KU-RING-GAI HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC. Incorporating the Ku-ring-gai Family History Centre • Patron: The Mayor of Ku-ring-gai Affiliated with the Royal Australian Historical Society, the National Trust of Australia (NSW), The Society of Australian Genealogists, and the NSW & ACT Association of Family History Societies Inc. September 2011 Newsletter Vol. 29 No. 8 PO Box 109 Gordon NSW 2072 • Ph: (02) 9499 4568 • www.khs.org.au • email: [email protected] Rooms: 799 Pacific Highway Gordon Meetings held in the Gordon Library Meeting Room, 799 Pacific Highway Gordon Walter and Marion Griffin: life & work Coming Meetings Alasdair McGregor, trained architect, photographer, artist Grand and author, spoke at our July meeting of his book Next General Meeting Obsessions: the life and work of Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin. This definitive work has Saturday 17 September 2.00 pm won this year’s National Biography Award. Walter Burley Griffin met Marion Mahony when both worked with Frank Lloyd Wright in Chicago. Marion, a graduate of MIT, was the first female architect licensed to practice, worldwide. She was highly regarded as a draughtsman and illustrator. Griffin, 35 and Mahony, 40, married in 1911, when the international competition for the design of Canberra was under way. Walter’s design, supported by Marion’s drawings, won the competition in 1912. The couple arrived in Australia in 1913 to consult on the design. Difficulties arose early between Griffin, appointed as part-time Federal Capital Director of Design and Construction, and the Design Review board of the Home Affairs Department of our infant Federal government. There followed ‘seven years of struggle and slander’. Griffin’s final plan for Canberra was produced in 1918. By 1920 the Hughes government, keen to satisfy the Gregory Blaxell, author of “The River– constitutional requirement to establish the capital, decided Sydney Cove to Parramatta” will take us on a Griffin was not up to the executive demands of his position short journey covering the early history of the and proposed he work under Sir John Sulman as Chair of Homebush, Ermington, Brush Farm and the new Federal Capital Advisory Committee. Griffin Newington vicinities. published his reasons why he would not, and resigned, to continue in the private practice he and Marion had carried on since 1913. Melbourne works included the Café Australia Afternoon Tea will be available. reconstruction, 1916; Newman College building, 1917; and Visitors welcome. Capitol House and Theatre, with its distinctive interior design. Post-Canberra, Walter took up land at Castlecrag in Next Family History Meeting Sydney. He designed subdivisions, and houses of stone and concrete to blend with the landscape he saw as the Harbour’s Saturday 3 September last remaining natural waterfront. He and Marion lived there, and attracted the nucleus of artistic, idealistic residents who 11.00 am Peter Kettle: “The Ryerson Index”. came to characterise that suburb. 2.00 pm General Meeting There was also private domestic work in Melbourne and Pauline Kettle: “Workhouses of Sydney, and with partner Eric Nicholls, 12 municipal England” incinerators were built in eastern Australia. In 1935 Griffin followed his design commissions to India, (see details of the Kettles on P. 6) where Marion later joined him. He died in 1937 of peritonitis and is buried in India. He is commemorated by Lake Burley Griffin, though the final form of Canberra’s lake was designed Afternoon Tea will be available. by others. Visitors welcome. Helen Davies Page 1 Talks program Advance notice: Irish Day with Terry Eakin Please help us by registering your interest: phone 9499 Saturday 8 October, 10.30 am–4.00 pm 4568 or email [email protected] so we can cater for you with Booking sheet in rooms. $30 includes morning and yummy refreshments. afternoon teas, light lunch, handouts and lucky door prize. All talks are in the Gordon Library meeting room, with More details next Newsletter. Enquiries to Jo Harris. cost ($5) payable at the door. Special Interest Groups Please note varying finish times. Please support us so we can keep running these talks. German Research Interest Group Thanks to Ku-ring-gai Council for subsidising these. The first meeting of the German research special interest group was on Monday 8 August, with an amazing turn out RAHS Lands Research Workshop of 28 people! Peter Stehn gave a presentation on some of Tuesday 30 August 2011, 10.30 am–2.00 pm his German research, as well as what resources are available Assoc. Prof. Carol Liston (Uni. of Western Sydney and in the KHS research rooms. Discussion was lively, with RAHS Councillor). The RAHS Lands