the history of prahran: a supplement, 1990-1994, government nationally, but perhaps paul...

The History of Prahran: A Supplement, 1990-1994, provides a snapshot of the final

four years in the life of the former City of Prahran. Particular thanks are due to the

author, Sally Wilde, for re-visiting her original manuscript and adapting this final

chapter into booklet form. Council would also like to acknowledge the expertise

and guidance of the Prahran Historical & Arts Society (particularly David Tuck

and Jenni Casinader) for their invaluable assistance throughout the editing

process.

Additional copies may be obtained from Stonnington Archives, PO Box 21,

Prahran, Victoria 3181.

Copyright © Stonnington City Council 2000

ISBN 0 646 39988 8

Printing: Trumble & Sons Printery, 254 High Street, Prahran 3181.

Introduction In 1994, as a part of a comprehensive reorganisation of Victoria's local

government boundaries, Prahran and Malvern combined to form the City

of Stonnington. The Council of the City of Prahran had recently commis-

sioned a history of the suburb, and this was published in 1993 as The

History of Prahran 1925-1990} Consequently, when it became clear that the

City of Prahran was going to cease to exist as an organisational entity, it was

considered appropriate to ask the same author to finish the story - to write

the history of Prahran from 1990-94.

The resulting study was initially conceived as a final chapter to The

History of Prahran 1925-1990, but as might, perhaps, have been expected,

the project fell victim to the disruption consequent upon local govern-

ment reorganisation. The final chapter was written, but never published.

By the turn of the century, however, there was once more the time and the

inclination to look at the past, and the City of Stonnington decided to pub-

lish the final chapter of the history of Prahran in booklet form.

In returning to the story after six years it has proved necessary to

make a number of changes to the manuscript, but I have attempted to

maintain the point of view of a story being written as it was unfolding. This

is still largely, therefore, an essay on local government reorganisation in

Victoria, written as it was unfolding.

Sally Wilde

May 2000

1

The City of Prahran 1990-1994

2

1: LOCAL GOVERNMENT REORGANISATION

The Political and Economic Context

In the Spring of 1992, Victorians elected Jeff Kennett and his

Liberal/National Party colleagues to government, with a very large major-

ity. They began their period of office with a decimated and demoralised

Labor opposition and a strong mandate for change. The themes were

smaller government, privatisation and the benefits of market forces.

Kennett took office at a time of high unemployment and low levels of

economic growth. The assumption was that improving conditions for busi-

ness would foster economic and employment growth. There was still a

Labor government nationally, but perhaps Paul Keating's greatest claim to

fame is that he succeeded in persuading the trade unions and the Labor

Party to accept 'new right' 'supply side' economics, and he presided over

a period when the balance of power in running the economy was shifted

away from government intervention and towards market forces.

The impact of all of this on Prahran was complex. The effects on the

Council were dramatic and highly visible, but the effects on the residents

were more subtle.

As a result of a series of hard fought battles in the 1970s, Prahran's

residents had, on the whole, come out ahead of developers.3 Partly as a

2

The History of Prahran: A Supplement 1990-1994 3

result of these victories, Prahran in the 1990s was a very pleasant place to

live, but it was also a part of greater Melbourne and there were those who

argued that what was in the interests of the residents of Prahran was not

necessarily in the interests of Melbourne as a whole.

Prahran was not the only Council to face this kind of struggle, partic-

ularly over planning issues. The Kennett government found that

Melbourne City Council (MCC) was resisting its vision for a business led

economic revival of the city. Other councils, too, were using their planning

powers in ways which did not fit the government's vision for Victoria. The

government's reaction was startling, in the scale of the measures it took to

overcome this resistance and the speed with which it acted.

The tension between the interests of residents and the interests of

other groups, particularly business and commerce, had long been a fea-

ture of local politics, but in the early 1990s the Kennett government dra-

matically shifted the balance of power away from residents by the

comprehensive reorganisation of Victoria's local government boundaries

and the removal of significant local government planning powers.

The boundary changes led to the disappearance of the familiar old

names and the emergence of a whole new set of local authorities. The new,

larger councils generally, however, owed much of their geography to those

that had gone before them. In 1994, Prahran and Malvern were combined

to form the City of Stonnington and a new era began. But even before

that, Prahran had been through a process of substantial internal change.

What follows is a brief chronicle of those last few years in the life of the old

City of Prahran.

THE INTERNAL REORGANISATION OF THE CITY OF PRAHRAN

In 1993, Prahran went through a painful process of restructuring. David

Jesson, Prahran's long time Town Clerk, resigned in 1992. Until he left in

August of that year, Prahran operated on a dual management structure

with the Town Clerk and the City Engineer having separate management

responsibilities. When he left, David Jesson recommended a unitary man-

agement structure to Council. John Kleem and Associates were employed

as consultants and in September 1992, they produced the City of Prahran

Management Structure Review. The report recommended a unitary structure

with a General Manager and four directors: Corporate Services; Technical

Services; Environmental Services and Human Services. The resulting

reorganisation and restructuring constituted the greatest shakeup the offi-

cers of Prahran Council had ever experienced, especially as, against gen-

eral expectations, Ian MacDonald was not appointed as Council's new

General Manager. The position of General Manager was first advertised

4 The History of Prahran: A Supplement 1990-1994

internally, but the Council decided not to appoint. The position was then

advertised more widely and Greg Maddock, former City Manager for

Wangaratta, was appointed in December 1992.

Greg Maddock began work in February 1993 and by March had pro-

duced a report on a proposed management structure of a General

Manager and three directors: Corporate Services; Citizen Services and

Environmental Services, specifically recommending Ian MacDonald as

Director of Environmental Services. The other two positions were adver-

tised internally and by May, Ross Joyce, former Deputy and then Acting

Town Clerk was the new Services Director and Tim Jackson was the new

Corporate Director.

Prahran Council and Executive, 1993/4. Left to right, clockwise: Tony Harris, Peter Aldred, Kathy

Ruglen, Greg Maddock [General Manager], Bob Gill [Mayor], Ian MacDonald [Director,

Environmental Services], Harvey Ruglen, Brian Muller, Ross Joyce [Director, Citizen Services], Jane

Moffat, John Chandler, Leonie Burke, Chris Gahan, Win Years, Tim Jackson [Director, Corporate

Services], Sandra Gatehouse.

