By Callum Ludwig
The Upper Yarra Historical Society successfully held its Step into the Past event over the weekend of 15 and 16 March.
In perfect weather, over 90 attendees came along over the two nights to see the three performances, with Mad Hatters Theatrics performing small vignettes accompanied by historical images from the Upper Yarra Museum’s collection which were projected on screens around Warburton by the Little Projector Company.
Starting at the former Warburton station platform, the audience travelled back to the 1920s and joined Mr & Mrs Hewitt as they enjoyed a honeymoon in Warburton. Mrs Hewitt was reminiscing about their walks around the Valley, their picnics by the Yarra and the wonderful services Warburton offered for wary travellers from Melbourne. It was then time for Mr & Mrs Hewitt to board their train back to Melbourne while the participants continued by foot to the Warburton RSL Peace Garden.
The setting at the Peace Garden invited reflection from attendees, who stopped to see the 47 stainless steel ‘birds of peace’ taking flight in the Garden to honour the 47 men from the Warburton area, who never returned from their service in WW1. The birds are amidst stylised trees as a symbol of the treed area these men called home. At the Peace Garden participants witnessed a moving scene from the war years where a soldier lying in the trenches is writing a letter to his beloved wife back home.
The evening finished at St.Mary’s Hall where Betty, Sylvia and Mavis were discussing the current affairs of the Valley in 1950s on the train on their way home from Lilydale to Warburton. Life was good in the Valley in those years: there was lots of work if you wanted it. Be it in the timber industry, building the Upper Yarra dam, at the Sanitarium Health Food Company or the Weet Bix Factory, as it was known to the locals. The Adventist Warburton Hydro and Hospital, known affectionately as the Hydro, was growing every decade. There were plenty of shops and services in the area and plans for a new high school to service the ever-growing Upper Yarra Valley were in progress, not to mention the highlight of the social calendar; Queen Elizabeth’s visit to Warburton.
After the last performance, guests enjoyed tea and sweets served with live music performed by local musicians Lucy and Bryce Richards.
The Step into the Past event was supported by Yarra Ranges Council, the Warburton Advancement League and the Warburton RSL Sub-branch.
Anyone interested in finding out more about Upper Yarra Valley history is welcome to visit the Upper Yarra Museum in Yarra Junction, open on Wednesdays Sundays from 10am till 4 pm. Visit the website for further information upperyarramuseum.org.au/.
