This cricket ball is made of cane wicker and was used in cricket games with visually impaired players by people who lived or were educated at the Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind from the 1920's through till 1972. It is a circular shape made of plaited strips of woven natural cane and is lighter than a conventional cricket ball. The hollow center of the ball contains pieces of twisted metal pieces which rattle as the ball is moved to aid players in tracking the ball's movement. The stumps also had bells attached so fielders knew when the batsman was out. Blind cricket was invented in Melbourne in 1922 when two blind factory workers started playing a game using a tin can containing rocks. The game soon gained popularity and the Victorian Blind Cricketers' Association was formed. Mr William Paterson, a volunteer worker and advocate for blind people for over 60 years, was instrumental in acquiring and developing the sports ground and clubhouse in Glenferrie Road Kooyong, Victoria on behalf of the Association for the Advancement of the Blind (now called Vision Australia). In 1928 play began on the world's first sports ground for blind cricketers, in the first official blind cricket match. Blind cricket is now played internationally. This particular cricket ball was awarded to William Paterson Esq in 1928 in recognition of his support in establishing the world's first blind cricket ground in Kooyong. On the front of this ball is attached a small metal crest with an inscription: 'Presented to W.H. Paterson, Esq as a token of esteem for his interest in Blind cricket being the first ball bowled on the cricket ground for Blind Kooyong 7. 4.28'.1 wicker cricket ball with metal shield attached and metal bells in the hollow centre'Presented to W.H. Paterson, Esq / as a token of esteem for his/ interest in Blind cricket/ being the first ball bowled /on the cricket /ground for Blind /Kooyong / 7. 4.28'. recreation equipment, awards

The sewing palm was used by visually impaired workers in the mat making workshop at the Royal Victorian for the Blind Institute during the binding of mats to protect their palms from the 17cm-long curved mat making needle.1 leather folded band with indented metal square attached and leather lacing fastening at back assistive devices, employment

Electrical telegraphs were point to point text messaging systems primarily used from the 1840's until the late 20th century. It was the first electrical telecommunications system and were sent by an operator or telegrapher using Morse code. Social telegrams were also encouraged and special pictorial forms and envelopes were designed such as the special purple form and envelope which was used when conveying condolence details during World War 2.(fn. Powerhouse https://collection.powerhouse.com.au/object/163103). There was a brief resurgence in telegraphy during World War I but the decline continued as the world entered the Great Depression years of the 1930s.  Although telegraph lines continued to play an important part in distributing news feeds from news agencies post World War 2, the rise of the internet in the 1990s and the widespread installation of the telephones in homes saw the need for telegrams to greatly decline. When the Commonwealth Post and Telegraph Act was passed in June 1902, and a national Postmaster General's Department (the PMG) was established the responsibility for the nation's mail and telephone services fell on Post Offices. The Bendigo Post Office, built in 1887 and situated on Pall Mall was the central distribution centre for receiving and delivering telegrams and continued to deliver communication and postal services until 1997. Now a Visitor Centre, dedicated volunteers at the Post Office continued to demonstrate and educate the public about telegraphic services and the development of this unique form of communication up until 2019 when Covid 19 disrupted every day life, coupled with the death Ted Rankins (the last Post Master and a long term telegraph volunteer at the Post Office). This satchel was used by Junior Postal Workers in Bendigo to carry telegrams which were delivered by bicycle in the early years. Small, rectangle, leather satchel with attached shoulder strap and buckle. Satchel is made of five pieces of leather: two side pieces, one piece which is folded to create the front, bottom, back and flap and two small pieces to hold strap ring. The flap has a single hole through which a metal toggle is inserted to secure the flap closed. Satchel has four metal tabs to secure the top front to the top sides and an internal pocket on inside. The leather strap is attached to the top of the side seams of the satchel with circular metal rings and two metal press studs. Inside flap: Sticker with '540B'bendigo post office, bendigo tourism, city of greater bendigo tourism, making a nation exhibition, post office collection

