WAVERLEY HISTORICAL SOCIETY …home.vicnet.net.au/~whsvic/AnnualReport2011.pdf · 30th June 2011 . Waverley Historical Society Inc ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Sunday, 28th August 2011

WAVERLEY HISTORICAL SOCIETY WAVERLEY HISTORICAL SOCIETY WAVERLEY HISTORICAL SOCIETY WAVERLEY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

IncIncIncIncorporatedorporatedorporatedorporated Incorporated Association Number: A 0006377 A Australian Business Number: 66 135 493 929

41st ANNUAL REPORT

For the year ended

30th June 2011

Waverley Historical Society Inc

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Sunday, 28th August 2011

AGENDA

1. Welcome to Members and Visitors by the outgoing President

2. Receiving of Apologies.

3. Reading of the Minutes of the previous AGM on 22 August 2010 by the Secretary.

4. Business arising from the Previous Meeting’s Minutes.

5. President’s Report.

6. Archivist’s Report.

7. Research Officer’s Report.

8. Webmaster’s Report.

9. Equipment Officer’s Report.

10. Newsletter Editor’s Report.

11. Events and Functions Co-ordinator’s Report.

12. Financial Report.

13. Confirmation of the Committee’s recommendations for the appointment of Life Members.

14. Introduction of interim Chairperson by the outgoing President.

This part of the meeting will be chaired by the Society’s Patron, Dr Morna Sturrock, as she has not been nominated for

any of the Executive Office Bearer positions.

15. Election of Office Bearers and Executive

• President;

• Vice Presidents (two);

• Honorary Secretary;

• Honorary Treasurer; and

• Committee Members.

The incoming President will assume the chair for the remainder of the meeting.

16. Vote of Thanks to the interim Chairperson is moved by the new President.

17. Election of non-Committee positions: • Honorary Auditor; • Care and Concern Officer; and • Hospitality Team.

18. Confirmation of the Election of Life Members and presentation of Certificates by the Patron of the Society to:

Beverley Delaney; Jean Walkerden; Philip Johnstone; and MarJo Angelico.

19. General Business.

20. Close of Annual General Meeting.

The Annual General Meeting will be followed by a movie news matinee and afternoon tea.

Executive Office Bearers

Non-Executive Office Bearers

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Waverley Historical Society Inc Association No: A 0006377 A A.B.N: 66 135 493 929

Established 1970

Patron: Dr Morna Sturrock AM

Correspondence: PO Box 2322, Mount Waverley 3149

Web-site: www.vicnet.net.au/~whsvic

e-Mail: [email protected]

Address: Level 1, 41 Miller Crescent Mount Waverley Vic 3149

Opening Hours: Wednesday afternoons

February to November

1:00 pm to 5:00 pm

Affiliations: Royal Historical Society of Victoria Inc (“RHSV”).

Association of Eastern Historical Societies Inc (“AOEHS”).

Local Reconciliation Group, City of Monash.

Newsletter: Normally distributed in February, May, July and September of each year. Recent editions are also posted on the Society’s website.

The ongoing support of the City of Monash through its cash-rent free provision of the Society’s

rooms and the upgrading work that has recently been done on them continues to be especially

appreciated.

The Society also acknowledges the Wurundjeri people, the original custodians of the

land which we have previously called Mulgrave and Waverley, and their elders past and

present.

MISSION STATEMENT

To collect, conserve and communicate items of historical significance pertaining to the Waverley

area so that the culture of the past is preserved and remains available for the education and

enlightenment of the community.

GEOGRAPHICAL AREA OF INTEREST

The Waverley Historical Society Inc (the “Society” or “WHS”) maintains a particular interest in

the area that comprised the former Parish and Shire of Mulgrave, which later developed into the

City of Waverley and which now forms a significant part of the broader City of Monash. The

Society also maintains a lesser interest in the bordering municipalities, including the former City

of Oakleigh, given the implications those regions’ histories may have had on our specific area of

interest.

2


OFFICE BEARERS and COMMITTEE MEMBERS

for the twelve months ended 30th June 2011.

Executive

President Edward Hore

Vice President Philip Johnstone

Vice President MarJo Angelico

Honorary Secretary Norma Schultz

Honorary Treasurer Beverley Anderson

Committee

Judith Borg

Margaret Boyes

Geoff Brown elected 22 August 2010.

Beverley Delaney

Chris Norton elected 22 August 2010.

Ray Price

Jeff Turnbull resigned 22 August 2010.

Jean Walkerden

Dianna Ward elected 22 August 2010.

Delegated Appointments

Archivist Norma Schultz

Care and Concern Officer Irene Marriott

City of Monash - Council Liaison Officer Ray Price

Database Management and Indexing Officer vacant

Delegates - Association of Eastern Historical Societies Norma Schultz and Jean Walkerden

Equipment Officer Philip Johnstone

Function and Events Co-ordinator Beverley Delaney

Internet Webmaster/Computer Systems Officer Philip Johnstone

Librarian Ann Wardell

Membership Secretary Jean Walkerden

Newsletter Editor Judy Borg

Publicity and Education Officer Ray Price

Local Reconciliation Group Representative Norma Schultz

Research Officer MarJo Angelico

Safety Officer Margaret Boyes

Speaker Programming Officer Geoff Brown

3


ROLL CALL of HONOURED PATRONS and MEMBERS

Patron:

Ian McLAREN (deceased)

Laurie RYAN (resigned)

Dr Morna STURROCK AM

Life Members:

Wilfred MARRIOTT (deceased)

Muriel CARMICHAEL (deceased)

Dr Morna STURROCK AM

Fred MARRIOTT (deceased)

Irene MARRIOTT

George NAUNTON (deceased)

Wal HASTIE (deceased)

Marie COOPER

Mary DILLON (deceased)

Bill IRVING

Laurie RYAN

Jim TUHAN

Ron CHIVERS (deceased)

4


MEMBERSHIP PROFILE

as at 30 June 2008 2009 2010 2011

Number of Life Members 7 6 6 6

Number of Household Memberships 119 121 125 111

Total 126 127 131 117

Affiliate Associations and non-Member

Newsletter Recipients

13 14 15 15

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The ongoing efforts of the following members are very much appreciated:

Will Kapphan for newsletter distribution.

Lauris Kay for preparing and serving the suppers and afternoon teas at our Beverley Hutchison general meetings. Beryl Brooks

Irene Marriott for acting as our Care and Concern Officer.

John Angelico for continuing to act as the independent auditor of the Society’s accounts on an honorary basis.

5


COMMITTEE MEETINGS

Committee members attended the scheduled meetings held during the year ending 30 June 2011

as follows:

Number of Meetings

Name

Qualified Attended

Edward Hore 11 11

Philip Johnstone 11 10

MarJo Angelico 11 10

Norma Schultz 11 10

Bev Anderson 11 11

Judy Borg 11 11

Margaret Boyes 11 10

Geoff Brown 9 9 Elected 22 August 2010

Beverley Delaney 11 10

Chris Norton 9 9 Elected 22 August 2010

Ray Price 11 9

Jeff Turnbull 2 - Resigned 22 August 2010

Jean Walkerden 11 11

Dianna Ward 9 6 Elected 22 August 2010

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ORDINARY GENERAL MEETINGS

The following meetings were held throughout the year:

Date Guest Speaker and Venue Topic Attendees

Sunday, 25 July 2010

Afternoon.

Barbara HAWKINS

St Philip’s Church Hall

Port Philip Pioneers – The Melbourne Story.

