Issue 19: Nov-Dec 2013

3 201 EC NO V– D

Ned Kelly & Peter FitzSimons ART DECO SPLENDOUR IN THE BLUE MOUNTAINS

A history of scrapbooking NEIL OLIVER ON THE MAKING OF COAST AUSTRALIA

Must-read

Aus $10.50 incl GST NZ $11.95 incl GST PRINTED ON FSC-APPROVED PAPER NOV–DEC 2013

9 771838 504008

ISSN 1838-5044

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WORLD WAR ONE

iary dSPECIAL

Stoic nurses, brave medics and heroes on the front line

M A P PING OU R WO R LD Ter r a In co gni ta To Australi a

7 NOVEMBER 2 013– 10 M A R C H 2014 Only at the National Library of Australia, Canberra EXHIBITION GALLERY FREE DAILY FROM 10 AM nla.gov.au/exhibitions BOOKINGS ESSENTIAL PRINCIPAL PARTNER

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Fra Mauro (c. 1390–1459), Map of the World (detail) 1448–1453, Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana, Venice. The loan of the Fra Mauro Map of the World has been generously supported by Kerry Stokes AC, Noel Dan AM and Adrienne Dan, Nigel Peck AM and Patricia Peck, Douglas and Belinda Snedden and the Embassy of Italy in Canberra.

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Contents ISSUE 19, NOV-DEC 2013

On the cover

66 40 30

34

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A cup of tea with… Neil Oliver The presenter of Coast, Neil Oliver, talks about his new series, Coast Australia

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Diaries of a nation at war The State Library of NSW is currently digitising its large collection of WWI diaries.

We feature some exclusive diary extracts

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Kitty’s War How Janet Butler wrote her award-winning book, thanks to the discover of a special diary

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A tale of two grandfathers Two men, two very different experiences of war. Penny Hyde look at the effect helping King and country had on them

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Anzacs & the empire How did our ancestors really feel about war?

A new exhibition from the Australian War Memorial reveals their inner thoughts

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Scrapbooking the past Why scrapbooks are more than just a collection of news snippets and cards

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Gastby getaway Read why the Blue Mountains is the ultimate getaway for Art Deco lovers, darling

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In search of Ned Kelly Peter FitzSimons explains the appeal of Australia’s most famous outlaw

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Contents

48

your family

regulars

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Find your servicewoman in the archives Shauna Hicks spotlights an online register that is worth looking at if your female ancestor signed up for service

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Editor’s letter

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Postie’s here!

Your thoughts, your say

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An enduring friendship Bruce Petty’s project on Maori airmen reveals some surprising connections

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Bob’s your uncle Network with other researchers and break down those brick walls!

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The records that keep on giving The Benevolent Society is a rich source for genealogists, but do you know how to find what you want? Heather Garnsey and Martyn Killion’s online database will show you how

14 Platform

The new database that is linking together

people in colonial Australia

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Recycling war’s waste Craig Wilcox looks at what happened to war wreckage and surplus once peace was reached

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Ask our experts Margot Riley and Neil Smith analyse treasured photographs for Inside History readers

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History now Great events you won’t want to miss around Australia and New Zealand

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History on the mountains We spotlight the work of the Blue Mountains Historical Society

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History apps From walking tours to significant trees: we review the latest apps for iOS and Android

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The book shelf What we’re reading right now

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One picture…1,000 memories The story behind one precious photograph

offers 71

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Subscribe to Inside History… and you’ll go into the draw to win a digitisation kit valued at $429!

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our family

PO Box 406 Erskineville NSW 2043 Australia PUBLISHER Ben Mercer ben@insidehistory.com.au EDITOR Cassie Mercer cass@insidehistory.com.au

COVER IMAGE ART DIRECTOR Lucy Glover EDITORIAL ASSISTANT AND FEATURE WRITER Sarah Trevor EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS Candida Baker Jean Bedford Janet Butler Peter Corris Joan Edwards Peter FitzSimons Heather Garnsey Paula Grunseit Barbara Hall Shauna Hicks Penny Hyde Martyn Killion Dorian Mode Neil Oliver Bruce Petty Meg Quinlisk Margot Riley Neil Smith Lydia Thorpe Robyn van Dyk Mark Webster Craig Wilcox PRINT SUBSCRIPTIONS See page 71 or subscribe online at www.insidehistory.com.au DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTIONS For iPad, find us on Apple Newsstand For Android and PC, find us at au.zinio.com

Our coverboy is James David Chettle (1896–1970) of the 50th Battalion, and is courtesy State Records South Australia, ID GRG26/5/4/252. James enlisted in Adelaide on 27 March 1916, aged 20.

He survived the war and returned to Australia on 19 September 1919.

View the State Records South Australia’s Flickr collection of South Australian soldiers, sailors and nurses who took part in World War One by visiting http://bit.ly/lZZG4c

Inside History (ISSN 1838-5044) is published six times a year by Cassie Mercer (ABN 13 353 848 961) PO Box 406 Erskineville NSW 2043 Australia.

Views expressed by the authors are not necessarily those of the publisher. Copyright 2013 by Cassie Mercer and Inside History. All rights reserved.

Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers should be aware that this magazine contains images and names of people who have since passed away.

DISTRIBUTED BY Gordon and Gotch Australia PRINTED BY Ligare Pty Ltd 138 Bonds Road Riverwood NSW 2210

Inside History | Nov-Dec 2013 |

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“The stories we as individuals tell about ourselves in our diaries, letters and memoirs — the narratives by which we make sense of our experiences — reveal much about ourselves, and our world.” — Janet Butler With the centenary of World War I approaching, many historians are focusing on the war diaries written by the men and women who were there in the trenches, tending to the wounded and preforming other vital roles. This issue, we highlight some of these, from the State Library of NSW’s project to digitise their collection of 1,000 World War I diaries (page 30), to the Australian War Memorial’s new exhibition focusing on the handwritten documents in their collection (page 46).

