STAFFWRITERS

 

FRIENDS of the Traralgon Courthouse group is launching Courthouse Conversations featuring author, Dr Peter Crowley, whose book on field surveyor Thomas Townsend tells a previously untold story of early Gippsland.

Courthouse Conversations will become a regular event at the historic venue featuring former and current Gippslanders who have fascinating stories to tell.

The Friends of the Traralgon Courthouse Chair, David Blythman said the group was keen to promote the rich stories of the region, and the historic courthouse was the perfect venue to hold Courthouse Conversations.

“Many Gippsland people have gone on to achieve in the fields including the arts, industry, business, science and the media,” Mr Blythman said.

“We are thrilled to launch this conversation series with Dr Crowley as our first speaker.”

A Gippslander, Dr Crowley was raised and educated in Traralgon and is now a doctor of pathology who lives in Melbourne. Since he was young, he had a fascination with the history of the region, resulting in his book, Townsend of the Ranges.

Surveyor Thomas Scott Townsend (1812–1869) was an elusive, almost legendary figure, closer to folklore than to history. His name is given to the country’s second-highest mountain, but the details of his career are obscure and his personal identity has remained a mystery.

If you live in Gippsland, there is a good chance that your town or district has been influenced by his work; he covered a huge extent of territory and worked furiously hard in a career spanning two decades.

Accompanied by original maps drawn by Townsend, Dr Crowley’s book is a beautifully written portrait of a young man fighting loneliness in the wilderness, mapping the watershed crests of the Dividing Ranges and the contours of south-eastern Australia.

The narrative also reveals a picture of destruction and violence as settlers and squatters moved across the land.

The event will be held at the Traralgon Courthouse on Thursday, June 19 from 7.30pm. Tickets are $10 and include supper and door prizes.

Tickets are available via: https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/friends-of-traralgon-courthouse-inc/courthouseconversations-dr-peter-crowley-1133043479 until sold out.

For more information, phone Jenny Hammett on 0418 334 747.