These are the original wrought iron gates which served as the entrance to St. Andrews Uniting Church, formerly St.Andrews Presbyterian Church. They were erected there in 1922 and were made at H.V.McKay's Sunshine Harvester foundry, at Sunshine. H.V McKay was a member of the Presbyterian Church in Sunbury. Originally the gates opened onto Stawell Street, which ran at an angle between O'Shanassy and Barkly Streets. Apart from a small area leading to the Memorial Hall the rest of Stawell Street has been incorporated in the Village Green in Sunbury.The gates were restored and erected on their original site in 2000. A scanned coloured photograph of white painted wrought iron double gates with two smaller gates on either side and supported by stone pillars. A church building is just beyond a grassed area.st. andrews church, st. andrew's uniting church, wrought iron gates

Joseph Starkie was the Chairman of the Sunbury Waterworks Trust from 1905 to 1913. During that time he was instrumental in getting a permanent water supply installed for the town of Sunbury. After his death in April 1913, the townspeople erected a memorial which stood at the intersection of Brook and Stawell Street. It was unveiled on 26 January 1915 by Terence O'Brien. The original memorial included a drinking fountain and horse trough. As traffic increased within the town, the centre section of the fountain, without the horse trough, was resited in a reserve opposite the Memorial Hall. The photograph shows the monument on its original site. The installation of a reliable and permanent water supply for Sunbury was an important achievement for the town in the early years of the twentieth century.A sepia photograph in post card format of a water fountain and trough in a street in front of an avenue of trees.J. D. STARKIE MEMORIALstarkie, joseph daniel., water fountain, j.d.starkie memorial

The 'Meeise' French car is parked outside the former Mechanics Institute Hall in Stawell Street, Sunbury. J Eadie was responsible for the building of the hall in 1885 and the foundation stone was laid by Lady Janet Clarke. The former Shire of Bulla conducted their council meetings in the hall from 1923 until 1956 when new offices were built in Macedon Street. Later the RSL took over occupancy of the hall and it became known as the Memorial Hall. In the early 1970s Stawell Street was cut off to traffic and incorporated into the Village Green.Over the years the Memorial Hall has been the venue for many community events from debutant balls, flower shows, local gatherings, celebrations and markets to name a few.A sepia photograph with a cream border of a tree lined street with a building in the foreground and a vintage car parked outside the building. Tall pine trees are growing behind the fenceline.mechanics institute, shire of bulla

"The Mechanics Institute movement flourished in Victoria from 1839 to 1950. It was based on the development of Mechanics’ Institutes in Scotland and England from the 1820s, which were intended to educate and enlighten the working classes. The term ‘mechanic’ in those days meant an artisan, craftsman or working man, especially those who had moved from rural areas to work in new city factories during the Industrial Revolution. The early Institutes were usually equipped with a reading room, a library and a lecture room. Although enjoying mixed success in Britain, they contributed to the development of public education and library services. The movement was adopted more enthusiastically in the colonies. It began slowly in Victoria but its expansion after the gold rushes population influx was rapid, especially in rural areas. Every suburb and town wanted to have a Mechanics’ Institute. During the 1850s approximately forty Institutes were established, with even greater growth in the period 1860 to 1900. By 1900 there were 400 Institutes in Victoria. The establishment of a Mechanics’ Institute was often a great achievement for a local community, requiring organising committees to raise substantial funds for a building site (where this had not been granted by the Government), and the building. Once built, the committee then had to purchase books, provide a caretaker or librarian, and finance the ongoing use of and improvements to the building. ‘The history of many Institutes is a story of tremendous community effort, and often, financial difficulties’. In addition to being monuments to local enterprise and community life, the Mechanics’ Institutes played a vital role as an intellectual forum, and in contributing to an informed and participatory democracy in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. They provided journals and other reading matter on local, state, national and international issues, and hosted of lectures and held debates about wider issues such as Federation, colonial nationalism, defence, female suffrage, the price of land and labour. With the development of the school and technical education in the latter part of the nineteenth century, the need for community technical and adult education declined. As a result of the introduction of government library grants in 1867, many Mechanics’ Institutes incorporated a free library in their buildings to finance collection of their books. By 1884-85, there were 257 free libraries in Victoria. However, government support and library grants dropped off in the 1890s depression. Entertainment took on a greater role in the 1890s, with the introduction of moving pictures, billiards rooms, games rooms (chess), concerts and dances. The First World War had a devastating impact on many rural communities, and some Mechanics’ Institutes were no longer viable. On the other hand the early twentieth century was also a time of agricultural development, and many country towns were growing in this period. The 1930s depression further limited growth of many libraries and reduced grants substantially. In response many Mechanics’ Institutes were renamed, for example as memorial halls, in order to retain and attract more patrons (eg at nearby Sunbury). The diminishing role for Mechanics’ Institutes and the preference for larger and better appointed halls (with supper rooms, cloak rooms etc) resulted in demolition of some small Institutes. The advent of cars, radios, and television also provided other opportunities for recreation, learning and entertainment. The greater role of municipalities in providing library services also eroded the need for free libraries. While over 500 Mechanics’ Institutes or halls are extant, very few of these retain their original role as ‘diffusers of useful knowledge’. Most are still available for community purposes, as venues for meetings, socials, civic occasions etc, while others are employed as museums, shops and theatres. Most buildings are on Crown land, and managed by a delegated committee of management, who are responsible for raising revenue to maintain aging buildings. Many of those which were originally established on private land, such as Melton, have since reverted back to the Crown, and municipal Councils. The most common Mechanics Institute building form is the simple weatherboard gable building with iron roofs, notable for their ‘honest simplicity’ rather than as ‘monuments of the ancients’. At the other extreme there are some magnificent two storeyed brick and stucco structures with elaborate ornamentation (as was apparently envisaged by some in Melton in 1905-10)". The future of Melton Mechanic Institute Gazette articlelocal architecture

The photograph was taken at the Sunbury Presentation Ball in c1940. The participants are Back row L-R - 1. Ron Forbes, ---, ---, ---, ---, Bernie McMahon, ---, ---, ---,---. Front Row L-R: ---, ---, ---, 4. Thelma Dunn, 5. Pat Hayes, ---, 7. Mary Morrison, 8. Judy McDougall, ---, ---. Flower Girl Fay Webb and Page Boy Alan Webb are standing in front of the group.Debutante Balls were popular annual social events that were usually staged by the local Sunbury community or the Shire of Bulla. They were held in the Memorial Hall and were well attended by people in the district. A non-digital black and white photograph with a cream border showing ten debutantes and their partners along with the flower girl and page boy posing for a photograph.debutante balls, sunbury, faye webb, alan webb, ron forbes, bernie mcmahon, thelma dunn, pat hayes, mary morrison, judy mcdougall, flower girls, page boys

The photograph was taken in 1915 at the opening of the Starkie Memorial Fountain that was erected at the intersection of Brook, O'Shanassy and Stawell Streets in Sunbury Township. Joseph Starkie was instrumental in establishing a reliable water supply which was turned on 13th March 1905. The fountain was erected in recognition of his contribution to the town 10 years later on 26th February 1915. As the town grew and the main shopping strip became busier, it was relocated to a memorial site opposite the Memorial Hall.The Starkie Fountain is one of Sunbury's important memorials erected to celebrate an important development in the town.A non-digital black and white photograph of a crowd of people are gathered around a monument for a ceremony. Flags are festooned above the crowd and an open parkland is in the background as well as a church. Details of the event are handwritten on the back of the photograph.joseph starkie, j.d.starkie memorial, stawell street, sunbury, water fountain