[from a contemporary report:] The Shire of Eltham Historical Society's entry in the 1986 Eltham Community Festival Parade included Ben Hall's Cobb & Co. coach along with several vintage motor vehicles and the Society's new Community Banner. Members dressed in in an appropriate costume to ride in one of the vehicles or walk along with them. The assembly point was in Cecil St. at 11.45 a.m. The Society's entry was awarded the major prize for the parade.Colour photographeltham festival, shire of eltham historical society, 1986, russell yeoman, trestle bridge, joh ebeli

Bound copies of the Ballarat School of Mines Students' Magazine, 1898-1901 Vol 1, No. 1, September 1898 * News and Notes (Ballarat School of Mines Museum, J.F. Usher, New British Pharmacopoeia, excursion to Bendigo) * History of the Ballarat School of Mines * Current Topics (Federation, Gladstone, Anglo-American Alliance) * Of Custom * Discovery of Coolgardie * Mining Notes(Clunes, Pitfield, Birthday Mine, Western Australia, Transvaal, Mt Bischoff, Rand Drill Co.) * From the Journals * The Societies - (Student Association, Ballarat Field Club and Science Society, Ballarat Photographic Club) * Original Poetry * Sports * Students' Association Committee Meetings * On the Increase of Temperature of the Earth With Increased Depth Vol 1, No. 2, October 1898 * Notes about some of the Past Students (E.M. Weston, J.A. Porter, H.R. Sleeman, G.E. Sander, B.C.T. Solley, T. Rhys, C. Burbury, D. McDougal, J. Matsen) * Excursion to Daylesford, p.3 * History of the Ballarat School of Mines (continued) * The Soudan * Greater Melbourne * Image of J. Hopkinson, electrical engineer killed ascending the Alps * What is Science * Mining Notes (Pitfield Plains, Victoria United G.M.Co., Lithgow, Avoca, great Cobar, Mt Whycheproof) * Student's Association (women's franchise) * Sports Vol 2, No. 1, March 1899 * News and Notes * History of the Ballarat School of Mines (continued) * Notes of Victorian Geology, 1. Granites, by Thomas S. Hart * Sir William Crookes * Summaries and Notes from the Mining Journals * Students' Association * Sports * The Bush Assayer * Solubility of Gold-Silver Alloys in Potassium Cyanide * Correspondence Vol 2, No. 2, April 1899 * News and Notes (Smythesdale Excursion, New Buildings, A.S. Coyte, R.J. Allan) * History of the Ballarat School of Mines (Continued) * The New Students (J. Owen, A. Clayton Morrisby, A.S. Atkin, J. Alexander Reid, Alfred G. Johnston, L. Lowe, F.H. Dalton, W.M. Robertson, A. Hacke, H.L. Giles, W. Martin, E. Walshe, H.L. Krause, R. Sawyer) * Berringa by Oh'E Jay * Summaries and Notes from the Mining Journals * Mount Magnet to Victoria - A Long Bicycle Trip * 1898 Examination returns * Sports Vol 2, No. 3, May 1899 * Technical Education and the Proposed Affiliation of the Schools of Mines with the Melbourne University. * Laying of the Foundation Stone of the New Classrooms (now Administration Building). Alexander J. Peacock * News and Notes (Past Students - A.S. Lilburn, J.W. Sutherland, J. Richardson, E. Prendergast, J. Wallace, J. Kidd, J. Lake, Mathew Thompson), Coolgardie Exhibition. * Trip to Lal Lal * Students' Association * Summaries and Notes from the Mining Journals * Professor Henry Louis on Mining Education * Corrections Used in Chaining by C.W. Adams * The Black Horse Cyanide Plant * Sports * Completed List of 1898 Examinations Vol 2, No. 4, June 1899 * News and Notes * The Education Problem by D.N. McLean * A Few Hints on Histological Technique by Emil Gutheil * Summaries and Notes from the Mining Journals * Students' Association * A Visit to the Skipton Caves (Mount Widdern, Ormand Hill, volcano, Emu Creek, Mount Kinross, Mount Elephant, Mount Vite Vite, Mount Kinross, Mount Hamiston) * Mount Magnet To Victoria (cont) * The New Engines at the Ballarat Woollen Mills - includes image of the Compound 700 H.P. Engines constructed for the Ballarat Woollen Mills by Austral Otis Company and consulting engineers Monash and Anderson. * Sports * Original Poetry * Correspondence Vol 2, No. 5, July 1899 * News and Notes (E. Byron Moore, Visit to Britannia Gold Mine, J. Bryant, Visit to Last Chance Mine) * A Few Hints on Histological Technique (cont) by Emil Gutheil * Summaries and Notes from the Mining Journals * Professor Alfred Mica Smith (includes image) * Notes on Victorian Geology Part 2 The Trappean Rocks, by Thomas Hart * Origin of Diamonds * Hydraulic Mining by A.E.C. Kerr * Volcanoes by F.G. Bonney * Analytical Chemistry Notes by Daniel Walker * Some Things Out To Do * Sports * Correspondence Vol 2, No. 6, August 1899 *Summaries and notes from the Mining Journals * Some Regulations of the Academy of Mines at Freiberg * A visit to Mt Lyell Smelters * Professor Gilbert J. Dawbarn (includes image) * Air compressor and Transmission of Power by Compressed air by A.E.C. Kerr * Chemistry Notes by Daniel Walker * Mineralogical Notes, Ballarat by Thomas S. Hart * Kalgurli Gold Mines, W.A. * OUr New Lab Vol 2., No 7, September 1899 * Summaries and Notes from the Mining Journals * Some recent Steam Plants at Bendigo by Gilbert Dawbarn * Professor Thomas Stephen Hart (includes image) * Students Association * Notes on Victorian Geology by Thomas Hart * Centrifugal Pumps * A New Chum's Experience by E.M. Weston Vol 2., No 8, October 1899 * The institute of Chemistry Examinations * A New Method of Qualitative Chemical Analysis by Emil Gutheil * Steam Engine Valves and Valve-Gears by Gilbert Dawbarn * Daniel Walker (includes image) * Notes on Victorian Geology by Thomas Hart * Cyaniding Cripple Creek Tellurides (Metallic Extraction Company) * Notes on Two Ballarat Gravel Pumping Plants, G.A. Wilberforce (Eureka Jennings Co and Yarrowee Sluicing Co) * History of the School of Mines (concluded) Vol 3., No 1, March 1900 * A Journey from Natal to Mashomaland with the British Police * A Plea for Research * New Caledonia by C.A.M. Deane * Notes of Victorian Geology - Lower Palaeoroic Rocks by Thomas Hart * Mt Bischoff Mine and Mill * Summaries and Notes from the Mining Journals * Things we Eat and Drink * Farewell to A.S. Coyte Vol 3., No 1, March 1900 * Mining Education * Model Locomotive made by the apprentices of the Phoenix Foundry, p2 * Glimpses of Rhodesian Police Camp Life * New Caledonia (continued) * Summaries from the Mining and Engineering Journals * Boot and Saddle Vol 3., No 3, May 1900 * A Students' Common Room * Geological Excursion to Hardie's Hill * Notes on Victorian Geology by Thomas Hart * The Planet Venus by John Brittain * Summaries and Notes from the Australian Mining Standard * The Assay Ton * Zeehan Smelters * Electrical Notes by Ohe Jay * Trop of the Cricket Club to Stawell * Students' Association * Solid Hydrogen Vol 3., No 4, June 1900 * The Minister of Mines on Mining Education (Minister A.R. Outtrim) * Lal Lal Geology Trip (Thomas Hart) * Rifle Club now defunct, pg 3 * A Contribution to the Mining Geology of Kalgoorlie, W.A. by Ferdinand Krause (includes cross sections) (Wood's Point, Rand, Johannesburg, South Africa, Gaffney's Creek, Walhalla, Shady Creek, Sago Hill at Cardigan, Bunbury) * Summaries and Notes from the Australian Mining Standard (Buninyong Estate Mine) * Monthly Progress Reports of the Geological Survey * Electrical Notes by John M Sutherland (Telagraphone, phonograph, telephone receiver) * Students' Theatre Party (Gordon Todd, Ohe Jaeger, C.S. Wakley) * Opening of the New Buildings - Ministerial Speeches (Outtrim, W.H. Irvine, New Mining Laboratory, Old Chemistry Building, Battery, Model Mine) * Students' Association * Relief of Mafeking * A Critic Criticised * Things We Eat and Drink by Ohe Jay - Oatmeal, Coffee and Cocoa. Vol 3., No 5, July 1900 * Research * Adelaide Varsity Students at Ballarat * The Manchester-Liverpool Mono Railway * Students Association * *A Contribution to the Mining Geology of Kalgoorlie, W.A. by Ferdinand Krause (continued) (includes cross-sections) * Motive Power, address by Charles A. Parsons * Summaries and Notes from the Australian Mining Standard * Sugar Manufacturing by Sugna * Great Creswick Hydraulic Sluicing Plant (THomas Hart, Ballarat School of Mines Mining Class visit) * Reminiscences of a Students Life in Germany * Football - Ballarat School of Mines v Geelong Grammar School (Australian Rules Football) Vol 3., No 6, August 1900 * Cheap Mine Management * Library * Bendigo School of Mines, pg 3 * Notes on Ore Dressing by T, Vincent, Manager The Zeehan (Tas) Silver-Lead Mines Ltd) * Motive Power * Notes on Broken Hill - Its Mines and Minerals by J. Williams * The Concert * Summaries and Notes from the Australian Mining Standard * The Dandy Duke's Dreadful Demise * The Road Race Vol 3., No 7, September 1900 * Michaelmas Excursion (Melbourne University, Prof Kernot, Applied Mechanics) * Injury to School Property * Return of E. Ditchburn (Boer War) * Mt William Gold-Field visit, pg 3 * The Stoping of Wide Lodes by J.V. Lake (includes cross sections) * Summaries of Notes from the Australian Mining Standard * Notes on Broken Hill Part 2- Its Mines and Minerals by W.J. Williams * Motive Power from the Waves * Electrical Notes * Some Account of Italian Mining (Sarinia, Sicily, Peidmont, Lombardia) by Candido Maglione * Students Association * Should Women Have the Vote by Frank Bessemeres * The School Theatre Parly * Past Students * Poetry * Football * Surveying Rules Vol 3., No 8, October 1900 * Ballarat School of Mines Associateship * An Engineering Laboratory * Students' Practical Work * Notes on Broken Hill Part 3 by W.J. Williams * The Lake View Consols by F.S. Earp - Battery Treatment of Sulpo-Telluride Ore * Neglected Mineral Fields - Eurowie and Warrata * A Glimpse Ahead * News and Notes * A.W. G. McPherson, Boer War * Students Association * Ballarat School of Mines Melbourne Excursion to the Government Electric Lighting Station, Austral-Otis Co, Working Mens College * Ballarat School of Mines Concert in Aid of Soldiers Statue Balance Sheet * Football * Cricket Vol 3., No 8b, November 1900 * Position of the Ballarat School of Mines with Regards to Mining Education * Age Limit * Entrance Examination * Presentation t0 Professor Alfred Mica Smith * Image of a Group of Old Ballarat School of Mines Students in Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie. * Students Association Vol 4., No 1, March 1901 * Espirit De Corps * A few Notes on the Testing of Explosives * Round About Inverell, NSW by F. and J. Mawl * On the Choice of Drawing Instruments * Summaries and Notes From the Technical Journals * Annual Examinations 1900 * New Students * Sporting Notes * The Vale of Coolgardie Mine, Bonnievale, W.A. by G. Stephen Hart * News and Notes (Kerr Grant, C.L. Nash, R. Gordon Todd, Vial) * Editorial Notices Vol 4., No 2, Second Term 1901 * The Metallurgical Treatment of Sulpho-Telluride Ores by L.W. Grayson * Some Metallurgical Difficulties of Aluminium * Diehl's Sulphide Process by A.E. C. Kerr * A Californian Gold Mine by A.E. C. Kerr * New Express Locomotives for the Victorian Government (Phoenix Foundry) * An Excursion to Geelong (Electric Light and Traction Company of Australia) * The Linkenback Table for our New Mining Laboratory (Humboldt Company of Colgne) * Death of Thomas Bath * The Late Alfred G. Johnson (Boer War) * An Introduction to Natural Science by Emil Gutheil * The First Annual School Sports Meeting * Concert in Aid of Magazine Funds * The Men That Made the Concert (C.E. Denniston, W.H. Chandler, Mr White, William Litte Jnr, Marriott, Giles McCracken) * Sports * News and Notes Vol 4., No 2, Third Term 1901 * Bagging-Up - A Sketch * Concentration of Difficult Silver-Lead Ores * Estimation of Chlorine, Bromine and Iodine by D. Runting * Summaries of Notes from teh technical Journals * Notes on the Use and Care of Platinum Ware Common Sense * The Machinery at the Tasmania Gold Mine, Beaconsfield, Tasmania * Mining at Walhalla - The Long Tunnel Mine * Past Students * Mapping our of Agricultural Areas, etc, In Dense Vine Lands, North Queensland by R.A. Suter * News and Notes * Concert Balance Sheet e.m. weston, robert brough smyth, mcdougall, bruce, charles burbury, harrie wood, graham j. hopwood, emil gutheil, daniel walker, thomas hart, thomas stephen hart, m. hacker, schnitzler, f.a., ditchfield, l.h, alfred e.c. kerr, charles harvey, campbell, joseph bryant, campbell & ferguson, gilbert j. dawburn, irving, g.b., kerr, a.e.c., john walter sutherland, william robertson, herbert l. krause, alfred mica smith, binh pham, crosbie, d. jack, ditchburn, j., james hiscock, alfred johnston, reid, j.a., kidd, john, james bonwick, james, j.p, overall, d, e.h salmon, gaynor marquand, williams, w.w., williams, william, deane, c.m., vincent, tom, phillips, g.e., hart, d.w., jarnail suingh, rowlands, e., ferdinand m. krause,, easterby, f.l, parsons, r.g., partington, j.r., vial, s.b., meadows, h, atkins, arthur, john braisted burdekin, w.h. corbould, ditchburn, john, hill, john, otto e. jager, mcpherson, g.t, nicholls, c, thom, j.m., crafter, stewart, john brittain, peter lalor, hardy - commissioner, thomas bath, alf johnston, charles campbell, nash, llewellyn, watson, m.a, gardener, eddie, adamson, s.g, alford, l.c, allen, r.j, arthur, d.w.b., burge, a., willia, cairncross, cooper, i, maurice osric copland, maurice copland, dickinson, s., doepel, dunstan, john, loveday