Australian Dress Register is Expanding

The Australian Dress Register (ADR) is a collaborative online project initiated by the Powerhouse Museum to document significant and well provenanced men’s, women’s and children’s garments. The ADR was established in 2007 and was originally restricted to clothing relating to NSW. However, recently it has been opened up to include items of costume (dress) from around Australia. This presents a great opportunity for garments held by South Australian museums, historical societies and private collectors to be included. The date range has also been expanded and entries to the ADR are now welcome for garments dating up to 1975.

So far the ADR has around 200 items recorded. The aim is to build this number much higher so that it becomes a comprehensive research resource about Australian costume, and provides opportunity to compare and contrast costume items across small and diverse collections. Contributors are encouraged to research their garments and share the stories and photographs while the information is still available and within living memory.

The ADR captures men’s, women’s and children’s clothing ranging from the special occasion to the everyday. The ADR can be searched by decade or by about 20 different costume types, such as ‘wedding’, ‘workwear’ or ‘evening dress’. A comprehensive user’s guide to the ADR is available here and there are several short videos that explain some conservation and cataloguing techniques useful for documenting costume items here.

To list items on the ADR contributors need to apply for a login through the ADR website.

Industrious Strathalbyn

As part of the About Time History Festival I went to visit the Strathalbyn & District Heritage Centre who held a well-attended opening for their latest exhibition Industrial Old Strathalbyn. The event was part of the extensive 2013 About Time History Festival program.

Once again the museum chose to work with designer Richard Browning to create storyboards that outline some of the important businesses and industries that helped shape the early economic life of the district.  Industries that feature in the display include the Strathalbyn Ice Service, the Belvidere Brickworks and the local manufacture of Treblig bicycles. The exhibition in installed in the refurbished stables in the grounds of the Heritage Centre’s Courthouse and Police Station complex.

The museum’s team of volunteers have certainly been very industrious too, working hard to create a new major exhibition – and hold a delicious afternoon tea for guests at the opening too.

Two Bob Shed Draws a Crowd

Last week I was invited to be a part of the official opening party for the Gawler Museum’s new collection store and workroom.  I think the turnout of about 70 people is testimony to the wide community support which the museum receives.

I’d had a sneak peak a few weeks ago when the collection store and workroom was very nearly completed but it was great to see it all done and the museum volunteers looking so pleased with their achievement. It’s amazing really that a few years ago the area, now converted to a very functional facility, was an open verandah. The collection store and workroom has been named ‘Two Bob Shed’ to recognise the work put into the project by Bob Ahrens, whose engineering company built the structure, and Bob Harrison who supervised the Work for the Dole team who did the internal lining of the building.

The project is a great success because at last the museum has a purposefully constructed, dedicated space for both storing artefacts that are not needed for current displays and for undertaking collection management tasks such as cataloguing and display preparation.  It’s also allowed the number of items on display at any one time to be reduced, and the display space to be re-arranged, to make the collection more open and inviting for visitors.

Gawler Museum is also making great progress in other areas of museum activities.  Last year the museum received a Community Museums program grant to begin developing education materials, to relate the collections to elements of the new national curriculum for history.  It’s an important initiative for the museum to undertake and one of the first such projects by a community museum in South Australia.  It will be interesting to see how it works out.

Bravest of the Brave is now at Warradale

History SA/Veterans SA’s travelling exhibition Bravest of the Brave, which tells the moving stories of the eight South Australians awarded the Victoria Cross in the First World War, is now at the Vietnam Veterans’ Federation SA Branch’s Club Rooms in Warradale.

Affectionately known as BOB, the exhibition consists of seven double-sided pop up banners and four wooden plinths displaying the men’s framed citations and replica medals. The eight ordinary men were Arthur Blackburn, Phillip Davey, Roy Inwood, Jorgen Jensen, John Leak, Arthur Sullivan, Lawrence Weathers and James Park Woods – who on one day of their lives, under extraordinary circumstances, demonstrated extraordinary heroism for their comrades and country. Some were born or educated in South Australia; some enlisted here, while others lived here either before or after the war.

The Victoria Cross is the British and Commonwealth’s armed forces’ most coveted award, their supreme decoration for gallantry, under enemy fire.  Only 1,356 medals have been awarded since its introduction in 1856.

The exhibition will be will be displayed throughout the About Time History Festival from 1-31 May when it will be moving on to Salisbury. It is booked up to travel to a variety of venues in South Australia throughout 2013 and even part of 2014.

The first of many projects that are being prepared worldwide to commemorate the centenary of the First World War in 2014-2018, Bravest of the Brave is available from History SA free of charge to travel to schools, RSL clubs, museums, libraries, aged-care facilities, community centres etc. There is also a schools resources kit.  Enquiries regarding the exhibition’s availability should be made on 08 8203 9888 or email for more information.

Photographs of the exhibition at Warradale and at other venues including its launch by the Hon Jack Snelling MP in April 2012, can be seen here

Collection Planning at Glenbarr

A week or so ago I was pleased to be invited back to Glenbarr, an historic property and museum at Strathalbyn, to help review the Friends of Glenbarr Inc’s strategic plan.  The Friends of Glenbarr look after the day to day management of the extensive site, which is a popular group campsite and function venue, as well as the original Glenbarr Homestead and contents.

While there I got to see the room of the Homestead that the group hopes to turn into a collection storeroom.  Sure it doesn’t look like much of a space now, but the roof is sound and the room is in a handy location, so with a new floor, some stone work, lining and insulation the group is hopeful of making it work.  It will be a significant achievement when they do!

Telling Stories of the Alexandrina Region

A crowd of around 70 guests filled the Richardson Hall Woodchester on Monday 6 May for an evening film event held as part of the About Time History Festival.

The night featured five short films produced as stage one of a two-year digital storytelling project to record some ‘lost’ aspects of history or to tell known historical stories in different ways.  Following the film screening the audience took up the chance to discuss the making of the films with the project historians and filmmaker and stayed to enjoy a fabulous supper provided by the Richardson Hall Woodchester Committee.

Telling Our Stories, draws on the people and collections of the Alexandrina Council region to capture stories about the region’s history. The project is an extension to the Just Add Water Regional Centre of culture program, held in Goolwa throughout 2012.  It has been funded by the Australia Council through the Cultural Places Initiative and undertaken as a partnership between Country Arts SA and History SA. In the next year five more films will be produced as stage two of the project.

