Cairns Historical Society

It was very pleasing to see that over forty people attended the last local history lecture series held at the City Library meeting room.  The three papers which were given by Angelica Geisel, Susan Darby and Julia Volkmar were excellent works.  It is planned to have the next series of lectures held at the refurbished Museum.  The Society was saddened to hear of the recent passing of Len Graham.  Len was a member of the Society's Management Committee for a number of years.  He took great delight in organizing luncheons for members at various locations around town.  The volunteers have finally started the move back into the School of Arts building.  It is hoped to have all the collections moved by the end of April and any new furniture installed by the middle of May.  The plan is for the Society to be operational in the School of Arts building by June.  The Museum fit out is powering ahead and should have all the showcases, joinery and graphics up by the end of April and from then will start moving the collection onto display.  A donation of a large collection of 1960's slides has given the group some great images for the database.  The group has also just received an interesting set of photos of the former Gas Company premises from a fellow historical society down in Victoria which were not relevant to their collection so they sent the photos up here.  Members of the Management Committee met for a very pleasant morning tea at Limberlost Nursery cafe to thank Janet Koch for her wonderful work as Honorary Treasurer for the Society during this difficult time of transition.  Janet's efforts are gratefully acknowledged by the group.  To mark the 75th anniversary of Cairns' involvement in the Second World War, the National Trust and Cairns Historical Society's Heritage Festival activity will take the form of a tag-along tour.  This means that you meet up in your own car, filling it up with relations and friends and we drive to places of significance to the Cairns of 1942.  Members should all meet outside the old Post Office building in Grafton Street at 9am on Sunday 7th May and proceed from there.

Douglas Shire Historical Society

Gill Savage came along to the March meeting at the Port Douglas CWA hall to tell tales of her adventurous trips to Maytown, the heart of the original Palmer River goldfields, which is now deserted.  It was so wonderful to hear Gill share her stories.  What an adventurous lady and so enthralled by history. There was no April meeting becuse on Wednesday 5th April, at the Mossman Library we had a new book launched by Mayor Julia Lue, 'Built to Survive; the history of the Port Douglas Court House'.  Many thanks to the Douglas Shire Council for contributing to the printing costs for Noel Weare's new book which is now available to buy for only $17 at the Port Douglas Court House Museum, Port Douglas and Mossman newsagents and Cairns Books.  The Society is very pleased to be able to introduce three new Life Members - John and Jocelyn White and Annette Anich.  They have all given many hours of valuable time to the Society over the years and all the Society's committee and members would like to send their sincere congratulations.  The next meeting of the Society will be the Annual General Meeting to be held on Monday 8th May at 2pm at the Port Douglas CWA hall.  

Eacham Historical Society

About twenty members of the Society recently enjoyed a field trip into the Middlebrook area to the south of Millaa Millaa.  The bad weather which had caused the earlier postponement of this expedition held off, so on a recent Sunday morning, the group headed off with the first stop being the top of Kjellberg Road.  The expedition also travelled Pheasant and Whiting Roads and a number of historical sites were visited about Hennessy Flats.  As it is the 50th anniversary of the greatest flood to hit the tablelands, it was decided to start a project to collect information and memoirs on the flood of 1967 and its local effects.  The March history paper was written by the late Roy Fischer for the Topaz re-union and tells the story of his time teaching at the Topaz State School during the late 1930's.  A report was made on the large number of Kulara books the Society has sold due to the low water at Tinaroo and it was decided to make a move to get the book undated and professionally printed.  The Society recently loss a valued member when Ed Dennis moved southward and a Certificate of Appreciation was presented to him in recognition of the many years of service he had given the group.  The April meeting was held at the History Centre with a paper by Lil Henson been read which told of her memories of war-time Malanda to mark the 75th anniversary of the town's involvement in the Second World War.  It was decided to take advantage of the Irvinebank open days for the next fieldtrip and the Society has booked Sunday 7th May for the outing.  The next meeting which will be held on 16th May will also be the Annual General Meeting.

Irvinebank Museum

There is now a rare opportunity to visit Irvinebank's heritage listed buildings which are not generally open to the public and to hear the stories of the men and women who lived and worked in this historic town.  The Irvinebank School of Arts & Progress Association will be celebrating this years' Australian Heritage Festival with the Irvinebank Heritage Festival Open Days and Guided Tours.  The guided walking tours of the town's heritage listed buildings are to be held over five Sundays - April 23rd & 30th, May 7th,14th & 21st.  The historic building included in the tours are the Loudoun House, Tramway Station, Loudoun Tin Mill, Old Queensland National Bank and the Irvinebank School of Arts Hall.  Tours start at the Irvinebank School of Arts hall at 9.30am to 12 noon,  The tours are free and a light lunch is available for $5.00 at the School of Arts hall after each tour,  Bookings are essential so phone Loudoun House Museum on 07 4096 4020 or email.    

Cairns & District Family History Society

The Society is now seeking actors for the 2017 production of 'Shadows of the Past'.  'Shadows' is a set of dramatised walks through the McLeod Street Pioneer Cemetery presented by CDFHS.  The Society use community actors who take on a role of one of the pioneers to tell their life story.  The walk is accompanied by members of the Cairns Brass band who provide music to suit the story.  All ages and experience are welcome to participate in this unique experience.  Rehearsals will commence on the 5th June with performance dates throughout August.  The Easter raffle has just been drawn so call in to see if your ticket is a winner.  If you are in Cairns and you are interested in learning how DNA testing can confirm your family history research, help with brick-walls or help to identify biological relatives, call in to the Drop-In DNA Clinic or make a visit to the Drop-In Genealogy Clinic which is held on each second Saturday of the month.