The Helen Kent Memorial Shield is named after one of our members who lost her battle with cancer at the age of 56 on the 19th April 2010. Helen was our Secretary from October 2006 until she was forced to step down from the position in early 2009.
Helen worked for PACT (Protect All Children Today Inc.) for over thirteen years and would help anyone who needed her assistance. She was always one of the first to volunteer whenever we held raffles, sausage sizzles or displays.
We first awarded the Helen Kent Memorial Shield in 2010 to the winning story written by a member that had appeared in our journal "Dugullumba Times". Mary Sinclair was asked by the Committee if she would read all these stories and judge which she thought was the best.
In December 2010 Helen's husband Richard and members of the Kent family attended our Christmas function and awarded the Shield to our President Graham Popple for his story "The Finding of Bridget".
List of Winners
2023
Elizabeth Lamb - Floods, Droughts and Fires
Heather Cuthbert, highly commended - House Fire and building a New House
Heather also won the Top Contributor Award
2022 Winner - Lynnette Reynolds "The Story of My Banners"; Highly Commended - Pam Hayes "Martha Bywater of Kirkstall"; Certificates of Appreciation for their valuable contributions to our journal, Diane Schulz, Elizabeth Lamb, and Heather Cuthbert.
2021 Winner - Pam Hayes, James Norris, Juvenile Convict; Highly Commended - Trevor Reynolds The McKenzie Voyage to Port Phillip; Anne Mitchell Memories of Alexander Dingwall Kennedy, Air Ambulances during WW11; Diane Schulz World War 1, Animals; Elizabeth Lamb The Last Post, Australian War Memorial.
2020 Pam Hayes Granny Brimble's Plate; highly commended Marina Bruno Meeting My Family
2019 Dianna Ottaway Rose Elizabeth Manson and the Ipswich American Cemetery, runner up Graham Popple My Parents Wedding Photograph.
2018 Rob Thomson Backyard, runner up Heather Cuthbert for Manoah Mansion
2017 Anne Mitchell for World War II, runner up Elizabeth Lamb for Four Generations of Armstrong farmers.
2016 Anne Mitchell for School Days in Scotands and School Days in South Africa, runner up Lesley Barnsley for Eureka!
2015 Terri Gellatly 'Athol Roy Purdie'; Highly Commended: Lesley Barnsley for Gordon Frederick Finlay Spicer; Heather Cuthbert for Melville Douglas Lomman
2014 Lesley Barnsley "Annie Aileen Lamb"; runner up Graham Popple "Tom Popple 1859-1929"
2013 Lindsay Barnett "William Hardie and Jessie Stoddart, a Family Story", Issue 28; runners up: Brian Otto, Hallo Mein Fellow Deutsche Descendants and Pat Heck, Local Area History Items.
2012 Lynette McMillan "Early Arrivals", Issue 24
2011 Esma King "Memories of Growing up in Grantham, QLD", Issue 18, runner up Val Watson for My Convict Ancestor John Patching
2010 Graham Popple "The Finding of Bridget", Issue 14, runners up: Elisabeth Lamb for Keeoing the Bonds Strong - The Lamb Family Reunion, Anne McIntyre Qld Birth Marriage and Death indexes, and Esma King Goodbye, My Friend Helen.