Gunning & District Historical Society

Andrew Rodrom Memorial Card According to my husband, the story of his great-grandfather Andrew Rodrom is this: he was a Norwegian ship’s carpenter from Oslo who jumped ship in Sydney Harbour and changed his name to the name of a ship anchored there. Full stop, end of story. It is not the end of the story, but just the beginning. Andrew died in August 1911 taking the secret of his true name to the grave. Goulburn Evening Penny Post – Saturday 2 September 1911 "DEATH AT GUNNING" Gunning, Thursday.—Mr. Andrew Rodram, a resident of Gunning for over 50 years, died in the Yass Hospital yesterday, aged 78 years. Deceased was a native of Norway. The funeral took place to-day” He was buried in the Church of England portion of the Gunning cemetery – his grave and headstone have been lost to the ravages of time. So, who was the real Andrew? Did he change his name simply because it was too hard to pronounce or was he hiding from something or someone? Did he leave another fa...

Lucretia Dunkley manikin in the dock at Berrima Courthouse  Why is there a grave in the Gunning sewerage works? https://t.co/EK9RGMmtak via @canberratimes — Gunning History (@GunningHistory) December 14, 2017

Herbert and Horace Alchin did not remain onlookers from home.  They went and helped.  (Australian World War 1 recruitment poster; State Records of SA) Edward “Ned” Alchin (1865-1940) and Sophia Jane Alchin (nee Smith) (1870-1960) had seven children, three at Dalton, one at Inverary and three at Crookwell. Two of these children were Herbert and Horace. Brothers Herbert Alchin (1893-1968) and Horace Alchin (1896-1954) enlisted in World War 1 on 7 August 1917 in the 17th Battalion. Both lads served in France and Belgium. Both suffered illness and Herbert was wounded but the brothers came back to Australia to resume their lives at Crookwell. On 20 October 1917, just ten days before embarkation and with only one-day’s leave, Herbert married Violet Philadelphia May Waye – known as May – at St Bartholomew’s Church of England, Crookwell. She was born at Yarra near Goulburn. Herbert and May Alchin had two children. Herbert and May Alchin (Collection of Gary Smith) ...

A Stock Pigeon (Columba livia), the preferred target of sporting shooters, so likely kept and bred by Gunning devotees  of this popular amusement. If so, probably the unwitting carriers and victims themselves of a deadly poison. Photo Wikipedia. Perils Facing the Late Colonial Gunning Gourmet  In March 1880 there was scarcely a single pigeon to be found around Gunning. We know this because a paucity of pigeons forced leading citizen and sporting event impresario, Mr W Grovenor, to initiate the district’s historic inaugural magpie shooting sweep stake tournament then. Two earlier posts "Gunning's First Ever Magpie Shooting Contest a Banging Success"  and "Grovenor Street Gunning - A New Front in the History Wars" tells you more than enough about this. Why were pigeons in such short supply? The following piece of contemporary investigative journalism sheds new light on this question. Goulburn Herald and Chronicle 7 April 1879: Signal and Pro...