Devon Meadows author Annette O’Donohue is thrilled after winning the 2008 Victorian Community History Award. 19209
By Kelly Yates
A DEVON Meadows woman has written her way into history after winning the prestigious 2008 annual Victorian Community History Award.
Annette O’Donohue, 68, and fellow author Bev Hanson won the $5000 award at Saturday’s event held at Parliament House for completing the final book in the series on the history of Bendigo – Volume 6 of the Eaglehawk and District Pioneer Register T-Z.
Ms O’Donohue said she was thrilled with winning the award.
“I’m still shocked to have won the award. I always hoped something like this would happen,” she said.
The book has taken almost 17 years to complete and lists every adult who spent time on the Eaglehawk Goldfields before 1880.
Ms O’Donohue, who spent many years in Bendigo before moving to Devon Meadows, said she had a passion for history, in particular local human history.
“I love recording history, because if it’s not noted it gets lost,” she said.
“It’s an addiction. Once you start you just can’t stop.
“I would like to compile a series of books on the history of Cranbourne. I’ve already started to compile the town’s birth and death certificates.”
Ms O’Donohue said the self-funded book listed more than 10,000 pioneers and was almost 2000 pages in length.
“We used rate books from the 1850s to 1880s to get the names of all of the residents and also looked at the cemetery registries,” she said.
“But a lot of people just seemed to vanish.”
The series of books can be purchased from the Information Victoria book shop in Collins Street, Melbourne.
