Father McHugh Showing for Heritage Month

Kilmore Historical society Inc invites you to see the newly edited version of the films of Father James McHugh.

The showings will take place at the Old Kilmore Post Office on Saturday 29th April, 2023, from 10 am to 3pm. ( The movie will be repeated as necessary)

Father McHugh was a devotee of early movie making and documented scenes of Kilmore from around 1937 until 1939.

With thanks to the Bendigo Bank, Assumption College and individual donations the films have now been enhanced by the addition of a sound track – including the names of some of the people appearing in the films, and a music background.

Everyone is welcome to attend this free event for Heritage Month.

For further information email : kilmorehistoricalsociety@gmail.com

Christmas Closure

We wish all our members and friends a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Safe New Year.

Kilmore Historical Society will be closed over the holiday season. Our next opening date for the rooms in the Old Post Office will be Thursday the 2d of February 2023.

The following Tuesday, the 7th of February, will be our next evening meeting with a speaker. Brian Clancy will be talking about Catholic Education in Kilmore. Brian has a longstanding connection with the Catholic Church and has an interest in its history.

Birthday Party For OPO

KHS celebrated the 160th birthday of the Old Post Office on Tuesday. Members, visitors, and old staff all put in an appearance. Here from left to right are five people who worked in the building before the postal functions were transferred to the new building:

Lindsey Musgrave, Kevin Parks, Glenda Pittaway, Tom Stute, Lyn Noonan

The party ended with cake and general reminiscences.

October Book Sale

The ever-popular Book Sale will be back on the weekend of the 22nd and 23rd of October. We have some special bargains this time, including a huge number of art books, and we have just arranged to pick up two more donations.

Come along and find a bargain!

Art Book Donation

We have now received a donation of more than 100 boxes of books from a collector in Melbourne. The majority of these books are art books, many of them in beautiful condition, and must have been quite expensive when new.

This means that our next Book Sale in October will have a special Art section.

Any Art Societies or interested individual artists will be welcome to come along to the Book Sale and purchase some .

The boxes are currently stored offsite and are being sorted and evaluated.

May Meeting – “The life and times of James Maher”

Many of us familiar with Kilmore’s first published history – The Tale Of The Century – but what do we know about its author, James Maher?

Dr Jim Butler, local farmer, Melbourne medico and a grandson of Maher, will be speaking about the life and times of Maher at the Kilmore Historical Society’s next general meeting, Tuesday , May 3, 7.30pm, at the Old Post Office.

Maher, who was born at Lancefield and spent time at Pyalong before retiring to Kilmore (The Rocks homestead), wrote his book in the 1930s in the lead-up to Kilmore’s century celebrations in 1938.

As Dr Butler will point out, while Maher  was unable to access the internet-sourced research of today, much of his investigations had the advantage and authenticity of first hand discussions with many of Kilmore’s early pioneers, or at least  their offspring.

‘Hatched and Matched’

The Historical Society will be holding a clothing display of Victorian clothing items. ‘Hatched and Matched’ reflects the nature of the items – christening gowns and wedding dress, both male and female. The display will open from Thursday 21st . We have a wide range of items in our own collection, and other items have been lent by private individuals for display. We thank all those who have entrusted their heirlooms to us.

The display will be held at the Old Kilmore Post Office, 2 Powlett St. We would appreciate a gold coin donation from visitors.

An elaborate christening gown of embroidered silk with mother of pearl buttons

Thomas Hunt’s dress shirt and an elaborately embroidered waistcoat belonging to the Osborne collection.

Nineteenth century mens’ grooming kit which belonged to Captain James MacNamara, a travelling companion of Horatio Nelson.

The display will be open on KHS’s usual opening days, being 10-3 on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and 10-1 on Saturday.

Heather’s Talk Well Received

Heather Knight entertained us on Tuesday with an account of a gentleman names ‘The Black Douglas’, an early bushranger active in Victoria during the nineteenth century. He was of American origin and reputedly had one black parent.

Many of the details of his life remain elusive, but he did seem to have appeared in court on relatively trivial charges a surprising number of times.

Here the President, Brian Clancy, thanks Heather after her talk.

April Meeting

We have a special treat for our April meeting – our own Heather Knight, compiler of the well known book ‘Kilmore Those That Came Before’, ex president, and long term member of KHS, will be visiting from New South Wales and will be talking on the Black Douglas, a bushranger whose story is less well known than it deserves to be.

The meeting will be held at 7:30 pm on April 5th at the Old Kilmore Post Office, 2 Powlett St, and will be followed by supper and a chance to mingle.

All members and non members are welcome to attend.

Grahame Thom on “The Real Pretty Sally”

Tuesday 1st March 7.30 pm – Our guest speaker for March will be our own member and researcher, Grahame Thom, who, along with Conrad Roberts, has been looking into the facts surrounding the myth of the historical figure known as “Pretty Sally.” Who was she, how did she die, and how did her name come to be associated with the hill south of Kilmore?

Conrad, with Grahame assistance, has unearthed enough facts to finally be able to present a coherent narrative.

The meeting will commence at 7:30 in the Old Kilmore Post Office, 2 Powlett Street, on Tuesday 1st March, and will be followed by an opportunity to mingle and enjoy some supper. All members and non members are welcome to attend.