This document reveals the way in which Mission to Seafarers grew in response to demand. With increased shipping to Australia for all purposes, the need for the then existing Mission to grow to be conveniently located and to accommodate seafarers became increasingly evident. This document also shows the formal nature of documents and petitions in the 1890s and documents the names of twenty-two contemporaneous ships and their respective captains. The Anna, Dharwar and Mermerus arrived in port at the end of July 1897. The Carmanina arrived on the 21 October 1897. The Loch Katrine, at the end of the list, arrived on 5 November 1897. The letter was published in the Argus, 22 December 1897: "APPEAL FOR SEAMEN. TO THE EDITOR OF THE ARGUS. Sir, I beg that in the interests of the Victorian Seamen's Mission you will be kind enough to publish the appended testimony of the ship masters who for many years have been trading to this port, and therefore have had many opportunities of judging the effects of his work. The mission has much need of monetary assistance, and, should any of your numenous leaders deem it worthy of support, the committee would feel most grateful for any help that may be given in this direction. It has been the pleasure of the committee as far as possible to supply the crews of all outward bound steamers and sailing vessels with literature for their use on the voyage. My former appeals through your columns for leading matter have always been liberally responded to, and I trust that should any of our booksellers have any surplus stock of periodicals, religious and secular, illustrated or otherwise, at the end of the year, they will kindly remember the Victorian Seamen's Mission and the sailors. Private individuals also who may have stacks of literature by them, if they would kindly send some to the Seamen's Institute, Beach street, Port Melbourne, would cause the cheering of many a dark and lonely hour in the seamen's life. From 900 to 1.200 parcels have hitherto been given to the sailors and firemen annually by this mission, and we should be extremely grateful to those who would place us in a position to continue such donations in the future. Yours, &c. , E. JAMES, Chaplain to the Mission. Seamen's Institute, Beach street, Port Melbourne, Dec. 10." -------------------------------------------------- "To the Executive Committee of the Victorian Seamen's Mission, Melbourne. "Ladies and Gentleman, "We, the undersigned captains of several ships now lying at the Melbourne wharves think it most desirable that the Victorian Seamen's Mission, being the mission that has for so many years shown a most part their interest in the spiritual, moral, and social well-being of the seamen of all nationalities, shall him on the banks of the Yarra an institute such as that at Port Melbourne, where sailors of every grade could profitably and pleasantly spend their evenings. At almost every other seaport in the world such institutions are being provided for seamen, and we are satisfied from our opinion of the Melbourne public that the matter needs only to be prominently brought under their notice to be accomplished. We are confident that the good work of the mission is being hampered by its not having such a place near the shipping at the Melbourne wharves. Our crews are at present placed at a great dis advantage through not having an institute more convenient to the scene of their labours than that at Port Melbourne, which, on a very wet or a very hot, is not easily reached. If a site could be obtained immediately above the Gasworks but on the other side of Flinders street extension, that is to say, on the lower part of the land on which the Harbour Trust offices are built, it would be most convenient for the shipping on both the north and south side of the river. Trusting