The Tawonga & District Hospital was situated in Tawonga at the corner of Ryders Lane and the Kiewa Valley Highway. The construction was initiated by the Hospital & Charities Commission with considerable assistance from the SECV. It was officially opened in 1949. It was relocated to Mt Beauty in 1961. In 1997, the business combined with the hospitals in the Alpine Shire (Bright & Myrtleford) and became 'Alpine Health'.The annual reports of the local Mt Beauty hospital and associated health facilities gives an insight into its changes both medical and in its governance with its consequences to the small towns and district over the years.Booklets - Tawonga District General Hospital, Mt Beauty Annual Reports 1987 - 1996 and Booklets - Alpine Health - Bright, Mt Beauty Myrtleford Annual Reports 1997 - 2004tawonga & distrcit hospital, tawonga district general hospital, alpine health, mt beauty

In the early stages of the Kiewa Hydro-Electric Scheme the State Electricity Commission took over the financial and construction responsibility of the Tawonga District General Hospital building at a cost of 27,000 pounds. This included the removal and re-erection of the ex-military Bonegilla ward from Wodonga while in addition they carried out all the necessary building works that allowed the hospital to operate as a functional unit. The work was completed and handed over to the Hospital Committee of Management on September 1, 1949. Local residents raised 3,400 pounds through fund raising. The balance was met by the SEC and the Hospital and Charities Commission. The initial project was to provide for a basic temporary hospital which was later to include an Operating Theatre, Offices, Store, Mortuary and a Nurse’s Home, until the establishment of a permanent medical premises. Following the opening, 455 patients were admitted to the Tawonga District General Hospital and 254 operations were performed in the first year. The hospital relocated to Mount Beauty in the former SEC administration offices located in the town centre. Official opening of the 18 bed Tawonga District General Hospital on April 29 in 1961. Kiewa Valley House nursing home was officially opened on March 6th, 1985, with a new lounge extension opening in May, 1993. Prior to this, residents had to travel to Beechworth, Wangaratta or Wodonga for care. The old weatherboard building was demolished around the late 1900’s to early 2000’s and replaced with a new modern brick building. Alpine Health CEO Mr Lyndon Seys oversaw the opening of the new Mount Beauty Hospital in November 2001 alongside Board of Management President Mr Andrew Randell, other board members and politicians.The Kiewa Hydro-Electric Scheme the State Electricity Commission played a pivotal part in the planning and initial funding of the Tawonga District General Hospital, with a view to providing medical support for its many workers on the Hydro scheme. Later, spouse and family members of workers were also able to access medical assistance. Many SEC workers and their families have received high medical care at Tawonga District General Hospital and Alpine Health and/or as residents of Kiewa Valley House over the years. A number of family members of SECV workers as well as other dedicated staff have provided high quality medical attention and support in all three facilities as nursing staff, support staff and volunteers. Many past staff members and their families still remain living in the Kiewa Valley area Set of 13 colour photographs of past nursing staff and support staff from Tawonga District General Hospital, Kiewa Valley House & Alpine Health 1. Marg Hickey, Barbara Clark & Margaret Ranton 2. Cheryl Clutterbuck & Rosemary Forrest 3. Margaret Ranton 4. Margaret Ranton holding unknown infant 5. Gwen Goss 6. Barbara Clark & Margaret Ranton 7. Margaret Ranton, Sue Zeinert & Jenny Piera 8. Margaret Ranton, Gloria Ryder & Jenny Piera 9. Sue Wesley, Ruth Barton, Margaret Ranton, Rosemary Forrest & Nola Henry 10. F Bogaski & H Sigmund 11. Maintenance Supervisor H Sigmund 12. Gardener Fred Keat & Handyman Joe Trezise (1977) 13. Nursing staff in new hospital 1-9 No markings 10 F Bogaski & H Sigmund 11. Maintenance Supervisor H Sigmund 12. Gardener Fred Keat & Handyman Joe Trezise (1977) 13. Nursing staff in new hospital tawonga district general hospital, kiewa valley house, alpine health

Mt Beauty & District Meals on Wheels committee was formed on 6th Dec. 1967, possibly under the Elderly Citizens Welfare Council News (or Senior Citizens Mt Beauty) with service commencing on 16th July 1968. Volunteers transported meals from the Hospital Kitchen to the elderly and sick members of the community each day including weekends. Eventually the Shire managed the meals and roster until recent times when, in 2016, Alpine Health took over. Members of the Mt Beauty community recognised the need for meals to be delivered to the elderly and sick. They formed a committee and organised the means (rules, meals, containers, roster ) by which they could achieve their goal with volunteers and the Tawonga District Hospital. The first delivery was recorded by the press and was on film by AMV 4 Albury TV station for their local news. The official party included - local member, Tom Mitchell, Shire representatives, Alec McCullough and Dr Jean Hutching who joined the volunteers for a luncheon at the Mt Beauty Chalet.Paper records for the Mt Beauty Meals On Wheels Program includes photos, newspaper cuttings, committee documents, roster, petrol book, minute books 1983 - 1998, correspondence book, stationary and a brief history of the first delivery in 1968.meals on wheels; mt beauty; tawonga district hospital;

In the early stages of the Kiewa Hydro-Electric Scheme the State Electricity Commission took over the financial and construction responsibility of the Tawonga District General Hospital building at a cost of 27,000 pounds. This included the removal and re-erection of the ex-military Bonegilla ward from Wodonga while in addition they carried out all the necessary building works that allowed the hospital to operate as a functional unit. The work was completed and handed over to the Hospital Committee of Management on September 1, 1949. Local residents raised 3,400 pounds through fund raising. The balance was met by the SEC and the Hospital and Charities Commission. The initial project was to provide for a basic temporary hospital which was later to include an Operating Theatre, Offices, Store, Mortuary and a Nurse’s Home, until the establishment of a permanent medical premises. Following the opening, 455 patients were admitted to the Tawonga District General Hospital and 254 operations were performed in the first year. The hospital relocated to Mount Beauty in the former SEC administration offices located in the town centre. Official opening of the 18 bed Tawonga District General Hospital on April 29 in 1961. Alpine Health CEO Mr Lyndon Seys oversaw the opening of the new Mount Beauty Hospital in November 2001 alongside Board of Management President Mr Andrew Randell, other board members and politicians. The Kiewa Hydro-Electric Scheme the State Electricity Commission played a pivotal part in the planning and initial funding of the Tawonga District General Hospital, with a view to providing medical support for its many workers on the Hydro scheme. Later, spouse and family members of workers were also able to access medical assistance The hospital was originally located in Tawonga away from the majority of the patients as the Hospital and Charities Board was not prepared to have it within the SEC controlled area. It was not until the gate at Tawonga South was taken down that the hospital was moved to the main centre of population at Mount Beauty. 1. Early nurses uniform; 2. Hospital Opening Ceremony; 3-7. Nursing Staff; 8. Delivery Room; 9. Mens Ward; 10.Enclosed Veranda; 11. Main Ward; 12-13. Kitchen; 14. Opening Ceremony 1949; 15.Original Hospital at Tawonga; 16-18. Relocated Hospital at Mt Beauty; 19. Rear of hospital and Matron’s quarters; 20. Hospital and Kiewa Valley House; 21. Renovated Hospital in 20001.Tawonga District General Hospital Tawonga; 2. Kiewa construction engineer Mr HHC Williams speaking at the opening of the hospital. Health Minister the Hon CP Gartside performed the official opening. L to R: TH Mitchell MLA; Manager of the hospital Mr RH Kronberg (obscured) Hon CP Gartside; CL McVilley; LT Knevitt; Matron AI Tarnish & W Sealey: 4. Dedicated Nursing Staff; 5. Nurse Campbell (nee Reid); 6. Sister Seager 1955 (nee Janice Burnett. First District Nurse; 7. L to R: Sister F Rosengrove; Sister J Griffiths; Matron AI Tarnish; Nurse D Satori; Nurse D Tregonning; Sister E Hill & Sister S O’Shannessy; 8. In the early years Tawonga District General Hospital had the second highest birth rate in Australia; 9. The men’s ward catered for men only in the early years of the hospitals operation; 10. The enclosed verandah at the original Tawonga District General Hospital allowed for an additional 10 beds; 11. Tawonga District General Hospital, Tawonga Main Ward. Ward ready and waiting for patients at Tawonga Hospital. Complete with lovely vases of flowers for every bed. Nice touch by the nurses; 12. Kitchen of Tawonga District General Hospital, Mt Beauty. The hospital kitchen provided meals for patients and a 3 course dinner for Meals on Wheels. In 1977, 11,795 meals were produced at an average cost of $2.60 per meal; 13. Tawonga District General Hospital, Tawonga. Kitchen. Kitchen staff employed in the old Tawonga District General Hospital 1949-1961; 14. The official opening ceremony of the Tawonga District General Hospital, 1949. The official ceremony was attended by a large number of residents and Tawonga District General Hospital was open for public inspection; 15. Original Tawonga District General Hospital transported form Bonegilla began operations in 1949; 16. In 1961, the Tawonga District General Hospital relocated to take a central position in the town of Mt Beauty in the former SEC Administration building; 19. The rear of the Tawonga District General Hospital and Matron’s house seen from Holland St, Mt Beauty during a snow storm in the mid 1960’s; 21. Tawonga District General Hospital & Kiewa Valley House, 2000. tawonga district hospital, mt beauty hospital, medical, health care, s.e.c.

