Showing posts with label St Kilda. Show all posts
Showing posts with label St Kilda. Show all posts

Friday, May 12, 2023

St Kilda Park State School Great War Honour Board designed by George Dancey

The St Kilda Park Primary School, No.2460,  is located in Fitzroy Street, St Kilda. The School opened on August 1, 1882 and a noted alumni is Sir Zelman Cowen (1919-2011), Governor General of Australia (1). The School was designed by Education Department Architect, Henry R. Bastow and the Victorian Heritage database describes it thus -The two storey school building is designed in the Gothic style, which was commonly adopted for larger school buildings from the late 1870s. It is a brown brick building with polychromatic contrasts in black, cream and red brick, set on a bluestone base. Asymmetrically composed on a corner site, it contains an unusual two storey splayed corner element which provides a visual transition between the two facades. Steep slate gable roofs, tall chimneys and a prominent tower provide a picturesque skyline, and pointed and trefoil arches with render label mouldings give a Gothic character. (2). 


St Kilda Park School, c. 1970s. Photographer:  Laurie Burchell. 
State Library of Victoria Image H2006.165/356

Not only is the school itself an elaborate confection of design, but it has a elaborate Great War Honour Board, one of the most glorious school Honour Boards I have seen. It commemorates the 150 past students who served overseas.


St Kilda Park School Honour Board
Image: Isaac Hermann, 2023

The Honour Board, designed by George Dancey and was unveiled by the Minister for Railways, and M.L.A for St Kilda,  Frederick Eggleston (3)  after  the Empire Day celebrations on May 23, 1924. The Herald reported on the event -
Mr Eggleston told the children that if the qualities exhibited by the men whose names appeared on the honor board wore displayed in the civil life  of the community, all its problems, social and political, would be solved. He reminded them of the splendid examples of courage and chivalry set by the Australian fighting forces during the war. Messrs Syme Harris, chairman of the school committee; R. Davey, district inspector; R. H. Trembath, headmaster; B. Ramsay, ex-headmaster, and Cr. Burnett Gray also spoke. The new honor board is a handsome piece of work designed by the late Mr George Dancey, the artist. It was executed in opus sectile by Brooks Robinson Pty. Ltd. The composition is tile-like and assembled in mosaic effect, the colored design being burnt in by a special process. The whole is enclosed in a copper frame. From the children's point of view the best part of the ceremony came this afternoon. Every State school child in the St. Kilda district was entertained at the Palais pictures by the Mayor and councillors and presented with a packet of sweets (4). 


Detail of the St Kilda Park School Honour Board, encased in the copper frame, showing George Dancey's signature. Fecit - 'He made'
Image: Isaac Hermann, 2023

The Honour Board was designed by George Henry Dancey. George was born in London on March 26, 1865 to Joseph and Clara (nee Bursill) Dancey (5).  He trained as an ecclesiastical artist at Clayton and Bell in London, one of England's most prolific stained glass studios in the Victorian and Edwardian eras (6).  Whilst at Clayton and Bell he worked on the stained glass windows for St Paul's Cathedral in Melbourne, which were then installed by Brooks, Robinson Pty Ltd, who made the St Kilda Park Honour Board (7). After his arrival in Victoria, he married Annie Maria Wills (nee Jenkinson) in 1893. She was the widow of John Wills and they had a daughter Ethel, who had been born in South Africa, where her parents were from.  In 1903,  Ethel married Alek Williams. Williams was an illustrator and cartoonist whose work appeared in the Bulletin, Punch and Smith's Weekly, under the name of Alex Sass. Alex died December 1, 1922 aged 44. George and Annie had the one daughter, Clara, in 1896 and she married Cyril Devenport in 1923. Just three weeks after the death of Alex, another tragedy struck the family when George died at his home at 11 Beaconsfield Parade, St Kilda on December 23, 1922 at the age of 58 years old, so he did not get to see see the Honour Board completed. He is buried at the Brighton Cemetery, with his wife Annie, who died in 1934, aged 78 (8).


George Dancey, 1908
Photographers: Johnstone, O'Shannessy & Co. 
State Library of Victoria Image H28902/17

The Prahran Telegraph printed a very informative and touching obituary - 
GEORGE DANCEY'S DEATH. Mural Painter and Cartoonist. Resident of St. Kilda.
Recently there passed away at his home in Beaconsfield parade, St.Kilda, one, George H. Dancey, cartoonist and mural painter. It would be interesting to know what this signifies to the ordinary St. Kilda citizen. It is very certain that he does not realise what a great artist had he had his opportunities and been appreciated as his merits deserved, has been lost to Australia. George Dancey was, unfortunately, a martyr to an art, mural decoration, which is in little demand as yet in this young country, still in the crysalis stage of commercial progress. But it is safe to say that had Mr. Dancey remained in England his fame would have been known throughout the civilised world. 

St. Kilda is fortunate in having two very fine examples of his work in war memorials, which are
to be found in Christ Church, Acland street, (9) and Holy Trinity Church,  Balaclava (10). It is a great pity that he was not commissioned to decorate in fitting manner the St. Kilda Town Hall. It would then have numbered among its visitors art lovers, who would have been further impressed with this beautiful city, and the city fathers might have had the pleasure of boasting of another reason for their pride in the 'Queen City of the Metropolis.' But, alas, the chance has gone by!

As a cartoonist on Melbourne 'Punch' Mr. Dancey was best known to the public. While his inclination was not towards this work, he persistently applied himself to it, for bread and butter reasons, and succeeded. His best cartoons are on nobles lines, seldom found in other work of this nature. After fifteen years study at the Kensington Art School, London, Mr. Dancey was forced by ill-health to come to Australia, some twenty-five years ago, and finding small demand for mural decoration, he became a cartoonist. In his mural painting Mr. Dancey was deeply influenced by Lord Leighton. Several of Mr. Dancey's original cartoons were shown in London about five years ago, when they attracted much attention. 

Among other branches of his art Mr. Dancey devoted himself largely to the designing of stained glass windows, at which he had been engaged for many years. Among his works of a purely decorative nature are two panels, Comedy and Tragedy, which adorn the proscenium slope of Her Majesty's Theatre.

To those who knew him personally the late artist was the most gentle, kindly sympathetic man imaginable, who had a good word for all, especially for those who tried to appreciate his art. For many years he was an invalid, and was attended by a devoted wife, who with a daughter and a stepdaughter, wife of the late Alex. Sass, the cartoonist, he has left behind to mourn his loss. As a result of his long illness and lack of support of his art, the family is not well provided for. The Victorian Artists' Society, it is understood, will hold a gift exhibition, at which the works shown will be presented by the artists and the proceeds will go to the dependents. (11). 

This was not the only time the Prahran Telegraph had bemoaned the lack of recognition and respect for George Dancey's art by the Australian public. This was written after the Honour Board was unveiled - 
The Honour Board at the St. Kilda Park Central School is a specially fine one, being the conception of that very fine artist, the late George Dancy, whose artistic worth was barely recognised in this country, we being apparently not sufficiently cultured to appreciate what a master he was in mural decorative art. In Europe Dancy would have found the fame and the fortune which lack of appreciative knowledge of this form of a great art failed to give to him in his own country. (12).

The Dancey Memorial Exhibition was held in May 1923 and raised for than £500 for the family (13).

Acknowledgment
Thank you to my research colleague, Isaac Hermann, for telling me about this wonderful Honour Board and allowing me to use his photographs, and thus leading me to George Dancey, whom I had not heard of before.

Trove list - I have compiled a short list of newspaper articles relating to this Honour Board and George Dancey, access it here.

Footnotes
(1) Vision and Realisation: a centenary history of State Education in Victoria edited by Les Blake (Education Department of Victoria, 1973);
(2) Victorian Heritage Database https://vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/places/1109 
(3) Sir Frederick William Eggleston (1875-1954) see Australian Dictionary of Biography entry here  https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/eggleston-sir-frederic-william-344
(4) The Herald, May 23, 1924, see here.
(5) Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1923, London Metropolitan Archives on Ancestry.com
(7) George's entry in Who’s Who in Australia, 1921-1950, on-line at Ancestry.com, lists his connection to Clayton and Bell.  
Brooks, Robinson Pty Ltd - more information https://www.emelbourne.net.au/biogs/EM01420b.htm 


Who’s Who in Australia, 1921-1950, on-line at Ancestry.com

(8) Victorian Indexes to the Births, Deaths and Marriages; Family notices notices - see my Trove list; and his obituary, as transcribed above. Alex Sass - obituary in Smith's Weekly, here; and Sydney Evening News, here.
(9) Christ Church, Acland Street - read about George's work here. It was unveiled December 11, 1921.
(10) Holy Trinity Church, Balaclava - read about George's work here. It was unveiled August 6, 1922. 
(11) Prahran Telegraph, February 2, 1923, see here.
(12) Prahran Telegraph, May 30 1924, see here.
(13) The Herald, May 26, 1923, see here.

Saturday, October 16, 2021

St Kilda's Wax Museum

On Monday, November 23, 1970 the London Wax Museum was officially opened by the Mayor of St Kilda, Cr G. Manning, in the South Pacific Building, Lower Esplanade (now Jacka Boulevard) (1).  The South Pacific was the old St Kilda Baths, completely renovated and re-opened in 1956 (2).The 45 (3) figures on display - replicas of the famous and infamous (4) had been sculptured and  modelled by Jack Armytage, of Interwax Ltd, at the time the only company in the Southern Hemisphere producing wax models. Jack also designed the display, the costumes and provided the display bodies - it was only the head and the hands which were created in wax (5).


Jack Armytage with Queen Victoria
The Age, November 20, 1970, p. 21.

In an interview in The Age newspaper of November 20, 1970 Jack explained his entry into the Wax Model world -

It started 15 months ago when I was helping to lay out the wax museum at Surfers' Paradise. They had some trouble with the wax models brought from London and I thought that they could have been made here.

I had a trip around the world looking at wax museums and that convinced me. I hadn't done any sculpture before, or sculpted from life, but I think being in television for years helped me. Jack had previously been the art director of  a Brisbane Television station. 

Each figure, estimated to be worth $1,000 each, took over 200 hours to create, with each hair being individually implanted (6).


An interesting employment opportunity at the Wax Museum
The Age July 8, 1972, p. 71.

Amongst the models made for the St Kilda Museum were Queen Victoria, King Henry VIII, whose costume alone cost $400; the then Prime Minister, John Gorton; Dame Nellie Melba. Charles Dickens, Dr Christiaan Barnard, Queen Elizabeth, Prince Phillip, Princess Anne, Michelangelo, Napoleon, Sir Francis Drake, Madame Tussaud, Rolf Harris, Sir Winston Churchill, Benjamin Disraeli, American Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy and Nixon, Hitler, Stalin and Mao Tse-tung (7).


The manager, John Pittman, surrounded by Benjamin Disraeli, Prince Phillip, Princess Anne, The Queen and Queen Victoria.
The Age January 28, 1975, p. 12

The Museum, owned by New Zealand Company London Wax Museums Ltd was managed by John and Joy Pittman (8). They had no previous experience in the Wax Museum World  - Neither of us had any experience in the world of wax. I worked for an electrical company and Joy had a background in dress making," Mr Pittman said (9).

After 18 months (10) the Museum, also known as the World in Wax,  moved to 32 The Esplanade on the corner of Acland Street to the building erected in 1917, by the  Prahran and Malvern Tramway Trust at the terminus of its line. The building had a long history of use as a cafe - initially the Empire Cafe, then the Green Knoll, and from mid-1940s to 1970 as the function centre known as both Katharina and Catherina (11).


The World in Wax museum, 32 The Esplanade, St Kilda.
Image: Victorian Heritage database https://vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/places/66317 
Image enhanced by Isaac Hermann.

