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A wooden device that appears to have been used in a workshop. This device has a rotating pointer, hence it may have been used for balancing, measuring or alignment at the RVIB workshop.

1 wooden board with metal attachment

assistive devices, royal victorian institute for the blind

A historical overview of the first 60 years of the RVIB, and some of the people and intentions behind it.

2 page foreward and 17 page history

royal victorian institute for the blind, c.h. nipper

Confidential report from Frank Y Turley about the multi-handicapped unit at RVIB Burwood school, including rationale for its establishment and some guidelines about enrolment.

2 type written sheets with no letterhead

royal victorian institute for the blind, rvib burwood school, frank turley

A detailed memo from Frank Y Turley about the multi-handicapped unit at RVIB Burwood school, including rationale for its establishment and some guidelines about enrolment.

3 type written sheets with no letterhead

royal victorian institute for the blind, rvib burwood school, frank turley

To honour 35 years of service provided, a bronze coloured medallion inset to a wooden column was awarded to individuals. On the front is a cameo of a woman wearing a pendant and an old fashioned ruffled blouse. Around the outside is written 'Vision Australia Foundation Tilly Aston Award' and below this '35 Year Award'.

1 maroon wooden stand with bronze tone inlaid medallion, with illustrations

35 Years Award

vision australia foundation, awards

Photos of the VAF/RVIB office at Horsham in May 2005 taken by Janet Robins.

1 CD with 12 images

royal victorian institute for the blind, horsham

In 2007, Vision Australia sold it's iconic 557-563 St Kilda Road site. The historic bluestone building was in need of renovation and repair, had limited space for staff and clients and with more demand for services in suburban and regional areas, did not meet the needs of the national organisation. The purchaser was mainly interested in the Ormond Hall section, which they sub-divided off and sold to the tenant of the Belgian Beer Cafe. The remainder of the site was then sold on to another developer. Unable to quickly proceed with their plans on developing the site for residential buildings, the site fell into some disrepair in the interim which was when these images were taken. Later the site was sold again and residential buildings now occupy part of the block.

20 images taken of and from St Kilda Road building

royal victorian institute for the blind, buildings, myer house, ferguson and urie

On November 25, 2005, a time capsule was buried at Vision Australia's head office in Kooyong. As part of the contents, these interviews were put on CD and placed inside the capsule. The capsule is designated to be opened in 2066, to celebrate 200 years of providing services to people who are blind or vision impaired. NSW clients and staff were asked what their life was like now and what they hoped would happen by 2066.

1 CD with 30 sound files

vision australia, time capsule, david 'geordie' mcburnie, gerard menses, jane ellis, christine cummins, robyn whitelock, luisa ferranato, david woodbridge, russell dines, marion jones, gillian true, marina ipaviz, paul chand, vanessa spark, graeme innes, nick gleeson

Helen Keller speaks with an elderly blind man via signing. Believed to have been taken during Miss Keller's visit to Australia in 1948.

High quality image of two people communicating by finger spelling

helen keller, sydney industrial blind institution

An older girl sits on a garden bench surrounded by younger girls, as she reads from a Braille book. Believed to be Tilly Aston, this image demonstrates the power of story, regardless of it's medium, as well as the work of the RVIB School in educating children, and was often reproduced.

High quality image of Braille reader in garden

royal victorian institute for the blind, tilly aston

Mary Halls "Minnie" Crabb (1885-1974) was the niece of the first librarian (May Harrison) for the Victorian Association of Braille Writers. After her aunt's death in 1912, Miss Crabb took on the role of librarian for the constantly expanding collection. In 1934, the Victorian Association of Braille Writers annual report advised that it had acquired a Crabb-Hulme Braille Printing Press. Two years in development, the Press was designed by Miss Crabb and built to her specifications by Mr Hulme. Invented to produce ephemeral material quickly, such as programs, catalogues and newsletters, it provided more opportunities for information to be quickly sent out to Braille readers. The daughter of James Hall Crabb, who ran the Prahran Telegraph from1882 until his death and the niece of J.M. Yelland who took over the paper until he sold it in 1895, Minnie would have seen printing presses in her youth and recognised the usefulness when producing large numbers of ephemeral materials. In March 1944, Miss Crabb retired from the library, in 1956 she married Charles Foster and she lived until in the St Kilda area until her passing in 1974, aged 89. This iconic image of Miss Crabb using the press has appeared in many reports since.

