Tim Walker’s work is an eye-catching array of shipwreck artefacts and associated items. They help tell the story of the 19th century ships that travelled across the world full of people and cargo that are now part of our history. The work was commissioned especially for Flagstaff Hill and highlights the famous story of the 1878 ‘Loch Ard’ shipwreck. The images also include two small items from the 1981 ‘Fiji’ shipwreck. Timothy “Tim” Walker was born in Britain in 1970. He is a self-taught artist who began with a desire to use his talents for full-time work. He moved to Warrnambool in 1990 and became involved in the Warrnambool and District Artists’ Society, where he has served for a period as President. In 2010 Warrnambool Art Gallery hosted an exhibition “Nine Lives” with works from nine local artists including Tim Walker. The ‘LOCH ARD’ 1873-1878 - brief history The clipper ship ‘Loch Ard’ was a built in Scotland in 1873. In 1978 the ship was sailing to Melbourne with 54 people on board as well as a mixed cargo of items, some of which were bound for the 1880 International Exhibition in Melbourne. On June 1st 1878 it was very close to its destination when it crashed into Mutton Bird Island, east of Port Campbell. Only two people survived. The wreck was re-discovered in 1967, almost a century later, and the site continues to provide evidence of the range of goods imported into the Colony of Victoria in the post-Gold Rush era. Flagstaff Hill divers in the 1970s reported finds of “Bottles of champagne, window panes, rolls of zinc, barrels of cement, iron rails, clocks, lead shot, corrugated iron, lead, marble, salad oil bottles, ink bottles, copper wire, gin bottles, rolls of carpet, floor tiles, copper rivets, gas light fittings, pocket knives, toys, crystal chandeliers, beer mugs, cutlery, candles sticks, wick scissors, cow bells, and sauce bottles.” The famous Loch Ard Peacock was also on board. The ‘FIJI’ 1875-1891 – brief history The barque ‘Fiji’ was built in Ireland in 1875. The sailing ship left Hamburg in May 1891, bound for Melbourne with a crew of twenty-five plus the captain. The ‘Fiji’ had almost reached her destination after a trip of 100 days at sea when, on September 5th 1891, she struck rock 300 metres from the shore at Moonlight Head, near Cape Otway. Eleven men lost their lives but with the help of locals including members of the Rocket Rescue Crew, the rest of the men were saved. In anticipation of Christmas, the cargo had included a wide variety of children’s toys, amongst which were dolls with china limbs, wooden rocking horses, miniature ships, and red and white rubber balls. There were also cases of dynamite, pig iron, steel goods, spirits, sailcloth, tobacco, fencing wire, concrete, 400 German pianos, concertinas and other musical instruments, artists’ supplies, porcelain, furniture, china and candles. This artwork has historical significance as it shows a small sample of the variety of items on board the late 19th century ships bound for Australia in the Colonial and late God Rush period. The cargo contained personal luggage, items intended as gifts, and goods ordered for domestic, commercial or industrial use. The wreck sites of both vessels, ‘Loch Ard’ and ‘Fiji’ are classified on the Victorian Heritage Register as significant and are now protected by government law. The sites are popular with divers and provide interpretive material regarding social and maritime history. Framed poster of a watercolour painting by Tim Walker, gilt frame, behind glass. Subject is a group of objects, most of which are connected with the 1878 shipwreck Loch Ard, such as items recovered from the shipwreck and the famous ‘Loch Ard Peacock’. Two items are from the wreck of the ‘Fiji’. Inscriptions on ingot, a handwritten letter, bell, clear bottle, and small plaque.On ingot: “PONTIFEX & WOOD. LONDON”. On letter: “Presented to Mr. Thomas Pearce”. On small ingot: “TIM WALKER”. On bell: “LOCH ARD”. On clear bottle “THE SINGER MANUFACTURING COMPANY“. On plaque: TIM WALKER”.warrnambool, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, flagstaff hill, loch ard, fiji, watercolour, timothy walker, tim walker, warrnambool & district artists’ society, warrnambool art gallery, poster, henna street picture framers, cargo, print

The Fred Rochow Railways Collection incorporates photos related to the operation of the Wodonga Railway Station including different types of trains and railways staff C. 1930 – 1990. It was donated to the Wodonga Historical Society by Fred Rochow, a railwayman who spent many years based in Wodonga. He joined the Victorian Railways on 17th June l947 and retired in 1988. For some time, he was a member of the Australian Federated Union of Locomotive Enginemen and served a term as a member of the Trades Hall Council. He had an extensive knowledge of the struggles that took place to achieve better conditions for railway workers. Fred worked for many years as a fireman and then worked his way up the ranks to driver, experiencing many changes from the days of steam locomotives through to diesel trains, locomotives and even the modern XPT train. He worked throughout Victoria at different stages of his career, with his final working years focused on the northeast of Victoria and the Albury to Melbourne line. After his retirement, Fred continued to share his love of steam miniature trains with the community.This collection has local and statewide significance as it captures images of trains, locomotives and personnel who operated the railway services in Wodonga and throughout Northeast Victoria. The railways played a critical role in opening up Victoria and connecting Australia for trade, business, social communication and transport.Locomotive R761 with Driver Norm Depomeroy and Fireman Steve Gibson running in parallel with the Bicentennial Train hauled by Locomotive 3801 with Driver Fred Rochow and Fireman David Brown. Locomotive R761 - The R761 arrived in Victoria on the 28th February 1952 upon the ship ‘Helenus’ and entered service on the 9th April 1952. R761 spent long periods in storage and occasionally saw service until it was withdrawn. In 1970 R761 was overhauled and was made available for use on special trains. It became the final R class to run in VR service on the 5th September 1974, ending 120 years of mainline steam operation in Victoria. After years of debate about its future, on the 30th March 1985 the loco was officially returned to service, hauling special trains to celebrate the years of steam locomotives. Locomotive 3801 was built by Sydney company The Clyde Engineering Co. Ltd., Granville in 1943 as the first of five streamlined (C) 38-class locomotives for the New South Wales Government Railways’ top-link express passenger duties. The delivery of 3801 was much delayed due to wartime labour & material shortages, together with competing wartime construction priorities. After many years of service, 3801 had been scheduled for withdrawal in 1962 due to deteriorating mechanical condition, but rail enthusiasts raised sufficient funds to cover the cost of its overhaul. 3801 joined the collection of the New South Wales Rail Transport Museum (NSWRTM), Enfield on withdrawal from NSWGR service and continued in operation as a tour locomotive. It hauled the “Western Endeavour” on the first crossing of the Australian continent by a standard gauge train from Sydney to Perth and return in August – September 1970. 3801 also stars in the railway film ‘A Steam Train Passes’ made by Film Australia in 1974 By 1976 had been withdrawn from service due to poor boiler condition and placed on static display by the Rail Transport Museum in Thirlmere, NSW. The Locomotive remained in Thirlmere until 1983 when it was decided it should be restored for the Australian Bicentenary in 1988. A new organisation was created specifically for the purpose of operating 3801, and thus 3801 Limited was incorporated on 5th June 1985. Work on the locomotive was completed after three years, with 3801 making its debut at a special Railway Ball hosted in its honour on 29th November 1986. During the Australian Bicentenary celebrations in 1988, it operated an extensive program across Australia visiting every mainland capital accessible by rail including an appearance at AusSteam ’88 in Melbourne in October 1988, stopping over in Wodonga on the way. After the company’s 20-year lease on the locomotive expired in 2006 Railcorp chose not to extend the agreement, and the locomotive returned to the Rail Transport Museum at Thirlmere (now the NSW Rail Museum). 3801 was withdrawn from service in 2007 for major boiler repairs. Locomotive 3801 was officially relaunched at Sydney's Central Station on Friday 12 March 2021 by Her Excellency, the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC QC, Governor of New South Wales.On front of locomotive on the left "STEAMRAIL /R761". On front of locomotive on the right "BICENTENNIAL TRAIN/3801" railways wodonga, fred rochow, locomotive r761, bicentennial train, locomotive 3801

VHS Cassette containing video recording of the Thompson's Foundry Band performance at the 1987 Australian National Band Championshipsnon-fictionVHS Cassette containing video recording of the Thompson's Foundry Band performance at the 1987 Australian National Band Championshipsthompson's foundry band, launceston, 1987, boosey & hawkes, australian national band championships, western video productions, alex lithgow

Ciborium is the ancient Greek word for the cup-shaped seed vessel of the Egyptian water lily "nelumbium speciosum" and came to describe a drinking cup made from that seed casing. These vessels were particularly common in ancient Egypt and the Greek East. The word "'ciborium'" was also used in classical Latin to describe such cups. In medieval Latin, and in English, "Ciborium" more commonly refers to a covered container used in Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran and related churches to store the consecrated hosts of the sacrament of Holy Communion. It resembles the shape of a chalice but its bowl is more round than conical and takes its name from its cover, surmounted by a cross or other sacred design. This ciborium is part of a Communion Set that was recovered from the wreck of the Schomberg in 1975 after 120 years in the sea. Five years later during the cleaning of the ciborium, a diamond ring was found secreted in the underside of the ciborium's lid. This ring has since come to be called the Schomberg Diamond and is also on display as part of the Flagstaff Hill Museums Schomberg collection. In 1975, divers from Flagstaff Hill (Peter Ronald, former Director of Flagstaff Hill, Colin Goodall and Gary Hayden), found an ornate communion set at the Schomberg wreck site. The set comprised a jug, the ciborium, a chalice and a plate. The ciborium remained untouched for a number of years before restoration began and the marine growth was removed. In 1980 a piece of the lid broke off, revealing a glint of gold. As museum staff carefully examined the lid and removed marine growth, they found a diamond ring, which is currently on display in the Great Circle Gallery at Flagstaff Hill. The collection also holds ship fittings and equipment, personal effects, a lithograph, tickets as well as photographs from the Schomberg. ABOUT THE SCHOMBERG (October 6 to December 27, 1855)- When the ship Schomberg was launched in 1855, she was considered the most perfect clipper ship ever to be built. James Baine’s Black Ball Line had commissioned her for their fleet of passenger liners. The Aberdeen builders designed her to sail faster than the clippers designed the three-masted wooden clipper ship to be fast. The timber used for the diagonal planking was British oak with layers of Scottish larch. This luxury emigrant vessel was designed for superior comfort. She had ventilation ducts to provide air to the lower decks and a dining saloon, smoking room, library and bathrooms for the first-class passengers. The master for Schomberg’s maiden voyage was Captain ‘Bully’ Forbes. He drunkenly predicted at her launch that he would make the journey between Liverpool and Melbourne in 60 days. Schomberg departed Liverpool on 6 October 1855 with 430 passengers and 3000 tons of cargo including iron rails and equipment intended the build the Geelong Railway and a bridge over the Yarra from Melbourne to Hawthorn. The poor winds slowed Schomberg’s sail across the equator. She was 78 days out of Liverpool when she ran aground on a sand spit near Peterborough, Victoria, on 27 December; the sand spit and currents were not marked on Forbes’s map. The ship’s Chief Officer spotted the coastal steamer SS Queen at dawn and sent a signal. The master of the SS Queen approached the stranded vessel and all of Schomberg’s passengers safely disembarked.This ciborium is significant as an example of an item in common use in the mid-19th century that is still in use today. It is also important for it relationship with the famous Schomberg Diamond that was discovered by accident, hidden inside it. The ciborium is particularly significant in that along with other items from the wreck helped in part to have the legislation changed to protect shipwrecks, with far tighter controls being employed to oversee the salvaging of wreck sites around our coast. This salvaged item forms part of the Schomberg collection at Flagstaff Hill maritime museum. The collection as a whole is of historical and archaeological significance at a State level. Flagstaff Hill’s collection of artefacts from the Schomberg is also significant for its association with the Victorian Heritage Registered Schomberg shipwreck (VHR S 612). The collection is of additional significance because of the relationship between the objects salvaged, as together they help us to interpret the story of the Schomberg. The collection as a whole is historically significant for representing aspects of Victoria's maritime history and its potential to interpret social and historical themes from society at the time of the wreck.Silver engraved Ciborium or chalice with lid, part of the five-piece Communion Set. The chalice is a round cup with a long stem and a floral-shaped base with embossed decoration. It has a matching round lid that comes to a rounded apex on top. Engravings on chalice feature flowers and a Fleur-de-lis pattern.flagstaff hill, flagstaff hill maritime museum and village, warrnambool, maritime museum, maritime village, great ocean road, shipwreck coast, schomberg, 1855, clipper ship, james baines & co, black ball line, luxury ship, emigrant ship, captain forbes, bully forbes, ss queen, peterborough shipwreck, communion set, religious service, communion service, ceremonial service, mass, ciborium, chalice, schomberg diamond

This little model dinghy or rowing boat, together with its two oars and its display case, was made by Edward Richter using timber from the New Zealand-built schooner, the Enterprise, wrecked in Lady Bay, Warrnambool, in 1850 after only three years of sailing. The dinghy was originally presented to the old Warrnambool Museum and transferred to Flagstaff Hill along with its two descriptive card tags. EDWARD RICHTER (1853-1937) Edward Richter was the son of Henry and Charlotte Richter, who migrated from London and arrived in Port Phillip, Victoria, in 1850. Henry had worked in the Bank of England in London. In Australia, he worked for the Morning Herald and was a business partner in the Geelong Daily News. He served in the Volunteer Corps and had the honour of being one of the 500 Volunteers in the firing party at the grave of Sir Charles Hotham, Governor of Victoria. In Warrnambool, Henry was the Host/Licensee of the Royal Archer Hotel. He was also connected with Sheldrich's brewery (the Western Brewery) there. Henry and Charlotte’s son Edward was born in Collingwood, a Melbourne suburb, in 1853. The family moved to Warrnambool in 1867. In 1878 Edward married Susan (nee Saltz) and they had a family of twelve children. Sadly their son, Edward Henry Richter, died from drowning in Warrnambool’s Shelly Beech in 1907, aged 29 years. Edward was a prominent Warrnambool citizen. He worked as a coach painter and his hobbies included model making. He made this model dinghy and presented it to the old Warrnambool Museum in the late 1800s. He also made some model violins that are now in the care of the Warrnambool and District Historical Society. After the museum closed, this model was eventually transferred to Flagstaff Hill. Edward’s son, Herman, was also a model maker, making model boats and even boats in bottles. Edward passed away in Warrnambool in 1937. THE ENTERPRISE 1847-1850 The wooden, two-masted schooner Enterprise was built in New Zealand in 1847 and registered in Melbourne, Australia. The Enterprise carried cargos of agricultural produce and other commodities for trade between the ports of the Colony. On September 14, 1850, the Enterprise was at anchor in Lady Bay under its Master, James Gardiner Caughtt, loaded with a cargo of wheat and potatoes. A strong south-easterly wind caused the vessel to drag on its only anchor and the rudder was lost. The gale-force wind blew it sideways and it became grounded. A local indigenous Buckawall, braved the rough sea to take a line from the shore to the Enterprise. All five members of the crew were able to make it safely to land. The Enterprise was wrecked. The Enterprise wreck was in an area called Tramway Jetty in Lady Bay. Since then the area became the location of the Lady Bay Hotel and now, in 2019, it is in the grounds of the Deep Blue Apartments. In fact, with the constantly changing coastline through built-up sand, the wreck site is now apparently under the No 2 Caravan Park on Pertobe Road, perhaps 150 metres from the high tide. Its location was found by Ian McKiggan (leader of the various searches in the 1980s for the legendary Mahogany Ship). DIFFERENTIATING the New Zealand Schooner “Enterprise” from John Fawkner’s “Enterprize“ Dr Murray Johns, Melbourne, says in his article The Mahogany Ship Story “… As I documented in 1985, the Warrnambool wreck was of an entirely different ship, also called Enterprize [with the spelling ‘Enterprise’], but built in New Zealand in 1847. Fawkner’s ship had already been sold to Captain Sullivan in 1845 and was wrecked on the Richmond Pier in northern New South Wales early in 1847. “ - (further details are in NOTES: and FHMV documents)The model of a dinghy is significant for its association wreck of the schooner Enterprise, now on the Victorian Heritage List VHR S238, being a New Zealand built but Australian owned coastal trader. The wreck is also significant, by connection with the Enterprise, for its association with indigenous hero Buckawall who saved the lives of the five crew on board. The maker of the model, Edward Richter, is significant as a member of one of Warrnambool’s pioneering families, which has contributed to the growth of the community in several ways over the years, living, working and bringing up their families in the coastal city. Ship model; model of a small wooden boat or dinghy and wooden two oars, displayed in timber case with open sides that have vertical wire strands from top to bottom. The model was made by Mr Edward Richter from the timber of the schooner Enterprise, built in New Zealand 1847 and wrecked three years later in Lady Bay, Warrnambool.Handwritten tag in pen and ink: "Model of Boat made from the timber of the schooner "Enterprise" wrecked at Warrnambool" Type written tag "MODEL DINGEY Made from Timber of Schooner "Enterprise". Made and presented by Mr Edward Richter."flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, wooden ship building, carpentry, ship modelling hobby, dinghy, dingey, dingy, edward richter, enterprise, lady bay warrnambool, schooner enterprise, wreck of the enterprise 1850, richter family, warrnambool history, buckawall

"The Mechanics Institute movement flourished in Victoria from 1839 to 1950. It was based on the development of Mechanics’ Institutes in Scotland and England from the 1820s, which were intended to educate and enlighten the working classes. The term ‘mechanic’ in those days meant an artisan, craftsman or working man, especially those who had moved from rural areas to work in new city factories during the Industrial Revolution. The early Institutes were usually equipped with a reading room, a library and a lecture room. Although enjoying mixed success in Britain, they contributed to the development of public education and library services. The movement was adopted more enthusiastically in the colonies. It began slowly in Victoria but its expansion after the gold rushes population influx was rapid, especially in rural areas. Every suburb and town wanted to have a Mechanics’ Institute. During the 1850s approximately forty Institutes were established, with even greater growth in the period 1860 to 1900. By 1900 there were 400 Institutes in Victoria. The establishment of a Mechanics’ Institute was often a great achievement for a local community, requiring organising committees to raise substantial funds for a building site (where this had not been granted by the Government), and the building. Once built, the committee then had to purchase books, provide a caretaker or librarian, and finance the ongoing use of and improvements to the building. ‘The history of many Institutes is a story of tremendous community effort, and often, financial difficulties’. In addition to being monuments to local enterprise and community life, the Mechanics’ Institutes played a vital role as an intellectual forum, and in contributing to an informed and participatory democracy in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. They provided journals and other reading matter on local, state, national and international issues, and hosted of lectures and held debates about wider issues such as Federation, colonial nationalism, defence, female suffrage, the price of land and labour. With the development of the school and technical education in the latter part of the nineteenth century, the need for community technical and adult education declined. As a result of the introduction of government library grants in 1867, many Mechanics’ Institutes incorporated a free library in their buildings to finance collection of their books. By 1884-85, there were 257 free libraries in Victoria. However, government support and library grants dropped off in the 1890s depression. Entertainment took on a greater role in the 1890s, with the introduction of moving pictures, billiards rooms, games rooms (chess), concerts and dances. The First World War had a devastating impact on many rural communities, and some Mechanics’ Institutes were no longer viable. On the other hand the early twentieth century was also a time of agricultural development, and many country towns were growing in this period. The 1930s depression further limited growth of many libraries and reduced grants substantially. In response many Mechanics’ Institutes were renamed, for example as memorial halls, in order to retain and attract more patrons (eg at nearby Sunbury). The diminishing role for Mechanics’ Institutes and the preference for larger and better appointed halls (with supper rooms, cloak rooms etc) resulted in demolition of some small Institutes. The advent of cars, radios, and television also provided other opportunities for recreation, learning and entertainment. The greater role of municipalities in providing library services also eroded the need for free libraries. While over 500 Mechanics’ Institutes or halls are extant, very few of these retain their original role as ‘diffusers of useful knowledge’. Most are still available for community purposes, as venues for meetings, socials, civic occasions etc, while others are employed as museums, shops and theatres. Most buildings are on Crown land, and managed by a delegated committee of management, who are responsible for raising revenue to maintain aging buildings. Many of those which were originally established on private land, such as Melton, have since reverted back to the Crown, and municipal Councils. The most common Mechanics Institute building form is the simple weatherboard gable building with iron roofs, notable for their ‘honest simplicity’ rather than as ‘monuments of the ancients’. At the other extreme there are some magnificent two storeyed brick and stucco structures with elaborate ornamentation (as was apparently envisaged by some in Melton in 1905-10)". The future of Melton Mechanic Institute Gazette articlelocal architecture

