Posthumous portrait of Sir Louis Barnett Kt, C.M.G., President 1937-39 , seated ¾-length facing front, wearing President's College gown.Signed lower left "Dargie": Plaque on frame "Sir Louis Barnett Kt, C.M.G., President 1937-39 Presented by New Zealand Fellows 1954"sir louis barnett kt, c.m.g., president 1937-39

This illuminated address was given to H.H.Smith, the Warrnambool Mayor, for his work with soldiers returning to Warrnambool and district during and after World War One. On the same occasion Smith was also given an armchair by the mothers, sisters and wives of Warrnambool returning soldiers. Henry Huntingdon Smith (1857-1941) started his own bakery business in 1885, firstly near the corner of Fairy and Koroit Streets and later building his own shop at the corner of Lava and Fairy Streets (Monaghans Pharmacy today). Smith was one of the most admired men in Warrnambool in the first half of the 20th century. He was a Warrnambool Councillor from 1918 to 1937 (Mayor for two terms) and served continuously on the Warrnambool Hospital Committee for 39 years. He visited patients at the Hospital twice a week. He took a particular interest in the welfare of returning soldiers and it was said that there was not a returned man or woman whom Smith did not greet on his return to the district. Smith also was a tireless worker for the Methodist Church as an office bearer and a Sunday School teacher. Smith was also Vice President in 1937 of the first Warrnambool & District Historical Society. This document is of particular interest as it is a good example of the type of illuminated address produced during the early years of the 20th century. It also shows clearly the respect and love that Warrnambool people had for Henry Smith, a great volunteer worker in the community. This is a piece of cream-coloured parchment paper with a margin ruled in black ink and handwriting in blue and black ink surrounded by red ornamental scrolls and flourishes. The paper has an address to H.H.Smith and is followed by 74 names and the date (1920). The paper is inserted into a piece of red leather cloth. This has folded edges and an ornamental gold pattern around the front edges and a gold border around the back edges. There are two holes at the top of the folder and these have metal surrounds. The backing folder is rounded at the top edges. ‘Warrnambool, 6th December 1919. To H.H. Smith Esq., Mayor of Warrnambool – We, the Mothers, Wives and Sisters of the Returned Soldiers of this City and District wish to express to you our deepest gratitude for your unswerving devotion to Our Boys interests during your long term as Secretary of the Welcome Home Committee’ (etc etc)henry huntingdon smith, world war one, history of warrnambool

This envelope would have been made for the organising committee of the 1937 Back To Orbost celebration.This item was part of of a significant event held in Orbost. A small, white rectangular envelope. In the top left hand corner in dark brown is an illustration of maize, vegetables,a boomerang and the Snowy River Bridge enclosed in an oval frame. Inside the boomerang is "BACK TO ORBOST. 1937". Below is " 27 / 2 /39 to 6 / 3 /3" and below this is "Cr J. Perry President - M.W. Cowell secretary" printed in an ornate text..orbost-back-to-1937 envelope stationery

Photographer notations on slide: "General View Of Lord Mayor's Dinner At Town Hall Nov 1936 B112" Published: The Age, Tuesday 10 November 1936, page 13 Published title: LORD MAYOR'S BANQUET Published caption: The brilliant scene inside the Melbourne Town Hall last night during the Lord Mayor’s banquet. Trove article identifier: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article205939431 Description: 700 guests (all men) are seated around numerous tables in the Melbourne Town Hall for the Lord Mayor's dinner in November 1936. Before the stage is a top table of 35 men, all dressed smartly in black dinner suits, with either a black or white bow tie. Many are wearing their medals. The Lord Mayor has on his Mayoral chains, and to his right is the Governor of Victoria, Lord Huntingfield. The stage is heavily decorated with fresh flowers. Research by project volunteer, Louise McKenzie: This image takes up one quarter of the photographic space on page 13 of The Age on 10 November 1936, reflecting the importance of the event and also the sheer dramatics of the image: 700 guests (all men), a top table of 35, and all dressed smartly in black dinner suits, with either a black or white bow tie. Many are wearing