Martha Watson was born on 17 October 1888 in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia as the first child of Robina (Ruby) WATSON. She died on 23 March 1976 in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. Memories of Martha by Valcia nee Twigg Lowrie, granddaughter of Arthur Watson. My memories and recollections as told to me my Grandmother ‘Mum’ Myers. As a child she had scarlet fever and did not attend school during the illness and missed a lot of school (Macarthur Street State School). When she was meant to return to school having fallen behind her classmates, confused and behind with the school work, she instead spent her time wandering around Lake Wendouree feeling too ashamed to attend school. Her uncle Arthur, born in 1874, whom she idealized, was a type of father/mentor figure who played and important part in her early life. He moved to Queensland in the early 1900’s and they did not meet again until he visited Melton in 1949, he died in 1954. He was a champion rower in Victoria and Queensland and a noted cyclist who rode in three Warrnambool to Melbourne races, and footballer. Her mother’s death certificate reveals her place of death as the Ballarat Hospital on 8th September 1903 aged 36. Martha was not told of the death of her mother, it was some time later when she found out her mother had died. She was greatly distressed when she eventually found out. The grief and the circumstance of her mothers death and her unfortunate life had a permanent effect on Martha’s life. Robina was buried in Open Ground at the New Cemetery Ballarat. Marjorie likened to this to the death of Mozart at the age of 35 who was also buried in a common grave. Martha also told me the stories about how as a child she played at the cemetery, taking the oranges placed as offerings on the Chinese graves and being chased away in fright when caught by a Chinese man. Her description left a vivid impression on my mind. The Burnbank street house was just across the road from the cemetery. The pieces of this story I had heard made sense when I visited the location in recent years. Martha’s described how Nanna would sing on the front verandah, and send her off to t get drink for her. This situation might help explain the reason for Martha’s strong aversion to alcohol. As a young girl it had been distressing to her. Nanna was a colourful and theatrical personality and danced with the Duke when he visited Ballarat. She was also known to have stated that she would marry a man who could give her a bucket of gold, possibly around the time after her first husband, Charles death, she had her young boy Edward to bring up. Martha was about 13 years old when Nanna Watson left Ballarat going to Queensland to visit her son Arthur. Martha slept that night afraid and alone in the empty house. The person who was meant to collect her did not come until the next day. She went to work for a family, a woman with children, they took most of the money that Nanna had left with Martha. There was a new baby in the house and the Scottish man in the house behaved suspiciously towards Martha. She was afraid of him and would hide from him under the bed. At this young age she managed to survive on her wits and sense of self preservation. It is not known how long she worked with this family. The place was from my impression, away from the town of Ballarat. Her very difficult formative years are testament to her strength of character and determination to succeed in life and ambition to provide the best opportunities for her own children. In 1905 Martha received a post card from Uncle Arthur in Brisbane addressed – c/o Mrs Styles 14 High Street Ballarat. Dolly Styles was a Ballarat friend and she kept in contact with her for many years. A letter reveals her living in Minyip in her older years. Martha is thought to have spent a few years working before she arrived in Melton. Miss Shebler hired Martha to help her in the care of her father and to assist with work in the Golden Fleece Hotel. Mr Shebler was a nice old man and mostly confined to his room and somewhat childlike as described by Martha. [The elderly Mr August Shebler died in February 1908]. Martha’s exact arrival in Melton is not known, but could be estimated as late 1906 to early 1907. In her room at the hotel she could hear the spring cart of Mr Minns going on the milk delivery rounds in the very early hours of the morning after coming across the creek from his house When she was 19, she married Frederick Thomas MYERS, son of Henri MIERS and Ann DOWLING, on 30 April 1908 ( Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia). Frederick Thomas MYERS and Martha Mary WATSON had the following children: 1. Frederick John Watson MYERS was born on 01 October 1908 in Melton, Victoria, Australia.He died on 07 February 2001.He married Mary June BATTYE on 18 September 1948 in Victoria, Australia. 2. Marjorie Gretchen MYERS was born on 21 February 1912 in Melton, Victoria, Australia.She died on 10 September 2004 in Frankston, Victoria, Australia.She married Herbert Vivian BUTLER on 07 January 1939 in Victoria, Australia. 3. Eva Edna MYERS was born on 15 October 1918 in Melton, Victoria, Australia.She died on 31 January 2008 in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria, Australia.She married Ernest Wesley BARRIE on 25 October 1941 in Melton, Victoria, Australia. 4. Arthur Bruce MYERS was born on 29 April 1925 in Melton, Victoria, Australia.He died on 26 March 2015 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.He married Olive Irene NORTON in April 1953 in Balliang, Victoria, Australia (or Church of Christ Footscray? (WB)). 5. Maxwell Douglas MYERS was born on 10 August 1927 in Melton, Victoria, Australia.He died on 03 May 2005 in Geelong, Victoria, Australia.He married Rosemary Rebecca BARRIE on 31 August 1951 in Melton, Victoria, Australia. Valcia nee Twigg Lowrie granddaughter of Arthur Watson, daughter of Mercia and Val Twigg did extensive research on the Marshall family of Lerwick Shetland Isle obtaining birth information of the Scottish forebears. She also got the birth/marriage and death certificates of the Ballarat connection of Robina’s husbands and children. Copies were sent to Edna and Wendy during the early 1990’s. Bruce and Irene also obtained certificates and Myers family information. Wendy applied for certificates at this time.Photographs of Martha (Watson) Myers taken at different times of her life

