#ThrowbackThursday – Today we time travel back to the intersection of Kalbar Road and Main Road, Eltham, circa April-May 1989. We recently digitised some negatives covering Main Road from Beard Street to Kalbar Road. The roll of film included the new Food Plus at the corner of Beard and Main (previously featured as the Eltham East Service Centre) and the newly built shops opposite the Food Plus. And closer to Kalbar Road was the new Eltham Gateway Motel and Conference Centre under construction. At Kalbar Road is Eltham Garden Nursery, now a 7-Eleven and car wash and next door Eltham Garden Supplies, now Webster Farm and Garden. But what really excited us was the discovery of a never before seen photo of the Eltham Barrel as viewed from Main Road and an advertisement for the upcoming entertainment on May 12 (presumably 1989); a Joke Night featuring Shane Bourne as well as the Kids of Rock with Brian Cadd and Max Merritt. The Barrel had been purchased by former Sydney Swans footballer Mr Paul Morwood and his wife Linda in December 1988 and by all reports, business was improving. Unfortunately it was burnt down by an arsonist on the evening of June 4th, 1989 so the Kids of Rock may well have been one of the last entertainments put on at the Barrel. The loss of the Barrel certainly led to a change in the built landscape at Kalbar and Main.
Do you remember the Eltham Garden Nursery? Did you landscape your new home with plants from there? Did you get your landscaping supplies from next door? And did you go see Shane Bourne, Brian Cadd and Max Merritt at the Barrel? What was it like? The sign is clipped so we don’t know who was performing with Shane Bourne, but if you went and remember, we’d love to hear your stories.
