Tuesday, December 31, 2024

Warren Park, Hallam Road, Lysterfield South

The four black and white photos in this post are of Warren Park, in Hallam North Road. They were taken by John T. Collins on June 22, 1968. There were actually two Warren Parks in Narre Warren (even though technically one is at Lysterfield South, not Narre Warren North), and it took me some time to work out at which property the photographs were taken, but it is Warren Park in Hallam North Road, Lysterfield South (more about the other Warren Park, later).


Warren Park
Photographer: John T. Collins, June 22, 1968. State Library of Victoria Image H98.250/1078


The location of Warren Park was referred to in 1871 as Warren Park, Narre Warren; 1884 as being Warren Park, Dandenong; in 1888 as 3 miles frontage to the main Gembrook Road...and commanding view of the Bay and Cranbourne township; in 1899 as Warren Park, Hallam's Road; in 1914 as adjoining the Police Paddocks; in 1928 as 5 miles from Dandenong between the Police Paddocks and Lysterfield (1).

The Homestead still exists and was described Graeme Butler in his 1997 City of Casey Heritage Study (2) as this large stuccoed Italianate farm house faces to the west across the valley, surrounded by many mature exotics such as a Moreton Bay fig, oaks, elms, Norfolk Island hibiscus, a bunya bunya...and a hoop pine. The verandah floors and steps are stone and paired timber posts are used to support the concave roof. Cast-iron has been added. Slim half-height side lights are used on the front door which terminate at the window sill height, a configuration typical of the 1860s-70s buildings. The roof is an M hip-form and the cemented chimney mouldings are slimmer than those used later in the 19th century (3).

The homestead sits on what was originally Crown Allotment (CA) 60, Parish of Narree Worran, which was granted to J. Walker in 1865. This was Joseph Frederick Walker. Walker also held Crown Allotments 71, 72 and 73, they adjoined CA 60. The boundaries of this land were the Police Paddocks to the west, Hallam North Road to the east and Churchill Park Drive to the south - 569 acres in total. He also owned 595 acres on the east side of Hallam North Road - CA 55, 52A, 52B and 53 - the eastern boundary of which was Logan Park Drive and the southern boundary Churchill Park Drive. Some of this land is now under Lysterfield Lake (4).




Part of the Parish of Narree Worran plan. Click on image to enlarge.
Joseph Walker's land is either side of Hallam North Road, north of Churchill Park Drive
(coloured red on the plan).
You can see a complete plan on the State Library of Victoria website here

Joseph Walker, who had been Head Master at Yarra Park State School in Richmond, lived in Camberwell for much of his life. In 1903, when he was 73 he married Henrietta Mary Robertson, who was 36. There were no children from the marriage. Joseph died in 1909, you can read his obituary in The Argus, here. At the time of his death, according to his Probate papers, he still owned all the land west of Hallam North Road including the Warren Park homestead, described as a stone house of four rooms - this land was valued at £1,994. He also still owned CA 55 on the east side of Hallam Road, 189 acres, which was valued at £663 (5).


Warren Park
Photographer: John T. Collins, June 22, 1968. State Library of Victoria Image H98.250/1080

Warren Park was leased for many years, Joseph Walker may not have ever lived there, and the Heritage Study lists some of the tenants as Andrew D. Wilson, a grazier in the mid 1890s; around 1900 George H. Davis, a broker and later Thomas W. Powles (6). The land is now part of the City of Casey, but was originally part of the Shire of Ferntree Gully which later became the City of Knox and Shire of Sherbrooke, so I don't have access to any Rate Books. However, we can find references to the property in the newspapers on Trove, which tell us who lived at the property over the years.


This is Lost and Found advertisement was inserted by R. Vizard of
Warren Park in 1871.
The Argus, February 10, 1871 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5842464

In 1871, R. Vizard placed an advertisement in the Lost & Found columns in The Argus, about a dog which had followed him home to Warren Park. In Joseph Walker's Will he left an interest in some of his property to his niece, Ada Vizard, the daughter of Reuben Vizard and Frances Matilda Vizard (7) so it is likely that it was Reuben Vizard whom the dog followed home from Dandenong.

From around 1880, the property was occupied by Walter and Isabella (nee Ogilvy) Winsloe and his growing family. Their first child, Eveline was born in 1878 in St Kilda and the next three births were registered at Dandenong - Richard in 1880, Alfred in 1882 and Matilda in August 1884 (8). It was no wonder that in May 1884, Mrs Winslow advertised for a 'respectable' girl to act as a nurse maid at their Warren Park home.


Mrs Winsloe's advertisement for a Nurse maid.


The birth announcement of Matilda Winsloe at Warren Park.
The Australasian August 30, 1884 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article138094670


The next occupant at Warren Park was Mr J. Woolf. In 1891, he was mentioned in an article about the proposed railway line from Dandenong to Gembrook. Mr Woolf mentioned the extensive granite deposits at Warren Park and the value of the railway for transporting the stone. I have no personal information about Mr Woolf.


