HISTORICAL SOCIETY
P.O. Box 121, Oatley NSW 2223
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2017 - President - Julian Sheen 9594-4888: Secretary - Bill Wright 9580-1064
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OATLEY HERITAGE AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY
NEWSLETTERSEPTEMBER 2017
I expect that this year that two of our local primary schools will take up our offer to sponsor local history awards for senior students. We hope this move will encourage the study of our rich and growing history, history that deserve attention and scrutiny.
One of our schools, Oatley West was the focus of our last presentation meeting at the Oatley RSL. The topic was schooling in the 1950s and we studied such unforgettable phenomena as school milk (thank you John Whitbread for the DVD), the end of year examinations and the emergence of theOatley West P&C in 1958.
The two concluding events for 2017 will be our October Coffee and Chat at the Oatley library hall and our finalpresentationevent at the RSL. The Coffee and Chat will be another opportunity to explore and remember past events and people so bring along a “show and tell” piece of evidence, a photo,a letter, a story or just a memory and share it with others. The date is Friday 27th October.
On Friday 24th November Rodger Robertson will takeus to visit one of Oatley’s greatest assets:the Memorial Park or Gardens that run along the old railway line on the east side of Oatley, a legacy of the redirection of the steep line that came up from the Como bridge.
Two other events should be put in your diary. On Saturday21st October, the Oatley Lions Festival will be held, we again will have a stall so come along and help us out or at least call in and say hello.
Soon after that Oatley Public School will hold a centenary fete and again we will hold an OHHS stall. The date will be Saturday 4th November, see you there.
On Friday 24thNovember at our presentation session Society members will be asked to consider and vote on two constitutional matters. The first is the matter of changing and simplifying the name of our society to The Oatley Historical Society. This change, if approved, would give a greater focus on our core activity namely studying, reporting and recording the history of our neighbourhood
The second proposal is to change the terms of election of the position of president. At present the presidential term is, if returned at each AGM, limited to a maximum of three consecutive years.The committee believes that while a “sunset clause” is a good idea this should be after a period of five years, not three. This, it is believed would give greater flexibility to filling the president’s position.
Membership fees for 2018 and beyond have been set by the committee as $15 for three years and $20 for life membership. A generous deal I think you would agree. Fees are due to the treasurer Rodger Robertson at the end of the year.
In the context of membership, we need to be aware that our membership is not growing. In fact, it may dwindle as members pass away. To remain viable we must a) take steps to promote and publicise ourselves more and b) consider being more accessible to younger people; this may mean moving our presentation meeting at the RSL to the evenings.
It would be a good thing, in the spirit of our core business of recording our history, if we had an accurate record of houses in Oatley which were built before 1900. The council has some records but I would like to carry out our own survey. So, do some research and if you know of a house, or houses that fit this category please let me know or bring your knowledge to the next Coffee and Chat session on 27th October.
Julian Sheen
fond memories, at least it's not out in the playground getting warm.