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Blu.e Mou.ntains +-listol"'ical Sode+)! inc. PO Box 17 WENTWORTH FALLS 2782 'HOBBY'S REACH' 99 Blaxland Road WENTWORTH FALLS

Hobby's Reach Phone No. 02 4757 3824 Vol.11 No.2 July/Aug 2000

MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

President Valerie Craven 4757 3433 Vice President John Glass 4757 1821 Secretary Roberta Johnstone 4757 2024 Treasurer Shirley Jones 4757 2270 Members Josephine Adam 4759 1022 Members Peter Gunton 4787 7335 Barrie Reynolds 4757 4735 Graham Wam1bath 4757 3402

SUB-COMMITTEE CO-ORDINATORS Research Officer Joan Smith 4757 4009 Curator Coral Ewan 4784 1831 Traditional Garden Josephine Adam 4759 1022 Maintenance Clyde Francis 4759 1774 Native Garden Noreen Skellam 4757 1845 HR Helpers Valerie Craven 4757 3433 Walks & Talks Josephine Adam 4759 1022 Photocopiers Michael Finlay 4757 1584 Publishing Graham Warmbath 4757 3402 Bookshop & Editor Susan Warmbath 4757 3402 Membership Secretary Elizabeth Finlay 4757 1584 Publicity Geoff Dunn 4757 3233

Diary Dates Continued

Tues July 11 10 am Hobby's Reach Research Fri 14 9 am Friends of Tarella Tues 18 Hobby's Reach Research; Gardening Fri 21 9 am Friends of Tarella Sun 23 Tarella Open 10 am to 4 pm. Tues 25 Hobby's Reach Research Fri 28 9 am Friends of Tarella Tues Aug 1 Hobby's Reach Research; Gardening Fri 4 9 am Friends of Tarella Sat 5 10.30 am Meeting, Speaker - Allen Smith, Clean & Decent Part 3 Tues 8 Hobby's Reach Research Fri 11 9 am Friends of Tarella Mon 14 Excursion to Glenbrook/Lapstone Tues 15 Hobby's Reach Research; Gardening Fri 18 9 am Friends of Tarella Tues 22 Hobby's Reach Research John Whitton 1820 - 1898 Fri 25 9 am Friends of Tarella Dates for your Diary Sun 27 Tarella Open 10 am to 4 pm. Tues 29 Hobby's Reach Research Sat July 1 10.30 am Meeting, Speaker -John Fri Sept 1 9 am Friends of Tarella McClymont on Lachlan Macquarie Sat 2 10.30 am Meeting, Speaker - Ted Tues 4 10 am Hobby's Reach Research Green on 'At the Coal Face' 9 am Gardening Tues 5 Hobby's Reach Research; Gardening Fri 7 9 am Friends of Tarella Fri 8 9 am Friends of Tarella Mon 10 Excursion to Rouse Hill Estate Mon 11 Excursion to Hartley Vale [full details on Page 2] Tues 12 Hobby's Reach Research Meetings

The Saturday meetings commence promptly at 10.30 am but members are welcome to come at 10 am as the Research Room is open with a researcher on hand, the Library is open for members to select and return books, the coffee shop and Cottage Shop are open for business.

After the meeting closes at 12 noon a light lunch of soup and rolls is available at a modest price which has to be paid for before the meeting to ensure that sufficient is available. The Cottage Shop is again open.

Walks and Talks and other Information

Saturday 1 July 10.30 am - Talk by John McClymont on his special interest and study, Lachlan Macquarie on the Making of the Colony. John is the President of Parramatta and District Historical Society and a lecturer in local history for University's Continuing Education Scheme and a very popular speaker to the Society.

Monday 10 July Excursion to Rouse Hill Estate where Richard Rouse began building in 1813. We will explore the 180 year old rural property, its Georgian house, stables, woolshed and outbuildings.

