Ashburton Stories
ASHBURTON’S history is like no other suburb in Boroondara. Yet it barely rates a footnote in the area’s history books. In my new book, Ashburton Stories: A History of the Melbourne Suburb I sought to […]
History
100 Years of Broadcast Radio
AUSTRALIANS watched many countries start radio broadcasts, though we were not idle, with many amateur experimenters and large companies like AWA running test broadcasts. Early development Australia’s world-renowned opera singer Dame Nellie Melba gave her […]
Ancient origins of the Easter Bunny
THE Easter bunny is known as the Easter hare in European traditions. Hares were given ritual burials alongside humans during the Neolithic age in Europe which archaeologists interpret as a religious ritual, with hares representing […]
Our favourite lollies
THE demise of the corner store rang the death knell for many old lolly favourites. Those dusty, musty mixed businesses or milk bars with their lolly counters crammed with hundreds of different kinds of loose […]
International Women’s Day
International Women’s Day (IWD), celebrated annually on 8 March, aims to forge a gender equal world. March is also ‘Women’s History Month’. Women have come a long way since the below article of 6 August […]
Wattle Park: Lungs for the city
sold 137 acres (554 000m²) of bushland to Hawthorn Tramways Trust under the condition that it was to be used as a public park.
The Silver Screen comes to Box Hill
Imagine living in a new, rapidly developing city: coffee houses abound; tram and train lines are expanding in every direction, many newspapers inform citizens. Entertainment Halls dotting the suburbs provide a venue for public and sporting club meetings, Masonic meetings, sale of goods and various entertainments.
Racing at Sherwood Park
MELBURNIANS will be well aware of our famous Caulfield, Flemington and Moonee Valley racecourses. However, back in the late 1800s numerous racecourses sprang up all over Melbourne. In The Australasian of 17 May 1884 ‘Skiddaw’ […]