Diggers & Mining. Getting the Gold. Slide: The next four frames contain a description of deep sinking at Ballarat in 1853, taken from William Howitt's book, ''Land, Labour, and Gold'', which was published in 1855. Markings: 32 994.LIF:4. Used as a teaching aid.hanimounteducation, tertiary, goldfields

Diggers & Mining: The Digging - The Diggers. Slide: The next frame contains a description of Bendigo Creek in 4853. It is taken from the book ''Land, Labour, and Gold'', by William Howitt. (If you can, read this book. Published in 1855, it gives perhaps the best over-all account of the of the Victorian diggings in 1853 and 1854.) Markings: 27 994.LIF:6. Used as a teaching aid.hanimounteducation, tertiary, goldfields

Three pages of extracts titled Mine Safety Cages, Old Bendigonians, memories of 'Fedder Duster', a Chinese Market Gardener; and a book review. The Safety Cage was an invention to stop the cage falling down the shaft if the rope gave way. Fedder Duster was a Chinese Market Gardener who was forced off his garden lease. His name was Ah Louey. The Book Review was 'Land, Labour and Gold' or Two Years in Victoria, with visits to Sydney and Van Diemen’s Land, by William Howitt.document, names of bendigo pioneers, mine safety cages & fedder duster, tasmanian foundry, mr j h seymour, dr stewart, conflecua mine malmsbury, thomas dunne, mr frank fitzpatrick, mr a llewellun, old bendigonians, mr john robshaw, mr hugh mcdevitt, alexander bayne, mr f sciallero, camp reserve, art gallery, hon. w i winter-irvine, george avery fletcher, great central goldfield, dear old bendigo 1892, fedder duster, mrs chancellor, ah louey, market gardener, mr curnow, technical school art class, bendigo benevolent home, joch, land labour and gold 1855, two years in victoria with visits to sydney and van diemen's land, william howitt, lowden publishing co, government camp, stars & stripes of america, odd fellows, freemasons, miss f kingerlee

Diggers & Mining: The Digging - The Diggers. Slide: An article from 'Land Labour, and Gold'. By William Howitt. Little more than a year ago the whole of this valley on the Bendigo Creek, seven miles and long by one and a half wide, was an un broken wood. It is now perfectly bare of trees, and the whole of it is riddled of hole 10 to 80 feet deep, on one hugh chaos of clay, gravel, stones and pipe clay. So much has been done on this forest in just one year; and not only one year . . . . . . Markings: 28 994.LIF:6. Used as a teaching aid.hanimounteducation, tertiary, goldfields

Diggers & Mining. Getting the Gold. Slide: (Continued) Numbers of stores scattered about, with their gay flags; and numbers of new holes put down and waiting the result of those in progress, with their windlasses standing on square frameworks of logs, some 5 or 6 feet above the ground. The crowds; the heaps of clay thrown up of all colours - every heap different - bright yellow, dazzling white, mottled Black and white, and brilliant rose pink; the dirt and the noises were altogether something extraordinary. Similar scenes presented themselves in Eureka and Canadian Gullies. All was bustle and activity; for these are the great lotteries of the Victorian Diggings, where there are really heavy prizes - and to each - thousand blanks. . . (From ''Land, Labour, and Gold'' by William Howitt.) Markings: 36 994.LIF:4. Used as a teaching aid.hanimounteducation, tertiary, goldfields

