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Merry Christmas for 2014 and from the 1930s!

December 16, 2014, 11:05 pm
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As the year draws to a close we'd like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and the very best for the New Year and 2015. We have continued our new tradition to create a Christmas image (below), which involves us dropping a Christmas tree into a historic image! If you haven't seen them before, check out our previous images for 2013, 2012 and 2011.


Each year a Business House and Christmas tree are held in Carnamah, which is an end of year function for the entire community. The Christmas tree component involves the arrival of Father Christmas, who gives each child a present. In years past he has often arrived by fire truck but in 2014 flew into town by helicopter...


Pictured in our Christmas image at the top of this post is Helen Rowland. Like most local children, she attended the Christmas Tree in Carnamah each year. During the 1930s she was presented with a set of three ceramic lounge chairs, suitable for a doll's house. She still has them, along with their original box, although the box isn't quite as square as it once was!


 


Many thanks to Helen for bringing her present along to the Carnamah Centenary Celebrations in 2013 and for allowing us to take some photos.
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MMXIV: Highlights from 2014

December 30, 2014, 6:37 pm
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During 2014 one of our most popular blog posts was 2013: The Year in Review. We've taken that statistic as a mandate for a similar post to recap some of our highlights from 2014.

Biographical Dictionary

It was the end of an era as we bid farewell to our much-loved Coorow-Waddy, Carnamah-Winchester and Three Springs databases. It wasn't bad news though, as they joined forces to become a new and improved Biographical Dictionary. The new online dictionary is much easier to search and navigate, includes photographs and streamlines contributions from members of the public.



Museums and Galleries National Award

Our Virtual Museum: to be known and distinguished as Carnamah was the Level 1 winner of the Permanent Exhibition category at the 2014 Museums and Galleries National Awards. The judge's summarised us as "A small society with an innovative solution to extending their audience and sharing a larger proportion of their collection with the community. The website is very creative with excellent production values and interpretative images and narratives."



Memories of the Midland Railway

The privately owned Midland Railway was purchased by the Government of Western Australia in 1964. To mark 50 years since the takeover, we accepted an invitation to collaborate with Rail Heritage WA to gather memories and stories of what was affectionately known as the family railway. Many of the stories have been featured in the book Memories of the Midland Railway Co. of Western Australia by Philippa Rogers. Copies of the book can be purchased at our museum or alternatively some of the stories can be read at the end of our virtual exhibition on the Midland Railway.

During the year we completed, in partnership with Ignite Your Audience, an education resource on the Midland Railway. It links to years five and six of the Australian History Curriculum and is freely available for teachers via our Education Resources page. We also published Jeff Austin's histories on the railway's Stations & Sidings.



Virtual Volunteering

We did it! Hundreds of online volunteers, and especially a dedicated few, have successfully text-corrected and transcribed all of our local electoral rolls for the Commonwealth subdivisions of Irwin and Moore from 1903 to 1969. We are presently amalgamating the transcriptions into a single index to be published online.

During 2014 our Virtual Volunteering website has also hosted the virtual transcription of WA Biographical Index cards for the State Library of Western Australia. Thousands of helpers have transcribed over 30,000 cards... but there's still plenty more to go!



Carnamah Museum

As with every year, we have been kept busy running our museum and caring for the state heritage-listed Macpherson Homestead. If you're ever in Carnamah or passing through, we invite you to come and say hello. Our museum is open Friday afternoons or at any other time by prior arrangement.

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Perth Festival's The Giants and a Carnamah connection!

February 13, 2015, 7:46 pm
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The major attraction of this year's Perth International Arts Festival is The Giants, who launched the festival on 13 February and are continuing to wow Perth crowds over the weekend. A large part of the story behind the little girl giant is the teenage life of Fay Howe, who resided with her father Robert Wilkinson Howe on Breaksea Island off the coast of Albany.


Inspiring the Little Girl Giant: Breaksea Island's Lighthouse Girl 
by Karla Arnall of ABC Great Southern WA

"Fay Howe was 15 years old at the outset of World War I. Living with her lighthouse keeper father on the remote Breaksea Island, the young girl began responding to signals sent by soldiers onboard ships bound for Gallipoli and Egypt. Fay relayed semaphore messages to their loved ones via telegram and received their postcards from the frontline. She is regarded as one of the last points of contact with Australia for many who did not return. 

Fay's story was unveiled by Albany author, Dianne Wolfer, in her 2009 book Lighthouse Girl, which imagines her existence on the island. The narrative struck a chord with Royal De Luxe company director, Jean-Luc Courcoult, who visited Albany in 2014 looking for inspiration to tour his Giants." 

