Frances Burke: Designer of Modern Textiles Australia’s most influential and celebrated textile designer of the mid-20th century, Frances Burke (1904-1994), employed Australian native flora, garden flowers, marine subjects, Indigenous culture and increasingly, abstract motifs in her stunning modern fabrics. A confident, determined designer and businesswoman; Burke made the shift from fine art to design in 1937. While she began by designing dress fabrics for Melbourne’s fashionable Georges Department store, printing them on linen using lino blocks, she was an early adopter of the screen-printing process and during the war years began printing on cotton. Burke’s furnishing fabrics took their place in influential modern buildings Australia-wide through collaborations with leading architects and interior designers. They included Robin Boyd’s 1949 House of Tomorrow, Roy Grounds’ Quamby flats, Guilford Bell’s Royal Hayman Island Resort for Ansett Airlines, and Yuncken, Freeman Brothers, Griffiths and Simpson’s Canberra Civic Centre Theatre. In the post-war period, Burke made regular trips to the United States and Europe, on her return advising homeowners and manufacturers on the latest trends in products, colours and home design in lectures and interviews. At New Design her fabric showroom and interior design consultancy Burke introduced furniture by emerging designers Clement Meadmore and Grant Featherston in the early 1950s and presented local and imported homewares, mostly from the United States. She was enthusiastic about the convenient and comfortable lifestyle experienced by ordinary American women. Her fabrics and advice were regularly featured in Australian Home Beautiful, Australian House and Garden and the newspapers of the day. Some of Burke’s designs had remarkable longevity. Tiger Stripe (1938) for example, continued to be produced in a wide range of colours until 1970 and Crete (1946) remained a popular choice for interiors into the 1960s. Drawing from a rich variety of sources including Indigenous culture in Goanna (c.1954) and Pacific Island tapa cloth designs in Bird and Tree (1940), Burke also looked to Japan in designs such as Plum Blossom (1948) and Zen (1965). She loved exploring the potential of native flora, seen in designs including Waratah (1955) and Flannel Flower (1955), while garden flowers were the source for many other designs including Belladonna (1940), Periwinkle (n.d.) and Rose (1947). Burke’s clever interplay of a single striking printed colour with lively gestural lines revealing the white base fabric, gave her designs a vibrancy that characterised the optimistic post-war era. This can be seen in Burke’s fabrics for Hayman Island including Angel Fish and Seapiece (both 1949) which expressed the freshness and excitement of the luxurious new tropical resort and led to further commissions. Burke’s three decades in business (1937-1970) were an unparalleled success in the story of Australian design. Her fabrics have been collected by the NGA, the Powerhouse Museum, NGV, RMIT Design Archives and Sydney Living Museums in addition to Ararat Gallery TAMA. Written by Nanette Carter and Robyn Oswald-Jacobs.

Frances Burke: Designer of Modern Textiles Australia’s most influential and celebrated textile designer of the mid-20th century, Frances Burke (1904-1994), employed Australian native flora, garden flowers, marine subjects, Indigenous culture and increasingly, abstract motifs in her stunning modern fabrics. A confident, determined designer and businesswoman; Burke made the shift from fine art to design in 1937. While she began by designing dress fabrics for Melbourne’s fashionable Georges Department store, printing them on linen using lino blocks, she was an early adopter of the screen-printing process and during the war years began printing on cotton. Burke’s furnishing fabrics took their place in influential modern buildings Australia-wide through collaborations with leading architects and interior designers. They included Robin Boyd’s 1949 House of Tomorrow, Roy Grounds’ Quamby flats, Guilford Bell’s Royal Hayman Island Resort for Ansett Airlines, and Yuncken, Freeman Brothers, Griffiths and Simpson’s Canberra Civic Centre Theatre. In the post-war period, Burke made regular trips to the United States and Europe, on her return advising homeowners and manufacturers on the latest trends in products, colours and home design in lectures and interviews. At New Design her fabric showroom and interior design consultancy Burke introduced furniture by emerging designers Clement Meadmore and Grant Featherston in the early 1950s and presented local and imported homewares, mostly from the United States. She was enthusiastic about the convenient and comfortable lifestyle experienced by ordinary American women. Her fabrics and advice were regularly featured in Australian Home Beautiful, Australian House and Garden and the newspapers of the day. Some of Burke’s designs had remarkable longevity. Tiger Stripe (1938) for example, continued to be produced in a wide range of colours until 1970 and Crete (1946) remained a popular choice for interiors into the 1960s. Drawing from a rich variety of sources including Indigenous culture in Goanna (c.1954) and Pacific Island tapa cloth designs in Bird and Tree (1940), Burke also looked to Japan in designs such as Plum Blossom (1948) and Zen (1965). She loved exploring the potential of native flora, seen in designs including Waratah (1955) and Flannel Flower (1955), while garden flowers were the source for many other designs including Belladonna (1940), Periwinkle (n.d.) and Rose (1947). Burke’s clever interplay of a single striking printed colour with lively gestural lines revealing the white base fabric, gave her designs a vibrancy that characterised the optimistic post-war era. This can be seen in Burke’s fabrics for Hayman Island including Angel Fish and Seapiece (both 1949) which expressed the freshness and excitement of the luxurious new tropical resort and led to further commissions. Burke’s three decades in business (1937-1970) were an unparalleled success in the story of Australian design. Her fabrics have been collected by the NGA, the Powerhouse Museum, NGV, RMIT Design Archives and Sydney Living Museums in addition to Ararat Gallery TAMA. Written by Nanette Carter and Robyn Oswald-Jacobs.

Frances Burke: Designer of Modern Textiles Australia’s most influential and celebrated textile designer of the mid-20th century, Frances Burke (1904-1994), employed Australian native flora, garden flowers, marine subjects, Indigenous culture and increasingly, abstract motifs in her stunning modern fabrics. A confident, determined designer and businesswoman; Burke made the shift from fine art to design in 1937. While she began by designing dress fabrics for Melbourne’s fashionable Georges Department store, printing them on linen using lino blocks, she was an early adopter of the screen-printing process and during the war years began printing on cotton. Burke’s furnishing fabrics took their place in influential modern buildings Australia-wide through collaborations with leading architects and interior designers. They included Robin Boyd’s 1949 House of Tomorrow, Roy Grounds’ Quamby flats, Guilford Bell’s Royal Hayman Island Resort for Ansett Airlines, and Yuncken, Freeman Brothers, Griffiths and Simpson’s Canberra Civic Centre Theatre. In the post-war period, Burke made regular trips to the United States and Europe, on her return advising homeowners and manufacturers on the latest trends in products, colours and home design in lectures and interviews. At New Design her fabric showroom and interior design consultancy Burke introduced furniture by emerging designers Clement Meadmore and Grant Featherston in the early 1950s and presented local and imported homewares, mostly from the United States. She was enthusiastic about the convenient and comfortable lifestyle experienced by ordinary American women. Her fabrics and advice were regularly featured in Australian Home Beautiful, Australian House and Garden and the newspapers of the day. Some of Burke’s designs had remarkable longevity. Tiger Stripe (1938) for example, continued to be produced in a wide range of colours until 1970 and Crete (1946) remained a popular choice for interiors into the 1960s. Drawing from a rich variety of sources including Indigenous culture in Goanna (c.1954) and Pacific Island tapa cloth designs in Bird and Tree (1940), Burke also looked to Japan in designs such as Plum Blossom (1948) and Zen (1965). She loved exploring the potential of native flora, seen in designs including Waratah (1955) and Flannel Flower (1955), while garden flowers were the source for many other designs including Belladonna (1940), Periwinkle (n.d.) and Rose (1947). Burke’s clever interplay of a single striking printed colour with lively gestural lines revealing the white base fabric, gave her designs a vibrancy that characterised the optimistic post-war era. This can be seen in Burke’s fabrics for Hayman Island including Angel Fish and Seapiece (both 1949) which expressed the freshness and excitement of the luxurious new tropical resort and led to further commissions. Burke’s three decades in business (1937-1970) were an unparalleled success in the story of Australian design. Her fabrics have been collected by the NGA, the Powerhouse Museum, NGV, RMIT Design Archives and Sydney Living Museums in addition to Ararat Gallery TAMA. Written by Nanette Carter and Robyn Oswald-Jacobs.

Frances Burke: Designer of Modern Textiles Australia’s most influential and celebrated textile designer of the mid-20th century, Frances Burke (1904-1994), employed Australian native flora, garden flowers, marine subjects, Indigenous culture and increasingly, abstract motifs in her stunning modern fabrics. A confident, determined designer and businesswoman; Burke made the shift from fine art to design in 1937. While she began by designing dress fabrics for Melbourne’s fashionable Georges Department store, printing them on linen using lino blocks, she was an early adopter of the screen-printing process and during the war years began printing on cotton. Burke’s furnishing fabrics took their place in influential modern buildings Australia-wide through collaborations with leading architects and interior designers. They included Robin Boyd’s 1949 House of Tomorrow, Roy Grounds’ Quamby flats, Guilford Bell’s Royal Hayman Island Resort for Ansett Airlines, and Yuncken, Freeman Brothers, Griffiths and Simpson’s Canberra Civic Centre Theatre. In the post-war period, Burke made regular trips to the United States and Europe, on her return advising homeowners and manufacturers on the latest trends in products, colours and home design in lectures and interviews. At New Design her fabric showroom and interior design consultancy Burke introduced furniture by emerging designers Clement Meadmore and Grant Featherston in the early 1950s and presented local and imported homewares, mostly from the United States. She was enthusiastic about the convenient and comfortable lifestyle experienced by ordinary American women. Her fabrics and advice were regularly featured in Australian Home Beautiful, Australian House and Garden and the newspapers of the day. Some of Burke’s designs had remarkable longevity. Tiger Stripe (1938) for example, continued to be produced in a wide range of colours until 1970 and Crete (1946) remained a popular choice for interiors into the 1960s. Drawing from a rich variety of sources including Indigenous culture in Goanna (c.1954) and Pacific Island tapa cloth designs in Bird and Tree (1940), Burke also looked to Japan in designs such as Plum Blossom (1948) and Zen (1965). She loved exploring the potential of native flora, seen in designs including Waratah (1955) and Flannel Flower (1955), while garden flowers were the source for many other designs including Belladonna (1940), Periwinkle (n.d.) and Rose (1947). Burke’s clever interplay of a single striking printed colour with lively gestural lines revealing the white base fabric, gave her designs a vibrancy that characterised the optimistic post-war era. This can be seen in Burke’s fabrics for Hayman Island including Angel Fish and Seapiece (both 1949) which expressed the freshness and excitement of the luxurious new tropical resort and led to further commissions. Burke’s three decades in business (1937-1970) were an unparalleled success in the story of Australian design. Her fabrics have been collected by the NGA, the Powerhouse Museum, NGV, RMIT Design Archives and Sydney Living Museums in addition to Ararat Gallery TAMA. Written by Nanette Carter and Robyn Oswald-Jacobs.

