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

Small monochrome photograph (faded) depicting a large outdoor gathering of seamen and LHLG members.lhlg, picnic

Small monochrome photograph (faded) depicting outdoor gathering of seated seamen and LHLG member.lhlg, fancy dress, picnic, cadet

Small monochrome photograph depicting small crew of seamen on vessel docked, with wharf in background

St Michael Paternoster Royal accommodates the offices of the central Mission to Seafarers in LondonColour photograph depicting the Missions to Seamen flag in St Michael Paternoster Royal, Londonst michael paternoster royal, london-uk, mission to seafarers, pat dann

Flag of dark blue rectangle with white writing 'The Missions To Seamen' & flying angel imageflagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, the missions to seamen, flag

The bottom stone was the foundation stone for the main building laid Tuesday 5 February 1907, and the middle stone was the foundation stone for the chapel, laid Tuesday 1 December 1908. The two stones were inserted on the wall of the current Mission building probably when the Siddeley Street institute was demolished. The stones are located in the courtyard on the wall of the former chaplain's office. next to the chapel.The stones are the few remnants of the first Central Institute.Photograph depicting the two foundation stones of the former Seamen's Institute located on Siddeley Street.siddeley street institute, reverend a. gurney-goldsmith, sir thomas david gibson carmichael (1859–1926), governor of victoria, lord henry stafford northcote (1846–1911), governor general of australia, flinders street mission, australian wharf

The report was produced by and distributed to members, containing reports from the Committee, Chaplain, the Ladies Harbours Lights Guild, as well as a list of subscriptions and rules for the 1910 period. This copy is the first to feature images of all three main Mission venues established in Port Phillip pre WW1.Annual reports were published by the Mission to Seamen each year, and included reports from all seamen's missions and organisations in Victoria, as well as associated groups, such as the Ladies Harbour Lights Guild. These reports provide documentation of the activities conducted by the Mission, as well recording the people involved.written in pencil: MTS0235 (Front cover)1910, annual report, victorian seamen's mission, williamstown, sailors' rest, port melbourne, siddeley street, central institute, seamen's institute, mission to seafarers, melbourne, administrative document-annual report

Sepia photo of a group of soldiers & seamen assembled onboard a troopship for what appears to be a sea burial.photography-photographs, military history - army, burial

Small monochrome photograph (faded) depicting outdoor gathering of seamen and LHLG members playing cricket.lhlg, cricket, picnic

The photograph was first published in the Jottings issue 44, Michaelmas 1916. He was republished in January 1922 (issue 65).Small sepia tone photograph with a thin white frame depicting three seamen onboard their ship.Handwritten at the back in pencil: A G Goldmsith / Shipping News / Melbourne Blue ink stamp: 640 (the "6" is replaced by a handwritten "5")seamen, life on board, life onboard, sailors, crews and ships

The picture was possibly taken during the opening of the court.The 20s was the golden age of tennis around the world and its popularity was growing in Australia as well. It is unclear why it was decided to build a tennis court at the Mission but Reverend Weller, freshly arrived from the UK, probably saw the opportunity to entertain the benefactors and attract a younger generation to visit the Mission. And it was surely popular with the young ladies of the Harbour Light Guild. See pictures 0518 and 0521.Young unidentified tennis players (men and women) posing behind the net of the Mission to Seamen court.tennis court, sports, lhlg, seamen, officers, siddeley street, weller album, cadets, 1926

Gathering of seafarers and MTS clergy and LHLG members, at Heildelberg property, 1906Small monochrome photograph depicting a large group of seamen, ladies from the Guild during a picnicheildelberg, cup day, 1906

Typical outdoor photo of group of seafarers benefitting from a mission excursion out to one of the larger properties, in this case Orchard House, Malvern.Group o 21 seamen standing or sitting on the grass, with Reverend Gurney Goldsmith standing on the right.orchard house, 1907, malvern, george higgins, picnic, cup day, beatrice elizabeth higgins (nee shuter), charles shuter, picnics, entertainments, social events, goldsmith album, bowler hat, boater hat, sailor cap

Aileen was the daughter of Reverend Richard Vallencey Danne and Mary Danne , nee Johnston, herself daughter of Reverend Kerr Johnston. She was married to Alfred Augustus Brown. In 1935 she wrote the memoirs presented during the annual meeting of the Mission on the 10th of April by her brother, Reverend Noel Johnston Danne. It was sold for fundraising purposes for the Mission. In the article from the Herald published on Wednesday 10 April 1935, page 14 : "An interesting presentation took place during the afternoon when the Rev. N. J. Danne, on behalf of his sister, Mrs A. E. Browne, will present the Mission with a copy of the Memoirs of the Victoria Mission to Seamen from the year 1853, when their grandfather was the first chaplain of the Mission. Further copies of the memoirs were sold to assist the funds of the mission."Medium sized booklet. 16 pages memoirs with blue cover written by Aileen Elizabeth Brown in 1935 tells the beginnings of the mission and Kerr Johnston (1812-1887), seamen's mission chaplain. Foreword written by Aileen Elizabeth Brown. On page 2 are the photographs of the Reverend Kerr Johnston and his wife.reverend noel johnston danne, 1890-1969, aileen elizabeth brown, nee danne, 1879-1956, reverend richard vallencey danne, 1846-1904, mary alice isabelle danne nee johnston, 1851-1926, fundraising, mission to seafarers, seamen's mission, mission to seamen, port melbourne, 1935, memoirs, history, reminiscence