"The Melton Viaduct, opened in 1886, is of State heritage significance as a very large and visually distinctive wrought iron, lattice girder trestle bridge over the Werribee River (now Melton Reservoir). It comprises 18.3 and 9.1 metre spans, in a generally alternate arrangement, of total length 375 metres, and standing 38 metres over the Werribee River. Wrought iron small section iron was used to build tension trussed trestle legs, which supported four lines of rivetted wrought-iron deck-type double lattice trusses. It has bluestone abutments and pier bases of coursed rock-faced bluestone with drafted margins. The larger half-piers, now usually submerged in the Melton Reservoir have sharp tapered cutwaters and curved coping at the tops. While designed to carry two rail tracks it has only ever been used as a single track line. Despite several alterations to its deck structure, it remains an outstanding example of a lighter structural design employing open metal trestle supports and metal truss girders. The direct Melbourne to Ballarat railway link of which the Melton viaduct was the major engineering work contributed significantly to the history and development of Victoria. This new link reflected Ballarat’s diversifying economy as well as the commercial and political influence of the metropolis. Construction of the bridge, and the associated large workers camp, were extensively photographed, documenting an important episode in local history. The railway enabled the development of new industries in the Melton area, notably the timber industry and a chaff industry of national importance, greatly facilitated the later transition of the Shire from a pastoral to a farming economy, and struck a major blow to Melton township’s era as a wayside town servicing Ballarat road (especially coach) traffic". Melton Railway Bridge being built across the Werribee Rivertransport

mechanical tool as was used by Holden and Frost maintenance workers ca1900mechanical tool used by maintenance workers at Holden and Frost silver metal steel mechanical pliers pilers, maintenance

1950 decade HAY FORK - A local invention. Bill and Arthur Gillespie and Bon Barrie In the early 1950’s Bill Gillespie of Bulmans Lane had been experimenting in developing a machine to improve the collection of hay sheaves at harvesting and stack building time. The ripened crop was cut by a reaper and binder which bundled the storks into sheaves tied with binder twine. The reaper and binder was towed by a tractor by the mid 1940s previously teams of draught horses were used to pull the reaper and binder. A photograph taken at the Barrie farm shows three binders the first being towed with a tractor and the others with horse teams. Two workmen were needed to operate the binder when cutting a crop. The sheaves collected on the binder and released onto the ground and were scattered across the paddocks. Using a conventional two pronged pitch fork the harvest hands collected the sheaves and placed each one cut edge on the ground in an upright position and layered with about 15 sheaves into an apex shape to form was is known as a stook. The shape of the stook allowed for drying and draining of water if rain had occurred. Prior to the invention of the mechanical hayfork this was a laborious task requiring each sheaf to be pitched onto a tray truck and moved to the location of the haystack. The mechanised HAYFORK was operated by one person on tractor greatly reducing the need for gangs of labourers. At harvest time farmers had relied on itinerant teams of workers descending on the district looking for work. The three Barrie brothers on their adjoining farms combined forces to cut their crop at its optimum time while the weather was in their favour. Up to many 20 workers at times formed a team in earlier times. Agricultural university students were also keen to gain practical experience in the field. Each of the brothers had a particular skill, and Tom Barrie was the expert on stack building. The district haystacks had a distinctive shape and could be recognised by their builder. Bill Gillespie’s first operational HAY FORK consisted of a large 13 pronged fork situated forward of the truck cabin. It was attached with iron girders and mounted on the rear of the cabin to the tray of his British Bedford truck. It was constructed in metal and iron and welded in the farmers work sheds. The mechanism was raised and lowered by the driver scooping along the ground to pick up a complete stook to raise high enough to deposit all the sheaves in one stook onto the stack or truck tray. The fork section was released by a rope and operated by the driver in the cabin. This model was trialled on the Barrie farm at Ferris Lane. It proved to be very successful and the Barrie/ Gillespie brothers went on to develop a HAYFORK which attached to a tractor and was operated with a series of levers and was raised and lowered hydraulically. It was detached from the tractor when stacking was completed. In its early days farmers travelling along the Western Highway called at the Barrie farm at Ferris Lane to inspect its construction and operation of the invention. It became a widely adopted by farmers throughout the State. It was being used on Wattie Palmer’s farm on Bridge Road Melton South in 1997. Farming in Melton, hay growing and stack building. agriculture, local identities

