Often after a Service person returning from War, the Local Council would present them with a Certificate of Appreciation for their sacrifice's. In this case was to "Thomas Potter" after WW2. This is possibly 54610 Potter - Thomas RAAF, enlisted 27.4.1942 age 44. Discharged 22.3.1946 with the rank of Cpl in Air Defence HQ Townsville.Large Certificate on cream colour paper. Gold frame edges drawn inside of paper edge. Pictures of series of different service people standing over British & Australian flag and emblem of "City of Bendigo". Message of thanks and the name of returned soldier, followed by a poem and signature of Mayor and Town Clerk and stamp of Council. All overlaid over an image of Bendigo CBD.Signed by Mayor and Town Clerk. Says " The Citizens of Bendigo express deep Thankfulness to T. Potter"bendigo city council, certificate, thomas potter

Francis John WILLIAMS No 7326 enlisted on 22.9.1916 in the 24th reinforcements 8th Batt AIF aged 18 years 1 month. Embarked for England 19.2.1917, embarked fro France 18.10.1917, WIA 9.8.1918 GSW to right shoulder. Promoted Temp Sergeant 1.6.1919, discharged from the AIF on 11.7.1920 medically unfit not due to misconduct. Pre War he had 3 years in Snr Cadets. Refer Reg No's 66 & 68P. Medal set, court mounted. .1) British War medal 1914-1918. Ribbon on own is for the Victory medal 1914 — 19. .2) Badge, copper coloured - Returned from Active Service WW1..1) Engraved: ”7326 T-SGT F.J.WILLIAMS-8BN-AIF” .2) Engraved on rear: “117672”awards, numismatics - medals, metalcraft, military history

