General News
9 May, 2024
Historical society turns 40
In 1984, a group of Avoca residents formed the Avoca and District Historical Society (ADHS) to ensure the preser-vation of local history, and 40 years later, the group continues to educate locals and connect them to their ancestors. The ADHS started...
In 1984, a group of Avoca residents formed the Avoca and District Historical Society (ADHS) to ensure the preser-vation of local history, and 40 years later, the group continues to educate locals and connect them to their ancestors.
The ADHS started with members collecting public records, gazettes and index cards and storing them wherever they could find room in their private residence.
Nine years on from its formation, the ADHS found its home in the Avoca Courthouse, a Victorian Heritage Register building which heard local court hearings for 120 years before it was closed in 1979 due to a decline in cases.
The building was under restora-tion for four years before being reopened in 1993, with ADHS mem-bers contributing a considerable amount of work to the project.
ADHS secretary Jill Hunter, who has been a member for 38 years, said the group’s dedication to history comes from their passion for the subject, a passion she still holds to this day.
“I just love it — you get a great deal of satisfaction when somebody comes in who wants to know about an ancestor and you help them find something about that person,” she said.
“What is beautiful about this area is finding out about the history of towns that have now practically disappeared like Percydale, you go through the wealth of information for a town that you can pass without realising it’s even there.
“It is extremely important to preserve our local history, because otherwise it is lost and all of those memories and stories will be gone forever.”
With the seven person committee all surpassing retirement age, the ADHS is concerned they will be unable to open the vast collection of local information at the court house and adjacent Helen Harris Room for two days a month much longer.
Ms Hunter is hopeful for new, youthful volunteers that will be able to support the ADHS for the next 40 years.
“The disappointing thing is we can’t get any volunteers, there is no young ones joining — we are all in our seventies and we don’t want to see this fold,” she said.
“If one of [the committee members] had to leave the historical society now, we would really struggle to keep going.
“We are not the only historical society in the district that is having a bit of trouble which is a real shame.
“We have got so much history here with all the government gazettes, newspaper records, school rolls, baptisms and what happens to it if we don’t have people to carry on.”
Despite these concerns, ADHS president Margaret Pilgrim is thankful to see the group reach its 40th anniversary, and said the community is invited to celebrate with the historical society.
“It will be a great open day, we will have two guest speakers in Judy Martin on the history here and Helen Harris who help found the society,” she said
“We have also invited other historical societies in the district to come along which will be great.”
“We are excited to acknowledge the hard work of the volunteers who have supported the society over the last 40 years and celebrate the importance of local history.”
The celebrations will commence on Sunday, May 19 with a light lunch at Wesley Hall starting at11 am, followed by a presentation by Judy Martin at the Avoca Courthouse at 1 pm.
Entry for the luncheon is $10, to RSVP, contact Jill Hunter on 0418 535 622.