Black and white photograph of a Champion Devon BullThis item is a part of a larger collection of 4,500 Frank Johnson photographs and negatives donated to Melbourne Royal by Frank Johnson’s daughter, Francis Beatty Wallace in 2016. This collection spanning from the 1930s to the 1980s holds important social and historical significance in preserving and sharing Victoria’s agricultural history and community. The photographs capture the local, regional, and state’s shared relationships developed through agriculture and the importance of farming and husbandry to the population and development of Australia. A large proportion of these photographs depict events from the Royal Melbourne Show, including livestock competitions, exhibitions and awards ceremonies. Dating back to 1848 when the society first began, the Royal Melbourne Show has held a special place in the hearts and minds of Victorians, allowing for extensive showcasing and celebration of agricultural excellence, bridging the divide between metropolitan and rural Victoria.Champion Devon Bull. Tabletop Hero. Tabletop station Tabletop NSWroyal melbourne show

BRASS TABLETOP LECTERN AS A CEREMONIAL OBJECTINSCRIBED "TO P.C. ANDERSON"st andrews church, wesley, p.c. anderson, brass lectern

THIS CROSS WAS USED IN SERVICES HELD BY ST. ANDREWS CHURCH, CLUNES, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIABRASS TABLETOP CROSS WITH TIMBER BASEst andrews church, presbyterian church

This radio set was designed and manufactured in Bacchus Marsh from 1946 and into the 1950s. In 1946 a local company Arbee Supply Co Pty Ltd acquired from Mr. R. C. Butler the business of wholesale and retail distributors of electrical goods carried on by him for some years at Bacchus Marsh. The company manufactured at Bacchus Marsh Marshman radio and electrical equipment for a number of years.A relatively rare example of a locally designed and produced new consumer technology product. Bakelite tabletop radio, small box, camel-coloured leatherette covered, glass front, three dialsIn blue print "MARSHMAN MUSIC MASTER" radios, manufacturing industries

A small tabletop wooden weaving loom. The slats are connected with metal fasteners. It could be a child's or a beginners kit loom.loom weaving wooden-toys

This item is from a collection donated by descendants of John Francis Turner of Wodonga. Mr Turner was born on 6 June 1885. He completed all of his schooling at Scots Boarding School in Albury, New South Wales. On leaving school, he was employed at Dalgety’s, Albury as an auctioneer. In 1924 John was promoted to Manager of the Wodonga Branch of Dalgety’s. On 15/03/1900 he married Beatrice Neal (born 7/12/1887 and died 7/2/1953) from Collingwood, Victoria. They had four daughters – Frances (Nancy), Heather, Jessie and Mary. In 1920, the family moved from Albury to Wodonga, purchasing their family home “Locherbie” at 169 High Street, Wodonga. "Locherbie" still stands in Wodonga in 2022. The collection contains items used by the Turner family during their life in Wodonga. A table scraper or sweeper was used in households and fine dining situations to ensure crumbs and small pieces of food could be easily and quickly removed.This item comes from a collection used by a prominent citizen of Wodonga. It is also an excellent example of domestic items used in the early 20th century.A small tray and scraper designed to sweep stray crumbs and bits of food off tabletops. This set has a kookaburra design on each piece,table crumber, dining items, domestic utensils

This desk globe was owned by Evelyn Bessie Travaskis and used when teaching at State School Wairewa where she taught from 2-2-1945 until her retirement on 29-6-1956. She retired from the Education Department temporary staff, aged 76. ( More info.from Newsletter November 2015 by John Phillips). The Philips' Challenge Globe was commonly used in Australian schools in the teaching of geography. This item is associated with the history of education in East Gippsland. It is also associated with Evelyn Trevaskis.A large globe mounted on a round metal stand which has three holes for securing to a flat surface - a desk or tabletop. It sits in a half meridian.C 1958 Philips' Challenge Globetrevaskis-evelyn globe education-equipment-geography wairewa-school

