Annual Report 2017-2018.

Volunteers don’t get paid, not because they’re worthless, but because they’re priceless.’ Sherry Anderson Welcome and thank you all for attending our 57th annual meeting. We frequently make comments on how fast time is slipping by and when you look at what we have done in the past year it is no wonder that we sometimes think will there ever be a time when we can take things a little easier. It has been a very demanding year in terms of the number and types of issues we have dealt with. Members Our membership for the year was fairly consistent with the previous year. The number of members as at 31 August was 128 with 88 living within the local area – 68%. A further 21 live in NSW, 10 in ACT, 5 in Qld, 3 in Vic and 1 in WA. During the past year we lost our valued museum volunteer Mavis Armour who passed away on 13 October. The recognition of the service of active longstanding members is important and last December we awarded Life Membership to four members – Maureen Collins, Roma Longley, Diana MacQuillan and Bill Pigram. Between them they have contributed almost eight decades of service to the society. Administration

We must recognise that the everyday life of the Society is becoming more complex. Issues such as Working with Children checks are a fact of life for anyone volunteering in our museum. The Society’s insurance does not cover criminal incidents involving children. It is a simple process to complete an application online and then call at the Service Centre with your identification. The Committee members can assist if needed. Letters of support have been written for the for a Department of Veterans’ Affairs grant to repair the windows to the front of the Soldiers’ Memorial Hall; the Yass Antique Farm Machinery Club in support of grant to house their collection and another in support of funding for the recent Irish and Celtic Music Festival. The Society has a responsibility to respond to development applications lodged with the Yass Valley Council, if and when heritage sites are impacted upon. After consulting our members we prepared a submission in response to the large scale development to the west of Laidlaw Street which will have a visual impact upon historic Cliftonwood, and physical impact upon the site of an early brickworks and slaughterhouse. It could also potentially impact upon the site of the former Watson’s Mill should no proper precautions be taken before work begins. Our submission drew unwelcome comments from the developers WMDG Group Holdings Pty Ltd however we stand by the comments we made regarding the somewhat cursory nature of the reports and lack of undertaking to follow up recommendations made by the consultants. Six members attended the Royal Australian Historical Society conference at Cowra last October and took the opportunity to do some networking. Museum ownership The most significant issue of the year was the finalization of the ownership of the museum when it passed from Yass Valley Council to the Society on 22 March with the final registration of the transfer on 11 April just one week short of the anniversary of the process starting. Delays included awaiting a decision on a dispensation to pay stamp duty (saving the society more than $10,000). Council’s decision to grant the transfer, the ANZ Bank not being able to find the relevant documents and then the actual registration process. In all it cost us $406 in registration fees and a further $500 for the solicitors – a massively reduced fee.

Here we must acknowledge the Yass Valley Council that has paid the rates and insurance on the museum property (when it was held in Council’s name) since it was purchased in 1984. They have honoured the undertaking made at the time and will continue to pay land rates as well as water and sewerage connection fees. The only additional expense we have incurred is the insurance of $868 for the building arranged through the Royal Australian Historical Society’s insurance brokers.

Grants & donations The Community Grant of $5,000 from Yass Valley Council has been acquitted with the purchase of a portable ramp, a smaller threshold ramp and the construction of ten display cases for the museum. The delay in the transfer of the museum ownership hindered the possibility of capital works grants this year but now as the legal owners we will pursue funding for further improvement wherever practical. We were disappointed that our grant application to the Royal for the development of an app for smart phones to interpret the Comur Street models in the museum was unsuccessful. Nor were we were successful in our expression of interest to Mike Kelly’s office to submit an application for the Department of Veterans’ Affairs – Centenary of Anzac 2014-2018 Grant to digitise the Yass Courier for the period of the Great War. Ironically the Yass newspapers are in the process of being digitised and added to Trove which will be welcomed by researchers but we have been unable to find out how the cost of some $96,000 has been financed. However a recent expression of interest has brought an invitation to submit an application for a Stronger Communities Grant to reroof the front section of the museum and this will be submitted within the next few days. The society has been the beneficiary of a number of cash donations from members and non members totalling $1,222, an increase of about 40% over the previous year. In addition to cash donations we have received several pieces of electronic equipment courtesy of Tony MacQuillan.

Fundraising Most of our activities return a profit but I will leave the financial aspects to our Treasurer Anne Pigram however I want to say I heartfelt thank you to all who organise, cater, sell tickets and carry out the numerous tasks that contribute to the fundraising of the society. For a second year we had a major raffle – this time the Yass Experience – two nights at the Globe B & B and dinner at Clementine’s Restaurant. The result was a profit of $1,956. The winner was our Facebook guru Rachel Purdy whose ticket was the second one sold – it paid to get in early.

