President Alan Burgess 54762367 Secretary Dawn Angliss 54762006

Treasurer Janet Trudgeon 54762437 Research Di Reid direid@gcom.net.au

Website http://home.vicnet.net.au/~newdhs/

WORKING BEE

Thank you to the great bunch that turned out in less than ideal conditions to clean up both the outside and inside of the courthouse. It really is amazing what a determined crew can do in an hour or so. The grass was mown by both a ride-on and a small mower, the heap of branches and rubbish that had accumulated over summer was burned and the inside of the courthouse received a vacuuming, dusting and mopping. The finished effect was admired as we enjoyed the fruits of our labour in the form of mulled wine and cake!

EXCURSION TO STATE LIBRARY

A trip to the State Library is planned for Thursday August 25^th. Travel from Newstead is by public transport from Castlemaine railway station leaving at 7.47 am. With the trip home a choice between a 2.00 or a 3.52 departure. If there are any members who would make other arrangements, could we meet at the Swanson Street entrance at 10.00 am? The State Library has various exhibitions including “ The Changing Face of Victoria” that shows the Batman deeds, Ned Kelly’s armour as well as other fascinating photos, documents and maps. “Eureka revisited”, subtitled a contest of memories is found in the Keith Murdoch Gallery and a picture collection is to be seen in the Cowan Gallery. All these exhibitions are free and those of who haven’t yet seen the restored dome of the library will be keen to do so.

REPORT ON EXCURSION TO THE WOOL MUSEUM

Unfortunately only a few members were free to take advantage of the chance to see the Wool Museum with its current exhibition of Rare Trades. On the day we visited, a workshop on the art of dry-stone walling was demonstrated by a young man who had become interested in that part of his landscaping course and branched out to become a full time dry-stone walling craftsman. The stones he used were the type used in the stonewalls of the western district – large round volcanic rocks that certainly required a great amount of skill to become solid walls. During the three hours of the demonstration he rebuilt a section a meter in length.

The display of rare trades covered such topics as horse-collar, making, bookbinding, clock repairs, carriage making, wig making etc. The Wool Museum itself has a wonderful display of the various aspects of the wool industry that was once a feature of Geelong’s industry and wealth. At lunchtime we were able to partake of the hospitality shown to us by our Geelong members, Dick and Shirley Southcomb.

PARTY

Talking about hospitality brings us to the next item, ‘the party’. At this time of year, it has been our custom to have an evening in the courthouse to quietly celebrate our efforts for the year and to enjoy each other’s company. This year we are going to meet on Saturday evening September 17^th at about 6.30pm. The fire will be going -just bring along a plate to share and a drink if you wish. The kettle will be on the boil. In past years some of our out of town members have come along and we really enjoyed those occasions. Newstead has a great motel (Whispering Gums 54762533) so how about a weekend away?

MARYBOROUGH FAMILY HISTORY DAY

Our society will attend the Maryborough Family History Group’s Discovery Day at the Maryborough Resource Centre on the corner of Alma and Nolan Streets from 10 – 4 on Sunday September 18^th. We take along our computer with files of school and cemetery records and indexed information from local newspapers to help the people who attend and wish to trace their former family members.

CHHA FAMILY HISTORY EXPO AT BALLARAT

Again we will be represented on both days and we are giving thought to the display we will take on the theme this year of “From Carrier Pigeon to Computers”. With the topic being communications and as this year we are observing the 10^th year of the monthly community paper ”The Echo”, it is our intention to base our display on the local paper. The original “Echo” was started in 1896 by John Dower and has been a wonderful window into the life and times of Newstead in those days. Does anyone have a photo of this remarkable man? One of most valued possessions is the microfilm we have of “The Echo”.

CALENDAR

Sunday September 18^thMaryborough Discovery Day at Maryborough Resource Centre 10 – 4 pm

Saturday/Sunday October 1st & 2^nd Ballarat Aquinas Campus Expo 2005 10 – 4 pm