Penrith City Library’s 2018 History Calendar is out and for sale for just $10 at all Penrith Library branches and Nepean Family History Society (publications@nepeanfhs.org.au).
Our calendar celebrates the many anniversaries in our history, especially the forming of the Nepean Rowing Club in April 1928. Also, we again commemorate the sacrifice of our local men during the First World War. Twenty-One men from our district died during 1918 in faraway places such as France, Damascus and Baghdad.
Also, in January, James ‘Toby’ Ryan of Emu Hall celebrates his 200th birthday. The Library is currently digitising a facsimile copy of his 1894 book Reminiscences of Australia. You can view his original 1984 book in the Library’s Research Room. The Nepean Family History Society produced a facsimile edition in 1982, which was their first publication. On 3 February, the Mayor will join with the Library and Nepean Family History Society to celebrate Toby’s life and commitment to our Penrith area. Toby, a grandson of Anthony and Elizabeth Rope, was the main financial backer for the first two bridges across the Nepean, built in the same location where the green bridge is now under construction. Ryan was also our elected Member for Nepean in the 1860s.
Another significant date in 2018 is the 200th anniversary of the 3,000 acre land grant to James Erskine, which he named Erskine Park.
The images in the calendar have been mostly sourced from Penrith City Library’s Photographic Collection. Over many decades the Library has gratefully accepted photographic donations from the public which, added to the Library’s own photographic archive, has created an impressive visual history of our City.