Beautiful sea kissed St Kilda welcomes the British Fleet

In November 1923, the Royal Navy Special Service Squadron embarked from Plymouth on a trip around the Empire. The Squadron consisted of two battle cruisers, the Hood and the Repulse, and five light cruisers, the Danae, Dauntless, Delhi, Dragon and Dunedin.  Their first stop was Sierra Leone followed by other ports in Africa, over to India, Penang and Singapore and then south to Fremantle, the first of eight Australian ports and then onto New Zealand and Fiji. This was the first naval cruise around the world since 1882 (1) and was a reminder of the kinship of the British Empire to its outlying dominions and that after the Great War, Britannia was still the Mistress of the Seas (2). 

Visitors on Princes Pier, waiting to tour the Delhi, during the visit of the British Fleet.

Photographer: Allan C. Green, State Library of Victoria Image H91.108/356 http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/27798

The fleet arrived at Port Phillip Heads at dawn on Monday, March 17, 1924 and in a triumphal procession (3) accompanied by hundreds of water craft made their way up the Bay. The Hood, Repulse, Delhi and Danae moored at Princes Pier, the Dunedin at the  Town Pier at Port Melbourne, and the Dauntless and the Dragon at Victoria Dock (4).

The Danae at Princes Pier

This is from an album of photographs connected to various families including the Gilmour and Penhalluriack families (5). Photo supplied by Isaac Hermann.

The Hood, Repulse, Delphi and Danae at Princes Pier, March 24, 1924.

Public Records Office of Victoria - Melbourne Harbour Trust Commissioners, 

Progress of the Port of Melbourne - Lantern Slide 62 (the image has been cropped).

On the Tuesday, March 18, St Kilda was honoured by a visit of the Admirals and other dignitaries. Meticulous planning had been undertaken for  this event by the town Clerk, Mr F. W.  Chamberlin (6).  St Kilda historian, J.B. Cooper, had this praise for him: So skilled was Mr Chamberlin in organising events for Royal and Vice Regal welcomes that Royalty itself has been graciously pleased to speak, in after years, of the welcomes at St Kilda as ones that could not have been better organsied anywhere in the British Empire (7).

The planning had began at a St Kilda Council meeting held on Monday, January 21, 1924 when Cr Unsworth moved a motion That, in order to commemorate the visit of the British Fleet to Melbourne during the month of March, 1924, a St Kilda Gala week be arranged from the 17th March to the 22nd March inclusive or such other week as will fit in with the date of the proposed visit; that the co-operation of all the citizens, patriotic bodies, clubs, business people, entertainment proprietors be sought to make the proposed St. Kilda Gala week a fitting recognition of this most important event, and that the Mayor be empowered to call a meeting of citizens with a view to making the necessary arrangements (8).  Cr Taylor seconded the move.  Cr Clarke said a small committee should be appointed to draw up a programme, even though the Mayor, Cr Allen, said the Town Clerk, will no doubt do most of the work (9).

The motivation to host the fleet was twofold. Cr Unsworth said St Kilda was an ideal city and the only one that could lay itself out to have a gala week in honour of the the visit of the British Fleet and Cr Taylor said that it was the least they could do....to show their gratitude to the Jack Tars (10) who had done so much for them during the war (11).

St Kilda welcomes Vice-Admiral Field and senior officers on March 18, 1924.

Visit of the British Special Service Squadron from J.B. Cooper's History of St Kilda (12).

Tuesday, March 18 was a day of sunshine and early Autumnal mildness (13) when Vice-Admiral Sir Frederick Field and senior officers arrived at St Kilda pier in the Vice-Admiral's pinnace at 11.00am (14). In beautiful sea-kissed St Kilda (15) they were greeted by the Town Clerk and then presented to the Mayor, Cr Allen, and a number of speeches were made. There were two thousand children from the three local state schools, Brighton Road, Elwood and St Kilda Park, who had each been given a small Australian flag to wave. A choir of 700 children from the schools sung Rule, Britannia and the National Anthem, accompanied by the St Kilda City Band.  The choir master was the head master of Brighton Road, Mr H. E. F. Lampe (16). The day had been declared a public holiday and this ensured a good crowd, estimated at 30,000 (17).

This photograph of the Palais Pictures and Palais de Danse, St Kilda, was taken, I believe on March 18, 1924, the day St Kilda welcomed the British Fleet. The film showing at the Palais Pictures was The Cheat with Pola Negri which had a short run from March 17 to March 19 (18).  The sign under the Palais Pictures lettering says 'St Kilda's Hearty Welcome... British Fleet'. There are many children in the photo, perhaps they are some of the 2,000 children from the local state schools who gave the Vice- Admiral and the senior officers a hearty welcome.

The Palais Picture Theatre and Palais de Danse, St. Kilda. SK 0992. 

Image courtesy of Port Phillip Collection.

But this was not the only event in St  Kilda as Mr Chamberlin had planned a gala week, which had started the night before. The Age had a comprehensive report of the activities of the Tuesday night: Men, women and children came by train, tram, bus, motor car, and every other conceivable form of conveyance, each of which was crowded to its utmost capacity. People hung on to the sides of tram cars or stood, several deep, in motor buses, but once they reached St. Kilda they plunged into the fun and forgot all about the trials and troubles of getting there until it was time to get back home again. 

The Esplanade itself was a struggling mass of humanity under a blaze of myriads of colored lights.... and every side show and amusement place added its quota of vari-colored lights. In the band stand, which had been artistically decorated, a band played catchy melodies that set the feet of the sailors and their newly-made friends itching to dance. A few could not resist the temptation to dance in the street, but most of the others found their way to one or other of the palais de danse, where men in uniform were admitted free. The  scene at the Wattle Path Palais was a particularly brilliant one. A large number of officers and men accepted the invitation of the management to free dancing, and all appeared to be enjoying themselves to the full. At no time did any of the tars seems to have any difficulty in finding an abundance of partners. 

Luna Park, with its many side shows and attractions, was the rendezvous of hundreds of the men of the fleet. They tackled, the scenic railway, the "big dipper" and other thrills with shouts and whoops that left no doubt as to how they were enjoying the fun. At all the other places of amusement the scene was equally gay and care-free. Sailors and citizens joined in fun and frolic. There was much laughter, shouting and joking, but through out the evening the fun was harmless. St. Kilda's welcome will undoubtedly serve to place that city 'on the map' as far as the visiting sailors, at least, are concerned (19). 

The activities went on throughout the week and the Saturday was a day of water sports and activities including yacht, dinghy and motor boat races and exhibitions of diving and aquaplaning (20). The Gala week finished off with a bang with a fireworks display from 8.30 pm which concluded at 10.00am with a grand illumination of the sea front (21).

The week was an outstanding success, the Prahran Telegraph described it as St Kilda's triumph (22).   Vice-Admiral Field wrote to the Mayor of St Kilda thanking the Council and mentioned that the facilities which you gave, particularly to the Petty Officers and men of the Squadron, enabled those who had only a few hours leave to obtain real enjoyment and meet friends who were pleased to welcome them within a very short distance of their ships. The Vice-Admiral also wrote that We were all greatly impressed by the opportunity St. Kilda affords for healthful recreation and amusement, and we wish you and the people of St. Kilda all success and prosperity in the future (23). 

