Get Ready, Windsor!

October 21st, 2011

We’ve been working like a dog since July on a project to bring a major event to the “shores” of Windsor — we’re “bringing the beach” to Windsor in the form of gigantic sand sculptures. 10 international sculptors and 2 Australian will be competing for a $10,000 purse Jan 15th 2012 in an international sand sculpting competition.Exciting? You can count on it!

We are working with Sandstorm Events Ltd out of Melbourne area who own the Frankston Sand Sculpting Exhibition. Since 2002, this event has entertained thousands of visitors. . . last year alone, attendance was above 255,000.

Now, we don’t anticipate that many in our first year of three weeks, but by 2014, perhaps close to 200,000? This year 2012, we are planning for 100,000 with fingers crossed. We have had a terrific assist from Urban City Consulting (Windsor firm) who have submitted all the necessary plans and documents for the event to Hawkesbury City Council. Troy Myers heads up the firm.

Richmond Club, that impressive and well loved club (some 20,000 members strong) is a major financial supporter. Elf Farm Supplies is another major supporter, along with many many businesses in the Hawkesbury. So many have come together financially to make this event possible, we can’t say “thank you” enough!

Yesterday, Sandstorm executives flew up from Melbourne for day-long meetings. First they “inspected” the sand at Matt Collins & Sons Quarry. Hawkesbury sand is perfect and is being donated by four quarry owners. (Thank you, Thank you!) They will deliver 400 tonnes — yes, 400 hundred tonnes — to the competition site (Howe Park, Windsor) along the river on Jan 8th, 2012.

Then, once in Windsor, we walked the site and Sandstorm Events operation manager, chose the appropriate sites for the 14 sculptures. They were blown away by the location: the shady ambience and the beauty of Howe Park and the river. We will be blown away in January when each of the sculptors begin to carve “magical creatures” out of 20 tonnes of sand. Each has 20 tonnes to work with for the competition.

Greg Hall of Urban City stepped Sandstorm Events team through many of the traffic management details, emergency exits, safe cross walks, etc. It’s amazing all the details one must plan for in a public event and Hawkesbury City Council is helpfully advising and mentoring as we plan and implement.

Good AZ Gold Coaches will provide “hop on – hop off” service for the three weeks duration. Many thanks to owner, Ryan Thompson. You can see now with all our “name-dropping”, that the Hawkesbury community has rallied together to support this ambitious event.

 

 

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Hawkesbury Residents in early 20th Century

September 11th, 2011

We will return to our research of early colonial Australia at a later post. But for today, we look at our Hawkesbury history of the early 1900(s).

A recent newsletter from the Hawkesbury Regional Museum arrived and we will take the liberty of passing on to you a bit of history as gathered by the Museum Staff. A new exhibition “The Misses Stewart” is on display — based upon the seamstress skills of  two Hawkesbury sisters, Myra and Ivy Stewart.

Today, we would call Myra and Ivy fashion designers, for in the early 20th century these two earned their living designing and sewing garments of all kinds for department stores like David Jones and Farmers.

The Museum display includes clothing from underwear (the 1900 style) and night clothes to day wear and mourning wear along with accessories.   Kids’ classes based on the exhibition are offered on Friday 30/9 and Friday 7/10. The September class will focus on making a beautiful friendship bracelet. The October class, kids will make a handy marble bag or coin purse — they will personalise it with their initials. Staff and volunteers will assist and guide boys and girls of all ages. Kids and parents or carers are invited to drop in between 11am and 2pm.

Myra and Ivy spent their childhood on the family property at Mountain Lagoon. Their father and grandfather were pioneers in the fruit growing industry up in Bilpin. Imagine growing up with the wonderful fruit of Bilpin at your doorstep.

The girls were assigned household duties to help their mum and perhaps these tasks were the beginnings of their clothes-making careers. Being a capable seamstress would have been highly desirable as stores were rare and travel was by horse and cart. Roads were potholed and often muddy challenges.

When their father died, Myra, Ivy and their mother, Blanche moved to a cottage in Richmond. Now their skill became a necessity in order to earn a living. From the Museum Newsletter: “Working by the light of a kerosene lamp, they knitted, sewed and crocheted everything from ties, belts and gentlemen’s waistcoats to baby clothes and delicate lace trimmings. Once a month they travelled to ‘town’ (Sydney) to deliver their wares.”

While neither sister married, they had a long career and their beautiful handmade articles remained a Sydney mainstay for many years. Ivy died in 1976 and Myra in 1978.


