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Greensborough Historical Society
Newsletter, Greenhills and North Greensborough Progress Association, Community News: official journal of the Greenhills and Nth. Greensborough Progress Association. 20th Dec., 1972. Edition No. 10/72, 20/12/1972
This edition includes a report on the Progress Association's December 1972 meeting, Conservation in Greenhills and Diamond Valley in 1972, Letter to the Editor, Plenty River project, School news, The position with freeways in the Yarra Valley.Newsletter, 24 p., illus.greenhills and north greensborough progress association, greenhills -
Ballarat Tramway Museum
Newspaper, Les Shilton and Vic. ALP, "Country Ignored", 12/07/1972 12:00:00 AM
Newspaper page from the Melbourne "The Sun", Wed. 12 July 1972, column written/authorised by Les Shilton, member for Midlands, titled "Country Ignored", in a Section "Labor Says" of the newspaper. Item notes the stand by the Bolte Government against the retention of part of the Bendigo tramway system as a tourist attraction. Article written around decentralisation and regional development. Item and date has been circled in ink. On rear has advertisements for Kelvinator products and adjacent an advertisement for P&O cruises.bendigo, tourism, bendigo trust -
Lara RSL Sub Branch
Newspaper - Ilawarra Mercury Commemorative Supplement 100 years 1900 - 1999, Newspaper Special Edition
Newspaper 100 year special supplement 1900 - 1999Illawarra Mercury Commemorative Supplement100 years 1900 = 1999illawarra mercury commemorative supplement 1900 - 1999 -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Film - Video (VHS), IMP Productions, Eltham Shire Council - People Living in the Environment (Series 69, Item 2), 7 Oct 1985
Shire of Eltham Archives: Series 69, Item 2 This video was produced for the Shire of Eltham in response to the 1985 Victorian Local Government Commission Report titled ‘The Restructure of Local Government in Victoria – Principles and Program’ (the Morris review). The recommendation was to amalgamate the Shires of Eltham and Diamond Valley, something that Eltham Council did not support as being appropriate for the shire or compatible with the 'Spirit of Eltham'. The video features Shire President, Cr. Mary Grant talking with the Hon. Pauline Toner MP and Max McDonald MP. Eltham Shire CEO Rodney Roschellor presents an alternate proposal for a shire merging more aligned to the 'Spirit of Eltham'.Also featured are Eltham icons such as the Eltham Railway Trestle Bridge, Montsalvat, Eltham Community Centre along with mudbrick making, artist Matcham Skipper, the Green Wedge and St Andrews Market. Other commentary is provided by locals Judy Wadham and Lester Eaton.VHS Video cassette Converted to MP4 file format 00:10:56; 73MBcouncil amalgamation, cr. mary grant, eltham community centre, eltham railway trestle bridge, eltham shire council, green wedge, judy wadham, lester eaton, matcham skipper, max mcdonald, montsalvat, morris review, mudbrick construction, pauline toner, rodney roscholler, shire of diamond valley, shire of eltham, spirit of eltham, st andrews market, video recording, shire of eltham archives -
National Vietnam Veterans Museum (NVVM)
Film - Film, DVD, Buzz Kennedy at Tattersalls in 2005
Package contains a b/w photo of Buzz Kennedy & negatives & a Film, DVD of the one photo.buzz kennedy -
Clunes Museum
Newspaper - NEWSPAPER CUTTING, WEDDING BELLS
PHOTO COPY OF NEWSPAPER CUTTING - WEDDING BELLS JONES- JORDANlocal history, document, wedding, weddings -
Marysville & District Historical Society