The Prahran Telegraph summed up the week - How the sailors would have been welcomed if there had been no St. Kilda, we do not know. They would have had a poor time compared to the time they have had...The hospitality of St. Kilda has been of the most generous and lavish description, and nothing has been too much to do to give the bulk of the sailors innocent pleasures (24).

Acknowledgement
Thank you to my research colleague, Isaac Hermann, for alerting me to the photograph of the Palais Picture Theatre and Palais de Danse, St. Kilda and to Sandy Khazam, Team Leader Arts and Heritage, City of Port Phillip for kindly supplying me with the photograph. Isaac also provided me with some research and realised that the photo of the warship from the Gilmour and Penhalluriack album (see footnote 5) was actually the Danae and that it was taken during the visit of the fleet in March 1924. 

Trove list: I have created a list of newspaper articles on the visit of the Fleet, mainly relating to St Kilda, you can access it here.

Footnotes
(1) The Sydney Sun, November 28, 1923, see here. There is also detailed Australian itinerary on the Naval History Society of Australia website, here. 

(2) 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. 307. 

(3) The Age, March 18, 1924, see here. 

(4) The Argus, March 19, 1924, see here. 

(5) My research colleague, Isaac Hermann, came across this album and supplied this photograph for me. I have written about the Gilmour and Penhalluriack here   http://victoriaspast.blogspot.com/2019/12/australian-farmers-centre-draft.html

(6)  Frederick William Chamberlin, City of St Kilda Town Clerk. According to his obituary he was born in England, arrived in Victoria in 1881, appointed assistant Town Clerk in 1897 and became the Town Clerk on  May 1, 1913.  Mr Chamberlin died suddenly on October 11, 1934 when he collapsed outside the Town Hall on his way to a Council Public Works Committee meeting. He was 62 years old.  You can read his obituary in The Argus, here and The Age, here.

(7) Cooper, op.cit., p. 306.

(8) The Age, January 22, 1924, see here.

(9) The Prahran Telegraph, January 25, 1924, see here.

(10) Jack Tar - a nickname for sailors - Jack being the generic name for a 'common man' (such as 'Jack of all trades') and tar coming from tarpaulin, a canvas made waterproof with the application of tar. Source: Royal Museums Greenwich, see here. 

(11) The Prahran Telegraph, January 25, 1924, see here.

(12) Cooper, op. cit. - photo opposite page 306. 

(13) Cooper, op. cit, p. 307.

(14) Cooper, op. cit, p. 307.

(15) Prahran Telegraph, March 21, 1924, see here.

(16) Herman Ernest Franz Lampe. He retired from the Education Department after fifty years of service in March 1926. You can read a report of his retirement in the Prahran Telegraph, here.

(17) Reports in the Prahran Telegraph March 21, 1924, see here and The Age, March 19, 1924, see here. 

(18) Pola Negri in The Cheat - interesting choice of film given the sailors were away from their wives and girl friends and perhaps succumbed to the temptations of the flesh, while they were in the various ports. The other film on through St Kilda Gala Week was What Fools men are.

Prahran Telegraph, March 14, 1924 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/19668377

(19) The Age March 18, 1924, see here.

(20) The Herald, March 22, 1924, see here.

(21) The Age, March 22, 1924, see here. 

(22) Prahran Telegraph, April 4, 1924, see here.

(23) The Herald, March 28, 1924, see here.

(24) Prahran Telegraph, March 21, 1924, see here.

Kalara, Grey Street - St Kilda's birthplace of the Helena Rubinstein Beauty Empire

In 1901, Helena Juliet Rubinstein, moved into Mrs Isabella Stern's boarding house Kalara at 77-79 Grey Street, St Kilda (1).  A year or so later, Helena's cosmetics business was established, which by the time of her death in 1965 was worth 60 million dollars (2).  It is accepted that James Thompson, the Managing Director of the Robur Tea Company, was instrumental in the establishment of Helena's business by providing financial, business and marketing support and advice. It is said that they met while she was waitressing at the Winter Garden Tea Rooms in the basement of the Block Arcade or the Cafe Maison Doree in Swanston Street (3), but new evidence has come to light that they first met at Mrs Stern's boarding house, and thus 77-79 Grey Street, St Kilda can be considered to be the birthplace of the Helena Rubinstein's beauty empire.

Helena Rubinstein in 1904

Image: War Paint: Helena Rubinstein and Elizabeth Arden, their lives, their times, their rivalry 

by Lindy Woodhead (Virago, 2003) (4)

We know that Helena lived for  a time with Mrs Stern's but because of  a robbery at the boarding house we now know that James Thompson also lived there. Mrs Stern made a police report on December 2, 1904 that a  silver cigarette case and light-grey tweed coat, belonging to Morris Kozminsky and a flat top pearl shirt stud; a gold round knob scarf pin and a pair of boots with patent leather toes belonging to James H. Thompson were stolen from her premises.

Robbery Report at the boarding house

Victorian Police Gazette, No. 49. December 8, 1904

We will look at the main characters in this story starting with Isabella Stern, who owned the building where Helena first met James. Isabella Stern was the second child of nine of Rabbi Moses and Elvina Rintel. The Rabbi had arrived in Sydney in 1844 where he served the Sydney Congregation as  the Principal of the Hebrew School.  In January 1849, he was appointed as the Reader of the Melbourne Hebrew Congregation, and in 1857 he established the Mikveh Yisrael Melbourne Synagogue (5). Elvina's father, John Hart had served in the British Navy in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, later migrated to America and then Australia. He died at his house, Trafalgar Cottage, Albert Street in Windsor in January 1864 (6).

Isabella, aged 24,  married Abraham Stern, aged 37, on September 15, 1875. Her father officiated at the wedding, held at the Synagogue in Lonsdale Street. Abraham was born in Schirwindt in Prussia and his father, Louis, was also a Rabbi. They had three daughters, Ruby, Eda and Rita. The family first lived in Victoria Street in Carlton, later moved to Dalgety Street in St Kilda and around 1895 they moved to 79 Grey Street (7). 77 and 79 Grey Street are two adjoining residences, made of brick, each of nine principal rooms which had been built three years earlier by Gavin Shaw, a wine merchant (8).  Shaw was also the Mayor of St Kilda for two years from 1881 (9).  After his death in June 1894, his widow Jane owned the property, and the Sterns leased it from her (10). We know that the Sterns later owned both 77 and 79 Grey Street and they possibly purchased it from Jane Shaw's estate, after she died in May 1900 (11).

I wonder if that is when the Sterns decided to operate a boarding house to help defray some of the cost of purchasing the properties. Abraham's occupation in the Rate books and Electoral roll was that of warehouseman. He was a wholesaler in the drapery business, and had retired selling his entire stock by tender in  April 1908 (12).

77-79 Grey Street, St Kilda, an imposing duplex built 1892.

