Objects have power. This stems from their intrinsic interest, their beauty or both. They also become potent when infused with memory. I have a 40cm bronze statue of Diana the Huntress, which belonged to my maternal grandmother. Whenever I look upon it I think of her; and also of my younger self. As a young boy visiting my grandmother’s house I spent much time sauntering from room to room looking at her objects: beautifully ornate plates and cup and saucer tea sets, a Farmer John toby jug, a tilting silver teapot and a sugar bowl among many fascinating objects. The latter housed white sugar cubes behind a hinged door, complete with tongs suspended alongside, which I used to sample the sugary delight. I often gazed upon Diana’s beauty as a boy, and marvelled at her raised spear, the poise and confidence of her stance, her flowing dress exposing one breast, and the hunting dog by her side. Some of these objects, including Diana, descended to me. While some are not now my taste, I would not part with them. Objects then tell stories, many of them about families. These family objects and their related stories, buttress the memories of the older generation, inform the young, and bind all kin in webs of memory. Below is the story of a new-found family artefact, a quilt, which has struck an immediate resonance in one extended family across the world.

In 1940-1941 three brothers went to war, the sons of James and Janet Donnan of Ashgrove, Brisbane. Lieutenant Robert Donnan sailed with the 2/15 Battalion to the Middle East where he fought and was captured in Libya in April 1941. He was imprisoned as a POW at Sulmona, Italy, where he and his fellow POWs suffered severe winter conditions. While being transported to Germany in September 1943, he and over thirty others dropped onto the tracks through the carriage floor of a moving train, evading machine gunners posted on the train’s roof. Robert Donnan and others made their way over the Alps to Switzerland where they remained until war’s end.

The second son, James Donnan, became a flying officer and was posted to Townsville for further training with the 22^nd Squadron in May 1942. There he met and later married a local girl, Dorothy Masters, in May 1943. A fortnight later he was posted on active service to Dutch New Guinea with the 86^th Squadron. In November 1943 he went missing in a Kittyhawk, A29-371, during a storm while on a reconnaissance flight. He was never found.

The third son, David Donnan, joined the 2/2^nd machine gun Battalion and after training was posted to Merauke in New Guinea.  While there, he was wounded, losing an eye from a friendly-fire shrapnel wound, just one month after his brother James went missing just a few miles away. David Donnan recuperated from his injuries in Townsville, staying with his sister-in-law Dorothy Donnan (nee Masters) and her family.

By December 1943, the Donnans now of Milton Brisbane had one son missing; one son a former POW and recently an escapee living somewhere in Switzerland; and one son seriously wounded and without an eye. This was a familial impact more reminiscent of the First World War than the Second.

After hoping against hope for almost three years for the return of Flying Officer James Donnan, Dorothy his wife, remarried an American Paul Jacobsen in 1946. They went to live in America, losing contact with the Donnan family by 1954.

In 2013 the third son, David Donnan, then 94, discovered in a cupboard his lost wartime letters home to his future wife Esme Evans. After reading them, including descriptions of staying with Dorothy’s family during his convalescence, David wondered about his lost brother James and his wife Dorothy.  He sought to contact Dorothy in America, and after impressive detective work for one 94, turned up Dorothy’s Australian relatives and was given Dorothy’s address in Racine, Wisconsin USA. He made contact only to find Dorothy had advanced dementia. However, contact was made with Dorothy’s daughter, Sandra and a wonderful correspondence and friendship began. Letters and phone calls full of questions followed, and family photographs flowed across the ether, as David Donnan and Sandra Kosich (nee Jacobsen) sought to tease out the story of two families joined by war - one in Australia and one in America, but separated since 1954.

On 24 June 2016, an overseas parcel arrived at Camp Hill in Brisbane on the eve of David Donnan’s 97 birthday. He opened it to find a quilt made by Sandra Kosich. As he examined it, he quietly wept. I know this, as I looked on, for David Donnan is my father-in-law.

David Donnan wept for Sandra’s kindness, and because the quilt was so beautiful, as you can see. But he wept most of all, as it contained screen-printed photographs of the two families separated by the Pacific Ocean, and of the three Donnan boys; maps of the locations of the two families now; and the flags of their English, Scottish and Danish heritages. Most astonishing was that the centre of the quilt was lined by the war service medals of Flying Officer James Donnan which had been given to his wife on his death and had found their way to America. They were returned via the quilt, and were back home with James Donnan’s only surviving blood relative, his brother David! It was these Pacific War service medals that moved David Donnan most of all, as these would have been pinned to his brother’s breast, if he had survived. All the emotion about his older brother rose to the surface; a brother whom he had idolised. Present also was the guilt of being the one to survive.

