Fletcher Jones (FJ) Stories grew out of a campaign to highlight our community connection to the FJ Story in Warrnambool when, after many years of neglect, the Fletcher Jones Warrnambool Pleasant Hill site looked as though it would be lost. The campaign, led by artists and community groups, started in 2012. The terrible deterioration of the Pleasant Hill site steadily gained attention as people shared stories, photos, artworks and movies inspired by the FJ story, the FJ Gardens and the Silver Ball. A small band of volunteers kept the gardens alive in those years.
The Save the Silver Ball and Fletcher's Gardens Facebook page, established in Feburary 2014, attracted the attention of Dean Montgomery, who bought the site in mid 2014. Dean said the expression of community connection attracted him to look again at buying the site, as it meant so much to so many people and he didn't want to see it fall down.
The FJ Stories project grew from seeing some of the photos and stories shared during the community campaign. We decided it was important to make sure this rich vein of the FJ legacy was not lost. Representatives from five community groups and interested individuals in our community formed the FJ Stories Project Steering Group in late 2014. During 2015, we held a series of morning teas where people were invited to come with a story, photograph or object to share about what made Fletcher Jones so special. We also received around 1500 photographs in 2015 via artist Glen Morgan. The photographs had been collected, scanned and organised on 3 CDs by David Jones, son of Fletcher Jones and Managing Director of Fletcher Jones and Staff from 1979. These photographs expanded the project to also document key moments in the history of Fletcher Jones, the man and the business.
Since mid 2014, we’ve celebrated the sympathetic renewal of Warrnambool’s Pleasant Hill, the Silver Ball and Fletcher Jones Gardens by Dean Montgomery and the FJ Stories project has worked alongside the site renewal still slowly taking place. The Jones Family Foundations have supported, participated and allowed us to use photos from their collection. Many people who worked for, or have a connection to Fletcher's shared photos, memorabilia, old newspaper clippings and stories. We acknowledge the enormous support and contribution by so many people in the course of the project. It's all been a little bit magical. We hope you enjoy the website and welcome your feedback.
In 2017, the FJ Stories Project won the Victorian Community History Award for best Collaborative Community History Work. In 2021, we won the Heritage Council Community Award for the Project.
Thanks to the Fletcher Jones Family Foundations and the Isobel and David Jones Foundation for their kind support throughout the course of the project. The Gwen and Edna Jones Foundation funded the initial stage of the project and Warrnambool City Council contributed funding for printing the first story panel produced in the project.
Project Partners: Warrnambool Planning & Heritage Group, The F Project, F Project Cinema, Warrnambool and District Historical Society, Save the Silver Ball and Fletcher’s Gardens FB Group, First Ladies Productions, Bluestone Magazine, Warrnambool Art Gallery (WAG), Melbourne Uni Archives, the Jones Family. Special thanks to Susan Jones, Troy Kelly, Dean Montgomery, Tim Carlton and the members of the FJ Stories Project Steering Group: Claire Drylie, Tonia Wilcox, Glenys Phillpot, Jan Johnson, Mark Rashleigh, Emma Charlton, Helen and Des Bunyon, Colleen Hughson, Kerri Worland, Graeme and Barb McLeod.
Project Coordinator – Julie Eagles
Website design and support - Tim Umney