Held on Sunday 10 June 2007
Venue:  Linnwood, Byron Road, Guildford

Welcome & Apologies
John McKenna opened the meeting at 2.12pm and welcomed all in attendance.  John also extended a special welcome our guest speaker, Gregory Blaxell.

Apologies: Beth & Russell Werner, Irie Olde, John Warwick, Jan Thomas, Flo McMaster

Confirmation of Minutes of Public Meeting held on Sunday 11 February 2007
The Minutes of the Public Meeting held on Sunday 11 February, which were mailed or emailed to members, were accepted by the Meeting. 

Correspondence
Correspondence inwards and outwards, as per the agenda, was accepted by the Meeting. 

Business Arising
There was no business arising from the previous minutes.

President’s Report
Before proceeding with her report, Dorothy Warwick invited Adela Donohue, on behalf of the Liverpool and District Historical Society, to advise members of three upcoming events:

• Coach trip on 23 June to Bellview at Glebe
• Coach trip on 30 June to view the Royal State Coach Brittania - $27
• Coach trip to Portland on 22 September, to see “The Signs of Yesteryear”

Good afternoon everyone, welcome to Linnwood once again, and thank you for braving the elements to come this afternoon. We must have known something last year when we decided to change our open days and public meeting days around – normally today would have been an open day, so, even though we are still a little disoriented with the changes, at least today worked out for the better! It is quite some time since our last public meeting, we missed having one in April due to the date clashing with Easter Sunday, so there is a bit to catch up on.

As usual, we have some items to ‘show’ before we start the ‘tell’ part of the meeting so here are the items most recently donated by members and friends:-

• Some of you may remember the Ron Marks ski factory that used to be just down the road – well here we have an original ski made by Ron Marks. It certainly looks like it has seen better days, a sticker on it is dated 1969, so it is quite an important part of our local history. The ski was apparently displayed in a local shop that was seen to be closing down and Jacqui Douglas rescued it from being thrown out and passed it on to us.
• From the ladies at the Guildford Red Cross, we have a Polaroid Land Camera, Colorpak 82, complete with instructions and case.
• Some 78’s & 33 rpm records have been donated by Margaret Moulds.
• Our good friend Kevin Woodward has donated – and who remembers these? - an old dunny pan & lid (cleaned of course). One wonders what the kids of today would think of them!
• Marjorie Heywood from Holroyd Art & Craft Society has donated 2 lovely photos of the statue that used to be on the southern side of the house.
• Sue Evans has kindly donated an IXL tin money box, an old sepia photo of a group of people (date and who they are, unknown) a crocheted silk thread supper cloth and a 1950 Russian camera, complete with instructions – in Russian of course! We think it is a Lubitel, but are not really sure, although I have looked on the internet and it does appear to be so  – albeit an old one!
• Michelle Thomson has donated a bag of cutlery, the knives having the old bone handles – remember those?
• Bruce McCredie has donated the ‘Linwood’ house name plate from his parents’ family home at Rhodes. Note the incorrect spelling!
• Margaret Warn has donated a reproduction calico Rice bag which we can add to our collection of kitchen memorabilia.
• Dorothy Allen has donated a framed letter of reference dated 22 July 1892 for M.J. Harrod, written by Edward Jackson, Government Inspector, Sydney Water Supply, Prospect.
• We have 2 cameras here that unfortunately we don’t seem to know where they came from, so if you donated either a Pentax Zoom 70 camera in its pouch, or a Hanimex 35 ESM Compact camera with built-in flash, could you please let us know so we can document them accordingly.
• And just today, Olive Wicks has donated an old Kriesler Radio.
• Not for our memorabilia collection, but a donation nonetheless, we have, via Holroyd Council, received lots of small boxes of Cadburys Roses Chocolates from Stockland Mall, Merrylands. We will be able to use these over the next few months at many of our coming events as part of raffles or lucky door prizes, so we thank both the Council and Stockland for thinking of us.
• You can obviously see before you, our tub chairs – now beautifully repaired and reupholstered. We are really pleased with the results and thank Thorncraft and Darby, local upholsterers from Greystanes, for the wonderful job they have done. The cost of repairing the chairs was $1135 and we were able to use money that had been donated to the Friends, not money we had raised from fundraising. In the photo album I have here, you will be able to see photos of the chairs in the condition we found them at Linnwood, and I’m sure you will agree that they look a whole lot better! We will now send some ‘before & after’ photos to the Heritage Office to show them the results.

That’s all for the ‘show’ part – although you will be able to see some more photos in the album of other events we have held here over the past months, including Bruce & Doreen McCredie’s 60th Wedding Anniversary celebration luncheon held here in February, so please have a look through it. Bruce had asked if they could hold the luncheon here in his grandfather’s home and it was our pleasure to cater this function for them. Many thanks to those committee members who helped not only decorate the room but also prepare and serve the luncheon. It was a lovely day and both Bruce and Doreen were very appreciative of the effort put in.