Museum Bill Pigram has continued as our Museum Coordinator organizing the roster, reminding guides in advance of their designated days and taking care of repairs. My thanks go to Bill for his dedication in cataloguing a significant portion of the collection using Mosaic software and he has also attended several courses related to museum collections. My sincere thanks also to all volunteers who open the museum, clean it, work in the garden and all the other tasks necessary for it open to the public, many of them ‘double dipping’ as they also volunteer at the archives.

In November the society’s collection policy was reviewed and amendments made to bring it into line with current practice and it will shortly be available on the website for anyone interested in what we collect and how we manage the objects in the collection.

Responsibility for others and ourselves is paramount. For this reason after several long and serious discussions the decision has been made that two volunteers be rostered on whenever the museum is open. It is a work safety issue and we need to safeguard not only against accidents but also as a security measure for volunteers and the items in the collection. We are aware that some volunteers prefer to work alone but we must be consistent. With a new exhibition in place and free admission until the end of February there is every likelihood that visitor numbers will increase giving you the opportunity to interact with greater numbers of the public.

We are anxious to hear from members and others who are willing to guide at the museum. There will be two training sessions for volunteers – one in the morning and another on a different day in the afternoon. Please do make the effort to attend a short program that is not just about keys and dust covers but one that is intended to ensure your wellbeing while you are at the museum. The portable ramp is an addition that will allow wheelchair access to the display areas.

The decision to try an admission free period to the end of February will allow us to gauge if this approach is worthwhile continuing. Over the past year we trialed free admission in February with a more than satisfactory increase in visitor numbers. Over the previous three years there was an average of 33 visitors during February but this year the number was 163 people. Over the June long weekend we offered free admission and had just over 100 visitors. While there was a decrease of $85.00 in museum entrance fees there was an increase in visitor numbers. The largest groups we have at the museum are the pupils from Yass Public School generally aged from six to eight years and another group from Berinba Primary School. Amongst the adult group visits were the Macquarie Probus Club as part of A Taste of Yass Valley and the Coffs Harbour Friendly Travel Club.

Our year started with fourteen members thoroughly cleaning the storage space and tidying the garden with several utility loads of rubbish and waste being taken to the tip. Every Wednesday over the past two months (as well as numerous other days) there has been a mammoth effort by a handful of members who have had to get things done in preparation for the reopening on Saturday 20 October.

It took sometime but all objects in the Parallels and shop display were catalogued before they were put into storage. Then came the task of dismantling the panels from the display area and relining the walls of the shop area. There is a salutary lesson to be learned from not regularly changing displays as was the plan when Parallels was erected in 1994. The carpet under the display plinths was uncovered and found to be in worse shape than that that had been walked upon all that while. The carpet will have to be replaced when the textile exhibition is dismantled in June next year.

With no maintenance on the roof for over thirty years the task of making it watertight came at considerable expense with some sheeting replacements and the whole front roof having to be screwed down, the ridge capping refitted and the complete replacement of the box gutter which had rusted out and caused considerable damage to the carpet and to the plasterboard ceiling particularly in the store room. The roof drainage pipes no longer run inside the building, the wall behind the painted backdrop has now been lined with plasterboard and the whole space repainted in preparation for the new exhibition.

Ten new display cases with lockable storage along with several refurbished cases will occupy the temporary exhibition space. Thanks to Jamie Whyte and Edgar Mongan for their work in assembling the cases. A range of children’s mannequins have been purchased for the new exhibition.

Members who have assisted cataloguing, cleaning, constructing storage shelves, painting, gardening and moving items are Maureen and Jeff Collins, Bill Pigram, Adrian Cameron and Susan O’Leary, Diana MacQuillan, Lynette Rampling, Wilma Tanswell, Vivian Bugden, Edgar Mongan and myself.

Elizabeth Burness’ textile collection contains some real gems of children’s clothing dating back two hundred years and they along with a selection of our own treasures will be displayed in Threads from the Past. Elizabeth has also offered to be involved in a series of activities while the exhibition is open and to promote the exhibition though her wide network of contacts.

What has become evident over the past few weeks is that the physical abilities of our members will limit how we undertake any major refurbishments. Climbing ladders, painting, carrying heavy cases and other strenuous activities are not as achievable as they once were. The very real prospect is that in the not too distant future any work of this nature will be beyond the present membership’s physical capabilities. The only way that such work will be done will be to find a lot of stronger younger members or be prepared to hire labour and this will have to be factored into projects in the future.

