VOLUME 7 NO. 2 February 2014 ISSN 1835-7628 Diary
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VOLUME 7 NO. 2 February 2014 ISSN 1835-7628 FROM THE EDITOR built up over the years with the local Aboriginal people. Thanks particularly to Keith Amos for his article on The other issue that has been occupying my time has Beacon Hill. It is interesting for many reasons but I been the unacknowledged presence of Cook Pines in think that it also reinforces the point that Jim Boyce the heritage listed streetscapes and parks of Manly. makes in his commentary below, of the need to record This has been symptomatic of larger issues related to (and recognise) even very recent history. It already the management of history and heritage in local seems impossible that a key part of Australia's frontline government. There is no requirement in Heritage air defence system could have been located alongside Reviews for there to be a detailing of the management Warringah Road. Puts the controversy over Telecom structure concerned with history and heritage both towers into a different perspective. within a council and outside with such groups as However, there is a potential positive in this failure to community committees for heritage, museums , culture adequately remember and record. It means that there or precincts. As Heritage Reviews are only conducted, are countless stories out there to be rediscovered. The on average, every 20 years, there is a real need for short piece on OI Kempthorne demonstrates this periodic updating to keep the Heritage List contempora- graphically. neously relevant. The mechanism for this is often missing. As the leading architect Howard Tanner has Richard Michell remarked, there is a critical need for a moving defini- tion point for heritage and that a 25 year indicator FROM THE PRESIDENT should be used ie 1989 would be the current marker. This should be accompanied by the development of The February talk set a number of topics for further local history to at least up to that year. As the history development. The DVD project which John Illingsworth of the Cook Pine, with all its quirks, can be traced back has embarked upon will be something we will be to 1774, the tree deserves a place in the cultural assisting in any way possible. The early colonial period heritage of Manly. DVD that we saw that Saturday was extremely impres- As the public art work “Warringah Wings“ was launched sive. Hopefully , it will start something that is applicable at the Cromer Community Centre on Saturday 15 for Warringah or Manly. February, members are urged to go have a look. Fiona Recently I had a coffee with Jim Macken and it was Verity, the Warringah Artist–in–Residence has done a great to see him in good health. I wanted to compare great job and from our occasional vantage point at our notes with him on a number of issues, one of which was storage room there, we have watched this all come the progress of the Pittwater Council Heritage Review. together. The non-appearance of this document is concerning a Jim Boyce number of our members. This is all the more concern- ing as there is no Heritage Committee for Pittwater Council and there was only a three week window where Diary recommendations were to be accepted. As we met at the Strand at Dee Why, we had a short discussion March regarding Cook Pines which are much in evidence on Saturday 8th, 2.00pm the beach front and also behind the Surf Club building. In my detailing of the presence of Cook Pines in the Venue - Tramshed Narrabeen Manly LGA, I told Jim of the Cook Pine at “Whitehall“ in Balgowlah Heights. This tree, present in a mid Thirties Speaker - Richard White painting and apparently a mature tree then, must be over 100 years old. Jim also told me of annual trips to History of tourism on the Peninsula the West Kimberleys and the friendships that he has Peninsula Historian Vol 7 #2 February 2014 page 1 NEWS AND VIEWS The last DVD was one of a series of DVDs that John is January monthly meeting producing as a historical project of his own. John had The talk by Alan Yuille at the Mona Vale Library fell into used various historical images to illustrate the contact three parts, the first focussing on the town of Mont- between the local Aboriginal people and the First gomery in Wales and its architectural heritage and Fleeters. He used copies of paintings such as Pittwater history. The second part was the showing of a DVD from Taylors Point (1788) by William Bradley to give “The Newspaper Run“, originally filmed in 1956 and the DVD a focus on Pittwater. He also included a updated by John Illingsworth, with a revisit to the same number of images of Aboriginal people as well as streets in Mona Vale and Newport in 2012. The third reference to the dreadful consequences of smallpox on was an excellent DVD produced by John focussed on the the Aboriginal community. We look forward to the early colonial history of Pittwater. While Alan John’s efforts in extending this series as the quality of handled the talking aspect of the afternoon, John was this DVD was much appreciated by all present on the at the controls of the screen system. As always Sarah afternoon. Thompson, the Local Studies Librarian, was on hand to All in all it was a very interesting afternoon presented fine tune the arrangements. by Alan and John, with a wide variety of interesting Starting with the first part, the screening of the piece content for everyone. on Montgomery presented a walking tour of the town Jim Boyce which has had a very rich history dating back to Roman Active members times. Although a small town now compared to other Welsh cities such as Cardiff, Wrexham and Carnarvon, The current (March) issue of Placenames Australia - the it is has had an important place in Welsh history, being Newsletter of the Australian Place Names Survey - has the place in 1286 where Llewellyn ceded power to the a major article by Tony Dawson - one of our members English crown and became the first Prince of Wales. and past Editor of this Newsletter - on Mount Cairn- The film was in Welsh but with English subtitles, and cross, located about 24 kilometres inland from Port was structured with an architect and a local historian Macquarie where Tony now lives. walking through the town, which had an extraordinary range of built heritage. An interesting feature was the POT POURRI design of the windows in the houses and the quality of the bricks and woodwork, and how that changed over Watching the Bathers at Manly the various styles of hoses. The walk through Mont- Perhaps inspired by the recent surfing extravaganza at gomery also included public buildings such as the old Manly, George Champion has sent me the following: prison. Alan talked about the possibility of producing a similar type of DVD for Manly and the Peninsula, "In the afternoon the Sydney-siders go over in hun- although it would be covering a shorter time period. dreds and, armed with bags of buns, biscuits and bananas, take up positions along the sea wall and fence “The Newspaper Run“ was a surprising insight into how to watch the bathers. this suburban area had changed over this 56 year time gap. The original film had the newsagent, Don Tweedie, Fewer women bathe in the afternoon; the morning’s slowly driving down the streets throwing the papers effort, combined with the heat of the sun, produce a right and left from his open car. John Illingsworth had languor, that invites the siesta, which is often indulged intercut into those images, film showing the same in on the sand in the sun, without recourse to streets in 2012. Thus it was not only an illustration of additional raiment, bar a mushroom hat to guard the how house facades had changed over time, it was an complexion. interesting overview of the changes in kerbside public Said one antiquated female to another, gazing at the spaces and front gardens. One could not miss how the bathers the day we were indulging in a dip a la 2012 version was so green and closely mown compared Trouville, “I think it’s disgraceful to see those women to the fairly overgrown and dry picture presented in bathing with men. I wonder it’s allowed. Do the police 1956. The later images of shrubs and trees displayed know it goes on?” To which charitable remark her evidence of electronic pruning and wooden letterboxes friend replied, “And fancy them bathing on Sunday had largely been replaced. 1956 also saw a range of afternoon too! You’re right, Martha, it is disgraceful,” dressing gowns worn by local residents which had been and the concentrated venom in their utterances would replaced by T shirts and shorts by 2012. The more you have made a good supply for a Borgia for a week, looked into the film’s background the more social overtime included. aspects became visible. A great effort by John. Quite different was a remark made by another woman. Peninsula Historian Vol 7 #2 February 2014 page 2 She turned to her husband and said, “Jim, if you weren’t a bigger fool than Nature intended you to be, you’d have brought some bathing things down, and we and the children could have had a good bathe, instead of having to trudge about all day long.” “It does look inviting,” said Jim. “What’s the good of the invitation when we can’t accept it?” demanded his better half.