Kenneth JACK AM MBE RWS, (5 October 1924 – 10 June 2006) Australian watercolour artist Kenneth Jack who specialised in painting the images of an almost forgotten outback life; old mine workings, abandoned ghost towns, decaying farm buildings. He became a professional painter at the age of 39 after giving up his job as senior instructor at the Caulfield Institute of Technology. In 1977 he was elected to The Royal Watercolour Society and in 1982 was awarded the MBE, and the Order of Australia (AM) followed in 1987. Framed three block lino print showing the volcanic plains of Victoria around Stony Rises. It is Number 6 in the Volcanic Plains of Victoria series. Donated through the Australian Gifts Programme by Katherine Littlewood.31/40artwork, artist, kenneth jack, printmaking, volcano, mt porndon, mount porndon, linocuts

Framed four plate lithograph depicitng Nt Eccles and Crater Lake on the Victorian cvolcanic plains. Donated through the Australian Gifts Programme by Katherine Littlewood.Edition 23/42kenneth jack, printmaking, mt eccles, volcano, lithograph

Thomas S. Hart was a teacher at the Ballarat School of Mines, and a member of the Ballarat Field Naturalists ClubArticle with illustrations published by the Royal Society of Victoria by Thomas S. Hart. The following plates are included: Fig 1. The Main Divide and some of the transverse ridges Fig 2. Hills on and near the Divide at the Ercildoun and Ascot Gaps Fig. 3. Profile of the Divide at Ascot Gap. Fig. 4. Sketch of the Hills west and north-west from Mt Buninyong - - The divide in Ascot Gap from Mt Blowhard (Serra Range, Mt William, Mt Ararat, Larne Gerin, Ben Major, Mt Cole, Mt Misery, Mt Bolton) Fig. 5. Diagram to illustrate the possible courses of the leads south of the present Divide - Burrumbeet Basin (Smythesdale, Ballarat, Lal Lal , Mt Doran, egerton, Parwan Creet, Rowsley Fault, Eastern Plateau) Fig. 6. Diagramatic cross section of the grampians, south of Hall's Gap. Profile of the Pyranees, from maiden Hill - Diagramatic Section of the Grampians south of Hall's Gap. (Mt Cole, Mt Mitchell, Ben Major, Ben More, Avoca Hill, Hall's Gap.) Fig. 7. Profile of the Pyrenees as seen from Maiden Hill near Waubra.thomas hart, thomas s. hart, ballarat school of mines, ballarat field naturalists club, royal society of victoria, western victoria, ballarat, great dividing range, mt william, volcano, volcanic plains, waterways, lal lal basin, yarrowee creek, ballarat common, lava flow, wendouree, warrenheip, ballarat plateau, mt elephant, grampians, t.s. hart, mt buangor, mt beckworth, mt misery, mt bolton, lal lal iron ored, mt ararat, mt wiliam, mt cole, burrumbeet, mt warrenheip, daylesford, waubra, ercildoun gap, smythesdale, lal lal falls, parwan valley, burrumbeet creek, staffordshire reef, pyranees, bacchus marsh, rowsley fault, ben nevis, avoca hill, landsborough hill, mt blowhard, weatherboard, mclean's hill, fyan's creek, thomas stephen hart, lal lal

2017 CLUNES CERAMIC AWARDS FINALIST2017 CLUNES CERAMIC AWARD FINALIST - RUNNER UP CATHY FRANZI. VOLCANIC PLAINS- FLAX LILY WITH ORCHID. TALL VASE YELLOW INSIDE, WHITE OUTSIDE WITH FLAX LILY PATTERN RUNNING UP THE PIECE. YELLOW AND PURPLE FLOWERS. WIDER AND THE BOTTOM.2017 runner up, cathy franzi, clunes seramic awards, artwork

Grubbing rocks at "Boswell Park" Lake Bolac, in order to prepare the ground for ploughing and cropping. Most ground on the Western District volcanic plains had to be prepared in this way before the soil could be tilled. "Boswell Park" was run by the Moreton family.lake bolac, boswell park, grubbing rocks, moreton, cropping