Wooden Stereoscope Viewer made for tabletop viewing with adjustable positions for ease of viewing and focusing, outer casing covered in a rosewood veneer, brass catches, hinges & rods, green hessian on base.photography, viewers, stereoscope

This unit was designed and manufactured in a factory where many local people of Bacchus Marsh worked. Ref. Historical Notes-Significance Assessment Study ( October 2008)Bakelite tabletop radio,small box,camel-coloured leatherette covered,glass front,three dials,electrical cord,4 vlave reflex super heterodyne, cord attached, incription on set reads "MARSHMAN MUSIC MASTER".Maker's mark in blue print "MARSHMAN MUSIC MASTER" (Inscription on the central area of the glass front of the unit) "BROADCAST" is printed in cream twice in the area of the radio Frequency Band listings.electrical, , bacchus marsh, bakelite, radiogram, bob butler, post war invention, leatherette, technology, 1950 s, small scale radio, heterodyne, cabinet radio, arbee supply c0, civilian radio, manufacturer s drawings, wiring layout, console model

Guide to services provided by Shire of Diamond Valley. The Shire of Diamond Valley was a Local Government Area located about 20 kilometres northeast of Melbourne. The shire covered an area of 74.38 square kilometres and existed from 1964 until 1994.Annual guide to services in Shire of Diamond Valley36 pages, col. illus., maps. Front cover is a collage of scenes from Diamond Valley, back cover illustration of a copy of "Summer Panorama, Tabletop, NSW" by Max Dimmack, from the Shire of Diamond Valley Art Collection.shire of diamond valley

Guide to services provided by Shire of Diamond Valley. The Shire of Diamond Valley was a Local Government Area located about 20 kilometres northeast of Melbourne. The shire covered an area of 74.38 square kilometres and existed from 1964 until 1994.Annual guide to services in Shire of Diamond Valley36 pages, col illus., maps. Front cover is a collage of scenes from Diamond Valley, back cover illustration of a copy of "Summer Panorama, Tabletop, NSW" by Max Dimmack, from the Shire of Diamond Valley Art Collection.shire of diamond valley, greensborough, handbooks

Frank Fearn created the painted pine table top in the early 1890s. It was displayed in the establishment of Messrs Watts and Glasier, Bath Corner, Bendigo in January 1891, and described in the ‘Bendigo Advertiser’ as being a ‘work of art’ and having ‘a circle in the centre in which some ferns have been very nicely painted’ in an interesting allusion to his surname. ‘Around the circle are likenesses of about a couple of hundred public men representing the clergy, politics, law, sports and leading local residents’. There are also some women in the likenesses, however, not mentioned in the article. The portraits are ‘life-like and considering that they are all worked out in pen and ink only, the result is really surprising’ (Bendigo Advertiser, 28th January 1891, p2) Frank Fearn (1836 – 1896) was a well known artist across the goldfield and, particularly, in his work on illuminated addresses ‘he had no superior and he enjoyed a monopoly in this line’. However, his work was not limited to a narrow field; being also known for his expertise in the theatre where he was a scene painter. Frank was born in Devonshire in 1835, migrating to Australia in 1852 on the ‘Henry Gillespie’. He spent some time as a scene painter at the Princess Theatre in Melbourne before trying his luck on the goldfield without much success. He then resumed his former profession painting scenery at the Lyceum Theatre, Bendigo. He was a member of the Bendigo Road Board during that time. He later spent time living at Tarnagulla where he leased the Theatre Royal and founded the ‘Easton and Bussey Troupe’. By 1871 he was in Dunolly, where he was appointed Land Officer for ten years. He founded the Dunolly Free library’ was Secretary of the Dunolly Philharmonic Society and a member of the Borough Council. He then went to St. Arnaud, where he leased the Railway refreshment rooms on the occasion of the opening of the rail line. His final twelve years were spent again in Bendigo. He was a witty and satirical author of articles in the ‘Bendigo Advertiser’, writing amongst other sketches, the ‘Chronicles of the Golden City’. On the occasion of Mark Twain’s (Mr. S.L. Clemens) visit to Bendigo in 1895, Frank Fearn presented him with an illuminated letter of welcome, organised in to a book form. Frank died in December 1896. (Bendigo Independent (Vic. : 1891 - 1918), Thursday 24 December 1896, p 3) A round wooden tabletop. The middle section has brown coloured images of ferns and is surrounded with a gold coloured decorative pattern. The outer section is filled with various sized faces of men and women who appear to be from the late 19th century. The initials F. F. (Frank Fearn) and 1890 are inscribed on the table top. Gold leaf edging surrounds the outer edge of the table. The bottom of the tabletop has a two centimetre diameter and eight centimetre long metal rod with half centimetre wide slot in the centre of the table top, presumable to hold legs. frank fearn, theatre, scenery painter, tarnagully, dunolly, mark twain, chronicles of the golden city, illuminated address