This print belonged to Dr.William Roy Angus, Surgeon and Oculist. It was donated to Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village by his daughter, Bernice McDade. It is part of the “W.R. Angus Collection” that includes historical medical equipment, surgical instruments and material once belonging to Dr Edward Ryan and Dr Thomas Francis Ryan, (both of Nhill, Victoria) as well as Dr Angus’ own belongings. The Collection’s history spans the medical practices of the two Doctors Ryan, from 1885-1926 plus that of Dr Angus, up until 1969. ABOUT THE “W.R.ANGUS COLLECTION” Doctor William Roy Angus M.B., B.S., Adel., 1923, F.R.C.S. Edin.,1928 (also known as Dr Roy Angus) was born in Murrumbeena, Victoria in 1901 and lived until 1970. He qualified as a doctor in 1923 at University of Adelaide, was Resident Medical Officer at the Royal Adelaide Hospital in 1924 and for a period was house surgeon to Sir (then Mr.) Henry Simpson Newland. Dr Angus was briefly an Assistant to Dr Riddell of Kapunda, then commenced private practice at Curramulka, Yorke Peninsula, SA, where he was physician, surgeon and chemist. In 1926, he was appointed as new Medical Assistant to Dr Thomas Francis Ryan (T.F. Ryan, or Tom), in Nhill, Victoria, where his experiences included radiology and pharmacy. In 1927 he was Acting House Surgeon in Dr Tom Ryan’s absence. Dr Angus had become engaged to Gladys Forsyth and they decided he would take time to further his studies overseas in the UK in 1927. He studied at London University College Hospital and at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and in 1928, was awarded FRCS (Fellow from the Royal College of Surgeons), Edinburgh. He worked his passage back to Australia as a Ship’s Surgeon on the on the Australian Commonwealth Line’s T.S.S. Largs Bay. Dr Angus married Gladys in 1929, in Ballarat. (They went on to have one son (Graham 1932, born in SA) and two daughters (Helen (died 12/07/1996) and Berenice (Berry), both born at Mira, Nhill ) Dr Angus was a ‘flying doctor’ for the A.I.M. (Australian Inland Ministry) Aerial Medical Service in 1928 . The organisation began in South Australia through the Presbyterian Church in that year, with its first station being in the remote town of Oodnadatta, where Dr Angus was stationed. He was locum tenens there on North-South Railway at 21 Mile Camp. He took up this ‘flying doctor’ position in response to a call from Dr John Flynn; the organisation was later known as the Flying Doctor Service, then the Royal Flying Doctor Service. A lot of his work during this time involved dental surgery also. Between 1928-1932 he was surgeon at the Curramulka Hospital, Yorke Peninsula, South Australia. In 1933 Dr Angus returned to Nhill where he’d previously worked as Medical Assistant and purchased a share of the Nelson Street practice and Mira hospital from Dr Les Middleton one of the Middleton Brothers, the current owners of what was once Dr Tom Ryan’s practice. Dr L Middleton was House Surgeon to the Nhill Hospital 1926-1933, when he resigned. [Dr Tom Ryan’s practice had originally belonged to his older brother Dr Edward Ryan, who came to Nhill in 1885. Dr Edward saw patients at his rooms, firstly in Victoria Street and in 1886 in Nelson Street, until 1901. The Nelson Street practice also had a 2 bed ward, called Mira Private Hospital ). Dr Edward Ryan was House Surgeon at the Nhill Hospital 1884-1902 . He also had occasions where he successfully performed veterinary surgery for the local farmers too. Dr Tom Ryan then purchased the practice from his brother in 1901. Both Dr Edward and Dr Tom Ryan work as surgeons included eye surgery. Dr Tom Ryan performed many of his operations in the Mira private hospital on his premises. He too was House Surgeon at the Nhill Hospital 1902-1926. Dr Tom Ryan had one of the only two pieces of radiology equipment in Victoria during his practicing years – The Royal Melbourne Hospital had the other one. Over the years Dr Tom Ryan gradually set up what was effectively a training school for country general-practitioner-surgeons. Each patient was carefully examined, including using the X-ray machine, and any surgery was discussed and planned with Dr Ryan’s assistants several days in advance. Dr Angus gained experience in using the X-ray machine there during his time as assistant to Dr Ryan. Dr Tom Ryan moved from Nhill in 1926. He became a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in 1927, soon after its formation, a rare accolade for a doctor outside any of the major cities. He remained a bachelor and died suddenly on 7th Dec 1955, aged 91, at his home in Ararat. Scholarships and prizes are still awarded to medical students in the honour of Dr T.F. Ryan and his father, Dr Michael Ryan, and brother, John Patrick Ryan. ] When Dr Angus bought into the Nelson Street premises in Nhill he was also appointed as the Nhill Hospital’s Honorary House Surgeon 1933-1938. His practitioner’s plate from his Nhill surgery states “HOURS Daily, except Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturday afternoons, 9-10am, 2-4pm, 7-8pm. Sundays by appointment”. This plate is now mounted on the doorway to the Port Medical Office at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village, Warrnambool. Dr Edward Ryan and Dr Tom Ryan had an extensive collection of historical medical equipment and materials spanning 1884-1926 and when Dr Angus took up practice in their old premises he obtained this collection, a large part of which is now on display at the Port Medical Office at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village in Warrnambool. During his time in Nhill Dr Angus was involved