32

Sunday, 22 August 2010

Afternoon.

Annual General Meeting


Newsreels from 1937. 39

Thursday, 23 September 2010

Evening.

Daniel PRIOR


Two-Up Schools in Melbourne. 20

Sunday, 3 October 2010

Afternoon.

40th Birthday Celebration, including Memoirs of Wes Marriott.

St Philip’s Church Hall.

86

Thursday, 28 October 2010

Evening.

David KEMP


Syndal Baptist Church. 35

Thursday, 25 November 2010

Late Afternoon and Evening.

Christmas Function at “Mayfield”, Mount Street, Glen Waverley. 31

Thursday, 24 February 2011

Evening.

John SCHULTZ

Society’s Rooms

Memories of the family’s grocery business in Syndal.

43

Thursday, 24 March 2011

Evening.

Ian MUNRO

Society’s Rooms

History of the Melbourne Metropolitan Fire Brigade.

25

Thursday, 28 April 2011

Evening.

Jack WALKER

Society’s Rooms

Australian War Cemeteries overseas.

25

Sunday, 22 May 2011

Afternoon.

Anne ROBERTSON

Society’s Rooms

Waverley Riding School 29

Sunday, 26 June 2011

Steam Train Shuttle

Thank you to Jean Walkerden for continuing to ensure everything is ready and in order prior to

each meeting; to Beverley Delaney and Judy Borg for arranging gifts for our guest speakers; and

to Lauris Kay, Beverley Hutchison and Beryl Brooks and everyone else who helps to serve the

afternoon teas and suppers. Without you all our meetings would not be as enjoyable as they are.

7

THE SOCIETY’S ROOMS

After a prolonged absence, we were eventually permitted back into our extensively refurbished

and upgraded rooms just prior to Christmas in 2010. Although our departure in April was

originally only intended to be for three to four months, project delays and variations resulted in

the time away extending into eight months of being without a home.

Although the lack of a permanent base for such a long time was frustrating and inconvenient, the

work that has been done to the rooms, including the installation of the long-awaited passenger

lift, has made the absence worthwhile and a number of people who have attended our meetings

or workshops since January of this year have commented favourably on the new look. We are

especially grateful to Jonathon Makaay of the City’s Urban Planning Department for his role in

project managing the refurbishment and having to juggle competing demands from the library

and ourselves whilst staying within the approved budget. Jonathon has done a sterling job in this

regard and left us with rooms that include the latest technology which can facilitate our own

presentations and those of our guest speakers.

If you look around the rooms you will see that the work is not completed yet. The foyer still

remains a work in progress, as also does the south wall of the main room. Work to complete the

preparation and hanging of the Mayoral, Shire President and our own Honour Boards, together

with a number of paintings and photographs is continuing and we hope will be finalised in the

near future. The display of these different items will add to the character of the rooms and allow

us to have the foyer present a more welcoming face rather than looking like a storage facility for

cabinets and old chairs as it does now.

You will also note a new display cabinet in the foyer, currently housing some of the clothing from

our textiles collection. This cabinet, along with the work on the hanging frames, was paid for the

City of Monash and we record our thanks to them for this additional work.

Following the physical re-occupation of the rooms, it is only now that the sorting and proper

storing of everything that had been packed away and professionally stored off-site (again at the

Council’s cost, at least until we moved back into the rooms in December) is nearing completion.

If you have a look in the Work Zone and Storage Rooms you will find a number of items still to

be sorted and put away but you can be assured that what you see now is nothing like the

confusion and scramble we had when everything was first brought back to the rooms.

The legal documentation governing our occupation of the rooms still remains outstanding as we

are awaiting delivery of an updated draft of a tenancy agreement from Council for our review.

The major factors that will be the focus of our negotiations with Council will centre on our

occupancy remaining cash rent-free; the periods when we will have exclusive access and use of

the rooms; and, conversely, when the Library will have exclusive use for training purposes,

meetings and book readings, etc.

Please enjoy the new rooms and encourage your friends to attend our workshops and meetings.

8

PUBLICITY and EDUCATION

Whilst it is beholden on all members of the Society to promote our interests and encourage and

mentor new members, we also have an occasional demand to provide guest speakers to other

organisations and institutions. Beverley Delaney and Ray Price satisfied those requests in the

recently completed financial year and also were successful in promoting the sale of both our new

book, “Then and Now – A Pictorial History of the City of Monash (First Edition)” (which was also

offered for sale at the annual and well attended Rotary Book Sale, and the more well established

“Once There Was Jordanville”.

In May 2011, Beverley Delaney spoke to the members of the Uniting Church Craft Group on the

history of that local area and Ray Price fulfilled the following commitments throughout the year:

October 2010 Rotary Club of Glen Waverley 50 attendees

November 2010 Rotary Club of Monash 15 attendees

February 2011 Neighbourhood Watch, Mount Waverley 25 attendees

March 2011 Waverley Volunteers Group – Annual Meeting 30 attendees

May 2011 Waverley Senior Citizens 80 attendees

June 2011 Highvale Retirement Village Men’s Group 25 attendees

Most of the Waverley area was covered during all of the presentations, however, of particular

note was the request that the Highvale Retirement Village talk be focussed solely on High Street

Road. This latter presentation showed how important the “spine” of the old Waverley area was

covered such topics as:

• the Toll Gate;

• John and Joshua Jordan and “Summerhill”;

• “Riversdale” and “Syndal”, the properties associated with Sir Redmond Barry;

• St Stephens Church and the white pioneering families involved with it;

• the Waverley Estate in 1854;

• the “Horty” Hall and the Methodist Church;

• the Coolstore;

• Wesley College (via the Muir Family);

• the gold mine; and

• the “Mountain View” Hotel.

Ray Price

Publicity and Education Officer

9

RELATIONSHIP with COUNCIL

With the work being done on the rooms during the first half of the 2010/2011 financial year,

regular contact and meetings were held with different Council representatives, mostly in

connection with the work that was underway.

Our warm and cordial relations with the Mount Waverley Library staff has been for our mutual

benefit and our dealings over the past year with other Council staff, and the Councillors

themselves on occasion, have also been positive and fruitful.

We would expect the focus of our dealings with Council in the coming year to focus on our

ongoing relationship with the Library team but also with the Council officers responsible for the

preparation and finalisation of the blanket tenancy agreement that is being drafted. We would

certainly like to have this matter finalised in the short rather than the long term.

ANNUAL BUS TRIP

Unfortunately, with the volunteers time being predominantly taken up with sorting the Society’s

collection on its return to our rooms, we were unable to arrange the usual day excursion for April

this year. Following what appeared to be strong support at a couple of general meetings, Bev

Anderson took an enormous amount of time and trouble in arranging a trip for July in which we

would be hosted by Williamstown Historical Society and which would include a guided tour of a

number of the fascinating historical items still present in that municipality.

It should also be noted that members of the Williamstown Historical Society went to great

lengths to organise what would have been a pleasant and hospitable day but, regrettably, the

expected support for the trip did not materialise and there was no option but to cancel the

arrangement at short notice.

The costs involved in conducting such trips climb exponentially each year and, as you would be

aware from past annual reports, has necessitated the Society to subsidise the day. Of course,

the more participants we have, the less that subsidy has to be and although we will be looking to

return the event to its more usual April next year, members should be aware that whether such a

trip eventuates is heavily dependent upon the number of people who pay for trip.

If you have any suggestions or ideas for future excursions, please ensure you pass them onto a

Committee member so that they can be investigated.

