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Melton City LibrariesPhotograph, Bruce Myers, 1931
My Story by Bruce Myers – June 2001 Arthur Bruce Myers was born on Wednesday morning on the 29/4/1925 at Kelvin Grove Hospital Bacchus Marsh. Background Information: Prepared by Niece Wendy Barrie. The early life of Bruce Myers “Burnbank” Ballarat Road Melton. The family home was built by his grandparents Ann nee Dowling and Henri Miers in 1867. His father Frederick was born in 1877 in Melton the youngest of four boys. Bruce the fourth son of Frederick and Martha, brother Frederick the eldest was followed by Marjorie and Edna. His brother Max was the youngest child. Father Frederick Myers attended Melton State School No 430 enrolling in 1881 and leaving in 1888 gaining his Merit Certificate No 116343. Bruce enrolled in July 1931 and completed and gaining his Merit Certificate in 1937. In 1938 he travelled to Melbourne Boys High School. Bruce was taught piano by his sister Marjorie, a respected Melton music teacher. He entered many Piano competitions and at the age of 10 winning the radio cup in the Junior Cavalcade at 3AW at Latrobe Street. At Melbourne Boys High School during his lunchtime was allowed to practice the piano in the basement for his recreation. He was pestered by another boy (name I have forgotten) a teacher intervened telling him to leave Myers alone. As a young child when listening to music he was able to on hearing it identify the key it was written in, due to his perfect pitch. I remember “Mum” Myers telling about the time they went to see Artur Rubeinstein at a concert, when Bruce was a small boy, it may have been on this occasion that he had noted the key of the piano composition. Bruce writes – In my early teens Max and I frequently accompanied the Williams boys, Wally and Jim on expeditions up the Toolern Creek near where the Gisborne exit now crosses it. The dogs would chase the rabbits into their burrows after placing nets over the burrows a ferret would be let in to burrow, much excitement would be involved in the rush to grab the rabbits as they bolted into the nets. In the same area I used too accompany Dad on an evening rabbit shoot (summer time). After the heat of the day the rabbits would emerge from their burrows at dusk. We would his behind the tree in silence, a mark contrast to the ferreting scene. Dad with the shotgun cocked would wait until 2 or 3 rabbits were close together then fire (Bang!). Hopefully killing two rabbits. They would have to be killed outright, otherwise they would run back into their burrows. Needless to say, one deafening shot ended the event, also it only cost one cartridge. Our only swimming pool was hole in the Toolern Creek at its junction with the blind creek at the eastern entrance to Melton. Dad swum there in the 1880’s teaching many of the youngsters to swim. Females never swum there to my knowledge. The dressing shed consisted of a 4 corrugated iron nailed to a wooden frame about 4 metres by 3 no floor or roof. We always walked the kilometre in our bathers anyway. The swimming hole once dried up leaving about 2 ft of mud. We Melton boys had so much fun fossicking around with our hands and feet and yanking out numerous eels, some very bid. I don’t know what happened to them all. No doubt Dad would have skun one or two for Mum to cook after cutting them up into short lengths. They used to jump around the pan when they were cooking. Dad accompanied by Max and I, frequently fished for eels in the Gillespie’s waterhole just below our place using a rod, line, sinker, hook baited with a worm, and a white floater so as to easily see when an eel was on the hook, so that it could quickly be pulled before it could anchor itself on and under water snag such as a tree root making it impossible to catch, or causing the line to be lost. At about the age of 8, I suddenly discovered amazingly easily means of movement. One day when I was riding the bike on rough bluestone road near the Presbyterian Church [Uniting Church] in Melton when the front fork broke and I landed on my right knee and right eye gashing both, the knee severely. I have carried the scars ever since. I started getting mobile by riding a scooter with good leg on the scooter and swinging the right leg, keeping is straight because bending it was too painful.Childhood photo of Brucelocal identities -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and VillageEquipment - Rocket set, John Dennett, ca. 1860s
This rescue line-throwing rocket set was made for the Dennett rocket system, which was used by the Rocket Rescue crews in South West Victoria from around the 1860s to the 1890s. John Dennett - John Dennett was from Carisbrooke, in the Ilse of Wight, UK. In 1826 he invented, patented and demonstrated an improved method of rocket powered, line firing rescue equipment for saving lives. The rockets had a longer range than the mortars being used, they were lighter, needed less preparation time, only needed one line for repeated shots, and fewer people were needed to move the equipment. Very favourable reports of Dennett’s rockets were received by those in charge of His Majesty’s Naval and Military services. In 1832, Dennett’s rocket-thrown line was sent out to the wreck of the ‘Bainbridge’, and was responsible for nineteen survivors coming ashore in two boatloads, along the fired line. Dennett’s rocket received national fame, and a one-year contract to supply rockets to the Coastguards. He became known as ‘Rocket Man’ and his rockets were used in rescues at least until 1890, when his son Horatio was running the business. A rocket weighing 23 lb would have a range of about 250 yards (228 metres), on average. Saving lives in Warrnambool – The coastline of South West Victoria has had over 600 shipwrecks and many lost lives; even in Warrnambool’s Lady Bay there were around 16 known shipwrecks between 1850 and 1905, with eight lives lost. In 1859 the first Government-built lifeboat arrived at Warrnambool Harbour and a shed was soon built to house it, followed in 1864 by a rocket house to safely store the Rocket Rescue equipment. In 1878 the buildings were moved to the Breakwater area, and in 1910 the new Lifeboat Warrnambool arrived with its ‘self-righting’ design. For almost one hundred years the lifeboat and rocket crews, mostly local volunteers, trained regularly to maintain and improve their skills, summoned when needed by alarms, gunshots, ringing bells and foghorns. Some became local heroes but all served an important role. By the end of the 1950s the lifeboat and rescue equipment had become obsolete. Rocket Rescue Method - The first use of a lifesaving rocket rescue system is often credited to Captain Manby and his invention of a life mortar, first used in 1808 to fire a line onto a ship to rescue lives. Henry Trengrouse’s invention of 1820 was the first to use a sky rocket’s power to throw a line, and his invention included a chair for carrying the shipwrecked victims to shore. In 1832 John Dennett invented a rocket specifically for shore to ship rescue. It had an iron case and an 8 foot pole attached and could shoot the line as far as 250 yards (about 230 metres). From the 1860s the rocket rescue apparatus was in use. It comprised a breeches buoy and traveller block that was suspended on a line and manually pulled to and from the distressed vessel carrying passengers and items. Colonel Boxer, who had invented an early line-thrower, designed a rocket in 1865 with a range from 300 to 470 yards. It was the first two-stage rocket, with two rockets placed one in front of the other in a tube that carried the rescue line. The hemp line was faked, or coiled, in a particular way in a faking box to prevent twists and tangles when fired, and the angle of firing the rocket was measured by a quadrant-type instrument on the side of the rocket machine. Schermuly invented the line-throwing pistol around 1920, which used a small cartridge to fire the rocket. Victoria’s Government adopted lifesaving methods based on Her Majesty’s Coast Guard in Great Britain, which used Colonel Boxer’s rocket apparatus rescue method. The British Board of Trade published instructions in 1850 for both the beach rescue crew and ship’s crew. It involved setting up the rocket launcher on shore at a particular angle measured by the quadrant, inserting a rocket that had a light-weight line attached, then firing it across the stranded vessel. A tally board was then sent out with instructions in four languages. The ship’s crew would haul on the line to bring out the continuous whip line and attach the whip block to a mast or sturdy part the ship. The rescue crew on shore then hauled out a heavier hawser line, which the ship’s crew fixed above the whip block. The hawser is then tightened using the block on the shore end of the whip. The breeches buoy and endless whip are then attached to the traveller block on the hawser, allowing the shore crew to haul the buoy to and from the vessel, rescuing the stranded crew one at a time. The rocket system could also be used from one ship to another.The Dennett rocket set is quite rare - there are not many examples in existence and little information is available. This Dennett's rocket set is significant for its connection with local history, maritime history and marine technology. Lifesaving has been an important part of the services performed from Warrnambool's very early days, supported by State and Local Government, and based on the methods and experience of Great Britain. Hundreds of shipwrecks along the coast are evidence of the rough weather and rugged coastline. Ordinary citizens, the Harbour employees, and the volunteer boat and rescue crew, saved lives in adverse circumstances. Some were recognised as heroes, others went unrecognised. In Lady Bay, Warrnambool, there were around 16 known shipwrecks between 1850 and 1905. Many lives were saved but tragically, eight lives were lost.A Dennett rocket set in six parts; the rocket head, three shafts (poles) and two rocket-head toting boxes. The rocket head, mounted on one of the shafts, is a long, red painted, iron tube with rounded ends and a protruding fitting around each end. The wooden rocket shafts are octagonal, with a metal sheath at the ends, carved elongated slots towards each end, and a scribed channel above the black foot. The rocket head toting boxes are thick timber, covered in fabric and painted black. They have a hinged wooden lid that slants downwards from back to front, and a metal closure. Small deliberate holes, in groups of four, on the box’s sides, indicate missing attachments, likely to have been handles. Impressed one a shaft "8"flagstaff hill maritime museum & village, flagstaff hill, maritime museum, maritime village, warrnambool, great ocean road, shipwreck, life-saving, lifesaving, rescue crew, rescue, rocket rescue, maritime accidents, shipwreck victim, rocket crew, beach rescue, line rescue, rescue equipment, rocket firing equipment, rocket rescue equipment, rocket apparatus, beach apparatus, petticoat breeches, breeches buoy, rocket house, rocket shed, lifeboat men, rocket equipment, rocket machine, rocket head, rocket launcher, rocket line, marine technology, william schermuly, line-firing pistol, line throwing gun, schermuly pistol, pistol rocket apparatus, beach rescue set, traveller, block, running block, pulley, hawser, faking, faking box, faked line, rescue boat, lifeboat, lady bay, warrnambool harbour, port of warrnambool, tramway jetty, volunteer lifesavers, volunteer crew, breakwater, lifeboat warrnambool, rocket rescue method, rocket rescue apparatus, captain manby, mortar, henry trengrouse, sky rocket, john dennett, shore to ship, colonel boxer, two-stage rocket, italian hemp, quadrant, schermuly, line-throwing pistol, line throwing cartridge, rocket apparatus rescue, stranded vessel, tally board, light line, whip line, endless whip, petticoat buoy, traveller chair, traveller block, her majesty’s coast guard, harbour board, line thrower, line throwing, beach cart, hand barrow, sand anchor, hawser cutter, life jacket, faking board, irish hand barrow, rocket head toting box, explosives, rocket shaft, rocket pole -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and VillageBook - Travel, Over The Range
This book was part of a large group of books referred to as the Pattison Collection, which belonged to the Warrnambool Public Library, part of the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute. About RALPH ERIC PATTISON and the ‘PATTISON COLLECTION’ The ‘Pattison Collection’ is a collection of books and records that was originally owned by the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute, founded in Warrnambool in 1853. By 1886 the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute (WMI) had grown to have a Library, Museum and Fine Arts Gallery, with a collection of “… choice productions of art and valuable specimens in almost every branch and many wonderful national curiosities are now to be seen there, including historic relics of the town and district.” It later included a School of Design. Although it was very well patronised, the WMI was led to ask the City Council to take it over in 1911 due to lack of financial support. In 1935 Ralph Pattison was appointed as City Librarian to establish and organise the Warrnambool Public Library as it was then called. Ralph Eric Pattison was born in Rockhampton, Queensland, in 1891. He married Maude Swan from Warrnambool in 1920 and they set up home in Warrnambool. In 1935 when Pattison accepted the position as City Librarian for the Warrnambool City Council his huge challenge was to make a functional library within two rooms of the Mechanics’ Institute. He tirelessly cleaned, cleared and sorted a disarrayed collection of old books, jars of preserved specimens and other items reserved for exhibition in the city’s museum. He developed and updated the library with a wide variety of books for all tastes, including reference books for students; a difficult task to fulfil during the years following the Depression. He converted all of the lower areas of the building into a library, reference room and reading room for members and the public. The books were sorted and stored using a cataloguing and card index system that he had developed himself. He also prepared the upper floor of the building and established the Art Gallery and later the Museum, a place to exhibit the many old relics that had been stored for years for this purpose. One of the treasures he found was a beautiful ancient clock, which he repaired, restored and enjoyed using in his office during the years of his service there. Ralph Pattison was described as “a meticulous gentleman whose punctuality, floorless courtesy and distinctive neat dress were hallmarks of his character, and ‘his’ clock controlled his daily routine and his opening and closing of the library’s large heavy doors to the minute.” Pattison took leave from 1942 to 1945 to serve in the Royal Australian Navy, Volunteer Reserve as Lieutenant. A few years later he converted one of the Museum’s rooms into a Children’s Library, stocking it with suitable books for the younger generation. This was an instant success. In the 1950’s he had the honour of being appointed to the Victorian Library Board and received more inspiration from the monthly conferences in Melbourne. He was sadly retired in 1959 after over 23 years of service, due to the fact that he had gone over the working age of council officers. However, he continued to take a very keen interest in the continual development of the Library until his death in 1969. THE NEW WARRNAMBOOL LIBRARY When the WMI building was pulled down in 1963 a new civic building was erected on the site and the new Warrnambool Library, on behalf of the City Council, took over all the holdings of the WMI. At this time some of the items were separated and identified as the ‘Pattison Collection’, named after Pattison. Eventually, the components of the WMI were distributed from the Warrnambool Library to various places, including the Art Gallery, Historical Society and Flagstaff Hill. Later some were even distributed to other regional branches of Corangamite Regional Library and passed to and fro. It is difficult now to trace just where all of the items have ended up. The books at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village generally display stamps and markings from Pattison as well as a variety of other institutions including the Mechanics’ Institute itself. Ion Llewellyn Idriess was born in Waverley, Sydney, New South Wales on 20th September 1889 and passed away on 6th June 1979 in Mona Vale, Sydney, New South Wales at the age 89. After Idriess finished school he worked in the assay office of Broken Hill Proprietary mine. Both Idriess and his mother had typhoid fever when Ion was about 15 years old and it caused his mother’s death. After spending time with his Grandmother in Sydney he found work on a paddle-steamer and had a relapse of the fever. He then went into the western district of New South Wales where he worked in many different itinerant jobs, including rabbit poisoner, boundary rider, drover, sandalwood harvester, shearer, dingo shooter and opal miner. While opal mining at Lightning Ridge he wrote short stories, about life on the opal fields, for the Bulletin using the name “Gouger”. Idriess then moved to North Queensland in search of gold, tin and sandalwood. He travelled over a great deal of the Cape York Peninsula spending a lot of this travel time with local indigenous people; thus began his lifelong interest in their customs. He then spent time on cattle stations in the Gulf of Carpentaria. In 1914 Idriess travelled to Townsville and enlisted in the 5th Light Horse as a trooper. He became a specialist in sniping and was a spotter for the noted sniper Billy Sing. He saw service in Palestine, Sinai and Turkey. Idriess was wounded at Beersheba and after fighting the Battle of Gaza he was invalided home in March 1918. After recovering from his wounds Idriess again travelled to the Cape York Peninsula where he worked with pearlers and missionaries in the Torres Strait Islands. He then went gold mining in Papua New Guinea, buffalo shooting in the Northern Territory of Australia and then exploring in Central and Western Australia. LITERARY WORKS OF IDRIESS In 1928 Idriess settled in Sydney and published the first of his 47 books. In 1931 - “Lasseter’s Last Ride”, became his first best seller. In the years 1932 and 1940, he published three books in each year. “The Cattle King” (1936) and “Flynn of the Inland” (1932) have gone through reprinting forty to fifty times. His last book was published in 1969. Idriess’ books were in general non-fiction and were written in a colourful and immediate story style, taken from life experiences gained during his travels. Idriess was appointed an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his service to literature in 1968. WARRNAMBOOL PUBLIC LIBRARY The Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute (WMI) was formed by a voluntary community group in 1863, within six years of Warrnambool’s beginnings, and it's Reading Room opened in 1854. The WMI operated until 1963, at which time it was one of the oldest Mechanics’ Institutes in Victoria. Mechanics’ Institutes offered important services to the public including libraries, reading rooms and places to display and store collections of all sorts such as curiosities and local historical relics. In 1886 a Museum and Fine Arts Gallery were added to the WMI and by the beginning of the 20th century, there was also a billiards room and a School of Art. By this time all Mechanics’ Institutes in country Victoria had museums attached. Over the years the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute Library was also known as the Warrnambool Public Library the Warrnambool Library and the Free Library. Early funding from the government was for the “Free Library”. The inscription in a book “Science of Man” was for the “Warrnambool Public Library”, donated by Joseph Archibald in 1899. Another inscription in the book “Catalogue of Plants Under Cultivation in the Melbourne Botanic Gardens 1 & 2, 1883” was presented to the “Warrnambool Library” and signed by the author W.R. Guilfoyle. In 1903 the Warrnambool Public Library decided to add a Juvenile Department to library and stock it with hundreds of books suitable for youth. In 1905 the Public Library committee decided to update the collection of books and added 100 new novels plus arrangements for the latest novels to be included as soon as they were available in Victoria. In July 1911 the Warrnambool Council took over the management of the Public Library, Art Gallery, Museum and Mechanics’ Institute and planned to double the size of the then-current building. In 1953, when Mr R. Pattison was Public Librarian, the Warrnambool Public Library’s senior section 10,000 of the 13,000 books were fiction. The children’s section offered an additional 3,400 books. The library had the equivalent of one book per head of population and served around 33 per cent of the reading population. The collection of books was made up of around 60 per cent reference and 40 per cent fiction. The library was lending 400 books per day. In 1963 the Warrnambool City Council allocated the site of the Mechanics’ Institute building, which included the Public Library, Museum and Art Gallery, for the new Municipal Offices and the Collections were dispersed until 1971. The Warrnambool Library took over the Mechanics’ Institute Library’s holdings on behalf of the Warrnambool City Council. Since the closure of the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute, the exact location and composition of the original WMI books and items has become unclear. Other materials have been added to the collection, including items from Terang MI, Warrnambool Court House and Customs House. Many of the books have been identified as the Pattison Collection, named after the Librarian who catalogued and numbered the books during his time as Warrnambool Public Librarian in the time before the Mechanics’ Institute closed. It seems that when Warrnambool became part of the Corangamite Regional Library some of the books and materials went to its head office in Colac and then back to Warrnambool where they were stored at the Art Gallery for quite some time. Some then went to the Warrnambool Historical Society, some stayed at the Art Gallery and some were moved to Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village. The various stamps and labels on the books held at Flagstaff Hill show the variety of the collection’s distribution and origin. The books in the collection at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village date from the 1850’s to the late 1950s and include rare and valuable volumes. Many of the books are part of the “Pattison Collection” after the Warrnambool’s Public Librarian, Mr R. Pattison. WARRNAMBOOL MECHANICS’ INSTITUTE Warrnambool's Mechanics' Institute (or Institution as it was sometimes called) was one of the earliest in Victoria. On 17th October 1853, a meeting was held where it was resolved to request the Lieutenant Governor of the Colony to grant land for the erection of a Mechanics' Institutes building. A committee was formed at the meeting and Richard Osburne chaired the first meeting of this committee. The land on the North West corner of Banyan and Merri Streets was granted but there were no funds to erect the building. The Formal Rights of the Warrnambool Mechanics' Institute's encompassed its aims and these were officially adopted in1859; "This Institution has for its object the diffusion of literary, scientific, and other useful knowledge amongst its members, excluding all controversial subjects, religious or political. These objects are sought to be obtained by means of a circulating library, a reading room, the establishment of classes, debates, and the occasional delivery of lectures on natural and experimental philosophy, mechanics, astronomy, chemistry, natural history, literature, and the useful and ornamental arts, particularly those which have a more immediate reference to the colony." The Warrnambool Mechanics' Institute opened its first reading room in November 1884 in the National School building at the corner of Banyan and Timor Streets. The Institute was funded by member subscription, payable on a quarterly, half-yearly or yearly basis. Samuel Hannaford, the Manager of the Warrnambool Bank of Australasia, was the first Honorary Secretary of the Mechanics' Institutes, and an early President and Vice-President. He also gave several of the early lectures in the Reading Room. Another early Secretary, Librarian and lecturer was Marmaduke Fisher, the teacher at the National School. Lecture topics included The Poets and Poetry of Ireland', 'The Birth and Development of the Earth', 'The Vertebrae - with Remarks on the pleasures resulting from the study of Natural History' and 'Architecture'. In 1856 the Reading Room was moved to James Hider's shop in Timor Street, and by 1864 it was located in the bookshop of Davies and Read. In the 1860's the Mechanics' Institute struggled as membership waned but in 1866, after a series of fundraising efforts, the committee was able to purchase land in Liebig Street, on a site then called Market Square, between the weighbridge and the fire station. A Mechanics' Institute building was opened at this site in August 1871. The following year four more rooms