http://joyolneyfamily.blogspot.com.au
Early Memories of
Glen Waverley as experienced by the Olney & Petfield families
This presentation was given by me, Joy Olney, on 25 August 2019 to the Waverley Historical Society.
The Olney family
The Olney family have been associated with Glen Waverley since the late 1920s. Arthur and Doris Olney had 3 sons - Keith, Roy, Allan and a daughter Gwenda (who is still alive at 93) Gwenda married Bert Owens and lives in Mount Waverley. The family were great Melbourne supporters.
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| Arthur and Doris Olney |
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| Gwenda, Allan, Roy and Keith Olney |
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| Four generatrions of Olneys - Arthur, Keith, Peter and Darren Olney in 1966 |
Arthur Olney married Doris Moss in 1919. He was a Builder and built many houses in the Malvern and Camberwell areas. Around 1920 Arthur bought 8 blocks of land from 131 - 145 Springvale Road, Glen Waverley with the view to building houses but the depression set in and that was put on hold.
Meanwhile he had a Fruiterer’s
shop in Hartwell 1933-1936. Opposite
Fred Wallis had a Butcher’s shop. Keith
Olney & Marjorie Wallis were smitten from the age of about 15. They married in 1939.
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| Marjorie Wallis and Keith Olney going to watch Melbourne play. |
In 1939 Arthur started building
houses along Springvale Road between The Boulevard and Aurish Avenue, including
one for himself at 143 Springvale Road.
He developed a Poultry farm across the rear of 143 & 145 Springvale
Road. In 1953 he built two bowling
greens on land facing View Road.
In 1940 Arthur built a house for
his son Roy at 135 Springvale Road and 10 years later Roy & Olive Olney
built a tennis court facing View Road which was there until recent times.
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| Bowling Green behind Arthur Olney's house at 143 & 145 Springvale Road, Glen Waverley. |
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| 1951 Springvale Road & High Street Road bottom right. The Boulevard corner top right. |
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| 1963 Springvale Road & High Street Road bottom right. Note the Olney tennis courts top right. |
In 1941 Arthur built Keith’s home
on the corner of The Boulevard & Springvale Road (131 Springvale Road).
Keith also built a tennis court behind his
house.
The two courts were adjoining
each other. Many locals enjoyed Olney’s tennis courts during the week & at
weekends, including myself.
In 1967 Keith built another house for himself
on that tennis court.
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| Home of Keith & Marjorie Olney at 131 Springvale Road, Glen Waverley. Built 1941. |
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| Peter Olney born 29 December 1941. Springvale Road and The Dandenong Ranges behind. |
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| Olneys built a house on their tennis court at 20 The Boulevard, Glen Waverley. |
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| Keith and Marj Olney 1975. |
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| Looking east along Coleman Parade, Glen Waverley - alongside the railway line and Glen Waverley Station in 1950s. |
Through the 40s and 50s Arthur had
land in Coleman Parade near where I.O.O.F. Nursing home is today, along Myrtle
Street, Florence St, Montclair Ave, Bogong Ave & O’Sullivan Road and built
many houses on those blocks.
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| Myrtle Street, Glen Waverley in 1950s. |
One of
those Olney built houses in O’Sullivan Road was purchased by Hatwells and was moved to
Sorrento as their holiday house. The houses along Kingsway to the corner of O'Sullivan Road were removed to allow Kingsway to go through to O'Sullivan Road. A big car park was developed to support Safeway which became Woolworths and is now Dan
Murphy’s.
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Hatwell's house on corner of Kingsway & O'Sullivan Roads ready for transportation to Sorrento.
Glen Waverley High School on the right. |
Arthur built “Tantivy” in
Madeline Street (house of Dr Melville from 1957) and Mrs Morris’ house on
corner Clifford Street & Springvale Road.
After the War, Arthur Olney built many
houses in View Road and The Ridge, assisted by his sons Keith & Roy. The boys took over the business in the mid
50s. Keith’s son Graham joined the Olney builders. Peter went on to gain a
Degree in Building Construction and worked on large multi-story buildings like
Alfred Hospital & Melbourne Dental Hospital.