"The Mechanics Institute movement flourished in Victoria from 1839 to 1950. It was based on the development of Mechanics’ Institutes in Scotland and England from the 1820s, which were intended to educate and enlighten the working classes. The term ‘mechanic’ in those days meant an artisan, craftsman or working man, especially those who had moved from rural areas to work in new city factories during the Industrial Revolution. The early Institutes were usually equipped with a reading room, a library and a lecture room. Although enjoying mixed success in Britain, they contributed to the development of public education and library services. The movement was adopted more enthusiastically in the colonies. It began slowly in Victoria but its expansion after the gold rushes population influx was rapid, especially in rural areas. Every suburb and town wanted to have a Mechanics’ Institute. During the 1850s approximately forty Institutes were established, with even greater growth in the period 1860 to 1900. By 1900 there were 400 Institutes in Victoria. The establishment of a Mechanics’ Institute was often a great achievement for a local community, requiring organising committees to raise substantial funds for a building site (where this had not been granted by the Government), and the building. Once built, the committee then had to purchase books, provide a caretaker or librarian, and finance the ongoing use of and improvements to the building. ‘The history of many Institutes is a story of tremendous community effort, and often, financial difficulties’. In addition to being monuments to local enterprise and community life, the Mechanics’ Institutes played a vital role as an intellectual forum, and in contributing to an informed and participatory democracy in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. They provided journals and other reading matter on local, state, national and international issues, and hosted of lectures and held debates about wider issues such as Federation, colonial nationalism, defence, female suffrage, the price of land and labour. With the development of the school and technical education in the latter part of the nineteenth century, the need for community technical and adult education declined. As a result of the introduction of government library grants in 1867, many Mechanics’ Institutes incorporated a free library in their buildings to finance collection of their books. By 1884-85, there were 257 free libraries in Victoria. However, government support and library grants dropped off in the 1890s depression. Entertainment took on a greater role in the 1890s, with the introduction of moving pictures, billiards rooms, games rooms (chess), concerts and dances. The First World War had a devastating impact on many rural communities, and some Mechanics’ Institutes were no longer viable. On the other hand the early twentieth century was also a time of agricultural development, and many country towns were growing in this period. The 1930s depression further limited growth of many libraries and reduced grants substantially. In response many Mechanics’ Institutes were renamed, for example as memorial halls, in order to retain and attract more patrons (eg at nearby Sunbury). The diminishing role for Mechanics’ Institutes and the preference for larger and better appointed halls (with supper rooms, cloak rooms etc) resulted in demolition of some small Institutes. The advent of cars, radios, and television also provided other opportunities for recreation, learning and entertainment. The greater role of municipalities in providing library services also eroded the need for free libraries. While over 500 Mechanics’ Institutes or halls are extant, very few of these retain their original role as ‘diffusers of useful knowledge’. Most are still available for community purposes, as venues for meetings, socials, civic occasions etc, while others are employed as museums, shops and theatres. Most buildings are on Crown land, and managed by a delegated committee of management, who are responsible for raising revenue to maintain aging buildings. Many of those which were originally established on private land, such as Melton, have since reverted back to the Crown, and municipal Councils. The most common Mechanics Institute building form is the simple weatherboard gable building with iron roofs, notable for their ‘honest simplicity’ rather than as ‘monuments of the ancients’. At the other extreme there are some magnificent two storeyed brick and stucco structures with elaborate ornamentation (as was apparently envisaged by some in Melton in 1905-10)". The future of Melton Mechanic Institute Gazette articlelocal architecture

