Sunbathing on Wollongong's Beaches

Sunbathing at North Wollongong Beach was a contentious issue in 1909. E.H, secretary of the Surf Club, along with some council Alderman, wanted Wollongong to progress like its Sydney counterparts by introducing a sunbathing area that was appropriately supervised. Oppositional opinion predominated with cries of immorality and impropriety, and the belief that the most ‘frequented promenade’ was being spoiled by the spectacle of surf bathers. Young people, including a ‘large numbers of ladies’, were watching surf bathers from the cliffs, rather than the usual practice of frequenting Stuart Park. Due to cries of ‘demoralising and disgusting’ displays and practice, Council decided to retain its former decision not to allow sunbathing.

The Illawarra Mercury, Friday 5 March 1909, page 7.

North Beach Wollongong, about 1915

Wollongong City Library Collection; http://mylibrary.wollongong.nsw.gov.au/cgibin/spydus.exe/FULL/PIC/BIBENQ/93180/17540216,23?FMT=IMG

Newspapr Archives - A researcher's dream

It can be a real thrill to find information about your ancestors in newspapers. It gives some historical meaning to the time and puts them within context. One example is that of Thomas Chilton Jasper or TC, who opened the first bank in Plano, Texas in 1882. Newspaper reports show in 1905, how TC received a letter from "Eighteen Strong", stating that his bank was soon to be robbed, so could he “have plenty (of cash) on hander for uss” (sic).  Apparently TC would have taken this as a joke, however the bank had been robbed in 1893, whereby he had received a letter from the “Dalton Boys” saying they were coming. Therefore TC wasn’t taking any chances!

McKinney Dailey Courier, USA. Wednesday 20 December 1905.

The Royal Victoria Hotel, aka North Gong Pub

The North Gong Pub has changed significantly from its humble beginnings in 1878, when opened by Theodore Bode. Bode and his wife Mary Ann Anderson ran the pub together, very successfully, until his death in 1912, and her retirement in 1923.[1] The Royal Victoria Hotel, as it was known at the time, had been renovated and ‘improved’ by Bode in 1882, and this was celebrated with an ‘event of an interesting and enjoyable character’. It was the first time such a celebration had been held within a hotel and the guest list comprised about forty gentlemen, including prominent societal members and Aldermen. There were toasts to the success of the business and mention of the roadside hotel as being one of the ‘most stately and picturesque within the Colony’.[2]  137 years on and it would seem the North Gong Pub is as popular as ever!

Photo:

http://mylibrary.wollongong.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/spydus.exe/ENQ/PIC/BIBENQ?BRN=307066

[1]Roberts, Mick. http://timegents.com/2013/09/02/the-north-gong-pub/

[2] Illawarra Mercury, Tuesday 17 January 1882.

Polish Navy Photos

During WW2, the Polish government endeavored to challenge mounting anti-Polish and ‘left-wing propaganda’ tactics that portrayed the Poles as ‘closet fascists’ who were not doing their bit for the war effort. The placement of photographers and war correspondents throughout their Naval fleet, was a way to show the important role the Poles played in defending alongside allied powers.[1] In May 1942, photographer Pawel Plonka was on board the ORP Garland and the result is an amazing array of photographs that belonged to Artur Nowaczyk. This wonderful collection of photographs can be viewed at Kresy Siberia Virtual Museum. If you have Polish family, you may recognise someone.

http://kresy-siberia.org/hom/?lang=en

Artur Nowaczyk, second from right.

[1] M.A. Peszke, Poland’s Navy: 1918 – 1945. (New York: Hippocrene Books Inc., 1999), p.117.

