Miss Bell (1900 – 1984) The ‘Miss Bell Playground’ was named after Miss Rebecca Adelaide Bell, a retired teacher who regularly helped out at Mt Dandenong Primary school for 8 years. Born in NSW, Miss Bell had taught in several states and had fond memories of holidays spent at ‘Mountjoy’ in the Dandenong Ranges. When she retired Miss Bell built a home in Jeeves Avenue where she lived out the rest of her life with her Siamese cats. Miss Bell helped the children with reading, grammar spelling and history. She really cared about the children and her school visits brought her a lot of happiness. Student standing on section of play equipment in Miss Bell Playground 1997.mount dandenong, mt dandenong school, miss bell, rebecca adelaide bell, school, playground

Demonstrates how advertising was done within W class tramcars - boxes of the driver's door and yields information about the Herald Newspaper.Poster advertising the Herald (Melbourne evening newspaper) newspaper. Thought to date from the late 1960's possibly when the trams were withdrawn. .1 - "Take The Herald on holiday. Keep in touch while you're out of touch." - featuring a lady reading the newspaper with the heading "Gas Rig Looks like its dying" while on the beach while a child plays nearby. Two copies held. .2 - "On The Herald has Jack Elliot" with a line sketch of Jack and horse races along the bottom. Were located in the end advertising panels over the doors of W3 661 and used a base for historical photographs of 661 in Melbourne (See Reg Item 4692 and 4693) until replaced during 2009, when collected.trams, tramways, advertisements, posters, w class trams

Two photographs laminated upon pink cardboard. [a] Uncaptioned photograph of boys playing in schoolground. [b] photocopy of two report cards dated 1953, and 1952, Grades 1a and 1c respectively issued in name of Susan Forbes. Subjects Number, Spelling, Reading, Writing assessed with teacher comments and remarks below.bendigo, institutions, golden square primary school

Black and white photograph. White edges. Man sitting in bush town playing concertina. Peter Ellis. Back of photo reads: 7953 117 57 06 171. back of photo also has a small piece of note paper attached to it reading: Peter Ellis playing bush tunes on a concertina, Mandarang Orchids and Arts Show, 3rd October 1986 Photo by Bendigo Advertiser.photo, individual, peter ellis

Colour photograph. Band on stage outside. Banner reading 'The Bush Dance & Music Club of Bendigo with the Emu Creek Bush Band'. Australia flag bunting. Back of photo reads: 7A Sound Shell Rosalind Park Bendigo.entertainment, music, musicians

Author Fred Joyce Schonell was born 3 August 1900 in Perth to school master Edward William Schonell and Agnes Mary (nee Mawer). Following his graduation (B.A) from the University of Western Australia in 1925 and his marriage to Florence Eleanor de Bracey Waterman in 1926, Schonell was awarded the Hackett Scholarship. The scholarship allowed schonell to complete a Ph.D. on the diagnosis and remediation of spelling difficulties at King's College and the London Day Training College, University of London; having travelled to England in 1928. From 1933 to 1950, Schonell acted as a lecture and researcher at Goldsmith's College, was appointed Professor of education at the University of Swansea (1942) and at the University of Birmingham (1947). Schonell returned to Australia ub 1950 as the Foundation Professor of Education at the University of Queensland and acted as head of the University's education department. Following a stint as President of the Professional Board, Schonell was named the first full-time, salaried, Vice Chancellor of the University of Queensland in 1960. During his career, Schonell oversaw many research projects and authored many published works including "The Happy Venture Playbooks" (1939 onward) which were developed as teaching materials for English speaking students throughout the Commonwealth. Professor Fred J. Schonell was knighted in 1962. Sir Fred J. Schonell died 22 February 1969 from Hodgkin's disease at Indooroopilly. The Fred and Eleanor Schonell Educational Research Centre was named after the pair in 1967. Schonell was posthumously inducted into the Reading Hall of Fame in 2001. (https://www.readinghalloffame.org/fred-schonell-inducted-2001) This specific copy of Saturday Play was a library book at the former Mandurang State School. A 64 page children's book made from stapled thick paper and a cardboard, red stripped, cover in 1965. The cover depicts an image of a woman sitting in a high back chair, reading to two children, a cat and a dog. The second in a series of books titled "THE HAPPY VENTURE PLAYBOOKS" written by Fred J. Schonell, "Saturday Play" was illustrated in colour by William Semple. The text is large and easy to read, the text black on a white background. Printed by Robert Cunningham & Sons Ltd. in Alva, Scotland. Published by Oliver and Boyd in Edinburgh, Scotland.On the cover is a handwritten price of 10c. On the title page is a stamp "State School No.1952" which also appears on the inside back cover "State School No. 1952 Mandurang". Several pages have words underlined or circled in either pencil or blue pen. fred j. schonell, the happy venture playbooks, state school no. 1952, mandurang, children book