Over the next twelve months there was general reorganisation and a

20% cut in staff in the context of the prevailing State government ethos of

small government. As one of the senior officers described it 'there was a

lot of pain in here', but most of the residents of Prahran were unlikely to

have been aware of any change. Of the 100 employees who lost their jobs,

most had taken voluntary redundancy, but it was still a major shakeup for

all concerned. 1993 was not a good year to be looking for another job,

especially as ex-local government officers from Prahran found themselves

in competition with large numbers of ex-local government officers from

other authorities who were similarly learning to live with 'down-sizing'.

Some people did believe that the reorganisation improved matters:


It was never very clear under the old structure where people fitted in... team

work is now better... the budget was redesigned to accord with the new struc-

ture... became much more accountable for money they spent and raised...4

But the reorganisation was particularly painful because many of the staff

didn't see the need for change. As Greg Maddock noted:

'People were very proud of what they did and they did it fairly well...' but he

saw 'a whole lot of disparate fiefdoms... a very, very traditional inner city

authority... all the valuation records were done by hand... obviously they [the

Council] had gone for an outsider to shake it up on the grounds that an insid-

er couldn't do that... Jane Moffat and Leonie [Burke] both had a perspective

on change... [Crs] Gill and Gahan were happy to see change...'5

Bob Gill no ted that staffing levels at Prahran were relatively high com-

pared to ne ighbour ing authorit ies like Malvern.6 But most of the staff

were more likely to focus on the higher level of service. The att i tude that

Greg Maddock saw was 'why do we need to change anything? People here

d idn ' t unders tand why...'

As it tu rned out, the restructuring of Prahran in 1993 was something

of a practice run for the wider restructuring that was to follow.

REORGANISATION: STONNINGTON

As has already been noted, in 1992, Victorians elected a coalition govern-

men t with a large majority. Reform of local government had been a part

of the Liberal 's election platform, but it was no t initially clear jus t what this

reform would entail. The first wave of concern about boundary changes

hit Prahran at the end of March 1993. Melbourne City Council (MCC) was

considering reform and was r u m o u r e d to favour a considerably enlarged

Inner Melbourne Regional Council.

Sandra Gatehouse, Mayor of Prahran, wrote to The Age. She welcomed

the debate about boundar ies and suggested that the River Yarra should be

a feature or focus u n d e r any res t ruc tur ing , n o t a boundary ,

bu t P r a h r a n did no t suppo r t the idea of a Grea te r M e l b o u r n e

Metropolitan Council.7

On 6 April, MCC voted in favour of amalgamating eight inner city coun-

cils - Melbourne, Port Melbourne, South Melbourne, St Kilda, Prahran,

Richmond, Collingwood and Footscray. After that, the debate was on in

earnest. Other mayors came out in opposition to Melbourne. The debate

was essentially about whether residential or business interests should domi-

nate the MCC. The existing Council favoured an expansion of residential

representation. The Melbourne City Chamber of Commerce favoured a cen-

tral business district approach, to include the Southbank area.

Meanwhile, sur rounding councils found they had to watch their backs

because the debate was no t going to be confined to the MCC. Later in


April, for instance, there were rumours of government plans to merge

South Melbourne , St Kilda and Port Melbourne . The Mayor of St Kilda,

J o h n Spierings, was strongly opposed. He said that the Kennet t govern-

m e n t should learn from the failure of the Cain government to reform

local government a decade earlier. Lack of consultation with local com-

munities had been the problem then and would be the downfall of reform

again, he argued.8

April was also the mon th that the Commit tee for Governmental

Reform in Central Melbourne sent its repor t to the Minister for Local

Government , Roger Hallam. T h e recommenda t ion was for the amalgama-

tion of thir teen inner councils, including Essendon.

Prahran was opposed to any such move and so were most surround-

ing councils.9 However, it was becoming clear that some form of defence

was required and the best form of defence might be attack - but not on the

government or its policies; on each other. Prahran jo ined forces with

South Melbourne , which was battling to keep Southbank. Together,

they made a bid for that par t of the City of Melbourne that was South of

the Yarra.

At the end of July 1993, Sandra Gatehouse p roduced the Mayoral

Repor t for 1992 /3 and at that stage the rapidity with which local govern-

m e n t reform would take place was still no t clear.

There seems to be strong ministerial support for reform and there is no doubt

in my mind that there will be changes to boundaries over the next five years.10

In fact, change came in less than twelve months and her successor as

Mayor, Bob Gill, was not even to complete his term of office. Leonie

Burke, who was to play a leading role in the process, believed reform was

long overdue.

Local government hasn't even worked under an accounting standard

system... reform has been needed for quite some time... The Labor Party

failed in 1985... Their way was not the local government way... This

government has a Board for local government. They negotiate and they

understand local government... people with very broad skills. The Labor

Party took it all on at once... This government did Geelong first, then

the City of Melbourne... Compulsory competitive tendering... for the

first time the staff themselves have to compare with the private sec-

tor... that had more effect on local government as a whole than

changing boundaries...11

In August 1993, Roger Hallam, the Minister for Local Government ,

appointed a seven m e m b e r Local Government Board to review the struc-

ture of local government in Victoria, including efficiency, finance and

boundaries . Some of the members were direct government nominees .


Paul Jerome, for instance, former Director of the Planning Division,

Department of Planning and Development, was nominated by the

Minister for Planning and Greg Walsh was nominated by the Treasurer.

Russell Broadbent was also a direct nominee. But other members applied

for the jobs and went through a process of shortlisting and interview.

Leonie Burke, former Mayor of Prahran and former metropolitan vice-

president of the Municipal Association of Victoria applied with 260 others

and was appointed chairman of the Local Government Board.

Mrs Burke saw her role as balancing the human elements of govern-

ment with the aspirations of the private sector. The Board and the

Government wished to introduce compulsory competitive tendering to

local government, but she believed that this was not appropriate for all

services. 'For example, home care. That's why we said 50% [of local gov-

ernment spending] not 100%... there are certain services that won't go

out to the private sector...'12 Local authorities were given the choice as to

which areas of spending would be put out to tender.

In August 1993, the Local Government Board embarked on a process

of reviewing the boundaries of the existing authorities. The Minister

instructed the Board to look first at those parts of the greater Geelong

area which had not been dealt with in Cabinet's review of Geelong's

boundaries. In September, the Board was also instructed to look at the

region around Ballarat. The controversial matter of Melbourne's bound-

aries was to be handled directly by Cabinet. It seemed Hallam favoured an

enlarged MCC, but Kennett wanted boundaries based on the CBD. The

Victorian Employers Chamber of Commerce and Industry was also in

favour of an MCC based on the CBD. So was Bob Gill.