Meet 9.30 am prompt at Hawkesbury Lookout, Hawkesbury Road. There should be '-...__/ time for morning tea at Rouse Hill Estate [tea and coffee supplied] before llam start. Duration 20 minute video in the visitors centre then a guided tour concluding at lpm.

Bring A picnic lunch and drinks and wear comfortable shoes and clothes for walking on a farm property.

Cost $6 as this is a special opening for us.

Sunday 23 July Tarella Cottage and Hobby's Reach Research Centre open from lOam to 4pm. Please check the Roster on page 7 to see if you are on duty.

Saturday 5 August 10.30 am - Popular speaker and member of the BMHS, Allen Smith will deliver his third talk titled, 'Clean and Decent Episode 3 ', "being a furtive glimpse into the cess pits and privies of early Sydney that will make the original Clean and Decent C1997 look positively hygienic, might be a good weekend to visit relatives in Queensland!"

Monday 14 August Excursion to Glenbrook and Lapstone where we will walk the 1867 Zig Zag track. Picnic lunch followed by an afternoon tour of RAAF Glenbrook including the old Lapstone Hotel which is now the Officers' Mess.

Meet 10 am prompt at Bull 's Camp, Woodford where there will be time for morning tea before continuing on to Glenbrook.

Bring A picnic lunch and wear comfortable walking shoes as there will be some easy walking on bush tracks. Normal day trip.

Sunday 27 August Tarella Cottage and Hobby's Reach Research Centre open from lOam to 4pm. Please check the Roster on page 7 to see if you are on duty.

Saturday 2 September 10.30 am - our speaker today is Ted Green on 'The most dangerous job in the world - at the coalface'. Ted is a retired coal miner having worked for 45 years in coal mines in the UK, Queensland and NSW, the latter in the Blue Mountains.

Monday 11 September Excursion to Hartley Vale including afternoon tea at the restored Comet Inn. Full details next newsletter. 2 Walks and Talks Reports

Historical Lawson Tour led by Heather Mollenhauer, 13.3.00

We are at Wilson Park, North Lawson. Originally a swampy hollow, today a shallow waterfall from between hillsides delivers a pretty stream through the centre of the lush grass of the valley floor. ''24 miles from Emu Plains .. a place of permanent water and grass must have been very good news to the pioneers" .. Now we leave Heather at this point precisely because she provides us with such comprehensive notes of the tour, five pages in all plus a map, and these are now available for proper perusal in the Research Centre.

