Nillumbik Prize finalist (2018, 2016, 2015, 2014). The artist lives and works in Nillumbik. Abstract sculpture inspired by the artist attending a local ceremony in Nillumbik to harvest tubers of the Murnong (yam daisy), a traditional staple of the Wurundjeri people. Wirth was also inspired by the writing of Bruce Pascoe. Wirth works intuitively with awareness that meaning may be deciphered through the combination of material/mediums/techniques that she uses randomly. Through the process of experimentation and automatism Wirth allows her work to evolve organically. Wirth is represented in public art collections including: Victorian College of the Arts, Victorian Performing Arts Centre and Ararat Regional Gallery. She also completed a residency at Laughing Waters in 2012. Yellow abstract sculpture woven into a vessel with long tentacles using cotton yarn. N/Afinalist, nillumbik prize, abstract, textile, yellow, vessel, yam

This swimsuit belonged to Audrey May Ferguson (nee Fulton), a longtime Brighton resident. Jantzen was founded 1916 in Portland, Oregon. The brand's "Diving Girl" logo - featuring a woman in a red bathing one-piece and cap in mid-dive - became famous throughout the world in the early twentieth century.Navy cotton/nylon terrycloth one-piece swimsuit with inbuilt bra. V-neck, with oversized white plastic zip from neckline to navel.Label: "Miss Jantzen / 16 / MADE IN AUSTRALIA"swimwear, audrey may ferguson, audrey may fulton, jantzen, miss jantzen, 1960s

This dress belonged to Brighton resident Isabell Nora "Billie" Blair, nee McNamara (1895-1989). Born in Mirboo North, Billie lost her mother Catherine at a young age in 1898 and was raised mostly by Catherine's sister, Isabell Frances Vallender. She married magistrate Douglas Granville Blair (1893-1976) in 1926. The couple lived first in Benalla, where their daughter Katherine Blair was born, before moving to Brighton, where they lived the rest of their lives.Mid-length velvet and chiffon dress with shallow v-neck. Velvet features a geometric pattern in purple, maroon, gold and green. Skirt is slashed at front and back with dark purple chiffon. Long dark purple chiffon sleeves with velvet cuffs. katherine fennell blair, isabell nora blair, isabell nora mcnamara, 1920s

This dress belonged to Katherine Blair, a longtime resident of Brighton. Katherine Fennell Blair was born in April 1929 in Benalla to magistrate Douglas Granville Blair (1893-1976) and his wife Isabell Nora (“Billie”) Blair, nee McNamara (1895-1989). Katherine was a child when the family moved to Brighton, where she attended St Joan of Arc Catholic Primary School and Star of the Sea College. After school, Katherine worked as a secretary and PA for various companies in the Melbourne CBD. Following a working holiday in the UK in 1959-61, she returned to Brighton, living first with her parents at 14 Kilrush Street and later in Burrows Street. An active part of the local community, Katherine was a member of the Brighton Red Cross, Brighton Probus Club and the St Joan of Arc Catholic parish and choir.Long-sleeved black velvet dress with shallow v-neck and self-covered belt. Smocked at shoulders and either side of waist. Floral embroidery around neck, cuffs and above smocking at waist.katherine fennell blair, 1940s, 1950s

