The postcard addressed to Norman Fleming, was written on the 19th of April 1926This rare postcard is the earliest image showing the newly built gymnasium.Sepia tone postcard written at the back with green one penny stamp depicting King George VWritten in black ink: Address: Mister N. Fleming / 24. Norlington Rd / Leytonstone E 11 / Essex / England SS P. Auckland / Melbourne / 19.4.1926 / Dear Norman / gymnasium, norla dome, flinders street, seamen's mission, mission to seamen, mission to seafarers, walter richmond butler (1864–1949), king george v

This item is from the ‘Pattison Collection’, a collection of books and records that was originally owned by the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute, which was founded in Warrnambool in 1853. By 1886 the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute (WMI) had grown to have a Library, Museum and Fine Arts Gallery, with a collection of “… choice productions of art, and valuable specimens in almost every branch and many wonderful national curiosities are now to be seen there, including historic relics of the town and district.” It later included a School of Design. Although it was very well patronised, the lack of financial support led the WMI in 1911 to ask the City Council to take it over. In 1935 Ralph Pattison was appointed as City Librarian to establish and organise the Warrnambool Library as it was then called. When the WMI building was pulled down in 1963 a new civic building was erected on the site and the new Warrnambool Library, on behalf of the City Council, took over all the holdings of the WMI. At this time some of the items were separated and identified as the ‘Pattison Collection’, named after Ralph Pattison. Eventually the components of the WMI were distributed from the Warrnambool Library to various places, including the Art Gallery, Historical Society and Flagstaff Hill. Later some were even distributed to other regional branches of Corangamite Regional Library and passed to and fro. It is difficult now to trace just where all of the items have ended up. The books at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village generally display stamps and markings from Pattison as well as a variety of other institutions including the Mechanics’ Institute itself. RALPH ERIC PATTISON Ralph Eric Pattison was born in Rockhampton, Queensland, in 1891. He married Maude Swan from Warrnambool in 1920 and they set up home in Warrnambool. In 1935 Pattison accepted a position as City Librarian for the Warrnambool City Council. His huge challenge was to make a functional library within two rooms of the Mechanics’ Institute. He tirelessly cleaned, cleared and sorted a disarrayed collection of old books, jars of preserved specimens and other items reserved for exhibition in the city’s museum. He developed and updated the library with a wide variety of books for all tastes, including reference books for students; a difficult task to fulfil during the years following the Depression. He converted all of the lower area of the building into a library, reference room and reading room for members and the public. The books were sorted and stored using a cataloguing and card index system that he had developed himself. He also prepared the upper floor of the building and established the Art Gallery and later the Museum, a place to exhibit the many old relics that had been stored for years for this purpose. One of the treasures he found was a beautiful ancient clock, which he repaired, restored and enjoyed using in his office during the years of his service there. Ralph Pattison was described as “a meticulous gentleman whose punctuality, floorless courtesy and distinctive neat dress were hallmarks of his character, and ‘his’ clock controlled his daily routine, and his opening and closing of the library’s large heavy doors to the minute.” Pattison took leave during 1942 to 1942 to serve in the Royal Australian Navy, Volunteer Reserve as Lieutenant. A few years later he converted one of the Museum’s rooms into a Children’s Library, stocking it with suitable books for the younger generation. This was an instant success. In the 1950’s he had the honour of being appointed to the Victorian Library Board and received more inspiration from the monthly conferences in Melbourne. He was sadly retired in 1959 after over 23 years of service, due to the fact that he had gone over the working age of council officers. However he continued to take a very keen interest in the continual development of the Library until his death in 1969. The Pattison Collection, along with other items at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village, was originally part of the Warrnambool Mechanics' Institute’s collection. The Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute Collection is primarily significant in its totality, rather than for the individual objects it contains. Its contents are highly representative of the development of Mechanics' Institute libraries across Australia, particularly Victoria. A diversity of publications and themes has been amassed, and these provide clues to our understanding of the nature of and changes in the reading habits of Victorians from the 1850s to the middle of the 20th century. The collection also highlights the Warrnambool community’s commitment to the Mechanics’ Institute, reading, literacy and learning in the regions, and proves that access to knowledge was not impeded by distance. These items help to provide a more complete picture of our community’s ideals and aspirations. The Warrnambool Mechanics Institute book collection has historical and social significance for its strong association with the Mechanics Institute movement and the important role it played in the intellectual, cultural and social development of people throughout the latter part of the nineteenth century and the early twentieth century. The collection of books is a rare example of an early lending library and its significance is enhanced by the survival of an original collection of many volumes. The Warrnambool Mechanics' Institute’s publication collection is of both local and state significance. How To Collect Books Author: J Herbert Slater Publisher: George Bell & Sons Date: 1905 Label on spine with typed text PAT 020.75 SLA Pastedown end page has sticker from Corangamite Regional Library Servicewarrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, shipwrecked-artefact, book, warrnambool mechanics’ institute, pattison collection, warrnambool library, ralph eric pattison, warrnambool city librarian, mechanics’ institute library, victorian library board, warrnambool books and records, warrnambool children’s library, how to collect books, j herbert slater

