Dr. S.A. Mellick was a long standing member of the Faculty of Anaesthetists, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (FARACS) and gifted this object to the Faculty at the end of his term in 1989. Dr. Mellick was the first Australian to have become President of the International Society for Cardiovascular Surgery. The provenance and date of the salt cellar is verified by the hallmarks at the base of the dish made in 1804 during the reign of Britain's King George III.Sterling silver open cut salt cellar with blue glass bowl insert, boat shaped, featuring four ball feet, beaded borders with pierced and engraved detailing to the sides.[stand] PRESENTED BY S.A. MELLICK / FARACS / JUNE 1989 [hallmark] S E D (indicates maker as S & E Davenport), Image of Lion (indicates sterling silver), I (Indicates made in 1804) Image of kings head (indicates made in London), image of Sovereign's Head (indicates duty mark) Three cursive initials on side of dish are difficult to recognize however may possibly be identified as J E Wopen cut work, salt cellar, sterling silver, s & e davenport, dr sam mellick, faracs, salt cellar

Dr Bernard Johnson was elected on December the 6th December 1952 as the Faculty's first honorary Fellow. At the time, Johnson was the Dean of the Faculty of Anaesthetists, Royal College of Surgeons, England. He was invited to visit Australia to receive his award and in 1953 Johnson received his award and brought with him a notable gift being the local Dean's medal of office which was presented on behalf of the Royal College of Surgeons. Johnson had previously met with Ivan Jose and H.J. Daly by providing advice for the establishment of an Australasian Faculty. Johnson is a significant figure as a pioneer into intravenous anaesthesia into Great Britain. He then turned his attention to improving dental anaesthesia. Working with fellow colleagues R R Macintosh and W S McConnell, they established the ‘Mayfair Gas Company’, primarily for dental anaesthesia, but also provided anaesthesia for general surgery during honorary hospital sessions. Johnson participated in the development of the Faculty of Anaesthetists within the Royal College of Surgeons. A founding member of the Board of Faculty, he served as Vice-Dean and then was the second Dean (1952-5), a role which provided a seat on the council of the RCS England. A 9 carat gold [375] oval shaped Dean's Medal of the Faculty of Anaesthetists, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons secured onto a red coloured woven tape by two large gold links. Obverse depicts in coloured enamel secured onto base the RACS coat of arms and crest. Engraved around the sunken diameter are the Faculty and College names. The reverse side has the presentation details inscribed onto a plaque secured onto the main piece with three rivets with hallmarks on both the message plaque and the outer rim. The original red leather box is in poor condition. Printed on the inside silk cover are the maker's marks.[obverse] THE FACULTY OF ANAESTHETISTS / ROYAL AUSTRALASIAN COLLEGE OF SURGEONS [reverse] PRESENTED / BY THE DEAN / DR BERNARD JOHNSON / ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF / THE FACULTY OF ANAESTHETISTS / OF THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF / SURGEONS OF ENGLAND / AT THE INAUGURAL MEETING / 17th APRIL 1953 [hallmarks on reverse] GAS CO LTD 9 375 R Edinburgh? [black print on inside box cover] By appointment silversmiths to / THE LATE KING / GEORGE VI / THE [goldsmith's logo] / GOLDSMITHS & SILVERSMITHS / COMPANY LTD / CROWN JEWELLERS / incorporating GARRARD & CO / 112 REGENT STREET, LONDON W. I.dean medal, mayfair gas company, rcs england, johnson, bernard

The Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA) began as a faculty at the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS). Separation was achieved in 1992, when the faculty became a college in its own right. The relationship between ANZCA and RACS has been strong ever since, and on opening the new building at the rear of the property in 2002, RACS gifted this painting to ANZCA.Mixed media abstract on square canvas. The painting is an orange, grey, green and white background, with an abstracted landscape in black to the centre.Handwritten in blue permanent marker on reverse: -RETURN TO FOREVER- / T MCNAMARAHandwritten on white sticker adhered to frame: TREVOR MCNAMARA / "RETURN TO FOREVER" / 160 X 160 / MIXED MEDIA / W: 3862 BTY ZAW

this book is the culmination of a lot of hard work and long hours by a great many people.vendetta (destroyer), vietnam war, 1961-1975 - regimental histories - australia

