Moonee Valley Family & Local History Blog

Now that the weather is warming up and we can venture a little further from home, why not take advantage of a sunny day and enjoy a walk along the river? With our self-guided history walk, you can get to know a little more about the history of Aberfeldie while taking a stroll along the lovely Maribyrnong River. This walk begins outside the iconic Incinerator Gallery on Holmes Road in Aberfeldie and follows a gentle westerly path with stops along the Maribyrnong River, concluding at the newly restored Afton Street bridge. View of the Afton Street Bridge from the Afton Street Conservation Park. August 2020, photograph by S. Holmes. Click  here  to download the Aberfeldie Self-Guided Walk PDF, and either print it, or follow it on-screen on your phone or tablet. The PDF also contains links to photographs, newspaper articles, websites and items in the Moonee Valley Libraries catalogue, so you can look further into Aberfeldie’s interesting history in your own time, from home. We hop...

Have you ever strolled along the Maribyrnong River in Moonee Ponds and wondered about the steep, bluestone and grass terraces that line the river by Maribyrnong Park? It’s certainly a nice spot to sit and watch the river, but why were they built and what were they used for? Henley Terraces The terraces have been known by various names, including the Henley on Maribyrnong Terraces, and the Henley Grandstand. But what was this ‘Henley’?  The Henley on Maribyrnong was an annual water carnival run by the Essendon River League from 1912, to raise funds for their work protecting, improving and beautifying the Saltwater (now Maribyrnong) River. The carnival was modelled on the popularity of a similar carnival- the Henley on Yarra- and included activities such as rowing, swimming, novelty events and fairground attractions. The first Henley on Maribyrnong drew a crowd of 20,000 – 30,000 spectators! It was quite an event on the social calander for local residents. And these spectators would ...

“Davey the Basket-Man” was the nickname given to an early market-gardener from Keilor; his real name was David Milburn, but he became known as the basket-man because he sold his fruit, vegies and butter by the roadside to diggers on their way to the goldfields. “Davey” invented an irrigation system, and was in fact the first person to use irrigation in Victoria. He arrived in Victoria, from Yorkshire in England, in 1853, lured by the goldrush. Not having made his fortune on the goldfields he came to Keilor in 1857, initially employed by William Taylor at Overnewton. That same year, 1857, he developed a hand pump to draw water from the Salt Water River (now the Maribyrnong). By 1860 Milburn had 165 acres of market gardens and fruit orchards! The family market gardening business, G.S.Milburn and Sons, continued in Keilor for 146 years, until the December 1999 retirement of two of Davey the Basket-Man’s great-grandsons. Learn more about Davey from the Keilor Historical...

Do you know much about the history of Moonee Valley? Do you know about the monuments and historical markers that are all around us? If you don't then you might want to start playing Pokemon Go! That's right, Pokemon Go! can teach you all about the history and culture of Moonee Valley and other parts of Melbourne and beyond. The game uses historical markers to get people walking and rewards them for visiting the markers. Did you know about the Maud Ripper Memorial, or the history of the Curator's Cottage in Queen's Park? What about the plaques to Destroyers from the Second World War and the historic flood markers along the Maribyrnong River? By playing Pokemon Go people of all ages are discovering their local area and some of the important historical markers and monuments that they hold. So if you have nothing planned this weekend, download Pokemon and discover the history of Moonee Valley. For a first-hand account of a person's discovery of their local area...

London has the Thames, Paris the Seine, New York the Hudson and Melburnians living in the north west have the other river the Maribyrnong River one of Melbourne's major urban waterways. The name is derived from mirring-gnay-bir-nong, said to mean "I can hear a ringtail possum' in the local Woiwurrung language. The Maribyrnong winds through Keilor, Sunshine, Essendon and Footscray, then flows into the Yarra near Port Melbourne. For many years it has been a source of industry, recreation, vegetation and Aboriginal archaeological sites. In 1940, an Aboriginal Skull was found during excavation on dry creek near the Maribyrnong in Keilor; it has been dated to about 15,000 years old. Further investigations have unearthed evidence of campsites as old as 40,000 years. Prior to this discovery the explorers James Fleming, Charles Grimes were on a survey of Bass Strait and Port Phillip in February, 1803 when they launched a small rowing boat from their ship and made their way up the...