ARTIST WALTER WITHEBS, whose pictures are now on exhibition at his Melbourne studio on Wednesdays and Saturdays, is an Englishman by birth, but an ardent Australian by adoption. His landscapes are "racy of the soil,” and amongst the most successful work of the kind done by Victorian artists. Withers does most of his work at his Heidelberg home, where he leads a serene life of artistic simplicity amidst the most picturesque surroundings. PEOPLE WE KNOW (1897, June 17). Melbourne Punch (Vic. : 1855 - 1900), p. 2. Retrieved August 22, 2023, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article174626232Journal inscribed: "Mrs Withers 463 Collins St. West Melbourne"art exhibition, art review, john withers collection, melbourne, walter withers studio, 463 collins street west, walter herbert withers, artist

The American fleet was invited to visit Australia by Prime Minister Deakin. The fleet moved from port to port and was welcomed with enthusiasm.A souvenir of the visit by the American Fleet in 1908 that was welcomed by the early settlers in Victoria.Quarto, pictorial wrappers, 64 pp, illustrated. Front cover illustration by Will Dyson, further illustrations by Ruby Lindsay and Alek Sass. The first 16 pages of the programme are taken up by advertisements for Victorian businesses.SOUVENIR / and OFFICIAL PROGRAMME / American Fleet Reception / Victoria 1908 / / Printed by the Publishers of ‘Punch’ Australia Price sixpenceamerican fleet, united states navy, prime minister deakin, early settlers, pioneers, moorabbin shire, moorabbin, brighton, cheltenham, federation of australia

Photograph published in the Melbourne Punch of George Hotel, Ballaratballarat, george hotel, hotels

melbourne punch, charles hotham, eureka stockade, ballarat, nicholas chevalier

Photograph published in the Melbourne Punch of Ballarat looking towards Mount Warrenheip.ballarat, mount warrenheip

Photograph published in the Melbourne Punch of Ballarat East Councillors in front of the Ballarat East Town Hall. ballarat east town hall, ballarat east coucnil

Diggers & Mining. The Chinese on the Gold Fields. Slide: This cartoon from Melbourne Punch (April, 1857) is entitled ''A Flood of Celestial Light pouring in upon the Diggings''. Slide shows a large group of Chinese travelling to their destination, most of them are on foot. Some onlookers. Markings: 22. Used as a teaching aid.hanimounteducation, tertiary, goldfields

A member of the Maygar family who came to Greensborough circa 1841 from Somerset England. They were of Hungarian descent. The family farmed along the Plenty River. [In The Melbourne Punch of 27/05/1897 the Vanderwyde Photo Studio Bourke Street featured and promoted their 'Head Study' photography.]Digital copy of black and white studio photograph.maygar family, emily maygar

Diggers & Mining. Getting the Gold. Slide: Sketches at the Gold Fields. This cartoon (from the Melbourne Punch, Aug, 27, 1857) illustrates what frequently happened on crowded leads. Depicts miners digging their tunnels only to end up digging into the next lead. Markings: 27 994.LIF:4. Used as a teaching aid.hanimounteducation, tertiary, goldfields

This is a book of war cartoons. The cover has two cartoons in colour and black and white and red and black printing. The spine is slightly torn.The pages contain comic sketches in colour, black and white and brown and white and sepia tones. Some pages at the front are of a shorter width than the other pages. The pages are stapled.fictionWorld War 11 War Cartoons by Armstrongworld war two, world war two cartoonist armstrong

Diggers & Mining. Life Of The Selectors. Diggers & Mining. A soldier looks on as three male witches stand around a cauldron placing cards in the pot with OCCUPATION LICENSES, LEASE HOLDS and AGRICULTURAL AREAS written on them, the cauldron is labelled LAND MESS. The title of the picture is 'The Land Witches'. Markings; Life Of The Selectors 1860-1890 Set 432 No. 16. The Land Witches ''Melbourne Punch,'' Feb 25, 1864. Used as a teaching aid.Visual Eduation Centreeducation, tertiary, goldfields