[Full article at http://www.abc.net.au/local/photos/2015/02/13/4179610.htm]


Carnamah connections!

Fay's father Robert and stepmother Emily both resided in Carnamah, years later in 1942, when the world was in its second global conflict. After retiring from lighthouse keeping, they had shifted to Perth but fled north to Carnamah when Darwin was bombed by the Japanese.

Fay's stepbrother Ned Wells ran the Wells & Wells Pyramid Tea & Dining Rooms in Carnamah for many years - a building that is now our museum!
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Help choose our future online exhibitions!

February 26, 2015, 1:11 am
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In 2011 we began a small virtual museum with three online exhibitions - Macpherson Family, Ready Made Farms and Milk, Cream and Butter. In 2013, with thanks to support from the Department of Culture and the Arts, we expanded with another six covering the Midland Railway, Roads to Government, Post Office, Business Houses, 10 Macpherson Street and Toys.

We'd like to open up the future direction to you - our online patrons! We've come up with a list of potential virtual exhibitions but want to know which ones you'd like to see most. Check out the options and cast your vote at www.carnamah.com.au/vote 


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Suite of Australian Curriculum Education Resources

March 18, 2015, 3:29 am
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In partnership with Ignite Your Audience we have developed a suite of nine freely downloadable Australian Curriculum education resources. However, they're museum resources with a difference! They can be used with school visits to our physical museum but can also be utilised from classrooms anywhere in Australia with our award-winning virtual museum.

If you're a primary school teacher then we have something for you! Resources from Foundation to Year 6 include an overview for teachers, worksheets, activities, extension ideas and their connections to the Australian Curriculum.



We'd like to thank the Western Australian History Foundation and the Government of Western Australia Department of Culture and the Arts for their invaluable support of this project. Special thanks are due to Maree Whiteley for her encouragement, Shiona Herbert for her inspirational skill and Salleigh Walters for her worthy contributions.

We'd also like to thank Museums Australia WA, the History Teachers' Association of WA and TeachMeetWA (lots of WA in there!) for allowing us to share and promote our project and its outcomes at conferences, workshops and presentations. If you're a teacher and attending the 2015 HTAWA Conference in Mount Lawley on 28 March, we are taking part in the Show & Tell session at 1:45pm!

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2015 Western Australian Heritage Awards

March 18, 2015, 8:17 pm
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The finalists for the 2015 Western Australian Heritage Awards were announced this morning and we are very excited to be listed among the community organisations! In total, there are 43 finalists across eight categories, which are listed in full below. More info on each finalists can be found here.

Voluntary individual contribution
  • Norma Andrews of Busselton
  • Councillor Laurie Ayers of Kalgoorlie-Boulder
  • Dr Howard Gray of Geraldton
  • Peter Snow of Albany

Professional contribution
  • Martin Colgan of Northbridge.
  • The late Ian Hocking of Shenton Park
  • Tom Perrigo of Perth
  • Dr John Taylor of Claremont
  • Malcolm Traill of Albany

Contribution by a community-based organisation
  • Carnamah Historical Society & Museum
  • Guildford Association
  • Historical Society of Cockburn
  • Jaycees Community Foundation Inc
  • Kalamunda & Districts Historical Society
  • Maritime Archaeological Association of Western Australia
  • Mount Lawley Society
  • Slater Homestead Group Advisory Body to the Shire of Goomalling

Contribution by a public or private organisation
  • City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder for the Burt Street Heritage Precinct
  • Colgan Industries
  • Heritage Perth

Heritage practices by a local government
  • City of Albany
  • City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder
  • Shire of Northam

Interpretation project
  • Albany Forts (Princess Royal Fortress)
  • Discovery Bay’s Historic Whaling Station
  • Esperance Foreshore Interpretation Project
  • hiLIGHTS - celebrating 125 years of the State Library of Western Australia
  • Old Port at Arthur Head Reserve
  • Original Railway Station, Geraldton
  • Shipwrecks of WA smart phone app by the Maritime Archaeological Association of Western Australia
  • Tranby House (Peninsula Farm)

Heritage tourism project
  • Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse
  • Discovery Bay’s Historic Whaling Station
  • National Anzac Centre
  • Rottnest Island Wadjemup Walk Trail

Conservation or adaptive reuse of a State Registered place
  • District Medical Officer's Quarters (now Dome Cafe Port Hedland)
  • Duke’s Inn, Northam
  • Harwood’s Cottage and Café, Busselton
  • McNess Royal Arcade facade restoration, Perth
  • Old Port at Arthur Head Reserve, Fremantle
  • Old Railway Station, Geraldton
  • Stirling Terrace enhancement, Albany
  • Wanslea - Cancer Wellness Centre, Cottesloe

The winners will be announced on 15 April 2015.
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2015 Winner at the Western Australian Heritage Awards

April 15, 2015, 9:20 pm
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On the evening of the 15 April the atmospheric Hackett Hall at the WA Museum in Perth played host to the 2015 Western Australian Heritage Awards. The annual awards are a celebration of our state's heritage champions and we were delighted to yet again be a finalist in the community organisation category... which we won!


