War Heritage Roadshow

Australia's experience of war, especially in the First and Second World Wars, helped shape our sense of ourselves as a nation and as a community with a distinctive ethos and way of life. To provide opportunities for future generations to understand, investigate and value these experiences, we must ensure that significant material relating to Australia's war heritage is preserved, not just in official national and state institutions, but also in personal, family and community collections.

Department of Premier and Cabinet - Veterans Branch and the Grimwade Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation will deliver a series of free workshops for the public across Victoria. The workshops will bring Australia's leading experts in preservation for a two-day line-up of free workshops and information sessions.
Details are available at the website. 
Bookings are essential.
Further event days may be scheduled, but currently the dates and locations are:

• PROV/Victorian Archives Centre, 99 Shiel St, North Melbourne on Friday 31st March and Saturday 1st April

• Art Gallery of Ballarat, 40 Lydiard St North, Ballarat on Wednesday 26th and Thursday 27th April

• St Paul's Anglican Cathedral, 8 Myers St, Bendigo on Friday 28th and Saturday 29th April

The first day is dedicated to Consultations from 10am to 4pm, with bookings for free 20 minute individual sessions with one of the experts.

The memorabilia (no weapons or munitions, for advice on these bring a photo only) brought in to these sessions will be photographed, as a documentary record of the workshops. Observer tickets are also available.

The war heritage roadshow team will also deliver information sessions on how to research your family's military history and a series of conservation demonstrations:Metals cleaning, Disaster preparedness and recovery for the home, Archival framing, Dry cleaning of paper memorabilia, Packing & transport of framed works, and Padded supports for textiles.

The second day is Activity Day

Talk: Caring for wartime memorabilia

Demonstration & information sessions: Brush vacuuming & insect checking of textiles/uniforms, Cleaning & care of framed works, Removing photographs from magnetic albums, Archival storage of paper memorabilia, Mould cleaning of paper memorabilia, Cleaning & care of framed works, Packing & transport of framed works, Removing photographs from magnetic albums, Cleaning of metals, and Researching family military history.

All sessions will run for approximately 15 minutes.

Enquiries Email: warheritageroadshow@gmail.com

What happened...

Longerenong Homestead, when it was owned by Donna in 2010

"What happened to the camels of the Burke & Wills Expedition?" is the title of an article by Donna Bourke published in the Public Record Office Victoria's 'Provenance' magazine Issue 9.

From the homestead verandah overlooking the gardens, 2010

While she owned Longerenong Homestead, Donna Bourke became intrigued by the story of the camels that survived the expeditions of Burke and Wills, after discovering there was a link to Longerenong and Samuel Wilson.

Copy of Eugene von Guerard sketches of Longerenong c1868

The full article story is available online at the PROV's site and it includes a number of William Strutt's images.
There is more information on the camels during the Expedition at the Burke & Wills research archive and on the camels at Burke & Wills: Have camels will travel
For information on the expedition, check out the State Library of Victoria's Dig page

Cameler Dost Mahomet's grave near Menindee in N.S.W. >>

 Dost was a member of the Expedition's Depot Party, and afterwards stayed at Menindee to care for the sick camels

The 'School Bus' Tour

As part of the National Trust’s Heritage Festival, a hosted bus tour of some of the rural and town school sites surrounding Horsham will be conducted. The tour will visit a number of marked and unmarked school sites, and some abandoned school buildings. Narrative on the tour will include the history of various schools and stories of the districts. 

The 'School Bus' Tour will be conducted on Sunday 30th April 2017, from 1pm to 5pm.

The cost is $25:00 per person. Numbers are limited to the bus capacity, so bookings are essential. To book either visit the Horsham Library, or phone 5382 5707 or for library members registered with Proscribe – go to proscribe.net./subscriber/login.php.

The meeting place is at the bus in the Mibus Centre Carpark, 26-28 McLachlan Street, Horsham. Free parking available at the Mibus Centre Carpark.

Attendees will encounter some steps and uneven surfaces. Refreshments will be available enroute. More details at the National Trust site.

Other National Trust Heritage Festival events include ‘Sir Samuel Speaks’ a Mother’s Day high-tea at Longerenong Homestead.