Miss Helen Robertson - Secretary of the St Kilda Ladies' Benevolent Society

In a previous post I wrote about Miss Robertson, one of two women who signed the petition in 1856 to alter the boundaries of the St Kilda Municipality. I identified her as Ellen Robertson from Fitzroy Street and have written about her here. 

There is another Miss Robertson who appears in the history of St Kilda, Helen Robertson (1)  who was from 1864 until her death in 1881, the Secretary of the St Kilda Ladies' Benevolent Society. (2)  I wondered at first whether she was Miss Robertson, the petition signer, but I believe I have it right with Ellen, as the earliest I can place Helen in St Kilda is 1862.

Miss Robertson, of the St. Kilda Ladies' Benevolent Society

The Argus, March 7, 1874 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5865409 

The St Kilda Ladies' Benevolent Society was established 1859, and we will let J.B. Cooper, the St Kilda Historian, explain the origins and purpose of the  Society -

The ladies of St. Kilda were energetic workers in causes that appealed to their sympathies, and among such causes, was the plight of poor people, who struggled for a livelihood, on the margin line, that divides penurious existence from actual want. Any temporary cessation from daily employment, any visitation of sickness upon the breadwinner, and such families became distressed ones needing help in money or kind. Then too there were the families who suffered from the improvidence of the breadwinner brought about maybe by intemperance. Be the cause what it may have been, the ladies of St. Kilda were of that charitable nature, that they could not allow the children, and wives, to suffer, without making an attempt to succour them. It was adjudged that the best method wherewith to deal with such cases was to establish a Ladies' Benevolent Society, and a meeting of ladies was held at the residence of Mrs. Purchase on October 11th, 1859, for that purpose. Two resolutions were adopted:- 1. That such a Society was necessary for the purpose of visiting and relieving the poor and 2. that the Society be designated "The St. Kilda Ladies' Benevolent Society." Mrs. A'Beckett was elected to fill the office of President, Mrs. Cooke that of Treasurer, and Mrs. Shaw that of Hony. Secretary. A code of rules was drawn up for the guidance of the Committee. A second meeting was held on the 25th, at which Mrs. Alicia Jennings acted as President in the absence of Mrs. A'Beckett."

The Society's first report gives a glimpse into the necessities of the poor in early St. Kilda. Indigent persons to the number of 58 were relieved, and assisted, during the first year of the Society's existence. Some deserted wives were given the means to earn money by presents of mangles. The receipts for the year from charitable people (including £50 from the Council) were £230, and the expenditure in relief £365/12/1. The committee of the St. Kilda Ladies' Benevolent Society was in the the habit of distributing bread, groceries, clothing, and firewood. Many poor people also had assistance given to them to enable them to pay their rent. In 1863, the society advanced money to two poor women for the purpose of buying sewing machines. Several individuals, sick and poor, had been sent to the hospital, and some old people to the Benevolent Asylum, wholly through the efforts made, and the influence used by the ladies of the society. Numbers of children in St. Kilda, whose parents were too poor to pay for their education, were sent to school at the Society's expense. The committee of the society established friendly relations with the authorities of the Melbourne City Mission. At the society's request, a missioner visited St. Kilda, once every week to visit the poor. For this service the committee paid to the mission the sum of £10 per year. 

The society afforded help to all indigent persons, without distinction of creed. The only limit to its bounty was the extent of its resources. In the report issued, by the Society in November, 1863, acknowledgement was made of the generous way, in which the residents of St. Kilda, had supported the Society. The cash account showed that the Society had commenced its year with a balance of £35/3/74, and that the subscriptions had totalled £73/7/- and the donations and payments £172/3/- making a total of £280/13/7½. The expenditure for the year had been £257/17/6, leaving a balance in hand of £22/16/1½. The cash receipts were swollen by the receipt of £50 from the Municipal Council of St. Kilda, a body of men who had the highest opinion of the St. Kilda Ladies Benevolent Society, an opinion that still lives in the corporate mind of the St Kilda Council towards the present members of this very useful society. The £50 was handed to the secretary of the Society, to enable the ladies to arrange that the children of the poorer classes should participate in the rejoicings at St. Kilda in celebration of the marriage of H.R.H. the Prince of Wales. (3)

St Kilda Day Nursery established

St Kilda Telegraph, April 3, 1875 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article109630297

One of the achievements of the St Kilda Ladies' Benevolent Society was the establishment of a Creche on April 8, 1875, and again we will turn to J.B. Cooper  -
Creches did not exist in the same way today [1931] as they did fifty three years ago, though the want of a place where infants could be left by working mothers was, in degree, just as pressing as it is today. The St. Kilda Ladies' Benevolent Society recognised the want, and the ladies of that society, made provision to meet it. On April 8, 1875, they opened, what they called, "The St. Kilda Day Nursery" in Somerset Street. The nursery, it was stated, was for "the benefit of the working women to enable them to leave their children, from the age of one month to six years, during their necessary absence from home." Advertisements were inserted in the newspapers, informing the mothers, that full particulars could be obtained from the nurse on the premises, from the honorary secretary of the Society, Miss Robertson, Acland Street. (4)

St Kilda Ladies' Benevolent Society ceased functioning in 1963. (5)  There were many women, apart from Helen Robertson, with a long-term involvement with the Society, but they are a story for another day. 

It was from  the paragraph, above, about the Creche, that I discovered Miss Robertson, and then wondered if she was the petition signer. Helen, born in 1834, was the daughter of Dr Archibald Robinson and his wife Agnes Hamilton, she was the fifth of their six children, all born in Scotland. 

