Flo talks about Boisdale

There is now an ABC interview with our doyen of historians, Flo Pearce, about the Centenary of Closer Settlement at Boisdale, online on the ABC Gippsland website. You can read, and hear, it HERE.

Baptisms by Rev John Roberts

The Society has long held a copy of the baptismal register for the Rev John Roberts, who came to the Maffra Presbyterian Church in late 1865, later moving to Stratford. Overall, he spent fifty years ministering to the people of Gippsland from the two towns, carrying out 1,240 baptisms in the process.

The Rev Roberts often travelled to Lindenow and Bairnsdale, and occasionally to Tarraville. However the largest proportion of his baptisms are at Maffra, Little Plain, Valencia Creek and Upper Maffra.

The Rev Roberts was born in London in 1829, and arrived in Adelaide in 1849. He worked as a lay preacher in various Adelaide suburban missions, until being appointed to the new charge of Goolwa the following year. He remained there for ten years, but maintained strong links, often returning there for holidays. He was returning from a holiday there in December 1915, to celebrate his fifty years of continuous service to the Presbyterian Church in North Gippsland, when he died suddenly on the train at Camberwell. He had carried out two baptisms in South Australia several days previously.

After Goolwa he relocated to Melbourne, spending time at missions at Footscray and Maidstone, before moving to Stratford and Maffra in 1865. Ill-health forced his retirement from full-time ministry at Stratford in 1897, but he continued to baptise children, often the children of those he had first baptised many years before. In retirement, he lived in Maffra.

The records now held by the Society have been organised by surname, making it easy to check for those interested in their early family history. They will be added to the Society's resources in the Maffra Library in the near future.

Photos and Books in the Mail

The Society has recently received a large parcel of photographs and local books in the mail. However it is unable to locate appropriate details in order to acknowledge the donation, which it sincerely wishes to do.

It is deeply appreciated. Thank You!

New (Reissued) Book

Maffra and District Historical Society has reissued "Gippsland Estates 1882: A series of articles which appeared in The Gippsland Mercury from January to August 1882"

This updated edition is in a larger typeface, with the addition of seven photographs. properties described are:

Park House (photo)
Allerdale
Holey Plains
Riversdale
Mewburn Park (photo)
Spring Park (photo)
Powerscourt
Boisdale (photo)
Bushy Park (photo)
Llowalong (photo)
Inverbroom
Craigielee
Drayton
Williamsvale
The Airly Estate
Glencoe
The Heart
Newton
Cavan House
Clydebank
Maristow
Strathfieldsaye (photo)

Photographs from a similar time frame are sought for all properties not illustrated.

The book is A4, comb-bound, 65 pages, indexed for places and surnames. It is $12.00 plus postage, from P.O. Box 321, Maffra 3860.

Beet Book now Available Again

Just reprinted. The book, previously known as Maffra Beet Sugar Industry, 1894 to 1948, has just been reprinted, with a photo supplement.

It is now $9.00, available from the museum, or $10.50 posted, from Box 321, Maffra, 3860.

It is 34 pages, a high-quality photo-copy, comb bound, A4

We will have it at the Centenary of Closer Settlement at Boisdale on 26 November.