Historical information

The Kew Historical Society's map collection includes a substantial number of real estate subdivision plans, mainly of Kew but also of surrounding suburbs in Melbourne. Most of the subdivision plans date from the 1920s and 1930s when the districts old homes and local farmland were being split up to accommodate residential growth in the postwar period. These early plans were assembled by a local firm, Jas R Mather & McMillan, which had an office in Cotham Road. Many of the plans, and sometimes photos, were annotated by the agents.

Significance

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 o the importance of the photographic atelier.

Physical description

Real estate photograph for a local agent by the Kew photographer, Josiah Earl Barnes. The photo is of a weatherboard or brick rendered bungalow with a twisted wire fence. Given Barnes' status a a Kew photographer, the house is probably locate din Kew or East Kew. Unfortunately the handwritten information on the mount bordering the photo is damaged and cannot be read. The bungalow has a gabled, tiled roof with terra cotta finials at the front of both gables. The house has a central doorway, framed by a pseudo portico supported by four wooden columns. On each side of the doorway, at the front, there are paired sash windows, which, like the half-timbered gable, are picked out in a darker colour.

Inscriptions & markings

Handwritten, mostly illegible description by selling agent on mount surround: " .... in Diningroom, Drawing Rooms, ...
Photographers details printed on mount: "J. E. Barnes / Photo / Phone 1966 Haw KEW"