Fellowship of First Fleeters Hunter Valley Chapter

Transcription

1 Fellowship of First Fleeters Hunter Valley Chapter To live on in the hearts and minds of Descendants is never to die. All correspondence to: 22 Ruskin St. Beresfield President: Vice President Membership: Secretary: Treasurer: Jane van Woerkom Barbara Gow Cynthia Huggup Raymond Green Helen Pacey Ph: Ph: Ph: Ph: Ph: The Coal River Bulletin Newsletter No: 40 - October 2014 The busy time of year is already upon our Chapter and in this Newsletter there are reports on our recent activities as well as dates for your Diary of our up-coming events. At our October meeting President Jane took the Chair for her first General Meeting of our Chapter, well supported by the enthusiastic committee. As Jane promised we did indeed have a light show courtesy of Don in his new role as equipment officer with humorous slides for each committee member s report. It was a pleasure to have as our Guest Speaker, Ron Withington, who travelled from Sydney to introduce us to the celebrations in Hampshire on the 200 th anniversary of the death of Arthur Phillip. His presentation entitled Events and Sites of Arthur Phillip in the New Forest gave us an insight into how this area of the UK was involved in Arthur Phillip s life and to the high regard in which he and his achievements are held there. Ron began with a brief overview of Arthur Phillip s early years, his first marriage to a wealthy widow and subsequent naval career. This portrait of him at 24 years of age was one not many had seen before. Following his sojourn as Governor of NSW he farmed in the New Forest where he married his second wife Isabella. He was also appointed to the Verderer s Court which sat in the New Forest Centre and was the guardian of commoners and their rights. Governor Dame Marie Bashir had the privilege of viewing the court document which included the signature of Arthur Phillip. Arthur & Isabella moved to Bath in Ron s talk centred on Lymington and the area around Lyndhurst in the New Forest which is an interesting topic in itself. A Royal Park was established there by William the Conqueror in 1079 for hunting (mainly deer) and the park and attached manor were used for dowries for 4 successive Queens. It progressively passed back into common hands as open common land but in % still belonged to the Crown. The New Forest is now a National Park and the building is an administration centre for the area. The abundant and overwhelming support of Arthur Phillip was on display throughout the area especially in Lyndhurst and Lymington with not only the Australian flag, but the flag of NSW, being flown from many buildings and Aussie bunting criss-crossing the streets.

2 Inside the New Forest Centre Ron described an amazing display of Arthur Phillip s life as well as details of the First Fleet and settlement of the new Colony. Ron was particularly taken with this painting of the departing First Fleet as it passed the chalk rocks known as the Needles, on the Isle of Wight. In the New Forest a eucalypt tree planted in 1987 to commemorate the Bi-centenary is flourishing and Governor Marie Bashir planted a second eucalypt nearby to commemorate this 200 th anniversary. Also of interest was the nearby 11 th century church at Boldre where Rev. Richard Johnson served as a curate before joining the First Fleet as Chaplain. Our thanks to Ron for travelling from Sydney to share this experience with us. From the President s desk: Hello to all! At this time of the last Newsletter for 2014, it is especially appropriate to thank committee members for the careful attention to their various roles which has enabled the chapter to function so well. My newly acquired role as President would not have transitioned so smoothly, if it were not for the supportive and welcoming committee and members. Following our AGM we held our first committee meeting at the new location of the Shortland Wetlands where we were able to share morning tea, communing with nature by the duck pond and supporting the local environmental community. We have had the pleasure of listening to, and learning from guest speakers, Ian Palmer and Ron Withington and have enjoyed a wonderful day outing to Fort Denison with a proposed trip to Hambledon Cottage at Parramatta being our November excursion, to be followed by a well cateredfor lunch at our Christmas gathering. Through the planning of the Committee we have been able to enjoy the friendship and the fellowship arising from our commonly shared ancestry as First Fleet Descendants. We have also welcomed new members Ian and Ruth Smith, Brian Halson and Johan van Woerkom. As wel,l we say thank you to Don Huggup who has relinquished his role as librarian and welcome Lorraine Valent as our new librarian. Don however has gained the new role of powerpoint presenter extraordinaire and we look forward to his Christmas presentation. We extend thanks to Delma and Malcolm Burns for undertaking the role of Australia Day Committee organisers and thank Phil Alexander for his quiet work on the indexing project which Ron Withington has told us he is up to the W listing. In conclusion, to all members who have not been able to attend meetings we wish you a happy and joyous festive season, invite you to our Christmas lunch on the 8 th December and extend a welcome to attend whatever meetings you can in the New Year. Jane van Woerkom