Today’s Panton Hill Hotel was built around 1920. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p61 Panton Hill was originally known as Kingstown, and consisted of only one hotel when the Orams Reef was discovered in 1859. Kingstown was a quartz mining centre and many old mine shafts remain in the area.1 Orams Reef was one of the first reefs with a rich find of gold in the area. The Hotel Francais, which had been operating in 1861, was well situated on the way to Queenstown (later St Andrews). So was Herr Hirt’s Hotel and store at Smiths Gully. The Kingstown hotel, known as the Frenchman’s and in 1864 as the Hotel de France, was run by a Monsieur Emile Hude and his wife Jeanne, and known for its good food. They hosted social events, business conventions and debates, attracting patrons from as far as Melbourne. The hotel’s name was changed to Panton Hill Hotel in 1905.2 In 1883 Charles Caudwell built another hotel nearby, possibly in Long Gully Road,3 which it is thought, was burnt down early last century. Today’s Panton Hill Hotel, built around 1920, is the only one of the cluster of buildings in the main road, not to date from around the turn of last century. It was severely damaged by fire in 2003, then underwent extensive alterations. It is the township’s only hotel and is an example of a modest hotel building exterior, constructed early last century. In its early days the hotel also housed the first post office, newsagency and store. Orams Reef yielded a total of £100,000, and fossikers also found alluvial gold in the creeks and gullies, but there is no record of the total value of their finds.4 Gold greatly increased the Panton Hill population, which peaked between 1865 and 1885. On holidays large sports meetings were held with wood chopping contests and foot races and the day would end with a ball. Miners came from various countries to seek their fortune, including many from China. The Chinese became unpopular however, and gradually left the district, although some stayed and grew and sold vegetables.5 Panton Hill was named after Joseph Panton, who in 1862 was appointed Police Magistrate for the Woods Point, Heidelberg and Yarra districts. Panton was an outstanding man, who in 1852, was Commissioner of Crown Lands and Assistant Commissioner of Goldfields at Bendigo. In 1874 he was promoted to Chief Magistrate for the Melbourne Police. Panton was also an artist, becoming president of the Victorian Arts Society in 1888, and in 1913, president of the Royal Geographical Society. Despite Panton Hill’s prosperity, it still lacked many services as poor roads made access to Melbourne difficult. A horse-drawn mail coach travelled to Melbourne until 1890, when the railway came to Heidelberg. The nearest doctor was at Yarra Glen or Heidelberg, and the Indian hawker Singh’s annual visit was very welcome. A miner’s shack opposite the school was used as a post office. Today’s general store and post office in the main road dates from early last century, and has changed considerably. While most people searched for gold, the more enterprising ones established farms to feed the diggers. Farmers grew wheat, barley and oats, and sent animal skins to the Eltham tannery, to make furs in Melbourne.6 As gold became scarce from around 1880, miners took up farming on 19 to 20 acre (8ha) allotments. The first settlers in Cherry Tree Road included Purcell, Smith, Owens, Hughes and Shillinglaw. By 1900 all the land had been taken up around Panton Hill and Hurstbridge. The orchards in Panton Hill and the wider district, particularly of apple and pear, were very successful, and made Panton Hill a cohesive and successful community. About 1914 the Moores built the first cool-store and refrigeration plant at their orchard in Cherry Tree Road. Many settlers planted vineyards and made high quality wine, but in 1922 the blight destroyed them.This collection of almost 130 photos about places and people within the Shire of Nillumbik, an urban and rural municipality in Melbourne's north, contributes to an understanding of the history of the Shire. Published in 2008 immediately prior to the Black Saturday bushfires of February 7, 2009, it documents sites that were impacted, and in some cases destroyed by the fires. It includes photographs taken especially for the publication, creating a unique time capsule representing the Shire in the early 21st century. It remains the most recent comprehenesive publication devoted to the Shire's history connecting local residents to the past. nillumbik now and then (marshall-king) collection, panton hill hotel

The Sutherland Homes for Children on Yan Yean Road, Diamond Creek cared for thousands of children from when it was opened in 1912. The site closed for this purpose in 1991 and was sold and later developed for commercial and office purposes. Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p107 The Sutherland Homes for Children at 14 Yan Yean Road, Diamond Creek, cared for thousands of children since they opened in 1912, after beginning at La Trobe Street, Melbourne in 1908. In 1994 Sutherland Homes (then called Sutherland Child, Youth and Family Services) amalgamated with Berry Street Child and Family Welfare. Together as Berry Street Victoria, they formed Victoria’s largest independent provider of support and accommodation services for children, young people and families in crisis.1 However with the move from institutional to community care, the Diamond Creek site had not been used since 1991 and was sold to private purchasers in 1999. More than 2000 former residents, staff, neighbours and friends attended a farewell in February, 2000.2 The Sutherland Homes red-brick and stuccoed building in Diamond Creek (a rare design in the Eltham Shire), was opened in 1929 by Lord Somers, the Governor of Victoria. Destitute children lived in dormitories bathed in natural light through large windows. However in 1958 as the cottage–parent system replaced the dormitory system, the first of eight residential cottages accommodating ten to 12 children was built. The site also included Special School 3660 and a farm, and the children were able to form relationships with people outside Sutherland, by staying with holiday hosts. Children were originally placed at Sutherland because of extreme poverty, or because single parents could not cope. However later, most placements occurred due to family violence, abuse or neglect. The property was originally bought from the Crown in 1869 by Timothy Mahony. Later owner, Augusta Meglin, ran a 40-acre (16ha) farm there. In 1909 she bequeathed this, including the house, orchards, vegetable gardens, vineyards and the balance of her income to The Sutherland Homes for Neglected Children. Sutherland Homes’ founder, Selina Sutherland, was known as ‘New Zealand’s Florence Nightingale’. In 1888 she became Victoria’s first licensed ‘child rescuer’3 and was to rescue around 3000 waifs from Victoria’s streets and slums.4 Born in Scotland in 1839, Sutherland joined her sister, who had emigrated with her husband to New Zealand. Sutherland trained as a nurse and led the establishment of a public hospital at Masterton. In 1881, while holidaying in Melbourne, Sutherland was so touched by seeing young people living under Princes Bridge, that this determined her future work. Meanwhile Sutherland instigated the Melbourne District Nursing Society, (now Royal District Nursing Service). She also led the founding of The Victorian Neglected Children’s Aid Society (now Oz Child) and the Presbyterian Neglected Children’s Aid Society (now Kildonan). From 1894 Miss Sutherland was Melbourne’s best known woman and cut a distinctive figure, wearing an alpine hat with a prominent feather. In 1906 Prime Minister Alfred Deakin named her Melbourne’s most successful philanthropic worker. However she was to face some difficult times. That year she suffered severely from an injured shoulder and dizzy turns and was pressured to resign as Superintendent of The Victorian Neglected Children’s Aid Society. In 1908 the committee of management offered her 12 months leave with pay. Sutherland declined – but soon after, was dismissed. However she continued her work from Latrobe Street, Melbourne, with the help of Sister Ellen Sanderson and several committee members. Sutherland attempted to register her new organisation but the Victorian Neglected Children’s Aid Society objected to the government, alleging that Sutherland, because of increasing infirmity, was unable to satisfactorily carry out such duties. They accused her of cruelty and of intoxication. However the charges were not proven, so The Sutherland Homes for Neglected Children was registered.5 Sadly, in 1909 Sutherland died, the day she was to move the children to the ‘country property’ at Diamond Creek. At her death she owned less than £10. Today Berry Street recognises Sutherland’s enormous contribution to child welfare with a memorial and an annual Selina Sutherland Award, presented to an outstanding volunteer.This collection of almost 130 photos about places and people within the Shire of Nillumbik, an urban and rural municipality in Melbourne's north, contributes to an understanding of the history of the Shire. Published in 2008 immediately prior to the Black Saturday bushfires of February 7, 2009, it documents sites that were impacted, and in some cases destroyed by the fires. It includes photographs taken especially for the publication, creating a unique time capsule representing the Shire in the early 21st century. It remains the most recent comprehenesive publication devoted to the Shire's history connecting local residents to the past. nillumbik now and then (marshall-king) collection, diamond creek, sutherland home for children

On the crest of Stanhope Hill at Peter Street, Eltham, stands the former home of a couple, Clem and Nina Christensen who had a major influence on the literary development of post World War 2 Australia. Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p109 On the crest of Stanhope Hill at Peter Street, Eltham, stands the former home of a couple, who had a major influence on the literary development of post World War Two Australia. In 1946, Clem and Nina Christensen bought the house, which had been designed by Harold Desbrowe Annear, considered to be one of Australia’s most innovative architects in the first quarter of the 20th century.1 That year the stucco building with a metal roof, built in 1910, was extended to the north and south. The main residence was built of jarrah, with stucco walls, floors of Tasmanian hardwood and rooms panelled with Californian redwood (sequoia). The property included a cottage, former stables, a dairy and meat-house. From its beginnings the property has attracted artists and intellectuals. Official World War One artist, Will Longstaff, bought the property – then 15½ acres (6ha) around 1900. Famous for his painting The Ghosts of Menin Gate, now in the Australian War Memorial Canberra, Longstaff was the cousin of another well-known painter, Sir John Longstaff. Several leading artists visited Longstaff at Stanhope including Walter Withers of the Heidelberg School, who lived in Brougham Street, Eltham. In 1919, Theo Handfield, father of author and journalist John Handfield, bought the property from Mrs Longstaff. Then in 1924 the land was subdivided and most of the estate (80 blocks) was auctioned. The next owner was related to novelist Virginia Woolf. Bishop Reginald Stephen, Warden of Trinity College, bought the house and five acres (2 ha) in 1928. He was related to Sir Leslie Stephen, the first editor of the Dictionary of National Biography and Woolf’s father. Novelist and music critic John Harcourt, was the next tenant, while he and his wife Fay, built their mud-brick house Clay Nuneham, at the foot of Stanhope Hill. Dr Clem and Mrs Nina Christensen, lived in the house until their deaths. Clem Christensen – who died aged 91 in 2003 – was a poet, short story writer and painter. However, he is most noted for founding Australia’s foremost literary journal2 Meanjin (originally Meanjin Papers), which he described as ‘democratic left of centre’, in Brisbane in 1940. Clem brought Meanjin to Melbourne in 1945 and remained editor until 1975. Enormously influential, Meanjin spawned and encouraged many of Australia’s best literary talents and it had an international reputation. Meanjin was the first to publish such writers as Judith Wright and David Malouf and it encouraged writers like Patrick White and Peter Carey. Nina Christensen – who died aged 89 in 2001 – was founding Editor of the Melbourne Slavonic Studies Journal and pioneered the study of Russian in Australia. In 1946 she established the Department of Russian Language and Literature at The University of Melbourne, which she led until 1977. Nina’s graduates largely staffed subsequent departments, in other Australian universities.3 However Nina’s Russian heritage and Clem’s outspoken views caused problems. They were forced to defend themselves in the Petrov inspired Royal Commission on Espionage in the 1950s, but were exonerated. The Christensens attracted and hosted many distinguished Australian and foreign writers, artists and academics, including Nobel prize-winning novelist, Patrick White and the world’s then leading cellist, Mstislav Rostropovich.4 Other writers and intellectuals who visited Stanhope were: Vance Palmer, Alan Marshall, A D Hope, Xavier Herbert, Nevil Shute, Geoffrey Dutton, Martin Boyd, Judah Waten, Bruce Grant, Dorothy Hewett and Sir Herbert Read. Painters included: Danila Vassilieff, Arthur Boyd, Albert Tucker, Justus Jörgensen, Robert Hughes and Clifton Pugh. Academics included: Manning Clark, Geoffrey Blainey, W Macmahon Ball, Richard Downing, Geoffrey Serle and scientist Tim Marshall. Politicians included: Jim Cairns, Pauline Toner, Lance Barnard, Sir Paul Hasluck, Sheryl Garbutt and performance artists included: film star Olivia Newton-John, members of the Bolshoi ballet and the Russian State Ballet of Siberia.5 Nina Christensen was honoured in 2006 at the Eltham Living and Learning Centre with the building of an amphitheatre designed by V Sverdlin.This collection of almost 130 photos about places and people within the Shire of Nillumbik, an urban and rural municipality in Melbourne's north, contributes to an understanding of the history of the Shire. Published in 2008 immediately prior to the Black Saturday bushfires of February 7, 2009, it documents sites that were impacted, and in some cases destroyed by the fires. It includes photographs taken especially for the publication, creating a unique time capsule representing the Shire in the early 21st century. It remains the most recent comprehenesive publication devoted to the Shire's history connecting local residents to the past. nillumbik now and then (marshall-king) collection, clem christesen, eltham, nina christesen, peter street, stanhope

The Eltham Community and Reception Centre was Australia's first public mud-brick building. Commissioned in 1977 by Eltham Shire Council, led by Shire president (and architect) Robert Marshall, architects Whitford and Peck were asked to design a multipurpose facility in mud-brick and timber. The official opening was performed by the Hon. R.J. Hamer; E.D., M.P., Premier of Victorai on Saturday, April 22, 1978. Architects: Whitford & Peck Pty Ltd Quantity Surveyor: D.J. Cant & Associates Structural Civil Engineers: Charlett & Moore Pty Ltd Landscape: Peter Glass, Dennis Edwards Mech Elec: Lobley Treidel & Partners Pty Ltd Acoustics: Riley Barden & Kirkhope Builder: L.U. Simon Pty Ltd Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p177 The Wiggles performed there, so has the ABC’s Play School. New citizens have made their vows, volunteers have been honoured, school children have performed, weddings celebrated and people mourned at funerals. Since 1978 the Eltham Community and Reception Centre at the corner of Pitt Street and Main Road, has provided a beautiful and quintessential Eltham environment for people from all over Melbourne. Recognised as Australia’s first public mud-brick building, the centre was built partly on the site of the parsonage of the former Methodist Church (now the Uniting Church).1 Commissioned by the Eltham Council headed by President Robert Marshall, architects Whitford and Peck were asked to design a multipurpose facility in mud-brick and timber. Following public consultation, it was agreed to build a centre for dances, exhibitions, films, plays or concerts. The results – at a cost of around $620,000 – captured the Eltham rustic style. The building – in soft tones of mud-brick and timber and immense floor-to-ceiling windows – overlooks the Diamond Creek and sporting fields. Eltham’s strong artistic heritage is reflected in the centre. Although the lighting is not ideal for a gallery and labels cannot be placed on walls, the centre hosts the Nillumbik Art Awards and displays around ten to 20% of the Nillumbik Shire Art Collection, usually for around a year at a time.2 On permanent display, close to the entrance, is local artist Clifton Pugh’s White Choughs in the Landscape. Further to the right is the Walter Withers Gallery, named after a local member of the Heidelberg School of artists. As part of the Eltham Gateway opposite the Eltham Hotel, the centre stands on what was once part of the Eltham Town Centre along this section of Main Road, then known as Maria Street. On the same site once stood the house and flour mill owned by Henry Dendy, best known as the founder of Brighton, although he lived longer in Eltham. Beside the drive is a wheel-rim tool with accompanying plaque, illustrating a technology important during the horse-powered age and now almost completely gone, as has the blacksmith’s shop that had housed it nearby. The implement is a platform for fitting iron tyres to the wooden rims of cartwheels. Beneath it is a capsule placed in 1985 to commemorate Victoria’s 150 years, which is to be opened in 2035. Although the plants, forming part of the landscaping by Peter Glass and Denis Edwards, are largely indigenous and other native species, some exotic plants are protected as an important link with the site’s past. Planted at the front around 1920, is a large Peppercorn tree with two joined trunks growing from the base, and close by is a Bhutan Cypress (Cupressus torulosa). Three other Peppercorn trees fringe the drive. The building includes two halls – the larger seating 250 people – and a large foyer overlooking trees and ovals. Both halls have retractable rear walls providing varying spaces as required, and guests can use several external decks. A site for outdoor theatre has been carved out of the natural slope outside the entrance. The Bricklayers Union refused to use the traditional mud-bricks, which weigh more than 22kg. As a result the mud-bricks were redesigned to reduce their weight and were laid back-to-back to produce a wall of normal thickness.3 The centre’s massive timber frame is reminiscent of timber bridge construction, with infill panels of mud-brick.4 In accord with the rustic style are colossal rough-sawn posts, bolts and steel brackets. The combination of mud-brick, exposed feature timber framing and creative design in this centre, characterises Eltham’s innovative buildings and the social movement behind them from the 1940s to the 1970s.This collection of almost 130 photos about places and people within the Shire of Nillumbik, an urban and rural municipality in Melbourne's north, contributes to an understanding of the history of the Shire. Published in 2008 immediately prior to the Black Saturday bushfires of February 7, 2009, it documents sites that were impacted, and in some cases destroyed by the fires. It includes photographs taken especially for the publication, creating a unique time capsule representing the Shire in the early 21st century. It remains the most recent comprehenesive publication devoted to the Shire's history connecting local residents to the past. nillumbik now and then (marshall-king) collection, eltham community and reception centre, mudbrick construction