In undertakingTelling Our Stories, community historians Madeleine Regan and June Edwards and filmmaker Malcolm McKinnon have unearthed memories, images and objects to make connections between the intangible stories of individuals, and the tangible historical record. In the films, personal stories are mixed with photographs, moving image and images of objects, to place them in a historical context. Film subjects are varied and take in a range of locations in the Alexandrina Council area. The films feature people, places, boats a bicycle and even a cow. You can watch them here. 

Stage two of the project will commence later this year and anyone with a story to tell about an aspect of Alexandrina region history is invited to contact History SA – it could be your story we explore next.

New St John Ambulance Museum now open

The St John Ambulance Museum has now moved into its new home on the corner of Edmund Avenue and Rugby Street, Unley. It was officially opened on Sunday 5 May by Professor John Pearn, Priory Librarian St John Australia. Pearn is also the Emeritus, School of Medicine, University of Queensland and Senior Paediatrician of the Royal Children Hospital Queensland. Pearn unveiled a replica of the 900 year old Papal Bull that marks the beginning of the original Knights Hospitallers, who were the inspiration of today’s St John.

Special guests included the Honourable David Pisoni, State Member for Unley and Shadow Minister for Education, His Worship the Mayor, Lachlan Clyne and Glen Brewer, the Chairman of the Board of St John Ambulance and Sharyn Mitten, St John SA Chief Executive.  Dr Brian Fotheringham, President of the St John Ambulance Historical Society was Master of Ceremonies.

The museum is dedicated to exhibiting, collecting and researching the work of St John volunteers over its centuries’ long history.  The museum has a large collection of artefacts, photographs, documents and uniforms.  A key feature of the new museum is the painting of Sir Edward Hayward, who was chairman of the Council of St John from 1950 to 1976 and then President from 1976-1986. Sir Edward organised for St John to take over the State’s ambulance Service in the 1950s.

With the invaluable help of their advisor Yvonne Routledge, the museum has completed its significance assessment and preservation study and has begun the work of documenting and conserving its collection. In the current round the museum received a National Library Community Heritage Grant to rehouse its photographic collection in archival materials.

The project is now well underway. Folders, binders, protector sheets, divider cards and photographic corners were purchased from Albox Pty Ltd. Volunteers are now spending time sorting through approximately 8,000 photographs dividing them into subject areas and assembling them into the archival folders. Many of the photographs have information on their content but there is also considerable research needed in identifying those without information.

There are many tasks ahead for the dedicated volunteer team as they open to visitors and continue the work on documenting and preserving this fascinating collection.

The museum will be open to the public during the About Time History Festival on Friday 10, 17 and 24 May, 11 am to 3 pm and Saturday 11 May and Sunday 19 May from 11 am to 4 pm.

From June onwards the museum will be open the following times:

Wednesdays: 1 – 4 pm; Fridays: 10 am – 1 pm; Sundays: 1 – 4 pm or by appointment.

More photographs from the launch can be seen here 

Australian memory of the World

In May 2013 Adelaide will host two events that showcase the Australian Memory of the World register, a UNESCO program that works to preserve and promote documentary heritage in Australia. Come along to a workshop led by Roslyn Russell, Chair of the International Advisory Committee of Memory of the World and find out what the manuscripts relating to the Mabo case and the 1906 film The Story of the Kelly Gang have in common – and whether there are items in your collection that could be inscribed on the register. The workshop is presented by the Australian Memory of the World Program and History SA. Tuesday 14 May, 3.30 – 5.30 pm, Migration Museum chapel, Migration Museum, 82 Kintore Avenue, Adelaide. To book: mpaul@history.sa.gov.au

That evening, you can join distinguished guests at the 2013 Australian Memory of the World inscription ceremony, where the newest collections to be included on the register will be announced. Guest speaker Dr Jared Thomas will give an Indigenous perspective on documentary heritage, and light refreshments will be served. Tuesday 14 May, 6.15 for 6.30, Mortlock Chamber, State Library of South Australia, North Terrace, Adelaide. To book: burrows.steve@slsa.sa.gov.au

To find out more about the register and treasures of our documentary heritage: http://amw.org.au/

In search of the first ANZAC biscuit recipe

The recent news story posted on our website about Allison Reynolds’ search for the oldest Anzac biscuit recipe, resulted in many old cookbooks coming out of the kitchen drawer.  Since then this Adelaide Hills’ culinary historian’s hunt has been radio broadcast on ABC891 and FIVEaa Adelaide as well as printed in the Advertiser and the Hills Courier.  It seems everyone wants to help in solving the mystery.

It was fascinating to catch up with Allie on Sunday at her presentation at the Adelaide Farmers’ Market, at the Wayville Showgrounds. There was quite a gathering for the session, and many had brought with them their family heirloom recipes or cookery books.  Allie’s enthusiastic research crew got down to business, photographing pages and taking notes, before and after the event. It was good to see Carol Moore of the Mount Lofty Districts Historical Society with her grandmother’s handwritten cookbook from the WWI period, with its topical amendments – the word ‘German’ being replaced by ‘Belgian’ in some recipes!

While baking up a batch of Anzac biscuits, Allie reported on her recent research which she is undertaking in readiness for the start of ANZAC centenary commemorations in 2014. There is still a hot debate regarding whether the first printed Anzac biscuit recipe was from New Zealand or Australia. And we learnt a lot about ingredients: that butter was the only consistent ingredient in all the different recipes; and that coconut only began appearing in recipes from the 1920s. Whether the biscuits should be chewy or crispy was also another issue in question. Allie went on to discuss the difference between the Anzac ‘wafer’ or ‘tile’, that was a hard ship’s biscuit given out to soldiers by the army and sometimes made into ‘trench porridge’ when pounded with water; and the Anzac biscuit, made by loved ones at home to send to the Boys overseas, and is the biscuit that we know today.  Eggless so that they would last the long voyage of several weeks to Europe, these biscuits were generally sent in air tight tins. Allie shared with us some delightful information gleaned from newspaper articles and advertisements about how thousands of tins were repurposed with this aim in mind, even old kerosene tins.  She also brought with her a large size vintage golden syrup tin, like those used for sending over sweets (lollies) as part of comfort parcels to soldiers overseas.

Allie also has a Facebook page where you can join in the great Anzac biscuit debate!  She is still on the lookout for pre-1920 Anzac biscuit recipes. Contact her direct if you can help with information.

Good yarns at Victorian Museums Conference

Last week I was lucky to attend the second annual Museums Australia Victoria branch conference, held at the National Wool Museum in Geelong.  I was most interested to see the museum, given that the theme is similar to the Sheep’s Back Museum at Naracoorte. The museum is divided into two main exhibition sections – one about wool production and the other about transforming wool into fabric.  The centrepiece of the displays was a huge loom on which the museum produces a specially-designed rug for sale – a unique fundraiser.

