February 2024

Contents

• President’s column and museum activities - page 1Museum accessioning, the Charlotte Atkinson statue and exhibition, and Society volunteering.
• Society notices and Bruce Moore’s column - page 2A humorous account of train travel and a photograph of Society members at the Berrima Australia Day parade.
• Freemasonry and Australia Day in Berrima - page 3Alan Jacobs introduces local Freemason lodges; the Society reports on its participation in the 2024 Berrima events.
• Insights on wills and probate - page 4Denise Mackey reports a family history group discussion and talk, with a historical overview of wills. Legal information is dated and should be checked independently.
• Wills and Moss Vale courthouse - page 5The wills discussion continues alongside a history of the courthouse and police premises for the building’s 1924 centenary.
• Local law and order: Bong Bong and Berrima - page 6Philip Morton and Marg Muntz trace the early courts, gaol and administration of justice in the district.
• Police and courts across the district - page 7The account follows settlement and the development of services in Mittagong, Moss Vale, Bowral and Robertson.
• Society information and office bearers - page 8Contact, opening and committee details as printed in February 2024; they may have changed.

Issue highlights

• Alan Jacobs introduces a talk on Freemasonry, and the Society reports on Berrima’s 2024 Australia Day events (p.3).
• A family-history group discussion considers wills and probate; its legal information is historical and should be checked independently (pp.4-5).
• Philip Morton and Marg Muntz trace colonial courts, gaols and policing from Bong Bong and Berrima to other district towns (pp.5-7).

Original Society source