A sketch of Temple Park in 1921 soon after it had been established on an old cl,ay quarry site. The signature elm trees - reportedly planted in a V shape to commemorate the victory of World War One - had not yet grown.

Our new book - A Walk in the Park - will have information on all the parks, reserves, sporting grounds and other open spaces in Brunswick. It will be launched on 14 June at 1.30 pm in the Celtic Club Members' lounge, Wild Geese Hotel. It will be available for purchase there or afterwards at Brunswick Bound and the History Victoria Bookshop.www.historyvictoria.org.au/bookshop

Heritage Victoria is considering an application for redevelopment of the former Cable Tram Engine House (more recently Sam's Tyres) in Brunswick Road. This is an important historic building which once housed a steam engine pulling a cable which stretched all the way to Flinders Street pulling the trams along. The proposal is for a seven storey tower to be built inside the building to be used for tiny apartments for student accommodation. The facade will be restored with the blue paint removed and the ground floor will remain as an open space withe the original roof. However the new tower is a bad example of facadism and would detract substantially from the appearance of the building. The concrete floor will be replaced but there do not appear to be any plans to rescue the cable tram machinery which is believed to be underneath.
No carparking is to be provided on the site which may not be a problem due to the proximity of public transport.
Submissions to Heritage Victoria should be made by next Tuesday - 27 May.

This cute building in Brunswick Park, Victoria Street was formerly a weighbridge located outside the Retreat Hotel. Brunswick Park is one of the few in Brunswick not located on a former quarry and tip.
You can read about it and other parks in our new book A Walk in the Park which will be launched on 14 June.

From tips to parks - our next publication is an exploration of the history of Brunswick's parks and other reserves, sporting grounds and other public open spaces. The text is by Cheryl Griffin and the illustrations are a combination of historic images and brilliant new photos by Annette Whiter.

The book will be launched on Saturday 14 June at 1.30pm at the Celtic Club Members' Lounge, Wild Geese (Sarah Sands ) Hotel. Available for purchase for $25 at the launch or afterwards at Brunswick Bound and History Victoria Bookshop.

Who Owns the Past?

Along the lines of Stuff the British Stole is this talk at Brunswick Library at 6.30 pm on Thursday 6 June, The speaker is Gareth Fletcher, Director of Art and Technology at Sotheby’s Institute of Art, London.

URL link for registration or more info: https://bit.ly/4jiEgvL

Unearth the History of Your House

A reminder of our event next Saturday at 1.30pm at the Kirrip Djerring Room, Brunswick Town Hall (above the Counihan Gallery). As part of the National Trust Heritage Festival, Margaret Fleming will discuss how to discover the history of your house in Brunswick. Bookings not required.

Photo from Brunswick Library shows Harrowgate Cottage on the edge of the Glew claypit which is now the Barkly Square carpark. The house is no longer there.

Have you ever wondered when your house was built? Who lived there? Our researcher, Margaret Fleming is running a session on Unearthing the History of Your House as part of the National Trust Heritage Festival.
Margaret has extensive experience in property research and will take you through the various sources and how to use them.
Saturday 3 May at 1.30pm in the Kirrip Djerring Room, Brunswick Town Hall (above tje Counihan Gallery).

This beautiful embroidered panel is at the Royal Historical Society of Victoria. It was presented to Councillor David Methven in appreciation of his work for the community. David Methven (or 'Dave' as he preferred to be called) , 1840-1918 was a Councillor in Brunswick from 1880-1913. He was Mayor four times. He also served in state parliament as the MLA for East Bourke from 1889-1904.

Methven's obituary made reference to his 'great and kindly heart' as he was well known for providing assistance to constituents who had fallen on hard times.

David Methven's father Alexander had operated a quarry on the site which is now Methven Park.

Brunswick in the Great Depression History Walk

Join us for a walk around sites important to Brunswick during the Great Depression of the 1930s. As a working class industrial suburb, Brunswick was particularly affected by this event. It was also notable for the political activity and protests which took place at that time. The walk will be led by Professor Joan Beaumont, author of Australia's Great Depression.
Saturday 12 April at 11.00am starting from outside 51 Lydia Street.

Book here: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/brunswick-in-the-great-depression-history-walk-tickets-1306095880939

Have you booked for our Great Depression Walk? We suspect there has been a glitch with Eventbrite and and some bookings made in the last couple of days have not gone through. If you did not receive a confirmation email please contact us and we will check your booking

Brunswick in the Great Depression History Walk

We are repeating this popular Brunswick Walk on Saturday April 12.

The walk is conducted by Professor Joan Beaumont, author of Australia's Great Depression. As a working class industrial suburb Brunswick was particularly affected by the Depression and was also the scene of political protests, The walk covers sites important in Brunswick during this turbulent period.

Book here:
https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/brunswick-in-the-great-depression-history-walk-tickets-1306095880939

The last day of Womens History Month and the last of our series on important women of Brunswick. There are many others of course but we need to also talk about other aspects of Brunswick history.
This week - Corinne Cantrill. Corinne, who died last month aged 96, and her husband Arthur were well known experimental film-makers. Corinne was born in Sydney. She left school after Intermediate (year 10) and at the age of 19 departed for London. For several years she led a bohemian life in Europe - at one stage living on ten pounds a month. She returned to live in Brisbane, married Arthur and in the early 1960s they began their film-making career, initially with children's films, and moved on to experimental films. After a period in London they returned to Australia and lived for many years in the tower house - Prestonia - in Brunswick Road. Here they made and screened many of their films. They felt their films were inadequately appreciated in Australia but they were widely acclaimed in Europe and by their many local followers
Photo shows Arthur and Corinne Cantrill at the Kino Arsenal in Berlin, 1985.
(Photograph by Stijepo Pavlina from the Cantrills' website)

A Brunswick Man Goes to War

Michael Carney will talk about his great uncle - an ordinary Brunswick man who, like many others, enlisted in 1915 and went to Europe. Also like many others, he did not return. Michael will talk about his brief life, the Brunswick he grew up in and left and why he enlisted.
Saturday 5 April at 1.30pm at Kirrip Djerring Room, Brunswick Town Hall - above the Counihan Gallery.

Continuing our Womens History Month series on prominent women of Brunswick.

Ruth Crow , AM ( 1916-1999) and her husband Maurie are usually associated with North Melbourne where they spent the later part of their lives but they also had a strong connection to Brunswick. They were long serving members of the Communist Party and devoted over 50 years to campaigning in the fields of social justice, urban planning and environmental protection. Ruth Crow worked at the Holeproof factory in Brunswick in the 1930s. She worked in the company canteen where, as a nutritionist, she worked towards providing healthy meals for the staff. In 1943 she and Maurie moved to Brunswick as she had been appointed Secretary of the Brunswick Childcare Centres. These were the first federally funded childcare centres in Victoria and had been set up to enable women to work in support of the war effort. The family, including two small daughters lived for 14 years in a tiny flat above a shop at 211 Sydney Road. It cannot have been easy living in such cramped quarters with a bathroom shared with other tenants but she later wrote very fondly of her time in Brunswick.