New to Wagga Wagga City Library’s local studies collection : A history of the North Wagga Public Hall by Geoff Burch

 

Local Historian Geoff Burch has written a concise and thoroughly researched history of the North Wagga Wagga hall, with its origin as a church and community hall for North Wagga particularly.

 

Local people’s memories of the social occasions held at the hall are many and varied, with dances, friendship clubs, weddings, and different community groups using the hall as a meeting place over the years.

 

There is extensive and precise historical information on architectural plans, ownership and leasing by various groups. The ownership of the hall is particularly covered in detail, with the author untangling a slightly confusing tale of two halls in the same area.  

 

A highlight in the North Wagga hall’s history is when it was raided by police in May 1950, when the businessmen of Wagga got together to hold a “fete” in the hall, which was actually a gambling event (p 13, A History of the North Wagga Public Hall, Geoff Burch) .

This item will soon be available to view as part of the local studies collection, and is well worth the read.  

 

 

 

 

Where in the world is Coffin Rock ?

Parish maps are a great way to find out who owned what, and when, across New South Wales during particular time periods. Some of the maps have basic geographical features drawn on, and all the notes, keys and other features of these maps make for interesting viewing.

Wagga Wagga City Library’s local studies collection has some local area parish maps available to look at. If you want to find out what parish maps are in the collection, go to the library’s homepage, and you can search the catalogue through the simple search :

Write down the call number – ( the shelf location number) and when you come into the library you can ask at the Information desk to see the map you are looking for.

Detail from the Sandy Creek Parish map, showing the beginnings of Coffin Rock

I’ve chosen the Parish of Coffin Rock to look at, which has a very intriguing name and it is not well known though comparatively close in to Wagga Wagga. A quick search through the Daily Advertiser newspapers online in Trove shows that Coffin Rock, though “sparsely populated” was a thriving little community with sports days, picnic meetings and more in the last century.

This excerpt is from the Daily Advertiser, Friday 26th of January, 1923.

If you would like to look at the Daily Advertiser newspapers available through Trove : 

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/title/687

There are a number of websites that are useful if you are doing historical research and particularly wanting to use maps and similar type records. Here is a link to the Land and Property Information NSW website, where you can search for Parish Maps : 

http://www.lpi.nsw.gov.au/mapping_and_imagery/parish_maps 

To read or download a series of five guides to searching maps and other historical records online : 

http://www.lpi.nsw.gov.au/publications/search_guides

Happy researching  ! 

More tales and true in Local Studies : new books on World War One, the Kapooka Tradgedy, and the lost world of Pastoral Holdings circa 1890s



Loss, reverence and longing : ANZAC stories from the home front

This is the official catalogue of the exhibition of the same name , produced and shown by the Wagga Wagga Art Gallery. If you missed the exhibition or are interested in anything to do with World War One, this book alone is well worth reading. Cover to cover, it has beautiful images, moving stories and historical information woven into one perfect whole. 

The Kapooka Explosion: 21 May 1945, by Sherry Morris

Sherry Morris has rescued another important part of Wagga Wagga's history that would otherwise have been lost, with her detailed account of the tragic explosion at Kapooka in 1945. There is also background information, new photographs, diagrams and other documents that fill out the story of what exactly happened that day.




Mackenzie's Riverina, second edition, Including Pictorial Supplement : A tour of the Hay district Pastoral Holdings of the 1890s , articles written by Harold M Mackenzie . Reprinted by the Hay Historical Society.

The preface to this work describes Harold M Mackenzie as "a travelling agent, dealer, and journalist of the late 1800s". (p. 5, Carolyn Merrylees, ed.) The second edition has been updated with photographs old and new, illustrations and maps, and is a cracking read , with Mackenzie's observations on people and properties amusing and informative. Mackenzie has a fine fireside literary style which he uses to great effect in his writing, and you feel like you are sitting with him as he tells his tales. 

If every man, woman or child were sent to goal for 24 hours without the option of a fine for whistling or humming "After the ball", it might have the effect perhaps of making life at present a little more tolerable. Harold M. Mackenzie, p 143, Mackenzie's Riverina 

Winter is a great time to catch up on your history reading so come into the library and have a look through our local history titles !   