I enjoyed hearing a range of speakers exploring the conference theme Reinventing Museums: Collaborate, Innovate & Transform and getting perspectives from small and larger institutions, some with substantial paid staff and some with none.  But it was especially interesting talking with lots of people from a huge variety of museums over lunch and morning tea, including from the Civil Aviation Historical Society, Telstra Museum in Melbourne, Yarra Ranges Museum and the Pioneers Settlement Museum at Swan Hill.  And I got to catch up with Liz and Monica from Museums Australia Victoria who run the Museums Accreditation Program (MAP) in Victoria, a similar program to History SA’s Community Museums Program (CMP).  In an interesting conference session featuring four museums that are in the Victorian MAP I heard about community engagement initiatives at the Coal Creek Community Park & Museum, how the Surfworld Museum is tapping into the younger museum-going market by presenting topics and collections that resonate with their target age group, the incredible musical collection of the Victorian Jazz Archive, and a disaster preparedness story from the Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum.  The latter museum suffered a disaster about a year ago when their historic newspaper office burnt down and much of the printing collection was lost.  Fortunately they had a disaster plan!  South Australia played a part in the re-establishment of the collection with some replacement typeface acquired from the Mallee Tourist and Heritage Centre, Pinnaroo.

 

 

 

History Council of SA Awards 2013

The History Council of Australia has announced a call for nominations for the 2013 South Australian Historian of the Year Awards.

These annual awards honour the achievements of South Australian historians. Three awards and an essay prize recognise individuals for outstanding research and scholarship and acknowledge their broader contribution through teaching, leadership, mentoring and community involvement. The closing date for award nominations is 31 May 2013.  The Governor of South Australia will present the awards on 29 July 2013.

The four awards are:

  • South Australian Life-Long History Achievement Award
  • South Australian Historian of the Year Award
  • Emerging South Australian Historian of the Year
  • Wakefield Companion to SA History Undergraduate Essay Prize

The History Council of SA introduced the awards in 2012.  Dr Susan Marsden won the Life-Long History Achievement Award while Emeritus Professor Eric Richards was named SA Historian of the Year.

 

2013 SA Heritage Heroes Awards

The South Australian Heritage Council, in partnership with Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources (DEWNR) and the Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre at the University of South Australia are again holding the SA Heritage Heroes Awards in 2013.

The SA Heritage Heroes 2013 Awards will recognise those individuals and groups who have made an outstanding contribution to the upkeep of our state’s heritage. This is an appropriate way to honour these people and their role in our community, conserving heritage for future generations to learn from and enjoy.

The public is encouraged to nominate individuals or groups who have made a significant effort to protect, record and celebrate our heritage. Community groups, individuals, heritage consultants and advisors, local councils, conservation and heritage organisations and government agencies are encouraged to apply. Nominations will be invited in three categories:

  • Heritage Individual
  • Heritage Group
  • Youth Heritage Individual/Group

Nominations close on Friday 26 April 2013.

The SA Heritage Heroes 2013 Awards will be presented by the Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Hon Ian Hunter MLC, on Tuesday 21 May 2013 at 10.15 am.

F111 arrives at SA Aviation Museum

The South Australian Aviation Museum in Port Adelaide has become the first in Australia to take delivery of a former RAAF F111 jet bomber.

The retired jet – which can reach speeds up to two-and-a-half times the speed of sound – arrived at the Port Adelaide museum on Monday 18 March. It left Amberley RAAF Base in Queensland, near Ipswich, on board a truck on the Friday before and travelled more than 1200 km through NSW, Burra and Gawler. It comes after the Federal Government announced the museum would be one of six groups nationwide to take delivery of the retired jets last October. 

The F-111s, which were retired in December 2010 after 37 years of service, are best known for their spectacular displays at air shows and major sporting events where they would do ignited “fuel dumps”. SA Aviation Museum public relations officer John Roberts said the jet would help boost tourism in Port Adelaide and the state. He also expected ticket sales to increase, giving the museum’s volunteers more funding to restore and maintain its aircraft.

“People would have seen the F-111 blow fire out of its rear end and in pictures everywhere,” Mr Roberts said.“It is a modern-day icon, so it’s a very significant and prestigious thing to have one here.” 

Visitors were able to see technicians from the Amberley RAAF Base reassemble the jet before it was put on display in the museum’s hangar. It is now ready to be viewed at the museum at 66 Lipson St, Port Adelaide, and open every day from 10.30am to 4.30pm. Tickets: $9 for adults and $4.50 for children under 16.  The South Australian Aviation Museum is an Accredited Museum in History SA’s Community Museums Program.

Cocky is the Face (book) of Angaston’s old smithy

A little bird told me that one of Angaston’s historic icons has just got a Facebook page. A cockatoo has become the unofficial spokes ‘person’ for the A&H Doddridge Blacksmith’s shop in Angaston, steeped in history with over 130 years of blacksmithing at this site and one of only a few operational ‘smithies’ in existence in South Australia.

Facebook Cocky represents the popular town cockatoo and his feathered friends who have been living at the historic smithy on Angaston’s main street for around 80 years.  What a lot of history Cocky would have witnessed – if only he could talk.  Well, actually the original cockatoo could.  Apparently he said ‘aeroplane’ when one flew overhead and ‘Anybody home, Mrs Doddridge’ when there was a knock at the door. However, through social media and a little bit of innovative ingenuity on the part of the historical society, Cocky can now chat online about Angaston’s history to all those passing by in cyberspace.  

The Angaston cockatoos have been long-time crowd pleasers in the town. The original Cocky was owned by the late Hardy Doddridge, reputedly South Australia’s oldest blacksmith, who was still working at 96 almost right up to his death in 1982. Aged just 16, Hardy had taken over the business with brother Albert from their father in 1902.   Cocky, the sulphur crested cockatoo, came into Hardy’s life as a young bird in about 1933. Using his blacksmithing skills, Hardy built him a unique cage adjoining his shop and next to the Doddridge family home (now the Angaston Vet Clinic – very handy for Cocky’s health down the track). Every night Cocky was taken out of the cage and sat on a perch in the blacksmith’s shop. Apparently he ate walnuts and thistles and always enjoyed bread with hot water or milk. Following Hardy’s death, Cocky went to live in Naracoorte with Hardy’s granddaughter and died aged 76 in February 2009. 

