News from the Newsletters – February 2020

This is a summary of the articles and events taken from the newsletters sent to the Secretary from SEHA Groups and Societies. February 2020. Compiled by Heather Arnold.

Brighton Cemetorians    http://www.brightoncemetorians.org.au/
• The December The Cemetorian has interesting articles on the people buried at the Brighton Cemetery. This issue includes Lieutenant Julius Saulwick (1925-1945) Killed in Action and remembered on the family headstone; Kevin Wallace (1915-1953) founder of the Catholic Worker publication; Eliza Ralph (1874-1920) a nice little story written by Eliza’s great-granddaughter, Vicki Callanan. There is also an article on merchant Thomas Roxburgh (1851-1931) who was also the first person to grow asparagus commercially on the Koo Wee Rup Swamp, written by Heather Arnold.

Chelsea & District Historical Society
• The November newsletter reports on their successful fashion parade held last year. The Society is back in the Chelsea Court House, which has been extensively renovated by the City of Kingston. The February newsletter announces that they will no longer hold luncheons due to lack of volunteers and this same issue impacts on their ability to hold exhibitions as they cannot always get two people to staff the exhibition. There was also a short history of the Patterson Lakes development written by Ron Jacobs. In the 1950s Carrum farmer, Alf Priestly, built a boat ramp on the Patterson River, then added boat storage and two marinas, including the Inner Harbour one. It wasn’t until 1974 that the Patterson Lakes housing estate on canals was established, inspired by Alf’s boating facilities says Ron Jacobs.

Frankston Historical Society     http://www.frankstonhs.org.au/
• The November / December newsletter reports that Alan Ireson who hired out surfboards at Frankston beach from 1958 to 1974 has donated two of the original hire paddle boards and oars to the Society.

Friends of Cheltenham & Regional Cemeteries      http://www.focrc.org/
Raves from the Graves December 2019 reports on their October Cemetery tour – Streets where we live – looking at cemetery ‘residents’ whose families have had streets named after them. There is Part Two on the article on Michael ‘Mick’ Ward, World War One veteran, who passed away in 1962. When his wife died in 1986, their belongings went to members of her family. Amongst their possessions was a suitcase of memorabilia from Mick’s time at the War and on his return to Australia in 1918. The suitcase was acquired by Museums Victoria in 2016. There is also an article on the Beaumaris Churchyard Cemetery, written by Sue Beazley. There were 125 settlers in the cemetery in the grounds of the Beaumaris Methodist Church and in 1954 the Moorabbin Council allowed the church to subdivide and houses were built over the graves – the new street was called Bickford Court, named for James Bickford Moysey. The cemetery operated from 1855 to 1866. There is a memorial at the Cheltenham Pioneer Cemetery listing those who were buried at Beaumaris.

Hastings Western Port Historical Society    http://www.hwphs.org.au/
• The December 2019 newsletter is their 100th newsletter. It has an article about Christmas at Castle Howard in Yorkshire. It is elaborately decorated and attracts 40,000 visitors to the Estate. In the look back ‘100 years ago’ there is an obituary of Joseph Haddock of Hastings who died aged 75 years of age. He was a builder and built the original Hastings Public Hall and Catholic Church.
• There is a Back-to Hastings on Saturday, March 21, 2020. Venue is the Hastings Club from 2.00pm. If you grew up in Hastings from the 1940s to the 1960s then this is for you. Register or more information from Glynn Staggard glynnstaggard@gmail.com

Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society
• The December 2019 newsletter has an article about Frank McNamara, V.C. taken from the Department of Education’s Record of War Service, 1914-1919 book. Frank McNamara taught for a time at Koo Wee Rup North State School. The February 2020 newsletter has an article by Heather Arnold, looking back 100 years at what happened in Koo Wee Rup and surrounds in 1920.

Mordialloc College Alumni Association (MCAA) http://mordialloccollegealumni.org/
• The September 2019 edition of Ventured has a history of the MCAA, which is five years old. There is an article on Tony Edwards who attended the College in 1956 (and then the family moved to Sydney) – it is interesting and nostalgic. Tony became a cartoonist, illustrator with Fairfax newspapers, where he won a Walkley award, and an artist. The December Ventured had a story on past student, Bob Cumberlidge, who left the school in 1949 and became a civil engineer and later a director of various companies including the Adelaide Steamship company and SPC.

Mornington and District Historical Society   www.morningtondistricthistory.org.au
• The November 2019 newsletter has a photo of their past president, Dianne White, receiving her Order of Australia medal from the Governor of Victoria, Linda Dessau. There is also an article on the Moorooduc Quarry, which commenced operations in 1887.

Narre Warren & District Family History Group    http://nwfhg.org.au/
• The February 2020 Spreading Branches reports on the re-organisation of the Lorraine Taylor Research Room at the Cranbourne Library. It’s very spacious now. There is an article on Charles George de Beauvoir Tupper (1872-1893) written by Lynn Bradley. The article was prompted by a photo of George, given to the Group by member Val Holland, who had found it in her in-laws garage. Charles served in the Navy and was killed by the explosion of a powder magazine in Brazil. His connection to Melbourne will be the subject of another story.

Phillip Island & District Historical Society       https://pidhs.org.au/
• The November 2019 newsletter had an article on the proposed Cultural and Community Centre which will include a Library, theatre, galley and space for the Museum. They also have a new Facebook page. The December newsletter reminded us that if you are searching for information on Port Phillip then there are over 50 essays and talks on-line on the website, click on left hand side under ‘Essays and Talks’.

Rye Historical Society   http://ryehistoricalsociety.weebly.com/
• The Whitecliffs newsletter from January-March 2020 has an article on the new interpretive signs in Rye. There eleven signs around the town, showing ‘before’ photos. There is also an article on the Lady Nelson which explored the Victorian coast in 1801/1802 and was the first known boat to have entered Port Phillip Bay. The Rye Historical Society turns 20 in May 2020 and a timeline of significant events of the first ten years of their history is included.

Wonthaggi and District Historical Society   http://www.wonthaggihistoricalsociety.org.au/
• The essay in the November Plod is about Wonthaggi Technical School, which opened in February 1922 with 110 students. A new book has just been published on the school, Deserve Success: the story of the Wonthaggi Technical School by Glenn Sullivan, who was both a student and a teacher at the school. It is available from the Historical Society.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *