The Students' Practical Notebook appeared each Saturday in the Argus newspaper, to assist students with their education. This book is a compilation of articles from 1953. It includes words and phrases, science, famous composers, legends of Australian Aborigines and stories of the ages. .An historical view of education and children's interests.192p., illus.education, school work

Mollie Hill was a famous Welsh-born Australian watercolourist who studied at the Melbourne National Gallery Art School and is known for her 'eye for colour'. Her work features many landscapes of northern Victoria as she lived for some time in Shepparton and Wandiligong. She was also a well-known journalist. Depicted in this painting is the old council borough offices which were demolished in 1962. Rural City of Wangaratta Collection. Gift of Wangaratta Co-operative Housing Society No. 3 Ltd.A watercolour landscape of the old Wangaratta borough offices painted using shades of green, red, blue, and brown.Obverse: Mollie Hill/ (bottom right corner) PRESENTED/ TO THE BOROUGH OF WANGARATTA/ BY WANG. CO-OP. HOUSING SOCIETY/ NO. 3. LTD. IN APPRECIATION OF THE/ GENEROUS ASSISTANCE RECEIVED./ (in mounting board)wangaratta art gallery, mollie hill, watercolour, painting, landscape, borough offices

The logos on the breast pocket of these two blazers is CTS for Collingwood Technical School which dates from 1912 to 1969. From 1970 CTS changed its name to Collingwood Technical College.Two Collingwood Technical School blazers. One has an epaulette on each shoulder with two gold stripes on each, and has a manufacturer's label from 'waldron's / SCHOOLWEAR' and is a size 13. The second blazer has a Form Captain badge and an SRC (Student Representative Committee) badge on the lapel, and has a manufacturer's label 'School Master / by kingswear' and is a size 17. Both blazers have CTS logos on the breast pocket, and both have another label which reads The FAMOUS / Doctor / FLANNEL / AUSTRALIAN WOOL BUREAU / GOLD MEDAL WINNER / ALL PURE WOOL / MOTHPROOFED'School logo on pocketcollingwood technical school, school blazer, school uniforms, nmit,

A detailed history of Australian Special Forces operations during World War Two by the commandos of the Allied Intelligence Bureau and the Independent Companies/Commando Squadrons and through to operations in Vietnam and later conflicts. Compiled by two of Australia’s most famous military historians for the 60th anniversary of Operation JAYWICK in 2003.

This bat was awarded to Thomas William Southcombe in 1876 for the best batting average during the 1875-6 season at Warrnambool Cricket Club. Thomas William Southcombe was the son of Thomas and Mary Southcombe of Port Fairy. With his parents, Thomas and Mary, he arrived in Port Fairy in 1854. Thomas Senior was a carpenter who established several businesses in Port Fairy and served on the local Council for many years as a Councillor and Mayor. Thomas Junior appears to have migrated to U.S.A. and died there in 1904. The cricket bat was manufactured by the British firm of James Lillywhite, Frowd & Co. James Lillywhite was an English cricketer whose uncle had originally established the sports store and manufacturing business which lasted under various names until the 21st century. A cricketer named Lillywhite played in Warrnambool in 1874 with an All England Team under the captaincy of W.G.Grace. It is not known whether this was James Lillywhite or another member of the Liilywhite family as several of them played first class cricket.. The impression of the signature of W.H.Ponsford on the bat is an intriguing one. W.H. (Bill) Ponsford was a famous Australian cricketer who retired in the late 1930s. The Southcombe cricket bat was given by Mary Southcombe (Thomas’ sister) to the old Warrnambool Museum in 1923 and it is surmised that Bill Ponsford visited Warrnambool in 1957 (tthis appears to be the date under the signature imprint) and was shown the bat. It is then surmised that he rested a piece of paper or an album page on the bat while he signed his name and the impression of the signature has come through onto the bat. The old Museum closed in the 1960s and the bat was then passed on to the Warrnambool and District Historical Society from the Warrnambool City Council collection of items from the Museum. This bat is of considerable importance because of its provenance and its connection with the Warrnambool Cricket Club, the Southcombe family of Port Fairy, the Lillywhite manufacturers, the old Warrnambool Museum and Bill Ponsford. It is also a good example of the type of cricket bat used in Australia in the 1870s. This is a wooden cricket bat (light colour wood, presumably willow) with a handle covered in oiled thread. It has an etched inscription on one side of the bat and the names of the manufacturer and distributor on the other side. There is also a faint impression of another signature. The blade of the bat is slightly curved. ‘W.C.C. Season 1875-6 Presented to T.W. Southcombe, for Best Batting Average’ ‘James Lillywhite Frowd & Co., Manufacturers, Borough, England’ ‘Made for George Marsh, Melbourne’ ‘W.H.Ponsford, -/1/1957’ warrnambool cricket club, thomas william southcombe, w.h.ponsford, warrnambool’s old museum

The Rover Scouts section catered for young men aged 18 years and over. Rover Scout Crews typically took the name of a famous person in Australian history; hence the 1st Kew Rover Crew styled itself as the Flinders Rover Crew. Life memberships were sold to Rover Crews in 1938 as a fundraiser to cover the cost of the building of what was to become known as the Bogong Rover Chalet, which was built in 1940 and still operates.Rover Scout Hostel Membership Certificate. Printed card with a photograph of the original Bogong Rover Chalet, bottom right. “This is to Certify that the 1st Kew (Flinders) Rover Scout Crew holds one Life Membership in the Rover Scout Hostel on the Bogong High Plains”. bogong rover chalet, scouts - kew (vic), 1st kew scouts

Two CTC School blazers dating from 1970 onwards when Collingwood Technical School changed to Collingwood Technical College. Both have epaulettes on each shoulder with two gold stripes. The first also has two Band badges, one on each lapel, indicating it belonged to a School Band member. It is in very good condition. The second blazer has no badges, is made by 'waldron's SCHOOLWEAR' and has 'The Doctor FLANNEL ...' label and is a size 10.Black Pure Wool school blazer, with two gold stripes on epaulettes on each shoulder, and CTC logo on the pocket. A Band badge on each lapel. Dates from 1970 when Collingwood Technical School changed to Collingwood Technical College. Also a second CTC Black School blazer which was in the collection, also with the same epaulettes made by Waldron's Schoolwear, size 10.1st Blazer: CTC logo on pocket. And Manufacturer's labels inside. First reads 'PURE WOOL / Philip Joseph / TAILORED QUALITY'. Second label reads The FAMOUS / Doctor / FLANNEL / AUSTRALIAN WOOL BUREAU / GOLD MEDAL WINNER / ALL PURE WOOL / MOTHPROOFED' Second Blazer has label 'waldron's / SCHOOLWEAR' and 'The Doctor ...' label as the one above. This is a size 10.collingwood technical college, school blazer, uniforms, nmit.

