E.L. Bruce, born in Ireland on July 1,1854, came to Australia in 1854 and joined the Lands Department. He spent most of his service in Gippsland. The journey to Sale then was made by ship to Port Albert and thence on horseback. He began his service in Gippsland as assistant district surveyor and for the last 12 years before retirement he was district surveyor and land officer. His territory extended from the boundary of Victoria in east Gippsland down to Wilson's Promontory with his headquarters at sale.This map is a useful reference tool.A survey map - Sheet No 3 SnowyRiver Survey. This is a copy of the original survey. It shows the properties of W.J.T. Clarke - two in Orbost and one in Newmeralla (sic),. it has a faded, undecipherable red stamp in the bottom right corner.Gipps Land Rivers No 32B E.L. Brucesurvey bruce-e.l snowy-river-c19th

Black and white copy photograph of the fishing boat Black Fin wrecked on the beach at Corringle in 1953, shows six men at work recovering some of the gear,another man sitting on the sloping deck. Orbost Victoriafishing industry, shipwrecks

Uncertain, but thought to have been presented to the 8/13 Victorian Mounted Rifles. Ornate silver cup with two handles intended for an annual boat race competition between Senior Non-Commissioned Officers and Other Ranks. Unit is not known but thought to be 8/13th Victorian Mounted Rifles. There is no record of it being awarded.The Max Benporath Annual SNCOs V ORs boat race Trophy / Presented by / Marg, Aaron, Sean and Bree Benporathtrophy, 20th light horse, cup

Dross Drossou sold his cordial manufacturing business to Phillips and Stone, a Bairnsdale company, in 1948. Phillips and Stone continued to manufacture soft drinks at Orbost until the early 1970's when the factory became a distribution centre. It closed as a distribution centre in 1978 and later served as the headquarters of the Orbost State Emergency Service. The site of the Cordial Factory now forms part of a carpark. A deposit on the bottles was added to all sales as they left the factory. The returned bottles were washed and the old label removed. The inside was cleaned by pushing the bottle onto a revolving brush. The reusing of the bottles went on until the bottle was broken or the top became chipped. This bottle is an example of a product manufacture by a local industry no longer existing.A clear glass bottle with a metal screw cap. on the front is a painted red and white label. It contained lemonade.Lid - Lemonade Base - AGM M 6 inside a circle 9 Front - 30 fl ozs Back - Manufactured by Preservative added M21 A1 P & S Phillips and Stone 28 flavour LOK Ask for Bairnsdale and Orbost Phillips and Stone Preservative added Refreshing drinks Artificially coloured and flavoured Bairnsdale and Orbost bottle phillips-and-stone beverage lemonade container

The Weekly Times was first published on September 11, 1869. After absorbing two other rural publications and expanding its publications, in 1902 The Herald and Standard Newspaper Company Ltd became the Herald and weekly Times, now Australia's oldest rural newspaper (more information on Weekly Times website). The article on Orbost was part of a series written by Steve Cooper with photographer, Mark Griffin. It explored communities which were struggling to survive. At that time the timber industry in the area was in decline and there was much discontent about flows to the Snowy River,This newspaper is a useful research tool.A newspaper, titled The Weekly Times, dated October 23, 1996. It contains articles about Orbost - Towns Against The Tide. The paper has an orange cover with the title in blue print and coloured photographs throughout. orbost-history-1996 weekly-times-newspaper

This is a photograph of Jack Warren, Jessie and Sylvia McNaughton. The photographer was Warren, Helena (1871-1962) who was a self-taught photographer who became both the local press correspondent and a producer of humorous trompe l'oeil postcard images. Helena Warren was a thirty-two year old settler living on a small mixed farm with her husband, William, at Newmerella, near Orbost in Gippsland, Victoria, when she bought her first camera, an Austral Box quarter-plate. Her family says she was entirely self-taught, like many women photographers who started out with nothing but the instructions on the packets of film and chemicals. In over fifty years practice she graduated from the total novice, who opened all her first mail order plates in bright sunlight and ruined them, to a competent photographer who became both the local press correspondent and an inveterate producer of humorous trompe l’oeil postcard images.This photograph has significance in its association with Helen Frances Warren, a popular Orbost identity who was well known as an accomplished photographer and needleworker.A black / white photograph of three young chilodren sitting in a pumpkin in water. There is a Union Jack at each end.pumpkins-orbost warren-helena-photographer mcnaughton-jessie mcnaughton-sylvia

