Box Hill History Walking Tour

This tour begins in Pioneer Park, at the corner of Station Street and Harrow Streets.

When Europeans began settling this part of Victoria, they were intruding on Aboriginal country. The area of Whitehorse is within the estate of a clan called Wurundjeri willam. This estate comprised an area on the southern side of the Yarra River, extending from the lowest stretch of Gardiners Creek to the Yarra’s source at Mt Baw Baw.

Wurundjeri willam spoke a language called Woi wurrung. Through a similarity between this language and others, as well as longstanding marriage connections, and shared spiritual beliefs, the Wurundjeri willam were part of the Kulin nation. It was customary for members of the clan to exchange marriage partners with clans within the Taung wurrung language group, from the area of the Goulburn and Ovens Rivers.

For tens of thousands of years, the Wurundjeri had cared for their country, subtly managing its natural landscapes through practices such as firestick farming and the measured use of seasonal resources. In the Aboriginal world, people believed this was the primary purpose of human life. You can find more details about the Kulin and Indigenous culture in First people: the Eastern Kulin of Melbourne, Port Phillip and central Victoria, by Gary Presland.

Please start the tour by walking down Station Street, south to Albion Road, while we provide some background on the natural history of the area as well as one of the major settlers in this particular area, George Sim and his family. Turn into Albion Road.

The landscape through which you are walking today was once covered by a grassy forest, rich in trees, shrubs and ground-covering plants. The vegetation encountered here by Europeans in the earliest days of European settlement has been classified by ecologists as a ‘Valley Grassy Forest’.

This was essentially a dry forest, as seen by the species of trees, growing on the deep clayey soils of the ancient Silurian bedrock of Melbourne. During rainy periods an ephemeral stream flowed from an area just north of Whitehorse Road, crossing the line of Harrow Street on its way to Gardiners Creek to the south.

The overstorey here was usually dominated by Candlebark and Yellow Box species. Growing beneath this canopy, as understorey, was a range of Acacia species including Golden Wattle, Lightwood, Blackwood and Cherry Ballart. The ground layer was diverse, grassy, and rich in herbs and geophytes (plants with underground tubers, tap roots or rhizomes). Dominant grass species included Kangaroo Grass, Weeping Grass, Wallaby-grass species and Grey Tussock-grass. The herbaceous species found here included Grass Lily, Milkmaids, Pale Vanilla-lily, Tall Sundew, Finger Rush and Australian Buttercup, among many others.

More detail about the natural landscapes of Whitehorse is available in a small book called The Whitehorse landscape: as seen by the first settlers, published by the Box Hill Historical Society.

From the 1850s onwards however, the area was to see dramatic change.

George Sim, born in the township of Turriff, near Banff, Scotland, arrived in Melbourne in 1849, with his wife Catherine nee Sweetland and 3 children, as well as her widowed mother, brothers and sister. Other members of both the Sim and Sweetland families were also to emigrate in the coming years. They were all bakers and initially settled in the Fitzroy area. George invested in land there, making handsome profits on its subsequent resale. The Sim family returned to London in 1854, but came back to Melbourne the following year.

Rather than return to the baking trade however, George looked around for a fast- developing area and set about acquiring land there. Within a few months he had settled his family at Box Hill, and had purchased 9 acres near the area on which we are now standing. Two years later he bought an adjoining 24 acres, and set about building a timber residence he called Mona Vale. Most of the land was cleared, earning Sim an income from the felled trees, and planted as an orchard and vineyard or used for grazing. A small creek was dammed, creating a lake in which they could swim and sail a small boat. Sketch of site

In 1860 George bought a further 77 acres next to his land. By the beginning of the 1880s he owned 110 acres, extending in a right angle, along Station Street (originally called Sim’s Lane) and then south to Canterbury Road, with an additional area south of Canterbury Road near the present Box Hill South shops.

In the early 1880s a land boom occurred, and new train lines were created, in particular one to Box Hill and beyond. Weekend trips were popular, and a group of young men in 1885 came out to paint at Mr Houston’s farm in Box Hill south. Although unknown at the time, Tom Roberts, Charles McCubbin and their friends would later achieve fame. Charles McCubbin’s view of the first Box Hill railway station, completed before 1890.

