Category: SEHA News

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

Balnarring & District Historical Society

• The February Snippets has an article by Mary Karney based on some entries from Georgina Oswin’s diary. Georgina was her grandmother and she lived in Merricks. She also has an article on the Fritsch family of Balnarring.  Mary Ross (nee Nobelius) writes about her childhood days at Balnarring. The May Snippets has an article about some of the servant girls who worked at Tom & Elsie Cole’s house, Larnoo, at Merricks in the 1920s and 1930s. These girls were wards of the State and they were given board and wages and the Coles were responsible for their medical and religious welfare. Terry Mulcahy has an article about the building of a family home at 2 York Avenue in Balnarring in 1954/1955.

 Brighton Cemetorians    http://www.brightoncemetorians.org.au/

• The March The Cemetorian has interesting articles on the people buried at the Brighton Cemetery. This issue includes Philip Ack Hing (1864-1939) a herbalist and leader of the Chinese Masonic Society; Maureen White (1924-2016) who grew up on Ocean Island, was taken captive by the Germans in World War two and then worked for the Red Cross; Elizabeth Nissen (1918-2016) the first registered dietitian in Victoria; Henry Buck (1860-1933)  the clothing retailer. There is also an article on members of the Beadle family who arrived in Australia in 1852.

 Frankston Historical Society    http://www.frankstonhs.org.au/

• The February 2020 newsletter has an article on Frankston’s Aerated Spring Water & Cordial making factory, established in 1889 on the corner of Clarendon Street and Frankston-Flinders road. The natural spring water came from a spring on Hastings Road.

Friends of Cheltenham & Regional Cemeteries     http://www.focrc.org/

• Raves from the Graves April 2020 reports that the old Cheltenham Railway Station has been dismantled due the Sky Rail project. It is hoped that the building will eventually be able to be used for community purposes. There are a number of articles about people buried at the Cemeteries. George (Roy) Beardsworth (1888 -1939), was a tireless worker for the City of Chelsea. He was a committed Trades Unionist, local councillor and instrumental in establishing the Mordialloc Chelsea High School in 1924. There is also an article on William Stanley Caulfield, who was awarded the Military Medal  in World War One. He died at the Caulfield Military Hospital in September 1919. A headstone was unveiled in January for Private John Ernest Dunbar, who was buried in an unmarked grave in 1925. He had served in the 13^th and 34^th Battalions. Sue Beazley, who also wrote the article on George Beardsworth, has written an article on the life of Eliza of the Bunurong Tribe, who died on the bank of the Mordialloc Creek in 1877, aged 55.

Hastings Western Port Historical Society     http://www.hwphs.org.au/

• The March 2020 newsletter has a story by Lynda Tredwell on the Great Air race of 1919 from England to Australia. The prize of £10,000 was won by South Australians – Captain Ross Smith, Lieutenant Keith Smith, Sergeant Wally Shiers and Sergeant James Bennett. To win the prize they had to complete the journey in 30 days and they touched down in Darwin in 27 days and 20 hours.

Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society

• The March 2020 newsletter has a report of the Museum re-opening. It was closed for over 2 years due to maintenance issues. 75 people attended and Mayor of the Cardinia Shire, Cr Jeff Springfield did the official opening. The April newsletter has an article, by Heather Arnold, on Infectious Diseases in the past and the impact on local communities. The May newsletter has a comprehensive list of local place names and their meanings, written and researched by Heather Arnold. You can see her full list here https://seha.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Place-names-and-their-meanings-1-2.pdf

Lang Lang & District Historical Society   http://www.langlang.net/historical.html

• The March 2020 newsletter has a report of the Australia Day display at the Memorial Hall. There are some articles from the newspapers looking at aspects of Lang Lang’s history.

Mordialloc College Alumni Association  (MCAA)    http://mordialloccollegealumni.org/

• The March 2020 Ventured reports that the MCAA were nominated for the City of Kingston Australia Day Community Group of the Year award. Even though they did not win it is wonderful that the Group are getting some recognition for the work they are doing to preserve the history and memories of the College.