dunstan, eeles, terri, flegeltaub, israel, fletcher, a, fyrar, peter, kerr grant, w.kerr, green, gary, betty harris, harris, c.m., hay, a.l., hearn, hill, martin, james, david, johnston, alfred g, kilner, marion, kingston, thomas, lewin, f.c.k., lilburne, arthur m, linahan, colin, macready, w.h, major birlefco, markwald, henry, mccaffrey, mcfarlane, kaye, mciver, s.k, mellins, b, morton, felicity, w. kenneth moss, ken moss, nash, c.w., nash, neville, nickolls, berkeley, osborne, percy, philp, e., playford, william, reid, e, roberts, gordon, ross, f.c., royce, phillip, sawyer, basil, stewart, r.c., todhunter, i, vaisey, a., vincent, john, vinden, sue, wakley, cecil, watt, james, westcott, lewis, charles w. whyte,, vial, s browning, ballarat school of mines students in coolgardie and kalgoorlie, coolgardie, kalgoorlie, claude maitland, a.l. hay, a.s. lilburne, latham watson, arthur kildahl, thomas copeland, f.a. moss, w.a. hearman, cardoc james, alexander fraser, e.o. watt, g.m. roberts, j.j. dunstan, h.v. moss, j.a. hill,, john dunstan, c.m. harris, william h. corbould, j.w. sutherland, ballarat photographic club, ballarat field naturalists club, ballarat field club and science society, photography, geology, excursions, last chance mine, tasmania gold mine, beaconsfield, tasmania, rand, south africa, mount lyell, ballarat school of mines student excursion to mount lyell, h.l. krause, ferdinand krause, krause, hardie's hill, hardie's hill excursion, lal lal, lal lal excursion, lal lal geology excursion, smythesdale, smythesdale excursion, soudan, south african miners, south star mines, wynne and tregurtha battery, ananconda copper mining, arizona copper mining, boiler plates, british guinea, butte copper smelter, daylesford geology camp, daylesford excursion, diehl process, electric power house ballarat, electric pumps, geelong rope factory, gympie, golden horseshoe estate, c johnstone, jack nichol, c. macgennis, alec saunders, alfred g. johnstone, graeme jolly, william purdie, john mann, maxwell l gaunt, sale school of mines, freiberg school of mines, schools of mines, railway locomotive

Kekewich commanded the 1st Battalion of the Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire) in the Second Boer War. He commanded the garrison in Kimberley during the siege and successful defence of the town. At this time he came into conflict with Cecil Rhodes who persuaded John French, commanding the relief force, to replace Kekewich with another officer as commander of the garrison. Kekewich was promoted to colonel for his services. In 1901 he was wounded in an attack by General de la Rey near Moedwil but soon recuperated. Kekewich was in charge during the British victory at the Battle of Rooiwai, the last major battle during the war. He stayed in South Africa until peace had been signed and then returned to England. For his services he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath and on retirement was appointed to the Honorary position of Colonel of the Buffs.Individual image taken from photographed poster of tobacco and cigarette cards.kekewich, 1st battalion, loyal regiment, second boer, kimberley, cecil rhodes, john french, garrison, de la rey, moedwil, rooiwai, companion of the order of the bath

When war broke out in 1899, and early target for the Boers was the diamond-mining centre of Kimberley. This was located near the point where the Transvaal, Orange Free State and Cape Colony met. General Sir Redvers Buller detached the 1st Division under Lieutenant General Lord Methuen to relieve the Siege of Kimberley. This decision was made partly for reasons of prestige. To capture Kimberley (which contained the famous imperialist and former Prime Minister of Cape Colony, Cecil Rhodes) would be a major propaganda victory for the British. Methuen's force advanced north and won two engagements against the Boers of the Orange Free State. Reinforcements from Transvaal under General Koos de la Rey arrived and he convinced the Boers to follow his plans for attacking the British. Instead of relying on the hills for protection and missing their targets, de la Rey proposed they make use of the flat veld and introduced them to the Mauser rifle with its flat trajectory. Trenches were built in the banks of the Modder River from which they could sweep the veld for a great distance. The trenches were built on the south side of the river and on the smaller Riet River where they meet at Modder River Station. Methuen's