10

SOCIETY REPRESENTATION at OTHER ORGANISATIONS

Jean Walkerden and Norma Schultz have acted as the delegates of the Society at the scheduled

meetings of the AOEHS over the past financial year. Other members of our Society have also

attended the AOEHS meetings in either their own personal capacity or as office bearers of that

particular organisation.

Norma Schultz has also acted as the Society’s representative with the recently formed Local

Reconciliation Group in the City of Monash.

WEEKLY WORKSHOPS and RESEARCH ASSISTANCE

Our weekly Wednesday afternoon workshops are conducted between the hours of 1:00pm and

5:00pm when Committee members will always be in attendance, along with a small handful of

volunteers. Visitors and researchers are also welcomed during that time or by appointment with

the Research Officer.

It is understood that other historical societies endeavour to segregate the hours that they

schedule their workshops from the times that they are open for visitors, however, with the small

and dwindling band of volunteers now attending on a regular basis within our Society, such a

distinction is not feasible for us and we will need to continue to run our workshops and public

opening hours conjointly.

With the efforts of Philip Johnstone and others over the past few years plus the completion of the

refurbishment, the Society now has available to it all of the equipment that it needs to progress

the digitisation of its non-electronic research materials and to upgrade its inventories of its

collections. Unfortunately, none of this important work can happen without people and, even if it

is only for a couple of hours a month, if you could see your way clear to volunteering to do any of

the work, which is interesting and fascinating, you would be made most welcome by either Philip

or Norma. Some of the work can be done from the comfort of your own home and in the hours

that more suit you. If that approach is more attractive to you then please contact Philip so that

he can arrange for work to be provided. You will find it most satisfying.

11

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

On the premise that it’s always best to get the negative items out of the way first, it is with a

measure of regret and disappointment that I begin my third report as President of this Society by

noting the things we didn’t do in the past year that would normally have been part of our usual

calendar.

Firstly, we unfortunately were not in a position to conduct our traditional “Open Day” as part of

the Monash Council’s Australia Day festivities as we had only moved back into the re-furbished

rooms shortly before and were therefore not in any state, at the time, to be able to exhibit items

of interest nor research any queries that visitors could have raised on the day. Secondly, the

mammoth task, which is still ongoing, of sorting and safely storing our collections after getting

them back from storage meant that the few volunteers that we have on a regular basis were not

in a position to take on the additional job of organising a bus tour in April. Although we

subsequently made every endeavour to arrange a trip and tour by Williamstown Historical Society

for July, the lack of willing participants meant we had to cancel those arrangements.

Hopefully, we will be able to return to the April bus trip next year and we shall certainly be

conducting an Open Day next Australia Day.

It is also with deep regret that we note the passing of members and former members of the

Society over the past year. Longstanding and valued members of the Society such as Leila

Thorpe and Ella Osborne and members of shorter duration such as Ron Howarth who made a

significant contribution to the fortunes of the Society during the term of their membership will all

be remembered and honoured.

On a more positive note.

In October 2010, Ms Anna Burke, the then Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and

the Federal member for Chisholm which encompasses the area in which we are most interested

as a Society kindly agreed to launch our new publication, “Then and Now – A Pictorial History of

the City of Monash, First Edition”. Jeff Turnbull, MarJo Angelico and Philip Johnstone spent many

hours producing this wonderful effort which was published to mark our 40th anniversary last year.

I would hope all of you have purchased a copy of this fully indexed, 60 page book and have

recommended it to your friends and neighbours. As was approved at general meetings and as

disclosed in the Financial Report contained in this Annual Report, the costs of printing and binding

the publication were quite high, however, with the efforts of a lot of different people, we have

managed to almost recover the whole of those costs within eight months of the book’s release so

the Society’s reserves should be replenished over the next couple of years to enable us to

produce a second edition, as comparing the “nows” to what were the “thens” has sparked many

people’s interests. Other than through our own auspices, our major outlet for “Then and Now”

(as with “Once There Was Jordanville”) has been Matilda’s Bookshop in Hamilton Place, Mount

12

PRESIDENT’S REPORT (cont’d)

Waverley and “Then and Now” has been their top selling non-fiction book for the six months from

January to June 2011; evidence of the value of the publication.

I would like to make a note here about Jeff Turnbull and his contribution to the Society.

Although Jeff did not stand for re-election to the Committee at least year’s Annual General

Meeting, he has continued to assist the Society in many different ways, including the gargantuan

effort of photographing the “nows” and drafting commentary for “Then and Now”; creating,

setting up and helping to man displays at Glen Waverley High School’s (now Glen Waverley

Secondary College) 50th Anniversary celebrations; constructing the easel boards as well as

researching and preparing the material displayed on them at the Steam Train Shuttle Day; and in

assisting with arranging guest speakers during Geoff Brown’s early tenure in that role. We are

especially appreciative of Jeff’s involvement in the Society. His efforts in writing the highly

successful “Once There Was Jordanville” and the more recent “Then and Now” have meant that

the Society’s treasury is particularly robust and, just as importantly, the Society’s public profile

has been raised significantly. His work in establishing the Plaques and Memorials database that

is now available on our website should also not go without mention. We look forward to Jeff

continuing his erstwhile participation in the Society’s work as much as his time and competing

demands permit.

The work continues with the sorting out and arranging permanent storage of our pictorial,

ephemeral and textile collections. The completion of the refurbishment of the rooms and

installation of the passenger lift resulted in a very heavy workload for the small band of

volunteers who worked over the Christmas – New Year period and since on ensuring everything

has a safe and stable new home. Thanks should be noted to all of those committee and other

members who have put in many hours to present the rooms as you see them now. In this

regard, Norma Schultz deserves special mention, being here on almost a daily basis during

December and January to make sure that everything went where it was intended. At the time of

writing this report, the rooms remain a work-in-progress. Our Mayoral and Shire President

Honour Boards are currently being reinforced so that they, and a number of our photographs and

paintings, can be hung in the foyer and on the south wall of the main room. Our own Honour

Board will be positioned above the entrance to the main room in pride of place. We hope this

work has been completed by the time of the Annual General Meeting; if not, it should be in the

near future.

Shortly before we needed to vacate our rooms for the refurbishment we were advised of our

success in obtaining a grant of $4,500 from the Federal Department of Families, Housing,

Community Services & Indigenous Affairs. Although quite a mouthful, we were especially

appreciative of this money which was conditional upon it being spent on items of equipment that

assist the work of volunteers. In this regard, Philip Johnstone has spent considerable time

researching and acquiring a number of different items that fulfil that criteria and we look forward

13

PRESIDENT’S REPORT (cont’d)

to a rush of additional, new volunteers to help out the core of longstanding workers that form the

backbone of this Society. In this regard, the need for keen volunteers is a must if we are to live

up to the obligations outlined in our own Mission Statement so, even if it can only be for a couple

of hours a month, if you could see your way clear to participating, your efforts would be most

appreciated. In this regard, if you could attend the Wednesday afternoon workshops

occasionally, one function that needs special attention is the need to put dates and names to

faces on a number of our photographs and images. As Philip Johnstone regularly points out,

there are some jobs which can be done in the comfort of your own home and in your own time,

so don’t feel hamstrung if you can’t make the regular Wednesday afternoon workshops.

Similarly, it is in the Society’s best interests to attract new and younger members if we are to

retain our relevance for the longer term. We perform a valuable and valued community service,

but we can only do so whilst we have the committee and members capable of doing so. Please

therefore promote the Society and its aims at every opportunity.

