Showing 1862 items
matching late 19th century
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Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Postcard - Scenic, Warrnambool, Pillar Caves, near Warrnambool, 1902-1929
The nine postcards in this set were donated together and date to the early 1900s. All but one postcard in this set shows images of Warrnambool, in the Western District of Victoria; the other has a London image. The postcards were all printed in Great Britain according to that country’s postal regulations. The fronts of all cards have titles printed in red. Most of the images on the cards are attributed to photographer Joseph Jordan and belong to the Jordan Series. The back of these cards has an outline for a postage stamp, a vertical dividing line and a heading on each side of the line to separate the Correspondence from the Address. Postcards or ‘correspondence cards’ appeared in Britain in 1894. They were plain cards with a space for the message on one side and an address on the other; regulations didn’t allow anything but the address to be written on the ‘address’ side. In 1902 the British regulations then allowed a picture to be printed on the front and the address on the back, so messages had to be written on the picture side. Soon, the regulations changed and the back was divided for a message and the address. Pliiar Caves, near Warrnambool – The formation at the front of the cave resembles the pillars of a porch, giving the cave its name. Local social media discussion locates the caves near Lake Gillear, east of Warrnambool. The area was popular with young lads as a place to explore and to go rabbiting. The caves in this area are home to colonies of bats and have been a source of bat feces or bat guano, which is an enriching additive to soil. The 19th century sailing ships in the Nitrogen or Guano trade collected large quantities of guano from caves and popular bird nesting locations to sell as a rich fertiliser, due to its high nitrogen and phosphorus properties. Joseph Jordan - Joseph Jordan was born in 1841 in Leicester England. When he was 16 he joined the 7th Queen's Own Hussars and was sent to India at the outbreak of the mutiny. He took part in the relief of Lucknow and remained in India for eleven years. It was during this time that he became interested in photography. He was posted to New Zealand and later came to Victoria, becoming a sergeant major of the Mounted Rifles. In the mid-1880s he came to the Western district where he was responsible for establishing units of the Mounted Rifles in various country towns such as Dunkeld, Mortlake, Panmure, Bushfield, Koroit etc. He resigned from the army in 1889 and set up a professional photography studio in Liebig Street, Warrnambool. He became very well known in the Western District for family photographs, official photographs of local councillors and groups as well as views of local scenery. In 1891 he photographed the wrecked barque ‘Fiji’ at ‘Wrecks Beach’ near Princetown. His business was taken over by his son Arthur around 1917. Joseph was a keen rifle shot and in 1924 he donated the "Jordan Shield" as a prize to the Victorian Rifle Association. He was made a "Life Honorary Member" of the Warrnambool Returned Soldiers League and in 1933 he was recognised as being the oldest living soldier in Victoria. Joseph died in 1935 aged 95.The image of the Pillar Caves rock formation with figures on it suggests that the location was a popular place to visit. The choice of subject for this postcard indicates the popularity of Warrnambool's natural environment as a tourist attraction at a time when ships called coastal traders brought passengers and cargo to the Port of Warrnambool from ports along Victoria's southwest coast. The presence of bats in local caves also connects the postcard to the 19th century Nitro Trade and Guano Trade, when bat guano was collected and sold for plant fertiliser around the world. Joseph Jordan is a significant figure in Warrnambool history as he helped to establish early units of the Mounted Rifles (G Company) in local towns during the late 1880's and later, photographed local scenes, groups and citizens of early Warrnambool.Postcard, one of nine, landscape orientation, coloured print within an oval border and mauve-toned shading. The cameo image shows figures on the high, grass-topped cliff, one between the likeness of pillars in the cave entry, and others walking on the rocks nearby. The background below is rough ground. There is no correspondence written on the card. The back has inscriptions and outlines for a postage stamp. Jordan Series, printed in Great Britain.Front, in red: “PILLAR CAVES, NEAR WARRNAMBOOL” Back in black: “Jordan Series” “POST CARD” “PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN” “For correspondence” “The Address only to be written here”flagstaff hill maritime museum, flagstaff hill maritime village, flagstaff hill maritime museum and village, maritime museum, warrnambool, great ocean road, warrnambool and district, warrnambool scenes, local scenes, views of warrnambool, joseph jordan, jordan series, jordan photography, postcard, souvenir, correspondence, cameo postcard, landscape, rock formation, pillar caves, pillars cave, lake gillear, rebbiting, bats, guano, nitro trade, fertilizers -
Federation University Historical Collection
Book, Machinery for Metalliferous Mines, 1894, 1894
... of the machinery used in late 19th century metal mining in the UK ...The 1st edition of this famous work, giving an excellent account of the machinery used in late 19th century metal mining in the UK and overseas is very rare. It covers a wide range of equipment - pumps, steam engines, drills, winding engines, stamps & concentration mills, aerial ropeways, tramways and early uses of electricity etc. Brown hard cloth covered book. xvi 564 pages with additional advertisements, with over 300 illustrations and drawings, some fold out. Chapters include Water as a motive power, Wind engines and ventilating machinery, Steam boilers/engines and oil engines, hoisting machinery, draining of Mines, pumping engines, rock drilling machinery, boring machinery, concentration machinery, sizing and classifications trommels, joggers and jigging, fine concentration, milling of gold ores, milling of silver ores, amalgamation plates and machinery, dry and roasting machinery, chlorination and cyandide processes for the extraction of gold, electricity as a motive power for mining, electric lighting and blasting, aerial wire ropeways, transport by rail and road. There a a number of lovely line illustrations in the book including: Poncelot's undershot waterwheel; Fromont furnace;Victor turbine; Pelton waterwheel; Root's positive blower;Cross section and front elevation of Lancashire boiler; Robey's Compound Mill Engine; Portable Winding Plant; Iron Pit Head Gear ; Loading Arrangement in an Incline Shaft; kibble; Worthington Pump; California Pump; Scram's Air Compressor; Rock drill Bits; Special Sharpening tools; Boring tools;Rotating Picking table; Ore Feeder; roller crusher; stamp battery; round buddle; slime table; vanner; amalgamating plant; belt elevator;roasting furnace;splicing wire rope; capel; tipping waggon;mining, cornish pump, linkenbach table, water wheel, ventilation, oil engine, california, america, water, steam boilers, steam engines, oil engines, pumpimg, rock drilling, boring, jiggers, milling, silver, gold, drying and roasting, chlorination, cyaniding, lead, zinc, copper, electricity, electric lighting, wire ropes, transport, wind engine, poppet head -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Wood Sample, about 1871
This piece of timber from the ship Eric the Red has been eaten through by the marine animals called Teredo Worms, sometimes called sea worms or ‘termites of the sea’. The worms bore holes into wood that is immersed in sea water and bacteria inside the worms digest the wood. Shipbuilders tried to prevent this problem by using coatings of tar, wax, lead or pitch. In the 18th and 19th centuries the outside of their ships were sheathed in copper or a combination of copper and zinc (called Muntz metal) and would be re-metalled periodically to ensure the sheathing would remain effective. In more recent times the ships are protected with a toxic coating. The American ship Eric the Red was a wooden, three masted clipper ship. She had 1,580 tons register and was the largest full-rigged ship built at Bath, Maine, USA in 1871. She was built and registered by Arthur Sewall, later to become the partnership E. & A. Sewall, the 51st ship built by this company. The annually-published List of Merchant Vessels of the U.S. shows Bath was still the home port of Eric the Red in 1880. The vessel was named after the Viking discoverer, Eric ‘the Red-haired’ Thorvaldsson , who was the first European to reach the shores of North America (in 980AD). The ship Eric the Red at first traded in coal between America and Britain, and later traded in guano nitrates from South America. In 1879 she was re-metalled and was in first class condition. On 10th June 1880 (some records say 12th June) Eric the Red departed New York for Melbourne and then Sydney. She had been commissioned by American trade representatives to carry a special cargo of 500 exhibits (1400 tons) – about a quarter to a third of America’s total exhibits - for the U.S.A. pavilion at Melbourne’s first International Exhibition. The exhibits included furniture, ironmongery, wines, chemicals, dental and surgical instruments, paper, cages, bronze lamp trimmings, axles, stamped ware, astronomical and time globes, samples of corn and the choicest of leaf tobacco. Other general cargo included merchandise such as cases of kerosene and turpentine, brooms, Bristol's Sarsaparilla, Wheeler and Wilson sewing machines, Wheeler’s thresher machine, axe handles and tools, cases of silver plate, toys, pianos and organs, carriages and Yankee notions. The Eric the Red left New York under the command of Captain Zaccheus Allen (or some records say Captain Jacques Allen) and 24 other crew including the owner’s son third mate Ned Sewall. There were also 2 saloon passengers on board. The ship had been sailing for an uneventful 85 days and the voyage was almost at its end. As Eric the Red approached Cape Otway there was a moderate north-west wind and hazy and overcast atmosphere. On 4th September 1880 at about 1:30am Captain Allen sighted the Cape Otway light and was keeping the ship 5-6 miles offshore to stay clear of the hazardous Otway Reef. However he had badly misjudged his position. The ship hit the Otway Reef about 2 miles out to sea, south west of the Cape Otway light station. Captain Allen ordered the wheel to be put ‘hard up’ thinking that she might float off the reef. The sea knocked the helmsman away from the wheel, broke the wheel ropes and carried away the rudder. The lifeboats were swamped, the mizzenmast fell, with all of its rigging, then the mainmast also fell and the ship broke in two. Some said that the passenger Vaughan, who was travelling for his health and not very strong, was washed overboard and never seen again. The ship started breaking up. The forward house came adrift with three of the crew on it as well as a longboat, which the men succeeded in launching and keeping afloat by continually bailing with their sea boots. The captain, the third mate (the owner’s son) and others clung to the mizzenmast in the sea. Then the owner’s son was washed away off the mast. Within 10 minutes the rest of the ship was in pieces, completely wrecked, with cargo and wreckage floating in the sea. The captain encouraged the second mate to swim with him to the deckhouse where there were other crew but the second mate wouldn’t go with him. Eventually the Captain made it to the deckhouse and the men pulled him up. At about 4:30am the group of men on the deckhouse saw the lights of a steamer and called for help. At the same time they noticed the second mate and the other man had drifted nearby, still on the spur, and pulled them both onto the wreck. The coastal steamer SS Dawn was returning to Warrnambool from Melbourne, its sailing time different to its usual schedule. She was built in 1876 and bought by the Portland and Belfast Steam Navigation Co. in 1877. At the time of this journey she was commanded by Captain Jones, and was sailing between Melbourne and Portland via Warrnambool. The provedore of the Dawn, Benjamin Lear, heard cries of distress coming through the portholes of the saloon. He gave the alarm and the engines were stopped. Cries could be heard clearly, coming from the land. Captain Jones sent out crew in two boats, and fired off rockets and blue lights to illuminate the area. They picked up the three survivors who were in the long boat from Eric the Red. Two men were picked up out of the water, one being the owner’s son who was clinging to floating kerosene boxes. At daylight the Dawn then rescued the 18 men from the floating portion of the deckhouse, which had drifted about 4 miles from where they’d struck the reef. Shortly after the rescue the deckhouse drifted onto breakers and was thrown onto rocks at Point Franklin, about 2 miles east of Cape Otway. Captain Jones had signalled to Cape Otway lighthouse the number of the Eric the Red and later signalled that there was a wreck at Otway Reef but there was no response from the lighthouse. The captain and crew of the Dawn spent several more hours searching unsuccessfully for more survivors, even going back as far as Apollo Bay. On board the Dawn the exhausted men received care and attention to their needs and wants, including much needed clothing. Captain Allen was amongst the 23 battered and injured men who were rescued and later taken to Warrnambool for care. Warrnambool’s mayor and town clerk offered them all hospitality, the three badly injured men going to the hospital for care and others to the Olive Branch Hotel, then on to Melbourne. Captain Allen’s leg injury prevented him from going ashore so he and three other men travelled on the Dawn to Portland. They were met by the mayor who also treated them all with great kindness. Captain Allen took the train back to Melbourne then returned to America. Those saved were Captain Zaccheus Allen (or Jacques Allen), J. Darcy chief mate, James F. Lawrence second mate, Ned Sewall third mate and owner’s son, John French the cook, C. Nelson sail maker, Clarence W. New passenger, and the able seamen Dickenson, J. Black, Denis White, C. Herbert, C. Thompson, A. Brooks, D. Wilson, J. Ellis, Q. Thompson, C. Newman, W. Paul, J. Davis, M. Horenleng, J. Ogduff, T. W. Drew, R. Richardson. Four men had lost their lives; three of them were crew (Gus Dahlgreen ship’s carpenter, H. Ackman steward, who drowned in his cabin, and George Silver seaman) and one a passenger (J. B. Vaughan). The body of one of them had been found washed up at Cape Otway and was later buried in the lighthouse cemetery; another body was seen on an inaccessible ledge. Twelve months later the second mate James F. Lawrence, from Nova Scotia, passed away in the Warrnambool district; an obituary was displayed in the local paper. Neither the ship, nor its cargo, was insured. The ship was worth about £15,000 and the cargo was reportedly worth £40,000; only about £2,000 worth had been recovered. Cargo and wreckage washed up at Apollo Bay, Peterborough, Port Campbell, Western Port and according to some reports, even as far away as the beaches of New Zealand. The day after the wreck the government steam ship Pharos was sent from Queenscliff to clear the shipping lanes of debris that could be a danger to ships. The large midship deckhouse of the ship was found floating in a calm sea near Henty Reef. Items such as an American chair, a ladder and a nest of boxes were all on top of the deckhouse. As it was so large and could cause danger to passing ships, Captain Payne had the deckhouse towed towards the shore just beyond Apollo Bay. Between Apollo Bay and Blanket Bay the captain and crew of Pharos collected Wheeler and Wilson sewing machines, nests of boxes, bottles of Bristol’s sarsaparilla, pieces of common American chairs, axe handles, a Wheelers’ Patent thresher and a sailor’s trunk with the words “A. James” on the front. A ship’s flag-board bearing the words “Eric the Red” was found on the deckhouse; finally those on board the Pharos had the name of the wrecked vessel. During this operation Pharos came across the government steamer Victoria and also a steamer S.S. Otway, both of which were picking up flotsam and wreckage. A whole side of the hull and three large pieces of the other side of the hull, with some of the copper sheathing stripped off, had floated on to Point Franklin. Some of the vessels yards and portions of her masts were on shore. The pieces of canvas attached to the yards and masts confirmed that the vessel had been under sail. The beach there was piled with debris several feet high. There were many cases of Diamond Oil kerosene, labelled R. W. Cameron and Company, New York. There were also many large planks of red pine, portions of a small white boat and a large, well-used oar. Other items found ashore included sewing machines (some consigned to ‘Long and Co.”) and notions, axe and scythe handles, hay forks, wooden pegs, rolls of wire (some branded “T.S” and Co, Melbourne”), kegs of nails branded “A.T. and Co.” from the factory of A. Field and Son, Taunton, Massachusetts, croquet balls and mallets, buggy fittings, rat traps, perfumery, cutlery and Douay Bibles, clocks, bicycles, chairs, a fly wheel, a cooking stove, timber, boxes, pianos, organs and a ladder. (Wooden clothes pegs drifted in for many years). There seemed to be no personal luggage or clothing. The Pharos encountered a long line, about one and a half miles, of floating wreckage about 10 miles off land, south east of Cape Otway, and in some places about 40 feet wide. It seemed that more than half of it was from Eric the Red. The ship’s crew rescued 3 cases that were for the Melbourne Exhibition and other items from amongst the debris. There were also chairs, doors, musical instruments, washing boards, nests of trunks and fly catchers floating in the sea. Most of the goods were saturated and smelt of kerosene. A section of the hull lies buried in the sand at Parker River Beach. An anchor with chain is embedded in the rocks east of Point Franklin and a second anchor, thought to be from Eric the Red, is on display at the Cape Otway light station. (There is a photograph of a life belt on the verandah of Rivernook Guest House in Princetown with the words “ERIC THE RED / BOSTON”. This is rather a mystery as the ship was registered in Bath, Maine, USA.) Parts of the ship are on display at Bimbi Park Caravan Park and at Apollo Bay Museum. Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village also has part of the helm (steering wheel), a carved wooden sword (said to be the only remaining portion of the ship’s figurehead; further research is currently being carried out), a door, a metal rod, several samples of wood and a medal for bravery, awarded to Nelson Johnson, a crew member of the S.S. Dawn by the U.S. President, for the rescue of the crew. Much of the wreckage was recovered by the local residents before police and other authorities arrived at the scene. Looters went to great effort to salvage goods, being lowered down the high cliff faces to areas with little or no beach to collect items from the wreckage, their mates above watching out for dangerous waves. A Tasmanian newspaper reports on a court case in Stawell, Victoria, noting a man who was caught 2 months later selling tobacco from the wreckage of Eric the Red. Some of the silverware is still treasured by descendants of Mr Mackenzie who was given these items by officials for his help in securing the cargo. The gifts included silver coffee and tea pots, half a dozen silver serviette rings and two sewing machines. A Mr G.W. Black has in his possession a medal and a purse that were awarded to his father, another Dawn crew member who was part of the rescue team. The medal is inscribed and named “To John Black ….” (from “Shipwrecks” by Margaret E. Mackenzie, 3rd edition, published 1964). The wreck and cargo were sold to a Melbourne man who salvaged a quantity of high quality tobacco and dental and surgical instruments. Timbers from the ship were salvaged and used in the construction of houses and sheds around Apollo Bay, including a guest house, Milford House (since burnt down in bushfires), which had furniture, fittings and timber on the dining room floor from the ship. A 39.7 foot long trading ketch, the Apollo, was also built from its timbers by Mr Burgess in 1883 and subsequently used in Tasmanian waters. It was the first attempt at ship building in Apollo bay. In 1881 a red light was installed about 300 feet above sea level at the base of the Cape Otway lighthouse to warn ships when they were too close to shore; It would not be visible unless a ship came within 3 miles from it. This has proved to be an effective warning. Nelson Johnson, recipient of the medal for bravery, married Elizabeth Howard in 1881 and they had 10 children. They lived in South Melbourne, Victoria. Nelson died in 1922 in Fitzroy Victoria, age 66. In 1895 the owners of the S.S. Dawn, the Portland and Belfast Steam Navigation Co., wound up and sold out to the Belfast Company who took over the Dawn for one year before selling her to Howard Smith. She was condemned and sunk in Suva in 1928. The State Library of Victoria has a lithograph in its collection depicting the steamer Dawn and the shipwrecked men, titled. "Wreck of the ship Eric the Red, Cape Otway: rescue of the crew by the Dawn".The wood (timber) sample is listed on the Collections Australia Database, Heritage Victoria, number 239 00010 A “The Eric the Red is historically significant as one of Victoria's major 19th century shipwrecks. (Heritage Victoria Eric the Red; HV ID 239) The wreck led to the provision of an additional warning light placed below the Cape Otway lighthouse to alert mariners to the location of Otway Reef. The site is archaeologically significant for its remains of a large and varied cargo and ship's fittings being scattered over a wide area. The site is recreationally and aesthetically significant as it is one of the few sites along this coast where tourists can visit identifiable remains of a large wooden shipwreck, and for its location set against the background of Cape Otway, Bass Strait, and the Cape Otway lighthouse.“ (Victorian Heritage Database Registration Number S239, Official Number 8745 USA) Wood sample from the wreck of the ship Eric the Red. Triangular shaped, full of sea worm (Teredo worm) holes. The wood is dark in colour and is very light in weight.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, shipwreck-artefact, eric-the-red, zaccheus-allen, sewall, 1880, melbourne-exhibition, cape-otway, otway-reef, wood-sample, s.s.-dawn -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Wood Sample, About 1871
This piece of timber from the ship Eric the Red has been eaten through by the marine animals called Teredo Worms, sometimes called sea worms or ‘termites of the sea’. The worms bore holes into wood that is immersed in sea water and bacteria inside the worms digest the wood. Shipbuilders tried to prevent this problem by using coatings of tar, wax, lead or pitch. In the 18th and 19th centuries the outside of their ships were sheathed in copper or a combination of copper and zinc (called Muntz metal) and would be re-metalled periodically to ensure the sheathing would remain effective. In more recent times the ships are protected with a toxic coating. The American ship Eric the Red was a wooden, three masted clipper ship. She had 1,580 tons register and was the largest full-rigged ship built at Bath, Maine, USA in 1871. She was built and registered by Arthur Sewall, later to become the partnership E. & A. Sewall, the 51st ship built by this company. The annually-published List of Merchant Vessels of the U.S. shows Bath was still the home port of Eric the Red in 1880. The vessel was named after the Viking discoverer, Eric ‘the Red-haired’ Thorvaldsson , who was the first European to reach the shores of North America (in 980AD). The ship Eric the Red at first traded in coal between America and Britain, and later traded in guano nitrates from South America. In 1879 she was re-metalled and was in first class condition. On 10th June 1880 (some records say 12th June) Eric the Red departed New York for Melbourne and then Sydney. She had been commissioned by American trade representatives to carry a special cargo of 500 exhibits (1400 tons) – about a quarter to a third of America’s total exhibits - for the U.S.A. pavilion at Melbourne’s first International Exhibition. The exhibits included furniture, ironmongery, wines, chemicals, dental and surgical instruments, paper, cages, bronze lamp trimmings, axles, stamped ware, astronomical and time globes, samples of corn and the choicest of leaf tobacco. Other general cargo included merchandise such as cases of kerosene and turpentine, brooms, Bristol's Sarsaparilla, Wheeler and Wilson sewing machines, Wheeler’s thresher machine, axe handles and tools, cases of silver plate, toys, pianos and organs, carriages and Yankee notions. The Eric the Red left New York under the command of Captain Zaccheus Allen (or some records say Captain Jacques Allen) and 24 other crew including the owner’s son third mate Ned Sewall. There were also 2 saloon passengers on board. The ship had been sailing for an uneventful 85 days and the voyage was almost at its end. As Eric the Red approached Cape Otway there was a moderate north-west wind and hazy and overcast atmosphere. On 4th September 1880 at about 1:30am Captain Allen sighted the Cape Otway light and was keeping the ship 5-6 miles offshore to stay clear of the hazardous Otway Reef. However he had badly misjudged his position. The ship hit the Otway Reef about 2 miles out to sea, south west of the Cape Otway light station. Captain Allen ordered the wheel to be put ‘hard up’ thinking that she might float off the reef. The sea knocked the helmsman away from the wheel, broke the wheel ropes and carried away the rudder. The lifeboats were swamped, the mizzenmast fell, with all of its rigging, then the mainmast also fell and the ship broke in two. Some said that the passenger Vaughan, who was travelling for his health and not very strong, was washed overboard and never seen again. The ship started breaking up. The forward house came adrift with three of the crew on it as well as a longboat, which the men succeeded in launching and keeping afloat by continually bailing with their sea boots. The captain, the third mate (the owner’s son) and others clung to the mizzenmast in the sea. Then the owner’s son was washed away off the mast. Within 10 minutes the rest of the ship was in pieces, completely wrecked, with cargo and wreckage floating in the sea. The captain encouraged the second mate to swim with him to the deckhouse where there were other crew but the second mate wouldn’t go with him. Eventually the Captain made it to the deckhouse and the men pulled him up. At about 4:30am the group of men on the deckhouse saw the lights of a steamer and called for help. At the same time they noticed the second mate and the other man had drifted nearby, still on the spur, and pulled them both onto the wreck. The coastal steamer SS Dawn was returning to Warrnambool from Melbourne, its sailing time different to its usual schedule. She was built in 1876 and bought by the Portland and Belfast Steam Navigation Co. in 1877. At the time of this journey she was commanded by Captain Jones, and was sailing between Melbourne and Portland via Warrnambool. The provedore of the Dawn, Benjamin Lear, heard cries of distress coming through the portholes of the saloon. He gave the alarm and the engines were stopped. Cries could be heard clearly, coming from the land. Captain Jones sent out crew in two boats, and fired off rockets and blue lights to illuminate the area. They picked up the three survivors who were in the long boat from Eric the Red. Two men were picked up out of the water, one being the owner’s son who was clinging to floating kerosene boxes. At daylight the Dawn then rescued the 18 men from the floating portion of the deckhouse, which had drifted about 4 miles from where they’d struck the reef. Shortly after the rescue the deckhouse drifted onto breakers and was thrown onto rocks at Point Franklin, about 2 miles east of Cape Otway. Captain Jones had signalled to Cape Otway lighthouse the number of the Eric the Red and later signalled that there was a wreck at Otway Reef but there was no response from the lighthouse. The captain and crew of the Dawn spent several more hours searching unsuccessfully for more survivors, even going back as far as Apollo Bay. On board the Dawn the exhausted men received care and attention to their needs and wants, including much needed clothing. Captain Allen was amongst the 23 battered and injured men who were rescued and later taken to Warrnambool for care. Warrnambool’s mayor and town clerk offered them all hospitality, the three badly injured men going to the hospital for care and others to the Olive Branch Hotel, then on to Melbourne. Captain Allen’s leg injury prevented him from going ashore so he and three other men travelled on the Dawn to Portland. They were met by the mayor who also treated them all with great kindness. Captain Allen took the train back to Melbourne then returned to America. Those saved were Captain Zaccheus Allen (or Jacques Allen), J. Darcy chief mate, James F. Lawrence second mate, Ned Sewall third mate and owner’s son, John French the cook, C. Nelson sail maker, Clarence W. New passenger, and the able seamen Dickenson, J. Black, Denis White, C. Herbert, C. Thompson, A. Brooks, D. Wilson, J. Ellis, Q. Thompson, C. Newman, W. Paul, J. Davis, M. Horenleng, J. Ogduff, T. W. Drew, R. Richardson. Four men had lost their lives; three of them were crew (Gus Dahlgreen ship’s carpenter, H. Ackman steward, who drowned in his cabin, and George Silver seaman) and one a passenger (J. B. Vaughan). The body of one of them had been found washed up at Cape Otway and was later buried in the lighthouse cemetery; another body was seen on an inaccessible ledge. Twelve months later the second mate James F. Lawrence, from Nova Scotia, passed away in the Warrnambool district; an obituary was displayed in the local paper. Neither the ship, nor its cargo, was insured. The ship was worth about £15,000 and the cargo was reportedly worth £40,000; only about £2,000 worth had been recovered. Cargo and wreckage washed up at Apollo Bay, Peterborough, Port Campbell, Western Port and according to some reports, even as far away as the beaches of New Zealand. The day after the wreck the government steam ship Pharos was sent from Queenscliff to clear the shipping lanes of debris that could be a danger to ships. The large midship deckhouse of the ship was found floating in a calm sea near Henty Reef. Items such as an American chair, a ladder and a nest of boxes were all on top of the deckhouse. As it was so large and could cause danger to passing ships, Captain Payne had the deckhouse towed towards the shore just beyond Apollo Bay. Between Apollo Bay and Blanket Bay the captain and crew of Pharos collected Wheeler and Wilson sewing machines, nests of boxes, bottles of Bristol’s sarsaparilla, pieces of common American chairs, axe handles, a Wheelers’ Patent thresher and a sailor’s trunk with the words “A. James” on the front. A ship’s flag-board bearing the words “Eric the Red” was found on the deckhouse; finally those on board the Pharos had the name of the wrecked vessel. During this operation Pharos came across the government steamer Victoria and also a steamer S.S. Otway, both of which were picking up flotsam and wreckage. A whole side of the hull and three large pieces of the other side of the hull, with some of the copper sheathing stripped off, had floated on to Point Franklin. Some of the vessels yards and portions of her masts were on shore. The pieces of canvas attached to the yards and masts confirmed that the vessel had been under sail. The beach there was piled with debris several feet high. There were many cases of Diamond Oil kerosene, labelled R. W. Cameron and Company, New York. There were also many large planks of red pine, portions of a small white boat and a large, well-used oar. Other items found ashore included sewing machines (some consigned to ‘Long and Co.”) and notions, axe and scythe handles, hay forks, wooden pegs, rolls of wire (some branded “T.S” and Co, Melbourne”), kegs of nails branded “A.T. and Co.” from the factory of A. Field and Son, Taunton, Massachusetts, croquet balls and mallets, buggy fittings, rat traps, perfumery, cutlery and Douay Bibles, clocks, bicycles, chairs, a fly wheel, a cooking stove, timber, boxes, pianos, organs and a ladder. (Wooden clothes pegs drifted in for many years). There seemed to be no personal luggage or clothing. The Pharos encountered a long line, about one and a half miles, of floating wreckage about 10 miles off land, south east of Cape Otway, and in some places about 40 feet wide. It seemed that more than half of it was from Eric the Red. The ship’s crew rescued 3 cases that were for the Melbourne Exhibition and other items from amongst the debris. There were also chairs, doors, musical instruments, washing boards, nests of trunks and fly catchers floating in the sea. Most of the goods were saturated and smelt of kerosene. A section of the hull lies buried in the sand at Parker River Beach. An anchor with chain is embedded in the rocks east of Point Franklin and a second anchor, thought to be from Eric the Red, is on display at the Cape Otway light station. (There is a photograph of a life belt on the verandah of Rivernook Guest House in Princetown with the words “ERIC THE RED / BOSTON”. This is rather a mystery as the ship was registered in Bath, Maine, USA.) Parts of the ship are on display at Bimbi Park Caravan Park and at Apollo Bay Museum. Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village also has part of the helm (steering wheel), a carved wooden sword (said to be the only remaining portion of the ship’s figurehead; further research is currently being carried out), a door, a metal rod, several samples of wood and a medal for bravery, awarded to Nelson Johnson, a crew member of the S.S. Dawn by the U.S. President, for the rescue of the crew. Much of the wreckage was recovered by the local residents before police and other authorities arrived at the scene. Looters went to great effort to salvage goods, being lowered down the high cliff faces to areas with little or no beach to collect items from the wreckage, their mates above watching out for dangerous waves. A Tasmanian newspaper reports on a court case in Stawell, Victoria, noting a man who was caught 2 months later selling tobacco from the wreckage of Eric the Red. Some of the silverware is still treasured by descendants of Mr Mackenzie who was given these items by officials for his help in securing the cargo. The gifts included silver coffee and tea pots, half a dozen silver serviette rings and two sewing machines. A Mr G.W. Black has in his possession a medal and a purse that were awarded to his father, another Dawn crew member who was part of the rescue team. The medal is inscribed and named “To John Black ….” (from “Shipwrecks” by Margaret E. Mackenzie, 3rd edition, published 1964). The wreck and cargo were sold to a Melbourne man who salvaged a quantity of high quality tobacco and dental and surgical instruments. Timbers from the ship were salvaged and used in the construction of houses and sheds around Apollo Bay, including a guest house, Milford House (since burnt down in bushfires), which had furniture, fittings and timber on the dining room floor from the ship. A 39.7 foot long trading ketch, the Apollo, was also built from its timbers by Mr Burgess in 1883 and subsequently used in Tasmanian waters. It was the first attempt at ship building in Apollo bay. In 1881 a red light was installed about 300 feet above sea level at the base of the Cape Otway lighthouse to warn ships when they were too close to shore; It would not be visible unless a ship came within 3 miles from it. This has proved to be an effective warning. Nelson Johnson, recipient of the medal for bravery, married Elizabeth Howard in 1881 and they had 10 children. They lived in South Melbourne, Victoria. Nelson died in 1922 in Fitzroy Victoria, age 66. In 1895 the owners of the S.S. Dawn, the Portland and Belfast Steam Navigation Co., wound up and sold out to the Belfast Company who took over the Dawn for one year before selling her to Howard Smith. She was condemned and sunk in Suva in 1928. The State Library of Victoria has a lithograph in its collection depicting the steamer Dawn and the shipwrecked men, titled. "Wreck of the ship Eric the Red, Cape Otway: rescue of the crew by the Dawn".The wood (timber) sample is listed on the Collections Australia Database, Heritage Victoria, number 239 00010 A “The Eric the Red is historically significant as one of Victoria's major 19th century shipwrecks. (Heritage Victoria Eric the Red; HV ID 239) The wreck led to the provision of an additional warning light placed below the Cape Otway lighthouse to alert mariners to the location of Otway Reef. The site is archaeologically significant for its remains of a large and varied cargo and ship's fittings being scattered over a wide area. The site is recreationally and aesthetically significant as it is one of the few sites along this coast where tourists can visit identifiable remains of a large wooden shipwreck, and for its location set against the background of Cape Otway, Bass Strait, and the Cape Otway lighthouse.“ (Victorian Heritage Database Registration Number S239, Official Number 8745 USA) Wood sample from the wreck of the ship Eric the Red. Oblong shaped, full of sea worm (Teredo worm) holes. The wood is dark in colour and is very light in weight. flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, shipwreck-artefact, eric-the-red, zaccheus-allen, sewall, 1880, melbourne-exhibition, cape-otway, otway-reef, wood-sample, s.s.-dawn -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Ceramic - Meat Dish, 1870-1873
