December 2023 Newsletter

THE Quarterly NEWS from

December 2023 Dear Members 2023 has been another eventful year for Parnell Heritage. In addition, we now have our own space in the Bloodworth Pavilion on Shore Road. This means we have somewhere to store our artefacts and files, as well as a pleasant place to hold our meetings. We are very grateful to Carolyn Cameron who was instrumental in acquiring this space, and also to Lynne Abram – they have both spent many hours setting up cupboards and cataloguing artefacts.

Our stall at the Parnell Rose Festival was a great success. Many people came along for a chat and several bought our journals. Also, Lynne made some beautiful Christmas wreaths that sold well too.

Remember, if you would like to take a more active role in Parnell Heritage or to help in any way, please contact Sue (who looks after our administration) at andreassensue@gmail.com / 09 846 7661 / 022 647 5155.

With best wishes to you all for a Very Merry Christmas, Members of the Executive Committee

THE Quarterly NEWS from Parnell Heritage Scrapbook Collection This has been collated and the final stages of cataloguing are taking place. With just over 20 volumes, each between 160-200 pages, this Collection is a most valuable asset for the Society and for people interested in Parnell’s history. The executive committee hopes to use these records in a research service capacity in the near future.

We are most grateful to the late Doreen Robinson who donated her large scrapbooks (see inset).

Also the late Diana Masters donated several Auckland-Waikato Historical Journals. These items have made a huge contribution to our collection.

Parnell Rose Festival All the crowds came out to play at the beginning of November for this event. Our stall was in a great position along the main driveway and many people came to say hello and buy journals. As you can see from the photo, Lynne’s wreaths were just lovely and now there must be a number of front doors looking very festive.

From the left, the photo shows Julie Hill, Carolyn Cameron and Lynne Abram.

THE Quarterly NEWS from The Friends of St Stephens / Heritage Roses The first working bee at the St Stephens cemetery will take place on Monday 8th January 2024. These two societies have restored twenty-one graves there which has been a tremendous result.

Historic Photos The Sir George Grey Special Collections at Auckland Library have acquired photographs taken by Susanna Burton for her book “Parnell” that she wrote in 1978. These have been added to the Auckland Library website – see Kura (aucklandlibraries.govt.nz) (search: “Susanna Burton”). Around 900 photos have been added so far, and enhancements to the captions are welcomed – simply click on the photograph and a section for comments pops up.

As well as some new photos not seen before, there is a set on Les Harvey, who built the Parnell Village precinct.

For instance, here are two images from the collection of a man known only as “George”, in his garden and standing in front of his house with his cat. The veranda has a distinctive glass panel which may help identify him and his address.

THE Quarterly NEWS from

Executive Committee We give special thanks to Lynne Abram who has been a member of the executive for the past two years. She has resigned from the executive to pursue other interests, but she will remain an active member and helper. Lynne has contributed in so many ways: meticulously overseeing health and safety at the Pavilion, creating an inventory of artefacts and documents, as well as providing and labelling large folders as scrapbooks, and creatively providing items for sale. Thank you, Lynne, we will miss your most generous support on the executive.

If you would like to join our executive, do please let us know via the details given below.

If you have any suggestions for future events, or local places/history/people in which you are interested, and which might be suitable subjects for events, please don’t hesitate to contact Sue via the details given below. www.parnellheritage.org.nz contact: enquiries@parnellheritage.org.nz / PO Box 37100, Parnell 1151