Schimmelbusch model of anesthetic masks, used during the 20th century in Australia. Good example of the surgical instruments used by anesthetists. Anaesthetic mask made of stainless steel. Used in conjunction with a chloroform cloth. All screws intact. Spring handle is placed at the rounded end of the mask. surgery, anesthetic, chloroform

The Milton Shield was given to the College in 1968 by the eminent Sydney surgeon Conrad Blakemore (1898-1976), whose family had owned it for almost 100 years. There are three known examples of this Shield in Australia. They are electrotype reproductions made by Elkington & Co. of an original created by Léonard Morel-Ladeuil between 1864 and 1866, and exhibited in Paris at the Exposition Universelle of 1867. The original is made of silver and damascened iron, measures 880mm by 630mm, and is now in the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.There are three known examples of this Shield in Australia. They are electrotype reproductions made by Elkington & Co. of an original created by Léonard Morel-Ladeuil between 1864 and 1866, and exhibited in Paris at the Exposition Universelle of 1867. The original is made of silver and damascened iron, measures 880mm by 630mm, and is now in the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. The Shield is oval in shape, and is divided into several fields, each of which shows a different scene. The entire surface is covered in floral and animal decoration, and patterns. A cable moulding runs around the outer edge. The College’s Shield is set in a heavy timber frame bordered with red velvet and glazed.The central area is circular, depicting the archangel Raphael telling the story of the war in Heaven to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Immediately below this is the figure of the archangel Michael trampling on the defeated Satan. At the bottom of the shield are two figures representing Sin and Death. On either side of the central circle is a kidney-shaped field, the one on the left showing the army of the rebel angels assaulting Heaven, and on the right the fall of the rebel angels. At the top of the Shield are figures of cherubim and seraphim. The name of the Shield derives from the scenes on it, illustrating episodes from Paradise Lost by John Milton (1608-1674). Presented by Conrad Blackmoremilton shield, conrad blakemore, 1968

The Sidcup Collection came to RACS from the University of Melbourne, Pathology Department and is regarded as one of the most valuable held by the College. It includes the patient records created by the Australian Surgical Unit at the hospital and covers the period 1916 - 1919. There are 50 watercolour illustrations of patients sketched by Sgt. Daryl Lindsay, X-ray prints, photographs, diagrams and some case histories. Private Pritchard was treated by the Australian Surgical Unit during WW1.These casts are unique in Victoria An original plaster cast taken of a patient Private Pritchard, who required reconstructive surgery c1917-1921. The cast would have been used as an aid to surgery and used for future reference.On base,incised into plaster "PRITCHARD" .sidcup collection, university of melbourne, sir daryl lindsay, 1916-1919, plaster cast, plastic surgery, sir benjamin rank

The mallet was given to the College by the staff of St Mark’s Hospital, London to celebrate the inauguration of the Proctological (later Colonic and Rectal) Section, on 28 May 1963. It was presented by J.C. Stewart to Alan Lendon, then Vice-President and Chairman of the Court of Examiners. Although it is usually described as a gavel, the form of the piece is in fact that of an ancient stonemason’s mallet. The action required to use it is a straight up-and-down motion, unlike that of a normal gavel, which is handled like a hammer. Made of black bean, 22.5cm high and 12cm in diameter, the mallet rests in a wooden stand made of Queensland walnut, with a square base of English oak. The mallet and stand are housed in a travelling case covered in red leather and lined in red velvet and white satin. On the front of the stand are four crests, those of St Mark’s Hospital, the Royal College of Surgeons of England, the Royal Society of Medicine, and the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. St Mark’s was founded in 1835 as a specialist hospital for the treatment of fistula in ano, a common condition in the days of travelling on horseback, and other anorectal disorders. Over the years the hospital developed into a centre for gastroenterology, colonic and rectal surgery, and many Australians went to further their training there. Some noted Fellows of the College, including Robert Officer, James Guest, Reg Magee, Brian Collopy and Adrian Polglase, and three Presidents, Mervyn Smith, Sir Edward Hughes and Russell Stitz, are alumni of St Mark’s. This mallet is a reminder of the establishment of a significant surgical section within the College, and is a fitting gift from an institution with which so many eminent Australian surgeons formed close ties.GAVEL ON STAND WITH PAINTED COATS-OF-ARMS IN RED LEATHER PRESENTATION BOXPLAQUE ON GAVEL: "PRESENTED BY THE STAFF OF ST. MARK'S HOSPITAL TO COMMEMORATE THE FOUNDING OF THE PATHOLOGICAL SECTION OF THE RACS 28TH MAY 1963"

