These dishes were part of a crockery set used in the George Rolfe household at Lyndoch, Warrnambool. George Rolfe (1836-1919) was a Melbourne tea merchant who acquired land at the mouth of the Hopkins River in Warrnambool from the 1880s on as a holiday home. He developed the property over the years, adding a windmill and reservoir, bone and chaff sheds, a stable, jetty and boathouse and an extensive garden. In 1891 he married Mrs Annie Lake and it was his stepdaughter, Florence Lake who built the house, Lyndoch in the 1920s. This building today forms part of an Aged Care Facility. This item is part of the larger Rolfe dinner set as described on Victorian Collections at VC001421 and VC001422These cups are part of a crockery set, and are kept because they belonged to George Rolfe, a prominent property owner and farmer in Warrnambool in the late 19th century and early 20th century. The items, dating from 1864, have social significance showing the type of crockery used by a more affluent family in the 19th century.Four small white cups decorated with aqua band around the top of each cup . A scalloped pattern of dots are suspended from the solid band which is decorated with a row of gold dots. There is a gold rim at the base of the cup.Mintonrolfe, lyndoch, warrnambool, minton cups, mrs annie lake

This piece of music was composed by Joseph Summers (1839-1917). The date of the composition is between 1863 and 1866. The brother of Charles Summers, the sculptor, Joseph Summers was born in England and came to Australia in 1865. He was an organist and composer, an Inspector of Music in schools and in charge of music examinations conducted through Trinity College, London. In 1897 he moved to Perth. The signature of ‘Miss Jessie Webster’ presents a problem as no information has been found on this person. This is a most significant item because of the date, 1866, and the name, ‘Jessie Webster’. But it is not known if the music has any local provenance. The item also has social significance as an example of the type of music played in mid-Victorian drawing rooms. This is a piece of music of four printed pages of musical notation. The cover of this music is missing. The paper is white with black printing and all the pages are much mottled and stained. The edges of the pages are ragged and torn. There is some pencil scribble on the first page. A name and a date are written in black ink on the first page. ‘Miys (Miss) Jessie Webster, November 13th 1866’jessie webster, joseph summers, warrnambool

Beautiful colour illustrations of reptiles in a green cloth hard bound book all picture labels and articles are written in German.non-fictionballarat school of mines library, atlas, reptiles, leopold fitzinger, vienna, austria, snakes, lizards

Newspaper copy,Gathering of the Clan, The McKays of Drummartin and Sunshine. Like many other early immigrants to Australia, this family came from Ireland, and like so many arrivals they made for the diggings.This family's name became famous for its contribution to agriculture through the Sunshine Harvester, the invention of Hugh Victor McKay, which revolutionised farming in Australia.Weekly Timesnewspaper, weekly times, h.v.mckay the sunshine harvester

Photograph. Commercial Bank 1960s. Originally Bank of Victoria, 12 View street. Bendigo first large trading bank. Two storey brick structure erected in 1863-64 by architect A.L. Smith. Rendered façade face Pall Mall and View Street. Intersect Chartered corner. Classically designed and richly decorated.bendigo, banks, commercial bank

Photograph. Harry Biggs Collection. 2 Black and white streetscape of Bendigo City from Forest Street late 1850's. The long Beehive Store can be seen. In the foreground are many cottages long since gone. A stand of trees along the ridge can be seen. Black & white photos, Forest St in foreground - dirt road picket fence.photograph, streetscape, bendigo, harry biggs collection, bendigo streetscape

A sepia coloured portrait of a man on card. On back 'BATCHELDER & O'NEILL/ARTIST PHOTOGRAPHERS/41 COLLINS ST. EAST,/MELBOURNE/Est 1854' deaf children australia, victorian deaf & dumb institution, vddi, portrait