In the early stages of the Kiewa Hydro-Electric Scheme the State Electricity Commission took over the financial and construction responsibility of the Tawonga District General Hospital building at a cost of 27,000 pounds. This included the removal and re-erection of the ex-military Bonegilla ward from Wodonga while in addition they carried out all the necessary building works that allowed the hospital to operate as a functional unit. The work was completed and handed over to the Hospital Committee of Management on September 1, 1949. Local residents raised 3,400 pounds through fund raising. The balance was met by the SEC and the Hospital and Charities Commission. The initial project was to provide for a basic temporary hospital which was later to include an Operating Theatre, Offices, Store, Mortuary and a Nurse’s Home, until the establishment of a permanent medical premises. Following the opening, 455 patients were admitted to the Tawonga District General Hospital and 254 operations were performed in the first year. The hospital relocated to Mount Beauty in the former SEC administration offices located in the town centre. Official opening of the 18 bed Tawonga District General Hospital on April 29 in 1961. The old weatherboard building was demolished around the late 1900’s to early 2000’s and replaced with a new modern brick building. Alpine Health CEO Mr Lyndon Seys oversaw the opening of the new Mount Beauty Hospital in November 2001 alongside Board of Management President Mr Andrew Randell, other board members and politicians. The Kiewa Hydro-Electric Scheme the State Electricity Commission played a pivotal part in the planning and initial funding of the Tawonga District General Hospital, with a view to providing medical support for its many workers on the Hydro scheme. Later, spouse and family members of workers were also able to access medical assistance The hospital was originally located in Tawonga away from the majority of the patients as the Hospital and Charities Board was not prepared to have it within the SEC controlled area and it was not until the gate at Tawonga South was taken down that the hospital was moved to the main centre of population at Mount Beauty.8 Colour photographs of the demolition of the original Tawonga and District Hospital situated in Mt Beauty circa 20001. No inscriptions 2. Side view of Tawonga District General Hospital, 1990’s 3. Demolition of the weatherboard hospital: Nurses station, ward and corridor 4. Demolition of the weatherboard hospital: kitchen & utility rooms 5. Demolition of the weatherboard hospital” front entrance & gardens 7. Demolition of the weatherboard hospital: Matrons House 8. No inscriptions tawonga & district general hospital; kiewa hydro electric scheme; mt beauty;

In the early stages of the Kiewa Hydro-Electric Scheme the State Electricity Commission took over the financial and construction responsibility of the Tawonga District General Hospital building at a cost of 27,000 pounds. This included the removal and re-erection of the ex-military Bonegilla ward from Wodonga while in addition they carried out all the necessary building works that allowed the hospital to operate as a functional unit. The work was completed and handed over to the Hospital Committee of Management on September 1, 1949. Local residents raised 3,400 pounds through fund raising. The balance was met by the SEC and the Hospital and Charities Commission. The initial project was to provide for a basic temporary hospital which was later to include an Operating Theatre, Offices, Store, Mortuary and a Nurse’s Home, until the establishment of a permanent medical premises. Following the opening, 455 patients were admitted to the Tawonga District General Hospital and 254 operations were performed in the first year. The hospital relocated to Mount Beauty in the former SEC administration offices located in the town centre. Official opening of the 18 bed Tawonga District General Hospital was on April 29 in 1961. The old weatherboard building was demolished around the late 1900’s to early 2000’s and replaced with a new modern brick building. Alpine Health CEO Mr Lyndon Seys oversaw the opening of the new Mount Beauty Hospital in November 2001 alongside Board of Management President Mr Andrew Randell, other board members and politicians. The Kiewa Hydro-Electric Scheme the State Electricity Commission played a pivotal part in the planning and initial funding of the Tawonga District General Hospital, with a view to providing medical support for its many workers on the Hydro scheme. Later, spouse and family members of workers were also able to access medical assistance The hospital was originally located in Tawonga away from the majority of the patients as the Hospital and Charities. Many SEC workers and their families have received medical care at Tawonga District General Hospital and Alpine Health over the years. A number of family members of SECV workers as well as other dedicated staff have provided high quality medical attention and support in all the facilities as nursing staff, support staff and volunteers. Many past staff members and their families still remain living in the Kiewa Valley area 19 Colour photographs of the Tawonga and District Hospital situated in Mt Beauty circa 2000. Including photographs of interior and of some staff members1. No markings 2. G Ryder at front entrance 3. Sister G Ryder in the Resuscitation Room 4. Nurse D Hateley in the Kitchen 5. Nurse D Hateley in the Casualty Room 6. Sister W McClelland in new nurse’s station 7. R Forrest, G Ryder, ?, M Ranton 8. Nurse D Hateley in the Pan Room 9. Tawonga District General Hospital: Resuscitation Room 10. Hospital Hallway 11. Empty Nurses Station 12. Tawonga District General Hospital: Nursery 13. Patient Tea Room 14, 15, 16, 17, & 18. No marking mt beauty district hospital, tawonga district hospital, bonegilla ward, ryder family

The machinery in this photo shows a Tournapull C earth moving machine, one of many during this period Circa 1950 - 1960s when hydro electricity powered turbines were being constructed in both the Victoria and New South Wales Alps. This was Australia's answer to a non polluting supply of electricity for a fast growing city population. It was at this time that air pollution from coal powered furnaces was becoming more and more under attack by health authorities.This item is part of a visual account of the construction of dams and hydro electricity facilities during the early 1950s. It was the beginning of the environmental push not to allow the degrading of Australian Alpine regions. Air pollution of the major cities and the increase in power demands of both industries and population within them required an alternative pollution free alternative electricity supply. These for runners of Hydro electricity generators required both large supplies of machinery and human resources. This construction phase within the region brought not only tradesmen but also unskilled workers to an area which had mainly had farming and mining activities. It was the catalyst for the creation of the smaller towns/villages e.g. Bogong Village, Mount Beauty and Bright.Black and white photograph on Kodak Xtralite II paper.(gloss)paper marking on back Kodak Xtralite II papermining, hydro electricity, victorian alps, construction camps, earth moving machines, secv

This item clearly shows the conditions covering both working conditions and housing in the construction of the Junction Dam in the 1940s. Working conditions were extreme and health and safety legislation was at its infancy. The residential buildings were intended to last only for the period of construction, however greater demand for longevity as a tourist haven prevailedThis photo of the construction of the Junction Dam, with The Bogong village as backdrop, details the harsh conditions faced by construction workers, building dams and villages to accommodate workers in the 1940s to the 1950s. Australia at this period in time, experienced a surge of population (influx of World War II refugees), which was the catalyst for developing and undergoing an enormous hydroelectricity program for the Alpine regions, both in Victoria and New South Wales. This program was initiated to supply electricity to the major southern Australian cities of Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney. It was thought that these developments would reduce, if not eliminate, the requirement for coal driven power stations. However time has demonstrated that these power stations have not matched the demand required by the industries and the populations of the major urban and cities.Black and white photo of original photo with a flashlight reflection in the bottom centre. The photo is on Kodak XtraLife II paper. The paper is semi gloss.This photo is of the construction of the Junction Dam Wall with the Bogong Townshiip in the background.Back of photo is printed " Kodak XtraLite II paperdam construction, bogong village, alpine development, junction dam

