I would like, personally and on behalf of my fellow directors, to thank all our wonderful members who were able to join us to celebrate our 185^th Anniversary at our special events recently..

The Bus Trip to Seaham in honour of Henry Carmichael was a great success – even if we had to wade through ankle-deep mud! We were delighted that Toby Ralston and family braved the weather for the unveiling of the plaques. It also provided an opportunity to chat with members over lunch at the Seaham School of Arts.

It was such a pleasure to see everyone looking so smart and enjoying themselves at the 185^th Anniversary Dinner on Thursday evening in our original building, now the Arthouse Hotel. We were all impressed to see the magnificent dome that used to take pride of place in our Reading Room. It was a privilege to have Robert Kingston from the Mechanics’ Institutes of Victoria address the gathering.

A huge thank you to Melanie and Kylie who worked so hard over many months to bring these events to fruition, and to Wendy, Kathy and Erika for providing invaluable assistance in the lead up to the Anniversary week, thus ensuring its success.

Many thanks to Brian Johnston, our Secretary, whose talent for historical research uncovered much of Henry Carmichael’s history and lead him to make a connection with Toby Ralston, who is descended from Henry Carmichael’s wife, Nancy Ralston.

I am honoured to have been President in this, our 185^th Anniversary year, and be able to have celebrated with you our history and significant contributions to Sydney over the years.

At the request of our members, we will be making copies of the speeches given at last week’s events available online along with photos.

Thank you once again for your support of the School and for joining us in celebrating this important milestone.

Winsome Allen
President