• Isabella Gellie born 1824; died on May 9, 1856 aged 32.  
• Archibald Moodie born 1825; died December 1, 1862, aged 37. 
• Janet (known as Jessie) born 1828. Married John Russell Keays on October 8, 1855. Died February 8, 1857, aged 29, on the day she gave birth to a daughter, Jessie, who died 11 days later. 
• Louisa Mary born 1830. Married John McLachlan on January 8, 1851 in Adelaide. Died September 16, 1856 at Spring Bank, Avoca River, aged 26. 
• Helen born 1834. Died November 20, 1881, aged 47. 
• Agnes born 1839. Married George Thomson on September 6, 1866. Died on October 26, 1900, aged 60. (6)

The family arrived in Melbourne in January 15, 1849 on the Duchess of Northumberland, Dr Robinson had acted as the Surgeon Superintendent on the voyage. They, at some time, moved to Heidelberg where Dr Robinson died on July 27, 1854. He was the first of the family buried at the Warringal Cemetery in Heidelberg, in three adjoining plots. Sadly, he was soon followed by three of his daughters, who died between May 1856 and February 1857 and in time by his wife and his other three children. (7)

The first connection I can find between the family and St Kilda was with Helen's brother, Archibald Moody Robertson, who in 1858 and 1859 was listed in the St Kilda Rate books, renting an 8-roomed wood and slate house in Acland Street from a Mr Lomas. Two questions of which I have no answers - were Agnes and her two unmarried daughters, Helen and Agnes, also living with their son and brother; and where was Archibald living in 1860, 1861 and 1862 before he died on December 1, 1862? (8) 

Miss Robertson presented with a purse of sovereigns. I wonder what she bought with them?

The Argus, August 31, 1875 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5900704

In 1862, Helen's mother Agnes began renting a 13-roomed iron house in Alma Road, next to a now demolished Congregational Church, which was on the corner of Alma and Barkly Streets (opposite the grand Presbyterian Church on the St Kilda hill).  The owner of the house was Mrs Fletcher, the widow of the Reverend Richard Fletcher, a Congregational minister, whose original church was also made of  iron and which could seat 250 worshippers. Mrs Fletcher was an original committee member of the Benevolent Society. (9)  Two years after that, in 1864, Helen took over as Secretary of the St. Kilda Ladies' Benevolent Society from the original secretary Mrs Henry Steel Shaw. (10)  In 1866, young Agnes married George Thomson, at the house. The marriage was conducted by the Presbyterian Minister, Reverend Irving Hetherington and Helen was one of the witnesses. (11)

Agnes Robertson's property in Alma Street (now called Alma Road)

Sands & McDougall's Melbourne and suburban directory 1865, digitised at the State Library of Victoria

In 1873, Agnes and Helen moved to an 8-roomed brick house in Acland Street, rented from Robert Stroud. It was located on the corner of Jackson Street. They were still living there when Helen died of enteric fever on November 20, 1881, at only 47 years of age. (12)

Helen Robertson listed in the 1880 Sands and McDougall Directory. This was how I finally discovered her given name, all the newspaper reports of her activities as Secretary list her as Miss Robertson.

Sands & McDougall's Melbourne and suburban directory 1880, digitised at the State Library of Victoria

Helen's death notice

St Kilda Telegraph, November 26, 1881 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article107118170

After Helen's death, Agnes moved in with her youngest daughter, also called Agnes, who lived in Fawkner Street, St Kilda, and she was living there when she died on March 4, 1887 aged 89, having out-lived five of her six children. Agnes is also buried at the Warringal Cemetery. (13)

Helen Robertson and her colleagues at the St Kilda Ladies' Benevolent Society provided a valuable service to the people of St Kilda in the days before aged pensions, widow's pensions and single mothers benefits, by looking after the elderly, the poor, the sick and their children. 

Trove list - I have created  a list of newspaper articles related to Helen Robertson, her work with the St Kilda Ladies' Benevolent Society and her family, access it here.

Footnotes
(1) In all the newspaper mentions of Miss Robertson, her first name was never noted, I only discovered her name as she is listed in the 1880 Sands and McDougall Melbourne and Suburban Directory. Once I had her name I could start building the family tree.
(2) Helen became the Secretary in October 1864 -  The Age, October 14, 1864, see here.
(3) Cooper, John Butler The History of St Kilda from its first settlement to a City and after, 1840 - 1930, v. 1 (City of St Kilda, 1931), pp. 361-362. You can read this book on-line on the St Kilda Historical Society website - https://www.stkildahistory.org.au/publications/ebooks
(4) Cooper, op. cit., p. 363.
(5) Longmire, Helen St Kilda the show goes on: the history of St Kilda v.3 1930 to July 1983 (Hudson/City of St Kilda, 1989), p. 207. You can read this book on-line on the St Kilda Historical Society website - https://www.stkildahistory.org.au/publications/ebooks
(6) Dates of birth were estimated from age at death. Death dates and age at death taken from the headstones at Warringal Cemetery - photos taken by John William Constantine on Find a Grave;  death certificates of Archibald Robertson, Helen Robertson and Agnes Robertson (nee Hamilton) and death notice of Jessie and the birth notice of her daughter -  The Argus, February 9, 1857, see here.  I cannot find  a death notice for Archibald Moodie Robertson or any reference to his death in the Victorian Deaths Index. Marriage date of Jessie - The Argus, August 10, 1855, see here; Louisa - Melbourne Daily News, January 20, 1851, see here ; Agnes -  marriage certificate. 
(7) Arrival date - Shipping records at the Public Records Office of Victoria - Register of Assisted Immigrants from the United Kingdom VPRS 14; death certificate of Archibald Robertson.
(8) St Kilda Rate books are  on-line at the Public Records Office of Victoria - VPRS 8816 -  from 1857 and on Ancestry.com from 1859. 
(9) St Kilda Rate books, see footnote 8; The Fletchers are listed as living in the house in 1861, the Reverend Fletcher died on December 15, 1861 - death notice - The Age, December 16, 1861, see here;  J. B Cooper writes about the iron houses and buildings, including the Church, in his St Kilda history (see footnote 3) on page 243. Mrs Fletcher is listed in the First Annual Report of the St  Kilda Ladies' Benevolent Society, digitised at the State Library of Victoria, here. 

(10) Helen became the Secretary in October 1864 -  The Age, October 14, 1864, see here, due to Mrs Shaw leaving the district.
(11) Agnes Robertson/George Thomason marriage certificate.
(12) St Kilda Rate books, see footnote 8; 1880 Sands and McDougall Melbourne and Suburban Directory; Helen's death certificate.

(13) Agnes Robertson's death certificate.