Around and about Megalong Valley Outing led by Jack Austin, 10.4.00

Just a feather of cloud high in a blue sky as we leave the Megalong Road and descend the steps of the 'crack in the earth' (of Mad Max film fame). We pass a cave ("where the feral children came from", chuckles Jack) and come out by a pool 20m beneath a waterfall at the centre of the surrounding cliffs. "It's an amphitheatre!" exclaims Dorothy Gilham. It echoes, the air is moist and the 1882 Pictorial Guide to the Blue Mountains aptly named it Mermaid's Cave. Very early, 1917, it was gazetted as a reserve - no wonder.. walk behind the waterfall, along the cliff ledges and into the caves .. magic! The track down was made in 1884 as an access route for the shale mines of the vicinity. The Megalong Road wasn't built until 13yrs later, although a buggy track existed to serve the Valley's coal mines. We next stop by the Old ford over Megalong Creek. Jack draws our attention to the granite boulders around which the water is flowing freely: "Granite is about two hundred and fifty million years old; as it deteriorates it provides rolling •-;lls and good soil." Clyde Francis following a nose that has scented honey goes on a leatherwood hunt.. '-.._.../ We' re off again, up Nellies Glen Road to the site of Bernard O'Reilly's 1911 slab home. "It would have been ugly but for the English honeysuckle which attracts birds" says the present owner, Clare Isbister, and then reads from The Green Mountains : 'The sound of bell birds .. one acre of flannel flowers .. how to skin a rabbit.. insects biting in the sun .. tall firs providing a cool breeze .. the valley curtained by red cliffs." Then the tale of the tiger: Bernard went up the Six Foot Track to Katoomba. On his way back, passing through the mining village, he saw the moon .. and a tiger. Apparently the horse thought he'd seen a tiger too .. because from the valley floor they were heard coming down the track! Then we heard of the Scotsmen who stayed at the house: corning out for breakfast in the morning, one of them 'didnae like t'porridge' his mate had prepared - so promptly killed him. "Dangerous stuff, porridge" notes Valerie Craven. Joyce Brister settled us with a wise cameo of the valley's history as revealed by its geology. Afterwards we went to church. From the pulpit Jack told us the ministers would come by way of the Six Foot Track into the valley and stay at the hotel. There were three hundred people in the valley, a butcher, baker and a school in 1892. Prior to that the parents had taught the children, when they had time. The first church had earth walls and a bark roof at least until 1850 when corrugated iron came in. The catholic church, built 1902 next to the cemetery, was short-lived .. the priest let the fire in the grate get out of control and it burnt down the church. 'This is a hell-fire sermon!" chuckled Jack. Bill Douglass enters at the back of the church, "there's a seat down the front, Bill", and missing the reason for our laughter, calls back: "you'll have to start again, Jack". ''What's more, this church was struck by lightning in 1932 -it looked all crooked and crazy like an illustration in a folktale!" A voice solemnly asks if the church has a bell? "Yes, it has a bell - m't ring it or the fire-engine will arrive!" As we file out of church in high spirits, we see a sandstone block with grooves '--&tused by spear-sharpenings long ago. 'The school opposite had nine pupils, two teachers and a helper. Originally of slab construction - very draughty and the roof leaked - it was moved by bullock wagon and survived two major bushfires .. but one day when the floor was swept, a spark from the fire lodged in the broom, which smouldered and eventually burst into flame and burnt the school down." We moved on to the house of Mary Shaw, grand-daughter of Mark Foy. In the shade of a massive weeping elm at the back of her house of earth walls overhung by a roof at peace with itself, Mary held court. "In 1926, the house was built by locals, in a hollow, without foundations. So when it rains, the water seeps up and I've lost a wall." Jack asks Mary about her early days and Mark Foy's shooting lodge: "built to shoot eagles - and they grew vegetables for the - the Chinese - no, no trouble with the Chinese growing vegetables .. only when the 'Spaniards' came!" In the background, we can hear the river giggle and the donkeys tearing at the grass of its banks. Here it' s easy to forget the closing day. ...~ ~

c... tl~ Q_ bmll trr~ ...... d.. f'!i le eo\P.::.c rtll\.l...{O'!-lull._j1i ho:it .. .,,.J heu tr.. l~ e '.Y'\oo~/nll,~

3

, \_' !~ \ I \ · · ( " Peru· living out a dream Talk by Prof Ronald Woodward, 6.5.00

"This story begins with the big book which my father was reading. It was about Peru, a distant land, of which I knew nothing. I started to read about the great Inca empire which developed during 2000 years bejorel531, when Francisco Pizarro sailed to Peru and conquered it for Spain ... I was captivated. So in the course of time and now a civil engineer, I arrived in Lima with the enthusiasm which marks the innocent traveller. The port is within castle walls - no wonder Francis Drake's little fleet could not capture it! From the coast, the mountainous Andes rise in three high ridges - 10,000', then 16,000', then 20,000' - interspersed by deep valleys. So it is quicker to sail round South America than to cross 300kms of Andes. The second major feature affecting life in Peru is the Humboldt current - very cold water from the Antarctic. The effect is that Peru's coastal plain is a desert - rain is dropped over the ridges and into the valleys, so these are fertile. Chickens are fed on corn so yellow and good. Up to 9,000', rice is grown and up ,___/ to 16,000', potatoes. Llamas are eaten. Every few years the plains flood and the people can't eat, nor can they swim. . it is El Nifio, the mechanism of change in culture. Peru's catch of anchovies is the largest in the world - watching birds diving for them off a coast renowned for shipwrecking, I was reminded of the Battle of Britain! In this remote area, dinosaurs' eggs have been found. Also, pink coral from the Carribean has been found - a primitive boat was built to show that overseas trading flourished here 4,000 years ago. In Peru are huts made of mud bricks, 'huts' larger than the pyramids of Egypt. Everyone contributed mud bricks as a tax .. to build a pyramid. It was a very disciplined society - if you told a lie, you were killed, your family too and a great wall was built around, separating you from the rest of society for ever. The Incas were great builders: Machu Picchu (found in 1911 by the English - the Spanish never found it) was a university. Its massive building blocks are fitted together in a jigsaw fashion - achieved by first cutting solid rock at 17 degree angles, then piecing them together - you can't put a knife between the blocks. This construction withstands earthquakes. There are causeways, irrigation systems and running trails through 3000 miles - engineering on a scale greater than the Romans'. They were great metal workers too .. sadly gold in abundance was going to be their downfall."

