The North Kew Centre was the third established at North Kew. It followed a lease of a house at 50 Willsmere Road. The Peel Street building was designed by Mr Chipperfield. Messrs McIntosh and Taylor were the successful tenderers, the price being 1,240 pounds. The North Kew Baby Health Centre was finally opened on 18 June 1930 in the presence of the mayor, councillors and citizens of Kew, and representatives of the Infant Welfare Council. A report in The Age of 19 June described the opening in detail as well as the features of the new Centre. These included: "The rooms ... filled with flowers, pink and mauve hydrangeas and native heath, and the walls are adorned, with a charming frieze, representing windmills, flocks and a fairy tale goose girl. On the walls are hygiene editions of the funniest of Belloc's "Cautionary Tales" revised as posters, Outside there is promise of a gay garden, and a lovely view of green fields sloping to a shining bend of the river." Early photographic record of the opening of an early baby health centre in Kew.[Badly damaged] black and white photograph of the opening of the North Kew Baby Health Centre in Peel Street. The photo is mounted on card, and shows mothers and their children on the veranda, and officials at right. The latter includes the Mayoress and probably Vera Scantlebury. All mothers wear hats as do most of the children. [When the photograph was presented to the Society in 1979, it was described in the first Acquisitions Register as framed. Some time after that it was removed from its frame and badly broken. A separate photocopy of the original photograph is also held in the collection.]Earliest inscription: "Peel Street Health Centre / Official Opening 1930 / donated by Sr Costello and Sr Bewish [sic] 1979 / Copy purchased by ..... for Centre". Old Accession number in Texta: "KH-133 Kew Historical Society". Separate later label: "Opening North Kew Baby Health centre 1930". north kew baby health centre, peel street (kew), baby health centres - kew (vic)

Living with natural processes was frequently a challenge to early European settlers and later residents of what was in the 1850s administered by the Borondara Road Board. This was compounded by the area being bounded on three sides by rivers (Yarra River, Koonung Creek and Gardiner's Creek). In 1849, the historian James Bonwick recorded that "our district [Kew] suffered considerably. Mr Wade speaks of 80 acres, out of 100 acres of his cultivated paddock, covered by water." Newspapers continued to describe major flooding in Kew in 1863, 1869, 1878, 1880, 1889, 1891, 1916 and 1934. While the construction of the Upper Yarra dam in 1957 reduced the levels of flowing downstream, local and riverine floods continue. A number of boat houses operated on both sides of the River Yarra at Kew. Chipperfield's Boat House was located on the Yarra near the corner of Kilby and Willsmere Roads.The Kew Historical Society's pictures and map collections testify to the impact of flooding in the district. They have historical importance in documenting the extent of flooding in the district and its affects on homes, services and recreation. Numerous photographs record flooding throughout the Twentieth Century.Floating pontoon at Chipperfield's Boat House where the canoes were stored, taken in 1934, presumably before the 1934 Flood. This area of the Yarra was shallow with a number of mid river sandbanks and a popular swimming area for locals.yarra river, chipperfield's boathouse, pontoon

Prue Sanderson, in her groundbreaking ‘City of Kew Urban Conservation Study : Volume 2 - Development History’ (1988), summarised the periods of urban development and subdivisions of land in Kew. The periods that she identified included 1845-1880, 1880-1893, 1893-1921, 1921-1933, 1933-1943, and Post-War Development. These periods were selected as they represented periods of rapid growth or decline in urban development. An obvious starting point for Sanderson’s groupings involved population growth and the associated economic cycles. These cycles also highlighted urban expansion onto land that was predominantly rural, although in other cases it represented the decline and breakup of large estates. A number of the plans in the Kew Historical Society’s collection can also be found in other collections, such as those of the State Library of Victoria and the Boroondara Library Service. A number are however unique to the collection.The Kew Historical Society collection includes almost 100 subdivision plans pertaining to suburbs of the City of Melbourne. Most of these are of Kew, Kew East or Studley Park, although a smaller number are plans of Camberwell, Deepdene, Balwyn and Hawthorn. It is believed that the majority of the plans were gifted to the Society by persons connected with the real estate firm - J. R. Mathers and McMillan, 136 Cotham Road, Kew. The Plans in the collection are rarely in pristine form, being working plans on which the agent would write notes and record lots sold and the prices of these. The subdivision plans are historically significant examples of the growth of urban Melbourne from the beginning of the 20th Century up until the 1980s. A number of the plans are double-sided and often include a photograph on the reverse. A number of the latter are by noted photographers such as J.E. Barnes.Coloured lithograph of a subdivision plan of the Studley Park Estate, bordered by Yarra, Willsmere Road and the Outer Circle Railway line. The estate was listed in 1910 and was the subject of a planning dispute between the developer and the Town of Kew in relation to flood levels and the suitability of the land for housing. In many cases the names of streets were subsequently changed. The layout was also affected by the creation of the Eastern Freeway. A newspaper report of the day described the subdivision as a: "GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY. We are pleased to submit for PRIVATE SALE that magnificent ESTATE, situated only 4 1/2 miles from the Melbourne General Post Office, STUDLEY PARK ESTATE. KF/NV. Doubtless the CHEAPEST LAND EVER OFFERED having extensive frontages to the prettiest spot on the River Yarra and the National Park, commanding lovely river and landscape views, and acknowledged to be the finest land available so close to the city. The PRICES ARE EXTREMELY MODERATE; The TERMS ARE SIMPLY MARVELLOUS. NO DEPOSIT. NO DEPOSIT. NO DEPOSIT. Allotments and prices to suit everyone."subdivision plans - kew, studley park estate

