Historical information

In 1871, Victoria Park, beside the Boroondara General Cemetery was set aside as a public reserve. As the Park developed, exotic plants were added to existing specimens. In 1910, a photograph of ‘The Oldest Inhabitant: A Giant Red-gum Tree’ in the Park was included in the Jubilee History of Kew. Fifty-one years later the tree was re-photographed by Colin Campbell. A 2007 Master Plan developed for the City of Boroondara advises the retention of this now dead River Red Gum, including a ‘managed risk zone’ and planting under the heavily lopped tree.

Significance

This work forms part of the collection assembled by the historian Dorothy Rogers (1905-1973), donated to the Kew Historical Society by her son in 2015. The manuscripts, photographs, maps, and documents were sourced by her from both family and local collections or produced as references for her print publications. Many were directly used by Rogers in writing ‘Lovely Old Homes of Kew’ (1961) and 'A History of Kew' (1973), or the numerous articles on local history that she produced for suburban newspapers. Most of the photographs in the collection include detailed annotations in her hand. The Rogers Collection provides a comprehensive insight into the working habits of a historian from the 1960s to the 1970s.

Physical description

Small monochrome snapshot of the former giant River Red Gum that until it died was a major feature of Victoria Park, Kew. In the background is the red brick wall of the Boroondara General (Kew) Cemetery.

Inscriptions & markings

Annotation verso: "Giant Red Gum. Victoria Park. Still there over 100 yrs old"