Issued - 21st October 2009
There has been a quiet period with not much happening at this stage of planning. The planning group met to work out time lines etc, but there were no momentous decisions. Early next year you should all notice an upsurge in advertising.
We are still working on a number of other ideas for making this event well worth the effort and a most interesting day for those attending. Later newsletters will detail these as we manage to bring the ideas to fruition.
VENUE DETAILS
Date: Sunday 7th March, 2010
Venue: Collingwood Town Hall, 140 Hoddle Street, Abbottsford, Melbourne
Time: 10.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m.
Registration Fees: $10.00 per head, children under 16 free.
FOOD - A reconnoitre of the Collingwood Town Hall area has found that there is very little in cafes or take out shops that are likely to be open. Therefore, the same arrangements as last time will apply – bring your own food; tea and coffee available free of charge.
PARKING - We are yet to survey weekend parking facilities near the Collingwood Town Hall.
DONATIONS - I would like to thank the two people who kindly donated $100 each towards planning costs. Your generosity is greatly appreciated. Others who wish to donate can do so by either sending a cheque/money order to my address, or direct depositing to the bank account.
Details are
Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Brighton, Vic.
Name: Pamela Sullivan and Karen Sullivan
BSB: 063 145
Account Number: 1028 1019
Please identify yourself by name so that we can keep accurate records.
TRAVEL / ACCOMMODATION - Do you need help with travel or accommodation? Beverley Wills works for a travel agency and may be able to assist you. Her email address is Beverley@travelmasters.com.au
INTERESTING READING
Book - "The Dig Tree" by Susan Murgatroid, published by Broadway Books, New York, 350 pages . It is an easy and interesting read, well illustrated, thoroughly researched and readily available from all good bookshops and also found in many libraries.
Website - The Burke and Wills Historical Society Web Site - http://burkeandwills.org. A great site for factual, proved information and has links to other interesting web sites.
ADMINISTRATION - You may contact me by email at sullivan.john@bigpond.com, or by mail to Pamela Sullivan, 3/496 South Road, Moorabbin, Vic 3189. To keep up to date with our planning check our web site at tww.id.au/family-history-wills/get/2010get.html
Note from Tom Wills
Pam has a few personal problems at present and asked me to finish off and forward this Newsletter.
RESEARCH - I thought that we could perhaps address several interesting items from current research by members of the extended Wills family of researchers.
1. Two different researcher groups have two different answers. One group located a daughter born to Noel Beresford Wills in the late 1930's, the other group cannot find any reference to this birth. They have searched the possible spellings of Jacqueline with no luck. As I was thinking of what to complete the newsletter with, I thought "Have they check the spelling of Wills". I remembered writing a web page years ago which I found is still located at tww.id.au/fam/spell.html . At the bottom of that page I noticed a link to another page written compiled by Ian Wills between 1985 and 2002. Ian's page is at tww.id.au/family-history-wills/lists/surname.html#note . Check them out, just click on the blue print. All of which goes to show how difficult research can be at times.
2. Within three days of each other I received two reports of crimes related to events in the 1850.
The first related to an ancestor of the researcher and his ancestor's brother who were both transported as convicts. They were both convicted of being involved in a group rape.
The other report was of two brothers, one married, one single, who over a period of 4 years both married the same women who had not divorced from the first marriage. Thus a bigamous brother and a bigamous wife.
What do we do, hide these events or just accept them as fact and record them in our reports.
3. I am aware of two couples that met on the voyage out from England on a sailing ship during the 1800's. They married after arrival in Australia but unfortunately they did not live happily after. In one case the husband died after four children had been born and in the other the lady died at child-birth a year after their marriage. Read the second story at tww.id.au/family-history-wills/ancestors.html#maria.
Do you have a happy story in your family regarding a shipboard romance. Tell us about it.