The site of the former Kew Congregational Church was the earliest 'built' place of religion in Kew. An earlier building by Charles Vickers was replaced by a new brick church designed by Albert Purchas. Following the creation of the Uniting Church, the church at 30 Walpole Street was declared redundant and demolished to make way for the Bodalla Nursing Home (itself later demolished).Faded colour photograph of an entrance door of the Kew Congregational Church in Walpole Street (Dem. 1978/9). The single door had an ornate iron grill above it. The door was set within a concrete stucco neo-Gothic arch surrounded by red brick work."KH-137 / Donated by H. Gielen / Former Congregational Church"kew congregational church, architects -- albert purchas, churches -- kew (vic.), walpole street -- kew (vic.), congregational churches -- melbourne (vic.)

The site of the former Kew Congregational Church was the earliest 'built' place of religion in Kew. An earlier building by Charles Vickers was replaced by a new brick church designed by Albert Purchas. Following the creation of the Uniting Church, the church at 30 Walpole Street was declared redundant and demolished to make way for the Bodalla Nursing Home (itself later demolished).Faded colour photograph of the Kew Congregational Church in Walpole Street (Dem. 1978/9). "KH-137 / Former Congregational Church"kew congregational church, architects -- albert purchas, churches -- kew (vic.), walpole street -- kew (vic.), congregational churches -- melbourne (vic.)

