Warrandyte Historical Society | History Museum

Warrandyte Historical Society

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25.01.2022 'No More Chili Jam' had a fantastic name, and played the music to match it. These talented and energetic Warrandyte guys played the best of Faith No More, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam, and all the other bands of the grunge, alternative genre during the 1990’s and they did it all well. No history of Warrandyte would ever be complete without mention of the many musicians that have lived and worked here. One theory suggests is that our environment not only attracts but in fact encourages and develops their talents. Promotional poster of NMCJ boys crossing Yarra Street near Grand Hotel (must have been a hot day) - they were a very popular cover band who played at many packed local gigs. Thanks Justin Macdonald for supplying this image.

24.01.2022 Dance Hall Days Love Warrandyte’s halls became central to many activities within the township with dances, balls, meetings, entertainments and birthday celebrations. Please share your hall memories - good, bad and ugly!

21.01.2022 This slab hut, made from slabs of split or sawn timber, was located in Gold Memorial Road, opposite the Memorial Cairn, and was burnt in the 1962 fires. The basic slab hut derived its plan from the vernacular English crofter's hut, a simple rectangular walled shelter with one door, and perhaps holes to allow air to enter. To this design Australian settlers often added a verandah. Most slab hut construction techniques could be described as bush carpentry. Few early settlers could afford the time, or possessed the capital, to build any dwelling more impressive than a slab hut. On the goldfields only a temporary dwelling, produced quickly from available materials, was thought necessary. Photographs taken by Warrandyte local Don Charlwood(AM), one of the great craftsmen of Australian literature.

19.01.2022 A short video from Sally Cerquarelli mainly showing Yarra River, Warrandyte around and on bridge. Probably filmed around mid 1960's.

19.01.2022 Supporting and celebrating National Reconciliation Week 2020: 27 May 3 June. Imagine a riverside landscape rich in indigenous vegetation, with plentiful native animals, fish and plants and a river flowing through a steep-sided gorge, flooding in times of heavy rain and declining in times of drought. This was the land of the Wurundjeri, traditional custodians of the place where the township of Warrandyte is to be found today. Oral history and the creation stories of the Wur...undjeri recount how Bunjil, the all-powerful, ever watching great eagle created the Kulin Nation, its languages, laws and land formation. Many early settlers had an uneasy relationship with the original inhabitants of their lands. There was a lack of understanding among the white community of Aboriginal culture and their connection to the land. Major Newman and James Anderson, the first settlers in the Warrandyte area were antagonistic to the Wurundjeri and ruthless in their dealings with them. Extract from ‘Wonderful Warrandyte - A Portrait’ by Valerie Polley. National Reconciliation Week (NRW) is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia. #NRW2020 #InThisTogether2020 See more

19.01.2022 The Warrandyte police station moved many times over the years. It was first recorded in 1856 (site unknown) but it was then moved in 1884 to Mr H. Stiggant's house. In 1901 it was reported to have been moved adjacent to the Court House. After being closed in 1917 it reopened on a site between The Grand and Warrandyte Hotels. It reportedly moved back to Stiggant Street in 1924. After this building burnt down in 1932 a new brick building at 71 Yarra Street operated as the police station until the 1950S before the brick building at 65 Yarra Street became the police station then later the police residence. Extract from 'Wonderful Warrandyte a Portrait' by Valerie Polley. Images courtesy of Victoria Police Museum and Historical Unit.

16.01.2022 Yarra Street, Warrandyte Peace Day celebrations July 1919, official end of the First World War. The impressive building with tower (left of photograph) is the former Union Hotel, later The Warrandyte Hotel, which was destroyed by fire in 1925. This hotel was located at site of current Warrandyte Mechanics Institute Hall at the corner of Mitchell Avenue. Thanks Diana Dawson (nee Hutchinson) for sharing.