St Margaret’s Church of England was officially opened on December 12, 1861. It is the oldest intact church building in Eltham. At the time it was known as Christ Church until its consecration in 1871, when it was completely free of debt (£1,700 for the church and parsonage) despite the district’s poverty. This was largely due to the free labour and materials, including locally made bricks donated by local artisans and others. The church is historically significant because it is the oldest church in the former Shire of Eltham and has associations with the philanthropist and founder of Brighton, Henry Dendy (who donated the land on which the church is built), the architect Nathaniel Billing and the prominent local builder, George Stebbing. The church is architecturally and aesthetically significant because it is constructed in the Gothic Revival style with several stained-glass windows of various dates and is also a very early use of polychromatic brickwork in Victoria. Billing was one of the first Melbourne architects to employ polychromatic brickwork and an important early architect. The rear wall was intended to be temporary. A major feature of the design is the large buttresses with long, steeply graded upper faces. The overall design is well proportioned with the surface brick patterns relieving an otherwise austere design. The church is spiritually and socially significant because it has been an important place of worship for the people of Eltham for almost 150 years. The land on which the buildings stand was donated by Henry Dendy. Dendy arrived in Melbourne in 1841 after purchasing in England eight square miles at Brighton under the system of "special surveys". After this land passed out of his hands, Dendy moved about Victoria, visited England, then returned to settle in Eltham where he purchased a flour mill. Dendy chaired the meeting held in 1860 “for the purpose of devising such means as may be expedient for the establishment of a Church of England in the township of Eltham”. He became chairman and treasurer of the church committee. Unlike the establishment of many early churches in Victoria where a vicar was appointed to a parish and later a permanent church was constructed, the population at Eltham initiated action to build a church. The nearest church at that time was at Heidelberg and the Eltham settlement was part of the parish of St Johns Heidelberg. Isolation and the tedious, time consuming journey between Heidelberg and Eltham resulted in the Eltham community taking its own action. The original vicarage (Dendy House) at the rear of the church is also an important part of the cultural significance of this place because it is connected to the church and the development of the Eltham area. Together, the church and the vicarage are aesthetically significant because they form a significant streetscape feature. The mud-brick community hall designed by Robert Marshall was added in 1978. In 2014 the original temporary rear wall was removed as part of a modern extension designed by Architects Atelier Wagner and constructed by Conrad Construction and Management. Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. National Trust of Australia (Victoria) State significance Victorian Heritage Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p67 St Margaret’s Anglican Church in Pitt Street, Eltham, which officially opened on December 12, 1861, is the oldest intact church building in Eltham.1 With the nearby courthouse and police station, it was one of the first permanent community buildings in the district. The church and vicarage are on the Register of the Heritage Council of Victoria and the National Trust of Australia – Victoria. The church is important as an early example of polychrome brickwork by the notable architect Nathaniel Billings. It is also notable for its historic associations with the early settlement of the Shire of Eltham and its connection with Henry Dendy, Brighton’s founder.2 Henry Dendy, who lived in Eltham much longer than at Brighton, chaired the original meeting which planned the church, and he donated the half-acre (0.2ha) site. Dendy had arrived in Melbourne in 1841 after buying eight square miles (20.7sq km) at Brighton while in England. After this land passed out of his hands, he eventually settled in Eltham where he bought a flour mill, west from the corner of Main Road and Pitt Street (then called Brewery Lane). The vicarage was named Dendy House after him. The Eltham settlers were unusual in initiating the establishment of a church. Usually in Victoria a vicar was appointed to a parish and then a permanent church was constructed. But then, the nearest church was at Heidelberg, which was a tedious and time-consuming journey. St Margaret’s builder was a local, George Stebbing, who also constructed the former Methodist, later Uniting, Church at John Street and the Shillinglaw Cottage near Eltham’s Central Park. It is believed the first Anglican Bishop of Melbourne, Bishop Perry, dedicated the church. After the ceremony he joined in the festivities at the nearby pub and a bill was sent to the parish for teas taken there by the bishop with other participants. The first vicar was the Reverend Robert Mackie from 1864 to1866. St Margaret’s Church was originally called Christ Church until its consecration in 1871, when it was completely free of debt (£1700 pounds for the church and parsonage) despite the district’s poverty. This was largely due to the free labour and materials, including local bricks, donated by local artisans and others. St Margaret’s Church is in the Gothic Revival tradition with a buttressed nave, paired lancet windows, porch and bell-cote. It was the first polychromatic brick church in Australia, using softly contrasting coloured brickwork.3 Billing was one of the first architects to introduce polychrome brickwork into Melbourne. His original drawings for St Margaret’s survive in a folio of his architectural work. However the church’s brickwork is more subdued than in his drawings. About half the windows – those in clear glass with gold borders – are original. The stained glass windows were made much later, but the one behind the altar is thought to be the oldest in the Diamond Valley. It was to be temporary until the congregation could afford to extend the church. In the early 1960s the original cedar pews were replaced by blonde timber pews and the originals were sold to restaurants and to private individuals. Eminent local sculptor Matcham Skipper created a crucifix for the church. A major addition was made in 1978, when the weatherboard hall was replaced by a mud-brick hall. Made of local material, it was designed by local architect and a former shire president Robert Marshall. The mud-brick hall reflects the style of building in Eltham of the late 1970s and for which Eltham is well-known. Perhaps because its earthy tones blend with the surrounding environment, the hall sits well with the church building. St Margaret’s membership has included economist and ABC chairman, Richard Downing; political commentator, diplomat and academic, William Macmahon Ball; Eltham civic leader, Charles Wingrove; artist, Peter Glass; and Eltham’s first postmaster, Frederick Falkiner.This collection of almost 130 photos about places and people within the Shire of Nillumbik, an urban and rural municipality in Melbourne's north, contributes to an understanding of the history of the Shire. Published in 2008 immediately prior to the Black Saturday bushfires of February 7, 2009, it documents sites that were impacted, and in some cases destroyed by the fires. It includes photographs taken especially for the publication, creating a unique time capsule representing the Shire in the early 21st century. It remains the most recent comprehenesive publication devoted to the Shire's history connecting local residents to the past. nillumbik now and then (marshall-king) collection, eltham, st margaret's anglican church, st margaret's church, st margarets church hall, christ church

