A detailed continuum of correspondence showing the progress of development in the district and the co-operation and cost sharing between the different shires to have work completed. This collection of letters provides a very good overview of issues and work covered in the early settlement days of the district. Cover is brown watermarked patterned cloth with tan suede binding and corners. Inside front and back covers is green and red patterned paper. Alphabetical index at the front. The ledger contains copies of letters which were written to local shires and lands Departments and relate mainly to matters of infrastructure and local government charges There are a number of invoices at the back of the book.: Letter Book No. on spine. Gold lettering on red. Serial numbers, signatures, engravings, dedications in books, manufacturing details or personal markingswarrnambool, warrnambool shire, hampden shire, mount rouse shire, geelong to belfast road, alfred davies, 1873-1875, shire correspondence

The Shire of Warrnambool operated toll gates from 1866 to 1869 as a means of revenue rai sing for road construction. There were three toll gate locations – on the main Belfast (Port Fairy) Road at Dennington Bridge, on the Woodford Road at Russells Creek and on the Geelong Road at the Allansford Bridge. The toll gates were unpopular and unprofitable for the lessees as travellers were able to avoid the tax by skirting around the gates. They had toll houses besides the gates. The printers of these tickets, Fairfax and Laurie were the lessees at the time of the Warrnambool Examiner newspaper. This paper, founded by Richard Osburne and John Wilkinson, and published with some gaps from 1851 to 1880, is a key source today of Warrnambool’s history at that time. These toll gates tickets are significant because:- 1. They date back to the 1860s and were only issued from 1866 to 1869. 2. They are the only artefacts we hold of the time when toll gates were operating in our local district 3. They are the best example of how the Shire of Warrnambool in its early history raised revenue for road building and maintenance This is a book of toll gate tickets for sale at the Main Belfast (Port Fairy) Road Toll Gate. The tickets (about 50) are yellow and in duplicate with provision to detach the outer ticket for the purchaser to keep. The tickets (two shillings and sixpence) are bound with an adhesive tape and the cover is mottled in pattern (brown and blue). There are also four loose tickets in blue (3 shillings). Back Cover: ‘136’ Tickets in book: ‘Shire of Warrnambool, Main Belfast Road, Toll Gate 2s 6d., Fairfax and Laurie, Printers’ Loose tickets: ‘Shire of Warrnambool, Main Belfast Road, Toll Gate, 3s.’ shire of warrnambool, toll gates

The Shire of Warrnambool operated toll gates from 1866 to 1869 as a means of raising revenue for road construction. There were three toll gate locations – on the main Belfast (Port Fairy) Road at Dennington Bridge, on the Woodford Road at Russells Creek and on the Geelong Road at the Allansford Bridge. The toll gates were unpopular and unprofitable for the lessees as travellers were able to avoid the tax by skirting around the gates. They had toll houses besides the tollgates. The printers of these tickets, William Fairfax and Henry Laurie, were the lessees at the time of the Warrnambool Examiner newspaper. This paper, founded by Richard Osburne and John Wilkinson, and published with some gaps from 1851 to 1880, is a key source today of Warrnambool’s history at the time. These toll gate tickets are significant because:- 1. They date back to the 1860s and were only issued from 1866 to 1869 2. They are the only artefacts we hold of the time when toll gates were operating in our local district 3. They are the best example of how the Shire of Warrnambool in its early history raised revenue for road building and maintenance. These are eleven toll gate tickets, ten for the Belfast (Port Fairy) Road toll gate and one for the Woodford Road toll gate. One is mounted on a Swintons store label (6 pence) and four are mounted on cardboard (2 shillings, sixpence, and two shillings and sixpence) and six are loose (three shillings, two shillings and sixpence and threepence). The Belfast Road tickets are yellow, green, blue and cream and the Woodford Road one is white. All have black printing. There is also an undated newspaper cutting with information on the toll gate tickets. Belfast Tickets: Shire of Warrnambool, Main Belfast Road, Toll Gate and the price Woodford Road: Shire of Warrnambool, Woodford Road, Toll Gate, 1s 6d Six of the eleven tickets also have ‘Fairfax and Laurie, Printers’ The sixpence ticket on card has the name R P Christian in ink written on the back of the card. shire of warrnambool, toll gates, r p christian, woodford road, main belfast road, swintons pty ltd