Windsor NSW, St Matthew's Anglican Church Windsor, St Matthew's Catholic Church, Windsor, William Norris, Windsor NSWLeave a comment

William Norris, farmer and publican

Carol

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

Cobby, Frederick Halpin Willson, Hawkesbury, History and heritage, No 3 Squadron RAAF, RAAF, Richmond NSW, Royal Australian Air Force, Westland WapitiLeave a comment

Westland Wapitis over Richmond

Carol

Photograph from Iris Cammack collection, courtesy of Carol Roberts, Windsor, NSW. The Westland Wapiti aircraft was designed in 1926 to United Kingdom Air Ministry specifications for the Royal Air Force. It was a two-seat, general-purpose light bomber built as a replacement for the DH9A. While the Wapiti Mk 1 was fitted with a 420hp Bristol Jupiter engine, the Mk IIA was fitted with a more powerful 550hp Jupiter. It carried one fixed Vickers gun forward and one Lewis gun mounted in the rear cockpit, with a bomb load of 500lbs (227kg). Loaded, the Westland Wapiti aircraft weighed 2,450kg, about as … Continue reading Westland Wapitis over Richmond

Australian Postcards, Clarke family Freemans Reach, Colo Shire Family History Group, Genealogy, Hawkesbury, Hawkesbury Family History Group, History and heritage, Hornery family, Kurrajong, Mary Pitt, Matcham Pitt, McCabe family, William Pitt Wilshire, Wilshire family2 Comments

Picture postcards and family communication

Carol

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

Cec Hall, Hawkesbury River, Colo Shire Family History Group, Hawkesbury, Hawkesbury Bridge to Bridge, Hawkesbury Family History Group, Hawkesbury River, History and heritage, Sackville, Upper Hawkesbury Motor Boat Club, Wilberforce NSW, Windsor NSW1 Comment

Upper Hawkesbury Motor Boat Club, Cecil Hall and ‘Glenelg’

Carol

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’

Anzac, Australian folk lore, Belmont, North Richmond, Biography, Colo Shire Family History Group, Colonial history, Genealogy, Hawkesbury, Hawkesbury Family History Group, History and heritage, National Trust Hawkesbury, Philip Charley, Roseworthy Agricultural College, South Australia, The Great War, William Thomas CharleyLeave a comment

William Thomas Charley and the Wallaby Sniping Cage

Carol

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

Hawkesbury, Hawkesbury Family History Group, History and heritage, Patrick and Honorah Butler, Windsor, Windsor NSWLeave a comment

Patrick and Honorah Butler of Windsor and family

Carol

Gravesite of Ryan-Butler family, St Matthew’s Catholic Cemetery, Windsor. Photograph 2017, Carol Roberts. Patrick Butler arrived in New South Wales from Ireland in 1840, aged about 20. After seeking his fortune on the goldfields he eventually arrived in the Hawkesbury and married Honorah Ryan at St Matthew’s Catholic Church in Windsor in 1853. Honorah had arrived from Tipperary, Ireland, with her family in the late 1830s and they settled in Kurrajong for a few years before making their home in Windsor. Later generations of the Ryan family farmed at Pitt Town and Freemans Reach. Showing a great deal of initiative, … Continue reading Patrick and Honorah Butler of Windsor and family

Cammack, Morotai, RAAF, Royal Australian Air Force, Windsor NSWLeave a comment

Memories of Mother’s Day on Morotai Island in 1945

Carol

It was purely coincidence (or so I thought) that I happened to be looking through old photographs on the night before Mother’s Day this year and found an order of service for a Mother’s Day service held 73 years ago (nearly to the day) on a far-away, war-torn island. The Order of Worship for the Mother’s Day service was amongst the few photos and personal letters brought home to Windsor by Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Sergeant Alfred Cammack, after the end of WWII. The service was held in conjunction with the United States 13th Air Force (known as the famous Jungle Air Force) … Continue reading Memories of Mother’s Day on Morotai Island in 1945

Hawkesbury, Heritage landscape, History and heritage, Lower Portland, Sackville, Tea meetings1 Comment

Hawkesbury River tea meetings incredibly popular: ideal place for gatherings

Carol

This article by me first appeared in Hawkesbury Gazette, Wednesday, 28 June 2017. Along the Hawkesbury River during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, tea-meetings were a very popular form of entertainment and fund-raising for church and community groups. Church tea-meetings were held on various dates throughout the year and generally lasted all day and into the early evening. The Sackville Methodists (or Wesleyans) celebrated the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) birthday on 9 November, Lower Portland Church of England celebrated on 1 January, Leets Vale Wesleyans celebrated Empire Day on Queen Victoria’s birthday on 24 May … Continue reading Hawkesbury River tea meetings incredibly popular: ideal place for gatherings

Hawkesbury, History and heritage, Lower Portland, Lower Portland Public SchoolLeave a comment

First One Hundred Years of Lower Portland Public School

Carol

Booklet ‘1867-1967 History of Lower Portland Public School’ courtesy of Colin Mitchell The first Lower Portland school was opened in 1866 or 1867, after the severe flood of 1864 and about the time of the biggest flood ever experienced in the Hawkesbury, in 1867. Many families were left destitute after the 1867 flood with farms, homes and crops ruined, so it is not surprising that the school closed the following year after the school inspector reported ‘the discipline is feeble and the moral aspect unsatisfactory…the attainments are small’. By 1869, Walter King was nominated as teacher for a new school … Continue reading First One Hundred Years of Lower Portland Public School

Hawkesbury, Heritage landscape, History and heritage, Jersey Butter Factory, Urban landscape, Windsor NSWLeave a comment

The Jersey Butter Factory on Windsor Terrace and its conversion to flats

Carol

The decision to draw up the Articles of the Association for the Hawkesbury Dairying Company and to select a site for the establishment of a butter factory in Windsor was made at a meeting held on Thursday, 14 January 1892 at Bushell’s Royal Hotel in Windsor. The meeting was chaired by Mr James Bligh Johnston and was attended by a large number of Hawkesbury farmers and interested local residents. It was estimated that £2,000, in £1 shares, would be required to form the company and a further £1,000 would be required to run the factory. This cost was based on … Continue reading The Jersey Butter Factory on Windsor Terrace and its conversion to flats