"This sculpture was inspired by the figures carved from the hillsides of the chalk downs in Britain. I wanted to produce a work that would become part of the landscape and was originally derived from the landscape. It is a white-faced heron which is a native water bird commonly found along the Merri Creek. The bird is looking upstream to the source of the creek and the other artworks along the creek."Made of scoria (a red-brown volcanic stone) laid in trenches, 'Earthwork Heron' was commissioned by the Merri Creek Management Committee as part of the Merri Creek Arts Plan and was donated to the City of Yarra in August 1997.Contemporary, LandartOutline of a Heron bird imprinted on a rolling hill in the landscape with volcanic stone (scoria). Accompanying plaque reads: 'This sculpture was inspired by the figures in the British Chalk Hills. I wanted Earthwork Heron to be derived from and become part of the landscape. The white feathered Heron a common native water bird is looking upstream to the creek's source." wildlife, landscape, ephemeral, landart, environment, site-specific

Pending further research and information nothing is known about this piece of pumice.This piece of pumice has no known local provenance but is retained for display purposes.This grey irregular shaped piece of pumice is pitted and has traces of a white substance.Nilpumice, volcanic stone

This particular specimen was found in the Moorabool Slate quarries in Victoria. The Moorabool Slate quarries was established in the 1860’s by a company of Welshmen with a crew of six who purchased land by the riverside to mine for slate. Under the promise of adding to existing recourses the crew mined the slate which was used for paving and roofing. Slate is a fine-grained, low-grade metamorphic rock that is formed by the transformation of mudstone, shale or sometimes volcanic ash under low pressure and temperatures. It dark colour is due to carbonaceous material or to finely divided iron sulphide. It is believed that Evan Rowlands and Theophilus Williams of Ballarat were the first to discover the slate veins. Slate is a one of the most common natural stones in general use. Being used as paving, flooring, roofing and more. However, its history of being mined in Australia is not common as it is considered that the best places to mine slate is Spain and parts of the United Kingdom. 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 somewhat rectangular foliated metamorphic rock composed of quartz, sericite and minerals from the chlorite group that make up the compounds of slate. The rock is dark grey almost black.Geological survey / R S / Loc Moorabool /Slate quarries / 1/4 sheet | 78 | Roofing Slate /burke museum, beechworth, geological, slate, metamorphic, slate (metamorphic), geological specimen, slate specimen, indigo shire

The art of making glass can be traced back to 2600 BC in Mesopotamia. Egyptians practised making glass around 2500 BC. Artificial glass first appeared in the Egyptian or the Mesopotamian civilization, whereas they used tools made out of volcanic glass obsidian in the Stone Age. Ancient China, however, discovered how to make glass a little later. Glass beads are known to be one of the earliest products made out of glass. Their creation is thought to be primarily accidental. In the later Bronze Age, glassmaking came to a halt. Glass was a luxury material back then. Archaeological excavations suggest the use of glass in England during the middle ages. In the 10th century, stained glass found a place in cathedrals and windows of palaces. After the Renaissance, architectural methods changed substantially, leading to a decrease in stained glass as a building material. Domestic use of glass increased following the industrial revolution. Vessels, glass windows, and glass beads gained popularity in Europe during this period. During the 19th century, many people preferred glass windows and doors as a decorative option. In the late 19th century, some designers brought back stained glass in decorative windows. It was during this period that Mr Tiffany discovered several methods to make domed glass handicrafts. People discovered the true versatility of using glass as a building material only in the 20th century. With glassmaking technology receiving an industrial boom, you could produce several different types of glass. Toughened glass, laminated glass, bulletproof glass, and smart glass all boosted the use of glass in buildings. Today, several skyscrapers, small and big homes, and offices use glass in almost all aspects of construction and design. https://www.aisglass.com/glass-made-step-step-process/The invention and development of glass, both as domestic items and in building, has been nothing short of revolutionary. Prior to the use of glass for windows, the interior of buildings were extremely dark, even during sunny days. The use of glass domestic objects, that could be easily washed, led to improved hygiene.Cylindrical drinking glass with stepped relief around lipNoneflagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, glass

