Pascoe Vale Football Club in the 1950s

About three years ago, this photo was donated to Coburg Historical Society by a local man who played in the featured Pascoe Vale Football team some time in the 1950s.

There are no names to go with the players, so if you know anyone in the photo, I'd be delighted to hear from you.

I'm also trying to track down the location of the photo, so any help on that would be appreciated, too. 

I thought maybe it was Raeburn Reserve in Landells Road, but I don't recognise any of the buildings. 

The two buildings in the first snip from the main photo look a bit like army huts and the big white building in the second snip looks too big to be a domestic dwelling but I don't think it's Blessed Oliver Plunkett Church (or school), which is just across the road. Maybe you can help? 

Bruce Smalls Sydney Road shop - The Value Centre of Coburg - in 1953

Advertisement in Ruskin's All about Coburg, 1953

At Smalls you could buy bicycles (Malvern Star cycles, for sure), motor cycles, Vespas, refrigerators, washing machines and radios. Quite a selection!

Ad in the Age, 24 January 1953.

St Augustine's, Moreland quilt

St Augustine’s, Moreland quilt. Dated June 1895. (National Gallery of Victoria collection. Gift of the congregation of St Augustine's Anglican Church, Moreland, 2012)

This wonderful crazy patchwork quilt was made of many small scraps of material, then the names of the congregation were added in chain stitch. It was stitched in 1895 and presented to vicar Rev. W. Jordan. 

Reverend William Jordan, 

One foundation: a parish journey in Moreland 

by Peter Sherlock

As I looked at the names on the quilt I saw two that relate to my World War One research - Goding and Draeger. You can read about them here.

How fortunate we are that the congregation donated the quilt to the National Gallery of Victoria and that NGV has shared it with all of us online!

Promoting train travel in Coburg - 1953

This ad is from the 1953 Ruskin's All About Coburg:

The method of promotion might be different, but 66 years on, the message is still relevant:

Use your trains

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!