City of Boroondara Heritage Collection
Curated archival sound pieces using the Boroondara Library Service Heritage Collection and Oral History Archives.
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Street Stories - Tales of Whitehorse Road
04/16/2026
Street Stories - Tales of Whitehorse Road
Travel back in time and listen to stories of Deepdene's past along Whitehorse Road. Interviewees in this episode are: Charles Hansen & Jack McLean Bruce Steele Boroondara Library Service presents: Street Stories This Oral History project was edited in 2026 from the City of Boroondara Library Service Heritage Collection Local History Archive. Interviews were conducted by Geraldine McFarlane in the years 1993 and 1994 as part of the Oral history project Voices of Camberwell. The interviewees in this project are Mavis Nickell, Edna De Clifford, Esmond Kinnear, Bruce Steele, Charles Hansen, Jack McLean, Joan Thorn, Lillian Brockway, Marjorie Batey, Eileen Hall, Lorraine Carrington, Bob Partington, Gil Muling, Vera lynch, Leila St John, Mr & Mrs Frank Mason, Syd Dodman, Dorothy Prestegar, Harold Oakford. Edited by Jane Harvey. Music sampled from the following recordings: “Wild Orchids” 1929, “City Lights” 1931, “Sunrise - A Song of Two Humans” 1927. Courtesy of The Popular Jazz Archive. CC Image: C. Stuart Tompkins, Deepdene Park, Whitehorse Road Deepdene, 1952, Boroondara Library Service, Boroondara Heritage Collection, LHCPH 151
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Street Stories - Cantering through Camberwell
04/16/2026
Street Stories - Cantering through Camberwell
Travel back in time and listen to stories of riding horses through Camberwell Junction. Interviewees in this episode are: Bob Partington Lillian Brockway Gil Muling Frank Mason Joan Thorn Dorothy Prestegar Frank Mason Charlie Cuzens Boroondara Library Service presents: Street Stories This Oral History project was edited in 2026 from the City of Boroondara Library Service Heritage Collection Local History Archive. Interviews were conducted by Geraldine McFarlane in the years 1993 and 1994 as part of the Oral history project Voices of Camberwell. The interviewees in this project are Mavis Nickell, Edna De Clifford, Esmond Kinnear, Bruce Steele, Charles Hansen, Jack McLean, Joan Thorn, Lillian Brockway, Marjorie Batey, Eileen Hall, Lorraine Carrington, Bob Partington, Gil Muling, Vera lynch, Leila St John, Mr & Mrs Frank Mason, Syd Dodman, Dorothy Prestegar, Harold Oakford. Edited by Jane Harvey. Music sampled from the following recordings: “Wild Orchids” 1929, “City Lights” 1931, “Sunrise - A Song of Two Humans” 1927. Courtesy of The Popular Jazz Archive. CC Image: C. Stuart Tompkins, Camberwell Junction, facing south east, 1954, Boroondara Library Service, Boroondara Heritage Collection, LHCPH 1239
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Street Stories - Afternoons in Ashburton
04/16/2026
Street Stories - Afternoons in Ashburton
Travel back in time and listen to stories of Ashburton's past forest and picnics. Interviewees in this episode are: Dorothy Prestegar Harold Oakford Gil Muling Frank Mason Sid Dodman Boroondara Library Service presents: Street Stories This Oral History project was edited in 2026 from the City of Boroondara Library Service Heritage Collection Local History Archive. Interviews were conducted by Geraldine McFarlane in the years 1993 and 1994 as part of the Oral history project Voices of Camberwell. The interviewees in this project are Mavis Nickell, Edna De Clifford, Esmond Kinnear, Bruce Steele, Charles Hansen, Jack McLean, Joan Thorn, Lillian Brockway, Marjorie Batey, Eileen Hall, Lorraine Carrington, Bob Partington, Gil Muling, Vera lynch, Leila St John, Mr & Mrs Frank Mason, Syd Dodman, Dorothy Prestegar, Harold Oakford. Edited by Jane Harvey. Music sampled from the following recordings: “Wild Orchids” 1929, “City Lights” 1931, “Sunrise - A Song of Two Humans” 1927. Courtesy of The Popular Jazz Archive. CC Image: Open air puppet show, c.1946, Boroondara Library Service, Boroondara Heritage Collection, LHPH 818
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Street Stories - Market gardens & dairies of Kew
04/16/2026
Street Stories - Market gardens & dairies of Kew
