My suburb survived poltergeists, Olympics and a name change – but you probably don’t know it

June 15, 2026 — 7:00pm

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As I walk our family dog along the quiet streets and local parks in East Oakleigh, it is difficult not to notice how much it has changed. Where quarter-acre blocks were once the norm, it is common to see multiple units on these generous lots. They are functional. They are not particularly attractive.

My newlywed parents first moved here in the late 1950s. Back then, Oakleigh East was a patchwork of brick-veneer and weatherboard homes, sprawling paddocks, and market gardens. This was a time when childhood memories were formed and local community was important. Neighbours became our extended family. Our home was theirs, and their home was ours. Doors were never locked.

Not everyone had a phone or a television. It wasn’t unusual for a neighbour to sit comfortably in our kitchen for hours, chatting to family and friends, while life in our household went on as usual. Then there was the time that half my class crossed the school oval, and crowded into our suburban living room to watch man’s first landing on the moon, on our small black and white TV.

The backdrop to our outdoor playtime was the 40-metre chimney at the end of our street in the Oakleigh brickworks. My mother would be annoyed by the chimney soot that would fall on the freshly washed clothes drying on our backyard Hills Hoist. Washing days were planned around the chimney activity.

After operating for around 90 years, production ended at the brickworks in the 1970s. We all watched excitedly as an explosion brought that chimney down in a cloud of dust. The site........

© The Age