Tag: ringwood historical society

Ringwood Historical Society – 2009 AGM

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Tonight’s Ringwood Historical Society meeting consisted of the 2009 AGM, to elect officebearers for the next twelve months. The club has had a successful year, with the meeting schedule increasing to monthly and a diverse range of speakers and presentations.

Tonight’s meeting included a presentation on the history of Fraternal Societies within Ringwood and Maroondah. Ringwood was originally home to five fraternal societies, each of which had their own symbols, rituals and membership. These societies formed a significant part of Ringwood’s history, with membership including prominent businesspeople, community members and local councillors.

The Ringwood Historical Society meets on the fourth Tuesday of each month from 8pm at Maroondah Federation Estate for further information please visit www.rhs.org.au.

Ringwood Historical Society meeting

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The Ringwood Historical Society aims to collect, promote, preserve and document the history of Ringwood, from its early origins in antimony mining and orchards through to its suburban expansion and beyond. As Ringwood undergoes another transformation the importance in documenting its history cannot be underestimated.

The Ringwood Historical Society meets ten times a year at Maroondah Federation Estate on the fourth Tuesday of each month. Meetings often include guest speakers who are available to discuss prominent people, families or events that helped shape the history of Ringwood. Members of the community are encouraged to attend and share any knowledge they have on Ringwood’s history.

For further details on the Ringwood Historical Society please visit www.rhs.org.au.

Ringwood Historical Society – Melbourne's early history

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Tonight’s Ringwood Historical Society meeting discussed Anne Lister and her role in the early women’s suffrage movement for Australia. In 1893 Anne assisted in the formation of the United Council for Women’s Suffrage and began giving public lectures on the movement from 1895.

While she is currently not as well known as other women involved in the suffrage movement, Anne was extremely prominent in the campaign for women’s voting rights and gave an extremely well regarded address at the National American Convention on Women’s Suffrage in Washington DC in 1904.

The second speaker at tonight’s meeting discussed Melbourne’s early water infrastructure, which consisted of lead piping and concrete. The techniques required in repairing and constructing these pipes were discussed, as was the history of the former Melbourne Metropolitan Board of Works, which oversaw the maintenance and delivery of this infrastructure.

Book Launch – "A Quiet Painter" by Shirley Jones

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Shirley Jones is a local Ringwood East resident, historian and artist who has published several books about art and history. This evening Shirley launched her latest work entitled a ‘Quiet Painter’, a biography on the life of James Alfred Turner, an early Croydon resident and renowned painter.

James Alfred Turner was born in 1850 and migrated to Australia from Yorkshire in the United Kingdom when he was 22, with his brother Charles who was 23 at the time. At this time James was already a dedicated art student and quickly became an artist seeking commissions.

The rail line through to Lilydale was completed in 1882 and made the townships along the rail corridor, such as Croydon much more accessible for people in Melbourne. James had already visited the Croydon and Kilsyth area from the mid 1870s and purchased a property opposite the intersection of Colchester Road and Mount Dandenong Road in Kilsyth.

The 20 acres he purchased had a small dwelling surrounded by bush and natural bush landscapes were a prominent feature of James’ paintings.

James was a prolific painter and regularly exhibited his works. In 1903 James’ rural landscapes were re-produced for postcards and became extremely popular, resulting in reproductions well into the 1930s.

Throughout his 36 years in Australia, James produced at least 600 paintings until he suffered from a heart attack on the 15th of April 1908. James’ wifeMary Ann passed away on the 10th of October 1950 at the age of 87.

While James’ artwork fell into obscurity shortly after his death, interest in his works was renewed in recent years and the JA Turner Artist Trail in Croydon, as well as the JA Turner Room in the Maroondah Art Gallery at Federation Estate bear his name.

Shirley’s book a ‘Quiet Painter’ encapsulates the life of James Alfred Turner and the significance of this early colonial painter. Copies of the book are available for purchase through either the Ringwood or Croydon Historical Societies.

Review of Maroondah Tourism and Heritage Advisory Board

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While I am not a member of the Maroondah Tourism and Heritage Advisory Board for this year I did serve as a member during 2008. This afternoon former members were invited to a meeting to discuss the board and the projects it has initiated.