The judge's citation reads: Carnamah Historical Society and Museum uses cutting-edge technology to engage with and promote the heritage of, not only their own and neighbouring districts, but also the State. Impressively, the society has established a virtual volunteering platform that has engaged 7,000 people with online heritage projects, which, in turn has provided a valuable resource for historians and the State.


We spoke to radio presenter Glenn Barndon of ABC Mid West & Wheatbelt following the win:




The full list of winners and commendations are listed below. For more info check out the winners page on the website of the State Heritage Office or the media release by Hon. Albert Jacob, M.L.A.


Voluntary individual contribution
Winner: Dr Howard Gray, Geraldton

Professional contribution
Winner: Dr John Taylor, Claremont

Contribution by a community-based organisation
Winner: Carnamah Historical Society and Museum
Commendation: Historical Society of Cockburn

Contribution by a public or private organisation
Winner: Heritage Perth

Heritage practices by a local government
Winner: City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder

Interpretation project
Winner: Albany Forts (Princess Royal Fortress)
Commendation: Esperance Foreshore Interpretation Project

Heritage tourism project
Winner: National Anzac Centre, Albany

Conservation or adaptive reuse of a State registered place
Winner of the Gerry Gauntlett Award: Wanslea - Cancer Wellness Centre, Cottesloe

The Judges’ Award: The Professor David Dolan Award
Ms Norma Andrews, Harwood’s Cottage Cafe and Quindalup Post Office of Busselton


We'd like to express our thanks to the Heritage Council and State Heritage Office for the award. We'd also like to pay tribute to our members, volunteers and virtual volunteers - this award is thanks to our collective efforts!
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The Anzac Centenary in Carnamah

April 24, 2015, 8:31 pm
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Amid a fresh east wind and before a crowd of a few hundred, Carnamah continued its annual tradition of holding an Anzac Day dawn service at the Carnamah War Memorial. We were honoured to provide the address, of which a summery is below.


Each Anzac day large numbers of Australians gather at war memorials and other sacred sites to pay tribute and utter the words Lest We Forget. But... have we forgotten? Who are we remembering? Acknowledging sacrifice, although a worthy endeavour, isn't quite the same thing as remembering individuals. Those who died during the First World War were sons, fathers, husbands, brothers, nephews, cousins and/or friends. They had names, jobs, interests and aspirations. Despite changes in the world over the past 100 years, their lives weren't really that different to our own.

Let’s pause on that for a moment though, and jump back to 1914…

When the First World War broke out, Carnamah was a much smaller place than it is today. The Macpherson family had been here for over 45 years, a few others families for about a decade and the first settlers to take up Ready-Made Farms had just arrived.

Carnamah had a small one-teacher school which was under the management of 25 year old Alick McLean who, like many in Carnamah, was a Scottish immigrant. An Education Department inspector described him as "Inexperienced but eager to improve. A Good Teacher." He was granted leave from teaching towards the end of 1914 to allow him to enlist in the Australian Imperial Force, or A.I.F. He was 6 feet ¾ inches tall, weighed 164 pounds (which is 74 kilograms) and had blue-grey eyes, light brown hair and a fair complexion.

After less than a month of training at Blackboy Hill, on the outskirts of Perth, Alick departed from Fremantle on 2 November 1914. After further training in Egypt he was part of the infamous landing at the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey - on this day 100 years ago. His battalion landed while it was still dark. One of his comrades thought he had been shot, possibly in the arm and headed for the beach. Whatever did happen, he died and was never seen again.

Coorow farmhand George Bell also took part in the landing at Gallipoli and was shot in the thigh. He was bandaged by his comrades but had to be left behind when they were forced to retreat. He was listed as missing in action and it was hoped he'd been taken a prisoner of war. This was hoped as it meant he might still be alive. His aunt Mrs Janet McGill, who also lived in Coorow, appealed to his comrades for any information but sadly it was in vein. Four years later his body was found and it was ruled that he too had been killed in action at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915. 

Carnamah labourer John Davern served at Gallipoli after the landings but only for six days. He was shot in the thigh and on retiring his lieutenant said they'd send stretcher bearers for him. Unfortunately none came and he laid there until the afternoon when he was captured by Turkish forces. He was a prisoner for the remainder of the war and kept variously in hospitals, prisons and churches across Turkey. At one hospital his wounds were never dressed and they turned black. At another the treatment was exceptional and after five months his wounds finally began to heal. At the end of the war he was repatriated to England and later returned to Australia.

