Held on Sunday 14 June 2009
Venue:  Linnwood, Byron Road, Guildford

Welcome & Apologies
John McKenna opened the meeting at 2.10pm and welcome everyone in attendance.  A special welcome was given to our guest speaker, Heather Bentley.

In Attendance at today’s meeting, as per the Attendee Sheet:
Dorothy Warwick, Beth Werner, Dorothy Thomas, Lawrie Thomas, Jan Thomas, Stan Thomas, June de Zoete, Sue Evens, Margaret Warn, Heather Bentley, Peter Warwick, Gerry O’Brien, Pat O’Brien, Ann Ravencroft, Noelene Brown, Pamela Zopf, Coral Hamilton, Audrey Murphy, Helen Olde, John McKenna, Kaye Weaver, Angela Caire.

Apologies:
Barbara MacKenzie-Hunter, Michelle Cavanagh, Pamela Richardson, Judith Moller, Adela Donohoe, Flo McMaster, Irie Olde, Christine McKenna, Michael Griggs.

Confirmation of Minutes of Public Meeting held on Sunday 8 February
Moved by Gerry O’Brien, Seconded by Pamela Zopf, that the minutes of the Public Meeting held on Sunday 12 April 2009 be accepted.

Business Arising
There was no business arising from the minutes of the April meeting.

Correspondence
Helen Olde tabled the Correspondence folder and passed it around to members at the meeting, drawing attention to the Friends of Linnwood letter dated 13 April 2009 to the Director of the Heritage Branch of the Department of Planning, and responses received.

President’s Report

Good afternoon and welcome to Linnwood for this Winter public meeting. We have had a busy couple of months since our last meeting so I will try and bring you up to date with what’s been happening, but first of all, as usual, we will begin with the latest donations from members and friends:

• From Elizabeth Winny and Coralie Hird (McCredie family members) we have received some terrific photos of Ludovic McCredie – son of George and Susan McCredie and another McCredie who served as Mayor of Prospect & Sherwood for a while. The photos show him as a youth in England, with an unnamed cricketer, his marriage, and then also in his later years (photos are in the album to look at).
• You may remember some time ago we spoke about Barsony Ceramics being made in Guildford, and being quite collectable now. Florence Sumner has now very kindly given us, on loan, a piece owned by her family, an ashtray in the typical Barsony figurine style.
• Stan Thomas has given us 2 very old photos of early Toowoomba – great to look at the old shop fronts and the horse and buggy ‘traffic’ of the time.
• Alan Bentlin has kindly donated a Canon Snappy EZ 35mm camera to add to our collection.
• Pat O’Brien has given us an early Singer electric sewing machine complete with case and accessories. Our collection of cameras and sewing machines is certainly growing, and I don’t believe we have doubled up on any of them!
• John Warwick has very kindly loaned us some more bits and pieces - 2 little occasional tables, one with a tapestry inlay with a glass cover, a timber flower pot stand (these 3 are very fitting additions to the drawing room), a very impressive gilt framed mirror, a large framed floral print, and a large carpet square.

Once again, we thank those who have donated items to our collections or to the house itself.

On to other things….

After our last meeting we again wrote to the Department outlining our concern regarding some outstanding issues and correspondence or emails that had not been responded to. We also sent a copy of the letter to the Mayor of Holroyd Council and some politicians in the hope of getting some sort of response.

A month later, we did receive a reply with promises made to deal with many of the issues we had raised, and again we are still waiting for those to happen, such as the improved security lighting, relocation of power and a Memorandum of Understanding which would give the Friends some tenure on the site. The letter also suggested that the Friends meet with the Department on a bi-monthly basis to be kept up to date with what is happening, and we are now waiting for a suitable date for our first meeting.

Some of you may be aware that in recent weeks there have been some quite extensive and far-reaching changes to the Heritage Act – changing the make-up of the Heritage Council (there will now be no historian on the Council) and giving the Minister for Planning the power to de-register State Listed Heritage Items – especially if they are not financially viable. The results of these changes need to be carefully watched and we have copied below extracts of two Media Releases as well as a newspaper article for you read.

Extract from History Council NSW Media Release dated 14 May 2009

Extract from National Trust Media Release dated 4 June 2009

Extract from Sun Herald dated 14 June 2009 (page 28)

We did have a meeting on site for one of the Department’s officers and an architect to come and discuss the proposed works we wanted to carry out, and were given verbal and then written permission to proceed. As you will see when you go out into the back room, work has commenced on repairs to the flooring and hopefully next week the safety railing on the back patio will be completed as well. These 2 items we feel are quite important safety issues so we will be very happy to have them completed.  New blinds and curtains for the 4 large rooms will be delivered and installed next Thursday. So, the next time you visit, there should be some major improvements to see. All of these improvements will, of course, use quite a bit of our hard-earned funds, but we feel that it will be money well spent and is what we have been working towards, being able to spend money on improvements to the house.

