A Sickle is an agricultural hand tool used for harvesting or reaping grain crops using the sharp blade in a swinging or hacking motion. It was also used for cutting back forage and other plant growth. They have been used since early Iron Age times and many examples have been found in the Middle East dating back 18,000 to 8,000 BC. This is a bagging hook – a type of larger and heavier sickle used mainly for harvesting of grain. It continued to be used after industrialisation and the implementation of the mechanical reaper. Designed to be used by the right hand, its age is unknown. Right handed sickle. Blade painted black. Handle varnishedsickle, harvesting, churchill island heritage farm

A Sickle is an agricultural hand tool used for harvesting or reaping grain crops using the sharp blade in a swinging or hacking motion. It was also used for cutting back forage and other plant growth. They have been used since early Iron Age times and many examples have been found in the Middle East dating back 18,000 to 8,000 BC. This is a bagging hook – a type of larger and heavier sickle used mainly for harvesting of grain. It continued to be used after industrialisation and the implementation of the mechanical reaper. Designed by British manufacturing firm, Brades & Co, and made to be used by the left hand, its age is unknown. Left handed sickle. Blade painted black; handle varnished. Metal ferrule on handle. Hook on blade at handle endB?RADE? BRADER OZ?sickle, harvesting, churchill island heritage farm

A Scythe was one of the most important of all agricultural hand tools, consisting of a curved blade fitted at an angle to a long, curved handle and used for cutting grain. In modern scythes the handle has a projecting peg that is grasped by one hand, facilitating control of the swinging motion by which grass and grain are cut. The exact origin of the scythe is unknown, but it was little used in the ancient world. It came into wide use only with agricultural developments of the Carolingian era (8th century AD) in Europe, when the harvesting and storing of hay became important to support livestock through winters. Scythes can still be found in use today by hobby farmers and permaculturists. ( producing food, by using ways that do not deplete the earth's natural resources) to cut grass in a more eco-friendly way as opposed to using a machine.A hand tool used for the cutting of crops and grain, modern versions are still being produced today in Europe. The subject item gives us a snapshot into agricultural practices in times past.Scythe with long wood Snath (curved handle) with 1 hand holding piece & curved blade. Noneflagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village

A scythe is an agricultural hand tool for mowing grass or reaping crops. It was largely replaced by horse-drawn and then tractor machinery. A scythe consists of a wooden shaft and a long, curved blade is mounted at the lower end, perpendicular. Scythes always have the blade projecting from the left side when in use. Mowing is done by holding the handle , with the arms straight, the blade parallel to the ground and very close to it, and the body twisted to the right. The body is then twisted steadily to the left, moving the scythe blade along its length in a long arc from right to left, ending in front of the mower, thus depositing the cut grass to the left. Mowing proceeds with a steady rhythm, stopping at frequent intervals to sharpen the blade. The correct technique has a slicing action on the grass, cutting a narrow strip with each stroke Mowing grass is easier when it is damp, and so hay-making traditionally began at dawn and often stopped early, the heat of the day being spent raking and carting the hay cut on previous daysEarly settlers and market gardeners used these scythes as they established their farms in Moorabbin Shire c1880A large metal scythe with a wooden handle x 2early settlers, pioneers, market gardeners, moorabbin, bentleigh, brighton, cheltenham, tools, blacksmiths

The Beechworth Foundry was vital to the industry of the town and surrounding district in the early years of the town’s development. Originally opened as the New Ford Street Foundry by A. Roger in 1858, J Duncan and M Straughair amalgamated and established the Beechworth Foundry in 1867. The business was extensive and operated out of many buildings, each with their own specialisation. All of the buildings pictured in this image are part of the larger Beechworth Foundry. In the late 1860s it employed 16 men. The foundry was fundamental to the running of the town and surrounding district, as it manufactured all manner of items, including tools and machinery for the mining and agricultural industries. The foundry business collapsed in 1896 after the death of it’s founder, John Duncan, the same year (Straughair had died in 1882). The foundry was reopened by W H Phillips in 1905 and taken over by H Delora in 1906 This image is significant as it shows some of the many buildings of the Beechworth Foundry, which was a fundamental business to the running of the town and surrounding district, and supplied many of the tools and machines required for the mining and agricultural industries, as well as other aspects of life between the 1850s and early 1900sSepia rectangular photograph printed on paper. It has rough, torn-looking edgesReverse 97.2321 / BMM A03115duncan, john duncan, j duncan, m straughair, straughair, foundry, beechworth foundry, industry, factory, newtown, new ford street foundry, a roger, roger, w h phillips, phillips, w phillips, h delora, delora, metalwork, farming and agriculture, tools, mining, workmen

