Polishing irons were used for ironing collars and frills. Historical information Sad-irons (the term comes from an old word sald for solid) were made by blacksmiths and used to smooth out material by pressing the hot iron over it. A piece of sheet -iron was placed over the kitchen fire and the irons placed on it could be heated whilst remaining clean of ash.. The women used 2 irons - one heating while the other was used. Thick cloth or gloves protected their hands from the hot irons. The cool iron was replaced on the fire or stove to heat again. These irons were cleaned with steel wool to prevent them marking the material. If the iron was too hot the material would scorch. Most homes set aside one day for ironing and some large households had an ironing room with a special stove designed to heat irons. However, most women had to work with a heavy, hot iron close to the fireplace even in summer. A solid piece of cast iron, the base is triangular a shape with an eight centimetre base with curved sides coming to a point 13 centimetres from the base and is three and a half centimetres Thick. The bottom of the iron is curved. Two curved pieces two and a half centimetres wide, half a centimetre thick and six centimetres apart rise from rise up seven centimetres, between them is a two centimetre diameter and nine centimetre long hollow handle. Embossed on the iron is - 4 SILVESTERS PATENT SALTER and an arrow with a knotted rope around it. K13polishing iron, silvesters patent, sad iron

Flat irons were used for general ironing. Historical information Sad Irons (the term comes from an old word sald for solid) were made by blacksmiths and used to smooth out material by pressing the hot iron over it. A piece of sheet -iron was placed over the kitchen fire and the irons placed on it could be heated whilst remaining clean of ash. The women used 2 irons - one heating while the other was used. Thick cloth or gloves protected their hands from the hot irons. The cool iron was replaced on the fire or stove to heat again. These irons were cleaned with steel wool to prevent them marking the material. If the iron was too hot the material would scorch. Most homes set aside one day for ironing and some large households had an ironing room with a special stove designed to heat irons. However, most women had to work with a heavy, hot iron close to the fireplace even in summer. A solid piece of cast iron, the base is triangular a shape with a ten centimetre base with curved sides coming to a point 15.5 centimetres from the base and is three centimteres thick. The bottom of the iron is flat. Two curved pieces three centimetres wide, half a centimetre thick and seven centimetres apart rise from rise up eight centimetres, between them is a two centimetre diameter and ten centimetre long hollow handle. Embossed on the iron is - 4 SILVESTERS PATENT SALTER and an arrow with a knotted rope around it. K5polishing iron, silvesters patent, sad iron

A copy of the Victoria Telephone Directory which is dated in May 1937. It features the telephone numbers for Bendigo, Castlemaine, Echuca, St. Arnaud, Sea Lakes, Swan hill Districts. The front cover also features an ad for the Bendigo moving Business Buckell and Jeffry which has a picture of a black truck with its back open and has the text "Buckell and Jeffry PTY. LTD BENDIGO Local & Interstate FURNITURE, BRICK REMOVALS, STORAGE, Office Railway Place PHONE 17 Bendigo, Special Equipment available also for MOVING HOUSES and HEAVY MACHINERY" The back cover also features two ads, one for the Hotel Ritz which details "Country Visitors to Melbourne will find the HOTEL RITZ, FITZROY STREET ST. KILDA, Conveniently situated to Beaches (3 minutes) and City (10 minutes). Electric Trams pass the door. equipped with Central heating. Hot and Cold water and House Phone in every Bedroom. Luxuriously Furnished. Execellent Cuisine. The Ritz offers the Finest in Hotel Accommodation." and the other ad for the Colonial Scale Repair Co. in Melbournebook, rural

Copy of two page computation of Poppet Legs Monument for Long Gully History Group, dated July 02. The first page is Framing sizes (proposed) and the second page is Base Details. The first page details the type of materials and sizes to use, the names of the various pieces and the lengths. Frame to be Hot Dipped Galvanised. The second page details the size, concrete strength, chamfer on edges of base and insertions into concrete to weld the legs to. Both drawings have a graph paper background.bendigo, history, long gully history group, the long gully history group - poppet legs monument for long gully history group, osborne consulting group, howard terrace

