Historical information

This photograph was taken at what is now 14 Kilvington Drive, across the road from Emerald Scout Hall and at the corner with Benson Street. Constable Lawrence Joseph Fleming (1876-1967), the house's occupant, worked in the district for 19 years from November 1915 until his retirement in June 1934. He was a respected local figure, with tributes given by other local figures when he retired. While this house is discussed as belonging to Constable Fleming, Fleming himself lived in the old police station further up Kilvington Drive. This house was occupied separately by his wife Jessie Fleming for many years, and she may be one of the women in the photographz.

According to Graeme Legge, Constable Fleming's distinctive white horse inspired the name for Whitehorse Road; this story is apocryphal, as Whitehorse Road is generally agreed to have been named for the White Horse Hotel, which was named for the horse of a Captain Elgar local to the Box Hill area.

Significance

Constable Fleming was a significant and respected figure in the Emerald community for many years; this home was not his main residence, but was an important part of his family's life.

Physical description

This item is a sepia photograph mounted on card. Beneath the photograph, a caption is handwritten on the card in black pen; an accession number is written on the obverse and reverse in pencil. The photograph is positioned in an oval frame surrounded by branches, leaves, and birds; below the photograph a message is written in branches, though the second word is obstructed. In the photograph is a wooden weatherboard house with an angled roof and shaded window; further back appears to be an uncompleted frame of a house. Two women are standing next to a fence.The foreground filled with plants.

Inscriptions & markings

Caption: "Constable Fleming's house, Cr. Kilvington Dr. and / Benson St. Opposite Scout Hall. 1927"
In Photograph: "Merry [illegible]"