Warrnambool's Mechanics' Institute (or Institution as it was sometimes called) was one of the earliest in Victoria. On 17th October 1853 a meeting was held where it was resolved to request the Lieutenant Governor of the Colony to grant land for the erection of a Mechanics' Institutes building. A committee was formed at the meeting and Richard Osburne chaired the first meeting of this committee. The land on the North West corner of Banyan and Merri Streets was granted but there were no funds to erect the building. The Formal Rights of the Warrnambool Mechanics' Institute's encompassed its aims and these were officially adopted in1859; "This Institution has for its object the diffusion of literary, scientific, and other useful knowledge amongst its members, excluding all controversial subjects, religious or political. These objects are sought to be obtained by means of a circulating library, a reading room, the establishment of classes, debates, and the occasional delivery of lectures on natural and experimental philosophy, mechanics, astronomy, chemistry, natural history, literature, and the useful and ornamental arts, particularly those which have a more immediate reference to the colony." The Warrnambool Mechanics' Institute opened its first reading room in November1884 in the National School building at the corner of Banyan and Timor Streets. The Institute was funded by member subscription, payable on a quarterly, half yearly or yearly basis. Samuel Hannaford, the Manager of the Warrnambool Bank of Australasia, was the first Honorary Secretary of the Mechanics' Institutes, and an early President and Vice-President. He also gave several of the early lectures in the Reading Room. Another early Secretary, Librarian and lecturer was Marmaduke Fisher, the teacher at the National School. Lecture topics included The Poets and Poetry of Ireland', 'The Birth and Development of the Earth', 'The Vertebrae - with Remarks on the pleasures resulting from the study of Natural History' and 'Architecture'. In 1856 the Reading Room was moved to James Hider's shop in Timor Street, and by 1864 it was located in the bookshop of Davies and Read. In the 1860's the Mechanics' Institute struggled as membership waned but in 1866, after a series of fund raising efforts, the committee was able to purchase land in Liebig Street, on a site then called Market Square, between the weighbridge and the fire station. A Mechanics' Institute building was opened at this site in August 1871. The following year four more rooms were added to the main Reading Room and in 1873 the Artisan School of Design was incorporated into the Institute. The same year Joseph Archibald established a Museum; however it deteriorated when he was transferred to Bendigo in 1877. In 1880, with Archibald's return to Warrnambool, the Museum was re-established, and in 1885 a new building was built at the back of the Institute to accommodate the re-created School of Design, the Art Gallery and the Museum. In 1887 the Museum section was moved to the former court house in Timor Street (for some time the walls of the building formed part of the TAFE cafeteria but all is now demolished)). In 1911 the Museum was transferred back to the original building and the management of the Mechanics' Institute was handed over to the Warrnambool City Council. The Museum and Art Gallery became one and housed many fine works of art, and the Library continued to grow. The building was well patronised, with records showing that at the beginning of the 20th century there were between 500 and 800 visitors. During World War One the monthly figures were in the thousands, with 3,400 people visiting in January 1915. The Museum was a much loved Institution in Warrnambool until the contents of the Museum and Art Gallery were removed to make room for the Warrnambool City Council Engineers' Department. The contents were stored but many of the items were scattered or lost. When the original building was demolished the site became occupied by the Civic Centre, which included the new City Library. (The library was temporarily located in the old Palais building in Koroit Street.) In the process of reorganisation the Collection was distributed amongst the community groups: -The new City Library took some of the historic books and some important documents, historic photographs and newspapers. -The Art Gallery kept the 19th Century art collection and some of the artefacts from the museum. -The Historic Society has some items -The State Museum has some items -Some items were destroyed -Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village has old newspapers, Government Gazettes, most of the Mechanics' Institute Library, ledgers and documents connected to the Mechanics' Institute Library, some framed and unframed art works and some photographs. The Warrnambool Mechanics' Institute Library book collection is deemed to be of great importance because it is one of the few collections in an almost intact state, and many of the books are now very rare and of great value. Life's Panorama being Recollections and Reminiscences of Things Seen, Things Heard, Things Read Author: J A Gurner Publisher: Lothian Publishing Co Date: 1930Label on spine cover with typed text RA 923.4 GUR Pastedown front endpaper has sticker from Warrnambool Public Librarywarrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, shipwrecked-artefact, great ocean road, book, warrnambool library, warrnambool mechanics’ institute, mechanics’ institute library, victorian library board, warrnambool books and records, warrnambool children’s library, warrnambool public library, life's panorama, j a gurner