Bendigo Advertiser "The way we were" from 1999. Hot bread: Excelsior Bakery, California Gully, circa 1900. The bakery was established by W.H. Reed in 1890 to supply bread to residents of Eaglehawk and Bendigo. The bread was so popular Mr. Reed extended the bakehouse and opened another store. In 1901 he was employing 17 people.newspaper, bendigo advertiser, the way we were

Cast iron coal iron or Box iron with wooden handles, hinged top lifts for inserting hot coals inside and a chimney in front allows smoke to escape, a small hole on rear with door allows for air flow. Estate of E. Shermandomestic equipment, laundering, iron, estate of e. sherman

Embroidered by hand. Top edged in gathered, coffee coloured lace, 4.5 cm wide. An opening at the base is also edged in the same patterned lace.Four metal press-studs close the shoulders and neck of the cover. Padded and lined with art-silk featuring butterflies and floral designs in dark - grey and white. The initials M.B. are satin stitched on the back, while fine running stitches outline a pattern on the front, emphasising the padded effect.Hand stitched, the initials M.B. give the only indication of ownership.manchester, trimmings, pink satin hot water bottle cover

Small label, hot sauce guaranteed under the pure food Act 1906. Bendigo Tomato Products Company. Bendigo - Victoria - Australia.business, retail, bendigo tomato products, bendigo tomato products company.

Slide. Garden 12 Hope Street. Red hot poker flower.slide, bendigo, garden 12 hope street., garden 12 hope street.

Slide, Garden (Flowers) 12 Hope Street. Red Hot Poker.slide, bendigo, garden (flowers) 12 hope street., garden (flowers) 12 hope street.

Document. Dr. J.J.Ridge has prepared the following list of Simple Remedies for relief of pain, for colic, faintness, and palpitation. 1. WATER as hot as can be conveniently swallowed, either alone or slightly sweetened. To be sipped. Even cold water stimulates the heart without exhausting it. 2. GINGER TEA:- One teaspoonful of powdered ginger to a teacupful of boiling water; sweeten, sip hot. 3. HERB TEA:- A teaspoonful of powdered sage, mint, or similar herb, to a teacupful of boiling water; sweeten, sip hot. 4. MEAT EXTRACT:- A teaspoonful of Liebig's Extract or Bovril in a wineglassful of hot water, with herb flavouring if preferred. This is a special heart stimulant. Four copies.Printed for the Bendigo Total Abstinence Society by A.M.Drummond, Printer, Bendigo Arcade.organisation, community, abstinence society

Blue enamel hot food flask with lid. Lid has metal loop on side. Wire handle with wooden insert on handle. Item used to transport hot food for consumption by miner whilst working underground.domestic equipment, food consumption, hot food flask

The Thomas James Connelly collection. T. J. Connelly - Brassfounder, Coppersmith, Plumber and Gasfitter. Located in High St. Bendigo. Items of correspondence. Memo headed Sandhurst Sept 17th 1870. Memo for Mr Connelly. Please send up to Benevolent Asylum and repair Steam exhaust pipe from Kitchen Range also, Hot water pipes and pump, etc. Vahland & Getzschmann, Architects. There are some numbers scribbled on the left side and on the reverse.trades, plumbing, thomas james connelly, connelly, thomas james. bendigo plumbers. vahland & getzschmann. bendigo benevolent asylum.

In 1913, Mark Cowley Lidwill designed a machine for the purpose of mechanical or insufflation anaesthesia. The Lidwill machine was a portable machine weighing 7kg that could easily be packed into two small bags. The machine involved compressed air being delivered to an ether vaporiser. An ether/air control device allowed varying concentrations of ether to be delivered. The ether vaporiser could be immersed in hot water to prevent cooling and the ether temperature was measured. From the vaporiser, the ether/air mixture went through a trap bottle, then to a crude mercury blow-off valve and subsequently to the patient.Large leather suitcase style bag divided into two levels containing and insufflation anaesthesia machine.insufflation, mark cowley lidwill, thoracic surgery, positive pressure

