The card from a Canadian couple, Shirley and Bill Jackson is addressed to Andrew Bolt, reverend of the Mission in 2003. They thank Mr Bolt for his help.White bifold card with decorative edging. Front half has a spray of holly and a spray of blue berries set in a gold oval. The area surrounding the oval is embossed. Small sprays of holly and of blue berries are scattered on the back half.On the inside of the card is a hand-written letter of thanks to Mr Bolt, dated January 1 2003 from Shirley and Bill Jackson. Title of the card, imprinted on the back is 'Carol's Rose Garden'.christmas card, andrew bolt, shirley jackson, bill jackson

A pictorial journey through Bruno's sculpture garden in Marysville with an additional section of photographs taken post-2009 Black Saturday bushfires.A pictorial journey through Bruno's sculpture garden in Marysville with an additional section of photographs taken post-2009 Black Saturday bushfires. Bruno's Sculpture Garden is one of Marysville's popular attractions. There is a sculpture garden as well as a gallery of artworks. Both the garden and gallery were destroyed during the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires. Some of the sculptures were totally destroyed though a few did survive the fires. Bruno made the decision to re-sculpt the lost sculptures and re-built his gallery and re-open his garden to visitors to Marysville. This book is a new edition of a book that has been published as a symbol of the re-birth of both Marysville and Bruno's Sculpture Garden. Hardback. Front cover has a photograph of a sculpture of a large hand with a waterfall flowing from it. There is also a sculpture of a girl kneeling by the waterfall capturing water in her hands. The back cover has a photograph of a sculpture of two figures holding hands, one of whom is carrying a water jug.To this wonderful planet Earth/ Our experiences and stories are the colours of our life Acknowledgement/ I would like to express my gratitude to Iris and Andrew for their great work and enthusiasm toward this project/ and to all the people who have inspired me, especially my wife Marleen. Also many thanks to Jerome and Linda/ for all their generous support and to Ron Patterson for making it possible./ Bruno Torfsbruno torfs, bruno's art and sculpture garden, gardens-design, marysville, victoria, sculpture, australia, sculpture garden, sculptors, 2009 black saturday bushfires

This publication accompanied the exhibition of UB Bachelor of Visual Arts (Graphic Design) graduate students which ran from 23 November to 2 December 2012. Foreword by Professor John McDonald, Dean, School of Education and Arts, and by "Inkahoots" design studio. Student list: Christopher Frith, James Croft, Jesse Mason, Andrew Cox, Daniel Roache, Jenna Locket, Aaron Croft, Emily Phillips, Caitlin Heimeier, Maddy Collicoat, Brayden Waight, Elisa Micallef, Danii Zecevic, Zoe-Lee Scriven, Carla Ellis, Bryce Holywell, Lindsay Sewart, Megan Sutherland, Steven Fiume, Brianna Wines, Matt Sullivan, Alyssa Roberts, Hayley Burman, Jacqui Leutenmayr, Jessica Weston, Kimberley Wilson, Georgia Clarke, Josh Fry, Breanna Dignan, Lucy-Ann Moore, Tom Miatke, Daniel Howard, Matt Watts. 33 students. Inside back cover, thanks supporters, lecturers and sponsors. Lecturers: Ben Mangan, Chrissie Smith, Gavin Nash, Luke Keys, Glen Bellman, Travis Price, Sam Harmer, Damian Lentini, Jennifer Jones-O'Neill, Jimmy Pasakos, Pete Swan and Peter Pilven. Book layout and design by Aaron Croft, James Croft and Daniel Howard. Note: "Multimedia" has been removed from the degree title here.Promotional catalogue created by University of Ballarat, Bachelor of Visual Arts (Graphic Design) third year, graduating students, 2012. 40pp text pages (printed orange, silver and black) and 4pp saddle stitched cover (printed orange and silver), uncoated stock.university of ballarat, federation university, graphic design, multimedia, bachelor, degree, camp street campus, arts academy, christopher frith, james croft, jesse mason, andrew cox, daniel roache, jenna locket, aaron croft, emily phillips, caitlin heimeier, maddy collicoat, brayden waight, elisa micallef, danii zecevic, zoe-lee scriven, carla ellis, bryce holywell, lindsay sewart, megan sutherland, steven fiume, brianna wines, matt sullivan, alyssa roberts, hayley burman, jacqui leutenmayr, jessica weston, kimberley wilson, georgia clarke, josh fry, breanna dignan, lucy-ann moore, tom miatke, daniel howard, matt watts, ben mangan, chrissie smith, gavin nash, luke keys, glen bellman, travis price, sam harmer, damian lentini, jennifer jones-o'neill, jimmy pasakos, pete swan and peter pilven

