On Wednesday 13th December we held our final members meeting for the year. The Roma Robbin Award was announced along with second and third place winners. The award is given to the best story by a member which has appeared in either the June or December issues of the Pigeon House Tidings (PHT).
This year our stories were judged by Shoalhaven Library Cathy Burns, Ulladulla Customer & Community Resources Manager and Megan Crook, Heritage Librarian who is based in Nowra were our two judges. The following are the results.
They both send congratulations to all the contributors of this collection of the family history stories. Megan and Cathy both enjoyed reading them and particularly were impressed by the images used in the articles. These they felt support the articles and also enhanced the engagement of the reader.
Megan 
supplied the feedback and John Sparks presented the awards –
Mary Ann Duncombe (1823-1905) – June 2023 edition by Brian Clayton won first prize and was awarded a trophy, a certificate and his name has been also engraved on the plaque.
Megan’s comment was “A detailed and thoughtful chronicle of several generations of early Australian pioneers, describing the somewhat serendipitous journeys our life paths can take. It also provided insights into early colonial life, and anchored this to landmarks that still exist in the present. I particularly liked the inclusion of a historical interview conducted by Caroline Chisholm as a primary source!”
The Loss to Fire of a Well-Known Garage in Milton, Herbert Gatehouse and Jack Woods – June 2023 edition by Marg Magnusson won second prize and was presented with a certificate
Megan’s comment was “A valuable chronicle of the history and community contribution of a local business lost to fire. The inclusion of photos and personal memories are important to ensure the preservation of these stories, which would otherwise be lost.”
Unravelling the Twists of Family Stories – December 2023 edition by Ron Smith was awarded third prize and was presented with a certificate
Megan’s comment was “This article set out a problem faced by genealogists in their research and the steps taken to solve it. Sequential storytelling made it easy to follow each character in the story, and I like that it encouraged good research practices – obtain the original source!”
The passion of the researchers and writers is evident. Well done all.