Issued 28th March 2010
Hello All
Well, those 75 people who were at the convention know that it was very successful. It was so unfortunate that the horrific storms the day before caused so much damage. We had emails that our numbers were down by at least 30 due to hail or wind damage to homes or cars. Our thoughts are with you, and hope that you have successfully achieved repairs by now. It was ironic that, looking back to the 2003 Get-together, it also rained heavily on that day!
The comments from those that attended the function were all about how much they had enjoyed themselves, and it was great to hear that all the work in planning the event was worthwhile.
There were many different "Wills" family histories on display, and these were being constantly perused by those looking for links to their own families. Some of these trees are huge, and can be found on our The Index of the Wills Families in Australia web site that Tom Wills does a wonderful job in keeping up to date as new info comes in.
The family history of Tom Wills, footballer and cricketer, was enhanced by the attendance of Jane Templeton, daughter of Russell Stephens. Russell had researched and then written a book "Willsway" on Tom and his father and grandfather. If any of you are interested in this book, please contact me and I will be able to put you in touch with Jane.
We were delighted to have Amanda Stone, councillor and ex-mayor of the City of Yarra officially open the convention for us. She spoke a little on the history of the Collingwood Town Hall, and even though not significant in the Burke and Wills saga, the hall does have much history attached to it.
The first of our speakers was David Dodd, project manager for the Royal Society of Victoria. David told us about the marvellous things that are being planned for celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Burke and Wills expedition. The RSV is a scientific body and they raised the funds and set the parameters for the expedition. You can track all these events on the web at burkeandwills150.info/.
David was delighted to meet up with descendants of Thomas Wills, the explorer's brother and also a descendant of the sculptor who sculpted the Burke and Wills statue which can be seen in Swanston Street. There were other links to the expedition also found either at the convention or as a result of the advertising, and we are pleased to have been able to assist David in this manner.
Our next speaker was Daniel Wilksch, from the Public Record of Victoria. Daniel spoke first on the two documents that they hold regarding the Burke and Wills Expedition. These are the survey map drawn by William John Wills and handed to the PROV when it was recovered, and a letter from William John asking for leave of absence from his employer so that he could actually take part in the expedition. Daniel then spoke about the collection of letters between citizens and government departments, which are archived by the PROV and available for viewing. These letters are another source of information on our ancestors which most of us (including me) never think to access. They can be ordered for viewing from the PROV website.
Daniel told me that the two documents listed above will be able to be viewed at the Burke and Wills display in the Old Treasury Building in Melbourne a little later this year. Keep an eye open on the PROV website for information on dates for this exhibition.
Our final speaker was Frank Leahy, a member of the Burke and Wills Historical Society, and also held the position of Assoc Prof., Principal Fellow, Department of Geomatics, University of Melbourne, Parkville 3052, Victoria until his retirement. Frank is a very experienced surveyor and gave a fascinating talk on William Wills. He stated that whilst some noted surveyors of that era have been extremely negative on William's skills, his own studies and recalculations of Williams notebooks have proved that he was just the opposite - a highly skilled, very clever surveyor.
I would like to again sincerely thank Amanda Stone, David Dodd, Daniel Wilksch and Frank Leahy for the time and effort they put into making our day very special.
I would also like to thank Ian Douglas for arriving in the uniform of the Mount Alexander Rifles. Ian belongs to the Victorian Colonial Infantry Association (re-enacting the Mount Alexander Rifles) and this group of musicians led the funeral procession for Robert O'Hara Burke and William John Wills to the Old Melbourne Cemetery in 1863. Ian was regretful that the group were unable to perform for us, but the uniform certainly helped to add colour and atmosphere to our convention.
There seem to be so many people to thank, but I cannot send this out without mentioning my wonderful helpers - Kenneth and Pamela Sinclair, Ian and Sue Wills, Tom Wills, and Bev-Wills Walsh plus the people who made donations of cash to ensure we could carry out our plans, I will be writing to thank them individually. Without their wonderful support, this convention would not have been as successful as it was.
Lastly, I cannot thank all of you enough for coming out in such horrible weather. You came from near and far - we even had a gentleman from America! Please stay in touch and if I can help with any family history research, don't hesitate to ask. Research is my passion and I am always pleased to help where I can.
My contact details have changed, including my email address.
You can reach me:-
By letter - Mrs P Sullivan, 3 Strickland Court, Pakenham, Vic, 3810
By email - john.sullivan@bigpond.com
By phone - (03) 5941 5249
This is Pam, signing off!!