16.01.2022 85th Anniversary of the unveiling of the Gold Memorial Cairn. 85 years ago on Saturday 9th November 1935 the Gold Memorial Cairn was unveiled at Andersons Creek in Warrandyte. The idea to commemorate the discoveries of gold at Andersons Creek, Warrandyte, which led to the proclamation of the field as the first in Victoria, came about when residents decided to mark the spot where the first specks of gold were discovered. A Gold Discovery Committee was formed at a public meeti...ng and comprised Cr Charles Hemsworth (Shire President) together with Dr Ethel Osborne, Mrs B. Schult, Miss J. Trezise, A. Mitchell, J. Moore, T. Horne, Julius Grant, O.A.K. Hobday, Mrs H Hoile and Miss V Hawkes. The committee proposed to build a suitable cairn close to where the discovery was made. The cairn that resulted was built of stone sourced from Fourth Hill (the builder is not known). On the front face was a white marble tablet with an inscription which read:: Gold found here, June 1851 by Louis J. Michel and party. Rewarded by Government as discoverers of the first goldfield in Victoria. Erected 1935. A large crowd of Warrandyte residents as well as dignitaries and visitors was at the site for the unveiling ceremony. As reported by the press and the Speaker (Hon W. H. Everard) of the Victorian Legislative Assembly gave an address praising the spirit shown by the old pioneers and remarking on the role gold mining had played in the development of the country. Mr. C. R. Long, of the Historical Society of Victoria then cut the cord to drop the flag revealing the inscription to acclaim from the crowd. Hazel Mosely was a member of the local State School Fife Band who reportedly performed very creditably during the afternoon. Her most vivid recollection was of the costumes the girls wore. White frocks, red taffeta capes, white satin pillbox hats with a band of red ribbon and white socks and sandshoes. Hazel thought they looked very smart but said the sewing mistress at the school thought it looked like something out of the Tivoli Theatre. That comment didn’t dampen the children’s day though. She said Bill Everard was a favourite with the children who all received an orange and a bag of lollies. Another major feature of her day was being taken down to the site by bus, a rare treat for Warrandyte children at the time. (They had to walk home though). Students at the school paid sixpence to learn to play the fife. Hazel reported the Fife Band practiced in the school shelter shed and always seemed to play ‘Colonel Bogie’ which was what it played at the unveiling at the memorial. (WHS Newsletter #63, October 1988). See more

15.01.2022 Thanks for sharing Alex Barry who's brother is going through some old family movies and found this one of the @Warrandyte Festival Parade along Yarra Street filmed in 1984.

15.01.2022 Introduction by Diana Dawson, née Hutchinson, from conversations with her first cousin once removed Graham Hutchinson. Graham’s father Joseph was the youngest of the 9 children of William Hutchinson and his wife, Alice, née Blair; Diana’s grandfather, John William, was the eldest son of the 9 children. Information about the Hutchinson family and Warrandyte Pound can be found in 'comments'. Thanks Dee Burge and Diana Dawson for sharing these photos and information. Pic1 - Orig...inal Hutchinson homestead with slab hut. Pic2 - 1939 bushfires; this was the remains of John and Emily May Hutchison’s home ‘Yarraholm’. While rebuilding the home the family lived in the tents seen in the photo. Burnt foundation stumps were dug out, turned upside down and re-used for the rebuilding as timber was in short supply. Pic3 - Tent with Hutchinson stencilled on it; girls unidentified. See more

15.01.2022 Thanks to EDHS for the graphic.

14.01.2022 Tree Tops - Castle Road, North Warrandyte. Thanks for sharing Mel McMullen. I was just wandering down by the river and thought about my Great Aunt's house on Castle Rd. It was built by my great grandfather, grandfather and a little helping hand by my dad (Rodger Evans, who is 83 and still in the area). The land, even though I hear there's a thought about whose land it was (in our family history) was said to given to my great aunt by Grandpa Hemsworth. I just wondered how ol...d it needed to be to be preserved and protected? My understanding is that it's pretty much original (even with the loo outside still). Aunty Gwen Reeves was a teacher of the deaf and ironically I have a deaf child and we live in Warrandyte. The Hemsworth family and Trezise family were related. I have fond childhood memories of holidays with my great aunt in that tiny house. It was so cold her crystal would break on the verandah. During the 1963 fires Aunty Gwen was the last over the bridge in the fire truck. She had been hosing her house down. Her house remained the Hemsworth's didn’t. See more

