May Sewell was born in Beechworth in 1917, her paternal grandparents had come to Beechworth from Ireland and her maternal grandparents from Scotland. She was the youngest of five siblings and the only one to be born in a hospital rather than at home. May loved growing up and living in Beechworth, and fondly recalls knowing all her neighbours, meeting friends at the pictures, attending girl guides, picking wildflowers around the gorge, participating keenly in the Church of England choir and dances, and the big Easter festivals. May worked various jobs before getting married. After leaving school at fifteen, May learnt dressmaking with Lal Anderson (and was delighted with her wage of two and six pence a week) and then went on to learn tailoring with Mr Charles. May then worked in the dining rooms at the Commercial Hotel and Hotel Nicholas. May was at the Hotel Nicholas for seven years but stopped when she got married as female employees were not asked to stay once they were married. May married her husband in 1944 and had known him since school. They went on to have six children, sadly three did not live past infancy. Her first children were twin girls who died six hours after birth. May briefly discusses the difficulty in grieving her twin daughters, the lack of available support, and the expectancy to carry on. Her next child, a son named Ian James, died when he was only ten months old from a tumour. May described Ian James as a lovely boy. May had multiple connections to the Zwar Brothers' Beechworth Tannery. Her father and then her three brothers worked there, and also her husband for a short period of time. The tannery was a major employer in Beechworth, and May having multiple family members employed by the tannery underlines the significant role of the tannery in Beechworth. May described her husband as very hardworking, he worked as a cleaner overnight at the Ovens and Murray Hospital for the Aged while during the day tended his cattle and sheep farm. This oral history recording was part of a project conducted by Jennifer Williams in the year 2000 to capture the everyday life and struggles in Beechworth during the twentieth century. This project involved recording seventy oral histories on cassette tapes of local Beechworth residents which were then published in a book titled: Listen to what they say: voices of twentieth century Beechworth. These cassette tapes were digitised in July 2021 with funds made available by the Friends of the Burke. Miss May Sewell’s account of her life in Beechworth is historically and socially significant to the cultural heritage of the region. May in reflecting on her experiences of leisure opportunities, town festivals, work available for women, leaving the workforce once married, the tannery, post-natal care, grief and child mortality provide essential historic, economic, social, and healthcare insights. May’s oral history recording is part of a larger collection of oral histories recorded by Jennifer Williams in 2000, collectively they provide invaluable insights into Beechworth during the 20th century, much of the information in these oral histories would be lost if not documented and missed in the interpretation of tangible objects. This is a digital copy of a recording that was originally captured on a cassette tape. The cassette tape is black with a horizontal white strip and is currently stored in a clear flat plastic rectangular container. It holds up 40 minutes of recordings on each side.Mrs May Sewellmay sewell, oral history, jennifer williams, listen to what they say: voices of twentieth century beechworth, beechworth church of england, easter festival, beechworth girl guides, hospital birth 1917, lal anderson, tailor beechworth, commercial hotel, hotel nicholas, zwar brother's beechworth tannery, ovens and murray hospital for the aged, dressmaking beechworth, beechworth cinemas, paul voglis

Black and white copy of original photograph showing an oval head and shoulder portrait of a lady wearing dark buttoned dress and dark coloured hat tied under her chin with a strap and large bow."Mrs Henry Nicholls"mrs henry nicholls (nee downes), marian marionn or mary ann or marianne

Part of S E Surman collection (album) page 38 left.Sepia photograph of a lady wearing long full skirted gown laced at bodice, with scarf at neckline, standing with left hand on shoulder of bearded man wearing suit with long jacket, wide tie, standing with left arm leaning on back of chair, right arm by side."Mr and Mrs Tully".mr tully, mrs tully, surman collection

Sepia photograph of a gentleman with moustache, wearing suit, beside a lady wearing spectacles blouse and jacket."Mr and Mrs Scolari".mr and mrs scolari

Part of S E Surman collection (album) page 3 upper left.Sepia photograph of a bearded man wearing a suit, with left arm resting on chair back, right hand holding hat on lap, seated beside a well dressed woman wearing long sleeved long gown with large collar. seated with left arm on lap, right elbow in chair back with hand up to face."Mr and Mrs Lloyd".mr lloyd, mrs lloyd, surman collection

A hand written telegram from the Minister for the Army to Mrs. J. Roddy to inform her of the capture of VX8007 A.J. RoddyCOMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA POSTMASTER GENERAL's DEPARTMENT/ RECIEVED TELEGRAM/ Typed section of Telgram: FUNDS MAYBE QUICKLY, SAFELY AND/ECONOMICLY TRANSFERRED BY/ MONEY ORDER TELEGRAM/ PLEASE TURN OVER./ RECIEVED TELEGRAM./ The first line of this Telegram contains the following/ particulars in the order named/ Office of Origin, Words, Time Lodged, No/ (hand written)Melbourne, 36/1, 9a, 12 , 2./ Top right hand corner: T.G. 42 (not stamped)/Office Date Stamp/sent at...../Ch'nl No..../ By ....(all of which have no markings)/ Mid Document: Remarks. This message has been recieved subject to the/post and telegraph act/ and regulations./ The time received at this office is shown at the end of this message./The date stamp indicates the date both of lodgement and of reception/ inless otherwise shown after the particulars/ of the time lodged.// Beside this is: TO (hand written) Postal acknowledgement/ Personal/ Mrs. J. Roddy 20 Emily St/Merbein 6365.// Under this handwrittten in ink: Distre 1319 To inform you that/ VX8007 A J Roddy Previously/ reported missing is now reported/ Prisoner of War Interned Carinthia/ Minister for the Army/ 9.25 ww11, pow, a j, roddy, vx8007, 1941, carinthia