We believe that the Department has recently asked for tenders to do the repair work on Faulds House ready for Pioneers to move in, so hopefully that will happen in the very near future.  It is good news that the building will at last be used – and even better that it will be used by an existing tenant.  (Pioneers are still waiting for the lease on the Dormitory building to be signed, as well as the lease for Faulds House.)

Speaking of Pioneers, our fundraising Trivia Night held a couple of weeks ago was a great success. Our MC, Kevin Smith, donated his time to ‘call’ the night and did a great job. We had some really good prizes donated and we either auctioned or raffled them off. Everyone had a lot of fun and looking forward to the next one! Many thanks to all who helped bring it together on the night – again these functions don’t just happen, a lot of preparation goes on beforehand and for our first Trivia Night – it went off really well,  raising just over $1300 towards the cost of Pioneers erecting a roof  to be built over the timber walkway into the Dormitory building.

As part of CityFest 2009, we held another Cavalcade of Fashion presentation – this time it was the Edwardian Era – what a lady would wear to a weekend house visit. Again, the garments were just gorgeous – a very feminine era! We look forward to having Cavalcade back again next year.

We have had to have our ‘Chronicles of George McCredie’ book re-printed.  Fancy that – a 2nd edition print! It has been suggested that we do a ‘History of Linnwood’ book and it is something we will look seriously at doing in the future.

Our new colour brochures are proving very popular – they are disappearing at a fast rate, so we may have to look at a re-print of those soon too.

The tour by Guildford West Public School has been postponed twice due to the recent wet weather, so it looks like it will be now be put back to the Spring – when hopefully the weather will be a bit more co-operative. We recently had a bus tour by the Parramatta based Topp Tours through, and have another one booked for late July.

Our May Open Day was a great success – many thanks to Tony Atkinson from the Hudson AMC Car Club who did so much to promote the day through not only the car clubs, but the Daily Telegraph as well. We had some very good promotion from a couple of radio stations as well with the result of having nearly 600 people through the house on the day. Many more were outside, drooling over the 70-odd veteran cars that were parked on the front lawn. The weather was perfect which made it a lovely day to sit outside and listen to the Holroyd City Brass Band or watch the Atomic Jivers do some Rock’n’Roll dancing. Elvis’ fan club was in the building with a display of memorabilia and our regular stalls inside also had a good day. John will no doubt tell you the financial side of things – but money aside – it was just a great day! Again, many thanks to all those who volunteered their help on the day – it wouldn’t have happened without you all. (photos are in the album) The only drama we had was on the Wednesday before, when the fire hydrant close to the house was hit by a vehicle, which fractured the pipe. We had quite a fountain gushing for a while until the plumbers arrived. The hydrant now has 3 large bollards around it for protection. Our gratitude to the Department for arranging to have a plumber on the job fairly quickly, and also seeing the advantage of having the bollards installed (photos are in the album).

As we confirm exhibits, our Calendar of Events is updated, so don’t forget to pick up a current one each visit. For July’s Open Day we have quite a mixture, with Nana’s Teddies and Toys inside the house (display and for sale), and for the men, we have the Pike and Musket Society outside with their 17th Century weapons, plus we will all be entertained by the Toongabbie Music Club.  (Postscript 24/6/09 - Nana’s Teddies and Toys advised today they are unable to join us, but we soon hope to confirm attendance by some other teddies.)

September will see us host a History Fair as part of History Week – so anyone interested in researching their family history or looking at local history displays will be catered for. We will have groups from quite a few different areas, so the displays will be varied. There will also be a display by the Decoupage Guild as well – just for something different – as well as our regular stall holders.

November will be different again with a display and pieces for sale by the Carnival Glass Collectors of NSW – no doubt there will be some beautiful pieces to look at.

There is also the chance of another car club being interested in either September or November, so we will keep you posted as we receive confirmation.

Unfortunately, Baileys Fashion Parade in November has had to be cancelled. We were notified that they would be unable to make it on the day, and as the house is booked by other community groups most weekends of the month, we were unable to find another date to suit. Maybe we will have more luck next year.

Well, I think that’s just about it. Please stay and enjoy the talk by our guest speaker who, when Helen was speaking with her and asked about her surname, Bentley (which happens to be our grandmother’s maiden name), discovered she’s a distant rellie! See, you just never know who you might be related to – so come along to the History Fair in September!

Our next public meeting in August will be our AGM as well, so please give some thought to the election of committee members, and don’t forget to pay your membership renewals beforehand (for those who need to renew) – or Helen will be after you!

Thank you again for coming today and please enjoy the rest of the afternoon.

Treasurer’s Report
John McKenna advised that May was a very good month, with the very successful Open House and Trivia Night.