This item was made by John Russell Senior, a blacksmith, wheelwright, farmer and later chairman of the Orbost Butter Factory, makers of Sunny South Butter (today part of Murray Goulburn Co Ltd). The buggy lifter was handed down to George Henry Russell (Doug), the second son between 1970 and 1973.Blacksmiths played an essential part in the regional parts of Victoria and were required to use their ingenuity and skills to design and make tools needed on local farms. This item is an example of a tool specifically designed for a horse-drawn wagon. Horse-drawn wagons are an important part of Australia’s agricultural history. Light buggies were popular with farmers for trips into town before the common use of motorised vehicles.A metal buggy wheel lifter. It has two hooks connected at the top by a bolt and a shackle. The hooks fit under the rim to enable the wheel to be lifted with a pulley / crane system operated by a man or a horse.tool buggy-lifter russell-john blacksmith wheelwright

This item was used on P.C. Toby Nixon and Grace Nixon's farm, "Rolling Downs" at Bete Bolong. During WW11 the farm grew carrots, red beet, cabbages, beans and maize. Because of labour shortages the government built a Prisoner of War Camp on Russell's Hill. The manager, Dick Northrope, used three Italian prisoners to frill ring small trees and shrubs between crop harvesting. The introduction of ‘frill ringing’ and poisoning with arsenical tree killers in the 1940's and 1950's helped reduce the amount of labour required and trees on more country were treated. This enabled the hill country at Bete Bolong to become more productive. The dead trees and shrubs were later cleared by Erle Broome's D7 caterpillar bulldozer. This was the first big area of 230 acres to be cleared in the Orbost district. Soon after entering World War 11 Australia was asked by Britain to accept and guard large numbers of 'enemy aliens' and prisoners of war. The British government felt that it could not afford to feed large numbers of prisoners and it was believed that once in Australia the internees would have no chance of escape. Eager to show solidarity with Britain's cause, Australia readily agreed and decided to place the prisoners in a number of different camps scattered around the country and guard them with reservists and soldiers too unfit to serve overseas. There was an internment camp at Bete Bolong, Orbost. This item is an example of an item used by the Italian P.O.W.'s residing there. It is also an example of an agricultural tool not commonly used today.A galvanized iron watering can which has been used to hold poison for ring barking trees (possibly arsenic). It has a narrow spout. There is a handle at the back and a folding handle on the top. The top is conical with an opening for a cork. agriculture prisoner-of-war-camp tree-removal land-clearing

PIVOT is a company involved in agricultural fertilisers.This is a useful pictorial reference tool.A commemorative calendar with colourful photographs, one for each month. On the front cover are brown drawings of agricultural items and scenes. "Commemorative Calendar" is in a banner above "Pivot Promotions Productivity". above the banner is a sheaf of wheat around "75 YEARS" with two flags - one the Australian flag and the other a PIVOT flag.calendar-pivot

There is no information with this item. John Tynan's Victoria Agricultural Implement Factory began making ploughs in 1857. His company is also believed to be the first to have produced drilling tools suitable for use in basalt quartz-load gold mining. Tynan was the first person to manufacture swing ploughs. His ploughs won numerous prizes, including the first gold medal ever given in Victoria for a colonially made plough.This is a photograph of an early farming tool.A black / white photograph on a discoloured cream coloured card. It is of a shiny new plough on a carpet with walls and drapes in the background.on cutting arm - Tynan Bros Prize Ploughphotograph-plough-tynan

