Friday, November 26, 2010

Maitland Gaol will be film set for new movie

From the Maitland Mercury report:
A new Australian film will come to life at Maitland’s historic jail.

Australian Enemy – by actor and writer Joshua Finch – will be filmed at Maitland Gaol early next month.
The film chronicles the rise and fall of Angelo Morello, an Italian-born criminal who comes to Sydney from a dairy farm in central NSW.

Full article available at Maitland Mercury, 25 Nov, 2010.

City honours two citizens with medals

From the Maitland Mercury report:
Two of Maitland’s most recognisable community stalwarts joined a prestigious list of Maitland Medal recipients last night.
The spotlight shone on Fred Goode and Selby Green in front of about 70 people when they were presented with the medals at Maitland City Council’s annual Volunteers Christmas Party at the Maitland Senior Citizens Hall.

Full article by Briony Snedden available at Maitland Mercury, 25 Nov, 2010,

Art gallery shining example of heritage, modern blend

From the Maitland Mercury report:
Maitland Regional Art Gallery has become an example to other councils of how to successfully marry art with heritage.

Representatives from Mosman Council, including the mayor, Cr Anne Connon, took a guided tour of the building yesterday with a view to find inspiration for their own venue.

Full article by Briony Snedden available at Maitland Mercury, 23 Nov, 2010.

Paterson Historical Society

From the Maitland Mercury report:
An intricate painting by renowned botanist and former Paterson rector Herman Montagne Rucker Rupp is about to become part of the Royal Botanic Gardens’ prized collection. Paterson Historical Society will donate the 1928 painting to the Sydney Royal Botanic Gardens early next year.
“This painting is an original by Rupp so it’s pretty important and we didn’t want it buried here where no one could find it, because it’s quite precious,” Paterson Historical Society president Dr Cameron Archer said.

Full article by Emma Swain available at Maitland Mercury, 22 Nov, 2010.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

2010 Community Heritage Grants Announced

National Library of Australia announcement:
Seventy groups around the country have received a total of $418 563 through the 2010 Community Heritage Grants.

The grants help community groups and organisations preserve community-owned but nationally significant collections. Some of the recipients this year include the Adaminaby Snowy Scheme Collection, Royal Far West Scheme, the Australian Country Hospital Heritage Association and the Marysville and District Historical Society.

Foundation buys historic East Maitland building for charity

From the Maitland Mercury report:
A piece of East Maitland’s history that has served the community for almost a century will enter a new era as the focal point for those living with cerebral palsy.

The historic East Maitland Post Office will on Friday be reborn as the new home for The Spastic Centre.
The Spastic Centre bought the Day Street premises – which first opened its doors as a post office in 1876 – with a donation from Sargents Pies Charitable Foundation.

Full articleby Emma Swain available at Maitland Mercury, 18 Nov, 2010.

Historic photographic treasures to be catalogued

From the Maitland Mercury report:
An evocative collection of black and white photographs capturing the lives of those living in the Gresford district during the 1920s and early 1930s will be catalogued for posterity. The Gresford Historical Society has been awarded a $1500 grant from the Royal Australian Historical Society to catalogue a collection of images photographed by Robert Joseph Edgar Marceau.

Full articleby Emma Swain available at Maitland Mercury, 18 Nov, 2010.

National Trust Annual General Meeting

The AGM for the National Trust will be held 27 November 2010 and all financial members of the National Trust of Australia (NSW) are invited and encouraged to attend the meeting.

Saturday 27 November
9.30am-12pm
S.H. Ervin Gallery, Watson Road, Observatory Hill, The Rocks, Sydney.

Looking back: Maitland in 1965

From the Maitland Mercury report:
Picture that in Maitland: 1965 is the title of an exhibition that will be on display at Maitland Regional Art Gallery from November 19.

The exhibition will feature a collection of photos from the Maitland Mercury newspaper with more than 50 photos telling a story about what life was like in the mid 1960s.
Mercury photographer and exhibition curator Cath Bowen said there was no particular reason she chose 1965, other than the opportunity to look back 45 years.
Full article by Kate Morris available at Maitland Mercury, 12 Nov, 2010.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Gaol story told for first time

From the Maitland Mercury report:
It is sometimes difficult to portray the realities of life behind the sandstone walls of Maitland Gaol.
But the historical site’s successful transformation from a maximum security prison to a tourist attraction will be told for the first time at a national symposium hosted by Interpretation Australia, a network of people who interpret Australia’s natural and cultural heritage.

