17 October 2024 - 13
I’ve just published Update #13 to the O’Brien website. And it includes some great new innovations and information.
First, I’ve made site navigation EVEN EASIER. When you go to the PEOPLE page there’s a BIG link to a PDF doco that has a list of all the people on the website under their various known names. Just click on their last name and WHOOSHKA you’ll go straight to their profile. SO EASY!!
I’ve also added a History page to the menu on the website – it’s information that doesn’t really relate to just one family or one of member of a family, but by including it, I hope to make the O’Brien history even more engaging. Click here to take a look. More will be added soon.
The first item on the new History page takes you to some info and maps about our Irish Heritage – click here to go straight to it. It’s not just history – It’s YOUR history.
I’ve also published over 100 of my sister Kate’s fabulous cartoons gathered in a single gallery from her work across the years – click here to view them. They’re SO worth it!
And, if you haven’t registered yet, it literally takes a minute – just click here: https://www.obrienclan.family/ and press the BIG RED BUTTON.
And when you have a second, please send through any feedback you have. It’s always great to hear from you (rob.landsberry@gmail.com). And Leslie will tell you that I’m VERY needy and crave LOTS of attention. 😊
Cheers
Rob
PS we are now at 211,000 plus words!
29 September 2024 - 12
First let me start with an apology. My last update was in June this year, almost 4 months ago!! Some of you will know my lengthy silence was because I was dealing with some medical issues. I still am actually. But I’m in good enough shape to return to the all-important O’Brien family website!
I’ve decided that I’ll do smaller updates which I hope to release more often – hopefully every week or two.
And to that end, here is Release 12 of the O’Brien website www.obrienclan.family. It’s got the story of my sister Kate’s 70th birthday – mostly told through video and photos. Click here to access it.
Kate thought it may have been a bit self-indulgent to include a story all about her, so she and I spent some time talking about that. In the end we agreed that the O’Brien website is much more than a flat site that shines a light on the past. It’s a living thing which grows as more stories are added – both past and present. It’s a repository for the stories that make us who we are – whether those stories are a couple of hundred years old, or a couple of months old. And it preserves those moments and stories so our descendants will be able to see who we were, how we looked and what we felt. That’s not ‘self-indulgence’. That’s historical preservation. And that’s why the O’Brien family site is SO important.
So take a look at Kate’s 70th birthday story: https://www.obrienclan.family/st160901001/people/kates-70th-birthday
And, if you haven’t registered yet, it literally takes a minute – just click here and press the BIG RED BUTTON.
3 June 2024 - 11
Release 11 of the O’Brien website has just been launched with some VERY special material.
It sees the publication of the first life story for one of Irene and Bill’s children’s – Joan Brown (nee O’Brien). Joan was the 7th of Irene and Bill’s 12 children. She married Keith Brown, and together they had four children.
The publication of this material represents a HUGE amount of work for the four Brown siblings with the five of us having edited the documents many times. A MASSIVE THANKS to Karen, Ian, Darryl and Vanessa!
I hope to have a similar story for each of the 12 siblings by the end of the year – Alan and Jenny are working with me on their parent’s story, Tony has started one for his parents, I have material for Anne and Allan, and Mum’s is partly done.
So, this is what’s just gone up:
Joan and Keith’s Story – Tracking from their birth in the 1920s through to their passing way to early, in the 1990s. CLICK HERE.
Henrietta and Horace’s (Nan and Jimpa) Story – This is the story of Keith’s parents. While not part of the O’Brien family tree, Nan and Jimpa were a big part of the lives of Joan and Keith’s children as they grew up. CLICK HERE.
Brown Family Photos – A set of photos that’s grouped by different stages in the Browns’ lives. CLICK HERE.
Brown Family Documents – A set of photos that’s grouped by different stages in the Browns’ lives. CLICK HERE.
I also fixed a bunch of broken links – please report these if you find any. Just flick me a quick email.
And when you have a second, send through any feedback you have. It’s always great to hear from you.
27 May 2024 - 10
Release 10 of the O’Brien website includes three MUST-SEE pieces of video.
The reason why there’s only video in this release is that I just received the Elgato Video Capture hardware and software which enables me to digitise virtually any video type known to man, and woman, of course. VHS, VHS Mini, DVD, Digital mini tapes, and so much more!! 😊
I seriously haven’t been this excited since the scientists at Kelloggs and Streets put their heads together and came up with Golden Gaytime Coco Pops. Pure genius!
So, to celebrate I give you these three video GEMS:
Kate’s 50th Birthday Video – Kate’s my sister, and this is 15 minutes of video that takes you through her first 50 years on planet Earth. OMG, this was almost 20 years ago!! (click here).
