Sikh hawkers were a regular sight throughout the Wodonga and Upper Murray district in the early 20th century. The regular visitors to the area included Pola Singh and Gambil (Gamble) Singh. Gamble Singh often camped on McKoy’s Moorefield property in West Wodonga and several other places around the district. Gamble was also a horse breeder and had several draught horses to pull his wagon. Like many of the hawkers he worked hard to send money back to support family in India. He apparently returned to India about 1950, but left some money in the Bank of NSW in Wodonga in case he returned. He allegedly died soon after and the money was eventually able to be claimed by his nephews in India. A small overlooked park in Wodonga is named the “Gamble Singh Park” in his memory. J. Flanagan who operated the Halfway Hotel commented on having as many as seven or eight bullock teams “yoked” overnight to the fence outside the hotel as well as 100 or more Indian hawkers – led by the fondly known Pola (Pollah) Singh. The hawkers returned to Wodonga annually to renew their hawkers’ license and camped on the flats, or also came to Wodonga to collect orders at the railway station to stock up their supplies. Pola Singh was often based at the Colac Colac reserve near Corryong and had on board his compatriot Isar Singh. He often acted as an intermediary between the individual hawkers and the authorities. Unfortunately, it was Pola’s habit to walk in front of his wagon at the start of each day. On the morning of 23 June 1923 his horses were restive and hard to control. They took flight and ran Pola down on the road near Cudgewa. He was rushed to the Corryong Hospital but died there a few days later, aged 65. Pola was cremated, with some of his ashes scattered in the Murray River and some returned to his homeland to be scattered in the Ganges River. His cremation was listed in the Obituary page of the Weekly Times, Melbourne on Saturday 14 July 1923. A small memorial to Pola Singh is located in the Corryong Cemetery.These images are significant because they help to document the history of the Sikh Hawkers who plied their services to Wodonga and throughout rural Australia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.A collection of black and white images featuring Sikh Hawkers Gamble Singh and Pola Singh take in the Wodonga area.indian hawkers, sikh hawkers, gamble singh, pola singh

Photos donated by Joan Bristol (granddaughter of John Andre Waser - grave in Yalca Cemetery)Photographs from the Waser family including photo of Indian Hawkers (Booth Singh, Zalabloo, Punjab) 1930's Photo's have been scanned & on Museum computerwaser family, photos, indian hawker

Handwritten notes mentioning Bendigo's Hawkers. One was an Indian, Mahomet Tux and the other was a Chinese man who sold feather dusters. Mentioned are the memories of the Indian Hawkers and their goods and the family buying from them.document, hawkers, lydia chancellor, joch, mahomet tux, fedder duster

Lemon coloured trifold document : Tour of Historic Graves at White Hills Cemetery. Friends of the Bendigo Cemeteries. Map of White Hills Cemetery (1854 - 1993 ) showing marked grave sites with descriptions. E.g. Charles Merri Bux - 'Black Charlie' Indian hawker of Bendigo. History of White Cemetery on back page.Friends of Bendigo Cemeteriesbendigo, cemetery, white hills cemetery

This table linen was bought from the Indian hawker, Budda Dean, by Henry Powell for his daughter, Ruth, to start her "glory box" on her 18th birthday. Selina Jane Powell and Henry James Powell had daughters, Ruth (married Roy Cope), Ethel (married Dan Locke). The family came to Orbost from Bega around 1902.This item is an example of a fine piece of linen commonly used in the first half of the 20th century..1 is a square table cloth. The centre is linen and the edges are crocheted in cotton. It appears to be hand-made. .2 is a rectangular tea towel or cloth. It is of a huckaback weave with a crocheted edge. .3 is a square cotton table napkin with a scalloped edge. .4 is a square cotton table napkin with a scalloped edge.linen tableware powell-henry-james handcraft

''COSTERFIELD: A HISTORY FROM 1853 TO 1978'' - PAPER BY JOHN BRADLEY A Paper for History Dip II (where?). 22 handwritten pages with additional pages of photographs. Includes mining history of North Costerfield and South Costerfield Mines; information on Coster family and Field family; coach services to Costerfield; Post Office services; schools in Costerfield; churches at Costerfield; (Indian) hawkers; shops and hotels; boarding houses; blacksmiths; Police in Costerfield; Scheelite mine; Sport; Costerfield Band; Public halls; Cemetery; farmers of the area. Page of acknowledgements; Bibliography; Reproduction (poor) of photographs of early photograph of Costerfield (1890); miners at 'Big Antimony Mine , 1912'; Bombay Mine; various buildings; football club membership 'tickets'; auction advertisement - mining plant, 1902; sale of mining equipment 1941; engine room at the Costerfield Mine 1939; race between motorbike and horse and jinker; school photo - various years 1910-1914; football teams; sketches of public hall and Brown's Mine Tavern (and Billiard Rooms).John Bradleygold, goldfields, costerfield, costerfield mines, coster family, field family, post office, cemetery, football, boarding houses, blacksmith, hotels and shops. brown's mine tavern, big antimony mine.