Wattle Path Palais De Danse, St Kilda

The Wattle Path  Palais De Danse was built in 1923 on the Esplanade in St Kilda, next to Alfred Square,  and Table Talk reported on its grand opening -
The Path of Pleasure. Flashlight at opening of Wattle Path Palais at St Kilda - The "Temple for the Dancing Muse," which has been erected on the Upper Esplanade, St. Kilda, and which claims to have the largest and finest dancing floor in Australia, was opened to the public with great eclat on Wednesday, October 31. It is an exceedingly handsome addition to the architecture of St. Kilda, with a very fine outlook over the waters, and the interior is splendidly appointed both for dancing and dinner parties, with an admirably selected orchestra each afternoon and evening. (1)

The Wattle Path Palais De Danse

Image from my collection

The opening of the Wattle Path Palais

Table Talk, November 8, 1923  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article146466608

The Prahran Telegraph had reported on the building a few days before its opening and as it is a detailed description we will post the entire article -

Temple of the Muse - Wattle Path Palais - Splendour at St. Kilda.

On Wednesday, October 31, the most beautiful dancing hall and cafe erected in Australia will be opened at St. Kilda. For some months past many who have wandered along the Esplanade, St. Kilda, have wondered what the superb building being erected on the site of the once famous open air theatre known as Paradise was? At the end of seven months they are enlightened. It is the Wattle Path Palais de Danse and Cafe, St. Kilda, and it can accommodate 6,000 people! Something like a Palais!

In every way the Wattle Path is an asset to the St. Kilda Esplanade. The front of the building, facing the sea, is handsome in appearance, and later on there will be a rockery, set with palms, before the entrance. This is tiled in blue, to tone with the artistic colour scheme of blue, gold, and white, which is carried out through the building. In every season of the year the Wattle Path will be a place of brightness and exhilaration, filled always with bracing ozone. The typhoon system of ventilation pumps out the used air and floods the building with fresh air six times during the hour. The huge ballroom presents a magnificent sight with its expanse of gleaming white, studded overhead with deep orange and blue shades veiling the lights. Blue upholstery on the cane seats, blue carpets, and dark woodwork complete the scheme. It has been chosen for good effect by day as well as by night, for there are to be dance matinees twice weekly.

Around the sides of the ballroom is a wide balcony, really a second ballroom. Its kauri floor is similar to the big one downstairs. Here, the public may also dance, but it is expected that the balcony will he largely used for private parties. Sections of the sides can be screened off, and separate self-contained serveries deal with the refreshment problem. When the tables are set at one side, there is plenty of room to dance, the screened section forming a miniature ballroom for the party, if they so prefer it.

To cater for the thirst and healthy appetite that dancing invariably creates, there are several soda fountains and a large catering plant at Wattle Path. The man in charge of the soda fountains has evolved some "specials" sure to tempt the palates of thousands during the coming warm months. Light refreshments are served to order, but for those who desire something more substantial a cafe seating 400 persons runs the breadth of the building in front. Through the many windows may be seen the splendid sweep of the bay, and there is an open-air promenade over the entrance to the lounge downstairs. It is intended to conduct this as an all-day cafe, and bathers, visitors, and passing motorists should find it a boon. From 8 till 11 p.m. -  while the dancing is in progress -  the cafe will be reserved for patrons of the Wattle Path. The appointments in the cafe match in beauty and good taste the remainder of the building, and the smart uniforms worn by the staff tone with the general scheme. Downstairs in the kitchen the latest appliances are installed, which ensures that the food will be stored, prepared, cooked, and served in thoroughly hygienic manner. The big oven, the cost of which ran into four figures, can bake 3,000 pieces of pastry an hour. The engineer had to start the furnace three weeks ago, and kept it burning continuously, in order that the oven shall be in perfect condition to bake the first batch of Wattle Path cakes. (2) 

The Wattle Path Palais. In the window bottom left, Joe Aronson and his orchestra are advertised. 

There is more about Joe, below.

Detail of View of the Esplanade, St Kilda.  Valentine Publishing Co., State Library of Victoria image H2018.253/6    

See full image here https://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/4182132

The Wattle Path was built for the Wattle Path Palais de Danse and Cafe Ltd. This company was registered in August 1922 and it had a capital £40,000 in £1 shares. (3) The Subscribers were -

Stanley Manuel Young Freeman. Stanley was the managing director of the company and listed in the electoral rolls at Hornby Street and later The Avenue, both in Prahran; his occupation was a teacher. Stanley died September 25, 1945, aged 56. (4)

James Percy Griffen Sargent. He was the secretary of the company and the manager of the Wattle Path Palais de Danse. His address in the electoral rolls, where his occupation was listed as a clerk,  was Wild Street, Preston (also called Regent); however he moved for  a time to St Kilda, and then back to Wild Street in Preston, where he died on May 13, 1960, aged 80.(5)

Gilbert Macpherson Johnstone. Gilbert was a solicitor from Tasmania, but by 1924 he had moved to St Kilda. Gilbert died in New South Wales, on November 28, 1954, aged 70.(6)

Eustace Duncan. Eustace was an accountant from Alfriston Street in Elwood, who later moved to South Yarra. I have no other information. (7)

James Eustace. Presumably a brother to Eustace, but I can't confirm any information about him.

One of Stanley Freeman's first tasks was to advertise for a Musical Director for the Wattle Path, at a salary of £1000 per annum, a huge salary for the time. (8)  In 1920, for instance a factory worker was earning around £200 per annum and a manager or clerk around £300 per annum. (9)

Advertisement for Musical Director

The Herald, May 7, 1923  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article244024341

The building was designed by architects, Beaver and Purnell and it was built by H.H. Eilenberg of Caulfield. (10) The Architect, Isidore George Beaver (1859-1934) had worked in Adelaide until 1893, when he moved to Melbourne to work on the National Mutual Life Association building in Collins Street. His work in Melbourne then consisted mainly of private  houses. In 1915 he formed a partnership with Arthur Purnell (1878-1964). They also had many residential commissions, but in 1924 they designed a new wing on the Homeopathic (later Prince Henry's) Hospital. Their partnership was dissolved in 1925. (11) 

The Architect's sketch for the Wattle Path Palais De Danse

The Herald, May 16, 1923 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article244026751

Henry Harris Eilenberg of Kooyong Road, Caulfield, was the builder. In an article on Arthur Purnell by Melbourne University lecturer, Dr Derham Groves, he notes that Henry Eilenberg was Purnell's favourite builder. (12)  He built, amongst other things, the grandstand at the St Kilda Cricket Club in 1925; the St Kilda Synagogue in Charnwood Grove in 1926 and the Samuel Meyers Hall at this synagogue in 1940. (13) 

The Interior of the Wattle Path Palais. 

