Records Search

Records Search

Not only have the brick works gone, but following council amalgamation, all their records appear to have been misplaced as well.  Maybe some day they may reappear.  This is an E-Mail response I got from Monash Council.

“Good morning John,

 “I received the photos of the properties we discussed from  XXXXX thank you.

I have searched our Records Management System over the past few days and recalled several files that may have had information.  Unfortunately I cannot locate any information that is relevant to your research.

Below is a summary:

1.      Oakleigh Brick works – Behind Notting Hill hotel Cnr F/T Gully road 7 Gardiner rd -none found.  Several file were retrieved from offsite archives covering the Notting Hill Hotel planning applications going back to 1960.  No information regarding the land behind the Hotel.

2.      Gambles Brick Works – none found

3.      Cnr Whitton & Parkinson  st east Oakleigh – none found

4.      Brick makers park Stamford rd – information regarding the construction of the park but none about the previous use of land.  Brickmaker park enhancement works showed nothing regarding the previous site

5.      Hurst reserve Brick works Cnt F/T Gully rd & princess hwy – none found

6.      Evans Bros. Princess (sic) hwy between Park rd & lever st – none found

7.      John Scott Brick works Princess (sic) hwy between Tamas (sic) grove & Clyde st – none found

8.      Brick works Co. Oakleigh Ltd Westminster st Oakleigh – none found.”

Normally, I would call it a day at this point and question if maybe the records were misplaced following the Council amalgamations some time ago, or maybe the previous Oakleigh Council not keeping proper records,  but if you put "Westminster Street Oakleigh" into the GOOGLE machine, there is more recent report commissioned by the Monash Council into the site giving heaps of information that I have incorporated into my story.  The old Oakleigh Council records are sitting in boxes in the basement of the Council offices.  

I would suggest that they, and the former Waverley Council records be transferred to the Monash Federation Centre where people who have a genuine interest in them can collate and conserve them.  They do no-one any good sitting in a basement and secondary storage if their contents cannot be accurately known.

And the search goes on.