The Lavington Sports Ground, former home of the Lavington Sports Club, is now owned and operated by Albury City Council. Over 50 years ago, a group of Lavington locals dreamed of building a new sportsground to encourage more people to play sport, particularly juniors. The original oval opened in 1973. The Sports Ground was developed solely by the Lavington Sports Club, formed by 30 football and cricket players and supporters in 1964. Football and cricket clubs had existed in Lavington since before 1914. In 1964, the football and cricket clubs merged to become the Lavington Sports Club. The new club and facilities were established on land initially leased from the Divine Sword Missionaries on their former seminary and turkey farm. The club expanded its facilities and representative sports throughout the next 20 years, including hosting international events. However the Club's debt worsened and In 2001 the entire Lavington Sports Club operation went into liquidation. It was taken over by Penrith Panthers through the Panthers Entertainment Group. In July 2009 the Albury City Council purchased the Sports Ground and has further redeveloped the ground and its facilities.This badge is representative of the role played by sporting organisations in the local communityA circular blue and silver enamelled badge issued for membership of the Lavington Sports Club.On front of Badge "78 -79/Lavington/Sports/Club/Limited" On reverse "MEMBER/NOT TRANSFERABLE/6114/PERFECTION BADGES/SYDNEY/770775"lavington sports club, recreational facilities albury, sport and recreation

This photograph shows the Linton Street oval in Moorabbin in the early 1960's before it was redeveloped to become the home ground and club headquarters of the St Kilda Football ClubThe arrival of the St Kilda Football Club to Moorabbin was a significant event in the social and commercial development of Moorabbin. The presence of a VFL football team in the community created a sense of identity and belonging for many. Black and white photograph of a sporting oval. There are people on the field and more people lining the outside edge of the field. A row of parked cars is visible across the foreground.Handwritten in red ink: 60%city of moorabbin, moorabbin, st kilda football club, linton street oval