Locally, George Sim realized that he could make more money by simply subdividing and selling off some of his land than by continuing to farm it. His first auction sale was in March 1882, and over 60 acres in various sized allotments from 1 to 15 acres were offered. This first sale realized nearly £4,500 pounds, a fortune in those days. A 15 acre block on which his home Mona Vale was situated, was bought by Robert Sutton, whom we’ll talk more about later. A second sale a month later was for another 27 allotments as well as George’s farming implements and stock including cows, pigs and poultry.

Of course streets had to be incorporated into the subdivisions, to allow access to the sites and George named one after himself. While it is tempting to think that Catherine Street, on the southern side of Albion Road, was named after his wife, it is much more likely to have been named after the mother of Joseph Woolf, who was a subsequent owner of land on the south side of Albion Road, and subdivided it in 1913, creating Catherine Street in the process.

George Sim could now afford to build himself a new home on some of the 10 acres he retained and settle into comfortable retirement. That residence, called Albion is one of the sites we will visit today. From this it can be seen that the road was the original entrance to his property and is named after the house.

Although the land sales were very popular, there were no basic facilities available locally. There was no water supply except from creeks or tanks catching roof water; there was no power source – no electricity or gas; no sewerage system – pits dug in the ground were the usual method; and no made roads or footpaths. A Nunawading District Roads Board was established in 1857, and a Shire Council followed in due course in 1872. Funds raised from rates and tollgates were used to implement some basic necessities, but it was many years before the area had a mains water supply, sewerage, power, and made roads and footpaths. Still, it was considered a healthy environment, according to those advertising land here.

Please start to walk down Albion Road to just before Catherine Street.

Bull family

In 1904 Richard and Catherine Bull and some of their adult unmarried children moved into a wooden house on ¾ of an acre on the southern side of Albion Road, near Station Street. The property was owned by solicitor and property investor Joseph Woolf, whose mother Catherine had lived there from the 1890s until her death the previous year. The Bulls named the property Yalding, after Richard’s birthplace in Kent England. He had emigrated with his family in 1853, aged 18, when the family first settled in Bendigo. He subsequently established himself as a storekeeper there and later in Melbourne, before retiring. The decision of Richard and Catherine to move to Box Hill may have had something to do with the ill-health of their ninth son Martin, as Box Hill was promoted as a healthy area. As it was, Martin lived only a few months more, and his mother Catherine died 3 years later.

The eldest Bull son, also called Richard, was a brilliant student and had graduated in medicine in 1896. He subsequently served as lecturer and first director at Melbourne University’s newly formed bacteriological laboratory. As well as his medical interests, Richard jnr was an accomplished musician, an expert landscape gardener, keen horticulturist and expert photographer. He and his wife Catherine nee Perrier, bought a property in Warrigal Road Surrey Hills, which they named Medlow. It was left to the National Trust by the family, but without funding, and was later sold by them. It can still be seen today – refer to the photo below. Their daughter Norma became a well-known artist, and information about her, and a photograph of a local work, entitled Old Box Hill.

Please now walk down to the block of flats that is No. 27

Hodges family

In 1885, the Hodges family moved into a house on this site. The 7 roomed house was weatherboard with a slate roof, well set back from the road, with a nice garden. It had a frontage of 327 ft by a depth of 212ft, or about 100 metres by 64 metres.

Charles Powell Hodges was born in Gloucester England in 1832, one of 6 children of John Powell Hodges, and his wife Sarah nee Prosser. He too arrived in Victoria in 1853, and like many others, went to the goldfields, but not to dig, rather to work in a store. He married Marion Dick in 1856, and the couple had 8 sons and one daughter, all born around the Castlemaine area. Although he set up as a storekeeper at Chewton, he was not a business success, being declared bankrupt in 1860. By some means, perhaps from a Chinese servant, he had learnt Chinese and became proficient both in written and spoken Chinese. He applied to the police force for a position as Chinese interpreter, one of a number that were used in the courts. He was accepted, and worked on many cases as a police interpreter in country Victoria, particularly in the goldfields areas, and in 1880 was asked by the government to report to the Legislative Council on the Chinese in Victoria.

One of the reasons for his moving to Box Hill may have been the illness of their only daughter, Sarah. She died here in 1887, aged 19 years ‘after 16 months suffering from internal cancer’.

