Glimpses From the Past, page 2
The Macclesfield Newsletter has been available since August 8 1977, and has reached Issue 1068 (September 2026 issue). As such it is a major source of historical information for our district.
On these pages we will display some of the newsletter articles, varying from recent to well in the past.
Broadbent visit 2026
Brian Chatterton AM, of Co-Opera
Lily Gray vase
The Broadbents visit Macclesfield in 2026
Joan Broadbent celebrated her 80th birthday at the Macclesfield Hotel in July 2026 with siblings Graham and Barbara. Having grown up in the town they were keen to visit the Institute, and shared their memories with the History Group.
Joan and Barbara remembered entertaining the audience on the piano, now in supper room. As young teenagers they played for the movie-goers at the ‘Avon Pictures’ in the 1950s-60s. Joan even played us a tune!
In December 1947 ‘Avon Pictures’ had officially opened in the town. The first program was ‘Picadilly Incident’ and ‘My Pal Trigger’ and a film of the wedding of Princess Elizabeth. Avon continued to operate on a weekly basis until the 1960s when owning a television set became more popular. The Cinema box addition to the front of the Institute was made when Avon pictures were operating in Macclesfield.
In the 1960s there was a major community effort for what was known as the Cream Bowl Festivals. While it was primarily promoting the dairy industry and originated in Mt Barker, the surrounding districts soon got involved and each town submitted an entry for the Miss Cream Bowl competition.
In 1962 Lorraine Pearce won the outright award of Miss Cream Bowl and in 1963 Joan Broadbent was successful. Part of the prize for these two Macclesfield girls was a holiday to Warragul in Victoria where they represented the Adelaide Hills region in a national Miss Cream Bowl competition. Joan has special memories of those times.
Among the history collection is a Courier newspaper article showing Joan as Miss Cream Bowl in 1963.
Seated on her throne, following the crowning ceremony at the ball on Friday night, is the 1963 Queen of the Mt Barker and District Cream Bowl Festival, Miss Joan Broadbent, of Macclesfield.
History Group September 2026, www.macclesfieldhistory.com.au
Brian Chatterton AM and Co-Opera at Macclesfield
Congratulations to Echunga resident Brian Chatterton AM, who received a King’s Birthday Award in June 2026 and was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for significant service to classical music as an educator, performer and artistic director. Since 2019, Brian has been Artistic Director of the Adelaide Hills Chamber Players. He also founded Community Choirs and directed Co-Opera from 1991 to 2018, helping bring opera to regional Australia and overseas.
Opera comes to Macclesfield
On the weekend of 11 and 12 May 2002, the Co-Opera company arrived in Macclesfield for two performances of Opera in the Round. During Saturday, Davenport Square was transformed into a bustling performance space. To passers-by, the scene may have looked like a circus being set up, but it was something quite different.
Macclesfield had not seen activity like it for many years. By day, the BIG TOP rose on the Square; by night, audiences were treated to a memorable performance by a highly talented troupe. The experience was repeated with equal success for the Sunday performance.
The cast included young violinist Kyung Min, the unflappable and entertaining Ringmaster Thomas Edmonds, and a group of outstanding singers, including Macclesfield’s own Jillian Chatterton and her husband, Brian Chatterton, the company’s musical director. Together, they presented operatic excerpts in a wonderfully engaging format.
Footnote: The Macclesfield Institute was the venue for Co-Opera on numerous other occasions. Lucky Maccy people!!
Reference: The Courier 10th June 2026 and Newsletter article March 2018
Macclesfield History September 2026,
www.macclesfieldhistory.com.au
Lily Gray and family of Macclesfield
This small ruby-coloured glass vase, etched with the words ‘Lily Gray 1910’, was donated to the Macclesfield History Group by Mrs Lorraine Jenkinson of Goolwa in October 2025 for safe-keeping. The vase was accompanied by printed notes, including death and memorial notices of the Gray family. From these notes we gather that Lily’s father, David John Gray, his wife Mary Ann, and their family lived on a farm in Macclesfield for 37 years.
The vase now forms part of the history collection and is on display in the locked glass cabinets in the supper room at the Institute.
At the time we knew very little about the Gray’s family history, but we have gained slightly more knowledge with research at ancestory.com and Trove’s old newspapers.
The history collection, which includes the Macclesfield School Admission Registers from 1879-1900, hopefully will list some of the Gray children, and Lily’s father David John Gray is likely to be mentioned in the Macclesfield Council Minutes Book 1884-88 as he was a member of the District Council for many years, and for some time was Chairman. He was also a member of the Rechabite Lodge.
What we do know is that David John Gray was 17 when he left Dorset, and sailed from Plymouth, England on the ship Electric; arriving in Port Adelaide on 23rd September 1865. Three years later he married Mary Ann (née Rowney) in Norwood SA.
The family came to live in Macclesfield around 1883 with six children, Elizabeth Ann (14 yrs), Henry Howard (9 yrs), Hannah Jane (6 yrs), David John (4 yrs), Adelaide (2) and Edward Charles (1).
The rest of the children were born in Macclesfield; including Alfred George in 1886, Lily Blanche in 1888, Sydney in 1889, Harry in 1890 and Frederick/Fred in 1891.
In 1896, Lily’s older brother David John died at Macclesfield aged sixteen years and five months from Bright’s Disease; a historical term used to describe kidney diseases.
Further sources of information: - We have been fortunate to find a group photo identifying Davey Gray and other local men. Maybe district council members?
