Manilla NSW Australian History 1800s 1900s

Manilla NSW Australian History 1800s 1900s

The following Articles are related to Manilla NSW Australian History in the 1800s-1900s, and Australian History within the aspects of Australian Life in that era.

Manilla is located 450klm northwest of Sydney.

Please remember these Articles and Graphics are Copyright protected. You cannot copy, process, nor print without the permission of the Author. Due recognition of the Author's Copyright is required.

I have also written a Book about Life in Manilla NSW Australia in the 1950s-1960s, with pictures. Information Link here. You can scroll down that page for a couple more links/information about the book.

It is not a normal book, but rather a unique quality made book with a detailed story and pictures. Click on the picture below for the Link also.

Remembering many of these Identities below were Important Pioneers involved in the Future Development of Australia and the Manilla NSW Australia District.

Cliftons Ltd Motor Garage Manilla NSW Australia – Oakland, Pontiac, Chevrolet, Chamberlain, Austin, Bedford, Holden.

Cliftons continued with their service from 1927 and by the 1950s were selling Chamberlain, Austin and Bedfords; followed by the Holden dealers when the Holden FE came out in 1957-58.

When this picture was taken in 1927, Manilla was progressing successfully towards more local services, that provided the community with more up to date equipment to provide these services.
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(c) Mitchell Zen

History of Stewart’s IXL Bakery – Now the Manilla NSW Museum.

In March 1884, G.H. Royce (Royce and Co) built a brick house in Manilla Street and was successfully chosen for the erection of a high-level bridge over the Namoi. The Bridge was commenced in 1884 and would be opened two years later. After the construction of the bridge G.H. Royce worked on construction to the north of NSW, and in Queensland, after which he and his family then left for Western Australia.

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Manilla Railway Station and Rail Travel

This article is a lead up version for another coming up in the future, regarding Trains in the past.

The main picture shows the train departing for Barraba in 1947. It arrived in Manilla at 9am from Tamworth. This train picked up passengers from Tamworth, which had overnight sleeper carriages attached, and travelled initially from Central Station in Sydney.

The other picture was taken on the 21^st September 1968 when the popular vintage train ride left from Manilla to Barraba.

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Australia Rugby League and the Manilla Tigers Rugby League Football Club – 1950s.

The NSW Rugby Football League (NSWRFL) was formed in 1907, which later became the major national rugby league premiership in Australia.

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M. C. Mackenzie & Sons Pty. Ltd., Merchants and Importers, became a great commercial force, financially and influentially.
Part 1.
The first M. C. Mackenzie and Sons store opened in Aberdeen, NSW in 1863. A hundred years later they had stores at Deepwater, Glen Innes, Manilla, Barraba and Upper Horton; Mackenzie Motors at Manilla and Glen Innes and the Glen Innes Brick and Tile Company.
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The Manilla Mackenzie’s Store Fires in 1914 and 1927; and their Furniture Store Fire in 1912.
The M. C. Mackenzie Store fire in Friday 13th March 1914 occurred shortly after the Royal Hotel fire in January 1914. The previous year the Mechanics Institute burnt down in October 1913 - on the other side of M. C. Mackenzie’s. Mackenzie’s escapes these two fires on those occasions.
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Manilla and Mackenzie’s Early 1960s
Manilla in the early 1960s was a vibrant community participating in a diverse range of activities, partly due to the influx of people for the Keepit Dam construction but also as a town that offered facilities and employment. Where affordable homes were built across the township from the mid to late 1950s into the 1960s.
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Mackenzie’s Store during the 1950s, early 1960s.

This picture shows Vickii Cocking’s mother behind the counter of Mackenzie’s. You may recognise some of the other ladies in the picture? Vickii and Tom Cocking are the Proprietors of the Royal Hotel in Manilla NSW.

Manilla in those years was undergoing a growth era, bringing a vibrant and active community to the district; and Mackenzie shoppers definitely played their part in this growth.

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The Manilla Express – 1899-2023 – 124 years of Journalism for the Community of Manilla.

The Manilla Express was founded by Arthur Vincent on behalf of the Vincent family in 1899, and has been going to print on a continual basis since that first published day on January 14th 1899.

