November 18, 2024
Pitch perfect: Heathcote’s 19th century music scene
LIVE musical performances were an integral part of 19th century life at Heathcote. Commercial radio did not exist until the 1920s and although gramophones were...
November 11, 2024
The Heathcote Show: a journey through time
HEATHCOTE celebrated its 140th show this year, and we're sharing some snippets from the past to mark the occasion. These edited extracts reflect the history...
October 10, 2024
From industry to art: the Heathcote mill building’s proud heritage
LOCAL retailers Hugh Moore, James Christie and Frederick Spinks launched their new Heathcote flour mill in December 1869 and the impressive brick structure still...
October 7, 2024
Fruitful Victorians: Heathcote wine’s long-forgotten past
SINCE the 1970s Heathcote has gained a reputation as a world-class producer of fine wine. However wine grapes were being grown in the area more...
September 30, 2024
From the pages of the McIvor Times
140 years ago Published 26 September 1884 A TORNADO or cyclone passed over the Cornella, or Mount Pleasant, district on Saturday evening last. It is stated to...
September 23, 2024
Selling snake oil
DURING the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the pages of the McIvor Times were filled with advertisements spruiking patent medicines and miracle cures. From...
September 3, 2024
From the pages of the McIvor Times
140 years ago Published 15 August 1884 AS time progresses, the introduction of the new Railway Construction Bill is most anxiously looked forward to by the...
August 28, 2024
Historic first flight by local inventor
IN 1910, the windswept paddocks of the Spring Plains pastoral run near Mia Mia, south west of Heathcote, were the site of the first...
August 19, 2024
Early Reminiscences: the origin of the Mia Mia
First published 14 January 1909, THIS account of how the Mia Mia area, south-west of Heathcote, was named was published in the McIvor Times...
August 13, 2024
The Heathcote Mechanics’ Institute: enrichment and entertainment
MECHANICS' institutes sprang up across Australia during the nineteenth century, and many of the buildings remain in use today. Their primary purpose was to provide...
August 7, 2024
The age of the bachelors’ ball
HEATHCOTE'S social calendar was filled with dances in the early years of the twentieth century. With no television, and music only from instruments played by...
July 29, 2024
From the pages of the McIvor Times
140 years ago Published 11 July 1884 ONE of the most important events in the history of this town that has occurred for some time is...
July 21, 2024
The Redesdale Bridge: shining a light on a hidden historical beauty
ONE of Victoria's oldest and most ornate iron truss bridges can be found nestled in a valley in central Victoria.The Redsdale Bridge, roughly halfway...
July 16, 2024
Heathcote’s contribution to the 1866 Intercolonial Exhibition
THE 1866 Intercolonial Exhibition showcased resources, products and artistic works from across Australasia. It opened in Melbourne on 24 October and was the antipodean prelude...
July 9, 2024
Stand and deliver: the 1853 gold escort robbery at Mia Mia
THE sleepy hamlet of Mia Mia, south-west of Heathcote, hit headlines across Australia in 1853 after the ambush of a private gold escort. On 20...
June 30, 2024
From the pages of the McIvor Times
140 Years Ago Published 27 June 1884 BACHELORS' BALL AT AXEDALE A grand ball was given in Drake's Assembly Room, on Wednesday night, by the bachelors of...
June 23, 2024
Heathcote’s Union Hotel: the early days
THE Union Hotel is one of only two nineteenth century watering holes still operating in Heathcote, the other being the Commercial Hotel. At one stage...
June 17, 2024
The weather outside is frightful
EVERY year in late May, a sharp wind whistles up High Street, Heathcote, stripping the last burgundy leaves from the claret ash trees and...
June 9, 2024
Back to Heathcote 1925
THE King's Birthday long weekend sees many people travel to the district for Heathcote on Show. But while the modern wine industry has heightened public...
June 2, 2024
From the pages of the McIvor Times
140 Years Ago Published 2 May 1884 A mud storm A STRANGE phenomenon, in what is described as a mud storm, was experienced at Heathcote and locality,...
May 3, 2024
International touch down for Heathcote player
HEATHCOTE'S Gabe Bradshaw is about to don the green and gold as part of the national under 20s gridiron team, the Australian Outback. He's taking...
April 28, 2024
From the pages of the McIvor Times
140 years ago Published 18 April 1884 To the Editor of the McIvor Times Sir, -- The late secretary of the Acclimatisation Society made a fatal mistake...
April 21, 2024
Local soldiers help defend Australia
DESPITE the gathering clouds of war in Europe, the McIvor Times was largely preoccupied with local issues until mid 1939. But amid stories of council...
April 14, 2024
Stepping out at the Easter parade
BY 1915 Heathcote's Easter Hospital Fete had been a semi-regular part the district calendar for more than 40 years. This was the 22nd event since...
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