The design of this small disc is from the Australian Colonial period. The cedar wood desk was made in Australian by Foy & Gibson in the 1880s, most probably in the business’s works in Collingwood, Victoria. The heavy brass locks fitted into the desk drawers were made by the famous Hobbs & Co of London, mid-late 19th century. In 1860 the business changed hands but the locks were still branded Hobbs & Co. The desk is branded with the symbol of Victoria’s Public Works Department. There is currently no information on when, where and by whom this desk was used. However, a very similar desk with Hobbs & Co. locks is on site at the Point Hicks Lightstation in Victoria and was formerly used by the Point Hicks head light keeper there. Other light stations also have similar desks from the P.W.D. (see also ‘Desk, Parks Victoria – Point Hicks Lightstation, Victorian Collections’.) HOBBS & CO., LONDON Alfred Charles Hobbs, 1812-1891, was American born. He became an executive salesman in 1840 for renowned lock manufacturer Day & Newell. His technique of exposing the weaknesses of people’s current locks was very successful in generating sales. He represented Day & Newell at London’s Great Exhibition of 1851, competing with other lock makers. Through the Exhibition he became famous for picking the best trusted Bramah and Chubb locks. Hobbs’ fame led him to found his own company in 1851 then register it in 1852 as Hobbs & Co., London. Hobbs was awarded the Telford Medal by the British Institution of Civil Engineers in 1854 for his paper 'On the Principles and Construction of Locks'. In 1855 the very successful company added partners and became Hobbs, Ashley and Co. In 1860, it traded under the name of Hobbs, Hart & Co. and was based in Cheapside London, where the business remained. Hobbs then returned to America, having sold the complete company to John Mathias Hart. He briefly returned to attend the 21st anniversary celebrations of the successful business in 1872. Hobbs kept himself busy in America, inventing and manufacturing firearm ammunition, for which he held several patents. He passed away there in 1891, a month after his 70th birthday. FOY & GIBSON Mark Foy wan an Irish draper who migrated to Bendigo, Victoria in 1858, attracted by the gold rush. He lived and worked in the area, establishing a drapery business. In the 1870s he moved to Melbourne where there were better prospects for expansion. He chose a place in Smith Street, Collingwood, a suburb of Melbourne, and started his business at the rear. In 1883 Foy retired, bringing in William Gibson as a partner, and then transferred his own share of the company to his son Francis Foy. Not long afterwards Francis sold his half share to Gibson, and the business continued under the name of Foy & Gibson. Francis Foy and he and his brother Mark Foy (junior) moved to Sydney. They established a business there in 1885, named after their father, Mark Foy. Gibson added to his business by starting his own manufacturing works from 1887, producing clothing, millinery, furniture, bedding and hardware for his stores. The factories, warehouses and stores complex became one of Victoria’s largest employers. He set up branches of his stores in Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide and two more branches in Melbourne. Foy & Gibson (usually referred to as Foys) became one of Australia’s largest retail department stores. In 1931 Foy’s little house in Collingwood was still part of the entrance to Foy & Gibson Emporium. In 1955 the company was bought out by Cox Brothers. Later on the stores were sold to various businesses such as David Jones, Woolworths and Harris Scarfe. In 1968 Cox Brothers went into receivership, ending almost 100 years of the business known as Foy’s. The former Foy & Gibson Complex is registered by Heritage Council Victoria. “Designed by William Pitt, this magnificent 19th and early 20th century complex of factories, warehouses and showrooms saw the production of a remarkable range of goods for Foy & Gibson, Melbourne’s earliest department store chain”. (Quoted from the Plaque erected by the Collingwood Historical Society 2007) P.W.D. – Public Works Department, Victoria The desk is stamped “P.W.D,” signifying that it is from the Public Works Department in Victoria, which operated from 1855-1987. The department was responsible for, among other things, the design and supply of office furniture and equipment for public buildings and organisations. This desk is significant historically as it originated from Foy & Gibson, a colonial Australian company that had a positive and strong impact on employment, manufacturing and retailing in Melbourne, Victoria and Australia. The significance of Foy & Gibson to Victoria’s and Australia’s history is marked by the Collingwood Complex being registered