Showing 339 items
matching the tea house
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Lakes Entrance Regional Historical Society (operating as Lakes Entrance History Centre & Museum)
Photograph, 1909
... Black and white photograph showing summer house of tea tree... - Headteacher, Vic Fish, Ted Fish. Schools Students Our Summer House ...Boys identified as Les Fish, Frank Tomlin, John Rowe, Bert Stocks, George Ward, Arthur Falk, A Cooper - Headteacher, Vic Fish, Ted Fish.Black and white photograph showing summer house of tea tree sticks with three boys on top of roof and five boys with teacher standing, Kalimna West Primary School. Kalimna West VictoriaOur Summer House Kalimna Schoolschools, students -
Melbourne Legacy
Photograph, Widows Club at Legacy House, 1980s
... A group of ladies with cups of tea at Legacy House...Black and white photo of a group of widows at Legacy House... of a group of widows at Legacy House with cups of tea and food ...A group of ladies with cups of tea at Legacy House. The lady second from corner is Valerie Rae. The other ladies are not known. Date is not known but possibly in the 1980s. Was donated with three other photos after Valerie Rae passed away. The note with the photos was dated 2014 and it said she died in 2009.A record of activities that Legacy provided for widows.Black and white photo of a group of widows at Legacy House with cups of tea and food.Handwritten on back in blue pen 'Legacy House'.widows, widows clubs -
Lorne Historical Society
Photograph, Great Ocean Road, Eastern View at bottom of Clarke's hill 1923
... coach from Geelong. The passengers had tea at Clarkes Guest...Lorne Historical Society Fig Tree Community House Mountjoy ...Photoof a car with passengers. In winter it was too muddy for passengers in cars to travel all the way to Lorne so a horse drawn coach was used to travel to Clarke's where it met the service coach from Geelong. The passengers had tea at Clarkes Guest HousePhotograph of car, passengers and horse drawn coach. Inscribed "taken from the bottom of Clarke's Hill in 1923" In winter it was too muddy for cars to travel all the way to Lorne so the horse drawn coach was used to travel from there to Clarke's Hill where it met the service coach from Geelong. The passengers had tea at Clarke's Guesthousegreat ocean road, m1923 clarkes guest house, coach. winter transport -
Ringwood and District Historical Society
Book, PenFolk Publishing, Busch's Weir, 2019
... in the 'country'. Busch's guest house, tea rooms, and weir attracted... house, tea rooms, and weir attracted locals and tourists alike ...One of several Dandenong Creek marker posts inscriptions: "Busch's Weir was located at this section of the creek between 1930s to 1960s. In the 1930s, German migrant Hermann Otto Busch and his wife Dorothea moved to Bayswater and opened the Waldheim Farm Guest House. Busch built a concrete weir to create a popular swimming and fishing destination. The weir was a thriving attraction until the 1960s. Although little remains, it is fondly remembered by the Heathmont community. City dwellers would retreat to the guesthouse and wander down to Dandenong Creek to enjoy a weekend in the 'country'. Busch's guest house, tea rooms, and weir attracted locals and tourists alike."A private weir on Dandenong Creek Bayswater and Heathmont, 1930s-1967. Landscape layout soft covered book by Heathmont History Group (Ringwood & District Historical Society.Front cover image: A 1956 painting by Hermann Busch of his weir. The publication of this book has been made possible by a financial grant from Melbourne Water, as part of the Enhancing Our Dandenong Creek program. We particularly acknowledge the encouragement and support of Sarah Watkins, Senior Planning Engineer, MW. -
City of Moorabbin Historical Society (Operating the Box Cottage Museum)
Photograph, 2 B&W, 1898 The O'Maras', Sandringham Fishermen : Date Unknown, Mud Brick House, 1898 The O'Maras', Sandringham Fishermen Date Unknown, Mud Brick House, 1898
The O'Maras, of Sandringham fishermen. Early mud brick house. Located in Moorabbin and was still there in 1940. The house was situated in Reserve Road, almost opposite Wangara Road, (formerly Cemetery Road). About twelve years ago, (* the writer states no year), there was a vacant block where the house used to be - it was next to a electrical factory. 2x Black and White Photographs. (i) An 1898 photograph showing two men with a fishing boat on the beach. A beach house / shed , paling fence and tall tea-trees are seen in the background. (ii) A large early mud brick house with a tin roof, chimney and a water tank sitting on a block of grassed landWritten on back (i) The O'Maras / Sandringham / fishermen 1898 (ii) Mud brick house at Moorabbin ( house was there in 1940) / Situated in Reserve Road almost opposite Wangara Road / ( formerly Cemetery Road ). About 12 years ago there was a vacant block where the house used to be and it was next to an electrical factory. unsigned undatedthe o'maras, sandringham fisherman, 1898, mud brick house, moorabbin, wangara road, reserve road, electrical factory, early settlers, pioneers, shire of moorabbin, sandringham, beaumaris, mentone, fishermen, dairy farmaers, poultry farmers, market gardeners, -
The Beechworth Burke Museum
Photograph
A large black and white photograph of 9 ladies dressed in long garms with tea cups and saucers, some standing and some sitting in a house garden and onto verandah. A central figure is pouring tea from a silver pot on a table with a lace table cloth. This image depicts the way in which female residents in Beechworth in the late 1800s would enjoy their time through garden tea parties, providing insight to their ways of entertainment. Black and white rectangular reproduced photograph printed on matte photographic paper Reverse: BMM 8785 / 1997 2600/ PH 79 beechworth, tea party, burke museum, garden party, garden, verandah, cups and saucers -
The Beechworth Burke Museum
Audio - Oral History, Mrs May Harris, July 2000
This oral history interview was conducted with Mrs May Harris (née Peach), who grew up in the farming town of Stanley, about 9km southeast of Beechworth. Mrs Harris moved to Melbourne and got work cleaning houses before getting married. Her husband worked on farms, and the couple eventually found their way back to Stanley. She describes experiences of illness, particularly her husband and children's experience with asthma and the impact that had on their lives and careers. Mrs Harris talks about local fundraising events in Stanley, particularly what she calls 'Australian Teas', as well as some of the dances and picnics that were major sources of entertainment when she was young. This oral history recording was part of a project conducted by Jennifer Williams in the year 2000 to capture the everyday life and struggles in Beechworth during the twentieth century. This project involved recording seventy oral histories on cassette tapes of local Beechworth residents which were then published in a book titled: Listen to what they say: voices of twentieth century Beechworth. These cassette tapes were digitised in July 2021 with funds made available by the Friends of the Burke.Mrs May Harris' statement explores life in a small farming community alongside some of her life in the city, which might provide an interesting comparison. She discusses the difficulties of facing illnesses in these rural communities, noting the lack of available resources and need to travel to Beechworth. She discusses community events, highlighting both the social aspects and the fundraising aspects.This is a digital copy of a recording that was originally captured on a cassette tape. The cassette tape is black with a horizontal white strip and is currently stored in a clear flat plastic rectangular container. It holds up 40 minutes of recordings on each side.listen to what they say, beechworth, oral history, burke museum, illness, asthma, farming, farm work, rural life, stanley, stanley athenaeum, sinclair's sawmill, sawmill, the great depression, housework, australian tea, fundraising -
Greensborough Historical Society
Tea-towel, Greensborough Primary School Gr2062 Centenary tea-towel, 1979c
Created to celebrate the Greensborough Primary School centenary in 1979, this tea-towel is decorated with a sketch of the original school house which is still standing on the site.A piece of memorabilia in mint condition (never used).Linen tea-towel, bright blue with sketch of Greensborough Primary School in black. Greensborough Centenary stencilled on item.greensborough primary school centenary, tea-towels -
Lorne Historical Society
Photograph, Smoko at Big Hill 1920
Group of Great Ocean Road construction workers., with machinery and Billy teagreat ocean road, big hill, road construction -
Greensborough Historical Society
Photograph - Digital image, Jan Lewis, View from Sondemeyer's House overlooking the Greensborough Tea Gardens and bridge circa 1958, 1958c
... View from Sondemeyer's House overlooking the Greensborough... from Sondemeyer's House overlooking the Greensborough Tea ...From Sondemeyer's overlooking Tea Gardens and bridge circa 1958Digital copy of black and white photographsondemeyers hill -
Federation University Historical Collection
Photograph - Black and White, St Hilda's Band having tea at Neath, Wales, 1934, 4/6/1934
Frank Wright was a renown resident of Smeaton, where he was born on 2 August 1901. He lived at Laura Villa, and attended Smeaton State School. His father William was a gold miner and his mother's name was Sarah. Their family won many singing and instrumental awards. Frank was tutored by Percy Code and was awarded a gold medal for the highest marks in the ALCM examinations in the British Colonies at the age of seventeen years. He became the Australian Open Cornet Champion by the age of eighteen. A year later, Frank conducted the City of Ballarat Band, and later the Ballarat Soldiers’ Memorial Band. He formed the Frank Wright Frisco Band and Frank Wright and his Coliseum Orchestra. These bands won many South Street awards, and Frank as conductor won many awards in the Australian Band Championship contest. In 1933 Frank Wright sailed to England to conduct the famous St Hilda’s Band and was later appointed Musical Director of the London County Council, where he organized many amazing concerts in parks, in and around the London district. He was made Professor of Brass and Military Band Scoring and conducted at the Guildhall of Music and Drama. Frank was often invited to adjudicate Brass Band Championships around Europe, in Australia, including South Street and in New Zealand. The Frank Wright Medal at the Royal South Street competition is awarded to an individual recognized as making an outstanding contribution to brass music in Australia.Black and white photograph of a group of men relaxing with a cup of tea. Some are dressed in a band uniform whilst others have removed their jackets. They are sitting and standing on a grassed area, perhaps a village green. Behind them are a group of houses. The men are the St. Hilda's Band with Frank Wright, the conductor standing, dressed in a suit with his hands in his pockets.Written in pencil on the back - St. Hilda's band having tea at Neath, Wales, 4-6-34frank wright, st hilda's band, neath, brass band, conductor -
Federation University Historical Collection
Book - Report, Camp Street Precinct Ballarat Conservation Management Plan, November 1999
This report was prepared for the City of Ballarat to assist in the process of planning for the future management and development of the Camp Street precinct.214 page report with spiral binding and a cover featuring a black and white image of the Ballarat Post Office, Ballarat Free Library and Ballarat State Offices. The report includes information on buildings in the Camp Street precinct including Art Gallery of Ballarat, old Colonists' Hall, former Police Court, former Police Station, Former Police Barracks, Government Camp (1852-1864), etcballarat fine art gallery, art gallery of ballarat, ballarat old colonists hall, ballarat former library, ballarat old court house, old ballarat police station, former ballarat post office, ballarat market reserve, ballarat benevolent reserve, bones building, old colonists hall, former ballarat call room, former ballarat police court, archaeology, aledandria tea room, former lister and angel warehouse, pratts warehouse, cms, conservation management plan, old colonists' hall, old colonists' association -
Federation University Historical Collection
Photograph - Photograph Album, Photographs of Ballarat Buildings, 1967
When these photos were taken Geoffrey Biddington was highly involved with the Ballarat Branch of the National Trust. At one time Her Majesty's Theatre was known as the Memorial Theatre. Lenaghan of Tourello "Master Dan Lenaghan, eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. R. Lenaghan, of Tourello, has been successful in obtaining a Government scholarship, tenable for four years at St. Patrick's College, Ballarat.(Melbourne Advocate, 02 March 1939) Two Black folders of Ballarat photographs as follows: .1) Interior of Ballarat Railway Station .2) Interior of Ballarat Railway Station .3) Craig's Hotel .4) Craig's Hotel .5) Craig's Hotel .6) Craig's Hotel .7) Ballarat Fine Art Gallery later Art Gallery of Ballarat .8) Cuthberts, corner Lydiard and Mair Streets .9) Golden City Hotel (GCs) .10) Golden City Hotel (GCs) .11) Reid's Coffee Palace .12) Alexandria Tea Rooms, neighbouring Old Colonists' Club, Ballarat, Lydiard Street North .13) ? .14 Caste iron drink fountain, corner of Strurt and Drummond Streets, October 1967 .15) Lal Lal Blast Furnace .16) Ballarat Botanical Garden Gates .17) Ballaarat Old Cemetery Gates .18) Novar gate .19) Ballaarat Old Cemetery Gates .20) ? .21) Webster Street .22) Doveton Street South .23) ? .24) ? .25) .26) .27) Iron hitching Rail .28) Iron hitching Rail .30) Postal Box, Corner or Armstrong Street South and Eyre Street, October 1967 .31) Iron Drinking Fountain in the Ballarat Botanical Gardens .32) Iron Drinking Fountain in the Ballarat Botanical Gardens .33) Killarney, Warrenheip .34) Killarney, Warrenheip .35) Killarney, Warrenheip .36) Killarney, Warrenheip .37) Bailey's Mansion, Drummond Street .38) Bailey's Mansion, Drummond Street .39) Beaufort House .40) Beaufort House .41) ? .42) ? .43) ? .44) ? .45) ? .46) ? .47) ? .48) Lenaghan's Tourello, February 1968 .49) Lenaghan's Tourello, February 1968 .50) ? .51) ? .52) ? .53) ? .54) ? .55) ? .56) ? .57) ? .58) ? .59) ? .70) Her Majesty's Theatre, Lydiard Street .71) Her Majesty's Theatre, Lydiard Street .72) Dana Street Primary School, September 1967 .73) Ballarat School of Mines Administration Building, September 1967 .74) Eureka Street Primary School ? .75) Selkirk Brick Chimney? .76) Grigsby's Foundry, Mair Street, September 1967 .77) Pratt's Warehouse, Camp Street .78) Premises of R. And R.A. Williams, Mair Street, September 1967 .79) City Oval Grandstand, with fire training tower in the background, .80) City Oval Grandstand .81) City Oval Grandstand .82) Smythesdale Post Office, October 1967 .83) Court House Hotel. Smythesdale, October 1967 .84) Smythesdale, October 1967ballarat, buildings, bluestone, iron, architecture, biddington, geoff biddington, railway, old colonists, lal lal blast furnace, beaufort house, her majesty's theatre, craig's hotel, botanical gardens, bailey, cuthbert, lenaghan, tourello, smythesdale post office, court house hotel, smythesdale, smythesdale, alexandria tea rooms, cast iron, eureka street primary school, dana street primary school, ballarat school of mines administration building, grigsby brass founder, foundry, pratt's warehouse, selkirk bricks, grandstand, court house hotel -
