Truth, Beauty & Utility Exhibtion

 

The new exhibtion from Heidelberg Historical Society has opened. Truth, Beauty & Utlity: the Arts & crafts movement in Heidelberg traces the Arts & Crafts Movement. From the sudden craze for Japanese-inspired decoration in the 1880s to the non-historical ‘Art Nouveau’ of 1900, to the rugged Californian bungalow of 1920—all as seen in our local Heidelberg and Ivanhoe area. Truth, Beauty & Utility is now open at the Heidelberg Historical Society Old Courthouse Museum, Jika Street Heidelberg and can be viewed on Sundays from 2 pm to 5 pm. Entry $5.00.

Please note the exhibition is only open depending on Coronavirus restrictions.

To prepare for your visit or for further inspiration after- check out these books from Yarra Plenty Regional Library's collection:

Art Nouveau by Julian Beecroft, 2018

Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the art of the four by Roger Billciffe, 2017

May Morris: arts & crafts designer by May Morris, 2017

Arts & Craft: masterpieces of art by Michael Robinson, 2015

Anarchy & beauty: William Morris and his legacy, 1860-1960 by Fiona MacCarthy, 2014

Busy Bee Quilt

The latest exhibition at the Heidelberg Historical Society is Heidelberg’s Busy Bee Signature Quilt.  This has been a tremendous suess since it opened in November 2019.  Constructed in 1895-6 by members of Heidelberg’s Scots Church as a fundraising project, contributors came from far and wide to participate in the project. 213 hand-embroidered squares record almost 140 legible signatures as well as dozens of initials, decorations and place-names.
The tradition of quilting was often a communal activity where women mainly participated and has a strong tradition in the United States of America.  Akin to the community effort back then, members of the Historical Society have contributed to installing the exhibition since the quilt was offered to their collection in 2018.  Led by curator Margaret Birtley the team have investigated the making of the quilt, researched some of the names on the quilt, designed and installed the exhibition, developed the accompanying website, conducted tours and marketed the event.
Visit the website and check out close up images and add what you know about the people who worked on the quilt.
There wil be a curator's talk on Saturday 14th March at 2.00pm
Visit The National Quilt Register, an online database and central resource for the Australian quilting community. It provides digital access to quilts held in public and private collections throughout Australia including the Busy Bee Signature Quilt.
The exhibition is on now at the Old Heidelberg Court House, Jika Street, Heidelberg. Sunday afternoons through to April 2020.
Quilts : Inspiration for Busy Bees

LaTrobe's Melbourne House and Garden

Charles Joseph La Trobe, first Lieutenant Governor of Victoria, developed a beautiful garden around his 12½ acre Jolimont estate during the nearly 15 years he spent here.
Helen Botham has researched the history of the house and garden for the National Trust and the Australian Garden History Society and written a book ‘La Trobe’s Jolimont – A Walk Around My Garden’. She will speak at Heidelberg Historical Society in their first meeting for 2020.  In her talk Helen will use the illustrations of Edward La Trobe Bateman to give an insight into La Trobe’s Jolimont estate and the people who lived there.
Tuesday 11 February 2020
Uniting Church Community Centre,
Seddon Street, Ivanhoe at 8.00 pm.

(Image: State Library Victoria)

Insanity in Colonial Victoria

Journey back to the world of Melbourne's early lunatic asylums with writer and clinical psychologist, Jill Giese. Heidelberg Historical Society presents The Remarkable Story of Insanity in Colonial Victoria Presented by Jill Giese Winner of the 2018 Victorian Premier's History Award for her book The Maddest Place on Earth.

These asylums were overflowing with patients as Victoria grappled with the highest rate of insanity in the world. The prosperous young colony embarked on a grand asylum project to cure mental illness with an enlightened treatment.

Jill will share this intriguing slice of our colonial history through the eyes of patients, the ambitious doctor in charge, and an undercover journalist who wrote an extraordinary exposé of asylum life from the inside in 1876.

