Trove Tuesday - Burns Night

It appears that Mr Geniaus'' Great-Grandfather, William Purves Gowans,  was a proud Scot and member of the Sydney Scottish Borderers' Association later the Sydney Scottish Association. I turned to Trove this morning to explore that relationship.

The first post I found mentioning William was in 1898 when he supported the founding of the group.

1898 'SCOTTISH BORDERERS.', The Australian Star (Sydney, NSW : 1887 - 1909), 11 February, p. 3. , viewed 25 Jan 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article228429483

At the April meeting of the group William was elected as Secretary.

1898 'SCOTTISH BORDERERS.', The Australian Star (Sydney, NSW : 1887 - 1909), 12 April, p. 2. , viewed 25 Jan 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article228442542

In March 1901 William became vice-president of the Association.

1901 'SCOTTISH BORDERERS' ASSOCIATION.', The Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930), 4 March, p. 3. , viewed 25 Jan 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article240130074

In 1902 William was elected as a trustee of the association. Although I have read through articles related to the association up to 1912 I can find no further mention of William.

Perhaps William's finest moment was on this day one hundred nd twenty one years ago when he sang Burns Birthday song at the associations Burns Night Celebration. 

1901 'BURNS' ANNIVERSARY.', The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), 29 January, p. 8. , viewed 25 Jan 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article14338852

Trove Tuesday - Found

 I have posted this delightful photo of my mother dancing in Martin Place at the end of World War Two several times over the years and knew that it had originally appeared in a Sydney newspaper.

Mum is in the two-tone shoes.

 

Yesterday I had cause to find the original image and I noted that there was a typed caption pasted on it.

When I teach people how to use Trove I tell them that they can use Trove to date old newspaper clippings by pasting text into the search box. It was time to practice what I preach.

I fired up Trove, selected search in Newspapers & Gazettes category and typed these words from the caption in the search box "Typical of excited Sydney crowds were these crowds who celebrated" then narrowed the results to NSW and 1945.

SUCCESS! How easy was that!

I found the original article with a cropped image of my mother and the revellers with whom she was celebrating. 

1945 'Wild scenes as Australia celebrates surrender news; revellers throng streets', The Sun (Sydney, NSW : 1910 - 1954), 12 August, p. 3. , viewed 07 Jun 2021, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article230453563

Thankyou Trove for sharing and preserving my mother's story.

In Elsie's Footsteps

 Last week we ventured into the city to attend a function where Mr GeniAus was recognized for being a member of his professional body for fifty years. The compere described my husband as "a sprightly old chap"!

Mr GeniAus (centre) with his award

As the function was held in the Fullerton Hotel in Sydney we booked our overnight accommodation there. The Heritage wing of the hotel is the former Sydney GPO where my mother, Elsie Duncan, worked as a telephoniste during the 1940s. On booking in I noticed that the hotel was offering free 90 minute tours of the GPO building so I immediately signed up. 

The Heritage GPO wing is connected to the new tower block by walkways and an atrium

Friday at 10:00am saw us join Tour Guide Alex and three other couples for the tour. We commenced with a little history lesson before venturing out into George Street to look closely at the exterior of the GPO building. Alex asked us if we had ever looked up at the carvings and statuary decorating the building, we all agreed that we looked ahead not up when walking around the city. 

Stopping on George Street we raised our eyes and saw Coats of Arms and various other carvings.

Turning into Martin Place we admired the long colonnade and glanced up once more to admire the many carvings along the facade. Above the entrance door was an impressive sculpture of Queen Victoria. 

Before turning into Pitt Street we visited an art gallery in the former public telephone area of the GPO. The ceiling in in that room is decorated with gold leaf.

Along the Pitt Street facade we saw some ghost signs, more carvings and the former vehicular entrance.

On entering the hotel we stopped to look at the atrium that covers the former courtyard of the GPO. The magnificent replica grand staircase that takes one out of the building under Queen Victoria's sculpture  dominates the northern end of this area.

On the first floor of the old building we saw the rooms where the telephonistes worked. The males on the western wing and the females on the eastern wing. These rooms are now used as function rooms. Standing in the area where my mother spent her days was spine-tingling.

Did Mum have a good view from these windows as she fiddled with the cords and plugs on the switchboards?

Last stop on our tour was the basement of the old GPO building where the horses were stabled and where the Tank Stream was encased in a concrete pipe.

