FROM THE NEWSLETTER EDITOR
The Ben Hall Raid took place at Bathurst on
Saturday 3rd October, 1863, and the Ben Hall Raid
Weekend Festival will mark the 150th Anniversary
of the event. This is the sixth in the series of these e-
newsletters to be emailed to anyone interested. If
you would like earlier issues, just ask.
The Ben Hall Raid Weekend Festival Committee of the Bathurst District Historical Society has been meeting for almost fourteen months to bring plans together for this event. The next issue will contain an updated program for the three days.
We are most grateful to Sergeant Kylie Riddell, the Mounted Police Event Co-ordinator, for making the arrangements for the Mounted Police to visit Bathurst to take part in the weekend events.
A number of bushranger, colonial and historic displays will be on show on the Saturday as well as talks, numerous bus tours, a dinner and a number of activities that will take place during the three days. The re-enactment is on schedule. The countdown is now on with about 9 weeks before visitors start arriving in Bathurst for the weekend.
If you are planning to spend some extra time whilst in Bathurst make sure you visit some of the many attractions
Mick de Losa will
have his superb
display of historic
orangeish, reddish
and amber-yellow
Meerschaum pipes.
Tobacco was often
stolen by the Hall
gang to use them-
selves or give away.
We know that
Mickey Burke
smoked a pipe and
Captain Edward Montague Battye, Commander of the Western
Mounted Police and Gold Escort, smoked a
meerschaum pipe with its bowl depicting a man’s
arm holding a pistol though he lost it in 1861.
The Ben Hall Raid Weekend Festival Committee of the Bathurst District Historical Society has been meeting for almost fourteen months to bring plans together for this event. The next issue will contain an updated program for the three days.
We are most grateful to Sergeant Kylie Riddell, the Mounted Police Event Co-ordinator, for making the arrangements for the Mounted Police to visit Bathurst to take part in the weekend events.
A number of bushranger, colonial and historic displays will be on show on the Saturday as well as talks, numerous bus tours, a dinner and a number of activities that will take place during the three days. The re-enactment is on schedule. The countdown is now on with about 9 weeks before visitors start arriving in Bathurst for the weekend.
If you are planning to spend some extra time whilst in Bathurst make sure you visit some of the many attractions
We hope that some families will use the weekend to peaceful Macquarie River, especially on the Sunday. Some may wish to put a family plaque on Bathurst’s Pioneer Wall.
I hope you are enjoying these monthly e-newsletters of which there are just three more to go, including this issue. I’m surprised by the number of people asking if these newsletters could be made into a book. Maybe next year. I look forward to meeting some of those who have emailed or phoned. I trust that everyone will have a terrific weekend here in our fine city.
Alan McRae, FAIHA, President Bathurst District Historical Society
To view the full newsletter click here.
No comments:
Post a Comment