In August, 1920, The Kew Town Council decided to establish a Baby Health Centre in Kew. The first Centre was opened in a room in the Town Hall in Walpole Street on 5 November 1920. In May 1939, the Railway Commissioners agreed to lease a site at the Kew Railway Station for a Baby Health Centre for a term of 21 years at 3 pounds per annum. A building, designed by Roland Chipperfield, was erected, and the Centre previously conducted at the Town Hall transferred there. This became known as the Denmark Street Baby Health Centre. (Cr. W.D. Vaughan, Kew’s Civic Century, W.D. Vaughan Pty Ltd., Kew, 1960, pp.96 & 97.)One of a pair of wooden puzzles used in the Denmark Street Baby Health Centre in Kew.denmark street baby health centre - kew (vic), baby health centres - kew (vic), games and puzzles

In August, 1920, The Kew Town Council decided to establish a Baby Health Centre in Kew. The first Centre was opened in a room in the Town Hall in Walpole Street on 5 November 1920. In May 1939, the Railway Commissioners agreed to lease a site at the Kew Railway Station for a Baby Health Centre for a term of 21 years at 3 pounds per annum. A building, designed by Roland Chipperfield, was erected, and the Centre previously conducted at the Town Hall transferred there. This became known as the Denmark Street Baby Health Centre. (Cr. W.D. Vaughan, Kew’s Civic Century, W.D. Vaughan Pty Ltd., Kew, 1960, pp.96 & 97.)One of a pair of wooden puzzles used in the Denmark Street Baby Health Centre in Kew.denmark street baby health centre - kew (vic), baby health centres - kew (vic), games and puzzles

Carlton Refuge/Carlton Home was established in 1857 in Madeline Street, Carlton (relocating in 1890 to Keppel Street, Carlton). The Carlton Home provided maternity care for married and unmarried mothers, and residential care for infants and toddlers unable to be at home with their mother. It also operated a day-care centre for children. Most of the residents were mothers or children on private placements. The Children's Welfare Department used the Carlton Home as a maternity home for wards, a foster home for infant wards, and for children requiring placements under the infant life protection provisions of the Children's Welfare Act. By the late 1940s, the home was in a bad state of repair and it closed in 1949. In 1951, the facility reopened as the Queen Elizabeth Maternal and Child Health Centre that also operated as an Infant Welfare and Mothercraft Training School. The Centre provided after-care for nursing mothers and babies transferring from maternity hospitals, and specialised care for babies referred by private practitioners and the Social Welfare Department – babies who were premature, frail or had feeding or similar problems. (Source: DHHS)The photograph is a valuable primary resource relating to training for maternal and infant welfare centres in Kew, Victoria. It has a strong provenance through inscriptions linking it to the Denmark Street Maternal and Child Health Centre.Photograph, mounted on card of Infant Welfare Trainees and Staff, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, 1956. The photograph lists the names of the individuals below the photograph. They include: Back Row {L-R] M Whittenbury, M Bolton, E Haebich, G Barnard, M Griffiths / Middle Row [L-R] L Stevenson, T Boucher, M Madden, J Price, A Glowrey, R Helmore, M Murfet, M Lindsay / Front Row [L-R] R Buxton, W Crick, G Stott, M Buxton Matron, J Keogh, B Longmuir, E Borgelt.Obverse: Infant Welfare Trainees and Staff, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, July School 1956 Reverse: "Presented to Kew Historical Soc by Dr Darbyshire following a 50 year birthday display at the Denmark Street Maternal and Child Health Centre [Kew] in May 1980. [Illegible]."denmark street maternal and child health centre, baby health centres --- kew (vic), queen elizabeth hospital, infant welfare

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)

Inkwell and stand used at the Denmark Street Baby Health Centre in Kew.Wrought iron inkstand consisting of two heavy glass ink wells with china inserts and one iron lid. Base:Rd.No. 519422. Lid:Rd.No.512422. inkwell, inkstand, writing equipment, denmark street baby health centre - kew (vic)

In August, 1920, The Kew Town Council decided to establish a Baby Health Centre in Kew. The first Centre was opened in a room in the Town Hall in Walpole Street on 5 November 1920. In May 1939, the Railway Commissioners agreed to lease a site at the Kew Railway Station for a Baby Health Centre for a term of 21 years at 3 pounds per annum. A building, designed by Roland Chipperfield, was erected, and the Centre previously conducted at the Town Hall transferred there. This became known as the Denmark Street Baby Health Centre. (Cr. W.D. Vaughan, Kew’s Civic Century, W.D. Vaughan Pty Ltd., Kew, 1960, pp.96 & 97.)Small teddy bear with only one eye remaining and with a number of repairs. The bear was used by children at the Denmark Street Baby Health Centre in Kew.toys - teddy bears, denmark street baby health centre - kew (vic)

The Municipality of Kew (1860-1863), the Borough of Kew (1863-1910), the Town of Kew (1910-1921) and the City of Kew (1921-1994) were local government instrumentalities in the State of Victoria. In 1994, the City of Kew was amalgamated, together with the former Cities of Camberwell and Hawthorn, into the new City of Boroondara (1994- ). Like other local government entities of the period, Kew was administered by town clerks. The two notable town clerks in Kew's history were H. H. (Henry Hirst) Harrison (1868-1955) and W. D. (William Dickie) Birrell (1899-1974). Harrison was appointed to the position in 1901 and retired in 1938 after 37 years. Birrell, appointed Acting Town Clerk in 1921, became Town Clerk in 1938, following Harrison's retirement. He continued in this role until his retirement in 1966.This card is part of an historically significant civic collection, containing hundreds of separate invitations, documents, greeting cards, programmes and tickets issued and/or collected by successive town clerks. Items in the collection illuminate the political, social and cultural history of the district. As a continuous record, ranging across most decades of the Twentieth Century, they reveal changing tastes in design, values and relationships in the history of local government in Victoria.CITY OF KEW / THE MAYOR AND COUNCILLORS / REQUEST THE PLEASURE OF THE COMPANY OF / Mrs FGA Barnard / AT TH EOPENING OF THE / EASK KEW BABY HEALTH CENTRE / civic invitations -- kew (vic), mrs fga barnard, east kew baby health centre, countess of stradbroke, social services -- kew (vic.)