Left: Bill Laundy of the Carnamah Lions Club
Right: Andrew Bowman-Bright of the Carnamah Historical Society & Museum

It’s also worth remembering that Anzac Day isn't just about Gallipoli or the First World War. It is a day to acknowledge and remember the service and sacrifice of all men and women in all conflicts. On the war memorial in Carnamah are 17 names.

We remember Carnamah railway fettler Aeneas Murray, labourers Sydney Brooks, James Keenan and Edward Statham, and two men whose full names have been lost to the passages of time and which no one can positively identify – E. Kennedy and W. Regan. We also remember three men whose names were omitted from the memorial, either unintentionally or because at the time Winchester was seen as a district of its own. They are Winchester farmer Major Christopher Hoskyns-Abrahall, Winchester farmhand Charles Vernede and clearing contractor Herbert Larkin.

From the Second World War we remember Carnamah bank teller Bernie O’Hara, Coorow farmhand Spanner Spencer, former Carnamah policeman Maurie Plunkett, Carnamah farmhands George McGowan and James Murphy, Waddy Forest farmers Jim Morcombe and Keith Morcombe, and Carnamah mechanics Bill Clark and Ivan Johnson.


The Carnamah Historical Society & Museum, with support from Lotterywest, is a partner in the WA Museum’s Remembering Them project, which is to stage small exhibitions on the First World War across regional Western Australia. The exhibition was on show at the community breakfast at the Carnamah Bowling Club and will continue at our museum.

We have also created a virtual exhibition on the First World War, which can be seen at www.carnamah.com.au/anzac. This was made possible thanks to the Anzac Centenary Local Grants Program, Bankwest and the North Midlands Project. Special thanks are also due to Reg Ellery for his photo-editing contributions.

37 men from Carnamah and Winchester served during the First World War with ten never returning home.

Lest We Forget.
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Double short-listing in the Museums & Galleries National Awards!

May 6, 2015, 12:49 am
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2015 is shaping up to be quite the year for this little historical society! The short-list for the 2015 Museums and Galleries National Awards was announced today and we found ourselves among the list not once, but twice!

We're a contender in the Innovation category for Virtual Volunteering and are also in the running in the Interpretation, Learning and Audience Engagement category for our Australian Curriculum Education Resources. The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on 22 May 2015 at the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney.


We were honoured at last year's awards as the Level 1 Permanent Exhibition or Gallery Fitout winner for our Virtual Museum: to be known and distinguished as Carnamah.

Our virtual museum inspired the State Library of WA Foundation to create a virtual exhibition on Western Australia's Freycinet Collection... and we're pleased to reveal that it too is a finalist in this year's awards - in the category that we won last year!

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Group Migration to Carnamah in 1915

May 11, 2015, 2:45 am
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100 years ago, on 11 May 1915, three families arrived in Fremantle, Western Australia on the steamship Osterley. Dick Robertson, Bob Forrester and John Bowman had all resigned from managerial positions at coal mines in Scotland. They immigrated with their families, during the turmoil of the First World War, to take up Ready-Made Farms in Carnamah.



Although settlement often resulted in friends or family also taking up land locally, this was the only instance of group migration to Carnamah from outside of Australia. The three families heavily boosted an already predominately Scottish population to solidify Carnamah's reputation as the Scotch Settlement.

Dick Robertson had already paid a five percent deposit and after an insepection proceeded with his purchase of the 433 acre Lot M951. John Bowman, Bob Forrester and Bob's son JK went into partnership and as Bowman & Forrester purchased the adjacent 434 acre Lot M950.


After finalising arrangements in Perth, the three families caught the train to Carnamah. They arrived in the darkness of midnight and were met by a man in a spring cart, which after loading up was followed on foot to their new homes four miles out of town. They arrived to dusty conditions after a bad drought the previous year. Water was scarce and the flies were plentiful!

Bowman & Forrester took up another three farms later in 1915. To increase their income they secured contracts doing work on the Midland Railway Company's unsold Ready-Made Farms across Carnamah, Winchester and Coorow (including clearing, seeding, harvesting and carting). In April 1916 they were employing 45 men and had 55 horses and a tractor at work! However, in late 1916 the partnership was dissolved with only John Bowman remaining. JK Forrester had enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force and his parents shifted to Fremantle.



The Robertson and Forrester families were closely related with Mrs Robertson being a niece of Bob Forrester. While on leave from France during the war, JK Forrester married Chris Izatt in Scotland. It was probably not known at the time (or possibly even afterwards!) but she was a third cousin of John Bowman, and not once but twice!

