The Council Family Hotel was the fifth of the eight hotels to be licensed in Kew during the 19th Century. They were licensed in the following date order: The Woodman Inn (1854), The Harp of Erin (1854), O’Shaughnessy’s Kew Hotel (1855), the Prospect Hill Hotel (1858), the Council Family Hotel (1861), the Princess Hotel (1864), the Clifton Hotel (1868) and the Greyhound Hotel (1873).Rare photograph of a landmark Kew HotelExterior - Council Family Hotel, Cotham Road, Kew, circa 1888.Mr Pat Ryan in doorwayhotels - kew, council family hotel - kew (vic)

The Council Family Hotel was the fifth of the eight hotels to be licensed in Kew during the 19th Century. They were licensed in the following date order: The Woodman Inn (1854), The Harp of Erin (1854), O’Shaughnessy’s Kew Hotel (1855), the Prospect Hill Hotel (1858), the Council Family Hotel (1861), the Princess Hotel (1864), the Clifton Hotel (1868) and the Greyhound Hotel (1873).Rare photograph of a landmark Kew hotelExterior - Council Family Hotel in Cotham Road, Kew (Vic) with Mrs Ryan, wife of the licensee at frontMrs Ryanhotels - kew, council family hotel - kew (vic), licenees - ryan family

The Council Family Hotel was the fifth of the eight hotels to be licensed in Kew during the 19th Century. They were licensed in the following date order: The Woodman Inn (1854), The Harp of Erin (1854), O’Shaughnessy’s Kew Hotel (1855), the Prospect Hill Hotel (1858), the Council Family Hotel (1861), the Princess Hotel (1864), the Clifton Hotel (1868) and the Greyhound Hotel (1873).Rare photograph of a landmark hotel in KewExterior - Council Family Hotel, Cotham Road, Kew, circa 1888.hotels - kew, council family hotel - kew (vic)

The Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works (MMBW) plans were produced from the 1890s to the 1950s. They were crucial to the design and development of Melbourne's sewerage and drainage system. The plans, at a scale of 40 feet to 1 inch (1:480), provide a detailed historical record of Melbourne streetscapes and environmental features. Each plan covers one or two street blocks (roughly six streets), showing details of buildings, including garden layouts and ownership boundaries, and features such as laneways, drains, bridges, parks, municipal boundaries and other prominent landmarks as they existed at the time each plan was produced. (Source: State Library of Victoria)This plan forms part of a large group of MMBW plans and maps that was donated to the Society by the Mr Poulter, City Engineer of the City of Kew in 1989. Within this collection, thirty-five hand-coloured plans, backed with linen, are of statewide significance as they include annotations that provide details of construction materials used in buildings in the first decade of the 20th century as well as additional information about land ownership and usage. The copies in the Public Record Office Victoria and the State Library of Victoria are monochrome versions which do not denote building materials so that the maps in this collection are invaluable and unique tools for researchers and heritage consultants. A number of the plans are not held in the collection of the State Library of Victoria so they have the additional attribute of rarity.Original survey plan, issued by the MMBW to a contractor with responsibility for constructing sewers in the area identified on the plan within the Borough of Kew. The plan was at some stage hand-coloured, possibly by the contractor, but more likely by officers working in the Engineering Department of the Borough and later Town, then City of Kew. The hand-coloured sections of buildings on the plan were used to denote masonry or brick constructions (pink), weatherboard constructions (yellow), and public buildings (grey). This plan, which covers parts of High Street, Pakington Street and Derby Street is dominated by two historic Kew mansions: ‘Konetta’ and ‘Ramornie’. Ramornie was constructed in 1890 for James Maitland Campbell, three times Mayor of Kew. Sold in 1940, it became a boarding house known as ‘The Towers’. Now a private residence again, it has only one of its three balconies remaining. The location of the missing two balconies can be seen on the plan. In 1903, the grounds of Ramornie included a large tennis court fronting Pakington Street. The rear of the property is shown as extending to Cobden Street. One of Kew’s oldest hotels, the Prospect Hill Hotel on the corner of High and Cobden Street was established in 1858. The outline of the hotel shown on the plan represents the second building on the site. During the 19th century it was often used for electoral meetings. The Prospect Hill Hotel was to be redeveloped again in 1928, by the local architect Robert McIntyre. Since the 1980s, the hotel has been a live music venue, the home of the Melbourne Jazz Club, a restaurant and a liquor outlet.melbourne and metropolitan board of works, detail plans, maps - borough of kew, mmbw 1585, cartography