Born 26 June 1865 at Manchester, England Husband of Mrs. Edith Ann Maria GAULT Of 'The Inglenook', Sea Parade, Cheltenham, Vic. Aged 50 years Enlisted 01 July 1915 for Continuous Service Embarked 16 July 1915 per 'HMAT Demosthenes' from Melbourne, Vic ​Pay rate of 19s 0d after embarkation Embarked 29 March 1916 per 'RMS Orontes' from Melbourne, Vic. Served in Egypt and on the Western Front Returned to Australia 01 November 1919 Awarded OBE Death of Rev. J. A. Gault The Rev. J. A. Gault, a Methodist minister, who was widely known to Australian soldiers as Padre Gault, died yesterday after a long illness. One of the best-loved padres in the AIF, Mr. Gault served for four years with the Australians, at first in Egypt and later in France and England. After the war, he continued to show great interest in returned soldiers and work in training camps. When he retired in February, 1934, Mr. Gault had been in the ministry for 40 years. Bom at Manchester. England on June 10, 1865 he came to Australia when aged three years in the sailing-ship Antiope. He was educated at Gold street State school and later at Wesley College. After his appointment as a minister, he served the church in many circuits in Tasmania and Victoria. Before the war he was superintendent of the Methodist Mission at Collingwood,and after his return from overseas he occupied important positions, including those of superintendent minister in the Brunswick, Port Melbourne, and Yarra street, Geelong, circuits. His last charge was at Camberwell. After ill-health caused him to retire, he lived at Mentone. He has left a widow, a son, and two daughters. Dr. Edward Gault. of Collins street, is a brother, and there are two sisters in New Zealand. The funeral will leave Mr. Gault's home In Sea parade, Mentone, tomorrow, at 2p.m., for the Methodist Church, Mentone. It will then proceed to the Springvale Crematorium. W. D. Rose and Son. Cheltenham, are making the arrangemnts. R.S.L. Tribute "Returned soldiers will learn of the death of Padre Gault with deep regret," said the president of the Returned Soldiers' League (Mr. G. W. Holland) lastnight. "He was revered by the AIF. for his unfailing sympathy, understanding, and comradeship." - from the Melbourne Argus 02 Feb 1938 "REV. J. A. GAULT. BELOVED A.I.F."PADRE." Death After A Long Illness. After a long Illness, the death occurred at his home at Mentone yesterday afternoon, of Rev. James Archibald ("Padre") Gault, one of the best known and beloved Methodist chaplains to the A.I.F. at Galllpoli and in France. Sorrow at the "padre's" demise, at the age of 72 years, will be shared not only by the thousands to whom he rendered, both spiritual and temporal comfort during the war, but, also by a host of friends won during a long and. fruitful, ministry at many centres in the State, and as chaplain at military camps after the war. He retired from the ministry three years ago, and had suffered Ill-health from that time. Deceased entered the Methodist ministry in 1894, and was ordained four years later. After a successful year as conference evangelist. he was stationed at Mansfield, then at Richmond. Following a ministry at Richmond he was transferred to Tasmania, where for twelve years he exercised his ministry at Mt Lyell Launceston, Penguin and Hobart. Returning to Victoria, Mr. Gault was stationed at St. Kilda, and when the war broke out he was associated with the Colllngwood Mission. He left on active service as a chaplain with the first troops, and was ' present ' throughout the Galllpoli campaign. Later he was with the forces In France, and remained on active service until the last of the troops were demobilised to 1920. He was affectionately known as "padre"after the war to the thousands of soldiers who had learned to regard him as guide, philosopher and friend In the trenches. He was noted always for the good cheer he invariably brought to the troops, and his famous "stunts" among the men were subsequently recorded by him in his publication, "The Stunt Book." For services rendered he was made a member of the Order of the British Empire. On his return to Australia In 1920 he was stationed at Brunswick for three years, and then followed ministries at Port Melbourne, Spring-road, Malvern and finally at Camberwell. A deeply spiritual man, he brought a rare devotion to his ministry, and was beloved by his congregations and ministerial brethren alike. He shunned the limelight, and was one of the most retiring men in conference affairs. The deceased is survived by a widow, two daughters and, one, son. Dr. Edward L. Gaul is a brother." - from the Melbourne Age 02 Feb 1938 B & W waist length studio portrait of the Rev. James Archibald Gault dressed in uniform as Chaplain to the A.I.F. Mounted on grey card.Padre J.A. Gault OBE

The Tower of London, officially Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle located on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the square mile of the City of London by the open space known as Tower Hill. It was founded towards the end of 1066 as part of the Norman Conquest of England. The White Tower, which gives the entire castle its name, was built by William the Conqueror in 1078, and was a resented symbol of oppression, inflicted upon London by the new ruling elite. The castle was used as a prison from 1100 (Ranulf Flambard) until 1952 (Kray twins),[3] although that was not its primary purpose. A grand palace early in its history, it served as a royal residence. As a whole, the Tower is a complex of several buildings set within two concentric rings of defensive walls and a moat. There were several phases of expansion, mainly under Kings Richard the Lionheart, Henry III, and Edward I in the 12th and 13th centuries. The general layout established by the late 13th century remains despite later activity on the site. The Tower of London has played a prominent role in English history. It was besieged several times, and controlling it has been important to controlling the country. The Tower has served variously as an armoury, a treasury, a menagerie, the home of the Royal Mint, a public record office, and the home of the Crown Jewels of England. From the early 14th century until the reign of Charles II, a procession would be led from the Tower to Westminster Abbey on the coronation of a monarch. In the absence of the monarch, the Constable of the Tower is in charge of the castle. This was a powerful and trusted position in the medieval period. In the late 15th century the castle was the prison of the Princes in the Tower. Under the Tudors, the Tower became used less as a royal residence, and despite attempts to refortify and repair the castle its defences lagged behind developments to deal with artillery. The peak period of the castle's use as a prison was the 16th and 17th centuries, when many figures who had fallen into disgrace, such as Elizabeth I before she became queen, Sir Walter Raleigh, and Elizabeth Throckmorton were held within its walls. This use has led to the phrase "sent to the Tower". Despite its enduring reputation as a place of torture and death, popularised by 16th-century religious propagandists and 19th-century writers, only seven people were executed within the Tower before the World Wars of the 20th century. Executions were more commonly held on the notorious Tower Hill to the north of the castle, with 112 occurring there over a 400-year period. In the latter half of the 19th century, institutions such as the Royal Mint moved out of the castle to other locations, leaving many buildings empty. Anthony Salvin and John Taylor took the opportunity to restore the Tower to what was felt to be its medieval appearance, clearing out many of the vacant post-medieval structures. In the First and Second World Wars, the Tower was again used as a prison, and witnessed the executions of 12 men for espionage. After the Second World War, damage caused during the Blitz was repaired, and the castle reopened to the public. Today the Tower of London is one of the country's most popular tourist attractions. Under the ceremonial charge of the Constable of the Tower, it is cared for by the charity Historic Royal Palaces and is protected as a World Heritage Site.(Wikipedia) A World Heritage Site is a landmark which has been officially recognized by the United Nations, specifically by UNESCO. Sites are selected on the basis of having cultural, historical, scientific or some other form of significance, and they are legally protected by international treaties. UNESCO regards these sites as being important to the collective interests of humanity. More specifically, a World Heritage Site is an already classified landmark on the earth, which by way of being unique in some respect as a geographically and historically identifiable piece is of special cultural or physical significance (such as either due to hosting an ancient ruins or some historical structure, building, city, complex, desert, forest, island, lake, monument, or mountain) and symbolizes a remarkable footprint of extreme human endeavour often coupled with some act of indisputable accomplishment of humanity which then serves as a surviving evidence of its intellectual existence on the planet. And with an ignoble intent of its practical conservation for posterity, but which otherwise could be subject to inherent risk of endangerment from human or animal trespassing, owing to unmonitored/uncontrolled/unrestricted nature of access or threat by natural or accelerated extinction owing to local administrative negligence, hence it would have been listed and demarcated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to have been identified or recognised and officially christened and internationally elevated through multilateral declaration by UNESCO as a universally protected zone. [1] The list is maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 UNESCO member states which are elected by the General Assembly. (Wikipedia)The Tower of London is a UNESCO world heritage site.tower of london

Transcript: Athenaeum building celebrates 170 years Australian Broadcasting Corporation Broadcast: 11/11/2009 Reporter: Lisa Whitehead Tomorrow marks the 170th birthday of one of the nation's historic cultural landmarks. Melbourne’s Athenaeum building has, in one form or other, provided education and entertainment for the Victorian colony as it became a city; and along the way, documented its growth. Transcript KERRY O’BRIEN, PRESENTER: Tomorrow marks the 170th birthday of one of the nation's historic cultural landmarks. Melbourne's Athenaeum building has, in one form or another, provided education and entertainment. For the Victorian colonies it became a city and along the way documented its growth. The building's original library and theatre still draw devotees and as Lisa Whitehead reports, a loyal band of volunteers. KEVIN QUIGLEY, ATHENAEUM PRESIDENT: There's nothing like us that has been here from day one, four years after the boat pushed ashore, here we are. It's a thread that runs through the life of Melbourne. LISA WHITEHEAD, REPORTER: In the heart of Melbourne's CBD, the Athenaeum is a celebrity in disguise, the oldest cultural icon in the city, but barely noticed. MARJORIE DALVEAN, VOLUNTEER HISTORIAN: People of Melbourne walk past this area and they have no idea what it is. RAY LAWLER, PLAYWRIGHT: It seemed to me to be a place that absolutely, or breathes Melbourne, I suppose, culture. LISA WHITEHEAD: Just four years after Melbourne was founded, the colony built a Mechanic's Institution, one of the first in the world, a place where the working class could meet and learn. KEVIN QUIGLEY: People think of it as Wild West sort of place where these hearty types drank and rushed about, but Melbourne was freely settled. It was a city of people who wanted to better themselves - entrepreneurs. And the Mechanic's Institution was that innovative idea that had grown up in Edinburgh and London about providing an opportunity for education for the working people. LISA WHITEHEAD: Mark Twain lectured there. Later, other buildings were added and a theatre to host classic plays. And it adopted its more bourgeois friendly title of the Athenaeum. Crucially from the start there was the library, the first to offer affordable lending to the working man. And it still attracts devotees. Former University lecturer Margaret Bowman, 89, comes in every Wednesday, along with her dog to join an enthusiastic band of volunteers sorting through the archives. MARGARET BOWMAN, FORMER UNIVERSITY LECTURER: Doing research is something that I find actually I enjoy more than anything. Every old lady needs to have a project and now I've got a project. MARJORIE DALVEAN: Margaret, Christine has just found out that Alfred Deakin was a member here from 1874 to 1877. This place is not flashy, we've never been flashy. But book lovers walk in here and they know this is the place for them. ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE: Old times and old names. The Athenaeum theatre in Melbourne for more than 40 years has been one of the city's best known cinemas. LISA WHITEHEAD: In the 20th century, the theatre surrendered to the new craze of talking pictures, and one particular fan was famous Australian playwright Ray Lawler. At 13, he dropped out of school to work in a Footscray factory and two years later his first trip to the glamorous Athenaeum cinema hinted at the education he was missing. RAY LAWLER: It just had a style about it which I responded to, I think. I was looking for something and this seemed to be part of it. Ray Lawler went on to write "Summer of the Seventeenth Doll" and found literary fame overseas. About a century after it had started as an educational place for the working man, Ray Lawler had, in effect, become an Athenaeum graduate. RAL LAWLER: If they had been looking for the sort of person that they were hoping to encourage along the way, I suppose I would have been somebody that might have fitted the mould, you know. LISA WHITEHEAD: In time, the cinema was returned to its theatrical roots. FRANK THRING, 1977: It has a great resemblance to the Theatre Royal in Hobart which Larry Olivier has called the best theatre he's ever worked in. And it's almost identical. It is the true Victorian playhouse. The horseshoe shaped thing: stalls, dress circle and gallery. And you're close to the audience and they're close to you. Marvellous feeling. LISA WHITEHEAD: Today, it's still a theatre. But time has brought compromises. The once vaunted art gallery has now covered its windows and become a comedy club and performance space. TV and suburban life have eaten away at the library membership. It offers an online service now, and a recent federal government grant will pay for the upkeep of its gracious interior, including the 1930s elevator Ray Lawler used to ride. For him, it's money well spent on history quietly made and discreetly observed. RAY LAWLER: It's the lack of awareness, I think, that people don't know what they've got here. They've really got the whole history of Melbourne almost. KEVIN QUIGLEY: It was a similar organisation in Sydney but we are the only one that's got a continual lineage on the same spot. We started here and we're still here and we'll be here for another 100 years. KERRY O'BRIEN: Lisa Whitehead on a great Melbourne landmark. © 2010 ABC | Privacy Policy Beginning as the Melbourne Mechanics' Institution in 1839, the Melbourne Athenaeum has a long history that reflects the cultural and social development of Melbourne. It continues to be managed as a not-for-profit organisation by a volunteer board, with a subscription library (maintained since 1839) and a leased theatre.Video broadcast ABC 7:30 Report for 11/11/2009. "Tomorrow marks the 170th birthday of one of the nation's historic cultural landmarks. Melbourne’s Athenaeum building has, in one form or other, provided education and entertainment for the Victorian colony as it became a city; and along the way, documented its growth."athenaeum, australian broadcasting corporation, kerry o’brien, kevin quigley, lisa whitehead, marjorie dalvean, ray lawler, margaret bowman, frank thring.

This majestic peacock embodies technical achievement, skill and ingenuity of artisans during the 19th century. It is now known as the 'Loch Ard Peacock' and was designed and modelled in 1873 by Paul Comolera (1818-1897), and fired in one piece at the Minton factory at Stoke-on-Trent in the United Kingdom in 1875. The peacock has been portrayed in symbolic motifs and has figured heavily in folktales and fables since antiquity, and many cultures around the world see it as a symbol of beauty, rebirth and power. Wealthy Victorians, loved majolica, and the large peacock would have been the ultimate home accessory, as a conservatory ornament – combining their desire for nature, the exotic and vibrant colours. The peacock model was listed in catalogues by Minton & Co. for a retail price of 35 guineas or sold as a pair for 90 guineas. Minton & Co. was founded in 1793 by Thomas Minton (1765–1836) and became famous pottery and porcelain manufacturers. Comolera was a French artist and sculptor, renowned for dramatic naturalistic forms, and life-size renditions of birds and animals that won him admiration in public and artistic circles. He was employed by Minton & Co. from 1873 to 1880, and the life-sized peacock became his best known work. Comolera, kept a live peacock loaned from the nearby Duke of Sutherland's Trentham Hall Estate in his studio, to create a life-size model of fine buff earthenware model, which was then hand painted in brilliantly coloured green and blue glazes to mimic the peafowl’s dazzling plumage. There are no surviving production records, but according to documents in the Minton Archive, nine peacocks were made by Comolera. However, today some historians now believe that twelve were fired at the Minton factory, research is still on-going. These peacocks were so admired that the Minton & Co. used them as exhibition showpieces at International Exhibitions in London, Paris, and the United States of America, assuring the company had a worldwide reputation. So, when Melbourne hosted an International Exposition in 1880, Minton & Co. sent out ceramics, tiles and in particular, this peacock was intended to be part of their exhibit in the British Court in the Exhibition Building, built in the Carlton Gardens. The early dispatch date (1878) indicates that the company may have intended to exhibit their wares including the peacock at the 1879 Sydney International Exhibition, but the company did not take up this option. The ship that Minton & Co. used to bring the peacock and their other wares to the Australian colonies was the ill-fated Loch Ard, which sunk after striking Mutton Bird Island near Port Campbell, Victoria in calm foggy weather in June 1878 on the final leg on the ships journey to Melbourne. The loss of 52 lives made it one of Victoria’s worst shipwrecks. Therefore, this peacock never made it to the grand exposition in Melbourne, as Minton & Co. had planned. Charles McGillivray dragged this peacock, still in its original packing case onto the beach in the gorge just two days after the Loch Ard went down. The peacock was rescued unscathed apart from a chip on its beak (only repaired in 1988). After a disagreement with Melbourne Customs Officer, Joseph Daish, McGillivray stopped his salvage operations, leaving the peacock on the beach. The second salvagers were James Miller and Thomas Keys. Miller was a member of the firm Howarth, Miller and Matthews, Geelong, who had brought the salvage rights to the Loch Ard wreck on 10 June. When Miller and Keys arrived at the wreck site, a storm had washed many of the salvaged goods including this peacock back into the sea. The two men found the peacock in its case ‘bobbing along in the water’, and pulled it back to the beach. To ensure the peacock wasn't washed out to sea again, Miller and Keys hauled the packing case containing the peacock up the gorge's cliff face to the top, ready to be transported. In an interview in 1928, Keys claimed that at the time of the rescue the head had broken from the body. This account was proven to be true in 1988, following the birds display in Brisbane. This peacock began its life in Australia, not in grandeur of an International Exhibition as intended, but in the hallway of a simple domestic house in Geelong. It appears Minton &Co. did not attempt to buy this peacock back. Florence Miller, daughter of James Miller (Loch Ard salvage rights holder), later remarked that the only item of real value rescued from the wreck had been the peacock and that this had been kept by her father in the family home for many years, and became a treasured family possession. As such, this 'Loch Ard peacock' was almost forgotten and mistaken with other Minton peacocks around the world. Florence tried to sell the peacock due to financial difficulties in the 1930s but was unsuccessful. While attempting to sell the peacock, it was displayed in the window of the Argus newspaper office on Collins Street, and at the National Museum on 1st June 1935, the date of the 57th anniversary of the Loch Ard wreck. As a result, the peacock again attracted public attention with books, newspaper and magazine articles being published telling the story of its survival from a shipwreck. After Miller's death, the peacock remained in an antique dealer's shop in Melbourne for many years until it was bought at auction by Frank Ridley-Lee, in the 1940s, who displayed the bird at his home in Ivanhoe/Heidelberg. The peacock remained in the hands of the Ridley-Lee, until it was offered for sale in 1975 as part of Mrs Ridley-Lee's estate. In 1975, an advertisement in Melbourne newspaper, the Age announced the sale by auction of the art collection of the Ridley-Lee estate that included this peacock. The peacock was not sold at this time, as the reserve price of $4500 was not met. This news was passed on to the board of the newly created Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village. Urgent efforts were made to raise the necessary funds through fundraising by the Warrnambool City Council and public donations. The Fletcher Jones Company and the Victorian Government contributed half of the of the cost. On 9 September 1975, the peacock was purchased by Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village, and it found a new home at the maritime museum. Since, it has only left Warrnambool twice. Firstly, in 1980 at the centenary celebrations of the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne, and secondly, in 1988, the peacock was given pride of place at the entrance to the Victorian Pavilion at the Brisbane World Expo, acknowledging that this Minton majolica peacock is the most significant shipwreck object in Australia. The Minton majolica peacock is considered of historical social and aesthetic significance to Victoria and is one of only a few 'objects' registered on the Victorian Heritage Register (H 2132), as it is a most notable and rare object associated with the Minton factory of the 1870s and works by the celebrated sculptor Paul Comolera along with the wreck of the Loch Ard on the Victorian coastline. This Minton peacock is historically significant for its rarity; it was one of only 9-12 known to exist. The shipwreck of the Loch Ard is also 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 can 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 early social and historical themes. The collection is historically significant is that it is associated, unfortunately with the worst and best-known shipwreck in Victoria's history. The peacock, resplendent in polychrome glaze, stands perched on a rocky plinth decorated with vines, leaves, flowers, blackberries and wild mushrooms. The peacock’s breast is cobalt blue; the wings and legs are in naturalistic colours. The tail is a mass of feathers coloured in green, ochre blue and brown — a fantastic display of artistry and Minton expertise. Inscribed at the base :P Comolera, and a Minton & Co. design number: 2045.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, loch ard, loch ard gorge, peacock, paul comolera, victorian heritage register, minton peacock, minton & co., stoke upon trent, bird figures, mintons, ceramics, international expositions, majolica, naturalistic, staffordshire

