THE Queen of the South turned up and so did Wendel, adorned in his Olympic relay uniform and bearing a torch.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Historian Phil Leighton Daly also dressed for the occasion, appropriately, in top hat and tails.
Goulburn’s characters, who claim their own chunk of local history, were there for a momentous occasion.
St Clair villa, the hub of heritage, was re-opened on Saturday before an upbeat crowd of some 80 people. The Goulburn and District Historical Society home had been closed for a year for council repairs and to render the 1843 building safe for the public.
Any lingering uncertainty over its future was washed away at Saturday’s event.
An emotional Society president Garry White said St Clair was back doing what it should be.
He thanked Council for its significant financial contribution over coming years.
Mayor Geoff Kettle told the crowd that $1.8 million had been committed over the next two years, $1.2m of this being council funds. In addition, the state government had granted money in recent time.
“And we’ll be hitting up the State for some more,” he quipped before Goulburn MP Pru Goward.
Cr Kettle thanked the working party, chaired by Cr Robin Saville, who came up with practical solutions for St Clair’s conservation. It includes construction of an archives at the rear, if funds can be raised, and employment of a museums officer for 20 hours a week.
Ms Goward talked up Goulburn’s rich history and the extensive resources available at St Clair.
“It’s the only place you can get your house’s original plans,” she said of the EC Manfred collection.
Cr Robin Saville said it was a great pleasure to attend the re-opening of a building that had local, state and national significance.
“St Clair is part of our local story but also of the early colony of NSW and as such speaks to us all,” he said.
“I want to publicly thank the St Clair working party, all of whom are here today, for their positive contribution and commitment to cooperation.
“The working party worked with focus and determination to restore and protect this building and to present to Council a plan for the future for archival storage and a museum to tell our city's story to our people, young and old.”
Among the guests were Anne Marie Lock, Maureen McClintock, both of Sydney, and Rona Parker from the Central Coast.
Their grandmother, Thirlby Pursehouse, ran St Clair as a guesthouse for many years. Thirlby’s father, Horace bought St Clair in 1922.
Rona recalled living at the rear with her parents Ron and Irene McDonell. The family stayed there from 1953 to 1968 and the children played among the garden while the aromas of her grandmother’s famous cooking wafted out.
Mrs Parker said St Clair’s re-opening was a great day.