As a result of his work as an interpreter and adviser to the Chinese community Charles was in 1890 decorated with the Mandarin Orders of the 'Orange Blossom' and the 'Crystal Button' by the Chinese emperor. Charles participated in the 1901 Chinese procession to welcome the Duke and Duchess of York to Melbourne and celebrate the opening of the first Federal parliament. He died at Dr Stirling’s private hospital in Carlton on 4 April 1905, having made his Will 3 days beforehand. His estate was to be divided equally between 7 of his 8 sons, one obviously being disinherited. Not that there was much to leave. He had no real estate, and his personal property, consisting of furniture, books, clothing and a watch, came to £68. The property, originally in his name, had been transferred to his wife Marion in the 1890s, perhaps to avoid probate duties. A annuity received from his father’s estate was transferred to his sons. Marion lived on in the property until 1913, when it was sold. She later went to live locally with a son, in nearby Glenmore Street. It’s perhaps worth mentioning that once the house was in her name, Marion could vote in local Council elections, as all ratepayers had the vote, unlike in State elections, which were restricted to males. Marion was one of a number of local women who signed the 1891 Suffrage Petition, when 30,000 women petitioned the state government for legislative change to allow them to vote in state elections, a request that was denied until 1908. The house was demolished and units built in 1964.

No. 29 Banff

Banff Exercise Book This impressive house has a Whitehorse Council heritage overlay, one of 3 houses in the street that have overlays, and was built by John Robert Daley. Born in Bendigo in 1862, he was the younger son of Charles Daley, a builder and contractor, and obviously learnt his trade from his father. How they met is unknown, but in 1885 he married Jessie Elizabeth Sim, daughter of George and Catherine, who have been mentioned already.

John Daley and his new wife settled in a weatherboard house in Albion Road, producing 3 children between 1886 and 1891. He was a successful and busy builder, locally building a number of properties, both residential and business. He also became involved in local affairs, becoming a member of the MUIOOF, joining the cricket club, and being elected to the Box Hill Council.

But in the early 1890s a depression occurred, and many people were thrown out of work. It seems that in an effort to help both provide work and stimulate the economy, George Sims’s widow, Catherine, commissioned Daley to build Banff, named after her late husband’s Scottish birthplace, and left it to her daughter Jessie after her death. John had already completed another home for the family, across the road, called Turriff.

Banff was completed by 1892, according to the ratebooks. The depression deepened, however, and the Daley family couldn’t afford to live in the house. They needed to either sell or rent it out. John Daley went briefly to South Africa looking for work, but he returned in less than a year and took the family to Bendigo. Here he re-established himself as a builder, some of his buildings remain extant today, and Jessie produced another 4 children.

The house was let to the five Taylor sisters. Fanny, Louisa, Winifred Rose, Grace and Constance were the daughters of Frederick Augustus Taylor and his wife Caroline (nee Piggott) from Buckinghamshire in England, who had arrived in Victoria by 1862. In 1891 the sisters purchased the goodwill of Mrs. Newton's short-lived Girls High School in Ashted Road. Initially conducting the school in William Street, in 1892 they leased Banff, then named their school Banff Ladies' College. At the time these private schools were established, teaching qualifications were not required – that only happened in 1905 with the Teachers and Schools Registration Act. Banff Ladies' College was registered as School No. 745, qualifying at sub-primary and primary levels.

The room to the right was the school’s dining room, that on the left the classroom. Rose and Fanny Taylor ran the household, while Louisa, Grace and Constance managed the school. The Box Hill Historical Society has one photo of pupils, taken by neighbour Frederick Bull. You will see a few boys; the school took in boys under the age of 10 years. The historical society also has two student work books and some reminiscences by former pupils.

As well as conducting the school themselves, the Taylor sisters had visiting teachers, some of whom are known. The artist Clara Southern taught drawing here from 1895 until at least 1900, while the German language teacher, Miss Mathilde Monash, had been Dux of PLC, and was an accomplished linguist. She was also the sister of John Monash. Other teachers included Madame Elise Last, who taught French, Miss Fannie Charlesworth, who taught singing, and Miss Godwin Smith who taught elocution.

Grace Taylor first took ill in 1902 and died of TB in an upstairs bedroom in 1904; she was only 36. The remaining sisters continued running the school until 1908 when they left to take on new premises in Rutland Road, before finally closing the school in 1914. The tragic tale of what befell the sisters is revealed in one of the cemetery tours run by the Society or can be read in the Society’s archives.

After the Taylor sisters left, the house remained empty for at least a year. John Daley had prospered in Bendigo, and now returned to Melbourne, but not Box Hill. Rather, he purchased a large tract of land in Elwood, subdivided it and began building villas on his Ormond Estate. They took some time to sell, and money must have been tight again, so in 1910 Banff was advertised for sale at a bargain price of £1,150.