that it may be possible to do some thing to meet this long felt want, We suscribe ourselves, Yours respectfully, Geo.H Steven, master ship Dharwar; Thos. Curd, master ship Narcissus; James Horne, master ship Loch Garry; T.Tait, master ship Loch Ryan; T. Nilsen, master ship Hebe; G. Ch Christian, master ship Anna; R.E. Peasley, master ship Seminole; Wm. Martin, master ship Loch Ness; T.C. Martin, master ship Loch Tay; W.H. Bennett, master ship Loch Vennachar; J. Raglan Brodie, master s.s. Warrnambool; James E. Coles, master ship Mermerus; J. H. Walker, master ship Hinemoa; R.J. Johns, master ship Ariel; D. Gorchem (sic. Gerckens), master ship Matador; H. Petersen, master ship Nesaia; Wm. J. Reid, master s.s. Star of New Zealand; A. F. Svhanstrom, master ship Hermes; Alex. Smith, master ship Sophocles; W. Y. Bunn, master ship Carmanian; William Anderson, master ship Loch Katrine."This petition is historically significant as it is documentary evidence of the need for a new facility for seafarers signed and presented by the captains of 21 ships, including several of the sister ships of the Loch Ard. The need for a new facility was a result of changes in shipping and the use of the Melbourne ports in the 1890's and this document supported the pressure on the Harbour offices to finally release land for an appropriate building in the early 20th C.Mounted hand-written petition to the Executive Committee of the Victorian Seaman's Mission Melbourne. The letter petitions the Executive Committee to create a facility on the wharves, "where sailors of every grade could profitably and pleasantly spend their evenings." This portion of the letter takes up three quarters of the document. The remainder has two lists, one of twelve captain's signatures and the other of the names of their ships. The list is continued on the reverse side with an additional nine signatures and corresponding ship names.In cursive handwriting: To The Executive Committee of the Victorian Seamans Mission', / Melbourne / Ladies and Gentlemen / we the undersigned captains....... We subscribe / ourselves respectfully, Captain signatures and names of ships ( NB Ship names in upper case for this entry ): Geo H. Stevens - DHARWAR / Thomas Curd - NARCISSUS; / James Horn - LOCH GARRY / T.Tait - LOCH RYAN ; / T.NIlsen - Hebe ; / G.C. Christians - ANNA ;/ R E Peasley - SEMIOLE ; / William Martin - LOCH NESS ; / T C Martin - LOCH TAY;/ W H Bennett - LOCH VENNUACHAR; / RJ Raglan Brodie - SS WARRNAMBOOL; ; / James E. Coles - MERMERUS; / ( signatures continue overleaf) J H Walker - HINEMORA ; / R J Johns - ARIEL; / D Gorchem - MATADOR; / H Petersen - NESAIA;/ William J Reid - STAR of N. ZELAND [sic] ; / TJ Sohanstrom - HERMES;/ Alex Smith - SOPHOCLES; / W Y Bunn - CARMANIAN;./ William Anderson - LOCH KATRINE;/ Handwritten in red ink on the front of the parchment: "8182" NB The second digit in the number sequence appears to have been written over and could also be a "9", an "8" or a "3". paper Watermark "HERCULES". Prior to conservation and taped to the glass on the reverse side of the parchment was a small piece of paper reading: "Letter written in 1897 and signed between the last week of October and the first week of November." T and C probably stands for Trade and Customs and 8382 is the file no." (H8.4 x W11.8)victoria, melbourne, ships, petition, australia-wharf, captains, signatures, 717-flinders-street-docklands, maritime welfare services, mission to seafarers, seamen's mission, mission to seamen, mermerus, captain coles, sir john coode, loch line, loch ness, loch gary, loch ryan, ss warrnambool, loch tay, loch vennachar, matador, nesaia, d. gerckens, h. petersen, a.f. svhanstrom, hermes, ariel, loch katrine, william anderson, dharwar, narcissus, hebe, anna, hinemoa, sophocles, carmanian, captains' petition

