Koonung Heights Primary School - 1986 - Grade Prep 3rd row L-R: Mrs. Munday (teacher), Daniel Molloy, Nicole Sprintall, Nicholas Bisas, Chris Long, Eleanor Dwyer, Sarah Williams, Rene Stowermann, Katrina Elliott 2nd row L-R: Tali Lang, Roslyn Callister, Dylan Peters, Cameron Smith, Jane Cromie, Peter Bainbridge, Kevin Chiselett, Ashley Wallin, Hayley Jenkins, Nicholas D'Ombrain Front row L-R: Warren To, Kate Horner, Aaron Coco, Rachel Royter, Debbie Robbie, Sarah Boyd, Candice Majoos, Vanessa Collins, Mark Watson, Peter GeorgakopoulosColour photokoonung heights primary school, schools, molloy> daniel, sprintall> nicole, bisas> nicholas, long> chris, dwyer> eleanor, williams> sarah, stowermann> rene, elliott> katrina, lang> tali, callister> roslyn, peters> dylan, smith> cameron, cromie> jane, bainbridge> peter, chiselett> kevin, wallin> ashley, jenkins> hayley, d'ombrain> nicholas, to> warren, horner> kate, coco> aaron, royter> rachel, robbie> debbie, boyd> sarah, majoos> candice, collins> vanessa, watson> mark, georgakopoulos> peter

Mrs. Vanessa McDonald was born in Beechworth in 1917. Christened, Agnes Bertha Collins, Vanessa changed her name in 1960. Mrs. McDonald's family's connection with gold mining in the district reach back to the first of Beechworth's gold rushes, when her great grandfather, a Dutchman who adopted the name Charles Collins, arrived in 1851-1852. Mrs. McDonald spent her childhood in the isolated hamlet of Stanley, in the area known as 'Little Scotland', where she recalls helping her mother to raise younger siblings, picking apples and walnuts on the family farm, and roaming the hills for wildflowers. As a young woman Mrs. McDonald attended religious and social gatherings in the local community. In 1940 she went to Melbourne to work as a mothercraft nurse during the Second World War. She met her husband at a Beechworth football match and was married at the Stanley Methodist Church in 1941. The gold diggings known as the 'Nine Mile' became the hamlet of Stanley, after the British Prime Minister, Lord Stanley, in 1858. By the late 1850s, Stanley boasted schools, an athenaeum, a church, a weekly newspaper and several hotels and other civic infrastructure to cater for a growing population. The area attracted large numbers of Chinese miners, whose presence was frequently resisted. Like other early Victorian mining settlements, Stanley was a hotbed of political and racial tensions during the gold rush. One side of the Nine Mile Creek was known as 'Little Scotland’, the other, 'Little Ireland'. A number of Christian denominations built congregations and churches in Stanley, including the Church of England, Methodist Church, the Catholic Church, and Presbyterian Church. Stanley became part of the United Shire of Beechworth in 1871. By 1880 timber was being cut and two sawmills were established by 1887. River-dredged gold mining consumed vast amounts of timber from the forests in the area, and in 1931 the first of several softwood plantations began. 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.Following the decline in the mining and associated industries during the early-mid-twentieth century, the Beechworth district experienced a period of general economic decline. On the east side of the Dingle Range, Mrs. McDonald's father, William Henry Collins, felled timber and the family were pioneer apple orchardists. The establishment of apple orchards in Stanley reflects changes to how land was used and contributes to our understanding of the historical development of rural communities following the gold rush. Mrs. McDonald's recollections are significant for understanding family and social life in a small rural town in years leading up to the Great Depression and prior to the Second World War. This oral history recording may be compared with other oral histories and items in the Burke Museum's collection. 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.Mrs Vanessa McDonald /listen to what they say, beechworth, oral history, burke museum, emigration, gold rush immigration, victorian gold rush, mining families, apple orchard, forestry, forest plantation, little scotland, stanley, twentieth century history, regional australia, rural australia, farming, harvest festival, great depression, dingle range, the nine mile, australian wildflowers, high country wildflowers, mothercraft nurse, rural and regional women, social history, collins, mrs. vanessa mcdonald, building community life, shaping cultural and creative life, fruit growers, family history, changes to land use in regional victoria

This file contains 2 items relating to school magazines and publications: 1/1 photocopy of a page from the school magazine ‘Quaerite’, 1968, with a photograph of many students in front of the assembly hall and an article about the opening of the assembly hall on 05/06/1968 author unknown. 2/1 copy of the Shelford Old Grammarians publication ‘GOSSIP’ (Grammarians of Shelford Social Interest Paper) issue no. 85, dated 1st quarter of 1988. The publication includes details about the running of and events held by the Shelford Old Grammarians as well as details about the lives of former Grammarians. Written by David Waxman.shelford girls’ school and kindergarten, schools, openings (events), delacombe rohan sir, woods dr. archbishop, choirs, orchestras, musical events and activities, dances and balls, stevenson nan, henderson margot, pianos, old grammarians association, shelford old grammarians, ‘grammarians of shelford social interest paper’, ‘gossip’, anderson jean mrs, olinda street, caulfield south, thompson debbie mrs, rome lorraine, wilson lorraine, st georges road, elsternwick, guala lynne, parke lynne, halstead simone, barrington street, bentleigh east, kendall debbie, webb jean, deller lynne, franzoni lynne, brown nola, jenkinson nola, nelms jenny, bond jenny, waite janine, brown helen, clubs and associations, meetings, events and activities, sport, gleadell linda, koch linda, barbecues, dawson sally, richards sally, richards bronwyn, barnacle bronwyn, crocker susan, waxman susan, hosford margaret, hoult margaret, francis dyanne , franzoni dyanne, baxter dorothy, scott maureen, ahearne robyn, summer louise, ballantyne robyn, hill robyn, painsh elizabeth, mayne lyn, eshelby shirlene, looker margaret, hunter dale, martin colleen, evans julie, froomes vicki, plaisted leonie, leah leonie, pull lisa, patxy godby, currer liz, crawshaw pam, shaw debbie, milner cheryl, hopkings wendy, tietgens jenny, gill janet, edwards leigh, hannon lisa, folley melinda, sport, bray jennifer, birch jennifer, graham sally, smith sally, bosquet rue, masters anne, dalton anne, murray michele, brown michele, sutton kaye, griffiths kaye, faragher sue, butterfield anne, thompson anne, cassidy julie, lynes yvonne, van buuren vanessa, vanselow elizabeth, hall elizabeth, riley vicki, rowed elizabeth, strugnell peter, caulfield grammar school, graham andrew, murray peter, hoad ian, amos emma, carr vanessa, mallaby kirstienne, valentine karen, calderwood jan, perkins jan, perkins jan, humphries karen, asher kim, hannon lisa, mardardy mischel, sanford belinda, sherlock natalie, barklamb kate, levy sally, mathew jennifer, stahmer sally, gray mrs, australia day, howell marilyn, harley robyn, elms liz, johnston liz, mcilveen bronwyn, calderwood simone, zacharin pat, williamson pat, waite pamela, wilson pamela, perkins jan, woodburn bettina, bromley bettina, stuchbury leanne, dalton sue, dalton leigh, myers jean, sligo pam, gibson pam, collins sue, baddams miss, limb lois, rice lois, bishop myra, planner betty, planner pam, smart arlie, lambert dorothy, goode sandra, harris margaret, chamberlain margaret, elms elizabeth, johnston elizabeth, rome lynne, waxman dawn, clements dawn, weddings, halls