A Plane Table consists of a smooth wooden table surface (with metal strengthening supports) mounted on a sturdy base. The base, a three-legged Tripod, is designed to support the table over a specific point on land. The connection between the tabletop and the adjustable Tripod legs permits the user to level the table precisely, using bubble levels in a horizontal plane regardless of the roughness of the terrain. The Plane Table is a surveying device used in surveying and mapping to provide a level surface on which to make drawings, charts or maps. An alidade, with or without a telescope located on the tabletop is used to sight features and draw angles to that feature. Using these lines to the same feature from different setup locations it is possible to locate that feature on the map. Plane Tabeling was widely used by the early members of the Australian Survey Corps and in both World Wars. It remains a simple and effective tool to teach the fundamentals of mapping and surveying. It was simple to use and was reasonably robust and portable. See also item 6489.2 for the Plane Table Alidade.A wooden Plane Table with alloy fittings to strengthen and support the table top. The table is fixed to a three-legged wooden Tripod with cast alloy fittings and metal pointed tips.royal australian survey corps, rasvy, fortuna, army survey regiment, army svy regt, asr, 4 fd svy sqn, school of military survey

The autoharp is a portable, stringed musical instrument. It is a member of the zither family but differs from the traditional zither in that chords can be easily played. The buttons on the chord bars of the autoharp can be pressed onto the strings to make different sounds. The labels on the autoharp denote the chords and the notes that the strings play. The instrument is played with the box resting on a flat surface such as a tabletop, with the left hand moving the chord buttons and the right hand strumming the strings, usually with a pick or plectrum . The autoharp was invented around the mid-1880s. There are models now available that have variations in the numbers of strings the instrument has, and differences in the sounds of the chords. Typically the autoharp has 36 strings.This autoharp is an example of musical instruments played at social gatherings and concerts in the late 1800s and early to mid 1900s. It was easily carried by the player. It is usually held in the crook of the left arm with the narrow end resting on the should and the left hand supporting the wider end, the hand pressing on the chord buttons. The right hand strums in a similar way to a playing a guitar, usually holding a soft pick or plectrum.Autoharp, painted dark brown with red rose flower decals. The portable stringed musical instrument is a member of the zither family. The autoharp is shaped like a hollow box with one corner cut off. Strings of various lengths are attached with equal spacing, parallel to the long edge of the box. A slotted board rests over the top of the strings at one end, and buttons on the slots can be pressed onto the felt-padded bars below them to produce chords. There are labels on the upper and lower boards that denote chords and musical notes.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, musical instrument, stringed instrument, harp, auto harp, zither, portable

This Edition, Published by AIF News, was printed to celebrate the end of WWII in the Pacific Region. It was kept by L.A.C. Charles Harold Dix 119700 R.A.A.F. No. 2 Squadron Stationed at Balikpapan at the time. (past member of RSL Waverley sub branch)Records the end of hostilities in the Pacific Region WWII and give an insight into how the news was communicated, as well as into other issues important at the time.4 page A4 Newspaper, pages brownish due to deterioration and fragile due to folds and rips.Print is still clear and readable Table Topsbalikpapan, pacific war, victory, charles harold dix, japan surrenders, newspaper, newsletter, 6th august 1945, table tops, tabletops, aif news, wwii

