T He Hi S Tor Y of St. Kilda
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T HE HI S TOR Y OF ST. KILDA FROM ITS FIRST SETTLEMENT TO A CITY AND AFTER 1840 T O 1930 VOLUME I. Compiled by Order of the St. Kilda City Council by JOHN BUTLER COOPER " Aut scribenda agere, aut legenda scribere." " To do what is inset to be recorded, or to write what is worthy to be read." [Inscription taken from the monument of John Stow, London's 16th Century Historian and Topographer] Registered under the Commonwealth Copyright Act, 1912 Melbourne: PRINTERS PROPRIETARY LIMITED 27 LITTLE BOURKE STREET 1931 PREFACE I thank the Councillors of the City of St. Kilda for conferring upon me the distinguished honor of the appointment of Official Historian of the City of St. Kilda. I hope that my work will be considered by them of such merit as to justify their choice of myself for such an important commission. I am indebted to the Town Clerk, Mr. F. W. Chamberlin, for submitting to me old records of St. Kilda that he has, from time to time, patiently collected, and thoughtfully husbanded for historical purposes. In other ways Mr. Chamberlin has given to me generous assistance; and also inspiriting encouragement, in my attempt to complete the difficult task of writing the history, in such a way, as to be worthy of the city. I have endeavored to make, in the text, adequate acknowledgment of any source of important local information that I have happily tapped. Throughout the work I have indicated when it is a surmise I am projecting, so that the reader may not accept a surmise as face value for a fact, and so be misled. An apposite instance of my caution, in not accepting a popular belief, without authority, appears on Page 14. A line reads:—"The Lady is usually supposed to have been Lady Grange," etc. This assertion, in a positive form, was believed by almost everyone interested in the question of the lady's identity, with the schooner's name, "The Lady of St. Kilda." Since the words "usually supposed" were written and in print, I have ascertained that the Lady was Lady Dyke Acland. I have indicated my source of authority in the appendix. Mention, by way of appreciation, is due to Mr. J. A. Sears, of the Sears' Photographic Studios, High Street, St. Kilda Junction, for the fine modern pictures of St. Kilda, vii PREFACE which, through their selective beauty, certainly adorn the two volumes of the history. Nor can I allow this opportunity to pass, without reference to the Managing Director of Printers Proprietary Ltd., Mr. W. A. Comeadow, who, also, has been keen to ensure that the craftsmanship of the printing of the History should be in evidence as a credit to Australian typography. Indeed, I may add, that the work involved in producing the two volumes of the St. Kilda History, from its compilation to its publication, has been the work of Australians. J. B. COOPER. Dec. 5, 1930. CONTENTS Pages Preface vii - viii List of Illustrations xv – xvi Appendix 399 Index 401-405 CHAPTER I. Grim es's Su rv ey Pa rty—F awk ner's Party a t the Red B lu ff—Th e Schooner Yacht "Lady of St. Kilda"—Arrives a t Port Phillip, 184 1—"Fo r Sal e or Exchan ge"—Sir Thoma s D yk e A cland The Schooner's Owners—Wrecked at Tahiti—An Interesting Lett er—La dy of St. Kilda , La dy Grange St. Kild a's Place Nam e—V i lla ge of F ar eha m F ir st Su gges ted —Plac e Nam e S t . K i l d a A do p t e d— R a r e B o o k D a t ed 1698 , V o ya g e t o S t . K i l d a — T h e N a m e S t . K i l d a a n d O t h e r F a c t s . .. 