There were no takers, so the house was rented out again, and in 1911 a new tenant arrived, probably the most exotic - Solomon Jaboor. Born in Lebanon, and educated in the American Missionary Presbyterian School there, he arrived in Melbourne in 1891, and soon established a successful import and manufacturing business in Lonsdale Street. He began helping fellow Syrians, and in 1910 became President of the Ottoman Society in Victoria. He was already living in Box Hill before he moved in here, because his youngest son, Roy, born in 1909, was born in Springfield Road. Roy and his 6 siblings lived in the house with their parents until late in 1912. Roy went on to achieve military fame. He enlisted in the AIF in 1927, rose steadily through the ranks in the 2nd World War, received an OBE in 1946 and retired as a Lieut. Colonel.

After the Jaboors left, the house remained mostly vacant again, until in 1915 it was purchased by Henry Tymms, who, after starting his career as a messenger boy, had recently retired as Chief Inspector of the Postal Department. According to the ratebooks there were 11 people residing here, in 10 rooms. Just who they were is unclear. Of Henry’s 8 children with wife Agnes, born between 1869 and 1883, 2 girls had died in childhood, and a son died in 1902. Four of the 5 remaining sons were married and had apparently left home, the youngest son being then 34 years old, so the reason for buying the property and who was living here is a bit unclear.

In December 1916, the local paper reported that Henry and his wife were celebrating their golden wedding anniversary. Two months afterwards, Agnes Tymms died while holidaying at Terang. The next month, Henry advertised for some female domestic help, and later that year married Alice Speed. Whether she was the domestic help is unclear; there was a 31 year age difference between them.

Henry, by now blind, celebrated his 80th birthday here in 1925 and died 3 years later. His Will left his entire estate to Alice. The five surviving sons had been disinherited. Alice lived on for another 31 years, dying in Geelong in 1959. She left the property to St Peter’s C/E Box Hill. The house was put up for sale and bought by the Italian Smarelli family, in January 1960 for £5,250. They remained here until 2015, when it was put up for sale. It sold for $3 million. A permit for 9 units to be developed on the site, with an underground carpark at the rear of the building, was rejected by Whitehorse Council, but approved by VCAT. This increased the value of the land enormously, and the house was on-sold for nearly $4.6 million, and then again onsold in 2018, this time for over $6.65 million. In 2022 the site was offered for sale again, but no sale ensued. In the meantime, the site has been moonscapped, and agents have been offering the units for off-the-plan sales.

Continue walking down Albion Road. Cross over Glenmore Street; originally called George Street, after George Sim, the name was changed in 1931, retaining the Scottish origins of George Sim. On the southern side is No. 40.

Turiff

This home, built in 1890, was also built by John Robert Daley. It was built for George Sim’s widow Catherine, and named for the township from which George’s family came. It’s a combination of Georgian and Regency styles; note the sunburst pattern on the wrought iron. After Catherine’s death in 1908, the property was left to her son George. George Sim Junior lived here until his death in 1927; after his wife’s death in 1929 the property was sold. The most recent owner subdivided the land, and has been restoring the building for a number of years now. It has local heritage protection.

Walk to William Street.

William Street

William and the next street on the left, Rose Street, were part of the 1885 Burley Park subdivision of William Ellingworth; the streets were named after himself, and his family, while Rutland Road, at the northern end of this street, was the English County from which the family came. Ellingworth purchased 52 acres, or 21 hectares, from George Sim, and went on to become an extensive developer himself. He will feature in the Society’s Station Street tour. He built a house for himself and family in Rose Street, and subdivided the rest of the land into small allotments with 50 ft or 15 metre frontages and formed these streets. Some of these sites remained unsold when the 1890s depression hit, and remained in Ellingworth hands for over 50 years. Incidentally, the western side of William Street was not part of the Burley Park subdivision, but was included in a separate subdivision on George Street. The allotments were only subsequently split into two, giving a William Street frontage on smaller allotments.

7. No. 50 Albion

On the right hand side of Albion Road, opposite William Street, is Albion House, built by George Sim from the proceeds of his land sales. The house faced Station Street, so what now appears as the front is actually the side of the house.