The first edition was printed in premises opposite the Manilla Court House and soon after the business was set up in new brick premises opposite the first Mechanic’s Institute building. It was not long before the offices and printing machinery was moved to a two-storey premises on the south-western side of Manilla Street. This building was destroyed by fire in 1919. Fortunately, all published copies of the Manilla Express remained intact.

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The Manilla Tigers Rugby League Football Club.

The Manilla Tigers Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1917-18 after “Dally” Messenger, aged 34, and wife Annie, came to Manilla to take over the licence of the Royal Hotel. He introduced the new code of Rugby League to the local Union players.

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Adam Park (1837–1926) Glen Barra, Watsons Creek, Manilla NSW Australia

This Adam Park Life Story is a story of challenges, adversity, survival and ultimate success. It is a story worth reading.

Adam Park was born in 1837 in New Cumnock, Ayrshire, Scotland. His father, John, was 44 and his mother, Agnes, was 36. His Sister Sarah (1840-1895) was born three years later in 1840.

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The Royal Hotel Manilla NSW – Early History + Information: Fire Destroyed the Royal Hotel in 1914.

* Early History of the Royal Hotel Manilla NSW.

A Government land sale at Manilla in 1887, Lot 5 (the Royal Hotel site) was purchased by M. C. Mackenzie for 106 pounds ($11,000 today). In 1891 a single-storey brick Hotel was being built by M. C. Mackenzie and during the same year G. M. Oliphant purchased the building after completion. He called it the Royal Hotel.

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The History and Growth of Hotels in the Manilla NSW District.

Hotels and Pubs have always been synonymous with Australian Country life, and Manilla was another country town where Hotels, Pubs and Liquor outlets were established from the mid-1800s. It is worthy of mention that the nucleus of every settlement during this era of growth is a licensed accommodation house, a store and a blacksmith shop.

George Veness conducted a wine shop from his store in Manilla, at the junction of the Namoi and Manilla rivers, in the mid-1850s. This store was demolished by the 1864 flood and he built another store on the corner of Market and Namoi Street. He was still in business in March 1877, when a court of inquiry under the Lands Amendment Act of 1876 was held at the Veness Inn, Manilla NSW. This store was eventually demolished in 1906.

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Manilla NSW Australia – Late 1890s and the period 1900 to 1905.

This was an Era of Much Development in Manilla.

1. During 1895 the Manilla Progress Association was formed and John Coote Jnr. establishes imported *Devon Cattle and *Lincoln Sheep Stud, and 4 years later, in 1899 the Manilla Express was first published. The story of the Manilla Express is completed and coming up soon.

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Alfred Cowper Veness – Business and Life - Manilla NSW Australia

A C Veness (1870-1951) firstly worked in his father’s store (George Veness) in Manilla and then commenced business as a stock and station agent in Manilla. He was Manilla’s first town clerk in 1901 until 1913 and later served as an Alderman and Mayor of Manilla Council. Previous to this, in 1899, he became a Justice of the Peace and held this title for 50 years.

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History of The Bank of NSW – Manilla NSW Australia

On Monday September 1st 1900, T. N. Johnstone and C. Simpson arrived in Manilla from Armidale with the mission to establish a branch of the Bank of NSW in Manilla. This branch was opened in Manilla the same year, in premises near the Memorial Hall.

In October 1905, The Bank of New South Wales purchased a block of land on the corner of Manilla and Strafford Streets, from the estate of Stephen Veness, for 1426 pounds, (today $140,000) where the shop of J. T. Smith, saddle and harness maker once stood (see picture).

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The 2024 Manilla Show is on this Weekend. This is an opportune time to look back and understand how the first Manilla Show came about all those years ago – in 1932.

“The Development Towards the First Manilla Show on Wednesday and Thursday the 3rd and 4th March 1932.”

In 1899 a public meeting was held at the Royal Hotel Manilla where it was decided that a branch of the Farmers and Settlers Association be formed in Manilla. Over 30 district farmers attended the meeting.

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The 2024 Manilla Show will be held next weekend, from March 8th 9th 10th.

Today, it is time to reminisce and look back with some History and Pictures from the Past.

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With the memory of last weekend’s 2024 Manilla Show still in our minds, it is time to look back to the 1963 Manilla Show and the Manilla Showgirl Competition.

On March 6th, 1963, the Manilla Express featured the Manilla NSW Australia Show Girl Contest.

