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.When the old Kew Golf Links was subdivided in the mid 1920s, the developers were able to break the sale into sections. The third section included eighty lots. The lots faced Kilby Road, Kodak Avenue, Belford Road, Baker Avenue, Mathers Avenue, and White Avenue. [Kodak Avenue was renamed Page Avenue at a later date].The ‘Kew Conservation Study (1988) notes that ‘On the subdivision plan, Kodak’s involvement is commemorated by the naming of the streets after Company directors, and their decision to not proceed with the construction of the factory is explained as a response to the increase in the value of the land. This explanation may have been Estate Agent’s hyperbole, as the Kodak Company records suggest that the land, with its wide creek gully, was unsuitable and too small for its purposes.subdivision plans - kew, old kew golf links estate - third section

The booklet advertises the third sale within the Old Golf Links Estate which was a major subdivision of farmland in North Kew in the 1920sThe subdivision of the Kew Golf Links Estate was a major subdivision of farmland in Kew. The site was at one stage designated for industrial development and the building of a new Kodak factory. The decision by Council to oppose the redevelopment makes the beginning of the period when all industrial development was banned in Kew.6 page illustrated brochure advertising the third section of a major subdivision in Kew in 1927 including 75 charming home allotments and 7 valuable building sites. The brochure includes the subdivision plan. The front cover includes a colour illustration of the almost completed houses in Woolcock Avenue. Streets named include: Kilby Road, Kodak Avenue, Baker Avenue, Mathers Avenue, Coleman Avenue, White Avenue and Belford Road. Lots for sale are numbered. Existing buildings are designated with a square.subdivisions - kew (vic), kew golf links estate

The land in North Kew between the Outer Circle Railway and the River Yarra was released in sections. This release included 80 lots. Most of this area was released during the Depression years in the early 1930s.Subdivision plans are historically important documents used as evidence of the growth of suburbs in Australia. They frequently provide information about when the land was sold on which a built structure was subsequently constructed as well as evidence relating to surveyors and real estate and financial agents. The numerous subdivision plans in the Kew Historical Society's collection represent working documents, ranging from the initial sketches made in planning a subdivision to printed plans on which auctioneers or agents listed the prices for which individual lots were sold. In a number of cases, the reverse of a subdivision plan in the collection includes a photograph of a house that was also for sale by the agent. These photographs provide significant heritage information relating house design and decoration, fencing and household gardens.One part of a massive subdivision of the Old Golf Links Estate in North Kew of 80 allotments bordering Sutherland Avenue, Ramsay Avenue, Belford Road, Beresford Street and Coleman Avenue. Inset on the plan at the top left, the route of the Outer Circle Railway is clearly marked. The Kew Golf Links is identified in its current location. The land on which Greenacres Golf Club was to be constructed is at this time marked as ‘Recreation Ground’. The ‘new bridge’ over the Yarra at Burke Road is also marked on the inset map. The Plan identifies the surveyor (sic) H.C. Crouch BCE MVIS, 443 Little Collins St., Melbourne. The date of the subdivision auction sale in identified as Saturday September 25th at three o'clock.Annotations: "E" top left. "Golf Links" top right. Lots 73-76 ticked and listed as "6" poundssubdivisions -- kew (vic.), old golf links estate