A rubber teat would be attached to the top of this nipple shield for breast feeding. From 1801 onwards, nipple shields were available in a variety of materials, such as pewter, horn, bone, ivory, wood, glass and silver. They varied in shape from a bell to a flatter, cap shaped appliance. With the application of the nipple shield, the baby was able to take milk from the breast without giving added trauma to the nipples. In the ante partum period the nipple shield could be worn to assist in drawing out flat nipples; or, as it was known during this period, for the formation of "new nipples". (Fildes, Valerie. 'Breasts, Bottles & Babies - A History of Infant Feeding', 1986) Mary Howlett (1840-1922) began practising as a country midwife in 1866 in the western district of Victoria. She qualified as a 'ladies monthly nurse' in 1887 and continued to practise as a nurse and midwife until 1920. She began her six months training at the Melbourne Lying-In Hospital. She was known by many as 'Auntie', and her career spanned more than 50 years. Mrs Howlett's midwifery box and contents were given to Dr Frank Forster, and he donated them to the museum collection in 1993. Glass nipple shield. Shape resembles that of a bell.infant feeding, midwifery

This paper was read on 14 June 1965 by Dr Frank Forster at a meeting of the section of Medical History, Victorian branch, Australian Medical Association, according to Ann Tovell, who worked at the AMA and in association with Frank. It was likely that Frank Forster acquired the midwifery box belonging to Mrs Mary Howlett at the former Eastern market that was located on the corner of Bourke and Russell Streets up to the early 1960s.Mary Howlett (1840-1922) began practising as a country midwife in 1866 in the western district of Victoria. She qualified as a 'ladies monthly nurse' in 1887 and continued to practise as a nurse and midwife until 1920.She began her six months training at the Melbourne Lying-In Hospital. She was known by many as 'Auntie', and her career spanned more than 50 years. Mrs Howlett's midwifery box and contents were given to Dr Frank Forster, and he donated them to the museum collection in 1993.A5 size paper transcript of lecture. Reprinted from The Medical Journal of Australia, 1965, 2. Pages are numbered 3 to 21.midwifery

A rubber teat would be attached to the top of this nipple shield for breast feeding. From 1801 onwards, nipple shields were available in a variety of materials, such as pewter, horn, bone, ivory, wood, glass and silver. They varied in shape from a bell to a flatter, cap shaped appliance. With the application of the nipple shield, the baby was able to take milk from the breast without giving added trauma to the nipples. In the ante partum period the nipple shield could be worn to assist in drawing out flat nipples; or, as it was known during this period, in the formation of "new nipples". (Fildes, Valerie. 'Breasts, Bottles & Babies - A History of Infant Feeding', 1986) Mary Howlett (1840-1922) began practising as a country midwife in 1866 in the western district of Victoria. She qualified as a 'ladies monthly nurse' in 1887 and continued to practise as a nurse and midwife until 1920. She began her six months training at the Melbourne Lying-In Hospital. She was known by many as 'Auntie', and her career spanned more than 50 years. Mrs Howlett's midwifery box and contents were given to Dr Frank Forster, and he donated them to the museum collection in 1993.Glass nipple shield. Shape resembles that of a bell.midwifery, infant feeding