Headline: “WHO WILL BE MISS MANILLA SHOWGIRL 1963”

(c) Mitchell Zen

Frederick Wordsworth Ward (1835-1870) Captain Thunderbolt (Bushranger – Australia)

Ward (Captain Thunderbolt) was initially well known for escaping from a prison island. After escaping, he became the longest operating bushranger in Australian history. He robbed all the usual targets for bushrangers - pubs, post offices, lone travellers, and more. Hiding out in caves and behind other bush objects, he emerged to rob many unsuspecting travellers. Eventually, Captain Thunderbolt was shot dead by authorities in 1870, after he ignored people’s advice to flee the area. He became something of a folk hero, and his legend lives on in the Manilla District NSW.

(c) Mitchell Zen

The Post Office Hotel – Manilla NSW Australia

This Article is a Lead Up Article towards the Main Article, which is: The History and Growth of Hotels in the Manilla District.

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This is a Story written by David Ridgewell about the Palais Theatre in Manilla NSW, while he was employed at the Theatre, during the era 1950s-1960s, with Bill Harrison as the Proprietor.

Titled “At The Palais,” David Ridgewell 1988

(c) David Ridgewell 1988

(c) Compiled by Mitchell Zen

Manilla NSW – Development of the Manilla Street Beautification Program

In July 1930 Manilla’s Mayor, Ald. A. R. Macleod, moved in Council that the time was opportune for the consideration of a scheme of tar paving and beautification of Manilla business centre, Manilla Street.

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The Era and Growth of Stoddart and Hayward and the Palais Theatre in Manilla NSW Australia.

* Stoddart and Hayward (shown right in the picture): In 1860 George Harrington came to Manilla in 1860 and established a market garden on the future site of Stoddart and Hayward. The market garden closed in 1894.

In July 1900 Treloar and Co of Tamworth purchased this land on the corner of Manilla and Court Streets for 350 pounds (today about $40,000) and commenced construction of their new store by local builder T. J. Bowen. The building was open for business twelve months later.

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This is an article about George Veness and family, and their travel from England to Australia, and the conditions of this travel in the mid-1800s.

George Veness (the founder of Manilla) (1823-1895) along with wife Mary Sarah and son John George, 12 months old, left on the "Harbinger" on 16th Oct 1848 to travel to the Colony of Australia. George was 25 years old. His family settled in Manilla in the 1850s. A previous article was written about George Veness and his family developing Manilla NSW with other Pioneers like the Hartley and Hall families.

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A Study of the Relationships between the Hartley, Hall and Veness Families, and how their Collaboration Developed Manilla NSW during the Colonial 1800s.

David Hartley (Snr) (1783-1863) arrived in the Colony (Australia) as a convict on board the ship Duke of Portland on the 27^th July 1807 (age 24). His crime was poaching from a noble’s property. Meaning, taking something illegally from a British upper social class, who usually possess a hereditary title. In Australia David was highly respected by those that knew him. He was assigned to George Hall. George Hall’s family established the Cuerindi Run (cattle and sheep) run just north of Manilla in about 1832, followed by the Mundowey Run, just east along the Namoi River. David soon gained the respect of the patriarch. So much so David was given a pardon in 1811.

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Growth of Manilla District Country Schools and Colonial Education 1800s Australia

By the early 1870s a number of pioneer families had settled in Keepit, forming a nucleus of settlement that rivalled Manilla. Keepit was the first school in the Manilla district not in Manilla where a full-time school was built. The school operated as a provisional school until 1880, then was upgraded to a primary school. When pupil numbers fell at various periods during the 1890s and early 1900s, the school became either a half-time school or a provisional school.

At this time the population of Manilla was 160, where a school was also built in Upper Manilla. There was also a private school on the corner of Rowan and Strafford Streets Manilla in 1873.

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Court House Hotel – Manilla NSW - Growth of Hotels - Stage Coach Development and Transport.

The Court House Hotel was opened in December 1900. Both the Court House and Imperial Hotel in Manilla were constructed by T. J. Bowen.

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Manilla NSW 1898

This picture shows a view of Manilla, in 1898, including the Commercial Bank, Church, School of Arts, Post Office, Mackenzie's store and Olifant's Hotel.

The years leading up to the turn of the century saw a significant development in Manilla. With a population of 144 males and 131 females in 1891 the growth and activity were palpable with the determination of Manilla’s population to provide services that benefited the community.

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The CBC Bank in Manilla Street, Manilla NSW.

