The minutes book of the Warrnambool Woollen Mill are an important record of the beginnings of one of Warrnambool's major industries for close to one hundred years. They record the struggle in the early days of 1909 and 1910 to raise the capital. Also mentioned is the support which had been given by local people of small means who were prepared to back the enterprise while those with financial means had been rather more reserved. Apart from a Mr Vidler all the initial directors were initially working in an honorary capacity. They lamented the fact that local banks held half a million pounds on fixed interest so there was no shortage of money. The first directors were appointed in March 1909 : Jas. Worland, W H Philpott, G S Mackay, E H Price, S McDonald, J C Beeching, W Rogers ,J Marfell, J Deany, Jas Duirs, Jas. Ponting, H Jessen, S Nettleton, J Blain, J Gooden, Drs. Holmes, Henderson and Powell. Mr J E Bennett was secured as first manager of the mill in 1910 Over the ten year period of this book there is much discussion on possible returns and share prices as well as decisions relating to the operation of and production from the mill. Within four years they were using more yarn than they were producing. Electricity was connected around 1914 and by 1915 shareholders were receiving eight percent return on their investment and were also contributing to the first world War effort by supplying blankets. Assets continued to accumulate and building was also continued with sandstone being quarried from the site and rain water tanks and asphalt floors installed, all contributing to savings. By 1917 The Warrnambool Woollen Mill was considered to be one of the states best investments and it continued to prosper through the years. The second minutes book likewise records similar events and circumstances for the period 1933-1945. This like wise is an interesting period, covering the period of the second World War. In 1955 the Warrnambool Woollen Mill formed a partnership with the Wangaratta Woollen Mills. Dunlop bought the mill in 1968. From that time until its closure in 2000 it had a number of different owners, the last being the Smith Family Industries. These minutes books hold an important information regarding the establishment and early operation of one of Warrnambool's major industries. The mill itself has strong connection to the Warrnambool community and many of the names mentioned as directors and shareholders have held positions within the community as businessmen and city officials. These minutes add another dimension to their contribution to Warrnambool..1Navy blue hard card cover with cloth spine. White label glued to front cover.186 pages.There are handwritten entries in black ink which are interspersed with reports from newspaper. .2 Pale grey cloth cover on early Kalamazoo filing system 612 pages of typed minutes . .1There are dates from 1910 through to 1923. Minutes have been signed by chairman of directors, M Saltau.label on front cover has blue stamp, The Warrnambool Woollen Mill Company. hand written above in black ink "opened 24th March 1909." .2 dated from May 1933 to September 1945. Signatures include M Saltau, James Disckson and Fletcher Jones.warrnambool, warrnambool woollen mill, first minutes book warrnambool woollen mill, minutes book, warrnambool woollen mill 1909, minutes book warrnambool woollen mill 1945

Minute books of the GWCC dating from 1911 - 1968Provides details of the club's activities and persons connected with the club in the years 1911-1968.Six handwritten minute books of the Geelong West Cycling Club dated from 16/11/1911 - 13/2/1968. Each book has a hard cover and is bound along the spine.geelong cycling club; geelong west cycling club; minute books; 1911; 1968;

Blackburn North Progress Association papers incl. Minutes and Account books of the Association and its Ladies Auxiliary and Social Committee. See list of Contents in box for details.Blackburn North Progress Association papers incl. Minutes and Account books of the Association and its Ladies Auxiliary and Social Committee.blackburn north progress association, minutes, account books

Minutes of the Williamstown committee of the Sailors' Rest created in 1878, and open on 24 May 1878. At the end, the pages also contains a list of books in the library of the Sailors' Rest and names of borrowers.sailors' rest, williamstown, sir william stawell, j. john halley, john courtis, library, books, minutes books

Documents the minutes of the Victorian Seamen's Mission from Wednesday 12th of July 1939 to Tuesday 7th December 1948. The minutes are a record of all members of the Victorian Seafarers' Mission during this time, as well as a record of the decisions and accounts of the committee. The books also contains supporting documents, such as account records and lists.This is a formal record of proceedings within the Victorian Seafarers' Mission between 1939 to 1949. Entries in the book make reference to events which took place at the Mission, individual members and other parties, such as the Ladies Harbour Lights Guild.A small white sticker on the spine: VIC. MISSION TO SEAFARERS / 1939-1948, handwritten in blue ink.book, minutes, 1939-1948, victoria, ww2, mission to seaferers, mission to seamen, seamen's mission, minutes books

Documents the minutes of the Victorian Seamen's Mission from Wednesday 1st August 1934 to Wednesday 7th June 1939. The minutes are a record of all members of the Victorian Seafarers' Mission during this time, as well as a record of the decisions and accounts of the committee. The books also contains supporting documents, such as account records and a letter.This is a formal record of proceedings within the Victorian Seafarers' Mission between 1934 to 1939. Entries in the book make reference to events which took place at the Mission, individual members and other parties, such as the Ladies Harbour Lights Guild.A small white sticker on the spine: MINUTES / 1934-1939, handwritten in blue ink.book, minutes, 1934-1939, ladies-harbour-light-guild, victoria, seafarers-mission, minutes books

Documents the minutes of the Victorian Seamen's Mission from Thursday 8th of October 1925 to the 4th of July 1934. The minutes are a record of all members of the Victorian Seafarers' Mission during this time, as well as a record of the decisions and accounts of the committee.This is a formal record of proceedings within the Victorian Seafarers' Mission between 1925 to 1934. Entries in the book make reference to events which took place at the Mission, individual members and other parties, such as the Ladies Harbour Lights Guild.book, minutes, 1925-1934, victoria, mission-to-seafarers, victorian seamen's mission, minutes books

