Historical information

This particular thoroughfare connecting Belgrave-Gembrook Road and Emerald-Monbulk Road, now home to many local and major business, has changed greatly over the last century. This dirt road was once home to the first Emerald butcher, established by Robert John Couper around 1900. Located on the corner of Main Street and Monbulk Road, the butcher was first run out of Couper's home, then it moved into a shop built on their property and customers were most often served by his wife Mabel. The butcher was then purchased by the Madigan Family in 1924 and run by Timothy James Madigan following his return from World War One service. Animals were slaughtered on-site, then stored in an underground cellar. Meat was then purchased in the store-front or delivered to local towns and homes by horse-drawn carriage and, eventually, delivery vans.

Significance

This photograph demonstrates with incredible clarity just how greatly the local Emerald township has changed over the last century, especially on a thoroughfare as central as the one pictured.

Physical description

This black and white photograph features a dirt street lined with trees and buildings. On the left, a street sign points to locations such as Lilydale, Monbulk, Gembrook, Ferntree Gully, Macclesfield, and Melbourne. Two women stand behind the sign, waiting to cross the road. A butcher stands on the right side of the street and car is parked out front. Telephone poles are dotted along the road, both disappearing around a corner and into a horizon of trees. On the photograph's reverse is some handwritten text.

Inscriptions & markings

Rear, handwritten in ink: "Emerald. / Mar. 1948."