their medals. The Lord Mayor has on his Mayoral chains, and to his right is the Governor of Victoria, Lord Huntingfield. Further to his right is a man with an impressive sash across his chest. It is a very animated, and rather informal, moment. Banks of fresh flowers smother the stage, which is decorated in the manner of a terrace at an English stately home. Tables are laden with food, drink and decorations, and the wait staff (men and women) are also formally dressed, in the manner of Downton Abbey. It is spectacular, dramatic, and luxurious, and perpetuates the proud descriptor of “Marvellous Melbourne” as conferred by London Journalist George Augustus Sala when he visited the city in 1885. During its 1880s boom, Melbourne was the second-largest city in the British Empire, after London, and reputedly the richest city in the world. At times the expression was used with some irony, but "...in Victoria’s centenary year, 1934, with the city mired in another depression, a publisher bravely entitled a book of souvenir photographs Marvellous Melbourne, claiming that the subject ‘still finds apt expression in the happy one-time sobriquet’.” This photo seems to reflect an ongoing pride in Melbourne and a desire for it to live up to its descriptor and celebrate its post-centenary era in style. So it is no surprise to find that on page 11 of The Age on the same day, a second photo is to be found – a cropped view of one table – along with a very detailed description of the night, its purpose, and a surprise announcement. But, who was the Lord Mayor in whose honour the dinner was held? In 1934, the Lord Mayor of Melbourne was Cr. Alexander George Wales, (born Richmond, 11 October 1885, died Elsterwick, 31 May 1962). His father was a contractor and quarry-owner, but was blinded in an industrial accident in 1899. Consequently Alexander, then aged 14, left Brunswick State School to become a railway labourer working at a quarry, and in 1903 joined the Commonwealth public service as a clerk and began studying at night school, determined to improve himself. In 1907 he was appointed secretary of the Albion Quarrying Co. (in which the family had an interest), then its managing director and chairman. As the Australian Dictionary of Biography notes, he was instrumental in expanding the company’s interests, "...becoming director of the Hardware Co. of Australia Pty Ltd, the Twentieth Century Building and Investment Society, the Albion Sand Co. and the Geelong Brick Co.”. His public career began in 1914 when he was elected to the Brunswick council. He was mayor 1917-18, and in 1925 progressed to the Melbourne City Council where he remained for 29 years, being a member of most council committees. He served three successive terms as lord mayor (1934-37), was Chairman of the council’s decorations committee for Melbourne’s centenary, president of the Metropolitan Fire Brigades Board (1936), and Chairman of the Public Works Committee (1937-39). In 1936 he was elected to the Legislative Council with United Australia Party support, but later resigned over possible State government contract tender irregularities. Wales received "the customary reward” of a knighthood and was invested at Buckingham Palace by King George VI whose coronation he attended in 1937. He was an early director of what is now Ampol, and helped the development of the petroleum industry in Australia after visiting the USA in 1943 and 1946. He was impressed by that country’s wartime shipbuilding efforts and supported closer ties with the USA. “While president (1947-48) of the Melbourne Chamber of Commerce, Wales was a vocal critic of the Federal Labor Government, ...a staunch anti-socialist ... and a focus for conservative opposition to the Curtin and Chifley governments...” He is described as “a natural leader in business and civic politics,... a powerful force in the Melbourne City Council... opposing democratic reforms such as the creation of a Greater Melbourne Council and the abolition of plural voting, but advocat[ing] the redevelopment of city-owned property like the Eastern and Western markets...” So, this Lord Mayor’s dinner marks the third successive term in office for Governor Cr. A G Wales. The room is filled with powerful and influential men, and provided a platform for the Premier of Victoria, Albert Dunstan (1882-1950, United Country party) to announce that if the City Council would bear half the cost the State Government would build a bridge at Punt Road “at once”. He announced that the Government proposed