The Pittmans operated at 32 The Esplanade, until January 27, 1975, when they had to close as the building was to be demolished and all the models were put into storage.  By this stage 250,000 visitors had viewed the collection. It was not an easy task to find a suitable building to house what was then reported to be 50 wax models, and they had been searching for over a year when they were interviewed by The Age on the day of the closure. The interview reported that they were considering a site in Barkly Street, but it is likely to be some time before the Museum opens again (12).  Some time later they re-opened at 168 Acland Street, corner Barkly Street, in the building which until recently housed the Big Mouth Cafe (13).


Souvenir from London's Wax Museum.
Image: Isaac Hermann.

I don't know how long they were at 168 Acland Street, but it seems less than a year. In 2002, the Riverine Herald had an interview with the Pittmans and it was reported that the couple, now in their 80s, bought the London Wax Museum in St Kilda in 1975 and moved its occupants to Echuca in 1976 to open World in Wax Museum on High St.  (14)


Life sized guillotine and victim, displayed at the London Wax Museum in St Kilda.
Image: Isaac Hermann


This is 'Deadly Earnest' also on display at the Wax Museum.
Image: Isaac Hermann.

It appears that the Pittmans managed the Museum from its opening until 1975, when they purchased the business and then began looking for a new location, and that the Acland Street location was only ever meant to be a temporary location. This is supported by the fact that the Riverine Herald reported in February 1975 that the Echuca Council was to make a bid to have the Wax Museum set up in Echuca, thus they may have been in talks early on (15).  Secondly, this advertisement, below,  appeared in The Age on October 1, 1975. It is of course possible that R. Inlander was looking for a location for a rival wax museum in 'Melbourne or nearby' but even though I have found no connection yet between Mr Inlander and the Pittmans, I believe that he was advertising on their behalf.


Advertisement for  a  location for a Wax Museum. 
Was it for the St Kilda Museum or a rival museum?
This is likely to be  Rudolf Inlander, listed in the Electoral Roll in the 1970s at Hosken Street, Balwyn North, occupation - dental mechanic.
The Age October 1, 1975. p. 23.

The Riverine Herald article from 2002, was written because the Pittmans were retiring and their manager, John Walton, was taking over the business. At the time of their retirement the Wax Museum displayed 59 models and each figurine can cost anywhere between $8,000 and $10,000 because of the time it takes to make them (16) An interesting increase in value from the $1,000 per model that Jack Armytage said they were worth in 1970.

The Wax Museum in St Kilda was a short-lived part of St Kilda's rich history as Australia's  premier pleasure resort (17). 

Acknowledgment
I had not heard of the Wax Museum at St Kilda until I was told of it by my fellow historian, Isaac Hermann, when he purchased the souvenir postcards of the Museum, which I have reproduced here. Some of this research was done by or in conjunction with Isaac. Thanks, Isaac.

Footnotes
(1) The Age, November 20, 1970, p. 21. Available on newspapers.com
(2) The South Pacific, read the report of official re-opening in The Argus of November 3, 1956, here. However a report in the Australian Jewish Herald of May 18, 1956 said there was a Grand Opening on May 23, 1956, read this report here.
(3) The number of figures on display was listed as 45 in The Age of  November 20 article and 42 in The Age, November 19, 1970, p. 16
(4) Replicas of the famous and infamous was from an advert for the Museum in The Age, December 11, 1972, p. 11. 
(5) The Age, November 20, 1970, p. 21.
(6) The Age, November 20, 1970, p. 21.
(7) The Age, November 20, 1970, p. 21; The Age, November 19, 1970, p. 16; The Age January 28, 1975, p. 12.
(8) The Age, November 19, 1970, p. 16. Available on newspapers.com
(9) Riverine Herald, December 2, 2002, see here
(10) The Age January 28, 1975, p. 12. Available on newspapers.com
(11) I will be writing a history of the building shortly, but I have created  a list of articles on Trove on the various businesses which  occupied the building, access it here https://trove.nla.gov.au/list/157656
(12)  The Age January 28, 1975, p. 12.
(14) Riverine Herald, December 2, 2002, see here
(15) Riverine Herald, February 2, 2000, see here - The Way we Were - 25 years ago.
(16) Riverine Herald, December 2, 2002, see here
(17) This term is from St Kilda by the Sea, published by the Prahran Telegraph, 1913-1916, http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/185325

Wednesday, June 16, 2021

The St Kilda War Trophy - a long range German Gun

In late 1919 the  Commonwealth War Trophies Committee was established and its role was to distribute 'war trophies' which had been captured during the Great War.  A War Trophy Committee was established in each State and they determined how the guns would be distributed. In Victoria, some of the trophies were retained by the Government for a State War Museum and trophies were also allocated to each Citizen Force Light Horse and Infantry Unit. The remaining trophies were allotted to towns; Melbourne and inner suburbs, such as St Kilda were regarded as one unit of allocation (1) The Lord Mayor of Melbourne convenened a meeting of mayors of suburbs within the metropolitan area and the allocations were decided (2). 

St Kilda was first offered in August 1921 a Trench Mortar (3), which they were not happy with. Correspondence between the local member, William Watt, M.P., and an unnamed staff member in Home & Territories stated that St Kilda feels that its undoubtedly fine war record has not been suitably recognised (4). There was some sympathy for this position within the Victorian Committee who thought that St Kilda had special claims by reason of its population and  its position as a leading metropolitan seaside resort (5)

After the initial allocation to Victoria another four or five guns became available from a shipment presented to Australia from the French Government and after passionate advocacy on Mr Watt's part on behalf of the St Kilda Council they were allocated a 8-inch Howitzer (6). However, in June 1922 Mr Watt received a letter from the Director of the Australian War Museum offering the City a 6-inch gun, though the gun is of smaller calibre than the howitzer, it is considerably larger, and in fact is the largest gun available for distribution in the metropolitan area (7). The gun itself was the largest type conveyed by the Germans with road traction, it weighed 11½  tons, was 30 feet long and it could reportedly throw a 120 pound shell from St Kilda to Mordialloc (8). 


