Local History Program 2014
The Local History Service at the Tea Tree Gully Library The City of Tea Tree Gully Library Local History Service was established to preserve and promote the history and culture of the district. The Local History Service is a special part of the Library. The items in it are rare, sometimes even unique. They are here for your enjoyment and for the enjoyment of future generations.
Aims • Identify, collect, preserve, archive and examine items and issues relevant to the social and cultural history of the City of Tea Tree Gully. • Assist in the development of an accessible and relevant community history that not only accurately depicts the past, but is also inclusive enough to represent the current Tea Tree Gully community. • Act as a tool for those who are interested in writing their own histories – offering expert advice, research facilities and resources. • Promote and reflect the rich and diverse heritage of the district.
The collection The Local History collection has largely been created through the use of donated relevant materials. Offers of donations, information about interesting collections in the community and loans of materials for copying are the lifeblood of the collection and we encourage you to contact us if you know of any items that might enrich our collection. We will consider the suitability of any item you bring to our attention. The collection represents a significant resource for anyone interested in any aspect of Tea Tree Gully’s history. It includes: • Books • Birth, Death and Marriage records for Talunga and Highercombe • An extensive historical map collection • Oral histories • Over 5,000 photographs of the Tea Tree Gully area • Local school histories • Church and cemetery records • The local Messenger from 1965 to the current edition • Ephemera (pamphlets, tickets, flyers, etc.) • Books on the local area • Family histories.
This collection exists for present and future use. Many items in it can never be replaced. The Library uses a number of strategies to preserve this valuable collection: • Some unique and fragile items have been duplicated and copies (microfiche, sound recordings, photographic prints, etc) have been made available for use in preference to the originals • Other items may be available for use only under supervision and you may be required to wear gloves or take other precautions when handling them • Many items cannot be photocopied. We hope that you will enjoy using the collection and request that you remember many others will be using it for generations to come.
Services As the City’s cultural centre, the Library aids in the community’s understanding of how the City of Tea Tree Gully has grown and developed in many different ways. The Local History Service supports this through: • Talks and workshops in the Library and at local sites of historical significance • Historical displays
• Tours of historic sites • Guided bus tours • Visits to schools and community groups interested in the area’s history and the steps that are being taken to preserve it • Support for students, individuals and groups involved in researching and promoting the history of the area • Outreach in schools supporting the local history curriculum • Help with family history research.
Ongoing events February - December First aid for your family tree Receive help to get you started with your family history or practical advice on how to overcome problems with your research. Expert volunteers are available in the Local History Room to assist people with their family history research every Tuesday from 11am–5pm. No bookings necessary. Family history help at the Library is free, resumes early February and runs all year. Family history help One on One Need some extra help with your family research? Not sure how to start or what to do next? The Library offers individual family history sessions of up to one hour on Wednesdays and Thursdays with one of the Library’s knowledgeable Family History volunteers. Bookings are essential for this free service. You can book online to attend our events. Follow the links from our website or visit teatreegully.evanced.info to secure your place.
February Ancestry training When:
Wednesday 5 February, 6–7.30pm
Where:
City of Tea Tree Gully Library Training Room
Cost: Free Bookings:
Open 24 January, 8.45am
Hands on training for beginners using the Ancestry.com database, which is available free from all computers located within the Library or via the Library’s wireless network. Learn to confidently use the basic research features of Ancestry.com with plenty of time to practise and get help.
March Green and Gold Historical Bus Tour When:
Monday 3 March, 9am–2pm
Cost:
$30/$25 conc
Bookings:
Open 14 February, 8.45am
Join the President of the Tea Tree Gully and Districts Historical Society, Carole Simmonds on a trip that examines the history of pioneer farming and early social life in Golden Grove and Greenwith. The tour culminates with a light, home-style lunch at the Old Highercombe Hotel Museum.
Cost includes a guided tour, lunch and entry to the Museum. Your booking will be confirmed upon payment, which needs to be made before the date of the tour. Tour leaves from outside the City of Tea Tree Gully Library. A minimum number of 10 bookings must be met. Archaeology Week! A Community Archaeology event When:
Monday 17 - Saturday 22 March, 10am–3pm
Where:
Old Highercombe Hotel Museum
Cost: Free Bookings:
Open 21 February, 8.45am
What will we find? Relics from the proximity to the hotel? Bones from the former butcher nearby? Bits from the bakery? Evidence of the old quarry road that traversed close by? The Ark? Maybe nothing? The Local History Service in conjunction with the Old Highercombe Hotel Museum will be conducting an archaeological dig on the grounds of the museum and we would love for you to join us. If you can dig, photograph, or help us catalogue our findings, we want you! All ages welcome. Please register your interest in participating so that we can make sure we have a job for you.