Boroondara Cemetery, established in 1858, is within an unusual triangular reserve bounded by High Street, Park Hill Road and Victoria Park, Kew. By the 1890s, the Boroondara Cemetery was a popular destination for visitors and locals admiring the beauty of the grounds and the splendid monuments. The Boroondara Cemetery is of historical significance for the graves, monuments and epitaphs of a number of individuals whose activities have played a major part in Australia's history. They include the Henty family, artists Louis Buvelot and Charles Nuttall, businessmen John Halfey and publisher David Syme, artist and diarist Georgiana McCrae, actress Nellie Stewart and architect and designer of the Boroondara and Melbourne General Cemeteries, Albert Purchas.Walking tour led by Kew Historical Society members for members of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria in 1977. The photograph shows members of both parties assembled at a grave in the Cemetery. The photograph was one of six taken by KHS member Stewart West on that occasion, and subsequently donated by him to the collection by him.Reverse: "Front row in dark coat and glasses - Mrs Mills, With dark glasses reading - Mrs Ekberg (KHS member); Second from right Mr Slattery then president of Society; Far left Miss B Mackie (KHS member)" boroondara general cemetery, kew cemetery, walking tours

At the 1978 Festival of Kew, a number of organisations, including the City of Kew, the Kew Historical Society, Trinity Boys Grammar School and local Girl Guides participated in a re-enactment of the expedition of the party of Charles Grimes in surveying the Yarra River as far as Kew in February 1803. The location for the event was Yarra Bend Park near the Studley Park Boat House. The event was organised by the Kew Historical Society. The re-enactment was captured by a number of amateur photographers as well as by a photographer from the local Progress Press.Local communities select events to commemorate according to their shared history and values. Commemorations of colonial exploration were popular with local historical groups such as the Kew Historical Society in the twentieth century. In re-enacting events such as the Grimes survey of the Yarra, students from a local school were encouraged to take on specific roles, including play-acting individuals involved in the survey party as well as members of the local Wurundjeri People. The photographs, taken by amateur and professional photographers, represent a period in time when the dominant values were those shared by the descendants of European settlers in Victoria. Original colour photographic positive of Cr Allan Hutchinson reciting the program of events at the Charles Grimes re-enactmentAnnotated on reverse: "CR HUTCHINSON READING PROGRAM / 1978 FESTIVAL"kew historical society, trinity grammar school, kew girl guides, city of kew, yarra river, charles grimes, collins expedition, wurundjeri people, yarra bend park, colonial surveys, historic re-enactments, festival of kew, kew festival

Trophy awarded to Gumleaf Playing Champion during annual Golden Wattle Festival (now defunct)The Golden Wattle Festival was held in Spring each year. This trophy is part of the memorabilia collection held by the society.Rectangular polished hardwood trophy awarded to individual winner of Gum Leaf Playing Championship. Trophy tapers from 4cm at base to 2 cm at top.Three plaques: Circular Golden Wattle Festival symbol sticker. Gold coloured metal gum leaf. Rectangular metal plaque reading "Australian Gumleaf Playing Championship, Golden Gumleaf Award, sponsored by Ampol, won by Les Hawthorne, Palm Beach Queensland 1978"trophy festival