The War Trophy Gun, looking over St Kilda Pier. It is views like this that led the Victorian War Trophy Committee to recognise St Kilda as a leading metropolitan seaside resort. 
Visible at the end of St. Kilda Pier is the Colonial naval ship Childers Conning Tower,
The Pier from Alfred Square, St Kilda. Photographer: Rose Stereograph Co., 
State Library of Victoria Image H32492/4925

In August 1922, the St Kilda Town Clerk formally accepted this offer of the 6-inch gun. The  appointed Trustees were Cr Joseph Hewison, Cr George Renfrey and Cr Burnett Gray (9). The gun was placed on display in Alfred Square, the same park where the St Kilda Boer War Memorial was unveiled on March 12, 1905 (10).  It wasn't the only gun at Alfred Square there was also this gun, pictured below. I do not know the fate of this gun.


An older gun in Alfred Square, St Kilda Esplande, Melbourne in 1919. The gun was featured in a series of photos under the headline Old Guns in Parks and Gardens.

On June 23, 1923 this 150 mm Long Range High Angle Gun, No. 103 (as the gun was officially named) was formally handed over  to the City of St Kilda by William Watt, M.P., in a ceremony in Albert Square. Mr Watt was reported as saying it was doubtful if any city in Australia had such a fine record for war efforts or for the number of its citizens who had enlisted as St Kilda. The gun was captured on 8th August, 1918, at one of the most dramatic and decisive moments of the war, three months before the final overthrow of the Germans. At this time the Australians were the spearhead of the Allied forces (11)

It is interesting that he gives the date of capture, because in October 1922 the Director of the Australian War Museum wrote to the St Kilda Town Clerk  that owing to the unit failing to record the place and date of capture it is regretted that a full history cannot be furnished other than it was captured by the Australian Corps on the Western Front during the final offensive in 1918 (12). 


Workmen placing St. Kildas war trophy - a long-range German gun captured by the Australians - in position in Alfred Square, on the Esplanade today

Other speeches on the day were also reported Mr. Eggleston, M.L.A., member for St.Kilda and a returned soldier, who unveiled a plate on the gun, said it was doubtful if Australians recognised sufficently the great efforts of their men at the front. The gun would serve as a memorial to future generations, and make them realise the horrors of war, and that every peaceful means should be exhausted before war was sought. Cr. Cummings, in receiving the gun on behalf of the City, said it would serve to remind the present generation of those who had returned and of its promises to care for those who had been left by those who would never return (13). 


The War Trophy Gun on the right, looking towards another memorial, the Carlo Catani 
Memorial Clock Tower and the St Kilda Baths.
View from Alfred Square, St Kilda. Photographer: Rose Stereograph Co.,
State Library of Victoria Image H32492/602

In spite of the enthusiastic efforts that the St Kilda Council went to, to obtain their War Trophy, there wasn't universal approval of this acquistion. The Prahan Telegraph was quite scathing -  In the meanwhile people are making rude remarks about the hideous gun which is scrapped in the Town Hall gardens, pointing its lean grey-hound barrel towards Carlisle street. This devilish instrument of man's inhumanity to man awaits its transference to Alfred Square, where it is to be placed to please the St. Kilda jingoes who shouted so hard to the other fellow to go to the war, but who themselves went no further than the St. Kilda pier to wave adieus to the troop transports. Such war trophies, the guns, are in their right place when retained in the war museum, but they are not in keeping with the amenities of the St. Kilda shorefront, where one does not desire to find a Moloch pendant of the heathen god of war, the most accursed of all cursed, gods that man ever capitalised or personified (14). 

The Prahran Telegraph later reported on the 'handing over' ceremony, under the headline Gun Gush - One speaker said the gun would serve to remind those who had relatives killed in the war that those honoured ones were not forgotten. We fail to understand what that apparently intendened pious observation means. If the gun reminds the relatives of the fallen, or anything, it reminds them that they have lost loved ones in a war, the true inwardness yet of which is not yet understood by the masses. Another speaker looked at the gun differently. He said the gun would serve as  a perpetual reminder of the horror and hatefulness of war. How it will do that, we do not know. There is no evidence of the horror and hatefulness of the war in the gun itself. It is simply a rusting piece of steel disfiguring Alfred Place, and quite out of place with the amenties of St Kilda's beautiful sea front.......Possibly after seeing miles of wooden white crosses in Picardy, recording the deaths of gallant Australian boys, we have less stomach to digest these flag-waving ceremonies, and less patience to hear jingoistic talk about war trophies far too often placed in the wrong places by men who talk, but who do not realise the hatefulness of war implements in abodes of peace (15). 


Mrs H. D. Matta photographed with the gun in 1925.

The gun remained at Alfred Square on display and formed a background to family photos and postcards and then it was back in the news in 1942 -  St. Kilda council is in a quandary as to what to do with the German 9.5 gun, a relic of the last war, which has been a conspicuous object in Alfred-square on the Esplanade for many years. It was recently offered to the defence authorities, who declined it "with thanks," and an offer of it to a firm for sale as scrap metal was not accepted. It was stated that it would cost £30 to remove it from its concrete emplacement. It was pointed out by one councillor that the presence of the gun in the square might constitute a grave menace to the neighborhood as hostile aircraft might regard it was part of the anti-aircraft defence. Moreover, it constituted an obstacle to the approach to slit trenches in the event of a raid (16).   

A report two weeks later said When the gun was offered a fortnight ago to the Minister for Munitions (Mr Makin) by the St. Kilda Council, the Minister suggested that the gun would be of more value to the war effort if it was used for training purposes instead of being used as scrap. It was reported at last night's meeting of the council that the Commanding-Officer of the 1/2 Medium Training Regiment at Puckapunyal had asked for the gun to train the troops, and it will be given to him (17)

However, for some reason the gun was never sent to Puckpunyal and we learn more of its history from Retrieving the Cultural Biography of a Gun by David Pearson and Graham Connah. Their article was published in the Journal of Conflict Archaelogy in Janaury 2013.  They write some time after July 1968 it was disposed of by the council and was rescued by a private purchaser whilst on its way to the scrap yard.  It is now at the Caribbean Gardens and Market at Scoresby, in Melbourne (18). 

