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Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Furniture - Pew, Circa 1944
This pew is one of a set of fifteen church pews originally used in St. Nicholas Seamen’s Church, 139 Nelson Place, Williamstown, Victoria, during religious services there. The Church was operated by the Mission to Seamen organisation. The pews were donated to the St Nicholas Seamen’s Church by the Williamstown Lightkeepers’ Auxiliary, founded by Ethel Margaret Musther, M.B.E. * for more detailed history please see our Registration Number 611, Set of Pews The set of pews is significant historically for its origin in the St Nicholas Mission to Seamen's Church in Williamstown, established in 1857 to cater for the physical, social, and spiritual needs of seafarers. It originated in Bristol, England when a Seamen's Mission was formed in 1837. The set of pews id historically significant for their connection to the Ladies Lightkeepers’ Auxiliary, an organisation of women, formed to support seafarers. The connection of these pews to the Mission to Seamen and to the Ladies Lightkeepers’ Auxiliary highlights the strong community awareness of the life of people at sea, their dangers and hardships, and their need for physical, financial, spiritual and moral support. Church pew, one of a set of fifteen varnished wooden church pews. The pews have a shelf fitted at the behind the backrest. Ten pews also have hinged kneeling stands attached to them underneath the seats. This is one of a set of original items in our ‘St Nicholas Seamen's Church Williamstown Collection’. flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, religion, religious service, lightkeepers’ auxiliary, mrs musther, missions to seamen victoria, mission to seafarers, flying angel’s club, st nicholas seaman’s church williamstown, st nicholas mission to seamen church williamstown, mission to seamen williamstown, st nicholas seamen’s church flagstaff hill, 139 nelson place williamstown, church furniture, church seats, church pew, religious furniture, religious worship, anglican church, set of pews -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Furniture - Pew, Circa 1944
This pew is one of a set of fifteen church pews originally used in St. Nicholas Seamen’s Church, 139 Nelson Place, Williamstown, Victoria, during religious services there. The Church was operated by the Mission to Seamen organisation. The pews were donated to the St Nicholas Seamen’s Church by the Williamstown Lightkeepers’ Auxiliary, founded by Ethel Margaret Musther, M.B.E. * for more detailed history please see our Registration Number 611, Set of Pews The set of pews is significant historically for its origin in the St Nicholas Mission to Seamen's Church in Williamstown, established in 1857 to cater for the physical, social, and spiritual needs of seafarers. It originated in Bristol, England when a Seamen's Mission was formed in 1837. The set of pews id historically significant for their connection to the Ladies Lightkeepers’ Auxiliary, an organisation of women, formed to support seafarers. The connection of these pews to the Mission to Seamen and to the Ladies Lightkeepers’ Auxiliary highlights the strong community awareness of the life of people at sea, their dangers and hardships, and their need for physical, financial, spiritual and moral support. Church pew, one of a set of fifteen varnished wooden church pews. The pews have a shelf fitted at the behind the backrest. Ten pews also have hinged kneeling stands attached to them underneath the seats. This is one of a set of original items in our ‘St Nicholas Seamen's Church Williamstown Collection’. flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, religion, religious service, lightkeepers’ auxiliary, mrs musther, missions to seamen victoria, mission to seafarers, flying angel’s club, st nicholas seaman’s church williamstown, st nicholas mission to seamen church williamstown, mission to seamen williamstown, st nicholas seamen’s church flagstaff hill, 139 nelson place williamstown, church furniture, church seats, church pew, religious furniture, religious worship, anglican church, set of pews -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Furniture - Pew, Circa 1944
This pew is one of a set of fifteen church pews originally used in St. Nicholas Seamen’s Church, 139 Nelson Place, Williamstown, Victoria, during religious services there. The Church was operated by the Mission to Seamen organisation. The pews were donated to the St Nicholas Seamen’s Church by the Williamstown Lightkeepers’ Auxiliary, founded by Ethel Margaret Musther, M.B.E. * for more detailed history please see our Registration Number 611, Set of Pews The set of pews is significant historically for its origin in the St Nicholas Mission to Seamen's Church in Williamstown, established in 1857 to cater for the physical, social, and spiritual needs of seafarers. It originated in Bristol, England when a Seamen's Mission was formed in 1837. The set of pews id historically significant for their connection to the Ladies Lightkeepers’ Auxiliary, an organisation of women, formed to support seafarers. The connection of these pews to the Mission to Seamen and to the Ladies Lightkeepers’ Auxiliary highlights the strong community awareness of the life of people at sea, their dangers and hardships, and their need for physical, financial, spiritual and moral support. Church pew, one of a set of fifteen varnished wooden church pews. The pews have a shelf fitted at the behind the backrest. Ten pews also have hinged kneeling stands attached to them underneath the seats. This is one of a set of original items in our ‘St Nicholas Seamen's Church Williamstown Collection’. flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, religion, religious service, lightkeepers’ auxiliary, mrs musther, missions to seamen victoria, mission to seafarers, flying angel’s club, st nicholas seaman’s church williamstown, st nicholas mission to seamen church williamstown, mission to seamen williamstown, st nicholas seamen’s church flagstaff hill, 139 nelson place williamstown, church furniture, church seats, church pew, religious furniture, religious worship, anglican church, set of pews -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Furniture - Pew, Circa 1944
This pew is one of a set of fifteen church pews originally used in St. Nicholas Seamen’s Church, 139 Nelson Place, Williamstown, Victoria, during religious services there. The Church was operated by the Mission to Seamen organisation. The pews were donated to the St Nicholas Seamen’s Church by the Williamstown Lightkeepers’ Auxiliary, founded by Ethel Margaret Musther, M.B.E. * for more detailed history please see our Registration Number 611, Set of Pews The set of pews is significant historically for its origin in the St Nicholas Mission to Seamen's Church in Williamstown, established in 1857 to cater for the physical, social, and spiritual needs of seafarers. It originated in Bristol, England when a Seamen's Mission was formed in 1837. The set of pews id historically significant for their connection to the Ladies Lightkeepers’ Auxiliary, an organisation of women, formed to support seafarers. The connection of these pews to the Mission to Seamen and to the Ladies Lightkeepers’ Auxiliary highlights the strong community awareness of the life of people at sea, their dangers and hardships, and their need for physical, financial, spiritual and moral support. Church pew, one of a set of fifteen varnished wooden church pews. The pews have a shelf fitted at the behind the backrest. Ten pews also have hinged kneeling stands attached to them underneath the seats. This is one of a set of original items in our ‘St Nicholas Seamen's Church Williamstown Collection’. flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, religion, religious service, lightkeepers’ auxiliary, mrs musther, missions to seamen victoria, mission to seafarers, flying angel’s club, st nicholas seaman’s church williamstown, st nicholas mission to seamen church williamstown, mission to seamen williamstown, st nicholas seamen’s church flagstaff hill, 139 nelson place williamstown, church furniture, church seats, church pew, religious furniture, religious worship, anglican church, set of pews -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Furniture - Pew, Circa 1944
This pew is one of a set of fifteen church pews originally used in St. Nicholas Seamen’s Church, 139 Nelson Place, Williamstown, Victoria, during religious services there. The Church was operated by the Mission to Seamen organisation. The pews were donated to the St Nicholas Seamen’s Church by the Williamstown Lightkeepers’ Auxiliary, founded by Ethel Margaret Musther, M.B.E. * for more detailed history please see our Registration Number 611, Set of Pews The set of pews is significant historically for its origin in the St Nicholas Mission to Seamen's Church in Williamstown, established in 1857 to cater for the physical, social, and spiritual needs of seafarers. It originated in Bristol, England when a Seamen's Mission was formed in 1837. The set of pews id historically significant for their connection to the Ladies Lightkeepers’ Auxiliary, an organisation of women, formed to support seafarers. The connection of these pews to the Mission to Seamen and to the Ladies Lightkeepers’ Auxiliary highlights the strong community awareness of the life of people at sea, their dangers and hardships, and their need for physical, financial, spiritual and moral support. Church pew, one of a set of fifteen varnished wooden church pews. The pews have a shelf fitted at the behind the backrest. Ten pews also have hinged kneeling stands attached to them underneath the seats. This is one of a set of original items in our ‘St Nicholas Seamen's Church Williamstown Collection’. flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, religion, religious service, lightkeepers’ auxiliary, mrs musther, missions to seamen victoria, mission to seafarers, flying angel’s club, st nicholas seaman’s church williamstown, st nicholas mission to seamen church williamstown, mission to seamen williamstown, st nicholas seamen’s church flagstaff hill, 139 nelson place williamstown, church furniture, church seats, church pew, religious furniture, religious worship, anglican church, set of pews -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Instrument - Musical, Organ, Mason and Hamlin Organ and Piano Co, circa 1880
