Cr J Gall was a councilor on the Borough of Wonthaggi Council. The Borough included Cape Paterson, where Cr Gall saw 5 little penguins on the beach. He described them as looking for somewhere to nest – that is, to dig burrows in the coast adjoining the Cape Paterson sandy beach. At that stage, the Wonthaggi state coal mine had been closed for 4 years and Wonthaggi had more emphasis on attracting different industries. There was little interest in flora and fauna of the area at that stage. Cr Gall’s unusual sighting of the Little Penguins possibly nesting at Cape Paterson attracted derision from the other councillors, and also a sarcastic Editor's Note from the newspaper's editor - none of which was not surprising for that era. The Borough of Wonthaggi was later amalgamated with the shires of Phillip Island and Bass, plus other areas of a couple of others local shires in 1994 to form Bass Coast Shire Council, which quickly moved to a heavy emphasis on flora, fauna and the tourism industry related to the environment generally.The article clearly demonstrates the disinterested if not dismissive attitude of the Borough of Wonthaggi councillors and the local newspaper editor at the time towards observations of flora and fauna. However, the article is also an interesting record of 5 Little Penguins being sighted at a beach where they were not known to have previously been seen.Photocopy of Single column newspaper article, black print on white paper. Article has curved line border design on top, sides. Cut off in copy at bottom edge. Five paragraphs in main article, and 1 paragraph at bottom marked: Editor's noteSEN 13 - 7 - 72 (South Gippsland Sentinel Times newspaper, 13th July, 1972)little penguins, fairy penguins, eudyptula minor, penguin behaviour, borough of wonthaggi, cr j gall

The Bass Coast Shire was formed in 1994 from the amalgamation of the Shire of Bass, Shire of Phillip Island and Borough of Wonthaggi, as well as parts of the Shire of Woorayl, Shire of Korumburra and City of Cranbourne. Until 1994, Phillip Island was a Shire in it’s own right. That year the Victorian government restructured local government throughout the state. They dissolved 210 councils and created 78 new councils through amalgamations. A farewell dinner and an event in front of the Council offices were held pre-amalgamation.HistoricalGreen, hard cover photo album with black pages and plastic photo pockets, containing 6x4 coloured photos.Shire of Phillip Island Farewell Dinner, November 1994. Amalgamation of Shire of Phillip Island, Shire of Bass, Borough of Wonthaggi and Part of Inverloch, December, 1994.shire of phillip island, bass coast shire, amalgamation, anne davie, bob davie, phillip island shire councillors, phillip island shire staff

The district became the Shire of Phillip Island and Woolamai on 24 December 1874. A severance movement was successful in creating a separate Shire of Phillip Island on 18 September 1928. It was abolished in December 1994 and along with the Borough of Wonthaggi and the Shire of Bass, was merged into the newly created Bass Coast Shire. HistoricalRound sticker with peel off paper backing. It has a blue background, gold map of Phillip Island, penguin, banksia and eucalyptus leaves. Also a transparent copy of the same logo.Shire of Phillip Islandshire of phillip island, logo