After the war JK Forrester, with his bride Chris, returned to Western Australia and in 1920 acquired land on the Carnamah Estate as a soldier settler. Ironically, the Carnamah Estate was the residual Ready-Made Farms which the Department of Repatriation had purchased from the Midland Railway Company! JK's parents, Bob and Effie Forrester, shifted back to Carnamah and once more, the three families were living and farming locally.



John Bowman was the founding chairman and Dick Robertson the first secretary of the Carnamah District Road Board, which is now the Shire of Carnamah. Dick Robertson was the board's third chairman and JK Forrester its fourth. To quote one of their sons, "the old-timers did their civic duty." Between the three of them they served as president and patron of almost every local organisation in the 1920s and 1930s.

In 1932 it was resolved to rename two Carnamah streets. Boojerabba Street became Robertson Street and Woondadying Street was changed to Bowman's Road (now Bowman Street). Later, when the townsite was extended one of the new streets was named Forrester.

All three families farmed locally over three generations and the Bowman family continues into its fourth. 2015 marks a centenary of family, friendship and residence in Australia for all three families, the descendants of whom are still well known to one another. The original members of the three families who arrived in 1915, hyper-linked to their entries in our Biographical Dictionary, were:



[ Note:  I prefer not to write about or profile my own family, however, it has been suggested that I have sometimes done so to the point of under-representation. May this one-off occurrence, in my family's centenary year, balance the books a little.  -- Andrew Bowman-Bright, great grandson of John and Maggie Bowman ]
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The Anzac Centenary in Perenjori

May 19, 2015, 3:12 am
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In the lead up to Anzac Day we assisted the Shire of Perenjori in identifying their local men who had served during the First World War. Plaques containing the names and details of the district's servicemen were added to a wall at the Perenjori War Memorial and on Anzac Day a bronze sculpture of the rising sun badge was unveiled.


The 16 men from Caron, Latham and Perenjori were:


The names of seven of the above men had already been well remembered. Their surnames label Fowler, Russell, Livingstone, Timmings, Hesford and Smith streets plus Hirschauer Road in the Perenjori townsite.




Photographs kindly provided by the Shire of Perenjori.
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WA Parliament and two Highly Commended in the MAGNAs

May 27, 2015, 7:30 am
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On Thursday 21 May 2015 we were honoured in the lower house of the Western Australian Parliament. Shane Love, the MLA for Moore, spoke about our endeavours and successes for 90 seconds, which can be watched below or on YouTube.



The following day, on 22 May 2015, the annual Museums and Galleries National Awards (MAGNAs) took place in Sydney. We are delighted to reveal that we received two Highly Commended awards for our Australian Curriculum resources and Virtual Volunteering program.

Shiona Herbert and Andrew Bowman-Bright in Sydney with our two awards

Our thanks to Shane Love for his encouraging words and to Museums Australia for the two prestigious awards. We'd also like to thank the supporters of our now award-winning projects: the Department of Culture and the Arts, the Western Australian History Foundation and the Government of Western Australia's Social Innovation Grants Program.
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You've probably heard of the pub with no beer, but what about ...

June 6, 2015, 8:19 pm
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The Canberra Times newspaper in the Australian Capital Territory reported the following, on 27 September 1989, under the headline of You cannot even be put in jail in Carnamah, WA.



PERTH: You've probably heard of the pub with no beer, but what about the jailers with no jail?

Two police officers in the Western Australian town of Carnamah, 291km north of Perth, have not been able to use their station, a 40-year-old weatherboard building, since it was declared unfit for human habitation last year, and the outdoor toilet has been condemned.

Constable Stephen Shinnick said yesterday they had to drive prisoners 22km to a lock-up in another town after making an arrest, and when the officers needed to use the toilet, they had to go home.

The Carnamah Shire Council has written to the Western Australian Minister for Police, Ian Taylor, complaining about the dilapidated condition of the facilities.

Carnamah JP Bernard Brand said the station was "well and truly" due for replacement. He said a house provided next to the station for the officer in charge was also run down. "I wouldn't live in it myself," Mr Brand said. "At a push it's better than living in the rain."

Mr Taylor agreed the station and quarters urgently needed improvements. He said the facilities would be renovated and upgraded and the town, with a population of more than 500, would eventually get a new police complex.
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Attention Virtual Volunteers: Thank You!

June 25, 2015, 4:54 am
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We'd like to thank all of our virtual volunteers but that can be tricky. They are all over Australia, some are overseas and we don't even know who many of them are! If you're one though, please know that we're thankful.