Research Workshop many ideas and links flying about. covers using online resources to research a place in NSW. The next meeting on Monday 12 September will involve The workshop will look at the tools developed by NSW a presentation of the basic geography of Germany and major government agencies for maps and cadastral details (SIX historical events. This meeting will start at 1.00 pm with the and PIXEL) and for obtaining Torrens system land titles on presentation at 1.30 pm. We will compile a couple of lists at line. the meeting for interested people: 1. regions/cities of interest Cost ($5) includes refreshments. and 2. surnames of interest. This should stimulate more The Cornish and Cornish Research discussion as people find overlapping areas. Wednesday 31 August 2011, 10.30 am–1.00 pm Thank you all for coming. It was great to see a number Julie Wheeler (President of Southern Sons of Cornwall of new faces there too. and OPC for Redruth). Julie is coming all the way from Mac Users Group the Nowra region to talk to us. Part 1: “Cornwall’s History There will be no meeting in September as most of our and its People” includes a summary of its history through members are either on holidays or going to the SAG Mac the ages, prominent Cornish and Cornish Australians and a genealogy day on 24 September. touch on its food, superstitions, myths and legends. Then Our next meeting will be on Thursday 13 October at Part 2: The great migration and how to research your 2.00 pm in the research rooms. We thought we’d try a Cornish ancestors. different day to see if that suited some who hadn’t been Cost ($5) includes refreshments. able to come in the past. Sahibs, Nabobs and Boxwallahs–Europeans in India, Our meetings are informal and discussion is encouraged. 1600–1947 If you have any specific questions, please email them in Thursday 15 September 2011, 10.30 am–12.30 pm advance so they can be circulated to the group for answers Sylvia Murphy (SAG Education Committee). Part 1: An ([email protected]). introduction to the millions of British and other Europeans No need to book, just turn up. Bring your laptop or iPad who lived and worked in India and territories once controlled if you like. by the English East India Company, and from 1859, the British We will look to form a Cornish Special Interest Group Raj. It aims to give a brief and broad sweep of the influence after the talk on 31 August. If you can’t make the talk but and power of the EIC from its roots in London, through are interested in such a group, please contact us. South Asia, to the far East and South Pacific region including Australia. It introduces the listener to the many and varied There has also been interest expressed in forming a occupations which provided employment, refuting any idea Scottish group, a Scandinavian group and a London group. that all ancestors in India were in the Army! Part 2: A look Anyone interested in any of these? The options are endless. at the nature of baptism, marriage and burial records and Groups don’t have to be started by people who know a lot where to find these resources, with time for questions. about a subject; sharing experiences is a really good way to Cost ($5) includes morning tea. learn. We can help you get started and will probably join in. Email [email protected] if you are interested. If Familysearch.org there are enough, then we’ll get something going. Friday 23 September 2011, 10.30 am–1.00 pm Jackie van Bergen Vicki Eldridge (SAG VP and Convenor of the SAG Education Committee) Email notification of events Vicki will take you through the new configuration of From time to time we have events happen at short notice. familysearch.org. This free website at some time should If you would like to be on an email distribution list used only be used by all researchers. It is now bigger and better than for the purpose of notifying forthcoming events such as talks ever and this demonstration will look at the new features, and tours, please email [email protected] so we can add your searching, refining, and what more might be available. email address to the list. Cost ($5) includes morning tea. You can unsubscribe from this list at any time. Page 2 September 2011 Picturesque Picton another inn now private property, and an original Presbyterian church, to the wooden truss bridge which is single lane with vehicular height restrictions. Travelling past the Picton primary and high schools through commercial and farming areas, we soon reached the no-longer-small village of Tahmoor, then onto Couridjah, a tiny siding on the loop line, and Thirlmere, home of the large Rail Heritage Centre; and passing the large Queen Victoria Memorial Home, which was originally built to accommodate T.B.