Mr Woolf, of Warren Park, extols the virtues of Narre Warren granite
South Bourke & Mornington Journal February 18, 1891 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article70398709

Mr Woolf wrote - 
Besides the surface produce of the land there are splendid quarries of granite and marble in the course of this projected line. Mr. Woolf, of Narree Warren, writes as follows :--" On the land at Warren Park, there are inexhaustible deposits of granite. The granite is highly suitable for building and monumental purposes. It can be easily obtained in large blocks of practically any required size and is easily accessible. It is considered equal to the best Scotch granite as regards colour, quality of grain, and of a kind mostly in demand for the finer class of granite work. It is similar in appearance to the Harcourt stone yet of a finer and more even composition. It is considered equal to any of the celebrated Scotch granites and the best grey granite yet found in Victoria. The construction of the railway now referred to would be of great benefit and would enable the granite to be convoyed to and sold in Melbourne.
We have reports upon this granite from the following gentlemen, viz.:-Frederick Dunn, analyst; Nahum Barnet ; Ellerker and Kilburn ; G. R. Johnson ; Oakden, Addison and Kemp ; William Pitt ; Reed, Henderson and Smart ; Smith and Johnson, architects ; Chambers and Clutten ; Jaguers and Son ; Jas. Taylor ; G. Williams ; Wilson, Corben and Co., sculptors and masons ; Atyes (Sleight and Co.) ; H. W. Lewis ; David Munro, G. J. Farran, etc." (9)


The Heritage Study mentions Andrew Wilson was at the property in the mid 1890s. After him was George Davis. Davis was there in 1899, when he advertised 30 bullocks for sale.


Mr Davis of Warren Park has bullocks for sale.

Thomas Powles was the next occupant of Warren Park, and it appears he had troubles with trespassers in 1905 as the notice, below, appeared in the newspaper on a few occasions. Thomas and his wife, Ann Cordelia Powles are listed in the 1912 Electoral Roll at Narre Warren (10) so I presume they were still at Warren Park.


Mr Powles of Warren Park has a problem with trespassers.
South Bourke & Mornington Journal July 5, 1905 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article66143445

In January 1928, Warren Park, escaped destruction by a grass fire, as the article below reports, which is also transcribed. A Mr Fisher occupied the property, but that is all I know.


Warren Park is nearly destroyed by a fire
Dandenong Journal January 19, 1928 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article200674794


Grass Fire. On Wednesday, 11th instant, a fire broke out on the property of Mr. Fisher, “Warren Park,” about five miles from Dandenong, and between the police paddock, and Lysterfield. Several car loads of fire fighters went from Dandenong, and checked the outbreak, but about five p.m, the alarm was again given, and more residents proceeded to the scene. The flames had gained a strong hold on the grass, and were burning fiercely on a wide front, the glare being very plainly seen from Dandenong. Reinforcements, including members of the Fire Brigade with the motor reel, went out at eight o’clock in the evening, and at 10 p.m. the fire was well under control. The flames got very close to the house and other buildings which were surrounded, and a strong wind gave the fighters a difficult task, but eventually the premises were saved, although the margin was very narrow. The outbreak extended to the hilly portion of the police paddock before it was got under. A large quantity of grass and some fencing was destroyed, but the fine work of the Brigade and others prevented much more serious damage being done. The locality was well patrolled all night, and on Thursday morning all immediate danger was over. At about 11 p.m. the fire bell was again rung, and it was stated that Mr. Fisher was missing, but immediately afterwards a telephone message was received to say that he was safe. (11)


The next residents of Warren Park that I can find are Henry and Kathleen Ward. Henry passed away on January 17, 1943, just a month after Kathleen.


Death of Henry Ward of Warren Park.
Dandenong Journal January 20, 1943 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article214306939


In 1948, nine year old Patricia Meiklejohn was living at Warren Park and she wrote the following poem, which was published in the Children's pages of The Age.


The poem written by nine year old Patricia Meiklejohn of Warren Park.

The Meiklejohn family were left Warren Park in May 1949, to take up a farm at Yinnar South.


The Meiklejohn family leave Hallam Road
Dandenong Journal,  May 25, 1949 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article222210626


By 1963, the Warren Park property had been reduced in size to 50 acres and it was advertised (see below) as a Gentleman's Estate with a quaint old farmhouse, recently renovated by the Architect, O.N. Coulson.


Warren Park - a 'Gentleman's Estate'
The Age, December 12, 1963, p. 2. from  Newspapers.com



The stables at Warren Park. They belong to Nugget, Smokey and Patchy.
Photographer: John T. Collins, June 22, 1968. State Library of Victoria Image H98.250/1081

The 1980s saw the property reduced in size again and when it was advertised for auction on December 14, 1985, see below, the Warren Park homestead was situated on just over 23 acres. Much of the original Warren Park farm on the west side of Hallam Road is now part of Lysterfield Park and Churchill National Park. Much of Joseph Walker's land on the east side of Hallam Road is also part of Lysterfield Park, and as we said, some of the land is now beneath the Lysterfield Lake.


Warren Park, on 23 acres, is auctioned in 1985
The Age, November 16, 1985, p. 105. From Newspapers.com


There was another Warren Park in Narre Warren in Shrives Road and it took me some time to work out which property the photographs were taken on. Warren Park in Shrives Road has this short listing in the 1993 City of Berwick Heritage Study. The homestead citation read - This old weatherboard house, with its unusual concrete render over flax (and possibly other materials) has an earlier section within, dating from as early as the 1850s. Evidence visible from the exterior (including a rendered arch in the interior passage) suggests the building dates from the 1880s at the earliest.....In the 1880s and 1890s, the house was owned by a well known Melbourne judge and used as a country retreat, later to be purchased by a Mr Ellis and then later used as a dairy (12). I believe this house has been demolished.

In 1951, Mr Young held a clearing sale at Warren Park, Shrives Road as he was giving up dairying. Part of his Clearing sale advertisement is below. Mr Young was Leslie Richard Young and his wife was Dorothy Claire Young. The had two children that I can trace - a son Richard and a daughter Claire (13).


