AGM SWAN GUILDFORD HISTORICAL SOCIETY 2018

PRESIDENTS REPORT

Executive Committee 2017

The SGHS Executive has included:

Rod Brinkworth: Vice President, Researcher, Tour Team Leader, Gaye Sweeney: Secretary, Archivist. Tour Team Leader, Marketing, Kathy Feucs: Treasurer, Tour Guide, Adriana Brandao: Marketing and Accessioner, Bromwyn Facer: P.R. and marketing, Fay Stockdale: Tour Team Leader, Janet and Warren Harvey: Caretakers, Jean True: Keeper of the Images, Celia Miller: President, Clement Mulcahy: immediate Past President, and Paul Bridges: curator in attendance.

Ann-Marie Meredith: Representing the society on the Royal Western Australian Historical Society Affiliated committee, also representing affiliated committee on the RWAHS Council.

Many of our committee members, are multitasking, a very active group, who support each other. I thank you all for the contribution you make to our society, it is invaluable.

Thank you to: Tour guides, Hirani Nelson, Sue McDermott, Jill Sharp, Robert Watson, Margaret Kidson and Rajes Manohar. Textiles and Costumes Carole Temple and Star Bradtke, Accessioner, Margaret Tasker, Images Marie Price Archivist, Jenny Matut, Volunteers, Min Plunkett, Poul Kirk and Kevin Anderson.

We provide180 hours per week of volunteer labour, which calculated at $35 per hour equates to $315,000.00 per year.

Meeting the Community

1 | P a g e Swan Guildford Historical Society Guildford Heritage Festival 26 March The theme for the display created for the 2017 Guildford Heritage Festival’s was ‘Acknowledging the 100th anniversary of the declaration of World War One,’ based on the little known role played by Guildford in training our troops at the Guildford Remount Depot. Arranged for two militaria collectors to provide complimentary displays that highlighted the South Guildford Remount Depot’s role to break and train horses for use in light horse, artillery and transport units. The new portable display panels were used to explain that after the outbreak of WWI in August 1914 the facility was expanded to include Field Artillery, Field Engineers, Service Corps, Light Horse and the Remount unit. Text included an explanation of the significance of the Hobbs gates established by the City in Stirling Square to honour the centenary of artillery in Guildford.

Statue in Stirling Square Attended an inaugural meeting in Ken Wyatt’s office to establish a committee under the auspices of the SGHS to establish a statue in Stirling Square to honour the 10 Light Horse Regiment. Ongoing.

Anzac Day - Morning Tea Mechanics Institute An annual event, a welcome cuppa and the traditional Anzac biscuit offered to guests after the Anzac service. Jean, Bill and team of helpers, thank you, once again, for organising this event which was so popular we ran out of milk.

Western Australia Day Speaker, Audrey Holland, had us eating out of her hand, with a vivid account, of her ancestors. Audrey, a descendant from free settlers and convicts, said, “Like most, I was unaware of the convicts in my family tree and my mother had no idea that her mother was the daughter of a convict. Then further research revealed that my father’s mother had also been the daughter of a convict. Regardless of what walk of life our ancestors came from or how they arrived, we should all be very proud of them.”

Paranormal Hunters visit the Gaol On Saturday 26 August access was granted to Ivan Kirov and Michelle Walden from Paranormal Hunters to film in the Gaol and Taylors’ Cottage. They required a number of hours automatic filming and then before midnight remove the free standing mounted cameras. The film was edited and the footage is on their facebook page https://www.facebook.com/paranormalhuntersaustralia/videos/1048413555297688/

RWAHS State History Conference Wanneroo and Districts Historical Society, hosted the 2017 conference, held on 8-10 September. This year, we only had one attendee, hopefully we can raise the numbers and attend the conference at Cervantes September 2018.

Vintage Film Event Wundowie to Weir film afternoon, held at the Midland Town Hall, of four short vintage films, screened Saturday 7 October. A collaborative effort by Jude Carr, the City of Swan’s Local Studies Librarian, Mundaring & Hills HS, Midland & Districts HS, Bassendean HS and Swan Guildford HS. Each society organised a display table, highlighting their own organisation.

2 | P a g e Swan Guildford Historical Society Meeting with Lessee Stirling Arms The Historic Hotel continues to be upgraded, the accommodation offered is excellent, and very reasonable. The City are looking at leasing the parking area for town parking. If this happens, the City will upgrade and provide lighting.