This flag was used by Esperance Girls School, a private school based in Brighton from 1894-1956. Esperance was established in 1894 at 6 Normanby Street by Misses Emsie, Marion, Gussie and Daisy Beaver. The four sisters came from a formerly-prosperous land-owning family that had suffered badly as a result of the depression of the early 1890s. At a time when few occupations were open to gentlewomen, running a school provided the sisters with a respectable means of supporting themselves. Notable teachers at Esperance during the 1890s included elocution mistress Miss Jeannie Taylor, who would later become better known as the author Mrs Aeneas Gunn. In 1924 the school was sold to Miss Marian Taylor and Miss Christina McMillan, who had previously served as joint principals of Alexandra College in Hamilton between 1909 and 1913. Both women had strong family connections to Brighton: Christina was the granddaughter of early pioneer Archibald McMillan and Marian was a relative of long-serving town clerk J. H. Taylor. The new principals relocated the school to a large two-storey house on the corner of Park Street and Esperance Avenue, where it remained until its closure. They operated the school until 1950, when they sold it to a Miss Bury, who in turn sold it to the local Baptist Church in 1956. Following this final sale, the school continued for another four terms before closing.Navy blue flag, both sides featuring a large yellow-gold crest in centre, containing image of an anchor and surrounded by semicircular scroll with the motto "SPES ANCORA ANIMAE". Background features horizontal green stripe across centre, containing smaller red stripe and bordered on each side by yellow stripes.esperance girls school, flag, school flag

This flag was used by Rosbercon Girls Grammar School, which operated in Brighton from 1906 until 1941. The school was established in 1906 by the Tisdall family. The Tisdalls were a family of educators: Irish-born Henry Thomas Normanton Tisdall and his wife Lucy taught for many years at the Walhalla State School in Gippsland, along with Lucy's sisters Alice and Clara Weekes. Three of the Tisdall daughters, Ethel, Constance and Theodosia (Theo) followed their mother and aunts into the teaching profession. Constance in particular considered education her true calling and harboured a dream of one day being principal of her own school. After Henry's death in 1905, faced with financial uncertainty and several unmarried daughters to support, Lucy Tisdall decided to take a risk. She sold the family's Toorak home and, together with her sister Alice, leased 'Ashburnham', a large Victorian villa at 106 North Road, Brighton. The plan was to open a private school, with Ethel and Constance as co-principals and Lucy, Alice and Theo teaching and managing the household affairs. This came as a "joyful surprise" to Constance, who was only informed of the plan after it had been finalised. The school was named Rosbercon after Henry's home village in County Wexford, Ireland. The crest, designed by son Bert Tisdall around 1910, featured a crowned letter 'A' above the motto "amor vincit omnia" ("love conquers all"), both inspired by a verse in Geoffrey Chaucer's "The Prioress's Tale": "about her arm she bore/A paire of bedes gauded all in grene,/And theron heng a broche of gold full shene,/On which there was first writ a crowned 'A',/And after, Amor Vincit Omnia." It was a motto Constance held close to her heart, embodying her values as a teacher. Reflecting in 1961, she wrote, "In a school without punishments, a school with love and understanding between teacher and pupil - with a love of teaching on one side, and a desire to learn on the other, love would indeed conquer all." The school's opening day in 1906 proved less than auspicious, with no pupils arriving at all. The women persisted and by the end of the first week, five students had been enrolled. From here, the school grew steadily in size. A new schoolroom designed by architect Harold Desbrowe-Annear was built in the house's orchard to accommodate the increasing numbers, but by 1911 the Tisdalls began looking for larger premises. They leased the nearby property 'Hazeldean' at 124 North Road and, during the 1912 school holidays, the Desbrowe-Annear schoolroom was raised onto a lorry drawn by sixteen horses and moved down the road to what would become Rosbercon's new home. In 1923, Constance instituted a modified version of the Dalton Plan, an education model based on individualised learning. Girls in senior years were encouraged to work more independently, making regular use of the reference library and working to a monthly assignment schedule. The school performed well academically and in competitive sport, but over time was eclipsed by the nearby Firbank Church of England Girls' Grammar School (established 1909), whose institutional backing provided it with access to wider resources and facilities than those of the small family-run Rosbercon. At the end of 1933, Ethel and Theo retired and Constance became principal of St Anne's Church of England Girls' Grammar School (now Gippsland Grammar) in Sale. Rosbercon was sold to Miss Iris Hay, who served as principal from 1934 until the school's closure in 1941. Following her own retirement in 1947, Constance Tisdall settled in Erica Avenue, East Malvern, in a house named 'Rosbercon' after her former school. She continued teaching English literature, mostly to migrants, and enjoyed regular visits from former students. Well into the late 1960s, old Rosbercon girls continued a tradition of coming together for an annual reunion on the first Saturday in November, on which day Constance would fly the school flag at her home.Large navy blue flag with horizontal maroon stripe at top and bottom, and school crest in centre. Stylised maroon "A" topped with yellow crown. Yellow scroll below with motto in navy blue letters: "AMOR.VINCIT.OMNIA".flag, school flag, rosbercon girls grammar school