Family history of Josiah Holloway, origins of street names in the subdivision of Eltham History of Eltham and origins of street names connected with pioneers of the area.Newsprint, gray scale. Photograph of Keylock's Bridge on Diamond Creek at ElthamDV Leader April27 2011, p23josiah holloway, jack shallard, susanna maria bible, bradbury, henry brougham, handfield, fay harcourt, violet bank, kangaroo ground, bells hillroad, shalbury avenue, beard street, brougham street, main road, eltham

Historical Plaques in the Greensborough shopping strip. The Commercial Bank was the first purpose-built bank in Greensborough. It stood near the current (2019) site of LaPorchetta in Main Street. Further information available on GHS website.The Main Street Plaques Project was undertaken by Greensborough Historical Society and made possible with a grant from the Greensborough RSL.Digital copies of 2 colour photographsmain street greensborough, main street plaques project

The Greensborough branch of Bendigo Bank was robbed by a knife-wielding man who escaped with cash. Bendigo Bank was located at 16-22 Main Street.Digital copy of news article 1 page, black text and image.bendigo bank

From original in State Library of South Australia.Black and white photographic copy of earlier image. View of a bluestone building on a corner of an unpaved street. Building has two stories, a wrought iron balcony and front door set in the corner with framing columns and pediment. Three men stand in front, with another mounted on a horse.Back: B21766/103 (pencil, upper left). Bank/History House (typed on white label, top centre). State Library of South Australia Photographic Section Reproduction prohibited except with the permission of the copyright holder. Order No A16493 (stamp).commercial bank, portland, bluestone building, commerce

Plastic coated mounted on metal/fold out stand. View of Harbour taken from "All Saints" steeple. Contains - Baths, Ocean Pier, Long Pier, Fishermans Wharf. Bentinck Street. Unseated - Truck loaded with wool bales. Power poles. Red roofs on Baths, Court House, Richmond Hotel, Bank of Australasia Hand coloured.Front: Panorama of Portland, Victoria (length of Ocean Pier 2880 ft).harbour, photography

State Library of South Australia.Black and white photographic reproduction of earlier photograph. Depicting 2-storey bluestone building on a corner with door in left side, framed by double columns. Lamp on street corner and three figures (children ?) leaning against iron rail fence set in bluestone base.Front: A.N.Z. (Formerly Union) Bank. Cnr Percy & Julia Streets (typed label, top centre). Back: B21766/98 (pencil, upper left). State Library of South Australia Photographic Section. Order No. A16493 (stamp, centre).anz bank, commerce, banking, portland, bluestone building

Depiction of a bridge over a creek edged with trees. On left are the branches of a tree with grey-green leaves. The creek fills the lower centre area of the image, painted in pale blue, grey, highlights of white and darker areas of dark blue. The wooden rail bridge curves in an even arch in centre of image. On right is a bank rising from the creek, with large tree with pale grey-green foliage and a tree with darker olive foliage. The background shows what could be hills and the sky is very pale blue. Mounted in a double matt (white on orange), framed under glass in wooden frame with gold details.Front: Phillip Petrie 90 (lower left) (grey paint). Back: "Langley's Bridge" watercolour. 570 x 420 mm $150.00

Commissioned by State Bank to produce 5 copper bas-reliefs for 73 Percy Street, Portland. Spoke with Miss Betty Vivian (Member of the Portland Historical Society) re Portland's history. Commonwealth Bank stored objects in Melbourne (c.1991). Negotiations between Portland Historical Society and Commonwealth Bank of Australia led to gift of works to People of Portland. Stored at Council depot c.1998, retrieved for Maritime Discovery Centre display.Copper bas-relief. Depicting a man in raincoat and wide-brimmed rain hat at a ship's wheel. Behind him are flying birds and in front of him is the tail of a seal diving into waves on the left and the front of a seal on the right.

Commissioned by State Bank to produce 5 copper bas-reliefs for 73 Percy Street, Portland. Spoke with Miss Betty Vivian (Member of the Portland Historical Society) re Portland's history. Commonwealth Bank stored objects in Melbourne (c.1991). Negotiations between Portland Historical Society and Commonwealth Bank of Australia led to gift of works to People of Portland. Stored at Council depot c.1998, retrieved for Maritime Discovery Centre display.Copper bas-relief depicting two horses pulling a plow, which a man is walking behind and guiding. Three birds are flying close to the ground in the foreground, and there is a stylized sunburst (a partial circular form with radiating lines) depicted in the background. More abbreviated bird forms are depicted against the sun and sky.sculpture, bas-relief, copper

Commissioned by State Bank to produce 5 copper bas-reliefs for 73 Percy Street, Portland. Spoke with Miss Betty Vivian (Member of the Portland Historical Society) re Portland's history. Commonwealth Bank stored objects in Melbourne (c.1991). Negotiations between Portland Historical Society and Commonwealth Bank of Australia led to gift of works to People of Portland. Stored at Council depot c.1998, retrieved for Maritime Discovery Centre display.Copper bas-relief. Depicting of port with 14 large silos and a large domed shed in background. On horizon line is a wharf with a ship berthed. In foreground left is a pier stump with wood nailed to it, and leaning on it is a large anchor with a rope tied to it. In foreground left is a beach area, diminishing rapidly toward port in background.Front: (no inscriptions) Back: (unknown)sculpture, bas-relief, copper, port of portland, portland harbour