Photo: Isaac Hermann

Grey Street at the time was highly regarded by the well-to-do citizens of Melbourne as a place to live (13) and it would not have been hard for Mrs Stern to attract boarders. Maurice Kozminsky, who was also a victim of the robbery, was the son of Abraham and Esther (nee Goldberg) Kozminsky. Abraham's occupation in the Electoral Roll was listed as an Investor and Maurice was a commercial traveller. In March 1906, the Kozminsky family held their son Clifford's Bar Mitzvah at Kalara, 77 Grey Street. In the 1903 Electoral Roll the family was at 32 Beaconsfield Parade but from the 1906 Electoral Rolls they were at 6 Burnett Street, St Kilda and it appears they were living with Mrs Stern for just a short time (14).  6 Burnett Street was for sale by auction in April 1905 (15), and though the Kozminsky's purchased it then, they looked to have been temporarily staying at Mrs Stern's boarding house, while it was being renovated.  Maurice enlisted in the A.I. F. in May 1915, with the rank of 2nd Lieutanant, and sadly died of wounds (gun shot wound - abdomen) in France in August 1916. His brother, Clifford, also served in the First World War (16). Abraham was the brother of Simon Kozminsky, the jeweller and antiques dealer, who started his business in Melbourne in the 1860s (17).

James Thompson, was a tea merchant, associated with the name of Robur Tea from 1893 when he and a Mr Bell produced a booklet for the tea Hawthorn, Rhodes & Co., called Tea, its origin, cultivation, manufacture, effects on the human system, and how to tell good tea. The authors looked at various brands of tea and said Robur Tea was prepared on scientific lines and would produce a perfect tea. This booklet was sent to newspaper offices in Victoria, who then gave column space to the ideas set forth in the booklet and thus Robur Tea gained some publicity and  brand recognition (18). By 1900, James was the President of the Robur Tea Company (19).  In 1903 his address in the  Electoral Rolls was 79 Grey Street, where, as we know, he was the victim of a robbery and where he also met Helena Rubinstein.

Accounts of Helena's life are many and varied, it's hard to pin down dates and Helena herself also gave different birth dates throughout her life and embellished her life story, so what follows is as accurate as can be surmised. Helena was born in the 1870s (20)  in Krakow in Poland and arrived on the Prince Regent Luitpold in September 1896 (21).  She then stayed with her uncles, Louis and Bernhard Silberfeld in Coleraine in western Victoria (22). They had a fancy-goods shop in town, though she found that many of the local women were keen to buy her face-cream that she had brought with her from Poland. This cream had been made by her mother's friend Jacob Lykulokis, a Hungarian chemist (23).  After three years in Coleraine, some sources say that she worked as governess for the Fairbairn family of Meltham of Geelong; this leading to a year's position as Governess to Lord Lamington, the Queensland Governor, in Toowomba (24).  After Helena returned to Melbourne around 1901, she became a nanny, at Linden, the Acland Street home of Moritz Michaelis and family (25).

Firstly to free herself from the stricture of living-in domestic work she took a room at Mrs Stern's boarding house in Grey Street, St Kilda (26) where she met James Thompson.  To support herself, she worked as a waitress at the Winter Garden Tea Rooms and the Cafe Maison Doree. James and Helena formed a friendship, but were they lovers?  Perhaps they consorted, though as both were single, their dalliance was not an adulterous one, as others have inferred. (27).

In 1902, the Winter Gardens Tea Room was the venue for their business meeting which Helena attended with her sister, Ceska, who had recently arrived from Krakow. At this meeting James introduced his artistic designer, who helped to create a label  for Helena's cream. James also introduced her to a printer, for the production of  labels, which James financed with a £100 loan or gift.  It is also said that she  borrowed £250 to establish a beauty salon at 138 Elizabeth Street, and most likely this money also came from Thompson (28).  In February 1903, Helena trade-marked, a toilet preparation known as skin food and at the same time trademarked the distinctive label, though not the name. The name Valaze was not trademarked until June 1905 (29).

The distinctive label, trademarked by Helena Rubinstein in February 1903.

The label is written in Polish an approximate translation of which is - removes wrinkles freckles impetigo, gives face delicate fair transparent.
National Archives of Australia  https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=5003647

I had a look at the newspapers on Trove to find the first time Valaze was mentioned as a product and came across this advertisement, below, which markets the preparation as Dr Lykulokis' product.

Early advertisement for Valaze.

The Argus January 29, 1903 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article9815828 

On February 26, 1903 Table Talk had an advertorial on the product, extolling the virtues of Dr Lykulokis' Valase, imported by Helena Rubinstein & Co. of 138 Elizabeth Street. Helena had learnt from James Thompson the value of free publicity under the guise of editorial content.  Table Talk explains what Valaze was - Valaze is really a skin food, which is prepared by the most celebrated of all the European skin specialists, Dr. Lykuski (sic), from herbs which grow in the Carpathian Mountains, the dividing range between Galicia and Hungary. It is in no sense a "make-up" ; in fact, it is not visible upon the skin in any way. It is in the truest sense of the word a "skin food." When rubbed into the skin it is absorbed into the pores, and creates a perfectly healthy condition. By its aid all impurities are removed, and the skin becomes re-invigorated (30).

One month after the first advertisement appeared, and two days after the Table Talk promotion, another advertisement, below, appeared for Valaze and this time there was no mention of Dr Lykulokis at all.

Advertisement for Valaze Skin Food.

The Argus February 28, 1903 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article9825760 

Australian women fell in love with the product and sales earnt Helena £12,000 in two years, enabling a move to 243 Collins Street (31). Initially the potion was imported from Europe, but it was soon made in her own laboratory with the ingredients coming from the firm of Felton, Grimwade & Co. They were a drug company, and later branched out into glass manufacturing (the Melbourne Glass Bottle Works (32)) and a chemical works. They most likely also supplied the glass containers for her potions as well. It is possible that Helena was introduced to one of the founders of the company, Frederick Grimwade, by Moritz Michaelis (33). 

Trademark application for name Valaze.
National Archives of Australia  https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=5027799

In 1905, the year she trade-marked the name Valase, Helena went to Europe to study skin treatments and upon her return opened the Valaze Institute at 274 Collins Street, which was a full service beauty parlour (34). On May 17, 1907, Helena applied for Australian citizenship and her referee was  Frederick Grimwade, of Felton, Grimwade & Co., who attested to her good character (35).

An original Helena Rubinstein & Co. of Melbourne bottle, likely to have been manufactured by the Felton, Grimwade & Co. subsidiary, Melbourne Glass Bottle Works. 

In 1908 Helena took her company overseas and it became successful on an international scale. Helena had drive, energy and highly developed business acumen. An acquaintance from the early days in Melbourne, Abel Isaacson, is quoted as saying  Without Mr Thompson - he was the manager of the Robur Tea Company - she wouldn't have done what she did. He helped her. He taught her. He made her. Mark my words, he was the brains behind the little lady' (36). Would Helena have had the success that she did,  had she has not met James Thompson in Mrs Stern's boarding house? We will never know, but Kalara, 77-79 Grey Street deserves its place in history as the birthplace of  a global cosmetic empire.

Acknowledgements

I first found out about Helena's connection to Isabella Stern's boarding house, from my research colleague, Isaac Hermann, who sent me the link to Cosmetics and Skin  http://cosmeticsandskin.org/companies/helena-rubinstein.php  I then found this report of the robbery at Mrs Sterns.