It would be extremely remiss of me not to express my sincere thanks for each and every other

member of the Committee and the work they do to both ensure the Society runs as smoothly as

it does and to promote its aims. Again, if you feel you have something to offer, please consider

nominating for a position on the Committee and you can be assured you would be made most

welcome. People who deserve mention are the usual Norma Schultz, MarJo Angelico, Philip

Johnstone, Bev Anderson, Beverley Delaney and Jean Walkerden, but all Committee members

have roles and functions to perform and each and every one of them has performed superbly.

Geoff Brown has capably taken over the co-ordinating role for arranging our regular guest

speakers and we had a varied and interesting range in the year just completed. Chris Norton

does a great job in filming all of our functions and meetings for future reference and Di Ward is

also one of the willing helpers at our afternoon teas and suppers. Ray Price continues to liaise

with Monash Council on our behalf and acts as our first port of call when we receive requests for

provision of a guest speaker at other clubs and organisations. Margaret Boyes is our Safety

Officer and you will see more of her work in the coming year when the Risk Identification &

Management and Disaster Recovery policies are finalised. Judy Borg has taken over the

Newsletter Editor’s role in the past twelve months and her efforts are to be commended.

Finally, the Committee has recommended to you that life membership of the Society be bestowed

upon Beverley Delaney, Philip Johnstone, Jean Walkerden and MarJo Angelico. As required under

Rule 5(5) of the Society’s Constitution, at least two thirds of the members present at the Annual

General Meeting need to confirm the awarding of that honour. In all of my involvement in

different clubs and societies over the past forty years, I can’t think of any more deserving people

for such an award as those four and I commend them and the respective recommendations to

you.

Edward Hore, President

14

ARCHIVIST’S REPORT

The fact that we were not in the rooms for close to half of the year did not deter the Committee

from continuing to provide a full programme of activities and events for the members and the

general public, as well as building and maintaining the collection. While access to the rooms was

not possible, the opportunity was taken to catalogue and file many boxes of newspaper cuttings

and MarJo Angelico compiled a new and much improved indexing protocol for the vertical files,

making the task of finding appropriate references much easier.

Unpacking all of the collection following its return from off-site storage has been like opening a

Pandora’s box, with many unexpected treasures coming to light. Fitting the collection into the

new cupboards and storerooms has been a challenge, but it also rewarding to see the range and

amount of information that we hold on the Waverley area. Old minute books, financial records,

reminiscences, old school work books and much other realia which were previously scattered

around in different drawers and cupboards are now properly housed in archive quality storage

boxes and readily accessible by researchers. The huge collection of photographs and images

takes up nearly the whole of one wall of the West Storeroom now that they are all in the one

place. In order to better preserve them, work is being carried out on re-digitising the images

collection and their being permanently stored in better archive quality albums and boxes. Ann

Wardell, our Librarian, has continued to catalogue the book collection which certainly looks

impressive in its new display cupboards on the east wall of the main room.

All members are invited to come and browse the collection at any Wednesday afternoon

workshop. If you could also see your way clear to volunteering to do any of the many and varied

tasks that need to be done, that would certainly be appreciated.

Details of the collection items which have been catalogued are as follows; although the

cataloguing process was deferred during most of 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 because of the

collection being in storage for much of that time and the extra effort needed to sort it all out on

its return:

Collection Items Catalogued as at 30 June 2009 2010 2011

Aerial Photographs 50 50 50

Charts, maps, diagrams, etc 84 86 86

Photographs (other than aerial photographs) 4,847 4,850 4,850

Slides and Negatives 677 678 678

Displays or photo panels originated by WHS 59 59 59

Books and reference databases in the WHS Collection 86 500 801

Cassettes, audio tapes, phonographic records, etc 173 174 174

Compact disks, DVDs, other digital storage media 11 11 11

15

ARCHIVIST’S REPORT (cont’d)

Collection Items Catalogued as at 30 June 2009 2010 2011

Furniture, fixtures and fittings 50 50 50

Equipment, cameras, copiers, computers, etc 26 26 26

Family Histories 2 12 12

Artefacts, Ephemera and Realia 42 50 129

Newspapers, Newsletters, Pamphlets and Brochures 6 6 6

Art works, paintings, sketches, etc 2 6 6

Hopefully, and especially if extra volunteers come forward, the work required to catalogue,

record and safely store the collection will continue at a faster pace in the future.

Norma Schultz

Archivist and Curator

16

RESEARCH OFFICER’S REPORT

Despite our having been absent from our rooms for a large part of this year, my role as the

Society’s Research Officer continued to be a busy one. There is always a sizeable number of

interesting queries awaiting my attention so there’s never a moment to get bored.

Number of Enquiries:

The Society receives many enquiries each month. Increasingly, these come from local people

and about the things they notice about them. I have handled the following enquiries during the

course of the year – still averaging more than one per day.

Source of Request Month

Monash and Environs

Rest of Victoria

Rest of Australia

Overseas Totals

July 2010 22 11 5 1 39

August 33 6 3 2 44

September 20 7 6 - 33

October 29 11 3 - 43

November 22 11 - - 33

December 7 3 1 1 12

January 2011 11 7 3 2 23

February 19 18 2 3 42

March 19 10 7 1 37

April 11 16 - 1 28

May 38 9 4 2 53

June 33 12 2 1 48

264 121 36 14 435 Totals – This Year

61% 28% 8% 3% 100%

240 147 38 11 436 Totals – Last Year

55% 34% 9% 2% 100%

234 139 10 9 393 Totals – Two Years

ago 60% 35% 3% 2% 100%

138 14 2 7 161 Totals – Three Years

ago (part) 86% 9% 1% 4% 100%

Who is Asking?

As usual, some of our enquiries (19.5% this year which was a small increase on last year) came

from family historians where the person’s family roots were in old Mulgrave and Waverley. It has

again been my privilege to act as an introduction agency, putting “long lost cousins” in contact

with each other, whenever both parties were amenable.

17

RESEARCH OFFICER’S REPORT (cont’d)

This year, being the 50th since the City of Waverley, Monash University, Mount Waverley

Shopping Centre, Glen Waverley High School, Pinewood Primary School, Syndal Technical School

and many other iconic institutions began in our locality, there was a large load of research time

spent helping them commemorate their landmark year. Some of the mounted displays and other

items were donated to the Society, thus increasing our collection in a very useful way.

Fortunately, many of the enquiries can be answered fairly quickly, but some projects are of a

longer term. A Monash City councillor wants a list of all past councillors to be posted on the City

of Monash website. I have long wanted to collect such a list, and his request makes it more

urgent, so I have spent some time toward that goal. It is not easy to find the information, but I

have had some help from other historical societies, including the Royal Historical Society of

Victoria. They gave us, from their excess stock, a number of Victorian Municipal Directories.

With them, I have helped those societies that were kind enough to offer me assistance in my

work.

Only two students, and one teacher, approached us this year with school or university

assignments, indicating that interest in local history is genuine rather than being forced on

students.

Far more interest is aroused through the steam train shuttle day and our traditional Open House

on each Australia Day. Unfortunately, we were not able to run the Australia Day Open House this

year as we were still moving back into the rooms at the time, but we look forward to resuming in

2012.

The vast majority of those seeking information (80.5%) are local people wondering about things

that are in their area.

Increasing the Collection:

Since returning to our rooms at the start of this calendar year, we have again organised our

collection so that it is easier to locate what we have when researchers ask questions. We are

making good use of the many storage drawers for our growing volume of vertical files. There is

still a lot of work to be done, especially filing and entering the items on the computer.