This early 1880s Mason & Hamlin reed organ was part of the original furnishings of the St Nicholas' Mission to Seamen's Church at 139 Nelson Place, Williamstown, Victoria. It was donated to the Williamstown St Nicholas Seamen's Church by the Joy Club for Fighters around the time of the opening of the church. The front panel displays the front and back of six medallions, showing the year and location of exhibitions that Mason & Hamlin participated in, adding perceived notability and prestige to the value of this organ. These medallions date from 1867 - 1881: Paris 1867, Vienna 1873, Philadelphia 1876, Paris 1878, Sweden 1878 and Milan 1881. MASON & HAMLIN Mason & Hamlin organ manufacturer was founded by Henry Mason and Emmons Hamlin in Boston, Massachusetts in the 1850s, making about 450 organs per year. By 1905 the annual turnover was around 10,000 instruments. The Cable Co. purchased the company in 1911, which in turn was taken over by the American Piano Co. in 1924. By 1927 the production reed organs had ceased. Mason & Hamlin, like many other manufacturers, publicised its instruments at county fairs and exhibitions. They were quick to advertise any awards they won, or even recognition for displaying at these events, by adding matching medallion decals to their products. JOY CLUB FOR FIGHTERS The Joy Club for Fighters was formed in Williamstown in 1940 to raise funds to support Australians fighting in Australia and overseas in World War II. Activities such as dances were organised in venues such as Mechanics' Institutes, and enthusiastically supported. Donations were given to several hospitals and other care facilities, and local fighters, for distribution to the servicemen. Items such as food hampers and cigarettes were amongst the tributes given. THE MISSIONS TO SEAMEN (Brief History: for more, see our Reg. No. 611, Set of Pews) The Missions to Seamen, an Anglican charity, has served seafarers of the world since 1856 in Great Britain. It symbol is a Flying Angel, inspired by a Bible verse. Today there are centr4es in over 200 ports world-wide where seamen of all backgrounds are offered a warm welcome and provided with a wide range of facilities. In Victoria the orgainsation began in Williamstown in 1857. It was as a Sailors’ Church, also known as ‘Bethel’ or the ‘Floating Church’. Its location was an old hulk floating in Hobson’s Bay, Port of Melbourne. It soon became part of the Missions to Seamen, Victoria. In the year 2000 the organisation, now named Mission to Seafarers, still operated locally in Melbourne, Portland, Geelong and Hastings. The Ladies’ Harbour Lights Guild was formed in 1906 to support the Missions to Seamen in Melbourne and other centres such as Williamstown. Two of the most significant ladies of the Guild were founder Ethel Augusta Godfrey and foundation member Alice Sibthorpe Tracy (who established a branch of the Guild in Warrnambool in 1920). The Guild continued its work until the 1960s. In 1943 a former Williamstown bank was purchased for the Missions to Seaman Club. The chapel was named St Nicholas’ Seamen’s Church and was supported by the Ladies’ Harbour Lights Guild, the Williamstown Lightkeepers’ Auxiliary and the League of Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Friends. It ceased operation in 1966. A Missions to Seamen Chapel and Recreation Room was a significant feature of ports during the late 1800s and into the 1900s. It seemed appropriate for Flagstaff Hill to include such a representation within the new Maritime Village, so the Melbourne Board of Management of Missions to Seamen Victoria gave its permission on 21st May 1979 for the entire furnishings of the Williamstown chapel to be transferred to Flagstaff Hill. The St Nicholas Seamen’s Church was officially opened on October 11, 1981 and closely resembles the Williamstown chapel. The organ is historically significant for its creation, being circa 1880 and still in use in the 1960s. This organ is significant historically for its origin in the St Nicholas Mission to Seamen's Church in Williamstown, established in 1857 to cater for the physical, social, and spiritual needs of seafarers. It originated in Bristol, England when a Seamen's Mission was formed in 1837. The item is historically significant for its connection to the Joy Club for Fighters, a support charity for Australian servicemen and women of World War II. The connection of this item to the Mission to Seamen and to the Joy Club for Fighters highlights the strong community awareness of the life of people in the armed forces, their dangers and hardships, and their need for physical, financial, spiritual and moral support.Organ; reed organ, mahogany wood with decorative carving and colourful inlaid floral design. Has two pedals that are decoratively covered in floral patterned tapestry. Inscriptions are on the panel above the keyboard. Organ has five octaves and eleven stoppers. Made by Mason & Hamlin, America, circa 1881. This organ is part of our St Nicholas Seamen's Church collection."Mason & Hamlin" and below the music rest "No 113032" and other indiscernible print Medallions, left - right "PARIS, 1878." "SWEDEN, 1878." "PHILA., 1876." "MILAN, 1881." "VIENNA, 1873." "PARIS, 1867."flagstaff hill maritime museum and village, flagstaff hill, warrnambool, maritime museum, maritime village, shipwreck coast, great ocean road, religion, religious service, st nicholas seamen’s church, williamstown, missions to seamen victoria, joy club for fighters, musical instrument, reed organ, mason & hamlin, worship service, worship music -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Furniture - Stool, circa 1880
This organ stool was part of the original furnishings of the St Nicholas' Mission to Seamen's Church at 139 Nelson Place, Williamstown, Victoria. The Church was operated by the Mission to Seamen organisation. The stool was possibly donated together with the Mason & Hamilton reed organ, which was generously donated by the Joy Club for Fighters, a charity organisation in Williamstown. THE MISSIONS TO SEAMEN (Brief History: for more, see our Reg. No. 611, Set of Pews) The Missions to Seamen, an Anglican charity, has served seafarers of the world since 1856 in Great Britain. It symbol is a Flying Angel, inspired by a Bible verse. Today there are centr4es in over 200 ports world-wide where seamen of all backgrounds are offered a warm welcome and provided with a wide range of facilities. In Victoria the orgainsation began in Williamstown in 1857. It was as a Sailors’ Church, also known as ‘Bethel’ or the ‘Floating Church’. Its location was an old hulk floating in Hobson’s Bay, Port of Melbourne. It soon became part of the Missions to Seamen, Victoria. In the year 2000 the organisation, now named Mission to Seafarers, still operated locally in Melbourne, Portland, Geelong and Hastings. The Ladies’ Harbour Lights Guild was formed in 1906 to support the Missions to Seamen in Melbourne and other centres such as Williamstown. Two of the most significant ladies of the Guild were founder Ethel Augusta Godfrey and foundation member Alice Sibthorpe Tracy (who established a branch of the Guild in Warrnambool in 1920). The Guild continued its work until the 1960s. In 1943 a former Williamstown bank was purchased for the Missions to Seaman Club. The chapel was named St Nicholas’ Seamen’s Church and was supported by the Ladies’ Harbour Lights Guild, the Williamstown Lightkeepers’ Auxiliary and the League of Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Friends. It ceased operation in 1966. A Missions to Seamen Chapel and Recreation Room was a significant feature of ports during the late 1800s and into the 1900s. It seemed appropriate for Flagstaff Hill to include such a representation within the new Maritime Village, so the Melbourne Board of Management of Missions to Seamen Victoria gave its permission on 21st May 1979 for the entire furnishings of the Williamstown chapel to be transferred to Flagstaff Hill. The St Nicholas Seamen’s Church was officially opened on October 11, 1981 and closely resembles the Williamstown chapel. This organ stool is significant historically for its origin in the St Nicholas Mission to Seamen's Church in Williamstown, established in 1857 to cater for the physical, social, and spiritual needs of seafarers. It originated in Bristol, England when a Seamen's Mission was formed in 1837. The stool is historically significant for its connection to the 1880s Mason & Hamilton reed organ that was also in the St Nicholas Seamen's Church in Williamstown. The connection of this stool to the Mission to Seamen and to the Ladies Lightkeepers’ Auxiliary, and possibly to the Joy Club for Fighters, highlights the strong community awareness of the life of people at sea, their dangers and hardships, and their need for physical, financial, spiritual and moral support. Stool; mahogany organ stool, angled seat with two legs reinforced by horizontal wooden bar. Legs have a decorative cut away design. This stool is in our St Nicholas Seamen's Church Collection.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, maritime museum, maritime village, shipwreck coast, great ocean road, church furniture, religious furniture, religious worship, missions to seamen victoria, st nicholas seamen’s church williamstown, st nicholas seamen’s church flagstaff hill, church music, stool, organ stool, piano stool -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Functional object - Vase, circa 1944
This vase, one of a part of a pair of organ vases, was part of the original furnishings of the St Nicholas' Mission to Seamen's Church at 139 Nelson Place, Williamstown, Victoria. THE MISSIONS TO SEAMEN (Brief History: for more, see our Reg. No. 611, Set of Pews) The Missions to Seamen, an Anglican charity, has served seafarers of the world since 1856 in Great Britain. It symbol is a Flying Angel, inspired by a Bible verse. Today there are centr4es in over 200 ports world-wide where seamen of all backgrounds are offered a warm welcome and provided with a wide range of facilities. In Victoria the orgainsation began in Williamstown in 1857. It was as a Sailors’ Church, also known as ‘Bethel’ or the ‘Floating Church’. Its location was an old hulk floating in Hobson’s Bay, Port of Melbourne. It soon became part of the Missions to Seamen, Victoria. In the year 2000 the organisation, now named Mission to Seafarers, still operated locally in Melbourne, Portland, Geelong and Hastings. The Ladies’ Harbour Lights Guild was formed in 1906 to support the Missions to Seamen in Melbourne and other centres such as Williamstown. Two of the most significant ladies of the Guild were founder Ethel Augusta Godfrey and foundation member Alice Sibthorpe Tracy (who established a branch of the Guild in Warrnambool in 1920). The Guild continued its work until the 1960s. In 1943 a former Williamstown bank was purchased for the Missions to Seaman Club. The chapel was named St Nicholas’ Seamen’s Church and was supported by the Ladies’ Harbour Lights Guild, the Williamstown Lightkeepers’ Auxiliary and the League of Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Friends. It ceased operation in 1966. A Missions to Seamen Chapel and Recreation Room was a significant feature of ports during the late 1800s and into the 1900s. It seemed appropriate for Flagstaff Hill to include such a representation within the new Maritime Village, so the Melbourne Board of Management of Missions to Seamen Victoria gave its permission on 21st May 1979 for the entire furnishings of the Williamstown chapel to be transferred to Flagstaff Hill. The St Nicholas Seamen’s Church was officially opened on October 11, 1981 and closely resembles the Williamstown chapel. This vase, and its pair, is significant through its association with the St Nicholas' Mission to Seamen Church in Williamstown, Melbourne, established in 1857. The items in our collection from the Missions to Seamen in Williamstown, Victoria, have historical and social significance. They show that people of the 1800s and 1900s cared about the seafarers’ religious, moral, and social welfare, no matter what the religion, social status or nationality. It had its origins in Bristol, England when a Seamen's Mission was formed in 1837. The first Australian branch was started in 1856 by the Rev. Kerr Johnston, a Church of England clergyman, and operated from a hulk moored in Hobson’s Bay; later the Mission occupied buildings in Williamstown and Port Melbourne. Vase, one of a pair, of organ vases, polished brass church vases with truncated conical shapes. White sticker under vase with hand written number "136" This is one of the original items in our ‘St Nicholas Seamen's Church Williamstown Collection’.White sticker under vase with hand written number "136" flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, vase, church vase, brass vase, conical vase, religion, religious service, sailors rest, bethel sailors’ church, bethel floating church, ladies harbour light guild, missions to seamen victoria, mission to seafarers, st nicholas seaman’s church williamstown, st nicholas mission to seamen church williamstown, mission to seamen williamstown, st nicholas seamen’s church flagstaff hill, 139 nelson place williamstown, flying angel club, organ vase -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Tool - Candle Snuffer, Harris and Sheldon, circa 1840
