Photographic postcard showing view of Christ Church, Beechworthbeechworth, christ church beechworth, church

Taken in the year 1900, this glass slide captures an image of St. Joseph's Church, a Roman Catholic Church that is still present today at 9 Church Street, Beechworth. This was one of many churches that was established in Beechworth during the second half of the nineteenth-century. This trend began with a focus on Anglican faith; however, in the early 1850s, Father Patrick Smyth, a priest from Maynooth, Ireland, advocated for the establishment of a Roman Catholic Church in the town. Roman Catholicism quickly grew to be the second largest religious group in the area; this was primarily due to the work of Father William Tierney, a priest from Dublin who arrived in Beechworth in 1859. Tierney personally fostered the growth of many Catholic schools and churches in Beechworth, as he viewed it to be a significant area for the prosperity of the religion. St. Josephs Church was officially established in 1866, with the Bishop of Melbourne, Dr Goold, laying the foundational stone of the building. The estimated cost of the building in its entirety was approximately twenty-thousand pounds. Further additions to the building - including a second aisle, tower and spire - were proposed for the church, but were ultimately never built. Lantern slides, sometimes called 'magic lantern' slides, are glass plates on which an image has been secured for the purpose of projection. Glass slides were etched or hand-painted for this purpose from the Eighteenth Century but the process became more popular and accessible to the public with the development of photographic-emulsion slides used with a 'Magic Lantern' device in the mid-Nineteenth Century. Photographic lantern slides comprise a double-negative emulsion layer (forming a positive image) between thin glass plates that are bound together. A number of processes existed to form and bind the emulsion layer to the base plate, including the albumen, wet plate collodion, gelatine dry plate and woodburytype techniques. Lantern slides and magic lantern technologies are seen as foundational precursors to the development of modern photography and film-making techniques.This glass slide captures social and historical significance as it represents the development of Beechworth as a prosperous and thriving town; a development that occurred during the second half of the nineteenth-century. It also shows the development of religious institutions in the area, specifically the growth of Catholicism. Thin translucent sheet of glass with a circular image printed on the front and framed in a black backing. It is held together by metal strips to secure the edges of the slide.burke museum, beechworth, lantern slide, slide, glass slide, plate, burke museum collection, photograph, monochrome, churches beechworth, st. joseph's church, catholicism beechworth, roman catholic churches beechworth, father patrick smyth, father william tierney

The gardens of Ovens District Hospital were laid out and planted by R H Jenkyns in 1874. Over 200 species of trees and shrubs were planted, including several large Himalayan Cedars (Cedrus deodora), a Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), rare Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris), Pencil Cedar (Juniperus virginiana), Bunya Bunya Pines (Araucaria bidwillii), a Purple-leaved Dutch Elm (Ulmus x hollandica 'Purpurascens'), American Ash (Fraxinus americana), Pinus radiata, and numerous Populus alba trees and suckers. The gardens were considered integral to the healing process, also including orchards and kitchen gardens. In the 1880s, tourists flocked to Beechworth as the area became recognised as a health resort and picturesque beauty spot. Although the hospital closed in 1940, and parts were subsequently demolished, the gardens remain and form part of the site's listing on the Victorian Heritage Register. This photograph is part of a collection of items held by the Burke Museum relating to Ovens District Hospital. At the time of being built, the Ovens District Hospital was the only hospital between Melbourne, Victoria, and Goulburn, New South Wales, treating patients from all of north-east Victoria, including Indigo Shire.Black and white stereoscopic photograph mounted on card.Reverse: 97-2292 / View up centre path of Hospital / A03177 / BMM3177 / Note: A03178 / View of the central path of the Ovens Hospital / (Church St) Beechworthovens hospital, hospital garden, gardens and parks, ovens district hospital

George Tibbits, University of Melbourne. Faculty of Architecture, Building and Town & Regional PlanningIndex system that support the research for Beechworth : historical reconstruction / [by] George Tibbits ... [et al]Arranged by street names of BeechworthEach index card includes: street name and number of property, image of property, allotment and section number, property owners and dates of ownership, description of the property according to rate records, property floor plan with dimensions.beechworth, george tibbitsbeechworth, george tibbits

Taken in Beechworth 1865, this photograph depicts a number buildings looking down Ford Street. The left side of image shows the Bank of Australia, the Post Office, the Bank of Victoria, and Howard Bookseller. The right side depicts the Oriental Bank, Albion Hotel, the Bank of NSW, and the First church in Beechworth which was the Methodist Church on the hill.Black and white rectangular photograph. Image is printed on matt photographic paper with a cardboard backing. Obverse: ALBION HOTEL, HOWARD BOOKSELLER Reverse: STREETS / (in pencil) FORD ST, BEECHWORTH / VICTORIA 1865 19972743 A02743 beechworth, ford street, bank of victoria, burke museum, 1865