In 1961 Arthur built a new home
for himself at 145 Springvale Road but Doris died that year. Arthur married his house keeper Eva Dew but
that marriage was short lived.
In 1962 Arthur Olney & Irene
Marriott bought land in Springvale Road between Madeline St & the reserve
on the corner of High St Road. It is interesting to note that in 1958 Council
granted approval for 11 shop sites on the Springvale Road frontage but MMBW
refused consent, the reason being that the Board desired to keep shops off main
roads as much as possible. That land was subdivided by Keith Olney in 1962. Peter & I bought one of those blocks in
1963, but more about that later with photos.
Arthur did stand for local
Council but did not get in. He retired
to Hervey Bay in Queensland and died in 1978.
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| Arthur Olney on his 80th birthday in 1973. |
Keith & Marjorie Olney married on 20 May 1939 and had 5 children while
living at 131 Springvale Road. Keith
served with the forces in Katherine N.T. during WW11.
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| Keith Olney married Marjorie Wallis on 20 May 1939. |
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| Marjorie Olney with sons Graham and Peter. |
Keith was Secretary of the Progress
Association in its early days and was active in the formation of the first
scout group in the district and made a life member. His sons Graham & Peter and then
grandsons Darren & Adrian were Scouts with 1st Glen
Waverley. Keith was also a keen worker
for the RSL and various kindergarten committees and they were active members of
the Glen Waverley Methodist Church.
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| Darren and Adrian Olney were Scouts with 1st Glen Waverley, as was their father. |
In August 1955 the Mulgrave
Municipal Offices were opened and on 14 April 1961 the Shire of Mulgrave became
the City of Waverley.
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| Council Chambers for City of Waverley |
Keith was elected to the then
Mulgrave council and served as a Councillor for 7 years before becoming
Waverley’s Mayor in September 1963. He
represented the North-West ward for a total of 12 years. The Mayor & Mayoress of Waverley had many
functions to attend to over the next 12 months.
Marj particularly found the role a real stretching time, but a great
experience.
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| Mayor of Waverley - Keith M Olney 1963-64. |
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| Mayor & Mayoress of Waverley attending one of their official events. |
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| Peter & Joy Olney, Wyn & Allan Petfield attended the Mayoral Ball in 1968. |
Keith supplemented his income by
cleaning at Glen Waverley High School for a number of years. Glen Waverley Heights Primary opened on 25
July 1960 and Roy Olney was the cleaner there. In 1975 my son Darren who was a
student at the Primary school helped his Uncle Roy by emptying the bins. Darren loved the extra pocket money. You would not be allowed to do that these days!
After his Council work Keith got
into land subdivision work – home sites and factories. Keith subdivided the land that Arthur Olney
& Irene Marriott bought in 1962 into 40 residential allotments. He named Yanagin Drive, Stanfield Court,
Tamara Court & Pindari Street as you go up Madeline Street off Springvale
Road. Peter & I bought a block at 5
Stanfield Court and built our family home in 1970 and lived there for 30
years. Pindari means “high ground”.
There was a particular family interest in “Stanfield Hall” in Norfolk, England
as Marj Olney’s great grandfather was a strapper at “Stanfield Hall” where 3 notorious
murders took place in 1849. In the late 1970s Peter was a Partner with Keith
for some of those sub-divisional projects.
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Springvale Road and High Street Road corner in 1963.
Stanfield Court and Yanagin Drive were being made.
The old Mountain View Hotel has been demolished and a new hotel has been built back from the corner
to allow for Springvale Road to be widened. |
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| Construction of Stanfield Court, Glen Waverley in 1963. We bought No 5 Stanfield Court. |
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| Stanfield Court being constructed in 1963. |
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| "Stanfield Hall" in Norfolk, England after which Stanfield Court was named. |
Keith & Marj retired to “Pindari”
in Balnarring in 1986 - high on the cliff overlooking Western Port Bay. The Arthur, Keith & Roy Olney families
camped at Pt Leo from before the War.
