Canberra & District Historical Society Inc - PO Box 315, Curtin ACT 2605 Founded 10 December 1953
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Canberra & District Historical Society Inc.
Founded 10 December 1953
PO Box 315, Curtin ACT 2605
ISSN 1839-4612
Edition No. 467
June 2018
Canberra History News – Edition No. 467 – June 2018 1
Canberra & District Historical Society Inc.
Council
President: Nick Swain
Vice-President: Esther Davies; Richard Reid
Immediate Past President: Julia Ryan
Hon. Treasurer: Vacant, Julia Ryan A/g
Hon. Secretary: Vacant
Councillors: Patricia Clarke; Tony Corp; Peter Dowling; Allen
Mawer; Marilyn Truscott; Ann Tündern-Smith, two
vacancies
Honorary Executive Officer: Helen Digan
CDHS Canberra Historical Journal Editors: David Wardle and Kay Walsh
(Published two times each year)
CDHS Canberra History News Editors: Ann Tündern-Smith, Sylvia Marchant and
Karen Moore
(Published four times each year)
Location
Curtin Shopping Centre, Curtin ACT
(Entrance from Strangways Street car park, opposite the service station)
Postal Address Phone
PO Box 315, Curtin ACT 2605 (02) 6281 2929
Email Website
admin@canberrahistory.org.au www.canberrahistory.org.au
Facebook page
Canberra & District History
https://www.facebook.com/groups/829568883839247/
Office Hours
Tuesdays & most Wednesdays: 11.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m.
Most Saturdays: 10.00 a.m. to 12.00 noon
Monthly Meetings
Conference Room, Telopea Park School,
New South Wales Crescent, Barton
Held from February to December on the 2nd Tuesday of each month
Be sure to arrive between 5.00 and 5.30 pm, as the entrance then is locked until the meeting finishes,
between 6.30 and 7 pm
Front Cover: Annie Mercy Fallick, née Gale, one of the Pioneer Women of Queanbeyan described by Nichole
Overall in her presentation to the Society’s Monthly Meeting on 8 April. For more, please see page 8.
Photograph courtesy Nichole Overall
Canberra History News – Edition No. 467 – June 2018 2
Canberra History News
The Newsletter of the Canberra & District Historical Society Inc.
Edition No. 467 ISSN 1839-4612 June 2018
The Canberra History News is issued QUARTERLY in March, June, September and December of each year.
Contents
Calendar of CDHS Events 4
New Venue for July Meeting 4
Other events 4
June Guest Speaker: Malcolm Beazley 5
July Guest Speaker: Peter Dowling 5
Council Report: May 2018 6
Canberra Day Oration: Monday, 12 March 2018
The Unknown Soldier and the Centenary of ANZAC with Brendon Kelson 7
Monthly Meeting: Tuesday, 10 April 2018
Pioneer Women of Queanbeyan with Nichole Overall 8
Monthly Meeting: Tuesday, 8 May 2018, Is the ‘Kingo’ Heritage?
with Marilyn Truscott and Nick Swain 9
Canberra and District Heritage Festival, 14-29 April 2018: ‘My Culture, My Story’ 10
Do You Know a Community Group Which Would Enjoy the Jefferis–Whelen Journals? 10
Jefferis-Whelen Journal Workshop, Thursday, 19 April 2018 11
Robert Digan, 18 January 1938 – 29 December 2017, by Ben Digan and Michael Hall 12
Tribute to Manuka Pool Swimmers by Frances McGee 14
What Do We Mean By ‘& District’? by Nick Swain 16
Two Members Get Plaques on Canberra’s Honour Walk! 17
A Tale Of Two Villages by Alastair Crombie 18
Tuggranong Post Office, NSW by Tony Curtis 19
Membership Matters 23
News from ArchivesACT 23
Note to Contributors 24
Note to Advertisers 24
Annual Subscription Form 25
The Canberra History News is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of
private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part
may be reproduced by any process without permission. Views expressed in articles, reviews,
etc., are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Society.
Deadline for the June issue is Tuesday, 7 August 2018
Canberra History News – Edition No. 467 – June 2018 3
Calendar of CDHS Events
Saturday Jefferis-Whelen Journal Presentation at Lanyon Homestead
2 June 2018 Fireside chat in the Barracks Espresso Bar and Eating House, 2.30-3.30pm
Bookings by 31 May at Eventbrite: Lanyonfireside.eventbrite.com.au
General Meeting: Malcolm Beazley on Celebrating Australia’s Educational
Heritage: The Role of the Australian National Museum of Education
Tuesday
Dr Malcolm Beazley AM is the founder and Director of the Australian
12 June 2018
National Museum of Education at the University of Canberra (see p 5)
Telopea Park School Conference Room, Barton
Tea and coffee from 5pm (doors closed at 5.30pm)
CDHS annual subscriptions due. You can pay by bank transfer, credit card
July 2018 by phone or in person, cheque by snail mail or in person. See notice on page
25 of this newsletter with subscription rates, bank details, etc.
General Meeting in a new **venue**: Peter Dowling on Paleopathology of
Tuesday
Australian Aborigines pre- and post-Contact (see p 5)
10 July 2018
**ALIA Conference Room, 9-11 Napier Close, Deakin**
5pm tea/coffee for a 5.30pm start
General meeting: Jenne Kelson on A Musical Snapshot of History
Tuesday
Venue to be advised after July Council meeting
14 August 2018
5pm tea/coffee for 5.30pm start
Annual General Meeting
Tuesday
Venue to be advised after July Council meeting
11 September 2018
5pm wine and cheese for a 5.30pm start
General meeting: Jane Goffman on The History of Dickson and Planning for its
Tuesday Future
9 October 2018 Venue to be advised after July Council meeting
5pm tea/coffee for 5.30pm start
Members Night: Tell Us About Your Own Research
Three to four speakers needed: Please advise the office or a Council
Tuesday
member
13 November 2018
Venue to be advised after July Council meeting
5pm tea/coffee for 5.30pm start
** New Venue for July meeting** (Telopea Park School is closed during holidays.)
The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) has kindly offered us their
Conference Room for our July meeting. It is just inside the entrance of their building
at 9-11 Napier Close, Deakin The CDHS Council will consider the location of future
General Meetings the week afterwards, on 17 July.
Other Events
Third Wednesday
Regional Studies Network
every month
CDHS, Curtin.
12.30 – 1.30 pm
Living Stones exhibition and guided tours of the Church of St Andrew, 1
Wednesdays
State Circle, Forrest. More information from Ann on 62812436 or David on
11.15 am – 12.15 pm
0402215303
Thursday mornings
10.00 am -12.30 pm A Tale of Two Villages exhibition
First Sunday Hall School Museum and Heritage Centre, Victoria St, Hall.
every month Groups by appointment with or phone: 0408 259 946
11.00 am – 4.00pm,
Friends of Black Mountain Symposium to celebrate
the 50th anniversary of Black Mountain Reserve
2018
CDHS members are invited to contribute. Contact Julie Hotchin at
or on 0438 516 972 for more information.