Now on to the ‘tell’ part – and I will try and keep it brief, but quite a bit has happened since our last meeting.

After nearly 2 and a half years, the Linnwood Future Uses Steering Committee finally had a meeting in February, and another one in May. It has been an extremely frustrating time for us, being in limbo all that time, but it looks like things are slowly starting to happen. The Heritage Office has received an S60 Application for the adjustment of the boundary between 2 existing lots (this is to allow for the future subdivision of the rear of the property) and the erection of a temporary security fence. Other items attended to by the Heritage Office have been:-

• Installation of a security camera in the front entrance
• A new fire panel and new monitored fire alarm system
• Replacement of fire detectors and
• Security fencing around the summer house

It would appear that funding has not yet been approved for the cost of the new security fence. This was something that we had hoped would have happened before last Christmas, but the Minister and Treasury are yet to release funds for this to happen – let alone any more funds for much needed work in and around the house.

You may have seen on Channel 7 a couple of weeks ago, a story which mentioned Linnwood. Unfortunately, the way it was presented was a bit misleading and we received quite a number of phone calls and emails from members of the public quite upset at what had been reported. The ‘up’ side to the story was that it did indeed highlight to a greater audience what was going to happen, and there have been a few letters written to local papers recently criticizing the proposed sale.

With the recent State Government election, and movement of electoral boundaries, Linnwood moved from being in the seat of Granville, to the seat of Fairfield, with Mr Joe Tripodi, MP, now being the local member. Mr Tripodi, over the past few weeks, has invited representatives from the Heritage Office, The Friends of Linnwood and Guildford Leagues Club to individual meetings at his office to be brought up to date with the current and future situation. We will have to wait and see what result, if any, will come from these meetings.

At the March Open House, we had Helen Mulcahy, Property Consultant, on hand for community consultations and are still waiting on her report as to the results of discussions with members of the public regarding what the community thinks of the proposed development.

At the last meeting we mentioned the degree of vandalism that had escalated at McCredie Cottage over the previous couple of months, and we were pleased to hear that the gentleman and his accomplice who were systematically stealing all the copper wiring and pipes, had been arrested and charged. Unfortunately, we don’t believe his sentence was long enough, and it probably won’t be too long before he is back on the streets and at it again – one more reason to hope the security fence will get some funding in the near future.

All in all, it’s been an interesting couple of months, and it’s not over yet………………..

Well, on to other things:-

At the last meeting, I mentioned that DoCS had been quite helpful regarding some photos they held of Linnwood during the time that the girls were here. We were very grateful to receive some 18 photos, which are now on display, and the department has promised that at the reunion we have planned for later in the year, they will supply more photos that they hold, but which cannot be displayed publicly, for privacy reasons. We continue to be contacted regularly by ex-Linnwood girls and if you will bear with me, I would like to read you something sent to me by a lady, still suffering the effects of her time in ‘care’ – she has written part of her story and a short poem about her time at Linnwood………………………

In April, we had a stall at an Open Day at St Bartholomews Church at Prospect and received this Certificate for attending. Also in April, as part of Holroyd CityFest we held a Craft and Hobby Expo at Linnwood, which was a really good day, and our thanks to Christine McKenna for taking on the mammoth job of organizing all the participants. For supporting CityFest we have recently received this plaque from Holroyd Council in appreciation.

We had a very successful Open House day in May and we very much appreciate the help of Susan Aldridge in organizing to have some cars and veteran bikes here on the day – they were certainly an attraction and we had approximately 250 visitors during the day. We would also like to acknowledge a couple of special ladies, Phyllis Messer and Merle Warwick for donating, every open day, home baked cakes and slices for our refreshment stall. All our visitors certainly appreciate their cooking and we really appreciate the effort these ladies put in – so thank you, Phyl and Merle. We would like to take this opportunity to also thank those members who help on our open days, they really help take the load off the committee, as it does take quite a bit of organization and work to get the house ready for these days, and then the day itself can be quite hectic. So – we would like to ask if there are any other members out there who would like to help, either on the day before, cleaning and setting up, or on the day itself, helping in any way.  Please don’t be shy, we would really appreciate some extra hands on either day. If you would be interested, please talk to, or contact a committee member.

Last but not least, saving the good news till last, we can report that we were successful in receiving, in the second round, a grant of $2970 from the Australian Government in the Volunteer Small Equipment Grants for 2006. We had applied for funding to buy a laptop computer, software, a printer/multi-function centre, a First Aid Kit and some Traffic Control Equipment. We have received and banked the cheque and are in the process of doing some shopping! Hopefully by next meeting we will have these purchases to show you.

