South Eastern Historical Association Inc.

Category: Local History

  • Obituary of Mrs Joy Coleman

    Joy Coleman, who passed away at the age of 87 on August 21, 2017,  was a foundation member of both the Hastings Western Port Historical Society in June 1973 and the Somerville Tyabb & District Heritage Society in 1996. Mrs Coleman (nee Webb) grew up in Somerville and lived in the area all her life, she was connected to the early Somerville famillies – the Webbs and the Unthanks and married into the Coleman family, another early, local family.  Mrs Coleman was one of our guest speakers at our 2012 Hastings Discovery School.  An interesting and informative obituary written by Peter McCullough was published in the Mornington Peninsula News and the Western Port News on October 10, 2017 – here is the link to the original http://mpnews.com.au/2017/10/10/vale-joy-coleman-family-orchard-art-community/

    You can also read it in PDF version here    Joy Coleman obituary

  • Local History by L. J. Pryor – a look at Local History in 1946

    The Narre Warren & District Family History Group has a collection of the Education Gazette and Teachers’ Aid journal. They were published by the Education Department of Victoria between 1900 and 1992 and list teacher appointments, Education Department regulations and news; and guides and resources for various subjects amongst other information.

    I came across this interesting article  from the  Supplement to the Education Gazette and Teachers’ Aid Vol. 3, No. 1 February 1946 –  Local History by L. J. Pryor* The article promotes the idea that children who study local history will give them an interest and ‘intelligent attitude’ to world history and world affairs. The author has provided a list of  various topics that could be the subject of projects –
    1. Local topography, climate and vegetation
    2. Aborigines
    3. European Exploration
    4. Pioneer settlement
    5. Stories of the early days
    6. Development of the district
    7. Development of transport and communication
    8. Municipal history
    9. Special topics e.g.eminent personages
    10. Historic Monuments

    There was also a list of potential sources of information
    1. General history books and magazines
    2. Explorers narratives
    3. Government Documents
    4. Newspaper files
    5. Cemetery records
    6. Personal records such as letters, diaries and photographs

    It’s an interesting look at Local History – you can read the full article here    local-history-by-l-j-pryor

    *Leonard John Pryor (1912 – 1991). The Prahran Mechanics’ Institute has a book on L.J. Pryor – Len Pryor leading teacher educator, 1912-1991 : the life and times of L. J. Pryor  by Geoff Pryor (published by the author in 2012). He was