Soldier settlement after World War One in south western Victoria

This thesis addresses the physical aspects of farming on soldier settlement blocks in south west Victoria. The undeveloped land, high establishment costs, stock losses through animal diseases and lack of managerial skills all contributed to the settlers' inability to meet their financial commitments. These factors are analysed, as are the effects of declining rural commodities prices during the 1920s and 1930s. In addition, the relationship between the settlers and the successive administrative agencies is examined. The scheme was administered by the Closer Settlement Board from its inception until 1932 and much of the discussion during this period concerns the interaction between settler and inspector. Soldier settlement after World War One represented one of the last attempts to create a large body of 'yeoman' farmers. From the early 1920s there was an increasing dichotomy between the 'yeoman' and the 'managerial' ideologies. This dichotomy placed additional pressure on soldier settlers who were expected to be 'efficient' without adequate finances. In the post C.S.B. era, the focus shifts to the attempts by the Closer Settlement Commission to salvage the scheme and its greater understanding of the problems faced by the settlers. While this part of the thesis necessarily becomes more political, the physical and financial environment in which the soldier settlers worked was still an important factor in their success or failure. Unlike the C.S.B. which tended to blame soldier settlers for their situation, the Commission acknowledged that settlers' ability to succeed was often constrained by circumstances beyond their control. Under the latter administration, instalments were written off, additional land was allocated and finally the blocks were revalued to guarantee the men at least some equity in their farms. Those settlers who had survived until these changes were instituted received a 'successful outcome of their life's work'.

The 1859 election on the Ovens

The Victorian general election of 1859 occurred during a time of social transition and electoral reformation, which extended the vote to previously unrepresented adult males. Gold discoveries, including those on the Ovens, triggered the miners’ insistent demands for access to land and participation in the political process. The thesis identifies issues, which emerged during the election campaign on the Ovens goldfields, surrounding Beechworth. The struggle centred on the two Legislative Assembly seats for the Ovens and the one Legislative Council seat for the Murray District. Though the declared election issue was land reform, it concealed a range of underlying tensions, which divided the electorate along lines of nationality and religion. Complicating these tensions within the European community was the Chinese presence throughout the Ovens. The thesis suggests the historical memory of the French Revolution, the European Revolutions of 1848 and the Catholic versus Protestant revivals divided the Ovens goldfield community. The competing groups formed alliances; a Beechworth-centred grouping of traders, merchants and the Constitution’s editor, ensured the existing conservative agenda triumphed over those perceived radicals who sought reform. In the process the land hungry miners did not gain any political representation in the Legislative Assembly, while a prominent Catholic squatter who advocated limited land reform was defeated for the Legislative Council seat. Two daily Beechworth papers, Ovens and Murray Advertiser and its fierce competitor, the Constitution and Ovens Mining Intelligencer are the major primary sources for the thesis.

Master of Montsalvat

A study of the creation by the charismatic artist and architect, Justus Jorgensen, of an artists' colony at Montsalvat, Eltham, in the early 1930s. A comprehensive examination of this enterprise had not previously been attempted. The research unexpectedly revealed the community's close but clandestine association with psychoanalysis, which had intruded into every aspect of the artists' lives.

A world observed

An exhibition of paintings inspired by the artist's immediate urban environment, including images of Geelong city and the surrounding district. Exhibited at Geelong Gallery, Geelong, Vic. from 11 February to 25 March 2012.

A new rodent from Dutch New Guinea [by] Wilfred H. Osgood.

v.31:no.1(1945)

Fossil specimens of Macrochelys from the Tertiary of the plains / Rainer Zangerl --

v.10:no.2(1945)

Mummies / by Richard A. Martin, Curator, Near Eastern Archaeology. Drawings by the author.

no.36(1945)

The Dinoflagellata: the family Heterodiniidae of the Peridinioidae / by Charles Atwood Kofoid and Alastair Martin Adamson.

v.54:no.1 (1933)

Photosynthesis and related processes, by Eugene I. Rabinowitch ...

1

Photosynthesis and related processes, by Eugene I. Rabinowitch ...

2, pt.2

The humanism of Petrarch as seen in his letters and sonnets ...

Typewritten.