The Wodonga line and train station opened in November 1873 when the section of the line from Wangaratta was completed. The expansion of the railways to the northeast of Victoria occurred after the Victorian Government took over the railways in 1867 and the trains serviced large towns such as Seymour, Wangaratta and Wodonga, as well as smaller towns along the way. The north- east train line to Wodonga remained a significant factor in the development of Wodonga as a rural city in the 20th century. The Past Officers Certificate has local significance as it was presented to Wodonga resident, Lachlan McEachern, who was President of the Wodonga Sub-Branch of the Victorian Branch of the Australian Railways Union, and there are other items that belonged to Mr Eachern in the collection of the Wodonga Historical Society. It also has wider significance as an example of a Past Officers certificate dated to the 1920s, as other examples in the collection of Museums Victoria are later and are dated to the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. Dark brown wooden frame with a lighter brown wood and gold inner border on a Past Officers Certificate from the Victorian Branch of the Australian Railways Union, presented to L. McEachern in 1926, in recognition of services rendered as President of the Wodonga Sub-Branch. The certificate is a colour lithograph with black and white photolithograph images and a red embossed seal. The inscription on the certificate is surrounded by two Corinthian columns and a background illustration of a signal gantry at Flinders St Station. The signatures of the State President and State Secretary are faded. At the bottom of the certificate, there are black and white images of a suburban electric passenger train, "Unity Hall" which is the building where the Australian Railway Union offices were located and a steam train."AUSTRALIAN RAILWAYS UNION" "A.R.U" "AUSTRALIAN RAILWAYS / UNION / VICTORIAN BRANCH" "Presented to / L.McEachern / In Recognition / of Services Rendered / As President / of the Wodonga Sub-Branch /Year 1926" "State President / State Secretary"australian railways union, a.r.u., a.r. u. victorian branch, wodonga sub-branch, victorian railways, v.r., past officers certificate, flinders st station, railway unions, trade unions

Ian Darnton Watson was a member of a prominent family of civic leaders in Wodonga. He was born on 6th July 1925 in Albury, the first son of Kenneth Darnton Watson and Phyllis Lenore Emily Austin. He completed his primary education at Albury Grammar School, and later became a boarder at Melbourne Church of England Grammar School. He enlisted for military service at Albury on 25th January 1944 and commenced full time service on 8th February 1944 at Royal Park in Melbourne, Victoria and was allocated to the 2nd Medium Artillery Regiment. He embarked on overseas service in Borneo on 30th July 1945 and disembarked in Australia on 15th April 1947 after serving with the Australian occupation forces in Japan. Mr Watson was discharged on 22nd April 1947 at which time he was a member of the Australian 2nd Medical Regiment. On discharge he returned home to help his father farm his property, de Kerilleau in Wodonga which was classified by the National Trust in 1974. Ian described his father, Kenneth as a hardworking, practical man, who for two years from 1929 - 1931, had been the Wodonga Shire President. Cr K. D. Watson was again elected to the Council in 1943 and served until he died in October 1951. In March 1957, he married Miss Lesley Buttfield, of Sydney, NSW. They had three children, Fiona, John and Rowena. John was later to become a member of Wodonga Council and served as Mayor. Ian was President of the RSSAILA (Returned Sailor's, Soldier's and Airmen's Imperial League of Australia) branch at Wodonga from 1953 to 1955 and remained as a member after that time. The League was renamed to the Returned Services League in 1965. Mr Ian Watson died on 14 December 1981, aged 56.This certificate is significant because it recognises the service of Ian Darnton Watson in support of Returned Servicemen in Wodonga.A framed certificate mounted on card. The frame is plastic with a wood grain finish.On Certificate:- R.S.S.A.I.L.A. VICTORIAN BRANCH Presented to Ian D. Watson, As a token of esteem and in grateful recognition of valuable services rendered as President of the Wodonga Sub Branch Years 1953 to 1955.wodonga rssaila, ian darnton watson, watson family wodonga, rsl wodonga