George Tibbits, University of Melbourne. Faculty of Architecture, Building and Town & Regional PlanningIndex system that support the research for Beechworth : historical reconstruction / [by] George Tibbits ... [et al]Arranged by street names of BeechworthEach index card includes: street name and number of property, image of property, allotment and section number, property owners and dates of ownership, description of the property according to rate records, property floor plan with dimensions.beechworth, george tibbitsbeechworth, george tibbits

George Tibbits, University of Melbourne. Faculty of Architecture, Building and Town & Regional PlanningIndex system that support the research for Beechworth : historical reconstruction / [by] George Tibbits ... [et al]Arranged by street names of BeechworthEach index card includes: street name and number of property, image of property, allotment and section number, property owners and dates of ownership, description of the property according to rate records, property floor plan with dimensions.beechworth, george tibbitsbeechworth, george tibbits

The photograph depicts a large group of young men and women dressed in formal attire. They were part of the Beechworth Methodist Church's Youth Group.The photograph provides insight into one of the first religious institutions in Beechworth. The Methodist Church is historically significant as it was the first permanent church built on the Ovens goldfield in 1857. A Sunday School group for local youth was established in 1869, emphasising the importance of children's religious education during the nineteenth century. Thus, the photograph reflects the importance of Methodism in Beechworth - and, more broadly, Victoria - at this time.Sepia rectangular photograph printed on matte photographic paper mounted on card.Reverse: 3714 / Beechworth Meth / 97.2332 / Endeavour / Beechworth Methodist / Endeavour Group /entertainment album, entertainment, church, religion, beechworth, methodist church, youth group, leisure, recreation

The photograph depicts a large group of young men and women dressed in formal attire. They were part of the Beechworth Methodist Church's Youth Group.The photograph provides insight into one of the first religious institutions in Beechworth. The Methodist Church is historically significant as it was the first permanent church built on the Ovens goldfield in 1857. A Sunday School group for local youth was established in 1869, emphasising the importance of children's religious education during the nineteenth century. Thus, the photograph reflects the importance of Methodism in Beechworth - and, more broadly, Victoria - at this time.Sepia rectangular photograph printed on matte photographic paper mounted on card.Reverse: 3716 / 97.2339 / Beechworth / Meth Endeavour / Beechworth Methodist Church / Endeavour Group / A03289 /entertainment, entertainment album, church, beechworth, religion, recreation, leisure, youth group, methodist church

George Tibbits, University of Melbourne. Faculty of Architecture, Building and Town & Regional PlanningIndex system that support the research for Beechworth : historical reconstruction / [by] George Tibbits ... [et al]Arranged by street names of BeechworthEach index card includes: street name and number of property, image of property, allotment and section number, property owners and dates of ownership, description of the property according to rate records, property floor plan with dimensions.beechworth, george tibbitsbeechworth, george tibbits

Taken in Beechworth 1859, this photograph depicts the south side of Ford street looking towards the Methodist Church. The Methodist Church was built in 1857, and was the first permanent church building on the Ovens goldfields. It was one of the first permanent churches built on the Victorian goldfields, and the first on the Ovens goldfield. It demonstrates the rapid development which occurred in the goldfield towns following the discovery of gold in the early 1850s. It reflects the importance of Methodism in Victoria at this time, and the early activities of the Wesleyan Methodist Church in taking their religious message to the gold miners. [https://vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/places/104] The buildings ceased being used as a church in 1966 when the Methodist and Congregational churches in Beechworth amalgamated.Black and white rectangular photograph. Image is printed on matte photographic paper. Obverse: NO INSCRIPTION Reverse: 7775 Ford St Looking Southwest 1859 Burke Museum Beechworth beechworth, ford street, methodist church, 1859

George Tibbits, University of Melbourne. Faculty of Architecture, Building and Town & Regional PlanningIndex system that support the research for Beechworth : historical reconstruction / [by] George Tibbits ... [et al]Arranged by street names of BeechworthEach index card includes: street name and number of property, image of property, allotment and section number, property owners and dates of ownership, description of the property according to rate records, property floor plan with dimensions.beechworth, george tibbitsbeechworth, george tibbits

George Tibbits, University of Melbourne. Faculty of Architecture, Building and Town & Regional PlanningIndex system that support the research for Beechworth : historical reconstruction / [by] George Tibbits ... [et al]Arranged by street names of BeechworthEach index card includes: street name and number of property, image of property, allotment and section number, property owners and dates of ownership, description of the property according to rate records, property floor plan with dimensions.beechworth, george tibbitsbeechworth, george tibbits

