Showing 604 items matching "decline"
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Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Equipment - Forceps, 20th Century
Surgical forceps have been used in various forms from ancient times and have evolved into a indispensable instrument for modern surgeries. Forceps are surgical instruments for the practice of medicine which are used for grasping, holding, and manipulating tissues and objects during surgical procedures. Ancient Origins Surgical instruments, including forceps, have been use since man first started working with tools. Ancient civilizations, like Egypt, Greece, and Rome, had physicians who used rudimentary forceps made of bronze or iron. The forceps of the ancient world were often simple in design, with two arms that could be squeezed together to grasp objects. They were primarily used for tasks like extracting foreign bodies or handling tissues. Middle Ages and Renaissance During the Middle Ages, medical knowledge and surgical techniques experienced a decline in Europe. While the Roman empire enjoyed remarkably advanced medical care and practices, its collapse left a vacuum that led to a loss of a centralized medical knowledge and a disruption of education and trade. At the same time, religious superstitions suppressed medical inquiry. With many of the medical texts of Hippocrates and Galen and others lost, the medical practice experienced a decline. However, surgical forceps continued to be used in various forms, albeit with limited advancements. With the Renaissance period came a revival in medical knowledge and innovation. Ambroise Paré, a French surgeon of the 16th century, is credited with introducing improvements to the forceps design, making them more versatile and effective. 18th and 19th Centuries Innovators The 18th and 19th centuries marked a significant period of advancement in surgical instruments, including forceps. The famous French Surgeon Jean-Louis Petit introduced forceps with curved tips, making them more suitable for specific procedures. John Hunter, a Scottish surgeon, designed forceps with fine tips, allowing for more delicate and precise manipulation during surgeries. Joseph Lister, a pioneer of antiseptic surgery, emphasized the importance of cleanliness and sterile instruments during surgical procedures. This led to advancements in forceps sterilization techniques, which greatly improved patient outcomes. Modern Era The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw the development of a wide variety of specialized forceps for different surgical procedures. Advances in metallurgy and manufacturing techniques allowed for more intricate and delicate designs. As surgery became more specialized, forceps were tailored to suit specific procedures, such as neurosurgery, ophthalmology, and gynecology. Contemporary Advances In recent decades, surgical technology evolves continuously. Many surgical procedures are now performed using minimally invasive techniques, which require specialized instruments. Modern surgical forceps are typically made of high-quality stainless steel, stainless steel alloy, or titanium. They come in various shapes, sizes, and designs, each suited to specific surgical tasks. Some forceps have serrated jaws for a better grip, while others have delicate tips for fine tissue manipulation. Modern Forceps The history of surgical forceps is a story of innovation, adaptation, and continuous refinement. From ancient origins to the modern era, these instruments have evolved alongside medical knowledge and surgical techniques, playing a crucial role in improving patient outcomes and advancing the field of surgery. https://www.wpiinc.com/blog/post/history-evolution-of-forceps These forceps were donated to Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village by the family of Doctor William Roy Angus, Surgeon and Oculist. It is part of the “W.R. Angus Collection” that includes historical medical equipment, surgical instruments and material once belonging to Dr Edward Ryan and Dr Thomas Francis Ryan, (both of Nhill, Victoria) as well as Dr Angus’ own belongings. The Collection’s history spans the medical practices of the two Doctors Ryan, from 1885-1926 plus that of Dr Angus, up until 1969. ABOUT THE “W.R.ANGUS COLLECTION” Doctor William Roy Angus M.B., B.S., Adel., 1923, F.R.C.S. Edin.,1928 (also known as Dr Roy Angus) was born in Murrumbeena, Victoria in 1901 and lived until 1970. He qualified as a doctor in 1923 at University of Adelaide, was Resident Medical Officer at the Royal Adelaide Hospital in 1924 and for a period was house surgeon to Sir (then Mr.) Henry Simpson Newland. Dr Angus was briefly an Assistant to Dr Riddell of Kapunda, then commenced private practice at Curramulka, Yorke Peninsula, SA, where he was physician, surgeon and chemist. In 1926, he was appointed as new Medical Assistant to Dr Thomas Francis Ryan (T.F. Ryan, or Tom), in Nhill, Victoria, where his experiences included radiology and pharmacy. In 1927 he was Acting House Surgeon in Dr Tom Ryan’s absence. Dr Angus had become engaged to Gladys Forsyth and they decided he would take time to further his studies overseas in the UK in 1927. He studied at London University College Hospital and at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and in 1928, was awarded FRCS (Fellow from the Royal College of Surgeons), Edinburgh. He worked his passage back to Australia as a Ship’s Surgeon on the on the Australian Commonwealth Line’s T.S.S. Largs Bay. Dr Angus married Gladys in 1929, in Ballarat. (They went on to have one son (Graham 1932, born in SA) and two daughters (Helen (died 12/07/1996) and Berenice (Berry), both born at Mira, Nhill ) Dr Angus was a ‘flying doctor’ for the A.I.M. (Australian Inland Ministry) Aerial Medical Service in 1928 . The organisation began in South Australia through the Presbyterian Church in that year, with its first station being in the remote town of Oodnadatta, where Dr Angus was stationed. He was locum tenens there on North-South Railway at 21 Mile Camp. He took up this ‘flying doctor’ position in response to a call from Dr John Flynn; the organisation was later known as the Flying Doctor Service, then the Royal Flying Doctor Service. A lot of his work during this time involved dental surgery also. Between 1928-1932 he was surgeon at the Curramulka Hospital, Yorke Peninsula, South Australia. In 1933 Dr Angus returned to Nhill where he’d previously worked as Medical Assistant and purchased a share of the Nelson Street practice and Mira hospital from Dr Les Middleton one of the Middleton Brothers, the current owners of what was once Dr Tom Ryan’s practice. Dr L Middleton was House Surgeon to the Nhill Hospital 1926-1933, when he resigned. [Dr Tom Ryan’s practice had originally belonged to his older brother Dr Edward Ryan, who came to Nhill in 1885. Dr Edward saw patients at his rooms, firstly in Victoria Street and in 1886 in Nelson Street, until 1901. The Nelson Street practice also had a 2 bed ward, called Mira Private Hospital ). Dr Edward Ryan was House Surgeon at the Nhill Hospital 1884-1902 . He also had occasions where he successfully performed veterinary surgery for the local farmers too. Dr Tom Ryan then purchased the practice from his brother in 1901. Both Dr Edward and Dr Tom Ryan work as surgeons included eye surgery. Dr Tom Ryan performed many of his operations in the Mira private hospital on his premises. He too was House Surgeon at the Nhill Hospital 1902-1926. Dr Tom Ryan had one of the only two pieces of radiology equipment in Victoria during his practicing years – The Royal Melbourne Hospital had the other one. Over the years Dr Tom Ryan gradually set up what was effectively a training school for country general-practitioner-surgeons. Each patient was carefully examined, including using the X-ray machine, and any surgery was discussed and planned with Dr Ryan’s assistants several days in advance. Dr Angus gained experience in using the X-ray machine there during his time as assistant to Dr Ryan. Dr Tom Ryan moved from Nhill in 1926. He became a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in 1927, soon after its formation, a rare accolade for a doctor outside any of the major cities. He remained a bachelor and died suddenly on 7th Dec 1955, aged 91, at his home in Ararat. Scholarships and prizes are still awarded to medical students in the honour of Dr T.F. Ryan and his father, Dr Michael Ryan, and brother, John Patrick Ryan. ] When Dr Angus bought into the Nelson Street premises in Nhill he was also appointed as the Nhill Hospital’s Honorary House Surgeon 1933-1938. His practitioner’s plate from his Nhill surgery states “HOURS Daily, except Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturday afternoons, 9-10am, 2-4pm, 7-8pm. Sundays by appointment”. This plate is now mounted on the doorway to the Port Medical Office at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village, Warrnambool. Dr Edward Ryan and Dr Tom Ryan had an extensive collection of historical medical equipment and materials spanning 1884-1926 and when Dr Angus took up practice in their old premises he obtained this collection, a large part of which is now on display at the Port Medical Office at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village in Warrnambool. During his time in Nhill Dr Angus was involved in the merging of the Mira Hospital and Nhill Public Hospital into one public hospital and the property titles passed on to Nhill Hospital in 1939. In 1939 Dr Angus and his family moved to Warrnambool where he purchased “Birchwood,” the 1852 home and medical practice of Dr John Hunter Henderson, at 214 Koroit Street. (This property was sold in1965 to the State Government and is now the site of the Warrnambool Police Station. ). The Angus family was able to afford gardeners, cooks and maids; their home was a popular place for visiting dignitaries to stay whilst visiting Warrnambool. Dr Angus had his own silk worm farm at home in a Mulberry tree. His young daughter used his centrifuge for spinning the silk. Dr Angus was appointed on a part-time basis as Port Medical Officer (Health Officer) in Warrnambool and held this position until the 1940’s when the government no longer required the service of a Port Medical Officer in Warrnambool; he was thus Warrnambool’s last serving Port Medical Officer. (The duties of a Port Medical Officer were outlined by the Colonial Secretary on 21st June, 1839 under the terms of the Quarantine Act. Masters of immigrant ships arriving in port reported incidents of diseases, illness and death and the Port Medical Officer made a decision on whether the ship required Quarantine and for how long, in this way preventing contagious illness from spreading from new immigrants to the residents already in the colony.) Dr Angus was a member of the Australian Medical Association, for 35 years and surgeon at the Warrnambool Base Hospital 1939-1942, He served as a Surgeon Captain during WWII1942-45, in Ballarat, Victoria, and in Bonegilla, N.S.W., completing his service just before the end of the war due to suffering from a heart attack. During his convalescence he carved an intricate and ‘most artistic’ chess set from the material that dentures were made from. He then studied ophthalmology at the Royal Melbourne Eye and Ear Hospital and created cosmetically superior artificial eyes by pioneering using the intrascleral cartilage. Angus received accolades from the Ophthalmological Society of Australasia for this work. He returned to Warrnambool to commence practice as an ophthalmologist, pioneering in artificial eye improvements. He was Honorary Consultant Ophthalmologist to Warrnambool Base Hospital for 31 years. He made monthly visits to Portland as a visiting surgeon, to perform eye surgery. He represented the Victorian South-West subdivision of the Australian Medical Association as its secretary between 1949 and 1956 and as chairman from 1956 to 1958. In 1968 Dr Angus was elected member of Spain’s Barraquer Institute of Barcelona after his research work in Intrasclearal cartilage grafting, becoming one of the few Australian ophthalmologists to receive this honour, and in the following year presented his final paper on Living Intrasclearal Cartilage Implants at the Inaugural Meeting of the Australian College of Ophthalmologists in Melbourne In his personal life Dr Angus was a Presbyterian and treated Sunday as a Sabbath, a day of rest. He would visit 3 or 4 country patients on a Sunday, taking his children along ‘for the ride’ and to visit with him. Sunday evenings he would play the pianola and sing Scottish songs to his family. One of Dr Angus’ patients was Margaret MacKenzie, author of a book on local shipwrecks that she’d seen as an eye witness from the late 1880’s in Peterborough, Victoria. In the early 1950’s Dr Angus, painted a picture of a shipwreck for the cover jacket of Margaret’s book, Shipwrecks and More Shipwrecks. She was blind in later life and her daughter wrote the actual book for her. Dr Angus and his wife Gladys were very involved in Warrnambool’s society with a strong interest in civic affairs. Their interests included organisations such as Red Cross, Rostrum, Warrnambool and District Historical Society (founding members), Wine and Food Society, Steering Committee for Tertiary Education in Warrnambool, Local National Trust, Good Neighbour Council, Housing Commission Advisory Board, United Services Institute, Legion of Ex-Servicemen, Olympic Pool Committee, Food for Britain Organisation, Warrnambool Hospital, Anti-Cancer Council, Boys’ Club, Charitable Council, National Fitness Council and Air Raid Precautions Group. He was also a member of the Steam Preservation Society and derived much pleasure from a steam traction engine on his farm. He had an interest in people and the community He and his wife Gladys were both involved in the creation of Flagstaff Hill, including the layout of the gardens. After his death (28th March 1970) his family requested his practitioner’s plate, medical instruments and some personal belongings be displayed in the Port Medical Office surgery at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village, and be called the “W. R. Angus Collection”. The W.R. Angus Collection is significant for still being located at the site it is connected with, Doctor Angus being the last Port Medical Officer in Warrnambool. The collection of medical instruments and other equipment is culturally significant, being an historical example of medicine from late 19th to mid-20th century. Dr Angus assisted Dr Tom Ryan, a pioneer in the use of X-rays and in ocular surgery. Stainless steel forceps, angled handles, ring shaped tips From the W.R. Angus Collection.Stamped "2" and crown, staff and snake insignia.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, dr w r angus, dr ryan, surgical instrument, ent ear nose throat surgery, t.s.s. largs bay, warrnambool base hospital, nhill base hospital, mira hospital, flying doctor, medical treatment, forceps, surgery, medical history -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Equipment - Forceps, 20th century
Surgical forceps have been used in various forms from ancient times and have evolved into a indispensable instrument for modern surgeries. Forceps are surgical instruments for the practice of medicine which are used for grasping, holding, and manipulating tissues and objects during surgical procedures. Ancient Origins Surgical instruments, including forceps, have been use since man first started working with tools. Ancient civilizations, like Egypt, Greece, and Rome, had physicians who used rudimentary forceps made of bronze or iron. The forceps of the ancient world were often simple in design, with two arms that could be squeezed together to grasp objects. They were primarily used for tasks like extracting foreign bodies or handling tissues. Middle Ages and Renaissance During the Middle Ages, medical knowledge and surgical techniques experienced a decline in Europe. While the Roman empire enjoyed remarkably advanced medical care and practices, its collapse left a vacuum that led to a loss of a centralized medical knowledge and a disruption of education and trade. At the same time, religious superstitions suppressed medical inquiry. With many of the medical texts of Hippocrates and Galen and others lost, the medical practice experienced a decline. However, surgical forceps continued to be used in various forms, albeit with limited advancements. With the Renaissance period came a revival in medical knowledge and innovation. Ambroise Paré, a French surgeon of the 16th century, is credited with introducing improvements to the forceps design, making them more versatile and effective. 18th and 19th Centuries Innovators The 18th and 19th centuries marked a significant period of advancement in surgical instruments, including forceps. The famous French Surgeon Jean-Louis Petit introduced forceps with curved tips, making them more suitable for specific procedures. John Hunter, a Scottish surgeon, designed forceps with fine tips, allowing for more delicate and precise manipulation during surgeries. Joseph Lister, a pioneer of antiseptic surgery, emphasized the importance of cleanliness and sterile instruments during surgical procedures. This led to advancements in forceps sterilization techniques, which greatly improved patient outcomes. Modern Era The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw the development of a wide variety of specialized forceps for different surgical procedures. Advances in metallurgy and manufacturing techniques allowed for more intricate and delicate designs. As surgery became more specialized, forceps were tailored to suit specific procedures, such as neurosurgery, ophthalmology, and gynecology. Contemporary Advances In recent decades, surgical technology evolves continuously. Many surgical procedures are now performed using minimally invasive techniques, which require specialized instruments. Modern surgical forceps are typically made of high-quality stainless steel, stainless steel alloy, or titanium. They come in various shapes, sizes, and designs, each suited to specific surgical tasks. Some forceps have serrated jaws for a better grip, while others have delicate tips for fine tissue manipulation. Modern Forceps The history of surgical forceps is a story of innovation, adaptation, and continuous refinement. From ancient origins to the modern era, these instruments have evolved alongside medical knowledge and surgical techniques, playing a crucial role in improving patient outcomes and advancing the field of surgery. https://www.wpiinc.com/blog/post/history-evolution-of-forceps These forceps were donated to Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village by the family of Doctor William Roy Angus, Surgeon and Oculist. It is part of the “W.R. Angus Collection” that includes historical medical equipment, surgical instruments and material once belonging to Dr Edward Ryan and Dr Thomas Francis Ryan, (both of Nhill, Victoria) as well as Dr Angus’ own belongings. The Collection’s history spans the medical practices of the two Doctors Ryan, from 1885-1926 plus that of Dr Angus, up until 1969. ABOUT THE “W.R.ANGUS COLLECTION” Doctor William Roy Angus M.B., B.S., Adel., 1923, F.R.C.S. Edin.,1928 (also known as Dr Roy Angus) was born in Murrumbeena, Victoria in 1901 and lived until 1970. He qualified as a doctor in 1923 at University of Adelaide, was Resident Medical Officer at the Royal Adelaide Hospital in 1924 and for a period was house surgeon to Sir (then Mr.) Henry Simpson Newland. Dr Angus was briefly an Assistant to Dr Riddell of Kapunda, then commenced private practice at Curramulka, Yorke Peninsula, SA, where he was physician, surgeon and chemist. In 1926, he was appointed as new Medical Assistant to Dr Thomas Francis Ryan (T.F. Ryan, or Tom), in Nhill, Victoria, where his experiences included radiology and pharmacy. In 1927 he was Acting House Surgeon in Dr Tom Ryan’s absence. Dr Angus had become engaged to Gladys Forsyth and they decided he would take time to further his studies overseas in the UK in 1927. He studied at London University College Hospital and at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and in 1928, was awarded FRCS (Fellow from the Royal College of Surgeons), Edinburgh. He worked his passage back to Australia as a Ship’s Surgeon on the on the Australian Commonwealth Line’s T.S.S. Largs Bay. Dr Angus married Gladys in 1929, in Ballarat. (They went on to have one son (Graham 1932, born in SA) and two daughters (Helen (died 12/07/1996) and Berenice (Berry), both born at Mira, Nhill ) Dr Angus was a ‘flying doctor’ for the A.I.M. (Australian Inland Ministry) Aerial Medical Service in 1928 . The organisation began in South Australia through the Presbyterian Church in that year, with its first station being in the remote town of Oodnadatta, where Dr Angus was stationed. He was locum tenens there on North-South Railway at 21 Mile Camp. He took up this ‘flying doctor’ position in response to a call from Dr John Flynn; the organisation was later known as the Flying Doctor Service, then the Royal Flying Doctor Service. A lot of his work during this time involved dental surgery also. Between 1928-1932 he was surgeon at the Curramulka Hospital, Yorke Peninsula, South Australia. In 1933 Dr Angus returned to Nhill where he’d previously worked as Medical Assistant and purchased a share of the Nelson Street practice and Mira hospital from Dr Les Middleton one of the Middleton Brothers, the current owners of what was once Dr Tom Ryan’s practice. Dr L Middleton was House Surgeon to the Nhill Hospital 1926-1933, when he resigned. [Dr Tom Ryan’s practice had originally belonged to his older brother Dr Edward Ryan, who came to Nhill in 1885. Dr Edward saw patients at his rooms, firstly in Victoria Street and in 1886 in Nelson Street, until 1901. The Nelson Street practice also had a 2 bed ward, called Mira Private Hospital ). Dr Edward Ryan was House Surgeon at the Nhill Hospital 1884-1902 . He also had occasions where he successfully performed veterinary surgery for the local farmers too. Dr Tom Ryan then purchased the practice from his brother in 1901. Both Dr Edward and Dr Tom Ryan work as surgeons included eye surgery. Dr Tom Ryan performed many of his operations in the Mira private hospital on his premises. He too was House Surgeon at the Nhill Hospital 1902-1926. Dr Tom Ryan had one of the only two pieces of radiology equipment in Victoria during his practicing years – The Royal Melbourne Hospital had the other one. Over the years Dr Tom Ryan gradually set up what was effectively a training school for country general-practitioner-surgeons. Each patient was carefully examined, including using the X-ray machine, and any surgery was discussed and planned with Dr Ryan’s assistants several days in advance. Dr Angus gained experience in using the X-ray machine there during his time as assistant to Dr Ryan. Dr Tom Ryan moved from Nhill in 1926. He became a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in 1927, soon after its formation, a rare accolade for a doctor outside any of the major cities. He remained a bachelor and died suddenly on 7th Dec 1955, aged 91, at his home in Ararat. Scholarships and prizes are still awarded to medical students in the honour of Dr T.F. Ryan and his father, Dr Michael Ryan, and brother, John Patrick Ryan. ] When Dr Angus bought into the Nelson Street premises in Nhill he was also appointed as the Nhill Hospital’s Honorary House Surgeon 1933-1938. His practitioner’s plate from his Nhill surgery states “HOURS Daily, except Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturday afternoons, 9-10am, 2-4pm, 7-8pm. Sundays by appointment”. This plate is now mounted on the doorway to the Port Medical Office at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village, Warrnambool. Dr Edward Ryan and Dr Tom Ryan had an extensive collection of historical medical equipment and materials spanning 1884-1926 and when Dr Angus took up practice in their old premises he obtained this collection, a large part of which is now on display at the Port Medical Office at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village in Warrnambool. During his time in Nhill Dr Angus was involved in the merging of the Mira Hospital and Nhill Public Hospital into one public hospital and the property titles passed on to Nhill Hospital in 1939. In 1939 Dr Angus and his family moved to Warrnambool where he purchased “Birchwood,” the 1852 home and medical practice of Dr John Hunter Henderson, at 214 Koroit Street. (This property was sold in1965 to the State Government and is now the site of the Warrnambool Police Station. ). The Angus family was able to afford gardeners, cooks and maids; their home was a popular place for visiting dignitaries to stay whilst visiting Warrnambool. Dr Angus had his own silk worm farm at home in a Mulberry tree. His young daughter used his centrifuge for spinning the silk. Dr Angus was appointed on a part-time basis as Port Medical Officer (Health Officer) in Warrnambool and held this position until the 1940’s when the government no longer required the service of a Port Medical Officer in Warrnambool; he was thus Warrnambool’s last serving Port Medical Officer. (The duties of a Port Medical Officer were outlined by the Colonial Secretary on 21st June, 1839 under the terms of the Quarantine Act. Masters of immigrant ships arriving in port reported incidents of diseases, illness and death and the Port Medical Officer made a decision on whether the ship required Quarantine and for how long, in this way preventing contagious illness from spreading from new immigrants to the residents already in the colony.) Dr Angus was a member of the Australian Medical Association, for 35 years and surgeon at the Warrnambool Base Hospital 1939-1942, He served as a Surgeon Captain during WWII1942-45, in Ballarat, Victoria, and in Bonegilla, N.S.W., completing his service just before the end of the war due to suffering from a heart attack. During his convalescence he carved an intricate and ‘most artistic’ chess set from the material that dentures were made from. He then studied ophthalmology at the Royal Melbourne Eye and Ear Hospital and created cosmetically superior artificial eyes by pioneering using the intrascleral cartilage. Angus received accolades from the Ophthalmological Society of Australasia for this work. He returned to Warrnambool to commence practice as an ophthalmologist, pioneering in artificial eye improvements. He was Honorary Consultant Ophthalmologist to Warrnambool Base Hospital for 31 years. He made monthly visits to Portland as a visiting surgeon, to perform eye surgery. He represented the Victorian South-West subdivision of the Australian Medical Association as its secretary between 1949 and 1956 and as chairman from 1956 to 1958. In 1968 Dr Angus was elected member of Spain’s Barraquer Institute of Barcelona after his research work in Intrasclearal cartilage grafting, becoming one of the few Australian ophthalmologists to receive this honour, and in the following year presented his final paper on Living Intrasclearal Cartilage Implants at the Inaugural Meeting of the Australian College of Ophthalmologists in Melbourne In his personal life Dr Angus was a Presbyterian and treated Sunday as a Sabbath, a day of rest. He would visit 3 or 4 country patients on a Sunday, taking his children along ‘for the ride’ and to visit with him. Sunday evenings he would play the pianola and sing Scottish songs to his family. One of Dr Angus’ patients was Margaret MacKenzie, author of a book on local shipwrecks that she’d seen as an eye witness from the late 1880’s in Peterborough, Victoria. In the early 1950’s Dr Angus, painted a picture of a shipwreck for the cover jacket of Margaret’s book, Shipwrecks and More Shipwrecks. She was blind in later life and her daughter wrote the actual book for her. Dr Angus and his wife Gladys were very involved in Warrnambool’s society with a strong interest in civic affairs. Their interests included organisations such as Red Cross, Rostrum, Warrnambool and District Historical Society (founding members), Wine and Food Society, Steering Committee for Tertiary Education in Warrnambool, Local National Trust, Good Neighbour Council, Housing Commission Advisory Board, United Services Institute, Legion of Ex-Servicemen, Olympic Pool Committee, Food for Britain Organisation, Warrnambool Hospital, Anti-Cancer Council, Boys’ Club, Charitable Council, National Fitness Council and Air Raid Precautions Group. He was also a member of the Steam Preservation Society and derived much pleasure from a steam traction engine on his farm. He had an interest in people and the community He and his wife Gladys were both involved in the creation of Flagstaff Hill, including the layout of the gardens. After his death (28th March 1970) his family requested his practitioner’s plate, medical instruments and some personal belongings be displayed in the Port Medical Office surgery at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village, and be called the “W. R. Angus Collection”. The W.R. Angus Collection is significant for still being located at the site it is connected with, Doctor Angus being the last Port Medical Officer in Warrnambool. The collection of medical instruments and other equipment is culturally significant, being an historical example of medicine from late 19th to mid-20th century. Dr Angus assisted Dr Tom Ryan, a pioneer in the use of X-rays and in ocular surgery. Stainless steel punch forceps from the W.R. Angus Collection. Ring on one end of tip and scoop on opposite side, angled handle.Stamped 'Ramsay'.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, dr w r angus, dr ryan, surgical instrument, ent ear nose throat surgery, t.s.s. largs bay, warrnambool base hospital, nhill base hospital, mira hospital, flying doctor, medical treatment, forceps, surger, medical history -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Equipment - Forceps, 20th century
Surgical forceps have been used in various forms from ancient times and have evolved into a indispensable instrument for modern surgeries. Forceps are surgical instruments for the practice of medicine which are used for grasping, holding, and manipulating tissues and objects during surgical procedures. Ancient Origins Surgical instruments, including forceps, have been use since man first started working with tools. Ancient civilizations, like Egypt, Greece, and Rome, had physicians who used rudimentary forceps made of bronze or iron. The forceps of the ancient world were often simple in design, with two arms that could be squeezed together to grasp objects. They were primarily used for tasks like extracting foreign bodies or handling tissues. Middle Ages and Renaissance During the Middle Ages, medical knowledge and surgical techniques experienced a decline in Europe. While the Roman empire enjoyed remarkably advanced medical care and practices, its collapse left a vacuum that led to a loss of a centralized medical knowledge and a disruption of education and trade. At the same time, religious superstitions suppressed medical inquiry. With many of the medical texts of Hippocrates and Galen and others lost, the medical practice experienced a decline. However, surgical forceps continued to be used in various forms, albeit with limited advancements. With the Renaissance period came a revival in medical knowledge and innovation. Ambroise Paré, a French surgeon of the 16th century, is credited with introducing improvements to the forceps design, making them more versatile and effective. 