In the next few months we can look forward to a display from the Golf Collectors Society of Australia at the July Open House. On the 29th July we will be having a presentation of ‘Fashion Between the Wars 1919-1939’ by the Cavalcade of History & Fashion. This will be quite an event and bookings will be essential. The cost will be $10 per person to cover costs and afternoon tea. August will see our next public meeting which will include the AGM and we will also be holding on Sunday 26th, in conjunction with McCredie Church, a Fashion Parade by Baileys Ladies Fashions – and this time you can buy!!!! There will be a $5 admission fee on this day as well to cover afternoon tea. September’s Open House will see the Scots back at Linnwood – some of the clans will be represented for those doing their family history, members of the Parramatta RSL Caledonian Pipe Band will entertain us – probably around lunch time, the Highland Dancers will perform, and the Decoupage Guild of NSW will be holding an exhibition, so it looks like being a good day!. Also in September, the Wentworth Quilters have hired Linnwood for a 2 day exhibition on 15th & 16th, which is open to the public. October will see another public meeting and then at the end of the month there are plans to hold a huge History Fair here, hosted by the newly formed Holroyd & District Historical Forum. This should be a great day for anyone doing any family or history research, with stalls from many of the research centres and historical societies in Sydney. November brings the National Association of Watch & Clock Collectors back again, and you will be able to bring in your old clocks and watches for appraisal and also look at their display. Blacktown City Camera Club will be exhibiting photos that they took of Linnwood earlier in the year, and it will be interesting to see what special effects they used in the process. December will see our final public meeting and to round it all off, our annual Christmas Dinner for members. A busy time ahead for us, but with your support, it will be another great year for Linnwood.

Well, I think that’s just about all the news for the moment. Don’t forget to keep checking the Calendar of Events – it is updated regularly with any changes, so you can update your diaries accordingly.

Thank you again for coming out today and also for your continued support. Hopefully we will see you at some of our future events. Please stay and enjoy our guest speaker Gregory Blaxell and his talk about Brush Farm and Gregory Blaxland, and then join us for a nice hot cuppa and some afternoon tea. Thank you.

Treasurer’s Report
John McKenna advised the meeting that we have had a reasonable few months in respect to fund raising.  Since our last Public Meeting we have raised approximately $8,800 (including the grant money).  Outgoings have been $4,800, some of which has been spent on purchasing extra kitchen items.  At the end of May our bank balance stood at $31,912.60.  Income so far this year has been $16,000 and expenditure $8,000.

Update from Catalogue Committee
Christine McKenna advised that the committee has not been very active this year, however intends to recommence cataloguing very soon.

Update from Gardening Committee
There are no major works planned at the moment, the focus is on maintenance.

General Business
Most matters have been discussed in the President’s Report.

A member queried an item in correspondence in respect to the Productivity Commission questionnaire.  John McKenna advised that we received this because we had submitted a report.  As part of the upgrade in the fire equipment system there is now a protocol for evacuation procedures whenever the building is open to the public.  John advised that there are now signs in each room in respect to exit doors and marshalling areas.  We are endeavouring to improve emergency response exercises, and the external monitoring system is now greatly improved.

Guest Speaker
John McKenna introduced Gregory Blaxell, our Guest Speaker.  Gregory was an English/History teacher (in fact taught at Holroyd High School for a short time) prior to joining Jacaranda Press and the Centre for the Development of Learning Materials.  He left Jacaranda in 1972 to write full time.  He returned to teaching on a contract basis before returning to full-time writing in 1992.  He is the author of “The River: Sydney Cove to Parramatta”, and editor of Ron Buttrey’s “A Short History of the Life of Gregory Blaxland”.  He lectures, writes a weekly historical column in the Northern District Times, and has a monthly article in the magazine “Afloat”.  He is a community representative on the City of Ryde’s Heritage Advisory Committee and is Vice-President of the Brush Farm Historical Society.  He was voted Volunteer of the Year for 2007 for the City of Ryde.  Blaxell Street, Granville, is named after a distant relative of Gregory’s who came out to Australia on a naval ship and became secretary to Governor King.

The pioneer and explorer, Gregory Blaxland, was born in Kent, UK (near Dover).  He was educated at Kings School, Canterbury, and owned property in Newington and Fordwich UK.  His ancestry goes back to Anglo Saxon times. 