This mechanical candle snuffer tool was made in Birmingham, England, by Harris and Sheldon Ltd. The candle snuffer was part of the original furnishings of the St Nicholas' Mission to Seamen's Church at 139 Nelson Street, Williamstown, Victoria. It was donated to Flagstaff HIll and is part of the St Nicholas Seamen's Church Collection The enterprise of Harris and Sheldon was established in 1880 by Sydney Harris. They made shop fittings such as cabinets, shelving, cupboards, tables and stationery. During WWII they made aircraft parts, ammunition boxes and pumps. THE MISSIONS TO SEAMEN (Brief History: for more, see our Reg. No. 611, Set of Pews) The Missions to Seamen, an Anglican charity, has served the world's seafarers since 1856 in Great Britain. Its symbol is a Flying Angel, inspired by a Bible verse. Today there are centres in over 200 ports worldwide where seamen of all backgrounds are offered a warm welcome and provided with a wide range of facilities. In Victoria, the orgainsation began in Williamstown in 1857. It was a Sailors’ Church, also known as ‘Bethel’ or the ‘Floating Church’. Its location was an old hulk floating in Hobson’s Bay, Port of Melbourne. It soon became part of the Missions to Seamen, Victoria. In the year 2000 the organisation, now named Mission to Seafarers, still operated locally in Melbourne, Portland, Geelong and Hastings. The Ladies’ Harbour Lights Guild was formed in 1906 to support the Missions to Seamen in Melbourne and other centres such as Williamstown. Two of the most significant ladies of the Guild were founder Ethel Augusta Godfrey and foundation member Alice Sibthorpe Tracy (who established a branch of the Guild in Warrnambool in 1920). The Guild continued its work until the 1960s. In 1943 a former Williamstown bank was purchased for the Missions to Seaman Club. The chapel was named St Nicholas’ Seamen’s Church and was supported by the Ladies’ Harbour Lights Guild, the Williamstown Lightkeepers’ Auxiliary and the League of Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Friends. It ceased operation in 1966. A Missions to Seamen Chapel and Recreation Room was a significant feature of ports during the late 1800s and into the 1900s. It seemed appropriate for Flagstaff Hill to include such a representation within the new Maritime Village, so the Melbourne Board of Management of Missions to Seamen Victoria gave its permission on 21st May 1979 for the entire furnishings of the Williamstown chapel to be transferred to Flagstaff Hill. The St Nicholas Seamen’s Church was officially opened on October 11, 1981, and closely resembles the Williamstown chapel. This candle snuffing tool is significant historically for its origin in the St Nicholas Mission to Seamen's Church in Williamstown, established in 1857 to cater for the physical, social, and spiritual needs of seafarers. It originated in Bristol, England when a Seamen's Mission was formed in 1837. Candle snuffer tool. A bamboo and brass pole with a spring-action handle that operates a brass pinching mechanism at the other end. The mechanism has been inserted into the hollow bamboo handle. Maker's inscription on the pinching mechanism. Made in Birmingham, England, by Harris & Sheldon Ltd. This is one of the original items in our st Nicholas Seamen's Church Collection."HARRIS & SHELDON LTD.", "BIRMINGHAM"religious service, harris and sheldon ltd, birmingham manufacturer, sydney harris, sailors rest, ladies harbour light guild, mission to seamen williamstown, library tool, flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, religion, bethel sailors’ church, bethel floating church, joy club for fighters, ladies lightkeepers’ auxiliary, mission to seafarers, flying angel’s club, st nicholas seamen’s church williamstown, st nicholas seamen’s church flagstaff hill, candle snuffer, candle extinguisher, flame snuffer, flame extinguisher -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Tool - Candle Snuffer, circa 1840
The design of this brass candle snuffer allowed the user to reach up to the candle and hold the domed end over the flame. This prevented the flame from receiving oxygen, so the flame went out. This item was part of the original furnishings of the St Nicholas' Mission to Seamen's Church at 139 Nelson Street, Williamstown, Victoria. The charity began in 1857 when a Sailors’ Rest was opened in Williamstown to offer sailors of all colours, creeds and races a warm welcome. In 1859 the Ladies Harbour Light Guild came into being to support the work with services and facilities. Much of the furniture and furnishings were donated to Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village by the Missions to Seamen Victoria on 29th May 1979, after the church closed. THE MISSIONS TO SEAMEN (Brief History: for more, see our Reg. No. 611, Set of Pews) The Missions to Seamen, an Anglican charity, has served seafarers of the world since 1856 in Great Britain. It symbol is a Flying Angel, inspired by a Bible verse. Today there are centr4es in over 200 ports world-wide where seamen of all backgrounds are offered a warm welcome and provided with a wide range of facilities. In Victoria, the orgainsation began in Williamstown in 1857. It was a Sailors’ Church, also known as ‘Bethel’ or the ‘Floating Church’. Its location was an old hulk floating in Hobson’s Bay, Port of Melbourne. It soon became part of the Missions to Seamen, Victoria. In the year 2000 the organisation, now named Mission to Seafarers, still operated locally in Melbourne, Portland, Geelong and Hastings. The Ladies’ Harbour Lights Guild was formed in 1906 to support the Missions to Seamen in Melbourne and other centres such as Williamstown. Two of the most significant ladies of the Guild were founder Ethel Augusta Godfrey and foundation member Alice Sibthorpe Tracy (who established a branch of the Guild in Warrnambool in 1920). The Guild continued its work until the 1960s. In 1943 a former Williamstown bank was purchased for the Missions to Seaman Club. The chapel was named St Nicholas’ Seamen’s Church and was supported by the Ladies’ Harbour Lights Guild, the Williamstown Lightkeepers’ Auxiliary and the League of Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Friends. It ceased operation in 1966. A Missions to Seamen Chapel and Recreation Room was a significant feature of ports during the late 1800s and into the 1900s. It seemed appropriate for Flagstaff Hill to include such a representation within the new Maritime Village, so the Melbourne Board of Management of Missions to Seamen Victoria gave its permission on 21st May 1979 for the entire furnishings of the Williamstown chapel to be transferred to Flagstaff Hill. The St Nicholas Seamen’s Church was officially opened on October 11, 1981, and closely resembles the Williamstown chapel. This candle snuffer is significant historically for its origin in the St Nicholas Mission to Seamen's Church in Williamstown, established in 1857 to cater for the physical, social, and spiritual needs of seafarers. It originated in Bristol, England when a Seamen's Mission was formed in 1837. The item is historically significant for its connection to the Ladies Lightkeepers’ Auxiliary, an organisation of women, formed to support seafarers. The connection of this item to the Mission to Seamen and to the Ladies Lightkeepers’ Auxiliary highlights the strong community awareness of the life of people at sea, their dangers and hardships, and their need for physical, financial, spiritual and moral support. Candle snuffer. Colonial pole snuffer has a polished brass cone-shaped snuffer on long mahogany handle. This is one of the original items in our St Nicholas Seamen's Church Collection.religion, religious service, sailors rest, ladies harbour light guild, missions to seamen victoria, st nicholas church williamstown, st nicholas mission to seamen church williamstown, mission to seamen williamstown, pole snuffer, colonial snuffer, flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, bethel sailors’ church, bethel floating church, harbor lights guild, joy club for fighters, ladies lightkeepers’ auxiliary, mission to seafarers, flying angel’s club, st nicholas seamen’s church williamstown, st nicholas seamen’s church flagstaff hill, 139 nelson place williamstown, cantle light, tool, candle snuffer, candle extinguisher, flame extinguisher, flame snuffer -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Furniture - Lectern, circa 1930
This lectern was part of the original furnishings of the St Nicholas' Mission to Seamen's Church at 139 Nelson Place, Williamstown, Victoria. The Church was operated by the Mission to Seamen organisation. THE MISSIONS TO SEAMEN (Brief History: for more, see our Reg. No. 611, Set of Pews) The Missions to Seamen, an Anglican charity, has served seafarers of the world since 1856 in Great Britain. It symbol is a Flying Angel, inspired by a Bible verse. Today there are centr4es in over 200 ports world-wide where seamen of all backgrounds are offered a warm welcome and provided with a wide range of facilities. In Victoria the orgainsation began in Williamstown in 1857. It was as a Sailors’ Church, also known as ‘Bethel’ or the ‘Floating Church’. Its location was an old hulk floating in Hobson’s Bay, Port of Melbourne. It soon became part of the Missions to Seamen, Victoria. In the year 2000 the organisation, now named Mission to Seafarers, still operated locally in Melbourne, Portland, Geelong and Hastings. The Ladies’ Harbour Lights Guild was formed in 1906 to support the Missions to Seamen in Melbourne and other centres such as Williamstown. Two of the most significant ladies of the Guild were founder Ethel Augusta Godfrey and foundation member Alice Sibthorpe Tracy (who established a branch of the Guild in Warrnambool in 1920). The Guild continued its work until the 1960s. In 1943 a former Williamstown bank was purchased for the Missions to Seaman Club. The chapel was named St Nicholas’ Seamen’s Church and was supported by the Ladies’ Harbour Lights Guild, the Williamstown Lightkeepers’ Auxiliary and the League of Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Friends. It ceased operation in 1966. A Missions to Seamen Chapel and Recreation Room was a significant feature of ports during the late 1800s and into the 1900s. It seemed appropriate for Flagstaff Hill to include such a representation within the new Maritime Village, so the Melbourne Board of Management of Missions to Seamen Victoria gave its permission on 21st May 1979 for the entire furnishings of the Williamstown chapel to be transferred to Flagstaff Hill. The St Nicholas Seamen’s Church was officially opened on October 11, 1981 and closely resembles the Williamstown chapel. This lectern is significant historically for its origin in the St Nicholas Mission to Seamen's Church in Williamstown, established in 1857 to cater for the physical, social, and spiritual needs of seafarers. It originated in Bristol, England when a Seamen's Mission was formed in 1837. The lectern is historically significant for its connection to the Ladies Lightkeepers’ Auxiliary, an organisation of women, formed to support seafarers. The connection of this item to the Mission to Seamen and to the Ladies Lightkeepers’ Auxiliary highlights the strong community awareness of the life of people at sea, their dangers and hardships, and their need for physical, financial, spiritual and moral support. Lectern or traditional book rest, kauri pine, with column support. Top section designed to support a bible with angled backrest and shelf. Some decorative cutaway relief. religious service, missions to seamen victoria, church furniture, religious worship, lectern, book rest, bible rest, preaching accessory, flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, religion, sailors rest, bethel sailors’ church, bethel floating church, ladies harbour light guild, harbor lights guild, joy club for fighters, ladies lightkeepers’ auxiliary, mission to seafarers, flying angel’s club, st nicholas seamen’s church williamstown, st nicholas mission to seamen church williamstown, mission to seamen williamstown, st nicholas seamen’s church flagstaff hill, 139 nelson place williamstown, religious furniture, anglican church, pedestal -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Book - Religious Book, William Clowes & Sons, Limited, "Hymns, Ancient and Modern Standard Edition", Mid-20th century
