HERITAGE, Newsletter of BMACHO - Nov-Dec 2013

Click here to view/download the full newsletter.

Memory Bank - Newsletter of Millthorpe Historical Society

The President Writes

2014 is a milestone for the Historical Society as it is 50 years since its establishment.

On Saturday, the 20th November 1965 the official opening of the museum was carried out by Mr Charles Cutler then Deputy Premier of New South Wales. The plaque celebrating the opening is still mounted just inside our front door.
From Millthorpe’s decline to its resurgence our museum has remained the town’s flagship.
The visitors and residents of our town and district are proud of our museum. This is due to our supporters and their continuing protection of our heritage.
Peter Whiley

To read the Newsletter click here.

What's on at Blue Mountains Cultural Centre

January Workshops and Programs

Sat 18 Jan:    NSW State Records Conservation Talk with Dominique Moussou. The exhibition, The Air Up There: Vintage Tourism in the Blue Mountains features paper-based objects from NSW State Records. Find out how State Records protect their collection, as well as ideas on how you can protect your collections in your own home.

1pm – 2.30pm Free Event. Bookings essential.



Tues 20 Jan:   Keepsake Postcard Workshops

Explore a range of creative techniques to make postcards as “Keepsakes”. The workshop includes a tour of the exhibitions, Keepsake and The Air Up There. Participants’ work will be exhibited in the Keepsake Postcard Exhibition from 25-27 January.

10 -12noon   Age: 5-8
1-3pm           Age: 8+

Cost: $20 ($30 per family); $15 InSight Members ($25 per family)



Wed 22 Jan:    Mobile Phone Photography

A full day introduction to mobile phone photography using an iPhone (iPad or Android device) with Keepsake Photographer David Brazil (see below for more information)

10 – 4.30pm  Age: 10+

Cost: $45; $40 InSight Members



 •• Postcards due for exhibition



Thur 23 Jan:    Make your own recycled “Snowdome”: or message in a bottle!

Is there an idea or memory that you’d like to capture and “keep” … bring along tiny treasures and a recycled round lidded bottle to create a small imaginary world as a “Keepsake”. This workshop will also include a tour of the exhibitions, Keepsake and The Air Up There.

10am -12 noon   Age: 6-8
1-3pm             Age: 8+

Cost: $20 ($30 per family); $15 InSight Members ($25 per family)



Fri 24 Jan:    E-Bling Workshop

Recycle electronic waste to make some very cool bling with Kathy O’Hara of Scrapture Studios! Items produced in this workshop can be submitted to the Waste to Art Exhibition at the Cultural Centre in March.

10am – 1pm        Age: 8+

Cost: $20 ($30 per family); $15 InSight Members ($25 per family)



Sat 25 Jan                Keepsake Postcard Exhibition and 2014 Summer Harvest Kitchen Workshops

Sun 26 Jan               Keepsake Postcard Exhibition and 2014 Summer Harvest Kitchen Workshops

Mon 27 Jan              Keepsake Postcard Exhibition


NB. The program will be continually updated so please do keep checking the website at http://bluemountainsculturalcentre.com.au/public-programs/ for what’s coming up and for more details as they become available.


Bookings essential for all events to 4780 5410.

CAPTURING MEMORIES - Oral History in the Digital Age

You have an interest in oral history? Don’t miss this very popular and practical workshop, which will be led by experienced oral historians who are 
members of the Oral History Association NSW.  It is also an opportunity to enjoy meeting others 
who share your interest in preserving memories 
of the past.

Topics covered include: an introduction to oral history and the nature and
 reliability of memory; preparing and structuring an oral history 
interview; documentation:  ethical issues, ownership and 
copyright, and choosing and using a digital recorder.

WHEN Saturday, 22 February 2014 from 09:30 am to 04:30 pm
WHERE History House, 133 Macquarie Street, Sydney
COST $105 OHA NSW and RAHS Members $95
CONTACT 02 9247 8001, admin@rahs.org.au

RAHS REGIONAL SEMINAR - March 2014

Source: RAHS - Calendar of Events - Summer 2014

Wiradjuri Dance and Corroboree Gathering

Souce: Bathurst District Historical Society

IMAGinE awards - 2013

The IMAGinE awards were held on 8 November 2013. Find out who won this year’s awards and what goes into making IMAGinE such a special night.