1-19 CHAPTER II Elster Creek, Origin of Pla ce Nam e Elster—C harles Hotso n Ebd en—Su rveyor B agsha we and Els tronw ick— St. Kilda , a Cattle Run—Early Leaseholders, Archibald McLaurin, Captain B enj a m i n Ba x t er— Tho mas En sc ro e & C o . —F i rs t Hu t i n St. Kilda —Letter to H is Ho nor C . J. La trob e— Cro wn Land Sales, 1842—Particu la rs o f Lots So ld and Purchasers Thereof The Red Bluff Quarantine Station—The Fever Ship, "G len Huntly"—Place Name Glen Huntly—The St. Kilda Cemetery. 20-38 CHAPTER III St. Kil d a 's Top o gr a p h y— I t s Sw a m p La nd s — H o u s e to L et , St. Kilda, 1843—Highwa y to Melbourne—St. Kilda Residents Subscribe £25 to Improve St. Kilda Road—Lands Changing Ownership—Auctioneer Brodie's "Flowery" Advertisement, 1 847 —Melbo urne Terrace B ecom es Fitzro y Street—Rev. C . S t u a r t R o s s ' s R e c o l l e c t i o n s . M o o d i e ' s M emo ri es—Bushrangin g in 1 85 2—Ro ya l Hotel Mena ced— Ala rm o f James Mooney, the Licensee— Government Offers R ew a rd f o r B u sh r a n ger s ' C a p t u r e— M el bo u rn e Cl er k o f Courts, a St. Kilda Resident, Complains of Want of Police Pro t ection —Som e V ic e- rega l Place Nam es— “T he Wa tt le P ad dock” . 39-59 ix CONTENTS CHAPTER IV. Pages T h e C i t y o f M e l bou r n e C o rpo r a t i o n — It s F i r s t M i n u t es U po n St . K i ld a — Th e Ci t y' s So u t h er n B o u nd a r y— Th e V il l a ge o f St. Ki ld a— Dr . Thoma s B lack 's P et ition —P erambu lat io ns o f Metes and Bou nds—Mayor a nd Cou ncillors D ine at Ro yal Hot el— Esplanade, i.e., Prom enad e. Land F ro ntages So ld a t 7/- per fo ot—St. Kilda and Melbo urne Co rp oratio ns, 184 5— St. Ki ld a Separat e Ward Prop osal—St. Kild a Resid ents Hold M eeting in Ro yal Hot el, 1 853 —A P etition P repar ed— Femal e B a t h i n g P l a c e t o b e P o l i c ed — T en d e r s C a ll ed t o R emo v e Stumps and Trees from St. Kilda Streets—Streets Proclaimed —Residents' Complaints—Municipal Institutions Proclaimed— Bou nda ries o f the Mu nic ipal Distr ict of St . Ki ld a—Th e Resi d e n t s ' P e t i t i o n — T h e B o u n d a r i e s R e d e f i n e d . .. 60-78 CHAPTER V. Constituting St. Kilda Mu nicipa lity—Historica l Foolscap Notice— Comm ittee to Form Municipality—Particulars of Men—P ublic Meeting o f Resid ents in T ent in A cland Street—Nomina tions of Ca ndidates fo r First Cou ncil—Vo tes Recorded—Council Elected—First Meeting Held in Junction Hotel, March, 1857— T h e F i r s t a n d S ec o n d S t . K il d a Po li c e C o u r t s— C ou n c i l Ap points To wn Clerk—A n Earl y Lett er— El ection o f Committees—Co uncil at Work—First A ssessment —First Rep ort . 79-93 CHAPTER VI. St. Ki ld a C ounci l Nam es Som e o f i ts St reet s—P ar ti cu la rs o f th e P lace N am es— Ea rl y Resi d en ts a nd Pr op er ty H o ld er s— Fi ve G ro up s o f Str e et s N a m es— A n I nt e r e st i n g a nd H is to ri ca l Co ll ec tion of St reet Na m es —How th e Po et 's Gro up C am e to b e Select ed— Cou ncil 's Fi rs t Ston e Qua rr y— H enr y Tu llett 's Sto ry o f the G enesi s of t he St. Kild a Mu nicipa lit y—Ju stic es a n d C ou n ci ll or s Di sagr e e— The St . K il d a J et ty— M u n ic ip a l Offices Sought —Land Sales, Luncheon a nd C hampagneS m u g g l i n g — W i l li a m S p o t t i s w oo d ' s M e mor i es .