The Asiatic Pheasant pattern on the plate is a transfer design and was the most popular design of the 18th & 19th centuries and is still being produced today. The design was produced as high-quality, decorative dinnerware by the potters in the Staffordshire area of England, from the late 1830s, but no one is sure exactly of the original designer's name. History of the Loch Ard: The Loch Ard got its name from ”Loch Ard” a loch that lies to the west of Aberfoyle, and to the east of Loch Lomond. It means "high lake" in Scottish Gaelic. The vessel belonged to the famous Loch Line which sailed many vessels from England to Australia. The Loch Ard was built in Glasgow by Barclay, Curdle and Co. in 1873, the vessel was a three-masted square-rigged iron sailing ship that measured 79.87 meters in length, 11.58 m in width, and 7 m in depth with a gross tonnage of 1693 tons with a mainmast that measured a massive 45.7 m in height. Loch Ard made three trips to Australia and one trip to Calcutta before its fateful voyage. Loch Ard left England on March 2, 1878, under the command of 29-year-old Captain Gibbs, who was newly married. The ship was bound for Melbourne with a crew of 37, plus 17 passengers. The general cargo reflected the affluence of Melbourne at the time. Onboard were straw hats, umbrellas, perfumes, clay pipes, pianos, clocks, confectionery, linen and candles, as well as a heavier load of railway irons, cement, lead and copper. There were other items included that were intended for display in the Melbourne International Exhibition of 1880. The voyage to Port Phillip was long but uneventful. Then at 3 am on June 1, 1878, Captain Gibbs was expecting to see land. But the Loch Ard was running into a fog which greatly reduced visibility. Captain Gibbs was becoming anxious as there was no sign of land or the Cape Otway lighthouse. At 4 am the fog lifted and a lookout aloft announced that he could see breakers. The sheer cliffs of Victoria's west coast came into view, and Captain Gibbs realised that the ship was much closer to them than expected. He ordered as much sail to be set as time would permit and then attempted to steer the vessel out to sea. On coming head-on into the wind, the ship lost momentum, the sails fell limp and Loch Ard's bow swung back towards land. Gibbs then ordered the anchors to be released in an attempt to hold its position. The anchors sank some 50 fathoms - but did not hold. By this time the ship was among the breakers and the tall cliffs of Mutton Bird Island rose behind. Just half a mile from the coast, the ship's bow was suddenly pulled around by the anchor. The captain tried to tack out to sea, but the ship struck a reef at the base of Mutton Bird Island, near Port Campbell. Waves subsequently broke over the ship and the top deck became loosened from the hull. The masts and rigging came crashing down knocking passengers and crew overboard. When a lifeboat was finally launched, it crashed into the side of Loch Ard and capsized. Tom Pearce, who had launched the boat, managed to cling to its overturned hull and shelter beneath it. He drifted out to sea and then on the flood tide came into what is now known as recovered from the wreck of the Loch ArdGorge. He swam to shore, bruised and dazed, and found a cave in which to shelter. Some of the crew stayed below deck to shelter from the falling rigging but drowned when the ship slipped off the reef into deeper water. Eva Carmichael a passenger had raced onto the deck to find out what was happening only to be confronted by towering cliffs looming above the stricken ship. In all the chaos, Captain Gibbs grabbed Eva and said, "If you are saved Eva, let my dear wife know that I died like a sailor". That was the last Eva Carmichael saw of the captain. She was swept off the ship by a huge wave. Eva saw Tom Pearce on a small rocky beach and yelled to attract his attention. He dived in and swam to the exhausted woman and dragged her to shore. He took her to the cave and broke the open case of brandy which had washed up on the beach. He opened a bottle to revive the unconscious woman. A few hours later Tom scaled a cliff in search of help. He followed hoof prints and came by chance upon two men from nearby Glenample Station three and a half miles away. In a complete state of exhaustion, he told the men of the tragedy. Tom then returned to the gorge while the two men rode back to the station to get help. By the time they reached Loch Ard Gorge, it was cold and dark. The two shipwreck survivors were taken to Glenample Station to recover. Eva stayed at the station for six weeks before returning to Ireland by steamship. In Melbourne, Tom Pearce received a hero's welcome. He was presented with the first gold medal of the Royal Humane Society of Victoria and a £1000 cheque from the Victorian Government. Concerts were performed to honour the young man's bravery and to raise money for those who lost family in the disaster. Of the 54 crew members and passengers on board, only two survived: the apprentice, Tom Pearce and the young woman passenger, Eva Carmichael, who lost her family in the tragedy. Ten days after the recovery from the wreck of the Loch Ard tragedy, salvage rights to the wreck were sold at auction for £2,120. Cargo valued at £3,000 was salvaged and placed on the beach, but most washed back into the sea when another storm developed. The wreck of the Loch Ard still lies at the base of Mutton Bird Island. Much of the cargo has now been salvaged and some items were washed up and recovered from the Loch ArdGorge wreck. Cargo and artefacts have also been illegally salvaged over many years before protective legislation was introduced in March 1982. One of the most unlikely pieces of cargo to have survived the shipwreck was a Minton majolica peacock- one of only nine in the world. The peacock was destined for the Melbourne 1880 International Exhibition. It had been well packed, which gave it adequate protection during the violent storm. Today the Minton peacock can be seen at the Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum in Warrnambool. From Australia's most dramatic shipwreck, it has now become Australia's most valuable shipwreck artifact and is one of very few 'objects' on the Victorian State Heritage Register.The shipwreck of the Loch Ard is of significance for Victoria and is registered on the Victorian Heritage Register ( S 417). Flagstaff Hill has a varied collection of artefacts from Loch Ard and its collection is significant for being one of the largest accumulation of artefacts from this notable Victorian shipwreck. The collections object is to also give us a snapshot into history so we are able to interpret the story of this tragic event. The collection is also archaeologically significant as it represents aspects of Victoria's shipping history that allows us to interpret Victoria's social and historical themes of the time. The collections historically significance is that it is associated unfortunately with the worst and best-known shipwreck in Victoria's history. Serving dish or meat dish; oval with scalloped edges. White Chine plate with a blue flora transfer design called "Asiatic Pheasant". Recovered from the wreck of the Loch Ard. Printed "W & S" (pattern is) "Asiatic Pheasants"flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, loch line, loch ard, captain gibbs, eva carmichael, tom pearce, glenample station, mutton bird island, loch ard gorge, serving dish, asiatic pheasant, meat dish, meat plate, serving plate, crockery, domestic item, dining -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Domestic object - Hearth Brush, ca 1878
... cleaning equipment from the late 19th century. The brush ...This hearth brush section would have had a handle at the top and bristles protruding from the base. It has been hand-crafted, likely by a blacksmith. A hearth brush is used to clean away fine ash from brick, iron and stone fireplaces and stoves after the fire has died. The hearth brush section was recovered from the wreck of the sailing ship Loch Ard, which was wrecked on June 1st 1878 at Mutton Bird Island near Port Campbell, Victoria. There were 54 people on board and only two survived. The cargo included items for Melbourne's International Exhibition.The hearth brush is an example of domestic cleaning equipment from the late 19th century. The brush is significant for its connection to the Loch Ard sailing ship, which is listed on the Victorian Heritage database. Hearth brush section, copper alloy, bullet-head shaped; bristles and handle are missing. It is covered in verdigris. The metal is hand-beaten. Recovered from the wreck of the Loch Ard. flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, hearth brush, loch ard, cleaning, fireplace, domestic fireplace, domestic oven, ash, brush, 19th century, victorian era, 1878 -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Functional object - Light Bracket, Before 1878
... the late 19th century. warrnambool shipwreck coast flagstaff hill ...This pressed brass artefact is a highly decorative side bracket for distancing a gas lamp flame from the internal wall of a building. It is hollow and made of light gauge metal, with an innovative aesthetic design, but no internal piping to transport gas. It was recovered from the wreck of the LOCH ARD. There are similar artefacts in the Flagstaff Hill collection. The LOCH ARD left Gravesend (London) on 2 March 1878, bound for Melbourne, with a crew of 37, 17 passengers, and a diverse and valuable cargo of manufactured goods, luxury items, and refined metal. Some of the cargo was destined for display at Melbourne’s first International Exhibition in 1880. At 3 am, 1 June 1878, the ship was wrecked against the high limestone cliffs of Mutton Bird Island on Victoria’s south west coast near Port Campbell. Only two people survived the disaster — Tom Pearce, a male crew member, and Eva Carmichael, a female passenger. The cargo proved too difficult to salvage in the vessel’s exposed condition and was largely written off. The manifest of goods in the LOCH ARD’s holds included “Fittings gas (4 cases)”. The gas lighting of streets, public buildings, and the dwellings of wealthier private citizens was already well-advanced in the cities and major towns of the Australian colonies. In 1841 Sydney was the first to be gas-lit with 23 street lamps, 106 hotel lamps, and 200 private residences connected to the Darlinghurst “gasometer” by an underground network of metal pipes. “The dim days of oil and tallow are gone by!” pronounced one newspaper, flushed with civic pride. The 1850s Gold Rush promoted a similar attitude of confidence and affluence in the Colony of Victoria. In 1855 Melbourne was connected to its own system of subterranean gas pipes despite the same high rates of 25 shillings per 1000 cubic feet being charged, (reduced to 15 shillings in 1865 with cheaper sources of coal). By1858 Kyneton had its own gasworks to light the town (fuelled by eucalyptus leaves) and Geelong followed suit in 1860. Had the LOCH ARD reached its intended destination in 1878, it is probable that the 4 cases of brass gas light fittings on board would have found a ready market.The LOCH ARD shipwreck is of State significance — Victorian Heritage Register S417. The gas light bracket is an example of lamp fittings and plumbing from the late 19th century.A pressed brass lighting bracket recovered from the wreck of the LOCH ARD. It would be used for attaching, but simultaneously offsetting, a gas nozzle to a wall. Highly decorative in an unusually ‘modern’ or ‘art-deco’ style, with sweeping curves dissected by angular geometric pattern, and supporting a short, vertical bar with a gas nozzle on top. It is constructed of light gauge metal, with splitting along seams, and some delicate tracery is missing. Outer surface has been polished, removing sediment, but greenish oxidation remains in dents and joins. warrnambool, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, flagstaff hill maritime museum, shipwreck artefact, maritime museum, gas lamps, gas lighting, gas works, brass fittings, gas pipes, loch ard, 1878 shipwreck, victorian affluence, colonial gas lighting -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Functional object - Gas Fitting, Before 1878
... . The fitting is an example of a late 19th-century plumbing and light ...The artefact is a short cross-section of part of a functional part of a brass fitting that suspended a gas lamp, providing structural support, and internally, supplying the gas for its ignition. It combines elegant design with the elements required for safe and efficient delivery of gas. It was recovered from the LOCH ARD shipwreck site. There are similar artefacts in the Flagstaff Hill collection. The LOCH ARD left Gravesend (London) on 2 March 1878, bound for Melbourne, with a crew of 37, 17 passengers, and a diverse and valuable cargo of manufactured goods, luxury items, and refined metal. Some of the cargo was intended for Melbourne’s first International Exhibition to be held in 1880. At 3 am, 1 June 1878, the ship was wrecked against the high limestone cliffs of Mutton Bird Island on Victoria’s south west coast near Port Campbell. Only two people survived the disaster — Tom Pearce, a male crew member, and Eva Carmichael, a female passenger. The cargo proved too difficult to salvage in the vessel’s exposed condition and was largely written off. The manifest of goods in the LOCH ARD’s holds included “Fittings gas (4 cases)”. The gas lighting of streets, public buildings, and the dwellings of wealthier private citizens, was already well advanced in the cities and major towns of the Australian colonies. In 1841 Sydney was the first to be gas lit with 23 street lamps, 106 hotel lamps, and 200 private residences connected to the Darlinghurst “gasometer” by an underground network of metal pipes. “The dim days of oil and tallow are gone by!” pronounced one newspaper, flushed with civic pride. The 1850s Gold Rush promoted a similar attitude of confidence and affluence in the Colony of Victoria. In 1855 Melbourne was connected to its own system of subterranean gas pipes despite the same high rates of 25 shillings per 1000 cubic feet being charged, (reduced to 15 shillings in 1865 with cheaper sources of coal). By1858 Kyneton had its own gasworks to light the town (fuelled by eucalyptus leaves) and Geelong followed suit in 1860. Had the LOCH ARD reached its intended destination in 1878, it is probable that the 4 cases of brass gas light fittings on board would have found a ready market.The gas fitting is significant for its association with the LOCH ARD shipwreck, which is of State significance and is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register S417. The fitting is an example of a late 19th-century plumbing and light fitting.A pressed brass gas light fitting, recovered from the wreck of the LOCH ARD. The elegant and functional fitting extends from an ornate 8cm diameter ceiling flange, and comprises two short lengths of fluted column pipe with a brass joiner that are severed (cut off) at the end. Within this decorative outer layer of 3cm diameter is a full length brass tube liner, which is in turn protecting a narrow 0.75cm copper gas pipe that also runs full length. The artefact is generally unrestored with reddish/cream sandstone concretion, but is in good condition.warrnambool, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, flagstaff hill maritime museum, shipwreck artefact, maritime museum, gas lamps, gas lighting, gas works, brass fittings, gas pipes, loch ard, 1878 shipwreck, victorian affluence, colonial gas lighting -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Clothing - Combination Undergarment, Late 1800s
... . The collection of women’s late-19th-century undergarments is an example ...This handmade women’s combination undergarment features hand-worked lace panels and trim, and fine pintucks. It is one of seven handmade items of white cotton underwear, all made with beautiful needlework and embroidery skill. The lingerie once belonged to the donor’s great-grandmother’s family, the Paton family of ‘Trefnant’, Yangery, in southwest Victoria. The design of this combination undergarment, or ‘combination’, includes a chemise attached to a pair of drawers or bloomers. The combination is divided, or bifurcated, from the waist to the crutch for easier urinating. This one-piece type of underwear was worn by females from the 1860s and into the early 1900s. The 19th Century garments had front button closures like this one, and those made in the 1900s more often had back closures. Combination underwear was popular because the all-in-one design had far fewer gathers and bulk, making the other clothing look much smoother. The collection of women’s late-19th-century undergarments is an example of clothing that women would include in their wardrobes. The garments add to the study of the evolution of women's fashions and practicality for the early Australian settlers. The fine linen fabric and the careful needlework in these handmade garments and hand-worked lace trims reflect the maker’s dedication to making even serviceable garments beautiful to look at and wear. Women’s white cotton and lace all-In-one combination undergarment. The handmade underwear is a combined chemise and bloomers. It has a front button closure and is trimmed with hand-worked lace panels on the bodice and lace edging around armholes, the neck, and the bottom of the legs. The left and right sides are divided from the waist to the crutch.flagstaff hill maritime museum and village, maritime museum, maritime village, warrnambool, great ocean road, southwest victoria, victorian era, combination undergarment, all-in-one underwear, combination, ‘combinations’, one-piece underwear, one-piece undergarment, chemise and bloomers, combination chemise and bloomers, divided, bifurcated, split, chemise and drawers, women’s underwear, ladies’ underwear, undergarment, women’s clothing, women’s fashion, lingerie, under-structure, 1900s undergarments, 19th-century undergarment, 20th century, handmade clothing, handmade lace, hand-worked lace, paton family, trefnant, yangery, lady's combinations, ladies combinations -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Clothing - Christening Gown, c. 1860's
