150A commemoration by the City of Stonnington of the 150th Anniversary of the first Meeting of the Gardiner Road Board (later Malvern Council)Malvern Town HallMonday, 13 November 2006

That this special meeting of the City of Stonnington commemorates the valuable contribution the Board Members and Officers of the former Gardiner Road Board and the Councillors and Officers of the later Malvern Council gave to its citizens from its first meeting in the Wattle Tree Hotel on 8 November 1856 through to the municipality being proclaimed a Shire on 26 May 1871, a Borough on 22 February 1901, a Town on 24 April 1901, a City on 30 May 1911 until the final meeting on 8 May 1994.

Notice of Motion

National Anthem – Korowa Anglican Girls’ School

Reading of the Prayer – Manager Governance & Corporate Support Fabienne Thewlis

City of Stonnington Reconciliation Statement – Mayor, Cr Anne O’Shea

Welcome – Mayor, Cr Anne O’Shea

Guest Speaker – Federal Treasurer, The Hon Peter Costello MP

Notice of Motions – Cr Claude Ullin

Guest Speaker – Dr Alan Gregory

Launch of Stonnington Thematic Environmental History – Mayor, Cr Anne O’Shea

Conclusion of Official Ceremony – Mayor, Cr Anne O’Shea

Order of Proceedings

That this special meeting of the City of Stonnington commemorates the work of: John Butler Cooper, Lynne Strahan, Alleyn Best and the past and present Presidents, office bearers and volunteers of the Malvern Historical Society in preserving the history of Malvern and its surrounding areas.

Notice of Motion

Victoria Government GazetteMonday October 6, 1856

Bounded on the West by the municipal District of Prahran, on the south by the Main Dandenong Road to the South Eastern angle of Portion 179 in the Parish of Prahran; on the east by a line north to north eastern angle of portion 188 in the Parish of Prahran on the Kooyong Koot or (Gardiner’s) Creek, and on the north east and north by the said Kooyong Koot or (Gardiner’s) Creek to the Municipal district of Prahran. And l do hereby further proclaim and declare that the specific name or designation of such Road District shall be the Gardiner Road District.Origin of Gardiner – John Gardiner, one of the first overlanders from the Murrumbidgee River to Port Phillip in 1835 and his family lived in a house in the vicinity of the creek, now bearing his name.Origin of Malvern – The first recorded use of the name Malvern was in January 1854 when Charles B.G. Skinner, a barrister, named his new hotel (corner Malvern Road and Glenferrie Road) the Malvern Hill Hotel, after the district in England where his forebears had lived.The coat-of-arms of the City of Malvern includes the Royal Coat-of-Arms surmounted atop two shields, one with a hand-plough and the other with a wheat sheaf. A sheep hangs between the shields.

Gardiner Road Board Setting the Scene 1856 – 1864

Source‘History of the City of Malvern 1836-1936’ by John Butler Cooper

‘On November 22 1856, The Board issued its first public notice which was printed on calico and nailed to various trees. It informed all and sundry that ‘parties cutting, destroying timber or removing sand, loam &c, would be prosecuted according to the Act.’

‘The Board granted the Surveyor the expenses of one day’s hire of a horse to examine private and public land in the Gardiner district to report where thistles were growing. The Board decided to have the streets named and to have plates written with letters at least half a foot in length. The names were to be nailed on to the nearest tree to every street intersection and a copy of such names was to be sent to the Government.’

The first Gardiner Road Board MeetingSaturday 8 November 1856 Wattle Tree Hotel

As reported by the Herald, the following business was transacted:

Present - Messrs Rutherford, Scott, Kent, Sitwell, Nash, Smith and McClure.

Moved by Mr Sitwell, and seconded by Mr Scott, That Gideon Rutherford Esq act as Chairman for the ensuing twelve months. Carried

Moved by Mr Nash, and seconded by Mr Sitwell, That Robert Kent Esq act as Honorary Treasurer for the ensuing twelve months. Carried

Judge Frederick Revans Chapman’s recollections 1854-64. “Malvern had a name, and the nucleus of a suburb, though it was hardly a village… From Malvern Hill we used to make our way through post and rail fenced paddocks to Gardiners Creek. All the country there was in farms, save that two or three residences, stood facing a road

which may have been Malvern Road. One of them was the house of Mr Damyon, the Russian Consul… All about here was our favorite opossum shooting ground, when we grew bigger…. One sign of coming civilization which l recollect at Malvern was a building erected about 1862-3, in Wattle Tree Road and labelled ‘Quadrille Club’.”

First Chairman of Gardiner Road Board Mr Gideon Rutherford

Moved by Mr Nash, and seconded by Mr Sitwell, That all moneys arising from assessments, or otherwise, be forthwith paid into the Bank of Victoria to an account entitled the ‘Gardiner Road Board Account’, and that all cheques drawn on such account shall be signed by, at least two members of the Board, and one of whom must be chairman, and countersigned by the Treasurer, and every cheque, before signature, shall be entered in the books of the Board and initialled by the secretary. Carried.