Caribbean Gardens closed down in 2020. We do not know what the owners of Caribbean Gardens plan to do with the gun. 


The gun at Caribbean Gardens.
Image: Pakenham Modellers Group Facebook page, posted July 3 2019. 
This is the Group's website http://www.vinwragg.com/pmg/new/


The original plaque is also at Caribbean Gardens, which was unveiled on June 23, 1923 
by Mr. Eggleston, M.L.A., member for St.Kilda and a returned soldier. It may not be appropriate (or logistically possible) for the gun to return to St Kilda but it would be nice if the plaque could find a home in Alfred Square, as part of an interpretive panel or display. 
Image: Pakenham Modellers Group Facebook page, posted July 3 2019. 
This is the Group's website http://www.vinwragg.com/pmg/new/

Acknowledgments
I was made aware of the St Kilda War Trophy Gun by my research colleague, Isaac Hermann. His friend, David Clerehan, had informed him of Caribbean Gardens' closure and the pending situation with the gun and this led to this research, some of which was also done by or in conjunction with Isaac. Thank you, David and Isaac.  It was Kay Rowan, Local History Librarian at the City of Port Phillip who made us aware that the gun was not moved to Puckpunyal in 1942. Kay supplied the article Retrieving the Cultural Biography of a Gun by David Pearson and Graham Connah. Thank you, Kay.

Trove list
I have created a list of articles connected to the St Kilda War Trophy Gun, access it here.

Footnotes
(1) National Archives of Australia Series AWM 194 - Allotment of 1914-1918 War trophies St Kilda.
This is a 26 page file containing various correspondence from the St Kilda Council, William Watt the local Member of Parliament, copies of correspondence to and from the Victorian Committee to the Director of the Australian War Museum regarding St Kilda's request for a War Trophy and similar. You can see the file here https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C2798268
(2) Ibid
(3) Ibid
(4) Ibid
(5) Ibid
(6) Ibid
(7) Ibid
(8) The Age June 25, 1923, see here and The Argus June 25, 1923, see here.
(9) National Archives of Australia Series AWM 194 - Allotment of 1914-1918 War trophies St Kilda.
(10) I have written about the St Kilda Boer War Memorial here    http://carlocatani.blogspot.com/2020/01/fathers-and-sons-mateship-and-monuments.html
(11) The Age, June 25, 1923, see here.
(12) National Archives of Australia Series AWM 194 - Allotment of 1914-1918 War trophies St Kilda.
(13) The Age, June 25, 1923, see here.
(14) Prahran Telegraph, June 1, 1923, see here.
(15) Prahran Telegraph, June 29, 1923, see here.
(16) The Age, April 9, 1942, see here.
(17) The Herald, April 21, 1942, see here.
(18) Retrieving the Cultural Biography of a Gun by David Pearson and Graham Connah in Journal of Conflict Archaelogy V.8, No. 1, Janaury 2013, pp 41-73. The quote is from page 65. This is the full quote, with their sources listed - The treatment of Gun 135 was also much superior to that of the only other surviving gun of this type in Australia (Gun 103) which is now in a deteriorated condition. This was initially presented to the municipality of St Kilda, in Melbourne, but some time after July 1968 it was disposed of by the council and was rescued by a private purchaser whilst on its way to the scrap yard (AWM194 Melbourne 29; AWM262 103 St Kilda; City of Port Phillip Archives, St Kilda trophy gun 06/012/0011; The Argus, 25 June 1923: 12; Prahran Telegraph, 29 June 1923: 6; St Kilda Municipal Council Minutes, 15 and 29 July 1968; Billet, 1999: 56, 58–59, 85; Caribbean Gardens, 2011). It is now at the Caribbean Gardens and Market at Scoresby, in Melbourne.

Monday, March 1, 2021

Brighton Road State School, St Kilda, Boer War memorial

The Boer War was fought between British forces against the Boers, or Dutch-Afrikaner settlers in South Africa from 1899 until 1902. The War was also called the South African War and referred to as the Second Boer War. The First Boer War, fought between the Boers and the British, took place in 1880-1881, but no Australian troops were officially involved.

Australians who served  in the War were all volunteers. The Australian War Memorial website explains - Australians served in contingents raised by the six colonies or, from 1901, by the new Australian Commonwealth. For a variety of reasons many Australians also joined British or South African colonial units in South Africa: some were already in South Africa when the war broke out; others either made their own way or joined local units after their enlistment in an Australian contingent ended. Recruiting was also done in Australia for units which already existed in South Africa, such as the Scottish Horse. You can read more about Boer War on the Australian War Memorial website, here.  


Brighton Road State School, St Kilda Boer War memorial tablet
The memorial tablet, made from marble, is about 120 cm by 50cm in size. 
Image: Isaac Hermann.

This memorial tablet was erected at the Brighton Road State School in St Kilda to honour the pupils from the school who served in South Africa. The tablet was presented to the school on August 29, 1901 during a concert held at the St Kilda Town Hall to farewell a teacher, Mr Bradhurst. The concert also raised £25 for the purchase of a piano for the school (1).  The tablet was presented by Mr N. Dear. This was  Nathaniel Dear (1846 - 1903),  listed in the 1900 Sands McDougall Directory at 55 Raglan Street, St Kilda.  Mr Dear was a keen letter writer to the newspapers and had a long running dispute with members of the St Kilda Cemetery Trust, and sued the Secretary of the Trust, Charles Truelove, twice for libel (2).  The reports of these legal cases list Nathaniel's occupation variously as 'grave decorator' or monumental mason. It is likely therefore, that Nathaniel also made the memorial tablet.  