Part of Mr Young's Clearing sale advertisement at the Shrive's Road, Warren Park.
Dandenong Journal, September 26, 1951 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article222354880


It was this sentence in Graeme Butler's 1997 Heritage Study, which confirmed that John Collin's photographs were of Warren Park, Hallam Road - Perhaps the most significant structure on the property is a cemented conical store and well housing which is sited close to the house over a deep brick-lined well (14). Mr Collins' photo of the structure is below.


Warren Park's most significant structure on the property is a cemented conical store and well housing which is sited close to the house over a deep brick-lined well (15).
Photographer: John T. Collins, June 22, 1968. State Library of Victoria Image H98.250/1079


Acknowledgment
Some of this information comes from the City of Casey Heritage Study: Significant Places by Graeme Butler & Associates, 1997, pp. 47-48 

Trove list
I have created a list of articles on Warren Park on Trove, access it here.

Footnotes
(1) Location descriptions come from various articles and advertisements in the newspapers, see my Trove list, here.
(2) Butler, Graeme & Associates City of Casey Heritage Study: Significant Places (1997), pp. 47-48.
(3) Butler, op. cit., p. 48.
(4) Land ownership comes from the Narree Worran Parish plan http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/99491
(5) Joseph Frederick Walker was the son of William Walker and Sarah Hughes. He died October 20, 1909, aged 79, at his residence, Crendon, Prospect Hill Road, Camberwell. His obituary from The Argus of November 2, 1909, is here.  Henrietta Mary Walker, born 1866, was the daughter of William Robertson and Harriet Mary Tarburton. Henrietta did not remarry after Joseph's death and she died January 5, 1956, aged 89. Joseph's Will and Probate papers are on-line at the Public Records Office of Victoria, https://prov.vic.gov.au/explore-collection/explore-topic/wills-and-probates
(6) Butler, op. cit., p. 47.
(7) Joseph Frederick Walker's Will, available at the the Public Records Office of Victoria, https://prov.vic.gov.au/explore-collection/explore-topic/wills-and-probates 
Reuben Vizard (died 1925, aged 87), Frances Vizard (died 1916, aged 79) and Ada Vizard are listed in the Electoral Rolls at Narre Warren / Lysterfield. Ada married Sydney Flockhart Goodsir on December 4, 1907. In Joseph's Will she was left a life-time interest in CA 52A, 52B & 53, facing Logan Park Drive. However, these three allotments are not listed as an asset in his Probate papers, so the Goodsirs had possibly purchased the land previously. The Goodsirs are in the Electoral Rolls at Narre Warren through to the 1937 Roll. Ada died in 1947, aged 68, in Maryborough.
(8) Birth notices in the newspapers, see my Trove list, here.
(9) South Bourke & Mornington Journal,  February 18, 1891, see here.  
(10) Electoral Rolls available on Ancestry.com
(11) Dandenong Journal January 19, 1928, see here.  
(12) Heritage of the City of Berwick: Identifying and Caring for Important Places by Context P/L, 1993, p. 278 
(13) Electoral Rolls and various family notices in the newspapers, see my Trove list, here.
(14) Butler, op. cit., p. 48.
(15) Butler, op. cit., p. 48.

This is an expanded version of a post which I wrote and researched, which appears on my work blog, Casey Cardinia Links to our Past.
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Saturday, December 28, 2024

Women's Suffrage Petition 1891

The first Federal election in Australia took place in March 1901, and was conducted according to the voting legislation in each State. This Parliament enacted the Commonwealth Franchise Act of 1902, which gave the vote to most adults - both males and females - who were British subjects over the age of 21. The first election under this Act took place on Wednesday, December 16, 1903. 

However, women in Victoria could not vote in State elections until 1908 and Victoria was the last State to give them this right – South Australia was 1894, Western Australia 1899, New South Wales 1902, Tasmania 1903 and Queensland 1905.  New Zealand can claim to be the first country in the world where women were allowed to vote in a General election and this was in 1893. The United States didn't allow women to vote until 1920 and the United Kingdom had introduced limited female suffrage in 1918, when women over 30 got the right to vote and this was to all women over the age of 21 in 1928. (1)

In 1891, women in Victoria established a petition, presented to the Victorian Parliament, to advocate for the vote for women - https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/about/history-and-heritage/people-who-shaped-parliament/women/womens-suffrage-petition/

The petition of nearly 30,000 signatures was tabled in Parliament in September 1891. The petition read -
To the Hon. the Speaker and Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Colony of Victoria in Parliament assembled. - The humble petition of the undersigned women of Victoria respectfully sheweth : - That your petitioners believe - That Government of the people, by thy people, and for the people, should mean all the people, and not one half. That taxation and representation should go together without regard to the sex of the taxed. That all adult persons should have a voice in making the laws which they are required to obey, That, in short, women should vote on equal terms with men. Your petitioners, therefore, humbly pray your honorable House to pass a measure for conferring the Parliamentary franchise upon women, regarding this as a right, which they most earnestly desire. And your petitioners will ever pray." (2)

Not everyone supported the notion that women should be able to vote and this editorial from the South Bourke and Mornington Journal of October 1891, represents this view -  
The subject has resolved itself into a question whether the women really want the franchise. We are of opinion that if the question was put to the vote, a substantial majority of the 120,000 women in Victoria eligible to vote would decide against the clause. It has been proved in America that the less women unsex and thrust themselves forward in public affairs the better. The petition signed by 30,000 women - just one-fourth of the number eligible to vote - did not carry much weight, as members have a pretty correct idea of how these affairs are managed. Notwithstanding the threat that the women intend to bring great influence in support of their hobby it is to be hoped that their better sense will prevail, and that they will not submit to be dictated to by members of their sex who ought to have been born men. (3)

The petition - 260 metres long, which is made of paper pasted onto cotton.

