News Archives
Congratulations
Congratulations Doreen Lyon who today was awarded the 2024 Certificate of Achievement by the Royal Australian Historical Society for her contributions to The Oaks Historical Society and the Wollondilly Heritage Centre and Museum. We applaud and appreciate all that you do and have done for all the volunteers here and the museum is truly a result of all your efforts over many years. Thank you!
Congratulations
The History Council NSW Annual History Awards were announced at a ceremony in the Chau Chak Wing Museum, University of Sydney in front of more than 85 members and guests who helped to celebrate the winner’s achievements.
The winning entries took us on a journey through time, delving into the captivating stories and rich cultural heritage of New South Wales. There was a very strong and diverse field of applications for the Awards this year, and the judges issued not only awards in every category, but in some cases, also Commendations. Emerging historians’ work featured strongly this year.
The First Nations History Award is sponsored by Professor David Carment & Dr Stephen Gapps. The winner of the 2024 First Nations History Award is Kazan Brown for her Submission on Warramgamba Dam and associated artworks.
This award is for Kazan Brown for her Submission into the raising of the Warragamba Dam Wall and her beautiful associated artworks. Faced with the threat that the Warragamba Dam wall would be raised and precious Gundungurra sites inundated, Kazan went deep into her family history and demonstrated her family’s unbroken connection with the Burragorang Valley, mobilising archaeological and environmental reports to support her claims.
This is an outstanding piece of work from Kazan Brown and her community that shows the vitality of Gundungurra knowledge and culture. The Creation Story of Wollondilly and the important stories of Gurangatch and Mirragan and the White Waratah have guided Kazan Brown through her successful advocacy to protect the Aboriginal heritage around Lake Burragorang. This is Aboriginal history brought into the public sphere for powerful purpose and the judges congratulate Kazan on her work.
We congratulate you again, Kazan on your great work!
New Exhibitions
The publication and exhibition at the Centre covers local farmers recounting their experiences of milking their first cow at age 5 over 80 years ago, to researching milking techniques across 20 countries, not only sharing but also adopting many techniques in farming ingenuity, highlighting the extraordinary journey of dairy farming in our region.
The permanent exhibition traces the evolution of dairying from hand milking to mechanised milking, horse and cart deliveries in the 1880s to the introduction of bulk collection and refrigeration advances. Many descendants of these dairy farming pioneers still reside in the Wollondilly community today. There were reported to be 111 dairy farms in the Wollondilly area by 1959 and It’s great to have the history captured for future generations and to reminisce about days gone by.
A heartfelt congratulations to the centre volunteer team who curated this remarkable book and exhibition, now available at the Wollondilly Heritage Centre and Museum. Enjoying a cup of tea, afternoon slices, cream and scones and Milkshakes together was a great pleasure!
The centre held a "history week 2024" school student competition in recent months. The winners were announced at the book launch event. Congratulations to Matilda and Harriet for their winning entries, "Marking Time", which included stories and illustrations about Daisy, the dairy cow.
Be sure to spot the Mural by sign-writer and artist David Campbell when you are visiting the centre and exhibition.
Visit the centre to buy your copy of the book "Dairying in Wollondilly".
