Bathurst District Historical Society - Musters

These musters are held at 7.30pm at the Museum in the east wing of Bathurst Court House – they are FREE and supper is served.

15th May (Thursday) – Muster – “The Crago Mill – A Bathurst Landmark” – with Bernard Vance, a local entrepreneur, who has undertaken the mammoth task of restoring Bathurst landmark, Crago Mill. Bernard will tell the fascinating story of the flour mill in lower Piper Street, its history and characters and the ongoing restoration of the mill. The Crago family were very involved with the Bathurst community in the late 1800s and 1900s. Mr. F. Crago was Mayor in 1891 and the family often sponsored and donated prizes for sporting events and children’s activities.

19th June (Thursday) – Muster – “100 Heritage Homes of Bathurst” with Lee Steele. Hear about Lee’s forthcoming book featuring 100 beautiful homes right here in Bathurst. Learn of the history of some of the homes, the families who lived in them and how their homes have survived.

17th July (Thursday) - “Bathurst’s Own Dr Busby.”  David Andrew will speak on members of the Busby family and especially of James Busby (1801-71) in Britain and New South Wales prior to becoming the first British Resident at the Bay of Islands, New Zealand (1833-40). Hear about James’s childhood and public life as part of the public service and how he influenced New Zealand’s history. His elder brother Dr. George Busby was the Government Medical Officer in Bathurst. The family’s ‘patriarch’ John Busby accepted his commission as the Mineral Surveyor and Civil Engineer to the Colony of New South Wales, arriving in 1824 and was responsible for the design and construction of Sydney's first permanent water supply (so called Busby's Bore).
                                                                                              
21st August (Thursday) – Muster – Dr. James Drown will enlighten us on “Surveyor George William Evans.” James will speak on his Doctorate for his Thesis on the work of Surveyor George Evans who discovered the Bathurst Plains in 1813.  During his life, between 1780 and 1852, Evans achieved a great deal as a surveyor and early explorer in the colony of New South Wales.

Source: Email from Alan McRae, President