The lead line or hand lead is a simple navigational instrument used as a depth finder to measure the depth of water under the ship’s keel and to take samples of the sea bed. The long line may be marked at regular intervals with tags of different coloured and textured fabric, such as rope, leather and cloth. Each tag was a code to represent a certain depth. The leadsman’s eyes and hands could distinguish the depth easily as he drew in the lead line, day or night and in poor weather conditions. A standard set of codes for the tags was used so that the depth of the sea could be easily and quickly read. The measurement used was a Fathom, which equals 1.83 metres. The codes were: - 2 fathoms = 2 strips of leather 3 fathoms = 3 strips of leather 5 fathoms = white duck fabric 7 fathoms = red bunting fabric 10 fathoms = leather with a hole 13 fathoms = blue serge fabric 15 fathoms = white duck fabric 17 fathoms = red bunting 20 fathoms = 2 knots The lead weight could be between 7 -14 pounds (3.5 – 6.5kg) and the rope would be approximately 25 fathoms (45m). The hollowed-out end of the weight would hold a stick substance such as tallow or wax, which would pick up samples from the sea bed which would show whether the vessel was close to, or far away from, the shore. The leadsman would stand at the front of the vessel and cast the lead line into the sea. When it hit bottom he would note the tag marker nearest the surface of the water and call out his finding. Then he would haul it up again and examine the kind of matter that adhered to the end of the weight, whether it be sand, mud, gravel, or the colour of it. This information would be given to the ship’s helmsman or navigator and would help indicate the proximity to the land.This handheld lead is an example of early marine navigational equipment used by sailors to travel the seas to measure the depth of the water and sample the nature of the seabed. It helps to understand the history and progress made from the very basic to the sophisticated technology of today.Lead line, sounding line or depth finder. The long length of rope has a heavy lead weight attached to the end. Coloured fabric tags are tied onto the rope at regular intervals, representing different depths. The concave base of weight holds sticky substances such as tallow or beeswax, providing an adhesive surface to collect samples of sea bed like sand, shells or pebbles. flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, lead line, depth finder, hand lead, sounding lin, leadsmane, navigation instrument, leadline, hand lead line

Pink soft covered foolscap book of 67 pages listing the gold nuggets found in Victoria. The Book is no 12 in the 'Memoirs of the Geological Survey of Victoria' series. The listing of nuggets found in Victoria includes number of nugget, whether found in quartz or alluvial, weight, where found, depth, name of nugget. date found, finders, authority and remarks. 1360 nuggets weighing over 20 ozs are listed.geological survey of victoria, gold nuggets, e.j. dunn, w. dickson, peter mcbride, a. e. smith, tinworth's party, welcome stranger, ah chung, dalton's flat, lady hotham, lady don, lady barkly, needful, corinella mining co, w. kitt, p. flood, celeste lafranchi, bravo, w. passobi, mrs rowlands

Stereo-graphs were popular 1850 - 1930 Most stereoscopic methods present two offset images separately to the left and right eye of the viewer. Stereo-graphs feature two photographs or printed images positioned side by side about two and half inches apart, one for the left eye and one for the right. When a viewer uses a stereoscope, a device for viewing stereo-graphs, the two-dimensional images are combined by the brain to give the perception of 3D depth. The London Stereoscopic Company quickly developed technologies for mass - producing stereo-graphs; and between 1854 and 1856 the company sold over half a million stereo-graphs. Small, hand-held metal and timber steroeographic view-finder. The metal goggles are engraved with a free-flowing design. The rim of the goggles are covered in red velvet. A timber handle is attached with a metal hinge to the timber extension that has a wire frame to hold the stereo photographs. The streographic photos comprise 2 identical black and white photos mounted, side by side on brown card.Photocards 'ROSE'stereographs, stereoscopes, photographs, view-finder, wheatstone charles, london, moorabbin, melbourne, bentleigh, early settlers, market gardeners, entertainment, stereograph cards