The caption reads - At Wattle Path Palais de Danse and Cafe on a recent Sunday afternoon.  Tables are laid on the dancing door for over a thousand guests, and, in consequence of the appreciation and patronage of the public, the management are now considering the advisability of throwing open the balconies. Music by a full orchestra is given every afternoon and evening (Saturdays included) under the direction of Mr. Joe Aronson. 

Tables can be reserved on application to the management. Telephone, Windsor 5441.

Table Talk, May 8, 1924 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article146459399

I came across this programme (on EBay)  for the Wattle Path Palais  from 1926. 

The programme advertises Joe Aronson's Roseland Orchestra, who was playing on Sunday, November 7, 1926. This is the detail of the playlist from the programme.

Joe Aronson, was an American, and was a popular musician and the first reference I can find to him being in Australia was in April 1924, when he appeared Direct from New York at the Wattle Path. (14)  

The Wattle Path presents Joe Aronson direct from America

The Herald, May 14, 1924  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article244219597

During 1927 and early 1928 Joe and his Syncopating Symphonists played live on Radio 3LO, and listeners from all over Australia could tune in to hear him. The music programmes for 3LO were published in newspapers interstate, with the Western Australian papers reminding listeners that Melbourne time is two hours ahead of Perth. Joe left radio in February 1928 and played at the Green Mill Dance Hall in St Kilda Road for over a year. (15).  Joe returned to the United States by 1929 or 1930, and he was back in Australia in 1933 and also back on radio as Sports and Radio reported - 

One of the first saxophone players in the world, and now regarded as a leader in conducting jazz orchestras, Joe Aronson, of Chicago, has returned to Australia, and, as in 1927, is going to delight listeners in all States with his “Syncopated Symphonists,” which is the name of the band he has organised. In furtherance of his policy of building up the programmes of the Australian Broadcasting Commission throughout the national network, Major Conder, general manager, who in 1927, when controlling wireless stations in different States, had Aronson booming as an entertainer, has engaged the Chicago conductor and his band for a season of six months. All the States will be visited by the combination, which has been specially organised in Australia, and has been in rehearsal for over a month.  (16)

Joe Aronson

Australian Jewish Herald, December 22 1932 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article262185226

The Wattle Path was sold in June 1933. The Herald reported that the price paid for the Wattle Path

Palais is said to be approximately £23,000. The building cost £83,000 before it opened its doors as a dance resort about 10 years ago. (17)  It was purchased by Frank Thring, the film and theatre entrepreneur of Efftee Film Productions and became a modern talking picture studio. (18) However by December 1935, the building had returned to its original use and became the Streets of Paris  the first real continental cabaret ever presented in Melbourne. (19)  This was operated Henry Hans 'Harry' Kleiner, who in 1939 transformed the building into the St Moritz Ice Rink, advertised as the fourth largest in the world. It opened on March 10, 1939 (20) Harry still owned St Moritz in March 1953, however at this time he sold the lease to two Melbourne ice-skating enthusiasts, Ted Molony and John Gordon. (21)  

As you can see from the circa 1950s photograph, below,  the St Moritz building changed very little externally from when it was first opened as the Wattle Path Palais de Danse in 1923, having been designed by Isidore Beaver and Arthur Parnell and built by Henry Eilenberg. 

St Moritz closed in 1981 or early 1982 and was demolished in 1982 (22)

St Moritz Ice Rink, c. 1950s. The structure on the left is the St Kilda Boer Memorial in Alfred Square, designed by Arthur Peck (see more about this here)

Detail of Upper esplanade, showing St. Moritz, St. Kilda, c, 1950s. Photographer: Rose Stereograph Co. 

State Library of Victoria image H32492/6549. 

See full image here https://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/128416

Footnotes

(1) Table Talk, November 8, 1923, see here. The Herald report on the opening, published November 1, 1923, can be read here.

(2) Prahran Telegraph, October 26, 1923, see here.

(3) The Herald, August 24, 1922, see here.

(4) Freeman - Electoral Rolls on Ancestry.com; Sydney Sun, April 17, 1923, see here. Death notice: Suns News-Pictorial, September 26, 1945, see here.

(5) Sargant - Electoral Rolls on Ancestry.com; The Herald, May 16, 1923, see here;  The Argus, March 6, 1925, see here. Death notice: the Age, May 16, 1960, p. 16; on newspapers.com.

(6) Johnstone - Electoral Rolls on Ancestry.com. Death notice: Sydney Morning Herald, November 29, 1954, see here.

(7) Duncan - Electoral Rolls on Ancestry.com

(8) The Herald, May 7, 1923, see here

(9) State Library of Victoria https://guides.slv.vic.gov.au/whatitcost/earnings

(10) The Herald, May 16, 1923, see here

(11) Architects Database - George Isidore Beaver- 

https://architectsdatabase.unisa.edu.au/arch_full.asp?Arch_ID=146  Homeopathic Hospital illustration - The Argus, April 19, 1934, see here.

(12) Groves, Derham The Barlow File published in University of Melbourne Collections, Issue 5 November 2009 

https://library.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/1378873/collections5.pdf  

(13) Henry Eilenberg - buildings The Argus, February 9, 1925, see here;  Australian Jewish Herald March 11, 1926, see here; Australian Jewish Herald, May 30, 1940, see here. The Synagogue and the Samuel Meyers Hall were designed by Joseph Plottel (1883-1977) - I have come across him before and written about him here - https://thepalmtreeblog.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-palm-trees-in-palm-grove-deepdene.html. Harry Eilenberg died on October 16, 1960, aged 68. Death notice: The Age, October 17, 1960 p. 16, on newspapers.com

(14) The Herald, April 14, 1924, see here. 

(15) Perth Daily News, February 8, 1927, see here; Adelaide News, February 20, 1928, see here. The Green Mill opened in 1926 and was on the site where the National Gallery of Victoria is now located - corner of St Kilda Road and Sturt Street.

(16) Brisbane Sports and Radio, June 17, 1933,  here.

(17) The Herald, June 23, 1933, see here.

(18) The Herald, June 23, 1933, see here.

(19) The Age, December 23, 1935, see here.

(20) The Herald, March 8, 1939, see here.

(21) The Age, March 4, 1953, see here. 

