Those Places Thursday - Burra Model School, South Australia



Burra State School



http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page4741004

Who would think such an impressive building would have been build in a small mining community in the colonial outpost of South Australia.

This school was completed in 1877 which,  coincidentally was the year that the Burra Copper Mine was closed down.  The land on which the school was build was donated by the South Australian Mining Association.  When the School opened in 1878,  300 students were enrolled.  Among these students were my grandfather Roy Herbert (1909-1959) along with his brothers and sisters (Alice, William, Annie, Essel , Jack and Lillian). 

 It was his half-sister Annie Whitehorn (nee Herbert) who gave me the attached picture of the School about twenty five years ago.  She remembered her school days with fondness and recalled that this building was something that the whole Burra community took great pride in. She did tell me that my grandfather was not so fond of school life and  liked to skip school.  She would be sent out to find him and inevitably he would be found swimming in the local swimming spot.

The school was built to accommodate 800-1000 students and it wasn’t until 1913 when the High School was opened in the western wing that its class rooms were filled.  It certainly was an impressive building for a small colonial town in the late 1870’s. 

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/printArticlePdf/36145695/3?print=n

Burra, was a mining town in South Australia about 160 km north of Adelaide. The town was founded in 1845 and was one of the world’s largest copper mines.  The income from this mine was one of the major contributors in the economic survival of the young colony of South Australia. 

The mine was closed in 1877 and the town continued to thrive as growing rural community and served as a transport centre for the north east of South Australia and through to Western New South Wales and Queensland.  Today, Burra is still an important rural centre for farming wheat and breeding sheep.

Due to its rich and colourful history it has become a popular destination for tourists who are visiting South Australia.

Wisdom Wednesday - My discovery for this week - Pinterest

Well I am not sure if this fits under Wisdom Wednesday, but I do think it has the potential to fit in this category.  Lately, I had noticed a lot of references to Pinterest and this sparked my interest, however, as usual time limitations had meant I hadn't checked it out.  However, yesterday I was reading through the blog list on Geabloggers and saw a blog by Jana, "Tuesday's Tip - Three Awesome Websites for Genealogy ... Found on Pinterest!   The light bulb started flashing!!! Time to check this out!.

Hitting Google search I googled (so to speak) and found what a was looking for, Amazing!! and sooo pretty :)  I quickly set up an account and started to play.  Oh I could really get hooked on this!!

What is Pinterest?  Basically it is a tool that anyone can use to collect and share things that you find on the web.  You pin these items to your sit or board and there is the option to create a board for any particular topic that you are interested in, for example you can use it to plan a party or wedding, or collecting recipes or travel information. 

The most exciting thing is that you can browse pinboards created by others, making it a fun way to discover new things and get inspiration from others who share similar interest.  Also I must point out, that if you are working on a project that you do not want to share you can make your "board" private or just share with a selection of friends.  (great for team work).

I can see great potential for family tree and genealogy research.  You could have separate boards for different branches or surnames in your family tree, boards to collect information about the area they lived in, maps, photos etc.  I am sure there are many researchers who are already using this resource, but I must admit I am quite excited about setting up some "boards" to support my research and share it with others.

I believe the Pinterest Mission says it all

Our goal is to connect everyone in the world through the 'things' they find interesting. We think that a favorite book, toy, or recipe can reveal a common link between two people. With millions of new pins added every week, Pinterest is connecting people all over the world based on shared tastes and interests.

Sympathy Saturday - Ronald Alfred Smith

Ronald Alfred Smith

Today I would like to share a sad story from our family tree.  Ronald Alfred Smith was my husbands uncle and he was born 25 November 1921, the first son of Alfred Smith and Jessie Taylor.  His father was a returned soldier who had fought at Gallipoli and the family lived in a modest home in the Marrickville and Tempe areas of Sydney. 

Sadly at the young age of 13 Ronnie as he was called met with a devastating accident.  He was in his first year of high school attending Tempe Junior Technical School and was playing football in his lunch break when he was hit in the head by a stone thrown from somewhere in the playground.  He finished the afternoon at school and when he returned home that afternoon fell ill, and was rushed to Marrickville Hospital.

 The doctors realising that he was suffering from a depressed fracture of the scull raced him to the Children's Hospital for surgery, but unfortunately he did not survive.

His family were devastated and his mother Jessie did not get over his sudden death.  He was always in her thoughts and she spoke of him all the time.  I remember chatting to her in her later years and she always went back to the story of the son she had lost.

His story has lived on through three generations of the family and has been used to reinforce the dangers of throwing stones to each generation of children. 

Follow Friday - An accumulation of my weekly research - 6

Friday is here again! What a week.  I really got a start yesterday when someone informed me that it is only 6 weeks to Christmas.  This week I would like to share some sites that are a little off the track from the normal family tree research but fit in with my interest in knowing more about the times and customs that our ancestors lived in. 

This research was triggered by an old recipe book, Cassell's New Universal Cookery Book  that was given to me by an  Aunt when I was a teenager.  I shared a short story on this book in one of my earlier blogs "Family Recipe Friday - Recipes from the Past".   The book contains a fascinating collection of old recipies and details about the running of a home at the end of the 19th Century and sparked my interest to find out what other online resources there are about the food, recipies and kitchen customs of our ancestors.  Here is a brief summary of some of the sites I have found.  If you know of others please share them as I would like to delve into this more.

Blogs

Old Recipe Blog: http://oldrecipeblog.com/

The Old Foodie: http://www.theoldfoodie.com/

18thC Cuisine: http://18thccuisine.blogspot.com.au/

The History Chef: http://lincolnslunch.blogspot.com.au/

The Shiksa Blog: Exploring the Fascinating History of Food : http://theshiksa.com/

My Grandmas' Recipies: http://mygrandmasrecipes.wordpress.com/

Cookit, Victorian Food Facts and History: http://cookit.e2bn.org/historycookbook/23-116-victorians-Food-facts.html

Food History Jottings:  http://foodhistorjottings.blogspot.com.au/

Getting Started in Food History: http://www.rachellaudan.com/culinary-history/getting-started-in-food-history

Food Tracks: http://foodtracks.net/tag/food-history-2/

Other Sites of Interest

The Food Time Line: http://www.foodtimeline.org/

Online Culinary History Network: http://culinaryhistory.org/

English Cuisine History and information about English Cooking, Food and Recipies:  http://www.recipes4us.co.uk/Cooking%20by%20Country/England%20Recipes%20Culinary%20History%20and%20Information.htm

FoodWise: Australian Food History: http://foodwise.com.au/did-you-know/australian-food-history.aspx

Baking History: the Joy of baking:  http://www.joyofbaking.com/printpages/Historyprint.html

German Cooking through the Hands of my Ancestors: http://salinehistory.org/index.php?section=history&content=german_cooking

 The Dictionery of Victorian London: http://www.victorianlondon.org/lee/website.htm