This is a summary of some of the articles taken from the newsletters and other correspondence sent to the Secretary from SEHA Groups and Societies. Compiled by Heather Arnold.
Bass Valley Historical Society
• Heather Arnold, President of the Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society, was the guest speaker at the afternoon tea meeting held on September 6, 2026. At the meeting to be held on December 6 the discussion will focus on the upcoming celebrations of Corinella’s Bicentenary – https://corinella.org.au/bicentennial/
Brighton Cemetorians https://www.brightoncemetorians.org.au/
• The September 2026 issue of The Cemetorian has profiles of some of the people buried in the Cemetery including Marion Miller Knowles (1865-1949) poet and journalist; Donald Hartley Rowe (1876-1958) master baker, who operated a bakery in rural Narre Warren from 1911 until 1922; Samuel Peter MacKay (1862-1923) grazier and racehorse owner and Henry Ouseley Blake Lane (1846-1913) U.S. Civil War veteran.
Chelsea and District Historical Society https://chelseadistricthistorical.org.au/
• The August 2026 newsletter has a report of their AGM where Marcus Mulcahy was elected President; Angela Pitts – Vice President; Jan Mulcahy – Secretary; Heather Scott -Treasurer; Leonie Taylor and Dianne Stephens – General committee. There is an article on the James family who had a farm on the Richfield Estate (which was previously the Richfield Racecourse). Charles James also operated a tearoom and shop – the Pioneer Room – on Point Nepean Road, Aspendale, from 1906. The shop closed in 1976.
• The October newsletter has a lovely story by Heather Scott (nee James). Heather has lived in the area her entire life and shared her memories of the houses her parents built after their marriage. There is also a history of the Bonbeach Railway Station.
City of Moorabbin Historical Society
• Invitation to the final ever public open day at Box Cottage Museum, Joyce Park, Jasper Road, Ormond, on November 29, 2026. It will be an opportunity to celebrate 66 years of community history, volunteering and dedication to preserving local heritage.
Friends of Cheltenham & Regional Cemeteries https://www.focrc.org/
• The August 2026 Raves from the Graves contains part 2 of the comprehensive story of the McQueen family, written by FOCRC committee member, Eric Smith. The McQueen family arrived in Victoria from the Isle of St Kilda.
• On Sunday September 13, the Tragedies of the 1930s tour at the Pioneer Cemetery was held, with eleven interested participants. The tour focused on people buried at the Pioneer Cemetery who had tragic deaths in the 1930s.
Hastings – Western Port Historical Society https://www.hwphs.org.au/
• The September 2026 newsletter has an article by Lance Hodgins – The Man with the Road machine. In 1912 the the Shire of Frankston and Hastings purchased a Champion road grader for around £80 (about $80,000 today) – which would revolutionize the building and maintenance of the roads throughout the Shire… In early 1912 a public trial was held on a stretch of the Dandenong Road near the Frankston railway station and a quarter of a mile was formed in only four hours. This interesting article looks at the road grader, which is on display at the Hastings Museum, and the men who worked it.
Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society
• The September 2026 newsletter has a report on the Yannathan State School, No. 2422 reunion of 1964. The October newsletter has an article by Heather Arnold on Milk trains – the trains that local farmers used to transport their milk to Melbourne for processing. Sadly, from early on there appears to have been dissatisfaction with the Railways – the trains ran late or the trains left too early; freight costs were too high; there was a lack of Sunday trains which held back the growth of the dairy industry and there was poor handling of the milk cans.
• In the November newsletter, Heather looks at the forty-six men and women who are listed on the Catani World War Two Honour Board, which was unveiled on July 13, 1947. There is also a comprehensive report of the activities held at the Museum in October for Seniors Month and History Month.
Mornington and District Historical Society www.morningtondistricthistory.org.au
• The November 2026 newsletter looks at the history of the Peninsula Cordial Company of Frankston. There are articles on two objects from their Museum collection – G. Salter & Co. Weighing scales and a J. Maddock & Co. Chair, manufactured in Collingwood.
Mornington Peninsula Family History Society https://www.mpfhs.org/
• The August issue of Peninsula Past Times has an article by Alison Knight – Certificates: Clues worth paying for – information which you can find on Birth, Death and Marriage certificates. Who gives the woman? byWendy Lohse, looks at the institution of marriage and the reality for women in the past; and Pam Norman has her regular and comprehensive list of updates to Ancestry and Find My Past.
• The November Peninsula Past Times has an article by Pam and Ric Norman –Tragedy follows the Hobley family. Richard and Phoebe Hobley arrived in Victoria in 1857; they moved to Mt Eliza where Richard was employed by local land owners. Sadly, in 1865 Richard, Phoebe and their two youngest sons passed away within weeks of each other, leaving three orphaned children. In October 2026, ten of Richard and Phoebe’s descendents travelled to the Mornington Peninsula from Western Australia to walk in the footsteps of their ancestors.
Narre Warren & District Family History Group http://nwfhg.org.au/
• In the August 2026 Spreading Branches Marianne Rocke has an article on the Melbourne Benevolent Asylum records which the State Library of Victoria is in the process of digitising; Eileen Durdin continues her story on the Wanke family and some of their activities from 1919, as gleaned from a diary kept by Oscar and Minnie Wanke. There is also a report of their AGM, where Patrick Ferry was the guest speaker. His topic was Signed, Sealed and Delivered – a look at seals (the ones on documents, not the ones in the sea).
• The November Spreading Branches is issue no. 150. Eileen Durdin has written a history of the newsletter which has recorded the life of the NW&DFHG since 1989. The Group has a collection of printed Victoria Education Gazette and Teachers’ Aid. They hold the 1931 volume, followed by consecutive volumes from 1935 to 1986 and an article by Eileen covers the range of family and local history information you can find in these volumes.
Rye Historical Society https://ryehistoricalsociety.au/
• Issue 3 for 2026 of White Cliffs has a report of their recent AGM where Lynne Woollard was elected President; Mechelle Cheers Vice-President; Prue Found Secretary; Ian McBeath Treasurer; Committee: Shirley Bird, Christine Evans and John Hazledine. John has an article in this issue – A short history of Tyrone Foreshore. The Tyrone Foreshore Committee was established on October 15, 1955. There is also an article on William Wong Shing, who was born in China in 1880. After living in Carlton he moved his family to Rosebud West in 1910 where he grew vegetables on the area known as Chinaman’s Creek.
Wonthaggi and District Historical Society http://www.wonthaggihistoricalsociety.org.au/
• The September 2026 Plod essay is excerpts from Celebrating 100 Years in Australia, a recent autobiography of the Grieve family, compiled by Anne Hargreaves (Stirton / Grieve). It is a personal account by members of the extended Grieve family, of Gordon House and life in Wonthaggi. Gordon House was a boarding house operated by the widowed Frances Grieve from 1926 until 1932; she then operated the Union Cafe until 1937.
• The October Plod showcases the content of Rees Quilford’s Light Box Lane exhibition ‘At the Union’, which explores the history of Wonthaggi’s Union Theatre. The exhibition was on display until the end of October.
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