However, back in Angaston, a new cockatoo moved into the purpose-built cage. This was Bruce who entertained passers-by for about 25 years. He was there while the local community fought to buy back the blacksmith shop and its contents for the town, eventually opening it as a museum in 1996. Unfortunately in June 2012, Bruce was found to be missing. The padlock to his cage was cut and Bruce was either released or stolen. After his demise, a lady donated Jacko to take on the role of the Angaston Cocky. Locals say that Jacko actually seems to be friendlier, tamer and more joyful than Bruce.

I certainly witnessed Cocky aka Jacko’s people-magnet skills during my last trip to Angaston when members of the A&P Historical Society and I first talked about the possibility of using social media to promote the blacksmith’s shop in an original way. And I’ve just heard he’s becoming a TV star. On Wed 20 March he will feature on Channel 10’s Totally Wild at 4 pm.

So please ‘Like’ Cocky and stop for a chat.  Who knows, maybe Cocky might decide to Tweet one day …!

More photos of the Doddridge Blacksmith’s shop can be seen here and a short video about the shop made by film maker Ashley Starkey can be viewed here

Flying Visit to the South-east

This week Pauline and I made a flying visit to three CMP museums, with a bouncy descent into Mount Gambier seeing us emerge onto the tarmac into a very hot early evening and a swarm of bees at the terminal door.

Picking up our hire car we headed off for an evening meeting with members of the Millicent Living History Museum to have a preliminary chat about the museum’s CMP re-accreditation and to see progress being made with several projects.  I was only at the museum last May, so it was quite astounding to see how much more has been achieved since then, particularly in managing the National Costume Collection, which the museum took on from a private collection in Lobethal only about 18 months ago.  Last time I was at the Millicent Museum much of the collection was still crammed into packing boxes, but now it has almost all been unpacked, sorted and hung on racks or re-boxed.  The volunteer team working on this project, led by Lucy, is working very hard with limited existing catalogue records to identify the ‘treasures’ amongst the collection and make plans for a costume display in the former Millicent Primary School Building (on the museum grounds and acquired and re-furbished since my last visit).  A great deal of research about designers, wearers and fashion shops is being done as part of the collection management and display project.  The Museum also manages a horse drawn vehicle collection of some 100 items and an extensive complex of Millicent history displays.  Amazing really that a fairly small group of volunteers can do so much!  You can see photos of Millicent Museum here. 

After a warm night in Millicent we headed off next morning back through Mount Gambier and out to Port MacDonnell for a project meeting with the Port MacDonnell Maritime Museum committee, who are developing an audio-visual introduction to the museum and a computer-based display about the districts shipwreck history.  We enjoyed the lively discussion with the group about key messages and the specific information and visuals that will be included.  The museum group has settled in nicely to their new premises in the Port MacDonnell Community Complex and the audio-visual project is their major foray into re-invigorating the much-loved displays of shipwrecks and locally significant stories and objects.  Photos of the museum here.

We then headed off to Beachport for a project meeting with the Old Wool and Grain Store Museum, who are redeveloping the front two rooms of the museum to tell the history of the building and highlight some of the main themes of the museum.  Discussion centred mainly on the content of the displays and the style of presentation with lots of great ideas explored.  Various people lived and worked from the building over the decades since it was constructed in the 1880s and the building has several points of interest in its construction such as train line running through the middle and a mechanics pit from when the building was used as a garage (which now makes an unusual donation tin).  More photos here.  Beachport and Port MacDonnell museums both received 2012 CMP grants for their projects.

Community Heritage Grants Program 2013 Now Open

Applications for the 2013 Community Heritage Grants funding round are now open.

The Community Heritage Grants (CHG) program provides grants of up to $15,000 to community organisations such as libraries, archives, museums, genealogical and historical societies, multicultural and Indigenous groups. The grants are provided to assist with the preservation of locally owned, but nationally significant collections of materials that are publicly accessible including artefacts, letters, diaries, maps, photographs, and audio visual material.

The types of projects supported include Significance Assessments of collections; Preservation Needs Assessments of collections; conservation activities and collection management; and training workshops. For South Australian community museums and historical societies, the CHG is a great source of funding for assessments and for implementing recommendations made in Preservation Needs Assessments.

Applications close on 1 May 2013 (5pm AEST)

Bravest of the Brave is now in Port Pirie

History SA/Veterans SA’s travelling exhibition Bravest of the Brave,which tells the moving stories of the eight South Australians awarded the Victoria Cross in the First World War, has now arrived at Port Pirie.   It was kindly transported from the Port Lincoln RSL Museum by a relative of the president and set up by four volunteers at Port Pirie RSL Military Museum.

The exhibition has already been well received and hopes to attract visitation by students from the 18 schools in the district.  An article featured in the local Recorder newspaper on Thursday 28 February while that evening there an interview with Port Pirie RSL’s curator Angela Mertens was aired on the local TV station Southern Cross Austereo’s 6.30 pm news.

Affectionately known as BOB, the exhibition consists of seven double-sided pop up banners and four wooden plinths displaying the men’s framed citations and replica medals.

The eight ordinary men were Arthur Blackburn, Phillip Davey, Roy Inwood, Jorgen Jensen, John Leak, Arthur Sullivan, Lawrence Weathers and James Park Woods – who on one day of their lives, under extraordinary circumstances, demonstrated extraordinary heroism for their comrades and country.

Some were born or educated in South Australia; some enlisted here, while others lived here either before or after the war.

The Victoria Cross is the British and Commonwealth’s armed forces’ most coveted award, their supreme decoration for gallantry, under enemy fire.  Only 1,356 medals have been awarded since its introduction in 1856.

The display will be at the Port Pirie RSL Military Museum throughout March and until after ANZAC day on 25 April. It will return to Adelaide soon after that date in time for the About Time History Festival in May when it will be displayed at the Vietnam Veterans Federation of SA’s Club rooms in Warradale.

The first of many projects that are being prepared worldwide to commemorate the centenary of the First World War in 2014-2018,Bravest of the Braveis available from History SA free of charge to travel to schools, RSL clubs, museums, libraries, aged care facilities, community centres etc. There is also a schools resources kit.  Enquiries regarding the exhibition’s availability should be made on 08 8203 9888 or email for more information.

Photographs of the exhibition at Port Lincoln and at other venues including its launch by the Hon Jack Snelling MP in April 2012 can be seen here

Launch at Scholz Park Museum

New interpretive displays at Scholz Park Museum in Riverton were officially opened on Sunday 24 February by the museum’s president and secretary, John Glistak before a group of enthusiastic locals.  Also attending were the creative team who carried out the work, designer Peter Templeton and consultant historian Geoff Speirs; as well as History SA’s Community History Officer Pauline Cockrill.