The old stables

The Tanks Stream flows through these pipes.

I hadn't thought much about the work Mum had done at the GPO until I saw some old photos of telephonistes at work in the basement audiovisual display.

The purpose of our trip to the city was for Mr GeniAus to reflect on his long and successful career, I am so proud of his achievments. The unexpected outcome of being able to walk in Mum's footsteps topped off  our excursion to the city.

2021 #AtoZChallenge S is for ...Sydney cemeteries : a field guide

I've been researching my family history for over thirty years. Along this genealogy journey I have been supported by hundreds of books, many of which I have listed on my Librarything page. 

During the 2021 #AtoZChallenge I will be writing about two of my passions, books and family history. I'll be taking a trip down memory lane and revisiting some of those books that have enriched my genealogy experience.

I know several of the fourteen other people who have Sydney cemeteries : a field guide by Sydney historian Lisa Murray listed on their Librarything accounts.

This 399 page paperback guide to resting places around Sydney published by the University of NSW is generously endowed with colour photographs. Its relatively small format makes it suitable to tuck into a bag for a cemetery tour or to take to bed for some bedtime reading!

The contents begin with an introduction followed by lists of cemeteries arranged in nine geographical regions thence by date of commencement. One nice design feature is that each geographical area has a colour code that is visible on the spine making it easy to dig into cemeteries in a particular area.

Clever coloured sections on spine

The glossary, bibliography and index all assist with access to the content and provide guidance for further reading. Each cemetery entry consists of a history and description, a list of notable burials and more information and photographs, some entries have maps and added Tips. 

I found the placing of  general cemetery related articles in between the geographical regions confusing. I think these essays would have been better placed together in their own section. 

One of the quirky features I found interesting is the Top Five lists at the end of each section were the Top 5 lists eg Top Five Churchyards, Top Five Oldest (Undisturbed) Cemeteries. 

This book appeals to me for several reasons. I am a Sydney girl and booklover with an interest in good books, my home town and cemeteries. I have many dead relatives including all my parents and grandparents who are resting in Sydney cemeteries and I'm interested in their environments. Finally, as Mr GeniAus and I have a nice plot with a view chosen in a Sydney Cemetery it was good to be able to read about our future home and neighbours. 

As a bonus I'm adding links to two other four star death related books I enjoyed.

Murder, Misadventure and Miserable Ends: Tales from a Colonial Coroner's Court

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematorium

Trove Tuesday - Kapunda

 While browsing around today I came across a photo of the ship, Kapunda, on which my Great-Grandmother, Mary Kealy, emigrated to New South Wales. The photo was a catalyst for my search today on Trove.

From the A.D. Edwardes Collection, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kapunda_(ship,_1875).jpeg

I wanted to see if I could find out anything about the Kapunda's voyage that brought Mary to Sydney. Searching was a little tricky as the ship's name is not unique, there is a town called Kapunda in South Australia that was active in the 1870s at the time of Mary's emigration. However by using a selection of various keywords in several searches and narrowing  by date I was successful in finding several references. I now understand a bit more about Mary's journey. 

Mary set sail with 340 other immigrants from Plymouth in November 1876.

1876 'Another Emigrant Ship.', Evening News (Sydney, NSW : 1869 - 1931), 29 November, p. 2. , viewed 30 Mar 2021, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article107190945

It was reported that on 27th December 1876 "The following vessels have been spoken -Kapunda, with emigrants, Plymouth to Sydney, all well, 27th December latitude S0 30s , longitude 27 W. she had been a week in company. December 20, Windsor Castle from Brisbane to London, latitude 24-20 S.. longitude." 

1877 'ROYAL MAIL NOTICE, VIA AUCKLAND AND SAN FRANCISCO.', The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), 5 February, p. 4. , viewed 30 Mar 2021, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13389122

Mary's name appears further down this list, she would have been collected from the Depot at Hyde Park by her sponsor, Timothy Mahony, or his agent.

1877 'GOVERNMENT NOTICES.', The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), 6 February, p. 11. , viewed 30 Mar 2021, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13392463

The Kapunda arrived on February 5th 1877.

1877 'SHIPPING.', The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), 6 February, p. 4. , viewed 30 Mar 2021, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13392446

On the day after its arrival in Sydney this report of the Kapunda's voyage was published.