My 50th Birthday Party Invitation – Back in 2007 I worked with my partner Leslie and my son Ben to create a 9-minute video invitation. We had A HEAP of fun creating it, and it does feature Jack Nicholson, Julia Roberts and George Clooney. 😊 Click here
Charlotte’s 21st Birthday Video – Charlotte is Kate’s daughter, my niece. This is 20-minute window into Charlotte’s early years. Marvel as a 5 year old Charlotte shares her wet weather strategy with the Romper Room audience. Hear her sing ‘Galumph Went the Little Green Frog’. And so much more. Click here
Yeah, this release is a bit of a Landsberry-fest, but once in a while I feel I can indulge myself.
Look, if you haven’t registered yet, I simply can’t understand why. It literally takes a minute – just click here and press the BIG RED BUTTON.
And when you have a second, please let me know what you think about the videos.
18 April 2024 - 9
So, we’re at release number 9 of the O’Brien website and there’s now 56 family stories, and around 170,00 words of history.
I’m excited and I hope you all are too!!
New Material for this release includes:
Aunty Anne’s Recipes – There’s no doubt that the O’Briens had a knack for baking, and Anne’s recipes will take you back to some tried and true favourites, including her FAMOUS GINGER FLUFF. This new page includes a scan of Anne’s handwritten recipe book (click here), as well as a transcription of all 30 recipes (click here).
Mary Zabell’s 2023 Update – Which includes a section on Mary and Rod’s 7 -week trip to India. Reading that is almost like being there, but without the Delhi Belly. 😊 Click here to read Mary’s account of 2023.
Videos - I’ve also moved all Video to Stories, so for the ‘three sisters’ talking about their siblings just go to the sibling’s profile page and hit the ‘Stories’ button. This is all part of simplifying website navigation. Next release I’ll be doing the same with Events. The ‘Index to All Stories’ page now also includes links to Videos.
Profile Pages – I’m gradually updating profile pages for every member of the clan. If you haven’t seen the short survey to collect your profile details, you’ll get a link very soon. It’s just 5 minutes to complete, but it will make a HUGE difference to the website.
And if you haven’t registered yet, it literally takes a minute – just click here and press the BIG RED BUTTON.
Coming soon: More Brown Family video from the 70’s, a glimpse at Gerard and Julie’s wedding, Joan and Keith’s story, Helen and Ray’s (Peter) story, a first cut of Mum and Dad’s story, and more!!
14 February 2024 - 8
This release is of 34 handwritten pages of John Thomas (Jack) O’Brien’s WWII journal, along with a letter he wrote to his father-in-law Tom Flanagan. Both were written mid-1944 after Jack returned from active duty as a pilot in the RAAF. Jack was the second eldest of Irene and Bill’s 12 children, who owned and ran the farm at Tilbuster near Armidale.
If you’ve wandered about the digital wonderland that is the O’Brien Clan website, you’ll likely have seen some of Jack’s material in the various WWII books which include some small extracts from his journal. But I don’t believe the full 7,000 odd word document has been seen for some time by any of us, if at all.
How this ended up with me, I have no idea. But at least it’s been found, along with a typed transcript from around the same period. Mary Zabell (nee O’Brien) and Jack’s daughter, now has the original of the letter and the 34-page journal. I’ll also be sending her the two typed transcripts.
But so we can all read and marvel at Jack’s WWII exploits, I’ve taken all this material and added it to the O’Brien Clan website – click here to access it.
That webpage includes links to the handwritten documents and the typed transcripts, along with photos, and some extra material from Mary and me.
I’m so glad to be able to return the original material to the Tilbuster O’Briens, where it rightfully belongs.
So, click here and be amazed at Jack’s sheer bravery and skill. I wish I’d talked to him about his WWII experiences. As Mary so rightly points out, without Jack’s courage and ability, along with the addition of a decent smattering of good luck, none of the Tilbuster O’Briens nor their descendants would even exist. 😲😲
So, take 45 minutes out of your busy schedule and enjoy the read – it’s truly fabulous.
And please forward this email on to any family members who may not have joined the O’Brien Clan website yet. They just need to click here to register.
24 January 2024 - 7
I’m pleased to report that all three one off items in the O’Brien Clan’s shop mentioned in update #6 ended up in good homes – that’s Bill O’Brien’s Work Suitcase, Allan O’Brien’s WWII Call to Arms, and Sister Anne O’Brien’s Guest Book from her 80th Birthday.
So, onto this current update, number 7. This one is all about some super 8 film footage that was captured by the Brown family during the 1970’s.
