⏱️ The 172nd edition of our newsletter is a five-minute read.

Hi there 👋

Matthew Sims here, your reporter at the Eastern Melburnian.

☀️ If you could hang solar panels off your apartment balcony, would you?

🔌 This week, I’m looking into the potential appetite in Melbourne’s east for “balcony solar”, a portable solar system allowing renters and apartment dwellers to create their own energy and then take the system to their next residence.

📬 Have you thought about it? Looked into it yourself? Reach out via [email protected] to share your views.

“The big thing for us now is to get people to come back to Heathmont Village on both sides of Canterbury Road and for people to start shopping again. There’s no compensation available to us.”

The owner of gifts and homewares store Orchard Emporium, Jo Reid, says road work as impacted access to her store and seen her customer base drop right off.

WHAT’S ON COMING UP 🎟️

RECENT HEADLINES 📰

Traders in Heathmont Village are still weathering dwindling foot traffic due to ongoing roadworks, hoping things will return to normal when the project is complete next month.

The Department of Transport and Planning started roadworks at and near the intersection of Canterbury Road and Heathmont Road on April 17.

Dividing three main strips of shops, these roads provide access to a range of local businesses including a florist, cafes, homewares stores and the local Ritchies IGA.

With the completion expected in October, the project includes:

  • Upgrading the traffic lights with fully controlled right hand turns from Canterbury Road onto Heathmont Road,

  • Providing a shared crossing for pedestrian and cyclists over Canterbury Road

  • Resurfacing Canterbury Road between Dickasons Road and Campbell Street.

A department spokesperson said “access to nearby businesses has remained available throughout the works”.

“We encourage locals to continue supporting them,” the spokesperson said. “We thank the community for their patience while these works are completed.”

The owner of health foods store Just Healthy for the past 11 years, Jacky Materia said her daily foot traffic was down by about two-thirds.

“All the stores are suffering,” she told the Eastern Melburnian “Everybody’s just trying their best to just make ends meet.”

Materia said while plans for an October re-opening of all lanes and exits was hopeful, the moment of truth would be if visitors beyond their usual customer base turned into the strip.

“It used to be chockablock full and people used to have trouble parking,” she said. “Are people going to come back?”

🇦🇹 🎶 Honouring Austrian music

Why is this Austrian songwriter and conductor celebrated by a society in Melbourne’s east?

The story involves two Czechoslovakia immigrants and the support of his fifth wife, with the Robert Stolz Viennese Music Society now 42 years old.

The group is hosting a special seniors concert on Saturday October 3.

Check it out in the video below.

Forest Hill’s holey road

The intersection on the corner of Canterbury Road and Mahoneys Road has been a bugbear for local drivers for the past eight years, with Whitehorse Council advocating for the state government to fund a full road base replacement.

Watch the video below.

✍️ EASTERN MELBOURNE QUIZ QUESTIONS

Question 1: Originally named after the coarse silvery-white grass covering the area, what was Croydon’s original name?

Question 2: Which suburb has its name derived from the Indigenous people's expression for “a gurgling stream”?

Question 3: Which suburb’s name is thought to be derived from an Aboriginal word meaning either “battlefield” or “ceremonial ground”?

Question 4: Which suburb’s name combines the Gaelic words for “home” and “vine”?

Question 5: Which suburb’s name originates from a Woiwurrung word meaning "hiding place in the hills" or "sanctuary”?

🗓️ Lastly, here is our list of some of the key events to chuck on your calendar as October approaches.

Cheers,
Matthew