Discovering the Governor's Domain Walk led by John McClymont, 8.5.00 \.__./ "I'm John McClymont, known as John" smiles the bright-eyed sage. "This park owes so much to Macquarie. The river is the artery of the place - and this little stream is the moat!" Two sentences and the story of Parramatta Park has started to unfold on this fine May morning. "In 1788, Phillip got as far as Prospect, landing at the junction of the Duck and Parramatta Rivers. He stood on Crescent Hill - ' .. water, not much underwood, lots of arable land' - and strolled up gentle Rose Hill, both names he gave to the site's features.Here he intended to build a redoubt. Phillip had blazed a trail from the landing place and he called it High Street." John points along the street - "Macquarie renamed it George Street - the tide and the fresh water met at the end of the street. Phillip built huts for the marines first off; then started the farm that within two years saved the colony." "In 1810, Macquarie saw what Phillip was about. He too was a visionary. He planned a big town. So we're going to see the boundary of the 2000 acres he annexed around Government House. The wrought iron gates of the Victorian-Tudor style Gatehouse are original, 1814, although the house itself is a pattern book copy." By The Moat bridge, we see the monument to Lady Fitzroy - she was killed when the carriage being driven by the governor overturned as it hit a tree. Looking north towards Government House across Pavilion Flat - where convicts were tented - we can see that High Street led to its centre. "Phillip came from Greenwich where everything is symmetrical. (Canberra shows this 'Georgian metric' too)." The positiqn of the redoubt, a hill behind it and a moat around it, would be the best that could be had in the event of attack by Aboriginals. The local clan was the Parramatta gal.. at least that is how Phillip heard it and, hence, where the name Parramatta comes from. Where the winds round Rose Hill, there has been flooding over centuries, gouging out the hillside and creating The Crescent. Here in 1790 Phillip sowed wheat and vines." Afall account ojthe Governor's Domain is in the research centre. 4 John Whitton and the Blue Mountains Railway by Joan Smith

