Bert Masefield's parents came from Lancashire to Surrey Hills, his education ending because of the depression when he went to work at an orchard at Hastings. When his father list his job as a cabinet maker, he bought an orchard at Cottlesbridge and Bert joined them, ploughing with a horse. He met and married Ethel Smith who had grown u at Panton Hill; her great grandparents Sarah and Samuel Smith came from Lancashire where they had a cotton mill and iron foundry, settling at Smith Gully between Panton Hill and St Andrews. Their son Edwin married Louisa Purcell whose parents owned the Caledonie Hotel at Smiths Gully; they had 12 children and settled on a property in Cherrytree Road. Son Edwin left Panton Hill school aged 11 in 1885 and worked with his father and uncle fencing the family property. Edwin had nine children, Ethel being the seventh. Aged 14, she gained a scholarship to Stotts Business College. Berth and Ethel, when they married, bough a property in Cherrytree Road. In 1941 Bert, a ham radio enthusiast, joined the RAAF as a radio mechanic, serving in Townsville and New Guinea until 1945. Over time, they subdivided their property. Bert worked for ten years as property officer for Eltham Shire Council; his work included coverting Three Chain Road (or Gumtree Road) into a huge firebreak. Now retired, Bert spends time speaking with radio operators around the world and the couple are involved with sports including the Montmorency Bowling Club; they were foundation members of the Hurstbridge Bowling Club. Marjorie North (nee Cooper) was 14 when her family moved from the city to Montmorency when the railway station was first built in 1923. Marjorie described her memories of Montmorency at that time. She and sister Connie were keen tennis players, playing at Greensborough. By 1927, they had arranged, though shire engineer Ben Johnson, to rent land from the Council for 10 pounds a year; Mr Paragreen levelled the land. The club held a dance every three weeks in a school room with piano for music. She won the singles, doubles and mixed doubles championships in 1929 at the first championship. Contents Newspaper article: "Round the world on radio waves," Diamond Valley News, 30 September 1986, outlines Bert and Ethel Masefield's lives. Newspaper article: "Stalwart recalls the early days," Diamond Valley News, 30 September 1986, outlines Bert and Ethel Masefield's lives.Newspaper clippings, A4 photocopies, etcbert masefield, elthel masefield, ethel smith, cherrytree road panton hill, samuel smith, sarah smith, smith gully victoria, caledonie hotel smiths gully, stotts business college, montmorency bowling club, hurstbridge bowling club, eltham shire council, edwin smith, louisa purcell, parragreen of para road, ben johnson, montmorency tennis club

George Young arrived in Australia in 1856-7 and settled in Eaglehawk where he was the mining manger in a firm that extracted gold from tailings using cyanide. In 1917 it was recalled by the Eaglehawk manager of the Commercial Bank of Australia that he employed about 70 men in his firm. In 1884 he successfully applied through Sergent John Gleeson for Victorian naturalisation. His application was processed along with five others. According to an article in the Australasian he was 'highly respected' in Eaglehawk for his 'uprightness and integrity'. The Bendigo Advertiser described him as being 'held in high esteem' and being 'a kind and benevolent man'. He made donations to the Bendigo Benevolent Asylum and Hospital on a number of occasions and was involved in organising the Chinese performance in the Bendigo Easter Fair in 1879. In June 1900, after his elder brother's death in 1899, George Young returned to China at his father's request to manage the family property. His Chinese-born wife and six Australian-born children accompanied him. Prior to his departure a portrait of the Young family was published in the Australasian and given to prominent citizens of Eaglehawk. A banquet was also given by the citizens of Eaglehawk to see the family off and George Young was presented with an illuminated address.The Faces of China - Bendigo, a presentation author unknown, photo copy of Seo (George) Young and his family with two paragraphs description of Chinese mines and missionaries on the gold fields. Seo Young of Eaglehawk was a wealthy mine tailings manager believed to be the only known Chinese to have occupied a position of authority over both Caucasians and Chinese workers.Handwritten on the rear is "found in "Chinese Footsteps" Historical sites of Bendigo.history, bendigo, eaglehawk, chinese, chinese mine managers, chinese missionaries

Allan Parkinson was born in Beechworth in 1924. The eldest of eight children, his mother provided laundry services to the people of Beechworth whilst his father worked for the local tannery, trapping rabbits. Allan fondly remembers times spent during his childhood catching rabbits with his father. As his younger years were set amidst the experiences of World War Two and the Great Depression, Allan recalls a feeling of solidarity amongst the residents of Beechworth that was present during this time(for instance, sharing food with neighbours in wartime), as well as the disassociation he felt as a returning soldier after the war. Allan talks of the great number of 'New Australians' who arrived in Beechworth in the post-war years, many of them coming from war-torn countries in Europe. Before being integrated into Australian society, these 'New Australians' would often first spend time at the Migrant Reception and Training Centre in Bonegilla, Northern Victoria. They were taught English and learnt about Australian life before being billeted out across the country to fill labor shortages. Following time spent up in Queensland, Allan worked in the forestry industry, clearing thousands of acres across Victoria which were needed to plant pines. The interview ends with discussions of the famous Wheelbarrow Push from Beechworth to Mt Buffalo in 1935, of which Allan's Uncle Tom was a central participant; this is an event which has since become an annual fundraising tradition in Beechworth. 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. Mr Allan Parkinson's account of his life in Beechworth and the local area during the twentieth century is historically and socially significant to the cultural heritage of the region. He details important historical events and hardships that had lasting local, regional and national impacts, including Australia during wartime, post-war migration and economic struggles. This oral history account is historically and socially significant as it is 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 twentieth century, many of which would have 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 stripe and is currently stored in a clear flat plastic rectangular container. It holds up to forty minutes of recordings on each side. Mr Allan Parkinson / allan parkinson, oral history, beechworth forestry, forestry industry, beechworth tannery, jennifer williams, rabbit trapping, new australians, australian depression, rabbiting, bonegilla, bonegilla migrant camp, 20th century beechworth, wheelbarrow push beechworth to mt buffalo, barrowthon, wheelbarrow push 1935, listen to what they say, listen to what they say: voices of twentieth century beechworth, world war two, wartime, wartime solidarity, burke museum