There is a detailed description of the house, then newly built, in 1883. It was described 'as a handsome villa, situated on a commanding eminence from which a fine view of the surrounding country is obtainable ... It is encircled with a verandah on three sides, 8ft (2½ metres) wide, supported by 32 iron pillars, resting on a bluestone coping, and ornamented with frieze work of a pretty pattern; the flooring of the verandah is filled in with red and white tiles... altogether there are seven rooms and kitchen, with cellar and outhouses. At the rear a commodious stable has been erected, with groom's room, hay shed, and implement room attached, the stable being floored with red-gum blocks. Mr. Sim has subdivided the land to suit his requirements, and is now engaged laying out the grounds, planting fruit trees etc. The ornamental fence around the property is of a tasteful and novel design. The building is of red brick, with white brick dressings, and tuck-pointed. The designs for the whole of the work, was prepared by Mr. Ellingworth, under whose supervision the work was carried out.

At some stage the brickwork was covered with stucco to preserve it, giving a totally different look to the house.

In the 1880s the Sim family also built 2 houses opposite Albion, at No. 51 and No. 53 Albion Road – Rhyll is an English seaside resort and Seaton was named after the small village that the Sweetland family originally came from. Some of the Sim children later lived in these houses.

George Sim died at Albion in December 1890, aged 75 years, Catherine in 1908. After George's death, Catherine gave Albion to her son, also named George, and moved in with her daughter and son in law, Jessie and John Daley, for awhile, before living with her other daughter at Rhyll, the weatherboard house opposite.

George Sim junior did not live long at Albion, but moved to Turriff, leasing Albion out until it was sold to Percy Padgham in 1903. In 1927 Mrs. Celia Scott purchased it, and in 1932 leased it to Mrs Christina Coe. Mrs Coe had been Matron of a hospital in Whitehorse Rd., but had to move when the Council bought the site and wanted to build the town hall that we have today, so this house became her hospital. It operated for some years, then remained vacant for a while. Over the years it had become sadly neglected. The beautiful wrought iron balustrade and ironwork on the verandah had been dismantled and sold for scrap metal; the verandah had been replaced by a crudely fitted porch; the original fireplaces had been bricked over, and mature trees hid the charm of the building. In 1972 it was owned by a Mrs. Walker, who was facing pressure from developers to sell it for multiple flat development. She resisted however, and sold it to Mrs. Eleanor Finlay, the great grand-daughter of the original owner, George Sim. Eleanor Finlay and her family brought the house back to its former glory, before they too sold out and moved to Tasmania because of work commitments.

More information on the Sim family can be found in the historical society’s archives, because Eleanor was a prominent member.

More developer pressure occurred late in the 1990s, when the house was put up for sale, but it was averted when the house was nominated for inclusion on the Victorian Heritage Register This was enough to deter any developers. The house was subsequently protected by being placed on Council’s own Heritage Register, and has been renovated in a sympathetic manner, winning a Design Award a few years ago.

Continue along Albion Road.

Nos 55 and 57 were built in 1890, and there is information in the Society’s archives about the occupants.

Cross over Rose Street and turn left at Victoria St, then go to No. 5.

No. 5 Victoria Street

This house, which has seen better days, has no heritage protection, and is currently rented out. Here is a view of it in the 1970s.

It’s first owner, Robert Stuart Evans, was born in London in 1836 and joined the Indian civil service in 1852, at the age of 16. He became a river pilot in the Bengal government service, piloting ships navigating the Hoogly river between Calcutta and Bengal. Some of his siblings emigrated to Victoria, and in 1876 the youngest, Alfred, married Anne, a daughter of John Saunders. Presumably Robert visited his family in Melbourne and met some of the Saunders family, for 6 years later, in 1882, he married Anne’s sister Helen in Collingwood. The pair then departed for India, where their son Frederick was born at Calcutta in 1883. Robert reached the rank of Captain, then retired. The family returned to Melbourne, and settled in Box Hill, purchasing just over an acre of land from George Sim in 1885. The area stretched from Albion Road to beyond this site, with a frontage to Albion Road of 244 ft (74 metres) and on Victoria St of 310 ft (94 metres). Evans had this house built, later naming it Waiwera after a small New Zealand spa town. A daughter, Alice Dorothy, was born here in 1886.

The family became involved in the local community, Robert being among the residents petitioning Council in 1894 to secure a water supply for Box Hill; residents were still dependent on tank water at this stage. Helen joined both the charitable Dorcas Society and the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) and would have been involved in collecting signatures for the 1891 women’s suffrage petition. Their son Frederick was probably educated at New College, which we’ll hear about later, while the daughter Alice Dorothy attended the nearby Banff school.