The luminous quilt and its emotional reception by David and his large Australian family, is a story of loss and recovery, of the power of memory to bind two families, and ultimately, of the powerful emotions engendered by the costs of war. But it is also a story of hope, as the optimism of memory and the radiant beauty of a quilt, have outweighed memories of despair.
 
Richard Broome
Emeritus Professor in History, La Trobe University, FAHA, FRHSV
Vice President of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria

Source: This is based on Richard Broome's welcome address as Patron to the History Teachers’ Association of Victoria, Annual Conference, Melbourne, 21 July 2016

The Brisbane Water Historical Society was set up in 1950 and broadly covers the former Gosford LGA area. The society aims to research and foster an interest in the history of the Brisbane Waters area and Henry Kendall.

The society today has an active membership of around 40 to 50 and is active in securing grants and working with the local council. It holds opens days, public programs for schools and hosts special events and exhibition for heritage week (hosted by the National Trust) and history week (hosted by the History Council of NSW). A monthly newsletter the Cooranbean Courier is distributed to all members. 

The outreach officer, Bernadette Flynn was delighted to meet Shirley Rider, the Vice President and Edith Campbell, the acting secretary of the BWHH. At the time of the visit, an exhibition on the history of the CWA of NSW (Northumberland Group) was on display for history week (and runs until 30th November).

Shirley and Edith outlined the history of the society and museum sites, which includes the Henry Kendall cottage; historical museum; slab shed; machinery shed; wash-house, and a two seater dunny. The cottage, which now exhibits objects that reflect the lifestyles and occupations of the residents was built by convict labour from locally quarried sandstone blocks in 1836-40 and originally had a roof made of timber shingles. For some time it ran as the Red Cow Inn and is where Henry Kendall, author and bush poet stayed from 1873-75. During his stay Henry Kendall wrote 'Names upon a Stone' and 'The Last of his Tribe' and the small room where he slept displays his sofa bed, which still bears his initials.

Photo: Edith Campbell, acting secretary and Shirley Rider, Vice President in Slab Shed, Citrus Industry Exhibition, Brisbane Water Historical Museum.

The society has a curator who manages the permanent exhibition and also organises changing exhibitions from the collection and in collaboration with other history and community groups. Significant items in the collection include an early printing press of Tom Lyons, an early member of BWHS and the James Dunlop Collection. As Shirley recounts 'We consider ourselves very fortunate to have so many of the  tools and a lathe made by early astronomer, James Dunlop.  He was an exceptionally clever man and received a Gold Medal from the Royal Astronomical Society in 1828 for his catalogues of stars and nebulae.  Governor Brisbane set up the Parramatta Observatory and James Dunlop was the Superintendent from 1831 to 1847'. During History Week 2016, the CWA Northumberland installed a temporary exhibition 'More than Tea and Scones' which runs until November 30th.

The society owns the cottage and saved it by community action including support from Wyong resident Spike Milligan. The historical historical society was informed by the present owner of the cottage, Van Adcock, son of Garnet Adcock, that he thought the cottage may have to be demolished.  It was saved by much fund raising and public donations. The cottage was purchased in 1960 and the society set about restoring it. Since then they have developed an impressive range of historical activities, research and museum experiences. The range of activities undertaken by the society and the wonderful contribution to the community has been recognised through the Central Coast awards for Excellence in Tourism (1995, 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999)  and the Heritage award for Interpretation Projects and Heritage Events (2015).

The Henry Kendall Cottage and the Historical Museum is open 10am to 3pm on Wed/Sat/Sun and all public holidays (except Christmas eve; Christmas day, and Good Friday). The Grounds are open for inspection from 10.00 am  to 4.00 pm daily.

HERSTORY - The exhibition in the Lucas Gallery of Hambledon Cottage tells the story of the Factory Women of Parramatta - their courage in the face of hardship and loss as well as their enduring spirit and legacy for not only their thousands of descendants but for all Australians.

The Parramatta Female Factory site with its historic buildings is one of the hidden gems of Colonial Parramatta. It was commissioned by Governor Lachlan Macquarie in 1818 and designed by convict architect Francis Greenway.

The exhibition displays very rare artifacts supplied by relatives of the women and pictures of the surviving sandstone buildings. The Female Factory was a refuge for the women, a factory for the spinning and production of cloth, a lying-in hospital, a gaol and a marriage bureau.

HERSTORY is an opportunity for descendants, family and history buffs to discover more about the legacy of the Founding Mothers of this nation! The significant site of the Female Factory with its layers of history is a testament to at least 5000 of the estimated 24,000 women who were transported to the colony of New South Wales from 1788 to 1840. This exhibition has been enhanced and proven so popular that it has been extended to 31 March 2017.

The digital revolution is impacting how we research and produce history. There is also an increasing appetite for local and community history that connects people to their identity and place. History plays a critical role in advocacy campaigns to ensure that these places remain part of our cultural landscape in this era of widespread urban development. How historical societies engage with these developments is critical to ensure their continued relevancy in 21^st century Australia.