The first branch opened in Manilla Street in 1888 next to Royce Cottage. It is reported the new branch was built in Manilla Street 10 years later (further north) in 1898. In 1924 a new branch was built next to the older branch (see picture). Manilla’s population in 1891 was 275.

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John Coote and Family – Manilla NSW District – 1800s to 1900s

John Coote (1835–1922) was born in Little Bardfield, Thaxted, Essex, England and died in 1922 at North Cuerindi Manilla NSW. He arrived in Australia in October 1855.

John married Elizabeth Griffiths (1845-1922) in 1868. They had nine children together.

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Bullock Trains in the 1800s Transported Goods to the Manilla NSW District and Outback Australia.

In the early to mid and beyond 1800s, Bullock trains were teams of oxen that pulled heavy loads on carts or wagons across the vast and rugged Australian landscape. They were essential for the development of the colonies, especially in remote areas where roads and railways were not yet built. Bullock drivers, or bullockies, were the men who drove these teams with skill and courage. They faced many challenges and dangers, such as rough terrain, harsh weather, bushrangers, and hostile natives. They also had to care for their animals, which often became their loyal companions.

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George Hall (1764-1840) came to the colony (Australia) with his wife Mary (1769-1827) and four children. They arrived at Sydney Cove on 13th June 1802. In 1803 each family was granted 100 acres of land. George was well educated, which served him well as a migrant family. Both understood farm procedures and animal husbandry. George and Mary ended up having 10 children.

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The Manilla NSW Historical Society and the Manilla Museum

The Manilla Heritage Museum is located at 171 Manilla Street and incorporates Royce Cottage, built for G. H. Royce in the late 1800s. The museum has a vast range of historical memorabilia and archives relating to the history of Manilla.

Situated next to Royce Cottage is the Yarramanbully School House, a one teacher school operating from the 1920s. At the rear of the Museum is the Manilla and District Rural Collection in Alexander Lane, plus a Chinese Memorial Garden adjacent to the Museum.

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Early Pioneer of Manilla - Vincent J Byrnes – (1888-1963)

Vincent James Byrnes was born on 14th August 1888, in Manilla NSW. His father, James Thomas Byrnes (1853-1924) was 35 and his mother, Catherine Ann Boland (1856-1932) was 32. Vincent married Mary Charters (1891-1960) on 15th June 1914 in Barraba NSW. They were the parents of four children: Brian, Frank (Doctor), Bruce and Claire. Son Brian married Beryl Jean Owen Cull in 1939, who died in 1977. Brian married Catherine (Kate) in 1979, and in 1980 Brian received his OAM (Service to Local Government and to the Community). Brian was a well-respected councillor and Manilla Shire President for many years. Brian died in 1988.

As testament to Vincent’s prominence in Manilla, Manilla’s lookout is named after V. J. Byrnes. It has expansive views of the Manilla town centre and district.

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The life of Gwerle Alma Vera Englert (and family) who arrived with her family in Manilla around 1905.

The Englert family lived in three homes. Their third home was a double brick home located at 98 River Street (see picture) and was built for George and his family in 1910. This home sits on 3.7 acreages.

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Bective Station – South east of Manilla NSW, near Tamworth.

James Fisken Vickery (1876–1956)

James married Jean Frances Husband (1880-1978) when she was 25 years old, on the 19th July 1905. They had three children during their marriage - Emily Margaret (1906-1990), James Thomas (1908-1989), and Jessie Frances (1912-1978).

Successive generations of the Vickery family have owned and operated the well-known Bective district grazing property since 1890. At one point the property ran 100,000 sheep and were sustaining a 44-stand woolshed.

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Harry M Miller (1934-2018) – Dunmore Stud and Showbiz Promoter – Halls Creek Manilla NSW Australia.

The late Harry M. Miller was best known as a legendary music promoter and agent to the stars, but in rural Australia, it was his work in the cattle arena that gained him a reputation.

He was instrumental in introducing the Simmental breed of cattle to Australia in the 1970s.

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Manilla Post Office NSW, and the developing Telegraph Communication.

The telegraph line was one of the great engineering feats of 19th-century Australia and probably the most significant milestone in the history of telegraphy in Australia.