Frances Burke: Designer of Modern Textiles Australia’s most influential and celebrated textile designer of the mid-20th century, Frances Burke (1904-1994), employed Australian native flora, garden flowers, marine subjects, Indigenous culture and increasingly, abstract motifs in her stunning modern fabrics. A confident, determined designer and businesswoman; Burke made the shift from fine art to design in 1937. While she began by designing dress fabrics for Melbourne’s fashionable Georges Department store, printing them on linen using lino blocks, she was an early adopter of the screen-printing process and during the war years began printing on cotton. Burke’s furnishing fabrics took their place in influential modern buildings Australia-wide through collaborations with leading architects and interior designers. They included Robin Boyd’s 1949 House of Tomorrow, Roy Grounds’ Quamby flats, Guilford Bell’s Royal Hayman Island Resort for Ansett Airlines, and Yuncken, Freeman Brothers, Griffiths and Simpson’s Canberra Civic Centre Theatre. In the post-war period, Burke made regular trips to the United States and Europe, on her return advising homeowners and manufacturers on the latest trends in products, colours and home design in lectures and interviews. At New Design her fabric showroom and interior design consultancy Burke introduced furniture by emerging designers Clement Meadmore and Grant Featherston in the early 1950s and presented local and imported homewares, mostly from the United States. She was enthusiastic about the convenient and comfortable lifestyle experienced by ordinary American women. Her fabrics and advice were regularly featured in Australian Home Beautiful, Australian House and Garden and the newspapers of the day. Some of Burke’s designs had remarkable longevity. Tiger Stripe (1938) for example, continued to be produced in a wide range of colours until 1970 and Crete (1946) remained a popular choice for interiors into the 1960s. Drawing from a rich variety of sources including Indigenous culture in Goanna (c.1954) and Pacific Island tapa cloth designs in Bird and Tree (1940), Burke also looked to Japan in designs such as Plum Blossom (1948) and Zen (1965). She loved exploring the potential of native flora, seen in designs including Waratah (1955) and Flannel Flower (1955), while garden flowers were the source for many other designs including Belladonna (1940), Periwinkle (n.d.) and Rose (1947). Burke’s clever interplay of a single striking printed colour with lively gestural lines revealing the white base fabric, gave her designs a vibrancy that characterised the optimistic post-war era. This can be seen in Burke’s fabrics for Hayman Island including Angel Fish and Seapiece (both 1949) which expressed the freshness and excitement of the luxurious new tropical resort and led to further commissions. Burke’s three decades in business (1937-1970) were an unparalleled success in the story of Australian design. Her fabrics have been collected by the NGA, the Powerhouse Museum, NGV, RMIT Design Archives and Sydney Living Museums in addition to Ararat Gallery TAMA. Written by Nanette Carter and Robyn Oswald-Jacobs.

Situated at the eastern end of York Street, Eltham, 'Shinrone', the former home of Professor William (Mac) MacMahon Ball was one of the first in the Shire of Eltham to incorporate mud-brick. Professor MacMahon Ball, a political scientist, writer, broadcaster and diplomat and family moved to York Street, Eltham in 1945 into a timber cottage built around the 1890s and in poor repair. Mac asked Alistair Knox to renovate the home and he expanded the living area and added verandahs. In 1948 Montsalvat artist and sculptor Sonia Skipper supervised the building of most of the mud-brick studio. Neighbour Gordon Ford made the mud-bricks. Mac also asked John Harcourt, who had worked with him as a journalist in shortwave broadcasting, to build a pise (rammed earth) and stone addition to the largely timber house. Harcourt built two bedrooms - including an attic bedroom - a balcony with a shower and toilet, a nd a fireplace and chimney of local stone. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p141 At the eastern tip of York Street, Eltham, stands Shinrone, the former home of one of Australia’s intellectual leaders. Professor William Macmahon Ball, was one of the first to bring Asia as a foreign policy issue to the Australian public.1 He was a political scientist, writer, broadcaster and diplomat. The house was one of the first in Eltham Shire to incorporate mud-brick,2 because of the acute shortage of building materials after World War Two. Its novice builders later become leaders in Eltham’s built and garden design. Mac (as he was usually called), who was the son of a Church of England minister, was born in Casterton, Victoria in 1901 and died in 1986. In 1945 he helped establish the United Nations, as political consultant to the Australian Delegation at the San Francisco Conference.3 Then in 1946 Mac was appointed British Commonwealth Representative on the Allied Council for Japan, which is recorded in detail in his diary.4 In 1948 Mac led an Australian Government Goodwill Mission to South East Asia. However, Mac was perhaps most successful as an academic and public speaker.5 He was a commentator on the Australian Broadcasting Commission, from the early 1930s to the early 1960s. He was also Controller of the Short-Wave Broadcasting Unit during World War Two, which later became Radio Australia. From 1923 he taught at The University of Melbourne, then became foundation Professor of Political Science in 1949 and was Chair until his retirement in 1968.6 In 1942, as the government expected a Japanese invasion, Mac’s wife Katrine and their only child Jenny, moved from Kew to Eltham as temporary evacuees. However Mac and Katrine lived in Eltham for almost the rest of their lives. After staying with friends, they rented a house in Reynolds Road, where, as it was wartime, they needed to keep horses for transport and a cow and poultry for milk and eggs. In 1945 the family moved to the house at York Street, which was then a timber cottage, built around the 1890s and in poor repair. The underground well, cellar and part of the garden are all that remain of what stood on the original 18 acre (7.3ha) allotment. Thanks largely to Katrine’s hard work, the house was gradually renovated and extended. The long rambling house was partially built by several young neighbours, who were inspired by the cheap mud-brick and stone building style of Montsalvat, the Eltham artists’ colony. Mac asked Alistair Knox to renovate Shinrone, named after an Irish village near Katrine’s family home. Knox later popularised the mud-brick style of house construction, for which Eltham became known. He expanded the living area and added verandas. In 1948 Montsalvat artist and sculptor Sonia Skipper supervised the building of most of the mud-brick studio. Another neighbour, Gordon Ford, who was to have a major influence on the Australian garden style, made the mud-bricks. Mac also asked John Harcourt, who had worked with him as a journalist in short-wave broadcasting, to build a pisé (rammed earth) and stone addition to the largely timber house. Harcourt built two bedrooms – including an attic bedroom – a balcony with a shower and toilet, and a fireplace and chimney of local sandstone. With pioneering work naturally came mistakes, including one particularly dramatic incident when Harcourt was building walls with unsupported sections. Jenny Ellis, Mac’s daughter, remembers being awakened from sleep by a thundering shudder. The wall of her room had fallen down – fortunately away from her! In 1950 artist Peter Glass – another neighbour and later landscape designer – built Katrine a mud-brick pottery. As a result, the house features at one end Harcourt’s characteristic steep gable roof, while at the other the flatter construction characteristic of Knox. Mac referred to the home as the Eltham ‘experimental building site’.7 Surprisingly, the combination works, perhaps partly because it has the warm inviting feel of timber, mud-brick and stone.This collection of almost 130 photos about places and people within the Shire of Nillumbik, an urban and rural municipality in Melbourne's north, contributes to an understanding of the history of the Shire. Published in 2008 immediately prior to the Black Saturday bushfires of February 7, 2009, it documents sites that were impacted, and in some cases destroyed by the fires. It includes photographs taken especially for the publication, creating a unique time capsule representing the Shire in the early 21st century. It remains the most recent comprehenesive publication devoted to the Shire's history connecting local residents to the past. nillumbik now and then (marshall-king) collection, eltham, alistair knox, gordon ford, john harcourt, mudbrick construction, pise construction, professor macmahon ball, shinrone, sonia skipper, york street

The grave of Thomas Sweeney, former convict turned respectable citizen. The Murray and Sweeney families were both early settlers of the Eltham district and connected by marriage. Their family plots are located side by side in the Catholic section of the Eltham Cemetery. Irish-born Thomas Sweeney is regarded as the first settler in Eltham. He was transported to Sydney in 1823 after being convicted of arson. He was granted his freedom in 1838 and married Margaret Meehan in the same year. They moved to Melbourne and in 1842 Thomas purchased 110 acres beside the Yarra River in the vicinity of present-day Sweeneys Lane. He called the property ‘Culla Hill’ and built a small slab hut (reputedly with Wurundjeri help; Margaret is said to have run an informal hospital for them in return). This was followed in 1846 by more substantial buildings consisting of a three-roomed Irish-style ‘longhouse’ and a barn made of stone and handmade bricks, with doors large enough to accommodate a fully loaded wagon. When the gold rush came, Thomas prospered by selling meat and potatoes to the prospectors, enabling him to purchase a further 308 acres in 1856. He promoted the construction of a bridge over the Plenty River and the establishment of a school at Eltham. Roman Catholic Church services were held at Culla Hill in the early years. When he died in 1867, he was regarded as a respected member of the community. Thomas and Margaret are buried in Eltham Cemetery with many of their descendants. Their first son John continued to farm Culla Hill until his death in 1909. Culla Hill passed out of the Sweeneys' possession in 1939. The house and barn remain today, though lesser outbuildings have gone. The facade of the house is much the same as it was in the 1840s. Sacred To the memory of Thomas Sweeney Who died Sep 6th 1867 Aged 65 years May his soul res in peace Also his wife Margaret Died Oct 3rd 1884 aged 73 years And their daughters Annie Died Aug 22nd 1860 aged 21 years Johanna Died Aug 19th 1872 aged 22 years Margaret Died 7th Sep 1913 aged 72 years R.I.P. Also In Memory Of John Sweeney Died 24th May 1909 Aged 65 years Also of his wife Ellen Died 8th March 1910 Aged 64 years R.I.P Also In Memory Of Caroline Infant daughter of John & Ellen Sweeney Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p55 From the piety and poverty of 19th century Eltham, 20th century artists and environmentalists, to today’s comfortable middle class, Eltham Cemetery records it all — and more. A visit to Eltham Cemetery reveals an important social record since its beginnings in 1858. The cemetery was situated on about six acres (2.4ha) (now around 4.8ha) at the corner of Mount Pleasant and Metery Roads.1* It is thought that Metery Road was originally called Cemetery Road, but in the early 1940s, a resident, possibly a councillor, objected to the name resulting in the change.2 Much can be gleaned about the developing Eltham community from burial styles and the names of former local residents. Originally the cemetery was divided into Christian denominations, like others of that time, following the United Kingdom burial system. In 1861 the cemetery included Church of England, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic and Wesleyans (later Methodist) sites. Graves also indicated social class. Some had grand tombstones, perhaps fenced with ornamental cast iron railing, but most in the 1860s and 1870s were constructed of modest stone slabs.3 This indicated the poverty of the district, which was largely inhabited by farmers on small landholdings. A poignant reminder of the high rates of infant mortality of those times, are the many infants and young children recorded on the headstones. Major changes occurred in the cemetery in the late 20th century as Christian adherence weakened and society became more egalitarian and informal. In the early 1970s a non-denominational lawn section for burials was established. Since then all new areas have been non-denominational to accommodate the more diverse local community. Now, instead of large ornamental headstones, some mourners have chosen boulders, reflecting the natural Eltham style, while others choose graves in the lawn areas or niches in walls. In the late 1970s, the University Donor Section was established north-west of Candlebark Lawn for those who donated their bodies for The University of Melbourne medical research. In the early 1980s the natural Australian garden style, popular in Eltham, was mirrored in a new section called Ashes Walk. Local landscape architect Gordon Ford, who had popularised this style, designed the Walk using boulders shaded by native plants beside curved pathways. Landscape architect Robert Boyle later redesigned Ashes Walk and developed other parts of the cemetery in keeping with this style.4 Appropriately Ford, who died in 1999, was interred in the Native Garden Section in a cluster of sites shaded by a large eucalyptus tree.5 By 2007, about 6400 interments were recorded in the Eltham Cemetery. Close inspection reveals notable names in the district’s history. The grave of Thomas Sweeney, a former convict who became a respected citizen, can be found in the Roman Catholic section near the path. Eltham Primary School’s first headmaster, David Clark, is buried in a modest grave in the Church of England section to the east of the path from the main entrance. Sir William Irvine, Victorian Premier from 1900 to 1902, whose grave is in the north-east Presbyterian section was at various times Victoria’s Chief Justice, Deputy Governor and Treasurer.6 Further south is the grave of social reformer Bertram Wainer, born in Scotland in 1928 and died in 1987. He campaigned to legalise abortion and exposed police corruption in allowing illegal ‘backyard’ abortions. Other prominent local residents interred in the cemetery include: Justus Jörgensen, who founded Montsalvat; Alistair Knox, the mud-brick housing pioneer and Eltham Shire Councillor from 1971 to 1975 and President in 1975; Clem and Nina Christensen, who had a major influence on the literary development of post World War Two Australia. Others were: composer Dorian Le Gallienne; artist Peter Glass; Stephen Dattner, a prominent Melbourne furrier; ALP parliamentarian for Greensborough, Pauline Toner and political scientist and commentator, Professor William Macmahon Ball.This collection of almost 130 photos about places and people within the Shire of Nillumbik, an urban and rural municipality in Melbourne's north, contributes to an understanding of the history of the Shire. Published in 2008 immediately prior to the Black Saturday bushfires of February 7, 2009, it documents sites that were impacted, and in some cases destroyed by the fires. It includes photographs taken especially for the publication, creating a unique time capsule representing the Shire in the early 21st century. It remains the most recent comprehenesive publication devoted to the Shire's history connecting local residents to the past. nillumbik now and then (marshall-king) collection, annie sweeney, caroline sweeney, ellen sweeney, eltham cemetery, graves, gravestones, johanna sweeney, john murray, john sweeney, margaret sweeney, mary ellen drain, mary murray, thomas murray, thomas sweeney