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Colonial Beginnings

August 31st, 2011

Colonial Culture Clash and Post-Traumatic Syndrome

Within eighteen months of the British arrival in Sydney Bay, writes author Jack Brook, two-thirds of the local Indigenous population, the people who spoke Dharug language, had died from smallpox. Their immune systems could not cope against this foreign disease. Respiratory ailments such as influenza attacked those still remaining, so that by 1795 the Indigenous population was all but annihilated.

What followed was ‘culture shock, harassment, injustice and disillusionment for the remnants of the Dharug’. Loss of their tribal lands eroded the traditional and spiritual
ceremonies and initiations, not to mention food and shelter. As most stories of
the Indigenous people were never recorded, the mental anguish – perhaps similar
to post-traumatic syndrome – suffered by Indigenous communities is lost to
us.

Clearly each group was competing for the same rich soil. For thousands of years, yams
were the staple vegetable of the clans and they held a cultural view and habit
of gathering any available food within their traditional grounds.

Much of the local wild game, possums, bird and kangaroos were scarce as their
habitat had been destroyed by settlers clearing the land for farming. By 1795,
the few remaining yam beds along the riverbanks were on land owned by settlers
– the concept of land grants and ownership was clearly not understood or
perhaps not respected by the Indigenous people. When the Dharug tried to
harvest the yam crops, settlers drove them away.
The conflict was compounded when farmers failed to pay Aboriginals who had helped
them gather their corn and maize crops. Driven by hunger and desperation,
Aboriginals plundered farmers’ maize (corn) crops. The farmers retaliated,
shooting several men they caught in the cornfields. Atrocities had escalated in
1794 when settlers captured, viciously tortured and killed a young Aboriginal
boy. In retaliation, the local clan killed a settler and a convict. Stories and
rumours inflamed an already agitated population and a detachment of fifty New
South Wales Corps were sent out to kill natives of the band which lived on the
Hawkesbury River near Richmond.

An order issued by Governor Hunter 1799 gave tacit permission to the settlers to rely upon one another to defend themselves and their land against Aboriginals. Settlers should not expect troopassistance. All-out warfare then ensued. Deaths were frequent and vicious and
Hunter later acknowledged the military’s role in fanning the hostility.

By 1805 the corn or maize crops yielded little – flooding had destroyed much of them. The Sydney Gazette added fuel to the fears by predicting that ‘natives would be troublesome: until the entire crop had been wholly gathered’ (Murray & White, p.122). Though the Governor warned settlers that the Aboriginals living between Prospect and Parramatta were under his protection, Andrew Thompson led a raid against the group living on the Hawkesbury River from Wilberforce and Wiseman’s Ferry. A year later, Hunter and Aboriginal leaders came to an
agreement, although hardly satisfactory for the clans, and his truce lasted for
eight years with very few skirmishes.

NEXT WEEK, WE’LL FINISH OUR STORY AS IT MOVES INTO THE GOVERNOR MACQUARIE PERIOD. MACQUARIE HAD UNTIL 1815 HELD A  BENEVOLENT AND FRIENDLY , THOUGH PATRIACHAL ATTITUDE TOWARD THE INDIGENOUS.

 

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The Way We Lived. . . then. . .

August 11th, 2011

We began our last post with the early arrival of the English colony on this continent. In a future post, we begin with the clash between the arriving English (1788) and the Aboriginal groups who, according to research had lived on this continent for approximate 40,000 years. But tonight we need to ‘clear the air’ as they say. . .

We are a person who studies artefacts (an iPhone) and images (a coca cola advertisement) and people (technology geeks) – where they intersect (sometimes collide) and why we give meaning to them. We are not an historian. Yet, people of our ilk do have a “classification,” a rather strange name — semioticians. Try that one on for size.

Semi-o-ticians try to make sense of the everyday things that our world gives meaning to. Remember the iPhone. It isn’t just a tool that makes life easier for us! It is a jazzy phone that makes us feel cool and connected!

So history is not our educational background. We try to be accurate in our facts, but really — it is confession time — we are searching for the meaning behind those facts. More confession: we are easily bored by dates.

Searching for meaning is an addiction and we love the “ah ha” moment when the picture we’ve studied changes ever so slightly. We then see the picture and the world differently. Why constantly look for context — or relevant circumstances? To see things differently.

Too often when trying to understand and solve an issue, humans overlook the context in which the issue is wrapped.  We’re an odd sort!

