Transcript: Athenaeum building celebrates 170 years Australian Broadcasting Corporation Broadcast: 11/11/2009 Reporter: Lisa Whitehead Tomorrow marks the 170th birthday of one of the nation's historic cultural landmarks. Melbourne’s Athenaeum building has, in one form or other, provided education and entertainment for the Victorian colony as it became a city; and along the way, documented its growth. Transcript KERRY O’BRIEN, PRESENTER: Tomorrow marks the 170th birthday of one of the nation's historic cultural landmarks. Melbourne's Athenaeum building has, in one form or another, provided education and entertainment. For the Victorian colonies it became a city and along the way documented its growth. The building's original library and theatre still draw devotees and as Lisa Whitehead reports, a loyal band of volunteers. KEVIN QUIGLEY, ATHENAEUM PRESIDENT: There's nothing like us that has been here from day one, four years after the boat pushed ashore, here we are. It's a thread that runs through the life of Melbourne. LISA WHITEHEAD, REPORTER: In the heart of Melbourne's CBD, the Athenaeum is a celebrity in disguise, the oldest cultural icon in the city, but barely noticed. MARJORIE DALVEAN, VOLUNTEER HISTORIAN: People of Melbourne walk past this area and they have no idea what it is. RAY LAWLER, PLAYWRIGHT: It seemed to me to be a place that absolutely, or breathes Melbourne, I suppose, culture. LISA WHITEHEAD: Just four years after Melbourne was founded, the colony built a Mechanic's Institution, one of the first in the world, a place where the working class could meet and learn. KEVIN QUIGLEY: People think of it as Wild West sort of place where these hearty types drank and rushed about, but Melbourne was freely settled. It was a city of people who wanted to better themselves - entrepreneurs. And the Mechanic's Institution was that innovative idea that had grown up in Edinburgh and London about providing an opportunity for education for the working people. LISA WHITEHEAD: Mark Twain lectured there. Later, other buildings were added and a theatre to host classic plays. And it adopted its more bourgeois friendly title of the Athenaeum. Crucially from the start there was the library, the first to offer affordable lending to the working man. And it still attracts devotees. Former University lecturer Margaret Bowman, 89, comes in every Wednesday, along with her dog to join an enthusiastic band of volunteers sorting through the archives. MARGARET BOWMAN, FORMER UNIVERSITY LECTURER: Doing research is something that I find actually I enjoy more than anything. Every old lady needs to have a project and now I've got a project. MARJORIE DALVEAN: Margaret, Christine has just found out that Alfred Deakin was a member here from 1874 to 1877. This place is not flashy, we've never been flashy. But book lovers walk in here and they know this is the place for them. ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE: Old times and old names. The Athenaeum theatre in Melbourne for more than 40 years has been one of the city's best known cinemas. LISA WHITEHEAD: In the 20th century, the theatre surrendered to the new craze of talking pictures, and one particular fan was famous Australian playwright Ray Lawler. At 13, he dropped out of school to work in a Footscray factory and two years later his first trip to the glamorous Athenaeum cinema hinted at the education he was missing. RAY LAWLER: It just had a style about it which I responded to, I think. I was looking for something and this seemed to be part of it. Ray Lawler went on to write "Summer of the Seventeenth Doll" and found literary fame overseas. About a century after it had started as an educational place for the working man, Ray Lawler had, in effect, become an Athenaeum graduate. RAL LAWLER: If they had been looking for the sort of person that they were hoping