This post is about the destruction of the Glen Huntly Railway Station Gardens in the 1920s. It is yet another example of the alienation of public land for private use and the destruction of a beloved green space in the name of progress. The Glen Huntly Railway Station is the first station past Caulfield on the Frankston line. The station opened on December 19, 1881 as the Glen Huntly Road station and was renamed Glen Huntly on September 1, 1882. (1)
In 1899 the Glen Huntly Station garden won an awardl it was reported in the Brighton Southern Cross -The annual awards for beautifying the various railway stations in Victoria have been made this week, the colony being divided into eight sections. The total prize-money amounted to £90. In the suburban districts, Sandringham obtained first-prize, and Glen Huntly was awarded a special prize of £10, for the excellent work done by the stationmaster and his staff. (2)
The Glen Huntly Railway Station and its prize winning garden.
The Leader, May 27, 1899 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article196516668
This story of the destruction of the garden, begins in June 1923, with this article from The Age -
Suburban Railway Reserves. Profit Earning Uses. Strong Complaints at Caulfield.
The new policy of the Railway Commissioners for increasing the department's revenue is to cut up station reserves into sites for the erection of business premises. It is not being put into operation without strong opposition from municipal councils and local progress associations, but in spite of all protests, the commissioners are carrying, and incidentally disfiguring, several fine station reserves - along the Frankston and Oakleigh lines in the process. After a sub-division, the land is leased to investors for the building of unsightly lock-up shops, which are then let. Portion of Murrumbeena station reserve has been despoiled in this manner, though Caulfield council offered, if the commissioners would stay their hands, to pay the whole cost of its maintenance as a garden reserve. Now it is proposed to erect shops along the Neerim-street frontage of this station as well, and the council has decided to make the strongest protest against this being done, as it would utterly spoil a scheme which the council has prepared for beautifying the approaches to the station. Carnegie, Glenhuntly and Ormond are other stations, which have suffered, or are about to suffer, by having their picturesque surroundings encroached upon.
The new policy of the Railway Commissioners for increasing the department's revenue is to cut up station reserves into sites for the erection of business premises. It is not being put into operation without strong opposition from municipal councils and local progress associations, but in spite of all protests, the commissioners are carrying, and incidentally disfiguring, several fine station reserves - along the Frankston and Oakleigh lines in the process. After a sub-division, the land is leased to investors for the building of unsightly lock-up shops, which are then let. Portion of Murrumbeena station reserve has been despoiled in this manner, though Caulfield council offered, if the commissioners would stay their hands, to pay the whole cost of its maintenance as a garden reserve. Now it is proposed to erect shops along the Neerim-street frontage of this station as well, and the council has decided to make the strongest protest against this being done, as it would utterly spoil a scheme which the council has prepared for beautifying the approaches to the station. Carnegie, Glenhuntly and Ormond are other stations, which have suffered, or are about to suffer, by having their picturesque surroundings encroached upon.
At Glen Huntly cultivated lawns, flower beds and sheltering trees have been ruthlessly abolished to make way for the erection of shops. It is now announced that the same policy is to be carried out in respect to the Ormond station; Caulfield council views with alarm these attacks on what have hitherto been regarded solely as areas for beautification purposes. While it was anticipated that portion of them might have to be used for future railway requirements, it was not contemplated that they would ever be built upon, and the council looked upon them as part of the public reserves of the city. The council is endeavoring to arrange for a deputation to the Commissioners in regard to the matter, and to urge that, even from a town-planning point of view, station approaches should not be constricted in this manner by the erection of adjacent buildings, especially in view of the rapid growth of the population of these centres. (3)
A letter to The Age in July 1923, pointed out the undesirability of allowing inappropriate development on the garden reserve at the Glen Huntly Railway Station -
Town Planning at Glen Huntly
Sir,- The railway authorities in recent years have destroyed the appearance of Glen Huntly railway station, which was at one time the prize station in Victoria for neatness and attractiveness. At present the remnants of the former pleasing garden reserve have been leased to speculators, and right up to the station door the flowers have been rooted out and the land scooped up in order that a billiard saloon and some more unnecessary lock-up shops may crowd the station entrance. Ladies and young children stepping out of the trains at Glen Huntly are to face, in the future a crowd of jockeys, stable lads and racecourse loafers hanging around this station billiard saloon now being erected on the premises of the railway station, and on land which in the end actually belongs to the public. It is essential that some public protest be made. The matter deserves Mr. Clapp's attention, as well as a full inquiry, in the interests of Glen Huntly residents and property owners.— Yours. &c., LOCAL RESIDENT (4)
Mr Lander, of the Progress Association, again responded to the anonymous slur against the Progress Association, in this letter to the editor -
(9) The Age, March 25, 1926, see here.