Gordon Ford was a conservationist and a pioneer of natural-style landscaping. He came to Eltham in 1948 and bought a block of land in John Street extending through to Pitt Street. Artist Peter Glass lived opposite in John Street. Early on, Gordon worked for Alistair Knox on construction of the mudbrick Busst house amongst others. At the same time, with the help of friends including artist Clifton Pugh, he progressively built his own house ‘Fülling’, which "grew like Topsy" utilising a variety of second-hand materials. His main focus, which became his life-long occupation, was garden landscaping. Inspired by Edna Walling and Ellis Stones, he sought to reflect the bush settings of rural Victoria where he had grown up. Commissions included Monash University and countless industrial sites but designing for the archetypal quarter-acre block gave him the most satisfaction. He had a huge impact on the look of gardens in Australia from the 1950s, creating seemingly natural bush environments by carefully integrating indigenous and exotic plantings. Gordon died in 1999 and is buried in Eltham Cemetery; the gravesite in a natural landscape setting is marked by a plaque. Another plaque (away from his grave) notes his landscaping design work within the cemetery grounds and at Alistair Knox Park. Gordon Craig Ford 30-8-1918 - 16-6-1999 Landscape designer Loved and respected Husband of Gwen, father Of Angela, Emma, Ben, Cassie, Dailan, Caitlin. A good life lived well Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p55This collection of almost 130 photos about places and people within the Shire of Nillumbik, an urban and rural municipality in Melbourne's north, contributes to an understanding of the history of the Shire. Published in 2008 immediately prior to the Black Saturday bushfires of February 7, 2009, it documents sites that were impacted, and in some cases destroyed by the fires. It includes photographs taken especially for the publication, creating a unique time capsule representing the Shire in the early 21st century. It remains the most recent comprehenesive publication devoted to the Shire's history connecting local residents to the past. nillumbik now and then (marshall-king) collection, graves, eltham cemetery, gordon craig ford, gravestones, gwen ford, memorials

Gordon Ford was a conservationist and a pioneer of natural-style landscaping. He came to Eltham in 1948 and bought a block of land in John Street extending through to Pitt Street. Artist Peter Glass lived opposite in John Street. Early on, Gordon worked for Alistair Knox on construction of the mudbrick Busst house amongst others. At the same time, with the help of friends including artist Clifton Pugh, he progressively built his own house ‘Fülling’, which "grew like Topsy" utilising a variety of second-hand materials. His main focus, which became his life-long occupation, was garden landscaping. Inspired by Edna Walling and Ellis Stones, he sought to reflect the bush settings of rural Victoria where he had grown up. Commissions included Monash University and countless industrial sites but designing for the archetypal quarter-acre block gave him the most satisfaction. He had a huge impact on the look of gardens in Australia from the 1950s, creating seemingly natural bush environments by carefully integrating indigenous and exotic plantings. Gordon died in 1999 and is buried in Eltham Cemetery; the gravesite is marked by a plaque. Another plaque (away from his grave) notes his landscaping design work within the cemetery grounds and at Alistair Knox Park. Gordon Craig Ford Landscape Designer 30. 8 .1918 - 16. 6. 1999 Eltham Cemetery Trustee fom 1987 - 1999 Gordon settled in Eltham in 1948 He was a conservationist and a pioneer of natural style landscaping, continuing design and construction until his death. His local work and influence can be seen in many private gardens, the Eltham Cemetery and the Alistair Knox Park.Born Digitaleltham cemetery, gravestones, gordon craig ford

This file contains six items pertaining to the Caulfield Central RSL: 1/A page to which is attached a black-and-white photograph (date, source and photographer unspecified) of the Caulfield Central RSL, outlying garden and Australian flag. Some writing on the rear identifies the subject. 2/A typewritten letter, (1 page) dated 1946 (no date more specific than that specified), from the Chairman & Honorary Treasurer of the Caulfield Central RSL Appeal Committee (name unspecified) to the Mayor of Caulfield (name also unspecified), imploring the latter for a donation of $20,000 dollars for purposes of constructing a Memorial Hall to eulogize servicemen killed during WWII. Some rough working notes on rear side. 3/A flyer, undated (although presumably published in 1950), printed by Peter Isaacson Pty. Ltd., advertising a concert presented by the Ugly Ugly Man (Frank M. Beard) and the Malvern Tramways’ Harmonica Band to be held at Caulfield Town Hall on 06/06/1950 to assist the Welfare Funds of the Caulfield Central RSL and the Sailors, Soldiers and Airmen’s Mothers’ Association. Also contains an advertisement for a drapery business called Tallents. 4/The annual report of the Caulfield Central RSL, for the period 1952 – 1953. Contains announcements of the annual general meeting and annual elections, the President’s report (in which he principally discusses the club’s charity work and sporting activities), the subcommittee staff roster, the sportsmen’s honour roll, the annual accounts (e.g. balance sheet, income & expenditure statement) and the roster of nominees for office in the committee of management election. 5/A typewritten letter, (1 page) dated 26/11/1982, from Max Brian Blair, Treasurer of the Caulfield Central RSL, to Mr. R. Ballantyne, Secretary of the Caulfield Historical Society, thanking him for his donation to the RSL. 6/A photocopy of an article titled ‘RSL pays $30,000 to buy off objector’ (from the Sunday Herald, by Mary-Anne Toy, dated 16/09/1990), about the Caulfield Central RSL paying local resident Mr. Chris White to withdraw his objection to the RSL’s intention to re-allocate its clubrooms, and the consequent response of the relevant authorities.caulfield, caulfield central returned servicemen league (rsl), ex-service organisations, clubs and associations, returned servicepeople, armed forces, soldiers, aged people, senior citizens centres, mayors, city of caulfield, war memorials, blamey thomas general sir, white t. w. group capt., gullett h. b. major, beaurepaire frank sir m.l.c., kennedy j. a. m.l.c., warner a. g. m.l.c., michaelis archie m.l.a., dennett a. h. lt.-col. m.l.a., don john capt. m.l.a., reid h. squire m.l.a., brooks w. r. cr., packer j. t. cr., parton e. m. cr., prior p. l. cr., morris t. w. cr., sinclair a. j. g. cr., sims h. e. cr., smith h. c. h. cr., smith james e. cr., tyers s. w. cr., webster harold cr., yorston j. s. cr., briggs r. jas., disney j. s., donath h., llewellyn evans, goddard s. a. padre, lynch p. j., nilsen oliver j. cr., pidd padre a. t., robinson norman, reece harold j., wootton harold s., wallace gordon w., nelson harold g., halls, concerts, musical events and activities, fundraising events, bands, musical ensembles, sailors soldiers and airmen’s mothers’ association, ‘the ugly ugly man’, beard frank m., malvern tramways harmonica band the, caulfield town hall, tallents, drapers, glenhuntly road, glen huntly road, elsternwick, peter isaacson pty. ltd melbourne, annual reports, financial documents, fisher s. w., finch f., williams f., salmon j. e., mallyon v. k., woods w., mayne t. v., lanyon r. j., rowney w. p., williams j. d., pepper e., bathurst t., patterson r., nuzum e. j., phillips e. v., turner g., hawthorn road, byrne l. j., eva a. r., bunny c. l., hoy c. a., orken a., hiam s. f., rawson n. l., coleman g. h., cohen a. s., mason j., goode l. p., nelson h. g., crosbie m. r., mcsweeney t., westley g. de v., greeves c. g., festivals and celebrations, community services, social services, service clubs, ladies auxiliary, returned servicewomen’s section, blamey house, social sub-committee, sport, sporting clubs, tennis, golf, billiards, table tennis, lawn bowls, thompson peter, cricket, children’s health bureau, family welfare bureau, buley doug mr., tomlins m. i., lang a. r., kendall h. i., ford c., munro w., gordon h., rowe s., green j. h., o’brien j., ring t., anderson g. j., croft r. m., jones p. j., la cerf g., roper i., lawrence f., eustace r. c., hanley a., moore a., strachan w. d., gilbert w. f., blair m. r., scriven e. g., miller j. l., hosking b. e., cheeseman r. n., summers s., croy l. w., mclatchie s., williams stan, hattersly cliff, day alf, rawson noel, johnson alby, banham bill, kersey b., williams s., jones a., witten f., waters r., dash r., meldrum i., grant j., haggar l., nightingale n., hallett r., somers r., young g., rawson n., croft r., barton m., o’grady w., cooper p., manton j., sutcliffe a., maver a., challender d., hunt a., parrott e., leicester j., westwood a., rae alex, smith harry, forbes jimmy, johnson jack, higgins w., fink s., hall s., ross m., anderson h., fleming j., bottoms a., peek e., stark j., mathews e., gursansky l., morres r., alenson j., holland i., wallace p., craig h., lucas j., smith h., bretel l., berryman p., reid a., swann j., tully f., henderson g., fields w., johnson j., gloster p., tennat j., boyd a., butterworth k., chapman k., curran j., elkington a. b., evans w., mckenzie d. a., nicol a. b., thompson w., wanliss t. w., watson g. j., williams g., yeomans p., mcgowan h., o’connor k., atherton r., batson s. s., bull e., fletcher a., gorman s. c., hall w., jellett l., lesar h., mather r., nelson n., ratford d., rowe p., turner w. j., wehsack f., williams s. c., wilson a., carter w., forbes i., purvis l., datson r., jackson e., wolstencroft w., smith c., mitchell r., harward j., gillespie ray, hill wally, parkinson w. g., greeves colin mr., water stan mr., selleck f. p., luckins l., andrews f., young v. l., king e. j., mccutcheon j. o., grenfell d. j., hurley c., shand a. r., yeates l., hogue h., mather j., wardrop j., lyons a. m., ross a. r., bradley t., walker r. n., cox f. c., mornane j. s., fletcher a. e., mcneil j. g., rose n., lyons l. j., trevorrow g., wright d. e., walker r., maxwell j., hutchinson j. c., mclean r., caulfield historical society, ballantyne r. mr., blair max brian, toy mary-anne, ruxton bruce mr., administrative appeals tribunal, caulfield city council, white chris mr., northcote avenue, independent church of australia, marsden ian mr., mccutcheon mr