Roy retired to Shoreham and Gwenda continued to camp at Pt.Leo.
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| Marj & Keith Olney, Gwenda & Bert Owens, Olive & Roy Olney at "Pindari" Balnarring. |
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| Keith Olney celebrated his 70th birthday. |
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| Marj Olney celebrated her 90th birthday with her children - Ken, Helen, Peter, Wendy and Graham. |
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| Marj Olney with Gwenda & Bert Owens. |
Keith died in 1987 and Marj died in 2018.
The Petfield family.
Allan & Wyn Petfield came from Murrumbeena to Glen Waverley in February
1957 with daughters Joy & Dawn.
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| Allan Petfield 1957. |
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| Wyn Petfield 1957. |
We
lived on the corner of Clifford Street & Springvale Road. Today the house is EK Dental Clinic and
located opposite “The Glen”.
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Petfield's home Corner Springvale Road & Clifford Street, Glen Waverley before Clifford Street was made.
When we shifted there in 1957 the footpath was not made
and we had a very wide nature-stip to allow for the widening of Springvale Road. |
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| Today it is EK Dental Surgery. |
The family were active at Glen Waverley
Methodist & Allan was a Local Preacher.
He worked with Wells Organisation and Methodist Stewardship for a few
years and established the Travel group associated with the Early Planning for
Retirement group in Glen Waverley.
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| Wyn and Allan Petfield. |
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| Early Planning For Retirement Group have a day out at "Pindari" in Balnarring. |
1965-1977 Allan worked with N R
Reid & Charles Real Estate. He was well known in the area for his big
yellow & black Chevrolet. 1967-1977 Allan dabbled in property
development in Glen Waverley with Peter Olney. They owned 9 houses (between O'Sullivan Rd,
Euneva Ave & Railway Pde Nth, Glen Waverley), all except Mrs Fielding! For a long time her house stood alone
surrounded by the carpark. They hoped the
development of Glen Waverley would go up Railway Parade North alongside the
railway line and O’Sullivan Road opposite the Glen Waverley High School. Waltons, a large department store put an offer
in on the property but Council had other ideas and bought the land from us for
car parking in 1977. It is still a carpark! Allan was involved in a Strategy
plan for the Glen Waverley shopping centre.
How it has changed and grown over the last 40 years.
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Corner of Railway Parade North and Euneva Avenue, Glen Waverley.
Allan Petfield and Peter Olney owned 9 house lots.
Today it is a car park. |
1967 Allan and Wyn travelled to
UK & Europe by sea, and over the next 10 years they travelled the world as
tour leaders about 15 times. In 1973
Keith & Marj Olney travelled with them and they met up with Fred &
Irene Marriott and Noel Reid in London.
Wyn was well known for her spoon & doll collection as she did talks
for different groups.
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| Keith & Marj Olney, Wyn & Allan Petfield, Noel Reid and his wife in London together in 1972. |
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| Keith & Marj Olney, Ruth & Ron Woodgate, Wyn & Allan Petfield on board "Australis" in 1972. |
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| Some of Wyn Petfield's doll collection. |
Allan died 1977 and Wyn 1999.
The Olneys, Petfields and
Marriotts were all good friends. Dawn
used to ride Sonny around Marriott’s property on Springvale Road before they
sold their land to Methodist Church.
Their son Brian was one of the boys we hung out with and I went to his
21st birthday. I even remember that I gave
him a sports shirt. Irene Marriott &
I shared the same birth date, but she was exactly 30 years older than me. (This photo was taken in 2015 when she was
102, but she died a year later).
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| Irene Marriott on her 102nd birthday. |
Now for some memories I have of Glen Waverley from about 60 years ago!
Peter went to Glen Waverley
Primary School, along with his siblings and cousins. It was a 1.5 mile walk
along Springvale Road - no foot paths, no car when it rains, and then a long
walk home again after school. The iceman
came & vegies were delivered from Camberwell in those days.