Team Road Races were a popular feature of club cycling in the Western District of Victoria during the second half of the 20th century. The shield was initiated by the Camperdown cycling club to record team winners of the races held between the clubs in the Western District of Victoria. This shield has an important place in the history of cycling in the Western District of Victoria. A large wooden shield with silver coloured plated plaques containing inscriptions of team winners of road races in the Western District of Victoria. There is a smaller shield in the centre of the shield depicting a cyclist and above and below this are banner like plaques with inscriptions on them. Many of the inscriptions have worn with age. "Perpetual Shield/Ian Davis - Gift Specialist/Camperdown .... CycleClub/Annual Western District/Teams Championship/1948/Terang ACC/No1 Team/1949/Terang ACC/No 1 Team/1950/Warrnambool ACC/No1 Team/1951/Warrnambool ACC/No1Team/1952/WarrnamboolACC/No1Team/1953/Sebastopol/ACC/1954/Sebastopol/ACC/1955/Geelong/No1 Team/1956/Camperdown ACC/1957/Sebastopol/No1 Team/1958/Geelong ACC/No1 Team/1959/Warrnambool ACC/No1 Team/1960/Geelong ACC/No1 Team/1961/Camperdown ACC/No 1 Team/1962/Geelong Camperdown/No1 Teams/ Equal/1963/Camperdown ACC/No 1 Team/1964/Geelong ACC/No 1 Team/1965/Geelong ACC/No 1 Team/1966/Geelong ACC/No 1 Team/1967/Geelong ACC/No 1 Team/1968/Geelong ACC/No 1 Team/1969/Geelong ACC/No 1 Team/1970/Geelong ACC/No 1 Team/1971-1976/inscriptions faded/1977/Warrnambool ACC/No1 Team/1978/Warrnambool ACC/No1 Team/1979/Geelong/N. Wilson/Godfrey/MacAuley/Hose/1980/Geelong/Inscriptions faded/1981/Geelong/G. Williams/N. Williams/D. Libbis/C. Judd/1982/Geelong/G. Williams/R. Bush/ P. Macauley/I. Wood/1983/Colac/P. Forster/P. Rippon/P. Taylor/D. Lunn/1984/Ballarat/Sebastopol/P. Taylor/M. Leverett/D. Keirl/1985/Geelong/D. Williams/G. Fitsimmons/B. Crane/L. Clinnick/1986/Colac/D. Lunn/C.Caspon/D. Allan/P. Jannsen/1987/Geelong/G. Williams/P. Macauley/B. Crane/D. Fitzsimmons/1988/.../1989/.../1990/Colac/C. Cashin/D. Forster/L. Nogera/S. Cropley/1991/Colace/C. Cashin/J. Stirling/S. Cropley/1992/Geelong West/D. Whitford/D. Wilson/P. Evans/M. Varker"perpetual shield; ian davis; annual western district teams championship; terang acc; warrnambool acc; sebastopol acc; geelong acc; camperdown acc; wilson; godfrey; macauley; hose; g. williams; n. williams; d. libbis; c. judd; r. bush; p. macauley; i. wood; colac; p. forster; p. rippon; p. taylor; d.lunn; ballarat; sebastopol; p. taylor; m. leverett; d. keirl; d. williams; g. fitsimmons; b. crane; l. clinnick; d. lunn; c.caspon; d. allan; p. jannsen; p. macaule; b. crane; d. fitzsimmons; c. cashin; d. forster; l. nogera; s. cropley; c. cashin; j. stirling; d. whitford; p. evans; m. varker;