At the end of August, Prahran sent its ideas on boundary changes to

the State Government. The proposal was for a CBD based MCC; South

Melbourne to keep Southbank; and those parts of South Yarra within the

current MCC to transfer to Prahran, plus parts of St Kilda Road.

The Government's position on Melbourne was made clear at the end

of September, but despite South Melbourne losing Southbank to the City,

Prahran stuck, for the moment, to its original views.

By October there was considerable confusion and fear within

local government circles. It was becoming clear that boundaries were

going to change and every authority was looking over the boundaries in

all directions for potential enemies and allies. As a consequence, ideas

went through a very rapid process of change. In October, for instance,

Prahran wanted to remain unchanged [except for gaining South Yarra

west of Punt Road], but was preparing to talk to both Richmond

and Malvern.


...it got very heavy with the amalgamations ...every day of the week Greg

Maddock and the Mayor (Bob Gill) were in contact with ministers,

surrounding councillors, writing lots of letters, trying to work out the best

formula for amalgamations...13

T h e agenda of change was confirmed at a conference of the

Municipal Association of Victoria when Leonie Burke and Roger Hallam

said that no council would remain as it was. Leonie Burke had resigned as

a Prahran councillor late in September and was certainly not seen as an

ally by her erstwhile colleagues on the council. Bob Gill said the Local

Government Board had already made up its mind about Prahran and that

it wouldn ' t make any difference what they said.14

At the Multicultural Festival in February 1994, cultural diversity was showcased through dance, music, crafts, food and the visual arts. Shown here are two members of dance troupe 'jlorina aris-

totelis \ From left to right: Theo Papageorgiou and Charmaine Eliou. (Isha Scott)

The History of Prahran: A Supplement 1990-1994

Amanda Colliver and Kate Sadler were among the singers from the Victoria State Opera who took part

in Opera in the Park at the Victoria Gardens, March 1994.

Tai Chi, a daily feature of life in the City of Prahran. Members of the Prahran Chinese Elderly Association meet in the Grattan Gardens to practise Tai Chi. Shown here are left to right: Van Hung

Phan and Thi Kien Luong. (Isha Scott)


Crs Leonie Burke and Chris Gahan with Prahran Council's apprentices and trainees, March 1992.

Face painting at the Prahran Community Fair, 1994


Th roughou t November, the consideration of options cont inued,

and at one stage it was repor ted that Prahran had eleven councillors and

eight options.

Each councillor had their own idea of where Prahran should go... we were

split but unanimously wanted to keep Prahran as Prahran...15

Meanwhile, councils were told they had a three year period to intro-

duce compulsory competitive tendering: for 20% of spending in the first

year; 30% in the second year; and 50% in the third year. Many, including

Greg Maddock, argued this would have a greater impact on local govern-

men t than any boundary changes.

Like o ther Councils, Prahran still had no idea what those boundary

changes would be. It was not until November that some sort of amalga-

mation with Malvern began to appear regularly in speculation about the

future of the area. Malvern remained tightlipped on the mat ter until

January, when it announced it wanted to take Toorak and Armadale from

Prahran. By then, formal consideration of the boundar ies of 21 inner

Melbourne councils was u n d e r way and councils were busy prepar ing their

submissions to the Local Government Board.

An extra ingredient in the mix from December 1993 was the question

of populat ion targets. Rob Maclellan, the Minister of Planning, had come

up with a 2010 target populat ion for Prahran of 57,000 and for Malvern of

51,000 [c.f. 42,000 and 46,600 respectively]. Given the established pat tern

of populat ion loss, the targets were going to be impossible to mee t without

substantially increased housing density. Greg Maddock was quick to point

out the potential clash between the Government ' s populat ion targets and

Prahran residents ' long history of opposition to high density housing.11'

The Government was not, apparently, concerned . Whatever the

reform of local government was about, it wasn't local democracy, and

the Liberal Government ' s irritation with the MCC, both in the early

1980s and again in 1993 was precisely about residents ' interests versus

commercial and business concerns . Roger Hallam said he wanted

to reform local government so as to reduce costs to industry and com-

merce. Leonie Burke agreed and pointed out that Victorian local govern-

men t was 20% dearer per capita than local government elsewhere in

the country.

there is resistance... people think its undemocratic but constitutionally

local government is a creature of the state... Heidelberg and parts of

Geelong were formed under the New South Wales government [before

Victoria became a separate colony in 1851]... planning has become a real

issue because local government could play... could send to the

Administrative Appeals Tribunal to make the hard decisions...17


Generally, Leonie Burke believed tha t most local g o v e r n m e n t

officers were well trained and 'r ight up to scratch' but many councillors

were not.

Minor issues in local government should be a. fait acompli so that council-

lors don' t waste time talking about them... Each area wants a different type

of lifestyle...18

'Communit ies of interest ' is a phrase that came up repeatedly in the

Local Government Board reports, and Leonie Burke argued that the size

of the new local authorities generally represented a balance between the

desire for economies of scale and the desire to represent communit ies

of interest.19

The interim reports of the Board came back rapidly and were subject

to a process of public consultation before being finalised. The general ten-

dency was a move towards fewer, larger authorities, roughly twice the size

of previous councils. This was consistent with the recommendat ions of the

Institute of Public Affairs in its repor t Reforming Local Government in

Victoria, which was released in September 1993. T h e interim repor t on

Barrabool, Greater Geelong and Winchelsea was released in November

1993 and for the first time, councils could see the sort of change the Local

Government Board had in mind. The scale of change was clear, but with-

in the broad agenda, local wishes were accommodated .

The Local Government Board's Inner Melbourne Review Final Report of

J u n e 1994 r ecommended that Prahran and most of Malvern should form

the new City of Stonnington. T h e interim repor t had taken account of

Prahran 's submission, while suggesting that the southern port ion of

Malvern be linked to Caulfield, but in J u n e , partly in response to

Malvern's objections, the thinking was that this area had a greater com-

munity of interest with Stonnington. Three commissioners were appoint-

ed and the City of Prahran was no more .

Neil Smith, Chief Commissioner, was a former chai rman of the Gas

and Fuel Corporat ion and Australian Airlines. Anne Murphy was a former

Preston councillor and vice president of the Municipal Association of

Victoria. Reg Weller came from private enterprise and was a former gen-

eral manager of Sigma, the pharmaceutical company. The commissioners

were appointed to oversee the creation of new staffing and municipal

structures for Stonnington, until such time as the State Government called

elections for the new municipality.

