Welcome to the Paterson Historical Society

Historical Walk 2011

Sunday, 27 February 2011 01:42 Webmaster

Put it in your diaries. The Paterson Historical Walk for 2011 is back on. Circle 1pm on Sunday 13 March for another fascinating history tour hosted as usual by Dr Cameron Archer, president of the Paterson Historical Society.

Join us at the Courthouse Museum on the day.

Corn Staddle fight

Wednesday, 15 September 2010 10:05 Webmaster

A new fight for the survival of Paterson's rare corn staddle has begun. The building, the only known one of its kind on mainland Australia, is in desperate need of funds for maintenance to prevent it from falling down.

Dr Cameron Archer, President of the PHS, presents the case to save it in this article by Emma Swain in the Maitland Mercury from 7 September 2010.

The Paterson Historical Society has renewed its fight to save the village's iconic corn staddle. The staddle and nearby hearse shed were saved from demolition in 1980 through the action of concerned citizens and the Heritage Council of NSW.

Read more...

Public Histories

Wednesday, 02 June 2010 09:40 Webmaster

At Paterson Historical Society’s monthly meeting on Thursday May 6, Dr Janis Wilton (University of New England) was the guest speaker. Dr Wilton gave an interesting presentation on public history, with examples ranging from her mother’s house; the Beaconsfield Mine and Heritage Centre; and the District Six Museum in Cape Town, South Africa. All who attended enjoyed the discussion.

Dr Wilton also mentioned her latest project: “Maitland Jewish Cemetery: A Monument to Dreams and Deeds”, which was launched in conjunction with “Undertow” by Hanna Kay, an exhibition at the Maitland Regional Art Gallery. The book and the exhibition offer different ways of exploring the past, and are well worth a visit.

The Orchid Man of Paterson

Thursday, 11 March 2010 01:29 Webmaster

A new book detailing the life of Herman Montague Rucker Rupp - The Orchid Man of Paterson - has been published by the Paterson Historical Society. Society member Val Anderson wonderful new book reveals the life of the Rev. Rupp and his passion for identifying and recording native orchards in the Paterson area.

His study of orchids took place while he was Rector of St Paul's Church of England at Paterson from 1924 to 1930. The book also contains interesting snapshots of the history of the Church of England in the Paterson Valley and records the more recent efforts of locals to retrace Rupp's steps, to find, identify and photograph the orchids he found six decades ago.

See the Publications page for more details.

Heritage Walk gathering interest

Saturday, 06 March 2010 04:46 Webmaster

The Paterson Historical Society President, Dr Cameron Archer, has been in the press showing off the highlight of this year's Heritage Walk: the last remaining WWII bunker in the Hunter Valley. The Maitland Mercury article Relic shows impact of war from 5 March 2010 once again shows how rich a history Paterson has.

Here is the article by Emma Swain in full:

The Hunter Valley’s only remaining air raid shelter, designed to protect children during World War II, will be the focus of this year’s annual Paterson Historic Town Walk.
Read more...