Historical information
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.
Significance
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.
Physical description
In January 1929, the Kew City Council called for tenders to construct Tregarron Avenue. The subdivision of the Tregarron Estate in Kew was for 11 lots bordering Tregarron Avenue and its entrance from Burke Road. The plan includes annotations that indicate the measurement of each block and the placement of the drainage and sewerage easements. This plan is interesting for a number of factors. The house blocks today have different street numbers, some blocks were to be further subdivided, and at the time of the subdivision, alterations were still being made to the extent of lots offered; lots 2 and 3 on the plan were subdivided and reoriented.
