Colour photograph of the Little River Falls in full spate at Wulgulmerang near Buchan Victoriaenvironment, parks, topography

Colour photograph showing glimpses of the Snowy River in the Alpine Country East Gippsland Victoriaparks, rivers, topography, mountains

Colour photograph of the Snowy River in the alpine Country near Willis Victoriageology, topography, rivers, mountains

One of the series of postcards used in the tourist industryPostcard of scene of Mitchell River with fences in the foreground and in the background bridge and Bairnsdale VictoriaThe Mitchell River Bairnsdalehouses, rivers, topography

There was a deluge overnight in headwaters of Mitchell and Avon Rivers so the rivers rose overnight and flooded low lying areasColour aerial photograph of Mitchell River in flood showing Clifton Waters Village in centre and township of Wy Yung near Bairnsdale Victoriarivers, floods

Letter on back dated Dec 30 1912 to Mrs Brewer Signed FloraBlack and white postcard showing view of Mitchell River looking east towards Eagle Point bluff and the silt Jetties and Jones' Bay small farm and buildings, hop kiln on bank opposite bluff and hop paddock. Horse and jinker on gravel road Eagle Point VictoriaMitchell River Eagle Point Bairnsdale waterways, rivers, jetties, roads and streets, transport

Colour photograph of Mitchell River and low bank approaching Eagle Point Victoria waterways, rivers, topography

Photograph taken with olde Brownie Box camera January 1957.Black and white photograph of Mitchell River silt jetties taken from cliff at Eagle Point Victoria. Second black and white photo of same areawaterways, jetties

Postcard lightly tinted of Mitchell River depicting the river at Eagle Point bluff with two men seated on bank, farm house in background Eagle Point VictoriaEagle Point, Mitchell River waterways, rivers, topography

Colour photograph of Mitchell River at entrance to silt jetties near Eagle Point Victoria. Plus two other photos of Mitchell River at Eagle Point waterways, topography

Colour photograph of Mitchell River from Billy Goat Bend showing steep gorge between heavily forested high banks. Glenaladale Victoria. Also two photographs of U3A Geology group on track overlooking Mitchell River and black and white photograph of Billy Goat Bend donated by Lakes Post Newspaper 6 January 2010 topography, rivers

Black and white postcard of the countryside and hills surrounding township of Buchan VictoriaView of Buchanagriculture, topography

Colour photograph of the memorial tribute to pioneers of Murrindal Roger River and Jacksons Crossing at Murrindal Victoriahistoric site, memorials, cemeteries

Colour photograph of memorial tribute to pioneers of Murrindal, Roger River and Jacksons Crossing at Murrindal Victoriapioneers, mountains, settlers

Sepia toned montage views in and around Bairnsdale showing two Main street gardens with white picket fence and two Mitchell river views one showing wharf with a paddle steamer and railway wagon Bairnsdale Victoriatownship, waterways

Wharf on the left side of the image was known as Top Wharf or Upper Wharf. Small house seen on eastern bank was home. Small house seen on eastern bank was home of Mr Healy Orchadist who sold fruit and grafted fruit trees. Big tree next to house was an enormous oak .Information from G ScarceTinted postcard showing first bridge over the Mitchell river, steamers and other boats at wharf on western bank known as Port of Bairnsdale Victoria. Also black and white photo of same view W.R. Lidston Bairnsdale Mitchell River Bairnsdaleboats and boating, rivers

Black and white photograph showing rowing skull with eight crew on Mitchell River large crowd of onlookers on bank during official opening of Rowing Club at Bairnsdale Victoria. Also a small black and white postcard showing same eventBiarnsdale Rowing Clubsports, events, rivers

Black and white photograph of the punt on the Mitchell River and the first bridge under construction. In distance can be seen the growing township of Bairnsdale Victoriaboats and boating, businesses, rivers

Steve Filmer born 1900 in Bairnsdale died 15/03/1995 at Cann River buried 17/03/1995 at Cann RiverFamily History Black and white photograph of a man wearing a suit sitting in an armchair with a small table in front of him. On the table is a cake with candles. Man holding a walking stick in right hand. Photo taken in a lounge room with a photo on the wall at the back. Steve Filmer, Noorimbee Victoriapossible birthday celebration ie candles on cake. could be 90th birthday.