On page 34, historian Janet Butler tells us how she came to write her award-winning book Kitty’s War, based on the diaries of Sister Kit McNaughton . And through diaries and letters we also highlight the experiences of two very different men now intertwined through their granddaughter, who is piecing together their war experience (page 40).

Peter FitzSimons shares with us an extract from his latest book, Ned Kelly, and tells us what it’s like to write about an Australian icon (page 84). On page 61 Craig Wilcox looks at Australia’s first great recycling schemes, and on page 52 Bruce Petty researches two New Zealand airmen who became the best of friends during their days flying together in World War II. Plus, on page 56, Ken Wright looks at a brave little war dog.

Fancy an Art Deco tour of the Blue Mountains ? We’ve got just the ticket on page 78.

Dorian Mode’s story and Lydia Thorpe’s photographs had us hankering to move there!

Plus, we have all our great regular features , giveaways, and book and app reviews.

All up, it’s a bumper 98-page issue, marking Inside History’s third birthday, and 500,000 words. That’s half a million words we’ve published, bringing our shared history to life. We couldn’t have done it without your support. From the team here at Inside History, we wish you and your family a wonderful holiday season, and of course, happy researching !

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Image Courtesy State Library of Victoria, ID H2010.77/74.

editor’s letter

The place to start your family history‌

Not sure how or where to start? findmypast.com.au makes it easy to start your journey into your family history n

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Take our 14 day FREE trial and start your journey now!

Facebook: www.facebook.com/findmypastAustralia Twitter: www.twitter.com/findmypastAU

To commemorate the centenary of World War I, we’re releasing an amazing selection of photographs, posters, maps and memorabilia from the collections of the State Library of NSW.

shop

the library Open 7 days (o2) 9273 1611 libshop@sl.nsw.gov.au www.sl.nsw.gov.au/shop

P&D-4140-8/2013

Archival prints of these posters are now available. To see more, visit the Library Shop, or follow us on

STATE LIBRARY OF NSW

MACQUARIE ST SYDNEY 2000

(02) 9273 1414

WWW.SL.NSW.GOV.AU

our family

Congratulations to our competition winners from issue 17!

This issue we ask our contributors…

If you could read one person’s diary from history, whose would it be?

Penny Hyde “A tale of two grandfathers”, page 40 At the moment I am fascinated by Viking sagas after seeing the new exhibition at the Australian National Maritime Museum and watching the SBS series. The diary of the real woman behind the legendary shieldmaiden Lagertha would be fascinating.

J Reynolds, from Earlwood, NSW; E Thomas, from Magill, SA; K Briscoe, from Wheelers Hill, Vic.; N Fogg, from Dakabin, Qld.; G Strongman-O’Brien, from North Tamborine, Qld; R Hocking, from Abbostford, Vic.; V Kinghorne, from Coffs Harbour, NSW.; J Brodie, from Busby, NSW.; L Morris, from Towradgi, NSW; and D Mitchell, from Avalon Beach, NSW, each won a copy of City of Shadows: Sydney Police Photographs 1912–1948 by Peter Doyle with Caleb Williams ($65, Sydney Living Museums).

Craig Wilcox “Recycling war’s waste”, page 53 Shakespeare’s. He helped shape how we all speak and sometimes even how we think, and yet his experience and emotions, not to mention his take on the politics and religion of his day, are largely a mystery to us.

Dorian Mode “Gatsby getaway”, page 60 I would love to read the dairy of Pericles.

He gave the world the Parthenon, a little thing we call democracy, and had such a profound influence on Athenian society that Thucydides — his contemporary historian — dubbed him “the first citizen of Athens”.

Bet he had a killer recipe for moussaka, too.

Inside History | Nov-Dec 2013 |

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letters

Postie’s here!

Share your thoughts with the Inside History team.

Like us on facebook.com/ insidehistorymagazine Join us on twitter.com/ insidehistory

MYSTERY OF OUR COVERBOYS SOLVED

The marvellous photograph on the cover of issue 18 (Sep-Oct 2013) shows South Australian duo G Gilmore White and Fred Custance aboard White’s 35-h.p. Talbot motor car c.1910. White was from a wealthy Adelaide family, while young Custance, recently arrived from the UK with his family, was a talented motor expert employed by Vivian Lewis Limited, at that time South Australia’s leading motor house. The 35-h.p. Talbot, an expensive and exceptional motor car, was the third Talbot supplied to White by Lewis, and when in 1909 White caught the bug for sporting motoring, Custance was offered as co-driver and travelling mechanic for long-distance record attempts. The pair were successful in their endeavours and captured a number of motoring records driving between Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney.

— Leon Mitchell, http://earlymotor.com

How delighted I was when I looked though issue 18 and discovered a photograph of my First Fleeter’s headstone in your story on the Hawkesbury River.

Peter Hibbs, who arrived on the Sirius in 1788, received a 200-acre land grant on which he built a house that is still standing.

Singleton’s Mill, also featured in this story, is where my grandparents met. My great aunt’s property was next to the mill. Her nephew (my grandfather), George Webber, was working on her property.

A young woman named Lilian McArthur was employed at Singleton’s Mill. The two met the day she threw George’s hat into the river! They married soon after and lived there until the Depression.

Thank you for a most informative magazine.