Members of the Presbyterian faith were among the first settlers in the North-east of Victoria, and in the year 1842 the Presbytery of Melbourne requested the Rev. Peter Gunn, Minister of the Gaelic Church, Melbourne, to visit Presbyterians along the Murray River. This was the first of a series of annual visits, and was of a missionary nature. In May 1851, the Rev. David Hunter Ballantyne was appointed to the Wodonga district based out of Albury. In 1860 the Presbytery of Beechworth was formed, and from it two large presbyteries have grown - Wagga Wagga and Beechworth. In the early days the services at Wodonga were held in the old court house, which still stands. Wodonga Presbyterian Church continued as part of the Parish of Albury until the end of 1887, when it was placed under the administration of the Session of the Beechworth Church, with a home missionary in charge. Mr William Cooper was placed in charge for the first months, then Mr William Smith, a city missionary who had recently arrived from Scotland, was appointed. Mr Smith conducted a cordage factory at Stonleigh. He remained as missionary in charge for the next 10 years, and in that time the church steadily progressed. Plans were made for the erection of the building which now stands in High Street, Wodonga. Mr John Whan was a Founding Member of the Church and was appointed Sunday School Superintendent, an office which he held for 46 years, rendering extensive and valued service to the church and congregation. With a growing congregation and realising the challenges presented to the Church by changing conditions, land for a new church was sought. In September 1950 property was purchased in Nilmar Avenue in Wodonga and the new Presbyterian Church St Stephens became their new home. With the amalgamation of the Presbyterian and Methodist Churches, the new Church became the Uniting Church. The original Presbyterian Church was later sold to the Free Serbian Orthodox Church.These photographs are significant because they provide evidence of the changing nature of religious worship and groups in Wodonga.A collection of black and white photographic images depicting the first Presbyterian Church at Wodonga. The Church was later taken over by the Free Serbian Orthodox Church.presbyterian church, free serbian orthodox church, wodonga churches

Beechworth's Anglican Church, Christ Church St Peter and St Paul, has served the Beechworth community since 1858 in its present form, following its beginnings in a tent in 1855. The Victorian branch of the National Trust classified the building as regionally significant in 1959 and the organ as of significance to the nation in 1992. Building a place for Anglican worship was a priority in the early days of Beechworth's settlement as the town was a site of regional administration due to its association with the economic and social expansion of Victoria during the Gold Rush period. The Church garden features several significant trees monitored by the Beechworth Treescape Group, including a cork oak growing near the Ford Street entrance, an Atlantic cedar, a bunya or bunya-bunya pine and two kurrajongs. Some of these long-established trees may be visible in this lantern-slide image. Lantern slides, sometimes called 'magic lantern' slides, are glass plates on which an image has been secured for the purpose of projection. Glass slides were etched or hand-painted for this purpose from the Eighteenth Century but the process became more popular and accessible to the public with the development of photographic-emulsion slides used with a 'Magic Lantern' device in the mid-Nineteenth Century. Photographic lantern slides comprise a double-negative emulsion layer (forming a positive image) between thin glass plates that are bound together. A number of processes existed to form and bind the emulsion layer to the base plate, including the albumen, wet plate collodion, gelatine dry plate and woodburytype techniques. Lantern slides and magic lantern technologies are seen as foundational precursors to the development of modern photography and film-making techniques.This glass slide is significant because it provides insight into Beechworth's social amenities and religious infrastructure in the late Nineteenth Century. It is also an example of an early photographic and film-making technology in use in regional Victoria in the time period.Thin translucent sheet of glass with a square image printed on the front and framed in a black backing. It is held together by metals strips to secure the edges of the slide.Obverse: 1 /beechworth, lantern slide, slide, glass slide, plate, burke museum collection, photograph, monochrome, christ church, indigo shire, north-east victoria, churches, architecture, anglican, religion, atlantic cedar, organ, magic lantern, christ church st peter and st paul, beechworth treescape group, cork oak, bunya pine, bunya bunya, kurrajong, quercus suber, cedrus atlantica f. glauca, araucaria bidwillii, brachychiton populneus

Alfred Armstrong Armstrong, Alfred, Eltham is a native of Somerset, England, born in 1825, and was employed under Mr. Mark Isambard Kingdom Brunel as a civil engineer prior to his coming out to Melbourne in 1852. He first visited Beechworth, but returning to Melbourne took contacts at Essendon and Gisbourne for forming and metalling the road. He afterwards purchased property at Eltham, where is at present mining, surveyor, inspector of mines, and mining registrar for the St Andrew’s division of the Castlemaine mining district. Mrs Armstrong, to whom he was married in 1854, at St Paul’s Church, Melbourne, died on 27th March, 1887. from "Victoria and its Metropolis: Past and Present" written in 1888 by Alexander Sutherland. Chapter 19, "The Upper Yarra District" pages [402] - 415. Includes descriptions of some townships and short biographies of local residents. Page 405 Folder of information on Alfred Armstrong, Eltham and Kangaroo Groundalfred armstrong, ada gertrude armstrong, arthur reynolds stockwood armstrong, arthur vivian harrison, eltham cemetery, gravestones, laura augusta harrison (nee armstrong), margaret armstrong, mary armstrong, thomas armstrong