Local history's local histories

Here is a sample of local histories for you to read, use in your research or prompt you to put your own research into print, and all from the local region.


There are a few histories of Batlow, focussing on different aspects of the town. I have chosen two :



Batlow : the growing years from gold to apples, compiled by the Batlow Historical Society.

A general history of the town and surrounding district.

 

Famous for flavour : 75 years of co-operation in Batlow by Sherry Morris.

A detailed study of the Batlow Fruit Co-Operative on their 75th anniversary of operation.

 

 



Grong Grong : the spirit of a small town, compiled by the Grong Grong History Committee. A general history with information drawn from oral histories, newspapers and more.

 

Wowsers, bowsers & peppercorn trees: a collection of history from Ariah Park and district compiled by Nigel Judd.

The history of Ariah Park town and the surrounding area, includes some family histories, stories about local characters, and church histories.

There are many more local histories to discover in the Wagga Wagga City Library collections, whether you are looking for a specific area or just want to browse the collection.

Indigenous history resources in Wagga Wagga City Library

The first people of this Riverina area are the Wiradjuri, and there are some very interesting resources on local Indigenous history in the local studies section of the library. If you are researching Indigenous history, the following are indispensable:



Wiradjuri Places : The Murrumbidgee River Basin (with a section on Ngunawal country) by Peter Rimas Kabaila,  contains information on Wiradjuri history across the Tumut, Narrandera, Cootamundra  and Yass areas, even to Grong Grong, with detailed maps and other illustrations.

Archaeological Aspects of Aboriginal Settlement of the period 1870 – 1970 in the Wiradjuri Region , by Peter Rimas Kabaila (Thesis for Doctor of Philosophy 1999) This thesis is a very readable and fascinating work which covers the theory and  methodology of social archaeology in regards to Indigenous History, more particularly to the use of these in uncovering Wiradjuri history in the region. There are maps, statistics, appendices (containing artefact records) and it is, in total, a truly beautiful piece of research.

Wiradjuri Heritage Study,  for the Wagga Wagga local Government Area of New South Wales , complied by Dick Green,  Go Green Services of Wagga Wagga, 2002.A collection of Wiradjuri history, facts, maps, and more, in the Wagga Wagga local government area, with the literary additions of songs and poems, a really handy and accessible guide, which is also reproduced in full on the Wagga Wagga City Council website :

 http://www.wagga.nsw.gov.au/city-of-wagga-wagga/community/aboriginal-services/wiradjuri-heritage-study 

Last but not least, and although not strictly categorised as history, are the Wiradjuri language dictionaries available in Wagga Wagga City Library, and because I love dictionaries, (who doesn’t!) and these are a very fine set of resources for the region.

A new Wiradjuri Dictionary, compiled by Stan Grant (Senr) and Dr John Rudder, Restoration House, 2010. 



A tale of two world wars : resources in local studies at Wagga Wagga City Library

With the anniversary of world war one under way, now is a good time to look at the stories that both the wars produced, more particularly the impact of the wars on people in the local area. If you are interested in war stories here are two books that you may find interesting:

Land fit for heroes : Urangeline Soldiers Settlements from 1920 , by Christopher P. Madden

Divided into two sections, part one covers the history of soldier settlements, and part two is a list of soldiers who took up the land on offer, which was part of the former station Urangeline, land which was then in an area called the Parish of Urangeline, in the County of Urana, in Lockhart Shire. This book offers a detailed study of a little known aspect of returned soldier’s lives after World War One and leading up to the Great Depression, with descriptions of the land itself, what agriculture it supported, what machinery used and other unusual information.  

John Hurst Edmondson V C : A hero in the mould of other days, by Kenneth R Peacock

 

John Hurst Edmondson won a Victoria Cross in World War Two. Known as Jack Edmondson to his family and close friends, he died on 13 April 1941 in Tobruk, protecting his Commanding Officer and fellow soldiers from enemy attack.  This book covers his childhood in Wagga Wagga as well as military service and family life and relationships.

There are lots more war stories to discover - come into the library and ask the friendly staff to help you find what you are looking for.

 

 



 

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!