— Betty Warn, Helensburgh, NSW

THE POWER OF NETWORKS

I read a recent article on your website about the Australian War Memorialʼs centenery digitisation project and was interested to see a familiar name on the list: Leading Signalman William John Seabrook.

My grandfather served with William on HMAS Sydney during WWI. He brought back with him postcards of ships and sailors, one of which had a photograph of William. In 2009 I discovered the Museum of HMAS Cerberus was seeking a photo of William for the transcripts of his diaries — the ones mentioned on your website. The timing was perfect and they were able to include his photograph in their book. Not long after, I received a message from

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a lady in England researching William! I again was able to forward the photograph. I’ve now sent a link of your article to these ladies in England and hope that they will be in touch with the Memorial. I’m amazed at how all this has come together and thought you may like to hear my story in connection to your article.

— Wendy Cassimaty, Faulconbridge, NSW

THANK GOODNESS FOR THE RED CROSS

I would like to share a Eureka! moment. My great uncle was killed in action in France, and has no known grave. Then I came across the Red Cross files on the Australian War memorial website that recorded 32,000 cases of Australian personnel reported as wounded or missing during WWI. There are 12 entries for great uncle Cyril, many of which answered my “how, where and why” questions. This great resource is at www.awm.gov.au/research/ people/wounded_and_missing. I hope your searches are as fulfilling as mine.

Thank you for a quality Australian publication.

— Chris Ryan, Ballarat, Vic. Want to have your say on “Postieʼs here” ? Write to us at contribute@insidehistory.com.au

Each issue our star letter will receive a recently released history book for writing in! This issue, Leon Mitchell wins a copy of Before the Anzac Dawn (NewSouth Books, $34.99).

Image Courtesy State Library of Victoria.

FIRST FLEET LEGACIES

your family

Bob’s your uncle Are you looking to connect with other descendants or historians?

Each issue we’ll feature who and what people are researching.

Image Courtesy Douglas Stewart Fine Books, www.douglasstewart.com.au

SEEKING MORTON MOWBRAY’S FAMILY

Morton Mowbray, born in Leicester, England c.1820, son of Richard and Ann, married Louisa Collin in England. Their daughter Laura lived in America and had a number of children to two husbands. In 1869 Mowbray was living in Goulburn, New South Wales and was engaged by Bishop Lanigan to design and install 10 stained glass windows for Sts Peter and Paul’s Cathedral, then under construction. This was a very big commission for an unknown artisan. Where did Mowbray learn his craft? Mowbray died in 1908 in Rookwood Asylum. Are there descendents living in Australia who know more about his life?

— Daphne Penalver, penalver@goulburn.net.au

SUTHERLAND SHIRE’S WWI PROJECT

Did you have a relative in WWI with a connection to Sutherland Shire in New South Wales? More than 400 names are inscribed on WWI memorials and honour boards there. For almost a century these names have remained a silent reminder of the sufferings and sacrifices of the Great War. Each name is now being researched and brought to life through written biographies to be published

in a book later this year. Some were from pioneer families, others worked in the area, some had only a fleeting connection to the Shire. Do you recognise the names Brierley, Mote, Sims, Skinner, Wake or Wheatley? Do you know Allan Grant of Menai? I would appreciate hearing from you.

— Sue Hewitt, suehewitt54@gmail.com

MARY JANE GREENFIELD, NÉE ANNETT

Little is known about the short life of my 2 x great grandmother, Mary Jane Greenfield, née Annett (c.1835–1869). She sailed with her family from Plymouth to Portland, Victoria in 1852, and married gold miner Johannes Barends Groeneveld in 1855. They later travelled separately to Otago, New Zealand, where Mary died in 1869, survived by her husband and children: Joseph, Mary, Caterina, Jane, Henry and Evelyn. For many years I have been trying to find records of Mary’s parents’ marriage, her birth, her brief first marriage (to Charles Wiggins in March 1853), and more. I also know little about her younger sister, Frances. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

— Corrinne Ryan, kiwicolleen@hotmail.com

Lots of researchers have been linking up and knocking down their research brick walls via “Bob’s your uncle”. To place an ad, email contribute@insidehistory.com.au. Adverts are free!

Inside History | Nov-Dec 2013 |

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what’s on

History now

The best events across Australia & New Zealand COMPILED BY SARAH TREVOR

Above Hobart Town in 1841 by Auguste Etienne Francois Mayer (1805–1890). Courtesy National Library of Australia, ID an8901165.

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What was a convict?

27 November What did transportation mean to the men and women who went through it? This talk, fittingly held at the Port Arthur Historic Site, will delve into the policy of transportation in its legal and punitive context. Alan Brooks, from the University of Tasmania, seeks to explore the ways in which authorities here in the fledgling penal colonies imposed old processes, and devised new ones, and will consider how these transported processes operated. It is sure to be an insightful session on how the policies of transportation and convictism were experienced.

Visit www.portarthur.org.au

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Planning a genealogy, history or heritage event that you’d like to share with Inside History readers? Email us at contribute@insidehistory.com.au Events are subject to change. We recommend contacting the organisers beforehand to confirm details.

NSW Preserving your Family History

11 November The State Library of NSW is hosting a three-hour workshop dedicated to the long-term preservation of your most precious family memorabilia. Library conservators will give advice on which materials to use to conserve your precious family history artefacts — particularly photographs, documents, letters and diaries — and where you can find them. Participants may bring an artefact or two for hands-on preservation tips from a Library conservator. Cost is $50 and bookings are essential.

