Bridgetown Historical Society in Bridgetown, Western Australia | Museum

Bridgetown Historical Society

Locality: Bridgetown, Western Australia

Phone: +61 487 592 704

Address: 5 Civic Lane Bridgetown 6255 Bridgetown, WA, Australia

Website: https://www.bridgetownhistoricalsociety.org.au/

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• Community organisation
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• History Museum
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• Community museum

25.01.2022 The first History from the Grave walk was a huge success this morning and the 2pm walk will equally be a success. If there is sufficient interest in running another walk we will find more history to share. If you went on the 11am or 2pm walk, please leave your feedback because it all helps when we apply for grants. Photos from 11am walk

25.01.2022 My workshop will discuss oral history and using the transcripted narrative to write a me por or biography. This was the technique I used for my book A Mere Country Village (still available in many outlets in Bridgetown and online). All enquiries about these workshops to the Shire of Bridgetown-Greenbushes

25.01.2022 Can anyone id these lovely girl guides? Date of photo is unknown and it turned up in a box of photos from someone who doesn't/didn't live in Bridgetown

23.01.2022 I’d like to tell you about two very important men to the Noongar people of the South West - Old Winjan and George Winjan. Old Winjan (George’s father), was an i...mportant leader and chief and was believed to have ruled the all of the 14 South-West tribes. Although Pinjarra was his headquarters, Mandurah was his birthplace. Old Winjan died in Perth in 1884. His body was carried all the way back to Mandurah for burial. The Pinjarra Massacre, otherwise known as the Battle of Pinjarra, would go down in Western Australia's history as one of the State's most bloody and darkest days. On the 28th of October, 1834, a party of men, led by Governor James Stirling, surrounded the camp of the Bindjareb Bilyidar Nyungars in Pinjarra and opened fired, killing up to 30 tribemen as they fled for cover. Though the casualties on Nyungars side was reported by the British to be between 15-30, the real figures may never be known. Some believe the death toll could have been in the hundreds. Although Stirling said no women or children were killed during the massacre the Nyungars claim the attack took place during ceremonial time when most of the men were away in initiation rituals. George Winjan, or Yaburgurt became the leader of the remainder of his people after his father’s death and also earned the respect of Mandurah’s white community. He died in 1915 (approx 83 years old) and his gravesite is in Christ’s Church, Mandurah. The Yaburgurt project in Mandjagoordup (Mandurah) dentifies the life journey of an amazing Noongar leader, whose father (Winjan) and grandfather (Mogum) were leaders in the area. Yaburgurt was born in Koolyininap (Halls Head) and survived the Pinjarra Massacre. The white settlers gave him the name ‘George’ so he is also known as George Winjan. Yaburgurt saw much change and left a legacy that includes his wisdom, his knowledge of culture, his understanding and relationship of the land and the leadership of his people. (The Yaburgurt Memorial Project) For more info check out the following: 05 Jan 1935 - WINJAN'S PEDIGREE. - Trove Winjan’s People by J.E Hammond The attached article is a very old newspaper clipping that claims old Winjan was the chief of all Aboriginal people in the SW. It also states that he lead the attacks which culminated in the dawn ambush led by Stirling and his armed troopers, that killed a great many of his own family members. The article stated Winjan was believed to be approximately 126 years old at the time of his death.

22.01.2022 Come and see what Bridgetown Historical Society has created in the Museum

21.01.2022 A couple of weeks ago BHS gave a presentation talk to the community at BFCC. The talk was called Bridges and Bathers on Goorbilyup (The Blackwood River) and the power point is linked below if you weren’t able to attend https://35060db4-5ca3-46db-b7d6-6de3107ccbb5.filesusr.com/

20.01.2022 History from the Grave 2pm walk was also a huge success and great to see visitors to our town participating. We'd like your feedback please. Could you hear the speakers? Was it as interesting as you had hoped for? Could we do better and if so, how?... Any suggestions for future cemetery walks? Was it too long or too short? See more

20.01.2022 Not Bridgetown history but WA history in Bayswater!

19.01.2022 And another fantastic photo just donated to us today. This one is possibly a picnic with the Methodist church followers. Taken c.1910, possibly earlier. The clergyman is in the front row and may be a clue. Can you help identify anyone in the photo?

