The Self family story begins with two sisters, not the brothers. In 1932, Margery and Edna Self took over Mrs Magee’s confectionery shop on Main Road West. They expanded the business by purchasing Mr Hounslow’s petrol bowser. In 1934, the Self family built a new general store at 18 East Esplanade, St. Albans which became the foundation of the future Self Bros Supermarket. The family lived in a house behind the shop. The name Self Bros & Goddard emerged when Bernice Self married Alfred Goddard in 1947. By 1955, the directory lists Self Bros & Goddard Storekeepers and later in 1960 to 1974 as Licensed Grocers. This marks the shift from a family general store to a major grocery business Later years it became the Festival Supermarket and subsequently the St. Albans SUPA IGA Supermarket. This collection of photographs captures the various names the supermarket was known as Self Bros, Foodtown and Festival IGA Supermarket.5657.01 - East Esplanade 18 - Festival Supermarket (Sun Adv 237.3) 1993 Photo 01.JPG 5657.02 - East Esplanade 18 - Festival Supermarket (Sun Adv 237.3) 1993 Photo 02.JPG 5657.03 - East Esplanade 18 - Festival Supermarket (Sun Adv 237.3) 1993 Photo 03.JPG 5657.04 - East Esplanade 18 St. Albans - Self Bros Supermarket (Sun Adv 64.3) 1993 Photo 01.JPG 5657.05 - East Esplanade 18 St. Albans - Self Bros Supermarket (Sun Adv 64.3) 1993 Photo 02.JPG east esplanade, st. albans, festival supermarket, self bros, iga, alfred goddard

7001.01 - Keilor Plains Railway Station East Esplanade St. Albans 2026.JPG 7001.02 - Keilor Plains Railway Station East Esplanade St. Albans 2026.JPGkeilor plains railway station, east esplanade, st. albans

Self Bros began not with brothers, but with two sisters, Margery and Edna Self, in 1932. Their small confectionery shop grew into St Albans’ most iconic supermarket, later known as Self Bros & Goddard, then Festival Supermarket, and today the St Albans SUPA IGA. In 1990, the store was put up for sale again after it was sold to SSW Supermarkets just over two years before in March 1988. SSW then put the store up for auction in July 1992 but it did not sell as it failed to reach the reserve price. Self Bros. went into receivership October 1992. On the 23rd June 1993, a new Festival IGA Supermarket opened in the refurbished store.Self Bros helped establish East Esplanade and Alfrieda Street as a functioning retail strip. Its presence drew foot traffic, which supported surrounding butchers, fruit shops, milk bars, and specialty stores. In early suburban development, a strong anchor tenant often determines whether a shopping strip thrives or stagnates, Self Bros played that role. Like many mid‑century independent supermarkets, Self Bros was a place where locals met, exchanged news, and built social ties. It contributed to St Albans’ identity as a self‑contained suburb rather than a satellite dependent on Sunshine.Picture of building 6873.02 - Self Bros Supermarket 18 East Esplanade 64.3self bros, east esplanade, st. albans

These photographs, taken by The Advocate in 1993, show the soon‑to‑open Festival IGA Supermarket, scheduled to commence trading on the 23rd June 1993. The new store occupies the former premises of the Self Bros Licensed Supermarket, giving the site a fresh start after the earlier closure. It will reopen with an extensive Asian grocery department, the first of its kind within a large supermarket in the St Albans–Keilor area, marking a significant shift in local retail offerings and reflecting the community’s growing cultural diversity.Self's Supermarket now Festival Cnr East Esplanade and Victoria Crescent 237.3self bros, festival supermarket, east esplanade, st. albans

Small public halls were essential to the local community and served as the central community venue for any small township. Over the years this hall hosted: - Church congregations - Concerts, dances, picture shows - Public meetings and fundraisers - Birthday and wedding functions - WW2 training activities - Citizenship ceremonies - The St Albans Infant Welfare Centre - The Public Library In 1956, the original timber hall built in 1906 was replaced with this brick building. The Victorian Heritage Database describes the new hall as: - A cream‑brick, shop‑front style building - With glazed tiles and a frosted glass entry - A long, narrow hall seating around 100 people - Cavity brick walls, steel truss roof, corrugated iron cladding - Interior lined with fibrous plaster and timber composite panels This modest scale reflects the small population and the low priority St Albans received from the Keilor‑focused council at the time. At one point, a local councillor pushed to demolish the hall and convert the land into car parking. Community resistance helped preserve it. The St. Albans Public Hall is one of the few public buildings in the area that have a direct connection to the early residents of the district and their desire in making public facilities available to the district's residents.5662 - East Esplanade - St. Albans Public Hall Photo 01.jpgeast esplanade, st. albans, st. albans public hall

