Gunning & District Historical Society

The name of Bredalbane Plains will forever resound in my bosom: Dr John Lhotsky 1834  King Ludwig 1st of Bavaria who provided the funds which enabled Dr John Lhotsky to explore the new world – including Breadalbane and Gunning, in 1834.  I have been unable to find any portraits of Dr Lhotsky.  This circa 1830 lithograph of Dr Lhotsky’s patron scanned by Franz Hanfstaegl: From Wikimedia Commons He Could’ve Been a Contender This article is part of a series on the Oolong Oologists; Oolong being a locality in the Gunning district and oology a branch of ornithology studying mainly eggs and nests – particularly popular in the 1800’s and early 1900’s. Polish polymath, naturalist and vigorous self-promoter Dr John Lhotsky passed through the Gunning district in 1834, recording details of the people, landscape and wildlife that he encountered.  Before learning more about him I thought he would have been a strong contender for the title of First Oolong Oologi...

Barbara Moore and her sister Anne McGuiness at Gunning Catholic Cemetery By Leslie Bush with contributions from Barbara Moore Last September my fellow Graver, Cass and I were feeling like a bit of family tree investigating coming on, but the weather wasn't the best so we thought better not venture too far today. Cass was looking for McDevitts in the Catholic Cemetery and I thought I would photograph all the headstones to add to the collection for the District. So off we go, she's searching and I am clicking away. Bit of a chill in the air, it's windy and the clouds are rolling in, better get this done quick! Half way done and we chanced to meet these two lovely women who were also visiting. Barbara Moore and Anne McGuinness were there visiting the graves of their great-grandparents John and Ellen O’Brien, Patrick and Mary (Bartley) Clancy (photos below), their great-great grandparents, Laurence and Catherine Bartley and Patrick and Mary (Hannan) Clancy as...

Gunning Courthouse 8th September 1885. Photo NSW State Archives via Flickr . The Gunning & District Historical Society (GDHS) is a small group of volunteers, covering a large area, including Dalton. We have members in Breadalbane who may be able to assist. The other local societies are in Goulburn (which also has a Family History Research Centre ) and Crookwell . Taralga 's society has an extensive family database. The Yass & District Historical Society and well-staffed archive, open one day a week. Check the websites for contact details. GDHS has members with extensive local knowledge (and others who like a challenge). To get a feel for the village, you could book a tour of the village, the general cemetery, the Pye Cottage Museum.  Members have escorted researchers to local churches and cemeteries, including outside Gunning.  Give us plenty of notice as we have occasional bus tour bookings and a program of meetings/events.  Contact us via email gun...

Some of the Participants at the Inaugural Meeting of the Breadalbane History Group About twenty people from the Breadalbane community met at the Breadalbane Hall on Sunday 27th November to share photographs and stories of the history of the region. I was invited to give a talk on the importance of local history. My talk was rather personal, but I thought this was important because the group hope to interview some of the residents of the area, and, having an interest in local and family history, I thought it important to outline some of the issues that one usually encounters when delving into the past. I have added the transcript from my talk here. It is rather personal at times, but so be it! The Importance of Local History in Australia Dr Michael de Percy Good afternoon. I am pleased to have this opportunity to address you here today and I thank you for the invitation. I would like to acknowledge that, according to the traditional owner’s map from the Australian Insti...

Raeburn Shearing Shed, via Breadalbane, NSW.  People and year unknown. Do you know any of the people in this photograph, or the year in which it was taken? If you do, please let us know by commenting below. This photo was unearthed at the inaugural Breadalbane history meeting, held at the Breadalbane Hall on Sunday 27th November 2016. The event was hosted by Christine and Sally McLean.

Raeburn Shearing Shed, via Breadalbane, NSW. People and year unknown. Do you know any of the people in this photograph, or the year in which it was taken? If you do, please let us know by commenting below. This photo was unearthed at the inaugural Breadalbane history meeting, held at the Breadalbane Hall on Sunday 27th November 2016. The event was hosted by Christine and Sally McLean.

Old School House, Breadalbane, NSW. People and year unknown. Do you know any of the people in this photograph, or the year in which it was taken? If you do, please let us know by commenting below. This photo was unearthed at the inaugural Breadalbane history meeting, held at the Breadalbane Hall on Sunday 27th November 2016. The event was hosted by Christine and Sally McLean.