News of the success of the poliomyelitis (polio) immunisation program would have delighted Dr. Kenneth Starr, a former Medical Superintendent of Newcastle Hospital during the 1930s. Polio was one of the most terrifying diseases to sweep across Australia during the 20th century. Affecting mostly children, in many cases it could cause permanent paralysis and even death. […]
These scrapbooks were compiled by the Babaneek Ladies’ Choir (1950-1982) and are a reminder of their community work between 1950-1973 and 1979-1981. They trace the choir’s long performance history throughout the Lake Macquarie and Hunter Valley regions. The Babaneek Ladies’ Choir was motivated by the charitable intention of bringing joy and comfort through song, this […]
One thousand bricks. Each one is made from pulped newspaper, sourced from a recycling centre in Balmain. The accumulated bricks represent the average amount of newspapers that were delivered to a Sydney household per month at the time. Placed at the centre is a stool used by models in art classes – a historical and […]
This programme was kept by Ron Ekert (1930-2019) as a souvenir of the Maroon and White Ball held by the Caves Beach Surf Life Saving Club in August 1973. Ron was a member of the club. While the Caves Beach club had an intensely competitive focus it also had an important social dimension and offered various get-togethers […]
In the summer heat of 28 December 1929, one of the founding members of the newly established Caves Beach Surf Life Saving Club stepped into his stretchy woollen swimming costume. It was heavy, especially when wet, and slightly irritating against his skin, but he probably felt proud wearing it. That day, hundreds of spectators gathered […]
This pennant was won by Ron Ekert (1930-2019) in the senior musical flag competition during Caves Beach Surf Life Saving Club’s Carnival of 1950-1951. Ron was a well-known Life Member of the Caves Beach Surf Life Saving Club, and in 2007 the Club named its new surf boat in his memory. A talented athlete in […]
For many years, this shark bell was affixed to the shark tower on the top of the hill at the Swansea-Caves Beach Surf Life Saving Club (now known as Caves Beach SLSC). However, the task of reaching the bell to warn swimmers of shark sighting in the vicinity was no easy feat. The tower itself […]
With slightly sandy shoes, a professional photographer returned to his studio one day in 1959 and developed a roll of film. It was these two photographs that stood out among the images he had captured that day, which were suitable for the commission he had received from the Swansea-Caves Beach Surf Lifesaving Club. After printing […]
The ‘Knitting Nannas’ knit in public, and they knit for a purpose – to promote awareness and action around renewable energy. A regular feature around town in Albury, the ‘Nannas’ are prolific producers of climate change scarves which they describe as an alarmingly graphic representation of scientific data. […]
As the house lights dimmed, the boisterous chatter of the capacity crowd that packed the Maitland Town Hall on 6 August 1929, reduced to a hush. It was the opening night of the Maitland Musical and Operatic Society production of Going Up, and young Una Heslop, a member of the chorus, was waiting in the […]
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