In April 1911 (1) James Fenton Andrews opened Dandenong House, his palatial edifice (2) in Foster Street, Dandenong, and which was situated on an eminence above the railway station (3).
The building contained 40 rooms (4) which had been planned with regard to convenience and comfort, and the arrangement of smoking and ladies' rooms, as well as general conveniences, leaves nothing to be desired (5). The spacious dining room was 40 feet by 30 feet (6). The building was designed by local architect, W.H. Orgill (7). William Henry Orgill later became a District Inspector in the Public Works Department (8). In 1951 the Loyal Dandenong Lodge of the Manchester Unity Independent Order of Oddfellows celebrated sixty years and an article in the Dandenong Journal listed their longest serving members, led by Mr Orgill who had joined July 4, 1895 (9).
The operation of Dandenong House got off to a dramatic start when on the night of June 21, 1911 the roof was blown off by a cyclonic wind. The Argus reported that the ornamental parapet was thrown over, in its descent tearing through the iron balcony roof and floor. A chimney stack was blown over, and it crashed into an unoccupied bedroom. Some of the bricks found their way to other apartments, but, strange to say, nobody was injured. The large plate-glass windows of the front shops escaped damage. There were over 20 lodgers in the house, including a newly-married couple on their honeymoon (10). The building was quickly repaired and no doubt the honeymooners had an exciting tale to tell when they returned home.
James Fenton Andrews, the owner of Dandenong House was born in 1862 in Dandenong to James and Clearie (nee Maple) Andrews (11). His parents had taken up 95 acres in Keysborough in September 1871. In 1884, he married Edith Foster, the daughter of another early Keysborough family, Joseph and Martha (nee McConnell) Foster. Joseph had worked for William Keys after his arrival in Victoria in 1855 and saved enough money to buy a small farm (12).
The name for the part of Keysborough where the Andrew and Foster families lived was Elmsford. This was a 1852 sub-division of Crown Allotment 53, Parish of Dandenong by James Simpson. He created 63 small farms and township allotments and called the town Elmsford. The town of Elmsford never eventuated, however many farmers established small market gardens. The locality of Elmsford is essentially south of Cheltenham Road, between Chapel Road to the west and Chandler Road to the east. Perry Road, part of the sub-division was named for auctioneer, Symons & Perry and Newson Road is named after the architect surveyor of the land, Albert Newson (13). Many of the early settlers were united by their Wesleyan (Methodist) faith. They built a small wooden chapel (in Chapel Road) in 1861 and a brick chapel in 1877, using the wooden building for a Sunday School and Hall. The church buildings are currently and disgracefully kept in a state of neglect by their owners, the Uniting Church, who should have more community spirit and responsibility and restore them or at the very least stop their 'demolition by neglect' path. Brothers Robert, John and Thomas Orgill were also Elmsford residents and Methodists, I have not worked out the connection to the architect of Dandenong House, W.H. Orgill, but they must be related (14).
Back to James and Edith. Edith gave birth to ten children between 1885 and 1900 and then sadly died in 1903, at the age of 38. As a matter of interest Edith's birth place is listed as Elmsford (15). James then married Edith's first cousin, Maria, the daughter of John and Ann (nee Martin) Foster in 1909 and they had two sons (16). James and Maria retired to Cobram where he died in 1933, aged 70. Maria died ten years later. James, Edith and Maria are all buried at the Dandenong Cemetery (17).
Around 1914 Dandenong House was taken over by Emma Esther Hubbard (nee Coventry). She was a widow, her husband Benjamin had died in 1903 at Yarra Glen (18). In 1916, she married William Henry Gordon, who was a sawmmiller and she continued to operate Dandenong House until 1917 (19). Emma was apparently a very good cook as there are various reports about functions held at Dandenong House where her catering is praised - Mrs Hubbard had prepared an appetising repast (20)....The catering arrangements were ably carried out by the hostess, Mrs Hubbard, who provided a sumptuous spread of light refreshments which were duly appreciated (21)....After the ceremony the guests, between 60 and 70 in number, adjourned to Dandenong House, where the wedding tea was served, in Mrs Hubbard's most efficient style (22).
Emma did not retire after she left Dandenong House, she moved onto another guest house, Osborne House at 40 Nicholas Street in Fitzroy (23). This was a boarding house popular amongst actors, as the article in The Herald below, attests. Emma died in 1938 at the age of 66, she is buried at Yarra Glen (24).
Evelyn, born in Camperdon in 1890, was the daughter of Joseph and Esther (nee Skjellerup) Matthews (25). Evelyn operated the guest house with her mother and there are various newspaper accounts of wedding breakfasts, fundraisers for the Red Cross during the War and other functions being held at Dandenong House under the supervision of the Matthews family (26). As an example of the homely atmosphere Dandenong House provided, there was a report in the Dandenong Journal of July 1936 of Dandenong High School teacher, Harry Tonkin, leaving for a teaching position in Scotland. During, his residence here Mr. Tonkin has comfortably lived at Dandenong House, where Mrs. Matthews and her daughter (Miss Matthews) speak of him in the highest terms possible. Neither would permit of his departure without the presence of several of his friends - among whom were more than thirty - being invited to dinner on Wednesday night last, to wish him bon-voyage and a safe return.... a sumptuous meal was served in the spacious dining hall (27).
Mrs Matthews died in March 1938 and the Dandenong Journal reported that it is with deep regret that we record the passing of a very old resident of Dandenong, in Mrs. Esther Anne Matthews. Mrs. Matthews was the mother of Miss E. M. Matthews, proprietor of “Dandenong House,” and Mrs. McAlpine. Many former guests of Dandenong House attended the funeral to the Springvale Crematorium (28). Miss Evelyn Matthews retired in October 1950 and she died in 1979 (29).
Dandenong House remained a boarding house, but like many of these establishments throughout Melbourne the demographic of the clientele changed. People like Mr Tonkin, the teacher had more housing options from the 1950s and 1960s with the large increase in the number of flats available for rent. Many of these old boarding houses were lacking the facilities such as private bathrooms that commercial travellers and others could expect to find in motels. Many boarding houses, like hotels, were traditionally operated by women as they supplied her with a place to live and a source of income, but with the rise of other employment options, women no longer needed to operate boarding houses to survive. The boarding house became a place where people with limited housing options due to unemployment, psychiatric or addiction issues lived.
Trove list
Footnotes
