Medieval coin expert and collector David Mee will speak on “Coinage during Richard’s Reign” and display examples from his collection. David is a popular speaker, having addressed many community groups including the Plantagenet Society, and our own conference in Mittagong. His writing has also appeared in a number of numismatic journals.

We will also be having a Bring & Buy table for members to recycle their Ricardian books and memorabilia and in turn get something new to read. The only proviso is please be prepared to take anything back home with you if it does not sell, as there is nowhere to store unsold items.

In Leicester, the restored statue of Richard III will today be installed in its new home in Cathedral Gardens. The statue had been donated by the Richard III Cathedral 34 years ago and until recently stood in Castle Gardens. It was not only cleaned and waxed, but Richard also got a new sword instead of the dagger he used to hold in his right hand. You can find more information here.

Andrew McKinnon at the 2013 Australasian Convention (Photograph by D Preis)

The other bit of news is closer to home. Our friend Andrew McKinnon, who delighted – in full armour – those attending the 2013 Australasian Convention (and quite a few other people who just happened to be at the hotel, where the Convention took place!), today is the topic of a whole article with wonderful illustrations in the Manly Daily, the local paper for Sydney’s northern suburbs. Andrew will joust at the first ever St Ives Medieval Fair, which will also include a variety of medieval attraction. Mark 20-21 September in your diary to attend this must-see event.

The June meeting of the NSW Branch of the Richard III Society was held on Saturday, 14 June 2014, at the Sydney Mechanics’ Institute. Chair Judith welcomed all attendees including three new people who are considering becoming members. With the Treasurer and Sales Officer away this month, the Committee reports were brief. Dorothea presented the Webmaster’s report and reminded members that more items were always needed for our increasingly popular website. With our Social Secretary away due to illness we are unable to make specific plans for our annual Bosworth service and luncheon until further notice.

One of our members, Maggie, will be visiting Britain during the Bosworth Commemoration ceremonies, and has been asked to represent the overseas’ branches by placing the wreath provided from our region during the proceedings. We look forward to hearing about her experience when she returns.

Leslie introduced our guest speaker Dr Mark St Leon, the foremost authority on the history of the circus in Australia and descendant of a long established circus family. He presented his wonderful talk, ‘The Evolution of the Medieval Fair’, then autographed his beautifully illustrated 2011 book Circus: The Australian Story, for members. His talk will be published on this website shortly.

The next meeting will be on Saturday, 9 August 2014, featuring numismatic expert David Mee speaking on ‘Coinage in Richard’s Reign’

Note:  Dr Mark St Leon will be talking tomorrow (19 June) to host Margaret Throsby on the Midday Interview on ABC Classic FM!

Our guest speaker for the June meeting will be circus historian Dr Mark St Leon, speaking on the topic of the “Evolution of the Medieval Fair”.

Mark is a direct descendant of one of Australia’s most prominent circus families in the mid-19th century through the 1950s. St Leon’s Circus was one of Australia’s major circuses spanning the decades from the 1870s through the 1920s. Mark has devoted many years to the documentation of his family’s history in the circus and Australia’s circus history generally. He has been widely published in this area. He has also documented the history of other famous circus families who travelled Australia and the tours of the large American circuses which came here in the 1800s. Mark is the author of several published books, articles and encyclopaedia entries. He currently lectures and/or tutors at universities in New South Wales and Queensland. Signed copies of his books will be available at the meeting.

The NSW Branch of the Richard III Society met on 12 April 2014 at the Sydney Mechanics Institute Building in the Sydney CBD. Branch Chairperson Judith welcomed all the regulars and several new members from Wagga Wagga who had made a special effort to attend the day’s meeting during their visit to Sydney.

The regular business of the branch was suspended due to time constraints, so there were no reports presented from the officers, nor review of previous minutes. However, this business had been taken care of during the Committee Meeting that preceded the General Meeting, and the Sales Officer, Treasurer, and Webmaster reports will be in the Minutes taken by the Branch Secretary.

The NSW Branch also wishes to extend their best wishes to a seriously ill member and wish her a speedy recovery

Our Guest Speaker, the Dean and CEO of the Sydney College of Divinity, Professor Diane Speed, was welcomed and introduced. Her presentation was a comprehensive and extremely interesting overview of the existing early medieval illuminated Bibles, Gospels and Psalters in the English Cathedral libraries and museums, illustrated with wonderfully detailed images painstakingly created by the monks throughout the centuries.

The next meeting will be on Saturday, 14 June 2014, when the speaker will be circus historian and author, Dr Mark St Leon, on Fairs and Circuses.

The first branch meeting of the new year was convened on Saturday, 8 February 2014, back at the Sydney Mechanics School of Arts building on Pitt Street, after a year of meeting at a venue in the Rocks. There was a very good turnout of members, including a young visitor interested in learning more about Richard for their HSC studies.

Welcoming remarks were offered by our Chairperson, Judith, followed by very brief remarks from the Treasurer, Secretary, and Sales Officer each reporting that all was well in their particular area of responsibility. The Webmaster advised that the branch website had been upgraded and was now working better than ever.

