Maldon Fraternal Society

What was it? 

The Maldon Fraternal Society was a mutual support and friendship organisation formed so that people who had migrated from Maldon to Melbourne could keep in contact with each other and the people they had left behind. 

BACK TO MALDON

MALDON, Monday -The "Back to Maldon" celebrations were continued on Saturday, when cricket, rifle, and tennis matches, in the whole of which the local competitors were victorious, took place. At the Maldon Fraternal Society concert in the evenlng £45 was taken at the doors in aid of charity. On Sunday afternoon this society held a charity service at the hospital grounds, and £30 and 10/4d was taken at the collection.

The Fraternal Society, from Melbourne, took a prominent part in the festivities. The "Comebacks" Band led the procession and the streets were thronged with visitors. Prior to the sports, Councillor Bowen (shire president) entertained the State Premier (Hon H S Lawson), officials of the Fraternal Society, and those of the Easter Fair committee at luncheon.The sports were officially opened by the Premier. The gate receipts were £84 1/-. (The Argus 2nd April 1918 p.10).

 

Maldon District Fraternal Society - Melbourne Syllabus 1953

MALDON Fraternal Society - Dance and Euchrce. Masonic Hall, Leeds St, Footscray, Saturday, 7th. Come Back Orchestra. (The Argus 6th May 1921 p.1).

MALDON.- The following officers have been appointed for the 1924 charity Easter fair:-   President, Mr. J. Bryson, vice-presidents, Messrs. J. J. Hutsh and G. Kingsley, secretary, Mr. H. James, treasurer, Mr. W. B. Apperley. The Maldon Fraternal Society (Melbourne) with Mr. J. Phillips as president. Messrs. J. D. Boyd and J. H. Mitchell, joint honorary secretaries, are  Melbourne organisers, and the "Comeback" brass band has again been invited (The Argus 7th Feb 1924 p.12).

The Maldon Fraternal Society will hold their annual picnic at Caulfield Park on Australia   Day, Jan 30. Hot water and milk provided. All invited. (The Argus, 18th Jan 1939, p.12).

MALDON Fraternal Society. Social, Scott's Hall, Sept. 23. Adm. 2/ (The Argus, 28 September 1946, p.29).

Gift of Maldon Fraternal Society - 1853-1953 Pioneer Memorial

The Sons of Clovis (Ern Malley Affair)

 The Sons of Clovis: Ern Malley, Adore Floupette and a secret history of Australian poetry
Author: David Brooks

The Sons of Clovis is a scholarly tour de force. It begins with the Ern Malley affair, establishing previously unrecognised connections between the Australian scene and French symboliste poetry, before embarking on a fascinating journey through literature, culture, and poetics.

Making full use of his skills as novelist, poet, and scholar, David Brooks has created a page-turning literary history with the narrative tension of a thriller.

In the mid-1940s, writers James McAuley and Harold Stewart submitted a series of poems to the modernist literary magazine, Angry Penguins, under the fictitious name Ern Malley. In a flurry of excitement, the poems were published in a special edition proclaiming the discovery of an important new Australian voice. When the hoax was exposed, it occupied the front page of newspapers around the nation for weeks. It is still Australia’s best-known and most talked-about literary hoax.

For the past twenty years, David Brooks has been on a quest to find the inspiration for the hoax and this journey has uncovered astounding facts that will overturn all previous assumptions about the hoax and its origins. The resulting book is not just an account of the Ern Malley hoax; it is also a fascinating study of literary hoaxes and poetry in general. Written in a playful narrative style that takes the reader on a wide-ranging journey, The Sons of Clovis will be one of the most talked-about literary books of 2011.

Bursaria Spinosa - Landscaping for small birds

Bursaria spinosa

Family:     Pittosporaceae
Distribution:     Widespread in open forest and woodland in coastal Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania.
Common Name:     Blackthorn; sweet bursaria; Christmas bush
Derivation of Name:   
Bursaria...from Latin, bursa, a purse, alluding to the purse-like seed capsules.
spinosa... From Latin spinosus, spiny or thorny, referring to the spiny branches.
Conservation Status:     Not considered to be at risk in the wild.

 Bursaria spinosa is an erect, prickly shrub to about 3-4 metres tall. The leaves are an elongated oval shape 20-45 mm long and up to 12 mm wide, green above and hairy beneath. The flowers are creamy-white, sweetly scented, about 7-10 mm in diameter and borne in dense terminal panicles. Flowers are usually seen in mid summer, around Christmas time, which gives rise to the common name of 'Christmas Bush' in Tasmania and South Australia. Flowers are followed by flattened, purse-shaped seed capsules about 10 mm x 10 mm.

Blackthorn is not especially popular in cultivation because of its prickly habit. However, it is a very useful plant, not only for its summer flowering but its dense, prickly branches provide protection for smaller birds against predators. The flowers are also an important source of nectar for butterflies. It is a hardy species which prefers a sunny or lightly shaded situation in most reasonably drained soils. Plants can become 'leggy' and annual pruning is desirable to promote a more bushy habit. Bursaria will often colonise cleared land.