Cinemas of Brunswick.

Local film maker Gus Berger - who produced and directed The Lost City of Melbourne - will talk about the history of Brunswick's cinemas as the next meeting of Brunswick Community History Group.

1.30 pm on Saturday 1 June
Kirrip Djerring Room - above the Counihan Gallery.

This photo from State Library of Victoria shows the magnificent Padua Cinema which once stood where the IGA now is.

Our new publication Brunswick's Hotels will be launched on Saturday 6 July!
This book was originally compiled by Laurie Cunningham and other members of BCHG in the 1990s. It has now been revised with events since then added as well as beautiful photographs taken by one of our members to complement the old photos from Brunswick Library.

Launch details:
Saturday 6 July at 1.30 for 2.00pm
Celtic Club Members' Bar - first floor Wild Geese Hotel (Sarah Sands)
Some food will be provided and drinks can be purchased from the bar.
We will be sharing some stories about this iconic Goldrush period hotel.

The book retails for $20 and will be available at the launch or at Brunswick Bound afterwards.

History Walk - Brunswick in the Great Depression
Tickets are now on sale for our next history walk. This will visit sites important during the Great Depression of the 1930s. The walk will be led by Professor Emerita Joan Beaumont who has researched the Depression extensively and published a comprehensive history of the period in 2022. Brunswick was severely affected by the Depression and was also the site of political agitation.
Book here:
https://www.eventbrite.com.au/.../history-walk-brunswick...

Local writer Kevin Brophy and photographer Nicholas Walton Healey will share stories and photos of the railway line which they are collecting for their project The Line. Their work will eventually be used for an exhibition and possibly a book recording the line before it is changed forever by the elevated rail project. They are interested in collecting more stories so come along if you have any to share!

Photo by John Werrett 1992

The spectacular former Wesleyan Church in Sydney Rd. This is one of the Brunswick Treasures to be discussed at our next meeting. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Victorian Heritage Register we will look at all 21 Brunswick buildings on the Register.
Photo by Peter Holmes

Members of Protestant denominations, particularly Methodists, were prominent in Brunswick during the early years of European settlement. The most prominent was Thomas Wilkinson who gave Brunswick its name and donated the land for the first Methodist chapel in Sydney Road. He was also the first Chairman of the municipality when it was created in 1857. Dr Cheryl Griffin will talk about him and others as well as their influence on Brunswick in the early European period at a joint meeting of Brunswick Community History Group and Brunswick Uniting Church.

Our researcher, Margaret Fleming give a presentation on tracing the history of your Brunswick House - when it was built, who lived there and any interesting bits of information. With so many old houses in Brunswick, we get many inquiries on this topic.
This event is part of the National Trust Heritage Festival.

Michael Carney - a member of the Brunswick Community History Group and whose immigrant Irish family first settled in Australia in Brunswick - will deliver this talk. The soldier is Michael's great uncle and the story in part is told via a posthumous letter written beautifully by Michael's late father - also a veteran - to an uncle he never met but never forgot.

Launch of our new book by Cheryl Griffin and Annette Whiter. The story of Brunswick's parks, reserves, sporting grounds and other open spaces. Illustrated by historical images and contemporary photographs by Annette Whiter.
The launch will be in the Celtic Club Members' lounge on the first floor. Some food supplied; drinks can be purchased at the bar.