This file contains three items: 1/A review of the ROSSTOWN RAIL TRAIL from LIVING IN GLEN EIRA, vol. 11, 2004, Issue 4, no. 25, date and author unknown. The review explains the purpose of the Rail Trail with a brief narrative of the history behind Rosstown Sugar Mill Railway line. Concluding with information on the location of the Trail and the expected time required to walk the entire track included in the review is a map of the Rail Trail, which marks significant sites along the trail with historic pictures. 2/A newspaper article from THE AGE, dated Tuesday 21/10/1980 and written by Iola Matthews, reporting on the circumstances that led to the publication of the book RETURN TO ROSSTOWN written by Des Jowett and Ian Weickhardt. The article begins with a brief biography of the authors before moving into details of the book’s content, providing a further biography of W. Murray Ross which includes information on his financial ventures – particularly the Rosstown Rail – his marriage and children. The article includes a black and white photograph of Weickhardt and Jowett walking along the route of the railway line, an illustration of the Rosstown sugar works and a map of the area surrounding the site of the mill. 3/Three photocopies of a black and white illustration of the Rosstown sugar works from the east, undated and artist unknown.rosstown rail trail, rosstown, ross william, ross w. murray, ross murray, sugar beet mills, mills, elsternwick, land transport, railways, railway lines, railway routes, carnegie neville street, carnegie miller street, factories, market gardens, horticulture, peat, soils, land forms, topography, geology, civic issues, cone sugar industry, elsternwick plaza, elsternwick, glenhuntly road, parks and reserves, ee gunn reserve, caulfield racecourse, sportsgrounds, caulfield, carnegie, riddell parade, clarence street, aileen avenue, princes park, dover street, marara road, oakleigh road, rosanna street, murrumbeena crescent, north road, kooyong road, hawthorn road, booran road, koornang road, poath road, warragul road, railway platforms, railway buildings, bambra road, swamps, landforms, landfill, council landfill, railway bridges, bridges, railway underpasses, sporting clubs, tennis clubs, bowls clubs, rosstown railway, rosanna street reserve, maps, railway maps, living in glen eira, weickhardt ian, jowett des, caulfield south, curraweena road, oakleigh, caulfield technical school, return to rosstown, beet sugar industry, crops, land booms, land development and subdivisions, bent thomas, fink benjamin, sugar works, rosstown hotel, oamdenong road, rosstown dry cleaners, shops, rosstown road, rosstown plate, people by circumstance, migrants, accountants, occupations, professionals, the grange, real estate, grange road, financial agents, judges, rosstown estate, financial trouble, rabbit preserving, breweries, political debates, political issues, political electorates, politics, political science, debt, financial loans, court procedures, court cases, legal events and activities, malleson and riggall, widowers, seabeach railway, economics, economic deadline, depression 1890s, economic crash, mortgages, divorce, social problems, poverty, ross claude, ross roderick, world war 1914-1918, wars, military history, servicemen, australian flying corps, engineers, caulfield council, swagmen, homelessness, glenhuntly road, glenhuntly road tram, woornack road, leila road, wild cherry road, melten avenue, illustrations, steam trains, trains, horse and cart, horse-drawn transport, railway stations

Documents concerning valuations for mortgage on the house at 631 North Road Ormond. Includes letter requesting valuation from Union Trustee Co. of Australia Ltd to W.V. Scott from Mrs. L.E. Leahy’s loan dated 08/11/1955, valuation with detailed description and plan dated 17/11/1955. Also a valuation by W.V. Scott dated 06/03/1961 for Mrs. L.E. Leahy’s mortgage.ormond, north road, brick houses, leahy lucy e., wustemann-howgate a.e., ormond station, hore f.h., union trustee company of australia ltd., australian catholic assurance co., land values

Dr Michele Matthews has been a local and social historian for nearly three decades since she first used correspondence held by the then Bendigo City Council for her Honours thesis. She is an ardent advocate for the use of local history records to tell Victorian and Australian history from a grassroots perspective. Michele’s MA thesis, ‘A forgotten “Father” of Federation: Sir John Quick 1852‑1911’ (2003), and her PhD thesis, ‘Survivors, schemes, Samaritans and shareholders: the impact of the Great Depression on Bendigo and District 1925‑1935’ (2007), both drew heavily on Bendigo and district records. Michele Matthews Collection: PHD Research - Australian Natives’ Association (ANA), Bendigo Branch This item includes the following document: 8672.35a The document consists of a series of half-yearly balance sheets for the Australian Natives’ Association (ANA), Bendigo Branch No. 5, covering the period from 31 May 1928 to 30 November 1935. Each balance sheet records the branch’s financial position at six-month intervals and provides a detailed breakdown of income, expenditure, assets, and liabilities across several dedicated funds. The Sick Fund was the branch’s primary welfare fund, receiving income from member contributions, interest, funeral allowances, loan repayments, and endowment receipts. Expenditure mainly consisted of sickness benefits, funeral allowances, investment transfers, and endowment payments, with the remaining balance held in the bank. This fund demonstrates the Association’s role in providing financial assistance to members during illness and following bereavement. The Medical and Management Fund recorded income from annual subscriptions, honorary memberships, entrance fees, donations, medical fees from members of other branches, and transfers from reserve funds. Expenditure covered board dues, audit fees, medical attendance and medicines, salaries, rent, postage, telephone expenses, printing, stationery, advertising, delegates’ expenses, and other administrative costs. The fund therefore supported both the branch’s healthcare services and its day-to-day operations. A separate Contingency Fund was maintained as a reserve for unforeseen expenses. Income typically came from transfers of previous balances, profits on investments or exchanges, donations, and contributions from new members, while expenditure was limited, allowing balances to accumulate over time as a financial safeguard. The Building Fund managed the branch’s property-related finances. It recorded donations, depreciation of furniture, interest, and rent from the hall account, while expenditures included investments in buildings, furniture, mortgages, and other capital assets. This fund reflects the Association’s investment in maintaining and expanding its physical facilities. One balance sheet (for the half-year ending 31 May 1928) also includes a Hall Account, a Statement of the Branch’s Assets and Liabilities, and a Statement of Mortgages, providing a broader overview of the branch’s financial position beyond its individual funds. These statements list assets such as cash balances, buildings, furniture, investments, and mortgages alongside liabilities and outstanding loans. Across the years, the financial statements follow a consistent format, allowing the reader to track changes in income, expenditure, reserves, investments, and bank balances between reporting periods. Collectively, they show that the Bendigo Branch managed multiple specialised funds simultaneously, balancing member welfare, medical services, administration, emergency reserves, and property management while maintaining detailed financial records over the period 1928–1935.bendigo, michele matthews collection, australian natives asscoiation, ana