This small bronze statute depicts Neville Howse rescuing a soldier from the battlefield during the Boer War. In 1900 while accompanying a group of infantry at Vredefort, Howse noticed a British trumpeter fall. As the soldier lay injured under heavy fire, the surgeon galloped to his rescue. His horse was horse shot dead from under him but undeterred, he continued on foot until he reached the man. The soldier had been shot through the bladder so Howse dressed his wounds and carried him to safety. For this brave action, Howse was awarded the Victoria Cross, the first medical person to achieve this honour. The son of a doctor who served in the Crimean war, Neville Howse (1863-1930) was born in Somerset, England. He migrated to Australia and set up medical practice in Newcastle and later, in Taree, NSW. Upon deciding to become a surgeon, he returned to the UK to undertake Fellowship of the Royal College before travelling back to NSW in 1899. In the same year Great Britain went to war with the two Boer Republics of South Africa and Howse volunteered for service. ARTIST Donated to the College in 2000 by Queensland Fellow, Neville Davis, the commissioned work is by Brisbane physiotherapist, Peter DornanBronze statue 45cm in height, on a granite base. The statue depicts Neville Howse bent over carrying a wounded soldier

Long term loan from Neurological Society of Australasia Museum of Neurosurgical Instruments , South Australia Catalogue with Historical Commentaries Second Edition January 2006 Copy located at RACS MuseumSTUART MORSON'S MECHANICAL INJECTOR FOR ANGIOGRAPHY. Stuart Morson(1913 - 1980) of Sydney had this injector constructed in or before 1952. It is said that it was not used much. The injector embodies two 10 ml and two 20 ml Record syringes coupled to a single delivery system. Each is operated by a piston. The pistons are driven from cylinders drilled in a metal block within the casing of the injector; the motive power must have been hydraulic or pneumatic pressure delivered through a manifold with taps allowing each syringe to be worked in isolation. The casing also contains two linked micro switches operated from a distance; it is unclear what was the role of these switches, and it is possible that a component of the unit is lost. JB Curtisl stated that a mechanical injector was devised in 1949 for serial angiography by his collaborator Schuster, but was not felt to be safe enough for use. For many years, neurosurgeons and neuroradiologists preferred to inject by hand.

Long term loan from Neurological Society of Australasia Museum of Neurosurgical Instruments,South Australia. Catalogue with Historical Commentaries Second Edition January 2006 Copy located at RACS MuseumTrumble's Skull Plough or craniotome devised by Hugh Trumble (1864-1962 ) CRANIOTOME. This craniotome was designed by Hugh Trumble (1894-1962) of the Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, one of the eight founders of the Neurosurgical Society of Australasia. It was a modification of an earlier instrument, similar in principle but less versatile, designed by Sir Henry Souttar(l875 - 1964), a very inventive surgeon who worked in the London Hospital. Souttar also used a motor-powered circular saw when necessary. He cut very large circular bone flaps, exposing the occipital lobes and posterior fossa in a few minutes. Trumble reported the use of this craniotome as "an expeditious method of cutting bone flaps" and in the designer's hands this claim was certainly justified. To use the crauiotome, it was necessary to hold the skull rigidly, and this was done by embedding the head in a plaster mould. Three holes were drilled in the skull to fix the pin of the craniotome, and the flap was then cut in a series of three arcs, after which the flap was elevated with levers until its base fractured. The 'Trumbolian" instrumentation was used in the Alfred Hospital by a number of Trumble's pupils. The craniotome is made of steel, not plated and apparently not stainless. It is believed that Trumble made his craniotomes himself, in a backyard workshop.