Greg Maddock became acting Chief Executive of Stonnington and

the officers of Prahran set about adapting themselves to further change.

This time around the atmosphere is different... there is a clearly estab-

lished reason for change this time around...20


In 1993, Prahran went th rough a 20% cut in staff, and as a part of

Stonnington faced a further 25% cut in 1994/5 . Greg Maddock argued

that a 10% cut would simply remove duplication between the two former

authorities, but despite all they had in common, Prahran and Malvern

were two very different types of Council. Whereas 'Prahran has had

very high standards for a long time... people are p repared to pay...' in con-

trast 'Malvern is a very lean operation.. . traditionally the lowest rating in

the Metropolitan area...'21 Making a 25% cut was not going to be painless.

The general impression seemed to be that a 10% cut was possible, 15%

would cut into services and 25% would be very difficult given Malvern's

already low service level. But all the same, morale was relatively high as

Prahran ceased to exist and Stonnington began to work. The officers had

already faced the dragon of 'downsizing' and knew it was painful but

not lethal.

Leonie Burke argued that there was a general acceptance of the need

for change:

One of the big things to come out of all this is that local government has

come to realise that reform was needed - they have worked well with the

Board to bring about the change of culture through compulsory compet-

itive tendering... we did that together with a sub-committee of local gov-

ernment and the Board... and also they have all worked hard to form the

most appropriate new municipalities for the future, for the times we now

live in and beyond... they have used their skills and knowledge of the areas

as a tool for the Board. They've been fantastic. We would not have

achieved what we have without bringing local government on side.22

The major exception to this acceptance of the need for change was St

Kilda, both while Spierings was Mayor and later when Reverend Tim

Costello became Mayor, but concerted resistance from other authorities

was u n c o m m o n . In November 1993, Por t M e l b o u r n e a n d South

Melbourne took the Government to the Supreme Court over the bound-

aries of the new Melbourne City Council. They lost the case. Victorian local

government had no constitutional protection and if the State Government

wished to change the way it was organised, it was legally free to do so.

Opposit ion to the process of change as such ceased at that point

and became a matter of a rgument and lobbying about the details

of boundaries.

The wider question of p lanning and the changed balance of power

between business, residential and Government interests in the p lanning

arena remained to be faced. Many residents of Prahran and o ther suburbs

who did not see the need to get very concerned about the exact location

of their nearest town hall, or who was collecting the garbage, would have

some surprises in store about future p lanning decisions.


2: THE SPECIAL CHARACTER OF PRAHRAN

The victory of residents' groups over developers in the 1970s produced a

suburb which didn't like to be called a suburb, a place where residents

enjoyed all the benefits of inner city living and were prepared to

pay to minimise the disadvantages. Toorak and parts of South Yarra

remained among the most affluent residential areas in Melbourne, but

overall the enormous economic and ethnic diversity of Prahran remained

its salient characteristic.

It has already been noted that compared to Malvern, Prahran was a

high spending council. The reasons for this are complex and local politics

in the City of Prahran produced some surprising alliances and policies.23

But by 1990, among the more important factors was local pride. Residents

tended to be very concerned with the way their local area looked, and this

applied as much to new arrivals as to long term residents.

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

Some of the ways in which this local pride was expressed were quite con-

ventional and widely shared across Australia. For instance, in the early

1990s, Prahran became heavily involved in the 'Tidy Towns' competition.

In 1990, with the slogan 'Keep Prahran Spic and Span', 20 volunteers

cleaned up the Windsor siding and planted trees, to the strains of the

Prahran City Concert Band.

Tree planting, long an important Council activity in Prahran, took on

slightly different overtones in the 1990s. The concern was not just beauti-

fying the streets, but the environment in a wider sense and environmental

heritage. For instance, from 1991 the Good Wood Guide was sent out with all

planning permits. The idea was to reduce the use of rainforest timber in

building, both private and council. Meanwhile, annual Arbor Weeks

involved activities such as pupils from Windsor and Toorak Central

schools, helping plant trees along the banks of the Yarra. They planted, as

far as possible, local natives, that is, species which had grown in precisely

that area before white settlement.

In 1992, in the Keep Australia Beautiful City Pride Competition,

Prahran won the Proudest City Award. That was also the year the Council

instituted the City of Prahran Environment Awards, with categories

for good building and landscape design as well as environmen-

tal improvements.

In September 1992, Prahran won a major award from the Royal

Australian Planning Institute for its Significant Tree and Gardens Study, the

first of its kind in Melbourne. 80 gardens and 163 trees were identified as

significant and steps taken to protect them.


Spring into Gardening Festival, Victoria Gardens, 1993

Green Piece Awards, 1993. Jane Edmanson judging one of the winning gardens.


Gardening was another conventional way in which Prahran's resi-

dents made plain their concern for the way their surroundings looked,

and the Council supported this widespread interest. In 1989 the Council

began offering Green Piece Awards for a range of garden categories. The

flurry of interest in gardening reached a peak every year at the 'Spring

Into Garden' festivals. These were held in the Victoria Gardens at the end

of October and attracted large crowds.

Two free punnets of seedlings were offered to Prahran residents and

there were also garden seminars, horticultural displays, a free garden advi-

sory service, food and music, pony rides, face painting and children's

planting workshops. The Prahran Garden Club sold plants to raise money

for a worthy cause and TV gardening celebrities, particularly Jane

Edmanson, gave free lectures. Upwards of 10,000 people turned up every

year to enjoy all the fun.

Gardening and tidy town awards have a relatively long history, but one

of the newer environmental issues of the 1980s and 1990s was recycling.

Concern for the environment in a broader sense was becoming wide-

spread. The idea that forests were being cut down and turned into paper

which was then thrown away, led to a search for alternative things to do

with all that paper. The exact linkages between reducing waste, recycling

materials and 'caring for the environment' were not always clear, but the

concepts, however vague, came to be widely accepted as 'good'. These

sorts of ideas struck chords with local councils, particularly those in inner

city areas, which were finding the disposal of their garbage increasingly dif-

ficult and expensive. Ideas on reducing the amount of rubbish and recy-

cling some materials took many forms, depending on the Council, but the

combination of some kind of recycling programme with the existing

garbage collection service became very common in the early 1990s.

