Dr Backhouse and Historical Stratford Buildings

We are rather excited. Beth Ripper, who lives in Dr Backhouse's old home and hospital, has brought in a lot of the items found under the building during her renovations. In a way, they are a time capsule of the life and times when they were discarded/lost. If you look at the LARGE PHOTOGRAPH of the items above, you can find all sorts of interesting things. Like the little green broach of two dogs. Can you see it? Just above the marbles? Probably not a good photograph - must post a better one.

Can you pick the piece that fascinates us in this view? Do you know what it is?

Yep - it is a very grumpy fish head!

So, after we cleaned these items up, we wondered how to display them.

Would most people know where Dr Backhouse lived? Probably not.

So that inspired us to come up with this installation. It is a work in progress.

There are bottles in the small showcase on the left, and the items you have just seen are in the one on the right.

In the centre, in a highly technical operation, we have drawn a map of Stratford on the back of some rubberised curtain material. We are in the process of adding details of where Dr Backhouse lived, and other historic Stratford buildings. The idea is that people will walk around the map, and maybe talk about other buildings, and their importance.

And that we will then bring it together in a street walk, for future publication.

You can already see a flip book that has been started, sitting on the map.

Not bad for the first day's work.

Stand by for a New Fence

Stand by - we are about to have a new side fence - just as soon as we can get the Planning Permit!

Here goes the old one off to the tip - we were very glad to wave it off.

The new fence is being made from the corrugated iron from our roof (waste not, want not), with assistance from ESSO and the Wellington Shire Council. The new front fence will follow a short time later.

School Index Finished.

In November last year we announced the index to the Stratford School Rolls was almost finished.

*Drumroll*

It is now complete from 1894 to 1966, has been printed off, and is available with the rolls for visitors to the museum.

Joan, who has undertaken such a monumental job to complete them, has now turned her attention to the 1890 ledger from Kelly the Grocer. It is already on the computer up to the letter Q, so is going to take much, much less time than the school rolls.