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PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
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I hope that you are all well and staying safe.
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At the beginning of September, the trip to Bundanon was full of interesting and wonderful things to see and we had plenty of adventure as well, as you will see at the meeting. On the day that we were off to Bundanon we learnt of the death of Queen Elizabeth II. A remarkable lady. May she Rest In Peace.
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Time catches up with all of us so it is important that we continue to live every day to the best of our ability enjoying the Friendship, Fellowship and Fun of our Probus Club.
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As October arrives it is the second month of Spring, although there have been some rainy and cold days in the past, I hope the weather improves somewhat so we can enjoy some of the outings that are happening in October.
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18/10 A Taste of Italy Garden Tour
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We have been informed by PSPL that it is Probus Day on Saturday 1st October. Unfortunately the picnic that they had planned has been cancelled. So I wish you all a happy Probus Day for the 1st October.
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I just want to remind you to mark down December 8th in your diaries as this date is the day of the Probus Christmas Party. More information will follow shortly.
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Looking forward to seeing you all at the next Meeting
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OUTINGS - Check for vacancies and book now!
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Jazz in the Pines- Dural.
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VACANCIES - BOOK BY OCTOBER MEETING
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Coach from Emily St 8.30am
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VACANCIES - BOOK BY OCTOBER MEETING
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Final payments due January 2023.
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Tour group meeting - 17th November- Admin Building
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SPEAKER REPORT- 'A LESSON IN LIVING THE GOOD LIFE'
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Lindy Trudgeon, the September speaker told us about the many varied paths her life has taken her, so far...
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This month’s delightful guest, Lindy Trudgeon, did not so much give a speech as chat to us like old friends, giving us a glimpse into an extraordinarily rich and varied life- or at least, some of that life; Part One, as she called it.
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A small woman, casually dressed, and to our eyes, looking pretty relaxed, told us that she found standing up on the stage, ‘pretty daunting. I’m no professional speaker.’
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Born in England in 1941, she remembers sheltering under the stairs during air raids with her engineer father and teacher mother. The family moved around and Lindy went to nine different schools, which she said, ‘made you accept who you were and you made friends easily.’ In the end though, she went to a grammar school for six years.
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They settled in a village in the country, her parents ran a pub, and Lindy learned cribbage and went to the village school…’for a while,’ she said, ‘but I learned some bad language so I was sent off to boarding school. When finally living permanently in the country, ‘I fell in love with horses, and eventually made a career from horsemanship,’ She learned to groom hunters and sometimes was allowed to go hunting herself.
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Sometime later, her brother went to New Guinea, so Lindy thought she would go to Australia….’as a ten-pound Pom’ on the Canberra’. She stayed in Sydney for few years, but one day, when the Sydney temperature hit 104 degrees, Lindy decided to move on and went to Boggabri, where she was offered a job looking after polo ponies and living with the family.
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‘That was so different from the sheltered life I had lived before. I found myself at the Spinster’s Ball and learning to ride on a stock saddle. One of my jobs was going out into the paddocks with a couple of dogs to bring in the sheep - who all promptly took off! I finally managed to bring them all in with the help of the dogs, whom I greatly respected.’
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Later Lindy went to Perisher to manage a motel there, having fun cross-country skiing, setting up the first ladies racing event, and the first lady's polo match. In that match, she jumped on a horse called Comet, who (just like those sheep) promptly took off. ‘I loved my time there’, she said. “Once, the staff members had to build a boat out of anything they could find, which was great fun’.
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By then three years had passed and Lindy decided she would not go back to England, so, with $60 in her pocket and a couple of horses, she worked in a restaurant to save up enough money to buy saddles and equipment to set up the Jindabyne Riding School. In the end, Lindy had 40 horses and she and her riding pupils ‘took camp in stockmen’s huts’. For the disabled, she used an ‘Overlander’ vehicle and they would set off on a five-day adventure along the Cascade trail from Khancoban to Perisher. ‘And all that was 50 years ago’, she mused.
