Historical information
In 1914, Mr and Mrs Arthur Hooke gave the name ‘Wandinong’ to their newly purchased property in Blackburn. The name was inspired by a recent cycling trip to Wandin in the foothills of the Dandenongs, as well as the title of a favourite book, Ethel Turner’s ‘The Camp at Wandinong’.
Their property and the surrounding district had originally been owned by a series of property investors and speculators, and while some of it had been cleared for grazing, most of it was still covered in virgin bush; thickly covered with trees and undergrowth and rich in wild flowers and bird life.
A small section of the Hooke’s property was cleared sufficiently to r\erect a house and some outbuildings, but the rest was left as n nature intended. Mar Arthur Hooke was a local property valuer but never owned a car, preferring to attend to business on his bicycle. He was still riding his bicycle in his eighties.
Meanwhile, Mrs Hooke had developed a keen desire that the ‘Wandinong’ property remain intact; that it should ultimately be set aside as a place of refuge where like-minded people could go to enjoy peace and quiet amongst the native birds and bushland.|To this end, Mr and Mrs Hooke liaised with the Nunawading Council and an agreement was reached whereby the council would assume ownership of the property on their deaths.
When Mr Hooke died in 1972, his wife transferred the land over to the council the following year. Mr and Mrs Arthur Hooke’s Grandson, William, and granddaughter, Christine, recently donated their grandmother’s bicycle to the Whitehorse Historical Society. They recall that their grandfather’s bicycle was given to a representative of the Nunawading Council for safekeeping some years ago.
Physical description
Ladies two wheel bicycle with tool bag attached & black leather seat. Two mud guards, a skirt guard & a reflector on the back mud guard. 'Kew Flyer' painted on front mud guard. Two rubber tyres & provision for a head light on the handle bars.
Inscriptions & markings
'Kew Flyer'
