Samuel Painter’s first home – early 1890’s. He is on the right of the photo.

Collected by Dorothy Brumby in relation to Great Western ResearchB/W photograph of five miners with shovels and gold pans in creekMiners at Great Western Jack Carra on Right

This item is from the ‘Pattison Collection’, a collection of books and records that was originally owned by the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute, which was founded in Warrnambool in 1853. By 1886 the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute (WMI) had grown to have a Library, Museum and Fine Arts Gallery, with a collection of “… choice productions of art, and valuable specimens in almost every branch and many wonderful national curiosities are now to be seen there, including historic relics of the town and district.” It later included a School of Design. Although it was very well patronised, the lack of financial support led the WMI in 1911 to ask the City Council to take it over. In 1935 Ralph Pattison was appointed as City Librarian to establish and organise the Warrnambool Library as it was then called. When the WMI building was pulled down in 1963 a new civic building was erected on the site and the new Warrnambool Library, on behalf of the City Council, took over all the holdings of the WMI. At this time some of the items were separated and identified as the ‘Pattison Collection’, named after Ralph Pattison. Eventually the components of the WMI were distributed from the Warrnambool Library to various places, including the Art Gallery, Historical Society and Flagstaff Hill. Later some were even distributed to other regional branches of Corangamite Regional Library and passed to and fro. It is difficult now to trace just where all of the items have ended up. The books at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village generally display stamps and markings from Pattison as well as a variety of other institutions including the Mechanics’ Institute itself. RALPH ERIC PATTISON Ralph Eric Pattison was born in Rockhampton, Queensland, in 1891. He married Maude Swan from Warrnambool in 1920 and they set up home in Warrnambool. In 1935 Pattison accepted a position as City Librarian for the Warrnambool City Council. His huge challenge was to make a functional library within two rooms of the Mechanics’ Institute. He tirelessly cleaned, cleared and sorted a disarrayed collection of old books, jars of preserved specimens and other items reserved for exhibition in the city’s museum. He developed and updated the library with a wide variety of books for all tastes, including reference books for students; a difficult task to fulfil during the years following the Depression. He converted all of the lower area of the building into a library, reference room and reading room for members and the public. The books were sorted and stored using a cataloguing and card index system that he had developed himself. He also prepared the upper floor of the building and established the Art Gallery and later the Museum, a place to exhibit the many old relics that had been stored for years for this purpose. One of the treasures he found was a beautiful ancient clock, which he repaired, restored and enjoyed using in his office during the years of his service there. Ralph Pattison was described as “a meticulous gentleman whose punctuality, floorless courtesy and distinctive neat dress were hallmarks of his character, and ‘his’ clock controlled his daily routine, and his opening and closing of the library’s large heavy doors to the minute.” Pattison took leave during 1942 to 1945 to serve in the Royal Australian Navy, Volunteer Reserve as Lieutenant. A few years later he converted one of the Museum’s rooms into a Children’s Library, stocking it with suitable books for the younger generation. This was an instant success. In the 1950’s he had the honour of being appointed to the Victorian Library Board and received more inspiration from the monthly conferences in Melbourne. He was sadly retired in 1959 after over 23 years of service, due to the fact that he had gone over the working age of council officers. However he continued to take a very keen interest in the continual development of the Library until his death in 1969. WARRNAMBOOL PUBLIC LIBRARY The Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute (WMI) was formed by a voluntary community group in 1863, within six years of Warrnambool’s beginnings, and its Reading Room opened in 1854. The WMI operated until 1963, at which time it was one of the oldest Mechanics’ Institutes in Victoria. Mechanics’ Institutes offered important services to the public including libraries, reading rooms and places to display and store collections of all sorts such as curiosities and local historical relics. In 1886 a Museum and Fine Arts Gallery were added to the WMI and by the beginning of the 20th century there was also a billiards room and a School of Art. By this time all Mechanics’ Institutes in country Victoria had museums attached. Over the years the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute Library was also known as the Warrnambool Public Library the Warrnambool Library and the Free Library. Early funding from the government was for the “Free Library”. The inscription in a book “Science of Man” was for the “Warrnambool Public Library”, donated by Joseph Archibald in 1899. Another inscription in the book “Catalogue of Plants Under Cultivation in the Melbourne Botanic Gardens 1 & 2, 1883” was presented to the “Warrnambool Library” and signed by the author W.R. Guilfoyle. In 1903 the Warrnambool Public Library decided to add a Juvenile Department to library and stock it with hundreds of books suitable for youth. In 1905 the Public Library committee decided to update the collection of books and added 100 new novels plus arrangements for the latest novels to be included as soon as they were available in Victoria. In July 1911 the Warrnambool Council took over the management of the Public Library, Art Gallery, Museum and Mechanics’ Institute and planned to double the size of the then-current building. In 1953, when Mr. R. Pattison was Public Librarian, the Warrnambool Public Library’s senior section 10,000 of the 13,000 books were fiction. The children’s section offered an additional 3,400 