Canberra History News – Edition No. 467 – June 2018 4
June General Meeting Guest Speaker:
Malcolm Beazley
Canberra born, Dr Malcolm Beazley AM, has been a teacher, academic, administrator and writer for over
fifty years. He has been an educational consultant to both local and federal governments and has written
and edited numerous publications and articles. His career has been marked by a Fulbright Award in
1982, when he researched programs in the USA, which focused on the development of language and
writing abilities in children. He was made a Fellow of the Australian College of Educators in 1987 and a
Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 1991 Queen’s Birthday Honours for his pioneering work in
the application of state-of-the-art technologies to pedagogy both in Australia and overseas. Through the
Computer Pals Across the World (CPAW) organization, which he founded in 1983 and which is now
based at the University of Central Florida, USA, he has become known as the Father of Social Media. As
the Founder and Director of the Australian National Museum of Education, at the University of Canberra,
his current research is on the history of education and schooling. He has a great interest in global issues
and in building bridges between the peoples of this planet.
July General Meeting Guest Speaker:
Peter Dowling
Dr Peter Dowling is a CDHS Council member. He studied archaeology, Australian history and biological
anthropology at the Australian National University, specialising in the biological consequences of
European and Aboriginal contact. His doctoral thesis examined the distribution and effects of introduced
diseases into the Aboriginal population of Australia from 1788 to 1900. After working for many years in
the fields of archaeology, history and biological anthropology, Peter is now trying hard to retire and to
further his work on paleopathology of the Australian Aborigines. He summarises his talk to the July
General Meeting thus:
It is well known that, following the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788 and the subsequent European
colonisation, the indigenous populations of Australia suffered severe losses. In many areas populations
which had existed for as long as 50,000 years were reduced to very few numbers in a matter of 100 years. It
was a crucial period in the human history of Australia. Many historians writing about the early contact
period have given introduced diseases as the major cause of population collapse but have not elaborated
further.
Which diseases were responsible for the population decline, when and where did they occur, how
severe were they, and which diseases were more responsible for population collapse? What were the
diseases that afflicted Aboriginal populations before the arrival of Europeans? In this talk Peter Dowling
will discuss these diseases and provide answers to these questions.
Back copies of the Canberra Historical Journal (Nos 1–60) are available
from the CDHS Office for $1 each, unless they are judged to be rare
(less then ten copies on hand). Rare editions sell for $10 each.
Later editions are priced at $4 each unless they (editions 71 and 78) are rare.
(If you have copies of the Journal which you no longer require, the Society would be pleased to receive
these. They can be dropped off at the Society’s Office in Curtin—details on page 2.)
Canberra History News – Edition No. 467 – June 2018 5
Council Report: May 2018
We are just coming out of a very busy period which has included the Canberra Day Oration by
Brendon Kelson, the multi-event ACT Heritage Festival (Book fair, Open Day, a stall at Lanyon
Homestead and a Jefferis-Whelen journal presentation) and our April general meeting (a big
thanks to Nichole Overall, all the way from Queanbeyan!). Detailed reports about these events
are elsewhere in this newsletter.
All this has been possible only with the help of a small band of very active volunteers
whom we thank very much. Some volunteers are stretched and it would be great if a few more
people could help out. Even Council members burn out.
Your Council has vacancies and these need to be filled. Without these positions being
filled, the Council and other volunteers are struggling to provide the current services to
members let alone more services, such as excursions. Please volunteer!
There was good news about Federal government funding for our peak body, the
Federation of Australian Historical Societies—initially discontinued but reinstated for at least
the next year thanks to a concerted campaign. Many thanks go to everyone who made their
views known to the Minister.
Our Facebook group page, Canberra & District History, is going well and we now have
more than 220 members. We are reaching many more people this way and reading their
stories. If you are not a member of our group page please sign up—you can post your own
stories and photos.
The nomination of the Kingston Hotel for inclusion on the ACT Heritage Register has
resulted in the building owner admitting it was for sale. It appears that some offers involved
redevelopment of the site. ACT Heritage Council Chair David Flannery has confirmed that the
Kingston Hotel is, for the time being, protected as if it were on the ACT Heritage Register.
We have just submitted an application for a National Library of Australia Community
Heritage grant to have the significance of the Pat Wardle papers assessed. The collection
comprises 24 boxes of material including diaries, letters and photographs. Pat’s papers
include some from her mother Pattie Tillyard, her father Robin Tillyard and some of her
sisters.
We have been checking out a promising venue for our general meetings on 10 July and
9 October when Telopea Park School is unavailable during school holidays. Watch this space!
Finally, we thank Sharon Green of Bridges Financial Services for her donation of a
compactus previously used by that company. The donation was organised by the CDHS
Honorary Administrator, the ever-resourceful Helen Digan. While the compactus took a full
day to install, it has replaced one desk and two cabinets which did not offer nearly as much
storage space. One metal cabinet and one 1950s-style office desk with green vinyl insert on
top are now looking for new homes.
The compactus has been installed in the room behind the front office in our Resource
Centre. The CDHS Council decided to name this the Digan Room at its May meeting, in
memory of Bob Digan and in less than adequate recognition of all that Helen Digan has
contributed to the Society over many years.
We hope you enjoy reading the rest of this newsletter.
Nick Swain and Ann Tündern-Smith
Canberra History News – Edition No. 467 – June 2018 6
Canberra Day Oration, Monday, 12 March 2018
Brendon Kelson on the Unknown Soldier and the Centenary of ANZAC
In 1993, the remains of an unknown Australian soldier killed during WWI were exhumed from a
French cemetery and interred in the Hall of Memory at the Australian War Memorial (AWM). Brendon
Kelson, Director at the time, led the repatriation push together with Michael McKernan and Richard
Reid. Rob Allison offered his services as an honorary consultant and acted as funeral director in the
ceremonies at Villers-Bretonneux, the Menin Gate at Ypres in Belgium and at the Cambrai-Niergnies
Air Base in France.
In the 1920s, Britain had interred an unknown soldier at Westminster Abbey and the French
buried a soldier at the Arc de Triomphe. John Treloar, archivist at the AWM, commented that to bury
our own unknown soldier would only serve to detract from the significance of the original interments.
These, he stated, should stand for all the unknown service personnel who died in WWI.
