Future Events
Sunday 15th July 2.00 pm
Stephen Skillitzi has invited the Association to visit his glasswork studio (15 Rudford St, Brighton; phone 8298 4156) Stephen & Julie have been active members of our Association for several years, but members may not realise that Stephen has been credited as the “Father of Australian Studio Glass”, and has a very impressive list of international exhibitions, qualifications and awards.
Tuesday 21st August 7.30 pm – Annual General Meeting, Rosefield Uniting Church.
Following the AGM, Matt Curnow will speak about the Cornish Stannary Parliament. Under our Constitution, nominations for office-bearers are to be with the Secretary before the commencement of
the meeting; nominations for Committee members can be taken during the meeting are to be with the Secretary before the commencement of the meeting; nominations for Committee members can be
taken during the meeting.
Please give some thought to nominations, and possibly joining the Committee. Most of the current committee have been “on the job” for many years now, and one or two have previously indicated a preference to ‘retire’, and only continued after nobody else nominated – and don’t want that to happen again! Some ‘new blood’ is always welcomed, and it is healthy for any organisation to have new ideas and perspectives. It is YOUR Association, not just for the current members of the Committee!
Please note new mobile phone number for the Secretary – 042 363 3719
Past Events
Tuesday 15th May
Robynne Sanderson gave an interesting and entertaining talk on “The Cornish in Broken Hill – then and now”, outlining the many and varied contributions the Cornish have made to Broken Hill, and the continuing interest in the Cornish heritage among residents today
Tuesday 17th April “Ginger beers, Engineers, Engines and other things.”
Diana Hancock presented a paper (originally presented by Richard Hancock at a Cornish gathering in Canberra in the early 1990s) reminding us that the Cornish were not all miners! It was good to see larger attendance than usual, including Nola Clisby and Paul & Kathryn Thomas, from Wallaroo.
Trip to Eaglehawk – 17th -18th March 2018
The Cornish Association of Victoria put displays and Family History research in the MUIOOF Hall in Eaglehawk as part of the Festival. A Bardic Ceremony was also held during the afternoon. The Eaglehawk Uniting Church invited members to attend its Church Service on the Sunday morning.
St Piran’s Day – Sunday 4th
All gathered for a picnic in the gardens at the War Veterans’ Home, Ferguson Ave, Myrtle Bank. Comments made about how much our Gallipoli pine is growing!
Sunday 10th December
Annual Christmas concert by our Association Choir. The choir again put on a great show in front of a full house. A great time had by all followed by a lovely tea.
Tuesday 21st November
We were pleased to see so many of our members present, to hear Pauline Payne and Jeff Pickett give some interesting information on the history and development of electric cars (despite some initial problems with computer technology!) Media reports of recent developments in electric vehicles do not always give accurate information.
Tuesday 17th October
Was the Annual General Meeting of Kernewek Lowender, and our normal meeting night in Adelaide was cancelled. Jan Lokan, Margaret Johnson, Matt Curnow and Noel Carthew travelled to Kadina for the meeting, and it was good to see Ros Paterson also there, with her daughter Bethany.
While the KL committee had already made efforts to address areas of concern, there was opportunity for our particular issues to be raised and officially minuted. President Lynn Spurling and her Committee deserved thanks for their work in such difficult circumstances, and we wish them well in planning for 2019.
Dates for 2019 are 13th – 19th May. [News in recent days is that there are already plans for a group of a dozen or so to come from North America in 2019; this will be the third group visit from our American and Canadian cousins.]
Tuesday 19th September
“Reclamation of brown coal mines in Germany”. Keith Lokan gave an informative and entertaining talk of Germany’s long-term planning for reclamation of coal pits into lakes and waterways for recreation and tourism. His information and extensive photographs were from visits to the area of his family’s heritage.
Tuesday 15th August
Annual General Meeting, followed by Matt Curnow, who discussed ‘The Green man’ and his occurrence throughout the ages.