The Age December 3, 1904 

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/189425539

The report noted the date that the robbery took place and an address in Grey Street, though it wasn't until I found the original report in the Police Gazette on Ancestry that we had the correct address. Then Isaac realised that Mr James Thompson, was Helena's mentor and so we gathered that their first meeting was not a cafe in Melbourne but Mrs Stern's boarding house where they both lived. The research in this post is very much a collaboration between Isaac and myself. Isaac also supplied the photos of the cobalt blue Helena Rubinstein bottle.

Footnotes 
 (1) Woodhead, Lindy War Paint: Helena Rubinstein and Elizabeth Arden, their lives, their times, their rivalry (Virago, 2003), p. 44. Also quoted in the website Cosmetics and Skin: Stories from the history and science of cosmetics, skin-care and early Beauty Culture http://cosmeticsandskin.org/companies/helena-rubinstein.php 
(2) Poynter, J. R Helena Rubinstein - Australian Dictionary of Biography entry http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/rubinstein-helena-8293 
(3) Woodhead, op. cit. p. 47 implies she met Thompson at the Winter Garden Tea Rooms. The Cosmetics and Skin website says they met at the Cafe Maison Dore.
(4) This was Helena's press photo that she supplied to Table Talk in 1904. The image credit in Lindy Woodhead's book is the Helena Rubinstein Foundation.
(5)  I have written about Rabbi Rintel and the establishment of his Mikveh Yisrael Synagogue, here. I have also written about Henri Rintel, Isabella's brother, here.
(6)  John Hart's life is partly mentioned in his son, Henri's obituary in the Jewish Herald of May 2, 1884, see here. John's death notice, published in The Argus of January 25, 1864, tells us that he lived and died at Trafalgar Cottage in Windsor, see here.
(7) Isabella Rintel and Abraham Stern - information about their marriage, his birth place and parents come from their marriage certificate. They had three daughters - Ruby (1876-1945, married Edward Lazarus in 1909, they had no children; Eda (1878-1879) and Rita (1881-1960, never married). The birth notices of the daughters provided the Victoria Street address and the St Kilda Rate Books available on Ancestry provided the Dalgety Street address and the move to Grey Street.
(8) Victorian Heritage Database citation https://vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/places/1113
(9) Gavin Shaw died aged 64 on June 2, 1894. You can read his obituary in the Prahan Telegraph of June 9, 1894, here.
(10) St Kilda Rate books, available on Ancestry.
(11) Isabella died February 3, 1921. Her will (on-line at the Public Records Office of Victoria) lists all her property, including 77 and 79 Grey Street. Jane Shaw died May 18, 1900 Her death notice was in both the Argus and The Age the next day.
(12) Abraham Stern - you can read the list of his goods that were put to tender in April 1908 in The Age, April 1, 1908, see here (last column, under Tenders). Abraham died April 8, 1912. He had a short obituary in the Jewish Herald of April 12, 1912, see here. He and Isabella are buried at Brighton Cemetery.
(13) Victorian Heritage Database citation https://vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/places/1113
(14) Information about the Kozminsky family comes from the Electoral Rolls on Ancestry. The information about Clifford's Bar Mitvah was from a snippet in the Jewish Herald March 24, 1905, see here.
(15) I assume that they purchased 6 Burnett Street in April 1905, and that a renovation was the reason they were temporarily at Mrs Stern's boarding house.  6 Burnett Street was described as a semi-detached two-storied brick and cement residence, known containing drawing, dining, breakfast rooms, kitchen, scullery, wash house, 8 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, spacious tiled verandahs and balconies. Attached to the house, on the south side, is a  large billiard room, of wood. The outbuildings and stables are also of wood. The Age, April 8, 1905, see here. See the Victorian Heritage Database citation for 6 Burnett Street, here.
(16) National Archives of Australia. Maurice's A.I.F record can be read here and Clifford's here.
(17)

An advertisement for Simon Kozmisky's business from Punch, November 21, 1907

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/175798930

(18) Thompson and Bell's booklet was reported on in The Launceston Examiner of July 15, 1893; The Herald, August 24, 1893 The Kyneton Observer, August 31, 1893, The Avoca Mail, September 5, 1893. 

(19) Letter to the Editor of The Age, November 29, 1900, see here.

(20) Her record on the passenger list for the Prince Regent Luitpold, the ship she arrived in Melbourne on in September 1896, says she was 20, thus born 1876; her Australian Naturalisation papers have her birth date as Christmas Day, 1897. She died April 1, 1065 and claimed to be 94, this born 1871.  

(21) Unassisted Passenger List at the Public Records Office of Victoria and Ancestry.

Helena's record from the Prince Regent Luitpold - she embarked from Genoa, her age was 20 and nationality listed as German.
(22) Louis and Bernhard were her mother's brothers. Louis Silberfeld, a bachelor, who died April 23, 1908 at the age of 54, had the store at Coleraine with his brother and then a grocery store at Merino. You can read a short obituary in the Hamilton Spectator of April 27, 1908, here. He was granted a Grocer's License for Merino in December 1905, see Hamilton Spectator, December 9, 1905, here. He is buried at the Melbourne General Cemetery.
Bernhard Silberfeld died June 25, 1923, aged 86. He had one daughter, Eva, who married Louis Levy (divorced in 1896). Eva had three sons, Reg, Fred and Theo. The three boys all enlisted in the First World War, Fred was discharged on medical grounds, but the other two served overseas. Bernhard is buried at Brighton Cemetery.
(23) Gardiner, Frank  The Fields of Coleraine (published by the Author, 2003), pp. 165-166.
(23) Woodhead, op. cit., pp 42-46; Poynter, op. cit -  ADB entry, see here. Helena's Naturalisation application  from May 1907, has this time-line: Arrived in Australia July 1897 on the Prince Regent Luitpold; three years in Coleraine, one year in Toowomba and five years in Melbourne.
(24) Woodhead, op. cit., p. 46.

(25) Lindy Woodhead, p. 46, says she was a nanny at Morty Michaelis. Moritz Michaelis  (1820 - 1902) -  the founder of the Michaelis, Hallenstein Tannery at Footscray, read about that here. Read his obituary in the Jewish Herald of December 2, 1902, here. Linden, is now owned by the City of Port Phillip and is an art gallery, see here and read the Victorian Heritage Database citation, here.

(26) Woodhead, op. cit., p. 46.
(27) Woodhead (p. 47) said they were lovers and that the relationship was doomed due to the inevitability there was a Mrs Thompson. The relationship may have been doomed but James Thompson did not get married until 1906. This was to Isabella Grist (nee Hutchings) and they had one daughter together, Thelma Belle, born on March 27, 1908.  Isabella died September 1918 at the age of 50. Thelma married Frank Hartley in May 1930, you can read a report and see a photo of the lovely bride, here in Table Talk, May 22, 1930. James died on August 23, 1933, aged 72. Helena married Edward William Titus in 1908 in London. They had two sons, Roy and Horace, read about the marriage in the Australian Dictionary of Biography entry, here.
(28) Poynter, op. cit -  ADB entry, see here.
(29) The trade mark applications are digitsed at the National Archives - the 1903 application can be read here and the June 1905 application here.
(30) Table Talk, February 26, 1903, see here.
(31) Poynter, op. cit -  ADB entry, see here.