This is a photograph of a railway camp, set up to house workers and their families when building the Bairnsdale to Orbost Railway from 1914-1916. The man in the foreground was one of three men killed in an explosion "noon on the railway construction works at Hagen's Cutting, about two miles from Orbost, three men being killed. The victims were John Carroll, con- tractor, his son, Peter Carroll, and John Sullivan, a navvy. The gang had just finished work, and the three stayed behind to draw a blasting charge, which had missed fire yesterday. J. Carroll was using a pick, and it is presumed that the tool struck a percussion cap, and fired the charge. He and Sullivan were killed instantly, Carroll being literally blown to pieces. Fragments of his body and garments were recovered from the surrounding bush, and the main portion of the trunk, with leg attached, was hurled a distance of 200 yards. Peter Carroll was terribly- injured, and he died before medical aid arrived." (from The Mercury Saturday March 114 1914) The Bairnsdale-Orbost railway was opened in 1916 to serve the agricultural and timber industry. Because of the decline in traffic and heavy operating costs, the line was finally closed in August, 1987. Orbost Railway Station was opened on Monday 10 April 1916 as the terminus of the Orbost railway line, and closed in 1987. The station was located on the west side of the Snowy River despite the town of Orbost being on the east side of the river, in order to save on the costs of a bridge over the river, which at the time had highly variable levels. This item is associated with the history of the Orbost-Bairnsdale railway line and therefore reflects the role that the rail line played in the social and economic history of Orbost.A black / white photograph of a campsite. There is a kitchen outside a rough construction. Men and women are standing in the backgroundd with one man and a dog in the foreground.on back - "Man with dog killed in explosion"orbost-railway transport railway-bairnsdale-orbost explosion-railway

These were used on a horse-drawn wagons, carriages, stagecoaches, and carts. A wheelwright would use this tool to make or repair the wheels. All sizes of buggy spanners, or wagon wrenches, were needed as wagon wheels were of many different sizes. Horse-drawn wagons are an important part of Australia’s agricultural history. Light buggies were popular with farmers for trips into town before the common use of motorised vehicles.A collection of thirteen iron wheel spanners on an iron hook. One spanner has a wooden handle and is an adjustable spanner.tool wagon-wrench-spanner transport

Scythes were used to manually mow wheat or grass. Scythes were used with a long sweeping movement which made them much less tiring for labourers to use than reaping hooks or sickles though they still involved great physical labour and considerable skill to perfect. Both hands were in use and the operator did not have to bend his back to reach down to the crop. On farms scythes were sharpened on a sandstone wheel mounted on an axle with a crank handle on one side. This was hand powered and used with water. Scythes were not used as often on farms after the mechanisation of harvesting. They were still used for cutting awkward shaped small plots and for opening a path for the tractors. This item is an example of a tool used by the early settlers of the Orbost district. An iron scythe blade, curved and tapered. There is no handle and the blade is rusted and pitted."ROSE"scythe tool agriculture rural

Scythes were used with a long sweeping movement which made them much less tiring for labourers to use than reaping hooks or sickles though they still involved great physical labour and considerable skill to perfect. Both hands were in use and the operator did not have to bend his back to reach down to the crop. Scythes were not used as often on farms after the mechanisation of harvesting. They were still used for cutting awkward shaped small plots and for opening a path for the tractors. This item is an example of a tool used by the early settlers of the Orbost district.A curved iron blade with one sharp edge. It is attached to a curved hollow handle with two extensions on one side where the scythe can be held by two hands.scythe agriculture tool

Possibly used for sieving bean seeds or corn seeds. Could have been a sand sieve.A round wooden framed sieve. It has a double frame with 1/4 " wire mesh held in through two frames. It has a galvanised iron inset.sieve agriculture tool

Probably used in the local bean growing industry. The Orbost area was once a large bean growing area as the fertile snowy River flats produced good quality beans. It was exported to other states of Australia. Green beans were sent to Melbourne by train and later to Sydney, either via Bombala where they were railed, or to Eden to continue the journey on fish trucks. One pound per bag was considered a good price in the early 1920's and pickers were paid one shilling and sixpence. (Ref: Newmerella Valley of Plenty)A round wooden framed sieve. The frame holds the wire mesh sieve. It is braced with seven thin wire strips.sieve agriculture tool

These were used on a horse-drawn wagons, carriages, stagecoaches, and carts. A wheelwright would use this tool to make or repair the wheels. Horse-drawn wagons are an important part of Australia’s agricultural history. Light buggies were popular with farmers for trips into town before the common use of motorised vehicles.A metal buggy wheel spanner for various applications.buggy-spanner tool transport

This was found by Kevin Ingram while cleaning the Orbost Butter Factory site in 1991. The Orbost Butter and Produce Co. Ltd was registered on June 1st 1893 and was an important source of income to the Orbost district. A 1 lb butter press with a cylindrical metal handle on a square base. This tool fitted over the butter and pushed it out in a rectangular shape.orbost-butter_factory agriculture farming butter-press

