Captain John E D White, Australian Army Training Team in Vietnam (AATTV) took over command of 11 Mobile Strike Force (Mike Force) Company in Da Nang, Vietnam, in February 1968. He was 26 years old. The 2 NVA Division was moving from Laos into South Vietnam and his mission was to establish contact with the division and trace its movements south. In mid-March the company was air lifted to the Special Forces camp of Kham Duc, near the Laotian border. They used an old French Foreign Legion fort as a temporary base from which patrols could be sent out. White called it Ngok Tavak after a nearby mountain. Initially, patrols failed to find the enemy, but in late April a patrol clashed with the enemy. At the same time, White received intelligence that the NVA division was closing in. At night they could hear explosions in the distance heading toward them. White decided their best chance was to leave the fort and take to the jungle to adopt guerrilla tactics. However, in the meantime a platoon of United States Marine Corps artillery arrived bringing with them two howitzers and a stockpile of ammunition. To abandon the fort was to abandon the guns. White contacted Da Nang, explaining the predicament, and was ordered to remain where he was. A Civilian Irregular Defense Group (CIDG) platoon was sent to reinforce his numbers. This was a para military force comprised mainly of indigenous highlanders, trained by United States Special Forces. They also brought with them two mortars and their crews. At 3.15am on 10 May 1968 some members of the CIDG chose to assist the NVA to attack the fort instead of supporting Mike Force, and close hand to hand fighting followed, along with grenade attacks and heavy machine gun fire. Air support offered a brief respite from the NVA attack, and some NVA forces were pushed back outside the perimeter by counter attacks, but at 9am White contacted Da Nang to advise that his position was untenable. A second attack was imminent and they could not withstand it, so they would have to withdraw. The wounded were evacuated by helicopter (under orders from Major Mai, the NVA had not attacked the previous medical helicopters that collected the wounded under the cover of air strikes) and at 1pm the rest of the force evacuated east, into the jungle. The NVA did not notice their withdrawal, and continued mortar attacks on the fort for another ninety minutes. Seven kilometres from the fort White called for a helicopter withdrawal of his forces. The force was successfully lifted to Kham Duc and then Da Nang. (Credit AWM)Annotated hand-drawn map of the fort at Ngok Tavak, 10 May 1968.battle of ngok tavak, john white, battle map

PICTURE OF DISTURBANCE AT CLUNES 9/12/1873. MINERS RESISTING THE INTRODUCTION OF CHINESE LABOUR TO BREAK A STRIKE CAUSED BY THE MANAGEMENT OF LOTHAIR MINE.THIS PICTURE IS AN ENLARGED PHOTOGRAPH OF AN ENGRAVING IN A WEEKLY NEWSPAPER OF DECEMBER 1873. RE. FITTED TO FRAME BY F.C.WEICKHARDT CLUNES 10/10/1973local history, engraving. co, mining, chinese riot.

Cheltenham Church of Christ was opened in 1878 and is still in use today. Built on Chesterville Road, Cheltenham.Cheltenham Church of Christ was opened in 1878 and was integral to the spiritual well being and social life of the early settlers.Booklet 10 pages with typed textearly settlers, parish of moorabbin, city of moorabbin, county of bourke, shire of moorabbin, market gardeners, cheltenham, nepean highway, church of christ cheltenham, religion, chesterville road

10 sheets of typed and handwritten notesnon-fictionUnpublished research notesthomastown wesleyan church and cemetery

This item is part of the Thomas Caine Tool Collection, owned by The National Trust of Australia (Victoria) and curated by the Hand Tools Preservation Association of Australia.plane, wood, moulding, hollow no 10J.A.Serong

This item is part of the Thomas Caine Tool Collection, owned by The National Trust of Australia (Victoria) and curated by the Hand Tools Preservation Association of Australia.plane, wood, moulding, round no 10R.Snell

This item is part of the Thomas Caine Tool Collection, owned by The National Trust of Australia (Victoria) and curated by the Hand Tools Preservation Association of Australia.plane, wood, moulding, round no 10J.Finlay

This item is part of the Thomas Caine Tool Collection, owned by The National Trust of Australia (Victoria) and curated by the Hand Tools Preservation Association of Australia.plane, wood, moulding, round no 10