[read more]

Congratulation to all the winners.

To see the interview with Ray Christison click here.

Molong History News - Summer 2013

To view/download MOLONG HISTORY NEWS click here.

History Week 2013 - Films of 6 Key Speakers

Andrew Tink. Why John Curtin May Never Have Been Prime Minister

  On 13 August 1940 three cabinet ministers died in a plane crash. Fatally destabilised, the conservative government gradually crumbled and a year later, John Curtin became prime minister. Although an RAAF officer was supposed to have been the pilot, rumours circulated that the Air Minister had been at the controls. But the bodies were badly incinerated, hampering the identification of those in the cockpit. The RAAF rather than the police had taken control of the crash site and had quickly removed the bodies. Forensic photographs of the victims in situ, which had been standard NSW police practice since the 1920s, were not taken by the RAAF. And for want of these photos among other things, the identity of the pilot will never be proved beyond reasonable doubt.

 Click here to see film 

Jo Henwood. More Than a Park Bench

In 1816, Macquarie opened one part of his lands to the public, officially inaugurating the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney with the completion of the Macquarie Wall, probably the oldest constructed element of the Garden. Throughout the next (nearly) two hundred years various people have contributed to the visual impact of the garden with statues, sculptures, fountains, walls, benches, bridges, steps, obelisks, pavilions and memorial plaques, to say nothing of the special plantings also intended as memory markers.

Each work made a statement about the values of the people who installed it, either aesthetically or in what they chose to remember. In this talk, Jo Henwood explores how the installations are seen with different eyes by contemporary viewers, so that some are retired and others take their place as the garden’s relationship with the people continues to evolve.

Click here to see film 

 

Gary Werskey. The Image-makers of Federation Australia

In this talk, Gary Werskey invites listeners/viewers to contrast our own era — saturated by digitally produced and transmitted images — with the pre-Federation period, when the illustrated press monopolised the production of images which reflected and reinforced how the colonists saw themselves and the making of their country. One exceptional feature of pre-Federation images is that they were mainly produced not by photographers but by some of the era’s leading painters and graphic artists — most of whom were based in Sydney. Unfortunately for Sydney’s artist-illustrators, their art has since been sidelined by the art-world and its chroniclers in favour of the ‘Heidelberg’ painters.

One of the notable casualties of this telling of history was the Anglo-Australian artist A.H. Fullwood, who was equally prominent as a painter and black-and-white artist. He was also a close mate of Streeton and Roberts not only in Sydney but later in London at the Chelsea Arts Club and, during WW1, as medical orderlies at Wandsworth Hospital and official war artists. A Bohemian to his velvet boots he returned to Sydney in the 1920s and remained a lively presence in the local art scene until his death in 1930. The talk will feature a full range of his arresting images –so well known in his own day — which should provoke the audience to wonder why some image-makers (and their images) become lost to history. 

Click here to see film 

Elisa deCourcy. The Body as the Archive

 Elisa deCourcy. The Body as the Archive
Many people know of old family photographs from the turn of the century or even earlier kept in albums or crates in an aunt’s attic or grandmother’s closet. The black and white figures in these pictures look, more often than not, awfully rigid and solemn.
In this presentation, Elisa deCourcy looks at family portraiture, among a number of other styles of photography from the nineteenth century including criminal mug shots, social portraiture and anthropological photography to explain how people were categorised according to class, gender, respectability and health according to how they posed for their picture. How did the angle individuals were asked to stand on, the distance of their face from the camera, their clothes and the props used in the picture, affect how the person within the frame was photographed into holding a particular identity?
Click here to see film 

Jesse Stein. Pictures, Pranks and Printers

Isn’t the NSW Public Service the last place you’d find a rich culture of image making and unofficial creative practice? You might be surprised. Research into the history of the NSW Government Printing Office indicates that – far from being a dry account of mundane printing tasks – the final three decades of the Government Printing Office (1959-1989) were years of creative and resistant responses to hard times, resourceful adaptation to technological change, and a good deal of fun.
Jesse Adams Stein will take you on a rollicking ride through the eccentric working life of ‘the Guv’ – as it was known by its employees. Discover the unexpected stories that lie behind posed institutional photographs, and see how the Guv’s employees pictured their workplace through illustrations and amateur film. Witness the Guv awkwardly transform from hot-metal into computerisation, and enjoy the gallows humour that characterised the last days at the Guv in 1989.