At the Imperial War Conference in 1917, and again at the conference of overseas Prime Ministers in 1918, King George V had foreshadowed a visit to the Dominions by his eldest son, “when peace comes”. At the end of the War, the King kept his pledge and, following on from successful visits to other countries, including the USA and West Indies in 1919, Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David, the Prince of Wales, embarked on a journey to Australia. The visit was in part to offer official thanks for the support Australia had shown Great Britain during World War I. It was also designed to strengthen the links between Australia and the Empire. The Prince of Wales arrived in Australia on board the HMS Renown in April 1920, having left England the previous month. He spent nine days in Victoria, eleven days in New South Wales, four days in Tasmania, eleven days in Western Australia, six days in South Australia and eight days in Queensland. In all, he visited 110 cities and towns across Australia.Metal badge with photo of Prince of Walesprince of wales, royal visit 1920, badge

[from EDHS Newsletter No. 75, November 1990:] WALTER WITHERS PLAQUE At long last we have unveiled our plaque in the Walter Withers Reserve. The function was attended by a number of members and friends of the Society and descendants of the Withers family. Following the unveiling, the group proceeded to the Eltham Shire Office for afternoon tea and a small exhibition of Withers' paintings arranged by Andrew Mackenzie. The unveiling was performed by Mary Owen, a grand-daughter of Walter Withers. Her speech provided an interesting personal perspective on Withers and is repeated in full here: I feel somewhat overwhelmed by the responsibility of paying tribute to the man you have all come to honour today. I have the feeling that most of you probably know more about him and his work than I do. Walter Withers died nearly seven years before I was born and so I never knew him. Sadly, although other members of his family inherited some of his talent, I was not among them and I know very little about art. This is doubly hard to bear because my husband had some ability to draw and my second daughter also has some talent in this direction. My children are all artistic - mostly in the field of music inherited partly from their father - a Welshman who sang like a Welshman - and partly from my grandmother, Fanny Withers who, I believe was no mean pianist. However all this talent gave me a miss and for many years I felt a complete ignoramus in the fields of the arts. It was not until I was nearly fifty years old that I walked into a gallery in Brisbane and, as I wandered around the room, suddenly one picture leapt at me and I knew instantly that it had been painted by my grandfather. I had never seen the picture before and it gave me quite a shock to find that I had recognized the style of painting. I realized then that I had absorbed more than I realized simply by living with pictures and with people who painted them and talked about their painting and the painting of others. When I was a child I sometimes spent school holidays with my Aunt Margery Withers and her husband, Richard McCann. Aunt Marge painted me several times but I'm afraid I was a restless subject and used to sit reading a book and look up grudgingly when she wanted to paint my eyes. During the September holidays my aunt and uncle were busy preparing paintings far the annual exhibition of the Melbourne Twenty Painters, to which they both belonged. I remember how important I used to feel when they took me along to the Athenaeum Gallery on the Friday night before the opening to help hang their pictures. There were many artists there but the two I remember are perhaps surprisingly both women: Miss Bale and Miss Tweddle. I remember how cold it used to be up in that gallery at night. They used to heat water on a gas ring to make tea and Aunt Marge used to bring sandwiches and fruit for our evening meal. Everyone seemed to be poor in those days and no-one dreamed of going out for a meal. It was a case of make-do - even to cutting down frames to fit pictures or cutting pictures to fit the frames. They had to use the same frames from year to year if the pictures didn't sell. The opening was an exciting event for me. I felt I was privileged to meet important people - people who knew a lot more than I - and Uncle Dick would get quite merry after a couple of the tiny sweet sherries which were always distributed. I realise now that quite a lot of "art talk" rubbed off on me during my visits to the Athenaeum and during my stays with my aunt and uncle. I suspect that much of our most useful learning comes this way and those of us who have had the privilege of associating with artists, writers, philosophers and