(32) Melbourne Glass Bottle Works established in 1872 and in the 1920s amalgamated with Australian Glass Manufacturers, and later became Australian Consolidated Industries. Source: Encyclopedia of Australian Science, see here.
(33) Woodhead, op. cit., p. 48; Cosmetics and Skin website, see here. Felton, Grimwade & Co - established by Alfred Felton (1831-1904), read his Australian Dictionary of Biography entry, here and Frederick Shepphard Grimwade (1840-1910), read his Australian Dictionary of Biography entry, here. It is Lindy Woodhouse (p. 48) who suggests that Helena was introduced to Frederick Grimwade by Moritz Michaelis.
(34) Poynter, op. cit -  ADB entry, see here.
(35) Citizenship application has been digitised and can be accessed on the National Archives of Australia, see here.
(36) Woodhead, op. cit., p. 46

Mary Jane Gardner, Furrier, of Watten Villa St Kilda

Early in 1877 Mrs Mary Jane Gardner took up residence at Watten Villa in Park Road (1) in St Kilda. This was  a detached villa, about twenty rooms, containing every convenience (2).

Advertisement for the newly constructed Watten Villa.

The Argus December 16, 1876  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5912568

She lived there with her four children - ten year old Mary Jane, eight year old Alice, six year old Charles and four year old William (3). The enterprising Mrs Gardner operated two businesses from this commodious villa - a boarding house and a Furrier showroom and workroom.

Mrs Gardner's advertisement seeking boarders

The Herald May 11, 1877  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article244265798

It was through Mrs. Gardner's boarding house business that I first came across the English actress,
Emily Soldene who stayed here whilst her Repertory Troupe was playing at the Prince of Wales Opera House in Melbourne. Emily later wrote about her time in Melbourne we lived at St. Kilda, at Mrs. Gardiner's [sic] and she described Watten as  - a long, low house of one storey, built on piles, with a broad passage running down the centre, and ten or twelve rooms opening off on each side (4). You can read more about Emily Soldene, here.

Mrs Gardner's advertisement for her Furrier business at Watten Villa.

The Argus April 17, 1878  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article244519053

Mrs Gardner was also a talented furrier, who advertised that she was a Royal Warrant holder - 'by appointment to the Duke of Edinburgh.' Prince Alfred, the Duke of Edinburgh (1844 - 1900) who was the second son of Queen Victoria and had purchased some of her furs. The Herald of April 11, 1877 had an article on the rising popularity of furs due to the advent to England of a royal bride from Russia, where the use of warm furs is found so necessary and convenient, caused recently, an unbounded run upon furs by English ladies.....This fashionable mania for furs extended, of course, to these colonies, where the latest fashions in London and Paris are closely watched and quickly assumed (5). The Russian Royal bride was the Grand Duchess Marie of Russia, the daughter Tsar Alexander II  who married Prince Alfred in 1874.

The article continues As an instance of the favor which furs at present find in the eyes of Melbourne ladies, it may be mentioned that, within the last few days, Mrs Gardner, of Watten Villa, Park road, St. Kilda, has made, to the order of the lady of an eminent physician in Collins street east, a large seal jacket, which cost no less than 130 guineas. We have seen this beautiful and costly garment, and must say it is most creditable as an article of Victorian manufacture, and would do credit to any London house. The jacket is trimmed with sable tails -which alone are valued at 100 guineas -and lined with black silk. It will readily be understood that Mrs Gardner, having manufactured articles which have been worn by Her Majesty the Queen and Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales, has been well qualified to execute such an extraordinary order as that which she has just completed. During one of his visits to these colonies, His Royal Highness, the Duke of Edinburgh selected at Mrs Gardner's establishment, which was then in Collins street west, articles of fur, as presents to Her Majesty the Queen, and the Princess of Wales, to the value of £300. 

At Watten Villa there is to be seen a perfect museum of beautiful articles manufactured from the skins of the dingo, native bear, and other Australian animals. The presents which His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh brought home to his Royal Mother and sister-in-law were designed as specimens of Australian natural products, utilised for fashionable attire. Articles made from the dyed skin of the opossum are very much worn in Victoria, and are elegant and expensive. Mrs Gardner's stock includes articles composed of the skins of the skunk, beaver, squirrel, ermine, silver fox, red fox, chinchilla grebe and many other animals; which are turned into jackets, handmuffs, coirnrettea, victorines and so forth. Some of the furs, both native and foreign, shown at Watten Villa are extremely beautiful, and well worthy the inspection of the streams of fashionable ladies that constantly pour into that beautiful villa on the St Kilda beach (5). 

It would appear from the article that Mrs Gardner's business was a profitable one, however according to the City of St Kilda Rate books (6) she is only listed at Watten Villa for 1877. Now is the time to go back to the start of Mrs Gardner's life to see the path that took her to Watten Villa. She was born in Bris in Lancashire in England in January 1833 to Richard and Sarah (nee Axil) Hamer and married William Eddleston in May 1851. They at least one child, a daughter Sarah Ann in 1855. William died in August 1855. All these events occurred in Lancashire (7). The next we find of Mary Jane is that she marries 44 year old Frederick Gardner in Westbury, in Tasmania (8).  Frederick was a furrier and Mary Jane worked with him and learnt the business (9). When Mary Jane arrived in Tasmania and how they meet I cannot tell you.

Frederick was a  furrier of some note according to this article in The Herald of February 15, 1864
A few days ago we examined a quantity of rugs, carriage mats, etc, prepared and dressed by Mr H. Gardner, furrier, 66 Collins street, from furs principally obtained from various Tasmanian animals, including the black opossum, the native cat, the tiger cat, etc. These furs are very much superior to anything of the kind in Victoria, and many of them compare favourably with the Canadian furs. Mr Gardner has carried on the business of a furrier in Launceston for many years, and has recently opened the above establishment, he contemplates offering in the coming winter season a very beautiful selection of furs, for ladies and children's wear (10).

The Great Hall of the Intercolonial Exhibition. Both Frederick and Mary Jane Gardner had displays of fur products at this Exhibition.

Artist: Arthur Charles Cooke. Engraver: Frederick Grosse.

Published in Australian News for Home Readers on October 26, 1877  State Library of Victoria Image IAN27/10/66/8-9

http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/237846

Frederick also exhibited at the Intercolonial Exhibition held in Melbourne October 24, 1866 until February 23, 1867. The Exhibition showcased the arts, agriculture and industry of the various Australian colonies and New Zealand and was visited by over 270,000 people in the four months that it was open (11). You can see the full catalogue of the Exhibition, here.  Frederick's exhibition in the 'Animal products' class was listed as a Trophy of Australian opposum rugs and ladies furs. His exhibit won the prize medal in his class for a superior and choice collection of manufactured colonial furs for ladies' wear, and for the general excellence in preparation and workmanship of the black, grey, and ring tailed opossum, cat-skin, and emu rugs. Mary Jane also had an  Honourable mention is also due to Mrs. Gardner for an elaborate and interesting birdskin table cover (12). 