Ultimately the petition was not successful, but it remains today as a wonderful resource.  The Women's Suffrage petition has been digitised and is fully searchable by name or address. The indexing was undertaken by volunteers from the Genealogical Society of Victoria and the Royal Historical Society of Victoria. If you are lucky you might find your Grandmother's name and signature. 

I have found the names of every woman from the old Shire of Berwick and Shire of Cranbourne who signed the petition, there were 62 all up - 41 from Pakenham, 13 from Gembrook South, 3 from Officer and one each from Cranbourne, Nar Nar Goon, Beaconsfield, Berwick/Harkaway and one from Eumemmerring.  The signatures were collected by women who went door to door all over Victoria and  thus it does appear that the petition needed a person in the town to act as a catalyst, such as what appears to have happened at Pakenham as otherwise I would have thought that there would be greater numbers from Berwick and Cranbourne. Dandenong, which would have been larger in population than Pakenham, Berwick and Cranbourne at the time, had only two people sign the petition, however Drouin had 43 women sign the petition and Warragul, 121 women.  

Here are the names -

ABLETHORP, Emma - Gembrook South. 

ALLEN,Jessie - Pakenham

BONE, Josephine - Dandenong

BRUNTS, J - Cranbourne - this should be BRUNT. Mrs Brunt may have been away on holidays when she signed as the other women who signed the petition above and below her came from Kyabram.

CHURCH, Anna - Pakenham

CIBICK, Elizabeth - Beaconsfield

CLANCY, Elizabeth - Pakenham

COLVIN, Cassie - Pakenham

COLWELL, Julia - Pakenham

DOWD, Emma - Pakenham

DWYER, Mary - Pakenham

DYSON, S.A. - Dandenong

ELLIS, Emma - Pakenham

EYART, Margaret M.J. - Pakenham

FAHEY, Margaret - Pakenham

FERGUSON, Elizabeth - Pakenham

GIBSON, Margaret - Pakenham

GILLMASTIN, Fanny - Pakenham

GOODALL, Bessie - Pakenham

HALLORAN, Joanna - Pakenham

HICKS, Elizabeth - Officer

HILLMAN, Adeline - Pakenham

HILLMAN,Eliza - Pakenham

HILLMAN, Julia A.- Pakenham

HITCHINS, Annie H. - Gembrook South

LEWIS, Amelia J. H. - Pakenham

LEWIS, Elizabeth - Gembrook South

MACKIE, Helen A. - Harkaway, Berwick. I am not sure if the Mackie property was called Harkaway but I think more likely that they lived at Harkaway and she added Berwick to help identify her location. Helen was amongst women from Malvern and Armadale on the petition, so was presumably visiting.

MARGENGARK, Lizzie - Pakenham

MARTIN, Nye - Pakenham

MASON, Elizabeth - Pakenham

McGOWAN, Annie - Gembrook South

McGOWAN, Henrietta C. - Gembrook South

McRAE, Mary - Pakenham

MURPHY, Ellen Agnes - Officer.

NEILSEN, Margaret - Pakenham

NUGENT , E - Pakenham

PATERNOSTER, Maisie - Pakenham;

PEARSON, Agnes - Pakenham

REECE, Ellen Elizabeth - Officer

ROBERTS, Mary - Pakenham;

ROBERTSON, Mary - Pakenham

SASKER, Mrs - Nar Nar Goon. Mrs Sasker was in Maryborough when she signed the petition.

SHORT, Margaret - Eumemmerring. Margaret was amongst women from Malvern and Windsor on the petition, so once again she must have been visiting.

SMARTT, Bertha E - Gembrook South

SMITH, Elizabeth - Pakenham

SMITH, Ellen - Gembrook South

SMITH, Margaret - Pakenham

SMITH, Minnie - Gembrook South

STANFORD, Jessie - Pakenham

SWANSON, Maria - Pakenham

UNWIN, Jane - Pakenham

URE, Jane, Mrs - Gembrook South. 

WADSWORTH, Constance - Gembrook South

WADSWORTH, Flora - Gembrook South

WADSWORTH, J.L. - Gembrook South

WALTON, Lily - Pakenham;

WARNER, Sarah -Gembrook South

WATERS, Jane - Pakenham

WATSON, A. M., Mrs - Pakenham

WATSON, Cecily E. - Pakenham

WATSON, Mary E. - Pakenham

WHUSTONE, Eugenie - Pakenham

WILSON, Emily - Pakenham.

This is page 368 from the petition and has some Pakenham and Gembrook South names.


Footnote
Information from  https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_departments/Parliamentary_Library/Research/FlagPost/2022/June/Womens_suffrage

https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/electionsvoting/womenvote/overview/thevote/ 

(2) The Herald, August 26, 1891, see here.
(3) South Bourke and Mornington Journal, October 7, 1891, see here.

A version of this blog post, which I wrote and researched, also appears on my work blog - Casey Cardinia Links to Our Past.


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Monday, December 16, 2024

Miss Fanny Dango, Mr Sam Mackay and Melville Park, Berwick

This is the story of Miss Fanny Dango and her husband Samuel MacKay and the property Melville Park, now called Edrington, in Berwick.