cactus, cacti, clematis, orchard redevelopment, r. hall, geoff olive, pruning garden, field station, vcah, university of melbourne, burnley, jill kellow, field station redevelopment, field nursery, student gardens, turfgrass, grassy woodland, chris findlay, phil tulk, grasslands, herbaceous border, car park, native garden, restoration native garden, john rayner, hilda kirkhope rockery, herb garden, rainforest garden redevelopment, plant lists, shady walk, salvia, trees, tai-haku cherry, tree management, tree lists, david aldous, grey border

Eastern Rosellas are multi-coloured medium-sized Australian parrots with distinctive white cheek patches. The Eastern Rosella is found throughout south-eastern Australia, from Queensland to Victoria, south-eastern South Australia, and eastern Tasmania. Despite their vibrant colours, Rosellas camouflage well into their surroundings when perching or when on the ground. The Eastern Rosella is found in open woodlands, grasslands, farmlands and remnant bushland. These birds are often found in urban habitats such as parks, gardens and golf courses. Early European settlers encountered the Eastern Rosella at Rose Hill, New South Wales, now Parramatta, and so they called it the Rosehill parakeet which became "Rosehiller", and eventually shortened to "rosella". This specimen is part of a collection of almost 200 animal specimens that were originally acquired as skins from various institutions across Australia, including the Australian Museum in Sydney and the National Museum of Victoria (known as Museums Victoria since 1983), as well as individuals such as amateur anthropologist Reynell Eveleigh Johns between 1860-1880. These skins were then mounted by members of the Burke Museum Committee and put-on display in the formal space of the Museum’s original exhibition hall where they continue to be on display. This display of taxidermy mounts initially served to instruct visitors to the Burke Museum of the natural world around them, today it serves as an insight into the collecting habits of the 19th century.This specimen is part of a significant and rare taxidermy mount collection in the Burke Museum. This collection is scientifically and culturally important for reminding us of how science continues to shape our understanding of the modern world. They demonstrate a capacity to hold evidence of how Australia’s fauna history existed in the past and are potentially important for future environmental research. This collection continues to be on display in the Museum and has become a key part to interpreting the collecting habits of the 19th century. This mature Eastern Rosella has a red head and breast, with a light green belly and distinctive white cheeks. The back is yellow-green with black mottling, the yellow-green turning green then to blue across the wings. The tail feathers are blue/black, with a red base on the underside. This specimen stands upon a wooden platform and has an identification tag tied around its leg.Label: 79/ Rose-hill Parakeet / See catalogue, page 22 taxidermy mount, taxidermy, animalia, burke museum, beechworth, australian museum, skin, reynell eveleigh johns, bird, australian birds, rosella, eastern rosella, rosehill parakeet, rose-hill parakeet

Noisy Miners are native to Australia and can be found on the East Coast. Noisy Miners live in northern Queensland and all along the eastern coast to South Australia and Tasmania. Noisy Miners are found in woodlands and open forests. They have also become well adapted to suburban situations and are a common sight in parks and gardens. The Noisy Miner feeds on nectar, fruits and insects. Very occasionally they will eat small reptiles and amphibians. Food is either taken from trees or on the ground. In keeping with its highly social nature, the Noisy Miner usually feeds in large groups. The Noisy miner specimen is mounted accurately. This specimen is part of a collection of almost 200 animal specimens that were originally acquired as skins from various institutions across Australia, including the Australian Museum in Sydney and the National Museum of Victoria (known as Museums Victoria since 1983), as well as individuals such as amateur anthropologist Reynell Eveleigh Johns between 1860-1880. These skins were then mounted by members of the Burke Museum Committee and put-on display in the formal space of the Museum’s original exhibition hall where they continue to be on display. This display of taxidermy mounts initially served to instruct visitors to the Burke Museum of the natural world around them, today it serves as an insight into the collecting habits of the 19th century.This specimen is part of a significant and rare taxidermy mount collection in the Burke Museum. This collection is scientifically and culturally important for reminding us of how science continues to shape our understanding of the modern world. They demonstrate a capacity to hold evidence of how Australia’s fauna history existed in the past and are potentially important for future environmental research. This collection continues to be on display in the Museum and has become a key part to interpreting the collecting habits of the 19th century.The Noisy Miner is identified by its mostly grey body and black crown and cheeks. The bill is yellow, as are the legs and the naked skin behind the eye. The name is well suited as the common calls are uttered repeatedly by the members of the colony .Despite their moderate size, Noisy Miners aggressively attack larger birds such as hawks and kookaburras. These attacks may be so vigorous that most other birds are excluded from an area occupied by Noisy Miners.Swing tag: 65a. Garrulous Honey-Eater / See Catalogue, page 19 /taxidermy mount, taxidermy, animalia, burke museum, beechworth, australian museum, skin, reynell eveleigh johns, bird, australian birds, noisy miner, garrulous honeyeater, yellow beak, honeyeater, east coast

The Warty-faced honeyeater Formerly more widely distributed in south-eastern mainland Australia from Rockhampton, Queensland to Adelaide, South Australia, the Regent Honeyeater is now confined to Victoria and New South Wales, and is strongly associated with the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range. The Regent Honeyeater is found in eucalypt forests and woodlands, particularly in blossoming trees and mistletoe. It is also seen in orchards and urban gardens. This species is critically endangered. They are native to Southeastern Australia. Specimen is mounted accurately. Colour around the eyes is red whereas they are yellow normally. This specimen is part of a collection of almost 200 animal specimens that were originally acquired as skins from various institutions across Australia, including the Australian Museum in Sydney and the National Museum of Victoria (known as Museums Victoria since 1983), as well as individuals such as amateur anthropologist Reynell Eveleigh Johns between 1860-1880. These skins were then mounted by members of the Burke Museum Committee and put-on display in the formal space of the Museum’s original exhibition hall where they continue to be on display. This display of taxidermy mounts initially served to instruct visitors to the Burke Museum of the natural world around them, today it serves as an insight into the collecting habits of the 19th century. This specimen is part of a significant and rare taxidermy mount collection in the Burke Museum. This collection is scientifically and culturally important for reminding us of how science continues to shape our understanding of the modern world. They demonstrate a capacity to hold evidence of how Australia’s fauna history existed in the past and are potentially important for future environmental research. This collection continues to be on display in the Museum and has become a key part to interpreting the collecting habits of the 19th century.The striking Regent Honeyeater (Warty-faced honeyeater) has a black head, neck and upper breast, a lemon yellow back and breast scaled black, with the underparts grading into a white rump, black wings with conspicuous yellow patches, and a black tail edged yellow. In males, the dark eye is surrounded by yellowish warty bare skin. Females are smaller, with a bare yellowish patch under the eye only, and have less black on the throat. Young birds resemble females, but are browner and have a paler bill. The colouring of this particular specimen helps identify it as male.Swing-tag: 56a. / Warty-Faced Honeyeater / See Catalogue, page 18taxidermy mount, taxidermy, animalia, burke museum, beechworth, australian museum, skin, reynell eveleigh johns, bird, australian bird, honey-eater, warty-faced honey-eater, regent honeyeater, critically endangered, yellow

The Eurasian Jay is a small passerine bird occurring in Europe, northern Africa, and Asia. There are very distinct variations between the species of the Jay which assists in their identification. These birds inhabit mixed woodland, parks, orchards, and large gardens. They are generally solitary but can gather in large communal roosts during periods of cold weather. Eurasian Jays are known for their mimicry. They can often sound like a different species and during the day may mimic the birds they are attacking in order to confuse their opposition. This particular specimen has been mounted in an accurate but stylised fashion. This specimen is part of a collection of almost 200 animal specimens that were originally acquired as skins from various institutions across Australia, including the Australian Museum in Sydney and the National Museum of Victoria (known as Museums Victoria since 1983), as well as individuals such as amateur anthropologist Reynell Eveleigh Johns between 1860-1880. These skins were then mounted by members of the Burke Museum Committee and put-on display in the formal space of the Museum’s original exhibition hall where they continue to be on display. This display of taxidermy mounts initially served to instruct visitors to the Burke Museum of the natural world around them, today it serves as an insight into the collecting habits of the 19th century.This specimen is part of a significant and rare taxidermy mount collection in the Burke Museum. This collection is scientifically and culturally important for reminding us of how science continues to shape our understanding of the modern world. They demonstrate a capacity to hold evidence of how Australia’s fauna history existed in the past and are potentially important for future environmental research. This collection continues to be on display in the Museum and has become a key part to interpreting the collecting habits of the 19th century.The Eurasian Jay, as depicted in this specimen, has distinctive blue, white and dark brown stipes at the top of the wing. The body and head are light brown with a reddish undertone and there are streaks of dark brown at top the head. The tail, bottom of the wings and underneath the eyes are dark brown. This particular specimen stands upon a wooden mount and has an identification tag tied around its leg. It has pale coloured glass eyes which are accurate for this species.Swing Tag: [illegible] / to Sydney - N =99taxidermy mount, taxidermy, animalia, burke museum, beechworth, australian museum, skin, bird, jay, eurasian jay, europe, european birds, blue stripes

