Iconic Hotel in Port Fairy Built as the first of a proposed chain of hotels by John Walwyn Taylor in 1855 on the corner of Bank and Sackville Streets. 2 stories with a balcony wrapping around 2 sides of the building. The site was formerly occupied by the wooden hotel "The Sally Ann". A snapshot of time showing the hotel the power lines, and the style of cars from that era.Black and white photograph of the Star of the West Hotel on a brown bordered mountWritten in Pen at top and underlined - STAR OF THE WEST HOTEL Lower right - ball point pen museum numbers 62.04B.011D On Back- Pencil - 3-17 - S2-7-57 - j o h 2-7-57john walwyn taylor, the sally ann, bank street, sackville street, hotel, star of the west

xv, 286 p., [12] p. of plates : ill., geneal. tables, maps, ports. Includes index. Geneal. tables on lining papers. Bibliography: p. 225-260non-fictionThe story of Charles and John Mills, pioneers of Port Fairy. Includes genealogical information. maritime, mills, john brabyn, 1810-1877, charles frederick, 1812-1855, mills family, pioneers -- victoria -- port fairy -- biography, pioneers -- tasmania -- biography, australian history, biography, exploration, genealogy, harbour master, mills : charles and john, mills brothers, port fairy, shipping, warrnambool history, whaling, wrecks, book

Moyne River Bridge 1970's North sideColoured photograph of Moyne river traffic bridge taken from the North side on the West bankMoyne River Bridge- on frontmoyne river, bridge, west side

Moyne River FootbridgeColoured photograph of the Moyne river taken from the West side of the footbridge looking to the wharfmoyne river, foot bridge, jetties, wharf, boats

Causeway 1975 storm and newspaper describing the sceneBlack and white photograph of High tide and storm flooding the causeway near the south west passagePort Fairy Gazette Phone 14 Printers Publishers stationerscauseway, storm, 1975, newpaper article, southwest passage

East side of training walls looking to South West passageColoured photograph of View of south west passage with Norfolk Island pinetrading walls, south west passage

Port Fairy looking west across the farmland to Lady Julia Percy island in backgroundColoured photograph of View across grassland with Lady Julia Island in backgroundport fairy, west, farmland, lady julia percy

South Beach DevelopmentColoured photograph of Hills above South Beach Estate looking to seasouth beach, development, west, farmland

South Beach DevelopmentColoured photograph of Looking from hill above South Beach Estate before earth workssouth beach, development, south west, bluestone, road, street

South Beach Development south beach, development, west, works

South Beach Developement Coloured photograph of Rocky outcrop looking towards dunessouth beach, development, bluestone, west

The opening of the bridge over the South West Passage would now allow the lighthouse keeper to walk between the island and the mainland carrying his produce and herding his cattle rather than loading a boat to transport everything. This would also allow the public access to the island for fishing. Black and White Photograph of Opening of bridge over South West Passage 1887events, civil, ceremony, griffith island, rail, bridge

This photograph was taken from the balcony of the Star of the West Hotel during the Farmers Convention in 1901 Sepia Photograph of Large group of men posed to commemorate the Farmers Convention 1901Farmers Convention 1901events, civil, ceremony, farmers convention, star of west, balcony, farmers

1946 was the year of the biggest flood experienced in Port Fairy. This photograph shows evidence of the inundation at the Port Fairy Cemetery situated at the West of the townBlack and white photograph of headstones surrounded by waterflood, river, 1946, headstone

In 1844 a carpenter called David McLaws secured the lease on the land on the south west corner of James and Bank Streets. He later converted this to freehold by which time he had erected the Caledonian Inn. This building has been continually licensed since that time , and is believed to be the longest continual license held in Victoria. The dormer windows in the part of the building facing James street hide the fact that there is only a skeleton of rooms that were meant to be built there. They were unfinished because the labourers left town when gold was discovered at Ballarat in 1853. An advertisement for the time says “There were four parlours, a bagatelle room, eight bedrooms, a detached kitchen, stable and kitchen garden”. Well known hotel Thought to be the oldest continuously licenced hotel in VictoriaBlack and white photograph of 2 story building with dormer windows on corner hotel, building, james street, bank street, david mclaws

