Members of the Dural and District Historical Society packed the room in July for a talk that felt more like an afternoon with an old friend than a lecture. Mal Johnston, who has spent much of his life chasing down the history of Kenthurst and the surrounding district, spoke about Round Corner to an audience of more than 130 members and friends.
Those who were there say his knowledge is matched only by how easy he is to listen to. As thanks, the society presented him with a kerosene-tin “bucket,” the kind of practical, homemade object that says more about a district’s past than any plaque could.
The society’s next big date is the 8th of August, when Dr Michael Griffith delivers the annual June Roughley Memorial Lecture, this year on the life and poetry of Francis Webb. Les Murray once named Webb among Australia’s finest poets, and Webb himself spent time living in Galston, where he wrote four poems set in the town.
The lecture carries June Roughley’s name for good reason. She started out teaching at Kenthurst’s one-teacher school, married Bert Roughley, and worked her way up through the Education Department to run larger schools nearby. Along the way she became one of the district’s most trusted researchers, writing books on local and family history, and when she saw how much of that history was slipping away, she helped found the society itself.
On the 12th of September, archaeologist and society member Elyssa Freame will talk about the Convict Trail Project, which documents and preserves what remains of the Great North Road — a route that runs from Abbotsford to the Hunter Valley and carries national heritage significance, with some stretches now World Heritage listed. Given how many local families still live along its path, the talk is expected to draw a personal as well as historical interest.
Open research afternoons continue to prove their worth, with visitors regularly turning up leads through the society’s maps and land records. The next session runs from 1pm to 4pm on Sunday the 23rd of August. Members are especially keen to see original land title deeds, which have been lent in for copying and often carry details that fill out the story of a property in ways maps alone can’t. Anyone holding onto old deeds is welcome to bring them along to be copied for the archive.
The society meets on the second Saturday of each month at 2pm in the Galston Uniting Church on School Rd, Galston. Entry is free, with afternoon tea available for a gold coin donation. Enquiries can be directed to Michael Bell on 02 9653 1365.