High quality image of Minnie Crabb

victorian association of braille writers, minnie crabb

Audio and print logo produced for Vision Australia. Audio version was included in 2005 time capsule.

Audio and print Vision Australia logo

corporation records, vision australia, time capsule

Logo produced for the Association for the Blind .

Association for the Blind logo

corporation records, association for the blind

Logo produced for Vision Australia Foundation and RPH.

RPH and VAF logo joined

vision australia foundation, corporation records, 3rph radio station

Logos produced for Vision Australia Foundation, in a variety of formats and colours.

VAF logos in a variety of formats

vision australia foundation, corporation records

Images of the Client Representative Council for Vision Australia, taken on November 11, 2006 at Kooyong. Back row: Debbie DeShayes, Christine Simpson, Robert Boyd, Claire Hogan, Natale Cutri Front row: Mark Boyd, ?, ?, ?, David Brant, Rowena Dowling Back row: Mark Boyd, Debbie DeShayes, Christine Simpson, Gerard Menses, Robert Boyd, Claire Hogan, Natale Cutri Front row: Karen Knight, Kevin Murfitt, ?, ?, ?, David Brant, Rowena Dowling Final two images have Lynette Davis, Brandon Ah Tong-Pereira and ? added in the wings.

11 images of John Landau and his desk

vision australia, debbie deshayes, christine simpson, robert boyd, claire hogan, mark boyd, karen knight, gerard menses, kevin murfitt, lynette davis, brandon ahtong-pereira, david brant, natale cutri, rowena dowling

Images taken in April 2004 of Royal Blind Society of NSW CEO John Landau at his desk.

11 images of John Landau and his desk

royal blind society of new south wales, john landau

This kit was designed to help children understand about Braille through a series of activities and exercises. It consisted of 2 books and a plastic ruler (which is missing). Learn about Braille book - which provided a brief history of Braille, how it is used, alphabet, numbers and introduction to Grade 2. The Bee Book - a print Braille book where children can feel the words and the diagrams.

1 plastic case with 2 books

Learn about Braille kit RVIB logo Image of Bee Braille (printed)

royal victorian institute for the blind, education

In 2001 RBS and RVIB worked on a joint project to assist sighted people to learn Grade 1 Braille. This CD-ROM was produced to enable people to be able to learn and practice at home.

1 CD-ROM with text and Braille

Not all keyboards are suitable for use with this program. To gauge usability launch Notepad or Wordpad and press the s, d, f and j, k, l keys simultaneously. If all six letters appear your keyboard can be used as a virtual brailler. Minimum system requirements: 32MB of Ram; Pentium 166mhz; Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0; Quicktime Browser plugin and Macromedia Flash plugin (included in installation). NB: Video may take one minute to load. Display: At least 800 x 600, high colour (16 bit). Installation: The CD-ROM will automatically run the setup procedure. For best results run the program from your hard drive. If the setup fails to start automatically, double click My Computer or Windows Explorer, double click the CD-ROM drive icon, then double click the setup icon. This CD-ROM is a joint project by the Royal Blind Society and Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind.

royal blind society of new south wales, education, royal victorian institute for the blind

In order to expand the understanding of the general public, Vision Works - a division of RBS - produced this CD designed to offer sighted users the experiences that people had when undertaking a sighted guide course and when working with blind or vision impaired colleagues. "The information contained in this module will enable you to assist people who are blind and vision impaired whether they be customers, friends, relatives or anyone else you may come in contact with. This interactive educational package encourages users to work at their own pace to learn practical communication techniques; methods of providing effective customer service; and ways of developing the skills needed to safely guide a person who is blind or vision impaired. It also includes a game based on sighted guide techniques and evaluation questions designed for in-house training. This CD has been designed, based on the work of professional service providers at Royal Blind Society, a major blindness agency in Australia."

1 CD-ROM with text and images

PC CD-ROM: Windows 95/98/2000 The information contained in this module will enable you to assist people who are blind and vision impaired whether they be customers, friends, relatives or anyone else you may come in contact with. This interactive educational package encourages users to work at their own pace to learn practical communication techniques; methods of providing effective customer service; and ways of developing the skills needed to safely guide a person who is blind or vision impaired. It also includes a game based on sighted guide techniques and evaluation questions designed for in-house training. This CD has been designed, based on the work of professional service providers at Royal Blind Society, a major blindness agency in Australia.

royal blind society of new south wales, education