This hymn book was part of the services held at the St Nicholas' Mission to Seamen's Church at 139 Nelson Place, Williamstown, Victoria. The Church was operated by the Mission to Seamen organisation. THE MISSIONS TO SEAMEN (Brief History: for more, see our Reg. No. 611, Set of Pews) The Missions to Seamen, an Anglican charity, has served seafarers of the world since 1856 in Great Britain. It symbol is a Flying Angel, inspired by a Bible verse. Today there are centr4es in over 200 ports world-wide where seamen of all backgrounds are offered a warm welcome and provided with a wide range of facilities. In Victoria the orgainsation began in Williamstown in 1857. It was as a Sailors’ Church, also known as ‘Bethel’ or the ‘Floating Church’. Its location was an old hulk floating in Hobson’s Bay, Port of Melbourne. It soon became part of the Missions to Seamen, Victoria. In the year 2000 the organisation, now named Mission to Seafarers, still operated locally in Melbourne, Portland, Geelong and Hastings. The Ladies’ Harbour Lights Guild was formed in 1906 to support the Missions to Seamen in Melbourne and other centres such as Williamstown. Two of the most significant ladies of the Guild were founder Ethel Augusta Godfrey and foundation member Alice Sibthorpe Tracy (who established a branch of the Guild in Warrnambool in 1920). The Guild continued its work until the 1960s. In 1943 a former Williamstown bank was purchased for the Missions to Seaman Club. The chapel was named St Nicholas’ Seamen’s Church and was supported by the Ladies’ Harbour Lights Guild, the Williamstown Lightkeepers’ Auxiliary and the League of Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Friends. It ceased operation in 1966. A Missions to Seamen Chapel and Recreation Room was a significant feature of ports during the late 1800s and into the 1900s. It seemed appropriate for Flagstaff Hill to include such a representation within the new Maritime Village, so the Melbourne Board of Management of Missions to Seamen Victoria gave its permission on 21st May 1979 for the entire furnishings of the Williamstown chapel to be transferred to Flagstaff Hill. The St Nicholas Seamen’s Church was officially opened on October 11, 1981 and closely resembles the Williamstown chapel. This hymn book is significant historically for its origin in the St Nicholas Mission to Seamen's Church in Williamstown, established in 1857 to cater for the physical, social, and spiritual needs of seafarers. It originated in Bristol, England when a Seamen's Mission was formed in 1837. The item is historically significant for its connection to the Ladies Lightkeepers’ Auxiliary, an organisation of women, formed to support seafarers. Title "Hymns, Ancient and Modern Standard Edition", Dark cloth-covered cover featuring floral inlay decoration and gold leaf lettering. Stamped inside "From the Missions to Seamen, Williamstown, Melbourne." Publisher William Clowes and Sons Ltd London. This is one of the original items in our ‘St Nicholas Seamen's Church Williamstown Collection’.Stamped inside "From the Missions to Seamen, Williamstown, Melbourne."flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, hymns, ancient and modern standard edition, book, st nicholas seamen's church williamstown collection, hymn book, religious service, religion, sailors rest, bethel sailors’ church, bethel floating church, ladies harbour light guild, harbor lights guild, joy club for fighters, ladies lightkeepers’ auxiliary, missions to seamen victoria, mission to seafarers, flying angel’s club, st nicholas seaman’s church williamstown, st nicholas mission to seamen church williamstown, mission to seamen williamstown, st nicholas seamen’s church flagstaff hill, 139 nelson place williamstown, worship, praise, hymns ancient and modern -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Print - Religious Print, Reinthal & Newman, Jesus Chrisus, after 1874
Picture is a print of an original drawing that appears to have been created in 1874 (these numbers are in the top left corner) by artist Gabriel Max ("Gab Max" is in top right corner). The print was part of the original furnishings of St Nicholas Seamen's Church, Williamstown, Victoria. The church was operated by the Missions to Seamen organisation. THE MISSIONS TO SEAMEN (Brief History: for more, see our Reg. No. 611, Set of Pews) The Missions to Seamen, an Anglican charity, has served seafarers of the world since 1856 in Great Britain. It symbol is a Flying Angel, inspired by a Bible verse. Today there are centr4es in over 200 ports world-wide where seamen of all backgrounds are offered a warm welcome and provided with a wide range of facilities. In Victoria the orgainsation began in Williamstown in 1857. It was as a Sailors’ Church, also known as ‘Bethel’ or the ‘Floating Church’. Its location was an old hulk floating in Hobson’s Bay, Port of Melbourne. It soon became part of the Missions to Seamen, Victoria. In the year 2000 the organisation, now named Mission to Seafarers, still operated locally in Melbourne, Portland, Geelong and Hastings. The Ladies’ Harbour Lights Guild was formed in 1906 to support the Missions to Seamen in Melbourne and other centres such as Williamstown. Two of the most significant ladies of the Guild were founder Ethel Augusta Godfrey and foundation member Alice Sibthorpe Tracy (who established a branch of the Guild in Warrnambool in 1920). The Guild continued its work until the 1960s. In 1943 a former Williamstown bank was purchased for the Missions to Seaman Club. The chapel was named St Nicholas’ Seamen’s Church and was supported by the Ladies’ Harbour Lights Guild, the Williamstown Lightkeepers’ Auxiliary and the League of Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Friends. It ceased operation in 1966. A Missions to Seamen Chapel and Recreation Room was a significant feature of ports during the late 1800s and into the 1900s. It seemed appropriate for Flagstaff Hill to include such a representation within the new Maritime Village, so the Melbourne Board of Management of Missions to Seamen Victoria gave its permission on 21st May 1979 for the entire furnishings of the Williamstown chapel to be transferred to Flagstaff Hill. The St Nicholas Seamen’s Church was officially opened on October 11, 1981 and closely resembles the Williamstown chapel. The picture is significant because of its association with the Mission to Seamen in Williamstown, Victoria. This organisation had strong connections to the colonisation of Victoria by people travelling and arriving by sea. The picture is also significant as a representation of 19th century religious art by Gabriel Max.Picture; print of a drawing. Representation of Jesus Christ, closed eyes, tear on cheek, with a crown of thorns, titled “Jesus Christus”, drawn in 1874 by 19th century artist Gab. Max (Gabriel Max). Print on paper; black and grey drawing on beige canvas-look background with image of fixing pins in each corner, edges look like torn fabric. Published by Reinthal & Newman, New York. Print is behind glass, mounted in heavy wooden frame that is painted dark brown. Reverse has numbers on small white label. Base of reverse has 2 small holes, each with indentations from something round. Backing board has indentations from nails no longer there. There are remnants of original hanging wire but this has been replaced. Part of the St Nicholas Seamen's Church CollectionFRONT: Top left :1874” Top rignt “GAB MAX” Hand written script under picture “Jesus Christus”. Printed bottom left on front “A33 © REINTHAL & NEWMAN PUBS. N.Y.” REVERSE: “162” written in black felt pen on white label. Pencilled on reverse "11 3/8 x 9 1/4" and "Kodak" and other indecipherable markings.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, christian art, picture of jesus christ, jesus christus, photographic print of jesus christ, missions to seamen victoria, mission to seafarers, flying angel’s club, religious worship, reinthal & newman new york, jesus christ with crown of thorns, religion, religious service, sailors rest, bethel sailors’ church, bethel floating church, ladies harbour light guild, harbor lights guild, joy club for fighters, ladies lightkeepers’ auxiliary, st nicholas mission to seamen church williamstown, mission to seamen williamstown, st nicholas seamen’s church flagstaff hill, 139 nelson place williamstown -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Furniture - Chair, 1880s
This chair is one of a set of four chairs from the St. Nicholas Seamen’s Church, 139 Nelson Place, Williamstown, Victoria, during religious services there. The Church was operated by the Mission to Seamen organisation. * for more detailed history please see our Registration Number 658, Set of chairs This set of chairs is significant historically for its origin in the St Nicholas Mission to Seamen's Church in Williamstown, established in 1857 to cater for the physical, social, and spiritual needs of seafarers. It originated in Bristol, England when a Seamen's Mission was formed in 1837. The set of chairs is historically significant for its connection to the Ladies Lightkeepers’ Auxiliary, an organisation of women, formed to support seafarers. The connection of this set of chairs to the Mission to Seamen and to the Ladies Lightkeepers’ Auxiliary highlights the strong community awareness of the life of people at sea, their dangers and hardships, and their need for physical, financial, spiritual and moral support. Chair: Australian Colonial rail back dining chair. Chair is one of a set of four (4) cedar wood chairs. Each chair has a rounded rail back, flat cross rail, flat solid wood seat, curved back legs and colonial turned front legs. Mid-brown colour, veneer finish. The set of chairs is part of the St Nicholas Seamen's Church Williamstown Collection. flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, religion, religious service, sailors rest, sailors’ church, bethel sailors’ church, bethel floating church, ladies harbour light guild, lightkeepers’ auxiliary, missions to seamen victoria, mission to seafarers, flying angel’s club, ann street williamstown, st nicholas seaman’s church williamstown, st nicholas mission to seamen church williamstown, mission to seamen williamstown, st nicholas seamen’s church flagstaff hill, 139 nelson place williamstown, church furniture, religious furniture, religious worship, anglican church, chair, dining chair, kitchen chair, domestic furniture, colonial chair, australian colonial period, cedar chair -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Furniture - Chair, 1880s
This chair is one of a set of four chairs from the St. Nicholas Seamen’s Church, 139 Nelson Place, Williamstown, Victoria, during religious services there. The Church was operated by the Mission to Seamen organisation. * for more detailed history please see our Registration Number 658, Set of chairs This set of chairs is significant historically for its origin in the St Nicholas Mission to Seamen's Church in Williamstown, established in 1857 to cater for the physical, social, and spiritual needs of seafarers. It originated in Bristol, England when a Seamen's Mission was formed in 1837. The set of chairs is historically significant for its connection to the Ladies Lightkeepers’ Auxiliary, an organisation of women, formed to support seafarers. The connection of this set of chairs to the Mission to Seamen and to the Ladies Lightkeepers’ Auxiliary highlights the strong community awareness of the life of people at sea, their dangers and hardships, and their need for physical, financial, spiritual and moral support. Chair: Australian Colonial rail back dining chair. Chair is one of a set of four (4) cedar wood chairs. Each chair has a rounded rail back, flat cross rail, flat solid wood seat, curved back legs and colonial turned front legs. Mid-brown colour, veneer finish. The set of chairs is part of the St Nicholas Seamen's Church Williamstown Collection. flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, religion, religious service, sailors rest, sailors’ church, bethel sailors’ church, bethel floating church, ladies harbour light guild, lightkeepers’ auxiliary, missions to seamen victoria, mission to seafarers, flying angel’s club, ann street williamstown, st nicholas seaman’s church williamstown, st nicholas mission to seamen church williamstown, mission to seamen williamstown, st nicholas seamen’s church flagstaff hill, 139 nelson place williamstown, church furniture, religious furniture, religious worship, anglican church, chair, dining chair, kitchen chair, domestic furniture, colonial chair, australian colonial period, cedar chair -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Furniture - Chair, 1880s