Our guest speaker was the former Member for Strathfield, Mr Bruce MacCarthy, with an in-depth review of the Angevins and Plantagenets, including the dramas between cousins Stephen and Matilda, the marriage of powerful Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II, two of whose sons – Richard and John – both became Kings. He explained that his interest in the Plantagenet dynasty had begun when he was only 5 years old, when his father obtained a copy of his family tree. It had originally been prepared as evidence in an application to the House of Lords for a vacant peerage, sadly unsuccessful. At the top of this family tree he had seen the name of a king – King Edward III. He told us that the claim was not proven, as there was an area of doubt in the late 1600’s; but the idea of having a King as an ancestor had fascinated him. He and his wife paid a visit several years ago to Fontevraud Abbey in France’s Loire Valley, where King Henry II, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and (parts of) King Richard the Lionheart are buried, and he was able to tell us a great deal about the beauty of this place and how much it meant to him. The text of his talk is on our website.

After the excellent presentation, the raffle was drawn with prizes including many fine books kindly donated to the branch by Kevin from his personal Ricardian collection. We then had a lovely afternoon tea augmented with food generously shared by the Australian Chinese Women’s Association, which was meeting in the next room. There was ample time for chatting, and catching up, and it was a good start to another exciting year for Ricardians.

The 12 April 2014 meeting will feature the Dean and CEO of the Sydney College of Divinity and formerly University of Sydney’s Senior Lecturer in Middle English Studies, Dr Diane Speed, on the topic of ‘Medieval storytelling and illustrations’. It is sure to be a wonderful talk, and we hope you will be able to join us.

Our Next General Meeting – Saturday 8 February 2014 – 2:00 PM

Our guest speaker will be former Member for Strathfield, Mr Bruce MacCarthy (above), speaking on ‘The Angevin Kings and Queens’. His interest in the Plantagenet dynasty was sparked at the age of 5 when his father was given a copy of their family tree, which was originally prepared as evidence in an unsuccessful application to the House of Lords for a vacant peerage. At the top of this family tree he saw the name of a king – King Edward III.

Bruce explains that the claim was not proven, as there was an area of doubt in the late 1600’s; but the idea of having a King as an ancestor fascinated him as a boy, and sparked his avid lifelong interest in genealogy. In 2010, he and his wife paid a visit to Fontevraud Abbey in France’s Loire Valley, where King Henry II, Eleanor of Aquitaine (above), and King Richard the Lionheart are buried.

PLEASE NOTE: The meeting will be at the Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts, Level 1, 280 Pitt St, Sydney.

The last meeting of the year of the New South Wales Branch of the Richard III Society was held on Saturday, 14 December 2013, the last meeting held at the Harry Jensen Centre. As of February 2014 we will once again, by popular demand, be meeting at the Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts at 280 Pitt Street, in the central CBD.

The meeting was opened with remarks made by our Chair Judith with a warm welcome extended to the several new members and visitors present, one of whom, Joseph, came all the way from Armidale to attend! Treasurer Judy was away, but had given Judith her report and assured us of the good financial status of the Branch. Dorothea reported on the very lively branch website that has many international visitors, and can always use more contributions from members. Congratulations had been sent by Dorothea on behalf of the Branch to Sally Henshaw for winning the 2013 Robert Hamblin Award for work of outstanding service to the Richard III Society.  Our branch is grateful to Sally for keeping us  up to date with eye witness reports during the Greyfriars Dig in 2012.  Sally had thanked the NSW Branch and wished all its members a happy Christmas. Lynne reported on Sales, and her success in obtaining new supplies and showed the attractive red pens, which had been introduced for the Australasian Convention and replace the prior style. The Branch Secretary had nothing to report and Angela was unable to attend. The Branch wishes Angela a full recovery, and hopes to see her at meetings again in the New Year. The 2013 volume of our branch journal, The Chronicles of the White Rose, was distributed to all attending.

Our featured speaker was our own member Lynne, who presented a fascinating program illustrated with slides, about exquisite, intricate medieval jewellery of which she clearly knew a great deal and enjoyed sharing her enthusiasm with the branch.  We hope to be able to share her talk here in the near future.

Following the raffle, which had exceptionally nice prizes this month, we had the challenge of a delightful quiz sent by our erstwhile secretary Julia who has recently retired to the coast north of Newcastle, but is still contributing to the fun we always have at the holiday meeting. The quiz had retitled popular and traditional Christmas hymns and carols, which had to be identified by players by the correct name. Our visitor Bruce, who will also be our February speaker, scored 14 out of 15, thereby amazing the rest of us whilst winning a lovely prize. Runners up also received prizes. We enjoyed the mental challenge, and thanked Julia in absentia for such a clever activity.

A lovely afternoon tea was then held with special offerings from members’ kitchens, the last to be presented by our tea-lady Rosemary who has been involved for many years helping to make our meetings enjoyable. As of next year Joan will be taking over the role, with Moya as backup.

Our next gathering will be on 8 February 2014 when our guest speaker will be Bruce speaking on the topic of the Angevin Kings and Queens. Don’t forget to go to the Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts next year!

Our guest speaker for our last meeting of the calendar year will be member Lynne Foley with a presentation about Medieval Jewellery. As it is our Christmas gathering, please bring a bread & butter plate of some Christmas food to share at afternoon tea.

Please note this will also be the last meeting that will be held at the Harry Jensen Centre in the Rocks. Starting in February 2014 we will be returning to the Sydney Mechanics Institute meeting rooms at 280 Pitt Street.