Sunshine & District Historical Society Incorporated

Sunshine & District Historical Society Incorporated The Society was established in 1972 to foster historical interests and knowledge and to collect, preserve and display items of historical interest.

www.sunshinehistoricalsociety.org.au

Some early photos of the Sunshine & District Old Boys Club.Can anybody identify the people in the photograph?The Sunshin...
09/05/2026

Some early photos of the Sunshine & District Old Boys Club.

Can anybody identify the people in the photograph?

The Sunshine Old Boys Club was a post‑war community and social club in Sunshine, Victoria, formed by local men, mostly ex‑students, ex‑servicemen, sportsmen and long‑term residents, and it became a major civic organisation with its own clubhouse at 14 Patterson Avenue.

The club is still going and has become an inclusive mixed‑membership club.

Sunshine In Miniature ExhibitionSunshine Library, 301 Hampshire Road SunshineThe Sunshine & District Historical Society ...
01/04/2026

Sunshine In Miniature Exhibition

Sunshine Library, 301 Hampshire Road Sunshine

The Sunshine & District Historical Society proudly presents this exhibition of miniature model railway buildings. They are paper and cardboard model buildings scratched built by Mr. M. Wakeling, a model railway enthusiast.

These models records some of Sunshine's past and current buildings in miniature.

The models were donated to the Sunshine & District Historical Society a number of years ago and this is the first time they have been on public exhibition.

Sunshine State School Swimming Pool
04/03/2026

Sunshine State School Swimming Pool

Aerial view of Sunshine 1946Note the location of the old Sunshine State School Swimming Pool
04/03/2026

Aerial view of Sunshine 1946

Note the location of the old Sunshine State School Swimming Pool

The Millennium Man was a large metal sculpture commissioned by Village Cinemas Sunshine in the 1990s. Created by BIGFish...
23/02/2026

The Millennium Man was a large metal sculpture commissioned by Village Cinemas Sunshine in the 1990s. Created by BIGFish in Footscray, he was designed as a playful, larger‑than‑life movie mascot.
He was a muscular figure holding a globe wrapped in a strip of film, symbolising movies around the world
The sculpture and was built from metal, with a bold, comic‑book aesthetic and was only intended originally to last only five years, but he became a local icon instead.
The Sunshine Marketplace redevelopment in 2016 included a significant refurbishment of Millennium Man but by 2020, he had deteriorated badly with rust and structural issues, and the fact that people loved climbing on him made him a public liability.
The Millennium Man was removed sometime after 2020 and has not returned to the site.

Bonegilla Migrant CampBonegilla was the biggest and longest‑running migrant reception centre in post‑WWII Australia.It o...
15/12/2025

Bonegilla Migrant Camp

Bonegilla was the biggest and longest‑running migrant reception centre in post‑WWII Australia.

It operated from 1947 to 1971 and received over 300,000 migrants from more than 50 countries.

Bonegilla was divided into 24 blocks, each functioning like a small village:
- Mess hall
- Dormitories
- Ablution blocks
- Recreation huts
- Classrooms
- A hospital
- A police station
- A post office
- A cinema
- A canteen
- A kindergarten
Block 19 is the only surviving section today.

Bonegilla is deeply connected to Sunshine and St Albans because the post‑war population boom was driven by Bonegilla arrivals. These arrivals looked for work in the district.

Many of these families later shaped:
- Sunshine Harvester
- Kinnears Ropeworks
- Olympic Tyres
- Railway workshops
- Housing Commission estates
- Construction projects
- Process workers
- Hospitals and domestic service
- St Albans High School
- Sacred Heart School
- Local shops
- Sporting clubs
- Churches
- Community organisations

27/10/2025

Sunshine Overpass Construction Constructed 1961 (No Sound)

Sunshine & District Historical Society Annual Pioneers LunchSunday 16th November 2025 1:00pmSunshine RSL 99 Dickson Stre...
20/10/2025

Sunshine & District Historical Society Annual Pioneers Lunch
Sunday 16th November 2025 1:00pm
Sunshine RSL 99 Dickson Street Sunshine.

Guest Speaker Charlie Bezzina, former Victorian Police Force Homicide Detective

All Welcome

Albion Tennis ClubShire of Braybrook President Cr. Joseph "Joe" Parsons opening new Albion Tennis Club rooms at 27 King ...
06/10/2025

Albion Tennis Club
Shire of Braybrook President Cr. Joseph "Joe" Parsons opening new Albion Tennis Club rooms at 27 King Edward Avenue Albion in 1939

Early photograph the H.V. McKays Gardens Tennis Court. No date recorded.
30/09/2025

Early photograph the H.V. McKays Gardens Tennis Court. No date recorded.

Address

775 Ballarat Road
Deer Park, VIC
3023

Opening Hours

10am - 2pm

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