Donated by Sir Henry Newland.The samovar stands 41cm high, and is 39cm wide across the handles. It is made of Sheffield plate, and dates from the late 18th century. It is supported on a square base with four cast lion’s feet attached by elaborate mounts at the corners. The main vessel or tank is circular, and set on a short columnar stand. These elements are heavily fluted. There are two elaborately decorated solid cast silver handles attached to the sides of the tank. A long spout with a cast ivory handled tap extends from the bottom of the tank. The lid is plainer, with a fluted and scalloped edge, and is capped with a finial. Inside the tank is a cylindrical immersion container for hot coals, a primitive type of heating element. There is a crest, probably that of the original owner, engraved on the shoulder of the tank above the tap. A samovar is a Russian tea urn but the College’s samovar is not a tea urn, as it does not include the stand or the teapot. Undoubtedly it was intended to provide hot water for tea, and the absence of a matching teapot indicates a cultural difference between the English and the Russians, in the way in which they went about brewing tea. It is a showpiece, intended for use and display in the reception rooms of the house. In the 18th century tea was still a rare and exotic import from the Orient, so the serving of tea was an important act of hospitality and a statement of social status.Sir Henry Newland was the College President 1929-1935Antique sheffield plated samovar with shell design and pressed rib border, finely worked casted handles, spout with swivel top, with tapered centre column, square shaped base with cast lions feet

David Armfield studied at the National Gallery School in the 1940s and turned to full time painting in 1965. RMIT printamking. He has won several art awards, including the Ramsay Prize - NGV School, the Redcliffe and in 1980 the Eltham Prize. Armfield is represented in the National Gallery collection, Art Gallery of NSW, Tasmanian Art Gallery, several regional art galleries across Australia as well as private collections. David Armfield first came to Eltham in the late 1903s on painting trips and used to camp on the banks of the Diamond Creed. He returned to Eltham in 1957 with his wife Joan who has subsequently become one of the district's potters, and built a mud brick house and studio in John Street on land adjoining Peter Glass. He has painted many landscapes in the district including intimate studies of the bush floor and the aftermath of bush fires.'Untitled' by David Armfield an oil on canvas painting depicts sand, sea, distant mountains and various figures scattered about in a typical Armfield landscape. The figures tend to be annonymous, sometimes included more to establish the scale than for a narrative purpose. The figures are well clothed and it could be assumed that it is not a hot summer's day. Depth is established by changing of colours and diminishing the size of the figures.david armfield, beach, eltham, nillumbik shire council

The Hepburn Pool was built in Spring Creek during the 1930s by the Zelman's of Bellinzona Guest House. Alberto Zelman's paid for local workers to construct the pool to their specifications so the visitors to local guest houses could swim on hot days. The Hepburn Pool was used for the Victorian Swimming Championships, with 6 stones marked at one end for each lane . It is 50 yards long, the length required for competitions. In 1969 the Daylesford Olympic Swimming Pool was constructed so this 'old swimming pool' was neglected, fortunately in 1993 local volunteers associated with the Savoia Hotel returned the pool to its former glory with the help of old photos and a lot of hard work. Two well known swimmers swam at the pool in the Victorian swimming Championships, they were Annette Kellerman and Frank Beaurepaire. The Pool was named Victoria's Favourite Built Place in 2004 as part of the Victorian Government's involvement in the International Year of the Built Environment. It was included on the Victorian Heritage Register following a nomination and comparative analysis of pre Olympic Swimming Pools in Victoria by Lisa Gervasoni.Black and white imageof the Hepburn Pool in Spring Creek, with spectators on the hill. hepburn springs swimming pool, hepburn springs, hepburn pool, pre-olympic swimming pools, albert zelman, bellinzona, pre-0lympic swimming pool

The Hepburn Pool was built in Spring Creek during the 1930s by the Zelman's of Bellinzona Guest House. Alberto Zelman's paid for local workers to construct the pool to their specifications so the visitors to local guest houses could swim on hot days. The Hepburn Pool was used for the Victorian Swimming Championships, with 6 stones marked at one end for each lane . It is 50 yards long, the length required for competitions. In 1969 the Daylesford Olympic Swimming Pool was constructed so this 'old swimming pool' was neglected, fortunately in 1993 local volunteers associated with the Savoia Hotel returned the pool to its former glory with the help of old photos and a lot of hard work. Two well known swimmers swam at the pool in the Victorian swimming Championships, they were Annette Kellerman and Frank Beaurepaire. The Pool was named Victoria's Favourite Built Place in 2004 as part of the Victorian Government's involvement in the International Year of the Built Environment. It was included on the Victorian Heritage Register following a nomination and comparative analysis of pre Olympic Swimming Pools in Victoria by Lisa Gervasoni.Black and white image from a glass plate of the Hepburn Pool in Spring Creek, with spectators on the hill. and swimmers in the water.hepburn springs swimming pool, hepburn springs, hepburn pool, pre-olympic swimming pools, albert zelman, bellinzona, pre-0lympic swimming pool