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| Photos courtesy of Wyn Hatwell's book "Wandering around Waverley". |
The 1st Sunday after
arriving in Glen Waverley I was put in a Bible class at Glen Waverley Methodist
with 6-8 boys. A week or two later I was
made a Sunday School teacher and soon given the task of being their pianist.
Peter always said that from the first time of setting eyes on me, he knew I
would one day be his bride. He had to
wait 7 years!
The Methodist Church was in
Waverley Road, where the Bowls Club is today.
On 16 May 1962 a large gathering of Methodists witnessed the laying of
the foundation stone for their new church on the corner of Kingsway &
Springvale Road and the new Church building was opened in August 1962.
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| The old Glen Waverley Methodist Church on Waverley Road near Springvale Road. |
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| The old Methodist Church closed in August 1962. |
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| August 1962 the new Glen Waverley Methodist Church opened. |
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| Joy Petfield was a student at Methodist Ladies College 1955 - 1958. |
I went to MLC and travelled on
the red rattler with Pam Pilgrim who went to Korowa and the Melbourne High boys
– David Spreadborough, David Murray, John Mc Gree & Denis Hudson.
Roads were unmade and muddy and we used to
leave our muddy shoes at the platform so that we could arrive at school tidy. We walked across the paddocks and climbed up onto the end of the station. When Peter went to Caulfield Tech he rode his bike to Glen Waverley station and
left it there.
He then collected his
other bike that he had left at East Malvern Station and rode to Caulfield
Tech.
The actual railway line went to Springvale Road in
those early days, with 3 tracks east of the station to park train carriages in readiness for the early morning trips to the city. There was just a single line between Syndal and Glen Waverley station. We just hoped it would stop as it came down the hill from
Syndal.
Railway houses were on the
corner of Glen Road & Springvale Road, some along Coleman Parade and others up Railway Parade North, including a sub-station. In 1963/64 a new railway station was built about 120 metres west of the old station to allow Kingsway to go through to O'Sullivan Road.
The line was duplicated between Syndal and Glen
Waverley & opened on 29 November 1964. The old tracks and railway houses were removed and a car park built on the area surrounded by Springvale Road, Coleman Parade, Kingsway and Railway Parade North.
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An aerial view of Glen Waverley in 1951.
Note the railway houses and sub-station either side of the 3 tracks east of the station.
This photo clearly shows why a new station had to be built to allow Kingsway to go through to O'Sullian Road,
and why the Olney built houses had to be pulled down,
and where the new carpark was constructed. |
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| Train carriages parked at the end of the Glen Waverley line close to Springvale Road. |
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| We called these carriages "the red rattlers". Their doors opened out. |
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| Corner Springvale Road & Coleman Parade with a Railway house on the corner. |
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Old Glen Waverley Railway station on Coleman Parade.
State Savings Bank left on corner of Coleman Road & Kingsway.
The new station is being built to allow Kingsway to go through to O'Sullivan Road in 1963.
Photo courtesy of Waverley Historical Society. |
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The new Glen Waverley railway station being built 1963/64. Photo taken from State Savings Bank.
Note railway houses behind the railway line in Railway Parade North. |
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| The new Glen Waverley railway station and line duplicated from Syndal. |
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The new car park surrounded by Springvale Road, Coleman Parade, Kingsway and Railway Parade North.
This is where the railway houses, sub-station, railway tracks and old railway station were before 1963/64.
Photo courtesy of Wyn Hattwell. |
When our family came to Glen
Waverley in 1957 there was a small store called Paxtons in Springvale Road and a
service station on the corner of O’Sullivan Road & Springvale Road. I really do mean a “service station” as in
those days you were served petrol and had your tyres pumped up and windscreens washed.
The land where “The Glen” and Glen Waverley High are today was just
paddocks.
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| Paxton's store was in the Whelan shop in Springvale Road. |
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| Springvale Road with Geoff Davidson's Vet Surgery on corner of Charlotte St, Service Station on corner of O'Sullivan Road. |
Springvale Road was just a 2 lane
road with deep gutters. I remember
falling off my bike into the gutter on my way home from playing tennis on the
Olney’s courts in February 1960. A man
stopped & put my bike in his car and drove me home. Gutter & curbing went in later that year.