Robert died in 1910, leaving his estate to his family. Their only son Frederick died in 1913, succumbing after an unsuccessful appendicitis operation. The property was put up for sale a few weeks after Frederick’s death, perhaps because of the need to raise funds to support Alice who had started to display the mental health problems that were to affect her for the rest of her life. The property was described as being laid out in fruit and flower gardens, with grass and beautifully timbered paddocks. A separate sale of household items included cedar furniture, a billiard table and a 6ft (nearly 2 metres) long model boat. There were no purchasers of the property however, so the executors first briefly rented out the house to a Sister Lear, who registered a private hospital in 1914. In March that year Elizabeth Noble died of TB, one of a number of sufferers who came to the area because of its reputation as a healthy location, and died here.

By 1915 Sister Lear had left and the executors subdivided the land, establishing four smaller blocks, one of which faced Albion Road, and became No. 71 there, and retaining the house on a larger site 131ft (40 metres) by 244ft (74 metres). The smaller blocks were sold, but not built on until the 1920s.

In 1916 the Hay family rented the house, as a daughter, Olga, had recently bought the goodwill of a local private school, Horton Girls School, from its founder Florence Lavers for £60. Born in 1892 in Elsternwick, the second daughter of Presbyterian Minister Rev Joseph Hay and his wife Marjorie nee Pender, Olga had commenced teaching in 1911, and was to have a distinguished career. She has an entry in the Australian Dictionary of Biography.

The school was conducted in the Methodist Sunday School Hall in Oxford Street at this period. Here is a photograph of the students. Olga Hay changed the name to Horton Girls Grammar School, introduced school colours of navy and green and a school motto of ‘Non sibi sed omnibus’ – ‘not for self but for others’. The junior school was conducted on Montessori principles as before, and competitive sport – basketball and tennis - added to the curriculum. In 1919 Olga Hay sold the goodwill of the school for £120, thus doubling her investment in 3 years. The historical society has a history of the school and a school badge in its archives.

Meanwhile, the home remained in the name of the Evans executors, with various short term rentals, until 1924 when it was finally sold to John Craig. The new owner had similar problems in trying to find tenants, and sold it to Daniel Joseph Whelan in 1928. By 1947 the land size had been reduced to a 60ft (18 metres) frontage. The property underwent a succession of owners and tenants until lovingly restored and extended, and offered for sale in 1998. It was described then as having bluestone foundations, a slate roof and 14ft (4 metre) high ceilings. A developer subsequently purchased the property and applied to erect units on the site. The plan was rejected by Council, and the decision confirmed by VCAT. Since then the property has apparently been rented out, with no maintenance on the building. It has no heritage overlay.

As we move along Victoria St., the house styles are an indication of the time period in which they were built.

Stop at linear park:

On 30 April 1884 Henry (Harry) Sweetland bought 1.2acres of land here from George Sim, whose wife Catherine was his cousin. He was shortly to marry Agnes Prentice from Rutherglen, and so built a large weatherboard home which he named Donington after his mother’s birthplace in Lincolnshire England. The property ran through to Rose Street and was in a cross shape. He established an extensive flower and vegetable garden, employing a gardener who lived onsite, and ran a few cows. The couple were to have 4 children born here. The eldest, Stephen James in 1886, educated at Wesley, has the unfortunate distinction of being the first Box Hill man to die at Gallipoli during WW1. The birth of two girls followed, Emily Alice and Agnes Dorothy, who became Banff pupils and they were followed by John Stuart who was educated at nearby New College. While John married and moved into his own home, the two daughters remained, caring for their parents initially, then staying on in the family home. It remained in the possession of the Sweetland family until the death of the last daughter in 1970. In 1971, when it was put up for auction, Box Hill Council purchased the property for $28,500 and determined, despite some public effort to save and restore the house, that it would be turned into a public park.

Let’s now walk thru the park and and go to Victoria Rose Sensory Playspace, on the left, opposite the playground. To the right the original outline of the Sweetland land in the form of a cross can be seen,

Victoria Rose Sensory Playspace

This sensory garden, the first in Whitehorse, was initiated by a staff member of the nearby Biala childhood support group, and officially opened in 2009. A sensory garden is one that provides a range of plants and objects that enable children with disabilities to interact, using their senses, such as taste, smell, touch and hearing. You can walk thru the garden, but please remember to shut the gate.

After inspecting the sensory garden, walk thru the park to Rose St., turn right and go to No. 24-26.