Ringwood and District Historical Society
Biography, He heard Dickens, Disraeli, 21-Jul-44
Handwritten article about Captain Edward Thomas Miles 21-Jul-1944, copied from a newspaper.This is a handwritten copy from an unnamed newspaper. Refer also to the Australian Dictionary of Biography.; 21-Jul-1944 - Newspaper.; He heard Dickens, Disraeli; Captain Edward Thomas Miles who died recently at Ringwood where he had lived in retirement for many years, was born in Hobart 1849 and gained Master Mariners Certificate at 21 and his first command two years later. Served in the China, South African and Indian Wars. Was on the China - London tea run.; Pioneered the coastal trade of Tasmania.; was warden of Hobart marine Board, Member for Glamorgan in the Tasmanian House of Assembly for 12 years and also a minister before Federation.; In 1905 got Concession from Siam to form the Tongkah Harbour Tin Dredging Company, which later won 2,000,000 pounds worth of Tin. Sons and Grandsons managed the original company until present war, and one son and three grandsons remained to become prisioners of war.; Met Cecil Rhodes when he went to the Cape with his first sample of diamonds from the Kimberley.; With all other ship's officers was called out as special policeman to quell the Fenian riots in London.; Heard on several occasions Charles Dickens reading his own works. Listened to Disraeli and Gladstone speaking in the House of Commons.; With his partners built the Zeehan to Strahan railway, Tasmania, 29 miles. Was shipwrecked 3 times.; His first memory was that of travelling with his parents to the gold diggings in Victoria by bullock cart in 1852 at the age of three years. +Additional Keywords: Miles, Captain Edward Thomas / Dickens, Charles / Disraeli / Rhodes / Gladstone -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Ceramic - Teapot, Josiah Wedgwood & Sons Ltd, 1890
Josiah Wedgwood (1730–95), came from an established family of potters and trained with his elder brother. He was in partnership with the leading potter Thomas Whieldon from 1754 until 1759 when a new green ceramic glaze he had developed encouraged him to start a new business on his own. Relatives leased him the Ivy House in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, and his marriage to Sarah Wedgwood, a distant cousin with a sizeable dowry, helped him launch his new venture. After an extensive and systematic program of experiment Wedgwood in 1765 created a new variety of creamware, a fine glazed earthenware, which was the main body used for his table wares thereafter. After he supplied Queen Charlotte with a tea set for twelve the same year, she gave official permission to call it "Queen's Ware" (from 1767). This new form, perfected as white pearlware (from 1780), sold extremely well across Europe, and to America. It had the additional advantage of being relatively light, saving on transport costs and import tariffs in foreign markets. Wedgwood developed several further industrial innovations for his company, notably a way of measuring kiln temperatures accurately, and several new ceramic bodies including the "dry-body" Stoneware, "black basalt" (by 1769), cane ware, and jasperware (the 1770s), all designed to be sold unglazed, like "biscuit porcelain". In the later 19th century the company returned to being a leader in the design and technical innovation, as well as continuing to make many of the older styles. Despite increasing local competition in its export markets, the business continued to flourish in the 19th and early 20th centuries, remaining in the hands of the Wedgwood family, but after World War II it began to contract, along with the rest of the English pottery industry. After buying several other Staffordshire ceramics companies, in 1987 Wedgwood merged with Waterford Crystal to create Waterford Wedgwood plc, an Ireland-based luxury brands group. After a 2009 purchase by KPS Capital Partners, a New York-based private equity firm. Wedgwood has always been associated with fine china, porcelain, and luxury accessories, the entrepreneur Josiah Wedgwood rapidly became successful and was soon one of the largest manufacturers of Staffordshire pottery. Wedgwood is a significant pottery manufacturer as the company is especially associated with the "dry-bodied" (unglazed) stoneware Jasperware in contrasting colours, and in particular that in "Wedgwood blue" and white that has become a trademark. Teapot and lid, Wedgwood blue Jasperware with white patternImpressed name Wedgewood and date letter "S" = 1890flagstaff hill, warrnambool, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, teapot, wedgewood blue, wedgewood teapot, tea pot, kitchen ware, josiah wedgwood, staffordshire potteries -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Furniture - Door, 1871 or earlier
The wooden door was salvaged from the wreck of the sailing ship Eric the Red, which was a wooden, three masted clipper ship. Eric the Red was the largest full-rigged ship built at Bath, Maine, USA in 1871, having had a 1,580 tons register. She was built and registered by Arthur Sewall, later to become the partnership E. & A. Sewall, the 51st ship built by this company. The annually-published List of Merchant Vessels of the U.S. shows Bath was still the home port of Eric the Red in 1880. The vessel was named after the Viking discoverer, Eric the Red, who was the first European to reach the shores of North America (in 980AD). The ship Eric the Red at first traded in coal between America and Britain, and later traded in guano nitrates from South America. In 1879 she was re-metalled and was in first class condition. On 10th June 1880 (some records say 12th June) Eric the Red departed New York for Melbourne and then Sydney. She had been commissioned by American trade representatives to carry a special cargo of 500 exhibits (1400 tons) – about a quarter to a third of America’s total exhibits - from America for the U.S.A. pavilion at Melbourne’s first International Exhibition. The exhibits included furniture, ironmongery, wines, chemicals, dental and surgical instruments, paper, cages, bronze lamp trimmings, axles, stamped ware, astronomical and time globes, samples of corn and the choicest of leaf tobacco. Other general cargo included merchandise such as cases of kerosene and turpentine, brooms, Bristol's Sarsaparilla, Wheeler and Wilson sewing machines, Wheeler’s thresher machine, axe handles and tools, cases of silver plate, toys, pianos and organs, carriages and Yankee notions. The Eric the Red left New York under the command of Captain Z. Allen (or some records say Captain Jacques Allen) and 24 other crew including the owner’s son third mate Ned Sewall. There were 2 saloon passengers also. The ship had been sailing for an uneventful 85 days and the voyage was almost at its end. On 4th September 1880 the Eric the Red approached Cape Otway with a moderate north-west wind and hazy and overcast atmosphere. Around 1:30am Captain Allen sighted the Cape Otway light and was keeping the ship 5-6 miles offshore to stay clear of the hazardous Otway Reef. However he had badly misjudged his position. The ship hit the Otway Reef about 2 miles out to sea, south west of the Cape Otway light station. He ordered the wheel to be put ‘hard up’ thinking that she might float off the reef. A heavy sea knocked the man away from the wheel, broke the wheel ropes and carried away the rudder. The sea swamped the lifeboats. The mizzenmast fell, with all of its rigging, then the mainmast also fell and the ship broke in two. Some said that the passenger Vaughan, who was travelling for his health and not very strong, was washed overboard and never seen again. The ship started breaking up. The forward house came adrift with three of the crew on it as well as a longboat, which the men succeeded in launching and keeping afloat by continually bailing with their sea boots. The captain, the third mate (the owner’s son) and others clung to the mizzenmast in the sea. Then the owner’s son was washed away off the mast. Within 10 minutes the rest of the ship was in pieces, completely wrecked, with cargo and wreckage floating in the sea. The captain encouraged the second mate to swim with him to the deckhouse where there were other crew but the second mate wouldn’t go with him. Eventually the Captain made it to the deckhouse and the men pulled him up. At about 4:30am the group of men on the deckhouse saw the lights of a steamer and called for help. At the same time they noticed the second mate and the other man had drifted nearby, still on the spur, and pulled them both onto the wreck. The coastal steamer Dawn was returning to Warrnambool from Melbourne, its sailing time different to its usual schedule. Captain Jones sent out two life boats, and fired off rockets and blue lights to illuminate the area. They picked up the three survivors who were in the long boat from Eric the Red. Two men were picked up out of the water, one being the owner’s son who was clinging to floating kerosene boxes. At daylight the Dawn then rescued the 18 men from the floating portion of the deckhouse, which had drifted about 4 miles from where they’d struck the reef. Shortly after the rescue the deckhouse drifted onto breakers and was thrown onto rocks at Point Franklin, about 2 miles east of Cape Otway. Captain Jones had signalled to Cape Otway lighthouse the number of the Eric the Red and later signalled that there was a wreck at Otway Reef but there was no response from the lighthouse. The captain and crew of the Dawn spent several more hours searching unsuccessfully for more survivors, even going back as far as Apollo Bay. On board the Dawn the exhausted men received care and attention to their needs and wants, including much needed clothing. Captain Allen was amongst the 23 battered and injured men who were rescued and later taken to Warrnambool for care. Warrnambool’s mayor and town clerk offered them all hospitality, the three badly injured men going to the hospital for care and others to the Olive Branch Hotel, then on to Melbourne. Captain Allen’s leg injury prevented him from going ashore so he and three other men travelled on the Dawn to Portland. They were met by the mayor who also treated them all with great kindness. Captain Allen took the train back to Melbourne then returned to America. Those saved were Captain Z. Allen (or Jacques Allen), J. Darcy chief mate, James F. Lawrence second mate, Ned Sewall third mate and owner’s son, John French the cook, C. Nelson sail maker, Clarence W. New passenger, and the able seamen Dickenson, J. Black, Denis White, C. Herbert, C. Thompson, A. Brooks, D. Wilson, J. Ellis, Q. Thompson, C. Newman, W. Paul, J. Davis, M. Horenleng, J. Ogduff, T. W. Drew, R. Richardson. Four men had lost their lives; three of them were crew (Gus Dahlgreen ship’s carpenter, H. Ackman steward, who drowned in his cabin, and George Silver seaman) and one a passenger (J. B. Vaughan). The body of one of them had been found washed up at Cape Otway and was later buried in the lighthouse cemetery; another body was seen on an inaccessible ledge. Twelve months later the second mate James F. Lawrence, from Nova Scotia, passed away in the Warrnambool district; an obituary was displayed in the local paper. The captain and crew of the Dawn were recognised by the United States Government in July 1881 for their humane efforts, being thanked and presented with substantial monetary rewards, medals and gifts. Neither the ship, nor its cargo, was insured. The ship was worth about £15,000 and the cargo was reportedly worth £40,000; only about £2,000 worth had been recovered. Cargo and wreckage washed up at Apollo Bay, Peterborough, Port Campbell, Western Port and according to some reports, even as far away as the beaches of New Zealand. The day after the wreck the government steam ship Pharos was sent from Queenscliff to clear the shipping lanes of debris that could be a danger to ships. The large midship deckhouse of the ship was found floating in a calm sea near Henty Reef. Items such as an American chair, a ladder and a nest of boxes were all on top of the deckhouse. As it was so large and could cause danger to passing ships, Captain Payne had the deckhouse towed towards the shore just beyond Apollo Bay. Between Apollo Bay and Blanket Bay the captain and crew of Pharos collected Wheeler and Wilson sewing machines, nests of boxes, bottles of Bristol’s sarsaparilla, pieces of common American chairs, axe handles, a Wheelers’ Patent thresher and a sailor’s trunk with the words “A. James” on the front. A ship’s flag-board bearing the words “Eric the Red” was found on the deckhouse; finally those on board the Pharos had the name of the wrecked vessel. During this operation Pharos came across the government steamer Victoria and also a steamer S.S. Otway, both of which were picking up flotsam and wreckage. A whole side of the hull and three large pieces of the other side of the hull, with some of the copper sheathing stripped off, had floated on to Point Franklin. Some of the vessels yards and portions of her masts were on shore. The pieces of canvas attached to the yards and masts confirmed that the vessel had been under sail. The beach there was piled with debris several feet high. There were many cases of Diamond Oil kerosene, labelled R. W. Cameron and Company, New York. There were also many large planks of red pine, portions of a small white boat and a large, well-used oar. Other items found ashore included sewing machines (some consigned to ‘Long and Co.”) and notions, axe and scythe handles, hay forks, wooden pegs, rolls of wire (some branded “T.S” and Co, Melbourne”), kegs of nails branded “A.T. and Co.” from the factory of A. Field and Son, Taunton, Massachusetts, croquet balls and mallets, buggy fittings, rat traps, perfumery, cutlery and Douay Bibles, clocks, bicycles, chairs, a fly wheel, a cooking stove, timber, boxes, pianos, organs and a ladder. (Wooden clothes pegs drifted in for many years). There seemed to be no personal luggage or clothing. The Pharos encountered a long line, about one and a half miles, of floating wreckage about 10 miles off land, south east of Cape Otway, and in some places about 40 feet wide. It seemed that more than half of it was from Eric the Red. The ship’s crew rescued 3 cases that were for the Melbourne Exhibition and other items from amongst the debris. There were also chairs, doors, musical instruments, washing boards, nests of trunks and fly catchers floating in the sea. Most of the goods were saturated and smelt of kerosene. A section of the hull lies buried in the sand at Parker River Beach. An anchor with chain is embedded in the rocks east of Point Franklin and a second anchor, thought to be from Eric the Red, is on display at the Cape Otway light station. (There is a photograph of a life belt on the verandah of Rivernook Guest House in Princetown with the words “ERIC THE RED / BOSTON”. This is rather a mystery as the ship was registered in Bath, Maine, USA.) Parts of the ship are on display at Bimbi Park Caravan Park and at Apollo Bay Museum. Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village also has part of the helm (steering wheel), a carved wooden sword (said to be the only remaining portion of the ship’s figurehead; further research is currently being carried out), a door, a metal rod and samples of wood. Much of the wreckage was recovered by the local residents before police and other authorities arrived at the scene. Looters went to great effort to salvage goods, being lowered down the high cliff faces to areas with little or no beach to collect items from the wreckage, their mates above watching out for dangerous waves. A Tasmanian newspaper reports on a court case in Stawell, Victoria, noting a man who was caught 2 months later selling tobacco from the wreckage of Eric the Red. Some of the silverware is still treasured by descendants of Mr Mackenzie who was given these items by officials for his help in securing the cargo. The gifts included silver coffee and tea pots, half a dozen silver serviette rings and two sewing machines. The wreck and cargo were sold to a Melbourne man who salvaged a quantity of high quality tobacco and dental and surgical instruments. Timbers from the ship were salvaged and used in the construction of houses and sheds around Apollo Bay, including a guest house, Milford House (since burnt down in bushfires), which had furniture, fittings and timber on the dining room floor from the ship. A 39.7 foot long trading ketch, the Apollo, was also built from its timbers by Mr Burgess in 1883 and subsequently used in Tasmanian waters. It was the first attempt at ship building in Apollo bay. In 1881 a red light was installed about 300 feet above sea level at the base of the Cape Otway lighthouse to warn ships when they were too close to shore; It would not be visible unless a ship came within 3 miles from it. This has proved to be an effective warning. The State Library of Victoria has a lithograph in its collection depicting the steamer Dawn and the shipwrecked men, titled. "Wreck of the ship Eric the Red, Cape Otway: rescue of the crew by the Dawn". “The Eric the Red is historically significant as one of Victoria's major 19th century shipwrecks. (Heritage Victoria Eric the Red; HV ID 239) The wreck led to the provision of an additional warning light placed below the Cape Otway lighthouse to alert mariners to the location of Otway Reef. The site is archaeologically significant for its remains of a large and varied cargo and ship's fittings being scattered over a wide area. The site is recreationally and aesthetically significant as it is one of the few sites along this coast where tourists can visit identifiable remains of a large wooden shipwreck, and for its location set against the background of Cape Otway, Bass Strait, and the Cape Otway lighthouse.“ (Victorian Heritage Database Registration Number S239, Official Number 8745 USA) Door from the wreck of the ship Eric the Red. The wooden singular rectangular door includes three insert panel sections. The top section is square shaped and is missing its panel or glass. The centre timber panel is about a third of the height of the top panel and the bottom timber panel is approximately equal in height to the total height of the two upper panels. The door fastenings include both a metal door latch and traditional door bolt. They are both attached to the front right hand side of the door. The bolt is just below the top panel, and the door latch is in approximately the centre of that side. The door latch has a round mark where a handle could have been attached. The wood of the door has scraping marks in a semi-circle around the door latch where the latch has swung around on its one remaining fastening and grazed the surface. There is a metal hinge at the top section of the door on the opposite side to the latch. The painted surface has been scraped back to expose the wood. The door is shorter than the average height of a person. On the reverse of the door there are lines on the panels, just inside their edges, is what appears to be pencil. The door is not aligned straight but is skew to centre.warrnambool, flagstaff hill, flagstaff hill maritime village, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, great ocean road, shipwreck artefact, eric the red, jaques allen, sewall, 1880, melbourne exhibition 1880, cape otway, otway reef, victorian shipwreck, bass strait, eric-the-red, door -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Wood Sample, about 1871
This piece of timber from the ship Eric the Red has been eaten through by the marine animals called Teredo Worms, sometimes called sea worms or ‘termites of the sea’. The worms bore holes into wood that is immersed in sea water and bacteria inside the worms digest the wood. Shipbuilders tried to prevent this problem by using coatings of tar, wax, lead or pitch. In the 18th and 19th centuries the outside of their ships were sheathed in copper or a combination of copper and zinc (called Muntz metal) and would be re-metalled periodically to ensure the sheathing would remain effective. In more recent times the ships are protected with a toxic coating. The American ship Eric the Red was a wooden, three masted clipper ship. She had 1,580 tons register and was the largest full-rigged ship built at Bath, Maine, USA in 1871. She was built and registered by Arthur Sewall, later to become the partnership E. & A. Sewall, the 51st ship built by this company. The annually-published List of Merchant Vessels of the U.S. shows Bath was still the home port of Eric the Red in 1880. The vessel was named after the Viking discoverer, Eric ‘the Red-haired’ Thorvaldsson , who was the first European to reach the shores of North America (in 980AD). The ship Eric the Red at first traded in coal between America and Britain, and later traded in guano nitrates from South America. In 1879 she was re-metalled and was in first class condition. On 10th June 1880 (some records say 12th June) Eric the Red departed New York for Melbourne and then Sydney. She had been commissioned by American trade representatives to carry a special cargo of 500 exhibits (1400 tons) – about a quarter to a third of America’s total exhibits - for the U.S.A. pavilion at Melbourne’s first International Exhibition. The exhibits included furniture, ironmongery, wines, chemicals, dental and surgical instruments, paper, cages, bronze lamp trimmings, axles, stamped ware, astronomical and time globes, samples of corn and the choicest of leaf tobacco. Other general cargo included merchandise such as cases of kerosene and turpentine, brooms, Bristol's Sarsaparilla, Wheeler and Wilson sewing machines, Wheeler’s thresher machine, axe handles and tools, cases of silver plate, toys, pianos and organs, carriages and Yankee notions. The Eric the Red left New York under the command of Captain Zaccheus Allen (or some records say Captain Jacques Allen) and 24 other crew including the owner’s son third mate Ned Sewall. There were also 2 saloon passengers on board. The ship had been sailing for an uneventful 85 days and the voyage was almost at its end. As Eric the Red approached Cape Otway there was a moderate north-west wind and hazy and overcast atmosphere. On 4th September 1880 at about 1:30am Captain Allen sighted the Cape Otway light and was keeping the ship 5-6 miles offshore to stay clear of the hazardous Otway Reef. However he had badly misjudged his position. The ship hit the Otway Reef about 2 miles out to sea, south west of the Cape Otway light station. Captain Allen ordered the wheel to be put ‘hard up’ thinking that she might float off the reef. The sea knocked the helmsman away from the wheel, broke the wheel ropes and carried away the rudder. The lifeboats were swamped, the mizzenmast fell, with all of its rigging, then the mainmast also fell and the ship broke in two. Some said that the passenger Vaughan, who was travelling for his health and not very strong, was washed overboard and never seen again. The ship started breaking up. The forward house came adrift with three of the crew on it as well as a longboat, which the men succeeded in launching and keeping afloat by continually bailing with their sea boots. The captain, the third mate (the owner’s son) and others clung to the mizzenmast in the sea. Then the owner’s son was washed away off the mast. Within 10 minutes the rest of the ship was in pieces, completely wrecked, with cargo and wreckage floating in the sea. The captain encouraged the second mate to swim with him to the deckhouse where there were other crew but the second mate wouldn’t go with him. Eventually the Captain made it to the deckhouse and the men pulled him up. At about 4:30am the group of men on the deckhouse saw the lights of a steamer and called for help. At the same time they noticed the second mate and the other man had drifted nearby, still on the spur, and pulled them both onto the wreck. The coastal steamer SS Dawn was returning to Warrnambool from Melbourne, its sailing time different to its usual schedule. She was built in 1876 and bought by the Portland and Belfast Steam Navigation Co. in 1877. At the time of this journey she was commanded by Captain Jones, and was sailing between Melbourne and Portland via Warrnambool. The provedore of the Dawn, Benjamin Lear, heard cries of distress coming through the portholes of the saloon. He gave the alarm and the engines were stopped. Cries could be heard clearly, coming from the land. Captain Jones sent out crew in two boats, and fired off rockets and blue lights to illuminate the area. They picked up the three survivors who were in the long boat from Eric the Red. Two men were picked up out of the water, one being the owner’s son who was clinging to floating kerosene boxes. At daylight the Dawn then rescued the 18 men from the floating portion of the deckhouse, which had drifted about 4 miles from where they’d struck the reef. Shortly after the rescue the deckhouse drifted onto breakers and was thrown onto rocks at Point Franklin, about 2 miles east of Cape Otway. Captain Jones had signalled to Cape Otway lighthouse the number of the Eric the Red and later signalled that there was a wreck at Otway Reef but there was no response from the lighthouse. The captain and crew of the Dawn spent several more hours searching unsuccessfully for more survivors, even going back as far as Apollo Bay. On board the Dawn the exhausted men received care and attention to their needs and wants, including much needed clothing. Captain Allen was amongst the 23 battered and injured men who were rescued and later taken to Warrnambool for care. Warrnambool’s mayor and town clerk offered them all hospitality, the three badly injured men going to the hospital for care and others to the Olive Branch Hotel, then on to Melbourne. Captain Allen’s leg injury prevented him from going ashore so he and three other men travelled on the Dawn to Portland. They were met by the mayor who also treated them all with great kindness. Captain Allen took the train back to Melbourne then returned to America. Those saved were Captain Zaccheus Allen (or Jacques Allen), J. Darcy chief mate, James F. Lawrence second mate, Ned Sewall third mate and owner’s son, John French the cook, C. Nelson sail maker, Clarence W. New passenger, and the able seamen Dickenson, J. Black, Denis White, C. Herbert, C. Thompson, A. Brooks, D. Wilson, J. Ellis, Q. Thompson, C. Newman, W. Paul, J. Davis, M. Horenleng, J. Ogduff, T. W. Drew, R. Richardson. Four men had lost their lives; three of them were crew (Gus Dahlgreen ship’s carpenter, H. Ackman steward, who drowned in his cabin, and George Silver seaman) and one a passenger (J. B. Vaughan). The body of one of them had been found washed up at Cape Otway and was later buried in the lighthouse cemetery; another body was seen on an inaccessible ledge. Twelve months later the second mate James F. Lawrence, from Nova Scotia, passed away in the Warrnambool district; an obituary was displayed in the local paper. Neither the ship, nor its cargo, was insured. The ship was worth about £15,000 and the cargo was reportedly worth £40,000; only about £2,000 worth had been recovered. Cargo and wreckage washed up at Apollo Bay, Peterborough, Port Campbell, Western Port and according to some reports, even as far away as the beaches of New Zealand. The day after the wreck the government steam ship Pharos was sent from Queenscliff to clear the shipping lanes of debris that could be a danger to ships. The large midship deckhouse of the ship was found floating in a calm sea near Henty Reef. Items such as an American chair, a ladder and a nest of boxes were all on top of the deckhouse. As it was so large and could cause danger to passing ships, Captain Payne had the deckhouse towed towards the shore just beyond Apollo Bay. Between Apollo Bay and Blanket Bay the captain and crew of Pharos collected Wheeler and Wilson sewing machines, nests of boxes, bottles of Bristol’s sarsaparilla, pieces of common American chairs, axe handles, a Wheelers’ Patent thresher and a sailor’s trunk with the words “A. James” on the front. A ship’s flag-board bearing the words “Eric the Red” was found on the deckhouse; finally those on board the Pharos had the name of the wrecked vessel. During this operation Pharos came across the government steamer Victoria and also a steamer S.S. Otway, both of which were picking up flotsam and wreckage. A whole side of the hull and three large pieces of the other side of the hull, with some of the copper sheathing stripped off, had floated on to Point Franklin. Some of the vessels yards and portions of her masts were on shore. The pieces of canvas attached to the yards and masts confirmed that the vessel had been under sail. The beach there was piled with debris several feet high. There were many cases of Diamond Oil kerosene, labelled R. W. Cameron and Company, New York. There were also many large planks of red pine, portions of a small white boat and a large, well-used oar. Other items found ashore included sewing machines (some consigned to ‘Long and Co.”) and notions, axe and scythe handles, hay forks, wooden pegs, rolls of wire (some branded “T.S” and Co, Melbourne”), kegs of nails branded “A.T. and Co.” from the factory of A. Field and Son, Taunton, Massachusetts, croquet balls and mallets, buggy fittings, rat traps, perfumery, cutlery and Douay Bibles, clocks, bicycles, chairs, a fly wheel, a cooking stove, timber, boxes, pianos, organs and a ladder. (Wooden clothes pegs drifted in for many years). There seemed to be no personal luggage or clothing. The Pharos encountered a long line, about one and a half miles, of floating wreckage about 10 miles off land, south east of Cape Otway, and in some places about 40 feet wide. It seemed that more than half of it was from Eric the Red. The ship’s crew rescued 3 cases that were for the Melbourne Exhibition and other items from amongst the debris. There were also chairs, doors, musical instruments, washing boards, nests of trunks and fly catchers floating in the sea. Most of the goods were saturated and smelt of kerosene. A section of the hull lies buried in the sand at Parker River Beach. An anchor with chain is embedded in the rocks east of Point Franklin and a second anchor, thought to be from Eric the Red, is on display at the Cape Otway light station. (There is a photograph of a life belt on the verandah of Rivernook Guest House in Princetown with the words “ERIC THE RED / BOSTON”. This is rather a mystery as the ship was registered in Bath, Maine, USA.) Parts of the ship are on display at Bimbi Park Caravan Park and at Apollo Bay Museum. Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village also has part of the helm (steering wheel), a carved wooden sword (said to be the only remaining portion of the ship’s figurehead; further research is currently being carried out), a door, a metal rod, several samples of wood and a medal for bravery, awarded to Nelson Johnson, a crew member of the S.S. Dawn by the U.S. President, for the rescue of the crew. Much of the wreckage was recovered by the local residents before police and other authorities arrived at the scene. Looters went to great effort to salvage goods, being lowered down the high cliff faces to areas with little or no beach to collect items from the wreckage, their mates above watching out for dangerous waves. A Tasmanian newspaper reports on a court case in Stawell, Victoria, noting a man who was caught 2 months later selling tobacco from the wreckage of Eric the Red. Some of the silverware is still treasured by descendants of Mr Mackenzie who was given these items by officials for his help in securing the cargo. The gifts included silver coffee and tea pots, half a dozen silver serviette rings and two sewing machines. A Mr G.W. Black has in his possession a medal and a purse that were awarded to his father, another Dawn crew member who was part of the rescue team. The medal is inscribed and named “To John Black ….” (from “Shipwrecks” by Margaret E. Mackenzie, 3rd edition, published 1964). The wreck and cargo were sold to a Melbourne man who salvaged a quantity of high quality tobacco and dental and surgical instruments. Timbers from the ship were salvaged and used in the construction of houses and sheds around Apollo Bay, including a guest house, Milford House (since burnt down in bushfires), which had furniture, fittings and timber on the dining room floor from the ship. A 39.7 foot long trading ketch, the Apollo, was also built from its timbers by Mr Burgess in 1883 and subsequently used in Tasmanian waters. It was the first attempt at ship building in Apollo bay. In 1881 a red light was installed about 300 feet above sea level at the base of the Cape Otway lighthouse to warn ships when they were too close to shore; It would not be visible unless a ship came within 3 miles from it. This has proved to be an effective warning. Nelson Johnson, recipient of the medal for bravery, married Elizabeth Howard in 1881 and they had 10 children. They lived in South Melbourne, Victoria. Nelson died in 1922 in Fitzroy Victoria, age 66. In 1895 the owners of the S.S. Dawn, the Portland and Belfast Steam Navigation Co., wound up and sold out to the Belfast Company who took over the Dawn for one year before selling her to Howard Smith. She was condemned and sunk in Suva in 1928. The State Library of Victoria has a lithograph in its collection depicting the steamer Dawn and the shipwrecked men, titled. "Wreck of the ship Eric the Red, Cape Otway: rescue of the crew by the Dawn".The wood (timber) sample is listed on the Collections Australia Database, Heritage Victoria, number 239 00010 A “The Eric the Red is historically significant as one of Victoria's major 19th century shipwrecks. (Heritage Victoria Eric the Red; HV ID 239) The wreck led to the provision of an additional warning light placed below the Cape Otway lighthouse to alert mariners to the location of Otway Reef. The site is archaeologically significant for its remains of a large and varied cargo and ship's fittings being scattered over a wide area. The site is recreationally and aesthetically significant as it is one of the few sites along this coast where tourists can visit identifiable remains of a large wooden shipwreck, and for its location set against the background of Cape Otway, Bass Strait, and the Cape Otway lighthouse.“ (Victorian Heritage Database Registration Number S239, Official Number 8745 USA) Wood sample from the wreck of the ship Eric the Red. Triangular shaped, full of sea worm (Teredo worm) holes. The wood is dark in colour and is very light in weight.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, shipwreck-artefact, eric-the-red, zaccheus-allen, sewall, 1880, melbourne-exhibition, cape-otway, otway-reef, wood-sample, s.s.-dawn -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Wood Sample, About 1871
This piece of timber from the ship Eric the Red has been eaten through by the marine animals called Teredo Worms, sometimes called sea worms or ‘termites of the sea’. The worms bore holes into wood that is immersed in sea water and bacteria inside the worms digest the wood. Shipbuilders tried to prevent this problem by using coatings of tar, wax, lead or pitch. In the 18th and 19th centuries the outside of their ships were sheathed in copper or a combination of copper and zinc (called Muntz metal) and would be re-metalled periodically to ensure the sheathing would remain effective. In more recent times the ships are protected with a toxic coating. The American ship Eric the Red was a wooden, three masted clipper ship. She had 1,580 tons register and was the largest full-rigged ship built at Bath, Maine, USA in 1871. She was built and registered by Arthur Sewall, later to become the partnership E. & A. Sewall, the 51st ship built by this company. The annually-published List of Merchant Vessels of the U.S. shows Bath was still the home port of Eric the Red in 1880. The vessel was named after the Viking discoverer, Eric ‘the Red-haired’ Thorvaldsson , who was the first European to reach the shores of North America (in 980AD). The ship Eric the Red at first traded in coal between America and Britain, and later traded in guano nitrates from South America. In 1879 she was re-metalled and was in first class condition. On 10th June 1880 (some records say 12th June) Eric the Red departed New York for Melbourne and then Sydney. She had been commissioned by American trade representatives to carry a special cargo of 500 exhibits (1400 tons) – about a quarter to a third of America’s total exhibits - for the U.S.A. pavilion at Melbourne’s first International Exhibition. The exhibits included furniture, ironmongery, wines, chemicals, dental and surgical instruments, paper, cages, bronze lamp trimmings, axles, stamped ware, astronomical and time globes, samples of corn and the choicest of leaf tobacco. Other general cargo included merchandise such as cases of kerosene and turpentine, brooms, Bristol's Sarsaparilla, Wheeler and Wilson sewing machines, Wheeler’s thresher machine, axe handles and tools, cases of silver plate, toys, pianos and organs, carriages and Yankee notions. The Eric the Red left New York under the command of Captain Zaccheus Allen (or some records say Captain Jacques Allen) and 24 other crew including the owner’s son third mate Ned Sewall. There were also 2 saloon passengers on board. The ship had been sailing for an uneventful 85 days and the voyage was almost at its end. As Eric the Red approached Cape Otway there was a moderate north-west wind and hazy and overcast atmosphere. On 4th September 1880 at about 1:30am Captain Allen sighted the Cape Otway light and was keeping the ship 5-6 miles offshore to stay clear of the hazardous Otway Reef. However he had badly misjudged his position. The ship hit the Otway Reef about 2 miles out to sea, south west of the Cape Otway light station. Captain Allen ordered the wheel to be put ‘hard up’ thinking that she might float off the reef. The sea knocked the helmsman away from the wheel, broke the wheel ropes and carried away the rudder. The lifeboats were swamped, the mizzenmast fell, with all of its rigging, then the mainmast also fell and the ship broke in two. Some said that the passenger Vaughan, who was travelling for his health and not very strong, was washed overboard and never seen again. The ship started breaking up. The forward house came adrift with three of the crew on it as well as a longboat, which the men succeeded in launching and keeping afloat by continually bailing with their sea boots. The captain, the third mate (the owner’s son) and others clung to the mizzenmast in the sea. Then the owner’s son was washed away off the mast. Within 10 minutes the rest of the ship was in pieces, completely wrecked, with cargo and wreckage floating in the sea. The captain encouraged the second mate to swim with him to the deckhouse where there were other crew but the second mate wouldn’t go with him. Eventually the Captain made it to the deckhouse and the men pulled him up. At about 4:30am the group of men on the deckhouse saw the lights of a steamer and called for help. At the same time they noticed the second mate and the other man had drifted nearby, still on the spur, and pulled them both onto the wreck. The coastal steamer SS Dawn was returning to Warrnambool from Melbourne, its sailing time different to its usual schedule. She was built in 1876 and bought by the Portland and Belfast Steam Navigation Co. in 1877. At the time of this journey she was commanded by Captain Jones, and was sailing between Melbourne and Portland via Warrnambool. The provedore of the Dawn, Benjamin Lear, heard cries of distress coming through the portholes of the saloon. He gave the alarm and the engines were stopped. Cries could be heard clearly, coming from the land. Captain Jones sent out crew in two boats, and fired off rockets and blue lights to illuminate the area. They picked up the three survivors who were in the long boat from Eric the Red. Two men were picked up out of the water, one being the owner’s son who was clinging to floating kerosene boxes. At daylight the Dawn then rescued the 18 men from the floating portion of the deckhouse, which had drifted about 4 miles from where they’d struck the reef. Shortly after the rescue the deckhouse drifted onto breakers and was thrown onto rocks at Point Franklin, about 2 miles east of Cape Otway. Captain Jones had signalled to Cape Otway lighthouse the number of the Eric the Red and later signalled that there was a wreck at Otway Reef but there was no response from the lighthouse. The captain and crew of the Dawn spent several more hours searching unsuccessfully for more survivors, even going back as far as Apollo Bay. On board the Dawn the exhausted men received care and attention to their needs and wants, including much needed clothing. Captain Allen was amongst the 23 battered and injured men who were rescued and later taken to Warrnambool for care. Warrnambool’s mayor and town clerk offered them all hospitality, the three badly injured men going to the hospital for care and others to the Olive Branch Hotel, then on to Melbourne. Captain Allen’s leg injury prevented him from going ashore so he and three other men travelled on the Dawn to Portland. They were met by the mayor who also treated them all with great kindness. Captain Allen took the train back to Melbourne then returned to America. Those saved were Captain Zaccheus Allen (or Jacques Allen), J. Darcy chief mate, James F. Lawrence second mate, Ned Sewall third mate and owner’s son, John French the cook, C. Nelson sail maker, Clarence W. New passenger, and the able seamen Dickenson, J. Black, Denis White, C. Herbert, C. Thompson, A. Brooks, D. Wilson, J. Ellis, Q. Thompson, C. Newman, W. Paul, J. Davis, M. Horenleng, J. Ogduff, T. W. Drew, R. Richardson. Four men had lost their lives; three of them were crew (Gus Dahlgreen ship’s carpenter, H. Ackman steward, who drowned in his cabin, and George Silver seaman) and one a passenger (J. B. Vaughan). The body of one of them had been found washed up at Cape Otway and was later buried in the lighthouse cemetery; another body was seen on an inaccessible ledge. Twelve months later the second mate James F. Lawrence, from Nova Scotia, passed away in the Warrnambool district; an obituary was displayed in the local paper. Neither the ship, nor its cargo, was insured. The ship was worth about £15,000 and the cargo was reportedly worth £40,000; only about £2,000 worth had been recovered. Cargo and wreckage washed up at Apollo Bay, Peterborough, Port Campbell, Western Port and according to some reports, even as far away as the beaches of New Zealand. The day after the wreck the government steam ship Pharos was sent from Queenscliff to clear the shipping lanes of debris that could be a danger to ships. The large midship deckhouse of the ship was found floating in a calm sea near Henty Reef. Items such as an American chair, a ladder and a nest of boxes were all on top of the deckhouse. As it was so large and could cause danger to passing ships, Captain Payne had the deckhouse towed towards the shore just beyond Apollo Bay. Between Apollo Bay and Blanket Bay the captain and crew of Pharos collected Wheeler and Wilson sewing machines, nests of boxes, bottles of Bristol’s sarsaparilla, pieces of common American chairs, axe handles, a Wheelers’ Patent thresher and a sailor’s trunk with the words “A. James” on the front. A ship’s flag-board bearing the words “Eric the Red” was found on the deckhouse; finally those on board the Pharos had the name of the wrecked vessel. During this operation Pharos came across the government steamer Victoria and also a steamer S.S. Otway, both of which were picking up flotsam and wreckage. A whole side of the hull and three large pieces of the other side of the hull, with some of the copper sheathing stripped off, had floated on to Point Franklin. Some of the vessels yards and portions of her masts were on shore. The pieces of canvas attached to the yards and masts confirmed that the vessel had been under sail. The beach there was piled with debris several feet high. There were many cases of Diamond Oil kerosene, labelled R. W. Cameron and Company, New York. There were also many large planks of red pine, portions of a small white boat and a large, well-used oar. Other items found ashore included sewing machines (some consigned to ‘Long and Co.”) and notions, axe and scythe handles, hay forks, wooden pegs, rolls of wire (some branded “T.S” and Co, Melbourne”), kegs of nails branded “A.T. and Co.” from the factory of A. Field and Son, Taunton, Massachusetts, croquet balls and mallets, buggy fittings, rat traps, perfumery, cutlery and Douay Bibles, clocks, bicycles, chairs, a fly wheel, a cooking stove, timber, boxes, pianos, organs and a ladder. (Wooden clothes pegs drifted in for many years). There seemed to be no personal luggage or clothing. The Pharos encountered a long line, about one and a half miles, of floating wreckage about 10 miles off land, south east of Cape Otway, and in some places about 40 feet wide. It seemed that more than half of it was from Eric the Red. The ship’s crew rescued 3 cases that were for the Melbourne Exhibition and other items from amongst the debris. There were also chairs, doors, musical instruments, washing boards, nests of trunks and fly catchers floating in the sea. Most of the goods were saturated and smelt of kerosene. A section of the hull lies buried in the sand at Parker River Beach. An anchor with chain is embedded in the rocks east of Point Franklin and a second anchor, thought to be from Eric the Red, is on display at the Cape Otway light station. (There is a photograph of a life belt on the verandah of Rivernook Guest House in Princetown with the words “ERIC THE RED / BOSTON”. This is rather a mystery as the ship was registered in Bath, Maine, USA.) Parts of the ship are on display at Bimbi Park Caravan Park and at Apollo Bay Museum. Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village also has part of the helm (steering wheel), a carved wooden sword (said to be the only remaining portion of the ship’s figurehead; further research is currently being carried out), a door, a metal rod, several samples of wood and a medal for bravery, awarded to Nelson Johnson, a crew member of the S.S. Dawn by the U.S. President, for the rescue of the crew. Much of the wreckage was recovered by the local residents before police and other authorities arrived at the scene. Looters went to great effort to salvage goods, being lowered down the high cliff faces to areas with little or no beach to collect items from the wreckage, their mates above watching out for dangerous waves. A Tasmanian newspaper reports on a court case in Stawell, Victoria, noting a man who was caught 2 months later selling tobacco from the wreckage of Eric the Red. Some of the silverware is still treasured by descendants of Mr Mackenzie who was given these items by officials for his help in securing the cargo. The gifts included silver coffee and tea pots, half a dozen silver serviette rings and two sewing machines. A Mr G.W. Black has in his possession a medal and a purse that were awarded to his father, another Dawn crew member who was part of the rescue team. The medal is inscribed and named “To John Black ….” (from “Shipwrecks” by Margaret E. Mackenzie, 3rd edition, published 1964). The wreck and cargo were sold to a Melbourne man who salvaged a quantity of high quality tobacco and dental and surgical instruments. Timbers from the ship were salvaged and used in the construction of houses and sheds around Apollo Bay, including a guest house, Milford House (since burnt down in bushfires), which had furniture, fittings and timber on the dining room floor from the ship. A 39.7 foot long trading ketch, the Apollo, was also built from its timbers by Mr Burgess in 1883 and subsequently used in Tasmanian waters. It was the first attempt at ship building in Apollo bay. In 1881 a red light was installed about 300 feet above sea level at the base of the Cape Otway lighthouse to warn ships when they were too close to shore; It would not be visible unless a ship came within 3 miles from it. This has proved to be an effective warning. Nelson Johnson, recipient of the medal for bravery, married Elizabeth Howard in 1881 and they had 10 children. They lived in South Melbourne, Victoria. Nelson died in 1922 in Fitzroy Victoria, age 66. In 1895 the owners of the S.S. Dawn, the Portland and Belfast Steam Navigation Co., wound up and sold out to the Belfast Company who took over the Dawn for one year before selling her to Howard Smith. She was condemned and sunk in Suva in 1928. The State Library of Victoria has a lithograph in its collection depicting the steamer Dawn and the shipwrecked men, titled. "Wreck of the ship Eric the Red, Cape Otway: rescue of the crew by the Dawn".The wood (timber) sample is listed on the Collections Australia Database, Heritage Victoria, number 239 00010 A “The Eric the Red is historically significant as one of Victoria's major 19th century shipwrecks. (Heritage Victoria Eric the Red; HV ID 239) The wreck led to the provision of an additional warning light placed below the Cape Otway lighthouse to alert mariners to the location of Otway Reef. The site is archaeologically significant for its remains of a large and varied cargo and ship's fittings being scattered over a wide area. The site is recreationally and aesthetically significant as it is one of the few sites along this coast where tourists can visit identifiable remains of a large wooden shipwreck, and for its location set against the background of Cape Otway, Bass Strait, and the Cape Otway lighthouse.“ (Victorian Heritage Database Registration Number S239, Official Number 8745 USA) Wood sample from the wreck of the ship Eric the Red. Oblong shaped, full of sea worm (Teredo worm) holes. The wood is dark in colour and is very light in weight. flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, shipwreck-artefact, eric-the-red, zaccheus-allen, sewall, 1880, melbourne-exhibition, cape-otway, otway-reef, wood-sample, s.s.-dawn -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Functional object - Ship's Wheel, 1871 or earlier
The ship building company E. & A. Sewall, from Bath, Maine, USA, built many ships that had wheels with the same decorative, starburst pattern on them as this particular wheel segment, including the Eric the Red. The wheel was manufactured by their local Bath foundry, Geo. Moulton & Co. and sold to the Sewall yard for $100, according to the construction accounts of the vessel. Eric the Red was a wooden, three masted clipper ship. She had 1,580 tons register and was the largest full-rigged ship built at Bath, Maine, USA in 1871. She was built and registered by Arthur Sewall, later to become the partnership E. & A. Sewall, and was the 51st ship built by this company. The annually-published List of Merchant Vessels of the U.S. shows that Bath was still the home port of Eric the Red in 1880. The vessel was named after the Viking discoverer, Eric the Red, who was the first European to reach the shores of North America (in 980AD). The ship Eric the Red at first traded in coal between America and Britain, and later traded in guano nitrates from South America. In 1879 she was re-metalled and was in first class condition. On 10th June 1880 (some records say 12th June) Eric the Red departed New York for Melbourne and then Sydney. She had been commissioned by American trade representatives to carry a special cargo of 500 exhibits (1400 tons) - about a quarter to a third of America’s total exhibits - from America for the U.S.A. pavilion at Melbourne’s first International Exhibition. The exhibits included furniture, ironmongery, wines, chemicals, dental and surgical instruments, paper, cages, bronze lamp trimmings, axles, stamped ware, astronomical and time globes, samples of corn and the choicest of leaf tobacco. Other general cargo included merchandise such as cases of kerosene and turpentine, brooms, Bristol's Sarsaparilla, Wheeler and Wilson sewing machines, Wheeler’s thresher machine, axe handles and tools, cases of silver plate, toys, pianos and organs, carriages and Yankee notions. The Eric the Red left New York under the command of Captain Z. Allen (or some records say Captain Jacques Allen) and 24 other crew including the owner’s son third mate Ned Sewall. There were 2 saloon passengers also. On 4th September 1880 the ship had been sailing for an uneventful 85 days and the voyage was almost at its end. Eric the Red approached Cape Otway in a moderate north-west wind and hazy and overcast atmosphere. Around 1:30am Captain Allen sighted the Cape Otway light and was keeping the ship 5-6 miles offshore to stay clear of the hazardous Otway Reef. However he had badly misjudged his position. The ship hit the Otway Reef about 2 miles out to sea, south west of the Cape Otway light station. Captain Allen ordered the wheel to be put ‘hard up’ thinking that she might float off the reef. A heavy sea knocked the man away from the wheel, broke the wheel ropes and carried away the rudder. The sea swamped the lifeboats, the mizzenmast fell, with all of its rigging, then the mainmast fell and the ship broke in two. Some said that the passenger Vaughan, who was travelling for his health and not very strong, was washed overboard and never seen again. The ship started breaking up. The forward house came adrift with three of the crew on it as well as a longboat, which the men succeeded in launching and keeping afloat by continually bailing with their sea boots. The captain, the third mate (the owner’s son) and others clung to the mizzenmast in the sea. Then the owner’s son was washed away off the mast. Within 10 minutes the rest of the ship was in pieces, completely wrecked, with cargo and wreckage floating in the sea. The captain encouraged the second mate to swim with him to the deckhouse where there were other crew but the second mate wouldn’t go with him. Eventually the Captain made it to the deckhouse and the men pulled him up. At about 4:30am the group of men on the deckhouse saw the lights of a steamer and called for help. At the same time they noticed the second mate and the other man had drifted nearby, still on the spur, and pulled them both onto the wreck. The coastal steamer Dawn was returning to Warrnambool from Melbourne, its sailing time different to its usual schedule. Cries were heard coming from out of the darkness. Captain Jones sent out two life boats, and fired off rockets and blue lights to illuminate the area. They picked up the three survivors who were in the long boat from Eric the Red. Two men were picked up out of the water, one being the owner’s son who was clinging to floating kerosene boxes. At daylight the Dawn then rescued the 18 men from the floating portion of the deckhouse, which had drifted about 4 miles from where they’d struck the reef. Shortly after the rescue the deckhouse drifted onto breakers and was thrown onto rocks at Point Franklin, about 2 miles east of Cape Otway. Captain Jones had signalled to Cape Otway lighthouse the number of the Eric the Red and later signalled that there was a wreck at Otway Reef but there was no response from the lighthouse. The captain and crew of the Dawn spent several more hours searching unsuccessfully for more survivors, even going back as far as Apollo Bay. On board the Dawn the exhausted men received care and attention to their needs and wants, including much needed clothing. Captain Allen was amongst the 23 battered and injured men who were rescued and later taken to Warrnambool for care. Warrnambool’s mayor and town clerk offered them all hospitality, the three badly injured men going to the hospital and others to the Olive Branch Hotel, then on to Melbourne. Captain Allen’s leg injury prevented him from going ashore so he and three other men travelled on the Dawn to Portland. They were met by the mayor who also treated them all with great kindness. Captain Allen took the train back to Melbourne then returned to America. Those saved were Captain Z. Allen (or Jacques Allen), J. Darcy chief mate, James F. Lawrence second mate, Ned Sewall third mate and owner’s son, John French the cook, C. Nelson sail maker, Clarence W. New passenger, and the able seamen Dickenson, J. Black, Denis White, C. Herbert, C. Thompson, A. Brooks, D. Wilson, J. Ellis, Q. Thompson, C. Newman, W. Paul, J. Davis, M. Horenleng, J. Ogduff, T. W. Drew, R. Richardson. Four men had lost their lives; three of them were crew (Gus Dahlgreen ship’s carpenter, H. Ackman steward, who drowned in his cabin, and George Silver seaman) and one a passenger (J. B. Vaughan). The body of one of them had been found washed up at Cape Otway and was later buried in the lighthouse cemetery; another body was seen on an inaccessible ledge. Twelve months later the second mate James F. Lawrence, from Nova Scotia, passed away in the Warrnambool district; an obituary was displayed in the local paper. The captain and crew of the Dawn were recognised by the United States Government in July 1881 for their humane efforts and bravery, being thanked and presented with substantial monetary rewards, medals and gifts. Neither the ship, nor its cargo, was insured. The ship was worth about £15,000 and the cargo was reportedly worth £40,000; only about £2,000 worth had been recovered. Cargo and wreckage washed up at Apollo Bay, Peterborough, Port Campbell, Western Port and according to some reports, even as far away as the beaches of New Zealand. The day after the wreck the government steam ship Pharos was sent from Queenscliff to clear the shipping lanes of debris that could be a danger to ships. The large midship deckhouse of the ship was found floating in a calm sea near Henty Reef. Items such as an American chair, a ladder and a nest of boxes were all on top of the deckhouse. As it was so large and could cause danger to passing ships, Captain Payne had the deckhouse towed towards the shore just beyond Apollo Bay. Between Apollo Bay and Blanket Bay the captain and crew of Pharos collected Wheeler and Wilson sewing machines, nests of boxes, bottles of Bristol’s sarsaparilla, pieces of common American chairs, axe handles, a Wheelers’ Patent thresher and a sailor’s trunk with the words “A. James” on the front. A ship’s flag-board bearing the words “Eric the Red” was found on the deckhouse; finally those on board the Pharos had the name of the wrecked vessel. During this operation Pharos came across the government steamer Victoria and also a steamer S.S. Otway, both of which were picking up flotsam and wreckage. A whole side of the hull and three large pieces of the other side of the hull, with some of the copper sheathing stripped off, had floated on to Point Franklin. Some of the vessels yards and portions of her masts were on shore. The pieces of canvas attached to the yards and masts confirmed that the vessel had been under sail. The beach there was piled with debris several feet high. There were many cases of Diamond Oil kerosene, labelled R. W. Cameron and Company, New York. There were also many large planks of red pine, portions of a small white boat and a large, well-used oar. Other items found ashore included sewing machines (some consigned to ‘Long and Co.”) and notions, axe and scythe handles, hay forks, wooden pegs, rolls of wire (some branded “T.S” and Co, Melbourne”), kegs of nails branded “A.T. and Co.” from the factory of A. Field and Son, Taunton, Massachusetts, croquet balls and mallets, buggy fittings, rat traps, perfumery, cutlery and Douay Bibles, clocks, bicycles, chairs, a fly wheel, a cooking stove, timber, boxes, pianos, organs and a ladder. (Wooden clothes pegs drifted in for many years). There seemed to be no personal luggage or clothing. The Pharos encountered a long line, about one and a half miles, of floating wreckage about 10 miles off land, south east of Cape Otway, and in some places about 40 feet wide. It seemed that more than half of it was from Eric the Red. The ship’s crew rescued 3 cases that were for the Melbourne Exhibition and other items from amongst the debris. There were also chairs, doors, musical instruments, washing boards, nests of trunks and fly catchers floating in the sea. Most of the goods were saturated and smelt of kerosene. A section of the hull lies buried in the sand at Parker River Beach. An anchor with chain is embedded in the rocks east of Point Franklin and a second anchor, thought to be from Eric the Red, is on display at the Cape Otway light station. (There is a photograph of a life belt on the verandah of Rivernook Guest House in Princetown with the words “ERIC THE RED / BOSTON”. This is rather a mystery as the ship was registered in Bath, Maine, USA.) Parts of the ship are on display at Bimbi Park Caravan Park and at Apollo Bay Museum. Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village also has part of the helm (steering wheel), a carved wooden sword (said to be the only remaining portion of the ship’s figurehead; further research is currently being carried out), a door, a metal rod, samples of wood and a medal for bravery. Much of the wreckage was recovered by the local residents before police and other authorities arrived at the scene. Looters went to great effort to salvage goods, being lowered down the high cliff faces to areas with little or no beach to collect items from the wreckage, their mates above watching out for dangerous waves. A Tasmanian newspaper reports on a court case in Stawell, Victoria, noting a man who was caught 2 months later selling tobacco from the wreckage of Eric the Red. Some of the silverware is still treasured by descendants of Mr Mackenzie who was given these items by officials for his help in securing the cargo. The gifts included silver coffee and tea pots, half a dozen silver serviette rings and two sewing machines. The wreck and cargo were sold to a Melbourne man who salvaged a quantity of high quality tobacco and dental and surgical instruments. Timbers from the ship were salvaged and used in the construction of houses and sheds around Apollo Bay, including a guest house, Milford House (since burnt down in bushfires), which had furniture, fittings and timber on the dining room floor from the ship. A 39.7 foot long trading ketch, the Apollo, was also built from its timbers by Mr Burgess in 1883 and subsequently used in Tasmanian waters. It was the first attempt at ship building in Apollo bay. In 1881 a red light was installed about 300 feet above sea level at the base of the Cape Otway lighthouse to warn ships when they were too close to shore; It would not be visible unless a ship came within 3 miles from it. This has proved to be an effective warning. The State Library of Victoria has a lithograph in its collection depicting the steamer Dawn and the shipwrecked men, titled. "Wreck of the ship Eric the Red, Cape Otway: rescue of the crew by the Dawn". “The Eric the Red is historically significant as one of Victoria's major 19th century shipwrecks. (Heritage Victoria Eric the Red; HV ID 239) The wreck led to the provision of an additional warning light placed below the Cape Otway lighthouse to alert mariners to the location of Otway Reef. The site is archaeologically significant for its remains of a large and varied cargo and ship's fittings being scattered over a wide area. The site is recreationally and aesthetically significant as it is one of the few sites along this coast where tourists can visit identifiable remains of a large wooden shipwreck, and for its location set against the background of Cape Otway, Bass Strait, and the Cape Otway lighthouse.“ (Victorian Heritage Database Registration Number S239, Official Number 8745 USA) Segment of a ship's wheel, or helm, from the wreck of the sailing ship Eric the Red. The wheel part is an arc shape from the outer rim of the wheel and is made up of three layers of timber. The centre layer is a dark, dense timber and is wider than the two outer layers, which are less dense and lighter in colour. The wheel segment has a vertically symmetrical, decorative copper plate inlaid on the front. The plate has a starburst pattern; six stars decorate it, each at a point where there is a metal fitting going through the three layers of timber to the rear side of the wheel. On the rear each of the six fittings has an individual copper star around it. The edges of the helm are rounded and bevelled, polished to a shine in a dark stain. Around each of the stars, front and back, the wood is a lighter colour, as though the metal in that area being polished frequently. The length of the segment suggests that it has probably come from a wheel or helm that had ten spokes. (Ref: F.H.M.M. 16th March 1994, 239.6.610.3.7. Artefact Reg No ER/1.)flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, ship's-wheel, eric-the-red, helm, shei's wheel, ship's steering wheel -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Decorative object - Sword, 1871 or earlier
This wooden sword is said to “possibly be the only remaining part of the figurehead from the sailing ship Eric the Red.” It was previously part of the collection of the old Warrnambool Museum and the entry in its inventory says “Wooden sword, portion of the figurehead, held by “Eric the Red” at the bow.” A large part of the ship’s hull was found on the rocks and a figurehead may have been attached or washed up on the shore. The shipping records for E. & A. Sewall, the builders, owners and managers of Eric the Red, are now preserved in the Maine Maritime Museum. There is no photograph on record of Eric the Red but photographs of other ships built around that time by the same company show that these did not have figureheads, and there is no record found of a figurehead for Eric the Red being ordered or paid for. Further research is being carried out. The ship building company E. & A. Sewall, from Bath, Maine, USA, built Eric the Red, a wooden, three masted clipper ship. She had 1,580 tons register and was the largest full-rigged ship built at Bath, Maine, USA in 1871. She was built and registered by Arthur Sewall, later to become the partnership E. & A. Sewall, and was the 51st ship built by this company. The annually-published List of Merchant Vessels of the U.S. shows that Bath was still the home port of Eric the Red in 1880. The vessel was named after the Viking discoverer, Eric the Red, who was the first European to reach the shores of North America (in 980AD). The ship Eric the Red at first traded in coal between America and Britain, and later traded in guano nitrates from South America. In 1879 she was re-metalled and was in first class condition. On 10th June 1880 (some records say 12th June) Eric the Red departed New York for Melbourne and then Sydney. She had been commissioned by American trade representatives to carry a special cargo of 500 exhibits (1400 tons) - about a quarter to a third of America’s total exhibits - from America for the U.S.A. pavilion at Melbourne’s first International Exhibition. The exhibits included furniture, ironmongery, wines, chemicals, dental and surgical instruments, paper, cages, bronze lamp trimmings, axles, stamped ware, astronomical and time globes, samples of corn and the choicest of leaf tobacco. Other general cargo included merchandise such as cases of kerosene and turpentine, brooms, Bristol's Sarsaparilla, Wheeler and Wilson sewing machines, Wheeler’s thresher machine, axe handles and tools, cases of silver plate, toys, pianos and organs, carriages and Yankee notions. The Eric the Red left New York under the command of Captain Z. Allen (or some records say Captain Jacques Allen) and 24 other crew including the owner’s son third mate Ned Sewall. There were 2 saloon passengers also. On 4th September 1880 the ship had been sailing for an uneventful 85 days and the voyage was almost at its end. Eric the Red approached Cape Otway in a moderate north-west wind and hazy and overcast atmosphere. Around 1:30am Captain Allen sighted the Cape Otway light and was keeping the ship 5-6 miles offshore to stay clear of the hazardous Otway Reef. However he had badly misjudged his position. The ship hit the Otway Reef about 2 miles out to sea, south west of the Cape Otway light station. Captain Allen ordered the wheel to be put ‘hard up’ thinking that she might float off the reef. A heavy sea knocked the man away from the wheel, broke the wheel ropes and carried away the rudder. The sea swamped the lifeboats, the mizzenmast fell, with all of its rigging, then the mainmast fell and the ship broke in two. Some said that the passenger Vaughan, who was travelling for his health and not very strong, was washed overboard and never seen again. The ship started breaking up. The forward house came adrift with three of the crew on it as well as a longboat, which the men succeeded in launching and keeping afloat by continually bailing with their sea boots. The captain, the third mate (the owner’s son) and others clung to the mizzenmast in the sea. Then the owner’s son was washed away off the mast. Within 10 minutes the rest of the ship was in pieces, completely wrecked, with cargo and wreckage floating in the sea. The captain encouraged the second mate to swim with him to the deckhouse where there were other crew but the second mate wouldn’t go with him. Eventually the Captain made it to the deckhouse and the men pulled him up. At about 4:30am the group of men on the deckhouse saw the lights of a steamer and called for help. At the same time they noticed the second mate and the other man had drifted nearby, still on the spur, and pulled them both onto the wreck. The coastal steamer Dawn was returning to Warrnambool from Melbourne, its sailing time different to its usual schedule. Cries were heard coming from out of the darkness. Captain Jones sent out two life boats, and fired off rockets and blue lights to illuminate the area. They picked up the three survivors who were in the long boat from Eric the Red. Two men were picked up out of the water, one being the owner’s son who was clinging to floating kerosene boxes. At daylight the Dawn then rescued the 18 men from the floating portion of the deckhouse, which had drifted about 4 miles from where they’d struck the reef. Shortly after the rescue the deckhouse drifted onto breakers and was thrown onto rocks at Point Franklin, about 2 miles east of Cape Otway. Captain Jones had signalled to Cape Otway lighthouse the number of the Eric the Red and later signalled that there was a wreck at Otway Reef but there was no response from the lighthouse. The captain and crew of the Dawn spent several more hours searching unsuccessfully for more survivors, even going back as far as Apollo Bay. On board the Dawn the exhausted men received care and attention to their needs and wants, including much needed clothing. Captain Allen was amongst the 23 battered and injured men who were rescued and later taken to Warrnambool for care. Warrnambool’s mayor and town clerk offered them all hospitality, the three badly injured men going to the hospital and others to the Olive Branch Hotel, then on to Melbourne. Captain Allen’s leg injury prevented him from going ashore so he and three other men travelled on the Dawn to Portland. They were met by the mayor who also treated them all with great kindness. Captain Allen took the train back to Melbourne then returned to America. Those saved were Captain Z. Allen (or Jacques Allen), J. Darcy chief mate, James F. Lawrence second mate, Ned Sewall third mate and owner’s son, John French the cook, C. Nelson sail maker, Clarence W. New passenger, and the able seamen Dickenson, J. Black, Denis White, C. Herbert, C. Thompson, A. Brooks, D. Wilson, J. Ellis, Q. Thompson, C. Newman, W. Paul, J. Davis, M. Horenleng, J. Ogduff, T. W. Drew, R. Richardson. Four men had lost their lives; three of them were crew (Gus Dahlgreen ship’s carpenter, H. Ackman steward, who drowned in his cabin, and George Silver seaman) and one a passenger (J. B. Vaughan). The body of one of them had been found washed up at Cape Otway and was later buried in the lighthouse cemetery; another body was seen on an inaccessible ledge. Twelve months later the second mate James F. Lawrence, from Nova Scotia, passed away in the Warrnambool district; an obituary was displayed in the local paper. The captain and crew of the Dawn were recognised by the United States Government in July 1881 for their humane efforts and bravery, being thanked and presented with substantial monetary rewards, medals and gifts. Neither the ship, nor its cargo, was insured. The ship was worth about £15,000 and the cargo was reportedly worth £40,000; only about £2,000 worth had been recovered. Cargo and wreckage washed up at Apollo Bay, Peterborough, Port Campbell, Western Port and according to some reports, even as far away as the beaches of New Zealand. The day after the wreck the government steam ship Pharos was sent from Queenscliff to clear the shipping lanes of debris that could be a danger to ships. The large midship deckhouse of the ship was found floating in a calm sea near Henty Reef. Items such as an American chair, a ladder and a nest of boxes were all on top of the deckhouse. As it was so large and could cause danger to passing ships, Captain Payne had the deckhouse towed towards the shore just beyond Apollo Bay. Between Apollo Bay and Blanket Bay the captain and crew of Pharos collected Wheeler and Wilson sewing machines, nests of boxes, bottles of Bristol’s sarsaparilla, pieces of common American chairs, axe handles, a Wheelers’ Patent thresher and a sailor’s trunk with the words “A. James” on the front. A ship’s flag-board bearing the words “Eric the Red” was found on the deckhouse; finally those on board the Pharos had the name of the wrecked vessel. During this operation Pharos came across the government steamer Victoria and also a steamer S.S. Otway, both of which were picking up flotsam and wreckage. A whole side of the hull and three large pieces of the other side of the hull, with some of the copper sheathing stripped off, had floated on to Point Franklin. Some of the vessels yards and portions of her masts were on shore. The pieces of canvas attached to the yards and masts confirmed that the vessel had been under sail. The beach there was piled with debris several feet high. There were many cases of Diamond Oil kerosene, labelled R. W. Cameron and Company, New York. There were also many large planks of red pine, portions of a small white boat and a large, well-used oar. Other items found ashore included sewing machines (some consigned to ‘Long and Co.”) and notions, axe and scythe handles, hay forks, wooden pegs, rolls of wire (some branded “T.S” and Co, Melbourne”), kegs of nails branded “A.T. and Co.” from the factory of A. Field and Son, Taunton, Massachusetts, croquet balls and mallets, buggy fittings, rat traps, perfumery, cutlery and Douay Bibles, clocks, bicycles, chairs, a fly wheel, a cooking stove, timber, boxes, pianos, organs and a ladder. (Wooden clothes pegs drifted in for many years). There seemed to be no personal luggage or clothing. The Pharos encountered a long line, about one and a half miles, of floating wreckage about 10 miles off land, south east of Cape Otway, and in some places about 40 feet wide. It seemed that more than half of it was from Eric the Red. The ship’s crew rescued 3 cases that were for the Melbourne Exhibition and other items from amongst the debris. There were also chairs, doors, musical instruments, washing boards, nests of trunks and fly catchers floating in the sea. Most of the goods were saturated and smelt of kerosene. A section of the hull lies buried in the sand at Parker River Beach. An anchor with chain is embedded in the rocks east of Point Franklin and a second anchor, thought to be from Eric the Red, is on display at the Cape Otway light station. (There is a photograph of a life belt on the verandah of Rivernook Guest House in Princetown with the words “ERIC THE RED / BOSTON”. This is rather a mystery as the ship was registered in Bath, Maine, USA.) Parts of the ship are on display at Bimbi Park Caravan Park and at Apollo Bay Museum. Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village also has part of the helm (steering wheel), a carved wooden sword (said to be the only remaining portion of the ship’s figurehead; further research is currently being carried out), a door, a metal rod, samples of wood and a medal for bravery. Much of the wreckage was recovered by the local residents before police and other authorities arrived at the scene. Looters went to great effort to salvage goods, being lowered down the high cliff faces to areas with little or no beach to collect items from the wreckage, their mates above watching out for dangerous waves. A Tasmanian newspaper reports on a court case in Stawell, Victoria, noting a man who was caught 2 months later selling tobacco from the wreckage of Eric the Red. Some of the silverware is still treasured by descendants of Mr Mackenzie who was given these items by officials for his help in securing the cargo. The gifts included silver coffee and tea pots, half a dozen silver serviette rings and two sewing machines. The wreck and cargo were sold to a Melbourne man who salvaged a quantity of high quality tobacco and dental and surgical instruments. Timbers from the ship were salvaged and used in the construction of houses and sheds around Apollo Bay, including a guest house, Milford House (since burnt down in bushfires), which had furniture, fittings and timber on the dining room floor from the ship. A 39.7 foot long trading ketch, the Apollo, was also built from its timbers by Mr Burgess in 1883 and subsequently used in Tasmanian waters. It was the first attempt at ship building in Apollo bay. In 1881 a red light was installed about 300 feet above sea level at the base of the Cape Otway lighthouse to warn ships when they were too close to shore; It would not be visible unless a ship came within 3 miles from it. This has proved to be an effective warning. The State Library of Victoria has a lithograph in its collection depicting the steamer Dawn and the shipwrecked men, titled. "Wreck of the ship Eric the Red, Cape Otway: rescue of the crew by the Dawn".The Eric the Red is historically significant as one of Victoria's major 19th century shipwrecks. (Heritage Victoria Eric the Red; HV ID 239) The wreck led to the provision of an additional warning light placed below the Cape Otway lighthouse to alert mariners to the location of Otway Reef. The site is archaeologically significant for its remains of a large and varied cargo and ship's fittings being scattered over a wide area. The site is recreationally and aesthetically significant as it is one of the few sites along this coast where tourists can visit identifiable remains of a large wooden shipwreck, and for its location set against the background of Cape Otway, Bass Strait, and the Cape Otway lighthouse. (Victorian Heritage Database Registration Number S239, Official Number 8745 USA)This carved wooden sword, recovered from the Eric the Red, is possibly the only portion of the figurehead recovered after the wreck. There are spirals carved from the base of the handle to the top of the sword. The hilt of the sword is a lion’s head holding its tail in its mouth, the tail forming the handle. The blade of the sword has engraved patterns on it. Tiny particles of gold leaf and dark blue paint fragments can be seen between the carving marks. There are remnants of yellowish-orange and crimson paint on the handle. At some time after the sword was salvaged the name of the ship was hand painted on the blade in black paint. The tip of the sword has broken or split and the remaining part is charcoal in appearance. On both the tip and the base of the handle are parts made where the sword could have been joined onto the figurehead There is a white coating over some areas of the sword, similar to white lead putty used in traditional shipbuilding. The words “ERIC the RED” have been hand painted on the blade of the sword in black paint sometime after it was salvaged.flagstaff hill, flagstaff hill maritime museum and village, warrnambool, maritime museum, maritime village, great ocean road, shipwreck coast, sword, wooden sword, eric the red, carved sword, figurehead, snake head on sword -
Kiewa Valley Historical Society
Pot Coffee, Circa 1950
This coffee pot was made for flat heating surfaces and not the open fire. The enamel coating was used as a thermal barrier to keep the contents hot. This could have been used as an all day coffee source for busy farm workers or breakfast and lunch times. When this pot was used at dinner time, it was a time period when dinner was more formal, with the whole family sitting at the dinner table. The white enamel would have been sufficient for the majority of households. When this pot was in use the dinner period was when the whole family was together and communication within the family was considered very important as a cohesive force. This was a time before television intruded into the atmosphere of relaying the day's activities to the whole family.In small rural communities within the Kiewa Valley a good cup of tea or coffee was a time for relaxation from the hard work of the day. This relaxation period was beneficial for not only the mind but also the body. This was particularly for the house bound mother with domestic chores that had, at this time in history not many "time saving" pieces of domestic equipment. A good pot of tea or coffee at "smoko" was a god sent. Although regarded by well groomed city folk that a coffee pot was for coffee only the less social etiquette standards of country folk permitted its use for tea. Versatility even within the household was of great benefit to the folk in the Kiewa Valley. This was even so for the immigrants that joined in and were warmly welcomed within this rural sector of Australia.This coffee pot is in the French style with a goose neck. It is fully coated in white enamel and has a concave bottom. It has a hinged lid and the main body has been rolled fastened to the bottom plate. The sandwiched steel body is approximately 1mm thick. The two piece neck has been welded together similarly the hinged lid and handle. Rivets are installed to the both bases of the handle. country kitchens, well heated coffee, coffee break in rural regions -
Kiewa Valley Historical Society
Book - Reference Countryside, The Australian Countryside in Pictures, circa 1950s
This book is a "snapshot" in time (1950s) detailing life in Australia covering a time when a "man's word and handshake" were his moral and quasi legal bond, and the now relative defunct saying "smoko" (having a "time out" from work for a cigarette and tea or coffee). The book spans an era where the male was still the "head" of the family even though for a majority of families the women took on the many "male only" roles during the World War II period. This shift in the leadership of the family hierarchy is mentioned, so ever slightly, (not to offend the still predominant macho male image) in both rural and city environments. The effects of the war, and later the push for women's emancipation and equality in both family, social, workplace and political areas of life, since this book was published, is now finally resolved. However there are still some sections of the recent migrate population where this male dominance is causing a few problems.The significance of this book is not only because it was donated by Mrs C. Roper ( from the Roper Family, a pioneer Kiewa Valley and surrounding Region family - originally beef cattle graziers) but also a Kiewa Valley resident and family, experiencing the shift in the social and economical life of post World War II rural Australia. The strong heritage link to this region of many families still residing within its boundaries, is a clear affirmation of the bond that the Kiewa Valley and its Regions have upon family unity. This unity within the rural environment is something that is attracting more and more families from sometimes alienating city life.This printed coloured sketched, or painted paper sleeve of the book is freely wrapped over a dark red hard cover. Into the front of the cover is pressed a standing pose of a farmer with long sleeves rolled up over his elbows. Behind him and to the right are what appears to be three sacks of wheat and next to him is a merino sheep. To the left and down are two dogs one with a fox in its jaws. The book contains 240 pages, 300 illustrations in gravure and 25 pictures in full colour. The inside fly leaf is a colour photograph of a rural scene with dirt road running in the centre and to the left a farm house and a five bay open storage barnOn the tittle page is a signature "C Roper"country life, australian "outback", rural industries, life on the land, swag-man of the bush -
The Beechworth Burke Museum
Photograph - Carte de Visite
In July of 1880, Ann Jones' successful hotel in Glenrowan burnt to the ground during the Kelly siege. She had opened her business in the year prior having been unsuccessful in her attempt to run a tea-room business in Wangaratta. The first building on this particular site was the home Ann Jones had built for herself and her family. Two years later she converted the home and added the hotel to the rear of the structure. One year later it was burnt to the ground. This image depicts the streetscape of Glenrowan in 1883, three years after the siege. Importantly, it reveals the appearance of several buildings which can reveal information for how Glenrowan (as a small town) might have stood during the siege. These buildings are of typical Australian colonial "miner's cottage" style. On what would have been the site of Ann Jones' hotel, to the far left of the photograph, a police station stands. This police station was built before April 1883. This image was captured by an unknown photographer. This Carte-de-viste (CdV) previously belonged to the donor's grandfather, Daniel Mullins who was a Police Officer stationed at Glenrowan soon after the Kelly gang siege. Today, the siege has become an important part of Australian culture and Ned Kelly and the Kelly Gang (comprising of Ned Kelly, Dan Kelly, Steve Hart and Joe Byrne) has become ingrained in Australian history and mythology. A CdV is a sepia toned photograph mounted on card and is generally of a small size. This particular style was first patented by Andre Adolphe Eugene Disdéri (1819-1889) in 1854. In 1857, the CdV was introduced to England and after photographs of Queen Victoria, Prince Albert and their family were taken using CdV in 1860 the popularity of this method reached a peak.This photograph is part of the Burke Museum "Kelly album" which includes a significant collection of photographs and artefacts connected to Ned Kelly and the Kelly Gang. Ned Kelly and his gang have become ingrained in Australian popular culture and thus many museums, art galleries and private collections house material connected to the Kelly story which allows the events and people to be researched and interpreted. Artefacts and photographs pertaining to the Kelly gang are particularly valuable for Australian museums. This particular photograph is significant for its connection to the Glenrowan Siege and Ann Jones' Hotel which burnt down during the siege in June 1880. Taken in 1883, this photograph (taken by an unidentified photographer) has the opportunity to provide information about the townscape of Glenrowan shortly after the siege. It also provides important insight into the architecture and layout of the town. To the far right of the image, the photograph depicts the police station which was built on the site of Ann Jones' Hotel which can provide important information for the Kelly story and how the town evolved following 1880. It is also interesting to emphasise that the police station was built on the site of Ned Kelly and the Kelly gang's last stand.This photograph is a sepia image of the Glenrowan streetscape depicting several buildings. The newly built police station (in 1883) stands on the far right of the image on the site of the former Ann Jones Hotel. On the left are several buildings built in typical 'miner's cottage' Australian colonial style. This includes the gable roof with the skillion at rear. An unidentifiable individual stands next to the chimney of the front left building. Numerous paddocks appear in the image, particularly in the front right and the rear of the houses contain many trees. To the rear of the image, there is a mountain. A street runs through the centre of the photograph.Glenrowan / taken 1.4.83 ... / BMM 8086kelly album, ned kelly, glenrowan, police history, police, australian architecture, streetscape, glenrowan 1883, 1883, dan kelly, steve hart, joe byrne, carte-de-viste, james bray, daniel mullins, william e barnes, colonial australia, police station, photograph -
Warrnambool and District Historical Society Inc.