Also a black and white photograph of gravel road in Buchan Caves reserve 05439.1 14 X 7 CMBlack and white photograph of Miss Dora Bradley, Miss Bailey,Miss Rivers, Miss Carlyle and Miss Turner teachers from St Annes Girls School on visit to Buchan Caves Buchan Victoriatourism, schools, teachers

Black and white photograph of teachers from St. Annes girls school Sale Victoria Miss Rivers, Miss Turner Miss Beadle, Miss Bailing, Front Miss Carlyle posing on steps at Jemmys Point lookout Kalimna Victoria tourism, people, school teachers

non-fictionLetters to early settlers 1840s to 1870s. Settlement of Melbourne by Yarra River.la trobe collection, early settlement in victoria, settlement in corinella 1826, jolimont by yarra river, la trobe cottage, victorian goldfields

The writer of the message on back of card was a Miss Ruth Catt who boarded with the family of Vic and Myrtle Fish of Roadknight St Lakes Entrance in the 1920 - 30 She was a teacher at the Bunga Creek State School East of Lakes Entrance and walked through the bush to schoolSepia toned postcard showing white wooden bridge over Yarra River with hill at back densely wooded shrubbery along river bank and rocky foreground at Warburton VictoriaThe Rose Series P3643 The Beautiful Yarra Warburton Victoriaschool teachers, correspondence

Black and white photograph of postcard of Peels tourist launch Blackbird in Cunninghame Arm opposite Kia Ora House Lakes Entrance Victoria. Also a black and white photograph of Peels launch Blackbird in the Tambo River East GippslandThe Esplanade at Lakes Entrance from the West Endtourism, boats and boating

Black and white photograph of Peels launch Zephyr filled with passengers moored at landing place on Tambo River near bridge at Swan Reach Victoria. Also a second black and white photograph of Peels launch Zephyr in Tambo River with Swan Reach bridge in backgroundboats and boating, tourism, rivers

Colour photograph three members Mitchell River Rotary Club David Neal, John Butler and Norn Neilson winners of Great Debate with Rotarian Lance Newman and adjudicator Chris Fenner. Lakes Entrance Victoriarotary club, volunteering, debating

The date of this map has not been determined. It bears the signature of D.A. Little upon of a portion of the map. Little was Bacchus Marsh Shire Secretary and Engineer between 1886 and 1914 which dates the map to some time between 1886 and 1914.A single page paper map showing a portions of land in part of Bacchus Marsh.The area shown is described as Langmann's Estate. The area is bounded by the Werribee River, Fisken Street, Waddle Street(sic.) (Waddell) and Lord Street. The map is pasted into a bound volume containing 76 maps or plans in total. High resolution digital image stored on BMDHS computer network. bacchus marsh victoria maps

71 p.; 20 cmnon-fictionThis book is the history of Thomas Walton's Tarween run which stretched from the Bunyip River to Shady Creek. It has its beginnings in Caulfield down to Tasmania then back into Victoriatarween run, william guilfoyle, thomas walton, william walton