were added to the main Reading Room and in 1873 the Artisan School of Design was incorporated into the Institute. The same year Joseph Archibald established a Museum; however, it deteriorated when he was transferred to Bendigo in 1877. In 1880, with Archibald's return to Warrnambool, the Museum was re-established, and in 1885 a new building was built at the back of the Institute to accommodate the re-created School of Design, the Art Gallery and the Museum. In 1887 the Museum section was moved to the former courthouse in Timor Street (for some time the walls of the building formed part of the TAFE cafeteria but all is now demolished)). In 1911 the Museum was transferred back to the original building and the management of the Mechanics' Institute was handed over to the Warrnambool City Council. The Museum and Art Gallery became one and housed many fine works of art, and the Library continued to grow. The building was well patronised, with records showing that at the beginning of the 20th century there were between 500 and 800 visitors. During World War One the monthly figures were in the thousands, with 3,400 people visiting in January 1915. The Museum was a much - loved Institution in Warrnambool until the contents of the Museum and Art Gallery were removed to make room for the Warrnambool City Council Engineers' Department. The contents were stored but many of the items were scattered or lost. When the original building was demolished the site became occupied by the Civic Centre, which included the new City Library. (The library was temporarily located in the old Palais building in Koroit Street.) In the process of reorganisation the Collection was distributed amongst the community groups: -The new City Library took some of the historical books and some important documents, historic photographs and newspapers. -The Art Gallery kept the 19th Century art collection and some of the artefacts from the museum. -The Historical Society has some items -The State Museum has some items -Some items were destroyed -Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village has old newspapers, Government Gazettes, most of the Mechanics' Institute Library, ledgers and documents connected to the Mechanics' Institute Library, some framed and unframed artworks and some photographs. The Warrnambool Mechanics' Institute Library book collection is deemed to be of great importance because it is one of the few collections in an almost intact state, and many of the books are now very rare and of great value. The Pattison Collection, along with other items at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village, was originally part of the Warrnambool Mechanics' Institute’s collection. The Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute Collection is primarily significant in its totality, rather than for the individual objects it contains. Its contents are highly representative of the development of Mechanics' Institute libraries across Australia, particularly Victoria. A diversity of publications and themes has been amassed, and these provide clues to our understanding of the nature of and changes in the reading habits of Victorians from the 1850s to the middle of the 20th century. The collection also highlights the Warrnambool community’s commitment to the Mechanics’ Institute, reading, literacy and learning in the regions, and proves that access to knowledge was not impeded by distance. These items help to provide a more complete picture of our community’s ideals and aspirations. The Warrnambool Mechanics Institute book collection has historical and social significance for its strong association with the Mechanics Institute movement and the important role it played in the intellectual, cultural and social development of people throughout the latter part of the nineteenth century and the early twentieth century. The collection of books is a rare example of an early lending library and its significance is enhanced by the survival of an original collection of many volumes. The Warrnambool Mechanics' Institute’s publication collection is of both local and state significance. Over The Range Author: Ion L Idriess Publisher: Angus & Robertson Date: 1937 The label on spine cover with typed text PAT 919.53 IDR Front loose endpaper has a sticker from Corangamite Regional Library Service Flyleaf has a stamp from Warrnambool Public Library Flyleaf has a stamp from Warrnambool Mechanics Institute The top of the text block has a stamp from Warrnambool Public Library flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, book, pattison collection, warrnambool library, warrnambool mechanics’ institute, ralph eric pattison, corangamite regional library service, warrnambool city librarian, mechanics’ institute library, victorian library board, warrnambool books and records, warrnambool children’s library, over the range, ion l idriess -
National Wool MuseumClothing - 1984 Los Angeles Olympics Men's Opening Ceremony Shirt, c. 1984
On the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Uniforms donator Doug wrote- During the 1980s the Australian wool industry was at its most prosperous times with record numbers of sheep producing wool receiving ever increasing values due to the success of the Reserve Price Scheme, and the overall guidance of the Australian Wool Corporation (AWC). As a humble technician, my role was a low profile newly created position of “Controller, Technical Marketing” where wool was to be marketed on its technical properties, as distinct from the “Product Marketing Group” which exploited trhe traditional high profile approach of marketing wool;s superior fashion attributes. The Woolmark was the tool central to this approach. When the forthcoming Los Angeles Olympic Games was announced, the Product Marketing Group seized upon the chance to show the world that we could make top fashion garments and display them on our elite athletes on the world stage. A concept was launched using a contemporary top designer, Adel Weiss, with the most exclusive fabrics and knits available, and all with a lot of hype. This launch failed dismally for the following reasons- - The designer did a wonderful job presenting an excellent fashion range on perfect skinny models. The AOC however wanted a uniform which had an obvious Australian appearance when fitted to elite, and frequently muscular, athletes. - The fabrics chosen did not reflect the performance required by travelling athletes, there was no recognition of the need for ‘easy care.’ - There was no recognition given to the problem of measuring, manufacturing and distribution of a range of articles when the selected athlete could be domiciled anywhere in Australia. - There was no appreciation of such historical facts as Fletcher Jones, who had been unofficial suppliers dating back to the 1954 Olympics in Melbourne, and the Fletcher Jones board member, who was also an AWC board member, and was not in favour of the change. The project passed from Product Marketing to Public Relations, a big spending off-shoot of the AWC Chairman David Asimus, and due to the day to day operations of the project was passed to me and PR took care of the financial matters. The first task was to meet with the AOC and find out exactly their requirements. This lead to the production of a design and manufacturing brief, cointaining exact time lines for each event required to ensure an appropriate uniform on every athlete chosen to represent his/her country on the date given for the Opening Ceremony in Los Angeles. Working backwards the timeline becomes- 1. Noted the exact date of the Opening Ceremony. 2. Estimated the date for distributing completed garments to each athlete. 3. Estimated the time span available for measuring each athlete and commence making each component of the ensemble to the individual measurements of each athlete. 4. Decided the date for making the final choice of uniform design concept. 5. Decided the date for distribution of the design brief to selected designers. These five steps were spread out over a two year period. The Commonwealth Games occur midway between each Olympic Games, work on the Olympic uniform commences the week after the Commonwealth Games closing ceremony and MUST be ready by the prescribed day two years hence. The project also had to remain cognisant of trade politics existing within the span of the task, as well as the temperament of designers in general. It is no overstatement to say that in the past every designer in Australia believed they could, and should, be chosen to design the Australian Uniform. The final choice of designer almost always faced criticism from the fashion press and any designer who had been overlooked. However, with the contenders receiving an exacting brief the numbers of serious contenders greatly reduced. The Los Angeles Olympic Uniforms. A further reason for the AWC bid failure to design the LA uniform was that the AOC had already chosen Prue Acton to design it. This was based on her proven performance during previous games as she had a talent for creating good taste Australiana. Her design concepts also considered the effect when they were viewed on a single athlete as well as the impact when viewed on a 400 strong team coming on to the arena. A blazer trouser/skirt uniform in bright gold was chosen for the formal uniform. It was my task to select a pure wool faille fabric from Foster Valley weaving mill and have sufficient woven and ready within the prescribed timeline. The trouser/skirt fabric selected was a 60/40 wool polyester plain weave fabric from Macquarie Worsted. This fabric had a small effect thread of linen that was most attractive when dyed to match some eucalyptus bark Prue had brought back from central Australia. For the Opening Ceremony uniform, Prue designed a series of native fauna, a kookaburra for the men’s shirt and a pleated skirt with a rural scene of kangaroos, hills and plants. This presented an insurmountable printing challenge to the local printing industry as it had an unacceptably large repeat size and the number required (50) was also commercially unacceptable. The solution was a DIY mock up at RMIT and the employment of four student designers. The fabric selected for this garment was a light weight 19 micron, pure wool with a very high twist yarn in alternating S and Z twist, warp and weft. This fabric proved to be the solution to a very difficult problem, finding a wool product which is universally acceptable when worn next to the sin by young athletes competing in the heat of a Los Angeles summer. Modifications to this fabric were developed to exploit its success when facing the same problem in future games. Garment Making- The most exacting garment in the ensemble is the tailored blazer, plus the related trouser/skirt. Unfortunately tailoring athletes that come in various shapes and sizes such as; - Weight lifters develop an enormous chest, arms and neck size. A shirt made to a neck size of 52 would produce a shirt with cuffs extending well beyond the wearer’s hands. - Basketball players are up to 7 feet tall and garments relying ona chest measurement grading would produce a shirt with cuffs extending only to elbow length. - Swimmers develop enormous shoulders and slim hips, cyclists by contrast develop thighs I liken to tree trunks and a uniform featuring tight trousers must be avoided at all cost. Suffice to say many ensembles require specialist ‘one off’ treatment for many athletes. Meanwhile there is a comfortable in between group who can accept regular sizes so you can cater for these by having back up stock with plenty of built in contingencies. Athletes may be domiciled anywhere in Australia, this creates a fundamental problem of taking their measurements. The Fletcher Jones organisation was key to answering this problem due to their presence in every capital city, as well as many provincial towns around Australia. Each athlete on being selected for the Olympic Team was simultaneously requested to visit their nearest Fletcher Jones shop. The standardised measurement data collected was shared with the other manufacturers, e.g. Pelaco Shirts, Holeproof Socks and Knitwear, Maddison Belts, and even Hush Puppy Shoes. As the time for the Games approached the AOC made arrangements for combining meeting of all. Selected available athletes at the Australian Institute of Sport, Canberra, where, among other things, they were fitted and supplied with their uniform. The method evolved as follows.Men’s cream coloured button up, collared shirt. Images of a kookaburra have been printed onto the shirt, a single kookaburra on the left breast and a pair of kookaburras on the reverse of the shirt. The kookaburras are printed in a brown tone to complement the cream colour of the fabric.On tag - FMaustralian wool corporation, 1984 los angeles olympics, olympic uniforms, men's uniforms, sport, athletes -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and VillageWeapon - Lead shot, Before 1878
The objects are a sample of medium caliber lead shot raised by Flagstaff Hill divers from the Loch Ard shipwreck site in 1976. Included in the vessel’s cargo manifest were 22 tonnes of lead shot, packed into her holds in cloth bags and wooden casks. These 49 pieces of 7 mm diameter lead shot are identical in size and smoothness. Each one also bears the same slightly raised square of residual metal left behind by the process of pouring molten lead into individual but identical moulds through a small (square) opening. These pieces of shot can be compared with contrast pieces in the Maritime Village collection, which are examples of shot tower pellet production; an industrial technique more suited to the creation of uniformly spherical balls that do not need subsequent trimming. In conventional shot tower production, lead is heated in a cauldron at the top of a 150-160 feet tower, and poured through a copper lattice that divides the metal into falling droplets. As these droplets fall, they spin into small spheres and gradually cool, before finishing in a pool of water at the bottom of the tower. However the maximum size of lead shot, and the economic efficiency of shot tower production, is limited by the practical height of the drop. Larger diameter lead shot must fall further in order to cool evenly and sufficiently to avoid shape distortion on hitting the water at the base. This sample of larger 7 mm lead shot, although mass produced, appears to have been manufactured under the traditional and more labour intensive mould system. They are therefore distinct from the other samples of smaller gauged and shot tower produced lead shot that were being imported on the Loch Ard . In terms of metallurgical technology these 7 mm shot are more closely related to an artifact in our Collection (No. 5241) — a forged set of pincers or pliers with two facing cups at the end. When the pincers are closed, the cups join to form a single mould. Molten lead is poured through a small (circular) opening left at the top of the mould. When cooled the pincers are opened, breaking the mould and releasing the lead shot. The excess metal left over from the pouring operation at the top of the ball is then trimmed off using the scissor like cutting edges on the inner side of the pliers handles. In this manner, individual shooters were able to make their own ammunition for their shotguns. History of the Loch Ard: The Loch Ard got it’s name from ”Loch Ard” a loch which lies to the west of Aberfoyle, and to the east of Loch Lomond. It means "high lake" in Scottish Gaelic.The vessel belonged to the famous Loch Line which sailed many vessels from England to Australia. The Loch Ard was built in Glasgow by Barclay, Curdle and Co. in 1873, the vessel was a three-masted square-rigged iron sailing ship that measured 79.87 meters in length, 11.58 m in width, and 7 m in depth with a gross tonnage of 1693 tons with a mainmast that measured a massive 45.7 m in height. Loch Ard made three trips to Australia and one trip to Calcutta before its fateful voyage. Loch Ard left England on March 2, 1878, under the command of 29-year-old Captain Gibbs, who was newly married. The ship was bound for Melbourne with a crew of 37, plus 17 passengers. The general cargo reflected the affluence of Melbourne at the time. Onboard were straw hats, umbrella, perfumes, clay pipes, pianos, clocks, confectionery, linen and candles, as well as a heavier load of railway irons, cement, lead and copper. There were other items included that were intended for display in the Melbourne International Exhibition of 1880. The voyage to Port Phillip was long but uneventful. Then at 3 am on June 1, 1878, Captain Gibbs was expecting to see land. But the Loch Ard was running into a fog which greatly reduced visibility. Captain Gibbs was becoming anxious as there was no sign of land or the Cape Otway lighthouse. At 4 am the fog lifted and a lookout aloft announced that he could see breakers. The sheer cliffs of Victoria's west coast came into view, and Captain Gibbs realised that the ship was much closer to them than expected. He ordered as much sail to be set as time would permit and then attempted to steer the vessel out to sea. On coming head-on into the wind, the ship lost momentum, the sails fell limp and Loch Ard's bow swung back towards land. Gibbs then ordered the anchors to be released in an attempt to hold its position. The anchors sank some 50 fathoms - but did not hold. By this time the ship was among the breakers and the tall cliffs of Mutton Bird Island rose behind. Just half a mile from the coast, the ship's bow was suddenly pulled around by the anchor. The captain tried to tack out to sea, but the ship struck a reef at the base of Mutton Bird Island, near Port Campbell. Waves subsequently broke over the ship and the top deck became loosened from the hull. The masts and rigging came crashing down knocking passengers and crew overboard. When a lifeboat was finally launched, it crashed into the side of Loch Ard and capsized. Tom Pearce, who had launched the boat, managed to cling to its overturned hull and shelter beneath it. He drifted out to sea and then on the flood tide came into what is now known as Loch Ard Gorge. He swam to shore, bruised and dazed, and found a cave in which to shelter. Some of the crew stayed below deck to shelter from the falling rigging but drowned when the ship slipped off the reef into deeper water. Eva Carmichael a passenger had raced onto the deck to find out what was happening only to be confronted by towering cliffs looming above the stricken ship. In all the chaos, Captain Gibbs grabbed Eva and said, "If you are saved Eva, let my dear wife know that I died like a sailor". That was the last Eva Carmichael saw of the captain. She was swept off the ship by a huge wave. Eva saw Tom Pearce on a small rocky beach and yelled to attract his attention. He dived in and swam to the exhausted woman and dragged her to shore. He took her to the cave and broke the open case of brandy which had washed up on the beach. He opened a bottle to revive the unconscious woman. A few hours later Tom scaled a cliff in search of help. He followed hoof prints and came by chance upon two men from nearby Glenample Station three and a half miles away. In a complete state of exhaustion, he told the men of the tragedy. Tom then returned to the gorge while the two men rode back to the station to get help. By the time they reached Loch Ard Gorge, it was cold and dark. The two shipwreck survivors were taken to Glenample Station to recover. Eva stayed at the station for six weeks before returning to Ireland by steamship. In Melbourne, Tom Pearce received a hero's welcome. He was presented with the first gold medal of the Royal Humane Society of Victoria and a £1000 cheque from the Victorian Government. Concerts were performed to honour the young man's bravery and to raise money for those who lost family in the disaster. Of the 54 crew members and passengers on board, only two survived: the apprentice, Tom Pearce and the young woman passenger, Eva Carmichael, who lost her family in the tragedy. Ten days after the Loch Ard tragedy, salvage rights to the wreck were sold at auction for £2,120. Cargo valued at £3,000 was salvaged and placed on the beach, but most washed back into the sea when another storm developed. The wreck of Loch Ard still lies at the base of Mutton Bird Island. Much of the cargo has now been salvaged and some items were washed up into Loch Ard Gorge. Cargo and artefacts have also been illegally salvaged over many years before protective legislation was introduced in March 1982. One of the most unlikely pieces of cargo to have survived the shipwreck was a Minton majolica peacock- one of only nine in the world. The peacock was destined for the Melbourne 1880 International Exhibition in. It had been well packed, which gave it adequate protection during the violent storm. Today the Minton peacock can be seen at the Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum in Warrnambool. From Australia's most dramatic shipwreck it has now become Australia's most valuable shipwreck artifact and is one of very few 'objects' on the Victorian State Heritage Register. The shipwreck of the Loch Ard is of significance for Victoria and is registered on the Victorian Heritage Register Ref S 417. Flagstaff Hill has a varied collection of artefacts from Loch Ard and its collection is significant for being one of the largest accumulation of artefacts from this notable Victorian shipwreck. The collections object is to also give us a snapshot into history so we are able to interpret the story of this tragic event. The collection is also archaeologically significant as it represents aspects of Victoria's shipping history that allows us to interpret Victoria's social and historical themes of the time. The collections historically significance is that it is associated unfortunately with the worst and best-known shipwreck in Victoria's history. A quantity of forty-nine (49) loose round lead shot of 7 mm diameter retrieved from the wreck of the Loch Ard. All are smooth round spheres with the same small raised square of excess lead on one face.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, loch line, loch ard, captain gibbs, eva carmichael, tom pearce, glenample station, mutton bird island, loch ard gorge, shipwreck artefact, shot, lead shot, shot towers, shot mould, colonial imports, practical metallurgy -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and VillagePhotograph - Shipwreck rescue, c. 1890's