Objections were raised by other individuals and groups, including the Commonwealth War
Graves Commission. Despite these and after years of negotiations and planning, it was decided that an
unknown soldier’s remains would be exhumed from the Adelaide Cemetery in France. His remains
were transported by a Qantas 747 aircraft specially named The Spirit of Remembrance for the return to
Australia. On arrival in Canberra, the Unknown Soldier lay in state in King’s Hall in Old Parliament
House for four days with thousands coming to pay their respects. Many of these visitors came because
they could not visit the gravesite in the traditional manner.
On 11 November 1993, the funeral cortege made its way up Anzac Parade accompanied by a
tri-service guard and service bands, followed by a nineteen-gun salute. Here, Brendon referred to a
VIP’s comment to a guard by way of thanks at the parade, ‘Soldier, you’re on my Christmas card list’ to
which the soldier replied, ‘Well, you’re not on mine!’
The Unknown Soldier represents more than 100,000 men and women who laid down their
lives for Australia in the wars of the twentieth century but as Prime Minister Paul Keating said in his
eulogy, ‘He embodied a story of bravery and sacrifice and a deeper faith in ourselves and our
democracy and a deeper understanding of what it means to be Australian. He is all of them and he is
one of us.’
A vote of thanks to Brendon Kelson was moved by Esther Davies and fully supported by the
large and appreciative audience.
Tony Corp
A transcript of the address will be included in the next issue of the Canberra Historical Journal.
Vice-President, Esther Davies, thanks the Canberra Day Orator, Brendan Kelson
Photographer: Nick Swain
Canberra History News – Edition No. 467 – June 2018 7
Monthly Meeting: Tuesday, 10 April 2018
Pioneer Women of Queanbeyan
with Nichole Overall
Telopea Park School Principal, Kerrie Blain, welcomed members to the Primary School
Library, a temporary move from the usual Teachers Common Room. Nick Swain, CDHS
President, then introduced Nichole Overall, a Queanbeyan-based journalist, author and social
historian.
Nichole began by thanking the Society for the favourable review of her book on
Queanbeyan: City of Champions in the Canberra Historical Journal. She went on to outline
stories of over twenty individual women since European settlement in the district. They
included:
The two European women of the 1820s census—among 70 men;
Jane Hunt, who married innkeeper William Hunt after the death of her first husband;
Emma Rowley, first businesswoman in the district, who purchased four blocks of land
at auction in 1839;
Elizabeth Faunce, married to the Magistrate, Captain Alured Faunce, and a ‘civilising’
influence in the township in its early days;
Annie Fallick, daughter of newspaperman, John Gale, who became a compositor at age
17, then edited the Gunning Leader and later, in the 1870s, became proprietor of the
Queanbeyan Observer;
Mary Anne Wright, first Lady Mayoress who instigated one of the first divorces in the
region;
Maryann Brownlow who, in 1855, stabbed her husband for infidelity and selling her
property, whose hanging was delayed until after she delivered her third child; her
sentence is believed to have been the first step towards the introduction of a Married
Women's Property Rights Act;
Mary Rusten, matron for three decades at the Queanbeyan hospital, she died in 1882.
Nellie Hamilton, (Queen Nellie), a Ngambri woman who was an honoured guest at
opening of the Tharwa Bridge in 1895.
The 500 women who played Rockley, a 'feminine' version of cricket in the district in
the 1890s and 1900s
Elizabeth McKeahnie, ‘Aunt Elizabeth’ to the large McKeahnie family, a poet who stood
over six feet tall and owned a dairy property near Tharwa, which she operated with
female assistants only;
Margaret Donoghoe, who in 1949 became the first woman elected to the Queanbeyan
Council;
Miles Franklin, author, who set her novel Old Blastus of Bandicoot in the district, when
Queanbeyan was the hub for the Brindabellas;
Heather McKay, world squash champion 18 times between 1962 and 1979.
A lively discussion followed, with members and guests thanking Nichole for her research
and presentation and adding their own recollections.
Julia Ryan
CDHS annual membership subscriptions are now due.
You can pay by bank transfer, credit card by phone or in person,
cheque by snail mail or in person.
See notice on page 25 of this newsletter with subscription rates, bank details, etc.
Canberra History News – Edition No. 467 – June 2018 8
Monthly Meeting: Tuesday, 8 May 2018
Is the ‘Kingo’ Heritage?
with Marilyn Truscott and Nick Swain
Marilyn and Nick presented the case for the Society’s nomination of the Kingston Hotel to the
ACT Heritage Council for listing on the ACT Heritage Register, to twenty attendees in the
Teachers’ Common Room at Telopea Park School.
Marilyn explained the four core values used in assessing Australian heritage generally.
Normally, it is necessary to meet only one core value to be listed. The Kingston Hotel
nomination focuses on two of the four core values, that is, historic and social values. The Hotel
does not qualify for its aesthetic or scientific values.
Based on Jill Waterhouse’s chapter in the CDHS publication, Canberra’s Early Hotels: A
Pint Sized History (on sale at our Curtin Resource Centre), Nick outlined the history of the
‘Kingo’. It was built in 1936 by Tooheys Breweries, with an unusual footprint, designed to
maximise sunlight in the bedrooms in February.
Historic events associated with the Kingston Hotel include the Petrov defection from
the Soviet Embassy across the road and the subsequent Royal Commission, in 1954-55, and
the 36 Faceless Men gibe of 1963.
The ALP’s National Conference was meeting in the ‘Kingo’ to discuss policies to take to
voters in the next Federal election while the Party’s two Parliamentary leaders, Arthur Calwell
and Gough Whitlam, waited outside for the decisions. Journalist Alan Reid organised a
photograph of Calwell and Whitlam as they waited, leading the Liberal Party to invent the 36
Faceless Men title and to campaign against the ALP with it. Actually there were 35 men only
(six from each State but no-one from the Territories) and one woman delegate, Phyllis
Benjamin of Tasmania.
The ‘Kingo’ was and is regarded as the ‘people’s pub’. In the 1930s, a leading SP bookie
operated there, while it also has hosted the celebration of many major events, such as the
2017 passage of same-sex marriage legislation.
The nomination of the Kingston Hotel has been accepted by the ACT Heritage Council.
The next step is provisional Registration and the third step, the final Registration.
A lively discussion followed the presentation, but time ran out before it the discussion
could finish.
A fuller account of the Society’s Kingston Hotel Submission will be found in the
September edition of the Canberra Historical Journal.
Julia Ryan
Books for sale at the CDHS Resource Centre in Curtin
at members’ prices!
