Moonee Valley Family & Local History Blog

Imagine it is mid 1915. Around these parts just a few months ago the community was jublilantly sending young men to war. Now the devastating news from Gallipoli has hit home and the community is reeling. The area around Essendon has been hit particularly hard - dozens of local men were killed at Gallipoli within days. But more recruits are still needed. The men known as the "Fair Dinkums" weren't naive when they enlisted. These fruit pickers and farmers, bootmakers and blacksmiths, miners and mailmen of the 7th Battalion were a brave and ingenious bunch; just think of William Scurry, who went to school in Ascot Vale, and whose ingenuity led to the self-firing rifle mechanism that helped enable the safe evacuation of the ANZAC troops from Gallipoli. Glenn McFarlane, experienced journalist and author of The Fair Dinkums, will share their heartbreaking, gutsy and remarkable stories with us at Sam Merrifield Library on Wednesday evening. Book online now .

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.  

Soldiers resting in Trench, 1915 Sourced: Australian War Memorial ( www.awm.gov.au ) I had two grandfathers who served on the Western Front. To try and picture what they experienced, I imagine some trenches where they lived on and off for weeks, months and years. They are surrounded by rats, lice, rotting corpses and partly covered sewage. They and the people around them may not have bathed for weeks. They have poor shelter and endure freezing winters and summers filled with carrion flies. They have seen their friends die. Several times an hour a shell containing high explosive, shrapnel or sometimes poison gas, which could kill or maim them or gradually send them mad, is fired randomly in their general direction. Sometimes they have to kill other people. Then one day in 1918, on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, it all stopped and they could go home. Partly because of what they did, I have never had to experience such things. That is one of the reasons why I re...

Villers–Bretonneux Military Cemetery Sourced: Department of Veterans' Affairs ( www.dva.gov.au )  It used to mean just downing tools at work at 11:00 for a minute or so. It became memorable when we visited the Villers Bretonneux war cemetery to see the three graves and a wall memorial (no body found) of wife's forebears.  The beauty of the place belied its awful legacy, reinforced by the pock marks of the violence of the second world war. We were both proud of the care bestowed on the fallen and saddened by the spectacle. And this is only one of the many war graves scattered across the fields of Europe and elsewhere. I reflect on the many who returned damaged in body and mind, broken souls for whom the armistice would never bring peace.     

Lone Pine Cemetery 2000 Image Sourced from Department of Veterans' Affairs ( http://www.dva.gov.au/ ) Coming from an Italian background, I don’t have a direct connection with Remembrance Day having no family members involved in Australian theatres of war. My earliest memory of it, however, comes from my primary school experience. I remember being quiet and trying to think of fallen soldiers while the Last Post played through the classroom speaker. In later primary school years, we went to the War Memorial on St Kilda road and being told about the ray of sunlight that shines directly onto a particular spot at 11am on 11 November. I was so impressed by that. Much later, as an adult, my husband and I visited Gallipoli in 1987, before the days it became a pilgrimage, of sorts, for young Australian. We were driven around by a young Turkish man who still spoke about the respect the locals have for the fallen Australian soldiers. It was heartbreaking to see the artefacts in the ...

When I was at Primary School in the late 60’s, Remembrance Day was always marked with a minutes silence. I had no real sense of the importance of that silent minute until more recently when I unearthed stories of my own families involvement in WW1 and WW2. For me and my family, Remembrance Day is a chance to remember uncles lost in faraway places and a grandfather I never met who, as a stretcher bearer, helped probably thousands of men on the battlefields of Gallipoli and the Western Front. I also remember and think about my father who served in the Pacific in WW2. I think about the stories he told me as an older man and I am thankful that my own sons have not had to spend their 20s fighting in far off places.  Buglers sounding the "Last Post" 1943 Sourced from Australian War Memorial website ( www.awm.gov.au ) The minutes silence no longer seems to be marked as it once was, but I try to stop what I am doing at 11am on November 11th and think about my family. I ...

