Contains the original signature of Robert Menzies, then opposition leader. Later to be Prime Minister of Australia.Document addressed to Mr. Knyvett Signed by R.J. Menzies.House of Representatives, The Parliament of the Commonwealth. Leader of the Opposition, Canberra, A.C.T., Dated 28th March, 1946. Dear Mr. Knyvett, Thank you for your letter of the 25th instant. I will give consideration to the proposals you have put before me and I appreciate your very real interest. With all good wishes to you, I am yours sincerely, signed (R.J. Menzies).

Mary Tolhurst M&DHS - March 29th Dunvegan Willows Park Melton 1992 Ladies Oral History Day Graham Minns President Ray Radford MC Sound recording transfer to CD 2011 by Tom Wood Edited typescript by Wendy Barrie 2013 I was born in Rockbank, and when I was five years old moved to Toolern Vale and started and finished school there. Toolern Vale only consisted of the Store, Post Office and shop, where you could buy your fodder, and pollard supplies, the Hall, the little Church and the bluestone School. The School changed shape three times from the 1800s[1869] til the time I went there. There was four generations of my family that went there and it was destroyed by fire in 1965. Marjorie nee Myers Butler. Yes, I remember along with it your lovely Ronisch piano. Mary, quite true! Marj what you say about the Ronisch piano. When I came the age to learn music my mum and dad couldn’t really afford it, but still what parents do for their children. They had Marj go along with them and pick this lovely Ronisch piano. It was known round the district. Everyone commented about the loss that lovely piano. After leaving school it was war time, 1939, then it was work, When I was 7 year old I was put out into the cow yard. In 1940 when the soldiers were going away our milk was confiscated it had to go to Bacchus Marsh. It used to go the Sunbury to be brine cooled and then go to Melbourne. Then they took it then to the Lifeguard Milk Factory at Bacchus Marsh. It had to go as condensed milk to the soldiers. This year is 50 years of the Land Army. I was an unofficial Land Army but they still kept check on me. I went onto married life and I followed the cows right through [howls of laughter] and we went on until the 1965 fire. That’s when we got out of the cows. Marjorie asks, was Granny Watts your grandmother or great grandmother? Mary: She was my great grandmother, the midwife of Melton. The 1965 fire started ¾ of a mile above our place, Frank Ryan’s sheds were burnt and his house was saved, then it wiped the School out, the Hall, the Church the Post Office and Store and little house that was Charlie Charlton’s in the early days. Mrs Wilson’s place was saved by the Fire Brigade by pulling boards off the side, and from there it went over the hill and it was stopped at the Rockbank Railway Station. If it had of got over the railway they said it would have gone into Werribee. A lot was burnt out in that strip. Mary nee Nixon Collins: 18 houses burnt that day. Audience question, did Melton get burnt that day? Ray: No. It came down through the Toolern Vale road and cut across about a mile and a half from the cross roads at Toolern Vale from north westerly to the south east and cut through over the Keilor road. Mary: It came in across the creek at Funstons in Toolern, then through Jim Minns. Dorothy was it your place then [nee Knox Beaty] to Ken Beatty’s and from there it went through to Doug McIntosh’s and to Cockbills and the wind changed and it came across to the railway line, and that is where they stopped it. [the cause of the fire was controversial, they had been burning off the night before and there was some talk of someone starting it. It was very hot and very strong wind, it was a terrible day] Ray: When the fire went through McIntosh’s they had a haystack on the north side of their house and the haystack got caught and the fire burnt a hole through the side of the house and the boys pyjamas on the bed. The house was saved. It came through like and express train roaring at you, I was at McIntosh’s when it went roaring past. You couldn’t see, dust and ash and tremendous heat. The fire started about 12 o’clock Jack [husband] said to me, fire, I said where, where? Just up the road, what have I got to do? and he went out and he had gone to the fire and left me. I tried to get the animals and I put out buckets of water, putting the buckets of water out saved my life. Chas Jones and another friend of his came in and they picked up the buckets of water, I thought I had better get out because the fire was on the haystack up the paddock and when I went to go out through the north side of the house and couldn’t get out, I’ll go through the front gate so I went around the other side of the house. I got caught there and Chassy Jones and his friend came round carrying the bucket of water and I panicked. He threw the bucket of water over me. Well that is what saved my life because I was damp, whenever we tried to leave the ball of fire came over me and over my shoulder and my hair was scorched. Chassy Jones lost his truck and Keith Watt his big truck because he had the water tank on it and they couldn’t get out of the yard. Granny Watt’s house, the first private hospital had condemned and Jack and I pulled it down and had it moved up to Toolern and had it in the yard a fortnight and it was all burnt and we didn’t get the shed we wanted. Every 13 years right up until Ash Wednesday fires, there has always been fire close at hand. The 1952 fire went down the back of the house, the 1965 fire took the house, and the house that I live in now, it is the third house that has been on that spot. When the Hunters owned it, Mrs Hunter was nearly burnt in her bed. They had a 13 roomed house. In 1924 the house burnt down, and there was another house was built there and that was the one that burnt down. Edna: So Mary built a brick veneer house. Marjorie: like the three little pigs [laughter] Collins - Mary M &DHS - March 29th 1992 Ladies oral history day at Dunvegan, Willows Park Melton. Graham Minns President Ray Radford MC Sound recording transferred to CD 2011 Edited typescript by Wendy Barrie 2013 Mary Collins nee Nixon born in Terang 1907 down in the Western District and we shifted to Melton when I was 5 and a half then I started school here in Melton, and spent all my school life at Melton State School, next to the Church of England, it’s called the Primary School now. I got my Qualifying and Merit Certificate then I left School because there wasn’t a High School. When I was 16 I got and job in the Melton Post Office and I worked there, I was the first girl in Melton to deliver the mail, and worked on the telephone and the Bank business. Mrs Ross and myself behind the counter, there were about 500 – 600 people in the Shire at that time and now when I go into the new Post Office there is 36,000 here there’s still 2 people behind the counter [laughter from the audience] and wait in a queue right out to the door. Times haven’t changed much have they! There was a manual telephone and you had to ring the handle, and there were eight subscribers when I went there and when I left there were 46 I had coaxed that number to join the telephone, even the police station didn’t have the phone on. The two Hotels and the two Chaff mills and Mr Ernie Barrie, Parkers the butcher, the Shire Office was No 8, and the Police house was next to the Courthouse on the corner. They were number 9. I can remember a lot of the numbers still. The Post Office was the Agency for the Commonwealth Bank [comment from audience member] I used to do the Bank business too, I left after four years there, mother wasn’t very well. The Inspector who used to come up to the Post Office asked me if I would take up casual Post Mistress and to go around the different districts but I refused and when Mrs Ross’s holidays were due I was the replacement. I wasn’t 21. I loved my work meeting everybody and most people had horse and jinkers and when the elderly would come in there would be Mr Tom Morrow, he only had one arm and Mrs Dunn came from Bulman’s road in their horse and jinker. They were elderly I would see them pull up out the front and quickly get their mail and run out to them because they didn’t have to get out of the jinker to tie up their horse. If someone had a baby in arms I would tear out and hold the baby while they got down. Mrs Ross was very very strict. I had to sweep the Post Office, she had a couple of mats and there would be a threepence or a sixpence under the mats show she knew whether I lifted the mat, I was whether I was honest or not. Graham: How much were your wages? I got 27/7 pence a week for a 52 hour week. I had to work every holiday except Good Friday and Christmas Day and even when it was Monday holiday I always had to go to work from 9am - !0 am, the Post Office was always open. In the winter I had to wait until twenty past six in case there were any telegrams to deliver. I delivered them on a push bike. One time Tom Barrie told me this years afterwards. I used to go home for lunch. We lived on the Keilor road and I used to ride my bike home. On the hot days the boys used to go and swim in the swimming pool down near a turn in the creek there was a hole where the boys would swim in the nude, they didn’t have any bathers and they didn’t have any watches in those days. Tom Barrie said they always used to watched for me as I was always about 3 minutes past 1, my lunch hour was from 1-2. One particular day they missed seeing me and swam on, and of course they were all late for school when they got back and were all kept in a night. I did get a fortnight holiday. I loved my work and I knew everyone in the district right from Toolern Vale to the Marsh and everybody at Melton South. Did you listen into conversations on the Switchboard? Oh no. [laughter] Melton did not have electricity then. I had to fill the lamps everyday with kerosene. The Staughton Memorial was outside the Post Office. It had four posts with the chain looped around it, and that’s where the people used to tie up their horses. Marjorie nee Myers Butler comments about sitting and swinging on the chains. Mr Fred Coburn lit the acetylene gas light in the Memorial. It was the only streetlight in Melton. There was no electricity until 1939. Ray Radford comments about another gas street light which was on the corner of Station road. [later] Mary passes around her school photos. Mary mentions the names of those who have passed away, Maisie McDonald, ,Marian Wraith, Hilda McCreey, and Valda McDonald. I have written the names on the back. Marjorie comments about Marie Jongebloed and Greta are the only two girls left out of big family of ten I think there were [hesitates] 4 or 5 girls and the rest were boys. Mary. Flora Woodley, Dorrie Flynn and Margaret McDonald are still alive. They are my age we were all born about 1907. Marjorie points out herself in a later photo [1921 and 1922 School ] Mary mentions the name Walsh and identyfies following names, the Parker boys, Ken Beaty, Malc and Linda Cameron, Maisie Mc Donald, Ted Radford, George Nixon, Norman Minns, he was later the Shire Secretary of Werribee. One of the Woodley girls. [Maisie Arthur] Marjorie: Rosie Shearwood, June Whiting Mary. Lily Mc Donald, she has passed away. Isabel Harrison nee Tinkler, she lives at Werribee, Doreen Rogers, Marjorie Walker, Jess McIntosh, Mary Gillespie. Mr Malone was the Junior teacher Mr Roe and Miss Cooke. Fred Myers, my sister [Elizabeth] and the year was 1921. Myers (Barrie) School Photo Collection. Many of the names were identified at the 1970 Centenary of Melton State School No. 430. Edna Barrie organised, compiled and typed the lists to accompany these photos for the year 1921. The 1922 photo shows the higher grades. Ladies Oral History Day event held by Melton and District Historical Society, article featured in the Telegraphlocal identities, local special interest groups