to have the bridge built by the Country Roads Board, and allow the City Council to pay its share on convenient terms, and further, it would investigate the shared provision of more Yarra bridges. The proposal for the Punt Road Bridge was met with applause as the Yarra River constituted a serious traffic barrier. On 12 November 1936, two days after the Lord Mayor’s dinner, The Age published an article, “Building without a Plan”. It questions the appropriateness of the next Yarra bridge being the one at Punt Road, and encourages a “proper procedure” to look at the provision of additional Yarra bridges as a whole. But in fact this topic had been canvassed back in August when Melbourne City Council’s public works committee had recommended the replacement of the footbridge at Punt Road with a bridge, and if the Country Roads Board would declare this portion of Punt Road, including the river crossing, a State Highway, this could give the Board authority to construct the bridge and allocate the cost. Hence the reference at the dinner to a shared expense. Still an integral part of traffic management today, the Hoddle Bridge carries Punt Road over the Yarra River between Richmond and South Yarra in Melbourne. It is a five-lane road bridge with narrow footpaths on either side. It is of continuous reinforced concrete T-beam construction with five segmental arched spans, supported on transverse piers, and linked by concrete cross-beams. “The piers terminate in a series of tapered concrete pillars with Art Deco-styled steamlined decoration. Each pillar supports a Victorian-style lamp. The infill railings are geometric-patterned painted metal. Construction began in late 1937, and it was opened by Premier Albert Dunstan on 22 December 1938. It replaced an earlier footbridge, which in turn had replaced a punt service. The bridge (originally referred to as Punt Road Bridge) was named after Robert Hoddle, who planned central Melbourne’s Hoddle Grid, the grid of streets which form Melbourne’s central business district. Hoddle arrived in Australia from the UK in 1823 and went on to carry out surveys in NSW and Queensland before arriving in Melbourne in 1837. He designed layouts for both Melbourne and Williamstown, and later Geelong and other Victorian country areas. He was keen that major streets be at least 30 metres wide. ”With remarkable foresight he provided for wide boulevards from the city to the suburbs, but the subdivisions of early speculators in inner suburbs created the bottle-necks of today. After the separation of the colony in 1851, he became Victoria’s first surveyor-general... and advocated the provision of three-chain (60 m) roads and the widening of all existing main roads from one (20 m) to three chains." However, he was met with constant opposition and in 1853, was eased out of office. As a small and interesting aside: Hoddle was appointed auctioneer for the first sale of crown land in Melbourne on 1 June 1837. His commission was 57 pounds 12s 7d. and he bought two allotments for himself at a cost of 54 pounds. After he died his second wife married Richard Buckhurst Buxton, a member of the family which in 1860s Melbourne established the Australian property dynasty of Buxton Real Estate, Becton, MAB Corporation etc. Returning to the dinner and The Age article of 10 November 1836: Another topic of the after-dinner speeches was a reference to the upcoming Armistice Day. “The Minister of Customs (Mr White) said the proximity of Armistice day reminded us that eighteen years ago we had high hopes of prolonged peace.” The term “Armistice Day” was coined after WWI: “At 11 am on 11 November 1918, the guns on the Western Front fell silent after more than four years of continuous warfare. The Germans called for an armistice (suspension of fighting) in order to secure a peace settlement. They accepted the allied terms on unconditional surrender. Therefore on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, a minute’s silence is observed and dedicated to those soldiers who died fighting to protect the nation. Originally known as Armistice Day, it was renamed Remembrance Day after World War Two to commemorate those who were killed in both World Wars. Today it refers to the loss of Australian lives from all wars and conflicts, accompanied by the words, "We will remember them, Lest we forget"." There was comment at the dinner about the need to remain firm in supporting the “democratic government in the British Empire to avoid a “plunge into savagery”. There was a grave