Thursday, January 26, 2012

National Trust Heritage Awards

The National Trust Heritage Awards offer a unique opportunity to showcase individuals, organisations, government departments and community groups who have completed a project that promotes the conservation of Australia’s environmental, built or cultural heritage. Now in its nineteenth year, the National Trust Heritage Awards continue to set an industry benchmark to winners and entrants alike, as well as to provide recognition amongst industry peers of excellence within the field of heritage conservation.

Applications close: Monday 6 February 2012.
Please visit the website
for more information on the Categories, Criteria and the online registration form.

Theme for 2012 History Week Announced: Threads

Theme for 2012 History Week Announced: Threads
They wore what?! Long before the fashionistas of today decided ‘the look’, dress was an important element of human expression. From status to style, culture to professional identity, clothes have defined us. History Week 2012 will explore the history of threads and unpick the meaning behind the wardrobes of the past.
Keep an eye on the History Council NSW website for more information about events and ways to get involved!

Prize for Australian History - Prime Minister’s Literary Awards

The Prize for Australian History is now part of the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards. This Prize is awarded to an individual or a group for an outstanding publication or body of work that contributes significantly to an understanding of Australian history – and it’s not just for books.

Eligible works can include a published book, website, film or radio documentary, CD-ROM, DVD, other form of multimedia or a series of these works.
To be eligible, the work must be first published, produced or broadcast between 1 January 2011 and 31 December 2011. Entries close 1 February 2012.

Maitland Regional Art Gallery

From the Maitland Mercury report:
Maitland Regional Art Gallery has received $100,000 from the federal government to tour its In[Two]Art exhibition.
The exhibition features the work of 30 couples who are practising artists and create work as individuals.
There are 58 artworks that explore a range of topics and thanks to government funding they will now be displayed at venues across NSW, Victoria and Queensland.
Full article available at Maitland Mercury 23 Jan, 2012.

National Archives of Australia

New Minister for the National Archives
In December 2011 the Prime Minister announced a number of changes to ministers’ responsibilities. The Archives is now in the portfolio of the Minister for Regional Australia, Local Government, Arts and Sport, the Hon Simon Crean MP. Minister Crean is the federal Member for Hotham, and was first elected to Parliament in 1990.

'Byte' into family historyWith 75 per cent of the Archives’ enquiries coming from family historians, we like to assist Australians seeking information about themselves and their forebears. One of our most popular family history events is the annual Shake Your Family Tree day, where celebrity speakers, conservators, researchers and archivists share their stories and expertise.
This year’s theme is family history in the digital age. Activities will include talks, information stalls, preservation workshops, tours and the opportunity to pose questions to the experts.
Saturday 31 March 2012 – Most capital cities.
The National Archives website will provide further details closer to the date.

A powerhouse appointment for museum

From the Maitland Mercury report:
Bob Cameron paused in his historic Maitland home surrounded by books from days gone by to reflect on his latest appointment.
Mr Cameron is one of four people chosen to take on the role of trustee for the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, known as the Powerhouse Museum, an honour he is pleased to accept.
The new chairman of the Hunter Valley Training Company would like to forge a deep connection between Maitland and the museum.

Full article by Belinda-Jane Davis available at Maitland Mercury, 20 Jan, 2012.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Historic Houses Trust Australia Day

Celebrate Australia Day 2012 with concession entry to all Historic Houses Trust properties including Hyde Park Barracks Museum, Museum of Sydney, Elizabeth Farm, Rouse Hill House & Farm, Justice & Police Museum, Susannah Place Museum, Rose Seidler House, Vaucluse House, Meroogal and Elizabeth Bay House. Free entry to Government House and The Mint.
* Concession entry is valid for Australia Day 26 January 2012 only. Visitors already eligible for concession entry will not receive any further discounts on Australia Day.
Liked what you saw on Australia Day? Come back for more!
Visit an HHT property on Australia Day and receive a special offer for a return visit to any of our properties: one complimentary admission when another admission of equal or greater value is purchased.

Puzzled by a history mystery

From the Maitland Mercury reoport:
When Angela Wehrle bought her historic Swan Street store in Morpeth last year she found a few old bits and pieces remaining from the former antique store.
One of these items in particular grabbed her attention.
It is a photo of a young child, believed to be a boy, but there is no information to go with the picture.
She would like to reunite the photo with its rightful owners but doesn’t have many clues.
Ms Wehrle said there was a piece of newspaper stuck to the back of the photo, dated 1927.

Full article by Courtney Garnham available at Maitland Mercury, 09 Jan, 2012.

Maitland Showground Grandstand

From the Maitland Mercury report:
Failure to act has caused the Hunter River Agricultural and Horticultural Society to miss out on up to $400,000 from the state government to fix the showground grandstand.
The 100-year-old heritage-listed grandstand has been barricaded for more than a year and needs $500,000 of work to make it safe.
Full report by Belinda-Jane Davis available at Maitland Mercury, 11 Jan, 2012.

National Trust - Miss Porter's House

Australian motifs in needlework - Miss Porter's House
Thurs 26 Jan | 1pm - 4pm - 434 King Street, Newcastle
Celebrate Australia Day by viewing the needlework of Florence Porter and her daughters Ella and Hazel dating back to the early days of the 20th century. Traditional skills which tell their own story of an Australian family in days gone by.
Cost: $7 Adults / $5 Concession / $20 Family | Enquiries: Roland Bannister (02) 4967 0202


Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Gould Genealogy and History is on the move

Gould Genalogy are moving from their Modbury North premises, where they have been at since 2002. They will then operate from two locations from late January 2012, and will continue with their online store as usual.
Onlinefull range will still be available for mail order, though we will discontinue some products we have carried in the past.
Warehouse/distributionstock and order processing and dispatch will be done from an office in the Adelaide Hills. This will not be open to visitors.
Shop/Officea small showroom at Shop 1/1257 North East Road, Ridgehaven

Life was all about living off the land

From the Maitland Merury report:
Mona Bignell often remembers the days of vegetable gardens and milking cows.
"Life was all about living off the land. You would have your calendar of when to plant certain fruits and vegetables and you would only pick what you needed,”
Mrs Bignell came to Maitland in 1942 from Lostock near Gresford, and settled in Maitland Vale with her husband.
She said Maitland felt like a city compared to the small town of her childhood.