Miss Fanny Dango
State Library of Victoria Image H85.73/6

On November 29, 1910 the actress and comedienne, Miss Fanny Dango, married the Australian 'squatter', Sam MacKay, in London. Samuel Peter MacKay was the owner of Melville Park. (1)

Sam, 45 years old, had recently been divorced from his 43 year old wife, Florence Gertrude (nee Taylor) MacKay. The Age reported on the report case in August 1910 -
Samuel Peter Mackay, 45, of Melville Park, Berwick, grazier, petitioned for a divorce from Florence Gertrude Mackay, 43, on the ground of  misconduct with H. Mulvey, chauffer, said to reside at Carlingford, Sydney, and Donald S. Bain, of Berwick, estate agent, who were joined as co-respondents.

The parties were married at Guildford, W.A., on 5th July, 1892, and there are two children of the marriage. Mr. Duffy, K.C., and Mr. L. S. Woolf (instructed by Messrs. Blake and Riggall) appeared for petitioner. The other parties were not represented, although Bain had filed an answer denying misconduct. Mr. Duffy said that they did not intend to devote attention to the case of Bain, but had ample, evidence of the alleged misconduct with Mulvey.

Petitioner gave evidence that from Western Australia his wife and he came to Victoria, where he 
bought an estate at Berwick. It was customary for him to visit the West on business connected with property there, and on returning to Melbourne in August, 1909, he came into possession of a letter. He took it to his wife, and when he came into the room she said to him, "What are you looking at me like that for?" He answered that he had seen a letter from which he understood that she was intimate with Mulvey, their chauffeur. She made certain admissions. He then told her that he had heard she was corresponding with Bain. She made another admission.

His Honor granted a decree nisi, with coats against co-respondents. (2)

Donald Bain, an estate agent, was the son of Robert and Susan Bain, who owned the Border Inn at Berwick. (3)  As Sam married Fanny a few months later in the November, they were clearly acquainted whilst the divorce proceedings were being heard.


Report of the marriage between Sam MacKay and Fanny Dango
The Argus, December 1, 1910 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article10481561

As noted in the newspaper report of the divorce, Sam had married Florence Gertrude Taylor in Western Australia in 1892.  Florence was from Yangdine, near York in Western Australia. They had three children - Elsie Gertrude (born 1893 in Roebourne, W.A., died in Melbourne in 1963); Marjorie (born and died 1895) and Samuel Keith (1900 - 1924). You can read about the family here, in an article entitled The Tragedies of the MacKays in the Sunday Times, July 27, 1924. Keith had recently died, on July 16, in an aeroplane accident at near Port Headland when the article was written. (4)


Obituary of Keith MacKay
Geraldton Guardian, July 17, 1924 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article67284581

Sam had died a year before his son Keith on  May 11, 1923. As noted in his obituary, published in Pastoral Review, June 16 1923 (5) Sam MacKay, was born in 1864 in Mount Gambier. He left school at 13 and did some cattle droving, until he decided to move to northern Western Australia where he worked in the pearling industry. Later on his father and two uncles purchased the one million acre Mundabullangana Station, east of Roebourne. By 1903, when his father died, he bought the Station outright. In 1905, Sam purchased Melville Park at Berwick from James Gibb, who was a Shire of Berwick Councillor for 30 years and the Federal Member for Flinders from 1903 to 1906. His wife, Mary Gibb (nee Paterson) owned the Tulliallan property in Cranbourne from 1904 until 1912 (6)  MacKay's obituary concludes with  Although the late Mr. Mackay was a well-known pastoralist, he was better known as a breeder and lover of thoroughbred horses, and his colours were a familiar sight on the chief racecourses in Australia. (7)


Melville Park, when purchased by MacKay in March 1905 for the cost of £20,000, was described as being of 830 acres of rich agricultural land on the main Gippsland line, and is considered to be the finest estate within 100 miles of Melbourne. (8)  It had a number of outbuildings and a brick cottage said to date from the 1860s, when the property was owned by Captain Robert Gardiner, the original owner.  (9).


The 1860s brick cottage at Melville Park/Edrington.
Photographer: John T. Collins, taken in 1985. State Library of Victoria image H2010.1/461.

However, Samuel and and his family did not immediately move to the property. In March 1907 it was reported that -
Messrs. W. S. Keast and Co. report having sold, on account of Mr. Parker, his well-known property, Clover Hills Estate, at Berwick, adjoining the famous Melville Park, and containing 450 acres, with a frontage of 1 mile to the Cardinia Greek, to Mr. Samuel P. Mackay, of Western Australia (the owner of Melville Park), for £5376. It is the intention of Mr. Mackay to unite there two properties and make his home in Victoria. (10)  Having increased his land holdings,  the next step was to build a house befitting his status and thus around September 1907 he commissioned Architect Rodney Alsop to design a new two-storey brick house for Melville Park. (11)


Tenders called for the construction of Sam MacKay's mansion
The Age, September 24, 1907 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/205000119

The mansion, shown below, is now listed on the Victorian Heritage Register, where it is described as a two-storey red brick example of the English vernacular style with some reference to the Queen Anne style. It has also been described as being in the Arts and Crafts Style. (12)  After their marriage,  Sam and Fanny lived at Melville Park for a short period, and it was during this time their son Peter Angus MacKay was born on September 12, 1911. (13)  


Melville Park (now Edrington) built for Sam MacKay.
Photographer: John T. Collins, taken in May 1985. State Library of Victoria image H2010.1/453.