Puffing Billy Centenary Port - 100 Years - PBPS Fund raiser item Puffing Billy Centenary Port Puffing Billy 18 December 1900 - 18 December 2000 - 100 Years - This special bottling of fine port commemorates the Centenary of the Upper Ferntree Gully to Gembrook railway , home of Australia's world famous Puffing Billy 750 mlHistoric - Puffing Billy Railway - Puffing Billy Preservation Society Fund raising item - Centenary Port - 100 Years Puffing Billy Centenary Port - 100 Years - Puffing Billy Preservation Society Fund raising item Green Glass Bottle Yellow painted on Writing and logo Cork with black plastic top Puffing Billy Centenary Port Puffing Billy 18 December 1900 - 18 December 2000 - 100 Years - This special bottling of fine port commemorates the Centenary of the Upper Ferntree Gully to Gembrook railway , home of Australia's world famous Puffing Billy 750 mlpuffing billy, centenary port, pbps fund raiser

The music and lyrics for the “Wodonga” song were written in 1923 by Jack Lumsdaine, specifically to be performed by touring stage and Vaudeville star, Ada Reeves. John Sinclair (Jack) Lumsdaine was an Australian songwriter, vaudeville artist, entertainer and radio announcer born in 1895 in Casino, New South Wales. After serving in World War I, Jack Lumsdaine worked for music publishers, Allan & Co. Pty Ltd of Melbourne and later J. Albert & Son of Sydney, advising them on what overseas sheet music to publish. Albert & Son were the publishers of “Wodonga”. Tours of Australian and New Zealand theatres, with Lumsdaine performing before the main film, promoted this music as well as his own. He composed hundreds of songs, some of which he recorded. Many of them celebrated famous Australians such as Don Bradman or towns and cities in Australia. He had a record run of 11 weeks at Sydney's Tivoli Theatre. In 1923 he ventured into radio which he continued until his death on 28th August 1948. Ada Reeve (born Adelaide Mary Reeves) was an English actress of both stage and film. She made her first stage appearance at the age of four years old in 1878. This was the beginning of a long and successful stage career. In later years she undertook international tours including Australia in 1914 and 1916 and an extended tour of Australia from 1922 to 1924, a shorter tour in 1926, and another extended tour from 1929, playing mainly in vaudeville. Both of Reeve's daughters, Bessie and Goody, settled in Australia. She returned to England in 1935 and resumed her stage career before starring in the first of 11 films. Her final film before retirement was produced in 1957 at the age of 83 years old. Ada Reeve died in 1966 at the age of 92. This song “Wodonga” was written for her tour of Australia in 1923.This item is significant because it was specially written to be performed by a touring star at the Tivoli Theatre in Sydney to recognise Wodonga.Sheet music booklet of four pages. The cover sheet is primarily orange and white with blue text. It features a portrait of Miss Ada Reeve."wodonga" song, ada reeve, jack lumsdaine, popular music -- australia -- 1921-1930

The Slouch Hat became standard issue headdress in 1903 and its brim position was mostly standardised. The slouch hat became a famous symbol of the Australian fighting man during World War One and continued to be worn throughout World War Two. Its use since that time has made it a national symbol. https://www.army.gov.au/our-history/traditions/the-slouch-hatStandard uniform issue for the Australian Army.Khaki slouch hat, has pleated hat band, brim upturned with badge on upturned brim. Crown of hat pinched inwards. Leather crown liner and leather chin strap with adjustable clip.MOUNTCASTLE 1994 Made in Australia (Broad arrow) 56 Black pen handwritten. Fullerarmy, uniform

Ticket was used in 1931 and kept in storage by a member of the Edina's crew. The SS Edina was the most famous steamer in Australia and underwent a number of changes and refits during its lifetime. It had an unchallenged record of strandings and collisions with other vessels and of escaping serious damage itself. The vessels City of Melbourne, Courier, Manawatu, Excelsior (twice), Hovell, Batman, all suffered. When Edina was retired in 1938 it was the world's oldest working steamer and had travelled more than 1 million km. She was finally broken up by George Seelf on the banks of the Maribyrnong in 1957.The SS Edina was an iconic and affectionately regarded part of Port Phillips maritime history and culture. It is historically significant for being internationally famous as the worlds oldest working screw steamship between 1912 and 1938. Its career was varied and interesting and it is considered significant for its involvement in the Crimean War, US Civil War, NZ gold rushes, and locally for its career as a western district steamship and Bay steamer. The site is archaeologically significant as the only remnant of the hull of the vessel and as part of the Maribyrnong riverine landscape situated amongst the remnants of shipbuilding slipways, Footscray wharves, S781 UnidentifiedClipped and used steamship tickets [the children's tickets are an adult ticket cut in half diagonally] - Melbourne to PortarlingtonAustralian Steamships Pty Ltd, Howard Smith Ltd, managing agentsticket, steam screw vessels, ss edina, port phillip, bay steamers

In the early nineteenth century larger Australian wool producers sent all their wool by sailing ship to London, where colonial auctions were held in November, January, February and March. Wool bales were carried from the farm on drays or wagons pulled by bullocks, horses or camels to port warehouses. In these times, wool transport could take anything from a week to six months. Ships, such as the Lightning, were then loaded and raced each other to get to London ahead of their rivals. The wooden ship 'Lightning' was destroyed by fire while loading wool at Geelong 31 Oct. 1869. Scuttled in Corio Bay and the remains later blown up. Reputed to be one of the fastest sailing ships. Famous in the Australian passenger trade.Model of a clipper ship with hull painted brown and black. Red Ensign flag attached to flag pole.On label - Lightning Black Ball Line 1854-55geelong, transport, model ship, lightning, wool transport

This image is believed to be taken in 1879. The photograph depicts gaol staff in front of what was believed to be the original timber gates of Beechworth Gaol. This has been proven false through photographic evidence but is believed to be somewhere within the Old Beechworth Gaol. The Old Beechworth Gaol opened in 1864 as a result of the gold rush boom that struck Beechworth in 1852, bringing with it a large population desperate for riches. It is most famously known for holding Australia's most famous outlaw, Ned Kelly, along with his relatives and supporters, the Kelly Gang. It is now open for tour for the public.This photo depicts Old Beechworth Gaol, which has extreme historical significance to the town of Beechworth through both the building and the prisoners who occupied it. This includes famous bushranger Ned Kelly, who was a prisoner here in 1871 and 1880. Black and white rectangular photograph printed on matte photographic paperReverse: 6201/kelly album, beechworth gaol, guard, old beechworth gaol, gaol, uniform, burke museum, #beechworth, gold rush

Falls Creek featured several new programs and activities in 2010. Australia's ultimate skiing tour was launched with Back Country Tours guided by Steve Lee, Falls Creek's most famous local and Australian Olympian. The full length of Wombats Ramble was also lined with lights to provide night skiing and boarding on Wednesday and Saturday nights throughout the season. Pete the Big Blue Dragon was also a Falls Creek celebrity and had his own weekly stage show at the Village Bowl and often frequented the Fox Trail Terrain Park. He also had his own website full of games, stories, merchandise and a snow safety video. 2010 also saw the introduction of the Snow Rewards Loyalty Program. Members had access to cheaper Lift Passes and a range of exclusive discounts at both Falls Creek and Hotham. Corporate sponsors in 2010 included ANZ Bank, Milo, Ten TV, Snow Australia and Where IS maps.This booklet is significant because it documents seasonal activities at Falls Creek in 2010.A booklet of 56 pages promoting Falls Creek for the Winter season 2010. It includes text, images and advertising printed on glossy paper with a heavier card cover.falls creek marketing, back country tours, wombats ramble

Cyril Percy Callister, a chemist by training, became a food technologist and the inventor of the well known spread 'Vegemite'. A Ballarat School of Mines (SMB) student around 1910, Callister then went to Melbourne University where he obtained his B.Sc. in 1914, M.Sc. in 1917 and D.Sc. in 1931. With Sir David Rivett in 1931 he secured the royal charter for the Royal Australian Chemical Institute, becoming president of the Society of Chemical Industry of Victoria in 1935-36. Vegemite, a yeast based spread, and perhaps one of most famous trademarks in Australia, was discovered around 1922 by Cyril Percy Callister. He was hired by the Fred Walker Company (a Melbourne based manufacturer later known as Kraft) as a laboratory assistant to develop a yeast extract spread. It took some years but by 1954 the special Vegemite song 'Happy Little Vegemites' demonstrated the popularity of the spread. Callister was also known for packing cheese in a can to preserve it and developing Kraft processed cheese. he son of a school teacher and postmaster he was born at Chute on 16 February 1893 and died on 5 October 1949. His brother Reginald Clive Callister (1889-1971) was also a student of SMB. (http://www.ballarat.edu.au/about-ub/history/art-and-historical-collection/ub-honour-roll/c/cyril-callister-1893-1949)Red and yellow soft covered book of 208 pages relating to Cyril Callister who invented Vegemite. On Frontispage signed "11th Oct 2012 James Callister"ballarat school of mines, callister, cyril callister, vegemite, william callister