Part of the original cottage named Culla Hill built by Thomas Sweeney (a former convict) remains as a small section of today’s house. Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme National Estate National Trust of Australia (Victoria) Local Sifgnificance Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p19 Thomas Sweeney, a former convict who became a respected citizen, once lived on a property at what is now the corner of Sweeneys Lane and Culla Hill, Eltham. As Sweeney was one of the district’s first settlers, the property is registered by the National Trust. Thomas Sweeney was born in 1802, son of impoverished tenant farmers in Tipperary County, Ireland. He became a ploughman, then at 21 he was sentenced to hang for setting on fire the house of Patrick Guyder at Gullshill. It is said the arson was due to a dispute over undelivered guns to a social justice guerilla group, the White Boys, of which Sweeney was a member. But the sentence was commuted to life transportation to Australia in 1823.1 Apparently in Sydney he became a servant to James Chandler at Botany. Soon James Chandler leased his farm and became a catechist on the Hawkesbury River, so Sweeney was reassigned to a former convict, John Brown, at Liverpool. Later Sweeney was assigned to George Brown of Lake Illawarra. In 1831, Sweeney was granted a ticket-of-leave and bought a boat to carry goods between Illawarra district and Sydney Town. He married his first wife who had come to Australia as a free woman. However she drowned after bearing him a daughter. In 1838, one month after he had received a conditional pardon, Sweeney married a blacksmith’s daughter, Margaret Meehan, newly arrived from Ireland. They then moved to Port Phillip and squatted on the south side of the Yarra River, about seven miles (11km) from Melbourne. Around 1842, Sweeney bought 110 acres (44.5ha) in the parish of Nillumbik for £110. He built a slab hut 12 x 10 feet (3.6m x 3m) and then his homestead, Culla Hill, a typical Tipperary style cottage, now known as Sweeney’s Cottage. It was here that many generations of Sweeneys lived for almost 100 years. Culla Hill became a social centre for the district and the Catholic community used it as a church. Sweeney was apparently on good terms with a tribe of Aborigines living on the river nearby, who helped him build his house.2 Sweeney proved himself a civic-minded leader. In 1844, he led a call for a bridge over the Plenty River. He was on the first school board and supplied the first grain for Eltham’s mill. Sweeney profited during the gold rush, not by gold digging, but by providing supplies for nearby fields and others as far away as Beechworth.3 Thomas Sweeney died in 1867 and was buried at the Eltham Cemetery, leaving two sons, five daughters, and 300 acres (121.4ha), as well as Culla Hill. Culla Hill – by then reduced to 75 acres (30ha) – was sold out of the family in 1939, then renamed Sweeneys. The present Sweeneys Lane, running diagonally through the original holding, was the track to the house. Part of the original cottage remains as a small section of today’s house. The dining-family room fronted by a veranda is original, and although there have been some changes, the cedar door and most of the small 12-paned wooden-framed windows are original. The walls are made of the original hand-made brick. After buying the property in 1952 Mr and Mrs Burston demolished a dilapidated slab hut, a three-roomed detached kitchen and cellar, as materials needed to restore them were very difficult to obtain so soon after the war.4 However the barn remains almost in its original condition. It is believed to have been built from stone quarried on the property. Now roofed with iron sheets it was probably originally thatched. The sandstone barn has a peaked roof supported by the original saplings and a doorway large enough to accommodate a fully loaded wagon.This collection of almost 130 photos about places and people within the Shire of Nillumbik, an urban and rural municipality in Melbourne's north, contributes to an understanding of the history of the Shire. Published in 2008 immediately prior to the Black Saturday bushfires of February 7, 2009, it documents sites that were impacted, and in some cases destroyed by the fires. It includes photographs taken especially for the publication, creating a unique time capsule representing the Shire in the early 21st century. It remains the most recent comprehenesive publication devoted to the Shire's history connecting local residents to the past. nillumbik now and then (marshall-king) collection, culla hill, eltham, sweeney's cottage, sweeneys lane, thomas sweeney