A talking book player that allowed the user to change the tone and speed of cassettes played in it. Designed to handle both 4 track and 2 track cassettes, these players were the perfect solution to having both commercial (2 track) and recordings for the blind (4 track) materials without needing separate players. Tonal changes in particular were sometimes required by older listeners, as aging reduces the ability to distinguish high pitch sounds. Speed variability also allowed those who read faster to increase narration, and to slow down reading patterns for listeners with acquired brain injury or other conditions that affected cognitive processing of language.Blue plastic rectangular talking book player with buttons for navigational controls and 5 buttons.Model tbci serial no 8017. Machine number: 8157audio equipment, royal victorian institute for the blind

Articles in the annual report include: rising costs, reduced subsidies, first ever statewide 'Door Knock' appeal conducted, 15 Day Centres now running, Occupational Therapy student unit established, play group and toy library established at Enfield, decision to conduct regular Art Unions, belief that some income should be forthcoming from disposal of Woolahra (Helen Keller hostel), winners of the first nation wide Braille reading competition and decision to make this a bi-annual event and success of three athletes (Szelko Mikulic, James Whitney and Michael Simpson) at the FESPIC games.1 volume of text and imagesroyal blind society of new south wales, corporation records

"The Mechanics Institute movement flourished in Victoria from 1839 to 1950. It was based on the development of Mechanics’ Institutes in Scotland and England from the 1820s, which were intended to educate and enlighten the working classes. The term ‘mechanic’ in those days meant an artisan, craftsman or working man, especially those who had moved from rural areas to work in new city factories during the Industrial Revolution. The early Institutes were usually equipped with a reading room, a library and a lecture room. Although enjoying mixed success in Britain, they contributed to the development of public education and library services. The movement was adopted more enthusiastically in the colonies. It began slowly in Victoria but its expansion after the gold rushes population influx was rapid, especially in rural areas. Every suburb and town wanted to have a Mechanics’ Institute. During the 1850s approximately forty Institutes were established, with even greater growth in the period 1860 to 1900. By 1900 there were 400 Institutes in Victoria. The establishment of a Mechanics’ Institute was often a great achievement for a local community, requiring organising committees to raise substantial funds for a building site (where this had not been granted by the Government), and the building. Once built, the committee then had to purchase books, provide a caretaker or librarian, and finance the ongoing use of and improvements to the building. ‘The history of many Institutes is a story of tremendous community effort, and often, financial difficulties’. In addition to being monuments to local enterprise and community life, the Mechanics’ Institutes played a vital role as an intellectual forum, and in contributing to an informed and participatory democracy in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. They provided journals and other reading matter on local, state, national and international issues, and hosted of lectures and held debates about wider issues such as Federation, colonial nationalism, defence, female suffrage, the price of land and labour. With the development of the school and technical education in the latter part of the nineteenth century, the need for community technical and adult education declined. As a result of the introduction of government library grants in 1867, many Mechanics’ Institutes incorporated a free library in their buildings to finance collection of their books. By 1884-85, there were 257 free libraries in Victoria. However, government support and library grants dropped off in the 1890s depression. Entertainment took on a greater role in the 1890s, with the introduction of moving pictures, billiards rooms, games rooms (chess), concerts and dances. The First World War had a devastating impact on many rural communities, and some Mechanics’ Institutes were no longer viable. On the other hand the early twentieth century was also a time of agricultural development, and many country towns were growing in this period. The 1930s depression further limited growth of many libraries and reduced grants substantially. In response many Mechanics’ Institutes were renamed, for example as memorial halls, in order to retain and attract more patrons (eg at nearby Sunbury). The diminishing role for Mechanics’ Institutes and the preference for larger and better appointed halls (with supper rooms, cloak rooms etc) resulted in demolition of some small Institutes. The advent of cars, radios, and television also provided other opportunities for recreation, learning and entertainment. The greater role of municipalities in providing library services also eroded the need for free libraries. While over 500 Mechanics’ Institutes or halls are extant, very few of these retain their original role as ‘diffusers of useful knowledge’. Most are still available for community purposes, as venues for meetings, socials, civic occasions etc, while others are employed as museums, shops and theatres. Most buildings are on Crown land, and managed by a delegated committee of management, who are responsible for raising revenue to maintain aging buildings. Many of those which were originally established on private land, such as Melton, have since reverted back to the Crown, and municipal Councils. The most common Mechanics Institute building form is the simple weatherboard gable building with iron roofs, notable for their ‘honest simplicity’ rather than as ‘monuments of the ancients’. At the other extreme there are some magnificent two storeyed brick and stucco structures with elaborate ornamentation (as was apparently envisaged by some in Melton in 1905-10)". The future of Melton Mechanic Institute Gazette articlelocal architecture

