The photograph was taken to welcome home the Sunbury men who had fought in overseas battles during World War 1.Those who were not wearing their uniforms had been discharged as a result of injuries but they were eligible to be included in the Welcome Home functions that took place after 1918.

Many men from Sunbury enlisted in the defence forces during World War 1. Sadly some did not return while others did come home.

A non- digital black and white photograph of a group of men with one little girl seated and standing in four rows in front of a large screen. Most of the men are wearing army uniforms, one is in a sailor's uniform and others are in civilian dress.

world war 1, defence forces, sunbury

The Sunbury Gun was originally donated to the Shire of Bulla by the Clarke family. For many years it stood at the intersection of Barkly, Stawell and Macedon Streets. Over the years it became very dilapidated and as traffic along Macedon Street gradually increased it was decided to refresh and relocate it to a triangular site opposite the Memorial Hall in 1970. In March 1982, the weathered Sunbury Gun was restored and housed in an atmospherically controlled glass case and displayed again in the triangular site opposite the Memorial Hall along with the War Memorial and the Starkie fountain.

A non-digital black and white photograph of a gun in a large building.

sunbury gun, memorial hall, clarke family, stawell street, barkly street

The men in the photograph are former councillors and they are at an ordinary meeting of the Shire of Bulla council, which took place on 15th July 1974 at the Old Shire Offices in Bulla. Council usually met at the Council Offices in Sunbury but there were times when they met at the Old Shire Offices in Bulla. The people are from L-R: M.Donovan, J.Watson (Deputy Shire Secretary), John Kelly (Shire secretary), C.E.Cook, J.P. (Shire President), John McKerrow ( Shire engineer), D.W.Dumbrell, A.V.Mitchell (Deputy Shire Engineer - Standing), J. Kelly, Eric Boardman (Regional News Gazette - Back to Camera)

A non-digital black and white photograph with a cream border, of ten men seated around a table conducting a meeting in a room.

Information about the event is filed with the photograph in the pocket.

shire of bulla, old shire offices, bulla, councillors, council meetings

The Fanning Family home, 'Sunnyside', was built in Loemans Road after William Patrick Fanning migrated from Thurles, Co Tipperary, Ireland. He was one of the early farmers in Bulla. He and his wife, Catherine had five children. Since he and his wife died their descendants continued to live at 'Sunnyside' in Bulla.

The Fanning family were one of the early settlers in Bulla during European settlement.

A photocopied black and white non-digital photograph of a man, lady and young girl standing behind a picket fence outside a weatherboard Victorian cottage with a galvanised iron roof. The family are smartly dressed in clothes fashionable in the 1890s.

A label with 'The Fanning Family' printed on it has been stuck on the side of the photograph.

'sunnyside', bulla bulla, fanning family, loemans road

Woodlands Homestead is the building in the photograph and the people standing at the entrance must have been invited by the former Shire of Bulla to visit the property when it became a tourist attraction. Des. Dumbrell, the gentleman wearing the light safari suit and standing in the front was one of the local councillors when Woodlands was opened to the public in the 1990. The park later became a home for retired racehorses.

Woodlands Park became a popular tourist park within the area with many varied attractions which include the prefabricated homestead, native fauna and flora and mt. Gellibrand, the highest point in the park.

A non-digital black and white photograph with a cream border, of a partial view of the entrance to a homestead built from stone with a galvanised roof. Nineteen people are gathered as a group at the main entrance. A palm tree is immediately behind the group with larger trees in the background.

woodlands park, woodlands homestead, oaklands junction, shire of bulla

The people in the photograph are outside the Sir John Franklin Hotel which was one of the first hotels to be established in Sunbury in the early days of European settlement along Macedon Street. It continued to operate into the first half of the twentieth century.

A non-digital black and white photograph with a cream border. of twenty two people and a dog standing and sitting outside a hotel building.

sir john franklin hotel, hotels, sunbury

George Evans is the man in the photograph. He arrived in Hobart from England on 1st September 1825 and later came to Victoria in 1836.With a flock of sheep he squatted on land along the Jacksons Creek valley north of Sunbury and built his homestead (known as Emu Bottom) on his holding.

George Evans was one of the first European Settlers to take up land along the Jacksons Creek in Sunbury.

