Set of three photos of SEC Ballarat tram No. 42 and a horse drawn milk cart in Wendouree Parade. All photos have Lake Wendouree in the background. .1 - Tram No. 42 at the Martin Ave. stop in Wendouree Parade. Tram has a SEC Briquette roof advertisement. .2 - Looking along Wendouree Parade towards Forest St and the SEC Depot area, shows tram 42 and the horse drawn milk wagon in the distance. .3 - Close up of the horse drawn milk wagon -Modern Dairy, with the delivery man or milk man stepping from the wagon. Kodak cardboard mount slide, taken by Peter Moses August 1971.On back of slides: .1 -"N42 Ballarat / Wendouree Pde & Lake" and "P. Moses" in black ink. .2 - "N42 Ballarat / Wendouree Pde & Lake" in red ink and "P. Moses" in black ink. .3 - "Ballarat / Horse Milk Van" in red ink.tramways, trams, wendouree parade, milk cart, horse drawn vehicle, tram 42

This photo shows Jas Lynn of Orbost driving a team of bullocks pulling a large cart of maize. They are taking it to the fisherman's Wharf in Lakes Entrance. Maize has been grown on the Orbost flats since the late 19th century. Transport was always an obstacle to economic sucess. For a few years prior to the First World War and the construction of the railway line from Bairnsdale to Orbost, a lot of maize was carted by horse and bullock teams to Lakes Entrance for transhipment to the Melbourne market. At that .time yields of 90 to 100 bushels of maize were quite a common occurrence. James Lynn, a member of the East Gippsland Maize Board, farmed at Jarrahmond.This photograph is associated with the large maize growing industry in the Orbost region. A black / white photograph of a bullock team pulling a large, loaded cart. It is being driven by a man standing on the side of the road, holding a whip. In the background are houses and a telegraph pole.on back - " Carting maize to Lakes Entrance in 1911."transport-bullocks maize-orbost lynn-james

In 1879, James Griffiths established one of Australia’s first tea and coffee distribution companies at 30 Flinders St, Melbourne, which is now, occupied by the boutique Lindrum Hotel. Established with his brother John, recent immigrants from England, Griffiths occupied the highest position in the commercial world during their many years as distributors of tea, coffee, cocoa and other products throughout Victoria and Australia. The Griffiths brand was a guarantee for quality of product and service as it still is today. This extensive service was provided to customers via horse drawn carts serviced by rail from Melbourne. As a spirited entrepreneur, Griffiths made his company a household name through his pioneering use of outdoor advertising by installing the infamous blue and white enamel “Griffiths Tea” promotional signs affixed to the railway boundary fences highlighting to travellers the distance to or from Melbourne, indicating so many “— miles to Griffiths Tea”. These signs, much sought after today, were well known through out the eastern states. Photographs have been published of a sign erected by a Digger in France during the First World War with the words “1100 miles to Griffiths Bros”. Tragically, James and his wife Emily with friends died in a level rail crossing accident at Bayswater in 1925. Despite this unfortunate accident, Griffiths and its culture of innovation has survived as one of the few 100% Australian owned coffee roasters, with only three owners in 128 years. http://www.griffithscoffee.com.au/about-us/back-to-1879/ Sign - Advertising - Griffiths Tea Sign - 30 MilesHistoric - Sign - Advertising - Griffiths Tea Sign - used along side of Victorian Railway lines and at StationsSign - Advertising - Griffiths Tea Sign - 30 Miles Griffiths Tea sign made of Enamel paint on metal sign30 Miles to Griffiths Tea Sign puffing billy, sign - advertising - griffiths tea sign - 30 miles

Ken Pocock won the 1976 Bendigo Cup. with Chapel Elect A broken leg suffered by Golden Square footballer Ken Pocock, while training with VFL team Collingwood, saw the end of a promising football career, but the start of a highly successful career in harness racing. Ken first worked in Bendigo as a horse and cart delivery driver for Symons dairy and Jeffreys bakery. He learned his craft by working with harness horses for veteran trainers Alf Petherick (Glideaway) and Clarrie Long (Great Dalla). Early in his career Ken had Kaye Lois, and the 1965 Moomba Cup and prolific winner Fosmar. He trained and drove standouts including: Peparkee, Chief Invader (1972 Shepparton Gold Cup) Chapel Elect (Melbourne Pacing Cup, Bendigo Cup), Go Van (Ouyen and 3KZ Cups), Game Oro (two Shepparton and two Kilmore Cups). The champion pacer Royal Gaze won 49 races, 17 seconds, 11 thirds including the Shepparton, Ballarat, Ouyen and A G Hunter Cups. Royal Gaze raced in 3 successive Inter Dominion series, winning 5 heats, and finishing third in Perth in 1974. Ken was also a highly skilled stud-master. He was involved in the planning and building of the ambitious harness racing property B J Lodge at Goornong, and travelled to the USA in the early 1970s with B J Lodge owner Bernie Ahern where they selected and bought champion US pacers Kentucky and Hilarious Way and stood them at stud. Ken Pocock won the 1976 Bendigo Cup driving Chapel ElectBlue with yellow arm bandsbendigo harness racing club, bhrc, bendigo, bendigo cup, race colours, chapel elect, royal gaze, fosmar, trotting, pacing, k pocock, ke pocock, ken pocock

Yields information about the Grey St. loop and the street scene on a wet day with a milk car and bicycle in the view.Black and white photograph of No. 14 entering the Grey / Gray St. Loop, Albert St, Sebastopol. Taken during a rainy day with a horse drawn milk cart in the background and a cyclist crossing the road. The tram has the destination of Lydiard St. North, is running one man, the motorman / driver has a conductors bag around his neck. The tram also has dash canopy advertisements for "The Age" and Briquettes. Photo taken 25/7/1961 by Dave Macartney. Printed on stipple paper. Two copies held - 2nd in poor order - for temporary display only. Copy 3 - in good condition - added 26/7/2007, ex Alan Bradley 5/2007 - 203H x 252W.tramways, trams, sebastopol, albert st, grey st loop, horse drawn vehicle, milk cart, tram 14

Yields information about the an unusual accident with a milk cart, no horse in the view, on the Mt Pleasant line outside a milk bar.Black and White copy photograph of a newspaper photograph taken by The Courier - Bogie car after collision with horse drawn milk cart, Barkly & Gladstone Sts corner. Photo taken 28/6/1966, published 29/6/1966. Has Frampton's Milk bar in the left hand side of the photo with a Peters ad, workers recovering bottles. Note the milk in the grooves of the track. Would appear tram was inbound with destination of Gardens via Drummond St. Nth, member of the crew reversing the tram to assist in the clean up, with an inspector at the far end. Collected by Alan Bradley from the Ballarat Courier early 1980's. See Excel file "Record of Ballarat Courier Photos SEC era" (Archive Documents) for source of details.On rear stamped "Copyright, The Ballarat Courier Proprietary Limited."tramways, trams, milk cart, accidents, mt pleasant

Newspaper cutting with 3 photos (2 copies) from "The Sun News-Pictorial", October 15, 1930. (1) Student ploughing with a cart horse, with the caption: "Guiding the plough at Burnley Horticultural Gardens, a girl student prepares a plot for potatoes. Truly, the modern woman has entered the field of industry!" "Happy students at Burnley Horticultural Gardens thoroughly enjoy the hard work associated with the assimilation of farming and gardening lore. Ploughing, planting, pruning, and all the multitude of tasks in horticulture, come within the practical range of their studies." (2) 5 students walking in formation, with the caption: " A bevy of girls returning to lunch after their morning's work yesterday." and Two students in the orchard with flowering fruit trees, with the caption: "Examining the apple blossom for the implacable foe of the orchardist - thrip. The gardens are kept singularly free of pests."the sun news-pictorial, burnley horticultural college, students, female students, ploughing, horses, students working outside, orchard, apple blossom, thrip, draught horses, potatoes

View of Kalorama gap taken in 1907 showing Eliza Hand outside Beulah Tea Rooms, Briartys Coach, Dodd's Grocery cart and Meat Cutting cart. In foreground Fred Jeeves is standing and Theo Hand on hay. Mountjoy is in the background.This photograph has a detailed inscription on the back handwritten by John Lundy-Clarke in 1974.The Kalorama Gap in 1907. The coach road comes from right behind old stump. The shop was Hand's Beulah Tea Rooms soon to become the Mt Dandenong North Post Office. Big woman in black was Mrs Hand. wagon was Dodd's Grocery cart. "Mountjoy" on hilltop. The wagon with man was the first coach on the mount (Briartys). Small cart was Dodd's meat cutting cart. Horse at sledge was "Blossom" boy at her head was Fred Jeeves. Boy on sledge was Theo hand. Elm trees in centre of picture with Prices sign advertising shop and newsagency above them.mountjoy, beulah tea rooms, fred jeeves, theo hand, dodd's grocery cart, cart, coach, briartys

Black and white photograph reproduced from post card. Scene of road looking towards Loughnan Hill, Andrew Kennedy's orchard. Horse and cart in centre of photo, orchard to left of picture. (3 enlarged copies, 2 postcards, a clipping and 1 9x18.5 reproduction) Postcards with correspondence from N Blood, 2 original of the postcards with messages. First reads: "Trust you are well my dear and hope your poor Mater is no worse but better. We arrived home safely..poor little Tim was very tired. Love from all to your sister and mother..self. Your sincere friend, N. Blood" Second Reads: "Miss Hill. Cowes P.O.. 4/3/09 Dear Olive, come at once; I am on my last legs! Very pleased to hear that you have been enjoying yourself as well. Your mother had been very ill and Elvie has lost a stone weight; and ??? looks down in the dumps. Topsy killed canary this morning so I took Topsy for a walk! Had a bush fire up at home on 22 and 23rd Feb. No time to scribble more. Yours to a cinder. Bert." This postcard writing is overstamped J.B.McAlpin, Estate and Financial Agent. District Government Valuer Ringwood. It has a 1d Victorian Stamp affixed. Typed below photograph, "Warrandyte Rd. from Maroondah Hwy. looking north. Mullum Creek bridge in dip - 1908".