The Maroondah Tourism and Heritage Advisory Board includes representation from Councillors, departments within Council and external members from businesses, Maroondah’s two Historical Societies and art based community groups.

The Board has delivered a number of projects throughout its existence, including funding for the JA Turner Artist Trail, the opening of the Miners Cottage at Ringwood Lake increasing the prominence at arts and cultural events at Karralyka, Federation Estate and Wyreena Community Arts Centre.

The review provided an opportunity to reflect on these projects and to identify other projects that should be considered into the future. Members of the group will be seeking input from their respective organisations to assist in identifying these projects, which will in turn be considered by the Board and Council.

Ringwood Historical Society – discussing Maroondah's environmental history

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Tonight’s Ringwood Historical Society meeting focused on the environmental and natural history of Maroondah, with presenters from Maroondah Bushlinks and the Friends of Mullum Mullum Valley.

Maroondah Bushlinks is an umbrella organisation that represents the bushcare groups located within Maroondah. The group provides a combined voice for the many volunteers that are involved in caring for Maroondah’s bush reserves.

One of those reserves is Warrien Reserve, which is a 5.26 ha bush reserve located in Warrien Road Croydon. The reserve was acquired by the then Shire of Lillydale in 1948 and has been overseen by a committee of management since 1959.

Additions to the reserve have been acquired throughout the past fifty years including recent additions by the City of Maroondah in 2007.
The committee and volunteers work to enhance the bush reserve through planting indigenous flora and removing weeds.

The Friends of Mullum Mullum Valley was formed in 1991 to preserve the natural flora and fauna of the 22km Mullum Mullum Valley. The Mullum Mullum is significant as it the only creek within metropolitan Melbourne that still retains its natural environment for most of its length.

While the true meaning of the name Mullum Mullum has not been documented the name is derived from Woiwurrung language, which was spoken by the Wurundjeri and is thought to mean “place of many big birds”.

Alternatively it is also suggested that the name was a mistranslation of Ballum Ballum a Wurundjeri expression that means “place of many butterflies”.

The name recognises the importance of the Mullum Mullum for the Wurundjeri people who utilised the Valley as a food source within the remnant bushland.

The Mullum Mullum has four distinct sections and passes through the municipalities of Maroondah, Whitehorse and Manningham before joining the Yarra River. The Friends of Mullum Mullum have been active in protecting the Valley and formed the Community of Ringwood Indigenous Species and Plant Nursery (otherwise known as CRISP) in 1992 to provide a source of native plants to assist in revegetation.

CRISP is now an independent incorporated association based at the former City of Ringwood depot in Greenwood Avenue, Ringwood and provides plants that are indigenous to the local Ringwood area.

The Friends of Mullum Mullum Valley’s efforts have been successfully protecting and improving the remnant bushland throughout the Creek and Valley. As a result the numbers of indigenous flora and fauna has increased, with the the Mullum Mullum Creek providing habitat for the highest density of platypus in the whole of the Yarra River catchment.

The presentations this evening reinforced the environmental value within Ringwood and its surrounds and demonstrates the need to preserve our natural environment.

Ringwood Historical Society – the Hunt Family and the Orchards of Doncaster

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Tonight’s Ringwood Historical Society meeting focused on the Hunt family, a prominent Ringwood family that settled in 1901. James Hunt migrated to the Victorian goldfields around 1851 and Walter, one of his ten children, moved to Ringwood in 1901 with his wife Euphemia. The Hunts were prominent orchardists and owned land near Bedford Road and Greenwood Avenue.

Sydney Hunt, Walter’s brother, also settled in Ringwood and was a foundation member of the Ringwood Bowls Club and President in 1946 and 1947, as well as Club Champion in 1936, 1939, 1946 and 1950. Sydney was a prominent plumber and installed many of early Ringwood’s water tanks.

The orchardist theme continued with the President of the Doncaster and Templestowe Historical Society discussing the orchards of Doncaster, who were often settled by migrants with little farming experience. Despite the lack of quality soil, the orchardists produced many varieties of apples and pears, as well as stone fruit, such as peaches and nectarines.

The orchardists often picked their crops during the night so that they could load their carts and transport the fruit to Queen Victoria Market at day-break so that their produce was fresh. Six coolstores were later built within the region, which assisted in the transportation of this produce.

