Seville: The Vision and the Reality – 100 Years 1886-1986
Australian History Local History Antiquarian & Collectible Genealogy & Family History Regional Studies Rural Life & Agriculture Community Development
“Seville: The Vision and the Reality – 100 Years 1886-1986” is a scarce first-edition, numbered local history that charts the transformation of a tiny Victorian railway siding into a thriving Yarra Valley community. In just 96 pages, historian Trevor Jones packs rare photographs, personal recollections and official records to show how Seville’s orchards, saw-mills, schools and sports clubs shaped Australian rural life. The book’s centenary focus (1886-1986) makes it the definitive snapshot for genealogists tracing Dandenong Ranges settlers, vintage-tractor enthusiasts, and anyone collecting hyper-local Australiana.
Collectors prize this 1986 hardcover because only a small numbered print-run was produced for the Seville Centenary celebrations; each copy is individually stamped, guaranteeing provenance. The sturdy binding and clean, unmarked pages have survived nearly four decades, while the original dust jacket—light scuffing only—still brightens any bookshelf of Australiana. A gift inscription on the front endpaper adds a touch of provenance without detracting from readability, and the absence of ex-library stamps or dog-ears keeps the book firmly in the “near-fine” collectible bracket.
For readers, Jones writes with the pace of a novelist: bullock teams hauling red-gum logs, apple trains steaming toward Melbourne markets, and the 1930s heyday of the Seville Picture Theatre. Young adults researching local projects, family historians seeking names and faces, or travellers planning Yarra Valley weekends will find maps, biographical sidebars and a full index ready for instant reference. Owning this numbered first edition means holding a piece of living history that will only become scarcer as the region’s centenary souvenirs disappear into private collections.
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