Our local communities are very important to the Cultural Collections team.
One recent example of help we have received from a member of the You know you’re from Maitland when… Facebook group is the supply of current photos of a headstone designed by Pender Architects back in 1879.
The architectural drawings are of the headstone for Henry Rourke, a prominent Maitland resident and businessman who died on 4 August 1879, and who was buried in the Anglican portion of the Campbells Hill Cemetery. We wanted to see if the headstone was still there, and, if so, if it was true to John Wiltshire Pender’s design.
After we posted the request for a current photo of this headstone to the Facebook group, one of its members, Peter Smith, messaged us with two photos of the headstone. Our thanks to Peter for his help.
Have a look at the photos which are now on our Living Histories site with links to the architectural drawings.
If you have photos or information you’d like to share, we have some instructions for working on the Living Histories @ UON site at http://livinghistories.newcastle.edu.au/nodes/view/67982. Alternatively, you can email us.