This photograph, in late 1950s, shows an Alpine Fire Prevention technique of "burning off" low levels of scrub to reduce the level of available fuel against any possible summer bush fires. The Alpine regions accumulate high levels of potential fuel (undergrowth and small shrubs) which if not reduced has the potential of breaking into a dangerous bush fire. The men in this photograph are not wearing any protective clothing. Their visibility to other firefighters is severely reduced by smoke. This photo is a snap shot in time when Occupational Health and Safety Legislation was in its infancy stage.This photograph details the fire prevention activities in the Victorian Alps under the management of the SEC Victoria. The level of undergrowth within the Australian bush needs to be kept under control to avoid the possibility of lightning strikes (during summer storms) igniting dry forests resulting in a major bush fire. Controlled fires within alpine regions are required not only to reduce the level of dry undergrowth but also to provide those various plant species requiring fire for regenerate. This method was used by the original inhabitants (Aborigines) as limited scrub fires were used to flush game and bird population for eating with the side benefit to those plants requiring the fire for regeneration.This black and white photograph shows an Alpine Fire Prevention technique of "burning off" low levels of scrub. The photograph is on 200gsm paper but it is not photographic paper. It can be assumed that the photo is not the original but a copy. alpine fire prevention, sec fire prevention

This photograph, from the 1950s, shows an Alpine Fire Prevention technique of "burning off" low levels of scrub to reduce the level of available fuel against any possible summer bush fires.The Alpine regions accumulate high levels of potential fuel (undergrowth and small shrubs) which if not reduced has the potential of breaking into a dangerous bush fire. The men in this photograph are not wearing any protective clothing. Their visibility to other firefighters is severely reduced by smoke. This photo is a snap shot in time when Occupational Health and Safety Legislation was in its infancy stage.This photograph details the fire prevention activities in the Victorian Alps under the management of the SEC Victoria. The level of undergrowth within the Australian bush needs to be under control to avoid the possibility of lightning strikes (during summer storms) igniting dry forests resulting in a major bush fire. Controlled fires within alpine regions are required not only to reduce the level of dry undergrowth but also to provide those various plant species requiring fire for regenerate. This method was used by the original inhabitants (Aborigines) as limited scrub fires were used to flush game and bird population for eating with the side benefit to those plants requiring that fire for regeneration.This black and white photograph shows an Alpine Fire Prevention technique of "burning off" low levels of scrub. The photograph is on 200gsm paper but it is not photographic paper. It can be assumed that the photo is not the original but a copy produced by the SEC Vic. See also KVHS 0413 and KVHS 0414 for other similar photos.kiewa valley tourism, victorian alps, alternate energy supplies, alpine population growth

This photograph, in late 1950s, shows an Alpine Fire Prevention technique of "burning off" low levels of scrub to reduce the level of available fuel against any possible summer bush fires. The Alpine regions accumulate high levels of potential fuel (undergrowth and small shrubs) which if not reduced has the potential of breaking into a dangerous bush fire. The men in this photograph are not wearing any protective clothing. Their visibility to other firefighters is severely reduced by smoke. This photo is a snap shot in time when Occupational Health and Safety Legislation was in its infancy stage.This photograph details the fire prevention activities in the Victorian Alps under the management of the SEC Victoria. The level of undergrowth within the Australian bush needs to be kept under control to avoid the possibility of lightning strikes (during summer storms) igniting dry forests resulting in a major bush fire. Controlled fires within alpine regions are required not only to reduce the level of dry undergrowth but also to provide those various plant species requiring fire for regenerate. This method was used by the original inhabitants (Aborigines) as limited scrub fires were used to flush game and bird population for food, with a side benefit to those plants requiring the fire for regeneration.This black and white photograph shows an Alpine Fire Prevention technique of "burning off" low levels of scrub. The photograph is on 200gsm paper but it is not photographic paper. It can be assumed that the photo is not the original but a copy. See also KVHS 0413 and KVHS 0415 for other similar photos.kiewa valley tourism, victorian alps, alternate energy supplies, alpine population growth

This "sewing and darning" box was purchased before 1952 (the date that the Clark Brothers merged with J&P Coats). It was in an era where the production and alteration/modification to any household or personal clothing was carried out by a family member/s. This was at the period where self sufficiency in rural and especially remote areas was a requirement and not just a hobby. Clothing modifications and "hand me downs" was a way of life. The long and tiresome journey from home to millinery shops was a great force to ensure that home sewing was carried out in the majority of residential and farm areas.This sewing box was donated by a pioneer family in the Kiewa Valley. Its significance points to an era before the establishment of the Kiewa Hydro Electricity Scheme and the establishment of the Mount Beauty Township. It was a time when the rural industries of the Kiewa Valley was rich in production of beef, dairy products, tobacco leaf and before the mass of alpine adventurers that tourism sparked. It was a time rural enterprises out shone tourism.This wooden sewing box is covered with decorative paper. The lid is fastened to the bottom section with two small hinges each having four screws. Each side is fixed to the other by a mortise groove. At the front of the box is a small clasp for complete closure. The box contains needles, darrning thread, thimble, a glass vial with metal screwtop and a red plastic cylindrical container with a thimble screw on top(contains a small reel with three different cotton thread compartments).On outside lid "FROM A FRIEND. I DO NOT WISH THEE GRANDEUR, NOR YET A STORE OF WEALTH, I WISH THEE RICHER TREASURE, CONTENTMENT, PEACE & HEALTH", On inside lid "USE CLARK & CO ANCHOR COTTONS FOR HAND & MACHINE SEWING ANCHOR MILLS, PAISLEY" Each of the different sewing boxes from the Clark Bros. has a label with different "friend" passages.sewing box, hand stitching, domestic clothes alterations, haberdashery

This helmet worn by SEC Victoria workers in the Kiewa Hydro Electricity Scheme is a mandatory safety requirement by all personnel employed by government and statutory agencies who worked on or around "dangerous" apparatus or underground location sites. This type of pressed fibre helmet was later superseded by moulded plastic helmets. The start of the project (late 1940's) was not greatly covered by later introduced health and safety regulations. This has been demonstrated by photos of workmen outside using heavy machinery and other apparatus, see KVHS 0396, KVHS 0405 and KVHS 0392. However in the tunnels and underground safety helmets were mandatory, see KVHS 0403.This safety helmet was used by workers during construction of the generators and tunnels of the Kiewa Hydro Scheme was issued once only to each worker during his employment covering the 1940's to 1960's period. The attitude to health and safety during this period, can be summed up by this "initiation" ritual. When the helmet had been instrumental in saving a bad accident to a worker, that worker would be "invested" into the "Turtle Club". Although a safety helmet was only issued once to a worker this changed when modern moulded plastic helmets and greater Health and Safety requirements were introduced. Helmets now are replaced bi-annually.This safety helmet is made from pressed fibres with eyelets for airflow to the head. On the base of the helmet (before the rim) are 15 metal eyelets and three quarters up are six other eyelets (3 on each side). A thick leather strap is fastened by two rivettes to the main helmet. This strap has a metal bar rivetted on to affix a "safety" lamp, for underground work (Tunneling). There are two additional metal prongs and a metal bar to secure the lamp on the rim of the front of the helmet.sec vic kiewa hydro scheme, alternate energy supplies, alpine population growth

Brigade Magazine is issued to members of the Victorian CFA. The Spring edition of 2016 includes an article to acknowledge 21 years of service by the Falls Creek CFA. The article was written by Joy Nowakowski on behalf of the Falls Creek CFA with information provided by the Falls Creek Historical Society. Falls Creek Fire Brigade protects Falls Creek Village from fires throughout the year and supports other brigades to fight bushfires nearby and further away. In 2016 the brigade had 23 year-round volunteers. At a celebratory function at Falls Creek in June 2016, alpine pumper and brigade snowmobiles were on display. Falls Creek’s alpine pumper was the first of its kind in Australia. It had a pumping capacity of 4,000 litres a minute and its tracks enabled it to access areas of the village and ski fields. Until 2016 Falls Creek Village has been threatened by two major fires, the worst being in 2003 when CFA crews saved the village and the adjoining ski field infrastructure right at the boundaries. Snow making equipment was used to create a water/fog barrier that helped stop the fires from taking the village. The team that saved the village was considered heroic Support for fighting fires at Falls Creek dates back to 1956 but this support came from Mount Beauty, 30 kilometres down the mountain. Falls Creek locals were concerned by this, so used six available hydrants and a canvas hose to fight any fires on the mountain. In 1964 the SECV gave the village a trailer which could be used with both wheels and skis for summer and winter operations. But this trailer only lasted two years. In the early 1970s, the village was given a 2,000-gallon Ford Blitz 4WD truck, and additional equipment was quickly acquired by the village including a new locally-constructed trailer with a pumper unit. In the 1990s, a change in land status meant the Falls Creek area became the responsibility of CFA. This status was formalised in 1995 by a public meeting that formed Falls Creek Fire Brigade.This magazine is significant because it contains an article celebrating 21 years of Falls Creek CFA.A publication for CFA members which includes stories about recent incidents, brigades, training, events, community safety, health and safety and general CFA news. falls creek cfa, alpine firefighting, falls creek cfa 21 years