This specimen was recovered from the Nigretta Falls (previously named the Upper Wannon Falls), Victoria. The falls are fed by the Wannon River that has its head waters in the Grampians mountains. Approx. 10km upstream of the Wannon Falls, Nigretta is a multi-channel segmented cascade of smaller drops and bounces guided by patterns of joints in a much older (Devonian) rhyolitic volcanic rock. Both the Wannon and Nigretta Falls are iconic landscape features, entrenched in the history and identity of the region. These falls are particularly rare as they are the product of volcanic activity, which is unique in the context of the Volcanic Plain of Victoria. Waterfalls of this capacity are generally associated with the Uplands areas of Victoria, rather than the edges of the Volcanic Plain. This specimen is part of a larger collection of geological and mineral specimens collected from around Australia (and some parts of the world) and donated to the Burke Museum between 1868-1880. A large percentage of these specimens were collected in Victoria as part of the Geological Survey of Victoria that begun in 1852 (in response to the Gold Rush) to study and map the geology of Victoria. Collecting geological specimens was an important part of mapping and understanding the scientific makeup of the earth. Many of these specimens were sent to research and collecting organisations across Australia, including the Burke Museum, to educate and encourage further study. A solid, dark grey mineral specimen with pale terracotta coloured inclusions. Rhyodacite is a volcanic rock intermediate in composition between dacite and rhyolite. Rhyodacites form from rapid cooling of lava relatively rich in silica and low in alkali metal oxides.GEOLOGICAL SURVEY / R / S 55 FELSTONE PORPHYburke museum, beechworth, indigo shire, beechworth museum, geological, geological specimen, porphyritic rhyodacite, lava, nigretta falls, upper wannon falls, dacite, rhyolite, volcanic geology

This is a book giving information on the streets of Colac and the origins of the names. Colac is a city 150 kilometres south west of Melbourne and is a commercial centre for a major agricultural area. It is situated near the 3rd largest volcanic plain in the world and European settlement began in 1837. The book was commenced by Ian McIntosh in the 1970s and in 2005 the Colac and District Historical Society took on the project again with the major editors being Ida and Andrew McIntosh. This book is of interest, particularly those in the Western District of Victoria, as it contains information on Colac streets, many of which were named after pioneers of the district. The book will be useful for research. This is a soft cover book of 60 pages. The cover has a blue background and features a colour photograph (mainly in green, blue and white tonings) of a panorama of the Colac district. The photograph extends over the front and back covers. The book contains the names and name origins of Colac streets in alphabetical order and many black and white photographs. The pages have a glued binding. Front Cover: ‘Street Names of Colac’ ‘Colac and District Historical Society’ history of colac, colac and district historical society, street names of colac, ian mcintosh

This is a photograph of the bridge in the Bulla township which spans the Deep Creek, a tributary of the Maribyrnong River. It has been constructed from bluestone which is found across the volcanic western plains in Victoria. Kaolin was quarried from the cliff face in the background and was used in the making of bricks and pottery products manufactured at Northcote and Brunswick potteries.This is one of the many notable bluestone bridges which were built in the district in the nineteenth century.A black and white photograph of a valley with a five arched bridge spanning a river. There are high cliffs in the background.bulla township, deep creek, bridges

Dry stone construction as a technique is used for much more than paddock walls. Across the volcanic plains of western Victoriaare marvelous sheep dips, stock loading ramps, huts, dams, retaining walls, and the rich and largely undiscovered heritage of indigenous dry stone structures. Dry stone walls indicate many aspects of our rural environment; the geological beginnings of the way the landscape was created, the patterns of early settlement by pastoralists and squatters, the types of stock that grazed the land and the methods of cattle and sheep management, of the efforts to thwart the spread of rabbits .... "For the casual but interested observer dry stone walls are good to look at, to photograph, to get up alongside and see the way they are constructed, to appreciate the varying shapes and sizes of stones and learn of the techniques of keeping often quite rounded stones in place. Apart from walls and other dry stone structures on grazing land we can also see dry stone techniques used in other places and in other phases of our history. Indigenous Australians have built, and continue to build, structures for shelter or hunting or trapping eels and fish in rivers and estuaries around the country. At spots around our coast line there is evidence of simple stone structures built by early maritime explorers. Prospectors in early mining encampments used dry stone construction to build retaining walls or the low walls of rudimentary shelters. If the future of dry stone walls in the Australian landscape is to be assured. wall owners and local governments have to accept and embrace their custodial role in assuring the preservation and celebration of walls. This is not an easy task, but, along with putting the necessary statutory mechanisms to ensure their retention, it is a task that must be pursued. The Dry Stone Walls Association of Australia has as its primary goal the increase in awareness of wall owners and local governments of the importance of dry stone walls. It also seeks to increase the level of training of skilled and semi skilled wallers, and the gaining of rudimentary skills by farmers so that they can maintain their own walls". Melton Star Weekly article about the Stone Wallslandscapes of significance