We want life to be concrete, without blurry lines or problems.  We want easy answers. But life is not like that — life is full of ambiguities. Well, perhaps life is like that for a few — the few who cannot allow the grey issues to creep into the picture. After all, ambiguity is enough to cause a panic attack in so many!

In our next post, we will discover the arrival of the First Fleet changed the lives forever for convict and Aboriginal. What appears to be the same set of facts, the meaning (context) for each group was so misunderstood. The results were sadly, dramatically and disastrously different for each group.

Stay tuned!

 

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The Way We Lived. . . then

August 8th, 2011

We’ve been researching, writing and getting all parts & pieces ready for the next edition of the Historic Windsor Guide. We made the Rural Press deadline thanks to Kevin Robinson of RobinsonType in Windsor and today we have copies of the 2011/12 edition. We’ve a new look thanks to Jo Stinson of Love It!Design and copies will be available later this week.

So, we’d like to share some of the facts we discovered in looking back at our history of more than 200 years. Over the next few weeks, we’ll post short segments and we’d love to have comments or other historical facts you would care to share.

We’ll begin with the background today and later go onto some longer segments periodically. Okay, fact #1:

Survival was on everyone’s mind in 1788 in the new penal colony — convicts called the colony at Sydney Cove, ‘Botany Bay’ and punishment of those convicts was the primary purpose for the first few governors.

For everyone, convict or official, food and medicine was constantly on their minds. There just was not enough food.

Back in England the attitude toward ‘transportation’ was quite mixed — was it a wide-open gaol or was the experiment just a another name for slavery?

Within a few months of the First Fleet arrival, disease had all but annihalated the indigenous population around Sydney Cove. We won’t go into the frightening description, but the spread of smallpox, followed by influenza(s) was a horror the indigenous had never experienced. The descriptions read much like the horrors of the London plague of 1665.

The loss of ancestral tribal lands to white settlers compounded the psychological wounds they were suffering from the loss of family and friends and of land which included tribal grave sites.

Exact records are not available, but estimates place the indigenous population across the continent at close to a quarter of a million people at the time of the First Fleet. Within 18 months that number would fall dramatically. Those who survived suffered culture shock – probably what we now describe as post traumatic syndrome.

Later this week, we will describe the violent culture clashes of 1810, many in the Hawkesbury region.

 

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New Windsor Restaurant: “Upmarket” Dining!

July 4th, 2011

Throughout the month of June, we constantly heard a street buzz about a new restaurant on the Windsor scene. So, on Thursday (30June) we met with a friend at Restaurant 22 at 22 Fitzgerald Street, just off The Mall. We’re delighted to report the “buzz” is correct.

While the setting is not as sophisticated as some, the ambience is warm and welcoming. These new owners have a vision  and we are confident they will gain a loyal clientele and be very successful.  The menu reigns (as it should); the setting can follow.

The menu definitely is sophisticated. Fortunately, we faced  a modest number of menu choices — not overwhelmed by endless lists of tired offerings which seems to be a pattern of many restaurants. My dining companion ordered the Seafood Sampler and we choose the Mushroom Tart from the entree listings. (We were saving room for desserts!) While we waited for our choices, olives in a light oil and a dense Tuscan bread — a perfect match — were served to help us stave off hunger.

Our companion gave an A+ rating to the Seafood Sampler and its artistic presentation; the Tart, a delicate crust filled with savoury diced mushrooms, was beautifully presented with a stem of summer zucchini (the flower filled with a smooth light cheese). This was definitely Sydney dining. While dessert choices included several chocolate delicacies, we both chose the Citrus Sampler. What a wonderful combination of consistencies — light and dense –  of lemon delicacies. Even for you chocolate lovers, this is a sampler to try!

The young chef, Jarryd Faint is bold and he changes the menu with frequency — a sign of an upmarket restaurant.  With this knowledge in hand, we will return again — and again.

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Is it the cold weather?

July 3rd, 2011

This week we made our rounds in Windsor and the Hawkesbury environs and while our fingers and toes were chilly, our heart was warmed as we met up with our friends. Chris Clark-Goodison, owner/manager of NSW Ski Resort in Wisemans Ferry has had a tough year with health issues, yet she maintains her cheery personality and positive outlook. We don’t think of Chris as stoic, but rather, housing a sunny disposition even in the worst of times.

The same afternoon, we stopped by Pet Lovers’ Gifts — a recent shop in the Old Post Office Arcade in Windsor. Owner Debbie Woolcott, hardworking and optimistic, has a family of helpers. Daughter and mother help Debbie in the shop. Items are charming and priced for us who are budget-minded — we love the computer-mouse-pads. Ah, we digress from our story.