Photographer notations on slide: Seventh Day Adventists Camp at Hampton W.J. Westerman, G.G. Stewart & C.H. Watson Published: 28 December 1933 Published title: SEVENTH DAY ADVENTISTS. Published caption: “I. — The Annual Camp of the Seventh Day Adventists in Highett-road, Hampton, comprising more than 250 tents and accommodating over a thousand persons. II. —W. J. Westerman (vice-president of Australasian) and Pastor G. G. Stewart (president of Victoria), conversing with Pastor C. H. Watson (world president of the Seventh Day Adventists).- III.— Evangelist E. R. Gane and family.” SEVENTH DAY ADVENTISTS. (1933, December 28). The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954), p. 9. Retrieved August 1, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article203356427 Research by project volunteer, Fiona Collyer: In December 1933, the annual Seventh Day Adventists Conference of Victoria was held, with over a 1000 participants camping for ten days at Highett Road Hampton. Pastor Charles H. Watson, world president of the Seventh Day Adventists, Walter J. Westerman, vice-president of Australasian and Pastor George G. Stewart, president of Victoria attended. Interestingly, The Age newspaper modified the original photo in their publication, placing the three men close to each other. Description: Three middle aged men dressed in suits converse in front of tents. In December 1933, delegates from all over Victoria and beyond travelled to Melbourne for the annual Seventh Day Adventists Conference of Victoria, held over ten days on a vacant allotment at Highett Road Hampton. A canvas town of 250 tents for over 1000 campers was created along with large marquees for lectures, devotional services and kitchens. Many daily visitors also attended the lectures and services. The principal speaker was Victorian born world president of the Seventh Day Adventists, Pastor Charles H. Watson (1877-1962), who travelled from Washington DC for the event. The Highett Street campers attended a busy schedule of bible readings, devotional services and health lectures during the ten days of the camp. Lecture subjects included- “Among the Head Hunters of the Solomon Islands”, “ Looking Through the Prophetic Telescope into 1934”, “Soul Surgery”, “Viewing the Celestial Land Through the Prophetic Telescope”and “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse”. The Seventh Day Adventist religion was established in the USA in 1863. One of its co-founders was American Ellen G. White whose writings are regarded as divinely inspired and are still adhered to today. Ellen preached on the “Eight Laws of Health”- Nutrition, exercise, water, sunshine, temperance, air, rest and trust in God. Adventists regard their bodies as holy temples and avoid food deemed by the Bible as unclean. They eat a mainly plant based diet with no caffeinated beverages and abstain from alcohol and tobacco. They believe in the observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and Hebrew calendars as the sabbath and the literal and imminent second coming of Jesus Christ. New converts are baptised by immersion in water. The Adventists opened the Warburton Sanitarium in 1910 as a health retreat, integrating their holistic health philosophy of physical, mental and spiritual well being. It was a resort in the hills “among picturesque mountain scenery…surrounded by tall forests and deep fern gullies…” where highly strung Melburians could alleviate their digestive maladies, stress and jaded nerves as “…worn down nervous systems mend quickly in this peaceful environment…invigorating air and an abundance of home-grown fruit, vegetables, fresh eggs, milk, and cream help to build healthy bodies”. The resort also offered hydrotherapy, massage and electrical treatments. An advertisement in The Argus- 1 December 1947 assured readers- “EVERYTHING SUNNY AGAIN." “That's how you'll feel when you say farewell to Warburton Sanitarium and Hospital after spending a holiday here. Victoria's Hydro is famous far and wide for wonders worked with sufferers from nervous and digestive disorders. Wholesome food, perfectly cooked; splendid air, regulated exercise, sweet natural sleep; these quickly correct faulty digestion, restore vitality, bring back that sunny optimism natural to healthy people. Massage and curative baths under medical supervision…” Later, after further building work, it became the Warburton Hospital with medical, casualty and obstetrics wards as well as offering strategies to stop smoking, lose weight and for stress management. The hospital ceased operation in 2001. Ellen G. White wrote “God sent me to Australia” and in 1891, accompanied by her son William C. White she arrived in Australia to start a Bible school, spread her health philosophy and for missionary work. At first health food products were imported from America, but it soon became apparent that due to the expense and the food becoming stale over the long journey, that local manufacturing was necessary. In 1898 William secured the services of American Adventist baker Edward C. Halsey, who had worked at Dr Kellogg’s Battle Creek (“Cereal City”), Sanitarium, Michigan, USA. They rented the St George’s bakery in Northcote, Melbourne, producing the first ready to eat breakfast cereal Granola, Caramel Cereal, and peanut butter. The fledgling company relocated to larger premises in Cooranbong, NSW soon after. The Sanitarium Health Food Company opened a factory in Warburton in 1925, manufacturing Granose Biscuits, Cerix Puffed Wheat, San-Bran, Bixies malted wheat flakes, Betta peanut butter, Marmite, “Kwic-Bru - A delicious health “coffee” made from choicest cereals and free from drugs that affect the heart and nerves” In 1928, Sanitarium bought out Grain Products Limited who were manufacturing a sweet cereal biscuit called Weet-Bix which soon became Australia’s favourite breakfast cereal. The Warburton factory closed in 1997, with manufacturing shifting interstate. Sanitarium breakfast cereal boxes offered free collectable cards inside and children could buy albums from grocers for sixpence and mount the cards. Subjects of the albums included- “Aboriginal Tribes, Legends, Customs”, “Australia- Yesterday and Today”, “Marvels of the Great Barrier Reef”, “Advance Australia- a Pageant of the Years”. In 1902 the Adventist’s opened the “Pure Food Vegetarian Cafe” in Sydney (In 1907 the name was changed to “Sanitarium Health Food Cafe”), Eating vegetarian food was definitely a curiosity. “Cristina” reviewed the cafe for The Australasian-27 October 1906. Topics For The Block. “Feeling somewhat like a criminal, and hoping to escape detection, I stealthily made my way into a vegetarian restaurant the other day... If my friends happened to catch me walking in there, I should henceforth be considered a crank, a faddist, and little short of a lunatic! Whom did I find within, seated with the air of habitués at the small tables, but heaps of my friends. They had all this while been pursuing their vegetarian way, layin' low and sayin' nuffin'. Flesh-eaters, now that the Sydney summer has set in apparently in good earnest, are beginning to wonder if the vegetarians are not wiser in their day and generation. Roast beef, hot cornea beef, ragouts, and meat curries, the very thought of them makes one feel hot. Frosted lemon pudding, stewed fruits, wheatmeal rolls, and tomatoes sound nice when you look at their names on the vegetarian menu. Such weird messes are served, square, unintelligible blocks of some brown substance, a few bites of which form a full and satisfying meal. Cold nut foods, granose, nuttose, and jam protose, bromose, with jelly and various "ose" sandwiches, impossible for the unbeliever to diagnose, are put before you. You drink malted nut broth, you eat gluten sticks, stewed beans, lentil patties, with vegetable sauce, any or all of which are distinctly nourishing and filling at the price. A mock (decidedly mock) veal cutlet or a red lentil roast is sufficient lunch, it appears, for anyone. Thus, "you obtain the best working results from your machinery with the least possible expenditure..." In December 1906 the Adventists branched out to Melbourne, opening the Sanitarium Health Food Cafe at 289 Collins Street next to the Royal Bank building. (corner Collins and Elizabeth Streets, demolished in 1939). Their motto was “Quality and