Random thoughts and observations
I discovered today that two of my great-great grandparents, Daniel Burgdorf and Augusta Springer, arrived in Sydney from Germany aboard the Reiherstieg on August 5, 1852.
That’s a story for another post, but for now I want to mention that aboard the ship with them was the scientist, magnetician, hydrographer, oceanographer and meteorologist Georg Balthasar von Neumayer.
I don’t get as much time as I would like to browse digitised newspapers at the National Library’s marvellous Trove.
However, a brief visit today yielded an interesting snippet regarding my great-great grandparents James and Sarah Evans.
I knew from Shire of Metcalfe rate books they owned a property at Barfold in Central Victoria between 1866 and 1876.
There has been heavy rain in Traralgon over the past week, causing minor flooding of the Traralgon Creek. I used to like playing along the creek’s banks when I was a kid. It was pretty rough in those days (70s) with lots of blackberries, but in the town at least it has been pretty well cleaned up today. The creek used to flood significantly as well, but mitigation works have eased the threat.
Applications for the $20,000 Victorian Community History Awards close on Friday, August 19. Funded by Public Record Office and presented by the Royal Historical Society, the awards recognise the contributions made by Victorians to the preservation of the state’s heritage. The awards seek to encourage work that contributes to the development and appreciation of the history of Victoria and to develop awareness of best practice community history. Local histories are the detail that underpins the grand narrative of Victorian history.
Several years ago I wrote an article about my great-uncle Charles Edward Gorey, who was born at Pannoomilloo in 1878. I noted “the place name of his birth does not survive on maps today, but is situated near Echuca”. That was before the internet truly developed as a research tool. Today, although there is not much on the web regarding Pannoomilloo, there is enough to identify its location and some of its history. In particular, I recommend the National Library of Australia digitised newspapers and the Victoria Government Gazette.
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