September 2013

Friends of Mandurah Community Museum Newsletter.
Streets in Falcon named after boats continued ...
Galatea Road Falcon
Yacht Galatea Designed by John Beavor-Webb
Built in May 1885, for Lieutenant Henn. She had a steel
frame, a lead filled steel keel and riveted steel plate hull.
Her decks were made of teak. After losing a number of
British yacht races, Lieutenant Henn and his wife sailed
her to New York to try to recover the America‟s cup.
In September of 1886 he challenged for the America‟s
Cup, but lost to the American yacht Mayflower who was
defending the America‟s cup. Following his defeat he was
very unhappy with the outcome and in the spring of 1887
he challenged General Paine and his yacht Mayflower to
a private rematch, which he also lost. However he did
win the Queen Jubilee Cup in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on
the 20th of August 1887.
From 1888 until 1894 Lt Henn and his wife lived on board
the Galatea. Following Lt Henn‟s death in 1894, Mrs
Henn continued to live on board the vessel until her death
in 1911. In January 1912 the Galatea was sold for scrap
and broken up.
Before we close this story let us have a look at why Lt
Henn was not very successful in winning yacht races.
These types of boats are very expensive to build and Lt
Henn was not a wealthy man, but his wife was in fact a
very wealthy lady. Thus when Lt Henn asked her to finance the building of the yacht, she agreed to do this on
the condition that she would go with him on the challenge.
This was not a good idea because she was a lady of leisure and knew very little about sailing, but he had to
agree to her demands if she was to provide the requisite
finance. Added to this problem was the fact that she constantly visited the boat builders during the construction of
the yacht, ordering numerous alterations to the specifications. Thus it was slowly becoming a luxury yacht rather
than a racing yacht. It was fitted out with heavy mahogany furniture and other luxury items that had no place on
a racing yacht. The last straw was that just prior to leaving for the challenge she ordered numerous potted plants
be put on board together with her several dogs and her
pet monkey called Peggy.
September 2013
Mandurah trees and their surrounds.
Watch this
space for 2014
calendar, which
will be ready
for purchase in
mid October
and on sale at
our Heritage
Day.
Special features
Streets of Falcon.
Galatea. By Dave Austin.
Regular features.
From the MDO .
Education Matters.
Chairpersons report –
Nautical Notes.
Letters received.
Nicholas Reynolds.
Katrina Pritchard.
Jan Baker.
Michael McGhie
Editor
Jan Baker.
Page 1
Needless to say these actions
caused a weight problem which
of course is not what one wants
when about to enter a race, but
Poor Lt Henn could not argue if
he wanted the finance.
So when Galatea was pitted
against the Mayflower she was
reputed to be 47 tons heavier
than the American defender
Mayflower, making this probably
the most mismatched race in the
history of the Americas Cup. Thus yet another attempt to
recover the cup taken from the Royal Yacht Squadron on
the Isle of Wight in 1851 ended in failure. With the cup
remaining in American hands until Australia snatched it
away from them in 1983 smashing the 123 year American possession of the worlds oldest continually awarded
sporting trophy.
David Austin
Mandurah Heritage Day 2013
Saturday, November 16
10.00am—3.00pm
Come along and enjoy a family fun, interactive
and exciting day celebrating Mandurah‟s rich
heritage.
Event highlights include:
Horse and cart rides
Heritage hunt
West Oz Wildlife
Machinery display
Mullet and sausage sizzle
Southern Cross Bush Band
Tours of Christ‟s Church Graveyard
Excerpt from letter received from Falcon Primary School
following a visit to the museum.
The students, parents and teachers had a fantastic time and
learned so much!...... We discussed the excursion for weeks and
the students wrote reports about what they learned. It is so
much more interesting to experience history first hand, than to
simply read about it in a book! The students immersed themselves in the „olden days‟ by dressing up in old school clothes,
role playing in the old school room, and writing with pen and
ink. Some of the parents even got carried away with their role
as the strict old headmaster Mr Dalrymple! “:Sit up straight!
Don‟t spill the ink!” They loved it! Everyone really enjoyed
looking at the old pictures, playing with old toys and making
butter the “old fashioned” way. For a moment in time, we were
all transported back to Mandurah one hundred years ago. Now
whenever we discuss Thomas Peel or an early settler, the kids
say, “ “We saw where he was buried!” or “That was the man
who fell off his horse and cart!” They remember the stories
and the activities. This special day will live on in their momories for a very long time. Thank you again Katrina, Museum
Employees [volunteers] and Historical Society members. Fantastic Excursion, well done!!!!!
Michele Maxwell, S & E Teacher, Yr 2
Writing Your Memoirs
With Rosemary Stevens
BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND
Do you have a story to
tell based on your life
experience? Where do
you begin? And how
should you proceed?
