Charleville Historic House in Charleville, Queensland, Australia | Community museum

Charleville Historic House

Locality: Charleville, Queensland, Australia

Phone: +61 7 4654 3349

Address: 87 Alfred St 4470 Charleville, QLD, Australia

Website: http://www.charlevillehistorichouse.com.au/

Likes: 574

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• Civilisation museum

25.01.2022 100 years ago a plane landed on the Ward Plain and ignited Charleville's love of flight

24.01.2022 Can you help Lynette with her search? Her email is at the end of her story: I am a military historian and am trying to track down the family of MALCOLM DALTON McDONALD, who lost his life near Sumatra on 21 Feb 1942, while flying with the RAF. The plane, with an Australian crew, 'disappeared'. Malcolm is still officially 'missing'. I am investigating the story of a local man from Bangka Island, off Sumatra's coast, who said he sheltered an Australian airman who bailed out... of an aeroplane in 1942. The good Samaritan did not speak English and did not know the airman's name - just that he was Australian. However he supplied details about the man, which I need to verify with the McDonald family. Now, it is a long time ago, but back in the late 1930s, Malcolm's father, Duncan Campbell McDonald, ran the Amby Hotel and his son Malcolm often supplied music for various functions in the town - on his own, with one or two others or to 'supplement' the Amby Orchestra. He enlisted in 1940. I have no idea what he played, and I need to know, because the Australian airman sheltered by the local man had an instrument with him, which he played. He died of malaria while in hiding, but I have tracked an 'unknown' body which could be him which was reburied in Jakarta War Cemetery. To get a name, I need to find an Australian airman shot down in that area (and there are at least 8), who played a musical instrument. Does anyone know an old timer who may remember the McDonald family - and perhaps have attended one of the events at which Malcolm played? His father, Duncan, was a very prominent local figure - grazier (Toolon and Vera Park); hotel owner eg: Norman (now Corones) in Charleville, Tattersalls in Cunnamulla, Imperial at Longreach; Amby at Amby (his mother owned it first of all) and was also the Mayor of Charleville and president of the hospital board. Any assistance will be greatly appreciated - we probably need to find someone in their 90s - old enough to go to functions and to recall the carefree days before the war. Lynette Silver AM, OAM, FAIHA email: [email protected], website: lynettesilver.com See more

19.01.2022 Historic House Museum is looking for an old timber fruit crate to use in an upcoming display. If you have one, broken or intact, and are willing to lend it for a few weeks, it will be greatly appreciated. PM me please, if you have such a treasure.

14.01.2022 Heard a wispher the other day that the old Moulin Rouge Building at 73 Galatea St may be facing demolition. It was built by Claude Padovani in the 1960s

13.01.2022 Charleville hosted history’s aviators Tuesday, November 12 2020, marks one hundred years since two Australian pilots flew into the history books when they took off from England’s Hounslow airport on the first leg of what would be their prize winning flight to Australia. Captain Ross Smith and his brother Lieutenant Keith Smith took up the challenge of Prime Minister Billy Hughes for the first Australians to fly from England to Australia within 30 days, offering a prize of 1...0,000 ($20,000). The average weekly wage at the time was about 3.10.0 ($7). The two brothers, from South Australia, and their mechanics Sergeant Wally Shiers and Sergeant Jim Bennett, won the race in 27 days and 20 hours in a Vickers Vimy with the call sign of G-EAOU, earning it the nickname of God ‘elp all of us. Within days of their arrival in Darwin, King George V awarded them knighthoods. Charleville was one of the officially scheduled landing points on the journey back from Darwin to Melbourne where the winner would receive the prize money. Around the same time as the brothers were leaving England, Captain Henry Wrigley and Sergeant Spud Murphy, in Victoria, were preparing to fly a single-engine BE2 across the Australian mainland to survey likely landing spots and fuelling points that pilots would need for the return journey from Darwin to Melbourne. Their flight, from the (RAAF) base at Point Cook, Vic, to Fanny Bay, NT, brought them to Charleville’s Ward Plain, at Glengarry, on November 24, 1919, the first recorded landing of aircraft in the region. Engine maintenance kept them here for two nights before they departed on November 26 1919; their 4000kms journey saw them land in Darwin on December 12. For the returning hero aviators, Charleville offered not only hospitality, but an unexpectedly long stay. Maintenance required a two-day stopover after their landing here on December 22, but engine damage, when they took off on Christmas Day, saw them return for extensive repairs which kept the plane on the ground until February 2020. The Vimy was one of ix planes which entered the challenge and the only one to finish within the allotted time. A second Australian team left England in early 1920, but took around 200 days to complete the journey, the only other aircraft to finish the race. In the photo, war photographer Frank Hurley with Ross and Keith Smith, Jim Bennett and Wally Shiers. Historic House Museum will soon have a display of memorabilia and documents from the two flights. SBS is scheduled to screen a documentary in December, narrated by Australian astronaut Andy Thomas. See more