KEVIN ‘BOOFA’ INNES By Lucy McCormick Kevin was a member of the celebrated Innes clan from Inglewood, in Central Victoria. “I think the first Innes’ came to Inglewood in 1851. My daughter used to say she can’t marry anyone from Inglewood, because she’s related to them all,” says Kevin. ‘Boofa’ is enjoying some well-earned relaxation on the couch after breaking a kneecap six or seven months ago in a track work incident. Not that it seems to be bothering him too much; he’s got plenty of time to keep up with the trots on television. “I do follow them,” Kevin says. “I don’t miss many, and I do have a bet. I like to sit in the chair and drive a race as much as anyone.” With an illustrious career both as a trainer and in the sulky, it’s a safe bet that Kevin Innes is a more than handy ‘grandstand driver’. His name is associated as a trainer/driver with many handy horses, including Lea Sands, Imatoff and Stormy Morn to name a few. Kevin is typically circumspect about his bigger triumphs, however that doesn’t seem to be what interests him the most. “I’ll tell you something,” he declares, doing just that, “I like winning with the horses that were no good. Some people never get a good horse. Imagine that. Luck is a very, very important thing. You have to have luck to buy a good horse at the sales, to get it going, keep it sound, find a race for it, find and owner and get a draw. And they still make a liar of you.” Funny, interesting or quirky stories seem to be of greater interest to Kevin, such as the time he had a strong chance in a standing start race – the favourite in the race being his only worry. “I told the owner it only had a 20-metre handicap – I couldn’t beat it off that,” he remembers. “So I was leading, waiting for the favourite to run past me. Toward the finish, I heard it coming, and it ran straight past all right – minus the driver. He’d fallen out of the cart and I won the race. Just lucky.” The Innes family have always been heavily involved in one sporting pursuit or another – Kevin himself being a champion bike rider of his time. “My Uncle Roy was a good bike rider, so he dared me to have a go. It turned out I was quite good at it as well.” So good, in fact that for many years Kevin was able to make a living from bike riding, riding the ‘board track’ for many years. “We trained hard. Bike riding was very big back then, we’d train and ride three or four times a week.” Kevin’s riding career spanned four Herald Sun Tours, a Warrnambool to Melbourne and a Sydney to Melbourne race, to name a few. “It definitely gets you in – it was long hours,” he muses. “But like anything, horse racing included, you only get back what you put in. We trained hard. I never drank, and I still don’t. I’ve seen that many athletes, great ones too, brought down by alcohol.” Lucky with injury too, Kevin can only remember a sore ankle – as well as the requisite scrapes and abrasions from tumbles on the wooden boards of the velodromes. He still enjoys watching all the big bike races when he can. “You can watch them race all over the world – France, Sweden, Germany. “To be honest I sit up and watch them with my son and we get just as much of a kick looking at the countryside than anything else. It’s so different to when I was racing.” Betting on the bike racing was big in Kevin’s day as well, and some of the bookies Kevin saw betting on the bike racing, he saw at the Showgrounds betting on the trots on a Friday or Saturday night. “Racing was different back then. There would be twelve thousand people at the showgrounds – they don’t have to come anymore, it’s just as easy to watch it on the TV.” Kevin remembers in those days that drivers had to ‘weigh in’ as well – everyone who drove needed to weigh ten stone (just under 65 kilograms). It’s something he remembers fondly. “I know not everyone will.” Kevin won’t be drawn on the subject of favourite drivers, either. “Look. Driving is different now. No disrespect to current drivers, but you had to think a lot more on a three furlong track than they do now on the bigger tracks. You had to drive with brains. And I really believe that good horses make good drivers. The horses are very good these days. Today’s drivers – your Gavin Langs, Chris Alfords – they’re thinkers, and brains will beat brawn every time. The girls are just as good now too. You only have to look at Kerryn Manning.” A garrulous and popular character, Kevin has trained horses for the likes of legendary Richmond player Jack Dyer, and also spent his fair share of time hosting sportsman’s nights, holding his own with the likes of Ron Barassi. On one such night, they had flown in a light aircraft to their destination. During their show, Kevin noticed their pilot, sitting in the front row, laughing appreciatively. There was one problem. He had a beer in his hand, and was consuming it with some enthusiasm. As the night wore on, the pilot became more and more inebriated, and Kevin became more and more disturbed, knowing that this was the same pilot who was to fly them home when they finished. Unbeknownst to Kevin, however, the flight had been cancelled and the pilot hadn’t told anyone, instead deciding to take full advantage of his client’s hospitality. For now, Kevin is happy living in Inglewood with partner Barbara. Son Grant and daughter Carla aren’t far away (both work at the Bendigo Harness track, and Carla has held both a trainer and driver’s licence). His granddaughter, Barclay Sands, was born on the same day of the demise of their star performer, Lea Sands, and may give the biggest hint yet just how important the world of harness racing is to Kevin ‘Boofa’ Innes. Blue with white yolkKevin Innes embroidered on left side chestkevin innes, k innes, bendigo harness racing club, bhrc, bendigo, horses, race colours, trotting, pacing, harness racing

The Birds of Australia is a 12 volume work, in a total of 14 books. The books were used as an ornithological handbook. They contain scientific text as well as over 600 hand-coloured lithographed plates by J.G. Keulemans, H. Grönvold, Roland Green, H. Goodchild and G.E. Lodge. The work was written, sponsored and organised by Gregory M. Matthews, F.R.S.C. Erc. who were a wealthy Australian and an amateur ornithologist? His titles included – -Fellow of the Linnean and Zoological Societies of London -Member of the British Ornithologists’ Union -Corresponding Fellow of the American Ornithologists’ Union The volumes in our collection were originally donated to the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute and Free Library by William Lindsay. THE LINDSAYS (quoted from the book Of Many Things – A History of Warrnambool Shire by C.E. Sayers) The Lindsays were amongst the most prominent families in the Shire of Warrnambool, as pastoralists, sportsmen, municipal councillors, community leaders. The first of the family William arrived in Melbourne in 1841 and started a business as a livestock agent. The gold rushes sent him to the central Victoria diggings dealing in cattle. This was a business that boomed in the early 1850s, and he prospered. In 1859 he took over the Quamby run near Woolsthrope from Paul de Castella, the Yarra Valley Swiss vigneron who had brought the leasehold and improvements in 1853 from George You, who had pioneered the run. Quamby was originally 25,000 acres. It was heavily timbered, rough country, much of it swampy, a characteristic of the district. Lindsay used it to fatten cattle which gave large returns with the booming gold diggings towns paying high prices for beef. In 1862 purchases at auction made Quamby a freehold. In the next six years, a further 20,000 acres of Crown land were brought at auction to make the run one of the largest in the south-west district. The great profits from his cattle trading enabled Lindsay to make improvements to the holding, and to Union which was added in 1864. Much of the thick timber was cleared and the worst of the swamps drained. Union was 15,000 acres of freehold land when Kennedy sold it to Lindsay. It was heavily timbered, mostly blackwood, with large belts of wattle and honeysuckle. Much of the heavy native was ringbarked and cleared; much more was swept away by bushfire. It was expensive work, but Lindsay’s bank passbook was heavy with credit, and he did not spare money to make both Quamby and Union heavily developed stock runs. He was as lavish in social living; the bluestone Quamby homestead was one of the most hospitable in the district when William Lindsay was host there; its paddocks carried high-quality thoroughbreds: its stables housed steeplechasers and flat racers which won many races on Warrnambool and other courses; its coach houses were filled with carriages which took his guests to the great racing carnivals of the district. After William Lindsay died in 1897, in his eighty-fifth year, his two sons, William and James, managed Union and Quamby as a joint venture. This partnership ended in 1906 when William took over Union and James kept Quamby. The following year 10,000 acres of Union was subdivided and sold in lots of 100 acres to 700 acres for dairying and general farming. It was well-improved country, much of it alluvial flats. By then many of the paddocks were sheltered with blue gum belts, and they carried good pastures. The three Lindsays, father and two sons, gave many years of service to the Shire, and to many charitable, sporting, social and community organisations in the Warrnambool district. William Lindsay senior, was a Shire councillor for 15 years, and President several times. James Lindsay followed his father as a north riding councillor. He served nineteen years, from 1887 until his death in March 1908. He was President four times. Jimmy Lindsay was one of the most popular men in the south-west of Victoria. He was a fine sportsman: horse breeder, owner and a dashing amateur rider. He lived lavishly and played hard. For many years he guarded a herd of kangaroos, as many as 100 head, at Quamby. Descendants of the Lindsay kangaroos are still in the district. James Lindsay’s wife, Margaret Esther was a daughter of Samuel Shaw Parker, the first engineer of the Shire. Nell Lindsay, a daughter, lives in the Bluestone Quamby homestead. Only a little more than 60 acres of the original run still belongs to the property. William Lindsay junior succeeded his brother as a Shire councillor. He served for 25 years from 1908 until his death in 1934. So, the Lindsays, father and two sons, served as Shite councillors for an unbroken period of sixth-five years. William Lindsay junior had a life-long interest in horse racing, as breeder, owner and enthusiastic amateur steeplechase rider. He was elected a member of the Warrnambool racing club in 1901 and was president of the club for thirty-two years. He raced and rode horses for the love of the sport. He won the Villiers and Heytesbury Hunt Cup in the 1870s on his own horse, Ventura. In the year he died his horse Flavedo won the Warrnambool Grand Annual steeplechase. It was a sensational race. All of the contestants fell or lost their riders. When Flavedo baulked at a jump, its jockey R. Sweetman, remounted and completed the course to win the race. All of the Lindsays were passionately fond of the thoroughbred horse. Nell Lindsay talking to the author in the drawing-room of Quamby homestead - with many memories for her of its lavish years – said of a brother that he was put on a horse when he was two years old and never got off. William Lindsay junior made Union into a fine, high-producing property, breeding cattle and horses. He added to the bluestone house that David Kennedy started, established plantations of pines and gums, and made an attractive garden. 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 meeting room in November 1854 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 fund raising 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 court house 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 historic 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 Historic 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 This book is also part of the ‘Pattison Collection’, a collection of books and records that was originally owned by the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute, which was founded in Warrnambool in 1853. In 1935 Ralph Pattison was appointed as City Librarian to establish and organise the Warrnambool Library, as the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute was then called. When the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute 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 Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute. At this time some of the items were separated and identified as the ‘Pattison Collection’, named after Ralph Pattison. Eventually, the components of the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute 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. RALPH ERIC PATTISON 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 Pattison accepted a 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 Birds of Australia by Gregory M. Matthews is now considered a rare and valuable scientific and historic work on its own. These 12 volumes were donated in 1934 to The Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute and were included as part of the Pattison 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. The Birds of Australia Vol 1 Author: Gregory M Mathews Publisher: Witherby & Co, 326 HIGH HOLBORN LONDON Date: 1910-1911 Tan, leather bound illustrated workLabel on spine cover with typed text RA 598.2994 MAT Pastedown front endpaper has sticker from Warrnambool Mechanics Institute that reads Presented by W Lindsay Esq, “Union”, Woolsthorpe. Accession Number 15232 Date Received: 3-34 “W. Lindsay” embossed in gold on front cover, bottom right of bookflagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, the birds of australia, gregory m. matthews, witherby & co., h.f. & g. witherby, w lindsay, william lindsay, pattison collection, the birds of australia vol 1, union station, woolsthrope, quamby station, warrnambool mechanics’ institute and free library

The Birds of Australia is a 12 volume work, in a total of 14 books. The books were used as an ornithological handbook. They contain scientific text as well as over 600 hand-coloured lithographed plates by J.G. Keulemans, H. Grönvold, Roland Green, H. Goodchild and G.E. Lodge. The work was written, sponsored and organised by Gregory M. Matthews, F.R.S.C. Erc. who was a wealthy Australian and an amateur ornithologist. His titles included – -Fellow of the Linnean and Zoological Societies of London -Member of the British Ornithologists’ Union -Corresponding Fellow of the American Ornithologists’ Union The volumes in our collection were originally donated to the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute and Free Library by William Lindsay. THE LINDSAYS (quoted from the book Of Many Things – A History of Warrnambool Shire by C.E. Sayers) The Lindsays were amongst the most prominent families in the Shire of Warrnambool, as pastoralists, sportsmen, municipal councillors, community leaders. The first of the family William arrived in Melbourne in 1841 and started business as a livestock agent. The gold rushes sent him to the central Victoria diggings dealing in cattle. This was a business that boomed in the early 1850s, and he prospered. In 1859 he took over the Quamby run near Woolsthrope from Paul de Castella, the Yarra Valley Swiss vigneron who had brought the leasehold and improvements in 1853 from George Youl, who had pioneered the run. Quamby was originally 25,000 acres. It was heavily timbered, rough country, much of it swampy, a characteristic of the district. Lindsay used it to fatten cattle which gave large returns with the booming gold diggings towns paying high prices for beef. In 1862 purchases at auction made Quamby a freehold. In the next six years a further 20,000 acres of Crown land were brought at auction to make the run one of the largest in the south-west district. The great profits from his cattle trading enabled Lindsay to make improvements to the holding, and to Union which was added in 1864. Much of the thick timber was cleared and the worst of the swamps drained. Union was 15,000 acres of freehold when Kennedy sold it to Lindsay. It was heavily timbered, mostly blackwood, with large belts of wattle and honeysuckle. Much of the heavy native was ringbarked and cleared; much more was swept away by bushfire. It was expensive work, but Lindsay’s bank passbook was heavy with credit, and he did not spare money to make both Quamby and Union heavily developed stock runs. He was as lavish in social living; the bluestone Quamby homestead was one of the most hospitable in the district when William Lindsay was host there; its paddocks carried high quality thoroughbreds: its stables housed steeplechasers and flat racers which won many races on Warrnambool and other courses; its coach houses were filled with carriages which took his guests to the great racing carnivals of the district. After William Lindsay died in 1897, in his eighty-fifth year, his two sons, William and James, managed Union and Quamby as a joint venture. This partnership ended in 1906 when William took over Union and James kept Quamby. The following year 10,000 acres of Union were subdivided and sold in lots of 100 acres to 700 acres for dairying and general farming. It was well improved country, much of it alluvial flats. By then many of the paddocks were sheltered with blue gum belts, and they carried good pastures. The three Lindsays, father and two sons, gave many years of service to the Shire, and to many charitable, sporting, social and community organisations in the Warrnambool district. William Lindsay senior, was a Shire councillor for 15 years, and President several times. James Lindsay followed his father as a north riding councillor. He served nineteen years, from 1887 until his death in March 1908. He was President four times. Jimmy Lindsay was one of the most popular men in the south-west of Victoria. He was a fine sportsman: horse breeder, owner and a dashing amateur rider. He lived lavishly and played hard. For many years he guarded a herd of kangaroos, as many as 100 head, at Quamby. Descendants of the Lindsay kangaroos are still in the district. James Lindsay’s wife, Margaret Esther was a daughter of Samuel Shaw Parker, the first engineer of the Shire. Nell Lindsay, a daughter, lives in the Bluestone Quamby homestead. Only a little more than 60 acres of the original run still belongs to the property. William Lindsay junior succeeded his brother as a Shire councillor. He served for 25 years from 1908 until his death in 1934. So, the Lindsays, father and two sons, served as Shite councillors for an unbroken period of sixth-five years. William Lindsay junior had a life-long interest in horse racing, as breeder, owner and enthusiastic amateur steeplechase rider. He was elected a member of the Warrnambool racing club in 1901 and was president of the club for thirty-two years. He raced and rode horses for the love of the sport. He won the Villiers and Heytesbury Hunt Cup in the 1870s on his own horse, Ventura. In the year he died his horse Flavedo won the Warrnambool Grand Annual steeplechase. It was a sensational race. All of the contestants fell, or lost their riders. When Flavedo baulked at a jump, its jockey R. Sweetman, remounted and completed the course to win the race. All of the Lindsays were passionately fond of the thoroughbred horse. Nell Lindsay talking to the author in the drawing room of Quamby homestead - with many memories for her of its lavish years – said of a brother that he was put on a horse when he was two years old and never got off. William Lindsay junior made Union into a fine, high-producing property, breeding cattle and horses. He added to the bluestone house that David Kennedy started, established plantations of pines and gums, and made an attractive garden. 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 meeting room in November1854 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 fund raising 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 court house 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 historic 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 Historic 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 art works 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 This book is also part of the ‘Pattison Collection’, a collection of books and records that was originally owned by the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute, which was founded in Warrnambool in 1853. In 1935 Ralph Pattison was appointed as City Librarian to establish and organise the Warrnambool Library, as the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute was then called. When the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute 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 Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute. At this time some of the items were separated and identified as the ‘Pattison Collection’, named after Ralph Pattison. Eventually the components of the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute 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. RALPH ERIC PATTISON 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 Pattison accepted a 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 area 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 during 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 Birds of Australia by Gregory M. Matthews is now considered a rare and valuable scientific and historic work on its own. These 12 volumes were donated in 1934 to The Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute and were included as part of the Pattison 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. The Birds of Australia Vol 2 Author: Gregory M Mathews Publisher: Witherby & Co 326 HIGH HOLBORN LONDON Date: 1912-1913 Tan leather bound illustrated work. Label on spine cover with typed text RA 598.2994 MAT Pastedown front endpaper has sticker from Warrnambool Mechanics Institute and Free Library that reads “Presented by W. Lindsay Esq. ‘Union’ Woolsthrope” Accession Number: 15233 Date Received: 3-34 “W. Lindsay” embossed in gold on front cover, bottom right of book flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, the birds of australia, gregory m. matthews, witherby & co., h.f. & g. witherby, w lindsay, william lindsay, quamby woolsthorpe, union woolsthorpe, pattison collection, warrnambool library, warrnambool art gallery, joseph archibald, warrnambool mechanics’ institute and free library, ralph eric pattison, warrnambool city librarian, mechanics’ institute library, victorian library board, warrnambool books and records, warrnambool children’s library, the birds of australia vol 2, quamby station, union station, woolsthrope

