Historical information

Dr Michele Matthews has been a local and social historian for nearly three decades since she first used correspondence held by the then Bendigo City Council for her Honours thesis. She is an ardent advocate for the use of local history records to tell Victorian and Australian history from a grassroots perspective. Michele’s MA thesis, ‘A forgotten “Father” of Federation: Sir John Quick 1852‑1911’ (2003), and her PhD thesis, ‘Survivors, schemes, Samaritans and shareholders: the impact of the Great Depression on Bendigo and District 1925‑1935’ (2007), both drew heavily on Bendigo and district records.

Physical description

Michele Matthews Collection: PHD Research - Relief during the great depression

This item includes the following documents:

8672.47a The document is a letter from the Victorian Government Department of Labour, Sustenance Branch, dated 12 June 1933, addressed to His Worship the Mayor of Bendigo. It responds to a previous letter from the Premier's Secretary (dated 2 June) and clarifies the purpose of a government sustenance scheme.

The letter explains that the scheme does not provide grants for relief works. Instead, it extends the existing "work in return for sustenance" system. Under this arrangement, individuals who perform work in exchange for government assistance are entitled to receive a higher level of sustenance each week than those who do not participate in work.

The central message is that the program is intended to reward participation in work rather than fund new relief projects. The distinction is emphasised in the letter through underlining, highlighting that workers receive greater weekly support than non-workers. A handwritten annotation in the margin ("do work don't work!") also draws attention to this key point, suggesting it was of particular significance to a later reader.