An adze is an ancient and versatile cutting tool similar to an axe but with the cutting edge perpendicular to the handle rather than parallel. Adzes are used for smoothing or carving wood in hand woodworking, and as a hoe for agriculture and horticulture. Two basic forms of an adze are the hand adze (short hoe) a short handled tool swung with one hand and the foot adze (hoe) a long handled tool capable of powerful swings using both hands, the cutting edge usually striking at foot or shin level. Mathieson & Sons Maker: In 1792 John Manners had set up a workshop making woodworking planes at 14 Saracens Lane Glasgow. He also had employed an apprentice Alexander Mathieson (1773-1851). But in the following year at Saracen's Lane, the 1841 census describes Alexander Mathieson as a master plane-maker now at 38 Saracen Lane with his son Thomas Adam working with him as a journeyman plane-maker. Presumably, Alexander must have taken over the premises and business of John Manners. Now that the business had Thomas Adam Mathieson working with his father it gradually grew and became more diversified, and it is recorded at the time by the Post-Office Glasgow Annual Directory that by 1847-1848 Alexander Mathieson was a “plane, brace, bit, auger & edge tool maker” In 1849 the firm of James & William Stewart at 65 Nicolson Street, Edinburgh was taken over and Thomas was put in charge of the business, trading under the name Thomas A. Mathieson & Co. as plane and edge-tool makers. Thomas's company went on to acquire the Edinburgh edge-tool makers “Charles & Hugh McPherson” and took over their premises in Gilmore Street. In the Edinburgh directory of 1856/7, the business is recorded as being Alexander Mathieson & Son, plane and edge-tool makers at 48 Nicolson Street and Paul's Work, Gilmore Street Edinburgh. The 1851 census Alexander is recorded as working as a tool and plane-maker employing eight men. Later that year Alexander died and his son Thomas took over the business. Under the heading of an edge-tool maker in the 1852/3 Post-Office Glasgow Annual Directory the firm is now listed as Alexander Mathieson & Son, with further entries as "turning-lathe and vice manufacturers". By the early 1850s, the business had moved to 24 Saracen Lane. The directory for 1857/8 records that the firm had moved again only a few years later to East Campbell Street, off the Gallowgate area, and that through further diversification was also manufacturing coopers' and tinmen's tools. The ten-yearly censuses report the firm's growth in 1861 stating that Thomas was a tool manufacturer employing 95 men and 30 boys; in 1871 he had 200 men working for him and in 1881 300 men. By 1899 the firm had been incorporated as Alexander Mathieson & Sons Ltd, even though only Alexander's son Thomas appears ever to have joined the firm so the company was still in his fathers' name. In September 1868 Thomas Mathieson put a notice in the newspapers of the Sheffield & Rotherham Independent and the Sheffield Daily Telegraph stating that his firm had used the trade-mark of a crescent and star "for some time" and that "using or imitating the Mark would be proceeded against for infringement". The firm had acquired its interest in the crescent-and-star mark from the heirs of Charles Pickslay, the Sheffield cutler who had registered it with the Cutlers' Company in 1833 and had died in 1852. The year 1868 seems also to be the one in which the name Saracen Tool Works was first adopted; not only does it figure at the foot of the notice in the Sheffield press, it also makes its first appearance in the firm's entry in the Post-Office Glasgow Annual Directory in the 1868/9 edition. As Thomas Mathieson's business grew, so too did his involvement in local public life and philanthropy. One of the representatives of the third ward on the town council of Glasgow, he became a river bailie in 1868, a magistrate in 1870 and a preceptor of Hutcheson's Hospital in 1878. He had a passion for books and was an "ardent Ruskinian". He served on the committee handling the bequest for the setting up of the Mitchell Library in Glasgow. When he died at Coulter Maynes near Biggar in 1899, he left an estate worth £142,764.  The firm of Alexander Mathieson & Sons was one of the leading makers of hand tools in Scotland. Its success went hand in hand with the growth of the shipbuilding industries on the Firth of Clyde in the nineteenth century and the emergence of Glasgow as the "second city of the Empire". It also reflected the firm's skill in responding to an unprecedented demand for quality tools by shipyards, cooperages and other industries, both locally and far and wide.Hand Adze or Cooper's adze No 4 A Mathieson & Sons Glasgowflagstaff hill, warrnambool, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, adze mathieson & sons, cooperage tools, woodworking, barrel making, working timber, joiners tools, carpenters tools