The Intercolonial Exhibition medal, which was perhaps given to Frederick Gardner for his prize winning display of furs.

The medal was designed and modelled by Charles Summers, who created the Burke and Wills statue (13).   The design represents Victoria, receiving her six sisters, who each bring some contribution peculiar to the industries of the several colonies represented on the occasion.

The Australian News for Home Readers, March 20, 1867  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article63170725

The couple had the four children Mary Jane, Alice, Charles and William, born between 1866 and 1873; however in October 1879 Mary Jane filed for divorce on the grounds of desertion. Her divorce deposition (14) makes for some interesting reading. Mary Jane alleges that in June 20, 1873 Frederick announced that he was leaving and would no longer support her or the family. He accused her of having committed adultery with His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh when he was on a visit to Melbourne in the year of one thousand and seventy eight and had had  a child of which his Royal Highness was the father. As a matter of interest, Duke undertook the first ever Royal tour of Australia from October 1867 until June 1868. Also as a matter of interest, Mary Jane gave birth to daughter Alice on November 2, 1868. Mary Jane denied that she had an affair with the Duke, which seemed rather implausible.

The deposition says that  Mary Jane had supported her family with no assistance from Frederick, that Frederick was violent towards her and that he had returned to live in London in 1875, but returned to Victoria in September 1879 and is now endeavouring to obtain possession of my property and to compel me to return to live and cohabit with him.  The Court found in favour of Mrs Gardner His Honour said he had no doubt that the property was the result of Mrs. Gardner's separate earnings (15). 

So we know that Mrs Gardner was at Watten Villa in 1877 and 1878. In her divorce deposition she describes herself a Hotel keeper. In September 1878 Mary Jane was granted the licence for the Victoria Hotel in Victoria Street, Carlton and began offering good accommodation for boarders (16). The Hotel, sometimes advertised as being in Alfred Place, Victoria Street Carlton, was located between Cardigan and Lygon Streets, on the corner of Orr Street.

Mrs Gardner's advertisement for boarding at her Hotel.

The Argus, January 16, 1879  https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/5928596?

Mrs Gardner had the hotel for about  a year until October 1879 (17) and after that I can't trace her until January 1888, when she is listed in the Borough of Port Melbourne Rate books at 86 Nott Street, occupation furrier. She is then listed at various residences in Port Melbourne until 1894 (18). I then lose track of her until 1915 when she was recorded as the next of kin on her son Charles' AIF enlistment papers, her address being 1 Fawkner Street, South Yarra. In December 1917, she notifies Base Records Office of her change of address to 200 Marrickville Road, Marrickville in Sydney. Mary Jane dies in Sydney July 29, 1920; while her eldest daughter Mary Jane had been living in Sydney since the mid 1890s (19).  Frederick died on December 9, 1909, aged 94, at the Victorian Home for the Aged and Infirm at Royal Park (20).

I have looked at the history of the first twenty five years of the building and when Mrs Gardner had Watten Villa it was owned by James Maxwell Clow, who had possession of it until 1880 (21).  Clow was the son of  the Reverend James Clow, who conducted the first Presbyterian service in Victoria in December 1837. You can read Reverend Clow's entry in the Australian Dictionary of Biography, here. James Maxwell Clow held a large number of Government appointments, here is  a selection listed in the Victorian Government Gazettes (22) - Appointed Assistant Commissioner of Crown Lands for the Goldfields district at Mount Alexander on February 14, 1852;  Resident Magistrate for the Districts of Mt Egerton, Steiglitz and Ballan on May 5, 1856; Warden of the Goldfields January 4, 1858; Chinese Protector February 28, 1859 and Police Magistrate at Steiglitz December 28, 1868

As well as Watten Villa, Clow owned a number of other St Kilda properties. His nephew, Daniel Wilkie, managed these properties from March 1875  to December 1878 and we  know this because Clow went  to Court in June 1879 to recover £5,500 from him. You can read an account of the court case, here. The article also reported that the properties brought in an annual income of £750, which was a substantial income. For comparison a tradesman such as baker, saddle or tanner earnt up to £3 per week or £156 per annum and a house maid only £36 per annum (23). Clow's wife, Jane, died at Kilfern, Mary Street St Kilda in April 1881 and he died at Seacroft, Beaconsfield Parade, St Kilda in April 1894 (24).

The next owner of Watten Villa was St Kilda grocer, Matthew Egan, who had the property from 1881 until 1892 (25) when the St Kilda Rate books list the owner as the A. D.M. Bank. The only other thing I know about Mr Egan was that in March 1892 he took over as ‘the landlord of the Mitre Tavern’ in Melbourne, according to the Prahran Telegraph of March 26, 1892.

Watten Villa was being operated as a boarding house all thorough this time and from various sources (26) I can tell you that the operators were Henrietta McDonald from 1878 until 1879; Emma Mahany from 1880 until sometime in 1883, when Abraham Levy took over. Abraham Levy was a tobacconist and it was Mrs Frances Levy who operated Watten Villa as a boarding house (27).  The Levy's were there until 1892, when Clara Kong Meng took over for a short time.

Mrs Levy's advertisement  seeking boarders at Watten Villa.

The Argus, June 14, 1886  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article6098971

The Levy's also advertised Watten Villa in German - '3 minutes from the Station. Pleasant apartment, good German cuisine' according to Google Translate.

The Argus June 4, 1887  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article7915854

Around September 1893, the property changed names from Watten Villa to Ancona (28), and I believe this was when the Watt family took over the boarding house. Charles Watt is listed in the Rate books in 1894 and the Watts were there until at least 1901 (29).

Watten Villa no longer exists, but there are two large palm trees and other mature trees on the block. The palm trees especially may have been there when Watten Villa was a boarding house.

Photo: Isaac Hermann.

What was the fate of Watten Villa?  It was in the 1893 Rate Books that the street numbers in the area were first listed and we find that Watten Villa or Ancona was 15 Park Road (later changed to Street). According to a 1897 MMBW plan at the State Library of Victoria, Watten Villa 15 Park Street is three properties from Mary Street and this property today is now 19 Park Street, so at some time the street was renumbered. View the plan here.  The house is demolished and it is now the back garden of a property which faces Beaconsfield Parade.

This crop of the 1897 MMBW plan shows Watten Villa at 15 Park Road, the third property from Mary Street (next to the 615 number)

Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works detail plan, 617, 616, 615, 614, City of St. Kilda, 1897. 

http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/120734

Acknowledgment - Some of this research was done either by or in conjunction with my research colleague, Isaac Hermann. He also found the photo of the Intercolonial Exhibition medal and discovered that the street numbers in Park Street had changed so that No. 15 in the 1890s  is now No. 19.

Trove List - I have created a list of articles on Trove, every article referred to here is on the list. Access it here.

