This is a summary of some of the articles taken from the newsletters sent to the Secretary from SEHA Groups and Societies, June 2022. Compiled by Heather Arnold.
Balnarring & District Historical Society
The May 2022 Snippets has a number of interesting articles. One by Anna Buchhorn is on General Sir Stanley George Savige (1890-1954). He served in WW1 and in 1923 established Legacy, the organisation to help war veterans and their families. He established the Legacy Camp at Balnarring East to provide holidays for boys. Other articles are about the Haselgrove family who visited Balnarring from 1925 for holidays; activities at the Lord Somers Camp at Coolart and Bill Jackman, owner of the Balnarring Store in the 1960s.
Bass Valley Historical Society
The guest speaker at the Bass Valley Historical Society meeting held on June 5, 2022 was Rob Parsons the author of four books all published in January 2022 – The History of Woodleigh, The History of Kernot; The History of Almurta and the History of Glen Forbes. Lots of information about families, organisations and businesses and lots of photographs. They are available from the author and the Kernot Store https://www.kernotstore.com.au/
Brighton Cemetorians http://www.brightoncemetorians.org.au/
The Cemetorian has many interesting articles on the people buried at the Brighton Cemetery. The June 2022 issue includes brothers William Carroll (1880-1916) and Arthur Septimus Carroll (1887-1921), both born in Ballarat, the sons of John and Sarah (nee Keast) Carroll; John Delbridge (1845-1918), an engineer and former Mayor of Bendigo and Sister Clara Broad (1849-1925), Assistant matron of the Homeopathic Hospital (later called Prince Henrys.)
There is also a tribute to Lois Comeadow, the indefatigable treasurer of the Brighton Cemetorians and editor of their newsletter, who was given a Volunteer Recognition Award from Glen Eira Council in May this year
Chelsea and District Historical Society
The May newsletter includes Alan Bredin’s memories of Chelsea from the 1920s onward; they were written by Alan in the 1960s. The June newsletter has the story of William and Elizabeth Griffiths who came to Aspendale in 1911, where William was an Estate Agent.
City of Greater Dandenong
Benga House, Heritage Hill, 66 McCrae Street, Dandenong presents the exhibition – A Floral Muse. Open Tuesday to Friday, 10.00am to 4.00pm. Details are here https://www.greaterdandenong.vic.gov.au/greater-dandenong-council/events/floral-muse-exhibition
A talk with the curator, Rhonda Diffey, will be held on July 13, at 1.30pm. Free, but bookings essential https://www.greaterdandenong.vic.gov.au/greater-dandenong-council/events/floral-muse-exhibition-talk-curator Afternoon tea will follow.
Dandenong & District Historical Society http://ddhs.com.au/
Annual Luncheon will be held on Saturday, August 27 2022 at the Dandenong Club. More details to follow, I will update the entry, here, on our website when there is new information.
Friends of Cheltenham & Regional Cemeteries https://www.focrc.org/
Raves from the Graves April 2022 – the feature article is on John Henry Weeks (1864-1935) the owner of the Sandringham Cafe in Melrose Street, Sandringham. The newsletter also includes more memories of by Mr W Bruton from his booklet – Carrum to Cheltenham. The foreword of this fascinating collection of memories reads as follows: “Recollections of places, and of those long ago passed away, and of incidents by-gone of Carrum, Mordialloc, Mentone, Spring-grove and Cheltenham, from the early fifties [1850s] to this century, by Mr. W. Bruton, whose life of 75 years has been spent in the district (practically blind during the last six of them) and whose relatives were first comers to the district.
The newsletter has a tribute to recently retired Sue Beazley, the tour guide, Secretary and researcher of the Friends Group. Sue has made a tremendous contribution to the Group over the years, is a wealth of information and she will be missed.
Hastings Western Port Historical Society https://www.hwphs.org.au/
The March newsletter has an article by Lance Hodgins on the Tyabb Combination and Comedy Company which operated for a few years from around 1900. The June newsletter reports thatfoundation and life member of Hastings-Western Port Historical Society, Valda Cole, O.A.M, is one of the 50 women in the Kaleidoscope Exhibition at the Royal Historical Society of Victoria. The exhibition highlights women who have helped shape and nurture community history in Victoria through the RHSV. A well deserved honour for Mrs Cole. More details of the Exhibition here, https://www.historyvictoria.org.au/event/kaleidoscope/
Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society
The March 2022 newsletter has a short history of Tooradin; the April newsletter looks at the life of Frederick Bayles (1884-1915) the namesake of the town of Bayles and the May newsletter has a history of the Koo Wee Rup to Strzelecki railway line – officially opened 100 years ago on June 29, 1922. All the articles by Heather Arnold. The June newsletter includes a report on the successful annual luncheon, where Claudia Barker, O.A.M and former Director of Music at Koo Wee Rup Secondary College was the amazing guest speaker.
Lang Lang & District Historical Society http://www.langlang.net/historical.html
A plaque has been unveiled in the town to honour the work of Gordon Sampson, O.A.M, who was connected to many Lang Lang organisations. The grand-daughter of Dr Niel Gunson, the author of The Good Country: Cranbourne Shire has donated photographs of the Gunson /Nelson families to the Society. Niel Gunson’s grandfather, the Reverend Daniel Gunson, conducted the first regular church services in the Lang Lang area in the 1880.
