Gold Museum, Ballarat ~ Showcasing Ballarat's history

Nina Valentine recounts her father’s Gallipoli experience

Nina’s father Charles Reakes joined the Australian Imperial Forces (AIF) in August 1914. He was sent to Anzac Cove, which he recalled was ‘beautiful though it rained a bit in the afternoon’.

He arrived with an ammunition column delivering vital supplies up the perilous Shrapnel Gully.

Upon his evacuation from Gallipoli, Charles was transferred to the 103^rd Howitzer Battery in France where he had been gassed during battles in October 1918.

He left the battlefields when the Armistice was signed in November 1918.

The Gold Museum collection includes Charles’ dog tag which he wore as part of his military uniform.

Credits

Film produced by Wind & Sky Productions, Jary Nemo (Director) and Lucinda Horrocks (Interviewer and Researcher).

The Memories of War film project was supported by the Victorian Government and the Victorian Veterans Council.

Yvonne Horsfield on her family’s Chinese Anzac connections

Hedley and Sam [Tong-Way] were committed to showing their loyalty to Australia. Their enlistment was a demonstration of their commitment to their country of birth (Yvonne Horsfield, 2017)

Yvonne’s grandfather Hedley Tong-Way and his brother Samuel were one of many Chinese Australians who enlisted with the Australian Imperial Forces (AIF) during World War One.

The Ballarat-born brothers were sons of Mary and Rev. John Tong-Way who migrated from China to the goldfields in the 1880s-1890s.

Samuel and Hedley’s enlistment applications were initially rejected due to their Chinese background. They were finally accepted into the AIF in 1917. They served in the 5th Divisional Signal Company in France.

Upon their return to Australia in 1920, Samuel and Hedley became active and respected members of their community. Hedley settled at Lake Goldsmith as part of the Soldier Settlement Scheme and became a public servant.

Samuel worked as a teacher in various regional high schools and was an active member of the Returns Sailors’ and Soldiers’ Imperial League of Australia, the Masonic Lodge and management of the Presbyterian Church.

The Gold Museum’s Tong-Way family collection includes a signalers’ trumpet from World War One which belonged to Samuel.

Yvonne discusses the brothers’ commitment to Australia and their community, despite the challenges that they faced.

Credits

Film produced by Wind & Sky Productions, Jary Nemo (Director) and Lucinda Horrocks (Interviewer and Researcher)

The Memories of War film project was supported by the Victorian Government and the Victorian Veterans Council.

Les Holloway reflects on his father’s World War One experiences

I never asked my dad about his war experiences. Returned servicemen didn’t talk about those days. I’ve got my theories why – one of the things, it was just too terrible (Les Holloway, 2017)

Roy Victor Holloway’s enlistment portrait

Les Holloway’s father Roy was just 17 years of age when he joined the Australian Imperial Force during World War One. After falsifying his father’s signature on his enlistment documents, Roy joined the 14th Battalion.

Following his departure from Australia, Roy trained at Egypt’s Heliopolis Camp before taking part in the landing at Gallipoli on 25 April, 1915.  He became sick after several weeks and recuperated in Gibraltar. He was sent back to Gallipoli, where he remained until the evacuation.

The battalion returned to Egypt, where Roy began keeping a detailed diary. In 1917, he was sent to the Western Front where he was wounded twice; on the second occasion he was taken prisoner by the Germans. Roy was sent to Germany’s Soltau prisoner-of-war camp where he was held captive for 20 months. While there, he worked in the boiler house and electricity plant.

Roy was released in 1919 and returned home where he was given a hero’s welcome.

Amongst the Gold Museum’s collection of Roy Holloway’s personal artefacts, are his razor and photograph album from the Soltau camp.

Using these objects, Les reflects on his memories of his father and his wartime experience.

Credits

Film produced by Wind & Sky Productions, Jary Nemo (Director) and Lucinda Horrocks (Interviewer and Researcher).

Additional research provided by Herr Horst Meyer, Soltau Camp Memorial.

The Memories of War film project was supported by the Victorian Government and the Victorian Veterans Council.

Three Hammon brothers served together during World War One

The Gold Museum holds a special collection of postcards from the Hammon brothers, revealing life on the frontline and in the camps.

