News from Cornwall
New
Bards in 2014
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12th December
2015
Christmas Luncheon
This year we
were fortunate to be permitted
to have our Christmas luncheon
in the body of the
church. The bigger
Chapel venue made it a more
relaxing and enjoyable space
and very happy day was had by
all as it brought a very
positive CAV year to a close.
After a
sumptuous meal we
were able to hear
Hartley May read a poem
to his wife celebrating
their 50th wedding
anniversary and
sing together
many of the favourite
Christmas carols
accompanied by Brad,
the minister of the
church.
Thanks were expressed to Robyn
Coates who again very ably
with helpers, co-ordinated our
Christmas lunch. We also thank
the church community for its continuing
support through the use of
the excellent facilities.
Hartley
May with President Beryl
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Beryl
with Robyn Coates
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21st November
2015
The
Cornish Language Group
The thespians
below presented three
plays by John
Parker. "Y'n Boesti" ("In the
Cafe"), "Y'n Stevell an
Benynes" ("In
the Ladies' Room") and
"Y'n Kamelot" ("In
Camelot")
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Cast:
Marjorie Barrett
Stephen Morey
Jill Beard
Dawn Boylan
Janet Woolhouse
Stephen Amos
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The cast of The Cornish
Language Group
In performance and posed.
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Max
Beck - A Different
Earth
Max, the consummate raconteur,
took us with him as he told us
about the life of his forebear,
Jane Dunstan, as detailed in his
book, "A Different Earth".
Bellow is the synopsis as printed
on the back cover.
Max
Beck
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On the
threshold of starvation
when the potato blight
hits Cornwall, Jane
Dunstan decides to rescue
her family from desperate
poverty and her husband,
Richard, from the dreadful
conditions in the mines.
She successfully applies
for a "free Passage" to
migrate to South Australia
with their seven children
aged from one to
twelve. After
suffering appalling living
conditions in the cramped
steerage quarters of the
ship and the challenges of
the sea during the three
month journey, the family,
on arrival in South
Australia in 1849, travel
100 miles north of
Adelaide by bullock wagon
to the Burra copper mines.
At Burra they live in an
underground dugout in the
banks of the Burra Creek
and Richard, with his tree
eldest boys work in the
mine. To Jane it's a
dramatic time, with flood,
a new baby born
underground and the tragic
loss of her husband and
two daughters.
On the discovery of gold
in Victoria in 1851, Jan
hires a bullock dray and
driver to take her
remaining six children on
a courageous six-week, 550
mile overland trek to the
Victorian goldfields.
The story describes the
difficulties of locating
and traversing the trail,
the workings and
idiosyncrasies of the
bullock team and its
drive, Red adapting to
living in the bush,
obtaining bush tucker and
dealing with pests and
hazard along the way.
On arriving at the
diggings Jane is horrified
by what she sees but
ultimately remarries and
has three more babies,
bringing her total issue
to eleven.
She eventually has
fifty-nine grandchildren.
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18th
November, Geelong
Christmas Dinner 2015
Read all
about it and view the
photos
October
2015 - Bus Trip to
Tarndwarncoort
Tarndwarncoort
is a sheep grazing property
East of Colac to which
members from Melbourne,
Geelong and Ballarat
travelled for a much
anticipated visit. For
more information about the
property see http://tarndie.com/
On arrival members were
divided into 3 groups, one
to learn more about the
history and working of the
property, another to view
some Polwarth sheep and the
last to tour the house and
garden. Prior to lunch
the groups had rotated
through each activity.
Lunch included home-made
Cornish Pasties, scones, jam
and cream.
To see the photo gallery of the
day follow
this link
Here is a sample of photos.
Images captured by Ted
Curnow, Robyn Coates, Derek
Trewarne and John Morrish
17th October 2015 - Ron
Killeen - The Outer
Circle, Melbourne's
Forgotten Railway
Another
great occasion. The day
began by welcoming visitors
who had joined us
as part of "Seniors' Week"
Derek Trewarne
introduce
them to the functions
and assets of the
Association and time was
allocated for members of
the Library team to
individually assist
visitors with research
questions.
Here
are some photos
illustration the day
including a full car
park and those being
assisted.
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The
Overflowing Car Park
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A Working
Library
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Visitor
with Liz Egan
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Jean
Staunton with Guests
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The
afternoon speaker,
Ron Killeen
enthralled us with
his presentation and
video
concerning the
failed "Outer
Circle Railway"
that was
constructed in
the 1880s but
was finally
abandoned.
