5 April 2024: This open day has been postponed due to the wet weather.
Save the date: Saturday, April 6, from 10am-2pm, 78 Parkes Street, Helensburgh.
Join us at 11am as we launch our new publication Teaching the 3Rs, Pioneer Schoolteachers of the Helensburgh District, written by Janet Lee. The book costs $20 and is about three pioneer public school teachers – Edwin Byrnes at Helensburgh, Arthur Gilchrist at Otford, and John Surtees at Stanwell Park.
The title is, of course, a reference to the old method of teaching “Reading, Writing and Arithmetic”, but these three pioneers did much more than that. They brought enrichment and enjoyment to the lives of young people through music, poetry recitations, sports, gardening, science, history, geography, nature study, sewing, citizenship, debating, patriotic events, and even practical life-saving lessons, as the children worked towards passing their examinations, in the hope of progressing to secondary education, or obtaining a good job. Not only that, the three teachers also helped form and enrich social life in the villages, by involving themselves wholeheartedly in community organisations.
We are reprinting the popular booklet by Dr Lorraine Jones, Helensburgh NSW and the 1919 Influenza Epidemic, and it will be available for $10 at the Open Day. We still have copies of last year’s publications available: Historic Helensburgh ($25) and Helensburgh Snippets ($20). Pay by Eftpos or cash or pre-order for pick-up.
At the Open Day, you can also tour Dr Cox’s 1935 surgery, look through our photo collection, get help with your family history, or update us with new information. Contact Jan on 0418 681 384 or info@historichelensburgh.org.au