The Long-eared owl is one of the most widely distributed and most numerous owl species in the world. It is a rather slim and long-winged bird with usually prominent erectile ear tufts, which are positioned closer to the center of the head than in many other types of owl. Long-eared owls prefer open landscapes with groups of trees, hedges or small woods, as well as pastureland with rows of trees and bushes, any type of forest with clearings, forest edges, semi-open taiga forest, swampy areas and bogs, orchards with old fruit trees, parks, even gardens and timbered areas in villages, towns or cities. In many parts of the world, Long-eared owls have even adapted to deserts, though more commonly semi-desert, and may nest and roost in available oases and hunt prey over the open desert ground. This particular specimen has been mounted in a correctly stylised fashion. This specimen is part of a collection of almost 200 animal specimens that were originally acquired as skins from various institutions across Australia, including the Australian Museum in Sydney and the National Museum of Victoria (known as Museums Victoria since 1983), as well as individuals such as amateur anthropologist Reynell Eveleigh Johns between 1860-1880. These skins were then mounted by members of the Burke Museum Committee and put-on display in the formal space of the Museum’s original exhibition hall where they continue to be on display. This display of taxidermy mounts initially served to instruct visitors to the Burke Museum of the natural world around them, today it serves as an insight into the collecting habits of the 19th century.This specimen is part of a significant and rare taxidermy mount collection in the Burke Museum. This collection is scientifically and culturally important for reminding us of how science continues to shape our understanding of the modern world. They demonstrate a capacity to hold evidence of how Australia’s fauna history existed in the past and are potentially important for future environmental research. This collection continues to be on display in the Museum and has become a key part to interpreting the collecting habits of the 19th century.This Long-Eared Owl is a rather slim, long-winged bird with prominent erectile ear tufts. The coloration of this Long-eared Owl is a hue of ochraceous-tawny with a brownish wash. The wings, back and chest are patterned and the facial disc is visibly well developed and light brown in colour. The ear tufts are dusky in front and darter tawny on the back. This Long-eared owl possesses a light-coloured bill and its eyes are yellowish-orange. The specimen stands upon a wooden platform. Swing tag: 33 / Virginian / Bee-boo Owl / Catalogue, page 52 / Other tag: No 19 / STRIX Virginian / N. America / taxidermy mount, taxidermy, animalia, burke museum, beechworth, australian museum, skin, reynell eveleigh johns, bird, owl, long-eared owl

Mrs Sheila Parkinson was born in Wagga in 1916 and came to Beechworth as a young woman around 1938. Sheila trained as a psychiatric nurse at Mayday Hills hospital prior to the second World War. At that time, unmarried women were accommodated and received nursing training on-site. Shiela was obliged to cease professional training and employment when she married in 1941, which disrupted completion of her final nursing examinations. Following post-war changes to the law that allowed married women to work, Sheila returned to Mayday Hills. Sheila's husband, Don, returned to Beechworth after four years abroad as a serviceman in the Australian Air Force. Beechworth's institutions were a major source of local employment throughout the twentieth century. As well as providing limited employment opportunities to young women like Shiela, post-war European migrants from Bonegilla Migrant camp found at Mayday Hills, encouraging European migrant settlement in the district. Mayday Hills was renamed several times since its establishment in 1867. At the peak of operations, it comprised sixty-seven buildings housing over twelve hundred patients patients and five hundred staff. The hospital officially closed in 1998. Today, the decommissioned two-storey Italianate style main building stands on eleven hectares of botanical gardens under National Trust protection. The site remains a popular cultural heritage destination for visitors. This oral history recording was part of a project conducted by Jennifer Williams in the year 2000 to capture the everyday life and struggles in Beechworth during the twentieth century. This project involved recording seventy oral histories on cassette tapes of local Beechworth residents which were then published in a book titled: Listen to what they say: voices of twentieth century Beechworth. The cassette tapes were digitised in July 2021 with funds made available by the Friends of the Burke.Employed as a psychiatric nurse at one of Beechworth's large welfare institutions, Mayday Hills, Mrs Sheila Parkinson recalls the conditions faced by staff and patients at the hospital, which cared for chronically ill people from the Ovens region and patients from the Yarra Bend Asylum, Melbourne, which closed in 1925. When Sheila first began her nurse training, Mayday Hills suffered from a lack of resources and rudimentary facilities and patients frequently suffered from the cold due to poor heating and inadequate clothing and bedding. However, as the twentieth century progressed, Sheila recalls how conditions and treatments improved as a result of increased government funding of services and advances in psychiatry and pharmaceutical medicine. Mrs Sheila Parkinson's oral history recording is historically and socially significant for its witness to life in Beechworth in the pre- and post-WWII period. Sheila's story enriches our understanding of processes of modernisation with regard to psychiatric and welfare services, while the course of Sheila's professional training and employment brings attention to systemic and socio-economic barriers faced by women, as well as the valuable contribution women and migrants make in the delivery of care and ancillary services. This oral history account is socially and historically significant as it is a part of a broader collection of interviews conducted by Jennifer Williams which were published in the book 'Listen to what they say: voices of twentieth-century Beechworth.' While the township of Beechworth is known for its history as a gold rush town, these accounts provide a unique insight into the day-to-day life of the town's residents during the twentieth century, many of which would have been lost if they had not been preserved.This is a digital copy of a recording that was originally captured on a cassette tape. The cassette tape is black with a horizontal white strip and is currently stored in a clear flat plastic rectangular container. It holds up 40 minutes of recordings on each side.Mrs Sheila Parkinson /twentieth century beechworth, mayday hills, psychiatric care, benevolent asylums, nursing, wwii, psychiatric treatment, country women, psychiatric hostpital, beechworth's institutions, local employment, government institutions, listen to what they say, oral history, burke museum, sheila parkinson, beechworth lunatic asylum, beechworth mental hospital, beechworth hospital for the insane, the kerferd clinic, bonegilla migrant camp, working women, white australia policy

Amy Elizabeth Porritt was born on the 21st of March 1915 on Atkinson Road, Beechworth to Thomas Frederick Rodan and Maud Isabel Dowling. Her family had strong associations with Australia's oldest continuously operating newspaper, the Ovens and Murray. Both her grandfather and father worked on this newspaper and played a significant role in continuing its operation. Amy was well-known in the Beechworth community and is remembered fondly for her generosity and her love of cats ‘they are all I live for’ she would often say. She was an avid gardener and had a beautiful garden at 47 Finch Street. This oral history recording was part of a project conducted by Jennifer Williams in the year 2000 to capture the everyday life and struggles in Beechworth during the twentieth century. This project involved recording seventy oral histories on cassette tapes of local Beechworth residents which were then published in a book titled: Listen to what they say: voices of twentieth century Beechworth. These cassette tapes were digitised in July 2021 with funds made available by the Friends of the Burke. Miss Amy Elizabeth Porrit's account of her life in Beechworth and the local area during the 20th century is historically and socially significant to the cultural heritage of the region. She details important historical events and hardships in the region's history that had a lasting local, regional and national impact, including Australia during war time, economic struggles, and women's societal roles in a rural area. This oral history account is socially and historically significant as it is a part of a broader collection of interviews conducted by Jennifer Williams which were published in the book 'Listen to what they say: voices of twentieth-century Beechworth.' While the township of Beechworth is known for its history as a gold rush town, these accounts provide a unique insight into the day-to-day life of the town's residents during the 20th century, many of which will have now been lost if they had not been preserved.This is a digital copy of a recording that was originally captured on a cassette tape. The cassette tape is black with a horizontal white strip and is currently stored in a clear flat plastic rectangular container. It holds up 40 minutes of recordings on each side.Miss Amy Elizabeth Porrit / listen to what they say, beechworth, oral history, burke museum, porritt, amy elizabeth porritt, gardener, ovens and murray newspaper, o&m

Horace Monshing was born in Beechworth in 1935. In this oral history, he relates his understanding of the life of his Grandfather, Peter Monshing (Munshing), as a Chinese immigrant to Australia in the mid-nineteenth century, as well as his life as the last descendent of Chinese goldminers to live in Beechworth. While Peter, who was originally from Hong Kong, was not a particularly successful goldminer, he was a very talented gardener, and made his living growing a market garden and selling the produce. He died in 1947 in his nineties, in the same year that Horace and his parents moved to Myrtleford. Horace relates the discrimination he faced as a child based on his grandfather’s ethnicity, as well as how his grandmother, mother and wife have all faced discrimination for marrying into a family with a Chinese name. This oral history recording was part of a project conducted by Jennifer Williams in the year 2000 to capture the everyday life and struggles in Beechworth during the twentieth century. This project involved recording seventy oral histories on cassette tapes of local Beechworth residents which were then published in a book titled: Listen to what they say: voices of twentieth century Beechworth. These cassette tapes were digitised in July 2021 with funds made available by the Friends of the Burke. Mr Horace Monshing’s account of his life in Beechworth and Myrtleford and the local area during the 20th century, as well as his understanding of his grandfather, Peter Monshing’s life as a Chinese immigrant in the mid-nineteenth century, is historically and socially significant to the cultural heritage of the region, especially as it relates to Chinese settlers in the region. He details the discrimination he and his family have faced as the result of being related to a Chinese immigrant, as well as describing his life in general. This oral history account is socially and historically significant as it is a part of a broader collection of interviews conducted by Jennifer Williams which were published in the book 'Listen to what they say: voices of twentieth-century Beechworth.' While the township of Beechworth is known for its history as a gold rush town, these accounts provide a unique insight into the day-to-day life of the town's residents during the 20th century, many of which will have now been lost if they had not been preserved. This is a digital copy of a recording that was originally captured on a cassette tape. The cassette tape is black with a horizontal white strip and is currently stored in a clear flat plastic rectangular container. It holds up 45 minutes of recordings on each sideMr Horace Monshing / peter monshing, peter munshing, horace monshing, monshing, munshing, beechworth chinese community, chinese immigration, chinese community, chinese miners, immigration, gold rush immigration, beechworth goldfield, marketing and promoting agricultural products, market garden, garden, racism, discrimination, oral history, jennifer williams, myrtleford, eurobin, beechworth primary school, beechworth state school., school, listen to what they say: voices of twentieth century beechworth, listen to what they say, burke museum

This image shows a pathway in the gardens adjacent to Beechworth's Town Hall at the beginning of the Twentieth Century, around the time of Australia's Federation. The pathway leading to a circular rotunda or covered seating area with a steep conical roof is lined with shrubs set in grass verges that appear to be covered with snow. It is unknown whether the snowfall or a factor to do with the gardens occasioned the taking of the image, which at the time may have been an exotic practice. Climate records going back to 1908 indicate that snow in winter is not unusual due to Beechworth's elevation and orientation, and the Town Hall itself was built in 1859. Lantern slides, sometimes called 'magic lantern' slides, are glass plates on which an image has been secured for the purpose of projection. Glass slides were etched or hand-painted for this purpose from the Eighteenth Century but the process became more popular and accessible to the public with the development of photographic-emulsion slides used with a 'Magic Lantern' device in the mid-Nineteenth Century. Photographic lantern slides comprise a double-negative emulsion layer (forming a positive image) between thin glass plates that are bound together. A number of processes existed to form and bind the emulsion layer to the base plate, including the albumen, wet plate collodion, gelatine dry plate and woodburytype techniques. Lantern slides and magic lantern technologies are seen as foundational precursors to the development of modern photography and film-making techniques. This glass slide is significant because it provides insight into Beechworth's social amenities and climate in the early Twentieth Century, around the time of Australia's Federation into one nation. It is also an example of an early photographic and film-making technology in use in regional Victoria in the time period. Thin translucent sheet of glass with a circular image printed on the front and framed in a black backing. It is held together by metals strips to secure the edges of the slide.burke museum, beechworth, lantern slide, slide, glass slide, plate, burke museum collection, photograph, monochrome, town hall, town hall gardens, snow, rotunda, magic lantern, indigo shire, north-east victoria, nineteenth century, 1900s, twentieth century, emulsion slides

