A Picnic with Patrick

Yesterday on a sensational spring day husband and I stopped for a picnic lunch at Curry Reserve near Camden, NSW. This park, which is on the edge of the historic town was gazetted as a reserve in 1976, is special to me. On the recommendation of the local Council it was named after my 3xGreat-Grandfather, Patrick Curry, an Irish convict who had been assigned to the Macarthur family of Merino fame. Patrick is one of my favourite ancestors.

It had been several years since our last visit; we were surprised to find a lovely updated park. As we sat and watched local children playing in the beautiful water park I reflected on Patrick's life 200 years ago. I wonder what Patrick would think of this lovely facility for local families close to the area where he farmed on the banks of the Nepean River. I recalled Paddy's words to Caroline Chisholm "I have reared a large family in comfort, want for nothing." 

I am sure Patrick would not have been able to imagine the 21st century facilities at Curry Reserve but he would have been honoured to be associated with the site. 

Lots of opportunities for cool fun

Barbeque area

Modern facilities building

Proud to visit this important family site 

Kiva

Together with a number Genies from around the world I am a member of the 'Genealogists for Families' Project on Kiva. 

We believe that our small deeds can make a big difference to families who are less fortunate.

Our motto is, 'We care about families (past, present and future)'

This morning I received a summary of my activity on Kiva for January to June 2024

My Kiva Activity 

I loaned some of that $US41.59  this morning to Ukashatu in Ghana.

Lending with Kiva is such a rewarding activity as one knows the identity of the borrowers and can see how the funds are being expended. I encourage you to join our team

Click here for details

A Late Night Night or an Early Morning

In a recent post I shared my excitement about being chosen as a subject for a Wikitree Challenge. 

As the event, The 2024 WikiTree Challenge 11,  will be launched on zoom at 2am tomorrow (my time in Australia). My immediate issue is do I go to bed early and set an alarm for 1:30ish or do I try and stay awake? I'll see how my day pans out. 

Promo for the WikiTree Challenge

I'm now sitting in my geneacave dealing with a range of emotions:

* Gratitude for the invitation to have my family chosen as the focus of this project

* Delight to have a light shone on my band of ordinary ancestors and forebears that includes labourers, convicts, indigenous Australians, Irish immigrants, sportsmen and a pioneering priest.

* Appreciation for the Wikitreers who have signed up to work on my tree

* Apprehension as my sometimes dodgy research will be on show to a band of experienced genealogists

* Embarrassment that my Wikitree is not too deep or wide

* Pride that Australian Genealogy research is the focus of the eventt

* Excitement that the volunteers may learn a little about Australian History as they climb my tree

* Joy that my tree is receiving the love it deserves

* Suspense as I ponder on what the volunteers may dig up

Roll on 2am.

CareyBay2283

I know a time-poor genealogist who is easily drawn into undertaking new projects. Sounds like me!

It's ten years since I joined the Society for One-Place Studies (SOPS). This is a niche online society for those who have a passion for a particular place be it a road, a cemetery, a village or a town and wish to undertake a project that studies both the family and local history of their place/s. I have admired these researchers, some of whom study more than one place and feel One-Place Studies are a worthwhile exercise. Family and Local History go together like a horse and carriage.

It wasn't until I moved to Carey Bay seven years ago that I found my place. I cannot find any books, publications or websites dedicated to this small suburb on the shores of  Lake Macquarie, New South Wales. Carey Bay deserves to have a home for its where its history can be collated, hared and preserved.

While I have been gathering material on the past and present residents of Carey Bay since Covid times. I only recently sought out information about its environment and history. I now have quite a collection of newspaper clippings , photos and stories that I must put into order and share with the community. My project will also give me a place to share some of the hundreds of photos I have taken from our pad on the Lake.

I finally bit the bullet and registered a study in April this year. You can see its profile on the SOPS website here. There's no going back.

I hope that some of my GeniAus friends will pop over and pay a visit to my project at https://careybay2283.blogspot.com/. 

I will announce new posts on my social media platforms and, when I have published a reasonable chunk of information to the site I will share it on local platforms