The Echo » Local History

Person of the Month…Dianne Jacobus

admin — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 13:07:41 +0000

After fourteen years as the Manager of the Katoomba Neighbourhood Centre, Dianne Jacobus is moving on. She is leaving the Blue Mountains to move closer to family, and is looking forwards to a break and a little time to herself.

“I’ve loved my time here,” said Dianne, “but its time for me to go, and to hand over the reins to someone else.”

Dianne has steered the Neighbourhood Centre through some big changes, and has been an intrinsic part of many projects that benefit our community, putting in hours and hours of her time and an immeasureable amount of energy and dedication.

“Social justice underpins the way Dianne works.” Says Sue Jaques, who has worked with Dianne for all of her fourteen years as Manager

A list of these projects would include the MOCS, (Mountains Outreach Community Service), the Rent Free for Community initiative which meant community services could use their funding for community projects rather than paying rent to Council, the Mountains Mobile Minders, a project which provided childcare so that people with young children could attend and be involved in community events, the Blue Mountains Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Service and countless others.

She also been involved with many other Community projects outside the Neighbourhood Centre, including Refugee Support groups, and the Blue Mountains East Timor Sisters, the Food Co-Op, the original LETS scheme, and the “Be Safe, Be Seen” initiative for encouraging cars to use their headlights in bad weather.

Dianne has been a wonderful manager, inspiring and encouraging both paid staff and volunteers. She has a talent for seeing ‘the light and spark’ in the people around her, and takes the time to encourage people to develop their skills.

“I never saw myself as a leader,” said Dianne, “I think my ability has always been to work consultatively. I’m grateful that other people gave me the opportunities to step up.”

Dianne moved to the Mountains in 1989. She was looking to buy a house for herself and her daughter outside Sydney. “I had been looking at a house in Woodford,” said Dianne, “and I was standing on the station. I thought to myself, whichever train came in first, that would be where I would go.” Luckily for the Mountains, the next train took her to Katoomba, where she found a home for herself, her daughter and her 93 year old grandmother.

“I didn’t know a soul.” Said Dianne. “But I liked the Mountains. There were lots of people doing good things.” Her involvement with the Neighbourhood Centre began when she required after school care for her daughter, and help from the Home Modification Service to put railings into her home for her grandmother. Not long after, she began volunteering at the Centre, and eventually started working there for the Community Home Visitors.

Twenty years later and Dianne is very much a part of the network of people doing good things.

“I have met hundreds and hundreds of people in my time here,” Said Dianne, “And I feel I have learned a lot from all of them.”

Dianne’s farewell will be held on Thursday, April 24^th. For more information and to RSVP , please contact the Neighbourhood Centre on 47 821117

St Alban’s Anglican Church Leura

admin — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 11:38:56 +0000

Leura Then & Now
On Sunday 15th March at 9.30am the people of St Alban’s Anglican Church Leura will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the laying of the foundation stone of the church building. Bishop Peter Watson will be the guest preacher at the celebration service. Everyone is welcome to attend.
The foundation stone of the present Church was laid by Archbishop Saumerez Smith on 13th March, 1909, his last official act as he died shortly afterwards. In the cavity under the stone were deposited a copy of The Sydney Morning Herald, the Daily Telegraph, the Blue Mountains Echo, the Parish Notes, a copy of the appeal for the new church, a coin of the realm, together with a statement on a scroll of parchment.
The Rev. G.A. Chambers conducted the first service on 25th July, 1909. It replaced the first Church of England Church in Leura which was a small timber structure next to “The Ritz” in The Mall. The church building was extended in 1932 with the Peace Memorial Sanctuary. Fire gutted the Church on Friday 8th November, 1991. Only the walls of the original building remained but restoration work was carried out and it was re-opened on Sunday 20th June, 1993.
The present minister of St Alban’s Church, the Rev. Greg Olliffe, said “this building has served the community well over the past century. It holds a special place in the lives of the many who come in Jesus’ name to worship God within its walls. Long may it be here to offer hope and comfort to our community.”

History of local papers in the Blue Mountains

admin — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 03:04:30 +0000

The Local Studies section in Springwood library has a fascinating history of local papers in the Blue
Mountains starting with The Mountain Advertiser in the mid 1870’s, followed by another 42 individual papers since then, and that is not counting the publications produced mainly for visitors!

The Echo is a very traditional name for a newspaper but is especially appropriate for this area with
Echo Point in Katoomba. The first Blue Mountains Echo circulated from 1909 to 1928. The second
Blue Mountains Echo ran from1939 for a very short time and the third one was published from1981 until
1989.