"For some reason, my mother always gave them a name starting with ‘j’ – Jasmine and Jonathon are two I remember."
Read this article from Barry York who remembers episodes with various birds from his childhood in Brunswick.
"Cat ownership made sense in Brunswick because it was difficult to own a dog in those parts that were becoming increasingly busy with car traffic... Also, Brunswick people back then were low-income, like my parents, and cats were less expensive than dogs to feed and care for".
Read more in this article written by Barry York.
Barry York shares his experience recording conversations with people in Brunswick and other places in Australia. This article is an invitation for the community to create and grow an oral archive of stories because oral records "allows us to experience history in a unique and engaging way... no transcript can capture the accents, intonations, inflections, rhythms and pauses of the human voice".
Did you know Shamrock Street used to be called Royal Crescent? Or that there was a small factory located at the heart of one of the few winding streets in Brunswick? Barry York used to live right next to this factory, but he knows too little about it. Barry did his research but he hit a wall. Maybe you can help him, read to learn more!
What does the magnificent stained glass ceiling of the Great Hall of the National Gallery of Victoria have to do with Brunswick?
The answer is Leonard French. A Brunswick artist "delighted in publicly roasting the Australian art establishment, seeing its art historians, curators and cavilling newspaper critics as his natural enemies".
Learn more about him or teach us something about him in this article.
"I think Franco Cozzo was one of the first 'ethnic' (non-English-speaking background) faces on television based on a positive representation."
Franco Cozzo is definitely an icon within Brunswick, Footscray, and Melbourne's pop-culture. Franco comes from a TV-ads era when commercials unconsciously portrayed our culture and showcased the products that designed our way of living.
Read this Barry York's article to learn more about a local legend Franco Cozzo.
A demonym is a noun used to denote the natives or inhabitants of a particular place. In this article, Barry York, who grew up in Brunswick in the 50's, presents other cities' demonyms to contrast the traditional one for our suburb, "Brunswegian".
Do you think it's time for a change?
The word ‘legend’ is overused these days but if there ever was one in Brunswick, it would have to be Harry Ivory. Harry trained countless boxers over a period of six decades and, at times, they dominated the card at Festival Hall. “He didn’t just teach people how to box and to defend themselves but was inspirational through his actions, words and great insight about life”. Learn his story through the eyes of one of his trainees, Barry York.
