FEBRUARY 2001 NEWSLETTER

Here we go again, back in business for the year 2001, (not that we haven’t been in business throughout the summer!).

LAST MARKET

Our November market was successful with profit to the society of approximately $600. Our hard working members Di and Derek Reid who have been loud in their praise for the Christmas goodies in the lovely hamper won the raffle.

NEXT MARKET

The March market will be on March 31 in the usual venue at Newstead Rotunda Park at 8am till about lunchtime. Stallholders will pay the usual fee of $5 and receive a number with the lucky stallholder winning a cake. Our society runs the barbeque and drinks stall as well as selling cakes, produce and anything else that might bring in a dollar or two. A raffle a decorated fruitcake made by Giselle Neall, will be drawn at noon. Help in any form from our members would be appreciated.

EXCURSIONS

Members enjoyed the visit to the Welsh village in Chewton arranged by FOMAD, the Friends of the Mount Alexander Diggings in November. The proposed tracking down of the Harry Lauder mine at Sandon hasn’t yet taken place. We are waiting for some cooler weather to undertake the trip into the bush. Tentative plans are also being made for a visit to the new Melbourne Museum. We plan to go by train in late April to see if this new museum really surpasses the old one, much loved by many people but derided by others! **Next Monday March 12 at 1.30, a few members are going to the Newstead cemetery, for an excursion. Please join us if you are interested.

HERITAGE WALK

December 8 was the launch of the Historic Walk brochures, funded by a grant from the Public Records Office. Liz Coady must have been very pleased that the effort that she has put into the project, culminated in the successful occasion. Bob Cameron, local Member of State Parliament and Minister for Local Government, introduced by our member and Mayor of Mount Alexander Shire, Peter Skilbeck, launched the 5 walks and their brochures at the school. The school children and their teachers, as well as members of the public present, then set off on the various walks before returning to the Rotunda Park for lunch. The brochures are titled Floods, Sacred to Worship and Memory, Law and Order, the CBD – Then and Now and Creating a Township. They are available at the Post Office, the milk bar and the supermarket in Newstead, as well as the information centres in Castlemaine and Maldon. If any of our out of town members would like copies, please phone me, Dawn Angliss on 03- 54762006,

GRANTS

Our Society has been in celebratory mood since early December when the Public Records Office made the announcements of the successful applicants in the latest round of the grants. We have microfilm copies of the Newstead ”Echo” from when it commenced in 1896 to 1920 and were keen to get the remaining years filmed. The cost of $6,200 to have it done was daunting (that’s an awful lot of cake stalls!). However our application was approved, the cheque has arrived and the task of microfilming is in hand.

More celebrations! Another grant, this time from Parks Victoria, has been successful to have landscaping and drainage works done at the courthouse. The steep embankment to the east of the courthouse causes problems when mowing the area and the area immediately surrounding the courthouse will be drained away from the building, and covered with gravel.

Difficulties experienced in submitting the original application to Parks Victoria by Derek Reid for repair of the roasting kilns at Thornhill Reef have now been overcome and the application has now been lodged.

ANNUAL MEETING

Our annual meeting will be on Monday April 23rd at the courthouse at 8pm. with a guest speaker. (This is the 4 Monday in the month as the 3 Monday is Easter Monday.)

ACQUISITIONS

Photo of the Newstead Football team of 1893 copied by Dean McLaren from the framed photo of 1893 and donated by Kathryn O’Reilly, list and maps of sites in the old Newstead shire listed by Heritage Victoria from Vickie Johnson, photos and articles of the Slee family from Valda Rees, photos of scenes of Newstead from John Ewing, photo of the Joyces Creek football team of 1908 from Laurie Redfearn, Victorian Inquest information from Di Reid, file and photos of the Scott family at Strangways from Daniel Pianto, sketch of a Mrs Trudgeon from Brian Dieckmann, copy of the title to the Strathlea school from Beverley Gray, and a brochure of the Newstead Queen Competition from D Garrett.

NEXT MEETING

Will be at the courthouse 1.30pm on Monday March 19.

We still have need of more typists to file the information that our dedicated member Margaret Di Fiore sends us. Margaret will be coming to Newstead at the time of our Market and we look forward to meeting her and showing her our courthouse and the use made of her research.

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