18th and 19th Centuries Innovators The 18th and 19th centuries marked a significant period of advancement in surgical instruments, including forceps. The famous French Surgeon Jean-Louis Petit introduced forceps with curved tips, making them more suitable for specific procedures. John Hunter, a Scottish surgeon, designed forceps with fine tips, allowing for more delicate and precise manipulation during surgeries. Joseph Lister, a pioneer of antiseptic surgery, emphasized the importance of cleanliness and sterile instruments during surgical procedures. This led to advancements in forceps sterilization techniques, which greatly improved patient outcomes. Modern Era The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw the development of a wide variety of specialized forceps for different surgical procedures. Advances in metallurgy and manufacturing techniques allowed for more intricate and delicate designs. As surgery became more specialized, forceps were tailored to suit specific procedures, such as neurosurgery, ophthalmology, and gynecology. Contemporary Advances In recent decades, surgical technology evolves continuously. Many surgical procedures are now performed using minimally invasive techniques, which require specialized instruments. Modern surgical forceps are typically made of high-quality stainless steel, stainless steel alloy, or titanium. They come in various shapes, sizes, and designs, each suited to specific surgical tasks. Some forceps have serrated jaws for a better grip, while others have delicate tips for fine tissue manipulation. Modern Forceps The history of surgical forceps is a story of innovation, adaptation, and continuous refinement. From ancient origins to the modern era, these instruments have evolved alongside medical knowledge and surgical techniques, playing a crucial role in improving patient outcomes and advancing the field of surgery. https://www.wpiinc.com/blog/post/history-evolution-of-forceps These forceps were donated to Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village by the family of Doctor William Roy Angus, Surgeon and Oculist. It is part of the “W.R. Angus Collection” that includes historical medical equipment, surgical instruments and material once belonging to Dr Edward Ryan and Dr Thomas Francis Ryan, (both of Nhill, Victoria) as well as Dr Angus’ own belongings. The Collection’s history spans the medical practices of the two Doctors Ryan, from 1885-1926 plus that of Dr Angus, up until 1969. ABOUT THE “W.R.ANGUS COLLECTION” Doctor William Roy Angus M.B., B.S., Adel., 1923, F.R.C.S. Edin.,1928 (also known as Dr Roy Angus) was born in Murrumbeena, Victoria in 1901 and lived until 1970. He qualified as a doctor in 1923 at University of Adelaide, was Resident Medical Officer at the Royal Adelaide Hospital in 1924 and for a period was house surgeon to Sir (then Mr.) Henry Simpson Newland. Dr Angus was briefly an Assistant to Dr Riddell of Kapunda, then commenced private practice at Curramulka, Yorke Peninsula, SA, where he was physician, surgeon and chemist. In 1926, he was appointed as new Medical Assistant to Dr Thomas Francis Ryan (T.F. Ryan, or Tom), in Nhill, Victoria, where his experiences included radiology and pharmacy. In 1927 he was Acting House Surgeon in Dr Tom Ryan’s absence. Dr Angus had become engaged to Gladys Forsyth and they decided he would take time to further his studies overseas in the UK in 1927. He studied at London University College Hospital and at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and in 1928, was awarded FRCS (Fellow from the Royal College of Surgeons), Edinburgh. He worked his passage back to Australia as a Ship’s Surgeon on the on the Australian Commonwealth Line’s T.S.S. Largs Bay. Dr Angus married Gladys in 1929, in Ballarat. (They went on to have one son (Graham 1932, born in SA) and two daughters (Helen (died 12/07/1996) and Berenice (Berry), both born at Mira, Nhill ) Dr Angus was a ‘flying doctor’ for the A.I.M. (Australian Inland Ministry) Aerial Medical Service in 1928 . The organisation began in South Australia through the Presbyterian Church in that year, with its first station being in the remote town of Oodnadatta, where Dr Angus was stationed. He was locum tenens there on North-South Railway at 21 Mile Camp. He took up this ‘flying doctor’ position in response to a call from Dr John Flynn; the organisation was later known as the Flying Doctor Service, then the Royal Flying Doctor Service. A lot of his work during this time involved dental surgery also. Between 1928-1932 he was surgeon at the Curramulka Hospital, Yorke Peninsula, South Australia. In 1933 Dr Angus returned to Nhill where he’d previously worked as Medical Assistant and purchased a share of the Nelson Street practice and Mira hospital from Dr Les Middleton one of the Middleton Brothers, the current owners of what was once Dr Tom Ryan’s practice. Dr L Middleton was House Surgeon to the Nhill Hospital 1926-1933, when he resigned. [Dr Tom Ryan’s practice had originally belonged to his older brother Dr Edward Ryan, who came to Nhill in 1885. Dr Edward saw patients at his rooms, firstly in Victoria Street and in 1886 in Nelson Street, until 1901. The Nelson Street practice also had a 2 bed ward, called Mira Private Hospital ). Dr Edward Ryan was House Surgeon at the Nhill Hospital 1884-1902 . He also had occasions where he successfully performed veterinary surgery for the local farmers too. Dr Tom Ryan then purchased the practice from his brother in 1901. Both Dr Edward and Dr Tom Ryan work as surgeons included eye surgery. Dr Tom Ryan performed many of his operations in the Mira private hospital on his premises. He too was House Surgeon at the Nhill Hospital 1902-1926. Dr Tom Ryan had one of the only two pieces of radiology equipment in Victoria during his practicing years – The Royal Melbourne Hospital had the other one. Over the years Dr Tom Ryan gradually set up what was effectively a training school for country general-practitioner-surgeons. Each patient was carefully examined, including using the X-ray machine, and any surgery was discussed and planned with Dr Ryan’s assistants several days in advance. Dr Angus gained experience in using the X-ray machine there during his time as assistant to Dr Ryan. Dr Tom Ryan moved from Nhill in 1926. He became a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in 1927, soon after its formation, a rare accolade for a doctor outside any of the major cities. He remained a bachelor and died suddenly on 7th Dec 1955, aged 91, at his home in Ararat. Scholarships and prizes are still awarded to medical students in the honour of Dr T.F. Ryan and his father, Dr Michael Ryan, and brother, John Patrick Ryan. ] When Dr Angus bought into the Nelson Street premises in Nhill he was also appointed as the Nhill Hospital’s Honorary House Surgeon 1933-1938. His practitioner’s plate from his Nhill surgery states “HOURS Daily, except Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturday afternoons, 9-10am, 2-4pm, 7-8pm. Sundays by appointment”. This plate is now mounted on the doorway to the Port Medical Office at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village, Warrnambool. Dr Edward Ryan and Dr Tom Ryan had an extensive collection of historical medical equipment and materials spanning 1884-1926 and when Dr Angus took up practice in their old premises he obtained this collection, a large part of which is now on display at the Port Medical Office at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village in Warrnambool. During his time in Nhill Dr Angus was involved in the merging of the Mira Hospital and Nhill Public Hospital into one public hospital and the property titles passed on to Nhill Hospital in 1939. In 1939 Dr Angus and his family moved to Warrnambool where he purchased “Birchwood,” the 1852 home and medical practice of Dr John Hunter Henderson, at 214 Koroit Street. (This property was sold in1965 to the State Government and is now the site of the Warrnambool Police Station. ). The Angus family was able to afford gardeners, cooks and maids; their home was a popular place for visiting dignitaries to stay whilst visiting Warrnambool. Dr Angus had his own silk worm farm at home in a Mulberry tree. His young daughter used his centrifuge for spinning the silk. Dr Angus was appointed on a part-time basis as Port Medical Officer (Health Officer) in Warrnambool and held this position until the 1940’s when the government no longer required the service of a Port Medical Officer in Warrnambool; he was thus Warrnambool’s last serving Port Medical Officer. (The duties of a Port Medical Officer were outlined by the Colonial Secretary on 21st June, 1839 under the terms of the Quarantine Act. Masters of immigrant ships arriving in port reported incidents of diseases, illness and death and the Port Medical Officer made a decision on whether the ship required Quarantine and for how long, in this way preventing contagious illness from spreading from new immigrants to the residents already in the colony.) Dr Angus was a member of the Australian Medical Association, for 35 years and surgeon at the Warrnambool Base Hospital 1939-1942, He served as a Surgeon Captain during WWII1942-45, in Ballarat, Victoria, and in Bonegilla, N.S.W., completing his service just before the end of the war due to suffering from a heart attack. During his convalescence he carved an intricate and ‘most artistic’ chess set from the material that dentures were made from. He then studied ophthalmology at the Royal Melbourne Eye and Ear Hospital and created cosmetically superior artificial eyes by pioneering using the intrascleral cartilage. Angus received accolades from the Ophthalmological Society of Australasia for this work. He returned to Warrnambool to commence practice as an ophthalmologist, pioneering in artificial eye improvements. He was Honorary Consultant Ophthalmologist to Warrnambool Base Hospital for 31 years. He made monthly visits to Portland as a visiting surgeon, to perform eye surgery. He represented the Victorian South-West subdivision of the Australian Medical Association as its secretary between 1949 and 1956 and as chairman from 1956 to 1958. In 1968 Dr Angus was elected member of Spain’s Barraquer Institute of Barcelona after his research work in Intrasclearal cartilage grafting, becoming one of the few Australian ophthalmologists to receive this honour, and in the following year presented his final paper on Living Intrasclearal Cartilage Implants at the Inaugural Meeting of the Australian College of Ophthalmologists in Melbourne In his personal life Dr Angus was a Presbyterian and treated Sunday as a Sabbath, a day of rest. He would visit 3 or 4 country patients on a Sunday, taking his children along ‘for the ride’ and to visit with him. Sunday evenings he would play the pianola and sing Scottish songs to his family. One of Dr Angus’ patients was Margaret MacKenzie, author of a book on local shipwrecks that she’d seen as an eye witness from the late 1880’s in Peterborough, Victoria. In the early 1950’s Dr Angus, painted a picture of a shipwreck for the cover jacket of Margaret’s book, Shipwrecks and More Shipwrecks. She was blind in later life and her daughter wrote the actual book for her. Dr Angus and his wife Gladys were very involved in Warrnambool’s society with a strong interest in civic affairs. Their interests included organisations such as Red Cross, Rostrum, Warrnambool and District Historical Society (founding members), Wine and Food Society, Steering Committee for Tertiary Education in Warrnambool, Local National Trust, Good Neighbour Council, Housing Commission Advisory Board, United Services Institute, Legion of Ex-Servicemen, Olympic Pool Committee, Food for Britain Organisation, Warrnambool Hospital, Anti-Cancer Council, Boys’ Club, Charitable Council, National Fitness Council and Air Raid Precautions Group. He was also a member of the Steam Preservation Society and derived much pleasure from a steam traction engine on his farm. He had an interest in people and the community He and his wife Gladys were both involved in the creation of Flagstaff Hill, including the layout of the gardens. After his death (28th March 1970) his family requested his practitioner’s plate, medical instruments and some personal belongings be displayed in the Port Medical Office surgery at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village, and be called the “W. R. Angus Collection”. The W.R. Angus Collection is significant for still being located at the site it is connected with, Doctor Angus being the last Port Medical Officer in Warrnambool. The collection of medical instruments and other equipment is culturally significant, being an historical example of medicine from late 19th to mid-20th century. Dr Angus assisted Dr Tom Ryan, a pioneer in the use of X-rays and in ocular surgery. Stainless steel forceps, angled handles, ring shaped tips From the W.R. Angus Collection.'2' stamped on two parts.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, dr w r angus, dr ryan, surgical instrument, ent ear nose throat surgery, t.s.s. largs bay, warrnambool base hospital, nhill base hospital, mira hospital, flying doctor, medical treatment, forceps, surgery, medical history -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Equipment - Forceps, 20th century
Surgical forceps have been used in various forms from ancient times and have evolved into a indispensable instrument for modern surgeries. Forceps are surgical instruments for the practice of medicine which are used for grasping, holding, and manipulating tissues and objects during surgical procedures. Ancient Origins Surgical instruments, including forceps, have been use since man first started working with tools. Ancient civilizations, like Egypt, Greece, and Rome, had physicians who used rudimentary forceps made of bronze or iron. The forceps of the ancient world were often simple in design, with two arms that could be squeezed together to grasp objects. They were primarily used for tasks like extracting foreign bodies or handling tissues. Middle Ages and Renaissance During the Middle Ages, medical knowledge and surgical techniques experienced a decline in Europe. While the Roman empire enjoyed remarkably advanced medical care and practices, its collapse left a vacuum that led to a loss of a centralized medical knowledge and a disruption of education and trade. At the same time, religious superstitions suppressed medical inquiry. With many of the medical texts of Hippocrates and Galen and others lost, the medical practice experienced a decline. However, surgical forceps continued to be used in various forms, albeit with limited advancements. With the Renaissance period came a revival in medical knowledge and innovation. Ambroise Paré, a French surgeon of the 16th century, is credited with introducing improvements to the forceps design, making them more versatile and effective. 18th and 19th Centuries Innovators The 18th and 19th centuries marked a significant period of advancement in surgical instruments, including forceps. The famous French Surgeon Jean-Louis Petit introduced forceps with curved tips, making them more suitable for specific procedures. John Hunter, a Scottish surgeon, designed forceps with fine tips, allowing for more delicate and precise manipulation during surgeries. Joseph Lister, a pioneer of antiseptic surgery, emphasized the importance of cleanliness and sterile instruments during surgical procedures. This led to advancements in forceps sterilization techniques, which greatly improved patient outcomes. Modern Era The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw the development of a wide variety of specialized forceps for different surgical procedures. Advances in metallurgy and manufacturing techniques allowed for more intricate and delicate designs. As surgery became more specialized, forceps were tailored to suit specific procedures, such as neurosurgery, ophthalmology, and gynecology. Contemporary Advances In recent decades, surgical technology evolves continuously. Many surgical procedures are now performed using minimally invasive techniques, which require specialized instruments. Modern surgical forceps are typically made of high-quality stainless steel, stainless steel alloy, or titanium. They come in various shapes, sizes, and designs, each suited to specific surgical tasks. Some forceps have serrated jaws for a better grip, while others have delicate tips for fine tissue manipulation. Modern Forceps The history of surgical forceps is a story of innovation, adaptation, and continuous refinement. From ancient origins to the modern era, these instruments have evolved alongside medical knowledge and surgical techniques, playing a crucial role in improving patient outcomes and advancing the field of surgery. https://www.wpiinc.com/blog/post/history-evolution-of-forceps These forceps were donated to Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village by the family of Doctor William Roy Angus, Surgeon and Oculist. It is part of the “W.R. Angus Collection” that includes historical medical equipment, surgical instruments and material once belonging to Dr Edward Ryan and Dr Thomas Francis Ryan, (both of Nhill, Victoria) as well as Dr Angus’ own belongings. The Collection’s history spans the medical practices of the two Doctors Ryan, from 1885-1926 plus that of Dr Angus, up until 1969. ABOUT THE “W.R.ANGUS COLLECTION” Doctor William Roy Angus M.B., B.S., Adel., 1923, F.R.C.S. Edin.,1928 (also known as Dr Roy Angus) was born in Murrumbeena, Victoria in 1901 and lived until 1970. He qualified as a doctor in 1923 at University of Adelaide, was Resident Medical Officer at the Royal Adelaide Hospital in 1924 and for a period was house surgeon to Sir (then Mr.) Henry Simpson Newland. Dr Angus was briefly an Assistant to Dr Riddell of Kapunda, then commenced private practice at Curramulka, Yorke Peninsula, SA, where he was physician, surgeon and chemist. In 1926, he was appointed as new Medical Assistant to Dr Thomas Francis Ryan (T.F. Ryan, or Tom), in Nhill, Victoria, where his experiences included radiology and pharmacy. In 1927 he was Acting House Surgeon in Dr Tom Ryan’s absence. Dr Angus had become engaged to Gladys Forsyth and they decided he would take time to further his studies overseas in the UK in 1927. He studied at London University College Hospital and at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and in 1928, was awarded FRCS (Fellow from the Royal College of Surgeons), Edinburgh. He worked his passage back to Australia as a Ship’s Surgeon on the on the Australian Commonwealth Line’s T.S.S. Largs Bay. Dr Angus married Gladys in 1929, in Ballarat. (They went on to have one son (Graham 1932, born in SA) and two daughters (Helen (died 12/07/1996) and Berenice (Berry), both born at Mira, Nhill ) Dr Angus was a ‘flying doctor’ for the A.I.M. (Australian Inland Ministry) Aerial Medical Service in 1928 . The organisation began in South Australia through the Presbyterian Church in that year, with its first station being in the remote town of Oodnadatta, where Dr Angus was stationed. He was locum tenens there on North-South Railway at 21 Mile Camp. He took up this ‘flying doctor’ position in response to a call from Dr John Flynn; the organisation was later known as the Flying Doctor Service, then the Royal Flying Doctor Service. A lot of his work during this time involved dental surgery also. Between 1928-1932 he was surgeon at the Curramulka Hospital, Yorke Peninsula, South Australia. In 1933 Dr Angus returned to Nhill where he’d previously worked as Medical Assistant and purchased a share of the Nelson Street practice and Mira hospital from Dr Les Middleton one of the Middleton Brothers, the current owners of what was once Dr Tom Ryan’s practice. Dr L Middleton was House Surgeon to the Nhill Hospital 1926-1933, when he resigned. [Dr Tom Ryan’s practice had originally belonged to his older brother Dr Edward Ryan, who came to Nhill in 1885. Dr Edward saw patients at his rooms, firstly in Victoria Street and in 1886 in Nelson Street, until 1901. The Nelson Street practice also had a 2 bed ward, called Mira Private Hospital ). Dr Edward Ryan was House Surgeon at the Nhill Hospital 1884-1902 . He also had occasions where he successfully performed veterinary surgery for the local farmers too. Dr Tom Ryan then purchased the practice from his brother in 1901. Both Dr Edward and Dr Tom Ryan work as surgeons included eye surgery. Dr Tom Ryan performed many of his operations in the Mira private hospital on his premises. He too was House Surgeon at the Nhill Hospital 1902-1926. Dr Tom Ryan had one of the only two pieces of radiology equipment in Victoria during his practicing years – The Royal Melbourne Hospital had the other one. Over the years Dr Tom Ryan gradually set up what was effectively a training school for country general-practitioner-surgeons. Each patient was carefully examined, including using the X-ray machine, and any surgery was discussed and planned with Dr Ryan’s assistants several days in advance. Dr Angus gained experience in using the X-ray machine there during his time as assistant to Dr Ryan. Dr Tom Ryan moved from Nhill in 1926. He became a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in 1927, soon after its formation, a rare accolade for a doctor outside any of the major cities. He remained a bachelor and died suddenly on 7th Dec 1955, aged 91, at his home in Ararat. Scholarships and prizes are still awarded to medical students in the honour of Dr T.F. Ryan and his father, Dr Michael Ryan, and brother, John Patrick Ryan. ] When Dr Angus bought into the Nelson Street premises in Nhill he was also appointed as the Nhill Hospital’s Honorary House Surgeon 1933-1938. His practitioner’s plate from his Nhill surgery states “HOURS Daily, except Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturday afternoons, 9-10am, 2-4pm, 7-8pm. Sundays by appointment”. This plate is now mounted on the doorway to the Port Medical Office at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village, Warrnambool. Dr Edward Ryan and Dr Tom Ryan had an extensive collection of historical medical equipment and materials spanning 1884-1926 and when Dr Angus took up practice in their old premises he obtained this collection, a large part of which is now on display at the Port Medical Office at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village in Warrnambool. During his time in Nhill Dr Angus was involved in the merging of the Mira Hospital and Nhill Public Hospital into one public hospital and the property titles passed on to Nhill Hospital in 1939. In 1939 Dr Angus and his family moved to Warrnambool where he purchased “Birchwood,” the 1852 home and medical practice of Dr John Hunter Henderson, at 214 Koroit Street. (This property was sold in1965 to the State Government and is now the site of the Warrnambool Police Station. ). The Angus family was able to afford gardeners, cooks and maids; their home was a popular place for visiting dignitaries to stay whilst visiting Warrnambool. Dr Angus had his own silk worm farm at home in a Mulberry tree. His young daughter used his centrifuge for spinning the silk. Dr Angus was appointed on a part-time basis as Port Medical Officer (Health Officer) in Warrnambool and held this position until the 1940’s when the government no longer required the service of a Port Medical Officer in Warrnambool; he was thus Warrnambool’s last serving Port Medical Officer. (The duties of a Port Medical Officer were outlined by the Colonial Secretary on 21st June, 1839 under the terms of the Quarantine Act. Masters of immigrant ships arriving in port reported incidents of diseases, illness and death and the Port Medical Officer made a decision on whether the ship required Quarantine and for how long, in this way preventing contagious illness from spreading from new immigrants to the residents already in the colony.) Dr Angus was a member of the Australian Medical Association, for 35 years and surgeon at the Warrnambool Base Hospital 1939-1942, He served as a Surgeon Captain during WWII1942-45, in Ballarat, Victoria, and in Bonegilla, N.S.W., completing his service just before the end of the war due to suffering from a heart attack. During his convalescence he carved an intricate and ‘most artistic’ chess set from the material that dentures were made from. He then studied ophthalmology at the Royal Melbourne Eye and Ear Hospital and created cosmetically superior artificial eyes by pioneering using the intrascleral cartilage. Angus received accolades from the Ophthalmological Society of Australasia for this work. He returned to Warrnambool to commence practice as an ophthalmologist, pioneering in artificial eye improvements. He was Honorary Consultant Ophthalmologist to Warrnambool Base Hospital for 31 years. He made monthly visits to Portland as a visiting surgeon, to perform eye surgery. He represented the Victorian South-West subdivision of the Australian Medical Association as its secretary between 1949 and 1956 and as chairman from 1956 to 1958. In 1968 Dr Angus was elected member of Spain’s Barraquer Institute of Barcelona after his research work in Intrasclearal cartilage grafting, becoming one of the few Australian ophthalmologists to receive this honour, and in the following year presented his final paper on Living Intrasclearal Cartilage Implants at the Inaugural Meeting of the Australian College of Ophthalmologists in Melbourne In his personal life Dr Angus was a Presbyterian and treated Sunday as a Sabbath, a day of rest. He would visit 3 or 4 country patients on a Sunday, taking his children along ‘for the ride’ and to visit with him. Sunday evenings he would play the pianola and sing Scottish songs to his family. One of Dr Angus’ patients was Margaret MacKenzie, author of a book on local shipwrecks that she’d seen as an eye witness from the late 1880’s in Peterborough, Victoria. In the early 1950’s Dr Angus, painted a picture of a shipwreck for the cover jacket of Margaret’s book, Shipwrecks and More Shipwrecks. She was blind in later life and her daughter wrote the actual book for her. Dr Angus and his wife Gladys were very involved in Warrnambool’s society with a strong interest in civic affairs. Their interests included organisations such as Red Cross, Rostrum, Warrnambool and District Historical Society (founding members), Wine and Food Society, Steering Committee for Tertiary Education in Warrnambool, Local National Trust, Good Neighbour Council, Housing Commission Advisory Board, United Services Institute, Legion of Ex-Servicemen, Olympic Pool Committee, Food for Britain Organisation, Warrnambool Hospital, Anti-Cancer Council, Boys’ Club, Charitable Council, National Fitness Council and Air Raid Precautions Group. He was also a member of the Steam Preservation Society and derived much pleasure from a steam traction engine on his farm. He had an interest in people and the community He and his wife Gladys were both involved in the creation of Flagstaff Hill, including the layout of the gardens. After his death (28th March 1970) his family requested his practitioner’s plate, medical instruments and some personal belongings be displayed in the Port Medical Office surgery at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village, and be called the “W. R. Angus Collection”. The W.R. Angus Collection is significant for still being located at the site it is connected with, Doctor Angus being the last Port Medical Officer in Warrnambool. The collection of medical instruments and other equipment is culturally significant, being an historical example of medicine from late 19th to mid-20th century. Dr Angus assisted Dr Tom Ryan, a pioneer in the use of X-rays and in ocular surgery. Forceps, angled handles, ring shaped tips From the W.R. Angus Collection."ALLEN & HANBURYS" & "LONDON"flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, dr w r angus, dr ryan, surgical instrument, ent ear nose throat surgery, t.s.s. largs bay, warrnambool base hospital, nhill base hospital, mira hospital, flying doctor, medical treatment, forceps, surgery, medical history -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Equipment - Forceps, 20th century
Surgical forceps have been used in various forms from ancient times and have evolved into a indispensable instrument for modern surgeries. Forceps are surgical instruments for the practice of medicine which are used for grasping, holding, and manipulating tissues and objects during surgical procedures. Ancient Origins Surgical instruments, including forceps, have been use since man first started working with tools. Ancient civilizations, like Egypt, Greece, and Rome, had physicians who used rudimentary forceps made of bronze or iron. The forceps of the ancient world were often simple in design, with two arms that could be squeezed together to grasp objects. They were primarily used for tasks like extracting foreign bodies or handling tissues. Middle Ages and Renaissance During the Middle Ages, medical knowledge and surgical techniques experienced a decline in Europe. While the Roman empire enjoyed remarkably advanced medical care and practices, its collapse left a vacuum that led to a loss of a centralized medical knowledge and a disruption of education and trade. At the same time, religious superstitions suppressed medical inquiry. With many of the medical texts of Hippocrates and Galen and others lost, the medical practice experienced a decline. However, surgical forceps continued to be used in various forms, albeit with limited advancements. With the Renaissance period came a revival in medical knowledge and innovation. Ambroise Paré, a French surgeon of the 16th century, is credited with introducing improvements to the forceps design, making them more versatile and effective. 18th and 19th Centuries Innovators The 18th and 19th centuries marked a significant period of advancement in surgical instruments, including forceps. The famous French Surgeon Jean-Louis Petit introduced forceps with curved tips, making them more suitable for specific procedures. John Hunter, a Scottish surgeon, designed forceps with fine tips, allowing for more delicate and precise manipulation during surgeries. Joseph Lister, a pioneer of antiseptic surgery, emphasized the importance of cleanliness and sterile instruments during surgical procedures. This led to advancements in forceps sterilization techniques, which greatly improved patient outcomes. Modern Era The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw the development of a wide variety of specialized forceps for different surgical procedures. Advances in metallurgy and manufacturing techniques allowed for more intricate and delicate designs. As surgery became more specialized, forceps were tailored to suit specific procedures, such as neurosurgery, ophthalmology, and gynecology. Contemporary Advances In recent decades, surgical technology evolves continuously. Many surgical procedures are now performed using minimally invasive techniques, which require specialized instruments. Modern surgical forceps are typically made of high-quality stainless steel, stainless steel alloy, or titanium. They come in various shapes, sizes, and designs, each suited to specific surgical tasks. Some forceps have serrated jaws for a better grip, while others have delicate tips for fine tissue manipulation. Modern Forceps The history of surgical forceps is a story of innovation, adaptation, and continuous refinement. From ancient origins to the modern era, these instruments have evolved alongside medical knowledge and surgical techniques, playing a crucial role in improving patient outcomes and advancing the field of surgery. https://www.wpiinc.com/blog/post/history-evolution-of-forceps These forceps were donated to Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village by the family of Doctor William Roy Angus, Surgeon and Oculist. It is part of the “W.R. Angus Collection” that includes historical medical equipment, surgical instruments and material once belonging to Dr Edward Ryan and Dr Thomas Francis Ryan, (both of Nhill, Victoria) as well as Dr Angus’ own belongings. The Collection’s history spans the medical practices of the two Doctors Ryan, from 1885-1926 plus that of Dr Angus, up until 1969. ABOUT THE “W.R.ANGUS COLLECTION” Doctor William Roy Angus M.B., B.S., Adel., 1923, F.R.C.S. Edin.,1928 (also known as Dr Roy Angus) was born in Murrumbeena, Victoria in 1901 and lived until 1970. He qualified as a doctor in 1923 at University of Adelaide, was Resident Medical Officer at the Royal Adelaide Hospital in 1924 and for a period was house surgeon to Sir (then Mr.) Henry Simpson Newland. Dr Angus was briefly an Assistant to Dr Riddell of Kapunda, then commenced private practice at Curramulka, Yorke Peninsula, SA, where he was physician, surgeon and chemist. In 1926, he was appointed as new Medical Assistant to Dr Thomas Francis Ryan (T.F. Ryan, or Tom), in Nhill, Victoria, where his experiences included radiology and pharmacy. In 1927 he was Acting House Surgeon in Dr Tom Ryan’s absence. Dr Angus had become engaged to Gladys Forsyth and they decided he would take time to further his studies overseas in the UK in 1927. He studied at London University College Hospital and at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and in 1928, was awarded FRCS (Fellow from the Royal College of Surgeons), Edinburgh. He worked his passage back to Australia as a Ship’s Surgeon on the on the Australian Commonwealth Line’s T.S.S. Largs Bay. Dr Angus married Gladys in 1929, in Ballarat. (They went on to have one son (Graham 1932, born in SA) and two daughters (Helen (died 12/07/1996) and Berenice (Berry), both born at Mira, Nhill ) Dr Angus was a ‘flying doctor’ for the A.I.M. (Australian Inland Ministry) Aerial Medical Service in 1928 . The organisation began in South Australia through the Presbyterian Church in that year, with its first station being in the remote town of Oodnadatta, where Dr Angus was stationed. He was locum tenens there on North-South Railway at 21 Mile Camp. He took up this ‘flying doctor’ position in response to a call from Dr John Flynn; the organisation was later known as the Flying Doctor Service, then the Royal Flying Doctor Service. A lot of his work during this time involved dental surgery also. Between 1928-1932 he was surgeon at the Curramulka Hospital, Yorke Peninsula, South Australia. In 1933 Dr Angus returned to Nhill where he’d previously worked as Medical Assistant and purchased a share of the Nelson Street practice and Mira hospital from Dr Les Middleton one of the Middleton Brothers, the current owners of what was once Dr Tom Ryan’s practice. Dr L Middleton was House Surgeon to the Nhill Hospital 1926-1933, when he resigned. [Dr Tom Ryan’s practice had originally belonged to his older brother Dr Edward Ryan, who came to Nhill in 1885. Dr Edward saw patients at his rooms, firstly in Victoria Street and in 1886 in Nelson Street, until 1901. The Nelson Street practice also had a 2 bed ward, called Mira Private Hospital ). Dr Edward Ryan was House Surgeon at the Nhill Hospital 1884-1902 . He also had occasions where he successfully performed veterinary surgery for the local farmers too. Dr Tom Ryan then purchased the practice from his brother in 1901. Both Dr Edward and Dr Tom Ryan work as surgeons included eye surgery. Dr Tom Ryan performed many of his operations in the Mira private hospital on his premises. He too was House Surgeon at the Nhill Hospital 1902-1926. Dr Tom Ryan had one of the only two pieces of radiology equipment in Victoria during his practicing years – The Royal Melbourne Hospital had the other one. Over the years Dr Tom Ryan gradually set up what was effectively a training school for country general-practitioner-surgeons. Each patient was carefully examined, including using the X-ray machine, and any surgery was discussed and planned with Dr Ryan’s assistants several days in advance. Dr Angus gained experience in using the X-ray machine there during his time as assistant to Dr Ryan. Dr Tom Ryan moved from Nhill in 1926. He became a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in 1927, soon after its formation, a rare accolade for a doctor outside any of the major cities. He remained a bachelor and died suddenly on 7th Dec 1955, aged 91, at his home in Ararat. Scholarships and prizes are still awarded to medical students in the honour of Dr T.F. Ryan and his father, Dr Michael Ryan, and brother, John Patrick Ryan. ] When Dr Angus bought into the Nelson Street premises in Nhill he was also appointed as the Nhill Hospital’s Honorary House Surgeon 1933-1938. His practitioner’s plate from his Nhill surgery states “HOURS Daily, except Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturday afternoons, 9-10am, 2-4pm, 7-8pm. Sundays by appointment”. This plate is now mounted on the doorway to the Port Medical Office at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village, Warrnambool. Dr Edward Ryan and Dr Tom Ryan had an extensive collection of historical medical equipment and materials spanning 1884-1926 and when Dr Angus took up practice in their old premises he obtained this collection, a large part of which is now on display at the Port Medical Office at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village in Warrnambool. During his time in Nhill Dr Angus was involved in the merging of the Mira Hospital and Nhill Public Hospital into one public hospital and the property titles passed on to Nhill Hospital in 1939. In 1939 Dr Angus and his family moved to Warrnambool where he purchased “Birchwood,” the 1852 home and medical practice of Dr John Hunter Henderson, at 214 Koroit Street. (This property was sold in1965 to the State Government and is now the site of the Warrnambool Police Station. ). The Angus family was able to afford gardeners, cooks and maids; their home was a popular place for visiting dignitaries to stay whilst visiting Warrnambool. Dr Angus had his own silk worm farm at home in a Mulberry tree. His young daughter used his centrifuge for spinning the silk. Dr Angus was appointed on a part-time basis as Port Medical Officer (Health Officer) in Warrnambool and held this position until the 1940’s when the government no longer required the service of a Port Medical Officer in Warrnambool; he was thus Warrnambool’s last serving Port Medical Officer. (The duties of a Port Medical Officer were outlined by the Colonial Secretary on 21st June, 1839 under the terms of the Quarantine Act. Masters of immigrant ships arriving in port reported incidents of diseases, illness and death and the Port Medical Officer made a decision on whether the ship required Quarantine and for how long, in this way preventing contagious illness from spreading from new immigrants to the residents already in the colony.) Dr Angus was a member of the Australian Medical Association, for 35 years and surgeon at the Warrnambool Base Hospital 1939-1942, He served as a Surgeon Captain during WWII1942-45, in Ballarat, Victoria, and in Bonegilla, N.S.W., completing his service just before the end of the war due to suffering from a heart attack. During his convalescence he carved an intricate and ‘most artistic’ chess set from the material that dentures were made from. He then studied ophthalmology at the Royal Melbourne Eye and Ear Hospital and created cosmetically superior artificial eyes by pioneering using the intrascleral cartilage. Angus received accolades from the Ophthalmological Society of Australasia for this work. He returned to Warrnambool to commence practice as an ophthalmologist, pioneering in artificial eye improvements. He was Honorary Consultant Ophthalmologist to Warrnambool Base Hospital for 31 years. He made monthly visits to Portland as a visiting surgeon, to perform eye surgery. He represented the Victorian South-West subdivision of the Australian Medical Association as its secretary between 1949 and 1956 and as chairman from 1956 to 1958. In 1968 Dr Angus was elected member of Spain’s Barraquer Institute of Barcelona after his research work in Intrasclearal cartilage grafting, becoming one of the few Australian ophthalmologists to receive this honour, and in the following year presented his final paper on Living Intrasclearal Cartilage Implants at the Inaugural Meeting of the Australian College of Ophthalmologists in Melbourne In his personal life Dr Angus was a Presbyterian and treated Sunday as a Sabbath, a day of rest. He would visit 3 or 4 country patients on a Sunday, taking his children along ‘for the ride’ and to visit with him. Sunday evenings he would play the pianola and sing Scottish songs to his family. One of Dr Angus’ patients was Margaret MacKenzie, author of a book on local shipwrecks that she’d seen as an eye witness from the late 1880’s in Peterborough, Victoria. In the early 1950’s Dr Angus, painted a picture of a shipwreck for the cover jacket of Margaret’s book, Shipwrecks and More Shipwrecks. She was blind in later life and her daughter wrote the actual book for her. Dr Angus and his wife Gladys were very involved in Warrnambool’s society with a strong interest in civic affairs. Their interests included organisations such as Red Cross, Rostrum, Warrnambool and District Historical Society (founding members), Wine and Food Society, Steering Committee for Tertiary Education in Warrnambool, Local National Trust, Good Neighbour Council, Housing Commission Advisory Board, United Services Institute, Legion of Ex-Servicemen, Olympic Pool Committee, Food for Britain Organisation, Warrnambool Hospital, Anti-Cancer Council, Boys’ Club, Charitable Council, National Fitness Council and Air Raid Precautions Group. He was also a member of the Steam Preservation Society and derived much pleasure from a steam traction engine on his farm. He had an interest in people and the community He and his wife Gladys were both involved in the creation of Flagstaff Hill, including the layout of the gardens. After his death (28th March 1970) his family requested his practitioner’s plate, medical instruments and some personal belongings be displayed in the Port Medical Office surgery at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village, and be called the “W. R. Angus Collection”. The W.R. Angus Collection is significant for still being located at the site it is connected with, Doctor Angus being the last Port Medical Officer in Warrnambool. The collection of medical instruments and other equipment is culturally significant, being an historical example of medicine from late 19th to mid-20th century. Dr Angus assisted Dr Tom Ryan, a pioneer in the use of X-rays and in ocular surgery. Stainless steel angled forceps with scoop shaped ends.Inscribed "MEDICAL SUPPLY DEPOT": & "R" flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, dr w r angus, dr ryan, surgical instrument, ent ear nose throat surgery, t.s.s. largs bay, warrnambool base hospital, nhill base hospital, mira hospital, flying doctor, medical treatment, forceps, surger, medical history -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Equipment - Forceps, 20th century
