Secrets Uncovered

May 19th, 2016

The archivists at the newly formed Balhannah Archive are opening their doors to the public to show what the town might have been like 100 years ago.

The Balhannah Archive has acquired a surprising amount of historic material considering it was only established in November last year. With collections gathered through donations and public sources, the group have prepared a detailed display as part of South Australia's History Festival.

Dianne Percy is the mastermind behind the Balhannah Archive. Her family has lived in Balhannah for over 100 years and over that time has accumulated quite a collection of historic material.

“Over the years my family has acquired all sorts of bits and pieces,” Dianne said.

“I thought it was silly to keep these things in boxes, so we set up the archive in the Soldiers Memorial Hall. People started donating their photos and papers, so we have been busy filing and scanning things since.”

“We thought we should hold an open day to show people what we are doing with all of the information they are giving us and that things are actually happening.”

The group has invited locals and visitors alike to take a look at their collection and find out a little bit more about the town's rich history.

One of the highlights of the archive is a movie shot by Dianne's grandfather in the 1930s of the industrial centre of Balhannah. The group have also unearthed some old honour rolls listing the names of some of the town's oldest families, as well as lots and lots of photographs.

“There have been families in this district that have been orchardists and dairy farmers, and unfortunately those industries are dying out,” Dianne said.

“We would like to retain what Balhannah used to be like for the future generations and for people who might want to look into their family history.”

Dianne and the team is also hoping that the open house might inspire people to go home and look for artefacts from their own family's past.

“I know there is a lot more out there,” Dianne said.

“There were a lot of locals who kept diaries which I would love to get a look at. We are hoping this event might inspire people to go through their own cupboards and see if they have anything for the archive as well.”

The most exciting thing for the archivists is the opportunity to share with locals the stories of local legends that time has since forgotten.

“I remember my father telling me a story about a man named Billy Pie,” Dianne

“Since then I have found more details about him. He was a maintenance man who came out from England for robbery or something minor. He was a big man, over seven feet tall.”

“He was going to build a great big mansion here but the woman he was going to build it for never arrived here so he ended up doing a lot of work around the town. He had a little pet pig that would follow him around and he walked everywhere.”

The Balhannah – Introduction to our Local History open days will be held on Saturday, May 21 and Sunday, May 22 from 1 to 4pm. Bookings are not required and entry to the hall is free. For further information call 0437 786 612.

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