Henry Longfellow (1807-1882) was an American poet, the most popular one of his day. With poems such as ‘Paul Revere’s Ride’ he helped shape the American character. He was also popular in the British Empire countries and many people in places such as Warrnambool would have had a copy of his published works. The recipient of this volume, Albert Henry Lawson, was the son of Thomas and Susan Lawson, shopkeepers in Warrnambool in the 1870s and 80s. Albert Lawson became a pupil teacher in Cobden in 1903 and from 1904 to 1907 it appears that he was an assistant teacher at his brother’s school, Warrnambool College. This was a private school established by Richard Lawson and William Oakley in 1900. Albert Lawson was given the copy of Longfellow’s poems when he left Warrnambool College in 1907. He then embarked on a teaching career with the Victorian Education Department, married Susan Oakley, the daughter of William Oakley, and died in Melbourne in 1972.This beautiful book of Longfellow poems is worth keeping as an example of an antiquarian book. But it is most significant because of its inscription, telling us of its association with both the Lawson and Oakley Warrnambool College and Albert Lawson, a member of the Lawson family which had many members important in Warrnambool’s history. The inscription tells us that Albert Lawson worked as a teacher for some years at his brother’s school, a fact that was not fully documented until the acquisition of this book. This is a leather bound book of 698 pages. The cover is mottled brown in a raised pattern and the pages are edged with a red-gold tinge. The insides of the cover are edged with a red and gold border and have a blue, brown and cream mottled pattern. There is a sketch of Longfellow in the front with a tissue page covering the sketch. The pages of the book are of fine paper typical of a late Victorian publication. The book has a thin blue ribbon page marker which has become detached from the book. The book is edited by William Michael Rossetti.Front Cover: ‘Longfellow’ Spine: ‘Longfellow’ Inside on a blank page: ‘To Mr A.H. Lawson from his pupils at the W’bool College, with best wishes for his future welfare, April 15th 1907’. warrnambool college (lawson & oakley), albert lawson

This is a school badge, probably attached to a school cap. The Warrnambool Academy was a private school for boys operating from 1900 to 1911. It was established by Richard Lawson in partnership with William Oakley, firstly in the Methodist Sunday School Hall in Koroit Street and then in ‘Upton’ in Canterbury Road. It was called the Warrnambool College Academy after 1903 following the purchase of Walter Murdoch’s private school, Warrnambool College. The Lawson/Oakley school was a successful one with a former pupil, Philip Le Couteur, becoming the Victorian Rhodes Scholar in 1908. William Oakley later joined the State Technical School system and became Principal of Wonthaggi Technical School. Richard Lawson became a teacher at Warrnambool High School and later a lecturer in education at Melbourne University and then Professor of Education at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. The badge may have belonged to a member of the Baulch family as a ‘Mr Baulch’ is listed as the donor 48 years ago.This badge is of considerable interest as a memento of one of Warrnambool’s important private schools early in the 20th century.This is a bronze-coloured badge in the shape of a shield with lettering around the edge and with a scroll with lettering at the bottom of the shield. Inside the shield are initials. Warrnambool College Academy WCA Labore Et Fide warrnambool college academy, richard lawson, william oakley

This is a lady’s ticket issued by the Warrnambool Football Club in 1898. The Warrnambool Football Club, established in 1861, is one of the oldest clubs in Victoria (and the world?). It merged with South Warrnambool in 1924, was re-established as a stand-alone club in 1928 and joined the Hampden League in 1933. It still competes in this League. The secretary in 1898, William Oakley, was a well-known footballer known as ‘Wing’ and was also a co-Principal with Richard Lawson of a private boy’s school, Warrnambool College, in the late 1890s. This is a significant item as an example of a football club’s lady’s ticket in 1898 and as a 19th century memento from the Warrnambool Football Club and from William Oakley.This is a small cardboard ticket with a green background and gold lettering. The green colouring on the left side has been scratched and removed.‘Warrnambool Football Club, Season 1898, Lady’s Ticket, Warrnambool, W.M.Oakley, Hon. Sec.’warrnambool football club, lady’s ticket, 1898, hampden league, south warrnambool, william oakley