Gift of Dr Jeff Jenkinson, 2005

Letter re unsafe state of bridge over Yarra River This is a photocopy of the original letter which was written by A. Gable (?) on behalf of the Inspector General of Public Works. It comments on the unsafe state of the bridge over the Yarra River by the Botanic Gardens. Provided by Diane Nicholas Librarian at Hawthorn Library 1994Letter from Department of Public Works to Secretary of Horticultural Societybridge, yarra river, unsafe bridge, bridge safety melbourne, bridge safety 1800s, a. gable, inspector general of public works

Letter from Police Department re police attendance at Horticultural Society's exhibition. This is a photocopy of the letter from the Police Department informing the recipient that a sufficient amount of Police Constables would be in attendance at the Exhibition of the Horticultural Society of Victoria to be held the following Saturday. It is signed by Nicholas Standish (?) Chief Commissioner. It is addressed to ? Honorary Secretary Hawthorn.Letter from Police Department to Horticultural Society (?)horticultural society, exhibition, police, nicholas standish, melbourne police presence

Rev. Daniel James Draper (1810 - 1866). Born Wickham, Hampshire 28 August 1810. In 1830 joined the Methodist Society at Fareham and became a local preacher. Nominated in March 1834 as a candidate for the Wesleyan Methodist ministry. Appointed preacher on probation to the Charteris circuit. Married Sarah Webb in September 1835, ordained 7 October 1835, sailed for Australia on 13 October 1835. Served at Parramatta, where his wife died on 16 February 1838. Married Elizabeth Shelley (1808 - 1866) daughter of William Shelley, formerly a missionary in Tonga and Tahiti in July 1939. Served in N.S.W., Victoria and South Australia. Elected President of the 1859 Conference. Granted leave in 1865 to return to England as the Australian representative to the British Conference. He was returning to Australia on the SS London in January 1866 when he and his wife, along with 244 others, perished when their ship sank during a fierce storm in the Bay of Biscay.Sepia toned, full length carte de visite studio portrait of Rev Daniel J. Draper.daniel james draper, sarah webb, elizabeth shelley, ss london, bay of biscay, methodist, wesleyan, minister, president of conference, shipwreck

Mrs Elizabeth Draper (1808 - 1866). Second wife of the Rev. Daniel James Draper (1810 - 1866). Born Wickham, Hampshire 28 August 1810. In 1830 joined the Methodist Society at Fareham and became a local preacher. Nominated in March 1834 as a candidate for the Wesleyan Methodist ministry. Appointed preacher on probation to the Charteris circuit. Married Sarah Webb in September 1835, ordained 7 October 1835, sailed for Australia on 13 October 1835. Served at Parramatta, where his wife died on 16 February 1838. Married Elizabeth Shelley (1808 - 1866), daughter of William Shelley, formerly a missionary in Tonga and Tahiti in July 1939. Served in N.S.W., Victoria and South Australia. Elected President of the 1859 Conference. Granted leave in 1865 to return to England as the Australian representative to the British Conference. He was returning to Australia on the SS London in January 1866 when he and his wife, along with 244 others, perished when their ship sank during a fierce storm in the Bay of Biscay.Sepia toned, carte de visite studio portrait of Mrs Elizabeth Draper, seated at a table.daniel james draper, sarah webb, elizabeth shelley, ss london, bay of biscay, methodist, wesleyan, minister, president of conference, shipwreck

Gift of the Talbot Family, 1962

Edo PeriodColoured woodblock printactor

Edo PeriodColoured woodblock printbattle, water

Information regarding Henry Emery.Information regarding Henry Emery.emery's hill, nunawading, emery henry, hill hotel mitcham

John F. Armstrong was the Georgia member of the Irish National League.Image of a bearded man known as John F. Armstrong.ballarat irish, irish national league, john armstrong, armstrong