Green cloth covered hardcover book, The National Temperance Reader, with gold rectangle at top with title in green lettering. Picture in black on cover of a well in the countryside and inset at table in a dining room with gold chandelier. Back cover has initials NTPD for publisher - setting is a table and lamp.non-fictionRecitations, Readings, Dialogues &c. Original and selected. All teaching temperance or moderation in action, thought or feeling: restraint. Habitual moderation in or abstinence of alcohol, moderation in indulgence of appetites or passions.religion, poetry, plays, temperance, books, non fiction

Parwan Football Club was formed in May 1912. The specific date of this photo is not given, but it is likely that it was taken between 1912 and 1914, when the football competition was suspended. This photo is one of the oldest known photographic records of an Australian Rules football team in the Bacchus Marsh area. Australian Rules football was played in this area as early as the 1870s. An organized competition to play regular matches was formed in the early years of the twentieth century. This item has historic and social significance as an image of one of the early sporting teams of Bacchus Marsh and district. It is a typical example of team photographs of this era. It is evidence of the transition of football from a social informal setting to an organised activity and signals the growth of importance of sport, in this case Australian Rules football, as a cultural and social activity central to the Australian ethos. A sepia photograph print mounted on mounting board, showing a group of 20 men arranged in three rows. Two men, standing at either end of the group, are wearing street clothes. The remaining men are wearing a uniform of striped guernseys, white knickerbockers, knee high socks and lace up boots. Two of the men are wearing front-laced guernseys. Three are wearing striped caps, which could be part of the uniform, two a flat cap and two are wearing brimmed hats. There is a consistency in the uniform they are wearing, indicating that team sport is becoming more organised.On the front, a circular professional stamp reading: PHOTO ARTIST BACCHUS MARSH. A. BESELER. On the reverse: A white paper rectangle pasted onto the board, with hand-written notations: Back - with numbers 1-10. Against no.1 Doherty. Against no. 3 Dodemaide. Middle_ numbers 1-5. Front_ numbers 1-5. Under the paper, hand-written in blue ink: PARWAN FOOTBALL CLUBaustralian rules football, parwan football club

A small black self textured covered Churches of Christ Hymn book (with supplement). The title is printed in gold lettering towards the top of the front cover. The edges of the pages are faded blue. At the back of the book there is a Responsive Scripture Readings as well as Supplementary Hymns. T the front is a Preface, Contents and Index to first Lines of Hymns. Inserted inside the hymn book is a faded black and white small photograph of two boys playing on rocks near a stream. On the back of the photograph stamped in black ink - A 831.non-fictionA Churches of Christ Hymn Book (with supplement) It has the words for all the hymns included. It is an Australia Edition religious books, hymns

