A KALLISTA resident is searching for locals who know or have pictures of an old house Sunnyside.
Jason Fox, whose house on Sunnyside Avenue sits on the remains of the property owned by tramways executive John Garibaldi (Garry) Roberts and his family, said he was looking to publish a book on its history.
Sunnyside was a gathering place for Mr Roberts’ literary and artistic friends, which included poet C.J. Dennis who wrote The Sentimental Bloke.
The regular artistic gathering was recently celebrated in the Sunnysiders Festival in Kallista.
“The whole Sunnyside property was 10 acres and it’s all been subdivided,” he said.
Mr Roberts brought disused omnibuses to the property which were used as accommodation for his visiting artists.
C.J. Dennis finished writing The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke while staying in one of the omnibuses.
“We’ve still got the foundation and we’ve been finding old bits and pieces like metal, old door locks and old pieces of omnibus.”
The Sunnyside group also included Aeneas Gunn who wrote We of the Never Never and David Low, a well known wartime cartoonist and creator of Colonel Blimp.
Garry Roberts died in 1933 and the homestead burnt down in 1935.
Mr Fox said he was looking to find out more about the people who lived at Sunnyside and those who have visited the property, many of whom were involved in the name change of Kallista.
He is currently receiving help from the C.J. Dennis Society and is also scouring through archives and history books.
“The original owner, Garry Roberts, has got 27 scrapbooks at the State Library, which are massive,” he said.
Mr Fox has lived at his property for more than two years, and since searching on Google to find out more information about the history of the area, his project has snowballed.
He said there are more photos and books around, and is appealing for anyone with information about Sunnyside to contact him via sunnysidehistory@iprimus.com.au.
