The faraway land of the house and two cows | Public figure

The faraway land of the house and two cows

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25.01.2022 This week I'd like to re-share a story I wrote after talking with Beryl (nee Gillett) and Don Breguet about what life on the Farm was like for them, including Beryl playing football in the 1950s. #TheFarm #MMBW #MetroFarm #MetropolitanFarm #WesternTreatmentPlant #Sewerage #Sewage #MetropolitanSewerageFarm https://gr8word.com/index.php/entry/farm-reflections-beryl

25.01.2022 It's been a couple of weeks since my last post. I've been busy finalising my thesis and now have the story of the Farm sitting with a publisher. Hopefully there'll be some news about its publication over the coming months. Given there's still much to write about the Farm, I'll be starting a second book next year. I haven't had the chance to chat to everyone who has come forward willing to share Farm stories so will be in touch next year too. Please message or call me if you'...d like to chat, especially anything related to the Farm cricket team. There's such a gap in the Farm's story about the cricket. In the meantime, enjoy these few photos. #TheFarm #MetroFarm #SewerageFarm #WesternTreatmentPlant #MetropolitanSewerageFarm

25.01.2022 In recent days, the Cockerell family has emerged as working and living on the Farm. Agnes and William Cockerell, William being a blacksmith on the Farm, had a son in 1897. They are listed as living on the Farm at his birth. Their daughter, Sarah, was attending Cocoroc North School in 1901. Yet curiously, other documents don't list them as living the Farm. Below are a few images from the Farm's early years that might stir some memories. Given we've probably got a little more time on our hands in the coming weeks, I'll try and share a few things here more regularly. Let me know if there's something in particular you'd like to see or want me re-share. #TheFarm #MMBW #MetropolitanSewerageFarm #MetroFarm #WesternTreatmentPlant

23.01.2022 Due to the size of the Metropolitan Sewerage Farm, treating Melbourne's sewage from the 1890s and into the 1900s wouldn't have been possible without the workers and their families living on site. The sewerage farm began with around 8000 hectares and grew to almost 11,000 hectares. The community on site grew to over 500 in the 1950s. #MetropolitanSewerageFarm #TheFarm #WesternTreatmentPlant #Melbourne #Heritage

23.01.2022 Today's post shows a few random but important images, such as the Farm hall and post office. It's tough at the moment with our current restrictions and many in metropolitan Melbourne are finding this second lock down tougher than the first. I hope to share a few more photos than usual to try and help lighten our life. If you have any photos of the Farm you'd like me to share here, please send them through messenger or email me at [email protected] You can also post them on the page yourself and I'll re share them for more viewing. #theFarm #MetropolitanSewerageFarm #WesternTreatmentPlant

23.01.2022 These few photos show a rich and active life at the bottom end of the Farm, along the foreshore of Port Phillip Bay. A jetty, and over 40 homes existed at one point, with a few shops also being proposed to be built there. I've had quite a few people ask where they can buy a copy of the book I've written. Unfortunately I don't have any news yet on when it will be published but I'll be sure to share details here as soon I have them. #MetropolitanSewerageFarm #TheFarm #WesterntreatmentPlant #BottomEnd

21.01.2022 This week, I have a few photos from Jan and Noel who once lived on that other Farm in Werribee, the State Research Farm. Extending over 800 hectares, the Research Farm had a community of workers and their families living on site, just like the Metro Farm. The Research Farm was established to support the Closer Settlement program from 1898, to undertake agricultural research. You can read more about it at: https://www.werribeehistory.org.au/historytopicsresearch Interestingl...y, I recently found cricket results from 1952 when the Metro Farm played the Research Farm in the Werribee District competition. If anyone has photos of the Research Farm that you'd like shared here, please message them to me or share in a post. #TheFarm #StateResearchFarm #ResearchFarm #Werribee Western Treatment Plant #wyndham #agriculture #cattle #livestock

20.01.2022 A few stories surfaced this week about the Austin family who came from England to settle on land in Avalon and Geelong. They and other families in the area - Gillett, Grills, Rees to name a few - sold land to the MMBW for sewerage treatment in the early 1900s. These images show where some of this land was in the Murtcaim area on the Farm, and a story written by Mark at the #NationalGlenelgTrust tells a little about the Austin brothers in his article: http://natureglenelg.org.au/what-do-saltmarsh-near-geelong/ #TheFarm #MetropolitanSewerageFarm #WesternTreatmentPlant #Murtcaim #Avalon #Austin

19.01.2022 No matter whether it's sewage treatment (the Farm), agricultural research (State Research Farm) construction (Snowy Mountain Scheme) or mining (Karratha, Port Hedland, Broken Hill), it's the people within these 'company towns' that keep the industry ticking over. So the next few posts will focus on the people of the Farm, the workers and their families - babies being born and children playing and going to one of four schools on the Farm, the social activities that brought the Farm and wider communities together, and the many that went on to work on the Farm. Without these people, there would be no Farm or efficient sewage treatment. #TheFarm #WesternTreatmentPlant #StateResearchFarm #SnowyMountainScheme #MiningTown #Karratha #BrokenHill #CompanyTown #ConstructionTown