Rosemary will help
trigger memories and
provide you with the
tools to bring your story to life in a relaxed
atmosphere. No previous experience necessary, simply bring along pen and paper.
Where: Mandurah Community
Museum
When: Wednesday, November 6
Time:
10.30 am to 2.15 pm
Cost:
$10.00
Tea and coffee available and lunch provided.
Contact the Mandurah Community Museum
on 9550 3682 to make a booking.
Limited spaces available
Let‟s go fly a kite,
Up to the highest
height.
More information
and bookings:
Museum: 9550 3682
Page 2
Museum Development Report: Hello everyone and a
big welcome back to the Museum for all of us after both
our period of closure and my time away with Kristi in
America. As many will be aware, big things have been
going on at the Museum over the period of time since our
last newsletter, with a number of long standing issues
being taken care of, very much proving the old adage
“good things come to those who wait”!
As of writing this, building works at the Museum are on
schedule to come to a successful conclusion within the
coming week. The works to replace old asbestos containing floor tiles at the museum are complete, with the old
tiles having been removed and replaced with modern vinyl flooring in the former courtroom gallery and the corridor outside the Museum Development and Education
Officer‟s Office. Carpets in all other areas have been lifted
in preparation for replacement.
Our brand new disabled toilet is now in place, with the
extra space being very much appreciated. Not only that,
but also the fact of floor to ceiling tiles and new fittings
mean we have a newer, much more functional, nonleaking, and clean looking bathroom that we, visitors, and
cleaners alike will appreciate. Not everything old is good,
especially with bathrooms as I‟m sure we‟ll all agree.
Speaking of leaks, roofing works have been completed
which means we now have a dry workshop area and surrounding spaces, along with Katrina‟s current office area.
As always, leak finding and fixing is an ongoing issue,
with a couple of new areas having problems with all the
movement on the roof, but these are being sorted out.
Painting works have also now been completed with offices, courtroom, and passageway being repainted, along
with the spot near the Museum entrance which was exposed when the air conditioners were replaced some time
ago. I know that‟s a patch which has needed to be fixed
for a while.
“Creative Spaces” have completed the lighting works to
the Dalrymple Schoolroom and Local studies area. We
were able to test these before the museum was closed for
asbestos removal and the effect really does transform the
space into something quite different and very professional
in appearance. The interpretation panels that were also
installed are effective and work well with both the space
and the lighting. Furthering this, the restoration of the
floor in the schoolroom has taken the space back to how
it would have originally appeared with oiled boards. Now
we are able to get back into this space and also the local
studies area we have placed the furniture and displays
giving the final touches to our new galleries.
In conclusion, I would like to thank Katrina especially, and
all volunteers who assisted in the hard work, both mental
and physical, which had to be
undertaken both before and
during the time that we have
been closed. Thanks to this
work, we‟ll all be coming back
shortly to a Museum that‟s
gone through one of its biggest changes. All this could
not have happened without
the support that the Mandurah community has given,
and continues to give to its
Museum.
Nick Reynolds
Education Matters. I worked from Falcon Library
while the Museum was closed. The staff were very
welcoming and friendly and I appreciated how they
accommodated me and found me a space to work
from.
The Education Boxes were used by a variety of
schools during the term. This included Singleton,
Meadow Springs, Settlers Hill, Frederick Irwin,
Glencoe, Mandurah and Mandurah Catholic College.
I had a request from a Year 3 teacher to provide
information on the theme of “Transport”. I found it
interesting while I was researching this topic to find
out how transport has changed over time in Mandurah.
I visited Singleton Primary and presented to 5 year
one classes a power point on early settlement of
Mandurah. Some of the students asked very relevant questions. The students, in small groups, had
the opportunity to investigate some objects. In
their small group, they passed the object to each
person, looked at it, used it and discussed what
they thought it was. It was interesting to listen to
their discussions. When the butter pats were
passed around some of the students thought they
were used for making music, making a fire,
scratching your back, painting texture, smacking
children, smoothing icing on a cake or smoothing
cement. There was only one child that had seen
batter pats before and her grandmother used them
when making soap.
During the October school holidays the children
have the opportunity at the Museum to make and
fly a kite. See more details on the advertisement.
“Writing your Memoirs” with Rosemary Stevens
was so popular earlier in the year. I have asked
Rosemary to present another workshop. This
workshop will be held at the Museum on Wednesday, November 6 from 10.30 am to 2.15 pm.
Please see the advertisement for more detail.
The preparations for Mandurah Heritage Day on
Saturday, November 16 have begun. The Southern Cross Bush Band, Charming Carriages and
West OZ Wildlife have been booked.