This chair is one of a set of four chairs from the St. Nicholas Seamen’s Church, 139 Nelson Place, Williamstown, Victoria, during religious services there. The Church was operated by the Mission to Seamen organisation. * for more detailed history please see our Registration Number 658, Set of chairs This set of chairs is significant historically for its origin in the St Nicholas Mission to Seamen's Church in Williamstown, established in 1857 to cater for the physical, social, and spiritual needs of seafarers. It originated in Bristol, England when a Seamen's Mission was formed in 1837. The set of chairs is historically significant for its connection to the Ladies Lightkeepers’ Auxiliary, an organisation of women, formed to support seafarers. The connection of this set of chairs to the Mission to Seamen and to the Ladies Lightkeepers’ Auxiliary highlights the strong community awareness of the life of people at sea, their dangers and hardships, and their need for physical, financial, spiritual and moral support. Chair: Australian Colonial rail back dining chair. Chair is one of a set of four (4) cedar wood chairs. Each chair has a rounded rail back, flat cross rail, flat solid wood seat, curved back legs and colonial turned front legs. Mid-brown colour, veneer finish. The set of chairs is part of the St Nicholas Seamen's Church Williamstown Collection. flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, religion, religious service, sailors rest, sailors’ church, bethel sailors’ church, bethel floating church, ladies harbour light guild, lightkeepers’ auxiliary, missions to seamen victoria, mission to seafarers, flying angel’s club, ann street williamstown, st nicholas seaman’s church williamstown, st nicholas mission to seamen church williamstown, mission to seamen williamstown, st nicholas seamen’s church flagstaff hill, 139 nelson place williamstown, church furniture, religious furniture, religious worship, anglican church, chair, dining chair, kitchen chair, domestic furniture, colonial chair, australian colonial period, cedar chair -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Furniture - Chair, 1880s
This chair is one of a set of four chairs from the St. Nicholas Seamen’s Church, 139 Nelson Place, Williamstown, Victoria, during religious services there. The Church was operated by the Mission to Seamen organisation. * for more detailed history please see our Registration Number 658, Set of chairs This set of chairs is significant historically for its origin in the St Nicholas Mission to Seamen's Church in Williamstown, established in 1857 to cater for the physical, social, and spiritual needs of seafarers. It originated in Bristol, England when a Seamen's Mission was formed in 1837. The set of chairs is historically significant for its connection to the Ladies Lightkeepers’ Auxiliary, an organisation of women, formed to support seafarers. The connection of this set of chairs to the Mission to Seamen and to the Ladies Lightkeepers’ Auxiliary highlights the strong community awareness of the life of people at sea, their dangers and hardships, and their need for physical, financial, spiritual and moral support. Chair: Australian Colonial rail back dining chair. Chair is one of a set of four (4) cedar wood chairs. Each chair has a rounded rail back, flat cross rail, flat solid wood seat, curved back legs and colonial turned front legs. Mid-brown colour, veneer finish. The set of chairs is part of the St Nicholas Seamen's Church Williamstown Collection. flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, religion, religious service, sailors rest, sailors’ church, bethel sailors’ church, bethel floating church, ladies harbour light guild, lightkeepers’ auxiliary, missions to seamen victoria, mission to seafarers, flying angel’s club, ann street williamstown, st nicholas seaman’s church williamstown, st nicholas mission to seamen church williamstown, mission to seamen williamstown, st nicholas seamen’s church flagstaff hill, 139 nelson place williamstown, church furniture, religious furniture, religious worship, anglican church, chair, dining chair, kitchen chair, domestic furniture, colonial chair, australian colonial period, cedar chair -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Badge - Collection of Organisation Badges, 1920's to 1940's
This set of eleven badges was collected from the 1920s to the 1940s by Dr W. R. Angus. It represents various organisations that he had interests in. The set of badges was donated to Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village by the family of Doctor Angus, Surgeon and Oculist. It is part of the “W.R. Angus Collection” which 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 the University of Adelaide, was Resident Medical Officer at the Royal Adelaide Hospital in 1924 and for a period was a 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 a physician, surgeon and chemist. In 1926, he was appointed as the 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 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 a 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 in 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 stay 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 eyewitness from the late 1880s 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 were very involved in Warrnambool’s community and society. Their interests included organisations such as the 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. Dr Angus was also a member of the Steam Preservation Society and derived much pleasure from a steam traction engine on his farm. They were both involved in the creation of Flagstaff Hill, including the layout of the gardens until Dr Angus passed away in March 1970. This set of badges is significant for connecting Doctor Angus with Australian organisations of the early-to-mid 20th century, including those relating to military service support. 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 includes historical medical objects that date back to the late 1800s.The eleven metal and enamel badges were collected by Dr W R Angus. They represent organisations that he was involved in. The set is part of the W.R. Angus Collection. Each badge has inscriptions.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, maritime museum, maritime village, great ocean road, shipwreck coast, metal badges, enamel badges, organisation badges, legacy, red cross society, red cross, bma, bma ladies badge, ladies badge, acf, australian comfort fund, presbyterian brotherhood, rostrum, australian legion of servicemen & women, oikumene, w.r. angus collection -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
badge - Rostrum badge, Angus & Coote, 1939-1945
This Rostrum lapel badge is one of a set of badges collected by Dr W R Angus from the organisations in which he was involved. The set of badges is now part of Flagstaff Hill’s comprehensive W.R. Angus Collection, donated by the family of Dr W R Angus, surgeon and oculist. This badge represents the Rostrum organisation, the longest-running public speaking organisation in the world. Rostrum has a Warrnambool branch, Warrnambool Club 24, which currently meets at the rear of the South Warrnambool Presbyterian Church building at 11 MacDonald Street, Warrnambool. The original Rostrum club was formed in England in 1923 and the first Australian Rostrum meeting was in 1930. The maker, Angus & Coote, is an Australian company that was founded by Edmund James Coote in Sydney in 1895. The firm made insignia during WWII and is famous for its high-quality jewellery. The W.R. Angus Collection includes historical medical equipment, surgical instruments and material belonging to Dr Edward Ryan and Dr Thomas Francis Ryan, (both of Nhill, Victoria) and 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. It includes historical medical and surgical equipment and instruments from the doctors Edward and Thomas Ryan of Nhill, Victoria. Dr Angus married Gladys in 1927 at Ballarat, the nearest big city to Nhill where he began as a Medical Assistant. He was also Acting House surgeon at the Nhill hospital where their two daughters were born. During World War II He served as a Military Doctor in the Australian Defence Forces. Dr Angus and his family moved to Warrnambool in 1939, where Dr Angus operated his own medical practice. He later added the part-time Port Medical Officer responsibility and was the last person appointed to that position. Both Dr Angus and his wife were very involved in the local community, including the planning stages of the new Flagstaff Hill and the layout of the gardens there. Dr Angus passed away in March 1970.This badge is significant for connecting Doctor Angus with organisations that he supported. The badge also associates Dr Angus with the Rostrum Club in Warrnambool. The badge is of interest as the maker, Angus & Coote, only made badges during WWII. 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 includes historical medical objects that date back to the late 1800s.Lapel badge; a square gold-coloured metal and blue enamel badge. The blue enamel covers three-quarters of the top of the square badge and has a bold 'R' embossed onto it. The remaining quarter is gold with the organisation's name in blue letters. The maker's name is embossed on the back. The Rostrum badge was made by Angus & Coote.This badge is part of a set of badges collected by Dr W R Angus. the set represents organisations that he was involved in, and is part of the W.R. Angus Collection.Front “R” above “ROSTRUM”. Reverse; “ANGUS & COOTE”flagstaff hill, warrnambool, maritime village, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, great ocean road, w.r. angus, badge, organisation badge, flagstaff hill maritime museum and village, badges, buttons, lapel badge, rostrum, warrnambool club 24, angus & coote sydney, rostrum club 24, public speaking club, rostrum lapel badge, wwii badge, 1939-1915 -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Book, Nicholls's Concise Guide to the Board of Trade Vol 1
Nicholls's Concise Guide to the Board of Trade Vol 1 Front loose end page has hand written "F.J.S.Morse, Red Ensign Club, Wells Street, Aldgate, London, England" Author: Charles H Brown F.R.S.G.S. Publisher: Brown, Son and Ferguson Ltd Date: 1939 warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, shipwrecked-artefact, book, nicholls's concise guide to the board of trade vol 1, charles h brown -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Book, Nicholls's Concise Guide to the Navigation Examinations Vol 2
Nicholls's Concise Guide to the Navigation Examinations Vol 2 Front loose end page has hand written "F.J.S.Morse, Red Ensign Club, Wells Street, Aldgate, London, England" Author: Charles H Brown F.R.S.G.S. Publisher: Brown, Son and Ferguson Ltd Date: 1942warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, shipwrecked-artefact, book, nicholls's concise guide to the navigation examinations vol 2, charles h brown -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Photograph - Historical, Flagstaff Hill, John Lindsay, View of the Bay from the south boundary of the Ports and Harbours land, 1970s