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Pioneer Settlers of Manilla NSW Australia

Prior to the pioneer settlers in Manilla, exploration parties were prominent in exploring land in the Manilla District. In 1818 John Oxley crosses the Peel River, 30km south-east of Manilla, where today Oxley’s Anchor is located near Hallsville, on the road to Tamworth. In 1823, another exploration party, led by Allan Cunningham, discovers and names Pandora’s Pass over the Liverpool Range, and continues north, crossing the Namoi River. In 1827 Allan passes through the district again on his way north. A year later, 1828, Thomas Mitchell travels the Namoi River.

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The Historic and Heritage Manilla NSW Holy Trinity Church - Incorporating - * Confirmation - * The Cuerindi Memorial Tower - * Cannon and John Quayle - * Cuerindi History and the * Hall and Allen families.

The Baptistery and the Cuerindi Memorial Tower were a gift from the Allen family of Cuerindi, in memory of their father and mother.

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Durham Court - The Baldwin Family - Manilla NSW Australia

“First and foremost among Manilla’s pioneers were the Baldwins - Otto and his nephew Charles.” A.R. MacLeod.

Baldwin Family - Durham Court is a 1352acre (547ha) property located just four kilometres outside of Manilla on the banks of the Namoi River. Durham Court has been held by the Baldwin family since 1848 until it was sold in 2016.

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The Life and Work of the late Mr J. D. Kennedy - Manilla NSW Australia.

Mr John Duncan Kennedy was the last surviving member of the first Manilla Municipal Council, which was formed in 1901. He had served on the council continuously for 37 years, during which time he was Mayor for several terms.

Mr. Kennedy, who died at the age of 80 (1872-1953) was one of the best-known figures in the professional and public life of Manilla. He took a prominent part in the activities of Manilla, being associated with most organisations and committees.

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Manilla-Keepit Water Skiing - City-Country Exchange Program - Manilla Central School.

It appears the people in the photograph are Arthur Bell and his son, and the girl in the boat is Christine Unsworth.

A number of Manilla residents owned ski boats, including Ron Wilson, the local milkman.

(c) Mitchell Zen

Alton Richmond “Magpie” MacLeod (1887 - 1951)

After joining Massey-Harris Co. Ltd to supervise experiments with a new harvesting machine, Alton Richmond MacLeod travelled to Manilla NSW to give a demonstration of the harvesting machine. After giving this demonstration, he decided to settle in the district and bought the local Massey-Harris agency in 1911.

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Manilla Scouts and Cubs were very popular in the 1950s/1960s with over 60 Cubs and Scouts enrolled.

The Scouting Organisation is a voluntary movement and its leadership is based on the willingness of highly motivated men and women at local level who dedicated themselves to the service of young people.

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Cricket has not just been the choice of sporting endeavours for men. Women’s Cricket Teams were fielded as early as 1914 in Manilla, Halls Creek and Wongo Creek. The Manilla women's team even travelled to Sydney to play against Bexley Ladies Club and a representative team from Parliament.

They were accompanied by two chaperones to protect them from the vices of the city.

(c) Mitchell Zen

The Farmers and Settlers Association organised annual farmers' carnivals from 1907 to 1915 and continued again after WW1. The first farmers' carnival, held in June 1907, attracted a crowd of 1,500 to watch the ring events and view the displays of horses, sheep, cattle, fruit, vegetables, grains and other farm produce.

(c) Mitchell Zen

Thomas John Bowen was a prominent builder in the Gunnedah/Manilla/Tamworth region of NSW and involved in the early development of these towns. He is believed to have first come to the area about 1884 to assist G. H. Royce, NSW chief engineer, for the construction of the iron traffic bridge over the Namoi River (1884-86), an important milestone in the development of Manilla.

(c) Mitchell Zen

Geoff lived in Manilla from 1939 to 1948. He has written a short story about his recollections of Manilla in those days and has asked a number of questions in his story and would welcome any comments and answers to his questions.

George Anton Englert and his family moved to Manilla around 1905. George worked as the head blacksmith at the H. Baker Foundry. The building sat on the north-west corner of Manilla and Court Streets until its demolition in the 1940s.

The land is now named Rotary Park. A plaque is located in the park commemorating the H. Baker Foundry.

(Plans are underway to provide the complete Article wording within another Sector. This Sector will have a Log in Procedure, whereas you will be a Member of this Sector, obtain a Profile section, and be able to Read the complete Article)

(c) Mitchell Zen

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

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