In 1905 Richard Squire was manager of the West Berry Consols at Allendale, and developed an improved system of mine ventilation, which was supported in "The Age." He was successful in combating and remedying the gas and ventilation troubles of the Deep Mines of Creswick and Allendale Districts after all had failed. MINE MANAGERS’ ASSOCIATION. Ballarat Branch. ... Mr R. B. Squire, manager of the West Berry Consols, at Allendale, submitted a paper detailing what he had done tor the betterment of ventilation in the alluvial mines of Smeaton and Mary borough districts- Members gave Mr Squire every credit for the results that he claimed to have effected; the adoption of his ideas had testified to their value to mine-owners. It was painted out, however, that for want of a thorough debate of the subject with experienced men the author had unwittingly included some general statements that required modifying in some points and extending in others, in justice to other workers among the earlier and the present day managers of mines. It was decided to invite the author to meet a sub-committee on this subject!Various handwritten Letters from Richard Squire to his son Tom 1935richard squire, tom squire, hazel squire, jack squire, jim squire, ned, mt mercer, basil, plant, skids, pump, c. hayes, illness, poppet, carburetor, shaft, balance weight, pearson, pulleys, syndicate, goon, suction, lease, reports, estimates, flat fields, reef, banagwanth, trucks, pipeclay, sandstone, suction pipe, valves, honeycomb rock, mr kermode, yarrowee, ballarat, reef combs, cheques, earthquake, yellow slate, leigh river, dyke, the madame bay coy, allendale, berry west, quartz, ballarat deep leads, ballarat deep leads extension, bore, reads, bedrock, j. hayes, harmen premier distributors, middletons, cemented sand, electricity commission, g m of a, gold mines of australia, dick harry, pearsons, hawksburn, crown wheel, rice's paddock, liz the car, volcanic ridge, lrg coy, mcnaughton's paddock, madison's lead, cameron & sutherland, crabhole, rokewood, glenfine, mrs gibbs, dobson, booth, shiels, thomas mitchell, mcpherson's reward, haddon, trunk lead mine, elaine, pitfield plains, mr clarke, daylesford, kuchel, shelford, geoff squire, lode, quartz reef, bladder attack, kidneys, income tax, reginald murray, grenville, blasting, john b. dennison, martin t. taylor, durham and buninyong deep lead, sebastopol plateau, mr wilkie, the premier petrol distributing agency of ballarat, lawaluk, ryan's western leads, mr nichol, mr hodge, knox schlapp and co., dr griffiths, state accident insurance office, magdala mine stawell, mining

A coloured photograph of the bluestone bridge which spans Deep Creek at Bulla. The photograph is taken facing upstream. The bridge was constructed in 1869 and replaced a ford crossing further downstream. Many bridges in the South West of Victoria were constructed from Bluestone basalt rock because the area is on a large volcanic plain and that rock is in abundance. A coloured photograph of the Bulla Bridge which spans the Deep Creek at Bulla. Photograph 0178 is an identical photograph tho this one.bridges, bulla bridge

"The dry stone walls provide a tangible link to the area’s white settlement, and they remain a symbol of the profound change in land usage from the original Kulin custodians to the European arrivals of the nineteenth century. The bulk of dry stone wall construction in Victoria occurred between the 1850s and 1880s. The gold rush of the early 1850s in particular inspired a flurry of construction. At this time, labour previously available for shepherding livestock dried up, as men gravitated to the goldfields to seek their fortunes. This necessitated the building of fencing to contain the district’s growing number of sheep, cattle and horses. An explosion in surveying, subdivision and the sale of Crown lands also contributed to a boost in construction. Government regulations that punished pastoralists for allowing their livestock to stray provided further incentive to fence-off previously open expanses of land. The major benefit of this type of fencing was that it utilised the materials at hand; the plentiful grey basalt that scattered the landscape. In the case of the dry stone walls built around Melton, the characteristic round or oval shape of the volcanic fieldstones on the western plains inspired some distinctive designs.54 Another advantage of dry stone walls was their ability to withstand the ravages of flood, fire and drought often experienced in the district. This durability accounts for the fact that many of these fences still exist today". Dry Stone Wall trail brochure/pamphlet for visitors provided by Melton Visitor Information Centrecouncil, landscapes of significance