in the merging of the Mira Hospital and Nhill Public Hospital into one public hospital and the property titles passed on to Nhill Hospital in 1939. In 1939 Dr Angus and his family moved to Warrnambool where he purchased “Birchwood,” the 1852 home and medical practice of Dr John Hunter Henderson, at 214 Koroit Street. (This property was sold in1965 to the State Government and is now the site of the Warrnambool Police Station. ). The Angus family was able to afford gardeners, cooks and maids; their home was a popular place for visiting dignitaries to stay whilst visiting Warrnambool. Dr Angus had his own silk worm farm at home in a Mulberry tree. His young daughter used his centrifuge for spinning the silk. Dr Angus was appointed on a part-time basis as Port Medical Officer (Health Officer) in Warrnambool and held this position until the 1940’s when the government no longer required the service of a Port Medical Officer in Warrnambool; he was thus Warrnambool’s last serving Port Medical Officer. (The duties of a Port Medical Officer were outlined by the Colonial Secretary on 21st June, 1839 under the terms of the Quarantine Act. Masters of immigrant ships arriving in port reported incidents of diseases, illness and death and the Port Medical Officer made a decision on whether the ship required Quarantine and for how long, in this way preventing contagious illness from spreading from new immigrants to the residents already in the colony.) Dr Angus was a member of the Australian Medical Association, for 35 years and surgeon at the Warrnambool Base Hospital 1939-1942, He served as a Surgeon Captain during WWII1942-45, in Ballarat, Victoria, and in Bonegilla, N.S.W., completing his service just before the end of the war due to suffering from a heart attack. During his convalescence he carved an intricate and ‘most artistic’ chess set from the material that dentures were made from. He then studied ophthalmology at the Royal Melbourne Eye and Ear Hospital and created cosmetically superior artificial eyes by pioneering using the intrascleral cartilage. Angus received accolades from the Ophthalmological Society of Australasia for this work. He returned to Warrnambool to commence practice as an ophthalmologist, pioneering in artificial eye improvements. He was Honorary Consultant Ophthalmologist to Warrnambool Base Hospital for 31 years. He made monthly visits to Portland as a visiting surgeon, to perform eye surgery. He represented the Victorian South-West subdivision of the Australian Medical Association as its secretary between 1949 and 1956 and as chairman from 1956 to 1958. In 1968 Dr Angus was elected member of Spain’s Barraquer Institute of Barcelona after his research work in Intrasclearal cartilage grafting, becoming one of the few Australian ophthalmologists to receive this honour, and in the following year presented his final paper on Living Intrasclearal Cartilage Implants at the Inaugural Meeting of the Australian College of Ophthalmologists in Melbourne In his personal life Dr Angus was a Presbyterian and treated Sunday as a Sabbath, a day of rest. He would visit 3 or 4 country patients on a Sunday, taking his children along ‘for the ride’ and to visit with him. Sunday evenings he would play the pianola and sing Scottish songs to his family. One of Dr Angus’ patients was Margaret MacKenzie, author of a book on local shipwrecks that she’d seen as an eye witness from the late 1880’s in Peterborough, Victoria. In the early 1950’s Dr Angus, painted a picture of a shipwreck for the cover jacket of Margaret’s book, Shipwrecks and More Shipwrecks. She was blind in later life and her daughter wrote the actual book for her. Dr Angus and his wife Gladys were very involved in Warrnambool’s society with a strong interest in civic affairs. Their interests included organisations such as Red Cross, Rostrum, Warrnambool and District Historical Society (founding members), Wine and Food Society, Steering Committee for Tertiary Education in Warrnambool, Local National Trust, Good Neighbour Council, Housing Commission Advisory Board, United Services Institute, Legion of Ex-Servicemen, Olympic Pool Committee, Food for Britain Organisation, Warrnambool Hospital, Anti-Cancer Council, Boys’ Club, Charitable Council, National Fitness Council and Air Raid Precautions Group. He was also a member of the Steam Preservation Society and derived much pleasure from a steam traction engine on his farm. He had an interest in people and the community He and his wife Gladys were both involved in the creation of Flagstaff Hill, including the layout of the gardens. After his death (28th March 1970) his family requested his practitioner’s plate, medical instruments and some personal belongings be displayed in the Port Medical Office surgery at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village, and be called the “W. R. Angus Collection”.The W.R. Angus Collection is significant for still being located at the site it is connected with, Doctor Angus being the last Port Medical Officer in Warrnambool. The collection of medical instruments and other items and equipment is culturally significant, being an historical example of medicine from late 19th to mid-20th century. Dr Angus assisted Dr Tom Ryan, a pioneer in the use of X-rays and in ocular surgery.A black and white print of the Port of Warrnambool surrounded by a maroon and gold printed frame. The object is part of the W.R. Angus Collection. 'Published by Sands & Kenny Melbourne & Sydney 1857'. 'J Tingle' ?. 'S T Gill del'.flagstaff hill maritime museum and village, great ocean road, shipwreck coast, port of warrnambool, prints, sands & kenny, w.r. angus