Loss and Grief

In modern times it is hard to imagine the amount of grief families must have endured with the loss of loved ones, and when researching family histories, it is an all too common occurrence to find parents who have lost multiple children. One such family is that of Jane Christie Couper and William Alfred Speirs who lost eight of their thirteen children. Jane’s signature is on multiple death certificates and she lost two of her children one day apart. Jeanie Speirs was 6 months old and her brother Archibald was 2. Both died in 1899 from bronchopneumonia. Jane experienced much loss within her lifetime with the death of her husband, 7 siblings, 8 children and 5 grandchildren. It makes us wonder how families coped. Was pregnancy the joyous occasion it is today, or was there always an underlying assumption that things may go wrong, therefore people tried not to become too attached? It certainly makes us grateful for modern medicine!

http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/Viewers/DirectDownload/index.aspx

Cycling Day Out.

Cycling has been an incredibly popular past time from the 19th century on. John Bailey, (born 1869) was an avid photographer from Somerset England, who gave a historical snapshot of life at the time. Imagine riding in those long flowing skirts. However, those hats are much more stylish than our helmets!

Photo by John Bailey - Whitelackington, Ilminster, United Kingdom.

On This Day - 1st July

70 - Roman General Titus and his forces set up battering rams to assault the walls of Jerusalem.[1]

1517 - The Netherlands has the 1st burning of Protestants at the stake.[2]

1837 - England and Wales proceed with a system of civil registration of births, marriages and deaths.[3]

1851 - New South Wales and Victoria separate as Royal Assent is given to create the Colony of Victoria.[4]

1873 - Henry Ossian Flipper of Georgia, who was a former slave, is one of the first African Americans to enter West Point Military Academy. He graduated in 1877.[5]

1900 - Concerned with “Etiquette”. Readers of the Sydney newspaper The Dawn, requested information regarding the ‘manners and customs of good society’. They felt a series of short articles would not go astray.[6]

1932 - The Australian Broadcast Commission (ABC) was launched to the Australian public.[7]

1942 - The Australian Federal Government becomes the sole collector of income tax in Australia as State Income Tax is abolished.[8]

References:

[1] http://www.historyorb.com/events/date/70

[2] http://www.historyorb.com/events/date/1517

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/July_1

[4] http://www.records.nsw.gov.au/state-archives/today-in-history/today-in-history-july

[5] http://www.historyorb.com/people/henry-ossian-flipper

[6] The Dawn (Sydney, NSW : 1888 - 1905) , Sunday 1 July 1900, page 31.

[7] http://about.abc.net.au/who-we-are/abc-history/

[8] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/July_1

Who is that?

Nothing is more frustrating for the family researcher than coming across beautiful old photos and having no idea who they are of. Today we take the availability of photographs for granted, but to find pictures of our ancestors in the 19th century is like finding gold! Label your photos. Maybe in 100 years your descendants will be asking "who is that?"

Unfortunately no names for any of these faces.

Winifred May Bailey nee Bowen. (1894-1990)

Women in War

King George VI initiated the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) in 1939. Its purpose was to “interlink” with the RAF by using women as substitutes for men in trades and operations. Although pay rates were approximately two-thirds of their male colleagues, it was an opportunity for women to either be employed, or to earn a higher wage than usual, by experiencing a variety of trades that were primarily the domain of men.[1] Alice Raye Bailey was one such woman who decided to join the WAAF in 1940. Raye was working as a hairdresser in Wales at the start of WW2 and after talking to clients, who worked in munitions factories, decided the WAAF was a better option for her. She trained as a switchboard operator and ended up at the PBX main telephone exchange at the RAF Exeter fighter station. They were first positioned within the Flying Control Tower but due to copious bombings were moved underground. Raye worked shift work and states for the most part her feet were in water. However it was an opportunity to earn 28s per week rather than 20s from hairdressing, and women felt valued because they were contributing to the war effort.  

Alice Raye Bailey 1940

[1] http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/online-exhibitions/women-of-the-air-force/womens-auxiliary-air-force-waaf-1939-1949.aspx

Life Before Facebook

How did people let others know where they would be and when they would be back, pre-Facebook? They put it in the newspaper. The medium may have changed but updating your 'status' has been around for centuries!!

Wise County Messenger Friday 9th August 1912. USA.

The Courier Gazette Saturday 5th September 1914. USA.

The Interior Journal Friday 16th January 1885. USA.