Programme of exploration of interesting historical buildings etc. in Ringwood, Croydon and Doncaster Templestowe areas including Doncaster Inn Hotel Schramm's Cottage, Wicklow hills, Croydon, Coolstore, Clocktower and Town hall in Ringwood and Schwerkolt's Cottage Nunawading. Programme of the tour by people from Mornington on 2-Nov-1968Historical notes 7 pages of notes convened by Ringwood Hist. Research Group in conjunction with Croydon. Nunawading and Doncaster Templestowe Hist. Societies +Additional Keywords: Pullin,R.A. / McGivern, M / Field, J. (Mrs.) / Greene,I

An embroidered postcard which was sent to an Australian family during World War I. The postcard is intricately and colourfully embroidered on silk framed with a cardboard backing. The design is of flowers, foliage and the French and English flags with the words "happy new year".

The Weston cell, is a wet-chemical cell that produces a highly stable voltage suitable as a laboratory standard for calibration of voltmeters. Invented by Edward Weston in 1893, it was adopted as the International Standard for EMF between 1911 and 1990.[1] This is a type of standard cell, which is a battery that produces a precisely known voltage in laboratory conditions at 20 degrees centigrade.[2]Brass cylinder with 4 connections at top. Two marked 'A' and the other two marked 'B'. Black plastic nob in the centre top. Written at top Weston Normal Cell I-0183 INT VOLTS AT 20 degrees CWeston Normal Cell H Tinsley & Co, London S E No 50498 No 8910weston cell, wet-chemical cell, stable voltage, voltmeters, edward weston, scientific instrument

Eaglehawk & District Pioneer Register, Volume 2 D-I. Publisher: Annette O'Donohue, Bendigo. ISBN: 0 9595380 6 2.. 366 pages. Photographs, illustrations & maps. Books comes with Book Mark with abbreviations and their meaning.Annette O'Donohue & Bev Hansonhistory, australian, pioneers, eaglehawk & district, bendigo history, eaglehawk pioneers, genealogy

On The Roads With Sheep - 1882 - . A history of the drought at this time and the consequent droving of sheep along roadsides in an effort to survive, both the sheep and the farmer. Publication No. 10 of the History and Natural History Group Donald M I A Society 3480 Victoria.J. C. Jennisonautobiography, drought hardship on families

Clyde B Norton A,I,A,V Incorporated Accountant London , 'The Olde Fleet' 475 Collins Street Melbourne letterhead note to Cohn Bros re: estate of G J Williams of Eaglehawk dated 14th Sept 1895.bendigo, industry, cohn bros brewery

Blue paper dated Aug 15 1876. I hereby certify that C. Stoppelbein of Long Gully is unable to follow his usual employment. Signed by ?. Signed at the end by C. Stoppelbein declaring himself on the Sick Funds of the Court.societies, aof, correspondence, ancient order of foresters no 3770 collection - medical certificate, court king of the forest, c stoppelbein

Blue paper dated Jnry 9th 1868. I hereby certify that F. Lettmerin of Long Gully is unable to follow his usual employment. Signed H. L. Atkinson. M.D. Not worked since the 3rd ? Written at the end.societies, aof, correspondence, ancient order of foresters no 3770 collection - medical certificate, court king of the forest, f lettmerin, h l atkinson