Surgical forceps have been used in various forms from ancient times and have evolved into a indispensable instrument for modern surgeries. Forceps are surgical instruments for the practice of medicine which are used for grasping, holding, and manipulating tissues and objects during surgical procedures. Ancient Origins Surgical instruments, including forceps, have been use since man first started working with tools. Ancient civilizations, like Egypt, Greece, and Rome, had physicians who used rudimentary forceps made of bronze or iron. The forceps of the ancient world were often simple in design, with two arms that could be squeezed together to grasp objects. They were primarily used for tasks like extracting foreign bodies or handling tissues. Middle Ages and Renaissance During the Middle Ages, medical knowledge and surgical techniques experienced a decline in Europe. While the Roman empire enjoyed remarkably advanced medical care and practices, its collapse left a vacuum that led to a loss of a centralized medical knowledge and a disruption of education and trade. At the same time, religious superstitions suppressed medical inquiry. With many of the medical texts of Hippocrates and Galen and others lost, the medical practice experienced a decline. However, surgical forceps continued to be used in various forms, albeit with limited advancements. With the Renaissance period came a revival in medical knowledge and innovation. Ambroise Paré, a French surgeon of the 16th century, is credited with introducing improvements to the forceps design, making them more versatile and effective. 18th and 19th Centuries Innovators The 18th and 19th centuries marked a significant period of advancement in surgical instruments, including forceps. The famous French Surgeon Jean-Louis Petit introduced forceps with curved tips, making them more suitable for specific procedures. John Hunter, a Scottish surgeon, designed forceps with fine tips, allowing for more delicate and precise manipulation during surgeries. Joseph Lister, a pioneer of antiseptic surgery, emphasized the importance of cleanliness and sterile instruments during surgical procedures. This led to advancements in forceps sterilization techniques, which greatly improved patient outcomes. Modern Era The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw the development of a wide variety of specialized forceps for different surgical procedures. Advances in metallurgy and manufacturing techniques allowed for more intricate and delicate designs. As surgery became more specialized, forceps were tailored to suit specific procedures, such as neurosurgery, ophthalmology, and gynecology. Contemporary Advances In recent decades, surgical technology evolves continuously. Many surgical procedures are now performed using minimally invasive techniques, which require specialized instruments. Modern surgical forceps are typically made of high-quality stainless steel, stainless steel alloy, or titanium. They come in various shapes, sizes, and designs, each suited to specific surgical tasks. Some forceps have serrated jaws for a better grip, while others have delicate tips for fine tissue manipulation. Modern Forceps The history of surgical forceps is a story of innovation, adaptation, and continuous refinement. From ancient origins to the modern era, these instruments have evolved alongside medical knowledge and surgical techniques, playing a crucial role in improving patient outcomes and advancing the field of surgery. https://www.wpiinc.com/blog/post/history-evolution-of-forceps These forceps were donated to Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village by the family of Doctor William Roy Angus, Surgeon and Oculist. It is part of the “W.R. Angus Collection” that includes historical medical equipment, surgical instruments and material once belonging to Dr Edward Ryan and Dr Thomas Francis Ryan, (both of Nhill, Victoria) as well as Dr Angus’ own belongings. The Collection’s history spans the medical practices of the two Doctors Ryan, from 1885-1926 plus that of Dr Angus, up until 1969. ABOUT THE “W.R.ANGUS COLLECTION” Doctor William Roy Angus M.B., B.S., Adel., 1923, F.R.C.S. Edin.,1928 (also known as Dr Roy Angus) was born in Murrumbeena, Victoria in 1901 and lived until 1970. He qualified as a doctor in 1923 at University of Adelaide, was Resident Medical Officer at the Royal Adelaide Hospital in 1924 and for a period was house surgeon to Sir (then Mr.) Henry Simpson Newland. Dr Angus was briefly an Assistant to Dr Riddell of Kapunda, then commenced private practice at Curramulka, Yorke Peninsula, SA, where he was physician, surgeon and chemist. In 1926, he was appointed as new Medical Assistant to Dr Thomas Francis Ryan (T.F. Ryan, or Tom), in Nhill, Victoria, where his experiences included radiology and pharmacy. In 1927 he was Acting House Surgeon in Dr Tom Ryan’s absence. Dr Angus had become engaged to Gladys Forsyth and they decided he would take time to further his studies overseas in the UK in 1927. He studied at London University College Hospital and at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and in 1928, was awarded FRCS (Fellow from the Royal College of Surgeons), Edinburgh. He worked his passage back to Australia as a Ship’s Surgeon on the on the Australian Commonwealth Line’s T.S.S. Largs Bay. Dr Angus married Gladys in 1929, in Ballarat. (They went on to have one son (Graham 1932, born in SA) and two daughters (Helen (died 12/07/1996) and Berenice (Berry), both born at Mira, Nhill ) Dr Angus was a ‘flying doctor’ for the A.I.M. (Australian Inland Ministry) Aerial Medical Service in 1928 . The organisation began in South Australia through the Presbyterian Church in that year, with its first station being in the remote town of Oodnadatta, where Dr Angus was stationed. He was locum tenens there on North-South Railway at 21 Mile Camp. He took up this ‘flying doctor’ position in response to a call from Dr John Flynn; the organisation was later known as the Flying Doctor Service, then the Royal Flying Doctor Service. A lot of his work during this time involved dental surgery also. Between 1928-1932 he was surgeon at the Curramulka Hospital, Yorke Peninsula, South Australia. In 1933 Dr Angus returned to Nhill where he’d previously worked as Medical Assistant and purchased a share of the Nelson Street practice and Mira hospital from Dr Les Middleton one of the Middleton Brothers, the current owners of what was once Dr Tom Ryan’s practice. Dr L Middleton was House Surgeon to the Nhill Hospital 1926-1933, when he resigned. [Dr Tom Ryan’s practice had originally belonged to his older brother Dr Edward Ryan, who came to Nhill in 1885. Dr Edward saw patients at his rooms, firstly in Victoria Street and in 1886 in Nelson Street, until 1901. The Nelson Street practice also had a 2 bed ward, called Mira Private Hospital ). Dr Edward Ryan was House Surgeon at the Nhill Hospital 1884-1902 . He also had occasions where he successfully performed veterinary surgery for the local farmers too. Dr Tom Ryan then purchased the practice from his brother in 1901. Both Dr Edward and Dr Tom Ryan work as surgeons included eye surgery. Dr Tom Ryan performed many of his operations in the Mira private hospital on his premises. He too was House Surgeon at the Nhill Hospital 1902-1926. Dr Tom Ryan had one of the only two pieces of radiology equipment in Victoria during his practicing years – The Royal Melbourne Hospital had the other one. Over the years Dr Tom Ryan gradually set up what was effectively a training school for country general-practitioner-surgeons. Each patient was carefully examined, including using the X-ray machine, and any surgery was discussed and planned with Dr Ryan’s assistants several days in advance. Dr Angus gained experience in using the X-ray machine there during his time as assistant to Dr Ryan. Dr Tom Ryan moved from Nhill in 1926. He became a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in 1927, soon after its formation, a rare accolade for a doctor outside any of the major cities. He remained a bachelor and died suddenly on 7th Dec 1955, aged 91, at his home in Ararat. Scholarships and prizes are still awarded to medical students in the honour of Dr T.F. Ryan and his father, Dr Michael Ryan, and brother, John Patrick Ryan. ] When Dr Angus bought into the Nelson Street premises in Nhill he was also appointed as the Nhill Hospital’s Honorary House Surgeon 1933-1938. His practitioner’s plate from his Nhill surgery states “HOURS Daily, except Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturday afternoons, 9-10am, 2-4pm, 7-8pm. Sundays by appointment”. This plate is now mounted on the doorway to the Port Medical Office at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village, Warrnambool. Dr Edward Ryan and Dr Tom Ryan had an extensive collection of historical medical equipment and materials spanning 1884-1926 and when Dr Angus took up practice in their old premises he obtained this collection, a large part of which is now on display at the Port Medical Office at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village in Warrnambool. During his time in Nhill Dr Angus was involved in the merging of the Mira Hospital and Nhill Public Hospital into one public hospital and the property titles passed on to Nhill Hospital in 1939. In 1939 Dr Angus and his family moved to Warrnambool where he purchased “Birchwood,” the 1852 home and medical practice of Dr John Hunter Henderson, at 214 Koroit Street. (This property was sold in1965 to the State Government and is now the site of the Warrnambool Police Station. ). The Angus family was able to afford gardeners, cooks and maids; their home was a popular place for visiting dignitaries to stay whilst visiting Warrnambool. Dr Angus had his own silk worm farm at home in a Mulberry tree. His young daughter used his centrifuge for spinning the silk. Dr Angus was appointed on a part-time basis as Port Medical Officer (Health Officer) in Warrnambool and held this position until the 1940’s when the government no longer required the service of a Port Medical Officer in Warrnambool; he was thus Warrnambool’s last serving Port Medical Officer. (The duties of a Port Medical Officer were outlined by the Colonial Secretary on 21st June, 1839 under the terms of the Quarantine Act. Masters of immigrant ships arriving in port reported incidents of diseases, illness and death and the Port Medical Officer made a decision on whether the ship required Quarantine and for how long, in this way preventing contagious illness from spreading from new immigrants to the residents already in the colony.) Dr Angus was a member of the Australian Medical Association, for 35 years and surgeon at the Warrnambool Base Hospital 1939-1942, He served as a Surgeon Captain during WWII1942-45, in Ballarat, Victoria, and in Bonegilla, N.S.W., completing his service just before the end of the war due to suffering from a heart attack. During his convalescence he carved an intricate and ‘most artistic’ chess set from the material that dentures were made from. He then studied ophthalmology at the Royal Melbourne Eye and Ear Hospital and created cosmetically superior artificial eyes by pioneering using the intrascleral cartilage. Angus received accolades from the Ophthalmological Society of Australasia for this work. He returned to Warrnambool to commence practice as an ophthalmologist, pioneering in artificial eye improvements. He was Honorary Consultant Ophthalmologist to Warrnambool Base Hospital for 31 years. He made monthly visits to Portland as a visiting surgeon, to perform eye surgery. He represented the Victorian South-West subdivision of the Australian Medical Association as its secretary between 1949 and 1956 and as chairman from 1956 to 1958. In 1968 Dr Angus was elected member of Spain’s Barraquer Institute of Barcelona after his research work in Intrasclearal cartilage grafting, becoming one of the few Australian ophthalmologists to receive this honour, and in the following year presented his final paper on Living Intrasclearal Cartilage Implants at the Inaugural Meeting of the Australian College of Ophthalmologists in Melbourne In his personal life Dr Angus was a Presbyterian and treated Sunday as a Sabbath, a day of rest. He would visit 3 or 4 country patients on a Sunday, taking his children along ‘for the ride’ and to visit with him. Sunday evenings he would play the pianola and sing Scottish songs to his family. One of Dr Angus’ patients was Margaret MacKenzie, author of a book on local shipwrecks that she’d seen as an eye witness from the late 1880’s in Peterborough, Victoria. In the early 1950’s Dr Angus, painted a picture of a shipwreck for the cover jacket of Margaret’s book, Shipwrecks and More Shipwrecks. She was blind in later life and her daughter wrote the actual book for her. Dr Angus and his wife Gladys were very involved in Warrnambool’s society with a strong interest in civic affairs. Their interests included organisations such as Red Cross, Rostrum, Warrnambool and District Historical Society (founding members), Wine and Food Society, Steering Committee for Tertiary Education in Warrnambool, Local National Trust, Good Neighbour Council, Housing Commission Advisory Board, United Services Institute, Legion of Ex-Servicemen, Olympic Pool Committee, Food for Britain Organisation, Warrnambool Hospital, Anti-Cancer Council, Boys’ Club, Charitable Council, National Fitness Council and Air Raid Precautions Group. He was also a member of the Steam Preservation Society and derived much pleasure from a steam traction engine on his farm. He had an interest in people and the community He and his wife Gladys were both involved in the creation of Flagstaff Hill, including the layout of the gardens. After his death (28th March 1970) his family requested his practitioner’s plate, medical instruments and some personal belongings be displayed in the Port Medical Office surgery at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village, and be called the “W. R. Angus Collection”. The W.R. Angus Collection is significant for still being located at the site it is connected with, Doctor Angus being the last Port Medical Officer in Warrnambool. The collection of medical instruments and other equipment is culturally significant, being an historical example of medicine from late 19th to mid-20th century. Dr Angus assisted Dr Tom Ryan, a pioneer in the use of X-rays and in ocular surgery. Forceps, from the W.R. Angus Collection. Angled handles, crocodile teeth ends. flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, dr w r angus, dr ryan, surgical instrument, ent ear nose throat surgery, t.s.s. largs bay, warrnambool base hospital, nhill base hospital, mira hospital, flying doctor, medical treatment, forceps, surger, medical history -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Equipment - Forceps, Late 19th century or early 20th century
Surgical forceps have been used in various forms from ancient times and have evolved into a indispensable instrument for modern surgeries. Forceps are surgical instruments for the practice of medicine which are used for grasping, holding, and manipulating tissues and objects during surgical procedures. Ancient Origins Surgical instruments, including forceps, have been use since man first started working with tools. Ancient civilizations, like Egypt, Greece, and Rome, had physicians who used rudimentary forceps made of bronze or iron. The forceps of the ancient world were often simple in design, with two arms that could be squeezed together to grasp objects. They were primarily used for tasks like extracting foreign bodies or handling tissues. Middle Ages and Renaissance During the Middle Ages, medical knowledge and surgical techniques experienced a decline in Europe. While the Roman empire enjoyed remarkably advanced medical care and practices, its collapse left a vacuum that led to a loss of a centralized medical knowledge and a disruption of education and trade. At the same time, religious superstitions suppressed medical inquiry. With many of the medical texts of Hippocrates and Galen and others lost, the medical practice experienced a decline. However, surgical forceps continued to be used in various forms, albeit with limited advancements. With the Renaissance period came a revival in medical knowledge and innovation. Ambroise Paré, a French surgeon of the 16th century, is credited with introducing improvements to the forceps design, making them more versatile and effective. 18th and 19th Centuries Innovators The 18th and 19th centuries marked a significant period of advancement in surgical instruments, including forceps. The famous French Surgeon Jean-Louis Petit introduced forceps with curved tips, making them more suitable for specific procedures. John Hunter, a Scottish surgeon, designed forceps with fine tips, allowing for more delicate and precise manipulation during surgeries. Joseph Lister, a pioneer of antiseptic surgery, emphasized the importance of cleanliness and sterile instruments during surgical procedures. This led to advancements in forceps sterilization techniques, which greatly improved patient outcomes. Modern Era The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw the development of a wide variety of specialized forceps for different surgical procedures. Advances in metallurgy and manufacturing techniques allowed for more intricate and delicate designs. As surgery became more specialized, forceps were tailored to suit specific procedures, such as neurosurgery, ophthalmology, and gynecology. Contemporary Advances In recent decades, surgical technology evolves continuously. Many surgical procedures are now performed using minimally invasive techniques, which require specialized instruments. Modern surgical forceps are typically made of high-quality stainless steel, stainless steel alloy, or titanium. They come in various shapes, sizes, and designs, each suited to specific surgical tasks. Some forceps have serrated jaws for a better grip, while others have delicate tips for fine tissue manipulation. Modern Forceps The history of surgical forceps is a story of innovation, adaptation, and continuous refinement. From ancient origins to the modern era, these instruments have evolved alongside medical knowledge and surgical techniques, playing a crucial role in improving patient outcomes and advancing the field of surgery. https://www.wpiinc.com/blog/post/history-evolution-of-forceps These forceps were donated to Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village by the family of Doctor William Roy Angus, Surgeon and Oculist. It is part of the “W.R. Angus Collection” that includes historical medical equipment, surgical instruments and material once belonging to Dr Edward Ryan and Dr Thomas Francis Ryan, (both of Nhill, Victoria) as well as Dr Angus’ own belongings. The Collection’s history spans the medical practices of the two Doctors Ryan, from 1885-1926 plus that of Dr Angus, up until 1969. ABOUT THE “W.R.ANGUS COLLECTION” Doctor William Roy Angus M.B., B.S., Adel., 1923, F.R.C.S. Edin.,1928 (also known as Dr Roy Angus) was born in Murrumbeena, Victoria in 1901 and lived until 1970. He qualified as a doctor in 1923 at University of Adelaide, was Resident Medical Officer at the Royal Adelaide Hospital in 1924 and for a period was house surgeon to Sir (then Mr.) Henry Simpson Newland. Dr Angus was briefly an Assistant to Dr Riddell of Kapunda, then commenced private practice at Curramulka, Yorke Peninsula, SA, where he was physician, surgeon and chemist. In 1926, he was appointed as new Medical Assistant to Dr Thomas Francis Ryan (T.F. Ryan, or Tom), in Nhill, Victoria, where his experiences included radiology and pharmacy. In 1927 he was Acting House Surgeon in Dr Tom Ryan’s absence. Dr Angus had become engaged to Gladys Forsyth and they decided he would take time to further his studies overseas in the UK in 1927. He studied at London University College Hospital and at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and in 1928, was awarded FRCS (Fellow from the Royal College of Surgeons), Edinburgh. He worked his passage back to Australia as a Ship’s Surgeon on the on the Australian Commonwealth Line’s T.S.S. Largs Bay. Dr Angus married Gladys in 1929, in Ballarat. (They went on to have one son (Graham 1932, born in SA) and two daughters (Helen (died 12/07/1996) and Berenice (Berry), both born at Mira, Nhill ) Dr Angus was a ‘flying doctor’ for the A.I.M. (Australian Inland Ministry) Aerial Medical Service in 1928 . The organisation began in South Australia through the Presbyterian Church in that year, with its first station being in the remote town of Oodnadatta, where Dr Angus was stationed. He was locum tenens there on North-South Railway at 21 Mile Camp. He took up this ‘flying doctor’ position in response to a call from Dr John Flynn; the organisation was later known as the Flying Doctor Service, then the Royal Flying Doctor Service. A lot of his work during this time involved dental surgery also. Between 1928-1932 he was surgeon at the Curramulka Hospital, Yorke Peninsula, South Australia. In 1933 Dr Angus returned to Nhill where he’d previously worked as Medical Assistant and purchased a share of the Nelson Street practice and Mira hospital from Dr Les Middleton one of the Middleton Brothers, the current owners of what was once Dr Tom Ryan’s practice. Dr L Middleton was House Surgeon to the Nhill Hospital 1926-1933, when he resigned. [Dr Tom Ryan’s practice had originally belonged to his older brother Dr Edward Ryan, who came to Nhill in 1885. Dr Edward saw patients at his rooms, firstly in Victoria Street and in 1886 in Nelson Street, until 1901. The Nelson Street practice also had a 2 bed ward, called Mira Private Hospital ). Dr Edward Ryan was House Surgeon at the Nhill Hospital 1884-1902 . He also had occasions where he successfully performed veterinary surgery for the local farmers too. Dr Tom Ryan then purchased the practice from his brother in 1901. Both Dr Edward and Dr Tom Ryan work as surgeons included eye surgery. Dr Tom Ryan performed many of his operations in the Mira private hospital on his premises. He too was House Surgeon at the Nhill Hospital 1902-1926. Dr Tom Ryan had one of the only two pieces of radiology equipment in Victoria during his practicing years – The Royal Melbourne Hospital had the other one. Over the years Dr Tom Ryan gradually set up what was effectively a training school for country general-practitioner-surgeons. Each patient was carefully examined, including using the X-ray machine, and any surgery was discussed and planned with Dr Ryan’s assistants several days in advance. Dr Angus gained experience in using the X-ray machine there during his time as assistant to Dr Ryan. Dr Tom Ryan moved from Nhill in 1926. He became a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in 1927, soon after its formation, a rare accolade for a doctor outside any of the major cities. He remained a bachelor and died suddenly on 7th Dec 1955, aged 91, at his home in Ararat. Scholarships and prizes are still awarded to medical students in the honour of Dr T.F. Ryan and his father, Dr Michael Ryan, and brother, John Patrick Ryan. ] When Dr Angus bought into the Nelson Street premises in Nhill he was also appointed as the Nhill Hospital’s Honorary House Surgeon 1933-1938. His practitioner’s plate from his Nhill surgery states “HOURS Daily, except Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturday afternoons, 9-10am, 2-4pm, 7-8pm. Sundays by appointment”. This plate is now mounted on the doorway to the Port Medical Office at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village, Warrnambool. Dr Edward Ryan and Dr Tom Ryan had an extensive collection of historical medical equipment and materials spanning 1884-1926 and when Dr Angus took up practice in their old premises he obtained this collection, a large part of which is now on display at the Port Medical Office at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village in Warrnambool. During his time in Nhill Dr Angus was involved in the merging of the Mira Hospital and Nhill Public Hospital into one public hospital and the property titles passed on to Nhill Hospital in 1939. In 1939 Dr Angus and his family moved to Warrnambool where he purchased “Birchwood,” the 1852 home and medical practice of Dr John Hunter Henderson, at 214 Koroit Street. (This property was sold in1965 to the State Government and is now the site of the Warrnambool Police Station. ). The Angus family was able to afford gardeners, cooks and maids; their home was a popular place for visiting dignitaries to stay whilst visiting Warrnambool. Dr Angus had his own silk worm farm at home in a Mulberry tree. His young daughter used his centrifuge for spinning the silk. Dr Angus was appointed on a part-time basis as Port Medical Officer (Health Officer) in Warrnambool and held this position until the 1940’s when the government no longer required the service of a Port Medical Officer in Warrnambool; he was thus Warrnambool’s last serving Port Medical Officer. (The duties of a Port Medical Officer were outlined by the Colonial Secretary on 21st June, 1839 under the terms of the Quarantine Act. Masters of immigrant ships arriving in port reported incidents of diseases, illness and death and the Port Medical Officer made a decision on whether the ship required Quarantine and for how long, in this way preventing contagious illness from spreading from new immigrants to the residents already in the colony.) Dr Angus was a member of the Australian Medical Association, for 35 years and surgeon at the Warrnambool Base Hospital 1939-1942, He served as a Surgeon Captain during WWII1942-45, in Ballarat, Victoria, and in Bonegilla, N.S.W., completing his service just before the end of the war due to suffering from a heart attack. During his convalescence he carved an intricate and ‘most artistic’ chess set from the material that dentures were made from. He then studied ophthalmology at the Royal Melbourne Eye and Ear Hospital and created cosmetically superior artificial eyes by pioneering using the intrascleral cartilage. Angus received accolades from the Ophthalmological Society of Australasia for this work. He returned to Warrnambool to commence practice as an ophthalmologist, pioneering in artificial eye improvements. He was Honorary Consultant Ophthalmologist to Warrnambool Base Hospital for 31 years. He made monthly visits to Portland as a visiting surgeon, to perform eye surgery. He represented the Victorian South-West subdivision of the Australian Medical Association as its secretary between 1949 and 1956 and as chairman from 1956 to 1958. In 1968 Dr Angus was elected member of Spain’s Barraquer Institute of Barcelona after his research work in Intrasclearal cartilage grafting, becoming one of the few Australian ophthalmologists to receive this honour, and in the following year presented his final paper on Living Intrasclearal Cartilage Implants at the Inaugural Meeting of the Australian College of Ophthalmologists in Melbourne In his personal life Dr Angus was a Presbyterian and treated Sunday as a Sabbath, a day of rest. He would visit 3 or 4 country patients on a Sunday, taking his children along ‘for the ride’ and to visit with him. Sunday evenings he would play the pianola and sing Scottish songs to his family. One of Dr Angus’ patients was Margaret MacKenzie, author of a book on local shipwrecks that she’d seen as an eye witness from the late 1880’s in Peterborough, Victoria. In the early 1950’s Dr Angus, painted a picture of a shipwreck for the cover jacket of Margaret’s book, Shipwrecks and More Shipwrecks. She was blind in later life and her daughter wrote the actual book for her. Dr Angus and his wife Gladys were very involved in Warrnambool’s society with a strong interest in civic affairs. Their interests included organisations such as Red Cross, Rostrum, Warrnambool and District Historical Society (founding members), Wine and Food Society, Steering Committee for Tertiary Education in Warrnambool, Local National Trust, Good Neighbour Council, Housing Commission Advisory Board, United Services Institute, Legion of Ex-Servicemen, Olympic Pool Committee, Food for Britain Organisation, Warrnambool Hospital, Anti-Cancer Council, Boys’ Club, Charitable Council, National Fitness Council and Air Raid Precautions Group. He was also a member of the Steam Preservation Society and derived much pleasure from a steam traction engine on his farm. He had an interest in people and the community He and his wife Gladys were both involved in the creation of Flagstaff Hill, including the layout of the gardens. After his death (28th March 1970) his family requested his practitioner’s plate, medical instruments and some personal belongings be displayed in the Port Medical Office surgery at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village, and be called the “W. R. Angus Collection”. The W.R. Angus Collection is significant for still being located at the site it is connected with, Doctor Angus being the last Port Medical Officer in Warrnambool. The collection of medical instruments and other equipment is culturally significant, being an historical example of medicine from late 19th to mid-20th century. Dr Angus assisted Dr Tom Ryan, a pioneer in the use of X-rays and in ocular surgery. Retractor forceps, from the W.R. Angus Collection. Crocodile teeth ends and locking handles.Inscribed "RERL" flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, dr w r angus, dr ryan, surgical instrument, ent ear nose throat surgery, t.s.s. largs bay, warrnambool base hospital, nhill base hospital, mira hospital, flying doctor, medical treatment, forceps, surgery, medical history -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Equipment - Forceps, Late 19th century or early 20th century
