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Lara RSL Sub Branch
Picture Postcard Booklet, CATHEDRALE DE REIMS. APRES BOMBARDEMENTS, Circa 1914. WW1
... France Post ww1 Photo Postcards showing building and bomb... Photo Postcards showing building and bomb damage sustained ...France Post ww1 Photo Postcards showing building and bomb damage sustained during ww1.Rectangular in shape,Khaki in colour. Made from Paper and CardboardPostcard Book - Cathedrale De Reims - Apres Bombardements. 24CARTES POSTALS. Textes Francais et Anglais. ND. Phot.cards. picture post cards. lara r.s.l. -
Bendigo Military Museum
Photograph - PHOTOGRAPHS, DARWIN WW2, 1942
Collection of black & white photographs with typed captions detailing some of the destruction of buildings, shipping & equipment during & after the first attack on Darwin by the Japanese (Feb 19th 1942)..1) Bombed building. .2) Bombed building. .3) Bombed hangar. .4) Bombed store building. .5) Water tower with aircraft in background. .6) Bombed 2 storey building. .7) Sunken ship with 2 ships in background. .8) Scrapped aeroplane. .9) Small steam train..1) On back: More RAAF Drome damage. .2) On back: RAAF Drome. No opposition than couple of Wirraways & Kittyhawks. .3) On back: Hangar RAAF Drome when the Nips finished. .4) On back: First bomb on Post Office Darwin. .5) On back: Jap plane (pos zero) flying around water tower, Darwin loco before arrival of Spitfires at Darwin. .6) On back: Bob Dyers bank Darwin. .7) On back: Neptuna on side alongside wharf & 2 ships on mud at low tide Darwin Harbour. .8) On back: Scrap heap Bathelor field. .9) On back: Fly used on wharf at Darwin before Japs bombed wharf & sunk Neptuna standing there.photography-photographs, military history - war damage, passchendaele barracks trust -
Federation University Historical Collection
Photograph, Binishell, c1980
Binishells are reinforced concrete thin-shell structures that are lifted and shaped by air pressure. They were invented in the 1960s by Dante Bini, who built 1,600 of them in 23 countries.Colour photograph of a distinctive architectural feature known as a Binishell on the Gippsland campus. The large reinforced concrete dome is shaped and lifted by air pressure. Its inventor, architect Dr. Dante Bini, directed the construction of the Binishell in December 1979. The eleven metre high binishell, used 300 tons of concrete and reinforcing steel, was inflated by a large membrane in around one hour, using Dr. Dante Bini's ferrocement method. The Binishell was used as a place for exams and graduations. Reactive clay in the soil caused the footings of the binishell to twist, subsequently causing the shell to crack. The resulting damage diminished structural integrity, resulting in the Binishell not being used in 2004 and early 2005 while a new structure support was installed. Normal use of the building was resumed in Semester 1 2005. Eventually the external thermal membrane started to fail, and on 14 February 2009, the Binishell was demolished, with new auditorium built at the campus for classes, graduation ceremonies, exams and conferences.gippsland campus collection, binishell -
4th/19th Prince of Wales's Light Horse Regiment Unit History Room
Photo, Frank Hurley, See caption, 1918
... Horse formed up in a street in Gaza. Surrounding buildings have... buildings have sustained war damage See caption Photo Frank Hurley ...From Frank Hurley's Paget Plate photographLaminated colourised photo of 4th & 12th Australian Light Horse formed up in a street in Gaza. Surrounding buildings have sustained war damageCaption: Soldiers of the Fourth and Twelfth Regiments; Australian Light Horse at Gaza-Palestine, January 1918; Three months after their historic Beersheba charge. -
Mission to Seafarers Victoria
Article - Clipping, photocopy, Sarah Turner, It’s Louise’s masterpiece, come heaven, hell or high water, 1988
