Moonee Valley Family & Local History Blog

We hope all followers of this blog will join us online this Thursday for a special history event that we've got planned to mark History Month 2020. We've called it "Catching History" and it is a chance for anyone with an interest in the local history of the Moonee Valley to come together with other history enthusiasts online. We've invited local history groups to participate, and they will be telling us about what they do. Join us on Zoom to learn about the many local history groups in our area and meet with other like-minded history enthusiasts. Find out what the various groups are working on, what they collect, how they meet and how you might get involved.  Free, bookings necessary . This online event is through Zoom. A link to the program will be emailed to participants 1 hour before the event commences. Online Event Thursday, 29 October, 7pm–8pm Book Online or call 9243 1900 Hope to see you online on Thursday at 7pm!

A year has passed since a fire caused by a faulty light transformer caused significant damage to the Courthouse Museum in Moonee Ponds.  27 June 2016. Photo by Suzanne Balding, Moonee Valley Libraries. A year after the fire, 26th June 2017. Photo by Julia Marshall, MVL. The great news for local heritage enthusiasts is that $1.5 million dollars has been secured to restore the 1890s building.  27 June 2016. Photo by Suzanne Balding, MVL.  The Society has shown great resilience, continuing to operate out of the basement of our Niddrie Library branch. It will be wonderful to see the Courthouse renovated, operational and open to the community as Essendon History Society HQ once again.      The courthouse in the 1970s or 80s.   T ax deductible donations to the Historical Society are welcomed, as are new memberships . All the photos in this post are in our collection and can be found online via the library ...

To help raise funds for the restoration of the Moonee Ponds Courthouse the Essendon Rotary Club and Essendon Historical Society are holding a steam train ride day on Sunday 20 November 2016.  Departing from Essendon Station there are 5 trips going to:  Box Hill return  Wyndham Vale return  Broadmeadows return   Newport via Broadmeadows one way  Prices vary between $25 - $50 for an adult ticket with children and family booking available. For bookings visit:  www.trybooking.com H Class Steam Locomotive hauling Albury Express passenger train at Essendon in 1949. Sourced from PROV (www.prov.vic.gov.au) with written permission. 

As many of you might know, on Monday there was a fire at the Moonee Ponds Courthouse, home to the Essendon Historical Society and it's museum. While it was lucky there was no one there substantial damage was done to the building itself, with the roof and the main chamber suffering severe damage. However thanks to the efforts of MFB firefighters most of the records, photographs, rate books and more have thankfully been saved from damage. At this stage we are still waiting for information as to the total cost of the damage as well as what has been lost, however we will keep people updated when we find out. For those who are interested in helping our the Essendon Historical Society, please contact them via email at:  esshissoc@mail.com  or mail them at: PO Box 557, Essendon, 3040  Photographs taken by Suzanne Balding.

On Tuesday 4 August the Moonee Valley Library Family History Group celebrated their first anniversary with a tour of the Essendon Historical Society Museum. This rare visit allowed the group to view items in the Society's collection and to ask questions of one of their members. Members of the Moonee Valley Libraries Family History Group with Peter from the Essendon Historical Society. Photo courtesy of P. Haren, Family History Group.   If you are interested in joining in on the fun and learning more about your own past, come along to a Family History Group meeting which meets every Tuesday.   A huge thank you to the Essendon Historical Society for their support and help during the day.   Family History Group:   Where: Sam Merrifield Library, 762 Mt Alexander Rd, Moonee Ponds VIC 3039   When: Every Tuesday between 1:00pm and 3:00pm.   

Join the Family History Group in celebrating their first anniversary and Family History Month. Beginning with a tour of the Essendon Historical Society Museum, this is a great opportunity to meet others who share a passion for discovering their past while enjoying a celebratory afternoon tea. A gold coin donation is appreciated at the museum.   Book online at mooneevalleylibraries.eventbrite.com.au

August is Family History Month, so come along to one of the many events and classes that will be running during the month. Classes on discovering your family history, how to use databases to solve some problems as well as how to find your Italian ancestors will be running. We'll also be having talks about genealogy, how best to write a non-boring family history and conserving your collection. Plus there will be a tour of the Essendon Historical Society Museum and an afternoon tea to kick off the month in style. Find out more today: Moonee Valley Libraries Events