Prahran had been something of a pioneer in kerbside recycling pro-

grammes. The Council began recycling in the late 1970s, road materials,

glass and paper being among the earliest items collected and reused.

Bottle and paper recycling depots were common almost everywhere in the

1980s. Residents loaded up their cars with empties and old newspapers

and drove to the depot. In 1985, Prahran was the first council in Australia

to introduce a weekly kerbside paper collection and in 1987 a recycling

officer was appointed to oversee the range of services offered.

Community support for recycling was generally very strong in

Prahran. None of the kerbside collection services worked unless residents

were prepared to sort through their waste and put out their paper, glass,

aluminium and plastic when and how required. As early as 1989, when

Prahran won a recycling award, there were services to remove and recycle


CFCs from refrigerators and collect used motor oil and plastics at the

Surrey Road depot. This was in addition to the regular weekly collections

of paper, cardboard, glass, aluminium and PET plastic bottles.24

Collection raised a number of problems. Besides the fluctuations in

the financial viability of the process, depending on the market for every-

thing from plastic and cardboard milk containers to newspaper, not every-

body wanted to recycle. For individual households, either they put out

material for recycling, or they didn't. In the multi-storey blocks of flats the

process was not so simple. One or two people not wishing to co-operate

and putting kitchen waste in a bin for collecting paper could cause the

whole system to break down. By 1994 recycling bins in the larger blocks of

flats were kept where they could be maintained by administrative staff and

those residents who wished to recycle were issued with single handled bags

to hang outside their door.

Recycling was one of the areas where local councils began to gain

experience with the use of outside contractors. In Prahran, glass collection

was contracted out from an early date. There was a tendency for problems

to arise towards the end of contracts - erratic collections and missing

streets, for instance. But despite this, the ideological commitment to the

use of outside staff and the principles of compulsory competitive tender-

ing remained strong. By March 1994, the entire recycling operation was

carried out by outside contractors who collected glass and plastic bottles,

milk and juice cartons, aluminium and steel cans, paper and cardboard.25

In the early 1990s there were also emerging links between the

Council's varied approaches to environmental issues. Gardening and the

beautiflcation of individual homes was clearly a focus for many residents.


Those were also the sort of people likely to realise that it was all very well

to recycle bottles, but garden and food waste made up 30% of total

garbage. The obvious answer was to make compost, but with flats and small

gardens, composting is not an easy option. However, from 1990, the

Council offered compost bins at cost price, and from the beginning of

1991, 120 litre mobile garbage bins were provided for residents. Those

who wanted 240 litre garbage bins had to pay extra. Meanwhile, earth-

worm farms were becoming fashionable as a rapid way of turning house-

hold waste into compost.

RETAILING IN PRAHRAN

Retailing was of particular importance to the economy of Prahran. Only

1% of the City's land was in industrial use in 1994, but 9%

was commercial, a higher percentage than any other inner Mel-

bourne municipality.26

In October 1991, in an atmosphere of high unemployment, Prahran

District Chamber of Commerce and the Prahran Council joined forces to

introduce a 'Main Street' programme to Chapel Street. The 'Main Street'

programmes, which began in the United States and Canada in the 1970s,

had already proved successful in New South Wales. Their objective was to

improve strip shopping centres in the face of increasing competition from

shopping malls.

In the spring of 1991 there were a number of meetings involving

traders, property owners, residents and other interested parties and a com-

mittee was formed to look at how to improve Chapel Street. There was

some limited Council funding, but all the committee members worked full

time and progress was initially slow, even after a part time co-ordinator was

appointed. Eventually, and after much argument and some opposition,

Council decided to strike a special rate of 0.4% of net annual value. The

proceeds were to fund a fulltime co-ordinator and some work, particular-

ly on street furniture.

Under the new title of 'Streets Ahead Promotions Inc' Chapel Street

was divided up into three main areas, each with its own special character.

Adjacent streets were included in the scheme and a programme of

consultative meetings with local traders, residents and other interested

parties began.

The Windsor traders were going through a strong period of revitali-

sation and came up with enthusiasm and ideas for the 'Streets Ahead' pro-

gramme. In 1994 there were plans for a facelift to the streetscape at the

Windsor end of Chapel street and a distinct entrance to the shopping cen-

tre from Dandenong Road.


At the o ther end of Chapel Street, South Yarra also saw strong growth

in the 1990s with a boom in boutiques and restaurants. Particularly suc-

cessful were the Chapel Street festivals in October. Food, wine, fashions,

bands and clowns drew tens of thousands of visitors to dine and shop in

the lead up to Melbourne Cup Week.

The central port ion of Chapel Street, once the focus for most of

Prahran 's big depar tmen t stores, was slower to revitalise, particularly when

compared to the rapid rate of change elsewhere on Chapel . Toorak Road

also became involved in the 'Main Street' p rogramme with its own coord i -

nator from J u n e 1993.

In 1992, the Como Centre embarked on a facelift that had some suc-

cess, reinforced by new developments on the other corners of the Chapel

St ree t /Toorak Road intersection. There were also much bigger plans for

a major expansion of the shopping centre, including a complex of 20 cin-

emas, a discount depar tmen t store and medium density housing. The

Council worked closely with the owners, at that time Westpac, bu t did not

support the proposal that eventually went before a government appointed

planning tribunal. It was felt that a discount store and cinema complex

would help Chapel Street, but no t on the edge of the shopping centre.27

The 20 cinema complex at Como was part of Amendment L30 in the

dying days of Westpac while they were trying to sell... the amendment was

refused and... they lost more money... The Minister was there in the back-

ground, watching, being informed... 'if you have any problems come to

me' . The Council and Como worked together, whilst reserving their

view on the merits... opposed it at the panel hearing. The Panel's report

was excessively strongly against... nothing the Minister could salvage... it

wasn't a good idea anyway... it lost inertia fairly quickly.28

In October 1993, the p lanning panel refused the non-residential sec-

tions of the proposal in no uncertain terms. Meanwhile, others had not

been slow to pick up the hints about c inema complexes nearer to the hear t

of Chapel Street. Village Roadshow bought the J am Factory and early in

1993 applied for permission to tu rn it into an en te r ta inment complex,

including ten cinemas.

It became part of the conflict between Village Roadshow and Hoyts... the

20 cinema proposal at Como was Hoyts... the ten now at the Jam factory

are Village Roadshow... Their major expansion plans come from changing

attitudes to cinemas in the U.S.... you can get in from half price... down to

$7.50... lots of people are now going, especially at Chadstone... Village and

Hoyts are looking to make major investments...