Belconnen’s Aboriginal Past by Peter Kabaila for $10
The Neighbourhood of Hughes by Jenny Tyrrell for $30
Building a City by Jennifer Horsfield for $25
Canberry Tales by Allen Mawer for $30
Cotter Country by Bruce Moore for $30
Prime Minister’s Lodge by Graeme Barrow for $10
Canberra History News – Edition No. 467 – June 2018 9
Canberra and District Heritage Festival, 14-29 April 2018
‘My Culture, My Story’
Esther Davies organised another very successful Book Fair to coincide with this year’s
Heritage Festival. The first session was between 5 and 7 pm on Friday, 13 April, a date which
led to gloomy but inaccurate predictions from President Nick. The second session ran the next
day, from 9 in the morning until noon, alongside our Open Day outdoor stalls. The book sales
alone raised more than $830. The plants people were quite proud that their takings of $94
just exceeded the $93 raised at the bric-à-brac tables.
This is the second time that the Curtin Residents Association has run a Curtin Autumn
Fair at the same time as the Heritage Festival. There seemed to be better synergy between the
two events this year. The Residents Association advertising in several media always
mentioned our Open Day. We also put up many signs in the main Curtin Shops square—
which is now becoming known as Curtin Square to the locals—with arrows directing
shoppers and fair-goers to our stalls.
Those who helped Esther set up, pack up and who prepared and operated stalls on the
Open Day were Allen Mawer, Nick Swain, Ann Tündern-Smith, Dawn Richardson, Eva Yager,
Dudley Yager and Julia Ryan. Our thanks go to all of them and anyone missed in the list.
Our human resources were stretched on the Open Day, though, as the Heritage Festival
organisers had chosen the same day for the National Trust Open Day. Our Book Fair
organisers had to stick to 13-14 April, despite the clash, for personal reasons. Those at the
CDHS Resource Centre in Curtin thought that the weather was warm if windy. Marilyn
Truscott with two helpers, Maureen Cashman and Syd Comfort, found herself in wide-open
spaces at Lanyon Homestead and exposed to strong, direct winds.
Despite the gale-force weather, some sturdy members of the public did come to
explore Lanyon and the special offerings of its Open Day. Those who found the information
stands showed an interest in our activities and took away membership forms.
Julia Ryan was interviewed on ABC Radio 666, resulting in extra registrations for the
Jefferis-Whelen journal workshop at the Resource centre on 19 April. It was attended by a full
house. We now are looking for other groups which might like to enjoy looking through these
heritage-listed records from the 1920s. Please see the next two items.
Ann Tündern-Smith
Do you know a community group
which would enjoy the Jefferis – Whelen journals?
The Society now has 25 high-resolution AROUND AUSTRALIA’S CAPITAL
facsimile copies for research and education THE JEFFERIS AND WHELEN JOURNALS
1926 - 1931
purposes, thanks to an ACT Government
Heritage Grant. The J-W team has already
presented the Journal to groups at U3A, the
Wesley Centre, Lanyon Cultural Centre and
the Society’s Resource Centre at Curtin.
The Journal fascinates people and the
presentations are an excellent way of
advertising the Society’s work. Contact the
CDHS office if you know of an interested
group. Frontispiece to volume III,
Three Hundred Miles with Note-book and Camera
Canberra History News – Edition No. 467 – June 2018 10Jefferis-Whelen Journal Workshop
Thursday, 19 April 2018
Nick Swain and Julia Ryan presented Around Australia’s Capital 1926-31 in three volumes to
twelve participants, from both the community and the CDHS membership, at a Heritage
Festival event in the CDHS Resource Centre on 19 April. Each participant had a high-
resolution facsimile to inspect. The facsimiles are now enhanced by the addition of two aerial
photographs of the Hotel Canberra and surrounds, from about 1927, provided by Telopea
Park School Archivist and CDHS Vice-President, Esther Davies.
Each time the Journal is presented the participants respond with enthusiasm and great
interest to this unique, heritage-listed collection of photographs, watercolours, sketches and
written impressions. This time was no different. Mary Gleeson, from ACT Heritage, dropped
by and took the photograph below.
If you have not yet attended a presentation, the next one will be held at Lanyon
Homestead on 2 June 2018.
Julia Ryan
The 2018 Heritage Festival Jefferis-Whelen Journals Workshop
with presenters Nick Swain and Julia Ryan seated at the rear
Photographer: Mary Gleeson
Canberra History News – Edition No. 467 – June 2018 11Robert Digan
18 January 1938 – 29 December 2017
by Ben Digan and Michael Hall
It was a “dark and stormy night” when Allan then lived, and romance blossomed.
Robert Digan was born on 18 January 1938 On 1 June 1967, Rob and Helen married at
in London, or at least that’s what he liked to St. Thomas More’s Catholic Church in
tell people. The son of Irish migrants from Campbell. They settled in Cook, where they
County Galway, Rob was a book lover built their home, and raised three children.
throughout his life and that was his Rob remained in the public service
favourite phrase for starting any anecdote: for 36 years, going on to work in Defence,
he had once read that it topped the list of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and the
worst opening sentences for a novel. It also Australian National Audit Office. In 1972 he
appealed to his sense of humour for, as his was a founding member of the Department
son Ben pointed out in his eulogy, the day of Aboriginal Affairs and counted men such
Rob was born was unusually clear and mild as Reg Saunders and Charles Perkins as
for winter in London. friends. Two years later he was at work
After leaving school at fifteen he went when two Aboriginal activists, armed with a
to work for Macmillan Publishers in London pistol, held him and several other men as
which, for a bibliophile, was a dream job. On hostages. He did not let this traumatic
learning in 1955 that the Digan family was experience interfere with the important
migrating to Australia, Rob had to resign work that had to be done.
from Macmillan, so the company offered him A lover of jazz, Rob was also a keen
£5 (or more than week’s wages) or a book of bird watcher. He was a member of the
his choice. Typically, he chose a book, War Canberra Ornithologists Group and the
and Peace, the biggest book that he could Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union and
find. wrote a number of articles for journals and
Along with his parents and younger books on the subject. His interests extended
sister, Rob arrived in Sydney in February to history, so when Helen joined the CDHS in
1956 after a four-week voyage through the the mid 1980s he joined as well. For ten of
Suez Canal, Aden, Bombay and Perth. The the next seventeen years, Rob served as
family moved to Hillston in western New secretary of the Society, where he was a
South Wales—as hot, dry and sparsely calming and considered contributor to
populated a place as London is cold, wet and council meetings. As well as being a member
crowded. In this strange, new environment of the mapping project team, which plotted
he found work in various jobs: on a dairy historic sites on modern maps of the ACT, he
farm, in the local garage and in the was a reliable contributor for the Newsletter,
menswear department of the local general producing reports that were precise and
store where his English accent was concise.
undoubtedly an asset. Rob was amongst the most prolific of
In 1960 Rob joined the Postmaster book reviewers for the Canberra Historical
General’s Department and was sent first to Journal, contributing at least twenty-five
the Roto Post Office, north of Hillston, reviews. It probably was an excuse to read
moving two years later to Manuka. Then he another book. His reviews were on a range
was moved to Khancoban, in the Snowy of topics as diverse as birds, biographies,
Mountains, in 1963, before getting a job as a military history, Aborigines and
telegraphist at Parliament House. While in immigration. They were not so much those
the Snowys he became friends with Allan of a critic but of someone who loved books
McGrath and on a trip to Allan’s hometown and appreciated the efforts authors made to
of Braidwood he met Allan’s sister, Helen. bring their subject matter to the attention of
They met again, at a party in Downer where the public. Rob’s last review, published in
Canberra History News – Edition No. 467 – June 2018 122015, was on a book about the bushranging Clarke brothers from the Braidwood district.
