Author: Rod Kemp

Some of you will remember that some time ago we had a Bear Gathering at our History Centre and many special bears brought their owners in to see their friends. Some of the Bears liked it so much that they stayed and have popped up at subsequent events to entertain our younger visitors.

Although our Bears have all been in isolation during the closure of the library, some of them can still be seen through the window.

One of our special Bears is “Coventry”, and we will introduce him to you soon, but in the meantime, we have created a special place on our website for the young at heart which we have called “Coventry’s Corner”.

Look for this picture at the bottom of our web pages and click on it to see the articles that have been posted so far, which have focussed on ideas to keep our young people safe and occupied during this unusual time.

And don’t forget to subscribe to our website using the “Subscribe” button also at the bottom of each page, so that you will receive an email whenever a new post is added.

Some of our members are finding that isolation is inspiring them to take up past skills, explore new ones, work through the backlog of tasks at home or in this case, write an article for our Gateways or other web pages.

Some of these newly created stories are already online, so make sure that you check out our Gateways topics, including “Gardens & Gardeners”, “War, Peace & Memorials” and “Our Migrant Heritage” to see the stories of our Local or Garden History.

Here’s a link to our Gateways Topics page if you haven’t been there before.

And don’t forget to subscribe to our pages to receive an email whenever a new post is added, so that you don’t miss anything. (Scroll down to the section marked SUBSCRIBE TO SEE OUR LATEST CONTENT at the very bottom of the page, enter your email address and in a few simple steps you will be connected.)

In our time of forced isolation due to the COVID-19 virus we might find ourselves reflecting on past times and events and even finding the time to write them down. We welcome your contributions on topics of local or garden history or of general historical interest.

Click here to make a contribution to our website

Here is one memory that surfaced and although it’s not about the Mt Lofty Districts, we offer it for your own reflection. With Cruise Ships seemingly constantly in the news at the present time, one of our members recalls a journey from Australia to England in the 1950s, when the default travel mode was, of course, an ocean voyage.

Click here to read the article

In line with recommendations to contain the COVID-19 virus, the Coventry Library which houses our History Centre and Archive is now limiting access to the public until further notice. We have closed the Archive and History Centre until public access is restored to a workable degree. Please refer to our website or facebook page for continuing updates and to participate in our virtual events programme.

The library has alternative arrangements in place for borrowing items. Please see their information here

This month we offer our members and guests the opportunity to attend the launch of not one, but two new local history books.

Please RSVP to mldhsinc@gmail.com

Our last History Centre open day this year will be Friday 13th December and we will be back again on Tuesday 4th February.

In the meantime, come and visit our Christmas Display, outside the History Centre in the Coventry Library featuring Christmas traditions from all around the world and our first ever “Teddies’ Christmas Tree”. (perhaps the first ever anywhere?). The display will be available to view whenever the Library is open

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all our members and followers.

Well, it’s hard to believe I know, but Christmas is almost upon us and we invite you to to celebrate the MLDHS final event for 2019. It promises to be for an evening of fun, music and Christmas fare.

Janet Leitch and friends will entertain us with “The Songs & Stories of Christmas”.  If you have attended one of our previous Christmas celebrations you will know that a fantastic evening will be had by all.

We would love you to join us for this amazing finale to our 2019 program. So, please join us. Feel free to bring along some Christmas treats to share and your best singing voice and come prepared for a very special evening.

We will provide “bubbles” and Christmas treats as well. 
We will celebrate our Hills heritage and communities in style and look forward to seeing you there.