1860: Kew's first library was the Kew Literary and Scientific Society, which opened on 6 August 1860. 1884: Kew Town Hall was extended and the library transferred to a room on the upper floor. This was not an ideal arrangement as the room was required for Council purposes. 1904: A cottage adjoining Kew Town Hall was purchased for use as a library. 1937: The library was closed for a major overhaul of stock and renovation of the building. It reopened in December 1937 and remained there for more than 35 years. 1973: When the Civic Centre opened in Charles Street, Kew, the library moved in. 1987: Kew Library moved to its current location in the converted city hall, overlooking the beautiful Alexandra Gardens. The library was officially opened at this site on Friday 23 October 1987 by the Mayor of Kew, Cr James Tutt. (Source: Boroondara Library Service)Early original photograph of a children's library service taken by a notable Melbourne photographerOriginal photograph, in original frame, of the Junior Section of the Kew Public Library in Walpole Street, Kew. The photograph was taken by Stuart Tompkins who was the photographer of choice by the City of Kew from the 1930s to the 1960s. The details of the photograph are inscribed on the water-damaged mount, with the photographers signature at lower right. . "Junior Section, Kew Public Library, May 15th 1945"kew public library, photographers - c. stuart tompkins - camberwell (vic), children's libraries

1860: Kew's first library was the Kew Literary and Scientific Society, which opened on 6 August 1860. 1884: Kew Town Hall was extended and the library transferred to a room on the upper floor. This was not an ideal arrangement as the room was required for Council purposes. 1904: A cottage adjoining Kew Town Hall was purchased for use as a library. 1937: The library was closed for a major overhaul of stock and renovation of the building. It reopened in December 1937 and remained there for more than 35 years. 1973: When the Civic Centre opened in Charles Street, Kew, the library moved in. 1987: Kew Library moved to its current location in the converted city hall, overlooking the beautiful Alexandra Gardens. The library was officially opened at this site on Friday 23 October 1987 by the Mayor of Kew, Cr James Tutt. (Source: Boroondara Library Services)Historically and socially significant set of regulations governing the use of the children's library in Kew in the early 1950sOriginal framed rules and regulations of the junior section of the Kew Library, dated 16.6.1953, authorised by the Mayor (W.E.R. Hope) and Town Clerk (W.D.Birrell). The document also lists opening hours of the Kew and East Kew branches.kew public library - kew (vic), kew public library - east kew (vic), city of kew - library guidelines

The Kew Civic Centre (A K Lines, MacFarlane & Marshall, 1972) was built next to the Kew Civic Hall (A C Leith & Bartlett, 1960) on the site of the former mansion Ordsall (later renamed South Esk). Whereas the entrance to the Civic Hall was positioned off Civic Drive, the main entrance to the Civic Centre faced Cotham Road, as shown in the undated perspective drawing of the proposed building. The Civic Hall was used for public functions and performances, while the Civic Centre was used for civic offices. It also contained the Council Chamber. The building opened in 1972, following the relocation of the councillors and council officers from the former Town Hall in Walpole Street (now a Woolworth's supermarket). Following the amalgamation of the former City of Kew into the City of Boroondara in 1994, the Civic Centre was sold to Trinity Grammar School. The exterior of the Centre has been modified by Trinity Grammar.A report for Heritage Victoria (date) describes how two architectural firms dominated the designs for new civic buildings in Victoria during the post war period. The report claims that: "An interesting sub-theme in the erection of post-war municipal offices in Victoria is that a considerable proportion were designed by the same three or four Melbourne-based architectural firms, who established themselves as the leading specialists in this type of work. The two most prolific firms in this regard were A K Lines, MacFarlane & Marshall, and A C Leith & Bartlett; both, in fact, had made names for themselves as designers of local government offices prior to the Second World War. Lines' office, for example had designed the Eltham Shire Offices in 1941, while Leith's firm had been responsible for the celebrated Heidelberg Town Hall in 1937). Both practices parleyed this early experience into a lucrative post-war career, designing numerous municipals offices well into the 1970s." (Survey of Post-War Built Heritage in Victoria, Built Heritage Pty Ltd, 2010.) The perspective drawing importantly captures the original design and function of the exterior of the building and its public entrance.Hand-coloured perspective sketch of the new Kew Civic Centre, completed in 1972 to designs by A K Lines, MacFarlane & Marshall; and located on the corner of Charles Street and Cotham Road, Kew. The sketch represents the front elevation of the building and its relation to the preexisting Kew Civic Hall at right. The three storey building features strong vertical concrete buttresses that extend across the three levels. KEW CIVIC CENTRE / A K LINES, MACFARLANE & MARSHALLkew civic centre, a.k. lines, macfarlane & marshall, architectural drawings, civic buildings -- kew (vic.), town hall -- kew (vic)