The Blaxland family were very good friends of Sir Joseph Banks who told them that investment was needed in the Colony, so Gregory and his brother John decided to emigrate to New South Wales.  This was at the beginning of the 19th Century, around the time of the French Revolution.  There was a concern that the French were going to invade England and the landed gentry obviously did not like the idea of entertaining the French!  John was the head of the family, and Gregory was very much the farmer, and John suggested that Gregory and his wife and three children sail to New South Wales - they arrived on 11April 1806 on the “William Pitt”.  (The Blaxlands were to have five more children in Australia.)  Gregory brought with him agricultural material and tools, sheep, seeds, domestic goods, bees and cases of bottled wine.

They leased a house in High Street (now George Street) Sydney, then moved the “The Vineyard” at Rydalmere and blended grapes - Gregory was very interested in growing grapes and making wine.  In 1807 he negotiated with Darcy Wentworth and Lt William Cox (Paymaster of the 73rd Regiment) to purchase the land on which Brush Farm now stands - originally 10 grants of land, totalling 600 acres.  He planted a vineyard and moved there in 1808.  The original house was built for the overseer and was located near Ponds Creek.  He also owned land at Luddenham, however land grants in NSW at that time were not big enough to run cattle and sheep.  He was also granted land at Silverwater, which he called “Newington”.

Gregory and his brother John became partners and leased land and a dwelling where Gowings used to be, opposite the Queen Victoria Building.  They set up an outlet for dairy products, meat etc, as there was nothing like this in the Colony at this time, however Governor Bligh thought they should be growing grains.  (John and Gregory were amongst those seeking to have Bligh arrested.)

Governor Macquarie arrived in 1789 and had some reservations about the Blaxlands - he thought they should have focussed their agricultural production on grains as well.  In November 1810 Gregory accompanied Macquarie on a tour of the eastern farms (those that were established east of Parramatta).

Gregory had been to the Nepean, Grose and Warragamba Rivers and noticed a ridge going up over the mountains.  He was conscious of the problems encountered by unsuccessful attempts to cross the Blue Mountains and suggested that the best way would be over the ridge rather than going along the rivers.  In May 1813, Gregory Blaxland, William Charles Wentworth and William Lawson, along with 4 convicts, 5 dogs and 4 horses, embarked on their famous expedition - through Mt Victoria and Mt York, found the ridge down the western side and walked to Little Hartley, and from Mt Blaxland saw the great western plains.  The whole journey only took 26 days and they were back at St Marys in  June.  Whereas William Lawson was the surveyor, Gregory was definitely the leader of the expedition and kept a diary of their journey.

After this historic journey, the three explorers were given land grants of 1,000 acres each, at Bathurst - however only Lawson took up the offer.  Blaxland and Wentworth sold their land, and Gregory put all of his sale proceeds predominantly into Brush Farm, where he cleared the land and grew crops and grains.  Gregory decided to build a new house at the top of the hill, which had wonderful views of the Parramatta River.  He planted grapes, made wine, some of which won medals when he took them to England, he became a JP and became a member of the Agricultural Society.  His wife died in 1824. 

By 1831 Gregory Blaxland was broke.  He sold Brush Farm for the debts owed on it and it was purchased by his son-in-law, Dr Thomas Forster.  He then moved to rented premises in North Parramatta on which was a vineyard.  On 1st January 1853, Gregory Blaxland was found hanging “by his own hand” at his house in North Parramatta, and is buried in the church yard at All Saints Parramatta.

In 1990, Ryde Council purchased Brush Farm and it was then left standing vacant for 16 years.  Over those years 10 reports were produced but nothing was actually done to preserve the house, hence its deterioration.  It was riddled with white ants and too dangerous to enter, and unfortunately the verandahs had to be demolished.  Gregory Blaxell said that its recent restoration is not the best that has ever been done.  The Department of Corrective Services (which has its headquarters and training facilities at Brush Farm) wanted to use 3 rooms of the house, hence those rooms are closed off to the public.  There have been several compromises due to these working offices, as well as air conditioning ducting through the cellars.  However visitors now have access to the newly built top verandah as this was a very important aspect of the house because of its views - it was built only 32 years after colonisation.

Gregory Blaxell left some brochures entitled “Brush Farm House and Estate - Our Natural and Cultural Heritage” which can be obtained from Ryde Council.  You can find more information about Gregory Blaxland via your preferred internet search engine, or www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A010109b.htm

Next Meeting
The next meeting of the Friends of Linnwood will be held on Sunday 12th August 2007 at 2.00pm.  This meeting will also incorporate our Annual General Meeting, at which the current Committee will step down and nominations will be called for a new committee.

Our Guest Speaker will be Jennifer Philps from the Children’s Medical Research Institute, who will speak on “Genetics - The Future is Now”.

Raffle
Gregory Blaxell drew the raffle, which was won by Olive Wicks.

Meeting Close
There being no further business, the meeting closed at 4.20pm.