Leaning heavily on the history collected by the Society in the past, I constantly bean silent thanks

to those who were busily recording and assembling information for posterity long before I came

to WHS. In their honour, I have added greatly to the collection this year, mainly to the vertical

files. I noticed there were some topics that had insufficient information in the files, and set about

doing what I could with limited time to enhance the collection. Some of the files I have begun or

increased include pre-schools and play groups, hospitals and clinics, reserves and creeks,

aborigines, and geology. Many schools had empty files (and some still have!). We collected

more about the railway and what developed when. The list goes on, each representing many

hours of work, all creating fuller information for future researchers.

18

RESEARCH OFFICER’S REPORT (cont’d)

We have acquired many new items through research enquirers this year: images from days gone

by, family information, and further details about photographs already in our collection. A print of

the original Cheshire Cheese Hotel painting, a history of the Burwood Hospital, very early

photographs of the area from the late 1800s, rare local history books from the library, and other

items already mentioned. For all of these we are grateful.

We still need people who have been in the area for a long time to tell us more about their

memories. Please help with this, even if you cannot come to the meetings any more. If you

would allow someone to come and take an oral history, please let us know.

Publications:

A major aspect of our work this year was the publication of the first edition of our new book,

“Then and Now, a Pictorial History of the City of Monash”. More on this matter elsewhere in this

annual report.

Helpers

No one person can do all that has to be done in this area. Many others have assisted the Society

in general, and me in particular, as we continue to file, collate and organise the many resources

that the Society owns. Sincere thanks to those who helped with the filing of the items for the

vertical files, indexing newspapers, and in other ways added to our collection. There is always

work available for volunteers in the Society, and it is all very interesting.

As you can see from this review, and my regular monthly reports, my work as Research Officer is

broad ranging and very interesting. I enjoy it very much, but the load is quite heavy. Despite

our substantive closure in calendar 2010, the total number of enquiries did not reduce so; if

anyone would like to be Assistant Research Officer, don’t be shy about offering.

MarJo Angelico

Research Officer

19

WEBMASTER’S REPORT

The usage statistics for the Society’s web pages indicate that there are over 300 hits to the main

page each month, with the more popular items selected from the welcome page being:

• Plaques and Memorials (over 170 hits over the past twelve months);

• Waverley History (also more than 170 hits); and

• WHS Newsletter (150 hits, with some dozen or more downloads each month for the

recent issues, indicating the importance and the regard which is

afforded the Newsletter).

The Monash Street Names search feature has accumulated over 400 searches for the year which

is more than 35 searches per month.

It is evident that the internet web pages provide a high profile “shop window” to the resources

available within the Society and the publicity and ordering capability included on them has also

contributed significantly to the level of our book sales, particularly, “Once There Was Jordanville”

and the more recent, “Then and Now – Volume 1”. The web’s importance to the Society has

been further borne out by the number of email enquiries generated for the attention of the

Society’s Research Officer.

Year on year comparative usage has also increased markedly, with a 29.6% increase in F2011

compared to F2010 which, in turn, was 42.5% higher than the number of hits in F2009.

Philip Johnstone

Webmaster

20

EQUIPMENT OFFICER’S REPORT

In August 2010 the Society was fortunate to be paid a grant of $4,500 under the Federal

Government’s Volunteer Grants Programme for that year, with the funds to be utilised to improve

the utility of the work done by volunteers for the Society. We are most appreciative of this

contribution which has now been expended on the purpose for which it was granted.

During the absence from our rooms in the first half of F2010, few items of equipment were

purchased, however, since our return we have acquired the following major items:

• a colour laser printer (for the printing and copying of coloured maps and flyers); • a microfilm/negatives/microfiche scanner (to enable electronic storage of, and access

to, our collections currently stored in those media); and

• a computer and LCD screen (as an adjunct to the scanner noted above).

As a result of the rooms refurbishment which gave us built-in storage, bookcases and folding

tables, a number of our older furniture items were disposed of, including some tables, chairs

and filing cabinets. Some of these were purchased by Society members for a nominal sum at

typical value whilst others were sold to other Historical Societies.

Philip Johnstone

Equipment and Technology Officer

21

NEWSLETTER EDITOR’S REPORT

Newsletters were published on time in July, October, February and April of the last financial year.

I would like to record my thanks to our regular contributors, MarJo Angelico, Geoff Brown and

Philip Johnstone as well as Chris Norton and Jeff Turnbull and thank you also to those Wednesday

workers who help to get the Newsletters ready for mailing or delivery.

This has been my first year as Editor of the Newsletter and I hope you have enjoyed the articles

and items of interest that were included. We try and make the newsletter as entertaining and

interesting as possible as well as using it as conduit to ensure all of our members are informed of

the material matters that are, or can, affect the Society.

We are always looking for articles to be considered for inclusion in the newsletter and would

welcome contributions from members. If you think you may have something of interest to the

other members, please don’t hesitate to talk to me or any other member of the Committee.

I look forward to continuing in the role of Newsletter Editor in the 2011/2012 year.

Judy Borg

Newsletter Editor

22

EVENT CO-ORDINATOR’S REPORT

The Society hosted, or was a major participant in, a number of significant events over the course of the last

financial year, including:

1. Glen Waverley Secondary College’s celebration of its 50th anniversary in September 2010. Jeff

TURNBULL set up and helped man a display of Society owned past and present photographs pertinent

to the school.

2. Our own 40th anniversary was held on Sunday, 3 October 2010 in St Philip’s Church Hall in Mount

Waverley.

Our president, Ed HORE, welcomed 86 members and friends to the function which included:

• a theme of blue and silver, especially evident in the decorations and table settings;

• a souvenir programme drafted and printed by our Vice President, Philip JOHNSTONE, marking

the highlights of the Society over its 40 year lifespan;

• a lively raffle raised $210 which helped to affray the costs of arranging and putting on the day;

• our local member and Deputy Speaker at the time of the Federal House of Representatives,

Anna BURKE, officially launched our new “Then and Now” publication, copies of which remain

for sale at $20 each;

• one of our members, Ted THOMASSON, presented a painting of Valley Reserve circa 1970 by

the late Nora Jacklin to the Society;

• another of our members who grew up in the Waverley area, Wes MARRIOTT, recalled his early

days in the locality and he was helped along by a number of positive contributions from the

floor; and

• Our beloved and esteemed Patron, Dr Morna STURROCK AM, spoke for a short while on the

history and importance of maintaining a vibrant society before cutting the large birthday cake,

made and iced by our Treasurer, Bev ANDERSON.

3. a “Twilight Social Evening” held from 5:30pm on a damp and dingy Thursday, 25 November 2010 to

celebrate Christmas at “Mayfield”, more commonly known now as “Mount Street Neighbourhood

House” in Glen Waverley. Our president welcomed 36 members and friends to the function, including

members of the INGRAM pioneer family which had been closely involved with the early history and

development of the property.

Our Vice-President and Research Officer, MarJo ANGELICO, gave those present a powerpoint

presentation on the brief history of the original Ingram house in Mount Street.

Father Christmas made a surprise appearance, followed by a short Christmas program of fun and

games before a finger food supper completed the evening.

4. The Society had the use of the Mount Waverley Library display cabinet during March 2011, during

which we promoted our latest books, “Then and Now” and “Once There Was Jordanville” as well as

displaying information on Sir John MONASH, old Melway directories and other memorabilia. The

23

EVENT CO-ORDINATOR’S REPORT (cont’d)

cabinet is again booked for March 2012 as the exhibition represents one of our ongoing major public

events from which we look to gain new members.

