Warwick Henry Finlay
7-10-1934–14-02-2022
Warwick Finlay made a very significant contribution to the preservation and promotion of the Murchison district’s history.
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He perhaps couldn’t avoid developing his passion for history as he was surrounded by local events of importance and belonged to a pioneering family of the Goulburn Valley.
His father, J.K. Finlay, was involved in many progressive developments of the region and served as councillor and shire president.
Born at home on the family property opposite the historic Day’s Mill and Farm, Warwick’s entry into this world was accompanied by some drama as the doctor travelled from a nearby town, and then at some considerable risk, adventurously rowed across the swollen Goulburn River in flood, to assist at his birth.
The middle child of three sons, Warwick was initially educated at Murchison Primary School.
The daily parade of Italian and German prisoners of war brought from overseas during World War II to nearby Camp 13, passing the school grounds in open-tray trucks, was very frightening to Warwick.
He eventually refused to go to school, so for some time was home-schooled by his mother. When old enough he attended boarding school at Melbourne Grammar and obtained his Leaving Certificate, before returning home to work on the family farm. He subsequently attended Dookie Agricultural College.
The early death of his father saw the sale of the family farm and Warwick then worked for a local law firm and trained as a law clerk, gaining great respect across the district for his care and support of business and family matters for the rest of his working life.
The enthusiasm generated by the celebration of ‘Back to Murchison’ in October 1985 led to the formation of the Murchison and District Historical Society and Warwick was elected as the inaugural president, a position he held for the next 28 years.
From the beginning, Warwick promoted a variety of activities for members of the society; coach trips to places of historic interest around Victoria and interstate were organised and a member’s library of history books was started.
Then in the mid-1990s the former Maternal and Child Health Centre became vacant and was in an ideal prominent location in the River Bank Gardens to establish a heritage centre.
A lease was signed with the City of Greater Shepparton and at last, the society had a place to call ‘home’.
Under Warwick’s supervision the extension to the rear of the building was completed to provide a gallery area. Further re-modelling took place during Warwick’s presidency when the original building at the front was totally revamped to provide all-abilities access, a meeting room and new kitchen. The building layout is now ideal and provides for an excellent visitor experience.
At the forefront of accounts of Murchison’s history are the First Nations communities and Warwick was always mindful to begin our local story with theirs.
The Historical Society logo depicts the settlers arriving upon the camp of the Ngurai-illum Wurrung people.
Warwick’s memory for facts, family connections and names was remarkable — always the encyclopaedia to go to for details of Murchison’s early years.
He networked well beyond Murchison, linking with other regional societies and also representing Murchison at local council level; he was an inaugural member of the Council’s Heritage Advisory Committee where he made a valued contribution.
Warwick’s research skills were thorough and he was always wanting the stated facts to be correct. This meant many trips to Melbourne to visit the State Library and the Public Record Office; to Sydney and the Macquarie Library and to Canberra.
Holidays and trips around Australia often included meeting up with people connected to Murchison’s past to get some historical fact clear.
Even when overseas, there would be side trips to track down some facts and figures.
The two books he published – The Doctor, The Captain, The Poet and Others, and Winter-Irving — are both excellent accounts of local history and the people who built our neighbourhood.
Always a great reader, Warwick necessarily amassed a sizeable personal library of publications and he made sure that the society built a member’s library too, consisting of books not only relevant to Murchison’s history but books about significant history further afield. Today the society has a collection of nearly 600 books — a wonderful asset.
Murchison and District Historical Society is in a strong position today due to Warwick’s leadership, an integral part of the community, retaining a similar number of members as when it was formed 37 years ago.
The award-winning Heritage Centre is a showcase for a growing collection of documents and artefacts that tell the story of the people of Murchison and the events that happened here, that are not only of local, but of state, national and international importance. The collection includes thousands of photographs and a huge number have been taken by Warwick; he always had his camera at the ready and understood the value of recording events with an image.
Warwick was instrumental in the formation of Friends of Day’s Mill, and was president for nine years. This organisation provided volunteers to actively restore and promote the history of this outstanding example of an intact 19th century flour mill located at South Murchison and listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.
Declining health caused his retirement as president of the Historical Society in 2013 but Warwick stayed on the executive as a committee member and continued his writing and research.
He was awarded Life Membership of the society in 2002, the first person with this acknowledgement. In 2006 he received an Australia Day Citizen of the Year Award.
Warwick’s wife Anne must be acknowledged as a constant support and helpful partner to Warwick in all his achievements. Murchison is a richer place due to the influence and efforts of Warwick Finlay in preserving the unique district history. He passed away peacefully on February 14, 2022, aged 87 years. He leaves a wife, Anne, daughter Jocelyn (Boston), son Gareth (Brisbane) and six grandchildren.
– Contributed by Kay Ball, President, Murchison and District Historical Society Inc
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