Purity”. “Cynthia” of The Leader “Social Circle” column reviewed the cafe in 9 March 1907- “Hundreds of people have a feeling of positive affection for a diet that will be satisfying, appetising and nourishing, without having meat for its backbone. It will come as news that we have in Melbourne a cafe where you can really enjoy yourself without eating anything in the way of meat. Cream, custard, cheese and the like are not cold shouldered out of the menu, and the housewife in search of new dishes will find here ever so much in the way of suggestions. Nuts figure conspicuously in the menu, and lentil and walnut cutlets may be instanced among the delicacies. Beans are cooked in quite alluring fashion, while creamed parsnips are excellent. For sandwiches you could hardly desire anything more appetising than granosi biscuits, and nut cheese. The combination is suggestive of school lunches, and nut meat might well be employed as a variant. A visit to the cafe itself — it is next the Royal Bank in Collins-street — will surprise anyone used to the average vegetarian restaurant. Every thing is fresh, fragrant, and thoroughly modern… It is run, in connection with that curious people the Seventh Day Adventists.” However, “Adele” writing for the Evelyn Observer and Bourke East Record -13 December 1907 had a different experience- CITY RESTAURANTS. “There is no glamour from the outside. We enter the dining room at six and secure a seat at a small table, for this night we are going to dine on vegetables. Some people pride themselves on being vegetarians, and devote a great deal of their spare cash and energy to disseminating vegetarian principles. I shall not in a hurry forget the dinner we tried to get through at this vegetarian restaurant. There was put before us plate after plate of vegetables not soaked, but sodden with water, not an atom of flavouring or dressing; no attempt was made to give the slightest piquancy to potato, cabbage, turnip or carrot. I beg pardon, I am unjust, there were two caterpillars in the cabbage. It is astonishing how persistently ordinary cooks spoil vegetables in the process of cooking and how little they understand the value of vegetables on a menu.” From the extensive menu of 1924, you could order cream of green pea soup, followed by nut meat with Yorkshire pudding, egg timbales, stewed brown lentils, savoury rissoles with piquant sauce. Among the dessert offerings were creamed sago, steamed figs and walnut drops. Washed down with fermented wine and to finish, “Frucerea”, a coffee substitute essence made from fruit and cereal. A four course meal of soup, entree, vegetables and sweets cost 1/6 in 1924. Proving that plant-based food was not just a novelty, 67,000 meals were served at the cafe in 1918, rising to 73,000 in 1921. Later the Sanitarium Cafe moved to 293 Little Collins Street, (opposite Royal Arcade) sharing the building with The Lilliput Golf Course, a miniature golf course of 18 holes. The course was a replica of the fashionable Lido Course in France and was open daily from 10am to midnight with a green fee of one shilling. It featured goldfish, waterfalls and dance music. Lilliput boasted that they were “Melbourne’s coolest indoor course” Miniature golf (mini, minnie, midget, miget, Tom Thumb, Wee golf, putt-putt, pigmy, peewee, crazy golf, obstacle golf) swept the globe in the 1930s, starting in the USA, then Europe. The courses provided affordable recreation during uncertainty at the start of the Great Depression. The craze arrived in Sydney September 1930 with the first mini golf course opening in the basement of the State Theatre. It featured a replica Sydney Harbour Bridge and attracted over 1000 players a day at one shilling per game. The miniature golf bug hit Melbourne hard in 1930-31 with nearly 200 courses springing up in the CBD and suburbs within a few months. The first miniature golf course to open in Melbourne was on 4 October 1930 in the basement of recently built art deco style Wentworth House at 203 Collins Street, designed by architect Cedric Heise Ballantyne, (also designed Regent Theatre, Plaza Ballroom, Athenaeum Club, National Theatre, St Kilda, built in 1930, demolished in 1974 for the City Square) It was managed by J. C. Williamson who advertised for a “Girl Spruiker” who “Must be Young, Attractive Personality, and Able to Talk to the Public” to work at the course. The Age 26 September 1930 reported - “The Wentworth House management have spared no expense in preparing the links. Water hazards, sand bunkers, running streams, ancestral castles, moats and a cunning drawbridge have each been devised to test the skill of players, while the walls and ceiling have been "atmospherically" treated to convey an exterior effect”. Even Melbourne City Council jumped on the bandwagon, leasing the lower hall of Melbourne Town Hall to colourful car dealer and racehorse owner Mr A. G. Barlow for £43 per week for the “Kit Kat Tiny Golf Course”, opening on 11 December 1930. (Turf identity, Mr Alexander George Barlow, (1880-1937) who raced under the nom de course “A. G. Vauxhall”, owned filly Frances Tressady, who in 1923 won the Victoria Derby and Oaks Stakes double and came fifth in the Melbourne Cup. The “Frances Tressady Stakes” is held each March at Flemington Racecourse in honour of the horse, the last filly to win the Derby. Barlow was the proprietor of Barlow Brothers Pty Ltd car dealership at 442 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne. He played 14 games for Carlton Football Club (VFL) on the half-forward line from 1901-1903). Patrons could vie for The Herald Miniature Golf Championship Cup, a gold cup worth £7/7, in an eight week long competition. Sports newspaper The Sporting Globe also offered a Cup and prize money. Many courses offered prizes of theatre tickets, cash and cigarettes. Myer’s department store, hoping to cash in on the fad, advertised in Melbourne’s newspapers that their Sports Department could design and equip complete miniature golf courses using “Fairway” imitation turf at 4/6 a yard. Newspaper cartoonists loved to lampoon the fad. Both Percy Leason, cartoonist for society magazine Table Talk and Syd Miller of Smith’s Weekly depicted “real” golfers causing havoc on a mini golf course, showing that being a “real” golf player was no advantage to playing miniature golf. But bust often follows boom. With such rapid market saturation, expensive novel hazards, waning interest, long opening hours, often to midnight, and price cutting of game fees from one shilling to sixpence and then to threepence amongst some courses, the bubble was bound to burst. The Sporting Globe columnist J.M.Dillon on 20 May 1931 lamented- £100,000 LOST Failure of ‘Minnie’ Golf. “Miniature golf might have provided fun and jokes for thousands of people in Australia, but there were many for whom it panned out a tragedy. It is likely that the dead losses of those who attempted to make money out of the game in Australia were in the vicinity of £100,000. …For a while there was hardly a spare block of land, or a possible “site” in the shape of a hall, or a showroom, in Sydney and Melbourne, that some one was not after to set upon it a “minnie links.” Big amusement firms and private individuals anxious to make money began to run courses. Practically every individual who touched the game had his finger’s financially burnt. …From the approximately £60,000 invested in Melbourne alone, there must have been £25,000 lost. …There are now dozens of courses going to ruin, and many more that the owners would be happy to give away if the takers would remove from them obligations of leases, &c…” The lease on the “Kit Kat Tiny Golf Club” at the Melbourne Town Hall expired on 30 April 1931, with Mr Barlow losing £798 on the venture. The hazards and fittings, which cost £400 and included a large replica of the Town Hall, now worthless. Due to declining patronage, the Little Collins Street cafe closed in 1938, although the adjacent shop continued to sell Sanitarium products. In New Zealand, the first Sanitarium factory opened in Christchurch in 1900, with the company later opening factories in Palmerston North and Auckland. The Adventists opened vegetarian cafes, firstly at 37 Taranaki Street Wellington in 1906, followed by cafes in Auckland, Christchurch and Dunedin. Weet-Bix is also New Zealand’s favourite