How about the Molly Morgan Mall?

From the Maitland Mercury report:
Maitland woman Pauline Esplund has called for the city’s Heritage Mall to be renamed after Molly Morgan when it is redeveloped.

 

Ms Esplund wrote a poem in the 1990s about ­former convict and landowner Molly Morgan and her influence on the city and said she deserved more recognition, despite having an inn and a road already named in her honour.
“The Levee is a horrible name, it should be renamed Molly Morgan Mall because she was Maitland’s first businesswoman,” she said.
Molly Morgan bought 203 acres at Anvil Creek in 1819 and established the Angel Inn in the centre of the land, which is now Maitland CBD.

Full article available at Maitland Mercury, May 9, 2013.

Your Memento

The new issue of Your Memento can now be viewed at National Archives of Australia.

 

In this issue:

• Find out how the death of an Australian soldier helped change the way the fallen were honoured in World War I

• Uncover the heroic efforts of late 19th-century postal staff in delivering the mail

• Discover the ‘dry’ years of Australia’s national capital and the charismatic politician who fought against ‘stagger juice’

• Explore some of our favourite images of post-World War II migrants from the Destination: Australia website

• Take a look inside the augmented reality experience of Design 29: creating a capital, an Archives exhibition celebrating the centenary of Australia’s national capital

• Meet the Aussie ‘slobs’ who featured in a 1970s campaign against drink-driving

Return to sender? Not if the postie could help it

The National Archives holds a vast collection of post office records that date back to colonial times. Elizabeth Masters reveals the heroic efforts of Victoria’s postal service in delivering the mail, and uncovers creatively addressed envelopes, romantic entanglements and letters sent from disaster zones.

Postal staff in late 19th-century Victoria were justly proud of their investigative skills. They recorded their delivery successes in a file of ‘curiosities’ from 1880 to 1928 that included, among other items, poorly addressed envelopes that required a bit of detective work to deliver.
More information at the National Archives website.

David Jones 175 Years: The Exhibition

David Jones celebrates its 175th birthday with the remarkable and colourful David Jones 175 Years: The Exhibition, which traverses the rich history of one of the world’s oldest department stores in the beautiful surrounds of the iconic On Seven space at David Jones’ Elizabeth Street store, Sydney from Saturday May 25 – Sunday June 23.
With over 100 images and 75 artefacts, David Jones 175 Years: The Exhibition, explores the heritage and innovation of Australia's most prestigious retail brand and takes visitors on a journey across the design, architecture and, of course, fashion that have come to define the history of retail in Australia and become an integral to the fabric of Sydney as we know it.
David Jones 175 Years: The Exhibition includes: mementos from significant milestones in the store’s history, including the arrival of Parisian chic in the form of Christian Dior and Pierre Balmain at David Jones and the royal banquet held On Seven for Queen Elizabeth II in 1954; a retrospective of fashion photography and advertising from the David Jones archive, including Max Dupain and Gordon Andrews; and the unique characters, quirky minutiae and wonderful stories that have all contributed to the David Jones story.
David Jones 175 Years: The Exhibition is open daily May 25 -June 23
Level 7, David Jones Elizabeth Street store

Sydney Living Museums

Historic Houses Trust of NSW, incorporating Sydney Living Museums, cares for significant historic places, buildings, landscapes and collections. It is a statutory authority of, and principally funded by, the New South Wales State Government.
Focusing on the lives that were lived in each of its museums and houses, Sydney Living Museums offers insights into the personal stories of how people lived, worked and played, and vital parts of Australian culture and heritage that are unique and fascinating.

 

A farm track that grew : Maitland

From the Maitland Mercury report:

Although it began as a track across farmland, High Street was the principal road to the Upper Hunter Valley and northern New South Wales from the 1820s until the town was bypassed in modern times.

In the beginning it gave access to the estates of the Upper Hunter but in the late 1830s it led the squatters and their flocks north to the great untouched pastures of the colony.
As these farmers and graziers prospered they sent their produce back down the track through Maitland to be shipped from Morpeth and Newcastle and the business people of High Street prospered as never before, particularly in the retail and wholesale trades.

Full article available at Maitland Mercury, May 3, 2013.