Tramway Esplanade East Port Melbourne 1961Photo of Esplanade East Tramway in 1961.Remnant 2'6" guage tramway tracks in Esplanade East Port Melbourne as seen on 15 June 1961transport - tramways, built environment - civic

Property sketches done for Frank Gordon Real Estate in the 1990s. 184 Esplanade Eastbuilt environment - domestic, frank gordon & co, esplanade east

Property sketches done for Frank Gordon Real Estate in the 1990s. 234 Esplanade Eastbuilt environment - domestic, frank gordon & co, esplanade east

Property sketches done for Frank Gordon Real Estate in the 1990s. 277 Esplanade Eastbuilt environment - domestic, frank gordon & co, esplanade east

Property sketches done for Frank Gordon Real Estate in the 1990s. 284 Esplanade Eastbuilt environment - domestic, frank gordon & co, esplanade east

Property sketches done for Frank Gordon Real Estate in the 1990s. "Guernsey House", Esplanade East built environment - domestic, frank gordon & co, esplanade east, guernsey house

Shot in 1973 with particular interest in architectureSet of 31 photographs taken in June and July 1973 Esplanade East and Spring Street, former corner shopIdentified and dated on back in inkjanet walsh, allen walsh, built environment - commercial, built environment - domestic, esplanade east, spring street

Shot in 1973 with particular interest in architectureSet of 31 photographs taken in June and July 1973 Guernsey House, Esplanade East, corner Bridge StIdentified and dated on back in inkbuilt environment - domestic, janet walsh, allen walsh, guernsey house, esplanade east

Black and white image of backyard of 321 Esplanade East. Looking West and showing a large building to the side and rear. This building was the premises of the Ideal Drum and Cask Company of 60 Lyons Street Port Melbourne. Taken early 1980sMarilyn Johnson provided the image and was the then owner of the property in the early 1980sbuilt environment - domestic, built environment - industrial, marilyn johnson, ideal drum and cask company, esplanade east

Photographic images of properties in Port Melbourne. Image may have been taken by a PMHPS member or scanned from a past resident or taken for real estate sale purposes. Homes in Esplanade East. Numbers 220 (December 2009) ; 326 (November 2014)built environment - domestic, esplanade east

As a member of the Port Melbourne Historical and Preservation Society, donor Arthur ROWAN photographed a series of significant buildings in the Port and South Melbourne area over several years. A selection of nineteen of these was presented to the Port Melbourne Society in 1993. Guernsey House, 232 Esplanade East. Private home established in 1883 [Eastern shore of Lagoon] First owner: Peter GRUT and his wife Mary, parents of Henry Brouard GRUT, Peter Gallienne GRUT and John Bichard GRUT. Peter G and John B both became architects.Small print mounted on white card, with mounted, typed caption: Guernsey House, 232 Esplanade Eastbuilt environment - domestic, sandridge lagoon, arthur rowan, peter grut, guernsey house, mary grut, peter gallienne grut, henry brouard grut, john bichard grut

Lady Forster Kindergarten was built around 1928 at the corner of East Esplanade and Liardet Street. The site is now occupied by by Bubup Womindjeka Family and Childrens centre Lady Forster Kindergarten corner Liardet St and East Esplanadelady forster kindergarten, bubup womindjeka, education - kindergartens

These photographs show the East Esplanade entrance of the St Albans Telephone Exchange which is located at 1 Victoria Crescent, St. Albans.Telephone Exchanged Victoria St, St. Albansst. albans telephone exchange, victoria crescent, east esplanade, st. albans

Taken at the Esplanade East Pumping Station during the Open Day held by Melbourne Water on the 26th January 2025 engineering - board of works, pumping station

Taken at the Esplanade East Pumping Station during the Open Day held by Melbourne Water on the 26th January 2025 engineering - board of works, pumping station