This poster has been produced as a saleable item by the firm of McCarron Bird & Co of Melbourne about 1900. This firm was founded in 1872 and is best known for its publication of the two-volume work, 'Victoria and its Metropolis' (1888). The poster was intended to be hung on a wall for decorative and advertising purposes. It contains four attractive lithographs of the towns, Warrnambool, Port Fairy, Portland and Hamilton and a great number of advertisements and illustrations, some from Melbourne and the rest from the Westen District towns mentioned above. One Warrnambool advertisement is for the general merchant business of William Caffin in Kepler Street and two others are advertisements for the coastal ships, Flinders, Dawn and Casino which came into the port of Warrnambool. This poster has local historical significance as it has a descriptive drawing of the town of Warrnambool about 1900 and shows the buildings that were existing at that time.This is a cream-coloured sheet of paper with a coloured centre piece showing the title of the poster, four coloured lithographs of Western Victorian towns and advertisements printed and illustrated in black and white. The edges of the poster are frayed and the paper is torn at the centre left edge.warrnambool 1900, western victorian towns 1900, william caffin general merchant warrnambool

Bandmaster Hugh McMahon is noted for conducing the McMahon's Brass Band (Hillgrove Brass Band) from 1892 - 1900. He was a very famous bandmaster and he, and his brothers, were all extremely competent musicians. In 1897 the McMahon's band competed in Tamworth and won the competition. Their closet rival, the Hillgrove Town Band was placed third. Unfortunately the McMahon's Band was wound up in 1900 when the six McMahon brother followed their brother John to the Western Australia goldfields at Kalgoorlie-Boulder.The photo is remarkable for its condition and completeness. Here we have a photo of 20 bandsmen who have just won a competition dressed in very neat suits. We can also see a distinctive crest on the bass drum and the two trombone players are playing valve trombones. The photo is also significant as it shows one of the two Hillgrove brass bands that were in existence at the time and this was while Hillgrove was a bustling mining town. The six famous McMahon brothers are all in this photo and this would be one of the rare photos of them playing in the one band.Sepia photo mounted on card.hugh mcmahon, harry mcmahon, john mcmahon, edward mcmahon, will mcmahon, alick mcmahon, mcmahon's band (hillgrove), hillgrove, hillgrove town band, tamworth, victorian bands' league