On the 14th May 1927 his Excellency Lord Somers, in the presence of a large assemblage opened Braille Hall at the Braille Library (now Vision Australia Library) in Commercial Road, South Yarra. To mark appreciation of the gift of the hall by the two benefactors Edward Wilson and Richard Gibson, the committee placed two of the stained glass windows on each side of the hall’s fireplace. Commissioned by Librarian Miss Millicent Ritchie, the windows depict four British authors - Scott, Milton, Shakespeare and Dickens. They were removed from South Yarra in 1999 for conservation work and cleaning prior to their relocation to Kooyong in 2001. In 2017 refurbishment works made the windows redundant however they were reinstalled either side of the main entranceway in 2018. 4 x stained glass windows depicting famous writersbraille and talking book library, millicent ritchie

To recognise the dedication and service of non-military persons, the Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (civil order) was established. Shortened to MBE, the award consists of a silver cross with a circular centre and a fleur de lis attached on four sides. Above the north facing fleur de lis is a crown which is connected to a rose pink crossgrain ribbon with pearl grey edges, and tied into a bow. In the central part is the profile of King George V and Queen Mary, and the words 'For God and Empire' in raised letters against a roughened background edging the portrait. On the rear are the copperplate letters 'GRI' (which stand for Georgius Rex Imperator) and an image of a crown directly above this. It is designed to be worn on the left hand side by the female recipient. In 1937 this medal was awarded to Miss Millicent Frances Ritchie for her service as Secretary of the Braille Association of Australia.1 silver coloured medallion attached to ribbon in black case millicent ritchie, victorian association of braille writers, medals

Braille hand frames and styluses were the primary way to produce Braille for over a century. The stylus was used to make a separate indentation for each dot, and the hand frame to keep dots within the same cell. Braille rows are produced from right to left. The process was very time consuming. Volunteer transcribers for the library could take an average of ½ hour to produce one page of Braille using this method. For example: “Oliver Twist” required approximately 600 sheets equating to 300 hours of work! This wooden slate, which was used to make the system portable, served as a firm base needed to sustain puncture pressure. The frame can also be slotted into both sides of the slate, thereby ensuring that the lines of Braille were straight across the page. The metal clasp at the top of the frame held the wooden which kept paper from slipping. Sometimes the board was labelled with organisational labels. In this example, the Rules of Membership for the Victorian Association of Braille Writers was attached, which included the costs of being a transcribing member and the length of the loan period. It is signed by Millicent Ritchie (Hon. Secretary) and Minnie H Crabb (Asst Sec and Librarian) at the base of the sheet.Brown rectangular wooden board with hinged paper clamp and metal hinged guideFree Lending Library for the Blind label is attached to boardbraille equipment, victorian association of braille writers