This is a book of 48 pages. The cover has a cream background with a red strip on the front side cover. The front cover has a sketch in grey, black, white and red and printing in red and black. The pages are stapled and have an adhesive tape binding added to the outside spine. The pages contain sketches in black, white and grey shading.fictionWorld War Two Armstrong Cartoonsworld war two cartoonist armstrong, world war two

Diggers & Mining. Life Of The Selectors. Title of picture; 'The Cream Of It.' Agriculturalist.- I don’t think you'll suit me. I want a man accustomed to milk.'' Applicant.- ''So I am, sir, 'specially in the morning with a drop o' rum in it.'' Markings; Life Of The Selectors 1860-1890 Set 432 No. 26. The Cream Of It- ''Melbourne Punch,'' August 15, 1872. Used as a teaching aid. Used as a teaching aid. Used as a teaching aid.Visual Education Centereducation, tertiary, goldfields

This is a small souvenir or promotional book for Herbert Stores in Orbost and Cann River. Lancelot Herbert came to Orbost in 1886, taking up a partnership with local store-owner George Temple. After Mr Temple’s death in 1891, Lancelot took over the store and progressively developed Herberts Snowy River Stores which grew into a department store of several shops along Nicholson St. He also had small shops at Cann River, Noorinbee and Genoa which were run by members of his family, as well as a carrying business and fuel outlets. Lancelot died on 2/6/1911 and his wife Martha [died 1945] are buried in a joint grave in Orbost Cemetery. (info. Noreen and Lindsay Thomson. More from "In Times Gone By' by Deborah Hall)Associated with a well-known Orbost business which started in 1888 and finally closed in c.1970. A small book with a white/cream cover and black printing. It has three cardboard pages inside which are blank. A pencil holder is attached to the back cover. On front cover: SNOWY RIVER STORES AND BAKERY. Established 1886, AND CANN RIVER. Lancelot Herbert, Wholesale and Retail DRAPER, OUTFITTER, Grocer & Ironmonger, MILLINERY A SPECIALTY. BAKERY, SMALLGOODS FRESH DAILY. Tobacco & Cigars of the Best Brands. AGENT FOR: Age, Leader, Every Saturday, Argus, Australasian, Melbourne Punch, and Sydney Morning Bulletin. WINES AND SPIRITS.souvenir herbert-stores

Diggers & Mining. Life Of The Selectors. Two men in a row boat, sign read 50 feet summer level. Title; Water, Everywhere. Free Selector.- Dear me allotment as being a little liable to inundation, but this is rather too moist. Waterman.- ''Never you mind sir there is fine fishing all year round, and wild duck in shooting season. It's worth all the money you paid.'' Markings; Diggers & Mining. Life Of The Selectors 1860-1890. Set 432 No. 18. Water, Water, Everywhere- ''Melbourne Punch,'' Sept. 26, 1872. Used as a teaching aid.Visual Education Centreeducation, tertiary, goldfields

Diggers & Mining. Life Of The Selectors. Land Act 1869. Sign reads; Regulations 49th Clause, other details listed. Regulation With A Vengeance. Mr McKean - ''Then there's the license fee, and the surveyors fee, and the half years rent, which will come to fifteen pounds, besides -- '' Free Selector. - Beg your pardon, sir hope no offence. But seems to me that this. New act is only for them with lots of money and lots of time to waste. Markings; Diggers & Mining. Life Of The Selectors 1860-1890 Set 432 No. 17. Regulations with a Vengeance- ''Melbourne Punch,'' Feb, 10,1870. Used as a teaching aid.Visual Education Centreeducation, tertiary, goldfields