Newspaper (Item) - Newspaper article, Alexandra Standard, Another Duck for Marysville, 20-07-2016
A newspaper article on the construction of The Duck Inn in Marysville in Victoria.A newspaper article on the construction of The Duck Inn in Marysville in Victoria.marysville, victoria, the duck inn, newspaper article, marysville patisserie, 2009 black saturday bushfires -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Film - Video (VHS), Screen Sound Australia, Main Stream Melbourne - The River Yarra on film and The Prize by Tim Burstall, 2004
Main Stream Melbourne - The River Yarra on film (Screen Sound Australia, 2004) and The Prize (Eltham Films, Tim Burstall ,1960) Combining footage from more than 90 early newsreels, documentaries and short films which additionally features almost 200 photographs and illustrations - shows locals fishing and swimming in the river, holding canoe races and lazing at boathouses. Also included is Tim Burstall's 1960 short film, The Prize, which tells the story of a boy, played by his then six-year-old son Tom, and his adventures with a kid goat. The film, shot on the Yarra, won a bronze award at the 1960 Venice Film Festival. Of specific interest, scenes from Warrandyte, Montsalvat footage from 1965, Heidelberg School Artists' Trail, Koornung School (1947) in North Warrandyte, Tim Burstall and The Prize (1960) with scenes on Brougham Street Bridge, and Yarra River scenes at Morrison's Breakwater at Eltham and the Bend of Isles at Kangaroo Ground.VHS Video cassette, 130 minutes. Converted to MP4 file format 02:16:11, 1.54GBthe prize (film), tim burstall, yarra river, warrandyte, brougham street bridge, montsalvat, bend of islands, heidelberg school artists trail, koornong school, morrisons breakwater, video recording -
Apollo Bay Museum
Film - Olive and Gordon Currie with photo album
Audio slideshow with Olive and Gordon Currie with a family photo album. Created as part of the Heart Maps project with Amy Tsilemanisapollo bay, oral history, farming -
Lara RSL Sub Branch
Newspaper - The Sun Newspaper dated 5/5/1945, War Ends in Europe
Newspaper 1945 records the End Of In EuropeHistorical record2 off -Newspaper The Sun dated 5/5/1945 - War Ends In Europe2 off - Local Newspaper The Sun articles covering End of War in Europeunconditional surrender by germans to all allies -
Ballarat Tramway Museum
Newsletter, Ballarat Tramway Museum (BTM), "Fares Please!", 2013
Yields information about the operations of the BTM in 2013 and has a strong association with those involved., Yields information about the operations of the BTM in 2013 and has a strong association with those involved.Set of 6 "Fares Please!" Each page prepared as an A4 full size, photocopied reduced, copied and then folded into A5. Consolidated from other items or holdings from donations into a single year set of newsletters. All produced during 2013 .1 - Fares Please! - February 2013 .2 - Fares Please! - April 2013 .3 - Fares Please! - June 2013 .4 - Fares Please! - August 2013 .5 - Fares Please! - October 2013 .6 - Fares Please! - December 2013 All documents scanned as pdf images. museums btm, publicity -
Lara RSL Sub Branch
Newspaper - Herad Sun Weekend Magazine Dated 28/8/1993 - Baptism of Blood, Newspaper - Herald Sun Dated 28/8/1993 - Baptism of Blood
75th Anniversary print of Australian's at Mont. St Quentin WW1Newspaper - Herald Sun Dated 28/8/1993 - Baptism of Blood - 75 year supplement Australians at Mont. St Quentin WW1Special Newspaper 75th Anniversary of Australians at Mont. St Quentin WW1 -
Whitehorse Historical Society Inc.