Australian rules football began being played on a regular basis in Cheltenham in 1890. Teams would not only play locally but travel by train fairly long distances, such as to Ballarat, for the day, play a game, turn around and come home. The Cheltenham home games were played on a paddock on the corner of Park and Charman roads in Cheltenham. In 1907 the Cheltenham progress committee made an application to the board of land works for land in Weatherall Road for recreational service to the public. That application was received and granted, then developed where Cheltenham Recreational Reserve now stands. The ground was opened in 1909 and the first Cheltenham side entered in the newly formed Federal Football League along with seven other foundation members, Mordialloc, Mentone, Moorabbin, Frankston, Glenhuntly, Elsternwick, and Ellindale. The grand final for that year, 1909 was a hard encounter between Cheltenham and Ellindale with Cheltenham coming out victors, thus becoming the inaugural Federal Football League premiers. The Federal Football League (FFL), also known simply as the Federal League, was an Australian rules football competition in the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria. The competition was in existence from 1909 to 1981 and was regarded as one of the strongest metropolitan leagues in Melbourne.Black and white image of the players and officials of the Cheltenham Football Club. Back (left to right) G Puttick, Franklyn (sic), Unkown, Unknown, C Corstorphine, D Arland, Dave Hughes, H Bryant, Centre: T Elliott, S Parsons, F Judd, H Foreman, N Corstorphine, J McCormack, S Chandler, H Orr. Front: H Clayton - no other names recorded. The players are wearing what appears to be a range of club jumpers, with some in street wear. Some players seated in the front row have mud visible on the soles of their shoes, indicating they may have already played a gam. The ball on the ground in front of the group is round.Round red sticker on reverse with handwritten text: X10 Handwritten in blue ink: A11, with a circle around it Handwritten in red ink: 50%sport, football, cheltenham, teams, federal football league

Sunbury United Soccer Club was established in 1973 by a group of expatriate Europeans who wanted to play the game they grew up with. Their first games were played on the recreation reserve in Evans Street on the ground designed for AFL football. (Now the site of a shopping complex). In August 1975, Sunbury United moved to its present home on seven and a half acres of sporting ground at Langama Park in Mitchells Lane . Over the years that area has developed and there are now three senior, and two junior soccer pitches with two cricket pitches and practice nets. Although there is still room for improvement to the floodlighting on the main pitch, the night games have proven successful. The Sunbury United Soccer Club has played an important roll in district competition and is one of the many sporting clubs in Sunbury.A non-digital black and white photograph of a soccer ground showing a set of goal posts with the clubrooms and change rooms in the background.soccer, sunbury united soccer club, football, langama park, mitchells lane

Colour photograph of Joel Waters Under 13 White player first recipient of Andrew Fearnley Memorial Trophy for Best on Ground Lakes Entrance Victoriaclubs, football, trophies & awards

Passenger check - preprinted form 3/201, dated June 1941, for the MMTB as a passenger check or passenger numbers. Completed for the Collingwood to Point Ormond Bus route, at Brunton Ave and Punt Rd of the Sunday 15/8/1943, football game Combined Services vs Essential Services at Richmond Ground - gives passenger numbers from 1.18pm to 3.08pm, completed by Inspector Ellis.On top edge in heavy black pencil "Easter Season 1941"trams, tramways, mmtb, public transport, buses, services, point ormond, collingwood, richmond, football

"Charity Football - 3AW v 3XY at St Kilda Ground - Sunday 14th July 1946" 3 memos from JM Harry, Dist Traffic Supt SS, regarding tram arrangements.Notations written in pencil on 1 memo. "Charity Football at St Kilda Sunday 14/7/46" in blue pencil.trams, tramways, events, st kilda, football

Football matches were a popular onshore activity and Annual reports note Reverend Weller in the 1920s managed to establish a temporary pitch and a change room facility near Port Melbourne. The donor, Wally Nancarrow, was a tailor in the Queen Victoria Building in Sydney (from Nov. 1927- Aug. 1935 on Trove) so the relation with the Melbourne Mission is unclear. The shield can be seen hanging above the canteen on item 1713 (dated c. 1950) and in the Celia Little Room. The Annual Report 1936 mentions a shield (p11) seen on page 15: "Football: The competition has been extended this year, and in the future is to include all matches played in Australian ports. The Victorian Missions to Seamen Shield is the present trophy, and the Assistant-Chaplain has been appointed Organiser and Honorary Secretary." The shield may have been done after the one mentioned in the annual report and we can only speculate nothing was ever engraved because of WW2.The collection holds many historic and later contemporary colour photos of crew football teams posed onshore and on decks. Sports and games were an essential part of the welfare services offered by the Mission when seamen had long shore leave.Wooden shield featuring two circular disk silver plaques one on each side at the top. One with the engraving of a ship and the other with the engraving of a footballer. At the top in the centre is an anchor in relief gilded with a rope attached, falling across the front of it and coiling at the bottom of the anchor. Two flags crossing over in the middle of the shield; one the Australian Navy flag and the other the Mission to Seamen flag. Laying over the top of the poles of the flags is a brass banner with the competition description engraved on it. At the bottom is a brass scroll with an inscription about who presented it and where. The shield has 12 smaller, blank silver shields along the sides. The shield is kept inside a wooden display cabinet with a glass front and navy material back ground.engraved on brass banner: For annual competition by crew of merchant ships presented by Wally Nancarrow, Sydneyshield, soccer, football, anchor, brass, silver, wally nancarrow, mission to seafarers victoria, walter james nancarrow (1885 - 1961)

