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 He died at Eltham (Herald, 4 March 1965, p3) [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. * * * Frank Martin was a volunteer with the Eltham rural fire brigade at the time of the 1965 bushfires which burnt Eltham North and Research. Frank was asked to assist with the removal of three bodies from the back gully (now Orchard Avenue). They were badly burnt and one was found stuck under a fence as though trying to escape. Volunteers John Coleman Jnr, William Elwers and George Crowe were killed trying to protect Eltham from bushfire – they were local heroes. At the time, John Coleman Jnr was survived by his wife Margaret and two young children – John 11 and Vicky 2. Margaret Coleman lived in the family home until 1992 when she sold it and moved to Tasmania to be close to her son. She died in 1997 aged 65 years. 75 yr old Ken Gaston grew up on Edendale farm, which was originally a poultry farm but is now owned and run by the Shire of Nillumbik as an educational farm for schools and visitors. He was Captain of the Eltham rural fire brigade in 1965 when John Coleman Jnr was burnt to death in the Eltham North bushfires serving as an unofficial volunteer. He was able to draw where the original Wattletree Road was and at the time was verified with the location of some remaining bitumen and a post from the original bridge over the Diamond Creek located near the junction of the Diamond Creek and another small creek which is further down from Research or Christmas Creek as locals refer to it. The original Main Road ran behind Colemans before the railway line was built beyond Eltham in 1912. (Information recorded by Harry Gilham, President EDHS c.2011) * * * 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

Strong large cane wicker baskets such as this one were used for storage and transportation. This basket could have been used for storing sails on a vessel, or sending luggage, parcels or goods by rail, ship, wagon or cart from one location to another. The basket would also be suitable for laundry in hospitals, factories such as woollen mills, and other organisations for storing and moving equipment and goods. The inscription " A A S" has not yet been researched. It could be the name of an Australian- Service, or a - - Ship or even the initials of a person. This basket is an example of a large, strong container used for storage or transportation during the 19th and 20th centuries.Basket, natural coloured woven cane or wicker, rectangular shape with lid. Two leather straps and buckles fasten the lid to the basket. The basket has a strong rope handle on each side, metal reinforcing straps that support three wood strengthening lengths on the top of the hinged lid. The lid is hinged to the basket at the back with metal hinges. The inside frame is reinforced with wood. There is a large inscription in black paint is stencilled onto the lid of the basket."A A S"flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, basket, sail storage, maritime furniture, luggage, transport storage basket, wicker hamper, vintage wicker chest, wicker trunk, cane storage basket, dispatch basket, a a s