... of late-19th-century needlework and handmade domestic items ...In the words of the donor, Betty Stone, "This gown was originally made by my great grandmother Sarah Ellis (nee Chamberlain) Lees of Wangoom, Warrnambool. Later, the gown was altered by her daughter Ann (nee Lees) Dale who also used it for the christenings of her five children in the 1890's, and later still, for some of her grandchildren. Sarah Ellis Chamberlain, born in Thriplow, Cambridgeshire, England on 31 July 1844, sixth child of Joshua and Susan Chamberlain, was ten years old when she arrived in Australia with her parents and siblings in January 1855. Ten years later, in 1864, Sarah Chamberlain married Lees Lees, a skilled stonemason who had migrated from Saddleworth, Yorkshire. Lees Lees purchased land in McGregors Road, Wangoom, Warrnambool where he operated a successful stonemasonry, contracting business until his death in 1912. The Lees farm, which eventually consisted of about fifty acres, was situated adjacent to both the Chamberlain and Dale farms. Sarah Lees was a meticulous homemaker who also fashioned and sewed clothes for her seven children. A photograph of the eldest child, Anne, taken in 1868, depicts her wearing a dress and pantaloons sewn by her mother. Sarah also crocheted lace curtains for her home in addition to large tablecloths and other articles. According to family legend, the skirt of this christening gown was part of the original gown hand-sewn by Sarah (nee Chamberlain) Lees which was used for the christening of her children. The gown was later passed on to her daughter Anne (nee Lees) Dale who, also an expert needlewoman, replaced the bodice and used it for the christening of her five children born between the years 1890 and 1899. Still, later, at least two children of the third generation (Sarah Lees' great-grandchildren) also wore this gown when christened at Christ Church Warrnambool. Sarah (nee Chamberlain) Lees died in 1932, aged 87 years, at her daughter Anne Dale's home in Latrigg. Anne (nee Lees) Dale died in 1948 aged 83 years, at her home in Latrigg." (Note: For additional information please refer to Betty Stone’s book “Pioneers and Places - A History of three Warrnambool Pioneering Families” ie. Chamberlain, Dale and Lees Families)This item is associated with the families of Chamberlain, Dale and Lees. These families are listed in the "Pioneers' Register" for Warrnambool Township and Shire, 1835-1900, published by A.I.G.S. Warrnambool Branch. The item is a fine example of late-19th-century needlework and handmade domestic items.Christening gown made by Sarah Ellis. White with unusual Broderie Anglaise yoke. The long-sleeved garment has a gathered waist and a long skirt. The front centre of the skirt has a floral Broderie Anglaise and cut work panel insert.Circa 1860's. From the 'Chamberlain Dale Lees Collection’, donated by Betty Stoneflagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, chamberlain, dale, lees, stone, betty stone, warrnambool pioneers, sarah ellis, hand sewn, christening gown, baby wear, clothing, 19th century -
Federation University Historical Collection
Photograph - Photograph - Colour, Ian Reid, Steve Bracks, Premier of Victoria, opens the University of Ballarat Arts Academy, Camp Street, 22/07/2008
The University of Ballarat (later Federation University_ inherited the Camp Street Arts Precinct. As the functions of the former public buildings were moved elsewhere, the Victorian Government of the time recognised the importance of maintaining the heritage buildings and the opportunity to create a cultural precinct extending from the Art Gallery. The 19th century architecture along Lydiard Street and the dogleg bend of Camp Street define the precinct. With substantial financial assistance from both State and Commonwealth Governments, the Art Gallery Ballarat has been extended through to include the 1884 Police Station on Camp Street. The Post Office building (1864-1887) was acquired for the University. The 1904 and 1941 Courthouses and the c1900 Public Library building were also included. Two new buildings have been constructed. These six buildings will house the University's Visual and Performing Arts ProgramsColoured postcard size photograph of Steve Bracks, Premier of Victoria, unveiling the plaque at the opening of the University of Ballarat Arts Academy, Camp Street. .1) L to R Kerry Cox (Vice Chancellor); Brendan Nelson (Federal Minister - Education); Chancellor David Caro; Steve Bracks, Premier of Victoria. Photographer Ian Reiduniversity of ballarat, camp street, victorian government, commonwealth government, ballarat fine art gallery, police station, courthouse, public library, post office, art gallery ballarat, art gallery of ballarat -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Drawing, c 1890's
... trade and travel late 19th and early 20th century... 19th and early 20th century trade melbourne to geelong screw ...This drawing of the screw steamer SS Edina depicts the vessel in the period of service in Australia from the 1870's onward until the time when she was cut down to use as a 'lighter' to carry cargo in 1938. The artist is unknown. ABOUT THE S S EDINA The three masted iron screw steamer SS Edina was built in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1854 by Barclay and Curle. She was adorned with the figurehead of ‘fair maid of Judea’. The many years of service made SS Edina famous world-wide as the longest serving screw steamer. (The term screw steamer comes from being driven by a single propeller, sometimes called a screw, driven by a steam engine.) SS Edina’s interesting history includes English Chanel runs, serving in the Crimean Ware carrying ammunition, horses and stores to the Black Sea, and further service in the American Civil War and later, serving in the western district of Victoria as well as in Queensland and carried gold, currency and gold prospectors Australia to New Zealand. SS Edina had the privilege of being an escort vessel to H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh during his visit to Australia in 1867. In March 1863 SS Edina arrived in Port Phillip Bay, Melbourne and was bought by Stephen Henty, of Portland fame, to work the cargo and passenger run from Melbourne – Warrnambool – Port Fairy - Portland. After a short time of working the run from Australia to New Zealand, with passengers and cargo that included gold and currency, she returned to her Melbourne - Warrnambool – Port Fairy run, with cargo including bales of wool produced in the western district of Victoria. The Warrnambool Steam Packet Company purchased SS Edina in 1867; she was now commanded by Captain John Thompson and Chief Engineer John Davies. She survived several mishaps at sea, had a complete service and overhaul and several changes of commanders. In 1870 SS Edina was in Lady Bay, Warrnambool, when a gale sprung up and caused a collision with the iron screw steamer SS Dandenong. SS Edina’s figurehead was broken into pieces and it was not ever replaced. SS Edina was re-fitted in 1870 then was used as a coastal trader in Queensland for a period. She was then brought to Melbourne to carry cargo and passengers between Melbourne and Geelong and performed this service 1880-1938. During this time (1917) she was again refitted with a new mast, funnel, bridge and promenade deck, altering her appearance. In 1938, after more collisions, SS Edina was taken out of service. However she was later renamed Dinah and used as a ‘lighter’ (a vessel without engine or superstructure) to be towed and carry wool and general cargo between Melbourne and Geelong. In 1957, after 104 years, the SS Edina was broken up at Footscray, Melbourne. Remains of SS Edina’s hull can be found in the Maribyrnong River, Port Phillip Bay. This drawing of the SS Edina is significant for its association with the screw steamer SS Edina. The SS Edina is heritage listed on the Victorian Heritage Database VHR S199. She had endeared herself to the people of Port Phillip Bay as a passenger ferry, part of their history and culture. She played a significant role in the Crimean War, the American Civil War and the gold rush in New Zealand. She also served western Victoria for many years in her cargo and passenger runs. The SS Edina is famous for being the longest serving screw steamer in the world. After spending her first nine years overseas she arrived in Melbourne and her work included running the essential service of transporting cargo and passengers between Melbourne and the western Victoria ports of Warrnambool, Port Fairy and Portland. The SS Edina was purchased in the late 1860’s by local Warrnambool business, the Warrnambool Steam Packet Co. and continued trading from there as part of the local business community. The SS Edina’s original ‘fair maid of Judea’ figurehead was broken to pieces in a collision with another vessel (the SS Dandenong) in a gale off Warrnambool, Victoria, in 1870.Drawing in pen and ink, of screw steamer vessel SS Edina, framed in decorative timber and glass. View of bow of SS Edina with vessel's name on bow. SS Edina is in dry dock, background shows a power pole and roof. Ship configuration in the drawing was 1870's - 1938. Drawing dated c. 1890's.Drawn on bow "EDINA"warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, shipwrecked artefact, barclay & curle, figurehead 'fair maid of judea', centenary maritime exhibition 1934, a brief review of steam navigation in victoria, pleasure steamer edina, trade and travel late 19th and early 20th century, trade melbourne to geelong, screw steamer edina, coastal trader edina, lighter dinah, cargo carrying for cremean war, cargo carrying for american civil war, passenger and trade in western district of victoria, export gold and currency and gold diggers to new zealand, export vessel to h r h the duke of edinburgh, melbourne - warrnambool - port fairy - portland cargo run, warrnambool steam packet company, stephen henty, captain john thompson, chief engineer john davies, lady bay warrnambool, lighter edina, shipping victoria, port phillip bay steamers, steamship great britain, edina, vhr s199 victorian heritage database, drawing of ss edina, pen and ink drawing of ss edina, pen and ink drawing 1870's - 1938, maritime drawing of screw steamer -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Photograph - Vessel, The Belfast and Koroit Steam Navigation Company's S.S. "Casino, 425 Ton, Late 19th to early 20th centuries
... significance to trade along Victoria's West Coast in the late 19th ...This black and white photograph shows the image of the coastal trading vessel S.S. Casino, with both sail masts and steam funnel. Men in hats are clearly visible on deck. The ship is in calm water and only light rigging is on the masts. Other vessels are in the background. Photograph is taken 1882-1932. The S.S. Casino was a passenger and freight steamer built in Dundee, Scotland, in 1882 for the Newcastle and Hunter River Steam Navigation Company of N.S.W. She weighed 425 tons gross with a length of 160.4 feet, beam of 24.1 feet and depth of 10.2 feet. She had saloon accommodation for 35 people, forecabin for 25 more people, and she carried 300 tons of cargo. While on her delivery journey on May 30th 1882 the S.S. Casino called in at the Port of Warrnambool for coal ., narrowly escaping going ashore in gale force winds due to the quick action of the pilot. At that time, still at anchor, she impressed the directors of the Belfast and Koroit Steam Navigation Company so much that they bought her immediately; she was ideal for trade in along the West Coast of Victoria. (Belfast is the original name for Port Fairy, South West Victoria. The Belfast and Koroit Steam Navigation Company was first managed by Messers. Saltau and Osburne and after the passing of Mr. Osburne, by produce merchants Messers H. Sautau and Sons, whose had a hay and corn store and shipping agency was on the corner of Liebig and Koroit Streets in Warrnambool. ) The S.S. Casino became “the most famous steamer to operate in Victorian waters along the West Coast” by author Jack Loney. Captain Boyd was her first Master, followed by Captain Chapman, who stayed with her 1890 until 1924. Captain W. Robertson followed for a short term, then Captain Middleton then took command 1925 - 1932. The S.S. Casino had several mishaps during her life. One was on 3rd January 1898 when she collided with the S.S. Flinders in Apollo Bay with minor damage. Another was on 24th October 1924 when she grounded on a reef at Point Hawdon near Grey River and most of her cargo (of Christmas goods) had to be dumped into the sea. Then in February 1929 she was ‘holed’ when she struck a submerged object as she entered Lady Bay, Warrnambool. On the morning of 10th July 1932, after attempting to berth at Apollo Bay jetty in heavy seas, Captain Middleton decided to take her out into the bay and wait until the seas abated. It was not realised that the anchor used to steady her as she manoeuvred to her berth had pierced her hull. She put about and headed for the beach but sank. Captain Middleton and nine others lost their lives; nine people were rescued including the two female passengers . Captain Middleton had been in charge of the S.S. Casino for seven years. He was the first ship’s Master to lose his life through shipwreck in the West Coast trade. In the years following the turn of the century the S.S. Casino remained the only regular trader with normal passenger accommodation along the West Coast. From 1882 she had made at least 2,500 voyages on the one run. Flagstaff Hill’s collection has a photograph of a portrait of Captain Chapman, , a ship model of the S.S. Casino that shows both forms of power under which she sailed, steam and sail. The ship is painted green and flies three flags. The inscription across the case of the ship model, incorrectly dated, tells the sad story of the wreck of the ship and the loss of lives on July 10th 1932 at Apollo Bay. A print in the Collection show S.S. Casino underway in heavy sea off Point Lonsdale, another two photographs show her at the Port of Warrnambool, leaving from the Breakwater in Lady Bay and another identifies the S.S. Casino as a ship from the Belfast and Koroit Steam Navigation Company. (Belfast is the original name for the township of Port Fairy). This photograph is significant because of its association with the coastal trader S.S. Casino and its significance to trade along Victoria's West Coast in the late 19th and early 20th century. It was taken 1882-1932 The wreck of the S.S. Casino is considered an important part of Victorian and Australian cultural heritage and as such has been declared and protected as an Historic Shipwreck under State and Commonwealth Law in the Commonwealth Historic Shipwrecks Act (1976). Photograph, black and white, taken 1882-1932. Foreground is vessel SS Casino, the Belfast and Koroit Steam Navigation Company's coastal trading ship. The ship, in calm water, has light rigging on its masts and also a steam funnel. One lifeboat is visible. People are on the deck. The background shows other vessels.Under the photograph "The Belfast and Koroit Steam Navigation Company's S.S. "Casino," 425 Tons"flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, newcastle and hunter river steam navigation company, belfast and koroit steam navigation company, h. sautau and sons, s.s. casino, west coast trader s.s. casino, victorian coastal trader, captain boyd, captain w. robertson, captain chapman, captain middleton, apollo bay shipwreck, s.s. casino at lady bay warrnambool, saltau and osburne -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Newspaper - Collection of newspaper clippings, 1889-1960
... 19th century to the mid 20th century. Flagstaff Hill Flagstaff ...Collection of newspaper clippings from a wide range of dates and sourced from various newspapers. Topics are related to maritime events.This collection of newspaper clippings reflects the public's interest in maritime events from the late 19th century to the mid 20th century.Various newspaper articles on shipping disasters and general information dating from 1889-1912 1957-1960.flagstaff hill, flagstaff hill maritime museum and village, warrnambool, maritime museum, maritime village, great ocean road, shipwreck coast, newspaper clippings, newspaper articles, shipping articles, maritime articles -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Document - Navigation Chart, Admiralty Office, Lady Bay and Warrnambool Harbour, 1893