Newspaper - Article, Hall links generations, 25/11/1998
'Hall links generations', by Larissa Ham. Article on 20th anniversary of the Wal Wicking Hall located at Forest Hill Secondary College, Blackburn South Campus. Whitehorse Gazette, 25 November 1998.wal wicking hall, forest hill secondary college, blackburn south campus, taylor, jane, marnie, alexia, richardson, john, wicking, nancy, schools -
Robin Boyd Foundation
Newspaper - Clipping, The Age, Aid sought on Opera House, 4.6.1966
Robin Boyd’s desk cupboard contained two exercise books (item D482.1-D482.2) and assorted articles, essays and other material regarding the building of the Sydney Opera House, inserted inside the front cover of Walkabout magazine, July 1966 (item P1377). This publication is one of those inserts. Many of these were collected by Boyd’s eldest daughter, Mandie, who recalls that her father was writing a book, but was very disillusioned with the way the entire Opera House saga unfolded.Newspaper clipping, torn edgessydney opera house, utzon, sydney opera house project, walsh st library -
Melton City Libraries
Newspaper, Melton Schools-150 years in Melton, 2005
Melton South "The establishment of a settlement of Melton South was induced by the opening of the railway in 1884. This subsequently prompted a number of industries, initially sawmills, and in the early twentieth century, chaff mills. This development coincided with the Exford ‘Closer Settlement’ estate at the beginning of the new century, boosting local population and produce, and the development of the chaff industry which employed many people in the Melton area. (Around 1912 the government had brought out English migrants to settle the Exford estate.) By c.1912 the small Melton Railway Station settlement had a boarding house (probably for chaff or sawmill employees), store, a small church and a hall. The Melton Valley Golf Club originated near the railway station in 1927 (in 1931 it moved to the present Melton links). In 1910 the community had built the large timber ‘Victoria Hall’, which became the focus of community life for several generations. In August of that same year AR Robertson MP and D McDonald applied for the establishment of a school on land set aside for that purpose by the Closer Settlement Board, near the Melton Railway Station settlement. District Inspector McRae recommended that a school for classes up to Grade 3 be established as an adjunct to the Melton State School. And so SS3717, ‘Melton Railway School’, was established in the leased Victoria Hall on 1st December 1911. Thomas Lang, head master at Melton since 1896, was in charge of both schools. As a ‘prep’ school only, it was necessary that the older Melton Railway Station settlement students travel to Melton SS430 at Unitt Street. Since 1912 local residents had been petitioning for the establishment of a separate school at Melton Railway Station on the grounds that it would be better if all children from the one home could attend the same school, and that the Victoria Hall was unsuitable as a school building. As a result an area of 2 acres - Allotment 8, Parish of Djerriwarrh, Exford Estate - was reserved for a State School on 4th March 1914. However the Department wrote that a school would not be established there in the near future, as ‘there is no likelihood in sight that the Railway Station settlement will increase in importance’. Parents persisted with their petitions to the Education Department, claiming that the Victoria Hall was too large, had no fireplace, that teachers were unable to use the wall for teaching aids, and that, being less than 20 metres away from a chaff mill employing 30 men, was too noisy. The turning point came when in 1920 the Hall Committee decided to increase its rent for the hall. In 1920 Head Teacher Lang advised the Education Department to discontinue SS3717 as an adjunct. The District Inspector supported this recommendation, and the schools separated in 1923. In April of that year 41 children, comprising Grades 1-8, moved into an almost completed brick building on the present site. On the 6th July 1923 the official opening of the school took place; after a ceremonial journey from the Hall to the school, speeches were given by the Hon AR Robertson and the Chief Inspector of Education. Everyone then journeyed back to Victoria Hall for a ‘bountiful repast’. (These dates are at odds with the date of 5th March 1925 given in Blake as the date the children occupied the new SS3717 brick school building. ) A teacher’s residence had been purchased for ₤500 in 1923, and the school’s name was changed to ‘Melton South’ in the same year. Even though the older Melton South pupils would no longer have to travel to the Unitt Street school, an additional brick room was still required at the Melton SS430 in that same year. In 1961 a new room was added to the school. In 1972, at the beginning of Melton’s boom as a satellite town, the number of enrolments was 224. The school has since shared in the exponential growth of the town of Melton, and at the time of its jubilee celebration (1983), 524 pupils were enrolled. Victoria Hall, neglected and vandalised, was demolished in 1992. It had been handed back to the Council on condition that it be replaced by a new hall, with the same name, and was commemorated by a plaque. Apart from the 1923 brick school building, and the railway station, none of the principal early Melton South public sites survive. Few early residential sites remain. (Further research will establish whether the house on the corner of Station Street and the railway line was the original teacher’s residence.)" Melton State School "On 17th May 1858 a State subsidised, combined Denominational School was opened by HT Stokes, with an attendance of about 30 children. This school was conducted in the wooden Melton Combined Protestant Church, situated on ‘a creek flat’ thought to be on the north side of Sherwin Street between Pyke and Byran Streets. It is likely that the Church had been established by 1855 and that the first minister was the Rev. Hampshire, who lived in Cambridge House on the Exford Estate. Ministers of the Protestant denominations were invited to hold services there. As there was only one resident Minister in the town (Presbyterian Mr J Lambie), laymen of the various denominations often spoke on Sundays. In 1863 this building was declared a Common School with the number 430. One of its first and most prominent headmasters was John Corr, who served from 1860 to 1864. Most of Mr Corr’s children also became teachers, including Joseph Corr, at the Rockbank school, and J Reford Corr and WS Corr, headmasters and teachers at numerous prestigious private secondary schools around Australia. John Corr purchased land alongside the school and elsewhere in and near Melton, became secretary and treasurer of the new Cemetery Trust, and by July 1861 was deputy registrar of births, deaths and marriages. He walked three miles every Sunday to teach at the Weslyan Sunday School he had established. Despite good reports from the Education Department Inspector, and burgeoning enrolments, the local school committee recommended the dismissal of, firstly, his wife (from the work mistress position), and then him from the headmaster position. Corr saw his dismissal as an attempt to redirect state aid for education from the Combined Protestant school to the support of the Free Presbyterian Minister Rev James Lambie (by one account the owner of the land on which the Common School was erected), whose son-in-law James Scott subsequently assumed responsibility for the school. Rev Lambie failed in his efforts to keep the existing school, which the Education Department Inspector and the majority of Melton citizens regarded as badly situated and badly built. Following a conditional promise of state aid, local contributors in 1868-69 raised ₤72.10.6 towards the cost of an iron-roofed bluestone rubble building 43 ft x 12 ft. This was erected on a new site of 1.5 acres (the present site). The State contributed ₤120 to the new school, which opened in 1870. A very early (c.1874) photograph of the school shows its headmaster and work mistress / assistant teacher (probably James Scott and his wife Jessie) and its (very young) scholars. Similar photos show pupils in front of the school in c.1903, and 1933. In 1877 a second bluestone room costing ₤297 was added and further land acquired from the Agricultural Society (who only needed it two days a year) to enlarge the schoolground to 3 acres. In the early 1880s an underground tank augmented the school water supply and in 1919 a five-roomed wooden residence was added. During this period the school correspondents often compained that the walls of the bluestone buildings were damp, affecting the plaster. In 1923 a brick room 26 ft 6 in by 24 ft with a fireplace and four rooms facing south, was added, and a corridor built to link the three buildings. This served adequately for the next 40 years. The school bell probably dates to 1883. The school also has a memorial gate (1951) to World War One ex-students, and an honour