The letter to William Ferrier of South Warrnambool from the Prime Minister and the Parliament of the Commonwealth recognised the significance of William’s brave and courageous lifesaving act to the people of Australia; “They all feel that your conduct was worthy of the best deeds done by British sailors in the past and they are proud to know that Australia can produce such as you.” The story of that brave rescue follows on below … The ship from which the sailors were rescued was the three-masted, iron and steel barquentine the La Bella, built in Norway in 1893. She was one of two iron and steel ships by Johan Smith, The company was one of the leading shipping families in Tvedestrand, Norway. She was significant to Norwegian shipping, being one of only 27 iron and steel ships ever built in Norway. She was registered in New Zealand and engaged from 1902 in inter-colonial trading of timber in the Pacific, between New Zealand and Australia and was often in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria. On 5th October 1905, the twelve-year-old La Bella left Lyttleton, New Zealand carrying a cargo of timber bound for Warrnambool, Australia. She was manned by a crew of twelve: the Master, (Captain Mylius, previously 1st Mate of La Bella, appointed Captain to La Bella on 6th February 1903) 2 Mates, Cook, six able seamen, one ordinary seaman and a boy. Bad weather en route caused her to shelter at Burnie on Tasmania's North West coast. On November 10th, the 37th day of her journey, La Bella approached Warrnambool. Captain Mylius steered her towards Lady Bay Channel in heavy south-west seas and evening mist. He ordered the helmsman to steer for the light. As the ship came round, a tremendous sea struck her on the port quarter, causing her to breach broadside in a north-westerly direction into breakers. The helm was brought round twice more, but each time heavy seas broke over her, the third time throwing the La Bella on to a submerged reef in Lady Bay now known as La Bella Reef (about 100 yards from the Warrnambool breakwater). The sea was so rough that it even wrenched a one-and-a-half ton anchor from its fastenings and into the sea. As Captain Mylius headed to the steel wheelhouse, intending to send up a rocket flare, a huge sea slammed the steel door into him (resulting in massive bruising front and back) Despite his injuries he still managed to set off a blue light, which he held up in his hands. La Bella’s lifeboats were filled with seawater and broke up on their chocks. The blue light was the first indication to people on the shore that there was a ship in distress. The Harbour Master, Captain Roe (who lived in the Harbour Master’s House opposite Flagstaff Hill), organised a group of volunteers to crew the lifeboat because the trained crew was unavailable; the crewmen were working on a steamer in Port Fairy at the time. He then poured oil onto the water to try and smooth the sea. At around 11 pm three of the crew took shelter in the steel forecastle but the sea crashed into it and broke it up. While the rest of the crew and onlookers watched helplessly in the moonlight the bodies were washed away into the sea, never to be seen again. Some of the crew lashed themselves to the weather rail to keep from being washed away. Watson, the ordinary seaman, became tangled in the rigging lines and was too weak to move, so the 2nd Mate, Robertson, put a line onto him so that he wouldn’t wash off. Around 11 pm three of the crew were unconscious from exhaustion. The situation on La Bella was becoming dangerous. The 2nd Mate moved to the ‘house’ and soon afterwards the ship slipped in the heavy sea. The lashings of the 1st Mate and the ‘boy’ Denham had kept them safe until about 2 am when they were washed overboard; no one was able to help. One by one, the exhausted crew were being washed overboard, too weak to hold on any longer. During the night the La Bella had broken into two and the deckhouse ran out towards the sea. Two more men drowned when trying to reach the lifeboat. By sunrise, the only survivors of the twelve were the Master, 2nd Mate and three seamen. Early in the morning, Captain Roe used the rocket apparatus on shore to try and shoot a line to the ship for a safer rescue but each attempt fell short of the target. Several attempts were made by the lifeboat to rescue the stricken sailors, but the rough conditions made this difficult for the boat to get close enough to the ship and the lifeboat had to return to shore. During a final attempt to reach the ship Captain Mylius ordered his men to jump into the sea. Leonard Robertson, 2nd mate, jumped and swam towards the lifeboat, taking hold of the boat hook offered to him. Oscar Rosenholme managed to reach the boat floating on a piece of timber from the ship’s load and a third survivor, Noake, also made the boat. Along with the lifeboat rescue crew, 25-year-old William Ferrier rowed his small dingy through the heavy seas and managed to rescue the Captain, whom he landed on the breakwater. Ferrier then returned to the ship to attempt a final rescue, losing his oars and rowlocks into the high sea. Using just a spare paddle he skulled towards the La Bella, reaching her stern in time to cut loose the lone surviving sailor, Payne, from the lashing that held him to the ship; the terrified sailor dropped from the ship and into the dingy. Shortly after the last man was rescued, the La Bella was lifted by a huge wave and crashed back down on the reef; she broke up and sank. The ordeal had lasted ten hours. The survivors were taken to the nearby Bay View Hotel and gratefully received warm food and clothing, medical attention and a place to sleep. In the following days, an unidentified body of a young person has washed ashore; it was either Watson or Denham. The body was buried in the Warrnambool cemetery with an appropriate gravestone and inscription. William Ferrier became a national hero as news of the daring rescue spread. In recognition of his bravery in the two daring rescues, he was awarded the Silver Medal for Bravery by the Royal Humane Society and was honoured in the letter from the Prime Minister and the Parliament of the Commonwealth, telegrams and a cheque for £20 from the Governor-General, over £150 subscribed by the public, including Warrnambool and district and readers of The Argus, and a gold medal from the Glenelg Dinghy Club of South Australia. Ferrier’s rescue efforts are one