Private John Henry Hammon

John (also known as Jack) was born in Ballarat in 1883.  In July 1915, a 32 year old John enlisted in the Australian Imperial Forces (AIF). He was placed in the 4^th Battalion, 11^th Reinforcement.

Postcard from John and Harry Hammon to their sister Jessie (Gold Museum collection, 2011.0435)

His unit embarked from Sydney on board the HMAT A17 Port Lincoln, on 13 October, 1915.

After a couple of transfers within the Battalion, John embarked for Marseilles in February 1916.

John was wounded at Pozieres in 1916 and taken to St John’s Ambulance Brigade, Staples, with a gunshot wound to the left thigh and right leg. He spent nine days in hospital.

Following this incident, John was admitted into hospital twice for a gunshot wounds to the back and left thigh.

He spent a month recovering in hospital for his thigh injury. He was later detached from his duties and moved into the 1^st Division of the AIF.

Tragedy struck on 23 August, 1918 when 35 year old John was killed in action. He is buried at the Heath Cemetery, Harbonnieres, France.

In an obituary in the Argus, John’s family wrote: ‘A bright and cheery nature, duty nobly done, in that dear home, how sweet his rest’. [1]

John was decorated with the British War Medal, the Star, and the Victory medal. His family received a memorial plaque and scroll.

Corporal Harry Telford Hammon

Harry (also known as Tel) was born in Creswick on 7 June, 1892. Harry worked as a dentist in the Ballarat region prior to his enlistment in February 1916. Integrated into the 39^th Battalion, Harry began his journey to France, Southampton on 23 November, 1916.

Upon his arrival to Europe, Harry and his Battalion were stationed in England’s Lark Hill Camp. Writing to his mother from Lark Hill, Harry warned that his words may cause her to ‘form some sort of idea as to the sort of camp we are in. By the wording of this, you will think it a terrible place, but it is not too bad’. [2]

Postcard from Harry to his mother, 4 August 1916 (Gold Museum collection, 2011.0448)

Harry was moved from the 10^th infantry back to the 39^th and worked with the field ambulance from in August 1917.  On 24 March, 1918 Harry was sent to hospital, the cause unknown, and was discharged back to his unit a month later.

Harry was removed from his unit in 1918 after being caught with stolen property. He was transferred to the 98^th Dental Unit where he was promoted to Corporal.

Harry often wrote home to his family back in Ballarat, particularly to his younger brother Cecil who received cigarette cards collected by the Corporal.

Harry returned to Australia in 1919. He later moved to Melbourne and passed away in 1982, aged 90.

Private Norman Coates Hammon

Norman was born in Creswick in 1894. A 20 year-old Norman worked as a grocer when he enlisted on 5 February, 1915.

Norman joined the 22^nd Infantry Battalion’s D Company and embarked from Melbourne on board the HMAT A38 Ulysses.

Birthday postcard from Norman to his sister Jessie, 1916 (Gold Museum collection, 2011.0449)

Retaining his rank of Private, Norman was later enlisted into the 6^th Machine Gun Battalion, and later the 2^nd Machine Gun Company in 1918 where he was given the rank of Corporal.

Norman maintained contact with his family, especially his sister Jessie, promising to send her home a handkerchief of Egyptian silk when his money arrived.

He wrote extensively of his journeys from the Garden City in Heliopolis to Egypt. Norman wrote about the Egyptian landscapes with the legend of pharaohs being a constant theme. In a postcard home, Norman humorously begged his sister to ‘excuse [his] scribble’ [3] as he was writing on the road.

Norman fought in Egypt, Gallipoli, the Western Front and France. He was wounded during a battle in France in November 1917.

Fatefully, Norman returned to Australia on 9 March, 1919. He later married Louisa May Lawson in 1923.

Norman’s involvement in the war resulted in him receiving the 1914-15 Star, the British War medal and the Victory Medal of 1970.

Norman passed away in 1970, aged 76.

Trees were planted in Ballarat’s Avenue of Honour as a memorial to the brothers’ service. They can be found at tree no. 387, 2115 and 3861.