1877 'ROYAL MAIL NOTICE, VIA AUCKLAND AND SAN FRANCISCO.', The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), 6 February, p. 4. , viewed 30 Mar 2021, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13392415

Three days after Kapunda arrived this report was in a Sydney newspaper.

1877 'The Fmigrants by the Kapunda.', Evening News (Sydney, NSW : 1869 - 1931), 8 February, p. 2. , viewed 30 Mar 2021, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article108186403

Another positive report on the immigrants was published on February 9.

1877 'The Sydney Morning Herald.', The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), 9 February, p. 4. , viewed 30 Mar 2021, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13387040

My reading of these reports indicates that Mary had a relatively safe and comfortable journey to the colony in the company of a decent group of new settlers. Thank you Trove for shedding light on Mary's voyage.

In a sad note Kapunda in 1887, after undertaking several more voyages, was involved in a collision at sea off Brazil en route to Western Australia with a large loss of life. A search on Trove will find many reports of the tragedy.

From the Archives - 13th September 2010

 Reposting this 2010 post 20 years after the Sydney Olympics.

Apologies that some links within the post are dead.
-----------------------------------------

Monday, September 13, 2010

Ten years ago - 13 September 2000

I have just been reminded on a current affairs program that ten years ago was a special time in Sydney. In September 2000 our city hosted the Olympics.  It was a magical time in our beautiful city, there were crowds everywhere but the atmosphere was one of bonhomie.

At that time I was a teacher at MLC School in Burwood and had volunteered months before to chaperone a group of our students who would be performing in the opening and closing ceremonies of the games. Together with the students I gave up  a number of weekends and evenings to attend rehearsals at venues around Sydney including an abandoned airfield at Schofields. 

I had in 1999 entered the lottery to buy tickets for the sporting events. After the ballot we found ourselves several thousand dollars poorer but armed with tickets to athletics, hockey, water polo, wrestling, kayaking, table tennis, tennis amd more. The tickets were shared amongst members of the family ; we had what would today be called a staycation. Our youngest daughter had been lucky enough to get, through university, a paid position with SOBO at the Tennis Centre.

Mr Geniaus, Mate and Hornsby Mayor at Pennant Hills Torch Relay Function

On this day 13th September 2000 I have written in my diary "to MLC to collect Opening Ceremony tickets". As a volunteer I was given two tickets to the Dress Rehearsal of the Opening Ceremony.  Following that I attended a local Torch Relay Function "to Torch relay celebration at Pennant Hills.  It's hot and dusty and we can't see a thing from the VIP area!!"

I had also managed to procure a couple of extra Dress Rehearsal tickets so with Mr Geniaus and a couple of our offspring we set off by train  to  the Opening Ceremony Dress Rehearsal at Stadium Australia.

I recorded my impressions of the Olympics in a series of posts on a listserv to which I belonged. In the coming days, as Australia remembers, I will repost these on my Geniaus blog.

Trove Tuesday - A Silver Medal

I paid attention to one of those shaky green leaves that appeared on my Ancestry account this morning, this directed me to Trove.  I did a search for " Gowans September 1899" and immediately  found what I was seeking.

The back story is that we knew that William Purves Gowans, Mr GeniAus' Great-Grandfather, had taken part in a rescue in December 1898 and had previously read a newspaper report of that event. The new to me article I found described the event at the Sydney Town Hall at which Gowans received his medal. This excerpt from the article sets the scene:

"ON Monday evening, August 21, the National Shipwreck Relief Society of New South Wales held their twenty-second annual meeting in the Town Hall, his Excellency the Governor, Earl Beauchamp, presiding. There were also present on the platform: His Grace the Archbishop of Sydney, the Chief Justice (the Hon. Sir F. M. Darley), the Premier (the Right Hon. G. H. Reid, Mr. Richard Teece, F.I. A.., the Hon. Jacob Garrard, and many other prominent citizens ; also the following members of the committee : Mr. J. H. Storey (chairman), Mr. W. S. Buzacott (vice-chairman), Messrs. A. Kethel, M.L C., J. O. Fairfax, and Captains J. M. Banks, B. Jenkins, and A. W. Webber (secretary.)

The Town Hall was tastefully decorated with festoons of flags, and the handsome trophy of the

society occupied a prominent position in front of the great organ. From 7 to 7.30 the boys of the Sobraon Band (under Bandmaster F. J. Bourke) most creditably played from the eastern gallery several good selections, which were followed by a pro-gramme of music, well arranged by the secretary, Captain Webber".

