Free Copy March 2015 In This Edition: Page Page The Coolgardie Safe 2 Chinese in Australia 22 Geelong Bible Women’s Agency 3 Fast Facts— Hong Kong 24 John Fuller—Bushranger 6 Bright 25 The Echidna 8 Roy “Mo” Rene 26 Firth McCallum 10 Recipe—4 Cheeses Lasagne 28 Sheep Shearing 12 Word Search— Inventions 29 Geelong Skate Parks 15 Banknotes: John Tebbutt 30 Corio-The Early Days Part 15 16 150 Years Ago 31 The Colossus of Rhodes 18 Then… & Now: Lunan House 32 John F Kennedy 20 The Coolgardie Safe is a low-tech food storage unit designed for cooling, and prolonging the life of whatever edibles are kept within it. In 1892 gold was discovered at Coolgardie, 558km east of Perth. Although located in a very hot, arid region of Western Australia, the lure of gold enticed thousands of men to the area. By 1898 Coolgardie was the third largest town in the State, with just over 15,000 inhabitants. One of those men was Arthur Patrick McCormick, who has migrated from Ireland, and was then working as a contract digger on the gold fields. One of the challenges of living in such a harsh climate was to extend the life of perishable foods. McCormick noticed that a wet cover placed over a bottle helped to chill its contents, and if this bottle was located in a breeze or where air was circulating, even though the cover would dry out more quickly, the contents of the bottle would get colder. McCormick then constructed a box like apparatus, with shelving inside for the food to sit on. The box was then covered with hessian cloth. A shallow tray was placed on the top of the box, which McCormick added water to at least twice daily. One end of the hessian covering would be placed in the water and gradually the water would seep through the cloth, up over the sides of the tray and down the sides of the box. As the water evaporated, the heat dispersed, keeping the precious food inside the box fresh and edible. The Coolgardie Safe, as a it came to be called, was especially effective in outback Australia where the air is notoriously dry and hot. Improvements were soon made, including a tap slowly dripping water from a large tank onto the hessian. This greatly reduced the time needed to constantly replenish the water in the shallow tray. Another improvement was placing the legs of the Coolgardie Safe in tins of water, deterring ants and other creepy crawlies from gaining access to the food via the legs. Large numbers of the Coolgardie Safe were assembled for commercial sale, and it became a popular household item in rural as well as urban areas until the 1920s, when the first ice chests became more convenient to use. Refrigerators followed in the 1930s. Interestingly, even today Coolgardie Safe technology is still a convenient way to preserve perishable food in developing countries. 2 While much has been written about the prosperity brought to Geelong by the gold rush at Ballarat, not all were benefitted by the sudden influx of wealth. By the mid-1850s, as Geelong’s population climbed toward 20,000, the town was experiencing a growing number of impoverished women, along with their children. Many once devoted husbands and fathers had caught ‘gold fever’ and abandoned their families, heading to the gold fields at Ballarat, Bendigo, and as far away as New Zealand. A school mistress conducts How could this group of disadvantaged families be cared class at a Ragged School– as for? Enter the Geelong Bible Women’s Agency (GBWA). can be experienced today at Ballarat’s Sovereign Hill. In the 1850-60s period little government aid was provided for the poor. But since the church groups thrived, they were among the first to provide much needed community care. Made up of high-principled Christian women volunteers, mainly from among the various Protestant churches, the GBWA was formed to provide basic food, clothing, education, as well a spiritual support to the needy. Let us consider some of their most note-worthy deeds. Ragged Schools Before the Victorian Education Act was passed in 1872 to establish “free, compulsory and secular” education, schooling was generally provided by church groups who taught a mix of religion and general knowledge. Such schools were of a high standard, but fees were expensive and only the richer sort could afford to send their children to schools like Geelong Grammar School (1855), Sacred Heart College (1860) or Geelong College (1861). (Not so different today is it?) The Geelong community made efforts to bridge the gap between the less wealthy and a good education, with the establishment of the Matthew Flinders School (1858). But schooling for children was optional, and still too expensive for the very poor. Enter the Ragged School. As early as the late 1840s the Geelong community