Full article by Belinda-Jane Davis available at Maitland Mercury, 03 Jan, 2012.

National Trust digitises delivery

As a National Trust first we are exploring the option of sending the majority of our promotional material including the National Trust Magazine via the internet.
The National Trust NSW is trialing this new method of communication in an effort to save costs and paper as part of our ongoing commitment to sound financial and environmental management.
That means the next edition of the Trust News and the NSW Events Calendar will be delivered to your nominated email address. If you are happy to receive your magazine digitally, there is no need to do anything. You'll automatically receive a link to an online version of our next magazine in February.

Brian Scarsbrick
Chief Executive Officer
National Trust of Australia (NSW)

Society of Australian Genealogists

Getting the Best from GOOGLE

Sat 21 Jan: Richmond Villa - 120 Kent St, Sydney
10.30am-12.30pm.

We all use Google, and the new features constantly being added mean that we can all use it more effectively. We will cover basic Google searching commands and the types of results you might expect. We will then examine the tools to narrow down the results to a more meaningful list. The talk will also cover 'alerts' and 'cached' results. Presenter: Carole Riley.

Bookings essential.
Cost: $25.00 non-members.
$20.00 for members
Contact: Australian Society of Genealogists

Australian Generations oral history project

Australian Generations will pioneer new ways of creating, interpreting and presenting oral history. Life history interviews with 300 Australians born between 1920 and 1990 will create a digital audio archive of 1500 hours of recordings which will be hosted by the National Library of Australia. Future researchers will benefit from online access to an immensely rich national oral history collection.The project will also produce two books and one of Australia's most ambitious radio history series.

Funded by an Australian Research Council Linkage award this project is a partnership between historians from Monash and La Trobe universities, the National Library of Australia and ABC Radio National.
More informaation about the project is available at the Monash University website.

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Inside History Magazine

Inside History is for people passionate about Australian and New Zealand genealogy, history and heritage. In the January-February edition (issue 8):
  • We celebrate 2012 as the National Year of Reading by asking: what's your favourite history book?
  • Our photo expert helps solve a family mystery
  • Discover one home's genealogy in Tasmania
  • The experiences of Australian mothers since 1788
  • Darwin 1942: eyewitnesses before and after the bombings
  • Was your ancestor in the theatre? We look at how to find them
  • The life of a ship's surgeon in the 1800s
  • Plus, why Norfolk Island's world heritage listing is so well deserved
Plus 76 pages of features, practical information on family tree research, chances to network with other genealogists, competitions and product reviews.

War comes to Australia Seminar

Unlock the Past:
This one-day War comes to Australia Seminar is being held the day before departure on the Unlock the Past War comes to Australia: WWII 70th anniversary tour.
Date: Thursday 16 February 10am-4pm
Location: State Records NSW, 2 Globe Street, The Rocks, Sydney
Cost: $50 - bookings now open

History of public education in NSW

Unlock the Past : Christine Yeats will speak about the history of public education in NSW in the 19th and early 20th century. She will draw on sources in the NSW State archives as well as local resources. This event is hosted by the Randwick and District Historical Society.
Date: 18 Feb 2012 2:00pm - 3:00pm
Location: Vonnie Young Auditorium, Bowen Library, 669-673 Anzac Parade, Sydney
Contact: 02 9349 3572    Unlock the Past.

Australian National Maritime Museum

From the Sydney Morning Herald:
Pretend for a moment you're a climate scientist desperate to get accurate ocean temperatures from a century ago. Where would you find them?
Then someone reminds you Britannia ruled the waves at that time, and that the Royal Navy was punctilious about recording daily weather details. Each warship's logbook contains pages of handwritten information on wind speed and direction, cloud formation and water temperatures from virtually every ocean.
But that still leaves you with a problem. How do you accurately transcribe such handwritten figures into electronic data that can be crunched by computer into useful climate models?
The answer, explains Kevin Sumption - the newly appointed director of the Australian National Maritime Museum - was to turn what would once have been a tedious job for professional archivists into an online computer game set in World War I.
Log on to oldweather.org and you will see what he's talking about.

Full article available at Sydney Morning Herald, December 19, 2011.

Australian Family Tree Connections

The new January 2012 issue of Austalian Fammily Tree Connections includes:
The Mist of Hardship, which tells of the search for Robert May; Happy New Year, Daddy, which is a portrait photograph of Frank Dare Jennings. James Middleton, publican who literally shot himself in the foot! And Susannah Harriet (Pike) Harris and her tapestry. There's a photograph of the Julie Marie Abbot’s “Mrs Browning Birthday Book”. Deb (Greening) Kreiger has written a long article about Willie Augustine Greening who was born at Hamley Bridge in April 1882.

Maitland Local Environmental Plan

From the Maitland Mercury report:
The new Maitland Local Environmental Plan has been approved.
The NSW government announced yesterday that Maitland’s 2011 LEP had been approved, which means new areas will be opened for residential development.
The plan includes 130 hectares of land zoned for environmental protection, as well as listing 210 items of local heritage significance and lists 34 items of state
heritage significance.

Full article by Frances Sacco available at Maitland Mercury, 20 Dec, 2011.