books. The library had the equivalent of one book per head of population and served around 33 percent of the reading population. The collection of books was made up of around 60 percent reference and 40 percent fiction. The library was lending 400 books per day. In 1963 the Warrnambool City Council allocated the site of the Mechanics’ Institute building, which included the Public Library, Museum and Art Gallery, for the new Municipal Offices and the Collections were dispersed until 1971. The Warrnambool Library took over the Mechanics’ Institute Library’s holdings on behalf of the Warrnambool City Council. Since the closure of the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute the exact location and composition of the original WMI books and items has become unclear. Other materials have been added to the collection, including items from Terang MI, Warrnambool Court House and Customs House. Many of the books have been identified as the Pattison Collection, named after the Librarian who catalogued and numbered the books during his time as Warrnambool Public Librarian in the time before the Mechanics’ Institute closed. It seems that when Warrnambool became part of the Corangamite Regional Library some of the books and materials went to its head office in Colac and then back to Warrnambool where they were stored at the Art Gallery for quite some time. Some then went to the Warrnambool Historical Society, some stayed at the Art Gallery and some were moved to Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village. The various stamps and labels on the books held at Flagstaff Hill show the variety of the collection’s distribution and origin. The books in the collection at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village date from the 1850’s to the late 1950’s and include rare and valuable volumes. Many of the books are part of the “Pattison Collection” after the Warrnambool’s Public Librarian, Mr. R. Pattison. Rolf Boldrewood (1826-1915) ‘Rolf Boldrewood’ is the pen-name used by Thomas Alexander Browne as a writer. Browne was the eldest child of Captain Sylvester John Brown and Elizabeth Angell nee Alexander. He was born in London on 6th August 1826 and arrived in Australia with his parents and siblings when he was 5 years old and grew up in Sydney. In the 1860’s Browne added the ‘e’ to his surname. As a 17 year old Browne took up land in the Western District of Victoria between Portland and Port Fairy on a property named “Squattlesea Mere”. He remained there until 1858, enjoying the squatters’ life on his 32,000 acre property, growing potatoes and running cattle and horses. He sold in 1858 and purchased a sheep station on the Murray River near Swan Hill. He later sold this and bought another sheep station near Narrandera until bad seasons and severe droughts eventually caused him to change his career after 25 years as a squatter. Over the next 25 years Browne held the position of Police Magistrate and as a gold commissioner in various locations. His third career as an author lasted approximately 40 years. In 1865 he wrote two articles on pastoral life while he was recovering from a riding accident. In the 1870’s his writing was bringing in the income to support his family, changing his focus to the writing of novels. A series of these was written for the Australian market and published in The Sydney Mail and the Centennial Magazine. His later novels were aimed at the overseas markets. His best known novel “Robbery Under Arms” was written from 1882 to 1883 and has been serialised on radio in Australia and Britain. The novel was filmed in 1907, 1920 and 1957, and in 1985 it was made into a television series. It is now an Australian Classic. He also wrote short stories, several nonfiction graziers’ guides, and an autobiography named “Old Melbourne Memories” in 1884. [This information has been taken from Wikipedia; Australian Authors-Perry Meddlemiss; Australian Dictionary of Biography, Browne, Thomas Alexander (1826-1915)] The Pattison Collection, along with other items at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village, was originally part of the Warrnambool Mechanics' Institute’s collection. The Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute Collection is primarily significant in its totality, rather than for the individual objects it contains. Its contents are highly representative of the development of Mechanics' Institute libraries across Australia, particularly Victoria. A diversity of publications and themes has been amassed, and these provide clues to our understanding of the nature of and changes in the reading habits of Victorians from the 1850s to the middle of the 20th century. The collection also highlights the Warrnambool community’s commitment to the Mechanics’ Institute, reading, literacy and learning in the regions, and proves that access to knowledge was not impeded by distance. These items help to provide a more complete picture of our community’s ideals and aspirations. The Warrnambool Mechanics Institute book collection has historical and social significance for its strong association with the Mechanics Institute movement and the important role it played in the intellectual, cultural and social development of people throughout the latter part of the nineteenth century and the early twentieth century. The collection of books is a rare example of an early lending library and its significance is enhanced by the survival of an original collection of many volumes. The Warrnambool Mechanics' Institute’s publication collection is of both local and state significance. The Miners Right A tale of the Australian Goldfields Author: Rolf Boldrewood Publisher: Macmillan And Co Date: 1922Label on spine cover with typed text R.A. 823.91 BOL Pastedown front endpaper has sticker from Warrnambool Public Library warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, shipwrecked-artefact, book, pattison collection, warrnambool library, warrnambool mechanics’ institute, ralph eric pattison, corangamite regional library service, warrnambool city librarian, mechanics’ institute library, victorian library board, warrnambool books and records, warrnambool children’s library, great ocean road, the miners right, australian goldfields, australian rush, rolf boldrewood, gold rush