14.01.2022 Waterwheel located at Yarra River, between the Bakery and the Grand Hotel? There was also one that ran a crushing battery east of the bridge. Thanks Dee Burge and Diana Dawson (nee Hutchinson) for sharing photo and information.

13.01.2022 GERAGHTY’S/MAGNET MINE FOURTH HILL Perhaps the most common or well known mines in Warrandyte is Geraghty’s Mine located on Fourth Hill dug by the Magnet Gold Mining Company in 1859. Patrick Geraghty arrived from Ireland in 1842. He worked a number of different jobs until 1854 when he became owner of the Royal Hotel in Richmond. The lure of goldfields took Geraghty to Warrandyte where he first ran Geraghty’s Inn, then in 1856 opened the Union Hotel (later named the Warran...dyte Hotel). In 1859, Geraghty and William Moore registered a claim for a large area (approximately 600 x 200 yards) on Fourth Hill. They began an ambitious project called the Fourth Hill Tunnel Project. The plan was to tunnel into the hill to intersect the rich gold veins believed to be in the quartz. Geraghty and Moore began with an open cut and built a tramway to carry away the rock. They then began to dig a tunnel into the hillside and got to a distance of 400 feet then stopped. Such a big project developed great expectations for success, but surprisingly, Geraghty and Moore abandoned the project. There are no records to explain this decision and Geraghty later took up the more predictable work of running a hotel again. Geraghty did not strike the reef he was seeking but two other miners (Chatty and Smith) continuing his work in the 1880s were more successful. Public access into Geraghty’s mine was closed 2002 however these images give an insight to the tunnel. Extract from ‘Digging into History Goldmining in Warrandyte’ by Dianne Baird. Images supplied by Peter Hanson - our local expert on the gold mines of Warrandyte. See more

13.01.2022 Sloan’s Butchers Shop This shop at 158 Yarra Street is thought to have originally been two buildings later integrated into one building. It had been a butcher’s shop from the early 1900S and enjoyed a remarkable continuation of use for nearly 100 years. The Sloan family of Warrandyte had a long association with the shop in the first part of the 20th century when animals were kept in a yard on the corner of Brackenbury and Webb Streets before being slaughtered for the shop. There are at least 26 people bearing the Sloan name buried at Andersons Creek Cemetery. Extracts from book ‘Wonderful Warrandyte - A Portrait’ by Valerie Polley and ‘Andersons Creek Cemetery Warrandyte 1866-1988’. Thanks Beryl Morgan Kennedy for supplying image.

12.01.2022 The bus terminal at the Warrandyte Recreation Reserve has been upgraded a little since this picture was taken 40 years ago in 1980. The occasion was a special tour by bus enthusiasts to farewell the 700 series AEC Regal Mark 6 buses operated in the Doncaster area by the Melbourne and Metropolitan Tramways Board (1919-1983). Thanks for sharing this image and history Paul Nicholson. A few more Warrandyte bus/coach related images also attached for our interested ‘bus spotters’.

11.01.2022 The Grand Hotel, Warrandyte 1995. Perhaps not looking too grand back then!?

10.01.2022 Let’s go back in time You’re 16, it’s a Friday night in Warrandyte. What are you up to?

10.01.2022 Historical Plaques Installed. Four more historical plaques have been installed on buildings in Warrandyte by Manningham City Council in Stage 2 of the program in conjunction with the Historical Society. The Society provided the pictures and text. The owners and representatives of the properties were present on the day for agreement on the placement of the plaques in a prominent position. Plaques were installed on the Mechanics Institute on the wall facing Yarra Street adjacent to the path leading to the outdoor area, on the front stone wall of the Old Fire Station, on the front wall of the Wine Hall, and on the right hand side of the stone retaining wall behind the War Memorial. The colour variation is due to a rainy day and positioning of the plaques. The position of the War Memorial plaque can be seen circled in the photo below.