Harry Kleiner - At the time of his death on January 18,  1959,  at the age of  72, Harry was listed as an auctioneer and also  owned the Central Hotel in Brighton. Death notice: The Age, January 19, 1959, p. 12 on newspapers.com; Obituary - The Age, January 19, 1959, p. 5 on newspapers.com

Ted Molony (1900-1975) - https://icelegendsaustralia.com/legends-2/bio_molony.html; 

John Gordon (1894-1989) - https://icelegendsaustralia.com/legends-2/bio_gordon.html

(22) The last reference to skating at St Moriz, which I can find in The Age on newspapers.com is August 1981, which doesn't mean, of course, that it didn't last longer. Demolition had commenced by May 1982, then it was stopped by the Builders Labourers Federation for a short time, but by then demolition work has already cleaned out much of the inside of the building and removed the verandah (see article below)

The Age, May 4, 1982, p. 14 from newspapers.com

Captain Kenney of St Kilda - his Baths and his Family

In 1854 Captain William Kenney established his bathing ship baths at St Kilda, at a location in line with the end of Fitzroy Street. J.B. Cooper, St Kilda Historian, wrote -

Thus it was, in the year 1854, that Captain Kenney bought the Swedish brig, of 200 tons, the "Nancy," after a protracted voyage  from Hong Kong. At the time of her purchase she was laid up in the port of Melbourne for sale, in the same way as dozens of other ships were deteriorating in Hobson's Bay, wanting, and unable to obtain, crews. Sailors of such ships had deserted them, and made off to the gold diggings. The seagoing conditions of the "Nancy" were probably much worse than those of the ships for sale anchored about her. It was said that her timbers were worm-eaten, green with marine growth, and carpeted with barnacles. The ship's surveyors condemned her as unseaworthy. She was believed to have been sailing the seas for a period of one hundred and fifty years, or more. (1)

The brig of the Nancy was dismantled, and scuttled in ten to twelve feet of water. Later, fences to keep fish out were established to extend the swimming area and a narrow pier built from the shore to the bathing ship. Nancy the bathing ship survived until 1912. You can read a full account of Captain Kenney's bathing shop in J.B. Cooper's History of St Kilda (2)

Kenney's Baths are marked on this 1900 map, to the left of the pier. Hegarty's Baths, Kenney's Ladies Baths and Hegarty's Ladies Baths are to the right of the pier. 

St. Kilda,  photo-lithographed at the Department of Lands and Survey, Melbourne by T. F. McGauran, 1900

https://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/166881 

This post is actually about the circular structure on a stand, on Kenney's Baths which I noticed on this postcard, below. It is the second structure on the right.

The same structure is in this painting (shown below) by John Clifton Rowland Clark (1859-1908). 

The circular structure is in the left and is shown in detail, below.

St Kilda Pier by John Clifton Rowland Clark, 1899.

State Library of Victoria image https://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/459490

The mystery circular structure on Kenney's bathing ship.

Details of St Kilda Pier by John Clifton Rowland Clark, 1899.

State Library of Victoria image https://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/459490

Our structure is also in this photograph by N.J. Caire, taken c. 1900

St Kilda Foreshore, c. 1900. Photographer: N.J. Caire

State Library of Victoria image H2014.184/123. Image has been cropped from a stereograph, see original here https://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/460134

It is also pictured here, in this image from J.B. Cooper's History of St Kilda, v.1. 

The History of St Kilda from its first settlement to a City and after, 1840 - 1930, v. 1 by J.B. Cooper (City of St Kilda, 1931).

What was the purpose of this circular structure on a stand? Initially we thought it might be a small ferris wheel, but the structure in the painting looks more like a windmill, with pennants attached. I believe it was a decorative windmill, used for advertising the baths or to attract attention to them, perhaps the forerunner of the 'big thing' fad.

Then I found that in 1882 Captain Kenney advertised to purchase a water-wheel, 30 feet or 9 metres in diameter. The advertisements appeared in the Ovens and Murray Advertiser, between June and August 1882.

Captain Kenney's advertisment

Ovens and Murray Advertiser, June 15, 1882  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article199462488

Was Captain Kenney successful in obtaining this large water-wheel? I believe he was successful, and that he mounted it on the bathing ship on a stand, attached some small colourful flags to it to attract people to his business. If you have any information about this circular structure, I'd be interested to hear it, leave a comment below. 

Acknowledgment - I found out about this structure through my research colleagues, Isaac Hermann and David Brand, both St Kilda history experts and we discussed the possible options of what the structure might be. Isaac also alerted me to the John Clifton Rowland Clark painting and N.J. Caire  photograph. Thank you!

Captain William Kenney 

I had heard a lot about Captain Kenney and his baths, so I decided to find out more about him and his family. Captain Kenney was born in 1820 in  Harwich, the seaport of Essex. Now we return to J.B. Cooper for some information on his early life and arrival in Melbourne -

He went to sea as a ship's boy in a collier that sailed the cold grey North Sea. Brighter days came with his manhood, when he rose to be a ship's captain. He arrived in Melbourne, from Liverpool, on December 16, 1852, in command of the ship "Yarmouth," which he had chartered to convey emigrants to Victoria. After completing that charter successfully he decided to make his home in Melbourne. He bought a small vessel called "The Apprentice," and commenced to make trade ventures in her along the coast, and continued to do so until "The Apprentice" was wrecked on King Island. Marooned on that island, Captain Kenney decided to attempt to make the adventurous voyage through Bass Straits to Port Phillip. A small open boat, the ship's dinghy, had been saved from the wreck. She was partly boarded over before Captain Kenney, with his crew of two men, started for Melbourne. They reached Hobson's Bay, and the Captain's dauntless seamanship was admired by shipmasters, who knew the perils of the passage, and by others. That experience closed Captain Kenney's sea career as a ship's captain. (3)  

William Kenney was born, as J.B. Cooper noted in Harwich to Edmund Kenney, a ship owner, and his wife, Mary Anne (nee Pyman) Kenney. William married Mary Jackson on November 16, 1863 (4) at St James Church in Melbourne, when he was 37 and she was 29. Mary was the daughter of William and Frances Jackson (5) and she had been born in Nassington, in England. William and Mary had six children -  two at least were born before they were married - Emily Selina (born c. 1860), William Edmund (1862), Beatrice Maude (1864), Arthur Thomas (1866), Frances Hana (1867) and Edith Eleanor (1870). All the children were born in St Kilda (6).