Of interest, Peter Olney painted my bike
in the Olney colours of green with red trims in 1959 while I was on
holidays. Now my bike was just like all
the other Olney’s bikes!
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Joy played tennis each Saturday on the Olney's tennis courts.
Joy's bike was painted with the Olney colours in 1959. |
Imagine going along Springvale
Road towards Nunawading.
Springvale Road
was where the north bound traffic is today.
The old Mountain View Hotel was right out on the corner, out where the
traffic turning right into High Street Road is today.
The old hotel building was demolished in
August 1963 to allow for the new eastern lane widening of Springvale Road going south.
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An aerial photo of Springvale Road and High Street Road in 1951.
Mountain View Hotel was right out on the corner. |
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Mountain View Hotel on the corner of Springvale Road and High Street Road when there were only 2 lanes of traffic.
Today the Mountain View Hotel corner is where the southbound traffic turn west into High Street Road. |
Springvale Road looking south from High Street Road corner.
The Glen is on Springvale Road right down to this corner today.
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Beatrice Macdougall and Wyn Petfield on the corner of High Street Road and Springvale Road, Glen Waverley.
The houses have been demolished to give way for the construction of The Glen Shopping Centre.
Beatrice & Wyn are standing where today the southbound traffic goes along Springvale Road.
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McDonalds was back from the
corner as there was a wide strip of land along Springvale Road waiting for road
widening. Clifford, Fairhills &
Kennedy Streets were made in 1963. Outside our house on the corner of
Springvale Road & Clifford Street we had a large grass nature strip. The "Scarred Tree" was on the nature strip outside our back yard. That is now located in
Valley Reserve. It was removed in 1965.
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| The Scarred Tree grew on Springvale Road outside our back yard. |
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| The Scarred Tree was relocated to Valley Reserve, Mount Waverley in 1965. |
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| Making Clifford Street in 1963. |
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| Peter in his Zephr on the verge outside our home on Springvale Road. |
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| Peter on Sonny before Springvale Road was widened and made. |
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Springvale Road in 1967, showing the wide verge with no gutters outside our house.
Opposite is where The Glen is today. |
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| Springvale Road in 1968 with new gutters. It will still have another widening! |
I worked in the State Savings
Bank from January 1959. There was just a
Manager, a teller and myself. The Bank was a shop next door to Mrs Campbell’s
Chemist shop and George Symon’s Foodland & bottle shop in Coleman
Parade. As I had just left MLC Mum
encouraged me to continue with my piano classes, using the same teacher who
lived in Canterbury. The Manager lived in Balwyn so drove me there after the
Bank closed at 3pm. In those days everyone
had a SSB bank account. When I left to be married 5 years later there were 10
on the staff. For years I could still
remember the account number of many of the customers as I lived locally and was
mentally reminded when I met up with them while shopping. My account was 87, Peter’s was 132 and our
joint account was 1105.
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Corner of Springvale Road & Coleman Parade.
State Savings Bank was the shop next door to Mrs Campbell's chemist shop.
Railway house on the right. Railway line went to Springvale Road. |
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| Dawn with Sonny, Fluffy & Frisky in our backyard. |
My sister Dawn had a horse called
Sonny. He was like a “Mr Ed” and well
known in the community. Sometimes I
would walk Sonny up Springvale Road with a halter and put him in the back yard
of the Bank. One day Sonny was in the
back yard & he nibbled the bolt across the outside dunny, locking the
Manager in the toilet. Sometimes when
the weather was fine we had the shop door open with Sonny standing at the open
door with his head & neck in the Bank. He would “nay” to the customers. They
loved talking to Sonny.
SSB shifted to corner Coleman
Parade & Kingsway on 2 October 1962. We did it on a weekend. The staff simply loaded their cars with the
ledgers and drove down the road. I well
remember the time when Olive Olney who was the Treasurer of Glen Waverley
Heights Mothers Club, asked if I could put the money raised from their fete in
the safe at the Bank. I was only about 19
and I alone had the keys to the bank & the vault. That would not happen these days!