Photocopy - 16 sheets report - "Proposed New Tramway Lines - upon which the Trust has been asked to Report With a View of Constructing and Operating the Same in Connection with its Undertaking" by the Prahran Malvern Tramways Trust - dated August 1915. Reports on possible tramways: Toorak Road - Prahran to Burke Road Hawthorn - 1.85miles Glen Eira Road - Murrumbeena Railway station to Barkly St St Kilda - 5 miles Brighton and Moorabbin - Glen Huntly Road to Sandringham - 7.4 miles South Melbourne and St Kilda - Princes Bridge - 4.85 miles Princess St and Willsmere Road Kew - 1 mile. Tooronga Road Malvern - 1 mile Brighton Road St Kilda - .83 miles Looks at the population required to justify tramways, income per head, cost of construction and operation, each line and how it fits with the necessary criteria for a profitable operation. Appendix looks at existing tramways, population statistics, and tramways performance in other cities. Photocopy made from original documents. .1 - Original copy from donation of Norm Cross added 10-9-2018 - complete with stapled blue cover, and fold out appendix sheet.Has the stamp on the rear of the first page "The property of the Tramway Museum Society of Victoria Ltd." On the top right hand corner of the second page, has the stamp "Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board"trams, tramways, pmtt, new tramway, toorak rd, glen eira, south melbourne, st kilda, kew, moorabbin, sandringham

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.Hyde Park is now a small recreation reserve bordered by Willsmere and Kilby Roads and White Avenue. In 1982, Hyde Park was cut off from the Yarra River by the construction of the Eastern Freeway. The building of the latter was to transform the natural landscape, including the Yarra, as well as Hyde Park. The construction of the Freeway makes it difficult to view the scene with the photographer’s eye. Today’s Hyde Park is located on land purchased in 1847 by John Cowell, and in 1851 Catherine Cowell, yet the scene selected by the photographer may well have been located on farmland owned by the Wills family. Farquhar’s point-of-view emphasises both the pastoral and recreational elements of the scene: the grazing cows, three boys, and in the distance two figures, seated on the bank with a parasol. By 1891, an environmental consequence of human activity, including farming, was deforestation, leading to the erosion of the south bank of the Yarra. In contrast, the land on the Alphington side of the river in 1891 included remnant bushland.The Yarra in Hyde Parkkew illustrated, kew where we live, photographic books, henry kellett, yarra river

Graeme Butler & AssociatesProject FilesProvenance OrderBlack 4-Ring binder that includes research about, and an assessment of buildings previously graded B in the City of Kew Urban Conservation Study 1988 by Pru Sanderson Design Pty Ltd. The files were created by the heritage architect Graeme Butler and the paper files include maps, correspondence, title searches, readings, reviews of prior classifications, newspaper and journal articles, directories etc for each property assessed.graeme butler, heritage reviews - kew, 4 cameron court, 2 hodgson street, 20 fellows street, 26 fellows street, 23 highbury grove, kew lunatic asylum, kew mental hospital, willsmere, 36 stawell street, 13 studley avenue, 16 studley avenue, 20 studley avenue, raheen, studley park road, beament house, 33 uvadale road, 20 yarra streetgraeme butler, heritage reviews - kew, 4 cameron court, 2 hodgson street, 20 fellows street, 26 fellows street, 23 highbury grove, kew lunatic asylum, kew mental hospital, willsmere, 36 stawell street, 13 studley avenue, 16 studley avenue, 20 studley avenue, raheen, studley park road, beament house, 33 uvadale road, 20 yarra street