William died on March 6, 1907, aged 86 at his home (which was at the Baths) on The Esplanade, St Kilda. Mary, who operated Kenney's Ladies Baths, died on September 14, 1918, at the age of 74, at 42 Selwyn Avenue, Elsternwick. (7) They are buried at the Melbourne General Cemetery. 

The children of Captain William and Mary Kenney
Emily Selina Kenney died on February 14, 1920, at the stated age of 58. I can't find a record of her birth, however on her father's 1907 death certificate she was listed as being 46; on her mother's 1918 death certificate she was listed as being 58, so a birth year of 1860 or 1861 seems reasonable. She never married and worked at the family Baths. Emily was living at 42 Selwyn Avenue at the time of her death. (8)

William Edmund Kenney was born on January 14, 1862. He married Elizabeth Mary 'Lily' Stach von Goltzheim on August 26, 1891 at All Saints Church, St Kilda.  They had two sons - Arthur Ralph born in 1893  and William Harold born in 1894. Tragically, Arthur Ralph was Killed in Action in France in July 1916 and William Harold Died of Wounds, sustained at Gallipoli, in October 1915. That is so sad,  William died on June 30, 1935, and at the time of his death he was living  at 10 Loch Street, St Kilda. Lily died on May 24, 1950. (9)

Beatrice Maude Kenney was born in 1864. She also worked in the family business; in 1919 she was living at the family home at 42 Selwyn Avenue, Elsternwick. By 1930 she was living with her brother Arthur, in Lindfield, in New South Wales. Beatrice never married and died on June 8, 1939 in New South Wales. (10)

Arthur Thomas Kenney was born in 1866. He became a champion swimmer, winning races in Australia, Canada and the United States. Arthur studied Dentistry at the University of Pennsylvania. After he returned to Australia he had a dental practice in  Collins Street. Arthur  married Gertrude Chandler in Melbourne on November 15, 1911 and they had two daughters, both born in New South Wales - Marie Beatrice in 1915 (married George Martineau Heald in 1937 and died in 2008)  and Valerie Athena in 1918 (died 1975). By 1930, when his sister Beatrice was living with them in Lindfield, he was listed in the Electoral Rolls as an Orchardist. Arthur died on January 3, 1945 and Gertrude on May 26, 1963. (11)

Frances Hana Kenney (sometimes called Frances Flora)  was born in 1867. Frances married William Gordon Fyson in 1892, and they had one daughter Alma Beatrice the next year.  William died on June 1, 1913, less than two months after Alma had married Herbert Evans on March 12, 1913 at the Brunswick Presbyterian Church. Alma and Herbert, who was a Doctor, moved to Queensland, where they had two children Margaret Julia born in 1919 and Ralph William in 1923 - named it seems  in honour of  Alma's  two cousins who died in World War One.  After her husband's death, Frances lived at various addresses including Windsor,  St Kilda and South Yarra.  Frances died on June 18,  1950 at the Melbourne Home and Hospital for the Aged at Cheltenham. (12) 

Edith Eleanor Kenney was born in 1870. She never married  and also worked at family Baths. From around the time her mother died she is listed at various addresses, sometimes living with her sister Frances. As noted in her Inquest -  Edith was admitted to the Sunbury Mental Hospital on April 5, 1934 in a very frail condition, was very restless and troublesome over taking sufficient nourishment...her condition did not improve and she died on April 26th, 1934. The Inquest also said that her sister,  and a Minister  had visited her on the day of her death. (13)

Captain Kenney's had a high public profile and his Sea Baths were very well known, but I feel that his family seemed to have much misfortune -  his daughter Edith died in the Sunbury Mental Hospital; his two grandsons were tragically killed in World War One; grand-daughter Alma's husband died young, when her children were only 8 and 12 years old. But his six children seemed close to each other - they  lived together on occasions and placed loving notices in the paper such as the one below for Edith. Interesting that his daughter, Beatrice had two of her nieces named for her - Alma Beatrice Fyson and Margaret Beatrice Kenney, she must have been the favourite sister!

Edith's death notice.

The Age, April 30, 1934 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article203835331

Footnotes

(1) Cooper, J.B. The History of St Kilda from its first settlement to a City and after, 1840 - 1930, v. 1 (City of St Kilda, 1931), p. 160. You can read Cooper's 2 volumes of St Kilda history on-line on the St Kilda Historical Society website - https://www.stkildahistory.org.au/publications/ebooks

(2) Cooper, op. cit., chapter ix, pp 156-180. Interesting article on Nancy was published in The Age on May 21, 1912, read it here. 

(3) Cooper, op. cit., p. 157.
(4) Information from William and Mary's marriage certificate. On their son, William's 1862 birth certificate they state their wedding date as April 1, 1860; a fib to cover the fact that they weren't actually married at that time. 
(5) Frances Jackson's maiden name - on her daughter, Mary Kenney, death certificate Frances' maiden name is listed as Hana. On Mary and William's marriage certificate Frances' maiden name is listed as Ainer. On Frances' own marriage certificate her surname is listed as Eanor. Hana, Ainer and Eanor - essentially homophones. 
(6) Victorian Indexes to Births, Deaths and Marriages.
(7) Death certificates of William and Mary Kenney.
(8) Emily - Death certificates of  Emily and William and Mary Kenney; Electoral Rolls on Ancestry.com.
(9)  William - Birth certificate; Marriage notice - The Australasian, October 3, 1891, see here;  Victorian Indexes to Births, Deaths and Marriages. AIF Personnel dossier at the National Archives of Australia - Arthur Ralph Kenney -  https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=7367477 and William Harold Kenney - https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=7371251

William's death notice - The Argus, July 1, 1935, see here; Elizabeth's death notice - The Argus, May 25, 1950, see here.
(10) Beatrice -  Electoral Rolls on Ancestry.com; Death notice - Sydney Morning Herald - June 9, 1939, see here.
(11) Arthur - Weekly Times, December 16, 1893, see here;  Obituary - Sydney Daily Mirror, January 4, 1945, see here; Marriage - The Australasian, November 25, 1911, see here; New South Wales Indexes to Births, Deaths and Marriages; Electoral Rolls on Ancestry.com; Death notice -  Sydney Morning Herald, January 5, 1945, see here;  Gertrude -  Sydney Morning Herald May 28, 1963, p. 26 from Newspapers.com.
(12) Frances -named as Frances Flora on her mother's death certificate. Marriage - Victorian Indexes to Births, Deaths and Marriages; William death notice - The Argus,  June 2, 1913, see here; Alma wedding report  - Punch, May 8, 1913, see here;   Electoral Rolls on Ancestry.com; Queensland Indexes to Births, Deaths and Marriages; Death Certificate.
(13) Edith - Electoral Rolls on Ancestry.com.; Public Records Office of Victoria Inquest Deposition Files (VPRS24) https://prov.vic.gov.au/archive/0607C31A-F1B4-11E9-AE98-4790453846AC?image=1

Luna Park - a post card from 'your stony broke daughters'

This delightful postcard of five women in an aeroplane over Luna Park, St Kilda was written on January 3, 1914.