Back: Evan, Alan and Damien
Front: Julie (atWork Australia), Tiffany, Andrew (Carnamah Historical Society), Shantelle

On 23 June we had the rare opportunity to say thank you in person to a group who have contributed many hours through atWork Australia in Spearwood. We attended their morning tea, expressed our appreciation and took along the Highly Commended award recently received for Virtual Volunteering at the Museums and Galleries National Awards.

Thanks guys!
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Carnamah in 2015: Photographs by Alan Malone

July 31, 2015, 3:04 am
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North Midlands Art Exhibition in Carnamah in September 2015

August 2, 2015, 5:35 pm
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The North Midlands Agricultural Society's 21st Art Exhibition is taking place in Carnamah during September 2015.

Opening night is from 6-30pm on Friday 11 September at the Carnamah Town Hall. It is priced at a favourable $15 which includes fine food, refreshments and amazing art! The exhibition then continues daily from Saturday 12 through to Tuesday 15 September.

Part of Lunch Bag Series by Lynnette Bowron
Winner of the Agricultural Art Award in 2013 and Highly Commended at the Perth Royal Show in 2014
If you'd like to know more please take a look at the NMAS Art Exhibition flyer or if you're interested in entering art please download the Entry Form or Children's Entry Form.

There's also a painting workshop with artist Robin Dale from 9-30am to 4-30pm on Saturday 12 September. No experience required and all materials provided including lunch! The cost is $50. For more info or to register, please download the NMAS Art Workshop flyer.

If you have any questions, please get in touch with coordinator Angela Dring on (08) 9961 1036 or by e-mail to lindum.1926@bigpond.com
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A proud moment for Work for the Dole virtual volunteering project

August 3, 2015, 7:27 pm
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Originally published in the News section on the Department of Employment's website on 20 July 2015.

A group of young Western Australian job seekers has been recognised for their contribution to a successful "virtual volunteering" Work for the Dole project jointly hosted by atWork Australia and the Carnamah Historical Society & Museum in WA.

This unique project, which involved transcribing and indexing over 6,000 historical records, has assisted with the conservation, documentation and promotion of the local heritage of Carnamah, a farming community 320km north of Perth.

The hard work of these Work for the Dole “virtual volunteers” has resulted in a useful online resource which provides the community with access to a large number of searchable historical records including burial registers, electoral roles and biographical index cards.

Michael Kolomyjec, Divisional Manager of atWork Australia said “the project directly benefits the broader community by increasing accessibility of cultural heritage collections”.

“The project also gave our young job seekers a range of transferable work related skills and experience including communication in the workplace, confidence building, data entry and team work”.

The value of this project and the contribution of these Work for the Dole participants was recognised at the recent Museums and Galleries National Awards in Sydney where the Carnamah Historical Society received a Highly Commended Award for Virtual Volunteering.

Following receipt of the award, Andrew Bowman of the Carnamah Historical Society met with the project participants and personally thanked them for their hard work and for making the virtual volunteering project such a success.

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MMXV: Features of 2015

December 26, 2015, 5:30 pm
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"Carnamah Historical Society and Museum's website and, in particular, it's Virtual Museum and Biographical Dictionary are one of Australia's biggest online success stories." - Museums & Galleries NSW


First World War

April marked the centenary of the Anzac landings on the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey. We marked the occasion with the launch of a new virtual exhibition on the First World War as well as a physical exhibition within our museum (the latter being in partnership with the WA Museum). A request to say a word or two at Carnamah's dawn service quickly escalated into us being handed the baton to give the official address, and for such an auspicious anniversary.

Links:  First World War virtual exhibition |  Transcript of Anzac Day speech 

"I used your... virtual museum exhibition in my year 7-10 classes at Carnamah DHS today as a lead up to Anzac Day. The students were thoroughly engaged by the stories particularly as they featured local soldiers and names they could relate to. It provided a great springboard for some fantastic discussion. Thanks for such a fantastic and timely resource."

www.carnamah.com.au/first-world-war
Major Jack Colpitts of Heppleholme Farm in Winchester, South Carnamah

Macpherson Homestead

It's been a year of highs and lows for the old and wonderful Macpherson Homestead.

We were delighted to welcome a special group of visitors during the year, which included Oriel Green (nee Bartlett), her sisters and a number of their relatives and friends. Oriel spent a portion of her childhood in Carnamah and Three Springs during the 1930s but what made the visit more momentous was that her family are believed to be Aboriginal descendants of the Macpherson family.

Another high was our first steps toward the homestead hosting primary school excursions. Our thanks to Ignite Your Audience for their work so far and to the Three Springs Primary School for being our enthusiastic test-subjects!