Moved by Mr Sitwell, and seconded by Mr McClure, That the press be requested to insert gratuitously the proceedings of the Board’s meetings. Carried.

Moved by Mr Kent, and seconded by Mr McClure, That the meetings be held for this month at the Wattle Tree Hotel, Gardiner, weekly each Saturday, at 3 p.m. Carried

First Secretary (Hon.) of Gardiner Road Board Richard Nash

‘A special meeting of the Board was held on May 11 1864 to make a special order for levying tolls within the district of Gardiner. It was determined to erect and maintain toll houses at Scotchman’s Creek Road and near the bridge over the Gardiner’s Creek.’

in old cans, the source of illumination being a tallow candle, when the vagrant wind did not blow it out.’

‘Each publican had, under the terms of his hotel licence, to keep a lamp burning in front of his house, but as there were but few hotels, and they were far apart, the light they gave to the travelers on the road was not very helpful. Later the lights on the roads were more frequently met with, though they were dim lights indeed, peeping through nail holes

A Place in History Following is a small selection of the many places that played a significant role in the life and development of Malvern.

Malvern Town HallWhen the City of Stonnington was created in 1994 through the amalgamation of the Cities of Malvern and Prahran, local government had already been operating in the area for almost 140 years.

Meetings of the Gardiner Road Board were first held in 1856 at the Wattle Tree Hotel, then in St George’s Anglican schoolroom. From 1859, members of the Road Board met in the district’s first Court House that was erected on the site of the present Town Hall. The Shire Council held its first meeting in the Court House in 1871.

Planning for a shire hall commenced as early as 1867. In 1878 land on High Street and Glenferrie Road, was reserved for a shire hall, court house and library.

In 1884, following years of debate, a building was proposed to include a hall capable of holding 400 people, a court house, public reading room and library and rooms for a Magistrate, Clerk of Petty Sessions and Shire Secretary. Plans by architects Wilson and Beswicke were accepted for the new building, which was to cost £8,651. The foundation stone of the Malvern Shire Hall was laid by the Hon. Alfred Deakin on 22 September 1885. Shire President, Cr. Robert G. Benson, invited all those present to a luncheon in a marquee on the adjacent Malvern Cricket Ground.

On 26 July 1886, a large crowd witnessed the opening ceremony and in the evening Cr Benson presided over a civic banquet in the Main Hall.

Additions to the Shire Hall in 1890 included an extended Glenferrie Road façade and a second tower, to be used as a look-out tower for the fire station located at the rear of the Town Hall.

The following year the main tower was extended to accommodate the clock presented by Cr Alex McKinley.

In 1926-27, additions and alterations designed by architects Hudson and Wardrop included a new Council Chamber, Main Hall, Supper Room, Upper Foyer and Front Portico.

In 1996 major renovations were undertaken in order to accommodate the offices of the City of Stonnington and the building was re-named the Stonnington City Centre.

The First Tram The Prahran & Malvern Tramways Trust was formed in 1908 to construct and operate municipal electric tramways. Cable trams had been running in Prahran since 1888.

The Trust’s first lines, along High Street from Charles Street Prahran to Tooronga Road Malvern, and via Glenferrie Road and Wattletree Road to Burke Road East Malvern, opened on 30 May 1910.

The first tram ran from the Coldblo Road depot in Glenferrie Road, which was designed by local architect Leonard J. Flanagan in conjunction with the Trust’s electrical engineers, Noyes Bros. Pty Ltd. The original depot was the first, and later the largest, of the depots constructed by Melbourne’s Municipal Tramways Trusts

prior to the formation of the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board.

The Prahran and Malvern Tramways Trust played a key role in facilitating suburban expansion south of the Yarra River. Tramways were extended into the municipalities of Caulfield and St Kilda (1911), Melbourne (1912), Hawthorn and Kew (1913) and Camberwell (1916).

In February 1920, when the Trust was taken over by the Tramways Board, it was operating over 90 trams on 35 route miles of tramway.

Harold Holt Memorial Swimming CentreIn 1924, Council voted to build Malvern’s first Municipal Baths. The Baths were designed by the City Engineer, Barton Coutie, using ideas from overseas. Built at a cost of £10,476, the baths included a wedge shaped pool and bathing boxes. The Malvern Baths were opened by the Mayor Cr. Harry Wilmot, in November 1927.

By the early 1960s the facilities were declared ‘inadequate and outmoded’ and in 1966 Malvern Council commissioned architects Kevin Borland and Daryl Jackson to design a new swimming complex. The complex consisted of five pools, with a large glass walled building enclosing a 25 metre and beginners’ pool, which enabled year-long swimming.

