blue flame

So this was when we went back to the eastern suburbs - actually we didn't go to look at Blue Flame houses (and actually actually not all of these are BF houses) but for another reason which I will reveal later. But these are some of them. It is adequately explained below I think. The above home is actually in Fortescue Grove, which Shalimar and Parkleigh are cul-de-sacs running off. The next few are in Shalimar:

This is in Fortescue so irrelevant, ignore it:

Same:

This is on the corner of Parkleigh:

 

Melbourne Age 7 August 1971 p. 4

box hill cemetery 2 - the best of the rest of

So as well as visiting the Myers' grave Perry and I also did a reasonably thorough stroll through the cemetery overall. It was established in 1875 (so, about to turn 150) but I'd say it had its real boom period in the interwar period, hence the style of this unusual structure which greets you not if you come from the road (which is probably where most people come from?) but from the railway line side. 

There are quite a few rustically styled graves, a form you don't see much of and which I have to say I don't hate. I reckon these were really popular for only a few years in the 20s maybe into the 30s but I am speaking from a position of knowing absolutely nothing. 

I am interested in this practice of putting a big tree (well, a small tree with a future) into these gravesite-sized plots. I suppose they might be graves which have lapsed but surely the tree planting is not accidental (I know what you're thinking but I'm pretty certain the dead person's last meal was not a tree seed). 

Here's Box Hill's greatest shame, and not really a secret shame either - it's out there for all to see. I know everyone always makes these kinds of boring observations (so why can't I) - why do people go into jobs where they are required to make very permanent textual contributions if they don't know who to punctuate or spell? 

I suppose it is possible that whoever Gladys' gravestone commissioner was, they insisted on the apostrophe. I suppose it's also possible, but much less, that she herself insisted on the apostrophe. I think more likely someone fucked up and no-one cared. 

Here's a cheerier enterprise. I am kind of imagining a D Gen Late Show-style scenario where Mick's accidentally had this made because he misheard 'when she died she had terrible bloating' as 'make it a ship'. But maybe not. 

I am not totally against this, but I also don't really get it. 

This one has survived remarkably well, looks as fresh as the day they put it there. 

I love a turreted tombstone. 

Aw shit, this plant we put on Uncle's grave has gone a bit crappy. 

Is it dead? 

No, just a bit crappy.

Well, throw it on the ground on the way out, that way everyone who passes will be reminded of the way we treated him before he died, and also, that life is brutal and fleeting. 

Strangely, P & I passed through Box Hill again yesterday - in fact, we drove right past the cemetery. But we were going somewhere else yesterday. Actually, a few somewheres. Stay tuned. 

box hill cemetery 1 - myers grave

I was sufficiently intrigued by this, in the Journal of the Royal Victorian Institute of Architects March 1939 pp. 6-7, that I roped (almost literally) Perry into going to see it in real life with me. 

If you ever wondered why no-one employed me to photograph graves for them, the following pictures might explain. They're not excellent, whereas the ones above have a particular kind of grandeur, mine have a particular kind of too many trees. 

Note also nobody's bothered to maintain/replace the teak slats that gave the original structure a little bit more. Also, the restroom or whatever it is to the rear in the first picture is gone now, though that's not completely obvious from my pictures. 

It was a nice quiet day for the cemetery anyway, invasion day, very few people in the vicinity. 

Oh btw in case you were wondering, the Myers aren't buried in the Jewish section of the cemetery because Sidney converted to Christianity at some point and also, because there is no Jewish section of the cemetery. 

The grave is more or less at the western end of North Drive I think. 

the area formerly known as tottenham: 3 - sredna st

I'm trying to find details on Anders M. Hansen, the builder - timberyard owner - Mayor of Footscray who built a lot of homes in Footscray. There's not a lot on him. I know he died in the 50s. I am not even going to bore us both with the meagre information I do know. Anyway, he obviously subdivided and built Sredna St. For some weird reason I thought the area was known as Tottenham until recently but I was apparently wrong in this assumption and Tottenham - the name of the nearby railway station - is only applicable to the industrial area that starts just west of Sredna st and according to Wikipedia has a population of 0. 

This is the factory at the end of Sredna St. 

 Here are a few of the houses which are presumably Hansen originals.

In a moment of fancy I thought maybe the emblem below meant 'AH' for Anders Hansen but since it's only on one of the houses, it probably doesn't mean that. 

Surely that's enough West Footscray, the area not actually formerly known as Tottenham except by me, for today. 

the area formerly known as tottenham: 2 - stony creek

So for a creek that has apparently a history of extreme flooding...  

Stony Creek has a lot of properties very close to its edge, far closer than most urban creeks I am familiar with. I would have liked to traverse more of SC (so I probably should've - oh well, some other day). 

The part of the creek west of Paramount Rd which has no path or anything just thick undergrowth and a lot of blackberries.  

the area formerly known as tottenham - 1: hex st

I wish I knew where to find this now (there is an odd disjunct between when the Age runs out in newspapers.com - 2000 - and when the Age starts being searchable on its own website - I guess around 2006-7 but it's a terrible search function) but I know that once there was an article in the Age about Hex St, Tottenham (as it was then known) which apparently contained the cheapest houses in Melbourne. I believe I drove there so it must have been around 2001-3 or 4 (because I didn't get my license till around then). I just wanted to see how terrible a really cheap street could be, and I am sure I was not the only one. I see in the Age listings for 2000 that homes in Hex St sold for around $170 000.  

Anyway it looked fine to me. I think the weirdest thing about it overall was that it was called Hex St. I mean, is that the word for anything other than a curse? There are a few other Hex Streets in the world - there's a couple in the US and one in South Africa - I still say it's a super weird name for a street. 

But, Hex St in 2024 is an extremely nice ordinary suburban street. 

This house below surprised me, it suggests Hex St is a lot older than I thought. I assumed 1920s at earliest but unless this house predates the street, you'd have to guess pre-WWI. 

I don't know whether the individual below is a hex maker or hex recipient

'Can't wait for part 2 of this series'