Travel back in time and listen to stories of Kew's past market gardeners and dairies. Interviewees in this episode are: Mavis Nickell Frank Mason Boroondara Library Service presents: Street Stories This Oral History project was edited in 2026 from the City of Boroondara Library Service Heritage Collection Local History Archive. Interviews were conducted by Geraldine McFarlane in the years 1993 and 1994 as part of the Oral history project Voices of Camberwell. The interviewees in this project are Mavis Nickell, Edna De Clifford, Esmond Kinnear, Bruce Steele, Charles Hansen, Jack McLean, Joan Thorn, Lillian Brockway, Marjorie Batey, Eileen Hall, Lorraine Carrington, Bob Partington, Gil Muling, Vera lynch, Leila St John, Mr & Mrs Frank Mason, Syd Dodman, Dorothy Prestegar, Harold Oakford. Edited by Jane Harvey. Music sampled from the following recordings: “Wild Orchids” 1929, “City Lights” 1931, “Sunrise - A Song of Two Humans” 1927. Courtesy of The Popular Jazz Archive. CC Image: Milk cart belonging to Mary L. Deering driven by her son John T. Deering with Jimmy Hillard outside Mr. Rooney's House, St. John's Avenue, c.1920s, Boroondara Library Service, Boroondara Heritage Collection, LHCPH 905
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Street Stories - Squizzy Taylor in Hawthorn
04/16/2026
Street Stories - Squizzy Taylor in Hawthorn
Travel back in time and listen to stories of Hawthorn's true crime past. Interviewees in this episode are: Charlie Cuzens Doreen Dixon Boroondara Library Service presents: Street Stories This Oral History project was edited in 2026 from the City of Boroondara Library Service Heritage Collection Local History Archive. Interviews were conducted by Geraldine McFarlane in the years 1993 and 1994 as part of the Oral history project Voices of Camberwell. The interviewees in this project are Mavis Nickell, Edna De Clifford, Esmond Kinnear, Bruce Steele, Charles Hansen, Jack McLean, Joan Thorn, Lillian Brockway, Marjorie Batey, Eileen Hall, Lorraine Carrington, Bob Partington, Gil Muling, Vera lynch, Leila St John, Mr & Mrs Frank Mason, Syd Dodman, Dorothy Prestegar, Harold Oakford. Edited by Jane Harvey. Music sampled from the following recordings: “Wild Orchids” 1929, “City Lights” 1931, “Sunrise - A Song of Two Humans” 1927. Courtesy of The Popular Jazz Archive. CC Image: Central Register for Male Prisoners 31530-31927 (1907-1909), Criminal records, March 1907, Public Records Office of Victoria, VPRS 515/P0000
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Street Stories - Floating in Balwyn
04/16/2026
Street Stories - Floating in Balwyn
Travel back in time and listen to stories of Balwyn's past of farms and creeks. Interviewees in this episode are: Gil Muling Esmond Kinnear Leila St John Edna DeClifford Boroondara Library Service presents: Street Stories This Oral History project was edited in 2026 from the City of Boroondara Library Service Heritage Collection Local History Archive. Interviews were conducted by Geraldine McFarlane in the years 1993 and 1994 as part of the Oral history project Voices of Camberwell. The interviewees in this project are Mavis Nickell, Edna De Clifford, Esmond Kinnear, Bruce Steele, Charles Hansen, Jack McLean, Joan Thorn, Lillian Brockway, Marjorie Batey, Eileen Hall, Lorraine Carrington, Bob Partington, Gil Muling, Vera lynch, Leila St John, Mr & Mrs Frank Mason, Syd Dodman, Dorothy Prestegar, Harold Oakford. Edited by Jane Harvey. Music sampled from the following recordings: “Wild Orchids” 1929, “City Lights” 1931, “Sunrise - A Song of Two Humans” 1927. Courtesy of The Popular Jazz Archive. CC Image: Henderson family children with hand cart in Kireep Road, Balwyn, Boroondara Library Service, Boroondara Heritage Collection, LHCPH 1327
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Stories From The Archive: Early History of The Hawthorn Football Club
07/13/2025
Stories From The Archive: Early History of The Hawthorn Football Club
Stories From The Archive: Early History of The Hawthorn Football Club Mayblooms & Cherrybobs Oral History Collection, 1985. Boroondara Heritage Collection. Oral History Interviewees: Mabel Holzer, Billy Wallace, George Martin, Ernest Dixon, Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Lawrence, Walter Jona. Music courtesy of The Hawthorn Brass Band This project was made by the Boroondara Library Service Local History Team, in celebration of the Centenary of The Hawthorn Football Club, 2025. Edit by Jane Harvey. Image courtesy of the State Library of Victoria Heritage Collection: Boyles, Charles Edward, 1888-1971, photographer. Hawthorn Football Club in front of grandstand, 1942.