Of course, the primary focus is on the six members of the Brown family, but an additional 22 members of the extended O’Brien Clan appear in various scenes, including Bill O’Brien nursing Vanessa Brown, the youngest of his 48 grandchildren.
There’s also some great footage of Jack and Celia’s farm, Tilbuster. The webpage lists all 28 O’Briens who appear in the video, along with the clips in which they each appear.
For anyone with even just a gram of family sentimentality and nostalgia for times gone by, this is an absolute MUST WATCH.
So go on! Jump aboard the digital DeLorean. Just click here to find out more about this fabulous footage, and to find a link to the video that will transport you back to the magic of the 70’s.
Thanks to Karen, Ian, Darryl and Vanessa for sharing the video and helping to identify dates, places and people, and to Karen for her proofreading and feedback.
Keith Brown was the primary cameraman, so publishing this video is to remember and honour Keith and his wife, and the 7th child of Irene and Bill, Joan.
And if any other family members have similar family film, please let me know. These are absolute treasures and deserve to be preserved and shared.
4 January 2024 - 6
In the previous update (#5) in December, I added a shop page to the O’Brien website. This current update added two additional items.
Bill O’Brien’s Work Suitcase – This is the suitcase that Bill used for his work and important documents from the early 1940’s until his death in 1974, after which his executors used it for documentation related to his estate.
Allan O’Brien WWII Call to Arms – This is the original, not a copy. Allan was Bill and Irene’s 3rd child. He joined the RAAF during WWII, but sadly died in a plane crash over Egypt in February 1944.
These two new items, along with Sister Anne’ O’Brien’s Guest Book from her 80’th Birthday are all originals, and so they’re one-off items. Whoever contacts me first about an item, can have it.
8 December 2023 - 5
This update focuses on four O’Brien relatives:
Mary Strachan (nee O’Brien), Irene and Bill O’Brien’s eldest child.
Tony Strachan – Mary’s eldest child.
Darryl Brown - the 3rd child of Joan Brown (nee O’Brien).
Charlotte Kilminster/Orford – Kate Landsberry’s daughter, and Gwen Landsberry’s (nee O’Brien) granddaughter.
NEW – Mary Strachan
Mary was Irene and Bill’s eldest child. I haven’t written her life story – I think Tony may be able to do that. But I have gathered the following material:
A story that contains snippets spanning Mary’s life. Because the family lived in Papua New Guinea, there’s some fabulous insights into the life of an expat family. Click here.
A story that contains some material relating to Mary’s death in 1994. Click here.
A gallery of photos used in the above stories. Click here.
A gallery of documents used in the above stories. Click here.
NEW – Tony Strachan
Tony is Mary’s eldest son. At this stage I haven’t gathered much for Tony, although I do have a LOT of photos (yet to be published on the website), as he was one of the earliest of Irene and Bill’s 48 grandchildren.
But I did include his comical portrait of his family life in Papua New Guinea, as I’d referred to it in his Mum’s material above. Click here.
NEW – Darryl Brown
Darryl is Joan Brown’s (nee O’Brien) 3rd child. This year saw Darryl clocked up 30 years with Qantas – a significant milestone, particularly since most people nowadays change jobs every 2 years and 9 months.
So, I gathered some of Darryl’s material and added a little extra. Click here.
And there’s the start of a photo gallery for Darryl which I’m sure will grow. Click here.
NEW – Charlotte Kilminster/Orford
Charlotte is my niece, and the daughter of Kate Landsberry. In May, Charlotte married Rob Orford.
I’ve gathered a bunch of material from her wedding in a new story – the service, their vows (which are SO worth a read – the BEST vows EVER!), speeches, photos, and video. Click here.
And there’s the start of a photo gallery for Charlotte which I’m sure will also grow. Click here.
Along with a small document gallery. Click here.
NEW – General Updates
I’ve added a new SHOP page. Click here.
It doesn’t provide full online buying functionality, but it does contain some O’Brien free items and some for purchase. When you select an item, it will send me an email with your details, and I’ll arrange delivery.
One of the VERY exciting things that’s in the Shop and listed as ‘coming soon’ is a reprint of Madonna Barraclough’s book ‘Growing up on Cooberang’ which was originally printed in 2000. It’s being updated by Madonna, Wendi Toohey and me, and will be available in the New Year. You can register your interest at the Shop. Click here.
I’ve also added a comments section at the end of each of the stories on the website. You can add any comments you like. They’ll be moderated to make sure the content is appropriate, and then published. Others can also comment on your comments.
Feedback is incredibly valuable, so please add any comments or corrections you may have for any of the 50+ family stories that have been published.
Modified
Both the Index to Stories and the What’s New page have been updated to reflect the addition of the above material.