April From Baptisms to Burials – Historical Bus Tour When:
Monday 7 April, 9am–2.30pm
Cost:
$30/$25 conc
Bookings:
Open 21 March, 8.45am
A smash hit in 2013, Carole Simmonds of the Tea Tree Gully and Districts Historical Society takes you on a journey from the cradle to the grave. You will visit some of the most significant churches, schools and cemeteries in the area. Cost includes a guided tour, a home-style lunch at the Old Highercombe Hotel Museum and entry to the museum. Your booking will be confirmed upon payment, which needs to be made before the date of the tour. Tour leaves from outside of the City of Tea Tree Gully Library. A minimum number of 10 bookings must be met. Find the digger in your family When:
Monday 28 April, 6–8pm
Where:
City of Tea Tree Gully Library Local History area
Cost: $40 Bookings:
Open 11 April, 8.45am
This year will be the 99th anniversary of
the Gallipoli landings and 100 years since the beginning of World War 1. Roughly half of Australia’s eligible men enlisted, was one of your ancestors among them? This hands on training session will show you how to access their service records and cross reference them with other sources, such as unit diaries and nominal rolls, so that not only can you find the digger in your family tree, but you can see where they went, and understand what they did.
May About Time: South Australia’s History Festival is on throughout May. The City of Tea Tree Gully will host a variety of events as a part of this festival. Australian history timeline display When:
Thursday 1 - Saturday 31 May
Where:
City of Tea Tree Gully Library Local History Area
Did you know that Australian Aboriginal cultures are the world’s oldest living cultures? Did you know that Aboriginal people accomplished many firsts for the human race? We have constructed a timeline that covers Australian history from 50,000 years ago to the present. It runs for almost 12 metres. The establishment of the Province of South Australia happens in the last 27cm; the
building of the pyramids – something that we think of as ancient – occurs on the last page. Come and be amazed by the vastness, richness and importance of Aboriginal history. Kidstory History When: Thursday 1 May, 1.30–2pm, 2.30–3pm Venue: City of Tea Tree Gully Library Cost: Bookings:
Free
Open 18 April, 8.45am
It’s the first day of the About Time South Australian History Festival and we invite you to join David for an interactive story time designed especially for kids aged 3-5. These 30 minute sessions use stories and objects from our collection covering three different eras in Tea Tree Gully’s history. Every child receives a gift to take home. There will be guided craft activities available after the session. Day-Glo, GoGo, and Roller Disco: Tea Tree Gully in the 1980s - The Roller Disco When:
Saturday 17 May, 2–5pm
Where:
Golden Grove Arts Centre
Cost: $5 Bookings:
Open 15 February, 8.45am
The follow up to our enormously successful Fast Times, Facial Hair and
Fondues event at last year’s About Time History Festival, Day-Glo, GoGo and Roller Disco looks at the changes that occurred in Tea Tree Gully during the 1980s. From the Golden Grove development to the development of the O-Bahn, the City of Tea Tree Gully continued to grow and the 1980s was summed up by one place – The Modbury Skateline. Join David for a light hearted look at an era that combined hair spray and shoulder pads with Jane Fonda aerobics! The music, images and history that defined Tea Tree Gully in the 1980s will be combined with the spirit of the Skateline. Immerse yourself in the 80s! The 1970s might have been the decade that taste forgot, but the 1980s was the decade when taste was ignored! Roller skates provided, this is a roller disco!
June Ancestry training When:
Thursday 19 June, 10–11.30am
Where:
City of Tea Tree Gully Library Training Room
Cost: Free Bookings:
Open 30 May, 8.45am
Hands on training for beginners using
the Ancestry.com database, which is available free from all computers located within the Library or via the Library’s wireless network. Learn to confidently use the basic research features of Ancestry.com with plenty of time to practise and get help. The wrong turn that changed the world: The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and the lead up to the First World War When:
Saturday 28 June, 2–3.30pm
Where:
City of Tea Tree Gully Library
Cost: Free Bookings:
Open 13 June, 8.45am
100 years ago, on the June 28 1914, the chauffer Leopold Lojka took a wrong turn while driving the Austro-Hungarian Archduke, Franz Ferdinand through Sarajevo. The wrong turn gave the 19 year old Gavrilo Princip enough time to approach the car and assissinate the Archduke and his wife Sophie, an act that plunged the world into war and eventually cost the lives of tens of millions of people. This talk looks at the way the world reacted to this event and how one wrong turn changed the world forever. Wine and cheese provided.