Luna park postcard, 1914

Whitney Bros., Electric Post Card Studio.

This is the letter on the back of the card -

3/1/14

Dear mum,

What to you think of this photo? Isn't it a brakeup? A friend of uncles took up us in an aeroplane last night. We went all over St Kilda, it is a bonza place. Got through all our money for goodness sake. Send us some money or else we won't come home, we will have to go to work. We are just going down to Hampton, Ethel is leaving for Sydney this afternoon. Love and kisses to Amy and yourself,  from your stony broke daughters. [I have added punctuation]

Reverse of postcard

Whitney Brothers Electric Post Card Studio

The postcard was produced by the Electric Post Card Studio. The Herald of December 10, 1913 had this report -

Inside Luna Park. Kaleidoscopic Features. 

Messrs Whitney Bros.' attractions are again a feature of the Big Show. The number of their concessions has been doubled, and only the most popular of their last year's list have been retained. They are introducing for the first time in this country their Automatic Shooting Forest, the most ingenious mechanical rifle range, ever brought to Australia; the Canadian Logwalk, an original and provokingly enjoyable conception ; the Melbourne Cup and Egyptian Palace of Fortune, both wonderful fun provokers; the Joy Club, Aunt Jemima's Washday, the Arabian Darts, Tip-'em-Over and Add-'em-up, the Plate Board, Giant Punch and Lift, the High Kick, and many other laughable novelties.

The Electric Photographic Studio is where sitters are snapped amid new settings, including an aeroplane apparently among the clouds at an elevation of 3000ft. above Luna Park, and the St. Kilda Beach, which are seen in miniature below. Apart from this clever photographic illusion, the post-cards are taken "while you wait," and delivered the same evening.

A delicious aroma of the pop corn crispettes greets one at the gates, and bridges over the interval since last year with many pleasurable reminiscences of the fun of 1912, and makes the old-time visitor feel at home again. Messrs Whitney Bros., are well satisfied with their move from America to Melbourne, where in their opinion Australian amusement seekers are more exacting than elsewhere, but none the less appreciative of a really good show. 

(The Herald, December 10, 1913, see here)

The Herald's full page promotion of St Kilda by the Sea and the main attraction - Luna Park.

The Herald, December 10, 1913  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page26289633

Luna Park first opened in December 1912. The is a short article on the origin of Luna Park and the people involved in Table Talk of October 3, 1912, see here and a report of the opening, also in Table Talk, of December 19, 1912, here.

St Kilda Town Hall Gates from the 'Corry' Mansion

In July 1923 it was reported that the St Kilda City Council had  purchased massive wrought iron double entrance gates which were in use at Corry, Sir Lauchlan Mackinnon's house in Toorak, for erection at the entrance to the town hall grounds. (1)  

Sir Lauchlan Mackinnon, was one of the proprietors of The Argus newspaper. Sir Lauchlan was born in Corry, on the Isle of Skye in 1848 and was educated at private schools and in his youth was designated to succeed his cousin Mr Lauchlan Mackinnon then one of the partners in the firm of Wilson and Mackinnon proprietors of "The Argus." With this object he was given a thorough insight into newspaper management and direction beginning at the beginning. He served for some time in the office of "The Times," later in the great publishing house of W.H. Smith and Co, and then for several years in the office of the "Scotsman," Edinburgh. The experience he gained in these establishments was an admirable preparation for more responsible activities, and he was transferred to Melbourne in 1870. (2)

The Herald, December 4, 1925 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/243899876

In 1881 Sir Lauchlan became the general manager of The Argus. He retired from that role in 1919 and his son, also called Lauchlan, succeeded him as a partner in the firm of Wilson and Mackinnon and as representative of the family interests in the management of the newspapers. (3) After his retirement, Sir Lauchlan, his wife, Emily, and two daughters, Barbara and Nancy, spent the next two years travelling overseas. They returned to Melbourne in April 1921, but this was a short-lived stay as he decided to move to England, where he died in December 1925.  The move to England prompted the sale of Corry, which was on just over six acres in Heyington Place, and it was put up for auction on March 2, 1922. (4)

Corry, Heyington Place, Toorak

The Australasian, February 18, 1922 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article140228145

It did not sell at auction and was later offered for private sale; it appears to have sold in the July and  then turned over quickly as Corry, one of the finest homes in Toorak, was advertised again in December 1922 along with three three magnificent residential allotments fronting Heyington Place and Kooyong Road, which had been sub-divided from the original block. (5)

It is likely that the gates were removed around this time, you can see them on this MMBW plan from 1905, at the entrance to Corry, outside the Lodge. 

Corry, from the 1905 MMBW plan. Click on image to enlarge.

Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works detail plan. 931, City of Prahran, 1905

http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/121915

In 1923, the St Kilda Council made the decision to remodel the Town Hall and undertake some landscaping works with the installation of the Corry gates part of this work. This was reported in The Argus in the July - 
St Kilda Town Hall. Plans for Remodelling.
Several months ago it was decided by  the St. Kilda Council to remodel parts of the St Kilda Town Hall and provide a portico entrance. A prize of £75 was offered for the best design for a portico, and one of £50 for the best plans for remodelling, other parts of the building. A committee of the Institute of Architects which judged the designs has awarded both prizes to Messrs. Sale and Keage, architects of Little Collins street. The portico design provides for cars drawing up to the town hall door under the portico, a long ramp providing easy approach. The roof is supported by massive circular columns.

