medal, horticulture, royal horticultural society victoria, ballarat horticultural society, michael taffe

The Catholic Church held an International Congress at Sydney in 1928. This was the first such gathering in the Southern Hemisphere and special trains were run from other states to convey visitors to the event. A range of souvenir items were purchased by Catholic families and a collection of these souvenirs including Congress rail tickets were collected and remain in the Taffe family Hymettus collection.This, the 29th Congress was the first ever held outside Europe or the USA. It was first great public demonstration of faith celebrated by Catholics in Australia this event attracted a crowd of half a million, the largest religious spectacle ever seen in Australia to that time.sydney, eucharistic congress, pope pius xi, medal,

This medallion was issued to all competitors at the 1996 Australian Rowing Championships to commemorate the official opening of the Sydney International Regatta Centre at Penrith , March 1996 in which Marion Taffe was rowing.The Sydney International Regatta Centre at Penrith was opened in March 1996 as the new venue for the Sydney Olympic Games 2000. The national regatta 1996 was the first regatta held at the centre and used as a trial for its suitability for the Olympic rowing and canoeing events and the regatta was sponsored by ABN Amro.rowing, regatta, sydney

Handmade fan for social evenings made by and for Theresa (Tess) Taafe c. 1930s.Small fan made of bakelite, lacework with sequins all hand sewn to netting backing.Nilfan, lady's fan, evening wear, tess lazarus, patrick taafe, redesdale.

horseshoe, ornament, luck, tradition, ballarat

ireland, austria, taaffe, vienna

combination bottle and can opener with corkscrew."Buckle proof blue blade" and "Made by Henry Squire and Sons" etched into opposite sides of the handle.can opener,

Scandinavian design in furniture and accessories was very popular in the 1960s - 70s as represented by these two minor decorative candle holders of the period.A small example of the very popular designs reflecting Scandinavian influences of the period.In the modern Danish style of 1970s.etched underneath each holder 'Stelton stainless 18/Denmark.' denmark, stainless, ballarat, 1970s, wedding present

donald, candle holders, crystal, wedding present

A small book of 47 pages printed at The Specialty Press Melbourne. Covers in poor condition due to wear and water but content pages fair although cover now detached.fictionedna walling, gardeners, poetry

In 1920 Michael Taffe was awarded Junior Cornet Solo Champion at Ballarat's South St competitions, The Grand National Eisteddfod of Australasia. This competition was the premier band contest in Australia with musicians from every state and New Zealand taking part. This Boosey & Co cornet was on display in the window of Allan's Music store Melbourne when the building was severely damaged by fire but these items were saved. Part of a large family collection of local & family history items at Hymettus Cottage, home to the same Ballarat family for the past 125. This cornet has a well documented provenance and a known owner and has been at Hymettus for over a century. Boosey & Co joined with Hawkes in 1930 to become Boosey & Hawkes. This cornet forms part of a significant and representative historical collection that reflects Ballarat's local history from a family perspective. It contributes to our understanding of social and family life in Ballarat from the 19th to the 21st century and provides interpretative capacity for family, local, and social history themes.Heavily decorated and inscribed.cornet, music, michael taffe, south street competitions, ballarat, boosey & co

non-fictionmusic, musical instruments, brass bands,

This bookcase was from Fintona private school Camberwell Melbourne. Fintona was a Presbyterian school for girls founded by Annie Hughston in 1896 and was originally in Camberwell and now Balwyn, Melbourne. The daughters of Pompey Elliot attended the school and the bookcase contains one of their several awards. Colonial Australian cedar secretaire bookcase c.1880 with a piano lid action to the desk lid instead of the more common drop down type.Two door cabinet base with two deep shelves, desk slope inset with gilt tooled leather. desk has rear drawers and one secret compartment and lid. Top section is simple two door glazed cabinet with three moveable cedar shelves topped with a simple pediment.secretaire, fintona, bookcase, violet elliot, pompey elliot

