​Sutherland Shire Historical Society
​Mindful of the Past..
​Focused on the Future.

EVENTS and MEETINGS CALENDAR 
2023 General Meetings
The Society meets on the third Saturday of every month
in the Stapleton Centre
3A Stapleton Street, Sutherland
Meetings start at 1:30pm


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Up Coming Events 

Friday 27 January 2023

Excursion to Sydney Quarantine Station
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From the early 19th century, arrivals to Australia who were suspected of having an infectious disease, were held in quarantine until it was considered safe to release them. What was it like to be in quarantine?
​Explore the Sydney’s North Head Quarantine Station to answer this question.
North Head Quarantine Station was the first quarantine station in Australia, set up in 1830s, and over 150 years of operation it experienced many changes reflecting not only the evolution of a scientific understanding and treatment of disease but also developments in transport and changing patterns of immigration, trade and social policy.
One important strand of evidence of this progress is over 1500 inscriptions carved into the sandstone which record the social history of the 19th and 20th century and document some of the personal stories of the people passing through quarantine.
From simple initials, names and dates, plaques of ships and their company, poems, comments, laments, even a proposal, these inscriptions don’t just give us facts and figures but illustrate what people felt and how the nation changed.
This excursion will be led by archaeologists Pam Forbes and Greg Jackson. They worked as archaeologists at the Quarantine Station to record many of the inscriptions.
Meet at Sutherland Station 8:30 on Friday January 27 for the trip to Manly. There will be time for coffee at Manly while waiting for the bus. The café at the Q Station also has coffee and will serve lunch. The ferry and Q station have toilets.

Please wear sensible walking shoes and bring water, sunscreen and a hat.
Contact Greg Jackson on 0450615104 to confirm attendance and if you have any queries.


​Parkesvale Excursion Friday 17 March 2023

Archaeologists Pam Forbes and Greg Jackson will be leading an excursion to the remains of the Parkesvale Pleasure Ground (1899 – c1912) on 17/3/2023. We will meet 9:00 at the Sandy Point Community Centre carpark, the first building you come to in Sandy Point. There is plenty of parking (see map below).
Note: there are no shops at Sandy Point or Parkesvale so bring your own lunch and drink.
There are no toilets at Parkesvale but plenty of bush.
Parkesvale is in the Georges River National Park and is accessed off Heathcote Road. The walk is about 1.2km each way, starting at the Sandy Point Community Centre car park and is mostly on a fire trail along the southern bank of the Georges River. A short section is on a bush track which is sometimes muddy and there is an optional side trip, of about 50m on a
rough track, to an indigenous rock art site.

Parkesvale was established by the Sandbrook brothers of Camperdown 1899 as a pleasure ground and night-time dance venue on the Georges River with up to 800 patrons reported dancing there to a live band on a Saturday night. It operated until about 1912 and is now part
of the Georges River National Park. Patrons were conveyed to Parkesvale, from Como Station, by the paddlewheel steam ferry Telephone, the largest ferry to ever ply the Georges River.
Located in the Reserve is:

 Archaeological remains of the infrastructure associated with Parkesvale Pleasure Grounds
 Scant remains of the paddle steamer Telephone, now sadly degraded by 4x4 vehicles
 An indigenous shelter containing multiple handprints is a short detour from the path
The map below shows the location of Parkesvale.

Please wear sensible walking shoes and bring water, sunscreen , snacks and a hat.
Contact Greg Jackson on 0450615104 to confirm attendance and if you have any queries.​

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Up Coming General Meetings

​​​Members , guests and non members welcome
Please note that our speakers could change without notice
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Saturday 21 January 2023  
Christine Edney and Peter Moore will be talking about and displaying items relating to occupations of the past and early Shire industries and will include interesting items from our museum collection that are usually  not  on display. It will be an interactive presentation .

18th  February 2023
Clive Baker President of  The Shire Military History Club will be speaking on aircraft crashes and incidents in the Shire.

​​Saturday 18 March 2023
Launch of the Matson Collection at Venetia Street.

​​Saturday 15 April 2023
Peter Lewis will be the speaker this month on oyster growing and living at Taren Point in the 1940 & 50's

​​Saturday 20 May 2023
The speaker this month is Rachel Franks, author of An Uncommon Hangman and The Life and Deaths of Robert "Nosey Bob" Howard.

​​Saturday 17 June 2023


​​Saturday 15 July 2023
Bruce Watt author of Curious Eyes will be the speaker this month.

​​Saturday 19 August 2023


​​Saturday 16 September 2023    AGM