13 October 2023 - 4
This update focuses on three O’Brien relatives:
Harold, the fourth son of Irene and Bill O’Brien.
Margaret (Margie) Bourke (nee O’Brien), the fourth daughter of Cyril O’Brien who was Irene and Bill’s fifth child.
Gwen, the ninth child of Irene and Bill O’Brien.
When you see what’s been published for Harold, Margie and Gwen, it will give you an idea of the sort of thing we should be trying to capture for as many of the O’Brien clan as possible. Please get in touch if you’d like to create something like these sections for your relatives.
NEW – Harold and Joan
Harold is the fourth child of Bill and Irene. I’ve been working with his daughter, Madonna, to add a bunch of material related to Harold and his wife, Joan (nee Terry). This includes 4 new stories:
Some material from when Joan was growing up. I haven’t posted much about husbands and wives to date, but as a child, Joan had written some letters to the local paper which give a great insight into the life of a farm girl in the 1930’s (click here to read more).
Madonna also had some letters from Harold to Joan during their 6-year courtship. These have been transcribed and included on the website – click here.
Madonna also used her Mum’s memoirs to recreate the story of her Mum and Dad’s courtship, and that’s been embellished with some photos and other material from 1949 when the couple first met, through to their wedding in 1955 (click here to read more).
There’s also the service booklet from Harold’s funeral in May 2003 – click here.
Accompanying these stories are the following:
A gallery of the photos used in the above stories – click here.
A gallery of the documents used in the above stories – click here.
NEW – Margie Bourke (nee O’Brien)
The Landsberry and Henkes families were always close to Cyril’s family - Margie was born 2 years before me and 1 year after my sister.
Sadly, Margie passed away in London in March 2018, aged just 63. This was a tragedy for her immediate family, and for those of us who loved her for the amazing person she was.
I’ve gathered the following stories together and published them on the site:
A story that Margie worked on with my sister Kate in 2005. It covers a period in 1976 when Margie first met Avri Ashkenazi, who went on to be her first husband and the father of their daughter Jordana (click here to read more).
I’ve included the beautiful eulogies that Margie’s family delivered at the service that was held for her in London on the 4th of April 2018. All her family spoke, and their words paint a picture of Margie as the best of the best. (click here to read the eulogies)
When Margie died, my sister Kate wrote a poem and posted some words and photos on Facebook – she also captured the magic of Margie (click her to read more).
A tribute to Margie and a celebration of her life was held on the 27th of May 2018, back in Australia – at the Beach Hotel in Newcastle. Amongst those who spoke was Margie and Hugh’s son Finnian. He read his epic poem, ‘Titan’ – a fitting tribute to his Mum. (click here to read his poem)
Accompanying these stories are the following:
A gallery of the photos used in the above stories – click here.
A gallery of the documents used in the above stories – click here.
A video tribute that was played during Margie’s Newcastle even in May 2018 – it contains photos, words from family and friends, and is accompanied by music. (click here to view the video)
A gallery of the photos used in the video referred to above – there are over 350 of these. I haven’t captioned these yet – but it’s on my list to do - click here.
NEW – Gwen Landsberry (nee O’Brien)
When Mum died in November 2020, most of her immediate family spoke or, in some cases, sang. This material has all been gathered together in a single document, with accompanying photos. (click here to read more)
Modified
The Index to Stories has been updated to reflect the addition of the above material.
15 August 2023 - 3
NEW - Index Page
I had some feedback that it would be good to have an index to all stories on the website. Well, you ask for it, and it’s delivered. 😊 Click here and you can see a list of all stories grouped by person. Just click on the PLUS sign (+) to show the stories under a person, then click on the story you want to access. There are over 40 stories to choose from, and more being added all the time.
NEW - End of Year Family Updates
In my last update, I added Madonna’s end of year family update for 2022 (click here). I’ve now added Mary Zabell’s 2022 update as well (click here). These are a great way to preserve memories of what people got up to during the year. So, if you have any of these for your family, please send them through and I’ll add them to the site.
Change to the Login
Previously, when you logged into the website, you’d stay on the Home page. This has been changed so you now go to the Getting Started page. And that page now has two sections – one for Experienced Members with three buttons to easily access the main sections of the site, and a second section for New Members, with suggestions as to how to get going.