cereal- there the jingle is “Kiwi kids are Weet-Bix kids.” In 1955, the Australian Women’s Weekly ran an illustrated, full colour advertisement featuring New Zealand born Edmund Hillary (later Sir) 1919-2008, who, along with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, was the first climber to reach the summit of Mount Everest on 29 March 1953. The Australian Women’s Weekly, 30 March, 1955- “WEET-BIX carried by Hillary on Himalayan adventure! c/- N.Z. Alpine Club Inc., Dunedin, New Zealand. The Manager, Sanitarium Health Food Company, Christchurch, N.Z. Dear Sir. …Weet-Bix was chosen at my special request as I had always felt that some easily prepared form of breakfast was essential to the primitive conditions of high camps. Weet-Bix fulfilled its task very well indeed. We usually had them with hot milk (powdered) and sugar, and even when we were unable to eat anything else, we usually managed to have a little Weet-Bix . . . I regard them as a great success and expect they will be more widely used in the Himalayas in future. Yours faithfully, (Signed) E.P. Hillary. Sanitarium Marmite - motto- “Too much spoils the flavour”- is as beloved with Kiwis as Vegemite is with Australians. In 1966, a fire gutted the Christchurch Marmite factory causing a nation wide shortage. Once the factory was rebuilt, Sanitarium relaunched the yeasty extract in reusable glass tumblers with printed designs such as yachts, New Zealand birds and vintage cars. These popular collectibles can still be found in the kitchen cupboards of many New Zealand baches (holiday homes). After the devastating 2011 earthquake in Christchurch damaged the Marmite factory causing shortages and panic buying, a “Marmageddon” was declared with jars of the “black gold” advertised online for up to NZ$800. Consumers were advised to spread their Marmite sparingly until production resumed. (The Christchurch plant reportedly produces around 640,000kg of Marmite per year). Sanitarium Health and Wellbeing Company is exempt from paying company income tax on their profits due to their ownership by a religious organisation. Although not a compulsory rule for salvation, Adventists are encouraged to pay a tithe of 10% of their income to the church to support the ministry in God’s work. Nowadays, there are over 25 million members of the Seventh Day Adventists Church in 200 countries. ITEMS OF INTEREST (1933, December 22). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), p. 8. Retrieved July 21, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11723188 SEVENTH DAY ADVENTISTS. (1933, December 28). The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954), p. 9. Retrieved July 1, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article203356427 EVANGELISTS' CAMP (1933, December 20). The Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954), p. 30. Retrieved July 1, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article243213209 Master Butchers Have A Time Pilots FOR School Air Race Charity Golf At Riversdale (1931, May 1). The Sun News-Pictorial (Melbourne, Vic. : 1922 - 1954; 1956), p. 14-15. Retrieved September 4, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article276159136 2000 ADVENTISTS UNDER CANVAS (1933, December 27). The Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954), p. 17. Retrieved July 1, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article243223698 TOPICS FOR THE BLOCK. (1906, October 27). The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946), p. 45. Retrieved August 30, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article139178204 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seventh-day_Adventist_Church https://www.sanitarium.com/au/about/sanitarium-story/profits-for- ENTERTAINMENT AT MENZIES'. (1906, December 6). Punch (Melbourne, Vic. : 1900 - 1918; 1925), p. 26. Retrieved August 3, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article175380296 https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=9HN0&highlight=Conference SOCIAL CIRCLE (1907, March 9). Leader (Melbourne, Vic. : 1862 - 1918, 1935), p. 41. Retrieved August 3, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article196649677 CITY RESTAURANTS. (1907, December 13). Evelyn Observer and Bourke East Record (Vic. : 1902 - 1917), p. 1 (MORNING.). Retrieved August 3, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article61133109 Advertising (1924, May 6). The Sun News-Pictorial (Melbourne, Vic. : 1922 - 1954; 1956), p. 9. Retrieved August 3, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article274271406 1930, December 5). The Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954), p. 14. Retrieved August 5, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page26374135 Thousands Are Still Playing Miniature Golf (1931, January 2). The Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954), p. 11. Retrieved August 8, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article242880087 MINIATURE GOLF. (1930, October 16). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), p. 10. Retrieved August 8, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4209280 THE REAL GOLFER WHO FORGOT HIMSELF ON THE MINIATURE GOLF COURSE (1930, November 13). Table Talk (Melbourne, Vic. : 1885 - 1939), p. 13. Retrieved August 8, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article146706596 Advertising (1930, December 5). The Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954), p. 14. Retrieved August 8, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article242761991 Advertising (1931, January 9). The Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954), p. 12. Retrieved August 8, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article242887972 1955, March 30). The Australian Women's Weekly (1933 - 1982), p. 38. Retrieved August 9, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page4812489 £100,000 LOST (1931, May 20). Sporting Globe (Melbourne, Vic. : 1922 - 1954), p. 1 (Edition1). Retrieved August 14, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article183023946 1930, December 5). The Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954), p. 14. Retrieved August 15, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page26374135 Advertising (1931, January 23). The Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954), p. 14. Retrieved August 15, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article242887795 MINIATURE GOLF. (1931, February 5). The Dandenong Journal (Vic. : 1927 - 1954), p. 6. Retrieved August 16, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article201082526 Still Time To Enter Midge (1931, January 16). The Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954), p. 12. Retrieved August 16, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article242888830 WIT OF THE WEEK (1930, October 23). Table Talk (Melbourne, Vic. : 1885 - 1939), p. 23. Retrieved August 29, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article146455050 Advertising (1930, October 2). Table Talk (Melbourne, Vic. : 1885 - 1939), p. 16. Retrieved August 18, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article146454620 MIDGET GOLF LINKS. (1930, September 26). The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954), p. 6. Retrieved August 18, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article202235074 https://www.smh.com.au/national/fairfax-archive-mini-golf-20131125-2y608.html TURF NOTES (1923, November 6). The Ballarat Star (Vic. : 1865 - 1924), p. 6. Retrieved September 3, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article213855201 Advertising (1930, October 4). The Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954), p. 10. Retrieved October 14, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article242937272 LAUGHTER AND TEARS. (1930, November 15). Smith's Weekly (Sydney, NSW : 1919 - 1950), p. 21. Retrieved September 9, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article234426874 Advertising (1947, December 1). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), p. 5. Retrieved September 15, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article22523355Photographer notations on slide: "Seventh Day Adventists Camp at Hampton W.J. Westerman, G.G. Stewart & C.H. Watson".religion, health food, mini golf, 1930-1939, tents, churches, camps