These four exercise books give documentation on the activities of the Allansford Progress Association (1966 to 1988). Allansford is a settlement about 9 kilometres from Warrnambool and most of the town area is now within the boundaries of the Warrnambool City Council. The association was re-formed in November 1966 after the demise of an earlier group. The members of the group campaigned in areas of local concern – T. V. reception, drainage and sewerage, postal services, sports facilities including the development of the Speedway, housing development, road proposals, waste management and disaster plans. These books are of interest in that they provide an overview of the history of a local organization. They will be useful for research. These are four exercise books - three Minutes books, and one Accounts book, from the Allansford Progress Association (1966-1988). The exercise books have coloured covers, (blue and white checkered, green, red and blue). Two are bound with tape and two are stapled. There are some loose sheets in all of the books. All the entries are handwritten. On front covers: ‘Allansford Progress Association’allansford progress association, history of allansford, history of warrnambool

Handwritten notes (10 pages) and typed copies of letters on quart to paper, extract from Melbourne Tram Trust minutes and letter books, Public Work Departments letter books concerning the use and maintenance of the Princes Bridge, including railways that pass under it. Each set retained by a paper clip.trams, tramways, melbourne tramways trust, public works department, princes bridge

The Orbost Rifle Club existed in the early 20th century. (There are records from 1900). It folded in the late 1970's.The Orbost Rifle Club existed in Orbost for over seventy years.A blue Vana exercise book used by the Social Committee of the orbost Rifle Club to record its minutes.On front cover - handwritten - Orbost Rifle Club Social Committee Minute Bookorbost-rifle-club shooting

In UK in early 1800's the word 'mechanic' was applied to a broader range of skills such as working man, tradesman or artisan. Mechanics' Institutes were formed originally for voluntary, self-funded organisations, to improve the education of working men and to instruct them on their various trades. The germ of the idea came from a class formed in 1799 by Professor George Birbeck in Glasgow, Scotland, for journeymen mechanics (apprentice trade workers), with the first Institutes being organised in London and Manchester in the 1820's. By then the original aim had broadened and the Mechanics' Institutes were established as popular agencies of adult education. The Mechanics' Institutes were run by committees that provided facilities for a meeting room, hall suitable for lectures, and a library. Funding was raised locally and often supplemented by grants from government agencies for the purchase of books and other resources. Activities were community based. In Australia, Mechanics' Institutes were set up in New South Wales and in Tasmania in the late 1820's. Mechanics' Institutes began in Victoria, with the first one in Melbourne dating from 1839, providing similar services but in time offered services tailored to their specific area. 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 q856 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. In 1975 the original building was demolished and 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. NOTE: Pages of this book have been digitally recorded and archived.The Warrnambool Mechanics Institute book collection has historical and social significance for its strong association with the Mechanics Institute movement and the important role it played in the intellectual, cultural and social development of people throughout the latter part of the nineteenth century and the early twentieth century. The collection of books is a rare example of an early lending library and its significance is enhanced by the survival of an original collection of many volumes. Record book; School of Design Minutes and Institute 1883-1886 / Monthly Statement of Receipts & Expenditure 1898-1905 (Double purpose book). Card cover, red/blue/white pattern, red cloth binding, pages have ruled lines. Label on one cover reads "Monthly Statement of Receipts and Expenditure 1898-1899", label on other cover reads "Comparative Statement"flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, warrnambool mechanics' institute, mechanics' institute records warrnambool, record book 1883

These documents show the beginnings of the society with a committee in 1966 leading to the formation in 1967,These documents record the history of the Orbost & District Historical Society.A cardboard box of documents of Orbost & District Historical Society, It contains minutes, correspondence, accounts, receipt and cheque books. There are also two keys. orbost-history-documents

In 1869, the Warrnambool Meat Preserving Company commenced their business on the site, where it operated until 1875 when it was sold to the directors of the Warrnambool Woolen Mill Company. After being destroyed by fire in 1882 it wasn’t until 1910 that the Warrnambool Chamber of Commerce was approached by Marcus Saltau and Peter McGennan to invest in a new mill. The original directors were James Dickson, P J McGennan, Robert Swinton, M Saltau, and J W Younger. In 1955 the Warrnambool Woollen Mill formed a partnership with the Wangaratta Woollen Mills. Dunlop bought the mill in 1968. From that time until its closure in 2000 it had a number of different owners, the last being the Smith Family Industries. Directors listed for this period 1956 -1965 include Mr Fletcher Jones, E.E Ladner, N. K. Morris, C. J. McIntyre, J Bennett, J Dickson.. W. S Crowe was manager and Mr E.M Dempster was secretary.The minutes record the decision- making process of one of the major industries of Warrnambool for a significant period of the Woollen Mill’s operation.Heavy black card binder held with thick cloth binding. 1557 Pages with some loose pages at the back of the folder.Kalamazoo Loose leaf Books. Size 42. warrnambool,, glenleigh fabrics pty. ltd., warrnambool woollen mill

A letter copying press was first developed by James Watt in 1780. Copying clerks were employed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to copy letters and documents. In this press a sheet of oiled paper was inserted next to a dampened piece of tissue in the copying book. An unblotted letter written in special copying ink was then inserted with its face up against the back of the tissue. The book was then put into the press and screwed down tightly for a few minutes, depending on how many copies were being made. Many of these old letter books with important historical information still clearly legible survive today. This letter copying press is of great interest as it shows how letters and documents were duplicated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is of relevance to the Warrnambool and District Historical Society as its historical collection includes many letter books with copies of letters and documents relating to our local history.This is a metal letter copying press. It has a rectangular base with an over-arching curved metal piece and a handle which was able to be turned around to screw down a book. The press has been painted black at some stage but is now partly corroded. vintage letter books, history of warrnambool