Louise Hearman used the Norla Dome and painted a mural painted which had taken her around a year to complete. The exhibition called Elephant Room was shown from June 1988. The work was vandalised in 1989 and subsequently demolished.Louise Hearman is a Melbourne born artist and Archibald Prize winner. Hearman first came to public notice in 1987/88 when she spent a year painting the mural in the Norla Dome. The premises of the Mission also served as her studio at that time.Black and white copy of a newspaper article, printed on A3 paper.It’s Louise’s masterpiece, come heaven, hell or high water Report: SARAH TURNER PICTURE: LEIGH HENNINGHAM When her Little Bourke St studio was pulled down to make way for a carpark, artist Louise Hearman, above, contacted The Seamen’s Mission in Flinders St to see whether she could use their cottage. They agree. But neither knew what it was going to lead to. When Hearman saw ‘the Elephant Room’ at the mission, a big domed room, she felt she “just had to do something with it”. She applied for and was granted a $3250 grant from the Australia Council, with which she was able to buy the necessary scaffold and paint, and then set about transforming the room. Now, a year later, her masterpiece is complete. Hearman emphasised the the mural doesn’t represent “heaven and hell”. Rather, she said, “people should make their own interpretations”. She said it was “not particularly heaven and hell, it’s not particularly anything”. And there is “no narrative” to the mural. It “just developed with the building”, out of whatever images and feeling Hearman had at the time. Sadly though, Hearman said the mural was likely to fall off the walls and domed ceiling unless the room was waterproofed - water damage is a serious problem at the mission. louise hearman, norla dome, exhibitions, 1988, elephant room, flinders street, melbourne, leigh henningham, cultural events -
Mission to Seafarers Victoria
Photograph - Digital photograph, Black and white, Charles Daniel Pratt (1892-1968), c. 1927
The tennis court was built in 1924, after a suggestion from seamen. It was used until the 50s when it was too damaged and costly to keep. The Hawthorn branch of the LHLG raised the funds. Aerial photograph of the Yarra river depicting the Siddeley and Flinders buildings with the tennis court.tennis court, sports, charles daniel pratt (1892-1968) -
Mission to Seafarers Victoria
Photograph - Digital photograph, Black and white, Charles Daniel Pratt (1892-1968), c. 1927
The tennis court was built in 1924, after a suggestion from seamen. It was used until the 50s when it was too damaged and costly to keep. The Hawthorn branch of the LHLG raised the funds. Aerial photograph of the Yarra river depicting the Siddeley and Flinders buildings with the tennis court.tennis court, sports, charles daniel pratt (1892-1968), fishmarket, spencer street bridge, sailors' home, siddeley street, flinders street, mission to seafarers, seamen's mission, seamen's institute -
Mortlake and District Historical Society
Document, Mortlake Mechanics' Institute Scroll
In April 1869 when the foundation stone of the Mortlake Mechanics' Institute was laid by Thomas Shaw of Wooriwyrite, this parchment scroll was sealed with other documents in the foundation stone. In 1891 when further alterations were made the hall these documents were retrieved from the stone. This building was erected to house the local library whichup until that time had been housed in the Morllake Common School.Discoloured foolscap parchment with copperplate lettering, some water damage which has caused the obliteration of the names of the Members of the Building Committee, Hon.Secretary and Architect. At a Public Meeting presided over by John Grieve Esq. President of the Shire/The foundation stone/of this building/was laid by - /Thomas Shaw Junior Esquire the President of the Institute on Monday/the 29th day of March A. D. 1869 in the 32nd year of the Reign of Her/Most Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria Sir I. A. T. Manners Sutton/being Governor of this Colony of Victoria/With this Scroll is Deposited/A copy of The Argus Newspaper of 28th March 1869/A copy of The Warrnambool Examiner of ? March 1869/A copy of The Belfast Examiner of 17th March 1869/Members of/The Building/ Committee/Hon.Secretary and Treasurer/Architect/Contractors/Messrs Jenkins and Harvey,Mason/Mr Joseph Wyatt,Carpenter.institute, free, libraries, public buildings, mortlake, mechanics -
Mission to Seafarers Victoria
Photograph - Photograph, Black and white, Allan Charles Quinn, 5 June 1949