Plush fur collar with structured shoulders, featuring variegated colouring ranging from reddish brown to cream to white. Cream lining. Concealed hook and eye clasp at front.Label in centre back interior, white text on black: "Manton's / MELBOURNE"fur, fur collar, fur capelet, manton's department store

Fur stole consisting of two black mink pelts with heads at one end and tails at the other. Heads contain plastic eyes and noses. Black satin lining. Decorative front fastening consisting of a fabric-covered chain secured to a clip at one side and a hook fastening at the other.Label: "FURRIERS / Buckley & Nunn LTD/ MELBOURNE".fur, fur stole, mink, buckley & nunn, department stores

Black beaded cape, triangular with scalloped edging. Ruffled neck and wide lace ruffle around hem, edged with a line of black sequins and beads. Swirling/meandering beaded design on main body, with net insertions.cape, lewis & co. & folkestone

This coat was made by Kallman Feitel (1877-1947), an Austrian-born furrier who emigrated to Australia around 1899. His shop was situated at 102-103 Beach Street, Port Melbourne.Long dark brown astrakhan coat with a brown fur collar and brown silk lining. Embroidered in the lining near the hem is the monogram "M.E.C."Label, woven, gold text on brown: "K. FEITEL / MELBOURNE"fur coat, fur, astrakhan, kallman feitel, k feitel, 1940s

This dress belonged to Meredith Lenné, a lifelong Brighton resident. She bought it around 1965-66 at Oggi, a fashion boutique at the "Paris End" of Collins Street, while she was working at the Royal Children's Hospital as an occupational therapist. It was her 'good' dress, worn to dinner parties, balls and lunches throughout the 1960s. The hem was taken up and adjusted several times as the fashion moved towards shorter skirts.Emerald green print midlength shift dress, sleeveless, with high neckline and high waist. Back zip. Hem has been let out, having been altered multiple times during the 1960s. Label reads "Oggi of Collins Street".oggi, melbourne designers, 1960s, meredith lenné

Growing up in Sandringham, Joy Bosomworth learned to sew at the knee of her mother Elsie Myra Keefer, a seamstress. By the time she was an adult, she was making most of her own clothes. She made this shot velvet evening dress, along with a matching stole and bag, in 1961 to wear to a ball at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, where she worked as a radiographer. An evening outfit consisting of a matching dress, stole, bag and gloves. Sleeveless one-shoulder evening dress of blue velvet shot with metallic red. The dress is gathered at the proper left front waist and is lined with red synthetic fabric. Fastens with a zip and hook at the side. Stole of blue velvet shot with metallic red, lined with red synthetic fabric. Handbag made from blue velvet shot with metallic red. The bag has a gold metal frame and clasp, with a shot gold metal chain attached. The interior is red synthetic fabric, with a single side pocket. Elbow-length red nylon evening globes.joy myra bosomworth, joy myra keefer, evening dress, ball gown, 1960s