In 1813 Gregory Blaxland, William Lawson and William Charles Wentworth crossed the Blue Mountains from Emu Ford to Mount Blaxland in twenty days. Later that year Surveyor George Evans traversed the Blue Mountains in eight days surveying the route taken by the three explorers with a view to the building of a road to the western plains. In 1815 William Cox and thirty convicts took six months to construct a road from Emu Ford to Bathurst. However, the final conquest of the mountain barrier which had restricted the growth of the colony of occurred in March 1863 with the letting of initial contracts for the construction of a railway line across the Blue Mountains. Three and a half years later the line had reached Bowenfels below the western escarpment. The history of the construction of this railway and, more importantly, of John Whitton the designer and chief engineer of the project are the subject of this essay. John Whitton was born near Wakefield, Yorkshire in 1820, the son of James Whitton, a land agent, and his wife Elizabeth Billington. John married Elizabeth Fowler at Ecclesfield Church, Yorkshire in 1855 and the following year he was appointed as Engineer-in-Chief of the New South Wales Department of Railways. Whitton's career began when he was articled for seven years to John Billington of Wakefield, probably a relative of his mother. Wakefield was a town focused on railway construction and huge engineering works where Whitton later gained experience in engineering and architecture. His employment included preparation of plans and tenders for railway construction and waterworks. By 1847 he was engineer for the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincoln Railway and from 1852 to 1856 supervised the building of the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton railway line. He was elected a member of ~Institution of Civil Engineers, London in 1854. As a result of an enquiry from the New South Wales Government for Y nighly skilled railway engineer, John Whitton was recommended for the position. Following his arrival in Sydney, Whitton was appointed to the office of Engineer-in-Chief of the Department of Railways at an annual salary of£ 1,500 backdated to his departure from England. His task was to undertake the design and layout of the proposed railway lines and to superintend the construction of railways in New South Wales. Whitton found that a 13 mile railway had been constructed in 1855 from a terminus at the Cleveland Paddocks Redfern to Parramatta Junction with an extension to Liverpool in 1856. The railway was initially to be constructed by the Sydney Railway Company but this company was dissolved following delays in deciding the gauge of the track to be used and a shortage of labour because of the gold rush. The railway was taken over by the government.

After great confusion the gauge of the track had been determined as 4'8112", which differed from the gauge of 5'3" adopted by and South Australia. Whitton pointed out the problems which would be associated with this break of gauge when the lines met at , and even suggested replacing the existing 23 miles of track with the larger gauge, but