5. The Steam Train Shuttle annual event organised by Steamrail Victoria but in which we have significant

input was held for the seventh time on Sunday, 26 June 2011. This is always a great day, with the

old steam train shuttling backwards and forwards between Darling and Glen Waverley stations, with

Mount Waverley station being a major stop.

At Mount Waverley station this year, the Society again held a display of old photographs relating to

the railway plus four new photo boards that were put together by Jeff TURNBULL (thanks again, Jeff),

all of which raised a considerable amount of interest from the travelling public. A group of people

dressed in period costume and a display of fourteen vintage cars in the cul-de-sac leading up to the

Station off Hamilton Place added to a very pleasant and interesting occasion.

6. In addition to the foregoing, ongoing duties include arranging gifts for the guest speakers at our

monthly meetings, keeping public notices regarding the Society and our displays up to date, and

organising appropriate storage of the photographs and videos taken during our day trips so that they

are available for future reference.

My special thanks to all those who have helped me this year to set up and promote the functions, displays

and exhibitions.

The next special occasion for the Society will be our 41st birthday celebration in the afternoon of Sunday, 23

October 2011, again in the St Philip’s Church Hall in Stephenson’s Road, Mount Waverley. For the first time

we are also treating this day as our October monthly meeting and invitations to the event will be sent out

during September 2011.

Beverley Delaney

Functions and Events Co-ordinator

24

LIFE MEMBERSHIP AWARDS

In recognition of the sterling service that they have provided the Society over many years, the Committee

has recommended the Society’s highest honour, Life Membership, be bestowed on four of its outstanding

members.

Margaretha Johanna (“MarJo”) Angelico.

MarJo joined the Society in 1998 and was elected to the Committee in 1999, firstly as Assistant Secretary

(which also meant Assistant Treasurer), as well as acting as the Membership Secretary. In those first few

years MarJo ran monthly trips to neighbouring societies, museums and historical buildings and was the

Photography Co-ordinator from August 2001 until July 2003. She agreed to act as Secretary of the Society

in 2001, serving in that demanding role until August 2006.

Although she was not the officially appointed Newsletter Editor until August 2004, she was often asked to

produce the newsletter in the two years prior to her official appointment (in reality, she actually produced all

but two of the eight newsletters in that two year period). Contributing to and publishing the newsletter led

MarJo into all sorts of research activities and after she became Secretary she became the main person

fielding most of the phoned, written or emailed enquiries addressed to the Society for information and

requests for assistance, leading to her also being named as Research Assistant in 2003.

The pressure of trying to maintain three jobs, all in a voluntary capacity, led to MarJo relinquishing the

Secretary’s post in 2006 so that she could concentrate her efforts on being the Newsletter Editor and the

increasingly demanding Research Officer. The growing number of enquiries emanating each week from

different sources and from interstate and overseas as well as locally, sought responses in respect of

different subjects, including the origin of street names, family history research, school assignments and the

history of specific areas to assist with commercial development.

MarJo continues in her roles of Research Officer and as a Vice President of the Society, continuing to write

articles for several local newspapers and otherwise publicising the Society’s work. The Society is also well

aware of her skills such diverse areas as book indexing; proof reading and editing (having willingly indexed

a number of the Society’s own publications and others that are regularly accessed). We are especially

thankful for her work in collecting and cataloguing information for the Society’s research resources;

designing several local history walks; History Mystery presentations; facilitating the annual steam train

shuttle with SteamRail Victoria and all of the other exhibitions and demonstrations associated with that day;

promoting the history of the Waverley district at Monash City Council events; and acting as one of the

Society’s speakers at schools and other associations.

MarJo has been an especially diligent worker for the Society over a thirteen year period, and the Committee

considers she is certainly deserving of formal recognition for her past contribution to the Society.

25


Alison Jean (“Jean”) Walkerden.

Jean has been a caring, industrious and enthusiastic member of the Society and its committee for almost

twenty years and has served in executive positions for half of that time. She was appointed Treasurer in

March 2000 when she needed to ensure the Society complied with the newly introduced GST regime,

requiring the completion of regular Business Activity Statements for many years until it was agreed that the

Society, being a non-profit organisation, did not need to be treated as a business. In her treasury capacity,

Jean meticulously maintained the books and accounts of the Society as well as arranging the purchases of

stationery and hospitality necessities, including gifts for the guest speakers. Jean has also acted as the co-

ordinator and collector of the moneys paid in relation to Society functions and excursions.

It was only last year that Jean resigned the Treasurer’s position so that she could concentrate more on

ensuring she properly undertook the job of membership Secretary, a position she held for many of the years

she was also Treasurer, and continues to act as the Hospitality Officer for members and visitors at the

weekly Wednesday afternoon workshops. Setting up the rooms for general meetings and other functions

has also been work that Jean continues to perform willingly and enthusiastically and she helps others at

those events to serve the refreshments. Prior to the recent refurbishment of our rooms, Jean and Leila

Thorpe would, each year during January when the Society was in recess, give the rooms a thorough and

serious “spring clean”, dusting the various items of memorabilia and cleaning the glass display cases, etc.

When Leila was unable to continue with this work, Jean continued to do it on her own, unacknowledged by

anybody.

Jean has acted as the Society’s delegate to the Association of Eastern Historical Societies for over ten years,

representing the Society at their quarterly meetings and reporting back to the Committee on the activities

of, and issues being faced by, other member societies.

It is therefore with much pleasure that the Committee recommends one of its quietest, but hardest working

members, for the award of Life Membership of the Society.

26


Philip Johnstone.

In collaboration with another (since retired) member of the Society, Philip, in the eleven years he has been

a member, was (and remains) a significant contributor to the Society being brought into the technological

age and the consequent opening up of all of the additional avenues and access to research material that

such development brings. Without our electronic availability, many of the enquirers contacting the Society

for assistance would not be aware of what we can offer and, in addition, the electronic publicity has ensured

the work of the Society and its publications are broadcast to a wider audience. His role in establishing and

maintaining the Society’s website deserves special mention.

Philip’s tireless commitment and dedication to cataloguing and recording the Society’s collections; the

development and ongoing improvement of the Society’s databases; and ensuring the Society is aware of the

latest technological advancements, has resulted in the bulk of the Society’s having being electronically

catalogued. The work in this area will need to continue for many years following the recent refurbishment

as the new storage location for each item within the collection needs to be recorded. In addition, Philip has

recently ensured the Society has the equipment available (mainly funded through grant moneys provided by

the Federal and State Governments to the Society) to begin the mammoth task of digitising all of the non-

electronic items within our collection in order to facilitate the future searching and use of these research

materials.

Philip first contacted the Society seeking information on the name of the street in which he lived. Finding no

such project had been considered, he instigated the work on the Street Names Database in 2001, thinking it

would draw interest to the Society. How right he was, to the extent that street name enquiries represent a

major source of enquiry from the local community. The Database continues to grow but is still a long way

from completion.

In 2001, Philip also sponsored the commencement of the Newspaper Indexing Project, a mammoth task

requiring all of the local newspapers being perused and material articles being entered on the index.

Although other volunteers have participated in this project from time to time, Philip has been the only

member to continually work on expanding that database for the whole of its life. Again, there remains a lot

of work still to do.

Philip has been a Vice President of the Society for the past five years as well as acting as our Equipment and

Technology Officer. His abilities for cogent and strategic thinking are most appreciated by the other

Committee members and he has represented the Society with dignity and pride on many occasions.