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.Original artwork by Arthur Wills, descendent of a noted pioneer family, and former mayor of Kew.Two sided illustrated humorous vignettes featuring two noted Kew citizens: Henry de Castres Kellet and Arthur Wills. The latter is the illustrator. The item was illustrated in 1920.mayors of kew (vic), sir henry de castres kellett, arthur wills, willsmere, wills family

An advertisement for the sale of a subdivision by Auction: of 16 Ideal Home Sites, East Kew, 1940. This significant sale of land between the Kew Golf Course and Willsmere Park led to the streets having a high degree of architectural uniformity.The subdivision in the second year of the war indicates that land sales for homes and speculation continued from the 1930s into the period of the Second World War. There is no indication on the plan that a war is occurring.Single page subdivision plan advertising the sale by Auction of 16 Ideal Home Sites, in East Kew, on 17 February 1940. Streets named in the plan include: Kilby Road, Belford Road, Elm Grove, Willow Grove. Willsmere Park is indicated but not named. The auction was conducted by Beauchamp Brothers. A number of lots are coloured pink on the plan indicating those lots for sale and/or those already sold.subdivision plans - kew east (vic)

This well-known Kew business, which would become known as The Model Dairy, was founded in 1863 by James Venn Morgan. Morgan sold the company in the 1890s to John Simonton who renamed the business The Model Dairy Co. Simonton had experience in the local dairying industry having previously leased the Willsmere Park Dairy. He moved the business to Belmont Avenue in c.1899. In 1924, following his retirement, the company expanded to become The Model Dairy Pty Ltd with Arnold Thompson Simonton and John Tanner as its owner/directors. With new techniques and processes such a pasteurisation, the Belmont Avenue site no longer met required standards for processing and bottling, so its operations moved to 191 Cotham Road. The company celebrated its centenary in 1963. A new factory, built in 1959 to a design by Bates, Smart & McCutcheon, was purchased by Bib Stillwell Motors after the dairy closed. The entire site has since been redeveloped.Original black and white photographic positive of a Model Dairy Truck emerging onto Kent Street, Kew.the model dairy pty ltd, the model dairy co, john simonton, james venn morgan, john tanner, cotham road, kent street, ridgeway avenue, bates smart & mccutcheon, dairies -- kew (vic.)

This well-known Kew business, which would become known as The Model Dairy, was founded in 1863 by James Venn Morgan. Morgan sold the company in the 1890s to John Simonton who renamed the business The Model Dairy Co. Simonton had experience in the local dairying industry having previously leased the Willsmere Park Dairy. He moved the business to Belmont Avenue in c.1899. In 1924, following his retirement, the company expanded to become The Model Dairy Pty Ltd with Arnold Thompson Simonton and John Tanner as its owner/directors. With new techniques and processes such a pasteurisation, the Belmont Avenue site no longer met required standards for processing and bottling, so its operations moved to 191 Cotham Road. The company celebrated its centenary in 1963. A new factory, built in 1959 to a design by Bates, Smart & McCutcheon, was purchased by Bib Stillwell Motors after the dairy closed. The entire site has since been redeveloped.Original black and white photographic positive of a Model Dairy Truck emerging onto Kent Street, Kew.the model dairy pty ltd, the model dairy co, john simonton, james venn morgan, john tanner, cotham road, kent street, ridgeway avenue, bates smart & mccutcheon, dairies -- kew (vic.)

This well-known Kew business, which would become known as The Model Dairy, was founded in 1863 by James Venn Morgan. Morgan sold the company in the 1890s to John Simonton who renamed the business The Model Dairy Co. Simonton had experience in the local dairying industry having previously leased the Willsmere Park Dairy. He moved the business to Belmont Avenue in c.1899. In 1924, following his retirement, the company expanded to become The Model Dairy Pty Ltd with Arnold Thompson Simonton and John Tanner as its owner/directors. With new techniques and processes such a pasteurisation, the Belmont Avenue site no longer met required standards for processing and bottling, so its operations moved to 191 Cotham Road. The company celebrated its centenary in 1963. A new factory, built in 1959 to a design by Bates, Smart & McCutcheon, was purchased by Bib Stillwell Motors after the dairy closed. The entire site has since been redeveloped.Original black and white photographic positive of a Model Dairy Truck emerging onto Kent Street, Kew.the model dairy pty ltd, the model dairy co, john simonton, james venn morgan, john tanner, cotham road, kent street, ridgeway avenue, bates smart & mccutcheon, dairies -- kew (vic.)