Surgical forceps have been used in various forms from ancient times and have evolved into a indispensable instrument for modern surgeries. Forceps are surgical instruments for the practice of medicine which are used for grasping, holding, and manipulating tissues and objects during surgical procedures. Ancient Origins Surgical instruments, including forceps, have been use since man first started working with tools. Ancient civilizations, like Egypt, Greece, and Rome, had physicians who used rudimentary forceps made of bronze or iron. The forceps of the ancient world were often simple in design, with two arms that could be squeezed together to grasp objects. They were primarily used for tasks like extracting foreign bodies or handling tissues. Middle Ages and Renaissance During the Middle Ages, medical knowledge and surgical techniques experienced a decline in Europe. While the Roman empire enjoyed remarkably advanced medical care and practices, its collapse left a vacuum that led to a loss of a centralized medical knowledge and a disruption of education and trade. At the same time, religious superstitions suppressed medical inquiry. With many of the medical texts of Hippocrates and Galen and others lost, the medical practice experienced a decline. However, surgical forceps continued to be used in various forms, albeit with limited advancements. With the Renaissance period came a revival in medical knowledge and innovation. Ambroise Paré, a French surgeon of the 16th century, is credited with introducing improvements to the forceps design, making them more versatile and effective. 18th and 19th Centuries Innovators The 18th and 19th centuries marked a significant period of advancement in surgical instruments, including forceps. The famous French Surgeon Jean-Louis Petit introduced forceps with curved tips, making them more suitable for specific procedures. John Hunter, a Scottish surgeon, designed forceps with fine tips, allowing for more delicate and precise manipulation during surgeries. Joseph Lister, a pioneer of antiseptic surgery, emphasized the importance of cleanliness and sterile instruments during surgical procedures. This led to advancements in forceps sterilization techniques, which greatly improved patient outcomes. Modern Era The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw the development of a wide variety of specialized forceps for different surgical procedures. Advances in metallurgy and manufacturing techniques allowed for more intricate and delicate designs. As surgery became more specialized, forceps were tailored to suit specific procedures, such as neurosurgery, ophthalmology, and gynecology. Contemporary Advances In recent decades, surgical technology evolves continuously. Many surgical procedures are now performed using minimally invasive techniques, which require specialized instruments. Modern surgical forceps are typically made of high-quality stainless steel, stainless steel alloy, or titanium. They come in various shapes, sizes, and designs, each suited to specific surgical tasks. Some forceps have serrated jaws for a better grip, while others have delicate tips for fine tissue manipulation. Modern Forceps The history of surgical forceps is a story of innovation, adaptation, and continuous refinement. From ancient origins to the modern era, these instruments have evolved alongside medical knowledge and surgical techniques, playing a crucial role in improving patient outcomes and advancing the field of surgery. https://www.wpiinc.com/blog/post/history-evolution-of-forceps These forceps were donated to Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village by the family of Doctor William Roy Angus, Surgeon and Oculist. It is part of the “W.R. Angus Collection” that includes historical medical equipment, surgical instruments and material once belonging to Dr Edward Ryan and Dr Thomas Francis Ryan, (both of Nhill, Victoria) as well as Dr Angus’ own belongings. The Collection’s history spans the medical practices of the two Doctors Ryan, from 1885-1926 plus that of Dr Angus, up until 1969. ABOUT THE “W.R.ANGUS COLLECTION” Doctor William Roy Angus M.B., B.S., Adel., 1923, F.R.C.S. Edin.,1928 (also known as Dr Roy Angus) was born in Murrumbeena, Victoria in 1901 and lived until 1970. He qualified as a doctor in 1923 at University of Adelaide, was Resident Medical Officer at the Royal Adelaide Hospital in 1924 and for a period was house surgeon to Sir (then Mr.) Henry Simpson Newland. Dr Angus was briefly an Assistant to Dr Riddell of Kapunda, then commenced private practice at Curramulka, Yorke Peninsula, SA, where he was physician, surgeon and chemist. In 1926, he was appointed as new Medical Assistant to Dr Thomas Francis Ryan (T.F. Ryan, or Tom), in Nhill, Victoria, where his experiences included radiology and pharmacy. In 1927 he was Acting House Surgeon in Dr Tom Ryan’s absence. Dr Angus had become engaged to Gladys Forsyth and they decided he would take time to further his studies overseas in the UK in 1927. He studied at London University College Hospital and at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and in 1928, was awarded FRCS (Fellow from the Royal College of Surgeons), Edinburgh. He worked his passage back to Australia as a Ship’s Surgeon on the on the Australian Commonwealth Line’s T.S.S. Largs Bay. Dr Angus married Gladys in 1929, in Ballarat. (They went on to have one son (Graham 1932, born in SA) and two daughters (Helen (died 12/07/1996) and Berenice (Berry), both born at Mira, Nhill ) Dr Angus was a ‘flying doctor’ for the A.I.M. (Australian Inland Ministry) Aerial Medical Service in 1928 . The organisation began in South Australia through the Presbyterian Church in that year, with its first station being in the remote town of Oodnadatta, where Dr Angus was stationed. He was locum tenens there on North-South Railway at 21 Mile Camp. He took up this ‘flying doctor’ position in response to a call from Dr John Flynn; the organisation was later known as the Flying Doctor Service, then the Royal Flying Doctor Service. A lot of his work during this time involved dental surgery also. Between 1928-1932 he was surgeon at the Curramulka Hospital, Yorke Peninsula, South Australia. In 1933 Dr Angus returned to Nhill where he’d previously worked as Medical Assistant and purchased a share of the Nelson Street practice and Mira hospital from Dr Les Middleton one of the Middleton Brothers, the current owners of what was once Dr Tom Ryan’s practice. Dr L Middleton was House Surgeon to the Nhill Hospital 1926-1933, when he resigned. [Dr Tom Ryan’s practice had originally belonged to his older brother Dr Edward Ryan, who came to Nhill in 1885. Dr Edward saw patients at his rooms, firstly in Victoria Street and in 1886 in Nelson Street, until 1901. The Nelson Street practice also had a 2 bed ward, called Mira Private Hospital ). Dr Edward Ryan was House Surgeon at the Nhill Hospital 1884-1902 . He also had occasions where he successfully performed veterinary surgery for the local farmers too. Dr Tom Ryan then purchased the practice from his brother in 1901. Both Dr Edward and Dr Tom Ryan work as surgeons included eye surgery. Dr Tom Ryan performed many of his operations in the Mira private hospital on his premises. He too was House Surgeon at the Nhill Hospital 1902-1926. Dr Tom Ryan had one of the only two pieces of radiology equipment in Victoria during his practicing years – The Royal Melbourne Hospital had the other one. Over the years Dr Tom Ryan gradually set up what was effectively a training school for country general-practitioner-surgeons. Each patient was carefully examined, including using the X-ray machine, and any surgery was discussed and planned with Dr Ryan’s assistants several days in advance. Dr Angus gained experience in using the X-ray machine there during his time as assistant to Dr Ryan. Dr Tom Ryan moved from Nhill in 1926. He became a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in 1927, soon after its formation, a rare accolade for a doctor outside any of the major cities. He remained a bachelor and died suddenly on 7th Dec 1955, aged 91, at his home in Ararat. Scholarships and prizes are still awarded to medical students in the honour of Dr T.F. Ryan and his father, Dr Michael Ryan, and brother, John Patrick Ryan. ] When Dr Angus bought into the Nelson Street premises in Nhill he was also appointed as the Nhill Hospital’s Honorary House Surgeon 1933-1938. His practitioner’s plate from his Nhill surgery states “HOURS Daily, except Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturday afternoons, 9-10am, 2-4pm, 7-8pm. Sundays by appointment”. This plate is now mounted on the doorway to the Port Medical Office at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village, Warrnambool. Dr Edward Ryan and Dr Tom Ryan had an extensive collection of historical medical equipment and materials spanning 1884-1926 and when Dr Angus took up practice in their old premises he obtained this collection, a large part of which is now on display at the Port Medical Office at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village in Warrnambool. During his time in Nhill Dr Angus was involved in the merging of the Mira Hospital and Nhill Public Hospital into one public hospital and the property titles passed on to Nhill Hospital in 1939. In 1939 Dr Angus and his family moved to Warrnambool where he purchased “Birchwood,” the 1852 home and medical practice of Dr John Hunter Henderson, at 214 Koroit Street. (This property was sold in1965 to the State Government and is now the site of the Warrnambool Police Station. ). The Angus family was able to afford gardeners, cooks and maids; their home was a popular place for visiting dignitaries to stay whilst visiting Warrnambool. Dr Angus had his own silk worm farm at home in a Mulberry tree. His young daughter used his centrifuge for spinning the silk. Dr Angus was appointed on a part-time basis as Port Medical Officer (Health Officer) in Warrnambool and held this position until the 1940’s when the government no longer required the service of a Port Medical Officer in Warrnambool; he was thus Warrnambool’s last serving Port Medical Officer. (The duties of a Port Medical Officer were outlined by the Colonial Secretary on 21st June, 1839 under the terms of the Quarantine Act. Masters of immigrant ships arriving in port reported incidents of diseases, illness and death and the Port Medical Officer made a decision on whether the ship required Quarantine and for how long, in this way preventing contagious illness from spreading from new immigrants to the residents already in the colony.) Dr Angus was a member of the Australian Medical Association, for 35 years and surgeon at the Warrnambool Base Hospital 1939-1942, He served as a Surgeon Captain during WWII1942-45, in Ballarat, Victoria, and in Bonegilla, N.S.W., completing his service just before the end of the war due to suffering from a heart attack. During his convalescence he carved an intricate and ‘most artistic’ chess set from the material that dentures were made from. He then studied ophthalmology at the Royal Melbourne Eye and Ear Hospital and created cosmetically superior artificial eyes by pioneering using the intrascleral cartilage. Angus received accolades from the Ophthalmological Society of Australasia for this work. He returned to Warrnambool to commence practice as an ophthalmologist, pioneering in artificial eye improvements. He was Honorary Consultant Ophthalmologist to Warrnambool Base Hospital for 31 years. He made monthly visits to Portland as a visiting surgeon, to perform eye surgery. He represented the Victorian South-West subdivision of the Australian Medical Association as its secretary between 1949 and 1956 and as chairman from 1956 to 1958. In 1968 Dr Angus was elected member of Spain’s Barraquer Institute of Barcelona after his research work in Intrasclearal cartilage grafting, becoming one of the few Australian ophthalmologists to receive this honour, and in the following year presented his final paper on Living Intrasclearal Cartilage Implants at the Inaugural Meeting of the Australian College of Ophthalmologists in Melbourne In his personal life Dr Angus was a Presbyterian and treated Sunday as a Sabbath, a day of rest. He would visit 3 or 4 country patients on a Sunday, taking his children along ‘for the ride’ and to visit with him. Sunday evenings he would play the pianola and sing Scottish songs to his family. One of Dr Angus’ patients was Margaret MacKenzie, author of a book on local shipwrecks that she’d seen as an eye witness from the late 1880’s in Peterborough, Victoria. In the early 1950’s Dr Angus, painted a picture of a shipwreck for the cover jacket of Margaret’s book, Shipwrecks and More Shipwrecks. She was blind in later life and her daughter wrote the actual book for her. Dr Angus and his wife Gladys were very involved in Warrnambool’s society with a strong interest in civic affairs. Their interests included organisations such as Red Cross, Rostrum, Warrnambool and District Historical Society (founding members), Wine and Food Society, Steering Committee for Tertiary Education in Warrnambool, Local National Trust, Good Neighbour Council, Housing Commission Advisory Board, United Services Institute, Legion of Ex-Servicemen, Olympic Pool Committee, Food for Britain Organisation, Warrnambool Hospital, Anti-Cancer Council, Boys’ Club, Charitable Council, National Fitness Council and Air Raid Precautions Group. He was also a member of the Steam Preservation Society and derived much pleasure from a steam traction engine on his farm. He had an interest in people and the community He and his wife Gladys were both involved in the creation of Flagstaff Hill, including the layout of the gardens. After his death (28th March 1970) his family requested his practitioner’s plate, medical instruments and some personal belongings be displayed in the Port Medical Office surgery at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village, and be called the “W. R. Angus Collection”. The W.R. Angus Collection is significant for still being located at the site it is connected with, Doctor Angus being the last Port Medical Officer in Warrnambool. The collection of medical instruments and other equipment is culturally significant, being an historical example of medicine from late 19th to mid-20th century. Dr Angus assisted Dr Tom Ryan, a pioneer in the use of X-rays and in ocular surgery. Retractor forceps, from the W.R. Angus Collection. Crocodile teeth ends and locking handles.Marked 'Stainless Steel' on both parts.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, dr w r angus, dr ryan, surgical instrument, ent ear nose throat surgery, t.s.s. largs bay, warrnambool base hospital, nhill base hospital, mira hospital, flying doctor, medical treatment, forceps, surgery, medical history -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Equipment - Forceps, Late 19th century or early 20th century
Surgical forceps have been used in various forms from ancient times and have evolved into a indispensable instrument for modern surgeries. Forceps are surgical instruments for the practice of medicine which are used for grasping, holding, and manipulating tissues and objects during surgical procedures. Ancient Origins Surgical instruments, including forceps, have been use since man first started working with tools. Ancient civilizations, like Egypt, Greece, and Rome, had physicians who used rudimentary forceps made of bronze or iron. The forceps of the ancient world were often simple in design, with two arms that could be squeezed together to grasp objects. They were primarily used for tasks like extracting foreign bodies or handling tissues. Middle Ages and Renaissance During the Middle Ages, medical knowledge and surgical techniques experienced a decline in Europe. While the Roman empire enjoyed remarkably advanced medical care and practices, its collapse left a vacuum that led to a loss of a centralized medical knowledge and a disruption of education and trade. At the same time, religious superstitions suppressed medical inquiry. With many of the medical texts of Hippocrates and Galen and others lost, the medical practice experienced a decline. However, surgical forceps continued to be used in various forms, albeit with limited advancements. With the Renaissance period came a revival in medical knowledge and innovation. Ambroise Paré, a French surgeon of the 16th century, is credited with introducing improvements to the forceps design, making them more versatile and effective. 18th and 19th Centuries Innovators The 18th and 19th centuries marked a significant period of advancement in surgical instruments, including forceps. The famous French Surgeon Jean-Louis Petit introduced forceps with curved tips, making them more suitable for specific procedures. John Hunter, a Scottish surgeon, designed forceps with fine tips, allowing for more delicate and precise manipulation during surgeries. Joseph Lister, a pioneer of antiseptic surgery, emphasized the importance of cleanliness and sterile instruments during surgical procedures. This led to advancements in forceps sterilization techniques, which greatly improved patient outcomes. Modern Era The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw the development of a wide variety of specialized forceps for different surgical procedures. Advances in metallurgy and manufacturing techniques allowed for more intricate and delicate designs. As surgery became more specialized, forceps were tailored to suit specific procedures, such as neurosurgery, ophthalmology, and gynecology. Contemporary Advances In recent decades, surgical technology evolves continuously. Many surgical procedures are now performed using minimally invasive techniques, which require specialized instruments. Modern surgical forceps are typically made of high-quality stainless steel, stainless steel alloy, or titanium. They come in various shapes, sizes, and designs, each suited to specific surgical tasks. Some forceps have serrated jaws for a better grip, while others have delicate tips for fine tissue manipulation. Modern Forceps The history of surgical forceps is a story of innovation, adaptation, and continuous refinement. From ancient origins to the modern era, these instruments have evolved alongside medical knowledge and surgical techniques, playing a crucial role in improving patient outcomes and advancing the field of surgery. https://www.wpiinc.com/blog/post/history-evolution-of-forceps These forceps were donated to Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village by the family of Doctor William Roy Angus, Surgeon and Oculist. It is part of the “W.R. Angus Collection” that includes historical medical equipment, surgical instruments and material once belonging to Dr Edward Ryan and Dr Thomas Francis Ryan, (both of Nhill, Victoria) as well as Dr Angus’ own belongings. The Collection’s history spans the medical practices of the two Doctors Ryan, from 1885-1926 plus that of Dr Angus, up until 1969. ABOUT THE “W.R.ANGUS COLLECTION” Doctor William Roy Angus M.B., B.S., Adel., 1923, F.R.C.S. Edin.,1928 (also known as Dr Roy Angus) was born in Murrumbeena, Victoria in 1901 and lived until 1970. He qualified as a doctor in 1923 at University of Adelaide, was Resident Medical Officer at the Royal Adelaide Hospital in 1924 and for a period was house surgeon to Sir (then Mr.) Henry Simpson Newland. Dr Angus was briefly an Assistant to Dr Riddell of Kapunda, then commenced private practice at Curramulka, Yorke Peninsula, SA, where he was physician, surgeon and chemist. In 1926, he was appointed as new Medical Assistant to Dr Thomas Francis Ryan (T.F. Ryan, or Tom), in Nhill, Victoria, where his experiences included radiology and pharmacy. In 1927 he was Acting House Surgeon in Dr Tom Ryan’s absence. Dr Angus had become engaged to Gladys Forsyth and they decided he would take time to further his studies overseas in the UK in 1927. He studied at London University College Hospital and at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and in 1928, was awarded FRCS (Fellow from the Royal College of Surgeons), Edinburgh. He worked his passage back to Australia as a Ship’s Surgeon on the on the Australian Commonwealth Line’s T.S.S. Largs Bay. Dr Angus married Gladys in 1929, in Ballarat. (They went on to have one son (Graham 1932, born in SA) and two daughters (Helen (died 12/07/1996) and Berenice (Berry), both born at Mira, Nhill ) Dr Angus was a ‘flying doctor’ for the A.I.M. (Australian Inland Ministry) Aerial Medical Service in 1928 . The organisation began in South Australia through the Presbyterian Church in that year, with its first station being in the remote town of Oodnadatta, where Dr Angus was stationed. He was locum tenens there on North-South Railway at 21 Mile Camp. He took up this ‘flying doctor’ position in response to a call from Dr John Flynn; the organisation was later known as the Flying Doctor Service, then the Royal Flying Doctor Service. A lot of his work during this time involved dental surgery also. Between 1928-1932 he was surgeon at the Curramulka Hospital, Yorke Peninsula, South Australia. In 1933 Dr Angus returned to Nhill where he’d previously worked as Medical Assistant and purchased a share of the Nelson Street practice and Mira hospital from Dr Les Middleton one of the Middleton Brothers, the current owners of what was once Dr Tom Ryan’s practice. Dr L Middleton was House Surgeon to the Nhill Hospital 1926-1933, when he resigned. [Dr Tom Ryan’s practice had originally belonged to his older brother Dr Edward Ryan, who came to Nhill in 1885. Dr Edward saw patients at his rooms, firstly in Victoria Street and in 1886 in Nelson Street, until 1901. The Nelson Street practice also had a 2 bed ward, called Mira Private Hospital ). Dr Edward Ryan was House Surgeon at the Nhill Hospital 1884-1902 . He also had occasions where he successfully performed veterinary surgery for the local farmers too. Dr Tom Ryan then purchased the practice from his brother in 1901. Both Dr Edward and Dr Tom Ryan work as surgeons included eye surgery. Dr Tom Ryan performed many of his operations in the Mira private hospital on his premises. He too was House Surgeon at the Nhill Hospital 1902-1926. Dr Tom Ryan had one of the only two pieces of radiology equipment in Victoria during his practicing years – The Royal Melbourne Hospital had the other one. Over the years Dr Tom Ryan gradually set up what was effectively a training school for country general-practitioner-surgeons. Each patient was carefully examined, including using the X-ray machine, and any surgery was discussed and planned with Dr Ryan’s assistants several days in advance. Dr Angus gained experience in using the X-ray machine there during his time as assistant to Dr Ryan. Dr Tom Ryan moved from Nhill in 1926. He became a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in 1927, soon after its formation, a rare accolade for a doctor outside any of the major cities. He remained a bachelor and died suddenly on 7th Dec 1955, aged 91, at his home in Ararat. Scholarships and prizes are still awarded to medical students in the honour of Dr T.F. Ryan and his father, Dr Michael Ryan, and brother, John Patrick Ryan. ] When Dr Angus bought into the Nelson Street premises in Nhill he was also appointed as the Nhill Hospital’s Honorary House Surgeon 1933-1938. His practitioner’s plate from his Nhill surgery states “HOURS Daily, except Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturday afternoons, 9-10am, 2-4pm, 7-8pm. Sundays by appointment”. This plate is now mounted on the doorway to the Port Medical Office at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village, Warrnambool. Dr Edward Ryan and Dr Tom Ryan had an extensive collection of historical medical equipment and materials spanning 1884-1926 and when Dr Angus took up practice in their old premises he obtained this collection, a large part of which is now on display at the Port Medical Office at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village in Warrnambool. During his time in Nhill Dr Angus was involved in the merging of the Mira Hospital and Nhill Public Hospital into one public hospital and the property titles passed on to Nhill Hospital in 1939. In 1939 Dr Angus and his family moved to Warrnambool where he purchased “Birchwood,” the 1852 home and medical practice of Dr John Hunter Henderson, at 214 Koroit Street. (This property was sold in1965 to the State Government and is now the site of the Warrnambool Police Station. ). The Angus family was able to afford gardeners, cooks and maids; their home was a popular place for visiting dignitaries to stay whilst visiting Warrnambool. Dr Angus had his own silk worm farm at home in a Mulberry tree. His young daughter used his centrifuge for spinning the silk. Dr Angus was appointed on a part-time basis as Port Medical Officer (Health Officer) in Warrnambool and held this position until the 1940’s when the government no longer required the service of a Port Medical Officer in Warrnambool; he was thus Warrnambool’s last serving Port Medical Officer. (The duties of a Port Medical Officer were outlined by the Colonial Secretary on 21st June, 1839 under the terms of the Quarantine Act. Masters of immigrant ships arriving in port reported incidents of diseases, illness and death and the Port Medical Officer made a decision on whether the ship required Quarantine and for how long, in this way preventing contagious illness from spreading from new immigrants to the residents already in the colony.) Dr Angus was a member of the Australian Medical Association, for 35 years and surgeon at the Warrnambool Base Hospital 1939-1942, He served as a Surgeon Captain during WWII1942-45, in Ballarat, Victoria, and in Bonegilla, N.S.W., completing his service just before the end of the war due to suffering from a heart attack. During his convalescence he carved an intricate and ‘most artistic’ chess set from the material that dentures were made from. He then studied ophthalmology at the Royal Melbourne Eye and Ear Hospital and created cosmetically superior artificial eyes by pioneering using the intrascleral cartilage. Angus received accolades from the Ophthalmological Society of Australasia for this work. He returned to Warrnambool to commence practice as an ophthalmologist, pioneering in artificial eye improvements. He was Honorary Consultant Ophthalmologist to Warrnambool Base Hospital for 31 years. He made monthly visits to Portland as a visiting surgeon, to perform eye surgery. He represented the Victorian South-West subdivision of the Australian Medical Association as its secretary between 1949 and 1956 and as chairman from 1956 to 1958. In 1968 Dr Angus was elected member of Spain’s Barraquer Institute of Barcelona after his research work in Intrasclearal cartilage grafting, becoming one of the few Australian ophthalmologists to receive this honour, and in the following year presented his final paper on Living Intrasclearal Cartilage Implants at the Inaugural Meeting of the Australian College of Ophthalmologists in Melbourne In his personal life Dr Angus was a Presbyterian and treated Sunday as a Sabbath, a day of rest. He would visit 3 or 4 country patients on a Sunday, taking his children along ‘for the ride’ and to visit with him. Sunday evenings he would play the pianola and sing Scottish songs to his family. One of Dr Angus’ patients was Margaret MacKenzie, author of a book on local shipwrecks that she’d seen as an eye witness from the late 1880’s in Peterborough, Victoria. In the early 1950’s Dr Angus, painted a picture of a shipwreck for the cover jacket of Margaret’s book, Shipwrecks and More Shipwrecks. She was blind in later life and her daughter wrote the actual book for her. Dr Angus and his wife Gladys were very involved in Warrnambool’s society with a strong interest in civic affairs. Their interests included organisations such as Red Cross, Rostrum, Warrnambool and District Historical Society (founding members), Wine and Food Society, Steering Committee for Tertiary Education in Warrnambool, Local National Trust, Good Neighbour Council, Housing Commission Advisory Board, United Services Institute, Legion of Ex-Servicemen, Olympic Pool Committee, Food for Britain Organisation, Warrnambool Hospital, Anti-Cancer Council, Boys’ Club, Charitable Council, National Fitness Council and Air Raid Precautions Group. He was also a member of the Steam Preservation Society and derived much pleasure from a steam traction engine on his farm. He had an interest in people and the community He and his wife Gladys were both involved in the creation of Flagstaff Hill, including the layout of the gardens. After his death (28th March 1970) his family requested his practitioner’s plate, medical instruments and some personal belongings be displayed in the Port Medical Office surgery at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village, and be called the “W. R. Angus Collection”. The W.R. Angus Collection is significant for still being located at the site it is connected with, Doctor Angus being the last Port Medical Officer in Warrnambool. The collection of medical instruments and other equipment is culturally significant, being an historical example of medicine from late 19th to mid-20th century. Dr Angus assisted Dr Tom Ryan, a pioneer in the use of X-rays and in ocular surgery. Retractor forceps, from the W.R. Angus Collection. Crocodile teeth ends and locking handles.Inscribed "SURGI _ _ _ _ " & '1'flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, dr w r angus, dr ryan, surgical instrument, ent ear nose throat surgery, t.s.s. largs bay, warrnambool base hospital, nhill base hospital, mira hospital, flying doctor, medical treatment, forceps, surgery, medical history -
Old Colonists' Association of Ballarat Inc.
Ceremonial object - Trowel, William Bennett, Silver Trowel, c1887
The silver trowel was used for the laying of the foundation stone of the Ballarat Old Colonists' Hall. It was donated to the Old Colonists' Associaiton in 1906. The Old Colonists' Association minutes noted 'Mrs Murray handed to the Secretary the silver trowel presented to the late President on the occasion of the laying of the foundation stone of the Hall.' The silver trowel was used for the laying of the foundation stone of the Ballarat Old Colonists' Hall. It was donated to the Old Colonists' Associaiton in 1906. The Old Colonists' Association minutes noted 'Mrs Murray handed to the Secretary the silver trowel presented to the late President on the occasion of the laying of the foundation stone of the Hall.' "THE OLD COLONISTS' HALL. The foundation-stone of the building to be erected by the Old Identities’ Association, in Lydiard street, was next laid with the usual ceremonies. This was immediately adjoining the foundation-stone of the Mining Exchange building. Mr J. Graham presented Mr Murray with a silver trowel, bearing the following inscription:—“ Queen Victoria’s Jubilee. Presented to J. P. Murray, Esq., president of the Old Colonists’ Association, on the occasion of his laying the foundation stone of their new hall, Ballarat, 21st June, 1887.” Mr Graham said he thought the pioneers of such a city were quite right in erecting a building that would be a home for them while they lived, and a memorial of them when they were no more. Mr J. Fraser, secretary, read the followin'- report:— “Mr Chairman, ladies, and gentlemen,—The bottle about to be deposited under this foundation contains documents in which are written particulars of the founding of the Old Colonists' Association at Ballarat; its financial and numerical position at the present time, the names of its officers and committee of management for the current term: a complete list of the names of its members, a copy of the rules and regulations of the association: copies of The Star, Evening Star, Courier, and Ballarat Advertiser newspapers, programme of to-day's proceedings as far as they relate to the laying of the foundation-stone, together with a brief summary of the aims and objects of this philanthropic institution. That the nature of these objects are considered worthy of encouragement and support is amply proved when we see on the Association's roll of membership the names of so many of our most prominent citizens and public men, "and from the fact that the Government of the colony have recognised the just claim of the old colonists'of Ballarat to be placed in possession of this valuable and central site, upon which to erect a building that will, be a credit to them and an ornament to the city, and which will enable them to still further extend the sphere of their benevolence and usefulness iu this district. The following is a copy of the signed and sealed memorial document:—*The foundation-stone of the hall of the Old Colonists’ Association of Ballarat; was laid on Her Majesty Queen Victoria's Jubilee Day,- Tuesday, 21st June, 1887, by John Paul Murray, Esq., J.P., president of the association. Under the foundation stone is deposited a copy of the constitution and rules of the association, the names of the officers, and a complete list of the names of ail the members to date; also a copy each of The Star, Courier, Evening Post, and the Advertiser, local newspapers. At this date the association numbers 319 members—accumulated funds, £203 10s 3d. The land upon which the hall is to he erected was granted by the Government to the association for that, purpose. (Signed) John P. Murray, President; W. B. Perry, Samuel Delpratt, Vice-presidents; Daniel Fern, Treasurer; John Fraser, Secretary. Committee—J. W. Graham, J. W. Lee, James M'Merkin, Andrew Lister, James Ward. Trustees—J. W. Graham, Wm. Irwin, John M'Cafferty ” Mr Murray said he was proud to lay the foundation stone of this building. The association was started in I883, and he might say they were a purely philanthropic institution. They formed an association whose creed was to assist one another in every shape and form. They had now 319 members, and were daily increasing in number.-. They were very fairly off as regarded their financial position. With respect to the objects of the association, they were to form a bond of brotherhood among those whose past experience in commercial or in mining pursuits so intimately associated them with the early history of the goldfields; men, to whose indomitable energy and perseverance Ballarat and other mining centres in the colony were so largely indebted for their development and commercial prosperity. Some of whose names were also closely identified with the memorable and sanguinary struggle 'for freedom and constitutional liberty in 1883. Their object was, further, to gather together within one fold those who survive those stirring times, to meet occasionally in friendly and social intercourse; to relieve their brethren who were overtaken by sickness or affliction; to provide the shelter of a home for those Pioneers of the goldfields whom the reverses of fortune had deprived of the means of procuring the comforts of life in their declining years; to assist the widow and succor the orphan; to mutually cheer and support each other in their temporary troubles and vicissitudes as they journeyed onward to the grave; and lastly, to tender a tribute of respect to the memory of a departed brother, by following his remains to their final resting place. Such were some of the principal objects of the “ Old Colonists' Association.” It was an institution for the good of their fellow man, and he hoped it would be successful, he hoped that the young people who came after them would appreciate what the Old Colonists had left them. He hoped they would all assist in making the institution one that would he worthy of the place. He would hand a small donation to the secretary, and hoped others would do the same. (Cheers.) The secretary, amid cheering, announced that the cheque handed over by Mr Murray was for £2O. Archdeacon Julius, who was asked to speak, said nothing could have been more fitting than the laying of the foundation-stone of the Old Identities’ Association on the Queen's Jubilee. They were a link between the past of 50 years gone by and today. Many of them remembered well enough perhaps the time when it took a man five and twenty minutes to light his pipe with tinder and steel, and when the small boys went, up the chimneys to sweep them. (Laughter.) They were building something now that people would look upon in years to come, and speak of in connection with the Old Colonists, if the young men were' half as good as their fathers they would be uncommon good fellows, and he did not think they would be. (Laughter, and interjection.) ''An old fellow said it was very true, and he knew it. (Laughter.) The Old Identities would agree with him to a man. (Laughter.) If the young men walked in their steps Ballarat in another 50 years would be 50 percent, better than it was now. There was not a man there that wished that more strongly, than 'he’ did. The Old Identities were laying this stone on the jubilee day of Her Majesty, and there never sat on the throne a worthier or nobler Queen than she who held her jubilee that day. There was not a man present, whatever his views of government may be, who did not say “God bless our Queen.” (Cheers.) The proceedings closed with the singing of the National Anthem and cheers for the Queen. (Ballarat Star, 23 June 1887)Silver trowel used during the laying of a foundation Stone for the Ballarat Old Colonists' Association building in Lydiard Street North, Ballarat.ballarat old colonists' association, ballarat old colonists' club, trowel, silver trowel, foundation stone, mrs j. murray, william bennett, j. fraser, john murray, w. lee, william irwin, john m'cafferty, john mccafferty -
