In April 2022 I began a writing project about an old mansion in West Brunswick that I used to live in (during it’s share house era), supported by a Moreland City Council Making Spaces grant. I was based in the Writers Studio at Siteworks in Brunswick, a former mansion very similar to the one I used to live in.
In October 2022 I gave a talk about the history Melville House for the Brunswick Community History Group. After the talk I met one of the 1970s share house era residents, the talk was also attended by some of my former housemates, the current owners (who had kindly allowed me to take photographs, and copy research materials) and the wonderful Skardon family members who had connections to the house going back to the 1940s and 50s, who had provided me with access to family photos of the house.
In 2023 I wrote an article about the Mentiplay Family, who built the house around 1891, which has been submitted to Fusion, the Brunswick Community History journal.
104 Melville Road West Brunswick c. 1930s, Courtesy Skardon/Gist Family.