A non-digital sepia studio photograph of a bearded man sitting on a chair and holding a telescope across his lap.The photograph is mounted on cream cardboard.

george evans, emu bottom, squatters

The women in the photograph were members of the Sunbury Red Cross in 1915 and was taken during the years of World War 1 at 'Rupertswood Mansion' one of the Clarke family's homes. Over those four years the local people supported the war effort in many ways. School children knitted garments for the soldiers, Food parcels were sent away to the Front. Local events were held to raise money for the war effort. Many events supporting the war effort took place at Rupertswood and the Sunbury Red Cross frequently gathered at the mansion.

On the Homefront members of the Sunbury community worked tirelessly to support the war effort and leading this movement was the local Red Cross.

A non-digital sepia photograph with a narrow cream border of a group of well-dressed women posing for a photograph in front of a large mansion. A note on the back states that it is an original photograph which was taken in 1915.

sunbury red cross, red cross, world war 1, rupertswood mansion, sir william clarke

The twenty five debutantes made their debut in Sunbury at the Memorial Hall late c1950s or early 1960s. Mrs Aitken trained the girls for the event.

Debutante Balls were a popular annual event in the local Sunbury community and were well attended. They were organised by the Community and/or the Shire of Bulla,

A non-digital black and white photograph of twenty five debutantes with their teacher posing for their official photograph. The names of some of the participants have been listed on the back of the photograph.

debutante balls, debutantes, sunbury, memorial hall, mrs. aitken

The photograph was taken at the Sunbury Presentation Ball in c1940. The participants are Back row L-R - 1. Ron Forbes, ---, ---, ---, ---, Bernie McMahon, ---, ---, ---,---. Front Row L-R: ---, ---, ---, 4. Thelma Dunn, 5. Pat Hayes, ---, 7. Mary Morrison, 8. Judy McDougall, ---, ---. Flower Girl Fay Webb and Page Boy Alan Webb are standing in front of the group.

Debutante Balls were popular annual social events that were usually staged by the local Sunbury community or the Shire of Bulla. They were held in the Memorial Hall and were well attended by people in the district.

A non-digital black and white photograph with a cream border showing ten debutantes and their partners along with the flower girl and page boy posing for a photograph.

debutante balls, sunbury, faye webb, alan webb, ron forbes, bernie mcmahon, thelma dunn, pat hayes, mary morrison, judy mcdougall, flower girls, page boys

The Gisborne Football Club organised a ball, which was held in the local Community Chambers on 26th May 1937. Judging from the number of people in the hall, the event was well attended.

Functions like balls organised by local groups such as sporting clubs have been popular and well attended by the people living in country towns across the country.

A non-digital sepia photograph in post card format of a group of people in a large hall, posing for a photograph in front of a stage. Streamers are decorating the venue with gumtree branches on either side of the stage.

A Memento of the Footballers' Ball inborn 26. 5. 37

gisborne football club, football, gisborne, sporting clubs, balls, social gatherings

The people photographed were attending a ball in Sunbury organised by the local Firemen to raise funds for the local fire service. It took place on the 26th August 1936 in the Sunbury Memorial Hall (formerly Mechanics Institute) in Stawell Street.

Local fund raising social functions like balls were well supported on country towns across the country and were a way of raising the necessary money for the organisations to keep functioning.

A non-digital sepia photograph in post card format of a group of people at a social function, posing for a photograph in a large hall. Details of the event, the donor and maker are on the back of the photograph.

A Memento of the Firemen's Ball, Sunbury 26.8.36

sunbury firemen, balls, social functions, stawell street, memorial hall

The people in the photograph were attending a ball organised by the Sunbury School Mothers' Club in September 1936. It was held in the Sunbury Memorial Hall ( formerly the Mechanics Institute) in Stawell Street, Sunbury.

Local fund raising social functions held in country towns were very popular and well-supported by the community. In 1936 Sunbury State school was a small two-roomed rural school which catered for the children in the district.

A non-digital sepia photograph in post card format of a people in a large hall at a community dance. Details of the event, the maker and the donor have been hand written in pencil; on the back.

A Memento of the Mothers' Club Ball Memorial Hall Sunbury 5.9.36

social gatherings, balls, memorial hall, sunbury mothers' club, stawell street

The 11 workmen are standing at the Sunbury railway crossing facing towards the south. It was in Station Street. In the distance the Sunbury Asylum hill is on the LHS. The men are from the Diggers Rest railway gang. Standing in the immediate front is Jim Brain and front left is Malic Cahill, seated is the ganger, Clary Grimmet, 3rd from right is Phil O'Conner, son of Frank and 5th from left is Mick Frouly.

It wasn't until 2023 that the level rail crossing at Sunbury was removed by redirecting Station Street under it as part of the Victorian Government's program to remove level rail crossings in built-up areas.

