Moonee Valley Family & Local History Blog

If you have anything more than a passing interest in Melbourne history you’ve probably heard of a man named William Buckley : an escaped convict who lived for years with the Wurundjeri people in what would become the Port Phillip District before reintegrating into white society once Melbourne was established. That William Buckley is a fascinating fellow – but this post is all about a different William Buckley, a man known as “Captain William Buckley” who moved to the Moonee Moonee Ponds District back in 1840. If you look into the origins of the names of Buckley Street and Buckley Park you’ll find they both took their names from Captain William Henry Buckley, a prosperous and prominent early resident of the area who earned enough to fund building a mansion in Ascot Vale by working as a government administrator. So far so dull.  But wait… if he was an administrator – Chief Clerk of the Survey Department at the peak of his career – why is he called Captain? And also, can Chief Clerks...

If you’ve ever visited Victory Park in Ascot Vale, you've probably noticed a bronze statue of a smartly dressed lady on the corner of Epsom and Langs roads, keeping watch over the intersection. She’s mostly known as Rosemary, or Rosie to her friends. Of the Australian soldiers who returned from the First World War, tens of thousands had suffered physical or psychological injuries which required much care and support. Once they were back home, this role mostly rested with the supportive the women in their lives- mothers, wives and sisters. The Rosemary monument is a life-sized representation of such a lady, dressed in the fashion of 1918. She was erected in honour of these caring women in August of 2015, commissioned by the wonderful organisation Women Caring for Veterans of War after 18 months of fundraising. Rosemary- photograph by Moonee Valley City Council Devastatingly, just 6 months later, the statue was stolen by thieves- leaving behind only Rosemary’s bronze shoes. Where did...

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 .

Back in November 1976 Ascot Vale Library held their Grand Opening...     Montage from an Essendon Gazette artic le, from 1976, about the opening.    Now Ascot Vale Library is turning 40...    Library 40th Celebration invite   The building has recently been refurbished, inside and out, and is all ready for a big celebration this Saturday 26th November, 10am - 1pm.        

Once upon a time, in Ascot Vale, there was a cinema called "The Waratah". It was at the corner of Mt Alexander and Ormond Roads, and it first opened on June 25th 1925. Image of the Waratah in 1944, from the State Library of Victoria . The Waratah struggled. According to Grant Aldous' the Stop-over that Stayed , the Waratah suffered from competition with the nearby Moonee Ponds and New Ascot theatres, and soon the theatre was bought out by Hoyts. Even worse than their financial troubles though, the Waratah also suffered from banditry. In November 1921 , in Flemington, William Longley, a 21 year old employee, was hit over the head and robbed of the days takings (200 pounds) from the Waratah. Then in August 1937 , shots were fired when the managers of the Waratah and the Ascot Vale Bank were attacked. Cinema goers "ducked and ran for shelter" and the bandits made a get-away with the days takings from the Waratah (down to 21 pounds this time) in a stolen ca...