Bendigo Advertiser "The way we were" from Thursday, July 8, 2004. Proud: Bendigo World War I veterans pose for a snapshot in this undated photograph. The man in the back row 10th from the left is Bill Fleet.newspaper, bendigo advertiser, the way we were

Souvenier taken from dead German Soldier by Charles Honybun. Part of Honybun collectionGerman Feldmutzen- Field Cap German Army W W I cloth Cap lower ranks Grey Wool with cotton lining red banded and red piping. This is a folding soft Crusher Cap introduced c 1907niluniforms, army

Tin Helmet was donated by Returned Servicemans League, Mitcham Sub-Branch, upon closure of this Sub-BranchBrown coloured metal helmet, domed top with medium sized brim, has inner lining of fabric and leather chin strap. World War I vintage. Inner lining fabric deteriorating. NEEDS TO BE ASSESSED FOR ASBESTOS IN LININGuniforms, army

See NP41512 copies (i black and white, 1 sepia-toned) of the Mitcham Football team and supporters in 1919. The photograph has been taken outside and has Mitcham F C 16/8/1919 written on the bottom left.mitcham football club, sporting clubs, football clubs

Diggers & Mining. Diggers and miners. Along with this development, many independent diggers of the early 'fifties' - - - Slide shows a miner caring a shovel and a rope. A cradle by the river in the background. Markings: 30 994:LIF I. Used as a teaching aid.hanimounteducation, tertiary, goldfields

The Bendigo based Sander family business Sander and Sons, were producers of eucalyptus oil/extract in the 19th and 20th centuries. Carl Sandner established Sander and Sons Eucalyptus Distillery in 1875. It operated until 1967Advertising card. The top half has a black and white illustration of a young woman peering between curtains. Printed in black and purple "I use Superba Skin Food. That's the secret of my beauty. Have you tried it."advertising, sander, sandner

Magazine article: 'How I play championship tennis'. Page 33 from Ladies Home Journal (U.S) June 1916 issue. Layout with images of and text by tennis player Molla Bjurstedt, entitled Materials: Paper, Inktennis

Frances Rigg was a local business identity in Kew, at one stage managing the local branch of the English, Scottish and Australian (ES&A) Bank at 175 High Street from c. 1920 until the 1940s. After Francis Rigg’s death, the collection of buttons and medallions was inherited by his son, Ken Rigg (1922-2014). The collection was subsequently donated to the Kew Historical Society in 2015 by Francis' grandson, Adrian Rigg, at the time of the Gallipoli & Beyond Commemoration in 2015. The collection covers a period of almost 40 years. The majority of the buttons are patriotic buttons, issued and sold during and immediately after the First World World War (1914-1918) to raise funds for national and overseas causes. The collection also includes a number of locally significant sporting event buttons and sporting club medallions, issued in the 1920s and 1930s.Patriotic and other pressed tin buttons and badges were produced in large numbers in the first decades of the twentieth century. By nature, insubstantial and ephemeral, they have not always survived. The collections of badges, buttons and medallions in the Kew Historical Society collection is homogenous and yet diverse, ranging from buttons sold to raise funds for the war efforts in 1914-18 and 1939-45, to those used at festivals and sporting events. Because of the manufacturing process, many surviving buttons and badges have been affected by inadequate storage, suffering from oxidisation and physical damage. These survivors are now historically and socially significant artefacts, revealing much about the attitudes and values of the period in which they were produced. Their widespread distribution means that they are frequently significant at a local, state, national and international level.World War I-era pressed tin fundraising button. The button features the French flag and a red cross over a starburst, against a gold background. Encircling the image is a white ring with the text ‘French Red Cross’ in blue."French Red Cross"first world war (1914-18)

The use of these buttons as a means of raising revenue through patriotic sentiment occurred soon after Australia pledged allegiance to Empire. Buttons reflected ‘public sentiment, courage, patriotism, generosity and several [un- named] virtues’ such as the martyred mother of a ‘fallen’ hero. Attention was paid to attractiveness of design, encoded symbolism and high quality of production. Expressing ‘loyalty’, they were tokens to be kept for perpetuity. Female labour was used to operate the die that compressed the tin backing, photographic print and celluloid cover together. The pin was applied by hand. Women, of all ages, entered into the spirit of voluntary sales. Often they were sold at the entry and exit points of major pedestrian thoroughfares. The women of Kew set up a kiosk in front of the Post Office and the Railway Station to solicit their round, oval and square shaped wares. Pride in salesmanship was affected by publishing the name of the woman and her fiscal achievement in the major newspapers of the dayWorld War I-era pressed tin fundraising button. The button features the French flag and a red cross over a starburst, against a gold background. Encircling the image is a white ring with the text ‘French Red Cross’ in blueFrench Red Cross