force began advancing towards the Modder planning to cross the river. The Boers opened fire and the British troops were unable to find cover on the veld. They had to lay flat so as not to be seen or hit. The British guns pounded the buildings near Modder River Station and the north bank of the river, missing the trenches on the south bank. The battle became a stalemate. The British found an opening on the Boer's right flank at Rosmead ford downstream and drove the Boers out of Rosmead. De la Rey drove them back into a small insecure bridgehead. The Boers feared they were vulnerable and withdrew during the night. Methuen reported that the battle had been "one of the hardest and most trying fights in the annals of the British army". Individual image from photographed poster of tobacco and cigarette cards.boers, diamind-mining, kimberley, transvaal, orange free state, cape colony, sir rdvers buller, lieutenant general lord methuen, siege of kimberley, cecil rhodes, general koos dde la rey, mauser rifle, veld, modder river, modder river station, trenches, riet river, rosmead

Paper program for a film screened at the Athenaeum Theatre commencing 3rd October 1941; Pp. 16, (including wrappers and advertisements), printed in brown; printed yellow paper wrappers, stapled, faintly creased, dated by hand in ink at head of upper wrapper; pages browned; Programme for screening at the Athenaeum Theatre of the film Major Barbara, starring Wendy Hiller & Rex Harrison, commencing October 3, 1941. athenaeum theatre, program, programme, major barbara, frank talbot pty ltd, british dominions films ltd, cecil parkes' strad trio

An original photograph donated to the Kew Historical Society by the City's Engineering Department preceding the amalgamation of Kew into the City of Boroondara. While not all of the photographs are of Studley Park, Kew or East Kew, each photo provides a fine snapshot of the work of local government engineering departments of the period. They reveal they types of labour conducted, the techniques used and the equipment and machinery in the possession of the local government authority. Historic and rare photograph of major public works in Kew in the 1930sPublic works. Men at work in the creek bed of Connor's Creek in Kew, while constructing the underground barrel drain. Connors Creek was one of the two main tributaries of the Yarra River in Kew. It originated somewhere near the grounds of Genazzano FCJ College. The barrel drain was finally completed in 1941 at a cost of £14,000. Inscription on reverse: "City of Kew / Cecil st drain / November 1936". public works (kew), roadmaking, engineering, city of kew (engineering department), connor's creek (kew), cecil street drain

An original photograph donated to the Kew Historical Society by the City's Engineering Department following the amalgamation of Kew into the City of Boroondara. While not all of the photographs are of Studley Park, Kew or East Kew, each photo provides a fine snapshot of the work of local government engineering departments of the period. They reveal they types of labour conducted, the techniques used and the equipment and machinery in the possession of the local government authority. Historic and rare photograph of major public works in Kew in the 1930s.Public works. Men at work in the creek bed of Connor's Creek in Kew, while constructing the underground drain. Connor's Creek was one of the two main tributaries of the Yarra River in Kew. It originated somewhere near the grounds of Genazzano FCJ College. The barrel drain was finally completed in 1941 at a cost of £14,000. Inscription on reverse: "City of Kew / Cecil st drain / November 1936". city of kew, city of kew (engineering department), engineering, connor's creek (kew)

This document is has been compiled by Wendy Barrie daughter of Ernest (Bon) and Edna Barrie and granddaughter of Charles E and Jessie M Barrie. I was born in during WW 11 and the first child of my generation to live on the ‘ Darlingsford’ property at Melton. My grandfather was well known in the district and was mostly referred to as Ernie. He shared the same initials as his second son Edgar. His three eldest sons lived and farmed in Melton for their entire lives. His descendants are still associated with farming, engineering and earthmoving in Melton. Ernie Barrie operated a travelling Chaff Cutter in the St Arnaud area where his parents William and Mary Ann had taken up land at Coonooer