History

Further to the lovely history of our little estate houses posted by Gillean Dunk. This podcast by This Must be The Place is about Newlands Estate.

This Must be The Place Episode 6 - Ernest Fooks, Newlands Estate, & Melbourne modern design heritage

https://soundcloud.com/david-nichols-738987609/this-must-be-the-place-episode-6-ernest-fooks-newlands-estate-melbourne-modern-design-heritage

From Viennese Avant Garde to Newlands Pizza Plus: an episode of This Must Be the Place that’s about two things: a place, and a person who was influential in making that place. The place is the Newlands Estate, an area developed by the Housing Commission in the 1940s and 1950s, in Melbourne’s north. The person is Ernest Fooks – to whom Newlands owes part of its design. Fooks was an avant garde European émigré architect and planner, and Newlands was one of his first projects after emigrating to Melbourne from the war in Austria. The Newlands estate – known for its parks, topography, mix of housing types, ubiquitous red brick, and community facilities – was the beginning of an influential 40 year career in Australia for Fooks, whose work went on to include numerous luxury modernist homes for the Jewish community, and Jewish institutional buildings. In this episode David interviews architect Catherine Townsend, a Fooks expert. And Elizabeth interviews Cate Hall, an active member of the Newlands community who has been involved in campaigns to save the Coburg Olympic Pool (in Newlands), and to regain a high school for the area. The heritage value of modernist design is part of the story, as is the politics of investment in community infrastructure.

Heritage info on Newlands:
 
http://vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/places/56082

Newlands is part of Coburg North – sitting roughly around Murray Road and the Merri Creek, and recognisable for the little red brick houses. The estate is heritage listed.