Visit www.sl.nsw.gov.au/events

Southern Highlands Tour

27 November Come along on an action-packed jaunt through New South Wales’ scenic Southern Highlands, hosted by National Trust NSW. Departing from Sydney (Gordon and Beverly Hills stations respectively), the first stop is Wirrimbirra Sanctuary in Bargo for some wildlife watching and morning tea. Next, lunch will be held at Riversdale, a colonial cottage in Goulburn that once housed Surveyor General of New South Wales, Edward Twynam. Finally, Harper’s Mansion in Berrima — a beautiful Georgian

homestead built c.1834, complete with strolling gardens and an expansive hedge maze — makes a perfect spot for afternoon tea. The cost is $75.

Visit www.nationaltrust.org.au/nsw/ SouthernHighlandsTour

Christmas in the Colony

27 November Get into the festive spirit at this show and tell on Christmas celebrations in the colony. A dramatic change from the White Christmas back home, early settlers remarked upon the warm summer and local wildlife. At this two-hour talk, State Library of NSW staff will share primary sources — original newspapers, journals, images and Christmas cards — that give a glimpse into the traditions and folklore of Christmas celebrations in the early colony. The cost is $10.

Visit www.sl.nsw.gov.au/events

Eat Your History: A Shared Table

Until 9 March Foodies and history nerds alike will find this exhibition mouth-watering!

Eat Your History: A Shared Table, at the Museum of Sydney, is a particularly appetising way to explore the city’s past. Surveying and savouring Sydney’s food culture from 1788 to the 1950s, the exhibition reveals how Sydneysiders past cooked, dined and lived, from Elizabeth Farm’s humble farmhousekitchen, to the lavish feasts of Elizabeth Bay House, along with six other historic homes. Be sure to also sample the delectable series of related events running through to early 2014 — a historic feast, indeed.

Visit www.hht.net.au

Two of the dozens of designs submitted to John Sands’ Christmas Cards competition, 1881. Courtesy State Library of NSW. Was your ancestor one of the entrants?

View the entire collection and find out at http://bit.ly/17lV253

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ACT Mapping Our World

Opens 7 November Chart the course of Australian mapping history at this free National Library of Australia exhibition. On display will be a collection of more than 100 maps, atlases, globes and scientific instruments from both the Library and international lenders (the British Library, Vatican Library, and Bibliotheque Nationale de France, to name a few) encompassing ancient, medieval and modern eras, with a focus on early maps of Australia. Hand-drawn maps from the likes of James Cook, Matthew Flinders and Louis de Freycinet will be on display for the first time. Come explore for yourself!

Visit www.nla.gov.au

Old Masters: Australia’s Great Bark Artists

Opens 6 December Bark painting is a distinctly Australian art movement, producing works that are intricately linked to the history, culture and landscape. The National Museum of Australia celebrates this unique traditional craft in Old Masters, displaying a large range of bark painting works from northern Australia. Covering a range of diverse artistic styles and techniques, the exhibition promises an insightful look into Indigenous artistry over the centuries. Highlights include the paintings of renowned artists Yirawala, Narritjin Maymuru, and Bardayal Nadjamerrek.

Visit www.nma.gov.au

QLD FreeBMD: Are You Getting The Most From This Website?

Transforming Tindale

8 November The much-loved website FreeBMD provides access to transcriptions of UK birth, death and marriage indexes from September 1837 right up to the 20th century. This seminar, presented by Sue Reid of the Queensland Family History Society (QFHS), will explain strategies to access these indexes and how to get the most from its resources. Held at the QFHS Library and Resource Centre in Gaythorne, it promises to be an informative session. Cost is $11 for QFHS members and $15 for non members.

Bookings are required.

Email secretary@qfhs.org.au

Deciphering Old Handwriting

13 November and 11 December Many of us have puzzled over the baffling code that is old handwriting. Learn how to decode this tricky art form with hints from Queensland State Archives experts.

Examples of handwritten records from the Archives’ collections will be drawn upon for hands-on advice. This workshop is particularly recommended for those who would like to get involved in transcribing and indexing old records. It will be held at Brisbane City Council Library, Chermside on 13 November, and Moreton Bay Regional Council Library, Caboolture on 11 December. Happy sleuthing!

Visit http://bit.ly/16VDH0n

30 November to 13 December Anthropologist Norman Tindale travelled around Australia recording the genealogies of Indigenous peoples from 1928; by the end of the 1960s, he had amassed thousands of photographs, along with significant cultural material, essentially mapping complex Indigenous tribal groupings. This thought-provoking State Library of Queensland exhibition, now at Clermont Library, delves into Tindale’s visits to Indigenous Queensland communities from Yarrabah to Mornington Island. Using the Tindale Genealogical Collection held by the South Australian Museum, it explores the meaning of the Tindale collection within Indigenous — and Queensland’s — history. If you’re not able to make the exhibition, then you can access the full collection online.

Visit http://bit.ly/15YFL4T

A Short History of the Huguenots

Annie Sibley, Palm Island, 7 November 1938. Courtesy the Tindale Genealogical Collection and State Library Queensland.

16 November Ever wondered if you have Huguenot ancestry? The vast diaspora of French Protestants means it may not be as unlikely as you think, even here in Australia. Here, Gary Couchman, from the Huguenot Society of Australia’s Queensland branch, will present a short history of this fascinating group at the Genealogical Society of Queensland Resource Centre in East Brisbane. The cost is $10 for members, $15 for non members.

Visit www.gsq.org.au

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VIC Beginning Writing Family History

Starting 12 November Even family has a story — or in our experience, more than one story! Have you thought of putting yours to paper? This three-week course, taught on three consecutive Tuesdays, will arm you with the basic writing skills to get you started, look at the writing process, especially drafting and editing, and equip you with the skills to document your historical writing. Attendees will have the opportunity to write during each class. The cost is $48 for GSV members, $96 for non members.

