The Annual General Meeting of the New South Wales Branch of the Richard III Society was held on Saturday, 12 October 2013, at the Harry Jensen Centre.

Opening remarks were made by Chair Judith, with a review of the branch activities in the past year, a very exciting one for Ricardians. A warm welcome was extended to the new members and visitors present. Thanks were expressed for the work of all the committee members throughout the year, with gifts given to Julia and Kevin – both stepping down after many years of devoted contribution to the branch.

Thank you, Julia and Kevin, for many years of service to the branch!

Judy delivered her report as Treasurer about the financial success of the convention and good finances due to new members. Dorothea told us that the website is attracting more visitors than ever. Lynne reported on Sales. Julia presented her last report as Secretary, which included a look-back at some of the highlights of the branch activities over the past year.

The Committee then officially stepped down, and Carole facilitated the elections for all of the officers of the branch.  A number of officers returned unopposed to their roles, including Judith as Chair, Judy as Treasurer, Dorothea as Webmaster and Editor of the Chronicles, Lynne as Sales Officer, and Rosemary as Tea Lady. New faces on the committee included Rachel as Secretary, Angela as Social Secretary, Leslie as editor of the Affinity newsletter, Joan as keeper of the portrait of Richard, and Jacqueline as Deputy Chair. (You can see some of the new – and old – faces here.)

Our scheduled guest speaker was unable to come, so our Chair Judith presented a talk about the innovations encountered by the medieval crusaders when they ventured east. They brought back with them a world of new ideas and treasures including glass, lacquer, porcelain, many new spices, gems like turquoise, pearls and jade, silks and satins, buttons, ivory and ebony, paper, poppy seeds and gunpowder, the concept of the musical scale, the idea of carrying banners and of decorating one’s horses. The works of the great Greek thinkers, such as Aristotle, had been lost with the fall of Rome and during the Dark Ages, but had been preserved by Arabic scholars. These works were now re-introduced to Western Europe, leading to great intellectual development in the 11th and 12th centuries. It was a wonderful talk, illustrated with exquisite examples of gems and objets d’art from Judith’s private collection.

Our next gathering will be our Christmas meeting scheduled for 14 December 2013, when Lynne will be speaking about medieval jewelry.

Tags: NSW Branch