While the end of World War II heralded a new era, postwar restrictions on resources affected what could be built, how people worked, and the everyday lives of men and women. The decade beginning in 1950 included monumental shifts in the social and cultural fabric of life in Australia more widely, and also in Kew. This exhibition explores how life changed by exploring the memories of people who lived in Kew during these years, the development of notable private and public modern architecture, and the ways that innovation transformed the lives of Kew’s residents. Set of five photos of artefacts and photographs of the main exhibition room of the Kew Historical Society at the Kew Court House. The secondary room includes images of 1950s and 1960s architecture. Also included in this file is the exhibition flyer.kew -- history -- postwar, kew historical society -- exhibitions

The Box Hill Operatic Society was founded in 1945 and was sponsored by the Box Hill City Council. Past productions listed on the back page of the programme include The Quaker Girl, High Jinks, A Night Out, The Lilac Domino, Wildflower, Gipsy Love, Katinka, and Maid of the Mountains. Arthur Henry Dear was an employee of the City of Kew, acting as Hall Keeper of the Kew Recreation Hall in Wellington Street, and later the new Kew City Hall in Cotham Road. The Arthur Dear Collection contains memorabilia - tickets, programmes, invitations - as well as his identification badge. Items in the collection dates from the 1940s to the 1960s. The Kew Recreation Hall (Wellington Street) and later the Kew City Hall (Cotham Road) were major locations in suburban Melbourne in the postwar period for civic and private events including theatre productions and exhibitions. The Arthur Dear Collection (in conjunction with the scrapbooks compiled by Marion Tilley) provide a comprehensive snapshot of performing arts in Kew during the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. The collection includes valuable data about performances, performers, directors etc., during this period. Theatre programme issued by the Box Hill Operatic Society. The 8-page programme contains a title page, a cast list, details of the management, and a brief history of the Company. The performance was held in the Box Hill Town Hall in 1958. arthur dear collection, theatre memorabilia, performing arts - box hill, box hill town hall

Kew Historical Society, founded in 1958, has an extensive reference library, of which this book is a part. Volumes in the library are used by members for research into aspects of local history and/or to support the Society's collections of pictures, maps, fashion and artefacts. Reference books have entered the collection through donation, presentation, collection and purchase.Important social document illustrating Australian views of the world in the immediate postwar periodMont Albert [Vic.] : Edgar J.K. Thompson for the Argus and Australasian Ltd., 1946 48 p. : chiefly ill. (some col.) ; 31 cm. "australian wit and humour -- pictorial, australia -- social life and customs -- 1945-1965 -- caricatures and cartoons.