aMUSine
Museum Studies at Macquarie
Students of Museum Studies
Macquarie University
North Ryde, NSW 2109
ph: 0417255309
alt: 02 9850 8183
lyn
A unique northern beaches community of Sydney
Alison Leeson, the intrepid leader of the Museums Appreciation Society (MAS) on campus and star student in Museum Studies, will do anything for a museum ... even curate an exhibition while she is on uni break and for absolutely no academic credit ... just for the sheer joy of it!
Following is Alison's report from a show that she put together at the Mona Vale Library in Sydney during the summer recess.
Exhibition report : Scotland Island : 200 Years of Offshore Living
by Alison Leeson
Last year I worked in conjunction with Mona Vale Library to research and put together a photographic and wall Exhibition on the History of Scotland Island.
Scotland Island was officially granted to Andrew Thompson in January 1810 and this exhibition was designed to mark the 200th anniversary of the Land Grant been given to Andrew Thompson.
Andrew Thompson was a pardoned convict who came from Scotland. He was granted the Island due to his dedication to the colony and his “heroic acts in the Hawkesbury floods that resulted in him personally saving 109 lives with the help of his boat.
This was a great opportunity for me to practice the skills of research, panel writing, design and presentation which we have learnt about in lectures.
Alison's research traced the history of Scotland Island ...Image courtesy Alison Leeson 
Rock platforms abound.Image courtesy Shelley and Keith, Flickr.
The morning is just one of the serene times on Pittwater.Photo courtesy Shelley and Keith on Flickr.Patricia Hicks
The Editor's family grew up in Pittwater and her mother, Patricia Hicks, remembers with great fondness their special time on 'The Island'.
"The spiritual ambience of the Island is restful to the soul. The years that my family and I lived on the island were the most joyful of my life. I painted, gardened and went sailing and immersed myself in the beauty of the place. Now that I live in Queensland, I often think of that delightful, peaceful ambience which is not to be found anywhere but in Pittwater."
In the end it was the steps that forced Patricia and Ron to move from this idyllic place. Image courtesy Manly Daily.
Scotland Island paradise...
Image courtesy Sydney by Seaplane.
In her own words...
One of the magnificent views from the Island.
Image courtesy waterfrontpremises.com.au
Scotland Island is a unique and unusual place. An island of great beauty located in the midst of an equally magnificent body of water known as Pittwater, just to the north of Sydney. Here Susand Duncan shares her experiences.
Elizabeth Park at the top of the island.
Image courtesy Pittwater Council.
Susan Duncan
Author and journalist Susan Duncan in her photographic tribute to Pittwater writes,
"The first time I saw Pittwater - a time I had all but forgotten - was in the early 1980s ... I didn't have the faintest inkling a paradise such as Pittwater existed just a forty-five minute drive from Sydney's CBD...
"Pittwater is in the southern arm of a vast waterway that stretches from Broken Bay at the mouth of the Pacific Ocean, to end in a hand-spread of five bays reaching out from Scotland Island. The bays - McCarrs Creek, Elvina , Lovett, Little Lovett and Towlers (also referred to as Moorning Bay) - are known as the Western Foreshores and are backed by the rugged Ku-ring-Gai Chase National Park. Since European settlement, the area has been home to convicts, rum smugglers, madams, loggers and farmers. There was once a thriving salt business on Scotland Island and Aboriginal middens were burned to supply lime for the fast-growing colony of Sydney...
"By the time I arrived in 1999 to rent a house near Bell Wharf on the western foreshore of Scotland Island, the area was a melting pot of artists, writers, publishers, engineers, architects, electricians, cooks, stone masons, shipwrights, nurses, doctors, film makers, musicians, journalists, cleaners, builders, ferry drivers, odd-jobbers, retirees and an odd high-flyer or two.
"I settled into a simple timber home so close to the water that it was wise to roll up the rugs on a king tide. It was a five-minute ferry trip from Church Point, the pick-up and drop-off point for most of the offshore community. Within weeks, I began searching for a home of my own."
Text drawn from 'A Life on Pittwater' by Susan Duncan, published by Ebury Press, 2009.
The views are sublime from this special place.
Photo courtesy Shelley and Keith on Flickr.
Scotland Island has its own community association and website where you may discover more about the Island and its residents.
Click here for the SI community website.
Students of Museum Studies
Macquarie University
North Ryde, NSW 2109
ph: 0417255309
alt: 02 9850 8183
lyn