Series of 7 black and white photographs of the traffic congestion in the CBD during 1951. .1 - Flinders St from Flinders St Station office looking northwest with a W2 317 Richmond route 28 and many cars. Has "32" on rear in pencil. Has Snows and the SEC building in the view. .2 - Spencer St bridge, looking north with Fish Market/Cool Stores and the VR Head Office in the view. Has Taylor and ? General Carriers and Nestle's truck in the view. .3 - William St? with passengers waiting at a safety zone - has the Dennys Lascelles building in the background. .4 - Flinders St looking north east with Snows, the SEC, a Hotel and Hearnes sign showing. Has a W2 436? route 27 Hawthorn eastbound. Typed on rear "Enlargement of No. 76, Sheet No. 28 (report P25/1/8), "Spare" written in pencil and "For Testing Engrs 1/11/51" in ink. .5 - looking north with a horse drawn cart and a SW6 (East Kew) with dash canopy lighting. .6 - looking north - with Hearnes Provisions, Olympia Inn and Coffee Lounge and Young & Jacksons Hotel. Has a W2 partly in the photo about to enter the Safety Zone. ..7 - similar to .1 - with Snows, W2 route 48 North Balwyn and a Pattons Dry Cleaning van. See also Reg 4519 for another 7 photos of the same series.trams, tramways, traffic control, congestion, flinders st, spencer st, route 27, route 28, east kew, richmond, route 48, william st, safety zone, hawthorn, tram 317, tram 436

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

K2,3 and4 are of the Kiewa River and two of the bridges spanning the river along the valley. K3 and K4 would have been taken in the 1880's and show the type of trees and plant growth along the river prior to land clearing for farming. K5 is of the Running Creek Cricket Team and therefore there was sufficient population in the area to form and maintain a team as well as have other teams in the relatively near vicinity to provide competition. Note the horse drawn cart which provided transport. Date taken is unknown but possibly c 1910. The Mt. Buffalo Chalet was built in 1910 by the Victorian Government. It was Australia's first ski resort and has served generations of skiiers, hikers and families over the years. It was built for 3195 pounds and has had stories and wings added since and is the largest timber building in Australia. B4 is the earliest photo in this group as the garden is in early stages of development - the other photos show the growth of the shrubs and would be taken about c 1920. Note the cars and motor bikes. It closed in 2006. The other photos are of general interest only but interesting to see that there were donkey's grazing. There is no information as to their purpose on Mt. Buffalo. Four different Kiewa Valley families are represented in the photographs. Their descendants still live in the Valley and carry on the traditions of beef and dairy farming. Of particular interest is the photo of Miss Marjorie Clemence, the first School Teacher of Upper Gundowring School. Gundowring pastoral run was taken up in 1838 and occupied by framers in the 1860's. The area was known as Gundowring and Upper Gundowring. The Gundowring School was opened in 1871 and most likely the Upper Gundowring school would be built at the same time. It was School No. 2733 and situated in Boyd Road. It closed in 1953 when the Kiewa Consolidated School opened. The newspaper page describes the activities in which the local community of Kergunyah were in engaged in that period - Red Cross, Fire Brigade, cattle round up and some of the identities involved. The article photocopied from the Yackandandah times states that he (Norman Coad) "was sent to the Ovens District Hospital, Beechworth for treatment" which would mean that this was the closest hospital to the Kiewa Valley for emergencies in 1912.The Kiewa Valley photographs are of social significance showing two of the early bridges allowing the community easy access to both sides of the river and also the tree and plant growth before land clearing for farming. The photos of Mt. Buffalo Chalet have social, architectural and historical significance. the Chalet has been used by skiers, bush walkers and day trippers since its completion in 1910 and its closure in 2006. It is listed in the Victorian Heritage Register. The family photographs are of social and historical significance as they are of early farming families in the Kiewa Valley and also depict the dress, of both men and women) in the late 1880's. The write up in the Weekly Times has social significance as it depicts the social and farming activities and photos of the local residents from around that area. The article from the Yackandandah Times is of a personal nature with concern for the individual involved. Note: There is a photo of the gentleman mentioned in the article (Mr. Norman Coad) in the Families of the Kiewa Valley (F4) as above.30 black and white photographs - 5 of the Kiewa Valley, 8 of families of the Kiewa Vallley and 17 of Mt. Buffalo. Various sized photos. Page from the Weekly times and copied article from the Yackandandah Times on A4 sheet.(Note for easier identification they have been numbered and grouped - K1-5 (Kiewa Valley), F1-8 (Families) and B1-17 (Mt. Buffalo). K1: handwritten in ink, lower L hand corner "Bogong in the distance". K2: handwritten in ink lower L hand corner "Mongan's Bridge or Towonga". K3 handwritten in ink "Taken from Mongan Bridge looking up stream". K4 - no inscription. K5: handwritten in ink, back of photo "Running Creek Cricket Team". F1: handwritten in ink on back "Mrs. Heap" and lower down in pencil "1880's". F2 handwritten in pencil at top of back phot "Land at Tawonga TROVE The Y'dah Times 20/2/1913" and lower down in ink "Henry Ellis Larkin". F3: handwritten in ink bottom edge "Mrs Coad". Note that this photo is a postcard. F4: Written in ink lower edge "Norman Coad". Note this photo is also a postcard. F5: Lower left corner in Ink "Harry Larkin". F6: lower half back of photo, in ink "Bernie Maddison". F7: on back of photograph in ink "Miss Marjorie Clemence first School Teacher Upper Gundowring: and underneath, in pencil "C1880's". F8: Handwritten in ink on back of photo "Frank & Mrs. Keat & Lesley of Tawonga". Lower down in pencil "c1912-1914". B1: Back of photo in ink "The Chalet Mt. Buffalo". B2: no inscription. B3: "chalet at Bufflo" in ink lower left corner. B4: This is a post card. Written in ink is "Mt. Buffalo Chalet". B5 - B10 printed in ink, lower left corner "Buffalo". B11: no inscription. B12: "Mt. Buffalo" lower R corner. B13: "Buffalo?". B15: Printed in ink lower edge "Picnic at Buffalo". B16: "Donkeys on Mt. Buffalo" printed in ink lower edge. B17: handwritten in ink across back of photo "Donkeys & top of Mt. Buffalo with the Monileith in the distance". A4 sheet of paper describing an accident to Mr. Norman Coad. Under article is : Yackandandah Times (Vic: 1890 - 1931), Thursday 18 July 1912, page 3. A page torn from the Weekly Times, June 14, 1961 and entitled "Kergunyah has picturesque setting". kiewa valley, farming, families, kergunyah, gundowring upper, mt. buffalo chalet, briggs family, larki family, coad family, clemence family, laskowski collection

This local factory was typical of small butter factories in the 1890's in Western Victoria. It was established in 1894 when farmers brought their milk to the factory on horse drawn drays and carts and waited for their cream to be separated. The skimmed milk was mostly used by farmers to feed calves and pigs and the separated cream was manufactured into butter, some of which was exported to England. By 1910 this butter factory had an electricity generating plant called Mortlake Electricity which supplied both the factory and the township with power and this took precedence over the butter production which continued until 1926 when it was sold to the Electricity Commission. By 1930 the Butter Factory had a yearly turnover of 24,000 pounds sterling and in1935 it was producing 6 tons of butter weekly. But in 1936 the factory was sold to Glenormiston Cheese & Butter Factory who ceased operations. The manager's residence still remains in 2011 as does the remnants of the small timber butter factory (charcoal lined) and the double brick cheese room but the bluestone chimney has long gone. This complex is listed by Heritage Victoria Black and White Photograph Nonecheese factory, mortlake, butter factory