L-R: Davy Gray, Mr Luke (the teacher), JJ O’Malley, Tom Ellis, ED Davenport, Richard Tonkin, Herbert Yates
Sitting L-R: CW Edmonds, Rev Hall.
Identified by Jess Yates (nee Edmonds) in 1980.
It is interesting to speculate about the ruby-coloured vase and its owner Lily Gray. In 1910 she would have been 22 years old, maybe it was a gift or a prize or perhaps she had etched her name on the vase?
Congregational Church in Lemar Court overlooking Davenport Square c.1912
Lily Gray and Gilbert Hector McNicol were married in this church on 16 December 1916, as reported in The Express and Telegraph on 18 December 1916. Gilbert Hector was the 3rd son of the late Archibald and Christina McNicol, of Narrung, and Lily Blanche, the youngest daughter of David John and Mary Ann Gray, of Macclesfield.
The Macclesfield School Registers proved to be a great resource. The School Admissions Register for 1896 shows Lily Blanche Gray starting school at 8 yrs old. In that year seven of her siblings also attended the Macclesfield Public School. The distance they travelled to school was 3 miles. Their father David J Gray was recorded as a farmer.
The School Inspectors Register for May 1898 lists Lily Gray at age 10.2 yrs in Class 1 with 13 passes (appears to be an average result). Subjects include Reading, Spelling, Writing, Arithmetic, Language, Drawing and Needlework for the girls. Some of her school mates were Adeline Calaby, Florence Ricardo, Raynor Ellis, James Duance, Cecil Mustard and Herbert Davis. Lily left school in Dec 1900. Mr Willliam Luke was the Teacher from 1898-1905.
Inspectors Report, Macclesfield Teacher, William Luke
Feb 14, 1898, 2.45-5.45pm
Students Registered 70, Present 60.
Premises - clean and neat. The cesspits are a nuisance, and the fence is in poor condition.
Times Table & Programmes – Very fair.
Records – Correct.
Copy Books – Good.
Transcript Books – Very fair to good.
Drawing Books – Very fair to good.
Poetry – Very good.
Singing – Songs fair.
Geography – Good.
History – Excellent.
Junior Reading – Good.
Arithmetic – Methods very good, mental, very fair.
Discipline – Very good.
The school is in a very satisfactory condition.
William N Neale, Inspector.
Lily married Gilbert Hector McNicol on the 16 December 1916 at the Congregational Church in Macclesfield. The following year a birth notice appeared in the Advertiser Oct 1917 p 6, announcing a son was born to Mr and Mrs G H McNichol of Macclesfield. Both well. Ancestry. com gives his name as Donald Archibald McNichol born 1 Oct 1917.
Sometime later they made their home in Nairne. In the book ‘Nairne across the Hill’ there is a reference on page 23 that Mr and Mrs McNichol and Don lived on the top road West Side of the Railway. Unfortunately, it doesn’t give further street details.
A farewell social in Macclesfield for Mr DJ Gray and family. A Country News report in the Southern Argus 10 April 1919, p 3,
‘After a residence of 37 years here, Mr Gray and family have moved from the district. The hall, which was nicely decorated, was well filled, the gathering being a very representative one.
Mr CW Edmonds, the chairman, said very often people were late in showing their appreciation of good deeds done. When a man died, people would say ‘what a jolly good fellow he was’ and would heap flowers on his grave. That was too late to be of any benefit, but when showed their present appreciation and gratitude for benefits received, it was some compensation and encouragement to the giver, and he felt sure that Mr Gray and family would be quite convinced by such a gathering that the residents of Macclesfield held them in high esteem.
The programme was as follows, Misses North and O’Donnell acting as accompanists:
National Anthem;
Songs, Mesdames Smith (2), Vaughey, Cody, Wallace, Miss Sims and Mr Smith.
The chairman then unveiled a handsome eight-day clock with inscription and presented it to Mr and Mrs Gray on behalf of the residents, also, on behalf of the Star of the South Tent, Independent Order of Rechabites, (IOR), he presented a silver mounted walking stick. Mr Gray was the first Rechabite in the District of Macclesfield and was the founder of the Tent. The whole thing passed off very pleasantly without a hitch of any kind and can be pronounced a record success.
He is listed first on the Rechabite Honour Board for past Chief Ruler.
Mr Gray died at Forestville on 18 May 1920, aged 72. ‘He left a widow, four daughters, five sons and 17 grandchildren’. He is buried at the Payneham Cemetery. Among the numerous MEMORIAL NOTICES is one inserted by his loving daughter and son in- law, LIL and GIL (Lily and Gilbert McNicol). ‘It’s hard to part; But harder to forget’.
Lily’s mother Mary Ann died on 5 April 1934. In loving memory of our dear mother. ‘Peace perfect peace with loved ones far away – ever remembered by loving daughter Lil, son-in-law and grandson, Don’. She is also buried at the Payneham Cemetery.
Lil and Gil are buried at the Nairne Cemetery beside their son Donald and his wife, Daphne, née Braendler.
Donald McNicol died in 1949, aged 32. ‘An ex- serviceman and father of two, he had been in poor health’. Daphne died aged 75 in 1996.
Lily died on 23 Jan 1967, and Gilbert died on 22 Dec 1968.
Footnote: In speaking with Mrs Lorraine Jenkinson (the donor of the ruby vase) recently, we discovered that Donald and Daphne were her parents. Permission to print was granted.
If you have further information about this family, we would love to hear more. Contact email: convener.macclesfieldhistorygroup@outlook.com.au
Macclesfield History Aug 2026