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Glenferrie Sounds
07/16/2024
Glenferrie Sounds
'Glenferrie Sounds' was compiled for the new Hawthorn 'Open Space', 2024. It is a collaboration between Boroondara Library Service and Boroondara Capital Projects. The Oral History excerpts were taken from interviews by the Hawthorn City Library Oral History Project "Mayblooms & Cherrybobs" conducted in 1985. The Oral History archive is housed within the Boroondara Library Service Heritage Collection. Oral History Interviewers: Rene Pappas Maryanne Pearce Oral History Interviewees: Emma Overton Frank Ireland Ernest Dixon Vincent Greaves William Wallace George Martin Credits: Sound excerpts from "Red Rattler Passes Glenferrie Oval 1937" & "Prankster train driver ends the game at the Glenferrie Oval prematurely: The Front Bar" videos. Music: "Dear When I Met You" - Regent Club Orchestra "Down By The Gas House" - Aileen Stanley & Bill Murray "It Goes Like This" - Jack Morrison "They Call Me Sister Honkeytonk" - Mae West "EJ 35" - Strauss Rosenuberreichung "A Thousand Kisses" - Brunswick Salon Orchestra "The Champions", "Strike Up The Band", "Holiday For Strings", Recordings from Colonial Brass by Hawthorn City Band (Now named Hawthorn and Kew Bands Inc. - Glenferrie Brass) Opening sequence composition and Audio Production - Jane Harvey
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Mayblooms and Cherrybobs Oral History Project: Air Raids and the War Years
07/21/2023
Mayblooms and Cherrybobs Oral History Project: Air Raids and the War Years
Air Raids and the War Years The shock of the First World War impelled Hawthorn’s residents to join forces and prepare for the worst together. Amidst rationing and suburb-wide blackouts, the community united with the Red Cross to help the war efforts - knitting socks, sending parcels, and constructing splints in the basement of the Hawthorn Town Hall. Listen to the residents' stories as they reflect on the sentiment of the time during the World Wars and the Hawthorn Town Hall's role in uniting a community together. Participants Ernest Dixon Mabel Holzer Walter Jona Archibald MacDonald Mary Sutherland Violet Turner Roy Tabe InterviewersJohn Hill Rene Papas Marianne Pierce Please consider the conversations in these recordings are of the time and contain themes of war, violence and mental health. Parental guidance is recommended for those 12 years and under. Image - Camberwell A.R.P. Sector B/10, 1942. Group photograph showing Air Raid Protection volunteers with helmets.