No. 24-26 Rose Street

New College once stood on this site. Originally a brick home, built around 1880, and used as a convalescent home by a Melbourne doctor, the building became New College school for boys in 1890. The College was started by Arthur Stephenson and his brother Stuart. Box Hill was only a small place in 1890; true there had been a land boom and subdivisions galore, but there were only a hundred or so houses, a brickworks which employed about 200 men, and a relatively small population. The reason for the location however is clear from an early prospectus: ‘There is probably no place near Melbourne more highly recommended by the medical profession as a health resort than Box Hill... ‘

With periodic outbreaks of typhoid, diphtheria and other diseases, a healthy location was an important consideration for many parents. Mind you, as we’ve heard, Box Hill had no reticulated water supply, no sewerage and no electricity at this time, so presumably the fresh air and relative isolation were the main considerations.

The school took in both day boys and boarders, the latter coming from all over Victoria. It survived the 1890s depression, had its name changed to Box Hill Grammar School, changed its location to land purchased from Robert Campbell Edwards, a local businessman, and became Kingswood College in 1929.

All of the school records, including the pupils' register, were destroyed by fire, so the complete list of 'old boys' of the school is not available, but there are two published histories, and the historical society has some photos, a couple of which can be seen here:

The house, and a large area of land, was sold for half a million dollars in 2005. It had no heritage protection. Council officers claimed to be unaware of its historical significance, (many had lost their positions with the forced Council amalgamations, and there was little corporate memory remaining) and the historical society were not informed of the sale until too late. The developer did allow the archivist from Kingswood College to take whatever they wanted, so some stained glass windows and cuttings from a rose garden were preserved, and the front unit has a Victorian architectural style to replicate what was there before.

Walk along to No. 28.

William and Rose Ellingworth

This was the site of the original home of William and Rose Ellingworth. William, nicknamed ‘King Billy’ had a finger in many pies – Councillor, Mayor, real estate agent, developer, builder, entrepreneur. Despite the large adverts for the 1885 auction of the Burley Park estate, ten years later there were still only 6 weatherboard and 2 brick houses in Rose Street. Two of the weatherboards were owned by William Ellingworth and three by the next door neighbour, Isaiah Ainger, probably all erected to promote the area.

Isaiah and his wife Eliza arrived in Victoria in 1853, made money by carting goods to and from the goldfields areas, had 7 children all born in Hawthorn, leased land in Balwyn to farm, and in the 1880s moved here. Like the Ellingworths, they were Methodists, and members of the Victoria District of Rechabites, a temperance organisation. As well as these connections, Isaiah and William became partners in buying, selling and dealing in land, joined in the partnership in 1888 by William’s son John Richard, who had married Isaiah’s daughter Harriet.

Cross over road and go to No. 27.

Brewer Family

Marvelo Ointment will cure you! This house, built in 1918, was the site of two cottage industries operated by the Brewer family. The first was for the manufacture of tins of Marvelo Ointment, which was promoted and delivered by the father Charles.

The second industry in which they engaged was the purchase of one of the first knitting machines in Melbourne, with which mother Catherine and daughters Belle and Bertha, supplied garments to a Melbourne department store. The daughters were best known, however, for their work for local charities, in particular the Box Hill Hospital. They founded the Box Hill Friendly Circle in 1944, and held office as president and secretary until their deaths – Belle in 1965 and Bertha in 1974. The group met monthly at church halls, and raised funds, via various activities, for local charitable organisations. Bertha was awarded the Box Hill Council’s civic award in 1970, and the British Empire Medal in 1973. The Friendly Circle continued until the 1990s; its papers are held by the Society.

Walk back to the linear park and continue heading towards Station St.

Bluestone Lane

Note the bluestone lane running between Rose and William Streets – this was used by the night man to empty the sanitary pans. Before Box Hill was fully sewered in the late 1920s, the Council employed a local contractor to collect the pans and dispose of the excreta. The material was taken to East Burwood and buried in trenches. There were many complaints to Council about the pan system – of pans not being collected, of dirty replacement pans being delivered, of accidents involving pan spillage etc. There were even more complaints when a new disposal site in East Burwood was announced, as it was next to an area recently subdivided and sold for housing.

Walk thru to William Street.

Nos 28-44 William Street

Nine houses to our right, on this eastern side of the street, Nos 28-44, have a heritage overlay, requested by the residents to prevent inappropriate development. All were built between 1905 and 1914 and retain their original simple timber building, verandah and high ceilings. What happened on blocks that once contained similar early 20th century houses can be seen to the left.

Cross road and continue on linear park to Glenmore Street.

