Did You Know ...

5 August 2015

Hello Readers



Mrs Aeneas Gunn

Monbulk RSL in 1953 and the book, My Boys - A Book of Remembrance, was published for the first time in 2000.


Born: 5 June 1870  Carlton, Victoria, Australia.  Died: 9 June 1961  Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia.

Mrs Aeneas Gunn was the author of The Black Princess, published in 1905, and We of the Never Never, published in 1908. During and after World War I she worked tirelessly to support the servicemen of Monbulk, Victoria who she referred to as “my boys.” She was awarded an OBE in 1939, “in recognition of her services to Australian Literature and to the disabled soldiers and their dependents.” In 1948 she began to work on a book recording all the details of the volunteers from Monbulk who had served in the Boer War, the Boxer Rebellion and World War I. Gunn presented her completed manuscript to the Monbulk RSL in 1953 and the book, My Boys - A Book of Remembrance, was published for the first time in 2000.
 
Career Highlights

Alternative Names: Taylor, Jeannie (maiden name, 5 June 1870 - 31 December 1901)

Mrs Aeneas Gunn was born Jeannie Taylor on 5 June 1870 in Melbourne, Victoria, the second youngest of six children. She was educatedhttp://cdncache-a.akamaihd.net/items/it/img/arrow-10x10.png privately by her mother and at seventeen matriculated at the University of Melbourne.

In 1888, Gunn opened a private schoolhttp://cdncache-a.akamaihd.net/items/it/img/arrow-10x10.png in their home in Hawthorn with her sisters. Named Rolyat, Taylor backwards, the school was regularly attended by 50 - 60 pupils until it closed in 1896 when one of her sister's married. Gunn then became a visiting teacher and her subjects included gymnastics and elocution.

She married Aeneas James Gunn in 1901. Just before their marriage he had become a partner in Elsey, a cattle station on the Roper River, 483 km south of Darwin, so the newlyweds soon set sail for Port Darwin. While her husband worked as the station manager, Gunn impressed those who said a woman would be out of place on station with her sense of humour and fine horsemanship. She took an interest in the lives of the Aboriginals who lived and drifted through the station, displaying a true sympathy and affection for their way of life.

Unfortunately, outback life lasted only 13 months, Gunn returned to Melbourne after her husband died of malarial dysentery in 1903. Back in Melbourne, she longed for the quiet bush life and found solace travelling with her father to Monbulk, a settlement in Victoria's Dandenong Ranges. Encouraged by friends who had read her letters and heard her tell stories to their children, Gunn wrote The Little Black Princess, which was published in Australia and England in 1905, and was about Bett-Bett, an Aboriginal child she had befriended at Elsey. In 1908, her second book We of the Never Never, was published. Although it was entitled a novel, it was a recreation of actual events. The book went on to became an Australian classic, it was used in schools and translated into Germanhttp://cdncache-a.akamaihd.net/items/it/img/arrow-10x10.png.

During World War I and after, Gunn became active in welfare work for soldiers and their families, especially in Monbulk. She virtually adopted all the men who enlisted to serve in the war from Monbulk, referring to them as “my boys.” She sent parcels and letters to them while they were overseas, knitted socks and kept a photo of every single one of her boys on her mantelpiece.

After the war, Gunn worked tirelessly for the welfare of the returned servicemen, becoming an unofficial liaison between them and the Repatriation Department. In 1925 she became patron for the Monbulk diggers T B Sailors and Soldiers Assistance Relief Fundhttp://cdncache-a.akamaihd.net/items/it/img/arrow-10x10.png and she did not miss a function in the next 21 years. Gunn helped to organise a clubroom and library for the Monbulk sub branch of the Returned Sailors Soldiers and Airmen's Imperial League of Australia. She received an OBE in 1939, “in recognition of her services to Australian Literature and to disabled soldiers and their dependents.”

In 1948, Gunn embarked on a project to record the efforts and sacrifices of Monbulk during World War I. It was her intention to record the service details of every volunteer from Monbulk who served their country in the Boer War, the Boxer Rebellion and World War I. She said of the book that it was “not an honour roll - it is definitely a record of each man's service to his country.” Gunn presented her completed manuscript to the Monbulk RSL in 1953 and the book, My Boys - A Book of Remembrance, was published for the first time in 2000.