3 FORT DENISON TOUR We had a great response to our tour of Fort Denison on Monday 15 th September; I think we all felt a sigh of relief as the weather could not have been more perfect for a trip across the harbour to the Fort. Thirty Fellowship members, including eight from the Central Coast gathered at Circular Quay for morning tea. We were met at the wharf by our guide for the tour, Wendy Groskops, who shared her knowledge of the Fort with great enthusiasm and humour. Prior to the arrival of the First Fleet the island had the Eora name Mat-te-wan-ye (sometimes Mallee wonya). Governor Arthur Phillip used the name Rock Island. In 1788 a convict named Thomas Hill was sentenced to a week on bread and water in irons on the rocky island, after which the island came to be known as Pinchgut. By 1796 the government had installed a gibbet on Pinchgut and the first convict to be hanged from the gibbet may have been Francis Morgan. In 1793 Morgan was transported to New South Wales, as punishment for a murder he committed in England. Unfortunately he was subsequently hanged in 1796 for bashing a man to death in Sydney. As Wendy told the story, his body was left on the gibbet as a warning for new convict arrivals to see. Now in contrast to that horror we have the beautiful Opera House as the introduction to Sydney. Once a 15-metre (49ft) high sandstone rock, the island was levelled by prisoners under the command of Captain George Barney, civil engineer for the colony. The sandstone taken out was used to construct nearby Circular Quay. Work had begun on the fort in 1841 but was not completed until 1857 and took the name from Sir William Thomas Denison, the Governor of New South Wales from 1855 to The fortress features a distinctive Martello tower the only one ever built in Australia and the last one ever constructed in the British Empire. Developments in artillery rendered the fort largely obsolete by the time it was completed. The fort was built on the original rock and convict markings are clearly visible. The remainder of the fort is built from 8,000 tonnes of sandstone from Kurraba Point, Neutral Bay. The tower itself had quarters for a garrison of 24 soldiers and one officer. Eventually all guns were removed except for the three 8-inch (200mm) muzzle loading cannons now on display in the gun room in the tower. In 1913 a lighthouse beacon built in Birmingham England and shipped to Sydney replaced the 10inch (254mm) gun on the roof of the tower. The light is now called the Fort Denison Light. In 2004 the NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service, which manages the site, restored the lighthouse beacon which is still in use. The fort also has a functioning foghorn and a tide gauge, which was established in the mid 19 th century. Since 1992 National Parks & Wildlife Service has spent around A$2m conserving and upgrading facilities. Ken Morley, from Central Coast Chapter joined us for the day and told of his mother and grandparents living on Fort Denison for around 20 years. Ken s wife Carmol has written a beautiful story of the family s life which will be published in a coming Bora Bora newsletter. Thank you Yvonne for organising this outing and for the interesting report.

4 The First and Second Fleet Memorial Gardens, Wallabadah On the week-end of the 30 th and 31 st of August about 250 First Fleet descendants associates and friends gathered at The First and Second Fleet Memorial Gardens at Wallabadah, to celebrate and acknowledge the bi-centenary of the death of Admiral (Captain) Arthur Phillip. The weather was glorious, the gardens pristine and the surrounding countryside in wonderful Spring beauty. While not the site of Sydney Cove, (although there was a small stream nearby; not the Tank Stream) the location was representative of the flora and fauna that Phillip would have encountered in On the Saturday afternoon before the celebrations commenced, many of the FFF members in attendance were interested to hear first-hand the report given by Denis Smith OAM (FFF Vice President) on the Australian contingent s attendance at the celebrations held in England. The talk given at 3.30pm, was at the quaint and cosy Wallabadah Community Hall. Denis indicated that the FFF representative group attended ceremonies in London at Westminster Abbey, 9 th July, Bath 12th July, Lymington and Lyndhurst (areas in the region of the New Forest) where Arthur Phillip had resided, 14 th July and Australia House, 18 th July. The talk was combined with a visual presentation of photographs from the events. It was very informative, colourful and lively, more of which has been covered in Founders October/November issue. As well, the group reported on the fact that they have been able to identify and visit the resting place of another First Fleeter, Henry Lidgbird Ball ( ), Captain of the Supply. On the Sunday guided tours of the First Fleet Park, which adjoins a camping site, were given. Many attendees took the opportunity to have photographs of themselves, taken in front of the carved stone tablets of their relevant ancestor s ship. Each carved tablet has been a labour of love and commitment and a testament to the remarkable journey of the First Fleet. Many wondered why the gardens were located so far from Sydney Cove and the explanation given was that Liverpool Plains Shire Council was ready, willing, and able to fund the project at the time it was presented, thus enabling the stone mason, Ray Collins, to undertake the task. Later in the day celebratory speeches were given by the Lord Mayor, children representing local schools and the guest speaker Professor Stephen Cuneen from Armidale University. Professor Cuneen s talk focussed on the first year in the colony and how pivotal this time was to the survival the First Fleeters and the subsequent success of the colony. Professor Cuneen paid tribute to the leadership of Phillip in these trying and demanding times and re-enforced his often attributed title of Father of a modern Australia and Father of a Nation. The day was well catered for and accomodation was suitably available at nearby Quirindi, ten minutes drive away. The theme of come in colonial constume was not quite lived up to but some members of the North West chapter did oblige. Attempts were also made to develop a contact register for people wanting to make connections with distant cousins. Nikki Robertson as the organising officer indicated the event will be conducted as a bi-annual event and as a grand reunion for cousins and interested others. It is a great week end to share! Nikki Robertson can be contacted at Liverpool Plains Visitor Information Centre on (02) Thank you to our President Jane, who enjoyed this celebration.

