Woodsdale Museum

                  
Doreen aged four with her brother Cliff. Family home built in 1907.

Doreen Dare (nee Howard) is the local historian and a passionate history member who’s vision it was to see the old Woodsdale School come back to life which is now the Woodsdale Museum. Doreen has a wealth of information and has written numerous books about the area and the families who originally came to this dense bushland in the central part of Tasmania. Doreen’s Grandparents came from Germany in the 1860s and many of their artefacts are housed at the Woodsdale Museum. I visited Doreen the other day and recorded some of her memories as a child growing up in Woodsdale.
Four parts 33 minutes in total.

doreen-dare2.mp3
doreen-dare3.mp3
doreen-dare4.mp3
doreen-dare5.mp3

Levendale Primary School 1920s

Levendale Primary School was built in 1901 with Federation money and is the oldest school in Tasmania still using the original building for teaching. If only these walls could talk! Jim Wiggins talks about his days at Levendale in the 1950s to 1960s. Listen to his talk and decide for yourself if you think todays school children are better off than in Jim’s day. Click on the link. Three parts in total 23 minutes.
jim-wiggin-part-1.mp3
jim-wiggin-part-2.mp3
jim-wiggin-part-3.mp3

Bill Free tells me the story of why his father decided to drive the school bus in the fifties and how Bill came about joining his father on the buses.
Click on the link (three parts in total 27 minutes)
bill-free-part-1.mp3 
bill-free-part-2.mp3 
bill-free-part-3.mp3