Melville Park (now Edrington) built for Sam MacKay.
Photographer: John T. Collins, taken in May 1985. State Library of Victoria image H2010.1/455


In December 1911, Sam MacKay purchased Camelot at 85 Alma Road, St Kilda for £7500. This house was built in stages from the 1850s and was a mansion of 18 rooms when Sam purchased the property, who renamed the property, Strathnaver.  Sam and Fanny sold the property in 1922. Camelot or Strathnaver was demolished, possibly in the 1960s. (14) 


Camelot/Strathnaver - Sam MacKay's mansion in Alma Road, St Kilda.
Photographer: John T. Collins, taken in February 1964.
 State Library of Victoria image H98.251/8

MacKay sold Melville Park, consisting then of 1,267 acres for £45,000 in November 1912 to Andrew Chirnside. (15)  Andrew and Winifred (nee Sumner) renamed Melville Park to Edrington, after a family property in Scotland. Andrew and Winifred Chirnside died within three months of each other in 1934, Andrew on April 17 and Winifred on July 13 (16) and 
Mrs Chirnside left real estate valued at £17,045 and personal property valued at £38,382 to her nephews, Rupert Ryan and Noel Sumner Nash, and her nieces, Ethel Marion Sumner Casey and Doris Osborne, subject to gifts of £1,000 to her maid, Ethel Jarrett, and of jewellery to her adopted daughter, Mrs. Alec Waugh, formerly Miss Joan Chirnside. (17)


The Edrington Estate, c. 1938 when it was under the owner ship of Colonel Rupert Ryan and his sister, Maie Casey. In the centre of the photo is the 1860s cottage. Many of the trees are extant.
Photographer: Charles Daniel Pratt/Airspy. State Library of Victoria http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/20235


It appears that Colonel Ryan and his sister, Ethel Marion Sumner Casey, better known as Maie Casey purchased the property from their cousins. Maie married Richard Gavin Gardiner Casey on June 24, 1926; he was a politician and diplomat and received a Life Peerage in January 1960, becoming Lord Casey. Edrington was the Casey's country home. Lord Casey died on June 16, 1976 and Lady Casey on January 20, 1983. Edrington was the sold and is now part of  a retirement village. The City of Casey is named after Lord Casey. (18)


Miss Fanny Dango from the programme The Catch of the Season 
State Library of Victoria http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/4220828

Who was exotically named Fanny Dango? Fanny was born on October 20, 1878 as Fanny Rudge, to Henry and Elizabeth Rudge of Birmingham. She had four sisters who also became actresses - Letitia (stage name Letty Lind), Sarah (stage name Millie Hylton), Elizabeth (stage name Adelaide Astor) and Lydia (stage name Lydia Flopp) and two brothers who followed their father's career as a brass founder.

The Association of British Theatre Technicians website had (19) the following information about Fanny and her sisters -
The Rudge sisters, professionally known as Letty Lind (1861-1923), Millie Hylton (1868-1920), Adelaide Astor (1874-1951), Lydia Flopp (1877-1962) and Fanny Dango (1878-1972), all hailing from Birmingham, were primarily dancers but later developed their singing talents, working in pantomime, variety and music hall, musical comedy and burlesque, often at the Gaiety Theatre in the 1880s and 90s. Letty Lind was in the last George Edwardes burlesques (at the Gaiety) and the first George Edwardes musical comedies (at Daly’s); she also had a professional and personal relationship with the dramatic author and entertainer Howard Paul (1830-1905) and was the mother of his illegitimate son, she later had an enduring relationship with the 3rd Earl of Durham (1855-1928) and another son. Millie Hylton had a successful career in variety as a male impersonator and as a principal boy in pantomime, but later appeared in legitimate theatre and was the mother of actress Millie Sim (b.1895). Adelaide Astor was married to George Grossmith, Jnr. and had a son, George Grossmith (manager) and a daughter, Ena Grossmith (b.1896, actress). Lydia Flopp had a briefer career than her sisters and an unhappy marriage. Fanny Dango followed her sisters onto the London stage and ended up a wealthy woman in Australia. The Rudge sisters were cousins of music hall artist, Millie Lindon (1877-1940) who was married at one time to T.E. Dunville (1868-1924), however they divorced long before his sad and dramatic death and she later re-married three times.

There is more information about Fanny in a two-part article by Bob Ferris, Fanny Dango -The Soubrette’s Stage Career in Australia on the Theatre Heritage Australia website (20)
Fanny Dango was a nascent actress and an exceptional dancer with appearances in several pantomimes on the London and Provincial theatre stage. Her catalogue of pantomime performances is impressive from her debut at the Prince of Wales Theatre in her home city of Birmingham in December 1894 (shortly after her 16th birthday) with a small part as ‘Chinese Dolly’ in Dick Whittington. From 1901 to 1905, she appeared in five successive Christmas pantomimes: Gulliver’s Travels at the Avenue Theatre, London, 1901–1902 (as Glumdalclitch); Dick Whittington at the London Hippodrome, 1902–1903 (as Alice, opposite the Dick of Ruth Lytton), Santa Claus Junior at the Theatre Royal, Newcastle, 1903–1904 (as See Mee); in Dick Whittington, Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool, 1904–1905 (as Alice, opposite the Dick of Hetty King); and Aladdin, Theatre Royal, Birmingham, 1905–1906 (as Princess So Shi, opposite the Aladdin of Ada Reeve).

Fanny Dango was vivacious and a charismatic young actress and danced exquisitely. J.C. Williamson saw the early promise of her becoming a favourite of Australian theatre patrons and he engaged her in England to play the part of Peggy Sabine in the Royal Comic Opera’s production of The Dairymaids.5 This was some achievement for Fanny to play the part which had previously been performed by Australian-born Carrie Moore with outstanding success in the 1906 Apollo Theatre production.

Fanny sailed to Australia on the P & O RMS Mongolia which left Marseilles on 19 July 1907 and arrived in Melbourne on 26 August, leaving the same day for Sydney to commence rehearsals. She made her Australian debut in The Dairymaids as Peggy Sabine and the chief Sandow girl at Her Majesty’s Theatre Melbourne, on 7 September 1907 and later in Sydney, opening at Her Majesty’s some four months later, on 1 February 1908.

