Luncheon honours matriarch

STAR News Group directors Ian and Dorothy Thomas will be guest speakers at the Berwick Pakenham Historical Societys (BPHS) 11th annual luncheon on Thursday 14 September.

BPHS has dedicated the lunch, to be held at Clover Cottage, Berwick, the Florence Thomas Memorial Luncheon, in honour of Mr Thomas mother.

BPHS spokesperson Geoff Hudson said Mrs Thomas, who died a year ago, was a longstanding supporter of the society and a highly respected member of the Pakenham and Berwick communities.

He said the Thomas family was also wellknown throughout the district through ownership of the Pakenham Gazette and Berwick and Cranbourne News, part of the familyowned Star News Group.

Mrs Thomas husband Herb was an instigator of the historical society and the family has been actively supportive of the society and many other organisations for decades, Mr Hudson said.

Herb Thomas was held in such high esteem that district councils and Rotary clubs established and have maintained the prestigious Herb Thomas Memorial Award for young people working in the media.

Last years speaker at the BPHS luncheon was president of the Royal Historical Societies of Victoria (RHSV) Professor Weston Bate, who gave an address on his personal history as an author and on his association with the RHSV.

All are welcome to attend this years event, but places are limited and numbers are required by Sunday, 20 August.

Tickets are $35 each and available from Geoff Hudson on 0408 343 992 or Louise Reeve on 9707 4491.

Jim Mynard