This magazine was published to raise money for the State Disaster appeal. It was a tribute to the photographers and reporters who contributed to the coverage of the Ash Wednesday bushfires for these publications.this item is a contemporary record of a major fire disaster in Victoria and is a useful reference tool.A large 78 pp stapled magazine. On the front cover is a coloured photograph of the town of Macedon the morning after the bush fires in February 1983. It has white ASH WEDNESDAY in print on a red background above the photograph and 1983 BUSHFIRES in white print on a red background belop the photograph. The photograph extends to the back cover. The magazine contains black/white photographs, stories and reports.bushfires ash-wednesday magazine disasters-victoria

A talk given by Norm Smith a bus driver with US Bus lines to Emerald Probus January 2012, about his experiences with US Bus Lines during the 1956 Olympics, Ash Wednesday and also life in Gembrook. CD

3 cups and 1 jug, ceramic, badly blackened and crazed from Ash Wednesday fires. Floral design with gilt decoration to tops of jug and cups. Jug has moulded border to top and base - all with ornate scrolled handles.Makers mark on base.crockery, ash wednesday, bushfires

Lorraine Wall presents a cheque for $12,474 to Frank Wyley as representative of the Cockatoo Uniting Church for rebuilding of the church after the Ash Wednesday bushfires. Mrs. Wall, her parents Olga and John Rowe and Russell were organisers of poster sales.Colour photograph of Lorraine Wall and Frank Wyley."Lorraine Wall Frank Wyley C&N 25/9/85 p 14"wall, lorraine, wyley, frank, cockatoo uniting church, ash wednesday bushfires

This spinning wheel originates from New Zealand; however, it has no distinguishing features relating to its creator such as an inscription, so its exact maker is not known. Gill Stange remembers buying the wheel on Bridge Road in Richmond, approximately 30 years ago. Gill had joined her local Spinners and Weavers Guild after the Ash Wednesday bushfires of 1983. She was a then resident of Mount Macedon and lost everything in the fires. Moving to Melbourne to get away from the scene of much pain, Gill was also in need of a new hobby to help occupy her mind. That is when spinning and weaving entered her life. The local Spinners and Weavers Guild was a great support network for her and with their recommendation, she purchased her own spinning wheel. Her passion was started, and the wheel was to become a treasured item in Gill’s home. She had several spinning wheels within her possession over the years, however, this wheel was her first and always her favourite. When the time came for Gill to downsize, there was simply no longer room for her spinning wheel. This is when she decided to donate the wheel to the National Wool Museum. Gill remembers one highlight was weaving a tablecloth from a traditional German design. It took her two years to complete, with Gill spinning all the wool herself on this wheel. The tablecloth won the first prize in the Melbourne Show in 1987. Gill also used the wheel to teach programs to school children on how to spin and knit wool. She would take the easily transported little wheel, and its accompanying seat, with her to schools. Its small size enabled her to teach children to knit and spin, bringing others the joy that spinning had brought her. Not just limited to schools, Gill also taught programs with the wheel here at the National Wool Museum. It is a fitting home for the wheel, which Gill donated to the National Wool Museum in 2021.Dark varnished wood in a Castle style spinning wheel. The wheel has 8 small spokes which meet a thick outside rim. The outside rim has four golden disc weights on the bottom edge, to aid in the turning of the wheel. The spinning wheel has four legs of turned wood giving a sculptural form, a design pattern which is continued throughout. The wheel has a single medium sized foot pedal. This pedal is well worn with varnish missing from years of use. The wheel is completed with its accompanying chair. Made of the same dark varnished wood, its legs are also of turned wood, continuing the design pattern and uniting the two objects. The chair is very simple outside of the legs, with a medium size base and a thin backrest ending in a rounded head. The chair’s varnish is also starting to fade from years of use. The chair is small, designed to keep the spinning wheel operator at the appropriate height when spinning on the equally small and compact Castle style spinning wheel. Additional parts were donated with the Spinning Wheel. - 3 x Lazy Kates - Spare Maiden. - 450mm Niddy Noddy - Steel teeth brushspinning wool, spinning wheel, ash wednesday, mount macedon, textile production