Len Parker's Bedford truck is featured in one of the public art mosaics in Were Street, Montmorency. Mr Parker by Grace de Visser (EDHS Newsletter No. 249, December 2019) Len Parker was a regular sight around the district for almost 40 years, selling fruit and veggies from the back of his truck to his regular customers between 1939 and 1978, first in a 1927 Chevy then a 1949 Bedford truck. Len’s connection to the Eltham district started long before he was born. His father Fred first came through the district in the early 1900s. With horse and cart buying and selling what was available at the markets using his mothers’ home in North Melbourne as his base. Fred settled and developed a market garden in the rich soil along the creek at Watsons Creek, Christmas Hills in 1903. Ada Watson was almost five years old and one of eight siblings aged two to sixteen, when her Grandfather and Father both named Christopher Watson brought the Eltham Hotel and they moved from Richmond. Ada’s mother was formerly Emily Silk whose parents Martha and John Silk had been farming in Eltham around 1858 and much later a dairy farmer in Fitzroy. In 1917 at St Margaret’s Church Eltham, Fred aged 44 married Ada aged 35 who was still living and working at the Eltham Hotel. Six years later Ada died from cancer leaving Fred with two small children, Rose five and Len three. Len as a young boy, like his father before him worked the land with horses, growing vegetables, mainly potatoes, cabbages, pumpkins, beans, and tomatoes, selling the excess at the market. Len took over from his ageing father Fred, who had established similar rounds selling door to door with a horse and cart. Len preferred mechanical horsepower to the real kind! In 1939 at the age of eighteen Len brought an old 1927 Chevy Truck. He was taught how to drive it and two weeks later got his driver’s Licence. The Chevy truck had an old wagon on the back with no doors, only hessian bags to keep the wind out! Len had paid 75 pounds for it, kept it for ten years and sold it for the same price! Len’s blue 1949 Bedford was brought new in 1950 for 900 pounds with only a tray back on it. Straight away Len had a wooden frame covered with canvas added, with a roll up front and back. In later years, more solid sides replaced the canvas. Benches were added to hold the boxes of fruit and vegetables, with room to move in the middle, a fruit shop on wheels. Len had large scales attached to a box for weighing the fruit and veggies and many a district baby was also weighed on them. Len would stop at customer’s homes, take their orders and with his big cane basket on his arm deliver their order to their door. On his rounds he always wore a big soft back leather apron and a black or navy beret. If it was cold, he wore a ‘bluey’ jacket on his tall slender frame. Len would go to the markets early Thursday morning, only buying what was not grown at home or brought from his brother in law’s orchard. On his way home Len would start his ‘rounds’ in Lower Plenty and then Montmorency and parts of Eltham. Friday’s regulars were in Research, Kangaroo Ground and Panton Hill. Saturdays were Panton Hill and Christmas Hills. When Len retired in 1978, due to changing social times, women were working more and supermarkets starting to take over; his ageing truck was retired too. In 1999 his son Jim had the Bedford restored, Len was very happy to see ‘Beddy’ all shiny and new once again with just a tray back, like when it was new. Jim still drives the ‘Beddy’ to Heritage Truck shows twenty years on. Len married, had five children and lived most of his life, (except during World War 2 when he served in New Guinea), at Watsons Creek, Christmas Hills dying there in 2006 and is buried at the Kangaroo Ground cemetery with his wife of 64 years, Stella nee Tosch 1917 - 2007. Grace de Visser, the author of this article, is the daughter of Len Parker and a descendant of the two former owners of the Eltham Hotel, both named Christopher Watson. bedford truck, len parker, panton hill, tosch property

Len Parker's Bedford truck is featured in one of the public art mosaics in Were Street, Montmorency. The little girl is Grace de Visser's sister. Mr Parker by Grace de Visser (EDHS Newsletter No. 249, December 2019) Len Parker was a regular sight around the district for almost 40 years, selling fruit and veggies from the back of his truck to his regular customers between 1939 and 1978, first in a 1927 Chevy then a 1949 Bedford truck. Len’s connection to the Eltham district started long before he was born. His father Fred first came through the district in the early 1900s. With horse and cart buying and selling what was available at the markets using his mothers’ home in North Melbourne as his base. Fred settled and developed a market garden in the rich soil along the creek at Watsons Creek, Christmas Hills in 1903. Ada Watson was almost five years old and one of eight siblings aged two to sixteen, when her Grandfather and Father both named Christopher Watson brought the Eltham Hotel and they moved from Richmond. Ada’s mother was formerly Emily Silk whose parents Martha and John Silk had been farming in Eltham around 1858 and much later a dairy farmer in Fitzroy. In 1917 at St Margaret’s Church Eltham, Fred aged 44 married Ada aged 35 who was still living and working at the Eltham Hotel. Six years later Ada died from cancer leaving Fred with two small children, Rose five and Len three. Len as a young boy, like his father before him worked the land with horses, growing vegetables, mainly potatoes, cabbages, pumpkins, beans, and tomatoes, selling the excess at the market. Len took over from his ageing father Fred, who had established similar rounds selling door to door with a horse and cart. Len preferred mechanical horsepower to the real kind! In 1939 at the age of eighteen Len brought an old 1927 Chevy Truck. He was taught how to drive it and two weeks later got his driver’s Licence. The Chevy truck had an old wagon on the back with no doors, only hessian bags to keep the wind out! Len had paid 75 pounds for it, kept it for ten years and sold it for the same price! Len’s blue 1949 Bedford was brought new in 1950 for 900 pounds with only a tray back on it. Straight away Len had a wooden frame covered with canvas added, with a roll up front and back. In later years, more solid sides replaced the canvas. Benches were added to hold the boxes of fruit and vegetables, with room to move in the middle, a fruit shop on wheels. Len had large scales attached to a box for weighing the fruit and veggies and many a district baby was also weighed on them. Len would stop at customer’s homes, take their orders and with his big cane basket on his arm deliver their order to their door. On his rounds he always wore a big soft back leather apron and a black or navy beret. If it was cold, he wore a ‘bluey’ jacket on his tall slender frame. Len would go to the markets early Thursday morning, only buying what was not grown at home or brought from his brother in law’s orchard. On his way home Len would start his ‘rounds’ in Lower Plenty and then Montmorency and parts of Eltham. Friday’s regulars were in Research, Kangaroo Ground and Panton Hill. Saturdays were Panton Hill and Christmas Hills. When Len retired in 1978, due to changing social times, women were working more and supermarkets starting to take over; his ageing truck was retired too. In 1999 his son Jim had the Bedford restored, Len was very happy to see ‘Beddy’ all shiny and new once again with just a tray back, like when it was new. Jim still drives the ‘Beddy’ to Heritage Truck shows twenty years on. Len married, had five children and lived most of his life, (except during World War 2 when he served in New Guinea), at Watsons Creek, Christmas Hills dying there in 2006 and is buried at the Kangaroo Ground cemetery with his wife of 64 years, Stella nee Tosch 1917 - 2007. Grace de Visser, the author of this article, is the daughter of Len Parker and a descendant of the two former owners of the Eltham Hotel, both named Christopher Watson. bedford truck, len parker

Len's Bedford truk is featured in one of the Montmorency Were Street shopping precinct mosaics. Mr Parker by Grace de Visser (EDHS Newsletter No. 249, December 2019) Len Parker was a regular sight around the district for almost 40 years, selling fruit and veggies from the back of his truck to his regular customers between 1939 and 1978, first in a 1927 Chevy then a 1949 Bedford truck. Len’s connection to the Eltham district started long before he was born. His father Fred first came through the district in the early 1900s. With horse and cart buying and selling what was available at the markets using his mothers’ home in North Melbourne as his base. Fred settled and developed a market garden in the rich soil along the creek at Watsons Creek, Christmas Hills in 1903. Ada Watson was almost five years old and one of eight siblings aged two to sixteen, when her Grandfather and Father both named Christopher Watson brought the Eltham Hotel and they moved from Richmond. Ada’s mother was formerly Emily Silk whose parents Martha and John Silk had been farming in Eltham around 1858 and much later a dairy farmer in Fitzroy. In 1917 at St Margaret’s Church Eltham, Fred aged 44 married Ada aged 35 who was still living and working at the Eltham Hotel. Six years later Ada died from cancer leaving Fred with two small children, Rose five and Len three. Len as a young boy, like his father before him worked the land with horses, growing vegetables, mainly potatoes, cabbages, pumpkins, beans, and tomatoes, selling the excess at the market. Len took over from his ageing father Fred, who had established similar rounds selling door to door with a horse and cart. Len preferred mechanical horsepower to the real kind! In 1939 at the age of eighteen Len brought an old 1927 Chevy Truck. He was taught how to drive it and two weeks later got his driver’s Licence. The Chevy truck had an old wagon on the back with no doors, only hessian bags to keep the wind out! Len had paid 75 pounds for it, kept it for ten years and sold it for the same price! Len’s blue 1949 Bedford was brought new in 1950 for 900 pounds with only a tray back on it. Straight away Len had a wooden frame covered with canvas added, with a roll up front and back. In later years, more solid sides replaced the canvas. Benches were added to hold the boxes of fruit and vegetables, with room to move in the middle, a fruit shop on wheels. Len had large scales attached to a box for weighing the fruit and veggies and many a district baby was also weighed on them. Len would stop at customer’s homes, take their orders and with his big cane basket on his arm deliver their order to their door. On his rounds he always wore a big soft back leather apron and a black or navy beret. If it was cold, he wore a ‘bluey’ jacket on his tall slender frame. Len would go to the markets early Thursday morning, only buying what was not grown at home or brought from his brother in law’s orchard. On his way home Len would start his ‘rounds’ in Lower Plenty and then Montmorency and parts of Eltham. Friday’s regulars were in Research, Kangaroo Ground and Panton Hill. Saturdays were Panton Hill and Christmas Hills. When Len retired in 1978, due to changing social times, women were working more and supermarkets starting to take over; his ageing truck was retired too. In 1999 his son Jim had the Bedford restored, Len was very happy to see ‘Beddy’ all shiny and new once again with just a tray back, like when it was new. Jim still drives the ‘Beddy’ to Heritage Truck shows twenty years on. Len married, had five children and lived most of his life, (except during World War 2 when he served in New Guinea), at Watsons Creek, Christmas Hills dying there in 2006 and is buried at the Kangaroo Ground cemetery with his wife of 64 years, Stella nee Tosch 1917 - 2007. Grace de Visser, the author of this article, is the daughter of Len Parker and a descendant of the two former owners of the Eltham Hotel, both named Christopher Watson. bedford truck, len parker