members of the committee who decided on the 4'8112" gauge could not foresee that a railway line would ever reach the Victorian border. Following the extension of the railway line from Parramatta to Penrith in 1863, the Blue Mountains became the next obstacle to be overcome. Various methods of ascending the Lapstone Hill were suggested to Whitton, such as a horse tramway laid on existing roads which the then governor, Sir William Denison, advocated for the whole of New South \ Jes. Passengers would leave the tram at the bottom of the hill and walk up or down as the case may be. The Rev. John ':dunmore Lang had previously suggested a stationary engine at the top and bottom of the escarpments to lift or lower goods, with passengers walking up or down by a long staircase. Whitton had not been idle in his first years in office taking under his control all accounting, rolling stock, line maintenance and workshops of the Department of Railways. He also had alterations made in boiler construction to enable coal to be used for steam power instead of wood, but his preservation of the environment did not extend to the buildings of Sydney. He proposed that the railway line should be extended from Redfern into the city, the best position for a station being Hyde Park, necessitating demolition of the Supreme Court and St. James' Church. Whitton finally gained approval to build a steam railway across the Blue Mountains with three routes being surveyed - the first from Richmond up the with a tunnel under the Darling Causeway, a second along the Bells Line of Road and the third generally following the route of the Cox's Road to Mt.Victoria. This route was adopted. However, the greatest problem Whitton had to contend with in his bid to build his railway was the continual struggle to obtain funds for a railway of the standard he deemed necessary. To reduce his costs per mile, iron rails took the place of steel, maximum grades were increased and railside buildings reduced to a minimum. These, along with other economies, resulted in the first estimate of the cost of the line over the Blue Mountains of £50,000 a mile, being reduced to £ 10,000 a mile. The originally planned tunnel at Lapstone Hill could not be built because of its cost, so Whitton decided on a zig zag ascent, incorporating the seven arch, 388 ft Knapsack Viaduct, still in existence, and from 1926 until recently used as the main road up Lapstone Hill. Whitton also designed the railway bridge over the , making it 6' 6" higher than the flood level of 1860, which had destroyed the first road bridge. The road bridge was again destroyed in 1868 so the new railway bridge carried a single line of road traffic and a single railway track. s While this bridge and Little Zig Zag were being constructed, work continued on the line over the mountain ridges. The line to Weatherboard, now Wentworth Falls, was completed and opened in 1867, with stopping places at Emu, Wascoe's [Blaxlandl, Springwood and Blue Mountains fLawsonl, the position of the stations being largely dictated by the existence of the inns. In the 1870's various platforms were added to the line, generally close to the residences of dignitaries such as Sir James Martin and Sir . In 1867 the line was opened as far as Mt. Victoria, and the greatest achievement of the railway, the line from Mt. Victoria to Bowenfels was opened on 18th October 1869. The zig zag method of construction was again adopted by Whitton, consisting of three sections, with three stone viaducts and one tunnel. This zigzag's fame brought visitors to the area from around the world, as described in 1898 by John Rae, former Commissioner for Railways, Numerous visitors from d(tferent lands have expressed unbounded admirations, both here and in their own countries, of the rugged grandeur of the scenery and the engineering skill and pluck displayed in designing and constructing these great works, which probably. are not surpassed on any railway in the world. John Whitton admitted years later that before building his two masterpieces in the Blue Mountains, he had never seen a . With the greater size of the engines and loads, the Great Zig Zag was replaced between 1908 and 1910, but needed 1,500 experienced miners to build the ten tunnels necessary, at a cost of £350,000. Running time for the journey was only reduced by twenty-five minutes. John Whitton was Engineer-in-Chief of the Department of Railways for thirty years. During that time railway track in the state increased from 23 miles to 2, 182 miles, reaching both the Victorian and Queensland borders. The number of locomotives had increased from 4 to 439, with the initial 12 coaches numbering 1,277. Goods wagons increased from 4r to 9,304. "---"/ Whitton was still designing and suggesting improvements up until his retirement, in 1879 submitting that the Sydney railway terminus should be built on land bounded by Castlereagh, Hunter and Elizabeth Streets, incorporating an Eastern railway scheme. In 1887 he wrote to Sir Henry Parkes with, in his words, 'drawings of a proposed suspension bridge across Sydney Harbour from Dawes Battery to McMahons Point, to have one span across the harbour and would, in my opinion, be a most elegant structure'. He estimated the cost at £400,000 and enclosed full details of the manner in which the bridge should be constructed. In January 1875, eighteen years after his appointment as Engineer-in~Chief, Whitton was given a salary increase of £300 per annum, making his gross salary £1 ,800 per annum. Fourteen years later, in 1889, and at the age of 69, he requested that he be given a year's leave of absence to visit England for medical attention. In recognition of the value of his 32 years' service, the government of the day approved this leave, on full pay. Whitton corresponded regularly with his friend, Sir Henry Parkes, during his time in England. From these letters it would seem that his health did not improve as expected, and finally, on 5th February 1890, he wrote advising that he 'would have to resign his office as Engineer-in-Chief for Railways on expiration of the twelve months' leave of absence '. Whitton also suggested 'that in consideration of the works carried out under me, a special retiring allowance might be granted me'. ,..... Parkes Government approved a retiring allowance of £1 ,800 per annum, in recognition of John Whitton's exceptional"' service to the State, but this decision was disputed later in 1890 by younger members of the Legislative Assembly, who were against the payment of pensions. The Leader of the Opposition, :Mr.Lyons, was prepared to move that £1,200 should be Whitton's pension, but the Government declined to accept any reduction. The anti-pensionists prevailed and finally voted for an amount of £675. John Whitton died on 21st February 1898 at Marchmont Hall , , aged 78 years. His funeral procession left his late residence, Montrose, McLaren Street, North Sydney, for burial in St.Thomas' Church of England Cemetery, North Sydney, the casket being described as being, 'of cedar, inlaid with lead, with state silver handles'. Many of the dignitaries of Sydney attended the funeral, together with Mrs.Whitton, two married daughters and a grandson. Whitton's son, Henry, was in India at the time. During Whitton's thirty years' battle to obtain enough finance to build his railways to the standards he required, he became known as a stubborn Yorkshireman. However, his treatment by the government in his retirement years made him a very bitter man, and he probably wished he had accepted an honour which Sir Henry Parkes had offered to him in 1887, when he said that he had given the offer, 'the most careful consideration .. ... consulted with Mrs. Whitton as to her wishes, and have reluctantly to ask your f Parkes} permission to decline the honour'. There are very few memorials to John Whitton and his work. Following representations in 1985 from a Blue Mountains resident, 89 year old John Paddison, Whitton's bust and a plaque describing his achievements were placed at Central Railway. In addition, Paddison finally managed to obtain permission from Local and State Governments to have a 24' high stone memorial built at the bottom of Lapstone Hill, adjacent to the former railway gatekeeper's cottage. With little encouragement and funds available, John Paddison financed the building of the memorial himself at a cost of $8,000. 6 He has since died, but no effort has been made to maintain 'John Place' as he intended, either as a park or as a small - museum. Although signposted along Emu Plains roads as an historic site, the beautiful seven-arch stone Knapsack viaduct, built as part of the Little Zig Zag at Lapstone Hill, has also been allowed to deteriorate with graffiti now adorning its walls. A plaque placed on the bridge in 1926 has disappeared and at the site itself there is no signage to give the name or history of this engineering feat. Fortunately the Great Zig Zag has been saved from a similar fate, with the formation of the Lithgow Switchback Railway Co-op Ltd. in 1972 [later changed to the Zig Zag Railway Co-op Ltd]. Restoration carried out by volunteer members has enabled tourists to again travel by train over the original zig zag track and huge stone viaducts and to appreciate the genius of the man who created this engineering masterpiece. Perhaps John Whitton needs no further memorial than the title 'Father of the New South Wales Railways', given to him by Sir Henry Parkes, or the railways of New South Wales themselves, especially the Blue Mountains line. Printed by kind permission of the Royal Australian Historical Society

