Hawthorn Historical Society

30/09/2025

ST James Park - once part of the original Hawthorn Village laid out in 1851. Lennox Street nearby is very wide. It was going to be the main street of the Village and continue up through the Common (now park) separate the first church (West Hawthorn) and Christ Church, cross Church st and meet the bridge to Richmond. Of course it didn't eventuate but we are now blessed with a wonderful park at the entrance to our city. This postcard from our collection is from the early 1900s. No rotunda, canon, playground or war memorial in those days.
if you have postcards of Hawthorn, Auburn or Glenferrie which you would like to donate to the society for our collection, we would love to hear from you.

27/09/2025

Glenferrie Road at Night.
Feel like sharing - We would love to see your favourite pic of Glenferrie Road.

23/09/2025

Received from BIll
Here is a pic of my childhood home at 58 Victoria Road Hawthorn East taken by my late father back in 1964/65. The house is still standing and vastly different now with a second storey addition at the rear of the house.
Image 1. Bill Bujaki
Image 2. 58 Victoria Road in Set 2025by E Love

20/09/2025

A seniors and history month event
Thursday, 9 Oct 2025
1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Meet at Hawthorn Bowling Club, 1 Wood Street, Hawthorn
Bookings are essential:
https://brushfire.com/pmivictorianhistorylibrary/hawthornvillage/608657/tickets

Hawthorn Village was the first official government village east of the Yarra River and despite development over 150 years, there are still remnants from its early settlement days. It is essential to understand that Hawthorn and its development was shaped by geography, the landscape, the river, the hills, the creeks and the type of soil. This walk will uncover the beginnings of the community which would become the City of Hawthorn, from clay pits and market gardens to urban prosperity and its relationship to the rest of Melbourne. This is a two-hour walk, even terrain but some hills.
Please remember to wear sensible shoes, weather appropriate clothing and to take care throughout the walk.

Hawthorn Bowling Club, 1 Wood Street, Hawthorn, VIC 3122 AU - Thursday, 9 Oct 2025 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm AEDT

18/09/2025

Social media in the 1900s
Before telephones, before SMS, how did you make arrangements with others?
The postcard was the SMS or email of its day. It was cheap, arrived quickly and served many functions; as a greeting, to arrange a meeting or even to facilitate a business arrangement. The images in these postcards provide us with glimpses of Hawthorn in another time. The messages give us insight into people’s daily life.
Read our latest blog.
https://www.hawthornhistoricalsociety.com.au/social-media-in-the-1900s/

13/09/2025

Are you interested in becoming a member of the Society?
We are looking to grow our membership so that there are more of us working to exploring, preserving and saving Hawthorn’s history. If you know of anyone interested in joining, please share these details with them.

https://www.hawthornhistoricalsociety.com.au/members/

Membership provides you a wide range of benefits: quarterly newsletters, invitations to all our events such as talks and history walks and free use of the society’s materials.

Our affiliation with the Royal Historical Society of Victoria allows our members to access their collection and attend any of their events.

If you are a member and have not yet renewed membership, the deadline is 30 September

08/09/2025

Power Avenue. A quiet little street with hidden charm ideally located near transport and shops..Sounds like a realestate ad. These photos are taken 40 years apart and It shows that you can have a great family home without knocking down these old lovelies.
Everyone loves these then and now photos.
BUT WE NEED YOU TO HELP. Please think about providing us wth photos or copies of your old family homes, so that we can keep a record of Hawthorn for the future generations..

The 1985 photos by J McWilliam a=in 1985 and more recent 2022 photos by E Love.

02/09/2025

Coffee and cake at St Columb's
Friday 19 September
10.30am
Meet in the Prodigal Hub café, 3 St Columb's St, Hawthorn
Join fellow Hawthorn history lovers for a coffee, cake and chat about all things history. Non-members and members are welcome. This is a chance to come with a question about Hawthorn’s heritage, bring a piece of local history along to see whether you can learn more about it, or just to connect with like-minded people.
No need to book. We look forward to seeing you.

29/08/2025

Burwood Road near the Hawthorn Square - my stamping ground in the 1980s.
Do you remember the Gumnut - great little shop,. The watchmaker had a quaint shop and could fix most things - he used to have a pemanent spot in the cafe across the road, where he could sip his coffee and read the paper and also check to see if he had any customers waiting.
Do you have memories?
Images taken by John Suriano in 1981

27/08/2025

150 YEARS!!!
It's just a great opportunity to revisit your old school and help Glenferrie Primary School celebrate this milestone. SAVE THE DATE.

24/08/2025

Unknown house in Hawthorn. I suspect it no longer exists.
Annotation says " Bertie's house Hawthorn?"
Any ideas?

19/08/2025

One area in Hawthorn that has changed almost beyond recognition is the land use around Tooronga Road, at Gardiner's Creek. This old photo of the new bridge constructed in 1915 shows the towers of the brick kilns in the background (Weekly Times, Feb 15th 1915). To the left out of sight would have been the original 1856 Tooronga homestead situated on the 76 Acres on the hill. It belonged to Edward Khull, a leading sharebroker and Government printer. This land eventually became the site of a Drive in Theatre and then a shopping centre.
Horse and cart were the primary means of transport in 1915 and patrons were not all that happy as shown in the letter to the Editor of the Age which appeared a few weeks later. (The Age 15th March, 1915)