The agave plants near Cawdor Road, Camden, have become part of local folklore, with stories spanning murder, historical colonial gardens, and Indigenous conflict. These slow-growing succulents have sparked controversy and conjecture, with their true history and significance remaining a mystery. Despite attempts to uncover the truth, the agave's legend endures across generations.
Category: Collective Memory
Public art in Hobart tells the story of female convicts in Van Diemen’s Land
Public art has been used in Hobart to reveal stories of female convicts that have been hidden in the shadows for decades on the Hobart waterfront and at the Cascades Female Factory.
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Embroided handkerchief, memories of home at Christmas on the frontline in 1916
Christmas during wartime is a period of hope and memories of home. This embroidered silk handkerchief is full of meaning and memories for an Australian soldier at the front in 1916.
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Celebrate Camden 93, a spring festival
In 2023, Camden celebrates the 30th anniversary of the Celebrate Camden 93 spring festival, initiated by the Camden Chamber of Commerce to boost tourism. Despite initial sponsorship issues, the event drew over 100,000 attendees and was deemed a success. Subsequent festivals struggled with community support, leading to its eventual discontinuation.
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Voluntary labour worth thousands of dollars to the Camden Museum
Small museums contribute a considerable amount of value to the economy through unpaid voluntary labour. According to the latest research, the value of unpaid voluntary labour to the Camden Museum is worth around A$580,000 a year. The Camden Museum and the Camden Historical Society are completely run by volunteers. They are some of many voluntary community organisations in the local area.
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The Sydney Harbour Bridge, an engineering marvel
The Sydney Harbour Bridge is an icon on the Sydney urban landscape. The bridge is an engineering marvel of modernism and the early 20th hope of a new nation.
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‘Fibro Majestic’: A Celebration of Mid-Century Housing at Campbelltown Arts Centre by Catherine O’Donnell
The "Fibro Majestic" exhibition at Campbelltown Arts Centre celebrates the historical significance of fibro housing in Australia, highlighting its role in post-war society. Artist Catherine O'Donnell's work reflects on the nostalgia, memories, and social contexts surrounding these humble structures, transforming perceptions of an architecture once deemed unattractive.
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Camden Historical Society, 60 years of local history, 1957-2017
In 2017 the Camden Historical Society celebrated its 60th anniversary. Founded in 1957 the aim of the society has been to tell the Camden story and the local identities and events that are part of it.
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Menangle School of Arts hall, the heart of a village, under redevelopment
The Menangle Community Association is leading a project to replace the former Menangle School of Arts with a modern community hall.
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The Camden Story: the historiography of the history of the country town of Camden NSW
The history of telling the story of a small community has been interpreted in different ways at different times in the past by different historians. This area of study is called the historiography. I have recently published an article on the historiography of the small country town of Camden, NSW.