Click here to see film 

Naomi Parry. Children's Homes, In the Frame

 

 If photographs shape the world, what happens when you have no images of yourself as a child? This is the reality for many people who grew up in out of home care in 20th century Australia. Picture research is, therefore, one of the most satisfying elements of working on the Find Connect web resource, which is a national digital history project funded by the Australian Government to assist former care leavers to connect with their past. Image collections, whether created by the NSW Government Printing Office, institutional staff or the Australian Women’s Weekly, provide essential but contentious links to the past. In this talk, Find Connect’s NSW State-Based Historian, In her talk, Dr Naomi Parry will unpack some of these collections, and discuss how historians might navigate their use and reuse, balancing the desire of some to know with the sensitivities of others about the images they convey.

If photographs shape the world, what happens when you have no images of yourself as a child? This is the reality for many people who grew up in out of home care in 20th century Australia. Picture research is, therefore, one of the most satisfying elements of working on the Find Connect web resource, which is a national digital history project funded by the Australian Government to assist former care leavers to connect with their past. Image collections, whether created by the NSW Government Printing Office, institutional staff or the Australian Women’s Weekly, provide essential but contentious links to the past. In this talk, Find Connect’s NSW State-Based Historian, In her talk, Dr Naomi Parry will unpack some of these collections, and discuss how historians might navigate their use and reuse, balancing the desire of some to know with the sensitivities of others about the images they convey.

If photographs shape the world, what happens when you have no images of yourself as a child? This is the reality for many people who grew up in out of home care in 20th century Australia. Picture research is, therefore, one of the most satisfying elements of working on the Find Connect web resource, which is a national digital history project funded by the Australian Government to assist former care leavers to connect with their past. Image collections, whether created by the NSW Government Printing Office, institutional staff or the Australian Women’s Weekly, provide essential but contentious links to the past. In this talk, Find Connect’s NSW State-Based Historian, In her talk, Dr Naomi Parry will unpack some of these collections, and discuss how historians might navigate their use and reuse, balancing the desire of some to know with the sensitivities of others about the images they convey.

 

If photographs shape the world, what happens when you have no images of yourself as a child? This is the reality for many people who grew up in out of home care in 20th century Australia. Picture research is, therefore, one of the most satisfying elements of working on the Find Connect web resource, which is a national digital history project funded by the Australian Government to assist former care leavers to connect with their past. Image collections, whether created by the NSW Government Printing Office, institutional staff or the Australian Women’s Weekly, provide essential but contentious links to the past. In this talk, Find Connect’s NSW State-Based Historian, In her talk, Dr Naomi Parry will unpack some of these collections, and discuss how historians might navigate their use and reuse, balancing the desire of some to know with the sensitivities of others about the images they convey.
 

Click here to see film

‘A Moment in Time’ - book launch

2013-2015 NSW Heritage Grants

To all interested heritage owners and managers, individuals, organisations and local councils

2013-2015 NSW Heritage Grants

Funding for 2014-13 heritage projects

Applications open on 30 October 2013

The Minister for Heritage is pleased to launch the 2014-2015 NSW Heritage Grants funding program. The NSW Government has committed $5.96 million funding over two years to the 2013-2015 NSW Heritage Grants. We are pleased to notify you about funding opportunities to assist heritage projects.

NSW Heritage Grants aims to recognise and protect the State’s most significant heritage places and values to ensure future generations can enjoy them.

For program details and applications forms go to http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/Heritage/funding/index.htm

Applications are now invited for

ü  Aboriginal heritage projects for a range of Aboriginal cultural heritage projects. Minimum projects $20,000; grants up to $100,000.  Closing date Monday, 2 December 2013

ü  Major works projects for conservation, maintenance and adaptive reuse of State Heritage Register listed items. Minimum projects $80,000, grants between $40,000 and $150,000.  Closing date Monday, 2 December 2013

ü  Community, youth and seniors heritage projects to deliver community heritage projects that build skills, confidence and connections. Minimum projects $25,000, grants generally up to $50,000. Closing date Monday, 2 December 2013

ü  Local government heritage advisors funding to local councils across NSW to engage heritage specialist advice for local communities to manage their heritage. Grants up to $7,500 to engage heritage specialist advice.  Closing date Monday, 2 December 2013

ü  Local heritage places grants funding to local councils across NSW for small grants for local works projects. Grants up to $8,500 for distribution for community heritage projects.  Closing date Monday, 2 December 2013

Applications are also invited throughout the year for

ü  Emergency works projects funding for emergency projects for State Heritage Register and heritage items with a current Interim Heritage Order. Minimum grants $10,000 for $10,000+ projects.