From Neurological Society of Australia. Wooden case with key. Contents (12 parts) include trephines, various sizes; perforator; key; ebony trephine handle; Hey skull saw; elevator; steel forceps; brush; lenticular; five pointed rugine. 18th or early 19th century.TREPHINE & SKULL SAW IN CASE OF SURGICAL INSTRUMENTS: EIGHTEENTH OR EARLY NINETEENTH CENTURY. This set of surgical instruments contains, in a wooden case covered with shagreen: two trephines and a perforator , with a key to remove the trephine centring pins a detachable ebony handle a Hey skull saw with the name BLACKWELL an elevator a pair of steel forceps a bone or ivory brush to clean the trephines a lenticular a 5-pointed rugine. The trephines are conical, with slight tapering to prevent over- penetration; they are approximately 17 and 20 mm in diameter. Each has a sharp centring point, which 5 can be removed. Hand trephines are operated with one hand, being rotated like a gimlet, by alternating pronation and supination of the forearm, which also exe1ts downward pressure. The skull saw was used where trephining was difficult, as in some depressed fractures; it was popularised by William Hey (1736-1819) of Leeds, though described by earlier writers. Hey, a Yorkshireman, studied in St George's Hospital, London, but worked with great distinction in the Leeds General Infirmary. The lenticular, a curious instrument seen in many eighteenth century illustrations, was used to smooth the margins of bone defects. The rugine could be used to scrape granulations. The design of the trephines and of most of the other instruments strongly suggests an English origin, probably in the eighteenth century. A very similar trephine is figured by the London surgeon Percivall Pott2 in 1779. Bennion l [ists three instrument makers named Blackwell, none earlier than 1817. Most of the instruments have been plated, presumably with nickel, at a date that must be much later. The nickel plating shows little sign of wear.

Benjamin Rank was considered by many to be the father of plastic surgery in Australia. He was born on 14 January 1911 in Heidelberg, Victoria, where his father, Wreghitt Rank, owned a grain store and mill. His mother was Bessie née Smith. He was educated at Scotch College, Melbourne, and Ormond College, University of Melbourne, graduating with many honours and prizes. He did a two-year residency in the Royal Melbourne Hospital before going to London to specialise in surgery. There he did junior posts at St James' Hospital, Balham, but soon became fascinated by the new specialty of plastic surgery and was appointed assistant plastic surgeon at Hill End (Bart's EMS unit). Joining the Royal Australasian Army Medical Corps in 1940, he commanded their plastic surgical unit in Egypt. In 1942, he returned to Australia to set up a plastic and maxillofacial unit at Heidelberg Military Hospital. Among the patients treated there was one Flight Lieutenant John Gorton, who went on to become Prime Minister of Australia. In 1946 he was the first honorary plastic surgeon at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. He spent much time overseas and was instrumental in setting up the specialty of plastic surgery in India, for which he set up 'Interplast' - a charity supported by the Rotary Clubs to offer training and expertise to Asian and Pacific nations. He was the Sims Commonwealth Travelling Professor of the College in 1958, Moynihan lecturer in 1972, President of the British Association of Plastic Surgeons in 1965 and President of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons from 1966 to 1968. He made important contributions to the study of Marjolin's ulcer, radiation carcinoma, and the transition from benign to malignant melanoma. He also made a major contribution to hand surgery, and his textbook Surgery of repair as applied to hand injuries (Livingstone, 1953) ran to four editions. He wrote extensively, including an autobiography, and was a talented painter. He was a tireless campaigner for no-fault motor accident insurance and was President of the St John Ambulance Association. He married Barbara Lyle Facy in 1938. They had one son Andrew, and three daughters, Helen, Julie and Mary (one of whom became a nurse). He died on 26 January 2002. Reference; https:livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk surgeon, sir benjamin rank, heidelberg military hospital, plastic surgery, royal melbourne hospital

Inscribed ms: 'On board his yacht Ada prior to sailing it from England to Australia in 1927. Aged 73'

This is the story of a young Australian anaesthetist's service in the Viet Nam War - from peril to pleasure, a year filled with experiences.vietnam war, 1961-1975 - personal narratives, australian, surgeons - biography

This is the story of a young Australian anesthetist's service in the Viet Nam War - from peril to pleasure, a year filled with experiences.vietnam war, 1961-1975 - personal narratives, australian, surgeons - biography

