Ann Langford, Clive Polkinghorne and Anne Gribble are back in business. Photo: Oliver Jacques.
Anne Gribble, 90, says she can’t understand why so many young people aren’t interested in history.
“It’s so sad that only us oldies seem to research the past,” she said.
“Until people turn 60, they’re not interested in history. They think what happened earlier isn’t important.
“I think the stories of people need to be remembered. Only 100 years ago, families in Griffith were living in tin sheds with dirt floors. Babies were dying like flies. That’s only two or three generations ago.”
The retired Myall Park farmer was a longtime secretary of the Griffith Genealogical and Historical Society, which disbanded last year due to lack of funds and an ageing membership base.
But the services of the volunteer-based group that help people dig into their family trees and chronicle the early days of the town have since been revived by Griffith City Library.
“Some former members of the society will be at the library from 1 pm to 3 pm every Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday to help people look into their history,” the group’s young gun Ann Langford, 74, said.
“When we’re not here, the girls at the library will try and help you out.”
Ms Gribble said all the group’s records and data was owned and documented by the library.
“We use it and keep it up to date,” she said.
Ann Langford and Marlene Gras hold a plan of Banna Avenue on the street itself, as they try to document the history of every block. Photo: Oliver Jacques.
She encourages Griffith residents to use their services, even if they’ve never previously given their history much thought.
“People will be fascinated. The cobweb of connections in Griffith is amazing. You go through the genealogy; you’ll find out your cousin is someone you know’s uncle,” she said.
“I found out my great-great-great-grandfather’s brother Sr James Eyre was a judge in the Derbyshire courts and he sent my husband’s great-great-great-grandfather to Botany Bay as a convict for stealing a sheep in 1842.”
Clive Polkinghorne, 89, says the volunteers are building on the legacy of his late wife Wendy, who had an encyclopaedic knowledge of everything that happened in Griffith.
“Wendy is the reason I’m into history; she was very organised and kept great records,” he said.
Ms Gribble and Ms Langford are working on a project to map the full 109-year history of every lot on Banna Avenue.
“Bargain Buys at 300 Banna Avenue used to be very posh – it was the site of the glorious Lyceum Theatre,” Ms Gribble said.
Ms Langford said she was looking through old phone books, ads and talking to business owners to piece together the history.
“We’ve looked where Best and Less is now for example, and found out the store Clint’s Crazy Bargains was there before that and there was a co-op earlier; we need to work out what was there before that,” she said.
Ms Gribble says she has no plans to stop researching history.
“People say I’m doing pretty good for someone aged 90,” she said.
If you’re able to help the team with information about the history of Banna Avenue or would like to volunteer with the group, email: [email protected]
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