From the President’s Pen Feb 2026
Key Dates
- February 4 Monthly Meeting – Dr David Rowe – Geelong Art Gallery
- March 1 Membership Year begins from 2026 to 2027, and fees are due
- March 1 Investigator will be distributed
- March 4 Monthly Meeting – Wayne McLaren – Corangamite Catchment Management Authority, Senior Project Officer, Major Project Delivery – “Improve fish passage in the Barwon and Moorabool rivers”
- April 1 Annual General Meeting and Monthly Speaker – Rod Morrison – History of the Old Fyansford Paper Mill
Hello, fellow Society members. Happy New Year!
I hope you are well, and the recent festive season was a happy time for you. That time now feels like the distant past, with our February Monthly Meeting being conducted this week.
This is my first newsletter for the year, and in a reflective mood, I thought about recent events, future plans for our Society and the changes we hope to introduce in the coming year.
Suggested changes for 2026
Our Society’s Objectives must be relevant to 2026 and beyond. There are two Objectives that I believe need to change, and one that needs to be introduced.
- Publishing Books and Pamphlets; and
- Collecting and preserving historical documents and artefacts; and
- A push to attract younger members.
Publishing Books and Pamphlets
In our electronic age, we can publish stories online or in an electronic format. Hard copies of stories and pamphlets are limited in the volume of their distribution and expensive to produce. Multimedia now provides flexibility in the ways for authors to communicate. Our Website is a cheap, flexible and visually diverse medium that can disseminate stories quickly and broadly. The Publishing Objective can be retained, but the mechanism by which it can be attained should be modified.
Collecting and preserving historical documents and artefacts
We have neither the resources nor the space to continue collecting and preserving historical documents and artefacts. We have reached a crisis point where our current store of artefacts is full. Recent donations of artefacts have been stored at private houses – including mine.
Paper documents are being directed toward the Geelong Heritage Centre. Thousands of our Society’s ephemera and collections are already on loan to the Heritage Centre. Our contributions make up part of the 1.5 million items in its collection.
I recommend we do not accept further donations of printed material. Donors should be directed to the Heritage Centre. Physical donations are problematic because the City of Greater Geelong has no storage room. We should ask donors to keep their precious objects until space becomes available, either in the city or when we obtain a more spacious storage location.
If you know of a generous benefactor, company or organisation that can provide storage facilities for the collection, then please contact me.
A push for younger members
This year, we are combining with the Geelong Branch of the National Trust to assist Primary School Teachers in the Geelong Region to develop their curriculum for the study of Geelong’s History (See Flyer). Promoting local history and engaging teachers and the younger generation will benefit schools and our Society. Our text and internet resources, when added to our Society members’ skills and knowledge, can broaden our Society’s exposure to a younger generation.
On February 19, Michael O’Donnell and I will be taking Year 12 students at Bacchus Marsh Grammar School on an excursion to the Barwon River from Baum’s Weir to Breakwater. In collaboration with the teacher, we have created a trip that meets the assessment criteria for their subject. This is the second year we have run the program, and students have used our work in their exams. We hope to extend this program by offering it to local schools.
Changes to our Society’s representatives
Our Society’s representation on the Geelong Heritage Collection Committee, advertised in my last newsletter, has been filled. Roger Southern and Sarah Brown will be representing our Society from the next meeting in March. Both have excellent credentials, and I appreciate their participation and assistance.
Advocacy and Consultation
1. Laneways Name Change – On January 20, I wrote to the Registrar of Geographic Names, Victoria, to express our objection to the naming of three Laneways in a block of largely residential land to the south of South Geelong Railway Station. The city wants to name the three lanes as Flint, Graphite and Cinder. These generic names are derived from an association with the nearby former SEC Briquette Depot.
The Depot was not located in the area where the laneway names are to be used, but in an adjoining block. The residential section, bounded by Yarra, Foster, Bellarine and Verner Street, has a long history based on the mixture of residential properties and the manufacture of Textile equipment, not briquette storage and distribution. In fact, residents complained about the dust associated with the Depot’s operations. Now the city wants these laneways to be to be a permanent reminder of the Briquette Depot – a place the residents wanted removed!
We have recommended that the laneway names should be Hill, Dyson and Station. Station Lane is a walkway between Foster Street and the railway station. Hill is selected because Mr Hill’s factory was built there and is still operational. It is 136 years old. Dyson, because his factory was located on Verner Street and operated for almost 100 years. These names are more fitting to be remembered than the genetic names selected. Our names also comply with the City’s draft Place Names Policy, whereas the names selected by the City do not. Consultation with our Society would have assisted in a more appropriate naming of Laneways.
2. Ovoid Sewer Aqueduct – We have not received a reply from Heritage Victoria regarding our objection to Barwon Water’s application for the demolition of the Ovoid Sewer Aqueduct. This month, we wrote to them seeking information about their consideration of our submission and the likely timing of a decision.
3. COGG Committee – In November and December, I attended meetings of the City of Greater Geelong Committees. In November, the City of Greater Geelong’s Heritage Advisory Committee met to discuss the following topics:
- Geelong – UNESCO City of Design
- Greater Geelong Heritage Design Guidelines
- Heritage Studies and Assessments
- Place Naming Policy Draft
- National Wool Museum – upcoming activities
- Community and Individual Member activities and issues
- Geelong Heritage Centre – activities and stocktake closure December 24 to January 27 2026
In December, the Heritage Collection Committee met to discuss donations to the Geelong Heritage Centre. It was agreed that the Centre would accept the following donations:
- Belmont Combined Probus Club records
- William Humble’s scrapbook (Mayor and manufacturer)
- Federation Celebration documents
- Geelong Legacy Club Archives – 1925 to 2025.
It is clear from the items discussed at both meetings that our Society’s presence and input are important.