The Birds of Australia is a 12 volume work, in a total of 14 books. The books were used as an ornithological handbook. They contain scientific text as well as over 600 hand-coloured lithographed plates by J.G. Keulemans, H. Grönvold, Roland Green, H. Goodchild and G.E. Lodge. The work was written, sponsored and organised by Gregory M. Matthews, F.R.S.C. Erc. who was a wealthy Australian and an amateur ornithologist. His titles included – -Fellow of the Linnean and Zoological Societies of London -Member of the British Ornithologists’ Union -Corresponding Fellow of the American Ornithologists’ Union The volumes in our collection were originally donated to the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute and Free Library by William Lindsay. THE LINDSAYS (quoted from the book Of Many Things – A History of Warrnambool Shire by C.E. Sayers) The Lindsays were amongst the most prominent families in the Shire of Warrnambool, as pastoralists, sportsmen, municipal councillors, community leaders. The first of the family William arrived in Melbourne in 1841 and started business as a livestock agent. The gold rushes sent him to the central Victoria diggings dealing in cattle. This was a business that boomed in the early 1850s, and he prospered. In 1859 he took over the Quamby run near Woolsthrope from Paul de Castella, the Yarra Valley Swiss vigneron who had brought the leasehold and improvements in 1853 from George Youl, who had pioneered the run. Quamby was originally 25,000 acres. It was heavily timbered, rough country, much of it swampy, a characteristic of the district. Lindsay used it to fatten cattle which gave large returns with the booming gold diggings towns paying high prices for beef. In 1862 purchases at auction made Quamby a freehold. In the next six years a further 20,000 acres of Crown land were brought at auction to make the run one of the largest in the south-west district. The great profits from his cattle trading enabled Lindsay to make improvements to the holding, and to Union which was added in 1864. Much of the thick timber was cleared and the worst of the swamps drained. Union was 15,000 acres of freehold when Kennedy sold it to Lindsay. It was heavily timbered, mostly blackwood, with large belts of wattle and honeysuckle. Much of the heavy native was ringbarked and cleared; much more was swept away by bushfire. It was expensive work, but Lindsay’s bank passbook was heavy with credit, and he did not spare money to make both Quamby and Union heavily developed stock runs. He was as lavish in social living; the bluestone Quamby homestead was one of the most hospitable in the district when William Lindsay was host there; its paddocks carried high quality thoroughbreds: its stables housed steeplechasers and flat racers which won many races on Warrnambool and other courses; its coach houses were filled with carriages which took his guests to the great racing carnivals of the district. After William Lindsay died in 1897, in his eighty-fifth year, his two sons, William and James, managed Union and Quamby as a joint venture. This partnership ended in 1906 when William took over Union and James kept Quamby. The following year 10,000 acres of Union were subdivided and sold in lots of 100 acres to 700 acres for dairying and general farming. It was well improved country, much of it alluvial flats. By then many of the paddocks were sheltered with blue gum belts, and they carried good pastures. The three Lindsays, father and two sons, gave many years of service to the Shire, and to many charitable, sporting, social and community organisations in the Warrnambool district. William Lindsay senior, was a Shire councillor for 15 years, and President several times. James Lindsay followed his father as a north riding councillor. He served nineteen years, from 1887 until his death in March 1908. He was President four times. Jimmy Lindsay was one of the most popular men in the south-west of Victoria. He was a fine sportsman: horse breeder, owner and a dashing amateur rider. He lived lavishly and played hard. For many years he guarded a herd of kangaroos, as many as 100 head, at Quamby. Descendants of the Lindsay kangaroos are still in the district. James Lindsay’s wife, Margaret Esther was a daughter of Samuel Shaw Parker, the first engineer of the Shire. Nell Lindsay, a daughter, lives in the Bluestone Quamby homestead. Only a little more than 60 acres of the original run still belongs to the property. William Lindsay junior succeeded his brother as a Shire councillor. He served for 25 years from 1908 until his death in 1934. So, the Lindsays, father and two sons, served as Shite councillors for an unbroken period of sixth-five years. William Lindsay junior had a life-long interest in horse racing, as breeder, owner and enthusiastic amateur steeplechase rider. He was elected a member of the Warrnambool racing club in 1901 and was president of the club for thirty-two years. He raced and rode horses for the love of the sport. He won the Villiers and Heytesbury Hunt Cup in the 1870s on his own horse, Ventura. In the year he died his horse Flavedo won the Warrnambool Grand Annual steeplechase. It was a sensational race. All of the contestants fell, or lost their riders. When Flavedo baulked at a jump, its jockey R. Sweetman, remounted and completed the course to win the race. All of the Lindsays were passionately fond of the thoroughbred horse. Nell Lindsay talking to the author in the drawing room of Quamby homestead - with many memories for her of its lavish years – said of a brother that he was put on a horse when he was two years old and never got off. William Lindsay junior made Union into a fine, high-producing property, breeding cattle and horses. He added to the bluestone house that David Kennedy started, established plantations of pines and gums, and made an attractive garden. 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 meeting room in November1854 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 fund raising 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 court house 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 historic 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 Historic 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 art works 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 This book is also part of the ‘Pattison Collection’, a collection of books and records that was originally owned by the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute, which was founded in Warrnambool in 1853. In 1935 Ralph Pattison was appointed as City Librarian to establish and organise the Warrnambool Library, as the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute was then called. When the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute 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 Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute. At this time some of the items were separated and identified as the ‘Pattison Collection’, named after Ralph Pattison. Eventually the components of the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute 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. RALPH ERIC PATTISON 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 Pattison accepted a 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 area 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 during 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 Birds of Australia by Gregory M. Matthews is now considered a rare and valuable scientific and historic work on its own. These 12 volumes were donated in 1934 to The Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute and were included as part of the Pattison 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. The Birds of Australia Vol 3 Author: Gregory M Mathews Publisher: Witherby & Co 326 HIGH HOLBORN LONDON Date: 1913-1914 Label on spine cover with typed text RA 598.2994 MAT Pastedown front endpaper has sticker from Warrnambool Mechanics Institute and Free Library that reads “Presented by W. Lindsay Esq. ‘Union’ Woolsthrope” Accession Number: 15234 Date Received: 3-34 “W. Lindsay” embossed in gold on front cover, bottom right of book flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, the birds of australia, gregory m. matthews, witherby & co., h.f. & g. witherby, w lindsay, william lindsay, quamby woolsthorpe, union woolsthorpe, pattison collection, warrnambool library, warrnambool art gallery, joseph archibald, warrnambool mechanics’ institute and free library, ralph eric pattison, warrnambool city librarian, mechanics’ institute library, victorian library board, warrnambool books and records, warrnambool children’s library, the birds of australia vol 3, quamby station, union station, woolsthrope

The Birds of Australia is a 12 volume work, in a total of 14 books. The books were used as an ornithological handbook. They contain scientific text as well as over 600 hand-coloured lithographed plates by J.G. Keulemans, H. Grönvold, Roland Green, H. Goodchild and G.E. Lodge. The work was written, sponsored and organised by Gregory M. Matthews, F.R.S.C. Erc. who was a wealthy Australian and an amateur ornithologist. His titles included – -Fellow of the Linnean and Zoological Societies of London -Member of the British Ornithologists’ Union -Corresponding Fellow of the American Ornithologists’ Union The volumes in our collection were originally donated to the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute and Free Library by William Lindsay. THE LINDSAYS (quoted from the book Of Many Things – A History of Warrnambool Shire by C.E. Sayers) The Lindsays were amongst the most prominent families in the Shire of Warrnambool, as pastoralists, sportsmen, municipal councillors, community leaders. The first of the family William arrived in Melbourne in 1841 and started business as a livestock agent. The gold rushes sent him to the central Victoria diggings dealing in cattle. This was a business that boomed in the early 1850s, and he prospered. In 1859 he took over the Quamby run near Woolsthrope from Paul de Castella, the Yarra Valley Swiss vigneron who had brought the leasehold and improvements in 1853 from George Youl, who had pioneered the run. Quamby was originally 25,000 acres. It was heavily timbered, rough country, much of it swampy, a characteristic of the district. Lindsay used it to fatten cattle which gave large returns with the booming gold diggings towns paying high prices for beef. In 1862 purchases at auction made Quamby a freehold. In the next six years a further 20,000 acres of Crown land were brought at auction to make the run one of the largest in the south-west district. The great profits from his cattle trading enabled Lindsay to make improvements to the holding, and to Union which was added in 1864. Much of the thick timber was cleared and the worst of the swamps drained. Union was 15,000 acres of freehold when Kennedy sold it to Lindsay. It was heavily timbered, mostly blackwood, with large belts of wattle and honeysuckle. Much of the heavy native was ringbarked and cleared; much more was swept away by bushfire. It was expensive work, but Lindsay’s bank passbook was heavy with credit, and he did not spare money to make both Quamby and Union heavily developed stock runs. He was as lavish in social living; the bluestone Quamby homestead was one of the most hospitable in the district when William Lindsay was host there; its paddocks carried high quality thoroughbreds: its stables housed steeplechasers and flat racers which won many races on Warrnambool and other courses; its coach houses were filled with carriages which took his guests to the great racing carnivals of the district. After William Lindsay died in 1897, in his eighty-fifth year, his two sons, William and James, managed Union and Quamby as a joint venture. This partnership ended in 1906 when William took over Union and James kept Quamby. The following year 10,000 acres of Union were subdivided and sold in lots of 100 acres to 700 acres for dairying and general farming. It was well improved country, much of it alluvial flats. By then many of the paddocks were sheltered with blue gum belts, and they carried good pastures. The three Lindsays, father and two sons, gave many years of service to the Shire, and to many charitable, sporting, social and community organisations in the Warrnambool district. William Lindsay senior, was a Shire councillor for 15 years, and President several times. James Lindsay followed his father as a north riding councillor. He served nineteen years, from 1887 until his death in March 1908. He was President four times. Jimmy Lindsay was one of the most popular men in the south-west of Victoria. He was a fine sportsman: horse breeder, owner and a dashing amateur rider. He lived lavishly and played hard. For many years he guarded a herd of kangaroos, as many as 100 head, at Quamby. Descendants of the Lindsay kangaroos are still in the district. James Lindsay’s wife, Margaret Esther was a daughter of Samuel Shaw Parker, the first engineer of the Shire. Nell Lindsay, a daughter, lives in the Bluestone Quamby homestead. Only a little more than 60 acres of the original run still belongs to the property. William Lindsay junior succeeded his brother as a Shire councillor. He served for 25 years from 1908 until his death in 1934. So, the Lindsays, father and two sons, served as Shite councillors for an unbroken period of sixth-five years. William Lindsay junior had a life-long interest in horse racing, as breeder, owner and enthusiastic amateur steeplechase rider. He was elected a member of the Warrnambool racing club in 1901 and was president of the club for thirty-two years. He raced and rode horses for the love of the sport. He won the Villiers and Heytesbury Hunt Cup in the 1870s on his own horse, Ventura. In the year he died his horse Flavedo won the Warrnambool Grand Annual steeplechase. It was a sensational race. All of the contestants fell, or lost their riders. When Flavedo baulked at a jump, its jockey R. Sweetman, remounted and completed the course to win the race. All of the Lindsays were passionately fond of the thoroughbred horse. Nell Lindsay talking to the author in the drawing room of Quamby homestead - with many memories for her of its lavish years – said of a brother that he was put on a horse when he was two years old and never got off. William Lindsay junior made Union into a fine, high-producing property, breeding cattle and horses. He added to the bluestone house that David Kennedy started, established plantations of pines and gums, and made an attractive garden. 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 meeting room in November1854 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 fund raising 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 court house 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 historic 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 Historic 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 art works 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 This book is also part of the ‘Pattison Collection’, a collection of books and records that was originally owned by the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute, which was founded in Warrnambool in 1853. In 1935 Ralph Pattison was appointed as City Librarian to establish and organise the Warrnambool Library, as the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute was then called. When the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute 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 Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute. At this time some of the items were separated and identified as the ‘Pattison Collection’, named after Ralph Pattison. Eventually the components of the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute 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. RALPH ERIC PATTISON 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 Pattison accepted a 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 area 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 during 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 Birds of Australia by Gregory M. Matthews is now considered a rare and valuable scientific and historic work on its own. These 12 volumes were donated in 1934 to The Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute and were included as part of the Pattison 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. The Birds of Australia Vol 4 Author: Gregory M Mathews Publisher: Witherby & Co 326 HIGH HOLBORN LONDON Date: 1914-1915 Tan leather bound illustrated work.Label on spine cover with typed text RA 598.2994 MAT Pastedown front endpaper has sticker from Warrnambool Mechanics Institute and Free Library that reads “Presented by W. Lindsay Esq. ‘Union’ Woolsthrope” Accession Number: 15235 Date Received: 3-34 “W. Lindsay” embossed in gold on front cover, bottom right of book flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, the birds of australia, gregory m. matthews, witherby & co., h.f. & g. witherby, w lindsay, william lindsay, quamby woolsthorpe, union woolsthorpe, pattison collection, warrnambool library, warrnambool art gallery, joseph archibald, warrnambool mechanics’ institute and free library, ralph eric pattison, warrnambool city librarian, mechanics’ institute library, victorian library board, warrnambool books and records, warrnambool children’s library, the birds of australia vol 4, quamby station, union station, woolsthrope

The Birds of Australia is a 12 volume work, in a total of 14 books. The books were used as an ornithological handbook. They contain scientific text as well as over 600 hand-coloured lithographed plates by J.G. Keulemans, H. Grönvold, Roland Green, H. Goodchild and G.E. Lodge. The work was written, sponsored and organised by Gregory M. Matthews, F.R.S.C. Erc. who was a wealthy Australian and an amateur ornithologist. His titles included – -Fellow of the Linnean and Zoological Societies of London -Member of the British Ornithologists’ Union -Corresponding Fellow of the American Ornithologists’ Union The volumes in our collection were originally donated to the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute and Free Library by William Lindsay. THE LINDSAYS (quoted from the book Of Many Things – A History of Warrnambool Shire by C.E. Sayers) The Lindsays were amongst the most prominent families in the Shire of Warrnambool, as pastoralists, sportsmen, municipal councillors, community leaders. The first of the family William arrived in Melbourne in 1841 and started business as a livestock agent. The gold rushes sent him to the central Victoria diggings dealing in cattle. This was a business that boomed in the early 1850s, and he prospered. In 1859 he took over the Quamby run near Woolsthrope from Paul de Castella, the Yarra Valley Swiss vigneron who had brought the leasehold and improvements in 1853 from George Youl, who had pioneered the run. Quamby was originally 25,000 acres. It was heavily timbered, rough country, much of it swampy, a characteristic of the district. Lindsay used it to fatten cattle which gave large returns with the booming gold diggings towns paying high prices for beef. In 1862 purchases at auction made Quamby a freehold. In the next six years a further 20,000 acres of Crown land were brought at auction to make the run one of the largest in the south-west district. The great profits from his cattle trading enabled Lindsay to make improvements to the holding, and to Union which was added in 1864. Much of the thick timber was cleared and the worst of the swamps drained. Union was 15,000 acres of freehold when Kennedy sold it to Lindsay. It was heavily timbered, mostly blackwood, with large belts of wattle and honeysuckle. Much of the heavy native was ringbarked and cleared; much more was swept away by bushfire. It was expensive work, but Lindsay’s bank passbook was heavy with credit, and he did not spare money to make both Quamby and Union heavily developed stock runs. He was as lavish in social living; the bluestone Quamby homestead was one of the most hospitable in the district when William Lindsay was host there; its paddocks carried high quality thoroughbreds: its stables housed steeplechasers and flat racers which won many races on Warrnambool and other courses; its coach houses were filled with carriages which took his guests to the great racing carnivals of the district. After William Lindsay died in 1897, in his eighty-fifth year, his two sons, William and James, managed Union and Quamby as a joint venture. This partnership ended in 1906 when William took over Union and James kept Quamby. The following year 10,000 acres of Union were subdivided and sold in lots of 100 acres to 700 acres for dairying and general farming. It was well improved country, much of it alluvial flats. By then many of the paddocks were sheltered with blue gum belts, and they carried good pastures. The three Lindsays, father and two sons, gave many years of service to the Shire, and to many charitable, sporting, social and community organisations in the Warrnambool district. William Lindsay senior, was a Shire councillor for 15 years, and President several times. James Lindsay followed his father as a north riding councillor. He served nineteen years, from 1887 until his death in March 1908. He was President four times. Jimmy Lindsay was one of the most popular men in the south-west of Victoria. He was a fine sportsman: horse breeder, owner and a dashing amateur rider. He lived lavishly and played hard. For many years he guarded a herd of kangaroos, as many as 100 head, at Quamby. Descendants of the Lindsay kangaroos are still in the district. James Lindsay’s wife, Margaret Esther was a daughter of Samuel Shaw Parker, the first engineer of the Shire. Nell Lindsay, a daughter, lives in the Bluestone Quamby homestead. Only a little more than 60 acres of the original run still belongs to the property. William Lindsay junior succeeded his brother as a Shire councillor. He served for 25 years from 1908 until his death in 1934. So, the Lindsays, father and two sons, served as Shite councillors for an unbroken period of sixth-five years. William Lindsay junior had a life-long interest in horse racing, as breeder, owner and enthusiastic amateur steeplechase rider. He was elected a member of the Warrnambool racing club in 1901 and was president of the club for thirty-two years. He raced and rode horses for the love of the sport. He won the Villiers and Heytesbury Hunt Cup in the 1870s on his own horse, Ventura. In the year he died his horse Flavedo won the Warrnambool Grand Annual steeplechase. It was a sensational race. All of the contestants fell, or lost their riders. When Flavedo baulked at a jump, its jockey R. Sweetman, remounted and completed the course to win the race. All of the Lindsays were passionately fond of the thoroughbred horse. Nell Lindsay talking to the author in the drawing room of Quamby homestead - with many memories for her of its lavish years – said of a brother that he was put on a horse when he was two years old and never got off. William Lindsay junior made Union into a fine, high-producing property, breeding cattle and horses. He added to the bluestone house that David Kennedy started, established plantations of pines and gums, and made an attractive garden. 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 meeting room in November1854 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 fund raising 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 court house 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 historic 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 Historic 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 art works 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 This book is also part of the ‘Pattison Collection’, a collection of books and records that was originally owned by the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute, which was founded in Warrnambool in 1853. In 1935 Ralph Pattison was appointed as City Librarian to establish and organise the Warrnambool Library, as the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute was then called. When the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute 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 Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute. At this time some of the items were separated and identified as the ‘Pattison Collection’, named after Ralph Pattison. Eventually the components of the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute 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. RALPH ERIC PATTISON 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 Pattison accepted a 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 area 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 during 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 Birds of Australia by Gregory M. Matthews is now considered a rare and valuable scientific and historic work on its own. These 12 volumes were donated in 1934 to The Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute and were included as part of the Pattison 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. The Birds of Australia Vol 5 Author: Gregory M Mathews Publisher: Witherby & Co 326 HIGH HOLBORN LONDON Date: 1915-1916 Tan leather bound illustrated workLabel on spine cover with typed text RA 598.2994 MAT Pastedown front endpaper has sticker from Warrnambool Mechanics Institute and Free Library that reads “Presented by W. Lindsay Esq. ‘Union’ Woolsthrope” Accession Number: 15236 Date Received: 3-34 “W. Lindsay” embossed in gold on front cover, bottom right of book flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, the birds of australia, gregory m. matthews, witherby & co., h.f. & g. witherby, w lindsay, william lindsay, quamby woolsthorpe, union woolsthorpe, pattison collection, warrnambool library, warrnambool art gallery, joseph archibald, warrnambool mechanics’ institute and free library, ralph eric pattison, warrnambool city librarian, mechanics’ institute library, victorian library board, warrnambool books and records, warrnambool children’s library, the birds of australia vol 5, quamby station, union station, woolsthrope