In 1844 a carpenter called David McLaws secured the lease on the land on the south west corner of James and Bank Streets. He later converted this to freehold by which time he had erected the Caledonian Inn. This building has been continually licensed since that time , and is believed to be the longest continual license held in Victoria. The dormer windows in the part of the building facing James street hide the fact that there is only a skeleton of rooms that were meant to be built there. They were unfinished because the labourers left town when gold was discovered at Ballarat in 1853. An advertisement for the time says “There were four parlours, a bagatelle room, eight bedrooms, a detached kitchen, stable and kitchen garden”. Well known Hotel thought to be the longest continuous licenced hotel in VictoriaBlack and white photographhotel, bank street, port fairy, james street, building

Built in 1856 The Star of the West was to be the first of many "Stars" throughout Victoria but John Walwyn Taylor died in 1860 at the age of 40 years having built only one. Cobb and Co had a livery stables Photograph with added features such as a red and white striped verandah The Star of the West Hotelhotel, port fairy, bank street, sackville street, star of the west, john walwyn taylor, cobb and co

Seacombe House Formerly named The Stag Cnr Sackville and Cox Streets Port Fairy John Sanders (Saunders) first came to Port Fairy in charge of the "Sally Ann" owned by the Henty family of Portland. He left the sea behind in 1844 and established the "Sally Ann Inn" named for his old ship, on the site of the present day Star of the West hotel. After selling the Sally Ann Inn to John Taylor he acquired the land on the South west corner of Sackville Street and erected a detached cottage facing Sackville Street for which he obtained a licence to sell alcohol and named the premises The Stag Inn. He died in 1850 and his wife leased the Inn to John Mason. By 1852 a large two story rendered bluestone building had been constructed on the corner site. The second un rendered section was probably added in 1854. Abijah John Brown became licencee in 1855 and made the Stag the centre of entertainment for the district, with many balls, dinners and concerts taking place there. It boasted "a billiard room and a twenty stall stables and coach house". By 1861 Abijah Brown had left The Stag and Lennox Trew was now owner and licencee. It came up for sale in 1869 but failed to sell. After Trew's death in 1886 it was sold to a syndicate and opened as a boarding school. It later became a Coffee Palace and Accomodation house named Seacombe House, and in the 1950's a motel was built on the old stable site. It is still a Hotel Motel and a restaurant which has revived the old name of "The Stag". Black and white Photograph of 2 story rendered building with multi paned windows and power pole on cornerhotel, lennox trew, abijah brown, john sanders, john saunders, john mason., sackville street, cox street, stag inn, stag hotel, seacombe house, coffee palace