Book Launch Gaye, Leo and myself attended a book launch at La Salle College. The book “MAKING A DIFFERENCE” is an historical account capturing the challenges, triumphs and celebrations of La Salle College since its foundation in 1954. Meticulously researched and written by Clement Mulcahy it is in a most easy to read style, this is a book for lovers of history. The 2 volume book set is available from La Salle College, To order your copy by ring 9274 6266. Cost $119.

Stirling Square Committee The Committee holds regular meetings to monitor and protect this significant Square. We meet with representatives from Guildford Association, Swan Guildford HS, St Matthew’s Anglican Church, Guildford Family Play Group, Guildford Heritage Markets, Australian Garden HS. Transition Town and the CoS.

Stirling Square has cultural significance for the following reasons:

 Stirling Square is an integral part of the Guildford community’s sense of place. Positioned in the centre of the town, the Squares acts as both a landmark and venue for recreational, cultural and social activities.  The Square is valued as a meeting place for the Whadjuk Noongar and wider Aboriginal community.  Stirling Square was part of the original town plan for Guildford in 1829, one of the first three towns in the .  The individual aspects of the Square including St Matthew’s Church, the War Memorials, open grassed areas and sugar gum trees all contributes to the aesthetic character of the Guildford townscape.

Shanks Pony Tours Opened Gaol and Taylor’s cottage for an evening Ghost tour conducted by Councillor Patti Williams. A donation of $60 received from Patti.

Local Government Curators Network This group met in November to advance the planning for a joint travelling exhibition on the 150th anniversary of the cessation of convicts coming to WA in 1868. Each participating group will provide the text and images for their panel on their district and those that have convict artefacts will pool these for the exhibition. At the conclusion of the touring each group will get a copy of the introduction panels and their own and SGHS will retain the showcases. The next network meeting will be hosted by SGHS at the Mechanics Institute on 15 March.

3 | P a g e Swan Guildford Historical Society Film on the Harpers Working with director, Rob McGlynn, to provide military information.

Famile and briefing Visit by Councillors and City of Swan Executives to the precinct 21st February 2018, brought genuine response and surprise on the realisation of the importance of the collection, and the work that we do. In the evening I spoke to the councillors at the Midland Town Hall, requesting future funding for our Curator (3 days) and Education Officer (2 days) I now wait until the April council meeting to see if our request will be granted.

Courses Attended WA State Heritage & History Conference May 2017 Three bursary applications were made for Paul, Gaye Sweeney and Celia Miller for $425 ($1,275) to cover the individual registration costs for the above conference. All were successful for the full amount.

Three Day Mosaic Course The Keeper of Archives and an assistant in Artefacts attended a three-day Mosaic course in August. The keepers and their assistants have a high level of competency with Mosaic and I monitor entered data periodically. They are a self-motivated team and require little supervision, but guidance is provided when requested.

Lives in Archives In October Paul, Celia and Jean, Keeper of Images, attended a two-day workshop titled ‘Lives in Archives’ conducted at Notre Dame University and the State Records Office of WA in October.

Guest speakers 2017

We consider providing the opportunity to members and friends to listen to speakers throughout the year an important part of our outreach. We are fortunate to have speakers, who give their time so generously, that share their knowledge and stories unsparingly.

13 February: Nerina Coopes: Pompey Gull – A Man for his Time - Master pearler, Light Horseman 10th & 14th L.H., Cameleer. 13 March: AGM: presentation of items from the Society’s Collection and commentary. 10 April: Tom Goode: The Cold-Footed Mob. A History of the 5th Australian Broad Gauge Railway Operating Company. 8 May: Natasha Kepert: sharing her research on significant Aboriginal sites now associated with West Swan Road, Caversham, Lord Street and Eden Hill. 12 June: John Visca: Colonial Kitchen Gardens an Illustrated talk. 10 July: Steve Howell: The story of Emma Mould – Emma was sixteen years old when she arrived in with the Bussells on the Cygnet. 13 August: Dr.Shane Burke: Butting Heads: History and Archaeology in Western Australia.

4 | P a g e Swan Guildford Historical Society 11 September: Dr. Lydia Edwards: How to Read a Dress and the collection of Swan Guildford Historical Society. Dr. Lydia Edwards says, “As a collection of women’s wear from the 1850’s-1970’s, this assortment of garments must be unparalleled in the rest of WA, and is quite possibly on par with major collections elsewhere in Australia.” 9 October: Philippa O’ Brien: Edmund Du Cane Engineer, artist, comedian, lover. 13 November: Kent Acott: 100 years in Guildford. 12 February: Rod Brinkworth: Tragedy on Old York Road, Greenmount.