On her debut performances in both Melbourne and Sydney, Fanny was variously described by the fawning press as a ‘bright little creature’; ‘piquant’, ‘graceful and clever’; ‘vivacious’; ‘dainty, petite and sprightly’, and [one who] ‘acts and sings so coquettishly’. Together with her blazing red gold tresses, Fanny’s favouritism with local audiences was assured. (21)

Other shows in Australia in which Fanny performed included The Girls of Gottenberg, The Lady Dandies, The Prince of Pilsen, The Catch of the Season, The Red Mill, The Belle of New York, Jack and Jill and The Duchess of Dantzic. (22) Her farewell performance was on September 15, 1910 and in October she sailed for London (23) where as we saw, on November 29, she married Samuel McKay.

Fanny died July 15, 1972 at the age of 91. She is buried at the Brighton Cemetery, with her husband Sam; her son Peter who died December 12, 1951 at the age of 40 and Sam’s daughter, Elsie, who died February 6, 1963, aged 67. (24)  

Peter Mackay was married on February 20, 1933 in St Moritz, Switzerland to Mary O'Neill of Paris. At the time of his engagement the Dandenong Journal published an article about Peter, which included some interesting information - 
Mr. Peter Mackay, only son of Mrs. Mackay, London, and the late Mr. Samuel Mackay, of Rock House, Kyneton, has announced his engagement at St. Moritz, Switzerland, to Miss Mary O’Niell, whose father is well-known in racing circles. Mr Peter Mackay is the heir to a large fortune built up with pastoral possessions in Australia by his father, the late Mr. Sam. Mackay, who died about ten years ago (writes the “Herald.”)

Mrs. Mackay and her son have lived abroad for a long time. They returned to Australia toward the end of last year, and Mr. Peter celebrated his 21st birthday in Melbourne with much social gaiety. On  attaining his majority he received part of his father’s wealth, but the entire fortune will not come into his possession until he is 25. A friend of the family hazards the opinion that Mr. Peter Mackay will be worth at least a quarter of a million.

In addition to the fortune bequeathed Mr. Peter by his father, he has come into more money through the estate of his step-brother, the late Mr. Keith Mackay, of Bucklaud Station, Northam, Western Australia, who was killed in an aeroplane accident in Western Australia. The late Mr. Sam Mackay’s biggest property was Mundabullanganah Station, in the north-west of Western Australia. He also owned “Rock House,” Kyneton, the early home of Sir Stanley Argyle, where many bright parties were given by him and his wife in the hunting season. He was the owner of that famous racehorse, Radnor, winner of many classic races. also entertained lavishly at their town house, “Strathnaver,” Alma road, St. Kilda. (25)

Not sure how long the marriage lasted but when Peter enlisted in the Australian Army in June 1940, his mother was listed as his next of kin, not  his wife. Peter was discharged less than a year later in April 1941 as medically unfit for service. His occupation on enlistment was Company Director. He was twice charged with drunkenness during his war service and in May 1947 he lost his licence for drunken driving, at the time he was living in View Street, Hawthorn, the same address where he was living where he died. It does appear he had an 'issue' with alcohol. (26)

Marriage of Peter MacKay to Mary O'Neill
The Argus, February 23, 1933 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4526441

Elsie MacKay was an actress, who had married British and Hollywood film star, Lionel Atwill in February 1920.  She was his second wife and after their divorce, he married Louise, the divorced wife of General Douglas MacArthur. Elsie and Lionel divorced in 1925 due to her 'relationship' with fellow actor, Max Montesole. Elsie and Max married in 1933 in England and they were still together in 1942 when he passed away at the age of 52 in Perth. Elsie married for the third time to James Stanley Smith in 1957 in Fremantle, Western Australia. He  was born in England in 1906, had served in the Australian Army in World War Two and died in Perth in 1969.   Sam Mackay's first wife, Florence, died in Perth on May 28, 1945 at the age of 80 and she left her estate of  £10,640 to Elsie. (27)


Elsie Montesole inherits her mother's estate.
Perth Daily News August 27, 1945 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article78775939



Acknowledgement: I am indebted to Bob Flavell of the Edrington Park History Group for telling me about Fanny Dango. This is an expanded version with new material, of a post on Fanny Dango which I wrote and researched in 2018, which appears on my work blog, Casey Cardinia Links to our Past.  