Published: Age (Melbourne, Vic.: 1854- ), 4 August 1933, page 3 Published title: GIRLS’ SCHOOLS – MODEL YACHTING - FOOTBALL Published caption: The headmistress, Miss H. Daniell, and girls at Ruyton, Selbourne Road, Kew, snapped after school hours. Trove article identifier: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article204381763 Research by Project Volunteer, Louise McKenzie: Rather than the people, this charming building takes the eye! Originally named “Tarring”, it was built in 1872 by Mr Henry Henty and his wife Mrs Marion Anne Henty (nee McKellar) for their family. Located at 82 Selbourne Road, Kew, it is described by Melbourne’s Open House organisation as “… a two-storey, polychrome brick mansion built for them by prominent Melbourne architect Albert Purchas. The house and nearly four acres of grounds served as their family home until the death of Marian Henty in 1919. “ (See below for further information on Albert Purchas.) In 1920 it was sold to Ruyton Girls School. Ruyton was established in 1878 by its first principal, Charlotte Anderson (1838-1906), who named it in honour of the parish in Shropshire, England, Ruyton-XI-Towns, where her great-great-grandfather David Evans had been vicar. Its motto is Recte et Fideliter, meaning "Upright and Faithful", which is also the name of the school song. The original school, one of Victoria’s oldest independent schools for girls, was located at the home of Mrs Anderson at 63 High Street South, Kew. In 1882 she moved the school to Edgecombe in Studley Park Road. Mrs Anderson retired due to ill health and sold the school to her friend Miss Eliza Bromby. One of Ruyton's four Houses, Anderson, is named for Charlotte Anderson. When Ruyton Girls School was moved to the site in 1920 it established the building as a Boarding House, and renamed the building “Henty House” in honour of its original owners. Today the school remains an all girls’ school, and pays tribute to its founder and the historic significance of Henty House and its magnificent Moreton Bay Fig tree, which still stands today. The building retains many original, Victorian-era features, while also showing the layers of change, made over the decades in order to meet the evolving needs of one of Melbourne’s leading schools. The headmistress mentioned in the caption for MCK016 is Miss Hilda Daniell, shown standing in front of Henty House in the midst of a group of Ruyton girls in their school uniforms, some holding hockey sticks. Miss Daniell was the longest serving Principal of Ruyton 1913-1952. She was originally a student in 1893, then joined the teaching staff in 1898. It was under her leadership that the School purchased and moved to “Tarring”. The boarding house included a flat for Hilda to live onsite. An article in the Ruyton Heritage Collection – Bedford Series, dated 21 May 2021 cites that Miss Daniell “was affectionately known as “Dream” by Ruytonians of her era” apparently due to a tendency to quiet reflection. The article continues, “After her retirement in 1952 Miss Daniell was awarded an Order of the British Empire for her many services to education, an award she received from the hands of the Queen during the 1954 Royal Tour. Also in 1952, the Kew Council honoured her by renaming Brougham Place as ‘Daniell Place’.” Arthur Purchas, architect: The architect responsible for the design of “Tarring”. Arthur Purchas, was extremely active and highly regarded at this time. Born in Wales in 1825, he emigrated to Melbourne in 1851 and soon established a private practice as a surveyor and architect, with offices variously in Little Collins, Queen Street, Chancery Lane, and finally 462 Little Collins Street. Wikipedia notes in an early reference to Purchas that “An early story is that one of his first jobs, when he would have been about 25 years old, was a position under Surveyor-General Robert Hoddle, and disagreeing with him over the line for St Kilda Road, appealed to Governor La Trobe, and successfully got the road diverted around the hill which eventually became the site of the Shrine of Remembrance. There may not be much truth to this, since by 1851 St Kilda Road was already a well worn track running around the hill, the top of which La Trobe had reserved for a Government House in 1840.” The timing of Purchas’s arrival in Melbourne was perfect. The Victorian gold rush of the 1850’s generated enormous wealth in Melbourne, and a building boom followed. The Wikipedia entry continues … that alone, or with his brother in law Charles R Swyer, “Purchas is said to have designed over 140 houses, offices, churches, banks and cemetery buildings in Victoria in his long career. Berkely Hall, St Kilda dating from 1854 is one of his first buildings, and still exists, though the original house is obscured by an early C20th verandah. Another notable early design was the head office of the Melbourne Savings Bank, built on the corner Flinders Lane and Market Street in 1857-58, in an elaborately detailed Renaissance Revival style. His churches were mostly Gothic Revival, built for the Anglican Church, along with some parsonages, while most of the bank buildings were Renaissance Revival designs for the Bank of Australasia. He also designed city buildings in the 1860s and 70s, such as the Mutual Insurance Co, Northern Insurance Co, and the first premises for George & George, destroyed by fire in 1889. One of his most outstanding designs is St George's Presbyterian Church in Chapel Street, St Kilda (1877–80), in a striking