A yellow covered paperback English school reader with the title printed in red lettering at the top: Here we Go with an illustration in red of a girl and boy sitting on an inflatable toy horse and the series is written at the bottom: The Janet and John Books. It is stapled together and is in very bad condition, due to use over time.non-fictionAn English Primary School early reader about two children, a brother and sister named Janet and John who have simple outdoor adventures. The reading scheme used the 'Look and Say' Method of teaching reading in the 1950's and 60's where the language is repetitive for easy learning and memorisation of vocabulary. It has coloured illustrations of the children at play.schools, textbooks, school equipment, readers

A vintage early 1800's brown hardcover children's book with the title The Adventures of a Three Guinea Watch printed in gold diagonal letter on the front cover with a black lined illustration of two boys playing with a fob watch sitting inside a large barrel. The spine has the title and RTS symbol for the publisher printed in gold lettering. The back cover has a black lined drawing of a boy reading a book in front of a bookcase with the heading: THE BOYS OWN BOOKSHELF printed in a banner above. There are flowers and butterflies too. The frontispiece illustration depicts a woman and a man with a boy in football clothes talking. It is covered with faded tissue paper. The title page has the title, author, publisher details and the same black lined illustration as is featured on the back cover. Throughout the book are many black lined illustrations. At the back is page of further Books for Boys published by The Religious Tract Society. The author,Talbot Baines Reed wrote school stories for boys. Pp. 226.fictionA vintage early 1800's adventure story for teenage boys with black lined illustrations. A boy is given a watch for his 13th birthday as he goes off to school. The watch narrates his own story as he changes 'owners' and travels to London, a pawn shop, a university, to the seaside, India and back to..... There are strong religious themes throughout.children's books, books, children's stories, adventure stories, teenage stories, boys' stories