The sharpening stone can also be referred to as a whetstone, oil stone or honing stone. It is a well-worn double-sided sharpening stone retrieved from the wreck site of the Loch Ard. It is used to grind and hone the edges of metal blades and tools. ‘Natural’ sharpening stones like this one are quarried from ancient sedimentary rock that has metamorphosed from clay and volcanic ash to produce garnet crystals. Most modern stones are artificially produced, or ‘bonded’, abrasive stones, made by fusing clay and metal powder under heat and pressure. The softer yellow Corticule stone is found in thin vertical veins running through the more plentiful Belgian Blue rock. Coticule is a fine-grained and dense material that ‘cuts’ metal slowly but to a superior standard of sharpness and finish. The relatively coarser Belgian Blue is stronger and ‘cuts’ more quickly, but with a less polished finish. A double-sided whetstone is therefore valued for its increased durability (the harder BBW ‘backs’, or supports, the softer Coticule), and additional utility (the fine ‘grit’ of Coticule complements the coarser BBW to meet a range of sharpening needs). The blue-grey base of this stone is thinner than the remaining yellow Coticule on top. This suggests that the majority of grinding and honing work it has done on board the ship was for larger tools, rather than on surgical or shaving blades. Its rounded or spherical shaping may also be related to the ‘tumbling’ action of the sea on the ocean floor. History of the Loch Ard wreck: The Loch Ard got its name from ”Loch Ard” a loch that lies to the west of Aberfoyle, and the east of Loch Lomond. It means "high lake" in Scottish Gaelic. The vessel belonged to the famous Loch Line which sailed many vessels from England to Australia. The Loch Ard was built in Glasgow by Barclay, Curle & Co. in 1873, the vessel was a three-masted square-rigged iron sailing ship that measured 79.87 meters in length, 11.58 m in width, and 7 m in depth with a gross tonnage of 1693 tons with a mainmast that measured a massive 45.7 m in height. Loch Ard made three trips to Australia and one trip to Calcutta before its fateful voyage. Loch Ard left England on March 2, 1878, under the command of 29-year-old Captain Gibbs, who was newly married. The ship was bound for Melbourne with a crew of 37, plus 17 passengers. The general cargo reflected the affluence of Melbourne at the time. Onboard were straw hats, umbrellas, perfumes, clay pipes, pianos, clocks, confectionery, linen and candles, as well as a heavier load of railway irons, cement, lead and copper. There were other items included that were intended for display in the Melbourne International Exhibition of 1880. The voyage to Port Phillip was long but uneventful. Then at 3 am on June 1, 1878, Captain Gibbs was expecting to see land. But the Loch Ard was running into a fog which greatly reduced visibility. Captain Gibbs was becoming anxious as there was no sign of land or the Cape Otway lighthouse. At 4 am the fog lifted and a lookout aloft announced that he could see breakers. The sheer cliffs of Victoria's west coast came into view, and Captain Gibbs realised that the ship was much closer to them than expected. He ordered as much sail to be set as time would permit and then attempted to steer the vessel out to sea. On coming head-on into the wind, the ship lost momentum, the sails fell limp and Loch Ard's bow swung back towards land. Gibbs then ordered the anchors to be released in an attempt to hold their position. The anchors sank some 50 fathoms - but did not hold. By this time the ship was among the breakers and the tall cliffs of Mutton Bird Island rose behind. Just half a mile from the coast, the ship's bow was suddenly pulled around by the anchor. The captain tried to tack out to sea, but the ship struck a reef at the base of Mutton Bird Island, near Port Campbell. Waves subsequently broke over the ship and the top deck became loosened from the hull. The masts and rigging came crashing down knocking passengers and crew overboard. When a lifeboat was finally launched, it crashed into the side of Loch Ard and capsized. Tom Pearce, who had launched the boat, managed to cling to its overturned hull and shelter beneath it. He drifted out to sea and then on the flood tide came into what is now known as Lochard Gorge. He swam to shore, bruised and dazed, and found a cave in which to shelter. Some of the crew stayed below deck to shelter from the falling rigging but drowned when the ship slipped off the reef into deeper water. Eva Carmichael a passenger had raced onto the deck to find out what was happening only to be confronted by towering cliffs looming above the stricken ship. In all the chaos, Captain Gibbs grabbed Eva and said, "If you are saved Eva, let my dear wife know that I died like a sailor". That was the last Eva Carmichael saw of the captain. She was swept off the ship by a huge wave. Eva saw Tom Pearce on a small rocky beach and yelled to attract his attention. He dived in and swam to the exhausted woman and dragged her to shore. He took her to the cave and broke the open case of brandy which had washed up on the beach. He opened a bottle to revive the unconscious woman. A few hours later Tom scaled a cliff in search of help. He followed hoof prints and came by chance upon two men from nearby Glenample Station three and a half miles away. In a complete state of exhaustion, he told the men of the tragedy. Tom then returned to the gorge while the two men rode back to the station to get help. By the time they reached Loch Ard Gorge, it was cold and dark. The two shipwreck survivors were taken to Glenample Station to recover. Eva stayed at the station for six weeks before returning to Ireland by steamship. In Melbourne, Tom Pearce received a hero's welcome. He was presented with the first gold medal of the Royal Humane Society of Victoria and a £1000 cheque from the Victorian Government. Concerts were performed to honour the young man's bravery and to raise money for those who lost family in the disaster. Of the 54 crew members and passengers on board, only two survived: the apprentice, Tom Pearce and the young woman passenger, Eva Carmichael, who lost her family in the tragedy. Ten days after the Lochard tragedy, salvage rights to the wreck were sold at auction for £2,120. Cargo valued at £3,000 was salvaged and placed on the beach, but most washed back into the sea when another storm developed. The wreck of Lochard still lies at the base of Mutton Bird Island. Much of the cargo has now been salvaged and some items were washed up into Lochard Gorge. Cargo and artefacts have also been illegally salvaged over many years before protective legislation was introduced in March 1982. One of the most unlikely pieces of cargo to have survived the shipwreck was a Minton majolica peacock- one of only nine in the world. The peacock was destined for the Melbourne 1880 International Exhibition. It had been well packed, which gave it adequate protection during the violent storm. Today the Minton peacock can be seen at the Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum in Warrnambool. From Australia's most dramatic shipwreck, it has now become Australia's most valuable shipwreck artifact and is one of very few 'objects' on the Victorian State Heritage Register. The shipwreck of the Loch Ard is of significance for Victoria and is registered on the Victorian Heritage Register ( S 417). Flagstaff Hill has a varied collection of artefacts from Loch Ard and its collection is significant for being one of the largest accumulation of artefacts from this notable Victorian shipwreck of which the subject items are a small part. The collections objects give us a snapshot of how we can interpret the story of this tragic event. The collection is also archaeologically significant as it represents aspects of Victoria's shipping history that allows us to interpret Victoria's social and historical themes of the time. Through is associated with the worst and best-known shipwreck in Victoria's history. A sharpening stone is also called a whetstone, oil, or honing stone. The stone is a worn double-sided rectangular block with rounded corners. There is a clear delineation between its coarser Belgian Blue base (grey colour) and its finer Belgian Coticule face (yellow colour). It bears sedimentary encrustation over one-third of its surface. flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, loch line, loch ard, captain gibbs, eva carmichael, tom pearce, glenample station, mutton bird island, loch ard gorge, sharpening stone, whetstone, oilstone, double-sided stone, belgian coticule, belgian blue whetstone, oil stone, honing stone