This well-known Kew business, which would become known as The Model Dairy, was founded in 1863 by James Venn Morgan. Morgan sold the company in the 1890s to John Simonton who renamed the business The Model Dairy Co. Simonton had experience in the local dairying industry having previously leased the Willsmere Park Dairy. He moved the business to Belmont Avenue in c.1899. In 1924, following his retirement, the company expanded to become The Model Dairy Pty Ltd with Arnold Thompson Simonton and John Tanner as its owner/directors. With new techniques and processes such a pasteurisation, the Belmont Avenue site no longer met required standards for processing and bottling, so its operations moved to 191 Cotham Road. The company celebrated its centenary in 1963. A new factory, built in 1959 to a design by Bates, Smart & McCutcheon, was purchased by Bib Stillwell Motors after the dairy closed. The entire site has since been redeveloped.Original black and white photographic positive of a Model Dairy Truck emerging onto Kent Street, Kew.the model dairy pty ltd, the model dairy co, john simonton, james venn morgan, john tanner, cotham road, kent street, ridgeway avenue, bates smart & mccutcheon, dairies -- kew (vic.)

This well-known Kew business, which would become known as The Model Dairy, was founded in 1863 by James Venn Morgan. Morgan sold the company in the 1890s to John Simonton who renamed the business The Model Dairy Co. Simonton had experience in the local dairying industry having previously leased the Willsmere Park Dairy. He moved the business to Belmont Avenue in c.1899. In 1924, following his retirement, the company expanded to become The Model Dairy Pty Ltd with Arnold Thompson Simonton and John Tanner as its owner/directors. With new techniques and processes such a pasteurisation, the Belmont Avenue site no longer met required standards for processing and bottling, so its operations moved to 191 Cotham Road. The company celebrated its centenary in 1963. A new factory, built in 1959 to a design by Bates, Smart & McCutcheon, was purchased by Bib Stillwell Motors after the dairy closed. The entire site has since been redeveloped.Original black and white photographic positive of a Model Dairy Truck parked in Kent Street, Kew.the model dairy pty ltd, the model dairy co, john simonton, james venn morgan, john tanner, cotham road, kent street, ridgeway avenue, bates smart & mccutcheon, dairies -- kew (vic.)

This well-known Kew business, which would become known as The Model Dairy, was founded in 1863 by James Venn Morgan. Morgan sold the company in the 1890s to John Simonton who renamed the business The Model Dairy Co. Simonton had experience in the local dairying industry having previously leased the Willsmere Park Dairy. He moved the business to Belmont Avenue in c.1899. In 1924, following his retirement, the company expanded to become The Model Dairy Pty Ltd with Arnold Thompson Simonton and John Tanner as its owner/directors. With new techniques and processes such a pasteurisation, the Belmont Avenue site no longer met required standards for processing and bottling, so its operations moved to 191 Cotham Road. The company celebrated its centenary in 1963. A new factory, built in 1959 to a design by Bates, Smart & McCutcheon, was purchased by Bib Stillwell Motors after the dairy closed. The entire site has since been redeveloped.Original black and white photographic positive of a Model Dairy Truck parked in Kent Street, Kew.the model dairy pty ltd, the model dairy co, john simonton, james venn morgan, john tanner, cotham road, kent street, ridgeway avenue, bates smart & mccutcheon, dairies -- kew (vic.)

This well-known Kew business, which would become known as The Model Dairy, was founded in 1863 by James Venn Morgan. Morgan sold the company in the 1890s to John Simonton who renamed the business The Model Dairy Co. Simonton had experience in the local dairying industry having previously leased the Willsmere Park Dairy. He moved the business to Belmont Avenue in c.1899. In 1924, following his retirement, the company expanded to become The Model Dairy Pty Ltd with Arnold Thompson Simonton and John Tanner as its owner/directors. With new techniques and processes such a pasteurisation, the Belmont Avenue site no longer met required standards for processing and bottling, so its operations moved to 191 Cotham Road. The company celebrated its centenary in 1963. A new factory, built in 1959 to a design by Bates, Smart & McCutcheon, was purchased by Bib Stillwell Motors after the dairy closed. The entire site has since been redeveloped.Original black and white photographic positive of two Model Dairy Trucks in Kent Street, Kew. Barenya Court and Cotham Shopping Centre in distancethe model dairy pty ltd, the model dairy co, john simonton, james venn morgan, john tanner, cotham road, kent street, ridgeway avenue, bates smart & mccutcheon, dairies -- kew (vic.)

