It was a glorious autumn weekend at Comboyne on May 5-6 with beautiful sunshine enticing visitors from near and far to the Back to Comboyne weekend.
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A family from Queensland said it was truly worth the trip, to see all the work that is being done to preserve the history of this unique plateau.
The weekend was a great success, with a steady stream of visitors inspecting the proposed museum site, and leaving encouraging notes in the visitors’ book.
The beautifully restored Comboyne War Memorial Hall looked fabulous on Saturday for the concert in aid of the Mid North Coast Refugee Support Group.
Young performers Catherine and Neil Thompson from the Nano Symphony held the audience enthralled with their beautiful and unique items.
They used violin and clarinet with electronics and their own beautiful voices to share amazing music.
Special visitors to the hall were Les French and his wife Kathleen (nee Hurrell) who, together with Les's brother, Maurice, were the operators of the movie shows held there in the 1950s.
They were most impressed with the restoration and reminisced about the choice of movies and the perils of operating the projectors from their elevated position at the northern end of the hall.
Many visitors admired the Union Church which had been restored for its centenary in 2014, and quite a few stayed on for the regular weekly service.
Historical displays of photos and artefacts filled the new Billabong building at the Showground, with many people keen to have copies of the photos, and plenty of orders for the Comboyne Heritage Cookbook, which is to be published with the assistance of students from Charles Sturt University at Port Macquarie.
Morning tea and lunch at the Showground was very popular, with people exchanging ideas and discussing their experiences. Most had visited Alan Latimore’s popular collection of historic farm machinery and tractors, and enjoyed the art and sculpture at the Old Church exhibition.
All eyes will be on the museum site as restoration begins soon.
Many members of the Hurrell family came from near and far to see the old house which is to be restored as the Comboyne Museum.
The house was owned by the Hurrell family and 11 children were raised there.
It’s now owned by Port Macquarie-Hastings Council and leased back to the community for the purpose of creating a folk museum and cultural centre, commemorating pioneering and farming.