Interview with Ross Viner to start 2012 Oral History Mornings

The 2012 Oral History Mornings will commence with an interview with Ross Viner.

Ross is a retired businessman and a well-known sporting identity.

Ross Viner grew up in Perth and became a Bank Officer with the Commonwealth Bank in 1947. Five years later he was transferred to Geraldton. In 1957 he left the Bank to work in an accountancy firm before moving into Real Estate. In 1980 he established his own business, Champion Bay Settlements.

Ross Viner has had a lifelong involvement with sport and he has made a tremendous contribution to the sporting world of Geraldton. For 30 years he was a sports commentator and race caller. He initiated the Rovers Hockey Club, the Sportsman of the Year Award and the annual Country Week Golf, all of which are still going strong.

This Oral History Morning will be held in

Geraldton Regional Library on

Wednesday 15th February at 10 am.

2012 WA Heritage Awards

Please be advised that nominations for the 2012 WA Heritage Awards are now open.

The WA Heritage Awards are an opportunity to honour the State’s leading contributors in heritage conservation, adaptive reuse, interpretation, tourism and promotion.  Now in its 20^th year, the awards also acknowledge the contribution of the many volunteers and professionals in the heritage arena.

For the first time, the WA Heritage Awards will team with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Asia Pacific Awards, renowned as the region’s premium cultural heritage awards.  As a result, this year winners and high commendation recipients in the conservation and adaptive reuse categories will be shortlisted for nomination to UNESCO, the Heritage Council endorsement and agreement of the project owners.

The 2012 WA Heritage Award winners will be announced on 17 April at an event to be held at Government House Ballroom in the presence of His Excellency Mr Malcolm McCusker, AC CVO QC.  This date will coincide with Australian Heritage Week celebrations.

Nominations close at 5pm on Friday 2 March 2012. 

For more information visit http://www.heritage.wa.gov.au/

Family History Workshop success

20 or so family history enthusiasts attended the Family History Workshop for beginners last night. It was a fantastic opportunity to receive advice, share knowledge and learn something new. Notices for future Family History Workshops will be placed in this blog, on the Geraldton Regional Library website (http://library.cgg.wa.gov.au/) and in the Library Newsletter.

Workshop in progress.

Family History Specialist Liz Kelly

Geraldton on film - then and now

ABC Open's Chris Lewis and Ian Clinch have made this beautiful short film combining modern footage with the super 8 footage of Geraldton that Ian had shot in the 60s and 70s.  
Have a look at how things have changed and learn more at:

http://vimeo.com/34534252

The HMAS Moresby

The above photo is of the hydrographic survey ship HMAS Moresby which visited Geraldton in 1985/86.  The photo is one of several photos which we have in the Local Studies photo collection. 

Back on deck!

The Heritage Services staff are all back on deck after a lovely break over Christmas and New Year.

2012 will see more historical photographs catalogued and digitised; oral history cassettes digitised and interviews transcribed; new exciting purchases and donations to the Local Studies Collection; general preservation and organisation of the Collection as well as the familiar monthly Oral History Mornings resuming next month.

The Heritage Services staff are able to assist you with your queries on Mondays 1-5pm and Tuesday-Friday 9am-5pm. When no staff member is available, please feel free to fill out a query form at the front desk and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.

Please don't forget the Family History Workshop on the 17th. Remember to reserve a place, so that you won't miss out. It is a great opportunity to receive advice, meet people with similar interests and find out about different resources that will help you along in your research.