Archives Maureen Collins has continued as the Coordinator of the Archives overseeing a wide range of activities such as research enquiries, indexing of photographs, publications and newspapers as well as individual and organisational collections. Significant progress has been made in the indexing of the boxed collections enabling speedy access to the contents. In addition to our usual Tuesdays opening hours of 2-5pm we continue to open on the first Saturday of the month from 11am to 3pm. In recent months we have added an additional service to the public in the form of a family history information session on the first Saturday of each alternate month. With around twenty people attending the most recent session on convict research it is evident that there is an interest in these sessions conducted in the Yass Valley Library. The next will be on researching World War One service personnel.

While last year’s income from archival research enquiries was lower than the previous year we can report a significant increase this year. This is largely due to a $1,500 commission to write a social history of the Yass Hospital for Eric Martin & Associates as part of the heritage assessment for the redevelopment of the hospital buildings and site. The ill timed request required the work to be carried out over the Christmas/New Year period when it could reasonably be expected that volunteers might spend their time with their families however five archives volunteers put in over 150 hours work to produce a 24,000 word document based on the Society’s holdings. The archival holdings continue to grow with additions such as the records of the RSL Women’s Auxiliary and numerous other donations of photographs and scrapbooks. Archives volunteers also prepared the publication of the papers from Whole Histories which were published in time for the Royal Australian Historical Society Conference at Cowra.

The Yass Scouts visited the archives to research local servicemen of World War One and kept the archives team busy with requests for photographs and the how, when and why of research. Several archives volunteers were involved in assisting to set up the ‘pop-up’ museum display for the St Augustine’s 180th Anniversary celebrations and staged a digital display of vintage vehicle images for Classic Yass.

The digitisation of the local newspapers by the National Library is a boon for researchers and to archives volunteers but this will undoubtedly have a ‘knock on’ effect on the number of enquiries that we receive. That said, the benefits of cultural tourism are felt by the wider community when researchers travel to Yass to find family information. One such example was a four generation family group of eleven women aged 18 to 90 years who stayed a total of forty-three nights in a local bed and breakfast, eating in local eateries, buying from local retailers and visiting local attractions. The money spent changes hands several times within the community and increases its overall value.

My thanks to the archives volunteers who take on the many tasks associated with maintaining the archives which continue to grow. Their diplomacy and their patience in dealing with researchers and their enthusiasm for maintaining the collection are very much appreciated.

Meetings & Speakers Our afternoon meetings continue to attract a steady attendance with the general day to day issues of the society and correspondence being dealt with by the Committee prior to the monthly meeting when a report on the Committee meeting is presented to members. What is evident is that our members are a talented bunch, with all but one of our meetings having a member present a talk. The subjects were varied – family history, immigrants, trains, poets, heritage issues, knives, World War 1 and resources in our archives. Goulburn & District Historical Society members Daphne Penalver and Linda Cooper gave a presentation on the Manfred architectural collection at our March meeting. Communication With the prohibitive costs involved in connecting the museum to the NBN the decision was made to disconnect the land line telephone. In lieu a mobile phone was purchased and set up for ease of use. It is imperative that museum volunteers have easy access to the phone and that it be kept charged in case of emergency. A mobile broadband device in lieu of a dedicated telephone line is used at the archives as it is essential that we have internet access for almost every aspect of the work of the Society. Boongaroon is published twice a year featuring short articles of historical interest and is well received by members. About forty organisations that we exchange journals with, receive an electronic version. Yandoo our monthly newsletter includes information on events, current issues and the museum roster. The newsletter is distributed to some 50 other societies. With the exception of ten members, all others have an email address and our newsletter and notices of events etc are emailed every month. We keep the Yass Valley Council, the Information Centre and the Yass Library informed of our activities through our newsletter and in the case of the latter two with posters and brochures.

Publicity Publicity officer Susan O’Leary continues to research and write short articles of historical interest for the Yass Tribune and these appear almost weekly depending upon the space available. We have been fortunate that local reporters Toby Vue and his replacement Hannah Sparkes have been supportive of the society in working with our historical material and images.

Archives members Diana MacQuillan, Anne Pigram, Maureen Collins and Cheryl Mongan have given presentations to Yass Rotary in November and the Day View Club. There have been several opportunities to represent the society on local radio as well as ABC .

