Lord Howe memories uncovered at the ‘Recycle Centre’

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Posted on 30th July 2010 by capella in Uncategorized

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From Libby Grant, Capella Lodge Manager

Visiting the LHI Tip or ‘Recycle Centre’ is a favorite outing for Mark, General Manager at Capella. Not only is it the tip designed to minimize waste being sent off the island, it is also a favorite hangout for any ‘collectors’, Mark being one (you could call him a hoarder!). One person’s junk is definitely the next person’s treasure. Mark’s favourite comment is ‘you never know when you may need it”, ‘it’ being the latest piece of junk that he has collected from the ‘Revolve’ section of the tip.
His favourites are a 40mm shell case from New Guinea that happened to be owned by our neighbour’s father who served in New Guinea during the WW2, and dozens of old reel-to-reel movies depicting fashion parades on the island in the 30’s. Yes, on LHI you can even find out who originally owned the junk!
Mark’s latest find has been a good one. A few weeks ago he found some old slides which Daniel (one of our illustrious staff at Capella) had made in to digital prints. We have given a copy of the disk to local Jack Shick who has in turn shown some of the senior residents who are now excitedly working out who’s who.
Some of the photos date back to the 1930s and others are from the 1960s. In the attached photos you will see photos of the Catalina Flying Boats (one actually beached), photos of the many fancy dress parties the islanders held and of course some obligatory photos of old swim suits.
I hope you enjoy the photos as much as we did.

Ps We will probably donate the photos to the Lord Howe Island Museum for their displays.

Lord Howe Island – a living history

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Posted on 20th April 2010 by capella in History

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From Lodge Manager, Libby Grant: A short history of Lord Howe Island

Lord Howe Island and nearby Balls Pyramid had a fiery beginning. They are part of a chain of 9 underwater volcanoes that stretches north for a 100km. The dominating, erosion resistant ramparts of 875m Mt Gower and 777m Mt Lidgbird were formed 6.4million years ago as lava filled in the crater of the LHI volcano.

 In 1788 the HMAS Supply under the command of Lieut Henry Lidgbird Ball was en route to the penal colony of Norfolk Island when he sighted LHI. Ball named the island after the first lord of the British Admiralty, Richard Howe. No one settled on LHI until 45 years after it’s discovery. Early settlers supplied provisions to the whaling fleets that plied the Pacific Ocean until the early 19th century when the Kentia Palm industry provided a

 lucrative alternative for the islanders. In the early 20th century tourism starting on LHI at Pinetrees and Ocean View Lodges. Before the outbreak of WW2 there were about 60 guesthouse beds on the Island. Now there are 400 and tourism is a thriving industry that supports the entire island community.

Lord Howe Island’s unspoiled environment is protected by its Unesco World Heritage status. It is also a National & Marine Park. All are maintained by the administrative board’s environmentally sensitive management policy of nurturing the flora and fauna to preserve the original character of the island.

Aren’t we lucky that we can experience this very special place?

The Lord Howe Island reef and mountains