other thinkers have a richness in our lives of which we may be unaware. Walter Withers was a prolific painter and, although he painted for love of it, I suspect that the need to provide for his family drove him, like Mozart, to greater efforts than he might otherwise have achieved. Reading old letters and articles about the Heidelberg artists, I have come to realize something of the constant strain placed on many of them - particularly Withers and McCubbin - by poverty and the need to make ends meet. Withers was ever conscious of the need to provide for his wife and his five children and there are touching letters to his wife, regretting that he was not able to earn more for them. In addition to his painting, he worked hard at teaching and illustrating and, as he grew older, the strain began to tell and his health deteriorated. He seems never to have had a very strong constitution and suffered from rheumatism, which must have made painting quite painful at times. His eldest daughter, Gladys, was eventually confined to a wheelchair with rheumatoid arthritis and I have a tendency to arthritis myself, so I am particularly aware of what this could have meant to him. Recently I found a short letter written by my mother to her mother, Fanny Withers on the anniversary of her father's birthday in 1919, in which she said: "Poor old Dad, I often think now what a lot he must have suffered. His life was too hard and too strenuous for him. He had too many chick-a-biddies, I think. He wasn't equal to so much town life and train journeys with so many delicacies as he had. Since I have been ill, I have realised what he must have felt like.” He certainly drove himself to produce. He travelled all over Victoria by train, buggy, bicycle and on foot and for a time he travelled from Eltham to Melbourne every day by train, although later he lived in Melbourne during the week and only returned to Eltham for the weekends. My mother died seven years after her father's death, when my twin sisters were 10 days old and I was 16 months. So I never knew my mother or my grandfather. But my two aunts, Gladys and Margery, sometimes took me to stay with Gan Withers at Southernwood in Bolton Street . No cars in those days and it seemed a very long hot and dusty walk from the Station. Three memories remain with me of Southernwood. One is the well at the back which I found quite terrifying; the second is Gan killing a snake - even more terrifying. She was a formidable woman, my grandmother and a great ally and support to her husband. I think she was the business end of the partnership. The third memory of Southernwood is my grandfather's studio – down what seemed like a toy staircase inside the room. This and the big walk-in fireplace stayed in my mind from the age of about six until I saw them again about forty years later when the house was being used as a Sunday School. I just wish that money could be found to purchase this old house for the City of Eltham so that a permanent museum could be established in memory of a man who did so much to put Eltham on the map of art history. Recently I have become interested in family history and spent some time in England, Ireland and Wales looking for traces of my ancestors. I realized then how important it is to have records of people who have contributed to our society. We forget so soon and it is amazing how often, within two generations, names, dates and many details are forgotten. We are fortunate that so many of Walter Withers' works have been bought by galleries and that people like Andrew Mackenzie have taken the trouble to search out people who knew him and to write about him and his work. And I am very grateful to the Historical Society of Eltham for recognizing the importance of having a permanent tribute in Eltham to the contribution made by Walter Withers, who loved Eltham so much and who has assured this lovely district a place in the annals of history. I am indebted to Kathleen Mangan; the daughter of another famous Australian painter , Fred McCubbin, - featured in The Age this morning (thanks again to Andrew Mackenzie) for the most apt tribute to Walter Withers. Kathleen is not well and she rang me a couple of days ago, regretting that she could not be present today “to pay tribute” as she said, “to Walter Withers for I always think Walter Withers is the spirit of Eltham.” Thank you, Kathleen. And now I have much pleasure in unveiling the plaque commissioned by the Eltham Historical Society from Bob McLellan of Charmac Industries to commemorate the life and work of Walter Withers, the spirit of Eltham. Mary Owen, 13 October 1990.Three colour photographswalter withers rock, walter withers reserve, mary owen

