Historical information

The Kew RSL is located in "Wilton" House, 63 Cotham Road. The RSL was established on January 1st 1920, later joining with the Hawthorn RSL. In November 1931, Cr. C.R. Parry organised the reformation of the Kew Sub Branch and its first president was Brig-Gen Pat McGlin, a veteran of the Boer War and the First World War. On July 17th 1932, the club rooms first opened on Army land at the corner of High Street and Highbury Grove. In late November 1948, the Kew RSL bought the "Wilton" house from the Kew City Council for £10,067, opening seven years later in July 1955. [Source: Victorian Heritage Database]

Significance

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.

Physical description

The exterior of the Kew RSL on the corner of Cotham Road and Charles Street, Kew. Designed by Guyon Purchase for Dr. William Walsh in 1886, the building was originally called Wilton.

Inscriptions & markings

"Chap 59. Cotham Rd. Built/Commences about 1885-6. Present day Wilton . Kew RSSUILA rooms. (Rumour of sale 1972?)"