This medal was awarded to Dr George Rothwell Adam, who was a lecturer in Obstetrics at the University of Melbourne from 1899 to 1913. As part of receiving this award, Adam delivered a Listerian Oration entitled ' The influence Listerism exercises on obstetrics' at a meeting of the South Australian Branch of the British Medical Association on May 25, 1922. "This Oration and Medal was established by the South Australian Branch of the British Medical Association in 1914. The first Oration was delivered on Thursday, June 25th of that year. On that day, the new premises of the Branch was opened. Subsequently, this annual Oration became recognized as the most important scientific event in the calendar of branch Scientific Meetings. In 1948 it was delivered by one of South Australia’s famous sons, Sir Hugh Cairns. There has been no Lister Oration since 1979. The obverse of the Lister Medal shows a portrait of Lord Lister 1827-1912, and on the reverse is inscribed ‘British Medical Association, South Australian Branch, Lister Oration’. Wood Jones’ Lister Oration 1926 ‘Before a large attendance of members of the South Australian branch of the British Medical Association at Lister Hall, Hindmarsh Square [Adelaide] on Thursday evening [May 27thl Professor F. Wood-Jones, F.R.S. of the Adelaide University, was heard with close attention during his lecture on “Disease and Individuality ’ ’. ’" from Frederic Wood Jones - his academic medals and those they honoured by B. E. Christophers, Aust. N.Z. J. Surg. (1995) 65, 122-134 Bronze coloured metal medallion with presentation box. Front of medal carries a bust image of Joseph Lister, and is inscribed "LISTER 1827-/1912". Back of medal carries an image of some foliage, topped by a shield motif. The shield carries a wreath and the text "LISTER/ORATION". Back of medal also carries the text "BRITISH/MEDICAL/ASSOCIATION/SOUTH/AUSTRALIAN/BRANCH". Edge of medal is engraved with the text "G. ROTHWELL ADAM 1922". Presentation box is covered in brown leather, with gold tooling on the lid. Inside of lid covered with cream satin, and base covered with green velvet. Small length of cream ribbon sits in case under medal allowing it to be easily lifted from the depression it sits in. Text printed inside lid reads, "BY APPOINTMENT/SPINK & SON LTD./17 & 18 PICCADILLY, W.""G.ROTHWELL ADAM 1922"numismatics

This chart shows a possible site for the fabled wreck called the 'Mahogany Ship'. Flagstaff Hill’s collection includes other objects that some say could be relics from this Ancient Wreck, (also called the Gold Ship, or the Ancient Vessel). The chart shows the coordinates for the Summits of Griffith Island and of Middle Island. It also has the depths of the sea at various intervals and shows the shore and sand dunes, lighthouses and other reference points. The mystery of the Mahogany Ship began in 1836 when two shipwrecked sealers discovered the remains of an “ancient vessel” in the sand dunes about four miles west of Warrnambool. Since the last recorded sightings in the 1880’s the true origin of the Mahogany Ship has remained one of Australia’s most famous historical mysteries or fables. One of the more recent theories is that the vessel was one of the Portuguese ships exploring the Australian coast in 1522. For over one hundred years searchers have attempted to locate and identify the wreck. The search continues for the tangible evidence which will once and for all establish the Mahogany Ship’s place in Australia’s History.The chart represents the worldwide interest in locating the wreck of the Mahogany Ship. Locating the actual wreck or proving the existence of a Portuguese ship's wreck could change the history of the discovery of Australia. A Mahogany Ship committee was formed to gather and research information about the discovery of the wrecked ship. A large amount of money was offered as a prize for finding the wreck or parts of it. People have written books, painted images, made videos and told tales of the ship but it continues to remain a mystery or even a fable. The chart is significant for its possible link to one of Victoria’s and Australia’s maritime mysteries, the Mahogany Ship (also known as the Ancient Wreck). It is one of very few known relics that could give evidence of the existence and history of the vessel. It is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register S438 as it is one of Victoria’s oldest recorded shipwrecks. The identity of the vessel has the potential to change Australia’s history.A chart in a wooden frame, behind glass. The chart shows the approximate position of the mystery Ancient Wreck, later called the "Mahogany Ship". The chart is a copy and is based on the Admiralty Chart by Lieut. Stanley, dated 1872. Lower left: "THE MAHOGANY SHIP" "LOCALITY PLAN, ENLARGED FROM LIEUT. STANLEY'S ADMIRALTY CHART 1872" "APPROXIMATE POSITION OF WRECK MARKED [symbol of a Portuguese cross]" Other labels on chart: "BELFAST" "PORT FIARY" "GRIFFITHS I" "RIVER MOYNE" "RIVER MERRI" "ARMSTRONG BAY" " GORMANS LANE" "TOWER HILL" "KOROIT" "HELEN ROCK" "WARRNAMBOOL" "LADY BAY" "MIDDLE I" "LIGHT HO." Lower right: "G 410 B" Label on the back; "This chart presented to the Mahogany Ship Committee and Flagstaff Hill by Avis Quarrell, April 2007"warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, shipwreck coast, mahogany ship, ancient vessel, ancient wreck, portuguese ship, coastal reserve, fabled wreck, gold ship, griffiths island, belfast (now port fairy), koroit, location plan, leuit. stanley, admiralty chart 1872, tower hill, merri river, moyne river, middle island, helen rock, armstrong bay, griffiths land

