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

Pir-E-Kamil - The Perfect Mentor by Umera Ahmed: book review

The Perfect Mentor pbuh  (2011) is set in Lahore and Islamabad in Pakistan. The novel commences with Imama Mubeen in medical university. She wants to be an eye specialist. Her parents have arranged for her to marry her first cousin Asjad. Salar Sikander, her neighbour, is 18 years old with an IQ of 150+ and a photographic memory. He has long hair tied in a ponytail. He imbibes alcohol, treats women disrespectfully and is generally a “weird chap” and a rude, belligerent teenager. In the past three years he has tried to commit suicide three times. He tries again. Imama and her brother, Waseem, answer the servant’s call to help Salar. They stop the bleeding from his wrist and save his life. Imama and Asjad have been engaged for three years, because she wants to finish her studies first. Imama is really delaying her marriage to Asjad because she loves Jalal Ansar. She proposes to him and he says yes. But he knows his parents won’t agree, nor will Imama’s parents. ...
1 comment
Read more

Flaws in the Glass, a self-portrait by Patrick White: book review

The manuscript, Flaws in the Glass (1981), is Patrick Victor Martindale White’s autobiography. White, born in 1912 in England, migrated to Sydney, Australia, when he was six months old. For three years, at the age of 20, he studied French and German literature at King’s College at the University of Cambridge in England. Throughout his life, he published 12 novels. In 1957 he won the inaugural Miles Franklin Literary Award for Voss, published in 1956. In 1961, Riders in the Chariot became a best-seller, winning the Miles Franklin Literary Award. In 1973, he was the first Australian author to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for The Eye of the Storm, despite many critics describing his works as ‘un-Australian’ and himself as ‘Australia’s most unreadable novelist.’ In 1979, The Twyborn Affair was short-listed for the Booker Prize, but he withdrew it from the competition to give younger writers the opportunity to win the award. His autobiography, Flaws in the Glass...
Post a Comment
Read more

Sister cities discussed: Canberra and Islamabad

Two months ago, in March 2015, Australia and Pakistan agreed to explore ways to deepen ties. The relationship between Australia and Pakistan has been strong for decades, and the two countries continue to keep dialogues open. The annual bilateral discussions were held in Australia in March to continue engagements on a wide range of matters of mutual interest. The Pakistan delegation discussed points of interest will include sports, agriculture, economic growth, trade, border protection, business, and education. The possible twinning of the cities of Canberra, the capital of Australia, and Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, were also on the agenda (i.e. called twin towns or sister cities). Sister City relationships are twinning arrangements that build friendships as well as government, business, culture, and community linkages. Canberra currently has international Sister City relationships with Beijing in China and Nara in Japan. One example of existing...
1 comment
Read more