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The new State Savings Bank Glen Waverley opened on the corner of Coleman Parade
and Kingsway on 1 October 1962. |
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The staff shifted everything themselves over the weekend.
We drove down Coleman Road with the ledgers and stationary in the back of the teller's panel van. |
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| Sue Menlove unpacking the stationary and ledgers from the panel van. |
One of the girls working at the SSB was Sue Menlove, who became a dancer and a presenter on “Adventure Island”. Sue went to London & was a BBC News reader and married Terrance Donovan the Actor. They were the parents of Jason Donovan from “Neighbours” and who went onto greater fame. Sometimes Sue & I went into Melbourne after work. Reg Perry, the Manager often asked me to buy some Gorgonzola cheese at Myer’s deli. In those days the Banks opened at 9.30 and closed at 3pm 5 days a week, with no Saturday openings. Reg aimed to catch the 3.18 train, often leaving us to lock up. About 2pm one of the younger ones would be involved in a cheque transfer system where we walked down the street to exchange cheques with the Bank of New South Wales, Commonwealth & Commercial Banks.
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| Open for business on 1 October 1962. |
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| Sue Menlove and Graeme Cathcart, the teller. |
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Opposite the Bank in Coleman Parade was the construction of the new Glen Waverley Railway Station in 1963.
Little did I know at that time that the yellow house would be my first home in 1966.
Railway houses in Railway Parade North. |
The Murray family lived next door
to the Dairy in Evelyn Street. Their
Labrador dog was called Kim and he was well known in the area as he wandered in
and out of the shops. Bill Leach was the
local Butcher and often gave Kim a bone.
The young people from the
Methodist Church often had socials and barn dances in the old Mechanic’s Hall
in Springvale Road. It burnt down on 10
Sept 1958.
Glen Waverley Secondary College
opened as Glen Waverley High School in May 1960 with six old Nissen huts. The
early conditions at the school were described as "appalling" with
class sizes of up to 44 students. The total enrollment at the time was 227
students. In October 1960 tenders were
opened for the construction of a new high school to be built on the present
location at O'Sullivan Road & to replace the Nissen huts.
The school's name was changed
after the amalgamation of three secondary schools in the early 1990s to Glen
Waverley Secondary College. The amalgamation of Syndal High School, Lawrence
Secondary College (also known as Syndal Technical School) and Glen Waverley
High School occurred after falling enrollments in the 1980s.
Dawn used to ride her horse Sonny
around the paddock where The Glen is today. One day I decided to saddle up
Sonny, crossed Springvale Road and rode around the large paddock. Sonny started galloping up O’Sullivan Road
towards Springvale Road. I was hanging
on for dear life. He turned onto Springvale Road and stopped opposite our house. Before school Dawn would take Sonny to one
of the many spare blocks in the area that were available for day use. Dad built a large stable in the back yard on
Springvale Road where Sonny was stabled every night. Dawn was a nurse with the Vet, Geoff Davidson
on the corner of Charlotte & Springvale Road, Glen Waverley.
Peter & I got engaged on my 20th birthday on 13th September 1963 and we were expecting a long engagement as I had to be 21 before I got married! Peter was head-hunted by a building construction company in Wellington, New Zealand. They were just starting to get into the multi-story buildings and Peter was in the first batch of Professional builders coming out of Uni. Just the week before Christmas Peter received word that he had the job and would be required to start work on 4 January. That was a good reason to bring our wedding date forward. I had 6 weeks to prepare for our wedding and move to New Zealand. Bookings were made, invitations went out, Sue Menlove gave me a kitchen tea & I even made my own wedding gown. Peter flew home the day before our wedding and we flew out the day after our wedding. We had a 2 year contract but stayed nearly 3 years, arriving back with a 6 month old son. Our 3 year honeymoon in New Zealand was envied by many.