A now defunct Form 5A registration of playerA now defunct Form 5A registration of player of four time premiership player David McKay Career : 1969 - 1981 Debut : Round 3, 1969 vs Footscray, aged 19 years, 165 days Carlton Player No. 809 Games : 263 Goals : 277 Last Game : Grand Final, 1981 vs Collingwood, aged 31 years, 325 days Guernsey No. 43 Height : 191 cm (6 ft. 3 in.) Weight : 92 kg (15 stone, 0 lbs.) DOB : November 5, 1949 Premiership Player 1970, 1972, 1979, 1981 Carlton Hall of Fame (1996) One of the most spectacular high marks of his era, David Robert James “Swan” McKay was a Carlton star for twelve seasons, and a key member of four Premiership teams. Recruited from Newlyn, near Ballarat in central Victoria, McKay arrived at Princes Park in 1968 as a raw-boned 19 year-old. Coach Ron Barassi liked what he saw, and quickly realised that the laconic, easy-going country kid had the makings of something special after only a handful of games in the Blues’ number 43 guernsey. At 191cm and 95 kg he was robust enough to play in the ruck, while his exceptional aerial skills allowed him to hold down a key position. The problem was that he had joined the reigning premiers, so he wasn’t able to claim a regular place in the side until after the Blues were beaten by Richmond in the ’69 Grand Final. Early in the following season, McKay was given a chance at centre half-back, and took to it “like a swan to water.” Quick for his size and blessed with wonderful judgement, “Swan” soon became a crowd favourite. From that season on and throughout his career, it was only on rare occasions when the weekly televised football highlights package did not include footage of him drifting across the front of the pack to pluck the ball from the hands of an opponent, or leaping high over three or four sets of shoulders to take another soaring high mark. By 1970, McKay was embedded in the Carlton defence and hadn’t missed a game all season. After the Blues wound up second on the ladder, David experienced the thrill of a VFL final for the first time in his 29th senior match, when almost 113,000 fans packed into the MCG to see Collingwood beat Carlton by 10 points in a high-scoring Semi Final. Swan took 10 marks amid his 16 possessions that afternoon, and although his side was beaten, he revelled in the occasion. A fortnight later, after destroying St Kilda in a one-sided Preliminary Final, Carlton met Collingwood again in the Grand Final in front of an even bigger crowd. McKay was in trouble early against his taller, equally athletic opponent Len Thompson, but rallied after half time to get right on top as the Blues came from 44 points down to shatter Collingwood in the greatest of all Grand Final comebacks. Swan took nine telling marks and collected 18 possessions to be hailed as Best on Ground, before collecting the first of his four Premiership medals. One of the hallmarks of the Carlton teams coached by Barassi was their versatility, so as his career progressed, McKay started spending time up forward or in the ruck. From then on, when a game was in the balance and a goal or two was sorely needed, he was the man the Blues often looked for. He worked hard on his shooting for goal and became a reliable forward option. The 1972 final series must rank as one of Carlton’s finest hours, as the Blues fought their way through three hard, cut-throat games to meet the raging favourites Richmond in the Grand Final. In that remarkable encounter on a fine, cool day at the MCG, Swan lined up in a back pocket to cover the Tigers’ resting ruckmen and for once, lowered his colours to Richmond’s Neil Balme, who kicked 5 goals – but the Blues still won by 27 points and McKay picked up his second medal. In August 1973, Swan brought up game number 100 against Footscray at the Western Oval. Carlton won by nine points – thanks to McKay’s 13 marks in great game at centre half-back. A month later, the Blues and the Tigers met again on Grand Final day, and – still smarting from their surprise defeat the previous year – Richmond went head-hunting in a spiteful match. Swan was shifted forward early and kicked two majors, but neither he nor his team could match Richmond’s ferocity and the Tigers won the flag by 30 points. Midway through the following season, in round 14, 1975 - McKay was embroiled in another infamous encounter at Essendon’s Windy Hill – a game that saw eight players (himself included) reported. On a wet and miserable day dominated by a howling wind, Swan’s 22 disposals, 14 marks and eight goals won the game for Carlton, and making that victory even sweeter, he later escaped suspension for striking. By the time Carlton was knocked out of the finals in 1976 by straight-sets defeats at the hands of Hawthorn and North Melbourne, McKay was 27 and had racked up 172 games. But he felt he needed relief from the pressure-cooker life of a VFL footballer, so he agreed in principle to join WAFL club Subiaco. When he requested a clearance from Carlton however, the Blues steadfastly refused. Both sides dug in their heels, and some unfortunate headlines resulted before Swan relented and resumed training some weeks into 1977. In round 13 of that season, on a freezing cold and wet Saturday afternoon at the Junction Oval, bottom side Fitzroy caused a huge upset by beating Carlton by 7 points. In his 181st game, McKay took 9 marks, and his second goal of the game was the 200th of his career. McKay’s fourth Grand Final came in 1979 against Collingwood. By then one of only five survivors from the ’73 team, Swan was approaching his 30th birthday. yet still playing valuable, consistent football. In a close, absorbing match on a wet and slippery MCG that day, Carlton again won a nail-biter by just 5 points, thanks to Wayne Harmes’ famous swipe at the ball from a forward pocket in the last minutes of the game. The ball ended at the feet of Ken Sheldon, whose goal clinched Carlton’s twelfth Premiership, and McKay’s third. Throughout the majority of his career, Swan was a durable type who rarely suffered serious injury. That all changed in 1980 however, when he rolled an ankle, played on, and compounded the injury which hampered him for the rest of his career. Carlton made the finals again, but dropped out after successive losses. That was a bitter blow for the Blues, who promptly sacked coach Peter Jones and reinstated David Parkin. Because of his ankle, Swan missed a number of games early in 1981, but was back to near his best for the finals. Carlton destroyed Geelong by 40 points in the second Semi Final and marched into the Grand Final as hot favourites against Collingwood. In a typically fierce and physical decider, Collingwood led by 21 points late in the third quarter, before the confident Blues overwhelmed them in the last term - winning Premiership number four for Swan McKay, and flag number thirteen for Carlton. One of the goals in that vital last quarter came from the big number 43. It was his second major of the game, and his last kick in league football. Amid the jubilation of victory in the rooms after the game, Swan announced his retirement after 263 games and 277 career goals. He was a few weeks short of his thirty-second birthday and it was an appropriate way to end the playing career of one of the club’s favourite sons. Following his retirement, McKay stayed involved at Princes Park in a number of off-field roles. He was inducted into the Carlton Hall of Fame in 1996, and later became a high-profile critic of Carlton’s President John Elliott. When Elliott was voted out of office in 2002, McKay was appointed a director of the club under new President Ian Collins. During 1999 and 2000, David's son James McKay played eight Reserves games and kicked two goals for Carlton. Milestones 100 Games : Round 21, 1973 vs Footscray 150 Games : Round 2, 1976 vs Essendon 200 Games : Round 10, 1978 vs Footscray 250 Games : Round 9, 1981 vs South Melbourne 100 Goals : Round 13, 1974 vs Geelong 200 Goals : Round 13, 1977 vs FitzroyLetters & copy of form from VFL

Sometimes called a sweetheart postcard, it was a way of sending thoughts to the troops overseas. The poem on the front, with the image of a woman writing to her loved ones, says: "In distance we are far apart . . . / Yet loving thoughts can span the ocean blue / And warm good wishes sent in fond remembrance / Speed swiftly o'er the sea from me to you.' The British, Australian and French flags and Australia wattle provide more symbolism, the horseshoes for luck, and a hand shake. Was with other World War 1 memorabilia that has come from Private John Basil McLean, 2nd Reinforcements, 37th Battalion, A.I.F. There was a large collection of postcards so he may have been collecting them as souvenirs. J.B. McLean (Service No. 13824) was from near Maffra, Victoria and enlisted on 22 January 1916. He embarked on 16 December 1916 for Europe. His full war record is available from AWM. He spent time with the Australian Field Artillery (Pack Section). At the end of the war he worked for a year at the A.I.F. Headquarters in London before returning to Australia on the 'Ceramic', arriving in Portsea in 1920.A record of correspondence with the troops in World War 1 and sending good wishes with a hamper. This type of experience would have been familiar to the first Legatees as they had served in World War 1.Postcard with a lady writing and men fighting, horseshoes and wattle.world war one, souvenir