A quarry was transformed into the Blue Lake. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p179 The dramatic steep-sided Plenty Gorge lies along the divide of two geological areas, and separates the Nillumbik Shire and the City of Whittlesea. On the Nillumbik side are undulating hills and sedimentary rock, and in Whittlesea, lies a basalt plain formed by volcanic action up to two million years ago. This provides the Plenty Gorge Park with diverse vegetation and habitats, making it one of Greater Melbourne’s most important refuges for threatened and significant species. The park, established in 1986, consists of around 1350 hectares, and extends 11 kilometres along the Plenty River, from Greensborough to Mernda. It provides a wildlife corridor for around 500 native plant and 280 animal species. The area’s plentiful food and water attracted the Wurundjeri Aboriginal people and then European settlers. By 1837 squatters had claimed large runs of land for their sheep and cattle. The Plenty Valley was among the first in the Port Phillip District to be settled - mainly in the less heavily timbered west - and was proclaimed a settled district in 1841.But by the late 1880s, the settlers’ extensive land clearing for animal grazing, then agriculture, depleted the Wurundjeri’s traditional food sources, which helped to drive them away. Many Wurundjeri artefacts remain (now government protected), and so far 57 sites have been identified in the park, including scarred trees, burial areas and stone artefacts. Pioneer life could be very hard because of isolation, flooding, bushfires and bushrangers. Following the Black Thursday bushfires of 1851, basalt was quarried to build more fire-resistant homes. Gold discoveries in the early 1850s swelled the population, particularly around Smugglers Gully; but food production made more of an impact. In the late 1850s wheat production supplanted grazing. In the 1860s the government made small holdings available to poorer settlers. These had the greatest effect on the district, particularly in Doreen and Yarrambat, where orchards were established from the 1880s to 1914. Links with a prominent early family are the remains of Stuchbery Farm, by the river’s edge bounded by Smugglers Gully to the north and La Trobe Road, Yarrambat, to the east. The Stuchberys moved to the valley in 1890, and the family still lives in the area. In 1890, Alfred and Ada first lived in a tent where four children were born, then Alfred built the house and outbuildings around 1896. They planted an orchard, then a market garden, and developed a dairy. The family belonged to the local Methodist and tennis communities. Their grandson Walter, opened the Flying Scotsman Model Railway Museum in Yarrambat, which his widow, Vi, continues to run. Wal was also the Yarrambat CFA Captain for 22 years until 1987. Walter sold 24 hectares in 1976 for development - now Vista Court - and in 1990, the remaining 22.6 hectares for the park. Remaining are an early stone dairy and remnants of a stone barn, a pig sty and a well. Until it was destroyed by fire in 2003, a slab hut stood on the Happy Hollow Farm site, at the southern end of the park. The hut is thought to have been built in the Depression around 1893. This was a rare and late example of a slab hut with a domestic orchard close to Melbourne. Emmet Watmough and his family first occupied the hut, followed by a succession of families, until the Bell family bought it around 1948. There they led a subsistence lifestyle for 50 years, despite encroaching Melbourne suburbia. The Yellow Gum Recreation Area includes the Blue Lake, coloured turquoise at certain times of the year. Following the 1957 bushfires, this area was quarried by Reid Quarries Pty Ltd for Melbourne’s first skyscrapers, then by Boral Australia. However in the early 1970s water began seeping into the quarry forming the Blue Lake and the quarry was closed. The State Government bought the site in 1997 and opened it as a park in 1999.This collection of almost 130 photos about places and people within the Shire of Nillumbik, an urban and rural municipality in Melbourne's north, contributes to an understanding of the history of the Shire. Published in 2008 immediately prior to the Black Saturday bushfires of February 7, 2009, it documents sites that were impacted, and in some cases destroyed by the fires. It includes photographs taken especially for the publication, creating a unique time capsule representing the Shire in the early 21st century. It remains the most recent comprehenesive publication devoted to the Shire's history connecting local residents to the past. nillumbik now and then (marshall-king) collection, blue lake, plenty gorge park