Total funds at end May 2009, including Interest Bearing Deposit and taking into account current outstandings,  is $43,030.75.  We are expecting this amount to reduce considerably during the next few weeks, following repairs to the back room floor, new curtains and blinds for the four larger rooms, and erection of safety railing on the back verandah. 
                                                                                 
General Business
Kaye Weaver recommended members visit the Fairfield City Museum as there are some interesting exhibitions being held in June and July.

Guest Speaker
John McKenna then introduced our Guest Speaker, Heather Bentley, an independent historian, who then gave a lively and very entertaining introduction to banqueting and feasts in the 16th and 17th centuries.

Heather remarked that being a “Bentley” she is obsessed with food.  In researching the history of food she found out how it intersects with cultures, how it shapes societies and illuminates the way societies work.  Heather has researched feasts and banquets of the Ancient, Medieval and Renaissance periods, but has been side-tracked by China and the Silk Road over the last couple of years. 

What is the difference between a feast and a banquet?  A feast involves a lot of food.  A banquet was special and only the rich could afford it - enormous savoury courses, and further developed later to include sweets courses, with jellies and custards.  Sugar had been in very short supply and only became readily available when the Americas were discovered and the rich invested in sugar plantations.

Everything changed with the English civil war and Cromwell - harvests in UK were burned, neglected or plundered by troops.  60,000 people were killed in the first few months of that civil war.  Cromwell made it illegal to have feasts or Christmas dinner.  He ordered silver and gold cutlery and tableware to be melted down.  One family melted 5 dozen silver plates worth at the time ₤300 - 40 years’ wages for an average worker.  Before Cromwell, spices were popular, then Continental influences came into effect so they didn’t need to spice the food as heavily in boiling and baking meat and fowl.

“Made dishes” meant that a dish actually needed a recipe.  Vegetable dishes came in from the Continent but most people were a bit suspicious of these.  Persian influences came from the Crusades, with meat being served with fruit.  Then French influences - ragout, bisque etc.

New ingredients included citrus fruit - previously very expensive so sweet oranges were unknown.  At Ann Boleyn’s coronation there was one orange served - that is all that could be afforded.

Queen Elizabeth I’s favourite breakfast was a mug of beer and a piece of bread.

Ice cream started to appear.  Truffles re-appeared - these had previously been banned by the church as they were thought to be an aphrodisiac. 

How many dishes should you put on the table?  As many as could fit!  All had to be set out geometrically “a la francaise”.  At a coronation dinner in 1685, there were 145 dishes in the first course alone.

Three important things before you started to eat:

An attendant would appear with water to wash your fingers and dry your hands.
You would sit down and an elaborately folded napkin would be given to you.  (In 1639 there was a book explaining how to fold your napkin properly, and there were even travelling napkin folders who would go to banquets to perform this task.  Also, in the 1600’s, a napkin was called a “diaper”).
Food would have been carved for you by an expert carver.  It was a real art done by pages and squires - it was a real honour to carve for your father.  The “carver’s chair” at a table setting was exclusively for the carver.

There were no forks in those days - food was eaten with your fingers, however around 1611 they were being used on the Continent to hold the meat while it was being cut.

Behind the main table at a banquet there was a large table called the “cuppers”, where dishes and cups etc were put into the “cup board”.  You only drank for a toast - however there were many toasts during a banquet!

Your rank determined how many gold plates you could display, and different types of bread were baked for the different ranks of people at the banquet.  In 1700 wheaten bread was introduced - wheat was not affordable before this time.  Gold and silver tooth picks were worn in a little pouch on your belt (for both men and women).

You were allowed to have quiet conversation - perhaps a reading of a great poet.  The “officer of the mouth” would bang the floor if conversation became too noisy.

If you were having a huge banquet, some decorative “subtleties” could include a large ginger bread castle.  This evolved into an actual dessert course that more people could afford.  You would build on your estate a special banqueting house just to have dessert, looking over a beautiful view while you nibbled on Turkish Delight or candied fruit.

One food we take for granted today is turkey.  The English (those who could afford it) were having turkey for Christmas in Shakespeare’s day.  Turkeys actually came from Mexico when they started being imported into Europe, and have been cooked for Christmas dinner in England since the 1540’s.  They were very expensive -
6 shillings - this would be 12 days wages for an ordinary worker, and in today’s money would be over $1,000.

Next Meeting
The next Public Meeting of the Friends of Linnwood Inc will be held on Sunday 9 August 2009 at 2.00pm.  This meeting will incorporate the Seventh Annual General Meeting at which all Committee positions will become vacant and nominations invited for a new Committee.  Membership fees for the financial year 2009/10 are due and payable at this time.  Membership Renewal forms for those members who need to renew are enclosed with these minutes.  Honorary and Perpetual members, and those who have paid fees in advance, will not receive a form.

Our guest speaker in August will be Robyn Clarke, Community Liaison Officer from the Royal Institute for Deaf & Blind Children.

Raffle
The raffle was drawn by Heather Bentley and won by Beth Werner.

Meeting Closed
The meeting closed at 3.40pm