High Street, Reservoir, C.1931
Reservoir is a northern suburb of Melbourne, 11 kms from the city. The area was initially part of Greater Preston, the next suburb to the south, but gained its own identity in 1921 when the Post Office opened.
The name comes from the 3 reservoirs which were built in 1863, designed to provide fresh water to Melbourne’s inner suburbs. They are unseen, just to the right of this shot amid the pine tree reserve, along with Reservoir railway station.
The photo looks south, taken from the Broadway corner. The road surface is unpaved but the gutters you will note are lined with bluestone blocks.
Among the shops at left is a Newsagency and Cooper’s Cash Grocery, with what is likely the horse-drawn Grocery cart out front.
A motor vehicle appears to be parked (no driver evident) on the right and several other vehicles can be seen further down the road, including a man on a motor-bike with side-car.
Two buses are at the left: The one on the right ran a service from Reservoir to the city via Preston, Northcote, Clifton Hill and Fitzroy. The other ran a local service along High Street to Dundas Street at the northern edge of Preston. Here it would meet the Clifton Hill to Northcote Cable Tram service.