A black and white photograph of RAAF Surgeon Wing Audio, CDr Alan Beech assisted by two 1st Australian Field Hospital, Vung Tau, South Vietnam, medics, operates on a wounded Digger following his resusitation in triage. the wounded and sick diggers had the best surgical and medical doctors for their treatment.photograph, medic, 1st australian field hospital, vung tau, raaf, wg audio, cdr alan beech, medic, digger, gibbons collection catalogue

A coloured photograph taken at 1st Field Hospital, Surgeon Ed Carr conducts a laporotomy on a mine explosion patient assisted by Wg Audio, CDr Alan Beech and medic Cpl Peter Whittle. The pressure wave from the mine explosion causes multiple perforations of the gut.photograph, 1st australian field hospital, surgeon ed carr, wg audio, cdr alan beech, cpl peter whittle, gibbons collection catalogue

A black and white photograph - In the operating theatre at the 1st Australian Field Hospital, Vung Tau, South Vietnam a surgeon waiing to perform the operation, watches as the theatre medics complete preparation of an American Helicopter Pilot burned when he was shot downphotograph, 1st australian field hospital, vung tau, gibbons collection catalogue, american soldier, medic, surgeons

Leading surgeon and academic Sir Albert Coates (1895-1977) is one of Ballarat's most celebrated sons. A medical orderly during WWI, he returned home to become a pioneering neurosurgeon. A medical man in the worst of circumstances, Coates is often mentioned for his compassion and care in his role as a doctor in the Burma-Siam Railway POW camps. The bronze statue by Louis Laumen captures his down-to-earth nature. Laumen is a Melbourne sculptor who has completed many commissioned bronze public artworks around Australia.The statue is of aesthetic and historic significance to the people of BallaratBronze figure mounted on granite, amid garden plantings and plaques.Inscription details the life of Albert Coates.albert coates, medicine, pow camps

Unknown WW1 soldier ................. 22/11/2018 ..........due to its poor condition the photograph was removed from its timber frame revealing below the photograph the handwritten words "Jack Ambrose married a girl Chick"..... identified as Ethel Maud CHICK Soldier identified as John AMBROSE MM 1132 Labourer of Carboor who served on the western front in France during the First World War. Joined 19/2/1916 aged 23 years and 4 months Born and enlisted at Wangaratta Embarked on 3/6/1916 on HMAT Persic. Served with 5/37Battalions. Wounded on 3 occasions, returning to Australia on 27/7/1919. Next of Kin - Edward Henry PAYNE (Cousin) of Carboor. Jack and Edward were both cousins to Sir Edward "Weary" Dunlop.By identifying this originally unknown soldier to be John "Jack" AMBROSE has revealed links to the children of Edward Samuel PAYNE and his wife Catherine Marie nee WALPOLE. Jack's mother Ida Elizabeth AMBROSE nee PAYNE is the elder sister of Alice Emily Maud DUNLOP nee PAYNE mother of Sir Ernest Edward "Weary" DUNLOP, twin sisters Lily May and Violet Minnie PAYNE who both served as Nurses during the First World War along with youngest brother Alfred Ernest PAYNE 1256. The latter three together with Jack AMBROSE are listed on the Wangaratta and District Victory Roll. Colonel Sir Ernest Edward "Weary" Dunlop, AC, CMG, OBE was born at Wangaratta (12 July 1907 – 2 July 1993) and an Australian Surgeon renowned for his leadership while being held prisoner by the Japanese during the Second World War.Unframed timber mounted photograph of unknown WW1 Soldier - now identified to be John AMBROSE MM 1132 of CarboorBelow photograph handwritten "Jack Ambrose married a girl Chick" Rear Miss S Wright Farm Hill Carboor East via Wangarattajohn ambrose, 5th battalion ww1, carboor, wangaratta, weary dunlop

The is a speech given by Zelman Cowen in Melbourne, on Wednesday 1st May 1974 for the 41st Sir Richard Stawell Oration, Australian College of Surgeons. This may have been sent to Patricia Boyd since the Zelman Cowen was a long time friend of the family.This is a speech – 41st Sir Richard Stawell Oration, Australian College of Surgeons, Melbourne 01.05.1974Typewritten, quarto, 34 pagessociological jurisprudence, law, ethics, politics, social history, authority, justice, richard stawell, zelman cowen

