Charlotte Varcoe
CELEBRATING local history will be at the forefront of the Mount Gambier Library this month as it celebrates History Month with an array of events.
Cave Garden/Thugi history walks, researcher talks, and meet and greets with post-war authors are among many of the entertaining and exciting events.
Mount Gambier Library history officer Danni Reade said it warmed her heart to watch more and more people of all ages become invested in local history.
She said with technology allowing better access to history and providing quicker answers to questions, she was seeing the younger generation getting involved more often.
“We can learn more about history now because we have so much more access to resources and information can be found so quickly which can make it fun and exciting but also allows us to give other people answers quickly,” Ms Reade said.
“I really like having locals attending the library’s history lessons because they then become mini ambassadors for Mount Gambier and when their friends and family visit we often see them walking around the Cave Gardens telling them what they have learnt.”
Throughout the month, Ms Reade said the library remained invested in encouraging other community members to take an interest in local history through the Cave Gardens/Thugi history walk and attend a discussion sparked by researchers.
“We will have a visiting researcher from the University of Adelaide who has done research all over South Australia,” she said.
“Dr Karen Agutter is a visiting research fellow who has been looking at the condition of migrants from Europe and families who were displaced in World War II and they places they worked and lived in Australia.
“These places were called post-war working camps and could have been an outer building at a farm or an old school hall where families were living and working until they had enough money and skills to get proper accommodation.”
Ms Reade said those interested in the discussion were encouraged to bring along any photos or stories to convey to Dr Agutter and help complete their research.
“We will also be hosting a story walk which is a really good, hour long walk around the Cave Gardens and immediate central business district area where we will look at buildings and the interesting stories behind them,” she said.
“We will start with the Boandik story and cover right until what we see today so it will cover a lot of local history while also being very light and fun.”
She said it was important to recognise and acknowledge local history with the community “living, breathing and walking among it” every day.
“We are working in buildings that people have working in before us and the more we can learn about our place in Mount Gambier the more interesting and exciting it becomes,” Ms Reade said.
The full program for History Month is available at the library or on its website.
