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No 16                                                                                                  by Frodo

            What a busy bunch we are! You of course remember in last issue I wrote of our VISITORS BOOK - well, HELEN H has had the marvellous idea of making a separate listing of people's stated research interests therein, and (where they are happy to share them with us) their contact details, so that visitors can quickly scan this list to see whether there be subjects there they want help/can help with.   Meanwhile, ELAINE is working on yet another of MR. PRETTY'S many gifts to us, a wonderful book, A CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF EVENTS IN GOOLWA. Now, he did this to about 1981, but has recently given us even more manilla folders, full of cuttings later than 1981, and these Elaine has very bravely taken on editing, to continue the list closer to now.        Meanwhile, I have transcribed a first draft of THE EARLY DEVELOPMENT OF GOOLWA, from the talk RUDY VANDENBROEK gave us in September, and given it to Rudy to emend. He did very well to make clear a complex topic, and it will be good to have the finished booklet to help people doing research into Goolwa or their forebears (4 bears?) or their property.           Also, I found a video-tape of the 1986 SA 150th street parade in Port Elliot, with many folks on it now gone, and a touching memory, and this was narrated at the time by COLIN SIBLY, to whom I have lent it. He, not having a copy, is so grateful he is making us a spare copy, so that we have one for the History Room Archive, and one for the Port Elliot depot.

            The afore-mentioned Mr. W.A. PRETTY is to be our special guest at our LIBRARY XMAS DO on Thurs. 15/12/05 at 11.30 a.m. If you would like to join us, please RSVP by Dec. 5th to Trish on 8555 7000.

            And  we are delighted to read in The Times of 17/11/05 of the grant obtained by the Goolwa History Centre (formerly the Goolwa Museum) to survey their archival collection. As neighbours with complementing collections (which we will work on cross-referencing), and lots of the same folks doing so much work in both, we think Goolwa and nearby areas are very lucky to have such wealth, both of documents and persons.

Some new Family History titles

Who Do You Think You Are? by Dan Waddell   A 929.1 WAD

The Family Tree Problem Solver by Marsha Hoffman Rising A 929.RIS

Bibliography of Australian Family History by Andrew Guy Peake AR 929.394 PEA

The Convict Ships 1787-1868  by Charles Bateson A 365.3 BAT

            STOP PRESS: We have found the clock from the old Goolwa Railway Station, and we want to put it in the History Room. We need HELP from someone who has expertise with old-fashioned clockworks. PLEASE LET US KNOW IF YOU CAN HELP........we would be immensely grateful. Ring JILL PATMORE on 8555 7000.

            Since it is November, month of both the Melbourne Cup and Rememberance Day, I share with you the following letter, published in The Age on Cup day, 1/11/2005, and a letter I wrote in reply, published two days later.

            Amazingly, when I showed the above to FRANK TUCKWELL, as I was asking him to help me find the picture below, it turned out that he, Frank, knows A.G. Ross, the respected military historian, and is in contact with him at present for some local history Frank is working on, so I will be able to pass this Newsletter on to Mr. Ross. 

We at Goolwa have already thought of the poor innocent animals involved in human wars - our War Dog Memorial, recognising tracker dogs taken to the Vietnam War, is only the second  in

Australia, the first being in Queensland.  Ours, shown here, was unveiled in May, 2003.

                                                Times 1/5/03

            Well, we can all look forward to DAWN'S return - she and BRUCE seem to be enjoying Taswegia, judging by the postcard and e-mail - (yes! they found the computer in Wegia, and eventually figured out how to connect the Victrola for the power-source.)

History is the present. That's why every generation writes it anew. - E.L. Doctorow

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Genealogy help is available by appointment on Thursdays, to guide you through your research. Please phone the Library on 8555-7000 to make an appointment.

For comments, suggestions or to receive this newsletter – email

historyroom2004@yahoo.com.au or phone Frodo on 8554 2434            

November 2005

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