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Tom & James Littlewood

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A TALE OF TWO BROTHERS TOLD IN A NEW DISPLAY AT THE WOLLONDILLY MUSEUM

Tom and James Littlewood were the sons of William & Jane (nee Wheatley) Littlewood. They lived at “Waratah” The Oaks and were two of eleven children. Tom was born in 1871 and James (Jim) in 1892. They attended the local Church and School run by Josephite nuns. The whole family and their neighbours helped to support the nuns and their school by growing and supplying them with vegetables.

Trapping and selling rabbits and growing and selling flowers were activities they both shared and they were both creative but in different ways.

Tom Littlewood

Tom Littlewood

Tom made a living from selling honey from his many hives and grew and sold waratahs, but his creativity was demonstrated in sketching and wood carving...

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Treasure Trove of History

BlogHistory Blog

Tucked away in The Oaks is a treasure that most people know and others are delighted to find – it’s a trove of artefacts, facts and glimpses of the past, which can all be found at the Wollondilly Heritage Centre and Museum – which showcases history as well as reliving it.

The centre and museum tell the unique stories of the people and places of Wollondilly and the Burragorang Valley. Before the Burragorang was flooded to allow water to flow into the Warragamba; it was a thriving village – a community complete with shops, a church and school –many of which were salvaged.

But some of the oldest items proudly on display are Aboriginal sharpening tools which date back many generations...

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Pig Iron Bob

BlogHistory Blog

Ben and I went to the launch of the documentary by Sandra Pires about the Dalfram Dispute of 1938, which is called Pig Iron Bob after the resident Minister for Trade & Attorney General in the Liberal government, Bob Menzies. He had signed a contract with Japan to supply them with pig iron for making bullets for use in the Second World War. The ship carrying the pig iron was called the Dalfram.

Suzanne Roach

Suzanne Roach, daughter of Ted Roach with Michael Cormick who plays her father in the film.
Photo: Courtesy Illawarra Mercury, Jan 22 2014

In Port Kembla, BHP, the producers of the pig iron, was being challenged by Union Leader Ted Roach because of the system of hiring only the strongest men and working them to death...

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With the Best of Intentions

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Stories from Barnardo Farm Training School at Mowbray Park 1929-1959

The exhibition was initiated by ex residents of the Barnardo home in 2008 after a previous exhibition about teachers in Wollondilly, Teachers Tales featured a story from Barnardos. A series of workshops ensued with people who had been at the home, neighbours and friends and Ann Howard who had produced two seminal works on this home previously. Therefore the exhibition and book are not intended as a history of Mowbray Park home but as a record of those locals who wanted to be involved. The project was widely circulated at Barnardo reunions and locally and a grant was received to produce a re-enactment of some of the stories by Sarah’s Theatre for Young People...

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When was the last time you saw a Koala in Wollondilly?

BlogHistory Blog

WHAT HAPPENED TO OUR KOALAS?

The NPWS are considering creating a Koala Park to preserve what is left of our koalas. Local councils are monitoring their locations to monitor their movements and try to preserve them. But how much do we know about the presence of koalas in Wollondilly?

This is some documented material I have recently discovered from the archives of the Wollondilly Heritage Centre and online.

1798: The first mention of the koala was by John Price, Manuscript journal. Mention only of an animal seen near Bargo / Mittagong, south-west of Sydney.

1802: Colo or monkey. Ensign Francis Barrallier, 9 November. Manuscript journal. Mention only of parts of a dead animal seen and collected south-west of Sydney, in the area of the Nepean River, Michael Organ BSc DipArchAdmin Archivist, Un...

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