The Essendon Historical Society houses its collection at the Moonee Valley Courthouse where it also operates a Museum and meeting room. The Courthouse was built 1890 and operated as a court until 1974. which also acts as our Museum and meeting room.

Due to the fire at the Courthouse, Museum is closed until further notice.

 

FIRE AT THE MOONEE PONDS COURTHOUSE

On the morning of Monday, June 27, 2016, there was a fire at the Moonee Ponds Courthouse. The Courthouse acts as the headquarters and museum of the Essendon Historical Society. The fire was caused by a faulty light transformer in one of the wall lights in the south-east corner of the main Courtroom. The fire left the main courtroom without a roof, ravaged the period woodwork, including ceiling and original courthouse fittings & features, and destroyed a number of irreplaceable items from the EHS Collection. The bulk of the Collection was fortunately spared from the worst by being stored in other rooms that suffered minimal fire damage. Until further notice, the Museum will be closed.

The Essendon Historical Society is determined to recover and continue to provide its services to the community. The Moonee Valley City Council and Moonee Valley Libraries have provided the EHS with a space in the basement of the Niddrie Library. Although this is not open to the public, it enables us to continue to catalogue and digitise our Collection and research. For any historical or research enquiries, please email us at esshissoc@mail.com.

The Essendon Historical Society is immensely grateful for the support that it has received from the community and will continue to update the public of further developments through this website and our social media accounts on Facebook and Twitter.

To support the Essendon Historical Society in its recovery from the fire, please click here. Any financial assistance you can provide is urgently needed and gratefully received. Donations of $2 or more are tax-deductible.

To view photos of the damage to the Courthouse, please click here.