Community & Business
14 February, 2024
Curator retires after 17 years
Gail Parish has stepped down from her position at the Pioneer Village, after 17 years as volunteer curator.
The Pioneer Village Advisory Committee presented Gail Parish with flowers on Monday morning, in what was her last meeting as curator of the Pioneer Village.
Committee member Ros Scotney said Mrs Parish will be greatly missed.
“No one is indispensable, but this lady is!,” Ms Scotney said.
“It’s been a joy to have her, and her dedication to this establishment, and the running of it has been phenomenal.”
Mrs Parish and her husband Barry, lived in Goondiwindi for 35 years before retiring to Pittsworth in 2005/2006.
It was her passion for history and an interest in the past, that saw Mrs Parish become involved in the running of the Pioneer Village.
When the Advisory Committee was formed during the Toowoomba amalgamation in 2008, Mrs Parish was implored to attend meetings, in a bid to convince her to become the volunteer curator.
It was all but final
when the Fletcher lace collection was donated, and the committee asked for
Mrs Parish’s help to research it.
The lace had belonged to Lady Fletcher, the wife of parliamentarian Sir Alan Fletcher, of Pittsworth.
Lady Fletcher travelled with her husband all over the world, while he was in Parliament.
She would collect a piece of lace from each country they visited including Malta, France, England, Ireland and others.
Her lace collection, plus pieces that local embroiders have donated, are now on display at the Pioneer Village, thanks to the help of Mrs Parish.
Her role as curator was enjoyable, though time consuming, and involved copious amounts of paperwork to catalogue and dispose of items.
The highlight of her time at the Pioneer Village was meeting people and listening to their stories.
“They come in and talk about the old times.
“It’s the history part that got me, and that’s why I’ve stayed.
“You can’t really get that anywhere else, but at a museum,” Mrs Parish said.
She has also written a history book about her father’s side of the family.
Mrs Parish traced his relatives back to a small island, Fehmarn, just off the northeast coast of Germany in the Baltic Sea.
With her father’s research completed, she is looking forward to spending time writing her mother’s family history.
Mrs Parish has already compiled most of the research, tracing her mother’s relatives back to Northern Ireland.
Another passion of hers, is the local Women’s Shed group.
They were meeting regularly at the old soft drink factory in Yandilla Street.
However, the building has recently been sold.
The group will now move into the rooms at ‘Sondrio on 67’ in Yandilla Street, until a new women’s shed is built at the Pioneer Village.
It has been revealed that local man, Trevor Saal, has donated the funds to build this new shed.
Mr and Mrs Parish have two children, five grandchildren, and three great grandchildren, with another one on the way (albeit over in New York State, USA).
Their other relatives are scattered across the Darling Downs and Ipswich, and often visit them on their property at Linthorpe.
With increasing health issues, Mrs Parish decided to retire from her role as curator, and also from History Pittsworth.
Despite retiring, and with the exciting women’s shed new build on the horizon, it appears that Mrs Parish will always be a part of the Pioneer Village.
“I’ll still be around!” she said.