This smoker’s cabinet is a very decorative and clever version of the item that was a novelty piece of furniture that appeared before the First World War. The contents of the cabinet are cleverly hidden behind a tambour roller door. The door slides down into the cabinet when the bottom drawer is unlocked and pulled forward, revealing two more drawers and a shelf. The bottom drawer is fitted with its own removable ashtray and a match striker. The smoker’s cabinet was a popular piece of personal furniture from the 1900s to the 1930s. The cabinet was usually designed so that its purpose was hidden. Behind the door would be a place to store all manner of things associated with smoking, such as pipes, cigars or tobacco, a removable ashtray, matches and perhaps cigar trimmers. The small cabinet was presented to Dr Angus in March 1927 by patients of the Mira hospital in Nhill, Victoria, to show their appreciation for his care. It may have been chosen as something suitable for Dr Angus to take with him when shortly afterwards sailed overseas to study at the London University College Hospital and at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. In 1928 he became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh, before returning to Australia. He and his wife and their young family settled in the Nhill district until moving to Warrnambool in 1939. His family donated this smoker’s cabinet, along with many other historic items, and it is now part of the W.R. Angus Collection. W.R. Angus Collection- The W R Angus Collection spans from 1885 to the mid-1900s and includes historical medical and surgical equipment and instruments from the doctors Edward and Thomas Ryan of Nhill, Victoria. Dr Angus married Gladys in 1927 at Ballarat, the nearest big city to Nhill where he began as a Medical Assistant. He was also Acting House surgeon at the Nhill hospital where their two daughters were born. He and his family moved to Warrnambool in 1939, where Dr Angus operated his own medical practice. He later added the part-time Port Medical Officer responsibility and was the last person appointed to that position. Dr Angus and his wife were very involved in the local community, including the early planning stages of the new Flagstaff Hill, where they contributed to the layout of the gardens. Dr Angus passed away in March 1970.This smoker’s cabinet is significant as an unusual and rare piece of personal vintage furniture. The tambour roller door is seldom seen on this type of cabinet. The smoker’s cabinet is connected to the history of Warrnambool, as it was owned by Dr W. R. Angus and is part of the W.R. Angus Collection, which is notable for still being located at the site connected to Doctor Angus, Warrnambool’s last Port Medical Officer. It is also connected to the history of western Victoria through its origin, being a gift from the patients of the Mira Hospital in Nhill to Dr Angus, who was the local doctor there in the 1920s and 1930s. Smoker’s cabinet; a stained and lacquered Rosewood tabletop cabinet with a tambour cover. The cabinet is lockable. The tambour shutter door rolls downwards as the bottom drawer is opened, revealing the top two drawers and shelf. The bottom drawer is divided into compartments and has a fitted metal bowl with a bar across it to use as an ashtray and an attached striking surface for lighting matches. The cupboard had decorative silver metal swinging handles on the drawers and sides. The underside of the cabinet is painted crimson. A shield-shaped silver metal commemorative plaque is attached to the top. The cupboard was a gift to Dr W R Angus on March 7th 1927 from the patients of the Mira Hospital in Nhill, Victoria, and is part of the W.R. Angus Collection.Inscription on the plaque: “Dr W.R. ANGUS, A Token of Appreciation from the Patients of “Mira” Hospital, Nhill, Victoria, March 7th 1927.”flagstaff hill, warrnambool, maritime village, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, great ocean road, dr w r angus, dr roy angus, dr ryan, smoker’s cabinet, smoker’s cupboard, tambour door, smoking stand, smoking accessory, novelty furniture, tobacco storage, tabletop cabinet, patients’ gift, mira hospital, nhill hospital, w.r. angus, doctor angus, dr angus, march 7th 1927, w.r. angus collection