For further assistance with your project, please contact Victoria Throp on phone 02 9873 8577 or email victoria.throp@heritage.nsw.gov.au

Yours sincerely,

Miriam Stacy



Miriam Stacy
Senior Heritage Officer, NSW Heritage Grants
Heritage Division
Regional Operations Group and Heritage
Office of Environment and Heritage
NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet
Locked Bag 5020 PARRAMATTA NSW 2124
3 Marist Place Parramatta NSW 2150
T: 02 9873 8576 F: 9873 8599
E: miriam.stacy@heritage.nsw.gov.au 
W: www.environment.nsw.gov.au/Heritage/funding/index.htm

Orange & District Historical Society presents -
The Way we Were: Orange in 1927

 Did you miss it last year?
Want to see it again?
This is your chance to view this
rare movie about our city

 
Sunday 3 November 6.30 for 7pm at the Odeon Cinemas, William Street
Sunday 10 November 6.30 for 7pm at the Odeon Cinemas, William Street
For tickets ($15) contact: Liz Edwards on 6362-8647,
email: liz.edwards@orangepeel.it or
Annette Neville on 6361-4341, email: Kevanne40@yahoo.com.au

No tickets will be sold at the cinema on the night



Zig Zag Railway at Lithgow lost equipment in the fire

Hi Wal

I sent this out to BMACHO members yesterday.  You might like to post, if you have not already seen this request from Zig Zag Railway.

Cheers
Jan

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Blue Mountains Association of Cultural Heritage Organisations Inc <bmacho.heritage@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, Oct 26, 2013 at 10:20 PM
Subject: Zig Zag Railway
To:


To BMACHO Members

As most of you probably know, the Zig Zag Railway at Lithgow lost equipment in the fire that swept through there last week.

Some of the equipment destroyed in the fire includes these "big ticket" essential items:

2 x lathes 24" swing over gap and 16" over table
1 x surface grinder 400mm high 700x300
1 x geared drill machine floor mount
1 x 12" grinder floor mount
1 x 8" bench grinder
1 x universal milling machine 2000 x 500 mm table 1500 mm travel
1 x turret milling machine 800 mm x 350 mm table

If anyone can help with replacement of these items they would love to hear from you.

You can get their contact details from their Facebook page, without having to sign up to Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ZigZagRailway
Regards

Jan Koperberg
Secretary BMACHO

Recent updates to the State Heritage Inventory

Email from -
Stewart Watters
Senior Heritage Officer, Heritage Division
Office of Environment and Heritage

Dear Networkers,

The Heritage Division has received and recently updated the State Heritage Inventory with heritage data from the following Councils:

Canada Bay Council - 541 items and 20 conservation areas on the LEP
Coffs Harbour City Council - 99 items on LEP plus considerable work completed as part of the heritage study and revision of LEP.
Eurobodalla Council - 277 items on LEP
Greater Taree City Council - 294 items and 6 conservation areas on the LEP

A great result from these Councils.  This heritage information is available through the State Heritage Inventory at www.environment.nsw.gov.au/heritageapp/heritagesearch.aspx

For your information the Heritage Division currently has 8 heritage inventories awaiting update and transfer to the State Heritage Inventory including: Snowy River Council, North Sydney Council, Maitland Council, Dep of Education, RailCorp, Bathurst City Council, Inverell Shire Council, Wollongong City Council and Parramatta City Council.

If you are considering sending through your heritage data can I please ask that you hold off now until the new year.

