December 8th 2018 - Annual Christmas Luncheon The December meeting was well attended with a luncheon
enjoyed by all in attendance.
Many members are to be thanked for their contribution to
the lunch, especially Robyn Coates for co-ordinating the
meal.
Several guests from the local church congregation were
welcomed.
A range of entertainment was provided with the music for
the carols being provided by Lauris Allen.
Following the Cornish language lessons we have been given,
members ordered their beverages in Cornish.
A quiz session was organised.
I was most impressed with Rod Phillips for knowing that
Point Nepean on Port Phillip Bay was named after
Cornishman: Sir Even Nepean (an ancestor of Hugh Grant,
the British actor).
Selected images reminding us of
the great food and wonderful company shared
during the Christmas Luncheon
Right - Jean Staunton
receiving a Certificate of Appreciation from
President Neil
November 17th 2018 This play 'An Rosen Wynn' is written in Cornish as
three Acts. It's partly a drama, sometimes humorous
and is also a bit of a love story.
It begins with the leaving of Cornwall in the 1850s for
the colonies in Australia.
Life for many folk in Britain during this time was
difficult, as so many poor people, especially those in
Cornwall, faced deprivation caused by economic
circumstances not of their making.
It had certainly been a tough and grim time for many
Cornish families.
The play is also about the story most of us identify with,
a tale of the legendary 'Cousin Jacks and Jennys'.
These are our ancestors who left their homeland for a new
and better life that the rush for gold in Australia
offered.
The play is actually based on the life of one of these
'Cousin Jacks', my great, great grandfather, Thomas Henry
Peak (b. 1825 in Madron).
The Cast take their bow
October 20th 2018 Neil Thomas -
Traveling in Cornwall Neil attended three festivals: The Padstow Obby-Oss,
Trevithick Day at Camborne and the Helston Flora Day.
Neil showed slides of these three events - all were
attended by large crowds as could be seen in the slides.
His adventures at Trevithick Day included visiting the
???Cornish Embassy??? where he sat a test to become a
???Cornish Citizen???.
Fortunately he passed.
To prove this, he displayed his Cornish Passport photo.
Also shown was the Old Bodmin Gaol which is now being
developed by a Russian entrepreneur.
The updated prison will have a convention centre, a
restaurant and accommodation.
Several National Trust properties were visited and slides
of two were displayed - Lanhydrock and Trerice.
Both have lovely gardens surrounding them. Lanhydrock is
an opulent Victorian mansion while Trerice is from the
Elizabethan era.
Neil showed slides of an ancestral church of his Michell
ancestors - St Euny at Redruth.
Following his attendance at a service he met the church
historian. The historian mentioned how many Cornish
emigrants came back home to Cornwall.
Neil said that was not to his knowledge, but of course we
CAV members don???t meet those who returned to Cornwall.
Taking up Neil???s challenge the man said he would show
him a grave of someone who returned.
He led Neil to a church yard grave.
Much to Neil???s surprise the grave was of a woman,
Catherine Tonkin, whose husband, was the mayor of his home
town of Geelong in the ???Colony of Victoria???.
The husband???s name was William Barrow who was mayor in
the late 1850s
September 15th 2018 - Ken Peake With the assistance of Janet Woolhouse and Marjorie
Barrett, two stalwarts of the Cornish Language Group, Ken
Peak encouraged everyone to greet each other in
Cornish.
Fatla genes? How are you?
Yn poynt da, meur ras - ha ty? Well thanks, and you?
Da lowr. Duw genes. Fairly well. Goodbye.
After a few attempts, most people had mastered these few
words and the rest of the sheet prepared by Ken and
Stephen Morey.
In his talk as guest speaker, centred on DNA, Ken gave a
brief overview of the People of the British Isles Project
(POBI) initiated in 2004 by Sir Walter Bodmer.
This study was an attempt to create the first
genetic map of a country.
In this investigation, each of the 2039
volunteers, who undertook a blood test, was
required to have four grandparents who were born
within 80 kilometres of each other. The study was
looking at the makeup of the British population
circa 1885.
The results of this showed that the most separate
clusters were the Orkneys; the Welsh - North
Wales from South Wales; the Scots/Northern
English/Northern Irish from the Southern English
and next the Cornish.