A number of colour photographs showing regrowth on Eucalypts from Kings Road, Marysville. The trees had been subject to a hot burn during the 2009 'Black Saturday' bushfire. A newly constructed house is in the foreground.bushfire, black saturday, marysville, kings road

A colour photographs showing regrowth on Eucalypts from Kings Road, Marysville. The trees werw to a hot burn during the 2009 'Black Saturday' bushfire. A newly constructed house is in the foreground.bushfire, black saturday, marysville, kings road

The Hepburn Pool was built in Spring Creek during the 1930s by the Zelmans of Bellinzona Guest House. Alberto Zelman paid for local workers to construct the pool to their specifications so the visitors to local guest houses could swim on hot days. The Hepburn Pool was used for the Victorian Swimming Championships, with 6 stones marked at one end for each lane. It is 50 yards long, the length required for competitions. In 1935 the Hepburn Amateur Swimming Club organised their first swimming carnival, the meeting conducted by the Victorian Amateur Swimming Association, In 1969 the Daylesford Olympic Swimming Pool was constructed so this 'old swimming pool' was neglected. Fortunately in 1993 local volunteers associated with the Savoia Hotel returned the pool to its former glory with the help of old photos and a lot of hard work. Two well known swimmers swam at the pool in the Victorian swimming Championships, they were Annette Kellerman and Frank Beaurepaire. The Pool was named Victoria's Favourite Built Place in 2004 as part of the Victorian Government's involvement in the International Year of the Built Environment. It was included on the Victorian Heritage Register following a nomination and comparative analysis of pre Olympic Swimming Pools in Victoria by Lisa Gervasoni.Black and white photograph of the Hepburn Pool in Spring Creek, including the diving board.hepburn springs swimming pool, hepburn springs, hepburn pool, pre-olympic swimming pools, albert zelman, bellinzona, annette kellerman, frank beaurepaire, victorian amateur swimming association, hepburn amateur swimming club

Postcard photograph showing a tree fern gully. The title on the front is Gully "Hospice" Olinda. The Hospice was a guest house built in 1904 by Joseph Gutmann in the Main Street of Olinda. The Dorey Family ran The Hospice from 1908 - 1911. The Hospice burned down in 1924. The reverse of the postcard contains a small section of a letter that must be continued elsewhere. It is addressed to Miss Iris Dorey.Handwritten in black ink on reverse: Miss Iris Dorey "The Hospice" Olinda .....address as I wish to send him a photo of the group at the Gully. We had a lovely ride to the station on Monday. The hot weather is just coming on now &it is very trying at work. I think you were taken with the dog but your........the hospice, guest house, guesthouse, iris dorey, olinda, joseph gutmann, tree ferns, fern gully

Creamy Coloured Card folded in half. Marvellous Melbourne Bicentennial Ball The Royal Exhibition Building Carlton 29th April 1988. Order of Programme. 8.00pm Arrival 8.30 Welcome to Guests Dancing. 9.30 Dinner Dancing. 10.30 Announcement of Prizes. Addresses Dancing 2.00 am Close Music provided by the Wedderburn Old Timers. Menu Hot Chicken Entrée Selection Cold Meats & Salads Tipsy Cake Dinner Mints & Coffee. Acknowledgements Artwork - The Scriptorium Patricia Barth Hose Glassware Seppelt's Wines Trustees of the Exhibition Building Melbourne Parks and Gardens Proudly sponsored by 3AK.person, individual, peter ellis oam

