MHS members honoured

Inner West Citizen of the Year.

Chrys Meader, long time chronicler of Marrickville history and engaging educator on all things Marrickville has been honoured as Inner West Citizen of the Year. 

Chrys Meader Photo (detail): Inner West Council

Chrys is a Marrickville woman born and bred, and a foundational member as well as a life member of the Marrickville Heritage Society.

She has co-authoring two of the go-to books about Marrickville with another foundational member of the society, Richard Cashman, and written several entries in the Dictionary of Sydney regarding our area.

For many years Chrys visited local schools telling stories of our area and encouraging a sense of place and history within her young audience. In 2001 Chrys received a Centenary of Federation medal for this work. 

Rod Aanensen

Amy Large Volunteer Award

It was a good night for local history when the Inner West Citizen of the Year Awards and the Amy Large Volunteer Awards were presented at Leichhardt Town Hall on 19 May.

Five years ago Library and History Services at the Inner West Council approached MHS member Richard Blair about forming a small team of volunteers to document the local history collection held at the library.

This year that team was nominated by Local History Librarian Aleem Aleemullah for an Amy Large Volunteer Award. The current crew were happy to accept it on behalf of all eight MHS members who have participated in the project since 2016.

MHS volunteers Paula Gard, Vilma Bell, Megan Hicks and Mary Oakenfull. Photo: Astrid Hicks

The interesting line-up of other groups who also won a ‘Volunteer Team or Group’ award shows just how widespread volunteer work is in the community.

For example, there were the Gunnawirra Mums, a support network for mothers and children; elders Uncle Derek Wilson, Aunty Tracey Bostock and Aunty Joanne Selfe, who do workshops with community, attend cultural events and develop programming to strengthen community; Michael and Chrissy Banning, who volunteer at the Bill Crews Foundation’s breakfasts; the three Moonlight Weeders, who kept 2019 National Tree Day saplings alive during the drought; the Newtown Neighbourhood Centre Volunteer Counsellors, who provide a free counselling service to inner west residents; and the Addison Road Community Organisation Volunteers.

And finally there were MHS members Roberta Flint and Charles Britton, who revitalised the Marrickville Croquet Club.

Megan Hicks