CREAM COLOURED PLATE WITH A CANDLE SMOKE ARTWORK, PAINTED OVER WITH VARNISH. A SCENE OF A COUNTRY BUSH IN MUTED SEPIA TONES . PLATE IS EDGED IN GOLD PAINT. PAINTED BY RICHARD FORDSIGNED R FORD AT BOTTOM LEFT HAND SIDE OF THE SKETCH CHINA STAMP IN GREY COLOUR "TUDOR ROSE ENGLAND" ON BOTTOM OF PLATE. PAPER AFFIXED TO BOTTOM OF PLATE: TYPED "SPECIAL (OPEN) AN ARRANGEMENT SUITABLE FOR A XMAS PARTY. AS YOU LIKE IT. (OWN CHOICE). FIRST PRIZE" MRS W. FAWCETTtudor rose china, prize

This Journal "The bad bit across the River" was written by - LtCol HPG Clews in 1934 and is about his experiences around the Colo River approximately 60 miles NW of Sydney, NSW. LtCol Clews was a remarkable man and his achievements were just as remarkable. He is affectionately known as "The Major." He served in the British Army 1909 - 1911 with the Sherwood Foresters. He then served in the Royal Australian Survey Corps from 1912 - 1949 and then served as the Senior Surveyor with the Snowy Mountains Authority from 1950-1958. A Survey Cairn is errected in Khancoban to record his life 1890 - 1980. This Journal records the field trip to establish Survey Control in very rugged country by a handful of party members on foot. The map shows the routes taken.14 x foolscap pages stapled and two hole punched. The Journal includes a map, 7 x pages of typed text and 4 x Annexesroyal australian survey corps, rasvy, fortuna, army survey regiment, army svy regt, asr, 2nd field survey company

Henry Beardmore represented the Green Hills Riding on Wodonga Shire Council from 1898 to 1922, including terms as President from 1900-01, 1903-4, 1908-10, 1911-12, 1914-17. He won the seat of Benambra in the Victorian Legislative Assembly at a by-election on 20th April 1917. After a few years serving simultaneously at both local and State government levels, in 1922 Mr Beardmore retired from the Wodonga Council due to his increased workload in State politics. He continuously represented the Benambra electorate as a Nationalist and United Australia Party Member for more than 15 years being returned unopposed on four occasions. Mr Beardmore was a strong advocate for country development and decentralisation. He was an Honorary Minister in 1924 and for a short time in 1929, Minister of Railways, Minister in-charge of Electrical Undertakings and Minister of Labour. He was a leading supporter of Kiewa Hydro-Electric Project and opponent of Yallourn coalfield. He remained as the Member for Benambra until his death in Wodonga on 1st August 1932. At the time this letter was written, William Hughes had been expelled from the ALP over his stance on conscription. He formed the National Labor Party which later merged with the Liberal Party to become the Nationalist Party. Henry Beardmore was a newly-elected Member of the Victorian Parliament and became a member of the Nationalist Party. Two of Henry Beardmore’s sons were on Active Service at the time and were later joined by another of their brothers. The letter aimed to gain support for Hughes at the Federal Election to be held on 5th May 1917 which his new party won with a large majority. However the Second Referendum held on conscription on 20th December 1917 at William Hughes’ instigation was defeated.This letter is significant because it was sent to an important Wodonga politician by the Prime Minister at a critical time in Australia's history.A typed letter sent to Mr Henry Beardmore by W. M. Hughes, Prime Minister 25th April 1917. It is printed on the Commonwealth of Australia letterhead. The letter has been damaged over time and has been repaired. Commonwealth of Australia letterhead Signed W. M. Hughesw. m. hughes, henry beardmore, conscription debate 1917

The Commonwealth Ericsson Wall Telephone was adopted in 1901 by the Post Master General as the standard magneto telephone throughout Australia. It was designated by the Australian Post Office as: "Telephone No.1 - Magneto Wall, Commonwealth Type" The No1 was widely used in country areas and new installations of this type continued throughout the 1920s. Although classified as obsolete in 1951, several were still in service in country areas into the mid-1960s before the phone systems were fully automated. The phone was originally connected to a 'party' line (several connections to a common wire), and the winder was turned in various combinations of long and short turns (being the codes unique to each individual connection) to alert the other party of an incoming call. Anyone could listen in on a party line, although courtesy prevented it occurring most of the time. Central telephone exchanges rendered the party line obsolete. Vintage wall telephone The case originally housed two No6 dry-cell batteries to power the speaker (early models used a pair of Leclanche-like wet-cell batteries - the drawing from 1911 indicates that wet-cell batteries were still in use at that time). Batteries became obsolete when the phone was connected to a central exchange. A plastic speaker horn was fitted in 2025 - the original was missing on front - L M ERICSSON & Co STOCKHOLM inside - serial number: 496018 H 5 (this serial number identifies the phone as being manufactured in 1904) inside - slip of paper identifies date of manufacture as 1904 inside aftermarket writing - F.W.31forests commission victoria (fcv), communications