Sadly the conserved ruins of the bakehouse at the homestead began to rapidly and suddenly deteriorate in October. Huge cracks spread through the walls and a large section began to collapse. However, we're pleased to report that the collapsed section has been restored and the remainder has been solidified and conserved to ensure the ruin will continue to stand strong.

www.carnamah.com.au/homestead


Western Australian Heritage Awards

For the second year in a row, we were a finalist in the community organisation category of the WA Heritage Awards and were stoked to be named this year's winner.

"Carnamah Historical Society & Museum uses cutting-edge technology to engage with and promote the heritage of, not only their own and neighbouring districts, but also the State. Impressively, the society has established a virtual volunteering platform that has engaged 7,000 people with online heritage projects, which, in turn has provided a valuable resource for historians and the State."

http://www.blog.carnamah.com.au/2015/04/2015-winner-WA-heritage-awards.html


Australian Curriculum Resources

For a few years we had been working hard, in partnership with Ignite Your Audience, to create a suite of Australian Curriculum education resources. Our completed range of nine resources, which relate to primary years, were promoted at the History Teachers' conference in Mount Lawley and the third History TeachMeet in Peppermint Grove. The resources are a little different - as they can be used with school visits to our physical museum or from classrooms anywhere in Australia (with our virtual museum and other online content).
We've received a lot of favourable comments, including glowing feedback from the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra! We were especially delighted when our resources received a Highly Commended in the Interpretation, Audience and Learning Engagement category of the Museums and Galleries National Awards.

www.carnamah.com.au/education


Museums and Galleries National Awards

The Museums and Galleries National Awards, or MAGNAs, are conducted annually by Museums Australia and are held during the national museums conference. This year's conference was in Sydney and we had a few reasons to go. Both our education resources and our virtual volunteering program were short-listed in different categories and we're pleased to say they each received a Highly Commended. Not a bad effort considering the competition was mostly state and national institutions!

http://www.blog.carnamah.com.au/2015/05/wa-parliament-and-two-highly-commended.html

 
In the Media and in Parliament!

Our achievements of recent years were featured in the Museums Australia magazine, on the blog of Museums & Galleries NSW and in the Heritage Council of WA's Heritage Matters magazine. We were also honoured in the lower house of the Western Australian Parliament on 21 May 2015 when Shane Love, the MLA for Moore, spoke about our endeavours and successes.



Thank you

Our thanks to you for being part of our 2015 - whether it was online to our blog, Virtual Museum or Biographical Dictionary, or as a physical visitor to see our history and heritage on the ground in Carnamah.

We'd also like to thank those who supported us during the year. Special thanks are due to all of our virtual volunteers, to project partners atWork Australia and the North Midlands Project, and to financial supporters the Department of Culture and the Arts (DCA) and the Anzac Centenary Local Grants Program.

If you're ever in Carnamah, we invite you to stop by:
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International Women's Day

March 7, 2016, 7:56 pm
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In recognition of International Women's Day, we'd like to celebrate two of our local women who pushed through stereotypes and societal restrictions. Both were in an era when their actions would have initially attracted much gossip, comment and criticism. Their names are Agnes Lawson and Susan Colpitts.

Mrs Susan Colpitts of Heppleholme Farm in Winchester, South Carnamah

Agnes Scott Lawson / Sharp

In 1914 an entrepreneurial Agnes Lawson, who ran a dairy in Scotland, financially assisted her brother Jack to buy one of the Midland Railway Company's Ready-Made Farms at Winchester. Two years later she immigrated to Western Australia and was soon in touch with the company about buying a farm of her own.

The Midland Railway Company couldn't even contemplate the idea of selling a farm to a woman. The concept was absurd! They suggested that the farm be in her brother's name, however, she refused point blank to put her capital into his or anyone else's name. Much correspondence followed but the company held firm on their position. A women couldn't own a farm. How would she run it? Could she ever pay it off?

Poor Agnes. The irony is that she wasn't poor at all. This single 29 year-old woman had worked and saved enough money to pay the deposit on a farm! She would actually have been the envy of many men aspiring to be in the same position. In the end the hand of the company was forced by fear. They became worried that if they didn't sell Agnes a farm that her brother Jack would leave. This would be a big backward step for the Winchester settlement they were trying to grow and promote.

On 3 November 1916 Miss Agnes Lawson signed the dotted line to purchase the 465 acre Lot M922 in Winchester. The farm came with a house and 148 acres of cleared and cropped land. Payable by installments, it came at a cost of £2,150. Using the Reserve Bank of Australia's Pre-Decimal Inflation Calculator, this would be approximately $210,000 in today's money.

But how did Agnes fare? Did the farm fall into a big heap under the control of a woman? Not quite. In fact, for a while Agnes was one of only two Ready-Made Farm settlers who were managing to pay their repayments on time!