... not been completed. The building was heavily damaged by a bomb fell... not been completed. The building was heavily damaged by a bomb fell ...This photograph was taken on the 5th of June, 1946, and shows the ruins of the St intent church built between 1490 and 1556 in a Gothic style and was known for its vast dimensions. The church also had the uniqueness of owning a bell tower that had not been completed. The building was heavily damaged by a bomb fell in the choir level May 31, 1944 during the Allied strikes announcing the landing. The ruins are still standing today. Allan has also written letters home from this period, describing France as a "mess" at this time. This photograph was exhibited by the Mission to Seafarers as part of the exhibition "Letters from Abroad" in 2012.This is a photograph from the Allan Charles Quinn collection which is a collection of letters and photograph depicting aspects of life at sea for a young man in the era immediately following World War II.Black and white photograph of the ruins of a gothic church bombed during the Battle of Normandy in 1944. It shows the arch of the church left standing in the foreground, with a tower in the background. There is a narrow white boarder about the image.On reverse: ROUEN 5-6-49 handwritten in blue ink. Below this is a mark "ItI" in pencil.allan quinn, photograph, france, ruins, church, letters-from-abroad, rouen, normandy, ww2, wwii, world war two, 1939-1945, battle of normandy, st vincent church -
Mission to Seafarers Victoria
Photograph - Gelatin silver photograph, Allan Charles Quinn, Rue du Gros-Horloge, Rouen, 05 June 1949
This photograph is one of a series taken by Allan while travelling through France in mid-1946. There are several letters relating to this journey.This is a photograph from the Allan Charles Quinn collection which is a collection of letters and photograph depicting aspects of life at sea for a young man in the era immediately following World War II.A black and white photograph, taken on the 5th of June, 1949, shows one of Rouen's main sight: "Le Gros-Horloge" (Great-Clock), a fourteenth-century astronomical clock in central Rouen, Normandy, France. Rouen had been heavily damaged during World War II. Buildings of different styles and ages can be seen, as well as people walking. There is a narrow white boarder around the image.On reverse: ROUEN 5-6-49 handwritten in blue ink. Below this is the mark "ItI"in pencil.allan-quinn, photograph, rouen, france -
Mission to Seafarers Victoria
Photograph, Allan Charles Quinn, Old residential district - Rouen, 05 June 1949
This photograph is one of a series taken by Allan Quinn while travelling through France in mid-1946. There are several letters relating to this journey.This is a photograph from the Allan Charles Quinn collection which is a collection of letters and photograph depicting aspects of life at sea for a young man in the era immediately following World War II.A black and white photograph of buildings in Rouen, France, taken on the 5th of June, 1949. The building in the foreground is intact, but most of the buildings behind it have been damaged by bombing.On reverse: ROUEN 5-6-49 handwritten in blue ink. Below this is the mark "It" in pencil.allan-quinn, photograph, rouen, france -
Greensborough Historical Society
Photograph - Digital image, Marilyn Smith, Fire damage at Greensborough Football Club scoreboard, 22/08/2015
Overnight on 19-20th August 2015, the Greensborough Football Club scoreboard building was set alight by vandals. The scoreboard, built in the 1950s needed to be demolished. It included umpire change rooms, scoreboard, change rooms and a storeroom containing footballs and training equipment.Digital copy of colour photographgreensborough football club, greensborough war memorial park -
Greensborough Historical Society
Photograph - Digital image, Marilyn Smith, Greensborough Football Club scoreboard prior to damage, 24/08/2014
Greensborough Football Club scoreboard prior to damage. Overnight on 19-20th August 2015, the scoreboard building was set alight by vandals. The scoreboard, built in the 1950s needed to be demolished. It included umpire change rooms, scoreboard, change rooms and a storeroom containing footballs and training equipment.Digital copy of colour photographgreensborough football club, greensborough war memorial park -
Greensborough Historical Society
Photograph - Digital image, Marilyn Smith, Fire damage at Greensborough Football Club scoreboard (from right side), 22/08/2015
Overnight on 19-20th August 2015, the Greensborough Football Club scoreboard building was set alight by vandals. The scoreboard, built in the 1950s needed to be demolished. It included umpire change rooms, scoreboard, change rooms and a storeroom containing footballs and training equipment. View from right of scoreboard.Digital copy of colour photographgreensborough football club, greensborough war memorial park -
Greensborough Historical Society
Photograph - Digital image, Marilyn Smith, Fire damage at Greensborough Football Club scoreboard (from front), 22/08/2015
