South Eastern Historical Association Inc.

Category: Society News

  • Moorabbin Historical Society turns 60

    Congratulations to the Moorabbin Historical Society who are celebrating 60 years of preserving and collecting history. Tom Sheehy was instrumental in establishing the Society and the first meeting was held on October 26, 1960 at the Moorabbin Town Hall. The Society is based at Box Cottage in Ormond.

    More information- http://home.vicnet.net.au/~cmhsbcm/

    The Glen Eira News has published an article on the Society, you can read it in the October 2020 edition http://gleneira.smedia.com.au/news/#
    This is the text of the article –
    Moorabbin Historical Society celebrates 60 years
    October marks the 60th anniversary of the Moorabbin Historical Society. We spoke with Joan Moore and Carol Poole about the early years of the Society and plans for the future.

    Congratulations on your 60th anniversary. When and how was the Society established?
    Local historian Tom Sheehy instigated, organised and motivated the first meeting on 26 October 1960 at Moorabbin Town Hall, where it was resolved that an historical society be formed in Moorabbin. The name “City of Moorabbin Historical Society” was later adopted. Early members included Clarice Whitehead, Nance Blackman, Joan Marshall and Hazel Deam, who along with Les Schumer contributed valuable records to the Society in those early years.

    The Society moved around quite a bit before finding its permanent home at Box Cottage, Ormond. Tell us about that.
    At first the Society met wherever we could, including at some people’s homes. It later operated out of a home called Healey’s, formerly The Grange, and at times from Moorabbin Town Hall. In the early 1980s, the Society left The Grange after it was broken into and most of the Society’s collection stolen. The property was later sold and demolished.

    Around the same time, local timber merchant Laurie Lewis drew attention to the historic, but slightly dilapidated Box Cottage on his Ormond property. In 1983, Moorabbin Council gave permission for the cottage to be relocated to Joyce Park next to his business on Jasper Road.

    Laurie donated the timber so that the Cottage could be reconstructed. He also donated the timber for the barn to be built at a later date. By 1984, the reconstruction of Box Cottage was well underway. A lease was arranged by Council and the Moorabbin Historical Society had finally found its home.

    Can you tell us a bit about the collection?
    Much of the original collection was unfortunately stolen from The Grange in the early 1980s. The Society soon set about re-building its collection with donations from locals.

    The cottage itself is a reconstruction of a small settler’s cottage, c.1840s. Box Cottage is named after long standing residents William and Elizabeth Box, who lived there from 1865 to 1914 with their 11 children. Many of the original cottage’s items have been incorporated. The Cottage Museum also houses an interesting eclectic collection of historical artefacts and photos that have been generously donated over the last 50 years by local residents.

    A lot of work has been done by members over the years to make the Cottage and barn a showcase of how the early settlers lived and worked in the area, and this work is still ongoing today.

    How did the 1994 Council amalgamations affect the Society?
    The amalgamations meant that the City of Moorabbin was split three ways between the new councils of Bayside, Glen Eira and Kingston. The Moorabbin Historical Society, being located in the new Glen Eira area, soon found itself straddling two councils — much of our history in Kingston, and our governance in Glen Eira. We enjoy working with both councils and both are very supportive of the Society to this day.

    You’ve always played an important role in the community. What are some of the events and activities you are most proud of?
    The Cottage has always opened on the last Sunday of each month, staffed entirely by volunteers. Over the years we have had visits from local schools and we have also visited schools to do historical presentations. The Society has also held history displays at Southland Shopping Centre and Bentleigh Shopping Centre.

    We’ve produced regular newsletters over the years and we are cataloguing and photographing our artefacts so that they can be viewed on the Box Cottage pages within the Victorian Collections website.

    What do you wish for in your 60th year and beyond?
    In our 60th year, the present committee and members are passionately involved in keeping the Society going. Our hope is that we can attract some more members a bit younger than us to join and take the Society to its 100th birthday.

     

  • News from the Newsletters – August 2020

    This is a summary of some of the articles taken from the newsletters sent to the Secretary from SEHA Groups and Societies. August 2020.

    Bass Valley Historical Society   https://bassvalleyhistoricalsociety.com.au/
    • The Bass Valley Historical Society is sad to share the news of Anwyn Martin, who passed away on July 23, 2020 at Banfields Aged Care in Cowes. Anwyn was a foundation member of the society and contributed in many ways from executive committee member, researcher and world class contributor to the knowledge of our area and the explorers and pioneers who made it. Her work on Matthew Flinders has been acknowledged worldwide. She will be farewelled in a private cremation service and a memorial service will be held at a later date.

    Brighton Cemetorians     http://www.brightoncemetorians.org.au/
    • The June The Cemetorian has interesting articles on the people buried at the Brighton Cemetery. This issue includes John Thomas Thynne (1889 -1945), Secretary to the Minister for Agriculture; Severino de Marco (1894 -1961), who operated De Marco Brothers terrazzo business in South Melbourne from 1936; Matthew Bennett (1862 -1951), M.L.A and Cranbourne Shire Councillor; Alice Lovell Clarke (1851 -1916), wife of the Archbishop of Melbourne; Torrington George Ellery (1872 -1923), Town Clerk of Melbourne.

