This christening gown belonged to Frances Nobelius (1920-2015) and is believed to have been given to her by her mother Nina Ayers (nee Casement, 1891-1872). It was likely passed to Nina by her own mother, Mary Frances Balharry (1869-1898), and reused by the family over multiple generations of christenings. At the time it was made - before Nina's christening in 1891 - christening gowns usually featured a very long skirt decorated with extensive embroidery - often modelled on contemporary women's fashion. They were long-lasting family heirlooms, typically passed from mother to daughter.This gown was passed through several generations living in the local area, including members of the Nobelius family. It is an example of an element of late 19th century christening practices, and shows the reuse of christening gowns through decades and generations.This white lawn cotton christening dress is a long line gown with a simple bodice. It is almost sleeveless with a lace trim. It has a lace trimmed neckline, and a back opening with ribbon ties at the neckline and waistline. The skirt is gathered with a broderie anglais panel of lace on the front, extending from the neckline to the hemline.clothing, nobelius family

Various partiesReference, Research, InformationSecondary Values (KHS Imposed Order)Subject file containing information on the Dumaresq family of Kew who were early settlers in Kew and in Tasmania. In Kew, the Dumaresqs built their house St Helliers (1888-), about which Margaret Dumaresq a member of the Society wrote a profile in 1959. In the file there are a number of newspaper articles/clippings including one noting the death of Miss Dumaresq who had been a Vice-President. In 1971, Miss Dumaresq presented a long talk on her family’s history, which was recorded and is now transcribed. Her discussion of her family’s past dates back to the Battle of Waterloo. What appear to be her handwritten notes are kept in the file. The file contains an album of 16 postcards of places and people at Melbourne University donated by FKM Dumaresq.dumaresq family - kew (vic), margaret dumaresq, fkm dumaresq, frances dumaresq, capt. edward dumaresq, edward alfred dumaresq, st helliers - kew (vic), postcards - melbourne universitydumaresq family - kew (vic), margaret dumaresq, fkm dumaresq, frances dumaresq, capt. edward dumaresq, edward alfred dumaresq, st helliers - kew (vic), postcards - melbourne university

In this interview we hear from Don and Bobbie Hayes who met and were married in Beechworth. Mrs Hayes was born in Beechworth to a blacksmith and a teacher who had moved to the area not long before she was born in 1925. She discusses her family and the struggle her mother had being a city woman relocated to the bush and into a family who didn't accept her for her Methodist religious beliefs as they were a staunch Catholic family. After working in the Tannery when they first moved to Beechworth from Melbourne, Don got a job in the 1950's at the Beechworth Mental hospital known as Mayday Hills (est. 1862) and continued working there for the next thirty six years. Starting as a nurse Don would be one of three or four staff known then as attendants, who would oversee up to forty patients in a ward taking them out to work the land and gardens or chop wood on the grounds. Mrs Hayes also worked in the Hospital and discusses the need at the time to be earning to pay for large medical bills that came from two of their children, one having a congenital heart problem which was not covered by hospital benefits and the other displaced hips that required surgery. By the end of his time working at the hospital, Don was in charge of the patient training centre where those destined for discharge would be trained on how to cope in the world outside of the hospital grounds they were so used to. Both talk openly and with heartfelt candour, recalling their years spent among the patients of the hospital community, their sense of humour and compassion are evident and although the times and the jobs were definitely hard and the wages low, this couple cared deeply about the people they worked with and sit among those people from the local area who established Beechworth as a significant social welfare region. This oral history recording was part of a project conducted by Jennifer Williams in the year 2000 to capture the everyday life and struggles in Beechworth during the twentieth century. This project involved recording seventy oral histories on cassette tapes of local Beechworth residents which were then published in a book titled: Listen to what they say: voices of twentieth century Beechworth. These cassette tapes were digitised in July 2021 with funds made available by the Friends of the Burke.The significance of this oral history lies in the firsthand accounts from two people who were directly involved in the significant nursing work undertaken at Mayday Hills Mental hospital from the 1950's. Hearing the stories from those who were there and had lived experience, adds depth and we gain valuable insight into how and what the asylum was like for those who worked there and colourful details about the kinds of patients they encountered too, it adds human and personal context to what could otherwise become statistic and abstract information about a historic site. This oral history account is socially and historically significant as it is a part of a broader collection of interviews conducted by Jennifer Williams which were published in the book 'Listen to what they say: voices of twentieth-century Beechworth.' While the township of Beechworth is known for its history as a gold rush town, these accounts provide a unique insight into the day-to-day life of the town's residents during the 20th century, many of which will have now been lost if they had not been preserved.This is a digital copy of a recording that was originally captured on a cassette tape. The cassette tape is black with a horizontal white strip and is currently stored in a clear flat plastic rectangular container. It holds up 40 minutes of recordings on each side.listen to what they say, beechworth, oral history, burke museum, mayday hills hospital, may day hills, beechworth mental asylum, mental hospital, asylum, nursing, hospital, patient training centre, patients, social welfare