Scholz Park Museum is a registered museum in History SA’s Community Museums Program (CMP) and received a 2008-9 CMP grant to partly fund the first stage of the new development intended to tell the story of the pioneering Scholz family within the cottage.  Funding from other sources was received for some of the display and to restore aspects of the heritage-listed buildings.

The museum is a complex of 3 buildings within a small park consisting of a cottage and a wheelwright and blacksmith’s workshop, all representing the home and livelihood of the Scholz family over 2 generations for a little over a hundred years.

A Silesian migrant and wheelwright, August settled at Riverton with his wife Wilhelmine in 1865. They built the four roomed stone cottage in 1872 and lived there with their eight children. Later August bought the adjacent blacksmith’s shop and with his 3 sons carried on the business as wheelwright, blacksmith, machinist and coachbuilder, meeting the needs of the people in the area. August’s two grandsons eventually sold the property to the Riverton council in 1970 on the understanding that it would be preserved as an example of a bygone era. After restoration the buildings eventually opened to the public as a museum in 1981.

The new interpretive panels in the cottage do not interfere with its ambiance but subtly highlight some of the stories relating to the objects on display.  Particularly poignant is the story of August’s elderly spinster daughters Polly and Huldie who died of heat exposure during the particularly hot summer of 1939.

Guests at the launch were not only able to visit the adjacent wheelwright’s shop but also watch two members of the Artists Blacksmiths Association of South Australia (ABASA) demonstrating their skills in the blacksmith’s shop which has three hand blown forges and a full range of functional equipment.  Members of ABASA operate the forges on the last Sunday of the month where possible.

More photographs of the museum and launch event can be seen here

Frisque opens at Ayers House Museum

In conjunction with this year’s Adelaide Fringe, a new display opened last night in the state dining room of historic Ayers House, the former 19th century family home of Sir Henry Ayers, distinguished politician, financier and Premier of South Australia.

Frisque is a unique exhibition featuring beautiful items of corsetry, underwear and nightwear from the National Trust of South Australia’s extensive costume collection.  Dating from c1885-c1935, many of the garments have not been shown to the public before. As the poster declares it is ‘a once in a lifetime opportunity to step inside Madam’s Boudoir’.   Set against the chandelier-lit Lyon and Cottier designed formal dining room ceiling which is regarded as the most significant hand painted ceiling in Australia, the various garments of lace, silk, broderie anglaise and satin displayed amongst appropriate accessories, look stunning.   

This exhibition has been curated by Ayers House Museum volunteer Madeleine Seys who has been involved with the museum since 2004.  When she is not working on the costume collection, she is wearing a mop cap and playing the part of the ‘tweeny’, (between maid so called because she works between the housekeeper, butler and cook) in Ayers House’s popular After Dark series.  This is Madeleine’s first foray into exhibition curation and it is hoped there will be more opportunities in the future.  She says she really enjoyed the experience as it was not only a chance to show off many of the beautiful items she has discovered in the collection but also use research undertaken for her PhD “Fashioned Fictions and Textured Texts: Femininity and Narrative in Victorian Popular Literature” which she is currently working on at the University of Adelaide.

Frisque is on display for one week only Tuesday 26 February to Tuesday 5 March.  Entry is by gold coin donation.  More photographs from the opening night can be seen here. 

Ayers House is located at 288 North Terrace opposite the Royal Adelaide Hospital.  It is a National Trust property and an accredited museum in History SA’s Community Museums Program.

Lots to see in Loxton

This week Amanda and I drove the 250 km or so to the Riverland to visit Loxton Historical Village, one of the 61 museums on our Community Museums Program.  We had arranged to meet with Tracy Bye, Tourism Manager for Loxton Waikerie council who is responsible for the management of this unique open air museum which will be celebrating its 40th anniversary later this year.

It was good to catch up and hear about her plans for the complex but particularly to discuss their forthcoming interpretation project, funded through a 2012-3 History SA CMP grant.  After some initial chat in her office at the Loxton Visitor Centre, formerly the local fire station, we had the opportunity to visit the complex where the volunteers were busy preparing their float for the Loxton Mardi Gras parade at the weekend.   However it was probably the only museum we have visited where the welcome party included a kangaroo and three sheep!

The Village has come a long way since its beginnings in 1970 when a pug and pine hut was recreated based on the town’s first building, the so called “Loxton’s Hut” originally occupied by the man who gave the town its name, William Charles Loxton, a boundary rider on Bookpurnong station.  Other farm dwellings followed and a village street began to form, the complex being officially opened on 2 September 1973 by then SA Premier, the Hon Don Dunstan. It received another boost with Centenary of Federation Funding to create the area called the Irrigation Museum.  It now is made up of over 45 historic or replica buildings that have been either moved here from other locations or recreated by volunteers. Its plan and history can be found here while the enthusiastic staff and volunteers now put on three “Village Alive Days’ a year.

There was lots to see and lots to discuss. With so much history, and so much ‘stuff’ in a museum collection it can often be a daunting task to know where or how to start a new display or interpretation project.  To get the ball rolling, Amanda put together a simple template for the interpretation plan divided into key messages, stories and format.  Sometimes you have to stand well back and think ‘what is the main thing you want the visitor to learn or remember about a topic’; and then ‘what are the best stories you can use to illustrate it’?  Finally you have to decide how best to tell that story – should it be with text panels, objects, multimedia or a combination?  This group are considering using QR (Quick Response) codes as part of their overall interpretation plan and we look forward to working with them on this new and exciting journey.

More photos from this trip and a previous trip to Loxton Historical Village can be seen here 

Changes at Gawler Museum

I haven’t been to see the Gawler Museum for a few years, so it was great earlier this week to see the changes that have been made.  Last time I was at the museum the section under the mezzanine floor was partitioned off and used for an uninviting work and crowded storage area and there was nowhere to store larger collection items not being used in displays.  But the museum’s been working hard getting a large new store room and workroom built and now the partition is down, the staircase to the mezzanine moved to a more practical spot and the displays set out in a more inviting way.  The museum is planning a grand opening for the store/workroom in May.

One of my favourite displays at the museum has always been the items relating to Timers Fashions, a local clothing manufacturer that was a significant part of the economic life of the town and a major employer of women.  Not only is the new display more appealing but the subject matter is a great way to use some of the costume and other textile items that the museum has in its collection, which are sometimes hard to present in interesting ways.

I love the donation box too!  More donation and fundraising examples from SA museums are here.