July ‘Monkey Shoots Man’: Trove Newspapers - how did we live without it? When:
Wednesday 16 July, 6–7pm
Where:
City of Tea Tree Gully Training Room
Cost: Free Bookings:
Open 27 June, 8.45am
‘Monkey shoots man’ is just one of the amazing (and real) headlines to be found on the National Library’s excellent online resource, Trove Newspapers. Trove has changed the way that all of us research almost any aspect of Australian History. Whether you are a family historian or just someone interested in Australia’s history, Trove has something to offer you. This hands on session will show you what is available through Trove and some secrets for successful and pain-free searching.
August Family history context talk: The Edwardian Period When:
Monday 18 August, 6–7pm
Where:
City of Tea Tree Gully Library
Cost: Free Bookings:
Open 1 August, 8.45am
The Edwardian period only lasted for nine years, although it can be argued that the period outlived the King and really only came to an end with the start of the First World War. Did you have an ancestor that lived during the Edwardian period, what was their life like? What affected their lives? What work did they do? Come along and have a look at the world of the Edwardians and think about the place your ancestor had in it. Wine and cheese provided.
September Poppa’s Garden: The backyard in history When:
Sunday 21 September, 1–2pm
Where:
Gallery 1855 2 Haines Road, Tea Tree Gully
Cost: Free Bookings:
Open 22 August, 8.45am
The South Australian back garden has always been a place for leisure and a place of play. However, until comparatively recently it was also a productive space, a space where things were grown and stuff was made.
Join us for this discussion of what the back garden used to be like and what we may be missing. Wine and cheese provided. Head for the Hills - Historical Bus Tour When:
Monday 29 September, 9am–2pm
Cost:
$30/$25 conc
Bookings:
Open 24 August, 8.45am
Join Carole Simmonds and Head for the Hills. Meandering through the hills, the tour will cast light on some of the rich history of the old District of Highercombe, including Anstey Hill, Paracombe, Inglewood, Glen Ewin and Houghton. A light home-style lunch at the Old Highercombe Hotel Museum is included. Your booking will be confirmed upon payment, which needs to be made before the date of the tour. Tour leaves from outside of the City of Tea Tree Gully Library. A minimum number of 10 bookings must be met.
October Historical Sauces as Historical Sources - What can recipes and cookbooks tell us about history?
When:
Wednesday 15 October, 6.30–7.30pm
Where:
City of Tea Tree Gully Library
Cost: Free Bookings:
Open 26 September, 8.45am
If we are what we eat, then what we ate should tell us a lot about who we were. Recipes are becoming recognised as historical sources in their own right. Come along and see how our dreams, hopes, desires and aspirations, as well as our limitations, were reflected in what we prepared to eat. Wine and cheese provided. Behind Closed Doors Historical Bus Tour When:
Monday 27 October, 9am–2.30pm
Cost:
$30/$25 conc
Bookings:
Open 26 September, 8.45am
Carole Simmonds of the Tea Tree Gully Historical Society takes you on a Behind Closed Doors tour. Take a peek inside various heritage buildings within the City of Tea Tree Gully, some not usually open to the public, and learn a little of their history. Cost includes a guided tour, a home-style
lunch at the Old Highercombe Hotel Museum and entry to the museum. Your booking will be confirmed upon payment, which needs to be made before the date of the tour. Tour leaves from outside the City of Tea Tree Gully Library. A minimum number of 10 bookings must be met.
November Display - Men and Mo’s in Tea Tree Gully 1854-2014 When:
The month of Movember
Where:
City of Tea Tree Gully Library
Cost: Free Men, moustaches and Tea Tree Gully have a long history together. For 150 years the moustache has played a significant part in the development of the City. With glory days in the nineteenth century and a revival in the 1970s, the mo has adorned the upper lips of many in our community… and we have the photos to prove it (and sometimes even the negatives!) in our Local History Collection. We will be displaying a selection of some of our favourite mo’s from the last 150 years in the Library. Donation tins will be provided if you wish to support men’s health charities in Movember.
Finding your family history in the NAA When:
Wednesday 5 November, 6–7pm
Where:
City of Tea Tree Gully Library Training Room
Cost: Free Bookings:
Open 24 October, 8.45am
The National Archives of Australia (NAA) are an excellent collection for the social and family historian alike. This hands on session, designed for family historians, will show you how best to access and search the NAA collection for your ancestors.
December Ancestry Training When:
Wednesday 10 December, 6–7.30pm
Where:
City of Tea Tree Gully Library Training Room
Cost: Free Bookings:
Open 28 November, 8.45am
Hands on training for beginners using the Ancestry.com database which is available free from all computers located within the Library. Learn to confidently use the basic research features of Ancestry.com
For more information, please contact us on 08 8397 7333 or visit www.teatreegully.sa.gov.au