The photograph shows the view of the shore and Lady Bay with the Breakwater and Middle Island all visible. It was taken to show that the Flagstaff Hill area was unlikely to have any further development between it and the Bay, with the view of development of the Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village. This photograph, a print, is one of a set of five that show the site of Flagstaff Hill. The photographer was John Lindsay, Founding Director of Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village, with the words "Photo J Lindsay" on the back. It was taken in the early 1970s during the initial stages of the development of Flagstaff Hill as a Museum and Maritime Village. The photographs belonged to the donor's grandparents, who lived in the Warrnambool district of Allansford/Naringal. The photograph is a record of the site and surrounds of Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village before its development and opening in 1975. It shows the Surfside Holiday Park, Surf Lifesaving Club, and the Breakwater. The photograph is significant for recording the location and condition of the Lower Lighthouse on the Hill.Coloured photograph, glassy print, one of a set of five. Flagstaff Hill's Lower Lighthouse is in the foreground above the Surfside Holiday Park. To the right of centre is the Surf Lifesaving Club. In the background is Lady Bay and the Breakwater and Middle Island, with the Southern Ocean the other side. The photograph's paper has the printer's watermark and a pencilled inscription on the back. The early 1970s scene was photographed by John Lindsay, Warrnambool.Label on the back: "VIEW OF THE BAY FROM the southern boundary of the Ports and Harbours land. No development below this area is likely to obstruct the view, due to the steep grade down to the Southern boundary of Flagstaff Hill property." Handwritten in pencil: "Photo J Lindsay"flagstaff hill, flagstaff hill maritime museum and village, warrnambool, maritime museum, maritime village, great ocean road, shipwreck coast, 1970s, photograph, surfside holiday park, lady bay, flagstaff hill site, john lindsay, lower lighthouse, lower light, surf lifesaving club, breakwater, middle island, ports and harbours -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Postcard - Picture Postcard, Louis Wain (illustrator / artist), 1880s to 1930s
The picture postcard is illustrated in a simple, child-like manner. It has a personal message on the back, perhaps sent by an adult called Lily to a young relative or friend. Its rough edges indicate that it may have been torn out of a book or from a sheet of cards. It is one of the hundreds of illustrations by artist Louis Wain, quoted as being "one of the most popular commercial illustrators in the history of England" (IllustrationChronicles.com). English artist Louis Wain (1860-1939) was famous for his illustrations of cats, many of which he gave human characteristics and personalities. Wain married Emily. They owned a cat called Peter who was a great comfort to Emily through her cancer illness and consequent death after only a few years of marriage. At 22 years old Wain gave up his job as a teacher to work full time as an illustrator. He was able to produce hundreds of drawing a year for journals, books, postcards and advertisements. Later he wrote and illustrated children's books. However he didn't benefit much from copyrighting his work as he sold his work to publishers together with the copyright, so reproductions of his works didn't earn him money. Wain said that he owned his career as a cat artist to Peter. Wain spent over a decade in mental asylums before his death in 1939.This picture postcard is an example of the work of Louis Wain, English artist of the 19th and early 20th century. He is famous for his drawings of cats, which he continued producing throughout his life. He is also known for producing the world's first screen cartoon cat, called "Pussyfoot". In 1972 Wain's work was presented at an exhibition in the Victorian and Albert Museum.Rectangular picture postcard printed on think cream card. Picture on postcard is outlined in black and coloured in roughly painted watercolours. The drawing has two cats dressed in armour standing and fighting in front of a turreted castle. The picture is a black framed outline. The artist's printed signature is in the bottom left corner. The artist is Louis Wain. The reverse has a vertical dividing line and a square outline for a postage stamp's location. It also has printed headings. There is a handwritten Pencil inscription. The postcard's left side and lower edge have rough uneven edges.Signature: "Louis Wain." Printed headings: "POST CARD" "THIS SPACE MAY BE USED FOR COMMUNICATION" "THE ADDRESS TO BE WRITTEN HERE" Handwritten on back: "To Dr R - - - - - - / with love / from Lilly"flagstaff hill maritime museum and village, warrnambool, great ocean road, shipwreck coast, postcard, picture postcard, louis wain, fighting cats, child's postcard, cat artist, animal portraits, national cat club, fencing, illustrator, children's books, children's author, children's illustrator, watercolour, cats dressed as humans, cats dressed as knights, popular art, victorian art -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Equipment - Oar, ca. 1930s
This is one of four surf oars now on display at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village. The oars were once owned by the Warrnambool surf Live Saving Club. They are painted in the original club colours of brown and white. The Warrnambool Surf Life Saving Club was formed in 1930, and the elected President was Mr Fletcher Jones (later Sir Fletcher Jones). It is one of the oldest lifesaving clubs on the Victorian Coast. The donor was a member of the surf boat crew that won the 1952 Victorian Surf Boat Championships; the crew comprised Geoff Scott, Ron Blackney, Wes McLaren, Jim Tibb, and Stan Stephens. This oar is significant for its connection with the Warrnambool Surf Life Saving Club and as an example of equipment used for saving lives at sea in the local Warrnambool community. Oar, one of four oars. Timber handles with flat blades painted in the original club colours of brown and white. The oars originated from the Warrnambool Surf Life Saving Club, .flagstaff hill, flagstaff hill maritime museum and village, warrnambool, maritime museum, maritime village, great ocean road, shipwreck coast, surf boat oar, original oar, warrnambool surf life saving club, wslc, oar, brown and white, wslc colours, rowing oar, lifesaving -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Equipment - Oar, Ca. 1930s
This is one of four surf oars now on display at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village. The oars were once owned by the Warrnambool surf Live Saving Club. They are painted in the original club colours of brown and white. The Warrnambool Surf Life Saving Club was formed in 1930, and the elected President was Mr Fletcher Jones (later Sir Fletcher Jones). It is one of the oldest lifesaving clubs on the Victorian Coast. The donor was a member of the surf boat crew that won the 1952 Victorian Surf Boat Championships; the crew comprised Geoff Scott, Ron Blackney, Wes McLaren, Jim Tibb, and Stan Stephens. This oar is significant for its connection with the Warrnambool Surf Life Saving Club and as an example of equipment used for saving lives at sea in the local Warrnambool community. Oar, one of four oars. Timber handles with flat blades painted in the original club colours of brown and white. The oars originated from the Warrnambool Surf Life Saving Club.flagstaff hill, flagstaff hill maritime museum and village, warrnambool, maritime museum, maritime village, great ocean road, shipwreck coast, surf boat oar, original oar, warrnambool surf life saving club, wslc, oar, brown and white, wslc colours, rowing oar, lifesaving -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Equipment - Oar, Ca. 1930s
This is one of four surf oars now on display at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village. The oars were once owned by the Warrnambool surf Live Saving Club. They are painted in the original club colours of brown and white. The Warrnambool Surf Life Saving Club was formed in 1930, and the elected President was Mr Fletcher Jones (later Sir Fletcher Jones). It is one of the oldest lifesaving clubs on the Victorian Coast. The donor was a member of the surf boat crew that won the 1952 Victorian Surf Boat Championships; the crew comprised Geoff Scott, Ron Blackney, Wes McLaren, Jim Tibb, and Stan Stephens. This oar is significant for its connection with the Warrnambool Surf Life Saving Club and as an example of equipment used for saving lives at sea in the local Warrnambool community. Oar, one of four oars. Timber handles with flat blades painted in the original club colours of brown and white. The oars originated from the Warrnambool Surf Life Saving Club.flagstaff hill, flagstaff hill maritime museum and village, warrnambool, maritime museum, maritime village, great ocean road, shipwreck coast, surf boat oar, original oar, warrnambool surf life saving club, wslc, oar, brown and white, wslc colours, rowing oar, lifesaving -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Painting - Maritime painting, The La Bella, 1980s
This painting of the “La Bella” is associated with Flagstaff Hill’s collection of artefacts from the wreck of the “La Bella”. It was painted around the 1980s by maritime artist Philip J. Gray. Some 15 – 17 ships are believed to have sunk in Lady Bay, but only two have been discovered on the seafloor; the “La Bella” and the “Edinburgh Castle”. Both wrecks are popular diving sites and are preserved as significant historical marine and marine archaeological sites. The Kosnar Picture Framing and Mirrors Shop identified the "GRAY 3135, Y04/111" as their job number for the framing and said that the label "ANOTHER KOSNAR FEATURE" was last used before about 1990. About artist Philip J. Gray “Philip is one of Australia’s leading maritime artists and his meticulous research and social commentary paintings of ships, such as, the Loch Ard and Schomberg form an important part of Warrnambool’s Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum.” [Dr Marion Manifold, Artist and Art Historian, 2014] Philip James Gray was born in London but has lived most of his life in Australia. He graduated from a London school of art as an illustrator, specialising in technical and scientific illustration as well as other commercial and applied art. He was also a student for a time of Fyffe Christie - British figurative artist, mural painter and humanitarian – who had a great influence on his career. Philip has always worked as a professional artist and illustrator. Many publications on maritime history have featured his work. His paintings have been released and sold all over the world as limited edition prints. The State Library of Victoria’s ‘Latrobe Collection’ holds two of his paintings. His street painting of ‘The Ashes Contest’ decorates the brick wall of Old Bakery Laneway in Sunbury and a Sunbury café owner commissioned him to paint the ‘Sunbury Pop Festival’ as a remembrance of local history. Philip has been an active member of the Sunbury Art Society in Victoria for several years, serving on the committee for some of that time and being involved in exhibitions. He enjoys helping new artists and sharing his skills and experience. About the “La Bella” The wreck of the La Bella lies at the bottom of the Warrnambool Harbour in Lady Bay. Some 15 ships are believed to have been wrecked there but only two have been discovered on the sea floor; the La Bella and the Edinburgh Castle. Both wrecks are popular diving sites and are preserved as significant historical marine and marine archaeological sites. The story of the