Bravest of the Brave is now in Port Lincoln

History SA/Veterans SA’s travelling exhibition Bravest of the Brave, which tells the moving stories of the eight South Australians awarded the Victoria Cross in the First World War, has now arrived in Port Lincoln on the Eyre Peninsula.  It was packed up and transported to its new venue at the RSL Clubrooms on Hallett Place just in time for Port Lincoln’s famous Tunarama Festival over the long Australia Day weekend.

Affectionately known as BOB, the exhibition consists of seven double-sided pop up banners and four wooden plinths displaying the men’s framed citations and replica medals. The eight ordinary men were Arthur Blackburn, Phillip Davey, Roy Inwood, Jorgen Jensen, John Leak, Arthur Sullivan, Lawrence Weathers and James Park Woods – who on one day of their lives, under extraordinary circumstances, demonstrated extraordinary heroism for their comrades and country. Some were born or educated in South Australia; some enlisted here, while others lived here either before or after the war.   

The Victoria Cross is the British and Commonwealth’s armed forces’ most coveted award, their supreme decoration for gallantry, under enemy fire.  Only 1,356 medals have been awarded since its introduction in 1856. 

The display will be at the RSL Clubrooms until Saturday 23 February when it will be moving on to the Port Pirie RSL Museum. It is booked up to travel to a variety of venues in South Australia throughout 2013 and even part of 2014.

The first of many projects that are being prepared worldwide to commemorate the centenary of the First World War in 2014-2018, Bravest of the Brave is available from History SA free of charge to travel to schools, RSL clubs, museums, libraries, aged-care facilities, community centres etc. There is also a schools resources kit.  Enquiries regarding the exhibition’s availability should be made on 08 8203 9888 or email for more information.

Photographs of the exhibition at Port Lincoln and at other venues including its launch by the Hon Jack Snelling MP in April 2012 can be seen here

Beer Barons or Bankrupts?

Only two major breweries now exist in South Australia both with histories of 150 years or more.  However did you know that there were numerous small breweries operating throughout the State from settlement in 1836 to the mid-1950s?  A new book has recently been published which tells the fascinating story of these early brewers, explaining why so many failed and how brewing giants Coopers and West End have survived.

Alison Painter’s Beer Barons or Bankrupts? Early Brewers in South Australia is divided logically into periods covering the establishment, growth, and contraction of the industry in the state.  This 345pp hard cover book is well-researched and illustrated by a splendid array of photographs of people, breweries and other buildings plus colourful beer labels and some excellent sketches prepared by Alison’s husband John.

A professional historian, Alison has a background of experience within the brewing industry and has previously published works on both Coopers and the Johnstons of Oakbank.  The book received financial support from History SA through a South Australian History Fund 2010-11 grant and from brewers Coopers and West End.

As well as delving into the pictorial records of the State Library, she also researched the archives of many community museums and historical societies throughout the state such as those based in Burra, Clare, Gawler, Goolwa, Jamestown, Kapunda, Melrose, Mount Gambier, Oakbank, Port MacDonnell and Walkerville.

The cover of the book shows a wonderful image of WH Baker delivering beer to the Old Spot Hotel in Gawler dating from the c1880s, courtesy of the John Clift Collection.

The book was printed by Hyde Park Press and costs $60.50 (+$12.50 postage where applicable). It is available from the author Alison Painter, 3 Maud Street CLAPHAM SA 5062, phone: 08 8276 8986 or email

How do I conserve my War Memorabilia?

With the ANZAC Centenary 2014-2018 approaching, Australians will look back and reflect on our role in past wars and conflicts.  There are many significant items belonging to families and organisations that are poignant reminders of the invaluable contributions that so many Australians made.

These items, whether humble or heroic, are often in need of care and conservation. Did you know that Artlab Australia can assist you with conservation advice and treatments to preserve your war memorabilia?  These might be small personal items like Bibles, books, diaries, documents, photographs and prints; or medals, medallions, plaques and souvenirs.  Or perhaps you are in possession of larger items such as uniforms, flags, pennants or paintings.  Or maybe you care for monuments, statues and grave sites that are in need of urgent conservation.

In my travels as History SA’s Community History Officer I see many items of war memorabilia in the collections of community museums and history groups.  You can see some of them here. Recently I visited the Mount Lofty Districts Historical Society, who had just had the Scott Creek WWI Honour Roll in their collection restored by Artlab Australia’s Object conservator Justin Gare. The painted wooden board was found rotting in a shed and now looks stunning as you can see from the photo below.

If you would like to know more about how Artlab Australia can help you regarding your war memorabilia give them a call to discuss your conservation enquiry. Or you can visit Artlab Australia in Adelaide on one of their consultation days, on the first and third Thursday of every month throughout the year. Appointments are from 9 am to 4.30pm on each half hour. If you are unable to attend a Consultation Day Artlab can arrange an alternative time to suit your needs.  Artlab Australia is based in a big red brick building behind the State Library off Kintore Avenue.

National Railway Museum is 50!

The National Railway Museum in Port Adelaide recently launched an exciting program of events to celebrate its 50th anniversary this year.  A launch party was held at the museum on Friday 25 January which was attended by many long-time supporters, members, volunteers and previous staff from the museum as well as several distinguished guests.

Museum president Barry Marshall hosted the event and there were official speeches by the Federal member for Port Adelaide, the Hon Mark Butler; the founder of the museum, Ron Fluck; and Managing Director of Genesee & Wyoming Australia, Bert Easthope.  Bob Sampson, the museum’s Executive Officer announced the bumper program of events on offer for the year which will include behind the scenes tours, the launch of the Bluebird Kestrel and the newly restored Onkaparinga Overland car, an art competition for the About Time History Festival in May.  The year will culminate with a formal 50th anniversary dinner and the return of the Redhens shuttles to Adelaide Station.

More images from the launch party can be seen here

The museum began in 1963 when a group of rail preservationists, alarmed at the scrapping of steam locomotives which had served South Australia for many decades, set about saving, restoring and maintaining many of the historic vehicles in the museum today.

The first railway museum was located on Railway Terrace at Mile End but with the assistance of the History Trust (now History SA) the museum secured a $2 million Australian Bicentennial Grant and was able to move to the current premises.  Then called the Port Dock Station Railway Museum, it was officially opened on 10 December 1988 by the Premier of South Australia, the Hon John Bannon.  More funding via a Centenary of Federation grant enabled them to expand and open the Commonwealth Railways Museum (now known as the Ronald E Fluck Pavilion) within the facility in 2001 and the whole precinct was renamed the National Railway Museum.

Along with the usual displays and regular programs, currently there is a special photographic exhibition and slide show at the museum illustrating the developments over its successful 50 year history.