Item relates to the collection of R T PHILLIPS VX113093, refer Cat No 3239P for his service details.Published in The Bendigo Advertiser, Tue 13.11.1934, pages 9 & 10. Newspaper article titled Duke Visits Bendigo, Historic Loyal Demonstration. Reverse: Page 7 Article re Armistice Day in England; Page 8 Editorial, small articles & advertising. Black ink on sepia paper, illustrated, numerous photos.documents - newspapers, military history, advertiser, 1934

Item in the collection re R T PHILLIPS VX113093, refer Reg No 3239P for his service details..1) Pilot's flying goggles. Pear shaped lens, pivoted in centre made probably of multi layer glass. Painted black metal frame. The surrounds are of a stretch fabric material. The air seal is an open weave material with lambswool stitched into it. An elastic strap with two buckles hold it on the user's head. .2) Small black leather case to hold goggles. Press stud closure.military equipment - air force, flying

One of a collection of 6 postcards donated by T. H. Hill Climbing Pyramid Rock is now banned. Sepia postcard of Pyramid Rock, Phillip Island with two men on the top. Rather dangerous I would think!! "The Rose Series, P. 663" "The Pyramid, Cowes, Phillip is., Victoria"pyramid rock, cliffs and shoreline pyramid rock, coastline - rock formation - pyramid rock, phillip island rock formation

The Military Medal was awarded to T Adams for his actions during the Battle of Dernacourt,Somme, France ,1918This Military Medal is historically significant for it was won during a critical battle in WWI where Australian troops were rushed into position to halt the German Offensive called Operation Michael. Taking up the role as a Lewis Gunner Thomas Adams was able to protect a section of the Front line he was assigned to. T Adams was also one of a very few men from the Warrnambool district to have been awarded a Military Medal.3 Medals in total 1 Military Medal 1 British War Medal 1 Victory Medal

Deep Lead Primary School Teacher and Pupils 1908. Head Teacher Mr William T Cuthill.stawell education

Although newly made, the red T-Shirt celebrates the Australian Red Cross 100yrs, 1914-2014.as aboveRed Tee Shirt size large with round neck and short sleeves.On Front: 'The Power of Humanity'|* A white circle in centre with a red cross and worded: 'Australian Red Cross'|* On left side written in white writing: '100 Years, people helping people, 1914-2014'costume, female uniform, civilian

The Cunningham Shield was presented for Troop Competition by former Commanding Officer Lieutenant Colonel T A I CunninghamBlack and white photograph of Major D. J. Hunter presenting Cunningham Shield to W.O. 11 M. Brudusic, Troop Leader of Administration Troop, the winner of the 8/13VMR Troop Competition 1978

Photograph by Wal Jack, of T class 178 at Point Ormond, c1950. Has a destination of Point Ormond.Yields information about one-man operation of Point Ormond trams.Black and white negative.trams, tramways, t class, point ormond, tram 178

Coloured photograph of the Regional Athletics Team 1987. The children are wearing yellow Golden Square t shirts. One is wearinga plain yellow t shirt.They are also wearing dark blue or light blue shorts or track pants. The names of the children are:- Back Row (L - R) Theo Gouskos, Tracey Saunders, Oliver White, Laura Metcalf, Sonya Webster, David Styles. Front Row (L - R) Paul Bennett, David Saunders, Travis Breheny, Jamie Bennett.education, primary, golden square laurel st p.s., golden square laurel street p.s. collection - photograph regional athletics team 1987, theo gouskos, tracey saunders, oliver white, laura metcalf, sonya webster, david styles, paul bennett, david saunders, travis breheny, jamie bennett

Bendigo Advertiser "The way we were" from Saturday, May 8, 2004. Days of yore: the Korong Shire councillors and officers in 1900. Back row from left: Cr R. Redwood, S. Rinder (secretary), Cr J. Catto, Cr D. Chalmer. Middle row: Cr T. Tunsall, Cr J. McKechie, Cr T. Morphel, Cr E. Ennis. Front row: R.R. Hawkin (engineer) J.R. Gray (assistant secretary), Cr R. Kennedy.newspaper, bendigo advertiser, the way we were