Many thanks for your ongoing support of the heritage databases.

regards
Stewart

Stewart Watters
Senior Heritage Officer, Database Manager
Heritage Division
Office of Environment and Heritage
NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet
Locked Bag 5020 Parramatta NSW 2124
T: 02 9873 8561
W: www.heritage.nsw.gov.au

Regional Services Stakeholders Day - Powerhouse Museum

Regional Services Stakeholders Day

On Thursday 7 November the Powerhouse Museum is holding the annual Regional Stakeholder Forum. The program will feature three panel sessions – which will focus on partnerships and processes for developing regional travelling exhibitions, programming for the Centenary of World War I,  and  ‘hot topics’ – an open session for issues and concerns to come from the floor. This is an opportunity to talk with representatives from the State Cultural Institutions and service agencies about issues and programs for 2014.

This is a free event but bookings are essential and places are limited.
RSVP by 4 November please.

There is financial assistance available from the Powerhouse Regional Services to support the travel and accommodation costs for regional staff or volunteers. This must be applied for and approved prior to the day.

To book your place or register for financial assistance please contact Einar Docker, 02 9217 0412 or regionalservices@phm.gov.au (with RSVP FORUM in the Subject field).

Where: Powerhouse Museum, 500 Harris St, Ultimo
When: Thursday 7 November 2013, 9.30am – 4.30 pm
Contact: Rebecca Pinchin
Freecall: 1800 882 092 , ph (02) 9217 0220
Email: rebecca.pinchin@phm.gov.au

Bushfires - Lithgow (State Mine) and Zig Zag Railway

Email from -
Ray Christison, President
The City of Greater Lithgow Mining Museum Inc

Hello all,

I thought I would provide an update on the situation with the Lithgow (State Mine) bushfire and major heritage sites.

The Lithgow State Mine Heritage Park came under attack on Wednesday night and Thursday afternoon. Buildings and historic machinery were saved by the vigilance and action of museum volunteers, and the extraordinary efforts of local RFS crews. The ember attack on Thursday was particularly difficult to counter with winds constantly changing direction. Significant documents and original photographs, including the Charter for the 1886 Royal Commission into the Lithgow Valley Colliery disaster were removed from site on Thursday morning. The site is currently on a watch and act status with principal threats coming from the potential combustion of coal dumped during the operational life of the colliery.

Regular updates are being posted on the Lithgow State Mine Museum Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lithgow-State-Mine-Museum/285897008107516?ref=hl

The Zig Zag Railway workshops complex was destroyed by fire on Thursday. This is a major disaster for a volunteer organisation that has been struggling for the past 18 months.

Updates on the Zig Zag Railway are available through Facebook on https://www.facebook.com/ZigZagRailway?fref=ts

Those wishing to assist can direct donations to the Zig Zag Railway.

We also encourage those in the heritage world to visit Lithgow’s wonderful museums once the fire crisis has subsided.

Ray Christison
President
The City of Greater Lithgow Mining Museum Inc
www.statemine.org.au
0419 438 609

On the Air - The history of Broadcasting from Orange

Broadcasting from the 2GZ Studios Sale Street in 1961

It is difficult to imagine a time when we had no communications short of word to mouth or the pony express. In this day and age we are immersed in a media buzz and have the instant availability of unlimited global information and entertainment over the internet.
 
Broadcasting from Orange will be the subject of the Orange and Distinct Historical society's meeting to be held next Wednesday 9th of October at 7 for 7.30 in the Senior Citizens Centre Sale st Orange .

The first hints of mass communication began with the invention of the printing press in 1446 making possible the wide distribution of knowledge via book sand pamphlets. Very few people could read at this time. The field was revolutionised when, following the discovery of the seemingly miraculous electricity and electromagnetism, the telegraph was invented in 1844 enabling the transmission of coded messages (Morse code) over relatively inexpensive wire. This was quickly adopted world wide. There was an undersea cable between Britain and America in 1858 and between Australia and Java in 1872
 
The first interstate  telegraph line was in 1858 between Adelaide Melbourne and Sydney   and Orange opened its telegraph office in 1860

Direct speech transmission became possible with the invention of the telephone by AG Bell in 1876 and this too was rapidly adopted such that by 1880 there were telephone exchanges in Sydney and Melbourne and by  1900 Australia had 30,000 telephone connections.

 However mass communication as we know it today did not become possible until wireless transmission  demonstrated by Marconi in 1893 and fist used for maritime and Naval applications e.g. the Titanic 1912 and both Navies in WW1

 The first radio broadcasting  stations in Australia ,2FC and 2BL were established in Sydney in  1923. This soon became the rage and there was  explosive growth from the 1920's onward. Australians were characteristically early adopters.

