St Bede's street sign in Elwood

Old street signs to discontinued destinations that remain in situ will continue to be markers of yesteryear, often suggestive of destinations gone by the wayside, and in some cases of bygone customs and culture. Other lamp post signs such as 'Hail Cars Here' denoted old tramway stops (1); while a 'War Savings Street' was an indication of local patriotic support (2). Even the round metal tags embedded in the actual timber pole and inscribed with two mysterious letters informed us of the type of tree by its common name. Old street signs are indeed intrinsic to the local flavour of neighbourhoods. They are little sentimental links that continue to bind us to our sense of place.

This street sign to St Bede's Church was on the corner of  Ormond Road and St Kilda Street in Elwood and went missing around April 2021. St Bede's Anglican Church, in Ormond Road, opened October 3, 1916; a hall, kindergarten and a tennis court were later added to the complex (3).  It was closed some years ago and is now apartments.

The missing sign to St Bede's Anglican Church, Elwood.

Image: © VanishedVictoria

Image: © VanishedVictoria

An example of the tag inscribed with BB denoting the type of timber a pole was constructed of. 

In this case  'BB' stands for Blackbutt a native eucalypt hardwood. 

Image: © VanishedVictoria

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Footnotes

(1) 'Hail cars here' sign  - the Melbourne Tram Museum has one of these signs in their collection, see here.

(2) 'War Saving Street' sign - these signs are part of the collection of the Kew Historical Society, see here and Monash History, see here.

(3) Cooper, John Butler The History of St Kilda from its first settlement to a city and after 1840 - 1930, v. 1 (St Kilda City Council, 1931), p. 342; There is a short history of the Church in Spirit of St Kilda: Places of worship in St Kilda by Janette Bomford (St Kilda Historical Society, 2003). Access it on-line here, http://skhs.org.au/SKHSchurches/churches.htm

Cast metal hitching post, South Melbourne

This cast metal horse hitching post, outside 295 Clarendon Street in South Melbourne, went 

missing in the 1980s. 

Since this was first posted an update has been provided by the Port Phillip Library Local History Librarian. In 1983, the restoration of the Emerald Hill Estate was undertaken  for the occasion of the 100th anniversary of South Melbourne becoming a City in September 1883. The verandas on the Emerald Hill Estate site were painted in brown and cream stripes, the fences were renewed and 

painted and they decided to put a whole lot of hitching posts around various places on the hill. 

By that time 1983, the only original post was the one in front of 295 Clarendon Street which was originally the Bank of Victoria.  This one was taken away and used as the cast for all the other 

ones that are now in the streets. Unfortunately the original was lost (probably mixed up with the copies). 

Hitching post in Clarendon Street, February 12, 1971.

Photographer: John T. Collins.

 J.T. Collins Collection, La Trobe Picture Collection, State Library of Victoria, Image  H98.251/835:

These hitching posts were once a common part of the streetscape, but as horse transport was replaced by motor cars, there was no longer any use for them, so they may have been gradually removed, or in some cases just disappeared. Even 70 years ago these posts were rare as Emerald Hill Record reported in July 1954 - 

The rare hitching post outside 295 Clarendon Street

Emerald Hill Record July 24, 1954 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article164507426

The now vanished hitching post outside 295 Clarendon Street, 1970/1974.

Photographer: Committee for Urban Action.

State Library of Victoria Image CUASM199/3-4 Image 5

Plaque and bronze lettering, Elwood Life Saving Club

Recently, the commemorative plaque and the bronze letters, John R. Conabere, on the Elwood Life Saving Club Pavilion were stolen. The building was dedicated on October 23, 2004 and was named in honour of John R. Conabere, O.B.E. All that remains are the letters, O.B.E.

The commemorative plaque and bronze letters in situ.

Image courtesy Elwood Life Saving Club

John Russell 'Jack' Conebere was a Life Member, Trustee and former President of the Club. The Elwood Surf Life Saving Club was established in 1911 and Mr Conabere was interviewed by The Age  newspaper in January 1988 and informed the reporter that Elwood was the first club to use the reel and line in rescues and also pioneered the the use of flotation devices, which replaced the reel and line. They were also the  the first club to use marine radio. The report continued with  Listeners to Radio 3KZ were still informed by Elwood life savers about conditions on the Bay, a service started by Mr Conebere in 1956 (1). 

Jack Conabere received his O.B.E in the Queen's Birthday awards in June 1969 in recognition of service to life saving. He passed away January 8, 1989 at the age of 68 (2).

