Father of Australia

Thanks to his many achievements, Lachlan Macquarie is called the 'father of Australia'. He named the streets in central Sydney and many regional towns. Recently the State Library of New South Wales acquired some letters that are an excellent record of colonial life when Macquarie was governor, two hundred years ago. Paul Brunton, the senior curator at the Mitchell Library, felt that the first people to see these letters ought to be regional people rather than Sydneysiders because the State Library is for all of NSW, not just Sydney.

So, with a case full of wonderful, two hundred year old documents and artifacts, Mr Brunton arrived in Wagga. Thankfully, he loves speaking to primary school children so three lucky classes were able to come to the library to hear all about the wonders of Australia so long ago. The children were fascinated, asking lots of questions. They were shocked to discover that when Macquarie went to school girls were not educated like boys - at least the girls were shocked, the boys found it funny. Mr Brunton, wanting to tell them about how Macquarie introduced the first Australian currency, asked them what might be something that wasn't around then but that they use every day and might have in their pockets right now. One child said a phone and this amused Mr Brunton very much as he'd never have thought of that.

The kids enjoyed seeing the letters and holey dollar and dump but I was most thrilled by a letter to Lachlan Macquarie from William Wilberforce. Yes, the very William Wilberforce who lead the movement for the abolition of the slave trade (did you see Amazing Grace, the film?). Look, I held the letter in my own hands!

In the evening Mr Brunton gave a lecture for the general public and around eighty people came to hear him. I was able to use my RSA (Responsible Service of Alcohol) certificate and afterwards we went out to dinner. A long day, but a good one.

I shouldn't have shown off about my iPhone. Sorry about that. I hope the sight of my new, Zero Japan teapot doesn't make anyone envious. It is such a lovely, elegant shape and it pours one a half mugs of tea beautifully.

In the sun it is a happy, speckled blue.