Mrs. Vanessa McDonald was born in Beechworth in 1917. Christened, Agnes Bertha Collins, Vanessa changed her name in 1960. Mrs. McDonald's family's connection with gold mining in the district reach back to the first of Beechworth's gold rushes, when her great grandfather, a Dutchman who adopted the name Charles Collins, arrived in 1851-1852. Mrs. McDonald spent her childhood in the isolated hamlet of Stanley, in the area known as 'Little Scotland', where she recalls helping her mother to raise younger siblings, picking apples and walnuts on the family farm, and roaming the hills for wildflowers. As a young woman Mrs. McDonald attended religious and social gatherings in the local community. In 1940 she went to Melbourne to work as a mothercraft nurse during the Second World War. She met her husband at a Beechworth football match and was married at the Stanley Methodist Church in 1941. The gold diggings known as the 'Nine Mile' became the hamlet of Stanley, after the British Prime Minister, Lord Stanley, in 1858. By the late 1850s, Stanley boasted schools, an athenaeum, a church, a weekly newspaper and several hotels and other civic infrastructure to cater for a growing population. The area attracted large numbers of Chinese miners, whose presence was frequently resisted. Like other early Victorian mining settlements, Stanley was a hotbed of political and racial tensions during the gold rush. One side of the Nine Mile Creek was known as 'Little Scotland’, the other, 'Little Ireland'. A number of Christian denominations built congregations and churches in Stanley, including the Church of England, Methodist Church, the Catholic Church, and Presbyterian Church. Stanley became part of the United Shire of Beechworth in 1871. By 1880 timber was being cut and two sawmills were established by 1887. River-dredged gold mining consumed vast amounts of timber from the forests in the area, and in 1931 the first of several softwood plantations began. This oral history recording was part of a project conducted by Jennifer Williams in the year 2000 to capture the everyday life and struggles in Beechworth during the twentieth century. This project involved recording seventy oral histories on cassette tapes of local Beechworth residents which were then published in a book titled: 'Listen to what they say: voices of twentieth century Beechworth'. These cassette tapes were digitised in July 2021 with funds made available by the Friends of the Burke.Following the decline in the mining and associated industries during the early-mid-twentieth century, the Beechworth district experienced a period of general economic decline. On the east side of the Dingle Range, Mrs. McDonald's father, William Henry Collins, felled timber and the family were pioneer apple orchardists. The establishment of apple orchards in Stanley reflects changes to how land was used and contributes to our understanding of the historical development of rural communities following the gold rush. Mrs. McDonald's recollections are significant for understanding family and social life in a small rural town in years leading up to the Great Depression and prior to the Second World War. This oral history recording may be compared with other oral histories and items in the Burke Museum's collection. This oral history account is socially and historically significant as it is a part of a broader collection of interviews conducted by Jennifer Williams which were published in the book 'Listen to what they say: voices of twentieth-century Beechworth.' While the township of Beechworth is known for its history as a gold rush town, these accounts provide a unique insight into the day-to-day life of the town's residents during the 20th century, many of which will have now been lost if they had not been preserved.This is a digital copy of a recording that was originally captured on a cassette tape. The cassette tape is black with a horizontal white strip and is currently stored in a clear flat plastic rectangular container. It holds up 40 minutes of recordings on each side.Mrs Vanessa McDonald /listen to what they say, beechworth, oral history, burke museum, emigration, gold rush immigration, victorian gold rush, mining families, apple orchard, forestry, forest plantation, little scotland, stanley, twentieth century history, regional australia, rural australia, farming, harvest festival, great depression, dingle range, the nine mile, australian wildflowers, high country wildflowers, mothercraft nurse, rural and regional women, social history, collins, mrs. vanessa mcdonald, building community life, shaping cultural and creative life, fruit growers, family history, changes to land use in regional victoria

Story of early days after WW1 in Ringwood and Warrandyte of Mr and Mrs. McCann and their life on Orchards. Sent to Mr. Pullen16 pages double sided of hand written memoirs about life in Warrandyte and Ringwood +Additional Keywords: McCann, Mrs E.M. / Pullen, Mr.

Photographed in 1872 by William PATERSON as one of a series for the Melbourne Exhibition of 1873; original mount hanging in Engineering Department at Port Melbourne Town Hall at 19-9-1994 but now in Port Phillip,City Collection. This set of original prints belonged to Town Clerk Syd ANDERSON, then to his daughter-in-law Phyllis ANDERSON (donor). Accompanied by list of captions, both hand written and typed (the latter a partial listing).View of Beach Street from gate at Port Melbourne railway station entrance (corner of Railway Place and Princes Street). Shows Urquhart London Hotel, shops later replaced by Swallow & Ariell, carriages, sugar works chimney, etc 1872"P Anderson" on back, ink. On face of photo someone has in the 1990s added a numeral in ink 9hile with the donor. This has been retouched out on our digital copies.transport - horse, transport - railways, london family hotel, beach street, sydney sims anderson, town clerks, business and traders - hotels

Photographed in 1872 by William PATERSON as one of a series for the Melbourne Exhibition of 1873; original mount hanging in Engineering Department at Port Melbourne Town Hall at 19-9-1994 but now in Port Phillip,City Collection. This set of original prints belonged to Town Clerk Syd ANDERSON, then to his daughter-in-law Phyllis ANDERSON (donor). Accompanied by list of captions, both hand written and typed (the latter a partial listing).Portion of lagoon photographed from Sugar Works, showing Rouse and Graham Street footbridges, Dow Street, Emerald Hill (view toward northeast). 1872"P Anderson" on back, ink. On face of photo someone has in the 1990s added a numeral in ink 9hile with the donor. This has been retouched out on our digital copies.sandridge lagoon, victorian sugar works, sydney sims anderson, town clerks, business and traders - hotels

Letter from R W Richards, Principal of S.M.B. to Mr Garner informing him and the boys that a former pupil was awarded the Diploma of Engineering. This was Jim Brokenshire. He showed strong determination to complete his diploma. This should be an example to the B.J.T. students. Jim is now part of the professional staff of the S.E.C. in Yallourn. Heavy cream paper, typed Letterhead signature of R W Richards - written in blue penballarat junior technical school, headmaster, l garner, r w richards, principal, school of mines, diploma of engineering, jim brokenshire, s.e.c.yallourn

2-page letter from W. Meyland to Mr. Hookey re land in East Ringwood. School was opened 6-Aug-1924 by Mrs. Everard. +Additional Keywords: Meyland, Charles / Hookey / Lindsay, Ted.

Mrs Jessie Hill trained in 1935 and donated her book of hand stitched samples to the Historical Society in 1989.Book A3 size with thick brown paper cover. The book has eight pages of thick caramel coloured paper with sewing samples attached. Bound with yellow cord. +Additional Keywords: Hill, Jessie, Mrs