Book inquiries@slv.vic.gov.au

Bomber Command Panel Discussion

3 December Military History and Heritage Victoria will host this special panel discussion on the experiences of Bomber Command members during World War II. More than 10,000 Australians served with the RAF Bomber Command, making an important contribution to the aerial campaign.

The Shrine of Remembrance Chairman, Air ViceMarshal Chris Spence AO, will chair these two hours of insightful discussion on the Bomber Command’s service. Entry is free, though gold coin donations are welcome, and light refreshments will be served.

Visit www.mhhv.org.au

Background A Lancaster aeroplane belonging to the RAAF squadron in Bomber Command, prior to taking off on a raid on Berlin. Courtesy State Library of Victoria, ID H98.100/4249.

Lost Diggers

11 December Join investigative journalist and Inside History contributor Ross Coulthart for an enthralling presentation on the Lost Diggers of WWI whose photographs he famously unearthed in an unlikely French farmhouse attic in 2011.

His best-selling book, The Lost Diggers, displayed hundreds of glass plate photographic negatives of Anzac soldiers. This talk will recount the stories of some soldiers behind the photographs, and how they came to be traced after his momentous discovery. Held at the Shrine of Remembrance, this is a free event though gold coin donation is welcome.

Visit www.mhhv.org.au

Researching Regional Records

16 December The regional collection of Public Record Office Victoria (PROV) is every bit as diverse and fascinating as its urban holdings.

Learn which regional records are held by PROV and where, particularly the PROV records housed at major regional collections such as Geelong Heritage Centre, Bendigo Regional Archives Centre and Ballarat Archives Centre. You’ll also learn more about how archives work, from the processes of record-keeping through to Places of Deposits, at this free one-hour talk at the Victorian Archives Centre in North Melbourne.

Register www.prov.vic.gov.au

SA Windjammers: The Last Grain Races

Until 30 November Revisit the last days of commercial sail in Australia in this SA Maritime Museum exhibition, which explores the heady adventures on board the voyage from South Australian wheat ports to Europe. British punters took bets on which ship would reach European shores first, coining the ‘Grain Races’ expression. Stunning publicity photographs taken aboard the Pamir before its departure from Port Victoria in 1949 (which can be viewed on the Museum’s flickr page here: http://bit.ly/154pcq8) are the centrepiece of this exhibition, which evokes the thrill-seeking spirit of the final Grain Race.

Visit www.maritime.historysa.com.au

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Kelly Family 175th Anniversary Reunion

30 November Gumeracha Town Hall will play host to the Kelly family reunion this month. This year marks the 175th anniversary of William and Jane Kelly’s arrival in South Australia on 1 December 1838. These Kellys came from the Isle of Man — not Ireland as did Ned Kelly’s family! — and came to settle in Cudlee Creek. The home William built was named Sulby Glen after Sulby in the Isle of Man. A facsimile of the book on the family, The William Kelly Clein, originally published in 1939, will be available at the reunion, as will memorabilia, photos, and updated family trees.

Call Alan Phillips on 08 8189 1043

WA Perth Heritage Days

16 to 17 November Get to know Perth’s colourful history better at this free family event! Aiming to showcase every aspect of Perth’s heritage — from architectural to horticultural, and everything in between — last year’s event attracted 50,000 visitors, and this year’s exciting program promises to be even better. Among the highlights lined up are an exclusive exhibition of artworks owned by Royal Perth Hospital displayed in Kirkman House, a tour of the Supreme Court building in Stirling Gardens, and interesting Indigenous-led tours around the city. And this year the program will be downloadable on a free smartphone app as well.

Visit www.heritageperth.com.au

Family History Starts With YOU

25 November Kick-start your family history at this two-hour workshop hosted by the Western Australian Genealogical Society (WAGS) in Northbridge. Family historian, researcher and author Wendy Brown will inspire and instruct attendees on how to start family history projects with particular themes, direction and style. The workshop will also explain the importance of linking particular generations and ancestors with their historical and geographical contexts. An ideal session for beginners or, for more experienced researchers, a refresher of the basics. The cost is $25 for WAGS members and $30 for non members.

Visit www.wags.org.au

TASMANIA From the Edges of Empire

9 November Not all convicts transported to the Australian colonies were British or Irish! This eye-opening seminar, hosted by the Female Convicts Research Centre, will examine the lives of female convicts who were born or tried outside the British Isles. Held at the Penitentiary Chapel, Hobart, the session features nine prominent historians and authors sharing stories about several women transported here from the Caribbean, as well as French, Canadian and Mauritian connections to the colonies. Cost is $20. Light lunch and a tour of the Penitentiary Chapel are included.

Visit http://bit.ly/15x3iLF

A Passion for Nature: The Art of William Charles Piguenit

Until 19 January William Charles Piguenit was the first professional landscape painter born in Australia. A comprehensive collection of his beautiful, evocative pieces is on display at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery in Launceston for this special exhibition, including a vast array of paintings, drawings, watercolours, prints and a sketchbook.

Tracing Piguenit’s life and career, this exhibition promises both an intimate look at this pioneer artist’s life and times, and a scenic tour around the landscapes of 19th-century and early 20th-century Tasmania and New South Wales.

Visit www.qvmag.tas.gov.au

NZ

Image Eddy Archer

Tirohia Mai

Until 16 November As the first country in the world to grant all women the right to vote, New Zealand holds a special place in history. This exhibition at the National Library of New Zealand in Wellington explores the role of women in New Zealand today and asks how they got here. Covering generations of New Zealand women, from the 13 Maori women who signed the Treaty of Waitangi, to 19th-century settlers, through the world wars, economic upheavals and 1970s activist movements, Tirohia Mai celebrates progress made throughout the nation’s history while examining how lasting these changes have been.