to encourage along the way, I suppose I would have been somebody that might have fitted the mould, you know. LISA WHITEHEAD: In time, the cinema was returned to its theatrical roots. FRANK THRING, 1977: It has a great resemblance to the Theatre Royal in Hobart which Larry Olivier has called the best theatre he's ever worked in. And it's almost identical. It is the true Victorian playhouse. The horseshoe shaped thing: stalls, dress circle and gallery. And you're close to the audience and they're close to you. Marvellous feeling. LISA WHITEHEAD: Today, it's still a theatre. But time has brought compromises. The once vaunted art gallery has now covered its windows and become a comedy club and performance space. TV and suburban life have eaten away at the library membership. It offers an online service now, and a recent federal government grant will pay for the upkeep of its gracious interior, including the 1930s elevator Ray Lawler used to ride. For him, it's money well spent on history quietly made and discreetly observed. RAY LAWLER: It's the lack of awareness, I think, that people don't know what they've got here. They've really got the whole history of Melbourne almost. KEVIN QUIGLEY: It was a similar organisation in Sydney but we are the only one that's got a continual lineage on the same spot. We started here and we're still here and we'll be here for another 100 years. KERRY O'BRIEN: Lisa Whitehead on a great Melbourne landmark. © 2010 ABC | Privacy Policy Beginning as the Melbourne Mechanics' Institution in 1839, the Melbourne Athenaeum has a long history that reflects the cultural and social development of Melbourne. It continues to be managed as a not-for-profit organisation by a volunteer board, with a subscription library (maintained since 1839) and a leased theatre.Video broadcast ABC 7:30 Report for 11/11/2009. "Tomorrow marks the 170th birthday of one of the nation's historic cultural landmarks. Melbourne’s Athenaeum building has, in one form or other, provided education and entertainment for the Victorian colony as it became a city; and along the way, documented its growth."athenaeum, australian broadcasting corporation, kerry o’brien, kevin quigley, lisa whitehead, marjorie dalvean, ray lawler, margaret bowman, frank thring.

This Honour Board was presented to the National Vietnam Veterans Museum by the National Servicemen's Assoc. of Australia, 14 Feb 2008. It also recognizes Sapper Reginald N. Bridgland (3787083) and Sapper Geoffrey E. Mills (5713692) both who were with 22 Const. Sqn who were killed in action in Borneo. National Service Honour Roll, framed in black and gold frame. Contains names, rank, state, unit and date of death in date order. Also, six replica medals: Australian Active Service Vietnam 1945 - 1975, Vietnam Medal, Vietnam Logistic and Support Medal, Australian Defence Medal, Anniversary of National Service Medal 1951 -1972 and South Vietnam Campaign Medal. All medals have ribbons attached. Bottom left hand corner has the Australian Coat of Arms insignia and bottom right hand side has the Australian Army (Rising Sun) Insignia.They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old; Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn; At the going down of the sun and in the morning' We will remember them. Lest We Forget. Presented by the National Servicemen's Assoc. of Australia, 14 Feb 2008.honour roll, australian national serviceman, killed in action, vietnam, borneo, pte errol wayne noack, 4717546, royal australian infantry corps, 5th battalion, the royal australian regiment, pte leslie thomas farren, 3786921, tpr tony holland, 3786634, royal australian armoured corps, 1st armoured personnel carrier squadron, l/cpl marian tomas, 5713739, pte gordon knight, 2782226, 6th battalion, pte anthony thomas purcell, 3787580, 2lt gordon cameron sharp, 2781465, commendation