"Aboriginal approaches to the naming of places across Australia differ radically from the official introduced Anglo-Australian system. However, many of these earlier names have been incorporated into contemporary nomenclature, with considerable reinterpretations of their function and form. Recently, state jurisdictions have encouraged the adoption of a greater number of Indigenous names, sometimes alongside the accepted Anglo-Australian terms, around Sydney Harbour, for example. In some cases, the use of an introduced name, such as Gove, has been contested by local Indigenous people." "The 19 studies brought together in this book present an overview of current issues involving Indigenous placenames across the whole of Australia, drawing on the disciplines of geography, linguistics, history, and anthropology. They include meticulous studies of historical records, and perspectives stemming from contemporary Indigenous communities. The book includes a wealth of documentary information on some 400 specific placenames, including those of Sydney Harbour, the Blue Mountains, Canberra, western Victoria, the Lake Eyre district, the Victoria River District, and southwestern Cape York Peninsula." -- Publisher description. Contents: Introduction: Old and new aspects of Indigenous place-naming /? Harold Koch and Luise Hercus NSW &? ACT: 1. Aboriginal placenames around Port Jackson and Botany Bay, New South Wales, Australia: sources and uncertainties /? Val Attenbrow 2. Reinstating Aboriginal placenames around Port Jackson and Botany Bay /? Jakelin Troy and Michael Walsh 3. The recognition of Aboriginal placenames in New South Wales /? Greg Windsor 4. New insights into Gundungurra place naming /? Jim Smith 5. The methodology of reconstructing Indigenous placenames: Australian Capital Territory and south-eastern New South Wales /? Harold Koch Victoria: 6. Toponymic books and the representation of Indigenous identities /? Laura Kostanski 7. Reviving old Indigenous names for new purposes /? Laura Kostanski and Ian D. Clark 8. Reconstruction of Aboriginal microtoponymy in western and central Victoria: case studies from Tower Hill, the Hopkins River, and Lake Boga /? Ian Clark South Australia &? Central Australia: 'Aboriginal names of places in southern South Australia': placenames in the Norman B.Tindale collection of papers /? Paul Monaghan 10. Why Mulligan is not just another Irish name: Lake Callabonna, South Australia /? J.C. McEntee 11. Murkarra, a landscape nearly forgotten: the Arabana country of the noxious insects, north and northwest of Lake Eyre /? Luise Hercus 12. Some area names in the far north-east of South Australia /? Luise Hercus 13. Placenames of central Australia: European records and recent experience /? Richard Kimber Northern Australia: 14. Naming Bardi places /? Claire Bowern 15. Dog-people: the meaning of a north Kimberley story /? Mark Clendon 16. 'Where the spear sticks up': the variety of locatives in placenames in the Victoria River District, Northern Territory /? Patrick McConvell 17. 'This place already has a name' /? Melanie Wilkinson, Dr R. Marika and Nancy M. Williams 18. Manankurra: what's in a name? placenames and emotional geographies /? John J. Bradley and Amanda Kearney 19. Kurtjar placenames /? Paul Black.Maps, b&w photographs, tables, word listsaustralian placenames, sociolinguistics, linguistics, anthropology, sydney harbour placenames, blue mountains placenames, canberra placenames, western victoria placenames, lake eyre placenames, victoria river district placenames, cape york peninsula placenames

"The hated Protector" tells for the first time the real story behind the extraordinary experiences of Charles Sievwright, Assistant Aboriginal Protector from 1839-42 in what was then part of the British colony of New South Wales, but is now the Western District of the Australian state of Victoria. Sievwright, an Edinburgh-born former British army officer, lived in the bush with his young family as he tried to save the Aborigines of the District from extinction. In doing so, he would isolate himself from the rest of his fellow whites. The hated Protector tells of this process. The book should appeal to anyone interested in British colonial and Australian history, particularly in the years of first contact between British settlers and the Aborigines. More broadly, it should also appeal to anyone interested a story of one man's battle against overwhelming odds, where the price of failure was numerous deaths. It is a story of hatred, prejudice, courage, determination, and hope. In telling Sievwright's story, Lindsey Arkley draws largely on original archival material, including official reports, journals and letters, found in Melbourne, Sydney, Hobart, Edinburgh and London. Most has never before been published. The archival material is supplemented by contemporary newspaper accounts, and some oral history. Full notes are given to all sources, and the book is indexed and lavishly illustrated with drawings by Joan Bognuda, as well as about 80 paintings and samples of documents. Contents: 1. In the bush 2. "Equal and indiscriminate justice" 3. "A few doses of lead" 4. "A curse to the land" 5. "The most unpopular man" 6. Retaliation 7. A hostage debate 8. Hallucinations 9. A mass escape 10. Possessors of the soil 11. Move to Keilambete 12. Bureaucratic 13. "A hideous pandemonium" 14. Divine visitations 15. Pay backs 16. Explanations 17. A squatter on trial 18. Claptrap and deceit 19. The black cap - 20. To Mt Rouse 21. "The impending evil" 22. In the balance 23. An arrest at Mt Rouse 24. A fair moral name 25. Roger's trial 16. Intensified evidence 27. A declaration of war 28. Mr Cold Morning 29. Holding ranks 30. To rags 31. Fightback 32. Return to London 33. The inquiry 34. Judgement 35. And what remains.maps, document reproductions, b&w photographs, colour photographs, b&w illustrationscharles wightman sievwright, racial policies, british colonial history, race relations, victorian history