in both Heritage Victoria Register (H0755, H0897 and H0896) and National Trust Register (B2668). This locks on this desk are significant for their connection with their manufacturer, Hobbs & Co, who invented a lock that surpassed the security of any other locks produced in the mid-19th century. Desk; Australian Colonial cedar desk, honey coloured. Desktop has a wooden border with a rolled edge and a fitted timber centrepiece. The four tapered legs are tulip turned. Two half-width drawers fit side by side and extend the full depth of the desk. The drawers have dovetail joints. Each drawer has two round wooden knob handles, a keyhole and a fitted, heavy brass lever lock. Inscriptions are on the desktop, drawers, desk leg and lock. Made in Australia circa 1880 by Foy & Gibson, lock made by Hobbs & Co, London.Impressed into timber frame of one drawer “FOY & GIBSON” Impressed into lock “HOBBS & CO / LONDON”, “MACHINE MADE”, “LEVER” Impressed along the front edge of the desktop [indecipherable] text. Impressed into the timber of right front leg “P. W. D.” below a ‘crown’ symbol Handwritten in white chalk under a drawer “206” flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, desk, cedar desk, colonial desk, 1880s desk, australian colonial furniture, furniture, office furniture, office equipment, australian made furniture, colonial furniture, colonial hardware, foy & gibson, alfred charles hobbs, hobbs & co london, hobs & co lever lock, cabinetry lock, machine made lever lock, p.w.d., public works department victoria, day & newell, great exhibition of 1851, bramah lock, chubb lock, telford medal 1854, cheapside london, mark foy, mark foy – bendigo draper, smith street collingwood, william gibson, foy & gibson emporium, foy & gibson complex, cox brothers

Set of four scans of inquest into deaths resulting from accidents and two copies of associated articles involving the Melbourne Brunswick and Coburg Tramways Trust. .1 - Inquest dated 18/8/1916 in to the death of Elizabeth McDermott who was flung from a horse drawn vehicle when it was struck by a MBCTT. Has witness reports from Henry Ernest Toll (?), Motorman, Francis Holmes, See htd5855i1 for a pdf version of the inquest file. .2 - Inquest dated 14/6/1917 into the death of Hector Henry Porter who died by suicide - has witness reports from MBCTT - Revenue Clerk John Hussey, William Smith Motorman and Albert Atkinson Conductor. See htd5855i2 for a pdf version of the inquest file and i3 for a image of the newspaper clipping from Trove. .3 - Inquest dated 10/5/1918 into the death of Eric James McEwan, a MBCTT tram conductor who fell from a tram approaching the Swanston St terminus while lifting the side barriers. Has witness statements from Henry McEwan, his brother and grip man who identified the body, Leslie Whitburn Motorman. See htd5855i4 for a pdf version of the inquest file and i5 for a image of the newspaper clipping from Trove. .4 - Inquest dated 4/9/1919 into the death of Ernest Royal Lindsay, resulting from a collision between his cart and a tram in Elgin St Carlton. Has witness statements from Reginald Fordham, Arthur Smith Motorman, William Craighead Motorman. Has on page 22, a map of the location of the accident. See htd5855i5 for a pdf version of the inquest filetrams, tramways, accidents, mbctt, inquests, horse drawn vehicle

Strathewen Public Hall, social and spiritual centre was later lost in the Black Saturday fires 2009. The Strathewen Community decided a community hall was needed in 1901. In 1902 locals built the hall with messmate trees. It was located on the Cottlesbridge-Strathewen Road. The first function was a Grand concert and Balll attended by about 120 people. Several denominations held Church services and Sunday School services in the Hall. It survived several bushfires until after this photo was taken when it was destroyed in Black Saturday, 9 February 2009. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p89 Strathewen was settled late, largely because it was difficult to access.1 Early selectors found it a struggle to survive. They had to do everything themselves, from felling trees for buildings, to taking produce to market along bush tracks that they had helped cut. Small dairy farms were typical but fruit became the district’s prime produce. The first settlers east of Arthurs Creek were brothers John and Duncan Smith whose station Glen-Ard was probably operated as a sheep run. Other early settlers were the Mann family, who were to donate land for the hall, provide postal services and John Mann was an Eltham Shire councillor from 1916 to 1919.2 In 1873 James Mann, his wife Jane and their six children, settled on 207 acres (83.7) (Lang Fauld Farm) on both sides of Eagles Nest Road, from the foot of Mount Sugarloaf to the bank of the Arthurs Creek. In 1883 