Light shining down into the Shrine of Remembrance Sourced from Shrine of Remembrance website ( www.shrine.org.au ) Remembrance Day has always been important to me. I think that the moment’s silence at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day, the anniversary of the signing of the document that ended World War I, is an appropriate way to honour those who have died in any war. I can remember being awed as a child when I was first told that, once a year, on 11 November at 11 a.m., a ray of sunlight shines through an aperture in the roof of the Shrine of Remembrance to light up the word "Love" in the inscription “Greater love hath no man” on the Stone of Remembrance. I attended Remembrance Day ceremonies with my family and as a student with my school. For most of my life, no matter where I was, there would be an announcement asking for a moment’s silence, usually followed by a reading of the poem “For the Fallen” by Robert Laurence Binyon (1869-1943), published in The Times n...

Captured German trench near Pozieres 1916. Image sourced from Australian War Memorial ( www.awm.gov.au ) For me, Remembrance Day has both personal and historical significance. My paternal Grandfather served in “the Great War”. He was wounded at Pozieres, on the Somme, and his death, some forty years later was partly attributed to his war service. His death had a big impact on my family, emotionally and financially, as my Grandmother was left with 8 children, the youngest only 8. He was the only grandparent I never knew and I’ve always felt a sense of loss regarding him.  Remembrance Day historically signifies the Armistice at 11 o’clock on 11 November 1918, when hostilities ceased and the Great War ended. It was a time to remember all those who had been effected by this war but has become something larger in the years since. I think it’s a day to remember all those effected by war and to hope that peace may prevail instead of conflict.  

To help commemorate Remembrance Day, Moonee Valley Libraries will present an author talk by Joshua Funder at Niddrie on Tuesday 10 November at 6:30pm. The greatest achievement of the otherwise disastrous Gallipoli campaign was the successful evacuation of 20,000 Australian troops. Joshua Funder tells this epic story through the eyes of his great-grandfather, John Watson, who was one of the Engineers responsible for building the pier at Anzac Cove. Joshua discusses this alternative to the official record. This talk is a free event, however are bookings necessary. To book, please click here .

Maybe this could occur, but I suspect not! Travelling to the city each day for work in the 1960's, finding myself out of the office on an errand at 11am on the 11th day of the 11th month when the whole city came to a standstill. Everything came to a halt, the trams in Swanston Street, pedestrians and all the vehicular traffic... The noise of a busy city absent, complete quiet for 2 minutes, is lodged in my memory. A silent tribute. A sign of respect for the fallen. My viewpoint looking down Swanston Street from Lonsdale Street right the way down to Princes Bridge and beyond, a city frozen for those few moments, unforgettable. Will it ever happen again in a city of nearly 4.5 million people?  Image sourced from: State Library of Victoria ( www.slv.vic.gov.au ) Annette is an obsessive family history researcher and regular patron at Sam Merrifield Library.

What Remembrance Day means to me is taking the time to reflect on the horror of the First World War and trying to think about what people must have gone through then. However as I have grown up I have seen the day change from a day where we stood still in the playground , to one where we don’t stop and reflect at all. I can remember working one day a few years ago and asking my boss if we were going to stop and pause for Remembrance Day like I always had done growing up. The response I got was that they didn’t do that as people who were visiting were not going to stop so why should we? I don’t know what caused this change in public opinion about the day, but I think people care more about ANZAC Day than they do Remembrance Day. Image Sourced from: Chris Radburn, Press Association Images, Britannica Image Quest  Steve is the Local History and Information Services Librarian at Sam Merrifield Library. To contribute to Moonee Valley Remembrance Day Memories please email ...

Remembrance Day is a reminder to us all of the cost of war and allows people the time to reflect upon this. However as time has passed Remembrance Day has gone from being the National day of memory for all wars to being sidelined by the more popular ANZAC day. As part of Moonee Valley Libraries Remembrance Day program we want to ask you a question: "What does Remembrance Day mean to you?"   Image created by: Cole Bennetts / Getty Images We want to know what it means to you and what are your memories of this national day of remembrance. How has it changed? Do you pause? Should we do more to ensure it's relevance? Has your opinion on the day changed? We want to hear your stories about Remembrance Day. We are asking for people to become Guest Bloggers of this blog and to tell your story to other people. We are looking for as many posts as possible in the lead up to Remembrance Day so don't delay. There will be no word limit, but we ask that you...

Lenore Frost will be leading a guided heritage walk through Flemington, Kensington and Newmarket this Sunday, 3rd May, 2.30-4.00pm. This walk, presented by the National Trust, will highlight how the area was impacted by the First World War. For details on how to book, and more information, see Lenore's blog post here .