"The Western District Centenary Souviner"Published in 1934 as an anniversary edition for Edward Henty making his historic landing on the shores of Portland Bay on November 19, 1834Has tourism and business advertisements for Peterborough businesses. Refers to families and and early settlers of Peterborough. Sold for ? in Barry Jenkins General StoreA magazine shaped booklet. Cover replaced with wall paper and bound with tape and string. Forward stuck to front cover. Browned with age and taped on a few pagesWholly set up, Printed and Published at THE TERANG EXPRESS""Office, Terangmoyne shire, peterborough 3270, western district souvenir, peterborough general store, london bridge, great ocean road

Chronological account of the settlement along the south-western coast of Victoria written by a lifelong resident of Peterborough. Specific reference to Peterborough and the original settlers in the district starts at page 52.Information about early settlement in the district, including the origin of district placenames.82 page hardcover book with List of Contents and Index, by J.M. (Bonnie) MacKenzie published 1976Inscribed to "to Thornton on his eightieth birthday. With love and best wishes fro Wokka + June" (Thornton is Thornton (Tinny) Grimwade. Wokka is Warren Moore.)j.m.mackenzie, shipwreck coast, great ocean road, peterborough

Information about local aboriginal tribesDoesn't specifically refer to Peterborough but explains early aboriginal culture and their relationship to the coastHardcover 111 page book with 104 page of annexures and index. Introduction by Jan Critchett, Warrnambool Institute of Advanced Education.Adhesive book plate with the name H W Grimwade.peterborough pre history, kirrie wurung, kaawirn kuunawarn, hissing swan aborigines, kirrae wurung, yarruun parpur tarneen

A reminder of Pennant in a previous form of the Western District Golf Association. We think it was the Corangamite District Golf Association. Only 5 names are engraved: T.L Austin, L.F Hobson, P.G Clark, W.I Armstrong, J.S IrvineSignificant because the club was in its infancy, and did not yet have a formal clubhouse. Wooden sculptural design trophy with a figurine of a golf atop.engraved plaque on the base and one half up the arm. Engraved with C.D.G.A 1969 Division 2 Pennantpeterborough, peterborough golf club, women's golf, pennant golf

"The Australian Eleven", from the display board which hung in the Geelong Wool Exchange, Corio St, Geelong until the building was sold in 1985. Sheep were from the "Wanganella" station in Victoria.Panoramic black and white photograph of eleven merino rams in full fleece, standing in a row in front of a wire fence. The photograph has a dark, tree-lined background and each side has been blackened out. Photograph is glued to cream cardboard. Bands of glue are visible where photograph has been fixed to mounting board. Grey paper pieces glued to the back of the cream board.merino sheep, sheep australian, pastoral industry history, geelong woolbrokers' association geelong wool exchange, western district, victoria, 'wanganella' victoria, sheep - australian, pastoral industry - history

The south-west of Victoria, possessing a rich heritage of the signs of past human activity, is fertile ground for an investigation of historic places on public land. This report includes an initial inventory of almost 2000 places. The report outlines the history and the related heritage of the area, describes in some detail its biophysical attributes and introduces the natural resources and present land use. This information provides a context for understanding the origins of the historical features that are observes today.Historic places: Special investigation: South-Western Victoria: Descriptive report. Land Conservation Council. Land Conservation Council; Melbourne (Vic); January 1966. viii, 180 p.; illus.; maps. Soft cover. ISBN 0 7241 9288 3Maps in plastic sleeve.land conservation council; conservation; south-western victoria; historic places;

William Buckley was born in 1780 at Macclesfield, Cheshire, England. After time as a bricklayer and soldier he was caught with stolen property, sentenced on 2 August 1802, and transported to Australia. Between October, 1803, and January, 1804, he escaped from Sullivan's Bay in the Port Phillip district and spent the next 32 years in the company of aborigines wandering between Port Phillip and the near western district as far as Lake Corangamite. In about 1835 he was discovered by three white men, members of John Batman's Port Phillip Association investigating the area with a view to future settlement.Wild white man. Kevin Hayden. Marine History Publications; Geelong (Vic); nd. 28 p.; illus.; map. Soft cover.william buckley; aborigines; otway ranges;