A black and white non-digital photograph with a cream border of 11 men standing at a closed country rail crossing. The photograph has been pasted onto a piece of brown light cardboard. In formation about the people in the photograph is on a separate sheet of paper.

sunbury rail crossing, station street, railway gangers, railways, jim brain, malic cahill, clary grimmet, frank o'connor, mick frouly

The small wooden bridge is spanning an arm of the Moonee Ponds Creek in its upper reaches in Greenvale near Woodlands Park, possibly along Providence Road.

A non-digital black and white photograph with a white border of a timber bridge spanning a small creek, which is under a roadway. A country home is visible on the opposite side of the road.

bridges, greenvale

In 1952, the local Sunbury Progress Association sponsored the 'Back to Sunbury' celebrations which were held from 13th to 20th September 1952. The festivities celebrated 100 years of settlement (white) and provided a time for many long-time residents to get together. A.F. Cliff was businessman in Gisborne.

A sales docket for £1.10.0 made out by A.F.Cliff, dated 26/9.52 for the sale of 5lbs of . . . . The purchaser was the Back to Sunbury Committee.

Invoice A.F. CLIFF

back to sunbury, celebrations, a.f. cliff

The two storey building is the Royal Hotel which replaced an earlier single storey building that was destroyed by fire in 1935. It stood on a corner at the intersection of Brook and Evans Street. The new hotel was completed and opened in 1939 on the same site and still functions as a hotel today.

The Royal Hotel was has occupied the same site in Sunbury's shopping strip for 163 years.

A non-digital black and white photograph with a cream border of a brick two storey hotel with white trims around the windows and doors. The building occupies a street corner in a shopping centre.

hotels, brook street, evans street, royal hotel

The two storey building under construction is the Royal Hotel. The larger building replaced the former single storey hotel which was built on the same site in 1861. The new building is a red brick structure.

A non-digital black and white photograph with a cream border of a two storey brick building under construction and surrounded by scaffolding.

royal hotel, evans street, brook street, hotels

In this image. the older Royal Hotel building which stood on the corner of Evans and Brook Streets has been demolished and surrounding buildings that were part of the former hotel's complex are left.

A non-digital black and white photograph with a cream border of a demolition site with some surrounding buildings.

royal hotel, evans street, brook street, hotels

The building being demolished in the photograph is the Railway Hotel which was destroyed by fire in 1936. It was decided to demolish the old building and rebuild a more modern hotel on the Brook/Evans Street corner where the old building had stood for 61 years.

A non-digital black and white photograph with a cream border of a single storey building undergoing demolition. Two other buildings are visible on the site.

royal hotel, brook street, evans street, hotels

The single storey Royal Hotel was built on the SE corner of Brook and Evans Street in 1861, two years after a rail service reached Sunbury. It occupied that site until July 1936 after a fire destroyed the building. It was decided to demolish the old hotel and replace it with a modern building. The first stages of the building's demolition have been captured in this image.

The Royal Hotel was one of the first hotels to be built in Evans Street when businesses moved from Macedon Street closer to the station after rail services came to Sunbury in 1859.

A non-digital black and white photograph of a single storey hotel building being demolished. The doors and windows have been removed as well a portion of the iron roofing. Three empty barrels are stacked by the doorway.

royal hotel, brook street, evans street, hotels

The building is in a section of Brook Street on the south side between O'Shanassy and Evans Street. The news office and the retail business were run by the Boardman family in Sunbury.

A non- digital black and white photograph with a cream border of a group of buildings comprising a double fronted weatherboard house, shop and news office with nine people standing in the street.

brook street, arthur boardman, newsagency

The building is the Sunbury News Office after the business moved to larger premises on the SW corner of Brook and O'Shanassy Street. In its new location, the Boardman family ran the news office and a general store in the adjacent shop.See entry P0868 for further information.

The building is the first Sunbury News Office that was owned by Arthur Boardman. In 1892 he began publishing the' Sunbury News' in this printing office which was on railway reserve near the station, which today is the bus terminal at Sunbury Station.

The 'Sunbury News' was distributed throughout the Shire of Bulla and surrounding areas for almost 7 decades.

A faded sepia non-digital photograph backed onto fawn coloured cardboard of a shop building with five people standing outside.

sunbury news, arthur boardman

The two storey building is the Royal Hotel which is sited on the corner of Brook and Evans Streets in Sunbury's main shopping strip.The photograph was taken sometime in 1939 after it was totally rebuilt. A fire had damaged the old single storey structure, which was built on the same site c1860 shortly after Sunbury had a rail service. The building still operates today on the same site.

