clipped from www.yarracity.vic.gov.au

‘..to me, Collingwood will always be the potholes in Gipps St, boot factories and grimy terraces, dancing at the Town Hall, the cable trams, John Wren, Jock McHale and the great players’ reminisced former Collingwood footballer, Lou Richards quoted in In those days. And it is because of those memories of John Wren held by many in Collingwood that 148 Johnston Street, Collingwood gains its significance.

The first building recorded on this site was owned by James Henry Foster in 1874. According to the 1875 rate-books a shop had been added to the cottage, and by 1879 another house was built on a vacant block alongside. This pair of brick shops remained in the ownership of Foster, who died in 1888 when they passed to the ownership of Eliza Foster. During that period the resident for over a decade was a George Hampton. From 1893 to 1906, the Sands & McDougall Directories indicate that the shop, a tobacconist and tea merchant, was variously in the name of John Wren and William Cullen. The shop was a front for gambling which took place in the yard behind. The shops were renumbered about 1908 and it rebuilt about 1914 and have had a variety of uses, being at various stages watchmaker, butcher, Chinese laundry and printer. In 2006 the shops and factory in the yard are used for an iron foundry and sculpture workshop.

That is the bare bones of the history of the building, but the main interest lies in the period 1893 to 1907 when John Wren ran his totalisator there for fourteen years. The story of John Wren is unfortunately clouded by hagiography and innuendo and it is hard to separate fact from fiction. This is particularly so because of the publication of Frank Hardy’s fictional account of Wren, Power without glory, in 1950 and the notorious court case which was brought against Hardy by Wren’s children.

Yarra Bend Park, Melbourne

Yarra Bend Park is a 260 hectare (642 acre) park in the Melbourne suburb of Kew. Located 4km north-east of the CBD, it is the largest area of natural bushland left in inner Melbourne. The most notable feature of the park is the Yarra River which flows for 12km through it. The park has two golf courses, a boathouse and a number of cycle and walking trails. It receives approximately 1.5 million visitors per year.

History

The park's location at the joining of the Yarra River and Merri Creek has been an important site for the WurundjeriAboriginal people for a long time prior to the arrival of Europeans in Melbourne, which is commemorated by the Koori Garden on the western edge of the park, near Dights Falls. Yarra Bend Park was officially reserved in 1877, and in 1929 it joined with Studley Park to the south to cover the whole of the area today. From 1848 until 1925 the park was home to Yarra Bend Lunatic Asylum, which took up most of the area of the park with buildings, vegetable gardens and a cemetery.

Stop to Smell the Roses!

Resolution 10: I will fully enjoy my yard, rather than being a slave to its upkeep. I will "stop to smell the roses."

In order to "stop to smell the roses," you must begin to take an interest in the background information about your plants. That will allow you to take more joy in your landscaping. Some plants have interesting stories behind them: how they’ve been used historically and the significance they’ve had in the cultures of the world. You can access a lot of this information in minutes by doing a quick Internet search. Once you have this background information on your plants, it will change your perception of them

Too many people see landscaping as little more than a collection of chores that they must complete: mow the lawn, trim the hedges, rake the leaves.... As such, landscaping is reduced to being merely an extension of the work week. I suggest you stop to smell the roses and start enjoying some backyard fun!