FIRE SEASON READINESS
The 85th celebration dinner for the Gunning/Fish River Brigade went off very successfully with long service awards presented.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
This was a timely reminder of the need for preparedness and the thanks owed to those who volunteer in our rural community.
A series of Get Ready days have been organised by NSW RFS:
Saturday, September 16
- Gunning/Fish River, 9am to 2pm, next to Old Hume Cafe.
- Combined Broadway, Blakney Creek and Dalton brigades, 12-3pm at Dalton Oval.
Sunday, September 17
- Bellmount Forest RFB, 10.30am-12.30pm at the Fire Shed on Baines Road.
Residents are reminded that the last years Carwoola fire occurred in a landscape similar to here with many homes lost. Is your home prepared?
Volunteers for local RFS Driver Reviver on the October long weekend are being sought now. Call 0414 776 231.
DEVILS ELBOW
Driving to Crookwell the other day we saw the first signs of work on the Devil’s Elbow re-alignment. Delays can be expected as the project progresses.
FIRST NSW BANK NOTES
Anchor Books and the Gunning and District Historical Society held a very successful launch of a book on Samuel Clayton, with Mayor Brian McCormack OAM doing the honours.
Clayton was transported to Australia in 1816 for forgery.
He and his son Benjamin had strong connections with the local district, living at Baltinglass.
In a curious twist of fate mixed with the necessity of using available skills, within three months Samuel Clayton was engraving the copper plates for the first NSW bank notes! Talk about being in the right place!
Those attending, who included descendants of Samuel Clayton, heard from Dr Perry McIntyre, Bob Spiller on his Pilkington forebears, and were entertained by a lively Q&A session.
Dr Liz Rushen spoke on behalf of the Irish author Margaret Smith, saying, “Despite his crime, Samuel Clayton was a man that I came to admire greatly. Both he and his son Benjamin were the type of individuals who built Australia into the wonderful country that it is today.”
A couple of casual visitors hit the jackpot arriving to join in the scrumptious afternoon tea that was followed by a site visit to Baltinglass.
The Society’s next event is a guided walk through the Gunning Cemetery on Saturday, October 14 at 10am with the long-awaited erection of a columbarium likely soon.