The photograph taken on Sunday September 6, 1891, shows the Port Campbell Rocket Rescue Crew and Equipment at Wreck Beach, Moonlight Head, preparing to save the stranded men on the wreck of the barque Fiji. The man standing in the middle, front of the photograph, facing the ocean, is Herbert Maxwell Morris, a farmer at Barruppa near Princetown, also a member of the Rocket Rescue Crew. The Rocket Rescue lifesaving method used an explosive rocket to shoot a light line from shore across to the distressed vessel. The line was then secured to the ship’s mast and a heavy, continuous line was then sent out with a ‘breaches buoy’ attached (a buoy similar to the seat of a pair of trousers). The stranded seafarers would sit in the seat and be pulled along the line to safety. A lot of skill was needed to set up the line to reach its target and the Crew trained regularly to keep up their skills. The three-masted iron barque Fiji was built in Belfast, Ireland, in 1875 by Harland and Wolfe for a Liverpool based shipping company. The ship departed Hamburg on May 22, 1891, bound for Melbourne under the command of Captain William Vickers with a crew of 25. The Cape Otway light was sighted on September 5, 1891. However, the bearing was different from Captain Vickers’ calculations. At about 2:30am the next morning land was reported only 4-5 miles away. The captain tried to redirect the ship in the rough weather without success and the Fiji struck rock only 300 yards (274 metres) from shore. The crew burned blue lights fired rockets to signal distress. The lifeboats either capsized or were swamped and smashed to pieces. Two younger crewmen volunteered to swim for the shore with a line. One, a Russian named Daniel Carkland, drowned after he was swept away when the line broke. The other, Julius Gebauhr, a 17 year old German able seaman, reached shore safely on his second attempt but had cut the line lose with his sheath-knife when it tangled in kelp. He climbed the steep cliffs in search of help. Later that morning a young man, William (Willie) Ward, saw the wreck of the ship close to shore near Moonlight Head from the cliffs and the alarm sent for help from Princetown, six miles away. At around the same time a Mott’s party of land selectors, including F. J. Stansmore, Leslie Dickson, was travelling on horseback from Princetown towards Moonlight Head. They were near Ryans Den when they found Gebauhr in the scrub, bleeding and dressed only in singlet, socks and a belt with his sheath-knife. They thought the man may be an escaped lunatic, due to his wild and shaggy looking state and what seemed to be gibberish speech. After Gebauhr threw his knife away they realised that he was speaking half-English, half-German as he talked about the wreck. They gave him food, brandy and clothing, and he was taken to a nearby guest house Rivernook, owned by John Evans, where he was cared for. Most of the party went off to the wreck site. Stanmore and Dickson rode for help from both Port Campbell for the two Rocket Rescue Crew buggies, and Warrnambool for the lifeboat. The vessel S.S. Casino sailed from Portland towards the scene. Half of the Port Campbell Rocket Crew and equipment arrived after a 25 mile journey and set up the rocket tripod on the beach below the cliffs. By this time the weary crew of the Fiji had been clinging to the jib-boom for almost 15 hours, calling frantically for help. The Office in Charge of the Rocket Crew, W. Tregear, ordered the rocket to be fired but the light line broke and the rocket was carried away. A second line, successfully set up by Herbert Morris, crossed the ship and was secured. The anxious sailors tried to come ashore along the line but some were washed off as the line sagged with too many on it at one time. Other nearly exhausted crewmen made their way through masses of seaweed and were often smothered by waves. Only 14 of the 24 who had remained on the ship made it to shore. Rocket Crew members and onlookers on the beach took it in turns to go into the surf and drag the half-drowned seamen to safety. These rescuers included Bill (William James) Robe, Herbert Morris, Edwin Vinge, Hugh Cameron, Fenelon Mott, Arthur Wilkinson and Peter Carmody, who was also involved in the rescue of men from the Newfield. Arthur Wilkinson, a 29 year old land selector, swam out to help one of the ship’s crewmen, a carpenter named John Plunken who was trying to swim from the Fiji to the shore. Two or three times both men almost reached the shore but were washed back to the wreck where they were both hauled back on board. Wilkinson was unconscious, possibly from hitting his head on the anchor before they were brought up. Plunken survived but Wilkinson later died and his body was washed up the next day. The 26 year old Bill Robe hauled out the last man; it was the captain and he’d been tangled in the kelp. Only 20 minutes later the wreck of the Fiji was smashed apart and it settled in about 6m of water. Of the 26 men on the Fiji, 11 in total lost their lives. The remains of 7 bodies were washed onto the beach. Their coffins were made from timbers from the wrecked Fiji and they were buried on the cliff top above the wreck. The survivors were taken to Rivernook and cared for over the next few days. Funds were raised by locals soon after the wreck in aid of the sufferers of the Fiji disaster. Captain Vickers was severely reprimanded for his mishandling of the ship. His Masters Certificate was suspended for 12 months. There was public criticism of the rescue. The important canvas ‘breeches buoy’ and heavy line for the Rocket Rescue was in the half of the rocket outfit that didn’t make it in time for the rescue as they had been delayed at the Gellibrand River ferry. The communications to Warrnambool were down so the call for help didn’t get through on time. The boat that had been notified of the wreck failed to reach it in time. Much cargo looting occurred. One looter was caught with a small load of red and white rubber balls. Essence of peppermint mysteriously turned up in many settlers homes. Sailcloth was salvaged and used for horse rugs and tent flies. Soon after the wreck “Fiji tobacco” was being advertised around Victoria. A Customs officer, trying to prevent some of the looting, was assaulted by looters and thrown over a steep cliff. He managed to cling to a bush lower down until rescued. In 1894 some coiled fencing wire was salvaged from the wreck. Hundreds of coils are still strewn over the site of the wreck, encrusted and solidified. The hull is broken but the vessel’s iron ribs can be seen along with some of the cargo of concrete and pig iron. Captain Vickers presented Bill Robe with his silver-cased pocket watch, the only possession that he still had, as a token for having saved his life and the lives of some of the crew. Years later Bill used the pocket watch to pay a debt, and it was handed down through that family. Seaman Julius Gebauhr later gave his knife, in its hand crafted leather sheath, to F. J. Stansmore for caring for him when he came ashore. The knife handle had a personal inscription on it. A marble headstone on the cliffs overlooking Wreck Beach pays tribute to the men who lost their lives when Fiji ran aground. The scene of the wreck is marked by the anchor from the Fiji, erected by Warrnambool skin divers in 1967. Captain Vickers’ pocket watch and Julius Gebauhr’s sheath knife are amongst the artefacts salvaged from the Fiji that are now part of the Fiji collection at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village. The man identified in the photograph, Herbert Maxwell Morris, was the nephew of the Victorian era artist, William Morris. Herbert had sailed from England to Australia and was about 25 years old when he joined the Rocket Rescue Crew at Port Campbell. His successful rocket line firing at the Fiji wreck site was noted by author Jack Loney in one of his historic shipwreck books. Later Morris moved from his property at Baruppa to Laver’s Hill to run a more profitable enterprise. This photograph is significant as an image of a historical event, being the willingness of local volunteers to aid in the saving of lives of stranded seafarers. It gives a clear picture of the use of Rocket Rescue Equipment in shore-to-ship rescues. Flagstaff Hill’s Fiji collection is of historical significance at a State level because of its association with the wreck Fiji, which is on the Victorian Heritage Register VHR S259. The Fiji is archaeologically significant as the wreck of a typical 19th century international sailing ship with cargo. It is educationally and recreationally significant as one of Victoria's most spectacular historic shipwreck dive sites with structural features and remains of the cargo evident. It also represents aspects of Victoria’s shipping history and its potential to interpret sub-theme 1.5 of Victoria’s Framework of Historical Themes. The Fiji collection meets the following criteria for assessment; Importance to the course, or pattern, of Victoria’s cultural history, possession of uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of Victoria’s cultural history, and potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of Victoria’s cultural history. Black and white photograph. Subject is the Rocket Rescue Crew from Pt Campbell on Wreck Beach, Moonlight Head, at the wreck site of the barque 'Fiji'. September 6, 1891.warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, shipwrecked artefact, pocket watch, fob watch fiji, william vickers, william robe, bill robe, gebauhr, stansmore, carmody, wreck bay, moonlight head, fiji shipwreck 1891, rocket crew, port campbell rocket crew, lifesaving crew, photograph of rocket crew, herbert morris, warrnambool, shipwreck artefact, mott, william ward, rocket rescue, breeches buoy, rivernook guest house -
Melton City LibrariesNewspaper, Melton Schools-150 years in Melton, 2005
Melton South "The establishment of a settlement of Melton South was induced by the opening of the railway in 1884. This subsequently prompted a number of industries, initially sawmills, and in the early twentieth century, chaff mills. This development coincided with the Exford ‘Closer Settlement’ estate at the beginning of the new century, boosting local population and produce, and the development of the chaff industry which employed many people in the Melton area. (Around 1912 the government had brought out English migrants to settle the Exford estate.) By c.1912 the small Melton Railway Station settlement had a boarding house (probably for chaff or sawmill employees), store, a small church and a hall. The Melton Valley Golf Club originated near the railway station in 1927 (in 1931 it moved to the present Melton links). In 1910 the community had built the large timber ‘Victoria Hall’, which became the focus of community life for several generations. In August of that same year AR Robertson MP and D McDonald applied for the establishment of a school on land set aside for that purpose by the Closer Settlement Board, near the Melton Railway Station settlement. District Inspector McRae recommended that a school for classes up to Grade 3 be established as an adjunct to the Melton State School. And so SS3717, ‘Melton Railway School’, was established in the leased Victoria Hall on 1st December 1911. Thomas Lang, head master at Melton since 1896, was in charge of both schools. As a ‘prep’ school only, it was necessary that the older Melton Railway Station settlement students travel to Melton SS430 at Unitt Street. Since 1912 local residents had been petitioning for the establishment of a separate school at Melton Railway Station on the grounds that it would be better if all children from the one home could attend the same school, and that the Victoria Hall was unsuitable as a school building. As a result an area of 2 acres - Allotment 8, Parish of Djerriwarrh, Exford Estate - was reserved for a State School on 4th March 1914. However the Department wrote that a school would not be established there in the near future, as ‘there is no likelihood in sight that the Railway Station settlement will increase in importance’. Parents persisted with their petitions to the Education Department, claiming that the Victoria Hall was too large, had no fireplace, that teachers were unable to use the wall for teaching aids, and that, being less than 20 metres away from a chaff mill employing 30 men, was too noisy. The turning point came when in 1920 the Hall Committee decided to increase its rent for the hall. In 1920 Head Teacher Lang advised the Education Department to discontinue SS3717 as an adjunct. The District Inspector supported this recommendation, and the schools separated in 1923. In April of that year 41 children, comprising Grades 1-8, moved into an almost completed brick building on the present site. On the 6th July 1923 the official opening of the school took place; after a ceremonial journey from the Hall to the school, speeches were given by the Hon AR Robertson and the Chief Inspector of Education. Everyone then journeyed back to Victoria Hall for a ‘bountiful repast’. (These dates are at odds with the date of 5th March 1925 given in Blake as the date the children occupied the new SS3717 brick school building. ) A teacher’s residence had been purchased for ₤500 in 1923, and the school’s name was changed to ‘Melton South’ in the same year. Even though the older Melton South pupils would no longer have to travel to the Unitt Street school, an additional brick room was still required at the Melton SS430 in that same year. In 1961 a new room was added to the school. In 1972, at the beginning of Melton’s boom as a satellite town, the number of enrolments was 224. The school has since shared in the exponential growth of the town of Melton, and at the time of its jubilee celebration (1983), 524 pupils were enrolled. Victoria Hall, neglected and vandalised, was demolished in 1992. It had been handed back to the Council on condition that it be replaced by a new hall, with the same name, and was commemorated by a plaque. Apart from the 1923 brick school building, and the railway station, none of the principal early Melton South public sites survive. Few early residential sites remain. (Further research will establish whether the house on the corner of Station Street and the railway line was the original teacher’s residence.)" Melton State School "On 17th May 1858 a State subsidised, combined Denominational School was opened by HT Stokes, with an attendance of about 30 children. This school was conducted in the wooden Melton Combined Protestant Church, situated on ‘a creek flat’ thought to be on the north side of Sherwin Street between Pyke and Byran Streets. It is likely that the Church had been established by 1855 and that the first minister was the Rev. Hampshire, who lived in Cambridge House on the Exford Estate. Ministers of the Protestant denominations were invited to hold services there. As there was only one resident Minister in the town (Presbyterian Mr J Lambie), laymen of the various denominations often spoke on Sundays. In 1863 this building was declared a Common School with the number 430. One of its first and most prominent headmasters was John Corr, who served from 1860 to 1864. Most of Mr Corr’s children also became teachers, including Joseph Corr, at the Rockbank school, and J Reford Corr and WS Corr, headmasters and teachers at numerous prestigious private secondary schools around Australia. John Corr purchased land alongside the school and elsewhere in and near Melton, became secretary and treasurer of the new Cemetery Trust, and by July 1861 was deputy registrar of births, deaths and marriages. He walked three miles every Sunday to teach at the Weslyan Sunday School he had established. Despite good reports from the Education Department Inspector, and burgeoning enrolments, the local school committee recommended the dismissal of, firstly, his wife (from the work mistress position), and then him from the headmaster position. Corr saw his dismissal as an attempt to redirect state aid for education from the Combined Protestant school to the support of the Free Presbyterian Minister Rev James Lambie (by one account the owner of the land on which the Common School was erected), whose son-in-law James Scott subsequently assumed responsibility for the school. Rev Lambie failed in his efforts to keep the existing school, which the Education Department Inspector and the majority of Melton citizens regarded as badly situated and badly built. Following a conditional promise of state aid, local contributors in 1868-69 raised ₤72.10.6 towards the cost of an iron-roofed bluestone rubble building 43 ft x 12 ft. This was erected on a new site of 1.5 acres (the present site). The State contributed ₤120 to the new school, which opened in 1870. A very early (c.1874) photograph of the school shows its headmaster and work mistress / assistant teacher (probably James Scott and his wife Jessie) and its (very young) scholars. Similar photos show pupils in front of the school in c.1903, and 1933. In 1877 a second bluestone room costing ₤297 was added and further land acquired from the Agricultural Society (who only needed it two days a year) to enlarge the schoolground to 3 acres. In the early 1880s an underground tank augmented the school water supply and in 1919 a five-roomed wooden residence was added. During this period the school correspondents often compained that the walls of the bluestone buildings were damp, affecting the plaster. In 1923 a brick room 26 ft 6 in by 24 ft with a fireplace and four rooms facing south, was added, and a corridor built to link the three buildings. This served adequately for the next 40 years. The school bell probably dates to 1883. The school also has a memorial gate (1951) to World War One ex-students, and an honour board to the 64 ex-students who served in the First World War. The school roll fell to 42 in the early post war-years, but was boosted by an influx of migrants, mainly from the UK, from the late 1960s. This presaged the boom in Melton’s development, and the corresponding growth of the school, with timber and temporary classrooms added to the previous masonry ones. An endowment pine plantation established in 1930 augmented the school’s fundraising activities when it was harvested in 1968. Part of the site was planted with eucalyptus trees in 1959. Famous ex-students of the early twentieth century included Hector Fraser (internationally successful shooter) and cyclist Sir Hubert Opperman". The Express Telegraph articles about the history of Melton South and Melton State Schoolseducation -
Melton City LibrariesNewspaper, Melton East end shopping, 1992
TOM COLLINS–from the reel to reel tape recording at Melton 1969 In the years between 1890 and to about 1913 Melton was a quiet little hamlet alongside the Toolern Creek, once called the Pennyroyal Creek, 24 miles from Melbourne on the Ballarat Road. There was a fair amount of woodland left around it, mostly grey and yellow box with sheoak, and golden wattle, which in spring time made a rather attractive setting. Most of the premises were in the main or High Street, with its line of elm and pepper trees on each side. Unitt, McKenzie and Henry streets each contained only a few dwellings. Hotels were four in number, Minns’s, Mrs Hay licencee, now Mac’s, Golden Fleece – Sheblers. The Royal or Ryan’s as it was then called, later Graham had the licence, and the Raglan - Kilpatricks had the licence and afterwards Tom Manning. This was situated about where Mr K. Young had his residence. There was a store attached to the hotel until about 1900. Both the Royal and the Raglan were delicensed, later on the Royal being converted to a green grocery and a boarding house, the Raglan was demolished. The Royal green grocery and boarding house was kept by E Carew and after he retired, E Radford. The Post and Telegraph Office was on the opposite side of the street to the Raglan Hotel about two doors west of the Shire Hall and was kept by Mrs Ferris and Lady Farmer until her retirement, when it was carried on by Miss Lottie Ross. A store was attached to the Post Office and was sometimes used as a store and at one time housed the National Bank. There were two full time banks at Melton, the other being the Commercial which built premises about 1904 and on the corner of High and Smith Streets, which it still occupies. Mr G Egan was the manager of the Commercial and Mr Stradling and later Mr Lee of the National. However as business was not thought good enough they reverted to a part time branch operated from Bacchus Marsh. Grocer shops were Chalmers, with a news agency and drapery now Arnolds, Jongebloeds had the bakery. Mr Fox also a produce merchant, was where Melton Real Estate is now, it was later occupied by Buchanans, Atleys, and Mrs Ross. Not long after the War Mrs Ross built the Post Office, since demolished where Miss Lottie Ross was the Post Mistress and later built the store which she conducted. It was later turned into a factory and in now the barbers shop. McNichols was just west of the Minns Hotel. He travelled as far a Ballan weekly, buying calves and dairy produce for sale in Melbourne. Afterwards he sold the business and bought Minns Hotel and changing the name to Macs. Blacksmiths were three in number. Blackwoods – later James Byrnes next door to Jongebloeds. Alex Cameron who learnt his trade with Blackwoods had his shop about the rear of where Ken Youngs Garage is now he later moved to the north west corner of High and Alexander Street. He was also the Registrar of Birth and Deaths and Electoral Registrar. After his retirement he was weighbridge keeper at Melton South. Two of his sons were engaged in the carpentry trade, but both died at an early age. Whittingtons shop was a few doors east of the Mechanics Hall and it was later occupied by Gordon Macdonald who did business there until about eight years ago. The butchers of the period were George Graham, that is where Mandy Lees hairdressing establishment is now. Euan MacDonald had premises later occupied by Whittingtons blacksmith shop. Later shifting next door. He left here about 1901, he slaughtererd animals at a slaughter house right where Chas Jones now resides, it had previously been a slaughter house and butcher shop of that site. George Spring also operated as a butcher for two or three years about the 1900 or so. Ted Simpsons shop was where John Kontek now has his Estate Agency, he used it as an branch shop from Bacchus Marsh bringing meat from there by a two horse lorry. Jimmy Butler the manager was well known and loved, his son was later a steeplechase jockey. The Court House and Police Station would be built sometime before 1900. The Constables at the time were McGuire, later Wade, Riely and McKenzie after that Robert Wilson and Seinfort were here, they were a bit later on. The Mechanics Hall was first opened by Ryan of the Royal Hotel who sold it to the Hall Committee. It was on Unitt Street and it was moved by McLellans the house shifters from Unitt Street to its present site. Bluestone premises formerly occupied by the bootmaker Carew, were later demolished and replaced by the brick frontage to the Hall. Keith Orensini [?] the local bricklayer built brick portion to the Hall. In the cottage adjoining the Hall a Frenchman named Baudin, had a boot repairing business.This cottage was the later residence of J Hill, a local carpenter and builder from whom I learnt my trade. Granny Watts was the well known local nurse and operated the Mid-Wifery Hospital in Yuille Street on the Sherwin Street corner. Mrs Nissen was on the opposite side of Yuille Street a short distance nearer the township. She conducted the laundry. Carew had a greengrocers shop next door to the Post Office in the High Street for some time before transferring to the Royal Hotel site. He also bought [?] calves for killing. W Cecil was a tank maker and also had a produce round, he lived on Pyke and Sherwin Street. Later Gus Shebler, builder and carpenter engaged in tank making being well known for good workmanship. Shebler was very energetic in forming the Gun Club which met for a good number of years where the golf course now has its headquarters. Of the four churches only three are in use, Christ Church, Scots and St Dominics. The Methodist closed down but later transferred to Melton South. Monthly stock sales were held at the yards in Unitt Street at Minns Hotel by McPhail Auctioneers, later held by McCarthur and McLeod. After the Council built the pound and sale yards they transferred sales to these premises, but lack of patronage caused them to be abandoned. A familiar sight in the district was blind Bob Nixon, who lived in a tumbled down cottage in Centenary Road near W Coburns, being led by his dog down the road to Melton, that is Palmerston street, to the Post Office, butcher and baker for his supplies and then back home. He was able to do his own cooking and other chores. Sundays he would come down Raleighs Road to the back of the church and tie his dog to a tree. Someone, mostly one of the boys would guide him into the church and out again after the service, when the dog would lead him home again. State School 430, a two roomed bluestone building it was the only school in the district, none at Melton South. The nearest would be Rockbank and Toolern Vale. Scholars had a fair distance to walk in most cases. The teachers were Mr T Lang Headmaster. I put a query here, Miss Winters, I’m not certain of the name, Mrs Skinner and Miss Silke as Assistant Teachers. Miss Augusta Cecil and Miss Maud Lang were Junior teachers. One boy who attended the school about the turn of the century was Hector Fraser who resided with his parents in Keilor Road, where Jim Gillespie now lives. He was an excellent gun shot and at the age of about 17 years his father took him to France or Monaco where he won the Gran Prix for pigeon shooting and became the champion boy shot of the world. However he died there from pneumonia. He shot under the name of “Parvo”. The Melbourne Hunt Club used to meet in Keilor Road north side just east of the Toolern Creek on what was originally Pykes Run. This was also the place where the races were held and the Sports Meetings. Dave Murphy, employed at Clarke’s Rockbank Station usually provided the fox which he liberated for the Club. Greyhound coursing was usually held on Moylans property Mt Kororoit, or Mt Misery as it was known then. Later it was held at Melton Park, Mr Matt Carberry was the judge and Percy Cook the slipper. Early in the 1900’s the Recreation Park was created and the Caledonian and the ANA sports meetings were held there, they were annual events. L Paterson from Melton South was a successful competitor in all the cycling events as a young man. He later in life became the Deputy Chief Officer of the Metropolitan Fire Brigade. The present Chief Officer of the Fire Brigade is John Paterson, nephew of his, and spent his early life in Exford where his father was manager of the Exford Estate. Notes Tom Collins was born c 1895. He lived on the south side of the Ballarat Road near the intersection of Keilor Road.Historical image of Palmerston Street in Meltonlocal architecture, landscapes of significance -
Melton City LibrariesDocument, Minns Family Reunion, 2004