The Royal Hotel is one of four hotels that were built in Evans Street Sunbury between Brook and Station Streets ion the 1860s shortly after the rail service arrived in the town. They were They were the Railway Hotel (Olive Tree), White Horse Hotel, Royal Hotel and the Rupertswood Hotel, opposite the Royal Hotel.

A non-digital black and white photograph with a cream border of a two storey brick hotel building with light concrete trimming around the windows and entrances sited on a corner. A large black sedan car is parked near the corner.

royal hotel, hotels

In 1916 a jumble sale took place in the Sunbury Common School building and afternoon tea was also available. Violet Boardman is the lady seated. The first Sunbury Common School No. 604 was built in 1871 in Macedon Street, between Barkly and O'Shanassy Streets, with 32 students enrolled. By 1910 the building was in a bad state of repair and was replaced with a new Federation style brick building, that opened on 2 May 1912 and was renamed Sunbury State School No. 1002.

An old non-digital black and white photograph of gathering of a gathering people outside a building that is displaying a tea rooms notice.

jumble sales, violet boardman, sunbury common school no. 604

A wheat silo was erected on railway land adjacent to the Sunbury Station in 1967. Frank Millett handled the operations. As bulk handling was the preferred way to transport wheat, the silo gave local cereal growers to deliver their grain to the railhead. Over the years of the operation 200 grain wagons delivered wheat annually to the silo. In 1984 the silo was dismantled and removed.

Cereal growing was one of the agricultural activities carried out in the Sunbury and surrounding areas for many years.

A non-digital coloured photograph of a metal wheat silo being dismantled. A crane is beside the silo and two men are suspended from the crane in a basket to ensure that the sheets of iron land safely on the truck.

wheat storage, silos, frank millett, cereal crops, sunbury railway station

The photograph was taken at one of the early Sunbury Shows. In April 1900 saw the establishment of the Sunbury Horticultural Society but it was in September 1915 that the first Sunbury Show was held at the Corporation Sale Yards in the form of a horse parade and sale. In 1917 the Show was held at the Old Reserve which was adjacent to the railway precinct. Today the Sunbury Show is held in October at the Clarke Oval.

Annual Agricultural Shows are important events in many towns throughout the country and in Sunbury, it still draws crowds.

A non-digital black and white photocopied photograph of a gathering of people at an agricultural show. Some people are on horseback while others are herding some cattle and a group are unloading barrels from a horse and dray.

sunbury show, agricultural shows

The property in the photograph is the winery building at Goonawarra Vineyard, which is situated on the east side of Jacksons Creek and on the north side of Macedon in Sunbury. The winery and homestead were established in 1858 by James Goodall Francis, who received a crown grant of land in Sunbury. From 1865 to the 1920s, the vineyard produced white wine grapes. James Goodall Francis died ion 1884 and the property was brought by M.P.Synott who ran merino sheep on the property. It wasn't until the early 1980s that Goonawarra reverted to be a vineyard after the property had been in the hands of a variety of owners.

Goonawarra was one of Sunbury's earliest wineries to be established in the area.

A coloured polaroid photograph with a white border, of a pathway leading to a double storey building

goonawarra winery, james goodall francis, wineries, jacksons creek

The two homesteads are Ben Eadie and Craiglee, which were two of Sunbury's earliest vineyards that were established in Sunbury. James Stewart Johnson designed and built his concrete home, Craiglee, in 1865 where the previous year he had planted out his vineyard on the surrounding 26 acres of land.The property was on the east side of Jacksons Creek on Macedon Road. He concentrated growing Riesling and Hermitage grapes. After his death in 1896, his son Wilfred continued to produce wines until the late 1920s, when he pulled out the vines and concentrated on raising sheep for wool and meat. The Carmody family purchased the property in 1961 and in 1976 decided to replant the vineyard. Ben Eadie was built some time in 1863 and settled by the Eadie family who also were millers. The winery was built into the side of a hill close to the house but the Eadie family tended to concentrate on milling and retailing.

In the earliest days of European settlement many wineries were established in the Sunbury area.

Two non-digital sepia photographs have been mounted on cardboard. They are photographs of two homesteads with bare hills in the background. They were built in Sunbury in the early days off European settlement

Ben Eadie Vic. Craiglee Sunbury 1903

john eadie, ben eadie winery, james stewart johnson, craiglee, wineries, vineyards