[from EDHS Newsletter No. 75, November 1990:] WALTER WITHERS PLAQUE At long last we have unveiled our plaque in the Walter Withers Reserve. The function was attended by a number of members and friends of the Society and descendants of the Withers family. Following the unveiling, the group proceeded to the Eltham Shire Office for afternoon tea and a small exhibition of Withers' paintings arranged by Andrew Mackenzie. The unveiling was performed by Mary Owen, a grand-daughter of Walter Withers. Her speech provided an interesting personal perspective on Withers and is repeated in full here: I feel somewhat overwhelmed by the responsibility of paying tribute to the man you have all come to honour today. I have the feeling that most of you probably know more about him and his work than I do. Walter Withers died nearly seven years before I was born and so I never knew him. Sadly, although other members of his family inherited some of his talent, I was not among them and I know very little about art. This is doubly hard to bear because my husband had some ability to draw and my second daughter also has some talent in this direction. My children are all artistic - mostly in the field of music inherited partly from their father - a Welshman who sang like a Welshman - and partly from my grandmother, Fanny Withers who, I believe was no mean pianist. However all this talent gave me a miss and for many years I felt a complete ignoramus in the fields of the arts. It was not until I was nearly fifty years old that I walked into a gallery in Brisbane and, as I wandered around the room, suddenly one picture leapt at me and I knew instantly that it had been painted by my grandfather. I had never seen the picture before and it gave me quite a shock to find that I had recognized the style of painting. I realized then that I had absorbed more than I realized simply by living with pictures and with people who painted them and talked about their painting and the painting of others. When I was a child I sometimes spent school holidays with my Aunt Margery Withers and her husband, Richard McCann. Aunt Marge painted me several times but I'm afraid I was a restless subject and used to sit reading a book and look up grudgingly when she wanted to paint my eyes. During the September holidays my aunt and uncle were busy preparing paintings far the annual exhibition of the Melbourne Twenty Painters, to which they both belonged. I remember how important I used to feel when they took me along to the Athenaeum Gallery on the Friday night before the opening to help hang their pictures. There were many artists there but the two I remember are perhaps surprisingly both women: Miss Bale and Miss Tweddle. I remember how cold it used to be up in that gallery at night. They used to heat water on a gas ring to make tea and Aunt Marge used to bring sandwiches and fruit for our evening meal. Everyone seemed to be poor in those days and no-one dreamed of going out for a meal. It was a case of make-do - even to cutting down frames to fit pictures or cutting pictures to fit the frames. They had to use the same frames from year to year if the pictures didn't sell. The opening was an exciting event for me. I felt I was privileged to meet important people - people who knew a lot more than I - and Uncle Dick would get quite merry after a couple of the tiny sweet sherries which were always distributed. I realise now that quite a lot of "art talk" rubbed off on me during my visits to the Athenaeum and during my stays with my aunt and uncle. I suspect that much of our most useful learning comes this way and those of us who have had the privilege of associating with artists, writers, philosophers and other thinkers have a richness in our lives of which we may be unaware. Walter Withers was a prolific painter and, although he painted for love of it, I suspect that the need to provide for his family drove him, like Mozart, to greater efforts than he might otherwise have achieved. Reading old letters and articles about the Heidelberg artists, I have come to realize something of the constant strain placed on many of them - particularly Withers and McCubbin - by poverty and the need to make ends meet. Withers was ever conscious of the need to provide for his wife and his five children and there are touching letters to his wife, regretting that he was not able to earn more for them. In addition to his painting, he worked hard at teaching and illustrating and, as he grew older, the strain began to tell and his health deteriorated. He seems never to have had a very strong constitution and suffered from rheumatism, which must have made painting quite painful at times. His eldest daughter, Gladys, was eventually confined to a wheelchair with