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Beth
Coote purchasing a DVD
from Ron
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Ron
presenting one of his
iconic
images
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19th September 2015 - Ted
Curnow ???Colonial Pioneers and
Parsons ??? stories of early
Cornish Settlers 1850s and
1860s???.
Our September speaker was Rev. Ted
Curnow who told us of ???Colonial
Pioneers and Parsons ??? stories of
early Cornish Settlers 1850s and
1860s.
John Wesley???s first visit to
Cornwall took place in 1743. The
Bible Christian movement started
later in 1815 on the Cornish,
Devon border. The 1851
Census shows that 60% of Cornish
people were Methodist.
Ted???s narrative told of James Way
and James Rowe who were supported
by the Bible Christian Missionary
Society in emigrating to South
Australia in 1850. ???More than a
step of faith -- it was an
emotional wrench for the whole
(Methodist) movement???. The two
brave pioneers started well but
the toll of culture shock in a
strange world was under-estimated.
Ted.
Beryl and Tom Curnow
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The Rowe
family resided at Burra
for a time in a four room
???subterranean??? house??? (a
red clay dugout) along
three miles of the Burra
Creek.
Distances between chapels
were greater than in
Cornwall and many
circumstances led to the
near deaths of Way and
Rowe within 18 months of
their arrival in
Australia. James Way and
non-conformist churches
opposed the State funding
of Churches and advocated
voluntary giving. Later
Way was to be financially
wrecked when miners from
Burra headed to the
Victorian goldfields.
Constant appeals were made
to the Missionary Society
in England in 1852 and
1853 for more missionaries
to save the Methodist
Chapels.
A story of faith, physical
endurance, tenacious
self-belief and commitment
to God and one???s fellow
man emerged from Ted???s
story.
Val Goldsworthy
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15th August 2015 -
CAV World War 1
Project
The speakers at the August
meeting were the members of the
CAV World War 1 Project team ???
Elizabeth Egan, Jill Beard and
Derek Trewarne. Each
gave a short presentation on one
aspect of the results of the
research.
The project
has involved compiling
information provided by
CAV members on their
forebears with Cornish
heritage who served in
the Australian and
auxiliary forces.
Further research has
been conducted into
several of those
included as well as on
various subjects
relating to war service.
Liz Egan,
the project coordinator,
spoke about two families
??? the Simpsons, Arthur
Rowe Marcus (ARMS) and
Laurence Ezekiel Gordon
(LEGS) and their cousin
Laurence Gordon, and the
O'Brien brothers,
Orlando, Assal and
Thompson from Tumut,
NSW.
Jill
Beard broadened
our view of war
service in her
talk about the 16
million animals
who participated
in WW1. |
Jill, Derek and Elizabeth
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Many
were on the
frontlines with
the soldiers, and
as many as 9
million are
thought to have
died. They
included a wide
range of animals,
and a wide variety
of roles they
fulfilled, some of
which were a
surprise to many ???
the photographs
Jill showed were
much
appreciated.
Derek Trewarne
talked about some
of the statistics
extracted from the
project database
including age,
occupation, and
heights of those
represented, and
which Battalions
most of the
soldiers served
with and in what
capacity.
It was interesting
to learn that
their average age
was 25 years and
height 5 feet 7
inches, somewhat
dispelling the
general belief
that most enlisted
as 18 year olds
and that
Cornishmen tended
to be shorter than
the average!
Further detail is
available in the
CAV Library.
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18th July 2015
Pasty Luncheon
Members enjoying
Pasties from Brown Paper Bags
The AGM
All the usual formalities were observed
before reports were received.
Beryl Curnow presented her President's
Report which reflected the highlights of
the past 12 months, the challenges for the
future and gave thanks to those who made a
contribution during the last year.
Beryl also reflected on the contribution
of members who died since the last AGM.
Rob Phillips presented the
Financial Report which detailed
the revenue and expenses and
showed a healthy balance hence his
recommendation that Annual
Subscriptions remain as for
2014-15. This recommendation
was accepted.
June Whiffin read the reports from
Geelong and Ballarat which
reflected many of the same
highlights plus local activities.
The visit to Australia by Maureen
Fuller, the Grand Bard,featured
frequently in the highlights.
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Richard Snedden conducted the election of
Office Bearers and Committee Members and
these can be seen by clicking here.