NEW - Nordic/London Trip
Last update I added a post for Mary and Rod Zabell’s Vanuatu trip from earlier this year (click here). I’ve now added 4 posts covering the trip that Leslie and I did to the Nordic countries earlier this year. This was the most AMAZING trip we’ve done. Every day for 28 days I wrote a bit about what we got up to. Some of you may have read bits and pieces, as I sent an email most days to a group of family and friends. I’ve now edited those emails and added photos and created a 4‑chapter set of posts covering Finland, Norway, Iceland and London (click here to access). If you’re interested in a holiday that will stay in your memory forever, have a read of these posts – and may they inspire you to grab your passport and head north!! 😊
NEW - Holiday posts
I had a suggestion that it would be good if it was easy to access any holiday material on the website, in case people wanted to see what others were doing and to get some ideas. So, every post about holidays will now have the words “holiday travel” in them, so go to the search screen (click here) and enter the words holiday travel and hit the search icon, and you’ll get all holiday posts. There seems to be a slight intermittent glitch with the search function so you may have to refresh (F5 key) and possibly re‑enter the search. If you’d like to share your holiday experiences, then please send me some text and photos and I’ll publish. This will build to a valuable record for your family, and also provide inspiration to others.
Credits for the material I received for the Tilbuster family gathering in June
And “no”…no one complained about not being credited, but I do want to try my best to credit people for providing material. So, I added those credits for Mary Zabell (video), Liz Forrest (photos) and Darryl Brown’s partner Lester (photos). You’ll see this change here.
14 July 2023 - 2
NEW Material – Gathering of Jack’s Descendants (10 June 2023)
Jack O’Brien is the second of Irene’s and Bill’s 12 children. On 10 June this year there was a gathering of his family to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the death of their mother Cecilia and their brother Kevin, and to honour their father Jack, and their brother John, both of whom had also died. There are 8 pieces of material from the day, including, photos, videos, stories, and such. You can click here for an overview. That document also contains blue links to access all 8 pieces of material. Note that this is also accessible via the new EVENTS button on Jack’s profile page here.
NEW Material – Mary and Rod Zabell’s Adventures in Vanuatu
Mary Zabell is Jack O’Brien’s daughter, and she’s married to Rod. For those who don’t know, they generally spend around 53 to 55 weeks of every year travelling. 😊 Mary generally writes about their travels, and her journals are funny, informative, and really well written. Some of you will have read her various holiday musings on Facebook.
I’ve taken Mary’s journal from their recent Vanuatu trip and added some photos, and you can access it from here. Note that this is also accessible from the STORIES button on Mary’s profile page here. I want to provide everyone with some examples of the sort of things we can collect on the website. So please, if you’ve written a holiday journal, send it to me using the details on the Contact page.
NEW Material – Madonna’s 2022 End of Year Wrap
Harold is Irene and Bill’s 4th child, and Madonna is his daughter. Just before Christmas most years, Madonna sends an end of year wrap email to a bunch of relatives. I’ve taken last year’s one and published it on the website – you can access it from here. Note that this is also accessible from the STORIES button on Madonna’s profile page here. Again, this is an example of what others could provide. It all helps to build up a permanent archive of family material.
Clan Material
Previously, there was a menu on the website header titled “Clan”. This has now been removed. Instead, anything to do with material that covers multiple families can now be accessed via the People menu and selecting CHILDREN under which is a new option which says: “For events and other material that covers more than one of the families below, please click here”, which takes you to a screen that provides the link for Multi-Family material, which includes things like photos across the families, events like the cousins’ reunions from 2001 and 2005, etc.
Search Function
The menu on the website header now includes a search function (magnifying glass icon in the top right hand corner). Pressing that icon will take you to a search screen where you can enter your search term. This is not the most functional search box, but it’s what comes with Squarespace. They continue to make improvements to the platform at a rapid pace, so I’m sure this will get better over time.
18 June 2023 - 1
GENERAL – There’s a new “Getting Started” page to help new Members - click here.
CLAIRE - Three new stories for Claire (Irene and Bill’s 11th child). These are (a) a tribute piece I wrote just after Aunty Claire died 8 years ago, (b) a mock magazine that was given to Claire for her 80th birthday, and (c) Some information and the recipe for her famous Nasi Goreng.
CLAIRE - There’s also a photo gallery and a document page for Claire with pictures and documents related to those 3 stories.
JACK – There’s a new story for Jack (Irene and Bill’s 2nd child) – it covers his award of the Air Force Cross for bravery during WWII. There’s also new photos and documents related to that story.
4 June 2023 - 0
Well, at this stage everything is new, given that the website has just been launched.
It’s all new, but also incomplete. There will be errors. And there’s LOTS more to add.
I’ll update the website at least once a month, using my own material and information that others send me, and when I do, I’ll send an email to all members with a summary of what’s been added and changed, and I’ll update this page. It will be in reverse date order, with the most recent changes at the top.
Written by Rob Landsberry, last modified 2 June 2023