Village Roadshow have investments in Asia... a complex in Singapore

similar to the Jam Factory... the current (August 1994) owners of Como

are related to the development in Singapore... The more recent applica-


tion by Royalmist [the earlier Como application was Westpac]... the Jam

Factory objection was withdrawn after toing and froing via Singapore...

the three cinemas in the [Como] food hall is a bit of a band aid... don' t

know who it will be - probably not Hoyts29

Early in 1993, permission was granted for ten cinemas in the

J am Factory, to be built in 1994. However, o ther changes to produce a

major en te r ta inment complex were being considered, pend ing a social

impact study.

Early in 1994, the new owners of Como, Singapore business man

Jeffrey Heng 's Royalmist company, applied for a med ium density residen-

tial development. T h e plans for a village like complex of 400 apartments ,

some of them designed for families and not just couples and singles, were

rapidly approved, especially once the J a m Factory objections were

removed. The plans included a small scale en te r ta inment centre and shop-

p ing / res tauran t complex.

The Free Wheelers meet every Monday morning for a local bicycle ride to the Albert Park Lake,

Caulfield, or often along the Yarra River to Southbank or to Dight 's Falls in Collingwood. (Margaret Alexander)

HEALTH AND RECREATION

O n e characteristic feature of life in the early 1990s in Prahran was a blur-

ring of the boundar ies between what was heal th care and what was recre-

ation. The jogging and keep fit crazes of the 1970s and 1980s underwen t

a change of emphasis. Stress managemen t programmes and a wide range

of sporting activities were added to the mix.

T h e distinctive flavour of health and recreation programmes in

Prahran arose from the meshing of activities that enjoyed widespread pop-

ularity with the particular cultural and demographic structure of the area.


The 'Joint Walk', for instance, in October 1991 attracted over 100 people

to Fawkner Park. The 'Joint Walk' was part of a fun and fitness promotion

organised by physiotherapists from Prahran, St Kilda, South Melbourne,

Port Melbourne and Richmond, in line with the Arthritis Foundation's slo-

gan 'Move it or Lose it.'

The emphasis on preventative health care was even clearer in the fun

in the sun programmes at Prahran Swimming Pool, with their promotion

of sunsmart behaviour and water safety. In 1994, the Council even erected

a shade cover over the wading pool.

In Melbourne as a whole in the early 1990s, one in five or 20% of res-

idents were over 50 years old. In Prahran, the proportion was significantly

higher - 30%, or nearly one in three. In 1988, Prahran appointed a recre-

ation officer specifically to deal with the needs of older adults and the

'Never Too Old' programme began. Some of the activities were unsurpris-

ing. The Walking for Pleasure Group, for instance, was very popular. But

walking was not just for fun, it was also for fitness. Walking was promoted

as a way of reducing the risk of heart disease, lowering blood pressure,

keeping weight down and helping keep osteoporosis at bay. There were

also a number of Gentle Exercise to Music groups, some of them ethnically

based. The University of the Third Age, Prahran, got under way and there

were groups for croquet, table tennis and Tai Chi. The development of the

Adventure Camps was particularly imaginative. Participants were offered a

range of activities, including craft workshops, but some of the options

available were much more energetic: abseiling; surfboarding; archery;

Use it or lose it - Older adults meet several times a week to participate in gentle exercise to music classes and keep flexible and fit. (Margaret Alexander) from left to right: Rosemary Baer, June Reed, Dominga

Jauregai, Dot Conway, Jean McGenniskin, Lorraine Walshe, Dot Hore and Donna O 'Keeffe.

(fenny MacFarlane)


Rafting on the Anglesea River. In 1993, 35 adventurous older adults tackled horse riding, archery,

canoeing, surfing and bush walking, but the highlight of the weekend for many was the Indiana Jones Challenge. An adventure course designed to inspire the use of initiative and to develop trust in the

group, the Indiana Jones Challenge asks the group to follow maps and achieve goals along the way. (Margaret Alexander)

horseriding; and in the autumn of 1993, even an 'Indiana Jones

Challenge' where participants had, among other tasks, to improvise a raft

and cross the Anglesea River.

Participants in all these programmes reflected the diversity of the res-

idents of Prahran and included Polish and Chinese groups. In the Walking

for Pleasure Group there were a number of people with limited English

who found their English improved whilst walking and talking. By 1994, the

Prahran Community Guides were produced in nine languages: Greek;

Russian; Chinese; Turkish; Vietnamese; Polish; Spanish; Arabic and

Italian.30 The range of services provided for Prahran residents was changing

all the time, but this was a particular feature of Ethnic Services provision.

One of the more interesting innovations in the 1990s was the intro-

duction of the Ethnic Meals programme. It was members of the St

Dimitrios Greek Senior Citizens Club who commented that: 'Meals on

Wheels is a good service... but it cannot be compared to Greek food.'31

With the aid of Council funds, the kitchen at the Migrant Resources

Centre was updated to allow groups to prepare their own meals. Most

of the groups which made use of the facility ate in the centre, but both

the Hungarian and Chinese groups also delivered food to house-

bound people.32

Not all of Prahran's ethnic groups were involved in the meals pro-

gramme, but many were - Askipilos, for instance, the Greek Women's

Group, and the Chinese Prahran Elderly Group. In the early 1990s, near-

ly 2,000 residents of Prahran spoke Chinese at home, and ethnic Chinese,

whether from Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong or Vietnam were becoming


the largest group of non-Australian born residents in the area. Despite a

reduction in numbers as people moved elsewhere, the Greek community

also remained strong.

In 1994, two Chinese groups met regularly at the Migrant Resources

Centre, and a third met in Greville Street and ran Tai Chi every morning

in the Princes Gardens. There were four Greek Community groups, the

two largest both for senior citizens and meeting at the Chris Gahan Senior

Citizen's Centre and the Church Hall of the Church of St Constantine and

St Helen.