Transcript: Athenaeum building celebrates 170 years Australian Broadcasting Corporation Broadcast: 11/11/2009 Reporter: Lisa Whitehead Tomorrow marks the 170th birthday of one of the nation's historic cultural landmarks. Melbourne’s Athenaeum building has, in one form or other, provided education and entertainment for the Victorian colony as it became a city; and along the way, documented its growth. Transcript KERRY O’BRIEN, PRESENTER: Tomorrow marks the 170th birthday of one of the nation's historic cultural landmarks. Melbourne's Athenaeum building has, in one form or another, provided education and entertainment. For the Victorian colonies it became a city and along the way documented its growth. The building's original library and theatre still draw devotees and as Lisa Whitehead reports, a loyal band of volunteers. KEVIN QUIGLEY, ATHENAEUM PRESIDENT: There's nothing like us that has been here from day one, four years after the boat pushed ashore, here we are. It's a thread that runs through the life of Melbourne. LISA WHITEHEAD, REPORTER: In the heart of Melbourne's CBD, the Athenaeum is a celebrity in disguise, the oldest cultural icon in the city, but barely noticed. MARJORIE DALVEAN, VOLUNTEER HISTORIAN: People of Melbourne walk past this area and they have no idea what it is. RAY LAWLER, PLAYWRIGHT: It seemed to me to be a place that absolutely, or breathes Melbourne, I suppose, culture. LISA WHITEHEAD: Just four years after Melbourne was founded, the colony built a Mechanic's Institution, one of the first in the world, a place where the working class could meet and learn. KEVIN QUIGLEY: People think of it as Wild West sort of place where these hearty types drank and rushed about, but Melbourne was freely settled. It was a city of people who wanted to better themselves - entrepreneurs. And the Mechanic's Institution was that innovative idea that had grown up in Edinburgh and London about providing an opportunity for education for the working people. LISA WHITEHEAD: Mark Twain lectured there. Later, other buildings were added and a theatre to host classic plays. And it adopted its more bourgeois friendly title of the Athenaeum. Crucially from the start there was the library, the first to offer affordable lending to the working man. And it still attracts devotees. Former University lecturer Margaret Bowman, 89, comes in every Wednesday, along with her dog to join an enthusiastic band of volunteers sorting through the archives. MARGARET BOWMAN, FORMER UNIVERSITY LECTURER: Doing research is something that I find actually I enjoy more than anything. Every old lady needs to have a project and now I've got a project. MARJORIE DALVEAN: Margaret, Christine has just found out that Alfred Deakin was a member here from 1874 to 1877. This place is not flashy, we've never been flashy. But book lovers walk in here and they know this is the place for them. ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE: Old times and old names. The Athenaeum theatre in Melbourne for more than 40 years has been one of the city's best known cinemas. LISA WHITEHEAD: In the 20th century, the theatre surrendered to the new craze of talking pictures, and one particular fan was famous Australian playwright Ray Lawler. At 13, he dropped out of school to work in a Footscray factory and two years later his first trip to the glamorous Athenaeum cinema hinted at the education he was missing. RAY LAWLER: It just had a style about it which I responded to, I think. I was looking for something and this seemed to be part of it. Ray Lawler went on to write "Summer of the Seventeenth Doll" and found literary fame overseas. About a century after it had started as an educational place for the working man, Ray Lawler had, in effect, become an Athenaeum graduate. RAL LAWLER: If they had been looking for the sort of person that they were hoping to encourage along the way, I suppose I would have been somebody that might have fitted the mould, you know. LISA WHITEHEAD: In time, the cinema was returned to its theatrical roots. FRANK THRING, 1977: It has a great resemblance to the Theatre Royal in Hobart which Larry Olivier has called the best theatre he's ever worked in. And it's almost identical. It is the true Victorian playhouse. The horseshoe shaped thing: stalls, dress circle and gallery. And you're close to the audience and they're close to you. Marvellous feeling. LISA WHITEHEAD: Today, it's still a theatre. But time has brought compromises. The once vaunted art gallery has now covered its windows and become a comedy club and performance space. TV and suburban life have eaten away at the library membership. It offers an online service now, and a recent federal government grant will pay for the upkeep of its gracious interior, including the 1930s elevator Ray Lawler used to ride. For him, it's money well spent on history quietly made and discreetly observed. RAY LAWLER: It's the lack of awareness, I think, that people don't know what they've got here. They've really got the whole history of Melbourne almost. KEVIN QUIGLEY: It was a similar organisation in Sydney but we are the only one that's got a continual lineage on the same spot. We started here and we're still here and we'll be here for another 100 years. KERRY O'BRIEN: Lisa Whitehead on a great Melbourne landmark. © 2010 ABC | Privacy Policy Beginning as the Melbourne Mechanics' Institution in 1839, the Melbourne Athenaeum has a long history that reflects the cultural and social development of Melbourne. It continues to be managed as a not-for-profit organisation by a volunteer board, with a subscription library (maintained since 1839) and a leased theatre.Video broadcast ABC 7:30 Report for 11/11/2009. "Tomorrow marks the 170th birthday of one of the nation's historic cultural landmarks. Melbourne’s Athenaeum building has, in one form or other, provided education and entertainment for the Victorian colony as it became a city; and along the way, documented its growth."athenaeum, australian broadcasting corporation, kerry o’brien, kevin quigley, lisa whitehead, marjorie dalvean, ray lawler, margaret bowman, frank thring.

Modest grave for at Nillumbik Cemetery, Diamond Creek. Alan Marshall, A.M., O.B.E., HON., LL. D. (1902-1984) Alan Marshall was born at Noorat, Victoria and became one of Australia’s most famous authors. His association with the Eltham area began in 1920 when he started his first job as a junior clerk at the Eltham Shire Offices, Kangaroo Ground. In the 1940’s he spent sometime living in Research. From 1955 he lived in Eltham for nearly 20 years. Disabilities resulting from polio as a young child did not prevent a wide range of experiences. Alan’s occupations have been listed as clerk, night watchman, fortune teller, freelance journalist and author. He has been patron of many disadvantaged children’s societies. Alan’s books are numerous and include novel, short stories, children’s books, history and travel. Among the best known are his autobiographies “I can jump puddles” and “This is The Grass”. Others include “These are my people”, “Ourselves Writ Strange” and “Wild Red Horses”. In 1971 he wrote the centenary history of the Shire of Eltham, “Pioneers and Painters”. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p159This collection of almost 130 photos about places and people within the Shire of Nillumbik, an urban and rural municipality in Melbourne's north, contributes to an understanding of the history of the Shire. Published in 2008 immediately prior to the Black Saturday bushfires of February 7, 2009, it documents sites that were impacted, and in some cases destroyed by the fires. It includes photographs taken especially for the publication, creating a unique time capsule representing the Shire in the early 21st century. It remains the most recent comprehenesive publication devoted to the Shire's history connecting local residents to the past. nillumbik now and then (marshall-king) collection, alan marshall, diamond creek, nillumbik cemetery

Portriats of Alan Marshall, and some with his secretary, Pat Wiltshire, at work in his Park Road, Eltham home and garden, c.1970 at the time he was writing "Pioneers and Painters". Alan Marshall, A.M., O.B.E., HON., LL. D. (1902-1984) was born at Noorat, Victoria and became one of Australia’s most famous authors. His association with the Eltham area began in 1920 when he started his first job as a junior clerk at the Eltham Shire Offices, Kangaroo Ground. In the 1940’s he spent sometime living in Research. From 1955 he lived in Eltham for nearly 20 years. Disabilities resulting from polio as a young child did not prevent a wide range of experiences. Alan’s occupations have been listed as clerk, night watchman, fortune teller, freelance journalist and author. He has been patron of many disadvantaged children’s societies. Alan’s books are numerous and include novel, short stories, children’s books, history and travel. Among the best known are his autobiographies “I can jump puddles” and “This is The Grass”. Others include “These are my people”, “Ourselves Writ Strange” and “Wild Red Horses”. In 1971 he wrote the centenary history of the Shire of Eltham, “Pioneers and Painters”. Black and white photographs of Alan Marshall at his home.pioneers and painters, alan marshall, pat wiltshire, park road

Arthur William Glass known as Peter was born August 28, 1917. During the 1930s, Peter Glass and a young Graeme Bell were studying painting under Max Meldrum. Graeme Bell at that time was undecided whether to devote his life to music or painting. In 1938, inspired by what they had seen at 'Montsalvat', Peter Glass along with Graeme and Roger Bell (whose names were to become internationally known as the leaders of Australia's most famous jazz band) agreed to purchase land at Eltham to build themselves a mud brick house. For some time, Eltham had been their chosen place for painting and sketching, but it was not until they visited the 'Jorgensen Colony', as it was then known, and saw the possibilities of building in earth, that they decided to establish a permanent base in Eltham. In July, the three of them bought a few acres of land at the top of John Street and started making mud bricks for a proposed sixty square sized house. Following the Second World War, Peter Glass returned in 1946 to live permanently in Eltham. He resumed work on building of the adobe house which he had commenced before the war. During some years spent in England and France he married a French girl and on returning to Eltham he built another adobe house in which he lived with his wife, Cecile Madeleine, and two children, Julian and Marie-Luce on land adjoining the original house. Peter Glass died in December 1997 aged 80, his wife Cecile in 2006, aged 79. They are memorialised in Eltham Cemetery. Much of the inspiration for his landscape painting comes from the Eltham bush and the Yarra flowing through it.oil on chipboard 33 x 40.5 x 1.0 cm Signed 'Peter Glass in red paint lower right of centre Evidence of some paint rub-off at edges from previous frame mounting (frame removed).Reverse side painted in pale yellow cream and inscribed: 'Summer Landscape - 1968 Kangaroo Ground' in black paint1968, arthur william glass, artwork, kangaroo ground, paintings, peter glass

