Gunning & District Historical Society

Henry Lawson and "The Times Bakery" on the disused $10 Note Article by Garry Norman Smith When Charles Alchin (1837-1908) married Mary Stear (1843-1897) in the Wesleyan Church at Gunning on 22 March 1860, they “immediately” set about having at least twelve children between 1861 and 1886. One of those children was my great grandfather, Edward Alchin (1863-1941). Home for this branch of the Alchin family was initially Oolong Creek, later Chain of Ponds and enduringly “Pine Range” near Gunning. Charles became a freehold farmer from the late 1850s, also running cattle into the 1880s and 1890s. Charles Alchin (1837-1908)   Mary Alchin (nee Stear) (1843-1897). Photo supplied by Garry Smith. It is so good to be able to gaze upon images of my great, great grandparents. Try as I have there remains a complete absence of great-grandparental images of Edward Alchin and Elizabeth Ann Alchin (nee Bailey) (1872-1964), albeit I met Elizabeth Ann on a precious few occasio...

Gunning Station from eastern end of No. 1 Platform, 1941. Photo:  Portal into the Past of Sydney & Beyond . Recently I came across some photos taken at the Gunning Railway Station from 1941 from a Facebook group Portal into the Past of Sydney & Beyond , so I decided to take myself off and see if it had changed much in 76 years. Gunning Station from eastern end of No. 1 Platform, 2017. Photo by Leslie Bush. There is something to be said for the power of a photograph. We take thousands of photos these days, but do we cherish them as they once were? To own or have access to a camera was a very rare treat. And how lucky we are that this was so. Gunning Station from western end, 1941. Photo:  Portal into the Past of Sydney & Beyond . There are some phenomenal images from bygone eras where they had to take their time, taking daring risks to make sure they got the shot just right. Gunning Station from western end, 2017. Photo by Lesli...