The RAHS invites you to join the 2016 conference in Wollongong to explore these topics, learn skills that will support your history projects and enjoy opportunities to network and share histories with RAHS members and friends.

The Conference will be held at Centro CBD, Wollongong (28 Stewart St. Wollongong NSW) on Saturday 22nd – Sunday 23rd October 2016.

Click here to explore the 2016 RAHS Conference website, which includes an up-to-date program, speaker and tour information, booking details and much more.

Source: RAHS Newsletter

The Living Heritage Grants program will provide opportunities for community and not-for-profit organisations, committees of management and local councils to obtain funding for heritage works. Matched funding will also be available for places of worship and, in some instances, heritage places and objects in private ownership where a broader community benefit can be demonstrated. 

A $7 million program over four years, the Living Heritage Grants Program is part of a $30 million funding boost by the Andrews Labor Government to safeguard and protect Victoria’s key heritage places.  There will be subsequent programs in 2017, 2018 and 2019. 

Applications will close on 7 November and application details and guidelines are available online at:  www.dtpli.vic.gov.au/heritage/about-heritage-in-victoria/living-heritage-program

The grants will help secure the future of many heritage places which contribute to the liveability and cultural diversity of Victoria, providing a wide range of economic, social and community benefits. 

Heritage is a major attraction for all Victoria, with the latest data showing that the State’s heritage buildings, sites and monuments were visited by more than 1.9 million people last year, including around one million international visitors. 

The Living Heritage Grants program is being run through Heritage Victoria located within the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP).

For further information, please email living.heritage@delwp.vic.gov.au or call (03) 9938 6851. 

The National Trust Northern Territory has been granted a Crown Lease over the heritage listed building located on the former Stella Maris Hostel site at 1 McMinn Street, Darwin. The date of construction of the building is not known but was most likely in the 1920s or 1930s. It was built to accommodate staff of the North Australia Railway (NAR) and was known as Road Masters House. The road master was the officer responsible for track maintenance. It was occupied by NAR staff until damaged by Cyclone Tracy in 1974. 

The lease provides for the building to be used as a museum. It is proposed that the exhibits will cover three themes: the History of the Building;  the North Australia Railway and the History of Darwin.

The inaugural exhibition is titled Mapping Darwin’s History. The theme is land development. It comprises 23 maps and 37 photos relating to the maps. They cover the period from European discovery and settlement of Port Darwin through to the present day. The map and photo exhibits are complemented with a collection of survey, drafting and mapping equipment that have been used over time to survey, map and construct Darwin. The exhibits have been sourced largely from the Department of Lands, Planning and the Environment; the Northern Territory Library; the National Library of Australia and private collections. 

A feature of the display is the collection of instruments used by pioneering surveyor Gilbert McMinn that were donated some years ago by the descendants of McMinn to the NT Surveyor-General. McMinn was a senior surveyor with the 1869 Goyder Survey Expedition and was involved with the survey and construction of the Overland Telegraph Line. He later carried out the first investigation of a route for the Palmerston to Pine Creek Railway. 

 It is intended that future exhibitions will cover the history of the house and its association with the North Australia Railway. This will include material on Darwin’s social history to complement the land development theme.

The museum is open to the public on every day except Monday and Saturday from 10.00am to 1.00pm until further notice. Volunteer museum attendants are being sought from persons able to spend 3 hours a week at the museum on a weekly or fortnightly roster. Interested persons can contact Trevor Menzies on 0418 892 897 or email: menzies2@bigpond.net.au for details. Offers to assist will be most welcome.

Collecting the West: An Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Project
 

Project leaders: Alistair Paterson (UWA) & Andrea Witcomb (Deakin University)

Collecting the West: How collections create Western Australia, post-graduate research opportunities

University of Western Australia and Deakin University in partnership with Western Australian Museum, State Library of Western Australia, Art Gallery of Western Australia, and British Museum.

Through a unique collaboration between Western Australia’s public collecting institutions, the British Museum and an interdisciplinary team of researchers, the Collecting the West project aims to understand how practices of collecting and display created knowledge about Western Australia that shaped its social relations, mediated its relationship to the environment and produced its identity in Australia and overseas from pre-colonial times to the present. This understanding will be used to produce a new vision of how contemporary collecting and display practices could enable a new vision of Western Australia’s place in the world to emerge, one that is better suited to the demands of the future.

We are seeking postgraduate students to join our great team of university and institutional researchers at UWA and Deakin University.

For more information about this research opportunity, download the Collecting the West PhD projects information package. Note that scholarships are also available, with an application deadline of 31 October 2016.

Source: ICOMOS E-Mail News No 747