This school exercise book belonged to Philip Ridgway Le Couteur, Warrnambool’s first Rhodes Scholar. Philip Le Couteur (1885-1958), the son of George Le Couteur, a Warrnambool chemist and Fanny Byron (nee Maling), began his schooling at Middle Park State School and continued it in Warrnambool at the Warrnambool Academy run by Richard Lawson and William Oakley. He matriculated at the age of 14 and completed an Arts degree at Melbourne University before studying first year medicine. At the university he excelled in sport – cricket, football and tennis. In 1908 he won the Rhodes Scholarship for Victoria and studied classics, classical history and philosophy at Oxford University. In 1913 he was appointed the foundation lecturer in Mental and Moral Philosophy at the University of Western Australia. Following this he was the Head Master at various secondary schools, including Methodist Ladies’ College for 11 years. This book is of great interest because it contains examples of the schoolwork of Warrnambool’s first Rhodes Scholar, Philip Le Couteur.This is a school exercise book of 40 pages. The cardboard cover is a mottled blue and red colour with brown binding. All the pages have handwritten school work including dictation, arithmetic, spelling, map work, grammar and composition. The pages are detached from the cover and the cover is partly torn away and bent. The cover has some sketches drawn presumably by the owner of the book Philip Le Couteur. ‘P. Le Couteur, commenced 22nd November 1898, Sixth Class, Warrnambool School.’rhodes scholars, philip le couteur

This is a book prize given to Bessie Mackay some time in the 1890s. Unfortunately neither the book nor the book plate has any date. Bessie Mackay is probably Marie Elizabeth Mackay, born to Thomas and Marie Mackay in 1883. Thomas Mackay was an auctioneer and commission agent in Warrnambool in the later decades of the 19th century. Ellerslie College was an important private school in Warrnambool and the building still stands (Koroit Street). It was a purpose-built school, initially for girls and it was erected in 1889 for Bella Davidson. Miss Davidson conducted this school until 1891 when it was taken over by William Lawson. He had had a school for boys and girls in King Street and when he moved his school to Ellerslie College he was employing three lady teachers as well as his male staff. It is not known whether Bessie Mackay was a pupil at Miss Davidson’s school or Lawson’s school or both. This book is of great interest as a memento of Ellerslie College, a well-known private school in Warrnambool in the late 19th century and early 20th century. At that time, most pupils in Warrnambool wishing to go on to higher education attended private schools. This is a hard cover book of 128 pages. The cover is dark green with an image of a bunch of flowers in silver, red and black colouring on the front cover and on the spine. The printing is in black lettering on the front cover and in silver colouring on the spine. The book has eight chapters with a full page colour sketch at the front of the book. The cover is slightly frayed and a little stained. The book plate has black printing on a white background and handwriting in black ink. ‘Ellerslie College, Warrnambool, Non Scholae Sed Vitae Discimus, Name. Miss Bessie Mackay, Class V, For Geography’. ellerslie college, warrnambool, history of warrnambool, bella davidson, william lawson, bessie mackay

This letter written by Mary Adams concerns the sale of a property, ‘my Hopkins land’, perhaps in the Warrnambool area. No information is available on Mary Adams or her ‘Uncle Jim’. There is a reference in the letter to ‘Mr Lawson’ and this may refer to a member of the Lawson family living in Warrnambool about this time, perhaps Richard Lawson who, in 1908, was Principal of a private school, Warrnambool College Academy. The Mountain Grand Guest House in Warburton was a well-known guest house in Victoria for many years and was still in existence in 1948. The letter came to the Society’s collection with other material relating to the Warrnambool Club. As no enlightening information is available on this letter or its contents it is of little importance at this time. Further research may render it a useful item to keep. This is a letter of two pages written in 1908 by Mary Adams to her Uncle Jim. The letter is handwritten in black ink. The letter is written on the green notepaper of the Mountain Grand Guest House Warburton, Victoria‘Mountain Grand, Warburton’ (on letterhead)mary adams

