Gold and Redgum Inkstand made by Ernest Leviny, c1855-1858. Presented to Mr J.V.A. Bruce, contractor for the Melbourne and Murray Railway by the workmen, at Woodend on Monday 8th July 1861. This gold inkstand was Leviny's first major masterpiece commenced around 1855 and made from gold found on the Victorian fields. It featured four gold nuggets representing the Southern Cross from the goldfields of Ballarat, Bendigo Maryborough and Castlemaine. It was exhibited in Melbourne in 1858, and again in 1861 where it was awarded a 1st Class Certificate at the Victorian Exhibition in Melbourne. In 1862 it was exhibited at the London International Exhibition where it attracted a great deal of attention and was published in The Art Journal Illustrated Catalogue accompanying the exhibition. The whereabouts of the Inkstand is currently unknown.Matt, albumen print, mounted on lightweight card backing. Albumen photograph of a gold and redgum inkstand. Elaborate inkstand highly decorated with cast figures. Mounted on a redgum base.Stamp embossed on upper left corner. Crown in a circle with the words Bristol Paper. Handwritten in ink under image. "Gold inkstand presented at the opening of the Railway, designed by the late Ernest Leviny Esq. October 13th 1862. Made of almost pure gold and cost £700".inkstand, ornament, gold, goldsmithing, london exhibition 1862, melbourne and murray railway, photograph, woodend, 8 july 1861, mr j. v. a. bruce

Newspaper cuttings (Argus,8 July 1861) re Murray River Railway. enclosed in a buff envelope 'The Australasian T.& G. Mutual Life, Assurance Society Ltd.letterhead on exterior. a. 'Progress of the works' 2/7/1861; b. 'Opening of the line to Woodend' 8/7/1861; c. Paragraph on first official train trip to Woodend (Argus? 7/1861) Connection to Watson family possibly through mention of Mr. G.W. Knight, the district engineer of the Sunbury section of the railway.person, individual, basil watson

Account book, cream cover, lined pages with debit and credit columns. Written inside front cover in pencil ' Jonathan Harris Axedale' On top of first entry page 'Sandhurst, Cone, Dr. Contra Cr. Axedale' Overwritten in same pencil as on cover, 'Yr Contral' (sic) Entries start in 1860, July 21, and relate to unknown item transactions but with monetary value attached. For example, August 8, 1860 'by H. Harris, £20 '; December 24, 1861 'Drake, £1 '. Patrick Drake was the owner of the Axedale Hotel. Entries in the accounts book continue until 1872.person, individual, jonathan harris

Hector McKenzie and Abigail (nee McLean), his wife, lived at Ullapool on the shores of Lochbroom in the far north-west of Scotland. They were married on 8 March, 1821, and had several children. Three of the children, Murdoch and his two sisters, Isabella and Lexcy, emigrated to Australia from Liverpool on the ship "Hornet" on 29 July, 1854, along with 434 other assisted passengers. They arrived at Geelong on 23 October, 1854. Later, Murdoch married a like-named Margaret McKenzie on 23 May, 1861, and had eight children. At the time as the children were thinking about branching out on their own the Otway forest was surveyed and opened for selection. In 1890/91 Murdoch, a son, Duncan, and a daughter, Abigail, selected blocks at Weeaproinah. McKenzie. Colin and Margaret McKenzie. Self published; Weeaproinah (Vic); 2007(?). 54 p.; Illus; maps. Soft cover. Loose-leaf A4.