Miners from Snake Valley lobbied the Victorian Government in 1855 to make land available for sale for farming purposes as an alternative occupation and income for people who wished to stay in the region but move away from gold mining. A secondary motivation was to increase the supply of fresh produce and decrease prices of items that otherwise needed to be transported from Melbourne or other regions. Forty-three country lots were initially offered in the Three Mile area, ranging in size from two to ninety acres and costing from £1 to £3 per acre. An additional eighty-five country lots were auctioned later in the year, in addition to many smaller suburban lots. More lots were offered than sold, initially, but this represented conditions of sale requiring the total purchase cost up front which many people interested in purchasing could not afford, especially as land purchased for farming would accrue substantial additional costs for clearing and labour before becoming productive. Further lobbying activities and the election of parliamentary members sympathetic to the cause took place through the 1850s. Ovens Parliamentary Member, Daniel Cameron, was re-elected in 1856 on a platform of surveying the land for public selection with deferred payment options. Land reform remained an issue in the area through the 1850s and early 1860s, impacting broader decisions in the new State of Victoria relating to voting rights, use of Crown land and the farming of land that wasn't always suitable for the purpose. This photograph depicts Beechworth in approximately 1900, after several waves of land sales resulted in increasingly levels of development. Lantern slides, sometimes called 'magic lantern' slides, are glass plates on which an image has been secured for the purpose of projection. Glass slides were etched or hand-painted for this purpose from the Eighteenth Century but the process became more popular and accessible to the public with the development of photographic-emulsion slides used with a 'Magic Lantern' device in the mid-Nineteenth Century. Photographic lantern slides comprise a double-negative emulsion layer (forming a positive image) between thin glass plates that are bound together. A number of processes existed to form and bind the emulsion layer to the base plate, including the albumen, wet plate collodion, gelatine dry plate and woodburytype techniques. Lantern slides and magic lantern technologies are seen as foundational precursors to the development of modern photography and film-making techniques.This glass slide is significant because it provides insight into Beechworth's built environment and infrastructure in the early Twentieth Century, around the time of Australia's Federation. It is also an example of an early photographic and film-making technology in use in regional Victoria in the time period.Thin translucent sheet of glass with a square-edged image printed on the front and framed in a black backing. It is held together by metal strips to secure the edges of the slide.burke museum, beechworth, lantern slide, slide, glass slide, plate, burke museum collection, photograph, monochrome, indigo shire, north-east victoria, farming, squatters, miners, agriculture, land-clearing, land reform, daniel cameron, land sales, three mile, snake valley, tarrawingee

Typed account of the entertainment in Bendigo in the early days. People made their own entertainment and from 1853 theatres and concert halls became a part of life on the goldfield. Singers and musicians came to perform. There was also processions, race meetings and sporting events.bendigo, entertainment, gold fields, entertainment on the gold fields 1850 - 1890, m dixon, lola montez, amy castles, charles thatcher, bendigo advertiser, the theatre royal, yates, royal exchange restaurant, shamrock hotel, merchant of venice, othello, hamlet, lady of lyons, royal victoria theatre, bendigo histrionic club, the old curiosity shop, benevolent asylum, shakespearean society, criterion theatre, w howitt, land labour and gold, frank cusack, bendigo a history, the bendigo advertiser centenary edition, r ward, the australian legend, the shamrock concert hall, royal princess theatre, j c williamson, maggie moore, ilma de murska, easter fair, jim crilly, annals of bendigo, gilbert and sullivan, dick davey's pub, g mackay, mackay & co, sandhurst bee, m clark, a short history of australia, r lacour-gayet, a concise history of australia, jack hattam

Typed notes on the beginnings and building of the Bendigo Hospital. Written by Mary Fry and dated Oct 1981. It also tells of the expansion and of vegetable growing in the grounds. Also included is a Report from the Australian Medical Journal (April, 1857) on Quacks, Board of Management 1853 and a bibliography.document, the bendigo gold district general hospital, mary fry, mrs clancy, james lawrence, dr wall, dr edward hunt, mr g f walter, first church of england, mr j h walker, dr childs, dr stuart, lands department, vahland and getzschmann, mr john o'shannassy, governor sir henry barkly, mr h trumble, policeman pat ryan, mrs a watson, benevolent asylum, easter fair society, mr j h abbott, lady bowen, george mackay, annals of bendigo, k m bowden, mr lazarus, f mcmahon, training school for nurses, nurses' home, bendigo and northern district base hospital, australian medical journal, rev dr backhaus, gregory, searle, raston, butler, drs mrcrea, tierney, e r jones, wall, roche, smith, barnett, messrs mclachlan, wilkinson, o'connor, emmett, fraser, wollaston, burrell, garsed, edhouse, snowdon, miss w stock, william howitt, w b kimberly, j n mackartney, frank cusack, william perry, geoffrey serle, james smith, the argus, bendigo advertiser, bendigo independent, mount alexander mail, the sandhurst bee, a lady's visit to the gold diggings of australia 1852 - 1853, hurst and blackett, land labour and gold, longman brown green and longmans, bendigo and vicinity, sandhurst as it was and as it is, barrows and co, mackay and co, a history of bendigo 1891, doctors and diggers on the mount alexander goldfields, hedges and bell pty ltd, bendigo, a history, william heinemann australia pty ltd, lister house the story of the northern district school of nursing, hawthorne press, tales of the whipstick, the golden age, melbourne university press, the cyclopedia of victoria, the cyclopedia company, c hurry, bendigo gold district general hospital 1853 - the bendigo and northern district base hospital 1953, cambridge press, w stock, health hazards and care relating to the central victorian goldfields particularly bendigo 1851 - 1871

