Historical information

This view of the Boroondara General (Kew) Cemetery is dated to 1905 by the inscription and postmark on the reverse. It provides an important visual record of this part of the Cemetery. The postcard can be used to identify the original configuration of the roads and vegetation, some of which was subsequently removed (eg the bunya pine at right). On the Victorian Heritage Database, the construction period given for the Springthorpe Memorial is given as 1897-1907, yet this view of the Memorial in 1905 would suggest that it was virtually completed at an earlier date. (It should be noted that additions such as the wheel of life sculpture were not completed until 1910).

Significance

This dated photograph is historically important as its inscription confirms it to be one of the earliest postcard representations of the Boroondara General (Kew) Cemetery. It also provides visual evidence of the size and extent of the landscaping by 1905, particularly the layout of the roads (now altered), plantings of the period, and the extent of the land occupied by the Springthorpe Memorial and its gardens, which was subsequently reduced by the trustees of the cemetery in the 1930s.

Physical description

Panoramic view of the entrance driveway in Boroondara General (Kew) Cemetery. At left can be seen the Springthorpe Memorial, and further down on the left the entrance gate, or one of the gates, to the Memorial.

Inscriptions & markings

Inscribed on reverse: "Miss Brown / Shuan [sic] / Grosvenor Street / M. Brighton. Love from Mother Oct 28th 1905"
Postmark: "Melbourne 8 / 2 PM, 28/10/05".