This set of four dining chairs was part of the original furnishings of the St Nicholas' Mission to Seamen's Church at 139 Nelson Place, Williamstown, Victoria. The Australian colonial wooden chairs date to the late 1880s and are most like to have been purchased for use in the Sailors’ Rest when it moved into Ann Street, Williamstown, around the 1880s. THE MISSIONS TO SEAMEN (Brief History: for more, see our Reg. No. 611, Set of Pews) The Missions to Seamen, an Anglican charity, has served seafarers of the world since 1856 in Great Britain. It symbol is a Flying Angel, inspired by a Bible verse. Today there are centr4es in over 200 ports world-wide where seamen of all backgrounds are offered a warm welcome and provided with a wide range of facilities. In Victoria the orgainsation began in Williamstown in 1857. It was as a Sailors’ Church, also known as ‘Bethel’ or the ‘Floating Church’. Its location was an old hulk floating in Hobson’s Bay, Port of Melbourne. It soon became part of the Missions to Seamen, Victoria. In the year 2000 the organisation, now named Mission to Seafarers, still operated locally in Melbourne, Portland, Geelong and Hastings. The Ladies’ Harbour Lights Guild was formed in 1906 to support the Missions to Seamen in Melbourne and other centres such as Williamstown. Two of the most significant ladies of the Guild were founder Ethel Augusta Godfrey and foundation member Alice Sibthorpe Tracy (who established a branch of the Guild in Warrnambool in 1920). The Guild continued its work until the 1960s. In 1943 a former Williamstown bank was purchased for the Missions to Seaman Club. The chapel was named St Nicholas’ Seamen’s Church and was supported by the Ladies’ Harbour Lights Guild, the Williamstown Lightkeepers’ Auxiliary and the League of Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Friends. It ceased operation in 1966. A Missions to Seamen Chapel and Recreation Room was a significant feature of ports during the late 1800s and into the 1900s. It seemed appropriate for Flagstaff Hill to include such a representation within the new Maritime Village, so the Melbourne Board of Management of Missions to Seamen Victoria gave its permission on 21st May 1979 for the entire furnishings of the Williamstown chapel to be transferred to Flagstaff Hill. The St Nicholas Seamen’s Church was officially opened on October 11, 1981 and closely resembles the Williamstown chapel. This set of chairs is significant historically for its origin in the St Nicholas Mission to Seamen's Church in Williamstown, established in 1857 to cater for the physical, social, and spiritual needs of seafarers. It originated in Bristol, England when a Seamen's Mission was formed in 1837. The set of chairs is historically significant for its connection to the Ladies Lightkeepers’ Auxiliary, an organisation of women, formed to support seafarers. The connection of this set of chairs to the Mission to Seamen and to the Ladies Lightkeepers’ Auxiliary highlights the strong community awareness of the life of people at sea, their dangers and hardships, and their need for physical, financial, spiritual and moral support. Chairs: set of four (4) cedar wood dining chairs. Each chair has a rounded rail back, flat cross rail, flat wooden seat, curved back legs and colonial turned front legs. Mid-brown colour, veneered finish. The set of chairs is part of the St Nicholas Seamen's Church Williamstown Collection. flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, religion, religious service, sailors rest, bethel sailors’ church, bethel floating church, ladies harbour light guild, lightkeepers’ auxiliary, missions to seamen victoria, mission to seafarers, flying angel’s club, st nicholas mission to seamen church williamstown, mission to seamen williamstown, st nicholas seamen’s church flagstaff hill, 139 nelson place williamstown, church furniture, religious furniture, religious worship, anglican church, chair, dining chair, kitchen chair, domestic furniture, colonial chair, australian colonial period, set of chairs, squab chairs, sailors' church, ann street williamstown

The site on the corner of Thompson Avenue and Church Street, Cowes was reserved on the 12th April 1869 and the church was erected by the end of the year. Financed by the Island Church of England people. Dean McCartney preached the first sermon and performed the dedication service on 30th January 1870. Prior to this time services were held at the McHaffie homestead, Ventnor. Mrs S D (Georgianna) McHaffie, wife of the first European settlers, wrote in her diary "30th January 1870. Drove to Cowes, opened the Church, fine day". the large Bible presented by her is on loan and displayed in the Museum of the Phillip Island & District Historical Society.The timber Anglican Church of St Philips was built by Alex McLardy Sen. in 1869. It is still situated in Thompson Avenue on the corner of Church Street. The Vestry was added by Mr Alex McLardy in 1903 at the cost of 21 pounds. In 1912 a Sanctuary was added to the church and a Memorial Stained Glass Window donated by Miss Rose in memory of her father and two brothers was installed.local history, photographs, buildings, historic, buildings - historical, coloured photograph, john cook, phillip island, anglican church

Ida Brown shares photographs and information about the Richards-Angland family. Includes a copy of a page from the Woods family Bible. Ida Brown's family is describes in the oral history "Richards-Angland Family"A collection of photos and information about Ida Brown's family.Copies of photographs and part of family tree. 6 pages.Photographs are named.wood family, richard angland family, ida brown

Black leather-bound bible. Simple embossed line border on covers and 7 lines on spine. "HOLY BIBLE" on spine in gold, with gold edging on pages. Decorative gold embossed vine-leaf pattern on inside of covers at edges.

Found in bible (3803.1) when catalogued (9 November 2006).Dried flowers afixed to card.Front: [Arabic words] (upper centre). F.K. King/-ican (ink, lower right). Flowers from Gethsemane (print, lower centre).

Displayed at History House.Gaelic bible bound in black leather-covered boards. Front cover is missing. Spine decorated in 6 gold horizontal line with "BIBLE" printed in gold. Back cover bears a decorative embossed border of bars, roundels and vines.Front: (no inscriptions) Back: [3 pages of inscriptions with names and dates] (pen, last 3 pages of book).

Large bible. Leather bound with brass clasps engraved with a decorative pattern. Gold decorations on front cover, on spine, and a gold decorative border on back cover with embossed pattern in centre. Cover bears words "THE HOLY SCRIPTURES WHICH-MAKE-WISE UNTO SALVATION", within a decorative pattern. Incised brass edges to front and back cover. Gold paint and hand-coloured decorative title page. (see Object File).bible, religion

Large bible with leather-covered board covers and leather and cloth binding. Embossed design on front (decorative acanthus leaf and vine pattern in borders and central design) and five rows of embossed and gold honeycomb pattern on spine. Marble pages at front and back.

Blue cloth-covered board binding, gold lettering on front. Red-edged pages.

Black leather soft binding with stipple pattern; capped leather edges to cover sides of book. Red and gilt edges on pages. Gold lettering on cover and spine with publishers crest on tail of spine. Black end papers.