Report of the presentation of the memorial tablet by Nathanel Dear
Prahran Telegraph August 31, 1901 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/144680273

There are 25 names on the memorial tablet, one of whom was a teacher at the School. Most of these men on the State School memorial are also listed on the St Kilda Boer War memorial in Alfred Square, which was officially unveiled by the Governor of Victoria, Sr Reginald Talbot on March 12, 1905.  The memorial was designed by Arthur Peck, and I have written about it here. You can read an account of the opening in the Prahran Chroniclehere

Eleven of the men on the Brighton Road school memorial also served in the First World War, three of them were Killed in Action. Mr Dear's memorial does have  a number of mistakes including the spelling of names and the fact that he has three men listed as being killed whilst serving, when in fact only one was. However, it is a heartfelt memorial to the men who served their country and 'the Empire' and a fine example of Nathaniel's skill as a monumental mason. 


The Brighton Road State School, St Kilda. The school was officially opened on January 11, 1875. 
There were 13 staff, including the head master, Mr Hadfield. The school could accommodate 650 children and 604 children attended the opening. 
Read a report of the opening in the St Kilda Telegraph, January 16, 1875, see here.
Image: Isaac Hermann

These are the men listed on the Memorial.  The information about their rank and unit comes from the nominal rolls on the Australian War Memorial website, here. These rolls have minimal information, often nothing more than the name and the rank of the soldier. The other information comes from newspaper articles on Trove; the Electoral Rolls on Ancestry;  the Indexes to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages and the World War One records at the National Archives of Australia. 

Allan, Percy James. 
Percy is listed on the State School Roll as having been killed, but the good news is that he returned from serving in South Africa. He was a Private in the 5th Victorian Mounted Rifles. He enlisted again in Febuary 1916,  in the First World War in the 10th Field Company Engineers. He was 36 years old,  an engineer, and his next of kin was his mother, Elizabeth Allan, of Orrong Road, East St Kilda. His attestation papers list his previous military service as 18 months in the Boer War. Percy returned to Australia in June 1918 and was discharged on medical grounds having been wounded - compound fracture, right thigh caused by a gun shot. Percy was the son of John Fisher and Elizabeth (nee McGregor) Allan; he married Emma Louisa Classen in 1924 and they lived at 187 Orrong Road, East St Kilda throughout their married life. Percy died in March 1951 at the age of 71.

Anderson, David
Private, 5th Victorian Mounted Rifles. He was severely wounded at Wilmansrust on June 12, 1901. The fighting at Wilmansrust was a debacle and even the normally patriotic Victorian newspapers were critical of the action of the members of the Unit, read about it here in the The Argus of September 30, 1901. In spite of being wounded David enlisted again in World One on July 7, 1915 and Returned to Australia April 5, 1919. 
Anderson, William Fleming
William was a Private in the 5th Victorian Mounted Rifles. William also served in World War One and was Killed in Action at Gallipoli on August 7, 1915.
David and William, both born in St Kilda, were the sons of Alexander and Catherine (nee Limerock) Anderson) of 14 Scott Street, St Kilda (as it was then, Scott Street is now part of Elwood). They are both listed on the Elwood Presbyterian Church World War One Honour Board, see here.

Ashley, Aubrey Frederick 
Private, 5th Victorian Mounted Rifles. He was 'slightly wounded at Wilmansrust, June 12, 1901. Awarded pension'. In spite of being wounded, Aubrey enlisted in the AIF in January 1916 in the 37th Battalion. By then he was a 36 year old publican at the Club Hotel in Boolarra, south of Moe, in the hills of Gippsland. His next of kin was his wife, Ruby. His attestation paper notes his 12 months Boer War service. Aubrey returned to Australia in January 1918 and was discharged due to defective vision. He returned to the hotel at Boolarra, which he operated until 1945 and he died at Parkdale in October 1953, aged 75. 

Bridgeland,  Frederick Charles Lionel
Private, 5th Victorian Mounted Rifles. Frederick also enlisted in the AIF, in the 4th Light Horse Regiment in August 1914. Fred was born at Orroroo in South Australia, and he was a 32 years old traveller when he enlisted. His next of kin was his wife, Edith, whose address was Casterton. They had one daughter, Victoria Grace, born in 1905. Fred was Killed in Action at Gaba Tepe, Gallipoli on August 6, 1915.


Report of the death of Fred Bridgeland. The date of his death in his file is August 6, not August 7. 
The Argus, September 24, 1915 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1563753

Campbell, Garnet  
Private, 5th Victorian Mounted Rifles. Garnet is not listed on the Alfred Square memorial. There is a Garnet Campbell in the 1903 Electoral Rolls at 31 Kerford Road, South Melbourne, occupation labourer;  also at that address was Lydia Dora, Bertie Charles and Archibald. The Victorian Indexes to the Births, Deaths and Marriages list a Garnet Butler Campbell born to Robert and Lydia Dora (nee Ryan) Campbell in 1881, so this confirms they are the same person. Garnet  married Mary Jane Crawford in 1913, they lived at Brighton and later at Oakleigh, where he died in 1956 aged 76. I had discovered all this and was still not sure that Garnet Campbell on the Memorial was the same person as Garnet Butler Campbell, until I found this article, below, in the The Herald of July 29, 1922.


Mr Garnet Butler Campbell, a cousin of the missing Baronet, Sir John Rivett-Carnac, but of more importance it confirms that this Garnet Campbell is the one on the Memorial tablet.
If you are interested you can read about the Rivett-Carnac family, here.

Christie, Henry 'Harry'
Private, 5th Victorian Mounted Rifles. Harry is also not listed on the Alfred Square memorial. Harry enlisted in October 1914 in the AIF, in the 10th Light Horse. His attestation paper note his Boer War service. Harry was born in Melbourne and was a 34 year old sleeper hewer, when he enlisted. His next of kin was his mother, Mrs M. Christie and later his sister, Mrs Carlton, both of Subiaco in Western Australia. Harry fought at Gallipoli and was missing in action and a Court of Enquiry held in December 1916, declared that he was Killed in Action on August 29, 1915. 

Cowden, William
There are no Cowdens listed on the Nominal Roll. There was a report in the Prahran Chronicle of a dinner tendered to local men who had returned home after fighting in South Africa and one of the men was Corporal J. Cowden, who enlisted in South Africa and was wounded.