rheumatoid arthritis and I have a tendency to arthritis myself, so I am particularly aware of what this could have meant to him. Recently I found a short letter written by my mother to her mother, Fanny Withers on the anniversary of her father's birthday in 1919, in which she said: "Poor old Dad, I often think now what a lot he must have suffered. His life was too hard and too strenuous for him. He had too many chick-a-biddies, I think. He wasn't equal to so much town life and train journeys with so many delicacies as he had. Since I have been ill, I have realised what he must have felt like.” He certainly drove himself to produce. He travelled all over Victoria by train, buggy, bicycle and on foot and for a time he travelled from Eltham to Melbourne every day by train, although later he lived in Melbourne during the week and only returned to Eltham for the weekends. My mother died seven years after her father's death, when my twin sisters were 10 days old and I was 16 months. So I never knew my mother or my grandfather. But my two aunts, Gladys and Margery, sometimes took me to stay with Gan Withers at Southernwood in Bolton Street . No cars in those days and it seemed a very long hot and dusty walk from the Station. Three memories remain with me of Southernwood. One is the well at the back which I found quite terrifying; the second is Gan killing a snake - even more terrifying. She was a formidable woman, my grandmother and a great ally and support to her husband. I think she was the business end of the partnership. The third memory of Southernwood is my grandfather's studio – down what seemed like a toy staircase inside the room. This and the big walk-in fireplace stayed in my mind from the age of about six until I saw them again about forty years later when the house was being used as a Sunday School. I just wish that money could be found to purchase this old house for the City of Eltham so that a permanent museum could be established in memory of a man who did so much to put Eltham on the map of art history. Recently I have become interested in family history and spent some time in England, Ireland and Wales looking for traces of my ancestors. I realized then how important it is to have records of people who have contributed to our society. We forget so soon and it is amazing how often, within two generations, names, dates and many details are forgotten. We are fortunate that so many of Walter Withers' works have been bought by galleries and that people like Andrew Mackenzie have taken the trouble to search out people who knew him and to write about him and his work. And I am very grateful to the Historical Society of Eltham for recognizing the importance of having a permanent tribute in Eltham to the contribution made by Walter Withers, who loved Eltham so much and who has assured this lovely district a place in the annals of history. I am indebted to Kathleen Mangan; the daughter of another famous Australian painter , Fred McCubbin, - featured in The Age this morning (thanks again to Andrew Mackenzie) for the most apt tribute to Walter Withers. Kathleen is not well and she rang me a couple of days ago, regretting that she could not be present today “to pay tribute” as she said, “to Walter Withers for I always think Walter Withers is the spirit of Eltham.” Thank you, Kathleen. And now I have much pleasure in unveiling the plaque commissioned by the Eltham Historical Society from Bob McLellan of Charmac Industries to commemorate the life and work of Walter Withers, the spirit of Eltham. Mary Owen, 13 October 1990.Two colour photographswalter withers rock, walter withers reserve, mary owen

John Harris Gill was born in Cornwall, England. He migrated to South Australia in 1883, arriving in Bendigo in 1886. John Gill came to South Australia by the sailing ship Orama, after a voyage of 12 weeks in 1883. He arrived in Bendigo in 1886, where he worked as an engine driver. He worked as an engine driver at several of the leading mines and was Manager of the Unity Gold Mine. Bendigo Independent obituary, 6th July,1916 : https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/219795892?searchTerm=john%20harris%20gill He lived in Long Gully. His funeral left his son's residence 'Penygausi' in Arm Street Long Gully. His son Mr. J.G. Gill was the Manager of the Unity Mine at the time. Two letters: 1. One page letter from Judith McCarthy to Andrew Mattiske, Bendigo Mining, regarding information on John Harris Gill. 2. One page letter addressed to Judith McCarthy from Andrew Mattiske, Health, Safety and Environmental Manager, Bendigo Mining, Kangaroo Flat Mine. Letter thanks Judith for the information she supplied regarding John Harris Gill, after whom the Gill Reef was named. 3. Copy of newspaper articles (undated) re John Harris Gill received from Judith McCarthyjohn gill, bendigo, gill reef, bendigo mining, long gully, penygausi

