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SEPTEMBER
NEWSLETTER 2002 COURTHOUSE UPDATE The
working bee held last month saw grass seed planted on the embankment under
instruction from the contractor, Bryce Collie. Since then the grass seed has
been watered thanks to our good neighbour Bill Pitts, who has allowed us to link
hoses up to his taps. (Our block is not connected to the water supply). At the
same time the block was cleaned up of old branches, timber was stacked, the
floors of the courthouse were vacuumed and mopped and the toilets cleaned in
readiness for our party. The reader-printer has needed another cartridge and a
reconditioned one has been bought from the company from whom we purchased the
machine. THE PARTY What
a great night! The courthouse had been made ready, an open fire and candles were
lit and our table, decorated with flowers, held a banquet of goodies. The
attendees ranged from the ages of 7 upwards! A former member, Baden McCall
brought out some cuckoo clocks that he is restoring to show and members had a
fine time chatting and enjoying each other’s company. Our courthouse is a
great venue for occasions such as this and deserves to be used for fun as well
as the more serious use we put it to. MARKET
DAY November
16 is the big day. This is our major fundraising event for the year and some
raffle tickets for our Christmas Hamper are included in this newsletter. Our
Christmas Hamper is a great prize to win – just ask the lucky people who have
won them in the past! Donations to fill the hamper, your help in selling
tickets, and for those who can, help manning the stall and providing it with
goodies, would be greatly appreciated. The new health regulations mean that we
have to plan ahead and submit lists of what we intend to donate in the way of
food products so that they can be provided to council ahead of the day. Final
arrangements will be made at the October meeting or Giselle Neall will be
available to answer your queries on 54762207. Over the years our food handling
practices have developed along the right lines and I think that thanks to
Giselle we can be proud of the way the selling of food on our stall. FAMILY HISTORY DAY IN BALLARAT The
annual weekend is on October 5-6 at Aquinas Campus Mair Street Ballarat 10am -
4pm cost $5. The theme this year is Education and Trades. Our Society is
mounting a display based on the life and times of F W Ellis, headmaster at
Newstead 1915 – 33. Several members will man the stall on Saturday and Sunday
and take our computer and records to assist the attendees with requests about
Newstead This expo is a major function in Ballarat and well attended by those
who seek family history information from the local societies. EXCURSION TO SANDON The
weather was not altogether springlike, but it did not deter the 35 people who
arrived to join in the excursion to Sandon. We gathered inside the courthouse as
Alex Culvenor explained what was planned. In a convoy of cars that probably
amazed a few other motorists we followed the leader to Pound Lane where the
first stop was the old reservoir now owned by Stewart and Bev Olney. From there
we proceeded to White Lodge. This barn was originally the Williamson barn where
apples were packed, some being sent to England and earning the impressive framed
certificate hanging in the courthouse for the quality of apples sent to the
London Exhibition in 1886. Elsie Barkla, daughter of John Williamson, spoke of
her memories of the bam including living there while the house next door was
being built. Most people were surprised at the thought of fruit trees thriving
without irrigation in Sandon. The next stop was the Catholic Church and from
there Alex was able to talk of the people and buildings in the surrounding area
including Burke’s hotel and the schools. From there we drove to the site of
the tornado where two unfortunate people in a car were killed and a strip of
countryside took the full force of nature’s fury. Then it was on to Osnaburg
where we saw the original wooden shingles hidden under the ceiling, admired the
old buildings and their contents and had a cuppa to finish a great day. The
Culvenor’s have given us photos, documents and stories of Sandon in a folder
and thanks are due to Joan, Alex and Elsie for a grand day! NEXT EXCURSION Our
October excursion will be a simple trip along Demo track to see the restoration
of the Thornhill Reef roasting kilns. The bush should be at its best and it will
be a chance to put up the Parks Victoria sign and have a wander about the
extensive area of mining remains there. Gather at the courthouse on Monday
afternoon October 7th at 1.30 pm NOVEMBER EXCURSION Vaughan
is an area that we haven’t been to for some time and a trip there is planned
for November 25th. To round off the year it is planned to have a
picnic lunch, to meet with David Avery and some knowledgeable locals and see the
sights of lovely historic Vaughan. More details in the next newsletter, ”NEWSTEAD REMEMBERS” At
our last meeting, Phil Butcher approached the Society with an idea for an
evening where people talk about life in Newstead in times past. He has suggested
themes of gold dredging, Cairn Curran, farming etc and it is thought that the
evening could include visual images, interviews, music, food etc. Some of our
members have joined a steering committee to investigate the idea further. Our
next meeting is at 1.30 October 21st 2002.
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Page last updated: 20 December 2008