You may recall the name Alfonso Folle, and if you don’t you’d have no doubt seen his book around Frankston. Dust From Unmade Roads explores the bygone days of Frankston, and the 100 limited-edition copies flew out the door in less than three weeks, leaving dust in their tracks.
The book includes a history of Frankston written by Donald Charlwood, a series of photographs taken in Frankston between 1880 and 1965 that Alfonso collected, a pictorial walk from One Mile Bridge to the top of Olivers Hill with past and current photos alongside each other for comparison, and a timeline from the first land sale in Frankston in 1854 to its proclamation as a city in 1966.
Dust From Unmade Roads took Alfonso more than a year to complete as he sourced photographs from libraries, markets and online databases, digitally restoring and dating each one. Frankston Historical Society president Glenda Viner invited him to talk about his book at the Frankston Arts Centre on Saturday, October 6, to celebrate Frankston History Day.
“This book shows people the origin of the city we see today,” Alfonso said. “Old residents can reignite some memories through looking at the photos and new generations can learn about the place where they live and hopefully in turn will respect it more.”
Make sure to catch his next presentation of Dust From Unmade Roads at the Frankston Library on Thursday, December 13, when he’ll have his second print run available for sale. He’ll also discuss his plans for a new book that will focus on the history of Melbourne.
Visit alfonsofolle.com or his Facebook page Frankston – Dust from Unmade Roads to buy a copy, or borrow one from the Frankston Library.