Celebrating Barbour Park in Gunning

Mayor of Upper Lachlan Shire Council, Brian McCormack OAM (right), about to cut the ribbon with President of GDHS Graham Dyer (left) at Barbour Park on Meadow Creek, Gunning, with the RV-friendly camping area is in the background.
Photo: Rosemary Spiller.

Twenty people from Gunning and district came together in fine Autumn weather in a very popular location on Sunday 30 April. The event was part of the National Trust’s Australian Heritage Festival. Mr Graham Dyer, President of Gunning and District Historical Society, outlined the "Barbour Park Seat of Reflection Project”. The Upper Lachlan Wood Guild and Gunning and District Historical Society (GDHS) had crafted and erected the memorial Seat of Reflection. It became clear that a roof was required.

As well as the community grant from Energy Developments (EDL), operators of the Cullerin Windfarm, GDHS had contributed a donation from Ms Alison Blackbourn, daughter of Dr Barbour, and its own funds to "enhance" the seat. GDHS thanks the Upper Lachlan Shire Council, especially the people from the Gunning depot who provided advice on ordering the structure, erected the roof and repositioned the memorial plaque which had been dedicated on Armistice Day 2015. Some people with well-developed aesthetic sensibilities have wished for a less functional structure but the lovely views of Meadow Creek are undiminished, as seen in the photo at top.

The McCormacks enjoying the Autumn sunshine.
Photo: Rosemary Spiller

Graham welcomed the Mayor of the Upper Lachlan Shire, Mr Brian McCormack OAM and Mrs McCormack to the “cutting the ribbon” ceremony. Brian reflected on how fondly Gunning people remembered Dr Barbour. He was a veteran of World War I, who came to Gunning in 1935 and was the local physician as well as serving as Shire President for 27 years. This park was conceived as a memorial to him. The Mayor congratulated GDHS for their activities and recounted some recent events with an historical flavour in other parts of the Shire that he and Mrs McCormack had been pleased to attend.

The Mayor commended EDL for the community grant to erect the roof which will protect users from the weather and preserve the handsome wooden seat. He spoke enthusiastically of other projects which EDL has funded throughout the Shire.

EDL: Sponsors of the Barbour Park Seat of Reflection Project

After Mr McCormack wielded the scissors on the ribbon, he and Mrs McCormack joined the locals for a cup of tea. We were then treated to a display of objects from the collection of historical artefacts unearthed locally by Michael Brown with the help of his metal detector. Some of the group then proceeded to Pye Cottage Museum, following the GDHS Walk Guide to the key historical buildings of Yass Street.

The Gunning and District Historical Society wishes to thank Energy Developments for their support of the Society and the Gunning community.

First Settlers in Lade Vale: Frank and Catherine Lawless

Is this the house that Frank built? Remains of a substantial granite block house on land once owned by the first settlers in Lade Vale, Frank and Catherine Lawless. It may well have been built by Frank when the family took up their circa 1826 land grant. While we cannot be absolutely certain this is his work, there can be no doubt it is just the sort of house a skilled builder/bricklayer such as Frank would have constructed to settle his family in. Frank and Catherine Lawless – The Lade Vale Years The Story So Far This is the second chapter in our look at early colonial settlers Frank and Catherine Lawless written by their 3rd great granddaughter, Carmel Peek, in association with GDHS. At the end of our last episode: Bricklayer Frank [as he was commonly called rather than by his formal given name Francis] had been transported to Sydney from Ireland in 1809 following his conviction for highway robbery; He compounded his failings and misfortunes in late 1810 whe...

Two treadle sewing machines with a Touch of Old World Charm This post covers two nineteenth-century sewing machines displayed in “A Touch of Old World Charm” exhibition in the folk museum in Pye Cottage, Gunning, New South Wales. They are the Singer Sphinx and the Beale. Two hand-operated machines donated to Gunning and District Historical Society were described in an earlier blog, and a treadle machine made in 1910 will feature in a later post. A foreign country? “ The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there. ” is the opening sentence of L P Hartley's The Go-Between (1953). But those words were first spoken by the writer’s friend in a 1949 lecture. (1.) Obtaining clothes was undoubtedly different in rural New South Wales in the late nineteenth to today’s easy shopping. Of course, then there was a local store or two and mail-order from the big city, for a price, for ready-made clothes. When the train line was extended from Goulburn to Gunning in 1875, ...

William Brown’s Bible – “The best book to read"

By Matt Friend Personal objects can often be overlooked when conducting family research. It may be that they are seen as merely possessions, however objects can provide us with rich and invaluable information and stories. While consulting a well-crafted genealogy publication, concerning the Holgate family, I observed an interesting note. On the pages that were of interest to me at the time (those detailing members of the Brown, Whittington, Noakes and Alchin families) there was a small note at the bottom crediting the information provided upon those pages to a bible that was, at the time the author put the book together, in the possession of Isabell Alchin (nee Whittington). Mention of the Bible as it appears in the Holgate Family Genealogy Book by Daphne Holgate Isabell Alchin was my Nanna, and when she died in 1996 the contents of her home, in Jobson Street Dalton, were sorted, moved into storage or dispersed among family. It was possible then that the bible, mentione...

Gunning & District Historical Society

Search This Blog