This cook book has been published by the Friends of Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village Inc. This group do volunteer work at Flagstaff Hill, publicize the activities and historical collection at the Village and raise funds to carry out improvements and new installations. Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village was established in 1975, initially as a private venture sponsored by a group of businessmen in Warrnambool but it was later taken over by the Warrnambool City Council. It operates as an historical park and a tourist venture every day of the year except Christmas Day and has a night Sound and Light Show called ‘Shipwrecked’. The historical collection at the Village features many important shipwreck relics from the area, with the most important being the ‘Loch Ard’ ceramic peacock. The cook book is a tribute to the local women of the past and there are many recipes collected from the ‘Grannies’ of yesteryear. The tea rooms at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village are called ‘Stella Maris’ (Latin for ‘Star of the Sea’) and call to mind both the maritime heritage of the area and the name of the Australian Catholic Missions to Seamen which still operates. This book is of interest as a product of Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village. It has been edited by John Lindsay who was one of the founders of Flagstaff Hill in 1975 and is today a Life Member and Helen Sheedy who has also been connected with the administration of the Village in the past. The book also features art works from many artists from Warrnambool and district. This is a soft cover book of 100 pages. The cover has a white background with a colour sketch of the Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village Stella Maris Tea Rooms on the front cover and a colour photograph of a Flagstaff Hill panorama on the back cover. The book contains an introduction, some information related to food, cooking and diet, recipes from the past and present, some local historical material and some information on the artists whose work is featured in the book. Many colour sketches and photographs are scattered throughout the text. The book is bound with plastic spiral rings and the front is covered with a sheet of clear plastic. stella maris tea rooms, warrnambool, flagstaff hill maritime village, history of warrnambool

Sports Clubs in Kew in the final decades of the 19th century and in the early 20th century were often umbrella organisations with facilities for a number of sports. Typically in Kew, this included teams in lawn bowls, tennis and croquet. The Kew Bowling Club was formed in 1880 while the privately owned Auburn Heights Recreation Club was opened in 1904. By 1998, the two Clubs decided to amalgamate at the Auburn Heights site in Barkers Road, forming the Kew Heights Sports Club. The combined club was itself taken over by the Melbourne Cricket Club in 2012 becoming MCC Kew Sports Club. In 2017 MCC Kew closed and its landholding was subsequently sold to Carey Baptist Grammar School. Both the Kew and Auburn Heights Clubs assembled important collections. These historically significant and large collections were donated to the Society in 2020. The collections include manuscripts, pictures, trophies, plans, honour boards etc. References Barnard FGA 1910, 'Sports and Pastimes' in Jubilee History of Kew Victoria: Its origin & progress 1803-1910. Nixon NV 1980, The History of the Kew Bowling Club 1880-1980. Reeve S 2012, City of Boroondara: Thematic Environmental History, p.216.The combined collections of the four sporting clubs making up the collection number hundreds of items that are historically significant locally. They are also significant to the sporting history of the greater Melbourne area and to the sports of lawn bowls and tennis in Australia in the 19th and 20th centuries. The collection illuminates two of the Victorian historic themes - 'Building community life' through forming community organisations and 'Shaping cultural and creative life' by participating in sport and recreation.Photograph, framed with a paper mount, and labelled. [The item is part of the large historic Kew Bowling Club collection (1880-1988) gifted to the Kew Historical Society in 2020].kew bowling club - wellington street - kew (vic), clubs - lawn bowls - kew (vic)

A publication of 88 pages including photographs. Illustrations and maps. The front cover features a photo of Ernie Nunn, contract house removalist in the foreground supervising an early house removal from Toorak to Bolga. The back cover has a panorama of Old Tallangatta in 1938, showing Toorak (foreground), Newtown (left), and Mount Charlie (right). This work describes the establishment of Tallangatta on the junction of Tallangatta Creek and Mitta Creek and its move to Bolga on the Hume Weir. It offers insights into the life of the people and the institutions they created and represented. It shows the impact of the expansion of the Hume Dam in the 1950s and how the community adapted to the changes forced upon them.tallangatta, old tallangatta, pioneer life, impact of hume weir construction