Visit www.natlib.govt.nz

NZHA 2013 Biennial Conference

20 to 22 November The biennial New Zealand Historical Association conference is held at the University of Otago, Dunedin this year. Boasting a prestigious lineup of international and New Zealand keynote speakers, the conference will examine the colonial history of New Zealand in a transnational context. Exciting events include workshops on empire and colonialism and New Zealand maritime history.

This conference coincides with two associated conferences also in Dunedin, held by the Religious History Association of Aotearoa New Zealand and the Australian and New Zealand Law and History Society respectively. A history lover’s carnival!

Visit www.nzha.org.nz

Inside History | Nov-Dec 2013 |

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The History Buff Bundle E V A S & E L BUND

only $54 for both !

WARTIME o f f i c i a l m a g a z ine o f t he a u s t r a l i a n wa r me m o r i a l

ISSUE 64 | SprIng 2013 | $8.95 (Inc gST)

afghanistan Stories of Australia’s involvement from 2001 to the present day.

in this issue contact at doan

A photographer and ex-soldier on patrol against the Taliban.

hidden & deadly

The havoc created by improvised explosive devices.

other worlds

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Art as a record of the Afghanistan conflict.

angels’ work

Recognition for the bravery of stretcher-bearers.

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BRIEFING mephisto ExhIBItIoN afghanistan: the australian story BooK REVIEWS the kokoda campaign 1942, myth and reality; kitty’s war; a parting shot; a very british experience

Wartime is the military history magazine of The Australian War Memorial. It is wholly devoted to the Australian experience of war, military history, and the effects of war on our society. Each issue delivers truly astounding stories of courage and survival.

Inside History is for people passionate about Australian and New Zealand genealogy, history and heritage. Learn how to discover more about your ancestry, overcome roadblocks in your research and network with other genealogists.

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your family

spotlight Image Australian Imperial Forces (17th Battalion) in France, 1916. Courtesy State Library of NSW, ID a5375277.

War diary

Handwritten diaries from the men and women at the front capture the horror, uncertainty and camaraderie of the Great War. We look at the projects and publications that are sharing these unique documents‌ u

Inside History | Nov-Dec 2013 |

29

“They may go to war for their country, they may go to war for the cause of freedom, for Australia, for their families. But when they’re there, when they’re fighting, it’s all about their mates”.

Chaplain Rob Sutherland, veteran of three tours to Afghanistan

Seen through their eyes, told through their voices

Photographer: Gary Ramage

Discover the stories of the Australian men and women involved in fighting the war in Afghanistan, and the dedication of their families at home.

Free entry. Open daily 10 am – 5 pm Australian War Memorial, Treloar Crescent Campbell ACT www.awm.gov.au

your family

Anzacs & the

empire

L

The Australian War Memorial’s new exhibition focuses on the inner voices of our Anzacs during World War I. Its curator, Robyn van Dyk, explains what will be on show.

ETTERS to a sweetheart; diaries of a hard-fought campaign; postcards scrawled in the trenches, hospitals, ships, and battlefields of war. ANZAC voices offers a glimpse into the thoughts, feelings, and experiences of Australians throughout World War I. The words of these brave men and women are drawn from the treasures of the Australian War Memorial (AWM) archive; a collection which includes thousands of handwritten accounts. The letters and diaries in the collection reach back to a time when Australia was a new nation, its colonies having federated little more than a decade earlier, a country of almost five million people spread across a handful of developing cities and in the bush. Australia was a culture firmly rooted in Britain and the Empire.

In mid 1914, as relations between the major European powers worsened, many Australians followed news from abroad with interest. When Britain declared war on Germany, Australia quickly pledged its support for Britain. As Andrew Fisher said shortly before he was elected prime minister, “Australians will stand beside our own to help and defend her to the last man and the last shilling.”

On 4 August, the day war was declared between Britain and Germany, Sub-Lieutenant Henry McWilliam of HMAS Australia wrote in his diary: ‘everyone is very excited about the idea, but we cannot yet realise the meanings of war’. On 5 August McWilliam received the official message conveying the news of the outbreak of war with Germany: “Everyone is very pleased at the definite news of war as it has always been the opinion of [naval officers?] that the longer it was put off the stronger Germany would become.” The Australian government placed its Navy under the

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command of the British Admiralty and McWilliam’s diary entry was written while HMAS Australia was already on a war route to German New Guinea (AWM, ID 1DRL/0467).

The Australian government pledged 20,000 troops, and recruiting began five days after war was declared. People were caught up in the excitement and there was no difficulty making up the numbers.

Many people enlisted out of a sense of duty, as part of the British Empire which stood against German militarism. Some joined because Australia was experiencing a period of high unemployment, and soldiers were to be paid a minimum of six shillings a day. Others enlisted early from a sense of adventure. The idea that the war would be over by Christmas, and that this was a good opportunity to see the world, was in the minds of many.

Englishman John Kirkpatrick enlisted in the AIF in 1914, hoping to work his passage back home. He used his mother’s maiden name, Simpson, to enlist and expected to be heading for “the old country”. He’d later become a legend of the war but his letters home reveal some interesting observations about Australia and his motivations for enlisting (AWM, ID 3DRL/3424).

John Simpson’s letter on Christmas Day 1914 shows he was in training with the AIF in Egypt.