The City of Prahran hosted a forum on Ethnic Meals Provision in Local Government, attended by over 100 aged services providers. The forum was hosted by Councillor Leonie Burke, Isha Scott (City of

Prahran), David Stanley (Home and Community Care Services), Loise Kumrow (Municipal Association of Victoria), Teresa Di Trochio (South Central Migrant Resource Centre) and Penny

Pavlou (City of St Kilda). (Isha Scott)

Many other groups met regularly in Prahran, to socialise, enjoy a meal

and provide mutual support - the Czechoslovakian group, for instance,

and the strong Hungarian Senior Citizens Group. Italians, Koreans, Latin

Americans, Poles, Russians, Somalis and Cambodians all met regularly in

Prahran, many at the Migrant Resources Centre and many taking part in

the Ethnic Meals programme. The Western Thrace Turkish Islamic

Association also represented a strong local community, with a mosque on

Kent Street.

The intermingling of health and recreation provision was also evi-

dent at the Recreation Centre, which went through an interesting process

of name changes as the Council adapted to customer demand.


In 1989, the Princes Gardens Community Youth Centre was opened

in what had once been the Church Hall on Little Chapel Street. It was not

long before the customers made it clear that the building was not going to

be used mainly as a Youth Centre. The name was changed to the Princes

Gardens Community Centre and then to the Princes Gardens Recreation

Centre. Although Friday night remained youth night and there were a

number of teenage groups, partly reflecting the original funding assis-

tance from the Department of Youth, Sport and Recreation, by 1994 the

programmes reflected Prahran's age structure and ethnic diversity. There

was gymnastics for toddlers and gentle exercise to music for the over 80s;

there were teenage tennis lessons and a creative writing class; the Prahran

Scrabble Club met every Wednesday evening and there was Chen Style Tai

Chi on Thursdays; social and ballroom dancing shared the building with

massage, weight training and 'Keeping Fit and Having Fun' classes.

Probably the biggest group to use the centre, however, was the net-

ballers, with thousands of members. Prahran Netball Association had an

office in the building, but there simply were not enough outside courts for

all the games, and so they also used courts at Ardoch and Wesley.

The Princes Gardens Recreation Centre provided administrative sup-

port for the Ardoch recreation centre, which had the space for the sport-

ing groups requiring bigger courts to play, for instance basket ball and

volley ball.33 Between them, Ardoch and the Princes Gardens Recreation

Centre catered for several thousand residents every week.

The building of the Arts and Recreation Centre ('Chapel-off-Chapel')

next door to the Princes Gardens building was well under way in

1994. The objective was to increase the facilities in Prahran as a focus

for Arts activities, and the project received substantial Federal

Government funding.

THE ECONOMY

The early 1990s was a period of high unemployment throughout Australia,

but there were significant regional variations. In 1992, the Commonwealth

Government made a budget commitment to provide funds for local coun-

cils in areas of high unemployment so that they could undertake specific

capital works projects. The money was allocated through the Municipal

Associations and in Victoria, Leonie Burke was chairman of the relevant

committee. Prahran was identified as an area of high unemployment and

placed in Category 1 of the programme, eventually receiving an allocation

of $1.13 million. Not all councils, of course, were happy with their alloca-

tion. Of the neighbouring authorities, Caulfield received $1.4 million and

Malvern received nothing.34


Prahran's capital works funding was divided between two projects: the

Dyeworks Park, a site acquired by the Council in September 1991, received

$600,000. The concept plan for the park went on public display in May

1993, as a part of the public consultation process;35 the balance of the

money was allocated to the Arts Centre Project. The Council also put con-

siderable funds into the Centre which had an initial budget of $1 million,

but had blown out to $1.7 million by August 1994.36

In the early 1990s, a number of other employment initiatives were

undertaken in Prahran. In August 1992, Sandra Gatehouse succeeded

Leonie Burke as Mayor and she and Ian MacDonald, the City Engineer,

gave priority to looking at employment initiatives, especially for the young.

In the same month, a new Skillshare training centre opened on Chapel

Street. Skillshare began in 1989 and always had Council backing in

Prahran. Most of the funding came from the Federal Department of

Employment Education and Training, but there were also Council grants

and donations from business. Skillshare offered training courses in key-

board, computer and hospitality skills, plus literacy assistance and volun-

tary work placements.

1992 was also the year when Lindsay Fox and Bill Kelty got together

to try and create jobs for young people. Their campaign was Australia-wide

but Lindsay Fox's local links gave the campaign in Prahran a particular

focus. Prahran Council and the Toorak Rotary Club organised an infor-

mation session in the Town Hall in November, where Fox and Kelty were

among the speakers.

The session was called 'Remember the Kids'. The idea was that there

were many government subsidies and employment schemes available, but

few people knew about them, especially few potential employers of young

people. The plan was to persuade employers that they could afford to take

on staff if they only knew all the help they could get to do so.

The range of initiatives for the unemployed was diverse and an inter-

esting contrast to the employment schemes of the 1930s. Then, people

like Sidney Myer, who provided funds for temporary work for the unem-

ployed, were concerned almost exclusively with men as husbands, fathers

and supporters of their families. The emphasis in the 1990s was very much

more on the young of both sexes, and many of the programmes involved

training in some form or other. An interesting example of this was the

work of local artist and teacher, Lesley Muirden. Late in 1992 she began

running art classes for the young unemployed, mainly as a boost to their

self confidence and self esteem, rather than as job training. Her courses

were popular and the Council stepped in to help, sponsoring Creative

Workouts from March 1993. These were held at the Princes Gardens


Crjane Moffat with twojobskills trainees in July 1993. Lisa Vonarx and David Stone were working as part of a team examining Council arboricultural practices.

Recreation Centre and ran with success for some time, with the enthusias-

tic support of a range of local artists.

Rather more conventional was the Federal Government's Jobskills

programme. Under the terms of this scheme, Prahran arranged to provide

on-the-job training for twenty long term unemployed people. The trainees

had all been unemployed for at least 12 months, and many of them had

university qualifications. Their placements with the Council were only for

six months. 'Part of our job was to assist them to find work - we had a co-

ordinator - their role was to support them and prepare them for when they

left - we didn't do that well...'37

Partly the explanation for this failure was the turmoil within the

Council at the time. Local government reorganisation was not without its

costs on many people other than council employees.

THE FINAL MEETING OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PRAHRAN

Prahran Council held a final commemorative meeting on 15 June 1994.

