Work in progress

Barbara Pertzel, A fifty-year history of International Social Service - Australian Branch, due for publication in 2010.

International Social Service (ISS) is an international organisation dedicated to assisting families with the solution of problems involving action in two or more countries. An Australian branch of ISS was established in 1955 and this history celebrates the branch’s first 50 years. Within a context of the migration to Australia of people from many parts of the world, the history of International Social Service - Australian Branch (ISSAB) explores the place and profound significance of the organisation’s gentle, modest gestures of help, how they endeavour to mend with tiny, shiny threads the holes blasted in the substance of the human family by history’s calamities.

Helen Penrose & Catherine Waterhouse, Kostka: Xavier by the Sea, Melbourne: The Eldon Hogan Trust, 1997. Second edition, due for publication 2010.

This work, originally published in 1997 to commemorate the school’s 60th anniversary, is being brought up to date with two new chapters, a new conclusion and revised appendices.

Helen Penrose, Building a Firm: the Maddocks Story, due for publication August 2010.

Maddocks is one of Melbourne’s oldest law firms. Combining archival and scholarly research with oral history, this brief history tells the story from when John Maddock and Arthur Johnson founded the firm on 1 August 1885. For much of the twentieth century it was dominated by two families – Lonies and Chisholms – and was known as Maddock, Lonie & Chisholm since 1940. It survived the depression of the 1930s and the mergers of the 1980s to reinvent itself in the 1990s as a modern law practice which, in 2002, expanded to Sydney. This lively account includes illustrations and a list of partners.

Helen Penrose, The Way to the Stars: 150 years of The Geelong College, due for publication in 2011.

This history of the College celebrates 150 years of education at the College in 2011. The College was established by the Presbyterian Church of Victoria in 1861 to provide education for local Geelong boys, just after the temporary closure of Geelong Grammar School. Under the direction of the indomitable Scottish scholar, Dr George Morrison, the school grew quickly and moved in 1871 to an expansive hilltop location in Newtown. During Morrison’s long period as Principal (1861–98) the College earned an outstanding reputation for high academic standards. The strong Presbyterian ideals of a rigorous education continued during most of the period the College was operated and, later, owned by the Morrison family (after the Presbyterian Church was unable to provide appropriate financial backing). When the College was sold back to the Presbyterian Church in 1908 it became a member of the elite Associated Public Schools (APS), and governed by a Council largely composed of old Collegians and Church representatives. Considerable instability was experienced after the sudden death of its second Principal, Norman Morrison (1898–1909). Internal challenges encountered by subsequent Principals William Bayly (1909–14) and Walter Price (1915–19) added to the difficulties of drought and World War I. Students deeply admired the example set them by the College’s next Principal, the Reverend Frank Rolland (1920–45). As the College grew so too did boarding and its association with Victoria’s Western District. At boarding’s peak, during Dr Martyn Arnold Buntine’s period as Principal (1946–60), boarders were spread across four buildings. Until the end of this period, the junior school was part of the main campus. In 1960 the new Preparatory School opened on Aberdeen Street. The next Principal, Peter Thwaites (1960–75), and his successor, Peter Gebhardt (1976–85), gradually put into place more new facilities, well-qualified teachers, higher academic standards, co-education and a more balanced curriculum. Paul Sheahan (1986–95) consolidated much of the best of the work done by his predecessors as the College responded to many challenges with modern technologies, environmental and outdoor education, and a renewed emphasis on responsible citizenship and Christian values. Dr Pauline Turner has continued this work since 1996.

Helen Penrose, history of the Plumbing Industry Commission .

This book was commissioned to record the history of occupational licensing of plumbers in Victoria and the role of the Plumbing Industry Commission, which was formed in 1914 as the Plumbers and Gasfitters Advisory Board. This book reminds us that plumbers are guardians of public health and safety.

Plumbers have been licensed in Victoria for far longer than they have been asked to be registered. Licensing is the official authorisation of appropriately qualified plumbers to carry out their work. Registration is the creation of an official list or register of appropriately q ualified plumbers. The Sewers and Water Supply Branch of the Department of Public Works issued plumbing licences from the mid-1860s. A formal system of registration for plumbers and gasfitters did not commence until 1890. Plumbers and gasfitters were asked to register with the Board of Public Health. Meanwhile, gasfitters were regulated by private gas companies and not required to hold licences by law until 1988.

In 1914 the Plumbers and Gasfitters Advisory Board was formed under the arm of the Board of Public Health. This Board was short-lived, collapsing in 1917 and not re-formed until 1932. The Board has played a vital role in the Victorian plumbing industry since this time. Understanding the history of the Board’s development will illuminate for the reader the background to many contemporary issues facing the Plumbing Industry Commission today.