Always kept in front bedroom and used on bedside table and dining table, also for accompanying priest from front door to sick bed. 2 x glass candlestick holders, with a broad square base and a square column leading to the top square area which holds the candles. There are diamond and star-shaped patterns in the base and the column.glass, candlesticks, light

non-fiction

10 page programme and synopsis of the musical Carboni.eureka, carboni

non-fictionThe book of Thomas Kennedy’s March from Creswick’s Creek by Harry.H. Pearce was published in a limited edition of 300 for the centenary of Eureka in 1954. creswick, eureka stockade, ballarat, kennedy, rams skull press

non-fictionballarat, eureka stockade, eureka centenary, peter lalor, 1954

Newspaper style journal of twenty pages given over to articles, opinion pieces and coverage of the events at the Eureka Stockade in 1854.non-fictioneureka stockade, ballarat, labour history, bi-centenary

eureka 150, ballarat, courier

non-fictioneureka stockade, ballarat, monty miller

non-fictionmosaics, world war i, aif, ballarat, arthur pickford

Part of photograph album donated by Mrs Faull. Photo taken on a St Paul's Sunday School picnic.Sepia photograph of an expanse of water with swans in the foreground, an island behind.st paul's sunday school, sunday school picnics, lake wendouree ballarat, faull collection, swans

A fossil refers to any remains or traces of past life that are preserved in the rock. It could be remains of plants or animals. Fossil leaves are commonly found on different types of rocks. These fossils can go as far back as the Triassic Age just like the series of fossil plants collected at Denmark Hill, Ipswich in Queensland. Fossils leaves are formed when dead plants get buried by sediments like mud, sand, or volcanic ash. Often, it gets detached cleanly from stems along a special layer of weak cells, then twigs, and, less commonly, cones of conifers and fruits and seeds of flowering plants. Over time, the leaves or pieces of leaves get buried by more sediments and eventually gets 'lithified' or hardened into a rock. Erosions and mining can cause the rocks to break and reveal the fossils buried in it. Fossilisation frequently takes place at sites in the lowlands where deposits of clay, silt, sand are found. This is usually due to weathering and erosion of rocks. Fossil leaves can provide information about ancient Australia's way of living. It contributes to Victorian biodiversity records and its botanical collections. It also contributes information on the geographical profile of Victoria as fossilisation usually occur at estuaries and deltas of rivers, river flood plains, ponds and lakes. This specimen is part of a larger collection of geological and mineral specimens collected from around Australia (and some parts of the world) and donated to the Burke Museum between 1868-1880. A large percentage of these specimens were collected in Victoria as part of the Geological Survey of Victoria that begun in 1852 (in response to the Gold Rush) to study and map the geology of Victoria. Collecting geological specimens was an important part of mapping and understanding the scientific makeup of the earth. Many of these specimens were sent to research and collecting organisations across Australia, including the Burke Museum, to educate and encourage further study.Piece of light brown rock with fossilised leaves in shades of golden yellow and brown.Existing label: Fossil Leaves / Locality unknown / might be worth checking if this is Glossopteris, a Permian age plant. / C. William 16/4/21 geological specimen, geology, geology collection, burke museum, beechworth, fossil leaves, fossilization, 1868 geological survey of victoria, lithified, rocks, fossilised leaf, rock, fossils, leaves

The whippletree consists of a loose horizontal bar between the draught animal and its load. The centre of the bar is connected to the load, and the traces, chains or straps on each side of the harness, attached to its ends. Whippletrees are used when pulling a dragged load such as a plough, harrow, or log. The whipple tree was attached to a scoop, which was used for building the 'Puffing Billy' railway and also for scooping out Emerald Lake.Wooden bar with metal hook at each end and a metal ring attached to the centre.

colin mckay, bob henderson, ian kneebone, colin mckenzie, brian smythe, peter hedley, bob mcgauchie, max lane, jim firth, alfie freeman, rhonda allen, margaret whiting, olive slaughter, pat traeger, margaret watts, dawn cupper, k. traeger, doris allen, dawn woodberry, shirley palmer, june broadstock, j. barrow, g. simmons, k. mckay, bill connors, don rix, s. allen, n. hedley, lester bull, j. simmons, ainslie cupper noel sawyer, alan bull, the lake state school, schools