History & heritage

Last Saturday a large crowd gathered at the Shelbourne silos for the unveiling of a series of plaques, celebrating the history of the Shelbourne Railway Station. The plaques are part of Nuggetty Landcare Groups historical projects, including producing calendars and conducting railway walks from Nuggetty to the silos.

Maldon will once again host an event where classic steel bicycles are displayed and ridden. Whether it is an early piece of cycling history from the 1800s, or a more recent steel frame from those artisans still producing steel bikes, it is hoped there will be a solid representation across the eras.

Ali Bohn interviews Bill Revill, now settled in Barham after a full and remarkable life ... "Our new place was in Rhodesia, which happened to be at the beginning of a very nasty guerrilla war. As we arrived, so did the terrorists. It was expected for you to be in the armed forces, so I decided to join the police reserve as I could farm at the same time."

The Museum has had a number of donations recently ... The most recently donated item, in January 2022, is an original 1795 lithograph of Admiral,   Lord Howe – from whom, of course, the island gets its name.

The architect who designed the Lord Howe Island Museum, Michael Tomaszewski (and his two daughters) recently paid a visit the Island museum he designed in the late 1990s. Mike has been a fairly regular visitor to the Island over the past 20 years, often crewing in the now discontinued Gosford-Lord Howe yacht race.

Gabrielle Duykers. A 180-year-old homestead in the heart of Naracoorte will undergo repairs and a revamp before it begins its new life as a bed and breakfast. Dartmoor Homestead was built in four stages between 1842 and 1890. The three-acre property is home to Naracoorte’s first dwelling – a small cottage nestled behind the homestead – built by George Ormerod in 1840.

Brendan grew up at Trevenson Park horse stud in Baringhup, working with his dad ... Brendan has been a member of the CFA since he was 16-years-old and has been the Captain of the Baringhup CFA for the past 23 years, making Brendan the longest serving Baringhup Captain.

The wreck of a Japanese submarine destroyed during a dramatic battle with a Royal Australian Navy corvette 80 years ago today, can now be explored through a virtual reality dive into deep sea.

When Caroline Powell bought a 1949 house on a corner block in Evans Head, she had no idea what was hidden in the walls. Her brother Lyall Powell was renovating and as he pulled the stained plywood off the walls in the entry hall, he came across three panels of posters featuring films from the 40s and 50s.

Ashleigh Murch. Prawn Rock Channel near Ocean Beach is a favourite Denmark swimming and fishing spot ... While the channel was known about from Denmark’s earliest days as a timber milling town, it did not become a popular attraction until the late 1920s when Charlie (CE) Smith started using his boats to take groups down to the channel from the town for picnics or to camp during the summer.

Demand is everything. If more people want an item, the more valuable it becomes — especially when there is only one of them. On eBay, an old postcard of a Kyogle town view is up for sale for $25. And that’s just the starting point as people can bid more on the postcard. The highest bidder gets the item.

Tweed Regional Museum in Murwillumbah is gearing up for a jam-packed school holiday program, including a special display which will appeal to people of all ages. The Museum will have 2 special micro cars on display over the holidays; a Goggomobil Dart and a Goggomobil sedan.

Warwick O'Neill. In 1939, it was on again. The Australian Army Nursing Service was placed on an active footing. As their predecessors had done in 1914, volunteers flocked to the AANS to go abroad in support of the Second AIF. This time around though, the nurses would be operating in a much more dynamic environment. Rather than spending their war in fixed hospitals, behind front lines which barely moved, the Second AIF nurses would be subjected to the Blitz, emergency evacuations, they would become prisoners of war and would need to cope with conditions ranging from freezing desert nights to humid tropical jungles.  

The spirit of Mapoon’s old people could be felt as the community opened its long-awaited church last Thursday. In an emotional ceremony, community leaders spoke of the long battle to have a church built in Mapoon after the state government ripped down the last one in 1963 when it forced all residents to leave the Mission.

Geoff Wharton. The opening of the church at Mapoon last Thursday is an event that links today’s Christian movement in the community with the earliest days of Mapoon Presbyterian Mission and the Moravian Church missionaries who came to evangelise among the Tjungundji People in 1891.

Warwick O'Neill. In England a young lady by the name of Florence Nightingale read of the conditions and wanted to do something about it. As a high-bred lady of Victorian England, society’s expectations of her was to marry well, breed well, and produce many little upper-class mud-magnets for her husband. Fortunately for the world at large she said, in what I assume was a well-educated and well-enunciated voice “Bugger that. You can shove your Victorian standards up your Kyber. I’m off to the Crimea.” Or words to that effect.

As you drive towards Bendigo, past Porcupine Village and the dredge, you will see a sign on the left hand side of the road; ‘Octagonal Gold Processing Plant’. This facility, referred to as “the Mill,”   is still operational and currently processing ore from Kaiser Reef A1 Gold Mine, located 23 kilometres from Jamieson.

It was an exciting day for Moulamein as officials and locals celebrated the opening of the Moulamein Heritage Village. Situated on the corner of Cedar Avenue and Paterson Street, the former vacant land is now home to some of the district’s historical gems. Locals pursued a vision to construct the historical village for visitors and locals to enjoy with the added benefit of doubling as a venue space for events, weddings and music concerts.

South Australian based group ‘The Headstone Project’ recently dedicated the graves of 18 veterans of WWI who lay in the Port Pirie cemetery in unmarked graves with a dedication ceremony held on 20 November 2021.

Founded and forged in the Victorian Goldfields, the Maldon Town Lamp has been perfectly recreated from the Victorian Gold Rush era, a time where most small towns made their own lamps locally and did so with limited resources.

The Denmark Historical Society surprised Shire councillors with the marking of 110 years of local government in the shire recently. By tradition after every Shire election, councillors and the Shire chief executive are invited to the Denmark Museum to be shown the historical society’s work. One hundred and 10 years ago this year George Flay and JD Smith successfully campaigned for the Denmark Road Board which was gazetted in August 1911.