This school text book was written by John James Burston. He was the son of David and Sarah Burston of Warrnambool. Both his father and his brother Benjamin taught in schools in the Warrnambool area. John Burston was at Mepunga and Woodford schools before leaving in 1871 to be the Master of the Anglican School at Creswick. He then became the head teacher at schools in Ballarat and Bendigo before going to the Brighton Road State School in St. Kilda. He spent 16½ years there before retiring in 1911. Burston was a well-known writer of school text books, including The State School Arithmetic, The State School Grammar and Exercises in Practice and Proportion. He died in 1915.This book is of great interest because it was written by John James Burston, a one-time resident in the Warrnambool area and a teacher with a distinguished record in education – he taught in schools in Victoria for 44½ years and wrote several texts for State Schools.This is a hard cover book of 243 pages. There are several blank pages in the middle of the book and at the end for teachers’ notes. The cover is dark red with gold lettering on the front cover and on the spine. There are some illustrations scattered throughout the text.john james burston, physics and general lessons for victorian state schools, warrnambool