Mundaring & Hills Historical Society Blog

After having a perfect Spring day yesterday, the weather today is now overcast and a bit depressing. It was the Gala opening for “What a Tool” in Mundaring yesterday and what a fantastic event it was. Who could believe that so many people would be interested in old tools. There were hundreds of people milling through the Mundaring Hall, looking at the various skills being honed. Some absolutely beautiful wood work. Stall holders taking great care to teach the public how to make various objects and how to smooth pieces of wood to perfection. After planing a piece of timber, with a very expensive wood plane, we were taught to pick up a handful of the wood shavings and rub the planed area. Believe it or not this provided an incredibly smooth surface. Better than the result that sandpaper would have achieved.

There was a blackmith showing people how to bash a red hot rod into a flat leaf design. Woodworkers helping the public make handmade chopsticks with a very simple hand held device. Printmakers, cuttlefish etching, jewelry making and much more made the day a huge success.

MHHS and the Chamber of Commerce held a “What’s This Tool” competition.
the winner of which won a great trophy.

The only downer for the day was that we were stuck indoors whilst the sun was shining brilliantly outside.

Well done everyone for making “What a Tool” such a fantastic successful day.

I think Spring has definitely arrived. Driving into the hills today, I saw the loveliest Kangaroo Paws and other wildflowers on the side of the road. If it wasn’t illegal, I would have pulled over and picked some for my desk. But it IS illegal so I refrained from doing so. Which means that other drivers get to enjoy the view.

 

Just a short note today. Where do the days go? It’s Wednesday again and the weeks are whizzing by. Get ready for Christmas everyone. It is just around the corner. All systems go with the opening date  for our new exhibition bearing down on us. Did not need to lose an hour and a half trying to get some scans done this morning. Racing between two computers and two scanners to get a relatively minor job done. Plans A, B and C did not work smoothly individually, but a combination of the three, got the job done eventually. I hate technology!!

Stay calm don’t sweat the small stuff. Ciau

Come and have a peak at the open day at the Mundaring Hall or pop down to the Museum for our latest exhibition. Enjoy all sorts of activities on the 30th. Win a prize in our “What do you think this is?” competition.

See you all there!

 

Hello out there. Do you believe in coincidences?  I was just listening to our local radio station and there was groundbreaking news about a huge gold discovery in Kambalda, a mining town in Western Australia. While listening, I  opened a google page to find a picture commemorating a local woman who would be celebrating her 111th birthday today if she was still alive

Dorothy Hill, AC, CBE, FAA, FRS was an Australian geologist and palaeontologist, the first female professor at an Australian university, and the first female president of the Australian Academy of Science.

 

 

 

 

 

Well we have made it to the end of our working week and it seems that every man and his dog wanted to know something about the Mundaring Shire history.

We were inundated with visitors today and it was great to see such enthusiasm for the history of our wonderful hills suburb.

Our local metal detectorist brought in his latest find. A very interesting badge/button which was in the shape of an anchor with a rope entwined and knotted at the top. Couldn’t have been used for fastening as it was not the right shape or it didn’t have the correct attachment style. It could have been an embellishment for a cap or pocket.

Any ideas?

Many thanks to Francesca from the Perth Observatory. We had a great visit this morning and were given a tour of the facility. After the meteor which flew into our atmosphere about 8.30pm last night, the staff and volunteers were pretty flat out answering phone calls. Apparently the meteor crashed to earth around Northam. Some people reported the earth moving around that time. The staff at the observatory informed us that there was an explosion just before the rock hit the ground. The staff were able to tell us the composition of the meteor which they knew because of its colour before it broke up and hit the earth.

Fascinating visit and well worth going again for a night time viewing through the telescope.

If you have the time, make your way up to Bickley and visit the observatory. There are plenty of wineries and restaurants along the way.

MHHS is gearing up for our next exhibition starting in September. “Made in Mundaring” or “What a Tool” is going to showcase items that were made in Mundaring. We already have a collection of items ready for our display but we can always do with more. If you are local, have a poke around your shed and see if you can find any hidden treasures. In times past, people often made do with tools that they had laying around and then made modifications to do special jobs. Mundaring was considered a long way from the City and therefore locals would often craft their own tools or household items. We would love to hear from you if you find an interesting object.

Boya Library presented “Wundowie to Weir” film footage on Monday the 13 August. A great turnout with most viewers enjoying the film footage. The film showed clips of home movies  taken around the 1950’s. The majority of the footage was taken in the Mundaring area. It showed the felling of trees in the forests of Mundaring and then we saw the giant logs being carried away to the mills. We also saw  smelting  in the small town of Wundowie. The lack of safety equipment, clothing, goggles and footwear was very noticeable and it is quite amazing that there was not more workplace accidents. I think that the men were very aware that they were managing dangerous equipment and took a little bit more care when operating these tools. The films have been shown on two other occasions  and each time the public were very enthusiastic and wanting more. If you have an interest in viewing the footage, don’t hesitate to contact MHHS and we will arrange it for you.

For those of you that don’t live in Perth you may not be aware that we have had an awful lot of rain and cold temperatures recently. The sun has decided to shine on us today and it is a welcome change. Roll on summer.