In his letters he reveals disappointment on being in Cairo and that he had enlisted in order to get a working passage home, have a holiday and then fight the Germans on the Western Front. Simpson

Opposite By the end of 1914, some 50,000 Australians had joined the fight. Courtesy AWM, ID A03406. Above from left A portrait of Charles Blackman. Courtesy AWM, ID PR01679; John Croft’s pocketbook was pierced by a Turkish bullet during the landing on Gallipoli. Courtesy AWM, ID PR03842.

had a close relationship with his mother, Sarah, and sister, Annie, and a strong motivation for his enlistment would have been his family’s distress at home. In the time leading up to his enlistment, his mother wrote several letters expressing fear of the Germans invading Britain — ‘Jack we have been in a terrible state here’ — and that if the Germans got into Britain they would be ‘committing terrible atrocities’, as they had reportedly done in Belgium (AWM, ID 3DRL/3424). These letters survive in the Memorial’s collections and will be on display as part of the exhibition.

During the first year of the war approximately 33 per cent of volunteers were rejected. The requirements in August 1914 were for enlistees to be 18 to 35 years old, 5’6’’ (167cm) in height and with a chest measurement of 34” (86cm). Physical standards were later relaxed but the fitness of the 1914 enlistees was extremely high. Character was also important; on enlistment recruits were examined for BC (bad character) or D (deserter) British army tattoos on their skin.

Indigenous Australians were barred from joining Australia’s military forces, but despite not even being citizens in their own country they tried to volunteer in the AIF anyway. Many travelled hundreds of kilometres to enlist after being denied the chance at recruiting centres closer to their communities. It is estimated that around 1,000 Indigenous Australians fought in World War I.

Lance Corporal Charles Blackman enlisted in Brisbane on 18 August 1915 at 19 years of age.

He joined the 9th Battalion, becoming one of the earliest known Indigenous volunteers for the AIF. When war was declared, Blackman was working as a labourer employed by John Salter in Biggenden, Queensland. Salter and Blackman were friends and corresponded throughout the war. In a letter written in February 1918 Blackman tells Salter how his 9th Battalion comrades treated him as “good pals would” (AWM, ID PR01679).

Once recruited into the AIF, Indigenous Australians tended to experience less discrimination than they would have within Australian society. They received equal pay, and many were treated as equals by the other men.

Being part of Australia’s chance to prove itself was significant to many. The widely held belief that real nationhood would be formed on the battlefield was discussed in the press and in politics.

Brigadier General John Monash wrote a letter to his wife on the eve of the Gallipoli landing: …in the event of my going out, you are to believe that I do so with only one regret, which is, the grief that this will bring to you and Burt and Mat. — For myself, I am prepared to take my chance… to win through safely would mean honour and achievement, on the other hand to fall would mean an honourable end. — At best I have only a few years of vigour left, and then would come decay and the chill of old age, & perhaps lingering illness (AWM, ID 3DRL/2316 Series 3, 9 of 72).

Monash’s words reveal the importance many placed on proving personal valour and being part of history.

ANZAC voices represents a rare opportunity to view original handwritten eyewitness accounts of the war, including those of John Simpson Kirkpatrick, John Croft, Charles Blackman, and Sir John Monash.  ✻ Robyn van Dyk is Acting Head of the Research Centre at the Australian War Memorial and co-curator of ANZAC voices, which opens on 29 November 2013 and runs until 30 November 2014 at the Australian War Memorial. Visit www.awm.gov.au for more details

Left This recruitment leaflet was created to resemble a holiday brochure.

The war is only referred to as the “Great Adventure”. Courtesy AWM, ID 5/5/3.

Inside History | Nov-Dec 2013 |

47

your family

Scrapbooking the past A little bit of this, a little bit of that — the hobby of scrapbooking extends back generations. Heather Garnsey from the Society of Australian Genealogists looks at how the craft has developed.

Image Courtesy State Library of Victoria.

T

HE adage ‘everything old is new again’ can readily be applied to the hobby of scrapbooking, for it has its origins in a time when our ancestors, especially young women, would spend their leisure hours collecting personal mementos, sketches and clippings of interest to them.

Within the collections of the Society of Australian Genealogists (SAG) there are many examples of individuals’ interests and hobbies, kept in the form of scrapbooks.

Some of the most intriguing are the old diaries, accounts books and ledgers which have been recycled as scrapbooks, with the owner pasting over the previous contents. One such volume of newspaper cuttings and photographs relates to the Felixstowe Cricket Club in the UK. This allows glimpses through to the original accounts ledgers over which have been pasted undated and unsourced 1920s newspaper reports of English county cricket matches and pictures of the Felixstowe cricketers in action. Intriguingly, the original volume records insurance payments and accounts relating to the early Sydney Bond stores, while the clippings and photographs are all English. Its origins and ownership are unknown, but it is one of several similarly themed cricketing volumes we hold.

Others are purpose made, such as a series of six scrapbooks compiled by Margaret Barlow between 1896 and 1933. Margaret’s scrapbooks are typical of its time, with carefully clipped accounts of the death of former British prime minister William Gladstone in 1898 alongside articles on the departure of the Second Contingent to war in South Africa in 1900. There is no apparent theme to the material and it seems she may simply have preserved any article that was of interest at the time.

Many of the scrapbooks in SAG’s collection do have a common thread.

Collecting snippets about a local area was always popular, and today can be a great find for both local and family historians. File 4/12,522 contains cuttings about Gunnedah in the years 1956–57 and is part of a series we hold on that region of New South Wales collected by one of our most active members of that era, Phyllis Josephson. From these few pages we find snippets from local papers of the district ranging from the ‘Personal Pars’ column, obituaries, school and social notes, together with reports of local crimes tried at the Court of Petty Sessions. One wonders why the reports from the local Electricity Committee meetings made the papers — and were deemed by Mrs Josephson as being worthy of pasting up in her collection — until you read them and realise they are showing which residents in the district were petitioning to have their properties connected to the new electricity supply — and how much they were willing to pay for the privilege.

