AN incredible piece of Inverell history has been gifted back to the Inverell Community.
On November 1, 1958, a silver ceremonial jug was presented to Lieutenant General Henry Gordon Bennett to commemorate the opening of the Inverell Memorial Pool.
Now, 66 years later, the jug has found its way home.
Mr Bennett was part of the 8th Division at the fall of Singapore.
Upon his passing, the item became the property of his daughter, Joan Bennett.
Miss Bennett bequeathed the jug, plus other items to longtime friend Christine Curteis.
Mrs Curteis, along with her husband Alan, made the journey back to Inverell to donate the
ceremonial jug to Inverell Shire Council.
It was handed over to Council general manager Brett McInnes.
“It is only right that this beautiful piece of history be returned to the community that gifted it all those years ago,” Mrs Curteis said.
Inverell Shire Council mayor Kate Dight said the community was extremely grateful and proud to have been granted custodianship of such a beautiful piece of Inverell’s past.
“It is quite serendipitous that it would be donated back to us as completion of the new pool is very close,” Cr Dight said.
The ceremonial jug will be part of a memorabilia display at the new Inverell Aquatic Centre.
The Inverell Memorial Pool was quite a few years in the making, with a model of the proposed complex displayed in the windows of Gaukrogers on Byron Street as early as 1953.
The model, created by Ben Bates, showed the complete design and lay-out of the proposed baths from the principal buildings and pools to the hedges and fences enclosing them.
“The two pools – the Olympic standard and the kiddies’ pool – are shown to scale, with mirror glass making effective ‘glistening water’,” reported the Inverell Times.
“Tiny replicas of beach umbrellas, park benches and shrubs add even more reality to the picture of what the baths hold in store for Inverell. Miniature celluloid dolls – complete with swimming
costumes – at the ‘big’ pool and even smaller dolls at the kiddies’ pool bring the model even more ‘alive’.”
Earlier the same year, Inverell and District War Memorial Baths Society was registered as a charitable organisation aimed at raising funds to establish the swimming complex and was acknowledged by the Inverell Times as “easily the most representative and efficiently organised community effort in the history of Inverell and district”.
The first fundraiser was the Memorial Baths Appeal Queen Competition, won by Sports Queen, Olwyn Chapman.
Also competing was Business Queen Norma Syrett and Country Queen Jill McCosker.
The competition, which drew more than 1000 spectators to Inverell’s Victoria Park, raised £10,483, the equivalent of $440,000 in new millennium dollars.
Society president Ben Wade said a £15,000 target had been set, with a total of £12,000 already in hand.
“The wool and wheat drives, monster auction and cement drive are still to come, so it seems certain the objective will be reached,” he said.
Macintyre Shire president Charles Fuller said the competition was the first “really big drive” to have baths for Inverell.
“This war memorial will have added reason and significance by the fact that we have built it ourselves,” he said.
Meanwhile, construction of the new Inverell Aquatic Centre heads towards completion.
Completion of the multi-million dollar facility is on schedule for commissioning in late December, with the official opening to be held in early January.
Council has entered into contract with Belgravia Leisure, who will commence operation of Ashford Swimming Pool and the Inverell Aquatic Centre as facility managers.