Our Facebook page maintained by Rachel Purdy now has 400 followers. Events and interesting links are added to the site as well as our Instagram page which has about 140 followers. Our website continues to attract visits with more than 190,000 hits peaking in the January to March period, coinciding with the Whole Histories weekend. Publicity for Free February and the June weekend boosted the numbers of visitors to the museum.

Events In October we marked the centenary of the Battle of Passchendaele at St Clement’s Anglican Church with talks by Drs Richard Reid and Jeff Brownrigg and myself and on the Classic Yass weekend contributed a digital display of vintage vehicles and arranged for Pip Giovanelli, Heritage Advisor to the Yass Valley Council to lead a heritage based walk along Comur and Dutton Streets. On Remembrance Day we assisted Tony Wade at Cliftonwood who hosted a visit by the ACT Branch of the National Trust. Cliftonwood was also the venue for our End of Year Gathering on a very wet day that resulted in us holding the event in the house which with the addition of some festive trimmings was an atmospheric setting that was enjoyed by all who attended. The highlight of the evening was the award of the four life memberships by our Patron Marion McCarthy. A surprise for our host Tony Wade was a cake to celebrate a significant birthday a few days later. Our three day Whole Histories conference was the first major commitment of the year and followed by Yass Valley Council’s decision to celebrate the 181st anniversary of the town’s gazettal with a birthday cake at our March meeting. We commemorated the service of the men and women of the Yass district with the laying of a wreath on Anzac Day. For the first time we were part of the ACT Heritage Festival when we partnered with the National Trust (ACT Branch) and Yass Antique Farm Machinery Club for A day at Cliftonwood farm. The day was very well attended particularly by Canberra heritage buffs who enjoyed touring the house, watching demonstrations of farming equipment and our catering efforts. In May a group of twenty members travelled to Goulburn to embark on a heritage walk of the Manfred buildings led by Goulburn & District Historical Society members Daphne Penalver and Linda Cooper. Lunch was at the Services Club followed by a visit to St Saviour’s Cathedral and the Water Works. In August members assisted St Augustine’s with their 180th anniversary celebrations. Thank you to all who assisted in making these activities a success. Whole Histories Our second Whole Histories conference at St Clement’s, Galong was held from 2 to 4 March and despite fewer attendees, the 64 who did attend were fulsome in praise of the event. It was unfortunate that the Australasian Congress on Genealogy and Heraldry was being held in a few days later and a number of potential attendees sent their apologies.

Once again we had a great line up of speakers. Who can forget Wayne Doubleday’s talk on Englishman Reg Sharpless and his jazz drum kit in the back country, Jennifer Gall and her music recordings accompanied by birdsong and Professor Mark McKenna’s account of his research into the Indigenous history of Blackfella’s Point. Once again Dr Mathew Trinca from the National Museum attended and this time presented the closing address. The society has a reputation for organising quality conferences and events and speakers are contacting us offering papers. However we need to take care to present a rounded program to appeal to a wide reaching audience.

Here I would like to address the comments that speakers went over the allotted time. Those who attended will recall the comments of our keynote speaker Dr Ann Herraman who spoke of the value of volunteers. If we were to pay our speakers we could expect to pay $3,000 for a lecture by a university professor and $800 for each speaker holding a doctorate. A quick calculation would have seen YDHS liable for almost $9,000 if we had to pay just those speakers. All our speakers volunteer (sometimes with a little encouragement) to deliver a presentation and they pay their own transport costs. If they chose to take part in the rest of the event we will pay for one nights’ accommodation. When you have speakers of the calibre that we attract we need to be flexible and need I say, grateful for their volunteering efforts in assisting us.. The Society benefits financially and otherwise from Whole Histories. The profit was almost $2,700. Due to our heavy commitments over the past few months the publication of the conference papers will occur shortly.

Hume Furniture The ongoing matter of the loan of the Hume furniture to Cottage is still not quite finalised. The state of uncertainty that resulted from the decision by the National Trust (NSW) to discontinue paying a manager at Cooma Cottage has taken some time to resolve. Recently Clare Baddeley was appointed by the National Trust to oversee the running of Cooma Cottage as well as six other properties. In terms of the loan agreement the Trust had a furniture condition assessment carried out by Greg Peters of Patinations Conservation Services to undertake the necessary repairs to damage that was deemed to have occurred after his 2009 report, at a cost of $5,777. In addition acting upon his recommendations the Trust requested that we contribute $9,548 to the cost of restoration of damage that was deemed to have been done before his 2009 report was prepared. The Trust would contribute $2,264, leaving us to find some $7,264. It appeared to us that he was under the impression that he would be carrying out the work however as owners of the furniture we have the right to specify who is employed to do the work. After lengthy discussion we obtained a quote from Roger Buckman of Brown’s Furniture Recovery to carry out the work at a cost of approx $4,500. The National Trust is not particularly happy about our decision but have acquiesced stipulating that the valuation that they are liable to obtain for insurance purposes be done before any work was undertaken. The valuation was only done two weeks ago and we await the written report. The furniture will be restored piece by piece so that all the furniture is not removed from Cooma Cottage at the same time. Meanwhile the loan agreement for twelve months is due for renegotiation done before any work was undertaken. The valuation was only done two weeks ago and we await the written report. The furniture will be restored piece by piece so that all the furniture is not removed from Cooma Cottage at the same time. Meanwhile the loan agreement for twelve months is due for renegotiation.