Stuchbery Farm was situated on the Plenty River bounded by Smugglers Gully to the north and La trobe Road, Yarrambat, to the east. Alan and Ada Stutchbery moved to the valley in 1890, first living in a tent where four children were born. Alfred built a home and outbuildings around 1896. They planted an orchard, then a market garden and developed a dairy. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p179 The dramatic steep-sided Plenty Gorge lies along the divide of two geological areas, and separates the Nillumbik Shire and the City of Whittlesea. On the Nillumbik side are undulating hills and sedimentary rock, and in Whittlesea, lies a basalt plain formed by volcanic action up to two million years ago. This provides the Plenty Gorge Park with diverse vegetation and habitats, making it one of Greater Melbourne’s most important refuges for threatened and significant species. The park, established in 1986, consists of around 1350 hectares, and extends 11 kilometres along the Plenty River, from Greensborough to Mernda. It provides a wildlife corridor for around 500 native plant and 280 animal species. The area’s plentiful food and water attracted the Wurundjeri Aboriginal people and then European settlers. By 1837 squatters had claimed large runs of land for their sheep and cattle. The Plenty Valley was among the first in the Port Phillip District to be settled - mainly in the less heavily timbered west - and was proclaimed a settled district in 1841. But by the late 1880s, the settlers’ extensive land clearing for animal grazing, then agriculture, depleted the Wurundjeri’s traditional food sources, which helped to drive them away. Many Wurundjeri artefacts remain (now government protected), and so far 57 sites have been identified in the park, including scarred trees, burial areas and stone artefacts. Pioneer life could be very hard because of isolation, flooding, bushfires and bushrangers. Following the Black Thursday bushfires of 1851, basalt was quarried to build more fire-resistant homes. Gold discoveries in the early 1850s swelled the population, particularly around Smugglers Gully; but food production made more of an impact. In the late 1850s wheat production supplanted grazing. In the 1860s the government made small holdings available to poorer settlers. These had the greatest effect on the district, particularly in Doreen and Yarrambat, where orchards were established from the 1880s to 1914. Links with a prominent early family are the remains of Stuchbery Farm, by the river’s edge bounded by Smugglers Gully to the north and La Trobe Road, Yarrambat, to the east. The Stuchberys moved to the valley in 1890, and the family still lives in the area. In 1890, Alfred and Ada first lived in a tent where four children were born, then Alfred built the house and outbuildings around 1896. They planted an orchard, then a market garden, and developed a dairy. The family belonged to the local Methodist and tennis communities. Their grandson Walter, opened the Flying Scotsman Model Railway Museum in Yarrambat, which his widow, Vi, continues to run. Wal was also the Yarrambat CFA Captain for 22 years until 1987. Walter sold 24 hectares in 1976 for development - now Vista Court - and in 1990, the remaining 22.6 hectares for the park. Remaining are an early stone dairy and remnants of a stone barn, a pig sty and a well. Until it was destroyed by fire in 2003, a slab hut stood on the Happy Hollow Farm site, at the southern end of the park. The hut is thought to have been built in the Depression around 1893. This was a rare and late example of a slab hut with a domestic orchard close to Melbourne. Emmet Watmough and his family first occupied the hut, followed by a succession of families, until the Bell family bought it around 1948. There they led a subsistence lifestyle for 50 years, despite encroaching Melbourne suburbia. The Yellow Gum Recreation Area includes the Blue Lake, coloured turquoise at certain times of the year. Following the 1957 bushfires, this area was quarried by Reid Quarries Pty Ltd for Melbourne’s first skyscrapers, then by Boral Australia. However in the early 1970s water began seeping into the quarry forming the Blue Lake and the quarry was closed. The State Government bought the site in 1997 and opened it as a park in 1999.This collection of almost 130 photos about places and people within the Shire of Nillumbik, an urban and rural municipality in Melbourne's north, contributes to an understanding of the history of the Shire. Published in 2008 immediately prior to the Black Saturday bushfires of February 7, 2009, it documents sites that were impacted, and in some cases destroyed by the fires. It includes photographs taken especially for the publication, creating a unique time capsule representing the Shire in the early 21st century. It remains the most recent comprehenesive publication devoted to the Shire's history connecting local residents to the past. nillumbik now and then (marshall-king) collection, ada stuchbery, alan stuchbery, dairy, stuchbery farm, farm buildings, yarrambat, plenty gorge park