Isabella Park Taylor, nee Dawson (1842-1929), friend of Western Victorian First Nations people, and student of their languages and customs. Isabella grew up at "Kangatong" (1844-1866) in the company of First Nations people and became fluent in their languages. With her father, James Dawson, she wrote the book "Australian Aborigines" (1881). She married William Andrew Taylor in 1877 and they built a fine homestead on their property at "Renny Hill'' near Camperdown, Victoria. Together they had two children, Effie, born 1878 and Katherine in 1880. William Taylor (1849-1927) was a farmer, Councillor and civic leader. In 1883 he gifted the world's oldest statue of Robert Burns to the people of Camperdown. William and Isabella Taylor (nee Dawson) seated together in the garden at "Renny Hill".cdhs, cdhsfirstnations, djargurd wurrung, djargurdwurrung

This is Issue No. 5 of "The Curlip". The magazine is a compilation of research from a trip by the Orbost & District Historical Society to Bete Bolong. The Bete Bolong Prisoner of War Camp was located on the south side of the Buchan - Orbost Rd. From November 1943 to November 1945, Italian prisoners of war were based at Bete Bolong, cultivating maize, peas, beans and other vegetables on local farms. Unlike other 'farming' prisoners of war, those at Bete Bolong did not live with the farming families, but at a Prisoner of War Control Centre on Crown land overlooking the Snowy River Flats. About fifty Italian prisoners lived at the centre, along with an Australian Military Force staff of approximately seven people. The prisoners were driven to and from the farms each day. Three of them apparently simply swam across the river to work. They worked a six day week, with Sundays off. Although they were provided with rations, both prisoners and staff maintained vegetable and flower gardens. They were also skilled at cooking 'anything' they could catch, and at making illegal "grappa". Very few of the Italians were experienced farm workers. Some of them used their skills to make things for the families they worked for; a cabinet-maker made furniture , a cobbler made shoes, etc. They interacted with the local community and, although they were not supposed to go within one kilometre of town, some were found at local dances on Saturday nights. As recreation the prisoners were allowed to walk along the road to the west of the camp. Local people from both sides of the river could hear them sing as they walked. The prisoners also helped to construct an 'ant bed' tennis court on a property adjacent to the centre. Although now overgrown, the site of the tennis court can still be discerned as a flat area above the site of the centre. (ref./vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au)This item is a useful reference tool on the history of the Prisoner of War Camp at Bete Bolong, Orbost.A spiral bound book with a clear plastic cover. On the front is a coloured photograph of a view from the site of the P.O.W. camp at the intersection of Bete Bolong and Buchan Roads at Bete Bolong. Above is the title "Prisoner of War Camp Bete Bolong, Vic. 1943-1946" in black print on a white background. p.o.w.-camp-orbost ww11 bete-bolong

Nankeen Night Herons reside in Australia wherever there is permanent water. They can often be found in wetlands, shallow river margins, floodplains and parks and gardens. These birds spend the day time roosting in groups among dense foliage and emerge during the night. An adult Nankeen Night Heron is identified by the black cap on its head and a pale breast. This particular specimen has these signs which enable it to be identified as adult. The large eyes of the Nankeen Night Heron are a bright yellow colour which are adapted to night vision. This specimen is part of a collection of almost 200 animal specimens that were originally acquired as skins from various institutions across Australia, including the Australian Museum and the National Museum of Victoria, as well as individuals such amateur anthropologist Reynell Eveleigh Johns between 1860-1880. These skins were then mounted by members of the Burke Museum Committee and put-on display in the formal space of the Museum’s original exhibition hall where they continue to be on display. This display of taxidermy mounts initially served to instruct visitors to the Burke Museum of the natural world around them, today it serves as an insight into the collecting habits of the 19th century. This specimen is part of a significant and rare taxidermy mount collection in the Burke Museum. This collection is scientifically and culturally important for reminding us of how science continues to shape our understanding of the modern world. They demonstrate a capacity to hold evidence of how Australia’s fauna history existed in the past and are potentially important for future environmental research. This collection continues to be on display in the Museum and has become a key part to interpreting the collecting habits of the 19th century.The Nankeen Night Heron has a stocky body and is standing tall on a wooden pedestal and looking towards the upper right. This adult specimen has yellow and black glass eyes and a long pale grey bill. Plumage on the head is black which turns a pale cinnamon on the nape of the neck. The wings are placed along the back of the body and are a light brown. The torso is a pale buff colour. This specimen has nuptial plums which look like they come out of the back of the birds head. These plums are long white feathers which appear during the breeding season.taxidermy mount, taxidermy, animalia, burke museum, beechworth, australian museum, skin, reynell eveleigh johns, bird, nankeen night heron, heron, nocturnal

Nankeen Night Herons reside in Australia wherever there is permanent water. They can often be found in wetlands, shallow river margins, floodplains and parks and gardens. These birds spend the day time roosting in groups among dense foliage and emerge during the night. An adult Nankeen Night Heron is identified by the black cap on its head and a pale breast. This particular specimen has these signs which enable it to be identified as adult. The large eyes of the Nankeen Night Heron are a bright yellow colour which are adapted to night vision. This specimen is part of a collection of almost 200 animal specimens that were originally acquired as skins from various institutions across Australia, including the Australian Museum in Sydney and the National Museum of Victoria (known as Museums Victoria since 1983), as well as individuals such as amateur anthropologist Reynell Eveleigh Johns between 1860-1880. These skins were then mounted by members of the Burke Museum Committee and put-on display in the formal space of the Museum’s original exhibition hall where they continue to be on display. This display of taxidermy mounts initially served to instruct visitors to the Burke Museum of the natural world around them, today it serves as an insight into the collecting habits of the 19th century. This specimen is part of a significant and rare taxidermy mount collection in the Burke Museum. This collection is scientifically and culturally important for reminding us of how science continues to shape our understanding of the modern world. They demonstrate a capacity to hold evidence of how Australia’s fauna history existed in the past and are potentially important for future environmental research. This collection continues to be on display in the Museum and has become a key part to interpreting the collecting habits of the 19th century.The Nankeen Night Heron has a stocky body and is standing tall on a wooden pedestal and looking forward. This adult specimen has yellow and black glass eyes and a yellow and pale grey bill. Plumage on the head is black which turns a pale cinnamon on the nape of the neck. The wings are placed along the back of the body and are a light brown. The torso is a pale buff colour. This specimen has nuptial plums which look like they come out of the back of the birds head. These plums are long white feathers which appear during the breeding season.taxidermy mount, taxidermy, animalia, burke museum, beechworth, australian museum, skin, reynell eveleigh johns, bird, nankeen night heron, heron, nocturnal

The Rose Stereograph Company first began producing postcards, identified as the 'P' series (like this particular example) in 1913 and continued in this business until 1967 after which they switched to machine manufactured colour postcards printed by an external company. These were produced by Victorian-era photographer George Rose (1861-1942) often reputed as one of the best photographers in Australia during the later 19th Century and early 20th Century. Rose was born in 1861 in Clunes and began his photography business in 1880 when he founded the Rose Stereograph Company. He later switched to producing postcards after stereographs lost popularity in the early 1920s. The Mayday Hills Hospital was one of these locations photographed by George Rose and published as a postcard. Beechworth's Mayday Hills was chosen as the site of Victoria's newest asylum, at the time, due to the landscape and altitude. The hilltop atmosphere and the native fauna, it was argued, would assist in the cure of the patients kept at the hospital (Wood 1985, 122). The positioning of the hospital had a beneficial effect on the rural town. A pamphlet published by James Ingram and Son (1849) reveal that famous landmarks in Beechworth which included the Post Office, Gaol, Courthouse and Asylum "demonstrate the appreciation of Beechworth by the Government not only as as important district center, but also as a site unrivaled as a sanitarium". There were other locations in contention at the time, but ultimately Beechworth was chosen (Craig 2000,33). Prior to the creation of the Asylum in Beechworth, those charged with having mental illnesses or, as it was termed, "insanity" were unable to be properly cared for in the Gaol (which is where they were often sent). John Buckley Castieau wrote, in 1861 for the Ovens and Murray Advertiser, that the Gaol was unable to properly care for those classified then as "insane" but that they would endeavor to treat them above the other inmates (which he notes is not always the case in other establishments). Castieau wrote this in favour of supporting the building of the Mayday Hills Hospital in Beechworth. It was stated that at the time the Mayday Hills Hospital was built, there were 83 prisoners kept in the Gaol who were to be rehoused to the Hospital on the grounds of "insanity". The classification as someone as "insane", in this period of time is a reflection on the inability to cure and understand illnesses of the mind during the mid to late 1800s. Opening on the 24th of October 1867, the Mayday Hills Hospital was originally named the "Ovens Lunatic Asylum", a title which is very much a product of its time. Whilst controversial, changes to the name is part of the history of the Hospital and can provide much insight into the understanding of mental illness throughout history and the use/disuse of this term provides information into the reception/changing opinions of mental illness in society. The Hospital would later become known as the "Mayday Hills Asylum" and/or "Mayday Hills Hospital" with the latter being the most commonly used title. An article in the Ovens and Murray Advertiser notes that on the 7th of March 1865, the foundation stone of the Hospital was laid (it would officially open in 1867) and that it was such a moment of accomplishment and joy for Beechworth that a letter to the editor even suggested that there should be a holiday dedicated to the day the foundation stone as laid. This reveals an extent to which the townspeople of early Beechworth valued the construction of the Hospital in their town. It provided the town with a sense of prestige and honour. At first glance, the remains of the Mayday Hills Hospital in Beechworth, Victoria, inspire tragedy, trauma and beauty. The buildings themselves, with their Italianate style Renaissance architecture designed by J.J. Clark (Craig 2000, 49 & Smith 2016, 203) reflect a bygone period of European and Australian history. The gardens provide a sense of tranquility and beauty. The experience of those within these walls remains a valuable area of study to provide a more complete understanding. This particular hospital is considered the fourth of its like and one of three identified as the largest of their kind. The Mayday Hills Hospital is a sister to the Kew and Ararat Asylums in Melbourne which are both located in relative proximity. Understanding the role of the Mayday Hills Hospital in Beechworth history is integral to understanding the development of the goldfields town, but also for providing important information as to the history of caring for, and the reception of, mental illnesses in Australian and wider European history. Mayday Hills provides a case study which can be researched through oral history, an analysis of the grounds/buildings and through images like this postcard which portray the structure in a highly deliberate manner. Images like this depict the strong façade of the Hospital and provide a glimpse into the tranquility of the gardens. This has been done deliberately to provide a sense of comfort and healing about the building to those looking from the outside. Further research into the importance of the Hospital in Beechworth and it's connection to the town will be supported through images like these kept in the Mayday Hills photo album in the collection of the Burke Museum.Pale sepia toned rectangular postcard printed on matte card.Obverse: THE ROSE SERIES P. 4689 / COPYRIGHT / ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES, MENTAL HOSPITAL, BEECHWORTH, VIC / Reverse: Published by the Rose Stereograph Co. / Armadale, Victoria / POST CARD / THE "ROSE" SERIES / DE LUXE / A REAL PHOTOGRAPH / PRODUCED IN AUSTRALIA /mayday hills, asylum, mental hospital, hospital, beechworth