board to the 64 ex-students who served in the First World War. The school roll fell to 42 in the early post war-years, but was boosted by an influx of migrants, mainly from the UK, from the late 1960s. This presaged the boom in Melton’s development, and the corresponding growth of the school, with timber and temporary classrooms added to the previous masonry ones. An endowment pine plantation established in 1930 augmented the school’s fundraising activities when it was harvested in 1968. Part of the site was planted with eucalyptus trees in 1959. Famous ex-students of the early twentieth century included Hector Fraser (internationally successful shooter) and cyclist Sir Hubert Opperman". The Express Telegraph articles about the history of Melton South and Melton State Schoolseducation -
Greensborough Historical Society
Film - Video Cassette, John Ramsdale, Change in the Plenty corridor, 05/12/1990
Video of a fieldwork for teachers, taken by John Ramsdale in 1990, investigating changes along the Plenty River.Part of the John Ramsdale collection of slides and audio visual material.VHS video tape, 2 copies."Chapple E180 videocassette" and "Change in the Plenty corridor unedited 5.12.90"plenty river, plenty gorge -
Melbourne Tram Museum
Newspaper, The Herald, "Electrifying Bourke St tram route", 29/11/1963 12:00:00 AM
Newspaper clipping from The Argus, Thursday 18/1/1945, titled "Electrifying Bourke St tram route", about the MMTB plans for conversion of the Bourke St route and costs. Approved by the National Works Council, but the Deputy Premier Hollway said it had not be considered by cabinet. Gives project costs and scope of works.. On the other side of the cutting - front page - are reports of the WW2 in Europe and the advance of the Allies forces.trams, tramways, bourke st, conversion, electrification, world war 2 -
Ballarat Tramway Museum
Newspaper, The Courier Ballarat, "Gathering of tram museum enthusiasts", "No 31 tram is pride of Perth", 26/04/1975 12:00:00 AM
Newspaper cutting from The Courier, 26/4/1975, titled "Gathering of tram museum enthusiasts" reporting on the first meeting of the group that was to form COTMA, provides details of those attending and conference organisation. Has a photo of the official luncheon: F Rogers (Town Clerk), Mrs Rogers, Lady Nicholson, BTPS President Maurice Calnin, the Mayor Sir Arthur Nicholson, Clyde Croft BTPS Secretary, Bill Kingsley Conference Organiser and Bill Jessup BTPS Vice President. Notes speakers were Phil A'Vard, A Wymond of the Puffing Billy Preservation Society, Peter Kahn of Sydney. Item incorporated with the cutting the item "No 31 tram is pride of Perth", about the movement of No. 31 to the West Australian Tramways Museum and its representative at the conference of Jack Stanbridge. Has the newspaper date glued to the item.cotma, btps, conferences, pets -
Whitehorse Historical Society Inc.
Newspaper - Article, New look post office has more, 2/02/1993
Article in Nunawading Gazette. Australia Post has moved its office from 49 Mahoneys Road to Forest Hill Chase Shopping Centre. It will be a new style post office selling cards and Australiana items etc. New system is called EPOS, the cash register has postal prices set in its memory.post offices, forest hill post office, australia post, forest hill chase -
National Vietnam Veterans Museum (NVVM)
Film - Film, DVD, B Company 9 RAR, Vietnam
Footage of a Huey, Cobra and 9 RAR soldiers in the Vietnam Waraustralia. army. royal australian regiment. battalion, 9th, hueycobra (helicopter) -- history -
National Vietnam Veterans Museum (NVVM)
Film - Film, Video, Vietnam
vietnam war - 1961-1975 -
Port Melbourne Historical & Preservation Society
Newspaper - 1941 VFA Grand Final, 8 Oct 1941
Laminated copy of page from Leader newspaper featuring photos of 1941 VFA Grand Finalsport - australian rules football, port melbourne football club, pmfc, tommy lahiff, norm goss snr, ted freyer, r goldsmith, c riches, r hoskins, s livingstone -
National Vietnam Veterans Museum (NVVM)
Film - Film, Video, The Vietnam Veterans Memorial: the last landing zone (3 copies)
vietnam veterans memorial -
National Vietnam Veterans Museum (NVVM)
Film, Did I do a good job Boss?, 1968 (approximate)
Ektachrome slide image. Coloured image taken from a slide photographed by Barry Navin. Image depicts a building with sandbags, steps and sand in foreground. A sign sayiang "Welcome to Diggerrs Rest".Did I do a good job, Boss? "Yes, you did mate and let me tell you how proud and privilged I was to be the CO of such a magnificant team"ektachrome slide, photograph, 1st australian field hospital -
