The memory of a Kingsville boy who drowned 75 years ago this month lives on in a prominent local artwork.
William “Billy” Broadway left his Somerville Road home on July 4, 1940, never to return.
The five-year-old was found drowned in one of the area’s many local quarries.
Kingsville resident and former Footscray councillor Bill Hodgart, who was 11 at the time, said he remembered seeing Billy riding his tricycle at Somerville Road.
“I’d see him sit outside the shop when I went to school,” he said. “His aunty and uncle were bakers and they lived behind our place.
“There was some excitement around, people were saying ‘Billy’s missing’ and people were looking around in the dark, flashing lights across the open paddocks.”
Keen to see Billy’s life remembered, Mr Hodgart commissioned a local stonemason to create a granite plaque about seven years ago in the hope it could be permanently placed near the site of the drowning.
He passed the plaque on to Maribyrnong councillor Michael Clarke and hopes it will see the light again.
Mario and Delanie Varricchio, who run the happymaree cafe in what was once a barber shop and Billy’s home, wanted to pay tribute to his memory after hearing the story from Mr Hodgart.
Mr Varricchio said they arranged for Yarraville street artist Heesco to paint Billy into a mural on the roller door at the front of their cafe.
“Bill came in when we were opening and told us the whole story,” he said.
“We were getting artist friends to paint the roller doors and when they asked if we had any ideas I said we had this idea about Billy Broadway.”
Billy’s story continued to resonate with the couple, who set about tracking down his grave. After hours of searching at Footscray cemetery, they stumbled across his headstone.
Mr Varricchio said a few strange things occurred in Billy’s former home on the July 4 anniversary of the drowning, including a glass that suddenly shattered and a pair of tongs “flying off the wall”.
“The next challenge is to find some family members,” he said. “And I’d love to try to find a photo of Billy.”