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Mayblooms and Cherrybobs Oral History Project: Memories of the Glenferrie Junction
07/21/2023
Mayblooms and Cherrybobs Oral History Project: Memories of the Glenferrie Junction
Memories of the Glenferrie Junction The junction at Glenferrie and Burwood Road has historically remained a bustling thoroughfare, with bicycle stores lining the shopping strip and horse-drawn vehicles populating the roads delivering the necessary goods and services to families at home. Listen to the residents' stories as they reflect on growing up around the junction and hear how they playfully interacted with the Hawthorn Town Hall. ParticipantsWalter Jona Frank Ireland George Martin Violet Turner Eva Martin Gordon O'Neill Mabel Holzer Lorna Lewis Kitt Rowe Vincent Greaves Ernest Dixon Max Yunghanns Mr and Mrs Gordon Lewis. Interviewers John Hill Rene Papas Marianne Pierce Please consider the conversations in these recordings are of the time and contain themes of violence and mental health. Parental guidance is recommended for those 12 years and under. Image - Looking West down Burwood Road across Glenferrie intersection, Hawthorn. This westward view of Burwood Road shows the Hawthorn Town Hall and Commonwealth Bank of Australia building. Telephone poles line the street on the left, and electricity poles on the right. Original photograph held by The Victorian Telecommunications Museum, 375 Burwood Rd, Hawthorn
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Mayblooms and Cherrybobs Oral History Project: Events At The Town Hall
07/21/2023
Mayblooms and Cherrybobs Oral History Project: Events At The Town Hall
Events at the Hawthorn Town Hall Over the decades, the Hawthorn Town Hall hosted various events to entertain, delight and celebrate. From formal piano concerts to Friday night community singing, Saturday Vaudeville days and fancy-dress parties, the Town Hall has attracted many eager crowds. Listen to the resident’s fond memories of visiting the Town Hall and enjoying cultural festivities. ParticipantsViolet Turner Walter Jona Esther Rofe Eva Martin Mabel Holzer Frank Ireland George Martin Lorna Lewis Kit Rowe Vincent Greaves Ernest Dixon InterviewersJohn Hill Rene Papas Marianne Pierce Please consider the conversations in these recordings are of the time. Image: Hawthorn Town Hall illuminated and decorated for Coronation Tompkins, C. Stuart Adorned in lights, flags and wreaths, the Hawthorn Town Hall commemorated the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, crowned on 2 June 1953.
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Mayblooms and Cherrybobs Oral History Project: Spanish Flu Pandemic
07/21/2023
Mayblooms and Cherrybobs Oral History Project: Spanish Flu Pandemic
Spanish Flu and Hawthorn When the Spanish Flu pandemic reached Australia’s shores in early 1919, it became rapidly apparent to the population how swift and severe the outbreak would be. In Hawthorn, residents experienced the loss of neighbours, friends and loved ones to pneumonic influenza. Schools closed for months, and the community donned masks with concoctions of eucalyptus and menthol to combat the spread of disease. Listen to the resident’s stories to understand how the Hawthorn Town Hall played an essential role in keeping the community safe throughout the Spanish Flu pandemic. ParticipantsMabel Holzer Lorna Lewis Roy Tabe Gina Triaca Mary Sutherland Arthur Rowe Helena Wilson Ernest Dixon Esther Rofe InterviewersJohn Hill Rene Papas Marianne Pierce Please consider the conversations in these recordings are of the time. Parental guidance is recommended for those 12 years and under. Image- V.A.D.s at Heidelberg Military Hospital, 1942. Members of the Voluntary Aid Detachment. Meryl Merchant, past Vice President of the Hawthorn Historical Society, is on the left of this group, and Lyn Gibson on the right. Copied from the collection of Mrs Meryl Merchant
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Mayblooms and Cherrybobs Oral History Project: The Great Depression Years
07/21/2023
Mayblooms and Cherrybobs Oral History Project: The Great Depression Years
The Great Depression Years The Great Depression was a period of hardship and suffering for many throughout Hawthorn. Widespread unemployment and lack of work left families in financial strife. Soup kitchens were set up to feed those in need, and welfare payments of seven shillings and sixpence were distributed from the Hawthorn Town Hall. Listen to the resident’s stories to hear what it was like to live throughout the Great Depression and how the Hawthorn Town Hall played a significant role in supporting the community. Participants William Wallace Max Yunghanns Walter Jona Esther Rofe Violet Turner Eva Martin Mabel Holzer Frank Ireland Fred Thorpe Archibald MacDonald George Martin Lorna Lewis Kit Rowe Vincent Greaves Ernest Dixon InterviewersJohn Hill Rene Papas Marianne Pierce Please consider the conversations in these recordings are of the time and contain themes of strong language war, violence and mental health. Parental guidance is recommended for 12 years and under, and there is a mild language warning. Image: Red Cross work in Hawthorn Taking soup and dainties to Base Hospital in 1915. pictured from left to right: Mrs Sammons, Secretary, Hawthorn Branch, Red Cross; Matron McMahon of Red Cross Kitchen; Miss Alice McCulloch in her car; Mrs Percy Russell, Mayoress of Hawthorn. Original donated by Mrs Ellen Worth (nee Sammons)
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