This well-known Kew business, which would become known as The Model Dairy, was founded in 1863 by James Venn Morgan. Morgan sold the company in the 1890s to John Simonton who renamed the business The Model Dairy Co. Simonton had experience in the local dairying industry having previously leased the Willsmere Park Dairy. He moved the business to Belmont Avenue in c.1899. In 1924, following his retirement, the company expanded to become The Model Dairy Pty Ltd with Arnold Thompson Simonton and John Tanner as its owner/directors. With new techniques and processes such a pasteurisation, the Belmont Avenue site no longer met required standards for processing and bottling, so its operations moved to 191 Cotham Road. The company celebrated its centenary in 1963. A new factory, built in 1959 to a design by Bates, Smart & McCutcheon, was purchased by Bib Stillwell Motors after the dairy closed. The entire site has since been redeveloped.Original black and white photographic positive of Model Dairy Trucks in Kent Street, Kew. Barenya Court and Cotham Shopping Centre in distancethe model dairy pty ltd, the model dairy co, john simonton, james venn morgan, john tanner, cotham road, kent street, ridgeway avenue, bates smart & mccutcheon, dairies -- kew (vic.)

This well-known Kew business, which would become known as The Model Dairy, was founded in 1863 by James Venn Morgan. Morgan sold the company in the 1890s to John Simonton who renamed the business The Model Dairy Co. Simonton had experience in the local dairying industry having previously leased the Willsmere Park Dairy. He moved the business to Belmont Avenue in c.1899. In 1924, following his retirement, the company expanded to become The Model Dairy Pty Ltd with Arnold Thompson Simonton and John Tanner as its owner/directors. With new techniques and processes such a pasteurisation, the Belmont Avenue site no longer met required standards for processing and bottling, so its operations moved to 191 Cotham Road. The company celebrated its centenary in 1963. A new factory, built in 1959 to a design by Bates, Smart & McCutcheon, was purchased by Bib Stillwell Motors after the dairy closed. The entire site has since been redeveloped.Digital copy of a business card advertising the Model Dairy in Belmont Avenue, Kew, managed by John Simonton. (The card was donated by John Harvey Simonton in 2021,)"Milk delivered fresh twice daily in / Kew, Hawthorn & Camberwell / All Milk guaranteed free from chemicals, used either to preserve or colour it / Our butter (Model Dairy Brand) / I Manufactured from Pure Cream by the most improved Machinery / [DRAWING] The Model Dairy Co Belmont Avenue Kew / Model Dairy Co / Belmont Avenue, Kew / John Simonton, Manager"model dairy -- kew (vic.), john simonton, belmont avenue -- kew (vic.), dairies -- kew (vic.)

This well-known Kew business, which would become known as The Model Dairy, was founded in 1863 by James Venn Morgan. Morgan sold the company in the 1890s to John Simonton who renamed the business The Model Dairy Co. Simonton had experience in the local dairying industry having previously leased the Willsmere Park Dairy. He moved the business to Belmont Avenue in c.1899. In 1924, following his retirement, the company expanded to become The Model Dairy Pty Ltd with Arnold Thompson Simonton and John Tanner as its owner/directors. With new techniques and processes such a pasteurisation, the Belmont Avenue site no longer met required standards for processing and bottling, so its operations moved to 191 Cotham Road. The company celebrated its centenary in 1963. A new factory, built in 1959 to a design by Bates, Smart & McCutcheon, was purchased by Bib Stillwell Motors after the dairy closed. The entire site has since been redeveloped.Digital copy of the front side of an invoice, for week ending 22 June 1907 by John Simonton of the Model Dairy in Belmont Avenue to Watson for delivery of 17 bottles of milk on six occasions during the week . A drawing of the Model Dairy is printed at the top of the invoice. (The card was donated by John Harvey Simonton in 2021,)"[To M] Watson" / "Paid A Simonton 26/6.07"model dairy -- kew (vic.), john simonton, belmont avenue -- kew (vic.), dairies -- kew (vic.), invoices