responsibility on the British people to keep democracy alive, and that could not be done without adequate defence forces... Many weak governments in non-British countries had been swept aside by strong-fisted dictators, who now were the real threat to peace”. With the benefit of hindsight these were very pertinent comments and tragically prophetic. The Melbourne Shrine of Remembrance had only been dedicated two years earlier, at a ceremony attended by the Duke of Gloucester, son of King George V. Over 300,000 citizens attended: one third of the population of Melbourne. It became the location for the Anzac Day Dawn Service. Originally the march travelled from the Shrine into the city, however, in 1936, this was reversed, and the Shrine became the termination point for Anzac Day Marches. Also significant in 1936, was the installation of a statue in the west forecourt of the Shrine: “The Man with the Donkey” (aka 'Private John Simpson and his Little Donkey'). The work is said to represent the “valour and compassion of the Australian soldier”. Its full citation, according to the City of Melbourne City Collection is: West Side of Base: "The / Man with his Donkey / Gallipoli, April 25 to May 19 / in Commemoration / of the valour and compassion / of the Australian Soldier" AFTER LANDING AT GALLIPOLI, SIMPSON, WITH HIS LITTLE DONKEY, WORKED ALONE, DAY AND NIGHT TAKING WATER TO THE FRONT LINE AND CARRYING THE WOUNDED BACK TO THE DRESSING STATIONS. HE AND HIS DONKEY WERE KILLED BY A SHRAPNEL SHELL ON THE 19TH MAY, 1915. SIMPSON WAS MENTIONED IN DISPATCHES BY SIR IAN HAMILTON, COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE MEDITERRANEAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCE. / Erected by Public Subscription under auspices of the / Red Cross Society. East Side of Base: Private John Simpson." Their summary in background states: "A bronze figure of Simpson and his donkey with a wounded man on the donkey's back on a granite pedestal. Private John Simpson Kirkpatrick’s intrepid and short-lived exploits during the Gallipoli campaign have made him a popular figure of World War One. He has been mythologised to represent the lauded values of the digger, and he symbolises all those who went into battle unarmed. Born in England in 1892, he came to Australia in 1910. He enlisted to make his way back to England, but as a member of the 3rd Field Ambulance AIA was sent to Gallipoli. After just three weeks of bearing wounded soldiers across Shrapnel Gully on the back of his donkey, Simpson was killed by shrapnel fire. Simpson’s story became a powerful propaganda tool for enlistment in Australia, but following the war he was quickly forgotten. With the Shrine of Remembrance nearing completion in 1933, the memory of Simpson was rekindled to commemorate all who gave their lives to help others during the war. One plaque reads: ‘The / Man with his donkey / Gallipoli … / In commemoration / of the valour and compassion / of the Australian soldier’. In 1935, Wallace Anderson’s design for the memorial was selected though a competition organised by the Australian Red Cross. Anderson had served during the war and worked at the Australian War Memorial after his return. His Man with the Donkey was cast in Italy, and after some debate was sited near the shrine. Unveiled 20th June, 1936." The sculptor, Victorian-born William Wallace Anderson (1888-1975), served in France during WWI and afterwards produced a number of bronze war memorials and memorial portraits, predominantly in Victoria. “His most famous work is that of Simpson and his Donkey (1935), which he completed after winning a competition conducted by the Victorian Division of the Australian Red Cross. Anderson’s fee was 350 pounds; the cast, made by the Chiurazzi Foundry, Naples, Italy, cost 40 pounds. The work... has become well known as a symbol of the Anzac tradition.” A debate as to the siting of the statue arose from a strong view expressed by General Sir John Monash that no representation of individual members of the Australian Defence Force be located on the Shrine itself. Hence its location off to the northwest of the forecourt, in a garden of rosemary. And finally we return to the photo of the grand Lord Mayor’s dinner! An article in The Argus of 4 November 1936 refers to “Brilliant Scene at Lord Mayor’s Ball – Hall Becomes a Garden”. So now it becomes clear why the Town Hall, location of the Lord Mayor’s Dinner on 10 November 1934, only 6 days later, is so lavishly decorated. The floral decorations from the