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.Bella Vista (later ‘Malinda’) was a large Federation house designed by the architect Robert Haddon for Abel Hoadley. The house was built in 1902 and occupied the eastern corner of Thomas Street and Cotham Road. It was a single-storey, red brick house, set back from the road, featuring a central tower topped by a pagoda-like red terra cotta roof, on top of which was perched a very large terra cotta dragon. The Bella Vista subdivision of 1929 included Hoadley’s house as well as nine allotments facing Cotham Road and Alfred and Thomas Streets. In 1941, the land on which Hoadley’s house stood was to be further subdivided. Bella Vista is believed to have lasted until it was demolished in the 1980s.subdivision plans - kew, bella vista estate

The Bella Vista Subdivision included 101 lots in Murphy Road, Kerry Close, Keir Avenue, Norman Street, Daphne Street in Doncaster East,An undated, four-page colour brochure for the sale of the Bella Vista Estate in Doncaster East. The item includes a separate price list of the home sites maintained by the agent. The latter includes the original and the discounted price. subdivision plans - doncaster east (vic), bella vista subdivision - doncaster east (vic)

This work forms part of the collection assembled by the historian Dorothy Rogers, that was donated to the Kew Historical Society by her son John Rogers in 2015. The manuscripts, photographs, maps, and documents were sourced by her from both family and local collections or produced as references for her print publications. Many were directly used by Rogers in writing ‘Lovely Old Homes of Kew’ (1961) and 'A History of Kew' (1973), or the numerous articles on local history that she produced for suburban newspapers. Most of the photographs in the collection include detailed annotations in her hand. The Rogers Collection provides a comprehensive insight into the working habits of a historian in the 1960s and 1970s. Together it forms the largest privately-donated collection within the archives of the Kew Historical Society.A photographic reproduction of a plan in the Vale Collection of the State Library of Victoria. The plan shows lots in a subdivision bordered by Cotham Road; Edward Street; Sackville Street and Thomas Street. The undated plan does not include the land occupied by Bella Vista and Charleville.subdivision plans -- kew (vic), st helliers estate