The Work “The Birds of Australia; containing over 300 full-page illustrations, with a descriptive account of the life and characteristic habits of over 700 species” by Gracius J. [Joseph] Broinowski – Australian author, artist and ornithologist - was created in 40 parts for subscribers and sold for 10s [shillings]., These parts were later published in six volumes, which were later published and bound in pairs to make three volumes, each of which contain two of the six original volumes, numbered volumes, “I”, “III” and “V” on their fly page, but numbered “Vols. I-II”, “Vols. III-IV” and “Vols. V-VI” on their respective spines. The volumes were all published by Charles Stuart & Co. (Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, New Zealand, and Tasmania). All of the beautifully drawn and coloured illustrations in The Birds of Australia were illustrated by Broinowski. They were printed using a new 19th century method called chromolithography. This is the art of making multi-coloured prints. The skilled lithographer would work from an original coloured painting and create a copy for every one of the many layers of colour used to build the painting. These layers were then printed carefully over each other to re-build the picture. Gracius J. Broinowski’s Work “The Birds of Australia” was described by Jean.Anker as “a semi-popular but comprehensive treatment of the subject” in the book “Bird Books and Bird Art: an outline of the Literary History and Iconology of Descriptive Ornithology” 1979. It may be that these books were donated to, or ordered specifically for, the Warrnambool Public Museum, due to the embossing on the spine “WARRNAMBOOL PUBLIC LIBRARY”. The acquisition of these books would most likely to have made 1891-1910, between the date the books were published and the date that the Museum amalgamated with the Mechanics Institute, which then became part of The Museum and Art Gallery. These three books were part of the collection of books belonging to the Warrnambool Public Museum, established 1873 by Joseph Archibald. The Museum moved into the back of the Mechanics’ Institute in 1885, along with the Art Gallery and School of Dancing. In 1886 it was officially opened as The Warrnambool Museum and Art Gallery, with Joseph Archibald as its curator. In 1887 the Museum section was moved to the former court house in Timor Street, with Joseph Archibald as Curator until 1897. In 1910 the Museum was transferred back to the original building and the management of the Mechanics' Institute was handed over to the Warrnambool City Council. In 1935 Ralph Pattison was appointed as City Librarian. He developed his own sorting and cataloguing system and organised the collection of books accordingly. In the 1960’s the Warrnambool City Council closed down the Museum and Art Gallery and the books and artefacts were redistributed to other organisations in Warrnambool. Each spine of this book set, The Birds of Australia by Gracius Broinowski, shows a space on which a previous cataloguing label may have been affixed. The volumes are amongst the many books at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village that display stamps and markings from Pattison as well as a variety of other institutions including the Mechanics’ Institute itself. Some other Australian Libraries also include these books in their collections; Australian National University, University of NSW, University of Western Australia, State Library of Western Australia, Deakin University, Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, University of Adelaide, University of Queensland, University of Tasmania. The Library of Congress and the University of British Columbia also have sets of these volumes. These books are considered as Rare Book; a set of Broinowski’s 3 volumes was advertised in Melbourne’s Rare Book Fair 2012, “for ornithological collectors”. (See the more detailed information below in “Warrnambool Public Museum and Mechanics Institute” and the “Pattison Collection”.) GRACIUS JOSEP BROINOWSKI Gracius Joseph Broinowski (7/3/1837 – 11/4/1913), artist and ornithologist, was born in Walichnowy, Poland, son of a landowner and military officer of the same name. He was educated privately then later, at the Munich University, he was a student of languages, classics and art. To avoid conscription into the Russian army, he migrated to Germany. At the age of about 20 years he migrated to Portland (Victoria, Australia), working his passage as part of the crew of a windjammer. Broinowski worked in the country for a few years then found employment working for a Melbourne publisher and later sold his own paintings. In about 1863, while on one of his many travels in eastern Australia painting landscapes and scenes, he married Jane Smith in Richmond, Victoria (her father was captain of a whaler). In 1880 he settled in Sydney where his work involved teaching painting, lecturing on art and exhibiting his own work at showings of the Royal Art Society. Also in the 1880s he began to publish illustrated works on Australian natural history, including; - illustrations of the birds and mammals of Australia, commissioned by the Department of Public Instruction, New South Wales, and mounted, varnished and hung on walls in many classrooms - "The Birds and Mammals of Australia"; a bound collection of illustrations with appropriated text - 1888 "The Cockatoos and Nestors of Australia and New Zealand" - 1890-1891, "The Birds of Australia" Broinowski died in 1913 at Mosman, Sydney, survived by his wife, six sons and a daughter. His son, Leopold, became a significant political journalist in Tasmania. WARRNAMBOOL PUBLIC MUSEUM & MECHANICS INSTITUTE Warrnambool's Mechanics' Institute (or