Ken showed this on a map of UK and the
concentrations were very clear.
Ken then shared with us information about his and
his mother's DNA, also using the charts that had
been provided following their DNA tests,
correlating their charts with those of the POBI
project.
He was surprised at some of the results as far as
locations were concerned including connections to
the Basques (Spain).
The adventures of William John Attwood who
travelled from Frome (Somerset) to Texas to Tylden
(NW of Woodend) were interesting.
During his time in Texas William Attwood was
granted several hundred acres of land by the
American government for his contribution to the
civil war.
It was a fascinating address and I am sure that
many were inspired to go home and order a DNA kit
to check their own families.
August 18th 2018 Derek Trewarne - "From Copper to
Coal". Derek spoke of his great grandfather's connection with
the Wonthaggi State Coal Mine.
In 1878 at the age of 24 years, Samuel Vine, a copper
miner, left Camborne with his new wife Sarah Cock to seek
employment in Australia.
He found work at the 'Lord Nelson' gold mine in the
Central Victorian town of St. Arnaud where Sarah gave
birth to two sons, William Henry and Thomas John.
Sadly, Sarah died in 1884, six years after their arrival
in Victoria, her two young sons having predeceased her.
Three years later in 1887, Samuel Vine now widowed,
married Ann Grigg.
The Grigg family, also Cornish, had immigrated from St.
Columb Minor in 1862.
Samuel and Anne Vine continued to live in St. Arnaud where
their five children were born, two sons and three
daughters, one of whom, Ella, was Derek's maternal
grandmother.
Further acres were purchased, and
research led Francis to planting grape vines, a
venture followed by others.
The varieties he planted then are the best wine
producing varieties in the area. The
property also comprised grazing land for a
Shropshire sheep stud purchased by Francis. Francis Treloar died in 1890 from
the effects of an accident.
He and his wife Sarah had nine children; one
descendant, a Peter Treloar, is a wine maker in
the Clare Valley.
By the early 1900s the Lord Nelson
Mine was nearly worked out and the miners were
encouraged to move to the newly opened Powlett
River Black Coal Fields in Gippsland (later to
become the Wonthaggi State Coal Mine).
In the early part of the 20th Century, Victoria
was heavily dependent on black coal as the
primary source of energy.
Black coal powered the steam boilers of
Victoria's manufacturing and agricultural
processing works; was transformed into gas to
light the streets, houses and domestic stoves of
Melbourne; and most importantly fuelled
Victoria's steam locomotives on the railway
system.
Although Victoria had no shortage of brown coal,
it had relatively little in the way of black
coal (a far more efficient source of energy than
brown coal) and depended almost entirely on the
rich black coal fields of NSW.
As a consequence, a prolonged miners' strike in
NSW in November 1908 proved disastrous for
Victoria.
This led to the rapid opening of the Powlett
River Black Coal Fields in 1909 and the
establishment of a well planned 'Tent City' to
accommodate a work force of some 2,500 people.
A short time later, the Nyora ' Woolamai branch
line was extended 23kms to the Powlett River
Black Coal Fields so that coal could be
transported by rail direct to Melbourne.
Above images from the internet
By the end of 1910 a formal township had
been laid out with the name Wonthaggi (an indigenous
word meaning to drag or fetch) and the Coal Fields
became officially known as the 'Wonthaggi State Coal
Mine' placed under the direct control of the Railways
Commission. The mine continued to operate for 59 years,
closing in 1968 having produced 17 million tonnes of
coal over its lifetime. To complete the family connection, Derek explained
that with the extension of the Railway branch line, his
grandfather William Fouracre, a young railwayman, had been
sent to Powlett River, initially residing in 'Tent City'.
He later met and married Ella Vine, one of Samuel &
Ann Vine's daughters.
William went on to qualify as a steam engine driver and
drove 'Heavy Harry' the famous 'H' class locomotive number
H220 on the North East line to Albury. Built in the
Newport Workshops, it was the largest locomotive ever
built in Australia and is now a major exhibit at the
Williamstown Railway museum.
To illustrate the connection between black coal and steam
locomotives, Derek showed us a small model of a steam
locomotive carved from black
coal.