Footnotes
(1) The Herald, November 30, 1910, see here; The Argus, December 1, 1910, see here.  The birth certificate of their son, Peter, lists their marriage date as November 28, 1910.
(2) The Age, August 9, 1910, see here.
(3) Donald Bain was the son of Robert Hudson Bain, who had established the Berwick Inn/Border Hotel at Berwick in 1857. He married Susan Stewart in 1859  and they had the following children -Catherine (born 1860 - died October 1900 - known as Kate, married John Murray Leggatt in 1878)
Jane Hudson (born 1861 - known as Jean, she is the Mrs W.S Withers listed in the death notice. Jean married Walter Seward Withers in 1886, they are listed in the 1911 English Census, living in the town of Goodworth Clatford, near Andover, in Hampshire and she died in June 1926 at Andover)
Margaret Anne Stewart (born 1863, known as Maggie, married Charles Allen Champion in November 1889 and died in March 1891)
James (born 1865 - died January 1908)
Robert (born 1867 - died January 1902)
Harry Wilson (born 1869 - died April 1902)
George Alexander (born 1871 - ?)
Edwin Clarence (born 1873 - died 1875)
Susan Stewart (born 1875 - died 1876)
McCulloch Stewart (born 1877 - died January 1908)
Donald Stewart (born 1880 - died January 1937).
Donald Bain died February 24, 1887 at the age of 56; and Susan on June 26, 1908 at the age of 69. The Hotel was owned by the Bain family until 1909.
(4) Western Australia and Victoria Indexes to the Births, Deaths and Marriages; Perth Sunday Times, July 27, 1924, see here;  The Geraldton Guardian, July 17, 1924, see here,  had a report of Keith's accident
(6) James and Mary Gibb and Tulliallan, I have written about them here   https://victoriaspast.blogspot.com/2022/11/the-property-known-as-ravenhurst-then.html  Mary Gibb had previously been married to George Brown, of Inveresk, Berwick - I have written about them here https://victoriaspast.blogspot.com/2021/12/the-arthur-streeton-painting-of-brown.html She was the sister of the artist, John Ford Paterson. As a matter of interest, George Brown's first wide was Margaret Stewart, the sister of Susan Bain (footnote 3)
(8) The Age, March 25, 1905, see here.
(10) The Leader, March 2, 1907, see here.
(11) The Victorian Heritage Database date the construction as 1906 or 1906-1907, however it must have been 1907-1908 as the tender for the construction was advertised in September 1907, The Age, September 24, 1907, see here.  Rodney Alsop - Australian Dictionary of Biography  - https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/alsop-rodney-howard-5007
(12) See footnote 9.
(13) Peter's birth certificate. I did wonder if Fanny actually lived at Berwick, however Table Talk of December 21, 1911 - who reported on the social activities of Melbourne 'Society' noted that - Mr. Samuel Mackay, of "Melville Park," Berwick, has purchased "Camelot," Alma-road, East St. Kilda, the beautiful residence of Mr. Ernerst Brookes, who shortly joins Mrs. Brookes and family in England. The purchase money is said to be £7500. Mrs. Mackay will be remembered as Miss Fanny Dango, and, with her husband, has been living at Berwick since her marriage. (Table Talk, December 21, 1911, see here)
(14) Table Talk, December 21, 1911, see here Photos of the interior of Camelot - The Australasian, December 9, 1911, see here. I was unaware that  Samuel MacKay purchased Camelot, until I read about in the St Kilda Historical Society newsletter of December 2024, which provided information on the history of the building.  Samuel MacKay placed Strathnaver up for auction in June 1922, see advertisement here The Argus, June 14, 1922, see here and his probate papers list Fanny's address as Brentwood, St Kilda Road, St Kilda, see also The Herald, April 24, 1923, here. Don't have an exact date for demolition, but it was still there in 1958


Strathnaver for sale in 1958
The Age May 31, 1958, p. 44, from newspapers.com

(15) The Age, November 16, 1912, see here; Clearing sale of Melville Park stud Ayrshire cattle - South Bourke & Mornington Journal, November 14, 1912, see here.
(16) Obituary of Andrew Chirnside - The Argus, April 18, 1934, see here; Winifred Chirnside's will - Shepparton Advertiser, October 5, 1934, see here.
(17) Theodatus Sumner, the brother of Winifred Chirnside, was married to Sarah  Peers. They had - Mary Maud, married to Albert Nash, of Ballarto, Cranbourne; Annie who was married to James Grice, who was the brother of Richard Grice, land owner in Berwick and Cranbourne, after whom Grice's Road is named and Alice, married Charles Ryan - the parents of Lady Casey and Colonel Ryan. Doris Osborne, listed in the will, is the daughter of Winifred's sister Kate (Mrs James Osborne).
(19) Association of British Theatre Technicians - When I wrote the original post in May 2018 this link to the information about the Rudge sisters was working but when I checked it in May 2021, it was no longer working and still isn't - http://www.abtt.org.uk/event/the-british-music-hall-society-study-group/
(20) Theatre Heritage Australia website https://theatreheritage.org.au/ - Bob Ferris has a two part article on Fanny Dango, Fanny Dango -The Soubrette’s Stage Career in Australia - see footnote 21 for the links
(24) Brighton Cemetorians database https://www.brightoncemetorians.org.au/
(25) The Argus, February 23, 1933, see here;  Dandenong Journal, November 2, 1933, see here
(26) WW2 Attestation papers at the National Archives of Australia https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=4611744; The Herald, May 9, 1947, see here.
(27) Short reports of Elsie MacKay's career - Perth Daily News, February 25, 1920, see here and Sydney Sun, June 5, 1921, see here; Marriage of Elsie MacKay to Lionel Atwill, Perth Daily News,  February 25, 1920, see here; Lionel Atwill's marriages - Daily Telegraph, April 24, 1946, see here; Atwill/MacKay divorce Sydney Sun, December 18, 1925, see here; Marriage of Elsie and Max - England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916-2005 on Ancestry.com; Death of Max Montesole The Age, September 19, 1942, see here; James Stanley Smith - information from familysearch.org and WW2 Nominal Rolls.  Death of Mrs Florence MacKay, Perth Daily News August 27, 1945, see here.  



Death notice of Peter MacKay. Who is Zena? The St Kilda Historical Society newsletter of December 2024, notes her name as Zena Hayes, with whom he had an enduring partnership.
The Herald, December 14, 1951 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article247846844


Elsie's death notice - no mention of husbands.
The Age, February 8, 1963. p.17 from newspapers.com



Elsie's Probate notice, where her surname is also listed as Smith. .
The Age, March 8, 1963, p. 23 from newspapers.com


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Friday, November 15, 2024

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

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. 

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