This bonnet is part of a collection of clothing donated to the Brighton Historical Society by Dr William and Helen Wells. It is believed to have belonged to William's grandmother Winifred Marshall (nee Hayball, 1886-1971). William's family has had a long association with Brighton, dating back to the town's earliest days in 1843 when his ancestors Robert and Eliza Hayball, who had emigrated to Melbourne two years prior, established a wattle-and-daub hut in what is now New Street, close to Tovell Street. Robert established a business as a timber merchant on the opposite side of New Street. His sons, Robert, William and Edwin took over the firm following his retirement, trading as the Hayball Bros. Hayball Court, which runs off New Street, is named after the family. Robert's son William (1855-1926) married Jessie Robertson and had four children. Their eldest, Winifred Grace Hayball (1886-1971), married Andrew Hollingsworth Marshall at the Black Street Congregational Church in 1907. They subsequently lived in Hill Street, Hawthorn, before moving into a house designed by Andrew and Winifred's brother Robert at 39 Bay Street, Brighton in 1915. Their daughter, Dorothy Marshall (1910-2000) married Robert George (Argie) Wells in 1937 at Wesley College Chapel. They lived in East Malvern until 1947, when they moved into a newly built home in Hawthorn Road, East Brighton, where they lived for the rest of their lives. Their son, William Wells (b. 1939) married Helen Pickering in 1968 and the couple have lived together in Brighton ever since.Pale pink silk bonnet (sleeping or house cap) with cream lace edging. The bonnet is embellished with oval-shaped embroidered appliqué on either side, featuring floral design in white and pale yellow, blue and green. A cream silk ribbon and a row of pale blue and green rosettes run along the top edge between the two appliquéd segments. A length of elastic is sewn through the bottom edge.wells family, winifred grace hayball, winifred grace marshall, bonnet, 1900s

This dress belonged to Ethel Nina Blundell (1876-1949), having been first made for her mother Jane Blundell (nee Burkitt, 1845-1878). Born in Dublin, Jane married James John Blundell Jr at the Black Street Congregational Church in Brighton on 16 March 1874. The Blundells were a socially prominent Brighton family who played an important role in the development of the area. James' father, publisher and bookseller James John Blundell Sr, served as a Brighton Borough Councillor between 1862 and 1867 when the local government was still in its formative years, including holding the position of Mayor in 1864. He was involved in the foundation of the Brighton Volunteer Rifle Corps and was also a strong supporter of the Brighton Ladies Benevolent Society. The Blundell family were active members of the Brighton Congregational Church and supported the construction of the Black Street church, where James Jr served as a deacon for sixty years, in addition to his work in the Crown Land and Survey Department. The dress is believed to have been made for Jane in 1875 or 1876 during her early pregnancy, likely by a local dressmaker. Jane died in 1878 when Ethel was very young, and Ethel was then raised by her father and paternal grandmother. As she never married, Ethel remained living in the family home of 'Eumana', 164 Church Street, and as an adult she assumed the role of hostess whenever she or her father had guests. On these occasions, she reportedly wore her mother's dress. The family home was sold on James Jr’s death in 1924 and Ethel was living at 52 Black Street Brighton when she died in 1949. In the 1930s, Ethel gifted the dress to a close family friend, Dr Jean Kelly. She told Jean that the garment held precious memories, perhaps due to the connection it provided to the mother she had never known. Jean donated the dress to the Merimbula Old School Museum in NSW in 1987, where it was on display for many years. The Museum donated the dress to Brighton Historical Society in 2023.This is a good example of a late nineteenth century day dress, made from two different patterns of russet brown silk brocade and featuring a lobster tail style bustle. The lack of boning combined with waist and hip measurements indicates it may have been made as a maternity dress. It is lined with beige leaf pattern cotton fabric. The princess line fitted bodice of herringbone pattern brocade has a high round neck with small 'mandarin' style collar and buttons down the front to below the waist where it forms an overskirt which is bordered with a band of coffee bean patterned brocade. The overskirt drops down to hem length at the back but from the centre front it is draped up to the back to a point below the waist level. Here it is sewn to the edge of the lobster tail style bustle which is also bordered by the coffee bean fabric. There is a concealed pocket with the opening under the right edge of the bustle. The buttons on the front of the dress have a decorative circlet of small blue flowers around a russet silk covered dome. The long sleeves are set in and slightly full with a contrasting three pleat band of coffee bean fabric with an ornamental turn back from the pleats sewn just above the wrist. The skirt section of the dress is in four 20 cm bands of alternate fabric patterns with the top and third band of coffee bean pattern slightly gathered and the second and fourth bands of herringbone forming pleated ruffles.1870s, ethel nina blundell, jane blundell, jane burkitt, eumana