[from EDHS Newsletter No. 104, September 1995:] ALAN MARSHALL SCULPTURE. In our last Newsletter brief mention was made of the bronze sculpture of Alan Marshall outside the Eltham Library. Sculptor Marcus Skipper has now completed the installation of his almost life-size work. The setting and location are ideal and Marcus has really captured the typical Marshall character. It has attracted much favourable comment since its completion. Most members are generally familiar with Alan's life and work but for those not so familiar and for the sake of the record we include these brief biographical details. Alan Marshall, A.M., O.B.E., Hon.LL.D. (1902-1984) was born at Noorat, Victoria and became one of Australia's most famous authors. His association with the Eltham area began in 1920 when he started his first job as a junior clerk at the Eltham Shire Offices, Kangaroo Ground. In the 1940s he spent some time living at Research. From 1955 he lived in Eltham for nearly 20 years. Disabilities resulting from polio as a young child did not prevent a wide range of experiences. Alan's occupations have been listed as clerk, night watchman, fortune teller, freelance journalist and author. He has been patron of many disadvantaged Children's Societies. Alan's books are numerous and include novels, short stories, children's books, history and travel. Among the best known are his autobiographies "I Can Jump Puddles" and "This is the Grass". Others include "These are My People", "Ourselves Writ Strange", "People of the Dreamtime", "The Gay Provider" and "Wild Red Horses". In 1971 he wrote the Centenary History of the Shire of Eltham, "Pioneers and Painters".Colour photographalan marshall, eltham library, marcus skipper, public art, sculptures

[from EDHS Newsletter No. 104, September 1995:] ALAN MARSHALL SCULPTURE. In our last Newsletter brief mention was made of the bronze sculpture of Alan Marshall outside the Eltham Library. Sculptor Marcus Skipper has now completed the installation of his almost life-size work. The setting and location are ideal and Marcus has really captured the typical Marshall character. It has attracted much favourable comment since its completion. Most members are generally familiar with Alan's life and work but for those not so familiar and for the sake of the record we include these brief biographical details. Alan Marshall, A.M., O.B.E., Hon.LL.D. (1902-1984) was born at Noorat, Victoria and became one of Australia's most famous authors. His association with the Eltham area began in 1920 when he started his first job as a junior clerk at the Eltham Shire Offices, Kangaroo Ground. In the 1940s he spent some time living at Research. From 1955 he lived in Eltham for nearly 20 years. Disabilities resulting from polio as a young child did not prevent a wide range of experiences. Alan's occupations have been listed as clerk, night watchman, fortune teller, freelance journalist and author. He has been patron of many disadvantaged Children's Societies. Alan's books are numerous and include novels, short stories, children's books, history and travel. Among the best known are his autobiographies "I Can Jump Puddles" and "This is the Grass". Others include "These are My People", "Ourselves Writ Strange", "People of the Dreamtime", "The Gay Provider" and "Wild Red Horses". In 1971 he wrote the Centenary History of the Shire of Eltham, "Pioneers and Painters".Colour photographalan marshall, eltham library, marcus skipper, public art, sculptures

Sir Charles Edward Kingsford Smith is a famous Australian, well known in civil aviation history for his courageous endeavours in flight. He broken many flight records for long distance and time travelled and he was also a war hero in World War 1. He has been referred to as being “known to millions of Australians as “Smithy” … he was one of Australia’s true twentieth-century legends”. In honour of his place amongst the world’s famous pioneers his image is featured on Australia’s $20 note, Sydney airport is named after him, there is a memorial to Kingsford Smith, Taylor and Ulm at the Anderson Park, also in Sydney and his plane “Southern Cross” is on view at Brisbane Airport. Kingsford Smith wrote ‘The Old Bus’ (1932) and he and Ulm were co-authors of ‘Story of 'Southern Cross' Trans-Pacific Flight’ (1928). His also wrote a book about his own life ‘My Flying Life’ which was published after his death in 1937. and the story of his life was filmed in Australia in 1946. A BRIEF HISTORY OF SIR CHARLES EDWARD KINGSFORD SMITH (1897 – 1935) … Kingsford Smith was born 9th February 1897 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. His parents were William Charles Smith and Catherine Mary, nee Kingsford. His mother’s maiden name of “Kingsford” was added to the family name when they spent time in Canada from around 1903 to 1907, after which they returned to Sydney, Australia. In 1915 Kingsford Smith enlisted in Australian Imperial Force. He served in 4th Signal Troop, 2nd Division Signal Company at Gallipoli Peninsular as a ‘sapper’ or combat engineer and later in Egypt and in France as a dispatch rider. In 1916 Kingsford Smith was transferred to the Australian Flying Corps as a sergeant. He was discharged after training in England and commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal Flying Corps. He was appointed fling officer and soon joined the 23rd Squadron in France. He brought down four machines in his first month there and also did invaluable work attacking enemy targets. He was wounded and shot down and later awarded the Military Cross ‘for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty’. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1918 and served as a Flying Instructor with the R.F.C. Kingsford Smith was not allowed to participate in the 1919 England to Australia air race because of assumed lack of navigational experience. He and his pilot friend Cyril Maddocks formed a business and flew joy-flights in both England and America. In America he did some stunt flying with a Flying Circus. Kingsford Smith returned to Australia in 1921 and found employment as a pilot. He soon realised the value of air transport in such a vast country. He formed a partnership with pilot Keith Anderson in 1924 and they purchased two Bristol Tourer biplanes. Their business broadened to include Charles Ulm and became the Interstate Flying services in Sydney. Together they performed important ‘demonstration’ flights including a flight around Australia in 10 days and 5 hours using very limited navigational equipment. Kingsford Smith immediately started to search for support to do a trans-Pacific flight. This support came from the New South Wales government, Sidney Myer and G. Allan Hancock, an American oil magnate. On 31st May 1928 Kingsford Smith, Charles Ulm and two American crewmen, Harry Lyan and Jim Warner, took off from Oakland, California and flew to Brisbane via Hawaii and Suva. This historic flight took 83 hours and 38 minutes. Their Fokker plane had three engines and was named the “Southern Cross”. This amazing achievement resulted in huge financial subscriptions. Kingsford Smith was awarded the Air Force Cross and appointed as honorary squadron leader, Royal Australian Air Force. Kingsford Smith flew his Southern Cross plane from Point Cook in Victoria to Perth nonstop. Then in September – October 1928, with Charles Ulm and an Australian crew, he piloted the Southern Cross from Sidney to Christchurch New Zealand. This flight showed that was possible for regular passenger and mail services across the Tasman Sea. Kingsford Smith flew his plane to England to an order for four aircraft, planning to use them for an inter-capital air service in Australia. Sadly on 1st April 1929 he was forced to land, having lost radio contact with the ground and having run into bad weather over north – west Australia. Keith Anderson and Robert Hitchcock both perished before the search party reached them. Once official enquiries were completed the flight to England continued in June and was completed in record time of 12 days and 18 hours. In January 1930 Kingsford Smith piloted the “Southern Cloud”, one of the new Avro Ten planes, on the first flight of his airline, the Australian National Airways, from Sydney to Melbourne. The “Southern Cross” was overhauled in Holland by the Fokker Aircraft Co. and in June 1930 Kingsford Smith achieved an east-west crossing of the Atlantic from Ireland to Newfoundland in 31.5 hours. Kingsford Smith returned to England and took delivery of an Avro Avian biplane that he named the “Southern Cross Junior” and flew solo from England to Darwin, Australia. This record breaking flight took less than 10 days. He beat four other planes that had left England before him and he was 5.5 days faster than Hinkler. Sadly Kingsford Smith’s “Southern Cloud” was lost during a flight from Sydney to Melbourne in 1931 with no surviving crew or passengers; in 1958 the wreckage was discovered in the Snowy Mountains. Later that year Kingsford Smith flew his “Southern Cloud” from Australia to Timor, collecting mail from a damaged Imperial Airways plane in Timor. Other flights followed. Kingsford Smith was knighted in 1932 for his services in Aviation. He returned to selling joy flights then established the Kingsford Smith Air Service, a flying training school in Sydney. In 1933 Kingsford Smith flew the amazing record flight in “Miss Southern Cross” – a Percival Gull - from London to Wyndham in Western Australia in just over ten days. The Australian Commonwealth then gave Kingsford Smith a large grant and he was also appointed as aviation consultant to Vacuum Oil Co. Another flying record was made when Kingsford Smith and Sir P.G. Taylor flow “Lady Southern Cross” from Brisbane to San Francisco in order to sell her there; the west-east-trans-Pacific flight made aviation history. They returned to Australia to make an attempt at the trans-Tasman flight but their attempt failed due to engine failure; they managed to get back to Sydney safely, minus most of their cargo. Kingsford Smith had his unsold “Lady Southern Cross” shipped back to England, from where he and J. T. Pethybridge in the “Lady Southern Cross” attempted another record breaking flight from England The Old Bus Author: Charles Kingsford Smith Publisher: Distibuted by Herald Feature Service Date; 1932Label on spine cover with typed text RA 629.1309 KIN flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, the old bus, charles kingsford smith