Overnight on 19-20th August 2015, the Greensborough Football Club scoreboard building was set alight by vandals. The scoreboard, built in the 1950s needed to be demolished. It included umpire change rooms, scoreboard, change rooms and a storeroom containing footballs and training equipment. View from front of scoreboard.Digital copy of colour photographgreensborough football club, greensborough war memorial park -
Greensborough Historical Society
Photograph - Digital image, Marilyn Smith, Fire damage at Greensborough Football Club scoreboard (close-up), 22/08/2015
Overnight on 19-20th August 2015, the Greensborough Football Club scoreboard building was set alight by vandals. The scoreboard, built in the 1950s needed to be demolished. It included umpire change rooms, scoreboard, change rooms and a storeroom containing footballs and training equipment. Close-up of damaged scoreboard.Digital copy of colour photographgreensborough football club, greensborough war memorial park -
Greensborough Historical Society
Photograph - Digital image, Marilyn Smith, Fire damage at Greensborough Football Club scoreboard (left side), 22/08/2015
Overnight on 19-20th August 2015, the Greensborough Football Club scoreboard building was set alight by vandals. The scoreboard, built in the 1950s needed to be demolished. It included umpire change rooms, scoreboard, change rooms and a storeroom containing footballs and training equipment. Left view of damaged scoreboard.Digital copy of colour photographgreensborough football club, greensborough war memorial park -
Greensborough Historical Society
Photograph - Digital image, Marilyn Smith, Fire damage at Greensborough Football Club scoreboard (close-up), 22/08/2015
Overnight on 19-20th August 2015, the Greensborough Football Club scoreboard building was set alight by vandals. The scoreboard, built in the 1950s needed to be demolished. It included umpire change rooms, scoreboard, change rooms and a storeroom containing footballs and training equipment. Close-up view of damaged scoreboard.Digital copy of colour photographgreensborough football club, greensborough war memorial park -
Greensborough Historical Society
Photograph - Digital image, Marilyn Smith, Fire damage at Greensborough Football Club scoreboard (below), 22/08/2015
Overnight on 19-20th August 2015, the Greensborough Football Club scoreboard building was set alight by vandals. The scoreboard, built in the 1950s needed to be demolished. It included umpire change rooms, scoreboard, change rooms and a storeroom containing footballs and training equipment. View of damage below scoreboard.Digital copy of colour photographgreensborough football club, greensborough war memorial park -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Damage to the Eltham Christian School after a fire, 10 October 1989, 1989
Damage to the Eltham Christian School after a fire, 10 October 1989 The Stokes family settled in this area of Eltham in the 1940s and were associated with the Eltham Christian Church. In the 1970s this church had met in temporary premises in Eltham. Lots of the original 1920s subdivision remained south of Nyora Road and a number of these lots were utilized for the Eltham Christian School, which was established by the Eltham Christian Church in 1981. The school operated on this site until 2000. The premises were owned by the Nillumbik Community Church who were in operation till November 2010 when the Eltham Baptist Church commenced a lease arrangement until the site was purchased by them in April 2012. The building is constructed of brick and timber with a balcony on two sides that looks over an expanse of grass. Sources: STOKES ORCHARD – AN INCOMPLETE HISTORY February 28, 2015 http://www.elthamhistory.org.au/ Australian Christian Church Histories - Eltham Baptist Church http://www.churchhistories.net.au/church-catalog/eltham-vic-baptist/ From a magnetic spiral bound photo album featuring a series of photographs (some cropped) with captions relating to the staff, students and activities of the Eltham Christian School which operated as part of the Eltham Christian Church at Nyora Road, Eltham. See also entries for each photograph.colour photographeltham christian school, nyora road, fire damage -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Eltham Christian School, severely damaged by a deliberate fire, 10 October 1989, 1989