WT Rawleigh (1870-1952) Freeport USA began in 1889 the direct selling method to sell his products, travelling around on horse and cart in the early days from house to house selling his medicines and other lines. Rawleigh's wide range of products includes: Medicinal, Nutritional, Gourmet, Homecare, Personal Care, Animal & Plant Care Since 1889, millions of families around the world have learned to rely upon and keep Rawleigh's reliable medicines and other products on hand ready for emergencies to relieve sickness, pains, injuries and for their daily needs. By 1920, young Rawleigh had built the biggest manufacturing organisation in the world. Mr Floyd George Rawleigh who was the son of David Rawleigh, W.T.Rawleigh's brother, came to Australia, with Mr Jackson, in 1931 and set up the Rawleighs Company Business . Generations of Australians, Canadians and Americans grew up waiting for The Rawleigh Man to arrive at their front door with his sample case of goodies to add spice to their life and to heal their ailments. In World War II, most Australian soldiers posted overseas carried a tin of Rawleigh Antiseptic Salve in their kits to treat wounds and ward off infection The Rawleigh Man brought to family front doors the best materials money could buy from around the world: spices from Sumatra, Java, China, India, Africa, the West Indies; black pepper from the island of Ponapai; lemon and orange oils from California and Sicily and Vanilla from Madagascar and Java; high grade coffee beans from the Andes. Most of the herbs, roots, barks and buds used in making cough medicines and tonics came from Europe, India, Ceylon, China, North America, the West Indies, Jamaica, Honduras and Asia. From Japan came camphor and menthol for making medicines. From Tavenui, the Garden Island of Fiji, came the food grade coconut oil for Rawleigh's gold medal winning Coconut Oil Soap. Rawleigh products are still only available from Rawleigh men and women who carry on the time-honoured tradition of the Rawleigh company to give individuals a go at developing their own business supplying products to people in their homes. Only now they are also doing it in cyberspace. A clear glass jar with a metal screw lid containing Mustard Ointment made by W.T. Rawleigh Co. Ltd. .Melbourne Lid ; Rawleigh’s Front ; Rawleigh’s / Net WT. / 1 ½ oz / COMPOUND / MUSTARD OINTMENT / WILL NOT BLISTER /preferable to Mustard Plaster / MNUFACTURED BY / The W, T. Rawleigh Co Ltd / MELBOURNE. / Left side ; DIRECTIONS …….. , / Right side ; Useful pharmacy, medicines, mustard ointment, w.t. rawleigh company ltd., hospitals, nursing, containers, moorabbin, bentleigh, cheltenham, melbourne, respiratory diseases

Thomas William Cavey was born in 1871, he was the youngest of his family and the only child that was born in Australia. He was first employed at the lime kilns in Geelong, before moving to Queensland for 4 years where he worked as a Boundary Rider. Thomas returned to the Lilydale area to be the driver of a buggy and pair for David Mitchell of David Mitchell Quarry in Lilydale. He selected land in Seamer Road in Monbulk in about 1898, but was working for the railways in Melbourne at the time and would come up to Monbulk at weekends to clear and cultivate the land. He met Lillian Eager, probably through relatives of hers, the Wingates, who lived in Monbulk. He and LIllian were married in 1910. They bought a 22 acre property in what is now called Cavey Road. They had two sons Thomas Charles, born in 1918 and George William Born in 1923. Initially the property in Cavey Road was farmed for vegetables, fruit and berries. The land used for this was over a creek on steep land away from the house. Once the produce was harvested it was taken by flying fox, back across the creek to where it could be prepared for sale. It was then taken to the Emerald and Belgrave markets each week. Later 10 cows were purchased, and the main income from the property was the dairy which produced approximately 25 quarts of milk a day, they produced Cream and Butter and together with the milk they were delivered fresh daily in the horse and cart. Deliveries were made to Monbulk, The Patch and to the canvas town at Silvan Dam, where the workers building the Silvan Dam lived. Thomas William Cavey died in 1959 aged 89. Lillian Blanche Cavey died in 1949 aged 68.

This Sharpe Bros. one gallon stoneware Demijohn is in excellent condition and includes its original stopper. It was made between 1904 and 1930, the date from the patent of the handle until the time that the factory no long produced returnable items. The bottle was once part of Dr W.R. Angus' household and is part of the W.R. Angus Collection and could have been purchased from Warrnambool's Sharpe Bros. factory. SHARPE BROS. 1903-1972- The first Sharpe Bros. cordial factory was opened in Dunedin, New Zealand, in 1903 by English prohibition brothers John and Percy Sharpe. Sharpe Bros. made ‘health’ beverages that were non-alcoholic drinks such as ginger beer, ginger ale, lime juice, soda and cordials. The containers of these drinks were not sold with the drinks but were marked as returnable items, to be cleaned and re-used, until this practice ceased in the 1930s. Sharpe Bros. made a niche in the soft drink market by delivering drinks by horse and cart to its customers’ homes. John Sharpe patented the unique wire spiral handle in 1904. By 1905 the New Zealand company also had factories in Australia. By 1910 the company had over 20 factories including Wanganui, New Zealand; Adelaide, Albury, Ballarat, Bathurst, Forbes, Geelong, Goulburn, Lithgow, Melbourne, Newcastle, Orange, Sydney, Tamworth, Warrnambool and Wollongong. The Warrnambool factory was established in 1919 and existed until 1951. The company won awards at Australian exhibitions for its carbonated drinks, including First Prize for its ginger beer made in the Brisbane factory. The company was taken over in 1962 by Tarax Drinks Holdings Ltd, which was in turn taken over by Cadbury Schweppes in 1972. W.R. Angus Collection- The W R Angus Collection spans from 1885 to the mid-1900s and includes historical medical and surgical equipment and instruments from the doctors Edward and Thomas Ryan of Nhill, Victoria. Dr Angus married Gladys in 1927 at Ballarat, the nearest big city to Nhill where he began as a Medical Assistant. He was also Acting House surgeon at the Nhill hospital where their two daughters were born. He and his family moved to Warrnambool in 1939, where Dr Angus operated his own medical practice. He later added the part-time Port Medical Officer responsibility and was the last person appointed to that position. Dr Angus and his wife were very involved in the local community, including the early planning stages of the new Flagstaff Hill, where they contributed to the layout of the gardens. Dr Angus passed away in March 1970.This stoneware Demijohn is connected to the history of Warrnambool, as it was owned by the daughter of Dr W. R. Angus and his wife Gladys. It is part of the W.R. Angus Collection, which is notable for still being located at the site connected to Doctor Angus, Warrnambool’s last Port Medical Officer. It is also connected through its manufacturer Sharpe Bros. which had a branch in Warrnambool from 1919 to 1951, overlapping the time when the Angus family resided there from 1939 to the 1970s. The bottle is also significant as an example of the early-20th-century beverages found in local households and could have been purchased from the local Sharpe Bros. factory.This stoneware Demijohn is glazed, with a brown neck with internal thread and shoulders and a cylindrical cream base. The one gallon bottle has a flat, black stopper with a cork stem and a rubber, threaded tip. The ‘U’ shaped wire carry handle has a spiral of wire around the handpiece. An overhanging lip is on top of the bottle’s short neck above its rounded shoulder. The clay has been joined at the base of the neck, shoulder and body. The underneath is unglazed. The brown glazing on the shoulder has a run mark. Inscriptions are on the stopper and bottle. This container is part of the W.R. Angus Collection.Stamped in black on the shoulder: “KEEP THE / STOPPER TIGHT” Stamped in black on the body: “THIS JAR IS THE ABSOLUTE PROPERTY OF AND MUST BE RETURNED TO SHARPE BROS. AUSTRALIA / & NEW ZEALAND. ORIGINAL & LARGEST HYGIENIC BREWERY. CAUTION Persons Damaging, Willfully Retaining, Trading with or Misappropriating the Use of this Jar WILL BE PROSECUTED “ Stamped in script writing: “Sharpe Bros. TRADE - - - ED “ Embossed on the stopper: “AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND, SHARPE BROS.”flagstaff hill, warrnambool, maritime village, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, great ocean road, dr w r angus, dr roy angus, dr ryan, sharpe bros., bendigo pottery, bottle, stoneware bottle, demihohn, one gallone bottle, soft drink, non-alcoholic drink, drink container, jar, jug, warrnambool soft drink, hygienic brewery, cordial factory, new zealand, australia, john sharpe, percy sharpe, non-alcoholic, spiral wire handle, ginger beer, w.r. angus collection, demijohn

