This is a book of 78 pages with a stiffened cardboard cover. The cover is greyish-white with a colour photograph of the hospital and background blurred images of St John of God nuns on the front cover. The book contains printed material, maps, tables, black and white and colour photographs and illustrations.non-fictionHistory of St John of God Hospital, Warrnambool 1939-2014st john of god warrnambool hospital, glenrye, healthcare, warrnambool

These framed tourist maps came from the Lane Foundation so it is presumed that they were from the office of Lane’s Travel Service which operated from 205 Raglan Parade Warrnambool with the known dates, the 1950s and 1960s. The proprietor, Alan Lane, was a successful Warrnambool businessman who operated a Warrnambool and district bus service as well as his travel business. He was heavily involved in local community affairs being a Warrnambool Councillor for 18 years from 1952 to 1970 and President of the Warrnambool Chamber of Commerce for six years. He was a major donor to the Warrnambool Performing Arts Centre, the Warrnambool Art Gallery and the St. John of God Hospital and left the bulk of his estate to the Alan Lane Foundation which has contributed millions of dollars to local organizations and programs. Alan Lane died in 1995. These framed maps are of some interest as examples of the tourism maps used to promote the city and district in the 1950s and 60s. This is a tourist map of the Warrnambool C.B.D. and adjoining streets produced as an advertisement for Olympic Tyres. It is multi-coloured and has cartoon sketches of the main tourist attractions and pointers to attractions outside of the main city area. It includes an inset black and white photograph of the Warrnambool Botanic Gardens and an advertisement for Olympic Tyres. It is printed on a white background and is enclosed behind glass in a wooden frame of a light brown colour. It has a wire at the back for attachment to a wall. ‘Warrnambool – 163 miles from Melbourne – a popular tourist resort offering many holiday attractions – an ideal surfing beach with all modern facilities is avalable’ ‘Fit Olympic Tyres, Champions of the Road’ alan lane foundation, warrnambool tourism

These two important books are part of a series produced in the 1880s but they have widely-different content. One describes the natural history of the Parish of Selborne in the County of Hampshire in England. It was written by the British naturalist and ornithologist, Gilbert White and first published in 1789. Since that time it has been republished over 300 times right up to the present day. It is notable for its charm and simplicity and for its description of a pre-industrial England. The other is by the American author, Walt Whitman, first published in 1871. It is a major work of comparative politics and expounds on the influence of the Louisiana Purchase and the expansion of the American spirit and character. It also denounces the post-Civil War materialism that had spread at that time in America. These books are of interest because of their antiquarian nature but they are mostly of local Warrnambool interest because of their inscriptions. The books belonged to William Hugh McMahon (1862-1936). William McMahon commenced a legal practice in Warrnambool in 1894, firstly in Liebig Street and later in Kepler Street. He was a prominent lawyer in Warrnambool for 30 years and a staunch adherent of the Presbyterian Church. He and his family lived at ‘Glenrye’ at the corner of Ardlie Street and Botanic Road, a site where the St. John of God Hospital was later established. These two accompanying volumes are in the Camelot Series (1887 and 1888). They are hard cover books with red covers and two ornamental patterns on the front cover (stylized urn and fan shapes). The urn pattern is repeated on the spines. ‘The Natural History of Selborne’ has 366 pages (a Preface and Chapters on the Natural History of Selborne, a Naturalist’s Calendar and Observations on Various Branches of Natural History) and ‘Democratic Vistas’ has 175 pages (a Preface and 12 Chapters). The latter has the remains of a label stuck to the front cover. The handwriting on the inside first pages are in black ink.Book One: ‘W.H.McMahon, June 24th 1889, Warrnambool’ Book Two: ‘W.H.McMahon, Sept. 4th 1891, Warrnambool’ gilbert white, english natural history, walt whitman, american politics, william mcmahon, solicitor, warrnambool., warrnambool history