February 2026

Contents

• From the President’s Desk - page 1Introduces tributes to members and the story of foundation member and botanist Janet Cosh, alongside Society meeting notices.
• Musings, interest groups and the online shop - page 2Bruce Moore writes about tennis; Society group notices and an update on the Square online shop also appear.
• Meetings, Australia Day and Seniors Festival - page 3Peter Rodney’s talk on Irish migration, 2026 meeting arrangements, Berrima Australia Day activities and the museum’s Seniors Festival program.
• Tribute to Bud Townsing - page 4Describes Bud and Maureen Townsing’s local history books, Bud’s museum work and his Gardens and Landscapes exhibition and research on Claude and Isobel Crowe.
• Royal Australian Historical Society tribute to Leonie Knapman - page 5A letter from RAHS president Carol Liston remembers Leonie’s service to affiliated societies, conferences, research and publications on local history.
• Founding member’s enduring legacy - page 6Begins Janet Cosh’s story, the early Society’s search for premises and her family connections to James and Charlotte Atkinson and Louisa Atkinson.
• Janet Cosh, botany and Cosh Park - page 7Continues her work as archivist and botanist, her collections and bequest, and includes an account of Cosh Park at Sutton Forest.
• Society information and office bearers - page 8Contact, opening, membership and committee details as printed in February 2026; these are historical and may have changed.

Issue highlights

• Peter Rodney introduces a talk on Irish migration and the issue reports Berrima Australia Day activities (p.3).
• Tributes record Bud Townsing’s museum and garden-history work and Leonie Knapman’s contributions to local history (pp.4-5).
• Janet Cosh’s life, botanical collections and connection to the early Society and Cosh Park at Sutton Forest are traced (pp.6-7).

Original Society source