Tuesday 11 June 2019
Uniting Church Community Centre,
Seddon Street, Ivanhoe at 8pm.
All welcome

Warringal Cemetery Walk

Featherston - Design for Living (1947 - 2017)

The next meeting of Heidelberg Historical Society will feature guest speaker Mary Featherston.  Her talk will touch on the scope of the Featherston's multi-disciplinary practice and illustrate some key furniture and interior design projects. She will also discuss ideas and beliefs that have motivated their quest to create affordable, practical and beautiful design.
Mary Featherton studied interior design at RMIT and in 1965 formed a life and professional partnership with designer Grant Featherston. For thirty years, until Grant’s death, the couple designed major interior and furniture projects and in 1996 they were inaugural inductees into the Design Institute of Australia Hall of Fame.
The meeting will be held on Tuesday 10 April, 2018 at 8 pm at the Uniting Church Community Centre, Seddon Street, Ivanhoe

Arresting Women

Heidelberg Historical Society presents its first meeting for 2018 with a free talk: "Arresting Women : Celebrating 100 years of women in the Victorian Police" by Colleen Wooley OAM. Tuesday 13 February, 2018  8 pm, at the Uniting Church Community Centre, Seddon Street, Ivanhoe.

This talk is based on Colleen Wooley's Arresting Women of the same name published in 2017

World War 1 conscription at Heidelberg

Heidelberg Historical Society Inc. presents "The World War 1 conscription plebiscites: Heidelberg”

Dr Janine Rizzetti will mark the 100^th anniversary of the second referendum by reviewing the campaigns through the eyes and ears of residents in the Heidelberg and Ivanhoe areas.

WHEN:    Tuesday 12 December 2017 at 8 pm

WHERE:  Uniting Church Community Centre, Seddon Street, Ivanhoe. To be followed by supper.

To learn more about the issue see The War at Home

History of Women in Local Government

The next talk of the Heidelberg Historical Society will be presented by Helen D. Harris. The Right to Vote; the right to stand: The involvement of women in local government in Victoria will focus on the history of local government women voters and pioneer Councillors including Nellie Ibbott who was the first woman in Victoria to become mayor of a local government municipality – the City of Heidelberg.
Helen D. Harris OAM, is a professional genealogist, historian and author. Helen is the Executive Officer and Archivist of the Australian Local Government Women’s Association and has recently published a book to celebrate the centenary of women being allowed to run for municipal office.

The meeting will be held Tuesday 8 August 2017 at 8pm at the Uniting Church Community Centre, Seddon Street, Ivanhoe. All welcome

Finding Sanity – John Cade, lithium and the taming of Bi-Polar Disorder

Psychiatrist John Cade 1912-1980

The next meeting of the Heidelberg Historical Society features Dr. Greg de Moore.

Dr. Greg de Moore is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry based at Sydney's Westmead Hospital. He has co-authored the first biography of the ground breaking Australian doctor who discovered the first pharmacological treatment for mental illness: Finding Sanity: John Cade, lithium and the taming of Bi-Polar Disorder

Dr de Moore will discuss how its accidental discovery has become the 'gold standard' for the treatment of bi-polar disorder.

Tuesday 13 June, 2017

Uniting Church Community Centre

Seddon Street, Ivanhoe

8 pm. All Welcome

Remembering '67 Exhibiton

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Heidelberg Historical Society a new exhibition has opened.  The local exhibition celebrates living in the City of Heidelberg in 1967. 50 years ago a number of local history groups were founded including the Shire of Eltham Historical Society now Eltham District Historical Society and Doncaster Templestowe Historical Society .  LaTrobe University Bundoora opened its doors to new students and further afield Prime Minister Harold Holt went missing after going for a swim at Portsea.  What are your memories of 1967?

The exhibition is open Sundays 2.00pm - 5.00pm until December 2017 at the Old Court House, Jika Street Heidelberg, adjacent to the Heidelberg Police Station

Admission $5. Inquiries for group bookings welcome.

visit Heidelberg Historical Society and follow them on Facebook

Early European Settlers in the Heidelberg District

The next meeting of the Heidelberg Historical Society will be presented by John Noack who has extensively researched the first European squatters to establish holdings on Crown Land in the Heidelberg area, following the arrival of John Batman.

John will focus in particular on the settlers, William Thomas Mollison and Captain Robert Robson in the Port Phillip area from 1835 to 1838 and discuss their establishment as squatters in Heidelberg. John will speak on Tuesday 11 April, 8 pm at the Uniting Church Community Centre, Ivanhoe. More details at Heidelberg Historical Society

History of Ivanhoe Real Estate

Heidelberg Historical Society celebrate their 50th anniversary in 2017.  They are kicking off the year with a guest speaker from Miles Real Estate, a local business which has operated in the Ivanhoe and Heidelberg area for over 85 years.  Director Stewart Oldmeadow will speak about the history of the firm on Tuesday 14 February at the Uniting Church Community Centre, Ivanhoe. More details at Heidelberg Historical Society

Image: View from York Street, Ivanhoe. Rose Postcard.  In the right foreground is "Rangeworthy" (house with tower); in the middle distance is Ivanhoe Park (before croquet and bowling greens were set out). Top right, among the trees, is "Ivanhoe House" at Ivanhoe Boys Grammar School; and to the left, The Boulevard.  HH0075 Ca 1940-1954 (Rose Postcards were typically ca 1920 - 1954)

Yarra Plenty Regional Library in partnership with Heidelberg Historical Society

Walter Burley Griffin Lecture

Ivanhoe. Walter Burley Griffin House. 21 Glenard Drive.
Source: J.T. Collins Collection, La Trobe Picture Collection, State Library of Victoria.  