5 Outing FRIDAY 21 st November 2014 Hambledon Cottage 63 Hassall St. Parramatta. Thinking of you Several members who have been associated with our Chapter since the early days have not had the best of health lately. Our thoughts are with Pat Meredith, John Brooker and Daphne Hughes. Australia Day on the Newcastle Foreshore Plans on hold! Built by John MacArthur in 1824 the cottage is the second home built on his Elizabeth Farm Estate. It is now home to the Parramatta and District Historical Society. This is not only an opportunity to visit this historic property but to view their current temporary display which also celebrates the life and achievements of Captain Arthur Phillip. Yvonne has been busy negotiating with the curator who suggests we catch the train to Strathfield, enjoy a reviving coffee, then change to an express train to Parramatta for a guided tour at noon. Cost: $5 payable to Yvonne on the day. TIMES: We will catch the 7.18am train from Newcastle, 7.28am Broadmeadow, 7.35am Cardiff, 7.46am from Fassifern arriving at Strathfield for morning tea. The 10.53am express from Strathfield arrives at Parramatta at 11.07am. There is a 10 to 15 minute easy walk from the station to Hambledon Cottage. It would be best to have a discussion among those attending on the day re the return trip as there are several options. Either take the train trip home (in reverse) or take the River Cat to Circular Quay, tide permitting, and back to Central to catch either the 4.15pm or 4.45pm train to Newcastle. - o o O o o - Spokesperson for our Special Events Committee Delma reported while plans for our Australia Day display, as part of the Maritime Festival on the foreshore, were well underway they are now on hold. A letter from the Maritime Festival organisers advises that the Festival has been deferred this year in deference to the Asian Soccer Cup - four games are being hosted in Newcastle during January. Apparently the Maritime Festival planners are looking at holding several smaller events during 1915 so we wait to hear of their plans. Vale Wendy Swinkels Our Sincere sympathy to Dom Swinkels and family on the sudden and unexpected passing of our member Wendy. Wendy & Dom have been part of the FFF for many years Wendy s membership number being only 718. Wendy recently undertook the role of Assistant Treasurer always gracious and cheerful she will be sadly missed.

6 You are cordially invited to Our Christmas Celebration 8 th December 2014 WHERE: Our usual venue Senior Citizens Hall Brunker Rd. Adamstown TIME: 11.15am Tea & Coffee on arrival followed by a brief meeting before lunch COST: $35 pp The luncheon is catered for by Caterforce Final numbers and payment for members and guests by 30th November please. Payment can be made on BPAY, cash or a cheque to Treasurer Helen. BPAY: BSB Newcastle Permanent. A/c No: A/c name: FELLOWSHIP OF FIRST FLEETERS HUNTER VALLEY CHAPTER *** The usual $5 fee is not required on the day but it would be appreciated if you could bring along a contribution for the Tombola always good fun! Looking forward to seeing you there! November 2 nd Colleen Simpson, 5 th Noeleen Snowden 8 th Athol Searston, 9 th John Brooker, 21 st Albert Burgman, 30 th Ray Meredith December 1 st Helen Pacey, 1 st Barbara Turner, 1 st Mary Woodlands, 2 nd Sam Pacey, 3 rd Jane Van Woerkom, 4 th Bettye Searston, 5 th Barbara Trigg, 10 th Helen Moore, 20 th Shirley Anderson, 24 th John Turner 22 nd Cynthia Huggup, 26 th Don Huggup Xmas Menu: Main Baked leg ham & turkey breast Your selection of five Salads & vegetables A combination of the above is ideal Freshly baked mixed rolls Includes a fabulous fruit platter Dessert Trifle served with individual plum puddings Includes cream and custard Apple strudel with fresh cream Complimentary tea/coffee (BYO wine and glasses)