Diggers & Mining. Stores at the diggings. And Restaurant, Opposite the Government Camp, Bendigo, And opposite the Camp, Tarrangower or Bryant's Ranges. The proprietors respectfully intimate to the Digging Community and Public in general of TARRANGOWER, thus they have opened the above BRANCH DINING ROOMS, where they trust, by unremitting attention, and supplying Provisions of the best quality, and having the same Bill or Fare as at Bendigo, to merit a share of public patronage. Soups, Chops, and Steaks at all hours of the day, Hot Coffee always ready. Parties visiting these diggings will find the above a first- rate House, possessing every requisite in the way of Cleanliness and Punctuality. Information regarding the diggings will be given to Strangers. Good Beds. Slide reads; By 1854, better accommodation was available on most of the diggings. (Gold Diggers' Advocate, July, 15, 1854.) Markings: 21 994.LIF. 5. Used as a teaching aid.hanimounteducation, tertiary, goldfields

Bendigo Performance of ''Madam and her Orkestra'' Cabaret night with BYO supper hamper, drinks and glasses - ''Australia's Red Hot Mamma - a Phenomenon'' - three pages of background to the group of four musicians; two pages from the 'West Australian Magazine' backgrounding pat Thompson (singer) and one page drawing (cartoon) of Pat (presumably - not named). Advertising flyer re Bendigo performance - with annotations of 1991 (crossed out) and 1992.

In 1977, artist Annette Meikle undertook a commission to illustrate a book recording stories of places and people in the Bayside area. It was published in 1978 as Sandringham Sketchbook, with text by Elizabeth Waters. The sketches were intended to record remaining examples of Bayside’s early architecture and environment, as well as reflect newer architectural changes. Meikle went on to donate 22 of these sketches to Bayside City Council in 2003. Semco Park was a model of exemplary modern business in the 1920s. Located on Cheltenham Road, Black Rock, then considered to be an outer suburb, the property was home to Semco, a manufacturing and importing business of paper goods and cotton fabric items. The business’s governing director, Charles Mylius, wanted a firm that treated staff with fairness, created healthy and spacious working sites and offered recreational facilities. The site contained a factory as well as three houses for staff, a park with lawns, trees and flowerbeds, a cricket oval and a canteen serving hot food. Staff enjoyed soft background music played in the factory, and benefited from a superannuation scheme. Semco Park was sold to developers in 1977 but the business continued until the early 1990s with the office moving to Mulgrave, while factory work shifted to New Zealand.Annette Meikle, Semco Park 1977, ink and watercolour, 25.8 x 35.7 cm. Bayside City Council Art and Heritage Collection. Donated by the artist, 2003annette meikle, sandringham sketchbook, elizabeth waters, semco park, semco, cheltenham road, black rock

Before hot and cold water was easily available children were bathed in small tubs. An oval metal wash tub. The base has a four centmetres metal band around it that extends two and a half centimetres below the bottom of the tub. The bottom of the tub is an oval 50 centimetres long and 40 centimeters wide. The wall is 29 centimetres high with rolled rim half a centimetre wide on the top, it's made in two pieces that are folded together at each end. The top of the tub is an oval 62 centimetres long and 49 centimetres wide. There are identical metal handles at the top of the tub at each end, they are made of a one centimetre diameter metal rode, they have a nine centimetres long grip, a four centimetre piece at right angles on each end and a two centimetre long piece at the opposite right angle on the end which is inserted into a two centimetre loop that's attached to the tub. wash tub, personal hygiene