... of the most important late 19th century maritime engineering projects ...This navigation cart of Lady Bay and Warrnambool Harbour was originally surveyed in 1870 but this version includes the update for magnetic variation in 1893. Since the printing of the chart several annotations have been added. These include an additional stamp dated 15-8-1910, a handwritten comment across the top of the page dated August 1910, and another handwritten comment regarding the ‘Proposed Extension of Dock’ dated 19-2-1925, plus connected drawings, notes and figures. The 1925 proposal on this chart may have been a reaction to the Royal Commission of 1923, when the damaged stonework on the seaward side of the Warrnambool Breakwater, caused by the action of the sea, was the subject of enquiry. A conference between the Public Works, Water Commission and the Harbour Trust concluded that it would less costly to make repairs to prevent further damage rather than replaced the damage portion of the wall. A contract was raised in late 1924 to deposit rubble on the damaged side of the breakwater to minimise the Southern Ocean’s destructive action and work had started by August 1925. The Breakwater construction had begun in 1874 and was completed in 1890. The Victorian Government had commissioned Sir John Coode, a British harbour engineer, to present a plan to complete the Warrnambool Breakwater but his original plan was too expensive. He prepared a revised plan for a shorter structure. The construction proved to be too short to protect adequately from the weather and didn't allow enough depth for larger vessels to come into port. The decreasing trade was further affected by siltation in the bay due to the breakwater, and the completion of the railway line. The situation of the harbour became a real problem by 1910 and required continuous dredging. In 1914 the Breakwater was extended but proved to be a failure because the work began to subside and by 1920 about two thirds of the harbour was silted up. Alterations made in the 1920's increased the silting problem and by the 1940's the harbour was no longer used. More alterations were made in the 1950's and 1960's. This chart is significant for its strong connection to the maritime history of Warrnambool Harbour and Lady Bay and the Warrnambool Breakwater. The Warrnambool Breakwater is registered as a place of significance on the Victorian Heritage Database (VHR H2024). The Warrnambool Breakwater is one of the most important late 19th century maritime engineering projects in Victoria and significant in the development of Victorian coastal shipping. It is also significant for its connection with British harbour engineer, Sir John Coode. The chart is a historical record of structures existing in 1893; the Warrnambool Jetties, Warrnambool Breakwater in Lady Bay, the leading lights (lighthouses), streets, roads, bridges and many buildings. It also shows the lay of the land and seabed. Navigation Chart: Lady Bay and Warrnambool Harbour, Australia - South Coast - Victoria. Surveyed by Nav. Lieut. H.J. Stanley, R.N., 1870. Updated for Magnetic Variation, 1893. The rectangular chart is printed on heavy cream paper. Stamps are shaped rectangular, oval and round. Around the Breakwater and Jetty area are handwritten notes, dotted and joined lines, numbers and signatures, and shading of red and green. The chart shows the surrounds of Warrnambool Harbour, Lady Bay, the Breakwater and Jetty, roads, bridges and the streets in Warrnambool. It has sounding details, and angles of line from the leading lights.Stamp, rectangular, including "AUG 1910" Stamp, double oval " - - - -CHART" Stamp, hand drawn, red circle, with "B" inside Hand written note "22-8-1910 - - - - - of surveying C. Ca - - - request of 15-8-10 [initials] " Notes and lines in red pen, including a grid of sounding numbers: "1300" "1050" "1200" "Possible Extension of Dock" "19-2-25" "Dock Dredged to 20 Ft" Notes and lines in blue pen "Extension of Dock to accommodate vessels drawing 20 Feet" and "Light not visible south of this line" Red dots (4) with yellow highlight at both leading lights, breakwater and jettyflagstaff hill, warrnambool, flagstaff hill maritime museum & village, maritime museum, maritime village, shipwreck coast, map, chart, navigation chart, plan, lady bay, warrnambool harbour, port of warrnambool, breakwater, jetty, pier, dock extension, proposed extension, vhr h2024, 1870, 1893, 1910, 1925, warrnambool town late 1800s, warrnambool streets late 1800s royal commission, 1923, public works, water commission, harbour trust, victorian harbours, sir jon coode -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Gauze Bandage
... an historical example of medicine from late 19th to mid-20th century. Dr ...This gauze bandage was donated to Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village by the family of Doctor William Roy Angus, Surgeon and Oculist. It is part of the “W.R. Angus Collection” that includes historical medical equipment, surgical instruments and material once belonging to Dr Edward Ryan and Dr Thomas Francis Ryan, (both of Nhill, Victoria) as well as Dr Angus’ own belongings. The Collection’s history spans the medical practices of the two Doctors Ryan, from 1885-1926 plus that of Dr Angus, up until 1969. ABOUT THE “W.R.ANGUS COLLECTION” Doctor William Roy Angus M.B., B.S., Adel., 1923, F.R.C.S. Edin.,1928 (also known as Dr Roy Angus) was born in Murrumbeena, Victoria in 1901 and lived until 1970. He qualified as a doctor in 1923 at University of Adelaide, was Resident Medical Officer at the Royal Adelaide Hospital in 1924 and for a period was house surgeon to Sir (then Mr.) Henry Simpson Newland. Dr Angus was briefly an Assistant to Dr Riddell of Kapunda, then commenced private practice at Curramulka, Yorke Peninsula, SA, where he was physician, surgeon and chemist. In 1926, he was appointed as new Medical Assistant to Dr Thomas Francis Ryan (T.F. Ryan, or Tom), in Nhill, Victoria, where his experiences included radiology and pharmacy. In 1927 he was Acting House Surgeon in Dr Tom Ryan’s absence. Dr Angus had become engaged to Gladys Forsyth and they decided he would take time to further his studies overseas in the UK in 1927. He studied at London University College Hospital and at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and in 1928, was awarded FRCS (Fellow from the Royal College of Surgeons), Edinburgh. He worked his passage back to Australia as a Ship’s Surgeon on the on the Australian Commonwealth Line’s T.S.S. Largs Bay. Dr Angus married Gladys in 1929, in Ballarat. (They went on to have one son (Graham 1932, born in SA) and two daughters (Helen (died 12/07/1996) and Berenice (Berry), both born at Mira, Nhill ) Dr Angus was a ‘flying doctor’ for the A.I.M. (Australian Inland Ministry) Aerial Medical Service in 1928 . The organisation began in South Australia through the Presbyterian Church in that year, with its first station being in the remote town of Oodnadatta, where Dr Angus was stationed. He was locum tenens there on North-South Railway at 21 Mile Camp. He took up this ‘flying doctor’ position in response to a call from Dr John Flynn; the organisation was later known as the Flying Doctor Service, then the Royal Flying Doctor Service. A lot of his work during this time involved dental surgery also. Between 1928-1932 he was surgeon at the Curramulka Hospital, Yorke Peninsula, South Australia. In 1933 Dr Angus returned to Nhill where he’d previously worked as Medical Assistant and purchased a share of the Nelson Street practice and Mira hospital from Dr Les Middleton one of the Middleton Brothers, the current owners of what was once Dr Tom Ryan’s practice. Dr L Middleton was House Surgeon to the Nhill Hospital 1926-1933, when he resigned. [Dr Tom Ryan’s practice had originally belonged to his older brother Dr Edward Ryan, who came to Nhill in 1885. Dr Edward saw patients at his rooms, firstly in Victoria Street and in 1886 in Nelson Street, until 1901. The Nelson Street practice also had a 2 bed ward, called Mira Private Hospital ). Dr Edward Ryan was House Surgeon at the Nhill Hospital 1884-1902 . He also had occasions where he successfully performed veterinary surgery for the local farmers too. Dr Tom Ryan then purchased the practice from his brother in 1901. Both Dr Edward and Dr Tom Ryan work as surgeons included eye surgery. Dr Tom Ryan performed many of his operations in the Mira private hospital on his premises. He too was House Surgeon at the Nhill Hospital 1902-1926. Dr Tom Ryan had one of the only two pieces of radiology equipment in Victoria during his practicing years – The Royal Melbourne Hospital had the other one. Over the years Dr Tom Ryan gradually set up what was effectively a training school for country general-practitioner-surgeons. Each patient was carefully examined, including using the X-ray machine, and any surgery was discussed and planned with Dr Ryan’s assistants several days in advance. Dr Angus gained experience in using the X-ray machine there during his time as assistant to Dr Ryan. Dr Tom Ryan moved from Nhill in 1926. He became a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in 1927, soon after its formation, a rare accolade for a doctor outside any of the major cities. He remained a bachelor and died suddenly on 7th Dec 1955, aged 91, at his home in Ararat. Scholarships and prizes are still awarded to medical students in the honour of Dr T.F. Ryan and his father, Dr Michael Ryan, and brother, John Patrick Ryan. ] When Dr Angus bought into the Nelson Street premises in Nhill he was also appointed as the Nhill Hospital’s Honorary House Surgeon 1933-1938. His practitioner’s plate from his Nhill surgery states “HOURS Daily, except Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturday afternoons, 9-10am, 2-4pm, 7-8pm. Sundays by appointment”. This plate is now mounted on the doorway to the Port Medical Office at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village, Warrnambool. Dr Edward Ryan and Dr Tom Ryan had an extensive collection of historical medical equipment and materials spanning 1884-1926 and when Dr Angus took up practice in their old premises he obtained this collection, a large part of which is now on display at the Port Medical Office at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village in Warrnambool. During his time in Nhill Dr Angus was involved in the merging of the Mira Hospital and Nhill Public Hospital into one public hospital and the property titles passed on to Nhill Hospital in 1939. In 1939 Dr Angus and his family moved to Warrnambool where he purchased “Birchwood,” the 1852 home and medical practice of Dr John Hunter Henderson, at 214 Koroit Street. (This property was sold in1965 to the State Government and is now the site of the Warrnambool Police Station. ). The Angus family was able to afford gardeners, cooks and maids; their home was a popular place for visiting dignitaries to stay whilst visiting Warrnambool. Dr Angus had his own silk worm farm at home in a Mulberry tree. His young daughter used his centrifuge for spinning the silk. Dr Angus was appointed on a part-time basis as Port Medical Officer (Health Officer) in Warrnambool and held this position until the 1940’s when the government no longer required the service of a Port Medical Officer in Warrnambool; he was thus Warrnambool’s last serving Port Medical Officer. (The duties of a Port Medical Officer were outlined by the Colonial Secretary on 21st June, 1839 under the terms of the Quarantine Act. Masters of immigrant ships arriving in port reported incidents of diseases, illness and death and the Port Medical Officer made a decision on whether the ship required Quarantine and for how long, in this way preventing contagious illness from spreading from new immigrants to the residents already in the colony.) Dr Angus was a member of the Australian Medical Association, for 35 years and surgeon at the Warrnambool Base Hospital 1939-1942, He served as a Surgeon Captain during WWII1942-45, in Ballarat, Victoria, and in Bonegilla, N.S.W., completing his service just before the end of the war due to suffering from a heart attack. During his convalescence he carved an intricate and ‘most artistic’ chess set from the material that dentures were made from. He then studied ophthalmology at the Royal Melbourne Eye and Ear Hospital and created cosmetically superior artificial eyes by pioneering using the intrascleral cartilage. Angus received accolades from the Ophthalmological Society of Australasia for this work. He returned to Warrnambool to commence practice as an ophthalmologist, pioneering in artificial eye improvements. He was Honorary Consultant Ophthalmologist to Warrnambool Base Hospital for 31 years. He made monthly visits to Portland as a visiting surgeon, to perform eye surgery. He represented the Victorian South-West subdivision of the Australian Medical Association as its secretary between 1949 and 1956 and as chairman from 1956 to 1958. In 1968 Dr Angus was elected member of Spain’s Barraquer Institute of Barcelona after his research work in Intrasclearal cartilage grafting, becoming one of the few Australian ophthalmologists to receive this honour, and in the following year presented his final paper on Living Intrasclearal Cartilage Implants at the Inaugural Meeting of the Australian College of Ophthalmologists in Melbourne In his personal life Dr Angus was a Presbyterian and treated Sunday as a Sabbath, a day of rest. He would visit 3 or 4 country patients on a Sunday, taking his children along ‘for the ride’ and to visit with him. Sunday evenings he would play the pianola and sing Scottish songs to his family. One of Dr Angus’ patients was Margaret MacKenzie, author of a book on local shipwrecks that she’d seen as an eye witness from the late 1880’s in Peterborough, Victoria. In the early 1950’s Dr Angus, painted a picture of a shipwreck for the cover jacket of Margaret’s book, Shipwrecks and More Shipwrecks. She was blind in later life and her daughter wrote the actual book for her. Dr Angus and his wife Gladys were very involved in Warrnambool’s society with a strong interest in civic affairs. Their interests included organisations such as Red Cross, Rostrum, Warrnambool and District Historical Society (founding members), Wine and Food Society, Steering Committee for Tertiary Education in Warrnambool, Local National Trust, Good Neighbour Council, Housing Commission Advisory Board, United Services Institute, Legion of Ex-Servicemen, Olympic Pool Committee, Food for Britain Organisation, Warrnambool Hospital, Anti-Cancer Council, Boys’ Club, Charitable Council, National Fitness Council and Air Raid Precautions Group. He was also a member of the Steam Preservation Society and derived much pleasure from a steam traction engine on his farm. He had an interest in people and the community He and his wife Gladys were both involved in the creation of Flagstaff Hill, including the layout of the gardens. After his death (28th March 1970) his family requested his practitioner’s plate, medical instruments and some personal belongings be displayed in the Port Medical Office surgery at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village, and be called the “W. R. Angus Collection”. The W.R. Angus Collection is significant for still being located at the site it is connected with, Doctor Angus being the last Port Medical Officer in Warrnambool. The collection of medical instruments and other equipment is culturally significant, being an historical example of medicine from late 19th to mid-20th century. Dr Angus assisted Dr Tom Ryan, a pioneer in the use of X-rays and in ocular surgery. Gauze bandage, four inch, part of the W.R. Angus Collection. Hand written on end of bandage "W.R. Angus" Hand written on end of bandage "W.R. Angus" flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, gauze bandage, w.r.angus -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Trousers
... an historical example of medicine from late 19th to mid-20th century. Dr ...This uniform, consisting of 3 pairs of trousers and 1 jacket, was owned by Dr W.R. Angus. Due to the manufacturer's label saying the uniform was made in Glasgow, it is likely that Dr Angus acquired the uniform around the time of his studies in Edinburgh. His name on the uniform suggests that it was part of his usual clothing and it was most likely worn on his homeward passage to Australia in 1928, during which time he worked as a Ship's Surgeon on T.S.S. LARGS BAY.. This uniform was donated to Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village by the family of Doctor William Roy Angus, Surgeon and Oculist. It is part of the “W.R. Angus Collection” that includes historical medical equipment, surgical instruments and material once belonging to Dr Edward Ryan and Dr Thomas Francis Ryan, (both of Nhill, Victoria) as well as Dr Angus’ own belongings. The Collection’s history spans the medical practices of the two Doctors Ryan, from 1885-1926 plus that of Dr Angus, up until 1969. ABOUT THE “W.R.ANGUS COLLECTION” Doctor William Roy Angus M.B., B.S., Adel., 1923, F.R.C.S. Edin.,1928 (also known as Dr Roy Angus) was born in Murrumbeena, Victoria in 1901 and lived until 1970. He qualified as a doctor in 1923 at University of Adelaide, was Resident Medical Officer at the Royal Adelaide Hospital in 1924 and for a period was house surgeon to Sir (then Mr.) Henry Simpson Newland. Dr Angus was briefly an Assistant to Dr Riddell of Kapunda, then commenced private practice at Curramulka, Yorke Peninsula, SA, where he was physician, surgeon and chemist. In 1926, he was appointed as new Medical Assistant to Dr Thomas Francis Ryan (T.F. Ryan, or Tom), in Nhill, Victoria, where his experiences included radiology and pharmacy. In 1927 he was Acting House Surgeon in Dr Tom Ryan’s absence. Dr Angus had become engaged to Gladys Forsyth and they decided he would take time to further his studies overseas in the UK in 1927. He studied at London University College Hospital and at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and in 1928, was awarded FRCS (Fellow from the Royal College of Surgeons), Edinburgh. He worked his passage back to Australia as a Ship’s Surgeon on the on the Australian Commonwealth Line’s T.S.S. Largs Bay. Dr Angus married Gladys in 1929, in Ballarat. (They went on to have one son (Graham 1932, born in SA) and two daughters (Helen (died 12/07/1996) and Berenice (Berry), both born at Mira, Nhill ) Dr Angus was a ‘flying doctor’ for the A.I.M. (Australian Inland Ministry) Aerial Medical Service in 1928 . The organisation began in South Australia through the Presbyterian Church in that year, with its first station being in the remote town of Oodnadatta, where Dr Angus was stationed. He was locum tenens there on North-South Railway at 21 Mile Camp. He took up this ‘flying doctor’ position in response to a call from Dr John Flynn; the organisation was later known as the Flying Doctor Service, then the Royal Flying Doctor Service. A lot of his work during this time involved dental surgery also. Between 1928-1932 he was surgeon at the Curramulka Hospital, Yorke Peninsula, South Australia. In 1933 Dr Angus returned to Nhill where he’d previously worked as Medical Assistant and purchased a share of the Nelson Street practice and Mira hospital from Dr Les Middleton one of the Middleton Brothers, the current owners of what was once Dr Tom Ryan’s practice. Dr L Middleton was House Surgeon to the Nhill Hospital 1926-1933, when he resigned. [Dr Tom Ryan’s practice had originally belonged to his older brother Dr Edward Ryan, who came to Nhill in 1885. Dr Edward saw patients at his rooms, firstly in Victoria Street and in 1886 in Nelson Street, until 1901. The Nelson Street practice also had a 2 bed ward, called Mira Private Hospital ). Dr Edward Ryan was House Surgeon at the Nhill Hospital 1884-1902 . He also had occasions where he successfully performed veterinary surgery for the local farmers too. Dr Tom Ryan then purchased the practice from his brother in 1901. Both Dr Edward and Dr Tom Ryan work as surgeons included eye surgery. Dr Tom Ryan performed many of his operations in the Mira private hospital on his premises. He too was House Surgeon at the Nhill Hospital 1902-1926. Dr Tom Ryan had one of the only two pieces of radiology equipment in Victoria during his practicing years – The Royal Melbourne Hospital had the other one. Over the years Dr Tom Ryan gradually set up what was effectively a training school for country general-practitioner-surgeons. Each patient was carefully examined, including