The Catechism of the Council of Trent Author: Theodore Alois Buckley Publisher: George Routledge and Co Date: 1852Label on spine cover with typed text RH 238 BUC Pastedown end page has sticker from Warrnambool Mechanics Institute and Free Librarywarrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, shipwrecked-artefact, book, warrnambool mechanics’ institute, the catechism of the council of trent, theodore alois buckley

The Practice of The County Court With Notes by P A Jacobs Publisher: George G Harrap & Co Date: 1931Label on spine cover with typed text R.H. 398.42 EBB warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, shipwrecked-artefact, book, the practice of the county court, p a jacobs

The Natural History of Selborne Author: Rev Gilbert White Publisher: George Bell and Sons Date: 1890Label on spine with typed text R.H. 574.942 WHI warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, shipwrecked-artefact, book, rev gilbert white, the natural history of selborne

Handwritten extracts from the diary of George Baker. He gives an account of the 24th and the 25th of December. 1852document, christmas day on the forest creek diggings 1852, george baker, mr gordon glover

A black and white photograph of Mr. George Mills Principal of Bendigo Teachers' College from 1945 to 1950.bendigo, education, bendigo teachers' college staff, la trobe university bendigo collection, collection, bendigo, tertiary education, education, mr. george mills, male, individual, bendigo teachers' college, teacher training

Photo of George V Lansell, portrait in black & white, framed in brown wooden frame with gold trim.Bartlett Bros. Bendigo.person, individual, portrait of george v lansell

Regarding trotting history at Port Melbourne Speedway. Includes an extract from "Trove" of the "Record " Emerald Hill covering the opening of the speedway on 24th August 1918. MLA J L MURPHY (president of the club) opened the track in the presence of Port Melbourne Mayor J P CRICHTON and other dignitaries. The club was formed to encourage and support the breeding of trotters and enjoy the sport free from gambling.Four digital images relating to trotting in Port Melbourne. (.02) George GATH seated on trotting sulkyjames laurence murphy, james peter crichton, sport - trotting, pearl kelly, george gath, 'darkie' gath, will whitbourn, cumming smith and co, john peck, dick cullen

Most likely donated by Dr Frank Forster, possibly collected by him from colleagues initially.Uterine dilator, Palmer's. Broken handle lever. illustrated in Tiemann, George The American Armaterium, page 503.uterine device, dilation, forster, frank

Quartz sample, small gold pieces embedded. Sample donated from estate of George Harris, Axedalegold, mining, harris collection axedale

Penleigh Boyd, Robin and Patricia Boyd's son, writes “Prior to 1950 Robin, like most other amateur or hobby photographers, took black and white printed photographs. The oldest slides date from 1950 when Robin and Patricia travelled to Europe on Robin’s Robert Haddon Travelling Scholarship.” In 1948 Robin Boyd was awarded ‘joint first place’ in the Robert Haddon competition for his design of Mildura art gallery. The scholarship helped fund their first overseas trip. Robin and Patricia were passengers on the Greek ship “Cyrenia” departing in May 1950, passing through the Suez Canal and landing in Genoa five weeks later. For six months, they travelled extensively throughout Europe (predominantly driving themselves) - France, Italy, United Kingdom, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Spain.Colour slide in a mount. Tower Bridge (1894), London, England . (Architects: Horace Jones, George Gilbertson.)London Bridge / Towerbridge (All Handwritten)haddon travelling scholarship, haddon, robin boyd, slide

Former Whitehorse Mayor George Droutsas was cleared of falsifying documents in the lead up to Council elections in 2005.Former Whitehorse Mayor George Droutsas was cleared of falsifying documents in the lead up to Council elections in 2005.local government elections, droutsas, george

Gwen Holmes presents Mayor George Droutsas with a petition to build an indoor netball stadium in Vermont SouthGwen Holmes presents Mayor George Droutsas with a petition to build an indoor netball stadium in Vermont South.droutsas, george, holmes, gwen, netball, vermont south

Series of photographs loaned for copying by Robert Collier through Keith Rooney. Photographs have been scanned by Ted Arrowsmith at 300dpi as a 'tiff' and burnt onto a CD Rom. copies of photographs were produced from the CD Rom for inclusion in the album.Black and white photograph of Robert Collier's home in Tunstall. Fred Cecil, Robert and George Collier on the roof.collier fred, collier robert, collier george, springvale road tunstall, orchards, tunstall

Coloured Photograph of Cr. Walter George Terry, Mayor, City of Nunawading, August 1965 to August 1966terry, w. george, city of nunawading, mayor