Ravensthorpe

Ravensthorpe at Albion Park was built by Doctor Arthur Wigley Bateman in 1893 on land that was originally part of the grant to Andrew Allan named Waterloo. Dr Bateman was the first physician in the  township.

Dr Bateman lived at Ravensthorpe with his wife and eleven children until his death in 1899. His surgery was on the eastern side of the house and separate to it.

Dr Bateman’s daughter Mary married John Raftery who owned the Commercial Hotel at the crossroads and the two purchased Ravensthorpe from the Batemans c.1921 where they also lived and raised their family.

Mary and Winifred Raftery outside Ravensthorpe c.1900
Shellharbour Images Shellharbour City Libraries.

Ravensthorpe
Tongarra Museum.

Missingham's Tannery

James Missingham was born at Jamberoo in 1861. James had a partial education and when he was 14 years old joined Jordan’s Tannery. He married Sarah Badans whose family owned the sawmill at Pheasant Ground, Jamberoo Mountain and began farming before starting up his tannery business at Albion Park.

The Albion Park tannery site was 2.5 acres of swampland with a creek running at the bottom. The tannery consisted of a cluster of buildings, sheds, liquor pits, twelve horsepower tubular boiler drivers. The hides were drawn locally and water was drawn from the Macquarie Rivulet.

A team of ten men and five teams of horses were employed at the tannery and collected the hides from Nowra to Wollongong before shipping to Sydney.

Unfortunately the tannery was destroyed by fire in 1897. The fire started in the early hours of the morning and originated in the machine room near the sleeping compartment of the tannery workers who gave the first alarm. James rebuilt the tannery which continued until the 1920s.

During the drought of 1908 James called for the development of a town water supply. He pumped water and supplied a tank at the nearby bridge for the local people. The water supply was not provided at Albion Park until some 50 years later.

James and Sarah had four children, David, William, Annie and Janie.

 

James and Sarah Missingham and children c.1870.
Shellharbour Images Shellharbour City Libraries.

Queens Jubilee Celebrations

On Thursday 7 June 2012 we celebrated HM Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee! A ceremony was held at Centenary Hall where the Museum was presented with a framed photo of the Queen and letter from Buckingham Palace. Members of the community planted native plums at a tree planting ceremony at Lake Entrance Road.

Shellharbour City Council General Manager, Michael Willis
and Mayor Kellie Marsh at the tree planting ceremony
Photograph - Des Stubbs.

National Reconciliation Week 2012

On Thursday 31 May we participated in the Reconciliation Flag Walk at Shellharbour Village and joined the National Reconciliation effort. It was great to see so many people there on the day.



Uncle Reuben Brown and Aboriginal Liaison Officer Veronica Bird at the ceremony