Part of a personal letter from a church member printed on yellow paper with a black and white photograph. Transcription: "And so home again to .. a fire!! Eltham Christina School and Church, where I worship was extensively burned by a known arsonist on Oct 10 (1998). We lost tthe 3 school rooms and 2/3 of the church. Another school kindly offered classrooms for the children. November 28 and a makesafe wall means school and church are now functioning in the good 1/3 of the church, until the remainder is rebuilt. So many have ministered to us in so many ways over these past weeks and we do thank the Lord for each one." The Stokes family settled in this area of Eltham in the 1940s and were associated with the Eltham Christian Church. In the 1970s this church had met in temporary premises in Eltham. Lots of the original 1920s subdivision remained south of Nyora Road and a number of these lots were utilized for the Eltham Christian School, which was established by the Eltham Christian Church in 1981. The school operated on this site until 2000. The premises were owned by the Nillumbik Community Church who were in operation till November 2010 when the Eltham Baptist Church commenced a lease arrangement until the site was purchased by them in April 2012. The building is constructed of brick and timber with a balcony on two sides that looks over an expanse of grass. Sources: STOKES ORCHARD – AN INCOMPLETE HISTORY February 28, 2015 http://www.elthamhistory.org.au/ Australian Christian Church Histories - Eltham Baptist Church http://www.churchhistories.net.au/church-catalog/eltham-vic-baptist/ From a magnetic spiral bound photo album featuring a series of photographs (some cropped) with captions relating to the staff, students and activities of the Eltham Christian School which operated as part of the Eltham Christian Church at Nyora Road, Eltham. See also entries for each photograph.Typed letter printed on yellow paper with a black and white photographeltham christian school, nyora road, fire damage -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, George W. Bell, 'Windy' Gale's burnt out home, Wild Dog Creek Road, Jan. 1962, Jan 1962
... bushfires - 1962 bushfires dick (windy) gale fire damage - buildings ...Building of Pensioners Cottages at St Andrews; for those burnt out in the 1962 bushfires. A voluntary scheme of Mavis Gill through the Kangaroo Ground Relief CommitteeBlack and white photo mounted on card'Windy' Gale's burnt out home, Wild Dog Creek Road Photo Geo. W. Bell, Jan. 1962victorian bushfires - 1962, bushfires, dick (windy) gale, fire damage - buildings, george w bell, houses, st andrews, wild dog creek road, mavis gill, pensioners cottages -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, George W. Bell, Mavis Gill making a turn near 'Windy' Gale's home, Wild Dog Creek Road, Jan. 1962, Jan 1962
... bushfires - 1962 bushfires dick (windy) gale fire damage - buildings ...Building of Pensioners Cottages at St Andrews; for those burnt out in the 1962 bushfires. A voluntary scheme of Mavis Gill through the Kangaroo Ground Relief CommitteeBlack and white photo mounted on cardMavis Gill making a turn near 'Windy' Gale's place Wild Dog Creek area Photo Geo. W. Bell, Jan. 1962victorian bushfires - 1962, bushfires, dick (windy) gale, fire damage - buildings, george w bell, houses, st andrews, wild dog creek road, mavis gill, pensioners cottages -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, George W. Bell, Message from 'Windy' Gale, Wild Dog Creek Road, Jan. 1962, Jan 1962
... (windy) gale fire damage - buildings george w bell houses st ..."Staying at Dinsdales up the hill, Windy" Building of Pensioners Cottages at St Andrews; for those burnt out in the 1962 bushfires. A voluntary scheme of Mavis Gill through the Kangaroo Ground Relief CommitteeBlack and white photo mounted on cardMessage from resident Wild Dog Creek Road Photo Geo. W. Bell, Jan. 1962victorian bushfires - 1962, bushfires, dick (windy) gale, fire damage - buildings, george w bell, houses, st andrews, wild dog creek road, mavis gill, pensioners cottages, bill dinsdale -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, George W. Bell, Christmas Hills bushfire, Jan. 1962, Jan 1962
... bushfires - 1962 bushfires fire damage - buildings george w bell ...Building of Pensioners Cottages at St Andrews; for those burnt out in the 1962 bushfires. A voluntary scheme of Mavis Gill through the Kangaroo Ground Relief CommitteeBlack and white photo mounted on cardChristmas Hills bushfire Photo Geo. W. Bell, Jan. 1962victorian bushfires - 1962, bushfires, fire damage - buildings, george w bell, houses, st andrews, mavis gill, pensioners cottages, christmas hills, water tank -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Folder, Building of Pensioners Cottages at St Andrews