Mandurah Cruises have kindly donated the prizes
for the Heritage Art competition and Heritage Hunt
competition. This is a family ticket for a one hour
Dolphin and Mandurah Waterways Cruise.
Many local organisations and groups have been
approached and asked it they would like to participate in this event. I have had a positive response
from the Falcon Spinners,
Roger May Museum, Peel
Pottery, Mandurah Model
Powerboat Club, Vintage
Machinery Organisation,
Mandurah Philatelic Society
and many others. There
are still several organisations that need to take my
request to their committee
before committing.
Katrina Gauci
Page 3
Introducing Nautical Notes.
The Maritime Annexe has been bravely
flying the flag for the Mandurah Community Museum. If only one day a week,
while the renovations dragged on. We
have been experimenting with opening times to capture
the maximum number of passers-by. After we had decided on an early start one Saturday, David had the Boatshed open by 8.45 am and had three visitors before I arrived at 9.00. We then borrowed the sandwich board
from the museum and this had an immediate effect on
visitor numbers. Where
before people had
walked past wondering
just what we were up
to, having the board out
made it obvious and
drew a higher proportion in. We needed our
own; so I donated a
sandwich board I had
previously rescued from
a verge collection and
David hit it with “Big
Bertha” his trusty belt
sander that has been
doing sterling duty on
the conservation cradles. Kim Jameson
helped me with the
graphics and our new benefactor‟s $50.00 donation paid
to have two images blown up and laminated. Our new
sandwich board is eye catching and is dragging the people in. We have been analysing people movements in
Soldiers Cove and concluded that it is a morning thing,
locals walking into town for a coffee, a little shopping and
the papers. Others seek easy parking in Winjan Place
and do the same. So now we have a fairly busy morning
with visitors, leaving the more quiet afternoon to get on
with some work. Visitor numbers have been improving
every month. 50 for July, 62 adults and 8 children in August which had 5 Saturdays and 11 for the first Saturday
in Sept. Signage is so obviously the key and I believe
that more signs on the Eastern Foreshore Walk below the
bridge would lure more tourists up to both the Maritime
Annexe and the Mandurah Community Museum. Something for council to look into.
Michael McGhie
Chairpersons report: As I prepare this report I reflect on
plans which have been delayed and forward plans which
should be met. You will remember at our last meeting I
proposed a „soup kitchen‟ for August, to this end we had
selected a date and asked Ken Donohoe to talk a little
about his early days in Mandurah. The timing would been
excellent as August was the month of the first meeting of
Mandurah Shire Council.
As you are all aware the meeting was delayed due to
building maintenance, reparations to the building and a
general refurbishment in the areas Nick mentioned earlier
in his report.
As I am going away as this newsletter „hits your doorstep‟
we will postpone our AGM and general meeting until my
return in early October, allowing me time to settle back
down. I propose we hold the deferred meetings in late
October and use this also as a celebration of the refurbished building. The event will be a wine and cheese
night, either 23rd or 30th of October. Further information
will be sent to you once our plans are in place.
Earlier in this newsletter we advertised our “Writing Your
Memoirs” Workshop, this second workshop is due to the
City of Mandurah providing the Friends with extra funding
to that originally requested in a grant application, and following the high demand we had for the first one. Those
people who attended Rosemary Stevens first workshop
praised it highly. I hope to be able to attend this one; the
day is a Wednesday so those people who couldn‟t come
on a Friday might be able to attend on the Wednesday.
There is a minimal cost of $10 which assists in the provision of morning tea and lunch.
Book early for this so you won’t be disappointed;
We are preparing a small grant application to the Bendigo
Bank for further assistance in repairing the Canopus, during our recess we also received further monies from the
Mayday Op. Shop who decided to grant extra funds once
they realised we weren‟t the Historical Society.
We are hoping that many of our Friends will be available
to supplement the assistance provided by the Volunteers
in making Our Mandurah Heritage Day truly special. If
you are able to assist in any way, whether manning a
desk, assisting in making a building available or assisting
with our mullet / sausage sizzle please call the museum
and talk to either Nick or Katrina.
Jan Baker
Mandurah Community Museum,
3 Pinjarra Rd,
MANDURAH WA 6210.
Friends of Mandurah Community Museum,
3 Pinjarra Rd,
MANDURAH WA 6210.
Telephone: 9550 3680.
Email: [email protected]
Internet: www.mandurahcommunitymuseum.org
The mission of the Friends is to provide assistance
and support to the Museum in all its endeavours.
The ‘Friends’ also seek to promote the heritage and
history of Mandurah, and to assist other like minded
bodies.
Opening hours.
Tuesday to Friday.
10 am to 4pm.
Saturday & Sunday.
11 am to 3pm.
Closed Mondays and Public Holidays.
Membership of the Friends is by a yearly
membership fee of $10 due each August.
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