Black and white photo of the Long Gully Football Club 1926. Gurnseys have vertical stripes and horizontal striped sleeves. Names are: C Rowe, J Steele, H Metcalf, T Paynting, W Trewarne, W Boucher, J Hoskin, Pat Kelly, Potter, H Salter, T Craig, J Martin, R Rosewarne, A Palmer, A Waterson, R Grenfell, B Whitford, H Beckensall, H Boucher, J Casley, B Bodilly, P Wellington and R Rowe.bendigo, history, long gully history group, the long gully history group - long gully football club 1926, c rowe, j steele, h metcalf, t paynting, w trewarne, w boucher, j hoskin, pat kelly, potter, h salter, t craig, j martin, r rosewarne, a palmer, a waterson, r grenfell, b whitford, h beckensall, h boucher, j casley, b bodilly, p wellington, r rowe, bartlett bros

Falls Creek is a resort town in northeastern Victoria. Its development began during the construction of the Kiewa Hydro Electric Scheme by the SECV in the late 1940s. The resort continued to develop becoming a destination all year round for skiing, bush walking and cycling. Falls Creek began to develop during the construction of the KHES.2 Black and white photos of Falls Creek during winter. 1. 5 buildings in Falls Creek Bowl including the Frying Pan Inn, Bogong Ski Club and Cummings Ski Hire and about 20 skiers on the slopes. Photo is taken from the bottom of the Summit T-bar looking towards the Gully chair and part of the Village T-bar. 2. View taken from Falls Creek village looking towards Spion Kop. 1960s cable binding skis in the foreground.On the back reference to Laurie Richards photographer.falls creek village, skiing, snow sports, laurie richards