References

[1] The Argus, 21 September, 1918

[2] Postcard to mother from Harry Telford Hammon, Lark Hill Camp, England, 4 August, 1916. Gold Museum collection, 2011.0448.

[3] Postcard to Jessie Hammon from Norman Coates Hammon, Heliopolis, Garden City, undated. Gold Museum collection, 2011.0430

Written by Danni Roberts, honours year history student at Federation University.

Transcribing Lieutenant Percival Carl Minifie’s diary.

In February 2015, I joined the Gold Museum’s back-of-house volunteer team.

I was given the task of transcribing the World War One diary kept by Australian soldier Lieutenant Percival Carl Minifie. Lieutenant Minifie was 26 years old when he enlisted at Surrey Hills, Melbourne on August 18, 1914. He was a railway employee.

Group portrait of the No. 4 Section, 2nd Machine Gun Company. Lieutenant Minifie is on the far right (Courtesy of the Australian War Memorial, P10447.007.001)

Lieutenant Minifie embarked on October 19, 1914 on the HMAT Benalla A24 from Melbourne. He was killed in action near Passchendaele in Belgium on October 4, 1917. At this time he was a Lieutenant in the 2^nd Australian Machine Gun Company.

The story evolving in Lieutenant Minifie’s diary had me hooked. The writing in the diary is in pencil and it is closely written. Some pages are missing and many are smudged so they are difficult to read.  When I first started to transcribe the diary, I found it very difficult to make out some of the words. As the year progressed, I was able to more easily transcribe what he had written.

Pages from Percival Carl Minifie’s diary (Gold Museum collection, 2014.0848)

Lieutenant Minifie’s diary begins in early April just before the Gallipoli landing. Lieutenant Minifie wrote several entries before he headed in to battle at Gallipolli where he described in detail the landing and life in the trenches. Lieutenant Minifie seemed to be upbeat in these entries, although he kept longing for a bath and good food. Throughout the diary he remarked in detail about what he had eaten. Sleeping conditions were also often noted.

Lieutenant Minifie then went to France where he mainly fought in Belgium around the Ypres, Hill 66 and Passchendaele areas.

Unfortunately the diary ended in September 1916. My interest in the diary has led me to do further research by looking up Lieutenant Minifie’s war records, plus researching his family on the National Library of Australia’s Trove service.

I knew from looking up his war record, that he would live for another year fighting on the battle front and I was eagerly looking forward to transcribing the next part of his story. However that was not to be. His other diaries were destroyed, leaving the Gold Museum’s journal the only surviving account of Lieutenant Minifie’s wartime experience.

Written by Denise Grant, Gold Museum Society volunteer. Denise is transcribing the museum’s collection of historical letters and diaries.

Biography of Captain Brian O’Sullivan.

The Gold Museum holds a precious collection of World War One photographs belonging to Australian soldier, Captain Brian O’Sullivan. Many of these photographs were taken by Captain O’Sullivan, while others were collected during his time overseas serving the 5th Battalion.

Captain O’Sullivan on board the HMAT Demosthene, 1915 (Gold Museum collection, 2011.0811)

Captain O’Sullivan was born in Richmond, Melbourne in 1895 to parents Dr. Edward Francis O’Sullivan and Fannie Elizabeth O’Sullivan. His father pursued a career as a medical practitioner and his son would soon follow in his footsteps.  After enrolling in medicine at Melbourne University in 1913, Captain O’Sullivan deferred his study when war broke out in 1914.

Captain O’Sullivan landed in Gallipoli in 1915 where he became a Lieutenant in the 5^th Battalion, instructing soldiers on the use of trench mortar.  In 1916, he was promoted to Captain and was present during the battles of Pozieres, Mouquet Farm, Corcolette and Flers.

During his time in the military, Captain O’Sullivan frequently wrote letters home accompanied by albums of photographs.

Captain O’Sullivan travelled to various locations such as Egypt, Ireland and England and was enamoured by the sights he saw as depicted in his photographs. Home was never far from Captain O’Sullivan’s mind. While based in Egypt, he wrote: ‘it was trying not hearing from home during my long stay’.

Whilst in Egypt, the soldiers visited the iconic Pyramids and the Sphinx, and socialised with civilians and children in the area.