Mr Clapp, as mentioned in the letter, above, is Sir Harold Clapp (1875-1952), Chairman of the Victorian Railways Commissioners. (5)
Three years later, the issue returned to the pages of The Age with a series of letters to the editor. The following letters are from March 1926.
Glen Huntly Railway Station.
Sir, - This station, with its beautiful lawns and ornamental trees and palms, was at one time the most picturesque of any of the suburban stations, and a credit to the Railway department. Many people, on seeing such a delightful spot, made up their minds to reside at Glen Huntly, but our Railway Commissioner some three or four years ago decided to lease these gardens, and bricks and mortar now stand where once beauty reigned. The Caulfield city council, by the way, and not forgetting the progress association and also the residents generally, allowed all this to happen without protest until it was too late. Now Mr. Clapp has gone further and built a poky little wooden tenement alongside the signal box, and at the entrance to the station, where fruit is sold, and the passengers to the train find difficulty in getting to the platform. Why have we not got a town-planning committee ? Who is going to be the big man to have this sort of thing stopped? Yours, &c., INDIGNANT. 22nd March. (6)
Glen Huntly Railway Station.
Sir, - This station, with its beautiful lawns and ornamental trees and palms, was at one time the most picturesque of any of the suburban stations, and a credit to the Railway department. Many people, on seeing such a delightful spot, made up their minds to reside at Glen Huntly, but our Railway Commissioner some three or four years ago decided to lease these gardens, and bricks and mortar now stand where once beauty reigned. The Caulfield city council, by the way, and not forgetting the progress association and also the residents generally, allowed all this to happen without protest until it was too late. Now Mr. Clapp has gone further and built a poky little wooden tenement alongside the signal box, and at the entrance to the station, where fruit is sold, and the passengers to the train find difficulty in getting to the platform. Why have we not got a town-planning committee ? Who is going to be the big man to have this sort of thing stopped? Yours, &c., INDIGNANT. 22nd March. (6)
In response to this, the Glen Huntly Progress Association fought back, with this letter -
Glen Huntly Railway Station.
Sir, - The Glen Huntly Progress Association waited on Mr. Clapp some two months back with a request for improvements to the local station, including a subway. Mr. Clapp gave us his word that he would give our requests a fair consideration. Nothing really definite has been done, and when it was seen that a paltry shed was being erected we immediately sent in a letter of protest, which has not yet been replied to. If "Indignant" and others joined the local Progress Association, and kept in touch with matters undertaken by that association, there would be no need to upbraid us for apparently neglecting the interests of the district.
Yours, &c., H. J. LANDER, President. 23rd March. (7)
Mr Lander was Herbert Joseph Lander, who lived with his wife Mary at 137 Booran Road, Caulfield East. His occupation in the Electoral Roll was an Inspector. (8)
Two days later another letter was published, in support of the letter from 'Indignant.' -
Sir, - Your correspondent "Indignant" is justified in his wrath at the destruction of the railway lawn, ornamental trees and palms at Glen Huntly railway station. This station is now as ugly and cramped as the most unsightly timber-structures of stations on the Collingwood line. It was formerly the prize station for beauty in Victoria. Is our railway management so bad that we cannot afford to have decent railway stations? The evil work at Glen Huntly station began with the railway authorities permitting an estate agent and progress association orators to erect an office and shops on the Glen Huntly-road frontage, and to close the carriage entrance, leaving only a few feet for the pedestrians' track to the platform. The ugly fruit stall is now added. Glaring posters are being stuck up everywhere, extolling tea, booze, patent medicines, and also the progress association.