Taken in 1990, this photograph depicts a row of shops in Beechworth, with the shopfront of watchmaker and jewellers, William Turner and C.F. Falck, in the foreground, and newsagent and bookseller James Ingram's shop in the background.This photograph is of social significance to the Beechworth community in depicting the Street of Shops, the creation of curator, Roy Harvey, which opened in 1979 at Burke Museum. According to the Indigo Shire Council webpage for Burke Museum, this addition 'began a new period of collecting with Roy Harvey calling to the community for donations. The response resulted in an influx of material adding to the town history/ development and local identities collections. The Shops and their contents reflect another period in museology.' The historic shopfronts in this image portray those of local settlers, William Turner and CF Falck's Watchmaker and Jeweller store, and James Ingram's news agency and bookshop. William Turner was originally a goldfields official who became a commissioner on the Ovens goldfield, and later a resident warden, at times performing magisterial duties and chairing the Local Court. Charles Frederick Falck, born in Korlin, Germany, in 1833, a skilled watchmaker and jeweller, ran the jewellery business from 1862. Along with William Turner and Melbourne barrister, George Milner Stephen, he prepared a dazzling display of gems and jewellery from Beechworth for the Royal Society's Exhibition in Melbourne in 1865. This act signposted Beechworth's progress as a nineteenth-century gold rush town with a population of around 3000. In the mid-1850s, newsagent James Ingram established a newsagency and supplied papers and stationary to the goldfields. He and bookseller R.T. Vale stocked a wide range of literary, historical and religious works, textbooks, periodicals and newspapers, as well as hosting a reading and writing room on Camp Street{?}. James Ingram was a 'devoted instigator and supporter of the town's welfare institutions', who raised funds for to establish a hospital, primary school and benevolent asylum, and assisted people who'd fallen on hard times with his wife. He was also a mainstay of the early Baptist church, holding meetings in his house. He died in 1928, six weeks short of his 100th birthday. Ingram's Rock, north-west of Beechworth near where he lived in later life, was named after him. Colour rectangular photograph printed on matte photographic paper.Obverse: FALCK 1880 / maker & Jeweller/ WARDENS OFFICE/COACHING OFFICE/ EST. ??55/ ????ON HOUSE/ JAMES INGRAM/ NEWS?????? AND BOOKSELLER/ TOYS visible above shopfront in left foreground. Reverse: Catalogue item number 3305 pencilled in top right-hand corner.beechworth, beechworth historic shops, william turner, cf falck, james ingram, turner and falck watchmaker and jeweller, james ingram newsagent and bookseller, burke museum, promoting settlement, marketing and retailing, living in country towns, making regional centres, preserving traditions and commemorating, beechworth founders, victorian gold rush towns, beechworth pioneers, ingram's rock, 1860s beechworth, street of shops, roy harvey

Taken in the 1990's, this photograph depicts a row of shop fronts in the 'Street of Shops' exhibition in the Burke Museum in Beechworth. This exhibition was created and opened in 1979 and was intended to reflect and imitate a historic peirod in the town's past. The time period decpicted is that of the Gold Rush which swept through many Victorian towns from the 1850's onwards. For the town of Beechworth, the gold rush began in 1852, when gold was discovered in Spring Creek, drawing in many new residents seeking to make a fortune and transforming a once remote town into a bustling centre brimming with hope and opportunity. By 1857, the town contained over 200,000 residents and with this, the need for more amenities and intsitutions arose. Multiple churches, banks, schools, shops, hospitals and other essential buildings appearing over the years. The wealth acquired through the gold rush is largely responsible for the vast development of the town and many of its significant buildings which still remain to this day. This photograph also highlights the significance of this type of exhibition, providing a new mode of experiencing and learning about the past. The street depicts the many supporting trades and industries that arose from the mass migration during the gold rush. The creation of the Street of Shops in 1979 was envisioned by Roy Harvey who was the curator at the time, with the intention of recreating an authentic feel to the environment while collecting from the community to accurately portray the multiculturalism that is ingrainded in many towns and communities of Victoria. This photograph contains historical significance as it relates to and portrays an especially important period of time within Beechworth and Victoria's history. The gold rush phenomena ushered in a wave of hope and prosperity for citizens and immigrants alike. It provided many with the opportunity to strike it rich, while the town prospered and grew in many ways. This widespread development that accompanied the gold rush occured throughout Victoria and holds great historical importance when recording the social, economic and communal developments that occured throughout the time period which gave way to the beloved towns and communities we know today. Beechworth itself is acknowledged as Victoria's best-preserved gold mining town and deserves recognition of its significance. it also showcases the great significance of social develpment and globalization that occured throughout the state during this period. Coloured rectangular photograph printed on matte photographic paper and unmounted. Obverse: Dancing every night 8pm-6am [mirror] / Gold Diggers Arms Hotel façade / Star / Beechworth Gold / J. Davidson / Saloon Reverse: 3306 beechworth, burke museum, street of shops, gold rush, indigo shire gold rush, 1850s beechworth, burke museum exhibitions, saloon, gold buyer, hotel, historical streetscape, gold rush immigration