July 21st 2018 "AGM", Reports, presentation by
Jill Beard and Pastie Lunch
THE PRESIDENT'S REPORT 2017-2018
Despite some fears for our
future, this has been a remarkably busy,
fruitful and enjoyable year for the Cornish
Association.
At the 2017 AGM, Derek Trewarne
passed the chair to me, making the second
'repeat-President'.
Though I was aware that it would
be difficult, it seemed to me that our future
was a major issue confronting us, though
nobody wanted to confront it.
I am sorry if my insistence that
we face hard questions has caused distress '
but at this AGM we are better informed, and
better able to see what we should do to
continue the lively, sociable, informative
Association we love, and to keep St Piran's
flag waving.
Financial
situation ' and Future
Robert then put forward his
detailed analysis of the issues and options
that he believes needs to be considered.
A rich year indeed.
But as our Treasurer Rod Phillips
updated us on our financial situation, a
regular deficit began to appear. Rod's careful
judgement in May was 'most expenses were
dictated by the current structure of the
Association and its rent commitments.
Robert acknowledged the wonderful
work of the committee members and other
volunteers before indicating he believed he
should move on after his many years of
service.
Jill Beard addressed the meeting about the
life of Francis Treloar, a Cornish-born
pioneer of the South Australian wine industry.
Francis was born in April 1823 in
Penryn.
His mother died when the lad was
five years old and it seemed he was living
apart from his family from eight years of
age.
His employment was varied '
farm servant, miller, blacksmith,
Gentleman's servant, cabin boy and
groom.
As a young man he yearned to travel; in
August 1842 he sailed for Tasmania with
emigrants bound for Hobart.
He arrived in December 1842 and worked
as a groom and coachman for 18 months,
later heading to Sydney. Times however were hard,
and Francis sailed for the Cape of Good
Hope;
Francis Treloar
the resourceful Francis
joined the local forces (militia) dealing
with Kaffir problems before gaining his
discharge and sailing for England in 1847. News of Copper fields at Burra Burra,
SA were being excitedly talked about.
Well experienced in various trades, Francis
decided to sail for South Australia and
settle there.
A passenger on the 'Sibella' was a Mr G. S.
Walters, tasked by the Patient Copper Co. to
assess the viability of the Burra copper
mines.
In Port Adelaide, Mr Walters employed
Francis and the former founded smelting
operations in Burra; the mineral was later
shipped to the UK. Francis married
Sarah Biggs in Adelaide in 1848.
Gold was discovered in Victoria in 1851 and
Francis was one of many able-bodied men who
travelled to the diggings.
A hard working and frugal man, Francis amassed
enough gold to enable the purchase of land at
Watervale in the Clare Valley where he, his
wife and two children settled.
Francis successfully grew wheat, reaped the
crop with a sickle and then carted the grain
50 miles to Hawker.
Though un-educated, Francis wished his
children to be educated and was pivotal in
inducing a teacher to the area to open a
school, later known as the Stanley Grammar
School.
Further acres were
purchased, and research led Francis to
planting grape vines, a venture
followed by others.
The varieties he planted then are the
best wine producing varieties in the
area. The property also
comprised grazing land for a
Shropshire sheep stud purchased by
Francis. Francis Treloar died in
1890 from the effects of an
accident.
He and his wife Sarah had nine
children; one descendant, a Peter
Treloar, is a wine maker in the Clare
Valley.
Sarah Treloar
Both Francis and Sarah kept
diaries which today are in the archives of the
SA State Library.
Sarah was a Bible Christian, very religious,
and her diary reflected this.
Jill summed up Francis' life with these words
'
'Gold provided the capital to purchase land at
Watervale while copper gave him the income to
develop it'.
It helped that Francis Treloar was hard
working, resourceful and a man of ideas with
the drive to develop them.
A Cornishman worthy of our admiration.
The Food
June 16th 2018 Stephen Hawkes 'Child Labour
in the Cornish Mines'
Stephen Hawkes with
President Robert
Member Stephen Hawke
addressed the June meeting with a chilling
tale of 'Child Labour in the Cornish Mines'.
In 1838,a mine flooded, near Barnsley in
Yorkshire, drowning 26 children, half of whom
were girls. Known as the Huskar pit
disaster,the tragedy led to the establishment
of a Children's Employment Commission in 1841,
to enquirer into the condition of children
employed in mines in Cornwall and Devon.