A tribute from the City of St Kilda to Jack Conabere.

The Age January 12, 1989

It seems a shame that a man who devoted so much of his life to keeping the beach at Elwood safe for the thousands of visitors every year, should be treated with such  a lack of respect by the thieves.

Elwood Life Saving Club.

Image: © VanishedVictoria

The wall where the plaque and lettering once was.

Image: © VanishedVictoria

The letters O.B.E are all that remain.

Image: © VanishedVictoria

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Footnotes

(1) Tuohy, Wendy Around the Bay: Elwood published in The Age January 7, 1988. p. 10.

(2) Australian Honours database https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/search; Death notice in The Age January 10, 1989.

Quarantine Station plaque, Point Ormond

There is a cairn on Point Ormond, Elwood which marks the site of Victoria's first quarantine station.  The quarantine station was established on April 24, 1840 when the ship, the Glen Huntley arrived, flying  the yellow quarantine flag. The cairn was unveiled in November 1985, a project of the St Kilda Historical Society and the Elwood Lions Club. Unfortunately the top plaque has recently disappeared. The lower plaque, which commemorates the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the Glen Huntley  is still there.

The missing plaque

Image: © VanishedVictoria

The cairn complete with both plaques, photographed in 2019

Image: © VanishedVictoria

The cairn in May 2022

Image: © VanishedVictoria

In good news, in September 2023 the City of Port Phillip replaced the missing plaque.

The cairn with the replacement plaque

Image: © VanishedVictoria, September 2023

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Ornamental bird bath, St Kilda

Image: © VanishedVictoria

This plinth is all that remains of  an ornamental bird bath (also called a bird fountain) presented by Victor Miller to the City of St Kilda for the St Kilda Botanical Gardens in Blessington Street on April 14, 1928.

The bird bath donated by Victor Miller and the Aviary, at the Botanical Gardens.

Image: St Kilda Botanical Gardens: a social snapshot of its first hundred years (1)

The presentation ceremony was reported in the Prahran Telegraph of April 20, 1928 -
Last Saturday afternoon a pleasant little ceremony took place at the Blessington Street Gardens. Mr. Victor Miller, an enthusiastic member of the Field Naturalists' Club, presented to the council an ornamental bird fountain which has been erected in the gardens. Members of the club - numbering about 40 - assembled, and after the formal presentation, the Mayor (Cr. F. L. Dawkins, J.P.), thanked Mr. Miller for his generous donation. The Mayoress (Mrs. Dawkins) then filled the fountain. Mr. Miller, expressing admiration of the fine aviary in the gardens, then offered to subscribe £10 towards the extension of same. The Mayor promised to bring the matter under the notice of the council. 

Members of the club then proceeded to plant a number of Australian trees in a specially prepared
bed and in other parts of the gardens. These trees were also donated by Mr. Miller. The Mayoress planted the first tree, a Gippsland Lillipilli, and this was followed by the Mayor planting a Kanuka. Various councillors then followed suit, and altogether quite a pleasant afternoon was spent. The Mayor and Mayoress then invited the president, Mr. Pescott, and members to afternoon tea at the Town Hall, where other speeches were made, and thus terminated a very enjoyable afternoon. Mr. Dickens, of the Horticultural Society, promised to plant a plot in the gardens at a later date. (2)

Victor Henry Miller was born at 84 High Street, St Kilda on November 8, 1875 the ninth child of  Jacob and Catherine (nee Streeting) Miller. Jacob was a cabinet maker, furniture dealer and a St Kilda Councillor. Victor was a member of, and also served as President of, the Horticultural Society of Victoria, the Field Naturalists' Club and the Bird Observers' Club and was an executive of the Historical Society of Victoria. He died July 4, 1974 (3).  The aviary mentioned in the article had been presented by Mrs Dawkins in 1926. 

What has become of Victor Miller's ornamental bird bath?

The plinth remains in the Blessington Street Gardens.

Image: © VanishedVictoria

Image: © VanishedVictoria

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Footnotes

(1) St Kilda Botanical Gardens: a social snapshot of its first hundred years by Patricia Convery 

(St Kilda Botanical Gardens, 2014) The source of the image, as listed in the book, is City of Port Phillip Archive. 

(2) Prahran Telegraph of April 20, 1928, here. 

(3) Biographical information - Birth certificate; The Herald, June 27, 1935, here and Walks in Port Phillip:  a guide by Meyer Eidelson, here.