Duty Roster

Sunday 23rd July 2000

Place and Collect Signs Norman Skellam - East Norman Skellam 9.30 am c:rrld 3 .30 pm John Ewan - West John Ewan

9.45 am - 1 pm 12.45 pm - 4 pm

In Kitchen Noreen Skellam Noreen Skellam Maree Glass (help set up)

Admissions John Glass Bob Henson

Tarella I/C Coral Ewan Coral Ewan Harry Turner-Bums Rae Douglass Maree Glass Marion Vincent

Shop Jo Adam Olwen Henson

-J Sunday 27th August 2000

Place and Collect signs Bill Gilham Bill Gilham 9.30 am and3.30 pm Michael Finlay Michael Finlay

9.45 am - 1 pm 12.45 pm - 4 pm

In Kitchen Noreen Skellam Noreen Skellam

Admissions Harry Turner-Bums Valerie Craven

Tarella I/C Valerie Paddock Coral Ewan Coral Ewan Elizabeth Finlay Valerie Craven Marion Vincent

Shop Jo Adam Valerie Paddock

If you are unable to do the duty you are rostered for please make a change with a friend, in the last resort phone Coral Ewan on 45841831, thank you. 7 General Notices

Management Committee

At a special meeting to consider the implications of the GST the Management Committee concluded that an Australian Business Number be applied for. The Society will not register for the GST at this time but this decision will be reviewed in six months time. Hobby's Reach Research Centre at work

Researching the past means piecing together evidence, making a picture of how things were. It is the best we can do, for surviving evidence is partial, and it helps us understand the way things are now. (Anyone who enjoys jigsaws will enjoy research - probably!). 'Evidence' is fact as authenticated by means of photographs, maps, public records, publications, letters and artefacts. BMHS has almost 3000 photographs, a chest full of plans, reference and lending libraries, document files and microfiche records of people, places and events gone by. Moreover, in Joan Smith, we have a Research Officer who claims she does not know everything but knows where to look for everything. For instance, no sooner has MacMillan Films sought 'background' for a TV documentary on the crossing of the Blue Mountains, than references to Blaxland's 1813 Journal, to compass directions in Lawson's diary and to paintings in Cox's are on their way to Queensland. Likewise, when Professor Jack needs an 'overview' of Glenbrook in connection with the State Heritage listings, deeds are checked and records transcribed by Joan within a deadline. This earns $750 for BMHS.