Diggers & Mining. Life Of the Selectors. Picture titled 'A Habitable Dwelling. ROUGH PARTY (appearing suddenly out of the end of a hollow log). ''Hullo, mate, what the blanks your little game?'' FREE SELECTOR. - ''Oh! Nothing much; going to take up a bit of land-run a few sheep, that's all friends.'' ROUGH PARTY. - ''Well, you needn't have come so blanked to the HOME STATION.'' Picture depicts man climbing out of a log and a man sitting on the log, and the billy over the fire with horse in background. Markings: Life Of the Selectors 1860 - 1890 Set 432 No. 20. A Habitable Dwelling- ''Melbourne Punch,'' October 22, 1874. Used as a teaching aid.Visual Education Centereducation, tertiary, goldfields

Back Cover: At a time when black and white art was flourishing in Australia- with artists like Norman Lindsay, Will Dyson and Stan Cross at work - Percy Leason's creation of Wiregrass ranked him as an illustrator of surpassing genius. His early successes as a book illustrator and as a cartoonist for the Bulletin and Melbourne Punch, presaged a full flowering of his work with his creation of the mythical town and his endowment of it with a host of characters and comic situations. His inspiration came from his childhood town in Kaniva, Western Victoria but Wiregrass was every country town, with its general store, pub and church hall, its swimming hole, football ground and racecourse, its leading citizens, its battlers and mischievous children. Wiregrass flourished in Table Talk Magazine from 1926 to 1937 when Leason, seeking to escape his comic reputation and pursue "serious" art, went to live in America." Percy Leason lived in Eltham Softcover, 80 p. : ill., 1 port. ; 30 cm.ISBN 0850912490australian wit and humour, drawing, caricatures and cartoons, country life

Diggers & Mining. Life Of The Selectors. A BIT FROM THE SQUATTING DISTRICTS. Station Hand.-''That there was a furrin language you were speaking to your brother this morning , weren’t it, sir?.'' New Chum Brother.- ''Yes, Jerry, it was.'' S.H.- ''Learn it easy, sir!'' N.C.B.- ''Well, yes, I picked it up in about a year.'' S.H.- ''Well, Sir, I know the french man 'as been out here nigh two years, and he can't speak enough English to bail up a cow. The picture show the 2 men having the discussion with one leaning on a wooden fence. Markings; Life Of The Selectors 1860-1890 Set 432 No. 21. A Bit From The Squatting Districts- ''Melbourne Punch,'' March 31 1870. Used as a teaching aid. Used as a teaching aid.Visual Education Centereducation, tertiary, goldfields

Reproduced 'Pioneers & Painters' p43 Source: Mrs. McMinn, Kinglake The photo is embossed in the lower left hand "H.J. Trowbridge," a photographer operating from at least 1895 and a photo stock dealer, developer and printer operating from Camera House in Collins St, Melbourne importing the finest English photographic equipment, paper, etc from 1905 through 1910 when he retired (Photo-focus. (1910, September 1). Punch (Melbourne, Vic. : 1900 - 1918; 1925), p. 3. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article175606285). He produced a 200 page catalogue in 1906 (H. J. TROWBRIDGE'S CATALOGUE. (1906, November 22). Punch (Melbourne, Vic. : 1900 - 1918; 1925), p. 3. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article175379934)This photo forms part of a collection of photographs gathered by the Shire of Eltham for their centenary project book,"Pioneers and Painters: 100 years of the Shire of Eltham" by Alan Marshall (1971). The collection of over 500 images is held in partnership between Eltham District Historical Society and Yarra Plenty Regional Library (Eltham Library) and is now formally known as 'The Shire of Eltham Pioneers Photograph Collection.' It is significant in being the first community sourced collection representing the places and people of the Shire's first one hundred years.Digital image of 4 x 5 inch B&W Negative Also 19 x 25 cm printPhotographers name H.J. Trowbridge Lwr LHsepp, shire of eltham pioneers photograph collection, kinglake, post office