The National Railway Museum is registered in History SA’s Community Museum Program.

Three Cheers for Bubble Wrap!

I’m always on the lookout for anniversaries and national observances to help get the conversation going in our social media networks.  There seems to be something for everything – even Bubble Wrap!  Apparently the last Monday of January is Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day, originally the brainchild of an FM radio station in Indiana dating back to 2001. That means Monday 28 January 2013 was a day for celebrating this great invention, as well as marking its 53rd birthday.

I’m sure this protective packaging is much lauded by museum curators the world over.  A quick Google search uncovered the fact that we owe our gratitude to American engineer Al Fielding and Swiss inventor Marc Chavannes who came up with the idea in 1957 when experimenting with shower curtains in order to create a new kind of plastic textured wallpaper.

Founding the Sealed Air Corporation, the team originally marketed the product as greenhouse insulation, but later realised its potential as packaging material, branding it as Bubble Wrap and introducing it to the public in January 1960. Its first major client was IBM.  Sealed Air is still going and apparently produces enough Bubble Wrap to stretch from the Earth to the Moon each year.

I particularly appreciated the attributes of this great cushioning product when packing up our travelling exhibition Bravest of the Brave recently to ensure its safe delivery by truck to Port Lincoln on the Eyre Peninsula.   It arrived safe and sound at the Port Lincoln RSL museum where it will be on display until 23 February.

Apparently there are more than 250 pages dedicated to Bubble Wrap on Facebook, although there is only one official one.   And there are games to play online and apps for your mobile such as Bubble FREE which you can download from iTunes

A Whiff of Christmas

Last Friday I returned to Stirling’s Coventry Library in the Adelaide Hills where I’d set up the travelling display Bravest of the Brave in November to attend the Mount Lofty Districts Historical Society’s Christmas gathering.  It was a great blend of my two favourite subjects – food and women’s history.

Culinary historian Allie Reynolds gave a fascinating presentation to a large, enthusiastic audience on the untold story of the woman behind famous Adelaide Hills’ painter, Sir Hans Heysen.  This was his wife of nearly 60 years, born Selma (known as Sallie) Bartels.  Daughter of the former mayor of Adelaide Adolph Heinrich Friedrich Bartels, she had met Hans when she was his art student and they married in 1904.  They were to have 8 children – including Nora Heysen, Australia’s first female Archibald Prize winner and war artist – and made their home at The Cedars, on 36 acres outside Hahndorf, which is now open to the public and still owned by the Heysen family.

Allie revealed some magical aspects of life at The Cedars for Sallie was legendary for her baking.  She gave us a glimpse at some of her research into Sallie’s recipes and conversations with the Heysen’s children and grandchildren on their memories of Christmas at The Cedars, as well as reading excerpts of family letters and diaries which gave us a ‘whiff of Christmas’ just like Nora Heysen describes when receiving some of her mother’s biscuits by post.  We could visualise the giant Christmas tree in Heysen’s studio decorated with gingerbread letters and smell the fruit cake and biscuits baking in Sallie’s kitchen.

Our mouths were all watering by the time the presentation finished and ready to sample the honey biscuits (Honigkuchen) which Allie had baked from one of Sallie’s recipes, and discover the winners of the Heysen-related raffle prizes.  But there was another final treat in store when well-known Crafers identity Frank Curren publicly donated to the MLDHS a pair of Hans Heysen’s lace-up leather gaiters, which had been in his family for many years.  Worn with his knee length trousers and long socks, they were typical accessories seen in photographs of the artist on painting trips.  What a wonderful gift and a great ending to the MLDHS’s year!  I suggested they contact conservator Sophie Parker at Artlab regarding the appropriate preservation and storage of these leather items.

Proceeds from the event went to support the publication of Allie’s proposed book on Sallie Heysen which I am sure will be very popular.

Grants Announced for Community Museums

History SA’s annual Community Museums Program grant fund has been decided!  This year 23 museums from around the state will benefit from grants of up to $13,250 each.  Funding has been allocated to a diverse range of projects including historical interpretation using digital technologies, provision of storage facilities, and development of curriculum resources for schools.

All the grant recipients are registered or accredited in History SA’s Community Museums Program.  The Community Museums Program grant fund is a special fund available only to these museums.  It is a highly competitive fund and it was great to see museums from all around the state applying this year.

History SA Chief Executive Margaret Anderson said: ‘This fund is an important resource for South Australian community museums.  Each year it supports a wide range of projects that present and preserve important aspects of the State’s history.  Collectively these projects help to make distinctive local stories accessible.’

Projects receiving funding under the grant scheme this year include major interpretive projects at the Port MacDonnell Maritime Museum and at Loxton Historical Village and collection documentation and management projects at museums in the Mid-North and Mallee regions of the State.

 

Workshop inspires About Time event organisers

A workshop for potential About Time event organisers was held at the City of Charles Sturt Civic Centre in Woodville on Tuesday 20 November. History SA’s About Time team, Mandy Paul and Karen Blackwood assisted by volunteer John Connolly put together a very useful and inspiring program in readiness for next year’s history festival in May.

Allison Russell, Migration Museum’s current Acting Director spoke about engaging new audiences while South Australian Maritime Museum‘s Curator Emily Jateff shared her experiences of organising events with a difference. Lesley Attema from the Prospect Local History Group entertained the gathering with the tale of Sluggo the cat and how this local feline identity had become an extremely successful marketing tool. The group’s very popular self-guided walking tour was cited as a great example of how to stand out from the crowd.

Karen ended the workshop with a run-down of the registration process. Several registrations have already been received while online registrations will be available by the end of November. Registrations close on Friday 1 February 2013.

One of South Australia’s largest community events, the About Time festival promotes the State’s wonderful collections, places and stories through an amazing range of history related activities. History SA coordinates and promotes the overall festival. Organisers register an event, which is listed on a dedicated website and in a free printed program, 30,000 of which are distributed state-wide. Event organisers receive free promotional posters and venue signage.

2012 saw the festival being combined with the inaugural Open House Adelaide, joining major cities around the world providing public access to buildings and spaces in the City of Adelaide over a weekend. This will be on again in 2013 on the weekend of 4/5 May.

About Time began in 2004 as SA History Week and has grown each year, becoming a month long festival in 2011.  In 2012 it won a Ruby Award, South Australia’s arts and cultural Awards in the Community Impact under $100,000 category.

About Time provides an opportunity for organisations to promote their place in South Australian history and enjoy the benefits of being part of a state-wide community festival.