The small building on the left is the Farmers Inn, and was built about 1849, when James Brown became the first licensee. In 1854 John Walwyn Taylor moved from the Sally Ann to take over, and remained there until 1857, when he moved to his new hotel The Star of the West built on the old Sally Ann site. John Wall then became the new licensee of the Farmers Inn. In 1876 his wife Bridget made an application for the license to be transferred to her as “her husband suffered from rheumatism, and there were certain other reasons why the license should be transferred to her hands”. The Bench wondered about creating a precedence of granting a license to a married woman, who was living with her husband, (licenses were only granted to the widows of licensees at that time), so the application was postponed for 14 days, but eventually Mrs Wall won her case. In 1882 Patrick Tennyson took over the lease of the Farmer’s Inn and applied to change the name to Tennyson’s Hotel. In 1885 he bought the freehold in the Great Land Sale for £780. 12s. 8d., and in December, carried out extensive renovations. The local press reported that “the rooms were quite tasteful, the Billiard room commodious and well ventilated, and that the old hotel had not looked so good for years”. The double storied part of the hotel was added in 1893. Patrick Tennyson had a colourful career. He was born in Charlemont, County Armagh in 1846. When he was 21, he served as a papal guard at the Vatican for 2 years and then entered the Marist Brothers novitiate in Beauchamps. In 1872 he was one of three brothers to accompany Brother Ludovic to Sydney; he was then aged 23. After 5 years he withdrew from the Congregation and moved to Victoria, where he took up teaching, first at Rosedale near Sale, then at Crossley, by which time he was married to Anne White. They had eight children, three dying in infancy. Eight months after he took over the Farmers’ Inn, he was elected to the Borough Council, and served as Mayor in 1897. His great interest was sport, was Secretary of the Race Club for 20 years and supported the local Football Club by donating a silver cup for local competitions. Patrick Tennyson died in 1904. The hotel continued under various licensees until it burned down in 1977 under the name of “The Fishermen’s Arms”. Well known main street hotel no longer exists Sepia photograph of 2 story building with tiled wainscoting male and 2 females in doorway and 2 females in window upstairshotel, building, sackville street, patrick tennyson, w.j.wright

The marble shown in this photograph was collected by Mr Leo Brady from the Bank Street site of the Public Baths that were built there in the late 1800’s. These were sea baths and the water was pumped across from the South West Passage via a windmill.This is was all that remained of the public sea baths. The Historical Society also has two small pieces of marble and a long bolt that held the marble togetherColoured photograph of the broken marble base of one of the baths at the Public Bathsemployee, industry, marble, public baths, leo brady, bank street

The Dredge 'Pioneer' brought in to clear sand drift from the Moyne river caused by the South West passage sweeping throughBlack and white photograph of a dredge in Moyne riversea, river, moyne river, south west passage, pioneer, deredge, ship

Coastal Steamer which occasionally visited Port Fairy DINGADEE 640 gross tons. Lbd: 180'4" x 28'1" x 13'6". Built by Queenstown & Passage West Dock Co., Queenstown Ireland. Acquired 1883 ASN Co. Of AUSN Co 1887 and sold 1890 to Union Steamship Co., New Zealand. October 1900 owned by Black Ball Coal Co. 1903 owned by Dingadee Steamship Co. 1906 owned by T Tanaka of Tokyo and renamed Chokyu Maru No 3. 1924 owned by Taiwan Setofuku. Hayashi Kozo owned from January 1924 until scrapped 1926Black and white photograph of Ship with derrick and masts ship, boat, sea, river, ss dingadee

South Beach bathing boxesColoured post card of South Beach taken from the West and depicts the bathing boxes in the backgroundSouth Beach Port Fairybeach, sea, seascape

St John's Church North west corner complete with towerBlack and white photographchurch, sunday-school, building

West of Crags On Yambuck beach crags, craigs, yambuk beach, flotsam, rubbish

This poster is advertising the launching of James Affleck’s Book, Stories Untold & Faces Forgotten.”This project started from the discovery of named photographs which were discovered behind an Honour Roll at the Koroit Primary School during renovations in 2009. These two volumes contain enlistments in the First World War, from the area of Koroit, Port Fairy, Macarthur, Penshurst and surrounding hamlets. It stretches from Codrington in the West through to Byaduk, Penshurst, Caramut in the north, and down though Woolsthorpe, Winslow and Dennington. It includes the personal family details, military records, photographs where possible, and fate of each soldier. Enlistments from the district numbered 250 men who paid the supreme sacrifice and 1100 who returned. It includes citations for bravery, excerpts from correspondence and local press.This poster is a link to an important publication relating to the soldiers from the district who fought in World War 1. Photos of soldiers in tones of green and brown with title in white on a black background at the top of poster. Similarly author’s name is at the bottom of poster.stories untold and faces forgotten, james affleck, first world war