4. 1988 Collaborations – Another example of our Society’s willingness to assist with the City’s heritage efforts was mentioned by our Society member, Stephen Yewdall. Stephen (who was an organiser for the anniversary led by Mayor, Cr. Jim Fidge and Town Clerk, Trevor Neal) informed me of our Society’s consultation with the City in 1988. October 26, 1988, was the 150th anniversary of Geelong’s declaration as a Town. The city sought advice from our Society President, Peter Alsop. Peter, with fellow Society members, assisted in identifying various locations for five or six commemorative plaques. Text for the plaques was also provided. The city had the plaques made and then inserted into the flooring and footpaths in preparation for the official unveiling by the Governor of Victoria, Dr Davis McCaughey.
5. Corangamite Catchment Management Authority – We have been assisting the Corangamite Catchment Management Authority’s project of Improving the passage of fish in the Barwon and Moorabool Rivers. In December, I attended a fish sampling activity at Buckley Falls with Michael O’Donnell and spoke with the Senior Project Officer, Major Project delivery, Mr Wayne McLaren, and his staff. A report on the sampling showed species sampled in this initial run included common galaxias, tupong, flat-headed gudgeon, short fin eel (juveniles and adults), and estuary perch (most likely stocked).
300 common galaxiids were captured below the most downstream barrier on the first day, about 6 at the downstream end of Bunyip pool and one just above the concrete capping. None was captured above Baum’s Weir. This congregation of fish downstream of the barriers is a clear indication that fish are struggling to migrate further upstream in the current conditions.
Wayne McLaren is the guest speaker at our March Monthly meeting.
Excursions – Save the Date April 11
We planned to have another trip organised to Moorabool Antiques in Ryrie Street on Saturday, April 11. It will start at 1 pm at the shop’s library and conclude at 2 pm. Paul Rosenberg will present an extensive selection of local antiques and memorabilia. Refreshments will also be supplied. Please contact me if you are interested in attending. There is no charge, and participants should make their own travel arrangements, It is not a day when the Geelong football team is playing.
Although I have a couple of recommendations for upcoming excursions, I am hoping someone will step forward to take on the role of organiser.
Invoices
Thank you for being a member for 2025 – 2026. Some members have already paid their membership fee for the 2026 to 2027 financial year that commences on March 1st. I will be sending a friendly reminder to those who haven’t paid. I often need reminders to pay annual subscriptions. There is no change to the membership fee. It has been kept at $40.
Society’s Archives Collection
As I mentioned before, our Collection of archives is full. We are in the process of finding a new home for physical artefacts in our possession. We have a list of our collection of important objects, documents and ephemera, but they need to be properly catalogued and stored. In some cases, these might be donated to institutions or remain in our care. To catalogue, we must first find a new location, so that as each item is documented, it can be moved to an easily traceable and accessible position. Our collection storage space is full, so we will be approaching local people, organisations and institutions for assistance. We are working with Sarah Brown, who is a well-regarded archivist and Society member, to establish a cataloguing system to suit our needs. That work will commence in the first part of 2026.
If you have experience in cataloguing or would just like to help with this important task, then please contact me.
Lest We Forget
Space in these newsletters is always limited, but we must continue to acknowledge the remarkable contributions made by members who shaped our Society. Many long-standing members will have their own memories of the people who have been important contributors. I encourage all our members to explore their work in Investigator through the Title Index on our website.
In this edition, we remember Dr Philip Lawrence Brown’s contribution to our Society.
Dr Philip Lawrence Brown (15 Jan 1904 – 29 Sep 1996)
Philip Brown served as President of the Geelong Historical Society for an extraordinary seventeen years, within the period from 1950 to 1970, and continued on the Committee for a further twelve years until 1983. Few individuals have contributed so profoundly to the historical record of Geelong and District — or indeed to Australian historiography more broadly.
During his years of service, Philip also contributed to Victoria’s historical and civic life through his roles with the National Trust of Australia (1956–61), the Royal Historical Society of Victoria, and the Melbourne Anglican Synod (1960–71). He played a pivotal role in establishing the Geelong Historical Records Centre, now the Geelong Heritage Centre, which, since 1999, has been the custodian of his manuscripts, books, and artefacts.
Philip’s magnum opus was his meticulous editorship of The Narrative of George Russell and the Clyde Company Papers, published between 1935 and 1971. Between 1966 and 1988, he contributed twenty-eight articles to Investigator. His scholarship extended further still, with contributions to the Australian Encyclopedia, Historic Buildings of Victoria, the Dictionary of World History, and eighteen entries for the Australian Dictionary of Biography, most concerning Victorian pastoralists.
He also edited three significant works: Foster Fyans’ Memoirs (Geelong, 1986), The Challicum Sketchbook 1842–53 (Canberra, 1987), and The Todd Journal of 1835 (Geelong, 1989).
In recognition of his service, Philip received Life Membership of the Geelong Historical Society, a Fellowship of the Victorian Committee of Affiliated Historical Societies, and an Honorary Doctorate from Deakin University. In 1981, Professor Francis West described him as a “distinguished chronicler of Victorian colonial history and manuscripts editor par excellence.” Deakin University later honoured his legacy further with the annual Philip Brown Award, presented to a higher degree research student whose work advances the study of Australian history — a fitting tribute to a historian whose meticulous research set new standards in the field.
Members who knew Philip remember a gentle, witty man with an undimmed clarity of mind — a “history giant” of his time. His influence on our Society and on the preservation and interpretation of Victoria’s colonial past remains profound.
Dr Philip Lawrence Brown was, quite simply, one of the great figures of our Society. His legacy endures, and we are proud that his children, Ian and Sarah, continue as active members today.
Until next time, I hope you keep safe and healthy.
Kindest regards
Harry Roberts