The AFB were aware that accommodation options for blind people were limited and sought to open a hostel to assist with this.The first hostel opened in Lara Street, South Yarra but could not meet demand. In 1926, a suitable property 'Egremont' at 54 The Avenue, Windsor, came on the market. The price was £2650. Lack of funds to purchase seemed an insurmountable barrier. With assistance from the Trustees of the Edward Wilson Estate and the Felton Bequest a deposit of £650 was raised. In a huge step of faith the Committee took out a mortgage of £2000. The interest on the mortgage and its repayments weighed heavily on the Committee. The Avenue, as 'Egremont' was commonly termed, was also a seven roomed house. Mr Paterson and the Architect, Mr Parkes of Oakley and Parkes, immediately began planning an extension, fourteen single bedrooms were added. They were filled from the Waiting List. A Windsor Auxiliary was formed and worked to reduce the mortgage of £2000. An active programme of dances, card evenings, theatre nights and the like took place under the leadership of Mrs. Robertson. The Auxiliary also took an interest in the boarders, arranging entertainment and social activity. £1500. was still owed in 1930. Living side by side is no easy task for a group of people, and the Hostel meeting minute books are filled with stories of disputes over wireless sets, telephones, hot water bottles and wardrobes. In 1958, with rising costs and the growth of aged care centres, the Hostel was closed and the house sold to a succession of private buyers. In 2016 it still stands and has been refurbished as a guest house.B/W copy of newspaper photographThe hostel for blind women at 54 The Avenue, Windsor was established in 1926 to provide a place where sightless women may live together to their mutual advantage under proper and sympathetic supervision. The Windsor Hostel was sold in 1958. This building still stands today and has been refurbished.egremont, blind womens hostel, tilly aston

Ski-Horizon is the official journal of the Federation of Victorian Ski Clubs which began publication in 1949. The were 26 original member clubs which included Albury Ski Club, Bogong Ski Club, Myrtleford Ski Club, Tallangatta and District Ski Club and Wangaratta Ski Club. Two pioneers of Falls Creek, Tom Mitchell, M.L.A., and Martin Romuld were Vice-Presidents of the Federation.This Journal is significant because it documents the early development of skiing in Victoria.The journal features stories and events chronicling developments in Victoria and internationally. Items related to the Falls Creek Area in this issue include:- Page 11:- Busy year for Falls Creek Instructors. Bob Hymans has been a great asset for the last three seasons. Milan Kovicic (previously instructing in Italy for 11 years) and Toni St. Elmo are instructing at the Nissen Ski School Page 13 - Toni & Skippy St. Elmo's Tow House canteen sells every provision a skier could ever want - hot meals, groceries, toilet and first-aid gear, stationery - even souvenirs. Page 20 - Falls Creek in Spring - Bogong Ski Club reports improvements in their facilities as well as around Falls Creek. Their lodge has been repainted and refurnische. The SEC has begun to allow private car convoys to travel to Howman's at set times. Regular trains are available from Melbourne connect with Hoy's Bus at Wangaratta. Overnight accommodation and parking can be arranged at Tawonga. The Tow House now provides two tows and food supplies. Snow conditions were lending themselves to a bumper year ahead. Members of other clubs could apply to stay at Bogong Ski Club at an overnight fee of 10/- for Melbourne clubs amd 8/- for N.E.D.S.A. Clubs plus 6d. per night for the Skiing Improvement Fund.tom mitchell m.l.a., bogong ski club, toni st. elmo