for gallantry, l/cpl jack jewry, 2781847, pte albert frederick mccormack, 1730993, pte dennis james mccormack, 1730994, pte colin joseph whiston, 3787607, 1 australian reinforcement unit, pte douglas javing salveron, 1731040, pte glenn alfred drabble, 1730929, pte kenneth howard gant, 1730941, pte paul andrew large, 2781704, pte victor roy grace, 1730947, pte warren david mitchell, 1731013, pte graham francis anthony warburton, 3786978, l/cpl bryan phillip watson, 5713748, pte paul charles sullivan, 3786696, pte geoffrey lawrence tweedie, 3787416, pte douglas roy powter, 2782783, pte peter john arnold, 2781363, pte michael james birchell, 2781899, tpr victor ian pomroy, 3786644, pte brian david waters, 5713981, pte david raleigh webster, 5713986, pte donald murray clark, 5713804, l/cpl george bruce green, 2782127, l/cpl kevin leslie mitchinson, 4717751, a squadron, 3rd cavalry regiment, pte james clifton webster, 5713751, tpr robert peter wilsen, 4717841, pte peter richard hart, 2781944, pte dennis hampton bracewell, 2782525, pte william john ashton, 1730888, pte richard edward lloyd, 2784015, 2lt kerry patrick rinkin, 217479, sapper ramon john peter deed, 3788300, royal australian engineers, 1st field squadron, sapper glen trever bartholomew, 2782555, sapper gregory vincent brady, 2782812, sapper john laurence o'hara, 2782779, sapper dennis lindsay brooks, 3787889, sapper terrence james renshaw, 3788172, pte james george cox, 1731426, l/cpl richard mervyn woolford, 4718082, 2nd battalion, pte peter shaun mcgarry, 2412362, pte timothy joseph cutcliffe, 2785238, l/cpl peter edward mcduff, 2782440, pte dennis edwin nelson, 4718427, pte william john brett, 2785150, pte leslie james weston, 1731955, pte norman george allen, 2784699, pte norman victor hawker, 3789232, pte noel charles pettitt, 3790094, pte ronald john bell, 5714249, pte francis arthur hyland, 6708488, pte dayle william morrison, 1732186, pte alex ernest james bell, 5714453, l/cpl ross charles mcmillan, 2785033, pte robert graham perrin, 3789447, pte robert john caston, 4719003, pte guy richard godden, 6708763, 3rd battalion, lt leonard alexander taylor, 2nd lt leonard alexander taylor, 3787987, pte geoffrey francis mathews, 5714739, pte john rogers, 4718449, pte thomas johannes de vries van leeuwen, 4718756, pte john alexander doherty, 3789770, sapper david john steen, 4719232, pte douglas brian plain, 3789448, sapper geoffrey john coombs, 6708750, 2nd lt john fraser, 1731113, l/cpl roger leon fisher, 4718368, pte errol john bailey, 2786313, 1st battalion, pte john alfred o'brien, 2786748, gunner ian james scott, 3791583, pte lawrence rodney sheppard, 3790506, pte bevan maxwell trimble, 3791291, cpl john gregory stinson pearce, 2784043, l/cpl william henry martin, 1731467, pte alan john wallis, 2787255, signalman alexander henry young, 1732408, royal australian corps of signals, 104 signal squadron, pte brian thomas young, 1733095, pte lindsay noel brown, 3790530, pte john walter desnoy, 3791033, pte william malcolm thomas, 4718911, pte jeffrey thomas worle, 3790789, pte dal edward abbott, 2786017, pte stuart john barnett, 5715206, pte peter eris murray, 2788524, tpr robert james gillard, 3790395, pte john alexander campbell, 2787278, pte michael muc, 2787512, pte michael james noonan, 2787793, l/cpl robert burns, 4718097, pte michael sukmanowsky, 4719573, pte archibald stanley williams, 5715189, signalman dennis eric abraham, 4718946, pte barry norton davidson, 2788283, pte kevin frederick brewer, 6708915, pte paul evans, 1732701, pte john michael slattery, 2787079, pte ian james thomson, 2786038, headquarters, 1st australian task force, l/cpl paul richard peter van rijsewijk, 5715180, pte john richard tinkham, 3791207, pte kenneth raymond houston, 2787776, l/cpl anthony vincent quigley, 4719160, pte ian james gibbs, 5715657, cpl (temp) frederick