final voyage of the La Bella is summarised as follows … The ship from which the sailors were rescued was the three-masted, iron and steel barquentine the La Bella, built in Norway in 1893. She was one of two iron and steel ships by Johan Smith, the company being one of the leading shipping families in Tvedestrand, Norway. She was significant to Norwegian shipping, being one of only 27 iron and steel ships ever built in Norway. La Bella was registered in New Zealand and engaged from 1902 in inter-colonial trading of timber in the pacific, between New Zealand and Australia and was often in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria. On 5th October 1905 the twelve year old La Bella left Lyttleton, New Zealand carrying a cargo of timber bound for Warrnambool, Australia . She was manned by a crew of twelve: the Master, (Captain Mylius, previously 1st Mate of La Bella, appointed Captain to La Bella on 6th February 1903) 2 Mates, Cook, six able seamen, one ordinary seaman and a boy. Bad weather en-route caused her to shelter at Burnie on Tasmania's North West coast. On November 10th, the 37th day of her journey, La Bella approached Warrnambool. Captain Mylius steered her towards Lady Bay Channel in heavy south-west seas and evening mist. He ordered the helmsman to steer for the light. As the ship came round, a tremendous sea struck her on the port quarter, causing her to breach broadside in a north-westerly direction into breakers. The helm was brought round twice more, but each time heavy seas broke over her, the third time throwing the La Bella on to a submerged reef in Lady Bay now known as La Bella Reef (about 100 yards from the Warrnambool breakwater). The sea was so rough that it even wrenched a one-and-a-half ton anchor from its fastenings and into the sea. As Captain Mylius headed to the steel wheelhouse, intending to send up a rocket flare, a huge sea slammed the steel door into him (resulting in massive bruising front and back) Despite his injuries he still managed to set off a blue light, which he held up in his hands. La Bella’s lifeboats were filled with sea water and broke up on their chocks. The blue light was the first indication to people on shore that there was a ship in distress. The Harbour Master, Captain Roe (who lived in the Harbour Master’s House opposite Flagstaff Hill), organised a group of volunteers to crew the lifeboat because the trained crew was unavailable; the crewmen were working on a steamer in Port Fairy at the time. He then poured oil onto the water to try and smooth the sea. At around 11pm three of the crew took shelter in the steel forecastle but the sea crashed into it and broke it up. While the rest of the crew and onlookers watched helplessly in the moonlight the bodies were washed away into the sea, never to be seen again. Some of the crew lashed themselves to the weather rail to keep from being washed away. Watson, the ordinary seaman, became tangled in the rigging lines and was too weak to move, so the 2nd Mate, Robertson, put a line onto him so that he wouldn’t wash off. Around 11pm three of the crew were unconscious from exhaustion. The situation on La Bella was becoming dangerous. The 2nd Mate moved to the ‘house’ and soon afterwards the ship slipped in the heavy sea. The lashings of the 1st Mate and the ‘boy’ Denham had kept them safe until about 2am when they were washed overboard; no one was able to help. One by one, the exhausted crew were being washed overboard, too weak to hold on any longer. During the night the La Bella had broken into two and the deckhouse ran out towards the sea. Two more men drowned when trying to reach the lifeboat. By sunrise the only survivors of the twelve were the Master, 2nd Mate and three seamen. Early in the morning Captain Roe used the rocket apparatus on shore to try and shoot a line to the ship for a safer rescue but each attempt fell short of the target. Several attempts were made by the lifeboat to rescue the stricken sailors, but the rough conditions made this difficult for the boat to get close enough to the ship and the lifeboat had to return to shore. During a final attempt to reach the ship Captain Mylius ordered his men to jump into the sea. Leonard Robertson, 2nd mate, jumped and swam towards the lifeboat, taking hold of the boat hook offered to him. Oscar Rosenholme managed to reach the boat floating on a piece of timber from the ship’s load and a third survivor, Noake, also made the boat. Along with the lifeboat rescue crew, 25 year old William Ferrier rowed his small dingy through the heavy seas and managed to rescue the Captain, whom he landed on the breakwater. Ferrier then returned to the ship to attempt a final rescue, losing his oars and rowlocks into the high sea. Using just a spare paddle he skulled towards the La Bella, reaching her stern in time to cut loose the lone surviving sailor, Payne, from the lashing that held him to the ship; the terrified sailor dropped from the ship and into the dingy. Shortly after the last man was rescued, the La Bella was lifted by a huge wave and crashed back down on the reef; she broke up and sank. The ordeal had lasted ten hours. The survivors were taken to the nearby Bay View Hotel and gratefully received warm food and clothing, medical attention and a place to sleep. In the following days an unidentified body of a young person was washed ashore; it was either Watson or Denham. The body was buried in the Warrnambool cemetery with an appropriate gravestone and inscription. William Ferrier became a national hero as news of the daring rescue spread. In recognition of his bravery in the two daring rescues he was awarded the Silver Medal for Bravery by the Royal Humane Society and was honoured in the letter from the Prime Minister and the Parliament of the Commonwealth, telegrams and a cheque for £20 from the Governor General, over £150 subscribed by the public, including Warrnambool and district and readers of The Argus, and a gold medal from the Glenelg Dinghy Club of South Australia. Ferrier’s rescue efforts are one of the most heroic in Victoria’s shipwreck history. (William Ferrier’s son, Frank, received a similar award almost fifty years later, when he helped rescue four members of the crew on the yacht Merlan, after it ran on to a reef near the Point Lonsdale Lighthouse. ) The wreck of La Bella now lies on her port side in 13 metres of sheltered water inside the reef she struck. The bow section is relatively intact and part of the stern has drifted north-easterly towards the mouth of the Hopkins River. The reef the La Bella struck now bears its name. Those five rescued from the La Bella were Captain George Mylius, Leonard Robertson (2nd Mate, 21 years old), R. Payne, Oscar Rosenholme and Jack Noake. Those seven who lost their lives were Mr Coulson (1st mate), Charles Jackman (cook) Gustave Johnson, Pierre Johann and Robert Gent (all able seamen), Harry Watson (ordinary seaman) and Jack Denham (ship’s boy). Captain Mylius was found guilty of careless navigation; he had sailed into the bay without the services of a pilot. His Master Certificate was suspended for twelve months. Later he was also charged with manslaughter of one of the crew who had died when the La Bella was wrecked, but found not guilty. The event’s adverse publicity and damage to his career took a toll on his health and he died of a heart attack six months after the wreck; he was only thirty-seven. His body was buried in the Melbourne General Cemetery. The La Bella was “the best documented of all sailing ships owned in New Zealand”. Her record books, ship logs, correspondence and supporting papers are still available. At the time of the tragedy she was owned by Messers David C.Turnbull and Co. of Timaru, New Zealand timber merchants and shipping agents, who had purchased her on 13th December 1901. A detailed account of the last journey of La Bella can be read in “Leonard Robertson, the Whangaroa & La Bella” written by Jack Churchouse, published in 1982 by Millwood Press Ltd, Wellington, NZ.This painting of the La Bella by Philip J. Gray is part of the La Bella Collection and is significant at both a local and state level. Its connection to the La Bella shipwreck and the rescue of five survivors highlights the dangers of Victoria’s Shipwreck Coast. The painting connects with other objects and artefacts associated with the wreck of the La Bella. This painting is significant because of its association with the sailing ship “La Bella” . the “La Bella” is of local and state and national significance. It is one of the only two shipwrecks discovered in Lady Bay, Warrnambool, out of the 15-17 shipwrecks in the bay. Large framed painting of the three masted barquentine "La Bella" fully rigged. Painted by Phillip J Gray. A fine printed line squares off the painting. Beneath painting and line is a gold plate with black copper plate designating "La Bella" is encased in glass, surrounded by a silver-metal frame. Yellow and brown paper label is adhered to back of painting. Picture framed by Kosnar in Melbourne."The La Bella" on gold plaque Logo of "K" inside a brown square. "GRAY 3135, Y04/111", "ANOTHER KOSNAR FEATURE" flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, painting, la bella, artist phillip j gray, maritime painting, lady bay warrnambool -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Letter - William Ferrier, 14th November 1905
The letter to William Ferrier of South Warrnambool from the Prime Minister and the Parliament of the Commonwealth recognised the significance of William’s brave and courageous lifesaving act to the people of Australia; “They all feel that your conduct was worthy of the best deeds done by British sailors in the past and they are proud to know that Australia can produce such as you.” The story of that brave rescue follows on below … The ship from which the sailors were rescued was the three-masted, iron and steel barquentine the La Bella, built in Norway in 1893. She was one of two iron and steel ships by Johan Smith, The company was one of the leading shipping families in Tvedestrand, Norway. She was significant to Norwegian shipping, being one of only 27 iron and steel ships ever built in Norway. She was registered in New Zealand and engaged from 1902 in inter-colonial trading of timber in the Pacific, between New Zealand and Australia and was often in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria. On 5th October 1905, the twelve-year-old La Bella left Lyttleton, New Zealand carrying a cargo of timber bound for Warrnambool, Australia. She was manned by a crew of twelve: the Master, (Captain Mylius, previously 1st Mate of La Bella, appointed Captain to La Bella on 6th February 1903) 2 Mates, Cook, six able seamen, one ordinary seaman and a boy. Bad weather en route caused her to shelter at Burnie on Tasmania's North West coast. On November 10th, the 37th day of her journey, La Bella approached Warrnambool. Captain Mylius steered her towards Lady Bay Channel in heavy south-west seas and evening mist. He ordered the helmsman to steer for the light. As the ship came round, a tremendous sea struck her on the port quarter, causing her to breach broadside in a north-westerly direction into breakers. The helm was brought round twice more, but each time heavy seas broke over her, the third time throwing the La Bella on to a submerged reef in Lady Bay now known as La Bella Reef (about 100 yards from the Warrnambool breakwater). The sea was so rough that it even wrenched a one-and-a-half ton anchor from its fastenings and into the sea. As Captain Mylius headed to the steel wheelhouse, intending to send up a rocket flare, a huge sea slammed the steel door into him (resulting in massive bruising front and back) Despite his injuries he still managed to set off a blue light, which he held up in his hands. La Bella’s lifeboats were filled with seawater and broke up on their chocks. The blue light was the first indication to people on the shore that there was a ship in distress. The