The Birds of Australia is a 12 volume work, in a total of 14 books. The books were used as an ornithological handbook. They contain scientific text as well as over 600 hand-coloured lithographed plates by J.G. Keulemans, H. Grönvold, Roland Green, H. Goodchild and G.E. Lodge. The work was written, sponsored and organised by Gregory M. Matthews, F.R.S.C. Erc. who was a wealthy Australian and an amateur ornithologist. His titles included – -Fellow of the Linnean and Zoological Societies of London -Member of the British Ornithologists’ Union -Corresponding Fellow of the American Ornithologists’ Union The volumes in our collection were originally donated to the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute and Free Library by William Lindsay. THE LINDSAYS (quoted from the book Of Many Things – A History of Warrnambool Shire by C.E. Sayers) The Lindsays were amongst the most prominent families in the Shire of Warrnambool, as pastoralists, sportsmen, municipal councillors, community leaders. The first of the family William arrived in Melbourne in 1841 and started business as a livestock agent. The gold rushes sent him to the central Victoria diggings dealing in cattle. This was a business that boomed in the early 1850s, and he prospered. In 1859 he took over the Quamby run near Woolsthrope from Paul de Castella, the Yarra Valley Swiss vigneron who had brought the leasehold and improvements in 1853 from George Youl, who had pioneered the run. Quamby was originally 25,000 acres. It was heavily timbered, rough country, much of it swampy, a characteristic of the district. Lindsay used it to fatten cattle which gave large returns with the booming gold diggings towns paying high prices for beef. In 1862 purchases at auction made Quamby a freehold. In the next six years a further 20,000 acres of Crown land were brought at auction to make the run one of the largest in the south-west district. The great profits from his cattle trading enabled Lindsay to make improvements to the holding, and to Union which was added in 1864. Much of the thick timber was cleared and the worst of the swamps drained. Union was 15,000 acres of freehold when Kennedy sold it to Lindsay. It was heavily timbered, mostly blackwood, with large belts of wattle and honeysuckle. Much of the heavy native was ringbarked and cleared; much more was swept away by bushfire. It was expensive work, but Lindsay’s bank passbook was heavy with credit, and he did not spare money to make both Quamby and Union heavily developed stock runs. He was as lavish in social living; the bluestone Quamby homestead was one of the most hospitable in the district when William Lindsay was host there; its paddocks carried high quality thoroughbreds: its stables housed steeplechasers and flat racers which won many races on Warrnambool and other courses; its coach houses were filled with carriages which took his guests to the great racing carnivals of the district. After William Lindsay died in 1897, in his eighty-fifth year, his two sons, William and James, managed Union and Quamby as a joint venture. This partnership ended in 1906 when William took over Union and James kept Quamby. The following year 10,000 acres of Union were subdivided and sold in lots of 100 acres to 700 acres for dairying and general farming. It was well improved country, much of it alluvial flats. By then many of the paddocks were sheltered with blue gum belts, and they carried good pastures. The three Lindsays, father and two sons, gave many years of service to the Shire, and to many charitable, sporting, social and community organisations in the Warrnambool district. William Lindsay senior, was a Shire councillor for 15 years, and President several times. James Lindsay followed his father as a north riding councillor. He served nineteen years, from 1887 until his death in March 1908. He was President four times. Jimmy Lindsay was one of the most popular men in the south-west of Victoria. He was a fine sportsman: horse breeder, owner and a dashing amateur rider. He lived lavishly and played hard. For many years he guarded a herd of kangaroos, as many as 100 head, at Quamby. Descendants of the Lindsay kangaroos are still in the district. James Lindsay’s wife, Margaret Esther was a daughter of Samuel Shaw Parker, the first engineer of the Shire. Nell Lindsay, a daughter, lives in the Bluestone Quamby homestead. Only a little more than 60 acres of the original run still belongs to the property. William Lindsay junior succeeded his brother as a Shire councillor. He served for 25 years from 1908 until his death in 1934. So, the Lindsays, father and two sons, served as Shite councillors for an unbroken period of sixth-five years. William Lindsay junior had a life-long interest in horse racing, as breeder, owner and enthusiastic amateur steeplechase rider. He was elected a member of the Warrnambool racing club in 1901 and was president of the club for thirty-two years. He raced and rode horses for the love of the sport. He won the Villiers and Heytesbury Hunt Cup in the 1870s on his own horse, Ventura. In the year he died his horse Flavedo won the Warrnambool Grand Annual steeplechase. It was a sensational race. All of the contestants fell, or lost their riders. When Flavedo baulked at a jump, its jockey R. Sweetman, remounted and completed the course to win the race. All of the Lindsays were passionately fond of the thoroughbred horse. Nell Lindsay talking to the author in the drawing room of Quamby homestead - with many memories for her of its lavish years – said of a brother that he was put on a horse when he was two years old and never got off. William Lindsay junior made Union into a fine, high-producing property, breeding cattle and horses. He added to the bluestone house that David Kennedy started, established plantations of pines and gums, and made an attractive garden. 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 meeting room in November1854 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 fund raising 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 court house 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 historic 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 Historic 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 art works 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 This book is also part of the ‘Pattison Collection’, a collection of books and records that was originally owned by the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute, which was founded in Warrnambool in 1853. In 1935 Ralph Pattison was appointed as City Librarian to establish and organise the Warrnambool Library, as the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute was then called. When the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute 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 Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute. At this time some of the items were separated and identified as the ‘Pattison Collection’, named after Ralph Pattison. Eventually the components of the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute 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. RALPH ERIC PATTISON 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 Pattison accepted a 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 area 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 during 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 Birds of Australia by Gregory M. Matthews is now considered a rare and valuable scientific and historic work on its own. These 12 volumes were donated in 1934 to The Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute and were included as part of the Pattison 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. The Birds of Australia Vol 6 Author: Gregory M Mathews Publisher: Witherby & Co 326 HIGH HOLBORN LONDON Date: 1916-1917 Tan leather bound illustrated work.Label on spine cover with typed text RA 598.2994 MAT Pastedown front endpaper has sticker from Warrnambool Mechanics Institute and Free Library that reads “Presented by W. Lindsay Esq. ‘Union’ Woolsthrope” Accession Number: 15237 Date Received: 3-34 “W. Lindsay” embossed in gold on front cover, bottom right of book flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, the birds of australia, gregory m. matthews, witherby & co., h.f. & g. witherby, w lindsay, william lindsay, quamby woolsthorpe, union woolsthorpe, pattison collection, warrnambool library, warrnambool art gallery, joseph archibald, warrnambool mechanics’ institute and free library, ralph eric pattison, warrnambool city librarian, mechanics’ institute library, victorian library board, warrnambool books and records, warrnambool children’s library, the birds of australia vol 6, quamby station, union station, woolsthorpe

The Birds of Australia is a 12 volume work, in a total of 14 books. The books were used as an ornithological handbook. They contain scientific text as well as over 600 hand-coloured lithographed plates by J.G. Keulemans, H. Grönvold, Roland Green, H. Goodchild and G.E. Lodge. The work was written, sponsored and organised by Gregory M. Matthews, F.R.S.C. Erc. who was a wealthy Australian and an amateur ornithologist. His titles included – -Fellow of the Linnean and Zoological Societies of London -Member of the British Ornithologists’ Union -Corresponding Fellow of the American Ornithologists’ Union The volumes in our collection were originally donated to the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute and Free Library by William Lindsay. THE LINDSAYS (quoted from the book Of Many Things – A History of Warrnambool Shire by C.E. Sayers) The Lindsays were amongst the most prominent families in the Shire of Warrnambool, as pastoralists, sportsmen, municipal councillors, community leaders. The first of the family William arrived in Melbourne in 1841 and started business as a livestock agent. The gold rushes sent him to the central Victoria diggings dealing in cattle. This was a business that boomed in the early 1850s, and he prospered. In 1859 he took over the Quamby run near Woolsthrope from Paul de Castella, the Yarra Valley Swiss vigneron who had brought the leasehold and improvements in 1853 from George Youl, who had pioneered the run. Quamby was originally 25,000 acres. It was heavily timbered, rough country, much of it swampy, a characteristic of the district. Lindsay used it to fatten cattle which gave large returns with the booming gold diggings towns paying high prices for beef. In 1862 purchases at auction made Quamby a freehold. In the next six years a further 20,000 acres of Crown land were brought at auction to make the run one of the largest in the south-west district. The great profits from his cattle trading enabled Lindsay to make improvements to the holding, and to Union which was added in 1864. Much of the thick timber was cleared and the worst of the swamps drained. Union was 15,000 acres of freehold when Kennedy sold it to Lindsay. It was heavily timbered, mostly blackwood, with large belts of wattle and honeysuckle. Much of the heavy native was ringbarked and cleared; much more was swept away by bushfire. It was expensive work, but Lindsay’s bank passbook was heavy with credit, and he did not spare money to make both Quamby and Union heavily developed stock runs. He was as lavish in social living; the bluestone Quamby homestead was one of the most hospitable in the district when William Lindsay was host there; its paddocks carried high quality thoroughbreds: its stables housed steeplechasers and flat racers which won many races on Warrnambool and other courses; its coach houses were filled with carriages which took his guests to the great racing carnivals of the district. After William Lindsay died in 1897, in his eighty-fifth year, his two sons, William and James, managed Union and Quamby as a joint venture. This partnership ended in 1906 when William took over Union and James kept Quamby. The following year 10,000 acres of Union were subdivided and sold in lots of 100 acres to 700 acres for dairying and general farming. It was well improved country, much of it alluvial flats. By then many of the paddocks were sheltered with blue gum belts, and they carried good pastures. The three Lindsays, father and two sons, gave many years of service to the Shire, and to many charitable, sporting, social and community organisations in the Warrnambool district. William Lindsay senior, was a Shire councillor for 15 years, and President several times. James Lindsay followed his father as a north riding councillor. He served nineteen years, from 1887 until his death in March 1908. He was President four times. Jimmy Lindsay was one of the most popular men in the south-west of Victoria. He was a fine sportsman: horse breeder, owner and a dashing amateur rider. He lived lavishly and played hard. For many years he guarded a herd of kangaroos, as many as 100 head, at Quamby. Descendants of the Lindsay kangaroos are still in the district. James Lindsay’s wife, Margaret Esther was a daughter of Samuel Shaw Parker, the first engineer of the Shire. Nell Lindsay, a daughter, lives in the Bluestone Quamby homestead. Only a little more than 60 acres of the original run still belongs to the property. William Lindsay junior succeeded his brother as a Shire councillor. He served for 25 years from 1908 until his death in 1934. So, the Lindsays, father and two sons, served as Shite councillors for an unbroken period of sixth-five years. William Lindsay junior had a life-long interest in horse racing, as breeder, owner and enthusiastic amateur steeplechase rider. He was elected a member of the Warrnambool racing club in 1901 and was president of the club for thirty-two years. He raced and rode horses for the love of the sport. He won the Villiers and Heytesbury Hunt Cup in the 1870s on his own horse, Ventura. In the year he died his horse Flavedo won the Warrnambool Grand Annual steeplechase. It was a sensational race. All of the contestants fell, or lost their riders. When Flavedo baulked at a jump, its jockey R. Sweetman, remounted and completed the course to win the race. All of the Lindsays were passionately fond of the thoroughbred horse. Nell Lindsay talking to the author in the drawing room of Quamby homestead - with many memories for her of its lavish years – said of a brother that he was put on a horse when he was two years old and never got off. William Lindsay junior made Union into a fine, high-producing property, breeding cattle and horses. He added to the bluestone house that David Kennedy started, established plantations of pines and gums, and made an attractive garden. 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 meeting room in November1854 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 fund raising 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 court house 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 historic 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 Historic 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 art works 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 This book is also part of the ‘Pattison Collection’, a collection of books and records that was originally owned by the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute, which was founded in Warrnambool in 1853. In 1935 Ralph Pattison was appointed as City Librarian to establish and organise the Warrnambool Library, as the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute was then called. When the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute 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 Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute. At this time some of the items were separated and identified as the ‘Pattison Collection’, named after Ralph Pattison. Eventually the components of the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute 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. RALPH ERIC PATTISON 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 Pattison accepted a 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 area 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 during 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 Birds of Australia by Gregory M. Matthews is now considered a rare and valuable scientific and historic work on its own. These 12 volumes were donated in 1934 to The Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute and were included as part of the Pattison 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. The Birds of Australia Vol 7 Author: Gregory M Mathews Publisher: Witherby & Co Date: 1918-1919 Tan leather bound illustrated work.Label on spine cover with typed text RA 598.2994 MAT Pastedown front endpaper has sticker from Warrnambool Mechanics Institute and Free Library that reads “Presented by W. Lindsay Esq. ‘Union’ Woolsthrope” Accession Number: 15238 Date Received: 3-34 “W. Lindsay” embossed in gold on front cover, bottom right of book flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, the birds of australia, gregory m. matthews, witherby & co., h.f. & g. witherby, w lindsay, william lindsay, quamby woolsthorpe, union woolsthorpe, pattison collection, warrnambool library, warrnambool art gallery, joseph archibald, warrnambool mechanics’ institute and free library, ralph eric pattison, warrnambool city librarian, mechanics’ institute library, victorian library board, warrnambool books and records, warrnambool children’s library, the birds of australia vol 7, quamby station, union station, woolsthrope

The Birds of Australia is a 12 volume work, in a total of 14 books. The books were used as an ornithological handbook. They contain scientific text as well as over 600 hand-coloured lithographed plates by J.G. Keulemans, H. Grönvold, Roland Green, H. Goodchild and G.E. Lodge. The work was written, sponsored and organised by Gregory M. Matthews, F.R.S.C. Erc. who was a wealthy Australian and an amateur ornithologist. His titles included – -Fellow of the Linnean and Zoological Societies of London -Member of the British Ornithologists’ Union -Corresponding Fellow of the American Ornithologists’ Union The volumes in our collection were originally donated to the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute and Free Library by William Lindsay. THE LINDSAYS (quoted from the book Of Many Things – A History of Warrnambool Shire by C.E. Sayers) The Lindsays were amongst the most prominent families in the Shire of Warrnambool, as pastoralists, sportsmen, municipal councillors, community leaders. The first of the family William arrived in Melbourne in 1841 and started business as a livestock agent. The gold rushes sent him to the central Victoria diggings dealing in cattle. This was a business that boomed in the early 1850s, and he prospered. In 1859 he took over the Quamby run near Woolsthrope from Paul de Castella, the Yarra Valley Swiss vigneron who had brought the leasehold and improvements in 1853 from George Youl, who had pioneered the run. Quamby was originally 25,000 acres. It was heavily timbered, rough country, much of it swampy, a characteristic of the district. Lindsay used it to fatten cattle which gave large returns with the booming gold diggings towns paying high prices for beef. In 1862 purchases at auction made Quamby a freehold. In the next six years a further 20,000 acres of Crown land were brought at auction to make the run one of the largest in the south-west district. The great profits from his cattle trading enabled Lindsay to make improvements to the holding, and to Union which was added in 1864. Much of the thick timber was cleared and the worst of the swamps drained. Union was 15,000 acres of freehold when Kennedy sold it to Lindsay. It was heavily timbered, mostly blackwood, with large belts of wattle and honeysuckle. Much of the heavy native was ringbarked and cleared; much more was swept away by bushfire. It was expensive work, but Lindsay’s bank passbook was heavy with credit, and he did not spare money to make both Quamby and Union heavily developed stock runs. He was as lavish in social living; the bluestone Quamby homestead was one of the most hospitable in the district when William Lindsay was host there; its paddocks carried high quality thoroughbreds: its stables housed steeplechasers and flat racers which won many races on Warrnambool and other courses; its coach houses were filled with carriages which took his guests to the great racing carnivals of the district. After William Lindsay died in 1897, in his eighty-fifth year, his two sons, William and James, managed Union and Quamby as a joint venture. This partnership ended in 1906 when William took over Union and James kept Quamby. The following year 10,000 acres of Union were subdivided and sold in lots of 100 acres to 700 acres for dairying and general farming. It was well improved country, much of it alluvial flats. By then many of the paddocks were sheltered with blue gum belts, and they carried good pastures. The three Lindsays, father and two sons, gave many years of service to the Shire, and to many charitable, sporting, social and community organisations in the Warrnambool district. William Lindsay senior, was a Shire councillor for 15 years, and President several times. James Lindsay followed his father as a north riding councillor. He served nineteen years, from 1887 until his death in March 1908. He was President four times. Jimmy Lindsay was one of the most popular men in the south-west of Victoria. He was a fine sportsman: horse breeder, owner and a dashing amateur rider. He lived lavishly and played hard. For many years he guarded a herd of kangaroos, as many as 100 head, at Quamby. Descendants of the Lindsay kangaroos are still in the district. James Lindsay’s wife, Margaret Esther was a daughter of Samuel Shaw Parker, the first engineer of the Shire. Nell Lindsay, a daughter, lives in the Bluestone Quamby homestead. Only a little more than 60 acres of the original run still belongs to the property. William Lindsay junior succeeded his brother as a Shire councillor. He served for 25 years from 1908 until his death in 1934. So, the Lindsays, father and two sons, served as Shite councillors for an unbroken period of sixth-five years. William Lindsay junior had a life-long interest in horse racing, as breeder, owner and enthusiastic amateur steeplechase rider. He was elected a member of the Warrnambool racing club in 1901 and was president of the club for thirty-two years. He raced and rode horses for the love of the sport. He won the Villiers and Heytesbury Hunt Cup in the 1870s on his own horse, Ventura. In the year he died his horse Flavedo won the Warrnambool Grand Annual steeplechase. It was a sensational race. All of the contestants fell, or lost their riders. When Flavedo baulked at a jump, its jockey R. Sweetman, remounted and completed the course to win the race. All of the Lindsays were passionately fond of the thoroughbred horse. Nell Lindsay talking to the author in the drawing room of Quamby homestead - with many memories for her of its lavish years – said of a brother that he was put on a horse when he was two years old and never got off. William Lindsay junior made Union into a fine, high-producing property, breeding cattle and horses. He added to the bluestone house that David Kennedy started, established plantations of pines and gums, and made an attractive garden. 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 meeting room in November1854 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 fund raising 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 court house 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 historic 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 Historic 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 art works 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 This book is also part of the ‘Pattison Collection’, a collection of books and records that was originally owned by the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute, which was founded in Warrnambool in 1853. In 1935 Ralph Pattison was appointed as City Librarian to establish and organise the Warrnambool Library, as the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute was then called. When the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute 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 Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute. At this time some of the items were separated and identified as the ‘Pattison Collection’, named after Ralph Pattison. Eventually the components of the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute 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. RALPH ERIC PATTISON 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 Pattison accepted a 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 area 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 during 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 Birds of Australia by Gregory M. Matthews is now considered a rare and valuable scientific and historic work on its own. These 12 volumes were donated in 1934 to The Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute and were included as part of the Pattison 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. The Birds of Australia Vol 8 Part 1 Supplmemt 1 Author: Gregory M Mathews Publisher: Witherby & Co Date: 1920 Tan leather bound illustrated work.Label on spine cover with typed text RA 598.2994 MAT Pastedown front endpaper has sticker from Warrnambool Mechanics Institute and Free Library that reads “Presented by W. Lindsay Esq. ‘Union’ Woolsthrope” Accession Number: 15239 Date Received: 3-34 “W. Lindsay” embossed in gold on front cover, bottom right of book flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, the birds of australia, gregory m. matthews, witherby & co., h.f. & g. witherby, w lindsay, william lindsay, quamby woolsthorpe, union woolsthorpe, pattison collection, warrnambool library, warrnambool art gallery, joseph archibald, warrnambool mechanics’ institute and free library, ralph eric pattison, warrnambool city librarian, mechanics’ institute library, victorian library board, warrnambool books and records, warrnambool children’s library, the birds of australia vol 8 part 1 supplmemt 1, quamby station, union station, woolsthrope

