THE Port Macquarie-Hastings Heritage Festival starts this weekend and runs through to 27 April.
The festival aims to showcase the unique history and heritage of the Hastings region.
This year’s festival is a celebration of individuals and their journeys with stories of migration, exploration, settlement and travel.
Local museums and heritage organisations have put together a number of events to entertain, inspire and inform – including walks, talks, tours and exhibitions.
Below is a list of events. Festival programs are also available at Port Macquarie-Hastings Council offices and libraries, Visitor Information Centres and local museums or online http://www.pmhc.nsw.gov.au/Lists/Event-Activities/2014-Heritage-Festival.
FESTIVAL LAUNCH
Date: Sunday 13 April
Time: 9am Poets Breakfast, noon opening ceremony
Cost: Free entry, breakfast at menu prices
Inquiries: 6585 7022 or 0428 109 234
Address: Kendall Services and Citizens Club, Graham Street, Kendall and Kendall Town Green
Journey out to Kendall for this year’s festival launch. Bring your poetry or enjoy the verse of others at the Poets Breakfast to celebrate the birthday of Henry Kendall. Enjoy a stroll around the town, view the new bullocks sculpture and celebrate the centenary of rail to Kendall. The day includes music, sausage sizzle and vintage car displays.
TRAVEL TALES
Date: 14 to 26 April
Time: 9.30am to 4.30pm
Cost $5 adults, $3.50 concession, $2 children, $10 family, includes full museum entry
Inquiries: 6583 1108 or email to pmmuseum@bigpond.com
Address: Port Macquarie Historical Museum, 22 Clarence Street, Port Macquarie
This temporary exhibition explores journeys near and far using objects, photographs and stories from the Port Macquarie Historical Society collection.
From convict migrants and free settlers to tourists and sea-changers, each journey is different.
MAGICAL MYSTERY HISTORY TOUR
Date: Tuesday 15 April
Time: 10am to 11.30am
Cost: $5 per person including on-board refreshments
Inquiries and bookings: 6583 1108 or email to pmmuseum@bigpond.com
Address: Port Macquarie Historical Museum, 22 Clarence Street, Port Macquarie
Join the Port Macquarie Historical Society on this fun bus tour without the bus. This virtual tour includes morning tea. Meet many local personalities from the past as you stop off at their homes on a tour of historic Port Macquarie.
A LEGACY OF LOVE
Date: Good Friday 18 April
Time: 9.30am
Cost: Donation
Inquiries: Martin Parish 0411 426 427
Address: St Mary’s Herons Creek Chapel, 49 Blackbutt Road, Herons Creek
A heritage-themed community church service; a journey through time. A presentation of the importance of faith to the early settlers of the area and a sneak preview of the Heron’s Creek District Heritage and Tourist Trail. Dress in period costume and stay afterwards for morning tea. Bring a plate to share.
LINKS, CHAINS AND MILESTONES
Date: Monday 21 April
Time: 10am to 11.30pm
Cost: $5 per person, includes complimentary museum admission
Inquiries and bookings: 6583 1108 or email to pmmuseum@bigpond.com
Address: Departs Port Macquarie Historical Museum, 22 Clarence Street, Port Macquarie
Join the Port Macquarie Historical Society for a walking tour around Port Macquarie’s CBD for an insight into our convict past. Step back into Port Macquarie’s penal establishment on this tour of the town’s historic sites. Discover our British/Irish links, the chain of events that brought our first British settlers here and their miles travelled to banishment. For some it would eventually mean freedom, for others this was the end of the road. Please wear sturdy walking shoes, a sunhat and sunscreen.
JOURNEYS OF DISCOVERY
Date: Tuesday 22 April
Time: 10am to 11.30am
Cost: $5 per person, includes morning tea
Inquiries and bookings: 6583 1108 or email to pmmuseum@bigpond.com
Address: Port Macquarie Historical Museum, 22 Clarence Street, Port Macquarie
Join the Port Macquarie Historical Society for a talk on Colonial survey and settlement in the Hastings. From the day John Oxley ventured to, and named, Port Macquarie in 1818, surveyors have played a vital role in the pattern of settlement in the Hastings district. There were no roads or railway, few tracks if any, and only natural landmarks to plot their journeys. This talk looks at the impact of their work and their lasting legacies.
ASTRONOMICAL DISCOVERY JOURNEY
Date: Wednesdays and Sundays in April and May
Time: 7.15pm to 8.45pm
Cost $8 adults, $5 children, $22 family, $7 concession and NTrust member
Contact: 0403 683 394 pmobs50@gmail.com | www.pmobs.org.au
Address: Port Macquarie Astronomical Observatory, Rotary Park, Stewart Street, Port Macquarie
An entertaining presentation of the night sky with spectacular images of astronomical objects. Have a 3D look at Mars and the Moon and hold a metallic meteorite while the presenter relates tales of Astronomical Journeys of Discovery. Weather permitting, the evening begins and ends with a look through the telescope at an astronomical object. Presentation goes for about one hour and is held regardless of the weather.
Cash only, no EFTPOS or credit cards.