Newspaper clippings contained within Reg. Item 2526, page 11 and 12. Cutting on page 11 titled "Lament and Reverie on Passing of Melbourne's Cable Trams", written "By a Former Traveller", with date of 26-10-1940 in blue pence. Notes that the person was glad not to know of the last run of the Melbourne cable trams, the previous Saturday. Laments their passing, rides, crews, St. Kilda Road, the tramcars and the services provided. At the base of the cutting has a photograph of cable trailer No. 1 being off loaded in Lonsdale St. to go into the Museum. Cutting on page 12, titled "Cable Trams .... Clang Into History" written by Hugh Murphy. Appears to have been written prior to their withdrawal in Melbourne but noting their closure at the end of the year. Notes the construction, the costs, Mr. F.B. Clapp, G. S. Duncan, operations, the various routes, the services and the gradual deterioration of the track. Has the Melbourne Punch cartoon of 10/12/1885, titled "Bail Up". Cuttings have been cut out from a sheet and pasted into the book. Note Item Not formally Numbered.melbourne, tramcars, cable trams, cartoons, tramways

TROVE : The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957) Thursday 14 February 1867 p 1 Article 'THE EXHIBITION. OFFICIAL DISTRIBUTION OF PRIZES. The culminating point in the history of the Intercolonial Exhibition of 1866-7, was reached yesterday, when His Excellency Sir Henry Manners Sutton, Governor of Victoria, publicly received the reports of the jurors, and formally declared their awards. .........................CHEMICAL AND METALLURGICAL PRODUCTS AND PROCESSES....................... MEDALS - VIctoria .............John Kruse, chemist, Melbourne - For his fluid magnesia...........................'. Haines, Gregory, 1994, Á History of Pharmacy in Victoria, The Australian Pharmaceutical Publishing Company in association with the Pharmaceutical Society of Australai (Victoria) Ltd, Melbourne, Australia.opp. page 54, photo of 'John Kruse' and of 'John Kruse's pharmacy, Russell Street, Melbourne, 1866'. TROVE : Melbourne Punch (Vic. : 1855 - 1900) Thursday 21 January 1897 p 3 Article A Musical Genius. BY X. THERE is a chemist's shop in Hawthorn in the drawingroom over which some of the best, music that has ever been heard under the Southern Cross has been discoursed. Here John Kruse, the famous violinist , has delighted his late father with his violin. Here Nellie Mitchell's (Madame Melba's) voice found appreciative admiration long before she became famous. It is the shop of John Kruse, chemist and druggist, the inventor of fluid magnesia, insecticide and a world of well-known articles of daily consumption. The old mail died some time back, but lived long enough to gratify his chief wish, viz,, to see his famous son, Herr Johann Kruse. John journeyed from Germany to see his dying father. His brief but brilliant sojourn amongst us will be remembered by all lovers of music. TROVE: Colac Herald Friday 1 September 1876, page 4, Article. TROVE: The Argus Tuesday 2 July 1867, page 3, Advertisement. 'Felton Grimwade, 125 Russell Street, Melbourne'Clear glass bottle, oval shaped in section with text embossed on both sides and on base. Embossed on base 'M65' over '1923 6' over 'AGM'. Side 1 : 'KRUSES PRIZE MEDAL MAGNESIA' Side 2 : 'THIS BOTTLE IS THE PROPERTY OF FELTON GRIMWADE & CO PTY. LTD. MELBOURNE'. Over the numeral '1'.chemist, magnesia

