Historic Walking & Driving Tours
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DARETON CALDER HWY CALDER SILVER CITY HWY TO CULLULLERAINE WERRIMULL Psyche Pumps MERINGUR 9 ADELAIDE The Coffee Palace STURT HWY Trace the story of how Mildura became an irrigated oasis in the midst of an arid land APEX PARK FLORA AVE DYAR AVE RIVERSIDE AVE ONTARIO AVE HistoricWALNUT Walking AVE & Mildura Wharf DrivingDEAKIN AVE Tours15TH ST/CALDER HWY (TO MELBOURNE) SAN MATEO AVE ETIWANDA AVE BENETOOK AVE COWRA AVE 11TH ST 14TH ST 5TH ST 19TH ST SANDILONG AVE 20TH ST KARADOC AVE Rio Vista KOORLONG KOORLONG AVE IRYMPLE AVE MORPUNG AVE GINQUAM AVE For more information please email [email protected] BELAR AVE For more history information please email [email protected] BELAR AVE DEWRY AVE May, 2015 CURETON AVE TO APEX PARK Drive 4 - Nichols Point Cemetery RIO VISTA NOWINGI PLACE & WATER PLAY Time, distance and map should be used as a guide only. WATER TOWER WATER Drive 5 - Red Cliffs U Murray Ave U The Chaffey Trail Reference Group in collaboration with the Mildura and District Historical Society with support from Merbein and Red Cliffs Historical Societies believe this to be an accurate document as at the time of printing 1 May 2015 Red Cliffs Streets: Rivers names run in alphabetical order east-west direction. Tree names run in alphabetical order, run north-south direction. MILDURA CENTRAL 73 SIXTEENTH STREET SEVENTEENTH STREET * This is a concept map, not to scale and to be used as a guide only for todays tour. Walks - Time and distance should be used as a guide only 1 - Historic Deakin Avenue Page 2 2 - Exploring East Mildura Page 10 3 - Mildura’s Riverfront history Page 12 4 - Rio Vista and surrounds Page 16 5 - The living heart of Mildura Page 19 Drives - Time and distance should be used as a guide only 1 - Mildura City Page 23 2 - Nichols Point Area Page 30 3 - Koorlong, Birdwoodton & Merbein Page 38 4 - Nichols Point Cemetery (Mildura) Page 49 5 - Red Cliffs Page 67 Foreword It is opportune to have the historic drives and walks back in print under the banner of the Chaffey Trail. These first appeared in the 1990s and now have been combined and greatly expanded, some 25 years later. The interest of the members of the Chaffey Trail Reference Group has been phenomenal and, since virtually everything historical in Mildura has a strong Chaffey link, they have taken the walks and drives under their wing. We wish to acknowledge Freda Antcliff as the initial driving force to historic walks and drives, now years on, this concept has been built on extensively. We also acknowledge the major contribution of Glenn Miller of Mildura & District Historical Society also Helen and Bob Walton of the Red Cliffs & District Historical Society and Bernadette Wells and Max Whiting of the Merbein Historical Society for their timely contributions. We could not have completed this task if it wasn’t for the Mildura Rural City Council Project Officer Julie Jewell, compiling this publication with website inclusion, linking to Victorian Walks, the inclusion of kilometre distances, maps and importantly working in collaboration with our community. Cr Mark Eckel, May 2015 Chaffey Trail Reference Group Cr. Mark Eckel – Chairman Barbie Cornell – Mildura & District Historical Society / Langtree Hall Max Whiting – Merbein & District Historical Society Lance Milne – Château Mildura Glenn Miller – Mildura & District Historical Society Lyn McKenzie – Paddleboat and Wharf area Jeff Galasso – Murray Goulburn Waters, Lock & Weir Bob Walton – Educational Representative Sue Kelly – Mildura Rural City Council Library Service Peter Wharton – Psyche Pumps Management Committee Julie Jewell – Mildura Rural City Council, Project Officer, The Chaffey Trail Plaques Identifying buildings of significance 1 Walk 1 - Historic Deakin Avenue Time: 30 minutes - Distance: 1.85kms Walk one leads from the river, through Mildura’s central avenue, passing some significant points of interest along the way. It’s an easy stroll beginning at Mildura Wharf and with ample parking adjacent to the wharf it’s the perfect place to leave your car. The Mildura Wharf, just up from the Mildura Rowing Club is located along Hugh King Drive, the road that skirts the riverfront named after one of our more prominent riverboat captains of the 1880’s and 90’s. Walks along the Murray, either turning left or right from the wharf will offer magnificent views of the river and the huge gum trees that border it and it’s well worth exploring them but for now, it’s into town. • From the riverbank, this walk leads directly into Mildura’s centre. You can do this by either climbing the stairs and crossing over the footbridge that arches over the rail line, offering a great view back across the river to the George Chaffey Bridge, or by following the path