Clocktower Centre History

The Town Hall in Moonee Ponds is an important landmark in the history of Moonee Valley. It has gone through many phases and for a long time, it has been known as the Essendon Town Hall. Now after many years it is an entertainment centre known as the "Clocktower Centre".
Built as a Mechanics Institute and opened by the Mayor Cr. J. Parry in September 1880, the building was used as a place of learning for the working public. Two years later Flemington and Kensington wards separated.
Officially opened to the public on 4th February 1886 as the Essendon Town Hall, a banquet was organized, Alfred Deakin was present who later became Prime Minister of Australia. Between the years 1910-1911 after 24 years serving as the Essendon Town Hall, the building was considered to be too small and the Council proposed to add a new Town Hall and offices. By November 11th 1913, the foundation stone for the renovated hall was laid and reopened to the public on the 14th July 1914 by Mayor Cr. J. F. Henderson. By 1930 the tower had been built and a place was allocated for the clock to be installed. Between 1972-1976 there were plans to demolish the building and the land to be sold. However, it was decided that it would be better used as a Community Centre and it began to function as such in 1973. On January 16th 1978, an unfortunate fire took place, the fire burnt much of the interior but was fortunately brought under control before causing further damage, it was rebuilt in 1979 and some of the old features were kept, the tower is the only original structure remaining today. After more than 120 years of history and now known as the Clocktower Centre, this remarkable building has gone through many phases.

Popular posts from this blog

Historic Homes of Essendon "Mar Lodge"

"Mar Lodge" was built in 1860 and was originally the residence of James Robertson, a wealthy pastoralist who used it as his hunting lodge and later owned by his son Francis Robertson. In 1888 the McCracken Brothers purchased "Mar Lodge" and it became a gathering place for the parties and dinners for the colony's elite. By 1919 the entire estate was sold to the Todd family however by 1929 the entire property was sold and on the 18th November, 1929 the Mar Lodge Estate was officially created, with 316 allotments available from 90 pounds.
Read more

Malakoff Castle, Maribyrnong

Image
Raleigh's Punt on the Maribyrnong River, Malakoff Castle in background. c. 1870-1900. Image belongs to the Sam Merrifield Library Local History Photo Collection. Malakoff Castle was built in 1846 by Mr Joseph Raleigh and was a well known landmark which stood on the summit of the Maribyrnong hill overlooking the Saltwater River now called the Maribyrnong River. The building initially was used as a shepherd's lookout by the owner of a station property which surrounded Maribyrnong. In shape it resembled a castle-like appearance with a tower and a weather-vane, the tower was built in the late 1840's or early 1850's and was built of bluestone from the quarries nearby. The building was demolished in the 1920s.
Read more

Chinese-Australian family history

Image
This week the National Library of Australia hosted an excellent online seminar on researching Chinese-Australian family history Their presentation was a gold-mine of information, with many tips that are applicable more widely to researching ancestors from other non-English speaking backgrounds. Here are a few of my top take-aways from the session: - Keep a file of name variations for each of your ancestors in cases where name variations are likely - When struggling with researching ancestors from a particular time and place with which you are unfamiliar, check the Family Search website for tips. They have dedicated pages providing specific research tips for various times and places around the world. - For Asian-Australian Ancestors who travelled back and forth from Australia the Records of Exemption from the Dictation Test Certificates database created by CAFHOV is very useful: https://www.cafhov.com/vic-cedt-index/ Above: screenshot of part of the
Read more