Sometimes a picture tells more than words as revealed in the wedding photo of Rob
and Helen as they left the church in 1967. The joy clearly expressed on both their faces lasted
through fifty years of marriage (even if time slowed the step in their jump) and was evident in
the things most important to him—Helen, their children Andrew, Ben and Alexandra and their
grandchildren.
Ben describes his father as modest and humble, as indeed he was. A true gentleman in
an age when poseurs and braggarts are celebrated and humility is derided as weakness,
Robert Digan showed that you could achieve much with quiet determination. After a long
illness, he passed away at Clare Holland House on 29 December 2017 and was later buried at
Braidwood. On behalf of the Society, we offer our deepest condolences to Helen and her
family.
This article is based in part on the eulogy which Ben Digan delivered at his father’s funeral service on 5
January 2018 at St. Vincent de Paul’s Catholic Church in Aranda.
Photograph courtesy Helen Digan
Canberra History News – Edition No. 467 – June 2018 13Tribute to Manuka Pool Swimmers
by Frances McGee
Bill Dullard leaned out of the train window The plaque is now housed in a large
at Canberra Railway Station, smiling at frame, along with the photograph of Bill
family and friends gathered to bid him Dullard and his mates. Some very special
farewell. It was 1942. Behind him were eight guests attended the unveiling ceremony: Mr
mates from the Werriwa Regiment, all Merv Knowles, brother of Lindsay Knowles,
departing for war service. Someone took a and a former President of our Society, Mr
photo. That photograph now features in the Barry Browning and Mrs Judith Stephenson,
restored Honour Roll at Manuka Swimming brother and sister of Frank Browning and
Pool. two nephews and a niece of Bill Dullard.
The Honour Roll, a small bronze Lindsay, Barry and Bill are three of the men
plaque, was first unveiled at the Pool in 1947 remembered on the Honour Roll.
and records the names of nine members of Other VIPS included:
the Canberra Amateur Swimming Club who Mr and Mrs John and Su Taverner, whose
died during the Second World War. They family managed the Pool for 55 years;
were Frank Browning, Mick Clemens, Bill Ms Gai Brodtmann MP, Federal member for
Dullard, Wally Hall, Ian Ingram, Lindsay Canberra;
Knowles, Eric Peterson, Ian Ray and Harold Ms Candice Burch, MLA for Kurrajong;
Thorpe. Mr Greg Moriarty, Secretary of the
For more than seventy years the Department of Defence;
Honour Roll hung in the Pool’s foyer on the Air Commodore Matt Hegarty, representing
way to the men’s changing area. Generations the Chief of the Defence Force Air Chief
of Canberrans have passed it on their way to Marshall Mark Binskin;
swim, probably without even noticing it. Mr Allan McKinnon, Deputy Secretary,
Over the years the plaque was neglected and representing the Secretary of Prime Minister
the lettering faded. Now the restored and Cabinet, Mr Martin Parkinson; and
Honour Roll hangs proudly in a prominent Lieutenant General Angus Campbell, Chief of
position at the entrance to the Pool. Army.
The restoration project was initiated The unveiling ceremony commenced
by the Friends of Manuka Pool, a small group with Professor Clive Hamilton, President of
established in response to the proposed the Friends of Manuka Pool, providing a brief
development of the area and the potential outline of the restoration project, the
loss of the Pool’s amenity and heritage opening of The Swimming Pool (as it was
values. The plaque remains a poignant originally known) and the Canberra Amateur
symbol of the Pool’s early social history. Swimming Club.
While the Pool and its grounds are heritage- Mr Merv Knowles was the next
listed, its social heritage as the community speaker, and held his audience spellbound
hub in early Canberra is equally significant. reminiscing about the early days of the Pool.
The Friends enlisted the help of two Merv and his brother Lindsay attended both
CDHS members, Frances McGee and current the Pool’s unofficial opening on Christmas
President Nick Swain, to research the people Day 1930, and its official opening a month
behind the names and produce a small later, on 26 January 1931. The Knowles boys
booklet about them. were members of the swimming club and
The restored Honour Roll was champion swimmer, although Merv
unveiled in a ceremony at the Pool on 12 confessed that he preferred water polo. Merv
March, accompanied by the release of a still swims at the Pool.
booklet, Swimmers Who Gave Their Lives. The Air Commodore Matt Hegarty then
CDHS office has copies for sale at $10 each. talked about each of the nine men named
Canberra History News – Edition No. 467 – June 2018 14on the Honour Roll. All grew up in Canberra and were neighbours and schoolmates, with most
attending Telopea Park School. Several were champion swimmers who were coached by
Olympic champion, Andrew ‘Boy’ Charlton, while he lived in Canberra in the mid-1930s.
During the Second World War the swimmers enlisted in the Army or the RAAF and served all
over the world, including New Guinea, Malaya and North Africa. Sadly, all died, the youngest
aged 18, the oldest 25.
After his speech Air Commodore Hegarty pulled aside the curtain to formally unveil the
restored Honour Roll.
The ceremony concluded on the Pool’s concourse. People swimming in the Pool at the
time respectfully left the water, and both audience and swimmers listened as a bugler played
the Last Post, followed by a minute’s silence. A student of Telopea Park School, Ms Noam
Yehezkel, read the Ode. On a sunny Canberra Day, by the sparkling waters of the Pool, it was a
fitting and moving tribute to the swimmers who gave their lives in the service of their
country.
Friends of Manuka Pool thank the Department of Veterans’ Affairs for providing a
Commemorative Grant to restore the Honour Roll, Mr Kim Morris and his team at Art &
Archival for carrying out the restoration, the family of Bill Dullard whose generous donation
funded the printing of the booklet and Mr Bryan Pasfield, the Pool’s manager, for his valuable
support throughout the project.