West in 1873. Ernie commenced his working life with a team of bullocks and a chaff cutter. The earliest connection he had with Melton was in 1887. By the beginning of the 20th century Ernie and his father William and brothers, William, Samuel, James Edwin,[Ted] Robert, Arthur and Albert have been associated with farming and milling in the Melton district. In the early 1900’s Ernie and his brother Ted were in partnership in a Chaff cutting and Hay processing Mill on the corner of Station and Brooklyn road Melton South. The mill was managed by William for a time. By 1906 Charles Ernest and James Edwin were in partnership in the Station Road mill when a connecting rail line across Brooklyn Road for a siding was constructed to the Melton Railway Station. In 1911 the Mill’s letterhead shows C.E. BARRIE Hay Pressing and Chaff Cutting Mills. Melton Railway Station. Telephone No 1 Melton. This Mill as sold to H S K Ward in 1916 and stood until 1977 when it burnt down in a spectacular fire. Ernie built a house at Melton South beside the Chaff Mill at Station Road in 1906 and married Jessie May Lang in August at the Methodist Church. Jessie’s father was Thomas Lang. He came to Melton in 1896 and was the Head Teacher at Melton State School No 430 until he retired in 1917. They had 9 children with 8 surviving to adulthood. Jessie and Ernie had 6 sons and 3 daughters. All the children lived at Darlingsford. In April 1910 the family left Melton for a brief period and moved to a farm in Trundle in NSW. They returned to Melton and purchased Darlingsford in May 1911. For a time during WW1 they lived at Moonee Ponds near the Lang grandparents at Ascot Vale. Mary and Bon attended Bank St State School. The children developed diphtheria in 1916 and their youngest boy, Cecil died of complications. Mary and Bon were taken to Fairfield Hospital and both recovered. At the end of the war influenza broke out the family returned to Darlingsford and shared the home for a short while with the Pearcey family who had been working the farm. By 1922 the family had and grown and Edgar, Tom, Horace, Jessie, Joyce and Jim were living a Darlingsford. Ernie continued during the 1920’s working the farm and attend his many civic and community commitments. Two 8 clydesdale horse teams were used to work the land which meant early rising for the horses to be fed and harnessed to commence the days work. In 1916 Ernie also became involved in a Chaff Mill on the corner of Sunshine and Geelong Road West Footscray, which at the time was being run by John Ralph Schutt. It was known an Schutt Barrie. A flour mill was added at a later stage. Other Schutt and Barrie mills were situated at Parwan and Diggers Rest. Another mill was situated beside the railway line at Rockbank. The Footscray mill ceased operation in 1968 Ernie spent a lot of time and energy at the Parwan Mill and travelling around Parwan and Balliang farms, where he came to know many of the families in the district. Ernies commitment to the civic development to the Melton and district was extensive, he was involved with a number of large events during the 1920’s such as the Melton Exhibitions and the 1929 Back to Melton Celebrations. He was a member of the Australian Natives Association at the turn of the century. He was Chairman of the School Committee at Melton State School 430 and the Melton South State School in thw1920s. He donated the land for a Hall for Melton South in 1909, known as Exford Hall and later in 1919 renamed Victoria Hall. The Hall was demolished in 1992. He was a Councillor, JP, and Vice President and President of the Melton Mechanics Institute Hall Committee in 1915- 1916. He was a member of the Methodist Church and later the Scots Presbyterian Church. He was Superintendent of the Sunday School of the Methodist Church to 1910 and later Scots Presbyterian Church until 1931. This is reflected in the theme of children in the stained glass window which was dedicated in his memory by his wife Jessie as a gift to the Scots Church. Charles Ernest Barrie made many generous donations to many charities who supported young people and children. In 1918 Jessie and Ernie made the first donation to a very prominent Victorian charity whose work still continues. Yooralla. In July 1931 Ernie’s untimely death was a major blow to the family and the Melton community. To this day people still vividly recall the day they lined the streets for his funeral. The day of the