Lara RSL Sub Branch
Photograph, Set 4 photographs. and others for Torquay Light Horse camp, 1940
These images capture for all time Light Horsemen travelling through Geelong on their way to camp at Torquay for the last Group meeting in Australia . information following - details obtained from .........https://torquayhistory.com/light-horse-brigade/ On Australia Day, 1997, Sir John Young unveiled this plaque on Point Danger, Torquay. Torquay history, Light Horse Training Camp, WW2 Plaque at Pt. Danger Note----- (See images to view plaque) The plaque identifies a significant event in Torquay’s history and the sentiments of ‘change’ for the Light Horse Brigade – from horses to machines. In 1940 the four Light Horse Regiments (4th, 8th, 13th and 20th), some 5000 Light Horse and 2000 horses camped and trained at Torquay. Three other regiments, formerly mounted on horses, were also at Torquay ‘mounted’ on privately owned trucks and cars. Division troops included Artillery, Engineers, Signals, Field Ambulance and other branches of the Army necessary to enable a Division to function. It wasn’t just the sheer numbers of men coming to this little town that made the event significant, it was also the fact that the men of the Light Horse were dramatic, almost glamorous figures and it is easy to see their exploits as some splendid adventure. Horses have played a special role in the story of Australia. They were the only means of transport across this huge country, so it was necessary for everyone to have the ability to ride a horse. When war broke out in 1899 between Britain and the Boers of South Africa (“Boer” was Dutch for “farmer”) Australia sent troops to fight. At first Britain was wary of using untried, unprofessional colonial cavalrymen but soon saw that the slouch-hatted Australian “bushmen” were a match for the fast-moving and unconventional mounted commandos of the Boers. The Australians proved themselves to be expert rough-riding horsemen and good shots. Bush life had hardened them to go for long periods with little food and water. They also showed remarkable ability to find their way in a strange country and use its features for cover, in both attack and defence. By 1914, when Australia joined the war against Germany, there were 23 Light Horse regiments of militia volunteers. Many men from these units joined the Light Horse regiments of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). Men were given remounts (if not using their own horses) – army horses bought by Commonwealth purchasing officers from graziers and breeders. These were called “walers” because they were a New South Wales stockhorse type – strong, great-hearted animals with the strains of the thoroughbred and semi-draught to give them speed, strength and stamina. On 1st November, 1914, Australia’s First Infantry Division and the first four Light Horse regiments sailed for England in a fleet of transport ships. The first of the Light Horse arrived at Gallipoli in May without their horses. Back with their horses after Gallipoli, they were formidable combatants across the Sinai and Palestine. Some British commanders observed that the light horseman moved with a “lazy, slouching gait, like that of a sleepy tiger” but described how the promise of battle “changes that careless gait, into a live athletic swing that takes him over the ground much quicker than other troops”. They had Light Horse, Torquay, training campdeveloped a reputation as formidable infantrymen. The Turks called them “the White Ghurkas” – a reference to their deadly skill with the bayonet. The Arabs called them “The Kings of the Feathers”. The plume had originally been a battle honour of the Queensland Mounted Infantry for their work in the shearer’s strike of 1891. During WW1 it was adopted by almost all the Light Horse Regiments. It was the proud badge of the light horseman. The most famous of their battles was the attack on Beersheba- the charge of the 4th Light Horse Brigade. Mounted infantrymen and their superb walers had carried out one of the most successful cavalry charges in history – against what seemed impossible odds. They surprised the Turks by charging cavalry-style, when they would normally have ridden close to an objective then dismounted to fight. The fall of Beersheba swung the battle tide against the Turks in Palestine; and changed the history of the Middle East. While 19 men from the Surf Coast Shire served with the 4th Light Horse over the course of WW1, only four were involved in the charge of Beersheba- John GAYLARD, Philip QUINN.(Winchelsea); Wallace FINDLAY (Anglesea); Harry TRIGG (Bambra). After the war, Light Horse units played a key role in the Australian Government’s compulsory military training programme. The Citizen Military Forces (C.M.F.) thrived on the glamour of the wartime Light Horse tradition, ignoring the possibility that motor vehicles would soon replace the horses. When training was no longer compulsory, the C.M.F. regiments declined and horses became more of a luxury during the 1930s depression years of poverty and unemployment. Some regiments were motorised. Then, in 1939, Australia joined Britain in another world war. Training was increased for the militia at both home bases and regional training camps. The camp at Torquay in 1940, commanded by Major General Rankin, was at Divisional strength. By the end of the camp some felt that the Division was ready for active service. Gradually, over the next four years, the Australian Light Horse units were mounted on wheels and tracks and the horses were retired. Six men enlisted at the Torquay camp and another 57 men and women enlisted at Torquay for service in WW2. Those who served in the Militia provided valuable Officers and NCOs and men for the armed services during the war. Each infantry division of the 2nd AIF had a Light Horse regiment attached to it. But the day of the Australian mounted soldier hadn’t quite passed. During World War II, Australia’s 6th Cavalry Regiment formed a mounted unit they called “The Kelly Gang” which did valuable scouting work. In New Guinea, a mounted Light Horse Troop did patrol duty and helped carry supplies. Some fully equipped walers were flown into Borneo for reconnaissance in rugged mountain country. But by the end of the war, in 1945, the horse had disappeared from the Australian Army. References: Australian Light Horse Association www.lighthorse.org.au National Australia Archives Australian War Memorial Surf Coast Shire WW1 memorials www.togethertheyserved.com The Light horse- a Cavalry under Canvas Light Horse, Training Camp, Torquay, WW2 Late in 1939 it was decided to set up a Lighthorse training camp in Torquay to train both men and horses for the battles of the Second World War. Horses, men and equipment came on special trains from all over Victoria and NSW, and as you would expect horseman came from areas such as Omeo and Sale, the Wimmera and the Western District. They arrived at the Geelong racecourse for watering in the Barwon River and then were ridden across the ford at the breakwater and began their 11 mile trek to Torquay. Light Horse, Training Camp, Torquay, WW2 Tent city By the end of January 1940 the camp at Torquay accommodated some 5000 men and 2500 horses of the Second Cavalry Division. The rows of horses, tents and huts near Blackgate Road were quite a sight. While the cavalrymen engaged in exercises on the land and on the beaches, many of the troops took over the Torquay School for special training of men and officers. Mr Bob Pettit local farmer and Councillor for the Barrabool Shire, wrote about the Light horse in the Surf Coast Community News in 1985 saying “They used to travel about the district riding four abreast in one long convoy. To my annoyance they went through my property and shut all the gates behind them. I had certain gates open to let stock in to the water holes and it would take me three -quarters of an hour to follow the horsemen up and put all the gates right again” he continued “the men from the Light Horse were here when the fire went through in March 1940. He recalled an incident when early one morning, as some one blew the bugle, a soldier putting a white sheet on the line frightened the horses. They panicked and ran off in all directions. Six went over the cliff near Bird Rock, five were never found, and the rest were gathered up after nearly a fortnight in the bush around Addiscott and Anglesea" Light Horse, Training Camp, Torquay, WW2, Geelong Parade Geelong parade The training camp culminated in a parade through the streets of Geelong on March 12th 1940. The salute was given at the Town Hall and the troops continued on a route to the You Yang’s for a training exercise. Note-----(see media section for photograph) The Camp was abandoned in mid 1940 as it was deemed unsuitable for training during winter and the cost of a permanent camp could not be justified if it could not be used all year. Historic.......Rare,,,Interpretive.Sepia photographs.set of four ....post card size ....Horses &LighthorsemenNo 1, Lighthorsemen Regiment Geelong 1940......No 2 Light Horse at Breakwater Geelong 1938 to 1940....No 3 Light Horse at Breakwater Geelong 1938 to 1940.....No 4 Light Horse crossing Breakwater camped at Geelong Showgrounds. These markings are on reverse of photographs.light horsemengeelong 1940., world war 2 -
Melton City Libraries
Photograph, Charles Ernest and Jessie Barrie with family, Unknown
This document is has been compiled by Wendy Barrie daughter of Ernest (Bon) and Edna Barrie and granddaughter of Charles E and Jessie M Barrie. I was born in during WW 11 and the first child of my generation to live on the ‘ Darlingsford’ property at Melton. My grandfather was well known in the district and was mostly referred to as Ernie. He shared the same initials as his second son Edgar. His three eldest sons lived and farmed in Melton for their entire lives. His descendants are still associated with farming, engineering and earthmoving in Melton. Ernie Barrie operated a travelling Chaff Cutter in the St Arnaud area where his parents William and Mary Ann had taken up land at Coonooer West in 1873. Ernie commenced his working life with a team of bullocks and a chaff cutter. The earliest connection he had with Melton was in 1887. By the beginning of the 20th century Ernie and his father William and brothers, William, Samuel, James Edwin,[Ted] Robert, Arthur and Albert have been associated with farming and milling in the Melton district. In the early 1900’s Ernie and his brother Ted were in partnership in a Chaff cutting and Hay processing Mill on the corner of Station and Brooklyn road Melton South. The mill was managed by William for a time. By 1906 Charles Ernest and James Edwin were in partnership in the Station Road mill when a connecting rail line across Brooklyn Road for a siding was constructed to the Melton Railway Station. In 1911 the Mill’s letterhead shows C.E. BARRIE Hay Pressing and Chaff Cutting Mills. Melton Railway Station. Telephone No 1 Melton. This Mill as sold to H S K Ward in 1916 and stood until 1977 when it burnt down in a spectacular fire. Ernie built a house at Melton South beside the Chaff Mill at Station Road in 1906 and married Jessie May Lang in August at the Methodist Church. Jessie’s father was Thomas Lang. He came to Melton in 1896 and was the Head Teacher at Melton State School No 430 until he retired in 1917. They had 9 children with 8 surviving to adulthood. Jessie and Ernie had 6 sons and 3 daughters. All the children lived at Darlingsford. In April 1910 the family left Melton for a brief period and moved to a farm in Trundle in NSW. They returned to Melton and purchased Darlingsford in May 1911. For a time during WW1 they lived at Moonee Ponds near the Lang grandparents at Ascot Vale. Mary and Bon attended Bank St State School. The children developed diphtheria in 1916 and their youngest boy, Cecil died of complications. Mary and Bon were taken to Fairfield Hospital and both recovered. At the end of the war influenza broke out the family returned to Darlingsford and shared the home for a short while with the Pearcey family who had been working the farm. By 1922 the family had and grown and Edgar, Tom, Horace, Jessie, Joyce and Jim were living a Darlingsford. Ernie continued during the 1920’s working the farm and attend his many civic and community commitments. Two 8 clydesdale horse teams were used to work the land which meant early rising for the horses to be fed and harnessed to commence the days work. In 1916 Ernie also became involved in a Chaff Mill on the corner of Sunshine and Geelong Road West Footscray, which at the time was being run by John Ralph Schutt. It was known an Schutt Barrie. A flour mill was added at a later stage. Other Schutt and Barrie mills were situated at Parwan and Diggers Rest. Another mill was situated beside the railway line at Rockbank. The Footscray mill ceased operation in 1968 Ernie spent a lot of time and energy at the Parwan Mill and travelling around Parwan and Balliang farms, where he came to know many of the families in the district. Ernies commitment to the civic development to the Melton and district was extensive, he was involved with a number of large events during the 1920’s such as the Melton Exhibitions and the 1929 Back to Melton Celebrations. He was a member of the Australian Natives Association at the turn of the century. He was Chairman of the School Committee at Melton State School 430 and the Melton South State School in thw1920s. He donated the land for a Hall for Melton South in 1909, known as Exford Hall and later in 1919 renamed Victoria Hall. The Hall was demolished in 1992. He was a Councillor, JP, and Vice President and President of the Melton Mechanics Institute Hall Committee in 1915- 1916. He was a member of the Methodist Church and later the Scots Presbyterian Church. He was Superintendent of the Sunday School of the Methodist Church to 1910 and later Scots Presbyterian Church until 1931. This is reflected in the theme of children in the stained glass window which was dedicated in his memory by his wife Jessie as a gift to the Scots Church. Charles Ernest Barrie made many generous donations to many charities who supported young people and children. In 1918 Jessie and Ernie made the first donation to a very prominent Victorian charity whose work still continues. Yooralla. In July 1931 Ernie’s untimely death was a major blow to the family and the Melton community. To this day people still vividly recall the day they lined the streets for his funeral. The day of the funeral is recalled as the day Melton stood as two of their prominent citizens who tragically died on the same day. Their eldest daughter Mary had married Keith Robinson in 1930 and had just moved to Heatherdale Toolern Vale with their year old baby son. Bon the eldest son was 22, Edgar 18, Tom 16, Horace 15, Jessie and Joyce 10 and Jim 8 years old. A heavy burden of responsibility fell on the shoulders of the two eldest children, Mary particularly for her mother and Bon stepped in assuming head of the family for his mother, brothers and sisters living at the Darlingsford homestead. In the early 1930’s the three eldest sons took on many of the Civic and Church commitments which their father had held. This community involvement extended well into the 1980s. In 1941 Bon married Edna Myers and they moved into a house shifted from Harkness Lane to Harkness Lane on the eastern section of the Darlingford property. Edgar married Margaret Hodgkinson a Primary school teacher at Melton in 1949 and they lived in the Darlingsford house. Earlier Tom married May Ferris and lived on the eastern side of Ferris Lane in the Ferris home. Bon , Edgar and Tom often operated as a team effort, in particular at harvest time when a larger team of workers was needed. The three farms cultivated wheat, barley and oats and supplied the Mill with sheafed hay. They continued using horse teams until mechanisation in the 1940’s made the horses redundant. By the 1960s their five sons continued with farming. Many loads of hay were transported to the Mill in Footscray. Well into the 1960s hired harvest hands along with agricultural university students were involved in bringing in he harvest. Stacking was an art form in itself and Tom held the expertise for building and shaping the sides and roof. The stacks built in the district each had their own unique shape and could be recognized by their builders. The Barrie brothers developed a mechanical fork lift for picking up complete stooks and moving them to be loaded to the elevator to build the haystack. The prototype built by Bill Gillespie was attached to a Bedford truck. Later refinements in a collaborative effort with the Gillespie brothers a multi pronged fork was attached to the front of tractor which was hydraulically operated to raise each stook onto trucks to be transported to the site of the haystacks. This method of handling sheaves significantly reduced laborious pitchforking individual sheaves. This invention was soon taken up by farmers far and wide and was a common sight in the district at harvest time in the stacking season. I recall visiting farmers calling in at the house at Ferris Road farm to inspect this break through invention. The Clydesdale horse teams were used into the 1940s but by the 1950s the Barries’ farms were fully mechanised. When the demand for sheafed hay declined other crops were introduced these included barley, lucerne, wheat and peas. Sheep were added to the mix in the 1950s in an attempt to keep the farms more viable. In the 1970s part of the Barrie’s farms were facing a major disruption with the impending compulsorily acquisition of a strip of land for the construction the freeway bypass, which divided access between the Darlingsford homestead with those on Ferris Lane. Charles Ernest Barrie and Jessie May Lang's children: 1. Mary Ena BARRIE was born on 07 October 1907. She died on 29 April 1999. 2. Ernest Wesley BARRIE was born on 29 April 1909 in Ascot Vale, Victoria, Australia.He died on 25 December 1985 in Melton, Victoria, Australia. 3. Cecil William BARRIE was born on 23 February 1911.He died on 25 May 1916. 4. Charles Edgar BARRIE was born on 01 June 1913.He died on 06 October 1975. 5. Thomas Lindsay BARRIE was born on 25 November 1914.He died on 14 September 1990 in Melton, Victoria, Australia. 6. William Horace BARRIE was born on 11 October 1915.He died on 19 December 1950. 7. Jessie Maud BARRIE was born on 06 November 1920 in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria, Australia.She died on 26 February 1994. 8. Dorothy Joyce BARRIE was born on 06 November 1920 in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria, Australia.She died on 18 March 2003.. 9. James Edward BARRIE was born on 17 January 1922 in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria, Australia.He died on 23 August 2004Family Photo with Edgar, Tom, Mary, Ernest (Bon), Horace, Jim, Charles Ernest, Jessie and Joycelocal identities -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Photograph - Set of 10 Photographs & Envelope, The Rose Stereograph Company, 1940s
George Rose was born in Clunes, Victoria in 1861 and later worked in his father’s boot-making business in Prahran while studying photography. In 1880 he founded the Rose Stereograph Company and became famous for producing stereographs, or stereoviews, which gave the illusion of being in 3D when seen through a hand-held viewer. In 1913, after the world wide decline in popularity of stereographs he turned his attention to the production of postcards which had become very popular in Australia and overseas. He published postcards in Melbourne which included Tasmania views by S. Spurling. Suprlings negatives were acquired by Rose in 1937. The Rose Stereograph Company first started producing the ‘P Series’ postcards in 1913 and continued until 1967 at which time they switched to machine manufactured colour postcards printed by an outside firm. https://sparc.utas.edu.au/index.php/rose-stereograph-company These photographs were donated to Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village by the family of Doctor William Roy Angus, Surgeon and Oculist. They are part of the “W.R. Angus Collection” that includes historical medical equipment, surgical instruments and material once belonging to Dr Edward Ryan and Dr Thomas Francis Ryan, (both of Nhill, Victoria) as well as Dr Angus’ own belongings. The Collection’s history spans the medical practices of the two Doctors Ryan, from 1885-1926 plus that of Dr Angus, up until 1969. ABOUT THE “W.R.ANGUS COLLECTION” Doctor William Roy Angus M.B., B.S., Adel., 1923, F.R.C.S. Edin.,1928 (also known as Dr Roy Angus) was born in Murrumbeena, Victoria in 1901 and lived until 1970. He qualified as a doctor in 1923 at University of Adelaide, was Resident Medical Officer at the Royal Adelaide Hospital in 1924 and for a period was house surgeon to Sir (then Mr.) Henry Simpson Newland. Dr Angus was briefly an Assistant to Dr Riddell of Kapunda, then commenced private practice at Curramulka, Yorke Peninsula, SA, where he was physician, surgeon and chemist. In 1926, he was appointed as new Medical Assistant to Dr Thomas Francis Ryan (T.F. Ryan, or Tom), in Nhill, Victoria, where his experiences included radiology and pharmacy. In 1927 he was Acting House Surgeon in Dr Tom Ryan’s absence. Dr Angus had become engaged to Gladys Forsyth and they decided he would take time to further his studies overseas in the UK in 1927. He studied at London University College Hospital and at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and in 1928, was awarded FRCS (Fellow from the Royal College of Surgeons), Edinburgh. He worked his passage back to Australia as a Ship’s Surgeon on the on the Australian Commonwealth Line’s T.S.S. Largs Bay. Dr Angus married Gladys in 1929, in Ballarat. (They went on to have one son (Graham 1932, born in SA) and two daughters (Helen (died 12/07/1996) and Berenice (Berry), both born at Mira, Nhill ) Dr Angus was a ‘flying doctor’ for the A.I.M. (Australian Inland Ministry) Aerial Medical Service in 1928 . The organisation began in South Australia through the Presbyterian Church in that year, with its first station being in the remote town of Oodnadatta, where Dr Angus was stationed. He was locum tenens there on North-South Railway at 21 Mile Camp. He took up this ‘flying doctor’ position in response to a call from Dr John Flynn; the organisation was later known as the Flying Doctor Service, then the Royal Flying Doctor Service. A lot of his work during this time involved dental surgery also. Between 1928-1932 he was surgeon at the Curramulka Hospital, Yorke Peninsula, South Australia. In 1933 Dr Angus returned to Nhill where he’d previously worked as Medical Assistant and purchased a share of the Nelson Street practice and Mira hospital from Dr Les Middleton one of the Middleton Brothers, the current owners of what was once Dr Tom Ryan’s practice. Dr L Middleton was House Surgeon to the Nhill Hospital 1926-1933, when he resigned. [Dr Tom Ryan’s practice had originally belonged to his older brother Dr Edward Ryan, who came to Nhill in 1885. Dr Edward saw patients at his rooms, firstly in Victoria Street and in 1886 in Nelson Street, until 1901. The Nelson Street practice also had a 2 bed ward, called Mira Private Hospital ). Dr Edward Ryan was House Surgeon at the Nhill Hospital 1884-1902 . He also had occasions where he successfully performed veterinary surgery for the local farmers too. Dr Tom Ryan then purchased the practice from his brother in 1901. Both Dr Edward and Dr Tom Ryan work as surgeons included eye surgery. Dr Tom Ryan performed many of his operations in the Mira private hospital on his premises. He too was House Surgeon at the Nhill Hospital 1902-1926. Dr Tom Ryan had one of the only two pieces of radiology equipment in Victoria during his practicing years – The Royal Melbourne Hospital had the other one. Over the years Dr Tom Ryan gradually set up what was effectively a training school for country general-practitioner-surgeons. Each patient was carefully examined, including using the X-ray machine, and any surgery was discussed and planned with Dr Ryan’s assistants several days in advance. Dr Angus gained experience in using the X-ray machine there during his time as assistant to Dr Ryan. Dr Tom Ryan moved from Nhill in 1926. He became a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in 1927, soon after its formation, a rare accolade for a doctor outside any of the major cities. He remained a bachelor and died suddenly on 7th Dec 1955, aged 91, at his home in Ararat. Scholarships and prizes are still awarded to medical students in the honour of Dr T.F. Ryan and his father, Dr Michael Ryan, and brother, John Patrick Ryan. ] When Dr Angus bought into the Nelson Street premises in Nhill he was also appointed as the Nhill Hospital’s Honorary House Surgeon 1933-1938. His practitioner’s plate from his Nhill surgery states “HOURS Daily, except Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturday afternoons, 9-10am, 2-4pm, 7-8pm. Sundays by appointment”. This plate is now mounted on the doorway to the Port Medical Office at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village, Warrnambool. Dr Edward Ryan and Dr Tom Ryan had an extensive collection of historical medical equipment and materials spanning 1884-1926 and when Dr Angus took up practice in their old premises he obtained this collection, a large part of which is now on display at the Port Medical Office at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village in Warrnambool. During his time in Nhill Dr Angus was involved in the merging of the Mira Hospital and Nhill Public Hospital into one public hospital and the property titles passed on to Nhill Hospital in 1939. In 1939 Dr Angus and his family moved to Warrnambool where he purchased “Birchwood,” the 1852 home and medical practice of Dr John Hunter Henderson, at 214 Koroit Street. (This property was sold in1965 to the State Government and is now the site of the Warrnambool Police Station. ). The Angus family was able to afford gardeners, cooks and maids; their home was a popular place for visiting dignitaries to stay whilst visiting Warrnambool. Dr Angus had his own silk worm farm at home in a Mulberry tree. His young daughter used his centrifuge for spinning the silk. Dr Angus was appointed on a part-time basis as Port Medical Officer (Health Officer) in Warrnambool and held this position until the 1940’s when the government no longer required the service of a Port Medical Officer in Warrnambool; he was thus Warrnambool’s last serving Port Medical Officer. (The duties of a Port Medical Officer were outlined by the Colonial Secretary on 21st June, 1839 under the terms of the Quarantine Act. Masters of immigrant ships arriving in port reported incidents of diseases, illness and death and the Port Medical Officer made a decision on whether the ship required Quarantine and for how long, in this way preventing contagious illness from spreading from new immigrants to the residents already in the colony.) Dr Angus was a member of the Australian Medical Association, for 35 years and surgeon at the Warrnambool Base Hospital 1939-1942, He served as a Surgeon Captain during WWII1942-45, in Ballarat, Victoria, and in Bonegilla, N.S.W., completing his service just before the end of the war due to suffering from a heart attack. During his convalescence he carved an intricate and ‘most artistic’ chess set from the material that dentures were made from. He then studied ophthalmology at the Royal Melbourne Eye and Ear Hospital and created cosmetically superior artificial eyes by pioneering using the intrascleral cartilage. Angus received accolades from the Ophthalmological Society of Australasia for this work. He returned to Warrnambool to commence practice as an ophthalmologist, pioneering in artificial eye improvements. He was Honorary Consultant Ophthalmologist to Warrnambool Base Hospital for 31 years. He made monthly visits to Portland as a visiting surgeon, to perform eye surgery. He represented the Victorian South-West subdivision of the Australian Medical Association as its secretary between 1949 and 1956 and as chairman from 1956 to 1958. In 1968 Dr Angus was elected member of Spain’s Barraquer Institute of Barcelona after his research work in Intrasclearal cartilage grafting, becoming one of the few Australian ophthalmologists to receive this honour, and in the following year presented his final paper on Living Intrasclearal Cartilage Implants at the Inaugural Meeting of the Australian College of Ophthalmologists in Melbourne In his personal life Dr Angus was a Presbyterian and treated Sunday as a Sabbath, a day of rest. He would visit 3 or 4 country patients on a Sunday, taking his children along ‘for the ride’ and to visit with him. Sunday evenings he would play the pianola and sing Scottish songs to his family. One of Dr Angus’ patients was Margaret MacKenzie, author of a book on local shipwrecks that she’d seen as an eye witness from the late 1880’s in Peterborough, Victoria. In the early 1950’s Dr Angus, painted a picture of a shipwreck for the cover jacket of Margaret’s book, Shipwrecks and More Shipwrecks. She was blind in later life and her daughter wrote the actual book for her. Dr Angus and his wife Gladys were very involved in Warrnambool’s society with a strong interest in civic affairs. Their interests included organisations such as Red Cross, Rostrum, Warrnambool and District Historical Society (founding members), Wine and Food Society, Steering Committee for Tertiary Education in Warrnambool, Local National Trust, Good Neighbour Council, Housing Commission Advisory Board, United Services Institute, Legion of Ex-Servicemen, Olympic Pool Committee, Food for Britain Organisation, Warrnambool Hospital, Anti-Cancer Council, Boys’ Club, Charitable Council, National Fitness Council and Air Raid Precautions Group. He was also a member of the Steam Preservation Society and derived much pleasure from a steam traction engine on his farm. He had an interest in people and the community He and his wife Gladys were both involved in the creation of Flagstaff Hill, including the layout of the gardens. After his death (28th March 1970) his family requested his practitioner’s plate, medical instruments and some personal belongings be displayed in the Port Medical Office surgery at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village, and be called the “W. R. Angus Collection”.The W.R. Angus Collection is significant for still being located at the site it is connected with, Doctor Angus being the last Port Medical Officer in Warrnambool. The collection of medical instruments and other items and equipment is culturally significant, being an historical example of medicine from late 19th to mid-20th century. Dr Angus assisted Dr Tom Ryan, a pioneer in the use of X-rays and in ocular surgery.10 black and white photographs of various places in Warrnambool, together with a buff envelope to contain them. The envelope states that there are 12 photographs, so two are missing. From the W.R. Angus Collection.'Gardens, Warrnambool'; 'Panorama of Warrnambool'; 'Shelly Beach, Warrnambool'; 'The Rocky Coast, Warrnambool'; 'Eagle Rock, Warrnambool'; 'Liebig Street, Warrnambool'; 'Panorama of Warrnambool' (2); 'The Breakwater, Warrnambool'; 'The Avenue, Warrnambool'; 'Timor Street, Warrnambool'. flagstaff hill maritime museum and village, great ocean road, shipwreck coast, warrnambool, photography, the rose stereograph company -
Unions Ballarat
General incoming correspondence of the Ballarat Trades and Labour Council, 1884-1923; 1925; 1931; 1937; 1938; 1949-1950; 1952-1955