This item is from the ‘Pattison Collection’, a collection of books and records that was originally owned by the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute, which was founded in Warrnambool in 1853. By 1886 the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute (WMI) had grown to have a Library, Museum and Fine Arts Gallery, with a collection of “… choice productions of art, and valuable specimens in almost every branch and many wonderful national curiosities are now to be seen there, including historic relics of the town and district.” It later included a School of Design. Although it was very well patronised, the lack of financial support led the WMI in 1911 to ask the City Council to take it over. In 1935 Ralph Pattison was appointed as City Librarian to establish and organise the Warrnambool Library as it was then called. When the WMI building was pulled down in 1963 a new civic building was erected on the site and the new Warrnambool Library, on behalf of the City Council, took over all the holdings of the WMI. At this time some of the items were separated and identified as the ‘Pattison Collection’, named after Ralph Pattison. Eventually the components of the WMI were distributed from the Warrnambool Library to various places, including the Art Gallery, Historical Society and Flagstaff Hill. Later some were even distributed to other regional branches of Corangamite Regional Library and passed to and fro. It is difficult now to trace just where all of the items have ended up. The books at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village generally display stamps and markings from Pattison as well as a variety of other institutions including the Mechanics’ Institute itself. RALPH ERIC PATTISON Ralph Eric Pattison was born in Rockhampton, Queensland, in 1891. He married Maude Swan from Warrnambool in 1920 and they set up home in Warrnambool. In 1935 Pattison accepted a position as City Librarian for the Warrnambool City Council. His huge challenge was to make a functional library within two rooms of the Mechanics’ Institute. He tirelessly cleaned, cleared and sorted a disarrayed collection of old books, jars of preserved specimens and other items reserved for exhibition in the city’s museum. He developed and updated the library with a wide variety of books for all tastes, including reference books for students; a difficult task to fulfil during the years following the Depression. He converted all of the lower area of the building into a library, reference room and reading room for members and the public. The books were sorted and stored using a cataloguing and card index system that he had developed himself. He also prepared the upper floor of the building and established the Art Gallery and later the Museum, a place to exhibit the many old relics that had been stored for years for this purpose. One of the treasures he found was a beautiful ancient clock, which he repaired, restored and enjoyed using in his office during the years of his service there. Ralph Pattison was described as “a meticulous gentleman whose punctuality, floorless courtesy and distinctive neat dress were hallmarks of his character, and ‘his’ clock controlled his daily routine, and his opening and closing of the library’s large heavy doors to the minute.” Pattison took leave during 1942 to 1945 to serve in the Royal Australian Navy, Volunteer Reserve as Lieutenant. A few years later he converted one of the Museum’s rooms into a Children’s Library, stocking it with suitable books for the younger generation. This was an instant success. In the 1950’s he had the honour of being appointed to the Victorian Library Board and received more inspiration from the monthly conferences in Melbourne. He was sadly retired in 1959 after over 23 years of service, due to the fact that he had gone over the working age of council officers. However he continued to take a very keen interest in the continual development of the Library until his death in 1969. WARRNAMBOOL PUBLIC LIBRARY The Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute (WMI) was formed by a voluntary community group in 1863, within six years of Warrnambool’s beginnings, and its Reading Room opened in 1854. The WMI operated until 1963, at which time it was one of the oldest Mechanics’ Institutes in Victoria. Mechanics’ Institutes offered important services to the public including libraries, reading rooms and places to display and store collections of all sorts such as curiosities and local historical relics. In 1886 a Museum and Fine Arts Gallery were added to the WMI and by the beginning of the 20th century there was also a billiards room and a School of Art. By this time all Mechanics’ Institutes in country Victoria had museums attached. Over the years the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute Library was also known as the Warrnambool Public Library the Warrnambool Library and the Free Library. Early funding from the government was for the “Free Library”. The inscription in a book “Science of Man” was for the “Warrnambool Public Library”, donated by Joseph Archibald in 1899. Another inscription in the book “Catalogue of Plants Under Cultivation in the Melbourne Botanic Gardens 1 & 2, 1883” was presented to the “Warrnambool Library” and signed by the author W.R. Guilfoyle. In 1903 the Warrnambool Public Library decided to add a Juvenile Department to library and stock it with hundreds of books suitable for youth. In 1905 the Public Library committee decided to update the collection of books and added 100 new novels plus arrangements for the latest novels to be included as soon as they were available in Victoria. In July 1911 the Warrnambool Council took over the management of the Public Library, Art Gallery, Museum and Mechanics’ Institute and planned to double the size of the then-current building. In 1953, when Mr. R. Pattison was Public Librarian, the Warrnambool Public Library’s senior section 10,000 of the 13,000 books were fiction. The children’s section offered an additional 3,400 books. The library had the equivalent of one book per head of population and served around 33 percent of the reading population. The collection of books was made up of around 60 percent reference and 40 percent fiction. The library was lending 400 books per day. In 1963 the Warrnambool City Council allocated the site of the Mechanics’ Institute building, which included the Public Library, Museum and Art Gallery, for the new Municipal Offices and the Collections were dispersed until 1971. The Warrnambool Library took over the Mechanics’ Institute Library’s holdings on behalf of the Warrnambool City Council. Since the closure of the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute the exact location and composition of the original WMI books and items has become unclear. Other materials have been added to the collection, including items from Terang MI, Warrnambool Court House and Customs House. Many of the books have been identified as the Pattison Collection, named after the Librarian who catalogued and numbered the books during his time as Warrnambool Public Librarian in the time before the Mechanics’ Institute closed. It seems that when