Meal: Bangers and mash. Just like in colonial times.
Bob and James opened the meeting for the last time together. In reports;
· James noted that the board enjoyed great food at Madalas last week.
· James also thanked members for their contributions to the club over the past year.
· Bob informed us that Robbo, T-Bone and Dillo are leading the footy tipping with 87. Nooka and Rob are in hot persuit on 86.
· It was decided not to have a Wednesday meeting next week given we were having our changeover dinner.
Our guest speaker was David Blaxland. David came to Warrnambool in 1989 and worked as a pathologist. He spoke to us about researching a family history. David has had plenty of experience on the subject and comes from a family with several notable ancestors. David’s great, grandfather was Greg Blaxland. Greg Blaxland, together with William Lawson and William Wentworth, was the first European migrant to cross the Blue Mountains.
David showed us some useful books for research; the beautifully named Burke’s Colonial Gentry, Pioneer Families of Australia, and Letters from Victorian Pioneers. There is something quite quaint about the idea of describing people who migrated 200 years ago to a land that has been inhabited for 40,000 years as pioneers. I suppose we are all pioneers in the sense that we are all doing things for the first time for us.
David did mention that he had a letter from one of his ancestors that mentioned filling teeth with gutta percha in the 1840’s, which he observed is ‘still used’. Gutta percha is still used as the sealing material in endodontic treatment (root canal treatment). No better material has been developed in centuries of research. David also gave us a wonderful guide to taking an oral history from a relative.
We thank David for his interesting presentation on his own storied family and the art of family tree research.
Our meeting hosted a reunion of Central Spoke editors.
Our meeting hosted a reunion of the Western District squattocracy.
Our meeting hosted a reunion of the original members of the Wiggles.
Next time you are visiting Aunt Maud in the nursing home, try one of these conversation starters.
