A silk patchwork quilt in a hexagons pattern originally owned by the Denbigh family of ‘Wimba’. The Denbigh family is recorded as living at ‘Park Villa’ ‘near Kew’ in 1856. John Denbigh was at this stage the superintendent of the local Baptist school. By 1869 they are listed as residing in Cotham Road. John Sharp Denbigh’s death in 1875 resulted in the sale of Wimba. This is an important early English silk hexagons quilt with outstanding technical workmanship, and is well-provenanced.The quilt is constructed in the popular hexagon pattern of silk off-cuts of an earlier period. Hexagon patchwork quilts were typically constructed of individual hexagons, which were formed using paper or card templates. Where these are visible, it would indicate that writing paper was used to form the templates. The quilt is unlined and has a green silk border, added at a later date. Early 19th Century patchwork quilts tended to use cotton to create the hexagons, whereas silk became the preferred medium mid-century. The quilt has been dated to the middle decades of the 19th century due to the colour range, and the exclusion of black silk hexagons. Most of the silk used in the quilt has a sheen, however there is some use of velvet in one or two larger hexagons. The exposed reverse of the quilt includes a large amount of very fine hand stitching.An unlined quilt was typically used as a summer spread. patchwork quilt, hexagon pattern, denbigh family, wimba, cotham road, kew, john denbigh, helen johnston, quilt, patchwork, textiles, migration to australia

Although probably built some time earlier, the first mention in the Rate Books of the property later known as 'Wimba Lodge' appears in the entry for 1870 when the property, owned by John Sharpe Denbigh, a civil servant, was given an N.A.V. of £72. Denbigh did however occupy a house in Cotham Road in 1863, and it is possible that was the same premises'. The house was occupied by Sharp until at least May 1876 when the 'family residence ... was auctioned' to Carlington George Edmund Marston, a chemist of Smith Street, Collingwood. At the time of the auction the house was described thus: The residence and grounds of the late J.S. Dendigh, situate in the most elevated part of Cotham Road Kew. The grounds comprise an area of 4a Or 29p or thereabouts, and have a frontage to Cotham-road of 4 chains. The house has two large rooms in front, with 6ft hall built of brick, bay and side windows (plate glass), four rooms of wood behind with slate roofs, bathroom and closets, detached kitchen and servant's room, large shed with washing boiler, pantry and cellar under, brick and cement tank, and the Yan Yean laid onto house and grounds, cowshed, pigstye, &c, the whole securely fenced. First class orchard and flower garden. The paddocks laid with English grasses and drained... .' (Sanderson P. Kew Conservation Study Vol 2)'Wimba' is a single storeyed rendered house. The front entrance is flanked by two polygonal bay windows, and a verandah with a concave corrugated iron roof returns around three facades, and accentuates the projections of the windows. The solid render parapet is very ornate and tall for the date of construction. It has panels of decoration along it and is surmounted by a number of render urns. (Sanderson P. Kew Conservation Study Vol 2)Reverse: "JOHN COLLINS / 11 Anderson Road / Hawthorn East, 3123 / Film 395 Exposure 15A / Kew / Wimba / Front verandah from east / 7-4-79wimba lodge, 235 cotham road -- kew (vic.), john s denbigh, carlington george edmund marston

'Wimba' is of significance as one of the key nineteenth century houses of Kew and for remaining in a substantially intact state. Although probably built some time earlier, the first mention in the Rate Books of the property later known as 'Wimba Lodge' appears in the entry for 1870 when the property, owned by John Sharpe Denbigh, a civil servant, was given an N.A.V. of £72 2. Denbigh did however occupy a house in Cotham Road in 1863, and it is possible that was the same premises'. The house was occupied by Denbigh until at least May 1876 when the 'family residence...' \ 'as auctioned to Carlington George Edmund Marston 5, a chemist of Smith Street, Collingwood. At the time of the auction the house was described thus: The residence and grounds of the late J.S. Dendigh, situate in the most elevated part of Cotham Road Kew. The grounds comprise an area of 4a Or29p or thereabouts, and have a frontage to Cotham-road of 4 chains. The house has two large rooms in front, with 6ft hall built of brick, bay and side windows (plate glass), four rooms of wood behind with slate roofs, bathroom and closets, detached kitchen and servant's room, large shed with washing boiler, pantry and cellar under, brick and cement tank, and the Yan Yean laid onto house and grounds, cowshed, pigstye, &c, the whole securely fenced. First class orchard and flower garden. The paddocks laid with English grasses and drained... .' (Sanderson P, City of Kew Urban Conservation Study, Volume 2, 1988)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.The front entrance of Wimba in Cotham Road, Kew. The entrance is flanked by two polygonal bay windows, and a verandah with a concave corrugated iron roof returns around three facades, and accentuates the projections of the windows. The solid render parapet is very ornate and tall for the date of construction. It has panels of decoration along it and is surmounted by a number of render urns. The image was used by Dorothy Rogers in 'A History of Kew' (1973), facing page 144.Wimba ca. 1860 built by J.S. Denbigh (has been altered).wimba, kew, dorothy rogers

