Community
23 August, 2024
It’s deadly serious
WALK among the graves of some of Gordonvale’s settlers and pioneers and witness their stories with the Mulgrave Shire Historical Society’s – ‘Ghosts of Gordonvale’– this Sunday.
In an interactive exploration of the sugarcane town’s history, ‘Ghosts of Gordonvale’ will give history buffs their fill with the introduction of six of Gordonvale’s first residents buried in the Gordonvale Cemetery, their journey and a peek into life in the late 1800s through reenactments and props at the Gordonvale Cemetery on Sunday, August 25 from 2.45pm.
Entry costs $5 per person (cash preferred) and attendees are required to bring their own seating and water if needed.
Mulgrave Shire Historical Society’s publicity officer Julie Amadio said this was the chance to take a deep dive into the history of Gordonvale and its early residents.
“This is the seventh edition of our ‘Ghosts of Gordonvale’ presentation, this is an event that was started seven years ago to gather information on people at the cemetery they could find information on,” she said.
“The presentation will be on Sunday at 2.45pm for a 3pm start. Attendees will walk to the back of the cemetery with their own chairs and seat themselves, and there’ll be six ghost presenters, each in turn introducing the story of each person in period costumes.
“We chose six people buried in the Gordonvale cemetery which we could find any information on and who also had descendants in the area.
“We have Catherine Cheatley, who was a midwife in Gordonvale in the late 1800s. We’ve got Ivy Zappala, who was an artist, she actually painted a mural inside the Mulgrave Settlers Museum. We also have Norman Douglas Campbell, who was involved in the tragic accident in the Mulgrave Mill in 1900, George Moss who was a settler, an Aboriginal person Topsy Thomason who was taken on board by the Thomason family who had a cane farm east of Gordonvale. She came from the Chillagoe area, and Matthew Muir who was an engineer.”
There’s capacity for 150 people and Ms Amadio is hoping the community rounds up to learn more about the history of their town. In case of rain the presentation will be held at the Gordonvale High School hall at 85 Sheppards St, Gordonvale.
For more information, visit the Mulgrave Shire Historical Society’s Facebook page.
