William Rank

Rank, William, (1834-1920) Heidelberg, is a Yorkshireman. In 1854 he left England for America, where he landed at Portland, and going thence to Montreal, worked for the Grand Trunk Railway Company and assisted to construct the first locomotive engine for British North America. He also worked at Hamilton, Ontario, for the Great Western Railway Company […]

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Kalparrin

In 1974, three mothers of children with disabilities decided that they and their children would benefit from regular meetings with each other, gaining comfort and support and sharing their experiences. Within a short time several other parents had joined this group. After first meeting in each other’s private homes the decision was made to search […]

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Alice Broadhurst Collection

A collection of unique photographs is now in the local history collection at Yarra Plenty Regional Library. The Alice Elizabeth Broadhurst collection includes over 1,300 photos from 12 photo albums broadly spanning 1895-1926 but mainly covering the period 1918-1926; depicting the 16th Australian General Hospital, Mont Park (Macleod West, now part of LaTrobe University and […]

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Ivanhoe Library 1965-2020

At a time when local governments were debating over spending rate payers money on installing sewerage systems or building public libraries, the City of Heidelberg opened Ivanhoe Library on 8 October 1965.  Located in a prime position at the top of the hill next door to the Town Hall, it featured two main floors with […]

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West Heidelberg RSL

West Heidelberg RSL sub branch now known as RSL on Bell is located at 180 Bell Street, Heidelberg Heights, opposite the Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital. Members were eager to raise funds for their building with local newspaper reports going back as far as 1947. A regular fund-raiser included the annual horse gymkhana at Warringal Park, Heidelberg. […]

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Ivanhoe Library

Heidelberg Library Logo

The logo a feature of the exterior of Ivanhoe Library since the 1960s was designed for Yarra Plenty Regional Library’s predecessor – Heidelberg Regional Library: “H for Heidelberg with the apple of knowledge” soon after it was established in 1965. It features a fan of three leaves with a stem centred in a circle. Either […]

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Richard Bassett

Richard Bassett Upper Yarra Pioneer From Hazel Glen, Richard was born in Cornwall, England, in 1838 and coming to Australia in 1859 first went to Brunswick, where he worked at the quarries for a year, then to Darebin Creek as a farmer, and thence to Greensborough.  He then selected land at Hazel Glen, where he […]

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