Report of the dinner held for St Kilda men who returned home after fighting in South Africa.
Read the full report - Prahran Chronicle, May 18, 1901 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article165239289

This is James Cyril Cowden of 269 Inkerman Street, St Kilda. He also enlisted in the First World War. James was born in Canada, was 48 years old and a bridge carpenter when he joined up on Septemner 1915, in the 2nd Squadron, 1st Remount unit. His attestation paper noted his 13 months of Boer War service. He returned to Australia in January 1917 and was discharged on medical grounds. James and his wife, Martha (nee Dau), had a son Wilfred who seved in the Navy, on the H.M.A.S Una, and died whilst on service at Rabaul. A beautiful marble tablet was unveiled in Wilfred's memory at the Pakington Street, St Kilda Baptist Church in August 1915. You can read about it in the Malvern Standard, here. I believe that the William Cowden on the School memorial actually refers to James but I cannot explain why he is listed as William.


  Wilfred Cowden's memorial tablet which was unveiled at the Pakington Street, 
St Kilda Baptist Chutch in August 1915.
Image: Isaac Hermann

Cox William
There is a John William Cox who was in the 5th Victorian Mounted Rifle. He enlisted as a Private and was promted to Lance Corporal. William Cox does not appear on the Alfred Square Memorial.  I have no other information about him.

Dare, Douglas Henry
5th Victorian Mounted Rifles, enlisted as a  Corporal and was promoted to Sergeant. Douglas is listed on the memorial as being killed, but according to the nominal roll and the Alfred Square memorial, he survived. Douglas was born in St Kilda in 1882 to Douglas George and Frances Emily (nee Wilson) Dare;  he had a brother Norman born 1884 and a sister Emily born in 1886. Douglas senior was an Auctioneer and Estate Agent. In 1917, Norman died on active service in German East Africa. A death notice in The Argus listed his father at 43 Jackson Street, St Kilda and his mother as living in Johannesburg in South Africa. I am surmising that Douglas either remained in South Africa or moved there soon after the War, and his mother and brother followed.  In 1946, he was awarded an Order of the British Empire. He died in 1967 and is buried at a cemetery in Durban, South Africa.


Douglas Dare's O.B.E. Basutoland is now known as Lesotho.

Gardiner, John Fraser
Listed as Gardener on the memorial.  Private, Victorian Citizen Bushmen.  'Invalided Australia, arrived May 2, 1901'.  John was farewelled at a function at the St Kilda Town Hall Library on March 1, 1900 (see below). John was born in St Kilda in 1879 to Charles Fraser and Grace (nee Sinclair) Gardiner. He is listed in the 1903 Electoral Roll at 86 Westbury Street, St Kilda, living with his sister Catherine and brother George, but I have no information about him after this. 


Farewell to the St Kilda soldiers, including John Fraser Gardiner, Garnet Campbell and Edwin Knox
Read the full report - Prahran Telegraph, March 3, 1900 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/144602188

Gordon, Archibald 
There are two men named Archibald Gordon listed on the Nominal Rolls and they both enlisted in the 3rd Queensland Mounted Bushmen; one of them may be our Archibald, but I can't tell.  Archibald's name does not appear on the Alfred Square Memorial. 

Hoad, John Charles
A former teacher at the school. Major General, 1st Victorian Contingent. You can read his Australian Dictionary of Biography entry, here

Hutchinson, Henry Hall 'Harry'. Lance Corporal, promoted to Corporal. Severely wounded, June 28, 1901 at Bethel. Mentioned in Despatches (London Gazette July 29, 1902).
Hutchinson, Luke. Trooper. 5th South Australian Imperial Bushmen.
Surnam spelt Hutchison on the memorial tablet. Harry and Luke were both born in St Kilda, Harry in 1878 and Luke in 1880, the sons of Joseph and Martha (nee Hall) Hutchinson. Harry is listed in the Electoral Roll in 1913 at Hopetoun, his occupation was draughtsman. In 1919, he had moved to Mildura and was a supervisor at the First Mildura Irrigation Trust. He died in Mildura in 1937, aged 59. I have no information about what happened to Luke, except that according to Harry's death notice (below) Luke predeceased his brother. This research is complicated by the fact that there was another Luke Hutchinson born in St Kilda, in 1874 - to George and Catherine (nee McRae) Hutchinson.  There is a Luke Hutchinson in the Electoral Rolls at 122 Barkly Street, St Kilda, but at the same address is a Thomas Alston Hutchinson, another son of George and Catherine, so it is not 'our' Luke.


Death notice of Harry Hutchinson. 
The Argus November 27, 1937 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11127917

Knox, Edwin 
Listed as Edward on the memorial. Private, Victorian Citizen Bushmen. 'Drowned at Wanderboom, February 26, 1901'.  Edwin was the son of Henry Matthew and Elizabeth Emily (nee Smith) Knox. Henry was the City of St Kilda rate collector. After his death the St. Kilda Rifle Club, of which Henry was a Captain, and the St. Kilda Tradesmens Club, of which Henry was Secretary, raised money to erect a memorial to Edwin. The memorial, a drinking fountain, was unveiled by Sir George Turner, Commonwealth Treasurer, on February 23, 1902. It was located on the corner of the Esplanade and Fitzroy Street, St Kilda. The Prahran Telegraph had this description of the fountain - The iron portion of the fountain was supplied by Messrs Peel and Kirkpatrick. brass and iron founders; the base is of bluestone, and the whole structure was erected by Mr E. Gough. The bluestone is 3 ft. 7 ins. in height, the fountain, from the ground to the top being 9 feet high. Mr E. W. M. Crouch fulfilled the duties of honorary architect in a manner that gave every satisfaction (3).  All that remains of the original memorial (4) is the bluestone base and the plaque. In 2012, it was restored with a modern interpretation of the fountain  and is located in the Cleve Gardens in St Kilda. You can read about it on the Monument Australia website, here.


