‘Padley of the Pedestal – James McMillan Padley’ is more than just a biography. Within its pages over 500 photos, news clips, documents, maps, and transcripts will take you on a journey with the Padley family from 1801 Yorkshire England, through the Victorian gold rush at Castlemaine, followed by the heady days of Melbourne’s boom years, then “home” to England.

But the great southern land of opportunity called the family back in the 1880s. For James there were shop ventures in Sydney, Windsor, and northern NSW, followed by a ten-year yo-yo relationship with Windsor, finally settling in Lithgow in 1902.

Here he put down roots and was soon the driving force in the Lithgow Progress Association and the chief instigator of the development of Hassans Walls.

He left his mark on Lithgow in many ways so that his peers said “… He was one of Lithgow’s best citizens, a man whose life was unselfish, and who was a model of civic patriotism. In every movement for the benefit of the town he was always to the fore, and though a man of retiring disposition, being one who relied on deeds rather than words, he was generally given the position which entailed the most responsibility.” (Lithgow Mercury). 

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Acting library coordinator Sharon Lewis said the talk would be a great opportunity to delve into our local history and gain an insight into such a key local figure. 

“Don’t miss this opportunity to hear Keith Painter recount his journey that led to this valuable local story being told,” she said. 

Keith Painter came to book writing from a background in typesetting and printing, having worked in Australia, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. In 1994 he wrote and published his first Pocket Pal bushwalking guide.

Researching bush tracks led Keith into local history, writing The Chert Bubble’s two volumes on Mount Victoria’s 1920s chert industry, followed by Hassans Walls – Prized and Pillaged. Studying the Hassans Walls story made him realise what an immense contribution James Padley had made to the Reserve and to Lithgow.

The author talk will take place on Friday, October 19 at 3pm. For more information on this talk, and to make a booking please contact the Lithgow Library on 6352 9100.

The community is also invited to the rededication of the recently restored Padley’s Memorial at Hassans Walls Lookout on Saturday, October 20 at 10am to commemorate the centenary of James Padley’s death on October 20, 1918.