funeral is recalled as the day Melton stood as two of their prominent citizens who tragically died on the same day. Their eldest daughter Mary had married Keith Robinson in 1930 and had just moved to Heatherdale Toolern Vale with their year old baby son. Bon the eldest son was 22, Edgar 18, Tom 16, Horace 15, Jessie and Joyce 10 and Jim 8 years old. A heavy burden of responsibility fell on the shoulders of the two eldest children, Mary particularly for her mother and Bon stepped in assuming head of the family for his mother, brothers and sisters living at the Darlingsford homestead. In the early 1930’s the three eldest sons took on many of the Civic and Church commitments which their father had held. This community involvement extended well into the 1980s. In 1941 Bon married Edna Myers and they moved into a house shifted from Harkness Lane to Harkness Lane on the eastern section of the Darlingford property. Edgar married Margaret Hodgkinson a Primary school teacher at Melton in 1949 and they lived in the Darlingsford house. Earlier Tom married May Ferris and lived on the eastern side of Ferris Lane in the Ferris home. Bon , Edgar and Tom often operated as a team effort, in particular at harvest time when a larger team of workers was needed. The three farms cultivated wheat, barley and oats and supplied the Mill with sheafed hay. They continued using horse teams until mechanisation in the 1940’s made the horses redundant. By the 1960s their five sons continued with farming. Many loads of hay were transported to the Mill in Footscray. Well into the 1960s hired harvest hands along with agricultural university students were involved in bringing in he harvest. Stacking was an art form in itself and Tom held the expertise for building and shaping the sides and roof. The stacks built in the district each had their own unique shape and could be recognized by their builders. The Barrie brothers developed a mechanical fork lift for picking up complete stooks and moving them to be loaded to the elevator to build the haystack. The prototype built by Bill Gillespie was attached to a Bedford truck. Later refinements in a collaborative effort with the Gillespie brothers a multi pronged fork was attached to the front of tractor which was hydraulically operated to raise each stook onto trucks to be transported to the site of the haystacks. This method of handling sheaves significantly reduced laborious pitchforking individual sheaves. This invention was soon taken up by farmers far and wide and was a common sight in the district at harvest time in the stacking season. I recall visiting farmers calling in at the house at Ferris Road farm to inspect this break through invention. The Clydesdale horse teams were used into the 1940s but by the 1950s the Barries’ farms were fully mechanised. When the demand for sheafed hay declined other crops were introduced these included barley, lucerne, wheat and peas. Sheep were added to the mix in the 1950s in an attempt to keep the farms more viable. In the 1970s part of the Barrie’s farms were facing a major disruption with the impending compulsorily acquisition of a strip of land for the construction the freeway bypass, which divided access between the Darlingsford homestead with those on Ferris Lane. Charles Ernest Barrie and Jessie May Lang's children: 1. Mary Ena BARRIE was born on 07 October 1907. She died on 29 April 1999. 2. Ernest Wesley BARRIE was born on 29 April 1909 in Ascot Vale, Victoria, Australia.He died on 25 December 1985 in Melton, Victoria, Australia. 3. Cecil William BARRIE was born on 23 February 1911.He died on 25 May 1916. 4. Charles Edgar BARRIE was born on 01 June 1913.He died on 06 October 1975. 5. Thomas Lindsay BARRIE was born on 25 November 1914.He died on 14 September 1990 in Melton, Victoria, Australia. 6. William Horace BARRIE was born on 11 October 1915.He died on 19 December 1950. 7. Jessie Maud BARRIE was born on 06 November 1920 in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria, Australia.She died on 26 February 1994. 8. Dorothy Joyce BARRIE was born on 06 November 1920 in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria, Australia.She died on 18 March 2003.. 9. James Edward BARRIE was born on 17 January 1922 in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria, Australia.He died on 23 August 2004Family Photo with Edgar, Tom, Mary, Ernest (Bon), Horace, Jim, Charles Ernest, Jessie and Joycelocal identities