Gunning & District Historical Society

Keith Brown - What an Achievement! by the President, GDHS At our AGM last Sunday 18th October 2020, I had the privilege of bestowing upon Keith Brown Life-time Membership to the Gunning & District Historical Society for his unwavering dedication since he joined in 2008. I also had the esteemed honour of presenting Keith with a Certificate of Achievement and pin from the Royal Australian Historical Society.  There are only a handful of these awards given out each year and to those whose contribution is significant and noteworthy to both their society and community. Usually this would take place at the RAHS Conference in Sydney but had to be cancelled due to Covid. I was asked to bestow this distinction within our own Society. His achievement will be announced in an upcoming issue of the society’s History Magazine.  Keith’s grace and benevolence are qualities that make him a very valued member of our team. We congratulate him on his well-deserved Achievements. Deputy Mayor...

A great turnout for the Australia Day Awards 2018 in Gunning Bright, beautiful and sunny - what a way to start Australia Day in the Gunning District. The Australia Day awards kicked off at an early 8 am this morning with breakfast by the stalwarts of the district, the Lions Club. Sports commentator and journalist, Gordon Bray AM, the 'voice of rugby' is the 2018 Australia Day Ambassador for the Awards and he gave a very nice speech to start proceedings off. Upper Lachlan Shire Council Mayor Brian McCormack OAM was the host for the event and together with John Bell the General Manager of the ULSC they handed the awards to the recipients. It was lovely to see The Hon. Angus Taylor MP at the ceremony along with Upper Lachlan Shire's Deputy Mayor John Stafford, Councillors' Pam Kensit and John Searl supporting their community. The seats were full and there were plenty more people standing around. Even had a group of motorcycle riders who decided to ha...

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

Radical, left wing historical revisionists are questioning whether we should continue to honour Gunning founding father William Grovenor as we look back at past events in these enlightened times. An earlier article on this site,  Gunning's First Ever Magpie Shooting Competition a Banging Success , reported on a live bird shooting tournament organised by Mr William Grovenor in 1880 during which nine eminent local Knights of the Trigger shot and killed 17 or more magpies. Comments and questions on Facebook soon followed. This article attempts to address the issues  people have raised in these posts as well as adding some new information and clarification. So, here follows: Should Grovenor Street be renamed in the light of Mr Grovenor's role in initiating and managing such a barbarous magpie murdering event? Gunning's Elite - the high cost of joining the Knights of the Trigger. The culinary qualities of the Australian Magpie. Retraction and a...

Can you visualise a bear in there?  Detail of baby blankets donated by Lindy Clancy with her beloved cot. Lindy Clancy has added  to the history of her recent donations to the Pye Cottage Museum, Yass Street, Gunning:   'The birthing cot and  spinning wheel… were located at John and Eyvonne Clancy’s residence (originally Dr Barbour’s home) in Biala Street. The cot... was very special to me and was certainly admired by all visitors to our home who sighted and marvelled at this wonderful piece of furniture – it certainly was a one of a kind.  It was extremely important to me to ensure that the cot remained in the township of Gunning… I was so delighted when Keith Brown made contact prior to the new owners taking up residence so that we could transfer this very “unique cot” to its rightful place... The Spinning Wheel I think a lot of local residents would have been safely placed in its care during their arrival into the world at “Alla...

Historical photo of the Exeter Railway Disaster, Friday 13th March 1914. See  ABC Illawarra . In heavy fog, just before midnight on the evening of Friday, 13th March 1914, the Temora-bound mail train from Sydney collided with the Sydney-bound goods train from Junee at Exeter, NSW. The Junee goods train had been shunted onto the main line and it was presumed that the fog had obscured the signals for the driver of the Temora mail train. Fourteen people were killed and many more were injured in what was to become known as the Exeter Railway Disaster. At the time, this was the worst rail disaster in Australian history. A report on the incident appeared in  The Advertiser  on 16th March 1914 and is available on Trove . Pollard Family Grave Sites at Dalton Cemetery. Photo: Beth Aglio Recently, local author and historian, Keith Brown, accompanied Beth Aglio, a descendent of the Pollard family from Dalton, to assist her with some family history research. At the fam...

Keith Brown, Ann Darbyshire and Garry Smith inside the Gunning Uniting Church (Photograph by Malia Smith) As a descendant of the Alchin Family of Gunning, Dalton, Jerrawa and various other places, I was pleased to visit the Uniting Churches at Gunning and Dalton in early March this year. Malia and I were warmly welcomed by Keith Brown and Ann Darbyshire and given access to both churches. It was a rewarding opportunity to see the interior of both places of worship. Robert & Lucy Bayley Window Of particular interest was the stained-glass window in the Gunning church dedicated to Robert and Lucy (nee Waters) Bayley. It is always gratifying to find such an artefact that has such relevance to my own family history research. Having the opportunity to examine the architecture and interior fittings of both churches underlines the simplicity of these churches but yet makes clear the ethos of the Wesleyan/Methodist approach to the “business” of worship. The contrast ...