ROSEWOOD’S history is in danger of disappearing unless more people who’ve experienced life before smart phones and television come forward and tell their stories.
Jenny Stubbs and David Pahlke belong to the Rosewood History Group and are keen amateur historians.
David has lived in Rosewood for more than 40 years
“I moved to Rosewood in 1985 with my family when I was a postmaster, back in the good old days,” he said.
“I’ve worked as a councillor from 1991 to 2018 and during that time came across so much history in the area.
“This was how my love of Rosewood history got started.”
Four years ago, he started a Facebook group named Rosewood History Group (and Memories).
That group now has more than 3,500 members.
“I started gatherings where members met about every six weeks, had a morning tea and listened to a guest speaker,” he said.
“We also do show and tell where we may have an old newspaper or piece of memorabilia people bring in and talk about.”
Jenny also lives in Rosewood.
She’s worked as a teacher-librarian for more than 40 years and more recently was the Ipswich City Council Cultural Australia Day Award winner.
Her long history within Rosewood and keen interest in preserving the past through shared literature is what led her to join Rosewood History Group.
Jenny now leads another group associated with the history charter named Buzz.
Buzz is the working arm of the website, members conduct research and are involved in all the ‘nitty gritty behind the scenes stuff’.
Her own history runs deep in the region too.
“The house I live in is next door to what was St Kilda Hospital and that was run by my grandmother,” Jenny said.
“She established that in 1919 and ran it through to 1947.
“Many people in the town were born in my grandmother’s hospital next door.
“There was also quite a large block of land in the middle of town that she owned.
“She subdivided it, brought in a couple of houses and put them on the blocks for her twin sons, Henry and Eric.
“Henry is my father.”
It’s this history that gives Jenny and her family a strong connection to Rosewood and its town centre.
SCHOOL’S BIG BIRTHDAY
“I’VE always been interested in family history, I taught at the school and my grandfather was principal,” she said.
“I am particularly interested in it at the moment because the school is turning 150 next year.
“We are starting to make plans on how to celebrate that milestone and that’s where the Buzz group comes in to the equation.”
Buzz group members are keen to develop several projects, one of which is a self guided walking tour of Rosewood.
“What we are really short on is volunteers to help us out with these things at the moment,” she said.
“We would also like to develop a book for children about the history of Rosewood, something like Rosewood Then and Now.
“Ipswich Community Centre have applied for a couple of grants on our behalf to help support those two projects.”
She said if the grant applications were successful they’d ‘hit the ground running’ and try to get the projects finished by the school’s 150th birthday in September 2025.