The photographer was Warren, Helena (1871-1962) who was a self-taught photographer who became both the local press correspondent and a producer of humorous trompe l'oeil postcard images. Helena Warren was a thirty-two year old settler living on a small mixed farm with her husband, William, at Newmerella, near Orbost in Gippsland, Victoria, when she bought her first camera, an Austral Box quarter-plate. Her family says she was entirely self-taught, like many women photographers who started out with nothing but the instructions on the packets of film and chemicals. In over fifty years practice she graduated from the total novice, who opened all her first mail order plates in bright sunlight and ruined them, to a competent photographer who became both the local press correspondent and an inveterate producer of humorous trompe l’oeil postcard images. This photograph has significance in its association with Helen Frances Warren, a popular Orbost identity who was well known as an accomplished photographer and needleworker, A black / white photograph of a young boy in a carved out pumpkin in water. It has two flags.warren-helena-photographer pumpkins-orbost

Photo shows Poppet bead over mine shaft Five men picturedPaper shows 2 copies only 1 at this timemining, gold mining, mafeking

The Orbost Methodist Church began services in April 1910, the Rev. E. Hooper as the first minister. Reverend R.W. Little was minister in 1930-31.Ministers at that time batched either in a little room at the back of the church or in Locksley House (near the state school). Sunday School at that time involved a lot of commitment on the part of the teachers towards the children and this was reflected in the efforts they went to to make Sunday School an interesting and enjoyable event. The Sunday School Anniversaries were always a big community event and children usually dressed up for the occasion. The children spent weeks practising hymns and choruses for the occasion and on the Saturday before picked armfuls of flowers from Mrs Hocking's garden ( may blossoms) to decorate the church hall. (ref. Pioneers and Pilgrims Revd Peter Gador-White).For many years the Methodist people of Orbost enjoyed the fellowship of the church and the children, in particular, were socially and spiritually involved. This item is reminiscent of that time.A rectangular cardboard invitation to a service and prize-giving at the Orbost Methodist Sunday School. The print is black on a pale blue background with a black frame and floral decorations in each cornerSpecial Invitation R.W. Little, Ministerorbost-methodist-church sunday-school

The Bendigo Base Hospital was established in 1853 as the Bendigo Gold District General Hospital. This forty second Annual Report provides a detailed account of finances, building and maintenance works. The report also provided information on the number of people admitted, their occupation, residence area, operations undertaken. The largest number of patients were listed as those doing domestic duties (522), with labourers (333), miners (264) and school children (220) making up the top four from a total of 1886. James Buick was the Resident Surgeon during this year and his report states that the number of in-patients by far exceeded any previous years with the Hospital at full capacity most of the time. A typhoid and a measles epidemic added to the strain on resources. Printed annual report with brown paper cover. city of greater bendigo health services, councillor mcgowen, councillor h m marks, councillor j h abbott, james buick

Link to 524. Grace Elizabeth Jennings Carmichael (1867-1904), poet and nurse, was born on 24 February 1867 at Ballarat, Victoria, daughter of Archibald Carmichael, a miner from Perthshire, Scotland, and his wife Margaret Jennings, née Clark, from Cornwall, England. . About 1880 the family moved to Gippsland where Henderson managed a station near Orbost. Grace learned to love the Gippsland forest. She began to express in verse her understanding of the sights, scents and sounds of the bush, often writing in some remote clearing, her manuscripts stored for privacy in a hollow trunk. The Bairnsdale Advertiser published her first story, and the Weekly Times an early poem; then on 28 November 1885 her poem 'The Old Maid' was published in the Australasian under her pen name Jennings Carmichael. Encouraged by its editor, David Watterston, Grace sent nearly all her subsequent verse to that newspaper. (Read more by Lindsay Gardiner in Australian Dictionary of Biography.)This is significant to the Orbost region in that it is associated with a woman who is certainly our foremost female poet.A framed photograph of a plaque above a photograph of head and shoulders of a woman. They are framed in a gold wooden frame and mounted on a light brown buff card.carmichael-jennings-grace poet memorial-plaque memento