Institution as it was sometimes called) was one of the earliest in Victoria. On 17th October 1853 a meeting was held where it was resolved to request the Lieutenant Governor of the Colony to grant land for the erection of a Mechanics' Institutes building. A committee was formed at the meeting and Richard Osburne chaired the first meeting of this committee. The land on the North West corner of Banyan and Merri Streets was granted but there were no funds to erect the building. The Formal Rights of the Warrnambool Mechanics' Institute's encompassed its aims and these were officially adopted in1859; "This Institution has for its object the diffusion of literary, scientific, and other useful knowledge amongst its members, excluding all controversial subjects, religious or political. These objects are sought to be obtained by means of a circulating library, a reading room, the establishment of classes, debates, and the occasional delivery of lectures on natural and experimental philosophy, mechanics, astronomy, chemistry, natural history, literature, and the useful and ornamental arts, particularly those which have a more immediate reference to the colony." The Warrnambool Mechanics' Institute opened its first reading room in December 1854 in the National School building at the corner of Banyan and Timor Streets. The Institute was funded by member subscription, payable on a quarterly, half yearly or yearly basis. Samuel Hannaford, the Manager of the Warrnambool Bank of Australasia, was the first Honorary Secretary of the Mechanics' Institutes, and an early President and Vice-President. He also gave several of the early lectures in the Reading Room. Another early Secretary, Librarian and lecturer was Marmaduke Fisher, the teacher at the National School. Lecture topics included The Poets and Poetry of Ireland', 'The Birth and Development of the Earth', 'The Vertebrae - with Remarks on the pleasures resulting from the study of Natural History' and 'Architecture'. In 1856 the Reading Room was moved to James Hider's shop in Timor Street, and by 1864 it was located in the bookshop of Davies and Read. In the 1860's the Mechanics' Institute struggled as membership waned but in 1866, after a series of fund raising efforts, the committee was able to purchase land in Liebig Street, on a site then called Market Square, between the weighbridge and the fire station. A Mechanics' Institute building was opened at this site in August 1871. The following year four more rooms were added to the main Reading Room and in 1873 the Artisan School of Design was incorporated into the Institute. The same year, 1873, Joseph Archibald established the Warrnambool Public Museum [Warrnambool Museum], however it deteriorated when he was transferred to Bendigo in 1877. In 1880, with Archibald's return to Warrnambool, the Museum was re-established and he served as Curator 1882-1897. In 1885 a new building was added to the back of the Mechanics’ Institute to accommodate the re-created School of Design, the Art Gallery and the Museum. It was officially opened as the Warrnambool Museum and Art Gallery on 26th July 1886 with Mr Joseph Archibald as Curator. In 1887 the Museum section was moved to the former court house in Timor Street (for some time the walls of the building formed part of the TAFE cafeteria but all is now demolished). In 1910 the Museum was transferred back to the original building and the management of the Mechanics' Institute was handed over to the Warrnambool City Council. The Museum and Art Gallery became one and housed many fine works of art, and the Library continued to grow. The building was well patronised, with records showing that at the beginning of the 20th century there were between 500 and 800 visitors. During World War One the monthly figures were in the thousands, with 3,400 people visiting in January 1915. The Museum was a much loved Institution in Warrnambool until 1963 when the Museum and Art Gallery was closed and the contents removed to make room for the Warrnambool City Council Engineers' Department. The contents were stored but many of the items were scattered or lost. The Museum has never been re-opened. When the original building was demolished the site became occupied by the Civic Centre, which included the new City Library. (The library was temporarily located in the old Palais building in Koroit Street.) In the process of reorganisation the Collection was distributed amongst the community groups: -The new City Library took some of the historic books and some important documents, historic photographs and newspapers. -The Art Gallery kept the 19th Century art collection and some of the artefacts from the museum. -The Historic Society has some items -The State Museum has some items -Some items were destroyed -Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village has old newspapers, Government Gazettes, most of the Mechanics' Institute Library (which included books from the Warrnambool Public Museum), ledgers and documents connected to the Mechanics' Institute Library, some framed and unframed art works and some photographs. THE PATTISON COLLECTION These books “The Birds of Australia” by Broinowsky, are also listed as part of 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. In 1935 Ralph Pattison was appointed as City Librarian to establish and organise the Warrnambool Library, as the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute was then called. When the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute 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 Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute. At this time some of the items were separated and identified as the ‘Pattison Collection’, named after