Ball are still in place - an early example of “recycling”, which is gratifying to note at a time of Depression. The reporter has captured the scene with enthusiasm: “Hundreds of tiny rose lights, hidden among pink roses, transformed the Melbourne Town Hall into a magical garden last night, when the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress (Councillor A. C. Wales, M.L.C., and Mrs. Wales) entertained about 3,500 guests at a ball. His Excellency the Governor (Lord Huntingfield) and Lady Huntingfield were present, while Rear-Admiral and Mrs. Lane Poole and officers from the visiting squadron were among the special guests. The balconies all round the hall were hidden by a white trellis, covered with pink blossoms and greenery. Rosy flowers were issued up every pillar, and great golden lamps, hanging from the door, were seated in greenery and trails of sweet peas. The organ gallery was converted into a terrace garden with stone steps leading to banks of pink azaleas, pink pelargoniums, masses of calceolarias, and the lovely deep mauve and blue of cinerarias. Slender Japanese maples and poplar trees grew from the higher slopes amid thickets of hostas, while a fascinating illusion was created by the lofty conservatory windows, which formed the background, and which were tinted cerulean blue to simulate the sky seen through glass. Large fern baskets hung from the conservatory roof, and the whole scene was enclosed in trellises of blossom. In the entrance palm green shrubs stood like sentinels round the passed floor, and flowers bloomed in misty golds. The long corridor upstairs leading to the council chamber was lined with an avenue of poplar trees in tubs. In the Lower Town Hall great banks of calceolarias and azaleas decked the upper dais, and each supper table was adorned with a different coloured flower with sprays of roses and Japanese maple laid on the snowy cloths. The adjoining supper-rooms were fragrant with the scent of huge bowls of stock in mauve, purple, and pink, while the white walls were covered with palm leaves and flowers. The roof garden below the clock tower was enclosed as a buffet with rose wreathed walls, and flowers were arranged attractively in the Lady Mayoress's rooms." References: LORD MAYOR'S BANQUET. CENTURY MAKERS AT THE M.C.G. BEFORE THE CHANGE. (1936, November 10). The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954), p. 13. Retrieved September 4, 2024, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article205939431 'Portrait of Sir George Wales (Lord Mayor 1934-1937)', City Collection, City of Melbourne, https://citycollection.melbourne.vic.gov.au/portrait-of-sir-george-wales-lord-mayor-1934-37/ Graeme Davison, 'Marvellous Melbourne', eMelbourne, https://www.emelbourne.net.au/biogs/EM00906b.htm THE LORD MAYOR'S BANQUET. (1936, November 10). The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954), p. 11. Retrieved September 26, 2024, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article205939643 BRILLIANT SCENE AT LORD MAYOR'S BALL Hall Becomes a Garden (1936, November 4). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), p. 14. Retrieved September 26, 2024, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11932746 'Hoddle Bridge', Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoddle_Bridge 'Hoddle Bridge', Victorian Heritage Database Report, Victorian Heritage Council, https://vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/places/195689/download-report David Dunstan, 'Wales, Sir Alexander George (1885–1962)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/wales-sir-alexander-george-8951/text15737, published first in hardcopy 1990, accessed online 26 September 2024. Marjorie J. Tipping, 'Hoddle, Robert (1794–1881)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/hoddle-robert-2190/text2823, published first in hardcopy 1966, accessed online 26 September 2024. BUILDING WITHOUT A PLAN. (1936, November 12). The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954), p. 8. Retrieved September 26, 2024, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article205949762 NEW BRIDGE AT PUNT ROAD (1936, August 12). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), p. 10. Retrieved September 26, 2024, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11902131 'The Shrine of Remembrance', Beaconsfield’s Soldiers: https://beaconsfield.org.au/digitalmemorial/shrine-introduction/ 'Shrine of Remembrance', Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrine_of_Remembrance Ken Scarlett, 'Anderson, William Wallace (1888–1975)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/anderson-william-wallace-9362/text16441, published first in hardcopy 1993, accessed online 26 September 2024. 