Above: David Tredinnick, Chairman of the Newlyn Archive with film-maker Shauna Osborne-Dowle at the launch of the film ‘Boathouse Diary’ at the recent Open Day.
The last Open Day of 2017 has gone with a flourish and the only significant item on the Archive Agenda before Christmas is the 8th Annual General Meeting of the Friends of the Newlyn Archive which will be held on Saturday 18 2017 at 6pm in the Newlyn Art Gallery. The papers for this event have already been circulated to Friends of the Archive.
Above: Liza Harman next to the board depicting her dressed as a Newlyn Fishwife.
The Open Day ‘Newlyn in Uniform’ was held on a day with one of the worst weather forecasts of the year and consequently the number of visitors was down. Despite the weather, 77 people managed to get to the show which contained two remarkable events.
The first event was the launch of a short film, made by Shauna Osborne-Dowle about the move of Newlyn Archive to its new permanent home in the Admiralty Boathouse at 23 The Strand, Newlyn in the heart of the village. In the film, Newlyn Archive members tell the story of the Boathouse, its history, its former use as a post office and of the renovations which have made the Boathouse what it is today, an easily accessible, cultural facility and community hub. The film was made because of the Archive being one of five members of the Cornish Archive Network to win a competition ‘Five Archive Films’ offered by Medial Productions, Kresen Kernow and Azook. The Newlyn Archive was selected because of the quality and relevance of the story that is told in the film.
The second major event of the Open Day was the launch of the latest Archive Book, ‘The Story of Newlyn Harbour’ edited by Archivist Pam Lomax and Committee Member Linda Holmes. The book tells the story of Newlyn Harbour from the days before the South and North Piers were built until the building of the Mary Williams Pier and the Fish Market. There are many anecdotes about the men and women who worked around the harbour and there is an index of family names for people who want to trace their family history. There is an order form on this website so do put the book on your Christmas list and support the Archive.