Amy Huxtable was born at Cheltenham in 1918, to Robert Henry Huxtable and Violet A Dagg. Her father was an installer for an oil company and travelled the State. taking his family with him. She completed her education at the Bendigo High School and later attended the Bendigo Business College, becoming an expert shorthand writer. Her first position was as a copy writer with Radio 3BO, in the mid 1930s. She worked with an advertising agency in Melbourne and then with the Age,newspaper. In 1953, Miss Huxtable was appointed temporarily to succeed Miss E B Millane as social editress of the Bendigo Advertiser, during the latter's absence abroad. In 1956, Amy travelled abroad and on her return in 1957 was appointed permanently as Women's editor, a position she held for twenty-three ears. During her early years with The Advertiser she wrote under the name Toora, but in later years her own name became widely known. Miss Huxtable was well known both in her professional capacity and through a interest and involvement in community activites. She was life governor of the Bendigo Hospital, the Bendigo Home for the Aged, and Mirridong Home for the Blind, she was a member of Soroptimist International and the Business and Professional Women's Club. Amy was also a tireless worker for the spastic society and a strong supporter of the YWCA. When Amy Huxtable died at Mt AJvernia Hospital on 16 January 1980 Mayor Campbell ordered the city flag to be flown at half-mast. "Lowering the flag is the least we can do for such a lady" Cr Campbell said. Douglas Lockwood, editor of the Bendigo Advertiser said, "She was a devot d colleague who gave her craft and her newspaper the kind of service which identified a rare and generous spirit." She was a true professional who decided to make Bendigo her home. More than 300 people packed St Paul's Church for her funeral ervice the bell tolled as the casket was carried from the church. At a ceremony in the Conservatory Gardens on No ember 22 1981 The Amy Huxtable Memorial Committee presented to the City of Bendigo, a garden seat in memory of the late Miss Huxtable. This Bendigo manufactured seat was a fitting tribute to one ofBendigo's most loved and esteemed citizens. All Miss Huxtable's Advertiser articles were microfilmed and presented to the Library by the above committee. Amy Huxtable Memorial Committee - Reports from Meeting - five pages of report and letters. 2808.10a Bereavement Card - thanks from Ruth Lockwood to the committee on the death of her husband Douglas Lockwood, Chairman of the committee. 2808.10b Rear of above card. 2808.10c * Report of the Amy Huxtable Memorial Committee 29/1/1981 held at the office of Miss N. Young * Letter to Andrew Taylor, Superintendent Bendigo City Parks and Gardens, 4/3/1981, in regards to the memorial seat in the Conservatory Gardens. * Reply to above letter from the acting Superintendent Rod Sweetnam, 6/3/1981. * Further letter to Andrew Taylor advising that the seat construction is underway, 13/4/1981 2808.10d * Updated committee signature form to the ANZ Bank, 5/5/1981 history, amy huxtable, bendigo, amy huxtable memorial committee, bendigo conservatory gardens, douglas lockwood

Dedicated to all nurses who have contributed to and have been part of the Alfred Hospital 1871-1996. Special bound copy dedicated to Von ClinchWritten by Alfred nurse Helen Paterson with the support of the Alfred Hospital Nurses League, the book tells the story of Alfred nurses from the opening of the hospital in 1871. The closure of the school of nursing in 1992 was the catalyst for the book but the story continues.Special Edition- Illustrated hardcover book with dark blue/grey/red/gold marble effect front and back cover. Black leather corners and spine. Title and author's name are embossed in gold on a red background on spine. Also on spine are 13 gold bands and 5 gold decorations. The book has a matching cardboard sleeve.On title page there is a handwritten dedication "Presented to Von Clinch with our thanks for a terrific project, all the best Andrew" (publisher)alfred hospital, helen paterson, nurses’ history/story

