The Maps and Prohibition

This week I was in one of my favorite places – the Geelong Heritage Centre (known as the red room) in the new and quite impressive Geelong Library. Surely it will win an award?

I was working my way through some manuscripts and papers in one of their lesser known collections when I came across a couple of things.

When the packet was brought to me I could tell by its size that it held something interesting. Inside were two of them. The first was a copy of a map – known as a Squatters Map of Victoria. This one was dated about 1868. They were created by two men, named RV Billis and AS Kenyon (known commonly as RVB & ASK.) Now while I have seen digital copies of earlier ones this one was the real deal and it was huge. A good 1.5m x 2.0m and made of cloth with a ‘paper like’ image stuck on it. To be honest I just stood back and stared for quite some time. What I would give for one of these…. I’m quite familiar with RVB & ASK as they wrote a book on the Pastoral Pioneers of Victoria, pretty much the reference book on the subject. This map goes with the book as it shows the runs that the book describes.

A number of visitors in the centre and staff came and took a look as I pretty am sure that most had not seen something quite like this before. A gentleman from SA enquired and we discussed for a while, talking about land boundaries and squatters for a while. Always great to chat to others, learn and share what you know.

The second map, about the same size, and while unmarked I am pretty sure was a “Hams Map.” Again a pastoral run / squatters map of Victoria and while undated I’m pretty sure was from a similar period – late 1850’s. In modern day terms it’s a bit like UBD v. Melway or Tomtom v. Garmin. For someone like me these things are like gold. We see digital images of them quite frequently but to come across the real deal is just fabulous.

What surprises me every time I discover one of these, whether it be at the GHC, at Public Records, The State Library or Land Titles is that these things are still out there. Hidden away in dark, dim boxes or packets, just waiting for the next time that light is shone on them. Quite literally.

Then in the next packet I came across an October 1938 edition of The Geelong Advertiser. For those of you out there “in the know” 1938 is significant as it is the 100 year anniversary of the City of Geelong. To mark the Centenary the “Addy” went all out with a six part edition of the paper on 8 October 1938. What it contained was fantastic – a detailed rundown of Geelong, it’s firsts and overall History. And while I am now on the hunt for my own copy of the paper, I have enough material for a number of posts on this in weeks to come.

In the edition, and quite coincidentally were two full page advertisements for a referendum vote of that day being 8 October 1938 – one for the “YES” and one for the “NO”. The vote was on the abolition of liquor licences (prohibition) and it failed.

As was reported on Monday the 10th of October 1938:

PROHIBITION

VICTORIAN POLL REJECTS NEARLY TWO TO ONE MAJORITY MELBOURNE, Sunday.

Victoria overwhelmingly rejected the proposal for the abolition of liquor licences at the referendum yesterday.

The latest figures are:

Against abolition : 659,837

For abolition: 341,600

The total number of voters on the roll is 1,151,263.

Under the Act, there must be a 60 per cent. "Yes" vote before the existing law is altered.

Yesterday, the "Yes" vote was only 34 per cent.

At the previous licensing poll held in May, 1930, the voting was 418,902 for abolition and 552,339 against abolition.

Enjoy that beer or glass of wine now won't you