using the X-ray machine, and any surgery was discussed and planned with Dr Ryan’s assistants several days in advance. Dr Angus gained experience in using the X-ray machine there during his time as assistant to Dr Ryan. Dr Tom Ryan moved from Nhill in 1926. He became a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in 1927, soon after its formation, a rare accolade for a doctor outside any of the major cities. He remained a bachelor and died suddenly on 7th Dec 1955, aged 91, at his home in Ararat. Scholarships and prizes are still awarded to medical students in the honour of Dr T.F. Ryan and his father, Dr Michael Ryan, and brother, John Patrick Ryan. ] When Dr Angus bought into the Nelson Street premises in Nhill he was also appointed as the Nhill Hospital’s Honorary House Surgeon 1933-1938. His practitioner’s plate from his Nhill surgery states “HOURS Daily, except Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturday afternoons, 9-10am, 2-4pm, 7-8pm. Sundays by appointment”. This plate is now mounted on the doorway to the Port Medical Office at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village, Warrnambool. Dr Edward Ryan and Dr Tom Ryan had an extensive collection of historical medical equipment and materials spanning 1884-1926 and when Dr Angus took up practice in their old premises he obtained this collection, a large part of which is now on display at the Port Medical Office at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village in Warrnambool. During his time in Nhill Dr Angus was involved in the merging of the Mira Hospital and Nhill Public Hospital into one public hospital and the property titles passed on to Nhill Hospital in 1939. In 1939 Dr Angus and his family moved to Warrnambool where he purchased “Birchwood,” the 1852 home and medical practice of Dr John Hunter Henderson, at 214 Koroit Street. (This property was sold in1965 to the State Government and is now the site of the Warrnambool Police Station. ). The Angus family was able to afford gardeners, cooks and maids; their home was a popular place for visiting dignitaries to stay whilst visiting Warrnambool. Dr Angus had his own silk worm farm at home in a Mulberry tree. His young daughter used his centrifuge for spinning the silk. Dr Angus was appointed on a part-time basis as Port Medical Officer (Health Officer) in Warrnambool and held this position until the 1940’s when the government no longer required the service of a Port Medical Officer in Warrnambool; he was thus Warrnambool’s last serving Port Medical Officer. (The duties of a Port Medical Officer were outlined by the Colonial Secretary on 21st June, 1839 under the terms of the Quarantine Act. Masters of immigrant ships arriving in port reported incidents of diseases, illness and death and the Port Medical Officer made a decision on whether the ship required Quarantine and for how long, in this way preventing contagious illness from spreading from new immigrants to the residents already in the colony.) Dr Angus was a member of the Australian Medical Association, for 35 years and surgeon at the Warrnambool Base Hospital 1939-1942, He served as a Surgeon Captain during WWII1942-45, in Ballarat, Victoria, and in Bonegilla, N.S.W., completing his service just before the end of the war due to suffering from a heart attack. During his convalescence he carved an intricate and ‘most artistic’ chess set from the material that dentures were made from. He then studied ophthalmology at the Royal Melbourne Eye and Ear Hospital and created cosmetically superior artificial eyes by pioneering using the intrascleral cartilage. Angus received accolades from the Ophthalmological Society of Australasia for this work. He returned to Warrnambool to commence practice as an ophthalmologist, pioneering in artificial eye improvements. He was Honorary Consultant Ophthalmologist to Warrnambool Base Hospital for 31 years. He made monthly visits to Portland as a visiting surgeon, to perform eye surgery. He represented the Victorian South-West subdivision of the Australian Medical Association as its secretary between 1949 and 1956 and as chairman from 1956 to 1958. In 1968 Dr Angus was elected member of Spain’s Barraquer Institute of Barcelona after his research work in Intrasclearal cartilage grafting, becoming one of the few Australian ophthalmologists to receive this honour, and in the following year presented his final paper on Living Intrasclearal Cartilage Implants at the Inaugural Meeting of the Australian College of Ophthalmologists in Melbourne In his personal life Dr Angus was a Presbyterian and treated Sunday as a Sabbath, a day of rest. He would visit 3 or 4 country patients on a Sunday, taking his children along ‘for the ride’ and to visit with him. Sunday evenings he would play the pianola and sing Scottish songs to his family. One of Dr Angus’ patients was Margaret MacKenzie, author of a book on local shipwrecks that she’d seen as an eye witness from the late 1880’s in Peterborough, Victoria. In the early 1950’s Dr Angus, painted a picture of a shipwreck for the cover jacket of Margaret’s book, Shipwrecks and More Shipwrecks. She was blind in later life and her daughter wrote the actual book for her. Dr Angus and his wife Gladys were very involved in Warrnambool’s society with a strong interest in civic affairs. Their interests included organisations such as Red Cross, Rostrum, Warrnambool and District Historical Society (founding members), Wine and Food Society, Steering Committee for Tertiary Education in Warrnambool, Local National Trust, Good Neighbour Council, Housing Commission Advisory Board, United Services Institute, Legion of Ex-Servicemen, Olympic Pool Committee, Food for Britain Organisation, Warrnambool Hospital, Anti-Cancer Council, Boys’ Club, Charitable Council, National Fitness Council and Air Raid Precautions Group. He was also a member of the Steam Preservation Society and derived much pleasure from a steam traction engine on his farm. He had an interest in people and the community He and his wife Gladys were both involved in the creation of Flagstaff Hill, including the layout of the gardens. After his death (28th March 1970) his family requested his practitioner’s plate, medical instruments and some personal belongings be displayed in the Port Medical Office surgery at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village, and be called the “W. R. Angus Collection”. The W.R. Angus Collection is significant for still being located at the site it is connected with, Doctor Angus being the last Port Medical Officer in Warrnambool. The collection of medical instruments and other equipment is culturally significant, being an historical example of medicine from late 19th to mid-20th century. Dr Angus assisted Dr Tom Ryan, a pioneer in the use of X-rays and in ocular surgery. Trousers (3) white uniform with silver buttons, buttons inscribed "V.Falzon Malta". On inside - W R Angus, R Poore. Tailored in Glasgow, Scotland 1900s by Paislyo Ltd Glasgow. (said to be a Cadet naval officer's uniform)Inscribed on buttons "V.Falson Malta". Marked on fabric "W R Angus, R Poore" and "Paislyo Ltd Glasgow"flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, uniform trousers, silver button trousers, v.falzon malta, w r angus, paislyo ltd -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Coat, 1900's
... an historical example of medicine from late 19th to mid-20th century. Dr ...This uniform, consisting of 3 pairs of trousers and 1 jacket, was owned by Dr W.R. Angus. Due to the manufacturer's label saying the uniform was made in Glasgow, it is likely that Dr Angus acquired the uniform around the time of his studies in Edinburgh. His name on the uniform suggests that it was part of his usual clothing and it was most likely worn on his homeward passage to Australia in 1928, during which time he worked as a Ship's Surgeon on T.S.S. LARGS BAY.. This object was donated to Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village by the family of Doctor William Roy Angus, Surgeon and Oculist. It is part of the “W.R. Angus Collection” that includes historical medical equipment, surgical instruments and material once belonging to Dr Edward Ryan and Dr Thomas Francis Ryan, (both of Nhill, Victoria) as well as Dr Angus’ own belongings. The Collection’s history spans the medical practices of the two Doctors Ryan, from 1885-1926 plus that of Dr Angus, up until 1969. ABOUT THE “W.R.ANGUS COLLECTION” Doctor William Roy Angus M.B., B.S., Adel., 1923, F.R.C.S. Edin.,1928 (also known as Dr Roy Angus) was born in Murrumbeena, Victoria in 1901 and lived until 1970. He qualified as a doctor in 1923 at University of Adelaide, was Resident Medical Officer at the Royal Adelaide Hospital in 1924 and for a period was house surgeon to Sir (then Mr.) Henry Simpson Newland. Dr Angus was briefly an Assistant to Dr Riddell of Kapunda, then commenced private practice at Curramulka, Yorke Peninsula, SA, where he was physician, surgeon and chemist. In 1926, he was appointed as new Medical Assistant to Dr Thomas Francis Ryan (T.F. Ryan, or Tom), in Nhill, Victoria, where his experiences included radiology and pharmacy. In 1927 he was Acting House Surgeon in Dr Tom Ryan’s absence. Dr Angus had become engaged to Gladys Forsyth and they decided he would take time to further his studies overseas in the UK in 1927. He studied at London University College Hospital and at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and in 1928, was awarded FRCS (Fellow from the Royal College of Surgeons), Edinburgh. He worked his passage back to Australia as a Ship’s Surgeon on the on the Australian Commonwealth Line’s T.S.S. Largs Bay. Dr Angus married Gladys in 1929, in Ballarat. (They went on to have one son (Graham 1932, born in SA) and two daughters (Helen (died 12/07/1996) and Berenice (Berry), both born at Mira, Nhill ) Dr Angus was a ‘flying doctor’ for the A.I.M. (Australian Inland Ministry) Aerial Medical Service in 1928 . The organisation began in South Australia through the Presbyterian Church in that year, with its first station being in the remote town of Oodnadatta, where Dr Angus was stationed. He was locum tenens there on North-South Railway at 21 Mile Camp. He took up this ‘flying doctor’ position in response to a call from Dr John Flynn; the organisation was later known as the Flying Doctor Service, then the Royal Flying Doctor Service. A lot of his work during this time involved dental surgery also. Between 1928-1932 he was surgeon at the Curramulka Hospital, Yorke Peninsula, South Australia. In 1933 Dr Angus returned to Nhill where he’d previously worked as Medical Assistant and purchased a share of the Nelson Street practice and Mira hospital from Dr Les Middleton one of the Middleton Brothers, the current owners of what was once Dr Tom Ryan’s practice. Dr L Middleton was House Surgeon to the Nhill Hospital 1926-1933, when he resigned. [Dr Tom Ryan’s practice had originally belonged to his older brother Dr Edward Ryan, who came to Nhill in 1885. Dr Edward saw patients at his rooms, firstly in Victoria Street and in 1886 in Nelson Street, until 1901. The Nelson Street practice also had a 2 bed ward, called Mira Private Hospital ). Dr Edward Ryan was House Surgeon at the Nhill Hospital 1884-1902 . He also had occasions where he successfully performed veterinary surgery for the local farmers too. Dr Tom Ryan then purchased the practice from his brother in 1901. Both Dr Edward and Dr Tom Ryan work as surgeons included eye surgery. Dr Tom Ryan performed many of his operations in the Mira private hospital on his premises. He too was House Surgeon at the Nhill Hospital 1902-1926. Dr Tom Ryan had one of the only two pieces of radiology equipment in Victoria during his practicing years – The Royal Melbourne Hospital had the other one. Over the years Dr Tom Ryan gradually set up what was effectively a training school for country general-practitioner-surgeons. Each patient was carefully examined, including using the X-ray machine, and any surgery was discussed and planned with Dr Ryan’s assistants several days in advance. Dr Angus gained experience in using the X-ray machine there during his time as assistant to Dr Ryan. Dr Tom Ryan moved from Nhill in 1926. He became a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in 1927, soon after its formation, a rare accolade for a doctor outside any of the major cities. He remained a bachelor and died suddenly on 7th Dec 1955, aged 91, at his home in Ararat. Scholarships and prizes are still awarded to medical students in the honour of Dr T.F. Ryan and his father, Dr Michael Ryan, and brother, John Patrick Ryan. ] When Dr Angus bought into the Nelson Street premises in Nhill he was also appointed as the Nhill Hospital’s Honorary House Surgeon 1933-1938. His practitioner’s plate from his Nhill surgery states “HOURS Daily, except Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturday afternoons, 9-10am, 2-4pm, 7-8pm. Sundays by appointment”. This plate is now mounted on the doorway to the Port Medical Office at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village, Warrnambool. Dr Edward Ryan and Dr Tom Ryan had an extensive collection of historical medical equipment and materials spanning 1884-1926 and when Dr Angus took up practice in their old premises he obtained this collection, a large part of which is now on display at the Port Medical Office at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village in Warrnambool. During his time in Nhill Dr Angus was involved in the merging of the Mira Hospital and Nhill Public Hospital into one public hospital and the property titles passed on to Nhill Hospital in 1939. In 1939 Dr Angus and his family moved to Warrnambool where he purchased “Birchwood,” the 1852 home and medical practice of Dr John Hunter Henderson, at 214 Koroit Street. (This property was sold in1965 to the State Government and is now the site of the Warrnambool Police Station. ). The Angus family was able to afford gardeners, cooks and maids; their home was a popular place for visiting dignitaries to stay whilst visiting Warrnambool. Dr Angus had his own silk worm farm at home in a Mulberry tree. His young daughter used his centrifuge for spinning the silk. Dr Angus was appointed on a part-time basis as Port Medical Officer (Health Officer) in Warrnambool and held this position until the 1940’s when the government no longer required the service of a Port Medical Officer in Warrnambool; he was thus Warrnambool’s last serving Port Medical Officer. (The duties of a Port Medical Officer were outlined by the Colonial Secretary on 21st June, 1839 under the terms of the Quarantine Act. Masters of immigrant ships arriving in port reported incidents of diseases, illness and death and the Port Medical Officer made a decision on whether the ship required Quarantine and for how long, in this way preventing contagious illness from spreading from new immigrants to the residents already in the colony.) Dr Angus was a member of the Australian Medical Association, for 35 years and surgeon at the Warrnambool Base Hospital 1939-1942, He served as a Surgeon Captain during WWII1942-45, in Ballarat, Victoria, and in Bonegilla, N.S.W., completing his service just before the end of the war due to suffering from a heart attack. During his convalescence he carved an intricate and ‘most artistic’ chess set from the material that dentures were made from. He then studied ophthalmology at the Royal Melbourne Eye and Ear Hospital and created cosmetically superior artificial eyes by pioneering using the intrascleral cartilage. Angus received accolades from the Ophthalmological Society of Australasia for this work. He returned to Warrnambool to commence practice as an ophthalmologist, pioneering in artificial eye improvements. He was Honorary Consultant Ophthalmologist to Warrnambool Base Hospital for 31 years. He made monthly visits to Portland as a visiting surgeon, to perform eye surgery. He represented the Victorian South-West subdivision of the Australian Medical Association as its secretary between 1949 and 1956 and as chairman from 1956 to 1958. In 1968 Dr Angus was elected member of Spain’s Barraquer Institute of Barcelona after his research work in Intrasclearal cartilage grafting, becoming one of the few Australian ophthalmologists to receive this honour, and in the following year presented his final paper on Living Intrasclearal Cartilage Implants at the Inaugural Meeting of the Australian College of Ophthalmologists in Melbourne In his personal life Dr Angus was a Presbyterian and treated Sunday as a Sabbath, a day of rest. He would visit 3 or 4 country patients on a Sunday, taking his children along ‘for the ride’ and to visit with him. Sunday evenings he would play the pianola and sing Scottish songs to his family. One of Dr Angus’ patients was Margaret MacKenzie, author of a book on local shipwrecks that she’d seen as an eye witness from the late 1880’s in Peterborough, Victoria. In the early 1950’s Dr Angus, painted a picture of a shipwreck for the cover jacket of Margaret’s book, Shipwrecks and More Shipwrecks. She was blind in later life and her daughter wrote the actual book for her. Dr Angus and his wife Gladys were very involved in Warrnambool’s society with a strong interest in civic affairs. Their interests included organisations such as Red Cross, Rostrum, Warrnambool and District Historical Society (founding members), Wine and Food Society, Steering Committee for Tertiary Education in Warrnambool, Local National Trust, Good Neighbour Council, Housing Commission Advisory Board, United Services Institute, Legion of Ex-Servicemen, Olympic Pool Committee, Food for Britain Organisation, Warrnambool Hospital, Anti-Cancer Council, Boys’ Club, Charitable Council, National Fitness Council and Air Raid Precautions Group. He was also a member of the Steam Preservation Society and derived much pleasure from a steam traction engine on his farm. He had an interest in people and the community He and his wife Gladys were both involved in the creation of Flagstaff Hill, including the layout of the gardens. After his death (28th March 1970) his family requested his practitioner’s plate, medical instruments and some personal belongings be displayed in the Port Medical Office surgery at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village, and be called the “W. R. Angus Collection”. The W.R. Angus Collection is significant for still being located at the site it is connected with, Doctor Angus being the last Port Medical Officer in Warrnambool. The collection of medical instruments and other equipment is culturally significant, being an historical example of medicine from late 19th to mid-20th century. Dr Angus assisted Dr Tom Ryan, a pioneer in the use of X-rays and in ocular surgery. Coat, white linen jacket, brass buttons, epaulets and collar badges have been removed, holes remain. Tailored in Glasgow, Scotland 1900s by Paislyo Ltd Glasgow. (said to be the uniform of a Cadet naval officer).flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, dr w r angus, t.s.s. largs bay, uniform jacket, ship's surgeon -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Clothing - Capelet, c. 20th century
