Today I made a short trip to deliver some glass. I delivered about 25 glass works to a really interesting Art Exhibition that is taking place in a lovely village called Selby near Melbourne, as part of this year’s “Selby Festival”.
I have never been to this place before and it is so pretty that I stopped and took lots and lots of pictures!
Selby is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 37 km south-east of the centre of Melbourne.
Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Yarra Ranges.
Selby’s census population rose from 159 in 1933 to 1,396 in 2006.
The settlement of Selby occurred in conjunction with Menzies Creek, a short distance eastwards.
After the narrow-gauge railway opened 1900, the provision of a station in May 1904 required a name.
The name of Selby was chosen as a compliment to a local landowner and councillor, George Selby.
The Post Office opened on August 1, 1913 (closing in 1994).
The land around Selby is particularly hilly, as evidenced by the curves in both the road and the railway.
The eastern side of the township is dominated by the steep Black Hill, on which there is a reserve.
Whilst the topography put restraints on farming it attracted tourists and weekenders.
In the 1920s Selby’s weekend population rivalled Belgrave’s, but a scarcity of sub-divided land drew made potential holiday home owners and others away from Selby.
Some notable Melburnians built homes in Selby, and the Carlotta Tye memorial at the Anglican church commemorates the wife of George Tye, owner of a then well-known Melbourne furniture emporium.
Today when I was there, a local tradesman was repairing this lovely gate and was hoping I could get a good picture of it for my blog!
Local parishioners are the backbone of tiny communities like this and everyone was so friendly. I am already looking forward to many many more visits to Selby!
Selby’s proximity to Belgrave ultimately attracted residential subdivisions, and a primary school was built in 1951.
The township has several reserves and shops, including a General Store which continues to serve local needs.
Following a landslide beyond Selby in 1953, the narrow-gauge railway fell into disuse as a regular railway and was closed the following year, only to be re-opened in 1962 as the current extremely popular tourist-oriented Puffing Billy Railway which winds its way attractively through deep gullies, forests, farmland and gentle hills. If you haven’t enjoyed a day on Puffing Billy, you really should.
Wildlife abounds in and around Selby. King Parrots, Galahs, Yellow Tail Black Cockatoos, Black Wallabies, Echidnas, Koalas and Wombats are often sighted. Visits from Barking Owls have been recorded as recently as 2005.
Here are some pictures of the glass pieces I have on show in this lovely little town this weekend!
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- Whispy White
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- Orange Heart
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- Baguette Platter in Pick Up Sticks
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- Octagonal Bowl
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- Oversized brooch
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- Arizona design
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- 1918 Design
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- Navy Transparent
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- Manley Modernism
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- The Aegean Sea
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- Oversized brooch
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- 3 Dimensional Pendant
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- Red Wine Bottle Stopper Set
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- Making the Earring sets
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- One book mark
This festival is long finished however you can always order these glass items to be made by me for you, get in touch and we can chat about what you’d like. [email protected]
Tags: art competition art glass art show artglass Australia Belgrave fused glass Ornithorhynchus - platypus photograph Puffing Billy Selby site 2 warm glass Yarra Shire
Carlotta was Allen’s wife however not George’s. George married Alicia Florinda McMillan and he passed in 1934. I wonder if some of the comments here also confuse these two people. Allen and George were brothers who operated Tye & Co, a furniture business operating from several premises throughout Melbourne. George owned a property in Romsey, Victoria (Koomangoonong) where the family frequented on weekends and holidays.
I purchased in 1973 the former holiday home of George Tye on 10acres along Selby-Aura Rd.
After restoring it to it former glory we sold it in 1978 to Maurice Liberman who continued the work we had commenced.
Beautiful landscapes and beautiful glass! Best of luck with the show!
Thank you Linda – All the best for your classes – loving your blog and colour samplers!
What a lovely way to do business!
It certainly was a wonderful day and so picturesque!