The art of making glass can be traced back to 2600 BC in Mesopotamia. Egyptians practised making glass around 2500 BC. Artificial glass first appeared in the Egyptian or the Mesopotamian civilization, whereas they used tools made out of volcanic glass obsidian in the Stone Age. Ancient China, however, discovered how to make glass a little later. Glass beads are known to be one of the earliest products made out of glass. Their creation is thought to be primarily accidental. In the later Bronze Age, glassmaking came to a halt. Glass was a luxury material back then. Archaeological excavations suggest the use of glass in England during the middle ages. In the 10th century, stained glass found a place in cathedrals and windows of palaces. After the Renaissance, architectural methods changed substantially, leading to a decrease in stained glass as a building material. Domestic use of glass increased following the industrial revolution. Vessels, glass windows, and glass beads gained popularity in Europe during this period. During the 19th century, many people preferred glass windows and doors as a decorative option. In the late 19th century, some designers brought back stained glass in decorative windows. It was during this period that Mr Tiffany discovered several methods to make domed glass handicrafts. People discovered the true versatility of using glass as a building material only in the 20th century. With glassmaking technology receiving an industrial boom, you could produce several different types of glass. Toughened glass, laminated glass, bulletproof glass, and smart glass all boosted the use of glass in buildings. Today, several skyscrapers, small and big homes, and offices use glass in almost all aspects of construction and design. https://www.aisglass.com/glass-made-step-step-process/The invention and development of glass, both as domestic items and in building, has been nothing short of revolutionary. Prior to the use of glass for windows, the interior of buildings were extremely dark, even during sunny days. The use of glass domestic objects, that could be easily washed, led to improved hygiene.Moulded patterned glass butter dish. Base has been broken.None.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, glass, kitchen item, butter

The stone wall is part of the terraces that were built into the hillside at the winery at Goonawarra. They were constructed in the early days when the vineyard was established to terrace the hillside for growing vines. The winery was originally established by Joh Goodall Francis, a former member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly. He acquired a parcel of crown land and proceeded to develop it as a vineyard. The terraces were built by vignerons, who were employed to work on the property. Goonawarra Winery was one of a number of vineyards that were established in the Sunbury area in the 1800s. The volcanic soil and temperate climate were ideal for grape growing.A coloured photograph of a stone wall with a notice to the left of the wall and long dried grassland in the front. A barbed wire fence is in the foreground.terraces, vineyards, goonawarra, james goodall francis

The bridge in the photograph is the bluestone bridge at Bulla which spans the Deep Creek, a tributary of the Maribyrnong River. It was built in 1869 and replaced a ford crossing which was built further downstream. Many of the buildings and structures in the area were built from bluestone which is in abundance throughout this volcanic area.This bridge is one of many similar structures built across Western Victoria where the bluestone volcanic rock was found in abundance.A coloured close - up photograph of a four-arched blue stone bridge spanning a waterway. Some greenery is visible on either side of the bridge and above it. bulla bridge, bluestone, bridges, deep creek.

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

"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