stawell

This book was presented to Master R. Goldsworthy June 7 1888, at an exhibition at Stawell School of the Art. This Book belonged to Mary Goldsmiths Fathe r-in-Law - R.M. Goldsworthy II. Mary's husband Norman received an award for his contribution to science teaching in Australia in 1962. At The Presentation ceremony, he said that this book had parked his interest in science. Red Cover in reasonable condition, first few pages missingInscription in front: Master R Goldsworthystawell education, stawell school of arts

Silk programs, at that time, were only produced for a very prestigious night at the theatre. Historical note: The town of Gisborne was named after one of the members of the first committee of the Mechanics’ Institution (renamed in 1872 to Melbourne Athenaeum), formed in November 1839. His full name was Henry Fyshe Gisborne 1813-1841. The program, crafted of printed silk with a silk fringe all around the four edges is unique in the program collection. The program reveals an interesting fund-raising entertainment held at the Melbourne Athenaeum theatre in 1884. As the theatre was available for hire by everyone in the Melbourne community, over the course of its history it was hired by a large variety of theatrical performers, political groups, sporting and arts groups, in addition to fundraising groups, as found here. Proceeds of this concert were donated to the Melbourne-based Sick Children’s Hospital and the Upper Macedon Episcopalian Church – an unusual combination of charities. The Mount Macedon area became a popular place for holiday- makers from Melbourne in the 1870s and many professional people built holiday retreats with beautiful gardens in the area. The development of the area created a further need for places of worship. The names of the people taking part numbered over 70, several having the same family names as those listed as members of the Melbourne Athenaeum at that time but there is no proof that the people involved with the performance were subscribers to the Melbourne Athenaeum. At the time the Athenaeum hall consisted of a large flat space requiring chairs to be placed in lines, with hand-written alphabetical signs to indicate the rows and individually numbered chairs. The hall seated 900 patrons. When the hall was used for balls, banquets and exhibitions all the chairs were removed and stored under the stage and in a room at the side of the hall. The layout of the hall can be seen in this photograph from the archives, taken in the early 1900s. This fringed, silk program was produced for a concert held on 9-10 October 1884 under the patronage of the Governor Sir H Brougham Loch at the Athenaeum Hall in aid of the Convalescent Fund of the [Melbourne] Sick Children’s Hospital and the Episcopalian Church of Upper Macedon. The evening of light entertainment comprised eleven solo musical performances and thirteen tableaux, some humorous, referencing biblical and classical themes from plays, paintings and operasm enhanced with painted scenery and a multitude of costumes.melbourne athenauem hall, the sick children's hostipal, episcopalian church

This photograph informs the viewer of the grand ballroom at Rippon Lea homestead in Elsternwick in the late 1800s. One of 33 rooms in this mansion, built for Fredrick Sargood in 1868, the ballroom stood where the swimming pool is currently located. Louisa Jones’ (nee Nathan) love of the 1930s Hollywood style prompted her to demolish the old ballroom and replace it with the swimming pool. She converted Sargood’s billiard room into a ballroom during the late 1930s. Large black and white photograph (now sepia with age) in a ' landscape format' mounted on cardboard. The room featured in the image has an arched dome-shaped roof, a floor adorned with rugs, a vast and heavily ornate space and approximately 12 wicker chairs in the foreground.Written on verso of mount: 'Ballroom & organ at Rippon Lea' Stamped onto front left bottom corner of photograph: 'Johnstone & O'Shannessy/ & Co./ Propy. Ltd/ Collins St. Melb.' rippon lea, 1890s, ballroom, architecture, decorative arts, sargood family