Photographer notations on slide: Seventh Day Adventists Camp. E Gane + family Published: 28 December 1933 Published title: SEVENTH DAY ADVENTISTS. Published caption: “I. — The Annual Camp of the Seventh Day Adventists in Highett-road, Hampton, comprising more than 250 tents and accommodating over a thousand persons. II. —W. J. Westerman (vice-president of Australasian) and Pastor G. G. Stewart (president of Victoria), conversing with Pastor C. H. Watson (world president of the Seventh Day Adventists).- III.— Evangelist E. R. Gane and family.” SEVENTH DAY ADVENTISTS. (1933, December 28). The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954), p. 9. Retrieved August 1, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article203356427 Research by project volunteer, Fiona Collyer: In December 1933, evangelist Mr E.R. Gane and his family gather outside their tent during the ten day Seventh Day Adventist Conference held in Highett Road, Hampton. Description: A woman, man and four small children sit and stand in front of a tent. One child plays with a toy train. In December 1933, delegates from all over Victoria and beyond travelled to Melbourne for the annual Seventh Day Adventists Conference of Victoria, held over ten days on a vacant allotment at Highett Road Hampton. A canvas town of 250 tents for over 1000 campers was created along with large marquees for lectures, devotional services and kitchens. Many daily visitors also attended the lectures and services. The principal speaker was Victorian born world president of the Seventh Day Adventists, Pastor Charles H. Watson (1877-1962), who travelled from Washington DC for the event. The Highett Street campers attended a busy schedule of bible readings, devotional services and health lectures during the ten days of the camp. Lecture subjects included- “Among the Head Hunters of the Solomon Islands”, “ Looking Through the Prophetic Telescope into 1934”, “Soul Surgery”, “Viewing the Celestial Land Through the Prophetic Telescope”and “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse”. The Seventh Day Adventist religion was established in the USA in 1863. One of its co-founders was American Ellen G. White whose writings are regarded as divinely inspired and are still adhered to today. Ellen preached on the “Eight Laws of Health”- Nutrition, exercise, water, sunshine, temperance, air, rest and trust in God. Adventists regard their bodies as holy temples and avoid food deemed by the Bible as unclean. They eat a mainly plant based diet with no caffeinated beverages and abstain from alcohol and tobacco. They believe in the observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and Hebrew calendars as the sabbath and the literal and imminent second coming of Jesus Christ. New converts are baptised by immersion in water. The Adventists opened the Warburton Sanitarium in 1910 as a health retreat, integrating their holistic health philosophy of physical, mental and spiritual well being. It was a resort in the hills “among picturesque mountain scenery…surrounded by tall forests and deep fern gullies…” where highly strung Melburians could alleviate their digestive maladies, stress and jaded nerves as “…worn down nervous systems mend quickly in this peaceful environment…invigorating air and an abundance of home-grown fruit, vegetables, fresh eggs, milk, and cream help to build healthy bodies”. The resort also offered hydrotherapy, massage and electrical treatments. An advertisement in The Argus- 1 December 1947 assured readers- “EVERYTHING SUNNY AGAIN." “That's how you'll feel when you say farewell to Warburton Sanitarium and Hospital after spending a holiday here. Victoria's Hydro is famous far and wide for wonders worked with sufferers from nervous and digestive disorders. Wholesome food, perfectly cooked; splendid air, regulated exercise, sweet natural sleep; these quickly correct faulty digestion, restore vitality, bring back that sunny optimism natural to healthy people. Massage and curative baths under medical supervision…” Later, after further building work, it became the Warburton Hospital with medical, casualty and obstetrics wards as well as offering strategies to stop smoking, lose weight and for stress management. The hospital ceased operation in 2001. Ellen G. White wrote “God sent me to Australia” and in 1891, accompanied by her son William C. White she arrived in Australia to start a Bible school, spread her health philosophy and for missionary work. At first health food products were imported from America, but it soon became apparent that due to the expense and the food becoming stale over the long journey, that local manufacturing was necessary. In 1898 William secured the services of American Adventist baker Edward C. Halsey, who had worked at Dr Kellogg’s Battle Creek (“Cereal City”), Sanitarium, Michigan, USA. They rented the St George’s bakery in Northcote, Melbourne, producing the first ready to eat breakfast cereal Granola, Caramel Cereal, and peanut butter. The fledgling company relocated to larger premises in Cooranbong, NSW soon after. The Sanitarium Health Food Company opened a factory in Warburton in 1925, manufacturing Granose Biscuits, Cerix Puffed Wheat, San-Bran, Bixies malted wheat flakes, Betta peanut butter, Marmite, “Kwic-Bru - A delicious health “coffee” made from choicest cereals and free from drugs that affect the heart and nerves” In 1928, Sanitarium bought out Grain Products Limited who were manufacturing a sweet cereal biscuit called Weet-Bix which soon became Australia’s favourite breakfast cereal. The Warburton factory closed in 1997, with manufacturing shifting interstate. Sanitarium breakfast cereal boxes offered free collectable cards inside and children could buy albums from grocers for sixpence and mount the cards. Subjects of the albums included- “Aboriginal Tribes, Legends, Customs”, “Australia- Yesterday and Today”, “Marvels of the Great Barrier Reef”, “Advance Australia- a Pageant of the Years”. In 1902 the Adventist’s opened the “Pure Food Vegetarian Cafe” in Sydney (In 1907 the name was changed to “Sanitarium Health Food Cafe”), Eating vegetarian food was definitely a curiosity. “Cristina” reviewed the cafe for The Australasian-27 October 1906. Topics For The Block. “Feeling somewhat like a criminal, and hoping to escape detection, I stealthily made my way into a vegetarian restaurant the other day... If my friends happened to catch me walking in there, I should henceforth be considered a crank, a faddist, and little short of a lunatic! Whom did I find within, seated with the air of habitués at the small tables, but heaps of my friends. They had all this while been pursuing their vegetarian way, layin' low and sayin' nuffin'. Flesh-eaters, now that the Sydney summer has set in apparently in good earnest, are beginning to wonder if the vegetarians are not wiser in their day and generation. Roast beef, hot cornea beef, ragouts, and meat curries, the very thought of them makes one feel hot. Frosted lemon pudding, stewed fruits, wheatmeal rolls, and tomatoes sound nice when you look at their names on the vegetarian menu. Such weird messes are served, square, unintelligible blocks of some brown substance, a few bites of which form a full and satisfying meal. Cold nut foods, granose, nuttose, and jam protose, bromose, with jelly and various "ose" sandwiches, impossible for the unbeliever to diagnose, are put before you. You drink malted nut broth, you eat gluten sticks, stewed beans, lentil patties, with vegetable sauce, any or all of which are distinctly nourishing and filling at the price. A mock (decidedly mock) veal cutlet or a red lentil roast is sufficient lunch, it appears, for anyone. Thus, "you obtain the best working results from your machinery with the least possible expenditure..." In December 1906 the Adventists branched out to Melbourne, opening the Sanitarium Health Food Cafe at 289 Collins Street next to the Royal Bank building. (corner Collins and Elizabeth Streets, demolished in 1939). Their motto was “Quality and Purity”. “Cynthia” of The Leader “Social Circle” column reviewed the cafe in 9 March 1907- “Hundreds of people have a feeling of positive affection for a diet that will be satisfying, appetising and nourishing, without having meat for its backbone. It will come as news that we have in Melbourne a cafe where you can really enjoy yourself without eating anything in the way of meat. Cream, custard, cheese and the like are not cold shouldered out of the menu, and the housewife in search of new dishes will find here ever so much in the way of suggestions. Nuts figure conspicuously in the menu, and lentil and walnut cutlets may be instanced among the delicacies. Beans are cooked in quite alluring fashion, while creamed parsnips are excellent. For sandwiches you could hardly desire anything more appetising than granosi biscuits, and nut cheese. The combination is suggestive of school lunches, and nut meat might well be employed as a variant. A visit to the cafe itself — it is next the Royal Bank in Collins-street — will surprise anyone used to the average vegetarian restaurant. Every thing is fresh, fragrant, and thoroughly modern… It is run, in connection with that curious people the Seventh Day Adventists.” However, “Adele” writing for the Evelyn Observer and Bourke East Record -13 December 1907 had a different experience- CITY RESTAURANTS. “There is no glamour from the outside. We enter the dining room at six and secure a seat at a small table, for this night we are going to dine on vegetables. Some people pride themselves on being vegetarians, and devote a great deal of their spare cash and energy to disseminating vegetarian principles. I shall not in a hurry forget the dinner we tried to get through at this vegetarian restaurant. There was put before us plate after plate of vegetables not soaked, but sodden with water, not an atom of flavouring or dressing; no attempt was made to give the slightest piquancy to potato, cabbage, turnip or carrot. I beg pardon, I am unjust, there were two caterpillars in the cabbage. It is astonishing how persistently ordinary cooks spoil vegetables in the process of cooking and how little they understand the value of vegetables on a menu.” From the extensive menu of 1924, you could order cream of green pea soup, followed by nut meat with Yorkshire pudding, egg timbales, stewed brown lentils, savoury rissoles with piquant sauce. Among the dessert offerings were creamed sago, steamed figs and walnut drops. Washed down with fermented wine and to finish, “Frucerea”, a coffee substitute essence made from fruit and cereal. A four course meal of soup, entree, vegetables and sweets cost 1/6 in 1924. Proving that plant-based food was not just a novelty, 67,000 meals were served at the cafe in 1918, rising to 73,000 in 1921. Later the Sanitarium Cafe moved to 293 Little Collins Street, (opposite Royal Arcade) sharing the building with The Lilliput Golf Course, a miniature golf course of 18 holes. The course was a replica of the fashionable Lido Course in France and was open daily from 10am to midnight with a green fee of one shilling. It featured goldfish, waterfalls and dance music. Lilliput boasted that they were “Melbourne’s coolest indoor course” Miniature golf (mini, minnie, midget, miget, Tom Thumb, Wee golf, putt-putt, pigmy, peewee, crazy golf, obstacle golf) swept the globe in the 1930s, starting in the USA, then Europe. The courses provided affordable recreation during uncertainty at the start of the Great Depression. The craze arrived in Sydney September 1930 with the first mini golf course opening in the basement of the State Theatre. It featured a replica Sydney Harbour Bridge and attracted over 1000 players a day at one shilling per game. The miniature golf bug hit Melbourne hard in 1930-31 with nearly 200 courses springing up in the CBD and suburbs within a few months. The first miniature golf course to open in Melbourne was on 4 October 1930 in the basement of recently built art deco style Wentworth House at 203 Collins Street, designed by architect Cedric Heise Ballantyne, (also designed Regent Theatre, Plaza Ballroom, Athenaeum Club, National Theatre, St Kilda, built in 1930, demolished in 1974 for the City Square) It was managed by J. C. Williamson who advertised for a “Girl Spruiker” who “Must be Young, Attractive