Paper/letters stored in two boxes. Arranged in separate folders by year. The lists below are alphabetical. Located by year and number. 1884 - J.W. Graham, Secretary 18. Amalgamated Mining Engine Drivers' Association - regarding appointing a delegate to Council. 12 December 1884. 14. Bendigo Amalgamated Miners' Association, Mr Phillips, Secretary - regarding formation of a Bendigo Trades and Labor Council. 22 July 1884. 1. B? Secretary for Lands, Victoria - regarding deputation from Council to him. 8 January 1884. 15. A.R. Davie - regarding half holiday Union appointing delegates to Council. 77 July 1884. 8. D.M. Davies - regarding deputation to Minister for Lands, Victoria. 11 January 1884. 7. J.L. Dowe - regarding deputation to Minister for Lands, Victoria. 11 January 1884. 6. F.R. Fincham - regarding deputation to Minister for Lands, Victoria. 11 January 1884. 16. J.W. Grahame - regarding leave of absence. 10 October 1884. 17. W. Hosking - regarding alteration of rule 14. n.d. 2. J. Kline - regarding apologies for absence from Council meeting. 10 January 1884. A copy of a letter to The Courier is attached. 4. Painters' Union (Geoff Ludbrook) - regarding assisting at Eight Hour Anniversary. 11 January 1884. 13. J. Pearce - regarding apologies for absence from Council. 11 July 1884. 12. G. Rasy? - regarding apologies for absence from Council. 9 May 1884. 3. J.R. Richardson - regarding presence on deputation to Minister for Lands. 10 January 1884. 10. R.D. Reid - regarding apologies for absence from Council. 11 January 1884. 9. A. Sutherland - regarding presence on deputation to Minister for Lands. 10 January 1884. 11. Specifications for stamping marbles for Council. n.d. 5. A. Young - deputation to Minister for Lands. 10 January 1884. 1885 - J.L. Anderson, Secretary 8. Amalgamated Mining Engine Drivers' Association - regarding delegates to Council. 8 May 1885. 11. J. Anderson (Secretary of Council) to H. Uren MLA - regarding amalgamation of the Council with the City Free Library. 10 August 1885. 24. Ballarat Cricket Club - regarding using the oval for Eight Hour Anniversary. 9 December 1885. 7. Ballarat Woollen Mills Operative Union - regarding giving name of Union, list of Union members. 8 May 1885. 4. Ballarat Typographical Association - regarding printing of Council material. 8 May 1885. 2. J. Binner - regarding prizes given at Eight Hour Anniversary. 26 April 1885. 19. Cabmens Union, Ballarat - regarding delegate to Council. 8 October 1885. 12. Carpenters and Joiners Trade Society - regarding delegate to Council. 7 September 1885. 23. Carpenters and Joiners Trade Society - forwarding a copy of rules. 8 December 1885. 14. H. Clotz, et al - regarding Friday half holiday for hairdressers. 10 September 1885. 1. Eight Hours Anniversary Programme. 21 April 1885. 15. Friendly Society of Ironmoulders of Victoria, Ballarat Branch - new Secretary of same. 11 September 1885. 17. Friendly Society of Ironmoulders of Victoria, Ballarat Branch - regarding delegate to Council. 7 October 1885. 21. Friendly Society of Ironmoulders of Victoria, Ballarat Branch - regarding delegate to Council. 22 November 1885. 5. E. Ingram - regarding losses incurred at Eight Hour Anniversary. 8 May 1885. 20. L. Mills - regarding apologies for absence. 9 October 1885. 3. Painters' Union - regarding delegates to Council. 4 May 1885. 18. Painters' Union - regarding delegates to Council. 8 October 1885. 25. J. Pearce - regarding apologies for absence. 11 December 1885. 26. C. Salter - regarding donations to Eight Hours Anniversary. 14 December 1885. 6. A. Smith - regarding apologies for absence. 8 May 1885. 9. E.H. Swifte - regarding amalgamation of Council with Free City Library. 13 July 1885. 10. E.H. Swifte - regarding amalgamation of Council with Free City Library. 7 August 1885. 13. Tanners and Curriers of Ballarat - regarding forming a branch of the Union in Ballarat. 8 September 1885. 16. Trades and Labor Council, Brisbane - regarding formation of same. 8 November 1885. 7. J. Treloar - regarding apologies for absence. 8 May 1885. 1886 - J.L. Anderson, Secretary 7. Amalgamated Miners' Association of Australasia - regarding Delegates to Council. 8 May 1886. 3. Amalgamated Mining Engine Drivers Association, Ballarat Branch - regarding Delegates to Council. 7 May 1886. 5. Amalgamated Society of Engineers - regarding Delegates to Council. 11 May 1886. 1. Half Holiday Union, Ballarat - regarding Delegates to Council. 7 May 1886. 6. Operative Bakers' Society - regarding Delegates to Council. 11 May 1886. 4. Painters' Union - regarding Delegates to Council. 11 May 1886. 2. Victorian Operative Bootmakers Union, Ballarat Branch - regarding delegates to Council. 12 May 1886. 8. Ballarat United Friendly Societies' Dispensary - accepting an offer of a deputation to special meeting of General Committee. 1887 - T. Bayley, Secretary Nil. 1888 - T.S. Bayley, Secretary 24. Amalgamated Miners' Association of Australasia - regarding meeting to hear Dr Siscs on the Worn out Miners Sustentation Fund. 6 December 1888. 7. Australian Natives' Association, Ballarat Branch - regarding alienation of portion of public park. 21 June 1888. 19. Ballarat Trades and Labour Council (to various unions) - regarding support of direct labor representation in Parliament from Ballarat West. 20 October 1888. 11. Ballarat Typographical Society - regarding room for meeting. 6 July 1888. 22. A. Callaway (Chief Secretary for A. Deakin) - regarding names submitted for Commission of the Peace. 19 November 1888. 9. Eight Hours' Anniversary Committee - regarding money for tickets sold. 27 June 1888. 15. W.F. Emery - regarding apologies for absence. 14 September 1888. 6. Gillies (for the Victorian Premier) - regarding Chinese immigrants. 8 May 1888. 1. Grocers Association of Geelong - regarding joining Council. 14 April 1888. 5. Half Holiday Union - regarding delegates to Council. 3 May 1888. 18. Intercolonial Trades and Labor Union Congress, 6th, Hobart, 5-8 February 1888 (Hugh Kirk, Secretary of Hobart Trades and Labor Council) - regarding printed invitations to the Congress. 27 October 1888. 13. Ironworkers Assistants' Society of Victoria, Ballarat Branch - regarding delegates to Council. 8 August 1888. 14. Ironworkers Assistants' Society of Victoria, Ballarat Branch - regarding delegates to Council. 4 September 1888. 23. Ironworkers Assistants' Society of Victoria, Ballarat Branch - regarding delegates to Council. 14 December 1888. 8. H. Jones - regarding Major Dane's lectures. 25 June 1888. 2. Locomotive Engine Drivers and Firemen's Association - regarding delegates to Council. 17 April 1888. 17. A. McKenzie - regarding apologies for absence. n.d. 3. V.M. Pearson - regarding organisation of a trades union in Colac. 14 April 1888. 10. John Shiels - regarding overdraft of Council. 6 July 1888. 21. Tanners and Curriers Union, Ballarat Branch - regarding delegates to Council. 12 November 1888. 20. Trades Hall Council, Geelong - thanking for assistance from Council. 11 November 1888. 4. Trades Hall Council, Melbourne. (David Bennett, Secretary) - regarding new regulations by-laws and standing orders. 17 April 1888. 16. Victorian Operative Bricklayers Society - regarding end of dispute. 14 September 1888. 12. John Wilson - regarding Report of Committee on opening of the new Trades Hall. 13 July 1888. 1889 - J. Wilson, Secretary 8. Ballarat Woollen and Worsted Company - regarding support of products by working class. 2 November 1889. 9. Butchers Employees' Association - regarding delegate to Council. 2 December 1889. 1A. Copy of an award of the arbitration in the dispute between Messrs Whitten and Cairns and the Ballarat Bootmakers' Union. 14 February 1889. 10. Half Holiday Union - regarding delegate to Council. 3 December 1889. 1-6. Ironworkers Assistants' Society of Victoria, Ballarat Branch - regarding Phoenix Foundry dispute. 20 March 1889-29 March 1889. 11. Painters' Union - regarding formation of a non-union society. 4 December 1889. 13. Painters' Union - regarding formation of a non-union society. 6 December 1889. 12. Messers Stansfield, Bush and Shepphard, Decorators - accuses Painters' Union of instigating a strike. 5 December 1889. 7. Working Men's College and Trades Hall Council, Melbourne - regarding memorial to the late Hon. Francis Ormond. n.d. 1890 - J. Wilson, Secretary 81. James Alexander - regarding request for financial assistance. 30 October 1890. 21. Amalgamated Millers, Engine Drivers and Mill Employees' Association of Australasia - regarding supplying list of firms employing union labour. 4 June 1890. 2. Amalgamated Miners of Australasia (W.C. Spence, Secretary) - thanking Council for their supportive letter. March 1890. 52. Amalgamated Miners of Australasia, Ballarat Branch - regarding suggestion to canvass Ballarat district for funds for strikers. 88. Amalgamated Miners of Australasia (W.G. Spence) - regarding donation from residents of Clementston for Ballarat men out of work and not receiving funds from Council. 15. Amalgamated Society of Engineers, Ballarat Branch - regarding supplying list of shops employing Union labour. 28 April 1890. 44. Amalgamated Society of Engineers, Ballarat Branch - regarding giving numbers of men out of work. 30 September 1890. 69. Amalgamated Society of Engineers, Ballarat Branch - regarding approving members of their union being placed on the relief list. 23 October 1890. 70. T. Bailey - regarding apology for being unable to canvas for strike fund. 23 October 1990. 102. Balance sheet of strike fund of the Council and bundle of receipts. 18. Ballarat Plumbers' Union - regarding supplying a list of firms employing union labour. 6 June 1890. 16. Ballarat Saddle Harness and Collar Makers' Society - regarding supplying a list of firms employing union labour. 5 May 1890. 42. Ballarat Tailoresses' Union - regarding donation to strike fund. 25 September 1890. 45. Ballarat Town Council Employees - regarding donation to strike fund. n.d. 12. Ballarat Typographical Society - regarding supplying name of Secretary and list of firms employing union labour. 19 April 1990. 5. Ballarat Woollen Mills Operative's Union - regarding seeking advice on how to get men to join the union. 22 April 1890. 26B. E. Batterly - regarding apology for being unable to come to mass meeting about strike. 11 September 1890. 46. E. Blayney (hotel owner) - regarding donation to strike fund. n.d. 56. G. Blyman - regarding donation to strike fund. 8 October 1890. 55. J. Brady - regarding donation to strike fund. 6 October 1890. 76. J. Braidie et al - querying reason for getting no strike pay. 27 October 1890. 22. M. Bregazzi - regarding donation to strike fund. 2 September 1890. 34. M. Bregazzi - regarding donation to strike fund. 12 September 1980. 40. M. Bregazzi - regarding donation to strike fund. 23 September 1890. 72. M. Bregazzi - regarding donation to strike fund. 24 October 1890. 57. J. Clement - regarding donations from residents of Clementston for use in Ballarat. 9 October 1890. 3A. D.M. Davies (Minister of Mines, Victoria) - regarding cannot come to mass meeting in Ballarat (telegram). 12 September 1890. 53. W Davies et al - regarding seeking financial from Council though not members of a union. 6 October 1890. 59. W. Davies - objecting to refusal of financial assistance. 10 October 1890. 94. Hugh Dunlop - regarding request for financial assistance. 28 November 1890. 32. John Dunn - regarding apologies for unable to attend mass meeting. 12 September 1890. 60. John Dunn - regarding donation to strike fund. 11 October 1890. 71. W. Evans - regarding resignation as Treasurer and member from strike committee. 24 October 1890. 48. Fitzgerald Bros (Drapers) - regarding donation to strike fund. 1 October 1890. 63. Friendly Society of Ironmoulders of Victoria, Ballarat Branch - recommending financial assistance for a member of their Union. 13 October 1890. 29. J. Hancock - regarding being able to attend mass meeting (telegram). 12 September 1890. 74. Horse Drivers' Union, Ballarat - regarding request for financial help for a union member. 25 October 1890. 64. W. Howat - regarding letting of Academy of Music Ballarat for a meeting. 14 October 1890. 50. Hughes and Opie (Drapers) - donation to strike fund. 3 October 1890. 66. J. Hurst (Bucks Head Hotel owner) - regarding donation to strike fund. 18 October 1890. 25. Iron Founders' Society - regarding a request for financial assistance for out of work members. 9 September 1890. 87. Iron Founders' Trade Union, Ballarat - regarding request for financial help for out of work members. 23 September 1890. 39. Ironworkers' Assistants' Society of Victoria, Ballarat Branch (Mr Sheldon, Secretary) - regarding request for financial help for out of work members. 23 September 1890. 79. Ironworkers' Assistants' Society of Victoria, Ballarat Branch (Mr Sheldon, Secretary) -regarding request for financial help. 30 October 1890. 84. Ironworkers' Assistants' Society of Victoria, Ballarat Branch (Mr Sheldon, Secretary) - regarding eligibility of a member to be placed on the strike relief list. 6 November 1890. 89. Ironworkers' Assistants' Society of Victoria, Ballarat Branch (Mr Sheldon, Secretary) -regarding payment to Council of levies on working members for strike fund. 20 November 1890. 98. W. Kean (tobacconist) - regarding suggesting a concert to be held to help the strike relief fund and his offer to help. n.d. 61. W. Kenna (Warrenheip Breweries) - regarding donation to strike fund. 13 October 1890. 38. Joseph Kirtin (Auctioneer) - regarding donation to strike fund. 22 September 1890. 17. Labourers' Protective and Building Society - regarding names of contractors who employ union men. 12 May 1890. 62. D. Lessels - regarding recommendation of J. David for relief. 13 October 1890. 65. List of machinists out of work at the Phoenix Foundry, Ballarat. 14 October 1890. 78. John Lynch - regarding request for financial help. 27 October 1890. 85. John McAuly - regarding dispute settled at Horsham. 10 November 1980. 9. Jas Martin - regarding list of shops employing union men. 14 April 1890. 49. Jas Martin - regarding declaration of being out of work and needing financial help. 2 October 1890. 10. Masons' Society - regarding name of Secretary and list of shops employing union men. 15 April 1890. 58. Master Tailors' Association, Ballarat - regarding donation to strike fund. 10 October 1890. 90. W. Meher - regarding expression of thanks for money given. 24 November 1890. 27. W.E. Murphy - regarding able to come to mass meeting (telegram). 11 September 1890. 30. W.E. Murphy - regarding missed the train (telegram). 12 September 1890. 77. W.E. Murphy - regarding arranging a meeting (telegram). 27 October 1890. 83. W.E. Murphy - regarding thanks for money given. 31 October 1890. 3. Officers of the Ballarat Gas Company - regarding non-union bricklayer working for same. 8 March 1890. 19. Operative Bakers' Society - regarding list of employers using union labour. n.d. 20. Painters' Union - list of shops employing union men. n.d. 23. Painters' Union - regarding suggestion to call a meeting in support of Melbourne strikers. 6 September 1890. 24. Painters' Union - regarding donation to maritime strike, Melbourne. 6 September 1890. 51. Painters' Union - regarding donation to maritime strike, Melbourne. 5 October 1890. 86. G. Philbrook - regarding request for financial assistance. 18 November 1890. 97. G. Philbrook - regarding request for financial assistance. 22 December 1980. 82. T. Porter - regarding apology for absence. n.d. 35. Resolutions (passed at meeting) and list of movers and seconders. 12 September 1890. 41. Saddle, Harness and Collar Makers Society, Ballarat - regarding donation to strike fund. 25 September 1890. 4. Sandhurst and District Trades and Labour Council - regarding thanks for helping them obtain a building for use of their Council. 10 March 1890. 36. John Sayers (hotel owner) - regarding donation to strike fund. 17 September 1890. 93. (?), Sheldon - regarding receipt for money received from emergency fund. 28 November 1890. 26. W. Smith - regarding thanks for invitation to mass meeting (telegram). 10 September 1890. 99. T. (?) Stephen - financial help for members of his union. n.d. 100. Subscription list in aid of the strikers for Unionism by the shareholders and 'employees' of the Jubilee Mine, Long Gully, Black Ball, Scarsdale. n.d. 6. Tanners and Curriers, Ballarat Branch - regarding list of employers using union labour. 3 April 1890. 101. D. Temple (Secretary, Amalgamated Shearers' Union) - regarding request for copy of newspapers publishing correspondence between sheep owners and the Union. n.d. 37. Trades Hall Council, Melbourne. Committee of finance and control - regarding thanks to Ballarat Council for efforts to assist the cause of Labour. 18 September 1890. 43. Trades Hall Council, Melbourne. Committee of finance and control - regarding advice to Ballarat Council to distribute its own funds and applications for financial help. 29 September 1890. 67. Trades Hall Council, Melbourne. Committee of finance and control - regarding seeking continued financial aid from Council. 21 October 1890. 91. Trades Hall Council, Melbourne. (Secretary, D. Bennett) - regarding thanks to Ballarat Council for donation. 24 November 1890. 92. Trades Hall Council Melbourne, Committee of finance and control - regarding acknowledging receipt of money from Ballarat Council. 27 November 1890. 95. Trades Hall Council, Melbourne. (Secretary, D. Bennett) - regarding thanks to Ballarat Council for donation. 2 December 1890. 96. Trades Hall Council, Melbourne. (Secretary, D. Bennett) - regarding thanks to Ballarat Council for donation and explaining why amounts received to not appear in the "Age". 20 December 1890. 68. W. Treloar - regarding public meeting at Buninyong. 21 October 1890. 11. United Society of Boilermakers and Iron Shipbuilders of Victoria, Ballarat Branch - regarding list of shops employing union men. 10 April 1890. 26c. W.H. Uren (MLA) - regarding inability to come to mass meeting (telegram). 11 September 1890. 75. United Society of Boilermakers and Iron Shipbuilders of Victoria, Ballarat Branch - regarding request for funds for out of work members as own funds exhausted. 27 October 1890. 8. Victorian Operative Bootmakers' Union, Ballarat Branch - regarding giving name of union, list of shops using union men. 10 April 1890. 13. Victorian Operative Bricklayers' Society, Ballarat Branch - giving list of shops using union men. 24 April 1890. 14. Victorian Operative Bricklayers' Society, Ballarat Branch - giving name of Secretary. 24 April 1890. 33. N. Wanliss (Solicitor, Ballarat) - regarding donation to strike fund. 12 September 1890. 1. A.C. Whitten - regarding reply to charges of working a percentage system in his boot factory and men taking work home. 17 January 1890. 26a. A. Young (MLA) - regarding inability to attend mass meeting. 11 September 1890. 1891 - J. Wilson, Secretary 2. W.L. Anderson (Secretary, Ironmoulders Society) to W. Stokeld (Secretary, Ballarat Branch of Ironmoulders Society) - regarding conference with employers about wages and recognised public holidays. 18 May 1891. 3. W.L. Anderson (Secretary, Ironmoulders Society) to W. Stokeld (Secretary, Ballarat Branch of Ironmoulders Society) - regarding conference with employers about wages, striking and donation to shearers. 20 June 1890. 1. F. Meagher and E. Hobson - regarding The Industrial Labor League (newspaper cutting from the Ballarat Courier). 21 April 1891. 6. J. Verty - regarding asking J. Wilson (Secretary, Ballarat Trades and Labour Council) to come and speak at Allendale. 3 October 1891. 4. Victoria Reform League - regarding forwarding manifesto for Council's consideration. 21 September 1891. 5. P. (?) Wallis - regarding asking J. Wilson to come and speak at public meeting. Enclosed circular (not there). 21 September 1891. 7. J. Wilson - circular to Ironmoulders Society regarding money for Congress (7th Intercolonial) and refers to the Draft Scheme of Federation. n.d. 8. J. Wilson - circular to Ironmoulders Society regarding Eight Hour demonstration. n.d. 1892 – J. Wilson, Secretary Nil. 1893 - John Wilson, Secretary 9. W. Bannow - regarding seeking information about the Ballarat Trades and Labour Council constitution and affiliated unions. 11 April 1893. 1. Bendigo Miners' Association - regarding unemployment in Bendigo. 16 January 1893. 10. Bendigo and District Trades and Labour Council - suggesting a resolution to call Parliament together regarding unemployment and use of credit notes as legal tender. 16 May 1893. 3. Builders Labourers' Union - regarding stopping their meetings in the Ballarat Trades and Labour Council. 1 February 1893. 17.W.S. Curzon-Siggers - regarding Ballarat Relief Society Fund closed. 8 September 1893. 12. Doctor's certificate. 5 March 1893. 11. Henry Douglass - regarding difficulties of the Woollen Mills Union. 5 July 1893. 13. Federated Seamen's Union of Victoria - regarding visits to Ballarat, Creswick asking for financial help. 28 July 1893. 18. E. Hobson - regarding electoral support for H. Porter (Progressive Political League). n.d. 2. W.J. Lormer and S. Mauger - regarding inaugural meeting of the Protection Liberal and Federation Alliance. 30 January 1893. 6. Operative Bakers' Society, Ballarat - regarding non-union workers. 24 March 1893. 19. Operative Bootmakers' Union, Ballarat Branch - regarding employment of non-union foreman. 14 December 1893. 4. Painters' Union, Ballarat district - regarding its organisation. n.d. (missing) 5. Painters' Union, Ballarat district - regarding village settlements in Ballarat district. n.d. 14. Railway Department - regarding employment on lines. 4 August 1893. 15. Railway Department - regarding Ballarat men employed on railways. 16 August 1893. 8. John Wilson - regarding notice of motion to withdraw certificate of registration of the organisation from the Register. 8 April 1893. 16. John Wilson - regarding weavers’ strike and seeking donations from the Ironmoulders’ union. 22 August 1893. 7. Women's Christian Temperance Union of Victoria - regarding liquor consumption. 5 April 1893. 1894 - John Wilson, Secretary until his death in April 5. W. Anderson - regarding meeting about Parliament assembling. 26 February 1894. 8. H.J. Armytage - regarding meeting about Parliament assembling. 27 February 1894. 21. Balance sheet of the Council. 16 July 1894. 17. J. Barret, Secretary of Melbourne Trades Hall Council - regarding death of J. Wilson. 4 May 1894. 20. Joseph Barret (not the above) - regarding Chinese furniture. 11 August 1894. 31. Bendigo and District Cooperative Movement Society - regarding cooperative movement. 2 February 1894. 9. D.M. Davies – meeting regarding Parliament assembling. 27 February 1894. 15. John Dunn – meeting regarding Parliament assembling. 1 March 1894. 14. John Dunn – cannot come to meeting. n.d. 6. J.W. Kirton – meeting regarding Parliament assembling. 26 February 1894. 12. E. Murphy – meeting regarding Parliament assembling. 1 March 1894. 18. Operative Bootmakers’ Union, Ballarat Branch – regarding evening work. 28 June 1894. 16. To J.B. Patterson, Premier of Victoria, from Council – regarding resolutions passed at meeting about unemployment. 5 March 1894. 7. A.J. Peacock – meeting regarding Parliament assembling. 26 February 1894. 10. A.J. Peacock – telegram to advise non-attendance. 5 March 1894. 13. T. Porter – meeting regarding Parliament assembling. 5 March 1894. 1. Trades and Labor Council of Otago – regarding unionism in New Zealand. 23 January 1894. 19. United Labor and Liberal Party - regarding request for donations. 16 July 1894. 4. A.T. Vale - regarding meeting about Parliament assembling. 26 February 1894. 38. John Wilson - regarding request to Ironmoulders for donation to Eight Hour Sports Fund. 6 February 1894. 11. Alex Young - regarding meeting about Parliament assembling. 1 March 1894. 1895 – W. Hurtsfield, Secretary 1. J. Barret (Secretary of Melbourne Trades and Labor Council) - regarding pensioners working. 15 February 1895. 2. EP Date - regarding university extension lectures. 9 June 1895. 3. Agreement (unsigned) between the Trustees of the Ironmoulders' Society and the members thereof. n.d. 1896 - W. Hurtsfield, Secretary 10. Amalgamated Miners' Association - regarding dispute between BHP and miners. 9 October 1896. 4. Amalgamated Miners' Association, district - regarding aid for miners. 4 May 1896. 12. Ballarat Typographical Society - regarding request for Council to meet on Saturdays. 13 November 1896. 2. J. Barrett - regarding press for a Bill for Conciliation and Compulsory Arbitration. 22 July 1896. 7. J. Barrett - regarding cooperation, Labor-Liberal Party arbitration. 22 July 1896. 9. J. Barrett - regarding Employers' Law Liability Amendment Act. 26 August 1896. 9A. Bendigo Trades and Labor Council (A. Campbell, Secretary) - regarding opening of Hall. 31 August 1896. 11. Bendigo Trades and Labor Council (A. Campbell, Secretary) - Employers' Liability Amendment Act. 9 November 1896. 14. F.H. Bromly - regarding raising finance for W.A. Trenwith, M.P. n.d. 1. M. Campbell - regarding support for the People's Party. 5 February 1896. 3. H.M. Champion - regarding May Day Demonstration. March 1896. 6. Cigar Makers' Union - regarding employing non-union labor. 1 June 1896. 5. L. Corstorphan (Secretary, Woollen Mills' Union) - regarding new name of Union (Ballarat Operative Weavers' Union). 23 May 1896. 13. R. Surtees - impressions of W.A. 9 November 1896. 12. T. Young (Secretary, Ballarat Typographical Society) - regarding BHP and miners' dispute. 13 November 1896. 1897 - W. Hurtsfield, Secretary 1. S. Barker - regarding leaflet about International Labor Day. 2 May 1897. 4. J. Barrett - regarding Ben Tillet's visit to Victoria. 23 August 1897. 5. J. Barrett - regarding Ben Tillet's visit to Victoria. 23 August 1897. 6. J. Barrett - regarding subscription for Ben Tillet's visit. n.d. 2. Bendigo District Trades and Labor Council (H. Hanton, Secretary) - regarding corn and flour duties. 7 June 1897. 3. C. Harris - regarding Eight Hours' monies. 21 July 1897. 7. J.P. Jones - regarding finance for Tocsin. 30 August 1897. 1898 - W. Hurtsfield, Secretary 11. Adelaide Labor Conference 1898 - invitation. 8 August 1898. 1. J. Barrett - regarding conference of Labor bodies. 7 March 1898. 10. J. Barrett - private to Hurdsfield regarding resolutions of Melbourne Trades and Labor Council. 19 September 1898. 13. T. McCoates - regarding Ballarat Benevolent Asylum and Lying in Hospital and Ben Tillet. 22 November 1898. 3. Findley, E. - regarding finance of "Tocsin". 27 March 1898. 4. Findley, E. - regarding finance of "Tocsin". 24 March 1898. 2. P.J. Mullaney - regarding May Day, 1898. 27 March 1898. 6. A.C. Nichols - regarding Rating Reform League. 30 July 1898. 7. A.C. Nichols - regarding printed invitation to a public meeting to support R.R.L. 30 July 1898. 8. A.C. Nichols - printed leaflet from Single Tax League, Victoria. 8 July 1898. 8 July 1898. 9. A.C. Nichols - printed leaflet from Rating Reform League. n.d. 5. James Oldham - regarding portrait of James Stephens. 22 September 1898. 12. Wanliss and Gray (Solicitors) - regarding agreement. 22 September 1898. 1899 - W. Hurtsfield, Secretary 3. S. Barker and Dr Wm Moloney - regarding May Day, 1899. n.d. 8. J. Barrett - regarding Eight-Hours Bill. 29 August 1899. 9. J. Barrett - regarding draft scheme for Intercolonial Labor Federation. 30 May 1899. 7. T. Campbell - regarding resignation.18 August 1899. 6. Denmark - regarding printed material on lock out in Denmark; appeal for help. 2 May 1899. 1. H. Hanton - regarding People's Party, Bendigo. 13 February 1899. 2. H. Hanton - regarding People's Party, Bendigo. 16 February 1899. 5. M. Hirsch - regarding Committee of the Convention on unemployment. 25 April 1899. 4. J.B. Meier - regarding Victorian Tobacco Operatives Association and unemployment. 18 May 1899. 1900 - W. Hurtsfield, Secretary 9. Amalgamated Engine Drivers' Association, Bendigo Branch - regarding boycotting and dismissal of union men. 2 March 1900. 25. Amalgamated Miners' Association of Victoria, head office - regarding printed report of executive council meeting regarding Chiltern dispute. 25 September 1900. 26. Amalgamated Miners' Association of Victoria, head office - regarding covering letter for "25" (above). 15. Anti-Sweating League of Victoria - regarding list of office bearers. 26 July 1900. 1. John Barrett - regarding support for candidates of the United Labor Party. 17 January 1900. 2. John Barrett - regarding Australasian Labor Federation. 28 February 1900. 8. John Barrett - regarding fund for the family of late John Hancock, MLA. 13 February 1900. 19. John Barrett - regarding contesting seats in the coming State election and possibly in a Federal election. 18 July 1900. 21. Bootmakers' Union, Ballarat - regarding inspectors not using factories regarding infringements of Act. 31 July 1900. 17. J. Cairns - regarding late shopping. 3 July 1900. 10. Coach Makers Society - regarding branch of Union formed in Ballarat. 16 June 1900. 11. Coach Makers Society - regarding petition about wages. n.d. 12-13. Coach Makers Society - regarding petition about wages. 7 July 1900. (one document) 14. Coach Makers Society - regarding petition about wages. 17 July 1900. 22. J. Hume Cook, MLA - regarding old age pensions. 15 August 1900. 23. J. Hume Cook, MLA - regarding Herald newspaper cutting written by Cook on old age pensions. 13 August 1900. 18. J. Lemmon - regarding Woollen Mills Operatives' Union. 11 July 1900. 16. Master Butchers' Association, Ballarat and District - regarding printed notice regarding hours of business. 14 June 1900. 3-4. Melbourne Typographical Society - regarding subscriptions for the late J. Hancock's family. 15 January 1900. (one document) 20. O. Rees - regarding women's franchise. 19 July 1900. 24. United Council for Women's suffrage - women's franchise. 24 August 1900. 6. Victorian Amalgamated Butchers' Union - regarding photograph of John Hancock and about Mr Williams not being a delegate of the Union. 2 June 1900. 7. Victorian Amalgamated Butchers' Union - regarding photograph of John Hancock. 1 July 1900. 5. Tom Williams - regarding photograph of John Hancock. 5 May 1900. 1901 - W. Hurtsfield, Secretary 1. Ballarat Operative Bootmakers' Union - regarding resignation of Secretary, J. Eva. 2 April 1901. 2. Receipts, hiring agreement for a light generator. 2 August 1901. 1902 – W. Hurtsfield, Secretary Nil 1903 - W. Hurdsfield, Secretary 2. Amalgamated Miners' Association, Creswick Branch - regarding visit of Tom Mann to Creswick and Allendale. 8 May 1903. 3. Amalgamated Miners' Association, Creswick Branch - regarding visit of Tom Mann (telegram). 8 May 1903. 18. Ballarat Trades and Labour Council - Christmas card. 1903-1904. 11. Bendigo Trades and Labor Council - regarding request for Council's rules and standing orders. 24 October 1903. 1A. Andrew Christie - regarding visit of Tom Mann to Berringa. 5 April 1903. 9. Alfred Deakin - regarding thanks to Council for support. 28 September 1903. 12. Alfred Deakin - regarding meeting Council to discuss Arbitration Bill. 27 October 1903. 6. Eight Hour Demonstration Committee - regarding invitation to H. Brooks. 21 October 1903. 1B. Eight Hours Monument Fund - regarding unveiling of the monument. 3 April 1903. 14-16. Andrew Gray - regarding cooperative venture in mining coal at Outtrim. 9 November 1903. 10. Political Labour League (J. Eva, Secretary) - regarding deputation to Prime Minister for early introduction of an Arbitration and Conciliation Bill. 23 October 1903. 17. Protectionist Association of Victoria (S. Mauger, Secretary) - regarding distribution of their literature. 7 December 1903. 4. W.H. Rees - regarding visit of Tom Mann to Maryborough. 7 May 1903. 5C. Soldiers' Statue Fund, Ballarat - regarding meeting of Committee. 18 August 1903. 7. Trades Hall Council, Melbourne (Stephen Barker, Secretary) - regarding protesting dropping of Conciliation and Arbitration Bill. 16 September 1903. 8. Trades Hall Council, Melbourne (Stephen Barker, Secretary) - regarding petition regarding State Reform Bill. 19 September 1903. 5A. Trades Hall Council, Melbourne (Stephen Barker, Secretary) - regarding position occupied during late railway strike. ca 1 June 1903. 5B. Trades Hall Council, Melbourne (Stephen Barker, Secretary) - regarding petition about Conciliation and Arbitration Bill. 2 June 1903. 5D. Trades Hall Council, Melbourne (Stephen Barker, Secretary) - regarding helping Tinsmiths' Union. 7 July 1903. 13. Frank Tudor - regarding why there was a delay in answering a letter from the Council. 2 November 1903. 1904 - W. Hurtsfield, Secretary 4. Amalgamated Society of Engineers, Ballarat Branch - regarding iron trade and tariffs. 1 July 1904. 9-9A. P. Brandt - regarding Brandt's system of absolute majority vote. 30 July 1904. 12. Alfred Deakin - regarding details of imports and exports of iron and steel. 20 August 1904. 13, 13A, 13B. Alfred Deakin - regarding Arbitration Bill. 17 August 1904. 6. Eight Hours Celebration Union, Adelaide - invitation. July 1904. 14. Eureka Stockade Celebration - regarding celebration of the fiftieth anniversary. 1 September 1904. 11. Operative Bootmakers' Union - regarding delegates to Council. 12 August 1904. 7. Political Labor League - regarding raising funds for striking miners at Outtrim. 25 July 1904. 8. Political Labor League - regarding raising funds for striking miners at Outtrim. 29 July 1904. 15. Australian Workers Union - regarding raising funds for striking miners at Outtrim. n.d. 19. Preferential Trade with Great Britain - invitation to public meeting. 17 November 1904. 5. Robert Rogers (Secretary to the Premier of Victoria) - regarding acknowledgement of receiving letter. 22 July 1904. 21. Tom Mann Organisation Fund - printed balance sheet. 9 August 1904. 2. Edward Meagher - regarding high wages and their exploitation (printed pamphlet). 31 May 1904. 3. Trades Hall Council, Melbourne - regarding conference. 24 June 1904. 16. Trades Hall Council, Melbourne - regarding resolution submitted for consideration. 14 October 1904. 18. Trades Hall Council, Melbourne - regarding interstate Eight Hours Day. November 1904. 20, 20A. Trades Hall Council, Melbourne - regarding federal tariffs. 1904. 17. Victorian Agricultural Implement and Machine Makers' Society - regarding Sunshine Harvesting Works. 29 October 1904. 1. R. Williams (Town Clerk, Ballarat) - regarding Galloway monument as a drinking fountain. 28 April 1904. 1905 - W. Hurtsfield, Secretary 4. S.M. Bull - regarding gold saving machine. 3 August 1905. 1. Eight Hours Anniversary Union, Brisbane - regarding sympathy with fellow artisans in Russia. 26 January 1905. 10. Federal Labor Party - regarding Workers Trade Mark (union label). 18 December 1905. 2. National Progress Newspaper Society Ltd - establishment of new daily paper in Melbourne. 10 February 1905. 3. Secretary for Lands - regarding excising of part of common lands by Golf Club. 15 June 1905. 5. Secretary for Mines - regarding providing work for unemployed miners. 7 August 1905. 6. Secretary for Mines - regarding providing work for unemployed miners. 9 August 1905. 7. Secretary for Mines - regarding providing work for unemployed miners. 21 August 1905. 8. Trades Hall Council - regarding sweating in the tailoring trade. 16 August 1905. 9. Chas Vaughan and Co. - regarding whether trustees will comply with their request. 30 November 1905. 1906 - W. Hurtsfield, Secretary 1. Castlemaine Hibernian Sports Programme. 26 December 1906. 1907 - W. Hurtsfield, Secretary 1. Church of Christ - regarding renting the Council Hall. 7 August 1907. 2. R. McGregor - regarding interview with the Chief Secretary. 19 December 1907. 3. Timber Workers Relief Fund - regarding acknowledgement of donation. 21 May 1907. 1908 - W. Hurtsfield, Secretary 1. Federated Saw Mill, Timber Yard and General Woodworkers Employees' Association - regarding delegates to Council. 4 August 1908. 1909 – W. Hurtsfield, Secretary Nil. 1910 – W. Hurtsfield, Secretary Nil. 1911 – W. Keane, Secretary Nil. 1912 – W. Keane, Secretary Nil. 1913 – W. Keane, Secretary Nil. 1914 – W. Keane, Secretary Nil. 1915 – W. Keane, Secretary Nil. 1916 – W. Keane, Secretary 1. Interstate Trades Union Congress - regarding report of proceedings. 15-18 May 1916. 2. Resolutions of executive meeting. January 1916. 3. Australian Builders Laborers Federation, Victorian Branch - regarding establishing a Labor Daily for Victoria. 15 November 1916. 1917 - W.J. Kean, Secretary 1. Australian Boot Trade Employees' Association - regarding delegates to Council. 25 January 1917. 2. Ballarat Typographical Society - regarding delegates to Council. 22 January 1917. 3. W. Kean - to editor of The Courier regarding employees of Lucus and Co. not being allowed to join a union. 14 July 1917. 4. Newspaper cuttings from The Courier - Kean v. "contented" on class (n.d.); Kean v. Price Lucus and Co (see 3, above). 16 July 1917. 5. United Grocers, Tea and Dairy Produce Employees' Union - regarding applying for permission to hold annual conference of Victorian Branch at the Trades Hall. 24 January 1917. 6. Victorian Railways Union - circular regarding the strike ballot (printed). 14 March 1917. 7. From W. Kean to Mr. R. Rose - regarding W. Hughes' attempt at political party organisation in Ballarat. 12 March 1917. 1918 - W.J. Kean, Secretary 3. Agreement regarding Ballarat Trades and Labour Council building. 26 October 1918. 2. Citizens' Loyalist Committee - regarding meetings and fact the committee is not affiliated with any political party. 25 April 1918. 1. Newspaper cutting from Ballarat Courier - regarding Loyalist Meeting at Alfred Hall. 4 April 1918. 1919 - W. Kean, Secretary 1. E.J. Hogan, State Parliament House to W. Kean - regarding work at Ballarat North workshops. 10 January 1919. 1920 – W. Keane, Secretary Nil. 1921 – W. Keane, Secretary 1. Federated Moulders' (Metals) Union of Australia - regarding Report of the Federal Council Conference (printed). 17 January 1921. 2. Ironmoulders' Board - determination (printed). 6 April 1921. 1922 - W.J. McAdam, Secretary 1. Trades Hall Council, Melbourne. (E.J. Holloway, Secretary) - regarding report of Eight Hours Committee of Enquiry. 24 October 1922. 1923 – Secretary, Mr WJ McAdam 1. From FJ Jones, Secretary, Australian Timber Workers Union to Mr McAdam - Affiliation dues. 3 April 1923. 2. From Mr W. Powe to Mr McAdam – Union membership and request for Mr McAdam to visit Clunes and meet with him. 3 April 1923. 1924 – Secretary, W.J. McAdam Nil. 1925 – Secretary, W.J. McAdam Nil. 1926 – Secretary, S. Miller Nil. 1927 – Secretary, S. Miller Nil. 1928 – Secretary, S. Miller Nil. 1929 - Secretary, S. Miller Nil. 1930 - Secretary, S. Miller Nil. 1931 – Secretary, Mr S Miller 1. From John Jeanes, Assistant Registrar, Offices of the Registrar General and Registrar of Titles to Mr Miller. 8 October 1931. 1932 – Secretary, Mr S Miller Nil. 1933– Secretary, Mr S Miller Nil. 1934– Secretary, Mr S Miller Nil. 1935– Secretary, Mr S Miller Nil. 1936 – Secretary, Mr S Miller Nil. 1937 – Secretary, Mr S Miller 1. From Mr Miller to Managing Director, Ballarat Brewing Company – Requesting donation for BTLC Picnic Sports Meeting. 2 March 1937. 