that winds around the rail bridge. Either way will lead you to a grassed area that is home to a fountain and two memorials. • The fountain was officially opened in 1985 the Prince and Princess of Wales. • The War Memorial commemorates those who served in Vietnam, Korea and South East Asia. • Located nearby is the Alfred Deakin Memorial, sculpted by Michael Meszaros and presented to the city to mark the centenary of the irrigation colony in 1987. Along with a profile of Alfred Deakin’s face, are survey lines, a representation of fruit blocks as seen from the air and lines representing the irrigation channels that have made farming in this region possible. Trickling water completes the sculpture. • Crossing over Seventh Street, the walk proceeds towards Deakin Avenue. William Benjamin (WB) & George Chaffey The Chaffey Offices 2 The Cultivator Building • To the right is The Grand Hotel, a Mildura icon that extends down the whole block, from Deakin to Langtree Avenue, Mildura’s main retail and dining precinct. Beginning life as The Coffee Palace, The Grand expanded into its current site and was formally renamed The Grand Hotel in 1920. The Chaffeys once had their office in the centre of this building, facing into Seventh Street. A peek behind the gates of The Grand will reveal a fountain that has long graced the gardens. • From the corner of Seventh and Deakin, cross the road, leaving the Grand Hotel behind you • On the other side of Deakin Avenue, hugging the corner of Seventh Street, now stands the Commodore Motel but back in 1888, it was the home of The Warren, an early boarding house. A plaque marking the site can be found at the entrance to the motel’s restaurant. The Warren was demolished in 1965. • Deakin Avenue is made impressive by the large central plantation that runs the entire length of the road, right up to the major roundabout at Fifteenth Street. It houses a number of features from rotundas to stunning jacaranda trees that abound in purple flowers when in bloom. • Continuing up from The Warren/Commodore, you will pass the two major media offices in Mildura. WINTV, originally STV8, opening in 1966 and next door, the Sunraysia Daily, the local newspaper. • Mildura’s earliest newspaper was the Cultivator, begun in 1888. It was a Sunraysia Daily twice-weekly publication that moved to the current Sunraysia Daily site at 22 Deakin Avenue in 1912. Local identity, C.J De Garis bought The Cultivator along with the Mildura Telegraph and Merbein Irrigationist and merged them into one paper, the Sunraysia Daily, in 1920. 3 • On the other side of Deakin Avenue stands Deakin 27 and Stefano’s Bakery, both popular places for locals to take a moment to catch up and enjoy wonderful food and drink. • Just up from there is a single story late Victorian, red brick building, with 29 Deakin Avenue a brick and iron palisade fence standing sentry. The building, complete with a light well and basement with front access, is the only building of its type in Mildura. Whilst it’s always been a single story building, watercolour paintings in the Historical Society suggest a second level was originally planned. It has been home to many things over the years, from the former offices of the Cultivator newspaper, to restaurants and is currently a part of Mildura’s LaTrobe University. • In the centre plantation, just before crossing over Eighth Street, stands the Electric Supply Department Substation No.1, dating back to 1936, when the production of electricity was considered a local responsibility, rather than a state one. • When Queen Elizabeth toured Mildura on March 25th, 1954, a decorative Queen’s Visit 1954 dais was erected in this area of the plantation. Thousands of people travelled huge distances to be a part of the occasion. Pictures of this day are displayed at the Carnegie Centre. • Crossing over Eighth Street, to the right is the ANZ Bank, previously known as Bowring Corner and was the site of Bowring’s Store, opened in 1888. It extended into Langtree Avenue in 1961 but ceased business two decades later. • Meanwhile, on the left side of Mildura Post Deakin, this corner building was Office for over a century, the Mildura Post Office. The earliest Post Office on this site was built in 1890, with much of the current building being erected in 1923. P.G Stewart, an influential local politician laid the foundation stone. It’s now the site a popular local nightspot. • Crossing into the centre plantation, you will find the George V Memorial Fountain, originally erected in the gardens of the Rio Vista, home of W.B Chaffey, it was moved to its current position in 1936. George V Memorial Fountain 4 In 1991, marking the centenary of Rio Vista, the Mildura Shire had a replica fountain returned to the original site in the gardens of the home and can still be seen today.