non-fictionA collection of stories relating to exploration and mining in the far North East of Victoria.gold mining, upper murray region, upper murray victoria, upper murray nsw

Sikh hawkers were a regular sight throughout the Wodonga and Upper Murray district in the early 20th century. The regular visitors to the area included Pola Singh and Gambil (Gamble) Singh. Gamble Singh often camped on McKoy’s Moorefield property in West Wodonga and several other places around the district. Gamble was also a horse breeder and had several draught horses to pull his wagon. Like many of the hawkers he worked hard to send money back to support family in India. He apparently returned to India about 1950, but left some money in the Bank of NSW in Wodonga in case he returned. He allegedly died soon after and the money was eventually able to be claimed by his nephews in India. A small overlooked park in Wodonga is named the “Gamble Singh Park” in his memory. J. Flanagan who operated the Halfway Hotel commented on having as many as seven or eight bullock teams “yoked” overnight to the fence outside the hotel as well as 100 or more Indian hawkers – led by the fondly known Pola (Pollah) Singh. The hawkers returned to Wodonga annually to renew their hawkers’ license and camped on the flats, or also came to Wodonga to collect orders at the railway station to stock up their supplies. Pola Singh was often based at the Colac Colac reserve near Corryong and had on board his compatriot Isar Singh. He often acted as an intermediary between the individual hawkers and the authorities. Unfortunately, it was Pola’s habit to walk in front of his wagon at the start of each day. On the morning of 23 June 1923 his horses were restive and hard to control. They took flight and ran Pola down on the road near Cudgewa. He was rushed to the Corryong Hospital but died there a few days later, aged 65. Pola was cremated, with some of his ashes scattered in the Murray River and some returned to his homeland to be scattered in the Ganges River. His cremation was listed in the Obituary page of the Weekly Times, Melbourne on Saturday 14 July 1923. A small memorial to Pola Singh is located in the Corryong Cemetery.These images are significant because they help to document the history of the Sikh Hawkers who plied their services to Wodonga and throughout rural Australia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.A collection of black and white images featuring Sikh Hawkers Gamble Singh and Pola Singh take in the Wodonga area.indian hawkers, sikh hawkers, gamble singh, pola singh

Our Collection includes several photographs signed BONSEMA WODONGA or sometimes simply TBW. Thomas Peter John Bonsema was born in Wodonga in 1876 to Peter John Bonsema and Mary Ann nee Nash. His name first appears on the Electoral Roll for Wodonga in 1909 and on the Electoral Roll in 1912 he is listed as a photographer. His photographs capture many scenes and events around Wodonga and surrounding areas. Thomas Bonsema married Minna Louisa Jones in 1912. By 1914 he had moved to Chiltern, Victoria where he established Bonsema’s Photographic Studio. From this time onward many of his works bore the signature “BONSEMA CHILTERN”. As well as continuing to photograph landscapes and important buildings, Mr Bonsema was often the official photographer at school and community celebrations. He also sold many framed photographs and postcards from his premises at 68 -70 Conness Street, Chiltern. By 1943 Thomas John Bonsema had relocated to New South Wales and died in Beecroft, NSW on 14th July 1944. Some of his photographs are held in the Victorian State Library and Mitchell Library Sydney Collections.This image is significant because it is the work of a recognised photographer Thomas Bonsema who was born in Wodonga in 1876.A black and white image of three wagons heavily laden with bales of wool being pulled by teams of bullocks.At bottom of the image:- Bringing in the wool Bonsema Wodongabonsema photography, upper murray region, carting wool, thomas peter john bonsema

