The beginning of standardised weights and measures began In Victoria when the Melbourne Observatory received sets of standard weights and measures, which had been tested in Britain against the then British Imperial standards. These included the primary standard yard and pound for the Colony of Victoria. Other standards of weights and measure held by shires and the administrative body's within the colony could then be compared to these primary standards. A Weights and Measures Act was passed in Victoria in 1862, establishing local inspectors throughout the colony. By the 1870s each local council and shire in Victoria held a set of standards that were used to test scales, weights and dry measures used by wholesalers, factories and shops. Every ten years the councils’ standards would themselves need to be rechecked against the Victorian Standards. The checking was done by the Victorian Customs Department in the 19th century, but with the transfer of responsibility for customs to the Federal Government in 1901, weights and measures function was retained by the Victorian Government and was shifted to the Melbourne Observatory. In 1904, a new building was erected at the south end of the Great Melbourne Telescope House, where the standard weights and measures and testing equipment was installed. This room had a large whirling apparatus for testing air meters and became known as the Whirling Room. When the Melbourne Observatory closed in 1944, the Weights and Measures Branch was formed to continue and this branch remained at the Observatory site unit until 1995. J & M Ewan History: J&M Ewan was a Melbourne firm that began by selling retail furniture and wholesale ironmongery. They had substantial warehouses situated at the intersection of 81-83 Elizabeth and Little Collins Streets, the business was established by James M Ewan in 1852. Shortly afterwards he went into partnership with William Kerr Thomson and Samuel Renwick. When Ewan died in 1868 his partners carried on and expanded the business under his name J & M Ewan. The business was expanded to provide a retail shop, counting-house and private offices. Wholesale warehouses adjoined these premises at 4, 6 and 10 Little Collins Street, West. This company provided and sold a large and varied amount of imported goods into the colony that consisted of agriculture equipment, building materials, mining items as well as steam engines, tools of all types and marble fireplaces. They also supplied the Bronze measuring containers in the Flagstaff Hill collection and the probability is that these containers were obtained by the local Melbourne authority that monitored weights and measures in the mid to late 19th century. The company grew to employ over 150 people in Melbourne and opened offices at 27 Lombard St London as well as in New Zealand and Fiji. The company also serviced the Mauritius islands and the pacific area with their steamship the Suva and a brig the Shannon. Robert Bate History: Robert Brettell Bate (1782-1847) was born in Stourbridge, England, one of four sons of Overs Bate, a mercer (a dealer in textile fabrics, especially silks, velvet's, and other fine materials)and banker. Bate moved to London, and in 1813 was noticed for his scientific instrument making ability through the authority of the “Clockmakers Company”. Sometime in the year 1813 it was discovered that one Robert Brettell Bate, regarded as a foreigner in London had opened a premises in the Poultry selling area of London. He was a Mathematical Instrument maker selling sundials and other various instruments of the clock making. In 1824, Bate, in preparation for his work on standards and weights, leased larger premises at 20 and 21 Poultry, London, at a rental of four hundred pounds per annum. It was there that Bate produced quality metrological instruments, which afforded him the recognition as one of one of the finest and principal English metrological instrument-makers of the nineteenth century. English standards at this time were generally in a muddle, with local standards varying from shire to shire. On 17 June 1824, an Act of Parliament was passed making a universal range of weights, measures, and lengths for the United Kingdom, and Bate was given the job of crafting many of the metrological artifacts. He was under instruction from the renown physicist Henry Kater F.R.S. (1777-1835) to make standards and to have them deposited in the principal cities throughout the United Kingdom and colonies. Bate experimented with tin-copper alloys to find the best combination for these items and by October 1824, he had provided Kater with prototypes to test troy and avoirdupois pounds, and samples with which to divide the troy into grams. Bate also cast the standard for the bushel, and by February 1825, had provided all the standards required of him by the Exchequer, Guildhalls of Edinburgh, and Dublin. In 1824, he also made a troy pound standard weight for the United States, which was certified for its accuracy by Kater and deposited with the US Mint in 1827. Kater, in his address to the Royal Society of London, acknowledged Bate's outstanding experimentation and craftsmanship in producing standards of weights, measures, and lengths. An example of a dry Bronze measuring container made specifically for J & M Ewan by possibly the most important makers of measurement artefacts that gives us today a snapshot of how imperial weights and measures were used and how a standard of measurement for merchants was developed in the Australian colonies based on the Imperial British measurement system. The container has social significance as an item retailed by J & M Ewan and used in Victoria by the authorities who were given legal responsibility to ensure that wholesalers and retailers of dry goods sold in Victoria were correct. The container was a legal standard measure so was also used to test merchants containers to ensure that their distribution of dry goods to a customer was correct.Maker Possibly Robert Brettell Blake or De Grave, Short & Co Ltd both of LondonContainer brass round for measuring quantities- Has brass handles & is a 'Bushel' measurement. 'Imperial Standard Bushel Victoria' engraved around container. Container bronze round shape for measuring dry quantities has brass handles & is a 'Bushel' measurement"IMPERIAL STANDARD BUSHEL" engraved around the top of the container. VICTORIA engraved under "J & M Ewan & Co London and Melbourne" engraved around the bottom of the container.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, standard measure, bushel, bushel measurement, j & m ewan, dry measurement, victorian measurement standard, bronze container, melbourne observatory, robert brettell bate