[from EDHS Newsletter No. 75, November 1990:] WALTER WITHERS PLAQUE At long last we have unveiled our plaque in the Walter Withers Reserve. The function was attended by a number of members and friends of the Society and descendants of the Withers family. Following the unveiling, the group proceeded to the Eltham Shire Office for afternoon tea and a small exhibition of Withers' paintings arranged by Andrew Mackenzie. The unveiling was performed by Mary Owen, a grand-daughter of Walter Withers. Her speech provided an interesting personal perspective on Withers and is repeated in full here: I feel somewhat overwhelmed by the responsibility of paying tribute to the man you have all come to honour today. I have the feeling that most of you probably know more about him and his work than I do. Walter Withers died nearly seven years before I was born and so I never knew him. Sadly, although other members of his family inherited some of his talent, I was not among them and I know very little about art. This is doubly hard to bear because my husband had some ability to draw and my second daughter also has some talent in this direction. My children are all artistic - mostly in the field of music inherited partly from their father - a Welshman who sang like a Welshman - and partly from my grandmother, Fanny Withers who, I believe was no mean pianist. However all this talent gave me a miss and for many years I felt a complete ignoramus in the fields of the arts. It was not until I was nearly fifty years old that I walked into a gallery in Brisbane and, as I wandered around the room, suddenly one picture leapt at me and I knew instantly that it had been painted by my grandfather. I had never seen the picture before and it gave me quite a shock to find that I had recognized the style of painting. I realized then that I had absorbed more than I realized simply by living with pictures and with people who painted them and talked about their painting and the painting of others. When I was a child I sometimes spent school holidays with my Aunt Margery Withers and her husband, Richard McCann. Aunt Marge painted me several times but I'm afraid I was a restless subject and used to sit reading a book and look up grudgingly when she wanted to paint my eyes. During the September holidays my aunt and uncle were busy preparing paintings far the annual exhibition of the Melbourne Twenty Painters, to which they both belonged. I remember how important I used to feel when they took me along to the Athenaeum Gallery on the Friday night before the opening to help hang their pictures. There were many artists there but the two I remember are perhaps surprisingly both women: Miss Bale and Miss Tweddle. I remember how cold it used to be up in that gallery at night. They used to heat water on a gas ring to make tea and Aunt Marge used to bring sandwiches and fruit for our evening meal. Everyone seemed to be poor in those days and no-one dreamed of going out for a meal. It was a case of make-do - even to cutting down frames to fit pictures or cutting pictures to fit the frames. They had to use the same frames from year to year if the pictures didn't sell. The opening was an exciting event for me. I felt I was privileged to meet important people - people who knew a lot more than I - and Uncle Dick would get quite merry after a couple of the tiny sweet sherries which were always distributed. I realise now that quite a lot of "art talk" rubbed off on me during my visits to the Athenaeum and during my stays with my aunt and uncle. I suspect that much of our most useful learning comes this way and those of us who have had the privilege of associating with artists, writers, philosophers and other thinkers have a richness in our lives of which we may be unaware. Walter Withers was a prolific painter and, although he painted for love of it, I suspect that the need to provide for his family drove him, like Mozart, to greater efforts than he might otherwise have achieved. Reading old letters and articles about the Heidelberg artists, I have come to realize something of the constant strain placed on many of them - particularly Withers and McCubbin - by poverty and the need to make ends meet. Withers was ever conscious of the need to provide for his wife and his five children and there are touching letters to his wife, regretting that he was not able to earn more for them. In addition to his painting, he worked hard at teaching and illustrating and, as he grew older, the strain began to tell and his health deteriorated. He seems never to have had a very strong constitution and suffered from rheumatism, which must have made painting quite painful at times. His eldest daughter, Gladys, was eventually confined to a wheelchair with rheumatoid arthritis and I have a tendency to arthritis myself, so I am particularly aware of what this could have meant to him. Recently I found a short letter written by my mother to her mother, Fanny Withers on the anniversary of her father's birthday in 1919, in which she said: "Poor old Dad, I often think now what a lot he must have suffered. His life was too hard and too strenuous for him. He had too many chick-a-biddies, I think. He wasn't equal to so much town life and train journeys with so many delicacies as he had. Since I have been ill, I have realised what he must have felt like.” He certainly drove himself to produce. He travelled all over Victoria by train, buggy, bicycle and on foot and for a time he travelled from Eltham to Melbourne every day by train, although later he lived in Melbourne during the week and only returned to Eltham for the weekends. My mother died seven years after her father's death, when my twin sisters were 10 days old and I was 16 months. So I never knew my mother or my grandfather. But my two aunts, Gladys and Margery, sometimes took me to stay with Gan Withers at Southernwood in Bolton Street . No cars in those days and it seemed a very long hot and dusty walk from the Station. Three memories remain with me of Southernwood. One is the well at the back which I found quite terrifying; the second is Gan killing a snake - even more terrifying. She was a formidable woman, my grandmother and a great ally and support to her husband. I think she was the business end of the partnership. The third memory of Southernwood is my grandfather's studio – down what seemed like a toy staircase inside the room. This and the big walk-in fireplace stayed in my mind from the age of about six until I saw them again about forty years later when the house was being used as a Sunday School. I just wish that money could be found to purchase this old house for the City of Eltham so that a permanent museum could be established in memory of a man who did so much to put Eltham on the map of art history. Recently I have become interested in family history and spent some time in England, Ireland and Wales looking for traces of my ancestors. I realized then how important it is to have records of people who have contributed to our society. We forget so soon and it is amazing how often, within two generations, names, dates and many details are forgotten. We are fortunate that so many of Walter Withers' works have been bought by galleries and that people like Andrew Mackenzie have taken the trouble to search out people who knew him and to write about him and his work. And I am very grateful to the Historical Society of Eltham for recognizing the importance of having a permanent tribute in Eltham to the contribution made by Walter Withers, who loved Eltham so much and who has assured this lovely district a place in the annals of history. I am indebted to Kathleen Mangan; the daughter of another famous Australian painter , Fred McCubbin, - featured in The Age this morning (thanks again to Andrew Mackenzie) for the most apt tribute to Walter Withers. Kathleen is not well and she rang me a couple of days ago, regretting that she could not be present today “to pay tribute” as she said, “to Walter Withers for I always think Walter Withers is the spirit of Eltham.” Thank you, Kathleen. And now I have much pleasure in unveiling the plaque commissioned by the Eltham Historical Society from Bob McLellan of Charmac Industries to commemorate the life and work of Walter Withers, the spirit of Eltham. Mary Owen, 13 October 1990.Three colour photographswalter withers rock, walter withers reserve, mary owen