Footnotes
(1) Park Road was later renamed Park Street. It is one street back from Beaconsfield Parade, it starts at Fitzroy Street and runs to Fraser Street.
(2) The Argus, December 16, 1876, see here.
(3) The dates of birth of the children come from the Mary Jane Gardner's Divorce Petition, dated October 21, 1879 - Victorian Divorce Records, held at the Public Records Office of Victoria and published on Ancestry.com. Mary Jane (1866-1950) married John Hallihan (1865-1900) in 1888; Alice Maude (1868-1942) married James Frederick Gardiner in 1889; Charles born 1870, I have no other details; and William Gardner (1873-1932) served in the First World War, SN 4493, and had the unusual occupation of a Comedian.
(4) Emily's description of Watten Villa comes her story of her trip from Sydney to Melbourne by Cobb & Co coach in the book They came to Australia: an anthology, edited by Alan Brissenden and Charles Higham (F.W. Cheshire, 1961). Emily's story was published under the title A coach ride to Melbourne.

(5) The Herald, April 11, 1877, see here.

(6) City of St Kilda Rate Books from 1859 to 1900, available on Ancestry.com.
(7) Mary Jane Gardner's family information comes from various sources on Ancestry - mainly the English Birth, Death and Marriage records and Census records. Her daughter by her first husband, Sara Ann Eddleston came to Australia to live in 1866 at the age of 11, accompanied by her maternal grandmother. She married Francis Joseph Fleming in 1873 and died in 1894.
(8) Frederick and Mary Ann's marriage was published in the Launceston Examiner on July 20, 1861, see here.
(9)  Mary Jane Gardner's Divorce Petition, dated October 21, 1879 - Victorian Divorce Records, held at the Public Records Office of Victoria and published on Ancestry.com.  She wrote that  I assisted my husband in his business as a Furrier and that previous to her marriage to Frederick she worked as a domestic servant.
(10) The Herald, February 15 1864, see here.
(11) The Argus, February 25, 1867, see here.
(12) The Argus, February 14, 1867, see here. Mrs Gardner's birdskin table cover was made of Penguin skin.
(13) Charles Summers (1825 - 1878) see his Australian Dictionary of Biography entry, here. He also gave lessons to William Stanford, who created the fountain in Spring Street whilst he was in Pentridge Gaol, read about this here.
(14) Mary Jane Gardner's Divorce Petition, dated October 21, 1879 - Victorian Divorce Records, held at the Public Records Office of Victoria and published on Ancestry.com.
(15) The Australasian, October 25, 1879, see here.
(16) Mrs Gardner was granted the licence of the Victoria Hotel on  September 17, 1878, see here. The advertisement for board at her hotel comes from The Argus, January 16, 1879, see here  
(17) Charles Smart advertises in The Argus of October 31, 1879 (see here)  that he has taken over Gardner's Family Hotel.
(18) Borough / Town of Port Melbourne Rate Books from 1860 to 1901 available on Ancestry.com
(19) Buried at Rookwood General Cemetery in Sydney - Ancestry.com.
(20) I bought Frederick's  Death Certificate. He was listed as a widower on his Marriage Certificate available on-line on the Tasmanian Archives website and I had hoped that his death certificate may have some detail about his first marriage but it said 'particulars of marriage not known.' It did, however list his occupation as a Furrier so I know I have the right certificate.
(21) City of St Kilda Rate Books from 1859 to 1900, available on Ancestry.com.
(22) Victorian Government Gazette, 1836 -1997, http://gazette.slv.vic.gov.au/
(23) The list of wages comes from an article in The Argus of January 5, 1868 - The Colony of Victoria in 1878 a look at the history, industry, demographics and other facts about Victoria. Read it here.
(24) Death notice for Jane Clow was published in The Argus, June 19, 1881 and for James Clow in The Argus, April 9, 1894
(25) City of St Kilda Rate Books from 1859 to 1900, available on Ancestry.com.
(26) The names of operator's of Watten Villa come from the City of St Kilda Rate Books; Sands and McDougall Melbourne and Suburban Directory at the State Library of Victoria, see here and advertisements in newspapers on Trove, see my Trove list, here.
(27) Abraham and Frances Levy were married on September 13, 1865 in Melbourne by Rabbi Moses Rintel. She was daughter of William and Sophia (nee Hecht) Neuman. Abraham died November 30, 1911 aged 77 and Frances died March 28, 1926, aged 80. They are buried at the Melbourne General Cemetery. They had six children - Fannie, Minnie, Victor, Tessie, Myer and Jack. [Marriage notice in The Argus, September 19, 1865; Abraham's death notice in the Prahran Telegraph December 9, 1911 and Frances' death notice in The Argus, March 29, 1926. The information about her parents comes from the marriage notice and the Victorian Index to Births, Deaths and Marriages]
(28) The last mention I could find of the building being called Watten Villa was a ‘For Sale’ advertisement in The Herald on February 25, 1891, see here. The first mention of the name Ancona was an advertisement in The Argus September 26, 1893, see here. The name could have changed earlier but I feel it would have been unlikely that the Levy's changed the name in 1892, because they had established their business as Watten Villa.
(29) City of St Kilda Rate Books from 1859 to 1900, available on Ancestry.com. There was also a Death notice of an Arthur Watt, of Ancona, Park Road, St Kilda, the son of Charles Watt, in The Argus, August 29, 1901,  see here.

The St Kilda Yacht Club WW1 memorial on the St Kilda pier

I heard of this memorial by chance when my friend, Isaac, came across a reference to it in Isaac Selby’s Old Pioneers’ Memorial History of Melbourne, published in 1924. Selby wrote  The St Kilda Yacht Club have erected a monument, in the form of a Conning tower at the end of the Pier, in memory of its members who fell in the war. The tower is a relic of the old British torpedo boat “Childers.” Selby, then has few more lines about the unveiling ceremony. This is an unusual type of war memorial, so I did some research to find out more about it.

St. Kilda Pier with conning tower, 1933.  Photographer: John Kinmont Moir.

State Library of Victoria Image H4869

The Unveiling of the memorial
On January 28, 1920 the memorial was unveiled to commemorate, as Selby told us, the six members of the St Kilda Yacht Club who had lost their lives in the War. The Argus of January 29, 1920 reported on this event An attractive and particularly appropriate memorial to members of the St Kilda Yacht Club who sacrificed their lives in the war has been presented by Mr C. Marshall, commodore of the club, and was opened yesterday afternoon. It consists of the conning tower of the old torpedo boat Childers, which, after having been on the Australian station for many years was scrapped four or five years ago. The tower has been placed on a pedestal at the extreme end of the St Kilda Pier. It is surrounded with seats for the public and surmounted by a flagstaff and weather-vane.  It will be used by judges and other yachting officials for club-racing events. A heavy bell is placed at the foot of the flagstaff and will be used for signal purposes instead of a gun.

The Memorial, date unknown.
Isaac Hermann provided this image which came from an unknown family album salvaged from a house renovation rubbish skip by a passer by and donated to the Port Phillip City Collection.

The Mayor of St Kilda, Cr T. G. Allen unveiled the memorial and mentioned that every eligible member of the club had enlisted for service, then Brigadier-General Lloyd responded on behalf of the families. The Malvern Standard of January 31, 1920 had the text of the plaque which was mounted on the memorial -

Erected by St Kilda Yacht Club

In memory of members who fell in

the Great War 1914-1919

Capt F.W. Appleton, Croix de Guerre

Pte. H.C. Craig

Lieut. W.T. Hogg

Pte. J.B. Hosking

Sergt A. Levy, M. M.