Plate, Rolfe dinner plates x 4, 1864
These dishes were part of a crockery set used in the George Rolfe household at Lyndoch, Warrnambool. George Rolfe (1836-1919) was a Melbourne tea merchant who acquired land at the mouth of the Hopkins River in Warrnambool from the 1880s on as a holiday home. He developed the property over the years, adding a windmill and reservoir, bone and chaff sheds, a stable, jetty and boathouse and an extensive garden. In 1891 he married Mrs Annie Lake and it was his stepdaughter, Florence Lake who built the house, Lyndoch in the 1920s. This building today forms part of an Aged Care Facility. This item is part of the larger Rolfe dinner set as described on Victorian Collections at VC001421 and VC001422These dishes are of importance as they belonged to the George Rolfe family of Lyndoch, Warrnambool. They demonstrate the quality of the household goods used by more affluent families in the second half of the 19th century. These are four china serving dishes or plates which are part of a set of crockery used in the Rolfe Lyndoch household in Warrnambool. The dishes have a circular base with a circular dish resting on the base. The dishes have or had two handles with these handles and the edges of the dishes being gold trimmed. Around the rim of the dishes is a pattern of loops and dots etc of teal and gold. One dish (.1) has no handles, one dish (.4) has one handle only and two dishes are cracked (.3 & .4) . Two dishes are stained, one severely (.2 & .4) ‘Minton’ george rolfe, florence lake -
Warrnambool and District Historical Society Inc.
Plates, Rolfe Saucers x 6, 1864
These saucers are part of a crockery set that belonged to George Rolfe and his family. George Rolfe (1836-1919) was a tea merchant in Melbourne who bought land at the mouth of the Hopkins River in Warrnambool in the 1880s. He had adjoining land and the properties of ‘Shipley’ and ‘Fairy Hill’ and developed ‘Lyndoch’, adding stables, jetty, boat house, windmill and reservoir, chaff and bone sheds and an extensive garden. In 1891 he married Annie Lake and it was his stepdaughter, Florence Lake who built the ‘Lyndoch’ house still standing today. ‘Lyndoch’ today is now the site of an Aged Care Facility. This item is part of the Rolfe Dinnerset as described on Victorian Collections at VC001420 and VC001422.These saucers, part of a crockery set, are kept because they belonged to George Rolfe, a prominent property owner and farmer in Warrnambool in the late 19th century and early 20th century. The items, dating from 1864, have social significance showing the type of crockery used by a more affluent family in the 19th century. These are six circular china saucers with a gold rim and ornamentation in a scallop design in gold and teal around the rim and the outer edges. The base of the saucers has a gold rim. One of the saucers has a chip on the edge and four show significant wearing of the inner gold circle. Some of the outside gold edging also shows wear. The maker’s marks and name are indented on the bottom of the saucers ‘Minton’ lyndoch, warrnambool, rolfe and co., george rolfe, history of warrnambool, florence lake -
Warrnambool and District Historical Society Inc.
China, Cups x 4, 1864
These dishes were part of a crockery set used in the George Rolfe household at Lyndoch, Warrnambool. George Rolfe (1836-1919) was a Melbourne tea merchant who acquired land at the mouth of the Hopkins River in Warrnambool from the 1880s on as a holiday home. He developed the property over the years, adding a windmill and reservoir, bone and chaff sheds, a stable, jetty and boathouse and an extensive garden. In 1891 he married Mrs Annie Lake and it was his stepdaughter, Florence Lake who built the house, Lyndoch in the 1920s. This building today forms part of an Aged Care Facility. This item is part of the larger Rolfe dinner set as described on Victorian Collections at VC001421 and VC001422These cups are part of a crockery set, and are kept because they belonged to George Rolfe, a prominent property owner and farmer in Warrnambool in the late 19th century and early 20th century. The items, dating from 1864, have social significance showing the type of crockery used by a more affluent family in the 19th century.Four small white cups decorated with aqua band around the top of each cup . A scalloped pattern of dots are suspended from the solid band which is decorated with a row of gold dots. There is a gold rim at the base of the cup.Mintonrolfe, lyndoch, warrnambool, minton cups, mrs annie lake -
Warrnambool and District Historical Society Inc.
Book, The Yellow Poppy by D K Broster, 1937
This book comes from the property of Lyndoch near the mouth of the Hopkins River. George Rolfe, a tea merchant from Melbourne, established Lyndoch in 1875 and Miss Florence Lake, daughter of Miss Annie Lake, later Mrs George Rolfe, inherited the property with her sister Annie. In 1920 Florence Lake built a large house called Lyndoch. She had a Rolls Royce car and a chauffeur and was a tireless worker for local charities. Florence Lake died in 1946 and the property became the site of an Aged Care Facility in Warrnambool. Florence Lake’s house now forms part of the hostel section of this facility. This book would have been in the Lyndoch library during Florence Lake’s time there. D K Broster ( Dorothy Kathleen) was a popular writer of historical novels in the early part of the 20th century. The Flight of the heron being her most acclaimed This book is of interest as it came from the historically-important property and house known as Lyndoch and so it is connected to Miss Florence Lake, a prominent person in Warrnambool in the first half of the 20th century. This is a hard cover book of 439 pages. It has a red cover with black lettering on the front and spine. It also has a dust cover which has a colour image of a man in late 18th century attire and a shield containing a yellow poppy. The dust cover is partly torn away. The book has 46 chapters. The inscription is handwritten in black ink. ‘Lyndoch Xmas 1937’lyndoch, florence lake, history of warrnambool -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Eltham Fire Station, Main Road, Eltham Heritage Tour, 24 May 1992, 24/05/1992
ELTHAM HERITAGE TOUR The Society excursion on 24th May 1992 was arranged by David Bick, leader of the team carrying out the Shire's heritage study. David selected a number of sites or buildings identified in the study, some of them lesser known components of the Shire's heritage. The tour commenced at the Eltham Shire Office at 10.00 am. Travel was by private car and mini-bus with stops at about twelve locations for commentary by David.It included a short walk in Hurstbridge and lunch at Kinglake. Highlights of the tour included: - 10 am Leave from Shire Offices - 3 Important Trees - A Physical Link to Eltham's First Settlers - Toorak Mansion Gates - A Surviving Farm House - An Intact Circa 1900 Main Street - First Settlers - Gold Miners, and Timber-getters - An Early Hotel - A Pioneering Homestead - Changing Eltham Shire - 20th Century - 4 pm Afternoon Tea and Finish Tour Extract from ELTHAM CULTURAL HERITAGE TOUR (Newsletter No. 85, July 1992, by Bettina Woodburn) "Commencing with a quick walk to see the magnificent bell at the Eltham Fire Station, we then 'drove along Arthur Street. Here were examples of what constitutes the building environment of Eltham. Massed among the wattles and eucalypts were golden cypress and pines; No. 50 was an exotic 'old English' manor-house; No. 93 had bluestone gateposts, from Fenton Road Toorak (as with Montsalvat, using re-cycled building material was very much the trend); past the natural Reserve dedicated to the artist Walter Withers, a plaque on a huge boulder; and on both sides houses in the various modes - timber with wrought iron decor, brick-some more recent than others, decades of 'suburbia'."Record of the Society's history and activities and highlighting various aspects of the Heritage Study undertaken by David Bick used to create the future heritage overlay for the Shire of Eltham and later Nillumbik Shire.Roll of 35mm colour negative film, 4 stripsKodak Gold 100 5095eltham, main road, shire of eltham historical society, activities, heritage tour, cfa -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Edendale Farm, Eltham Heritage Tour, 24 May 1992, 24/05/1992
ELTHAM HERITAGE TOUR The Society excursion on 24th May 1992 was arranged by David Bick, leader of the team carrying out the Shire's heritage study. David selected a number of sites or buildings identified in the study, some of them lesser known components of the Shire's heritage. The tour commenced at the Eltham Shire Office at 10.00 am. Travel was by private car and mini-bus with stops at about twelve locations for commentary by David.It included a short walk in Hurstbridge and lunch at Kinglake. Highlights of the tour included: - 10 am Leave from Shire Offices - 3 Important Trees - A Physical Link to Eltham's First Settlers - Toorak Mansion Gates - A Surviving Farm House - An Intact Circa 1900 Main Street - First Settlers - Gold Miners, and Timber-getters - An Early Hotel - A Pioneering Homestead - Changing Eltham Shire - 20th Century - 4 pm Afternoon Tea and Finish Tour Extract from ELTHAM CULTURAL HERITAGE TOUR (Newsletter No. 85, July 1992, by Bettina Woodburn) "The land was unprofitable for intensive farming, but there was always water in the Diamond Creek. The railway, a technological advance, followed the valley, and was provided to transport produce. At North Eltham we were privileged to tour a surviving farmhouse of the 1860-70 era at the Shire’s Edendale Farm, with the as yet unfinished Sculpture for a front fence - bulbous tree-trunks decorated with salt pots, with cross members from the old trestle bridge. As was usual these six veranda posted houses faced South (or East, away from the sun!) with the scullery, kitchen and pantry "out the back". The veranda, which must have been very narrow, no longer exists. It probably wrapped around three sides. The drive took us past the Dutch Windmill, only twenty years old and in the Shire of Diamond Valley, then the Diamond Creek Cemetery with impressive gateway, to a detour to see another old farmhouse, isolated on a hill off Murray Road Wattle Glen. Here was a particularly thick patch of exotic planting of pines and cypresses. Subsistence farming no longer pays. Following the rail-line we noticed on the left near Silvan Road an Edwardian cottage and on the right near Yates Road the old school residence for this Upper Diamond Creek area."Record of the Society's history and activities and highlighting various aspects of the Heritage Study undertaken by David Bick used to create the future heritage overlay for the Shire of Eltham and later Nillumbik Shire.Roll of 35mm colour negative film, 4 stripsKodak Gold 100 5095eltham, shire of eltham historical society, activities, heritage tour -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Hurstbridge shops, Heidelberg-Kinglake Road, opposite Hurstbridge Railway Station, Eltham Heritage Tour, 24 May 1992, 24/05/1992
ELTHAM HERITAGE TOUR The Society excursion on 24th May 1992 was arranged by David Bick, leader of the team carrying out the Shire's heritage study. David selected a number of sites or buildings identified in the study, some of them lesser known components of the Shire's heritage. The tour commenced at the Eltham Shire Office at 10.00 am. Travel was by private car and mini-bus with stops at about twelve locations for commentary by David.It included a short walk in Hurstbridge and lunch at Kinglake. Highlights of the tour included: - 10 am Leave from Shire Offices - 3 Important Trees - A Physical Link to Eltham's First Settlers - Toorak Mansion Gates - A Surviving Farm House - An Intact Circa 1900 Main Street - First Settlers - Gold Miners, and Timber-getters - An Early Hotel - A Pioneering Homestead - Changing Eltham Shire - 20th Century - 4 pm Afternoon Tea and Finish Tour Extract from ELTHAM CULTURAL HERITAGE TOUR (Newsletter No. 85, July 1992, by Bettina Woodburn) "Leaving the cars at Hurstbridge we walked the main street of the old village settlement, now a suburb. Near the station was a fine Edwardian house complete with palm and pines. Opposite was the Police Station, 1930-60 with a portable lock-up behind and the residence beside it. No. 794 was the Post Off1ce 3099 the-original shop-front window now has mail-boxes below. Close to the Railway entrance the butcher's shop remains unchanged, but across the road the linear shopping centre tries to keep the character of the olden times. The Fire Bell once hung on a tall gum outside No. 832. Palms in front gardens indicate the age of some of the homes, about 70 years. A corrugated iron shed still stands on the front fence line next to No. 840. Adding to the streetscape is an example of the standard timber early 20th century four veranda post suburban villa."Record of the Society's history and activities and highlighting various aspects of the Heritage Study undertaken by David Bick used to create the future heritage overlay for the Shire of Eltham and later Nillumbik Shire.Roll of 35mm colour negative film, 4 stripsKodak Gold 100 5095shire of eltham historical society, activities, heritage tour, hurstbridge, shops