09.01.2022 Pound Road is one of the oldest roads in the township. Pounds were very important in the early days of the colony when land tenure was confused, fencing scarce and livestock straying common. Warrandyte’s pound was established in June 1854 with the Hutchinson family, pound keepers for over a century. 1962 bushfires razed the pound’s fences and it was never re-established. The last trace of pound land is located between Pound Road and Everard Drive. Extract from ‘Naming Rights’ - the stories behind the names of our streets, compiled by Valerie Polley & Shelagh Morton. Photograph circa 1960 by Don Charlwood (AM).

08.01.2022 Very popular Annual Wine Bottling parties were held at Gus McLaren's house on Bradley's Lane, Nth Warrandyte to raise funds for various causes ranging from political parties to the local kindergarten. Gus was one of the founding members of 'Potters Cottage' in the late 1950's along with Reg Preston, Phyl Dunn, Artec Halpern and Charles Wilton.

05.01.2022 Koornong School In 1939 Clive and Janet Nield were no doubt influenced by the natural and artistic climate of Warrandyte when establishing an experimental school despite difficulties and uncertainty due to the war in Europe. Their modern school with a self-governing community of children and adults set amongst the eucalypt bushland beside the Yarra River in North Warrandyte. The school was located on about 15 acres of land obtained from the local Frencham family, though it w...as said Mr Frencham had no liking for the new school buildings, calling them chook sheds. Light vernacular buildings, with flat or scillion roofs, external studwork and stone chimneys were located randomly in the bush surrounds and the students actively participated in constructing an art studio, swimming pool and dining room. Teacher, sculptor and painter Danila Vassilieff built many of the school’s stone fireplaces. On the whole the school was accepted by locals though the freedom the pupils enjoyed was often subjected to criticism. Pressures resulting from the war combined with poor financial management saw the school close around 1946. Many of the buildings were later destroyed by bushfires in the 1950S. Despite its short duration the Koornong school is acknowledged as a forerunner and model, providing a reference for architectural and educational aspects of later alternative such as Preshil and ERA in Donvale (which started in 1977 in The Whitehouse, Warrandyte). Extract from ‘Wonderful Warrandyte - A Portrait’ by Valerie Polley. https://youtu.be/Kg7TJ2WRndMKoorn See more

04.01.2022 Spoons, Washboards, Lager-phones, Tea Chests and Wobbleboards. A short documentary about the history of the unique Warrandyte Primary School Bushband. Thanks to Dannika Horvat (www.dannikahorvat.com) for allowing us to share this video she produced about ten years ago. Please post your memories of the Bushband. https://vimeo.com/53198272 #bushband #lagerphone

03.01.2022 Thanks to talented young explorer Atticus (8yo) for sharing his poem and diorama of Fourth Hill, Warrandyte State Park. He created them during remote learning and loves learning about the history of the Warrandyte mines and exploring the tracks. Also attached is an image of inside Geraghty's Mine on Fourth Hill supplied by Peter Hanson. Many of us have great memories of adventures exploring the mines around Warrandyte as kids!

01.01.2022 The Grand Hotel in Warrandyte during the late 1970s.

01.01.2022 At our AGM on 20 October, 2020 we were delighted to award Life Membership of the Historical Society to 3 very deserving recipients, Neil Abbott, Margaret Abbott and Valerie Polley OAM. We send our thanks and congratulations to Val, Margaret and Neil for this wonderful honour recognising their many years of dedication and service to the Society. Neil Abbott Has been a regular at working bees primarily undertaking building and fixing...Continue reading