"A perpetual spring in the adjacent creek provided a steady supply of fresh water to the site on which the homestead is built. Although we can not be certain of the identity of the builder, the first stage of ‘The Willows’ homestead appears to have been constructed in the mid 1850s. The house is situated on Crown Allotment No.1 (No Section), Parish of Kororoit, an allotment of 5 acres 3 roods 4 perches. Although it had surveyed the land, the Crown did not offer it for sale until 22nd November 1861, at which time it was purchased by Charles March Williams. (Although the property is directly opposite and immediately adjacent to the Township of Melton, and was sold as ‘Suburban Allotment 33’, it was situated within the Shire of Braybrook rather than the Shire of Melton until 1917.) Considerable improvements had taken place on the land prior to the Crown sale. When CM Williams purchased the allotment in November 1861 he paid £23.5.0 for the land itself, and valued the improvements at £400. Even allowing for some exaggeration by Williams, this is an extremely high valuation for improvements, and must have included a house. Some local research has claimed that in 1858 Williams had taken over the interest of a Mr Parkinson in the property, and that Parkinson built the house upon taking possession of the land c.1855. It was definitely built by 1861, when a map shows a square building on the site marked as ‘House’. The property is important in the district for its association with the establishment of the pound. The district pound had been established in 1854, when George Scarborough of Mount Cottrell (Mt Cottrell Road, south of Greigs Road) was appointed pound-keeper. Scarborough resigned in 1857. The pound was moved to Melton following agitation from local farmers and Charles March Williams appointed pound-keeper on 26th April 1858. Williams, the son of a doctor, had been born in London. Reminiscences of local residents of the time, as recorded in the Express newspaper, note Williams’ success in breeding horses on the property. Sales of up to 60 guineas were noted. Whether this was from Williams’s own stock or from unclaimed pound stock is not made clear. Williams appeared before a government inquiry in 1860 and advocated registration of all stock brands in the State. Williams died in 1862 leaving a widow, Catherine, and five living children aged 15 years to five months. At the time of his death Williams had entered negotiations with one Matthew Devenish and had a mortgage of £100 on allotments 1 and 2, Parish of Kororoit. Catherine Williams was appointed pound-keeper on 2 September 1863, with her eldest son Charles as her assistant. Her tenure was short for on 22nd March 1864 George Minns senior paid Matthew Devenish £135 for allotments 1 and 2 Parish of Kororoit (considerably less than Williams had claimed the property was worth in 1861) and on the same day paid William Tullidge £45 for the adjoining allotments 3 and 4. In April 1867, James Ebden Minns, the newly married son of George senior became the owner of The Willows property having entered into a mortgage arrangement with his father to the extent of £200. At the time George Minns was residing in Kaarimba having left Melton in 1867 for a short trip to England and upon his return having taken up a selection in the Kaarimba district with his son Frederick who had a hotel licence there. James paid out the mortgage on 2-1-1873. James Minns was appointed pound-keeper in 1872; in 1885 the pound was moved elsewhere and Minns purchased the old pound site and added it to his farm. The Willows residence underwent a major change about this time. A two room extension, similar in style but with a lower elevation was added to the original rear of the house with a chimney matching the distinctive originals. Window arrangements did not match the original but became a feature of the façade when the new addition became the front of the building. Six buttresses were attached to the east and west walls of the old building, two to the south wall and the whole rendered with mortar to give the appearance of dressed stonework around the windows. Galvanized iron was placed over the shingles and a verandah added on three sides. By 1876 The Willows was the homestead for a thriving mixed farm of 340 acres of which 156 was rented from a H. Ruck. In October of that year the Australasian travelling reporter visited and reported on the property. In common with the nearly every other property in the district the farm had ‘recently’ (generally within the last two years) abandoned cultivation of crops, and turned over completely to cattle pasture. Butter making was the principal occupation of the farm, which had about 50 head of cattle, a large proportion of which were milking cows. The reporter also noted that a ‘large number of pigs are kept upon this farm and are found to be very profitable stock’. Their manure was used in an orchard and garden in which ‘large quantities of lucerne and prairie grass are grown for the use of stock when ordinary feed is scarce’. Two bores attached to deep brick lined wells supplied water for the house in addition to the farm. A commodious timber barn and necessary sheds had also been constructed. Access to the property was improved following the construction of the bluestone ford across the creek c.1887, when the recreation ground came into use. Prior to this date it may have been that the crossing referred to as ‘Mr Minns bridge’ was used. This appears to have been a flimsy structure and has but two references in Council reports in the Melton Express in the 1880’s. It is believed that in the late 1890’s a timber building was added near the rear of the building to house a kitchen, ablutions and laundry rooms and rooms for seasonal workers. This was attached to the house by means of a trellised walkway using the original front entry to the house (long since the back door). A photograph of this building appears in a local history of Melton. This was demolished in recent decades during the period when the house was tenanted (after the Minns family had left). James Minns son, George, took over the property following his marriage to Alice Walsh in 1903. James and Caroline moved into a house on the former JH Games property at the eastern end of Henry Street. George held the position of Shire Secretary for Melton for 40 years. He was a most prominent member of the community being Secretary to, among others, the Melton Coursing Club, the Shooting Club and the Cemetery Trust. He also rode with the hunting parties who sported across the Plains and were entertained at Mount Kororoit. George and Alice had one son, Norman who followed his father into local government and became Secretary of the Shire of Werribee completing a record term in this position. George retired to Werribee in 1951, where he died in 1965. The National Trust records note that James Ebden Minns and his sons were ‘leading men of the district, Justices of the Peace, and Shire Councillors’. It claims that Sir Thomas Bent was a frequent visitor. The Willows passed into the hands of George’s grandson, Bruce Minns and the property was let for a number of years. In the 1960s it became vacant and was subject to vandalism. Major structural problems arose with the part demolition of the roof, the loss of windows and doors and holes dug into and under the floorboards. The outbuildings were particularly targeted. Following widespread public support, the Shire of Melton purchased the house, with 3.75 acres of land, in 1972. In 1975 the Shire of Melton and the Melton and District Historical Society were successful in nominating the building for National Trust classification, and then the Australian Heritage Commission’s Register of the National Estate. The AHC particularly noted its ‘townscape importance’. It was envisaged that the farmhouse would form ‘a picturesque centrepiece to Melton’s planned … historical park, along with Dunvegan bluestone cottage … and similar structures as they become available.’ In a time of great Melton’s ‘satellite city’ development the Council spelt out its broader vision in its submission to the AHC: ‘Melton is destined to become, by the end of the present century, a city of between 75,000 and 100,000 people. Significant relics of the past, such as ‘The Willows’, regrettably will be rare in that situation. It is essential that sufficient tangible links with Melton’s pioneering days remain to promote in the new community a sense of history and continuity’. Under the direction of ‘The Willows’ Restoration Committee and consultant architect John Hitch, all outbuildings, with the exception of the garage and toilet, were demolished and the dwelling house restored. Finances were provided by the Shire of Melton and the National Estate Grants Program, and considerable amount of voluntary labour was provided by the local community. The orchard was removed, and remaining wooden buildings were relocated to provide an open vista for visitors to the Park. The property was furnished with donations from district families keen to preserve this example of pioneer life in the area. The Willows became the headquarters of the Melton and District Historical Society". Invitation to the family reunion at the Willowslocal identities, pioneer families -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and VillagePostcard - People, Bill Ferrier - rescuer, 11th November, 1905
The postcard shows a photograph of William Ferrier, the 25-year-old Warrnambool fisherman from South Warrnambool whose rescue of two sailors from the wrecked La Bella made him an overnight National hero, quoted as “one of the most heroic rescues in Victoria’s shipwreck history”. The La Bella was wrecked on 10th November 1905 and the photograph was taken on the next day. In the photograph, William Ferrier is seated in the centre, with four of the five survivors beside him: (from left to right) Leonard Robertson, R. Payne, Oscar Rosenholme and Jack Noake. The photograph was taken by Foyle Photography Studio in Warrnambool, originally owned by James Charles Foyle. He previously had a photographic studio in Melbourne 1882 1887, then opened “Foyle’s Photo Card Studios” in Liebig St, Warrnambool. James Foyle died on 13th July 1905 and his son and daughter, Charles and Lilian Foyle continued on with the business until 1945. This photograph was most likely taken by either Charles or Lilian Foyle. The story of William Ferrier’s brave act follows on below … The ship from which the sailors were rescued was the three-masted, iron and steel barquentine the La Bella, built in Norway in 1893. She was one of two iron and steel ships by Johan Smith, the company was one of the leading shipping families in Tvedestrand, Norway. She was significant to Norwegian shipping, being one of only 27 iron and steel ships ever built in Norway. She was registered in New Zealand and engaged from 1902 in inter-colonial trading of timber in the Pacific, between New Zealand and Australia and was often in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria. On 5th October 1905, the twelve-year-old La Bella left Lyttleton, New Zealand carrying a cargo of timber bound for Warrnambool, Australia. She was manned by a crew of twelve: the Master, (Captain Mylius, previously 1st Mate of La Bella, appointed Captain to La Bella on 6th February 1903) 2 Mates, Cook, six able seamen, one ordinary seaman and a boy. Bad weather en route caused her to shelter at Burnie on Tasmania's North West coast. On November 10th, the 37th day of her journey, La Bella approached Warrnambool. Captain Mylius steered her towards Lady Bay Channel in heavy south-west seas and evening mist. He ordered the helmsman to steer for the light. As the ship came round, a tremendous sea struck her on the port quarter, causing her to breach broadside in a northwesterly direction into breakers. The helm was brought round twice more, but each time heavy seas broke over her, the third time throwing the La Bella on to a submerged reef in Lady Bay now known as La Bella Reef (about 100 yards from the Warrnambool breakwater). The sea was so rough that it even wrenched a one-and-a-half ton anchor from its fastenings and into the sea. As Captain Mylius headed to the steel wheelhouse, intending to send up a rocket flare, a huge sea slammed the steel door into him (resulting in massive bruising front and back) Despite his injuries he still managed to set off a blue light, which he held up in his hands. La Bella’s lifeboats were filled with seawater and broke up on their chocks. The blue light was the first indication to people on the shore that there was a ship in distress. The Harbour Master, Captain Roe (who lived in the Harbour Master’s House opposite Flagstaff Hill), organised a group of volunteers to crew the lifeboat because the trained crew was unavailable; the crewmen were working on a steamer in Port Fairy at the time. He then poured oil onto the water to try and smooth the sea. At around 11 pm three of the crew took shelter in the steel forecastle but the sea crashed into it and broke it up. While the rest of the crew and onlookers watched helplessly in the moonlight the bodies were washed away into the sea, never to be seen again. Some of the crew lashed themselves to the weather rail to keep from being washed away. Watson, the ordinary seaman, became tangled in the rigging lines and was too weak to move, so the 2nd Mate, Robertson, put a line onto him so that he wouldn’t wash off. Around 11 pm three of the crew were unconscious from exhaustion. The situation on La Bella was becoming dangerous. The 2nd Mate moved to the ‘house’ and soon afterwards the ship slipped in the heavy sea. The lashings of the 1st Mate and the ‘boy’ Denham had kept them safe until about 2 am when they were washed overboard; no one was able to help. One by one, the exhausted crew were being washed overboard, too weak to hold on any longer. During the night the La Bella had broken into two and the deckhouse ran out towards the sea. Two more men drowned when trying to reach the lifeboat. By sunrise, the only survivors of the twelve were the Master, 2nd Mate and three seamen. Early in the morning, Captain Roe used the rocket apparatus on shore to try and shoot a line to the ship for a safer rescue but each attempt fell short of the target. Several attempts were made by the lifeboat to rescue the stricken sailors, but the rough conditions made this difficult for the boat to get close enough to the ship and the lifeboat had to return to shore. During a final attempt to reach the ship Captain Mylius ordered his men to jump into the sea. Leonard Robertson, 2nd mate, jumped and swam towards the lifeboat, taking hold of the boat hook offered to him. Oscar Rosenholme managed to reach the boat floating on a piece of timber from the ship’s load and a third survivor, Noake, also made the boat. Along with the lifeboat rescue crew, 25-year-old William Ferrier rowed his small dingy through the heavy seas and managed to rescue the Captain, whom he landed on the breakwater. Ferrier then returned to the ship to attempt a final rescue, losing his oars and rowlocks into the high sea. Using just a spare paddle he skulled towards the La Bella, reaching her stern in time to cut loose the lone surviving sailor, Payne, from the lashing that held him to the ship; the terrified sailor dropped from the ship and into the dingy. Shortly after the last man was rescued, the La Bella was lifted by a huge wave and crashed back down on the reef; she broke up and sank. The ordeal had lasted ten hours. The survivors were taken to the nearby Bay View Hotel and gratefully received warm food and clothing, medical attention and a place to sleep. In the following days, an unidentified body of a young person had washed ashore; it was either Watson or Denham. The body was buried in the Warrnambool cemetery with an appropriate gravestone and inscription. William Ferrier became a national hero as news of the daring rescue spread. In recognition of his bravery in the two daring rescues, he was awarded the Silver Medal for Bravery by the Royal Humane Society and was honoured in the letter from the Prime Minister and the Parliament of the Commonwealth, telegrams and a cheque for £20 from the Governor-General, over £150 subscribed by the public, including Warrnambool and district and readers of The Argus, and a gold medal from the Glenelg Dinghy Club of South Australia. Ferrier’s rescue efforts are one of the most heroic in Victoria’s shipwreck history. (William Ferrier’s son, Frank, received a similar award almost fifty years later when he helped rescue four members of the crew on the yacht Merlan after it ran on to a reef near the Point Lonsdale Lighthouse. ) The wreck of La Bella now lies on her port side in 13 metres of sheltered water inside the reef she struck. The bow section is relatively intact and part of the stern has drifted north-easterly towards the mouth of the Hopkins River. The reef the La Bella struck now bears its name. Those five rescued from the La Bella were Captain George Mylius, Leonard Robertson (2nd Mate, 21 years old), R. Payne, Oscar Rosenholme and Jack Noake. Those seven who lost their lives were Mr Coulson (1st mate), Charles Jackman (cook) Gustave Johnson, Pierre Johann and Robert Gent (all able seamen), Harry Watson (ordinary seaman) and Jack Denham (ship’s boy), Captain Mylius was found guilty of careless navigation; he had sailed into the bay without the services of a pilot. His Master Certificate was suspended for twelve months. Later he was also charged with manslaughter of one of the crew who had died when the La Bella was wrecked but found not guilty. The event’s adverse publicity and damage to his career took a toll on his health and he died of a heart attack six months after the wreck; he was only thirty-seven. His body was buried in the Melbourne General Cemetery. The La Bella was “the best documented of all sailing ships owned in New Zealand”. Her record books, ship logs, correspondence and supporting papers are still available. At the time of the tragedy, she was owned by Messers David C.Turnbull and Co. of Timaru, New Zealand timber merchants and shipping agents, who had purchased her on 13th December 1901. A detailed account of the last journey of La Bella can be read in “Leonard Robertson, the Whangaroa & La Bella” written by Jack Churchouse, published in 1982 by Millwood Press Ltd, Wellington, NZ. As well as this postcard, Flagstaff Hill’s La Bella Collection includes a photograph of the wrecked La Bella, a brass rail holder and the letter from the Prime Minister and other Members of Parliament that was sent to William Ferrier to commend him for his bravery. Some 15 – 17 ships are believed to have sunk in Lady Bay, but only two have been discovered on the seafloor; the “La Bella” and the “Edinburgh Castle”. Both wrecks are popular diving sites and are preserved as significant historical marine and marine archaeological sites. This postcard is part of the La Bella Collection and is significant at both a local and state level. Its connection to the La Bella shipwreck and the rescue of five survivors highlights the dangers of Victoria’s Shipwreck Coast. The photograph of William Ferrier and four of the five survivors demonstrates the bravery of ordinary Australians who risked their lives to save victims of shipwrecks along the coast. The postcard is significant to the history of Warrnambool as it portrays William Ferrier, a local fisherman whose descendants continue to live in the area. It highlights the way of life of people who lived in coastal towns in 19th century Victoria and the effects of shipwrecks upon them. The postcard connects to the congratulatory letter which was sent to William Ferrier by the Prime Minister and Government of Australia and demonstrates the importance they attached to his efforts for Victoria and to Australia. The postcard is also an example of the photography of Foyle Photographers who were in the town of Warrnambool from the late 1800’s. Charles and Lillian Foyle took over the business when their father James died in 1905. Lillian Foyle is significant as the first woman photographer in Warrnambool. It is not known whether Charles of Lillian took this photograph. This postcard is significant because of its association with the sailing ship “La Bella”. The “La Bella” is of local and state and national significance. It is one of the only two shipwrecks discovered in Lady Bay, Warrnambool, out of the 15-17 shipwrecks in the bay. Sepia photograph of William (Bill) Ferrier (seated in the middle), heroic rescuer of two crew members of the La Bella, wrecked at Warrnambool. The photograph is a postcard and shows five men dressed formally in suits and hats. Printed below the photograph are the name and place of the photographer, a royal crest and the details of two patrons of the photographer. Also below the photograph are some handwritten words in black pen. On the back of the postcard is a handwritten message in the same writing as the front.Printed on the front of the card is “Foyle, WARRNAMBOOL” “PATRONS: / HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE DUKE OF CORNWALL & YORK. / HIS EXCELLENCY LORD BRAS_ EY, R.O.B.” Handwritten on the front of the card is “Bill Ferrier / rescuer / Oh my hero _ _ _ “ Handwritten on the back of the card is a message. “La Bella” Wrecked off W.Bool Breakwater Nov. 1906 (_ _ _ _ show night) Payne Noake Rosenholme Robertson and Capt Mylius (saved) (moonlight bright) Watson (_ _ _ _ boy) Richwoud [possibly Richmond] drowned” and signed “Desdewoua [possibly Desdemona] Slogos”la bella, foyle, william ferrier, bill ferrier, lady bay, 1905, 10th november 1905, 11th november 1905, parliament of the commonwealth, royal humane society medal, flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and VillageLetter - William Ferrier, 14th November 1905
The letter to William Ferrier of South Warrnambool from the Prime Minister and the Parliament of the Commonwealth recognised the significance of William’s brave and courageous lifesaving act to the people of Australia; “They all feel that your conduct was worthy of the best deeds done by British sailors in the past and they are proud to know that Australia can produce such as you.” The story of that brave rescue follows on below … The ship from which the sailors were rescued was the three-masted, iron and steel barquentine the La Bella, built in Norway in 1893. She was one of two iron and steel ships by Johan Smith, The company was one of the leading shipping families in Tvedestrand, Norway. She was significant to Norwegian shipping, being one of only 27 iron and steel ships ever built in Norway. She was registered in New Zealand and engaged from 1902 in inter-colonial trading of timber in the Pacific, between New Zealand and Australia and was often in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria. On 5th October 1905, the twelve-year-old La Bella left Lyttleton, New Zealand carrying a cargo of timber bound for Warrnambool, Australia. She was manned by a crew of twelve: the Master, (Captain Mylius, previously 1st Mate of La Bella, appointed Captain to La Bella on 6th February 1903) 2 Mates, Cook, six able seamen, one ordinary seaman and a boy. Bad weather en route caused her to shelter at Burnie on Tasmania's North West coast. On November 10th, the 37th day of her journey, La Bella approached Warrnambool. Captain Mylius steered her towards Lady Bay Channel in heavy south-west seas and evening mist. He ordered the helmsman to steer for the light. As the ship came round, a tremendous sea struck her on the port quarter, causing her to breach broadside in a north-westerly direction into breakers. The helm was brought round twice more, but each time heavy seas broke over her, the third time throwing the La Bella on to a submerged reef in Lady Bay now known as La Bella Reef (about 100 yards from the Warrnambool breakwater). The sea was so rough that it even wrenched a one-and-a-half ton anchor from its fastenings and into the sea. As Captain Mylius headed to the steel wheelhouse, intending to send up a rocket flare, a huge sea slammed the steel door into him (resulting in massive bruising front and back) Despite his injuries he still managed to set off a blue light, which he held up in his hands. La Bella’s lifeboats were filled with seawater and broke up on their chocks. The blue light was the first indication to people on the shore that there was a ship in distress. The Harbour Master, Captain Roe (who lived in the Harbour Master’s House opposite Flagstaff Hill), organised a group of volunteers to crew the lifeboat because the trained crew was unavailable; the crewmen were working on a steamer in Port Fairy at the time. He then poured oil onto the water to try and smooth the sea. At around 11 pm three of the crew took shelter in the steel forecastle but the sea crashed into it and broke it up. While the rest of the crew and onlookers watched helplessly in the moonlight the bodies were washed away into the sea, never to be seen again. Some of the crew lashed themselves to the weather rail to keep from being washed away. Watson, the ordinary seaman, became tangled in the rigging lines and was too weak to move, so the 2nd Mate, Robertson, put a line onto him so that he wouldn’t wash off. Around 11 pm three of the crew were unconscious from exhaustion. The situation on La Bella was becoming dangerous. The 2nd Mate moved to the ‘house’ and soon afterwards the ship slipped in the heavy sea. The lashings of the 1st Mate and the ‘boy’ Denham had kept them safe until about 2 am when they were washed overboard; no one was able to help. One by one, the exhausted crew were being washed overboard, too weak to hold on any longer. During the night the La Bella had broken into two and the deckhouse ran out towards the sea. Two more men drowned when trying to reach the lifeboat. By sunrise, the only survivors of the twelve were the Master, 2nd Mate and three seamen. Early in the morning, Captain Roe used the rocket apparatus on shore to try and shoot a line to the ship for a safer rescue but each attempt fell short of the target. Several attempts were made by the lifeboat to rescue the stricken sailors, but the rough conditions made this difficult for the boat to get close enough to the ship and the lifeboat had to return to shore. During a final attempt to reach the ship Captain Mylius ordered his men to jump into the sea. Leonard Robertson, 2nd mate, jumped and swam towards the lifeboat, taking hold of the boat hook offered to him. Oscar Rosenholme managed to reach the boat floating on a piece of timber from the ship’s load and a third survivor, Noake, also made the boat. Along with the lifeboat rescue crew, 