Dead Man's Penny a memorial to those who died during World War I

From the Maitland Mercury report:

When Donald Cracknell died on the battlefields of France in 1916 a bronze medallion was delivered to his mother. 

The Dead Man’s Penny, sent on behalf of King George V, did little to ease Susan Cracknell’s heartache of losing her 23-year-old son.  

“None of them spoke about him,” the young soldier’s niece Adele Cockburn said.  “In my grandmother’s lounge room there was a round table with a Bible and Uncle Donald’s photo next to it. 

“There would always be a bunch of flowers on the table.”

Mr Cracknell was a 22-year-old lorry driver from the village of Kayuga outside of Muswellbrook when he enlisted in West Maitland on November 4, 1915. 

 

Full article available at Maitland Mercury, April 23, 2014.

Share stewardship of one of our most significant homesteads

Are you interested in the conservation and management of historic properties, and ready for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity? If so, you might be the right person to take up a 40-year leasehold of Throsby Park, Moss Vale.This 74-hectare estate played a vital role in Sydney’s early history. Granted to Dr Charles Throsby by Governor Macquarie in 1819, it was the first and earliest land grant in the Southern Highlands. Throsby Park House (c1834) was home to six generations of the Throsby family.

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Morpeth museum and Maitland art gallery in heritage award finals

From the Maitland Mercury report:

Maitland has two finalists in different sections of the National Trust Heritage Awards.

Morpeth Court House Museum and Maitland Regional Art Gallery art and heritage audio tour will vie for an award in their respective categories.

The museum is entered in the adaptive reuse category, while the gallery is in the education and interpretation category.

Winners will be announced at Daltone House in Pyrmont, Sydney on May 14.

Built by William Cains and ­completed in September 1862, Morpeth Court House is in the middle of town on the corner of Swan and Northumberland streets.

 

Full article available at Maitland Mercury, April 23, 2014.

Fromelle Diggers names to be revealed - Maitland World War I Diggers

From the Maitland Mercury report:

The names of three Maitland World War I Diggers buried in a mass grave in northern France may be revealed this week in a poignant lead-up to Anzac Day.

The WWI soldiers are believed to be among the 20 Australians recently identified by DNA after their tragic deaths during The Battle of Fromelles 98 years ago.

The diggers expected to be included on the list are Weston miner Private James Balsdon, 27, of the 30th Infantry Battalion, West Maitland auctioneer Private Claud Yeo, 40, also of the 30th Infantry Battalion and Pelaw Main fitter, Sergeant William Wass, 33, of the 54th Infantry Battalion.

 

Full article available at Maitland Mercury, April 22, 2014.

Millers Forest farmers want historic hay sheds saved

From the Maitland Mercury report:

They are the endangered species of Maitland’s farming landscape.

Ramshackle structures built decades ago in a reflection of the city’s agricultural past.

And according to Millers Forest farmers Selby Green and Tony O’Hearn the humble hay shed is facing extinction.

“These hay sheds are so important to the landscape and history of Maitland, but people are just knocking them down to replace them with garden sheds and lawn lockers,” Mr Green, 67, said.

 

Full article available at Maitland Mercury, April 21, 2014.

Morpeth Post Office could be put to use as a vet clinic

From the Maitland Mercury report:

Hunter residents could soon take sick and injured pets to Morpeth’s historic post office building for treatment.

Maitland City Council is considering an application to convert the 1880 Swan Street building into an animal medical facility. 

Council staff recommended that councillors approve an application to change the permitted use of the former post office and allow minor internal changes and signs to accommodate a vet clinic.

 

Full article available at Maitland Mercury, April 21, 2014.

Looking back on ’55 Maitland

From the Maitland Mercury report:

June and Frank O’Brien left their Horseshoe Bend home with nothing more than a bag filled with comic books and a bottle of coke when the 1955 flood inundated Maitland.

They were married not quite one year when they had to get out of Portland Street and walk along the railway line in Maitland to safety and family at Greta.

 

Full article available at Maitland Mercury, April 19, 2014.