Bronze Medal. Ribbon navy blue edged with silver & gold central strip. Observe (face or main design) the female figure represents Australasia placing a wreath on the head of a kneeling figure, under the Southern Cross. The Latin motto translates as "Bravery Rewarded". Reverse: the name of the awardee is inscribed inside a wreath of laurel and eucalyptus.Awarded to DJ Griffin 16-2-1983bravery awards, ash wednesday, bushfires, cockatoo victoria, dorothy joan griffin,

Front cover has a photograph of Sharon Guest and her daughter Patricia in the ruins of their Mt Macedon home, Ash Wednesday.non-fictionThe story of bushfires in Australiaforest fires, bush fires, australia, history

Coloured photograph of a dust storm over Mitcham in February 1983, on the day before the Ash Wednesday fires.dust storm, mitcham

Police motorbike riding through a bushfire zone between Cockatoo and Belgrave around the time of the Ash Wednesday fires. In the background is a signpost that has been relatively untouched but melted into a twisted shape by the heat of the fire. Circa 1983.police vehicles; motor transport branch; motor transport section; wireless patrol; motor cycle patrol; police motorcycles

Nancy Hawley requested one of a pair come to the Emerald Museum . It was brought back from Japan by a friend of Noni Smith after World War 2. Noni Smith was Mr Murphy's nurse for many years Noni died at the age of 90 years . She was principal of Emerald Primary School. She was very involved with the recovery after Ash Wednesday 1983 firesJapanese Incense Burner Circa early 19th centuryFloral Bowl with Figured Legs and Topjapanese insense burner

This is a booklet written by Jack Rooke about his life. Born in 1910 Jack Rooke faced early the challenges of living in the bush in the Camperdown and Panmure areas. He describes the difficulties of the small farmer and the tough living conditions. He also records the struggle to survive during the Depression years in the 1930s and his heartache after his farm was burnt out in the Ash Wednesday fires. Rooke’s story mirrors that of many settlers in the Western District in the early to mid 20th century and so he has produced an important social history in a simple but compelling manner. This booklet is of considerable importance as it gives the details of the life of one person facing the challenges of living in the bush in the district around Warrnambool in the 20th century. It is a simple but great social history that should be read by the younger generation today.This is a soft cover book of 40 pages. It has been self-published and home-produced with a buff-coloured cover and a plastic overlay. The cover has a black and white illustration. The pages contain some sketches and black and white photographs. early 20th century settlement in the warrnambool district, history of warrnambool

The Naringal school was originally known as Tallangatta S S when it was opened in 1877. The era of this photograph saw enrolments increase from around 39 to 59. Headteacher at the time and in this photograph is Mr Wellman. One of its most eminent past pupils was Sister Mona Wilson who was also sewing mistress for a short time before commencing nursing training. She sailed with the 8th division in 1941. and was lost at sea when the ship "Viner Brook " was sunk after being bombed by the Japanese. The Naringal Primary School was burnt to the ground in the Ash Wednesday Bushfires 1983. An interesting depiction of a country school's enrolment in the 1930's. Having been taken in the time of the Great Depression. As the school was destroyed in the Ash Wednesday Bushfires, in 1983 so surviving items relating to the school are limited. Small black and white photograph mounted on fawn card with darker border on the edge and also around the photograph. It depicts 38 children with teacher in back row. Naringal School No 1839, 1932 on board.naringal, tallangatta victoria, mr wellman naringal, naringal primary school 1932