This well-known Kew business, which would become known as The Model Dairy, was founded in 1863 by James Venn Morgan. Morgan sold the company in the 1890s to John Simonton who renamed the business The Model Dairy Co. Simonton had experience in the local dairying industry having previously leased the Willsmere Park Dairy. He moved the business to Belmont Avenue in c.1899. In 1924, following his retirement, the company expanded to become The Model Dairy Pty Ltd with Arnold Thompson Simonton and John Tanner as its owner/directors. With new techniques and processes such a pasteurisation, the Belmont Avenue site no longer met required standards for processing and bottling, so its operations moved to 191 Cotham Road. The company celebrated its centenary in 1963. A new factory, built in 1959 to a design by Bates, Smart & McCutcheon, was purchased by Bib Stillwell Motors after the dairy closed. The entire site has since been redeveloped.Rare silver plate salver commemorating one of Kew's most famous businesses. The salver is one of a pair, identically engraved with Model Dairy 1963-1963.Hecworth reproduction old sheffield plate salver with foliate edge on three feet, with impressed maker mark on reverse rim and engraved with the words 'Model Dairy 1963-1963' in the centre of the reverse. "Heckworth Plate was made by Platers Pty Ltd at 39 Greeves St, St Kilda, Melbourne, Victoria. Platers introduced 'Hecworth' Sheffield Reproduction Silverware in 1940 and in 1946 'Hecworth' was acquired by Rodd Pty Ltd." (MAAS)MODEL DAIRY 1863 - 1963model dairy -- kew (vic.), commemorative silver, john tanner, tanner family

This well-known Kew business, which would become known as The Model Dairy, was founded in 1863 by James Venn Morgan. Morgan sold the company in the 1890s to John Simonton who renamed the business The Model Dairy Co. Simonton had experience in the local dairying industry having previously leased the Willsmere Park Dairy. He moved the business to Belmont Avenue in c.1899. In 1924, following his retirement, the company expanded to become The Model Dairy Pty Ltd with Arnold Thompson Simonton and John Tanner as its owner/directors. With new techniques and processes such a pasteurisation, the Belmont Avenue site no longer met required standards for processing and bottling, so its operations moved to 191 Cotham Road. The company celebrated its centenary in 1963. A new factory, built in 1959 to a design by Bates, Smart & McCutcheon, was purchased by Bib Stillwell Motors after the dairy closed. The entire site has since been redeveloped.Rare silver plate salver commemorating one of Kew's most famous businesses. The salver is one of a pair, identically engraved with Model Dairy 1963-1963.Hecworth reproduction old sheffield plate salver with foliate edge on three feet, with impressed maker mark on reverse rim and engraved with the words 'Model Dairy 1963-1963' in the centre of the reverse. "Heckworth Plate was made by Platers Pty Ltd at 39 Greeves St, St Kilda, Melbourne, Victoria. Platers introduced 'Hecworth' Sheffield Reproduction Silverware in 1940 and in 1946 'Hecworth' was acquired by Rodd Pty Ltd." (MAAS)MODEL DAIRY 1863 - 1963model dairy -- kew (vic.), commemorative silver, john tanner, tanner family