Warrnambool became part of the Corangamite Regional Library some of the books and materials went to its head office in Colac and then back to Warrnambool where they were stored at the Art Gallery for quite some time. Some then went to the Warrnambool Historical Society, some stayed at the Art Gallery and some were moved to Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village. The various stamps and labels on the books held at Flagstaff Hill show the variety of the collection’s distribution and origin. The books in the collection at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village date from the 1850’s to the late 1950’s and include rare and valuable volumes. Many of the books are part of the “Pattison Collection” after the Warrnambool’s Public Librarian, Mr. R. Pattison. The Pattison Collection, along with other items at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village, was originally part of the Warrnambool Mechanics' Institute’s collection. The Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute Collection is primarily significant in its totality, rather than for the individual objects it contains. Its contents are highly representative of the development of Mechanics' Institute libraries across Australia, particularly Victoria. A diversity of publications and themes has been amassed, and these provide clues to our understanding of the nature of and changes in the reading habits of Victorians from the 1850s to the middle of the 20th century. The collection also highlights the Warrnambool community’s commitment to the Mechanics’ Institute, reading, literacy and learning in the regions, and proves that access to knowledge was not impeded by distance. These items help to provide a more complete picture of our community’s ideals and aspirations. The Warrnambool Mechanics Institute book collection has historical and social significance for its strong association with the Mechanics Institute movement and the important role it played in the intellectual, cultural and social development of people throughout the latter part of the nineteenth century and the early twentieth century. The collection of books is a rare example of an early lending library and its significance is enhanced by the survival of an original collection of many volumes. The Warrnambool Mechanics' Institute’s publication collection is of both local and state significance. The Warrnambool Mechanics' Institute Collection is primarily significant in its totality, rather than for the individual objects it contains. Its contents are highly representative of the development of Mechanics' Institute libraries across Australia, particularly Victoria. A diversity of publications and themes has been amassed, and these provide clues to our understanding of the nature of and changes in the reading habits of Victorians from the 1850s to the middle of the 20th century. The collection also highlights the Warrnambool community’s commitment to the Mechanics’ Institute, and to reading, literacy and learning in the regions, and proves that access to knowledge was not impeded by distance. These items help to provide a more complete picture of our community’s ideals and aspirations. As with many Mechanics' Institutes in Australia, the one which operated in Warrnambool was established and overseen for many years by key individuals associated with the development of the city itself. The WMI publication collection is historically significant because of its association with local people, places and the key historical themes in the development of Warrnambool of rural development, industry, farming, education, and community. The collection documents and illustrates the changing interests, focus and tastes of Victorians, especially those in regional cities. Generally the individual items in the collection are not particularly rare, as examples of all probably exist in other public collections in Victoria. It is primarily because there are so very few surviving Mechanics' Institute collections in Victoria, which lends this overall collection its significance. Many items in the WMI Collection have the potential to support further research, both as individual objects and through the collection in its entirety. This material is significant for its ability to assist in the interpretation of the history of the area and adds to the general understanding of the development of the township. Many components of the WMI publication collection complement and reinforce the Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum Collection, the Warrnambool Art Gallery Collection, and that in the Warrnambool Historical Society, and also contribute to a clearer understanding of the original Warrnambool Mechanics' Institute collections. This will greatly enhance the appreciation of the few surviving Mechanics' Institute collections across Victoria, and also in New South Wales. The similarities and differences between the small number of collections that have survived can provide further insights into how the people of Victoria in general, and Warrnambool in particular, constructed a civic culture of adult learning to foster an informed citizenry. The Warrnambool Mechanics' Institute publication collection is of both local and state significance. The Life and Adventures of James P Beckwourth,Mountaineer, Scout, Pioneer, and Chief of the Crow Nation of Indians Written from his own Dictation by T.D. Bonner Publisher: T Fisher Unwin Date: 1891Label on spine cover with typed text PAT 920 BEC Pastedown front endpaper has sticker from Warrnambool Public Library Front loose endpaper has a sticker and stamp from Corangamite Regional Library Service warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, shipwrecked-artefact, book, pattison collection, warrnambool library, warrnambool mechanics’ institute, ralph eric pattison, corangamite regional library service, warrnambool city librarian, mechanics’ institute library, victorian library board, warrnambool books and records, warrnambool children’s library, great ocean road, the life and adventures of james p beckwourth, james p beckwourth, t.d. bonner, t d bonner

Orbost Beans & Grains Co-Op was an extension of Snowy River Sweet Corn Co-Op which also sold fresh produce such as corn, squash, zucchini and cucumbers. This bag is unused and would have been packed with borlotti beans.Snowy River Seeds started life as a farmers' co-operative (Snowy River Co-op) in 1967. This item is significant because it was specially made for the seed bean industry which was a major industry in the Orbost district for over a century. A white woven synthetic bag used for packing borlotti beans. Inside a red outline of Australia are seven green beans. Victoria is outlined and Orbost is indicated with a red d t. Print is red and green. On front : Grown & Packed By Orbost Beans & Grain Co-Op 25 kg Orbost Victoria Produce of Australia seed-bag snowy-river-co-op agriculture farming orbost-beans

Cast Iron Tea Kitchen, comprising a kettle, No lid with hook attached to swivel handle and a brass tap attached to side of kettle. 5 gallon T & C Clark & Co Wolverhampton imprinted on kettle.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village