Rev. George Betts was rector, St. James Protestant Episcopal Church (http://www.aihs.org/American_Irish_Historical_Society/About_Us.html, accessed 21 January 2014) The Reverend George C. Betts was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1840, immigrated to New York in 1861, and eventually settled in Chicago where he was in business for a short time before joining an Indiana regiment in the Union Army. When his enlistment was up, he went to Nebraska and studied for the ministry. George C. Betts was ordained in 1867. (http://thebigredchair.blogspot.com.au/2011/11/sacred-secret.html, accessed 21 January 2014) He died in 1901. Image of Rev. Dr George C. Betts.ballarat irish, betts, george betts, dublin, chicago

Following the founding meeting of the Mayo Tenants Defence Association in Castlebar, County Mayo on 26 October 1878 the demand for The Land of Ireland for the people of Ireland was reported in the Connaught Telegraph 2 November 1878. The first of many "monster meetings" of tenant farmers was held in Irishtown near Claremorris on 20 April 1879, with an estimated turnout of 15,000 to 20,000 people. This meeting was addressed by James Daly (who presided), John O'Connor Power, John Ferguson, Thomas Brennan, and J. J. Louden. The Connaught Telegraph's report of the meeting in its edition of 26 April 1879 began: Since the days of O'Connell a larger public demonstration has not been witnessed than that of Sunday last. About 1 o'clock the monster procession started from Claremorris, headed by several thousand men on foot – the men of each district wearing a laural leaf or green ribbon in hat or coat to distinguish the several contingents. At 11 o'clock a monster contingent of tenant-farmers on horseback drew up in front of Hughes's hotel, showing discipline and order that a cavalry regiment might feel proud of. They were led on in sections, each having a marshal who kept his troops well in hand. Messrs. P.W. Nally, J.W. Nally, H. French, and M. Griffin, wearing green and gold sashes, led on their different sections, who rode two deep, occupying, at least, over an Irish mile of the road. Next followed a train of carriages, brakes, cares, etc. led on by Mr. Martin Hughes, the spirited hotel proprietor, driving a pair of rare black ponies to a phæton, taking Messrs. J.J. Louden and J. Daly. Next came Messrs. O'Connor, J. Ferguson, and Thomas Brennan in a covered carriage, followed by at least 500 vehicles from the neighbouring towns. On passing through Ballindine the sight was truly imposing, the endless train directing its course to Irishtown – a neat little hamlet on the boundaries of Mayo, Roscommon, and Galway. Evolving out of this a number of local land league organisations were set up to work against the excessive rents being demanded by landlords all over Ireland, but especially in Mayo and surrounding counties. From 1874 agricultural prices in Europe had dropped, followed by some bad harvests due to wet weather during the Long Depression. The effect by 1878 was that many Irish farmers were unable to pay the rents that they had agreed, particularly in the poorer and wetter parts of Connacht. The localised 1879 Famine added to the misery. Unlike other parts of Europe the Irish land tenure system was inflexible in times of hardship. (Wikipedia) The Irish National Land League was founded at the Imperial Hotel in Castlebar, the County town of Mayo, on 21 October 1879. At that meeting Charles Stewart Parnell was elected president of the league. Andrew Kettle, Michael Davitt, and Thomas Brennan were appointed as honorary secretaries. This united practically all the different strands of land agitation and tenant rights movements under a single organisation. Michael Davitt Founder of the Land League The two aims of the Land League, as stated in the resolutions adopted in the meeting, were: ...first, to bring out a reduction of rack-rents; second, to facilitate the obtaining of the ownership of the soil by the occupiers. That the object of the League can be best attained by promoting organisation among the tenant-farmers; by defending those who may be threatened with eviction for refusing to pay unjust rents; by facilitating the working of the Bright clauses of the Irish Land Act during the winter; and by obtaining such reforms in the laws relating to land as will enable every tenant to become owner of his holding by paying a fair rent for a limited number of years. (Wikipedia)Image of a man with a moustache. He is T. Brennan.ballarat irish, brennan, thomas brennan, irish land act, rent