Wilhelm and Marie Wischer were the founding couple of the successful Wischer phosphate and chemical works at Yarraville, Melbourne. They had emigrated from Magdeburg in Germany in the late 19th century and had undertaken the journey to Australia over three months. During this voyage, several passengers had died and a number of babies had been born. The travellers had endured storms, injuries, broken equipment, and numerous other privations. The couple had lived in the suburb of Hawthorn and their family history is documented in a book by John Wischer. The link is in references this document from "Kainos Books" and makes for fascinating reading as it reveals an account of life in Melbourne during the late 19th and early 20th century. The book also gives an account of the Wischer phosphate mining activities on Ocean Island in 1904, Wischer & Co. eventually merged with Mt. Lyell Chemical works.An item giving a snapshot of early industrial life in Melbourne during the late 19th century with also an interesting story of early migration to Australia. The item also makes us aware of the privations early migrants had in trying to establish a life in a new country and how the Wischer family overcame these challenges to establish a very successful business.Jug, clay large with handle glazed screw on stopper. Sulphur Acid Wischer Chemical Company Yarraville printed on side, also a number 5 on the screw lidflagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village

Lifebuoy is from the ketch Reginald M, built in Port Adelaide by John Murch in 1922. Lifebuoys were part of the emergency lifesaving equipment carried on vessels in the late 19th and early 20th century. The ring was made of strips of cork wood joined together to make the ring shape then covered in canvas and sealed usually with white paint. Four evenly spaced canvas reinforcing bands would be added for strength and for a place to thread a rope or line. A lifebuoy, or life-preserver, is used as a buoyancy device often thrown to an endangered or distressed person in the water to keep them afloat while they receive help. It is usually connected by a rope to a person in a safe area such a nearby vessel or on shore. Lifebuoys is a made from a buoyant materials such as cork or foam and ae usually covered with canvas for protection and to make it easy to grip. The first use of life saving devices in recent centuries was by the Nordic people, who used light weight wood or cork blocks to keep afloat. Cork lifebuoys were used from the late 19th to early 20th century. Kapok fibre was then used as a filling for buoys but wasn’t entirely successful. Light weight balsa wood was used as a filler after WW1. In 1928 Peter Markus invented and patented the first inflatable life-preserver. By WW2 foam was combined with Kapok. Laws were passed over time that has required aeroplanes and water going-vessels to carry life-preservers on board. The Reginald M 1922- The two-masted coastal trading ketch Reginald M was built by John (Jack) Murch in Port Adelaide, South Australia, in 1922 and it was launched there in Largs Bay in the same year. It is thought that the keel was hewn from two telegraph poles - its owner was a regular visitor to salvage yards. Its cargo at times included Guano, Barley, Wool, Horses, Cattle, Timber, Explosives, Potatoes, Shell Grit and Gypsum. At one time the vessel was used as a customs boat, renamed 'HMC No. 3, Pt Adelaide'. In 1969 she was used by a mining and railway company as a barge to carry explosives. In 1972 the vessel was renamed 'T.S. Macquarie' and planned to be used for sea cadet training.; this did not eventuate. It was sold again and went to Melbourne to be used for pleasure sailing, and again sold for use as a ferry. Late in 1975 Flagstaff Hill purchased the vessel to be used as an exhibit at the Maritime Village where many visitors enjoyed being able to board and explore a real ship with a long history. Sadly, in late 2016, the decision was made to 'decommission' the vessel due to the continuing high cost of maintenance and the risk to public safety. Many of the components of the vessel are held as part of Flagstaff Hill's collection.The lifebuoy is an example of equipment carried on vessels in the late 19th and early 20th century to help preserve life. There were many lives lost in Australia’s colonial period, particularly along the coast of South West Victoria. The lifebuoy is significant for its connection with the Australian built, 1922 coastal trader, Reginald M. Lifebuoy, round , cork, filled, white canvas cover with four red tabs. Text is printed in black on quarters 1 and 3. This lifebuoy once belonged to the vessel 'Reginald M' , Pt Adelaide. "REGINALD M / Pt ADELAIDE".flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, lifebuoy, lifesaving, ship equipment, reginald m, life rings, safety ring, life-saving buoy, ring buoy, life preserver, personal floating device, floatation device, safety equipment, coastal trader, john murch, reg webb

