A free Hands-on History author talk will be held at Eskbank House Museum titled ‘Crying Hearts, Healing Hands’, the life journeys of James and Leo Bamber.
The History Week theme for 2022 – Hands-on History invites us to explore histories by or about people who do things with their hands, whether for work or play. (History Council of NSW, 2022)
‘Crying Hearts, Healing Hands’ follows the early roving life of solicitor, town clerk and coroner James Bamber and his wife Kate across Victoria and country New South Wales in the nineteenth century before ‘dropping anchor’ in 20th century Lithgow. It is a story marked with joy and sorrow spanning the Great Depression years. The weight of the economic collapse hurts Lithgow more than many other country towns. Into this mire the aging James takes on the role of Lithgow’s coroner.
Hand in hand with James’s journey is the story of his son Leo who was a footballer, doctor, World War One veteran and, a leader. The pair worked often ‘hand in hand’ in the coronial court system, and later Leo found his love bond with Lucy Boon. Leo fought for causes that affected the poor and disadvantaged in Lithgow. But Leo had another side. He was an entertainer. He had a touch of the entrepreneur, and he was a man who loved the Lithgow people, and the community loved him in return. The presentation is one family’s story of Australian country life – a hands on life journey. (Baker 2022)
Lithgow City Council invites you to Eskbank House Museum on Saturday 3 September 2022 at 2:00pm for a free talk by Peter Baker on the life journeys of James and Leo Bamber. Peter Baker is a retired lawyer who is married with five children and conducted a legal practice in suburban Sydney for about thirty years. He has an interest in creative nonfiction and family history, and more particularly the history of Lithgow. He has written a book on Lithgow rugby league and had several articles published in ‘Traces’ magazine.
Bookings are preferred but not required for this event and can made via Eventbrite, light refreshments will be provided.
This event will also be available online via Zoom as a live streaming event. To access the online event, you will need to have the Zoom App https://zoom.us/ on your device and details for joining online are part of Eventbrite ticket.
These events celebrate and increase community awareness of the cultural diversity and rich history and heritage of the Lithgow LGA.
This is an official event of History Week 2022, supported by the History Council of NSW.
Entries Now Open for the 2022 Waste 2 Art Exhibition and Competition
WASTE 2 ART is a community art exhibition and competition open to all local residents who reside in the NetWaste region. It showcases creative works made from reused & recyclable waste materials. The aim is to challenge peoples’ perceptions about ‘rubbish’ and to celebrate the reuse and recycling of waste through arts and crafts.
The theme for this year’s Waste 2 Art is Soft Plastics and Lithgow City Council is calling for local entries for this year’s competition and exhibition. The competition categories include Primary & Secondary School, Community, Open and Creative Repair, Restore and Refurbish.
Entry forms are available available to be downloaded from the button below, at the Lithgow City Council Administration Centre and Libraries from 9 March 2022 and from Eskbank House Museum from 9 March 2022. The closing date for entries is 15 April 2022 with artworks to be delivered to Eskbank House by 30 April during Museum opening hours of 10am to 4pm Wednesday to Sunday.
The local competition artworks will be on exhibition at Eskbank House Museum from 8 to 31 May 2022. Lithgow City Council will also host for the first time the 2022 SIMS Metal Regional Waste to Art Exhibition & Competition with the Official Opening planned for 9 July 2022 at the Lithgow Union Theatre. The Regional Exhibition will run from 10 July to 7 August 2022 with winning artworks from Lithgow and the Central West on display.
Further information on the competition categories is detailed on the entry form and for inspiration you can see the works from past years on the NetWaste website https://www.netwaste.com.au/waste-to-art/
We are committed to reduce, reuse and recycle our resources to maintain the unique and diverse local environment that is significant lifestyle, community and economic assets for the area.
Eskbank House Museum is looking to bring together a small group of gardening and history enthusiasts to participate in a project to develop and nurture a heritage garden.
Mary’s Garden is an imagined garden based on historic photographs, 19thc gardening practices, and the plant species known to be available in Australia during Mary Brown’s time at Eskbank House. It incorporates elements common in Australian and Scottish approaches to gardening during the mid-19th century.
The project will involve gardening workshops, field trips, talks and hands on gardening. The group will meet regularly for working-bees to establish the garden and for seasonal planting, and the garden will also be made accessible to participants 5 days a week so they can spend as much time pottering as they wish. Gardening workshops and working-bees, including establishing an edible garden and working with environmental challenges and risk, will be led by Jessica Lawn from Arborvitae. As a horticulturist and arborist experienced with heritage gardens throughout the Blue Mountains region, Jessica has cared for many gardens at risk and nurtured their recovery following periods of drought and fires.
The heritage garden project will create a new aspect to the museums role in providing the community access to local history as well as providing a unique educational resource to diversify the museums audiences. Participants in the project may also wish to contribute to a planned publication on the medicinal and everyday use of plants in the Victorian kitchen garden.
Registration closes Wednesday 12th May. The first group meeting is scheduled for w/c 17th May with specific dates reflecting participants availability. We are particularly interested in engaging fire affected or at risk residents.
This project is funded under the Bushfire Community Resilience and Recovery Fund
For further information or to register your interest please contact Summar Hipworth, Cultural Development Officer, 6354 9999 or summar.hipworth@lithgow.nsw.gov.au
29th May – 14th July 2019
Opening – Saturday 8th June, 2pm
The Waste 2 Art competition returns to Eskbank House Museum for another year of art made from reused and recycled materials, challenging people to think differently about waste. Local artists of all ages are invited to respond to the challenge of creating artwork from materials that would otherwise be discarded as rubbish and end up in landfill. Winners from the local competition will represent Lithgow at regional level held at Oberon.
The Waste 2 Art competition and exhibition, a Netwaste initiative, seeks to raise awareness of environmental issues.