Desmond (Bill) Thomas moved to Beechworth when he was one year old. He was born in 1923 and his family moved to Beechworth in 1924. His father was offered a job in Beechworth as a leather tanner. His first job was in the Tannery in Beechworth. However, in 1938 he was involved in a accident at the Tannery that resulted in him losing his arm. The Zwar Brothers acquired the Tannery in 1877 and it operated until 1961. His interests included bushwalking and nature. When he was younger he would often go ferreting instead of going to school. His favorite place to visit was near Stanley. This included Zwar's paddock and Eldorado. One of his first memories was when he went to Sunday School at the Methodist Church. He remembered Miss Peach as the Methodist Superintendent. He eventually had to leave that Sunday School because of his behavior. This oral history recording was part of a project conducted by Jennifer Williams in the year 2000 to capture the everyday life and struggles in Beechworth during the twentieth century. This project involved recording seventy oral histories on cassette tapes of local Beechworth residents which were then published in a book titled: Listen to what they say: voices of twentieth century Beechworth. These cassette tapes were digitised in July 2021 with funds made available by the Friends of the Burke.Desmond (Bill) Thomas' oral history has important historical significance for the local Beechworth region. The Zwar Brother's Tannery was a large part of Beechworth and had a long history. Both Mr Thomas and his father has contributed to this history because they both worked there. Mr Thomas' both of the bush and nature demonstrates the history of ferreting and bushwalking in this region. Desmond (Bill) Thomas has made many contributions to his community but also the history of Beechworth. This life tells us many things about the struggles and joys of living in and around Beechworth. This oral history account is socially and historically significant as it is a part of a broader collection of interviews conducted by Jennifer Williams which were published in the book 'Listen to what they say: voices of twentieth-century Beechworth.' While the township of Beechworth is known for its history as a gold rush town, these accounts provide a unique insight into the day-to-day life of the town's residents during the 20th century, many of which will have now been lost if they had not been preserved.This is a digital copy of a recording that was originally captured on a cassette tape. The cassette tape is black with a horizontal white strip and is currently stored in a clear flat plastic rectangular container. It holds up 40 minutes of recordings on each side.Desmond (Bill) Thomasleather tanner, leather, beechworth tannery, tannery, tannery accident, bushwalking, bushland, nature, ferreting, school, sunday school, beechworth methodist church, church, baptist church, beechworth, oral history, recording, 1924, listen to what they say: voices of twentieth century beechworth, listen to what they say, jennifer williams, burke museum, zwar brother's beechworth tannery, zwar bros. tannery

May Sewell was born in Beechworth in 1917, her paternal grandparents had come to Beechworth from Ireland and her maternal grandparents from Scotland. She was the youngest of five siblings and the only one to be born in a hospital rather than at home. May loved growing up and living in Beechworth, and fondly recalls knowing all her neighbours, meeting friends at the pictures, attending girl guides, picking wildflowers around the gorge, participating keenly in the Church of England choir and dances, and the big Easter festivals. May worked various jobs before getting married. After leaving school at fifteen, May learnt dressmaking with Lal Anderson (and was delighted with her wage of two and six pence a week) and then went on to learn tailoring with Mr Charles. May then worked in the dining rooms at the Commercial Hotel and Hotel Nicholas. May was at the Hotel Nicholas for seven years but stopped when she got married as female employees were not asked to stay once they were married. May married her husband in 1944 and had known him since school. They went on to have six children, sadly three did not live past infancy. Her first children were twin girls who died six hours after birth. May briefly discusses the difficulty in grieving her twin daughters, the lack of available support, and the expectancy to carry on. Her next child, a son named Ian James, died when he was only ten months old from a tumour. May described Ian James as a lovely boy. May had multiple connections to the Zwar Brothers' Beechworth Tannery. Her father and then her three brothers worked there, and also her husband for a short period of time. The tannery was a major employer in Beechworth, and May having multiple family members employed by the tannery underlines the significant role of the tannery in Beechworth. May described her husband as very hardworking, he worked as a cleaner overnight at the Ovens and Murray Hospital for the Aged while during the day tended his cattle and sheep farm. This oral history recording was part of a project conducted by Jennifer Williams in the year 2000 to capture the everyday life and struggles in Beechworth during the twentieth century. This project involved recording seventy oral histories on cassette tapes of local Beechworth residents which were then published in a book titled: Listen to what they say: voices of twentieth century Beechworth. These cassette tapes were digitised in July 2021 with funds made available by the Friends of the Burke. Miss May Sewell’s account of her life in Beechworth is historically and socially significant to the cultural heritage of the region. May in reflecting on her experiences of leisure opportunities, town festivals, work available for women, leaving the workforce once married, the tannery, post-natal care, grief and child mortality provide essential historic, economic, social, and healthcare insights. May’s oral history recording is part of a larger collection of oral histories recorded by Jennifer Williams in 2000, collectively they provide invaluable insights into Beechworth during the 20th century, much of the information in these oral histories would be lost if not documented and missed in the interpretation of tangible objects. This is a digital copy of a recording that was originally captured on a cassette tape. The cassette tape is black with a horizontal white strip and is currently stored in a clear flat plastic rectangular container. It holds up 40 minutes of recordings on each side.Mrs May Sewellmay sewell, oral history, jennifer williams, listen to what they say: voices of twentieth century beechworth, beechworth church of england, easter festival, beechworth girl guides, hospital birth 1917, lal anderson, tailor beechworth, commercial hotel, hotel nicholas, zwar brother's beechworth tannery, ovens and murray hospital for the aged, dressmaking beechworth, beechworth cinemas, paul voglis