DOUGLAS VALE OPEN DAY
Date: Saturday 19 April
Time: 9am to 2.30pm
Cost: Gold coin donation
Contact: 6584 3792, email douglasvale1@bigpond.com |www.douglasvale.com.au
Address: Douglas Vale Historic Vineyard, 235 Oxley Highway, Port Macquarie
As part of the National Trust Heritage Festival, Douglas Vale Historic Homestead and Vineyard is opening its doors. Built in 1862 for George Francis, this property became known for its success in wine production between 1867 and 1918, winning prizes from shows in Europe and India. Remnants of formal gardens remain including dense bamboo clumps. Douglas Vale is being restored and is classified by the National Trust.
The Douglas Vale Historic Vineyard is producing a limited release of wines from the original Isabella grape and other selected varieties. Tours and wine tasting are available on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays and of course on the open day.
GRAVE TALES
Date: 16, 17, 23, 24, 30 April and 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, 23, 24 May.
Time: 2pm (1.5 hours duration)
Place: Port Macquarie Historic Cemetery, intersection Horton and Gordon streets, Port Macquarie
Cost: $19 adults, $11 children
Booking essential. For more information contact Mitch McKay 0447 429 016
Port Macquarie has a fascinating past since those days back in 1821 when the British founded it as a penal settlement. To celebrate this history, the National Trust has events through the area, which will inspire you and give you insight into the area’s past.
Grave Tales is an informative walking tour, by local award winning heritage consultant Mitch McKay, which takes you through this cemetery where nearly 1500 soldiers, convicts and settlers are buried.
Learn about the history of the cemetery, the intriguing stories of some of its occupants and their relatives and hear about the ongoing conservation of the monuments.
Some of the fascinating residents include Colonial Architect John Verge, Margaret Innes the daughter of Colonial Secretary Alexander Macleay and Major James Henry Crummer.
UNCOVERING OUR PAST
Date: 16, 17, 23, 24, 30 April and 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16, 17, 21, 22, 23, 24 May
Time: 9.30am (2.5 hour duration)
Cost: $29 adults, $15 children. Booking required
Contact: 0447 429 016 or mitch@pmheritage.com.au
Address: The Glasshouse, Clarence Street, Port Macquarie, www.pmheritage.com.au
Port Macquarie has a fascinating past since those days back in 1821 when it was founded by the British as a penal settlement. This walking tour provides a general introduction to Port Macquarie and there is no better way to appreciate the town’s history than on foot. Listen to the stories, visit some of our historical sites and see how our history is being interpreted.
Bring a hat, sunscreen and a water bottle. Wear walking shoes or joggers.
FAMILY HISTORY SESSIONS
Family History Society
Address: Port Macquarie-Hastings Library, Grant Street, Port Macquarie
Contact: Wendy on 6582 1742.
Cost: Free. Booking advised as numbers limited
Tuesday 15 April at 10am and 1pm: Searching immigration journeys online using various sites such as state records, Ancestry, Findmypast, Familysearch.
Wednesday 16 April 10am: The Journey of Life through Birth, Death and Marriages – What you can learn from these records and how to find them (Australia and UK).
Wednesday 16 April at 1pm: The Journey of Life through newspapers – Learn about the vast resources available online (Australia, UK, and more).
WAUCHOPE TO WINGHAM RAIL ESCAPE
Wauchope District Historical Society
Date: Monday 14 April
Time: Departs Wauchope: 8.44am Departs Wingham: 5:12pm (return)
Place: Join XPT from Wauchope Station, return from Wingham Station
Cost: Adults $65, concession $55 (all inclusive). Booking essential
Contact: Jeannette Rainbow: 0424 226 258/6585 1895
Join the XPT train from Wauchope Station for a yesteryear inspired rail journey to Wingham. Transfer to Manning Valley Museum for morning tea and inspection.
Pre-lunch drinks and two-course luncheon at Wingham District Memorial Services Club will be followed by a guided walking tour of the Town Square. Transfer to Wingham station for rail journey to Wauchope arriving 6.31pm. Coach connection is available both ways from Port Macquarie.
UPPER HASTINGS TREASURE TOUR
Wauchope District Historical Society
Date: Thursday 17 April
Time: Departs Andrews Park, Cameron Street Wauchope 9am, Return to Wauchope approximately 3.30pm
Place: Tour Wauchope, Byabarra and Comboyne
Cost: $65 (all inclusive). Booking essential
Contact: Jeannette Rainbow: 0424 226 258/ 6585 1895
Tour Wauchope, enjoy morning tea then travel to the Hastings Hinterland along Oxley Highway and Comboyne Road to Byabarra, followed by a scenic trip to evergreen Comboyne.
Pre-lunch drinks and two-course luncheon at Comboyne Ex-Servicemen’s and Citizens Club. Visit the famous Memorial Hall, Union Church and Community Centre
CRUISE THE HASTINGS RIVER
Wauchope District Historical Society
Date: Wednesday 23 April
Time: 9am to 5pm (approximately)
Place: Departs The Cruise Terminal (wharf end of Clarence Street)
Cost: $45 per person. Includes morning tea on board and transfers. Bookings essential
Contact: Jeannette Rainbow: 0424 226 258/6585 1895
Cruise the Hastings River from Port Macquarie to Wauchope. All aboard the River Princess for an exciting cruise on the Hastings River – destination unique boutique Wauchope. Morning tea on board prior to arrival at Wauchope, lunch by own arrangements. A shuttle bus will be available for drop-off around town.