2GZ was the first station opened in Orange with a first transmission  on 31st October 1935. The GZ stood for Graziers as it was started by the NSW Graziers association.

2CR opened with a grand launch for 400 people 29th April 1937 held in the then Strand Palais theatre ( now Salvation Army store) . Television transmission in Australia began just before the Olympic Games in 1956 while CBN8 began transmission in Orange in 1961 after a long battle with the entrenched  stations of the capital cities.

The coming of radio is still vividly remembered by our elder citizens and there are hundreds  in the community who have worked in the exciting fields  of  radio and television broadcasting since those early days. Our speakers tonight are two such people.
 
Doug Spicer had a musical father with regular shows on 2GZ from the late 40's.Following 10 years with army Doug joined CBN8 in the early 1980's as Cameraman/studio manager where he stayed until eye problems forced  him to retire. He then joined  community radio 107.5 FM as a volunteer with regular programs until earlier his year

 Laurie Neville has had over 30years in  radio and television   beginning in 1969 at 3HA Hamilton  Victoria and at stations 2WG 2CA Channel 7 (Canberra), 3UZ 3DB and 3LO before coming to Orange in 1988 as station manager . He retied in 2004 after 30 years in  broadcasting.

     The meeting will take place at Orange Senior Citizens Centre (entry from Woolworths car park) on Wednesday 9thOctober at 7 for 7.30pm.
     There is a small charge of $3 for members of Orange and District Historical Society and $5 for non-members, to cover costs. Light refreshments will be served.
     If you have any inquiries or would like to attend the meeting, please RSVP to Phil Stevenson on 0402 412 188 (email: ibiswines@bigpond.com)    or Julie Sykes 62621682 

Bathurst Collectables Swap Meet & Gem Expo 2013

FROM THE NEWSLETTER EDITOR

This is our second newsletter in the series of newsletters leading up to the Bathurst Collectables Swap Meet and Gem Expo 2013. The newsletters contain stories about various collectables which I hope you will find of interest.


The aim of the two day swap meet is for collectors and the general public to buy, swap and sell at the historic Bathurst Showground. It seems that we will need a second pavilion as more sellers book in. 
. . . . 

To download Newsletter click here.

Significance Assessment work shop - Lithgow 21/9/13

  Report by Elaine Kaldy on Central Tablelands Significance Assessment work shop.

The Central Tablelands Chapter NSW of Museums Australia held a workshop on Significance assessment last Saturday at the Lithgow Small Arms Factory Museum.

The workshop was conducted by Kylie Winkworth one of Australia’s leading museum advisors on understanding objects held by museums and their significance either as objects or as a part of a museum’s collections.

The workshop was presented as an interactive learning process. Participants were required to select an object from their Museum’s collection and then construct a object report on that object, based on instructions circulated by M/s Winkworth prior to the holding of the workshop

Tony Bouffler from Orange Historical Society presenting his object report at the
                       work shop being over seen by Kylie Winkworth

 Kylie encouraged the group to make suggestions that could be add to each members object report as it was presented to the workshop.

The subject that was selected for a significance  work up was a cigar box made by the Lithgow  Small Arms Factory to be presented to the then Prime Minister Hon R Menzies at the factories 50th year celebrations.
Mr Kery Guiren Secretary of the Lithgow Small Arms Factory was selected to work with Kylie as she demonstrated the techniques required to do the significance assessment. A guideline to assessing objects for significance was provided to the members attending the workshop
 The work shop was considered an outstanding success by members and plans are to made, to have more workshops on collection management and significance.
 The valuation responses showed that 50% of those attending the work shop had no prior knowledge of how to assess significance of museum objects.

