Moonee Valley Family & Local History Blog

From now until 30th April, the Writing the War exhibition is on at Avondale Heights Library and Learning Centre. This exhibition, which helps commemorate 100 years since World War I, tells the stories of seven Australians through personal accounts. We've also put together displays of original artefacts from the First World War which local people and organisations have very generously put forward for this exhibition. There are fascinating (though often tragic) stories to learn about how local people contributed and were affected. Thank you to Lenore Frost, David McCall, Essendon Historical Society, Essendon Rifles, Essendon RSL, East Keilor RSL, Stephen Hutton, Judy Maddigan and Moonee Valley City Council for lending artefacts for this exhibition.  

Do you remember milk being delivered by horse and cart? If you've lived in Essendon awhile, it's not unlikely that you do. Remarkably, the Tighe family who ran the Lincoln Park Dairy, were still making milk deliveries in Essendon with a Clydesdale driven cart until 1987, decades after horse-drawn deliveries had ended in most suburbs! The National Museum are now preparing an exhibition about horses in Australia that will feature the Tighe's yellow cart. And Essendon Historical Society members provided information and memories about the Tighe family milk delivery service that Museum staff found so fascinating they decided to make a documentary featuring them which will be part of the show. Painting of Princess and Pat Tighe delivering milk in Essendon, by Susan Dowling, ( from the Magic1278 blog ). You can read more about this story, and see a wonderful image of the Tighe's horse and cart, in the Moonee Valley Leader of 27th January 2014 (page 11). Congratulat...

History week is from the 23rd to 30th October, to celebrate Victoria's past there will be lots of activities.  Discover Melbourne's fashionable Collins Street, St.Kilda's picture palaces, the unique Bear's Castle, hear about the people and storeis that make up the Royal Melbourne Hospital's 163 year history.  This week long event is coordinated by the Royal Historical Society of Victoria with plenty of support the the State's museums and cultural institutions.  Check out the events calendar for more details.

The Aboriginal Moomba: 'Out of the Dark' is a significant exhibition which re-visits the 1951 landmark Moomba performance that took traditional and contemporary culture out of the shadows and onto the national and international stage. It features high quality reproductions of photographs held in Public Records Office Victoria's collection and images reproduced from the personal scrapbook of political activist and film-maker Bill Onus. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are advised that this exhibition contains images of deceased Indigenous people. This exhibition is at the Sam Merrifield Library,Saturday 2nd July to Tuesday 26th July. Free. Open during library hours.

The Italian Historical Society - CoAsIt is happy to announce that a permanent exhibition about Italians in Australia will be opening at the CoAsIt building in Carlton during the second half of next year 2010. Part of the project is to tell stories through the display of three-dimensional objects; the society is requesting assistance from the the community to suggest items that might be of interest in telling the story of Italian culture with a focus on Carlton as Melbourne's traditional Italian quarter. At the moment the society is not collecting objects. For information (English or Italian), call Paolo Baracchi (Italian Historical Society, CoAsIt) on (03) 9349 9021, or email ihs@coasit.com.au

More things Italian. This exhibition is to be held at the CO.AS.IT. Centre, 54 University Street, Carlton, 3053. Opening June 1st until June 9th, 2008. "HANDS AND HEART, STITCHES OF LOVE". The exhibition is a celebration of women's work of handmade trousseau or dowry Italian textiles from various regions of Italy. Personal stories and memories are an integral part of the fabric of this show. The Italian heritage of these women will unfold to the viewer through the textiles themselves, other relevant objects, text, photographs, a multimedia presentation and brochures. Celia Beeton has curated the exhibition. The exhibition is part of the Melbourne Italian Festival 22nd May-8th June, 2008.