Then & Now

This photograph was taken in 1978 and features a young Maidi Mitchell and her friend, Jenny. At the time, Maidi was 8 years old. The photograph was taken at a Christmas party in the back yard of Maidi’s Mount Waverly home.

Maidi’s childhood home was not your conventional arrangement for suburbia at the time. 

Maidi’s parents and two other families purchased three houses with backyards backing into each other, then the fences were removed to create one large space. This created a cooperative and allowed for a shared space, but more importantly it cultivated a number of fabulous and fond memories for the families growing up there.

Jenny, featured in the photograph, was a daughter of another couple in the cooperative. Maidi loved growing up with kids a similar age to her.

Maidi shifted out of the family home when she was about 19 and moved to Hawthorn, and following this, she lived in Richmond. About twenty years ago Maidi moved from Richmond to Healesville; her partner had a house here and they believed Healesville would be an ideal place to raise a young family.

We’re glad they made the move!

Thanks for sharing, Maidi