TROVE : The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957) Thursday 14 February 1867 p 1 Article 'THE EXHIBITION. OFFICIAL DISTRIBUTION OF PRIZES. The culminating point in the history of the Intercolonial Exhibition of 1866-7, was reached yesterday, when His Excellency Sir Henry Manners Sutton, Governor of Victoria, publicly received the reports of the jurors, and formally declared their awards. .........................CHEMICAL AND METALLURGICAL PRODUCTS AND PROCESSES....................... MEDALS - VIctoria .............John Kruse, chemist, Melbourne - For his fluid magnesia...........................'. Haines, Gregory, 1994, Á History of Pharmacy in Victoria, The Australian Pharmaceutical Publishing Company in association with the Pharmaceutical Society of Australai (Victoria) Ltd, Melbourne, Australia.opp. page 54, photo of 'John Kruse' and of 'John Kruse's pharmacy, Russell Street, Melbourne, 1866'. TROVE : Melbourne Punch (Vic. : 1855 - 1900) Thursday 21 January 1897 p 3 Article A Musical Genius. BY X. THERE is a chemist's shop in Hawthorn in the drawingroom over which some of the best, music that has ever been heard under the Southern Cross has been discoursed. Here John Kruse, the famous violinist , has delighted his late father with his violin. Here Nellie Mitchell's (Madame Melba's) voice found appreciative admiration long before she became famous. It is the shop of John Kruse, chemist and druggist, the inventor of fluid magnesia, insecticide and a world of well-known articles of daily consumption. The old mail died some time back, but lived long enough to gratify his chief wish, viz,, to see his famous son, Herr Johann Kruse. John journeyed from Germany to see his dying father. His brief but brilliant sojourn amongst us will be remembered by all lovers of music. TROVE: Colac Herald Friday 1 September 1876, page 4, Article. TROVE: The Argus Tuesday 2 July 1867, page 3, Advertisement. 'Felton Grimwade, 125 Russell Street, Melbourne' Clear glass ellipse in section bottle, with embossed text on both sides and initials and numerals on base.'KRUSES PRIZE MEDAL MAGNESIA', 'This bottle is the property of FELTON GRIMWADE & CO Pty Ltd Melbourne on sides. 'S1935' 'AGM' on base.magnesia, kruse, felton, grimwade, chemist

Wall Calendar - heavy card covers, 12 gloss art pages inside, titled "Trams - 2014" containing full colour photographs of Bendigo, Ballarat, Melbourne, Adelaide, Geelong, Sydney, Brisbane, and Transporting Art Melbourne trams. Has a punched hole along the top edge to enable wall use. Provides dates for holidays, school holidays and Pension payment days and phases of the moon. Produced by Topmill Pty Ltd and distributed by Gordon & Gotch Pty Ltd. Photos by A. W. Perry, Maurice Kelly and Ken Smith,trams, tramways, ballarat, geelong, sydney, brisbane, brisbane, transporting art, tram 84, tram 38, tram 605, tram 469, tram 214, tram 367, tram 361, tram 26, tram 20, tram 277, tram 1930, tram 992, tram 863, tram 336, tram 30, tram 11, tram 1451