This is a copy of the Stawell oration - Serendipity - given by the Victorian physician Clive Hamilton Fitts (1900-1984). It was read to the Victorian Branch of the British medical Association, 1 Oct 1958 at the Royal Australian College of Surgeons Melbourne.Written on front page: "With good wishes" and signature (indecipherable).medicine, science, walsh st library

Sir Albert Ernest Coates (1895-1977), surgeon, was born on 28 January 1895 at Ballarat, Victoria, eldest of seven children of Arthur Coates, letter carrier, and his wife Clara Annie, née Eustice, both Victorian born. Although their worldly possessions were few, Arthur and Clara raised their family in an affectionate atmosphere and instilled in them the virtues of honesty, industry and education. They were strong supporters of the Methodist Church. (Australian Dictionary of Biography extract). Arthur apparently was a Home Missionary at one stage of his life.Coates in formal dress.coates, arthur

This water bottle was carried by stretcher bearers in the Light Horse Field Ambulance. The cup/cap was used to give a drink to a wounded soldier who could not hold a water bottle to his lips. A light horse field ambulance was an Australian World War I military unit whose purpose was to provide medical transport and aid to the wounded and sick soldiers of an Australian Light Horse brigade. Typically a Lieutenant Colonel commanded each ambulance. All officers of the ambulance were medical doctors or surgeons. Dental units were often attached to the ambulance as well. A Field Ambulance consisted of two sections, the Mobile and the Immobile. The Mobile Section travel with its brigade into combat, where it would establish a Dressing Station. It use stretchers or carts to retrieve the wounded and transport them to the Dressing Station. The Immobile Section established and operated a Receiving Station, which received the wounded the Dressing Station sent on. The ambulance's surgeons would operate on the wounded at the Receiving Station. From the Receiving Station, the sick and wounded would go first to the Casualty Clearing Station and ultimately to a Base Hospital. Representative of a water bottle which differed from the regular water bottle and was used for a specific purpose.Water bottle, felt coated, with small metal cup over spout, all held in leather carrier. Strapped to a wooden stand.military, water, medical, light horse, ambulance, stretcher bearer

Elizabeth Morrison, was born in 1874 and died in 1963, aged 89 years. She was the schoolteacher at Warrigal until she married the donor's grandfather and moved to Melbourne to take up residence with him. Her husband Edward was a porter on the train from Melbourne to Adelaide. Together they had three children: two boys and a girl.  The donor's father was the youngest who was born in 1911.  The eldest son, Kenneth Morrison, was a Monsignor in the Catholic Church, and an Air Force Chaplain during the Second World War, while the daughter was a spinster who owned a few haberdashery and children’s clothing stores. The donor's father had a newsagency in Bridge Road, Richmond. He and his wife lived in Carson Street, Kew for about 50 years and had four children, two of whom were to become lawyers, another a surgeon and the final child social worker/family therapist.The donor's father lived until he was 100 years of age.Copy of a photograph of the owner of a 19th Century dress in the collectionPhotocopy of a photograph of Elizabeth Morrison (nee Fitzgerald) in c.1892. australian fashion - victorian era - 1890s, elizabeth morrison

Elizabeth Morrison, was born in 1874 and died in 1963, aged 89 years. She was the schoolteacher at Warrigal until she married the donor's grandfather and moved to Melbourne to take up residence with him. Her husband Edward was a porter on the train from Melbourne to Adelaide. Together they had three children: two boys and a girl. The donor's father was the youngest who was born in 1911.  The eldest son, Kenneth Morrison, was a Monsignor in the Catholic Church, and an Air Force Chaplain during the Second World War, while the daughter was a spinster who owned a few haberdashery and children’s clothing stores. The donor's father had a newsagency in Bridge Road, Richmond. He and his wife lived in Carson Street, Kew for about 50 years and had four children, two of whom were to become lawyers, another a surgeon and the final child social worker/family therapist. The donor's father lived until he was 100 years of age.The Fashion & Design collection of the Kew Historical Society includes examples of women’s, men’s, children’s and infants’ clothing from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Items in the collection were largely produced for, or purchased by women in Melbourne, and includes examples of outerwear, protective wear, nightwear, underwear and costume accessories.The costume, which may have been used as a mourning dress is comprised of a matching heavy black silk skirt and top. The styling of the short bodice is accentuated by pleating and by the use of spirals of Parisian jet (black glass beads) on the bodice and cuffs. Chiffon lace is attached to the cuffs and is of the period. The dress is made of silk damask with a woven design of joined lines and circles. The rigidity of the fitted bodice is achieved by the use of baleen and by a heavy striped cotton fabric. The wide skirt, in contrast, has a stiffened brown cotton lining. There is a small insertion on the inside of the bodice that may have been used for a watch. The dress is in excellent condition. elizabeth morrison, australian fashion - 1890s, women's clothing