Councillors did not take it as an opportunity to criticise the government

or bemoan the demise of the Council. In his speech the Mayor, Bob Gill,

noted that 'Many people have worked hard since Prahran's earliest days to

make it the best place in Melbourne to live or work or just visit... tonight


we farewell Prahran' he said, 'but this is not a sad occasion. We look for-

ward to a bright and prosperous future as we become the City

of Stonnington.'38

It is probably true to say that many people were angry about the

process of local government reorganisation, but very little of that anger

was publicly expressed. Once Port Melbourne and South Melbourne lost

their Supreme Court challenge to the changes in November 1993, most

councillors seem to have decided to make the best of it. As to the staff of

local government, the general air of disillusionment and job insecurity was

not conducive to organised resistance. Besides, Victoria is a democracy

and while the changes at the local level may not have seemed democratic

there was no denying that at the State level, in 1994 the Kennett

Government still had overwhelming majority support.

Appendix: City of Prahran Councillors,

1990-1994

1990/91

Prahran: Barker, Neil Graham; Chandler, John V.;

Burke, Leonie T. [Mayor]

South Yarra: Gill, Robert W.; Gahan, Christopher Charles E.;

Gatehouse, Sandra A.

Toorak: Moffat, Jane H.; Spry, Wendy A.; Dane, William Mayfield

Windsor. Makris, Sandra; Velos, John V.; Muller, Brian

1991/2

Prahran: Barker, Neil Graham; Burke, Leonie T. [Mayor];

Chandler, John V.

South Yarra: Gahan, Christopher Charles E.; Gatehouse, Sandra A.;

Gill, Robert W.

Toorak: Dane, William Mayfield; Moffat, Jane H.; Ruglen, Harvey

Windsor. Makris, Sandra; Muller, Brian; Vears, Winifred

1992/3

Prahran: Barker, Neil Graham; Burke, Leonie T.; Chandler, John V.

South Yarra: Gatehouse, Sandra A. [Mayor];

Gahan, Christopher Charles E.; Gill, Robert W.

Toorak: Moffat, Jane H.; Ruglen, Harvey; Ruglen, Kathy

Windsor. Makris, Sandra; Muller, Brian; Vears, Winifred

28

Appendix 29

1993/4

Prahran: Burke, Leonie T.; Chandler, John V.; Harris, Tony

South Yarra: Gahan, Christopher Charles E.; Gill, Robert W. [Mayor];

Gatehouse, Sandra A.

Toorak: Ruglen, Harvey; Ruglen, Kathy; Moffat, Jane H.

Windsor. Aldred, Peter; Years, Winifred; Muller, Brian

Notes

Sally Wilde, The History ofPrahran 1925-1990, Melbourne University Press, 1993.

Much of the information in this chapter comes from the editions of Prahran Progress 1990-

94 and News Releases produced by the City ofPrahran. Other major sources are the local

newspapers, particularly the Southern Cross and the Leader

Wilde, Prahran 1925-1990, especially chapter 4

Tim Jackson, 10.8.94; John Kleem Consulting, City ofPrahran Management Structure Review,

September 1992; Greg Maddock, Report on Organisational Reform, Prahran City Council,

March 1993. The context for the restructuring in Prahran was a painful period of 'down-

sizing' throughout the economy. In a context of high unemployment and an ideological

commitment to small government, there were widespread job losses and people affixed

stickers to their cars saying 'I've been Jeffed', i.e. made redundant. The cuts were not con-

fined to government employees and many staff of private enterprises also lost their jobs.

This was the era of the 'consulting poor' as professional staff struggled to make a living as

independent consultants, rather than employees. They were well paid for short term con-

tracts, but continuity of work was hard to find.

Greg Maddock, 12.8.94; Leonie Burke was a Councillor of the City ofPrahran 1986-93 and

Mayor 1990-92

Bob Gill, 5.10.94

News Release, 1.4.93

Emerald Hill, Sandgate and St Kilda Times 21 April 1993

Sunday Herald-Sun 25 April 1993

Sandra Gatehouse, Mayoral Report 1992/3, City ofPrahran, p2.

Leonie Burke, 28.6.94. Local Government Board Reports as follows: Barrabool, Greater

Geelong, Winchelsea, Interim Report, November 1993, Final Report, December 1993; Ballarat

Area Review, Final Report, February 1994; Bannockburn Area, Final Report, February 1994;

Inner Melbourne Reference, Interim Report, April 1994, Executive Summary, April 1994, Final

Report, June 1994; South West Review, Interim Report, June 1994

Leonie Burke, 14.9.94

Bob Gill, 5.10.94

Leader, 13.10.93

Bob Gill, 5.10.94

Leader, 1.12.93.

30

1 2

3 4

7

8

9

10

II

1'2

13 14

15

16

5

6

Notes 31

17 Leonie Burke, 28.6.94 18 Ibid 19 Leonie Burke, 14.9.94 20 Greg Maddock, 12.8.94. 21 Tim Jackson, 10.8.94 22 Leonie Burke, 14.9.94. 23 See Sally Wilde, The History ofPrahran 1925-1990, Melbourne University Press, 1993, espe-

cially chapters 3 and 4 24 City ofPrahran, News Release, 17.11.89 25 Billie Lewington, Recycling Officer 1987-94, 30.6.94. 26 Local Government Board, Inner Melbourne Reference, Interim Report, April 1994 27 Southern Cross, 5.5.93; 20.5.93; 2.6.93; and Council News Releases; Christine Herzog, Co-

ordinator, Streets Ahead Promotions Inc, 30.6.94 28 Stephen Lardner, 11..8.94. 29 Ibid 30 Margaret Alexander, Older Adults Recreation Officer,4.7.94. 51 Isha Scott, Ethnic Services Development Officer, Ethnic Meals Services in the City ofPrahran,

paper presented to the Ethnic Meals Forum, 24 August 1993. 32 Ibid, p5 33 The Ardoch Windsor School, adjacent to the Ardoch recreation centre, closed at the end

of 1992, and following many proposals for future use, in November 1993, Prahran Council

bought part of the site from the Department of Education for $2.1 million. The sporting

facilities were already in place. 34 Tim Jackson, Prahran's Corporate Director, 10.8.94. 33 The William Lawrence Dyeworks in Simmons Street, South Yarra, was purchased in 1991.

The buildings were demolished and the site cleared and cleaned up in consultation with

the Environmental Protection Authority. The Council called for suggestions from the pub-

lic as to the use of the site and the Dyeworks Park grew out of this public consultation

process. 36 Tim Jackson, 10.8.94 37 Ibid 38 City of Prahran, Minutes of the Commemorative Meeting of the Council of the City ofPrahran held

in the Council Chamber, Prahran on 15th June, 1994.

the history of prahran: a supplement, 1990-1994, government nationally, but perhaps paul...

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