By LACHLAN MOORHEAD
ENDEAVOUR Hills residents were given plenty of time to reminisce this month as the suburb they call home turned 40.
The 40th anniversary of land sales in Endeavour Hills was celebrated last week with several photograph and art displays, as well as an informative local history seminar held at Endeavour Hills Library on Monday 18 November.
Library branch manager Narelle Stute said the history talk generated some enlightening discussion between local historian Heather Arnold and residents.
“Part of that night consisted of Heather Arnold talking about the history of Endeavour Hills and we also had a panel of longstanding residents, so they were able to reminisce, even beyond the 40 year time,” Ms Stute said.
“In fact one of the panel members had had family living around here for 160 years, so he had plenty to share.
“The people who actually came to the night were both longstanding residents and we also had new residents to the area, who just wanted an appreciation of the area they’d moved into.
“It was really lovely.”
Ms Stute said the stories brought up at the history presentation impressed and amazed her.
“One member of the audience mentioned how unique it was that when Maranatha Christian School opened in 1983, there were still students riding their horses to school,” she said.
“Not many other schools in the early 1980s could boast the same!”
Ms Stute also said there were some residents at the history night wondering whatever happened to the James Cook statue, last located at the corner of Matthew Flinders Avenue and Monkhouse Drive.
Close to 50 people attended the history event at the Endeavour Hills Library, which has a range of items and relics on show for the anniversary.
In addition to historic copies of the Endeavour Gazette, dated back to 1977, and photos of the library opening in 1987, the Endeavour Hills proclamation was also on proud display.
The proclamation stated that the land was “designed to be a residential suburb” with its own “suburban character” and was officially named Endeavour Hills in October 1974.
An Endeavour Hills history display was also set up at the shopping centre earlier this month, which included photographs from longstanding residents in the area, as well as art submitted by primary school students from Mossgiel Park, St Paul Apostle Primary, Thomas Mitchell Primary and James Cook Primary.
Foruya Fedai from Mossgiel Park Primary School was the winner of the art competition and these displays will now be on show at the Endeavour Hills Library for several weeks.
Ms Stute said much of the information shared this month will hopefully be added to the library’s newly founded oral histories collection which is available via the Casey Cardinia Library Corporation’s website.
Anyone interested can visit www.cclc.vic.gov.au/oralhistories.