This book gives a comprehensive and scholarly account of the ill-fated Burke and Wills expedition in Australia in 1860-1961. It is written by Peter Fitzsimons. The narrative includes the parts played in the expedition by two men who also had important connections to Warrnambool. One of these was Henry Foster who was Superintendent of Police in Swan Hill in the 1860s. In the early 1840s Henry Foster and Thomas Strong took up a run of 16.000 acres (St. Mary’s, Wangoom)). Their land was bounded on the south by the Southern Ocean, on the east by the Hopkins River, on the north by a fence from the Hopkins to the Merri Rivers and on the west by the Merri River and included the later surveyed site of the Warrnambool township. After Warrnambool was established Foster was able to retain 450 acres of the original run near Wangoom on the Hopkins River. He was active in Warrnambool’s early history, was a Justice of the Peace for the Belfast (Port Fairy) district in the late 1840s and his portrait is on the Warrnambool Pioneer Honour Board. The other local Warrnambool personality mentioned in the Burke and Wills book is Richard Bennett, in the 1860s, the manager of several large farming properties in N.S.W., including Canally Station on the Murrumbidgee where he came into contact with the expedition leaders. In the Warrnabool district Bennett was well-known from the 1870s to his death in 1904 as the proprietor of wool-scouring establishments on the Shaw River and at Dennington and as a public campaigner for local coal exploration, for artesian bore drilling and for numerous other projects, including the development of the local wool industry. His portrait is also on the Warrnambool Pioneer Honour Board. This book is retained as an account of an important event in Australia’s history and because it has several references to two men (Henry Foster and Richard Bennett) who also played a part in Warrnambool’s history. This is a hard cover book of 700 pages. The cover is black with gold printing on the spine and the dust cover has a cream background with light brown and black printing, black and white photographs and sepia-coloured sketches. The contents include a List of Maps, Dramatis Personae, Background and Acknowledgements, Prologue, 18 Chapters, Epilogue, Endnotes, Bibliography and Index. The pages contain maps, sketches and black and white and colour photographs. australian exploration, burke and wills expedition, richard bennett, warrnambool, henry foster, st. mary’s wangoom, history of warrnambool

This book by Marten Syme is a history of Port Fairy from 1835 to 2018. The earlier histories of Port Fairy do not cover most of the 20th century and none of the 21st century. This book is a scholarly work and offers fresh perspectives on many aspects of Port Fairy history and questions some long-held views, especially on the early years of the town. Port Fairy, 293 kilometres west of Melbourne, has a rich history and is one of the earliest places in Victoria to be settled by Europeans. The author Marten Syme has written extensively on both maritime and local history and is a resident of Port Fairy. This book is of considerable significance as it is a comprehensive history of Port Fairy and complements and adds to the earlier histories of this town. It will be a very useful addition to libraries and will be a great aid to family history and local history researchers.This is a hard cover book of 295 pages. The cover is grey with gold lettering on the spine. The dust cover has white printing and an illustration with a green background with a multi-colour design of sailing ships, trees and harbour entrance. The pages of printed material are in five parts with a bibliography and an index. The book has black and white photographs, maps and other illustrative material. Signature of author (Marten A. Syme)port fairy, marten syme, port fairy

