Historical information

The Kew Historical Society's postcard collection includes views of Kew, Melbourne and Greater Melbourne as well as those including overseas scenes sent or received from Europe or the Middle East. They date from the 1890s to the 2000s. These postcards may or may not include the name of the publisher or printer. A number of the cards were published as parts of popular series. A way of dating early postcards is to identify whether the reverse was divided by a central line which became the norm after 1902 in the United Kingdom. However, other postcards produced after this date do not always conform to this print layout.

Significance

The item forms part of the Laurie Bennett collection of thirty-six postcards and photographs of Kew and early Melbourne, donated to the Kew Historical Society in 1980. The postcards in the Bennett collection, like other images in the Society's holdings date from the 1890s to the present and comprehensively indicate points-of-view or scenes considered historically, aesthetically or socially significant in the period in which they were produced.

Physical description

Postcard depicting the Kew Post Office and Court House (built 1888) on the corner of High Street and Cotham Road. In front of the Post Office is a large Moreton Bay Fig tree. The later Kew War Memorial (opened 1925) necessitated the removal of the tree and the relaocation of the Queen Victoria Jubilee Fountain.

Inscriptions & markings

"No-KH-388. 1888. Donated by Mr. L. Bennett. Later buildings joined. Fig tree + Queen Victoria Jubilee Fountain moved to make way for World War I Memorial 1920."