James Oddie was a prominent early settler of Ballarat. It is is thought this is the Miners' RIght for the Ballarat Observatory, Seven paper Miner's Rights issued by the State of Victoria. All are issued to James Oddie of Ballarat and relate to Registration Number 19578 Magpie Street Ballarat East. The original date of registration was 09 October 1890. The Miner's Rights are printed with handwritten inclusions. .1) Book no 720. No, 23. 23 September 1899. Signed F. Bell Receiver of Revenue. Signed W.A. Christy, Registrar .2) Book no 1307. No, 194. 12 February 1903. Signed (W.G. Ogden?) Receiver of Revenue. Signed W.A. Christy, Registrar .3) Book no 1329. No, 228. 13 February 1904. Signed F.B. Bell Receiver of Revenue. Signed W.A. Christy, Registrar .4) Book no 1594. No, 2. 5 February 1907. Signed D.P. Mannix, Receiver of Revenue. Signed W.A. Christy, Registrar .5) Book no 1594. No, 2. 12 February 1908. Signed F.B. Bell, Receiver of Revenue. Signed W.A. Christy, Registrar .6) Book no 1936. No, 234. 12 February 1909. Signed F.B. Bell, Receiver of Revenue. Signed L. Tong, Registrar .7) Book no 1958. No. 117. 10 February 1910. Signed F. Bell, Receiver of Revenue. Signed W.A. Christy, Registrarballarat, james oddie, oddie, mining, miner's right, bell, christy, tong, mapgpie street, mannix

Tennis Club. A minister is standing on the end right side, so it may be a church club.Black and white photograph of a large group of men, women and children, some holding tennis racquets. Circa 1900 to 1910 Tennis court markings along the front of the photograph. Trees in the background. Photograph has a patterned green mount. Photographer W.J.Chapman - Stawell.W. J. Chapman - Stawelltennis, sport

Stawell Railway Yards 1950’s or 60’s. Station on right. Goods shed on left.stawell transport

Stawell Water Supply Halls Gap Pipeline workers. Fred D'Alton is gentleman third on right.stawell

People in front of Town Hall central Figures Cr & Mrs Freeland. On right Mr and Mrs Sharpleystawell

Bull & Mouth Hotel Main Street Stawell Built 1907 looking East. Dane market on right. C1920stawell streetscape

Studio portrait Samuel Holywell / Mary Anne Holywell (nee Playford) on left and Eliza Kerr (nee Holywell) on right.stawell