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For the last 30 years, Lindy has bred Labradors, all coming in a pure line from her first dog, Teena, and these dogs are often used to help those with special needs. ‘It seems natural for them,’ Lindy explained, ‘they just seem to know what to do. One time, I had three litters and ended up with 24 puppies.’ Which sounds extraordinarily hectic, but Lindy, of course- probably with some real moments- coped, and found families for all the puppies.
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These days, Lindy organises tours for ‘Essentially Barrington’ in her local area and thinking about doing a book, divided into parts.
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Part 1. Writing a book. Part 2. Married. Part 3. The Single Life.
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Frankly, this reporter can’t wait. Tricia Rollins.
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Michael and Maria enjoying the meeting.
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MUOGAMARRA BUSHWALK
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The Bushwalking group went for a walk in the Muogamarra Nature Reserve
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The great sights of spring in Sydney are wildflowers in the heaths of our National Parks. One of the best places to see them is the 2274-hectare Muogamarra Nature Reserve near Cowan on the Hawkesbury River. This Reserve is specifically set aside to preserve the native flowers and is only open for 6 weeks during spring with all walks led by NPWS Rangers.
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Due to Covid these walks have not run for the past 3 years and the walk we booked for last year was cancelled due to Covid restrictions.
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This year we made it and on the first day of spring 15 intrepid walkers set out on a 6km walk to witness the amazing display of wildflowers. The Rangers also shared their knowledge of the flowers and the area, which added to the walk. Scrambling up and over a few boulders, we were rewarded with wonderful views over the Hawkesbury.
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The Australian five-pound note was first issued in 1913 and featured a scene looking along the Hawkesbury River near Brooklyn, NSW from the railway toward Kangaroo Point
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Bushwalking Group Co-ordinator
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BUNDANON ART MUSEUM TRIP
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The first day we lunched & toured Merribee Gardens. The beautiful grounds are filled with roses, whimsical topiary, vegetables and elegant hedged "rooms".
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7 acres of sensory delight flourishing on Shoalhaven coastal land, first settled in the 1820's by A. Berry as part of a 100-square mile estate.
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A 2-night stay at The Bridge, Riversdale gave everyone time to relax, enjoy the scenery, the gallery, the great food and wine as well as visiting Arthur Boyds Studio at the homestead.
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In 1993 Arthur and Yvonne Boyd gifted Bundanon (1000 acres) on the Shoalhaven River at Nowra, together with their extensive art collection, to the Australian people. The gift came out of Boyd’s belief that ‘you can’t own a landscape’ and his wish that others might also draw inspiration from this remarkable place. Managed by Bundanon Trust the Homestead with his studio and grounds have become a centre for artists and students.
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Later an education centre, designed by celebrated Australian architect Glenn Murcutt was built to offer residential and day programs for schools at Riversdale- another part of the Bundanon estate.
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In the 2019-2020 Black Summer Bushfires, many artworks were evacuated from Bundanon and stored in Sydney to ensure their safety. The collection returned at the end of 2021 to the new Art Museum at Riversdale which has world-class subterranean facilities to store and protect the artworks.
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The Art Museum opened in January 2022. Embedded in the landscape, a dramatic bridge with accommodation and a 2 hatted restaurant, lands onto an expansive public plaza near the existing nineteenth century buildings and adjacent to the new Gallery.
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The guide introducing us to Arthur Boyd's story at The Homestead
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The folding stools were a great bonus for the Gallery Tour at Riversdale.
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OCT SPEAKER - SUSANNAH FULLERTON
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The guest speaker for the October meeting is Susannah Fullerton OAM FRSN
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Susannah is President of the Jane Austen Society of Australia and, President of the Rudyard Society
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She gives literary lectures, video talks and conducts literary tours.
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Brief Encounters: Famous Writers Who Visited Australia
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From Charles Darwin to Agatha Christie.
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Many famous writers visited this country in the 19th and early 20th century. What did they see and do while here? What did they think of us and we of them? How did their visits inspire novels, poems and travelogues?
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