Photograph of the article in the local Ballarat newspaper, The Star. The original motion was for the establishment of a school to impart instruction in mining and mining engineering, and was based on the proceedings of a meeting of the Ballarat Mining Board on Wednesday 06 October 1869.ballarat school of mines, ballarat mining board, james bickett, downes, lamb, nettell, elmslie, eddy, establishment, ballarat school of mines establishment, ballarat school of mines history

Blue soft covered report with 40 plates and plans. Inciudes Geology of Ballarat. Little Bendigo Goldfield, Ballarat West Goldfield, Ballarat East Goldfield, history, nuggets, indicators, faults, microscopic structure of Ballarat Rocks and ores, general type of the Ballarat East Mines and the genesis of their ores. Mines include New Zealand Trust, Llanberris No. 1, Llanberris No 2, Victoria United, Britannia United, New Britannia, Last Chance, Exchange, Normanby North, New Normanby, North Woah Hawp. Photpgraphic plates include: Victoria United Mine, Llanberres No. 1, Normanby North, North Woah Hawp Mine, View looking south from the Britannia Mullock Heap, View from Sovereign Hill, The place in Learmonth Street Golden Point where gold was first discovered at Ballarat. j.w. gregory, ballarat east, ballarat east goldfield, e.j. dunn, geolological survey of victoria, new zealand trust, llanberris no. 1, llanberris no 2, victoria united, britannia united, new britannia, last chance, exchange, normanby north, new normanby, north woah hawp, mining, indicators, gold mining, poppet head

Copies of all images from the 1887 version of Withers' 'History of Ballarat'. The images include copies of the Eureka Stockade reward posters. mail coach, eureka graves, ballaarat old cemetery, mining registrar's office, reward posters, lake wendouree, bakery hill, madame berry gold mining company, ballarat from bath's hotel, quartz crushing, black hill, horse puddler, pennyweight flat, aborigines, creswick, withers, william b. withers, history of ballarat

Bendigo Advertiser ''The way we were'' from 2002. Dressed up: this fine-looking group of citizens is all toffed up for a group portrait. There is no information with the picture, but obviously it is connected with mining with the poppet head as a backdrop. The clip is in a folder.newspaper, bendigo advertiser, the way we were

Photocopy of a newspaper article titled In the Viewfinder by Jack Perry titled Mining Accidents. Article mentions the number of men killed in the mines in Bendigo. Victorian Minister for Mines Angus McKay introduced a Bill, which forbade the employment of children in the mines, introduced the eight hour day, called for the licensing of engine drivers and instructed mine owners to install safety devices on mine cages. There is a photo of miners coming off their shift. There are two other articles on the page - a piece about a 'Bendigo Pottery' Milk Jug by Ken Arnold.bendigo, history, long gully history group, the long gully history group - mining accidents, jack perry, ken arnold, leighton rawlings, leanne lloyd, cornish association of bendigo, cornish newsletter, angus mckay

Diggers & Mining. Diggers and miners. A diagram; - - - or in quartz reefs extending perhaps thousands of feet under the surface. (a) Quartz (b) Worked portion of reef. Markings: 24 994:LIF I. Used as a teaching aid.hanimounteducation, tertiary, goldfields

Diggers & Mining. Diggers and miners. In some localities, diggers formed co-operative parties to mine for gold in a small way. But, in general, the exploration of deeper deposits was outside the capacity of the diggers, who lacked both the capacity of the diggers, who lacked both the capital and the technical knowledge required. So wealthy men formed gold mining companies, which established gold mines to exploit the deeper deposits. Markings: 23 994:LIF I. Used as a teaching aid.hanimounteducation, tertiary, goldfields

Diggers & Mining. Diggers and miners. On many fields, even the surface alluvial deposits had been worked out, there was still much gold to be got, but it lay in the deeper strata - - - Markings: 21 994:LIF I. Used as a teaching aid.hanimounteducation, tertiary, goldfields