... damage - buildings houses st andrews mavis gill pensioners ...Letter from Postmaster-General's Department to J.T. Niclassen of Buttermans Track, St Andrews concerning telephone equipment destroyed in recent bushfires, 22 Feb 1962 Letter, Joan Kennedy to Mavis Gill, 8 Nov 1962 Letter, Dick (Windy) Gale to Mavis Gill, 18 Apr 1962 Letter, Winnifred Whyte to Mavis Gill, 25 Jun 1962 Letter, N. Cleary to Mavis Gill, 18 Dec 1962 Letter, Doris Young to Mavis Gill, 22 Dec 1962 Re-building of Pensioners Cottages, St Andrews 1962c Declaration of Trust, Eltham and Diamond Valley Benevolent Society, c/o Mrs Mavis Gill, 1973Newsletter No. 136, January 2001 Mavis Gill who is known to our 'older generation' of members (oh to be an octogenarian) has given the Society papers and photographs of the 1962 fires in the St Andrews area. Mavis was involved in obtaining funds for "building relief' purposes so that volunteers could rebuild for those who lost their homes in that area. It lists many voluntary groups who were also involved in the rehabilitation of the fire victims in the area.Folder of letters and documentsvictorian bushfires - 1962, bushfires, fire damage - buildings, houses, st andrews, mavis gill, pensioners cottages, christmas hills, alistair knox, arthur leonard sloman, brian redmond smyth, buttermans track, con sloan, d. goddard, dick (windy) gale, doris young, e. howard, frederick thomas scott, gaunt henry, grant lane, j.t. niclassen, jack niclassen, joan kennedy, joseph kennedy, kangaroo ground relief committee, molly clark, n. cleary, n.r. cleary, patterson, pmg, postmaster-general, robert barclay, robert william fell, winnifred whyte -
4th/19th Prince of Wales's Light Horse Regiment Unit History Room
Newspaper cutting, Feb 1900
Relates to Boer WarPart of a page from the Leader Newspaper printed in Feb 1900 about casualties suffered at Rensberg. Th page is badly damaged but shows shows photographs of some of the casualties and their home townshipsboer war casualties -
Kiewa Valley Historical Society
Photograph of Lake Guy and Bogong Village, Lake Guy and Bogong Village, Approx. 1945
In 1940 Field Headquarters for the Kiewa Scheme were established at Bogong with office, workshop facilities and accommodation for workmen, staff and some families constructed. (There had been a 'tent camp' on this site in 1939 but was destroyed by bushfires) Construction of accommodation continued until 1947. A total of 40 houses plus a hostel for single staff, post office, police station, medical centre and primary school all with water and sewerage and electricity supply. The staff hostel was known as Kiewa House and is now occupied by the Education Department. Lake Guy was named after Mr. L.T. Guy who was the Resident Engineer in charge of construction work and associated activities on the Kiewa area. He held this position from 1939 to November 1946 when he was transferred to Head Office.This photograph is an excellent historical record of Bogong Village in about 1945. It shows the layout of the town in the fairly steep terrain, the workmen's camp between the houses and the lake foreshore, the Commissioner's Lodge on the hill behind the Village, the walkway through the dam wall can be seen to the left of the spillway, the dam is on spill and note damage to the large trees is still evident from the 1939 bush fires. The Commissioner's Lodge was lost in the 2003 fires and the camp buildings were in service until 1962, when they were removed and the site converted into a public picnic area with lawns and gardens.A Black and white photograph"Lake Guy and Bogong" hand written on back of photograph.kiewa, accommodation, lake, dam, bogong -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Magazine, Sun News-Pictorial, Bush Fires: A pictorial survey of Victoria's most tragic week, January 8-15, 1939, 1939