This section of the park was created in the late 1980s, when Council bought the two houses on site.

At Glenmore St go up to No. 24 on the right.

Ingamells.

A brick house was first built on this site in 1920. The owner was Herbert Ingamells, born 1871, a son of Joshua and Mary Ingamells, another pioneering family, who had lived next door. Like the rest of his family, he was very involved in the Methodist church, conducting various choirs, serving as church Trustee etc. He married in 1897 Nelly Beckett, a sister of Robert Beckett MLC, after whom Beckett Park in Balwyn is named. In 1924 their daughter Ethel married Charles Fitzroy Walker, headmaster of Box Hill Grammar School, which became Kingswood College. Their son was Evan Walker, who became an architect, entered State parliament and served as Minister of Planning.

Herbert died in 1930 and the property was sold in 1932 to James Wise; he is featured in Tour 3. It remained in the Wise family until 1965 when it was sold to the parents of the current owners. The house underwent an extensive renovation in the last few years. It has no heritage protection.

Turn back to the linear park, cross over the road and go to the Ashted Road intersection

Ashted House

Shakespeares Complete Works As mentioned earlier, George Sim sold the 15 acres on which his home Mona Vale was situated, to Box Hill’s first blacksmith Robert Sutton, in 1882. Sutton enlarged the house and changed its name to Ashted House, a name that was then used in the street that was formed when the land was subdivided the following year. A photo of the old house appears below. One of the early occupants of this street was Mary Elizabeth Newton, a widow. She was the youngest daughter of Rev William Hutchinson of Mansfield, and in 1885 married Alfred John Newton, a native of Cooma NSW. Their only son, Harold Edward Shields Newton, was born there the following year. The family returned to Melbourne shortly afterwards. Alfred died in the Melbourne Hospital in October 1887, aged 42, so Mary had become a bride, a mother and a widow within 3 years. She needed to earn an income to support herself and their child, so early in 1889 rented a home in William Street, and a property in this street that she used as a boarding and day High School for girls. One of the book prizes that she gave to a student is in the Society’s possession.

She soon gathered support from locals and the school flourished, so much so that in 1891 she was able to sell the goodwill to the five Taylor sisters, who we met before, and returned to NSW. She was subsequently burnt to death in a freak accident in Bathurst in 1902.

Walk down Ashted St., turn right at small park on right, walk thru to Henry St and continue on to Harrow St. Stop at corner.

Florence Hilda McInnes

On Wednesday 23rd February 1921, just on dusk, 32-year-old Florence Hilda McInnes rode her bike into Harrow Street. She was on the way to help out at her sister’s newly-opened sweet shop in Whitehorse Road. There was no nearby street light, the bike had no headlight, and Florence had no helmet; helmets only became compulsory in 1990. Unbeknown to Florence, earlier that day Council workers had emptied a load of wet sand in the centre of the road. It was meant to be spread out to dry, but that hadn’t been done. Florence rode straight into the sand, the bike skidded and she fell off, hitting her head. Eliza Raw and her sister, who both lived in George Street, (as Glenmore was then called) ran to tell Herbert Ingamells what had happened, and get help. Help was soon to arrive, but Florence remained unconscious. She was taken to Nurse Coe’s hospital, on the site of what is now the town hall, and two doctors were quickly in attendance. They confirmed that she had fractured her skull and she died a few hours later. While a Coroner later found that the cause of death was injuries due to a fall from a bicycle, and did not implicate Council’s negligence, her father Angus made a claim for compensation, and was awarded £75.

Two years later Herbert Ingamells wrote to the Council pointing out that there was only one light in Harrow St., near Station St,. and as for the area near the dip in the road : ‘the womenfolk are very nervous at this spot and particularly at street corners’. He requested more lighting in the street.

H. Lanyon resident at No. 37 went further, and organized a petition, signed by every resident in the street, requesting a street light for the corner of John and Harrow Sts. The Council added the request to others already on a list which increased every month.

As you walk towards Station Street, the low point thru which you are walking, opposite the car park, was once the course of an ephemeral stream, a tributary of Gardiners Creek. It has long been barrel drained. Please continue to the new car park and Pioneer Park, where the tour will conclude.

The Society hopes you’ve enjoyed this glimpse of some of the history of Box Hill. We have an extensive archive in our premises at the town hall, and you are welcome to visit our rooms any Tuesday between 11am and 4pm to find out more about some of the people and places you’ve visited today.

Early Box Hill Walking Tour

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