Great celebrations took place in Albury, NSW for the celebration of the Centenary of the Hume and Hovell expedition. The Hume and Hovell journey of discovery to Port Phillip took place during 1824-1825. On November 20, 1824, they successfully crossed the Murray River not far from Albury and proceeded on a route to Port Phillip. To celebrate the Centenary of this crossing, the city of Albury held a series of activities during the week of Sunday 16th November to Saturday 22nd November 1924. As part of these celebrations the Albury Race Club held a special race meeting conducted on Thursday 20th and Saturday 22nd November 1924. This badge was produced as a memorabilia for that meeting. Prize money over the two day meeting totalled over £3,000. The star events were the Centenary Cup of I mile and 3 furlongs with a prize of £1000 (one thousand pounds) and a Gold Cup valued at one hundred guineas, donated by Mrs. Jas. Mitchell of Tabletop, and the John Campbell Handicap of one mile carrying $500 and trophy valued at 50 guineas donated by the chairman of the Club, Mr. J. Campbell. A gold whip donated by Mr. Norman Crow was presented to the jockey riding the Cup winner. This item is significant because it is an example of memorabilia produced for the centenary celebrations for the Hume and Hovell Expedition.An enamelled fob medallion featuring a central image with a tree at the top and text. The tree is the Hovell Tree at Albury. The central image is of indigenous man facing Albury’s civic buildings with the Murray River in between. The fob is attached to a blue twisted cord.1824 1924 HUME & HOVELL CENTENARY RACE MEETING 20th and 22nd Nov 1924 On back: 244B SIMPSONhume & hovell, hume & hovell centenary, albury race club