In 1977 residents of Cockatoo built a kindergarten in McBride Street Cockatoo to service the growing population in the area. The building was officially opened on the 22nd of November of that year. Residents formed a Co-op, raised all the money to build the kinder along with lawn bowls and tennis sporting facilities for the town. No small feat, let alone for a town with a population of around 3000. The land was provided by the council for the kinder to use and that was their sole contribution to the building of the kinder. The unique building, was designed by Richard Allen and depicted a children's carousel. The design was to provide a feeling of enjoyment and friendship to the children who used the building. The large glass windows that were installed on the north-eastern side of the building made up 1/3 of the exterior wall. This overlooked the playground of the kinder making it easy to see the children at play from inside. The site of the building is in a dominant position and is highly visible to all who travel through Cockatoo. It was used as a child care facility right up until 2005. The kindergarten has recently been granted heritage listing after Cardinia Council started demolishing the building. The local community were successful in putting a halt to the demolition and saved the building. It will become an integral part of the Cockatoo Ash Wednesday memorial. Details on the fight to save the kinder building can be found at https://sites.google.com/site/cockatoosheritageashwednesday/ Brass Plaque, depicting the opening of the Cockatoo Kindergarten by the Shire of Pakenham Shire President - Cr OwenShire of Pakenham Cockatoo Kindergarten Officially Opened by Cr E A Owen J.P Shire President 22nd November 1977cockatoo, kindergarten opening,

BENWERRIN COAL COMPANY SKIP This quarter ton coal truck or skip was used at a small mine situated at Benwerrin near Deans Marsh in Victoria’s Otway Ranges. The mine first opened in 1899 and closed in 1904. With the fuel shortages due to World War 2, the Benwerrin Coal Company reopened the mine in 1941. The coal was loaded into skips and winched out of Box’s Creek valley on a narrow gauge incline to a loading point that was close to the Deans Marsh-Lorne Road. It was then taken by road to the Deans Marsh Railway station. The average gradient of the tramway was 1 in 4 over a length of just under 500 metres (1600 feet). The gauge of the tramway has often been referred to as 375mm (or 15 inches) as shown on the map opposite taken from “Sawdust and Steam”. However, actual measurements of the wheels show the gauge to be 400mm (or 16 inches), which is quite unusual as is the small size of the skip itself. The mine produced up to 30 tonnes of brown coal each week until it closed in 1949 and the incline tramway and its skips were abandoned. Preservation of this coal truck came as a result of interest by the Tramway Museum Society of Victoria (TMSV) in the Barlow or Box type rails that it ran on. These rails had originally come from the Beaumaris Horse Tramway and were obtained by the Benwerrin Coal Company from Hayden Bros’ abandoned timber tramway at nearby Barwon Downs. Members of the TMSV visited the mine in the 1960s only to find that most of the tramway had recently been recovered for scrap. There remained a significant number of relics around the mine adits including most of the skips. One of these remained in good condition and it was recovered for preservation in May 1967. It was restored but never displayed and a second restoration took place by the author over 2012/13 so that it could be placed in the Menzies Creek Museum where it was delivered in February 2013. Little remains of the mine today with trestles and sleepers destroyed in the “Ash Wednesday” Bushfires in 1983. References: Houghton, N (1975), Sawdust and Steam, Light Railway Research Society of Australia. Historic - Industrial Narrow Gauge Railway - Benwerrin Coal Company , Benwerrin , Victoria, AustraliaCoal Skip - made of Iron sheet and wrought iron frame & wheelsB,C.Co Melbournepuffing billy, coal skip, benwerrin coal company, narrow gauge

