Paul Fletcher sings our praises

Local member. Paul Fletcher, commends our Society when he makes a consitiuency statement on our publication "Rallying the Troops".

Praise for our book: Rallying the Troops

Dr Brendan Nelson, Director of the Australian War Memorial launched our book on July 26 and we have had some great feedback since then.

Here are some of the comments (in no particular order):

Your Volume 1 is superb and a wonderful testament to the men and women whom it records and those who wrote it. You have given these locals from those days a form of immortality by making their stories accessible and coherent.

(Anzac commemoration committee member)

Lots to look at & so many familiar names. ... Many thanks to all the researchers, the volumes will be a valuable resource for many years!

(Descendant)

I received my book and was delighted and I have barely put it down. ...You are all to be congratulated indeed on the work and time you have all achieved and I am so proud to have been a small part, what a wonderful book and keepsake for my family. 

(Descendant and Contributor)

Just to let you know your wonderful book is now catalogued and in our Library. What a beautifully produced volume it is - and what an effort it has been for you and your editorial group. You must be exhausted, but elated. … Only people who have been involved in publications like this can fully appreciate what has gone before. I do hope more of those in your Society can now be inspired to lend a hand. ... Congratulations on a job well done!

(a regional Family History Society)

I was amongst the amazing number of guests at your book launch on Saturday. You must be very happy and justifiably proud of Rallying the troops.

(Local schoolteacher)

Yesterday I received my copy of Rallying the Troops … It is an amazing tour de force by you and your colleagues. Great, Great, Great work!

(local author / historian)

Thank you for the wonderful opportunity to take part in this worthwhile project.

(Contributor)

Heartiest congratulations on a ‘Job very well done’ - the launch was very well done with wonderful speeches by Dr Nelson and our Mayor.  The book is a masterstroke and will be very much appreciated by many.

(KHS member)

Congratulations on this significant achievement to you and the rest of the team.

(local community group leader)

A very impressive book indeed.

(Contributor)

We both think it is stunning! A magnificent tribute to all those who served in the War. Hats off and medals all round for you and your team. You must all be thrilled at how well it has turned out.

(Contributor, UK)

A very important source for all Ku-ring-gai history.

(KHS member)

If you'd like to buy a copy, please go to our website and follow the links to place an order.
We have a special introductory price of $40 for purchases before August 31, 2014.

THE UNEXPECTED WAR - Talk by historian Michael McKernan

One hundred years ago this month newspaper headlines were reporting on the political crisis surrounding the new nation’s first-ever double dissolution. A political assassination in the far-away Balkans in late June seemed barely worthy of mention.

The Prime Minister, Joseph Cook, and the leader of the Labour Opposition, Andrew Fisher, were busy preparing for a federal election. Neither they, nor other Australian politicians could foresee the terrible consequences of the diplomatic failures that were unfolding in Europe.

When Great Britain declared war on Germany on 4 August, Australia, like the rest of the Empire, was also at war. The news was greeted with nationalistic fervour by crowds in the streets of Australia’s major cities.

Australia’s reaction to news of the outbreak of hostilities is the subject of a talk to the Ku-ring-gai Historical Society this Saturday, 16 August, by eminent historian DR MICHAEL McKERNAN.  Michael is a former Deputy-Director of the Australian War Memorial, a radio commentator and author of many books charting the effects of war on Australian society.

Within a week of the outbreak of war, both of Australia’s political leaders having pledged immediate and unconditional support, recruitment was underway with a force of 20 000 men promised for the defence of the empire.

Thousands of young men enthusiastically rushed to enlist with, perhaps, little understanding of what was involved, and no foreboding that this conflict

would drag on for more than four years and cost millions of lives.

The first shot fired by Allied forces came from an artillery battery at Pt. Phillip heads to prevent the departure of the Norddeutscher Lloyd cargo ship SS Pfalz just after midnight on 5 August, 1914.

On 18 August a Naval and Military Expeditionary Force left Sydney to capture wireless stations used by the German East Asia Cruiser Squadron and which represented an urgent threat to merchant shipping. During the first fighting at Rabaul in German New Guinea four Australians were killed.

Among the casualties was Capt. Brian Pockley, a twenty-four year old medical doctor of Wahroonga and one of the more than 1300 men and women with links to the Ku-ring-gai municipality who served in what would become known as the Great War.

Ku-ring-gai Historical Society is commemorating the service of these men and women by researching and writing their stories to ensure that they will not be forgotten. Volume 1 of Rallying the Troops, containing the war stories of those beginning with names A to F, was recently launched by Dr Brendan Nelson, Director of the AWM.

Copies are now available from the Society (www.khs.org.au or 9499 4568)

Members of the public are cordially invited to attend the 16 August talk by Dr McKernan. It will be held in the Meeting Room, old Gordon Public School building adjacent to the Library, corner of the Pacific Highway and Park Avenue, Gordon. The meeting starts at 2pm and will be preceded by the AGM. Afternoon tea will be served.

Rallying the Troops set to be launched

The first volume of our WWI commemorative book series is about to be launched.

We are excited that Dr Brendan Nelson, Director of the Australian War Memorial (and former Federal MP for Bradfield) is returning to Lindfield on Saturday 26 July at 2pm to launch:

Rallying the Troops, a World War I Commemoration by Ku-ring-gai Historical Society, Volume I.

This volume includes chapters on Ku-ring-gai society before the War, memorials both local and overseas, early military campaigns, and biographies of those with surnames beginning with A to F. 

Dr Nelson has written a stimulating Foreword for the book.

The launch afternoon is almost fully subscribed, with about 120 people already booked in. If you would like to attend, please phone or email KHS as soon as possible to book your place.

We have a special early bird purchase price of $40 for purchases up to 31 August.

From 1 September 2014 the price will be $50.

Packaging and Postage within Australia is $15.

Please check our website for purchase details.

You can pay by EFT, cheque or visit the research rooms to pay in person by cash.

Copies will be available for purchase at the launch.

If you pay before the launch, you may collect it on the day and have it signed.

This is no ordinary World War I reference book.

Members of Ku-ring-gai Historical Society have rallied to delve deep into the service and family records of local soldiers and nurses to reveal their involvement in the Great War of 1914-1918. This volume is the first in the series; a second and third will be published in 2015 and 2016.

In the municipality of Ku-ring-gai in northern Sydney over 1,300 men and women served from a population of just over 12,000. They came from all walks of life, from labourers to university lecturers. Their origins were diverse, not only from the immediate locality but also from other parts of New South Wales, from other states and from other countries.

Their achievements were many; one in every ten was decorated. Their losses were great; one in every five did not return. What all did for their nation is monumental.

The Society has endeavoured to do justice to these veterans, to tell the stories that many never lived to tell or were unable to tell. The telling became a passion; it engendered pride and sorrow, anger and despair. Yet each and every story deserved to be told, to be recorded for all time.

At the moment of death, they became beyond time.

KHS History Book

 Ku-ring-gai Historical Society – the first 50 years is an interesting account of the beginnings and stages of
 evolution of our Society, written by our member, Helen Davies.

Each membership is entitled to a free copy. To save the Society postage, this is available for collection from  The Research Centre.

This free offer must end soon!

Extra copies are available at $20 each. If you would like it posted please send a cheque for $5.