Laidlaw, Robert, J.P., Heidelberg, is a native of Scotland, who came to Melbourne in 1839, and went to Boroondara, on the Kooyong Creek, where, in partnership with Mr. Kerr, he purchased a station from Messrs. J. and W. Wood for £15. The partnership lasted for eighteen months. They bought sheep at £1 16s. per head, […]
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 […]
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 […]
James Charlton
James Charlton, Christmas Hills, a native of Ireland, who came to Victoria in 1854, was up to the latter part of 1855 employed on a farm, after which he proceeded to the Ballarat gold diggings where he remained until 1877, being fairly successful. In that year he went to Christmas Hills, and purchasing 160 acres, […]
Floridia Cheese
When Mauro Montalto, his wife Carmela and their three young sons migrated to Australia from Sicily in 1952, they brought with them a largely self-sufficient way of life and those aspects of Italian culture that allowed them to survive and at least feel at home in a very different cultural environment. This included the cheese […]
John Bower
Bower, John Thomastown, was born in 1828, in England, and came to this colony in 1848 by the ship Manchester. He acted as cook and hut-keeper on a station for six months, and later, settled at his present location, where he bought 2 acres of land as pounds 32, 10s. per acre, and where he […]
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 […]
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 […]
Thomas M. Bell
Thomas M. Bell of Yarra Flats, was born in Scotland in 1821, and came to Australia in 1839. He and his father first went to Heidelberg for a time, and afterwards to the Stringybark Forest to cut timber for building purposes. Mr Bell purchased a piece of land at Kangaroo Ground, which was his residence […]
John Batchelor
John Batchelor of Thomastown, was born in Warwickshire, England, in 1851, and came to Victoria in 1857, by the ship Speedy. On leaving school, which he attended at Preston, he spent five years on the Barrabool Hills. He holds his present farm on a seven years’ lease, has four horses and other stock, &c.,, of […]