The hand forged iron alloy wedge belonged to the railways carpenter, Lachlan McEachern, who became the President of the Wodonga Sub-Branch of the Victorian branch of the Australian Railways Union. He was presented with a framed Past Officers Certificate by the Australian Railways Union in recognition of services rendered in 1926. The certificate is also in the collection of the Wodonga Historical Society. The Wodonga train station opened in November 1873 when the section of the train line from Wangaratta to Wodonga was completed. The expansion of the railways to the northeast of Victoria occurred after the Victorian Government took over the railways in 1867 and the trains serviced large towns such as Seymour, Wangaratta and Wodonga, as well as smaller towns along the way. The hand forged iron alloy wedge has local and state significance due to its use by a Victorian Railways carpenter, Lachlan McEachern, in Wodonga. The local significance is also strong due to the prominence of the McEachern family in the Albury-Wodonga area.Hand forged iron wedge with a cracked flange/rim at the top, red-brown rust and some dirt on the surface. It belonged to railway carpenter Lachlan McEachern. hand forged wedge, hand made tools, victorian railways, v.r., railways carpenter, wodonga, lachlan mceachern, iron alloy tools, mceachern family

This badge was given to members of the Rats of Tobruk Association. 14,000 Australians were in Tobruk during the siege. On return to Australia the veterans looked to maintain the ties created amongst those who were in Tobruk during the siege and to ensure their needs were supported. In 1944, the Rats of Tobruk Association, NSW was established. This was followed by the establishment of the Victorian Branch on 2nd October 1945. Other branches and sub-branches were established across Australia and a Federal Council was established in 1946. With the passing of the survivors of Tobruk, most branches have been wound up with the exception of the Victorian branch. Since 2012 the Rats of Tobruk Association Inc. has opened up affiliate membership to descendants and relatives of the original "Rats" in order to preserve their legacy.This item is of significance as it indicates membership of the Rats of Tobruk Association and the role it has played in supporting the veterans' needs and carrying on their legacy. It is part of a collection of items owned by Arthur Lock, a member of the 2/23rd Battalion, an all-volunteer Second Australian Imperial Force which served as part of the garrison during the Siege of Tobruk, then at El Alamein, New Guinea and Borneo. It has particular local significance as the battalion was know as "Albury's Own" because a large majority of the battalion's initial intake of volunteers came from the Albury–Wodonga region. A small metal lapel badge bearing the logo of the Rats of Tobruk Association. Badge Number 1669world war 11, rats of tobruk, tobruk, rats of tobruk association

14,000 Australians were in Tobruk during the siege. On return to Australia the veterans looked to maintain the ties created amongst those who were in Tobruk during the siege and to ensure their needs were supported. In 1944, the Rats of Tobruk Association, NSW was established. This was followed by the establishment of the Victorian Branch on 2nd October 1945. Other branches and sub-branches were established across Australia and a Federal Council was established in 1946. With the passing of the survivors of Tobruk, most branches have been wound up with the exception of the Victorian branch. Since 2012 the Rats of Tobruk Association Inc. has opened up affiliate membership to descendants and relatives of the original "Rats" in order to preserve their legacy.This item is part of a collection of items owned by Arthur Lock, a member of the 2/23rd Battalion, an all-volunteer Second Australian Imperial Force which served as part of the garrison during the Siege of Tobruk, then at El Alamein, New Guinea and Borneo. It has particular local significance as the battalion was know as "Albury's Own" because a large majority of the battalion's initial intake of volunteers came from the Albury–Wodonga region. A wooden plaque in the shape of a shield with one large emblem of the Rats of Tobruk Association in the centre and 4 smaller emblems attached. The smaller emblems represent the Rats of Tobruk Association, the Returned Services League Australia and the Queensland Civil Defence. The Rats of Tobruk motto is also included on a metal scroll. Beneath the badges on a metal scroll "NO SURRENDER"world war 11, rats of tobruk, tobruk, rats of tobruk association

A collection of small paper back booklets on a range of topics related to Albury and Wodonga history. Their titles are:- 1. "Violet Grange Leneva" and its History 2. Albury - Murray River to Botanic Gardens 3. The Hume Highway - A potpourri of Stories and Scenes, Today and Yesterday 4. The Hume Monument - Albury NSW 5. Remembering Robert BrownIn 1976 Rosemary Boyes was awarded the British Empire Medal for services to Australian History. She was the author of more than 20 publications about local and national historical events. From 1970 to 1981, writing as Mrs Frank Boyes, she contributed a regular column to the Wodonga/Albury Express newspaper. Rosemary was a Founder Member of the Albury & District Historical Society in 1961, a Life Member of Wodonga & District Historical Society and also a Life Member of the Wodonga RSL Sub-Branch. She and her husband, Frank, a veteran of the Kokoda Trail, farmed at Leneva before moving to Albury and then to Frankston. Rosemary Boyes died in September 1991. australian history, rosemary boyes bem