Documents - bundle of documents - agreement for mining lease transfer, agreement for electricity, 1939 'Sale by auction' booklet with items vale(sale price?) Bank Statement, correspondence re: public auction, Power of Attorney 1937 Mary Symmons _ J. & E. Syndicate, agreement lease No. 8294 Castlemaine, list: Addresses of Cheque Receivers' ,suspension of Labour Covenants 1939, transfer of land to L. C. Stuckey, letter from J. H. Curnow & Son re : Quartz Block Mine Auction 1939, folder contains assay reports etc and correspondence re: Auction.MCCOLL RANKIN AND STANISTREETorganization, business, gold mining - legal, mccoll rankin and stanistreet

This gold miner's pick from the Ballarat Goldfields c 1920 was donated by Mr David Hopcraft, a dealer at the Arkuna Market Berwick, Victoria in December 2010. When Gold was discovered in Victoria c1853 most of the labourers and some landowners left the market gardens and farms to try their luck on the goldfields. Local Blacksmiths made picks similar to this one for them. There was a great shortage of labour in Melbourne and at the same time, due to the huge influx of people lured by the Gold, there was an increased demand for food. The market gardeners were getting very good prices for their produce and many increased their wealth considerably and many of these tenant farmers were able to purchase their blocks of land and live a profitable life. There was such a shortage of labour that J.B.Were applied for Irish immigrants to work the farms. This pick is an example of the hand made tools many pioneers took with them when they abandoned their farms and market gardens in the District of Brighton to try their luck at prospecting when gold was discovered in Ballarat and Bendigo c1853. Some were successful , most were not and retuned again to the hard life of farming. A forged steel pick with a wooden handle. The steel pick-head was hand-forged by a blacksmith. This miner's pick was used on the Ballarat gold-fields c1920gold mining, ballarat, bendigo, early settlers, market gardeners, moorabbin, bentleigh, mining equipment, gold rush, immigrants, blacksmiths, forges, tools

Badge received by Dorothy Kiely in 2012 on the 70th anniversary of the Australian Women's Land Army. The Australian Women’s Land Army (AWLA) was formed during the Second World War to combat rising labour shortages in the farming sector. From December 1941, when Japan entered the war, the nation’s need to build up its armed forces was placed above the needs of other industries. Agricultural labour was steadily diverted to the armed services and war industry To meet the shortfall in rural labour, State and private women’s land organisations were organised, modelled on those established in Great Britain during the First and Second World Wars. A national body was formed on 27 July 1942 under the jurisdiction of the Director General of Manpower. While policy was devised by the Commonwealth Government, the organisation of the AWLA remained State-based. An extensive recruiting campaign was undertaken for new members. Most members of the existing land armies were later incorporated into the AWLA as well. Black box containing gold star shaped badge with red crown above Australian coat of arms Badge:-Australian Women's Land Army 70th Anniversary 2012 Box:- top in gold lettering 70th Anniversary of the Australian Women's Land Armyawla, ww2, dorothy kiely

"The dry stone walls provide a tangible link to the area’s white settlement, and they remain a symbol of the profound change in land usage from the original Kulin custodians to the European arrivals of the nineteenth century. The bulk of dry stone wall construction in Victoria occurred between the 1850s and 1880s. The gold rush of the early 1850s in particular inspired a flurry of construction. At this time, labour previously available for shepherding livestock dried up, as men gravitated to the goldfields to seek their fortunes. This necessitated the building of fencing to contain the district’s growing number of sheep, cattle and horses. An explosion in surveying, subdivision and the sale of Crown lands also contributed to a boost in construction. Government regulations that punished pastoralists for allowing their livestock to stray provided further incentive to fence-off previously open expanses of land. The major benefit of this type of fencing was that it utilised the materials at hand; the plentiful grey basalt that scattered the landscape. In the case of the dry stone walls built around Melton, the characteristic round or oval shape of the volcanic fieldstones on the western plains inspired some distinctive designs.54 Another advantage of dry stone walls was their ability to withstand the ravages of flood, fire and drought often experienced in the district. This durability accounts for the fact that many of these fences still exist today". Dry Stone Wall trail brochure/pamphlet for visitors provided by Melton Visitor Information Centrecouncil, landscapes of significance