Button distributed to and worn by Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) members and staff as part of a 2006 campaign protesting the controversial 'WorkChoices' federal industrial relations laws that were introduced by the Liberal John Howard government in 2005-2007. These laws saw the weakening of unfair dismissal laws, giving employers significantly more powers to strip existing rights and wages away. The laws were repealed following the election of an opposition Labor government in 2007 under Kevin Rudd. The 'Howard Target Nurses' campaign was featured in ANF Victorian Branch newsletters around late 2006. During this period, a number of enterprising bargaining agreements were set to soon expire, leaving nurses vulnerable to have rights stripped away under the new IR legislation. A large campaign began, with rallies across the state of Victoria. The August 2006 Branch newsletter featured images of the Tandberg 'Howard targets nurses' design on placards, shirts and badges worn by nurses at these rallies. The illustration by The Age cartoonist Ron Tandberg made reference to John Howard's involvement in wars in the Middle East throughout the early 2000s, and linked this to the 'war' on unions and worker rights.Circular yellow, red and white badge. Silver metal, plastic-coated, with safety pin fastener adhered to back. Badge printed with a blue and white ANF [Australian Nursing Federation] logo, the black text '[then-Prime Minister John] Howard targets nurses' and a Ron Tandberg cartoon of a nurse with a 'sniper target' overlay.nursing, nurses, protest, campaign, activism, activists, unions, unionism, buttons, badges, pins, campaigning, john howard, ron tandberg, labour history, australian nursing federation, workchoices, workplace relations, industrial relations

Used by donor's father in Australia.Carpenter's/wood worker's plane - wooden hand grip & wooden knob; screw for adjusting metal blade, metal base plate.'STANLEY' embossed on metal front plate /'BAILEY', No. 4 1/2 on base plate.carpentry, stanley works, woodwork

Pamphlet - J. G Brill Co 4 pages – “The Brill Renitent post” – window system for tramcars showing the extruded metal post system. Notes its advantages, casing, complete with diagrams and two images of a worker removing the window sash and the interior of tram or streetcar fitted with them.trams, tramways, j c brill co, specification, maintenance, windows

This decimal currency converter was produced about 1966 when the Australian currency was changed from the imperial system to the decimal system. It has been used by a Warrnambool businessman, Alan Lane to promote one of his businesses, Lane’s Motors and would have been given to business clients. Alan Lane (d.1995) was prominent in Warrnambool as a businessman man, community leader and philanthropist. His businesses included a bus company, a taxi company and a travel agency. His community services included involvement in the St. John Ambulance Brigade, the Rotary Club, the local Football League, the Warrnambool Art Gallery, the Performing Arts Centre, the Warrnambool Chamber of Commerce and the Warrnambool Council. The A.L. Lane Foundation was established with funds from his estate and continues to assist local projects and charitable causes. This item is of interest as a memento of the time when the Australian currency was converted to the decimal system and as a memento of the prominent Warrnambool community worker, Alan Lane. This is a card consisting of four circles of paper of different sizes joined in the centre with a metal clip. The smallest central piece of paper has advertising material and the other three pieces have red and black numbers, some of decimal currency notations and some of imperial currency notationsDecimal Currency Computer Instructions for Use See Back Lane’s Motors alan l. lane, warrnambool, a.l. lane foundation

This set of baby scales is believed to have been used in a Baby Health Centre in Warrnambool. The first Baby Health Centre in Warrnambool was opened in Liebig Street in October 1921. It was initially run by Sister Riley. The development of Baby Health Centres in Victoria was largely due to the work of Dr Isabella Younger-Ross (1887-1956). She was born in Warrnambool to Henrietta and John Younger (the Younger department store operated in Liebig Street Warrnambool for over 60 years). Isabella Younger Ross studied medicine in Melbourne and Glasgow and she was a prominent worker in the field of maternal and infant welfare for over 40 years. These scales are retained as an example of the type of equipment used in baby health centres in the early to mid 20th century. It will be useful for display.This is a metal set of scales with a rectangular base tapering at one end. At the top is attached a metal receptacle for holding a baby and underneath this on top of the base is the scale mechanism with a metal measuring device. The item is painted yellow and green but the paint is well rusted and peeling in places. 15 lb.warrnambool baby health centres, dr isabella younger-ross

From the 17th century, sadirons or sad irons (from Middle English "sad", meaning "solid", used in English through the 1800s) began to be used. They were thick slabs of cast iron, triangular and with a handle, heated in a fire or on a stove. These were also called flat irons. A laundry worker would employ a cluster of solid irons that were heated from a single source: As the iron currently in use cooled down, it could be quickly replaced by a hot one. An antique heavy cast iron sad iron (from Middle English 'sad' meaning 'solid') with a rounded cast iron handle. It has a roughened surface with a decorative pattern on the top of the iron. 'Silverston Metals' irons, laundry irons