Reg. No. A0030085Y
Web Site http://home.vicnet.net.au/~buninhis
PO Box 98, Buninyong, Vic. 3357
Newsletter
December 2008
Buninyong Primary School performs The Story of Buninyong below the historic Buninyong Court House, 1 December 2008
Reg. No. A0030085Y
Web Site http://home.vicnet.net.au/~buninhis
PO Box 98, Buninyong, Vic. 3357
Buninyong Primary School performs The Story of Buninyong below the historic Buninyong Court House, 1 December 2008
Our Annual General Meeting took place on Thursday 16 October. David Kimpton was re-elected as President, Bob Skewes as Vice-President, Pat Hope as Treasurer and Anne Beggs Sunter as Secretary. A special note of appreciation was accorded to Liz Lumsdon for her outstanding work on our website, which is much visited. Our guest speaker was Dr. Fred Cahir, who presented a fascinating illustrated talk about the original Aboriginal custodians of our area, the Wathaurung people, and their interaction with European settlers on the goldfields.
For our Christmas meeting, members are invited to the home of our Secretary on Thursday 18 December, for a stroll around the garden, drinks and nibbles, and a viewing of a recent video on the Lal Lal Falls, which features Pauline Holloway. We meet at the usual time of 7.30 p.m.
A descendant of the Hiscocks on the maternal side seeking information
David (died 21 May 1895) and Anne James (nee Griffiths) (died 7 Dec. 1909) are buried in the Buninyong Cemetery. Family member visiting Buninyong.
A descendant from NSW seeking to contact descendants
Descendant from Gladstone, Queensland, seeking information
If readers know anything about any of these names, and can help, please contact the secretary, Anne Beggs Sunter, a.beggs-sunter@ballarat.edu.au.
At the recent local government election, the long period of community service of Peter Innes came to an end. Although Peter received the second highest number of votes for the fiercely contested South Ward (11 candidates), he lost out in the distribution of preferences to finish in fourth place. So for the first time since the beginnings of local government when the Buninyong Roads Board was formed in 1858, the citizens of Buninyong have no personal representative in local government. As part of the larger South Ward, which includes Sebastopol, Canadian, Mount Pleasant and Mount Clear, our representatives are Des Hudson and Cheryl Broomfield from Sebastopol, and Ben Taylor from Canadian.
Buninyong people thank Peter for his strong and partisan advocacy for Buninyong, Mount Helen and Mount Clear. He can feel proud in the achievement of the new Buninyong Sports Facility, and the adoption of the Canadian Valley Outline Development Plan. He has also assisted local groups, and been ever ready to assist in arbitrating disputes over planning matters. The Buninyong and District Historical Society thanks Peter for his attention to our submissions to Council during his term, and his advocacy for our community.
The end of his term breaks the link with the old Buninyong Shire Council, on which Peter served as Councillor from 1990 and was the last Shire President in 1993-4. He gave his all for Buninyong, where the Innes family have been prominent citizens since the arrival of George Innes, the 'king of the splitters', in 1844.
Thank you Peter.
The staff and students of the Buninyong Primary School have made an outstanding contribution to our history this year. Once again Doug Bradby (a member of this society and the Ballarat Historical Society) has worked with children in Grades 3 and 4, escorting them around the township to visit buildings and sites of historical interest. The students completed projects on a site or person of their choice, and prizes are awarded for the best projects in categories of booklets, audio-visual digital format, or 3-D models.
Prize money was donated by this Society, the Library Committee and the Cemetery Trust. The quality of the projects was truly astounding, demonstrating the importance of introducing local history in the curriculum of this age group. As Doug Bradby remarked, the best way to became engaged with history is to begin with one's own family and backyard, then move outwards to broader and broader interests.
The second activity involved the whole school. On the evening of 1 December 2008, the school presented 'The Story of Buninyong' as an outdoor musical show, complete with original lyrics and words, dance, costume and even the eruption of Mount Buninyong. There was a strong environmental theme running through the performance, as well an a keen apprecitation of Aboriginal culture. Music teacher Steve Skilbeck led the music with his guitar, while local medico Dr Anna Glue was part of the band, playing her cello. A choir composed of students sang the songs that told the story of Mount Buninyong. Many members of the community accepted the invitation to attend.
In February the ex-students of the 1950s held a reunion during the Gold King Festival, and from that gathering an excellent book has been produced. We are proud to add a copy to our reference library.
COMING EVENTS | |
|---|---|
| Thursday 17 December, 7.30p.m. | Christmas at Clarendon |
| Friday 9 to Sunday 18 January 2009 | Organs of the Ballarat Goldfields - 10 days exploring the historic churches of the Ballarat goldfields |
| Thursday 19 February 2009 | Buninyong and District Historical Society Meeting, Court House History Centre |
| 27-29 March 2009 | Gold King Festival (note change of date) |
| Every second Monday morning at 9.00a.m. | Cataloguing. We work for two hours, then take coffee at a local cafe. Helpers always very welcome! |
| 1st Sunday of each month | Court House open from 11.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. |
| 3rd Saturday of every month | Buninyong Farmer's Market, from 9.00a.m. |
Seasons greetings to all members.
If you have not renewed your membership, we would appreciate it if you could do so.
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