As we were browsing in the shop, we overheard Debbie’s mom on the phone with Debbie. Perhaps as we came from stoic and non-affectionate German-English stock, we were moved to hear mom’s encouragement and endearments to her daughter, Debbie. Clearly,  we were evesdropping  upon the natural dialogue of a close-knit and openly affectionate mother and daughter. Beautiful. . .

When the nights are long and the wind blows fiercely, these are the moments we like to remember.  Now for anyone who thinks we are being a little syrup-y in this post, we’ll leave you with a Miss Piggy (of Muppets’ fame) quote:  ”Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and it may be necessary from  time to time to give a stupid or misinformed beholder a black eye.”

Next post, we’ll tell you about a terrific new foodie spot in Windsor!

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Historic Windsor’s Changing Scene

June 21st, 2011

In the past week, Windsor has been stunningly beautiful — sunny, warm, trees almost bare and crunchy leaves underfoot. On Friday, visitors paraded up and down The Mall (George Street) and many cafes were quite crowded. Today, Tuesday before the sudden afternoon drop in temperature, Windsor was temperate and sunny. Many shopkeepers were out front enjoying the warmth and chatting while waiting for customers. Tuesday is usually the quiet day on The Mall — a good day to drop in and browse.

Today, we met up with friends for a late breakfast at The Bridge Cafe — indulged in a sizable croissant filled with ham and a beautiful french cheese. Owners Mel & Mel tell us that the “Bridge Hamburger” is gaining in popularity with their clientele. A bevy of bikers, (who often hang out at The Bridge on weekends) filled the front patio in their uniforms of black Lycra, colourful shirts and helmets — doesn’t anyone go to work on Tuesdays?

Several new businesses have sprung up on The Mall or on an adjacent street in recent months. At 22 Fitzgerald Street, not too far from the town clock, a young chef, new to the Windsor scene opened to rave reviews from locals who attended his sampling night. Restaurant 22 offers a fantastic evening menu –  Sydney-style dining.  Specials at lunch change almost daily and are modestly priced. Group parties are booked — both evening and lunch – this week, so make sure you call ahead  4577 5422, particularly when planning an evening event. We’ll sneak in for lunch next week.

Another addition to the Windsor foodie scene is Mishy’s High Tea.  What better place to experience a  lovely English tradition than in Historic Windsor? Hidden away in Lachlan Square, (Shop 11) not too far from the paddle wheel, we discovered the beautifully decorated tea-room on a Friday afternoon filled and feeling like a big party — laughter and conversations were full-on.  Yet, another wonderful opportunity to put on the kilos! (Ask about the Petite High Tea for kids.)

If it seems as though we are frequently talking about food, well, you’re right. We live to eat! What better motivation?

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The Windsor Scene — June 11

June 11th, 2011

A light rain off and on today did not keep visitors from Windsor. A steady stream of visitors up and down The Mall created a party atmosphere — the pubs were crowded, the Old English Lolly Shop in the Post Office Arcade was packed – the cooler weather didn’t curb a large group’s appetite for Yvonne’s great ice creams. Cones loaded with large scoops of chocolate caught our eye — we settled for a small!

Several new businesses have opened on The Mall in May — Mishy’s High Tea & Giftware at Shop 11, Lachlan Court just off the Mall. A group of 10 were celebrating and consuming lovely trays of petite sandwiches and scones. Looks like we have yet another reason to worry about packing on the kilos.

Karinaglen Arts & Crafts has a new home on the Mall occupying the digs of the former Country Essence. The shop is light, freshly painted and often crowded with Wendy’s many art students. Stop by if you are in the mood for art supplies, beads, paper toles or scrapbooking supplies. If you want lessons — youth or adult — in painting, card making, jewellery, Wendy offers all.  

And, on The Mall,  a new take-away cafe opened today (June 11), “Connection Cafe“.  Beautiful pastries in the window caught our attention, so we stepped into a beautifully lit shop which will cater for all takeaway needs: sandwiches, soups, salads, and of course, those beautiful cakes and pastries! Mercy, more calories, more kilos!

Later the Sebel Resort was on our route and we wanted to see the newly remodelled lobby  — Sebel has an ongoing upgrading project and the “look” is stunning. This is the second stage, following the remodel of the ballrooms in 2010. Sophisticated and very upmarket –  the Resort will certainly impress your wedding guests! Today, even in chilly June, two weddings were on the books, so we peeked in the Gov Phillip Ballroom while staff was setting up. A bride and groom (and perhaps parents also) will be very happy!