The Commission began its deliberations n 1842.
The Cornish Mines young male and female
workers (aged 13-18 years) totalled 2720 and
1740 respectively.
Children under 13 years totalled 1639 males
and 696 females.
Boys usually went underground
at age 12 years if their health was good;
females only worked at tasks on the surface.
Surface labourers usually worked 10 hours in
summer and about nine hours in winter. As a
rule those under 18 did not work on Sundays.
Common day schools in seven mining districts
numbered 37. On average, children aged nine to
12 years of age attended school, with very few
remaining until age 12 or 13.
Upon entering the mines, the vast majority of
children effectively ended their education.
The Commission's report suggested several
aspects to be considered, including that no
child under the age of nine years of age be
employed in any mining role and that no boy
under 15 years of age work underground.
Shorter hours of work and improved shelter for
surface workers were also recommended.
(For the most part, the full Report makes for
grim reading.)
Ken Peak, newest member of the Cornish
Language a Group, made another contribution to
the meeting, by having members do their best
in singing, Bro Goth Agan Tasow in Cornish - a
cheat sheet was most helpful.
Since we had ventured into the Cornish
Language at the May meeting, we were probably
a little more confident, with Ken's
encouragement, on this occasion. Well done
Ken.
Val Goldsworthy.
May 20th 2018 - Stephen Morey & Ken Peake -
Agan yeth (our language)
The Celtic Culture and
ancient language of Cornwall have historically set
it apart and have led to a sturdy independence.
At our May meeting, members were fortunate to hear
Dr Stephen Morey, a Cornish Language Bard, address
us on some of the interesting features of our
language, Agan Goth.
Grammatical differences include features such as
the way the Cornish Language puts the negative
first in a sentence, for example, the man didn't
go to the house becomes not went the man to the
house. Also good day in English becomes Dydh da in
Cornish, the adjective following the noun.
Stephen advised the 15th and 16th centuries were
the Golden Age of the Cornish Language. The last
document written n Cornish (1776) is known as
William Bodener's letter.
Dolly Pentreath (1698-1777), a fisherman's wife,
is said to have been the last Cornish person to
speak Cornish exclusively.
A plaque to her memory is found in the Parish
Church of Paul.
Stephen also mentioned the work of Morden (Sea
Wave) ' Robert Morton Nance (1877-1959) ' who was
the joint founder of the Gorsedh Kernow in 1928
with Henry Jenner and the second Grand Bard from
1934 until his death in 1959.
He was the main driving force behind Unified
Cornish, the form of the reviving language that
was dominant from the 1930s until the 1980s.
His books Cornish for All and the Cornish-English
Dictionary were for generations the most important
resources for the revival of our language.
Ken Peak followed Dr Morey's address with an
earnest but amusing attempt to have members sing
in Cornish, Bro Goth Agan Tasow (Old Land of Our
Fathers) with the aid of a cheat sheet.
Ken and Stephen
Our hearts were in it but our
voices were not quite up to the task.
Cornish speakers are not numerous ' 550
citizens are fluent in the language; 2000 have
a reasonable facility while 5000 speak just a
little.
The Cornish language is being revived and a
band called The Rowan Tree is singing about
Cornish Treasures ' i.e. farming, fishing and
mining in the song Tresor.
At the same time customers frequenting The
Star Inn at Porkellis (near Falmouth) have
been requested by the proprietor to ask for
their drinks in Cornish.
Ken will initiate a beginner's language class
' a show of hands indicated a small number of
members were enthusiastic to attend.
April 21st 2018 - Ted Curnow - 'Australia's biggest
little Cornwall - Tasmania' Tasmania - Australia's Biggest Little
Cornwall.
While Ted Curnow acknowledged a number of recognised
'Little Cornwalls' on mainland Australia, at the
Association meeting on 21st April, he went on to present a
case for Tasmania being 'Australia's biggest Little
Cornwall.'
The title can certainly be sustained geographically but
after presenting the case others were invited to reach
their own conclusions with regards to other aspects.
Ted said that unknown by many, the name Cornwall was so
prolific that it had been scattered like confetti around
Tasmania.
Ted and Beryl
It had been used to signify an
administrative division, an electorate, a famous
hotel, an insurance company, a bank, a news
paper, a school, assembly rooms, ploughing
association, cricket and football clubs, a bible
society, a hospital and a coal mine.
