Jamberoo’s role in the Huxley dynasty

Jamberoo’s connection with the one of the world’s most influential family of scientists has been highlighted in a new book, An Intimate History

of Evolution: The Story of the Huxley Family

Written by Alison Bashford, Laureate Professor of History at the University of New South Wales, the book has been described as a “masterful biography” and recommended as a book of the year by The Economist magazine.

Henrietta Heathorn, whose father operated a brewery at the Woodstock Mill near Jamberoo, met Thomas Henry Huxley in 1847, just four years after she arrived with her family from England.

Huxley was visiting from England with Charles Darwin. He met Henrietta at a ball in Sydney and proposed at 3am. Eight years later, in 1854 after he had established an income as Professor at the Royal Institution in London, they wed.

The two would “go on to found one of the great intellectual and scientific dynasties of their age”.

“The Huxley family through four generations profoundly shaped how we all see ourselves. In innumerable fields observing both nature and culture, they worked as scientists, novelists, mystics, filmmakers, poets and –perhaps above all – as public lecturers, educators and explainers,” the book reveals. In correspondence with Huxley and future letters to Darwin, it is obvious that Henrietta is an intellectual match to her husband.

Huxley called his wife ‘Frau Professorin’ as she combined the twin roles of wife and academic assistant. Huxley is credited with drawing the famous Ascent of Man diagram, which was intended to simply compare the skeletons of apes and humans, but unintentionally created a durable meme of supposed monkey-to-man progress.

In his book written in 2008 specifically about Nettie: The Evolution of Nettie Huxley 1825-1914, Martin Huxley Cooke writes: “TH Huxley sprang to prominence after the publication in 1859 of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species led to his famous exchange with the Bishop of

Health Destination

Pharmacy will remain open while Kiama Village shopping centre undergoes refurbishment

Oxford at the British Association. The argument generated so much emotion that one of the participants fainted, and Huxley soon became known as Darwin’s Bulldog.

“His views might appear to conflict, therefore, with Nettie’s Moravian upbringing [one of the oldest protestant denominations in Christianity], but the couple worked hard towards finding a compromise.

“Huxley coined the term agnostic to describe his position and was always open to debate and to new evidence. Nettie, too, allowed her own beliefs to evolve, abandoning the idea of original sin and exemplifying in her own life the ways in which a Christian reconciliation with the new ideas might work.”

Thomas and Henrietta’s grandson, Aldous Huxley, wrote the dystopian futuristic novel Brave New World in 1931 and his The Devils of Loudon was infamously adapted for film by Ken Russell in 1971 (The Devils).

Aldous’s brother, Sir Julian, was a legendary biologist, helped found UNESCO, won an Oscar for his natural history films and taught David Attenborough how to shoot TV documentaries.

Another younger brother, Andrew Huxley, became Master of Trinity College Cambridge, President of the Royal Society and won a Nobel Prize for understanding the process of nerve electrical impulses that co-ordinate the central nervous system.

Stuart Richards, a member of the Kiama & District Historical Society, is currently doing some research and preparation work for a Heritage Display in Jamberoo (all based on being successful with grant funding).

He says there is more information regarding the Woodstock Mills in The History of the Illawarra and its Pioneers by Frank McCaffrey.

ABC Radio National journalist Robyn Williams, who lives in Gerroa, interviewed Alison Bashford about her book on The Science Show: It can be listened to here: www.abc.net. au/radionational/programs/ scienceshow/the-scienceshow/14101736

by Perrie Croshaw

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When I was a young boy, I questioned my parents about why was there a ‘Father’s Day’ and a ‘Mother’s Day’ yet no ‘Children’s Day’?

The stock, universal reply to every kid, from every parent with this question was ‘Every day is Children’s Day!’

When asked about why we have Australia Day on 26 January I give a similar answer... every day is Australia Day!

We celebrate that day, but I’d be happy to change it if it upsets some people, and who wouldn’t want that?

But it’s the day we use currently, and that’s kind of ironic because India shares that day too!

It’s ironic because we use it as the day the British put up the Union Flag here, and it’s the day they pulled it down in India!

In the 1780’s, there was also lot of international intrigue about an American letter sent to the British about the French.

But for a couple of mishaps, Australia could have become a French colony.

So that instead of saying, ‘I’m Australian, not English!’, we’d say ‘Je suis Australien, pas Français!’

Anyways, I love it here every day. We’re living in the same land as the Earth’s oldest culture, where you get to vote and marry whoever you like and there’s Kookaburras.

I have seen, learned and lived in many other places, there’s nothing wrong with them, but here is better.

I’ve had extensive talks with local Aboriginal elder Aunty Gwenda, who is so gracious, and wants to acknowledge that the past holds good and bad, but it is for us all to create a better and more representative future.

We’ve agreed, in this area, to work on that as a team.

Here’s what’s doing on Aus- tralia Day locally: Welcomes to Country, didge recitals, smoking ceremonies, traditional dancers, a yarning circle, flag flyovers, surf club barbecues, pool parties and a whole pile of other fun!

At our ceremony at Gerringong Town Hall we’re also welcoming 30 new citizens, presenting our local Australia Day citizens awards, while our guest speaker is World Superbike Champion Warwick Knowland.

Specifics can be found at: www.kiama.nsw.gov.au/ Events/Australia-Day-2023

So here are the three actual points of what we’re doing and why:

• Reflect

• Respect

• Celebrate We reflect on our nation’s past, which began more than 75,000 years ago and respect the contributions of all Australians, and we celebrate our achievements by coming together and connecting with family, friends and the community.

And you know what? We really should do this every day.