Draft articles for RHSV (Bendigo) Newsletter, May 1972. 1. ''Golden Square Methodist Church'' by Lydia Chancellor - memories of church services, Sunday School and Bible classes. Mention of (Minister?) Mr Robert Saunders. Also - Rev B W Heath; Mr Crump, Rev Henry Worrall; reference to Jubilee of church in 1923. 2. Article submitted by Mrs E M Checcucci re the 'White Works' (clothing factory making underwear at the top of Wattle Street) - visited by Prince of Wales in 1920; 3. Handwritten and typewritten version of ''Extracts from the 'Sandhurst Library Almanac 1858', published by P M Sparkes, Bookseller and Stationer (four doors from Shamrock Hotel). Names listed of officers of the 40th Foot (Captain's detachment); Location of two cemeteries; Municipal Council of 1858 - Chairman and councillors and meeting times and place; Police Department - names listed of officers of department, Sandhurst Municipality, 'The District' and Eaglehawk Township (names for the last being only on the handwritten copy); 4. Article (w Perry) ''Australian Aboriginals on the Bendigo Gold Field’’ reference to ''King Charlie'' and finding of gold by him (reference to this in the Bendigo Advertiser 1856 & 1857). The gold purchased by a Mr Bannerman; 5. Article on introduction of gas in Bendigo (by I Hendry). Ref to ''Spotlight'' article in Advertiser of Oct 13, 1950. Mention of Mr Dondy (first user of gas in Bendigo); early use and price of gar; poor gas pressure in Eaglehawk; 6. Handwritten article submitted by John O'C Hattam re 'Indian Hawkers in Bendigo': with request to members to join him in further researching this interesting project; mention of accommodation in Hopetoun Street in terrace houses of the same design as Specimen Cottage (''now occupied by ' Glover??? Mills - but referred to in printed Newsletter of April/May 1972 as ''a site occupied by a clothing factory''); mention of hawkers by name - Rajah Singh, Mahonett Betth, Mahonett Shang, Rajah Bouth, Mahoety Bux, Abdul Rahman (last hawker)document, names of bendigo pioneers, bendigo advertiser

Today’s Panton Hill Hotel was built around 1920. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p61 Panton Hill was originally known as Kingstown, and consisted of only one hotel when the Orams Reef was discovered in 1859. Kingstown was a quartz mining centre and many old mine shafts remain in the area.1 Orams Reef was one of the first reefs with a rich find of gold in the area. The Hotel Francais, which had been operating in 1861, was well situated on the way to Queenstown (later St Andrews). So was Herr Hirt’s Hotel and store at Smiths Gully. The Kingstown hotel, known as the Frenchman’s and in 1864 as the Hotel de France, was run by a Monsieur Emile Hude and his wife Jeanne, and known for its good food. They hosted social events, business conventions and debates, attracting patrons from as far as Melbourne. The hotel’s name was changed to Panton Hill Hotel in 1905.2 In 1883 Charles Caudwell built another hotel nearby, possibly in Long Gully Road,3 which it is thought, was burnt down early last century. Today’s Panton Hill Hotel, built around 1920, is the only one of the cluster of buildings in the main road, not to date from around the turn of last century. It was severely damaged by fire in 2003, then underwent extensive alterations. It is the township’s only hotel and is an example of a modest hotel building exterior, constructed early last century. In its early days the hotel also housed the first post office, newsagency and store. Orams Reef yielded a total of £100,000, and fossikers also found alluvial gold in the creeks and gullies, but there is no record of the total value of their finds.4 Gold greatly increased the Panton Hill population, which peaked between 1865 and 1885. On holidays large sports meetings were held with wood chopping contests and foot races and the day would end with a ball. Miners came from various countries to seek their fortune, including many from China. The Chinese became unpopular however, and gradually left the district, although some stayed and grew and sold vegetables.5 Panton Hill was named after Joseph Panton, who in 1862 was appointed Police Magistrate for the Woods Point, Heidelberg and Yarra districts. Panton was an outstanding man, who in 1852, was Commissioner of Crown Lands and Assistant Commissioner of Goldfields at Bendigo. In 1874 he was promoted to Chief Magistrate for the Melbourne Police. Panton was also an artist, becoming president of the Victorian Arts Society in 1888, and in 1913, president of the Royal Geographical Society. Despite Panton Hill’s prosperity, it still lacked many services as poor roads made access to Melbourne difficult. A horse-drawn mail coach travelled to Melbourne until 1890, when the railway came to Heidelberg. The nearest doctor was at Yarra Glen or Heidelberg, and the Indian hawker Singh’s annual visit was very welcome. A miner’s shack opposite the school was used as a post office. Today’s general store and post office in the main road dates from early last century, and has changed considerably. While most people searched for gold, the more enterprising ones established farms to feed the diggers. Farmers grew wheat, barley and oats, and sent animal skins to the Eltham tannery, to make furs in Melbourne.6 As gold became scarce from around 1880, miners took up farming on 19 to 20 acre (8ha) allotments. The first settlers in Cherry Tree Road included Purcell, Smith, Owens, Hughes and Shillinglaw. By 1900 all the land had been taken up around Panton Hill and Hurstbridge. The orchards in Panton Hill and the wider district, particularly of apple and pear, were very successful, and made Panton Hill a cohesive and successful community. About 1914 the Moores built the first cool-store and refrigeration plant at their orchard in Cherry Tree Road. Many settlers planted vineyards and made high quality wine, but in 1922 the blight destroyed them.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, panton hill hotel