Mary Tolhurst M&DHS - March 29th Dunvegan Willows Park Melton 1992 Ladies Oral History Day Graham Minns President Ray Radford MC Sound recording transfer to CD 2011 by Tom Wood Edited typescript by Wendy Barrie 2013 I was born in Rockbank, and when I was five years old moved to Toolern Vale and started and finished school there. Toolern Vale only consisted of the Store, Post Office and shop, where you could buy your fodder, and pollard supplies, the Hall, the little Church and the bluestone School. The School changed shape three times from the 1800s[1869] til the time I went there. There was four generations of my family that went there and it was destroyed by fire in 1965. Marjorie nee Myers Butler. Yes, I remember along with it your lovely Ronisch piano. Mary, quite true! Marj what you say about the Ronisch piano. When I came the age to learn music my mum and dad couldn’t really afford it, but still what parents do for their children. They had Marj go along with them and pick this lovely Ronisch piano. It was known round the district. Everyone commented about the loss that lovely piano. After leaving school it was war time, 1939, then it was work, When I was 7 year old I was put out into the cow yard. In 1940 when the soldiers were going away our milk was confiscated it had to go to Bacchus Marsh. It used to go the Sunbury to be brine cooled and then go to Melbourne. Then they took it then to the Lifeguard Milk Factory at Bacchus Marsh. It had to go as condensed milk to the soldiers. This year is 50 years of the Land Army. I was an unofficial Land Army but they still kept check on me. I went onto married life and I followed the cows right through [howls of laughter] and we went on until the 1965 fire. That’s when we got out of the cows. Marjorie asks, was Granny Watts your grandmother or great grandmother? Mary: She was my great grandmother, the midwife of Melton. The 1965 fire started ¾ of a mile above our place, Frank Ryan’s sheds were burnt and his house was saved, then it wiped the School out, the Hall, the Church the Post Office and Store and little house that was Charlie Charlton’s in the early days. Mrs Wilson’s place was saved by the Fire Brigade by pulling boards off the side, and from there it went over the hill and it was stopped at the Rockbank Railway Station. If it had of got over the railway they said it would have gone into Werribee. A lot was burnt out in that strip. Mary nee Nixon Collins: 18 houses burnt that day. Audience question, did Melton get burnt that day? Ray: No. It came down through the Toolern Vale road and cut across about a mile and a half from the cross roads at Toolern Vale from north westerly to the south east and cut through over the Keilor road. Mary: It came in across the creek at Funstons in Toolern, then through Jim Minns. Dorothy was it your place then [nee Knox Beaty] to Ken Beatty’s and from there it went through to Doug McIntosh’s and to Cockbills and the wind changed and it came across to the railway line, and that is where they stopped it. [the cause of the fire was controversial, they had been burning off the night before and there was some talk of someone starting it. It was very hot and very strong wind, it was a terrible day] Ray: When the fire went through McIntosh’s they had a haystack on the north side of their house and the haystack got caught and the fire burnt a hole through the side of the house and the boys pyjamas on the bed. The house was saved. It came through like and express train roaring at you, I was at McIntosh’s when it went roaring past. You couldn’t see, dust and ash and tremendous heat. The fire started about 12 o’clock Jack [husband] said to me, fire, I said where, where? Just up the road, what have I got to do? and he went out and he had gone to the fire and left me. I tried to get the animals and I put out buckets of water, putting the buckets of water out saved my life. Chas Jones and another friend of his came in and they picked up the buckets of water, I thought I had better get out because the fire was on the haystack up the paddock and when I went to go out through the north side of the house and couldn’t get out, I’ll go through the front gate so I went around the other side of the house. I got caught there and Chassy Jones and his friend came round carrying the bucket of water and I panicked. He threw the bucket of water over me. Well that is what saved my life because I was damp, whenever we tried to leave the ball of fire came over me and over my shoulder and my hair was scorched. Chassy Jones lost his truck and Keith Watt his big truck because he had the water tank on it and they couldn’t get out of the yard. Granny Watt’s house, the first private hospital had condemned and Jack and I pulled it down and had it moved up to Toolern and had it in the yard a fortnight and it was all burnt and we didn’t get the shed we wanted. Every 13 years right up until Ash Wednesday fires, there has always been fire close at hand. The 1952 fire went down the back of the house, the 1965 fire took the house, and the house that I live in now, it is the third house that has been on that spot. When the Hunters owned it, Mrs Hunter was nearly burnt in her bed. They had a 13 roomed house. In 1924 the house burnt down, and there was another house was built there and that was the one that burnt down. Edna: So Mary built a brick veneer house. Marjorie: like the three little pigs [laughter] Collins - Mary M &DHS - March 29th 1992 Ladies oral history day at Dunvegan, Willows Park Melton. Graham Minns President Ray Radford MC Sound recording transferred to CD 2011 Edited typescript by Wendy Barrie 2013 Mary Collins nee Nixon born in Terang 1907 down in the Western District and we