Melbourne Legacy
Newspaper - Article, Legacy launches first public appeal, 1956
An article about Legacy and its work when it first approached the public for donations. It was in a folder of documents about the history of Legacy. Appears to have been mostly compiled by Legatee Cyril Smith as he has many hand written notes on miscellaneous pieces of paper (some are envelopes addressed to him). The notes were typed up into a summary of the History of Legacy. Also documents relating to the first time Legacy approached the public for donations in September 1956, including newspaper articles that were reprinted, a schedule of information that was approved to be released to the press, and a list of potential donors that was circulated to Legatees in the hope they could contact the ones they knew personally or professionally. The call for public donations was partially due to the purchase of the Dureau building and the need to modify the building for Legacy's needs. The documents from this folder have been added in seperate records (see 01262 to 01281). The folder was part of an attempt to capture history of Legacy, generally from the 1950s.The documents provide an insight into the working of Legacy, especially in the 1950s. Legatee Cyril Smith and others were detailing their experiences and knowledge for the future.A reprinted newspaper article about Legacy and its first appeal.fundraising, history -
Greensborough Historical Society
Newspaper, Herald Sun, The Queen remembered: Herald Sun, parts 2, 8 and 9, 14/09/2022
Queen Elizabeth II reigned for over 70 years (1952-2022). Following her death in September 2022, the Herald Sun produced this series, outlining her life in pictures and articles.3 editions of a special lift out series, 16 pages each, text and colour and black and white images.queen elizabeth ii, royal family -
National Vietnam Veterans Museum (NVVM)
Film - Film, Video, The Vietnam War: a nation divided
vietnam war, 1961-1975 - participation, american -
Whitehorse Historical Society Inc.
Newspaper - Article, Ruby shines, 27/02/1991
Article in Nunawading Gazette on 97 year old Ruby Angus. She trained as an infant teacher. Later she became a senior lecturer at Melbourne Teachers' College. She retired in 1958 after 40 years involvement in teaching.teachers, angus, ruby, ballarat, australian broadcasting commission, melbourne teachers college -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Newspaper - News Clipping, Herald, The big Eltham clean-up gets under way, Herald, 4 March, p3, 1965
Full page newspaper clipping featuring the March 1965 Victorian bushfires. Items include: Photograph - TWO-WOMAN BUCKET BRIGADE, Mrs Henry Marsden (left) and Mrs Moureen Ellis, whose fire-fighting efforts yesterday were highly praised today by their Eltham neighbours, carry out mopping-up operations Photograph - DOGS MADE HOMELESS by the fire in North Eltham yesterday are being cared for at First-Constable Doug. Mummery's kennels at Eltham and here is kennel maid Helen Oliver, 17, with some of them today. The two basset hounds are owned by Mr Bill Guy who lost about 100 daschund and basset hound puppies and dogs in the fire. Photograph - He died at Eltham [Picture of John Lawrence Coleman] Builder Mr John Lawrence Coleman, 31, of Main Rd., Eltham, one of three men burnt to death yesterday in the fire at North Eltham. The other two were XXXXX, 33 who lives opposite the Colemans and Mr William Elwers, 64 of Batman Rd., Eltham. John Lawrence Coleman (1934-1965) born January 10, was the son of Raymond John Coleman and Hanna May (Gillet) Coleman. He married Margaret Frances Dare in 1955 and was the father of two children. He died whilst attempting to rescue an older man trapped in the bushfire at North Eltham on March 3, 1965 Other news stories of the day: Bushfires rage in Victoria, Snowy: Three dead (1965, March 4). The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995), p. 1. Retrieved May 19, 2022, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article131758981 Includes two photos of the fire in North Eltham “Firemen make for safety as fire rages in Upper Glen Park Road, North Eltham, Victoria. The smoke hides a house.” and “A house explodes into flames at North Eltham, Victoria. Firemen said bottled gas went up.” Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995), Thursday 4 March 1965, page 1 ________________________________________ Firemen make for safety as fire rages in Upper Glen Park Road. North Eltham. Victoria. The smoke hides a house. A house explodes into flames at North Eltham. Victoria. Firemen said bottled gas went up. Bushfires rage in Victoria, Snowy: Three dead MELBOURNE, Wednesday.