Dick Richards was a Principal at the Ballarat School of Mines. John Tippett was the President of the Ballarat School of Mines CouncilPhotocopies of three letters written by Dick Richards to John Tippett. .1) One page typed letter dated 31 October 1971. The letter relates to the Albert Medal and George Cross. .2) One page typed letter dated 11 November 1983. The letter thanks John and Anne Tippett for their birthday wishes. It also mentions J.L. Cope and the role he played in Dick Richards recovery from severe physical collapse in August 1916. Richards writes 'he nursed by like a mother for a protracted period. ...' The letter ends with 'I ain't no bloody hero but I thought you would like to know. .3) One page typed letter dated 03 November 1984. It is a general letter which mentions Tony Gaze, Irvine Gaze. Irvine GAZE joined the RAF during World War One and was shot down near at luftwafer camp. A German airman saw Irvine Gaze's white polar ribbon and invited him to a meal where the President was Hermann Goering. Tony Zaze was a Spitfire pilot during World War 2 and was shot down about 100 miles from where his father was shot down. He escaped with the assistance of the resistance.dick richards, r.w. richards, antarctica, albert medal, george cross, john tippett, e.j.t. tippett, tony gaze, irvine gaze, luftwafer, white polar ribbon, hermann goering, lex davidson

Folder containing information pertaining to the Ash Wednesday fires, 16th February 1983. Contents: -Typescript, Australian Insight program broadcast 13th January 1984, prepared by Jennifer King. Contains interviews with Alan Marks and Maggie & Martin Bishop. -Typescript, "In The Shadow Of Ash Wednesday", prepared in 1983 by Selby CFA and detailing various problems encountered on Ash Wednesday. -Typescript, "Ash Wednesday 16 February 1983", a memoir by George Harmon. -Photocopy, "The Major Fires Originating 16 February 1983", detailing areas, casualties, damage, etc. Compiled by CFA, Victoria. -Article "Protecting Houses From Bushfires" by Bruce Gifford, unknown source, dated summer 1987. -Email, Peter Milton to Susan Heywood-Downard, "Extracts from Peter Milton's diary" dated 16 January [sic - should be February] to 2 March 1983. -Typescript, part of oral history recorded with Margaret Douglas -Age, 19th February 1983, death notices of people who died in Ash Wednesday fires -typescript, "february 16th, 1983 in Victoria, Australia" account, unnamed -letter attached to above typescript on 3AW headed paper, copy (?) of letter to station describing fires and thanking radio station for assistance.selby cfa, ash wednesday fires, bushfire-proof house design

Nanya Station, owned and managed by the University of Ballarat (now Federation University Australia), was purchased with assistance from the Department of Environment and Heritage Government Caring for our Country program. Nanya Station is located in the Scotia country, west of the Darling Ana-Branch in far western New South Wales and consists of the Nanya Western Lands Pastoral Lease 3281 – Perpetual Leasehold Lot 1244 in Deposited Plan 762778, Parish of Winnebaga, County of Tara and part of Lot 1242 County of Windeyer. Nanya is within the tribal area of the Danggali Aboriginal people, a sub-group of the Barkindji. Many Aboriginal sites have been recorded adjacent to major rivers in the region providing evidence that these areas supported a large population. The Scotia region has one of the shortest stock grazing histories of western NSW. Along with five other Scotia properties, Nanya was created as a pastoral lease in 1927. The first European settlement on the land followed exploration of the area by Sturt and Eyre. In 1854, the Lake Victoria lease which encompassed this area comprised 465,000ha.included Scotia blocks 1, 2, 3 and 4, Amoskeag and Winnebaga which formed the area known as the Scotia. It was described as a region of thick mallee scrub, interspersed with bluebush flats and Belah woodland. In the 1920s artesian water was found and the dry Scotia country was surveyed and divided into six Homestead leases allocated by ballot (Withers 1989). All properties were approximately 30,000ha, with a recommended stocking level of 3,000 sheep. Winnebaga (renamed Nanya) was taken up by Gordon Cumming. He initially dug a dam near the southeast corner of the property. A larger ground tank and rudimentary dwelling at the site of the present complex was later established. An adjacent area was cleared and cropped to provide feed for the horses used in digging the earth tanks. The ruins of the original building are located between the shearing shed and Homestead Tank. A cottage was built in the 1930s and a more substantial Red Gum framed homestead in the early 1950s. The lease was held by Mr Gordon Cumming until 1984 when it was purchased by Mr Norm Scadding as an extension to the adjacent lease, Belvedere. It was sold in 1995 to Mr Rob Taylor of Waikerie then in 1999 to BeMax Pty. Ltd., a sand mining company. These last three owners all permitted use of the property by the University for teaching and research. The Centre for Environmental Management at the University of Ballarat had been involved in studies of flora and fauna in western New South Wales since 1988. Studies became concentrated on the Scotia region with its variety of intact ecosystems due to a short pastoral history. Of particular significance is a system of natural salt lakes of which the most extensive is the Scotia Discharge Complex located on Nanya Station. An extensive vegetation survey of the Scotia region Westbrooke et al. 1998) highlighted the significance of the area both in terms of the range of communities in relatively intact condition and the occurrence of species and communities of restricted distribution. Nearly 400 species were recorded of which nine had either not previously been recorded or have restricted distribution in western NSW. Twenty-two plant communities occur on Nanya Station of which two, Halosarcia lylei low open shrubland and Hemichroa diandra/Halosarcia/Frankenia low open shrubland, are dominated by species not previously recorded from NSW. H. lylei and Acacia loderi shrublands are listed as endangered under the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act. As noted, the area has a relatively short grazing history and, due to the presence of large areas of mallee with a Triodia understorey and restricted water supplies, stocking rates have been low. The diversity of ecosystems in relatively intact condition and extensive areas of old growth mallee made Nanya a highly significant refuge for biological diversity. This factors led to the purchase of Nanya Station by the University of Ballarat in 2004 with the assistance of the Department of Environment and Heritage for the purposes of conservation, research and education. In 2010 the southern paddocks of Nagaella Station (10,000ha.) which lie along the northern boundary, were purchased with the assistance of Lower Murray Darling Catchment Management Authority and added to the Nanya lease to provide complete protection for the communities of the Nanya Discharge Complex and further high quality Malleefowl habitat. Four digital reports documents relating to Federation University's Nanya Station, Western New South Walesnanya station, scotia country, pastoral lease, winnebaga county, darling ana-branch, martin westbrooke, environmental education, nagaella station, lower murray darling catchment management authority, conservation research education, ian gribble, pat prevett, ian henderson, danggali