The unveling of the Edwin Knox memorial fountain


The Edwin Knox memorial fountain in Fitzroy Street
Fitzroy Street, c. 1912. State Library of Victoria Image  H96.200/80

MacCartney, James
There is an Edward James McCartney who enlisted in the 6th Queensland Imperial Bushmen; a John Irwin McCartney who enlisted in the Victorian Citizen Bushmen and a Robert Augustine Macartney who enlisted in the 1st Victorian Mounted Rifles. Given that this memorial tablet is not without errors,  one of these men may be 'our' James, but I don't know. John Irwin McCartney died of wounds at Rustenberg Hospital on July 31, 1900, and a report in The Argus of August 8, 1900 says he lived at Melrsoe Street, Richmond. James MacCartney is not listed on the Alfred Square memorial.

Mullen, Leslie Miltiades
Private, 5th Victorian Mounted Rifles. Leslie had a distingushed military career and rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. During World War One, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and Croix de Guerre, and was twice mentioned in despatches. He moved to Tasmania in 1914 and from 1921 was the President of the Tasmanian R.S. L. You can read his obituary in the Hobart Mercury of March 19, 1943, here and his Australian Dictionary of Biography entry, here.


Lieutenant Colonel Leslie Mullen

Parrott, Stanley Hamilton
Lance Corporal, 2nd Battalion, Australian Commonwealth Horse. In 1910 Stanley married Fanny Maria Lowe and in August 1914 he enlisted in the AIF in the Field Artillery Brigade 2, Brigade Ammunition Column. At the time of enlistment he was 32 years of age, his occupation was seaman and his next of kin was his wife of 29 Pakington Street, St Kilda. Stanley was awarded the Croix de Guerre and he returned to Autralia, December 1918.  Stanley died in June 1962, aged 80 and he is buried at the Brighton Cemetery.

Pummeroy, Robert
Listed as Pumeroy on the memorial. Lance Corporal, 2nd Victorian Mounted Rifles. His was a cook.  There is a Robert Pummeroy listed in the 1903 Electoral Roll at 42 Rosamund Street, St Kilda and I believe this is the man on the memorial.  His occupation is a plumber. Robert had married Rosa Dix in 1895 and by 1909 they were living in Clifton Hill and later moved to Preston. Robert died July 1948, aged 74.

Short, William.
Not listed on the Nominal roll and does not appear on the Alfred Square Memorial. There is an Arthur James Short who enlisted in the 5th Victorian Mounted Rifles, that's the closest I can get.

Thomas, William
There are thirteen men listed on the nominal roll with the name William Thomas, including two who enlisted as Privates in the Victorian Imperial Bushmen. It is likely that the man on the memorial is one of those two, but I have no other information. 

Tompsitt, Sidney Clarence 
Private 2nd Battalion, Australian Commonwealth Horse. Sidney (whose name is also spelt as Sydney in some sources) was born in 1880 to Clarence and Mary Ann (nee Gravenall) Tompsitt. In the 1903 Electoral Roll he was listed at Kipling Street, St Kilda, his occupation was a bootmaker. That same year he married Elsie May Poole. In the 1906 Electoral Roll he was in Wagin in Western Australia, however Elsie was not listed with him. Sidney then moved back to Victoria and he died in 1909 at only 29 years of age. As you can see from the death notice, below, there was no mention of Elsie, so it appears the marriage did not last. 


Death notice for  Sydney Tompsitt.
The Argus September 24, 1909 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article198486257

Wells, George Murray Wells
Private, Victorian Imperial Bushmen.
Wells, Thomas Henry 
Private, Victorian Imperial Bushmen and Private 2nd Battalion, Australian Commonwealth Horse.
The men are the sons of William and Hannah Maria (nee McKane) Wells; they were both born in St Kilda, Thomas in 1879 and George in 1880. The brothers moved to Western Australia where they both enlisted in the AIF, both in the 10th Light Horse Regiment, 12th Reinforcements. Henry enlisted in August 1915, he was 38 years old and a carter, his next of kin was his wife, Elsie Mary of Leederville. He returned to Australia March 1919. George enlisted in October 1915, he was 35 and his occupation was a lumper (a dock labourer who unloads cargoes).  His next of kin was his wife, Mary Theresa Wells, of West Perth. He returned to Australia in August 1919. The brothers lived the rest of their life in Western Australia and Thomas died in 1935 and George in 1950,


Thomas Henry Wells' death notice March 1935
The West Australian, March 9, 1935 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article32839723


George Murray Wells' death notice
The West Australian August 22, 1950 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47881953



Acknowledgements
I wish to acknowledge Isaac Hermann for supplying the photographs of the Brighton Street School memorial tablet, the one of the school and Wilfred Cowden's memorial plaque. I would also like to acknowledge Sally Wall, the St Kilda Elsternwick Baptist Church administrator, for kindly arranging access for Isaac to photograph Wilfred's plaque. Thank you!

Footnotes
(1) Prahran Telegraph, August 31, 1901, see here.
(2) I have created a list of newspaper articles on Trove, relating to Nathaniel Dear. You can access it here
(3) Prahran Telegraph, March 1, 1902, see here. I have created a list of  newspaper articles on Trove, connected to the death of Edwin Knox and the erection of the memorial fountain, access it here.
(4) When did the fountain disappear from the memorial? There is a Rose Series postcard, which the State Library of Victoria has dated as c.1945 (see here) which shows the memorial intact and another postcard which I believe is from the early the 1960s which shows only the base. If these dates are correct then the fountain disappeared sometime after 1945 and before 1960.


This image is dated c. 1945 and shows the intact memorial fountain.
Fitzroy Street, St Kilda. Photographer: Rose Stereograph Co. State Library of Victoria Imag6 H32492/6378. 
Download a high res version here http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/59715


This is a later image, possibly early 1960s and all that remains of the memorial is the bluestone base and plaque. 
Fitzroy Street, St Kilda: Photographer: Rose Stereograph Co. State Library of Victoria Image H32492/6985
Download a high res version here http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/66927