The booklet’s authors acknowledge Ms Ether Davies, Ms Helen Burfitt and Ms Pamela
Hunt for access to resources about students at Telopea Park School, Canberra High School and
Canberra Grammar School; Mr John Skene for material about the Canberra Amateur
Swimming Club; the Australian War Memorial; the National Archives and the ACT Memorial
for information about the swimmers’ war service, and The Canberra Times for swimming
results from the 1930s.
Bill Dullard never saw the photograph. He was killed on the Kokoda Track on 24
September 1942.
Clive Hamilton (left) and Matt Hegarty (right)
with the restored Honour Roll
Photographer: Frances McGee
Canberra History News – Edition No. 467 – June 2018 15Outside the Manuka Pool after the unveiling of the restored Honour Roll:
Front row (l-r) Rebecca Scouller (Vice-President of Friends of Manuka Pool); Commodore Paul
Kinghorne RAN; Beth Knowles; Merv Knowles; Greg Moriarty; Clive Hamilton; Matt Hegarty. Behind (l-
r); Allan McKinnon; Judith Stephenson; John Skene, Frances McGee; Gai Brodtman; Bryan Pasfield,
Barry Browning; Marea Fatseas (Chair, Inner South Canberra Community Council); Noam Yehezkel
(partially hidden); Candice Burch; Angus Campbell.
Photographer: Damian Morland
What Do We Mean By ‘& District’?
by Nick Swain
Should we precisely define the localities covered by ‘& District’ in the title of our Society? On the
other hand, should the coverage be left flexible? In times past, CDHS coverage has been stated as a
list of localities, implying a boundary beyond which there was no interest. This list included the
Canberra urban area plus Queanbeyan, Brindabella, Bungendore, Burbong, Burra, Captains Flat,
Frasers Creek, Ginninderra, Gudgenby, Gundaroo, Hall, Harolds Cross, Hoskinstown, Jeir, Majura,
Michelago, Mulloon, Molonglo, Naas, Nanima, Rossi, Royalla, Shannons Flat, Sutton, Tharwa,
Tidbinbilla, Tuggeranong, Uriarra, Weetangera, Williamsdale and Yaouk. (CDHS Newsletter No. 86,
September 1967, No. 388 of August-September 2003 and Canberra History 1953-2003 Celebrating
50 Years).
Now is as good a time as any to ask if this statement is still relevant and useful. The
interpretation of ‘& District’ comes up from time to time for several reasons.
One reason is that the Society, in its early days, considered what to do about surrounding
areas that did not have their own historical societies. The Society then deemed itself to have
primary responsibility for filling the gaps. Many of these places, for example, Braidwood, Cooma,
Yass and Goulburn, now have active historical groups. CDHS no longer has that primary
responsibility, nor does it have the resources to duplicate other groups.
However, the Society still has an interest in these places because it is hard to study ACT
history without having a strong interest in the surrounding areas. The Society’s interest is in the
Canberra History News – Edition No. 467 – June 2018 16relationship of these places to the ACT, rather than in all of their history. This is reflected in the first
object in the society’s constitution:
(a) To encourage the study of the history of Canberra and district and of Australia in
relation to it [emphasis added].
My own approach to '& District' is deliberately open ended. It means, for instance, if the
Duntroon trail led to Campbell's Wharf in Sydney, we could cover that rather than saying it was out
of scope because Sydney is not in our area. Another example arose the other day when talking to a
farmer, who he said he came from Leeton. This is a town designed by Walter Burley Griffin, like
Canberra. There is a link to Griffin, but we do not need to consider all of Leeton's history.
While this approach avoids the arbitrariness of a hard boundary, it means judgement is
needed in the CDHS Resource Centre. It simply is not practical to minutely analyse every piece of
historical material in case there is a remote reference to the ACT. Rather our collection needs to
contain historical material judged to have a significant relationship to the ACT.
Other significant reasons why we often ask ourselves about the meaning of ‘& District’ relate
to assessing the relevance of:
Articles proposed for our newsletter and journal;
Talks, including at monthly meetings;
Research inquiries.
For anywhere in Australia, the key test of relevance to the Society is whether there is a
demonstrated historical relationship to the ACT. An implication of applying the test of its first
objective is that it is no longer possible to draw hard geographic boundaries around localities
relevant to the history of the national capital. The historical relationships between Canberra and
the rest of the nation are more like a web than an easily defined area. In practice, this means that
our collections and activities should reflect only what is relevant to the ACT.
A revised statement of geographic coverage could be along the following lines:
“The primary coverage of the Society is the ACT. However the history of the area occupied by the
ACT, the nation’s capital, is also influenced by the people and events in the surrounding region and
beyond as much as events in the ACT influence the rest of the nation. Thus the Society has an
interest, as far as it affects the ACT, not only in the surrounding region but in the whole of
Australia.”
What is your reaction to Nick’s viewpoint? Does it mean a change in focus for the Society? Is it too
comprehensive or too narrow? If you would like to put your reaction in writing for publication in
the next News, please send it to the CDHS Office, which will forward it to the editors.
Two Members Get Plaques on Canberra’s Honour Walk!
Dawn Waterhouse, lifetime Canberra resident and long-time CDHS member, has earned a plaque on
Canberra’s Honour Walk. It is located in Ainslie Place, which is between London Circuit and the
Canberra Times Fountain outside the Canberra Centre. Hers was one of six plaques officially added
on Friday, 18 May.
The Media Release from the Chief Minister, Andrew Barr, described Dawn as having ‘had an
influence on the history, heritage and community life of Canberra for more than 90 years,
particularly through her former home, Calthorpe’s House’.
Another plaque recipient on 18 May was Alan Foskett, who has a lengthy connection to our
city and who is a frequent contributor to both the CDHS and the Regional Studies Network. The
Chief Minister described Alan as someone who ‘has a passion for Canberra’s history, highlighted by
the 36 historical works he has published about our city’.
Congratulations to both!
Ann Tündern-Smith
Canberra History News – Edition No. 467 – June 2018 17A Tale Of Two Villages
by Alastair Crombie
‘The shortest walking trail over the longest time’ is how exhibition curator Allen Mawer describes A Tale of
Two Villages. For the first time, Hall residents and others can view in one place the early development of
their village and district. Hall School Museum and Heritage Centre’s new exhibition on the settlement story
of the Ginninderra-Hall district was launched on 22 April by Yerrabi MLA Michael Pettersson, and will
remain on display for the foreseeable future. It is in fact a composite exhibition of four inter-related
displays.
The entry foyer has an ‘Aboriginal heritage wall’ bringing together in text and images what is
known about Aboriginal occupation of the district. It includes pictures and information on the native plants
used for food or medicine which can be found in the locality.