THE WEEK REVIEWED (Article; Bush Fires: A pictorial survey of Victoria's most tragic week, January 8-15, 1939. Published in aid of the Bush Fire Relief Fund by the Sun News-Pictorial in co-operation with its newsagents, pp2-3) THE fiercest bush fires Australia has known since its discovery are quiescent at the moment, and Victoria, in the comparative coolness of the change which came with rain on Sunday night, has begun·to count its losses. In the fiery eight days, from Sunday to Sunday, at least sixty-six men, women and children have lost their lives in forest fires, or have succumbed to burns and shock; many others have died from heat; and several serious cases of burns are being treated in hospitals. Two babies in Narrandera district have died, and ten others are in hospital, because of milk soured by the record temperatures of those eight days. Forest damage totals at least a million pounds, and incalculable damage has been done to the seedlings which were to have been the forests of the future. Water conservation will be seriously affected by the silting-up of reservoirs and streams from which protective timber has been taken by the all-engulfing flames. More than a thousand houses have been destroyed, and these, with 40 mills, and schools, post-offices, churches, and other buildings, represent a loss of at least half a million. At least 1500 are homeless. For their aid, money raised in appeals has now passed the £50,000 mark, and the biggest relief organisation ever set up in peace time has swung into operation. The First Hint Victoria's first hint of what was to come appeared on Sunday, January 8, when most parts of the State awoke to find a blistering day awaiting. At 12.20 p.m., when the thermometer reached its highest for the day, 109.6 degrees, the first fire victims were at that moment going to their death on a bush track five feet wide off the main road to Narbethong. They were the forestry officers Charles Isaac Demby and John Hartley Barling, who went to warn Demby of his danger when he parted from his companions, and was himself surrounded by the treacherous fire. It was not until 8 o'clock next morning that the tragic news was flashed throughout the State. Searchers found the two charred bodies close together, one seeking protection in the nook of two logs. Barling's watch had stopped at 1.20. In the meantime, tragedy was spreading its cloak. By Monday, big fires were raging at Toolangi, Erica, Yallourn, Monbulk, Frankston, Dromana, Drouin South, Glenburn, and Blackwood, with smaller outbreaks at many other centres. In the ensuing week, while women and children were evacuated as fast as the flames would permit, Erica-scene of the 1926 fire disaster-thrice escaped doom by a change of wind. Indeed, those who have been in the fire country these past days say that the numbers of times a change of wind has saved towns from destruction is amazing. In the towns they speak of miracles. Monday's Miracles The escapes from Monett's Mill at Erica and from the Hardwood Company's Mill at Murrindindi, near where Demby and Barling went to their death, were Monday's miracles. Twenty came out alive from each mill. At the first a 60ft. dugout provided an oven-like refuge; at the second, 12 women and children survived in the smoke-filled gloom of a three-roomed cottage while their eight men, their clothes sometimes afire, poured water on the wooden walls. Three houses out of ten remained when the fire had passed. Record Temperatures Sunday had been the hottest Melbourne day for 33 years; Monday dropped to a 76.1 degree maximum; but Tuesday dawned hotter than ever, the mercury reaching 112.5. By now rumor was racing ahead of fact; whole towns were being reported lost; the alarm was raised for scores of missing persons. But fact soon overtook rumor, and within a few days the staggering toll began to mount to a figure beyond the wildest imaginings of the panic-stricken. Six died from heat on this torrid Tuesday, and the fires spread in a wide swathe from south-west to north-east across the State. Fish died in shallow streams. A curtain of smoke hid the sky from all Victoria, and hung far out to sea. It alarmed passengers on ships. On the Ormonde, on the voyage to Sydney from Burnie, women ran on deck, believing fire had broken out in the hold. Days later the smoke reached New Zealand. In Melbourne thousands of fire-volunteers were leaving in cars: vans, motor-buses-anything reliable on wheels-to aid the country in its grim fight. In the fires at Rubicon and. Narbethong, seventeen were facing death this day. But not till Wednesday, when Melbourne breathed again in a cool change, while the country still sweltered in temperatures up to 117 degrees, did the news come through the tree blocked roads. A woman and her little daughter, trapped on the road, were among those who died. Their bodies, and those of menfolk with them, were found strewn out at intervals