Photocopy of a Bendigo Weekly article titled Discover Bendigo by James Lerk, dated 30 June 2000. Article mentions the inrush of water into the Victoria Quartz Mine and the breakage of the cables which held the water-baling tank. Other mines had been baling as well. It became too expensive to keep on with the baling. The article also has a photo of the Victoria Quartz.bendigo, history, long gully history group, the long gully history group - discover bendigo, james lerk, bendigo weekly, victoria quartz, i e dyason, w hunter, e g mueller, g w lansell, l v lansell, j h craig, new chum railway, mining department, lansell estate, mr a h merrin, victoria quartz company, the bendigo advertiser

Diggers & Mining. Diggers and miners. . . . In the deep leads, or buried valleys of ancient streams . . . (a) Existing water course (b) Buried river valley (c) Washdirt Markings: 22 994:LIF I. Used as a teaching aid.hanimounteducation, tertiary, goldfields

Diggers & Mining. Diggers and miners. The rush might be small or big; it might last for a couple of months, of for years. Eventually, as the yields from near-the-surface deposits declined, diggers would leave the field. Generally a field declined in importance gradually; but, if reports of another rich diggings began to circulate, thousands might leave a field in a few days - as they left Fiery Creek (Beaufort) for Ararat in 1857. Markings: 20 994:LIF I. Used as a teaching aid.hanimounteducation, tertiary, goldfields

Diggers & Mining. Diggers and miners. Near Golden Point, Mount Alexander - ten years after the rush began. Photo shows many tents and some timber buildings at least one two story building up on the hill. Markings: 19 994:LIF I. Used as a teaching aid.hanimounteducation, tertiary, goldfields

Diggers & Mining. Diggers and miners. News of rich finds spread quickly amongst the diggers, and soon the area would be rushed. Photo (Tulloch) Golden Point, Mt. Alexander, 1851. Shows many men erecting tents on the goldfield at Mt. Alexander. Markings: 18 994:LIF I. Used as a teaching aid.hanimounteducation, tertiary, goldfields

Diggers & Mining. Diggers and miners. All of the important diggings of the gold era passed through certain distinct stages. First there was a rich find by prospectors. Photo show prospectors checking their panning. ''Prospectors''. Markings: 17 994:LIF I. Used as a teaching aid.hanimounteducation, tertiary, goldfields

Bendigo Weekly - Snippets of Bendigo History, The Pall Mall story, part one - By Edith Lunn. Pall Mall was the vision of Richard Larritt who, from the Survey Office (Dudley House) at the top of View Street created order out of the chaos of the early alluvial mining activities along the Bendigo creek. Much history attaches to Pall Mall. The Freemasons' hotel, built in 1858, later renamed the Court house hotel, stands on the Mundy Street corner. In 1902 Sidney Myer opened his first shop close by. Bill Hampton had a grocery business and Colin Creek was a butcher in this block. On the Bull Street corner, Taylor Bros erected a two storied building for their drapery business. Crossing over Bull Street the former Commercial hotel stood on the corner from 1868. Many different shops filled the block to Williamson Street, they included Mr and Mrs Pedersen's café, the Gas Company's office, Fontawayne's frock shop, Hume and Iser, Doug Pain jeweller. The clip is in a folder.newspaper, bendigo, bendigo weekly