19.01.2022 FIRST NATIONS HABITATS BEFORE INVASION First Nations people from the hundreds of different nations managed their lands, food, water and habitats to meet their n...eeds - working with their environment to maintain health, comfort and sustainability. Researchers in recent years, including Bruce Pascoe, have described how many First Nations nations/tribes lived in villages or towns, while many others lived in villages seasonally. Once the surviving peoples from the massacres were displaced from 'country' by European colonists, many were forced into exclusively hunting and gathering, therefore building shelters that served the purpose of this transient lifestyle. This was not completely foreign to them because most tribes often travelled around their lands seasonally, and through other tribes lands for regional gatherings. In reference to the bottom image represented here we provide some observations made by a land party from the Vlamingh Expedition in Western Australia before it was settled by Europeans, he reported to see five huts close together at Wittecarra Creek, near to the mouth of the Murchison River. One of these huts was described as being "made of clay with a roof sloping down on two sides." In 1803 another report of Aboriginal people living in a larger permanent settlement derived from the Baudin expedition, where they encountered a settlement on the tip of Peron Peninsula, Shark Bay, Western Australia on 18 March 1803. Three members of the Expedition mention this assemblage of huts, Baudin, Peron and Freycinet, and the ship's artist Petit was ordered to make a drawing. According to Baudin, "Twelve or fifteen huts, much better made, than those we have found hitherto, composed the village where this small tribe lived ... ones that belong to the heads of families ... were much bigger and were built with considerably more symmetry." Peron's description was, "these huts of the Land of Eendracht [central west coast of WA] ... are in the form of a hemisphere slightly depressed at the top ...... Their height is from 12 to 16 decimetres [1.2 1.6 m], by a diameter of 20 to 25 decimetres [2.0 2.5 m]. They are composed of small trees implanted in the soil ... On the outside are attached layers of foliage and clumps of grass covered by a large quantity of soil." The bottom drawing in the collage of abodes was made by the junior artist Petit, which first appeared in 1807 in Peron, Lesueur and Petit's Atlas. PLEASE NOTE: This information does not intend to undermine the tribes who permanently or semi permanently used very simple dwellings to meet their particular purpose.

18.01.2022 This photo was on the State Library’s timeline yesterday. Ref 022965PD Greengrocers Bridgetown c.1930s. Can anyone identify the young ladies and the location please?

17.01.2022 Here is the flyer for our open day this July, our grand reopening after five months! See you there.

17.01.2022 Next week, from Thursday 5th November to Sunday 8th November the Festival of Country Gardens will be happening in Bridgetown and beyond. Mera’s garden, no. 210, is open for the first time under our ownership and all money raised will be given to Bridgetown Historical Society as our major fundraiser for this year. We’d love to see you it’s just $8 pp to enter. We have delicious morning/afternoon teas ($2.50 tea or coffee, $1.50 water, $2.50 homemade cakes and slices to go with your cuppa), second hand books and of course our own book A Mere Country Village. Lots of potted plants and cuttings available. Full details go to www.festivalofcountrygardens.com See you in our garden

17.01.2022 We have had a fantastic Day 2 of the Festival of Country Gardens and Mary and Richard’s garden has been well received with lots of positive feedback. We are so pleased because ALL money raised goes to Bridgetown Historical Society for the audio system in the Police Station Museum. These are some photos of our garden, but come and see for yourself. Just $8 pp and you are helping BHS raise much needed funds. We also have lots of second hand books, our book AMere Country Village, jams, plants, for sale or you can have a tea/coffee ($2.50) and homemade cakes and biscuits for $2.50. Great taste, great value. And you can play croquet on the lawn

15.01.2022 BHS is raising much needed funds for its audio system in the Police Station Museum by opening a member's garden for the Festival of Country Gardens 5 - 8 November. We need an extra nine volunteers in three-hour slots for these periods below and if you can help, please ring 0487 592 704 Thursday 5th November: 9 - 12 or 11 - 2pm... Friday 6th November: 9 - 12, 11 - 2pm or 1 - 4pm Saturday 7th November: 11 - 2pm or 1 - 4pm Sunday 8th November: 11 - 2pm or 1 - 4pm Free sandwiches for volunteers's lunches and tea/coffee/water Your rewards will be sitting in a beautiful garden for three hours, selling tea/coffee or plants/books or registering cars/visitors. There is no gardening, nor walking required :)

14.01.2022 The book A Mere Country Village was written in 2018. We have sold over 400 copies and there are more to sell. But we haven't had a single review, and for marketing purposes, we need reviews to spruik the book. If you have read the book, could you please send your review by email to [email protected] You can also review it on Google, or any of the online bookstores that has it for sale, or Goodreads. Just let us know when you've reviewed it. If you would like to buy a copy of the book ($35) it is available through the Visitors Centre or the Historical Society and soon the Rabbit Hole.