This particular small ice chest was once part of the domestic furniture of Dr W.R. Angus and his young family in 1927 when they lived in the Nhill and Ballarat districts. The family relocated to Warrnambool in 1939 and brought the ice chest with them. An ice chest, also called an icebox or refrigerator, was invented by Thomas Moore in 1802 and had become a common home appliance from the mid-1800s until around the 1930s, when electric refrigerators became affordable and safe. The non-mechanical ice chest allowed perishable food to be kept fresh for longer than the food-safe or ‘Coolgardie’ used in colonial days in Australia. It required the use of ice blocks, which were delivered to households by the ‘iceman' and his horse and cart. The ice man would use an ice pick to cut the blocks into the right size for the buyer’s ice chest. The ice came from an ‘ice house’, a factory where the ice was made. The ice chest required a block of ice to be placed into the insulated top section on top of the corrugated iron stand. The ice would cool the air and the cool air would flow downwards through the oval hole under the stand and into the refrigerator compartment below. The water from the melted ice would drain from the sloping floor of the top compartment and into the hooded pipe. The pipe went through the refrigerator and ended below its floor, where the drained water would be collected in the metal bowl placed there for that purpose. The lip on the bowl allowed it to be easily removed and emptied at regular intervals before it overflowed. W.R. Angus Collection- The W R Angus Collection spans from 1885 to the mid-1900s and includes historical medical and surgical equipment and instruments from the doctors Edward and Thomas Ryan of Nhill, Victoria. Dr Angus married Gladys in 1927 at Ballarat, the nearest big city to Nhill where he began as a Medical Assistant. He was also Acting House surgeon at the Nhill hospital where their two daughters were born. He and his family moved to Warrnambool in 1939, where Dr Angus operated his own medical practice. He later added the part-time Port Medical Officer responsibility and was the last person appointed to that position. Dr Angus and his wife were very involved in the local community, including the early planning stages of the new Flagstaff Hill, where they contributed to the layout of the gardens. Dr Angus passed away in March 1970.This ice chest is significant for representing a method of refrigeration and food preservation used in the 19th to mid-20th centuries when people were beginning to afford powered domestic refrigerators. After the second world war, most households replaced their food storage cupboards and ice chests with refrigerator appliances. The ice chest is also significant for its connection with the domestic furniture of Dr W.R. Angus and his family, and its inclusion in the W.R. Angus Collection.Ice chest; single front wooden cabinet with two doors and a flap, and three accessories. The top door is a lid with a metal handle at the front and two metal hinges along the back. The front door has two metal hinges on the right-hand side and has a metal lever catch. A hinged flap fits between the front legs at bottom of the ice chest and swings upwards. The front legs have wheels. The insulated top compartment has a metal lining and its floor slopes towards the centre of the back wall. In the floor are a formed oval air-flow hole and the open end of a pipe that has a hood partly covering it. The front compartment is an insulated metal-lined cupboard with a vertical pipe down the centre of the back wall and horizontal rails in the centre of each side wall. The accessories are a rectangular corrugated iron stand, a rectangular wire grid shelf and a round aluminium bowl with a lip and two sides pushed in. The ice chest was made circa 1927 and is part of the W.R. Angus Collection.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, maritime village, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, great ocean road, dr w r angus, dr roy angus, dr ryan, doctor angus, dr angus, ice chest, ice box, antique, food preservation, refrigeration, domestic equipment, kitchen appliance, refrigerator, non-electric refrigerator, non-mechanical refrigerator, w.r. angus collection

2 photographs (1 black and white, 1 sepia)Image shows building on Maroondah Highway with two horse driven carts at front, and another gentleman holding a horse. Louis Herry had a bakery and general store in Lilydale and opened another in Mount Dandenong Road, opposite the Club Hotel. His wife, Kate, mostly ran the Ringwood store. The store was previously owned by the Blood Bros, after they moved premises closer to the railway station. From the Place of Many Eagles book, "Louis was born in Purdu, France, in 1855, and came to Ringwood from Walhalla in 1887 and erected a weatherboard house and shop opposite the Club Hotel, using a Miner's Right to secure the land. When he arrived, Louis was a married man with three children, Leopold (1882), Marie (1884), John (1886). He had married Kate Handforth at Walhalla in 1879. In later years Elizabeth, Minellia, Louis and Denise were born. Kate's father was known as the midwife of the Gippsiand township because he had once been a fourth year medical student in England, but earnt a living as a goldbuyer in Victoria. Marie Herry would grow up remembering her grandfather calling sometimes at Ringwood; he would bring the children jubilee Mixture to eat and he carried a revolver in his pocket. Often he would play the violin while Marie would stepdance on the kitchen table." Leo served in WWI, whose name appears on the Ringwood Clocktower.

This water standpipe is believed to be the only one of its kind in working order. It was originally located in Warrnambool, on the hillside at the corner of Mickle Crescent and Banyan Street, providing water for the Chinese Market Gardens below, on the flats. It was removed from this location on May 2nd, 1979, with the intention to relocate it at the new Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum & Village. The standpipe lay in storage for years until the Warrnambool Company, Chemblast, offered to restore it for use as a working display. The display was officially opened on March 31, 2014. The water from the adjacent lake is drawn out with a hand operated water pump, and goes up into the standpipe, where flows through the canvas hose and into the top of the Furphy Farm Water Cart. The display is a visual acknowledgement of the years served by Flagstaff Hill volunteer and Friends of Flagstaff Hill Chairperson, Bob Crossman. Warrnambool’s early settlers had no water supply prior to the mid-1850s. They relied on rain water tanks, domestic wells and springs. The town experienced a huge, destructive fire in William Bateman Jnr. & Co.’s large produce store in November 1856, which highlighted the need for both a fire brigade and a good supply of water. In 1863 a volunteer fire brigade was established. In August 1880 the town celebrated the installation of its first water standpipe on the corner of Liebig and Timor streets. The water was pumped from springs at Cannon Hill through the connected pipeline to the standpipe, then distributed to households via horse and cart. Each of the licenced cart drivers were compelled by Council regulations to keep their carts full from sunset to sunrise, ready to cart water to outbreaks of fire. They received a fee for this service. In 1893 the town installed a water supply, sourced from the Merri River, stored in a reservoir basin and tower in north Liebig Street, and distributed throughout the town in a system of pipes. By late 1939 a reticulated supply was installed, with the water piped in under the Otway Scheme. Standpipes are still used in modern times in rural and remote areas for homes, farms, stock, agriculture and firefighting. Many commercial or government owned standpipes are metered, charging a fee for the quantities of water supplied. This water standpipe was made by Langlands Foundry Co. Limited, Melbourne, which was establish in 1842. It was Melbourne’s first foundry and iron shipbuilder, and one of the largest employers in Victoria at the time. Langlands was known for its high quality workmanship and wide range of goods for mining, engineering, marine, railway and other industrial uses. The company made the first cast bell, the first lamp posts in the colony, and the boiler for the first Australian train. In the 1860s it produced cast iron pipes for the Board of Works, which laid the pipes for Melbourne’s first reticulated water supply. The firm was bought by Austral Otis Co. in 1897.This water standpipe is significant historically as it is believed to be the only one of its type in working condition. The standpipe is significant for being manufactured by early colonial firm Langlands Foundry of Melbourne, which was known for high quality, cast iron products. The firm made the boiler for the first Australian train, assembled the first Australian paddle steamer and made the first Australian cast bell and lamp posts. Langlands was one of the largest employers in Victoria at the time. The standpipe is significant historically as it represents the evolution of water supply services in Australia. Standpipe; vertical cast iron water pipe, painted crimson, fixed in position, tapering inward from the round base to the rectangular joint near the finial on top. A hexagonal pipe extends at right angles from the joint, with an outlet fitting and flow-controlling wheel on the end. A length of canvas hose hangs from the outlet fitting. Inscriptions are on one face of the joint. The standpipe was made by Langlands Foundry Company of Melbourne. Embossed “LANGLANDS FOUNDRY CO. / LIMITED / ENGINEERS / MELBOURNE”warrnambool, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, flagstaff hill, standpipe, stand-pipe, water standpipe, fire standpipe, firefighting equipment, water supply equipment, chinese market gardens, banyan street, liebig street, water tower, bateman’s fire, working display, water supply, town water, rural water, reticulated water, cannon hill spring, merri river, otway water, water carters, horse and cart water supply, volunteer fire brigade, langlands foundry, early melbourne, iron works, bob crossman, late 19th century water supply

Copy of Godfrey Hirst family videos/photograph on CD. Including 1951 floods at Mill. All video content filmed at Godfrey Hirst Woollen Mill, Swanston Street, South Geelong. Godfrey Hirst's children. Family home in Newtown and holiday home in Eastern View.Compact disc (CD) containing colour video footage. Film has no audio content. Visual content outlined below: 00:00 – 00:05 – External view of brick building – Godfrey Hirst & Co. Pty. Ltd. 00:05 – 00:10 – Exterior garden setting, three men in suits with fabrics and object 00:10 – 00:28 – Exterior garden setting showing eight women, most likely on a break from working at the Godfrey Hirst factory. The footage shows them all getting up and walking back towards the building at the end. 00:28 – 00:38 – Exterior garden setting, showing seven men in white shirts and ties seated and standing around a table, turning pages on a folder on the table. 00:38 – 00:52 – Interior factory setting, showing four men in coats handling green and red wool. 00:52 – 1:08 – Three men in suits in an exterior garden setting looking at paperwork. 1:08 – 1:23 – Four men in coats in a garden handling coloured wool samples. 1:23 – 1:42 – Four men in suits in a garden setting handling woven fabric. Two of the men are holding pipes. 1:42 – 1:57 – Interior factory setting showing men operating machinery. 1:57 – 2:05 – Exterior factory setting showing a man driving machinery carting wool bales. 2:05 – 3:14 - Flood scenes, showing the exterior of the Godfrey Hirst building with a man rowing a boat down the street, and a horse and cart in flood waters. There are scenes of flooded streets, exterior of flooded buildings and people standing in flood waters. 3:14 – 3:40 - Interior building views of flood waters in factory with people, machinery, equipment and textiles in flood waters. 3:40 – 4:03 - Exterior views showing a tractor, boat, horse and people in flood waters. 4:03 – 7:02 Exterior setting showing crowds of people watching a fashion parade. The fashion parade is of women in various clothing, including suits jackets, skirts, coats and hats. 7.02 - END"Hirst family films 1936-1964 Incl. Godfrey Hirst and co P/L Woollen mills"geelong, godfrey hirst & co. pty. ltd., family films, factory, flooding, 1950s, wool processing, fashion, textiles, horse and cart, wool bales, transport, machinery, fashion parade, working life

