ALEXANDRINA LIBRARY SERVICES
news
No 19 by Dawn Juers
My apologies to those on dial-up for the length of time to load last month’s newsletter.
This month is the fortieth anniversary of the introduction of decimal currency in Aust. We all thought we would never grasp it, but I think we managed very well. I don’t know that metric measurement has been grasped so successfully. Perhaps it has something to do with our bank balance!
‘A dollar goes a long way these days. You can carry it around for weeks before you can find something it will buy’.
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We have heard this month that the long fight to save the historic ship City of Adelaide has been lost. As reported in ‘The Advertiser’ on 7th February, the iron-framed teak ship, the oldest existing clipper, has been rotting on a slipway on the Firth of the Clyde, near Glasgow. Known as the Carrick in Scotland, the Scottish Maritime Museum had hoped to preserve and eventually restore the old ship. The City of Adelaide was built in Sunderland, England in 1864, and made 23 trips to SA, bringing thousands of immigrants to the new colony. The ship was so fast that she cut the journey time from 100 days to 65 – a record that still stands.
[With thanks to Rampant Scotland Newsletter]
A motion has been tabled in the Scottish Parliament asking for the 700 year Stone of Destiny, otherwise known as the Stone of Scone, to be moved from Edinburgh Castle to Scone Palace for the celebrations in May for the 700th anniversary of Robert the Bruce’s coronation there. The rectangular rock has been used for centuries for the crowning of Scottish kings at Moot Hill near the Palace.
[makes our 200 odd years of history seem insignificant. ]
For anyone with Scottish ancestry a very good website is http://www.rampantscotland.com
The Stone of Destiny in front of the Chapel on Moot Hill
Goolwa Organ
Recently it has come to our notice of an article that appeared on the internet regarding the old organ previously housed in Centenary Hall. I don’t want to perpetuate their mistaken information but this is some of the history of that old organ, a single-manual, two rank Fotoplayer.
The organ was purchased by Mayor Percy Wells of Goolwa and installed in Centenary Hall in 1929 and remained there until his death. Although talkies were invented (commercially) in 1927, Percy had purchased the instrument before sound-on-film was generally available in Australia. The original owner of the organ is not known, but it is suspected that it came from the Mt Gambier area, as the original curtains in the Centenary Hall were embroidered with “Broadway Pictures” who are believed to have been an exhibitor at Mt Gambier in the silent movie days.
Frank Tuckwell remembers it well, when he and his brother were screening movies in Centenary Hall up until 1961.
The organ was later acquired by Mr Barclay Wright and moved to his Piano-Roll factory in Petersham, NSW. In 1984 it was presented to the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, where it was fully restored, and is played regularly. It is the only operative photoplayer in Australia, and is entirely original.
[Thanks to Frank Tuckwell for much of this information.]
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Did anyone visit the State Library Mortlock Wing in January, to view the letter written by Col Wm Light to his friend, artist George Jones? The letter written in 1836 by Light, is made even more valuable, considering that so little of his papers survived a fire, that burnt his house in 1839. The letters will be on display every year in April to commemorate Light’s birthday. This year the Adelaide City Council has scheduled a Light vs Kingston debate on who actually selected the site of Adelaide.
[taken from ‘extra’, Newsletter of the State Library of South Australia]
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New Hours for the State Library on Saturdays, Sundays & Public Hols is 10am-5pm.
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The Tallis map is back in storage after a flight in space. It was sent to Houston, USA on the request of Dr Andy Thomas, who wanted to have something from his home State, in his last flight in space. A copy is on display in the Treasures Wall at the State Library or
www.slsa.sa.gov.au/exibitions/treasures/RBRI118393 map.htm
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‘Afternoon Delights’ is a radio program on 891 ABC with Carol Whitelock & State Library Public Programs Coordinator Dr Michael Talbot, every 4th Tuesday 2.30-3.30pm. The idea is to spark interest in the collections of the State Library. Anyone with items or ideas for topics phone Dr Talbot on 8207 7337 or email talbot.michael@slsa.sa.gov.au
[more detail can be seen in ‘extra’ newsletter of the State Library Vol 9 No1 available in Alexandrina Library]
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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 me, Dawn Juers on 8555-2885.
Happy Researching, Dawn February 2006
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