Handwritten sheet music played in Changi Prison. In pencil is a list of song names that were played. It was stored with sheet music that came with the 'Changi violin' donated by the family of Roy Arnel. It was on display in 2nd floor function room until 2024. The music and song playlist were on the reverse of the cover of a Prison Annual Report from 1931.A record of life in a POW camp.Handwritten sheet music on the reverse of the cover of an Annual Report on the Prisons of the Colony for the year 1931.Handwritten in pencil, bottom left 'End of a perfect day G D Slumber Song (Roy Arnell) request (inserted) Piano solo : Net St___ (inserted) O__a__ds 1st Waltz Annie Laurie C - E1 Vienna, City of Dreams G - D Let me call you sweetheart - G B Till we meet again G - Bchangi prison, pow, music

Orbost Aero Club began in 1969 with Basil Dowie as Chair, David Nixon as Secretary/Treasurer. The group went into recess from 1977-1991 closing in 1997. The mid 1960s were boom years in flying training in Australia and the number of Aero Clubs grew rapidly. The Club played a significant role in the establishment of the small airport at Marlo and in the ongoing operation and development of the airport over the years particularly for patient transfer by aerial ambulance. The Orbost Aero Club Club played a significant role in the establishment of the small airport at Marlo and in the ongoing operation and development of the airport over the years.Thirteen photographs related to the Orbost aero Club. Most are coloured. Ten are originals. 2406,33 is of David Nixon in the cockpit of the Bonanza (a small Beechcraft plane). 2406.40 is a photograph of David Nixon's grandfather's desk used for planning flights etc.On back of 2406.33 in blue pen - "This is me in the cockpit of the Bonanza." On back of 2406.34 in blue pen - "Taking Cora for her first flight with me after gaining my pilot's licence 1966."orbost-aero-club nixon_david

Large colour reproduction depicting the 8th/13th Victorian Mounted Rifles Parade of Guidons at Annual Camp held in 1959 at Beersheba Barracks in Wangaratta.Colour image of soldiers on parade and flag escort mounted on black edged plyboard.Parading the Guidons 8th/13th Victorian Mounted Rifles Annual Camp 1959 Beersheba Barracks8/13 victorian mounted rifles, 1959, guidons, wangaratta

These 2 photos are of Orbost men who were part of the 13th Light Horse volunteer regiment. This military training activity continued on after W W I. These photos were taken at the training camp at Seymour, Victoria. The Orbost troop would journey to other areas for training, sometimes to Bombala, and also practice on the Orbost Rifle Range. Although not identified in these photos, George William Wraight was a leader of the Light Horse Troop in Orbost and it is his daughter Dorothy Hepburn who has donated these photos. George W Wraight was the railway-station master at Orbost from 1935. The Troop often met at the Wraight house in Tarra Street, Orbost for training. George had been in W W I in the Middle East with the Light Horse. While at the railway station at Orbost, George had an accident and suffered 2 broken legs which meant that he could no longer work there. During W W II, he worked as a recruiting officer at Sale and Warrnambool. The Troop was disbanded in the c. late 1930s.Shows evidence of military training activities, Orbost district Two sepia photographs onto grey card. Both photos show a line-up of 20 soldiers standing at attention. Size is H-22cm W-34cmIn Line Picket 2 Troop C Squad 13 LH - written on to both photos13th light horse brigade, c squad 2 troop, military training, george w wraight

The co-operative was registered in 1919 as the Graziers Co-op Shearing Company Limited. It changed its name in September 1948 to Grazcos Co-operative Ltd. In 1981 the co-operative merged with Farmers & Graziers Co-op Ltd to form Farmers Grazcos Co-op Ltd. This item is part of a collection of Annual Reports from Grazcos dated from 1949 - 1980.Booklet featuring a black and white image of sheep and farm workers at stockyards, with printed black text on blue background below image.front: ANNUAL REPORT / 1950 / GRAZCOS CO-OPERATIVE LIMITEDagricultural co-operative, agricultural wholesaling, annual reports, rural life, rural industry, business, corporate body

