Historical information

In 1977, artist Annette Meikle undertook a commission to illustrate a book recording stories of places and people in the Bayside area. It was published in 1978 as Sandringham Sketchbook, with text by Elizabeth Waters. The sketches were intended to record remaining examples of Bayside’s early architecture and environment, as well as reflect newer architectural changes. Meikle went on to donate 22 of these sketches to Bayside City Council in 2003.
Built in 1926, the Band Rotunda was a gift to the people of Sandringham by local doctor and former soldier Thomas Garnet Leary.
On Sunday afternoons throughout the inter-war years, brass bands such as the military uniformed 46th Battalion Brass Band and the popular Sandringham Boys Band would play. The canopied top storey comfortably held twenty five performers with enough room for their large instruments.
Large crowds would picnic along the foreshore listening to the performances. The drinking fountain pictured under the rotunda has since been removed.