The immediately adjacent space tells of the disruption to Aboriginal lives and culture by the arrival
of the first white colonists: George Palmer, Henry Hall, William McCarthy, and others. It tells also of the
emergence of the village of Ginninderra: a store, blacksmiths, post office and telegraph, school, church,
police station, and so on. They catered to the requirements of farming families such as the Gribbles, Rolfes,
Gillespies and Hatches, as well as the ‘Squire of Ginninderra’.
From here visitors walk through a passageway telling the story of the pub that was vivid in the life
of both Ginninderra and Hall. Established nearly two decades before Hall, but much closer to it, a
succession of licensees at the Cricketers Arms provided refreshment and entertainment to the locals and
those passing through. The display includes a fine model of the pub and many images from the Gillespie
Collection. The ‘Arms’ lubricated the citizenry of both villages for half a century until King O’Malley,
opponent of ‘stagger juice’, took its licence away.
Moving on, we are soon in Hall. The walls of the ‘Hall Room’ are covered by a mural that shows
Victoria Street as it was in 1913. It is used to provide a setting for memorable events in the Hall story.
Aspects currently featured are the first land sale, held in 1886, and the war waged against rabbits in the
early twentieth century. The biggest and most interesting exhibit is a century-old rabbit-poisoning cart
restored to working order by Kingsley Southwell. It incorporates a replica of George Kinlyside’s wheel-
regulated Patent Pollard Distributor and visitors are invited to operate it.
The story of the gradual eclipse of Ginninderra is told through a series of storyboards showing the
movement from one village to the other of stores, schools, churches and post offices.
The Exhibition is open on Thursday mornings, Hall Market Sundays and for groups by appointment.
Further details are at http://www.hall.act.au.
Victoria Street, 1913, with the Hall Premier Store
Photographer: Alastair Crombie
Canberra History News – Edition No. 467 – June 2018 18Tuggranong Post Office, NSW
by Tony Curtis
Little has been recorded previously about the operations of the Tuggranong Post Office.
Folklore has long held that it was located originally at the old Tuggranong Station, and later
the Tuggranong Railway Siding, on the Queanbeyan to Cooma line. These speculations have
been put to rest with examination of the official Post Office file.1
Not to be confused with the Tuggeranong Post Office, which did not open until some
one hundred years later in 1976, Tuggranong was located eight miles from Queanbeyan and
seven miles from the Lanyon homestead near Tharwa. It was on land later incorporated into
the Australian Capital Territory (see map below) in 1910.2
Portion of ‘Map shewing the postal stations, mail roads & telegraph offices in
New South Wales, 1894’,
Sydney, Department of Lands
The area, first settled in 1828 and variously known as ‘Togroner’ and ‘Tagroan’, drew
its name from a term in the Ngunnawal language of the Aboriginal owners of the
land,‘Togranong’, meaning ‘cold plains’.
Petition to establish a Post Office
On 21 November 1879, 54 residents of Tuggranong, The Murrumbidgee, Long Gully, Woden,
Dog Trap (Creek as opposed to Dog Trap Road, Jeir) and Queanbeyan, petitioned the
Postmaster-General through Mr James Thompson MP to establish a post office at Tuggranong.
Canberra History News – Edition No. 467 – June 2018 19Mrs Mary Kennedy, most respected and trustworthy wife of Michael Kennedy, teacher at the
Public School, Tuggranong, was recommended to be postmistress.
Investigation by Postal Inspector Moyse established that the proposed office would be
utilised by about twenty-five families. As it was not supported by the postmasters at
Queanbeyan or Lanyon, Moyse determined that it was not warranted and recommended
accordingly. Instead, he proposed the establishment of a Receiving Office at the Kennedy
residence and the appointment of Mary Kennedy as Receiving Office Keeper (ROK).
Tuggranong Receiving Office
The proposal to establish a Receiving Office having been endorsed by the postal
administration and Mary Kennedy having agreed to take on the ROK role, the Office opened at
the Kennedy residence on 16 January 1880. The Kennedys are believed to have been residing
in the provisional school building which had been constructed by public labour on two acres
of land owned by Martin Pike Sr. Construction of a joint school house and residence for the
couple, located on the Queanbeyan to Lanyon road, had commenced, with bricks being
manufactured on the site. Sanders Helman, a builder, and Thomas McCauley, bricklayer, both
resident in the District, and signatories to the community’s petition for a post office were
involved in construction of the new brick premises.
The completed building was occupied and officially opened in June 1880. It has now
been restored and is operated as the Tuggeranong Schoolhouse Museum, Enid Lorimer
Circuit, Chisholm, by CDHS member, Elizabeth Burness.3
Undated photograph of Tuggranong Postal Receiving Office, Schoolhouse and Residence Building,
possibly 1970s, taken for the National Capital Development Commission
From the author’s collection
The Tuggranong Receiving Office operated from this location for around only three
months, until 16 September 1880. It was closed following receipt of correspondence from
Canberra History News – Edition No. 467 – June 2018 20Mary Kennedy to the Secretary, General Post Office, Sydney, dated 2 August 1880. This
informed him that, as a consequence of other duties consuming all of her time, she was no
longer able to fulfil the role of Receiving Office Keeper at Tuggranong and accordingly
tendered her resignation.
Prior to the closure, Mary Kennedy responded to a request from the Secretary that she
nominate a successor. She indicated that she knew of only one person, Mrs John Brennan,
Tuggranong, who would be willing to take on the role and only then if the Office was upgraded
to a Post Office. Despite this, a decision was taken to close the Receiving Office, the
correspondence file referencing the view that the Brennan residence was not centrally located
and would constitute an inconvenience to some residents.
Three to four weeks after the decision to close the Office and after Mary Kennedy had
returned relevant stores to Queanbeyan Post Office, Mr John Brennan wrote to say that his
wife was prepared to take on the role of ROK Tuggranong. She would meet the mail boy with
the mailbag at the road, on the basis of payment of 10 pounds per annum. Later it was agreed
that Mrs Mary Brennan would undertake the duties on payment of 6 pounds 10 shillings per
annum.
Mary Brennan was appointed ROK Tuggranong effective 1 November 1880. The Office
at the Brennan residence on the Tharwa Road was on the banks of the Tuggeranong Creek
and approximately three hundred yards from the road. The distance from the main road
would later become a matter of contention with the mail contractor complaining about the
extra time required for travel.4
Regrettably, Mary Brennan’s tenure as ROK at Tuggranong was to be short, as she died
on 6 December 1881. Mary’s daughter, Mary Anne Brennan, replaced her.
Tuggranong Post Office
Following representations by George Fane De Salis, a local member of the New South Wales
Legislative Assembly during 1882-1885, a review of the business transacted through the
Tuggranong Receiving Office was carried out. On 1 September 1885, the status of the Office
was upgraded to Post Office. Mary Anne Brennan was appointed Postmistress and the Office
continued to operate from the Brennan family residence.