Built by artist and cartoonist Percy Leason in 1927 in what was then New Street but renamed Lavender Park Road in the late 1950s/early 1960s. Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p121 Said to be a genius, cartoonist Percy Leason’s career was at its peak when in 1925 to 1926 he built his home at New Street (now Lavender Park Road) Eltham. The Herald newspaper owner, Sir Keith Murdoch, had hired Leason for his newly acquired Melbourne Punch magazine at a salary of £1750, making him ‘one of the highest paid cartoonists in the world’.1 With this salary and financial help from Murdoch, Leason was able to build his lovely home in Eltham. At the crest of a sweeping drive, the home now two-storey in white brick with a gabled grey slate roof and dormer windows is flanked by an extension built by another owner in the 1980s. Leason lived in the home with his wife, Isabel and children, until 1937, when he left for the United States of America, where he lived until his death in 1959. The four-bedroom house and garden would have been well-suited to bringing up his family and to entertaining their friends in style. Large airy rooms have high ceilings with moulded plaster, timber floors and several are brightened with bay windows. Leason made friends with many of the artists and personalities who gravitated to Eltham. Around 1931 Justus Jörgensen, founder of the Montsalvat Artists’ Colony, helped Leason build his large studio at the back of the house. Another friend was journalist Mervyn Skipper, father of jeweller and sculptor Matcham, and artists Helen and Sonia. Leason’s teacher, artist Max Meldrum, also visited and rented accommodation in Eltham, opposite Wingrove Park. Punch folded in 1925, but Leason continued as cartoonist for Table Talk. In 1926 Leason began the cartoons of a mythical Australian town Wiregrass, which were inspired by Kaniva, his home town. The art gallery in Main Road Eltham was named Wiregrass in Leason’s honour. Leason completed 1000 drawings from 1919 to 1937, which author Garrie Hutchinson claimed, were technically unsurpassed and had regional and universal interest. Leason’s acute observations of country life stemmed from his childhood in Kaniva in Victoria’s western Wimmera, where he was born, the son of a selector, in 1889. Meldrum claimed that Leason could name every plant and the habits of every animal.2 Leason also painted 28 portraits of the last full-blooded aboriginals in Victoria at Lake Tyers in Gippsland, most of which are in a private collection. In Sydney Leason illustrated Henry Lawson’s Selected Poems and worked for The Bulletin. Leason had begun his career at 13 as an apprentice lithographic artist at Sands and MacDougall. He attended night classes at the National Gallery and the Victorian Artists Society. Leason first visited Eltham in 1910 to paint with fellow artist William ‘Jock’ Frater. They camped near Bible and Pitt Streets and along the Diamond Creek on the site of the present Eltham Retirement Centre. Despite his success as a cartoonist, Leason wanted to be recognised as a serious painter and for his anthropological work.3 He was also conservative and felt uncomfortable with the modern art scene in Melbourne.4 So he left for the United States of America to work as a painter. Ironically his time in New York saw the burgeoning of modern art, notably by artists such as Jackson Pollock. But Leason found his niche by running an art school, painting society portraits and illustrating books and magazines.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, landscape, lavender park road, percy leason, new street

Wall Calendar - heavy card covers, 12 gloss art pages inside, titled "Trams - 2006" containing full colour photographs of Rockhampton, Ballarat, Fremantle, Grenoble France, Geelong, Sydney, Brisbane, VR Sandringham and Transporting Art Melbourne trams. Has a punched hole along the top edge to enable wall use. Provides dates for holidays, school holidays and Pension payment days and phases of the moon. Produced by Topmill Pty Ltd and distributed by Gordon & Gotch Pty Ltd. Photos by Archer Park, William Scott, A. W. Perry, Ben Parle, Maurice Kelly, Ken Smith,trams, tramways, rockhampton, ballarat, fremantle, geelong, sydney, brisbane, victorian railways, sandringham, brisbane, transporting art, tram 2107, tram 50, tram 384, tram 340, tram 497, tram 567

Melbourne Metro "Day Pass" punched or used for 25 September 2013 - ticket provided to Kevin Tierney in exchange for a Senior Card Travel Ticket - blue outside edge with days of week, green months and year for punching the date out with a silver and blue skyline image of city building on front, and conditions of travel on rear with the PTV logo. Numbered 1159267. .1 - Four additional samples added 13/7/2015. All have "Clifton Hill 2285" station stamp on rear. 1095568 to 71, all used on - 25/9/14. .2 - addition sample for 2014 to 2016 - added 29/10/16 - Ticket No. 4219770 .3 - sample for 2018 to 2022 - ticket number 8082243, used 4/12/2020 - added 21/12/2020trams, tramways, tickets, seniors card, melbourne, ptv

