This is a summary of the articles and events taken from the newsletters sent to the Secretary from SEHA Groups and Societies. August 2019. Compiled by Heather Arnold.
Brighton Cemetorians http://www.brightoncemetorians.org.au/
• Forthcoming events: October 6 – Jewish graves – http://seha.org.au/event/brighton-cemetorians-cemetery-tour-jewish-contribution
• October 20 – Graves connected to the Boyd family http://seha.org.au/event/brighton-cemetorians-cemetery-tour-boyd-family-of-artists-walk
Chelsea & District Historical Society
• The May newsletter contained a report on the Chicken and Champagne luncheon attended by 105 people. There is a short biography of Hugh Rigby, who arrived in Carrum in 1898 and operated a dairy farm. He was also a builder. He died in 1950 aged 86. There is an excerpt from the City of Chelsea News of August 6, 1959 about the death of Frank Groves, the first Mayor of the City of Chelsea, who died June 3, 1959, at the age of 86.
City of Moorabbin Historical Society https://victoriancollections.net.au/organisations/box-cottage-museum#collection-records
• The Society operates Box Cottage in Jasper Road in Ormond, thought to have been built in the 1840s. William and Elizabeth Box lived there from 1865 to 1914. It is opened on the last Sunday of the month from 2.00pm to 4.00pm or by appointment.
Dromana & District Historical Society http://avoca.vicnet.net.au/~dromana/welcome.htm
• The May newsletter has a request for family information on their WW1 soldiers for a proposed publication. They are looking for information about the soldier’s lives before and after they enlisted.
Friends of Cheltenham & Regional Cemeteries http://www.focrc.org/
• Raves from the Graves May 2019 has a story by Rosemary Reddick on the Reverend Canon Fred Wray (1864-1943). He was a Chaplain in the Boer War and the Great War, serving at both Gallipoli and the Western Front. When he returned to Australia, he was appointed to Holy Trinity Cathedral at Wangaratta. He retired in 1935 lived in Sandringham. Sue Beazley is the author of an article on the Brigidine Nuns who established St Patrick’s College and Kilbreda College, both in Mentone.
Hastings Western Port Historical Society http://www.hwphs.org.au/
• The June issue has an article on two Scottish fishing families – the Carstairs and the Mentiplays. William Carstairs was the brother-in-law of Thomas Mentiplay, Thomas being married to Margaret Carstairs. The families moved to the Gippsland Lakes in the late 1870s, when the Melbourne to Sale railway line opened up the area. The article has information on the early days of the fishing industry at the Gippsland Lakes. William Carstairs is the great-uncle of John Woolley, who attends our SEHA meetings for Hastings. One of their guest speakers at their Morning Coffee meeting was Jenny Bryant, who rescues and cares for injured koalas, with the aim being to return them to their original habitat. The newsletter has a report on her interesting talk.
Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society
• The June newsletter had an article by Heather Arnold on local High Schools. The July issue has reproduced the Koo Wee Rup and Lang Lang Identities, published in the Weekly Times in February 1950. See the Koo Wee Rup feature here http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article225452841 and the Lang Lang here http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article225443615
Lang Lang & District Historical Society http://www.langlang.net/historical.html
• The June newsletter has a biography of Peter James Post (1872 – 1928) the foundation President of the Lang Lang RSL. He was a Boer War and Great War veteran.
Mornington and District Historical Society www.morningtondistricthistory.org.au
• The May 2019 newsletter has an article about the Langwarrin Military Reserve and Toorak College in Mt Eliza, which started in 1874.
Narre Warren & District Family History Group http://nwfhg.org.au/
• The May 2019 Spreading Branches has a report on the Group’s 30th anniversary celebrations. The Research room at the Cranbourne Library has been named the Lorraine Taylor Research Room. The Group first met in Lorraine’s lounge room at her house in Narre Warren. There is a story by Fay McCoubrie on her great-uncle, James Roulston, who was one of the ‘Lost Soldiers of Fromelles’ whose grave was discovered by Lambis Englezos and his colleagues in 2008.
Phillip Island & District Historical Society https://pidhs.org.au/
• The May 2019 newsletter had an article on Alice Robinson, a generous supporter of the Society who passed away in April 2018.
Rye Historical Society http://ryehistoricalsociety.weebly.com/
• The Whitecliffs newsletter from July-September 2019 has an article by John Bertacco on local Indigenous place names, such as Balnarring, Moorooduc and Tyabb. There is also an article on a proposed railway line that was to go from Frankston, to Rye and Sorrento, in the 1880s. It never eventuated.
Somerville Tyabb & District Heritage Society http://home.vicnet.net.au/~stdhs/
• The June 2019 newsletter an obituary on Arthur Comelli (1921-2019), who operated the Welcome Motors garage in Somerville for over 50 years. There is also an obituary on Eric Unthank (1923-2019) educated at Tyabb State School and Frankston High he became a teacher, then a lecturer at Melbourne University and Dean of Burwood State college.
Wonthaggi and District Historical Society http://www.wonthaggihistoricalsociety.org.au/
• The essay in the May 2019 Plod is by Rod Churchill on racing pigeons and the Wonthaggi Pigeon Club. The June 2019 Plod essay is a look at old remedies such as ‘cures’ from coughs, piles, tumours and wounds. The July Plod essay has reproduced cartoons from the Criterion, Wonthaggi’s first newspaper. The cartoonist was Cyril Dodds.