Phillip Island & District Historical Society | History Museum

Phillip Island & District Historical Society

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24.01.2022 Even though our museum is closed, we are still actively undertaking research and producing resources to share with the community. We now have three videos up on our You Tube channel as part of the commemoration project: "At War and At Home - Phillip Island", WW2, funded by the Victorian Government. One further video has gone up today: Les Lester who was a pilot in the much-respected RAAF 460 squadron which served in England with the RAF Bomber Command. Les and his wife Nell r...etired to the island in 1977 and we have a brief interview with him on our 1995 video. Mary Bourke wrote a chapter about Les for her book: "Keeping the Spirit Alive", and gave us permission to read extracts for our video. Les has an incredible story of grim determination and survival and huge responsibility. You can watch the video here: https://www.youtube.comwatch?v=qZ8ua3X4AL8 Image shows Les's medals which the family has carefully preserved. They include (top left) the unofficial medal for Bomber Command personnel which was instigated by a magazine through a competition, and which was issued during the 1980s. This was one medal of which Les would have been particularly proud. See more

22.01.2022 Today, November 11, is Remembrance Day. This is the day when at 11 a.m. we all need to stop what we are doing for a time, maybe even a moment, and reflect on the unimaginable sacrifices made by both members of services and civilians during World War One. For you this may extend to humans and animals in all theatres of war across history. Maybe you have a family member currently serving, so today is particularly relevant to you. Or a past relative who made the ultimate sacrifi...ce in either the First and Second World Wars. Whatever Remembrance Day means to you, please just pause your day at 11 a.m., breath deeply and feel free to shed a tear. Photo from the World War One online exhibition on our website shows Rhyll crayfisherman August Larson about the leave the island for service. You can read his story, and those of other Phillip Islanders who served in WW1 here: http://pidhs.org.au/exhibitions/19 The PI WW2 online exhibition is currently being developed. See more

20.01.2022 While our museum is closed due to pack up and building demolition, there are other "museum" options on Phillip Island. Many people visit Churchill Island for the history. Churchill Island Heritage Farm is an Accredited Museum with the Australian Museums and Galleries Association Victorian Museum Accreditation Program, which means it operates at National Standards for Museums. Did you know there is another, very different sort of MAP Accredited Museum near Churchill Island whi...ch you can also visit? The National Vietnam Veterans Museum is located just off the main Phillip Island Rd past the Cape Woolamai turnoff as you head towards Cowes. The NVVM spent some years working on their displays, processes, services and collection in order to qualify as a MAP Museum in 2020. Our congratulations to them! It is a certainly huge undertaking to reach the National Standards. You can see more about them and their museum on their website: https://vietnamvetsmuseum.org/ They are currently open daily 10 am - 5 pm, and the Nui Dat Cafe there (named after the main Australian base in Vietnam during the Vietnam War) is open 10 am - 3 pm. Photos from their website home page. See more

15.01.2022 With New Year's Eve fast approaching, we look back 100 years to a NYE fancy dress celebration by the Guest House patrons in Cowes back then. Posed at the jetty triangle, the guests have an eclectic combination of improvised and carefully constructed 'costumes', with much fun obviously being had! Photo is one of thousands from our collection available to view at: victoriancollections.net.au

10.01.2022 Just letting everyone know that our ANNUAL DINNER will not be held this year due to the restrictions around Covid 19. We look forward to providing other opportunities for face-to-face gatherings at a later date. Australia is doing wonderfully well now, so just keep up your Covid-safe practices and take care everyone! Photo shows nurses in Korumburra (wearing masks) during the Spanish influenza pandemic which started in 1918 and lasted up to 6 years in some parts of the world. From South Gippsland Sentinel Times, 22.11.2019 report on a talk given by historian Erik Eklund on the centenary of the Spanish flu not long before Covid 19 hit. The report of his insightful talk, so meaningful in our 2020 context, can be found here: https://sgst.com.au//perfect-storm-for-new-virus-lessons-/

09.01.2022 Following on from Remembrance Day yesterday, when the Phillip Island RSL had a private ceremony in their Memorial Garden (due to Covid restrictions)....Did you know the poppy flower was chosen not just for its geographic significance to so much of WW1, but because of its symbolism? The red petals represent the almost 10 million service personnel who died. Ten million civilians also died. The black centre is the colour of mourning for all those left behind. The green stem (and... leaves) is the hope of renewal from all the grief and the scars on the battlefields. The poppies of the WW1 fields became famous from Lt Col John McCrae's poem: "In Flanders Fields", which he wrote after the death of his pal in the 2nd Battle of Ypres. McCrae was a Canadian doctor who treated the wounded first in a trench, and then helped set up military hospitals. McCrae died of pneumonia in January 1918. He was buried with full military honors. His horse Bonfire, who was with McCrae through much of the war (at right, from Wikipedia) was part of the funeral. See more

08.01.2022 WW2 PROJECT: to fill the gap between now and when we can have our WW2 Veterans and POWs videos up on our channel in 2021, we have developed an Online Exhibition about 6 of these servicemen (so far) on our website: you can view the information and relevant images of the war experiences of the six men so far here: http://pidhs.org.au/exhibitions/20 The men appearing there so far comprise: Les Findlay, Nip West, Malcolm McFee, Clyde Jones, Jack Morrison and Bill White. Yet to come: Les Lester, Hugh Grigg and Snow Dixon. Photo shows a convoy of trucks similar to those Bill White drove from Alice Springs to Darwin in the first part of his service. He had never even driven a car before then!! (photo from Australian War Memorial website)

07.01.2022 If you have an interest in the history of vegetation management in Victoria, you are welcome to join a forthcoming free, open webinar titled: "Victoria's Native Vegetation: History, Heritage, Politics" being hosted by the History Council of Victoria in conjunction with Monash University and the Old Treasury Building. Phillip Island is a classic example of the history of vegetation changes in Victoria, from the Yallock Bullock cultural land practices through to farming, urban settlement, reserve management and coast management. You can find the link to RSVP for the webinar here: https://www.historycouncilvic.org.au/victorias_native_veget

06.01.2022 Time to de-stress and tune in to a slower world where the biggest stress of the day is whether your horse will throw a shoe. Here is the link to the Friends Of Churchill Island Society video: "Working Horses on Churchill Island" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrZzdG0Xgos Well worth a look and so informative. For those of you who have watched before, enjoy again.

05.01.2022 The first of our WW2 Veterans short videos is now up on our Youtube channel. This first one features Les Findlay, who spent much of his life on Phillip Island apart from his war service in the New Guinea campaign. His 1995 interview is unfortunately quite short, but his army records, digitised by the National Archives of Australia, give more information on his service. Les was a monthly visitor to the Grayden household, and sometimes spoke in more detail about his service, an...d the video series producer Christine Grayden has incorporated brief mention in general terms of Les's stories. The 8 minute video can be watched here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKDca9am8Ec This "At Home and At War - Phillip Island" project, featuring a series of videos, was funded by the Victorian Government. The video also features guitar music composed and played by society member John Eddy. See more