Plenty Road is one of Victoria’s oldest, starting—as far as Bundoora, and northward is concerned—in 1838, when Robert Hoddle, as part of the process of laying out the Parishes of Keelbundora, Morang, Yan Yean and Toorourrong, allowed an easement for a Government Road. In the early days the Southern end of Upper Plenty Road (or […]
Category: Whittlesea
The History of the Formation of the Shire of Whittlesea, S.T. Grey
S.T. Grey worked for the Leader Publishing Company of Northcote, publishers of “The Whittlesea Post”. Grey moved from Preston to Gladstone Road, Briar Hill 1935. He was also secretary of the Whittlesea Agricultural Society and a tentative candidate in the 1935 Eltham Shire elections. In 1961, at the direction of the Shire of Whittlesea, Grey […]
Yan Yean Public Cemetery
Yan Yean Public Cemetery: an historical overview By Lindsay Mann Copyright © Yan Yean Public Cemetery Trust, 2009. The Yan Yean Public Cemetery had its genesis in either 1853 or 1854, when the first death occurred among the labourers employed by Joseph Martindale, the contractor who constructed the Yan Yean Reservoir’s Embankment. Martindale was legally […]
Racing and Breeding in the City of Whittlesea
Racing The first race meeting in the City of Whittlesea appears to have been ‘The Plenty Races’, which took place on 26 December 1845 on ‘Mr Payne’s Station’, somewhere near the Bridge Inn at Mernda. The next recorded races were the ‘River Plenty Races’ on 26 December 1848 at ‘Mill Park, near the Plough Inn, […]
Wallace – Champion Thoroughbred Sire
“Wallace”, one of the Australia’s greatest thoroughbred sires of the first twenty years of the twentieth century commenced his stud career at “Bundoora Park” in 1896. By the champion Australian racehorse and sire “Carbine” from “Melodious” (by the imported “Goldsborough”), Wallace was a good but not exceptional two-year old, being placed in several leading juvenile […]
REDLEAP Champion Jumps Horse
In Commemoration of the 103rd anniversary of the Redleap’s death, a famous jumps horse that trained in Mill Park, the City of Whittlesea will be exhibiting a small display of his remains from Museum Victoria’s collection at the Council Offices in late 2011. This will be an opportunity for the community to learn about the […]
Bridge over the Plenty at Morang/Mernda
Today, passing over the Plenty River on Bridge Inn Road Mernda is done without any thought as to just how this crossing was once negotiated. Opening up communication with the interior of the County of Evelyn, and the goldfields of St Andrews The 1850’s and 60’s saw great prosperity in the Region – fuelled by […]
1848 The Mill Park Races
Outside of the central Melbourne area and William’s Town, one of the first areas to attract settlers in the Port Phillip District was the flats of the Plenty River, not too many miles to the north of Preston and a district that was to see Plenty Road later become a main road. The Plenty district […]
Growling Frog Golf Course
The Growling Frog Golf Course at 1910 Donnybrook Rd, Yan Yean was opened in September 2004. It is designed by golfing legend and internationally renowned golf course architect Graham Marsh and is is nestled amongst stately 300 year old River Red Gums on more than 300 acres of Victorian countryside. The Growling Frog name is […]
Tommy Gibson of “Tommy’s Hut”
Tommy Gibson was a paling splinter, cutting palings and shingles for sale at the Melbourne markets. He lived at “Tommy’s Hut” around 1862. His house was used as a sly grog shop and meeting place. Every few days, when he had enough palings to sell, he would load up his trusty wheelbarrow and wheel his […]