Mr Fenton was headmaster of Ringwood State School in 1967.Black and white photo of Mr and Mrs Fenton +Additional Keywords: Fenton

Photos of Legacy Widow Glad Cousens in the Technical Bookshop. They had just undergone a refurbishment and the photo was printed in the Answer Newsletter in April 1996. The Bookshop rented their premises from Legacy as it occupied part of the ground floor on Swanston St. A record of the type of activities Legacy provided for fundraising and as a social outlet for the widows.Colour photo x 2 Mrs Glad Cousens in the Technical Bookshop.widows, activities

An invitation for Mrs Jessie May Scholes (nee Partington) to attend one of the state receptions held for Queen Elizabeth II during her 1954 visit to Australia.A tribute to a Greensborough identity and her connection with the Philharmonic Choir.Invitation printed in black on buff card. “To have the honour of meeting Her Majesty the Queen and His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh, the Government of Victoria invites Mrs J.M.Scholes to attend a state reception at the Exhibition Buildings on Monday, 8th March 1954, at 8.15 o’clock p.m. jessie may partington, jessie angus, jessie scholes, partington family, royal family, royal visit 1954

Black and white photographWritten on back of photograph: "From Mr. and Mrs. Springett". Image shows Mr. and Mrs. Springett on a garden seat- Mrs Springett holding a child.

Part of Old Lintonian collection.Sepia portrait of a gentleman wearing spectacles and suit with lapel badge, standing on left and slightly behind lady with hair drawn to back of head, wearing dark long sleeved top."Mr and Mrs R Hyatt to be put in the OLA picture gallery from Mrs and Mrs R Hyatt Geelong Rd, Linton Dec. 1940".mr and mrs r hyatt, old lintonians collection

Memorial Card Mrs David Taylor 1897stawell

Sad-irons or "solid" irons were made by blacksmiths and used to smooth out material by pressing the hot iron over it. A piece of sheet -iron was placed over the kitchen fire and the irons placed on it could be heated whilst remaining clean of ash.. The women used 2 irons - one heating while the other was used. Thick cloth or gloves protected their hands from the hot irons. The handle was removed from the cool iron and re- attached to remove the hot iron from the fire. The cool iron was replaced on the fire or stove to heat again. Mrs Florence Potts invented in 1871 a detachable handle made from walnut wood with a metal latch to release the handle. These wooden handles prevented burned hands and were sold to grateful women all over the world. These irons were cleaned with steel wool to prevent them marking the material. If the iron was too hot the material would scorch. Most homes set aside one day for ironing and some large households had an ironing room with a special stove designed to heat irons. However, most women had to work with a heavy, hot iron close to the fireplace even in summer.Mrs Florence Potts invented this type of detachable walnut wood handle with a meta release latch for sad irons in 1871 and it sold widely throughout the world to grateful women including those in Moorabbin Shire. The family of Ms May Curtis were early settlers in Moorabbin ShireA) A sad iron, made of cast iron , has a special handle invented in 1871 by Mrs Florence Potts of Iowa, USA. B) The detachable handle made of walnut wood to prevent burned hands, was attached to the iron by a metal latch.A) UNITED/ N0 / 50 / AUSTRALIApotts florence, iowa usa, melbourne, moorabbin, sad irons, kitchen equipmentn fireplaces, walnut wood, sewing, laundry, table ware, linen, pioneers, early settlers, washing days, craftwork

Black and white photo of Mr & Mrs T. Game of Blackburn with their daughter, Muriel.game, mr. t., mrs. t., muriel

Photographs relate to the Poultry Farms that existed in Nunawading and Forest Hill in the1950s and 1960s. Photos taken in 1961-62. Poultry farmers included Messrs Boyce, Gallos, Foote,Grimsley, Greenwood and Dudley|Slides scanned as a 'tiff' at 300dpi to CD Rom and cleaned and adjusted by Ted Arrowsmith.Mrs. White's House - 161 Mt Pleasant Road. Pulled down in 1960.eckermann's, eckermann frank, poultry farms, nunawading, greenwood, forest hill, canterbury road, mount pleasant road nunawading, boyles, white, bruer's

Black and white photo of Mrs. Ethel; Brocklesby at 'Wildwood' Bakers Road, Blackburnbrocklesby, ethel, m.l., wildwood, bakers road, blackburn

Coloured photo of Mrs Cath Waugh Opening St. John's Tennis Club.waugh, cath, mcglone, john, st. john's catholic church, mitcham, tennis clubs