Anyone for tennis?

As a keen tennis fan, I've already spent many hours this season watching my favourite sport on TV.

So imagine my delight when I came across a photo of Merlynston Tennis Club members playing mixed doubles at Merlynston in 1932 - 87 years ago.

Image courtesy Coburg Historical Society.

Some close-ups so you can see what the best dressed Merlynston players were wearing:

And in the background you can see the growing suburb and its railway station.

If you're interested in how Merlynston began, you might be interested in my earlier blog entry.

And just to show how popular tennis was, here's a photo from Coburg Historical Society's collection of the entire tennis club, taken in the 1930s. Looking at the photo, I somehow don't think they were all playing members!

And so you can get a better look at the faces, here is the same photo in three sections.

I'm just glad I didn't have to play with the racquets featured in the middle image!

Brunswick College, Sydney Road

Thanks to Kylie McKay of Romsey for this postcard. 

Brunswick College was quite a well respected private school in its day and operated from at least the 1870s until well into the 20th century, probably as late as 1928.

It was run by Robert McKay. In 1906 he had 65 students and employed the following teachers: T.G. Howden, D. Wilkie, H.E. Wallace, W. Smith.

I've just started researching this school, so if anyone can provide any information on the school itself, on staff members or students, that would be very much appreciated.

Happy New Year!

Again, thanks to Kylie McKay of Romsey for supplying this postcard. 

The writer is Elsie of Chandos Street, Coburg. Fanny McKay lived at Hill Croft Farm in Newlands. Elsie refers to two former students of Coburg State School - C. Phillips and L. Libbis - and there's been some sort of tiff because she's not speaking to them.

I'm not sure who C. Phillips was, but the Libbis family lived in Mayfield Street, Coburg between 1909 and 1912 when they moved to Nelson Street. Leslie and Bill Libbis both served in World War One (Bill was killed in August 1915). They had a sister Myrtle Lilian, so perhaps she was called Lilian. Otherwise, it appears Elsie's argument was with Leslie. We may never know!

Season's Greetings!

Thanks to Kylie McKay of Romsey for providing this card.

Fan is Fanny McKay of Hill Croft Dairy, Newlands. The Hugh she refers to is Hugh Hilliar and Will Geddes is his nephew. They, with Will's cousin William McKay, died in a boating accident at Tarwin in July 1917, just before the cousins were due to leave for WW1. You can read about it here. 

A very Coburg Christmas - 30 years ago

Thanks to Fred Asciak of Pascoe Vale for these photos. In the 1980s Fred was responsible for decorating the Coburg Town Hall at Christmas time. For him, it was a labour of love.

These photos were taken in 1988:

Fred worked for the Council at the Harding Street Depot, just a short walk from the Town Hall. He loved his work and he loved doing the decorations which he started preparing in the early 1980s.

The following photos, taken in the late 1980s, show you just how popular the Christmas Concerts for Senior Citizens were and how many people attended.

Around 1989, Murray Gavin wanted to get back to the message of Christmas and asked for a religious theme. Fred obliged.

A Coburg Christmas - 70 years ago

Recently I came across this photo taken in Sydney Road, Coburg in the lead up to Christmas 1948. 

Image courtesy Coburg Historical Society.

It seems hard to believe that the old house was still standing in 1948 - and was being used as a shop. 

It was on the west side of the street (that is, on the same side as Coles and Walkers) and was just south of Walkers Store, which was located at 471-475 Sydney Road. 

If you look carefully you can just make out the name Walkers painted on the side of the building on the right of this image, so I think the house must be 469 Sydney Road, which Sands and McDougall Street Directories say was occupied in 1942 by Miss B.C. Murphy.

And check out the vehicles lined up out the front. You can see the front wheel of a motor bike, a push bike, a billy cart, another push bike and a car. Not something you'd expect these days - at least the billy cart isn't.

By the looks of the rack outside the shop, it sold general goods, but that's just a guess. 

There is also a Giant Christmas stocking raffle being conducted by the Pascoe Vale Auxiliary for the Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital. I can't quite make out the ticket price and can't see any indication of what the prizes were, but in November 1948, Graeme Bell's Jazz Band played at a fundraiser at the Coburg Town Hall, so it was an all-out effort to raise money for the Repat.

Age, 18 November 1948

St Augustine's, Moreland

I found this among some family papers a little while ago. I'm not sure why it was there because we didn't move to Coburg until January 1962 when my family was based at the Coburg Methodist Church. 

In 1949, my family was living in Yanac, just on the edge of the Big Desert in the Wimmera and I hadn't been born yet. Here they are, enjoying a picnic and yes, they're picnicking in the Big Desert. We'd picnic anywhere!


Hope the St Augustine's Gym had a good audience that night. Don't suppose anyone reading this has a connection to St Augustine's and has memories they'd like to share?