You wouldn't set your clock by these daffodils

You wouldn't want to set your clock by these daffodils, flowering already and winter barely started! Queen's Park 2 July 2015

VR Signal Department

A nice solid looking steel box along the railway line in Moonee Ponds.  It was manufactured by AR & Co, Hebburn, England.  Can it have been in place since the line was electrified in 1918?  Still in use if the padlock is anything to go by.

In case of emergencies....

Barista on duty at all times

 At the Fix Espresso Bar, corner of Hall and Everage Sts, Moonee Ponds.

Cool idea for west-facing walls

Down at the Council depot in Holmes Rd, an enterprising team has tackled the problem of insulating west facing walls from the outside - a wall of drip-watered succulents and other plants shields the wall from the afternoon heat.

The side view shows how the arrangements works.  The succulents are gown in specially designed crates, the crates are attached to a frame bolted to the wall, and a watering system drips moisture from the top. Some plantings seem to do better than others.


This seems a great idea for a problem wall. 

Colour and movement in your garden

Spring has sprung, and this little gardening idea in Robinson St brings colour and movement to your garden.  If you feel a spot in your garden lacks a little colour, you can always wheel some in!  Brilliant!  And note the attention to detail - the solar light amongst the blooms. 

George, did you put the bins out?

Aaaah - maybe.    Kernan St, Moonee Ponds

Out and about in Moonee

This fabulous mural, created by local artist Bev Plowman, was unveiled in August 2011 in Hall Street, Moonee Ponds.  Go down and choose your favorite bit.  I like the butcher the best.

The morning is best to get the glittering reflections in the windows of the old Town Hall and the tram.  The photos here do not do this artwork justice, so I encourage everyone to go and see for themselves.

Corner shop offered a new lease of life

This remnant of the once-common corner shop, on the corner of Athol and Darling Streets,  is being refurbished and offered for lease.  I'm thinking that perhaps a coffee shop would be nice.  You can never have too many coffee shops in Moonee Ponds,

The Proms in the Ponds

The Clocktower centre in Moonee Ponds was today the scene of a bit of a frolic through a British  institution, The Proms.  The audience joined in with the Napier Community Orchestra, the Essendon Choral Society, the Voce Di Vino Ross choir, and the Bella Mammas Choir in singing patriotic favourites such as Rule Britannia, Land of Hope and Glory and Jerusalem.  A rousing rendition of Advance Australia Fair was also given.  The concert was played to a substantial house, and a good time had by all. Well worth a repeat in 2012, I would have thought.  Well done to all those involved.

Spanish effect in Moonee Ponds

We've always had exotic influences in Moonee Ponds - the upper storey of this shop in Holmes Rd, Moonee Ponds, shows Spanish Mission tiles and stucco work in its decoration.

Ceramics in Queen's Park

Fine ceramics in Queen's Park

Wildlife sanctuary, Queen's Park

The islands in Queen's Park, Moonee Ponds, are now providing sanctuary to wildlife a little
larger than ducks.

Take the kiddiewinks down to see the kangaroos and emu.  Quite a surprise.  I wonder if anyone saw them swimming over?

A little bit of Tuscany in Moonee Ponds

If there's anything we like in Moonee Ponds it is a good place for coffee - and this is a very good place for coffee.   Garden Tuscany is quiet hideaway in a small lane off Young Street.  Enjoy the home-made chocolates and little cakes, and have a pizza for lunch if you like.

Garden Tuscany can be found at 32 Young Street Moonee Ponds VIC 3039 (03)9375 2896.

An earlier Essendon Grammar School

The original Essendon Grammar School was established in 1867 by Charles Dyer.  In time the school was taken over by Samuel Craig who had this building purpose built in Park Street, Moonee Ponds, on the corner of Parry Street, in 1889.  The Grammar School closed at the end of 1905, and the premises taken over by Laurence McShane who opened a co-education school called Essendon College.  This school was shortlived, and by 1908 the premises was occupied by John Hill, MA, principal of the newly established St Thomas' Grammar School.  The principal and boarders lived at the house in Park Street.  John Hill was replaced in 1910 by George Gresham Robinson when the school merged with Carlton College.  The principal and boarders continued at the premises until a house was purchased by St Thomas' Grammar in Fletcher Street, Essendon in 1915.  At this time the house became a private residence.   Restored in recent years to its glory days, the building remains standing in Park Street.

Christmas in Hall Street

Christmas comes to Hall Street with a tree decorated by the Year Three boys from Penleigh and Essendon Grammar School.  Nice work, boys!

Domestic Gothic house in Victoria Street

Domestic gothic architecture in Victoria St, Moonee Ponds.  The details of this house are very appealing - including the mouldings below the front window:

A lion's head in the centre, accompanied by gryphens let loose in a grape vine.

Art Deco gem in Moonee Ponds

Is it because the Art Deco architects were not locked in to symmetry that they were able to use interesting solutions for awkward shaped and corner blocks?  This pair of houses occupies a triangular block on a bend in Trinafour Street, Moonee Ponds.  The contrast of the decorative brickwork with the stark white render, along with the interesting shapes of the walls, makes these two very engaging houses.

The decorative motif around the windows is quite striking.

The small windows on either side of the chimney with a fan-shaped leadlight design are really gorgous.

Pyramid-shaped roofs was a feature of the "Moderne" style of architecture.

Oh no! Not the giraffes!

The Moonee Valley Leader reports that two of the three giraffes at Poynton's have been stolen! 

How could any thief sink so low?

The Schools that ate Moonee Ponds

Another large and prominent property in Moonee Ponds has fallen into the capacious property portfolio of a local school. Rumour has it that Hillebrand's tennis centre in Park Street, Moonee Ponds, has been purchased by Lowther Hall CEGGS.  A house in Sherbourne Street said to be owned by Lowther Hall has recently been demolished.  The school reputedly owns other houses in Sherbourne Street.

Penleigh and Essendon Grammar School Park Street campus is busy purchasing properties in Park Street and Ardmillan Road, and St Columba's is snapping up houses in Buckley Street and Lorraine Street.

It can't be long before they all meet in the middle.

Rather more insidious than property developers, these schools are quietly chewing up our suburbs - perfectly good homes are now empty awaiting the implementation of some Master Plan. 

Is any responsible planning body taking note, I wonder?  Do we want three super-campuses in the centre of Moonee Ponds/Essendon?  Is three enough? 

Where is Save Our Suburbs now?

Art deco architecture No 2

Each pair of cottages has it's name festooned across the entrance vestibule.  This one is "Arcadia".  The pair at the western end are called "Quamby".