 Kylie and Kerry introducing the Story of the Cigar Box’s history

  Kylie questioning Kerry about the way the Cigar Box was made

Kerry relating to Kylie the problem that was overcome
with the lid of the Cigar Box when
it was presented to Prime Minister Hon R Menzies

 The Central Tablelands Chapter NSW of MA wish to acknowledge that This project is supported by Arts NSW’s VIM Grant Program, a devolved funding program administered by Museums & Galleries NSW on behalf of the NSW Government

Abstracts from the significance assessment of the cigar Box

                                                                    
                                                   Fabric of the item 

Rectangular coachwood cigar box with rounded lid. Internal timber partitions and removable lid are cedar and left raw as was customary in cigar boxes. The box doesn’t smell of cigars (was it presented with cigars or empty?). 
Box constructed with housed joints with corners rounded off, walnut varnished exterior. Rosewood varnish to internal edges of box and lid. The bottom of the box is fitted with a green crushed velvet pad. Lid is finished internally with black lacquer and has an oval brass inscription plate attached with four chromed round head slotted screws. A chrome plated relief of L1A1 rifle is soldered to the plate. Interesting that the engraving is very industrial in nature but the L1A1 relief is more finely modelled and reflects the skill of the pattern maker who made the die for the L1A1. The text on the plate is plain, not calligraphic and flowery as in most presentation inscriptions, and reflects the industrial nature of the Factory. Rotating opening catch on front has raised motif in the shape of the logo for the 50th anniversary of the factory opening. Opening mechanism designed to raise the lid when the Reputedly made by the wood room foreman Wally Westbrook, although it may have been made by Bob Mitchell. The box was finished and varnished by apprentice painter Greg Meyer.
The box expresses the character, skills and attitude of Factory workmanship.

                                               Statement of Significance:

Rectangular coachwood cigar box made at Lithgow SAF c.1962 and presented to Prime Minister Sir Robert Menzies by factory apprentice Greg Meyer in November 1962 during the opening ceremony of the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Factory. Fitted to the front of the box is a circular rotating opening catch with a raised motif in the shape of the 50th anniversary logo. The box lid has an internal oval brass inscription plate with a chrome plated relief of L1A1 rifle. The internal partitions are cedar and left raw as was customary in cigar boxes. During the time that cigar smoking was an acceptable pastime for gentlemen dignitaries were often presented with cigar boxes. Menzies, during his time in office, received a number of them. This box differs to other presentation cigar boxes in that it was specially made at the Factory as a gift for the current serving Australian Prime Minister. Its simplicity is representative of 60’s design values. It is less elaborate, more utilitarian and intended for everyday use rather than displayed in a trophy cabinet. The box well expresses the character, skills and attitude of Factory workmanship. This cigar box is significant for its association with Australia’s up til now longest serving Prime Minister and the Small Arms Factory, the first high precision mass production factory in Australia. The 50th anniversary of the Small Arms Factory was a spectacular week long affair that involved the whole town and attracted high profile dignitaries as guests. This box is reminiscent of an era when Australia was a powerful, imaginative and innovative manufacturer with pride in its work and when pomp and ceremony was more important than accountability.

Three Incredible Concerts - Abercrombie House

 

Flyer from Christopher Morgan

Molong Historical Society Newsletter - Spring 2013

View/download Newsletter

Ben Hall Raid Weekend Festival - Issue 8 - Last Days to Go!

FROM THE NEWSLETTER EDITOR
 

Being my eighth e-newsletter this is the last before the Ben Hall Raid Weekend Festival and the second last in the series. The very last will be produced with a wrap-up covering the weekend’s event, though it may be several weeks before I get a chance to finish it as I have another major weekend to work on – this being the Collectables Swap Meet and Gem Expo being held at the Bathurst Showground on Saturday 30th November and Sunday 1st December, 2013. 

It has been a long haul to get to where the committee is now with everything that has to be arranged. A massive amount of research has gone into ensuring that we have the information to be incorporated into the various site information signs. 

The bookings for the various tours are receiving entries daily and will ultimately see some people miss out on taking the opportunity to visit the “Ben Hall” sites. Many sites will have numbered information boards to inform visitors and Bathurstians as to what took place there or what part the location played. 

Already collectors have many of their displays labelled and ready to travel to Bathurst to put them out on display in front of the Bathurst Court House from 10am till 5pm on Saturday. 

The organisers are encouraging anyone attending to wear any colonial or bushranging costume throughout the festival. Already we know that there will be a number of colonial ladies, bushrangers and troopers wandering around on the day. The Lithgow Living History group of re-enactors will keep many enthralled and provide a mirror into our colonial past. 

Many collectors and volunteers will be participating to bring visitors and the general public an event to remember during the Ben Hall Raid Weekend Festival on Saturday 28th September. On behalf of the Bathurst District Historical Society and the Ben Hall Raid Weekend Festival Committee we would like to thank those who have given freely of their time to ensure a weekend to remember.

