Newsletter 42 October 2022

Annual General Meeting 2022

The Annual General Meeting of the Friends of the Orphan Schools Inc. was held on Sunday 21 August 2022 at 2pm at the Old Sunday School, St John’s Park Precinct. The following office-bearers and committee were elected:

President:
Dianne Snowden

Vice President:
1) Chris Woods
2) David Lewis

Secretary:
Jane Hodgman

Treasurer/Membership Officer:
vacant

General Committee Members:
Richard Watson; Bernadette Bell; Bill Stewart

Public Officer:
Bill Stewart was appointed Public Officer

Web Secretary:
Andrew Cocker was appointed Web Secretary

Christine Woods offered to act as Treasurer and Membership Officer until such time as the position is filled.

Minor changes to the constitution were adopted at the Annual General Meeting by special resolution:

At a general meeting of the members of the association duly convened and held on the 21 August 2022

Special Resolution Details

Enduring and Life Memberships be added to rule 5 of the rules on membership [subrule 11]: (11) A person may be awarded life membership or approved for enduring membership of the Association by the committee — (a) life membership of the Association is awarded at the discretion of the committee for outstanding service and/or contribution to the Association by virtue of a person’s tenure or achievements. (b) enduring membership of the Association may be approved at the discretion of the committee upon the payment of an enduring membership subscription to be determined by the committee. (c) A person who is a life member or an enduring member of the Association shall be entitled to the same voting rights and privileges as members who pay an annual subscription, without the requirement to renew their membership or pay a subscription on an annual basis.

The guest speaker at the Annual General Meeting was Dr Dianne Snowden AM, who spoke about the ‘Myths and Mysteries in the history of the Orphan Schools’. A copy of her talk, which was prompted by recent YouTube videos, will be circulated at a later date.

President’s Annual Report:

The Annual Report is available on the website.

Treasurer’s Annual Report:

The Treasurer’s Annual Report is available on the website.

Orphan Schools Established in Van Diemen’s Land 1828

Next year, the Friends of the Orphan Schools will commemorate the 195th anniversary of the establishment of the Orphan Schools in Van Diemen’s Land (1828). As part of the commemoration, we will be publishing two books. The first is about the history of the site and the second is about the lives of Orphan School children and others connected to the site.

Early Orphan School image (source unknown)

Site History 1828-2023

We are currently looking for historic images of the site. If you can help, please contact the President Dianne Snowden. If you have an interest in, or information about, one or more of the buildings and would like to contribute to the publication, please contact Dianne. We have also started a small oral history project in partnership with Recollections Tasmania. Again, if you are interested in the oral history of the site, please contact Dianne.

The People

There has been a pleasing response to the call for submissions. Most proposals focus on the lives of the Orphan Schools children, but others include people associated with the site in its time as an Orphan School (closed 1879).

If you think you may have an ancestor who was a resident at the Orphan Schools, we encourage you to look at the names of the orphans by searching on our website: Many orphans and their stories have been researched and claimed by descendants whose names are recorded on the base of each child’s page. Can you add information to our records? Do you have photos of your orphan ancestor? Please visit our website.

Open Weekend at the Orphan Schools 25-26 March 2023

As part of the commemoration, we will be holding an Open Weekend on 25-26 March 2023 at the Orphan Schools, in partnership with Kickstart Arts. More information will be available as it comes to hand.

Renew your membership now

If you have not already done so, please renew your membership now. The membership year for Friends of the Orphan Schools is the financial year, so it’s time to pay! Membership remains $20 per annum and details of how to pay can be found on our website, here.

Can you help?

The Friends of the Orphan Schools is seeking a Treasurer/Membership Officer and a Newsletter Editor. If you are interested or would like more information, please contact President, Dianne Snowden, on 0409 140 657 or by email.

2023 Deadlines for Friends of the Orphan Schools newsletter articles

1 February 2023
1 May 2023
1 August 2023
1 November 2023

Editor: vacant

Technical Assistance: Andrew Cocker

Contact us:

Friends of the Orphan Schools,
PO Box 4659, Bathurst Street PO,
Hobart. TAS 700O

Email: secretary@orphanschool.org.au

Website: www.orphanschool.org.au