The first recorded football match played injured Sunbury was in 1881 when Sunbury played Keilor on Munro's Ground which was located on land bordered by Barkly, Shields, Harker and Evans Streets.By 1892 Sunbury Club officially became known as 'The Swifts". A later game was recorded in 1895 but it wasn't until 1897 that it became a recognised football team at a meeting convened by W.A. Eadie in the Royal Hotel. Later football matches were played on railway land in Evans and Macedon Streets. In 1949 the Shire of Bulla Council passed over 26 hectares of Crown land for a new recreation ground, now the Clarke Oval. Since that time that site has been Sunbury's home ground. Sporting clubs have played an important part in the Sunbury's social life from the latter half of the nineteenth century.A non-digital copied black and white photograph of a men's football team standing and seated in two rows in front of a picket fence. sunbury football club, "the swifts', football, sporting clubs

The Nillumbik Cemetery is of historical, architectural, aesthetic and social significance at a Regional level (North-east Melbourne). The memorial arch is of State significance. Nillumbik Cemetery, which was established in 1867, is of historical and social significance for its association with the early history of Diamond Creek and as a record of the pioneering families of the district. Significant graves include those of the famous writer Alan Marshall, author of 'I Can Jump Puddles', footballer Gordon Coventry, and William Ellis, notable early settler and benefactor. The 1897 Tudor/Gothic revival memorial arch, bequeathed by William Ellis, is a rare design in ornamental gateways and is relatively large for the size of the cemetery. It is unique in Victoria as a cemetery gateway arch. The burial ground has associated structures, such as the hexagonal timber sexton's office, post and wire fence and picket hand gate along Main Street, all probably built in the early twentieth century. Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. National Trust of Australia (Victoria) - Regional significance Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p83 Entering Nillumbik Cemetery through an ornamental gateway and shaded by the Monterey Cypress hedge helps one leave the busy world outside and contemplate yesterday’s Diamond Creek. The gateway, classified by the National Trust of Australia (Victoria), and inscribed with ‘JANVA VITAE’ (gate of life), was a gift from a distinguished pioneer, William Ellis. Ellis, who was an original trustee of the Nillumbik Cemetery representing the Primitive Methodists and a successful farmer, bequeathed £100 to build the red-brick and carved stone gateway in 1887. In 1867 surveyor Edward Bage had set aside two acres (0.8ha) now 35 Main Street, for this cemetery, in what was then called the village of Nillumbik. Several earlier burials on private lands in the district might have been exhumed and re-interred in the new cemetery. The first burials in the cemetery are thought to be of ‘a Chinaman who hanged himself from a tree behind the Church of England’ and ‘another man who was drowned in a water-hole behind the same church’.1 The 1000 or so graves in the cemetery are grouped into five denominational sections: two Anglican and one each for the Methodist (the largest), Catholic and Presbyterian Churches. It is believed that several unmarked graves are of Aborigines and Chinese miners.2 Perhaps the most famous person buried in the cemetery was author Alan Marshall, who died in 1984 and wrote, among other books, I Can Jump Puddles. Surprisingly his grave is particularly modest consisting of only a grassed plot with a tiny boulder and a simple bronze plaque. It lies about halfway down the main path, at the west and third row back. The first European, interred at the cemetery on July 9, 1869, was Hannah, aged 13 years eight months, daughter of local orchardist John Lawrey and wife Honor.3 Each grave has a story which reflects a rich history. Phillip Cummings, who died in 1884, provided the barn for Diamond Creek’s first school, run by the Primitive Methodist Church. The barn stood at the corner of Phipps Crescent and the main road.4 Former Eltham Shire councillor George Stebbings, who died in 1896, built several prominent buildings in the district, including Shillinglaw Cottage in Eltham.5 The grave of miner James Joseph Whyte, who died in 1908, is a reminder of Diamond Creek’s gold mining history. At age 51, Whyte died from a rock fall in the Diamond Mine, Diamond Creek. Diamond Creek’s first butcher, Patrick Ryan, became President of the Shire of Heidelberg and Chairman of the Eltham Hurstbridge Railway Trust. A former gold miner, he was grandfather of local historian Reverend Jock Ryan. He was buried in an unmarked grave halfway down the central path. His son John Lawrence, who is buried elsewhere, had been a Mayor of the City of Heidelberg. George Martin Pizzey gave a hall, for what was to become The St John’s Anglican Church in Diamond Creek. He was a Crimean War veteran, mason and leather goods manufacturer in Melbourne, who died in 1915. The two world wars took a heavy toll of locals with 54 personnel buried here, two thirds of whom served in World War One. A sporting pioneer was Greensborough District Cricket Club founder, Andrew Webb, who was buried in 1971. Politician Roy Mountford Vale (Monte), who died in 1977, was a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Greensborough, and a founding councillor and president of the Diamond Valley Shire. Modern-day residents are also remembered in this cemetery. The tragic Ash Wednesday bushfires took their toll on the district: William Marsden of Panton Hill CFA died, aged 39, fighting bushfires at Upper Beaconsfield in 1983.6 Several graves tell of those who held distinguished positions overseas, including William Constable, who died in 1989. Constable was artistic director of a ballet company, art director of more than 30 films for London-based film productions, and was awarded best Film Art Director at the Moscow Film Festival in 1960.This collection of almost 130 photos about places and people within the Shire of Nillumbik, an urban and rural municipality in Melbourne's north, contributes to an understanding of the history of the Shire. Published in 2008 immediately prior to the Black Saturday bushfires of February 7, 2009, it documents sites that were impacted, and in some cases destroyed by the fires. It includes photographs taken especially for the publication, creating a unique time capsule representing the Shire in the early 21st century. It remains the most recent comprehenesive publication devoted to the Shire's history connecting local residents to the past. nillumbik now and then (marshall-king) collection, diamond creek, memorial arch, gateway, nillumbik cemetery, william ellis