25-year-old William Ferrier rowed his small dingy through the heavy seas and managed to rescue the Captain, whom he landed on the breakwater. Ferrier then returned to the ship to attempt a final rescue, losing his oars and rowlocks into the high sea. Using just a spare paddle he skulled towards the La Bella, reaching her stern in time to cut loose the lone surviving sailor, Payne, from the lashing that held him to the ship; the terrified sailor dropped from the ship and into the dingy. Shortly after the last man was rescued, the La Bella was lifted by a huge wave and crashed back down on the reef; she broke up and sank. The ordeal had lasted ten hours. The survivors were taken to the nearby Bay View Hotel and gratefully received warm food and clothing, medical attention and a place to sleep. In the following days, an unidentified body of a young person has washed ashore; it was either Watson or Denham. The body was buried in the Warrnambool cemetery with an appropriate gravestone and inscription. William Ferrier became a national hero as news of the daring rescue spread. In recognition of his bravery in the two daring rescues, he was awarded the Silver Medal for Bravery by the Royal Humane Society and was honoured in the letter from the Prime Minister and the Parliament of the Commonwealth, telegrams and a cheque for £20 from the Governor-General, over £150 subscribed by the public, including Warrnambool and district and readers of The Argus, and a gold medal from the Glenelg Dinghy Club of South Australia. Ferrier’s rescue efforts are one of the most heroic in Victoria’s shipwreck history. (William Ferrier’s son, Frank, received a similar award almost fifty years later when he helped rescue four members of the crew on the yacht Merlan after it ran on to a reef near the Point Lonsdale Lighthouse. ) The wreck of La Bella now lies on her port side in 13 metres of sheltered water inside the reef she struck. The bow section is relatively intact and part of the stern has drifted north-easterly towards the mouth of the Hopkins River. The reef the La Bella struck now bears its name. Those five rescued from the La Bella were Captain George Mylius, Leonard Robertson (2nd Mate, 21 years old), R. Payne, Oscar Rosenholme and Jack Noake. Those seven who lost their lives were Mr Coulson (1st mate), Charles Jackman (cook) Gustave Johnson, Pierre Johann and Robert Gent (all able seamen), Harry Watson (ordinary seaman) and Jack Denham (ship’s boy), Captain Mylius was found guilty of careless navigation; he had sailed into the bay without the services of a pilot. His Master Certificate was suspended for twelve months. Later he was also charged with the manslaughter of one of the crew who had died when the La Bella was wrecked but found not guilty. The event’s adverse publicity and damage to his career took a toll on his health and he died of a heart attack six months after the wreck; he was only thirty-seven. His body was buried in the Melbourne General Cemetery. The La Bella was “the best documented of all sailing ships owned in New Zealand”. Her record books, ship logs, correspondence and supporting papers are still available. At the time of the tragedy, she was owned by Messers David C.Turnbull and Co. of Timaru, New Zealand timber merchants and shipping agents, who had purchased her on 13th December 1901. A detailed account of the last journey of La Bella can be read in “Leonard Robertson, the Whangaroa & La Bella” written by Jack Churchouse, published in 1982 by Millwood Press Ltd, Wellington, NZ. As well as this letter, Flagstaff Hill’s La Bella Collection includes a photograph of the wrecked La Bella, a brass rail holder and a postcard of William Ferrier with four of the survivors. Some 15 – 17 ships are believed to have sunk in Lady Bay, but only two have been discovered on the seafloor; the “La Bella” and the “Edinburgh Castle”. Both wrecks are popular diving sites and are preserved as significant historical marine and marine archaeological sites. This original congratulatory letter sent to William Ferrier by the Prime Minister and Government of Australia demonstrates the importance attached to his efforts for Victoria and to Australia. The letter is part of the La Bella Collection and is significant at both a local and state level. Its connection to the La Bella shipwreck and the rescue of five survivors highlights the dangers of Victoria’s Shipwreck Coast. The letter to William Ferrier from the Australian Government acknowledges the bravery of ordinary Australians who risked their lives to save victims of shipwrecks along the coast. The letter is significant to the history of Warrnambool as it honours William Ferrier, a local fisherman whose descendants continue to live in the area. It highlights the way of life of people who lived in coastal towns in 19th century Victoria and the effects of shipwrecks upon them. The letter connects to the postcard of William Ferrier with four of the five rescued crew, the photograph of the wreck of the La Bella and the artefact from the wreck, the rail holder. This letter is significant because of its association with the sailing ship “La Bella”. The “La Bella” is of local and state and national significance. It is one of the only two shipwrecks discovered in Lady Bay, Warrnambool, out of the 15-17 shipwrecks in the bay. Letter to William Ferrier of South Warrnambool from the Prime Minister and Members of Parliament commending him on his bravery. The printed letterhead includes a coat of arms in the top centre and the official address. The letter is very neatly hand written in black pen and includes 4 signatures of Members of Parliament. The rectangular paper is cream coloured with some yellow/brown discolouring. It has the letterhead on the right hand side of it and the written letter begins below the letterhead. The paper has been folded so that the right side becomes the cover page of the letter. The writing is continued onto the inside right hand page of the folded paper and the writing ends here. There is more recent writing on the bottom right hand corner of the back page. The paper has been officially folded in half a total 3 times and there is heavy discolouration on the sections that form the front and back of the folded letter. There is a 4th fold line that is less pronounced that the other folds and would make the paper the size to fit into a pocket. At several fold creases the paper has worn through. The edges of the paper have minor tears. The printed coat of arms is that of the House of Representatives. Underneath is printed “The Parliament of the Commonwealth, / Parliament House / Melbourne”. The hand written, letter is dated “14th November, 1905” and addressed to “Mr. William Ferrier / South Warrnambool” The letter begins “The Speaker, the Prime Minister and Members of the Ministry and its supporters, the Leader and Members of the Opposition, the Leader and Members of the Labour Party, being all the Members of the House of Representatives of the Federal Parliament of Australia” … It continues “desire to express to you their appreciation of your bravery in skulling out to the wreck of the “La Bella” at Warrnambool on Saturday, 11th November, 1905, and recovering therefrom two of the crew who were in imminent danger of their lives. They all feel that your conduct was worthy of the best deeds done by British sailors in the past and they are proud to know that Australia can produce such as you.” The letter is “Signed on behalf of the Members – Speaker (Frederick Holder ), Deputy Leader of the Opposition (Joseph Cook ), Prime Minister (Alfred Deakin), Leader of the Labour Party ( J.C. Watson)” On the back of the letter is blue ink handwriting “OWNER / G. FERRIER / TO. BE. PHOTOGRAPHED / 27-4-76”la bella, william ferrier, bill ferrier, lady bay, 1905, 10th november 1905, 11th november 1905, parliament of the commonwealth, prime minister, australian government, new zealand, flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and VillageFunctional object - Rail holder, About 1893, when the ship was made
This brass rail holder fixture would have been used to hold the end of a rail in place. There is no information as to where the fitting or rail would have been placed on the ship; sailing ships had many brass fittings. It was recovered from the wreck of the La Bella, which lies at the bottom of the Warrnambool Harbour. Some 15 ships are believed to have been wrecked in Lady Bay, but only two have been discovered on the sea floor; the La Bella and the Edinburgh Castle. Both wrecks are popular diving sites and are preserved as significant historical marine and marine archaeological sites. The story of the final voyage of the La Bella is summarised as follows … The ship from which the sailors were rescued was the three-masted, iron and steel barquentine the La Bella, built in Norway in 1893. She was one of two iron and steel ships by Johan Smith, the company being one of the leading shipping families in Tvedestrand, Norway. She was significant to Norwegian shipping, being one of only 27 iron and steel ships ever built in Norway. She was registered in New Zealand and engaged from 1902 in inter-colonial trading of timber in the pacific, between New Zealand and Australia and was often in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria. On 5th October, 1905, the twelve year old La Bella left Lyttleton, New Zealand carrying a cargo of timber bound for Warrnambool, Australia . She was manned by a crew of twelve: the Master, (Captain Mylius, previously 1st Mate of La Bella, appointed Captain to La Bella on 6th February 1903) 2 Mates, Cook, six able seamen, one ordinary seaman and a boy. . Bad weather en route caused her to shelter at Burnie on Tasmania's North West coast. On November 10th, the 37th day of her journey, La Bella approached Warrnambool. Captain Mylius steered her towards Lady Bay Channel in heavy south-west seas and evening mist. He ordered the helmsman to steer for the light. As the ship came round, a tremendous sea struck her on the port quarter, causing her to breach broadside in a north-westerly direction into breakers. The helm was brought round twice more, but each time heavy seas broke over her, the third time throwing the La Bella on to a submerged reef in Lady Bay now known as La Bella Reef (about 100 yards from the Warrnambool breakwater). The sea was so rough that it even wrenched a one-and-a-half ton anchor from its fastenings and into the sea. As Captain Mylius headed to the steel wheelhouse, intending to send up a rocket flare, a huge sea slammed the steel door into him (resulting in massive bruising front and back) Despite his injuries he still managed to set off a blue light, which he held up in his hands. La Bella’s lifeboats were filled with sea water and broke up on their chocks. The blue light was the first indication to people on shore that there was a ship in distress. The Harbour Master, Captain Roe (who lived in the Harbour Master’s House opposite Flagstaff Hill), organised a group of volunteers to crew the lifeboat because the trained crew was unavailable; the crewmen were working on a steamer in Port Fairy at the time. He then poured oil onto the water to try and smooth the sea. At around 11pm three of the crew took shelter in the steel forecastle but the sea crashed into it and broke it up. While the rest of the crew and onlookers watched helplessly in the moonlight the bodies were washed away into the sea, never to be seen again. Some of the crew lashed themselves to the weather rail to keep from being washed away. Watson, the ordinary seaman, became tangled in the rigging lines and was too weak to move, so the 2nd Mate, Robertson, put a line onto him so that he wouldn’t wash off. Around 11pm three of the crew were unconscious from exhaustion. The situation on La Bella was becoming dangerous. The 2nd Mate moved to the ‘house’ and soon afterwards the ship slipped in the heavy sea. The lashings of the 1st Mate and the ‘boy’ Denham had kept them safe until about 2am when they were washed overboard; no one was able to help. One by one, the exhausted crew were being washed overboard, too weak to hold on any longer. During the night the La Bella had broken into two and the deckhouse ran out towards the sea. Two more men drowned when trying to reach the lifeboat. By sunrise the only survivors of the twelve were the Master, 2nd Mate and three seamen. Early in the morning Captain Roe used the rocket apparatus on shore to try and shoot a line to the ship for a safer rescue but each attempt fell short of the target. Several attempts were made by the lifeboat to rescue the stricken sailors, but the rough conditions made this difficult for the boat to get close enough to the ship and the lifeboat had to return to shore. During a final attempt to reach the ship Captain Mylius ordered his men to jump into the sea. Leonard Robertson, 2nd mate, jumped and swam towards the lifeboat, taking hold of the boat hook offered to him. Oscar Rosenholme managed to reach the boat floating on a piece of timber from the ship’s load and a third survivor, Noake, also made the boat. Along with the lifeboat rescue crew, 25 year old William Ferrier rowed his small dingy through the heavy seas and managed to rescue the Captain, whom he landed on the breakwater. Ferrier then returned to the ship to attempt a final rescue, losing his oars and rowlocks into the high sea. Using just a spare paddle he skulled towards the La Bella, reaching her stern in time to cut loose the lone surviving sailor, Payne, from the lashing that held him to the ship; the terrified sailor dropped from the ship and into the dingy. Shortly after the last man was rescued, the La Bella was lifted by a huge wave and crashed back down on the reef; she broke up and sank. The ordeal had lasted ten hours. The survivors were taken to the nearby Bay View Hotel and gratefully received warm food and clothing, medical attention and a place to sleep. In the following days an unidentified body of a young person was washed ashore; it was either Watson or Denham. The body was buried in the Warrnambool cemetery with an appropriate gravestone and inscription. William Ferrier became a national hero as news of the daring rescue spread. In recognition of his bravery in the two daring rescues he was awarded the Silver Medal for Bravery by the Royal Humane Society and was honoured in the letter from the Prime Minister and the Parliament of the Commonwealth, telegrams and a cheque for £20 from the Governor General, over £150 subscribed by the public, including Warrnambool and district and readers of The Argus, and a gold medal from the Glenelg Dinghy Club of South Australia. Ferrier’s rescue efforts are one of the most heroic in Victoria’s shipwreck history. (William Ferrier’s son, Frank, received a similar award almost fifty years later, when he helped rescue four members of the crew on the yacht Merlan, after it ran on to a reef near the Point Lonsdale Lighthouse. ) The wreck of La Bella now lies on her port side in 13 metres of sheltered water inside the reef she struck. The bow section is relatively intact and part of the stern has drifted north-easterly towards the mouth of the Hopkins River. The reef the La Bella struck now bears its name. Those five rescued from the La Bella were Captain George Mylius, Leonard Robertson (2nd Mate, 21 years old), R. Payne, Oscar Rosenholme and Jack Noake. Those seven who lost their lives were Mr Coulson (1st mate), Charles Jackman (cook) Gustave Johnson, Pierre Johann and Robert Gent (all able seamen), Harry Watson (ordinary seaman) and Jack Denham (ship’s boy), Captain Mylius was found guilty of careless navigation; he had sailed into the bay without the services of a pilot. His Master Certificate was suspended for twelve months. Later he was also charged with manslaughter of one of the crew who had died when the La Bella was wrecked, but found not guilty. The event’s adverse publicity and damage to his career took a toll on his health and he died of a heart attack six months after the wreck; he was only thirty-seven. His body was buried in the Melbourne General Cemetery. The La Bella was “the best documented of all sailing ships owned in New Zealand”. Her record books, ship logs, correspondence and supporting papers are still available. At the time of the tragedy, she was owned by Messers David C.Turnbull and Co. of Timaru, New Zealand timber merchants and shipping agents, who had purchased her on 13th December 1901. A detailed account of the last journey of La Bella can be read in “Leonard Robertson, the Whangaroa & La Bella” written by Jack Churchouse, published in 1982 by Millwood Press Ltd, Wellington, NZ. Some 15 – 17 ships are believed to have sunk in Lady Bay, but only two have been discovered on the seafloor; the “La Bella” and the “Edinburgh Castle”. Both wrecks are popular diving sites and are preserved as significant historical marine and marine archaeological sites. As well as this letter, Flagstaff Hill’s La Bella Collection includes a photograph of the wrecked La Bella, a brass rail holder and a postcard of William Ferrier with four of the survivors. This original congratulatory letter sent to William Ferrier by the Prime Minister and Government of Australia demonstrates the importance attached to his efforts for Victoria and to Australia. The letter is part of the La Bella Collection and is significant at both a local and state level. Its connection to the La Bella shipwreck and the rescue of five survivors highlights the dangers of Victoria’s Shipwreck Coast. The letter to William Ferrier from the Australian Government acknowledges the bravery of ordinary Australians who risked their lives to save victims of shipwrecks along the coast. The letter is significant to the history of Warrnambool as it honours William Ferrier, a local fisherman whose descendants continue to live in the area. It highlights the way of life of people who lived in coastal towns in 19th century Victoria and the effects of shipwrecks upon them. The letter connects to the postcard of William Ferrier with four of the five rescued crew, the photograph of the wreck of the La Bella and the artefact from the wreck, the rail holder. This item is significant because of its association with the sailing ship “La Bella” . the “La Bella” is of local and state and national significance. It is one of the only two shipwrecks discovered in Lady Bay, Warrnambool, out of the 15-17 shipwrecks in the bay. Brass rail holder from the wreck "La Bella". This rail holder would have been used as a fitting for the end of a rail. It is made up of two parts and looks a little like a goblet in shape. The top is a hollow spherical shape with a circular hole cut out on one side, into which the end of a round rail would fit. There are two gouge marks close to each other on one side of the hole, about one centimetre apart, at 1 and 2 o’clock position. The sphere has a hollow pipe-like stem with a screw thread turned into the outside of the lower section and the bottom of the stem has been flared out after having the base fitted. The base is round and has a mound in the centre. The edge has four evenly spaced fixture holes around its edge. The metal shows signs of pitting and has mild encrustation. The fitting of the base is loose, allowing it to swivel in a complete circle. The top of the sphere is rough and has a dent in it. Underneath the base there is verdigris; some has flaked off and reveals a bright golden colour underneath. rail holder, brass rail holder, la bella, lady bay, norway, 1893, new zealand, captain mylius, william ferrier, flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village -
Eltham District Historical Society IncFolder, Commercial Bank of Australia Eltham Branch Hold-Up, 15 December 1949
Thursday, December 15, 1949, the quiet little bank was embroiled in an infamous wild shoot-out between a daring thief and two bank officers. Today, the building still carries the scars ; a bullet hole remains visible in a cedar bench testifying to the events that played out that day. 3.30 a.m., Friday, December 9. The manager of the Commercial Bank branch at Greensborough, Mr Harry Wallace and his wife are asleep in their bedroom of the little house behind the branch. Harry is awakened by a noise and sees an intruder in a corner of the bedroom. He calls out but the intruder who has switched off the power in anticipation flees through a side door and scarpers down Main Street. Harry summons the police but a search by First Constable Thomas of the Greensborough Police assisted by a wireless patrol car is unsuccessful. A report is filed noting the theft of a .25 calibre pistol from the wardrobe. Thursday, December 15th. It is 1pm and the Commercial Bank has just opened. The branch is only open Mondays and Thursdays from 1-3pm. The morning started off a little cool with some scattered showers but it has fined up and the temperature is now around 61 degrees (16 C). A new grey Singer sports car with soft-top pulls up on the opposite side of the road and a young man, neatly dressed in a dark blue suit, wearing a grey hat and carrying a brief case exits the vehicle. He looks around then crosses the road and walks up the steps and through the door into the bank. There are three people inside; Mr. Jack Burgoyne whose grocery store is situated just 50 yards up the road, Mr. Lindsay A. Spears, the Eltham Agency Receiving Officer and by chance, Mr Harry Wallace, manager of the Greensborough branch. Jack Burgoyne takes note of the young stranger; thinking to himself he appears nervous. The man approaches the counter and introduces himself as John Henderson of Greensborough and explains that he wishes to open a new account. He places his hat and £3 on the counter. Mr Spears attends to the paperwork. He asks the young man to sign two forms, which he does but then he withdraws from the counter and starts walking towards the door. Suddenly he spins around pulling an automatic pistol from his right-hand pocket. He exclaims forcefully; “The game’s on! I’ll take the lot!” Spears appears to comply by pretending to open a drawer. The man shouts loudly, “Keep your hand away from that drawer.” Spears instead reaches for a pistol in his pocket and challenges the man, “Here it is. Come and get it!” At the same time, Harry Wallace pulls a pistol from his pocket as well. The bandit fires a shot but misses, the bullet striking the counter. Both Spears and Wallace open fire and Jack Burgoyne ducks for cover. As the bandit turns and runs for the door leaving his £3 behind, he fires another shot, which strikes the ceiling. Spears fires back, and thinks he may have hit him in the foot. The bandit flees the bank and heads for the grey Singer car, registration NO-106, parked opposite. Wallace and Spears pursue him to the door and open fire again, striking the car three times around the driver’s door. Spears lets off eight shots and Wallace, seven before his gun jams. The getaway car initially heads slowly down Main Road towards Bridge Street. About 100 yards down the road, Dave Adams, a PMG employee, who has heard the shots, throws a steel manhole step at the driver. It hits the roof of the car nine inches above the driver’s head and tears the hood. Another witness claims to have seen the door blow open and the driver raise his hand. The car gathers speed and swings left into Bridge Street racing along at about 60 miles an hour careering recklessly past council employee, Mr. Percy Williams, who is driving a dray along Smarts Road [believed to be Bridge Street]. At the end of the road the Singer fails to get round the sharp turn and crashes into an embankment skidding to a stop outside the home of Mr John Clifford. One side of the car is wrecked. Mr Clifford, an aircraft engineer hears the fast travelling car bump heavily into the road bank at about 1.25 p.m. Hearing the whine of an engine he goes outside to find the grey Singer parked at the side of the road. Jack George also lives at the corner and hears the car crash. “The bandit opened the car door, ran 50 yards, and suddenly turned back,” exclaims Jack. “He took something from the car. It might have been a gun.” In his haste, the bandit drops his grey felt hat, size 6 7/8, on the road and dashes up Sherbourne Road for about 200 yards then disappears into the scrub carrying a brief case and a bundle in which a sailor’s cap can be seen. About 3 p.m., Mr H.D. Pettie of Mountain View Road, Montmorency is looking through his field glasses and notices a young man walking through thick scrub on private property some distance from his house. The man is wearing a sailor’s cap and disappears along the railway track toward Montmorency. As the day progresses, ten police cars, one motor cycle, and about 40 police led by Det. Sgt. McMennemin of Malvern CIB are searching for him. They believe he is hiding in thick scrub along the bank of the creek about half-a-mile outside Eltham township. Wireless patrol cars, four mobile traffic cars and the CIB area cars from Malvern and Kew are taking part. Police check the thief’s car and discover it was stolen from Helen Baxter, of Doncaster Road, North Balwyn from outside Victoria Barracks. Harry Wallace informs the police that he believes he recognised the bandit as the man who took his pistol from his bedroom the previous Friday morning. As night falls, armed police are posted at strategic points in the Eltham-Greensborough district. Police in cars are watching the roads. Others are searching the bush and checking passengers on trains. Little do they realise the young man has already slipped out of the net. SEQUEL YOUTH OF 19 CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTED ARMED ROBBERY OF BANK AT ELTHAM Weekly Times, Wednesday 15 February 1950, page 6 Detectives who raided a house in Bell St., Coburg, Melbourne, charged a 19-year-old youth, of South Yarra, with attempted armed robbery at the Commercial Bank’s Eltham (Vic.) receiving depot on Dec. 15. Police say they recovered a loaded automatic pistol, diamond and signet rings worth more than £200, a complete set of house-breaking instruments, a sailor’s uniform, and chloroform gauze in the raid. The youth was charged that while armed with an offensive weapon, he attempted to rob Lindsay George Spears of a sum of money. He was further charged on six counts of breaking, entering and stealing. Police allege that the person who tried to hold up Mr Spears in the Commercial Bank receiving depot at Eltham on December 15. escaped in a stolen car, after Mr Spears and Mr Henry Wallace, manager of the bank’s Greensborough branch, had fired at him. After the car crashed, he escaped into thick scrub and is alleged to have changed into a sailor’s uniform. On December 9 an automatic pistol was stolen from Mr Wallace’s bedroom at the Greensborough bank. The chloroform pad recovered is alleged to have been stolen from the Dental Supply Company, Plenty Road, Preston. The rings are alleged to have been taken in a £513 burglary from the shop of James Paton. Sydney Road, Coburg. Det. Sgt. H. McMennemin conducted the investigations with Senior Dets. R. Newton and M Downie, Detectives l. Dent, R. Rayner, P. Pedersen and M. Handley and First Constable A. Thomas. The youth will appear at Eltham Court on February 22. Manager’s Gun Used in Holdup at Bank The Age, Thursday 23 February 1950, page 4 It was stated in Eltham court yesterday that a youth who robbed a bank manager of his pistol, later used it in an attempt to hold-up the bank. Kay Arthur Morgan, 19, draftsman, of Castle-street, South Yarra, was committed for trial on charges of breaking and entering, and stealing a pistol and attempted robbery while armed with an offensive weapon. He pleaded guilty. The manager of Eltham branch of the Commercial Bank of Australia Ltd., Henry Clifton Cabot Wallace, said he disturbed someone in the bedroom, in which he and his wife were sleeping, at 3 a.m. on December. 