Provision is made for widening the main entrance doors to the building. The municipal offices, which are situated on other side of the main door, will be placed it the west corner of the building the engineers offices being immediately over those of the clerical staff. The present municipal offices will be converted into large cloakrooms and a card-room will also be provided. To give easy access to the municipal offices a new door and stairway will be constructed at the north-east end of the building, and a stairway leading up to the engineer's offices will be provided. The plans also provide for the erection of a now lodge room at the south east corner of the building. The existing stairways will be removed and new ones built, to permit of the entrance vestibule being greatly enlarge. A reception room will be built immediately above the vestibule and between the Council chamber and the major's room. 

Three entrance door to the hall proper will replace the existing door. The council has purchased massive wrought iron double entrance gates which were in use at Corry, Sir Lauchlan Mackinnon's house in Toorak, for erection at the entrance to the town hall grounds. Tenders for the alterations to the town hall will be called shortly, but it is doubtful if the work will be commenced before the close of the dancing season. (6)   A year later in May 1924, The Argus could report that the alterations would be finished in two months. (7)

The only photo I can find of the Corry gates.

The Argus, September 5, 1923 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1985865

The Corry gates were significant enough that  J.B. Cooper write about them in his history of St Kilda - The Council, at this time, bought the massive wrought iron double entrance gates that had been in use at "Corry," the late Sir Lachlan Mackinnon's house, in Toorak. The gates were made by Bayliss of London, and they are wonderful examples of honest craftsmanship, in the difficult work of making wrought iron gates. Viewed from the City Hall's upper windows, as they stand, facing the intersection of Carlisle and High Streets, their fine iron work has the appearance that delicate lace patterns present when held up to the light. They are probably the finest wrought iron gates to be found in Melbourne. Examined closely they appear to be flawless. Even the keys of the gates are of solid British workmanship, with artistic mouldings, the like of which in key making is not seen today. (8)

Fourteen years later, in August 1938, the St Kilda Council adopted an extensive scheme for beautifying the grounds surrounding St. Kilda town hall. (9) To this end, the Council purchased from the trustees of Balaclava Methodist Church 60 feet of land in Carlisle-street, which is now incorporated in the town hall grounds, and this made the size of the grounds 2¾ acres. (10)

The Argus reported on the planned new works - 

St. Kilda Council adopted on Monday a recommendation of its parks and gardens committee that a report prepared by Mr. Linaker, of the Public Works Department, be received, and an accompanying plan in relation to the planting and removal of trees at and around the town hall and in other parts of the municipality, be adopted. The report stated that aspects which had been given particular consideration were convenience, trees suitable for planting and varieties to thrive in the district, modernness, background and screening, brightness and maintenance, and skyline and general balance. The plan provided for the removal of two sets of gates at the town hall in Carlisle street, one at the corner of Carlisle street and Brighton road, and one in Brighton road. (11)

There wasn't, however, unanimous support for this scheme as the following report attests -
Cr. Moroney said he regretted that it was intended to remove the ornamental iron gates on the Brighton-road and Carlisle-street frontages. They were fine specimens of the iron workers' art, and had been an embellishment to the grounds for many years. It would be vandalism to remove them. Even if the hedges and fences were taken away the gates could remain.
Cr. Mitty: they are a relict of the past.
Cr Moroney: Yes. That is why I want remain. I also do not approve of the removal of old and beautiful trees from the grounds. Some of them were planted by distinguished people.
The Mayor (Cr. Dawkins): A number of the old trees will remain, and those removed will be replaced by other trees. (12) 

Hugh Linaker died on October 10, 1938 at the age of 66,  so he did not live to see his plans come to fruition. Mr Linaker's obituary noted that he was regarded as the leading landscape gardener in Victoria. Hugh Linaker, Superintendent of State Parks and Gardens of Victoria had undertaken the landscaping around the Shrine of Remembrance, designed the Pioneer Women's Memorial Garden, had been engaged by Sir John Monash to advice on the planning  of Yallourn and for many years [was] employed by the Department of Mental Hygiene as head gardener, and in that capacity he designed the grounds and gardens of every mental asylum in the State. (13)

In April 1939, The Age reported that the comprehensive scheme for beautifying the grounds surrounding the structure [Town Hall] is being carried out by the curator (Mr. N. Scovle), under the supervision or the city engineer (Mr. R. T. Kelly) and that  the ornamental cast-iron gates at the Brighton-road and Carlisle-street entrances to the grounds are also to go, but they are to be stored for possible re-erection elsewhere. (14)

The St Kilda Town Hall, c. 1930. You can clearly see where the gates were installed at the apex of the town hall triangular site, facing the intersection of Carlisle street and High street. (15)

The building on the right, along High Street (Brighton Road) is the St Kilda State School.  The building to the top of the Town Hall is the Balaclava Methodist Church, which faces Chapel Street, on the corner of Carlisle Street.

St. Kilda Town Hall, c. 1930. Photographer: Sir W. Raymond Garrett. State Library of Victoria, see full image here http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/278495

What happened to the finest wrought iron gates to be found in Melbourne, as historian Cooper called them? I do not know, but given the time period possibly scrapped and melted down for the War effort. 

Trove list - I have created a list of articles on this topic, you can access it here.

Footnotes
(1) The Argus, July 12, 1923, see here.
(2) The Argus, December 5, 1925, see here.
(3) The Age, October 10, 1934, see here.
(4)  The Argus, December 5, 1925, see here; The Argus, February 25, 1922, see here.
(5) The Argus, March 29, 1922, see here; The Argus, July 8, 1822, see here; The Argus, December 13, 1922, see here.
(6) The Argus, July 12, 1923, see here.
(7) The Argus, May 17, 1924, see here.
(8) Cooper, John Butler The History of St Kilda from its first settlement to a city and after 1840 - 1930, v. 2 (St Kilda City Council, 1931), p. 62.
(9) The Age, August 16, 1938, see here.
(10) The Age, April 1, 1939, see here.
(11) The Argus, August 17, 1938, see here.
(12) The Age, August 16, 1938, see here.
(13) Hugh Linaker - death notice The Age, October 11, 1938, see here; Obituary - The Argus, October 12, 1938, see here and The Australasian, October 15, 1938, see here.
(14) The Age, April 1, 1939, see here.

(15) The Argus, September 5, 1923, see here.