Ralph Pattison. Eventually the components of the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute 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 1945 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. References: Archibald Street, Discover the History of Warrnambool Streets, https://www.warrnambool.vic.gov.au/sites/warrnambool.vic.gov.au/files/images/Property/roads/The%20story%20of%20Warrnambool's%20streets.pdf Broinowski, Bird Books and Bird Art etc, Jean Anker 1979, https://books.google.com.au/books?id=B5TpCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA66&lpg=PA66&dq=the+birds+of+australia,+broinowski,+bird+books+and+bird+art&source=bl&ots=nQroxqePdY&sig=a3lnn-_FqB-ZcFAwqRYVK6Y7ZeM&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj5sL7-2JTSAhWIyLwKHaCHAJcQ6AEIUTAN#v=onepage&q=the%20birds%20of%20australia%2C%20broinowski%2C%20bird%20books%20and%20bird%20art&f=false Broinowski, Gracius Joseph, by A.H. Chisholm, Australian Dictionary of Biography http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/broinowski-gracius-joseph-3061 Chromolithography, Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromolithography Document, Flagstaff Hill, ‘Mechanics’ Institute Collection’: Books on Dean, Melbourne Rare Book Fare 2015, BookFare Newsletter #5, www.anzaab.com/newsletters/BookFare_1207.pdf Flagstaff Hill archives; document “Re: Ralph Eric Pattison”] Gracius Broinowski, Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gracius_Broinowski Gracius Joseph Broinowski, Design & Art Australia online, https://www.daao.org.au/bio/gracius-joseph-broinowski/biography/ Mechanics' Institutes of Victoria Pg ix, 283; Significance Assessment, Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute Books, FHMV, 2010 The Birds of Australia by Gracius J. Broinowski, Libraries of Australia, Trove http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/12425131?q&sort=holdings+desc&_=1487246530281&versionId=210683608 The Birds of Australia, Broinowski; www.Librarything.com The History of Warrnambool, R. Osburne, 1887, p.72, p. 283 The Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute – FHMV datasheet Warrnambool Art Gallery History, Warrnambool Art Gallery Foundation Information Booklet, http://www.wagf.com.au/cms/downloads/WAGF-Information-Booklet.pdf Warrnambool Museum and Art Gallery, The Argus, 29th July 1886 Web; The Birds of Australia (Broinowski), Wikipedia The Birds of Australia by Gracius J. Broinowski is a respected source of scientific information. It is also significant for its rarity and as an early Australian Work. The book is significant for its association with the Warrnambool Public Museum, which played an important educational and social role in the early settlement of Warrnambool and District. The book is also significant for its association with the Warrnambool Mechanics' Institute Library book collection, which is deemed to be of great importance because it is one of the few collections in an almost intact state, and many of the books are now very rare and of great value. 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 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 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 book is also significant for its inclusion in the Pattison Collection, a collection that as a whole shows a snapshot of the types of reading material offered to the local public at that point in time The Birds of Australia Vol 1-2 Author and Illustrator: Gracius J Broinowski Publisher: Charles Stuart & Co Date: 1890 - 1891Label on spine cover with typed text RA 598.2 BRO Embossing added to spine “WARRNAMBOOL PUBLIC MUSEUM" Pastedown front endpaper has sticker from Warrnambool Mechanics Institute and Free Librarythe birds of australia vol 1-2, flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, the birds of australia, gracius joseph broinowski, charles stuart & co, joseph archibald, warrnambool public museum, warrnambool museum, warrnambool library, warrnambool art gallery, warrnambool city librarian, pattison collection, ralph eric pattison, samuel hannaford, warrnambool mechanics’ institute and free library, mechanics’ institute library, victorian library board, warrnambool books and records, rare books, australian bird illustrations, australian bird text, australian natural history

After reading an interview of Elizabeth Fiddian in the Age in 2003 about her time volunteering at the mission, Matt Blackwood and Csilla Csonvay contacted Nigel Porteous to offer to film a documentary. The filming was self-funded: they had a volunteer crew of three, pulled some personal favours to source the equipment, Csilla edited the film at her workplace’s edit suite out of hours. Nick Farnell provided the voice overs for reading out the letters. It was recorded in a week end, on Betacam. They interviewed six or more members, who talked about their experiences, and they intercut their interviews with archival footage from the Mission. The interviews took place both at the Mission as well as in some of the interviewees' homes. The film was premiered at the Mission, and where it was played on a dedicated TV for visitors on a DVD. In 2023, Matt send a digital copy in mp4.The producers met some of the surviving ladies of the Harbour Lights Guild who gave up their Saturdays and Sundays to arrange events and outings for lonely sailors arriving in Melbourne. Documentary including interviews, photographs from the MSTV archives, and reading of Lillie Duncan letters from Charlie.sadie wilson, annette wood, bernice kennett, rodney kent, jan lee, dennis lee, 2003, csilla csongvay, matt blackwood, beverley kent nee oliver, nigel porteous, charlie, lillie duncan, nick farnell, elizabeth fiddian