1938 – Secretary, Mr S Miller 1. From C. Knight, Secretary, Law Department to no addressee – Advising that Mr William Henry Green is authorised to take declarations etc under the Evidence act. 7 June 1938. 1939 – Secretary, Mr S Miller Nil. 1940 – Secretary, Mr S Miller Nil. 1941 – Secretary, Mr S Miller Nil. 1942 – Secretary, Mr S Miller/Mr WJ McAdam Nil. 1943 – Secretary, Mr WJ McAdam Nil. 1944 – Secretary, Mr WJ McAdam Nil. 1945 – Secretary, Mr WJ McAdam Nil. 1946 – Secretary, Mr WJ McAdam Nil. 1947 – Secretary, Mr WJ McAdam Nil. 1948 – Secretary, Mr WJ McAdam 1. From Mr/Ms Healy, Labour Council, Brisbane to Secretary Labour Council, Ballarat - telegram stamped 415 regarding current industrial action and unions being undermined by Premier Hanlon's Industrial Law Amendment Bill. 10 March 1948 2. From Accountant, Head Office, The Ballarat Brewing Co Ltd, to Mr WJ Mc Adam, Secretary, Ballarat Eight Hours Anniversary Committee - regarding donation of £2.2.0 to the Annual Eights Hours Celebrations. 23 April 1948 3. From Miss M Zacharin, Secretary, Jewish to Combat Fascism and Anti-Semitism to Secretary, Trades Hall, Ballarat - forwarding a copy of the pamphlet "Israel Reborn" (no longer attached, but can be viewed online at https://tinyurl.com/jccfas48) by Mrs. Evelyn Rothfield. Requests assistance with distribution of the pamphlet. 26 July, 1948 4. From Mrs A.W. Nicholson (signed Beryl Nicholson), Co-Secretary, Ballarat Baby Health Centres' Ladies Committee to Mr WJ McAdam, Secretary, Trades and Labor Council, Ballarat - Requesting partial rebate of rent paid for the Hall for a fundraising lecture/recital. 9 November 1948 1949 – Secretary, Mr WJ McAdam 1. From JS Toohey, Chairman and MB Duffy, Secretary, Industrial Printing and Publicity Co. Ltd., circular to Trade Union and ALP Branch Secretaries - Emphasising the need for "Labor Call" (previously Tocsin) to continue and encouraging subscriptions and/or bulk ordering. 2. From Thomas E. Carter, Ballarat ALP to Secretary, TLC, Ballarat - Regarding a deputation to the Premier about the Essential Services Act. 25 January 1949 3. From Russell Jones to "To Whom it May Concern", The Courier - Regarding Painters Union debate at BTLC on 25 August 1949; clarifying about severe censure of Mr TE Carter. 17 September 1949 4. Decisions of the ACTU Congress held Sydney, September 19 to 23, 1949 5. From William?, office of the Bishop of Ballarat to Mr WJ McAdam, Secretary, BTLC - Thanking WJ McAdam for his apology for an event at Craig's Hotel about slum conditions, offering to show films at BTLC and present a lecture. 6 October 1949 6. From William? office of the Bishop of Ballarat to Mr WJ McAdam, Secretary, BTLC - Thanking WJ McAdam for making the Hall available for an event the previous evening. 11 November 1949 1950 - Secretary Mr WJ McAdam 1. From H. Crutch, Property Officer, Department of the Interior to Mr McAdam – Lease of accommodation for Mr RT Pollard, MHR, no longer required. 20 January 1950. 2. From unnamed author to Mr D Aronson, Solicitor, Ballarat – Seeking legal opinion/interpretation of rules relating to provincial delegates on VTHC (with enclosures). 23 May 1950. 3. From Mr McAdam to Mr C Ellis, Secretary, Plasterer’s Union – Affiliation fees. 15 September 1950. 1951 – Secretary, Mr WJ McAdam Nil. 1952 – Secretary, Mr WJ McAdam 1. From Mr McAdam, Secretary, BTLC to Miss Wilkins, Philharmonic Singers - use of Trades Hall, insurance risk and care of the Hall piano. 10 September 1952. 1953 Secretary – Mr WJ McAdam 1. From AW Nicholson and RG Caddell, Greater Ballarat Association to Mr McAdam – Royal Tour decorations and lighting. 28 January 1953. 2. From Sunshine Biscuit Company to Mr McAdam – Supply of biscuits. 5 March 1953. 3. From L. Higgins, Secretary, Vehicle Builders Employees Federation to Mr McAdam – Donation to Ballarat Labor Day Appeal. 5 March 1953. 4. From Secretary, Clothing and Allied Trades Union of Australia to Mr McAdam – Donation to repair BTLC building (24 Camp Street, Ballarat). 5 March 1953. 5. From WJ Morrison, Manager, International Bookshop to “Dear Sir” – Complimentary copies of a pamphlet “Ballarat Riggers at Work” pamphlet (pamphlet copy not included). 5 March 1953. 6. From Mrs D Hughes to Mr McAdam – Regarding terms and entitlements relating to her dismissal. Letter From the Department of Labour about pay rights is attached. 7 March 1953. 7. From the State Secretary, The Victorian Potato, Onion and Vegetable Growers Association to Mr McAdam – Regarding an appointment for Mr Kinsella to address BTLC. 10 March 1953. 8. From Mr McAdam to JJ Sheehan, MLA – Workers Compensation Act – pressing for provision of compensation to parents of workers who die at work. 16 March 1953. 9. From Ballarat Brewing Company Ltd to Mr McAdam – Donation to Labor Day celebrations. 16 March 1953. 10. From Mr Arrowsmith, Campaign Director for Frank Hardy to Mr McAdam – Seeking permission for Frank Hardy, Communist Party candidate to address Council. 23 March 1953. 11. From ? to JV Stout, Secretary, VTHC – ACTU delegates provincial councils – protesting the method of counting votes. 9 April 1953. 12. From Fibson to BTLC – Telegram requesting advice about how much notice a temporary teacher needs to provide to their employer. 14 April 1953. 13. From Mr McAdam to Mr JV Stout, Secretary, VTHC – ACTU Delegates Provincial Council – nominations. 18 April 1953. 14. From the Town Clerk, Town Hall, Ballaarat to Mr McAdam – Requesting a list of executive officers at BTLC (list attached with reply). 23 April 1953. 15. From Mr McAdam to [blank] – Representation from the Society of Carpenters and Joiners and the Building Workers Industrial Union on BTLC. 2 May 1953. 16. From Mr McAdam to Mr G Hall, Secretary, ATMO Employees Association – Congratulating the Union of their successful campaign on behalf of tram conductors. 6 March 1953. (Back: General Board (Cake Ornament Section) pay determination.) 17. From Mr McAdam to Mr Maddern, City Clerk, City Hall, Ballarat – Seating needs in Ballarat Civic Hall. 6 May 1953. (Back: Victorian Government Gazette, 16 May 1951.) 18. From Mr McAdam to Mr Maddern, City Clerk, City Hall, Ballarat – Enforcement of the Weights and Measures Act by Ballarat Council. 6 May 1953. (Back: Wage rates Printing-Ink Grinders 1951.) 19. From Mr McAdam to Mr Bartrop, President Begonia Festival Committee – Enquiry about distribution of profits of Begonia Festival. 8 May 1953. (Back: Letterhead with beginning of a draft of this letter.) 20. From Mr McAdam to JV Stout, Secretary, VTHC – Eureka Centenary celebrations. 15 May 1953. 21. From Mr McAdam to ? - Recommendation of Council Executive seeking meeting of the rank and file – towards reaching agreement within the industry. 20 May 1953. 22. From Mr McAdam to the Hon W Galvin, MLA, Acting Premier – Resolution regarding Ballarat North railway workshops. Concern about outsourcing to private enterprise. Seeking improvement of work and a public enquiry. 10 June 1953. (Back: Government Gazette, 25 November 1952.) 23. From Mr McAdam to the Hon PL Coleman, MLA, Minister for Transport – Forwarding a Council motion supporting workers’ right to strike and the Minister’s interference in that. 10 June 1953. 24. From Mr McAdam to Mr JJ Sheehan, MLA – Letter of resolution: thanking him for assistance to the railway unions and requesting further help in training of railway engineers in Ballarat Railway Workshops. 12 June 1953. (Back: Government Gazette, 13 November 1952.) 25. From Mr McAdam to Mr Linaker, State Electricity Commission – Request that the timetable should synchronise with the train timetable on Sundays. 19 June 1953. (Back: Tar and Bitumen Board, Pay Department, 30 January 1951.) 26. From Mr McAdam to Mr Dawson, State Accident Insurance Officer – Workers compensation payment criteria – how payment corresponds with incremental pay rises. 19 June 1953. (Back: General Board – Blue Print Section. Pay rate determinations.) 27. From Mr Mc Adam to Mr JV Stout, Secretary, VTHC – Funding of provincial trades and labour council delegates to attend the ACTU congress in Sydney. 20 June 1953. 28. From LJ Buchanan, Honourable Secretary, Victorian Teachers Union to Mr McAdam – Typewritten and handwritten copies of same correspondence – reply to BTLC. Regarding children’s participation in the 1953 Begonia Festival. 23 June 1953. (Back: Extraordinary Government Gazette, 30 March 1953.) 29. From Mr McAdam to Mr Connell, Secretary, Fibrous Plasterers Union – Regarding overdue affiliation fees to BTLC. 25 June 1953. (Back: pay determinations sports grounds staff.) 30. From Mr JA Connell, Secretary, Fibrous Plasterers Union to Mr McAdam – Cheque for outstanding BTLC affiliation fees. 10 July 1953. 31. Circular from JT Long, Organising Secretary, Australian Convention on Peace and War to various recipients – Information on Peace and War Convention – pamphlet and A5 flyer attached. 14 July 1953. 32. From H Booley to Mr WJ McAdam – Resigning as BTLC delegate to VTHC. 19 July 1953. 33. No author or addressee – Election of Executive Committee, BTLC, financial position, delegates to Peace and War Convention, installation of new President. (Includes photocopies of the same document.) 34. No author or addressee – Peace Convention delegates’ expenses. August/September 1953. (Back: Government Gazette, 26 February 1953.) 35. From Mr McAdam to JV Stout, Secretary, VTHC – Advising resignation of Mr Booley as BTLC to VTHC; Mr Booley to be replaced by Mr JJ Brown. 11 August 1953. 36. From Mr McAdam to Mr JJ Brown, Unity Hall – Advising that the addressee was successful in his nomination as BTLC delegate to VTHC. N.d. (Back: Ballot paper, 20 September 1953.) 37. From Mr McAdam to Dr Evatt, MHR, Leader ALP – Requesting support in stopping the Menzies government interference in Amalgamated Engineering Union elections. 12 August 1953. 37A. From Dr Evatt, MHR, Leader ALP – Reply from Dr Evatt expressing legal inability to assist the Amalgamated Engineering Union. 24 August 1953. 37B. Mr McAdam to Mr R Joshua, MHR – Seeking Mr Joshua’s assistance by raising the above matter in parliament. 7 September 1953. (Back: Ballot paper, Trades and Labour Council Elections, 21 September 1953.) 38. From Mr McAdam to Mr JJ Sheehan, MLA – Requesting a date for a deputation from the Metal Trades Unions about pay rates. 12 August 1953. (Back: Ballot paper, Trades and Labour Council Elections, 21 September 1953.) 39. From Mr McAdam to Mr Maddern, City Clerk, Ballaarat – Road quality and pedestrian access in Ballarat North. 12 August 1953. (Back: Ballot paper, Trades and Labour Council Elections, 21 September 1953.) 40. From Mr McAdam to Mr Broadby, Secretary of the ACTU – Seeking support of the ACTU to resist government interference in Amalgamated Engineering Union’s elections. 12 August 1953. (Back: Trades and Labour Council elections, 1952.) 41. From Mr McAdam to Mr Buchanan, Secretary, Teachers Union – Regarding Teachers Union correspondence about children’s participation in the Begonia Festival. 13 August 1953. (Back: Regulations Weights and Measures Act.) 42. From Mr McAdam to Hon PL Coleman, MLC, Minister of Transport – Seeking clarification about abolition of penalty rates. 14 August 1953. (Back: Trades and Labour Council elections, 1952.) 43. From Mr McAdam to JV Stout, Secretary, VTHC – Requesting fifty copies of all ACTU reports in future. 24 August 1953. (Back: Trades and Labour Council elections, 1952.) 44. From Mr McAdam to Minister for Railways, Hobart. Regarding abolition of weekend penalty rates. 24 August 1953. (Back: Trades and Labour Council elections, 1952.) 45. From Mr McAdam to Minister for Railways, Adelaide. Regarding abolition of weekend penalty rates. 24 August 1953. (Back: Trades and Labour Council elections, 1952.) 46. From Mr McAdam to Minister for Railways, Sydney. Regarding abolition of weekend penalty rates. 24 August 1953. (Back: Trades and Labour Council elections, 1952.) 47. From Mr McAdam to Hon W Calvin, MLA, Chief Secretary, Melbourne – Seeking clarification of Workers’ Compensation Act; in particular, the clause regarding average weekly payments at the time of injury. (Back: Trades and Labour Council elections, 1952.) 48. From Mr McAdam to Cr JC Rowe, Chairman, By-laws Committee, City Hall, Ballarat – seeking a meeting of BTLC with the Town Hall by-laws committee about traffic hazards on Creswick Road and other parts. 24 August 1953. (Back: Trades and Labour Council elections, 1952.) 49. From Mr McAdam to Hon W Galvin, MLA, Chief Secretary, Melbourne - Seeking amendment of Workers Compensation Act so that workers may appeal decisions. Further, seeks that the government ensures payments are made once a fortnight as required in the regulations. 24 August 1953. (Back: Trades and Labour Council elections, 1952.) 50. From Mr McAdam to Hon J Cain, MLA, Premier of Victoria – Requesting government’s attention to dispensing of level crossings in Victoria. 24 August 1953. (Back: Trades and Labour Council elections, 1952.) 51. From Mr McAdam to JJ Sheehan, MLA – Seeking support to include craft unions/FEDFA members in the service agreement at Ballarat Base Hospital. 28 August 1953. 52. Council of Aboriginal Rights – Bulletin #2 (i) Sentence of hanging in WA (ii) Aboriginal Co-op Marble Bar (iii) Use of pidgin English (iv) Affiliation (v) Conditions at Dubbo NSW and Victoria. 8 September 1953. 53. From Mr McAdam to Mr GW Harris, Secretary, Convening Unions – Sending a copy of Council rules. 21 September 1953. (Back: Australian Theatrical and Amusement Employees’ Association – New wage agreement, 30 June 1953.) 54. From FJ Riley, Secretary, The Manufacturing Grocers Employees’ Federation to unspecified addressee. Regarding Match Industry Report; excises on matches and cigarette lighters. 21 September 1953. 55. Circular – Peace or War Convention. N.d. (Back: Trades and Labour Council elections, 1952.) 56. From Austin McCallum, President, Ballarat Y’s Men’s Club to Secretary, BTLC – Support for a play centre for mentally ill children. 26 September 1953. 57. Meeting 1 October 1953 - Carriers delivering on weekends. - Erection of crematorium in Ballarat. - Resolution opposing wages’ freeze. - Protesting manner that railway shop matters are dealt with by the Minister for Transport. (Back: Australian Theatrical and Amusement Employees’ Association – New wage agreement, 30 June 1953.) 58. From Mr McAdam to Hon J Cain, Premier of Victoria – Regarding action about service grants for Metal Trades Railwaymen. 2 October 1953. (Back: Financial statement 1/1/51-30/6/51.) 59. From Mr McAdam to Hon J Cain, Premier of Victoria – Protesting the Minister of Transport’s decision to have shop matters of Railwaymen dealt with by the ARU. 2 October 1953. (Back: Financial statement 1/1/51-30 June 1951.) 60. From Mr McAdam to Hon WP Barry, MLA – Urging that erection of the Ballarat New Cemetery proceeds as soon as possible. 2 October 1953. (Back: BWIU Investigation – conduct of election.) 61. From J Collins and W Vance to the President, BTLC – Apology regarding vandalism to BTLC building. N.d. 62. From JW Wilson, Association for Advancement of the Blind to Mr McAdam – Request for donation. 6 October 1953. 63. From Mr RJ Lightfoot, Secretary, Blind Workers Union to Mr McAdam – Melbourne Cup Sweep. 9 October 1953. 64. From Mr K Liversidge to BTLC – Sick leave entitlements. October 1953. 65. From Mrs Mary Haddow, Wonthaggi Old Age and Invalid Pensioners, to addressee not specified – Seeking assistance to improve income and other conditions for pensioners. 12 October 1953. 66. From Mr McAdam to Mr Maddern, City Clerk, Ballarat – Need for traffic lights (various sites) including safety issues and enforcement. 19 October 1953. (Back: flyer, “Are You A Trade Unionist?”) 67. From Mr McAdam to Hon J Cain, Premier of Victoria – Addressing dangerous level crossings. 19 October 1953. (Back: Ballot paper 21 September 1953.) 68. From Mr McAdam to Hon J Cain, Premier of Victoria – Thanking the Premier for the Long Service Leave Bill. 19 October 1953. (Back: flyer, “Are You A Trade Unionist?”) 69. From Mr McAdam to Mr JJ Sheehan, MLA – Crematorium in Ballarat New Cemetery. 20 October 1953. (Back: Ballot paper 21 September 1953.) 70. From F. Cutts, Mayor to no addressee. Public meeting regarding Centre for Mentally Retarded Children. 21 October 1953. 71. From Mr McAdam to Mr Swenson, Organiser, Begonia Festival - Regarding combined sports meeting on Labor Day 1953. 23 October 1953. (Back: Ballot paper 21 September 1953.) 72. From Doepal, Lilley and Taylor to Mr McAdam – Renewal workplace insurance (including yellow slip – explanation of Increased Bonus Distribution). 26 October 1953. 73. From Dick Diamond, Actors and Announcers Equity Association of Australia to Mr McAdam – Payment by “Ashton Varieties” to members who were stood down. 27 October 1953. 74. From Alexander, General Secretary, Actors Equity to Mr McAdam – Telegram urging BTLC to black ban Ashton’s follies show. 29 October 1953. 75. From A Wallace, Ministering Children’s League to Mr McAdam – A thank you for donation to the Ministering Children’s League. 29 October 1953. 76. From RA Hunt, State Electricity Commission to Mr EO Allan, c/- Mr McAdam – Inviting BTLC to purchase securities of 10-15 years. Prospectus attached. 29 October 1953. 77. From Mr RW Richards, Principal School of Mines and Industries, Ballarat – Seeking the continuing support of the School’s Prize Fund. 31 October 1953. 78. From Secretary, Kingsville Yarraville Citizens’ Band to Mr McAdam – Payment for use of Trades Hall space. 2 November 1953. 79. From Dick Diamond, Victorian Divisional Secretary, Actors and Announcers Equity Association of Australia to Mr McAdam – Thanking BTLC for support in relation to the dispute with Ashton’s Varieties. 4 November 1953. 80. From Mr Ritchie, Hon Secretary, Ballarat Fine Art Public Gallery Association to Mr McAdam – Declining BTLC’s offer to loan a portrait of Cardinal Manning. 4 November 1953. 81. Circular from Mrs N Stephens and Mrs B Ferguson, The Queen Elizabeth Benevolent Home – Seeking donation for Christmas gifts for elderly patients. 5 November 1953. 82. From Mr Maddern, Town Clerk, City of Ballarat to Mr McAdam- Declining request to install traffic lights at various sites. 10 November 1953. 83. From Mr Maddern, Town Clerk, City of Ballarat to Mr McAdam- Reply. Undertaking to inspect roads and footpaths in Ballarat North. 10 November 1953. 84. BTLC – Meeting 12 November 1953 - erection of crematorium - long service leave entitlements - workplace illnesses, including asbestosis - traffic control, Ballarat (Back: Ballot Paper, 21 September 1953.) 85. From Mr McAdam to Mr JJ Brown – Thanking him for report to Council regarding dust nuisance and health impacts. 16 November 1953. 86. From Mr McAdam to Mr W Gray, Secretary, Pensioners League Ballarat – Forwarding copy of letter from Wonthaggi Pensioners for opinion. 16 November 1953. (Back: Plastic Moulding Board Determination.) 87. From Mr W Gray, Secretary, Pensioners League Ballarat to Mr McAdam– Reply to BTLC regarding Wonthaggi Pensioners. 18 November 1953. 88. From Mrs N Stephens, President, Queen Elizabeth Benevolent Home Ladies’ Auxiliary – Christmas Tree Appeal – thanking BTLC for its donation. 19 November 1953. 89. From S Murray-Smith, Organising Secretary, Australian Peace Council to Mr McAdam – Thanking BTLC for its interest in the peace movement. Participation by ex-senator in a six-month fact finding mission abroad. 25 November 1953. 90. From Doepel, Lilley and Taylor to Mr McAdam – Request for BTLC to pay excess premium amount. 27 November 1953. 91. From CH Frampton, National Poultry Farmers Association to Mr McAdam – Wheat stabilisation – campaign for subsidy. 27 November 1953. 92. From WL Rowe, Secretary, Department of Health, to Mr McAdam – Deferred consideration of proposal to build crematorium until end of the financial year. 27 November 1953. 93. From WL Rowe, Secretary, Department of Health, to Hon J Jones, MLC – Deferred consideration of proposal to build crematorium until end of the financial year. 27 November 1953. 94. From Bruce Wallace, Hon Secretary, Ballaarat Begonia Festival to Mr McAdam - Reply. Ballarat Begonia Festival. Unable to combine with a sports meeting. 30 November 1953. 95. From RF Mayberry, Secretary, Mentally Retarded Children’s Welfare Association – no addressee – Confirmation that special school/playground has been trialled and will continue. Invitation to BTLC to become a member of the Association. 2 December 1953. 96. From Mr McAdam to Mr Styles, Secretary, Bendigo Trades Hall Council – Re-establishment of Provincial Councils Association and nominees from BTLC. 4 December 1953. (Back: Ballot Paper 21 September 1953.) 97. From RW Richards, School of Mines and Industries, Ballarat to Mr McAdam – Appreciation of money donated to the annual School of Mines prize. 14 December 1953. 98. From WK McMahon to Mr McAdam – Resignation as Trades and Labour Council representative on Ballarat Youth Council. 18 December 1953. 99. WJ McAdam – Secretary’s Report notes. N.d. 100. No author – Notes of BTLC meeting. n.d. 1954 Secretary – Mr WJ Mc Adam 1. BTLC - BTLC 1/7/53-31/12/53 Financial statement, Auditor’s Report. 21 January 1954. 2. WJ McAdam, Secretary, BTLC to PJ Hill, Secretary, Sheet Metal Workers’ Union – Regarding poor attendance of SMWU delegates at Council. 8 January 1954. 3. LA Chung to President, BTLC – Consent by LA Chung to be nominated as BTLC auditor. 12 January 1954. 4. William K. Moore, Ballarat Youth Centre to WJ McAdam, Secretary, BTLC – Request for financial support for Ballarat Youth Centre. 14 January 1954. 5. From ? to Mr Leslie Ashton, Sydney – Regarding matter referred to Industrial Registry. 14 January 1954. 6. From WJ McAdam to Hon John Cain, Premier of Victoria – Requesting the Premier that wages boards include a “preference unionists” clause in their judgements. 18 January 1954. (Other side: Government Gazette Victoria, 31 July 1953.) 7. From WJ McAdam, Secretary, BTLC to Mr Fogarty, Secretary of Central Gippsland Trades and Labour Council – Requesting most recent rules of Central Gippsland Trades and Labour Council. 20 January 1954. 8. From WJ McAdam, Secretary, BTLC to Mr GG Styles, Secretary of Bendigo Trades Hall Council – Regarding possible breach of BTLC rules. Status of Mr Walsh as delegate for Bendigo. 24 January 1954. (Other side: Ballot Paper 1953 Provincial Trades Hall Council Delegates at ACTU Congress.) 9. From WJ McAdam, Secretary, BTLC to Mr J Walsh, Ballarat - Seeking explanation about Mr Walsh’s nomination as a delegate for Bendigo Trades Hall. 25 January 1954. (Other side: Ballot Paper 1953 Provincial Trades Hall Council Delegates at ACTU Congress.) 10. From D. Diamond, Actors and Announcers Equity Association of Australia – Regarding whether there is a ban on Mr Ashton’s show in Ballarat. 28 January 1954. 11. From Mr McAdam, Secretary BTLC to Actors and Announcers Equity Association of Australia – Reply about black ban of Ashton’s show in Ballarat. 3 February 1954. 12. From JJ Browne, Armadale to Mr McAdam, Secretary, BTLC – Meetings of VTHC report. Concern about ALP’s sending in nominees for Clerks Union delegates to VTHC. 8 February 1954. 13. From K.E. Rash, Signwriter, Ballarat to Mr McAdam, Secretary, BTLC – Submission of design and quotation for window decoration for Queen’s visit to Ballarat. 17 February 1954. 14. From GV Stafford, Department of Health to Mr McAdam, Secretary, BTLC – Electrical defects at BTLC requiring attention. 18 February 1954. 15. From Mr McAdam, BTLC to GV Stafford, Department of Health – Advising that electrical defects at BTLC were rectified. 20 February 1954. (Other side: Ballot Paper 1953 Provincial Trades Hall Council Delegates at ACTU Congress.) 15A. From JW Wilson, Managing Secretary, Association for Advancement of the Blind to Mr McAdam – Request for donation. 22 February 1954. 16. From Mr McAdam, Secretary, BTLC to JJ Sheehan, MLA – Regarding protest from the Australian Tramways and Motor Omnibus Employees’ Association about the Hon. P.L. Coleman’s (MLC) using private enterprise to undermine the Tramway’s Union. 26 February 1954. (Other side: Ballot Paper 1953 Provincial Trades Hall Council Delegates at ACTU Congress.) 17. From GV Stafford, Department of Health to Mr McAdam, Secretary, BTLC – Advising that the Health Inspector will visit when next in Ballarat. 2 March 1954. 17A. From Colin Williams, Secretary, May Day Committee to no addressee – Circular. Regarding meeting of May Day Committee and requesting names of BTLC delegates who will attend. 17 March 1954. 18. From Mr McAdam, Secretary, BTLC to Mr JV Stout, ACTU – Interstate Executive support of ACTU. 18 March 1954. (Other side: Ballot Paper 1953 Provincial Trades Hall Council Delegates at ACTU Congress.) 19. From Mr McAdam, Secretary, BTLC to Senator Cooper, Minister for Repatriation – Protesting closure of repatriation ward at Ballarat Hospital. 18 March 1954. 20. From MP Brown, Secretary of BWIU to Mr McAdam, Secretary, BTLC – Advising that Mr S King is the delegate to Council for the Building Workers’ Industrial Union. 24 March 1954. 21. From unknown author, Secretary, Local Branch, Federated Engine Drivers and Firemen’s Association of Australia to Mr McAdam, Secretary, BTLC – Request for BTLC’s support of legislative change ensuring safety of engineers and foremen operating machinery and engines. 24 March 1954. 22. From Mr McAdam, Secretary, BTLC to Mr VG Delmenico, Trades Hall, Castlemaine – Regarding Labor Day celebrations – RSVP. 26 March 1954. (Other side: Determinations by the Shops Board, Brushmakers Board and Saddlery and Harness Board.) 23. ? - Proposed process for election of officers to BTLC Executive Committee. 1954. (Back: Government Gazette, 23 November 1951.) 24. From Mr McAdam to the Hon John Cain, MLA Premier of Victoria – Intention of the State Government to remove the authority of the Mines Department to issue certificates to members of their Association. 29 March 1954. 25. From Mr McAdam to Mr McDonald, Secretary, Trades Hall Council, Geelong – Nominations and delegates to represent Geelong Trades Hall Council and Ballarat Trades Hall Council. 20 April 1954. (Back: BTLC Financial Statement 1 January-30 June 1951) 26. From Mr McAdam to JJ Healey, Secretary, Cold Storage and Meat Preserving Employee’s Union – Dairy employees in Ballarat – rectifying underpayment. 22 April (Back: Financial Statement 1 January-30 June 1951) 27. From Mr McAdam to Mr R. Joshua, MHR – Regarding the Postal Department’s hiring a detective to make enquiry into a member's sick leave. 4 April 1954. 28. From Mr McAdam to Mr WC Robertson, President, RSS and AILA – Regarding closure of the repatriation ward, Ballarat Hospital. 5 April 1954. (Back: Financial Statement 1 January-30 June 1951) 29. From Mr McAdam to Mr C. McDonald, Secretary, Trades Hall Council, Geelong – Offer to assist Geelong Trades Hall Council to campaign and elect Hon J Dedman for the seat of Corio. 22 April 1954. 30. From Mr McAdam to Mr Mac Sween, Secretary, Clothing Trades Union – Sending a newspaper clipping about TCU Congress in Ballarat, encouraging TCU to change the venue to BTLC. (Clipping not included.) (Back: Financial Statement 1 January-30 June 1951) 31. From Ballarat Trades and Labour Council - Policy of BTLC on stabilisation of wheat. N.d. 32. Mr McAdam to Mr TE Carter, Eureka Centenary Committee – Requesting BTLC representation on the Ballarat Centenary Celebrations’ Committee. 17 May 1954. 33. Ballarat Trades and Labour Council – Motion about the quality of bread. 20 May 1954. 34. Mr McAdam to the Hon John Cain, MLA, Premier – Advising the Premier of BTLC support for the Deputation by the Metal Trade Unions to the Minister of Transport requesting a 5/- per day payrise. 24 May 1954. (Back: Government Gazette, Victoria 27 July 1953) 35. Mr McAdam to the Hon John Cain, MLA, Premier – Advising a motion from BTLC regarding improved standard of bread. 24 May 1954. (Back: Determinations Nickelward Board, Agricultural Implements Board, Shops Board) 36. From Jack Wood to Mr McAdam – Resolution by the ALP Federal Executive in June 1952 declaring News Weekly an anti-Labour Party organ. 4 June 1954. 37. From JV Stout, Secretary, VTHC to Mr McAdam – Visit by JN Stephen, St Bernardo’s Homes. 16 June 1954. 38. From Mr McAdam to Mr. MB John, Ballarat Base Hospital – Equity of service grants between members of the Artisans’ Union and the Hospital Employee’s Union. 18 June 1954. 39. From Mr McAdam to The Chief Inspector, Commonwealth Arbitration Inspectors – Request for Arbitration Inspector to visit Ballarat more regularly after three months of non-attendance. 23 June 1954. (Back: Determinations of the Commercial Clerks Board and the Shops Board (Fish and Poultry).) 40. From Mr McAdam to the Hon Slater, MLA – Refusal of management committee of Hospitals and Benevolent Homes to meet deputations from BTLC. 5 July 1954. 41. From Mr McAdam to Mr TW Carter, Secretary, Eureka Centenary Celebrations – Eureka Centenary programme. Noted that it does not include a pilgrimage to the statue of Peter Lalor. 20 July 1954. (Back: Wage rates Storemen and Packer 1953.) 42. From Mr McAdam to JV Stout, Secretary, VTHC – Union coverage and poaching of members by other unions. 20 July 1954. 43. From The Town Clerk, Ballarat Town Hall to BTLC – Letter including cutting (a description of BTLC) from the last Mayoral Annual Report. Requests current information about BTLC for the next report. 25 July 1954. 44. From Ministering Children’s League President to Mr McAdam – Requesting support for annual appeal. 28 July 1954. 45. From W. Carter to Mr McAdam – Meeting apology. 29 July 1954. 46. From Mr Brown, Secretary, Anti-Communist Union Movement to ??? (addressee name has been cut out) – Election of Theatrical Employees Union delegate to BTLC – ballot in progress. 3 August 1954. 47. From TE Carter, Eureka Centenary Committee to Mr McAdam – Pilgrimage to Peter Lalor’s Statue is now in the Centenary Program. 7 August 1954. 48. From Mr McAdam to TE Carter, Secretary, Eureka Centenary Committee – Requesting eight copies of the Centenary Program. 16 August 1954. 49. From JN Stephen, St Bernardo’s Homes to Mr McAdam – Regarding promulgation of leaflets about Dr Bernardo’s Homes. 17 August 1954. 50. From Mr McAdam to Mr Linaker, Manager, State Electricity Commission – Regarding income from Department of the Army. 23 August 1954. 51. From Mr Mc Adam to ? Regional Trades and Labour Councils – Eureka Centenary Celebrations. 31 August 1954. 51A. From VE Walmsley, Industrial Finance Department, Commonwealth Bank of Australia - Commonwealth Bank Industrial Travelling Scholarships- circular. N.d. 52. From Mr McAdam to Mr CJ O’Brien – Raising money for the widow of Jack Henry. 2 September 1954. 53. From Mr McAdam to the Hon S Merrifield, MLA, Minister of Public Works – Rate paying immigrants not granted a vote at the Wendouree election despite being on the roll. 14 September 1954. (Back: Nurserymen’s Board wage rates.) 54. From Mr McAdam to Mr Maddern, City Clerk, Ballarat – Improvement of traffic lights in Ballarat. 14 September 1954. 55. From Mr McAdam to Mr Dawson, Workers’ Compensation Board – Delay in workers’ compensation payment. 14 September 1954. 56. From Mr McAdam to Mr R Joshua, MHR – Closing of the Ballarat Telegraph Office at 5pm. 14 September 1954. (Back: Hairdressers’ Board pay rates 1953.) 57. From Mr McAdam to Mr Dawson, Workers’ Compensation Board – Eligibility for workers’ compensation. 14 September 1954. 58. From Mr McAdam to JV Stout, Secretary, VTHC – Exclusion of Dr Evatt at the Petrov Inquiry, preventing full disclosure of events. Seeking support. 16 September 1954. (Back: Opticians’ Board, pay rates 1953.) 59. From Town Clerk, Town Hall, Ballaarat to Mr McAdam – Unsatisfactory control of traffic in Ballarat (reply to correspondence). 21 September 1954. 60. From the Minister of Transport and Railway Administration Offices to Mr JJ Sheehan Esq, MLA – Train stops between Ballarat and Ballan. 27 September 1954. 60A. From JV Stout, Secretary, VTHC to all unions – Judgement by Privy Council regarding workers’ compensation award to Mrs D Sharpe; copy of determination and handwritten notes and a covering memo. 14 October 1954. 61. From the Secretary, the Ballarat Water Commissioners to Mr McAdam – Regarding loan of trucks to BTLC for the Eureka Celebrations Pageant. 18 October 1954. 62. From GE Davis, Licencing Department, Australasian Performing Rights Association Ltd to Mr McAdam – Overdue account (form of application for licence attached). 18 October 1954. 63. From LC Garner, Head Master, School of Mines to Mr McAdam – Talk to students by BTLC. 18 October 1954. 64. From TE Byrne, Barristers and Solicitors to Secretary, BTLC - Application for determination – JR Orchard. (Application not included.) 20 October 1954. (Back: Shops Board No. 9 (Drapers and Men’s Clothing pay rates.) 65A. Mr McAdam (Secretary) to the Victorian Secretary for Labor (Victoria) - seeking interpretation of clause 7 of the Factories and Shops (Long Service Leave Act) 65. From Mr McAdam to Mr JJ Sheehan, MLA - Resolution of appreciation for assistance given in securing service increments for craft unionists (FEDFA members). 10 November 1954. 66. From Mr McAdam to Mr JJ Sheehan, MLA – Protesting requirement to produce birth certificates as a prerequisite to a child’s commencing school. 19 November 1954. (Back: Federated Storemen and Packers Union, Metal Trades Award, pay rates 1953.) 67. From Mr McAdam to Mr O’Donoghue, Command Paymaster, Southern Command, Albert Park – Overpayment of £52 for Army rental of space at BTLC. 23 December 1954. (Back: Shops Board No. 19 (Confectionary, Pastry, Fruit and Vegetables, pay rates 1954.) 68. From Mr McAdam (?) to “The Editor” – Regarding long service leave entitlements. N.d. 69. From Mr McAdam (?) to Mr W Robertson, Secretary, Municipal Employees Union – Financial standing – CJ O’Brien. N.d. 70. Authors to “The Editor”: (a) John R. Steele (b) WJ McAdam (c) CT Collins (d) John R. Steele (e) WJ McAdam (f) WJ Mc Adam (g) WJ Mc Adam (h) no author – Productivity wages. N.d. (Back: Determinations Tanners Board, Jam Trade Board, Horsehair Board, Shops Board No. 15 (Grocers). 71. Motion negating decisions of the ACTU regarding non-productive workers, right to prosecute for unpaid union dues, union power at wages boards and National Service. N.d. 1955 Secretary – Mr W.J. Mc Adam 1. From Secretary of BTLC to JJ Sheehan, MLA - Seeking information about utilisation of funds allotted to the CRB. 25 March 1955. 2. From ? to The Honourable John Cain, MLA, Premier’s Office – Crematorium for Ballarat and funding to go with it. 6 April 1955 (Other side: Painters Board pay rates.) 3. From Secretary of BTLC to Dr HV Evatt – Labor Day dinner, Ballarat, 21 April 1955. 12 April 1955. 4. From JJ Sheehan, Minister for Housing to WJ McAdam, Secretary BTLC – Provisional acceptance to Eight Hours’ Anniversary 21 April 1955. From JJ Sheehan to WJ McAdam, Secretary BTLC. 19 April 1955. 5. From Secretary of BTLC to Mr Wishart, Chairman, Railway Commissioners - Request for attachment of a buffet car to the Melbourne: Horsham train. 20 May 1955. (Other side: Meat Industry Employers’ Union – Work Vote for Workers’ Candidates flyer.) 6. From unknown to Mr W Robertson, Secretary, Municipal Employees’ Union – Regarding MEU tickets to Labor Day Dinner. 20 May 1955. (Other side: Shops Board No. 21: Booksellers and Newsagents pay rates.) 7. From H. Hatfield, Ballarat, to Mr McAdam, BTLC Secretary – Regarding union dues from Mr Krikmann. 21 May 1955. 