Moonee Valley Family & Local History Blog

The Feb-March 2012 History News is now available online and in hard copy at the Sam Merrifield Local History Room, Moonee Ponds.

Lisa Lang's historical novel Utopian Man captures the complexities and vibrancy of this larger than life visionary. Edward William Cole was a legendary figure during turn of the century Melbourne.  His Coles Book Arcade was a huge book store where you could browse and read while being entertained by brass bands, a giant squid and monkeys.  Utopian Man was the joint winner of the 2009 Vogel Literary Award and has been shortlisted for numerous other book prizes.  Sam Merrifield Library Monday 19th March, at 7pm FREE but bookings necessary. Call 8325 1950

The Victorian Historical Journal is now available in the Local History Collection at the Sam Merrifield Library.   Contents include the following:- 'My Native Place' Alfred Deakin in Fitzroy . by Carole Woods. The article is an edited vertion of a paper presented to the Fitzroy History Society on 26th August, 2010, in the former Fitzroy Public Library, to commemorate an address given by Alfred Deakin 100 years earlier on his boyhood.  Who Designed Melbourne's Sewerage System ? by Robert La Nauze. In 1889, William Thwaites submitted to the Royal Commission on Sanitation a design for sewering Melbourne.  The Victorian Government engaged James Mansergh, an English expert, and during his brief visit to Melbourne he recommended a scheme with two outfalls in preference to Thwaite's single outfall design.  Isabella Lucy Bird's Visiti to Victoria in 1872.  The Forgotten Tourist . by Ian Clark. Isabella Lucy Bird, the English travel writer visited Victori...

The Local History Room at Sam Merrifield Library has a vertial file collection of local history material.  Some of this is unpublished and in some ways a treasure trove of information about the local areas of Essendon, Moonee Ponds, Ascot Vale and Flemington.  Areas covered include the history of the highrise estate at Flemington, Tullamarine and Essendon Airports, notes on histories of local areas, development of Lynch's Bridge, local churches and lots more.  To access the vertical file please contact the Local History staff at Sam Merrifield Library on 8325 1950.