Doncaster was also home to Melbourne’s first tram and the first electric tramway in the southern hemisphere. The tram route was constructed between Box Hill and Doncaster along what is now Tram Road and was operated between 1889 and 1896, largely to cater to tourists who would visit Doncaster Tower, an 86 metre tower that was constructed in 1879.

The most prosperous years for the orchards were between 1920 and 1930, after which the Great Depression and World War II, led to a decline in the orchards and later to residential development.

While orchards remained prominent until the 1970s, the construction of Doncaster Shoppingtown in 1969 accelerated the suburbanisation of the area and just two orchards, located within Manningham’s green wedge, remain today.

The regional historical societies cooperate extensively with research and their archives and the two historical societies have exchanged information to further knowledge of their respective areas.

Ringwood Historical Society – Australian Comforts Fund

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The final Ringwood Historical Society meeting for 2008 included two presentations, the first discussed the Australian Comforts Fund and the second included advice on the resources that are available for people interested in researching local history.

The Australian Comforts Fund was a voluntary organisation that was formed to support Australian troops serving overseas. The Australian Comforts Fund, which included divisions in each state, was federated in 1916 becoming the nation’s first federated organisation.

The activities within the Australian Comfort Fund were largely organised by women who led fundraising activities to support Australian troops during World Wars I and II. While the Red Cross assisted injured soldiers and prisoners of war, the Austalian Comforts Fund supported soldiers through providing additional food, clothing, socks and other gifts.

Local branches of the Australian Comforts Fund existed within Ringwood, Croydon and South Warrandyte. The Ringwood branch raised over 3,500 pounds before it was formally dissolved in March 1946. The branch was under the auspice by the RSL War Services Fund and heavily involved in fundraising activities including dances and raffles since the organisation had no form of government assistance. The women involved in the branch also spent many hours providing in-kind support such as knitting and packaging hampers to send to the troops overseas.

Following this presentation there was a discussion on the information sources that are available to assist in researching local and family histories. The State and National Libraries were mentioned, as were local historical societies and the archives that they retain. Council rate books, newspaper archives, records on births, deaths and marriages can also assist in research efforts.

The Ringwood Historical Society has extensive archives and its members also provide first-hand knowledge of Ringwood’s heritage. The society must be congratulated for its efforts in documenting Ringwood’s heritage and for encouraging the community to take an interest in local history.

Recollections of Ringwood East

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The Ringwood Historical Society’s Heritage Weekend continued through to the Sunday with the launch of the Recollections of Ringwood East, a collection of thirty-five stories from past and present residents about their memories of living within Ringwood East.

The launch was a tremendous success with a large number of community members, as well as long-standing Ringwood East families, in attendance. Photographs of the early subdivisions and life in Ringwood East were also on display showing how the area has changed over time.

The launch of Recollections of Ringwood East followed Heathmont Recollections which was launched in 2006. The Ringwood Historical Society is now embarking on the Recollections of Ringwood North which will be launched in 2010.

The strength in the recollections series comes from the stories that have been told by residents, reinforcing that history is made by all members of our community. Local history reinforces a sense of community demonstrating the importance of recollecting our memories of the areas where we live and work.

I eagerly look forward to the launch of the Recollections of Ringwood North in 2010, as well as the detailed history of the Eastland site which will be launched next year.

Historical Tour of Ringwood East

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After launching Heathmont Recollections in 2006, the Ringwood Historical Society has followed up with the history of Ringwood East through organising a Historical Weekend to promote the history of the Ringwood’s oldest established areas.

On Saturday the society provided two bus tours of Ringwood East, both of which were completely booked out. I attended the morning tour which included thirteen stops discussing the history of Ringwood East, from its antimony mining and brick manufacturing origins, to the extensive orchards and streams that used to cover the area. Other stops included the former schools and churches within the district as well as Ringwood East station and the Army Barracks which were formed in the late 1950s.

The tour provided an interactive history of Ringwood East demonstrating how significantly the area has changed since the discovery of antimony in the late 1860s. Today, the industry and orchards that dominated the early history of Ringwood East have become residential homes and the bridge that gave Burnt Bridge its namesake has been long replaced by sealed roads.

It was great to see such a strong attendance for the bus tours and a growing appreciation for the history of Ringwood and Maroondah.