Collinsville Preserved Through Stories Of ‘Our Mates’

The fourth book in a series lovingly produced by a group of local volunteers has hit the shelves, bringing the community 30 stories of individuals and couples who have contributed meaningfully to the town of Collinsville.

From the previous mayor Sir Peter Delamothe to Sister Forrest who delivered babies at Collinsville Hospital, the spectrum of those featured is both diverse and inclusive.

A volunteer team of six people work together to bring the stories and photos to life, these are then edited and artfully placed on pages to create a book.

Jenn Honnery is responsible for designing the book and she says that the whole community is involved with the project.

Using the power of social media on the Collinsville Locals page, most of the stories were collated from comments made by people who knew the characters featured.

“Pages and pages of comments were filtered through, we got stories from eulogies, word of mouth and also lots of cups of tea and conversation,” said Jenn.

“We also have a database of 12,000 photos which we can match names against.”

Bringing together a good photo with a meaningful story was a complicated process that often took hours of volunteer time, but the outcome is impressive, and the team believe the success of the ‘Our Mates’ book could be the first in a series.

“We have an aging population here in Collinsville and unfortunately every year we lose a couple of characters,” Jenn explained.

“It’s sad to think that we could be missing some of these stories and so creating these books was a way we could capture their stories before the older generation can’t tell them anymore.

“Once we started the project, we just kept coming across more and more great stories, we already easily know of 100 more people we could include and we just want to help keep the momentum going.”

Every book produced is self-funded by the last and all proceeds go straight towards the following years’ project.

This year, they published 350 copies, and the limited editions are selling fast.

They are available from the Collinsville Connect Telecentre.

“They are a great reference for kids at the local library and they also make great presents which look nice on a coffee table,” said Jenn.

The project started four years ago when the team of volunteers released their first book entitled ‘Our Stories Unearthed’ which paid homage to 100 years of mining.

The success of this book was soon followed by ‘A Miner’s Best Friend’, the story of the much-loved Pit Ponies and last year, a book celebrating 100 years of Collinsville State School, held a precious memory to many.

With plans already in place for a sequel to ‘Our Mates’, anyone in Collinsville who has an interesting story to share is welcome to connect with the team.

Through projects like this, the valuable and unique local history of Collinsville is preserved for generations to come, keeping the spirit of the local community alive.

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Jamaine Miller, Karla Fisher, Laurie-Anne Williams, Leola Janz, Cindy Winston. Photo supplied

Each book tells an important part of Collinsville’s vibrant history, preserving it for generations to come

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