Join us next Tuesday evening as we commemorate the centenary of ANZAC Day at Sam Merrifield Library with a special talk about the local impact of Gallipoli and wider war on what is now the Moonee Valley area. The local contribution and impact of the First World War was enormous, but is now not well known. Local Historian, Lenore Frost, will share some of this amazing, often tragic, history, particularly the stories of early World War One enlistees from Moonee Ponds and Essendon, several of them former cadets in the Essendon Rifles. Many of these men went on to serve as officers on other fronts, if they were first fortunate enough to have survived Gallipoli. To book call Sam Merrifield Library on 8325 1950, or book online .

The University of Melbourne have posted a fascinating article by Michelle Moo about Australian women who wanted to serve as doctors during the Great War. Mary De Garis, (pictured above), for example, tried to enlist with the Australian Army Medical Corps. She was refused, but eventually found a role working with the Scottish Women's Hospitals who provided mobile medical units.

There are still spots for the talk on at Sam Merrifield Library tonight in honour of Remembrance Day: At home with the war: The Great War in Victorian private life. This presentation examines how World War One was experienced in Victoria. It draws on personal letters and diaries to tell a story of the war as an individual, familial, and communal trial. Through an examination of anxieties over loved ones at the front, it offers new ways of understanding the costs of the war and the capacities of Victorians to meet and endure its demands. Dr Bart Ziino teaches history at Deakin University. His previous book was A distant grief: Australians, war graves and the Great War . This talk is free. To book call the library on 8325 1950.

A book recording the names of soldiers who died during the Gallipoli campaign of the First World War has just been donated to the Essendon Historical Society. This book was donated by the 58th/32nd Battalion. The Book of Remembrance is being exhibited at the Essendon Historical Society's museum, the Moonee Ponds Courthouse museum (cnr of Mt Alexander Rd and Kellaway Ave, Moonee Ponds). Open Sundays 2-5pm. For more on this story see the Herald Sun article , and also the clarifying note by local historian Lenore Frost(see comments below).

If you're interested in how the First World War affected Australia don't miss the ABC's new documentary, The War that Changed Us , tonight. It will be looking at the war experiences of 6 Australians (3 men and 3 women) who had very different experiences of the war. One of the people they will be focusing on is Lieutenant Colonel Harold Elliott, better known as "Pompey" Elliott, who reached the rank of Brigadier General. This should be fascinating because Elliott had an outstanding but often controversial life and career. Although he was originally from Ballarat, and never lived in Essendon, as commander of the "Essendon Rifles" before the war, and leader of the Battalion that included the Company recruiting from the Essendon area at the start of the war he had very strong ties to this area. Which is why we've also chosen to feature Elliott in our event Essendon 1914: local impact of WWI this Saturday, which will look at how World War I affected th...

For the last few weeks both Jennie and I have been doing lots of reading and researching about the war and how it impacted on the local community. The stories we've uncovered have been fascinating. Volunteer soldiers from this area were involved in some remarkable, often tragic and harrowing, exploits - and we both feel that these are stories of great local relevance that deserve to be better known by the community. This is why we're holding a special event at Sam Merrifield Library, Essendon 1914: local impact of WWI . This event is happening on Saturday 23rd August from 2pm until 4pm, and will involve special guests Ross McMullin (author of Pompey Elliott and Farewell Dear People ) and local historian and life member of the Essendon Historical Society, Lenore Frost (author of Bandsman Vosti and many other titles). Ross and Lenore will join library staff in a discussion about how local people contributed to the Great War, and how this conflict affected the local area. Each...

Today it is one hundred years since the First World War began. At Moonee Valley Libraries we've become involved in the 5000 poppies project , which is a way that Victorians can commemorate the contributions that Australians have made to not only WWI but also other conflicts by crafting poppies. You can dedicate a poppy to a particular individual if you want. The picture below shows just some of the poppies that have been made so far that are on display at Sam Merrifield Library. If you want to learn more about the 5000 poppies event come along to one of the special events, at either Sam Merrifield Library (Moonee Ponds) or Niddrie Library, at which one of the founders of the project, Lynn Berry, will talk about the project and demonstrate how to make a poppy. The workshop at Sam Merrifield is this Wednesday, 6 August, from 2pm, and the Niddrie workshop at 11am on Wednesday 13 August. The events are free but it is best to book call 8325 1950 for Sam Merrifield or 8325 1925 for Nidd...