This black and white photograph shows the image of the coastal trading vessel S.S. Casino, with both sail masts and steam funnel. Men in hats are clearly visible on deck. The ship is in calm water and only light rigging is on the masts. Other vessels are in the background. Photograph is taken 1882-1932. The S.S. Casino was a passenger and freight steamer built in Dundee, Scotland, in 1882 for the Newcastle and Hunter River Steam Navigation Company of N.S.W. She weighed 425 tons gross with a length of 160.4 feet, beam of 24.1 feet and depth of 10.2 feet. She had saloon accommodation for 35 people, forecabin for 25 more people, and she carried 300 tons of cargo. While on her delivery journey on May 30th 1882 the S.S. Casino called in at the Port of Warrnambool for coal ., narrowly escaping going ashore in gale force winds due to the quick action of the pilot. At that time, still at anchor, she impressed the directors of the Belfast and Koroit Steam Navigation Company so much that they bought her immediately; she was ideal for trade in along the West Coast of Victoria. (Belfast is the original name for Port Fairy, South West Victoria. The Belfast and Koroit Steam Navigation Company was first managed by Messers. Saltau and Osburne and after the passing of Mr. Osburne, by produce merchants Messers H. Sautau and Sons, whose had a hay and corn store and shipping agency was on the corner of Liebig and Koroit Streets in Warrnambool. ) The S.S. Casino became “the most famous steamer to operate in Victorian waters along the West Coast” by author Jack Loney. Captain Boyd was her first Master, followed by Captain Chapman, who stayed with her 1890 until 1924. Captain W. Robertson followed for a short term, then Captain Middleton then took command 1925 - 1932. The S.S. Casino had several mishaps during her life. One was on 3rd January 1898 when she collided with the S.S. Flinders in Apollo Bay with minor damage. Another was on 24th October 1924 when she grounded on a reef at Point Hawdon near Grey River and most of her cargo (of Christmas goods) had to be dumped into the sea. Then in February 1929 she was ‘holed’ when she struck a submerged object as she entered Lady Bay, Warrnambool. On the morning of 10th July 1932, after attempting to berth at Apollo Bay jetty in heavy seas, Captain Middleton decided to take her out into the bay and wait until the seas abated. It was not realised that the anchor used to steady her as she manoeuvred to her berth had pierced her hull. She put about and headed for the beach but sank. Captain Middleton and nine others lost their lives; nine people were rescued including the two female passengers . Captain Middleton had been in charge of the S.S. Casino for seven years. He was the first ship’s Master to lose his life through shipwreck in the West Coast trade. In the years following the turn of the century the S.S. Casino remained the only regular trader with normal passenger accommodation along the West Coast. From 1882 she had made at least 2,500 voyages on the one run. Flagstaff Hill’s collection has a photograph of a portrait of Captain Chapman, , a ship model of the S.S. Casino that shows both forms of power under which she sailed, steam and sail. The ship is painted green and flies three flags. The inscription across the case of the ship model, incorrectly dated, tells the sad story of the wreck of the ship and the loss of lives on July 10th 1932 at Apollo Bay. A print in the Collection show S.S. Casino underway in heavy sea off Point Lonsdale, another two photographs show her at the Port of Warrnambool, leaving from the Breakwater in Lady Bay and another identifies the S.S. Casino as a ship from the Belfast and Koroit Steam Navigation Company. (Belfast is the original name for the township of Port Fairy). This photograph is significant because of its association with the coastal trader S.S. Casino and its significance to trade along Victoria's West Coast in the late 19th and early 20th century. It was taken 1882-1932 The wreck of the S.S. Casino is considered an important part of Victorian and Australian cultural heritage and as such has been declared and protected as an Historic Shipwreck under State and Commonwealth Law in the Commonwealth Historic Shipwrecks Act (1976). Photograph, black and white, taken 1882-1932. Foreground is vessel SS Casino, the Belfast and Koroit Steam Navigation Company's coastal trading ship. The ship, in calm water, has light rigging on its masts and also a steam funnel. One lifeboat is visible. People are on the deck. The background shows other vessels.Under the photograph "The Belfast and Koroit Steam Navigation Company's S.S. "Casino," 425 Tons"flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, newcastle and hunter river steam navigation company, belfast and koroit steam navigation company, h. sautau and sons, s.s. casino, west coast trader s.s. casino, victorian coastal trader, captain boyd, captain w. robertson, captain chapman, captain middleton, apollo bay shipwreck, s.s. casino at lady bay warrnambool, saltau and osburne