—Three people died today in a bush» fire which raged through North Eltham, about 15 miles from Melbourne. The victims were three men. A fourth man is feared to be dead. Another bushfire. sparked off by the heatwave sizzling over south-eastern Australia, is burning out of control in the Kosciusko State Park, in the Snowy Mountains. Firefighters fear that if it reaches pine forests up the Yarrangobilly River, they will be powerless to stop it. The three victims of the North Eltbam fire were trapped by flames in a valley. Their bodies were found only a few yards apart. They were named by police tonight as Mr. George Crowe, 78, of North Eltham, William John Ewers, 64, and John Laurence Coleman, 31, both of Eltham. The other two have not been identified. They are believed to be a man aged about 40 and an 18-year-old youth. At least 12 homes were destroyed by the fire, the worst in Victoria since 1962, when eight lives were lost and hundreds of homes burnt down at Warrandyte. At one time the township of Eltham was threatened, but a cool change swept in from the south and held back the wall of flames. More than 100 dogs, worth about £4,000, died when the fire raced through two kennels in Short Street, Eltham. and Upper Glen Park Road, North Eltham. A trickle of water Residents ran into the streets as the blaze raced towards their houses. Others frantically dug firebreaks around their homes. Mrs. Sue Recourt wept when firemen arrived while she was vainly trying to stop the flames with a trickle of water from the garden hose. A stack of firewood was blazing, but the firemen managed to save the house and rescue four goats. Many homes in Eltham were saved after flames had crept to within feet of their fences. Students at North Eltham State School had to be evacuated when the blaze threatened the building. Fire fighters were severely hampered by lack of water and narrow roads. The blaze, which began in above century heat, turned toward Wattle Glen, where two houses were gutted. Then the flames raced towards Hurstbridge to the north. Firemen battling desperately, controlled the fire late this afternoon. Five forest fires were still burning in Victoria tonight. IN VICTORIA THIS WEEK Tragic lack of central fire authority (1965, March 9). The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995), p. 2. Retrieved May 19, 2022, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article131759928 Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995), Tuesday 9 March 1965, page 2 ________________________________________ IN VICTORIA THIS WEEK Tragic lack of central fire authority From Rohan Rivett It was the worst week for Victorian fire fighters since Black Friday 27 years ago. On that day one pilot up in a spotter plane said afterwards: "It seemed at times that half the State was on fire." This time, for three days on end, Gippsland men, women and children had moments of conviction that their towns would have blackened into anonymity before the weekend was out. The week began with horror at Eltham on the North-eastern edge of Melbourne. Eltham today is something of an artists' colony. Oil painters, water colourists, potters and sculptors proliferate. A number of University folk have emulated the example of Professor MacMahon Ball who pioneered the way by moving to Eltham and carving a home out of the bush in the thirties. Innermost Eltham is barely 14 miles from the G.P.O. Farthest Eltham stretches miles beyond. It served to illustrate the tragi-ludicrous truncation of Victoria's fire control. Part of Eltham is under the protection of the Melbourne Fire Brigade. But this responsibility ceases at some invisible and incomprehensible line — apparently determined by the meanderings of the water mains. At this point everybody's property throughout the rest of Eltham is dependent on the Country Fire Authority. Half an hour before midday on Wednesday, a fire suddenly started on the West side of Upper Glen road on the edge of Eltham. Before the fire brigade could arrive, it was burning on a widening front through timber and high grass north of Eltham. Two wind changes in rapid succession saw the fire leaping Diamond Creek. With a freshening wind it struck home after home in three streets. More than one of them exploded suddenly as if hit by an incendiary bomb. There is no piped gas in the Eltham area, hence many