This photograph shows men working in the gravel pit at Newmerella just outside Orbost. Not long after this photograph was taken an accidental explosion killed three workers. In the newspaper, The Hobart Mercury on Saturday March 1914, There was this report: "EXPLOSION OF BLASTING CHARGE. THREE MEN KILLED. MELBOURNE, March 13 A fatal accident occurred this after- noon on the railway construction works at Hagen's Cutting, about two miles from Orbost, three men being killed. The victims were John Carroll, contractor, his son, Peter Carroll, and John Sullivan, a navvy. The gang had just finished work, and the three stayed behind to draw a blasting charge, which had missed fire yesterday. J. Carroll was using a pick, and it is presumed that the tool struck a percussion cap, and fired the charge. He and Sullivan were killed instantly, Carroll being literally blown to pieces. Fragments of his body and garments were recovered from the surrounding bush, and the main portion of the trunk, with leg attached, was hurled a distance of 200 yards. Peter Car roll was terribly- injured, and he died before medical aid arrived. ' This is a pictorial record of construction workers associated with the Orbost - Bairnsdale railway. This item is associated with the history of the Orbost-Bairnsdale railway line and therefore reflects the role that the rail line played in the social and economic history of Orbost. The Bairnsdale-Orbost railway was opened in 1916 to serve the agricultural and timber industry. Because of the decline in traffic and heavy operating costs, the line was finally closed in August, 1987. A black / white photograph of a large group of men with horses and wagons. Most are holding tools - picks, spades and shovels. Some of the wagons are loaded with soil.railway-construction east-gippsland-railway orbost-railway quarry-gravel-newmerella

This report is an analysis of regional strengths and challenges. It is research to assess the need for and impact of infrastructure investment in different parts of regional and rural Victoria. This set of documents is a useful research tool.A cardboard box of documents related to Gippsland Regional Profile. It contains reports on social indicators, industries, poulation, areas, assets and resources, agriculture, coal,manufacturing and forestry.gippsland-region industry-gippsland agriculture-gippsland population-gippsland resources-gippsland

This calendar has been distributed as a advertising item for Earl’s agricultural machinery and oil depot. The business was situated at the corner of Lava and Kepler Streets in Warrnambool. The name, Acmino’ stood for Allis-Chalmers, Mitchell’s Implements, Neptune Oils’. Distributing calendars at Christmas time for the following year was, and still is, a popular advertising tool for businesses. This calendar is of minor interest as an example of the use made by businesses in the 1940s of calendars as advertising tools. It also has a local Warrnambool connection, the agricultural machinery business of F. Earl. This is a 1946 calendar with a buff-coloured sheet of crinkled paper with a brown border. It has a coloured photograph of two men droving cattle near a river and it ispasted on to the paper with a brown border around the photograph. The calendar for 1946 is printed on to the paper and also in monthly sheets pasted on to the paper on top of each other. The printing on the calendar is brown. On the back of the calendar is written in black ink, ‘French Bros’. The calendar has a red piece of string at the top for hanging the calendar up on a wall or cupboard. The calendar is torn at the edges and somewhat stained.‘With Compliments from the “Acmino” House, F.Earl (Prop.)Warrnambool Phone 484 Private 75’ ‘Allis-Chalmers Tractors Mitchell’s Implements Neptune Oils’ ‘Sales, Service and Satisfaction Guaranteed’ ‘French Bros’ ‘acmino’ house, warrnambool, f. earl, history of warrnambool

Finger from an agricultural finger bar mower for cutting hay.This item has no known local provenance but is retained as an interesting example of a farming tool of the past. This is small metal tool in the shape of a knife with a sharp curved tapering point at the end, a mid cross piece and a hole at the top. The tool is very rusty. warrnambool, vintage farming tool

This rake is an adaptation of an old pitch fork for a specific purpose, perhaps for breaking up clods of dirt or doing some deep raking. This rake has no known local provenance but is kept for display purposes as an interesting example of an adaptation of an agricultural tool for a specific purpose. This is an old pitch fork which has been made into a rake or a scarifier by bending back the ends of the three metal prongs of the fork (producing prongs of an uneven length). The prongs are attached by a metal band to a wooden handle.vintage agricultural implements, history of warrnambool, pitch fork