Gift of the City of Kew 1988Archival recordsProvenance orderReproduced minutes on microfiche of the local government instrumentality - initially the Municipality, then Borough, Town and City of Kew.municipality of kew - council minutes, borough of kew - council minutes, town of kew - council minutes, city of kew - council minutes, local government - kew (vic)municipality of kew - council minutes, borough of kew - council minutes, town of kew - council minutes, city of kew - council minutes, local government - kew (vic)

The site on the north side of High Street, Kew, on the corner of Disraeli Street is now the location of the Kew Recreation Centre. The current (as of 2020) swimming pool was formerly situated further west on the site but was relocated closer to Disraeli Street during the 1980s. Previously, this was the site of a Kew Council depot, and before that a horse tram shed. The horse tram (1887-1914) ran from the Victoria Street Bridge to the entrance of the Boroondara General Cemetery. Rusted horse shoe, excavated from the site of the Kew Recreation Centre on the corner of High and Disraeli Streets in Kew. The shoe was donated by Mr Poulter, City Engineer, City of Kew. The shoe may have been made for one of the horses that pulled the Kew Horse Tram or one of the Council depot horses.horse tram - kew (vic), archaeological items - kew (vic), horse shoes, kew recreation centre, council depots - kew (vic), tram sheds - kew (vic)

This is one of eight embroidered panels, completed during the 1988 Australian Bi-Centennial, and carried out under the auspices of City of Kew Council and the Kew Historical Society. Nearly 600 residents, including many children, participated in their production by adding a few or more stitches. A book records their names and the panels upon which they worked. Artist: Joy Stewart / Co-ordinator: Dorothy Benyei.4. Boroondara Cemetery, established 1859. A framed embroidery created by adults and children of the City of Kew as a Bicentennial project, based on a design by the artist Joy Stewart. Five of the six completed embroideries created in the project are/were displayed in the Kew Library. [The five embroidered panels have now been temporarily removed for conservation reasons].Inscription: "BOROONDARA CEMETERY / Established 1859. Horse drawn trams from Victoria Bridge terminated at gates, bringing visitors to the graves of relatives and friends, and sightseers to view the impressive pioneer memorials." Embroidered signature of the artist: "(c) JStewart, 1988"bicentennial project (kew), joy stewart, boroondara general (kew) cemetery, australian bicentennial

Sir Henry de Castres Kellett (1851-1924) the son of a hereditary baronet, was born at Mt Gambier, South Australia in 1851. His English title had been created in Ireland in 1801, but the family was originally Norman with the later branches living in England and Ireland. Sir Henry Kellett assumed the title in 1906. Henry Kellett was a prominent Kew retailer, continuing his father’s newspaper and stationery business in Bulleen Road (now High Street). At various stages, he also acted as an insurance, postal and real estate agent. He lived in Walpole Street and later at Lota Begg (now demolished) in Westbrook Street, East Kew. In 1884, Henry Kellett was elected to the Kew Borough Council and served for 40 years; a remarkable example of public service. He was elected Mayor for a single term in 1888-9. Sir Henry de Castres Kellett died in St George’s Hospital in 1924 following a tragic car accident in Cotham Road, Kew while on Council business. The vehicle, in which he was travelling with fellow councillors and the Town Clerk, collided with a tram. Sir Henry Kellett is commemorated in the naming of Kellett Reserve and Kellett Grove.Newspaper report from 1924 of the funeral of Sir Henry de Castres Kellett at Boroondara General Cemeterysir henry de castres kellett