9, 1949. Later he found that his automatic- pistol was missing. On December 15 a youth, who said his name was John Henderson, entered the bank and opened a new account. As the youth was leaving the bank he turned round with a pistol in his hand and said: — “I want the lot.” Spear indicated a drawer under the counter; and said.— “Here it is. Come and get it.” The youth said:— “Keep your hand away from that drawer.” Witness said Spear then drew his pistol from his hip pocket. The youth fired at them, and Spear returned the fire. “I pulled my pistol and fired, too” said witness. The youth fired again, ran out to a car and drove off. Witness and Spear fired several shots at the car. The youth was the accused Morgan, sitting in court, witness said. Evidence was given that one bullet was found in the celling and the other in the bank. Morgan was allowed £100 bail on each charge. Morgan ended up serving three years for the failed armed robbery and became a notorious criminal. He had twin sons, Peter and Doug and even though only ten years old, Morgan would get his sons to act as lookouts whilst he committed burglaries. The lads became building contractors but when the industry suffered a downturn in 1977 and they were short on cash, they returned to the family business. Over the following 23 months they undertook 24 raids on country and outer-suburban TABs and banks. Whilst robbing one country bank for the third time, just like their father, it all went wrong ending up with a police officer shot. They were nick-named the “After-dark” bandits and are considered to be Australia’s last bushrangers. They were convicted and served 17 years in prison.5 x A4 photocopied pagesbank hold-up, cba bank, det sgt mcmennemin, eltham, h.d. pettie, harry wallace, jack burgoyne, kay arthur morgan, lindsay a. spears, main road -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and VillagePainting - Maritime painting, The La Bella, 1980s
This painting of the “La Bella” is associated with Flagstaff Hill’s collection of artefacts from the wreck of the “La Bella”. It was painted around the 1980s by maritime artist Philip J. Gray. Some 15 – 17 ships are believed to have sunk in Lady Bay, but only two have been discovered on the seafloor; the “La Bella” and the “Edinburgh Castle”. Both wrecks are popular diving sites and are preserved as significant historical marine and marine archaeological sites. The Kosnar Picture Framing and Mirrors Shop identified the "GRAY 3135, Y04/111" as their job number for the framing and said that the label "ANOTHER KOSNAR FEATURE" was last used before about 1990. About artist Philip J. Gray “Philip is one of Australia’s leading maritime artists and his meticulous research and social commentary paintings of ships, such as, the Loch Ard and Schomberg form an important part of Warrnambool’s Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum.” [Dr Marion Manifold, Artist and Art Historian, 2014] Philip James Gray was born in London but has lived most of his life in Australia. He graduated from a London school of art as an illustrator, specialising in technical and scientific illustration as well as other commercial and applied art. He was also a student for a time of Fyffe Christie - British figurative artist, mural painter and humanitarian – who had a great influence on his career. Philip has always worked as a professional artist and illustrator. Many publications on maritime history have featured his work. His paintings have been released and sold all over the world as limited edition prints. The State Library of Victoria’s ‘Latrobe Collection’ holds two of his paintings. His street painting of ‘The Ashes Contest’ decorates the brick wall of Old Bakery Laneway in Sunbury and a Sunbury café owner commissioned him to paint the ‘Sunbury Pop Festival’ as a remembrance of local history. Philip has been an active member of the Sunbury Art Society in Victoria for several years, serving on the committee for some of that time and being involved in exhibitions. He enjoys helping new artists and sharing his skills and experience. About the “La Bella” The wreck of the La Bella lies at the bottom of the Warrnambool Harbour in Lady Bay. Some 15 ships are believed to have been wrecked there but only two have been discovered on the sea floor; the La Bella and the Edinburgh Castle. Both wrecks are popular diving sites and are preserved as significant historical marine and marine archaeological sites. The story of the final voyage of the La Bella is summarised as follows … The ship from which the sailors were rescued was the three-masted, iron and steel barquentine the La Bella, built in Norway in 1893. She was one of two iron and steel ships by Johan Smith, the company being one of the leading shipping families in Tvedestrand, Norway. She was significant to Norwegian shipping, being one of only 27 iron and steel ships ever built in Norway. La Bella was registered in New Zealand and engaged from 1902 in inter-colonial trading of timber in the pacific, between New Zealand and Australia and was often in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria. On 5th October 1905 the twelve year old La Bella left Lyttleton, New Zealand carrying a cargo of timber bound for Warrnambool, Australia . She was manned by a crew of twelve: the Master, (Captain Mylius, previously 1st Mate of La Bella, appointed Captain to La Bella on 6th February 1903) 2 Mates, Cook, six able seamen, one ordinary seaman and a boy. Bad weather en-route caused her to shelter at Burnie on Tasmania's North West coast. On November 10th, the 37th day of her journey, La Bella approached Warrnambool. Captain Mylius steered her towards Lady Bay Channel in heavy south-west seas and evening mist. He ordered the helmsman to steer for the light. As the ship came round, a tremendous sea struck her on the port quarter, causing her to breach broadside in a north-westerly direction into breakers. The helm was brought round twice more, but each time heavy seas broke over her, the third time throwing the La Bella on to a submerged reef in Lady Bay now known as La Bella Reef (about 100 yards from the Warrnambool breakwater). The sea was so rough that it even wrenched a one-and-a-half ton anchor from its fastenings and into the sea. As Captain Mylius headed to the steel wheelhouse, intending to send up a rocket flare, a huge sea slammed the steel door into him (resulting in massive bruising front and back) Despite his injuries he still managed to set off a blue light, which he held up in his hands. La Bella’s lifeboats were filled with sea water and broke up on their chocks. The blue light was the first indication to people on shore that there was a ship in distress. The Harbour Master, Captain Roe (who lived in the Harbour Master’s House opposite Flagstaff Hill), organised a group of volunteers to crew the lifeboat because the trained crew was unavailable; the crewmen were working on a steamer in Port Fairy at the time. He then poured oil onto the water to try and smooth the sea. At around 11pm three of the crew took shelter in the steel forecastle but the sea crashed into it and broke it up. While the rest of the crew and onlookers watched helplessly in the moonlight the bodies were washed away into the sea, never to be seen again. Some of the crew lashed themselves to the weather rail to keep from being washed away. Watson, the ordinary seaman, became tangled in the rigging lines and was too weak to move, so the 2nd Mate, Robertson, put a line onto him so that he wouldn’t wash off. Around 11pm three of the crew were unconscious from exhaustion. The situation on La Bella was becoming dangerous. The 2nd Mate moved to the ‘house’ and soon afterwards the ship slipped in the heavy sea. The lashings of the 1st Mate and the ‘boy’ Denham had kept them safe until about 2am when they were washed overboard; no one was able to help. One by one, the exhausted crew were being washed overboard, too weak to hold on any longer. During the night the La Bella had broken into two and the deckhouse ran out towards the sea. Two more men drowned when trying to reach the lifeboat. By sunrise the only survivors of the twelve were the Master, 2nd Mate and three seamen. Early in the morning Captain Roe used the rocket apparatus on shore to try and shoot a line to the ship for a safer rescue but each attempt fell short of the target. Several attempts were made by the lifeboat to rescue the stricken sailors, but the rough conditions made this difficult for the boat to get close enough to the ship and the lifeboat had to return to shore. During a final attempt to reach the ship Captain Mylius ordered his men to jump into the sea. Leonard Robertson, 2nd mate, jumped and swam towards the lifeboat, taking hold of the boat hook offered to him. Oscar Rosenholme managed to reach the boat floating on a piece of timber from the ship’s load and a third survivor, Noake, also made the boat. Along with the lifeboat rescue crew, 25 year old William Ferrier rowed his small dingy through the heavy seas and managed to rescue the Captain, whom he landed on the breakwater. Ferrier then returned to the ship to attempt a final rescue, losing his oars and rowlocks into the high sea. Using just a spare paddle he skulled towards the La Bella, reaching her stern in time to cut loose the lone surviving sailor, Payne, from the lashing that held him to the ship; the terrified sailor dropped from the ship and into the dingy. Shortly after the last man was rescued, the La Bella was lifted by a huge wave and crashed back down on the reef; she broke up and sank. The ordeal had lasted ten hours. The survivors were taken to the nearby Bay View Hotel and gratefully received warm food and clothing, medical attention and a place to sleep. In the following days an unidentified body of a young person was washed ashore; it was either Watson or Denham. The body was buried in the Warrnambool cemetery with an appropriate gravestone and inscription. William Ferrier became a national hero as news of the daring rescue spread. In recognition of his bravery in the two daring rescues he was awarded the Silver Medal for Bravery by the Royal Humane Society and was honoured in the letter from the Prime Minister and the Parliament of the Commonwealth, telegrams and a cheque for £20 from the Governor General, over £150 subscribed by the public, including Warrnambool and district and readers of The Argus, and a gold medal from the Glenelg Dinghy Club of South Australia. Ferrier’s rescue efforts are one of the most heroic in Victoria’s shipwreck history. (William Ferrier’s son, Frank, received a similar award almost fifty years later, when he helped rescue four members of the crew on the yacht Merlan, after it ran on to a reef near the Point Lonsdale Lighthouse. ) The wreck of La Bella now lies on her port side in 13 metres of sheltered water inside the reef she struck. The bow section is relatively intact and part of the stern has drifted north-easterly towards the mouth of the Hopkins River. The reef the La Bella struck now bears its name. Those five rescued from the La Bella were Captain George Mylius, Leonard Robertson (2nd Mate, 21 years old), R. Payne, Oscar Rosenholme and Jack Noake. Those seven who lost their lives were Mr Coulson (1st mate), Charles Jackman (cook) Gustave Johnson, Pierre Johann and Robert Gent (all able seamen), Harry Watson (ordinary seaman) and Jack Denham (ship’s boy). Captain Mylius was found guilty of careless navigation; he had sailed into the bay without the services of a pilot. His Master Certificate was suspended for twelve months. Later he was also charged with manslaughter of one of the crew who had died when the La Bella was wrecked, but found not guilty. The event’s adverse publicity and damage to his career took a toll on his health and he died of a heart attack six months after the wreck; he was only thirty-seven. His body was buried in the Melbourne General Cemetery. The La Bella was “the best documented of all sailing ships owned in New Zealand”. Her record books, ship logs, correspondence and supporting papers are still available. At the time of the tragedy she was owned by Messers David C.Turnbull and Co. of Timaru, New Zealand timber merchants and shipping agents, who had purchased her on 13th December 1901. A detailed account of the last journey of La Bella can be read in “Leonard Robertson, the Whangaroa & La Bella” written by Jack Churchouse, published in 1982 by Millwood Press Ltd, Wellington, NZ.This painting of the La Bella by Philip J. Gray is part of the La Bella Collection and is significant at both a local and state level. Its connection to the La Bella shipwreck and the rescue of five survivors highlights the dangers of Victoria’s Shipwreck Coast. The painting connects with other objects and artefacts associated with the wreck of the La Bella. This painting is significant because of its association with the sailing ship “La Bella” . the “La Bella” is of local and state and national significance. It is one of the only two shipwrecks discovered in Lady Bay, Warrnambool, out of the 15-17 shipwrecks in the bay. Large framed painting of the three masted barquentine "La Bella" fully rigged. Painted by Phillip J Gray. A fine printed line squares off the painting. Beneath painting and line is a gold plate with black copper plate designating "La Bella" is encased in glass, surrounded by a silver-metal frame. Yellow and brown paper label is adhered to back of painting. Picture framed by Kosnar in Melbourne."The La Bella" on gold plaque Logo of "K" inside a brown square. "GRAY 3135, Y04/111", "ANOTHER KOSNAR FEATURE" flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, painting, la bella, artist phillip j gray, maritime painting, lady bay warrnambool -
Unions BallaratLeaflets, pamphlets, periodicals, newspapers, cuttings and roneoed material retained by the Council, 1891-1962
TBATBATwo boxes, paper. 1. Anti-Hanging Committee - regarding hanging. 1962. 2. Ballarat Banking Co. Ltd. Chairman's address and 145th report. August 1954. 3. Country Municipal Association circular regarding conference on centralisation, Ballarat. 22 November 1916. 4. Geelong Town Band's weekly performance programme. n.d. 5. Ironmasters' Association of Victoria rules and regulations agreed upon at the General Iron Trades' Conference, Melbourne. 1891. 6. Melbourne Eight Hours Anniversary programme. 1901. 7. Museum of Applied Science of Victoria, on gas from our brown coal. n.d. 8. New Australian Trade Unionist Committee regarding rally to protect shooting of Polish workers. 195-? 9. Circular from Ballarat Trades and Labour Council to Ironmoulders' Society regarding the Congress. 1891. 10. List of subjects to be discussed at Congress. 11. Circular from Melbourne Trades Hall Council regarding financial help for Congress. 1891. 12. Reports of Standing Orders Committee appointed by the Congress, 23-29 April 1891. 13. Trade Mark Committee report. 14. Committee on Federation report. 15. Draft scheme of Federation (Australasian Federation of Labor). 16. Draft scheme of Federation (Australasian Federation of Labor) to the Labour Councils and Unions of Australasia. (2 copies.) 17. Asian and Pacific Regions Peace Conference, Peking, October 1962. Report on Peking, Melbourne. 1962. (2 copies). 18. Australian Bureau of Census and Statistics. Labour and Industrial Statistics, Melbourne. 1911. 19. Australia. Laws, Statutes, etc Trade Marks Bill, 1905. Workers' Trade Marks. Melbourne, 1905. 20. Australian Council of Trade Unions. Agenda paper for ... Congress, 1953. Melbourne, 1953. 21. Australian Labor Party. Work of the Labor government. Melbourne, 1928. 22. Australian Textile Union, Victorian Branch. Wages Sheet. Melbourne, 1953? 23. Baker, W.A. The Commonwealth Basic Wage. 1907-1953. Sydney, 1953? 24. Building Workers' Industrial Union. Building Workers support your convention. n.p. 1954? 25. Carters' and Drivers' Union. Committee of Management. Important to members of Carters and Drivers' Union. Melbourne, 1936. 26. Dougherty, Tom. Santamaria unmasked. Melbourne, 1954? 27. Eight Hours' Anniversary Sports Programme, 1893. Ballarat 1893. 28. Eight Hours' Anniversary Programme, 1894. Ballarat, 1894. 29. Fadden, Arthur W. The menace of political banking. Sydney, 1945. 30. Federated Clerks' Union, Victoria Branch. The Fennessy Story. The Braun Story. n.p., 1954. 31. Federated Clerks' Union, Victoria Branch. Manifesto, n.p., 1955. 32. Greater Ballarat Association. Seventeenth annual report. Ballarat, 1954. 33. Langridge, H.E. Employers in the Labor Party. Melbourne, 1914. 34. Metal Trades Federation. National Conference of Federal Council and delegates from State branches. Sydney, 1960. 35. Municipal Association of Victoria. Arbitration aware regarding employment of members of the Municipal Officers Association of Australia. Melbourne, 1950. 36. Municipality of the Town of Ballarat East. Annual report, 1919. Ballarat, 1919. 37. Plumbers and Gasfitters Employees' Association of Australia. Melbourne Branch. Why did Menzies abdicate when he had a working majority and 18 months to go? Melbourne, 1955? 38. Plumbers and Gasfitters Employees Union of Australia, Melbourne Branch. Who are the wreckers in the Australian Labor Party? Melbourne, 1955. 39. Spence, W.G. The ethics of New Unionism. Sydney, 1892. (42 copies) 40. Trades Hall Council, Melbourne. Statement of accounts, 1959. Melbourne, 1959. 41. Universal Business Directories (Australia) Pty. Ltd. Home edition for Ballarat. Melbourne, 1954. 42. Victoria, Apprenticeship Commission. Twenty-seventh annual report. Melbourne, 1956. 43. Victorian Labor College. Labor Colleges. Melbourne 191? (3 copies) 44. W.F. Williams. An appeal to the workers of Victoria. n.p., 19?? 45. Workers' Industrial Union of Australia. Preamble, classification and rules. Melbourne 1919? 46. ACTU Bulletin, 1955, Vol 2, No. 2 47. Amalgamated Engineering Union monthly journal, 1954, No. 3. March 48. American Economist, (New York), 1893, Vol 12, No 12, September 49. Australian Worker, (Sydney), 1955, Vol 64, No. 10, May; No. 15, September (held by ANU and at Trove online) 50. Building Workers' Organiser, official organ of the Building Trades Federation, 1954, June 51. Bulletin issued by the Economic Information Service, Melbourne. No. 2 1954, Nos. 10, September; 13 August; 1956, No 14, January 52. Ballarat Courier, 1890, Vol 46, No. 7096, April 53. Ballarat Star, 1888, Vol 33, No. 95, April 54. The Clerk, official journal of Federated Clerks' Union, Victorian Branch, 1955, Vol 10, No. 2, February/March 55. Common Cause, official journal of the Miners' Federation of Australia 1954 Vol 19, No. 10, March; No. 12, April 1955 Vol 20, No. 12, April; No. 19, May 1955 Vol 20, No. 23, June; No 28 July 1955 Vol 20, No. 29, August 1956 Vol 21, No. 17, May 56. Evening Echo, Ballarat, 1915, No. 6673, September 57. Evening Post, Ballarat, 1889, Vol 38, No. 6326, March 58. Industrial Herald, published by Labor Press, Geelong 1952 Vol 34, No. 35, June 1954 Vol 36, No. 20, March; No. 23, April 1954 No. 36, July; No. 39 July 1958 Vol 40, No. 19, March 59. Labor Call, published by Industrial Printing and Publicity Co., Melbourne. 1953, Vol 46, No. 2417, September 60. Labor Supplement. 1952, November 1954, February; March 61. Light, Ballarat diocesan journal. 1955, September. 62. Locomotive journal, published by the Australian Federated Union of Locomotive Enginemen. 1954, Vol. 16, No. 4, January. 63. People's Tribune Supplement, ed. by E.E. Jones, Melbourne. 1886, Vol 5, No. 20, April. 64. Railways' Union Gazette, published by J.D. Michie, Melbourne. 1919, June, Frank Byett in memoriam edition. 65. Rehab News issued by Central Ex-Servicemen's Office, Melbourne. 1946, Vol 2, No. 30, May. 66. Sheet Metal Workers, official organ of the Sheet Metal Working, Agricultural Implement and Stovemaking Union of Australia, Sydney. 1954, No. 107, February. 67. Socialist Comment, Socialist Party of Australia, Melbourne. 1937, No. 2, February. 68. Tocsin, A.L.P. Victorian Branch. 1955?, No. 2, October; No. 4, December. 1956, No. 5, February. 69. Tribune, CPA Sydney. 1965, No. 958, August. 70. UN World, published by Egbert White, New York. 1948, Vol 2, No. 11, December. 71. Miscellaneous newspaper cuttings. Posters 72. Eight Hours' Anniversary, Ballarat, 22 April 1892. 73. Eight Hours' Anniversary, Ballarat, 21 April 1894. 74. Eight Hours' Anniversary, Ballarat, 21 April 1913. 75A. Eight Hours' Anniversary, Ballarat, 3 April 1922. 75B. Electoral Rolls, persons entitled to be enrolled and to vote, 1922. 76. Progress, prospectus of debentures to publish a daily Labour paper to be called "Progress". 1904, Vol 1, No. 1, December. Cards 87. Smoke night social 88. Bi-election 89. How to vote card Roneoed material 77. Circular letter regarding new morning newspaper. n.d. 78. Circular letter from Trades Hall Council, Melbourne. 21 March 1955. 79. Article, History of the recent ALP dispute. n.d. 80. Article: What is freemasonry (from Ballarat St. Patrick's Gazette, October 1854). (2 copies) 81. Information summary of HRH Duke of Edinburgh's study conference on the human problems of industrial communities. ALP Broadcasts from Station 3KZ 82. Incentive payments by Norman A. Gibbs. 17 August 1953. 83. Escalating wages by F.J. Riley. 25 February 1954. 84. Margins by F.J. Riley. 4 March 1954. 85. Freezing margins by F.J. Riley. 17 March 1954. 86. The struggle across the Ages (No. 2) by F.J. Riley. 7 May 1954. ballarat trades and labour council, ballarat trades hall, unions, anti-hanging committee, hanging, ballarat banking co. ltd., country municipal association, geelong town band, ironmasters' association of victoria, general iron trades' conference, museum of applied science of victoria, new australian trade unionist committee, ironmoulders' society, melbourne trades hall council, btlc, intercolonial trades and labor union congress, 7th., trade mark committee report, committee on federation report, australasian federation of labor, asian and pacific regions peace conference, australian bureau of census and statistics, abs, australian bureau of statistics, trade marks bill, actu, australian council of trade unions, australian labor party, alp, australian textile union, w.a. baker, building workers' industrial union, carters and drivers' union, tom dougherty, eight hours' anniversary sports programme, labour and industrial statistics, workers' trade marks, building workers, santamaria, arthur w. fadden, federated clerks' union, fennessy, braun, greater ballarat association, h.e. langridge, metal trades federation, municipal association of victoria, ballarat east, plumbers and gasfitters employees' union of australia, menzies, w.g. spence, new unionism, universal business directories, victoria apprenticeship commission, victorian labor college, w.f. williams, workers' industrial union of australia. preamble, classification and rules. melbourne, 1919?, amalgamated engineering union, american economist, australian worker, building workers' organiser, building trades federation, economic information service, the courier, ballarat star, the clerk, common cause, miners' federation of australia, evening echo, evening post, industrial herald, labor call, labor supplement, light journal, locomotive journal, australian federated union of locomotive enginemen, people's tribune supplement, railways union gazette, frank hyett, rehab news, central ex-servicemen's office, sheet metal worker, sheet metal working, agricultural implement and stovemaking union of australia, socialist comment, tocsin, tribune, un world, eight hour anniversary, electoral rolls, progress, freemasonry, st patrick's gazette, hrh duke of edinburgh, incentive payments, wages, f.j. riley -