This photograph was captured on an undisclosed date and by an unidentified photographer. It was printed in colour through the company AGFA which is a Belgian-German Multinational Corporation. This business prints, develops, manufactures and distributes digital imaging products, software and systems. It was founded in 1967 and continues to operate today. Beechworth's Mayday Hills was chosen as the site of Victoria's newest asylum, at the time, due to the landscape and altitude. The hilltop atmosphere and the native fauna, it was argued, would assist in the cure of the patients kept at the hospital (Wood 1985, 122). The positioning of the hospital had a beneficial effect on the rural town. A pamphlet published by James Ingram and Son (1849) reveal that famous landmarks in Beechworth which included the Post Office, Gaol, Courthouse and Asylum "demonstrate the appreciation of Beechworth by the Government not only as as important district center, but also as a site unrivaled as a sanitarium". There were other locations in contention at the time, but ultimately Beechworth was chosen (Craig 2000, 33). Prior to the creation of the Asylum in Beechworth, those charged with having mental illnesses or, as it was termed, "insanity" were unable to be properly cared for in the Gaol (which is where they were often sent). John Buckley Castieau wrote, in 1861 for the Ovens and Murray Advertiser, that the Gaol was unable to properly care for those classified then as "insane" but that they would endeavor to treat them above the other inmates (which he notes is not always the case in other establishments). Castieau wrote this in favour of supporting the building of the Mayday Hills Hospital in Beechworth. It was stated that at the time the Mayday Hills Hospital was built, there were 83 prisoners kept in the Gaol who were to be rehoused to the Hospital on the grounds of "insanity". The classification as someone as "insane", in this period of time is a reflection on the inability to cure and understand illnesses of the mind during the mid to late 1800s. Opening on the 24th of October 1867, the Mayday Hills Hospital was originally named the "Ovens Lunatic Asylum", a title which is very much a product of its time. Whilst controversial, changes to the name is part of the history of the Hospital and can provide much insight into the understanding of mental illness throughout history and the use/disuse of this term provides information into the reception/changing opinions of mental illness in society. The Hospital would later become known as the "Mayday Hills Asylum" and/or "Mayday Hills Hospital" with the latter being the most commonly used title. An article in the Ovens and Murray Advertiser notes that on the 7th of March 1865, the foundation stone of the Hospital was laid (it would officially open in 1867) and that it was such a moment of accomplishment and joy for Beechworth that a letter to the editor even suggested that there should be a holiday dedicated to the day the foundation stone as laid. This reveals an extent to which the townspeople of early Beechworth valued the construction of the Hospital in their town. It provided the town with a sense of prestige and honour.At first glance, the remains of the Mayday Hills Hospital in Beechworth, Victoria, inspire tragedy, trauma and beauty. The buildings themselves, with their Italianate style Renaissance architecture designed by J.J. Clark (Craig 2000, 49 & Smith 2016, 203) reflect a bygone period of European and Australian history. The gardens provide a sense of tranquility and beauty. The experience of those within these walls remains a valuable area of study to provide a more complete understanding. This particular hospital is considered the fourth of its like and one of three identified as the largest of their kind. The Mayday Hills Hospital is a sister to the Kew and Ararat Asylums in Melbourne which are both located in relative proximity. Understanding the role of the Mayday Hills Hospital in Beechworth history is integral to understanding the development of the goldfields town, but also for providing important information as to the history of caring for, and the reception of, mental illnesses in Australian and wider European history. Mayday Hills provides a case study which can be researched through oral history, an analysis of the grounds/buildings and through images like this postcard which portray the structure in a highly deliberate manner. Images like this depict the strong façade of the Hospital and provide a glimpse into the tranquility of the gardens. This has been done deliberately to provide a sense of comfort and healing about the building to those looking from the outside. Further research into the importance of the Hospital in Beechworth and it's connection to the town will be supported through images like these kept in the Mayday Hills photo album in the collection of the Burke Museum.Coloured rectangular photograph printed on gloss photographic paper.Reverse: AGFAbeechworth, mayday hills, mayday hills asylum, mental health, history of mental health, asylum, 1860s, gold town, north-east victoria, kew asylum, ararat asylum

This postcard contains a depiction of the Mayday Hills Hospital in Beechworth, Victoria from the direction of Farm Hill, circa 1930. It was designed by C.F.Falk in Beechworth and printed in Saxony which is a landlocked state of Germany which borders the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria and the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. The depiction is a painting of the Mayday Hill Hospital which portrays the extensive buildings an HaHa wall (many of which have not survived to the present day). It provides a unique opportunity to reconstruct this historical site as it may have looked in approximately 1930. Beechworth's Mayday Hills was chosen as the site of Victoria's newest asylum, at the time, due to the landscape and altitude. The hilltop atmosphere and the native fauna, it was argued, would assist in the cure of the patients kept at the hospital (Wood 1985, 122). The positioning of the hospital had a beneficial effect on the rural town. A pamphlet published by James Ingram and Son (1849) reveal that famous landmarks in Beechworth which included the Post Office, Gaol, Courthouse and Asylum "demonstrate the appreciation of Beechworth by the Government not only as as important district center, but also as a site unrivaled as a sanitarium". There were other locations in contention at the time, but ultimately Beechworth was chosen (Craig 2000, 33). The extent of buildings displayed in this postcard helps convey the imposing and enormity of the structure before decommission. Prior to the creation of the Asylum in Beechworth, those charged with having mental illnesses or, as it was termed, "insanity" were unable to be properly cared for in the Gaol (which is where they were often sent). John Buckley Castieau wrote, in 1861 for the Ovens and Murray Advertiser, that the Gaol was unable to properly care for those classified then as "insane" but that they would endeavor to treat them above the other inmates (which he notes is not always the case in other establishments). Castieau wrote this in favour of supporting the building of the Mayday Hills Hospital in Beechworth. It was stated that at the time the Mayday Hills Hospital was built, there were 83 prisoners kept in the Gaol who were to be rehoused to the Hospital on the grounds of "insanity". The classification as someone as "insane", in this period of time is a reflection on the inability to cure and understand illnesses of the mind during the mid to late 1800s. The title on the obverse of this photograph as "Asylum for Insane, Beechworth" reflects a bygone era and attitude to mental health. Beechworth's Mayday Hills was chosen as the site of Victoria's newest asylum, at the time, due to the landscape and altitude. Opening on the 24th of October 1867, the Mayday Hills Hospital was originally named the "Ovens Lunatic Asylum", a title which is very much a product of its time. Whilst controversial, changes to the name is part of the history of the Hospital and can provide much insight into the understanding of mental illness throughout history and the use/disuse of this term provides information into the reception/changing opinions of mental illness in society. The Hospital would later become known as the "Mayday Hills Asylum" and/or "Mayday Hills Hospital" with the latter being the most commonly used title. An article in the Ovens and Murray Advertiser notes that on the 7th of March 1865, the foundation stone of the Hospital was laid (it would officially open in 1867) and that it was such a moment of accomplishment and joy for Beechworth that a letter to the editor even suggested that there should be a holiday dedicated to the day the foundation stone as laid. This reveals an extent to which the townspeople of early Beechworth valued the construction of the Hospital in their town. It provided the town with a sense of prestige and honour.At first glance, the remains of the Mayday Hills Hospital in Beechworth, Victoria, inspire tragedy, trauma and beauty. The buildings themselves, with their Italianate style Renaissance architecture designed by J.J. Clark (Craig 2000, 49 & Smith 2016, 203) reflect a bygone period of European and Australian history. The gardens provide a sense of tranquility and beauty. The experience of those within these walls remains a valuable area of study to provide a more complete understanding. This particular hospital is considered the fourth of its like and one of three identified as the largest of their kind. The Mayday Hills Hospital is a sister to the Kew and Ararat Asylums in Melbourne which are both located in relative proximity. Understanding the role of the Mayday Hills Hospital in Beechworth history is integral to understanding the development of the goldfields town, but also for providing important information as to the history of caring for, and the reception of, mental illnesses in Australian and wider European history. Mayday Hills provides a case study which can be researched through oral history, an analysis of the grounds/buildings and through images like this postcard which portray the structure in a highly deliberate manner. Images like this depict the strong façade of the Hospital and provide a glimpse into the tranquility of the gardens. This has been done deliberately to provide a sense of comfort and healing about the building to those looking from the outside. Further research into the importance of the Hospital in Beechworth and it's connection to the town will be supported through images like these kept in the Mayday Hills photo album in the collection of the Burke Museum.Colour rectangular postcard printed on cardObverse: Asylum for Insane, Beechworth. / Reverse: C.F. Faulk, Beechworth. Printed in Saxony. POST CARD / ADDRESS ONLY / AFFIX / STAMP / B 2298 / 1997.2457 /mental hospital, insane asylum, mayday hills mental hospital, beechworth, mayday hills, asylum, gold town, north-east victoria, ararat asylum, kew asylum