Personality, and Able to Talk to the Public” to work at the course. The Age 26 September 1930 reported - “The Wentworth House management have spared no expense in preparing the links. Water hazards, sand bunkers, running streams, ancestral castles, moats and a cunning drawbridge have each been devised to test the skill of players, while the walls and ceiling have been "atmospherically" treated to convey an exterior effect”. Even Melbourne City Council jumped on the bandwagon, leasing the lower hall of Melbourne Town Hall to colourful car dealer and racehorse owner Mr A. G. Barlow for £43 per week for the “Kit Kat Tiny Golf Course”, opening on 11 December 1930. (Turf identity, Mr Alexander George Barlow, (1880-1937) who raced under the nom de course “A. G. Vauxhall”, owned filly Frances Tressady, who in 1923 won the Victoria Derby and Oaks Stakes double and came fifth in the Melbourne Cup. The “Frances Tressady Stakes” is held each March at Flemington Racecourse in honour of the horse, the last filly to win the Derby. Barlow was the proprietor of Barlow Brothers Pty Ltd car dealership at 442 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne. He played 14 games for Carlton Football Club (VFL) on the half-forward line from 1901-1903). Patrons could vie for The Herald Miniature Golf Championship Cup, a gold cup worth £7/7, in an eight week long competition. Sports newspaper The Sporting Globe also offered a Cup and prize money. Many courses offered prizes of theatre tickets, cash and cigarettes. Myer’s department store, hoping to cash in on the fad, advertised in Melbourne’s newspapers that their Sports Department could design and equip complete miniature golf courses using “Fairway” imitation turf at 4/6 a yard. Newspaper cartoonists loved to lampoon the fad. Both Percy Leason, cartoonist for society magazine Table Talk and Syd Miller of Smith’s Weekly depicted “real” golfers causing havoc on a mini golf course, showing that being a “real” golf player was no advantage to playing miniature golf. But bust often follows boom. With such rapid market saturation, expensive novel hazards, waning interest, long opening hours, often to midnight, and price cutting of game fees from one shilling to sixpence and then to threepence amongst some courses, the bubble was bound to burst. The Sporting Globe columnist J.M.Dillon on 20 May 1931 lamented- £100,000 LOST Failure of ‘Minnie’ Golf. “Miniature golf might have provided fun and jokes for thousands of people in Australia, but there were many for whom it panned out a tragedy. It is likely that the dead losses of those who attempted to make money out of the game in Australia were in the vicinity of £100,000. …For a while there was hardly a spare block of land, or a possible “site” in the shape of a hall, or a showroom, in Sydney and Melbourne, that some one was not after to set upon it a “minnie links.” Big amusement firms and private individuals anxious to make money began to run courses. Practically every individual who touched the game had his finger’s financially burnt. …From the approximately £60,000 invested in Melbourne alone, there must have been £25,000 lost. …There are now dozens of courses going to ruin, and many more that the owners would be happy to give away if the takers would remove from them obligations of leases, &c…” The lease on the “Kit Kat Tiny Golf Club” at the Melbourne Town Hall expired on 30 April 1931, with Mr Barlow losing £798 on the venture. The hazards and fittings, which cost £400 and included a large replica of the Town Hall, now worthless. Due to declining patronage, the Little Collins Street cafe closed in 1938, although the adjacent shop continued to sell Sanitarium products. In New Zealand, the first Sanitarium factory opened in Christchurch in 1900, with the company later opening factories in Palmerston North and Auckland. The Adventists opened vegetarian cafes, firstly at 37 Taranaki Street Wellington in 1906, followed by cafes in Auckland, Christchurch and Dunedin. Weet-Bix is also New Zealand’s favourite cereal- there the jingle is “Kiwi kids are Weet-Bix kids.” In 1955, the Australian Women’s Weekly ran an illustrated, full colour advertisement featuring New Zealand born Edmund Hillary (later Sir) 1919-2008, who, along with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, was the first climber to reach the summit of Mount Everest on 29 March 1953. The Australian Women’s Weekly, 30 March, 1955- “WEET-BIX carried by Hillary on Himalayan adventure! c/- N.Z. Alpine Club Inc., Dunedin, New Zealand. The Manager, Sanitarium Health Food Company, Christchurch, N.Z. Dear Sir. …Weet-Bix was chosen at my special request as I had always felt that some easily prepared form of breakfast was essential to the primitive conditions of high camps. Weet-Bix fulfilled its task very well indeed. We usually had them with hot milk (powdered) and sugar, and even when we were unable to eat anything else, we usually managed to have a little Weet-Bix . . . I regard them as a great success and expect they will be more widely used in the Himalayas in future. Yours faithfully, (Signed) E.P. Hillary. Sanitarium Marmite - motto- “Too much spoils the flavour”- is as beloved with Kiwis as Vegemite is with Australians. In 1966, a fire gutted the Christchurch Marmite factory causing a nation wide shortage. Once the factory was rebuilt, Sanitarium relaunched the yeasty extract in reusable glass tumblers with printed designs such as yachts, New Zealand birds and vintage cars. These popular collectibles can still be found in the kitchen cupboards of many New Zealand baches (holiday homes). After the devastating 2011 earthquake in Christchurch damaged the Marmite factory causing shortages and panic buying, a “Marmageddon” was declared with jars of the “black gold” advertised online for up to NZ$800. Consumers were advised to spread their Marmite sparingly until production resumed. (The Christchurch plant reportedly produces around 640,000kg of Marmite per year). Sanitarium Health and Wellbeing Company is exempt from paying company income tax on their profits due to their ownership by a religious organisation. Although not a compulsory rule for salvation, Adventists are encouraged to pay a tithe of 10% of their income to the church to support the ministry in God’s work. Nowadays, there are over 25 million members of the Seventh Day Adventists Church in 200 countries. ITEMS OF INTEREST (1933, December 22). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), p. 8. Retrieved July 21, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11723188 SEVENTH DAY ADVENTISTS. (1933, December 28). The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954), p. 9. Retrieved July 1, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article203356427 EVANGELISTS' CAMP (1933, December 20). The Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954), p. 30. Retrieved July 1, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article243213209 Master Butchers Have A Time Pilots FOR School Air Race Charity Golf At Riversdale (1931, May 1). The Sun News-Pictorial (Melbourne, Vic. : 1922 - 1954; 1956), p. 14-15. Retrieved September 4, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article276159136 2000 ADVENTISTS UNDER CANVAS (1933, December 27). The Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954), p. 17. Retrieved July 1, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article243223698 TOPICS FOR THE BLOCK. (1906, October 27). The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946), p. 45. Retrieved August 30, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article139178204 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seventh-day_Adventist_Church https://www.sanitarium.com/au/about/sanitarium-story/profits-for- ENTERTAINMENT AT MENZIES'. (1906, December 6). Punch (Melbourne, Vic. : 1900 - 1918; 1925), p. 26. Retrieved August 3, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article175380296 https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=9HN0&highlight=Conference SOCIAL CIRCLE (1907, March 9). Leader (Melbourne, Vic. : 1862 - 1918, 1935), p. 41. Retrieved August 3, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article196649677 CITY RESTAURANTS. (1907, December 13). Evelyn Observer and Bourke East Record (Vic. : 1902 - 1917), p. 1 (MORNING.). Retrieved August 3, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article61133109 Advertising (1924, May 6). The Sun News-Pictorial (Melbourne, Vic. : 1922 - 1954; 1956), p. 9. Retrieved August 3, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article274271406 1930, December 5). The Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954), p. 14. Retrieved August 5, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page26374135 Thousands Are Still Playing Miniature Golf (1931, January 2). The Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954), p. 11. Retrieved August 8, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article242880087 MINIATURE GOLF. (1930, October 16). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), p. 10. Retrieved August 8, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4209280 THE REAL GOLFER WHO FORGOT HIMSELF ON THE MINIATURE GOLF COURSE (1930, November 13). Table Talk (Melbourne, Vic. : 1885 - 1939), p. 13. Retrieved August 8, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article146706596 Advertising (1930, December 5). The Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954), p. 14. Retrieved August 8, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article242761991 Advertising (1931, January 9). The Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954), p. 12. Retrieved August 8, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article242887972 1955, March 30). The Australian Women's Weekly (1933 - 1982), p. 38. Retrieved August 9, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page4812489 £100,000 LOST (1931, May 20). Sporting Globe (Melbourne, Vic. : 1922 - 1954), p. 1 (Edition1). Retrieved August 14, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article183023946 1930, December 5). The Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954), p. 14. Retrieved August 15, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page26374135 Advertising (1931, January 23). The Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954), p. 14. Retrieved August 15, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article242887795 MINIATURE GOLF. (1931, February 5). The Dandenong Journal (Vic. : 1927 - 1954), p. 6. Retrieved August 16, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article201082526 Still Time To Enter Midge (1931, January 16). The Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954), p. 12. Retrieved August 16, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article242888830 WIT OF THE WEEK (1930, October 23). Table Talk (Melbourne, Vic. : 1885 - 1939), p. 23. Retrieved August 29, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article146455050 Advertising (1930, October 2). Table Talk (Melbourne, Vic. : 1885 - 1939), p. 16. Retrieved August 18, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article146454620 MIDGET GOLF LINKS. (1930, September 26). The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954), p. 6. Retrieved August 18, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article202235074 https://www.smh.com.au/national/fairfax-archive-mini-golf-20131125-2y608.html TURF NOTES (1923, November 6). The Ballarat Star (Vic. : 1865 - 1924), p. 6. Retrieved September 3, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article213855201 Advertising (1930, October 4). The Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954), p. 10. Retrieved October 14, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article242937272 LAUGHTER AND TEARS. (1930, November 15). Smith's Weekly (Sydney, NSW : 1919 - 1950), p. 21. Retrieved September 9, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article234426874 Advertising (1947, December 1). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), p. 5. Retrieved September 15, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article22523355Photographer notations on slide: "Seventh Day Adventists Camp. E Gane + family".religion, health food, mini golf, 1930-1939, tents, churches, camps