This Gestetner Cyclostyle duplicating machine was invented and manufactured by David Gestetner. He claimed in 1922, once he had released several models, that if a Gestetner Durotype stencil was used together with his Cyclostyle machine, then 10,000 copies could be made from the one Durotype stencil, an amazing claim for office technology of that era. David Gestetner (1854-1939), was born in Csoma, Hungary. He has been called the “founder of the worldwide office copying and duplicator industry.). He moved to London and in 1879 filed his first copying patent. In 1881 he patented the Cyclostyle stylus (or pen), which was used in conjunction with his Cyclograph device for copying text and images, He established the Gestetner Cyclograph Company in England at this time (1881) to protect his inventions and to produce his products; stencils, stylos (stylus or pen) and ink rollers. HIs inventions included nail-clipper and the ball-point pen (although the latter is more commonly associated with Laszlo Biro). Gestetner’s patented Cyclograph duplicator was used with his Cyclostyle Stylus or pen to write or draw on special thin wax-coated stencil paper (originally used for kite making paper) in the following way; 1. The Cyclostyle stencil was placed on a lower, framed metal plate of the Cyclograph 2. An upper frame was clipped over the top 3. The Cyclostyle pen, with its tip being a small metal-spiked or toothed wheel, was used to write or draw on the stencil, punched small holes into the paper and removed the wax coating in those places 4. The upper frame and stencil was then removed and a piece of blank paper was placed onto the metal plate in the lower frame and the upper frame with stencil was replaced 5. A roller was given an even distribution of Cyclostyle ink and rolled by hand over the stencil in the frame. This forced the ink through the holes in the stencil to and made a copy of the stencil on the paper 6. The upper frame was raised, the printed paper removed and another blank sheet was put into place. The whole process was repeated until enough copies were made. Gestetner’s invention developed further in 1894, with a stencil that could be placed on a screen on a revolving drum. The drum was manually rotated, the stencil then wrapped around another drum and was fed between cloth-covered rollers on which ink was evenly spread. Each revolution of the drum forced ink through the holes in the stencil and transferred the ink onto paper that had been fed between rollers and pressed against the drum. The process was repeated for each page. The paper was still fed and removed manually in this earlier invention but became more automatic in later models. In 1902 Gestetner duplicator model 6 was put onto the market. This model included the improvement of an automatic paper feed that synchronised with the rotation of the stencil. The Gestetner machine was the first office printing machine. It was easily installed and it made exact copies of the sane document quickly, effectively and inexpensively. This changed the way offices operated, making information easily available to many more users. The machines were commonly used in small businesses, schools, churches, clubs and other organisations for the wide distribution of a wide variety of information in the form of worksheets, newsletters and more. In 1906 the Gestetner Works were opened in Tottenham Hale, North London, and thousands of people were employed there up until the 1970’s. Due to the fast growing success of the Gestetner Duplicator machines many international branches for sales and service centres were established. David Gestetner was succeeded by his son Sigmund, followed by his grandson’s David and Jonathan. Further advancement was made by using a manual typewriter with specifically designed stencils. The end product was a printed, typewritten copy similar to the print from newspapers and booklets. In the next few years there were further developments of this revolutionary invention. The Gestetner Cyclostyle duplicator in our Collection is dated c.1922 - 1929 and it uses Gestetner Durotype stencils The 1922 British Industries Fair’s catalogue contained advertising for the Gestetner Rotary Cyclostyle “The World’s Premier Duplicator”, demonstrated at Stand K 86.” A Notice at the foot of the advertisement’s page boasts "Important - D Gestetner's latest invention, the "Durotype" Stencil, enables you to obtain 10,000 copies from one original if desired. It contains no wax of any description, is indestructible, can be stored indefinitely and printed from as required” In 1929 the look of the Gestetner machines changed; American designer Raymond Loewy was invited by Gestetner to improve the look of his duplicators, resulting in a very streamlined appearance. Eventually, around 1960’s, offices replaced their Gestetner with small photocopying machines and printers. Gestetner took over ownership of other office machine companies over time, including Nashua, Rex Rotary, Hanimex and Savin and eventually all came under the holding company name of NRG (Nashuatech, Rex Rotary and Gestetner). In 1996 Ricoh acquired the Gestetner Company, and it was renamed the NRG Group. REFERENCES Cyclostyle, Stencil Duplicating Machines, antique Copying Machines, Early Office Museum, http://www.officemuseum.com/copy_machines.htm Duplicating machines, Wikipedia Duplicator, Collection online, Canada Science and Technology Museums Corporation http://techno-science.ca/en/collection-research/collection-item.php?id=1989.0229.001 Gestetner duplicators, Totterham-Summerhillroad.com http://tottenham-summerhillroad.com/gestetner_duplicators_tottenham.htm Gestetner Duplicator, V&A Museum http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O322014/gestetner-duplicator-duplicator-loewy-raymond-fernand/ Gestetner, Grace’s Guide to British Industrial History, http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Gestetner Duplicating machines such as this one revolutionalised access to copies of printed material, changing the way that educational bodies, offices, small businesses and community clubs and charities operated.Duplicating machine, Gestetner Cyclostyle Durotype, a stencil-method duplicating machine with two rotating drums plus rollers. Hand operated, tabletop office machine. Front has folding Bakelite handle, oil filling hole, calibrating gauge with scale, and copy counting meter. Right side has printed manufacturer’s plate that slides out as a paper output tray. Left side has metal plate with protrusions and perforations, plus another similar plate that is detached. It also has a metal frame attached [that would have been used to hold a paper input board, adjusted for various sizes of paper]. Cover, metal, with folding wooden handle on top, attaches to base with metal clips. Inscriptions printed on machine, mostly in gold-coloured paint. Round metal manufacturing plate is stamped with Serial Number 95759. Made by D. Gestetner, London, c.1922-1929Maker’s plate “MANUFACTURED / BY / D. GESTETNER LTD, / No. 95759 / CYCLOSTYLE WORKS / TOTTENHAM HALE / LONDON, N” Copy counting meter shows “1 4 6 4 8 [space]“ copies. Calibrating gauge has divisions with numbers “0 1 2“, labelled “← [left arrow] “TO PRINT LOWER” and “→ [right arrow], TO PRINT HIGHER”. “The Gestetner”, “Cyclostyle”, “Gestetner” (Trade Mark), Right side print of manufacturing details includes “The / Gestetner / TRADE MARK” And “THE FOLLOWING TRAFE MARKS / - - - OF INK, STENCILS / - - - AND GUARANTEE OF PERFECT / - - - BOTH - - - AND MACHINE” and “CYCLOSTYLE / DUROTYPE / GESTETNER” and “D. Gestetner” flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, office machine, copying machine, gestetner machine, duplicating machine, duplicator, stencil machine, gestetner cyclograph company, cyclograph, cyclostyle, d. gestetner ltd, gestetner durotype stencils, gestetner cyclostyle, printing machine, office technology, durotype stencils, david gestetner, raymond loewy, roneo, rotary duplicatorten, mimeo, mimeograph machine, roneograph copier

