Charlie Vaude, a Northcote resident for many years, was a very successful live theatre and later popular radio personality and comedian before his death at his Clarke-street home on 29 October, 1942. An archetypical “Cockney”, he was born in London circa 1882, his real name Charles Joseph Ridgway (sometimes shown as Ridgeway). In his youth, he […]
1918 : Northcote Under attack!
During the First World War, there were many references in the local Leader newspapers to the 54th Merri Infantry Battalion and the Volunteer Forces unit base at the Drill Hall in Simpson Street in what was invariably referred to as Westgarth. There was no secret that the Battalion encompassed companies of volunteers from Northcote, Preston and Heidelberg, the latter then […]
1888 : The Battle for Preston Station
Although the locals along with their neighbours in Northcote had fought for many years for a railway service, there was certainly no consensus of opinion as to where Preston actually was! Then classified as a Shire (the lowest level of local governmant authority), Preston was effectively split in two: residents of the area around Regent […]
Paper Manufacture at Fairfield
This essay was written in 1937. In the Fairfield Mill of the Australian Paper Manufacturers Limited, the city of Heidelberg possesses the largest unit in Australia for the manufacture of paper and paper boards. Paper is a commodity which lies at the very roots of modern civilisation. There are so many uses for paper in […]
Dr. Wilfred Kent Hughes of Eltham
Dr. Wilfred Kent Hughes and his second wife Constance came to Eltham around the end of 1925, ostensibly for a six-month break, but stayed for over ten years. He enlisted at 50 years of age while in Bruce-street, Toorak, shown as a medical practitioner and with a brother, Rev Canon Ernest Selwyn Hughes, St Peter’s […]
The Rutter Family of Eltham
The name of “H. Rutter” (Hubert) appears as one of 74 on the St. Margaret’s Church of England non-denominational World War One Roll of Honour in Eltham. Hubert Rutter returned safely from the conflict, but research into two names – “D. Rutter” and “D. H. Rutter” – honoured at the Eltham Memorial Hall as casualties […]
Dr. Mary Ethel Thornton : Radiologist of Warrandyte
After earlier connections to Preston shortly after what appears to have been an unsuccessful first marriage, Dr. Mary Ethel Josephine Thornton, nee Cantwell established a further connection to the north and north-eastern suburbs when in 1937 she married Dr. Wilfred Kent Hughes, a prominent Eltham resident for over a decade before moving to Warrandyte circa […]
ReCollection – Moreland’s geography and early European settlements
Edited transcript of the interview with Malcolm McIlvena, former President of the Coburg Historical Society (2006-2017). Well probably the first thing that people don’t realise is that there were to the north, of us and Pretty Sally is one of them, there were seven volcanoes. We’re going back several hundred thousand years here and those […]
ReCollection – Transforming the Merri Creek
When Ann and Bruce McGregor moved to Brunswick in 1967, the Merri Creek was in bad condition. They worked with many community groups through their roles in the Merri Creek Coordinating Committe and the Friends of Merri Creek to bring the creek back to life. They were also integral in setting up the Merri […]
ReCollection – Kicking around Coburg in the sixties
Edited transcript of the interview with Dr. Sue Lopez Atkinson. My father was born in Cooraminta Street in Brunswick in 1914 and he grew up in Brunswick. He met my mother in Brunswick, got married in Brunswick, and then after he got married they moved to Coburg. In the house that he grew up […]