Black and white copy of photograph, laminated, of a young lady wearing a puffy white dress with high collar. She is looking to her right showing a side profile, dark curly hair worn up.miss rose kelly, snake valley

A4 soft bound book with photograph of timber house in country location with post and wire fence and three children walking towards the house; a girl in light-coloured dress carrying a school case is in the middle with a boy in crossover top shorts with school bag over their right shoulders on either side of her. Text is black.non-fictionSoldier settler family stories from the Hawkesdale, Macarthur and Penshurst areas.military history, soldier settlement wwii, hawkesdale, macarthur, penshurst, eugene von guerard, robert dowling, first australians

The family Chelidae is endemic to Australia, New Guinea, and South America and consists of some 40 species of freshwater turtle. Twenty-four described species are found in Australia and three of these occur in the Murray Darling Basin. Turtles of the genus Chelodina are distinguished by their exceptionally long necks. These turles are also referred to as side-necked turtles, so named because the neck and head, when not extended, fold under the leading edge of the carapace. They are further characterised by their relatively flattened shells and their clawed webbed feet. This specimen is part of a collection of almost 200 animal specimens that were originally acquired as skins from various institutions across Australia, including the Australian Museum in Sydney and the National Museum of Victoria (known as Museums Victoria since 1983), as well as individuals such as amateur anthropologist Reynell Eveleigh Johns between 1860-1880. These skins were then mounted by members of the Burke Museum Committee and put-on display in the formal space of the Museum’s original exhibition hall where they continue to be on display. This display of taxidermy mounts initially served to instruct visitors to the Burke Museum of the natural world around them, today it serves as an insight into the collecting habits of the 19th century.This specimen is part of a significant and rare taxidermy mount collection in the Burke Museum. This collection is scientifically and culturally important for reminding us of how science continues to shape our understanding of the modern world. They demonstrate a capacity to hold evidence of how Australia’s fauna history existed in the past and are potentially important for future environmental research. This collection continues to be on display in the Museum and has become a key part to interpreting the collecting habits of the 19th century.This specimen is stylised standing on a wooden platform. It has a long, narrow neck and a large and relatively flat shell. The head, neck and limbs are all dark grey or brown in colour and the underside is a pale brown. The feet are webbed and have long claws. The eyes are made from pale glass and the specimen has a short tale.BMM5891taxidermy mount, taxidermy, animalia, burke museum, beechworth, australian museum, skin, reynell eveleigh johns, turtle, australian turtle, australian animal, snake-necked turtle, chelidae, broad-shelled turtle

non-fictionMelbourne 1841-1865 Georgiana McCrae was the grandmother of the poet Hugh McCrae and one of the most graceful of Australia's early diarists. In 1841, only six years after Melbourne was founded, she arrived in the Port Phillip district where she was to spend forty-nine of her eighty-seven years. Her journal is not only a fascinating personal document but an invaluable reflection of the social life and history of the infant settlement. As well as being an artist of considerable talent—even genius (she had been a favourite pupil of the water-colourist John Varley), Georgiana had been an indefatigable diarist since she was a little girl; and to this cultivated and therefore perhaps lonely young woman in the embryo town that was Melbourne her journal was her confidant and companion. Whether she is telling how Bishop Broughton "exonerated the Popish party from the blame in the Gunpowder Plot", or how her son was within an inch of treading on a snake which I killed with the stick of my parasol", whether she is spring cleaning, combating a grasshopper plague, or making a velvet bonnet for her daughter, she is always perceptive and arresting in recording her daily life and the affairs of the colony.georgiana mccrae, melbourne (vic.)

non-fictionA Girl at Government House These reminiscences of an English girl 'in service' present a remarkably lively portrait of Australia in the eighteen eighties and nineties. The story is delightfully different, an evocation of a little-documented side of life in nineteenth century Australia. Brisbane during the Jubilee, Sydney Centennial celebrations, and the Melbourne Exhibition provide the background to the colourful, continuous whirl of dinners, balls and garden parties of colonial society. Juxtaposed with the social roundabout are the lives and loves of the ordinary people who were 'a free and easy lot, and homely too'. The charmingly naive Agnes has come from England 'knowing no more than a babe unborn how it came into the world'; her rustic vision quaintly interpreted Australia as 'beautiful flowers without any scent' and fostered the belief that snakes will never die till sunset, however early they are killed'. An adventurous spirit and insatiable curiosity lead Agnes from one great house to another. Governors and grooms, ladies and laundry-maids — all are described with enchanting directness and compelling humour. Great care has been take to illustrate Agnes's story with authentic photographs depicting the people and places mentioned in her narrative. Captivating in its freshness, this delightful story is faithfully recorded with sparkling spontaneity. (inside cover)agnes stokes, servant