Condensing 100 years of Otway history the author tries to give an insight into the thoughts and ways of the settlers in opening the western Otway Ranges. It gives some indication of the mental pressure, hand-in-hand with the physical stress, as a settler cleared the land and made a living for his family. It covers how the rail link brought in the timber mills and their workers which made timber the main industry of that era, and covers the changes that took place in the 1930s as the mills closed down and the district raised crops, dairying and grazing.The Otways that I knew. Ronald Charles 'Corker' Brown. 1st ed. Corker Brown; np; 1993. 216 p.; illus; maps. Soft cover. ISBN 0 646 16798 7otway ranges; corker brown; otway lighthouse; aborigines; beech forest; farming; grazing; crops; railways; roads; timber;

Ticket was used in 1931 and kept in storage by a member of the Edina's crew. The SS Edina was the most famous steamer in Australia and underwent a number of changes and refits during its lifetime. It had an unchallenged record of strandings and collisions with other vessels and of escaping serious damage itself. The vessels City of Melbourne, Courier, Manawatu, Excelsior (twice), Hovell, Batman, all suffered. When Edina was retired in 1938 it was the world's oldest working steamer and had travelled more than 1 million km. She was finally broken up by George Seelf on the banks of the Maribyrnong in 1957.The SS Edina was an iconic and affectionately regarded part of Port Phillips maritime history and culture. It is historically significant for being internationally famous as the worlds oldest working screw steamship between 1912 and 1938. Its career was varied and interesting and it is considered significant for its involvement in the Crimean War, US Civil War, NZ gold rushes, and locally for its career as a western district steamship and Bay steamer. The site is archaeologically significant as the only remnant of the hull of the vessel and as part of the Maribyrnong riverine landscape situated amongst the remnants of shipbuilding slipways, Footscray wharves, S781 UnidentifiedClipped and used steamship tickets [the children's tickets are an adult ticket cut in half diagonally] - Melbourne to PortarlingtonAustralian Steamships Pty Ltd, Howard Smith Ltd, managing agentsticket, steam screw vessels, ss edina, port phillip, bay steamers

A rare photograph of massed Light Horse in Victoria shortly before mechanisation consigned the horse to history.Black and white photograph of large group of horsemen in ranks waiting in the process of watering horses at a lagoon. One copy of the image claims it to be 8th Light Horse Regiment watering horses at a Murray River lagoon, South Corowa NSW, September 1939; Wahgunyah Troop, C Squadron - this side of lagoon, Lieutenant J. Nott on grey horse in water. A second copy (Cat No 0690) asserts it is 4 regiments of light horse being 8th, 13th, 20th and 4th watering horses near Torquay Victoria, March 1940.On a label on reverse of 0690: "Picture taken about March 1940 when the 13th Light Horse from Gippsland, the 8th Light Horse from Upper Murray, the 4th Light Horse from the Western Districts and the 20th Light Horse from the Goulburn Valley were in camp near Torquay. Mr Cappur Webb of Glendoxey, Seymour, a member of the 20th said the picture must have been taken during and exercise about five miles north of Torquay. “We used to water our horses in that lake”, he said."

This is a photograph of the bridge in the Bulla township which spans the Deep Creek, a tributary of the Maribyrnong River. It has been constructed from bluestone which is found across the volcanic western plains in Victoria. Kaolin was quarried from the cliff face in the background and was used in the making of bricks and pottery products manufactured at Northcote and Brunswick potteries.This is one of the many notable bluestone bridges which were built in the district in the nineteenth century.A black and white photograph of a valley with a five arched bridge spanning a river. There are high cliffs in the background.bulla township, deep creek, bridges

Used to mark butter in the boxes from the Port Fairy Butter FactoryPossibly the only butter box marker left from the Port Fairy Butter FactoryTubular embossed "Bonnie Port Western district Choicest" wooden marker. Shaped like a rolling pin. One handleBonnie Port Western district Choicestlocal history, rural industry, butter making, port fairy butter factory

xix, 327 p. : ill., map, ports. ; 24 cm. Includes indexnon-fictionTime Gentlemen Please! : A History of Western District Inns 1840-1915 An historical record of the public houses, which flourished in Belfast and Western District during the timeframe, complete with licensees.bars (drinking establishments) -- victoria -- western district, victoria -- social life and customs -- 1901-1945, victoria -- social life and customs -- 1834-1900, book

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