Waanyarra Reunion Sunday 27 March 2011

The next Waanyarra Reunion will take place at its usual venue at the Waanyarra Recreation Reserve on Sunday 27 March 2011.

Although a number of the Newsletters sent out in February 2010 were “Returned to Sender” or the emails bounced, there are a number of new names on the mailing list and hopefully we will have a milder day in 2011 than the 39 c scorcher we experienced in 2008 and greater numbers.

It is hoped that individual families will organise a reunion of their particular family, to coincide with the Waanyarra Reunion, and so increase the overall numbers attending. A number of descendants of Thomas Comrie, who settled in Waanyarra in 1857, will be attending again.

If you receive this Newsletter and it has been redirected, please take the time to write to or email George Swinburne with new contact details. Also, it is important that you let me have a postal address in addition to an email address, so that notices can still be sent if you omit to notify a new email address. Over half our mailing list now receive communications by email which considerably reduces the administrative task of sending Newsletters

If you are not on the mailing list and would like to be, or if you know of descendants of Waanyarra Pioneers, or other people who lived at or have visited Waanyarra or who you think might be interested in being on the mailing list or receiving notices, please pass a copy of this Newsletter on to them and also take the time to email or write to George Swinburne with their contact details. The addition of an email address is extremely helpful..

The cost of holding reunions has in the past generally been met from the proceeds of the raffle held at the Reunion. In 2008 the receipts and several generous donations met the cost of the day as we did not hire a marquee but had several smaller shelters. If you would like to make a donation it can be sent to George Swinburne. Any surplus proceeds will be applied to future running costs and maintenance of the Historic Cemetery.

If you can donate a raffle prize please email or write to George Swinburne (as above) and bring your contribution on the day.

Traditionally, everyone brings their own picnic lunch and refreshments. A BBQ fire will be provided unless it is a day of total fire ban.
I am aiming to make the 2011 Reunion the biggest and the best ever. Any ideas for activities that may be an attraction to attendees will be gratefully received.
The Central Goldfields Concert Band (formerly the Dunolly Citizens Band) has again been invited to attend and entertain us. They provided a most enjoyable program in 2008 and stayed on and enjoyed their lunch with us.
I would be grateful to hear from anyone who will be attending who can assist on Sunday morning with the organisation and set up of the shelters and presentation of the memorabilia. Further, anyone who is attending who is a qualified first aider and anyone who can bring first aid equipment to the Reunion should contact me as this is a condition of the Permit from DSE.

David Gordon will again attend with his computer on which he maintains indexes to the names of pioneers and local identities whose names appeared in newspapers circulating in the district. This was a great success at the last reunion and many availed themselves of the opportunity to obtain details relevant to their family.

David’s indexes enable you to avoid all the hard research work. Where you identify the names in which you are interested, he will if they are too long to copy, be able to email the details to you later, of local newspapers in which they are mentioned.

Edna Arnold of Crown Castleton Publishers will also be invited to attend with books and photographs for sale which are relevant to the district. Edna and Ken Arnold some years ago produced the excellent reference book “Tarnagulla and District” (which incorporates Waanyarra families), and which is unfortunately now out of print. Several photo copies were made available for sale at past Reunions.
The Department of Sustainability and Environment has again been invited to attend and provide a Forestry Display which has been a feature of past reunions.

Everyone who has old photographs and memorabilia of Waanyarra is encouraged to bring that memorabilia (or copies) for display. This has been an integral feature of past reunions.
Ian and Pat Belmont have agreed to join us and make available for sale their excellent CD which includes an Index of Burials at Tarnagulla and Waanyarra, photographs of graves and headstones, Cemetery Maps and some Tarnagulla township photos. This is a quality production which works on PC and Mac .

If you are unable to attend the reunion, the CD is still available for purchase direct from Ian (who produced the disk with his wife Pat), by sending a cheque or money order to him at 237 St Aidans Rd, Bendigo 3550. The cost is $25 per CD posted.

Ian has also informed me that if you have any corrections to information on the CD, he is happy to add/update the information on the CD so it is available on future CD sales. For those who have already purchased a copy and have found any errors, Pat would like to hear from you so he can make corrections. Further, he’s happy to add any good Waanyarra stories.

If you have any queries for Ian his email is ianpat@internode.on.net.

If our Reunion is to survive and flourish we will need to provide an interesting day, especially for our younger descendants who must be encouraged to join us so they can relate to their forbearers and the history of the area and the pioneers who developed the rural areas.