Pittwater Offshore Newsletter

History Corner

The Oliver family (of which there became many) were pioneers of Pittwater when the aborigines inhabited the sprawling slopes of Kuringai Chase. It was related that the matriarch, Mrs. Oliver, would sit at Church Point telling stories to her many children with a loaded musket at her side to scare away marauding natives. These had earlier looted a whole paddock of potatoes and frightened her children with fierce and threatening

behaviour. Her husband, William, had developed his farm on the neck of the peninsula between Lovett and Elvina Bays which was later called Flood’s Peninsula.

We have previously touched on the fact that William’s young son, Frederick, tragically died as a result of a fall from his horse and was buried in a lonely grave about 100 metres from the old Oliver homestead beside the track to Linda Falls. William died at the North Shore Hotel at Circular Quay in 1882 and was buried in the churchyard at Church Point. Later the same year one of his sons, Thomas Albert, married Martha Shaw under a tree somewhere between Bayview and Church Point. Martha then contributed to the dynasty by bearing Thomas 11 children!

Martha’s father, Joseph, and mother, Susan, came from West Riding in Yorkshire, arriving in Sydney in 1834. Joseph became a shell digger, a shoemaker and, finally, a farmer in Broken Bay. Martha, who was born in 1852, was christened at The Basin, Pittwater, by the chaplain of the visiting Royal Navy frigate H.M.S Juno which was under the command of Captain S.G.Freemantle. The ship then left to visit Pitcairn Island to attempt to move the truculent inhabitants to Norfolk Island and was later engaged in survey work on the Australian and New Zealand coasts.

Leicester Warburton

(Next month: Up McCarr’s Creek

Cartoon of the Month

The Famous Island Dog Race

Need some localised cards? Gwyn has a wonderful selection for you. Contact him at g.perkins@gwyn.com.au

The Kindy Needs You!
1.Soy Life are currently running a promotion that gives away $5,000 a month to educational community organisations.
2.Could you help us collect 50 barcodes from any Soy Life product so that we can submit an application for SIOCS and the Children’s Services here?
3.Please put your barcodes in any of the envelopes at the wharves, in the kindy, or put in the Kindy PO Box 363, Church Point NSW 2105
With big THANKS from the kids, the parents, and SIOCS committee.

They formed an incorporated association (SIOCS), worked with Pittwater Council to renovate the building and bring it up to standard, worked with DoCS regarding compliance with new regulations, obtained a childcare licence, recruited staff, worked with politicians to obtain Long Day Care Status and the associated Child Care Benefit for parents, coordinated many successful fundraising events, and extended and improved the services: the centre is now open for more days and longer hours, is cheaper per hour, has government funded fee rebates for low income families, plus volunteers run a weekly playgroup and holiday workshops for primary school aged kids.

The service is going from strength to strength and in 2007 SIOCS is looking at the possibility of opening for one or two more days just to provide care for under two year olds. Any parents interested in this service should contact the Kindy via siocs@comcen.com.au.

Bush Care Group Hard at Work

The offshore areas of Pittwater are fortunate to have the help of many local volunteers to keep in check the weeds that have become the blight of our landscape. A recent stroll around Scotland Island showed an amazing increase in the prevalence of asparagus fern. Only the vigilance of our local bush care groups can keep this monster in check.

The Scotland Island group work tirelessly to maintain the bush. They celebrated with a small luncheon in the last week of December after a most successful year. If you would like to volunteer to become part of their group, give Colin Haskell a call (9979-3301).

Carols at Carols

A great group of carollers turned up on Sunday17th December to be part of the tradition of Carols at Carols on the island. The mystery guest turned out to be the usual guest, resplendent in his red finery and escorted by a similar coloured vessel. With perhaps the highest quality orchestra ever assembled for such a function accompanied the assembled crowd who rendered their favourite carols in splendid style!

Special thanks to Melanie and John for once again putting in the organisational work for this top island event. The pictures below show some of the crowd enjoying themselves.

Pittwater Council advises that the following schedule will apply to recycling on Scotland Island for 2007. You might like to print this and keep it somewhere safely!

Remember: NO items should be put out on the road for the general cleanup until 7 days prior to the due date for collection.

"Kanyini" is available on DVD now!
A tale of Indigenous wisdom clashing against materialist notions of progress, this is not only a story of one man and his people but the story of the human race.
Hailed by critics and audiences as one of the most important films ever made, no person should miss "Kanyini". Recently winning Best Documentary at The Inside Film Awards you can purchase your private or classroom copy of "Kanyini" at www.kanyini.com NOW!

Finally:

SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION:

The views expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily the views of the Scotland Island Residents Association (SIRA), or any of the associated Pittwater Offshore Resident's Committees