New Book Records Club’s History
BY JEM ANSHAW
There was no shortage of memories being shared at the launch of a book chronicling the first 40 years of the Muswellbrook Workers Club last week.
There were staff who served some 30 years behind the bar, volunteers who ran the Board elections, and members who have been visiting for decades.
One woman who has seen and done it all is Jessie Dial, a life member of the Club who remembers when it all began.
“My husband worked for the bloke across road who was developing the club, but I never came because the children were too little but as they got older I joined the Auxiliary,” she shared.
“We had a tennis court at the back here and we could bring the little ones and we could bring our lunch and sit back up in the back part of the club and have lunch with them and it was really good.
“I just can’t wait to read the history in this book, to see how it is matches up against what history I have.”
No doubt her face will appear in a few of the photos that feature in the book, having run the kitchen for a few years alongside her many voluntary roles.
The History of The Muswellbrook and District Workers Club 1952-2022 has been compiled from photos and records discovered stowed away in storage at the club by former director Dennis Sheehan and current director Marlene Goodwin.
“In that box was a heap of information – old AGM notes, including photographs, so we set about putting it all together, it’s taken well over 12 months to get this done and will make it much easier for us in years to come,” Dennis shared at the launch last week.
Muswellbrook Workers Club started as a committee formed of a group of miners who met in a park across from where the Club currently stands.
After a few years a brick building took the place of the original tin one and the site has continued to evolve over the years thanks to the voluntary support from many families in the area.
Copies of the book are available for purchase at the Muswellbrook Workers Club, and anyone who recognises people in unlabelled photos is encouraged to get in contact with the Club or the Muswellbrook Shire Local and Family Historical Society to help update records.