This book contains poems written by Richard Lawson and Emile Louis Meyrat when they were fellow teachers at the Warrnambool College/Academy early in the 20th century. Dr Richard Lawson (1875-1971) was born in Warrnambool, the fifth child of Thomas and Susan Lawson (shopkeepers in Timor Street). He attended primary schools in Warrnambool and Cobden and then went to Stanley’s Warrnambool Grammar School where he won a scholarship to attend Melbourne University. In 1899 he returned to Warrnambool and in partnership with William Oakley ran a school, the Warrnambool Academy. They were firstly established in Koroit Street and then at ‘Upton’ in Canterbury Road. They bought out the school formed by the amalgamation of Scott’s School and Stanley’s Grammar (Warrnambool College) and the school was then known as the Warrnambool College/Academy. This school closed in 1911 and Lawson became a teacher at the Warrnambool High School. He later became a lecturer at Melbourne Teachers’ College and gained a Doctorate with a thesis on literary translations. With James Elijah Lawson produced four volumes of ‘The National Grammar’ and two English Literature text books. In 1924 he became Professor of Education at the University of Otago, New Zealand. While in Warrnambool Lawson was an active sportsman, enjoying games of tennis and cricket. Emile Louis Meyrat, a South Australia born about 188, was educated at Way College and was a teacher at Lawson’s school. He and his wife, Annie Hawkins, had a daughter, Pauline Marie Louise, born in Hawthorn in 1909, but the couple divorced in 1914. In 1912 Meyrat was in Switzerland and published a poem called ‘Eurydicean’. Meyrat dedicated his poems in ‘Poems By Two Friends’ to his father’s memory. The date of the book, ‘Poems By Two Friends’ is printed in the Preface of the book – ‘May 20, 1909, Warrnambool College’. This book is of great significance as it is an original copy of the poems produced by two people, Emile Louis Meyrat and Richard Lawson, teachers at the Warrnambool College/Academy in 1909. This school is important in the history of education in Warrnambool and Richard Lawson is a key figure in this history. He also later had a distinguished career in education in both Australia and New Zealand. This book is rare and one of the few early 20th century books surviving that was written by local Warrnambool people and produced in Warrnambool. It is also of literary interest as an example of the type of poems produced by well-educated people early in the 20th century – classical and florid in style. This is a soft cover book of 100 pages. The cover is dark green with the title of the book in green print inside an ornamental pattern of lines. There is a Latin quotation inside the front page and some of the poems have French or Latin sub-titles. The book has an Index listing the 61 poems and a Preface. The book is bound with staples, glue and some stitching using string. Front cover and inside first page: Stamp of Warrnambool & District Historical Societyemile louis meyrat, richard lawson, warnambool college/academy, history of warrnambool

This book, a sequel to ‘The Swiss Family Robinson’ by Henry Frith, was a prize given to Frank Ward in 1901. His school, the Warrnambool Academy, was established in 1899 by Richard Lawson and William Oakley and was eventually situated at ‘Upton’ in Canterbury Road, Warrnambool. The Academy later incorporated the former Scott’s Warrnambool College and Stanley’s Warrnambool Grammar School. This private school closed in 1911. William Oakley later joined the Victorian Education Department and Richard Lawson had a distinguished academic career in teacher education in Melbourne and New Zealand. No details are available on Frank Ward. This is a hard cover book of 295 pages. The cover is dark blue with gold printing and ornamental gold borders on the front cover and spine. The book has an introductory chapter, 28 chapters of story and an Epilogue. In the back pages there are lists of other books published by Ward, Lock and Co. The book contains many black and white illustrations. There are two blue stamps of the Warrnambool & District Historical Society and on the first page a flyleaf from the Warrnambool Academy printed with gold print and borders and with handwriting in black ink. The cover is slightly faded and marked. ‘Warrnambool Academy, Labore et Fide, First Prize awarded to Frank Ward for Latin, Principals, Richard Lawson M.A. & W.M. Oakley. 17/12/1901’ warrnambool academy, richard lawson, william oakley, frank ward, history of warrnambool

This is a paper back book with a plasticized cove which has an image of Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village (reproduction of Daniel Clarke’s Studio) in the background in muted colours, photographs and paintings of Thomas and Susan Lawson in colour on the front cover and a photograph of and information on the author on the back. It has 37 pages, a Lawson family tree at the back and an introduction by Helen Jones. The book included printed material, black and white photographs and illustrative material.non-fictionFamily history of Thomas Lawson (1831-1907) and his descendants lawson family, warrnambool, cobden, camperdown