The Essendon Historical Society will be leading historical walks through two different areas of Moonee Valley this January. Each walk costs $10 and includes tea or coffee. The walks take about an hour and a half and return close to their respective points of departure. On 11 January go on A Stroll Through North Essendon . Meet at 2pm at Max's Coffee and Wine Bar on the corner of Mt Alexander Rd and Leake St in North Essendon. And on 18 January, enjoy a walk that takes in Travancore Treasures . Meet at 1.30pm at The School Gates on the corner of Flemington St and Mt Alexander Rd, Flemington. Booking is recommended. Contact EHS on 9370 4607 or esshissoc@mail.com

On Tuesday 18th Novemember Bob Chalmers, President of the Essendon Historical Society, will drop in to give a talk to the Family History Group. This group is open to anyone who would like to come along. Just drop in on a Tuesday at 1pm at Sam Merrifield Library. The group meets from 1-3pm.

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).

On Saturday 12 July, at 1.45pm, the Essendon Historical Society will be hosting their 14th Annual Fireside Reading, this year on the topic of "family, friends and foes". Tickets are $10, and afternoon tea is provided (always delicious!) Book on 9370 4607 (they are run by volunteers, so please leave a message if they cannot answer). Experienced costumed readers will present classic pieces by the fireside at the Courthouse Museum in Moonee Ponds (corner of Kellaway Avenue and Mount Alexander Road). Julia

The National Trust's Heritage Festival is running nationwide through-out April and May, with talks, walks, tours, train trips, exhibitions and all sorts of other events. For example, the Essendon Historical Society are running a couple of heritage walks in Moonee Ponds. I've done some of their heritage walks in the past, and I highly recommend them as a great way to discover all kinds of historical secrets about the area that you would never guess. Check out the Heritage Festival program online . Julia

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...

This January the Essendon Historical Society will be conducting two free guided heritage walks in Moonee Ponds. Queens Park & the Civic Triangle, Saturday 11th January 2014, 2pm Vineyards & Back Lanes of Moonee Ponds , Saturday 18th January 2014, 2pm Both will begin and end at the Moonee Ponds Courthouse Museum (corner of Kellaway Avenue and Mount Alexander Road). Afternoon tea is provided. No bookings are needed. Gold coin donations are appreciated. I went on two of the Historical Society's heritage walks last summer and would highly recommend them to anyone interested in local history and/or architecture. (Plus the afternoon tea provided was delicious!) For more information contact the Essendon Historical Society . Julia

Lenore Frost has been made a Life Member of the Essendon Historical Society in recognition of her valuable contribution and dedication to the organization.  Lenore joined the Essendon Historical Society in 1991 and has been a highly respected and very active member. She is the author of several publications including Murder and Misfortune on the Mt. Alexander Road, Searching for Mary Anne: researching women ancestors in Australia and more recently   Bandsman Vosti’s Diaries: war and peace in Essendon.  Lenore was President of the Society from 2005-2008, having been on the Committee since 1996. She edited the Essendon Historical Society Newsletter for 12 years and she was a member and later Chair of the Museum Committee and then Museum Curator. Congratulations Lenore.

In January the Essendon Historical Society is conducting free guided heritage walks of the local area. Sunday 13th January  Vineyards and Back Lanes of Moonee Ponds: 2pm from the Moonee Ponds Courthouse Museum (corner of Mount Alexander Road and Kellaway Avenue). Sunday 20th January Ascot Vale’s Union Road Precinct: 2pm, meeting outside the Union Hotel (corner of Union Road and Maribyrnong Road). Further details can be found at Essendon Historical Society webpage.

To celebrate Seniors Week, The Essendon Historical Society is opening on Wed. 10 Oct. from 10am – 4 pm at The Old Courthouse, 768 Mt Alexander Rd, Moonee Ponds. Free Admission, tours on the hour. There will also be a secondhand book sale. Phone 9370 4607

Essendon Historical Society Annual Dinner Meeting is coming up soon. Tuesday 28 August 6-30pm. The Guest Speaker will be author Kevin Morgan speaking about his recently released book “Detective Piggott’s Casebook” -The Eastern Market Murder -True tales of Murder, Madness and the Rise of Forensic Science. The dinner will be held at a local venue (3 course meal $40, drinks at bar prices). Bookings must be made and paid for by 19 August. Phone 9370 4607.