Mortlake & District Historical Society Inc.

19/10/2026

11/10/2026

Today four members of MDHS attended the Southern Zone Meeting of the Western Victorian Association of Historical Societies (WVAHS) hosted by Glenthompson Historical Group. We joined representatives of Camperdown, Cobden, Colac, Dunkeld, Glenthompson, Koroit, Port Fairy and Terang societies to share updates, knowledge and helpful advice. Last week Nhill Historical Society hosted the Wimmera Mallee Zone Meeting and in two weeks Donald History Society will host the North Central Zone meeting. WVAHS comprises 54 societies and museums throughout Western, Central and Northern Victoria so we are fortunate to be able to share our experiences with other groups.

06/07/2026

Craige Proctor has spent many years immersed in telling stories about local communities, specifically at Mortlake and more recently at Jeparit. In retirement from education he has become involved with the Wimmera Mallee Pioneer Museum at Jeparit and has been supporting the local historical society to re-establish itself after a long hiatus. He is a Life Member of the Mortlake and District Historical Society. His published books include two school histories, two pioneer histories, a fire brigade history and most recently the story of Cooinda, a disability support provider at Terang. Craige is President of the Western Victorian Association of Historical Societies as well as Chair of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria’s Historical Societies Support Committee. In addition to producing several historical society newsletters he also currently co-produces the FAHS newsletter.

06/07/2026

Other Woorndoo School photos uncovered in the Public Record Office of Victoria (PROV) in Melbourne today. Hopefully someone can identify the model of the car in one photo, indicating the earliest year it could have been taken; I'm thinking later 1940s. There are no names for the pupils in the 1948 photo but hopefully someone will recognise at least a few. The refurbishment plan is from 1914, suggesting that the building standing today dates from before then.

06/07/2026

Today while going through the official files on the Woorndoo School in the Public Record Office of Victoria,I came across this photo of Woorndoo's 'float' in the 1945 Victory Parade. When I saw it bells started ringing and I wondered whether it was similar to one in our collection kindly provided by Pat Rounds some years ago and taken in Officer Street, outside today's Bates' IGA. Eureka! The two photos are of the same truck with the same decorations and the same people including Pat Rounds, top left. The first photo is the one uncovered today; the second is Pat Rounds' photo. It seems my memory is still relatively intact.

21/06/2026

Note that we are now trialling our monthly meetings on a Wednesday morning and no longer on a Sunday afternoon.

27/05/2026

Can you help? We are trying to identify the unnamed women in this Mortlake CWA Choir photo. While we don't have a year, the dresses and hairstyles indicate early-mid-1950s. Perhaps some of our Followers can assist.

17/05/2026

https://www.wdnews.com.au/funds-needed-to-preserve-history-2026-04-23

THE Mortlake and District Historical Society (MDHS) has put out an appeal for support after beginning the arduous task of digitising the 157-year history of the Mortlake Dispatch.