'Man with the Donkey', City Collection, City of Melbourne, https://citycollection.melbourne.vic.gov.au/man-with-the-donkey-aka-private-john-simpson-and-his-little-donkey/ 'Remembrance Day', Australian Army, https://www.army.gov.au/about-us/history-and-research/traditions/remembrance-day Photographer notations on slide: "General View Of Lord Mayor's Dinner At Town Hall Nov 1936 B112".melbourne town hall, mayors, lord mayors, centenaries, bridges, dinners, clothing and dress, festive decorations, dances and balls, eating and drinking, shrine of remembrance, governors, monuments and memorials, 1930-1939, plants

The man in the photograph is Thomas Andrew Sloan, who was a former Shire of Bulla councillor and served as President in 1937-38 and from 1938 - 39.A black and white non-digital photograph of a man dressed in a suit.thomas andrew sloan, shire of bulla, shire president

Sports Clubs in Kew in the final decades of the 19th century and in the early 20th century were often umbrella organisations with facilities for a number of sports. Typically in Kew, this included teams in lawn bowls, tennis and croquet. The Kew Bowling Club was formed in 1880 while the privately owned Auburn Heights Recreation Club was opened in 1904. By 1998, the two Clubs decided to amalgamate at the Auburn Heights site in Barkers Road, forming the Kew Heights Sports Club. The combined club was itself taken over by the Melbourne Cricket Club in 2012 becoming MCC Kew Sports Club. In 2017 MCC Kew closed and its landholding was subsequently sold to Carey Baptist Grammar School. Both the Kew and Auburn Heights Clubs assembled important collections. These historically significant and large collections were donated to the Society in 2020. The collections include manuscripts, pictures, trophies, plans, honour boards etc. References Barnard FGA 1910, 'Sports and Pastimes' in Jubilee History of Kew Victoria: Its origin & progress 1803-1910. Nixon NV 1980, The History of the Kew Bowling Club 1880-1980. Reeve S 2012, City of Boroondara: Thematic Environmental History, p.216.The combined collections of the four sporting clubs making up the collection number hundreds of items that are historically significant locally. They are also significant to the sporting history of the greater Melbourne area and to the sports of lawn bowls and tennis in Australia in the 19th and 20th centuries. The collection illuminates two of the Victorian historic themes - 'Building community life' through forming community organisations and 'Shaping cultural and creative life' by participating in sport and recreation.Wood, brass and white metal VBA President's trophy. While the names of the winners have been partially abraided, contemporary press reports confirm the details and the significance of the trophy. An article in The Australasian (30 Jan 1937 reports: V.B.A. OFFICIALS' TROPHIES The three competitions involved in this title have now been concluded. Commenced on December 12, they occupied two Saturdays, and then were played on Tuesday afternoons to the conclusion. The president's trophy - the oldest competition in bowls, dating back to 1873 is for a two-rInk team of A pennant players; while the vice-president's B trophy and the vice-president's C trophy are also confined to two-rink teams in their respective grades. In the semi-final ot the president's trophy Kew, 34, defeated Richmond Union, 23, and Oakleigh defeated City of Hawthorn by 45-35. In the final Kew defeated Oakleigh, the scores being Kew, 39 (Cummins, Hambleton, Wood, Vance, 14; Taylor, Troon, Fraser, Rigg, 25), and Oakleigh. 20 (Cameron, Sumsion, Gronow, Walker, 12; Emmett, Skjellerup, Pakes, Geggie, 8). Kew had to wait 35 years to win its second president's trophy. That club was runner-up in 1890. Oakleigh has been twice runner-up (in 1924 and 1937), but has never won it. [The item is part of the historic Kew Bowling Club collection (1880-1988) gifted to the Kew Historical Society in 2020].VBA / VICTORIA BOWLING ASSOCIATION / PRESIDENT'S TROPHY / PRESENTED BY *** SIR WM BRUNTON / WON BY KEW BOWLING CLUB / TEAMS / JP CUMMINS, LH HAMBLETON, CG WOOD, P VANCE, / AD TAYLOR, RLR TROON, HE FRASER, FH RIGGkew bowling club - wellington street - kew (vic), clubs - lawn bowls - kew (vic), trophies - lawn bowls