Our Collection includes several photographs signed BONSEMA WODONGA or sometimes simply TBW. Thomas Peter John Bonsema was born in Wodonga in 1876 to Peter John Bonsema and Mary Ann nee Nash. His name first appears on the Electoral Roll for Wodonga in 1909 and on the Electoral Roll in 1912 he is listed as a photographer. His photographs capture many scenes and events around Wodonga and surrounding areas. Thomas Bonsema married Minna Louisa Jones in 1912. By 1914 he had moved to Chiltern, Victoria where he established Bonsema’s Photographic Studio. From this time onward many of his works bore the signature “BONSEMA CHILTERN”. As well as continuing to photograph landscapes and important buildings, Mr Bonsema was often the official photographer at school and community celebrations. He also sold many framed photographs and postcards from his premises at 68 -70 Conness Street, Chiltern. By 1943 Thomas John Bonsema had relocated to New South Wales and died in Beecroft, NSW on 14th July 1944. Some of his photographs are held in the Victorian State Library and Mitchell Library Sydney Collections.This image is significant because it is the work of a recognised photographer Thomas Bonsema who was born in Wodonga in 1876.A black and white image of two men on the Bonegilla Bridge near Wodonga.At bottom of the image:- Bonegilla Bridge and the Kiewa River Bonsema Wodongabonsema photography, upper murray region, thomas peter john bonsema

See also 3089.86. Information with that photo gives an alternative provenance: 8th Light Horse Regiment watering horses at a Murray River lagoon, South Corowa NSW, September 1939; Wahgunyah Troop, C Squadron - this side of lagoon, Lieutenant J. Nott on grey horse in water. The number of horsemen would seem to exceed that of a single regiment so the Torquay description would seem more probable.Black and white photograph ( laminated ) of 8th, 13th,20th, and 4thLight Horse Regiments watering horses near Torquay Victoria , March 1940.Picture taken about March 1940 when the 13th Light Horse from Gippsland, the 8th Light Horse from Upper Murray, the 4th Light Horse from the Western Districts and the 20th Light Horse from the Goulburn Valley were in camp near Torquay. Mr Cappur Webb of Glendoxey, Seymour, a member of the 20th said the picture must have been taken during an exercise about five miles north of Torquay. “We used to water our horses in that lake”, he said." light horse, torquay, wwii, world war two, military, horses

Catherine Waite married Hugh Hyndman in Albury in 1929 at the age of 23 years. She was a great granddaughter of John Waite and Mary Ann Robinson who settled in “Bungil” and became pioneers of the Upper Murray region of Victoria. John Waite was born in 1771 at Gravesend, Kent, England. He arrived in Sydney on 7th May 1804 from Sevenoaks, Kent, England on the convict ship "Coromandel" having been convicted of stealing two sheep. He was assigned to Dr Charles Throsby, surgeon, land holder and inland explorer. John Waite was granted an absolute pardon in 1818. John married Mary Robinson on 14th April 1812 at Windsor, NSW. Mary was the daughter of a member of the NSW Corps and an emancipated convict. John and Mary went on to have 14 children. The family of John Waite formed strong connections with the Hore family which also became prominent in the Upper Murray, Albury and Wodonga. John Hore (Hoare) Snr. of Wexford County, Ireland, was a volunteer in the English Navy for four years before being sentenced to death for mutiny. On appeal this was commuted to seven years’ transportation to Australia. In Australia several marriages occurred between the two families. After the journey of Hume and Hovell to Victoria, John Waite and the Hore family sought pastoral land further south. John Hore Jnr and his brothers Andrew, William, Thomas and Charles all settled in the Upper Murray. John and Elizabeth's son John Hore Jnr married Elizabeth Waite, a daughter of John and Mary Waite. This forged a family connection that would have an influence on the Upper Murray for generations to come. John Waite formed the Bungil run for his son-in-law John Hore, acquiring land through the Robertson Land Act of 1861 which enabled land owners to use relatives as "dummies" to help acquire land. When the “dummy” defaulted on the rent John Hore and other landowners were able to buy the land at reduced prices at auction. In this way the Hore family and their relatives established a large pastoral empire in the Upper Murray, including Bungil, Wagra and Cumberoona. Catherine Waite was born in Albury, NSW in 1905, great granddaughter of John Waite Snr and Mary Robinson. In 1929 she married Hugh Hyndman who before migrating to Australia from Northern Ireland had worked on the construction of the Titanic at the dockyards in Belfast. This dress is significant because it was worn by a descendant of two important pioneer families of the Upper Murray Region of Victoria.A wedding dress from the late 1920s made from peach coloured silk and lace. The bodice and sleeves feature a lace overlay which is repeated from hip length. It is matched with cloche style hat made from matching lace and decorated with ribbon, flowers and a bow.1920s wedding dress, waite family, hore family