Source: 1899 'No title', The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), 2 September, p. 563. , viewed 30 Mar 2020, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article163701318

Further on the article describes Gowans' act of heroism:

"William Purves Gowans. -On December 3, 1898, Mr.

Gowans, who was on the North Coast Company's wharf,

Sussex-street, rescued a youth named Rose, who had

fallen into the water, Awarded Silver Medal and Cer

tificate of Merit."

It was pleasing to see that William was presented his award in such superior surroundings but the icing on the cake for us that, included with the article, was a photo of the awardees on the evening. 

 That's William looking serious on the right end of the front row. 

Being a good old VolunTrove I have tagged the article and image with William's name so that other descendants searching Trove will easily locate it.

For the curious: http://www.braveryaward.org/about.php gives a history of The National Shipwreck Relief Society of New South Wales

World Class Event in Sydney

I am still on a high after spending three days at the DNA Downunder event in Sydney last week. It has taken me a while to pen this last post because I have so much to say about this event which was world class. I wore my Ambassador Badge with pride during the event.

Kudos for taking a risk and staging such a professional event must go to Alan Phillips from Unlock the Past. Alan has been staging genealogy roadshows for several years but with DNA Downunder he took this event to another level. Right from the start the event promotion, including the appointment of Ambassadors, was top notch. 

Alan Phillips directing proceedings at DNA Downunder

 The venue in Sydney was excellent and only the most persnickety could find fault. The little things that make a great conference stand out from a good conference like smooth online registration, name tags, lanyards, programs (both online and in hard copy), signage, a strict timetable that was adhered to, opportunities to spend a few $$$ and get advice from vendors and societies coupled with an amazing star presenter, Blaine Bettinger, with solid supporting acts made this conference a success. Without the support of Alona and Anthea, the two family members and co-workers who are Alan's right hand women, this show would not have been such a fantastic event.

Alona and Anthea 

On a personal level I got so much from the feast of lectures on the program and took away a Doggie Bag full of ideas and tips to apply to my DNA research.I always enjoy geneaevents while I am there; I find many talks interesting and entertaining with content that is nice to know but they are not educative or inspiring.  DNA Downunder was an educative experience of the highest calibre.

Eager genies - Ready to learn

I attended every one of Blaine's 14 lectures, I had many items reinforced and learnt something new from all of them. As I predicted I am suffering from Blaine Overload but that is a positive outcome. As well as learning about methodology and resources I particularly enjoyed the emphasis on the ethics of DNA use and the constant reminders of the emotional effects that DNA discoveries can have on those involved. 

Blaine, a a genuine nice guy, spent so much time chatting with attendees

Shelley Crawford

I must apologise to the other speakers on the program as, because I went to all of Blaine's talks, I only managed to go to two other presentations. There was no way I was going to miss my genimate Shelley Crawford's talk so I was lucky she spoke when Blaine was having a break. Shelley was one of the first Australians to enter the world of genetic genealogy.

Shelley had a full house

One of the first people I encountered when I went to take my seat was Blaine. Getting  a hug and a hello from him set the scene for a super event. 

Blaine and GeniAus

I revelled in the out of school opportunities that a face to face conference offers. I caught up with some of my dear online pals, genimates from all over the place, loads of geneabloggers and met several genies for the first time.

Geneabloggers at DNA Downunder 

I just hope that Alan hosts a similar event in the future. These events educate, energise and enthuse our family history community.

Like a Sponge

It seems as though some of my genimates who are going to DNADownunder in Sydney later this week are beating themselves up as they indulge in a frenzy of activities related to their DNA matches.

I was on this merry-go-round until a few days ago but I decided to dismount. I really don't think that identifying a few more of my matches, writing to more prospective cousins or updating my files will have much of an impact on my learning at the event. I am going to take time out from DNA for the next few days and go along to DNADownunder with a clear head.

The things I most want to happen like getting Ancestry DNA matches to upload their data to another site so I can paint them in DNAPainter or getting responses from many of the matches I have messaged is just not going to happen quickly. I have no control over these issues but maybe I will pick up a few tips at the conference.

I am going be a sponge and sit back, relax and learn from the experts at the event, I read somewhere that "learning by osmosis" occurs when one is exposed to and immersed in something.  
DNADownunder will provide that DNA exposure and immersion.