Pru Sanderson, in her groundbreaking ‘City of Kew Urban Conservation Study : Volume 2 - Development History’ (1988), summarised the periods of urban development and subdivisions of land in Kew. The periods that she identified included 1845-1880, 1880-1893, 1893-1921, 1921-1933, 1933-1943, and Post-War Development. These periods were selected as they represented periods of rapid growth or decline in urban development. An obvious starting point for Sanderson’s groupings involved population growth and the associated economic cycles. These cycles also highlighted urban expansion onto land that was predominantly rural, although in other cases it represented the decline and breakup of large estates. A number of the plans in the Kew Historical Society’s collection can also be found in other collections, such as those of the State Library of Victoria and the Boroondara Library Service. A number are however unique to the collection.The Kew Historical Society collection includes almost 100 subdivision plans pertaining to suburbs of the City of Melbourne. Most of these are of Kew, Kew East or Studley Park, although a smaller number are plans of Camberwell, Deepdene, Balwyn and Hawthorn. It is believed that the majority of the plans were gifted to the Society by persons connected with the real estate firm - J. R. Mathers and McMillan, 136 Cotham Road, Kew. The Plans in the collection are rarely in pristine form, being working plans on which the agent would write notes and record lots sold and the prices of these. The subdivision plans are historically significant examples of the growth of urban Melbourne from the beginning of the 20th Century up until the 1980s. A number of the plans are double-sided and often include a photograph on the reverse. A number of the latter are by noted photographers such as J.E. Barnes. In 1910, the Willsmere Park Estate Dairy was lauded in the Box Hill Reporter as ‘an object lesson in dairying’. Ten years later, in 1923, it was to be sold. The first subdivision of the Estate included 77 grand allotments with frontages to Belford and Kilby Roads, Elm and Willow Groves, and Acacia Avenue. Every lot was claimed to be ‘high and dry’, and with panoramic views of Kew and East Kew. The balance of the Estate, and the largest proportion of allotments was to be subdivided and sold from 1940. This second sale included 109 lots fronting Kilby Road and Elm and Willow Groves. Annotations on the plan indicate that the more expensive lots faced Belford Road opposite the Kew Golf Links. Two of these sold for £310. Lots further to the west in Willow Grove were sold for £60 less. Many of the houses to be built on these 109 allotments after the War faced Government restrictions on building materials and the dimensions of each house due to postwar shortages.subdivision plans - east kew, willsmere park estate

Henry Christian (c.1809-91) was one of the first settlers in Kew. He arrived in Victoria with his wife Agnes and son Orlando in 1855 on the Gypsy Queen. He established a rope-making business in Bulleen Road by 1858 but was declared insolvent two years later. In his final years, he was celebrated as one of the oldest living settlers of the district. His son, Orlando Henry Beater Christian (c.1853-1930) became a member of the Hawthorn Band and a foundation member of the Willsmere Swimming Club. Orlando and his wife Elizabeth had four children: Henry Beater (1886-1962), Ada Susannah May (1888-1962), Orlando Julius (1891-1917) and Lilian Adelaide ( -1956). Ada married George Herrick Washfold, and had four children: Lilian Mavis, Orlando George Barnard, William Edwin and Henry Clifford (the husband of the donor).An item from an outstanding and diverse photographic collection, assembled by members of the Christian family of Pakington Street, Kew, comprising professional and amateur photography, depicting individuals, natural and settled environments and the interactions between these worlds. Many of the photographs vividly capture the worlds of three generations of men - Henry Christian, his son Orlando Henry Beater Christian, and his grandson of Henry Christian. The most important photographer was the youngest, Henry Christian, who was a keen explorer, not just of his immediate environment but also of the Victorian wilderness. His major opus is contained in two albums in which he records, sometimes in majestic detail and on other occasions the intimate features of the natural world. His photographic travels during the 1920s, often in solitary ramblings but on other occasions with companions, recall the heroic landscape photography of an earlier era, pioneered by Nicholas Caire. In addition to their aesthetic value, the albums are historically significant records within the State of Victoria, of what is now a distant point in time, and of places that have become radically altered through human intervention. Photographic positive on mounting board. The image depicts a woman and three young children in a buggy drawn by a donkey. The road on which they pause is surrounded by fenced and cleared farmland, stretching away to the distant hills. It is presumed that the subject of the photo is Elizabeth Christian (nee Schoberg) and three of her four children. The photographer may have been her husband, Orlando Henry Beater Christian.christian family, washfold family, kew pioneers, christian-washfold collection

Henry Christian (c.1809-91) was one of the first settlers in Kew. He arrived in Victoria with his wife Agnes and son Orlando in 1855 on the Gypsy Queen. He established a rope-making business in Bulleen Road by 1858 but was declared insolvent two years later. In his final years, he was celebrated as one of the oldest living settlers of the district. His son, Orlando Henry Beater Christian (c.1853-1930) became a member of the Hawthorn Band and a foundation member of the Willsmere Swimming Club. Orlando and his wife Elizabeth had four children: Henry Beater (1886-1962), Ada Susannah May (1888-1962), Orlando Julius (1891-1917) and Lilian Adelaide ( -1956). Ada married George Herrick Washfold, and had four children: Lilian Mavis, Orlando George Barnard, William Edwin and Henry Clifford (the husband of the donor).Photographic positive on mounting board. The image depicts ten deaconesses posed in two rows for a formal photoshoot. Deaconesses Camberwell Baptist Church / Back row, 2nd on right, Ada Washfold [nee Christian].christian family, washfold family, camberwell baptist church, ada washfold (nee christian), christian-washfold collection