john annesley, 2784162, 2lt terrance edward langlands, 2786939, l/cpl john milton rands, 2787069, trooper michael john hannaford, 3791920, c squadron, 1st armoured regiment, pte ronald james gaffney, 3793157, 9th battalion, pte christopher william roost, 5715153, pte raymond john cox, 2787020, pte thomas frederick meredith, pte reginald arthur phillips, 4719545, cpl harold robert musicka, 4717754, pte peter charles smith, 2788912, pte bruce james plane, 4719981, pte samuel graham, 2787716, pte joseph steven ramsay, 1733037, pte gary alex archer, 2788583, pte robert alan byrne, 2786525, pte raymond alfred mcguire, 2787478, pte victor neils petersen, 1733375, pte grantley james scales, 4719367, pte joseph george manicola, 3793137, pte james mungo white, 5715978, pte barry randolph george, 2789508, pte trevor ralph black, 1734408, pte alexander remeljej, 4719818, pte lyall hugh mcpherson, 5715701, sapper peter john bramble, 2789684, pte paul francis reidy, 3793403, pte wayne edward teeling, 2790880, pte peter joseph jackson, 2789790, pte timothy charles turner, 4720253, pte anthony edward loughran waring, 5716163, l/cpl keith ivan dewar, 5715633, trooper robert george young, 1733547, b squadron, pte gordon dennis sorrensen, 2790417, pte leslie james pettit, 217961, pte hans leonhard muller, 2788085, l/cpl richard john abraham, 4719565, pte raymond charles kermode, 1733818, pte mathew loughman, 3794096, 1st australian logistic support group, sapper john smith, 3794831, pte james clyde mcmillan, 3794377, pte baron frederick smith, 3793566, pte david john banfield, 6709107, pte ian william kingston, 1734754, pte david john fisher, 2787344, pte kevin john prior, 1734329, 2nd special air service squadon, 3rd special air service squadron, sapper alan leslie duncuff, 5716228, pte john wallace holloway, 3794544, pte matthew philip linton, 1734491, sapper anthony lisle, 2791437, pte nick john cassano, 5716427, sapper john gerald greene, 2791447, 17th construction squadron, pte allen roy brown, 3794895, l/cpl gregory ian stanford, 2790070, pte malcolm robert robertson, 3793978, pte thomas arthur evans, 3794256, sapper anthony edward hollis, 2786682, pte barry john thompson, 2789920, cpl robert james jackson, 2783512, pte philip mackay richter, 3796110, 8th battalion, pte larry james maclennan, 3795935, pte barry john munday, 3795712, pte raymond duncan clark, 3794556, pte kenneth allan duffy, 1735143, l/cpl robert edward power, 2790170, pte daryl poulson, 3795605, pte graham robert kavanagh, 4720992, sapper harold walter hurst, 2791326, pte john leonard mcquat, 5716533, l/cpl phillip raymond goody, 1734847, pte noel valentine crouch, 5716239, pte dennis william neal, 1735386, pte desmond john tully, 2792375, pte john leslie morgan, 3795756, royal australian army ordnance corps, 2nd advance ordnance depot, pte stephen warwick dickson, 2792089, pte stanley gordon larsson, 4720583, pte paul john navarre, pte paul john crawley, 2792729, sapper ian neil scott, 1735424, pte john harold bullman, 2794031, sapper peter lawrence penneyston, 6709611, pte garry ian willoughby, 3797671, sapper martinus jacobus maria schuit, 4720852, pte allan lloyd, 3797086, pte milton raymond dufty, 2792150, pte alan talbot, 3797623, pte raymond brian patten, 2141115, pte peter francis kowalski, 1735712, 2lt david paterson, 4718855, cpl (temp) noel alan smith, 3797613, pte rodney stewart chapman, 4721369, pte ronald wayne salzmann, l/cpl ronald wayne salzmann, 1732899, 2lt ian george mathers, 2794496, pte trevor james attwood, 2794278, pte roger william driscoll, 2794265, pte donald cameron hill, 2794350, pte michael towler, 2792254, pte bernard michael pengilly, 30 jul 1971, pte maxwell lachlan rhodes, 2796378, pte brian charles beilken, 5718195, pte james duff, 3799449, pte ralph james niblett, 3798081, pte roderick james sprigg, 5718122