Documents and copies of photos related to various Cornish enterprises in Bendigo: a. Line drawing (faint) of foundry owned by the Roberts family (Mitchell, Wills and King streets); b. copy of article from unknown source re United Iron Works with details of the firm and Roberts principals - William Roberts, Abraham Roberts and Arthur Roberts - with copies of photographic portraits (Bartlett Bros.) - bad copy with LH side of text partly illegible; c. copy of article titled 'Goyne's Battery Gratings re John Goyne and history of the business (submitted by person living at ''Rosemundy'', Goynes Road, Epsom - Goyne's home then on 20 acres); d. Photograph of old Robinson photo of Bendigo Stamper Grating Factory, Epsom and five men posed in front of large timber building (badly cut photo with LH edge missing. original photo (9 x 13) of ''Former Bendigo Cornish Fuse Factory'' (handwritten inscription on reverse) taken in recent times (hint - car in driveway); f. copy from un-named book of J Nankervis's Ham and Bacon Curing Factory, Golden Square - drawing of the establishment and a photos of winning display of small goods at the Bendigo Show (no date); g. copy from un-named book of photo of premises of A J Williams, Lily and McKenzie Streets - wooden structure with sign indicating Hardware Merchants and ??Mines Furnisher?? , showing three horse-driven small wagons (delivery?); h. copy of photo of Cornish store(1880s) at White Hills - mention of Frederick Stuckenschmidt (married Miss Mary Smith), William Mathews (original owner?) - corner brick building with family posed outside alongside horse and light cart;. reproduction of exhibit in Bendigo Spring Show, 1915 , the ''Made in Bendigo Exhibition'' - first prize awarded to Messrs H M Legg & Co. Progress Jams, preserves, tomato sauce, tomatoes products, candied peels etc. (folded and small tear).bendigo, buildings, early bendigo businesses, bendigo stamper grating factory. epsom. j. nankervic ham and bacon curing establishment. golden square. bendigo cornish fuse factory. cornish stores. messrs h. m. leggo and co. abraham roberts. arthur roberts. william roberts. goyne's battery gratings.

ELTHAM’S GROWTH HAS BEEN RAPID IN RECENT YEARS Unknown local paper c.1960s Recent years have seen a rapid change in the appearance of Eltham’s business centre - so rapid, in fact, that the growth of premises has been almost 300%. For more than thirty-five years Eltham had little more than a dozen traders - the town's business area spreading from Pryor Street in the north, to Pitt Street in the south. The greatest density of businesses - no more than a handful of shops - were situated in the present shopping centre but other essential services such as the Post Office, were located half a mile away. As the town's population grew and the need for more shops became apparent, the growth was centralised around the railway station and Shire hall. Few of the old premises are used for their original form of business today, though many are still in existence. One of the oldest (seen clearly in the illustration) still in use is now Ferrari's Greengrocery. This shop was Eltham's butchery in early days, conducted by Jim Ryan. Up to twenty years ago, Mr. Ryan ran his business from the shop. whilst his son toured Eltham in his horse and cart, cutting his customers' orders as he went from door to door. Another business - one of the few still trading in the same goods-was Burgoyne's Hardware. This is now owned by Mr. R. Clinton, a new shop has recently been added and shortly the old premises will disappear completely. The Burgoyne family were well known to Eltham's population. The Post Office and Store (then in Main Road, near Bridge Street) was run by Mr. and Mrs. Burgoyne. The Post Office was later moved, and attached to the hardware store. OLD HOTEL In this same area was the old Eltham Hotel, almost opposite the present hotel. The building still stands, but has been converted into a house. The hitching rail can still be seen by the roadside. Back in the township was Barber's Blue Gum store, later conducted by Mrs. Burges (mother of Garnet Burges) and claimed to be Eltham's oldest shop. Further down the road, just past the hardware store, was the barber shop and billiard saloon. Next door was E. J. Andrew's news agency, library and State Savings Bank. Eltham's original chemist's shop, or dispensary as it was called, is now an electrical repair shop. On this side of the street too, was Mrs. Monteith - Draper. Mr Monteith was the owner of Eltham' s bus service. This bus service had no regular route, but deposited passengers at the point nearest their homes - a. door to door taxi service. Next to Mrs. Monteith stood another grocery - and general store, and next again, the local blacksmith. Another of Butcher Ryan's sons was Eltham's blacksmith and obviously an enterprising man he conducted a timber business next door to his smithy's shop. These two premises are still run by one man - Garnet Burges. BOOM STARTS Twenty years ago, when Thompson's took over Eltham's pharmacy they occupied the old shop adjoining the Shire hall. The building of Thompson's new premises, from which· they operate today, was the beginning of Eltham's recent growth and development. With another grocery store and a bakery at the corner of York Street, a butcher near Franklin Street, a cobbler's shop opposite the State School (did you ever wonder what that-little building attached to one of Eltham's oldest houses had been?), and an estate agency conducted by Mr. Clark, now Eltham Real Estate - only one trader remained - and today, still carries on, the only original owner of one of Eltham's .oldest established businesses - Mr. Dave Lyon, of Lyon Bros. Garage, which was formerly located in what was later used as Chenowyth's Foundry in Main Road. From the early twenties until little more than six or seven years ago that was the picture of Eltham. Some businesses had changed hands - many years before Mr. C. Rains had acquired Andrew's news agency, Mrs. Monteith's drapery had become Mrs. R. Smith's home-made cake shop, to change again and again to many other types of business. But generally, Eltham was unchanged, for nearly thirty years. Then suddenly new shops mushroomed. The new news agency and drapery, the chemist and adjoining shops, a new butcher, a green grocer and several more. POPULATION DOUBLED In the space of a few years, fifteen new shops, two banks, a restaurant and a post office were built at Eltham. New types of businesses found a ready market in an area which was quickly almost doubling its population. A little over twelve months ago, another wave of progress hit Eltham. Since then eight more shops have been built - a cake shop and fish shop in Dalton [sic – Dudley] Street - for building areas are unprocurable in the Main Street shopping centre now – have been built by Mr. D. Kimball; a new ladies’ and children’s wear shop has been opened by Rains; Eltham Dry Cleaners have another of these new shops, and Mr. R. Clinton has built elaborate new premises. Further down the road, Mr. C. Campbell has built a new butcher's shop, and next door, at present under construction, are a self service store and a shop which Mr. J. Hodges will open on completion. In addition to these new shops, Mr. J. Millett has extended his grocery to almost twice its original size. FLOURISHING Outside the central area, other businesses are flourishing. Latimer's felt factory is being developed in a picturesque rustic setting; P. J. Timber and Trading Company have recently completed a large showroom and timber yard, and in the town itself Nicholson and Merritt are now completing the extension of their foot wear factory to double its former area. This is Eltham today. Progress is moving rapidly in this rural area on the fringe of the metropolis. Less than a decade has seen vast development. The years to complete that span of time will see even greater changes and greater prosperity in this heart: of the Diamond Valley. OLD LANDMARK GOES Perhaps the most famous landmark in Eltham's' business section disappeared last Wednesday when the towering blue gum in Pryor Street at the rear of Main Road shops was felled. The tree, stated to be more than 80 feet high, was the one for which the adjoining café was named, when that business was Eltham’s only provision store, long before the turn of the century. Mr. J. Millett, who now owns the property on which the tree stood, deeply regretted its removal, but was mindful of the need for expansion in the business area. The "Old Blue Gum" was removed by Mr. A. Wilson, expert tree feller, from Heidelberg. Its proportions might be assessed by these facts – it took a gang of experienced men two days to completely fell and clear the tree, and, falling sections being brought down by cable tipped electricity wires on the opposite side of Pryor Street.andrew's news agency, bakery, barber shop, barber's blue gum store, billiard saloon, blacksmith, blue gum, burgoyne's hardware, butcher, cake shop, chemist's shop, chenowyth's foundry, cobbler's shop, dave lyon, dispensary, draper shop. mr monteith, dudley street, e. j. andrew's news agency, electrical repair shop, eltham bus service, eltham butchery, eltham dry cleaners, eltham hotel, eltham railway station, eltham real estate, eltham shire hall, eltham shopping centre, eltham shops, eltham town centre, estate agency, expert tree feller, ferrari's greengrocery, fish shop, foot wear factory, franklin street, garnet burges, general store, grocery, heidelberg, horace clark, jim ryan, ladies’ and children’s wear shop, latimer's felt factory, library, lyon bros. garage, main road, mr. a. wilson, mr. c. campbell, mr. c. rains, mr. d. kimball, mr. j. hodges, mr. j. millett, mr. r. clinton, mrs. burges, mrs. monteith, mrs. monteith's drapery, mrs. r. smith's home-made cake shop, nicholson and merritt, p. j. timber and trading company, pitt street, post office, pryor street, self service store, shopping centre, state savings bank, taxi service, thompson's pharmacy, york street