4th/19th Prince of Wales's Light Horse Regiment Unit History RoomPhoto Albums - set of two, c. 1919
Memorabilia of 908 Dvr Thomas Edward Whyte, 3rd Light Horse Field Ambulance, World War 1 READ THIS. During the last war I sent these pictures home through devious channels. When I lobbed back I found them all pasted in these albums by my young brother Billy. He was only a kid then! Nowadays he is serving up North. Went away with the original 9th Battn. Was in the Blitz on England and served in Libya, Tobruk, Greece, Crete and Palestine and was twice knocked. It's not long since the last upheaval 1914-18 and I wonder if these boys think as we did. This will be the last war? I sincerely hope so. TWSet of two photo albums. Photos pasted into albums with captions in white ink. Photo captions - Vol 1. (? = not legible) 1. Prisoners from ES SALT 2. Dust scene at AUJA FORD. 4th LH BDE 3. ? ? CHEOPS PYRAMID 4. Houses and domain WASSA battle 5 .Pontoon at SERAPELAI 6. SPINX (sic) & PYRAMID 7. The Nile floods occur once yearly and all irrigation centres are alternatively flooded 8. Pontoon bridge over SUEZ Canal at SERAPEUM . Constructed by Aust Engineers 9. The arrival of newspapers and mail 10. Lake IIMSAH-ISMALIA 11. Camp outside Jerusalem. Walls of old city easily discernible 12. Roman walls on beach at MONTAZEH 13. ? ? These boats are used for conveying between steamer & shore 14. Interest shown in the new issue. Through the scarcity of horses Batmen/Grooms and drivers ? allotted donkeys ? ? 15. DAMASCUS GATE JERUSALEM 16. Trumpeter ? 17 Indians making ? for railroad 18. 'SPELLO' Sinai Country 19. Police searching Egyptian labourer 20. Cavalry ?? SHA? 21. Entering ? WADI ? 22. Bedouins at ? 23 No caption 24 No caption 25 Bolar trees EZBEKIEH Gardens CAIRO 26 .Flamingos at NOUZEH Gardens ALEXANDRIA 27 BARAGE 28 KASR-ELNILL Bridge 29 NOUZEH GARDENS 30 AMGS on beach at ? 31 NOUZEH GARDENS - ALEX 32 Mascot of 7th M.V.G. 3RD ALHR 33 Printing on walls inside St Mary's Church. Depicting the Flight from Herod. (Corner torn off photo) 34 Inside Virgin Mary's Church at MATARA 35 ? painting in Church ?? 36 SUEZ Canal. Finish of Arab pony race. ZAL-A-ZIA 37 Admiralty offices at PORT SAID 38 A corner of CHEOP"s PYRAMID 39 The Spinx (sic). Nose was blown off by a shell from one of Napoleon's guns. 40 Monastry on the MT of TEMPTATION 41 Mess orderlies. Foodstuffs in locker given to troops by the AIF 42 Mid day meal on treck 43 Ambulance sand carts for conveying wounded and sick over desert sand 44 3rd ALHB 45 Kaisers Church JERUSALEM. Inside is a large painting figuring the Kaiser & Kaiserine holding a model church. 46 Bedouin women drawing water from well at EL-ARISH 47 2nd ALH BGDE doing route march on JERUSALEM-JERICHO ROAD 48 GEN HODSON GOC Anzac Mounted Divn presenting decorations & investitures on the sands at SHEIKS-ZOWAID 49 Armoured Car 50 Snow at the CEEDERS (sic) on Mt LEBANON 51 Compulsory phenyle bath for all troops in front line area 52 Austrian guns taken at point of bayonet by NZ & 2nd BGDE at GAZA 53 CACHOLETS for carrying wounded 54 The boys found some timber and made a spring board on SUEZ Canal 55 Bedouin wedding. The Bride travels in state amongst rubbish on top of camel. Her father leads conveyance. 56 Australian graves at SHALLAL 57 Camel Transport Company bring rations along beach 58 Billy the mascot holds an offensive & checks advancement 59 Exercising horses at HELMIEH Egypt 60 PONT-DE-QUOBBA Egypt. A suburb of well-to-do Egyptian merchants 61 Demolition stunt at ASLU. Bridge destroyed by Australian Engineers 62 Swimming horses in Great Bitter Lakes Egypt 63 On the move along Wadi 64 On the shores of the Bitter Lakes EL-EGYTE 65 A leave party waiting for the pontoon to swing into position 66 Carting grain 67 Egyptian Brass Band 68 French warboat (sic) in Canal 69 Russian Troops from Mesopotamia passing through SUEZ Canal 70 Prisoners coming in under escort. Turkish & German officers in lead mounted on ponies 71 Turkish prisoners 72 T.B.D in Canal 73 Old trenches on SUEZ CANAL near BITTER LAKES on W Bank 74 Monitor in Canal 75 Block house, trenches & entanglements near Post 62 76 A halt in an Egyptian village EL-MARO' 77 Mobile wireless plant 78 On the road from Canal to Railhead 79 Old Turkish guns in ancient fort at ALEXANDRIA 80 Francenia steaming through Canal 81 After MAGHDABA stunt. Convoy taking wounded form EL-ARISH to railway at 139 82 Indian Camelry 83 Virgin Mary's Church 84 Sluice gate at BARAGE Egypt 85 Hospital at lower W bank of Canal 86 Virgin Mary's tree 87 Sweetwater Canal at ISMAILIA Egypt 88 Halt and Feed. The A.M.C. attached to flying column. 89 Bringing stores ashore at JAFFA 90 H Videon & J Britton astride donks. Horses became scarce through casualties etc and units had donkeys issued to them 91 RAMLEH. The traditional burial place of St John the patron saint of England (sic). 92 Jewish Synagogue at RISHON-COUR-LE-LION (Richard the Lion Hearted) 93 Water tower at HELIOPOLIS 94 Portion of camp on HELIOPOLIS Racecourse 95 Arrival of papers 96 Sand sleigh 97 Boring plant & prisoners taken on the JIFF-JAFFA stunt. Two Austrian officers and party of Turks taken whilst building a concrete gun emplacement 98 The obelisk at MATARIA 99 In an avenue of Australian gums at ZEITOUA 100 Mountain battery gun 101 The 3rd ALH BGDE camped at HELIOPOLIS Racecourse 102 Captured Turkish guns 103 Turkish and Austrian prisoners. JORDAN VALLEY 104 The MT of Temptation Monastery built over spot where Christ spent his 40 days 105 Refugees from ES-SALT at JERICHO 106 3rd LHFA and 8th LH REGT at HELIOPOLIS 107 Fig trees at Roman Wells JIFF JAFFA 108 Inside the Blue Mosque CAIRO 109 Lagoon that was destroyed on JIFF JAFFA stunt 110 Section race at Brigade sports 111 Another tombstone at ALEX 112 Innoculating female date palm 113 Bronze tombstone in a cemetary at ALEXANDRIA 114 Luna Park at HELIOPOLIS 115 Egyptian water buffalo. Used by natives for ploughing etc 116 Russian church. Some call it the "Church of St Mary Magdelene" 117 At pyramids GIZA. Billingsley lost leg & McMullin KIA 118 Pontoon bridge over Suez Canal 119 DURBAN 120 Rescue work 121 Paddy Hanly 122 Motor train for conveying rations between Canal and Railhead. 123 At MUCKSHUBE ? 124 British ??? 125 Bedouins bringing in their harvest from the fields of ABBASSAN-EL-KEBIR Palestine 126 German HD QTRS BEERSHEBA 127 Date ? SINAI 128 Military railroad running through ? at EL-ARISH 129 Street scene at KHAN-YUNIS Palestine. Samson often called at this place to visit his girl. Napoleon narrowly escaped capture here during his ? in 1799 130 Date palms bearing fruit. These do not ? they are ?? 131 Motor ambulance convoy 132 Turkish hospital BEERSHEBA 133 MT CALVARY 134 Town Hall BEERSHEBA 135 Railway station BEERSHEBA 136 ASLUJ 137 Turkish depot MAGDABA 138 DURAN 139 3rd ALAB Hospital 140 Main Street PORT SAID 141 Stock Exchange ALEXANDRIA 142 The "Bull Ring" 14th AGH 143 (Double exposure) 144 Jewish School at DURAN Palestine 145 Damascus Gate JERUSALEM 146 Roller used for grinding clay for making bricks 147 The Harbour at ALEXANDRIA 148 Part of Napoleons Road along sea shore opposite BEELAH 149 Hotel at ALEX. Barred to the troops of course. 150 HELIOPOLIS 151 -153 ALEXANDRIA 154 Ambulance treck 155 Cacholets at the casually clearing station 156 Refugees from ES-SALT entering the Jordan Valley. Mts of MOAB in background 157 Cameliers bring in prisoners 158 The "Niagara". Casualties were from the front line by all descriptions of transport and passed through several field hospitals until they eventually reached the railway. They were sent to KANTARA by train. Despatched from there to PORT SAID by this boat 159 JERICHO 160 Turkish prisoners in JORDAN VALLEY 161 Bedouin nippers of SINAI 162 Bridge destroyed by ALH at ASLUJ 163 Railway sheds at BEERSHEBA. Portion was set afire by retreating Turks 164 ASLUJ Station 165 German Hospice 166 at ASLUJ 167 Suez Canal offices PORT SAID 168 MENA Village from top of Cheops. White lines at left are roads made by Australian troop. First Aust Contingent camped here. 169 A felukeh passing through gate at BARAGE 170 Military railway terminal EL ARISH 171 (No caption) 172 Egyptian family waiting for a train 173 Turkish prisoners and captured material coming in 174 Turkish wounded at BEERSHEBA awaiting removal 175 Two hospital ships at ALEXANDRIA 176 Some of the Bd boys 177 Race meeting 3rd ALHB at TRIPOLI- SYRIA 178 The blacksmith and Rodney Thomas swimming horse in SUEZ CANAL 179 Natives grinding grain 180 Thoroughbred 181 MUKATTAM HILLS 182 Trenches at JIFF JAFFA 183 MacBoyd as a Padre 184 Egyptian Syce having shave by travelling barber 185 The creek outside ALMINA 186 Cameliers 187 Clearing Station on beach at EL-ARISH 188 Wadi at TALLAT-EL-DUMM 189 Motor transport park 190 Some of the boys 191 Pompeys Pillar 192 at MAGHDABA 193 Hospital at JERUSALEM 194 Cheop's Pyramid 195 Golden Gate JERUSALEM 196 Hustling Turks through BEERSHEBA 197 Holy City 198 Mosque of Omar Jerusalem 199 Railway bridge destroyed by ALH at ASLUJ 200 Enemy material captured at SHERIA BEERSHEBA 201-3 These Mosques built with alabaster taken from pyramids at GIZA 204 Pontoon bridge built by our Engineers over RIVER JORDAN 205 3rd Bgde in Koil at MASAID 206 Billy McGhie throwing the weight 207 Nirazeh ? Gardens 208 Motor Ambulance Park 209 Bedouin women in Palestine village 210 ALEXANDRIA 211 Junction Stn 212 Indian Lancers 213 Motor convoy at ESSANI 214 A & B Sections 215 JERUSALEM. Once known as the 'City of Palms' and presented to Cleopatra by Anthony 216 Monastery on the Mount of Temptation. Situated on the Hills of Solomon on E side of Jordan Valley just behind JERICHO 217 DURAN A Jewish village in Palestine 218 One of our planes meets with a mishap on landing 219 Bedouin flocks around NABLUS 220 ES-SALT Road just above Jordan River 221 Halt! Action Front! Getting guns into action from pack 222 Village well 223 Gun inspection 224 WADI GHUZZEE Bridge 225-6 At GIZA Zoo Egypt 227 Syrians gathering olives 228 Smashed plane 229 MacBoyd 230 Bridge across Jordan at GORRONHOER 231 Competitors for Gretna Green. 3rd Bgde sports at TRIPOLIA 232 EL ARISH 233 Main street JAFFA 234 The beach at MARI-KHEB 235 Scene of old Cairo 236 Bedouin market 237 Bridge built over Wadi EL-ARISH. The biblical "River of Egypt". 238 Old water reservoir in native village 239 A "spello" on the track 240 Plane going out on reconnaissance 241 Bomb attached to carrier on a plane 242 Ancient Turkish gun at forts in TRIPOLI - SYRIA 243 Gun inspection 3rd AMGS 244 Old Turkish trenches outside GAZA 245 Wadi KHUZEL Bridge at SHALLA 246 BEERSHEBA 247 Street scene ZAG-A-ZIG 248 Spinx (sic) & Pyramid - GIZA 249 Egyptian Coastguards at ALEXANDRIA 250 A Palestine camp E Troop 3rd MG Sqn 251 B class horses killed in Syria 252 Scene from summit of Pyramid 253 Bert Richmond & an old Turkish Howitzer on MONTAZEH 254 LION'S WELL 255 Australian trenches outside Ferry's Post near Hill 70 256 A street scene in HELIO{PLIS 257 Electric trams at ALEXANDRIA 258 Cleaning harness 259 Swinging pontoon bridge into position at SERAPEUM 260 British Monitor in Suez Canal 261-2 Scenes of Turkish buildings at MAGHDABA. Taken by the ALH The first time in history mounted troops have attacked and taken entrenched positions 263 Aussies at Egypt's ancient monuments 264 Scenes of old CAIRO from MOKATTAM Hils 265 Bridge across canal at BARAGE, 16 miles outside CAIRO 266 Curly and Vic Norton 267 Stumpy McIntyre & Long Pikington 268 In Wadi GHUZZEL near TELL-EL-JEMM 269 Digging post holes for stables 270 Cameliers bring in prisoner. Austrian Officer in black 271 White washing mess shed 272 F Troop 3rd AMGS Sqn 273 Jews at Recruiting Depot at JERUSALEM, forming Jewish Battalion 274 In Jordan Valley, 3rd Machine Gunners have 8 horses killed by an aerial torpedo 275 Turkish prisoners 276 Cocos Island 277 Snow on the Lebanon Ranges 278 Egyptian Hotel 279 Gordon Wake. Note intruders 280 Electric trams at HELIOPOLIS Egypt. Heliopolis built by Belgian firm in 7 years 281 Sweetwater Canal at SERAPEUM 282 The ? wells at JIFF-JAFFA 283 Virgin Mary's well at MATARIA. Boyd, Simpkin & Crowley 284 Cricket for convalescents at MONTAREH 285 Indians working at cutting for military railway 286 Australian Hospital BEERSHEBA 287 Removing wrecked ambulance car from rail road 288 Engineers depot in ? at EL-ARISH 289 Water preservation scheme at SHALLAL 290 German Princes Palace at HELIOPOLOLIS 291 Some of the boys 292 Aussie aerodrome BEELAH 293 EL-JALLAH outside BETHLEHEM 294 Some of the gunners 295 Trying camels in gun carriages. Note sand caterpillar 296 Street outside old city JERUSALEM 297 D.H QRS In EL-ARISH. Hod 298 Cairo Museum 299 Wadi bridge built by Army Engineers 300 A two storied building at GALM used as German HQrs until reached by our guns 301-2 No caption 303 Ambulance with Flying Column 304 Jack Pegg 3 AMGS 305 KHAN YUNIS 306 In the Jewish village of "Rischon le Lion" 307 Wet Canteen BEELAH 308 Motor Transport LATRON 309 Gen Chauvel OC Desert Mounted Column 310 10th LH - Inverness Battery "Railhead" 311 3rd LHFA "SERAPIUM" 312 ESBEKIEN Gardens "LE CAIRE" 313 Camel training and wireless station Hill 60 314 ZAG-A-ZIG Rly Stn 315 One of the Irrigation Canal locks "HELOUAN" 316 Indian Camel Corps 317 Base at Hill 60 318 Aussie transport arriving "ALEXANDRIA" 319 3 ALHB at AL MINA 320 Main entry to city of JAFFA 321 Mosque at DAMASCUS 322 A Turk brought to earth by one of our patrols 323 Brigade boxing contrst 324 Ostrich farm ZEITOUN 325 MATERIA 326 No caption 327 Mail day 328 3rd LHFA entering HELIOPOLIS from MENA 329 M Boyd, L Simpkins, S Crowley 330 Stretcher bearers 331 French Hosp JERUSALEM 332 SERAPIUM 333 Gippo crushing wheel 334 On the move - bully and biscuits 335 V Morton, F Stokes, L Simpkins & Hanley 336 Turkish prisoners - SHERIA 337 Getting used to the mask J Antonio MM 338 Sand carts 339 Model house - MONTAZA Hospital 340 "Abdul" 341 Wood Depot "ESDUD" 342 On troop ship - from Syria 343 Turkish prisoners "JULIUS" 344 TRIPOLI 345 3rd AMGS cook house "BEELAH" 346 Breaking camp "ZEITOUN" 347 Turkish prisoners "GAZA" 348 One of our tanks. About nine were blown out of action at GAZA 349 Camp in HOD-EL-ARISH 350 German HQRS BEERSHEBA 351 Race Course TRIPOLI 352 A Locke & P Leeming 353 Sea planing in Suez Canal 354 MOASCR detail camp 355 KANTARE Suez Canal 356 Four boys of MG Sqn at cards while convalescing . Marked X was a prisoner of war for three days. Got him back with us when we countered. 357 Signal station at CANA 358 H Videon in german rig 359 ROD-EL-FARAC 360 Sweetwater Canal ZAG-A-ZOG 361 Hospital train on beach EL-ARISH 362 Jerusalem Road 363 Bedouin camel and young'un 364 Admiralty Offices, PORT SAID 365 Suez Canal PORT SAID 366 Taking wounded to clearing station 367 Hills of 10-60 MALHA 368 Junction Station 369 EL ARISH 370 Wine Distillery LATRON 371 White figures how entrance to Pyramid 372 RAPC Wireless Station 373 Sports in Canal. ANZAC Day 1916. Prince of Wales is aboard white launch. 374-5 Captured Austrian boat. 40,000 cases of benzine aboard. She was brought into Canal at Port Said. Spies set her afire. She burnt for some considerable time and eventually blew up. 376 Pumping water from Wadi on Muckshabee stunt 377 On trenches 378 Bringing in disabled battle plane 379 Giving a motor transport a lift 380 Old Turkish howitzer. MONTAZZA 381 Jerusalem country 382 Palm Hod in SINAI. Trees do not bear dates until 14 years old. No bees here. Palms innoculated by Bedouin. 383 Camel cacolets for conveying wounded 384 ESKBEKIEL Gardens Cairo 385 LAKE TIMBAH 386 Xmas dinner 1916 387 Gift billies from ACF 388 Section competition 389 In big marquees HELIOPOLIS 390 HM Landships 391 Capt Aberdeen inspecting horses 392 Football. Black vs White 393 The game 394 Old Napoleon fort. 10 mile along coast from ALEX 395 Jewish Cemetery AKRON 396 Ration fatigue 397 Blowing bottom out of Turkish Reservoir to allow soakage 398 Tilley & Farley - 14th AGH 399 At GIZA Zoo. Note height of giraffe 400 On this stunt we destroyed Turkish reservoir of 2 1/2 million gallons 401 Demolition party at wells MUCK-SHUBE 402 3rd ALH Bde HELIOPOLIS Race course 403 HMLS "Lady Wingate" 404 Turks blew out our tanks at GAZA 405 One of our aviators captured by German. Note German wearing Iron Cross. Snapped behind Turkish lines. Original of this snap was dropped at Aust aerodrome to let them know Aussie airman was alright and not killed in capture. Chivalry 406 Sausage observation balloon 407 READY 408 Bomb on carrier 409 Testing 410 B Richmond, Wireless Operator RAFC 411 Loading Bomb 412 Crash in desert 413 Bomb in YMCA at MAZRAR 414 No caption 415 LW Simpkin - Late 3LHFA 416 LEMNOS 417 Shelling the MARSDEN 418 Pontoon across Jordan River 419 Shells on Walkers Ridge 420 Sweetwater Canal 421 LAKE ISMAILIA 422 Indian Lancers on Canal 423 CAIRO Railway Station 424 Destroying Turkish water supplies. Explosives used for breaking clay at bottom of lagoon, help to absorb water 425 Exercising horses at ZEITOUN Egypt 426 In Wadi on MUG-SHUBEE stunt 427 Tractor drawing 60 lb gun towards front line 428 Sultan's mother's place at HELIOPOLIS = City of the Sun 429 Camped on the sands outside RAILHEAD, Jump off for SINAI campaign 430 G Turner & A Lockwood out for a camel ride. 431 GAZA and Nile floods from top of Pyramid 432 Baby refuses to carry his harness and his pal wears an astonished look 433 No caption 434 Turkish Officers 435 Regt HQRS at IBEETA 436 No caption 437 3rd Machine Gun Squadron 3rd ALH Bgde (my unit) 438 Camel Corps at dinner 439 KHEFREN Pyramid snapped from top of Cheops 440 CHEOPS 441 Pyramids 442 MENA from top of Pyramids 443 Snap from Pyramid showing MENA-CAIRO road running through Nile floods 444 MENA village from Pyramid 445 Band of British West Indies Regt 446 Gippo Band 447 Swimming on Med Sea 102 KmA 448 H Maddocks 449 Bedouin and Egyptians utilise any animals for their fields 450 Captured Turkish train - BEERSHEBA 451 Gardens ISMAILIA 452 Gippos used for horse lines etc 453 Canteens at HELIOPOLIS 454 3 ALHB watering in Wadi on ESSANI stunt 454 JAFFA 455 ALEX, Napoleon relics 456 Egyptian water wheel 457 SUEZ 458 WADI GHUZZEE 459 On Reconnaissance at 10-60 460 Goats and sheep captured from hostile Bedouins 461 Pontoon SERAPIUM 462 Aust trenches - Suez Canal. Turks attacked FEB 1916 463 Camel transport 464 3 ALHB Wireless Station. Col Scott 9 LH got DSO on this stunt (MUCK SHUBE) 465 ALEXANDRIA 466 Canal Hospital Ships 467 Ambulance - Sand cart 468 At old Cairo 469 No 1 Casualty Clearing Station 470 3rd Brigade on move 471 3rd LHFB- Making camp SERAPIUM 472 Watering horses 473 Moving up wadi 474 The wells at Wadi GHUZZEE 475 Camel transport SINAI 476 Turkish reservoir destroyed by ALH 477 Wall in a Luxor tomb 478 Entrance to "Temple of Bulls" 479 Bob White 480 Bedouin crops 481 Harem of Montazza, Turkish prince 482 Jack Holmes, Billy McGhee 483 MUDERIA, B Troop post 484 JIFF JAFFA 485 Natives on railroad construction 486 Aust graves SHALLAL 487 The Stumpy Mirror 488 R Nile at MANSUREH 489 Aust graves - BEELAH 490 NOUZEH Gardens - ALEXANDRIA 491 On issue from QMS. Take what comes. Fit does not matter 492 MATARA 493 German Yacht Club - ALEX 494 Old Turkish Howitzer and cannon ball 495 Field hospital 496 Gardens at BARAGE 497 A dispute's ending 498 Snow. MT LEBANON 499 Bedouin sheep 500 Combat in the air 501 no caption 502 Old Napoleon gun 503 Gordon Wake HQ car 504-5 Burying the dead at GAZA 506 Water Polo 507 Brigade boxing comp 508 Field cooker 509 Bridge on Jerusalem road, Blown up by Turks 510 Teaching horses to lay quiet. For protective purposes 511 "Major" and "Bitsy" 512 Bedouin Scarabs 513 Convalescent 514 1. W Billings. Returned to Aust 2. W McMahon KIA 515 Hospital 516 Coming good 517 1st day up - 14th AGH PORT SAID 518 Back again in Regt 519 Billy and Taffy 520 Stew 521 KHAN YUNIS 522 MENA 523 Casualties PORT SAID 524 Washing 525 Mail 526 Gun from the "Emden" mounted in Syney 527 MARSURES 528 Desert bivouac 529 HASSED 530 3RD ALH Bde. Good camp (Extra) All conv's 531 New issue 532 On to another camp (8 LH Regt) 533 Shore - JAFFA on MED SEA Photo Captions Volume 2 (Illegible = ?) 1 The Cedars on Mt Lebanon, according to tradition originated from the staves of the 12 Apostles 2000 years ago. 2 TIBERIUS taken 27th Sept '18 3 NAZARETH taken 20th Sept. German officer and Arab pony 4 TIBERIUS fell on 27th Sep. Von Saunders was the GOC of Turkish Forces in Palestine 5 Jordan Valley & Plains of Jericho run between Mts of Moab & Hills of Solomon. Distance across valley from foot of each range of hills abt 13 miles, looks ? 6 Storm on Sea of Galilee 7 DAMASCUS fell on 1st October. German vehicle park. 8 German funeral near Jerusalem 9 JENIN. German Headquarters. Fell 20th Sept. German field bakery 10 Three pages back will be seen a storm on GALILEE. Note now calm here. This photo taken near spot from which the previous one was taken. German motor launch on Galilee. 11 Captured intact on 20th Sept. German workshops JENIN 12 Turkish aerodrome captured here. Hostile aircraft landed whilst it was in our hands. Aviators greatly surprised and even indignant. Motor smash near EL FULE. 13 German Orderly Room (Ammunition box full of gold), DAMASCUS. All this gold Turkish coin secured by our troops. 14 German artillery on the way to the front near KENETRA. The ALH swooped down on the artillery around this vicinity & captured many field guns. 15 German Despatch Rider on the road to ES SALT. Unsuccessful raids carried out on ES SALT on 30th April & 4th May. This country was hard on men and horses. Goat tracks were used at times but horse were led most of the time. Stunt lasted 14 days in wet weather & horses were only unsaddled for about 2 hours during stunt. 16 Strand, ? , Tiberius, Gallilee 17 German workshop. Captured by ALH 18 One of the dead lying outside GAZA. Killed 19th April 17. We could not bury them before November 19 Some of the boys that fell in the charge at BEERSHEBA. Tibby Cotter 20 Collecting our dead for burial. They were K in A on the 19th April at GAZA. Buried seven months later, 23,000 casualties in one day 21 German U-Boat 22 Page of postage stamps and money - Struck to commemorate Gallipoli victory - Turkish war postage stamps - War duty - Turkish war bank notes 23 Pamphlet. With paper badges affixed These badges were worn by young Egyptian students. Arabic translation means "Egypt for Egyptians Long Live Egypt" This pamphlet was printed under German influence & distributed around ZAG-A-ZIG, the chief centre of hostilities during the recent Egyptian riots. The Young Egyptian Students influenced the Natives to oppose British Administration, what they called Tyranny. They professed to have sufficient competent educated men to govern their own affairs, but our Heads would not hear of it. Consequently the riots. Many ? and soldiers killed. All railways and communications disorganised. It took several months to bring things to their normal ? Pictures of medals 1. In honour of General Falkenhaugh GOC Turkish Forces 2. The Victorious Emperors of Germany, Austria and Turkey 3. Egypt Awakening 24 Those large photographs I sent you were procured for me by a pal who knew the chap that owned the negatives. The owner of these snaps belongs to the 5th Regiment of the 2nd Brigade, and he took the camera from a Turkish Officer. It had only 6 snaps of a spool of 10, and the BIll Jim finished off the spool by taking 4 of the special entry into Jerusalem. The cross indicates those taken by the Australian, the remainder were taken by the Jackos in the vicinity of BEERSHEBA and SHERIA Turkish field bakery 25 Cavalry going up to support their own line. However never had much action against the Turkish horsemen 26 Turkish Electricians in the field. I have an idea that this photo was taken to get the centre figure. He looks dinkum Australian. Note Australian leggings on Turk on the right 27 Turkish machine gunners ready for action. This is very much like the Beersheba country. Turkish officers on the right, and along side him is the range taker with his Barand Stroud. We use these instruments in the Sqn and they cost about 83 (Pound) 28 Turkish General Head Quarters just beyond SHERIA. Note hard rocky country 29 Turkish Cavalry watching a fight and getting ready to go into action. This is at SHERIA, and the heavy fighting lasted several days. Plenty of water and the Jacko's tried their hardest to hold on to this pozzie. Often our chaps met the gamer Turks in the dead of night, because both sides were on the same game, crawling down for water. This stunt is known as the Junction Fight. 