The Golden King Mine poppet-head stands at the school’s Yan Yean Road exit gate. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p23 Early Yarambat - Tanck's Corner Its early settlers, who in the 1840s were amongst the first non-Aboriginal people in the area,1 found life tough as they grazed their sheep and cattle. Yarrambat was then known as Tanck’s Corner or Reynolds Corner, after wood carter, Frederick Tanck, who owned land north of Ironbark Road, at the corner of Yan Yean Road, and Thomas Reynolds, owner of the opposite property. After Reynolds sold his land, the corner became known as Tanck’s Corner.2 In 1929 the district’s name was changed to Yarrambat, believed to mean ‘high hill’ in the Wurundjeri language. Tanck’s Corner was in the centre of gold-bearing country and the district is honeycombed with old tunnels and shafts. However although gold played a dominant role for decades, there was insufficient to develop a substantial township. Meat and agricultural produce made a greater impact.3 Until the mid-20th century the only substantial building was the primary school. The first gold rush occurred around 1860, the second after 1900; then during the Depression, the Government paid men to pan for gold. The first rush attracted hundreds of Chinese people to Smugglers Gully, who constructed round diggings to keep away spirits. Alluvial miners lived along the Plenty River in tents or humpies - some fenced with gardens - and some miners distilled their own ‘plonk’. It was a wild time and bushrangers - and later gangster Squizzy Taylor - were said to hide4 in the old Pioneer Tunnel in Dunne’s Gully between Heard Avenue and Pioneer Road. Mines opposite Tanck’s Corner included Beer’s Line, Golden Crown and Golden Stairs. Some of the big mines had batteries and stampers to process quartz. At first there was plenty of alluvial gold, as much as two ounces to the ton. At times gold was exposed after heavy rains so fossickers panned for gold around orchard irrigation trenches. Gold was mined until 1984 when Yarrambat’s last operating goldmine, the Golden King Mine, in North Oatlands Road, closed. The Clayton family operated it full-time, making a comfortable living and in the 1960s it was the only private family gold mine in Victoria.5 Gold was such an important part of Yarrambat’s history that a gold poppet-head is the Yarrambat Primary School’s logo. The Golden King Mine poppet-head stands at the school’s Yan Yean Road exit gate.6 However this school was built in 1988. The original school No 2054, at the corner of Ironbark and Yan Yean Roads, was opened in 1878 and modified to its present form in the 1920s. In 2000 it was relocated to the Heritage Museum at Yarrambat Park.7 The school, whose first head teacher was Charles Planner, consisted of one room with a three-roomed residence. The school was also the community centre. On Saturday nights it was crammed for dances or euchre parties, community singing or other social events. On Sundays, services for different denominations took turns each week. However the school had its teething problems. Parents accused Charles Planner of neglecting his duties and the school closed several times. When it closed in 1892, only church services continued. Social activities moved elsewhere, such as the tennis club to the Stuchbery tennis court opposite. A sports day and woodchop on Boxing Day around 1900 was held at the Evelyn Hill Hotel, also called Evelyn Arms and Tunnel Hill Hotel, on the Greensborough–Diamond Creek Road. An annual agricultural show in Diamond Creek paraded through the town, and New Year’s Day picnics at the Yan Yean Reservoir included highland dancing and competitions. Also popular were the Indian hawkers who visited every three months, selling trinkets, clothing and other items. One called Jimmy ‘Allem dem Bedi’, gave presents and told stories, played draughts and sold delicious curries he cooked over his camp fire at night.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, golden king mine, tanck's corner, yarrambat primary school