Sunday 23rd July 12.30 pm
In lieu of an evening meeting mid-winter, we gathered together for lunch at the Torrens Arms Hotel (some will remember we met there for St Piran’s Day in 2016). A goodly feed was had by all!!
Tuesday 18th April
TV reporter Sarah Hancock (our Treasurer, Diana Hancock’s granddaughter) proved to be an interesting and entertaining speaker, outlining her background and experiences in television journalism in places as far apart as Whyalla and Manchester. While the audience was disappointingly small, there were more questions and comments after the talk than we have had for quite a while.
Sunday 5th March
The association was invited to join Branch members for a ‘pasty picnic lunch’ in Queen’s Square, Moonta on St Piran’s Day. An enjoyable gathering with lovely local pasties.
Sunday 12th February
An enjoyable picnic lunch at Peter and Carlene Woolcock’s, 10 Belmont St, Lower Mitcham.
Sunday 11th December
Our annual Christmas concert by the association choir took place at Marion Uniting Church and was followed by a seasonal afternoon tea. This was once of the best attended concerts to date and show varied and interesting repertoire of the choir.
Tuesday 15th November
Professor Philip Payton spoke about the Poet Laureate John Betjeman. Born in 1906 in Highgate, London John Betjeman was the son of a cabinet maker. He was educated at Marlborough and at Magdalen College, Oxford, although he did not complete his degree course.
Throughout his childhood, the family went for holidays to Trebetherick near Polzeath in Cornwall, where his father owned a number of properties. These seem to have been happy days and Betjeman’s long love affair with Cornwall is reflected in much of his poetry such as “Seaside Golf”. He also describes his childhood memories of the county in “Summoned by Bells”, his blank verse autobiography.
He died in 1984 aged 77at his home in Trebetherick. He was buried at St Enodoc church near Rock.
This was another enjoyable evening in the company of Philip who’s book John Betjeman and Cornwall : “The Celebrated Cornish Nationalist” detail more of John’s connection to Cornwall.
Tuesday 18th October
Adelaidean Henry Hancock spoke of his experience taking part in the 2016 Sydney-Hobart yacht race.The 628 nautical mile course of the Sydney – Hobart is often described as the most gruelling long ocean race in the world, a challenge to everyone who takes part. Henry also discussed his background in yacht racing and how he got involved at a young age. A very interesting and enjoyable evening.
Tuesday 20th September
Baden Teague spoke about his family background and his new family history book “Baymeryl: a biography of an Australian family, 1825-2005” , including Cornish families such as the Teagues, Chapmans and Dangars.
Tuesday 16th August – AGM
Despite editorial comment in the last newsletter about committee membership, there was still only one nomination for each of the office-bearers, so all re-elected unopposed. In one way, this is a vote of confidence in the committee, but we have now had the same president and secretary for 13 years, and treasurer for 26 years! It was, however, pleasing to have Margaret Curnow accept nomination to join the committee, and indication that one or two others might consider nomination next year.
Certificates of Honorary Life Membership were presented to Margaret Johnson and Diana Hancock, in recognition of their significant contribution to our Association.
Acknowledgement was also made of Colin Gray, who has been our Auditor for several years but has indicated this was his last year.
Matt Curnow shared some interesting information gleaned from newsletters received from other Cornish Associations around Australia and overseas – many have hyperlinks to more detailed information than appears in print.
Sunday 17th July – Cummins House
A Tour of Cummins House, with afternoon tea. A small group had an enjoyable afternoon, with a guided tour of this historic house, followed by afternoon tea and a chance to explore the gardens. Thanks to Margaret Johnson for organising this event.
Tuesday 21st June – Pasty Tea
On Tuesday 21st June we had an enjoyable evening with home-made soup, and pasties, followed by singing of Cornish songs (including some ‘new’ ones!) Thanks to Margaret Johnson and Carlene Woolcock, for the soup.