Occasional race meetings at Thomastown to the north of Melbourne were noted along with others at Preston, Heidelberg, Ivanhoe in the late 1850’s, the first at Thomastown itself noted in 1858. (Both Mill Park and Lower Plenty had annual races as early as the late 1840s) In January, 1889, a long letter to the weekly […]
Tag: Thomastown
World War 1 Casualty : Cyril James Jewell (South Morang)
Cyril Jewell was born in New Zealand, but his father James was the publican at the Morang Hotel when he enlisted, although by the time his son was killed, he had taken possession of alternate licensed premises in Dandenong-road, Windsor. Jewell embarked with 14 Infantry and served with the Battalion at Gallipoli, but after the […]
Early days of Thomastown and Lalor
A Sunday School picnic from Thornbury as a child, used to be to either the Presbyterian church at Epping or Whittlesea. Epping road was only bitumen barely wide enough for two cars, with gravel on the sides, and most of the side roads were unmade until 1964. The original (Thomastown) Doctors surgery was a tin […]
Country Life in Mahoneys Lane
When I was in the fifth grade, in the early fifties my life seemed to be changed forever. .. By Mary Renshaw (nee Eastman) The family left the busy suburb of Moonee Ponds to go to Keon Park where there were dirt roads, no electricity, no telephone, wood stove and copper and miles treed paddocks. […]
Johanna Caroline Wuchatsch
The following article appeared in “Friends of Westgarthtown, inc. News” April 2008 and is reproduced here with permission. In January 2008, the Victorian Government called on descendants of Victoria’s first suffragists to come forward and be part of celebrations to mark 100 years since women won the right to vote in November 1908. Victoria’s decision […]
Moon Cake Festival, 2008
Held in conjunction with the Whittlesea Hertiage Program, the Moon Cake Festival is celebrated by Chinese around the world. A major event, the festival is marked with dances, moon gazing and eating moon cakes. It is a special occasion for family reunions. The 2008 local event was held on Saturday 13 September, 2008 at the Thomastown […]
Belmont Hotel (c1859-1990s)
The Belmont Hotel first opened in the rural community of Thomastown around 1859. At first it catered mainly for locals and passing trade but between 1865 and 1867 it became the headquarters for the Epping District Roads Board. The Epping District Roads Board was one of the earliest forms of local government in Victoria and […]