'Past & Present: The Donald Times Jubilee Souvenir 1845–1925 containing an
historical record of Donald and District' [published in June 1926] is typical of a
provincial commemorative publication with numerous references to local
identities and in this case sprinkled with many old and interesting photographs.
Such publications when utilised thoroughly by historians can give an excellent
idea of the community and its people in past times.
Family names including Morgan, Veitch, Willey, Edwards, Maiken, Bentley,
Rochford, McConegal, Chessells, Letts, Cromer and so on have the advantage of
also being featured in photographs!
A section of the publication addresses the history of Donald, Litchfield,
Cope Cope, Jeffcott and the Avon, Corack, Laen and Watchem districts and their
various institutions from 1845. This section also includes biographic data on
some of the prominent settler families including the Muir, Bassett, Perry,
Pierpont, Danaher, Green, Cunnard, Litchfield, Sheehan, Camp, Walder, Adams
families and many more.
Historical highlights as reported in the newspapers of the day are also
recorded such as the problem with a rabbit plague in 1878.
A photographic gallery of the thirty-five local men killed in 1914-18 is a
significant historical record.
While not every resident of the community is named, significant incidents
such as the 1909 flood are depicted, and events such as this would have been
experienced by all in the community. This is an invaluable resource for all with
a past associated in this area of Victoria.
Old historical records are a valuable resource for local, family and social
historians as well as for researchers in other fields of Australian history.
They provide information on the environment experienced by the residents of the
time and how they lived, as well as their occupations.
High quality scanned images of the whole of the original book. This CD has been bookmarked for easy
navigation, and pages can be searched, browsed, enlarged and printed out if required.
