Memories of my Early Years in Malvern

Another view up Claremont Avenue to the Station entrance.

Photo: Stonnington History Centre Collection .

 The boundaries of Vincent's paper round are shown on the map at right.

The number of houses within the area would have increased since 1916.

Photo from Google Maps

 Above: An Edwardian-period house in Vincent's paper delivery area. He may well have delivered papers here.

Photo from Google Maps

 Radio and television did not exist. So newspapers were the only way people could learn the latest news and obtain weather forecasts.

The residents of Malvern would have been waiting for their copy of The Age and The Argus to find out about the First World War which was raging at the time.

 The composite reproductions of some of the pages from the Argus of 21 September 1916 (above right), show that a local  major issue at the time was Conscription, being proposed to supply the Army with men to fight the war.

Newspapers had not changed their appearance from the 1800s, still carrying classified advertisements on the front page and early inside pages.

Photos of pages from National Library of Australia Collection.

 Above: The East Malvern Baptist Social Club seen on one of its many outings. This one was around 1918 or 1919.

Vincent is in the front row, third from right. On his left is his sister, Lili ( holding her hat).

A closer shot of Vincent and Lili fromthe group photo above.

 Games of Snakes and Ladders, Ludo and Bobs (above) were also ways the young family members kept themselves entertained in their Malvern home.

 Local brass bands provided regular entertainment for Malvern residents during the 1900s and for many   decades before and after that period. 

These photos show two Rotundas used by the Malvern Tramways Band.

Above Right: Sunday evening recitals were given in a Rotunda at the Malvern Cricket Ground, near the Malvern Town Hall.

Photos: Stonnington History Centre Collection

The kiosk in Central Park (above) was a popular venue for dances, parties and wedding receptions for many years  after it was built in 1911

However , like the band Rotunda and the substantial  nearby shelter for tram passengers (below) it was demolished  in 1973.

Photos : Stonnington History Centre Collection

Vincent took on a job as a paper delivery boy in 1916 with the idea of using his earnings to buy a bicycle. Malvern was where the famous Malvern Star cycles ( left) were made at premises in Glenferrie Road.

Vincent collected his papers early each morning from the Malvern Railway Station, at the top of Claremont Avenue.

The station seen above appears little changed since 1916.

Photo from Google Maps

Although there was no TV, the Government led by Prime Minister Hughes (above) used silent movies to call for a "yes" vote in the Referendum on Conscription. Still photo from film "Referendum Bullets", National Film & Sound Archive.

 Vincent and his family attended the East Malvern Baptist Church at the corner of Tooronga Road and Claremont Avenue.

( Two photos above.)

 Attendances declined over the years, and the building was sold to another religious organization. 

Photos : Google Maps

 A similar wind-up gramophone to the one shown (above) was a proud possession of the Wickenton household.

The small doors at the front of the machine were opened to let out the reproduced sound.

This brand was a top-selling gramophone in Melbourne in the early 1920s.

Left : There was no television to watch, but the Wickenton family often viewed 3-D pictures on their stereo-graph. Invented in 1838, stereo-graphs were popular in homes in the late 1800s until the 1930s. .Looking through the machine at two slightly different pictures the user saw the pictures as a three-dimensional image.

The above picture of the Malvern Tramways Band is taken from a postcard the band issued at a price of one-shilling to mark its successful world tour in 1924. The reverse side of the postcard lists the many competition wins it achieved from 1912 to 1922.