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:

8672.69a The document is a small case file from April 1934 concerning an application for financial assistance made by Mrs B. M. Guy of Holdsworth Road, Bendigo, to the Victorian State Relief Committee. It contains Mrs Guy's original request for aid, correspondence between the State Relief Committee and local authorities, and an assessment by the Bendigo Benevolent Asylum regarding whether assistance should be provided.

Mrs Guy's handwritten letter explains that her family's financial circumstances had deteriorated after her husband lost access to relief work and had been unable to find employment since Christmas. She states that the family had previously managed without asking for assistance but could no longer cope. She also explains that a fire approximately twelve months earlier destroyed nearly all of their clothing and possessions. With winter approaching, she requests help, particularly clothing and boots for herself, her husband, and their five children, listing each child's age and clothing requirements.

Following receipt of the application, the State Relief Committee wrote to the Bendigo Town Clerk on 26 April 1934, forwarding Mrs Guy's request and asking whether any local organisations were already assisting the family or whether the Committee should consider the application. This reflects the Committee's practice of seeking local advice before granting relief.

The Bendigo Town Clerk then referred the matter to the Superintendent of the Bendigo Benevolent Asylum, requesting an investigation into Mrs Guy's circumstances and asking whether the institution could provide assistance or recommend action before the Town Clerk responded to the State Relief Committee.

In the Superintendent's reply, dated 30 April 1934, he reports that he had visited Mrs Guy and found that her husband was employed in country work at the basic wage. He also notes that the family had received £150 in insurance compensation following the earlier fire. Based on these findings, he concludes that Mrs Guy appeared to be "fairly comfortable" financially. However, he adds that if the authorities nevertheless considered her eligible for assistance, the Benevolent Asylum had sufficient clothing available to supply the family.

Overall, the file documents the administrative process used by relief authorities during the Great Depression, illustrating how applications for assistance were investigated through local government and charitable organisations before a decision on eligibility was made. It also highlights the tension between an applicant's account of hardship and the official assessment that the family was not in severe financial distress despite their request for help.