My husband and I came to Marysville over thirty years ago.

As a former school principal and teacher, my interest in history led me to getting involved with the Marysville & District Historical Society. Before long I was elected as the secretary – a role I have continued to hold for many years. My husband took on the role of president after a career as an accountant. We loved Marysville and we were very involved in establishing the garden club – it is a great place to be a gardener. We even used to compete in competitions before the fires. We built a new cottage and made sure we had a garden to maintain. It has helped keep us sane during the tough times. We are replanting for the future – it’s there for the next generation to enjoy.

During the fires, my husband and I tried to save the most valuable objects of the society, but unfortunately we lost the premises and our whole collection. We were able to buy a property that survived the fires to use as the historical society premises. The greatest help after the fire came from people beyond the area who had fond memories of this wonderful place. Within a week of the fire, we received a phone call from an art historian, Andrew Mackenzie, who said he would love to help restore the society. He came up and met us and from that point on things went berserk because of his influence in the Australian art scene. He had a small private collection for us to use to get started. Using his knowledge of art, he has been able to top up our collection and then some. My advice is don’t get rid of any of your old collectables and art. Because of what people have kept we have been able to replenish our stocks and have our collection open to the public.

Community spirit was strong after the fires but some things have contributed to part of that being lost.

However, people coming to the area for a short trip or holiday can help lift people’s spirits and make sure local businesses thrive. Work is not so easy to find which makes it hard for our younger generations. The future of Marysville lies in young people creating beautiful memories for themselves. We are thankful our gorgeous ferns and forests are regrowing. Our greatest disappointment is that Man is not being quite so helpful and some properties look neglected which doesn’t assist in maintaining our community pride. One of the problems is that there’s not enough work for people. We used to be a town that relied on timber and tourists – we now don’t have the timber trade. It used to give the town so many opportunities. Everyone had work and teenagers had something to do. By the time they went off to Melbourne, they were employable. The increase of tourism that is happening is helping – but through the week it’s too quiet to sustain our local businesses.

The majority of people in the area chose to head down the modern route for Marysville, so everything has a fresh feel to it rather than a classic touch. Personally I would have loved to keep a more rustic feel for the community. It’s not the image of Marysville we are used to, but it is what the people wanted. It’s different, but we are committed to it and committed to supporting the community. There is a focus on the temporary rather than the sturdy which is hard to get used to – but whatever happens in the area, its story will always remain. Here at the society, we are telling the past, present and future. It’s fantastic when people who had been here in days long since past, and who have kept those memories close to their hearts, give us reasons to still celebrate our illustrious history. We are here to tell the whole story. Our ongoing story is too important to be lost. The historical society has had to battle – we survive on gold-coin donations and the kindness of people like Andrew Mackenzie. Because we are shorthanded at the historical society – we need help to tidy up and bring it back to it’s former glory. We are in a very difficult situation and hope that we get more support from people.

I wrote a book after the fires called ‘Razed and Raised’.

The final lines of the book read, “a new generation will appreciate this beautiful area – seeing it with younger eyes and creating their own memories. They will not be hampered by old images of our generation.” The town now is for future generations, but it is going to take a long time to make the same types of memories that the older generations created. At the same time, there is so much history in the area, and it would be a terrible shame for it to be forgotten. Many people have left Marysville for a different life, but we want people to come to make their new personal histories here.

I’m a realist – old school if you will. It saddens me to see kids on their screens and not experiencing the town in real life. I think it’s a shame that many kids will not be brought up to know and respect our place in Victorian history. People in Melbourne need to find out the reality of the past and the struggles we are having in the present. You have a generation that isn’t interested in history – you have people who come in for the events, but not history. With a small permanent population we are not able to cope with everything which needs to be done. We need all the help we can get. God’s doing his part, now man has to do his. We are confident it will grow, it’s just going to take time and patience – but we are planting the seeds for future generations.

Marysville – Wish You Were Here

For more information: http://www.marysvilletourism.com/marysville-150-years/