A capelet is a small cape, usually worn around a person's shoulders and often chosen to wear with an evening outfit. The design may include a hood, collar or even ruffles. Fabrics range from fur, leather, velvet and wool to shear silk and net. Trimmings include buttons, lace, ribbon, and tassels. A capelet was a fashionable garment from the late 19th to the early 20th centuries.Capelet with collar. White fur lined with white fabric. flagstaff hill, warrnambool, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, capelet, cape, evening wear, fur garment, fashion, edwardian, victorian, white fur -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Accessory - Handkerchief, c. early 20th century
... that became popular in the 18th to mid-19th century. This handcrafted ...This ladies' dainty handkerchief has a handmade border of tatted craft work. Modern tatting is a craft that became popular in the 18th to mid-19th century. This handcrafted handkerchief is an example of the tatting craft, used to make decorative edges on a wide variety of domestic manchester and clothing items. It was common for household linen from the late 19th and early 20th century to be embellished with decorative trimsLadies' silk handkerchief with handmade tatted edges, square with rounded corners.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, handkerchief, tatting, silk handkerchief, clothing, handworked, craft, handcraft -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Functional object - Porthole Frame, ca. 1886
... -19th century ship’s equipment. The object is also significant ...This brass porthole frame was one of the ship's fittings recovered from the wreck of the sailing ship Falls of Halladale. "Falls of Halladale" (1886 to 1908) The Falls of Halladale was an iron-hulled, four-masted barque, used as a bulk carrier of general cargo. She left New York in August 1908 bound for Melbourne and Sydney. In her hold was general cargo consisting of roofing tiles, barbed wire, stoves, oil, benzene, and many other manufactured items. After three months at sea and close to her destination, a navigational error caused the Falls of Halladale to be wrecked on a reef off the Peterborough headland on the 15th of November, 1908. The captain and 29 crew members survived, but her cargo was largely lost, despite two salvage attempts in 1908-09 and 1910. The Court of Marine Inquiry in Melbourne ruled that the foundering of the ship was entirely due to Captain David Wood Thomson's navigational error, not too technical failure of the Clyde-built ship. The Falls of Halladale was built in1886 by Russell & Co., at Greenock shipyards on the River Clyde, Scotland for Wright, Breakenridge & Co of Glasgow. She was one of several designs of the Falls Line of ships named after waterfalls in Scotland. The company was founded between 1870- 1873 as a partnership between Joseph Russell, Anderson Rodger, and William Todd Lithgow. During 1882-92 Russell & Co. standardised designs sped up their building process so much that they could build 271 ships during that time. The Falls of Halladale had a sturdy construction built to carry maximum cargo and was able to maintain full sail in heavy gales, one of the last of the 'windjammers' that sailed the Trade Route. She and her sister ship, the Falls of Garry, were the first ships in the world to include fore and aft lifting bridges. Previously, heavily loaded vessels could have heavy seas break along the full length of the deck, causing serious injury or even death to those on deck. The new, raised catwalk-type decking allowed the crew to move above the deck in stormy conditions.This artefact is important as it is an example of the materials and design of late-19th century ship’s equipment. The object is also significant for its association with the historic sailing ship Falls of Halladale, wrecked in local waters in the early 20th century. The clipper ship Falls of Halladale shipwreck is of historical significance and is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register, No. S255. She was one of the last ships to sail the Trade Routes. She was one of the first vessels to have fore and aft lifting bridges. The wreck is protected as a Historic Shipwreck under the Commonwealth Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976. The vessel is an example of an International Cargo Ship's remains and represents aspects of Victoria’s shipping industry. Porthole frame and porthole, brass; the glass missing, recovered from the wreck of the Falls of Halladale. One screw dog intact. There are nine bolt holes in the frame. The frame has been restored.flagstaff hill, maritime museum, maritime village, warrnambool, great ocean road, shipwreck coast, falls of halladale, shipwreck, peterborough, 1908 shipwreck, russell & co., greenock, wright breakenridge & co. glasgow, clipper ship, porthole, porthole frame, ship’s fitting, brass porthole, reconditioned porthole -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Ceramic - Serving Plate, Edward Challinor, Circa1862-1891
... for the Australian colonial market around the mid to late 19th century ...The pottery was at Fenton, Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire UK and was established in 1825, by C J & GM Mason, they were succeeded by Mr. Samuel Boyle from whom the works passed into the hands of E & C Challinor, formally E Challinor & Co. Of Sandyford and Tunstall. The partners in Sandyford and Tunstall works are recorded as Edward Challinor Jnr and Charles Challinor Jnr and is presumably they are the sons of the partners of the Fenton pottery business. They produced china of white granite, printed sponged common earthenware for the American, Australian, and other foreign and colonial markets. The main goods produced were tea, coffee, breakfast, dinner, and toilet ceramic sets as well as other earthenware goods. Their pottery marks were the Staffordshire rope knot with or without E & C Challinor or just E C. An early piece of earthenware pottery made in England for the Australian colonial market around the mid to late 19th century.Serving plate white body, smooth rim, and blue oriental designRope knot motif printed on back in blue with letters EC warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, earthenware, ceramic, willow pattern, serving plate, e & c challinor, potteries -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Domestic object - Clock case, Late 19th to early 20th centuries
... clock case is connected to domestic life in the late 19th ...This vintage-era clock case has a curved top and two doors, one at the side, and the other at the top. It could have had another frame for the front with a window or fitted space for the clock mechanism. The doors may have given access for winding the clock with a key and to set the time or perhaps an alarm or chime. It is possible that the arched shape was the bottom of the clock case and not the top, in which case, there would be more space for a pendulum to swing. The wooden case would amplify the sound of the tick of the clock.The wooden clock case is connected to domestic life in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when households could afford at least one clock for their furnishings.Wooden clock case with open front and arched top, which may be the bottom of the case. It has a hinged door on the side and another door on the top with a small brass knob. This case is ready to be fitted with a clock mechanism.warrnambool, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill, flagstaff hill maritime museum, flagstaff hill maritime village, clock case, clock case with two doors, pendulum clock case, vintage, horology, time keeping, clock maker, domestic clock, furnishing -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Instrument - Scale, F Quiney & Son, 1890-1910
... during the late 19th and early 20th centuries flagstaff hill ...Fredk Quiney & Sons established their company in 1890, council records show that Quiney began working at 4 Ranelagh Place in Leytonstone and from 1908 to 1926 he was at 268 High Road, Leytonstone. The name occurs on brass weights and balance scales dating from the early twentieth 20th century. The company was still producing grocers scales during the 1960s.A balance scale vintage giving a snapshot into mercantile life during the late 19th and early 20th centuries Scale with metal tray.Noneflagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, scale, weighing equipment -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Functional object - Hand operated embossing document press, 1910
The woollen mill was a vital part of Warrnambool for all but 22 years of the town’s history since it's the establishment in 1847 when the first land sales were held and white settlement began. In 1869 the Warrnambool Meat Preserving Company began operations on the mill site, in 1875, shareholders of the then defunct Warrnambool Meat Preserving Company happily sold the land and buildings on the Merri river to Warrnambool Woollen Mill Company Ltd for £5,000. The site was sold again in 1876 to grazer Robert Hood of Sherwood, who was chairman of directors of the failed company, which couldn’t raise sufficient capital to keep the works operating. The entrepreneurial Hood then used the existing plant to turn his own wool into tweed cloth. But just as the mill was starting to show a profit, a fire destroyed the building and plant on the night of 25 March 1882. So again, the mill was operational for six short years. Insurers only paid a fraction over 10% of the damage, Hood couldn't raise sufficient capital to rebuild on his own, and so the site lay unused until 1910. In 1908 Marcus Saltau and Peter John McGennan convinced the Warrnambool Chamber of Commerce to invest in a secondary industry with local capital. A public meeting in September 1908 agreed to raise £40,000, electing Saltau chairman of directors, a post he held for 34 years. A year later, using mostly local money, the Warrnambool Woollen Mill Company dispatched its first manager, John E. Bennett, to buy a plant and recruit 20 experienced staff from the Yorkshire woollen industry in December 1909. Another year more, the new mill was officially opened on 14 November 1910 by Marcus Saltau as company chairman and town mayor. Eighteen months on, in May 1912, the mill paid its first half-yearly dividend of 2 ½%. It was now working two shifts, with a year's orders to fill. In 1914 the mill ordered its own generator, providing the town with electricity and effectively doubling its plant size by October 1915, six months after Gallipoli. Thereafter, government orders for cloth and military supplies assured the mill’s success right through the First World War and on until 1923. A plant upgrade in 1922 for machinery to make worsted fabric drained profits, which, with a fall in demand, led to a loss in 1925. Profits were restored by the 1930s, despite the Depression, mostly due to tight management and robust marketing. Production boomed again during the Second World War, but soon foreign competition bit into profits, forcing the company to consolidate operations. The ‘50s and ‘60s were golden years for the mill. Security and growth gave the company confidence to trial Australia’s first electric blanket in 1958 and to install Swiss Sulzer looms in 1965. Over time, the building facades took on the modern look that the mill presented until it closed. The Dunlop company bought the mill in 1968, fending off a challenge from Onkaparinga in South Australia, and continued to expand by adding Wendouree Woollen Mill in the same year and Dream-spun Textiles a decade later, in 1979. Soon after that purchase, however, the mill began its slippery slide into decline. Dunlop sold to its former rival bidder Onkaparinga Woollen Co. Ltd in 1982, which in turn was taken over by Macquarie Worsted's only a year later, in 1983. Operations remained stable for a decade until 1994 when the Macquarie Group signaled that its newly rationalised operations left no room for the Warrnambool investment. The final operator of the mill was The Smith Family charity group, which ran the site by agreement with the Warrnambool City Council and a state government grant in that same year, 1994. The mill became more of a fabric recycler than a manufacturer. The site was sold to private operators in February 2003 and rezoned four months later to allow for the mixed housing development. The embossing press is significant for its association with the Warrnambool Woollen Mills 1910-1968, a major employer in the Warrnambool district. The press is also significant as an example of commercial office equipment used in the 19th and 20th century.Press, metal, for Company seal of Warrnambool Woollen Mill, stamping their brand as Western District Worsted Mills Pty Ltd. Metal is black with red and gold floral markings. Inscription of stamp reads "WESTERN DISTRICT WORSTED MILLS PROPRIETRY LIMITED" flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, warrnambool woollen mills, western district worsted mills proprietry limited, worsted fabric, printing press, logo printing press, stamp printing press, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Decorative object - Bookends
The individual eagles in this pair of Napoleonic Eagle bookends are made so that each eagle faces the opposite direction to the other, one left and one right. The Napoleonic Eagle is the name given to the eagle symbol used by Napoleon Bonaparte 1799-1815 and the French Regiments, mounted on a standard to represent the honour and pride of fighting French men. It is believed that the Napoleonic Eagle was chosen as a symbol for the Tamar Bank in Launceston, Tasmania, established in 1834. The bank was formed after the separation of one of the branches of the Bank of Van Diemen’s Land. The Managing Director in 1834 was Lewis Gilles, previously a naval officer. Other directors were T. Williams, M. Connolly, F. D. Wickham, and P. Oakden. The bank was dissolved in 1838 and became the basis of the Launceston branch of the British-founded Union Bank of Australia Limited, established in 1837 and had its own emblem. The Union Bank of Australia merged with the Bank of Australasia in 1951 and went on to eventually become part of the Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) Banking Group. The Bank of Australasia was incorporated by Royal Charter of England in March 1834. It had its Australian beginning on 14th December 1835, opening in Sydney. The Acting Superintendent of the bank at that time was David Charters McArthur. He was Superintendent from 1867 to 1876. The Melbourne branch opened on 28th August 1838 in a two-roomed brick cottage on the north side of Little Collins Street. By 1879 the bank had been upgraded to a magnificent two-storey building on the corners of Collins and Queens Streets, with the entry on Collins Street. In 1951 the Bank of Australasia amalgamated with the Union Bank to form the Australia and New Zealand Bank, now known as the ANZ. Then in 1970, the ANZ merged with the ES&A and the London Bank of Australia to form the ANZ Banking Group Limited. The ANZ Banking Group Ltd kindly donated to Flagstaff Hill various historic items from the Bank of Australasia. BANK of AUSTRALASIA, WARRNAMBOOL – In 1854 Warrnambool had two banks, the Union Bank and the Bank of Australasia. Later, completely different bank businesses opened; in 1867 the National Bank of Australasia, then in 1875 the Colonial Bank of Australasia. The original Warrnambool branch of the Bank of Australasia was established in July 1854, and operated from a leased cottage on Merri Street, close to Liebig Street. The bank next bought a stone building previously erected by drapers Cramond & Dickson on the corner of Timor and Gibson Streets. Samuel Hannaford was a teller and then Manager at the Warrnambool branch from 1855 to 1856 and the Warrnambool Council chose that bank for its dealings during 1856-57. In 1859 Roberts & Co. was awarded the contract to build the new Bank of Australasia branch for the sum of £3,000; the firm built the Warrnambool Post Office in 1856 and purchased land in Timor Street in 1858. The land was on a sand hill on the northeast corner of Timor and Kepler Streets and had been bought in 1855 by investor James Cust. The new building opened on May 21, 1860. The bank continued to operate there until 1951 when it merged with the Union Bank to form the ANZ Bank, which continued operating from its Liebig Street building. Warrnambool City Council purchased the former Bank of Australasia building in 1971 and renovated it, then on 3rd December 1973 it was officially opened as the Art Gallery by Cr. Harold Stephenson and Gallery Director John Welsh. The Gallery transferred to the purpose-built building on Liebig Street in 1986 and the old bank building is now the Gallery Club. Staff at the Bank of Australasia in Warrnambool included the following men but others were also involved: Samuel Hannaford, Teller then Manager from 1855-1856; Hawkins, Manager in 1856, W H Palmer, Manager from January 1857 until November 1869 when the Teller Basil Spence was promoted to Manager; H B Chomley, Manager from April 1873 and still there in 1886; A Butt, Manager in 1895-1904; J R McCleary Accountant and Acting Manager for 12 months, until 1900; A Kirk, Manager 1904; J Moore, staff until his transfer to Bendigo in December 1908; J S Bath was Manager until 1915; C C Cox, Manager until April 1923; Richard C Stanley, Manager 1923 to April 1928. This pair of Napoleonic Eagle bookends represents the type of ornaments appropriate for 19th and 20th-century business associated with finance and commerce. They symbolise strength, reliability and power. It is believed that the Napoleonic Eagle was the seal of the Tamar Bank, established in 1834 in Launceston, Tasmania. The Tamar bank was taken over by the Australia-wide Union Bank in 1838, which later merged with the Bank of Australasia, which had a branch in Warrnambool. In 1851 it became the Australia and New Zealand Bank, which is still active in Warrnambool in 2023. Bookends; two (2) black metal eagles, standing, beaks open, tail to the side, wings spread, claws open. The black figures are cast metal and the backs are hollow, with flat even edges. The front is textured and shiny. The eagles are facing opposite directions; one left, one right. The figures are commonly known as Napoleonic eagles.flagstaff hill maritime museum and village, warrnambool, great ocean road, shipwreck coast, bookends, eagle bookends, napoleonic eagles, tamar bank, launceston bank, bank of australasia, eagle symbol, 1834-1838, commerce, financial institution, colonial bank, lewis gilles, m. connolly, f. d. wickham, and p. oakden., t. williams, anz bank, australia and new zealand bank, union bank of australia -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Craft - Ship Model, S.S. Casino