Mrs Aeneas Gunn passed away on 9 June 1961, four days after celebrating her 91st birthday. 200 mourners packed Scots Church in Collins St, Melbourne for her funeral. 
 
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20 January 2015
Hello Readers,

Recently I visited the auditorium at the Deloraine Tasmania Visitor Centre -
YARNS ART WORK IN SILK - an audio visual story woven around their valley "great western tiers" a community project of quilted, soft sculpture silk panels, one for each season, drawing you into the landscapes and lifestyles of the Meander Valley people. 
Yarns was created by more than 300 community members (including some of their CWA women) using numerous hand working techniques.
Please view their website as you won't be disappointed  www.yarnsartworkinsilk.com
The centre also has a Folk Museum well worth seeing.





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Hello Readers,
Thought you might like to read some snippet - articles of our CWA history over many years ago.

Newspaper Articles  -  61 YEARS AGO  

Friday 26 March 1954  -  page 3  Healesville Guardian Newspaper 

C. W. A. NOTES
YARRA VALLEY GROUP CONFERENCE. At Healesville, on Wednesday,
March 17 1954

About 200 members of the Country Women's Association, Yarra Valley
Group, met for the annual .Group_ Conference.. The Group president, Mrs D. M.
Hart-Allen, was welcomed to the chair by the Healesville branch president, Mrs
Courtney. Healesville Shire President, Air Commodore, and Mrs U. Ewart were
guests of the Group, and after listening to reports from the 29 branches, Cr.
Ewart congratulated the branches on the splendid work carried out during the
past year and moved the adoption of same. After luncheon, agenda items were
discussed and dealt with. Then seven members gave most interesting five minute
speeches on chosen subjects. After careful deliberation, the judge, Miss Wini
Fred Hall, of Camberwell, awarded the Speaker's Cup (given by the immediate past
Group president, Mrs M Greenshields to Miss Watsford of Warrandyte. This
was a very popular win and members were eager to congratulate Miss Watsford.
The Group Cup went to Ringwood East branch for the best selection of 12
varieties of biscuits. As there were large numbers of entries, the recipients -
the Yarra Junction branch of the Society for Crippled Children - will have a
feast of biscuits. The guest speaker was Dr. Cunningham Dax, Mental Hygiene
Authority, who gave an interesting address .on the work being done for the men
tally sick at various Victorian hospitals. Dr. Dax also told members of the part
played by the C.W.A. and how money raised by members was used to provide extra
amenities for patients. During the afternoon £21 was collected in the hall for
the victims of a fire at Wandin East the previous ?day. Members also arranged
to send clothing and kind to help this family, the mother -of which is a fellow
C.W.A. member. After votes of thanks to the speaker and judges, and presentation of beautiful flowers, the hostess branch served a dainty afternoon tea, and so ended another happy and instructive conference. A visitor at the golf course teed up for the first hole, made a wild swing and completely missed the ball. "It's a good thing I found out right at the start," he said. "This course is at least two inches lower than the course I usually play out.



16 October 1953 - Healesville Guardian Newspaper
CWA YARRA VALLEY - DRAMA FESTIVAL  FUNDRAISER
LILYDALE ATHENAEUM THEATRE   DATE  TBA

In the spirit of reflecting on the past, I thought I'd bring to you a little snippet from the history of the Yarra Valley CWA. An article published in the Healesville Guardian on October 16th, 1953, 61 years ago, shows us a very different CWA to the one we have in operation today. The article reports on a drama festival which was used as a fundraiser at the time. The number of branches competing was impressive, the audience of 200 even more so. The winning performances from the day were to be performed at the Lilydale Athenaeum Theatre at a later date.

This sounds like a fun way to spend a day and raise funds, doesn't it? Whilst the current Yarra Valley Group does not have a Group Drama Secretary as existed 61 years ago, the CWA does offer opportunity for members interested in public speaking, singing and performance to get involved in such activities. If this sounds like something you may be interested in, why not speak to some of your local CWA members about it?



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