Ernest Whitfeld, another name synonymous with SAG’s history, similarly prepared a number of scrapbooks in the 1890s relating to Tasmania, collecting snippets as varied as reports on the first Chrysanthemum Show held in Launceston in 1887 to an article which is titled ‘Modern Uses of Asbestos’ and which opens with the statement ‘Asbestos is a wonderful substance.’ In among these clipping are some handwritten recipes, including one for making rhubarb wine.

These and many other scrapbooks are available in SAG’s manuscript collection held at Richmond Villa, 120 Kent Street, Sydney, and can be located by searching the online catalogues. Visit www. sag.org.au for further details. 

Inside History | Nov-Dec 2013 |

57

the book shelf

What we’re reading…

Here are some of the great history books recently released.

For more reviews, visit www.newtownreviewofbooks.com

In Search of Captain Moonlite by Paul Terry (Allen & Unwin, A$29.99) Andrew George Scott was the son of Irish gentlefolk who migrated to New Zealand when he was 17. By the time he was 23 he’d fought in the New Zealand Wars and had been decommissioned for malingering after a wound.

Already known as Captain Moonlite (he spelt it Moonlight), he set off for Australia, where he would become one of our most enigmatic and complex outlaws.

A charismatic lay preacher, a surveyor, conman, charming companion and bushranger, George Scott betrayed most of his business partners and stole from others, spending the money on fine clothes and drink. He served time for fraud and bank robbery.

He was homosexual and possibly bisexual — he seems to have had several relationships with women.

His dying wish, to be buried next to his lover James Nesbitt, was not granted until 100 years later.

This highly readable book sources newly discovered archival material to flesh out the life and personality of the mysterious Moonlite. — JEAN BEDFORD

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Dark Paradise: Norfolk Island — Isolation, Savagery, Mystery and Murder by Robert Macklin (Hachette, A$35) Robert Macklin has successfully woven together the stories of the colonial settlement of New South Wales, the history of Norfolk Island and the saga of the Bounty mutineers. This is rich material tapped by other writers, but Macklin shines new light on each.

His account of the mutiny and its sad aftermath is graphic. He candidly characterises most of the mutineers as an unsavoury bunch.

Matthew Quintal, in particular, the man who burnt the Bounty once the mutineers had settled on Pitcairn Island, he describes, probably justifiably, as a ‘thug’.

Anyone interested in early Australia and beautiful Norfolk Island should read this book. As Macklin notes, there is evidence Polynesians occupied both islands long before Europeans entered the Pacific. For reasons unknown they departed. Europeans stayed and, on balance, have been seriously, sometimes fatally, unkind to each other in both places ever since. — PETER CORRIS

Not the Same Sky by Evelyn Conlon (Wakefield Press, A$24.95) In this moving novel Conlon takes as her starting point — after a brief, present-time prologue — the tragic aftermath of the Irish famine that saw more than 4,000 Irish girls shipped to Australia.

The narrative concerns one group of girls who left England on 28 October 1849 on the Thomas Arbuthnot under the able care of Surgeon Superintendent Charles Strutt.

At its best, historical fiction gives flesh and blood to factual stories, and makes us feel that yes, this is how the characters would behave, this is what they’d do under these circumstances.

Conlon achieves this difficult task admirably. She wears her attention to detail and research as the lightest of cloaks, bringing to life the daily routine on board ship with moments of poignancy and humour. This beautifully formed novel is about journeys – both external and internal. We undertake our quests because we must, and all of them lead to the ultimate, unknowable journey. — CANDIDA BAKER

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… picturememories One 1,000 your family

My great aunt Florence May Clewer (left), or May as she was best known, was the daughter of John Victor Clewer and his wife Sarah Ann (née Laird). John was born in Liverpool, England in 1887. When his father, Lee Brown Clewer, tragically died after his horse and cart overturned, John bravely came to Australia on his own at 12 and settled in Warrnambool, Victoria. It was there that he met and married his sweetheart, Sarah. After their first child Lily died Sarah gave birth to Florence May in 1915, followed

by Allan, Basil, Betty, Norman, Audrey and Joyce.

May married Robert Patrick Laurie and, when she was 8½ months pregnant with their baby, she became ill with influenza. May went into labour and suffered cardiac failure. Sadly both May and her baby died — May was only 19 years old at the time.

I’ve always been mesmerised by this photo of May as a toddler with her angelic little face, oversized bow in her hair and baggy socks. Only two photos exist of May, this one and another when she was eight years old.

The Clewer family has always spoken of May’s striking beauty and apparently she became more beautiful as she got older. I only wish I had a photo of her in her teen years.

— Sally Giblin, Warrnambool, VIC

✻ Do you have a favourite family image you’d like to share with our readers? We’d love to hear from you. Email a high-quality scan and the history behind the picture to contribute@insidehistory.com.au and we’ll publish it here.

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Getting started on your family tree is easy Ancestry.com.au is the perfect place to start your family tree. With helpful features such as Ancestry Hints™ plus over 9 billion searchable historic family history records from Australia, the UK, the US, and Europe, you will be amazed at what you can discover.

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For more information on how to get started with your family tree, simply download our FREE Getting Started Guide. Its packed with fantastic tips and hints including how to successfully search the historical records.

Download your FREE Getting Started Guide Visit ancestry.com.au/insidehistory