Sergt. C. Riley

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends"

Presented by C. Marshall, Commodore, 1920.

Victorian Torpedo Boat Childers.
Appeared in the Illustrated Australian News November 10, 1883. 
State Library of Victoria Image IAN10/11/83/173

The Childers was a torpedo ship and it was launched in 1883 in England. It formed part of the Victorian Navy, alongside the gunboats, Victoria and Albert. The three vessels sailed here together arriving in Port Phillip Bay in June 1884. The Childers was just over 118 feet long, had a beam of 12 feet 5 inches, a top speed of 19.5 knots and a crew of 12. Its purchase price was £10,500. The Childers was decommissioned in September 1916 and sold for scrap for £20 in August 1918.
There is an illustrated history of the Childers, here, http://www.navy.gov.au/hmas-childers-hmvs

The men who were honoured
I have listed the Service Numbers (SN) of the men, if they have one, so you can look up their full record on the National Archives of Australia, website, www.naa.gov.au.

Appleton, Frederick William Lieutenant. Frederick enlisted at the age of 33, on July 5, 1915 his next of kin was his mother, Mary, of 308 Carlisle Street, Balaclava. Frederick was Mentioned in Despatches and he was Killed in Action in France on August 8, 1918. Lieutenant Appleton was posthumously awarded the French honour, the Croix de Guerre. His Roll of Honour circular at the Australian War Memorial, says he was a prominent member of the Royal Yacht Club, the St Kilda Yacht Club, the Brighton Yacht Club, being a successful skipper of the six-metre yacht, Rip, which defended the Northcote Cup on several occasions.

Craig, Harold Gordon (SN 416).  Harold was a 28-year-old clerk when he enlisted on August 17, 1914 and his next of kin was his mother, Mary, of Hawthorn. Harold was wounded at Gallipoli and died as a result on August 8, 1915. His Roll of Honor circular tells us that he had attended Scotch College and was a member of the Melbourne Cricket Club and the St Kilda Yacht Club. Harold’s brother Robert also enlisted and his sister, Essie, served in the Australian Army Nursing Service. You can read Harold's entry on the Scotch College World War One Commemorative website, here.

Hogg, William Thomas Lieutenant.  William enlisted on February 28, 1916, he was 29 years old and a Factory Manager. His next of kin was his father, Thomas, of Surrey Hills. He was Wounded in Action and died September 27, 1917. Lieutenant Hogg’s Roll of Honour circular said that he was a leading yachtsman, one of a crew (3) to sail the Rip in Sydney Harbour and also one of the crew when the Rip won the Northcote. His obituary in the Camberwell Advertiser of October 13, 1917 said that Yachtsmen speak of his prowess in this great sport with loving memory. Four of William’s brothers also enlisted - Charles, who was Killed in Action; John and Wallace who were both awarded the Military Cross; and Bruce who was a Lieutenant. William and his brother, Charles, have a memorial window at the St Stephen's Presbyterian Church at Surrey Hills (see here)

Hosking, John Bruce (SN 1959)   John was only 18 when he enlisted on January 6, 1915. He was a bank clerk and his father, John, of 115 Park Street, St Kilda was listed as his next of kin. John died of wounds on July 22, 1917. His Roll of Honour Circular said that he attended St Kilda Park State School and was the youngest of four brothers who all enlisted and saw service in France. His brothers were Bert, Les and Thornton.

Levy, Albert (SN 505) Albert was the only son of Jacob and Eva Levy of 3 Park Street, St Kilda, they later moved to 51 Punt Road, Windsor.  He was 20 when he enlisted on January 10, 1916. Albert awarded was the Military Medal and his citation reads in part He was one of the first to enter the enemy trenches and his example of courage, determination and complete control of his men while under heavy fire helped largely in the success of the operation. Albert was Killed in Action on March 29, 1918. Albert’s obituary in the Herald of June 17, 1918 said that Sergeant Levy was a well-known member of the Melbourne Swimming Club, and the St. Kilda Yacht Club. Albert is also listed on the Victorian Jewish War Memorial in Ripponlea.

Riley, Charles (SN 4760) Charles enlisted on July 19, 1915. He was a 23-year-old clerk in the Victorian Railways and his mother, Ellen, of East Malvern was his next of kin. Acting Sergeant Riley was Killed in Action on May 3, 1917. Charles’ brother Thomas also enlisted and was awarded the Military Medal. I can’t find a connection between Charles and the Yacht Club and he does not have a Roll of Honour circular, but I am fairly certain that he is the man listed on the memorial.

What happened to the Memorial?
The memorial was removed in 1956 when the St Kilda Pier was severely damaged after a storm and it is more than possible that the conning tower structure was scrapped. There was a massive storm in Victoria on the night of April 14 and morning of April 15, 1956. According to newspaper reports, winds up to 60 miles per hour lashed Victoria, huge seas seriously damaged the retaining wall between St Kilda and Elwood and more than two feet of water covered Marine Parade in Elwood and, sadly, ten people lost their lives in car accidents caused by the storm.

After much searching and many enquiries we were pleased to discover that the Memorial plaque has been firmly and respectfully affixed to the wood panelled entrance foyer at the Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron (RMYS),  in St Kilda.

The Memorial plaque, taken at the RMYS in October 2019
Photographer: Isaac Hermann

I have created a list of articles on this Memorial and the men who appear on it, on Trove, access the list here.

An abridged version of this article appeared in the St Kilda Historical Society newsletter, The St Kilda Times, No. 229, December 2019.

The RMYS also has an Honor Board, seen below. It is at the top of the stairs, so it wasn't that easy to get a good photo.

RMYS Great War Honor Board

Photo: Isaac Hermann

First column

Banks, W. J., Blair, J., Church, S., *Craig, H.G., Crick, A.T., Day, G.H., *Hosking J., Hughes, V., Kyd, A. G. Croix de Guerre, Leslie, S.D., Lewis, R.   D.C.M., Piper, T.H., White, J. G., Adamson, P., *Appleton, F.  Croix de Guerre. Taylor, W.H., Eilenberg, E.G., MacDonald, H., Terrell, V.E., Welshman, R., Fry, G., Jardine, R.E., *Riley, C., Carne, P., Thorpe, J. E., Kebby, E., Duke, E.

Second column

Waller, F.R., Hogg, T., Golding, A., Loud, W Jr., Morrow, T., Lempriere, Dr C.L., Cheel, A.J., Ainslie, B., Walker, E., *Hogg, W.T., May, F.A., Chalmers, J.E., Ross, G.R., Chapman, D., *Levy, A.A. M.M., Fitzgerald, B., Newton, L., James, A.W., Goold, W.C., McCutcheon, W.F., Dalton, R.M., Bishop, H.P., Hodges, W.C.H., Jago, C., Beauchamp, G., Giles, I.E., Smith, P.R.

Third column

Curtain, L., Kennedy, S., Dow, J., Padley, T., Liversidge, E., D’Elton, G., Gough, J.G., Morris, D.R., Atkinson, J., McNaughton, D., Turner, G., Gutteridge, N., Butler, J.J., Corke, A.E., Close, N., Nunan. S.A., Heath, A., Oxley, W.