Historical information

This letter book contains letters that date from 1933 to 1936. It came originally from the office of John William Crawley Junior, an engineer, architect and surveyor in private practice in Warrnambool and also the engineer for the Shire of Warrnambool from 1895 to 1935. His father, brother and son were all engineers and worked in that capacity or as the Shire Secretary, for the Shire of Warrnambool, with the Crawley family recording a total of 132 years of service to the Shire. The Shire of Warrnambool existed from 1863 to 1994. The letter book was also used by John Crawley’s son, Rolf who took over the job of engineer at the Shire of Warrnambool in 1935 and held the position until 1968. The book then came into the possession of Michael Hand who took over the private surveying practice of Rolf Crawley in Warrnambool. The Warrnambool and District Historical Society acquired the letter book, along with several other Crawley ledgers, from the Michael Hand Estate.

Significance

This letter book is of considerable importance as it contains letters written by John Crawley Junior and Rolf Crawley, both engineers for the Shire of Warrnambool over the years covered by the letter book. It will be very useful to researchers.

Physical description

This is a hard cover book of 1000 pages. Only half of the pages have been used and there are some loose sheets. The book is bound on the cover corners and on the spine with buff-coloured leather. The pages contain an alphabetical index and handwritten letters. Some pages are water-stained.

Inscriptions & markings

‘Letter Book 1933 Shire’