Skip to main content

Canberra Gold celebrates 50 year residents in 2013


The Chief Minister’s Canberra Gold Award recognizes the unique contribution made by individuals and groups who have chosen to make a long-term commitment to the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and the city of Canberra. Through the Gold Awards, the ACT government celebrates four residents who have lived in Canberra for 50 years or more. Four residents and two organizations are celebrated in the Canberra Gold: 50 Years in the ACT  exhibition at the Canberra Museum and Gallery from February 2 to May 19, 2013. The exhibition is part of the Centenary of Canberra activities to mark the capital’s 100th birthday.

Eddie Carnall, Janette James, Dick Redman and Petronella Wensing, the Canberra City Band and the Canberra Mothercraft Society have all contributed to Canberra life for 50 years—and their memorabilia appear in the museum’s exhibit.

Edwin Carnall, called Eddie, (1924-present) worked in the Manuka swimming pool in Canberra for his first job. At 18 he enlisted in the Australian army and served in the Pacific and in Borneo during World War II. He also worked as a bus conductor before retiring in 1984.

Walter (Dick) Redman (1928-present) moved to Canberra at 19 to work as a baker’s apprentice. In 1950, like Eddie, Dick also worked as a bus conductor. His wife June worked for Prime Ministers Ben Chifley and Robert Menzies before marrying Dick in 1952.

Petronella Goderie (1924-present) was born in Holland and migrated to Australia with her husband, Michael Wensing. Their third son was born the day they arrived. They moved to Canberra in 1953.

Janette James (1942-present) arrived in Canberra in 1962 to undertake a teaching job. She met her husband Garry and moved into their new home in 1967 where they still live. On display is her black and white dress that she wore to a ball at the Hotel Canberra in 1963.

The Canberra Mothercraft Society was established in 1926 under the name of Women’s and Infants’ Health Society, changing its name in February 1927. Gabrielle Hegyes was a community artist engaged by Mothercraft to express history through art. Hegyes, in her work Bonnets to Beanies (2012) shows the changing style of headwear worn by babies in Canberra from the 1920s (far left in the photograph) to the present day (far right).

The Canberra City Band was established as a brass band in 1925, comprising local workers. Woodwind instruments were added in 1949. It is the official band of the ACT, and in 2013 it celebrates its 88th anniversary.

Each year the ACT government presents the Gold Awards, but during the centenary year a special medallion will be awarded to everyone turning 100 years old in 2013 (as well as all those who are already 100 years or more). All babies born on March 12, 2013 (the 100th birthday of the naming of Canberra) will also receive a Centenary Medallion.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The acacia thorn trees of Kenya

There are nearly 800 species of acacia trees in the world, and most don’t have thorns. The famous "whistling thorn tree" and the Umbrella Thorn tree of Kenya are species of acacia that do have thorns, or spines. Giraffes and other herbivores normally eat thorny acacia foliage, but leave the whistling thorn alone. Usually spines are no deterrent to giraffes. Their long tongues are adapted to strip the leaves from the branches despite the thorns. The thorny acacia like dry and hot conditions. The thorns typically occur in pairs and are 5-8 centimetres (2-3 inches) long. Spines can be straight or curved depending on the species. MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Suda...
1 comment
Read more

Hop on hop off bus tourism comes to Tbilisi, Georgia

City Sightseeing buses have arrived in Tbilisi. The iconic red double-decker buses, a feature of many cities around the world since the company was established in Seville, Spain in 1999, is now in six continents and almost 100 cities. The company established its Tbilisi business in November 2013, with its operations commencing in February 2014. The 90-minute tour stops at 11 major locations in Tbilisi (with 2 to 5 minute waiting times at each location): the Old City (where it commences), Freedom Square, Rose Revolution Square, Marjanishvili Square, the Dry Bridge, Konka, Avlabari, Metekhi, Akhundov Museum, the Sulfur Baths, and European Square. Passengers can hop off at any stop and see the sights, hopping back onto the next bus at any time. Alternatively, passengers can remain on the bus for the whole tour and take photographs when the bus stops at each location. There are one day (24-hour) passes (for 35 lari – about $20) and 48-hour passes for 55 lari, with family d...
2 comments
Read more

The Knight in the Panther Skin by Shota Rustaveli (2015 translation): book review

The Knight in the Panther Skin (12th century, this edition 2015) is a recent translation by American poet and author, Lyn Coffin. The author, Shota Rustaveli, is Georgia’s most loved poet. This poem is mammoth, a magnum opus – it is 1,656 verses long, separated by chapters. But readers, don’t give up, because every verse is worth reading. It is akin to 1001 Arabian Knights, Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, or Shakespearean poetry. King Rostevan of Arabia has a daughter, Tinatin. She loves the knight Avtandil and he loves her. Verse 368 from Avtandil: ‘The doctor’s could do nothing. A dark twilight on my heart now pressed, I was on fire because of love, but nobody knew or guessed. They blamed my blood. The king decided bleeding my arm would be best; I let it be done to hide the suffering I had not confessed.’ But a knight in panther skin is seen weeping, and subsequently kills the king’s soldiers, sparing the king. Before Tinatin weds Avtandil she r...
Post a Comment
Read more