Full article available by Briony Snedden available at Maitland Mercury, 09 Nov, 2010.

Britain’s Child Migrants – Australian National Maritime Museum

From the 1860s onwards more than 100,000 British children were sent to Australia, Canada and other Commonwealth countries through child migration schemes. Few were orphans – the majority came from families who were unable to care for them – and most embarked on the long sea voyage alone. The lives of these children changed dramatically and fortunes varied. Some forged new futures, others suffered lonely, brutal childhoods. All experienced disruption and separation from family and homeland.
Where: Australian National Maritime Museum, 2 Murray Street, Darling Harbour
When: 10 November 2010 - 15 May 2011
Cost: Free Museum Entry
More information: Australian National Maritime Museum

Praise floods in for museum’s collection

From the Maitland Mercury report:
Maitland’s clothing and textiles museum houses a 1920s Catholic priest’s garment, called a chasuble, which was recovered from the debris of Maitland’s 1955 flood.
The severely damaged and fragile garment is an important symbol in Maitland’s history and is one of the most significant artefacts in the Australian Museum of Clothing and Textiles (AMCAT) collection housed at Maitland Gaol.

Full article by Rebecca Berry available at Maitland Mercury, 05 Nov, 2010.

Morpeth water tower next to historic Closebourne House

From the Maitland Mercury report:
Morpeth resident and businessman Trevor Richards describes a disused water tower next to historic Closebourne House as a blight on the landscape of Morpeth. The 20-metre high “bloody monstrosity” spoils an otherwise perfect view across the grounds of the former St John’s College and its romantic avenue of trees planted 140 years ago.

Full article by Rebecca Berry available at Maitland Mercury, 04 Nov, 2010.

Fundraising for historic St Peter’s Anglican Church

From the Maitland Mercury report:
A mammoth garage sale planned for next week could kick-start a fund-raising campaign to remove layers of salt that have encrusted much of the historic St Peter’s Anglican Church in East Maitland. The 127-year-old building is already undergoing extensive drainage operations to remove water from under its foundations, Father Michael Davies told the Mercury.
Full article by Alan Hardie available at Maitland Mercury, 03 Nov, 2010

Monday, November 1, 2010

Punters loved Cup winner Posinatus: Morpeth

From the Maitland Mercury report:
Morpeth man Jim Chambers lived in an old cottage on the site of today’s Morpeth Pharmacy. Chambers trained racehorses, which were stabled in a large shed in the backyard. His best horse Posinatus won the Melbourne Cup in 1913. When Posinatus retired from racing he was given to Father Corcoran to ride around his parish at Morpeth.

Full article by Rebecca Berry available at Maitland Mercury, 29 Oct, 2010.

A piece of Maitland Gaol’s long history has been restored.

From the Maitland Mercury article:
The demolished female wing and cookhouse will again cast a shadow against the razor wire-topped wall facing Lindsay Street, when an interpretative project illustrating the outline of the buildings is unveiled at the Bitter and Twisted International Beer Festival on November 6 and 7. Maitland Gaol administration co-ordinator Gordon Sauber said a sandstone outline of the buildings was incorporated into landscaping the site, to indicate the scale of the buildings and where they were located.

Full article by Rebecca Berry available at Maitland Mercury, 29 Oct, 2010.

New 2011-13 NSW Heritage Grants program

NSW Heritage Grants aims to improve the physical condition of NSW heritage items, assist communities to care for their heritage and supports local government in its role as manager of the majority of heritage items in NSW.
2011-2013 Hunter Region Heritage Grants program - Hunter Region Heritage Grants aims to improve the physical condition of Hunter Region heritage items and to assist communities to care for their heritage.

Applications are now invited for:
Hunter Region Works projects for conservation, maintenance and adaptive reuse of State Heritage Register and state significant heritage items.
Hunter Region Works projects for local government heritage assets for conservation, maintenance and adaptive reuse of State Heritage Register, state significant and locally significant heritage items.
More information at NSW Heritage.

Historic home safe, claim developers: Aberglasslyn

From the Maitland Mercury report:
Property developer Stockland has dismissed fears that a new housing development will impact Aberglasslyn House, vowing that all heritage conditions will be met. The National Trust-listed Aberglasslyn House that borders the new residential development has come under scrutiny as Maitland councillors voted to rezone the buffer area around the historic landmark last week.

Full article by Kate Morris available at Maitland Mercury, 25 Oct, 2010.