The Birds of Australia is a 12 volume work, in a total of 14 books. The books were used as an ornithological handbook. They contain scientific text as well as over 600 hand-coloured lithographed plates by J.G. Keulemans, H. Grönvold, Roland Green, H. Goodchild and G.E. Lodge. The work was written, sponsored and organised by Gregory M. Matthews, F.R.S.C. Erc. who was a wealthy Australian and an amateur ornithologist. His titles included – -Fellow of the Linnean and Zoological Societies of London -Member of the British Ornithologists’ Union -Corresponding Fellow of the American Ornithologists’ Union The volumes in our collection were originally donated to the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute and Free Library by William Lindsay. THE LINDSAYS (quoted from the book Of Many Things – A History of Warrnambool Shire by C.E. Sayers) The Lindsays were amongst the most prominent families in the Shire of Warrnambool, as pastoralists, sportsmen, municipal councillors, community leaders. The first of the family William arrived in Melbourne in 1841 and started business as a livestock agent. The gold rushes sent him to the central Victoria diggings dealing in cattle. This was a business that boomed in the early 1850s, and he prospered. In 1859 he took over the Quamby run near Woolsthrope from Paul de Castella, the Yarra Valley Swiss vigneron who had brought the leasehold and improvements in 1853 from George Youl, who had pioneered the run. Quamby was originally 25,000 acres. It was heavily timbered, rough country, much of it swampy, a characteristic of the district. Lindsay used it to fatten cattle which gave large returns with the booming gold diggings towns paying high prices for beef. In 1862 purchases at auction made Quamby a freehold. In the next six years a further 20,000 acres of Crown land were brought at auction to make the run one of the largest in the south-west district. The great profits from his cattle trading enabled Lindsay to make improvements to the holding, and to Union which was added in 1864. Much of the thick timber was cleared and the worst of the swamps drained. Union was 15,000 acres of freehold when Kennedy sold it to Lindsay. It was heavily timbered, mostly blackwood, with large belts of wattle and honeysuckle. Much of the heavy native was ringbarked and cleared; much more was swept away by bushfire. It was expensive work, but Lindsay’s bank passbook was heavy with credit, and he did not spare money to make both Quamby and Union heavily developed stock runs. He was as lavish in social living; the bluestone Quamby homestead was one of the most hospitable in the district when William Lindsay was host there; its paddocks carried high quality thoroughbreds: its stables housed steeplechasers and flat racers which won many races on Warrnambool and other courses; its coach houses were filled with carriages which took his guests to the great racing carnivals of the district. After William Lindsay died in 1897, in his eighty-fifth year, his two sons, William and James, managed Union and Quamby as a joint venture. This partnership ended in 1906 when William took over Union and James kept Quamby. The following year 10,000 acres of Union were subdivided and sold in lots of 100 acres to 700 acres for dairying and general farming. It was well improved country, much of it alluvial flats. By then many of the paddocks were sheltered with blue gum belts, and they carried good pastures. The three Lindsays, father and two sons, gave many years of service to the Shire, and to many charitable, sporting, social and community organisations in the Warrnambool district. William Lindsay senior, was a Shire councillor for 15 years, and President several times. James Lindsay followed his father as a north riding councillor. He served nineteen years, from 1887 until his death in March 1908. He was President four times. Jimmy Lindsay was one of the most popular men in the south-west of Victoria. He was a fine sportsman: horse breeder, owner and a dashing amateur rider. He lived lavishly and played hard. For many years he guarded a herd of kangaroos, as many as 100 head, at Quamby. Descendants of the Lindsay kangaroos are still in the district. James Lindsay’s wife, Margaret Esther was a daughter of Samuel Shaw Parker, the first engineer of the Shire. Nell Lindsay, a daughter, lives in the Bluestone Quamby homestead. Only a little more than 60 acres of the original run still belongs to the property. William Lindsay junior succeeded his brother as a Shire councillor. He served for 25 years from 1908 until his death in 1934. So, the Lindsays, father and two sons, served as Shite councillors for an unbroken period of sixth-five years. William Lindsay junior had a life-long interest in horse racing, as breeder, owner and enthusiastic amateur steeplechase rider. He was elected a member of the Warrnambool racing club in 1901 and was president of the club for thirty-two years. He raced and rode horses for the love of the sport. He won the Villiers and Heytesbury Hunt Cup in the 1870s on his own horse, Ventura. In the year he died his horse Flavedo won the Warrnambool Grand Annual steeplechase. It was a sensational race. All of the contestants fell, or lost their riders. When Flavedo baulked at a jump, its jockey R. Sweetman, remounted and completed the course to win the race. All of the Lindsays were passionately fond of the thoroughbred horse. Nell Lindsay talking to the author in the drawing room of Quamby homestead - with many memories for her of its lavish years – said of a brother that he was put on a horse when he was two years old and never got off. William Lindsay junior made Union into a fine, high-producing property, breeding cattle and horses. He added to the bluestone house that David Kennedy started, established plantations of pines and gums, and made an attractive garden. 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 meeting room in November1854 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 fund raising 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 court house 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 historic 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 Historic 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 art works 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 This book is also part of the ‘Pattison Collection’, a collection of books and records that was originally owned by the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute, which was founded in Warrnambool in 1853. In 1935 Ralph Pattison was appointed as City Librarian to establish and organise the Warrnambool Library, as the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute was then called. When the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute 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 Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute. At this time some of the items were separated and identified as the ‘Pattison Collection’, named after Ralph Pattison. Eventually the components of the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute 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. RALPH ERIC PATTISON 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 Pattison accepted a 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 area 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 during 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 Birds of Australia by Gregory M. Matthews is now considered a rare and valuable scientific and historic work on its own. These 12 volumes were donated in 1934 to The Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute and were included as part of the Pattison 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. The Birds of Australia Vol 9 Author: Gregory M Mathews Publisher: H F & G Witherby Date: 1921-1922 Tan leather bound illustrated work.Label on spine cover with typed text RA 598.2994 MAT Pastedown front endpaper has sticker from Warrnambool Mechanics Institute and Free Library that reads “Presented by W. Lindsay Esq. ‘Union’ Woolsthrope” Accession Number: 15240 Date Received: 3-34 “W. Lindsay” embossed in gold on front cover, bottom right of book flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, the birds of australia, gregory m. matthews, witherby & co., h.f. & g. witherby, w lindsay, william lindsay, quamby woolsthorpe, union woolsthorpe, pattison collection, warrnambool library, warrnambool art gallery, joseph archibald, warrnambool mechanics’ institute and free library, ralph eric pattison, warrnambool city librarian, mechanics’ institute library, victorian library board, warrnambool books and records, warrnambool children’s library, the birds of australia vol 9, quamby station, union station, woolsthrope

The Birds of Australia is a 12 volume work, in a total of 14 books. The books were used as an ornithological handbook. They contain scientific text as well as over 600 hand-coloured lithographed plates by J.G. Keulemans, H. Grönvold, Roland Green, H. Goodchild and G.E. Lodge. The work was written, sponsored and organised by Gregory M. Matthews, F.R.S.C. Erc. who was a wealthy Australian and an amateur ornithologist. His titles included – -Fellow of the Linnean and Zoological Societies of London -Member of the British Ornithologists’ Union -Corresponding Fellow of the American Ornithologists’ Union The volumes in our collection were originally donated to the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute and Free Library by William Lindsay. THE LINDSAYS (quoted from the book Of Many Things – A History of Warrnambool Shire by C.E. Sayers) The Lindsays were amongst the most prominent families in the Shire of Warrnambool, as pastoralists, sportsmen, municipal councillors, community leaders. The first of the family William arrived in Melbourne in 1841 and started business as a livestock agent. The gold rushes sent him to the central Victoria diggings dealing in cattle. This was a business that boomed in the early 1850s, and he prospered. In 1859 he took over the Quamby run near Woolsthrope from Paul de Castella, the Yarra Valley Swiss vigneron who had brought the leasehold and improvements in 1853 from George Youl, who had pioneered the run. Quamby was originally 25,000 acres. It was heavily timbered, rough country, much of it swampy, a characteristic of the district. Lindsay used it to fatten cattle which gave large returns with the booming gold diggings towns paying high prices for beef. In 1862 purchases at auction made Quamby a freehold. In the next six years a further 20,000 acres of Crown land were brought at auction to make the run one of the largest in the south-west district. The great profits from his cattle trading enabled Lindsay to make improvements to the holding, and to Union which was added in 1864. Much of the thick timber was cleared and the worst of the swamps drained. Union was 15,000 acres of freehold when Kennedy sold it to Lindsay. It was heavily timbered, mostly blackwood, with large belts of wattle and honeysuckle. Much of the heavy native was ringbarked and cleared; much more was swept away by bushfire. It was expensive work, but Lindsay’s bank passbook was heavy with credit, and he did not spare money to make both Quamby and Union heavily developed stock runs. He was as lavish in social living; the bluestone Quamby homestead was one of the most hospitable in the district when William Lindsay was host there; its paddocks carried high quality thoroughbreds: its stables housed steeplechasers and flat racers which won many races on Warrnambool and other courses; its coach houses were filled with carriages which took his guests to the great racing carnivals of the district. After William Lindsay died in 1897, in his eighty-fifth year, his two sons, William and James, managed Union and Quamby as a joint venture. This partnership ended in 1906 when William took over Union and James kept Quamby. The following year 10,000 acres of Union were subdivided and sold in lots of 100 acres to 700 acres for dairying and general farming. It was well improved country, much of it alluvial flats. By then many of the paddocks were sheltered with blue gum belts, and they carried good pastures. The three Lindsays, father and two sons, gave many years of service to the Shire, and to many charitable, sporting, social and community organisations in the Warrnambool district. William Lindsay senior, was a Shire councillor for 15 years, and President several times. James Lindsay followed his father as a north riding councillor. He served nineteen years, from 1887 until his death in March 1908. He was President four times. Jimmy Lindsay was one of the most popular men in the south-west of Victoria. He was a fine sportsman: horse breeder, owner and a dashing amateur rider. He lived lavishly and played hard. For many years he guarded a herd of kangaroos, as many as 100 head, at Quamby. Descendants of the Lindsay kangaroos are still in the district. James Lindsay’s wife, Margaret Esther was a daughter of Samuel Shaw Parker, the first engineer of the Shire. Nell Lindsay, a daughter, lives in the Bluestone Quamby homestead. Only a little more than 60 acres of the original run still belongs to the property. William Lindsay junior succeeded his brother as a Shire councillor. He served for 25 years from 1908 until his death in 1934. So, the Lindsays, father and two sons, served as Shite councillors for an unbroken period of sixth-five years. William Lindsay junior had a life-long interest in horse racing, as breeder, owner and enthusiastic amateur steeplechase rider. He was elected a member of the Warrnambool racing club in 1901 and was president of the club for thirty-two years. He raced and rode horses for the love of the sport. He won the Villiers and Heytesbury Hunt Cup in the 1870s on his own horse, Ventura. In the year he died his horse Flavedo won the Warrnambool Grand Annual steeplechase. It was a sensational race. All of the contestants fell, or lost their riders. When Flavedo baulked at a jump, its jockey R. Sweetman, remounted and completed the course to win the race. All of the Lindsays were passionately fond of the thoroughbred horse. Nell Lindsay talking to the author in the drawing room of Quamby homestead - with many memories for her of its lavish years – said of a brother that he was put on a horse when he was two years old and never got off. William Lindsay junior made Union into a fine, high-producing property, breeding cattle and horses. He added to the bluestone house that David Kennedy started, established plantations of pines and gums, and made an attractive garden. 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 meeting room in November1854 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 fund raising 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 court house 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 historic 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 Historic 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 art works 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 This book is also part of the ‘Pattison Collection’, a collection of books and records that was originally owned by the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute, which was founded in Warrnambool in 1853. In 1935 Ralph Pattison was appointed as City Librarian to establish and organise the Warrnambool Library, as the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute was then called. When the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute 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 Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute. At this time some of the items were separated and identified as the ‘Pattison Collection’, named after Ralph Pattison. Eventually the components of the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute 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. RALPH ERIC PATTISON 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 Pattison accepted a 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 area 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 during 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 Birds of Australia by Gregory M. Matthews is now considered a rare and valuable scientific and historic work on its own. These 12 volumes were donated in 1934 to The Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute and were included as part of the Pattison 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. The Birds of Australia Vol 10 Author: Gregory M Mathews Publisher: H F & G Witherby 326 HIGH HOLBORN LONDON Date: 1922-1923 Tan leather bound illustrated work.Label on spine cover with typed text RA 598.2994 MAT Pastedown front endpaper has sticker from Warrnambool Mechanics Institute and Free Library that reads “Presented by W. Lindsay Esq. ‘Union’ Woolsthrope” Accession Number: 15241 Date Received: 3-34 “W. Lindsay” embossed in gold on front cover, bottom right of book flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, the birds of australia, gregory m. matthews, witherby & co., h.f. & g. witherby, w lindsay, william lindsay, quamby woolsthorpe, union woolsthorpe, pattison collection, warrnambool library, warrnambool art gallery, joseph archibald, warrnambool mechanics’ institute and free library, ralph eric pattison, warrnambool city librarian, mechanics’ institute library, victorian library board, warrnambool books and records, warrnambool children’s library, the birds of australia vol 10, quamby station, union station, woolsthrope

The Birds of Australia is a 12 volume work, in a total of 14 books. The books were used as an ornithological handbook. They contain scientific text as well as over 600 hand-coloured lithographed plates by J.G. Keulemans, H. Grönvold, Roland Green, H. Goodchild and G.E. Lodge. The work was written, sponsored and organised by Gregory M. Matthews, F.R.S.C. Erc. who was a wealthy Australian and an amateur ornithologist. His titles included – -Fellow of the Linnean and Zoological Societies of London -Member of the British Ornithologists’ Union -Corresponding Fellow of the American Ornithologists’ Union The volumes in our collection were originally donated to the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute and Free Library by William Lindsay. THE LINDSAYS (quoted from the book Of Many Things – A History of Warrnambool Shire by C.E. Sayers) The Lindsays were amongst the most prominent families in the Shire of Warrnambool, as pastoralists, sportsmen, municipal councillors, community leaders. The first of the family William arrived in Melbourne in 1841 and started business as a livestock agent. The gold rushes sent him to the central Victoria diggings dealing in cattle. This was a business that boomed in the early 1850s, and he prospered. In 1859 he took over the Quamby run near Woolsthrope from Paul de Castella, the Yarra Valley Swiss vigneron who had brought the leasehold and improvements in 1853 from George Youl, who had pioneered the run. Quamby was originally 25,000 acres. It was heavily timbered, rough country, much of it swampy, a characteristic of the district. Lindsay used it to fatten cattle which gave large returns with the booming gold diggings towns paying high prices for beef. In 1862 purchases at auction made Quamby a freehold. In the next six years a further 20,000 acres of Crown land were brought at auction to make the run one of the largest in the south-west district. The great profits from his cattle trading enabled Lindsay to make improvements to the holding, and to Union which was added in 1864. Much of the thick timber was cleared and the worst of the swamps drained. Union was 15,000 acres of freehold when Kennedy sold it to Lindsay. It was heavily timbered, mostly blackwood, with large belts of wattle and honeysuckle. Much of the heavy native was ringbarked and cleared; much more was swept away by bushfire. It was expensive work, but Lindsay’s bank passbook was heavy with credit, and he did not spare money to make both Quamby and Union heavily developed stock runs. He was as lavish in social living; the bluestone Quamby homestead was one of the most hospitable in the district when William Lindsay was host there; its paddocks carried high quality thoroughbreds: its stables housed steeplechasers and flat racers which won many races on Warrnambool and other courses; its coach houses were filled with carriages which took his guests to the great racing carnivals of the district. After William Lindsay died in 1897, in his eighty-fifth year, his two sons, William and James, managed Union and Quamby as a joint venture. This partnership ended in 1906 when William took over Union and James kept Quamby. The following year 10,000 acres of Union were subdivided and sold in lots of 100 acres to 700 acres for dairying and general farming. It was well improved country, much of it alluvial flats. By then many of the paddocks were sheltered with blue gum belts, and they carried good pastures. The three Lindsays, father and two sons, gave many years of service to the Shire, and to many charitable, sporting, social and community organisations in the Warrnambool district. William Lindsay senior, was a Shire councillor for 15 years, and President several times. James Lindsay followed his father as a north riding councillor. He served nineteen years, from 1887 until his death in March 1908. He was President four times. Jimmy Lindsay was one of the most popular men in the south-west of Victoria. He was a fine sportsman: horse breeder, owner and a dashing amateur rider. He lived lavishly and played hard. For many years he guarded a herd of kangaroos, as many as 100 head, at Quamby. Descendants of the Lindsay kangaroos are still in the district. James Lindsay’s wife, Margaret Esther was a daughter of Samuel Shaw Parker, the first engineer of the Shire. Nell Lindsay, a daughter, lives in the Bluestone Quamby homestead. Only a little more than 60 acres of the original run still belongs to the property. William Lindsay junior succeeded his brother as a Shire councillor. He served for 25 years from 1908 until his death in 1934. So, the Lindsays, father and two sons, served as Shite councillors for an unbroken period of sixth-five years. William Lindsay junior had a life-long interest in horse racing, as breeder, owner and enthusiastic amateur steeplechase rider. He was elected a member of the Warrnambool racing club in 1901 and was president of the club for thirty-two years. He raced and rode horses for the love of the sport. He won the Villiers and Heytesbury Hunt Cup in the 1870s on his own horse, Ventura. In the year he died his horse Flavedo won the Warrnambool Grand Annual steeplechase. It was a sensational race. All of the contestants fell, or lost their riders. When Flavedo baulked at a jump, its jockey R. Sweetman, remounted and completed the course to win the race. All of the Lindsays were passionately fond of the thoroughbred horse. Nell Lindsay talking to the author in the drawing room of Quamby homestead - with many memories for her of its lavish years – said of a brother that he was put on a horse when he was two years old and never got off. William Lindsay junior made Union into a fine, high-producing property, breeding cattle and horses. He added to the bluestone house that David Kennedy started, established plantations of pines and gums, and made an attractive garden. 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 meeting room in November1854 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 fund raising 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 court house 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 historic 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 Historic 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 art works 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 This book is also part of the ‘Pattison Collection’, a collection of books and records that was originally owned by the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute, which was founded in Warrnambool in 1853. In 1935 Ralph Pattison was appointed as City Librarian to establish and organise the Warrnambool Library, as the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute was then called. When the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute 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 Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute. At this time some of the items were separated and identified as the ‘Pattison Collection’, named after Ralph Pattison. Eventually the components of the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute 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. RALPH ERIC PATTISON 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 Pattison accepted a 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 area 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 during 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 Birds of Australia by Gregory M. Matthews is now considered a rare and valuable scientific and historic work on its own. These 12 volumes were donated in 1934 to The Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute and were included as part of the Pattison 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. The Birds of Australia Vol 11 Part 1 Supplment 2 Author: Gregory M Mathews Publisher: H F & G Witherby 326 HIGH HOLBORN LONDON Date: 1924 Tan leather bound illustrated work.Label on spine cover with typed text RA 598.2994 MAT Pastedown front endpaper has sticker from Warrnambool Mechanics Institute and Free Library that reads “Presented by W. Lindsay Esq. ‘Union’ Woolsthrope” Accession Number: 15242 Date Received: 3-34 “W. Lindsay” embossed in gold on front cover, bottom right of book flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, the birds of australia, gregory m. matthews, witherby & co., h.f. & g. witherby, w lindsay, william lindsay, quamby woolsthorpe, union woolsthorpe, pattison collection, warrnambool library, warrnambool art gallery, joseph archibald, warrnambool mechanics’ institute and free library, ralph eric pattison, warrnambool city librarian, mechanics’ institute library, victorian library board, warrnambool books and records, warrnambool children’s library, the birds of australia vol 11 part 1 supplment 2, quamby station, union station, woolsthrope