19.01.2022 Its hard to imagine that more than 130 years ago, Melbourne in Australia was considered the smelliest city in the world when today, its voted the worlds most liveable city. Here's another Farm Reflections blog on that. #TheFarm #MetroFarm #MetropolitanSewerageFarm #WesternTreatmentPlant #Melbourne https://gr8word.com/index./entry/melbung-smellee-welly-high

18.01.2022 It's Moomba time here in Melbourne and so here are a few old images to celebrate the working side of the Farm, and Farm stockman, Roy Oram, leading the first Labour Day march in 1955. #Moomba #TheFarm #MetroFarm #MetropolitanSewerageFarm #WesternTreatmentPlant

15.01.2022 I've had a few messages these last weeks from people who have seen the Farm pool and water tank in a program called 'Bloom'. I haven't seen it but apparently it airs on Stan. So it seems a good time to pay homage to our old pool, built during World War 2. Farm residents volunteered to build it as resources were scarce but in the end, the MMBW found a way, allowing many to swim its waters over the years, including many coming from outside of the Farm. #TheFarm #MMBW #MetroFarm #MetropolitanSewerageFarm #WesternTreatmentPlant

14.01.2022 On the back of my last post, here are a few photos of women's football, including a team photo, pie night and all dressed up handing over money raised from games to the Children's Hospital. I've also added a few others images I don't think I've shared before. It still amazes, the amount of photos, memorabilia and stories shared. Thank you for being so generous and helping to tell the story of the Farm. #AFLW #TheFarm #WesternTreatmentPlant #MMBW #MetroFarm #MetropolitanSewerageFarm

14.01.2022 This will be my last post for a few weeks as I take some time off now that my thesis is in and being examined. No news yet about publication of the book but as soon as I know something, I'll post here. Here's a last Farm Reflection blog. Every happiness for 2020. https://gr8word.com/index./entry/farm-reflections-gratitude

12.01.2022 See note from Paul below, about the honour board and Paul looking for information on it.

12.01.2022 This map of the Farm shows who lived where, we think before 1950. I'd be interested to hear if anyone has a better idea of its date. #TheFarm #MetroFarm #MetropolitanSewerageFarm #WesternTreatmentPlant

12.01.2022 Today I wanted to share some facts about the size of the Farm. The Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works formed in 1891 and in 1892, had begun work to create the Farm on around 8000 hectares of land. It was known as the Metropolitan Sewerage Farm and grew to be around 10,500 hectares, known today as the Western Treatment Plant. That's about the size of Phillip Island in Victoria or the island of Mykonos in Greece. The Farm stretches from Avalon to Werribee River and is still today, the largest sewage treatment plant in the world in terms of land area it occupies. #TheFarm #MetropolitanSewerageFarm #WesternTreatmentPlant #MelbourneAndMetropolitanBoardOfWorks #MMBW

11.01.2022 Melbourne Water is hosting a couple of guided bus tours of the Western Treatment Plant as part of Design Week. Click on the link to book.

11.01.2022 Those that lived and worked on the Farm would remember the huge number of visitors to the place. From families picnicking, local clubs holding their presentations at the sports oval, people camping and visiting fishing huts on the foreshore, and many international guests visiting to learn about the place, all while the Farm treated Melbourne's sewage. People loved the place, and still do. These few photos show a handful of those gatherings. #TheFarm #MetroFarm #SewerageFarm #MetropolitanFarm #WesternTreatmentPlant #MMBW

11.01.2022 Today's post is a follow on from a couple of weeks ago, about the huge number of visitors to the Farm. The picnics, camping, fishing, social club functions, MMBW football and cricket competitions, international guests and so much more, appreciating all that was and is the Farm. Photos courtesy Melbourne Water archives. #TheFarm #MetroFarm #SewerageFarm #MetropolitanFarm #WesternTreatmentPlant #MMBW

09.01.2022 The foreshore of the Farm saw much activity: tenant farmers set up farms from the 1890s, people camped and swam regularly, and many fishing huts were used as holiday getaways as well as permanent residences. These few images show some of that life. #TheFarm #MetropolitanSewerageFarm #WesternTreatmentPlant #Foreshore #PortPhillipBay #Fishing

08.01.2022 As I've mentioned, I'm on the lookout for anything related to the cricket at the Farm. I've been chatting to some wonderful people over the last few weeks and we can say that the Metro Farm cricket club started in 1897 and finished possibly in the 1950s. This photo of Leo Danaher was uncovered, as well as a few other football memories. Leo played football for Metro Farm and so we're wondering, was Leo playing for the Farm cricket team and was the photo taken at the Farm? Keen to hear anyone's thoughts. #TheFarm #MetroFarm #MetropolitanSewerageFarm #WesternTreatmentPlant #MetropolitanFarm