 

A Moving Remembrance Day Service

Like many others, I attended a Remembrance Day service last Sunday.  I could have attended any number of services around Adelaide on 11 November, the day we remember on the 11th hour, of the 11th day of the 11th month, those members of the armed forces who died in the line of duty. For example, there was the state service held at the South Australian National War Memorial on North Terrace while another was held at the AIF section of West Terrace cemetery which this year was acknowledging the contribution of the men and women of Bomber Command. And, of course, simultaneously there were numerous community-based services of remembrance being held at local war memorials and RSLs in numerous towns all around the state.

However this year I chose to attend the ceremony held at the Centennial Park Cemetery on Goodwood Road in Pasadena.   Each year Centennial Park remembers those who paid the ultimate sacrifice with a moving Remembrance Day Service, which is attended by representatives from all the armed forces as well as the SA Police, MFS, SES, RSL and Legacy, amongst others, and approximately 300 members of the public.

I was keen to hear and meet this year’s guest speaker Hamish Ludbrook, 18-year-old Scotch College student whose great grandfather was James Park Woods who had received a Victoria Cross for conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty near Le Verguier in France on 18 September 1918.  I had become close to ‘our Jimmy’ as he was called by the media at the time whilst researching for the travelling exhibition Bravest of the Brave, a collaborative project between History SA and Veterans SA, about the eight South Australians awarded the Victoria Cross during the First World War.  In fact I had just collected the display from Two Wells where it had been exhibited for the past month at their RSL sub branch.  The son of a local blacksmith, Private Woods had been born at Two Wells and his mother, who died when he was just a boy, is buried in the town cemetery.  Hamish wore a replica of his great grandfather’s Victoria Cross with pride throughout the ceremony and spoke movingly how he had heard stories from his grandmother how Woods’ war experience had affected him both physically and mentally.

It seemed a special place to be remembering those in our lives past and present effected by war. We were gathered beside the great marble Cross of Remembrance and beneath the boughs of two pine trees which had been propagated from seeds brought back from Gallipoli’s Lone Pine.  All around us we could see and hear the flapping of hundreds of small Australian flags, each one planted on the site of a grave or memorial rose tree belonging to a returned service person in the green expanse of the Derrick Gardens, established in 1956 and named after South Australian WWII Victoria Cross recipient Lieutenant Thomas Derrick.

Along with the Catafalque Party made up of four Air Force Cadets, the service’s pomp and ceremony was heightened by the presence of two members of the Barossa Light Horse Historical Association on horseback and others from Re-Enact SA in WWII uniforms while the Scotch College Pipes & Drums Band completed the stirring procession.  After the official laying of wreaths, Raymond Gordon Baldwin OAM read the Ode to the Fallen followed by the Last Post and traditional One Minute’s Silence.  The singing of the National Anthem and a beautiful rendition of the famous poem ‘In Flanders Fields’ by the Walford School for Girls’ Capella choir concluded the official proceedings before we adjourned to the Jubilee Complex for morning tea.

There was an exhibition by the to view in the complex and I’m pleased to report that the Bravest of the Brave exhibition will be displayed here for the Remembrance Day Service in 2014 which also commemorates the centenary of the start of the First World War.  Currently it is on display at Stirling’s Coventry Library until 9 December and at various venues all over South Australia throughout 2013.

BoB heads for the Hills

Bravest of the Brave, a joint history SA/Veterans SA touring exhibition telling the stories of the eight South Australian men who were awarded the Victoria Cross during the First World War is now at Stirling’s Coventry Library in the Adelaide Hills until 9 December under the auspices of the Mount Lofty Districts Historical Society.

This very active volunteer-run organisation has their own Local and Garden History Centre within the state-of-the-art Coventry Library, with space for research and storage of books and archives.  Bravest of the Brave was launched at the library on Friday evening to coincide with a special Remembrance Day presentation at the society’s November monthly meeting.  An emotive and inspiring talk was given first by primary school teacher Ann Kellett of the Scott Creek, Bradbury and Longwood History group regarding the research she has been undertaking since 2008 on the school Honour Roll and Memorial Avenue of trees with her primary school class.  This has developed into a major project with the history group and they intend turning the researched life stories into a publication ready for the ANZAC centenary in 2015. The main guest speaker was Dr Richard Reid, Senior Historian with the Commonwealth Department of Veterans’ Affairs, who spoke about the $10 million federal-funded Australian Remembrance Trail currently being developed by his team along the Western Front.

The audience had the opportunity to view the Bravest of the Brave display before and after the talks. Two of the eight men featured have connections with the Adelaide Hills.  Both Arthur Seaforth Blackburn and John Leak settled at Crafers with their respective families late in life and Leak is buried at Stirling cemetery. 

Two pieces of local Adelaide Hills WWI history recently saved by MLDHS and restored with a grant by Artlab were also displayed that evening.

One was a stunning wooden WWI Roll of Honour from Scott Creek, found rotting in a shed. The other was a framed memorial scroll for Corporal William Hurtle Driver discovered in the loft of the Stirling RSL where it had been transferred from Uraidla RSL on the latter’s demise. Born in Summertown, Driver had attended Uraidla Public School and was a labourer when he enlisted aged 32 before heading for Gallipoli with the 11th Battalion. He survived and was transferred to the 51st Battalion but killed the following year at the Battle of Pozières on the Somme on 3 September 1916, strangely enough on the same day, in the same conflict, that both Blackburn and Leak won their Victoria Crosses. 

More photographs of the MLDHS’s Remembrance Day presentation can be seen hereBravest of the Brave at other venues can be seen here

Old Highercombe Hotel Museum officially receives their Accreditation

Old Highercombe Hotel Museum officially received their Accreditation certificate last week at a morning tea celebrating their achievement. History SA’s Community History Officer, Pauline Cockrill presented Gill Starks from the management committee with their long awaited certificate before a gathering of volunteers, long-time supporters and representatives from the local council and State government.

Old Highercombe Hotel Museum is now South Australia’s 10th accredited museum in History SA’s Community Museums Program (CMP), amongst 61 registered and accredited museums in the State.

This museum has been a registered museum since 1982/3, and has maintained that status throughout.  Over the last 10 years they have been seriously working towards Accreditation status so it was a great pleasure to see them achieve their goal after a lot of hard work.  

It was good to see their new display funded by a CMP 2010-11 grant in Clarrie’s Hut in the grounds of the hotel, ‘Slab Hut to Food Bowl – Life in early Steventon’ which as usual had lots of innovative but very simple engaging design features.  We look forward to seeing their new exhibit on the local wine industry funded by CMP grant from last year which is currently under construction.

More photographs from the event and museum here 

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

    Archives

    Categories

    Meta