Ash KEATING Among fifteen finalists this artwork won the 2012 Guirguis New Art Prize, a prestigious national acquisitive biennial art prize administered by Federation University Australia. The Guirguis New Art Prize (GNAP) is a national acquisitive $20,000 contemporary art prize which presents a selection of Australia's most exciting contemporary artists with works that explore and embrace new ways of artistic expression, utilising existing mediums and new technologies in innovative ways. Initiated and generously supported by local Ballarat surgeon Mr Mark Guirguis, this prestigious art prize is administered by the Federation University Australia (FedUni). As a local philanthropist and art collector, in developing the Prize, Mark Guirguis' aims were to celebrate the significance of the arts to communities and to Ballarat, emphasising contemporary art and 'living' culture, and to highlight FedUni's Arts Academy. Artist Ash Keating works across a conceptual, site-responsive and often collaborative art practice that incorporates painting, sculpture, installation, video, performance and public interventions, and has referenced a wide range of social and environmental issues within his art. Frequently working beyond the gallery, and often harnessing community narrative and energy, his work also draws upon myth, ritual and ceremony. 'West Park Proposition', 2012, is a three channel and screen video installation, utilising multiple camera video documentation of an endurance painting intervention undertaken on the morning of 01 September 2012 on the east facing wall of a newly built tilt-slab industrial building, situated on the direct edge of the current urban and rural boundary in Truganina, Victoria. The multi-screen work documents an endurance guerilla-style action painting intervention and ritualised painting performance in which a symbolic violence is enacted against a storehouse of commodity production and consumption. Upon winning the award artists Ash Keating said; “The work was made near Ballarat on the Deer Park bypass. It is an aesthetic comment about the way these new tilt-slab industrial buildings spring up without caring for the environment." The work, which took eight hours to create, was about reclaiming the space from “cost-effective architecture” without any aesthetics. The inaugural judge for the Prize, Jason Smith, Director, Heide Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) said, "Selecting the winner of this inaugural GNAP was exhilarating and excruciating: exhilarating because the seriousness of each artist's enterprise, and their uncompromising resolution of concepts, has created an inaugural exhibition of exceptional power. This first GNAP is a survey of some of the most poetic and provocative imaginations working in Australia today. Selecting one winner from such a show in which each of these artists has in some way transformed my thinking about the world was the excruciating part. Ash Keating's work West Park Proposition, 2012 kept drawing me back in the several hours I spent viewing the works. It simultaneously affirms the political and critical role of the artist as a key agent of change and action, and someone who reminds us of the beauty and resilience of humanity and nature in the face of unrelenting change. As a work combining performance, collaboration and hope, Keating's West Park Proposition is a work of immense and compelling poetry."artist, artwork, keating, ash keating, guirguis, guirguis new art prize, gnap, gnap13

