Pittwater Life September 2019 Issue

the water in the Learn to Sail
program, and our emerging
and intermediate sailors (youth
and adults) finessing their boat
handling and racing skills in
the Development Squad.
After lunch, the Race Committee
sets the buoys for the
afternoon racing.
“What I love most about
racing in the afternoons is the
camaraderie and laughs on
the water,” says a club spokeswoman.
“Many of our sailors are very
competent – having sailed for
30+ years – and national and
state champions, so the racing
and boat handling skills are
of a very high quality. But we
foster a strong learning and
team environment, so everyone
helps each other out on
the water and provides tips to
improve.”
Other highlights in the
Narrabeen Lakes Sailing Club
calendar include:
Hosting the youth from
Sydney Legacy for their annual
sailing day;
Heron Youth State Titles; and
Ladies, Marathon and Fun
Race days, along with a Champagne
Breakfast at Christmas
and a special visit from Santa
– by boat.
Visit narrabeenlakessailingclub.com
for membership and
sailing calendar; contact Aymeric
at membership_officer@
narrabeenlakessailingclub.com
for more info, or follow them
on Facebook.
Learn to Sail starts Sunday
October 13; bookings essential.
– Pam Johnston
Stepping back in time
The discovery and unearthing of a centuryold
time capsule at Freshwater last month
has shone the spotlight on other historical mementos
that are hidden across Pittwater – both
known and unknown.
Council workers removed the Freshwater
capsule, from 1918, from behind a plaque at the
Harbord Literary Institute after a resident read
about its existence in a discarded history book
and contacted local historians.
President of the Avalon Beach Historical
Society Geoff Searl said there were several time
capsules that had been recovered in recent
years across Pittwater, as well as others that
had been put in the ground to be recovered by
future generations.
He said it was important to document their
existence and locations, to
avoid the possibility of their
being forgotten or overlooked.
For example, Bilgola
Plateau Public School Principal
Cindy Gardner said
a time capsule from 1988
unearthed in the school’s
50th anniversary year in
2015 was only found after
20 hours of digging and
excavation that cost $1000
– because the location of the capsule did not
marry to its plaque.
Further, she said another capsule, dating
from the 1970s, was supposed to be within the
school grounds.
“But it’s all hearsay… there’s no evidence and
no marker,” she said.
Geoff Searl said local history books reveal
a ‘memento bottle’ lies under the foundation
stone of Barrenjoey Lighthouse; inserted and
laid in 1880, it contains newspapers including
The Sydney Morning Herald, a medallion of
MEMENTO: The Freshwater time capsule.
Queen Victoria, as well as several coins of the
day.
Retired Mona Vale Public School Principal
Greg Jones said a time capsule was placed under
sandstone under the school’s 112-year-old
bell to mark the school’s centenary in 2012; it
has an opening date of 2062.
“It contains school uniforms, a letter to the
principal in the future, plus letters from then
Federal MP Bronwyn Bishop and Pittwater MP
Rob Stokes to their counterparts, letters from
students, a USB containing schoolwork and
some photos of the school,” he said.
He added a previous time capsule, believed
to have been from the 1950s, had been found
in 2012 after tapping on the mortar next to
the sandstone gate entrance off Waratah street
revealed a hollow render.
After chipping away at the
concrete an A4-sized lead
envelope was discovered; it
contained photos, student
pins and examples of writing.
In 2013, Pittwater High
School recovered a time
capsule laid in 1988; it contained
letters from school
captains of the day to their
counterparts in 2013 and
detailed issues including the environment and
cleaning up the beaches – subjects similarly addressed
by the school’s 2013 captains in their
new capsule which currently sleeps in the brick
wall in the quadrangle.
And in a poignant link, now-retired teacher
Peter Myers was on staff and remembers the
1988 capsule being laid – as well as its recovery
in 2013 and the new capsule’s installation.
– Nigel Wall
* Do you have a story about a time capsule in
Pittwater? Contact readers@pittwaterlife.com.au
News
The Local Voice Since 1991
SEPTEMBER 2019 19