polychrome brick Gothic Revival style, unusually carried on through to the interior. Purchas produced one of the few published maps and compilations of the early pastoral settlers runs in Victoria in 1853. In the same year he designed the layout of the Melbourne General Cemetery, the first 'garden' cemetery in Victoria, a curvilinear layout with extensive plantings, as well as the gate lodge and gates (the gates lodge were demolished and the gates relocated to their present position in the 1930s). He was a long time member of the Cemetery Trust, serving as secretary from 1876-1886. He was also Chairman of the Boroondara General Cemetery Board of Trustees 1867 to 1909, and designed many aspects of the cemetery, including the landscape, the cast iron entrance gates (1889), the rotunda (1890) and the surrounding brick wall (1895–6). Purchas was a keen inventor having applied for a patent for an invention for lighting a railway carriage with gas in 1861, and won a competition for a model farm complex, in 1862. This unusual design had the dairy either underground or half underground, to keep it cool, with a 'dry lining' around the outside of the sunken portions. In 1883, with fellow architect Alfred Smith, he took out a patent for fire-proof floors, arches, staircases and other parts of buildings.” Purchas died in his home in Kew in 1909 and, not surprisingly, was buried at Boroondara Cemetery. Henty family history in Australia: Henry Henty (b.1833-d.1912) was a successful businessman, and briefly a MLA for the seat of Grenville, Victoria in 1866. He was one of three sons of James Henty, and nephew of Edward Henty who is considered to be the first permanent European colonist to take up residence in Victoria. The Australian Dictionary of Biography provides a riveting overview of the complex and enthusiastic activities of the Henty family, and its entanglement in the development of mercantile life in WA, Tasmania, SA and Victoria from 1828 onwards. The family had a focussed commitment to creating thriving businesses in Australia, despite being regularly thwarted by legislative pushbacks and law changes, instigated in Britain as the Australian colony developed. Areas of greatest influence were merino sheep, beef and horse breeding, whaling, farm establishment, membership of the legal and political fraternities, sporting prowess, and board directorships in banking and railways. The Dictionary of Biography summarises: “As settlers the Henty men were notable not merely for being the first to settle in Victoria but also for their number and quality: a father and seven educated sons experienced in farming and trading, occupations of prime importance to a new colony, and importers of unusually substantial capital in money, skilled workers and thoroughbred stock.” As well as Tarring, the Henty family Melbourne residences included Findon (in Kew, overlooking Studley Park), Offington (St Kilda Road overlooking Albert Park) and Field Place (Henty Court, Kew), and descriptions of the houses in Wikipedia –Melbourne Architecture 1870s - reflect the development of Melbourne society. References RUYTON (1934, December 15). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), p. 18. Retrieved March 12, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11001092 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruyton_Girls%27_School#:~:text=Ruyton%20Girls'%20School%2C%20commonly%20referred,of%20Melbourne%2C%20Victoria%2C%20Australia. https://www.ruyton.vic.edu.au/our-school#:~:text=With%20an%20international%20reputation%20as,opportunity%20and%20challenge%20for%20girls. https://victoriancollections.net.au/items/5bea06b121ea690bf4eb08ed https://www.ruyton.vic.edu.au/our-school/campus-and-facilities Biography of Edward Henty and family: https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/henty-edward-2247 Article on Offington House: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article196554993 Article on Field Place House : https://vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/places/64881 Article on Findon: https://www.facebook.com/KewHistoryGroup/posts/in-the-book-jubilee-history-of-kew-1803-1910-by-fga-barnard-there-is-a-photo-of-/4389837914376555/ Charlotte Anderson/Ruyton: https://victoriancollections.net.au/items/5be4b8c821ea6a039c7a13e3 https://victoriancollections.net.au/items/6179e90da912eb195970bdf8 https://victoriancollections.net.au/items/5bea06b121ea690bf4eb08ed https://victoriancollections.net.au/items/65d3e05c5b5e5c61346420a2 Photo of Charlotte Anderson: https://viewer.slv.vic.gov.au/?entity=IE1515776&mode=browse Photo of Charlotte Anderson: https://victoriancollections.net.au/items/6179e90da912eb195970bdf8 https://victoriancollections.net.au/items/5be4b8c821ea6a039c7a13e3 Wikipedia: Architecture of Melbourne: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architecture_of_Melbourne Open House Melbourne: Henty House: https://www.universe.com/events/henty-house-ruyton-girls-school-tickets-Z45LYH Albert Purchas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Purchas Leader (Melbourne, Vic. : 1862 - 1918, 1935), Saturday 3 June 1876, page 9 – Article on Offington http://www.ohta.org.au/organs/organs/BoxHillUC.html Melb Architecture 1870s - Wikipedia Victorian Collections: Letters of Hilda Daniell https://victoriancollections.net.au/items/65d3e05c5b5e5c61346420a2 Photographer notations on slide: "Ruyton Girls School 1933".schools, 1930-1939, architecture, victorian architecture, trees, architects