The beginning of standardised weights and measures began In Victoria when the Melbourne Observatory received sets of standard weights and measures, which had been tested in Britain against the then British Imperial standards. These included the primary standard yard and pound for the Colony of Victoria. Other standards of weights and measure held by shires and the administrative body's within the colony could then be compared to these primary standards. A Weights and Measures Act was passed in Victoria in 1862, establishing local inspectors throughout the colony. By the 1870s each local council and shire in Victoria held a set of standards that were used to test scales, weights and dry measures used by wholesalers, factories and shops. Every ten years the councils’ standards would themselves need to be rechecked against the Victorian Standards. The checking was done by the Victorian Customs Department in the 19th century, but with the transfer of responsibility for customs to the Federal Government in 1901, weights and measures function was retained by the Victorian Government and was shifted to the Melbourne Observatory. In 1904, a new building was erected at the south end of the Great Melbourne Telescope House, where the standard weights and measures and testing equipment was installed. This room had a large whirling apparatus for testing air meters and became known as the Whirling Room. When the Melbourne Observatory closed in 1944, the Weights and Measures Branch was formed to continue and this branch remained at the Observatory site unit until 1995. J & M Ewan History: J&M Ewan was a Melbourne firm that began by selling retail furniture and wholesale ironmongery. They had substantial warehouses situated at the intersection of 81-83 Elizabeth and Little Collins Streets, the business was established by James M Ewan in 1852. Shortly afterwards he went into partnership with William Kerr Thomson and Samuel Renwick. When Ewan died in 1868 his partners carried on and expanded the business under his name J & M Ewan. The business was expanded to provide a retail shop, counting-house and private offices. Wholesale warehouses adjoined these premises at 4, 6 and 10 Little Collins Street, West. This company provided and sold a large and varied amount of imported goods into the colony that consisted of agriculture equipment, building materials, mining items as well as steam engines, tools of all types and marble fireplaces. They also supplied the Bronze measuring containers in the Flagstaff Hill collection and the probability is that these containers were obtained by the local Melbourne authority that monitored weights and measures in the mid to late 19th century. The company grew to employ over 150 people in Melbourne and opened offices at 27 Lombard St London as well as in New Zealand and Fiji. The company also serviced the Mauritius islands and the pacific area with their steamship the Suva and a brig the Shannon, the company ceased trading in 1993. Robert Bate History: Robert Brettell Bate (1782-1847) was born in Stourbridge, England, one of four sons of Overs Bate, a mercer (a dealer in textile fabrics, especially silks, velvet's, and other fine materials)and banker. Bate moved to London, and in 1813 was noticed for his scientific instrument making ability through the authority of the “Clockmakers Company”. Sometime in the year 1813 it was discovered that one Robert Brettell Bate, regarded as a foreigner in London had opened a premises in the Poultry selling area of London. He was a Mathematical Instrument maker selling sundials and other various instruments of the clock making. In 1824, Bate, in preparation for his work on standards and weights, leased larger premises at 20 and 21 Poultry, London, at a rental of four hundred pounds per annum. It was there that Bate produced quality metrological instruments, which afforded him the recognition as one of one of the finest and principal English metrological instrument-makers of the nineteenth century. English standards at this time were generally in a muddle, with local standards varying from shire to shire. On 17 June 1824, an Act of Parliament was passed making a universal range of weights, measures, and lengths for the United Kingdom, and Bate was given the job of crafting many of the metrological artifacts. He was under instruction from the renown physicist Henry Kater F.R.S. (1777-1835) to make standards and to have them deposited in the principal cities throughout the United Kingdom and colonies. Bate experimented with tin-copper alloys to find the best combination for these items and by October 1824, he had provided Kater with prototypes to test troy and avoirdupois pounds, and samples with which to divide the troy into grams. Bate also cast the standard for the bushel, and by February 1825, had provided all the standards required of him by the Exchequer, Guildhalls of Edinburgh, and Dublin. In 1824, he also made a troy pound standard weight for the United States, which was certified for its accuracy by Kater and deposited with the US Mint in 1827. Kater, in his address to the Royal Society of London, acknowledged Bate's outstanding experimentation and craftsmanship in producing standards of weights, measures, and lengths. An example of a dry Bronze measuring container made specifically for J & M Ewan by possibly the most important makers of measurement artefacts that gives us today a snapshot of how imperial weights and measures were used and how a standard of measurement for merchants was developed in the Australian colonies based on the Imperial British measurement system. The container has social significance as an item retailed by J & M Ewan and used in Victoria by the authorities who were given legal responsibility to ensure that wholesalers and retailers of dry goods sold in Victoria were correct. The container was a legal standard measure so was also used to test merchants containers to ensure that their distribution of dry goods to a customer was correct.Maker Possibly Robert Brettell Blake or De Grave, Short & Co Ltd both of LondonContainer bronze round shape for measuring dry quantities has brass handles & is a 'half-bushel' measurement"IMPERIAL STANDARD HALF BUSHEL" engraved around the top of the container. VICTORIA engraved under "J & M Ewan & Co London and Melbourne" engraved around the bottom of the container.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, standard measure, bronze, peck measurement, j & m ewan, victorian standard dry measurement, bronze container, victorian standards, melbourne observatory, robert brettell bate