Membership

Membership fees were due on the 1st July. If you wish to continue receiving the newsletter please ensure that your fees are up-to-date. Library

The library is missing several books so we are asking all members to check that they have returned all borrowed books. If you still have one on Joan please could you record that you wish to keep it for a further month. Thank you.

Bookshop News

There are two new books in the shop and one on order. The Life and Times of Sir Henry Parkes is very comprehensive and priced $12.50 Prime Ministers of the 20th Century, a full page on each one with a photograph, priced $9.95, (good for project work) On order and due soon is the new publication 'The Blue Mountains on Foot by Bruce William and Reece Scannell priced at $19.

New Member Applications

The person(s) whose name(s) appear below has/have applied for membership of the Society. Their membership fee(s) has/have been paid and their application(s) correctly nominated and seconded. Under the terms of Section 5 of the Society's rules of association, any objection to an application for membership must be lodged within 14 days of an applicant's name being circulated to members. lf no such objection to a person is received within such period, that person will be deemed to have been accepted as a member of the Society.

Geoffrey Aitkins Wentworth Falls Robyn Aitkins Wentworth Falls Leslie Peto Katoomba Rosemary Brister Katoomba Freelance Features [Corporate Membership] Julia Joseph Wentworth Falls Melinda Howe Katoomba James Saunders Wentworth Falls

Last Date for inclusion in next issue

Please make sure that all copy for the Sept/Oct issue of Hobby's Outreach reaches the editor by Monday 21st August. Copy may be left in the HOR pigeon hole at the Secretary's desk in the Research Room which is open every Tuesday from 10 am to 2 pm, thank you, Ed.

8 The Blue Mountains Historical Society Inc.

QUESTIONNAIRE

The Management Committee has formed a Working Group to recommend ways in which the activities of the Society might be made even more interesting and enjoyable.

The Working Group (Geoff Dunn, Dorothy Gilham, Peter Gunton, Bob King and Barrie Reynolds) is looking at the different activities of the Society. It is also keen to receive the views of individual members. Please would you take a few minutes to answer the following questions.

1. Which of these have you found useful during the past 12 months? (Please tick)

Research Centre 0 Gardens 0

Tarella Historic Cottage 0 Shop 0

Historical Displays 0 Publications 0

Photographic Displays 0 Open Days 0

Monthly Talks 0 Christmas Party 0

Monthly Walks 0 Christmas Melodrama 0

Newsletter 0 Other (Please indicate)

2. Is there anything else you think the Society should be doing?

3. To celebrate Federation, the Management Committee is planning two major events. Do you think they are appropriate?

A Garden Party in March 2001? Yes O No 0

The installation of a sundial in the garden in September 2001? Yes O No 0

4. Do you wish to be more involved in the activities of the Society'? Yes O No 0

If so, please talk to one of the Working Group or write your phone number on the bottom of this sheet and one of the group will contact you.

Thank you for your help.

Please put your completed questionnaire in the box at the entrance or mail it to:-

The Secretary (Review), BMHS, Box 17, Wentworth Falls, NSW 2782

9 Blue Mountains Historical Society Inc.

The Society's objective is to promote community interest in history in general and in the Blue Mountains in particular.

Meetings are held on the first Saturday of each month (except December and January) at its headquarters at Hobby' s Reach. At these meetings a talk by an invited speaker or by a member is followed by general business .

An excursion to a place of historical interest is held on the second Monday of most months and Research Days are held each Tuesday at Hobby's Reach from 10 am to 2 pm under the supervision of the Research Co-ordinator.

The basic yearly membership is $15 and concessions are available.

Details of all activities are published in the newsletter, Hobby's Outreach, and further information may be obtained by phoning the Hobby's Reach Research Centre - on 02 4757 3824.