Lastly on behalf of the Bathurst District Historical Society I would like to acknowledge all the sponsors who have made generous donations in support of the weekend activities. 

Alan McRae, FAIHA, President Bathurst District Historical Society

To view the full Newsletter click here, for program click here.

50th Birthday Celebration - Rylstone & District Historical Society

 

AFFILIATED SOCIETIES NEWS AND EVENTS

An Irish Heritage: The Daltons of Orange

 Email below from Orange & District Historical Society.

Greetings all,

As our program comes together the excitement is beginning to mount.
We greatly appreciate your interest in the coming Dalton exhibition being organised by Orange and District Historical Society. This is a brief update about the exhibition and related events so you can make a note in your diary.

The exhibition opening will take place at 6 for 6.30pm at Duntryleague, Woodward Street, Orange, on Thursday 7 November. It will be opened by the Irish Consul-General Ms Caitriona Ingoldsby. This event will be by invitation.
The exhibition will continue daily from Friday 8 November until Sunday 17 November from 10am to 4pm. Entry will be $5 for adults and $3 for school children.
Included in the exhibition, in the adjoining Dalton and Cedar rooms, will be explanatory posters covering the lives of James Dalton Senior, his sons Thomas and James, their homes, the Orange Dalton Brothers’ store and flour mills, the Dalton pastoral empire, the Sydney import/export business, the family’s relationship with the Catholic Church, their support of the Irish cause, their homes and the younger generation, as well as photographs, documents and other items connected with the family.

During the exhibition period, the owners of five Dalton homes have agreed to host guided tours. They are:
Ammerdown: Friday 8 November, 9am, 10.30am, 1pm & 2.30pm
Knocklong: Wednesday 13 November, 10am, 11am, 2pm & 3pm
Mena: Friday 15 November, 11am and 2pm
Emly: Saturday 16 November, 2pm & 3pm
Galbally: Sunday 17 November, 2pm, 3pm & 4pm
Tickets will cost $10 for one house, $15 for two, $20 for three, $25 for four and $30 for five. They must be bought ahead by contacting Dave & Julie Sykes, phone: 6362-1682 (email: sjsykes@bigpond.com), or Phil Stevenson on 0402 412 188 (email: ibiswines@bigpond.com). They may be picked up at Heritage Cottage, 148 March Street on Wednesdays 10-12.30pm and 2-4pm or elsewhere by prior arrangement. No tickets will be sold at the entrance to the houses.
This is a rare opportunity to visit these Dalton houses and marvel at the stunning architecture and rich interiors.

The society is also hosting two screenings of the popular 1927 silent movie about Orange, ‘The Way We Were’. This extremely rare movie had its premiere in Orange last year after lying forgotten under a house in Condobolin for many years. It shows Orange’s streets, shops, businesses and people as they were 86 years ago. It was so popular that we showed it six times to packed houses. Of particular interest to anyone with connections to the Dalton family is a glimpse of Dalton Brothers’ store, the Dalton flour mill in Peisley Street, and Michael Dalton with colleagues at Canobolas Shire Council.
The movie will be shown at 6.30 for 7pm at Odeon Cinema 5, William Street, Orange, on Sunday 3 November and Sunday 10 November. Tickets will cost $15. They must be bought ahead by contacting Dave & Julie Sykes, phone: 6362-1682 (email: djsykes@bigpond.com), or Phil Stevenson on 0402 412 188 (email: ibiswines@bigpond.com). They may be picked up at Heritage Cottage, 148 March Street on Wednesdays 10-12.30pm and 2-4pm. No tickets will be sold at the cinema.

We do hope that you can attend some or all of the above events. The exhibition, Dalton homes tours and the 1927 movie are the society’s major fund-raiser for the year. The funds generated will go towards our continuing work to preserve the history of Orange and District.
Many thanks to those who have provided us with information on the Daltons and associated families. We shall continue collecting Dalton history right up to and well beyond the exhibition dates. I am sure that we have barely scratched the surface of their amazing story.
Best regards

Phil Stevenson
0402412188
(For Liz Edwards, our Dalton project chair who is taking a well earned break travelling in Central Asia until 10th October)