Moonee Valley Family & Local History Blog

In June the Genealogical Society of Victoria will be offering the following lunch time talks. June 6th Discovering Richmond's history David Langton June 13th Researching in England Joan Hunt June 20th Red Cross records pertaining to WWI soldiers Lorraine Phelan June 27th Do you have a Tailoress in your family? Lenore Frost GSV members free, non-members $8.00 Time 12.30 - 1.30pm Level B1, 257 Collins St,  Melbourne PH 9662 4455 gsv@gsv.org.au http://www.gsv.org.au/

 In May, Niddrie, Avondale Heights and Sam Merrifield Libraries will hold displays of building plans and blueprints from the Coutts Family Collection held in the archive at Sam Merrifield Library. The Coutts family were prominent builders in the  Moonee Valley area in the first half of the twentieth century. Many of the homes that they built still stand today and include examples of unique and unusual design. The history of the Coutts family of builders starts with John and Esther Coutts and their son William Earnest (W.E) Coutts who was born in 1887.  The family moved to Morphett St, Ascot Vale in 1891.  John Coutts established himself as a builder in the local area.  Advertisements from The Essendon Gazette in 1914 show that houses were built on deposit and rent purchase terms. John Coutts died in 1926 and Esther remained in Ascot Vale till her death in 1946. William Coutts followed in his father’s footsteps, building over 30 h...

Anyone traveling along Hoffmans Road in Essendon cannot have failed to notice the unique triangular shaped building that sits proudly on stilts in the Emerald Street Park. The Emerald Street Community Centre was  erected in 1963 as an infant welfare centre, and was designed by Garnet Price, the Shire Engineer and Building Surveyor to the Shire (later City) of Keilor. The visually striking steel substructure was designed to provide adequate and stable foundations on land that had originally been a creek bed. The building was used for its original purpose as an infant welfare centre until the mid 1980's when the birth rate in the area dropped. The building was subsequently converted into a community centre for meetings, education and other community functions. It is a striking example of modern architecture,  visible and interesting from all angles. If you would like further information on this historically significant site, Victorian Heritage D...