Commissioned by State Bank to produce 5 copper bas-reliefs for 73 Percy Street, Portland. Spoke with Miss Betty Vivian (Member of the Portland Historical Society) re Portland's history. Commonwealth Bank stored objects in Melbourne (c.1991). Negotiations between Portland Historical Society and Commonwealth Bank of Australia led to gift of works to People of Portland. Stored at Council depot c.1998, retrieved for Maritime Discovery Centre display.Copper relief work. View of a man from behind sawing a tree. He is flanked by two tree trunks, and is leaning to his right while pulling a band saw through the tree on the left. Leaning against tree on right is a large axe. Houses are rudimentarily designated by lines in the background visible between the trees.sculpture, bas-relief, copper, industry, forestry, forest

Commissioned by State Bank to produce 5 copper bas-reliefs for 73 Percy Street, Portland. Spoke with Miss Betty Vivian (Member of the Portland Historical Society) re Portland's history. Commonwealth Bank stored objects in Melbourne (c.1991). Negotiations between Portland Historical Society and Commonwealth Bank of Australia led to gift of works to People of Portland. Stored at Council depot c.1998, retrieved for Maritime Discovery Centre display.Copper bas-relief depicting a man bent over to shear a sheep. His shirt sleeves are rolled up and he is bent toward the viewer.sculpture, industry, rural, copper, bas-relief, shearing, sheep, shearer

An early photograph of the Commercial Bank of Australia, Greensborough Branch in Main Street Greensborough, taken before 1914. Teller Walter West stands on the left (according to his grandson John Cramp). The rings on the white posts are for tethering the horses. After service in World War 1 West married the daughter of Greensborough butcher Mr. N. Elliot and moved to a soldier settlement fruit block at Redcliffs.Digital copy of black and white photograph.commercial bank of australia, main street greensborough

From caption on back: Photograph of Robert (Bob) Maurer (left) and Barry Keith Taylor, now dec. (right). Greensborough Tennis Club near Plenty River mid 1960s. Barry's parents lived behind the Commercial Bank of Australia in Main Street; Greensborough. He attended Ivanhoe Grammar early 1960s. Very good tennis player.Original photograph of Greensborough Tennis Club players 1960s.Black and white photograph of two men at tennis club.Caption on back of photo.greensborough tennis club, robert maurer, barry keith taylor, rosemary isaacs

The refurbished Westpac branch in Main Street Greensborough offers 24-hour banking with high-tech features.News clipping, black text. main street greensborough, westpac bank

Westpac Bank Grant received by "Book for all" in Briar Hill has allowed it to offer pre-employment training to volunteers. Westpac Bank is located at 78 Shop 1 Main Street Greensborough.News clipping, black text briar hill, boots for all

Set of 6 postcards produced for sale by Greensborough Historical Society. Postcards Left to right: Plenty River Bridge; Quirk's Tea Rooms; Commercial Bank; Farmer's Arms Hotel, all Main Street; Medhurst Fruit Store, and, Greensborough Hotel, Grimshaw Street.6 black and white postcards in black timber frame, under glass.greensborough historical society, main street greensborough, grimshaw street greensborough

The Plenty River embankment in Greensborough looking up to rear of lower Main Street shops. A River bank stabilisation project along the Plenty River at Greensborough was conducted by Melbourne Water in 2015.Digital copy of colour photographplenty river, melbourne water

Vegetation on the Plenty River embankment in Greensborough. A River bank stabilisation project along the Plenty River at Greensborough was conducted by Melbourne Water in 2015.Digital copy of colour photographplenty river, melbourne water

Advertisement for the State Savings Bank of Victoria, congratulating the Shire of Diamond Valley on behalf of its branches, 84 Main Street, Greensborough and Watsonia Road, Watsonia and agents, 1964Digital copy of newspaper advertisement.main street greensborough, state savings bank of victoria, watsonia road

Used by the Union Bank, the first bank to open a branch in Portland, c. 1846.Clear glass ink bottle Paper label