A document outlining the relevant by-laws produced by the City Of Kew to regulate the minimum size of allotments in Barkers Road, Burke Road, Cotham Road, Glenferrie Road and Studley Park Road, as well as in other streets more generally. The by-laws specify the size of allotments in which single unit dwellings, attached houses and maisonettes, and flats could be built. In the ‘main streets’ a minimum land area for single unit dwellings was 8,100 square feet, with an average frontage of 60’ and a depth of 135’. In other streets this was reduced to an overall size of 6,250 square feet, with an average dimensions of 50’ x 125’. In specifying the land area required by flats, different sizes were regulated for the construction of between two and six flats. Six flats at the time when the regulations were passed must have been the upper limit permitted. Understanding the size of land listed in imperial measurements can be a challenge. Within Australia, the so-called quarter acre block was approximately 11,000 square feet. Those specified in the by-laws would appear to be smaller. The document was pasted on the reverse of a subdivision plan in the collection.This is a rare (undated) document produced by the City of Kew defining how subdivision within the municipality should occur. The document was created to constrain unbridled speculation in subdivisions in the various parts of Kew and East Kew.Undated typed document, issued by the City of Kew (1921-1994) indicating the minimum size of allotment required in Barkers Road, Burke Road, Cotham Road, Glenferrie Road and Studley Park Road. The document is mounted on board and waterstained. It was presumably used by a real estate agent. [Formerly catalogued as MAP.0066].city of kew - by-laws and regulations, subdivisions - kew - studley park

The two-storey house at 104 Peel Street, known locally as The Mousehouse, was built in 1890 of stucco-rendered handmade bricks. The ground floor façade suggests that the front door originally opened directly onto the street. Prior to 1915, the house was numbered 184, but the street number changed to 104 in that year. Early residents included Henry Martin, Mrs Henrietta Blythe and A. R. Chaffer, the two latter being shopkeepers. The eminent dentist Samuel E. Wills, who had rooms in Collins Street, moved to the house in 1897 and lived there for six years. He was reputed to have conducted a dental practice in the cellar. Wills proposed the establishment of a Dental College in Melbourne and helped to frame Victoria’s dental rules and by-laws. Enlarged photograph mounted on board, donated to the Kew Historical Society by the City of Kew on 10 April 1991. houses - kew (vic), peel street - kew (vic)

The ‘Alexandra Gardens’ in Cotham Road were designed and laid out by George and Thomas Pockett. The Governor of Victoria officially opened them in 1908. A report of the opening stated that “…the gardens have been laid out in large sloping lawns, divided by wide graveled paths, and dotted with tastefully arranged flower beds, which are now bright with autumn bloom”. The massed beds of shrubs and flowers included beds of chrysanthemums, a specialty of George Pockett, the Garden’s first curator. A large rotunda was constructed in 1910 to mark the Jubilee of Kew. A plaque memorialising the contribution of George Pockett, was attached to the original rotunda after his death in 1922. By 1911, electric lighting was installed to allow the public to access the Gardens, and the concerts that were held within them on summer nights. The Gardens were later to include the Jubilee Fountain, moved from the front of the Kew Post Office in 1925. The Kew Council commissioned the substantial bluestone entrance gates in 1933.The Kew Historical Society is fortunate that the City Engineer, Mr Poulter, donated a number of items held by the City of Kew to the Society for safekeeping, rather than identifying them for destruction. The most significant items donated included old maps, including those issued by the Board of Works. Other items included photographs of public works undertaken by the Department. The By-laws are part of that donation and tell us lots about the social values of the period.The Mayor, Councillors and Burgesses of the Borough of Kew published By-Law No.45 in 1908 to regulate the “Conduct of Persons whilst at or Within the Gardens known as the Alexandra Gardens”. The By-Law also set a charge for “Persons Using or Entering in or upon the said Gardens”. The 17 by-laws included predictable prohibitions on expectorating, using indecent language, interfering with the floral displays, or indeed with the caretaker gardeners. Other acts prohibited included a warning that “Children under the age of ten years not being under the control of some competent person may be removed from said gardens”. The Alexandra Gardens were at one stage surrounded by a picket fence. This might explain the prohibition on climbing upon or getting through over or under any fence at or within the gardens. The financial penalty for breaching the By-Law was determined as “…not exceeding Ten pounds and not less than Five shillings”. This original copy of the By-Law was donated to the Kew Historical Society by the City of Kew.alexandra gardens (cotham road, kew), city of kew

This book contains three historical overviews of the former cities of Hawthorn, Kew and Camberwell. Various themes illustrate how they have shaped the environment and culture of the municipality as it is today.illus. This book contains three historical overviews of the former cities of Hawthorn, Kew and Camberwell. Various themes illustrate how they have shaped the environment and culture of the municipality as it is today.historic sites, boroondara, environmental policy, scouting, world war, 1914-1918, law and order, wildlife sanctuary, tourist attractions, cinemas, supermarkets, marketing and retailing, brickworks, dairies, telephone exchanges, newspapers, postal services, migration

J Allan Anderson graduated from the University of Melbourne in 1902. The following year he joined a law practice in the Victorian country centre of Stawell, where he met and married Ethel M. Allingham. Moving to East Kew, Melbourne, in 1917, where his son attended Trinity Grammar School. By March 1921 the family had exchanged their annual summer holidays at Mentone for permanent residence when they moved into Captain Dawson's former home, 'Riviera' off Mentone Parade. Disappointed with standards at this son's new local school and now living in a fast-growing town and district, in 1922, on a train journey to his office in the City, 46-year-old solicitor J.A. Anderson came up with the idea to form a new grammar school for boys in Mentone.