Mordialloc College Alumni Association (MCAA) http://mordialloccollegealumni.org/
The April 2022 Ventured features stories on past pupils. This issue looks at Marjorie Brooking who joined the school in Form 3 in 1928, have previously been at Glenhuntly State School. 1928 was the year the new school building opened. Marjorie did two years at the School then worked at Robertson and Mullens, the booksellers and stationers. Bill Kupsch attended the school from 1952 to 1956 and was very sporty, very academic, a prefect and a house captain. He later became a teacher.
Mornington & District Historical Society https://morningtondistricthistory.org.au/
The May newsletter has an article by J.V. Simpson about their life in England during WW2. At the start of the War they were in the infants class at Stanburn School in Stanmore. The school was less than two miles from the HQ for RAF Fighter Command. The family was later evacuated to Staffordshire. The Society have two Morning Coffee meetings coming up: July12 – guest speaker is Ruth Quinn, who was a makeup artist at the BBC (more details here); August 9 – Julia Young – the curator at Melbourne University who is collating the material of Dr Cunningham Dax, pioneer in mental health treatment (more details here). Start time is 10.30am, venue is Mornington RSL. Cost is $5.00
Mornington Peninsula Family History Society https://www.mpfhs.org/
The May 2022 Past Times has various family stories from members, and an extensive list of new additions to Ancestry and Find My Past
Narre Warren & District Family History Group http://nwfhg.org.au/
The May 2022 Spreading Branches has an article by Lynne Bradley about a case of infanticide at Syke in 1894. Nineteen year old unmarried Margaret Chrozier, the birth mother and her two sisters – Janet and 13 year old Jane – and her own mother also called Janet, were all charged with the murder of the baby. The three older women were acquitted and Jane (who had been instructed to kill and bury the baby) was found not guilty. The father of the child was said to have been Margaret’s brother-in-law and the crime was only discovered when a doctor needed to be called for Margaret a few days after the birth as she was gravely ill. A tragic story all round.
Their guest speaker at the June meeting was Darren Arnott, the author of No Regard for the Truth: Friendship and kindness, Tragedy and Injustice, Rowville’s Italian prisoners of war. It was a great talk and it is a really interesting book – buy it here https://darrenarnott.com/
Phillip Island & District Genealogical Society http://piadgs.org.au
The Reflections May 2022 has, amongst other things, a short article by Jan Andrews on the value of ‘googling’ when researching family or local history. You don’t know what gems of information you might find.
Phillip Island & District Historical Society https://pidhs.org.au/
The April newsletter has an article by Pamela Rothfield on Thomas Cameron Hull (1851-1904) The article starts with A beautifully illustrated copy of a Certificate of Appreciation dated June 27, 1896 came to the surface in the Society’s collection during the pack up and relocation of the Society’s historic collection. This certificate was honouring Thomas Cameron Hull, Esq. acknowledging him as a firm friend and, in a word, a true man in every sense. The wording on the certificate describes Mr Hull as a good neighbour and states that during his nine years of residence on Phillip Island, his esteem and regard had been ‘deservedly won’. The May newsletter has an article on The Speke, wrecked off Phillip Island in 1906.
Their guest speaker at the June meeting was Maureen Matthews, and her subject was Euphemia Henderson, botanical artist, and who was at one time engaged to Ferdinand Von Mueller, the director of the Royal Botanic Gardens (RBG). Euphemia’s sister, Georgiana, was married to John McHaffie, one of the original European settlers on Phillip Island. The RBG have produced a line of items featuring the work of Euphemia Henderson, see it here https://www.maxwellandwilliams.com.au/collections/royal-botanic-gardens-victoria/euphemia-henderson It was an interesting talk.
Rye Historical Society http://ryehistoricalsociety.weebly.com/
Whitecliffs April-June 2022 has an article by Noel Erbs on Tootgarook Swamp prior to the Fertilizer Works, established towards the end of WW1. There is also an article on James Purves who took over the Tootgarook Pastoral Run in the late 1850.
Somerville Tyabb & District Historical Society http://home.vicnet.net.au/~stdhs/
The March 2022 newsletter has an article on the Peninsula Motor show of November 1927. There is also an article on Tyabb man, Horace Thurlow Russell, who was taken prisoner at the Battle of Fromelles. Horace returned to Tyabb after the War, but sadly died at the age of 38, his war service contributing to his early death.
Wonthaggi and District Historical Society http://www.wonthaggihistoricalsociety.org.au/
The March Plod essay tells the story of the foreshore kiosk at Cape Paterson. It was opened by Bruno and Mary Storti in the mid 1950s. In the late 1950s it was taken over by Attilio and Irma Storti and Irma’s brother Livio Coldabella. The kiosk was demolished in 1966. The April essay looks at the life of William Hamilton Ferguson (1861-1957) – geologist and fossil discoverer. The May 2022 essay is by John Bordignon on what it was like working underground in Wonthaggi’s Coal mine.