Street view Glenorchy Post Card taken from railway line. On right M.W. Edwards & Son. General Storestawell, streetscape

Central Main Street looking West. Large brick building on right later occupied by Coles Fosseys and Lyal Ealesstawell business streetscape

Bull & Mouth Hotel Main Street Stawell Built 1907. Dane Bros on right Murray Views No. 16. c1950stawell streetscape

Group - 6 males. 2 children J C Hutchings seated on left Dave W Mitchell seated on right.stawell

Stawell Railway employees before 1926 taken in front of Stawell Railway building. Mr W Boothey second from right.stawell railways transport

The Strategy Against Right-Wing Attacks (S.A.R.A) kit was produced by wimmin from around Australia following the 1980 National Wimmin's Conference, Darwin, NT. It includes a fantastic set of papers from a forum on the state of feminism in Australia discussing right-wing attacks on women's organisations, and highlights success stories for attacking back. The kit was meant to be added to through a national network of SARA contacts in each state.women's liberation movement, lesbian feminism, darwin

Group of Males Stawell Cricket Club c1902 back row extreme right Jack Neil in suit. Seated on left Alex Neilstawell sport

Main Street Stawell McClure's garage Post Office State Savings Bank on Right. 1930 looking East from St Georges Streetstawell businesses streetscape

Stawell Railway Yards 1950’s or 60’s. Two Diesel locomotives. Station on right. Goods shed on left. Signal Box in foreground.stawell transport

Stawell Town Council Centenary 1970 Sir Rohan Delecombe and Lady Delecombe being presented with flowers. Mayor Cr G.S. Bennett at rightstawell government

Graphic illustration of group of protest marchers holding banners against a background of the Aboriginal flag; text in black."Right to march dance : Balmain Town Hall : [featuring] Kamakazi Kidz - Mental as Anything. Defend the right to organise. Smash Bjelke's ban. Proceeds to Qld Bail Fund."

Literary Institute Restoration 1989. Man on left is President of Historical Society Mr Cliff Loats and on right is Former Treasurer Mr John Van Leeuwen.stawell

Newspaper Clipping from a Melbourne newspaper dated 22 May 1973 about a discussion between Sir Robert Risson with writer Kenneth Joachim Sir Robert Risson was the executive Director of the Metropolitan Transportation Committee at the time. Looks at the trams running in Melbourne, new trams for the city and other tramways cities. Includes a photo of Sir Robert.In top centre right of the Clipping "22/5/73" in red ink.trams, tramways, mmtb, sir robert risson, new tramcars, melbourne transportation committee

Magdala cum Moonlight Mine. Large group of mine workers. Mr Thomas Kinsella standing fourth from right. Mine worker holding his dog.B/W Photo of two rows of miners and mine managers posing in front of wooden buildings.stawell gold mining

The photograph was published in the 1936 Annual Report with the title: Cadet-ship "Nardana" Communion group of Cadets, showing, on extreme right, our Wellington Chaplain, Rev. B.J WilliamsSmall black and white photograph depicting gathering of seamen and Reverend Wellington, at 717 Flinders Street Docklandsofficers, reverend b.j. williams, wellington mission, cadet ship, nardana, cadets

Correspondence - original documents - Opinion 5 pages pinned in top left hand corner, plus requested document - all on typed foolscap paper, by W. T. Tredinnick, of Selborne Chambers 10/10/1950, titled "re Municipal Officers Association (MMTB Sub-Branch) - right to appeal against classification." Outcome summarised on rear page - currently no right of appeal as to classification.Page requesting opinion - has "H. S. McComb esq" written in the top left hand corner.trams, tramways, mmtb, unions, moa, legal agreements

Charles Henry Akins front row second from left Donald Gordon Akins back row left and James Ziba Sumner back row right Victorian Rangers c1900stawell boer war

No date, but other photos in this group are 1971-1973Written on back of photograph, "At bottom of Mullum Court, C of E building on right."

Business George Giles Hairdresser Main Street Stawell 1908 on right. Shop next door on owned by brother Charlie Giles. Shops were between the Town Hall and Holy Trinity Church.Man two ladies and baby in front of shops with glass windows for displays stawell streetscape