The co-operative was registered in 1919 as the Graziers Co-op Shearing Company Limited. It changed its name in September 1948 to Grazcos Co-operative Ltd. In 1981 the co-operative merged with Farmers & Graziers Co-op Ltd to form Farmers Grazcos Co-op Ltd. This item is part of a collection of Annual Reports from Grazcos dated from 1949 - 1980.Booklet featuring a black and white image of sheep, a man on horseback and farmland, with printed black text on blue background below image.front: ANNUAL REPORT / 1952 / GRAZCOS / CO-OPERATIVE LIMITEDagricultural co-operative, agricultural wholesaling, annual reports, rural life, rural industry, business, corporate body

The co-operative was registered in 1919 as the Graziers Co-op Shearing Company Limited. It changed its name in September 1948 to Grazcos Co-operative Ltd. In 1981 the co-operative merged with Farmers & Graziers Co-op Ltd to form Farmers Grazcos Co-op Ltd. This item is part of a collection of Annual Reports from Grazcos dated from 1949 - 1980.Booklet featuring a black and white image of sheep and farmland, with printed black text on blue background below image.front: ANNUAL REPORT / 1951 / GRAZCOS CO-OPERATIVE LIMITEDagricultural co-operative, agricultural wholesaling, annual reports, rural life, rural industry, business, corporate body

Annual wildflower shows took over the Hall's Gap Hall during spring and, in the 1930's, transformed it into a veritable wonderland. So popular were these displays that they have continued through until present times, the format has altered but the display of flowers remains the same. Ladies' Committees were formed to sell art and crafts during shows, and much of the revenue from these events went towards a future new building. The ticket shows that the admission price in 1933 was 1/- (one shilling). A comparison with Record 387 shows that the price had not risen from that rate in 1938. The Hon. Sec at this time was H. Goodwin Taylor.A ticket for the Grampians Mountains Wildflower Show to be held in Halls Gap Public Hall on 29/09/1933 and 30/09/1933.media, tickets, events, wildflower show

This is a photograph of the twin daughters of Mrs Trixie Mason - Marion and May,. They had a brother Alec Mason. The Mason Twins are the granddaughters of George and Agnes Thomas from Newmerella . The photographer was Warren, Helena (1871-1962) who was a self-taught photographer who became both the local press correspondent and a producer of humorous trompe l'oeil postcard images. Helena Warren was a thirty-two year old settler living on a small mixed farm with her husband, William, at Newmerella, near Orbost in Gippsland, Victoria, when she bought her first camera, an Austral Box quarter-plate. Her family says she was entirely self-taught, like many women photographers who started out with nothing but the instructions on the packets of film and chemicals. In over fifty years practice she graduated from the total novice, who opened all her first mail order plates in bright sunlight and ruined them, to a competent photographer who became both the local press correspondent and an inveterate producer of humorous trompe l’oeil postcard images.This photograph has significance in its association with Helen Frances Warren, a popular Orbost identity who was well known as an accomplished photographer and needleworker.A black / white photograph of two small twin Aboriginal girls in a large pumpkin floating on water. There is a Union Jack at each end with "HMAS CENTENARY 1934" on the side.pumpkins-orbost warren-helena-photographer mason-marion mason-may aboriginal-children

The Roadknight family settled on Ewing's Marsh on what is now known as the Old Station In 1850. The Lakes Entrance run was occupied by the late Thomas Roadknight. In 1852 his brother William took charge. Soon after this Corringle Station was occupied by the late T. T. Stirling. William was born at Collingwood, the son of William Roadknight and Jane Stirling. The Roadknight family came from Colac on board the Enterprise to their new home at Cunninghame. The house on the hill, now Pine Hill was named Merrangbaur (home of the lyrebird). William held the Lake Tyers and Snowy River run in partnership with Thomas Telfer Stirling who took up the eastern end of the run on the west bank of the Snowy River. The run included Ewing‟s Marsh — the Ewing brothers were earlier landowners but had no formal run in this area. William served four terms on the Tambo Shire Council as a representative of the Bendoc Riding despite not being a resident of the Riding. He was then elected to the Orbost Shire as a West Riding councillor in 1896-97, 1897-98 and was Shire President in his final year 1898-99 This item is associated with Roadknight family who were early settlers in the Orbost district.A black / white photograph of a family group of mother, father and six children standing outdoor. There is a dog lying in front .roadknight-william ewing's-marsh old-station-orbost

