ANOTHER piece of Sir Henry Parkes’ life has come to rest at Tenterfield’s School of Arts in a ceremony involving the “father of federation’s” descendants.
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A vase and a clock held by the Fowler family for 144 years were presented to the School of Arts on Saturday ahead of the annual Sir Henry Parkes oration on Saturday night.
The oration was given by former Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson.
Kenyon Mortimer, a descendant of Alfred Fowler who worked with Sir Henry Parkes importing goods in the 1860s, made an emotional speech about Sir Henry’s gift of the vase and clock to his ancestor.
“They have been in our family for three different generations,” Mr Mortimer said.
Mr Mortimer and fellow Alfred Fowler descendant Helen Carroll decided to donate the items to go on permanent display at the School of Arts.
Friends of the School of Arts vice-president Ken Halliday said the provenance of the vase and clock was “very clear” and well documented and the items would be a valuable addition to Tenterfield’s Sir Henry Parkes collection.
“Business was part of Sir Henry Parkes’ story,” Mr Halliday said. “These artefacts are a great way to tell that aspect of Parkes’ life.”
The ceremony was attended by Sir Henry Parkes’ great-granddaughter Liddy Brown and great-great-grandson Ian Thom.
Mr Thom said while he had done a lot of research about “old Sir Henry”, it was an important moment to see two items he had handled and the donation “closed the loop perfectly”.
Sir Henry Parkes Memorial Public School principal Glenn Daniels also handed over an ivory cameo brooch made by Sir Henry Parkes for his wife Clarinda.
The brooch had been donated to the school named after the famous politician by Sir Henry Parkes’ descendant Jane Gray 15 years ago.
“In one respect, we are upset to lose it, but in another respect, here is the best place for it where many more people can enjoy it,” Mr Daniels said.
The annual Sir Henry Parkes Oration is in its 10th year. It is held to commemorate the speech made by then NSW Premier Sir Henry Parkes in Tenterfield’s School of Arts on October 24, 1889 calling for the federation of Australia’s seven colonies.
The Oration dinner included speeches by Tenterfield High School captains Billie-Ann Flint and Zac Curry who proposed a toast to Sir Henry Parkes,
Speaker Mr Anderson called for public debate on the issues of inter-generational theft and high debt levels