Distributed to nurses during campaigning for improved wages and working conditions in the 1980s, possibly during the historic 1986 Victorian 50-day nurses strike. 'Charge Nurse' refers to a Nurse Manager, and is less commonly used in Australia presently (it is still widely used in North America). The badge's message aims to inform the public that highly experienced and skilled nurses are leaving the profession due to inadequate wages and poor working conditions. The Royal Australian Nursing Federation (RANF) became the Australian Nursing Federation in 1989, suggesting that this button is from the late 1980s. Similar to the badges worn in this photo [https://stories.anmfvic.asn.au/86strike/media/2560-1440-landscape-sec2-contentb-hr_logwf7a.jpg] from 1986 (see individual on the far right).Circular white and blue plastic badge. Silver metal, plastic-coated, with safety pin fastener adhered to back. Badge printed with 'I used to be a Charge Nurse' and 'R.A.N.F. [Royal Australian Nursing Federation] Vic. [Victorian] Branch'.nursing, nurses, industrial action, strike action, unionism, trade unions, badges, buttons, pins, campaigning, 1986 victorian nurses strike, labour history, royal australian nursing federation, victoria, australia

Button distributed to and worn by Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) members to promote safe movement of patients to reduce workplace injury. The Australian Nursing Federation Victorian Branch implemented the 'No Lifting' (now 'safe patient handling') policy in March 1998. The aim of the policy was to introduce in Victorian healthcare settings an approach to patient handling whereby the manual lifting of patients would be eliminated or minimised wherever possible. This Branch policy and strategies to implement it were a response to high incidence of back pain and workplace injury amongst nurses. The 'No Lifting' policy was accompanied by various conferences and expos to discuss harm minimisation strategies throughout 1998-2009, suggesting this badge is from this period.Circular red, black and white plastic badge. Silver metal, plastic-coated, with safety pin fastener adhered to back. Badge printed with 'I am a No Lifting Nurse', 'Caring for you' and the ANF [Australian Nursing Federation] logo.nurses, nursing, back injuries, occupational health and safety, patient handling, trade unions, professional bodies, workplace injury, accident prevention, badges, buttons, pins, changing healthcare practice, australian nursing federation

Document : 120 page small booklet, orange cover, of the Constitution & Rules of the Victorian Country Football League, founded 1927. Issued 1972. Includes list of Office Bearers and District Councillors. The Bendigo delegate is listed as I. O'Donnell.Printed by Standard Commercial Printers, Cheltenhamorganization, club/society, australian rules football, football, victorian country football league, i. o'donnell

This letter was sent by a customer D. Menzies at Skipton to the Mortlake Mill, detailing an unusual payment method for the processing of his wheat into flour. David Menzies was a Scots farmer who lived in Skipton c. 1860's on a bend in the Mount Emu Creek. He helped establish the local school and a lane in the township bears his name. The letter illustrates the nature of commerce and the difficulties of communication and life generally in the country at the time. The bluestone Mortlake Mill built in 1856, has been a prominent landmark in Mortlake for over 150 years. It played a significant role in the commercial life of the town and was initially a wind-mill to process district grain for sale. The goldrush at Ararat 100 km. away led to a temporarily increased population and demand for foodstuffs. In 1857 the Mill was sold to Aikman, Hamilton and Geddes who converted it to steampower and later built the prominent chimney, which is on the Heritage Register as part of the National Estate. D. Menzies at Skipton lived at least 85 km away - his wheat which urgently needed milling, faced a slow and arduous journey by bullock dray. After the demise of the Ararat goldfields and the decline in population (as well as the district soils proving unsuitable for sustained wheat cultivation), the operation of the Mill declined too and the proprietors increased their involvement in other activities - supply of building materials, timber felling and sawmills. Despite the apparent difficulties of conducting business in the 1850's, it is notable that commerce thrived at that time in country districts, as an examination of Mill accounts and records show.Handwritten letter dated 1864 (water-stained)Skipton March 7 1864 [to] Messrs. Hamilton & Co. Mortlake. Dear Gentlemen, I was in hope of hearing from you before now that you had commenced working the Mill, & that I could have sent you the enclosed money [for a] load of wheat for Gristing. Please receive the enclosed 2 halves of 2 [two] 5 [pound sign] notes forwarded to your account. the other halves will be sent on receipt of your stating you having received those notes sent. As I am out of flour be so good as say how soon I may send a load of wheat. In haste I am Gentlemen Yours truly D. Menziesmortlake mill grain wheat hamilton geddes aikman laang dixie menzies skipton