After recently hearing rumours about an unknown historic plaque somewhere on the Toyota site, in Altona North, members of the Altona Laverton Historical Society and of the Friends of Lower Kororoit Creek were welcomed to the Toyota Centre of Excellence by our host Robert Hutchinson. Robert gave us a short background and then led us out to the garden area to view the plaque that had been erected, in 1978, on the remnant bluestones that once formed the foundation of the historical homestead of William Cherry Jnr and his wife Louisa Cherry nee Doherty.

The homestead once occupied the site that Toyota now occupies on Grieve Parade, just south of Kororoit Creek. The plaque and the wall were put in place by the construction company Civil & Civic when the building was underway. We wish to sincerely thank the generosity of Robert and his fellow Toyota employees for allowing us to view and record the details of this plaque and record it historic significance to the area. Our job now is to go back over maps and aerial photos to see if we can locate the exact location of the original homestead on this site.