There were properties named Camelford, Calstock,
Cotehill and Callington, to name a few.
Tasmania was the gateway to Victoria and other
colonial areas, so instead of being located in one
town or industry, Cornish influence was widespread
in breadth and depth. This was the thing that made
Tasmania itself so different from other 'Little
Cornwalls'
The case was built on three main themes.
Early pioneering and administration; two of the
first four Governors of New South Wales, Phillip
Gidley King and William Bligh, had Cornish roots
and left their imprint on Tasmania.
Other major points included Convict-migrant
emigration and Extensive mining.
The talk was generously illustrated, with Beryl
operating the power-point.
During research Ted had noted 16 amazing
similarities between Cornwall and Tasmania so the
presentation concluded by sharing the remarkable
likeness between 'the garden in the Antipodes' and
the land of our Cornish forefathers.
March 24th 2018 - James Lerk - Bendigo
Historian
James opened his address with these two sentences: "The Cornish were to have a dominant influence the
prosperity and development of Bendigo, particularly in
the nineteenth century." "At one time, I described the Cornish as the bones,
muscles and sinews of Bendigo."
James Lerk
James and Jean Staunton
James told us the story of two families. Richard
John Williams who was born at St Blazey in February 1831
and his wife Mary Thomas and then spoke of the Cornish
Jeffrey family. Edward Jeffrey was a mine engine
driver and active in the California Gully Methodist choir,
and his wife Mary Jane (n??e Toy) had ten children.
Mary Jeffrey died after her last child was born and we
heard of the response of the community and Richard
William's generosity over the succeeding years.
Henrietta, the eldest Jeffery daughter, continued to be
the centre of the family, bringing up her siblings as
model and useful citizens with one descendant becoming the
Mayor of Bendigo in 1969-1970.
Henrietta died in September 1957, aged 89 years.
A tragic story of love and devotion in the harsh
conditions of Bendigo in the late 1800s.
17th - 18th March 2018 - Eaglehawk Dahlia and
Arts Festival - Myths and Legends. As usual, we were headquartered in
the MUIOOF Hall which is centrally located in the main
street. The interior of the hall with its wonderfully
carved lodge furniture, ornate honour boards etc. just
reeks of history and many Cornish names are listed as past
office bearers, so it was a fitting location to have our
displays and assist with family research enquiries.
Saturday was fine and warm and the Bardic Ceremony which
was held in the lovely Canterbury Park Gardens went very
well, thanks to Peter Trevorah's steady hand at the
tiller!
The Mayor of Greater Bendigo, Councillor Margaret
O'Rourke, attended the Ceremony and took the trouble to
learn some Cornish sentences to include in her formal
welcome.
The Bardic Circle was sited in a more prominent position
this year in front of the stage and 'Sound Shell'. The
latter certainly assisted with the acoustics for the
harpist.
The Bards
The Banners
From the parade
June and Viv
As usual the 'Flower Dance' stole the show with the girls'
performance of a particularly high standard. The singing
too had more depth this year as the songs, which form part
of the Ceremony, had been
CAV News No 125 - May 2018 Page 5
pre-recorded by the SA Cornish Choir and were played in
the background when appropriate. March 3rd 2018 - St Piran's Day
Celebration \
Skipton Street Hall. A shared Lunch was served and
the speaker was Neil Thomas, from Geelong.
Keith and John
Arthur and Jim
Rob and John
Marilyn and Ruth
February 17th 2018 - Jim and
Bronwyn Lowden
Jim, Bronwyn and Robert
Members were fortunate to hear two
speakers, Jim Lowden, (Some early libraries and
Mechanics Institutes of Cornwall) and his
daughter, Bron Lowden,( John Passmore Edwards and
his institutes) at our February meeting.
Jim Lowden spoke of the different types of
libraries established in Cornwall.
the first libraries were held by monasteries and
cathedrals.
The Chatham Library, of Humphrey Chatham,in
Manchester, was established in 1653.
Jim went on to tell us about Parochial Libraries,
Grammar School Libraries, Non Conformist Church
Libraries and other libraries.
John Passmore Edwards's legacy changed the lives
of thousands of Cornish people.