In 1888, in the section of Park Hill Road between Belmont Avenue and Normanby Road there was only one street running between Park Hill Road and Cotham Road. This was Park Road, later to be named Adeney Avenue. Subsequent 20th century subdivisions created the ‘through roads’ of Cecil Street, Wimba Avenue, Florence Avenue, Marshall Avenue, Uvadale Road, and Barrington Avenue. This subdivision represents an attempt by auctioneers, rather than town planners to create an urban environment from larger residential allotments or in many cases farmland. Existing streets such as Parkhill and Normanby Roads provided a convenient starting point for the surveyors, but the Road named ‘Street Street’ indicates the role of the private surveyor in creating streets. Given that a number of allotments are listed as sold on the plan, the street is presumably Cecil Street. Even those lots that had been sold do not quite match the dimensions of the blocks in this parcel of land today, indicating that either further subdivisions or boundary alterations occurred.Subdivision plans are historically important documents used as evidence for the growth of suburbs in Australia. They frequently provide information about when the land was sold 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.The photograph may also be aesthetically significant depending on the importance of the photographic atelier.Hand-drawn subdivision plan of 19 lots facing Parkhill Road, Normanby Road, and an unnamed street [now Cecil Street] in Kew.Estate Agent notes in ink indicate those lots which had sold.subdivision plans - kew, parkhill road - kew, cecil street - kew, normanby road - kew, cecil street -kew, parkhill road - kew, normanby road - kew, crown portion 83 - kew

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.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.In 1925, the City of Kew called for tenders for the construction of Wimba Avenue, Cadow Street and Lalla Street. Subsequent advertisements for the sale of land in Wimba Avenue continued from 1926 to 1929. The 18 lots (and a further five allotments on the eastern side of the street) offered for sale were unofficially described in the subdivision plan as the ‘Wimba Estate’. These lots began in Park Hill Road and extended almost to Cotham Road. The subdivision took its name from the house ‘Wimba’ in Cotham Road, which may have formed the southern boundary of the subdivision. (Wimba, at 235 Cotham Road was constructed between 1862-70). The Plan highlights the proximity and advantage of ‘electric’ trams in Cotham and Glenferrie Roads, and the Kew and Glenferrie Railway Stations. An oddity in the Plan is the reference to the electric tram terminus at Burke Road, given that the tramline had already been extended to Mont Albert in 1916.wimba estate, subdivision plans - kew, parkhill road – kew (vic.), normanby road – kew (vic.), wimba avenue – kew (vic.)

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.The Clifton Estate was an ambitious subdivision. It included 61 allotments bordering Cotham and Park Hill Roads, and Florence and Adeney Avenues. It is difficult to ascertain the exact year when the ‘Clifton Estate’ was surveyed, subdivided and first auctioned. The uncertainty may be due to allotments being released during the First World War. The subdivision took its name from the house ‘Clifton’ (lot 5) on the corner of Adeney Avenue and Cotham Road. The outline of Clifton (since demolished) and the extent of its land following the subdivision are represented on the plan. The auctioneers have also shown ‘Maryfield’ and ‘Wimba’, the neighbouring properties in Cotham Road, on the plan."B"subdivision plans - kew, clifton estate, cotham road, adeney avenue, florence avenue, park hill road

Annie Halfey (nee Marston) was the daughter of Carlington George E. Marston, a chemist of Smith Street, Collingwood. Marston had extensively speculated on land in Kew and in this way had made his money. Marston was the owner of 'Wimba' in Cotham Road, having purchased the house in 1879. Annie Marston married the eminent Victorian pioneer John Halfey, and together they made their home at Ordsall (later Southesk) in Cotham Road, Kew. She died in March 1909. (Rogers, 1973).Donated by Eileen Grigg, 2017Small, full-length portrait of Annie [Mrs. John] Halfey ( -1909) in an original gilded frame. Annie Halfey is depicted in a high necked black dress with a silver brooch at her throat. She stands in a room by an open window. The detailing of the face is highly rendered by the artist/s.annie halfey, john halfey, ordsall, marston