Heidelberg Historical Society member Steven Barlow grew up in the shadow of the Essendon City Council's incinerator, one of a dozen curious such buildings designed by Walter Burley Griffin.  He has maintained a life long interest in the Griffins and in architectural history.

Steven will give an illustrated talk on the breadth of the work of Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin, including that in Heidelberg, and the influences on their remarkable lives and beliefs at the upcoming meeting of the Heidelberg Historical Society, 13 December 2016 at the Uniting Church Community Centre, Ivanhoe.

Montmorency: the Farm on the Plenty

Local historian and author Maureen Jones has researched and written about Montmorency, a little known suburb in the City of Banyule, but with a rich indigenous and pastoral heritage.

At the June meeting for Heidelberg Historical Society Maureen will discuss her book Montmorency: the farm on the Plenty,  the history of the early settlers and how the suburb has evolved into the vibrant suburb it is today. 
This free talk will be held at Uniting Church Community Centre, Seddon Street, Ivanhoe on Tuesday 14 June at 8 pm.

The Great War and its impact on Heidelberg

The next meeting for Heidelberg Historical Society will be presented by Dr. Rosalie Triolo.  Senior Lecturer in History Education, Monash University who will speak on the rarely considered impact on the communities and in particular daily school life of students and teachers, caused from the death and wounding of people they knew within the Heidelberg Shire, as a result of the Great War.

This free talk will be held at Uniting Church Community Centre, Seddon Street, Ivanhoe on Tuesday 12 April 2016 at 8 pm.

Ravenswood

The first meeting for Heidelberg Historical Society will feature author Jennifer O'Donnell about the research for her book Ravenswood. She will discuss the mansion's design and decoration and the changes made over time, culminating in detailed descriptions of the restoration work undertaken by skilled artisans. Ravenswood located in Beauview Parade, Ivanhoe was built by Robert Kennedy. The property, originally 16 acres, fronted onto Lower Heidelberg Road and was a venue for many social and charity functions, later a home for elderly ladies, now privately owned.
This free talk will be held at Uniting Church Community Centre, Seddon Street, Ivanhoe on Tuesday 9 February at 8 pm.

Ivanhoe Harriers

The next meeting of the Heidelberg Historical Society will be Ivanhoe Harriers: from St James Church to Willindra Park by Andrew Edney.  This athletic club has a 100 year history with members representing Australia at the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, World Championships and other international events.

Join the Historical Society for this free event:  Thursday 8 December 2015 at the Uniting Church Community Centre, Seddon Street, Ivanhoe 8pm. All welcome

Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital

The next meeting of the Heidelberg Historical Society hosts guest speaker Robert Winther OAM, Veteran Liason Officer, Austin Health.  He will speak about the history of the Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital.  The meeting will be held at the Uniting Church Community Centre, Seddon Street, Ivanhoe on Tuesday August 11 at 8 pm.

A history was published in 1994 Proper Care.  To learn more,  visit the Local History collection at Ivanhoe Library

All Welcome.

Talk on Outer Circle Line

Railway operations and heritage specialist Adam Chandler will be the guest speaker at the Heidelberg Historical Society's June meeting.

Adam will speak about the production of a recent documentary, on which he worked as researcher, titled "Melbourne's Forgotten Railway: The Outer Circle Line" followed by a screening of the documentary and Q&A session about the line's construction, opening and closure.

Adam has worked in the Victorian railway and public transport industry for over a decade in a range of roles from roving conductor to working in Melbourne's train control centre. He is now working in railway training and consultancy. He has also served on various tramway/railway heritage organisations and initiatives over the past twenty years. He is currently serving on the board of the Metropolitan Tram Museum in Hawthorn.

The talk will be held on Tuesday 9 June 2915 at the Uniting Church Community Centre, Seddon Street, Ivanhoe at 8.00pm.  All Welcome.