11.01.2022 AWESOME!! Thank you so much everyone who has helped us get to a milestone 300 likes. Big thanks to Pam Taylor for cleaning up these little "typewriting" treasures and Barry Street for donating some fantastic antique bottles (two of which went straight into our display).

09.01.2022 Charleville & District Historical Society Inc Annual General Meeting Tuesday, November 26, 2019, 5.15pm at Historic House Museum 87 Alfred Street Charleville, Qld... Phone: 4654 3349 All welcome See more

09.01.2022 Is anyone aware of this little treasure? Found it online last night and read it until 1 in the morning! It is the journal of a young Englishman who worked at Burenda during the 1870's, Much of the 147 pages is centered around the Augathella district. Try this link http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-233158922/view# or http://nla.gov.au/nla.ms-ms3628a. Fascinating read.

05.01.2022 Visited the Charleville Historic House yet? Boasting a collection of items celebrating the early years of settlement, its a great little place to stop off from the Warrego Highway. Thanks for the capture @hannahstatham

05.01.2022 100 years ago the first planes flew into Charleville

03.01.2022 Take off and landing on Ward Plain ONE HUNDRED years ago, today (December 25), aviators Captain Ross Smith and Lieutenant Keith Smith, flying a Vickers Vimy, took off from Glengarry on Charleville’s Ward Plain and headed for the next stop on the return leg of their Darwin to Melbourne flight. Following their landing in Darwin and winning the first air race from England to Australia, the brothers, along with their crew Sergeants Wally Shiers and Jim Bennett, were en route to r...eceive their 10,000 prize from then Prime Minister Billy Hughes. Barely out of the town’s boundary a resounding bang signalled damage to the plane’s engine and the need to return to Charleville. With no spare parts on board or immediately available, the repairs would subsequently need transporting both the propeller and the engine to Ipswich Rail workshops. It would eventually take some seven weeks before they were returned. Country hospitality, however, was generous for the pilots with the Geelong Advertiser, December 29 1919, reporting that: Captain Sir Ross Smith and Lieut Sir Keith Smith, have gone as guests to Messrs Baker Bros, Gowrie station, 12 miles from Charleville, for turkey and duck shooting during the Christmas and New Year holidays. They will also stay at Mr Thomas Smith's Newholme station for a time. It was announced on December 22, 1919, that knighthoods had been awarded to the Smith brothers and Bars to the Air Force medals of Shiers and Bennett. Displays of documents and mementos from the flight will be set up in Historic House Museum in January 2020, together with photos and diaries from the first plane to land in Charleville’s environs, a BE2 flown by Captain Wrigley and Sergeant Spud Murphy. See more

03.01.2022 We are dispersing some excess Vintage (50+ years) items this afternoon on the HISTORIC HOUSE STALL at the CHRISTMAS STREET PARTY. (Historic House has a shortage of available storage, so we are giving storage priority to our Antique (100years +) collection). Old books and screw top bottles are among the items that must go. Please drop by and browse. All offers considered! Nothing Antique (100+ years) on sale sorry.