Roy Phillips was born in 1907 in Yackandandah and moved with his family to Beechworth when he was five years old. His father was involved in dredging operations at Lake Sambell but his parents also had other family living in Beechworth, with whom they lived. Dr Phillips tells vivid stories about life in Beechworth in the first half of the Twentieth Century, from the daily lives of young children of the time to the town's relationship to the local Chinese community. He discusses features of the landscape such as 'The Rock' at which community concerts were held and 'The Echo' (an echo-sounding point over a nearby gully) which he states are no longer used in the same way. He also discusses changing community attitudes to various issues, for example, 'not being coddled' as a child but living in a town with very strict rules about people of different religions mingling. This oral history recording was part of a project conducted by Jennifer Williams in the year 2000 to capture the everyday life and struggles in Beechworth during the twentieth century. This project involved recording seventy oral histories on cassette tapes of local Beechworth residents which were then published in a book titled: Listen to what they say: voices of twentieth century Beechworth. These cassette tapes were digitised in July 2021 with funds made available by the Friends of the Burke.Dr Roy Phillips' account of his life in Beechworth in the early part of the 20th Century is historically and socially significant to the cultural heritage of the region. He describes town life from a child's point of view during a time of transition to life after the Gold Rush era, including social tensions existing between cultural groups such as the Chinese community and European-heritage townspeople and between people of different religious groups in Beechworth. This oral history account is socially and historically significant as it is a part of a broader collection of interviews conducted by Jennifer Williams which were published in the book 'Listen to what they say: voices of twentieth-century Beechworth.' While the township of Beechworth is known for its history as a gold rush town, these accounts provide a unique insight into the day-to-day life of the town's residents during the 20th century, many of which will have now been lost if they had not been preserved.This is a digital copy of a recording that was originally captured on a cassette tape. The cassette tape is black with a horizontal white strip and is currently stored in a clear flat plastic rectangular container. It holds up 40 minutes of recordings on each side.Dr Roy Phillips /beechworth, yackandandah, wangaratta, mining, dredging, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, chinese community, typhoid, lake kerferd, reminiscences, memories, childhood, lake sambell, alcoholism, new year celebrations, transport, horses, foresters lodge, oddfellows lodge, funeral practices, child-rearing practices, star hotel, the rock, racism, chinese dragon, benevolent society, star lane coach building factory, outdoor concerts, gold, jimmy ingram, kelly gang, kelly family, churches, catholic, methodist, protestant, anglican, confuscionist, buddhism, women's christian temperance association, hotels, twentieth century, coronation of king george iv, echo point, the echo, tippany cat, marbles, children's games, cornish, cornwall, listen to what they say, oral history

This image shows a semi-aerial view of commercial and official properties lining Ford Street, Beechworth, in approximately 1900. The tower of Christ Church of St Peter and St Paul can be seen in the middle section of the photograph, on the left-hand side of the street. The Church was constructed in 1858 with the tower added to the structure in 1864. Lantern slides, sometimes called 'magic lantern' slides, are glass plates on which an image has been secured for the purpose of projection. Glass slides were etched or hand-painted for this purpose from the Eighteenth Century but the process became more popular and accessible to the public with the development of photographic-emulsion slides used with a 'Magic Lantern' device in the mid-Nineteenth Century. Photographic lantern slides comprise a double-negative emulsion layer (forming a positive image) between thin glass plates that are bound together. A number of processes existed to form and bind the emulsion layer to the base plate, including the albumen, wet plate collodion, gelatine dry plate and woodburytype techniques. Lantern slides and magic lantern technologies are seen as foundational precursors to the development of modern photography and film-making techniques.This glass slide is significant because it provides insight into Beechworth's built environment and commercial and official infrastructure in the early Twentieth Century, around the time of Australia's Federation into one nation. It is also an example of an early photographic and film-making technology in use in regional Victoria in the time period.Thin translucent sheet of glass with a square image printed on the front and framed in a black backing. It is held together by metals strips to secure the edges of the slide.burke museum, beechworth, lantern slide, slide, glass slide, plate, burke museum collection, photograph, monochrome, ford street, christ church of st peter and st paul, church tower, landmarks, 1900, shopping facilities, public buildings, 1900s, built environment, streetscape