This postcard was published by R. & B. Hall in Beechworth and printed in Saxony, circa 1930. Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany which borders the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria and the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. This particular postcard is embossed with a pattern which surrounds the middle image in the center of the card. This image depicts Asylum Avenue which leads to the Mayday Hills Asylum in Beechworth, Victoria. What makes this scene particularly interesting is the appearance of snow which is rare in Beechworth. The road depicted on the postcard has track marks made by a car with thin wheels. Beechworth's Mayday Hills was chosen as the site of Victoria's newest asylum, at the time, due to the landscape and altitude. The hilltop atmosphere and the native fauna, it was argued, would assist in the cure of the patients kept at the hospital (Wood 1985, 122). The positioning of the hospital had a beneficial effect on the rural town. A pamphlet published by James Ingram and Son (1849) reveal that famous landmarks in Beechworth which included the Post Office, Gaol, Courthouse and Asylum "demonstrate the appreciation of Beechworth by the Government not only as as important district center, but also as a site unrivaled as a sanitarium". There were other locations in contention at the time, but ultimately Beechworth was chosen (Craig 2000, 33). Prior to the creation of the Asylum in Beechworth, those charged with having mental illnesses or, as it was termed, "insanity" were unable to be properly cared for in the Gaol (which is where they were often sent). John Buckley Castieau wrote, in 1861 for the Ovens and Murray Advertiser, that the Gaol was unable to properly care for those classified then as "insane" but that they would endeavor to treat them above the other inmates (which he notes is not always the case in other establishments). Castieau wrote this in favour of supporting the building of the Mayday Hills Hospital in Beechworth. It was stated that at the time the Mayday Hills Hospital was built, there were 83 prisoners kept in the Gaol who were to be rehoused to the Hospital on the grounds of "insanity". The classification as someone as "insane", in this period of time is a reflection on the inability to cure and understand illnesses of the mind during the mid to late 1800s. Beechworth's Mayday Hills was chosen as the site of Victoria's newest asylum, at the time, due to the landscape and altitude. Opening on the 24th of October 1867, the Mayday Hills Hospital was originally named the "Ovens Lunatic Asylum", a title which is very much a product of its time. Whilst controversial, changes to the name is part of the history of the Hospital and can provide much insight into the understanding of mental illness throughout history and the use/disuse of this term provides information into the reception/changing opinions of mental illness in society. The Hospital would later become known as the "Mayday Hills Asylum" and/or "Mayday Hills Hospital" with the latter being the most commonly used title. An article in the Ovens and Murray Advertiser notes that on the 7th of March 1865, the foundation stone of the Hospital was laid (it would officially open in 1867) and that it was such a moment of accomplishment and joy for Beechworth that a letter to the editor even suggested that there should be a holiday dedicated to the day the foundation stone as laid. This reveals an extent to which the townspeople of early Beechworth valued the construction of the Hospital in their town. It provided the town with a sense of prestige and honour.At first glance, the remains of the Mayday Hills Hospital in Beechworth, Victoria, inspire tragedy, trauma and beauty. The buildings themselves, with their Italianate style Renaissance architecture designed by J.J. Clark (Craig 2000, 49 & Smith 2016, 203) reflect a bygone period of European and Australian history. The gardens provide a sense of tranquility and beauty. The experience of those within these walls remains a valuable area of study to provide a more complete understanding. This particular hospital is considered the fourth of its like and one of three identified as the largest of their kind. The Mayday Hills Hospital is a sister to the Kew and Ararat Asylums in Melbourne which are both located in relative proximity. Understanding the role of the Mayday Hills Hospital in Beechworth history is integral to understanding the development of the goldfields town, but also for providing important information as to the history of caring for, and the reception of, mental illnesses in Australian and wider European history. Mayday Hills provides a case study which can be researched through oral history, an analysis of the grounds/buildings and through images like this postcard which portray the structure in a highly deliberate manner. Images like this depict the strong façade of the Hospital and provide a glimpse into the tranquility of the gardens. This has been done deliberately to provide a sense of comfort and healing about the building to those looking from the outside. Further research into the importance of the Hospital in Beechworth and it's connection to the town will be supported through images like these kept in the Mayday Hills photo album in the collection of the Burke Museum.Pale coloured rectangular postcard printed on matte embossed card.Obverse: Snow Scene; Asylum Avenue, Beechworth. / Reverse: POST CARD / ADDRESS ONLY / Published by R. & B. Hall, Beechworth. / Printed in Saxony. / 3447 [crossed out] / 1997.2492 / AFFIX STAMP /asylum, asylum avenue, beechworth, snow north-east vic, victoria, snow scene, mayday hills, mayday hills hospital, mental hospital, colonial attitudes, mental health, history, town development, postcard

This image is a copy of a photograph depicting the front façade of the Mayday Hills Hospital by an unknown photographer. The date this photograph was captured has not been recorded but due to the appearance of the water fountain in the front garden, it can be estimated to be during the 1930s. The fountain does not remain on the site today but stood in the same location, alongside other physical markers, to that in photographs dating to the 1930s. This allows an estimated date of 1930s for this photograph. Beechworth's Mayday Hills was chosen as the site of Victoria's newest asylum, at the time, due to the landscape and altitude. The hilltop atmosphere and the native fauna, it was argued, would assist in the cure of the patients kept at the hospital (Wood 1985, 122). The positioning of the hospital had a beneficial effect on the rural town. A pamphlet published by James Ingram and Son (1849) reveal that famous landmarks in Beechworth which included the Post Office, Gaol, Courthouse and Asylum "demonstrate the appreciation of Beechworth by the Government not only as as important district center, but also as a site unrivaled as a sanitarium". There were other locations in contention at the time, but ultimately Beechworth was chosen (Craig 2000, 33). Prior to the creation of the Asylum in Beechworth, those charged with having mental illnesses or, as it was termed, "insanity" were unable to be properly cared for in the Gaol (which is where they were often sent). John Buckley Castieau wrote, in 1861 for the Ovens and Murray Advertiser, that the Gaol was unable to properly care for those classified then as "insane" but that they would endeavor to treat them above the other inmates (which he notes is not always the case in other establishments). Castieau wrote this in favour of supporting the building of the Mayday Hills Hospital in Beechworth. It was stated that at the time the Mayday Hills Hospital was built, there were 83 prisoners kept in the Gaol who were to be rehoused to the Hospital on the grounds of "insanity". The classification as someone as "insane", in this period of time is a reflection on the inability to cure and understand illnesses of the mind during the mid to late 1800s. Opening on the 24th of October 1867, the Mayday Hills Hospital was originally named the "Ovens Lunatic Asylum", a title which is very much a product of its time. Whilst controversial, changes to the name is part of the history of the Hospital and can provide much insight into the understanding of mental illness throughout history and the use/disuse of this term provides information into the reception/changing opinions of mental illness in society. The Hospital would later become known as the "Mayday Hills Asylum" and/or "Mayday Hills Hospital" with the latter being the most commonly used title. An article in the Ovens and Murray Advertiser notes that on the 7th of March 1865, the foundation stone of the Hospital was laid (it would officially open in 1867) and that it was such a moment of accomplishment and joy for Beechworth that a letter to the editor even suggested that there should be a holiday dedicated to the day the foundation stone as laid. This reveals an extent to which the townspeople of early Beechworth valued the construction of the Hospital in their town. It provided the town with a sense of prestige and honour.At first glance, the remains of the Mayday Hills Hospital in Beechworth, Victoria, inspire tragedy, trauma and beauty. The buildings themselves, with their Italianate style Renaissance architecture designed by J.J. Clark (Craig 2000, 49 & Smith 2016, 203) reflect a bygone period of European and Australian history. The gardens provide a sense of tranquility and beauty. The experience of those within these walls remains a valuable area of study to provide a more complete understanding. This particular hospital is considered the fourth of its like and one of three identified as the largest of their kind. The Mayday Hills Hospital is a sister to the Kew and Ararat Asylums in Melbourne which are both located in relative proximity. Understanding the role of the Mayday Hills Hospital in Beechworth history is integral to understanding the development of the goldfields town, but also for providing important information as to the history of caring for, and the reception of, mental illnesses in Australian and wider European history. Mayday Hills provides a case study which can be researched through oral history, an analysis of the grounds/buildings and through images like this postcard which portray the structure in a highly deliberate manner. Images like this depict the strong façade of the Hospital and provide a glimpse into the tranquility of the gardens. This has been done deliberately to provide a sense of comfort and healing about the building to those looking from the outside. Further research into the importance of the Hospital in Beechworth and it's connection to the town will be supported through images like these kept in the Mayday Hills photo album in the collection of the Burke Museum.Black and white rectangular photograph printed on gloss photographic papermental hospital, insane asylum, mayday hills mental hospital

Photographed in the early 1900s, this black and white photograph depicts 25 members of the Mayday Hills Hospital Staff. Six men sit in front of the group (Mr Imhose stands fourth from the left in front row), upon the ground and behind them, in bright white clothing, sit eight female nurses upon a long bench (one of these nurses is identified on the rear as Miss A.J. Ross). Behind these women stand 10 men. The men are all wearing dark clothing and several have 'Kepi' style hats. The staff photograph was captured by Frazer and Vallance Photographers Melbourne. This image was originally combined with 1997.2491 but these images have since been torn apart and catalogued separately. Beechworth's Mayday Hills was chosen as the site of Victoria's newest asylum, at the time, due to the landscape and altitude. The hilltop atmosphere and the native fauna, it was argued, would assist in the cure of the patients kept at the hospital (Wood 1985, 122). The positioning of the hospital had a beneficial effect on the rural town. A pamphlet published by James Ingram and Son (1849) reveal that famous landmarks in Beechworth which included the Post Office, Gaol, Courthouse and Asylum "demonstrate the appreciation of Beechworth by the Government not only as as important district center, but also as a site unrivaled as a sanitarium". There were other locations in contention at the time, but ultimately Beechworth was chosen (Craig 2000, 33). Prior to the creation of the Asylum in Beechworth, those charged with having mental illnesses or, as it was termed, "insanity" were unable to be properly cared for in the Gaol (which is where they were often sent). John Buckley Castieau wrote, in 1861 for the Ovens and Murray Advertiser, that the Gaol was unable to properly care for those classified then as "insane" but that they would endeavor to treat them above the other inmates (which he notes is not always the case in other establishments). Castieau wrote this in favour of supporting the building of the Mayday Hills Hospital in Beechworth. It was stated that at the time the Mayday Hills Hospital was built, there were 83 prisoners kept in the Gaol who were to be rehoused to the Hospital on the grounds of "insanity". The classification as someone as "insane", in this period of time is a reflection on the inability to cure and understand illnesses of the mind during the mid to late 1800s. Opening on the 24th of October 1867, the Mayday Hills Hospital was originally named the "Ovens Lunatic Asylum", a title which is very much a product of its time. Whilst controversial, changes to the name is part of the history of the Hospital and can provide much insight into the understanding of mental illness throughout history and the use/disuse of this term provides information into the reception/changing opinions of mental illness in society. The Hospital would later become known as the "Mayday Hills Asylum" and/or "Mayday Hills Hospital" with the latter being the most commonly used title. An article in the Ovens and Murray Advertiser notes that on the 7th of March 1865, the foundation stone of the Hospital was laid (it would officially open in 1867) and that it was such a moment of accomplishment and joy for Beechworth that a letter to the editor even suggested that there should be a holiday dedicated to the day the foundation stone as laid. This reveals an extent to which the townspeople of early Beechworth valued the construction of the Hospital in their town. It provided the town with a sense of prestige and honour.At first glance, the remains of the Mayday Hills Hospital in Beechworth, Victoria, inspire tragedy, trauma and beauty. The buildings themselves, with their Italianate style Renaissance architecture designed by J.J. Clark (Craig 2000, 49 & Smith 2016, 203) reflect a bygone period of European and Australian history. The gardens provide a sense of tranquility and beauty. The experience of those within these walls remains a valuable area of study to provide a more complete understanding. This particular hospital is considered the fourth of its like and one of three identified as the largest of their kind. The Mayday Hills Hospital is a sister to the Kew and Ararat Asylums in Melbourne which are both located in relative proximity. Understanding the role of the Mayday Hills Hospital in Beechworth history is integral to understanding the development of the goldfields town, but also for providing important information as to the history of caring for, and the reception of, mental illnesses in Australian and wider European history. Mayday Hills provides a case study which can be researched through oral history, an analysis of the grounds/buildings and through images like this postcard which portray the structure in a highly deliberate manner. Images like this depict the strong façade of the Hospital and provide a glimpse into the tranquility of the gardens. This has been done deliberately to provide a sense of comfort and healing about the building to those looking from the outside. Further research into the importance of the Hospital in Beechworth and it's connection to the town will be supported through images like these kept in the Mayday Hills photo album in the collection of the Burke Museum.Black and white rectangular photograph printed on photographic paper mounted on cardHandwriting reads: "Mental Hospital / Beechworth / Miss A. J. Ross / about 82 in 1944".mental asylum, beechworth, mayday hills, mayday hills hospital, victoria, mental health, history of mental illness, treatment of metal illness, asylum, hospital for mentally unwell, miss a.j. ross, nurse, staff, doctors