8. From Secretary of BTLC to JV Stout – Regarding Secretary of BTLC’S sick leave provisions. 27 May 1955. (Other side: Meat Industry Employers’ Union – Work Vote for Workers’ Candidates flyer.) 9. From Secretary of BTLC TO Mr Krikmann – Contributions to the union. 30 May 1955. 10. From ? to Mr Schellenberger, Hospital Employees Federation – Awards and conditions at Ballarat Orphanage. 2 June 1955. (Other side: Amendment to conditions – Cork Trade Board.) 11. Affiliation fees, BWIU – From Secretary of BTLC to Mr JC Chandler, Secretary, BWIU. 2 June 1955. (Other side: gardeners’ pay rates.) 12. Regarding Mr Robert Charles Morgan – clarification about workers’ compensation payment – from ? to Mr J Wilkinson, Workers’ Compensation Board, Melbourne. 4 June 1955. 13. Appointment of Commonwealth Arbitration Court Inspector for Ballarat – from Secretary of BTLC to Mr AE Urch, Secretary, Engine Drivers and Firemen’s Association. 15 July 1955. (Other side: Egg Packing Establishments pay rates.) 14. Regarding resolution recommending nationalisation of all transport systems – from Secretary of BTLC to Dr HV Evatt, MHR. 15 July 1955. 15. A. Regarding termination of lease at Trades Hall by the Army – from the Secretary of BTLC to Mr FJ Doolan, Department of the Interior. 15 July 1955. B. Final account for heating used by the Department of Army – from the Secretary of BTLC to FJ Doolan, Department of the Interior. 9 August 1955. (Other side: Hospitality workers’ pay rates.) 16. Appointment of inspector to police federal awards in Ballarat – Secretary of BTLC to Hon HE Holt, Minister for Labor. 15 July 1955. (Other side: Storemen and Packer’s pay rates.) 17. Requesting extension of Tradesmen’s Rights Act (due to expire) – Secretary of BTLC to Hon HE Holt, Minister for Labor. 18 July 1955. 18. Breach of the Musician’s Award, pay rates - ? to State Secretary of Labor, Melbourne. 19 July 1955. (Other side: Meat Industry Employers’ Union – Work Vote for Workers’ Candidates flyer.) 19. Regarding fine to the Boilermakers Union for raising funds to assist striking Ironmakers Union members – requesting that it be quashed – from Secretary of BTLC to Hon HE Holt, Minister of Labor. 19 July 1955. (Other side: Meat Industry Employers’ Union – Work Vote for Workers’ Candidates flyer.) 20. Regarding Workers Compensation claim by Mrs Tieman, St Patrick’s College – BTLC to the Principal of St Patrick’s College. 28 July 1955. (Other side: Meat Industry Employers’ Union – Work Vote for Workers’ Candidates flyer.) 21. Regarding motions of Council supporting price and rent control. Requests that the state government lends its support – from Secretary of BTLC to Hon Rylah, MLA. 29 July 1955. (Other side: Meat Industry Employers’ Union – Work Vote for Workers’ Candidates flyer.) 22. Regarding Long Service Leave Act – Secretary of BTLC to Mr Rylah, MLA. 29 July 1955. (Other side: Meat Industry Employers’ Union – Work Vote for Workers’ Candidates flyer.) 23. Regarding visit to Ballarat by Mr Stephen of Dr Bernardo’s Homes and donations to this organisation – from Secretary of BTLC to ? 3 August 1955. (Other side: Meat Industry Employers’ Union – Work Vote for Workers’ Candidates flyer.) 24. Regarding increase in railway fares and freight costs – Council resolution – from Secretary of BTLC to Hon HE Bolte, Premier of Victoria. 15 August 1955. (Other side: Garden Employees Board, pay rates.) 25. Regarding excess profits by GMH Co and underpayment of workers – from Secretary of BTLC to Right Hon. RG Menzies (PM Australia). 15 August 1955. (Other side: BTLC letter head and partial first draft of the above letter.) 26. Regarding control of business monopolies and consideration of graduated tax on profits – from Secretary of BTLC to Right Hon. RG Menzies (PM Australia). 16 August 1955. 27. Request for Premier to lift wages freeze and about restoration of quarterly cost of living adjustments – Secretary of BTLC to Hon HE Bolte, MLA (Premier of Victoria). 16 August 1955. 28. Regarding assistance for Tramway Employers’ Union of Geelong Trades Hall Council. Establishing government authority to control transport in Geelong – from Secretary of BTLC to Mr Poyser, Secretary, Geelong Trades and Labour Council. 16 August 1955. (Other side: Storemen and Packers’ pay rates.) 1956-1976 – Secretary, A.C. Williams 1976-1982 – Secretary, J. Burns 1982-1984 – Secretary, F.S. Knight 1984 – Secretary, G.A. Shearer 1985 – Secretary, G.A. Shearer 1986 – Secretary, G.A. Shearer 1. From F.S. Knight (Frazza), BTLC to Mr RB Yates, Assistant Secretary, Wages and Employment Conditions Policy Branch - Regarding the wages Accord and need for review of wage structures. 14 February 1986 2. From F.S. Knight (Frazza) to Mr J.J. Brown, Federal Industrial Officer, Unity Hall - Regarding work value of car and wagon painters, train examiners and 1987 – Secretary, G.A. Shearer 1. Authored by FS Knight - Speech delivered in 1987(?) - unsure of the occasion/launch - at which Bob Hawke (Prime Minister) and (John Cain) were present. References to the ALP, unions and communism. 1987(?) 1988 – Secretary, G.A. Shearer 1989 – Secretary, G.A. Shearer 1990 – Secretary, G.A. Shearer 1991 – Secretary, G.A. Shearer 1. From Mr F.S. Knight to Mrs Joan Kirner, Premier of Victoria - Regarding a fair deal for working class people especially in Victoria. F.S. Knight was a member of the ARU, Secretary of Ballarat Trades and Labour Council, a member of the Ballarat North ALP and long-time party supporter. 4 December 1991 2. From Mr F.S. Knight to The Editor, Herald-Sun Newspaper - Regarding immigration, ineffective management of industry and community needs. 4 December 1991 3. From Mr F.S. Knight to Mr John Halfpenny, Secretary, Victorian Trades Hall Council - Regarding terms and conditions for transport drivers and traffic management/roads in Ballarat. 5 December 1991 4. From F.S. Knight (?) to Senator Gareth Evans - Regarding the federal Labor Government's policies on poverty, Beijing massacre, foreign policy, Indonesia and ALP's electoral fortunes. 17 December 1991 1992 – Secretary, G.A. Shearer 1. From John Halfpenny, Secretary, Victorian Trades Hall Council to Mr Francis S. Knight - In response to Mr Knight's letter in 1991 about road transport; Mr Knight's concerns referred to the Transport Workers Union. 14 January 1992 1993 – Secretary, G.A. Shearer 1994 – Secretary, G.A. Shearer 1995 – Secretary, G.A. Shearer 1996 – Secretary, G.A. Shearer 1997 – Secretary, G.A. Shearer 1998 – Secretary, G.A. Shearer 1999 – Secretary, G.A. Shearer 2000 – Secretary, G.A. Shearer 2001 – Secretary, G.A. Shearer 2002 – Secretary, G.A. Shearer 2003 – Secretary, G.A. Shearer 2004 – Secretary, G.A. Shearer 2005 – Secretary, G.A. Shearer 2006 – Secretary, G.A. Shearer 2007 – Secretary, G.A. Shearer 2008 – Secretary, G.A. Shearer 2009 – Secretary, G.A. Shearer 2009-2014 – Secretary, P.R. Clempson 2014 - Secretary, B. Edgington The correspondence is a core historical source of information from the inception of BTLC, and represents the history of unionism in the Ballarat region. Correspondence relates to industrial campaigns, social justice and is of political significance to the region. Paper/letters stored in two boxes.correspondence, btlc, ballarat trades and labour council, eight hours anniversary committee, unions, ballarat trades hall, amalgamated mining engine drivers' association, bendigo amalgamated miners' association, lands, victoria, a.r. davie, delegates, d.m. davies, j.l. dowe, f.r. fincham, j.w. grahame, w. hosking, council rules, rules, j. kline, painters union, eight hour anniversary, j. pearce, g. rasy?, r.d. reid, h. richardson, a. sutherland, a. young, specifications, stamping marbles, j.l. anderson, h. uren, ballarat cricket club, city free library, membership, ballarat woollen mills operative union, ballarat typographical association, j. binner, cabmen union, carpenters and joiners trade society, h. clotz, hairdressers, friendly society of ironmoulders of victoria, e. ingram, l. mills, painters' union, c. salter, a. smith, e.h. swifte, tanners and curriers of ballarat, trades and labor council, brisbane, j. treloar, donations, free city library, amalgamated miners' association of australasia, amalgamated society of engineers, half holiday union, operative bakers' society, victorian operative bookmakers union, ballarat branch, t.s. bailey, dr siscs, worn out miners sustentation fund, parks, australian natives association, major dane, colac, overdraft, tanners and curriers union, trades hall council, melbourne, david bennett, victorian operative bricklayers society, industrial disputes, john wilson, ballarat woollen and worsted company, butchers employees' association, awards, ballarat bootmakers' union, whitten, cairns, stansfield, bush, shepphard, working men's college, francis ormond, phoenix foundry dispute, john alexander, amalgamated millers, engine drivers, and mill employees' association of australasia, amalgamated miners of australasia, w.g. spence, w.l. anderson, friendly ironmoulders' society, w. stokeld, wages, clementston, strike funds, t. bailey, ballarat plumbers union, ballarat saddle harness and collar makers' society, ballarat tailoresses' union, ballarat town council employees, e. batterly, e. blayney, g. blyman, m. bregazzi, j. clement, minister for mines, victoria, w. davies, hugh dunlop, john dunn, w. evans, fitzgerald bros, j. hancock, horse drivers' union ballarat, hughes and opie, academy of music ballarat, j. hurst, w. kean, w. kenna, warrenheip breweries, joseph kirton, labourers' protective and building society, d. lessels, john lynch, john mcauly, jas martin, masons' society, master tailors' association, ballarat, w. meher, j. david, w.e. murphy, ballarat gas company, g. philbrook, t. porter, maritime strike, saddle, harness and collar makers society, sandhurst and district trades and labour council, john sayers, sheldon, w. smith, t (?) stephen, jubilee mine, long gully, black ball, scarsdale, amalgamated shearers' union, sheep owners, united society of boilermakers and iron shipbuilders of victoria, w.h. uren, n. wanliss, a.c. whitten, f. meagher, e. hobson, p. (?) wallis, the industrial labour league, w. bannow, bendigo miners' association, bendigo and district trades and labour council, builders labourers' union, w.s. curzon-sniggers, henry douglass, federated seamans' union of victoria, w.j. lormer, s. mauger, railway department, h. porter, non-union workers, women's christian temperance union of victoria, j. barret, joseph barret, bendigo and district cooperative movement society, united labor and liberal party, alex young, e.p. date, w. herdafield, amalgamated miners' association barrier branch, eight hour sports fund, pensioners, bhp, broken hill proprietary, amalgamated miners' association hunter district, j. barrett, a. campbell, f.h. bromly, m. campbell, h.m. champion, w.a. trenwith, people's party, may day demonstration, cigar makers' union, l. corstorphan, r. surtees, t. young, s. barker, w. hurdsfield, h. hanton, c. harris, j.p. jones, ballarat operative weavers' union, international labor day, ben tillet, tocsin, adelaide labor conference, t. mccoates, e. findley, p.j. mullaney, ballarat benevolent asylum and lying in hospital, rating reform league, r.r.l., single tax league, victoria, james oldham, wanliss and gray, dr wm moloney, t. campbell, denmark, m. hirsch, james stephens, intercolonial labor federation, denmark lock out, people's party bendigo, committee of the convention on unemployment, j.b. meier, amalgamated engine drivers' association, bendigo branch, anti-sweating league of victoria, victorian tobacco operations association, chiltern dispute, united labour party, australasian labor federaton, elections, j. cairns, coach makers' society, j. hume cook, j. lemmon, master butchers' association, ballarat and district, o. rees, united council for women's suffrace, women's franchise, old age pensions, tom williams, amalgamated miners' association, creswick branch, tom mann, j. eva, andrew christie, alfred deakin, eight hour demonstration committee, eigh hours monument fund, andrew gray, protectionist association of victoria, soldiers' statue fund, ballarat, arbitration bill, h. brooks, arbitration and conciliation bill, stephen barker, state reform bill, tinsmiths' union, p. brandt, tariffs, eight hours celebration union, adelaide, eureka stockade, eureka stockade celebration, preferential trade with great britain, robert rogers, tom mann organisation fund, edward tregear, outtrim, victorian agricultural implement and machine makers' society, r. williams, s.m. bull, eight hours anniversary union, brisbane, federal labor party, national progress newspaper society ltd., sunshine harvesting works, galloway monument, gold saving machine, workers trade mark, union label, secretary for mines, chas vaughan and co., castlemaine hibernian sports programme, church of christ, r. mcgregor, timber workers relief fund, federated saw mill timber yard and general woodworkers employees' association, interstate trades union congress, australian builders labourers federation, united grocers, tea and dairy produce employees' union, victorian railways union, the courier, ballots, r. rose, w. hughes, citizens loyalist committee, e.j. hogan, e.j. holloway, eight hours committee of enquiry, minister for lands, wilkins, miss, philharmonic singers, f.s. knight -
The Beechworth Burke Museum
Audio - Oral History, Jennifer Williams, Maxwell Pemberton, 23 June 2000
Mr Maxwell Pemberton was born in Goulburn, NSW in 1923 and moved to Beechworth as a child just before the Great Depression. Mr Pemberton's father was a baker who opened a grocery store in Beechworth to support his seven children. The store, which competed with eight other grocery traders in Beechworth for finite local business, delivered goods by horse and cart to customers all over the district, including the hamlet of Stanley. Mr Pemberton's oral history testifies to the sorts of economic struggles faced by the majority of Beechworth's residents during the depression years. Mr Pemberton worked in many different industries in and around Beechworth, including in his father's grocery store, which he later took over with his brother; the Zwar Tannery, where he served as a union representative; and at the Ovens and Murray Hospital for the Aged, formally the Ovens Benovolent Asylum, established in 1862 for care of the district's destitute, disabled and aged people from Euroa to the Murray, among them, homeless people Mr Pemberton referred to as 'river-bankers'. The hospital's founding in the 1860s was driven by a committee headed by the notable figure, G.B Kerford. Beechworth's institutions were a major source of local employment in the twentieth century. Mr Pemberton joined the Australian Navy during WWII and served at Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea. During his period of service, he received an honorary award from the Royal Humane Society of Australia for aiding and saving a drowning civilian at risk to his own life. Mr Pemberton's oral history also touches on the complex relationship between Australian forces and local Papuan people during the war. This oral history recording was part of a project conducted by Jennifer Williams in the year 2000 to capture the everyday life and struggles in Beechworth during the twentieth century. This project involved recording seventy oral histories on cassette tapes of local Beechworth residents which were then published in a book titled: Listen to what they say: voices of twentieth century Beechworth. These cassette tapes were digitised in July 2021 with funds made available by the Friends of the Burke.Mr Maxwell Pemberton's oral history recalls many aspects of life in Beechworth and the Oven's district during the twentieth century and enriches our understanding of the effects of the periods of socio-economic decline and renewal that unfolded as the century progressed. His singular account of his various jobs and colourful memories of life as a youth and young man in Beechworth, and abroad as a serviceman, contributes to our understanding of society's attitudes and expectations regarding ideals of masculinity and Australian national identity. This oral history account is socially and historically significant as it is a part of a broader collection of interviews conducted by Jennifer Williams which were published in the book 'Listen to what they say: voices of twentieth-century Beechworth.' While the township of Beechworth is known for its history as a gold rush town, these accounts provide a unique insight into the day-to-day life of the town's residents during the 20th century, many of which would have been lost if they had not been preserved.This is a digital copy of a recording that was originally captured on a cassette tape. The cassette tape is black with a horizontal white strip and is currently stored in a clear flat plastic rectangular container. It holds up 40 minutes of recordings on each side.Mr Max Pemberton /twentieth century beechworth, benevolent asylums, wwii, beechworth's institutions, local employment, government institutions, listen to what they say, oral history, burke museum, maxwell pemberton, ovens and murray hospital for the aged, zwar tannery, beechworth grocers, australian navy, port morseby, papua new guinea, trade unions, welfare services, homelessness, 'river bankers', aged care, g.b kerford, ovens benevolent asylum, ovens benevolent home -
The Beechworth Burke Museum
Audio - Oral History, Jennifer Williams, Mrs Vanessa McDonald, 9 November 2000
Mrs. Vanessa McDonald was born in Beechworth in 1917. Christened, Agnes Bertha Collins, Vanessa changed her name in 1960. Mrs. McDonald's family's connection with gold mining in the district reach back to the first of Beechworth's gold rushes, when her great grandfather, a Dutchman who adopted the name Charles Collins, arrived in 1851-1852. Mrs. McDonald spent her childhood in the isolated hamlet of Stanley, in the area known as 'Little Scotland', where she recalls helping her mother to raise younger siblings, picking apples and walnuts on the family farm, and roaming the hills for wildflowers. As a young woman Mrs. McDonald attended religious and social gatherings in the local community. In 1940 she went to Melbourne to work as a mothercraft nurse during the Second World War. She met her husband at a Beechworth football match and was married at the Stanley Methodist Church in 1941. The gold diggings known as the 'Nine Mile' became the hamlet of Stanley, after the British Prime Minister, Lord Stanley, in 1858. By the late 1850s, Stanley boasted schools, an athenaeum, a church, a weekly newspaper and several hotels and other civic infrastructure to cater for a growing population. The area attracted large numbers of Chinese miners, whose presence was frequently resisted. Like other early Victorian mining settlements, Stanley was a hotbed of political and racial tensions during the gold rush. One side of the Nine Mile Creek was known as 'Little Scotland’, the other, 'Little Ireland'. A number of Christian denominations built congregations and churches in Stanley, including the Church of England, Methodist Church, the Catholic Church, and Presbyterian Church. Stanley became part of the United Shire of Beechworth in 1871. By 1880 timber was being cut and two sawmills were established by 1887. River-dredged gold mining consumed vast amounts of timber from the forests in the area, and in 1931 the first of several softwood plantations began. This oral history recording was part of a project conducted by Jennifer Williams in the year 2000 to capture the everyday life and struggles in Beechworth during the twentieth century. This project involved recording seventy oral histories on cassette tapes of local Beechworth residents which were then published in a book titled: 'Listen to what they say: voices of twentieth century Beechworth'. These cassette tapes were digitised in July 2021 with funds made available by the Friends of the Burke.Following the decline in the mining and associated industries during the early-mid-twentieth century, the Beechworth district experienced a period of general economic decline. On the east side of the Dingle Range, Mrs. McDonald's father, William Henry Collins, felled timber and the family were pioneer apple orchardists. The establishment of apple orchards in Stanley reflects changes to how land was used and contributes to our understanding of the historical development of rural communities following the gold rush. Mrs. McDonald's recollections are significant for understanding family and social life in a small rural town in years leading up to the Great Depression and prior to the Second World War. This oral history recording may be compared with other oral histories and items in the Burke Museum's collection. This oral history account is socially and historically significant as it is a part of a broader collection of interviews conducted by Jennifer Williams which were published in the book 'Listen to what they say: voices of twentieth-century Beechworth.' While the township of Beechworth is known for its history as a gold rush town, these accounts provide a unique insight into the day-to-day life of the town's residents during the 20th century, many of which will have now been lost if they had not been preserved.This is a digital copy of a recording that was originally captured on a cassette tape. The cassette tape is black with a horizontal white strip and is currently stored in a clear flat plastic rectangular container. It holds up 40 minutes of recordings on each side.Mrs Vanessa McDonald /listen to what they say, beechworth, oral history, burke museum, emigration, gold rush immigration, victorian gold rush, mining families, apple orchard, forestry, forest plantation, little scotland, stanley, twentieth century history, regional australia, rural australia, farming, harvest festival, great depression, dingle range, the nine mile, australian wildflowers, high country wildflowers, mothercraft nurse, rural and regional women, social history, collins, mrs. vanessa mcdonald, building community life, shaping cultural and creative life, fruit growers, family history, changes to land use in regional victoria -
Orbost & District Historical Society
collars, Phillips-Van Heusen, 1930's-1960's
These collars were worn by Mr Whiteman, Marjorie Burton's father, until he died in 1972. Marjorie Burton ( nee Whiteman), born 12 June, in Birmingham, England came to Orbost in 1995. She came from a middle-class working church-going family. Her father served in Civil Defence during WW11. A detachable collar was a shirt collar separate from the shirt, fastened to it by buttons. The collar was usually made of a different fabric from the shirt and was almost always white and specially starched to a hard cardboard-like consistency. detachable collars were a better way to clean and starch a collar for business or formal wear. As more emphasis started to be placed on comfort in clothing wearing a detachable stiffly starched collar decline in day wear; although it is still often worn by barristers while a full dress shirt may still have a stiff detachable collar. These collars are examples of clothing which was commonly worn by businessmen in the first half of the 20th century.Four men's starched cotton shirt collars. They each have 3 button holes for attaching to a shirt. Two are white with grey stripes and two are plain white.2483.24 and 2483.25 - Trubenised reg trade mark Reg user Do not starch Iron very damp 129 4128 15 2483.26 - Patented and made in England Woven from Egyptian cotton 476035 SECONDS Van Heusen 15/38 2483.27 - Trubenised Patent registered No starch needed 15 Iron very damp collars-detachable men's-clothing accessories burton,-marjorie -
Orbost & District Historical Society
invoice forms, Snowy River Mail as "Mail" Print, 19th century
These invoice forms were to be used by Hector G. Pow's Sawmiller Company in Newmerella ( Henty's & Pow). Pow's had a mill at Cabbage Tree as well. The mill is currently owned by Mectec.Orbost has historically been based on the timber industry, but that industry has declined considerably over the last 20 years. The number of locals involved in the timber industry has declined and many of the mills have closed. This item reflects a time when that industry was a significant contributor to the economy of the district.Unused invoice forms for H.G.Pow Orbost Sawmillers. They are white paper with black print and lines. On the right hand side are two small holes for filing. The page is perforated with carbon underneath to provide two copies - one for filing and one for the customer. At the top of each page is "Telephone 201 Post Office 189 Orbost" and a line for the date. Below this is a line for the customer's name and "Dr to H.G. Pow (Orbost) Sawmiller". There are columns for item descriptions and costs.h.g.pow sawmills timber-orbost -
Orbost & District Historical Society
wages sheets, 1.7.1970 - 30.6.1988
These forms were used by Hector G. Pow's Sawmiller Company in Newmerella ( Henty's & Pow). Pow's had a mill at Cabbage Tree as well. Hec Pow and his father sold the Newmerella mill to Henry Silverberg and Les Grace. The mill is currently owned by Mectec.Orbost has historically been based on the timber industry, but that industry has declined considerably over the last 20 years. The number of locals involved in the timber industry has declined and many of the mills have closed. This item reflects a time when that industry was a significant contributor to the economy of the district.Thirty dark green hard-backed folders with black spines and silver metal fastenings, containing wages sheets for employees of POW's Sawmills P/L. All have labels with "POW's Sawmills P/L" and dates of wages sheets included. They are hand-written. -
Orbost & District Historical Society
wages sheets, Henry's Timber Company Pty Ltd, 1973 - 2003
These forms were used by Henry's Timber Company in Newmerella. Hec Pow and his father sold the Newmerella mill to Henry Silverberg and Les Grace. The mill is currently owned by Mectec.Orbost has historically been based on the timber industry, but that industry has declined considerably over the last 20 years. The number of locals involved in the timber industry has declined and many of the mills have closed. This item reflects a time when that industry was a significant contributor to the economy of the district.Twenty-eight dark green hard-backed folders, with black spines and silver metal fastenings, containing wages sheets for employees of Henry's Timber Co Pty Ltd.All have labels with "Henry's Timber Co Pty Ltd" and dates of wages sheets included. They are hand-written.timber-industry-orbost henry's-timber-company -
Orbost & District Historical Society
plans, Elliott Engineering Company Pty Ltd, 1980
These plans were used by POW Sawmills, Newmerella, probably owned at the time by Henry's Timber Company. Hec Pow and his father sold the Newmerella mill to Henry Silverberg and Les Grace. The mill is currently owned by Mectec.Orbost has historically been based on the timber industry, but that industry has declined considerably over the last 20 years. The number of locals involved in the timber industry has declined and many of the mills have closed. This item reflects a time when that industry was a significant contributor to the economy of the district.Eight large plans for various sections of POW's at Newmerella. The plans were drawn up for Bonang Timbers and Bowman.2317.2 - on back in pen "REC 24/9/80" 2317.3 - on back in red pen "INCOMPLETE SET OF PLANS" ; sticker with "Shire of Orbost Compulsory Inspection" 2317.5 - "DODD" in red ink (John H. Dodd Pty Ltd) -
Orbost & District Historical Society
wages sheets, 1993 -1996
East Gippsland has historically been based on the timber industry, but that industry has declined considerably over the last 20 years. The number of locals involved in the timber industry has declined and many of the mills have closed. This item reflects a time when that industry was a significant contributor to the economy of the districtEight lever arch folders containing wages sheets for Bonang Timbers Waygara. Seven are black and one is red. Entries are hand-written.2318.1 - on spine - label "July 1993 - December 1993" 2318.2 - on spine - label "January 1994 - June 1994" 2318.3 - on spine - label "July 1994 - December 1994" 2318.4 - on spine - label "January 1995 - June 1995" 2318.5 - on spine - label "July 1995 - December 1995" 2318.6 - on spine - label "January 1996 - June 1996"timber-east-gippsland-waygara -
Orbost & District Historical Society
folder of documents, Production 1995 Bonang Timbers Waygara, 1995
This was used by Bonang Timbers at Waygara.Orbost has historically been based on the timber industry, but that industry has declined considerably over the last 20 years. Many Orbost men were employed at the Waygara mills.The number of locals involved in the timber industry has declined and many of the mills have closed. This item reflects a time when that industry was a significant contributor to the economy of the district.A lever arch folder containing records of timber production at Waygara Mill. Cover is a dark grey mottled cardboard.timber-industry-east-gippsland bonang-timbers -
Orbost & District Historical Society
folder of documents, Log Cartage 1993, 1993
This folder of documents was created by Bonang Timbers at their Waygara mill.Orbost has historically been based on the timber industry, but that industry has declined considerably over the last 20 years. Many Orbost men worked at the Waygara timber mills. The number of locals involved in the timber industry has declined and many of the mills have closed. This item reflects a time when that industry was a significant contributor to the economy of the district.A lever arch folder. The cover is a mottled dark grey colour. It contains copies of delivery dockets , called "Log Dockets", coming in to Bonang Timbers.on spine - label - "Log Cartage 1993"timber-industry-east-gippsland bonang-timbers -
Orbost & District Historical Society
folder of documents, Gravel Cartage, 1990 -1996
The folder has been re-used. It was used by Bonang Timbers Waygara from 9.5.1990. It was used by East Gippsland Logging Company Pty Ltd from 3.1.1996Orbost has historically been based on the timber industry, but that industry has declined considerably over the last 20 years. Many Orbost nen worked at the Waygara mill. The number of locals involved in the timber industry has declined and many of the mills have closed. This item reflects a time when that industry was a significant contributor to the economy of the district.A lever arch folder covered in brown paper. It contains records of cartage of gravel.on spine in black - "Gravel Cartage" above "Logging Rates" crossed out 5/1990 - 5/1996 east-gippsland-timber-industry gravel-cartage -
Orbost & District Historical Society
program, 1971
This program was made for the Orbost Apex Club to be used on the "change over night" of August 6th 1971. Apex Clubs were begun in March 1931 when three young architects, looking to make a contribution to their local community of Geelong Victoria, decided to create Apex. Apex is a volunteer community service organisation whose members work in local clubs across urban, regional and rural Australia to raise awareness about social justice issues, assist the needy in a practical way and contribute resources to worthwhile causes. (ref Apex website)The Apex Club of Orbost was a volunteer service club which contributed to the Orbost community. A declining population has led to the demise of many social groups in the area.A white triple fold cardboard program. It has blue print on the white background.APEX CLUB OF ORBOST 13th Change Over Nightprogram apex service-club -
Orbost & District Historical Society
magazines, The Corn Cob, 1976, 1977
These magazines were published fortnightly and distributed to the members of Orbost Apex Club. Apex clubs are volunteer service clubs whose members work in local clubs across urban, regional and rural Australia to raise awareness about social justice issues, assist the needy in a practical way and contribute resources to worthwhile causes.The Orbost Apex Club was a volunteer service club which contributed to the local community. As the population of the area declined so did the number of social clubs.Thirteen magazines which were a fortnightly publication of the Orbost Apex Club. Titled, The Corn Cob, it has a white cover with blue and yellow print. Inside each cover is duplicated material usually two sheets.On front in pen - the number of the issuemagazines orbost-apex corn-cob -
Orbost & District Historical Society
black and white photograph, Ward Bros, late 19th / early 20th century
Around 1885 Mr James Nixon started a sawmill in the paddock below Mr Harry Cameron's dairy. It was in Snaggers Lane on the east side of the present highway. The photo is of James Nixon's sawmill with Percy Nixon in the centre foreground. Orbost has historically been based on the timber industry, but that industry has declined considerably over the last 20 years. The number of locals involved in the timber industry has declined and many of the mills have closed. This item reflects a time when that industry was a significant contributor to the economy of the district.A very yellowed photograph of five men, probably workers, at a mill site. The photograph is on a grey buff card.on front - "Nixon's Sawmill" on back - "Toby Nixon's Sawmill"timber-industry-orbost sawmill-nixon -
Orbost & District Historical Society
black and white photograph, mid 20th century
The photograph shows three trucks hauling logs of 120 feet, 116 feet and 118 feet long. Said to be the longest logs ever taken from East Gippsland forests, three special vehicles were needed to transport three giants, the longest measuring 120 feet, from the McKenzie River to Traralgon. Mr. J. De Piazza, of Orbost, was in charge of the transport of the logs. This photograph shows the logs passing through Bairnsdale.Orbost has historically been based on the timber industry, but that industry has declined considerably over the last 20 years. The number of locals involved in the timber industry has declined and many of the mills have closed. This item reflects a time when that industry was a significant contributor to the economy of the district.A black / white photograph of three trucks hauling logs of various lengths.on front - "120 ft; 118 ft; 116 ft" on back -" J. De Piazza, 23 Boundary Rd, Orbost, 1942"timber-industry-orbost -
Orbost & District Historical Society
black and white photograph, 1916
About 1912 work began at Newmerella on clearing the track for the railway line from Bairnsdale to Orbost. A canvas town sprang up on the higher land adjacent to the river flats. Local farmers supplied meat, milk and fresh produce to the camp, as well as gaining employment carting and labouring. The line opened in 1916, the Orbost railway station being built on the Newmerella side of the river. This item is associated with the history of the Orbost-Bairnsdale railway line and therefore reflects the role that the rail line played in the social and economic history of Orbost. On April 10 1916, the first scheduled train service left Orbost for Bairnsdale. The Bairnsdale-Orbost railway was opened to serve the agricultural and timber industry. Because of the decline in traffic and heavy operating costs, the line was finally closed in August, 1987.A black / white photograph of a group of people standing next to a train carriage.orbost-railway east-gippsland-railway celebration-opening-of railway