Agnes found love a little later in life and in 1922 married George Sharp. He was returned soldier from the First World War who had taken up farming in Carnamah. Their first child Nancy died at the age of two months but was followed by two more children, Agnes and Charlie. Sadly, her husband's war injuries took their toll and George passed away when their son Charlie was only three weeks old.

Agnes raised her children, ran the farm and also established a local dairy.

She was a regular and very diverse exhibitor at Carnamah's annual agricultural shows. During this era the sections of the show were typically considered men's classes such as livestock and grain or women's classes, such as cooking and sewing. Not for Agnes!

In 1928 she won 1st prize for Scones and 2nd for Sheaf of Early Variety Grain. Then in 1929 she took out both 1st and 2nd for Jersey Cow while winning 2nd for Butter and Scones! As the years went on, and she improved her herd of cattle, she would win most of the prizes in the Cattle section. She also participated in the Carnamah District Agricultural Society's activities and in 1934 came equal 2nd in their Fallow Competition.



Mrs Susan Catherine Maria Colpitts

In 1913 Susan Colpitts immigrated from South Africa to join her husband Jack. They settled on a Ready-Made Farm at Winchester, which they named Heppleholme after the middle name of Jack's aunt. They'd barely been on the farm six months when the First World War broke out. Jack soon enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force and left for the front, serving in both Turkey and France.

Susan took over the running of the farm and its further development. She also boosted the farm's income by securing contracts to do work on the Midland Railway Company's unsold farms in Winchester and Coorow. Her place as a farmer, not just a farmer's wife, was firmly grounded when in 1917 she was named an Inaugural Vice President of the Winchester-Carnamah branch of the Farmers & Settlers' Association.

During the war Susan also worked tirelessly to raise money for the Red Cross and other organisations that worked to support and care for troops serving in the war. One example of this was as secretary for Winchester farmer Lou Parker's candidature in the Lazy Man Competition being run in Three Springs. From this one instance alone she raised £131, which in today's money would be almost $12,000.

Susan expected her husband home by May 1919 but four months went by and he hadn't arrived. It turned out he'd been granted leave to observe farms and agricultural practices in England but had failed to let her know! He did, however, finally arrive home just before Christmas - probably to a very happy but annoyed wife!

Susan and her husband then ran their farm together, as by this time she was the experienced Australian farmer - having been on their farm for four years longer than her husband. For a few years during the 1920s Susan also operated Winchester's telephone exchange and post office from their home.


For more information, please see:



International Women's Day occurs on 8 March each year and is a day to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievement of women. It's also a day to be aware that progress has slowed in many places across the world and that urgent action is needed to accelerate gender parity. For more, see www.internationalwomensday.com
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The Coorow Parrot to rival Carnamah's "Bonny" Cow

May 23, 2016, 5:02 pm
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For years we have promoted the story of Bonny, the popular cow of Carnamah's 1920s baker Leslie Trotter, who is featured in our virtual exhibition Milk, Cream & Butter. So great was she endeared that when she died an obituary appeared in The Irwin Index, a weekly newspaper produced in Mingenew.


Saturday 21 May 1927

"Bonny," Carnamah's well known cow, the property of Mr A. L. Trotter, died of inflammation on Monday evening last. Bonny's placid gait and amicable aspect made her a familiar figure to the people of Carnamah as she wandered peacefully around the town. So well-known did Bonny become that she almost became an institution, and when she died the people of Carnamah discussed her going with almost as much regret as a human.


Little did we know that, during the same decade, Bonny had a rival - the Coorow Parrot! The parrot belonged to Coorow storekeeper Heinie Bothe and its death made the columns of another local newspaper...



Thursday 1 April 1926

Death of the Coorow Parrot. The Coorow parrot was as familiarly and well known with travellers and others passing through Coorow as the member for the district, the culy difference between the two - politically - was their loquaciousness.

But it is sad to relate - and many will regret the news that the poor old chap passed away a few weeks ago at the ripe age of 30 years. Mr Bothe, the owner, has had this remarkable bird of African origins for over 26 years, and many a tempting offer has been made for him. Indeed, you displeased the owner if you did covet the bird. He was a fluent conversationalist, sensible and witty in repartee, used no bad language, and greeted everyone with a respect which he himself commanded.

His bosom pal was the old dog belonging to Mr Bothe, and would order, command and advise in an amicable manner. Great was the grief of the household when one morning he was found dead in his cage. He was buried under the peach tree in the yard, and a small tablet will always remind passers-by of many a pleasant half hour spent with the grey parrot of Coorow.


To our Coorow readers, we must ask, can anyone recall seeing the tablet or know if it is still in existence?
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