In October 1901, Mr B. Cleal wrote to the Chief Commissioner of Police complaining about the large number of effeminate young men using ‘various conveniences’ for ‘an evil of the most terrible description’. Mr Cleal’s letter is part of a remarkable collection of documents held by Public Record Office Victoria that are valuable to LGBTIQ+ history and heritage in providing unparalleled insight into where and how beats operated in and around the city at that time. By ‘conveniences’ Cleal meant public toilets, and he listed the busiest of them: the corner of Rathdowne and Victoria streets; Lansdowne Street, East Melbourne; under the viaduct opposite the Customs House in Flinders Street; at the rear of the old City Court in Little Collins Street; and under the viaduct at the foot of King Street. Cleal described in detail how these beats worked: ‘One cannot enter but two or three of the above fellows rush in and on pretence of using same will pass some disgusting remark concerning one’s person etc’. The Chief Commissioner despatched one of his officers, Sergeant Canty, to investigate. Canty’s report provides further detail and description of who he encountered at the public toilets. He reported that men ‘known by the term “Pufters” [sic], are generally well dressed, sober, quiet in their manner and some of them very well connected’. Canty further noted about these men: 'it is often very difficult for the police to catch them offending, and if they do at any time make filthy or indecent overtures to any man, they believe him to be similarly inclined, but should they make a mistake the man insulted never thinks of giving any of them in charge [complaining to the police], but sometimes gives the offender a well-deserved blow or kick instead, of which the recipient never complains.' Sergeant Canty admitted that the problem had existed for some time. But, he added, ‘I don’t think the evil complained of is as great as said in attached [Cleal’s letter]’. In reviewing the file, Canty’s supervisor noted that Cleal, ‘appears to have given these resorts considerable attention’. Much of the evidence for same-sex activity in Melbourne in the early twentieth century comes from court cases and sensationalist news reports. With their eyewitness accounts of the use of local beats, these documents in the collection of Public Record Office Victoria provide a more detailed, understated account, making them some of the more unusual and historically significant records in Melbourne’s queer history. Quoted from "A History of LGBTIQ+ Victoria in 100 Places and Objects" by Graham Willett, Angela Bailey, Timothy W. Jones and Sarah Rood.

This is an incomplete draft on work about the Ballarat Water Supply which is directly relevant to Lake Wendouree and the Ballarat Botanical Gardens.These pages give background to the development of the Ballarat Water Supply after 1972. 13 pages in random order, except for pp1-4 which form a chronology. The other 9 printed pages are part of a draft with some references cited.Nonedoctor john garner, ballarat botanical gardens, friends of ballarat botanical gardens, ballarat water supply, lake wendouree, commissioner j.a. chisholme, yuillle's swamp, j.b.humffrays, john garner collection, gardens, ballarat

Collection of newspaper articles related to Ballarat School Of Mines.They cover activities and advertisements for staff. The papers concerned are The Courier, Ballarat, The Australian, The Age over the period of 14 September 1994 to 22 October 1994.Book with yellow cover, front, spiral bound. teaching positions advertised, pre-employment courses, courses available, enrolment for smb courses, new secondary training program, uni awards presented, students play the streets, ben chaffey, revision program for vce students, sexual harassment, ann mccaffrey, pirates of the playground, war artist geoffrey mainwarring, joanne crosbie fitter and turner, welcome for vice chancellor, ron wild, john mcclure, pat hope, ballarat city commissioners, jan ince, gwenda mcmanus, gerry anderson, robert hook, dennis else, continuous learning improvement program, clip, challenge day contest, $6m complex for smb, courses help women on farms, smb riders on bay challenge, smb takes on the future, frank kitchen, taishan city, picnic race eating, emma-kate james, michelle loader, fiona carnes, paul armstrong, eureka and its meaning, shop ballarat this christmas