Maize has been grown on the Orbost flats for at least 70 years. When early settlers began to arrive on the Snowy River somewhere in the 1880s, the land was mostly swamps and heavily timbered jungle on the river frontages. The swamps were drained, bit by bit, with short handled shovels working in mud and water. The frontages were cleared by axe and shovel and fire. Several kinds of crops were experimented with such as hops, hemp and maize which grew particularly well and became the main crop of district. The problem then was to thresh and deliver the product to the market. A small single cob machine was brought here and one man turned the handle, while the boy or Mum fed the cobs singly into the machine. A good day’s work would thresh about 50 bushels or about 12 bags (4 bushels). The task then was to cart the maize to market. For a few years this was done by horses and dray carrying about 60 bushels to Mossiface, where it was loaded onto river boats to Lakes Entrance, and then by ocean boats to Melbourne. (information from NEWSLETTER OCTOBER, 2006)The growing of maize in the Orbost district contributed significantly to the economy of the township for many years, The many maize cribs once seen on the surrounding farms have now disappeared and this photograph is a pictorial record of that significance.A small sepia photograph with six men in front of a wooden barn. They are bagging maize. In the foreground are two rows of filled bags. On the right is a lifting machine to take the bags to the top storey. On the far right is a water tank on a stand"on back - "Thrashing Maize"maize-orbost agriculture-maize industry

Document. First Prize Certificate Annual Spring Show 1936 awarded to Miss K. Guiney for Piece of Fancy work, not specified. County of Bendigo.document, certificate, first prize for spring show

In the early days of Orbost many Chinese were engaged in land clearing or had arrived when gold was discovered in East Gippsland in the 1840's. They lived in camps along the Marlo Road and houses were usually built on stilts. They left after the 1893 floods.This object has aesthetic appeal. It is an object which belonged to the very early settlement days of Orbost.Huge, ornate Chinese ginger jar. Four raised hand- painted pink roses on front. Jar itself is matt black. Looks more like a vase than a ginger jar. Ceramic.Some Chinese writing to left hand side of roses.ceramics, ginger jar, container - domestic, vase

The East Gippsland Historical Society has produced an annual calendar 'Old Views of Gippsland' since 2003. This item is a useful reference for the history of Gippsland.A 2001 stapled calendar, titled "Old Views of Gippsland".On the front is a black/white photograph of the main street of Lindenow. It contains early photographs of East Gippsland, one for each month. December has a photograph of Nicholson street in Orbost and October has a photograph of the construction of the East Gippsland railway at the Newmerella cutting. calendar photographs-gippsland

Maize,has been grown on the Orbost flats for at least 70 years. When early settlers began to arrive on the Snowy River somewhere in the 1880s, the land was mostly swamps and heavily timbered jungle on the river frontages. The swamps were drained, bit by bit, by men with short handled shovels and working in mud and water. The frontages were cleared by axe and shovel and fire. Several kinds of crops were experimented with such as hops, hemp and maize, the latter grew particularly well and became the main crop of district. The problem then was to thresh and deliver the product to the market. A small single cob machine was brought here and one man turned the handle, while the boy or Mum fed the cobs singly into the machine. A good day’s work would thresh about 50 bushels or about 12 bags (4 bushels). The task then was to cart the maize to market. For a few years this was done by horses and dray carrying about 60 bushels to Mossiface, where it was loaded onto river boats to Lakes Entrance, and then by ocean boats to Melbourne. Later it was taken to Bairnsdale by foot and loaded onto the trains to Melbourne. (more information in Newsletter October 2006)The growing of maize in the Orbost district contributed significantly to the economy of the township for many years, The many maize cribs once seen on the surrounding farms have now disappeared and this photograph is a pictorial record of that significance.A black / white photograph of a man unloading maize from a horse-drawn wagon into a maize crib. Another man is standing by the horse.maize-crib-orbost agriculture maize-corn-orbost