BHS CollectionCertificate of Competency No.852 - We, the members of the Municipal Clerks Board appointed by the Governor General for the examination of candidates for the Certificate of Competency as Municipal Clerk under the Local Government Acts, certify that Leslie John Ellison is duly qualified to fulfil the duties of such office. Given under our hands and seal at Melbourne this Thirty-first Day of March 1959. Signed by three members of the board and the Secretary. Typed at the bottom: This certificate is a replacement of original, issued 1943. Aileen and John Ellison Collection.municipal clerk board, ellison, certificate of competency

Two handwritten letters by John Ellison. Date and addressee unknown. The first letter written on a Municipal Clerks' Board letterhead describe life as a law student. The second is titled "Lambing season in Victoria. Part of the Aileen and John Ellison collection.lambing, farm life, law

In Kew’s Civic Century (1960), Cr. W.D. Vaughan described William Dickie Birrell M.B.E. (1899-1974) as follows: “Mr. W. D. Birrell, who had been on the staff of the Country Roads Board after his return from active service with the First A.I.F., was appointed assistant town clerk on February 15, 1921. On Mr. Harrison’s retirement he was appointed town clerk and city treasurer, and has given outstanding service. His knowledge of municipal administration has been acknowledged by the Government calling on his services to advise on amendments to the Local Government Act. He is a past president of the Town Clerks Institute, and on the nomination of that body was honoured by Her Majesty the Queen in 1958 with the award of the M.B.E. He still occupies the position and is held in the highest esteem not only by the Kew Council, but also by local government administrators throughout the metropolitan area.” (page 132) He died on 7 May 1974, and his ashes were interred at the Boroondara General Cemetery. This portrait is one of a series of mounted and framed photographic portraits of Mayors and Town Clerks of the former Borough, Town and City of Kew, for the period 1863 to 1969. The portraits were transferred by the City of Kew to the Kew Historical Society in March 1989. A Significance Assessment in 2018, funded by the National Library of Australia confirmed the historic, and often artistic significance of the series. Framed portrait of W. D. Birrell - Town Clerk of the City of Kew from 1936 -. The mounting and framing of the photograph follows a typical layout or style in that it each is framed in dark wood, glazed, and laid down on an inscribed board. The inscription identifies the name of the town clerk and the year/s that he served.W.D. BIRRELL / TOWN CLERK 1938-town clerks - kew (vic), w.d. birrell, photographers - stuart tompkins studios - camberwell (vic), kew (vic.) — municipal collection

Cr. W.D. Vaughan in his civic history of Kew includes a chapter (XXXII, pages 132-3) to Town Clerks and Surveyors. He states that H.H. Harrison began his career with the Borough of Kew in 1888 as his predecessor's assistant, becoming Town Clerk on the latter's death in 1901. On his retirement, The Herald on 30 Jul 1938 reported that: "H.H. HARRISON, Town Clerk of Kew, was entertained last night by members of the Metropolitan Institute of Town Clerks and presented with a walking stick and case of pipes, on the occasion of his retirement after 50 years' service with Kew City Council. He began his municipal career as a youth with the Bendigo City Council, and in 1888, was appointed Assistant Town Clerk at Kew. Appointed Town Clerk in 1901, he has held the office for 37 years."This portrait is one of a series of mounted and framed photographic portraits of Mayors and Town Clerks of the former Borough, Town and City of Kew, for the period 1863 to 1969. The portraits were transferred by the City of Kew to the Kew Historical Society in March 1989. A Significance Assessment in 2018, funded by the National Library of Australia confirmed the historic, and often artistic significance of the series. Framed portrait of Henry Hirst Harrison, Town Clerk of the City of Kew from 1901 to 1938. The mounting and framing of the photograph follows a typical layout or style in that it each is framed in dark wood, glazed, and laid down on an inscribed board. The inscription identifies the name of the town clerk and the year/s that he served.H.H. Harrison, Town Clerk 1901-1938h.h. harrison, town clerks - kew (vic), kew (vic.) — municipal collection

Monochrome photographic work of the Portland Town Council. One large photograph of Cr James Long the Mayor surrounded by nine smaller photographs of the rest of the Town Council. The images are mounted into great board and each photograph is bordered in gold. There are also floral images in blue painted around the photographs. It is framed in a dark painted wooden frame with a gold floral border.PORTLAND / MUNICIPAL COUNCIL / Cr James Long - Mayor - 1906-07. / Cr Hanlon Ex Mayor / Cr French / Cr Wilshire / Cr Woods / Cr Couch / Mr T.E.C. Henry - Town Clerk / Cr Craike / Dr Davis / Cr Wilson Bottom left - Richards & Co Ballaratportland town council, councillors, municipal life, municipal council, portland, 1900s