Captain O’Sullivan’s collection provides an intimate insight into a soldier’s journey rarely seen by the public.  His photographs reveal soldiers’ downtime as they travelled towards the frontlines. The men kept themselves occupied with games such as wheelbarrow races and pillow fights.

Soldiers taking part in a wheelbarrow race on board the ship Nestor (Gold Museum collection, 2011.0798)

Captain O’Sullivan also worked as a medical officer. His letters reveal his daily routine: ‘Coffee and breakfast at 7:45, I have to inspect all isolation men (measles and mumps contacts) and then I can clean myself till 9 o clock’.

Captain O’Sullivan valued his education and returned to Australia in 1917 to complete his medical degree. Soon after graduation the call for war beckoned once more and Captain O’Sullivan rejoined the 5^th Battalion.

Although surrounded by horror and tragedy, Captain O’Sullivan still found time to write of the beauty found in the landscape. In a letter to his parents (possibly from Turkey), Captain O’Sullivan wrote ‘the country round here is very pretty in a tamed sort of way and the wild poppies and daisies make a rather pretty break in the greenery of everything’.

However tragedy struck when Captain O’Sullivan was wounded at the Hindenburg Line at the Sommes by mortar fire whilst he was instructing new recruits. He passed away from his injuries aged just 23. Captain O’Sullivan is buried at Daours Communal Cemetery Extension in France.

By taking these photographs, Captain O’Sullivan has saved these memories of World War One for future generations. Through the eyes of one soldier, we are shown the true images of the highs and lows eclipsing a soldier’s life from beginning to end.

Captain O’Sullivan’s collection appears in the exhibition A Soldier’s View, on display at the Gold Museum from May 16 to September 18, 2016.

Written by Danni Roberts, third year history student at Federation University.

A personal reflection of World War I through art

I was commissioned by Ballarat’s Backspace Gallery as part of the exhibition Leaving for the Front: Artist’s Respond which was on display between April and May 2015 during the World War I centenary. The brief was to create something in response to Dora Meeson’s 1916 painting, Leaving for the Front.

Dora Meeson’s Leaving for the Front, 1916 (Ballarat Art Gallery)

When I first viewed Dora’s beautiful painting, I saw three generations of women who were being left behind: the softness of their skin, the emotion in their eyes, the colour of their clothes, the tactile nature of their environment and the uncertainty of the future that lay ahead.

I chose to create an oral and pictorial recollection, involving an assemblage using mixed media.

I set out to interview Victorian women who remember what the war meant for their grandmothers, mothers and aunts, and to record their stories. I soon discovered that their deeply emotional recollections and sparing quotations deserved dignity and discretion, and were best presented as anonymous.

While contemplating the impact of War on the lives of women, I also found myself reflecting on the early adulthood of my own paternal grandmother, and her sisters: the ‘MacMillan girls’ of Terang, Victoria, along with their friendship circles.

I am the custodian of several photo albums detailing the MacMillans’ social life from 1924 to 1926, so I felt compelled to incorporate a small selection of these images, which were taken around Western Victoria.

Ailsa Brackley du Bois with her commissioned piece, 2015.

I have long been struck by the lack of men present in my inherited collection. At the outbreak of the war, most of the women pictured in my artwork were, in fact, the age of the adolescent girl in Dora’s painting. By the time the 1920s came, they were in their prime and wanting to socialize and even flirt a bit, yet there was an absolute shortage of men.

I also have in my possession quite a few images of women posing for pictures in which one young woman in each duo portrays the male gender. On close inspection of group images, I’ve also noted the presence of androgynous looking women wearing pants. As a child I recall interpreting this as some old-fashioned girls’ game, or simply assumed that some of these women were in fact men. I now recognize the sub-text and the unspoken possibilities.

One of my great aunts was, in fact, a friend of Dorothy’s. In her later life, we shared careful conversations on the subject, over small crystal glasses of French wine in the reading room of the home she shared for over 50 years with her life-partner.

I found the process of undertaking this work to be a fairly profound personal journey. Given I was preparing it all exactly one year after my father’s death, it was very moving to be considering his maternal line in such a contemplative and sociological way.