Bob (Herman) Hymans (a former member of the Royal Netherlands Navy) was born in Bloemendaal, Holland on 30th September 1922. During World War II he fought against the Japanese in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) and was imprisoned in Changi and on the Burma Railway. After gaining qualifications as a Ski Instructor, Bob arrived in Falls Creek in July 1950. Working as an Instructor and Supervisor at Bogong Lodge, Bob decided his future was in accommodation. He was successful in negotiating an indenture for land from the State Electricity Commission (SEC). It took Bob two years to build his Grand Coeur Chalet but, tragically, it was burned down in August 1961. Bob also built the first Chairlift in Australia. This was a single chairlift and the structure was built from wooden electricity poles. He was constantly full of new ideas and proposals for the village. Bob Hymans died on 7th July 2007. This Collection of documents and letters tells the story of Bob's endeavours to develop Falls Creek into the ski village it is today.This item is significant because it documents actions taken by the Falls Creek Tourist Area Management Committee in their role overseeing the Tourist Area.The financial review conducted by a representative of the SEC has recommended the implementation of property rates for the coming year and information regarding this levy were included. Though several applicants were received there was no successful submission for the establishment of a hotel. An advisory committee has determined that any future development is dependant on augmentation of the sewerage and water systems. The Village T-Bar was very popular during the season but the need for improvement of the slopes was noted. Finally, an expression of thanks from the outgoing Committee to Mr. Jack Andrew for the excellent work he had done as Manager to maintain Falls Creek as the foremost ski resorts in the country.falls creek tourist area management committee, falls creek administration, bob hymans

In November 2024, a small group of cheerful volunteers from the Forests Commission Retired Personnel Association (FCRPA) toiled over nine days to dust-off, photograph and record nearly 300 artifacts in DEECA's Altona Museum. It followed a similar project at the FCRPA's Beechworth Museum in February 2024. The Altona project was generously supported by DEECA / FFMVic to engage professional photographer Mark Jesser from Wodonga whose boundless energy and good humour helped to create these amazing images. Special thanks go to the FFMVic Chief Fire Officer, Chris Hardman, as well as Andrew Stanios and Kat Jensen for making it happen. FFMVic crews and the ever-patient staff from Altona took a strong interest and also helped to shift some of the heavy items like pumps and the Bedford tanker which was very welcome. The Forests Commission and its successors continuously encouraged bushfire research and innovation. In 1946 a large parcel of industrial land was purchased at North Altona as a fire cache and workshop. The Altona workshop became a hotbed of new technological thingumajigs… a marvellous blend of Aladdin’s Cave of Wonders coupled with Wallace and Gromit’s madcap contraptions… an exhilarating place where lots of gizmos were invented and tested… mostly with astounding results... but nearly always with some head-scratching frustrations… and thankfully not too much explosive mayhem. In fact, a lot of Australia’s pioneering equipment development was led by staff from Altona, often in collaboration with other State forestry and fire authorities. The CSIRO also contributed significantly. The US Forest Service, the US Bureau of Land Management and US State agencies such as the California Department of Forestry and Fire (CalFire) as well as the Canadian Forest Service faced similar challenges and proved strong and willing partners in sharing knowledge, ideas, equipment and expertise over many decades. The collection at Altona started in the 1970s by fire equipment wizard Barry (Rocky) Marsden. As obsolete equipment was returned to the Fire Protection Workshop for auction, Rocky began the process of selecting some which would be interesting to retain and display. The items at Altona represent just a small sample of the amazing story of Victoria's forestry and bushfire heritage. The largest item was undoubtedly the Bedford tanker which took two days and nearly 1000 photos which were later stitched together with photoshop. The oldest item is probably the Ericsson wall telephone from 1904. There are also many unique items, but the CSIRO incendiary machine and ping-pong incendiary machine developed at Altona probably had the most significant impact on fire management in Australia. There are plenty of gaps in the collection, but some items are in regional DEECA offices. The FCRPA's Beechworth collection was merged with the Altona collection in 2025. It is hoped that the museum will be renamed to honour Rocky Marsden. There may be some additions to the Altona museum over time, but space is limited. The museum is available to visit by appointment. Peter McHugh - January 2025 forests commission victoria (fcv)