An Irish barrister, politician, Member of Parliament (M.P.), and the founder and first leader of a number of Irish nationalist parties and organisations, including the Irish Metropolitan Conservative Society in 1836, the Home Government Association in 1870 and in 1873 the Home Rule League. (Wikipedia) After being called to the bar in 1838, Butt quickly established a name for himself as a brilliant barrister. He was known for his opposition to the Irish nationalist leader Daniel O'Connell's campaign for the repeal of the Act of Union.[4] He also lectured at Trinity College, Dublin, in political economy. His experiences during the Great Famine led him to move from being an Irish unionist and an Orangeman[5] to supporting a federal political system for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland that would give Ireland a greater degree of self-rule. This led to his involvement in Irish nationalist politics and the foundation of the Home Rule League. Butt was instrumental in fostering links between Constitutional and Revolutionary nationalism through his representation of members of the Fenians Society in court. (Wikipedia) He began his career as a Tory politician on Dublin Corporation. He was Member of Parliament for Youghal from 1852 to 1865, and for Limerick from 1871 to 1879 (at the 1852 general election he had also been elected for the English constituency of Harwich, but chose to sit for Youghal). The failed Fenian Rising in 1867 strengthened Butt's belief that a federal system was the only way to break the dreary cycle of inefficient administration punctuated by incompetent uprisings.[6] In 1870 he founded the Irish Home Government Association. This was in no sense a revolutionary organisation. It was designed to mobilise public opinion behind the demand for an Irish parliament, with, as he put it, "full control over our domestic affairs."[6] He believed that Home Rule would promote friendship between Ireland and her neighbour to the east. In November 1873 Butt replaced the Association with a new body, the Home Rule League, which he regarded as a pressure-group, rather than a political party. In the General Election the following year, 59 of its members were elected. However, most of those elected were men of property who were closer to the Liberal cause.[7] In the meantime Charles Stewart Parnell had joined the League, with more radical ideas than most of the incumbent Home Rulers, and was elected to Parliament in a by-election in County Meath in 1875.[8] Butt had failed to win substantial concessions at Westminster on the things that mattered to most Irish people: an amnesty for the Fenians of '67, fixity of tenure for tenant-farmers and Home Rule. Although they worked to get Home Rulers elected, many Fenians along with tenant farmers were dissatisfied with Butt's gentlemanly approach to have bills enacted, although they did not openly attack him, as his defence of the Fenian prisoners in '67 still stood in his favour.[9] However, soon a Belfast Home Ruler, Joseph Gillis Biggar (then a senior member of the IRB), began making extensive use of the ungentlemanly tactic of "obstructionism" to prevent bills being passed by the house. When Parnell entered Parliament he took his cue from John O'Connor Power and Joseph Biggar and allied himself with those Irish members who would support him in his obstructionist campaign. MPs at that time could stand up and talk for as long as they wished on any subject. This caused havoc in Parliament. In one case they talked for 45 hours non-stop, stopping any important bills from being passed. Butt, ageing, and in failing health, could not keep up with this tactic and considered it counter-productive. In July 1877 Butt threatened to resign from the party if obstruction continued, and a gulf developed between himself and Parnell, who was growing steadily in the estimation of both the Fenians and the Home Rulers.[10] The climax came in December 1878, when Parliament was recalled to discuss the war in Afghanistan. Butt considered this discussion too important to the British Empire to be interrupted by obstructionism and publicly warned the Irish members to refrain from this tactic. He was fiercely denounced by the young Nationalist John Dillon, who continued his attacks with considerable support from other Home Rulers at a meeting of the Home Rule League in February 1879. Although he defended himself with dignity, Butt, and all and sundry, knew that his role in the party was at an end.[11] Butt, who had been suffering from bronchitis, had a stroke the following May and died within a week. He was replaced by William Shaw, who in turn was replaced by Charles Stewart Parnell in 1880. (Wikipedia)Image of a man known as Isaac Butt.

Image of a man known as Thomas J. Canaty.ballarat irish, canaty, tom canaty, thomas canaty