The ‘Unique’ Family Reunion...

Family reunions seem to be the talk of the town at present. Well, on social media anyway. And why wouldn’t they be, with A.J. Jacobs’ Global Family Reunion which was held this weekend, proving to be a huge hit. So on the topic of reunions, I wanted to share with you, one of my family’s family reunions. This one was held in December 1938 at “Sulby Glen”(the Kelly family homestead) at the tiny town of Cudlee Creek in the Adelaide Hills. This date marked not only 100 years since the arrival of William Kelly and his second wife Jane (nee Caley) to South Australia, pioneers to South Australia from the Isle of Man, but also 50 years since the death of William. My connection to this family, other than the fact that they settled at Cudlee Creek, which is where I grew up, is that William is my 4x great grandfather. Various newspaper articles tell the story of the Kelly reunion, but I’ve chosen just two to share with you. This first one was before the event … And this second one was afterwards. It is a long article, and what I’ve shown below is only about 1/3rd of it. To see the full article, click on the link in the caption. Relatives came from around Australia to attend this event. The newspaper says that this type of reunion was unique for not only South Australia, but with very few of this kind of reunion held throughout the Commonwealth. Approximately 300 people attended the Kelly family reunion, and we know who at least 277 of them were, thanks to an autograph book which was signed by those who attended this reunion … and has SURVIVED! Below are a few pages from this...

Memories of Cecil Gould Hannaford (1914-2000)...

One hundred years ago today, my grandpa, Cecil Gould Hannaford was born. As he’s no longer with us to celebrate this milestone, I’ve decided to write down some of the memories I have of him. ‘Cec’ was the oldest of three children born to Ralph and Dorothy Hannaford (nee McCullough), and while he was born at Naracoorte, the family spent most of their life at Cudlee Creek in the Adelaide Hills. I was a regular visitor to my grandparents place at Cudlee Creek, and probably spent at least half of my early childhood racing around their house, playing in the orchard, riding on the tractor, and generally just getting muddy,  which by the way, I did totally master (see the pic at the bottom)!!! Anyway this isn’t really about me, but about my grandpa. So I’ve gone through the family photo albums, have found a bunch photos, and have decided to put them here together with some random memories that I have about him. – He LOVED nature documentaries, and I think he owned every video (and later DVD) that the ABC and Time put out in this genre. – There was always five meals a day. Everyday he was up early, breakfasted then out the door to do some farm/orchard work. Then he’d be back at the house by 10am for morning tea, then back out until lunchtime. In again midafternoon for afternoon tea, then back at 5.00pm for tea. – Grandpa taught me to skateboard. Ok, well not quite. But I did find a skateboard in his shed, a small wooden one (the first I’d ever seen), so if it wasn’t for it being there, I probably never would have skateboarded in my life. – He was...

Gorge Road, Cudlee Creek – They Did it the Hard Way...

For anyone who has taken a drive up to the Adelaide Hills there is a good chance that sometime or another you’ve driven along the Gorge Road and ended up either at, or driving through the tiny town of Cudlee Creek. Now you’d know that Gorge Road is long, it’s windy, it is steep, and it has a lot of big rock cliffs. Next time you travel that road, here’s something to keep in mind …. IT WAS MADE BY HAND. That’s right! Not a machine in sight! It is simply the work of lots of men with picks, shovels and trolleys! And below are the pics to prove it. For those that aren’t familiar with the area, the dark line on the map above shows the whole of Gorge Road. And where the ‘Gorge Wildlife Park’ listed, that’s where the tiny town of Cudlee Creek is. There’s a few houses, a few farms, a church, a deli/post office and a wildlife park, so yes it’s a small country town. Now for those of you who DO know the area, don’t you think that next time you travel along the road from Athelstone to Millbrook to Cudlee Creek (or viceversa), you’ll appreciate it just that little bit more thinking of the effort that actually went into making it? I don’t have an exact date as to when these photos were taken, or for when the road was opened, and I have no doubt that various parts of the Gorge Road were built and opened at different times, but from what I have been able to find so far out the Cudlee Creek end of it was likely to have been constructed in the 1920s. If anyone has a more...