This decorative brass table-top Missal stand was presented to the Missions to Seamen in Williamstown in memory of Richard Hodgkiss, after his death on December 14th 1938, by Mrs M A Hodgkiss. Decorative book rests like this one were used to support the Bible during services at the Williamstown Missions to Seamen and is now part of the St. Nicholas Seamen's Church Collection. THE MISSIONS TO SEAMEN (Brief History): - The Missions to Seamen was an Anglican charity in Great Britain that has served the world's seafarers since 1856. Its symbol is a Flying Angel, inspired by a Bible verse. Today, there are centres in over 200 ports worldwide where seamen of all backgrounds are offered a warm welcome and provided with a wide range of facilities. In Victoria, the organisation began in Williamstown in 1857 as a Sailors’ Church, also known as ‘Bethel’ or the ‘Floating Church’ in an old hulk floating in Hobson’s Bay, Port of Melbourne. It soon became part of the Missions to Seamen, Victoria. In the year 2000, the organisation, now named Mission to Seafarers, still operated locally in Melbourne, Portland, Geelong and Hastings. The Ladies’ Harbour Lights Guild was formed in 1906 to support the Missions to Seamen in Melbourne and other centres, such as Williamstown. Two of the most significant ladies of the Guild were founder Ethel Augusta Godfrey and foundation member Alice Sibthorpe Tracy (who established a branch of the Guild in Warrnambool in 1920). The Guild continued its work until the 1960s. In 1943, a former Williamstown bank was purchased for the Missions to Seaman Club. The chapel was named St Nicholas’ Seamen’s Church and was supported by the Ladies’ Harbour Lights Guild, the Williamstown Lightkeepers’ Auxiliary and the League of Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Friends. It ceased operation in 1966. A Missions to Seamen Chapel and Recreation Room was a significant feature of ports during the late 1800s and into the 1900s. It seemed appropriate for Flagstaff Hill to include such a representation within the new Maritime Village, so the Melbourne Board of Management of Missions to Seamen Victoria gave its permission on 21st May 1979 for the entire furnishings of the Williamstown chapel to be transferred to Flagstaff Hill. The St Nicholas Seamen’s Church was officially opened on October 11, 1981, and closely resembles the Williamstown chapel.This table-top Missal stand is historically significant for its origin in the St Nicholas Mission to Seamen's Church in Williamstown, established in 1857 to cater for the physical, social, and spiritual needs of seafarers. It originated in Bristol, England, when a Seamen's Mission was formed in 1837. It is socially important for its connection to the Williamstown St. Nicholas Seamen's church as it was dedicated to a family member.Table-top Missal stand, also called a Bible rest, book rest or table top stand: brass, rectangular surface with clover motifs holes in each corner. The triangular leg frames are screwed beneath the short sides to create a slope. The lower edge has a vertical, decorative shelf. The inscription on the top surface dedicates the book stand to Richard Hodgkiss, 1938. This book stand is part of the St. Nicholas Seamen's Church Collection. "In Loving Memory of Richard Hodgkiss - passed away 14 12 38. Presented by Mrs M A Hodgkiss."flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, religious service, missions to seamen victoria, st nicholas seaman’s church williamstown, church furniture, religious worship, bible rest, tabletop lectern, bible reading, preaching accessory, book rest, memorial object, m a hodgkiss, richard hodgkiss, missel table book stand, book stand, bible stand, table-top stand, table-top book rest, table-top missal stand, missal desk