Coming events Friday 19 October 6pm Yass & District Museum—Threads of the Past - Official opening by Mayor Rowena Abbey Saturday 3 November, 10.15-10.45am Yass Valley Library—Researching WW1 service personnel Monday 5 November, 2pm Soldiers Club—Monthly meeting- speaker to be announced Sunday 11 November 2pm, Yass Memorial Hall—One Hundred Years On: How we remember those who served Friday 16 to Sunday 18 November – St Clements, Galong—Exciting Writing; bringing words to life Thursday 29 November, 9.30am Museum and Cliftonwood – Canberra U3A visit Monday 6 December, 2pm Soldiers Club—Monthly meeting- speaker to be announced Saturday 8 December 6pm, Lovat Chapel—End of Year Gathering 2019—Friday 10 - Sunday 12 May St Clement’s Galong —Whole Histories

Thank You What has become evident over the past year or two is that we will have to pace ourselves in the future and seriously consider the hire of paid labour to complete certain work – perhaps we should be playing Lotto!

We acknowledge Yass Valley Council for their support in paying the rates and insurance on the museum and providing grant funding and the Council logo now appears on our promotional material. Tony Wade has graciously allowed us to use Cliftonwood whenever we need a venue and we thank him for his generosity – it is very much appreciated.

To all our members I thank them for their support and encouragement throughout the year. Our volunteers who work at the archives and museum sometimes put in extremely long hours to manage the numerous tasks we need to do. As always our Patron Marion McCarthy has been very supportive of the work of the society and we thank her for her thoughtfulness and generosity.

Our committee members deserve special mention and I am repeating what I have said in previous annual reports. One person cannot successfully run a community organisation. Our society is proof that with the collaborative input of others at all levels we can achieve our goals. Camaraderie and good humour in a committee is essential and I am pleased that we have those qualities in our committee members. The committee works extremely hard, spending an inordinate amount of time working on various aspects of the Society and for this I sincerely thank each of them.

Our Vice presidents Diana MacQuillan and Adrian Cameron contributed significantly to the committee. Diana is always enthusiastic, encouraging, willing to offer a valued point of view and has provided afternoon tea for the museum working bees each week. Adrian’s contribution is appreciated as he has attended meetings on behalf of the Society, museum duty, moving furniture, painting and other tasks.

Maureen Collins is our extremely capable secretary, who has kept the committee fully informed with agendas, meeting minutes and other correspondence throughout the year. In addition she is also the Archives Coordinator and continues her assistance to me in a variety of ways which is very much appreciated especially in the redevelopment of the museum.

Our financial and membership records are maintained by Anne Pigram our hard working Treasurer. Anne is also our proof reader who attends to our publications, newsletters and other printed matter. Her knowledge of textiles is invaluable as we develop the new exhibition. Personally the past year has presented several challenges and the support of Maureen and Anne has been very much appreciated.

Susan O’Leary is our Publicity Officer who filled the position last year, has taken on the task of regularly preparing historical articles for the local newspaper and actively publicising the Society’s activities and events. Ex-officio member of the Committee is Bill Pigram our Museum Coordinator. Here I reiterate my thanks for his work in that role where he is much appreciated. Former secretary Rosalie Bush continued as our Public Officer and as part of our Archive team. Recently it was decided that we needed volunteers to coordinate the catering for events. Adrian Cameron and Helen Murphy accepted the challenge and the arrangements made for our recent Talks with a Fork were a great success.

The Presidency of the Society is a privilege that I value and I thank you for the trust you have placed in me. Your opinions, dedication, support and hard work are very much appreciated as I know how precious your time is with the many commitments that you have in this community-minded town. You make a valuable contribution to our community when you volunteer and this has a positive effect on the lives of others while we are preserving our local history.

Cheryl Mongan

President