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Resource centre & meeting rooms

Our resource centre/library and meeting rooms are in the Ewen Smith Memorial Hall situated on the corner of Tank & Donald/Guy Sts in Lithgow NSW.

Street view on Google maps: http://g.co/maps/gwy8

Opening hours (see below for temporary closure details)

Tuesday 6—9pm

Friday 10am—4pm

1st Saturday of the month (except on long weekends) 10am—4pm

Membership fees

Fees for the year 1 March 2013 to end of February 2014 are: $5 joining fee (a one-off fee to cover admin costs), $45 membership fee (includes 3 journals posted to member's address, free admission to LDFHS library during opening hours including assistance with research enquiries, 2 hours free research by LDFHS research officer for members who live outside Lithgow City Council area.)

Guidelines for use of our centre:

Security of Records at LDFH&S INC Resource Centre

It is a condition of entry that researchers are to use the lockers provided for the secure storage of personal articles, including handbags and other bags and larger folders.

The following items may be taken into the Resource Centre:

Lead pencils
Pad of paper, loose paper, A4 and other bound notebooks
Spectacles and spectacle case
Laptop computer without the bag. It must operate on battery power or on mains power in designated area due to OH&S requirements.
Digital camera. Use is allowed subject to Copyright or Deed of Gift not being breached.

Please note the following:

Personal USB sticks / thumb drives or other portable drives are not to be used in LDFHS computers.
Society CDs or DVDs can only be used in Society computers
Digital scanning of records is not allowed

Phone number (during library hours)

+61 (02) 6353 1089

Postal Inquiries

Please send all postal inquiries to:

The Secretary

LDFHS Inc

PO Box 516

Lithgow 2790

(Please include a large SAE)

Research Inquiry

To download a research inquiry form click here.

Email: ldfhs@nospam.lisp.com.au

(remove ‘nospam’ to email us). Please also use this email address to contact the webmaster.

Graveside Flower Service

We provide a graveside flower service. Click here for further details.

Membership

To download a membership form click here.

Credit Card Authority

To download a credit card authority form click here

Extensions to the LDFHS Rooms

Please note that the LDFHS rooms will be closed from 2nd April 2013 while the building work is undertaken.

The extension to the Society's Resource Centre and disabled access ramp has been completed as far as the Council budget allowed and includes removal and replacement of the asbestos roof on the existing building. There is still work to be completed before the Resource Centre can re-open. This will include security and access lights outside, interior lights, power points, gyprock in the new section and in the old entry to provide a storage area, archivtraves around windows and doors and skirting boards. Painting is to be done and carpet laid in the new area (4 metres x 4 metres) This work will need to be completed before the library is re-opened and the Executive is currently working towards getting this work done as soon as possible.

We suggest that you contact the Society by email or phone Eleanor Martin on 0429 932 319 to check if the Society's library will be open for research. Some views of the progress:


16 April 2013	16 April 2013	1 May 2013

Yvonne Jenkins Memorial Award

Due to the closure of our resource centre for additions and renovations, the closing date for the above award is now Friday 31st May 2013. The title for the essay is "My Ancestor's Journey to Australia". It is open to all financial members except the judges. Details and an entry form were sent to all members with their membership mailout and are also in the latest journal.

Anzac Cemetery Walk

The Anzac Cemetery Walk was held on 28th April 2013 for the second year and was a great success with 16 people turning up. Morning tea was enjoyed followed by a welcome and playing of the national anthem, The Ode and the Last Post. We then visited the graves of 12 returned servicemen and placed a poppy, some rosemary and a card on each one. We had visitors John and Anne Farrimond from Orange and John placed the poppy on his father's and uncle's grave. Stuart Charlton placed the poppy on his father's grave.


John Farrimond & Harold Farrimond's grave	Anne Farrimond & Kenneth Rose's grave	Freda Simpson & James Finlay's grave	Ron Murphy & George Mathers' grave

Des Sullivan & Rowland Plevey's grave	Stuart Charlton & Albert Charlton's grave	Kathy Brennan & Ronald Burns' grave	Ron Martin & Jack Muldoon's grave

A good suggestion from this year's event is to do a section of the cemetery at a time to make it a bit easier to get around. There are a lot still to do and will give us years of Anzac days to carry on this event.

The 12 returned servicemen chosen for this year's walk were:

Stanley Hibbert Farrimond, Harold Leslie Farrimond, Kevin Russell Redish, Ronald Burns, Kenneth Russell Rose, Andrew McNicol Graham, Albert Charlton, John (Jack) Thomas Muldoon, George Mathers, Frederick James Coon, James Finlay, Rowland Plevey.

If anyone has a relative who was a returned serviceman or woman and is buried in Lithgow cemetery and would like to participate in next year's event we would love to hear from you.

After the Anzac Cemetery Walk we started on the planned restoration of Joseph King's grave and fortunately were able to complete the task. Flowers were placed on the grave with a card by Margaret Buckley. We are hoping to send some information about this to New Zealand to try and trace some family members of Joseph and to let them know he is being remembered over here.

Joseph Peter King was born in 1891 in Omaru, New Zealand and was the son of Frederick & Margaret King. He enlisted at Rosehill in Sydney on 2nd October 1914 and joined the 13th Battalion. His occupation prior to enlisting was that of a coach painter. Joseph proceeded to Gallipoli aboard the Alexandria arriving 12th April 1915. He suffered from shell shock when he was down in Rest Gully and a shell exploded just behind his dugout and he and two of his mates were buried. He was dazed at the time and was unconscious for three hours and suffered concussion, but did not report sick until 5 days later, when he was sent to Lemnos where he remained for 4 months before returning to Gallipoli, although he had become very nervous while resting at Lemnos. Joseph was returned to Australia with shell shock and was discharged from service on the 24th August 1916 as medically unfit, suffering from epileptic fits. He subsequently re-enlisted on 7th March 1917 at Liverpool, but was discharged again on 30th March 1917 as medically unfit. He never returned to New Zealand but was admitted to Lithgow Hospital in 1917 suffering from epilepsy and his address on admission was given as The Lansdowne Hotel (Hospital Admissions register). He died on 2nd October 1917 at just 26 years of age.


Joseph King's grave	Margaret Buckley & Joseph King's grave	The walkers	The workers

War Heroes Project

The LDFHS has a project underway to record the histories of men and women who enlisted and served in WWI initially and will eventually include those who served in WWII. For further information click here.

Everyone is reminded that if you have a war veteran, man or woman, who served their country either overseas or on the home front we would love to hear from you. The content for the book will be restricted to local areas and you can contact the society for more information concerning the areas to be included, at the Society's Library on the Cnr. Tank & Donald St. Lithgow Phone 02 63 531 089 on Tuesday Nights from 6.00pm - 9.00 pm or Friday's from 10.00am - 4.00pm and the 1st Saturday each month from 10.00am - 4.00pm. The cut-off date for receiving information for the book will be 30 June 2013.


Lithgow, the Australia & NSW 2011 Tidy Towns Award winner