On 8 April 1891, Mary Anne Brennan wrote to the Secretary, General Post Office,
Sydney, tendering her resignation. She proposed a reduction in status to Receiving Office, to
be operated by her father John Brennan, due to a decline in business. This was the result of
employees of local pastoralists, the Cunningham brothers, now using a Private Mail Bag at a
residence built by one of the brothers, near the Post Office.
The recommendation was accepted and implemented on 1 May 1891. John Brennan
continued to operate the Office from his residence for a further four years. On 1 July 1895,
Michael Brennan notified the postal administration that his father was gravely ill and could no
longer discharge his duties. He further advised that the Office mailbag and stores would be
forwarded to the Queanbeyan Post Office. As a replacement for Mr Brennan could not be
found, it was decided to close the Office on 3 July 1895.
Philatelic evidence
Rated RRRRR, the rarest type of Post Office numeral cancellation, by Hugh Freeman, the
double strike of a Type 4B ‘1299’ numeral cancellation below is believed to be the only
recorded example of a strike from the numeral obliterator issued to the Tuggranong Post
Office.5
I am not aware of the existence of any examples of the Tuggranong date stamp having
been found yet, nor any manuscript cancellations from the periods during which the receiving
office operated.6
The absence of postal markings might seem surprising. It is relevant to note that prior
to the De Salis correspondence surfacing in the mid 1980’s, examples of postmarks
Canberra History News – Edition No. 467 – June 2018 21originating from other nearby offices were also virtually non-existent. In the case of Bulgar
Creek, not a single example has been reported ever.
The only known cancellation at the Tuggranong Post Office,
reproduced in Hugh Freeman’s book on NSW cancellations
Remains of a bygone era
The site of the provisional schoolhouse is at approximately 17-19 Clift Crescent in the suburb
of Richardson, about 600m NNE of the Tuggeranong Homestead. As noted above, the second
Tuggranong Receiving Office has been preserved as a museum in Enid Lorimer Circuit,
Chisholm, operated by CDHS member, Elizabeth Burness. It is open on the second Sunday of
every month from 10 until 4, and at other times by appointment. It provides a fascinating look
into our past and is well worth a visit
The ruins of the Brennan residence, together with a few scattered orchard trees, are
approximately 1500m east of the Tuggeranong homestead, very close to the ‘bridge to
nowhere’ near ‘Silly Corner’, a well-known landmark. The bridge was known as Brennan’s
Bridge. It is no longer an actual bridge for traffic but a concrete remnant of past road works in
the 1950-60s. It crossed Tuggeranong Creek and was part of a rough triangular shaped road
linking the Tharwa Road and the Cooma Road in what today is the suburb of Theodore. 'Silly
Corner' referred to the unusual shape of the road.7
An original, fuller version of this article is held in the CDHS collection in our Resource Centre
in Curtin.
1. National Archives of Australia: SP 32/1 TUGGRANONG
2. New South Wales. Department of Lands. Map shewing the postal stations, mail roads & telegraph offices in New South
Wales, 1894 Sydney: Dept. of Lands, 1894. http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-231330944. Accessed 1/4/2018.
3. http://www.historywithadifference.com.au/tuggeranong-schoolhouse-museum/tuggeranong-schoolhouse.html.
Accessed 23/4/2018.
4. Karen Williams, Melrose Valley Preliminary Cultural Survey Report 2003–2004,
http://canberracamps.webs.com/aboriginal/Melrose Valley report PART 2%5B1%5D p27-64.pdf. Accessed 14/4/2018.
5. Hugh H. Freeman, The Numeral Cancellations of New South Wales, Brusden-White Publishing Broadway, NSW, 2017.
6. N. C. Hopson and R. Tobin, N.S.W. and A.C.T. post, receiving, telegraph & telephone offices: their circular date-stamps and
postal history, [Sydney] 1991.
7. Rebecca Lamb, local authority on the history of the Tuggeranong Region, personal communication.
Canberra History News – Edition No. 467 – June 2018 22Membership Matters
We welcome new members Darren Bell of Curtin and Wendy Whitham of Hawker. We also
need to advise of the passing of three members of long standing: Gwen Dickins of Turner, a
member since 1963, Barrie Dexter, a member since 1974 and Val Emerton, a member since
1995.
Gwen Dickins was the aunt of Don Garden, the President of the Federation of
Australian Historical Societies, so clearly she came from a family with a deep interest in
Australian history. The brief story of Barrie Dexter’s life can be found in the Sydney Morning
Herald and The Canberra Times of 21 April, but we note that he was part of the hostage
situation described in Bob Digan’s obituary on page 12. Val Emerton is remembered fondly
by current CDHS Councillors as a tireless volunteer. Our condolences go to all three families.
We have received gratefully a total of $2,900 from the following members and friends:
Esther Davies, Patricia Clarke, Tom Campbell, Ann Tündern-Smith, Allen Mawer and Curtin
Turns 50.
Donations of money are tax-deductible and mean the difference between our Society
breaking even each year or running at a loss. You can make a donation when you renew your
membership before September using the form on page 25, or at any other time.
We are grateful also for the donation of books to sell from Anthea Bundock, Marie Stott
and Harrie Quince. Books sales, just ahead of donations of money, are our second major
source of income after membership subscriptions.
We thank Jan Goodall for her donation of a set of Historical Indexes of the
Canberra/Queanbeyan District, edited by Trish Frei for the Heraldry and Genealogy Society of
Canberra. HAGSOC describes them as ‘A remarkable collection of research notes and indexes
comprising 29,900 records within 33 PDF files spread over four CDs, pertaining to the
Canberra/Queanbeyan district’, including maps.
Ann Tündern-Smith and Helen Digan
More Items For Sale
at Member’s Prices!
Attractive burgundy ballpoint pens,
stamped ‘Canberra & District Historical Society’,
are on sale now for $5 each.
Settlers Stories (1913-1975)
Why they came - and stayed in Canberra
by the Canberra Stories Group for $10
News from ArchivesACT
ArchivesACT recently looked over the records of the Canberra University College. Dating back
to 1932, these records are packed to the brim with early Canberra ‘celebrity’ signatures: C.S.
Daly, Sir Robert Garran, “Fred” Whitlam and Patricia Tillyard to name but a few. The records
include the original site plans, sketches and committee minutes debating the possible siting of
the future university. Given the significance of these records, the ANU Archives have kindly
digitised the file in its entirety and it can now be publicly accessed through the
hyperlink: https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/handle/1885/138205.
For access to the original documents please contact ArchivesACT through our ‘Request
a Record’ service on our website: http://www.archives.act.gov.au.
Anne Paliaga
Canberra History News – Edition No. 467 – June 2018 23You can also read