This part of the afternoon concluded with
the awarding of Certificates of
Appreciation to Jean Staunton and Viv
Martin
Images by Derek Trewarne
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Bronwen
Scott-Branagan - A
Story of War
Bronwen, a CAV
member, whose mother was
Cornish and father Welsh
and Cornish, spoke of her
father???s family and their
involvement in World War
I.
While two
brothers enlisted at the
outbreak of the war,
Brownen???s father and a
brother were involved in a
family business. That
brother, Paul, enlisted
after the Gallipoli
campaign and at age 26
sadly perished on the
Menin Road.
Although
Brownen???s father was working
nightly as an organist in a
silent picture theatre,
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longer delay enlisting and
joined the Engineers. His
task was to maintain a cannon,
take care of the horses and
harness them to transport the
cannon. ???Make
much of your horses??? was a
standing order.
This Engineer, already
proficient with a number of
musical instruments, transferred
to the Engineers??? Band and
played the piccolo.
With the Great war
ending at 11 am on 11th
November 1918 (French time),
the ???boys??? returned to
Australia, many with haunting
memories, many wounded and
maimed. One
of Bronwen???s uncles was gassed
and was cared for by his young
wife until his death.
This is the story
of one family???s contribution
to fighting for peace in the
early 20th century. Sadly
world peace continues to be
sought by armed conflict.
Kate Neale -
the music the Cornish brought
to Australia
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Our
second speaker was
Kate Neale, who was
born and who grew up
at Porthcothan Bay on
Cornwall???s north
coast.
Kate
studied for a BA in
English and Music at
Cardiff University,
developing an interest
in musicology which,
broadly speaking, is
the study of music in
cultural context, ie
how individuals,
groups, societies and
communities understand
and utilise music in
different ways.
On
finalising her BA
degree, Kate received
a scholarship to
complete an MA in
musicology.
She focussed
her thesis on the
Padstow carols; town
carollers perform a
small repertoire of
unusual carols
throughout the town on
Advent Sunday.
While
researching those
carols, Kate came
across references to
carols being performed
worldwide in diasporic
Cornish communities.
Kate
is now a PhD student
at Cardiff
University???s School of
Music while also being
co-supervised at the
Institute of Cornish
Studies at Exeter
University.
Her doctoral
project involves
research of how
Cornish migrants
world-wide musically
articulated identify
and community.
It has been
shown that these
???little Cornwalls???
retained many cultural
features and practices
from home.
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Kate
Neale
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Kate???s project
aims to document music past
and present in the Cornish
diaspora and thus assess its
significance.
We wish Kate well in her
studies and look forward to
reading her PhD thesis.
Clearly she shall have music
wherever she goes!
Afternoon Tea
The afternoon concluded with the
the usual hearty food and
refreshments along with much
chatter and catching up.
Member said their farewells to Viv
and Freda Martin as they move to
Bendigo later this month.
20th June 2015
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Ann
Copeland, Family History Librarian
at the State Library of Victoria,
was guest speaker at the June
meeting.
Ann told members of the
wealth of resources on family history at
the State Library; there, the Family
History and Newspaper Room provides
references to material in the online
catalogue and research guides. Further,
the La Trobe Australiana Collection has
records such as newspapers, manuscripts,
pictures and maps.
Ann Copeland
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The Library
subscribes to the Findmypast UK and
Ireland websites and these are
accessible free on library
computers.
Ancestry and
Family Search sites are also
available, as is the British
Newspaper Archive.
As well as cemetery,
shipping and occupation records,
trade directories and Sands and
McDougall directories are
available.
Ann thoughtfully brought
along for distribution to
members printed hand-outs which
fully inform about the
impressive range of facilities
for use by genealogists.
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Of
interest the Library possesses 350
items on mining in Bendigo, digitised
Parliamentary papers of the UK House
of Commons (1801-2003/4) and the
Domesday Book (1086).
Ann???s pleasant and
enthusiastic address fully engaged her
audience.
9th
May 2015
Kernow
Calling - Maureen Fuller,
Grand Bard of the Gorsedh, was our
guest speaker in May.
The meeting opened
with a spirited singing of ???Hail
to the Homeland???.
President Beryl Curnow
formally introduced the Grand
Bard who greeted members with ???Good Afternoon to You All??? in
Cornish, then in English.
???A
few things have happened in
the last year???, Mrs Fuller
said.
On 24 April 2014 the UK
Government finally recognised
Cornwall as a nation in its own
right.