By such means Glen Huntley has lost its attractiveness as a residential area. It cannot become a factory area within this generation. Its land agent may earn commissions in subdivisions and land booming, and they will control the Caulfield council and the so called progress association, and continue to do so in their own business interests until town planning is given over to men competent and acting in the interests of the public, and not for private gain. Your correspondent is right in blaming the Glen Huntly people themselves. Municipal politics are in the hands of the wrong class. The only thing is to give the Town Planning Commission complete control. -
Yours, &c., GLEN HUNTLY RESIDENT. 24th March (9)
Glen Huntly Railway Station -
Sir, - In reply to the statement made by "Glen Huntly Resident" that Glen Huntly Progress Association orators erected an office and shops on the Glen Huntly-road frontage, I deny the charge. In the first place, the association has no funds for such a purpose; secondly, we already have a building for our meetings, and, most important of all, we do not want to see the place disfigured by buildings, preferring to see decent entrances to the station. As to the so-called ugly hoardings, our small notice board referred to is neatly painted in black and white, and is erected on a spot that is useless for a garden. Why does not "Glen Huntly Resident" sign his name and also join our association ? He may be able to influence the powers-that-be to better purpose than we can. -
Sir, - In reply to the statement made by "Glen Huntly Resident" that Glen Huntly Progress Association orators erected an office and shops on the Glen Huntly-road frontage, I deny the charge. In the first place, the association has no funds for such a purpose; secondly, we already have a building for our meetings, and, most important of all, we do not want to see the place disfigured by buildings, preferring to see decent entrances to the station. As to the so-called ugly hoardings, our small notice board referred to is neatly painted in black and white, and is erected on a spot that is useless for a garden. Why does not "Glen Huntly Resident" sign his name and also join our association ? He may be able to influence the powers-that-be to better purpose than we can. -
Yours, &c., H. J. LANDER, president Glen Huntly Progress Association. 25th March. (10)
Glen Huntly Railway Station, September 2008
Photographer: Michael Coley
How much more pleasant it would have been for the people of Glen Huntly if the railway garden was not destroyed in the 1920s. The ground-level Glen Huntly Railway Station building was removed as part of the Level Crossing Removal project, and is now underground; this new station opened in July 2023. Of course, the garden would not have survived this Level Crossing Removal mega-project, where much vegetation including nature trees were removed all over Melbourne (as well as historic railway buildings and infrastructure, but that's another story) (11)
Footnotes
(2) Brighton Southern Cross, May 20, 1899, see here.
(3) The Age, June 28, 1923, see here.
(4) The Age, July 17, 1923, see here.
(5) Sir Harold Clapp - https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/clapp-sir-harold-winthrop-5657
(6) The Age, March 23, 1926, see here.
(7) The Age, March 24, 1926, see here.
(8) Harold Joseph Lander - Electoral Rolls on Ancestry.com
Harold Lander of the Glen Huntly Progress Assocation, despatching a load of house hold items
for people whose homes were burnt in recent bush fires.
The Herald, April 7, 1926 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article243585034
(10) The Age, March 26, 1926, see here.
(11) Date of opening of new station - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glen_Huntly_railway_station
Vegetation - See here - https://bigbuild.vic.gov.au/library/level-crossing-removal-project/frankston/glen-huntly/fact-sheets/glen-huntly-fact-sheet-vegetation-removal
and here -
https://bigbuild.vic.gov.au/library/level-crossing-removal-project/frankston/glen-huntly/fact-sheets/glen-huntly-date-palms-factsheet 
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