When I looked at what I was putting together I would sometimes shed quiet tears. So much sadness, so many secrets and so many skeletons in closets. I sincerely hope that I’ve given fair voice to women who’ve been unable to speak openly about these matters, for whatever reasons.

Written by Ailsa Brackley du Bois, a multimedia artist with a life-long fascination with cultural heritage and history. Her oral history research for ‘Women Remember’ forms part of the source material for The Last Goodbye, a film about remembrance produced by Wind & Sky.

Biography of Louis William Gordon Büchner-Malcolm

Portrait of Louis William Gordon Büchner-Malcolm (Wellcome Library)

Louis William Gordon Büchner-Malcolm attended the Ballarat School of Mines (SMB) from 1907-9 and 1911, gaining certificates in mine management and geology. He served during World War 1 as an officer in the Royal Garrison Artillery and saw action in both France and West Africa.

Born in Bourke, New South Wales in 1885 to Mechanics Institute librarian Otto L.G. Büchner and Catherine Malcolm, the family relocated to Katoomba in the early 1890s where they suffered two tragedies. In 1894, Otto abandoned his family and then in 1896, a tragic house fire cost the lives of Louis’ four younger siblings.

Lieut. Büchner-Malcolm attended Katoomba Superior public school. After leaving school he became a staff member at the Australian Museum in Sydney. Whilst in Sydney he passed an examination in geology at Sydney Technical College.

In 1907, Lieut. Büchner-Malcolm commenced studying at the Ballarat School of Mines. After completing his studies, Louis went to the University of Melbourne as a Government Research Scholar in anatomy and obtained numerous scholarships.

He was undertaking research at Zurich University when war broke out. Melbourne Punch reported that he had been with the Australian Voluntary Hospital for five months before he obtained a commission in the Royal Field Artillery at Portsmouth as L.W.G. Büchner-Malcolm. [1]

In August 1914, Lieut. Büchner-Malcolm went to France with the Imperial Expeditionary Force; and the following month he was attached to the Nigeria Regiment, West African Frontier Force.

In November 1915, he was part of the capture of Banyo Mountain in Cameroon with Brigadier-General Cunliffe’s force. He left the following account of his experiences during the Banyo Mountain expedition. [2]

He remained with the artillery until 1919 making it to Temporary Captain.

Whilst in West Africa he undertook research into the Eghap people of central Cameroon.

After the war he studied at Christ’s College, Cambridge as LWG Malcolm, where he graduated in 1921 with a Master’s degree in Anthropology.

He moved on to work in the museum sector, gaining employment at various British institutions such as the Horniman Museum and Wellcome Historical Medical Museum. In 1932 he completed his PhD at Christ’s College, Cambridge in the Faculty of Medicine on ‘Medical Museums: An Historical and Bibliographic Study’.

Büchner’s life history has been difficult to piece together, in part because of his name change.

He was originally known as LWG Buchner and in 1915 adopted his mother’s maiden name to become Buchner-Malcolm.

By the end of the war he used his mother’s maiden name exclusively, becoming known as Louis William Gordon Malcolm or LWG Malcolm.

We can speculate as to the reason for these name changes. Perhaps he did not wish to have a German surname due to the strong anti-German feeling associated with the outbreak of World War I.

Lieut. Büchner-Malcolm is believed to be the first SMB alumnus to complete a PhD and the first at an overseas university.

His story is an important part of the history of Ballarat, both in terms of its academic history and its military history.

References

[1] Melbourne Punch, April 1, 1915.

[2] ‘Australians in Africa’, Great War Forum, last modified May 25, 2015, http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=72898.

Written by Prof. Ian D. Clark, professor of tourism at Federation University

The Gold Museum holds a collection of articles, photographs and medals of World War I veteran, Horace Martyr.

Private Horace Clyde Martyr, known as Horry by family and friends, was born in Richmond, Victoria in 1895.

When the First World War began in 1914, a 19 year-old Horace enlisted in Melbourne for the Australian Infantry Forces (AIF) where he was assigned to the 8^th Battalion.

Horace was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal (Commonwealth) and the Croix de Guerre (The French equivalent to the Victorian Cross) as a result of his actions on Anzac Cove. He became one of the first decorated soldiers from the Gallipoli landing.