Photographer notations on slide: Scotch v. Xavier - Olympic Park B42 At the first match of the 1934 Public Schools Premiership and Championships at Olympic Park (where AAMI Park is now) between Scotch College (white shorts) and Xavier College, (black shorts) a mark is missed by Xavier players and then taken by a Scotch player. Research by project volunteer, Fiona Collyer: A crowd of schoolboys standing behind a picket fence, watch with anticipation as two teams contest a football at the goalposts. The Public Schools Premiership and Championship was an Australian Rules football tournament held every winter over five weeks between six schools- Scotch College, Xavier College, Melbourne Grammar, Wesley College and traditional rivals Geelong Grammar and Geelong College. The school that won the most games out of the five played, won the competition. As the 1933 Premiers, Xavier College had the honour of playing the opening match of the season on 28 June against runners-up Scotch College at Olympic Park (where AAMI Park is now). The Public Schools Premiership matches were widely reported in Melbourne’s daily newspapers with photographs and commentary of every game. Weekly society magazine “Table Talk” featured reports and seven photographs of the first games of the season. Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) wireless station 3AR interspersed their afternoon program of reproduced music with detailed descriptions of the matches. Also reporting the matches was “Forty-Years-On”, presumably a student in the 1890s, whose regular column in The Herald newspaper “Activities In The Public Schools” published all the latest news on Victoria’s public (private) schools. In his column for The Australasian 7 July 1934, “Old Boy” writes about the Scotch versus Xavier match: “For more than half the game last week, Scotch was outplayed, but took the lead early in the last term and kept it. Scotch surprised even its own supporters by its dash in the last 25 minutes. Xavier, who became over confident by the prospects of victory, could not withstand the final onslaught. In the last quarter Scotch was the better side and won by seven points.” The final score was Scotch 11.11 (77 points) and Xavier 10.10 (70 points). At the end of this exciting match the overjoyed Scotch boys swarmed over the Olympic Park fences to chair their captain, Stanley Steele and carry him shoulder high, to the pavilion. The first documented game of a variation of Australian Rules football was played at Richmond Paddock (now Yarra Park) from 7 August 1858. Australian Rules football writer Hugh Buggy of The Argus 16 April 1952 explains: “It began when boys and masters of Scotch College and Melbourne Grammar School decided to play a 40-a-side game, with the first team to score two goals to be the winner. Goal posts were pitched more than a mile apart, one set on the Jolimont Hill and the other at Punt road Richmond. Nobody defined the boundary, and the play swung over the broad acres of the park and around the gum trees. It went on and on like a Test match, from noon till dusk. After 15 hours of play on three Saturdays the score was one goal all, and the game was abandoned for that season.” Rules of the game hadn’t been decided at this time - the earliest known rules were codified a year later in 1859. A sculpture and plaque located outside the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), created by sculptor Louis Laumen in 2001, commemorates this game. It depicts two school boys chasing a ball along with umpire Tom Wills, a co-writer of the rules and promoter of Australian Rules football. A medley of Gaelic football, an Aboriginal game called marngrook as well as football played in English public (that is private) schools have been cited as inspiration for Australian Rules football. The word “Marngrook” meaning “game ball”, comes from the language of the Gunditjmara, First Nations people of southwestern Victoria. Marngrook was played at gatherings and celebrations and involved players competing to jump and catch the ball after it was kicked high into the air. The player that catches the ball then gets to kick it. The ball was made from possum skin, filled with pounded charcoal and tied with kangaroo sinews. Protector of Aborigines in Victoria, William Thomas (1794-1867) observed in 1841- “The men and boys joyfully assemble when this game is to be played. One makes a ball of possum skin, somewhat elastic, but firm and strong… The players of this game do not throw the ball as a white man might do, but drop it and at the same time kick it with their feet, using the instep for that purpose. The tallest men have the best chances in this game. Some of them will leap as high as five feet from the ground to catch the ball. The person who secures the ball kicks it. This continues for hours and the natives never seem to tire of the exercise.” The Victorian Football League (VFL), was founded in 1897 with eight teams playing Australian Rules football and held its first Grand Final at the MCG in 1902. From the start the games attracted large enthusiastic crowds, which included women. “Viva” writing in the Supplement to The Weekly Times - 3 July 1886 LADIES COLUMN (By Viva) FOOTBALL. A