12 photocopied pages. Page four has acknowledgements, Page five mentions Pen-Portraist by Raly Wallace and Kevin Vallence, Page 14 mentions some rich areas: White Hills, Red Hill (now Virginia Hill), Eaglehawk, Golden Gully, New Chum Gully, Long Gully, Spring Gully, Derwent Gully, California Gully, Sailors Gully and Peg Leg Gully. There are two sketches on the page: Windless, by W. Ralston, Australasian Sketcher 20/12/1879 (D O'Hoy Collection) and a sketch of some miners in a tent with some mining equipment in front of it. There are two men in front of a fire at the front of the tent. Page 16 has a sketch of an old brick house with iron lace on the veranda and a picket fence at the front. Page 17 mentions the school and some Friendly Societies and Church. Page 22 mentions Quartz Mining. There is a Lithograph of a Quartz outcrop, New Chum Gully 1852 by George Rowe and a View of Surface Workings 1861, a Batchelder Photo. Page 23 mentions Edward Nucella Emmett, a pioneer gold digger who became involved in many important public issues. Page 25 mentions Company Mining and Crushing. It has a sketch of a Primitive Quart Crusher. Page 37 Mentions Richard Pope, a Miner who tramped from job to job in Bendigo and eventually followed the rush to Broken Hill. Page 38 mentions the Eaglehawk Brass Band and Friendly Societies in Eaglehawk. Page 39 is headed Miner's Cottage. It mentions stone miners' cottages. Page 40 has a sketch of a Georgian Style Sandstone Cottage Harvey Town. Page 41 mentions men sweeping the road to get gold, Bull Family grocery shop and a blacksmith. Page 42 is headed St. Augustine's. Page 43 has a sketch of St. Augustine's Church. Page 59 is headed Bendigo Amalgamated Goldfields (B.A.G.) Edward Clarence Dyason was largely behind a new company set up in 1917 to work the Bendigo field in an entirely new way. (B.A.G.) wished to take over all existing mining companies, and place them under a single management structure.bendigo, history, long gully history group, the long gully history group - some historical information, mr l hooley, mr l bennetts, mr w watson, mr w heraud, mr d m davies, mr w perry, mr h harvey, mr a llewellyn, mr e oates, chook temple by mr alan llewellyn, mr f cusack, tracey ipsen, ray wallace, bendigo field naturalists' club, eaglehawk tree lovers' society, bendigo historical society, university of melbourne, kevin vallence, monash university, bendigo technical college, south australian writer's fellowship, windlass, w ralston, australasian sketcher 20.12.1879, d o'hoy, mechanics institute, california gully school, bell topper hill, i.o.r. (rechabites), cobden tent, refuge tent, sutton tent, m.u.i.o.o.f.'s loyal darling, bible christian church, california hill wesleyan methodist church, saint jude's anglican church, quartz mining, e n emmett, jonathan harris, haris' claim, j hustler, george rowe, batchelder, la trobe library, cave, amos, new chum line of reef, edward nucella emmett, bendigo city council, all saints, william westgarth, latham and watson, hustler's line of reef, bell and irons, ballerstedt and son, young and company, nicholas and bassit, ensor, thomas carpenter, quartz crusher, goldfields and mineral districts of victoria, richard pope, daniel webster mine, isaac dyason, old chum mine, north old chum mine, young chum mine, george lansell, lazarus, silicosis of the lungs, eaglehawk brass band, victoria hotel, mr williams, eaglehawk branch of the australian natives association, loyal catherine lodge, mr james, odd fellows in the loyal catherine lodge branch no 4935, richard harvey, thomas harvey, moonta copper mines, harvey town, national trust of australia, eaglehawk tree lovers society, saint mungo's methodist church, clark's beehive battery, world war 1, kee-young, lady barkly hotel, prankhurst, bull family, cousin jack, st augustine's, myers, nicholls, john o'brien, around the boree log, the rev dean hayes, st kilian's, bendigo amalgamated goldfields (b.a.g.), edward clarence dyason, r h s abbott, hercules and energetic, south new moon, new chum goldfields, central red white and blue consolidated, brown john, the life and times of long gully, bendigo press, val white, megan snoop

Newspaper cutting titled Prominent family to reunite written by Susan Turpie. No date. Five Cornish brothers Anthony, Thomas, William, John and Edward Truscott made their way to Australia after mining work in Cornwall began to dry up. They settled in Long Gully and California Gully and later spread out to Strathfieldsaye and further through the region. Jean McDonald organised a family reunion which had activities at the Long Gully Uniting Church, the Long Gully Uniting Church Hall and Lake Weeroona. Article has a photo of the five brothers.bendigo, history, long gully history group, the long gully history group - five truscott brothers, anthony truscott, thomas truscott, william truscott, john truscott, edward truscott, jean mcdonald, percy truscott, tony truscott, neil truscott, city of greater bendigo, long gully uniting church, susan turpie

Diggers & mining. The gold era. Exercises (1) Draw a map of Victoria, and on it show the towns that grew up on the goldfields. (2) Describe the digger's work in getting gold from the dirt. (3) What advances were made in transportation during the Gold Era? (4) Make a list of what you think were the chief exports and imports of the time. Markings 57 994.031 GOL:5. Used as a teaching aid.hanimounteducation, tertiary, goldfields

Diggers & mining. The gold era. The pastoral industry flourished. Better homesteads were built and many stations were fenced. Slide shows some of the fencing and shelters added to homesteads. Markings 56 994.031 GOL:5. Used as a teaching aid.hanimounteducation, tertiary, goldfields

Diggers & mining. The gold era. In 1857, the Yan Yean reservoir was opened, and Melbourne was ensured of a good water supply. Slide shows a good picture of the lake with a couple of people in the foreground. Markings 55 994.031 GOL:5. Used as a teaching aid.hanimounteducation, tertiary, goldfields

Diggers & mining. The gold era. In 1860, Burke and Wills set out from Melbourne to cross the continent from south to north. Writing on slide hard to read: Burke? ? From Royal? Park? Melbourne. ? ? ? ? Taken on the spot 1860. Markings 54 994.031 GOL:5. Used as a teaching aid.hanimounteducation, tertiary, goldfields