Historical information

Showing the flood waters of 1946 around the Band Rotunda in the botanical gardens.
Funding for the construction of the Rotunda was bequeathed in the Will of local resident Mrs Annie Williams, who was born in Daylesford in 1872 and died in Kew in 1930.
Annie’s Will stipulated that the remaining value of her Estate be spent on erecting a Bandstand in the Port Fairy Botanical Gardens dedicated to the memory of her brother Hugh, a stretcher bearer in WW1 and who died in 1921 after being discharged with health issues, her husband Henry, and herself naturally. There is a plaque dedicated to Annie on the Bandstand
She requested that the Bandstand be a replica of the one at Daylesford but by 1933 the value of her Estate had diminished to £76.4/8 which was insufficient to cover a similar design and the Borough Councillors felt it would be too extravagant for the Port Fairy Botanical Gardens.
Local builder J.J.McLaren’s tender of £71.15/- was accepted and the octagonal concrete pillared construction was completed with the use of sustenance labour the following year.
The Bandstand was opened in December, 1934 with a performance by the Port Fairy Band and local residents enjoying the entertainment and a picnic.
In 1934 it was reported that there was some fuss in Council because of the whereabouts of the sum of approximately £3/- , being the amount left over from the build. After some months of debate, in which the Councillors suggested that the Engineer had used the money inappropriately, and to which he responded that the build had cost more than the quote, the matter seems to have ended there

Significance

An image of the flood waters in the botanical gardens in 1946

Physical description

Black and white photograph of Flood water around rotunda in the gardens