Thank you Clem for organising the speakers for 2017, to say it was a good year, is an understatement. A variety of speakers presenting a variety of subjects, and left us waiting for more. More we shall have in 2018, Clem is already on the search to bring speakers that will challenge, inspire and entertain. Next month, we have Lois Haime, who was in the right place at the right time, William de Burgh was looking for someone to type up the content of original letters, Lois offered her services, hence some of the content will be shared in her talk called, “Excerpts from Henry De Burgh’s diary from 1841”.

Relaunch of the Gaol 4 April Dr. Pamela Statham Drew entertained us with the picture she painted of early days “If only the walls could speak, they could tell us of the earliest days of white settlement in Guildford, when Peel’s relocated servants occasionally became drunk and disorderly on a Saturday night, or when a debt could not be paid…for in those days property was almost more important than human welfare. Run-away servants - even if free - were locked up when caught and if sentenced by the Magistrate – which many were – they served further time in gaol.” her talk can be accessed at http://www.swanguildfordhistoricalsociety.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Guildford- Gaol-talk-by-Dr-Pamela-Statham-Drew.pdf

Deputy Mayor David Lucas talked about the renovations completed costing about $300,000, to ensure the heritage landmark will be in place for generations to come.

Guildford Gaol’s multi-faceted revamp included installing new drainage, restoring windows and doors, re-rendering the interior walls and removing dry rot.

5 | P a g e Swan Guildford Historical Society Finishing touches like door colours and hearth reconstruction have all been restored to reflect the building’s original state as much as possible.

Work in progress: The task of re furbishing the inside of the gaol, with artefact, stories, temporary exhibitions, is ongoing, thanks must go to Paul, Rod and Kath who are either up a ladder, painting or changing things round.

A perk for members, you now have free entry to the gaol, wash house and Taylor’s cottage, do pay us a visit. Another perk, members are invited to use our National Trust free entry card for use here and the U.K.

Vision for Guildford “Guildford becomes a “must do” tourist attraction in a similar way to . That people come to view Guildford as a complete historic town with a wealth of heritage buildings and plenty to do and see. The Heritage Precinct will be at the heart of the historic town and offer interpretation, access to heritage buildings and guided tours.”

Leaflets and Mini Leaflets The Society is now displaying our leaflet, “Explore Historic Guildford” in the Visitor Centre, and in the new Midland Quest Hotel, I think the hotel is already open for business. Mini leaflets are given to each of our visitors, we thank Ken Wyatt for printing. Twenty one thousand people, made up of local, overseas visitors, groups and students, have visited our attractions, in the Heritage Precinct, over the last twelve months.

Tourism Accreditation On the 21 September we received this message, CONGRATULATIONS Swan Guildford Historical Society you are now accredited with the Australian Tourism Accreditation Program! Thank you Wendy Davidson for all your hard work and determination to, make this happen.

One of the many exciting benefits of becoming an accredited business is that we are able to have a free listing on the Australian Tourism Data Warehouse (ATDW). ATDW is a central content and distribution platform for the Australian tourism industry. Our business listing will be distributed to key consumer websites such as www.westernaustralia.com, www.australia.com and www.trustthetick.com.au to name a few! We can apply to become a China Ready & Accredited® business.

6 | P a g e Swan Guildford Historical Society Growing our Business  Tourism Accreditation giving more avenues for promotion  Improving product/new displays  Improved and increased marketing  Focus on the Swan Valley as a tourist destination  State Government committed to increasing the value of tourism in WA to $12billion by 2020  Increased focus on Guildford if plan to nominate to the State Register of Historic Places goes ahead. (89% of the community voted yes.)  Potential for World Heritage status

Out and About I am sad to say we haven’t been “out and about” nearly enough this year. Our only visit was to York, Nine members and friends were met in York, and given a guided tour of the town, it was a great day. Thank you Rod for pushing us to “do it”. Thank you Warren, for driving us to and from York.

Christmas Party Organising our annual Christmas Party, for me, became the most difficult event of the year. Thanks must go to Kath, Gaye, Fay, Star and Adriana, our intrepid committee stayers. The biggest stumbling block, was deciding whether to self-cater or hire caterers. Either way the cost would be approx $25 per head, next challenge to charge members or continue to make it a free event. We eventually decided to make it a free event restricted to volunteer workers. It wasn’t offered to other members, who may have been willing to pay. We had a debrief at January’s executive meeting and it still remains an unresolved issue.