Taken in Beechworth 1865, this photograph depicts the view of the Spring creek with the Beechworth township in the background. This photograph was taken 13 years after the discovery of Gold at Spring Creek. Within eleven months of the discovery in 1852, over 8000 hopeful prospectors had descended on the region, transforming the seemingly undisturbed land into what a visiting journalist in 1880s referred to as; "A Titan's Field". Huge mounds of earth were churned by hundreds of miners in search for gold, almost every available resource the land had to offer was used for something; even the bark off the gums were stripped to line huts and shafts. By 1857 more than 20,000 people lived in Beechworth, and with this influx the town prospered with the building of numerous churches, banks, schools, shops and hotels along with a prison and hospital.Black and white rectangular photograph. Image is printed on matte photographic paper and is mounted on cardboard.Obverse: NO INSCRIPTION Reverse: BMM6925 / BEECHWORTH FROM SPRING CREEK 1865 beechworth, spring creek, gold rush, titan's field, 1865, prospectors

This image was taken in 1865 overlooking the diggings at Spring Creek, Beechworth. Gold was discovered in this area in 1852 and within eleven months of this discovery, over 8000 hopeful prospectors had descended on the region, transforming the seemingly undisturbed land into what a visiting journalist in 1880s referred to as; "A Titan's Field". Huge mounds of earth were churned by hundreds of miners in search for gold, almost every available resource the land had to offer was used for something; even the bark off the gums were stripped to line huts and shafts. By 1857 more than 20,000 people lived in Beechworth, and with this influx the town prospered with the building of numerous churches, banks, schools, shops and hotels along with a prison and hospital.Black and white rectangular photograph. Image is printed on matte photographic paper and is mounted on cardboard. Obverse: NO INSCRIPTION Reverse: 7771 / BEECHWORTH / FROM SPRING CREEK / 1865 spring creek, diggings, beechworth, 1865

This image was taken of the diggings at Spring Creek. In February 1852 gold was discovered at Spring Creek, Beechworth. Within eleven months of this discovery, over 8000 hopeful prospectors had descended on the region, transforming the seemingly undisturbed land into what a visiting journalist in 1880s referred to as; "A Titan's Field". Huge mounds of earth were churned by hundreds of miners in search for gold, almost every available resource the land had to offer was used for something; even the bark off the gums were stripped to line huts and shafts. By 1857 more than 20,000 people lived in Beechworth, and with this influx the town prospered with the building of numerous churches, banks, schools, shops and hotels along with a prison and hospital.Black and white rectangular photograph. Image is printed on matte photographic paper and is mounted on cardboard. Obverse: NO INSCRIPTION Reverse: BMM6926 / BEECHWORTH FROM SPRING CREEK 1865 spring creek, beechworth, burke museum, 1865, gold rush

This was taken in 1865 of Spring Creek, Beechworth. Gold was discovered in this area in 1852 and within eleven months of this discovery, over 8000 hopeful prospectors had descended on the region, transforming the seemingly undisturbed land into what a visiting journalist in 1880s referred to as; "A Titan's Field". Huge mounds of earth were churned by hundreds of miners in search for gold, almost every available resource the land had to offer was used for something; even the bark off the gums were stripped to line huts and shafts. By 1857 more than 20,000 people lived in Beechworth, and with this influx the town prospered with the building of numerous churches, banks, schools, shops and hotels along with a prison and hospital.Black and white rectangular photograph. Image is printed on matte photographic paper and is mounted on cardboard. Obverse: NO INSCRIPTION Revese: 97.22.95 / 7772 / 25/1 / beechworth, burke museum, gold rush, 1865

Taken in Beechworth 1928, this photograph depicts Camp Street with an array of cars lined up and and people walking among them with a row of flags hung up across the street. The Back to Beechworth celebrations were held from Thursday 5th April 1928 until the following Wednesday. An estimate 750 people returned to Beechworth for the events that included church services, a ball, a picture show, cricket march, special dinner and a band recital. The event was planned to celebrate Beechworth winning the Sun News Pictorial Ideal Town Competition. Black and white rectangular photograph. Obverse: Back to Beechworth 1928 Reverse: BMM7782 56 burke museum, camp street, 1928, beechworth