housewives use bottle gas. The flames outside caused the bottles to explode. Altogether twelve homes were completely incinerated and four more were badly damaged. Thirty prize dogs perished. About three hours after the fire started it raced suddenly down a gully hillside trapping an elderly man. Two other men apparently raced to the rescue. Flames caught the three men within yards of each other, not 200 yards off the Upper Glen Park Road where safety lay. They were burned to death. Next evening an angry and convincing secretary of the Fire Brigade Union, Mr. W. M. Webber, came on television and appealed to the people of Victoria to end the ridiculous and dangerous dualism in fire-fighting control. The Eltham fire, he said, had precisely illustrated the situation. The Metropolitan Fire Brigade area touched Eltham, but where the fire had gutted and killed, was just outside its area. Mr. Webber said his union had constantly urged one authority for the State with a complete reorganisation of fire protection. On Wednesday the union had repeated its call for an inquiry into fire protection in Victoria to the Chief Secretary, Mr Rylah. "No matter how close the liaison between the two organisations, there are always divided sections of thinking," Mr. Webber told viewers. "I don't know how much tragedy the com-munity can take before it demands that it is properly protected." Rumours that differences in gauge between taps and hose nozzles (as between the two authorities) accentuated the damage were denied by fire chiefs who said that all appliances were now carrying adaptors so that hoses could be linked to mains everywhere. But there is grave concern in the Metropolitan Fire Brigade's higher councils at the action of several Federal authorities with projects in and around Melbourne. They are installing non-standard equipment without reference to the State authorities or any dovetailing of appliances and equipment. Public alarm was not diminished by the publication on Friday and Saturday of a heart tearing letter from the young widow of John Lawrence Coleman, 31 year old father of two, who had died in the flames apparently trying to rescue the old man trapped in the gully. By that time, a Vast area of Gippsland was in flames and the troops had been sent in to back up the overworked and often helpless fire-fighters. By Saturday, the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Stoneham, who has previously demanded a Royal Commission into fire-fighting arrangements, repeated his demand. To add to the Chief Secretary's worries he was publicly rebuked for allegedly implying on television that lives had been lost at Eltham because people went to the wrong place at the wrong time. In a letter to the Press, Professor MacMahon Ball pointed out that two of the men involved were experienced bushmen who had gone "to help an old man in great danger fully aware of the danger to themselves". As Victoria faced its sixth day of total State-wide fire ban, it looked likely that even official resistance was not going to silence the demand for one central authority to control the fire fiend. At the moment, the 400 square miles where two million Victorians live in Greater Melbourne are divorced from the rest of the State in planning, communications, equipment and control of personnel. No one doubts the whole-hearted co-operation and willingness to back each other up of the M.F.B. and the C.F.A., both at top-level and among the firemen themselves. However, when a city straggles so deeply into the country side, the absence of a single authority, to oversee and analyse the fire threat as a whole, suggests suicidal policy of divide and fuel. Emphasis of the tragic loss of a member of a pioneering family who died whilst helping others in his communitybushfire, cfa, country fire authority, fire brigrade, glen park road, heroes, john lawrence coleman, north eltham, victorian bushfires - 1965, volunteers, william john elwers, fire fighter, frank martin, george john crowe, ken gaston, orchard avenue, doug mummery, helen oliver, mrs henry marsden, mrs moureen ellis -
Bendigo Military Museum
Film - PHOTOGRAPH, 1916-17
Hughy Pippin. Refer 1502 medals, 1513.4 documents.Original sepia photo of 2 standing and 3 sitting soldiers. Photo is oval shaped. Soldiers are numbered 1-5 on front and rear. 1 P Dunn, 2 T Young, 3 Cpl J Slatter, 4 K Engstom, 5 H Pippin. Group is from 38th Btn AIF."No 1895 Pte H Pippin, 2nd Reinforcements, 38th Batt 10th infantry Brigade AIF on active service abroad."photography-photographs, military history