Casterton Newspaper - By the one who

was there

Among Nancy’s photos we found microfiche partial copies of the Casterton News from 1908 and some reprinted stories from 1930. The microfiche contained stories of the early Western District written by Hugh Glancy and George Yarra Bilston.

George wrote under the non de plume - “by the one who was there”. They are generally first person narratives where George never refers to himself by name. I think most of the stories have been passed onto George by his father Thomas, as George would have been there would have been too young to be part of the action.

I doubt you will find these articles anywhere else except the Victorian State Library and they are important reading. They give the reader an idea of the mindset of the early Victorian pioneers, their dealings with the indigenous tribes and the authorities. Given current moves for a reconciliation with the indigenous peoples, I think some of the articles are important reading.

Lowen & Nancy’s Introduction

Lowen and Nancy put together the prints amongst 11 albums and they wrote a wonderful introduction to the work. The original album structure remains as it is listed in the source field in the digital metadata. Please read what Lowen and Nancy had to say.

Time Line

I made a spreadsheet of approximate births and deaths which shows overlapping time lines. It is very wide and should print A3.

Cal Remembers

This is a short piece Cal dictated to Tony about his meeting Nancy and going to war.