Malvern Hill HotelBuilt in 1853, this hotel is the oldest hotel in the Malvern district. The Malvern Hill was built for barrister and land developer, Charles G.B. Skinner to attract purchasers to his planned Village of Ledbury in the Malvern Hills Estate. The present two-storey brick building was erected in front of the original weatherboard hotel and stables in 1861.

Malvern Municipal BandThe Prahran and Malvern Tramway Employees Band, formed in 1911 at the home of Charles Snelling, included players from other local bands. The most notable of the Band’s many competition successes were the New Zealand Nationals in 1926 under Harry Shugg and six consecutive South Street Ballarat contests under Harry Philpott (1960-1965). The Band, which has practised at Northbrook Stables since 1932, was re-named the Malvern Municipal Band in 1946 and Stonington City Brass in 2000.

The outside main Olympic pool was the first pool in Australia designed to metric standards.

Following the tragic death at sea in December 1967 of Malvern’s local member and Prime Minister of Australia, the new pool was named the Harold Holt Memorial Swimming Centre. The Centre was opened by the Prime Minister, John Gorton in March 1969.

The building, now listed on the Victorian Heritage Register, is considered to be among the most notable examples of Brutalist architecture, a style adopted in the 1960s.

Malvern GardensMalvern Gardens were opened by Duncan Gillies M.P. on 12 December 1890. The area had been a water reservation since 1856. Prior to 1869, the natural spring had supplied the developing suburb with water. In 1885, when the government intended auctioning the land, a public protest caused it to be secured for public use.

In 1888, the Council approached gardener Thomas Pockett, ‘to prepare a plan of a sandy barren waste with a view of converting it into a municipal garden’. Pockett was appointed Curator of Malvern’s gardens, a position he held for thirty years. Pockett laid out the gardens with serpentine paths and no straight lines or formal angular beds. A row of English Oaks was planted each side of the drive. As Pockett achieved world acclaim in the

breeding and growing of Chrysanthemums, displays of his prize-winning blooms became a feature of the gardens.

The lawns were designed, and the planting was arranged, so that long views could be obtained through the gardens, which were surrounded by a picket fence until 1918. Pockett’s original design included a fish-pond where, above artistic grotto work designed by Charles Robinette, a handsome fountain was installed.

In 1911, the Governor, Sir John Fuller performed a ceremony in Malvern Gardens proclaiming Malvern as a City. Eventually the gardens included an oriental style jarrah pavilion and a tea kiosk, built in 1924. On 6 May 1999, a replica of the original fountain was unveiled.

considered to be a great success and additional land was gradually acquired. The Black Bridge was removed around 1938.

In the 1980s around eight hectares were taken from the 43 hectare Golf Course for the South Eastern Arterial Road Link. A major re-development resulted and the present course - one of the few architecturally designed golf courses in Melbourne, was re-opened in 1988.

During the depression unemployed relief workers were used to lay out the Golf Links.

The 9 hole Municipal Golf Links between Thornbury Crescent and Scotchman’s Creek was opened in April 1931. In 1932 the Council agreed to extend the links eastwards following the success of the 9 hole course. 13 acres had been purchased on the Camberwell side of Gardiners Creek and the old course, which consisted of a series of streams surrounded by swamps, was drained and filled. A new creek bed, from Scotchman’s Creek to Warrigal Road, was cut by sustenance workers.

The 13 hole course was opened in April 1934 and a year later the 18 hole course, covering 110 acres, opened with facilities at Thornbury Crescent. The Course was

Malvern Valley Golf CourseLand for the original Municipal Golf Course was acquired over a period of 30 years. Beginning in 1904, 18 acres (7.2 hectares) of Crown Land in the vicinity of East Malvern Station, was secured as the Eastern Recreation Reserve.

In 1915 land was acquired between Winton Road and the Black Bridge - a single line timber trestle bridge spanning Gardiners Creek, constructed in 1889 for the Outer Circle Railway. In 1923, agent T.M. Burke subdivided the Malvern Meadows Estate east of the Black Bridge and donated around 70 acres of low-lying creek land to Malvern Council for recreation purposes.

By 1924 work had commenced on the construction of the Municipal Golf Links at Waverley Park adjoining East Malvern Station.

2004 – 2008City of Stonnington Councillors

Chief Executive Officer

Executive Management Team

East WardMayor, Cr Anne O’SheaCr Judy HindleCr Steve Stefanopoulos

North Ward Cr Tas AthanasopoulosCr John ChandlerCr Sarah Davies

South WardCr Christopher GahanCr Melina SehrCr Claude Ullin

Mr Hadley Sides

Mr Warren Roberts Mr Jon Brock Mr Geoff CockramMs Connie GibbonsMr Paul Cherednichenko

Telephone: 8290 1333 Facsimile: 9521 2255 Email: council@stonnington.vic.gov.au

Service CentresCnr Glenferrie Road and High Street, Malvern Cnr Chapel and Greville Streets, Prahran

www.stonnington.vic.gov.au