[from EDHS Newsletter No. 75, November 1990:] WALTER WITHERS PLAQUE At long last we have unveiled our plaque in the Walter Withers Reserve. The function was attended by a number of members and friends of the Society and descendants of the Withers family. Following the unveiling, the group proceeded to the Eltham Shire Office for afternoon tea and a small exhibition of Withers' paintings arranged by Andrew Mackenzie. The unveiling was performed by Mary Owen, a grand-daughter of Walter Withers. Her speech provided an interesting personal perspective on Withers and is repeated in full here: I feel somewhat overwhelmed by the responsibility of paying tribute to the man you have all come to honour today. I have the feeling that most of you probably know more about him and his work than I do. Walter Withers died nearly seven years before I was born and so I never knew him. Sadly, although other members of his family inherited some of his talent, I was not among them and I know very little about art. This is doubly hard to bear because my husband had some ability to draw and my second daughter also has some talent in this direction. My children are all artistic - mostly in the field of music inherited partly from their father - a Welshman who sang like a Welshman - and partly from my grandmother, Fanny Withers who, I believe was no mean pianist. However all this talent gave me a miss and for many years I felt a complete ignoramus in the fields of the arts. It was not until I was nearly fifty years old that I walked into a gallery in Brisbane and, as I wandered around the room, suddenly one picture leapt at me and I knew instantly that it had been painted by my grandfather. I had never seen the picture before and it gave me quite a shock to find that I had recognized the style of painting. I realized then that I had absorbed more than I realized simply by living with pictures and with people who painted them and talked about their painting and the painting of others. When I was a child I sometimes spent school holidays with my Aunt Margery Withers and her husband, Richard McCann. Aunt Marge painted me several times but I'm afraid I was a restless subject and used to sit reading a book and look up grudgingly when she wanted to paint my eyes. During the September holidays my aunt and uncle were busy preparing paintings far the annual exhibition of the Melbourne Twenty Painters, to which they both belonged. I remember how important I used to feel when they took me along to the Athenaeum Gallery on the Friday night before the opening to help hang their pictures. There were many artists there but the two I remember are perhaps surprisingly both women: Miss Bale and Miss Tweddle. I remember how cold it used to be up in that gallery at night. They used to heat water on a gas ring to make tea and Aunt Marge used to bring sandwiches and fruit for our evening meal. Everyone seemed to be poor in those days and no-one dreamed of going out for a meal. It was a case of make-do - even to cutting down frames to fit pictures or cutting pictures to fit the frames. They had to use the same frames from year to year if the pictures didn't sell. The opening was an exciting event for me. I felt I was privileged to meet important people - people who knew a lot more than I - and Uncle Dick would get quite merry after a couple of the tiny sweet sherries which were always distributed. I realise now that quite a lot of "art talk" rubbed off on me during my visits to the Athenaeum and during my stays with my aunt and uncle. I suspect that much of our most useful learning comes this way and those of us who have had the privilege of associating with artists, writers, philosophers and other thinkers have a richness in our lives of which we may be unaware. Walter Withers was a prolific painter and, although he painted for love of it, I suspect that the need to provide for his family drove him, like Mozart, to greater efforts than he might otherwise have achieved. Reading old letters and articles about the Heidelberg artists, I have come to realize something of the constant strain placed on many of them - particularly Withers and McCubbin - by poverty and the need to make ends meet. Withers was ever conscious of the need to provide for his wife and his five children and there are touching letters to his wife, regretting that he was not able to earn more for them. In addition to his painting, he worked hard at teaching and illustrating and, as he grew older, the strain began to tell and his health deteriorated. He seems never to have had a very strong constitution and suffered from rheumatism, which must have made painting quite painful at times. His eldest daughter, Gladys, was eventually confined to a wheelchair with rheumatoid arthritis and I have a tendency to arthritis myself, so I am particularly aware of what this could have meant to him. Recently I found a short letter written by my mother to her mother, Fanny Withers on the anniversary of her father's birthday in 1919, in which she said: "Poor old Dad, I often think now what a lot he must have suffered. His life was too hard and too strenuous for him. He had too many chick-a-biddies, I think. He wasn't equal to so much town life and train journeys with so many delicacies as he had. Since I have been ill, I have realised what he must have felt like.” He certainly drove himself to produce. He travelled all over Victoria by train, buggy, bicycle and on foot and for a time he travelled from Eltham to Melbourne every day by train, although later he lived in Melbourne during the week and only returned to Eltham for the weekends. My mother died seven years after her father's death, when my twin sisters were 10 days old and I was 16 months. So I never knew my mother or my grandfather. But my two aunts, Gladys and Margery, sometimes took me to stay with Gan Withers at Southernwood in Bolton Street . No cars in those days and it seemed a very long hot and dusty walk from the Station. Three memories remain with me of Southernwood. One is the well at the back which I found quite terrifying; the second is Gan killing a snake - even more terrifying. She was a formidable woman, my grandmother and a great ally and support to her husband. I think she was the business end of the partnership. The third memory of Southernwood is my grandfather's studio – down what seemed like a toy staircase inside the room. This and the big walk-in fireplace stayed in my mind from the age of about six until I saw them again about forty years later when the house was being used as a Sunday School. I just wish that money could be found to purchase this old house for the City of Eltham so that a permanent museum could be established in memory of a man who did so much to put Eltham on the map of art history. Recently I have become interested in family history and spent some time in England, Ireland and Wales looking for traces of my ancestors. I realized then how important it is to have records of people who have contributed to our society. We forget so soon and it is amazing how often, within two generations, names, dates and many details are forgotten. We are fortunate that so many of Walter Withers' works have been bought by galleries and that people like Andrew Mackenzie have taken the trouble to search out people who knew him and to write about him and his work. And I am very grateful to the Historical Society of Eltham for recognizing the importance of having a permanent tribute in Eltham to the contribution made by Walter Withers, who loved Eltham so much and who has assured this lovely district a place in the annals of history. I am indebted to Kathleen Mangan; the daughter of another famous Australian painter , Fred McCubbin, - featured in The Age this morning (thanks again to Andrew Mackenzie) for the most apt tribute to Walter Withers. Kathleen is not well and she rang me a couple of days ago, regretting that she could not be present today “to pay tribute” as she said, “to Walter Withers for I always think Walter Withers is the spirit of Eltham.” Thank you, Kathleen. And now I have much pleasure in unveiling the plaque commissioned by the Eltham Historical Society from Bob McLellan of Charmac Industries to commemorate the life and work of Walter Withers, the spirit of Eltham. Mary Owen, 13 October 1990.Two colour photographswalter withers rock, walter withers reserve, mary owen

