6 Natal Avenue, Edithvale, Victoria, Australia

Date: 1930 to 1981
Location: Edithvale, Victoria, Australia
Surname/tag: Setford

Around 1929 Mabel Setford (nee Crofts) purchased a holiday house at 6 Natal Avenue, Edithvale. As you drive down Natal Avenue, it's the last house on the left side. The backyard backed onto the beach - although the sand had built up from the beach side to the top of the fence, together with trees.

Mabel left the property to her three sons, Donald Setford (1910 - 1987), Ronald Horace Setford (1915 - 1988) and Anthony Setford (1922 - 1980), as tenants in common when she died, and in 1946 it was worth £615.

Over the years the house was described in the Sand's directories as "holiday house", and originally it must have been a dirt road as there is an advertisement in the Argus in 1939 asking for tenders for construction of Natal Avenue.

In 1964 Ron sold his share of the property to his brothers.

Don and Tony sold the property in January 1973. It changed owners a couple of times more before it was demolished, and a new house was built. I heard that the actor Alan Dale had purchased it.

(Lauren Thomson) remembers going down there for holidays in the 1960s when Maiser lived there. Going to Edithvale was considered a "trip" whereas now it's just a suburb. I remember sleeping in a small bedroom near the back door and Maiser sitting next to the bed talking to me. The house was very dark inside. There was a wooden pinball type game.

In February 2019 Peter Setford wrote:

When we holidayed there for 2 weeks every January, the balcony was not there any more and the staircase was blocked off. The hot water service was a kero burning unit that only filled the bath, and the ‘washing machine’ was a copper. I don’t remember what fuel it used. The toilet was outside and the pan was collected by the ‘shit carter’ every week. I still remember the smell when the pan got fullish.

Geoff Setford wrote:

I believe the old house No 6, was purchased in the 1920's. Jan and I lived there in 1972/3, Before we moved to Langrigg Ave, No 21.