At the beginning of the 1890s, the Kew businessman and Town Councillor, Henry Kellett, commissioned J.F.C. Farquhar to photograph scenes of Kew. These scenes included panoramas as well as pastoral scenes. The resulting set of twelve photographs was assembled in an album, Kew Where We Live, from which customers could select images for purchase.The preamble to the album describes that the photographs used the ‘argentic bromide’ process, now more commonly known as the gelatine silver process. This form of dry plate photography allowed for the negatives to be kept for weeks before processing, hence its value in landscape photography. The resulting images were considered to be finely grained and everlasting. Evidence of the success of Henry Kellett’s venture can be seen today, in that some of the photographs are held in national collections.It is believed that the Kew Historical Society’s copy of the Kellett album is unique and that the photographs in the book were the first copies taken from the original plates. It is the first and most important series of images produced about Kew. The individual images have proved essential in identifying buildings and places of heritage value in the district.A panoramic photograph of the junction of High Street and Cotham Road. The photographer centres the point-of-view on the Kew Post Office and adjacent Court House. These were designed in the Queen Anne style by the Public Works Department's architect J Harvey and completed in 1888. The complex is important because it demonstrates a departure from the contemporaneously favoured High Victorian Classical to the Queen Anne style in the design of civic buildings. The earlier Jubilee Fountain in front of the Post Office was erected by the Kew Borough Council to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1887. It was created to a design of the architects Reed, Henderson and Smart. The fountain was later relocated to the Alexandra Gardens to make way for the Kew War Memorial. The tram tracks in High Street were used by the horse tram, which ran from the Victoria Street Bridge to the Boroondara General Cemetery. The tram was replaced by an electrified service in 1915.The Post Officekew post office, kew illustrated, kew where we live, photographic books, henry kellett

110 pages : illustrations, portraits ; 29 cm.non-fictionFrom Municipality to City: Chairmen & Mayors of Kew 1861-1994 is the result of a collaborative history project completed by members of the Kew Historical Society. Th text includes a contextualised series of illustrated biographical and autobiographical profiles of the former civic leaders of Kew. The profiles explore the political, social, cultural and economic history of Kew from the earliest years of European settlement to the amalgamation of Kew into the City of Boroondara in 1994.kew (vic.). council -- history, mayors -- victoria -- kew -- biography, kew (vic.) -- history

Hugh George Ferguson was born in June 1900 in Williamstown. After his family moved to Kew, they lived in Fernhurst Grove while his future wife’s family lived in Fellows Street. He married in 1940 and subsequently joined the Second AIF. In 1945, he was reported to be the ACF (Australian Comforts Fund) Commissioner in Borneo [Kalimantan]. After the Second World War, he worked as a Billeting Affairs Organiser for the Dutch Government, resettling migrants in Australia. He also worked in advertising as an account manager, and as campaign director for Arthur Rylah in Victorian politics. He directed the first major trade fairs at the Royal Exhibition Buildings after the Second World War, including ‘Australia Makes It Exhibition’ in 1947, the ‘Australian Industrial Fair’ in 1949 and 1950, the ‘Modern Home Exhibition’ in 1949, and ‘Made in Australia’ in 1952. The funds raised during the latter were earmarked for a ‘bankrupt’ Queen Victoria Hospital. He built a home in Brougham Street and represented North Ward on Kew Council from 1952 to 1968. He was elected Mayor in 1959. Hugh Ferguson died in 1975, aged 75. He was buried on 2 September in Grave 201, Special (Non- Denominational) Compartment A, Boroondara General Cemetery.A gold plated bar brooch with suspended medallion having a blue enamelled ring surrounding the City of Kew crest in reliefFront: City of Kew, above the city of Kew crest with Council below Rear: Mrs H. G. Ferguson, Mayoress, 1959-60city of kew, mayoresses - kew (vic), mrs hg ferguson

Hugh George Ferguson was born in June 1900 in Williamstown. After his family moved to Kew, they lived in Fernhurst Grove while his future wife’s family lived in Fellows Street. He married in 1940 and subsequently joined the Second AIF. In 1945, he was reported to be the ACF (Australian Comforts Fund) Commissioner in Borneo [Kalimantan]. After the Second World War, he worked as a Billeting Affairs Organiser for the Dutch Government, resettling migrants in Australia. He also worked in advertising as an account manager, and as campaign director for Arthur Rylah in Victorian politics. He directed the first major trade fairs at the Royal Exhibition Buildings after the Second World War, including ‘Australia Makes It Exhibition’ in 1947, the ‘Australian Industrial Fair’ in 1949 and 1950, the ‘Modern Home Exhibition’ in 1949, and ‘Made in Australia’ in 1952. The funds raised during the latter were earmarked for a ‘bankrupt’ Queen Victoria Hospital. He built a home in Brougham Street and represented North Ward on Kew Council from 1952 to 1968. He was elected Mayor in 1959. Hugh Ferguson died in 1975, aged 75. He was buried on 2 September in Grave 201, Special (Non- Denominational) Compartment A, Boroondara General Cemetery.City of Kew identification badge issued to sitting councillors. The City of Kew cost is surrounded by a blue enamel band with City of Kew Council picked out in gold cloisonné.Front: City of Kew to top, Crest in middle with Council below Rear: Cr H. G. Ferguson 27-8-1955mayors of kew - cr hg ferguson, kew council, city of kew