along the road, where the furnace of the surrounding fire had dropped them in their tracks as they ran. Twelve died at a Rubicon mill, five on the road at Narbethong. At Alexandra, not far distant, a baby was born while the fires raged, and stretcher-bearers brought in the injured. On Thursday the State Government voted £5000 for the relief of fire victims. The Governor (Lord Huntingfield) and the Lord Mayor (Cr. Coles) visited some of the stricken areas, and dipped into their pockets personally. Later, the City Council, too, voted £5000. Friday, The 13th Friday, the Thirteenth, justified its evil name. A blistering northerly came early in the morning, presaging destruction, and forcing the mercury to a new record of 114 degrees. Racing fires killed at least ten in those terrible 12 hours. Four children were engulfed in the furnace at Colac. Panic drove them, uncontrollable, into the smoke-filled road when the fire raced down behind their home. They choked to death. In other parts fires were joining to make fronts of scores of miles. Kinglake was being menaced on two fronts, £60,000 worth of timber was going up in smoke in Ballarat district. Warburton was surrounded. Residents at Lorne, favoured resort, were being driven to the sea-front by a fire which destroyed at least 20 homes. Healewille. with flames visible from the town at one stage, was in a trough between two fires which burned four guest-houses, seven homes and left its surrounding beauty-spots wastes of bowed-over, blackened tree-fern fronds; with its famous Sanctuary, however, intact. Most of Omeo was destroyed this black day: Noojee. while 200 residents crouched in the river, was being reduced to a waste of buckled iron and smoking timber; Erica was once again saved by a change of wind. Beneath a pall of smoke, the Rubicon victims were buried at Alexandra. Friday night and the early hours of Saturday saw the streets of beleagured towns strewn with exhausted fire-fighters. Their flails beside them, ready for the next call, they lay where exhaustion overtook them-on footpaths, beside lamp-posts, in gutters, in cars, under trucks. Saturday's dawn brought clear skies and lower temperatures in many parts, and from the burnt-out areas came a great rush of tragic reports. The death-roll rushed past the fifty mark with incredible speed. Some had been trapped on roads, others at mills; some, after burying their treasures, had clung too long to the places they had made their homes for many years. Four men lost their lives because one went back for his dog. By Sunday, when the first of the saving rain came, nearly another score of names had been added to the list.Newspaper magazine, 48 pages (incl. covers). Fully digitised and searchable PDFPublished in aid of the Bush Fire Relief Fund by the Sun News-Pictorial in co-operation with its newsagents.bushfires, 1939 bushfires, black friday, warrandyte -
Warrnambool and District Historical Society Inc.
Artefact, China Plate, 1922 (painting)
This plate was painted by J.J. Forrester in 1922. John James Forrester, the son of John Lamb Forrester and Maria Hexter, was an architect in Warrnambool in the early 20th century. He had an office in Kepler Street (1910) and in Koroit Street (1916). He lived in the house in Liebig Street that was formerly the first Savings Bank and was erected in 1860 (7A Liebig Street today). Forrester was a staunch member of the Presbyterian Church and was the co-architect for the re-building of the interior of St. John’s Presbyterian Church in Warrnambool after it was destroyed by fire in 1920. John Forrester was also a noted artist of his time and several of his works of art have survived. A landscape by him is in the possession of the Warrnambool and District Historical Society. This plate is one of two painted by Forrester that survive today.This plate, although damaged, is of interest because it was painted by John James Forrester, a Warrnambool artist from the early 20th century. This is a china plate showing a seascape painted by John James Forrester in 1922. It depicts a coastal scene of rocks, birds and sailing boats. The colours are in mauve/brown/ white tonings and are slightly opalescent. The plate has brown/grey handles with one broken and repaired. The plate is oval-shaped with a slight dip and a stand at the base. Front of plate: ‘J.J.F.’ On base: ‘J.J. Forrester 1922’ john james forrester, history of art in warrnamool, history of architecture in warrnambool, history of warrnambool, china painting