The Congregational Church in Walpole Street, Kew (now demolished) was designed by Albert Purchas. The second church was built on the site of an earlier church designed by Charles Vickers.Sepia photograph on board of Sunday School students and teachers from the Congregational Church in Walpole Street. Reverse: "Kew Congregational Church / ? Sunday School. Miss A. Millist" [donor]. circa 1900"churches -- kew (vic), congregational church -- kew (vic), sunday schools -- kew (vic), walpole street -- kew (vic.)

The first St. Hilary’s Church of England (Kew) was a timber building on the corner of John and Rowland Streets, designed in 1888 by Albert Purchas. This timber building was demolished in the 1940s to make way for a new church and tennis courts. The drawing was made to accompany a newsletter article by Dione McIntyre.Pen and ink drawing of the rear view of ‘old’ St Hilary’s, drawn by Dione McIntyre, 2013. "Rear view of 'old' St Hilary's"st hilary's church (kew), dione mcintyre, churches -- kew (vic)

The site of the former Kew Congregational Church was the earliest 'built' place of religion in Kew. An earlier building by Charles Vickers was replaced by a new brick church designed by Albert Purchas. Following the creation of the Uniting Church, the church at 30 Walpole Street was declared redundant and demolished to make way for the Bodalla Nursing Home (itself later demolished).Colour print positive of the former Congregational Church in Walpole Street, Kew. A side on view of the red brick and concrete renders building showing the small steeple and the front entrance."Oldest church in Kew. Taken Oct 1977. Formerly Congregational church"churches -- kew (vic), congregational churches, walpole street -- kew (vic), albert purchas

The site of the former Kew Congregational Church was the earliest 'built' place of religion in Kew. An earlier building by Charles Vickers was replaced by a new brick church designed by Albert Purchas. Following the creation of the Uniting Church, the church at 30 Walpole Street was declared redundant and demolished to make way for the Bodalla Nursing Home (itself later demolished).Colour print positive of the former Congregational Church in Walpole Street, Kew. The front of the polychrome brick building showing the small steeple and the front entrance."Oldest church in Kew. Victoria. Taken Oct '77. Formerly Congregational Church"churches -- kew (vic), congregational churches, walpole street -- kew (vic), albert purchas

The site of the former Kew Congregational Church was the earliest 'built' place of religion in Kew. An earlier building by Charles Vickers was replaced by a new brick church designed by Albert Purchas. Following the creation of the Uniting Church, the church at 30 Walpole Street was declared redundant and demolished to make way for the Bodalla Nursing Home (itself later demolished).Faded colour print positive of the former church in Walpole Street, Kew. The photo shows the north side of the church. "(Total of 5 photographs) / Reg No KH-137 / Former Congregational Church Walpole St. / Demolished 1979 / Build 1860 replaced the Independent Chapel 1854 / Donated by Hans Gielen, Kew Municipal Librarian 1979"kew congregational church, churches - kew (vic.), walpole street -- kew (vic.)

The site of the former Kew Congregational Church was the earliest 'built' place of religion in Kew. An earlier building by Charles Vickers was replaced by a new brick church designed by Albert Purchas. Following the creation of the Uniting Church, the church at 30 Walpole Street was declared redundant and demolished to make way for the Bodalla Nursing Home (itself later demolished).Posed photograph, mounted on card, of the congregation of the Congregational Church in Walpole Street, Kew (demolished). The undated photograph was taken at the side of the red brick churchMISS I MILLIST [sic] / CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH KEW / ? SUNDAY SCHOOLchurches -- kew (vic.), congregational churches -- victoria, walpole street -- kew (vic.)

Boroondara Cemetery, established in 1858, is within an unusual triangular reserve bounded by High Street, Park Hill Road and Victoria Park, Kew. The caretaker's lodge and administrative office (1860 designed by Charles Vickers, additions, 1866-1899 by Albert Purchas) form a picturesque two-storey brick structure with a slate roof and clock tower. A rotunda or shelter (1890, Albert Purchas) is located in the centre of the cemetery: this has an octagonal hipped roof with fish scale slates and a decorative brick base with a tessellated floor and timber seating. The cemetery is surrounded by a 2.7 metre high ornamental red brick wall (1895-96, Albert Purchas) with some sections of vertical iron palisades between brick pillars. Albert Purchas was a prominent Melbourne architect who was the Secretary of the Melbourne General Cemetery from 1852 to 1907 and Chairman of the Boroondara Cemetery Board of Trustees from 1867 to 1909. He made a significant contribution to the design of the Boroondara Cemetery. (Source: Heritage Victoria)This photograph is one of the earliest known photographs of the cemetery, showing the early plantings and fences.Later print copy of an undated original photographic positive of the entrance to the Boroondara General (Kew) Cemetery. The Cemetery had been opened in 1855. This view is from Bulleen Road (now High Street) showing a group of 12 or 13 men standing in a line outside the entrance. At this time, the clocktower and high brick fence had not been constructed, but the trees have reached a substantial heightPencil inscription on reverse - "Boroondara Cemetery Entrance 1862"boroondara general (kew) cemetery, cemeteries -- melbourne (vic.)