James took up another selection on Chads Creek. It was very hard work and at times he was well behind with his rent. However the family had a good social life, attending the Primitive Methodist Church at the Arthurs Creek Township and on New Year’s Eve throwing a party for all the locals. By 1874 James Mann’s younger brother, John, selected 311 acres (125.8ha) between Eagles Nest Road and upper Arthurs Creek. He called it Carseburn after his home parish in Scotland. Tragically in 1875 John drowned in the Yarra River, at Richmond.3 John Mann’s oldest son, also John, later purchased Duncan Smith’s land, which he named Violet Glen. He was to give one acre (0.4ha) of this land for the Strathewen Hall site. A Mann family diary written at Carseburn in 1897, tells how the district’s name was selected. Strathewen is derived from ‘strath’ meaning ‘broad mountain valley’ and from the name of Ewen H. Cameron, the local parliamentarian for almost 40 years. ‘George Brain came around to get a petition signed to get a post office up here and we had to vote for a name—Strathewen, Glen-Ard, or Headcorie’.4 It was at Carseburn that a public meeting in 1901, decided to build the Strathewen Hall on the Cottlesbridge-Strathewen Road. In 1902 the locals built the hall with messmate trees. The first function was a Grand Concert and Ball attended by around 120 people and several Protestant denominations took turns to hold church services and Sunday School there. Fortunately the hall has survived bushfires to be the town’s spiritual and social centre.5 The area continued to develop and in 1909 a post office operated somewhere at Strathewen and from around 1916 at Carseburn.6 It was not until 1914 that land was bought to establish the Strathewen State School on School Ridge Road. The residents paid £100 to build it on two acres (0.8 ha) while the Education Department contributed £30 and leased the building annually for £1. When teacher Miss Mary Golding opened the school in 1917, it had no equipment.7 But in 1921 the Education Department provided desks and a hexagonal shelter shed (now a rare style in Victoria) and took control in 1925.8 By 1917 Strathewen was booming.9 George Apted had built a coolstore in 1916, and local orchardists bought storage space until the 1950s. This allowed the area to supply the market in and out of season. Guesthouses catered for growing tourism. In the mid 1920s Mrs Eleanor Sparkes built the guest-house Singing Waters, which operated through the 1930s. Her daughter Mrs Vera McKimmie, ran it until the 1950s and the house remains in Chads Creek Road. In the Great Depression land was cleared for timber to be sold as firewood and there was small scale sawmilling. However the orchard industry diminished for several reasons including the 1939 bushfires and rapid changes in production methods. Today the Apteds still operate an orchard and farm at Glen-Ard, which straddles the border between Strathewen and Arthurs Creek. It includes the southern part of Duncan Smith’s original Glen-Ard selection.This collection of almost 130 photos about places and people within the Shire of Nillumbik, an urban and rural municipality in Melbourne's north, contributes to an understanding of the history of the Shire. Published in 2008 immediately prior to the Black Saturday bushfires of February 7, 2009, it documents sites that were impacted, and in some cases destroyed by the fires. It includes photographs taken especially for the publication, creating a unique time capsule representing the Shire in the early 21st century. It remains the most recent comprehenesive publication devoted to the Shire's history connecting local residents to the past. nillumbik now and then (marshall-king) collection, strathewan public hall

Comments by Mr. Jeff Walker, Sunday Sept %th 1983. Mr. E.E. Walker JP Managing Director, ATT Co Ltd on Right corner of photo. Mr. A.M. Donald Walker left hand side. Mr. J.S. Stan Walker with cap, 4th to left of EE his father. Mr. E.F. Walker - front row at the right with flag. Mr. Mark Smith to right of E.F. Billie White to right of E.E. (white hat) Mick McDonald top left of E.E (boxer hat). Abe Kay the boxer to left of EEW and Billie White. Jack Crew to left in front (hand on knee). (FG) Fred Allen, Captain with ball in hand (1903). Bob Halliday to left of my father, Lionel Walker (face not showing) far left. Bill Kennedy, brother-in-law of Pat McDonald (of hotel) at the back of my father and Bob Halliday. I think the young chap between Mr. ee amd Mick McDonald is my eldest brother Bill, he and JS were pals. Bill Bewley and the Makim Brothers are there I'm not sure of the others.Black and white photo of Mitcham Football Club 1903 (see history).makin, bewley, kennedy, walker, smith, white, mcdonnell, kay, crew, allen, halliday, mitcham football club