Horace Martyr holding his medals (Gold Museum collection, 83.0308)

During both World Wars and the years that proceeded, Horace was awarded another 12 medals for his conduct and service in countless battles for his country. These included the Commonwealth Distinguished Conduct Medal, for gallantry at Anzac Cove where he was wounded along Shrapnel Gully while carrying a fellow wounded soldier to safety. Before they reached the shelter of a trench, Horace was shot in the back himself. The two men spent in the trench as it rained before they were transported to Egypt for urgent medical care.

He was awarded the Croix de Guerre, the Star Gallipoli Medal, the British Service Medal, the Victory Medal 1914-18, the Star Medal 1939-45, the Pacific Star, the Defense Medal 1939-45, Service Medal 1939-45, Australian Service Medal 1939-45, Coronation of George V Medal and the Efficient Service Medal. Horace later received two rosettes for 12 years’ service.

Horace Martyr’s medals (Gold Museum collection, 83.308)

Horace came from a family of soldiers. One of his forbearers was also involved in warfare; Major General James Martyr was in the 1^st Dragoon Guards and the aide-de-camp to Queen Victoria. He is also the nephew of Richard Beswick Martyr, of Argyle, and Mrs Alex Heiden, of Marylands. When he returned to Australia, he became an advertising agent in Spencer Street Melbourne.

Newspaper article about Horace Martyr and his heroic status (Gold Museum collection, 83.208)

In 1928, Horace was in court facing fraud charges, on four counts of obtaining money on false pretence. He was found not guilty on all counts.

Horace passed away 6 September 1986 at the age of 91. His gravestone can be found at the Frankston Cemetery.

He was survived by his wife Peggy and children Joe, Eileen, Alice, Helen and Phil Jnr.

Written by Danni Roberts, history student at Federation University.

On 11 March 1911 several members of the public reported seeing a heavily-armed airship flying eastwards over Sebastopol in Ballarat, Victoria to descend behind Mt Warrenheip. Similar instances were reported in Kyneton and Portland.

These stories were a common feature of newspaper reports during World War I.

Far from being simply dismissed, though the more outlandish stories were met with considerable ridicule in some sections of the press, these sightings were taken very seriously as potential threat to Australian security.

The desperate fear of German aerial attack was extraordinary given that this was a time when German airships and bombers were struggling to reach London let alone remote colonies in the Pacific. Still, the panic persisted with gorgeous illustrations in Australian newspapers and panicked reports in local papers.

The newspapers of Australia were filled with reports of mysterious aircraft, abductions and German airships. They were also filled with horrific depictions of what future wars would be like in the advent of this new technology.

Mystery airship as depicted in Sydney’s Globe newspaper, 8 March 1913 (National Library of Australia)

There are tales of vast fleets of airships firing ‘aerial torpedoes’ which could be launched from out of visual range and controlled to their helpless targets by wireless controls; an image reminiscent of our modern use of military drones and guided missiles.

These stories fueled a panic regarding German airpower which did not eventuate militarily until the blitz of World War II.

Historian Brett Holman argues that these panics were driven by a combination of Australians’ desire to feel closely connected to a war which was, to a large extent fought on the other side of the planet, and a phenomenon he calls ‘airmindedness’. [1]

Airmindedness pertains to the cultural fixations and representations air travel and air technology. In the positive sense, it relates to wonder at the freedom and exploration of air flight. In its negative connation, it represented fear of an aerial assault.

Interestingly, Holman’s research indicated that the Australian government at the time was happy to support these anxieties given the support they engendered to the war effort.

This remains a little known but fascinating part of Australia’s World War I heritage which led directly to the phenomenon which we would now call today UFOs and flying saucers.

Indeed, the behaviour and depiction of the craft are remarkably similar to those described by eyewitnesses during the Cold War era of the 1950s and 60s.

In the end, these panics were identified at the time as signs of the coming German threat. They are perhaps better described as close encounters of the Prussian kind!

References

[1] Brett Holman,  ‘Dreaming War: Airmindedness and the Australian Mystery Aeroplane Scare of 1918’, History Australia 10 (2013): 180-201.

Written by Dr David Waldron, history lecturer at Federation University.