of the most heroic in Victoria’s shipwreck history. (William Ferrier’s son, Frank, received a similar award almost fifty years later when he helped rescue four members of the crew on the yacht Merlan after it ran on to a reef near the Point Lonsdale Lighthouse. ) The wreck of La Bella now lies on her port side in 13 metres of sheltered water inside the reef she struck. The bow section is relatively intact and part of the stern has drifted north-easterly towards the mouth of the Hopkins River. The reef the La Bella struck now bears its name. Those five rescued from the La Bella were Captain George Mylius, Leonard Robertson (2nd Mate, 21 years old), R. Payne, Oscar Rosenholme and Jack Noake. Those seven who lost their lives were Mr Coulson (1st mate), Charles Jackman (cook) Gustave Johnson, Pierre Johann and Robert Gent (all able seamen), Harry Watson (ordinary seaman) and Jack Denham (ship’s boy), Captain Mylius was found guilty of careless navigation; he had sailed into the bay without the services of a pilot. His Master Certificate was suspended for twelve months. Later he was also charged with the manslaughter of one of the crew who had died when the La Bella was wrecked but found not guilty. The event’s adverse publicity and damage to his career took a toll on his health and he died of a heart attack six months after the wreck; he was only thirty-seven. His body was buried in the Melbourne General Cemetery. The La Bella was “the best documented of all sailing ships owned in New Zealand”. Her record books, ship logs, correspondence and supporting papers are still available. At the time of the tragedy, she was owned by Messers David C.Turnbull and Co. of Timaru, New Zealand timber merchants and shipping agents, who had purchased her on 13th December 1901. A detailed account of the last journey of La Bella can be read in “Leonard Robertson, the Whangaroa & La Bella” written by Jack Churchouse, published in 1982 by Millwood Press Ltd, Wellington, NZ. As well as this letter, Flagstaff Hill’s La Bella Collection includes a photograph of the wrecked La Bella, a brass rail holder and a postcard of William Ferrier with four of the survivors. Some 15 – 17 ships are believed to have sunk in Lady Bay, but only two have been discovered on the seafloor; the “La Bella” and the “Edinburgh Castle”. Both wrecks are popular diving sites and are preserved as significant historical marine and marine archaeological sites. This original congratulatory letter sent to William Ferrier by the Prime Minister and Government of Australia demonstrates the importance attached to his efforts for Victoria and to Australia. The letter is part of the La Bella Collection and is significant at both a local and state level. Its connection to the La Bella shipwreck and the rescue of five survivors highlights the dangers of Victoria’s Shipwreck Coast. The letter to William Ferrier from the Australian Government acknowledges the bravery of ordinary Australians who risked their lives to save victims of shipwrecks along the coast. The letter is significant to the history of Warrnambool as it honours William Ferrier, a local fisherman whose descendants continue to live in the area. It highlights the way of life of people who lived in coastal towns in 19th century Victoria and the effects of shipwrecks upon them. The letter connects to the postcard of William Ferrier with four of the five rescued crew, the photograph of the wreck of the La Bella and the artefact from the wreck, the rail holder. This letter is significant because of its association with the sailing ship “La Bella”. The “La Bella” is of local and state and national significance. It is one of the only two shipwrecks discovered in Lady Bay, Warrnambool, out of the 15-17 shipwrecks in the bay. Letter to William Ferrier of South Warrnambool from the Prime Minister and Members of Parliament commending him on his bravery. The printed letterhead includes a coat of arms in the top centre and the official address. The letter is very neatly hand written in black pen and includes 4 signatures of Members of Parliament. The rectangular paper is cream coloured with some yellow/brown discolouring. It has the letterhead on the right hand side of it and the written letter begins below the letterhead. The paper has been folded so that the right side becomes the cover page of the letter. The writing is continued onto the inside right hand page of the folded paper and the writing ends here. There is more recent writing on the bottom right hand corner of the back page. The paper has been officially folded in half a total 3 times and there is heavy discolouration on the sections that form the front and back of the folded letter. There is a 4th fold line that is less pronounced that the other folds and would make the paper the size to fit into a pocket. At several fold creases the paper has worn through. The edges of the paper have minor tears. The printed coat of arms is that of the House of Representatives. Underneath is printed “The Parliament of the Commonwealth, / Parliament House / Melbourne”. The hand written, letter is dated “14th November, 1905” and addressed to “Mr. William Ferrier / South Warrnambool” The letter begins “The Speaker, the Prime Minister and Members of the Ministry and its supporters, the Leader and Members of the Opposition, the Leader and Members of the Labour Party, being all the Members of the House of Representatives of the Federal Parliament of Australia” … It continues “desire to express to you their appreciation of your bravery in skulling out to the wreck of the “La Bella” at Warrnambool on Saturday, 11th November, 1905, and recovering therefrom two of the crew who were in imminent danger of their lives. They all feel that your conduct was worthy of the best deeds done by British sailors in the past and they are proud to know that Australia can produce such as you.” The letter is “Signed on behalf of the Members – Speaker (Frederick Holder ), Deputy Leader of the Opposition (Joseph Cook ), Prime Minister (Alfred Deakin), Leader of the Labour Party ( J.C. Watson)” On the back of the letter is blue ink handwriting “OWNER / G. FERRIER / TO. BE. PHOTOGRAPHED / 27-4-76”la bella, william ferrier, bill ferrier, lady bay, 1905, 10th november 1905, 11th november 1905, parliament of the commonwealth, prime minister, australian government, new zealand, flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village