Th members of the Sunbury Football team were photographed in the former sports ground that was on railway land bounded by Evans and Macedon Streets and the railway land. For many years that site was known as Sunbury's sports ground until 1949, when crown land facing Riddell Road was developed as a recreation and sport's ground and became known as Clarke Oval.Sport has played a prominent role in Sunbury and district's social life since the mid nineteenth century.A non-digital of a copied and enlarged black and white photograph of a team of football players standing and sitting in three rows in a sports ground. sunbury football club, "the swifts', sports clubs, football, australian rules football

This file contains two items. 1/ An article from the CAULFIELD CONTACT on the history of Glen Huntly Park and its facilities, dated Jan/ Feb 1992. It includes 2 black and white photos: one of Cr Nicholas Gold and one of Mr Victor Townsend (Secretary/Treasurer for Glen Huntly Park Committee of Management) in front of the new pavilion. 2/ Two of the same original colour photographs of the pavilion at Glen Huntly Park, date unknown.glen huntly park, e. e. gunn park, city of caulfield, caulfield, glen huntly, football clubs, cricket clubs, caulfield north ward, caulfield racecourse, neerim road caulfield, booran road caulfield, parks, reserves, glen huntly sports ground, gold nicholas cr, townsend victor, clyde holding mp, pavilions, barbecues, picnic spots, playgrounds, tennis courts, north caulfield/ glen huntly cricket club, glen huntly amateur football club, the bloods football club, australian rules football, sports establishments, recreations establishments, sports grounds, sports, recreations, sporting clubs, clubs, associations, football clubs, tennis clubs, cricket clubs, leisure, cultural events, cultural activities, ovals, playing fields