Members would have seen a good example of his work when he has chaired regular meetings and functions.

The Committee believes that the work that Philip has done in advancing the aims of the Society, particularly

behind the scenes, deserves special recognition and therefore recommends him for Life Membership of the

Society.

27


Beverley June Delaney.

Beverley has been a committed and efficient worker in the background for the Society since she joined in

1998. She was immediately co-opted onto the Committee and sets about her tasks quietly yet

determinedly without distraction.

Her dual roles of Events Co-ordinator and Photographer of the Society’s social and community events take

up a lot of time, with the latter role requiring names to be put to the faces in the photos which then need to

be compiled, catalogued and fixed into albums for future reference. Beverley also organises all of the

notices regarding the Society’s events and functions and prepares the Yearly Planner without which the

Committee could not function as effectively as it does. Our guest speakers are also well looked after. For

many years Beverley has organised the gift baskets and other bequests presented to these speakers as a

mark of the Society’s appreciation for their attendance.

The highlight of the Society’s year revolves around the annual birthday celebration in October of each year,

a time when not just members but also friends of the Society and descendants of the original farmer settlers

also attend. The day is always enjoyed by all but it would never be the event that it is without Beverley’s

efforts. Her work on this function starts in February when she takes on responsibility for arranging the

venue, the entertainments and themes of the day, the special and honoured guests and the setting up and

cleaning of the venue. The many hours that Beverly puts into this planning could not be replicated by

anyone else and the Society should be extremely grateful that year after year, Beverley puts her hand up to

organise our major event; the Committee certainly is.

Another of Beverley’s most important public roles is to organise and curate regular displays and exhibitions

in the Mount Waverley Library, the Monash Federation Centre and other public forums such as the local

Westpac Bank branch. All of these exhibitions require a great amount of effort and time and all of them are

always well commented upon by visitors and officials.

An organisation does not, and should not, present its most prestigious award lightly but it should also

acknowledge the efforts of those who do good things on its behalf. It is therefore with much pleasure that

the Committee recommends Beverly be awarded Life Membership of the Society in recognition of her hard

work over the many years she has been a member.

28

FUTURE OBJECTIVES

Ongoing

• Increase the public profile of the Society with a view to attracting more members.

• Encourage more members to act as office bearers of the Society in order to share the load

and gain a greater breadth of opinions, ideas and suggestions.

• Focus on making the Society a more interesting place for young people to attend and

become members and thus ensure the Society has a sustainable future.

Short Term (say, the next twelve months)

• Re-establish the Society’s normal operations as soon as possible.

• Negotiate and execute an acceptable tenancy agreement with the City of Monash.

• Continue the cataloguing and digitisation of all items under the Society’s control.

• Complete the drafting of a comprehensive Operations Manual, incorporating a Risk

Management and Disaster Recovery Plan and Job Descriptions.

Medium Term (between the next one and three years)

• Continue the cataloguing and digitisation of all of the items in the Society’s collections.

• Complete the sets of aerial survey photographs of the former City of Waverley for each

decade from the 1940s to the 1990s (if grant moneys can be obtained for this purpose).

• Expand and finalise the transcriptions and storage of the oral histories we have and are

looking to obtain.

• Improve the storage arrangements in respect of the magnetic tape recordings of past

speeches and orations and digitise them whenever possible.

• Establish and expand links with other community groups in the municipality and history

groups from elsewhere.

• Continually review the need and relevance of policies and rules (including the Constitution)

governing the Society to ensure they remain relevant and in compliance with any legislative

requirements.

Long Term (after the next three years)

• Complete the cataloguing and digitisation of all of the items in the Society’s collections.

29

FINANCIAL REPORT

Year Ended 30 June 2010 2011

Receipts

Members’ Subscriptions 1,630.00 1,635.00

External Funding

Ritchie’s Supermarkets 208.63 44.00

Other Donations 30.00 563.70

Sales of Books and Other Items 2,238.00 2,476.63 12,537.75 13,145.45

Research Fees, Trading and Sundries 241.15 907.00

Government and Other Grants - 4,500.00

Bank Interest 1,249.84 1,332.83

Transfer from Term Deposit - 5,000.00

Cash Receipts for the Year $ 5,597.62 $ 26,520.28

plus Opening Petty Cash $ 33.72 $ 58.15

plus Balance Brought Forward $ 4,298.23 $ 5,921.03

Cash Resources Available $ 9,929.57 $ 32,499.46

Outgoings

Insurance Policy Premiums 823.00 731.50

Affiliation Fees 81.00 81.00

Excursion Subsidies 190.00 -

Collection Acquisitions and Accessions 439.79 -

Photography and Imaging Costs 50.95 -

Meetings and Functions Costs 849.98 987.43

Newsletter Printing and Distribution 359.51 489.73

Administration 760.71 1,021.34

Training Materials and Workshops 20.00 120.00

Asset Purchases, Repairs and Maintenance 375.45 5,156.01

Trading Purchases - -

Book Publication and Distribution Costs - 11,225.29

Life Members and Honour Board - -

Transfers to Term Deposit - $ 3,950.39 - 19,812.30

Surplus / (Deficit) $ 5,979.18 $ 12,687.16

less Closing Petty Cash ($ 58.15) ($ 222.95)

Balance to be Carried Forward $ 5,921.03 $ 12,464.21

plus Unpresented Cheques $ 80.00 $ 984.99

Bank Statement Balance $ 6,001.03 $ 13,449.20

30

FINANCIAL REPORT (cont’d)

Interest Bearing Term Deposit

Year Ended 30 June 2010 2011

Opening Balance – 1st July $ 25,000.00 $ 25,000.00

Increases to Investment - -

Withdrawals to Current Account - $ 5,000.00

Closing Balance – 30th June $ 25,000.00 $ 20,000.00

The Society does not have any unpaid Creditors, nor did it have any as at 30 June 2011,

although a cheque for $984.99 issued by the Society on 20 June 2011 in respect of asset

purchases was not cleared until after the 30 June balance date.

The Society has not:

• incurred any short or long term debt obligations in its own name;

• taken on responsibility for any other liability, either on its own account or that of

a third party or entity;

• provided any mortgage or charge over any of its assets; or

• acted as guarantor for any other party or entity.

Based on the generally accepted accounting principle that inventories need to be reported at the

lower of their cost or net realisable value, it is considered that, notwithstanding the inherent

value of the collections to us as a Society, there is no value for the members in carrying any

amounts in the Society’s books in relation to those collections or the assets used to house or

record them. Accordingly, the members’ equity in the Society is therefore reflected solely in the

bank accounts maintained by the Society which, as noted above, carried the following balances

at balance date:

As at 30 June 2008 2009 2010 2011

On call Funds Available: $ 9320.80 $ 4,298.23 $ 5,979.18 $ 12,887.16

Term Deposit: $ 20,000.00 $ 25,000.00 $ 25,000.00 $ 20,000.00

Total $ 29,320.80 $ 29,298.23 $ 30,979.18 $ 32.887.16

In line with past practice, interest earned on the Term Deposit was credited to the Society’s

current account when it was received.

signed signed

Bev Anderson John Angelico Treasurer Auditor

31


NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS

Accounting Method

The Society’s accounts are maintained on a cash basis meaning that entries are only recorded in

the books of account when (in the case of revenues or income), receipts are actually received; or

in the case of outgoings and expenses, when the cheques are actually issued or cash payments

are actually made.

As a reasonable proportion of operating costs are paid out of Petty Cash, that outlay has been

allocated to the designated expenditure areas in the report described above.

