Tawa Historical Society Incorporated

The Tawa Historian

Newsletter #20 – May 2009

We have a healthy enough financial situation to be able to proceed with our publications planned for 2009.
Stock sales have been steady from pre-Christmas till February, but are tailing off now.
The Tawa Cemetery booklet is getting nearer to printing, and the Bartlett House booklet is progressing nicely.
Best of Tawa Vol 3 is also well under way, and will be published in Oct/Nov.
39 members have paid their current subscriptions – thank you very much. A dozen or so are still due.
Rails through the Valley has been very favourably reviewed in a number of railway enthusiasts’ magazines, resulting in additional sales to folk beyond our district.
The WCC Parks and Garden staff has been written to with two suggestions from our Executive. The first is that an information board be erected in Willowbank Park, detailing some of the area’s history; the second is that the WCC give consideration to re-naming the park as William Earp Park. Earp was the early settler who successfully farmed the land; his orchard comprises a good part of the park, and its fruit trees are still there bearing fruit; he planted the Bucket Tree; he was a respected citizen; his grandson was killed at Gallipoli; and he is buried, with his wife, in the Tawa Cemetery.
Tawa History Week will be run, in conjunction with the Tawa Library, on 2 to 5 June 2009. Topics to be covered include the Tawa Cemetery, Bartlett House (26 Oxford Street), material from Best of Tawa Vol 3; and the history related to the area round Willowbank Park. As in 2008, the ‘lectures / talks’ will run from 10am each day for up to an hour.
We are wondering if there is a market for a small booklet of, say, 40 “Then and Now” photographs of Tawa. What do you think?
Officers: we now have a Treasurer, Elena Jackson. We could still do with having a Secretary, and a Membership Secretary. Does anyone want to volunteer?