This
year, I've been writing monthly columns about The Treasury for the
Grahamstown Gazette. Here's my piece for the March edition.
From The Treasury
Grahamstown has changed a lot since it first sprung up
in the 1860s. Plenty of the old buildings are still standing – St. James Church
and the Junction Hotel still mark our boundary with Shortland, a few of the
government building facades on Queen St are more or less unchanged, and several
of the major landmarks on our end of Pollen St remain exactly where our
ancestors left them. Quite a lot has disappeared with the sands of time, though
– Albert St is no longer a commercial hub, with no Bank of New South Wales, no
trading on Scrip’s Corner, no wharf, no Academy of Music, and (short-lived but
still my personal favourite) no steam tram to Tararu.
One person who might be surprise by what has changed
in Grahamstown is Robert Graham, who gave the town its name. Mr. Graham had a
fascinating life, arriving in New Zealand at the Bay of Islands, before moving
to Auckland and California, establishing Grahamstown, and developing Waiwera
Hot Springs and the Lake House Rotorua. Twice in one year he was shipwrecked of
the coast of the North Island. In the early days of the Thames gold rush, he
bought the land that would become present-day Grahamstown, as well as laying
out the public gardens and race track at Tararu.
During Thames Heritage Week, The Treasury will remember Robert Graham with a talk in our The Way We Were series by one of his descendants, Maureen Burr. Maureen will discuss what she’s discovered in the course of her research. The Way We Were also features lunchtime talks on everything from World War I to dendrochronology, from the likes of Russell Skeet, John Watts, Dr Gretel Boswijk, and yours truly, to name a few.
The Treasury is open from 11am to 3pm every weekday
during the Thames Heritage Festival. As well as our series of lunchtime talks,
we’re also running plenty of evening events. If you’ve always wanted to
research your family but don’t know where to start, Finding Your Family at The
Treasury is a great course for beginner genealogists. Our volunteers can show
you where to look and how to use The Treasury’s resources. If you’re more of an
outdoorsy type, Graham Robinson’s Shortland Walk is a great way to see Pollen
St the way our ancestors did. The tour runs twice during Heritage Week and
leaves from Shortland Wharf. Finally, An Evening at The Treasury is an
opportunity to watch history unfold, with a series of local videos and
documentaries about the Kopu Bridge, Crosbie’s Settlement and more. All of
these events are $5 per person. Check us out on Facebook to stay up to date.
Comments
Post a Comment