The Kew Elder Citizens Club Rooms at 'Southesk' were officially opened by the Hon EP Cameron MLC on 12 November 1956. The Club met at the Council-owned 'Southesk' util 1963 when new club rooms were opened at the corner of High and Childers Streets in 1963. The Kew Senior Citizens Centre was located at 533 High Street, Kew. Colourised photograph of crowd watching with opening of the new Kew Senior Citizens Centre site, corner High Street and Childers Street, Kew, taken c. 1962-1963. Shows light brick building under construction on left, builder's hut/truck marker "...GRAVE & SONS" with terracotta pipes stacked, grassed area with onlookers, house with terracotta roof behind. kew senior citizens centre, kew elder citizens club, high street, childers street

The orthodox version of the origins and history of the Kew Elder(ly) Citizens’ Association was established by Cr. W. D. Vaughan in his book Kew’s Civic Century (1960), when he wrote that: "When Mrs. C. H. Simpson was Mayoress in 1952 she set up the Elderly Citizens’ Association to care for the needs of ages persons in Kew. The idea was strongly supported and a start was made by providing social afternoons for elderly folk at Southesk. Visiting sick people in their homes, providing firewood where needed, and other activities were undertaken by the Association. The aid of Council was sought to further the work. It was decided that a social unit for elderly folk be established at Southesk." (p.126-7). In the following pages, he describes in detail Council’s role in formally establishing the Association. This ‘official’ version was reasserted in the later Thematic Environmental History of the City of Boroondara (2012). However the origins and gestation of community of organisations is rarely straightforward. In 1965, five years after Vaughan’s book was published, the author of East Kew Women’s Club : Twenty Years : 20-7-1945-30-7-1965, writing about the period July 1947 to July 1950, described the role the Club played in establishing the Kew Elder Citizens Association. The author wrote: "At a meeting of the Kew Community Aid, the plight of many elderly people in Kew who were dependent on pensions was raised and in order to ascertain their needs the practice was begun of serving morning tea at the Masonic Hall in Walpole Street, where pensions were then paid. From this beginning the Kew Elder Citizens Association was formed in Kew with wide support, and Club members gave willing support on the committee, in helping serve afternoon tea and in entertainment." (p.4) Photographic evidence also leads to questions about Vaughan’s version of events. A framed photograph in the Society’s Collection shows a Public Meeting to form the Kew Elder Citizens Association in a room at Southesk a year earlier in 1951. Whatever version of the origins of the Association is correct, a later framed photograph in the Society’s collection shows the opening of the completed Clubrooms of the Kew Elder Citizens at South Esk by the Hon. E.P. Cameron M.L.C, Minister of Health, on 12 November 1956. The Association is still active in Kew and is currently located at Hamer Court, opposite the Boroondara General (Kew) Cemetery in High Street, Kew.Historic early photograph from the archives of the Kew Elder Citizen's ClubFramed photograph of six women who it is presumed were the candidates or finalists in a competition to be the Queen of Southesk. At this time, Southesk in Cotham Road was home to the Kew Elder Citizens Club, now known as Kew Senior Citizens Centre Inc.Front mount: "Queen Competition 1967 - South Esk - Won by Mrs Harkansee." Reverse: "L-R: -. Miss Knox, Mrs Emmerson, Mrs Higgins, Mrs Moyle, Mrs Harkansee"kew elder citizens club, kew senior citizens centre inc., southesk, miss knox, mrs emmerson, mrs higgins, mrs moyle, mrs harkensee

The Kew Elderly Citizen's Association was formally established in 1952. During its initial years it met at South Esk in Cotham Road. Later the Club moved to its headquarters in High Street. During the period of its existence, the club changed its name a number of times It finally became known as the Kew Senior Citizens.Handmade and painted canvas banner in shades of blue with a golden cord with tassels. The banner represents the symbol of the Kew Elder Citizens Association: a forget-me-not in the centre with laurel leaves below. "KEW / E.C.A."kew elderly citizens association, kew elder citizens, kew senior citizens, community groups -- kew (vic.), banners

The Meals on Wheels Service in Victoria began in 1953 in South Melbourne. The service in Kew began three years after in 1956 and originally operated out of the Council-owned South Esk in Cotham Road. With the building of a new Senior Citizens Centre, the service moved to Childers Street.Leather case containing 12 aluminium containers, stacked in groups of three which was used to deliver meals to elderly residents by the Kew Meals on Wheels group. The program was initiated in 1956. The items were presented to the Society in 2008 by Dorothy Fox, President of the Kew Seniors Association.meals on wheels (kew), south esk - kew elder citizens, dorothy fox