Social Sketch. “…Of the popularity of football and footballers among women, there can be no doubt. Young, soft hearted girls, who would not “tread upon a worm," avow that football matches are "awfully jolly," and seem to regard accidents as a necessary part of the amusement…a great proportion of the spectators were ladies.” “Minetta” writing for Punch Magazine - “Ladies Letter, Holmby House, Toorak” 22 June 1905 “The "Football Girl" is a feminine genus at present much to the fore in Melbourne. Not that she plays football—at least not beyond a kick in the backyard or paddock—oh, dear, no! Her interest in the game is purely from a spectacular point of view. "Football Girls" usually hunt in couples, with two male barrackers attached. They know all about So-and-So's form, and whether he is a trier or has been bought. They go to each match of their particular club, and watch the play intently, their faces wearing a decidedly strained expression when their club is getting the worst of it. They are not ashamed to barrack either, when matters are progressing successfully… Yours ever, MINETTA.” The Herald 2 July 1909 published a cartoon by Ambrose Dyson depicting women football fans, which asked- “THE QUESTION OF THE DAY. Should Girls Go To Football Matches? Should they? The sex made up their mind about the matter very early on.” The resounding answer was- “Well, I’d like to see the man that would stop me!” At the final match of the 1934 tournament on August 2, Melbourne Grammar finished the season unbeaten, winning their tenth Public Schools premiership in 16 years. The Weekly Times 11 August 1934 reported-“Melbourne Grammar…had a rather lucky escape against Xavier…Had a Xavier player not touched a shot, kicked by a team-mate, as it was going through goal Grammar would have been beaten.” Final score - Melbourne Grammar 13.7 (85 points) defeated Xavier College 12.9 (81 points). Ladder for the 1934 Season- Melbourne Grammar-5 wins Wesley College- 4 wins Scotch College- 3 wins Xavier College- 2 wins Geelong Grammar- 1 win Geelong College- 0 wins The Associated Public Schools of Victoria (APS) exists today where eleven member (private) schools, including co-educational schools, participate in 21 sporting competitions throughout the year. (The descriptor “Public School” references the historical usage of the term and the model of the British public). PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOOTBALL BEGINS WITH SCOTCH--XAVIER MATCH. (1934, June 29). The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954), p. 11. Retrieved June 23, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article204824484 PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOOTBALL AT OLYMPIC PARK (1934, July 5). Table Talk (Melbourne, Vic. : 1885 - 1939), p. 5. Retrieved May 30, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article149682433 PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOOTBALL. (1936, July 3). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), p. 18. Retrieved May 30, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11888301 PUBLIC SCHOOLS. (1934, June 29). The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954), p. 5. Retrieved August 6, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article204824486 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Australian_rules_football COLLEGE SPORTS (1934, July 7). The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946), p. 48 (METROPOLITAN EDITION). Retrieved August 6, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article145238393 GRAMMAR CHAMPIONS (1934, August 11). Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic. : 1869 - 1954), p. 72. Retrieved August 6, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article224562842 LETS LOOK AT FOOTBALL with HUGH BUGGY (1952, April 16). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), p. 9. Retrieved August 6, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article23174340 FOR YOUNG PEOPLE AMONG THE SCHOOLS. (1934, August 7). The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954), p. 4. Retrieved August 6, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article205521661 https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/australian-rules-football#:~:text=In%20the%20winter%20of%201858,games%20of%20Australian%20Rules%20football. https://apssport.org.au/about/ http://lindsaymagazine.co/from-marngrook-to-australian-rules-football/ https://collection.australiansportsmuseum.org.au/objects/70993/possum-skin-ball FOOTBALL. (1886, July 3). Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic. : 1869 - 1954), p. 6 (SUPPLEMENT TO THE STORY TELLER). Retrieved September 7, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article221741193 Ladies' Letter. (1905, June 22). Punch (Melbourne, Vic. : 1900 - 1918; 1925), p. 28. Retrieved September 22, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article175410975 THE QUESTION OF THE DAY. (1909, July 2). The Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954), p. 9. Retrieved September 22, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article242062970Photographer notations on slide: Scotch v. Xavier - Olympic Park B42football, schools