Category: Articles

A collection of articles and essays written by members concerning the history of Whittlesea and surrounds.

 
Further reading on the City of Whittlesea’s local history:
 

Chinese Settlement in the Whittlesea Shire Arthur Yong
Education at Whittlesea 1848-1978 J W Payne
Historic Views of the City of Whittlesea. Robert Wuchatsch & Gwen Hawke (*)(#)
Historic Buildings of the Whittlesea Shire Robert Wuchatsch & John Waghorn
Mayfield Presbyterian Church, Mernda. Richard Ely (#)
Nature’s Plenty. Michael Jones (#)
Reminiscences of Whittlesea E M Duffy
The English Church at Whittlesea J W Payne
The Plenty J W Payne
The Plenty Bushrangers of 1842: the first Europeans hanged in Victoria. Lindsay Mann (*)(#)
The Whittlesea Railway Robert Aquilina
Wooden Rails to Kinglake and Flowerdale R Alger
Whittlesea Township Heritage Walk. Angela Roper (*)(#)
Yan Yean: A History Dianne Edwards

(*) available for purchase through the Whittlesea Historical Society, refer to Publications page of this website.
(#) available for purchase at Whittlesea Courthouse Visitor Information Centre, cnr Beech & Church Sts, Whittlesea.
Note: many of these titles are available at the Yarra Plenty Regional Library, Mill Park. >>Visit web site
 

 

Thomastown’s 19th Century Irish Families

Thomastown’s 19th Century Irish Families By Rob Wuchatsch The Germans and Wends who settled at Westgarthtown in 1850 were one of four different groups to settle at Thomastown during the 19th Century. The other nationalities represented at Thomastown were the English, Scottish and Irish. Thomastown’s most prominent Irish settlers were the Devine, Larmer, Lewis, Mahoney, McCoy and Perry families. The...

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Gwen Hawke – Her Story

Gwen Hawke – Her Story By Bev Moore Dedications Photo / Articles from her loving Daughter Alicia Hawke, Mrs Beryl Patulo, Mrs. Wendy Lowry, Mr. Bruce Batten & Robert Wuachatsch This story is a dedication to a warm and wonderful individual Mrs. Gwen Hawke, of   whom I had the pleasure of meeting for the first time at the Whittlesea Courthouse...

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Launceston Elliot

Britain’s First Olympic Champion who later came to live in Whittlesea. By Gwen Hawke and Maureen Doyle Launceston Elliot was born in India on 9th June 1874, but his parents, who married in Carlton in 1873, chose his name because he had been conceived in the City of Launceston. Launceston was the son of Gilbert Wray Elliot and his third...

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Exhibition of the Fay Thomas Collection

Faye Thomas Collection by Wendy Lowry. At the end of January 2016, several members of the Whittlesea Historical Society were invited to attend the display at the Whittlesea Shire Offices of a cross section of the Fay Thomas Archival Collection. Heritage Coordinator , Colleen Lazenby in conjunction with the Executors of Faye Thomas presented a mixture of photographs, letters, maps...

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Euphemeral Objects

Euphemeral Objects by Wendy Lowry The word “euphemeral” relates to items that are short lived or transitory in nature. I have come into the possession of an euphemeral object of a Train Timetable for June 1949. This Timetable is for Melbourne to Keon Park , Thomastown and vice a versa. In 1949 there were first and second class fares available...

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Dyson’s Bus Company

Dyson’s Moving with the Times by Wendy Lowry. As part of the Whittlesea Cultural Heritage Program in October 2017, Dyson’s Bus Company allowed a rare opportunity to go behind the scenes and learn more about this iconic local, Australian family owned  and operated business. The family business started out  in Melbourne’s north in 1952, beginning in Reservoir and East Preston....

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Drystone Walls

By Wendy Lowry abridged from an article by Robert Wuchatsch The City of Whittlesea adopted in 1991 a Heritage study that saw some of the drystone walls protected under the City’s planning scheme. However much greater effort is required to identify and record our heritage walls, especially in an area where increasing residential development is seeing many of them disappear....

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Cheers and Beers

By Wendy Lowry and John Waghorn The origins of Pubs and Hotels are often a forgotten aspect of local History. It seems strange because the hotel is looked upon as a hub venue in any town. People congregate there to gossip, to bet and certainly to relax and tell stories. The City of Whittlesea has many old Pubs and Hotels...

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Donnybrook Cemetery

Part of the Whittlesea Cultural and Heritage Program saw a tour of the Donnybrook Cemetery which was conducted  and led by Historian David Weatherill. On the 10th September 1857 a request was made to the Commissioner of Crown Lands, Victoria for land to be set aside for a proposed Cemetery at Donnybrook. Following this request and a favourable response from...

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