30 Official entry Dec 11th. The official entry into Jerusalem. Sir G Allenby in the lead with his staff officers of the French and Italian troops accompanying him. Guard represents New Zealand, Australia, England Wales Scotland Ireland and India entering theJaffa Gate 31 Sir Ronald Storrs made Governor of JERU. Captured 9th Dec 17. Reading the Proclamation, General Allenby wearing white breeches. Troops of other nations were present, and the notables of Jerusalem. It was read from the foot of the Tower of David, a place that has been standing since the time of Christ 32 The first of the British troops entering Jerusalem. A few Turkish officers may b seen walking at the head of the column. Populace in a bad plight, very poor and no tucker, and all were greatly overjoyed at the ?? of the British Hundreds and kiddies ill treated ?? (Part of caption missing) 33 10th LH Regt first to enter JERUSALEM. Mounted officer on the right supposed to be the CO of the first troops to enter Jerusalem. Note mud on the horses. Had very wet and muddy weather 34 Dead Jacko 35 Turkish machine gun and crew 36 Hanging Armenian doctors who refused to join Turkish Army 37 Outside Damascus Gate Jerusalem 38 Turkish patrol lying outside trench at EL BUAJ 39 Burying Aussies at DAMASCUS 40 1. Djemel Pasha 2. General Limon Von Saunders GOC Turkish Forces in Palestine 41 One execution in Egypt. Executing an Egyptian offender 42 Turkish atrocities DAMASCUS 43 Turks occupying trenches outside JERICHO 44 On ASLUJ demolition stunt. Feeding and spelling. Arrived at Rendezvous too early 45 Turkish saw bayonet 46 Captured guns taken at BEERSHEBA & SHERIA 47 Our gunners obtained a direct hit on ammunition train 48 The large and small of the game. At GAZA. 74th CCS in background 49 Around JULIOUS. These Turkish shell dumps were very numerous around this vicinity 50 Captured Turkish Cavalry 51 Cavalry leaders 52 Turkish machine gun & crew 53 Enemy officers. One on left is wearing Iron Cross ribbon 54 Captured Austrian boat afire, Suez Canal Port Said. 40,000 cases of benzine aboard. Fire a mysterious outbreak 55 ? Hotchkiss gunners and enemy aircraft over ? TELL-EL-FARA 56 Types of enemy officers. One of our bikes in their possession. Recaptured later. The five pointed medals worn by these officers is called the Gallipoli Star. Issued to commemorate the Turkish victory at Gallipoli 57 Our batteries put in some good shooting amongst Turkish transport 58 Showing compactness of Turkish trenches 59 Desert homes. The only time we had cover in SINAI was when we camped near a Hod. Then we could use date palm leaves 60 JIFF JAFFA 61 ZAITZOUN 62 10th Regt MGS amongst hills outside JERUSALEM 63 Jews wailing place JERUSALEM 64-5 German post card characters 66 Post Card PHYLAE The Kiosk 67 Post Card Vue du Canal de Suez 68 Post Card No 93 Queen Street, Fort, Colombo 69 Snipers at NALIN Sth Syria. Lousy country for richochets. Nast wounds. (Aust War Memorial Melbourne) 70 Myself on Ginger. This little neddie is boshter jumper 71 Magazine cutting - Lt C H Vautin & German airman G Felmy 72 9th Regt 3rd LHB Judean Hills outside JERUSALEM. (Aust War memorial Melbourne) 73 Sand hills SINAI ? Desert (Aust War Memorial Melbourne) 74 3rd LHB spelling at GALILEE (AWM Melbourne) 75 Jordan Valley outside JERICHO (AWM Melbourne) - lovely Jordan Valley, dust and heat, 1280 ft below sea level 76 Copy of no 69 77 Watering at MATARIA 78 A desert grave - Tpr H R Olver MM 6th LH MGS Beneath this simple cross there lies a comrade true and tried He fought as fights a soldier And like a soldier died 79 B Section. When they first took our Stetsons and issued cumbersome helmets 80 Palestine types of Turkish and German officers 81 Some of the gunners amongst the snows in MT LEBANON 82 The country around JERUSALEM 83 JERUSALEM 84 Fishing ? ? at GALLILEE 85 Jerusalem taken Dec 9th. Official entry on the 11th. Jerusalem (showing) Holy City and Mosque of Omar 86 Turkish shell hits old tomb at ZERNUKAH. Capt Hurley official photographer - AWM Melbourne 87 14th AGH at PORT SAID 88 Human bones at Dead City ABBASSIA 89 3rd ALH Bde at HELIOPOLIS 90 Men wearing gloves 91 Wireless station in course of erection at MATARIA - 28 masts 92 Old slave market at ABBRASSIA. Many excavations performed on projecting wooden frame at corners 93 3rd guns on the move. The beautiful scenery between LATRON & JERUSALEM 94 Bedouin agents 95 Collecting captured enemy material 96 Captured double-engined plane 97 On the march. Country at Eastern SINAI 98 Anzac mosaic found at SHALLAL whilst trench digging now covered with gun etc ready for removal. Was sent to Canberra. 99 A Troop watering. A rotten job at a small well when horses are thirsty 100 The new Jericho road. Running through Hills of Solomon Valley in distance 101 Gun inspection 102 Draining pools at WADI AUJA. Keeping down Malaria carrying mosquitos 103 8th Regt and 3rd AMGS at BEELAH 104 A rendezvous in the Jordan Valley 105 2nd ALHB camped outside JERUSALEM 106 WADI AUJA in the Jordan Valley 107 Hospital train on the beach at EL -ARISH 108 Jacko's 109 Jerries 110 Stables of Turkish Headquarters SHALLAL 111 Early training. Every man to throw and quieten his horse for purpose of taking cover 112 A Troop 3rd Guns at TAALAT-EL-DUMM 113 Watering at WADI GHUZZEE 114 J Rushden KIA at ES-SALT 115 J Carling F Troop 3rd AMGS. Taken prisoner at EL-BURJ. Repatriated after Armistace 116 Captured enemy plane 117 Jacko gun 118 Brig-Gen Galloping Jack Royston. OC 3rd ALH Bde 119 Cleaning ammunition belts in the Hod at MASAID 120 Bringing up the fodder at ABBASSAN-EL-KEBIA 121 Some of the boys amongst the snow on MT LEBANON 122 Turkish barley crops at SHALLAL in Southern Palestine 123 The crops a few weeks after our horses had been in this vicinity 124 Clearing up after a stunt 125 On the move. 5 minute spells for the horses 126 In Jordan Valley. An airial torpedo lobbed amongst 3rd MG Transport horses & killed 28 127 Camel ration convoy coming along beach 128 Field Hospital at ET MALER 129 Desert graves at ROMANI 130 A day on the beach. Wash self, horse and clothing 131 Watering on the beach at BEELAH. Note how close fresh water is to the seashore 132 A patrol caught by a shell 133 Spello 134 Crossing the Wadi 135 Halt! Weights off and feed 136 Gas instruction 137 F Troop at TELL-EL-FARI 138 Xmas Dinner at MASAID 1916-17. Arrived back at this camp Xmas Eve after 5 nights & 4 days in saddle & the capture of MAGHDABA 139 Exercising along the beach at MARA-KHEB 140 Watering at a Bedouin well 141 At Sheikh's ZOWAID 142 3rd Gun Squadron at ABBASSAN-EL-KEBIR 143 Captured plane on its way to Australian Aerodrome 144 One of our planes about to pass over Hod 145 E & F Troop horse lines and horses 146 Sun set on Med Sea 147 Beach scene at EL-ARISH 148 Turkish transport. Small animals but they can pull big loads and they possess large hearts 149 The dressing station JIFF JAFFA ? 150-8 Types of Egyptian women - Nubian - Fellaheen - Sudanese - Low class Gippo - Egyptian - Middle Class -Egyptian Aristocracy - Turkish 159 French girls on beach at PORT SAID 160 Bedouin girls drawing water 161 Egyptian flappers at ALEXANDRIA 162 Post Card- Dame Turque 163 Post Card - Jeunne Fille Arabe 164 Graves of New Zealanders at RISCHON 165 Graves of Australians at DEIR-EL-BELAH 166 Race day. The saddling paddock 167 Bivouacs 168 3rd ALH Brigade at TRIPOLI 169 Advance party putting down horse lines at KHAN YURIS 170 Breaking the desert monotony 171 WADI QUELT. Taken from one of its precipitous banks 172 Turkish stores on N shore of DEAD SEA 173 Watering at Solomon's Pools 174 Waiting for action at - ES DUN (AWM Melbourne) 175 Camel Corps in action SINAI (AWM Melbourne) 176 ALH Time to Camp (part missing) (AWM Melbourne) 177 3rd Machine Gun Squadron IBU-HARITH, Lieut Breed, McLeod, Guppy, Whyte 178 Cartoon sketch - "A Digger" 179 Turkish Cavalry 180 Gun crew of No 2 Sub F Troop, 3rd Gun Sqdn 181 Operating base of JIFF JAFFA stunt 182 One of the British war boats that cooperated with the Land Force 183 Military railway line passing through a Hod in SINAI 184 AL-MINAH The sea port of Tripoli, Syria 185 NAZARETH Taken on 20 Sep 18 186 The Monastery on the Mt of Temptation, Taken from a cave on opposite hill. 187 JAFFA From the beach 188 In Monastery on the Mt of Temptation Rock on which Christ spent his 40 days 189 Cross indicates Garden of Gethsemane. Arrow at Russian Church of St Magdalene. MT of Olives on left 190 The Roman Bath at MONTAZAH. Hewn out of solid rock 191 Mine sweeper ashore near SHEIK'S ZOWAIL 192 Throwing "Chester" for an operation 193 The swimming pozzie at LAKE TIMSAH, ISMAILIA. Half a mile from MOASCAR, the Aust Training Depot 194 The remains of Napoleon's road. Portions can be seen running between BEELAH & GAZA 195 Camels utilised for ambulance work 196 TULKERAM taken on 19th Sep. This stunt started the previous night and this position fell to us the first day. About 60 miles from starting point 197 German officer at mess, JERUSALEM 198 German Headquarters SEMAK 199 TIBERIAS 200 Water preservation scheme at SHALLAL 201 A dip in the Jordan River. Crossed river on night 21-22 April 18 202 Watering and a wash up 203 JERICHO Taken on 21 Feb 18 204 Turkish graves 205 KHAN YUNIS. Southern Palestine, Note how sand ridges from the beach meet vegetation area. Fertile land 20 miles in width. the beginning of PHILISTIA 206 TAUBE-OVER 207 Drawing drinking water in Wadi GHUZZEE 208 The swimming pozzie in JORON 209 Landing stores at EL-ARISH 210 A camp near the wadi 211 Railway line and bridge crossing wadi above SHALLAL 212 The mid-day halt 213 Turks and Aussies at Dressing Station on beach 214 Washing day 215 Bringing supplies ashore 216 Trying mules in a 60 pounder 217 The desert winds have blown away and left this piece standing 218 Pontoons used by the Turks in their attempt to cross Suez Canal Feb 15 219 "HASSEIN" 220 "GIPPO" Mascot of 3rd AMG Sqdn 221 "Biddy" 222 Railhead camp 223 Typical Bedouin 224 Motor Submarine chaser dvr whyte, photos, ww1, light horse field ambulance -
Orbost & District Historical Societydocuments, 1977-1978
The Orbost Rifle Club existed in the early 20th century. (There are records from 1900). It folded in the late 1970's.Target shooting is one of the oldest organised sports in Australia. Records date back to the British Marines at Sydney Cove in 1788. The Victorian Rifle Association (VRA) was formed in 1860. One of the most important adjuncts to the militia system from 1903 to the re-organisation of 1912 was the role played by the Rifle Club movement in Australia. At the time, these clubs were seen as the reservoir of manpower for a potential guerrilla force should any invasion occur. For Australia, the invasion fear was uppermost in the minds of the population. So important were the rifle clubs for the defence of Australia that the Commonwealth provided the training staff, rifles and ammunition so the clubs could function. Members were drilled, wore uniforms and practised all the basic skills of soldiering as well as target shooting. The Orbost Rifle Club was active during this period.Nine envelopes containing correspondence sent to Mr D. Thexton, Secretary of Orbost Rifle Club in 1977-1978. Some are from the Victorian Rifle Association.orbost-rifle-club shooting -
Orbost & District Historical Societydocuments, 26 January 1964
These documents were sent to Mr J. Ingram, 211 Nicholson Street, Orbost, Victoria from the Australian Rifle Club.A brown envelope containing two copies of a plan of the Orbost Rifle Range. There is also a memorandum of Agreement concerning the Orbost North Recreation Reserve. There is a letter from the Victorian Rifle association concerning the extension of the rifle range.orbost-rifle-club shooting rifle-range-orbost -
Orbost & District Historical Societydocuments in folder, 1958-1964
These documents belonged to the Orbost Rifle Club.The Orbost Rifle Club existed in the early 20th century. (There are records from 1900). It folded in the late 1970's. It had a substantial membership.A light blue folder containing carbon copies of reports from the president of the Orbost Rifle Club from 1958-1964. The folder also contains correspondence from the Australian Rifle Association.orbost-rifle-club shooting documents -
Orbost & District Historical Societybook, Match Record Book, 13.1.1965 - 12.5. 1973
The Orbost Rifle Club existed in the early 20th century. (There are records from 1900). It folded in the late 1970's.Target shooting is one of the oldest organised sports in Australia. Records date back to the British Marines at Sydney Cove in 1788. The Victorian Rifle Association (VRA) was formed in 1860. One of the most important adjuncts to the militia system from 1903 to the re-organisation of 1912 was the role played by the Rifle Club movement in Australia. At the time, these clubs were seen as the reservoir of manpower for a potential guerrilla force should any invasion occur. For Australia, the invasion fear was uppermost in the minds of the population. So important were the rifle clubs for the defence of Australia that the Commonwealth provided the training staff, rifles and ammunition so the clubs could function. Members were drilled, wore uniforms and practised all the basic skills of soldiering as well as target shooting. The Orbost Rifle Club was active during this period A grey cardboard covered book with a red spine. It contains hand-written match records of the members of the Orbost Rifle Club.records orbost-rifle-club shooting -
Orbost & District Historical Societyminute books, Social Committee Minute Book, 22.10.1956 - 7.9.1977
The Orbost Rifle Club existed in the early 20th century. (There are records from 1900). It folded in the late 1970's.The Orbost Rifle Club existed in Orbost for over seventy years.A blue Vana exercise book used by the Social Committee of the orbost Rifle Club to record its minutes.On front cover - handwritten - Orbost Rifle Club Social Committee Minute Bookorbost-rifle-club shooting -
Orbost & District Historical Societybook, Handicaps, 1968
The Orbost Rifle Club existed in the early 20th century. (There are records from 1900). It folded in the late 1970's.Target shooting is one of the oldest organised sports in Australia. Records date back to the British Marines at Sydney Cove in 1788. The Victorian Rifle Association (VRA) was formed in 1860. One of the most important adjuncts to the militia system from 1903 to the re-organisation of 1912 was the role played by the Rifle Club movement in Australia. At the time, these clubs were seen as the reservoir of manpower for a potential guerrilla force should any invasion occur. For Australia, the invasion fear was uppermost in the minds of the population. So important were the rifle clubs for the defence of Australia that the Commonwealth provided the training staff, rifles and ammunition so the clubs could function. Members were drilled, wore uniforms and practised all the basic skills of soldiering as well as target shooting. The Orbost Rifle Club was active during this period. A green Universal exercise book which contains hand-written handicap record of the Orbost Rifle Club. On front cover - handwritten - Handicap Recordsorbost-rifle-club shooting records -
Orbost & District Historical Societyinventory book, 1950-1970
The Orbost Rifle Club existed in the early 20th century. (There are records from 1900). It folded in the late 1970's.Target shooting is one of the oldest organised sports in Australia. Records date back to the British Marines at Sydney Cove in 1788. The Victorian Rifle Association (VRA) was formed in 1860. One of the most important adjuncts to the militia system from 1903 to the re-organisation of 1912 was the role played by the Rifle Club movement in Australia. At the time, these clubs were seen as the reservoir of manpower for a potential guerrilla force should any invasion occur. For Australia, the invasion fear was uppermost in the minds of the population. So important were the rifle clubs for the defence of Australia that the Commonwealth provided the training staff, rifles and ammunition so the clubs could function. Members were drilled, wore uniforms and practised all the basic skills of soldiering as well as target shooting. The Orbost Rifle Club was active during this period. A plain grey covered indexed book with a light blue cloth spine. It has a yellow label on the front cover. It appears to be a record of individual results for the Orbost Rifle Club.On label - printed - ORBOST RIFLE CLUB 211orbost-rifle-club shooting records -
Orbost & District Historical Societyminute book, 8.6.1961 - 15.2.1978
The Orbost Rifle Club existed in the early 20th century. (There are records from 1900). It folded in the late 1970's.Target shooting is one of the oldest organised sports in Australia. Records date back to the British Marines at Sydney Cove in 1788. The Victorian Rifle Association (VRA) was formed in 1860. One of the most important adjuncts to the militia system from 1903 to the re-organisation of 1912 was the role played by the Rifle Club movement in Australia. At the time, these clubs were seen as the reservoir of manpower for a potential guerrilla force should any invasion occur. For Australia, the invasion fear was uppermost in the minds of the population. So important were the rifle clubs for the defence of Australia that the Commonwealth provided the training staff, rifles and ammunition so the clubs could function. Members were drilled, wore uniforms and practised all the basic skills of soldiering as well as target shooting. The Orbost Rifle Club was active during this period. A plain light blue minute book with a cloth brown spine. It has a white label on the front cover.On label- Orbost Rifle Clubminutes orbost-rifle-club shooting -
Orbost & District Historical Societyblack and white photograph, Wood, 1901
This photograph appears to have been taken during the construction of the rifle range just north of the Orbost township. "The photo shows the range stop butt being formed by the scoops being pulled by the horses. It appears that the rear of the mound there is a wall of logs lining it, most likely to help with being eroded or washed away. They haven’t yet formed the mantlet and target machines." ( Info, from Victorian Rifle Association) The Orbost Rifle Club existed in the early 20th century. (There are records from 1900). It folded in the late 1970's.Target shooting is one of the oldest organised sports in Australia. Records date back to the British Marines at Sydney Cove in 1788. The Victorian Rifle Association (VRA) was formed in 1860. After Federation in 1901, rifle clubs came under army control, but in 1921 they were reconstituted as a civilian organisation, which they have remained ever since. After World War I a system of national training was embodied in the Defence Act and the rifle clubs reverted to their purely sporting role. A black / white photograph of four men and four horses standing an a soil bank with another man, a lady and a small girl at the base of the hill. It is in a clearing in forest. It appears to have a row of targets set at the edge of the bank. The photograph is mounted on a very mouldy cream coloured buff card.on front - "Wood" ; "Rifle Range - 1901" ; "Orbost 1901"sport-shooting orbost-rifle-range -
Orbost & District Historical Societyaccounts book, 24-27 May 1978
The Orbost Rifle Club existed in the early 20th century. (There are records from 1900). It folded in the late 1970's. This book was used by the club just before it folded.Target shooting is one of the oldest organised sports in Australia. Records date back to the British Marines at Sydney Cove in 1788. The Victorian Rifle Association (VRA) was formed in 1860. One of the most important adjuncts to the militia system from 1903 to the re-organisation of 1912 was the role played by the Rifle Club movement in Australia. At the time, these clubs were seen as the reservoir of manpower for a potential guerrilla force should any invasion occur. For Australia, the invasion fear was uppermost in the minds of the population. So important were the rifle clubs for the defence of Australia that the Commonwealth provided the training staff, rifles and ammunition so the clubs could function. Members were drilled, wore uniforms and practised all the basic skills of soldiering as well as target shooting. The Orbost Rifle Club was active during this period.An almost new blue covered book for accounts and receipts. It has a navy blue spine and white print on the cover - "TUDOR DUPLICATE BOOK No. 37". It contains a record of ammunition. Only two pages of 100 have been used.orbost-rifle-club -
Orbost & District Historical Societyaccount book, November 5 1976 - July 18 1977
The Orbost Rifle Club existed in the early 20th century. (There are records from 1900). It folded in the late 1970's.Target shooting is one of the oldest organised sports in Australia. Records date back to the British Marines at Sydney Cove in 1788. The Victorian Rifle Association (VRA) was formed in 1860. One of the most important adjuncts to the militia system from 1903 to the re-organisation of 1912 was the role played by the Rifle Club movement in Australia. At the time, these clubs were seen as the reservoir of manpower for a potential guerrilla force should any invasion occur. For Australia, the invasion fear was uppermost in the minds of the population. So important were the rifle clubs for the defence of Australia that the Commonwealth provided the training staff, rifles and ammunition so the clubs could function. Members were drilled, wore uniforms and practised all the basic skills of soldiering as well as target shooting. The Orbost Rifle Club was active during this period.A bright orange receipt / account book with a blue spine. On the cover in dark blue is "Tudor Recordall COUNTER BOOK" at the top and at the bottom is " No. 51 50's Duplicate flexibound"on front cover - handwritten -" Amunition (sic) 1976"orbost-rifle-club -
Orbost & District Historical Societyaccounts book, June 30 1956
The Orbost Rifle Club existed in the early 20th century. (There are records from 1900). It folded in the late 1970's.Target shooting is one of the oldest organised sports in Australia. Records date back to the British Marines at Sydney Cove in 1788. The Victorian Rifle Association (VRA) was formed in 1860. One of the most important adjuncts to the militia system from 1903 to the re-organisation of 1912 was the role played by the Rifle Club movement in Australia. At the time, these clubs were seen as the reservoir of manpower for a potential guerrilla force should any invasion occur. For Australia, the invasion fear was uppermost in the minds of the population. So important were the rifle clubs for the defence of Australia that the Commonwealth provided the training staff, rifles and ammunition so the clubs could function. Members were drilled, wore uniforms and practised all the basic skills of soldiering as well as target shooting. The Orbost Rifle Club was active during this period.A grey covered bookj with a light brown fabric spine. The front has a white sticker label with "Orbost Rifle Club" handwritten in ink. It contains accounts and a trophy list.orbost-rifle-club accounts-book -
Orbost & District Historical Societyminute book, 10.2.1950 - 11.5.1961
The Orbost Rifle Club existed in the early 20th century. (There are records from 1900). It folded in the late 1970's. The secretaries at the time of this book were D.Towers and ? Healey.arget shooting is one of the oldest organised sports in Australia. Records date back to the British Marines at Sydney Cove in 1788. The Victorian Rifle Association (VRA) was formed in 1860. One of the most important adjuncts to the militia system from 1903 to the re-organisation of 1912 was the role played by the Rifle Club movement in Australia. At the time, these clubs were seen as the reservoir of manpower for a potential guerrilla force should any invasion occur. For Australia, the invasion fear was uppermost in the minds of the population. So important were the rifle clubs for the defence of Australia that the Commonwealth provided the training staff, rifles and ammunition so the clubs could function. Members were drilled, wore uniforms and practised all the basic skills of soldiering as well as target shooting. The Orbost Rifle Club was active during this period.A light brown covered book with a brown fabric binding. There is a white sticker label on the front - "Single Cash" in black print. It contains minutes .orbost-rifle-club minute-book -
Orbost & District Historical Societyaccounts book, 6.7.1968 - 13.10. 1973
The Orbost Rifle Club existed in the early 20th century. (There are records from 1900). It folded in the late 1970's.Target shooting is one of the oldest organised sports in Australia. Records date back to the British Marines at Sydney Cove in 1788. The Victorian Rifle Association (VRA) was formed in 1860. One of the most important adjuncts to the militia system from 1903 to the re-organisation of 1912 was the role played by the Rifle Club movement in Australia. At the time, these clubs were seen as the reservoir of manpower for a potential guerrilla force should any invasion occur. For Australia, the invasion fear was uppermost in the minds of the population. So important were the rifle clubs for the defence of Australia that the Commonwealth provided the training staff, rifles and ammunition so the clubs could function. Members were drilled, wore uniforms and practised all the basic skills of soldiering as well as target shooting. The Orbost Rifle Club was active during this period.A green fabric covered book with "Collins Analysis Book 81 Series" in black print on front cover. Inside the pages are lined in green and blue. It contains accounts and a trophy list at the back. There is a page on a memo to clubs re Stamp Duties Act 1967. orbost-rifle-club acounts-book trophy-list