Harbour Master, Captain Roe (who lived in the Harbour Master’s House opposite Flagstaff Hill), organised a group of volunteers to crew the lifeboat because the trained crew was unavailable; the crewmen were working on a steamer in Port Fairy at the time. He then poured oil onto the water to try and smooth the sea. At around 11 pm three of the crew took shelter in the steel forecastle but the sea crashed into it and broke it up. While the rest of the crew and onlookers watched helplessly in the moonlight the bodies were washed away into the sea, never to be seen again. Some of the crew lashed themselves to the weather rail to keep from being washed away. Watson, the ordinary seaman, became tangled in the rigging lines and was too weak to move, so the 2nd Mate, Robertson, put a line onto him so that he wouldn’t wash off. Around 11 pm three of the crew were unconscious from exhaustion. The situation on La Bella was becoming dangerous. The 2nd Mate moved to the ‘house’ and soon afterwards the ship slipped in the heavy sea. The lashings of the 1st Mate and the ‘boy’ Denham had kept them safe until about 2 am when they were washed overboard; no one was able to help. One by one, the exhausted crew were being washed overboard, too weak to hold on any longer. During the night the La Bella had broken into two and the deckhouse ran out towards the sea. Two more men drowned when trying to reach the lifeboat. By sunrise, the only survivors of the twelve were the Master, 2nd Mate and three seamen. Early in the morning, Captain Roe used the rocket apparatus on shore to try and shoot a line to the ship for a safer rescue but each attempt fell short of the target. Several attempts were made by the lifeboat to rescue the stricken sailors, but the rough conditions made this difficult for the boat to get close enough to the ship and the lifeboat had to return to shore. During a final attempt to reach the ship Captain Mylius ordered his men to jump into the sea. Leonard Robertson, 2nd mate, jumped and swam towards the lifeboat, taking hold of the boat hook offered to him. Oscar Rosenholme managed to reach the boat floating on a piece of timber from the ship’s load and a third survivor, Noake, also made the boat. Along with the lifeboat rescue crew, 25-year-old William Ferrier rowed his small dingy through the heavy seas and managed to rescue the Captain, whom he landed on the breakwater. Ferrier then returned to the ship to attempt a final rescue, losing his oars and rowlocks into the high sea. Using just a spare paddle he skulled towards the La Bella, reaching her stern in time to cut loose the lone surviving sailor, Payne, from the lashing that held him to the ship; the terrified sailor dropped from the ship and into the dingy. Shortly after the last man was rescued, the La Bella was lifted by a huge wave and crashed back down on the reef; she broke up and sank. The ordeal had lasted ten hours. The survivors were taken to the nearby Bay View Hotel and gratefully received warm food and clothing, medical attention and a place to sleep. In the following days, an unidentified body of a young person has washed ashore; it was either Watson or Denham. The body was buried in the Warrnambool cemetery with an appropriate gravestone and inscription. William Ferrier became a national hero as news of the daring rescue spread. In recognition of his bravery in the two daring rescues, he was awarded the Silver Medal for Bravery by the Royal Humane Society and was honoured in the letter from the Prime Minister and the Parliament of the Commonwealth, telegrams and a cheque for £20 from the Governor-General, over £150 subscribed by the public, including Warrnambool and district and readers of The Argus, and a gold medal from the Glenelg Dinghy Club of South Australia. Ferrier’s rescue efforts are one of the most heroic in Victoria’s shipwreck history. (William Ferrier’s son, Frank, received a similar award almost fifty years later when he helped rescue four members of the crew on the yacht Merlan after it ran on to a reef near the Point Lonsdale Lighthouse. ) The wreck of La Bella now lies on her port side in 13 metres of sheltered water inside the reef she struck. The bow section is relatively intact and part of the stern has drifted north-easterly towards the mouth of the Hopkins River. The reef the La Bella struck now bears its name. Those five rescued from the La Bella were Captain George Mylius, Leonard Robertson (2nd Mate, 21 years old), R. Payne, Oscar Rosenholme and Jack Noake. Those seven who lost their lives were Mr Coulson (1st mate), Charles Jackman (cook) Gustave Johnson, Pierre Johann and Robert Gent (all able seamen), Harry Watson (ordinary seaman) and Jack Denham (ship’s boy), Captain Mylius was found guilty of careless navigation; he had sailed into the bay without the services of a pilot. His Master Certificate was suspended for twelve months. Later he was also charged with the manslaughter of one of the crew who had died when the La Bella was wrecked but found not guilty. The event’s adverse publicity and damage to his career took a toll on his health and he died of a heart attack six months after the wreck; he was only thirty-seven. His body was buried in the Melbourne General Cemetery. The La Bella was “the best documented of all sailing ships owned in New Zealand”. Her record books, ship logs, correspondence and supporting papers are still available. At the time of the tragedy, she was owned by Messers David C.Turnbull and Co. of Timaru, New Zealand timber merchants and shipping agents, who had purchased her on 13th December 1901. A detailed account of the last journey of La Bella can be read in “Leonard Robertson, the Whangaroa & La Bella” written by Jack Churchouse, published in 1982 by Millwood Press Ltd, Wellington, NZ. As well as this letter, Flagstaff Hill’s La Bella Collection includes a photograph of the wrecked La Bella, a brass rail holder and a postcard of William Ferrier with four of the survivors. Some 15 – 17 ships are believed to have sunk in Lady Bay, but only two have been discovered on the seafloor; the “La Bella” and the “Edinburgh Castle”. Both wrecks are popular diving sites and are preserved as significant historical marine and marine archaeological sites. This original congratulatory letter sent to William Ferrier by the Prime Minister and Government of Australia demonstrates the importance attached to his efforts for Victoria and to Australia. The letter is part of the La Bella Collection and is significant at both a local and state level. Its connection to the La Bella shipwreck and the rescue of five survivors highlights the dangers of Victoria’s Shipwreck Coast. The letter to William Ferrier from the Australian Government acknowledges the bravery of ordinary Australians who risked their lives to save victims of shipwrecks along the coast. The letter is significant to the history of Warrnambool as it honours William Ferrier, a local fisherman whose descendants continue to live in the area. It highlights the way of life of people who lived in coastal towns in 19th century Victoria and the effects of shipwrecks upon them. The letter connects to the postcard of William Ferrier with four of the five rescued crew, the photograph of the wreck of the La Bella and the artefact from the wreck, the rail holder. This letter is significant because of its association with the sailing ship “La Bella”. The “La Bella” is of local and state and national significance. It is one of the only two shipwrecks discovered in Lady Bay, Warrnambool, out of the 15-17 shipwrecks in the bay. Letter to William Ferrier of South Warrnambool from the Prime Minister and Members of Parliament commending him on his bravery. The printed letterhead includes a coat of arms in the top centre and the official address. The letter is very neatly hand written in black pen and includes 4 signatures of Members of Parliament. The rectangular paper is cream coloured with some yellow/brown discolouring. It has the letterhead on the right hand side of it and the written letter begins below the letterhead. The paper has been folded so that the right side becomes the cover page of the letter. The writing is continued onto the inside right hand page of the folded paper and the writing ends here. There is more recent writing on the bottom right hand corner of the back page. The paper has been officially folded in half a total 3 times and there is heavy discolouration on the sections that form the front and back of the folded letter. There is a 4th fold line that is less pronounced that the other folds and would make the paper the size to fit into a pocket. At several fold creases the paper has worn through. The edges of the paper have minor tears. The printed coat of arms is that of the House of Representatives. Underneath is printed “The Parliament of the Commonwealth, / Parliament House / Melbourne”. The hand written, letter is dated “14th November, 1905” and addressed to “Mr. William Ferrier / South Warrnambool” The letter begins “The Speaker, the Prime Minister and Members of the Ministry and its supporters, the Leader and Members of the Opposition, the Leader and Members of the Labour Party, being all the Members of the House of Representatives of the Federal Parliament of Australia” … It continues “desire to express to you their appreciation of your bravery in skulling out to the wreck of the “La Bella” at Warrnambool on Saturday, 11th November, 1905, and recovering therefrom two of the crew who were in imminent danger of their lives. They all feel that your conduct was worthy of the best deeds done by British sailors in the past and they are proud to know that Australia can produce such as you.” The letter is “Signed on behalf of the Members – Speaker (Frederick Holder ), Deputy Leader of the Opposition (Joseph Cook ), Prime Minister (Alfred Deakin), Leader of the Labour Party ( J.C. Watson)” On the back of the letter is blue ink handwriting “OWNER / G. FERRIER / TO. BE. PHOTOGRAPHED / 27-4-76”la bella, william ferrier, bill ferrier, lady bay, 1905, 10th november 1905, 11th november 1905, parliament of the commonwealth, prime minister, australian government, new zealand, flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Gauze Bandage
This gauze bandage was donated to Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village by the family of Doctor William Roy Angus, Surgeon and Oculist. 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 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. Gauze bandage, four inch, part of the W.R. Angus Collection. Hand written on end of bandage "W.R. Angus" Hand written on end of bandage "W.R. Angus" flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, gauze bandage, w.r.angus -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Trousers, Paislyo Ltd
This uniform, consisting of 3 pairs of trousers and 1 jacket, was owned by Dr W.R. Angus. Due to the manufacturer's label saying the uniform was made in Glasgow, it is likely that Dr Angus acquired the uniform around the time of his studies in Edinburgh. His name on the uniform suggests that it was part of his usual clothing and it was most likely worn on his homeward passage to Australia in 1928, during which time he worked as a Ship's Surgeon on T.S.S. LARGS BAY.. This uniform was donated to Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village by the family of Doctor William Roy Angus, Surgeon and Oculist. 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 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. Trousers (3) white uniform with silver buttons, buttons inscribed "V.Falzon Malta". On inside - W R Angus, R Poore. Tailored in Glasgow, Scotland 1900s by Paislyo Ltd Glasgow. (said to be a Cadet naval officer's uniform)Inscribed on buttons "V.Falson Malta". Marked on fabric "W R Angus, R Poore" and "Paislyo Ltd Glasgow"flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, uniform trousers, silver button trousers, v.falzon malta, w r angus, paislyo ltd