Social Convenor We need a small group say 2 or 3 to organise tours and events. I am suggesting this small group become the tour and events committee replacing the social convenor position.

(The RWAHS define this as, “The Society, through its Promotions and Marketing and Tours and Events Committee, organises an annual program of guided history and heritage tours, History Out and About, and events for members and the community. Attendance at social events is confined to members”)

Connecting with the community members and friends

Bi-monthly newsletter We have been producing and delivering our newsletter for 15 years. Every household in Guildford receives a copy.

Janet, Margaret, Sue, Rod and myself are the delivery team. It gives us an opportunity to see what’s happening around Guildford.

7 | P a g e Swan Guildford Historical Society Facebook The Society’s facebook page, Swan Guildford Historical Society Inc - SGHS. is serviced by Adriana, Gaye, Bromwyn and Celia, we are working towards scheduling items in an organised form, spread over the month. Items include, information about temporary exhibitions, promoting neighbourhood history, Throw Back Thursday, what is happening at SGHS today.

Web page www.swanguildfordhistoricalsociety.org.au is in the process of reconstruction by Wendy Davidson and Joe Aquilina.

Data Base Members and friends of SGHS regularly receive information, including newsletters, Histwest, Heritage Matters, MGAWA Ezine, Touchpoint.

Tour Guide Newsletter Produced each month and e-mailed to all tour guides. Includes interesting snippets, procedures, news from 119, news from tour guides.

Grants and donations

Lotterywest Grant An application for two new computers, additional Mosaic licences and an upgrade to the latest Mosaic version 11 has been approved by Lotterywest. This was for a total of $4,069 and includes installation and connection to our network.

Lotterywest Grant Grant of $2,420 from Lotterywest for the production of for labels for the externally displayed precinct artefacts and for text and graphic panels in the proposed revamp of the Gaol interpretation.

Anonymous donation The desktop computer at the Gaol finally ceased to perform. Due to a very generous donation we have been able to replace it with a laptop as well as the necessary hardware – Square card reader and periphery equipment- to accept electronic payments ie: credit and debit cards. To enable making the most of this equipment the dirth of internet access in the Gaol has been addressed by the simple means of a quality external wifi booster. Once the wifi booster is installed and Square account and software is in place we will be able to take payments by card, undertake research on-line and store useful information. Thank you, the equipment has now been purchased.

Anonymous Grant A very generous amount of $500 is now safely in our account, we have yet to determine how this shall be spent.

Save the Guildford Hotel Group The group have donated the remainder of their funds amounting to $503 for our society. They also are to donate the paper trail, balloons, banners, (no socks the Martino brothers took them down along with the banners that were displayed at the time and had a bonfire at the back of the hotel). They are going to write up the story – the highs and the lows – and come back to us. General Business

8 | P a g e Swan Guildford Historical Society We continue on a weekly basis to receive items to add to our collection, we look forward in the next financial year to the City of Swan extending our storage area. This will provide us with space not only for collected items, but an area for our school programme.

We wait to hear if the city will provide us with ongoing funding for our curator and two days funding for an education officer.

Thank you City of Swan track lighting has now been installed in the corridor to the exercise yard to illuminate the convict display and also in the Gaol Justice Room.

Thank you City of Swan for installing split level air conditioning in the curator’s office 119, Swan Street.

Thank you City of Swan for grant of $42,500 allowing us to employ Paul our curator three days per week.

Thank you to our Patrons, Ken Wyatt, MP, Donna Faragher MLC, and Michelle Roberts MLA. for your on-going support.

Members Your support, by joining the society, is important to our existence. Facts and figures talk, it says “you are doing a service that is needed” so please continue to support us.

It would be remiss of me not to say thank you to Gaye, Leo and Rod for setting up Monday nights and setting up the bar. To all who bring goodies to share – thank you.

Warren and Janet, have decided to step down from the executive committee this year. they have served the SGHS well and are always on the look-out as to how can they help, I don’t think that will change. They will continue in the role as caretakers, I have added a couple of my fovourite photos, perhaps I could sum them up as loyal friends, hospitable, good sports, always ready for a bit of fun, and their door is always open.

9 | P a g e Swan Guildford Historical Society