The Wodonga Police register dated to 1855-1857 provides a record of the names of police officers and details of their day-to-day duties, including crimes committed and steps taken to trace and apprehend perpetrators. It has several references to Robert O'Hara Burke, who was a soldier, police officer in Victoria, and well-known explorer in the ill-fated Burke and Wills expedition.The Wodonga police register has local significance due to the detailed information and date in the 1850s, which was before Wodonga became a separate Shire from Yackandandah Shire. It is also significant on a state and national level as an example of early police records. The detailed information provides significant research and interpretive potential. Green leather and faded green and brown marbled paper bound register or diary, recording the day-to-day duties of the Wodonga Police in 1855-1857. Pale blue watermarked paper with faint lines in the interior. Every second page has been removed and there is staining on some of the pages.The entries are written in iron gall ink and are deteriorated/faded in places. Red-brown and green marbled paper on the interior front and back covers, with linen binding. There are three small red wax seals on the inside front cover used to secure an introductory page of writing. The paper around the seals is torn and the page has become detached. Fragmentary inscription written on paper on the green leather spine.wodonga police, robert o'hara burke, police records, police register, wodonga, police journal, police diary

Letter dated 9 January 1958 written by W.W. Cooper, Hon. Sec., to update members of the main committee on the progress of the biography being written about L/ Savige. He advises that W.B.Russell had done a lot of work researching material for the book and expected to have the manuscript completed by July 1958.A record of documentation recording the steps in the writing of Savige's biography.White foolscap paper with black type of a letter about progress of the book being written about L/ Savige.In pencil after the greeting: "except Mr Harry Williams. Copies - for information - to Lionel Wallace and Hugh Brain." Pencilled into the margin next to #2: "On copy sent to Col. Spowers 'The Chairman' was altered to 'Mr Gillespie' Told Gillespie 30.1.58"savige book, biography

EDHS Newsletter No. 266 October 2022 It is 150 years since the Colony of Victoria introduced the Education Act in 1872. At our next society meeting at 7.30pm on Wednesday 12th October we will look at the early history of some of the schools in the Eltham district. What were the driving forces behind the establishment of some of these schools and what challenges were encountered along the way? At this meeting Dr Geoffrey Sandy will speak about the Church of England Denominational School at Little Eltham, Dr Andrew Lemon will talk about the history of Research State School, Jim Connor will speak about the Eltham Primary School and Irene Kearsey will comment on some of the findings from her recent project digitising the early class records of Eltham Primary School.1:21:48 duration Digital MP3 file; 28.0MBaudio recording, eltham district historical society, meeting, society meeting, eltham, 150th anniversary, dr andrew lemon, dr geoffrey sandy, irene kearsey, jim connor, public education victoria

EDHS Newsletter No. 270 June 2023 At our next meeting at 2.00pm on Saturday 10th June 2023 we are pleased to have Dr. Geoffrey Sandy to present to us on the WW1 Soldier Welcome Home Committees, with specific reference to Eltham. Geoffrey is an author, parish historian and parish archivist for St Margaret’s Anglican Church in Eltham. Soldier Welcome Home Committees (SWHC) were established throughout Australia during WW1 by the soldier’s local community - their home. Despite WW1 being a well-researched area of Australian history, little has been published on the SWHCs. The work of these committees is an important part of our war history, and our volunteer history. As women were often well-represented, and active within the SWHCs, it is also important to our history of Australian women. Geoff has undertaken a detailed case study of the Soldier Welcome Home Committee at Eltham (SWHCE). During the WW1 period Eltham can be described a small rural community. What is fortunate is that the Minute Books of the SWHC Eltham meetings are extant and readily accessible, as these are held in the archives of Saint Margaret’s Anglican Church Eltham.1:17:13 duration Digital MP3 file; 26.5MBaudio recording, eltham district historical society, meeting, society meeting, eltham, avenue of honour, dr geoffrey sandy, welcome home committee

EDHS Newsletter No. 271 August 2023 Public Record Office Victoria (PROV) is the Archive of the State Government of Victoria. Established fifty years ago under the Public Records Act 1973, PROV at the Victorian Archives Centre in North Melbourne now holds around 106 kilometres of public records from 1836 to the present day. There are also PROV collections at Ballarat, Beechworth, Bendigo, Geelong and the University of Melbourne. Our next meeting will be about PROV and former PROV staff member Andrew Lemon, will briefly reminisce about his work there, in it’s early days. As Assistant Director Access Services at PROV, David Taylor oversees the management of, and access to, the State collection. David will be outlining PROV’s unique role in Victoria, the nature of the public records it holds and how researchers can use increasingly sophisticated online resources to discover more about their ancestors and Victorian history. Finally, our Society member Irene Kearsey will talk about her experiences as a long-time volunteer at PROV.1:21:12 duration Digital MP3 file; 27.8MBaudio recording, eltham district historical society, meeting, society meeting, eltham, david taylor, dr andrew lemon, irene kearsey, public records office victoria (prov)

EDHS Newsletter No. 274 February 2024 Our EDHS member Irene Kearsey is forever searching, researching and at times discovering hidden historical gems. One such discovery is finding details about the life and career of “Senior Constable Dungey – Eltham’s third policeman” and what he and his wife had in the Eltham police house; now our Local History Centre at 728 Main Road, Eltham. At our meeting on Wednesday 14th February 2024, Irene with talk about the career of Arthur Eggleston Dungey leading him to Eltham and then describe what was in the house. We now know how he and wife Louisa furnished the house in 1890, down to the number of teaspoons. If you had ancestors in 19th century Victoria, Irene has a suggestion for your research that might reveal such details1:02:35 duration Digital MP3 file; 21.4MBaudio recording, eltham district historical society, meeting, society meeting, eltham, guest speaker, eltham police station, irene kearsey, snr constable arthur eggleston dungey, eltham police residence