For our last stop, we visited the Rum Corps Golf Course — Alison and her staff are the best. Even in a drizzle, golfers did not give up and laughter filled the pro shop as usual – wet hats, a bit of wet grass on the shoes, but no one seemed to mind and many played right on through the drizzle. One can’t find a happier staff than those at Rum Corps — Alison has a terrific and unstoppable sense of humour and it filters through her crew and golfers alike. We always like to stop by and often can’t drag ourselves away from the fun!  BTW, Monday through Friday, all day golf is $10. . . only $10. Sounds like a reason to skip work on a Monday soon?

We noticed recently that visitors are being quite careful with how they spend their $$$. So, in the spirit of consumer prudence, we will post on this blog some of the great, inexpensive finds on The Mall of Windsor. We know the SMH lists some great shopping finds around Sydney, but we, in the Greater Western Sydney surrounds can go toe-to-toe with their finds. Stay tuned!

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The Lost News Story

June 6th, 2011

Today, June 6th, I would like to share a story of human kindness that was overlooked, or perhaps ignored by local press. Not a mention nor a photo of some young women whose lives were touched by the generosity of a few mature women on a small island on the coast of North Carolina (USA).

You may ask why would readers of the Historic Windsor blog be interested in a far away island on another continent? It is not the location, it is the love and caring of a few who move our hearts and our emotions.

I have not before revealed that I am an American living and writing about the beauty of  the Sydney area (The Hawkesbury & the Blue Mountains) as this did not seem pertinent. However, I returned to the States for my son’s wedding in mid-May and on this trip, I travelled to the North Carolina island — Roanoke Island — where I am a 9th generation islander. I grew up and spent my public school years in the island’s largest town, Manteo. My grandfather was the local judge for 35 years. You may notice that these are Native American names, Roanoke and Manteo. This island was the birthplace of the first English child born on the American continent – Virginia Dare whose parents were among the early settlers from Elizabeth’s England in 1587.

Okay, enough history and on to my story. While on the island in May, I dropped into a local hair salon and as islanders (and Southerners) are quite friendly, the owner told me of a recent event and how she and the women who work in her shop participated. The high school Senior Prom. Many Senior girls were not attending — the economic downturn has all but killed the construction business and this area is perhaps the most visited summer destination in the whole of the East Coast. Construction of some 30,000 cottages over a 25 year period has been the mainstay. With the housing market fall in early 2000, most families in this area have been affected. Senior girls (Year 12) were not going to attend — the strain on the family budget was too much. A tradition was falling victim to economic times.

Sissy Rule, owner of the salon was not about to sit by idly. In 2010 and again in 2011, she jumped into action. An open invitation went to the Principal of the high school — any girl who wanted her hair styled and makeup applied could make an appointment on the day of the prom — FREE of charge, just sign up and show up on time. The salon would be closed to all others for the day.

Sissy purchased make-up, food and flowers in prep for the Prom day. She rose early, drove 60 miles to the flower market — the girls would have wrist corsages for themselves and boutiniers for their dates — all made by the hair dressers in the salon. The night before the big day, the women prepared a “southern” continental breakfast (ham biscuits, fruit, yogurt) for the Seniors who had signed up for the morning session. “Big” 3-ft sub sandwiches and fruit lunches for the afternoon session.

A local charity — Hot Line — brought shoes, dresses and jewelry from its Thrift Stores located in Manteo and on the beaches of Nags Head, Kitty Hawk and Duck. These were quality items so the girls would feel good about how they looked.   From 8am to Noon, half of the 50+ girls showed up for their assigned appointments and breakfast. From Noon to 6pm the final half were served lunch and “made” gorgeous. Dresses and shoes were chosen, flowers distributed to each and all headed for the Prom that evening.

Sissy told me smiles and giggling literally filled her shop all day – along with loud music and loud singing from the Seniors. So, for two years now, Sissy Rule has helped keep the tradition of Senior Prom alive. So this blog post is dedicated to Sissy who cares for her community in good times and bad!

P.S. There are two local newspapers (The Coastland Times, The Sentinel) and one regional newspaper (The Virginian Pilot) and none reported on Sissy and her beauticians’ generosity and loving contributions. Perhaps the Police Blotter and fishing results are the important stories in this locale, but the ”story” of girls who could not afford to attend the big prom night is the story that Sissy Rule and her beauticians averted.

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