08.01.2022 With football beginning to be played again, it seems fitting to include a few photos of the Metro Farm football team in this week's post. #MetroFarmFootball #TheFarm #WesternTreatmentPlant #MetropolitanSewerageFarm #AFL #Football

08.01.2022 Keeping the focus on the people, a few mixed photos of life on the Farm. #TheFarm #MetropolitanSewerageFarm #WesternTreatmentPlant

07.01.2022 So much of the physicality of past living on the Farm has gone. Homes, schools, the church, post office, tennis court, croquet lawn ,,, the sense of community. But hopefully the work of the last three years has resurrected some of that life through the memories shared. This Farm Reflection takes a nostalgic look at that life gone, of the living ghost town that archaeologically, is a sleeping beauty awaiting her Prince Charming awakening. #TheFarm #MetropolitanSewerageFarm #TheFarawayLand #WesternTreatmentPlant #Community https://gr8word.com/index.php/entry/lands-faraway

07.01.2022 I've got a mix of photos here today. There have been so many shared that I've lost track a little of what I've posted here, so apologies for any photos I've doubled up on. If you were interested in attending the next Friends of the Metropolitan Sewerage Farm meeting, it's been changed to 10 March. Please check the previous post for details. #TheFarm #MetropolitanSewerageFarm #Cocoroc #MetroFarmCricket #MetroFarmFootball #Sewerage #Sewage #SewerageFarm #MelbourneSewerage

07.01.2022 The many faces of the Farm ... being over 10,000 hectares in size, the Farm was and is so many things, as well as being a sewerage farm. These photos show only a small few of those faces. #TheFarm #MetropolitanSewerageFarm #WesternTreatmentPlant #Murtcaim #TheRanch #Cocoroc

07.01.2022 *PLEASE NOTE THE CHANGE IN THE FRIENDS GROUP MEETING DATE TO 10 MARCH 2020* I'm back into work and writing about the Farm. I'm still looking for information about the Farm cricket team, which is scarce even though it was established in the 1890s, before the Metro Farm football team. If you can tell me anything at all about the Farm cricket, please let me know. In the meantime, Pam from the Friends of the Metropolitan Sewerage Farm committee has posted details below on the next meeting, on 3 March at 6pm.

06.01.2022 I'd like to share this beautiful piece of footage of the Farm swimming pool as a follow up to the weekend's post. In 2015, Catherine Bell used footage from the Melbourne Water archives to create a film installation called 'The Sublime Passage'. The footage was projected onto the inside walls of the old change rooms by the pool, with Catherine adding sound to it. This footage here was part of Catherine's work. It has no sound here. Catherine's was one of six artists that Deakin University invited to explore the Western Treatment Plant and interpret what they saw through their art. The work became part of a public art project called 'Treatment', a program developed with Melbourne Water's support.

06.01.2022 A few Farm artefacts surfaced over recent weeks. So I thought I'd post those today as well as a few other special ones graciously shared over the last three years, including a hand drawn and painted map of the Farm from 1906 and Metro Farm football team tie. #MetroFarm #MetropolitanSewerageFarm #TheFarm #WesternTreatmentPlant #MMBW #BoardofWorks

06.01.2022 These few photos today look at some of the sports played on the Farm. Sadly, no photos of the Farm cricket team have surfaced as yet. #TheFarm #WesternTreatmentPlant #Football #Cricket #Tennis #Croquet #MetroFarm #MetropolitanSewerageFarm

05.01.2022 There are many who would remember the name Wally Roper, whether Farm resident, visitor or trespasser. I'm re-sharing this story about Wally and his wife, Gertrude, and how Wally arrived at the Farm as a migrant after World War 2 to live in the Migrant Camp on the Farm. #MigrantCamp #TheFarm #WesternTreatmentPlant #WorldWar2 #Migrant #Immigration https://gr8word.com//ent/farm-reflections-the-migrant-camp

05.01.2022 A friend shared this great little video from the State Library of Victoria about the Angliss Meatworks in Footscray. I thought it was worth posting because it talks about the unsanitary conditions that led to the birth of the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works (MMBW). Click on the link for the video: https://www.slv.vic.gov.au/whats-on/ask-librarian I've also included a few images from the early days of the Farm. #TheFarm #MMBW #MetropolitanSewerageFarm #MelbourneandMetropolitanBoardofWorks #WesternTreatmentPlant #Footscray #Angliss

03.01.2022 Thought I'd re-share this short story on one of the first families to live at the Farm. #MetropolitanSewerageFarm #SewerageFarm #TheFarm #WesternTreatmentPlant https://gr8word.com/index.php//farm-reflections-the-hickeys

02.01.2022 Apologies for not posting in a while, Corona seems to get in the way for all of us. Continuing the focus on the people behind the sewerage farm, today sees a mixed selection of photos coming from past residents and their families. In the coming week, l hope to also post something on that 'other Farm' in Werribee: the State Research Farm, where a small community also lived. In the meantime, if you're in Australia, enjoy spring around the corner. #thefarm #westerntreatmentplant #metropolitanseweragefarm #stateresearchfarm M&MBW #metrofarm