Not so quiet on the home front: Wagga Wagga, World War One and the Kangaroo March

1915 : a new year and a world war, Wagga Wagga was rapidly becoming involved in the national war effort by holding and hosting recruiting drives and other events .  Arguably the biggest of these was the Kangaroo March, which kicked off in Wagga on December 1, 1915. The Daily Advertiser reported on all the associated meetings, discussions and gatherings, the newspaper being the most up to date technology for disseminating the war news (which it liked to point out to its readers, on the front page: “ CABLES AND TELEGRAMS EVERY MORNING News before any other source” )

The Kangaroo March, by Sherry Morris and Harold Fife, is a detailed history of the Kangaroo March itself, but also offers insights into other aspects surrounding the effect of the war on the local area. Australia is currently commemorating the 100 years anniversary of ANZACS participating in World War One, so now is a good time to research all things 1914-1918. 

 There are many reputable websites with information regarding Australia’s  contribution to the war , for example the Australian War Memorial :

 http://www.awm.gov.au/atwar/ww1/

                                         Australians on the Western Front

                                         http://www.ww1westernfront.gov.au/

                                       

                                         100 Years of ANZAC

                                         http://www.anzaccentenary.gov.au/

But best of all you can come to the library and borrow a copy of The Kangaroo March, or book the microfilm reader to look at the Daily Advertiser’s war reporting, or use the library’s free wifi or computer access to look up World War One websites, or look for general or local information about the Great War.  See you soon! 

A Wagga Wagga New Year - 1949 and local industry

Four years after the end of World War Two, Wagga Wagga was still experiencing a degree of postwar poverty, but the general outlook was one of optimism. Wagga Wagga promoted itself as an industrial hub in a number of manufacturing areas such as metal, timber, dairy and flour. 

Still recovering from the food restrictions imposed by rationing during the war, (rationing for butter and tea wasn't abolished until 1950) the city never the less looked forward to an economic boom time. A group of local businesses calling themselves "The Combined Manufacturers of Wagga Wagga " pooled their resources, and using the traditional community enthusiasm for a new year and a fresh start, published a leaflet advertising and extolling Wagga Wagga as a provider of employment, quality goods and services, as well as appealing to the rural and pastoral element with references to a golden era of farming in the area.

 



The people of Wagga Wagga had seen in the new year with many celebrations in the form of dances, theatre and general carousing in the streets - 1949 was also the year Thena Karofolis was crowned Miss Wagga (she also held the title of Miss Cafes) . The Daily Advertiser had estimated that ten thousand people filled central Wagga Wagga's streets singing and dancing, and this crowd was added to when theatres and movies ended, the patrons joining in the general celebrations. At midnight the crowds gathered round the Court House and sang Auld Lang Syne. Economically progressive Wagga Wagga was ready to tackle another year, moving further away from the difficult war years. 

The Wagga Wagga Industries Directory will soon be available to view within the library ! Come into the library and check out the local history section and just come to the loans desk to ask about viewing this and other material from the local studies collection. 

Happy Birthday ! The NSW Library Act 1939 turns 75

November 3rd 2014 : 75^th anniversary of the New South Wales Library Act and the Free Library movement 

The Wagga Wagga Free Library was established in 1946. The Free library movement within New South Wales had been agitating for library services since around 1935/36, and the local representation of the movement had Mayor Gissing as the president. The resources on offer at the library were much simpler than today, with books, newspapers and later on recordings, films and other materials. Over the years the library service has kept up with the demands of the changing times –currently wifi, and online services such as ebooks and audio books, online magazines and music are available in order to provide the best possible service to the communities in the local area.

Items on Wagga Wagga library history available in local studies include a detailed study by C E Case, written in 1984 :  A study of the development of the Wagga Wagga Municipal Public Library from 1946 – 1971.
Some of the information I used to research this post comes from this fabulous study, which has a great deal of valuable background material. After the first establishment of the Library Act 1939, World War Two intervened and funds were not available until the end of the war to implement schemes to build and promote the library service as a whole across the state.

There are also some photo albums that chronicle the many and varied incarnations of the library service over the years – the photographs I have chosen come from the Gurwood Street era, in the 80s, and from the seventies, when the library occupied the basement of the council bulidings just behind the Historic Council Chambers on the corner of Baylis and Morrow Streets.

Wagga City Library at Gurwood Street, circa 1982

The State Library of New South Wales has information on the history of the Act and information and photographs on the 75th Anniversary celebrations

  http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/about/news/index.html#news-214175

  

If you have any library memories you would like to share you can post them on Wagga Wagga City library’s Facebook page , if you spot any mistakes in my dating the photographs here email wagga.local.studies@gmail.com  or come into the library to share your memories with the library staff to celebrate the beginnings of the free library movement and the anniversary of the law that made everything library possible!