 The sponge inside my head is ready to absorb

I may not attend a talk in every time slot (except for Blaine's) because I won't want my new learning to leak out of the sponge. I may use those times to reflect and reinforce my new learning and I may pull out my laptop and play while the learning is fresh in my mind. Three full days of learning is exhausting at events like this; we need to factor in some time to refresh, relax and reconnect (with genimates and vendors at the event).

If you have been daunted at the prospect of all the learning at this event do come along and be a sponge like me, you will definitely have a beaut time. (If you haven't booked you can buy tickets at the door.)

I'm a DNA Dabbler so while being educated at DNADownunder is my main focus I am also going along to be entertained, enthused and energised. It's the Australian geneagathering of the year.

Blaine Overload?

I have just been perusing the program for Diving Deeper in Sydney, Unlock the Past's DNA event in Sydney next month.

It was pleasing to see that there are plenty of opportunities to hear DNA Guru, Blaine Bettinger on the program. Blaine will be the opening act on each of the three days of the conference when he will give a keynote type address to all attendees.The remainder of the sessions that cover a wide variety of topics are at three levels: Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced with two of the days concluding with a panel session. 

Blaine is giving 14 presentations in all and I will endeavour to attend most of them. He is such a knowledgeable and affable presenter that I am sure my case of Blaine Overload will be easy to handle. 

Others on the program I want to hear are two knowledgeable out of towners,  Louise Coakley from Cairns and Shelley Crawford from Canberra. 

There are still a couple of TBA slots on the program, I would love to see one of these filled with one or more experienced genies who are not  DNA experts but DNA dabblers. I would love to hear how ordinary genies like me deal with this exciting new tool in their resource repertoire. No doubt Alan Phillips (Mr Unlock the Past) will let us know via social media when the program is complete.

No matter what is offered I am confident that this event will be am amazing learning experience for all who attend.

It's not a Genealogy Blog

This week I stumbled across a blog from a chap I worked with eons ago at a school in Burwood. I didn't know that he was a blogger who has been at it since 2013.

In his blog "So this weekend we..." John shares some photos from the outings he and his wife take each weekend. John explains why on this page: "This little project, to do something together each week, came about when we realised just how busy our lives are and how we could go for more than a week at a time without really doing anything together. So we decided to do something together each week under the umbrella of a theme, and that theme would change each year."

John's theme for 2018 is particularly relevant to we ancestor chasers, John and Robyn are  remembering members of their family both living and deceased by visiting Sydney streets bearing their first names. You can see the posts in this category here:  https://sothisweekendwe.com/category/sydney-streets/. We Genies could borrow this category for a blogging theme!

As well as introducing us to their family John's posts have showcased Sydney as he and Robyn walk, cycle or travel to all corners of the city.

John probably isn't into genealogy but. through this blog. he is creating a legacy for his future descendants who may want to know about the lives of their ancestors.

So this weekend we... is enhanced by a slick design and fab photos. Why don't you drop in and take a look. Tell John that Jill sent you.

Trove Tuesday - 8 May 1970

May the 8th 1970 sticks in my memory because it was the day Mr GeniAus and I were wed in downtown Sydney. That auspicious event didn't make the newspapers of the day as it was overshadowed by something much bigger which hindered our wedding cars' progress and caused our reception to start late.

I had a look at Trove to see if I could find any contemporary reports of that huge event which is outside the dates covered by most newspapers digitised on Trove.

News of the Moratorium was on the front page of The Canberra Times. You can read a clear copy here http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article110320285

1970 'Thousands join in Moratorium, few incidents', The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995), 9 May, p. 1. , viewed 08 May 2018, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article110320285

The article continues here  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article110320285 on page 3 of the newspaper. 

The Pictures, photos, objects  search returned a a good number of links to photographs, badges and posters which I dare not share here as I may infringe copyright.

On Pandora I found several web pages but access to some articles was restricted to 70 years after the event. This one from South Australia was available:

Celebrating South Australia  8 May 1970 Vietnam Moratorium March

http://www.sahistorians.org.au/175/chronology/may/8-may-1970-vietnam-moratorium-march.shtml

In the People and organisations results I found references to several individuals and bodies who were involved in the campaign. There were also several links in the Music, Sound and Video results.

Although there were few newspaper reports the Vietnam Moratorium has a decent coverage in Trove.