Family History Challenge

August is National Family History Month

And the call went out to libraries -

'Who's up for a blogging challenge on a literary theme given that a few of our more well-known authors were born 100 years ago e.g. Ruth Park (okay she was born in NZ but married & lived in Oz), Sumner Locke Elliott, Nancy Cato and Frank Hardy.'

So the plan was for bloggers to post on the literary theme each Saturday through-out the month.

Stay tuned for the first post on Saturday 5th August.

Aveling & Porter roller

Horsham Rural City Council is seeking information or original photographs of the Aveling & Porter steam roller, that was purchased by the Borough of Horsham in 1924.

The steam roller was purchased to compact the roads prior to sealing with bitumen, and used throughout the 1930s and 40s in the Horsham area.
After being decommissioned by the Council, it was loaned to the Horsham Apex Club, where members painted it in red, green & black, and placed it on display in Apex Park at the corner of Bennett and Natimuk Road.
Following asbestos fears it was removed from the Park and  went to the Wool Factory, and later on to Murtoa.
In 2017 the Horsham Rural City Council regained the steam roller and it is now at the Council Depot.
In the future the Council hopes that with voluntary staff and public help they can undertake the steam roller's restoration to the original colour, equipment and signage. 

If you have any photos or information on the Aveling & Porter steam roller, you can contact Council's Fleet Manager Warren Kennedy on 538209608 during business hours.

Family history on the land

 
State Library of Victoria is hosting its 14th annual Family History Feast during the National Family History Month. 

Enjoy free information sessions on a range of subjects based on this year’s theme, and learn how Victorian government agencies can help family historians. 

This year’s program is of special interest to country people, as it is on researching maps and land records.

The Program begins at 9.30am when the doors open

10–10.05am
Welcome
Kate Torney, Chief Executive Officer, State Library Victoria

10.05–11am
Exploring Koorie history and genealogy
John Patten, Manager Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre, Museums Victoria

11–11.45am
Overview of Public Record Office Victoria land records
Charlie Farrugia, Senior Collections Advisor, Public Record Office Victoria  

11.45am–12.05pm
Care and preservation of your family history collection
Conservation staff, State Library Victoria

12.05–1pm
Break

1–1.45pm
Farmland and manor houses to air fields and hospitals: military property acquisition during WWII
Terrie Page, Assistant Director Access and Communication, Victorian State Office, National Archives of Australia 

1.45–2.15pm
From cattle yards to war workers: the plan collection of Bendigo Regional Archives Centre
Dr Michele Matthews, Archives Officer, Bendigo Regional Archives Centre

2.15–3pm
Family history on the map
Sarah Ryan, Coordinator Map Collection, State Library Victoria

3–4pm
2017 Don Grant Memorial Lecture – Families and land: land settlement and the role of families, Victoria 1870–1940
Dr Charles Fahey, Convener History Program, Department of Archaeology and History, La Trobe University
Introduced by Jan Parker, President, Victorian Association of Family History Organisations (VAFHO)

Enjoy free information sessions on a range of subjects based on this year’s theme, and learn how Victorian government agencies can help family historians.

Family history feast is on Monday 21st August 2017 from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm

Entry is via Door 3 of the State Library of Victoria, 328 Swanston St, Melbourne.

The sessions are free, but bookings are essential. You can book online, Phone: 03 8664 7099 or Email: inquiries@slv.vic.gov.au

Wimmera fiction

The recently released novel "Wimmera" by Mark Brandi is largely set in the Stawell area with references to the Black Range & the Grampians, Barnes Street, the Overland train, Halls Gap with a football team.

It is peppered with late 1980’s social culture - Ita and the 'Women’s Weekly'; 'Spycatcher' (remember MI5 senior intelligence officer/spy Peter Wright’s autobiography and the ruckus it caused?); TV shows like 'Monkey Magic', 'Hey Hey It’s Saturday', 'Wonder Years', and the 'A-Team'; films like 'Witness' with Harrison Ford, and when there was only one 'Terminator' movie. 
 

The story begins in the long, hot summer of 1989, Ben and Fab are best friends. Growing up in a small country town, they spend their days playing cricket, yabbying in local dams, wanting a pair of Nike Air Maxes and not talking about how Fab's dad hits him or how the sudden death of Ben's next-door neighbour unsettled him. Almost teenagers, they already know some things are better left unsaid. Then a newcomer arrived in the Wimmera. Fab reckoned he was a secret agent and he and Ben staked him out. Up close, he looked strong. Maybe even stronger than Fab's dad. Neither realised the shadow this man would cast over both their lives. Twenty years later, Fab is still stuck in town, going nowhere but hoping for somewhere better. Then a body is found in the river, and Fab can't ignore the past any more.

A foggy morning on the Wimmera River

Part one is told in 12 year old schoolboy Ben’s voice: long, hot days of camping, schoolyard bullying, sexual awakenings, a new neighbour and a sense of the ominous in the surrounding adult world.

Part two is told in Fab’s adult voice: at 28 years old and in the same town working in a shop, with dreams of better things, looking back while trying not to.

Part three is set in the present time, and unravels the full story after a body is found in the creek.

Originally from the Marche region in Italy, Mark Brandi grew up Italian in a rural Victorian town which influences much of his work. Mark graduated from a criminal justice degree and his career includes roles as a policy advisor and project officer in the Department of Justice, before changing direction and deciding to write.

"Wimmera" is his first novel, and won the British '2016 Crime Writers' Association Debut Dagger award'.