Mornington and District Historical Society      www.morningtondistricthistory.org.au

• The February newsletter has an article on Lady Tallis (nee Amelia Young) of Beleura, Mornington. Lady Tallis established the first Opportunity Shop in Australia; it was to raise funds for St Vincent’s Hospital. Previous to this there had been one-off jumble sales, but Lady Tallis’ shop was the first that was an on-going concern. It was in the old Cyclorama building in Victoria Parade. The information about Lady Tallis’ work came from Robyn Annear’s book Nothing New: the history of second-hand shops (Text Publishing, 2019)

Mornington Peninsula Family History Society  https://www.mpfhs.org/

• The Peninsula Past Times newsletter of May 2020 has an article, by Pam Norman, on James and Mary (nee Tennant) Somers who arrived in Melbourne in 1874 on the Oakworth. They lived for a time in the Cranbourne area, then moved back to Melbourne. Mary Vandefeen has written an article on Melbourne and the Irish famine and Gerry Adams on Dr Sidney Plowman, a pioneering Frankston doctor.

Narre Warren & District Family History Group   http://nwfhg.org.au/

• The May 2020 Spreading Branches looks at Lawson Poole, the namesake of Lawson Poole Reserve in Cranbourne; it has some photos from the Max Thomson collection of students at Harkaway State School performing the play Rose of Joy. The accompanying article is written by Eileen Durdin. Lorraine Taylor has written an article on her grandfather, Francis Sharp, who died in 1945 at the age of 66.

Phillip Island & District Genealogical Society

• The February Reflections has an article on St Patrick and his Saint’s day. The May Reflections has an article by Rose O’Meara on her great-uncle, Leslie Carter, who died of wounds in Belgium in 1917.There was an article by Sue Viney on the benefits of being  a member of the Find My past forum – even if some of her ‘brick walls’ were not solved she received useful information and help. The newsletter also has a regular column Philip Island in the News – a look at the history of the Island through newspaper articles.

Rye Historical Society       http://ryehistoricalsociety.weebly.com/

• The Whitecliffs newsletter from April – June 2020 reported that the Rye Historical Society turns 20 in May 2020 and a timeline of significant events of the second decade of their history is included. There is an article on the HMS Renown. In May 1920, the Prince of Wales was on board, coming to Melbourne for a Royal tour. The Renown was stuck at the Heads due to thick fog and the Royal entourage had to be transferred to the HMAS Anzac, off Rye, to make the final part of the voyage to Melbourne. In another maritime story the newsletter has a story on the RMS Orsova, which run aground near Rye in July 1932.

Wonthaggi and District Historical Society   http://www.wonthaggihistoricalsociety.org.au/

• The essay in the February 2020 Plod has an article A Hive of Activity by Jack Moyle who worked in the family carrying business and carted goods to and from the Wonthaggi Railway Station from 1949 until 1977, it was indeed a ‘hive of activity’. The March Plod essay is a look at the first thirty years of the Society, which turned 50 in 2019. The April Plod is a story about the Wonthaggi connection to the Lone Pine on the Gallipoli Peninsula, written by C. Landon.  The last of the Allied soldiers retreated from Gallipoli in December 1915 and Sergeant Thomas Keith McDowell, a former miner from Wonthaggi, souvenired a pine cone from the destroyed tree and carried it with him during the rest of his service and after he arrived home he gave the cone to his aunt, Emma Gray, who lived near Warnambool. Mrs Gray produced some seedling from the pine cone seeds and gave one to the Warnambool Botanic Gardens and one was eventually planted at the Shrine of Remembrance. The May Plod has a story on the family and working life of Wonthaggi miner, Joe Soppitt (1902-1999) based on an interview he did with Joe and Lyn Chambers in 1982.

 

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.