Violet Town Was Pro- Claimed on 11 April 1895
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You like to walk, you are interested in history ... then follow the heritage walk. in 1899 by Humphrey and Firth Want to experience more ... of Footscray for 480 pounds. The then check out these options Shire of Violet Town was pro- claimed on 11 April 1895. First First glances are deceiving. There are many and diverse Things Council meetings were held in the things to do in and around Violet Town and all you need Mechanics Institute that stood on to do is to fi nd the one that interests you. to do in the site now occupied by the Com- For those with a sense of history take a walk around the munity Complex. Formerly Shire of town and check out some of the points interest in the Violet Town offi ces occupied the site. town. Violet Town on the recommendation of Surveyor 13. The house on the right General Major Mitchell, was the earliest surveyed town in Violet Town hand corner just after the old Coun- rural Victoria and High Street is part of the original Mel- cil building was built and owned by bourne to Sydney Road. High Street also contains some Mr McDonald who was a saw- of the earliest residential buildings extant in Violet Town. follow the Heritage Walk miller. The house was built about If the environment and natural bushland is of interest then 1912 and the family occupied this the Strathbogie Ranges is for you. Travel just a few kilo- building until the late 1980s. metres to the east of Violet Town and delight in the rug- 14. On your left in Mary’s Lane is the site of the ged hills, the vista of distant hills and valleys, kangaroos, former Violet Town saleyards. koalas, natural and remnant vegetation and much more. 15. On the corner of Rose Street is an old house built If you would like to continue inspecting Violet Town’s on the fi rst surveyed block. First al- heritage, collect another fl yer that describes another part lotment block No 1 in land Victoria. of our history. Before trains started rolling through Violet Town in the 1870s, High St was the commercial centre 16. Opposite 6 Tulip Street with two hotels one on the north and one on the south side was the original Flour Mill and later of Honeysuckle Creek, and another with a Cobb & Co. the Butter Factory. Part of the build- offi ce and a general store. ing has been demolished but the wheel area is still visible. The house More information is privately owned. Find out more about Violet Town and its history on the 17. Peranbin College occupies the site of the Na- Violet Town community web site at: The Anglican Church of Saint Dunstan - built 1879 tional School, fi rst proposed in 1849 with 19 students. http://www.violettown.org.au. Most came from out of town with many riding more than six miles (about 10 km) to school. School No 604 has Call ... had extensive alterations done by part of the old building is still standing. Behind the school in Baird St stands the former head master’s house. 18. On the left at the park, the iron gates date from 1884. The ‘lest We Forget’ motto was added in 1957. thingstodo2.indd Things to do in Violet Town - follow the Heritage Walk 5. The Opportunity Shop was originally Riddle Bros. hardware store and blacksmith shop. Carriage building and wheelwright work was done on the premises. [1870]. You may wander through the old Blacksmith Shop at the rear of the building. (Very rough and untidy) 6. The Pharmacy and hairdresser now occupy the building of ‘Grogans A1 Cash Warehouse’, later Wingfields and Hazels. The general store and drapery were built about 1890. 7. The buildings on your right, most recently operated as greengrocer, hospital cottage shop etc. was for- merly Henry Trewella’s Hairdressers (1937), Violet Town Sentinel, Estate’s Milk bar, Strones Shoemakers. These shops were previously built about the 1890s. 8. The butchery operated continuously on these premises for more than a century until January 2005. Previously a cordial factory operated in conjunction behind the main building. 9. This building commenced lif Town’s first Post Office, taken over by the PMG in 1891. The Heritage Walk about 1905 as the National Bank. You can commence from any point along the walk, they In the late 1890s Violet Town had one of the first female are shown on the map, however let’s assume you start mail contractors in Victoria. The shop was later to put on 10. On your right is the Violet from point number one. many faces including being the local library. Town Hotel, built about 1900 on the site of McShanes Kialla Hotel. On the 3. The present Post Office, built in 1910 after the 1. The memorial at the entrance to the opposite side of Lily St, now the Police Station, was the former Post Office was burnt down, is now privately community complex was built after the Boer ‘bottom pub’ called the ‘Farmers Arms’. War in memory of two local men - Pte C. owned. The Post Office was first established in the group Williams and Pte J.E White. The memorial of shops (recently a green grocer shop), which then oper- 11. The present Friendly Grocer was moved from the centre of Cowslip St to ated as the National Bank until the present Post Office was previoulsy ‘Goodfellows’ store its present site after an accident. Three lamps was built. and has been the site for a grocery shop for over a century. Some people will commemorate WW1, WW2 and the Korean 4. The Ellen Frances Hotel was destroyed by fire remember it as P.W. Harcourts. and Viet Nam wars. in 1993. The original building was built as Underwood’s 2. The hardware shop is on the site of Violet Railway Hotel around 1880. 12. First Shire Offices were built Violet Town was surveyed in 1838 on the recommendation of explorer Major Thomas Mitchell following his successful expedition in 1836..