The Birds of Australia is a 12 volume work, in a total of 14 books. The books were used as an ornithological handbook. They contain scientific text as well as over 600 hand-coloured lithographed plates by J.G. Keulemans, H. Grönvold, Roland Green, H. Goodchild and G.E. Lodge. The work was written, sponsored and organised by Gregory M. Matthews, F.R.S.C. Erc. who was a wealthy Australian and an amateur ornithologist. His titles included – -Fellow of the Linnean and Zoological Societies of London -Member of the British Ornithologists’ Union -Corresponding Fellow of the American Ornithologists’ Union The volumes in our collection were originally donated to the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute and Free Library by William Lindsay. THE LINDSAYS (quoted from the book Of Many Things – A History of Warrnambool Shire by C.E. Sayers) The Lindsays were amongst the most prominent families in the Shire of Warrnambool, as pastoralists, sportsmen, municipal councillors, community leaders. The first of the family William arrived in Melbourne in 1841 and started business as a livestock agent. The gold rushes sent him to the central Victoria diggings dealing in cattle. This was a business that boomed in the early 1850s, and he prospered. In 1859 he took over the Quamby run near Woolsthrope from Paul de Castella, the Yarra Valley Swiss vigneron who had brought the leasehold and improvements in 1853 from George Youl, who had pioneered the run. Quamby was originally 25,000 acres. It was heavily timbered, rough country, much of it swampy, a characteristic of the district. Lindsay used it to fatten cattle which gave large returns with the booming gold diggings towns paying high prices for beef. In 1862 purchases at auction made Quamby a freehold. In the next six years a further 20,000 acres of Crown land were brought at auction to make the run one of the largest in the south-west district. The great profits from his cattle trading enabled Lindsay to make improvements to the holding, and to Union which was added in 1864. Much of the thick timber was cleared and the worst of the swamps drained. Union was 15,000 acres of freehold when Kennedy sold it to Lindsay. It was heavily timbered, mostly blackwood, with large belts of wattle and honeysuckle. Much of the heavy native was ringbarked and cleared; much more was swept away by bushfire. It was expensive work, but Lindsay’s bank passbook was heavy with credit, and he did not spare money to make both Quamby and Union heavily developed stock runs. He was as lavish in social living; the bluestone Quamby homestead was one of the most hospitable in the district when William Lindsay was host there; its paddocks carried high quality thoroughbreds: its stables housed steeplechasers and flat racers which won many races on Warrnambool and other courses; its coach houses were filled with carriages which took his guests to the great racing carnivals of the district. After William Lindsay died in 1897, in his eighty-fifth year, his two sons, William and James, managed Union and Quamby as a joint venture. This partnership ended in 1906 when William took over Union and James kept Quamby. The following year 10,000 acres of Union were subdivided and sold in lots of 100 acres to 700 acres for dairying and general farming. It was well improved country, much of it alluvial flats. By then many of the paddocks were sheltered with blue gum belts, and they carried good pastures. The three Lindsays, father and two sons, gave many years of service to the Shire, and to many charitable, sporting, social and community organisations in the Warrnambool district. William Lindsay senior, was a Shire councillor for 15 years, and President several times. James Lindsay followed his father as a north riding councillor. He served nineteen years, from 1887 until his death in March 1908. He was President four times. Jimmy Lindsay was one of the most popular men in the south-west of Victoria. He was a fine sportsman: horse breeder, owner and a dashing amateur rider. He lived lavishly and played hard. For many years he guarded a herd of kangaroos, as many as 100 head, at Quamby. Descendants of the Lindsay kangaroos are still in the district. James Lindsay’s wife, Margaret Esther was a daughter of Samuel Shaw Parker, the first engineer of the Shire. Nell Lindsay, a daughter, lives in the Bluestone Quamby homestead. Only a little more than 60 acres of the original run still belongs to the property. William Lindsay junior succeeded his brother as a Shire councillor. He served for 25 years from 1908 until his death in 1934. So, the Lindsays, father and two sons, served as Shite councillors for an unbroken period of sixth-five years. William Lindsay junior had a life-long interest in horse racing, as breeder, owner and enthusiastic amateur steeplechase rider. He was elected a member of the Warrnambool racing club in 1901 and was president of the club for thirty-two years. He raced and rode horses for the love of the sport. He won the Villiers and Heytesbury Hunt Cup in the 1870s on his own horse, Ventura. In the year he died his horse Flavedo won the Warrnambool Grand Annual steeplechase. It was a sensational race. All of the contestants fell, or lost their riders. When Flavedo baulked at a jump, its jockey R. Sweetman, remounted and completed the course to win the race. All of the Lindsays were passionately fond of the thoroughbred horse. Nell Lindsay talking to the author in the drawing room of Quamby homestead - with many memories for her of its lavish years – said of a brother that he was put on a horse when he was two years old and never got off. William Lindsay junior made Union into a fine, high-producing property, breeding cattle and horses. He added to the bluestone house that David Kennedy started, established plantations of pines and gums, and made an attractive garden. 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 meeting room in November1854 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 fund raising 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 court house 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 historic 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 Historic 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 art works 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 This book is also part of the ‘Pattison Collection’, a collection of books and records that was originally owned by the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute, which was founded in Warrnambool in 1853. In 1935 Ralph Pattison was appointed as City Librarian to establish and organise the Warrnambool Library, as the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute was then called. When the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute 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 Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute. At this time some of the items were separated and identified as the ‘Pattison Collection’, named after Ralph Pattison. Eventually the components of the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute 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. RALPH ERIC PATTISON 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 Pattison accepted a 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 area 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 during 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 Birds of Australia by Gregory M. Matthews is now considered a rare and valuable scientific and historic work on its own. These 12 volumes were donated in 1934 to The Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute and were included as part of the Pattison 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 The Birds of Australia Vol 11 Part 2 Supplment 3 Author: Gregory M Mathews Publisher: H F & G Witherby Date: 1924 Tan leather bound illustrated work.Label on spine cover with typed text RA 598.2994 MAT Pastedown front endpaper has sticker from Warrnambool Mechanics Institute and Free Library that reads “Presented by W. Lindsay Esq. ‘Union’ Woolsthrope” Accession Number: 15243 Date Received: 3-34 “W. Lindsay” embossed in gold on front cover, bottom right of book flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, the birds of australia, gregory m. matthews, witherby & co., h.f. & g. witherby, w lindsay, william lindsay, quamby woolsthorpe, union woolsthorpe, pattison collection, warrnambool library, warrnambool art gallery, joseph archibald, warrnambool mechanics’ institute and free library, ralph eric pattison, warrnambool city librarian, mechanics’ institute library, victorian library board, warrnambool books and records, warrnambool children’s library, the birds of australia vol 11 part 2 supplment 3, quamby station, union station, woolsthrope

The Birds of Australia is a 12 volume work, in a total of 14 books. The books were used as an ornithological handbook. They contain scientific text as well as over 600 hand-coloured lithographed plates by J.G. Keulemans, H. Grönvold, Roland Green, H. Goodchild and G.E. Lodge. The work was written, sponsored and organised by Gregory M. Matthews, F.R.S.C. Erc. who was a wealthy Australian and an amateur ornithologist. His titles included – -Fellow of the Linnean and Zoological Societies of London -Member of the British Ornithologists’ Union -Corresponding Fellow of the American Ornithologists’ Union The volumes in our collection were originally donated to the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute and Free Library by William Lindsay. THE LINDSAYS (quoted from the book Of Many Things – A History of Warrnambool Shire by C.E. Sayers) The Lindsays were amongst the most prominent families in the Shire of Warrnambool, as pastoralists, sportsmen, municipal councillors, community leaders. The first of the family William arrived in Melbourne in 1841 and started business as a livestock agent. The gold rushes sent him to the central Victoria diggings dealing in cattle. This was a business that boomed in the early 1850s, and he prospered. In 1859 he took over the Quamby run near Woolsthrope from Paul de Castella, the Yarra Valley Swiss vigneron who had brought the leasehold and improvements in 1853 from George Youl, who had pioneered the run. Quamby was originally 25,000 acres. It was heavily timbered, rough country, much of it swampy, a characteristic of the district. Lindsay used it to fatten cattle which gave large returns with the booming gold diggings towns paying high prices for beef. In 1862 purchases at auction made Quamby a freehold. In the next six years a further 20,000 acres of Crown land were brought at auction to make the run one of the largest in the south-west district. The great profits from his cattle trading enabled Lindsay to make improvements to the holding, and to Union which was added in 1864. Much of the thick timber was cleared and the worst of the swamps drained. Union was 15,000 acres of freehold when Kennedy sold it to Lindsay. It was heavily timbered, mostly blackwood, with large belts of wattle and honeysuckle. Much of the heavy native was ringbarked and cleared; much more was swept away by bushfire. It was expensive work, but Lindsay’s bank passbook was heavy with credit, and he did not spare money to make both Quamby and Union heavily developed stock runs. He was as lavish in social living; the bluestone Quamby homestead was one of the most hospitable in the district when William Lindsay was host there; its paddocks carried high quality thoroughbreds: its stables housed steeplechasers and flat racers which won many races on Warrnambool and other courses; its coach houses were filled with carriages which took his guests to the great racing carnivals of the district. After William Lindsay died in 1897, in his eighty-fifth year, his two sons, William and James, managed Union and Quamby as a joint venture. This partnership ended in 1906 when William took over Union and James kept Quamby. The following year 10,000 acres of Union were subdivided and sold in lots of 100 acres to 700 acres for dairying and general farming. It was well improved country, much of it alluvial flats. By then many of the paddocks were sheltered with blue gum belts, and they carried good pastures. The three Lindsays, father and two sons, gave many years of service to the Shire, and to many charitable, sporting, social and community organisations in the Warrnambool district. William Lindsay senior, was a Shire councillor for 15 years, and President several times. James Lindsay followed his father as a north riding councillor. He served nineteen years, from 1887 until his death in March 1908. He was President four times. Jimmy Lindsay was one of the most popular men in the south-west of Victoria. He was a fine sportsman: horse breeder, owner and a dashing amateur rider. He lived lavishly and played hard. For many years he guarded a herd of kangaroos, as many as 100 head, at Quamby. Descendants of the Lindsay kangaroos are still in the district. James Lindsay’s wife, Margaret Esther was a daughter of Samuel Shaw Parker, the first engineer of the Shire. Nell Lindsay, a daughter, lives in the Bluestone Quamby homestead. Only a little more than 60 acres of the original run still belongs to the property. William Lindsay junior succeeded his brother as a Shire councillor. He served for 25 years from 1908 until his death in 1934. So, the Lindsays, father and two sons, served as Shite councillors for an unbroken period of sixth-five years. William Lindsay junior had a life-long interest in horse racing, as breeder, owner and enthusiastic amateur steeplechase rider. He was elected a member of the Warrnambool racing club in 1901 and was president of the club for thirty-two years. He raced and rode horses for the love of the sport. He won the Villiers and Heytesbury Hunt Cup in the 1870s on his own horse, Ventura. In the year he died his horse Flavedo won the Warrnambool Grand Annual steeplechase. It was a sensational race. All of the contestants fell, or lost their riders. When Flavedo baulked at a jump, its jockey R. Sweetman, remounted and completed the course to win the race. All of the Lindsays were passionately fond of the thoroughbred horse. Nell Lindsay talking to the author in the drawing room of Quamby homestead - with many memories for her of its lavish years – said of a brother that he was put on a horse when he was two years old and never got off. William Lindsay junior made Union into a fine, high-producing property, breeding cattle and horses. He added to the bluestone house that David Kennedy started, established plantations of pines and gums, and made an attractive garden. 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 meeting room in November1854 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 fund raising 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 court house 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 historic 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 Historic 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 art works 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 This book is also part of the ‘Pattison Collection’, a collection of books and records that was originally owned by the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute, which was founded in Warrnambool in 1853. In 1935 Ralph Pattison was appointed as City Librarian to establish and organise the Warrnambool Library, as the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute was then called. When the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute 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 Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute. At this time some of the items were separated and identified as the ‘Pattison Collection’, named after Ralph Pattison. Eventually the components of the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute 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. RALPH ERIC PATTISON 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 Pattison accepted a 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 area 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 during 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 Birds of Australia by Gregory M. Matthews is now considered a rare and valuable scientific and historic work on its own. These 12 volumes were donated in 1934 to The Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute and were included as part of the Pattison 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. The Birds of Australia Vol 12 Part 1 Author: Gregory M Mathews Publisher: H. F. & G. Witherby 326 HIGH HOLBORN LONDON Date: 1925-1927 Tan leather bound illustrated work.Label on spine cover with typed text RA 598.2994 MAT Pastedown front endpaper has sticker from Warrnambool Mechanics Institute and Free Library that reads “Presented by W. Lindsay Esq. ‘Union’ Woolsthrope” Accession Number: 15244 Date Received: 3-34 “W. Lindsay” embossed in gold on front cover, bottom right of book flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, the birds of australia, gregory m. matthews, witherby & co., h.f. & g. witherby, w lindsay, william lindsay, quamby woolsthorpe, union woolsthorpe, pattison collection, warrnambool library, warrnambool art gallery, joseph archibald, warrnambool mechanics’ institute and free library, ralph eric pattison, warrnambool city librarian, mechanics’ institute library, victorian library board, warrnambool books and records, warrnambool children’s library, the birds of australia vol 12 part 1, quamby station, union station, woolsthrope

The Birds of Australia is a 12 volume work, in a total of 14 books. The books were used as an ornithological handbook. They contain scientific text as well as over 600 hand-coloured lithographed plates by J.G. Keulemans, H. Grönvold, Roland Green, H. Goodchild and G.E. Lodge. The work was written, sponsored and organised by Gregory M. Matthews, F.R.S.C. Erc. who was a wealthy Australian and an amateur ornithologist. His titles included – -Fellow of the Linnean and Zoological Societies of London -Member of the British Ornithologists’ Union -Corresponding Fellow of the American Ornithologists’ Union The volumes in our collection were originally donated to the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute and Free Library by William Lindsay. THE LINDSAYS (quoted from the book Of Many Things – A History of Warrnambool Shire by C.E. Sayers) The Lindsays were amongst the most prominent families in the Shire of Warrnambool, as pastoralists, sportsmen, municipal councillors, community leaders. The first of the family William arrived in Melbourne in 1841 and started business as a livestock agent. The gold rushes sent him to the central Victoria diggings dealing in cattle. This was a business that boomed in the early 1850s, and he prospered. In 1859 he took over the Quamby run near Woolsthrope from Paul de Castella, the Yarra Valley Swiss vigneron who had brought the leasehold and improvements in 1853 from George Youl, who had pioneered the run. Quamby was originally 25,000 acres. It was heavily timbered, rough country, much of it swampy, a characteristic of the district. Lindsay used it to fatten cattle which gave large returns with the booming gold diggings towns paying high prices for beef. In 1862 purchases at auction made Quamby a freehold. In the next six years a further 20,000 acres of Crown land were brought at auction to make the run one of the largest in the south-west district. The great profits from his cattle trading enabled Lindsay to make improvements to the holding, and to Union which was added in 1864. Much of the thick timber was cleared and the worst of the swamps drained. Union was 15,000 acres of freehold when Kennedy sold it to Lindsay. It was heavily timbered, mostly blackwood, with large belts of wattle and honeysuckle. Much of the heavy native was ringbarked and cleared; much more was swept away by bushfire. It was expensive work, but Lindsay’s bank passbook was heavy with credit, and he did not spare money to make both Quamby and Union heavily developed stock runs. He was as lavish in social living; the bluestone Quamby homestead was one of the most hospitable in the district when William Lindsay was host there; its paddocks carried high quality thoroughbreds: its stables housed steeplechasers and flat racers which won many races on Warrnambool and other courses; its coach houses were filled with carriages which took his guests to the great racing carnivals of the district. After William Lindsay died in 1897, in his eighty-fifth year, his two sons, William and James, managed Union and Quamby as a joint venture. This partnership ended in 1906 when William took over Union and James kept Quamby. The following year 10,000 acres of Union were subdivided and sold in lots of 100 acres to 700 acres for dairying and general farming. It was well improved country, much of it alluvial flats. By then many of the paddocks were sheltered with blue gum belts, and they carried good pastures. The three Lindsays, father and two sons, gave many years of service to the Shire, and to many charitable, sporting, social and community organisations in the Warrnambool district. William Lindsay senior, was a Shire councillor for 15 years, and President several times. James Lindsay followed his father as a north riding councillor. He served nineteen years, from 1887 until his death in March 1908. He was President four times. Jimmy Lindsay was one of the most popular men in the south-west of Victoria. He was a fine sportsman: horse breeder, owner and a dashing amateur rider. He lived lavishly and played hard. For many years he guarded a herd of kangaroos, as many as 100 head, at Quamby. Descendants of the Lindsay kangaroos are still in the district. James Lindsay’s wife, Margaret Esther was a daughter of Samuel Shaw Parker, the first engineer of the Shire. Nell Lindsay, a daughter, lives in the Bluestone Quamby homestead. Only a little more than 60 acres of the original run still belongs to the property. William Lindsay junior succeeded his brother as a Shire councillor. He served for 25 years from 1908 until his death in 1934. So, the Lindsays, father and two sons, served as Shite councillors for an unbroken period of sixth-five years. William Lindsay junior had a life-long interest in horse racing, as breeder, owner and enthusiastic amateur steeplechase rider. He was elected a member of the Warrnambool racing club in 1901 and was president of the club for thirty-two years. He raced and rode horses for the love of the sport. He won the Villiers and Heytesbury Hunt Cup in the 1870s on his own horse, Ventura. In the year he died his horse Flavedo won the Warrnambool Grand Annual steeplechase. It was a sensational race. All of the contestants fell, or lost their riders. When Flavedo baulked at a jump, its jockey R. Sweetman, remounted and completed the course to win the race. All of the Lindsays were passionately fond of the thoroughbred horse. Nell Lindsay talking to the author in the drawing room of Quamby homestead - with many memories for her of its lavish years – said of a brother that he was put on a horse when he was two years old and never got off. William Lindsay junior made Union into a fine, high-producing property, breeding cattle and horses. He added to the bluestone house that David Kennedy started, established plantations of pines and gums, and made an attractive garden. 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 meeting room in November1854 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 fund raising 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 court house 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 historic 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 Historic 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 art works 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 This book is also part of the ‘Pattison Collection’, a collection of books and records that was originally owned by the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute, which was founded in Warrnambool in 1853. In 1935 Ralph Pattison was appointed as City Librarian to establish and organise the Warrnambool Library, as the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute was then called. When the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute 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 Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute. At this time some of the items were separated and identified as the ‘Pattison Collection’, named after Ralph Pattison. Eventually the components of the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute 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. RALPH ERIC PATTISON 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 Pattison accepted a 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 area 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 during 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 Birds of Australia by Gregory M. Matthews is now considered a rare and valuable scientific and historic work on its own. These 12 volumes were donated in 1934 to The Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute and were included as part of the Pattison 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. The Birds of Australia Vol 12 Part 2 Author: Gregory M Mathews Publisher: H. F. & G. Witherby 326 HIGH HOLBORN LONDON Date: 1925-1927 Tan leather bound illustrated work.Label on spine cover with typed text RA 598.2994 MAT Pastedown front endpaper has sticker from Warrnambool Mechanics Institute and Free Library that reads “Presented by W. Lindsay Esq. ‘Union’ Woolsthrope” Accession Number: 15245 Date Received: 3-34 “W. Lindsay” embossed in gold on front cover, bottom right of book flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, the birds of australia, gregory m. matthews, witherby & co., h.f. & g. witherby, w lindsay, william lindsay, quamby woolsthorpe, union woolsthorpe, pattison collection, warrnambool library, warrnambool art gallery, joseph archibald, warrnambool mechanics’ institute and free library, ralph eric pattison, warrnambool city librarian, mechanics’ institute library, victorian library board, warrnambool books and records, warrnambool children’s library, the birds of australia vol 12 part 2, quamby station, union station, woolsthrope