My Recollections of Eltham Past by Margaret Joy Harding (nee Joy Chapman.) My family of Elizabeth and Alec Chapman moved to Eltham in 1946 into a cottage on the opposite side of the Diamond Creek from where the little train now operates in the Lower Park. At that time Eltham truly was a country town and the Pub was the main meeting place for most inhabitants on a Saturday afternoon in the beer garden. I attended Eltham Primary School where I started as a 4-year-old (my birthday being slightly after the mid-year intake) that happened then. My mother spent a lot of days taking me back to school when I had dismissed myself and walked the one kilomtre home alone. Bremner's Common (now Wingrove Park) was a big attraction with its dam and tad poling which I found much more entertaining than school. (Mrs Bremner ran a Service Station on the site of the current one). Another attraction at this site was the circus that came a couple of times a year. Watching them put up the circus tent was very interesting and even more of an attraction was the feeding of the Lions in cages and the monkeys and elephants among the other animals that are not found in a circus these days. At school then we were provided with hot chocolate at morning recess where the mothers would prepare it in the shelter shed. The only form of classroom heating was an open fire. Worse was the warm milk given in the summer months. By the time I was near finishing at Primary school we used to be able to walk along the Main Road at lunchtime to Mrs. Mitchell's shop to a delicious hot pie. As I recall there was no supervision for this departure from the school grounds. It is interesting that some of the other children I started school with I still have contact with, in fact one is a very good friend although now living in Perth. That is the other thing about Eltham; many who grew up here continue to live in the area. Following primary school, the natural progression was to Eltham High School. There was only the main building at that time and I can remember our first assembly at the front entrance. During the time I was at High School several new class rooms were added and the school hall. I remember the musical plays such as HMS Pinafore and other classical musicals being performed. I also remember countless hours doing marching practice. The main street shops when I was young consisted of the Blue Gum milk bar at the far end, a Grocery store and a shoe maker where Coles currently stands. Opposite there was Lyon's Garage. They also provided a bus service and when we got off the train this little bus would tour the back streets taking each individual to their home, sometimes this could take quite considerable time. There was also a Black Smith next to the Chiropractic Practice opposite Alistair Knox Park, another Milk Bar/General Store on the comer of Bridge Street/Main Road where a shop currently still operates. There was also a Butcher's shop down from the pub opposite Franklin Street. The only doctor was next to the courthouse on the other side of Brougham Street. On Saturday afternoon I was occasionally allowed to go the movies in the Town Hall which also stood on the site of the Coles centre. Often the Fire Alarm would sound and everyone would run outside to watch the fire truck leave with the volunteers clutching on the back. The other attraction during summer of course was the swimming pool which was a small concrete pool filled with water pumped from the Diamond Creek, sometimes it was like a mud puddle so for me the nearer to home Yarra/Diamond Creek junction was a much better option. We swam in the water hole which was quite deep and with fallen trees and sometimes carcasses of cows and kangaroos floating past. As recreation, the churches were another attraction for the Sunday school picnics to Mordialloc in the back of the moving van with benches tied into the back for us to "sit" on. Too bad when we went around a corner! In the early days we had an Ice Man deliver the ice once a week for "refrigeration". The green grocer came around in a horse and cart as did the milkman and the bread was delivered but I constantly got into trouble for eating the middle out on the way from the box it was delivered to in Mt Pleasant road across the paddock. The milkman finally would not come down our street after his horse bolted one morning and took off across the paddock. We also had the "Pan Man" come weekly and whose visit I would avoid. Our nearest shop was where the flower stall is located opposite the Lower Park. It consisted of a Tea Room and Milk Bar. There was a Public Telephone there which was the only contact to anyone else. We were a one car family so my mother’s movements were very limited as the Eltham Station was a couple of kilometres away and a trip to the city was an event. Being an only child growing up was a little lonely however rambling along the creek with my Mum, picking mushrooms and picking cherry plums for jam and the dogs catching rabbits which we ate if we could get them away from the dogs. We also liked to go into the Lower Park during school holidays when the Greek people came to camp and they would sing and dance around the camp fire and it all seemed so different to us as this was early days of immigration. Childhood was relatively simple and carefree and I wish the kids of today had the freedom of my youth and the healthy outdoor lifestyle of the "olden days".   SHOW GIRL COMPETITION In 1965 Eltham was more like a country town than the suburb it has become today. People knew each other, if not personally then certainly of the family name. The big event for the year was a Gymkhana or show at Lower Eltham Park. I can remember marching as a teenager from the town centre to the park in the marching girls with the decorated floats. In 1965, just on a whim on the day, I decided to enter the Miss Eltham Show Girl which was a part of the festivities at the park. I seem to remember that the show mainly consisted of horse events, cattle judging and dog show. As I had not given any serious thought to entering the competition, I wore a suit that I had for work which was brown wool, with a coffee coloured shirt under, black shoes, bag, and gloves but no hat. I duly paraded for the judges and much to my surprise I was announced the winner. I eventually went on to compete at the Miss Victoria Show Girl competition which was held at the Royal Melbourne Show. There I met many country girls who were representing their rural Victoria home. I made it into a final round of judging but I think justice prevailed when someone from a country background was crowned. It was fun to go into the show as I had not really been before and to see the displays of handcraft, cooking and wood chopping events was great as well as the judging of farm animals interesting. It is hard to remember the Eltham I grew up in. The Lyons Garage company bus that actually drove you home (or close to it) when we got off the train at night. The Eltham Hotel on a Saturday afternoon a usual social meeting place where people just sat and chatted. The pictures held in the Town Hall and when the fire alarm sounded all the men just jumped up and ran to help. Suburbia has now swallowed most of that life but thankfully we at least do have the trestle bridge and parkland. Digital file only - Black and white photo print on loan for scanning by EDHSalec chapman, annie bremner, blacksmith, bremner's flat, brougham steet, bus services, circus, diamond creek, dianne bell, doctor bradbury, easter gymkhana, elizabeth chapman, eltham high school, eltham hotel, eltham lower park, eltham public hall, eltham state school, eltham trestle bridge, general store, grace mitchell, ice man, joy chapman, lyons garage, margaret harding, milk bar, miss eltham 1965, miss victoria show girl, mount pleasant road, pan man, rodda parade, shops, show girl competition, swimming pool, water hole, yarra river