    Friends of Cheltenham & Regional Cemeteries   http://www.focrc.org/
    • Raves from the Graves August 2020 reports on the update to the Cheltenham Railway Station which, for a time, prevented access to the Cemetery. There are memories of Fairlie Taylor of life in Cheltenham and Beaumaris from early times. Sue Beazley has written an article on Cr Edwin Thomas Penny J.P (1849 -1916) farmer and Moorabbin Shire Councillor. There is a push to have some of Cheltenham renamed Pennydale.
    • Sue has also written an article on artist Clarice Marjoribanks Beckett (1887-1935). The City of Bayside have named one of their new Council Wards after her. You can see the others, here – https://www.bayside.vic.gov.au/news/new-wards-new-names The final article in the newsletter is on another artist, John Mather (1848 -1916), written by Travis M. Sellers and Sue Beazley. Mather was a contemporary of artists Fred McCubbin, Tom Roberts and Arthur Streeton.

    Hastings Western Port Historical Society http://www.hwphs.org.au/
    • The June 2020 newsletter has a story by Shirley Davies, Found Dead, about Peter Orsini, found shot dead in July 1868. Peter was a 24-year-old fisherman from Hastings. The inquest verdict was that it was an accidental death but was there more to the death – was he actually murdered and was the Mafia involved?
    • The porch from the old Hastings Reorganised Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints (built in 1887) is being re-erected in the Museum gardens; after many months, the Council has finally approved the paperwork, so the work can commence.

    Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society
    • The June 2020 newsletter has an article by Heather Arnold on Matthew Bennett, M.L.A. It’s the same article which was published in the Brighton Cemetorians newsletter. The July and August newsletters have parts one and two of Henry Boxshall’s three-part history of Yallock. It was written in 1957 and published in the Koo Wee Rup Sun in June 1968.

    Mornington and District Historical Society www.morningtondistricthistory.org.au
    • The May newsletter has an article on the Society’s trip to the Emerald Museum and Nobelius Heritage Park in February. You can read all about the Emerald Museum and Park here, https://www.emeraldmuseum.org.au/ There is also an interesting article by Malcolm Rosier on Roman Numerals and Clocks. The number four in Roman numerals is written as IV, but on clocks it is always IIII. Why? Two theories – Jupiter, the Roman supreme deity was spelt as IVPPITER in Latin and thus it was considered to be disrespectful to have part of his name on a clock. The other theory is that it looks more symmetrical to have IIII opposite the eight, VIII. Interestingly, Big Ben has the four as IV.

    Mornington Peninsula Family History Society https://www.mpfhs.org/
    • The Peninsula Past Times newsletter of August 2020 includes an article, by Leonie Marshall and Pam Norman, on Thomas Rennison – Carpenter, Hotelier, Huntsman and Horse Trainer. He operated the Schnapper Point Hotel in Mornington and later the Mordialloc Hotel. He was also a Shire of Mornington Councillor. He died in 1905, aged 81.
    • There are articles on family history websites you can access from home and Irish Records. It is a myth, says the writer Mary Vanderfeen, that all Irish records were destroyed in the fire of 1922.

    Narre Warren & District Family History Group http://nwfhg.org.au/
    • The August 2020 Spreading Branches has an article on Officer by Ray Welsford, whose mother was a Tivendale, an early family in the area. There is the second part of the story on Lieutenant Charles George de Beauvoir Tupper, by Lynne Bradley. There are also two articles connected to Harkaway, written by Barbara Sharp – one is on her father, Ron Wanke and the other on her great, great grandmother Caroline Charlotte Aurisch, nee Tschirner.

    Rye Historical Society http://ryehistoricalsociety.weebly.com/
    • The Whitecliffs newsletter July – September 2020 has a history of the Tyrone Homestead at Rye. It was built in the 1850s by Owen and Sarah Cain. One hundred years later it was the club house at a golf course, which was later sub-divided. Fortunately, the homestead still remains and is now a private home. Owen and Sarah Cain’s son, John, was a councillor for 34 years with the Flinders & Kangerong Shire. John Hazledine has written an article on Early mail services to Rye and John Bertacco on the use of drones in historical research.

    Wonthaggi and District Historical Society http://www.wonthaggihistoricalsociety.org.au/
    • The essay in the June 2020 Plod is called Wild Times in a Mining town, based on interviews conducted by Joe Chambers in 1983 with ‘old timers’ Alan Bremner and Harry Haddow. They covered the 1934 strike, weekend entertainment, the two-up school, street fighting and fights down the mine.

    Australia: land of milk and politics by Bill Pyle, with Kevin Carmody
    • This book was sent to the SEHA from Russell Broadbent, M.H.R for Monash. Bill Pyle was the President of the United Dairyfarmers of Victoria, after it was established in 1976. Bill, born in 1934, grew up on a dairy farm at Cranbourne. The family later moved to Gainsborough (south of Warragul). Bill and his wife Bev bought a farm in the same area where they raised their family of seven children. The book is about both his farming life and his political life with his involvement with the UDV.