had noted the successful setting up of Ragged Schools in England, to be attended by the poor. By 1854 these Ragged Schools, so called because the children generally attended dressed in rags, had started operating in Sydney, Melbourne and Hobart. Geelong was slower to follow the lead of these other towns, perhaps due to the fact that a number of the church-run schools were undergoing severe financial strain themselves. However, the work of setting up Ragged Schools was finally started once the GBWA became established in 1864. In that year, the first Ragged School in Geelong was located at 25 Corio Street, 3 between Yarra and Bellerine Streets. Two years later 63 children were in attendance. Although the clothes they wore were simple, special attention was given to good hygiene. Days commenced with prayer, and perhaps the singing of a hymn. In addition to learning reading, writing and maths, the girls learned sewing, making shirts for the boys and pinafores for themselves. They also learned patchwork quilting, with the A typical Ragged School—although being very poor finished products taken home to their boys and girls still get a basic education. mothers to supply much-needed bedding in winter time. Bright & Hitchcocks, the biggest store in town donated cloth to the school for the girls to use. Other institutions donated copy-books, slates, and other school materials. And GBWA volunteers visited the school to provide religious instruction to the class. Of the 63 young students, 25 of them ate their dinner at the school, ensuring they got at least one meal each day.* Donations of dripping (melted-down animal fat), treacle, jam and bread were gratefully received from donors to make this possible. All of this work, including the instruction provided by the schoolteacher, Mrs Hutton, was only possible because of the tireless efforts of the Geelong Bible Women’s Agency. The success of the first school led to the formation of a second Ragged School in O’Connell Street in Ashby (Geelong West) in 1866, which was soon boasting 37 children in attendance. The Victorian Education Act of 1872 introduced the establishment of State Schools, and by 1875 the two Ragged Schools were no longer needed. However, nearly 40 years later in 1913, it was noted that many young children were still falling through the cracks in the education system, and a Geelong Ragged School was being considered once again. However, there is no record of one actually being established at this time. The Female Refuge While the tummies and education of poor children were cared for, the mothers of the children were not neglected either. The GBWA volunteers made regular home visits to provide material assistance to these destitute families. Spiritual guidance and warm Christian fellowship were also offered to the women. However, over time it Mrs. Mary Kernot— Prominent GBWA was observed that even more help was needed. member, and wife * A similar program is still run by many Primary Schools in Geelong even of Geelong mayor, today, providing a nutritious breakfast, lunch or afternoon snack to Charles Kernot children in need. 4 To provide accommodation to homeless women, in 1868 a Female Refuge Centre was set up. The building, costing £185, and funded entirely on donations raised by the GBWA, was soon occupied by 7 inmates. A matron who was “excellently well fitted for the position” was appointed, ensuring that all the needs of the women were met, and that the women conducted themselves “very satisfactorily.” Each year an annual dinner and meeting of the Geelong Bible Women’s Agency was held at the Geelong Mechanic’s Institute in Little Malop Street (now the GPAC theatre complex), with upward of 500 persons in attendance. In addition to being an important fund-raising event for the Agency, the accompanying speeches provided an insight into the motives of the group. First and foremost, the women gave glory to God for blessing their work. Then, they went on to emphasize the importance of their door-to-door work. They had found it the most effective way to take the gospel to the people of Geelong, help those in material need, and provide ongoing comfort and support to them.* The sick had been regularly visited and cheered by the reading of spiritual works, and the poor and aged were sought out and encouraged. It was noted that the township of Geelong, while still in its infancy, had not developed the level of immorality and poverty observed in older cities, and it was the resolve of the GBWA to ensure that it never did. Fund-raising efforts for GBWA projects included applying for Government grants, selling items of hand-sewn clothing and bedding, as well as washing clothes and performing other housework.