My Recollections of Eltham Past by Margaret Joy Harding (nee Joy Chapman.) My family of Elizabeth and Alec Chapman moved to Eltham in 1946 into a cottage on the opposite side of the Diamond Creek from where the little train now operates in the Lower Park. At that time Eltham truly was a country town and the Pub was the main meeting place for most inhabitants on a Saturday afternoon in the beer garden. I attended Eltham Primary School where I started as a 4-year-old (my birthday being slightly after the mid-year intake) that happened then. My mother spent a lot of days taking me back to school when I had dismissed myself and walked the one kilomtre home alone. Bremner's Common (now Wingrove Park) was a big attraction with its dam and tad poling which I found much more entertaining than school. (Mrs Bremner ran a Service Station on the site of the current one). Another attraction at this site was the circus that came a couple of times a year. Watching them put up the circus tent was very interesting and even more of an attraction was the feeding of the Lions in cages and the monkeys and elephants among the other animals that are not found in a circus these days. At school then we were provided with hot chocolate at morning recess where the mothers would prepare it in the shelter shed. The only form of classroom heating was an open fire. Worse was the warm milk given in the summer months. By the time I was near finishing at Primary school we used to be able to walk along the Main Road at lunchtime to Mrs. Mitchell's shop to a delicious hot pie. As I recall there was no supervision for this departure from the school grounds. It is interesting that some of the other children I started school with I still have contact with, in fact one is a very good friend although now living in Perth. That is the other thing about Eltham; many who grew up here continue to live in the area. Following primary school, the natural progression was to Eltham High School. There was only the main building at that time and I can remember our first assembly at the front entrance. During the time I was at High School several new class rooms were added and the school hall. I remember the musical plays such as HMS Pinafore and other classical musicals being performed. I also remember countless hours doing marching practice. The main street shops when I was young consisted of the Blue Gum milk bar at the far end, a Grocery store and a shoe maker where Coles currently stands. Opposite there was Lyon's Garage. They also provided a bus service and when we got off the train this little bus would tour the back streets taking each individual to their home, sometimes this could take quite considerable time. There was also a Black Smith next to the Chiropractic Practice opposite Alistair Knox Park, another Milk Bar/General Store on the comer of Bridge Street/Main Road where a shop currently still operates. There was also a Butcher's shop down from the pub opposite Franklin Street. The only doctor was next to the courthouse on the other side of Brougham Street. On Saturday afternoon I was occasionally allowed to go the movies in the Town Hall which also stood on the site of the Coles centre. Often the Fire Alarm would sound and everyone would run outside to watch the fire truck leave with the volunteers clutching on the back. The other attraction during summer of course was the swimming pool which was a small concrete pool filled with water pumped from the Diamond Creek, sometimes it was like a mud puddle so for me the nearer to home Yarra/Diamond Creek junction was a much better option. We swam in the water hole which was quite deep and with fallen trees and sometimes carcasses of cows and kangaroos floating past. As recreation, the churches were another attraction for the Sunday school picnics to Mordialloc in the back of the moving van with benches tied into the back for us to "sit" on. Too bad when we went around a corner! In the early days we had an Ice Man deliver the ice once a week for "refrigeration". The green grocer came around in a horse and cart as did the milkman and the bread was delivered but I constantly got into trouble for eating the middle out on the way from the box it was delivered to in Mt Pleasant road across the paddock. The milkman finally would not come down our street after his horse bolted one morning and took off across the paddock. We also had the "Pan Man" come weekly and whose visit I would avoid. Our nearest shop was where the flower stall is located opposite the Lower Park. It consisted of a Tea Room and Milk Bar. There was a Public Telephone there which was the only contact to anyone else. We were a one car family so my mother’s movements were very limited as the Eltham Station was a couple of kilometres away and a trip to the city was an event. Being an only child growing up was a little lonely however rambling along the creek with my Mum, picking mushrooms and picking cherry plums for jam and the dogs catching rabbits which we ate if we could get them away from the dogs. We also liked to go into the Lower Park during school holidays when the Greek people came to camp and they would sing and dance around the camp fire and it all seemed so different to us as this was early days of immigration. Childhood was relatively simple and carefree and I wish the kids of today had the freedom of my youth and the healthy outdoor lifestyle of the "olden days".   SHOW GIRL COMPETITION In 1965 Eltham was more like a country town than the suburb it has become today. People knew each other, if not personally then certainly of the family name. The big event for the year was a Gymkhana or show at Lower Eltham Park. I can remember marching as a teenager from the town centre to the park in the marching girls with the decorated floats. In 1965, just on a whim on the day, I decided to enter the Miss Eltham Show Girl which was a part of the festivities at the park. I seem to remember that the show mainly consisted of horse events, cattle judging and dog show. As I had not given any serious thought to entering the competition, I wore a suit that I had for work which was brown wool, with a coffee coloured shirt under, black shoes, bag, and gloves but no hat. I duly paraded for the judges and much to my surprise I was announced the winner. I eventually went on to compete at the Miss Victoria Show Girl competition which was held at the Royal Melbourne Show. There I met many country girls who were representing their rural Victoria home. I made it into a final round of judging but I think justice prevailed when someone from a country background was crowned. It was fun to go into the show as I had not really been before and to see the displays of handcraft, cooking and wood chopping events was great as well as the judging of farm animals interesting. It is hard to remember the Eltham I grew up in. The Lyons Garage company bus that actually drove you home (or close to it) when we got off the train at night. The Eltham Hotel on a Saturday afternoon a usual social meeting place where people just sat and chatted. The pictures held in the Town Hall and when the fire alarm sounded all the men just jumped up and ran to help. Suburbia has now swallowed most of that life but thankfully we at least do have the trestle bridge and parkland. Digital file only - Black and white photo print on loan for scanning by EDHSalec chapman, annie bremner, blacksmith, bremner's flat, brougham steet, bus services, circus, diamond creek, dianne bell, doctor bradbury, easter gymkhana, elizabeth chapman, eltham high school, eltham hotel, eltham lower park, eltham public hall, eltham state school, eltham trestle bridge, general store, grace mitchell, ice man, joy chapman, lyons garage, margaret harding, milk bar, miss eltham 1965, miss victoria show girl, mount pleasant road, pan man, rodda parade, shops, show girl competition, swimming pool, water hole, yarra river

My Recollections of Eltham Past by Margaret Joy Harding (nee Joy Chapman.) My family of Elizabeth and Alec Chapman moved to Eltham in 1946 into a cottage on the opposite side of the Diamond Creek from where the little train now operates in the Lower Park. At that time Eltham truly was a country town and the Pub was the main meeting place for most inhabitants on a Saturday afternoon in the beer garden. I attended Eltham Primary School where I started as a 4-year-old (my birthday being slightly after the mid-year intake) that happened then. My mother spent a lot of days taking me back to school when I had dismissed myself and walked the one kilomtre home alone. Bremner's Common (now Wingrove Park) was a big attraction with its dam and tad poling which I found much more entertaining than school. (Mrs Bremner ran a Service Station on the site of the current one). Another attraction at this site was the circus that came a couple of times a year. Watching them put up the circus tent was very interesting and even more of an attraction was the feeding of the Lions in cages and the monkeys and elephants among the other animals that are not found in a circus these days. At school then we were provided with hot chocolate at morning recess where the mothers would prepare it in the shelter shed. The only form of classroom heating was an open fire. Worse was the warm milk given in the summer months. By the time I was near finishing at Primary school we used to be able to walk along the Main Road at lunchtime to Mrs. Mitchell's shop to a delicious hot pie. As I recall there was no supervision for this departure from the school grounds. It is interesting that some of the other children I started school with I still have contact with, in fact one is a very good friend although now living in Perth. That is the other thing about Eltham; many who grew up here continue to live in the area. Following primary school, the natural progression was to Eltham High School. There was only the main building at that time and I can remember our first assembly at the front entrance. During the time I was at High School several new class rooms were added and the school hall. I remember the musical plays such as HMS Pinafore and other classical musicals being performed. I also remember countless hours doing marching practice. The main street shops when I was young consisted of the Blue Gum milk bar at the far end, a Grocery store and a shoe maker where Coles currently stands. Opposite there was Lyon's Garage. They also provided a bus service and when we got off the train this little bus would tour the back streets taking each individual to their home, sometimes this could take quite considerable time. There was also a Black Smith next to the Chiropractic Practice opposite Alistair Knox Park, another Milk Bar/General Store on the comer of Bridge Street/Main Road where a shop currently still operates. There was also a Butcher's shop down from the pub opposite Franklin Street. The only doctor was next to the courthouse on the other side of Brougham Street. On Saturday afternoon I was occasionally allowed to go the movies in the Town Hall which also stood on the site of the Coles centre. Often the Fire Alarm would sound and everyone would run outside to watch the fire truck leave with the volunteers clutching on the back. The other attraction during summer of course was the swimming pool which was a small concrete pool filled with water pumped from the Diamond Creek, sometimes it was like a mud puddle so for me the nearer to home Yarra/Diamond Creek junction was a much better option. We swam in the water hole which was quite deep and with fallen trees and sometimes carcasses of cows and kangaroos floating past. As recreation, the churches were another attraction for the Sunday school picnics to Mordialloc in the back of the moving van with benches tied into the back for us to "sit" on. Too bad when we went around a corner! In the early days we had an Ice Man deliver the ice once a week for "refrigeration". The green grocer came around in a horse and cart as did the milkman and the bread was delivered but I constantly got into trouble for eating the middle out on the way from the box it was delivered to in Mt Pleasant road across the paddock. The milkman finally would not come down our street after his horse bolted one morning and took off across the paddock. We also had the "Pan Man" come weekly and whose visit I would avoid. Our nearest shop was where the flower stall is located opposite the Lower Park. It consisted of a Tea Room and Milk Bar. There was a Public Telephone there which was the only contact to anyone else. We were a one car family so my mother’s movements were very limited as the Eltham Station was a couple of kilometres away and a trip to the city was an event. Being an only child growing up was a little lonely however rambling along the creek with my Mum, picking mushrooms and picking cherry plums for jam and the dogs catching rabbits which we ate if we could get them away from the dogs. We also liked to go into the Lower Park during school holidays when the Greek people came to camp and they would sing and dance around the camp fire and it all seemed so different to us as this was early days of immigration. Childhood was relatively simple and carefree and I wish the kids of today had the freedom of my youth and the healthy outdoor lifestyle of the "olden days".   SHOW GIRL COMPETITION In 1965 Eltham was more like a country town than the suburb it has become today. People knew each other, if not personally then certainly of the family name. The big event for the year was a Gymkhana or show at Lower Eltham Park. I can remember marching as a teenager from the town centre to the park in the marching girls with the decorated floats. In 1965, just on a whim on the day, I decided to enter the Miss Eltham Show Girl which was a part of the festivities at the park. I seem to remember that the show mainly consisted of horse events, cattle judging and dog show. As I had not given any serious thought to entering the competition, I wore a suit that I had for work which was brown wool, with a coffee coloured shirt under, black shoes, bag, and gloves but no hat. I duly paraded for the judges and much to my surprise I was announced the winner. I eventually went on to compete at the Miss Victoria Show Girl competition which was held at the Royal Melbourne Show. There I met many country girls who were representing their rural Victoria home. I made it into a final round of judging but I think justice prevailed when someone from a country background was crowned. It was fun to go into the show as I had not really been before and to see the displays of handcraft, cooking and wood chopping events was great as well as the judging of farm animals interesting. It is hard to remember the Eltham I grew up in. The Lyons Garage company bus that actually drove you home (or close to it) when we got off the train at night. The Eltham Hotel on a Saturday afternoon a usual social meeting place where people just sat and chatted. The pictures held in the Town Hall and when the fire alarm sounded all the men just jumped up and ran to help. Suburbia has now swallowed most of that life but thankfully we at least do have the trestle bridge and parkland. Digital file only - Black and white photo print on loan for scanning by EDHSalec chapman, annie bremner, blacksmith, bremner's flat, brougham steet, bus services, circus, diamond creek, dianne bell, doctor bradbury, easter gymkhana, elizabeth chapman, eltham high school, eltham hotel, eltham lower park, eltham public hall, eltham state school, eltham trestle bridge, general store, grace mitchell, ice man, joy chapman, lyons garage, margaret harding, milk bar, miss eltham 1965, miss victoria show girl, mount pleasant road, pan man, rodda parade, shops, show girl competition, swimming pool, water hole, yarra river