shifted to Melton when I was 5 and a half then I started school here in Melton, and spent all my school life at Melton State School, next to the Church of England, it’s called the Primary School now. I got my Qualifying and Merit Certificate then I left School because there wasn’t a High School. When I was 16 I got and job in the Melton Post Office and I worked there, I was the first girl in Melton to deliver the mail, and worked on the telephone and the Bank business. Mrs Ross and myself behind the counter, there were about 500 – 600 people in the Shire at that time and now when I go into the new Post Office there is 36,000 here there’s still 2 people behind the counter [laughter from the audience] and wait in a queue right out to the door. Times haven’t changed much have they! There was a manual telephone and you had to ring the handle, and there were eight subscribers when I went there and when I left there were 46 I had coaxed that number to join the telephone, even the police station didn’t have the phone on. The two Hotels and the two Chaff mills and Mr Ernie Barrie, Parkers the butcher, the Shire Office was No 8, and the Police house was next to the Courthouse on the corner. They were number 9. I can remember a lot of the numbers still. The Post Office was the Agency for the Commonwealth Bank [comment from audience member] I used to do the Bank business too, I left after four years there, mother wasn’t very well. The Inspector who used to come up to the Post Office asked me if I would take up casual Post Mistress and to go around the different districts but I refused and when Mrs Ross’s holidays were due I was the replacement. I wasn’t 21. I loved my work meeting everybody and most people had horse and jinkers and when the elderly would come in there would be Mr Tom Morrow, he only had one arm and Mrs Dunn came from Bulman’s road in their horse and jinker. They were elderly I would see them pull up out the front and quickly get their mail and run out to them because they didn’t have to get out of the jinker to tie up their horse. If someone had a baby in arms I would tear out and hold the baby while they got down. Mrs Ross was very very strict. I had to sweep the Post Office, she had a couple of mats and there would be a threepence or a sixpence under the mats show she knew whether I lifted the mat, I was whether I was honest or not. Graham: How much were your wages? I got 27/7 pence a week for a 52 hour week. I had to work every holiday except Good Friday and Christmas Day and even when it was Monday holiday I always had to go to work from 9am - !0 am, the Post Office was always open. In the winter I had to wait until twenty past six in case there were any telegrams to deliver. I delivered them on a push bike. One time Tom Barrie told me this years afterwards. I used to go home for lunch. We lived on the Keilor road and I used to ride my bike home. On the hot days the boys used to go and swim in the swimming pool down near a turn in the creek there was a hole where the boys would swim in the nude, they didn’t have any bathers and they didn’t have any watches in those days. Tom Barrie said they always used to watched for me as I was always about 3 minutes past 1, my lunch hour was from 1-2. One particular day they missed seeing me and swam on, and of course they were all late for school when they got back and were all kept in a night. I did get a fortnight holiday. I loved my work and I knew everyone in the district right from Toolern Vale to the Marsh and everybody at Melton South. Did you listen into conversations on the Switchboard? Oh no. [laughter] Melton did not have electricity then. I had to fill the lamps everyday with kerosene. The Staughton Memorial was outside the Post Office. It had four posts with the chain looped around it, and that’s where the people used to tie up their horses. Marjorie nee Myers Butler comments about sitting and swinging on the chains. Mr Fred Coburn lit the acetylene gas light in the Memorial. It was the only streetlight in Melton. There was no electricity until 1939. Ray Radford comments about another gas street light which was on the corner of Station road. [later] Mary passes around her school photos. Mary mentions the names of those who have passed away, Maisie McDonald, ,Marian Wraith, Hilda McCreey, and Valda McDonald. I have written the names on the back. Marjorie comments about Marie Jongebloed and Greta are the only two girls left out of big family of ten I think there were [hesitates] 4 or 5 girls and the rest were boys. Mary. Flora Woodley, Dorrie Flynn and Margaret McDonald are still alive. They are my age we were all born about 1907. Marjorie points out herself in a later photo [1921 and 1922 School ] Mary mentions the name Walsh and identyfies following names, the Parker boys, Ken Beaty, Malc and Linda Cameron, Maisie Mc Donald, Ted Radford, George Nixon, Norman Minns, he was later the Shire Secretary of Werribee. One of the Woodley girls. [Maisie Arthur] Marjorie: Rosie Shearwood, June Whiting Mary. Lily Mc Donald, she has passed away. Isabel Harrison nee Tinkler, she lives at Werribee, Doreen Rogers, Marjorie Walker, Jess McIntosh, Mary Gillespie. Mr Malone was the Junior teacher Mr Roe and Miss Cooke. Fred Myers, my sister [Elizabeth] and the year was 1921. Myers (Barrie) School Photo Collection. Many of the names were identified at the 1970 Centenary of Melton State School No. 430. Edna Barrie organised, compiled and typed the lists to accompany these photos for the year 1921. The 1922 photo shows the higher grades. Ladies Oral History Day event held by Melton and District Historical Society, article featured in the Telegraphlocal identities, local special interest groups