There had never been a
formal annexation of Cornwall
into England.
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From the Audience
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Maureen Fuller
Speaking
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Of interest, Oxford
University has determined
after extensive study that
DNA samples collected from
those with four
Cornish-descended
grandparents are distinct
and of ancient origin, ie
reaching back to the Ice
Age.
This determination
applies also to the Welsh.
???In
the next census in 2021
we???ll be happy to tick the
???Cornish??? box???, said a
smiling Grand Bard.
The
education curriculum set
by Westminster does not
presently provide for
Cornish national
history.
There is hope
however that changes
will be made in future to
address this
deficit.
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Beryl and Maureen
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Beryl and Maureen with Banners
Photos by Derek
Trewarne
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The 5th
Century AD Oratory of St Piran at
Perranzabuloe is the oldest Church on
the UK mainland. Now
cleared of its sand and rubble shroud
once again, the intention is to protect
the Oratory by way of permanent roofing
and supporting walls. A
restoration fund has
been established.
Members
were left in no doubt that Cornish
culture and interests are in safe
hands.
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18th April 2015
The speaker was Robyn Coates and her
topic; "The 39th: Ballarat's Adopted
Battalion"
Robyn's interest springs from her
grandfather's war service followed by
her father's service and their
participation in
remembering and commemorating those who
served.
Robyn explained the history of military
training in Australia since the Defence
Acts of 1903-4 and later in 1911 with
the formation of cadet corps. She
explained what records were available
and how they could be accessed.
Her grandfather was Victor Roy Haines
and she used his story as an example to
show enlistment, training, embarkation,
theatres of war, the awarding of a
Distinguished Conduct Medal,
repatriation, life after service and the
commemorating of the 39th's record.
But that was merely the scaffold for
sharing 115 slides of objects, facts
about the structure of the army,
personalities, maps, places,
medical and nursing services, community
support from groups across Ballarat and
photos taken both during the events or
more recently.
Robyn brought with her a collection of
artifacts to exhibit and for members to
peruse.
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A table of
Memorabilia
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Beryl
and Robyn
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Keith
examining the
display
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21st March 2015
The main speaker was
Robert Gribben who told us the
story of the planning and construction
of the Isambard Kingdom Brunel's Royal
Albert Bridge across the Tamar River at
Saltash.
The result was
one of the great engineering
feats of the world. It is also
an extremely beautiful man-made
structure and a major tourist
attraction.
The river is 1100 feet or 340
metres wide at this point. The
length of the bridge is almost
twice that.
Isambard's father was a French
engineer, but the family moved
to Portsmouth the year Isambard
was born.
He adapted an invention his
father had used to sink the
tunnel under the river Thames in
London: a huge diving
bell. See the projected
image at the right. |
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The water was pumped out, and air was
pumped in, and up to 40 men could work
within. The first span was lifted
into place on 1st September 1857.
The talk was spiced by Robert reading
excerpts from material written by eye
witnesses at the time.
The completed bridge was opened by HRH
Prince Albert on 2 May 1859.
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The afternoon concluded
with Robyn Coates giving a report on the
Ballarat Branch's St Piran's Day
Celebration held at the the Mair Street
campus of the Ballarat Catholic University
on 7th March.
As part of the event, the original mansion
built by Cornishman Cyrus Bath Retallack
in the 1880s was renamed back to its
original name, Carn Brea.
To see a full report of this event follow
the link below.
7th March St Piran's Day Celebration Ballarat 2015 Click
here to read more
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21st February 2015
Derek and Jenny Trewarne
were our presenters for the afternoon
and they took us on the journey they did
last year to Hong Kong, Devon, Cornwall
and Spain entitled "A Bardic Experience
and More".
There were great pictures of Hong Kong
harbour at night and picturesque images
of Devon in Autumn but the highlight was
undoubtedly Cornwall.
We saw the Tall Ships Festival at
Falmouth; Ponsanooth village; Glendurgan
Gardens; Durgan village; the Helford
River coastal walk; The Eden Project; St
Just in Roseland; Lanhydrock gatehouse
and stately home; West Looe and the
Bardic Circle on the lawn, Thancks Park,
Torpoint.
They then travelled on to Launceston
before visiting San Sebastian, Basque
County, Northern Spain and seeing their
grandaughter.
Derek is a wonderful speaker with a
sense of humour never far away.
The presentation finished with everyone
singing "Cousin Jack".
Here is a sample of the images we saw.
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Derek and Jenny
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