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| Peter Olney and Joy Petfield married on 6 February 1964. |
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| Peter & Joy Olney 6 February 1964. |
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| Peter & Joy Olney leaving "Rowallan" the Reception. |
We had our reception at “Rowallan”. Twenty seven years later our son was also married on a Thursday in MLC Chapel and also had his reception at “Rowallan”. It was demolished in 2014. It is interesting to note that the Petfields moved to Glen Waverley on 7 February 1957, I was married on 6 February 1964 and went to New Zealand on 7 February – exactly 7 years later. (Sadly Peter passed away in May 2016).
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| "Rowallan" became "The Ashwood". This photo was taken 2014 just before redevelopment happened. |
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| "The Ashwood" before redevelopment commenced in 2014. |
In 1966 my Dad was working with N.R.Reid
when a house came on the market on the corner of Railway Parade North &
Euneva, Glen Waverley. As soon as we
knew it was an Olney built home we bought it sight unseen. In June 1969 we moved the house to Batten St,
off Myrtle Street. It was moved in 2 parts.
Quite a sight to see ones house going down Kingsway with the shower
curtain blowing in the breeze! From one
weekend to the next we had put the house together again and transplanted some
trees into the front garden. It was interesting as some people walked past from St Leonard’s Church and were amazed to see a vacant block transformed from
one week to the next. A couple of months
later the house was on the market and it sold quickly.
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| Railway Parade North & Kingsway corner. Our land was up Railway Parade North on the corner of Euneva Avenue. |
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| Our first home on the corner of Euneva Avenue and Railway Parade North November 1966- June 1969. |
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| Coming out of Railway Parade North into Kingsway June 1969. |
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| Turning from Kingsway into Coleman Parade. |
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| Turning from Myrtle Street into Batten Street, Glen Waverley. |
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| Three months later we had the house together again and ready for sale. |
That gave us the funds to then
build our family home in Stanfield Court (Olney subdivided land) where we lived
for 30 years. Tom Petter had lived on that land and grew daffodils. As kids we were scared of him. He was short and stout and well bearded. Iris Pederick built
her house backing onto us in 1980s. Stanfield
Court had about 20 children living there in 10 houses. They used to play footy and 40/40 and freely
go from house to house to play. When it was daylight saving and getting to be
8.30 or so, which parent was the horrible one to start calling them inside for
bed?! They were the good old days. We had court BBQs for years. The kids from
the Court walked to school together and had to cross Springvale & High
Street Road. I could stand at my back
door and see them cross that corner in those days.
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Aerial photo in 1963 showing the corner of Springvale Road and High Street Road.
Stanfield Court and Yanagin Drive were being made. Madeline remained unmade until into the 1970s.
Tom Petter's house is on High Street Road. |
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| Our home at 5 Stanfield Court Glen Waverley under construction in 1969. |
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| We shifted into 5 Stanfield Court in May 1970. |
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| We sold the house in 1999 and it has recently had another story added and doubled in size. |
Robyn’s Brownie leader was Maree
McFee.
I have known Maree all my
life.
Our mothers were in the same room in Carbethon Hospital after delivery in.
I grew up in Murrumbeena
and Maree in Bentleigh.
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| Robyn was a Brownie. |
The Glen shopping centre opened
in 1967 and has had many extensions and renovations over the past 50
years. Safeway & Lindsays were the main
department stores. Houses & streets
along Springvale Road & up High Street Road were removed to allow for the
shopping centre to expand. Until then
Chadstone was our big shopping experience.
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| "The Glen" shopping centre in Springvale Road, right opposite our house in Springvale Road opened in October 1967. |
Graham Olney married Julie Adams
on 3 November 1964. Julie was the daughter of Sen Detective Bill Adams who was
an ardent advocate of police co-operation in youth club work and was the
driving force behind the fund raising for the proposed Tally Ho Pre-school. Two
of my children went there. Bill won many
trophies for swimming.
