An exciting remnant of the Bega Valley's rich cheese making history has been gifted to a local historical society.
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A descendant of Andrew Godfrey, head cheese maker at the Kameruka Estate, has donated one of his Sydney Royal Easter Show silver medals to the Bega Valley Genealogy Society (BVGS).
Jayne Anne Roebuck is the great-great-granddaughter of Mr Godfrey and decided she'd donate the medal after visiting the Kameruka exhibition held by the society in May.
The third place medal was awarded to Mr Godfrey during the Sydney Royal Easter Show in 1930.
"Our society was absolutely thrilled to have this medal donated to us and we feel very privileged to have it in our collection now, " member of BVGS Pat Raymond said.
Society librarian Ursula Hunt said Ms Roebuck had told them she wanted to donate the medal because she felt it should be placed with the other artefacts and Kameruka records.
She said the society was very excited about receiving the medal.
"It's a big difference seeing it in a photograph and then seeing it in real life," Ms Hunt said.
Andrew Godfrey's great-granddaughter Jennifer Kershaw said how thankful the family felt to read up on their ancestor's history and seeing how much information the society had managed to bring together for the exhibition.
"My family is extremely proud of the role our great-grandfather Andrew Godfrey and other family members played in Kameruka's history producing world renowned cheeses," Ms Kershaw said.
"On behalf of our family, we wish to thank the Bega Valley Historical Society and its volunteers for their ongoing commitment and tireless efforts in preserving the rich history of Kameruka and the Bega Valley."
A brief history of Andrew Godfrey's life was put together through extensive research compiled by Ms Raymond while she was the research officer for the BVGS.
In it it she found that Andrew Godfrey had been sent on an overseas trip by owner of the estate Robert Lucas-Tooth to learn the latest on cheesemaking.
He was sent on the seven-month trip because Mr Tooth had recognised his talent and felt it would benefit the estate for him to learn more.
Upon his return in December 1903, Mr Godfrey began working at the Niagara Cheese Factory as a manager.
At the height of his career, Mr Godfrey had been recognised as the best cheese maker in Australia and received eight gold medals from various cheese awards.
The extensive research provided by Ms Raymond included excerpts out of local newspapers over the years, journals, ledgers and Kameruka Estate letter books containing all the correspondence to Sir Robert Lucas-Tooth.
For those interested to learn more about Andrew Godfrey or a history of the running of the Kameruka Estate (1860-1954), the BVGS is holding a second round of the Kameruka exhibition.
The exhibition days will be held June 26 and 27 as well as July 3 and 4, from 10am until 4pm each day.