The story of 90 years of wool classing between father & son begins in 1936, when a young boy by the name of Stanley James Hucker walked through the doors of the Gordon Technical School in Geelong. Born in 1921, Stanley was 15 years of age when he began his 3-year course in Wool Classing. 30 years later, Stanley’s second son Denis completed the same 3-year wool classing course. Beginning in 1966, Denis attended the same Gordon Technical School and walked the same halls as his father before him. Stanley finished his course in 1938. He went back to the family farm in Lake Bolac for a brief period before enrolling in the Second World War. At the completion of the war, Stanley returned home and got married before gaining a soldier settler allotment, north of Willaura. This enabled Stan to use his wool classing knowledge. He ran between 1,500 and 2,000 sheep for many years, while his wool classer stencil also allowed him to go out and class at various sheds around the area. He held his stencil from 1938 until he retired at the age of 60 in 1981. On retirement, his second son Denis was working in the district, managing a local property while also leasing land himself. Upon his father’s retirement, Denis had the opportunity to lease his father’s farm, an opportunity he could not refuse. Denis had finished his wool classing course at the Gordon Technical School in 1968, graduating dux of his class. He began working with a local contractor and started classing wool in his team. Denis gained a great deal of experience working as part of this team in big sheds of up to 8 stands servicing between 10 & 20,000 sheep. It was not all smooth sailing for Denis however, and he soon learnt an important lesson. Class wool the way you’re taught, don’t listen to the owner standing over your shoulder. At a clip of Corriedales near Casterton, Denis was pushing too many fleeces into the line of fine wool. This resulted in a notice from the Australian Wool Exchange (AWEX) “mixing counts too much, submit three clips for inspection”. Denis was able to submit 3 clips with no further complaints, however, this proved a valuable lesson he would never forget over his long career classing wool. In the early 1980s, when Denis was leasing two properties including his father’s, things were going well until drought struck. February 1983 was the date of the Ash Wednesday bushfires, and saw Melbourne have three days over 40 °C for only the second time on record. This period saw Denis give away farming, turning towards contracting work instead. After the difficult times of the early 1980s, the next two decades were a good time for the sheep industry. 15 micron wool was selling for prices between 4 to 5,000 cents per kilo, double what you’d expect for the same wool in 2022. In 1995 a single bale of wool sold for a million dollars. This was a good time for Denis too. His contracting work saw him employing local shearers and shed staff. His team was involved with the shearing and classing of more than 130,000 sheep. After 20 years of contracting, it was time for Denis to transition into the next phase of his life. He gave up independent contracting, preferring instead to return to being a member of someone else’s team. In 2018, having completed 50 years of wool classing, it was time to call it a day and retire completely. At the annual Gordon Wool School Old Students Association dinner held in 2018, Denis was presented with his 50 years as a registered wool classer stencil awarded by the Australian Wool Exchange (AWEX). This is a rare honour achieved by few. As of February 2020, a total of 430 wool classers had achieved this 50-year milestone. For Denis however, his proudest achievement is achieving 90 years of wool classing with his father. The National Wool Museum is proud to share the collection of objects gained from 90 years in the wool classing industry by Stanley and Denis. This ranges from Stanley’s first stencil and Wool Sample book, started when he first attended the Gordon in 1936. The collection concludes 90 years later with Denis’ 50 years of wool classing Stencil. The collection contains many more objects, all telling the story of these 90 years, and the hard work invested by this dedicated father and son duo.Thin sheet of orange plastic with letters and numbers moulded to produce a consistent pattern for the surface below through the application of ink. This wool classing stencil once belonged to Denis Hucker. The top number is Denis’ Wool Classing Stencil Number. On the next line is the emblem of the Australian Wool Exchange, followed by an image of Australia, and finally the letters AW. The final line reads 50 years, indicating Denis’ experience in the profession of wool classing. This stencil is reserved for wool classers who have held their stencil and been actively classing wool in Australia for more than 50 years. Wool classers sort, classify, and grade wool into various lines so that it can be sold at best market price. They also manage and supervise wool-handling teams. The stencil is used in the final step of preparing a bale of wool for sale. It is branded across the front of a wool bale to indicate the quality of the wool, with the classers number used as a seal of approval.Moulded letters, numbers, emblem, and imagery. “950326 / (emblem AWEX) (Image Australia) AW / 50 Years”wool classing, stencil, 90 years wool classing between father & son

In 1976, the Shire of Pakenham recognising that Cockatoo was the second largest township within the shire, acknowledged requests for the provision of recreation facilities. Council purchased four hectares of land strategically located in the Town Centre and in conjunction with the local community, embarked upon a programme of staged development of the site. The first stage saw the construction of the kindergarten building which was opened in 1977, followed by the bowling green, tennis courts, netball courts and public toilets. The Community Complex Building was the final development of the site.The Cockatoo Community Complex building, was the final stage of the development and was opened on the 20th November 1982. It was a replacement for the old Cockatoo Hall, which had not been renovated since 1936. The old Cockatoo Hall was lost in the Ash Wednesday fires on the 16th February 1983. The community complex played an integral part in the recovery stages after Ash Wednesday.Four page document, including Acknowledgements, Order of Ceremony, Menu and Site Plan of the Cockatoo community ComplexTwo punctured holes for folder storagecockatoo community complex, cockatoo hall, hall opening, cockatoo