14.01.2022 Today was totally amazing. On one of our panels in the Main Room (the booking room) we have a beautiful photo of three older Indigenous people known to us only ...as King Billy, Peter and Mary Ann. It’s a postcard photo and on the reverse one of the three wrote ‘from us black fellas’. I put the photo on the panel never dreaming a relative of King Billy would come to the Museum today. The lady came from Albany and was very emotional about seeing her g.grandfather’s photo. I’ve sent her a copy. But it just goes to show that word is getting out about our new panels that weave Indigenous and non-Indigenous stories together. I’m so proud of what BHS has achieved so far Stage 2/3 will be successful too. See more

14.01.2022 On Thursday Wadandi / Pibulmun Elder Sandra Hill had the honour of the Welcome to Country at the re opening Ceremony of the new look Bridgetown Police station M...useum. Words from Mary Elgar, JP, Chairperson, Bridgetown Historical Society Inc. Museums should satisfy curiosity and arouse curiosity, museums should educate, and museums should extend the front lines of knowledge, Museums should also tell stories that resound with the visitor and tell the truth about history. In April 2019, I attended a State History Conference in Perth and became aware of the term 'Dark Heritage'. It turned my view of history upside down, I felt disgruntled because my idea of what museums should show and tell had been questioned. 'Dark Heritage' is a concept that recognises the need to reflect all elements of the past in understanding and interpreting a place. This may include uncomfortable truths, or historical perspectives that have previously been hidden from view. Without proper guidance there is a risk of sensationalism, using history to shock and thrill and trivialising events whose impact may still be felt within current generations. (Ref: History Council of WA 2019, WA State Heritage and History Conference). Many thanks to Mary and all the volunteers from the Bridgetown Historical Society (BHS) for all their time and commitment to getting it right. BHS has strived for truth telling in the new interpretive panels inside the museum, as they tell the story of not only the white settlers to this region, but also the dark history of the Aboriginal people, the Pibulmun / Wadandi people, whose lives were deeply affected by European settlement. Under the guidance of Elder Sandra Hill, the untold story of the Aboriginal history is now located in the Museum, and this place is well worth the visit, as many may find the information on the panels confronting, we urge you to remember that the stories must be taken in context with their time, and for us to learn and move forward with truth telling, closing the gap between past practices and the present. See more

13.01.2022 Undercover blown! https://www.watercorporation.com.au//Century-old-foundatio

13.01.2022 An online annual history lecture given by Professor Stan Grant for those who are interested https://historycouncilnsw.org.au//annual-history-lecture-/

08.01.2022 Thank you to Tristan from the Manjimup-Bridgetown Times for publishing this article on our up-coming History from the Grave tour around part of the cemetery (not the Pioneer Cemetery) on Saturday 11 July at 11 am (sold out) and 2pm (bookings via TryBooking https://www.trybooking.com/book/event). The article has been edited by me as I gave wrong information to the journo. The famous artist Guy Grey-Smith is buried in Pemberton, it's his father who's buried in Bridgetown Cemetery.

08.01.2022 Mary and Richard have opened their garden during the Festival of Country Gardens and all funds raised will go towards the continuing upgrade of the Bridgetown Police Station Museum. The 4-day Garden Festival runs from Thursday 4 to Sunday 8 November, from 9 am to 4 pm. Please support BHS by visiting this garden (it's one of 17 that are open in the region during the Festival) - ALL PROCEEDS will go to BHS. Cost of entry is $8 per person, refreshments are available (paid), potted plants, cuttings, books and homemade jams are also for sale. And we now have credit card facilities

07.01.2022 Yornup School now Bridgetown Historical Society's HQ

06.01.2022 Edited to say: Man in white singlet middle of back row is Henry Joseph Smith, his wife Bertha is kneeling in front of him and the four, blond-haired children are all Smiths. The photo is c.1942. The man far left, holding a hat, is possibly a Reagan - can anyone confirm that? A beautiful new photo has been donated to us by a Perth lady. Her grandmother, Winifred Rankine, is the lady holding the young boy Jack on the far right, photo c.1924. Can you help identify anyone else in the photo please?

06.01.2022 Bridgetown Historical Society (BHS) is holding its annual Christmas Cake Stall this coming Saturday 12th December at the community stall on Hampton Street (next to Pharmacy 777). We have lots of cakes, scones, biscuits, homemade jams, raffle, plants and of course the BHS book A Mere Country Village for sale. Please come and support us. All funds raised are going towards the audio system we will be having installed next year (thinking positively!) in the Police Station Museum.

05.01.2022 If you don’t know about Trove, now’s the time to explore

03.01.2022 Don't forget this Sunday's Open Day with classic and vintage cars on display as well as our usual attractions. These are just some of the cars that came along last year. Sunday 23 August 10am to 2pm, hope to see you there.

02.01.2022 This beautifully restored buffet car will be one of the 'extra' items on display at next Sunday's Open Day ie Sunday 22 November between 9am and 2pm. Hope to see you there.

01.01.2022 A huge thank you to everyone who supported Bridgetown Historical Society by visiting Mera’s Garden during the Festival of Country Gardens last week. We raised an amazing $3000+ all of which will go towards the audio system we hope to install in the Police Station Museum, so that you, the community, and our visitors to Bridgetown, can hear voices from oral histories taken in the 60s, 70s, 80s and 2018. We do need the help of Lotterywest and live in hope they will see this project as worthy of a grant. Luckily the rain held off!