In F2011, after making allowance for the partial redemption of $5,000.00 of the Term Deposit,

the receipt of the Government Grant of $4,500.00 (which was fully expended on the purpose for

which it was given), and the kind donation of $500.00 from Leila Thorpe’s family, the Society

generated a cash surplus of $ 1,722.78 (following a surplus of $ 1,622.80 in F2010), a very

creditable result given the costs of publishing the “Then and Now” book were more than fully

recovered within eight months of its release.

RECEIPTS

Members’ Subscriptions - $1,635.00 (previously $1,630.00).

The re-structuring of the Society’s subscription methods for F2011 and into the future mean that

annual fees will be levied per household rather than on the more indeterminate individuals or

families. The re-arrangement meant that individuals who had previously been asked to pay

$15.00 per year were now required to pay $20.00 per year and, although the Committee of the

Society looks at the fee structures on a regular basis, will remain at this level for F2012.

Ritchie’s Supermarkets - $44.00 (previously $208.63).

Although the Society has benefited from its participation in the IGA Supermarkets Local

Community Support Scheme through Ritchie’s Supermarket in Mount Waverley, changes to the

scheme over the past twelve months mean that we will not be receiving as much from this

source as in previous years.

Donations – $563.70 (previously $30.00).

The Society continues to appreciate and be grateful to all of its donors and benefactors who are

kind enough to make goodwill payments to the Society. In this regard, we were especially

thankful in F2011 for the actions of the family of Leila Thorpe who kindly asked that conations be

made to the Society in lieu of flowers at the funeral of this most venerable lady.

32


Book and Other Sales - $12,537.75 (previously $2,238.00).

Steady sales of “Once There Was Jordanville” (now into its fourth year) have continued, with

sales peaking at around Christmas time each year, mainly through Matilda’s Bookshop in Mount

Waverley. As you all know, this year we published the first edition of “Then and Now” which has

been a huge success, recovering all of its significant set-up costs within the first eight months of

its public release. Unfortunately, we no longer have any copies of “Waverley – Past & Present” or

“Cattlemen to Commuters” available for sale and our stocks of “Wandering Around Waverley”

(which we will not be able to replenish) are also dwindling.

Research Fees, Trading and Sundries - $907.00 (previously $241.15).

With the increasing use of technology, the number of visitors to the Society’s rooms who need to

obtain photocopies has declined, with the use of “memory sticks” and digital cameras becoming

more and more common. Most of the research revenue in F2011 was accounted for by private

families rather than the more usual professional sources. This dissection has also been used to

record miscellaneous entries in F2011, such as the re-crediting of moneys withdrawn for a float

($200-00) in relation to the Monash Council’s Australia day festivities at which we maintained a

book selling presence.

Grants and Projects – $ 4,500 (previously Nil).

The Society was fortunate to be awarded a $4,500 grant by the Federal Department of Families,

Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs in F2011 under its Volunteer Grants

Programme. This grant was provided on the basis that it be expended on assets and material

that would be of benefit to the volunteers within the Society and the Equipment Officer has noted

elsewhere what items were acquired after we moved back into our rooms to assist the volunteers

in their endeavours.

Bank Interest - $1,332.83 (previously $1,249.84).

The Society’s interest receipts are subject to the market forces impacting on interest rates

generally and reflect the economic environment from time to time. It is not the Committee’s

practice to look to maximise this form of non-trading receipt, preferring instead to ensure the

safety of the members’ funds by investing solely in Bank Term Deposits. Although interest is

paid quarterly on the balances held in the Society’s current account, the interest earned from this

source amounted to less than $1 during the year. As a consequence, the interest paid on the

longstanding Term Deposit generates the bulk of this income category.

33


OUTGOINGS

Insurance and Affiliation Fees - $731.50 and $81.00 (previously $823.00 and $81.00).

Annual affiliation fees are paid annually to the Royal Historical Society of Victoria Inc ($66.00; a

fee set annually by the RHSV and unchanged for some years) and the Association of Eastern

Historical Societies Inc ($15.00; also unchanged for many years). Although we have a

representative attend the Local Reconciliation Group, we are not levied any affiliation or

membership fees by that body.

The Society also maintains public liability, accident and contents insurance under umbrella

policies arranged by the Royal Historical Society of Victoria for its member associations. It

should be noted, however, that payouts under the Accident Protection policy are only available to

those members aged less than 75 years. Unfortunately, we have not yet been able to identify a

more flexible insurer that will provide us with wider cover in this respect. There were no claims

made under any of the Society’s policies during F2010. The reduced premium for F2011 related

to it being calculated on household memberships rather than individuals, resulting in a lower

membership count for the Society.

Excursion Subsidies - Nil (previously $190.00).

No costs were incurred in this regard in F2011 due to the annual bus trip being cancelled.

Collection Acquisitions and Accessions - Nil (previously $439.79).

Unable to access permanent working space and with the bulk of our collection in off-site storage

for almost half of the financial year, plus the time taken after its return to sort and store all of

the existing items, there was not any conscious effort to expand the collection in F2011. Future

acquisitions will continue to be on an ad hoc, opportunistic basis, preferably by donation.

Photography and Imaging Costs - Nil (previously $50.95).

Although the Society participates in exhibitions and displays at a number of locations and

functions throughout the year, mainly at Mount Waverley Library and the Monash Federation

Centre, there was no need to incur any expenditure on frames or printing for such exhibitions in

F2011.

Meetings and Functions Costs - $987.43 (previously $849.98).

Catering for general meetings, Wednesday afternoon workshops and other functions and events,

along with gifts for our guest speakers, represent the bulk of this expenditure.

Newsletter Printing and Distribution - $489.73 (previously $359.51).

Printing the newsletters and mailing most of them make up these outgoings. The colour

frontispiece on the September 2010 newsletter and the higher postage costs account for the bulk

of the increase over the previous year.

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Administration - $1,021.34 (previously $760.71)

This Administration cost continues to comprise mainly stationery, postage (other than for

newsletters which is accounted elsewhere, but including the annual mail box fee). This year, the

Society’s death notice for Leila Thorpe and regulatory costs associated with the Society’s

compliance with the requirements of the Associations Incorporation Act were also included.

Training Materials and Workshops - $120.00 (previously $20.00)

This year, the costs all relate to the attendance of four of our members (who each paid their own

way, their payments being represented in the Society’s revenues) at the annual general meeting

and workshop conducted by the Association of Eastern Historical Societies. No other seminars

were attended during the year at the Society’s expense.

Asset Purchases, Repairs and Maintenance - $5,156.01 (previously $375.45).

The Federal Government Grant Moneys of $4,500.00 make up the bulk of this expenditure which

also include computer consumables and peripherals (such as software, printer toners, etc).

Book Publication and Distribution Costs - $ 11,225.29 (previously Nil).

The costs of ensuring regulatory compliance (eg: obtaining ISBN, etc) and the printing of 1,008

copies of the first edition of “Then and Now – a Pictorial History of the City of Monash”

represented the bulk of the expenditure in this category. A small portion related to the printing

of last year’s annual report.

Life Members / Honour Board - Nil (previously Nil).

No costs in this category have been incurred in either of the past two financial years. However,

with four new awards, a cost will be incurred in this financial year in updating the Honour Board

and issuing certificates.

Bev Anderson

Treasurer

WAVERLEY HISTORICAL SOCIETY …home.vicnet.net.au/~whsvic/AnnualReport2011.pdf · 30th June 2011 . Waverley Historical Society Inc ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Sunday, 28th August 2011

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