Display at the library, Council buildings basement circa 1970s



Wagga Wagga Confidential : personal advertisements from 1939

 

Looking for the undocumented life of a city’s past can be difficult – on the surface what records remain appear to give few clues to the day to day reality. I’m always intrigued by the idea – what was it really like, in the background, beneath the surface?  and found in the tiny personal advertisements in the Daily Advertiser from years gone by, a world of daily concerns. If you’re looking for local stories and glimpses of local characters, you’ll find much to interest you in the personal ads. If time travel ever becomes a thing, I’ll be signing up to visit Wagga Wagga between 1870 and 1945, because looking through the newspapers of the time it was quite an exciting and interesting place.

I chose the first week of 1939 to do a quick search, as there was quite a bit going on in the world at the time : the Spanish Civil War, the Nazification of Germany, and all the associated unease that was approaching due to Hitler’s growing power, just to mention a few.

So what were the good people of Wagga Wagga doing in January 1939? They were going dancing, consulting Chinese Herbalists, and losing an inordinate amount of odd objects which they then tried to recover by placing an ad in the Daily Advertiser: Gent’s blue spotted dressing gowns, spectacles, bread baskets, and bags of wool.

The employment  advertisements  frequently asked for “clever girls” or “strong girls” for jobs like housekeeping and office work, presumably in an effort to weed out the “stupid” ones before they took the trouble to answer the advertisement. Sometimes businesses would run a series of short advertisements  one after the other, in conversational tone,  exhorting readers to buy used cars, get bargains in dress materials, or attend special meeting or shows.

If you are interested in using the Daily Advertiser as a research resource, you can come into the library to use the microfilm (we have all the Daily Advertisers on film up to the third last current month) or you can access early Wagga Wagga newspapers (including some of the Daily Advertiser) up to 1954.   http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/title/687

Food, mail, madness: the Wealth and Progress of New South Wales 1893

So what was important to the average civic minded person in 1893? Assuming you were on the right side of the law, that is.  The Wealth and progress of 1893 gives us a good idea. Social, agricultural, political, meteorological statistics, religion, insanity and public libraries all get a mention. A cross between an almanac and statistical record, there is a great deal worth reading especially if you are looking for accurate historical detail.

New South Wales was still referred to by its inhabitants as a colony, mail still mostly came in envelopes and packages, and language was used very differently to how it is now. This almanac reads more like a literary novel than a straight out statistical report and is therefore easier to read.

Other items of note include: some  information from the census of 1891; land holdings, foodstuffs of all kinds (manufacture of bacon and ham gets two pages to itself, of course), how society dealt with destitute children, the insane, and oddly, an epigrammatic end to the “social conditions and charities” section with a paragraph on the “Intellectual progress” of New South Wales. Libraries and reading rooms get a mention as a major part of the progress of the state in this regard: “The State, conscious of the value of literature in softening the minds and manners of the people, encourages with great liberality the establishment of libraries and reading rooms.” (p.561 The Wealth and progress of New South Wales 1893)

The local studies collection at Wagga Wagga City Library has many more gems for you to discover. Come into the library or peruse the catalogue online – go to the library homepage and click on the catalogue button

http://www.wagga.nsw.gov.au/library

Have fun researching!

On the road: The Olympic Highway realignment at Kapooka

 

Local studies at Wagga City Library now has copies of the New South Wales Roads and Maritime Services report on the realignment of the Olympic Highway at Kapooka, the little brick bridge constructed in 1880 and it’s sharp and dangerous approaches to be streamlined in a long overdue overhaul . 

 

The benefits of in depth studies like these are that they give a really detailed view of a particular place or area, with information on environmental impact on flora and fauna, historical background, and extensive mapping, clearly labelled. And this makes the studies perfect for research!

The New South Wales Roads and Maritime Services website has the documents available in full for you to peruse if you prefer to view them online:  

http://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/roadprojects/projects/south_western_region/olympic_hway_kapooka/project_documents.html

To view the online documents you can bring your own ipad, laptop or tablet in and use the free wifi available in the library or you can log onto one of the public access computers with your library card.

 

 

 

New resources in local studies

New to local studies, four very different books and research studies- a selection  of new resources now available in the local studies collection at Wagga Wagga City Library :

Fusion : stories and recipes from local people who have come from diverse communities such as Burma, Chile, Poland and China. This book is from the publishers fourWpress in Wagga.

The Waterhole Project: Combaning Creek to Lake Cowal , by George Main. Described by the author as “a work of environmental history” of a small area in New South Wales this is a printed copy of the blog written by George Main and hosted by the National Museum Australia, with a  very detailed focus on a small area of land.

 

 Blood and Circuses : an irresponsible memoir by Lex Marinos

The life story of actor/comedian/social commentator Lex Marinos.  Lex Marinos grew up in Wagga Wagga and went on to have a successful career in comedy.

 

7^th  / 21^st Australian Horse : A brief history of the Regiments, by Ken Telfer : useful reference for those researching military history in Wagga.

If you are a member of the Wagga City Library you can borrow and read any of these within the comfort of the library !