In Flagstaff Hill’s collection are items associated with the Ancient Wreck, (also called the Gold Ship, Mahogany Ship or Ancient Vessel). Three relics were located in 1890, due to the ‘interest of a public works inspector, James Gilroy, who dug in the ship’s remains’. One of the relics was a heavily oxidated ‘quantity of ironwork’. The other two, now part of Flagstaff Hill’s collection, are - an iron latch probably from a galley oven door or fireplace - a bronze bolt (spike or pin) Both of these relics are listed on the same page in the records of the Old Warrnambool Museum, found by K.A.G. (or H.A.G.) on the site of the Ancient wreck in 1890. Interestingly, another item in these records is ‘Notes on Ancient wreck, near Gorman’s Lane’. Gorman’s Lane is just inland from the sand dunes of the Coastal Reserve at Tower Hill. The current location of these Notes is unknown. Another item thought to be a relic from the Mahogany Ship was the amphora or jug, also in Flagstaff Hill's collection. It was found in 1934 on a local property and donated in 1985. The Museum opened in 1886 and continued until 1963, when it was closed by the Warrnambool City Council and the whole collection was put into storage. The council then transferred items to various places including Flagstaff Hill and the current Warrnambool Art Gallery. Flagstaff Hill’s early Accession Records book lists the items as being received from the Old Warrnambool Museum collection; the Latch is record 152 and the Pin is record 153. An article, ‘Birthplace of our History’ by Don Dean, is on file in the Warrnambool and District Historical Society. It was published in the Australian POST, on March 17, 1955. This article describes the finding of the items going back to 1890, along with other information about sightings of what has come to be known as the Mahogany Ship. The mystery of the Mahogany Ship began in 1836 when two shipwrecked sealers discovered the remains of an “ancient vessel” in the sand dunes about four miles west of Warrnambool. Since the last recorded sightings in the 1880’s the true origin of the Mahogany Ship has remained one of Australia’s most famous historical mysteries. One of the more recent theories is that the vessel was one of the Portuguese ships exploring the Australian coast in 1522. For over one hundred years searchers have attempted to locate and identify the wreck. The search continues for the tangible evidence which will once and for all establish the Mahogany Ship’s place in Australia’s History. The latch has local historic significance as it was found in the sand dunes of Warrnambool in 1890. The latch is also significant for being part of the original 1886 Warrnambool Museum's collection. The latch is significant for its possible link to one of Victoria’s and Australia’s maritime mysteries, the Mahogany Ship (also known as the Ancient Wreck). It is one of very few known relics that could give evidence of the existence and history of the vessel. It is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register S438 as it is one of Victoria’s oldest recorded shipwrecks. The identity of the vessel has the potential to change Australia’s history.Latch, iron. Flat iron latch tapers inward from loop handle to narrow end with prongs. Handmade. warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, shipwreck coast, mahogany ship, latch, relic, old warrnambool museum, ancient vessel, ancient wreck, oven latch, fireplace latch, galley oven, gold ship, gorman's lane, coastal reserve, tower hill

Flagstaff Hill’s collection has items that are thought to be relics from the Ancient Wreck, (also called the Gold Ship, Mahogany Ship or Ancient Vessel). Three relics were located in 1890, due to the ‘interest of a public works inspector, James Gilroy, who dug in the ship’s remains’. One of the relics was a heavily oxidated ‘quantity of ironwork’. The other two, now part of Flagstaff Hill’s collection, are - an iron latch probably from a galley oven door or fireplace - a bronze bolt (spike or pin) Both of these relics are listed on the same page in the records of the Old Warrnambool Museum, found by K.A.G. (or H.A.G.) on the site of the Ancient wreck 1890. Interestingly, another item in these records is ‘Notes on Ancient wreck, near Gorman’s Lane’. Gorman’s Lane is just inland from the sand dunes of the Coastal Reserve at Tower Hill. The current location of these Notes is unknown. Another relic is thought to be the amphora, discovered in 1934 on a local property. The Museum opened in 1886 and continued until 1963, when it was closed by the Warrnambool City Council and the whole collection was put into storage. The council then transferred items to various places including Flagstaff Hill and the current Warrnambool Art Gallery. Flagstaff Hill’s early Accession Records book lists the items as being received from the Old Warrnambool Museum collection; the Latch is record 152 and the Pin is record 153. An article, ‘Birthplace of our History’ by Don Dean, is on file in the Warrnambool and District Historical Society. It was published in the Australian POST, March 17, 1955. This article describes the finding of the items going back to 1890, along with other information about sightings of what has come to be known as the Mahogany Ship. The mystery of the Mahogany Ship began in 1836 when two shipwrecked sealers discovered the remains of an “ancient vessel” in the sand dunes about four miles west of Warrnambool. Since the last recorded sightings in the 1880’s the true origin of the Mahogany Ship has remained one of Australia’s most famous historical mysteries. One of the more recent theories is that the vessel was one of the Portuguese ships exploring the Australian coast in 1522. For over one hundred years searchers have attempted to locate and identify the wreck. The search continues for the tangible evidence which will once and for all establish the Mahogany Ship’s place in Australia’s History. The bolt has local historic significance as it was found in the sand dunes of Warrnambool in 1890. The bolt is also significant for being part of the original 1886 Warrnambool Museum's collection. The bolt is significant for its possible link to one of Victoria’s and Australia’s maritime mysteries, the Mahogany Ship (also known as the Ancient Wreck). It is one of very few known relics that could give evidence of the existence and history of the vessel. It is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register S438 as it is one of Victoria’s oldest recorded shipwrecks. The identity of the vessel has the potential to change Australia’s history.Bolt, also referred to as spike or pin. Bronze bolt, round body with head on one end that has straight sides, tapers to a point at the other end.warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, shipwreck coast, mahogany ship, relic, pin, spike, old warrnambool museum, nail, ancient vessel, ancient wreck, portuguese ship, gold ship, gorman’s lane, coastal reserve, tower hill

A sculpture of local author Alan Marshall welcomes visitors in the grounds of Eltham library. Alan loved telling stories and talking to children and his own story overcoming the legacy of polio has been an inspiration to generations of Australians. Marcus Skipper, the sculptor, knew Alan well and the sculpture is said to capture his spirit and appearance perfectly; the jumper was even cast from one of Alan’s own. A realistic depiction (almost life size) of Alan Marshall (1902-1984) cast in bronze with green patination. Dressed in a jumper and slacks, Marshall is shown perched on a crutch, holding a book to his heart, gesturing to his audience to come and listen to his words. It was scupluted by local artist Marcus Skipper (b.1950 Melb. died 2011). HISTORICAL INFORMATION Alan Marshall was an author of more than fifteen books, and lived much of his life in Eltham. He became a central figure in the area's arts community of writers, artists, sculptors, film makers, actors and musicians . He is shown stroking a book to his heart, perched on a crutch, which references his disability (contracted polio when he was young), and his status as one of Australia's most successful and loved authors. His most famous book, 'I Can Jump Puddles' is based on his life story and the obstacles he faced as a child in trying to overcome his disability. Marcus Skipper submitted the idea for the work to the first 'Art in Public Places' Awards in 1990. The selectors at the time recommended that the work would be more suitably placed near the Eltham Library. It was commissioned and installed for the new Eltham Library, which was designed by Greg Burgess in 1994. It was partially funded by the then Shire of Eltham's Art Development Fund (Eltham Arts Council) and the rest donated by the artist Marcus Skipper. - Highlights from the Nillumbik Public Art Collection. "The setting and location are ideal and Marcus has really captured the typical Marshall character. It has attracted much favourable comment since its completion. .. Alan Marshall, A.M., O.B.E., Hon.LL.D. (1902-1984) was born at Noorat, Victoria and became one of Australia's most famous authors. His association with the Eltham area began in 1920 when he started his first job as a junior clerk at the Eltham Shire Offices, Kangaroo Ground. In the 1940s he spent some time living at Research. From 1955 he lived in Eltham for nearly 20 years. Disabilities resulting from polio as a young child did not prevent a wide range of experiences. Alan's occupations have been listed as clerk, night watchman, fortune teller, freelance journalist and author. He has been patron of many disadvantaged Children's Societies. Alan's books are numerous and include novels, short stories, children's books, history and travel. Among the best known are his autobiographies "I Can Jump Puddles" and "This is the Grass". Others include "These are My People", "Ourselves Writ Strange", "People of the Dreamtime", "The Gay Provider" and "Wild Red Horses". In 1971 he wrote the Centenary History of the Shire of Eltham, "Pioneers and Painters". -EDHS Newsletter No. 104, September 1995This work has significance for its reference to two well known names associated with Eltham and its history. The sculpture is a realistic statue of the famous Australian author Alan Marshall who wrote "I Can Jump Puddles". He lived and worked in the Shire. The artist Marcus Skipper represents a highly recognised family of artists associated with Monsalvat . The sculpture 'Alan Marshall' has been classified as of regional significance by the National Trust of Australia. - Highlights from the Nillumbik Public Art Collection.Born Digitalart in public places, alan marshall, marcus skipper, sculptures, eltham library