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| Keith & Marj Olney, Graham & Julie Olney, Bill & Marmara Adams on 3 November 1964. |
One day I parked
my car outside a friend’s house in Angus Drive near where Bill lived. My 2nd son Adrian was asleep in
his bassinet on the back seat. Soon after, Bill knocked on the door and asked
me where I had left my car. He informed
me that it was now down the street and on the front lawn of his neighbours. Oh
how embarrassing! All was well with
Adrian. I just had to replace 3 rose
bushes that the car knocked over. Bill
dressed up as Father Christmas on Christmas Day. Our children thought they were
very honoured to have Father Christmas come especially to see them. Graham bought the BP service Station on the
corner of Ferntree Gully Road & Blackburn Road from Stewart & Jean
White in 1966.
 |
| Two Olney weddings on 6 December 1969. |
6 December 1969 was a busy day
for the family as Keith & Marj’s daughter Helen got married at 10.30am at
Syndal Baptist, and their son Ken married at 5pm at Glen Waverley
Methodist. Why 2 weddings on the same
day you might ask? Helen & Howard
Andrews had already planned their day.
Howard’s father Ern Andrews was the Minister at Syndal Baptist. Ken was about to be sent to Vietnam so he and
his Glen Waverley High school sweetheart Pam Kerr wanted to be married before
he left. To add to the excitement of the
week I gave birth to my daughter Robyn but was still able to attend both
weddings.
 |
| Helen Olney was given away by her father, Keith Olney on 6 December 1969 at 10.30am. |
 |
| Ken Olney married Pam Kerr on 6 December 1969 at 5pm. |
My husband Peter & our son
Darren have followed in their ancestors footsteps as they have been active in
political issues also. Peter stood for
Call to Australia in 1988 & 1990 & as an Independent in 1991. Darren stood as a Liberal candidate for Port
Melbourne in 1988. Darren also fought some battles at Monash University about
compulsory Union Membership and having a Bar at the university. Both were very
radical issues at the time.
 |
| Peter Olney stood as a Call to Australia Candidate and Darren Olney stood for the Liberal Party on 1 October 1988. |
 |
| Peter Olney stood as a Call to Australia candidate and Darren stood as a Liberal candidate on 1 October 1988. |
 |
Darren was on the Monash University Student Union
and voted against having a Bar at the University 20 April 1988. |
 |
| Darren Olney refuses to pay his Union fees - 16 December 1988. |
 |
| Darren Olney believes compulsory membership impinges on his freedom and runs counter to his political beliefs. |
In October 2013 five couples got
together, about 50 years after we were single young people from the Glen
Waverley Methodist Church. Our leaders then
were Brian & Betty Broughton. Graham
& Julie (nee Adams) Olney, Ross & Jan (nee Olney) Corben, Peter &
Joy (nee Petfield), Ted & Lena (nee Hogan) Amos.
I went to my Murrumbeena Primary
School 100th anniversary in 2017.
The oldest living student & the youngest student were asked to cut
the cake. To my great delight that oldest student was Elsie Payne who used to
live in Springvale Road near the Olneys.
She was bright and alert and spoke without notes at 102. Unfortunately she died December 2018 at 103.
 |
Joy Olney with Elsie Payne, both past students from Murrumbeena Primary School
and old residents of Glen Waverley. |
I must close now with the last
photo of Peter with his mother in April 2016.
 |
| Peter Olney with his mother Marj Olney in April 2016. |
I hope you have enjoyed your
journey down memory lane with me. This
presentation has covered 100 years. In
2018 the Olney family went to Norfolk Island because we had 7 First Fleeter
convicts and 2 Marines that all became related one generation later. That is a topic for another talk!
Take a look at http://norfolkislandfirstfleetersandfamilies.blogspot.com.au
 |
| Andrew, Darren, Fiona, Robyn. Donna, Joy and Adrian on Norfolk Island in 2018. |
This presentation was given by me, Joy Olney, on 25 August 2019 to the Waverley Historical Society. Should you have any corrections, comments or additions to make, please contact me via email: joyolney@gmail.com
Some of the black and white photos came from Wyn Hattwell's book "Wandering around Waverley" which she personally gave me and signed in July 1990.
