Timberwork

We recently had the opportunity to collect some Ironbark that had been bulldozed to make way for a new boundary fence. This beautiful timber was traditionally used for construction work on the Greenough Flats, but now large trees are relatively scarce.

The Hills Hoist has been replaced by a more traditional clothesline, complete with props.

The Vegie Garden has been extended, and the timber used for new gateposts.

Twitter

This museum is now on Twitter.
Just type in GreenoughMuseum.

Christmas Shopping in the 1860s

In the Maley Archives at this museum are hundreds of documents relating to Maley's Store and Mill. Below are two that relate to this time of year.

Above is a note from Robert Brockman allowing Henry Shields to update his cooking equipment.
Brockman was a farmer at Greenough, and Shields is most likely Convict No.7269, a seaman and carpenter who was court martialled in Singapore at sent to the colony in 1863.
Below is the December 1868 delivery list to Maley's store from Crowther's store in Geraldton.

Halloween Day Photos

Below, courtesy of Denis and Dimitri are images of the recent Halloween Market Day held at the museum.

The day was a great success thanks to the dedication and hard work of members of the Community Group of Greenough, the musicians and stall holders. Thanks also to the Geraldton Guardian for sponsoring the children's fancy dress competition.

Invitation to Halloween

You are invited to our Halloween/Market Day that is to be held on Sunday 30th October between 10am and 3pm.

Display Shed Redevelopment

It had been hoped that the redevelopment of this shed would have been completed in time for the museum's 45th birthday next week. However, difficulties in obtaining quotes from builders and uncertainity over the future management of the museum has delayed the project. We have, however, with assistance from the Greenough Regional Prison, had the old bush poles replaced by steel posts, and today Keboda Stone completed a limestone buttress to fill a gap in the west wall. This work was funded by the City of Greater Geraldton through a Lotterywest grant.

Let's hope the project is completed well in advance of the museum's 50th birthday.

Pioneer Museum & the National Gallery

What does the Greenough Pioneer Museum and the National Gallery of Australia have in common?

They both have a drawing by Tom Rands of the 1888 flood at Greenough in their collections.
Our drawing, donated to the museum by Phyl Duncan in 2007 is pictured above. We believed it was the only image of that devastating flood in existence.
Image our surprise when we were informed that the exhibition entitled "Out of the West" currently on display in the National Gallery has another Tom Rand drawing of the 1888 flood.
The NGA drawing was purchased in 2010 and can be viewed at http://nga.gov.au/exhibition/OUTWEST?Default.cfm?MnuID=2&GallD=3.
On comparing the 2 sketches I presume that ours is a quick preliminary sketch, and that Rands then decided to improve the composition by including adjacent buildings.

John & Elizabeth's Wedding Certificate

Among documents held in this museum's archives is the wedding certificate of John S. Maley and Elizabeth K. Waldeck. The couple were married at Gray's Store, Greenough (there being no churches at Greenough at that time) on 27 August 1862. The marriage ceremony was performed by the Resident Magistrate, Charles Symmons, as there was no priest or minister residing in the district. Witnesses to the ceremony were 2 Geraldton storekeepers, Henry Gray and Charles Crowther.
The certificate was in very poor condition when found and required extensive conservation by Corkhill Conservators of Perth. Fortunately descendants of John and Elizabeth donated funds to save this valuable document.

Unique Gates

Ray proudly showing the double gates he recently made for the Pioneer Museum
New single gate leading to the Historic Tree Walk

Through funding from the City of Geraldton-Greenough Community Grants and financial assistance from the Geraldton-Greenough Historical Society, the museum was able to employ Ptera Trading to design and construct these new gates. The museum is once again appreciative of being able to use the talents of local craftspeople to enhance this property.

New Banners

New banners have now been placed along the Phillips Road approach to the museum. Due to safety concerns about vehicles turning off the Brand Highway, these banners can only be viewed by south-bound traffic. The banners (which depict 6 diverse objects from the museum collection) were financed by the City of Geraldton-Greenough through funding from a Lotterywest grant. The steel work was constructed by Ptera Trading of Geraldton, the banners designed by Two Fish Drowning of Greenough and were made and printed by Seaside Signs of Dongara.

Forget the Stairs

Are you wanting to visit the Pioneer Museum, but concerned about climbing up or down stairs? Well, now you can relax. We have recently placed in the Office a photograph album with views of the upstairs bedrooms, the cellar, and some of the objects contained in these rooms.

You can now sit in comfort and take a leisurely tour of the less accessible parts of this museum.

Conservation Work Continues

Over the previous four weeks the Geraldton-Greenough Historical Society has funded the restoration of an old stone building at the rear of the museum. The work was undertaken by a professional stonemason, and the restored stonework was white-washed using a traditional method.

West view of the "Old Garage" before and after.

South wall of the building before and after.

View of the cesspit adjacent to the "Double Dunnie" before and after.

Recent Donations

These 3 photo-ceramic portraits have been donated to the museum by members of the Willocks family. This method of portraiture was popular in the 1890s.

Portrait of a young man, believed to be Charles Ernest Willocks

Willocks was born in Victoria 1874 and moved to Western Australia to join in the Gold Rush. In November 1901 he married Mabel Wiley at Greenough. The couple lived at Mount Magnet. He died in 1936 and is buried in Cue.

Portrait of a man believed to be Thomas Wiley
Wiley was born in Ireland in 1846 and arrived in Western Australia in 1863. Much against her parent's wishes, he married Elizabeth Pearson in 1870. The couple had 10 children. Wiley was landlord of the Irwin Hotel, then the Hampton Hotel and later farmed on the Back Flats at Greenough. He died in Geraldton in 1924.

Portrait of a woman believed to be Elizabeth Wiley (nee Pearson)
Elizabeth was born in England on Christmas Day 1848, as an infant she came to Western Australia as her father Francis Watson Pearson had been employed to work at the Geraldine Mine.

Pearson later moved his family to Greenough and built and managed the Hampton Hotel.
Following her mother's death, Elizabeth purchased the Hampton Hotel (by then de-licensed) in 1898 and lived there for 16 years. Elizabeth died in 1925.