THE Tomaree Museum Association are active in the local community in readiness for the day when they find a permanent venue.

Chairman Doug Cross and committee members Warwick Mattherson and Noel Shang have formed a professional interview and video unit which has been busy recording the life stories of pioneers in the district which will form a vital part of the museum library in the future.

Once invited, the unit visits the homes of the pioneering families and conducts the interviews in an informal atmosphere.

The most recent chapter has been that of early Boat Harbour resident Colin Mitchell.

The Mitchell family arrived in Port Stephens in 1910 and settled at Harris’s Farm, known today as One Mile Beach. Later the family lived in a bark house on land owned by “Happy Jack” Blanch at Boat Harbour.

The humpy provided shelter for Colin’s father and mother Nelson and Sylvia, Nanna Mitchell and elder brother Clyde.

The home was burnt to the ground in a bushfire in 1936.

The Mitchells were fishermen with Colin joining his brothers Clyde and Barry on board trawlers “Eileen Sylvia” and “Girl Pat”.

While working on the trawlers Colin well recalls his job on board shooting sharks with a .303 rifle.

“Some days I would shoot up to 40 sharks that were attacking out fishing nets,” he said.

One by one, in the 1960s, the Mitchells left the Port to work the rich prawn waters of QLD.

The TMA recording unit is gathering vital information to display when the museum finally opens to the public. Local families are invited to request an interview if you wish the achievements of your family documented. Contact John Clarke stinkerfishing@yahoo.com for more information.

By John ‘Stinker’ CLARKE