A hook as a hand tool is used for securing and moving loads. It consists of a round wooden handle with a strong metal hook projecting at a right angle from the centre of the handle. The appliance is held in a closed fist with the hook projecting between two fingers. This type of hook is used in many different industries, and has many different names. It may be called a box hook, cargo hook, loading hook, or a docker's hook, and a baling hook, bale hook, or hay hook in the agricultural industry. Other variants exist, such as in forestry, for moving logs, and a type with a long shaft, used by city workers to remove manhole covers. A hay hook is slightly different in design in that the shaft is typically longer. It is used on farms to secure and move bales of hay, which are otherwise awkward to pick up manually. A small bale hook with a wooden handle and 2 curved steel hooks pioneers, early settlers, market gardeners, moorabbin, bentleigh, cheltenham, brighton, tools, craftsman, carpenters, , blacksmiths, builders, farmers, graziers, wool bales, hay bales,

This is a book providing information on the streets of Hamilton, Victoria and the origin of the names. Hamilton is a city in Western Victoria at the intersection of the Glenelg Highway and the Henty Highway. European settlement began with the arrival of pastoralists following the 1836 explorations of Major Thomas Mitchell. The Wedge family in 1839 had the property ‘The Grange’ which covered the site of Hamilton today. The town was gazetted in 1851 and named after a place in Scotland. Hamilton Victoria is the centre of a sheep-grazing and agricultural district. The book won an award in the 2008 Victorian Community History Awards. This book is of interest as it gives information on the Hamilton streets and the origin of their names. The history of Hamilton is of particular interest to those also living in the Western District. The book will be a useful research tool. This is a soft cover book of 174 pages. The back cover has a white background with black and white photographs of five local Hamilton people. The front cover has a yellow and brown background with black and white photographs of five local Hamilton people, an outline of a map of Victoria and a photograph of a map of the Hamilton area with some artefacts placed on the map. The book contains an Introduction, a Preface, a Foreword, an Early Days Overview, a list of Contents, a list of the streets in alphabetical order with information on the origin of the names, two Appendices and an Index. The book has many black and white photographs and sketches. Front Cover: ‘2nd Edition’ ‘The Streets of Hamilton’ ‘Western Victoria Australia’ ‘By John McKay’ ‘A History of the People behind the Names’hamilton, victoria, john mckay, street names of hamilton, warrnambool

The Richardson family was one of the very early settler families to establish themselves in the Orbost district. Samuel Richardson was a sawmiller and farmer in Orbost. He built The Curlip, a wooden paddle-steamer of 9 tons gross and dimensions of 43 feet long, 10 feet wide and a depth of 3 feet, on the slipway at their Tabarra sawmill in 1890. The Ballarat Horticultural Society was established in 1859 by a group of thirteen men with the aim of establishing an association for all lovers of horticulture. There were many such societies throughout the colonies making a contribution to their communities. In May 1852 Richard Wicking and his younger brother Frederick followed their father’s footsteps, leaving England to pursue a new life in the distant colony of Port Phillip. Sailing on the maiden voyage of the 'Roxburgh Castle' a new purpose built ship for the long voyages from London to Australia. Arriving on August 28th 1852, having paid their own fares they were "Unassisted Passengers". The brothers spent two years in Melbourne. He spent some tome in Ballarat and became a prominent community member involved in many areas.The Richardson family was one of the very early settler families to establish themselves in the Orbost district. Samuel Richardson was builder of the Paddle Steamer Curlip. This is a useful research tool. An ornately designed card with an oval frame of flowers and cherubs. It is a Ballarat Agricultural Society membership ticket made out to Mr S. Richardson (hand written) and endorsed by R. Wicking , the secretary.on back - hand-written - "J E Richardson"ballarat-horticultural-society richardson-samuel