... in the late 19th and early 20th century. The wreck of the S.S. Casino ...Ship model of coastal trader SS Casino in glass fronted case with stained wood frame. Ship has both steam and sail. Background of lighthouse on cliff, sea and sky. Ship painted green, 3 flags flying. Details (incorrect) of ship painted in white across top frame of case. The S.S. Casino was a passenger and freight steamer built in Dundee, Scotland, in 1882 for the Newcastle and Hunter River Steam Navigation Company of N.S.W. She weighed 425 tons gross with a length of 160.4 feet, beam of 24.1 feet and depth of 10.2 feet. She had saloon accommodation for 35 people, forecabin for 25 more people, and she carried 300 tons of cargo. While on her delivery journey on May 30th 1882 the S.S. Casino called in at the Port of Warrnambool for coal ., narrowly escaping going ashore in gale force winds due to the quick action of the pilot. At that time, still at anchor, she impressed the directors of the Belfast and Koroit Steam Navigation Company so much that they bought her immediately; she was ideal for trade in along the West Coast of Victoria. (Belfast is the original name for Port Fairy, South West Victoria. The Belfast and Koroit Steam Navigation Company was first managed by Messers. Saltau and Osburne and after the passing of Mr. Osburne, by produce merchants Messers H. Sautau and Sons, whose had a hay and corn store and shipping agency was on the corner of Liebig and Koroit Streets in Warrnambool. ) The S.S. Casino became “the most famous steamer to operate in Victorian waters along the West Coast” by author Jack Loney. Captain Boyd was her first Master, followed by Captain Chapman, who stayed with her 1890 until 1924. Captain W. Robertson followed for a short term, then Captain Middleton then took command 1925 - 1932. The S.S. Casino had several mishaps during her life. One was on 3rd January 1898 when she collided with the S.S. Flinders in Apollo Bay with minor damage. Another was on 24th October 1924 when she grounded on a reef at Point Hawdon near Grey River and most of her cargo (of Christmas goods) had to be dumped into the sea. Then in February 1929 she was ‘holed’ when she struck a submerged object as she entered Lady Bay, Warrnambool. On the morning of 10th July 1932, after attempting to berth at Apollo Bay jetty in heavy seas, Captain Middleton decided to take her out into the bay and wait until the seas abated. It was not realised that the anchor used to steady her as she manoeuvred to her berth had pierced her hull. She put about and headed for the beach but sank. Captain Middleton and nine others lost their lives; nine people were rescued including the two female passengers . Captain Middleton had been in charge of the S.S. Casino for seven years. He was the first ship’s Master to lose his life through shipwreck in the West Coast trade. In the years following the turn of the century the S.S. Casino remained the only regular trader with normal passenger accommodation along the West Coast. From 1882 she had made at least 2,500 voyages on the one run. Flagstaff Hill’s collection has a photograph of a portrait of Captain Chapman, , a ship model of the S.S. Casino that shows both forms of power under which she sailed, steam and sail. The ship is painted green and flies three flags. The inscription across the case of the ship model, incorrectly dated, tells the sad story of the wreck of the ship and the loss of lives on July 10th 1932 at Apollo Bay. A print in the Collection show S.S. Casino underway in heavy sea off Point Lonsdale, another two photographs show her at the Port of Warrnambool, leaving from the Breakwater in Lady Bay and another identifies the S.S. Casino as a ship from the Belfast and Koroit Steam Navigation Company. (Belfast is the original name for the township of Port Fairy). This ship model is significant because of its association with the coastal trader S.S. Casino 1882-1932 and its significance to trade along Victoria's West Coast in the late 19th and early 20th century. The wreck of the S.S. Casino is considered an important part of Victorian and Australian cultural heritage and as such has been declared and protected as an Historic Shipwreck under State and Commonwealth Law in the Commonwealth Historic Shipwrecks Act (1976). Ship model SS Casino in glass fronted case with stained wood frame. Ship has both steam and sail. Background of lighthouse on cliff, sea and sky. Ship painted green, 3 flags flying. Details of ship painted in white across top frame of case. NOTE: Correct details for shipwreck is 10 July 1932, at Apollo BayPainted in white on wood across top of case "SS CASINO WRECKED AT APOLL BAY JUNE 10 10 LIVES LOST".flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, newcastle and hunter river steam navigation company, belfast and koroit steam navigation company, h. sautau and sons, s.s. casino, west coast trader s.s. casino, victorian coastal trader, captain boyd, captain w. robertson, captain chapman, captain middleton, apollo bay shipwreck, s.s. casino at lady bay warrnambool, ship model s.s. casino, saltau and osburne -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Animal specimen - Whale bone, Undetermined
Prior to carrying out a detailed condition report of the cetacean skeletons, it is useful to have an understanding of the materials we are likely to encounter, in terms of structure and chemistry. This entry invites you to join in learning about the composition of whale bone and oil. Whale bone (Cetacean) bone is comprised of a composite structure of both an inorganic matrix of mainly hydroxylapatite (a calcium phosphate mineral), providing strength and rigidity, as well as an organic protein ‘scaffolding’ of mainly collagen, facilitating growth and repair (O’Connor 2008, CCI 2010). Collagen is also the structural protein component in cartilage between the whale vertebrae and attached to the fins of both the Killer Whale and the Dolphin. Relative proportions in the bone composition (affecting density), are linked with the feeding habits and mechanical stresses typically endured by bones of particular whale types. A Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus Linnaeus, 1758) skeleton (toothed) thus has a higher mineral value (~67%) than a Fin Whale (Balaenoptera physalus Linnaeus, 1758) (baleen) (~60%) (Turner Walker 2012). The internal structure of bone can be divided into compact and cancellous bone. In whales, load-bearing structures such as mandibles and upper limb bones (e.g. humerus, sternum) are largely composed of compact bone (Turner Walker 2012). This consists of lamella concentrically deposited around the longitudinal axis and is permeated by fluid carrying channels (O’Connor 2008). Cancellous (spongy) bone, with a highly porous angular network of trabeculae, is less stiff and thus found in whale ribs and vertebrae (Turner Walker 2012). Whale oil Whales not only carry a thick layer of fat (blubber) in the soft tissue of their body for heat insulation and as a food store while they are alive, but also hold large oil (lipid) reserves in their porous bones. Following maceration of the whale skeleton after death to remove the soft tissue, the bones retain a high lipid content (Higgs et. al 2010). Particularly bones with a spongy (porous) structure have a high capacity to hold oil-rich marrow. Comparative data of various whale species suggests the skull, particularly the cranium and mandible bones are particularly oil rich. Along the vertebral column, the lipid content is reduced, particularly in the thoracic vertebrae (~10-25%), yet greatly increases from the lumbar to the caudal vertebrae (~40-55%). The chest area (scapula, sternum and ribs) show a mid-range lipid content (~15-30%), with vertically orientated ribs being more heavily soaked lower down (Turner Walker 2012, Higgs et. al 2010). Whale oil is largely composed of triglycerides (molecules of fatty acids attached to a glycerol molecule). In Arctic whales a higher proportion of unsaturated, versus saturated fatty acids make up the lipid. Unsaturated fatty acids (with double or triple carbon bonds causing chain kinks, preventing close packing (solidifying) of molecules), are more likely to be liquid (oil), versus solid (fat) at room temperature (Smith and March 2007). Objects Made From the Whaling Industry We all know that men set forth in sailing ships and risked their lives to harpoon whales on the open seas throughout the 1800s. And while Moby Dick and other tales have made whaling stories immortal, people today generally don't appreciate that the whalers were part of a well-organized industry. The ships that set out from ports in New England roamed as far as the Pacific in hunt of specific species of whales. Adventure may have been the draw for some whalers, but for the captains who owned whaling ships, and the investors which financed voyages, there was a considerable monetary payoff. The gigantic carcasses of whales were chopped and boiled down and turned into products such as the fine oil needed to lubricate increasing advanced machine tools. And beyond the oil derived from whales, even their bones, in an era before the invention of plastic, was used to make a wide variety of consumer goods. In short, whales were a valuable natural resource the same as wood, minerals, or petroleum we now pump from the ground. Oil From Whale’s Blubber Oil was the main product sought from whales, and it was used to lubricate machinery and to provide illumination by burning it in lamps. When a whale was killed, it was towed to the ship and its blubber, the thick insulating fat under its skin, would be peeled and cut from its carcass in a process known as “flensing.” The blubber was minced into chunks and boiled in large vats on board the whaling ship, producing oil. The oil taken from whale blubber was packaged in casks and transported back to the whaling ship’s home port (such as New Bedford, Massachusetts, the busiest American whaling port in the mid-1800s). From the ports it would be sold and transported across the country and would find its way into a huge variety of products. Whale oil, in addition to be used for lubrication and illumination, was also used to manufacture soaps, paint, and varnish. Whale oil was also utilized in some processes used to manufacture textiles and rope. Spermaceti, a Highly Regarded Oil A peculiar oil found in the head of the sperm whale, spermaceti, was highly prized. The oil was waxy, and was commonly used in making candles. In fact, candles made of spermaceti were considered the best in the world, producing a bright clear flame without an excess of smoke. Spermaceti was also used, distilled in liquid form, as an oil to fuel lamps. The main American whaling port, New Bedford, Massachusetts, was thus known as "The City That Lit the World." When John Adams was the ambassador to Great Britain before serving as president he recorded in his diary a conversation about spermaceti he had with the British Prime Minister William Pitt. Adams, keen to promote the New England whaling industry, was trying to convince the British to import spermaceti sold by American whalers, which the British could use to fuel street lamps. The British were not interested. In his diary, Adams wrote that he told Pitt, “the fat of the spermaceti whale gives the clearest and most beautiful flame of any substance that is known in nature, and we are surprised you prefer darkness, and consequent robberies, burglaries, and murders in your streets to receiving as a remittance our spermaceti oil.” Despite the failed sales pitch John Adams made in the late 1700s, the American whaling industry boomed in the early to mid-1800s. And spermaceti was a major component of that success. Spermaceti could be refined into a lubricant that was ideal for precision machinery. The machine tools that made the growth of industry possible in the United States were lubricated, and essentially made possible, by oil derived from spermaceti. Baleen, or "Whalebone" The bones and teeth of various species of whales were used in a number of products, many of them common implements in a 19th century household. Whales are said to have produced “the plastic of the 1800s.” The "bone" of the whale which was most commonly used wasn’t technically a bone, it was baleen, a hard material arrayed in large plates, like gigantic combs, in the mouths of some species of whales. The purpose of the baleen is to act as a sieve, catching tiny organisms in sea water, which the whale consumes as food. As baleen was tough yet flexible, it could be used in a number of practical applications. And it became commonly known as "whalebone." Perhaps the most common use of whalebone was in the manufacture of corsets, which fashionable ladies in the 1800s wore to compress their waistlines. One typical corset advertisement from the 1800s proudly proclaims, “Real Whalebone Only Used.” Whalebone was also used for collar stays, buggy whips, and toys. Its remarkable flexibility even caused it to be used as the springs in early typewriters. The comparison to plastic is apt. Think of common items which today might be made of plastic, and it's likely that similar items in the 1800s would have been made of whalebone. Baleen whales do not have teeth. But the teeth of other whales, such as the sperm whale, would be used as ivory in such products as chess pieces, piano keys, or the handles of walking sticks. Pieces of scrimshaw, or carved whale's teeth, would probably be the best remembered use of whale's teeth. However, the carved teeth were created to pass the time on whaling voyages and were never a mass production item. Their relative rarity, of course, is why genuine pieces of 19th century scrimshaw are considered to be valuable collectibles today. Reference: McNamara, Robert. "Objects Made From the Whaling Industry." ThoughtCo, Jul. 31, 2021, thoughtco.com/products-produced-from-whales-1774070.Whale bone was an important commodity, used in corsets, collar stays, buggy whips, and toys.Whale bone in two pieces. Advanced stage of calcification as indicated by deep pitting. Off white to grey.None.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, whale bones, whale skeleton, whales, whale bone, corsets, toys, whips -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Equipment - Block, Late 19th to early 20th century
... Late 19th to early 20th century...-19th century required more than 1,400 blocks of various kinds ...A sailing block is single or multiple pulleys with one or more sheaves that are enclosed in an assembly between cheeks or chocks. In use, a block is fixed to the end of a line, to a spar, or a surface. A rope line is reeved through the sheaves, and maybe through one or more matching blocks at the far end, to make up what's known as a tackle. The purchase of a tackle refers to its mechanical advantage. In general, the more sheaves in the blocks that make up a tackle, the higher its mechanical advantage. The matter is slightly complicated by the fact that every tackle has a working end where the final run of rope leaves the last sheave. More mechanical advantage can be obtained if this end is attached to the moving load rather than the fixed end of the tackle. Various types of blocks are used in sailing. Some blocks are used to increase mechanical advantage and others are used simply to change the direction of a line. A ratchet block turns freely when a line is pulled in one direction but does not turn in the other direction, although the line may slip past the sheave. This kind of block makes a loaded line easier to hold by hand and is sometimes used on smaller boats for lines like main and jib sheets that are frequently adjusted. A single, large, sail-powered warship in the mid-19th century required more than 1,400 blocks of various kinds and sizes.A historic item from an old sailing vessel from the late 19th to early 20th century, unfortunately. It represents part of the rigging required to set the sails on a wind-powered vessel.A two sheave wood sailing block with metal hook and becket. One sheave missing. flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, block, sailing block, two-sheave block, 2 sheave wood block, marine technology, sailing equipment, rigging, rigging block -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Tool - Wood moulding plane, Bewley Leeds, 1785 -1847
... to late 19th century that today is quite rare and sought after ...A moulding plane is a specialised plane used for making the complex shapes found in wooden mouldings that are used to decorate furniture or other wooden object. Traditionally, moulding planes were blocks of wear resistant hardwood, often beech or maple, which were worked to the shape of the intended moulding. The blade, or iron was likewise formed to the intended moulding profile and secured in the body of the plane with a wooden wedge. A traditional cabinetmakers shop might have many, perhaps hundreds, of moulding planes for the full range of work to be performed. Large crown mouldings required planes of six or more inches in width, which demanded great strength to push and often had additional peg handles on the sides, allowing the craftsman's apprentice or other worker to pull the plane ahead of the master who guided it. All we known about Robert Bewley and his successors is that they made planes in Leeds, England, from about 1785 to 1847. There are many of his tools including decorative moulding planes of all sizes and designs for sale around the world and that his moulding planes are well sought after by collectors of vintage tools.A vintage tool made by a known maker, this item was made commercially for firms and individuals who worked in wood and needed a tool that could produce a ornamental finish to timber. These profiled planes came in various shapes and sizes to achieve a decorative finish. This item is a significant tool from the mid to late 19th century that today is quite rare and sought after by collectors. It gives us a snapshot of how furniture and other decorative finishes were created on timber by the use of hand tools. Round Moulding plane number 8 Stamped Bewley Leeds (maker)flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village