This sepia digital image shows the Austin car which was donated to the Melbourne District Nursing Society (MDNS) in !937 by the Rotary Club of Victoria. It was used by the Matron of the MDNS District Division to visit patients weekly. The photograph is taken outside the MDNS Headquarters at 39 Victoria Parade, Collingwood. The photograph appeared along with an article in The Age Friday May 7, 1937. The photograph appeared in the MDNS Annual Report of 1937. On page 8, mention is made of J.D Johnston Esq, President of the Rotary Club of Victoria, presenting the Austin vehicle to MDNS. Royal District Nursing Service (RDNS) has had various modes of transport over the last 130 plus years. At first, from 1885 as Melbourne District Nursing Society (MDNS), their Trained nurses (Nurses) walked the streets and lane ways amid the slums of central Melbourne. As the Society expanded public transport was used, and bicycles were bought by the Society in 1903 and used in inner areas until 1945. During the Spanish flu epidemic, in 1919, MDNS appealed for assistance to procure Motor vehicles so the Nurses could visit an influx of cases. Through trusts, grants and donations four 'Ford T Model' cars were procured which enabled the Nurses to triple their visits. Through constant use the cars were in such a poor state two were sold in 1922 and the others later. In 1922-23 three Peugeot cars were purchased and a woman Chauffeur, 'Miss Sword', was employed who lived in the Home and was also in charge of the garage. MDNS was expanding and a Motor Auxiliary was formed in 1929 to take the Trained nurses (Sisters) to patients, and some Sisters used their own cars; even a motorcycle was used by one Sister in 1933. All these forms of transport were intermingled and in the early 1950s, and now as Melbourne District Nursing Service, seven Ford Prefect cars were bought followed by twelve Ford Anglia cars 1955. Having received Royal patronage; the now Royal District Nursing Service (RDNS) had its own fleet of Holden vehicles by the mid 1960s and the Motor Auxiliary ceased operating in 1971 as by then all staff employed were required to have a driving licence. Seat-belts had been introduced to Victoria in 1959 and District fitted them to their cars from 1962, even though they did not become compulsory until 1970. The Holden vehicles were replaced with grey Holden Torana vehicles. After several years the fleet was changed to white Toyota Corolla vehicles. The Melways Directory of maps was introduced in 1966, which was a boon to the Sisters, though it was a few years before it went beyond Seville, so a large paper map was used by the Sisters visiting patients in the areas passed Seville. By 2009 there were 598 cars in the fleet and the Sisters travelled 9 million 200,000 kilometres – this is equivalent to 12 trips to the moon and back. In the foreground of this sepia photograph is a side-on view of a four door 1937 style small grey car with a nose shaped bonnet, parked on the road beside the kerb with the headlight facing to the right of the photograph.The bonnet joins onto a straight windscreen which adjoins a slightly curved hood running back along the car. This adjoins a back window which joins onto the sloping rear body of the car with a small protruding boot. Windows are seen above the body work of both facing doors and a smaller sloping window above the body work and rear wheel arch. On the drivers door is a Maltese cross and the words "Melbourne District" written above the Maltese cross and "Nursing Society" below it. In front of this door the body work forms a wheel arch and the headlight is attached between this body work and the bonnet. Rubber tyred wheels with solid hub caps are seen below each wheel arch. On the footpath, behind the bonnet of the car, four Melbourne District Nursing Society (MDNS) Trained nurses (Sisters) are standing. They are wearing dark grey coats over their grey uniforms with white collars, and brimmed grey hats with a Maltese cross on the light coloured headband. The Sister on the right has her left hand gripping the handle on top of her oblong nursing case. A metal spiked fence is behind the Sisters, which runs to the left into one of the two square concrete columns which sit either side of a path. A hedge is behind the fence, and behind this part of a building with three arched windows can be seen. A white plaque is attached to the fence near one of the columns.mdns, melbourne district nursing society, rotary club of victoria, mdns transport, rdns, royal district nursing service, rdns transport