Lou HUBBARD (1957 -) Born Brisbane, Queensland After a career in the film and television, Melbourne based artist Lou Hubbard completed a Master of Fine Art at RMIT University in 2001. She works primarily with video and installation, and has exhibited widely throughout Australia and internationally, Lou Hubbard is currently the Head of Photography at the Victorian College of the Arts. In announcing the award 2015 Guiguis New Art Award the judges applauded Lou Hubbard on her compelling installation, which comprised a deflated, disembowelled latex horse collapsed over a Coalbrookdale patio chair, table and bench seat situated over a skateboard and plastic dog. “Occupying a space between the traditions of equine, assemblage and unmonumental sculpture, Lou Hubbard’s Dead Still Standing confounds and compels viewers in its uncanny play of materials and movement,” senior curator, contemporary art, National Gallery of Victoria and judge Max Delany said. “In this elaborate yet concise work, Hubbard has created a form of surprising and unsettling effect that reflects our experience of a world in translation.” The win came as a surprise for Hubbard, who said she was overwhelmed at the talent of all 15 finalists. “I was so surprised, because I was in good company with the other artists, who were all quite extraordinary,” she said. “In the nature of the competition, I feel very lucky.” With multi-layer meanings to her piece, Hubbard said it was actually Ballarat’s rich history that inspired her work. She said it was the Ballarat goldfields and the idea of what horses might have gone through during those years that gave her a concept to work with. But that wasn’t the only source of ideals portrayed in the piece – Hubbard also explored the effect training had on horses. “The horse stands in a way that portrays (how) the human exhorts the way of training,” she said. “The horse is edging like it wants to move, which is impossible, and the furniture acts in lots of ways. The chair, for example, is like the horse’s ribs, which are being ripped out.” It was these multiple meanings that also had the curator of the Post Office Gallery, Shelley Hinton, impressed with the work. “The work challenges us ethically and culturally, in a way that pleads for analysis, as we do in our complex daily lives,” she said. Lou Hubbard's 'Dead Still Standing' won the was awarded the prestigious $20,000 Guirguis New Art Prize in 2015. The Federation University Guirguis New Art Prize was a national biennial and aquisitive contemporary art prize. The $20,000 biennial acquisitive prize was sponsored by Ballarat surgeon Mark Guirguis, administered by Federation University Australia and presented in partnership with the Art Gallery of Ballarat.The genesis of the prize was to raise the profile and encourage the Art School of what was then Ballarat University. lou hubbard, guirguis, guirguis new art prize, sculpture, horse, animal, installation artwork

"Hannah ‘Grannie’ Wattsis one of Melton’s mostcelebrated and cherished pioneers. Born in Ireland in 1831, Hannah immigrated to Australia with her husband George Byrns in 1854. Moving to Melton, they built a wattle and daub hut home where they lived with their four children until George was tragically killed in 1860. Unusually for the time, Hannah purchased land in her own name in the Melton township in 1863. Later that same year she married William Watts and together they moved to Toolern Vale and built a bluestone and mud brick home. It is believed that while travelling to Australia, Hannah assisted the ship surgeon and demonstrated a natural aptitude for the tasks assigned to her. When she was living in Melton she assisted other women in an unofficial capacity as neighbourhood midwife, while also working on her farm and raising her six children. By 1887, however, her reputation as a midwife had grown to such an extent that she was able to establish her own practice. William Watts died in 1874, but Hannah remained in Toolern Vale for the next twenty years. In 1894, she moved into the Melton township and built Lynch Cottage on the corner of Yuille and Sherwin streets, near Toolern Vale Creek. There she assisted in the births of hundreds of Melton residents, as well as the laying out of the deceased. Meticulous in her record keeping, Hannah Watts recorded the details of a total of 442 births between the years 1886 and 1921. Lynch Cottage was officially registered as a private hospital in 1911 and Hannah was listed in the Victorian Register of Midwives in 1917. Hannah Watts died on 21 October 1921, a few months after she assisted with the delivery of her final baby, Thomas Watts Minns. She was 90 years old. Hannah was buried in Melton Cemetery and mourned by the Melton community. Her obituary in the Gisborne Gazette is a testament to how beloved she was by the people she served: ... while in the absence of medical aid residents looked to Grannie as their doctor, philosopher and friend. Hundreds, in fact we might say thousands of people held the deceased in veneration ... A woman of great energy and determination combined with superior intelligence, Grannie conquered difficulties that would have made many falter... Today Grannie Watts is remembered by her descendants and by many locals in the City of Melton. Created in 1985, Hannah Watts Park honours Grannie Watts’ pioneering work for the health and wellbeing of hundreds of Meltonians. Not only is the park a fitting tribute to the memory of an outstanding citizen, it also continues to provide today’s residents and visitors with a space to walk, relax, gather and celebrate in Melton" .Tom Minns holding Debra Wain, first hospital baby to be born In Melton since 1921. Article featured in the Herald. Mother Rhonda Wain is featured in the photo too. local identities, local significant events