At the beginning of the 1890s, the Kew businessman and Town Councillor, Henry Kellett, commissioned J.F.C. Farquhar to photograph scenes of Kew. These scenes included panoramas as well as pastoral scenes. The resulting set of twelve photographs was assembled in an album, Kew Where We Live, from which customers could select images for purchase.The preamble to the album describes that the photographs used the ‘argentic bromide’ process, now more commonly known as the gelatine silver process. This form of dry plate photography allowed for the negatives to be kept for weeks before processing, hence its value in landscape photography. The resulting images were considered to be finely grained and everlasting. Evidence of the success of Henry Kellett’s venture can be seen today, in that some of the photographs are held in national collections.It is believed that the Kew Historical Society’s copy of the Kellett album is unique and that the photographs in the book were the first copies taken from the original plates. It is the first and most important series of images produced about Kew. The individual images have proved essential in identifying buildings and places of heritage value in the district.This panoramic view was probably taken from the roof of Xavier College. It invites the viewer to look down on the buildings and streets of Kew, and across to the distant horizon. Mansions and solid bourgeois villas dominate the view of Charles and Wellington Streets. The imposing spires of the Presbyterian and Methodist Churches, built in one of the highest areas of Kew, can be seen in the distance. In the foreground, the photographer includes three significant mansions: Molina, Roxeth and Elsinore. Molina, in the foreground, and the group of weatherboard buildings in its yard was used at this stage for the privately operated ‘Kew High School’ (founded 1872). Roxeth, the home of Herbert Henty can be identified by its distinctive four-sided tower. All three buildings are now part of Trinity Grammar. Other built structures observable in the photograph include Wilton (now the Kew RSL), designed by Guyon Purchas for Dr William Walsh in 1886, and the only known image of the Prospect Hill Hotel prior to the renovation of 1935. Bird's Eye View Looking Northkew illustrated, kew where we live, photographic books, henry kellett

ELTHAM HERITAGE TOUR The Society excursion on 24th May 1992 was arranged by David Bick, leader of the team carrying out the Shire's heritage study. David selected a number of sites or buildings identified in the study, some of them lesser known components of the Shire's heritage. The tour commenced at the Eltham Shire Office at 10.00 am. Travel was by private car and mini-bus with stops at about twelve locations for commentary by David.It included a short walk in Hurstbridge and lunch at Kinglake. Highlights of the tour included: - 10 am Leave from Shire Offices - 3 Important Trees - A Physical Link to Eltham's First Settlers - Toorak Mansion Gates - A Surviving Farm House - An Intact Circa 1900 Main Street - First Settlers - Gold Miners, and Timber-getters - An Early Hotel - A Pioneering Homestead - Changing Eltham Shire - 20th Century - 4 pm Afternoon Tea and Finish Tour Extract from ELTHAM CULTURAL HERITAGE TOUR (Newsletter No. 85, July 1992, by Bettina Woodburn) "At St Andrews we noted the old and new schools, the Anglican Church, the Hall, the Bakery and the pub – still a popular watering and eating place. Climbing towards Panton Hill the soil was not rich and supported only scarce growth. Perfunctory prospecting and mining had taken place in this area, though not with the diligence applied at Research. Again we saw the ingredients of a settlement, this one organised by Government, the Hotel, the Store, the School. Down from Memorial Park the School grounds had original tree planting and the School Bell dedicated to Maud Rattray who died in 1922. There is a new Hall and opposite in the grounds of the Church and Sunday School a modest Memorial Cross of granite with inscriptions and in memory of four 'fallen comrades'. This small section of the main road retained the small village atmosphere; although the population had increased there had been little alteration."Record of the Society's history and activities and highlighting various aspects of the Heritage Study undertaken by David Bick used to create the future heritage overlay for the Shire of Eltham and later Nillumbik Shire.Roll of 35mm colour negative film, 4 stripsKodak Gold 100 5095shire of eltham historical society, activities, heritage tour, st andrews