August 2024 German SIG Meeting - Monday 12th August

 

Join us at 1.30 pm on Monday 12th August 2024

for the next meeting of our

German Special Interest Group (SIG)

Our German SIG is a fantastic way to explore your heritage and connect with like-minded locals researching their Germanic background in friendly discussions. Share information on researching your Germanic ancestors, including resources, techniques, history and customs.

Coming up at our August meeting will be a number of topics of interest to anyone with Germanic ancestors or researching their German family history. “We want Germans not Convicts” is the theme of one presentation along with an update on the activities of the German-Australian Genealogy & History Alliance (GAGHA). Whether you’re a seasoned researcher or just starting your family tree, you’re warmly invited to attend.

Come and join us for the discussion and stay for afternoon tea and a convivial chat - guests welcome!

Date: Monday 12th August 2024

Time: 1.30pm

Location: Old Gordon Public School building, 799 Pacific Hwy (cnr Pacific Hwy & Park Ave)

Parking: Subject to time limits in Council’s Wade Lane carpark (entry via Park Ave or St Johns Ave)

Train: Our rooms are a short walk from Gordon Station.

For a map, please see our Contact page.

For more details, see our website, https://khs.org.au/german-sig

As always, please keep an eye on our website's Events page in case of any last-minute changes.

July 2024 General Meeting - Saturday 20 July

                 

Guest Speaker:
Dick Whitaker

Join us in Gordon Library Meeting Room 1
at 2 pm on Saturday 20 July 2024

Note: this meeting is on the third Saturday of the month - but after this, the rest of our General Meetings for 2024 will be on the fourth Saturday of the month.

A Sydney Wild Man – The Life and Times of John Norton, 1858 -1916

KHS member Dick Whitaker returns with the story of the tumultuous life and times of Truth newspaper owner John Norton – one Australia’s first ‘media populists’. He became both a politician and a media baron, accumulating tremendous wealth and power in the process.

Cyril Pearl’s 1958 book Wild Men of Sydney was about John Norton, Patrick Crick and William Wills – crooked politicians who were heavily involved in the NSW land scandals of the 1890s and 1900s. This talk looks at the life and times of one of these – John Norton – and his rise and fall within the background of Victorian and Edwardian Sydney.

In addition to his political activities, Norton achieved notoriety and tremendous wealth through his media ownership of Truth newspaper – a weekly scandal sheet with interstate offices.

His story is a tragedy that saw him become all-powerful as one of Australia’s first media populists, followed by his descent into alcoholism and the wreckage of his family.

In this look at the life and times of John Norton, amateur historian Dick Whitaker draws from several sources including Wild Men of Sydney, plus extensive use of the writings of Norton himself, and cartoons contained in Truth at the time.

As always, please keep an eye on our website in case of any last-minute changes.

The venue is Gordon Library Meeting Room No. 1, in the Old Gordon Public School, which adjoins the Gordon Library, 799 Pacific Highway, Gordon (corner Pacific Highway and Park Avenue).

It’s just a 5-minute walk from Gordon Station.

For a map and parking information, see our Contact page.