The final cost of the building was £650 and over £700 with the inclusion of furniture.
At the inaugural meeting the following trustees were appointed:
R Polley (chairman)
T McKim
R Hunt
A Larcombe
A Pigdon
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Mount Duneed History Group |
Early in 1924 it was proposed that a hall be built at Waurn Ponds to be used as a mechanics institute and free library. On the afternoon of 18 June 1924, with the hall more than half paid for, Alderman JN McCann performed the official opening of the hall. He had donated the land for the hall and £50 towards its erection. The donation was conditional of the residents raising £200. This was accomplished by bazaars and other efforts and also a government grant of £50. The grant was obtained because the project included a free library. 100 books were purchased with the expectation of 150 more within the following 12 months.
The final cost of the building was £650 and over £700 with the inclusion of furniture. At the inaugural meeting the following trustees were appointed: R Polley (chairman) T McKim R Hunt A Larcombe A Pigdon
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TM Burke Pty Ltd began accumulating land in Grovedale in the 1950s. Development, when it took place, was to be as a satellite township with a green belt, in the area of Waurn Ponds Creek, to separate it from Belmont. Early in the 1960s the first and probably largest subdivision of this land was marketed. Karnn Street had its name changed to Highfield Drive after it was found to be confused with Karana Avenue and Kana Street.
TM Burke, a businessman and philanthropist, was born in Ararat in 1870. He contested the 1914 election as the Labor candidate for Corangamite but was defeated. He worked for the railways after leaving Ararat High School and then turned to real estate when he could buy land in the depressed market of the war years. He then subdivided and sold it on low deposits and easy terms in the immediate post war period. As a Catholic benefactor he bought Studley Hall in Kew and gave it to the Jesuits as a preparatory school for Xavier College. It became known as Burke Hall. His large donations helped to establish Corpus Christi College, Werribee. He was a member of all major racing clubs and an owner of successful racehorses. He died of cancer in 1949. His portrait hangs in the library of Burke Hall. Geelong's first radio station, 3GL, transmitted from the block on the corner of Heyers and Bieske Roads from October 1938 until late in 1980. The aerial was 138 feet high. The Residents living close to this area found it caused interference with some radio stations, and also could be heard on the phone. In 1975 the Grovedale Progress Association wrote to the manager of 3GL informing him that residents were dissatisfied with this. A mixed business operated from a shop built on the corner of Burdoo Drive and Heyers Road (lot 26). Mrs Sceney ran this business for many years. A pharmacy was later built next to this shop about 1970. In 1978 the two shops were demolished to make way for the new arcade style shopping complex. This shopping centre built by Hooker Developments contained sixteen shops plus a supermarket. The popularity of these shops suffered when the new Waurn Ponds centre opened. It was subsequently re-developed to give all shops access to the carpark to the north.
Lately I have noticed a small block on the corner of Cochranes Road and Waurn Ponds Drive, so decided to have a closer look. It is the Waurn Ponds Memorial Reserve, a park dedicated to soldiers who served all world wars. In July 1919 the people of Waurn Ponds planted the avenue of trees honouring the fifteen men from the community who served in the First World War. A bronze plaque unveiled by BC Ruxton AM OBE, president of the Victorian branch of the Returned & Services League of Australia on 4 July 1999 bears the following names:
The Stewart Family
John Stewart, a descendant of the original Stewart family who owned land in Stewarts Road, Mount Duneed (now Armstrong Creek) will tell us about his family When: 7 July 7:30pm Where: Mount Duneed Hall 40 Mount Duneed Road Mount Duneed The Victoria Inn was situated north of Waurn Ponds Creek almost opposite Lemins Road. Charles Rowand (abt 1825-1908) arrived in Geelong on the Travancore in 1849. He bought 9 acres in Waurn Ponds and 27 acres in Mount Duneed where he planted 4 acres of vines. He served one term on the Barrabool Road Board in 1861. He became Government Engineer of the Ballarat and Western District. At the time of his death he was the oldest road engineer living in Victoria. Frederick Imer (1836-1907) established a vineyard on 10 acres to the west of Charles Rowand. Waurn Ponds grew around a pub. In March 1840, 968 acres on the Barrabool side of Waurn Ponds Creek was sold to Captain John Eddington, who had arrived in Australia with his family the previous year. Initially they settled near the Loddon River where the town of Eddington is today. The following year he established the Ballangeich run between Warrnambool and Mortlake. This land, which has access from Colac Road, was sold to Henry "Money" Miller who built a small stone house on it in 1846 which was let to Martin Priest. Priest was granted the first license for the inn in April 1846. He also ran the Shamrock Inn on the corner of Malop and Yarra Streets, then called North Geelong. In July 1848, on leaving the Shamrock Inn, he took over the license of Mr O'Hara's house at Batesford. He advertised this business as Marrabool Inn. He also announced he had a new and secure yard on his premises which could contain upwards of three hundred head of cattle. In 1847 Harry Hooton took over the inn. In April 1849 Hooton was granted a license conditional on the erection of extra accommodation. If not completed in two months the license would lapse. Early maps show a road to Colac following the creek to Mount Moriac. This gave the Victoria Inn, situated on the northern bank a good position to catch the passing traffic. The Inn took its name from Hon Henry Miller's Victoria Estate. During the short time the Victoria Inn was operating it was the district meeting place on many occasions for discussing the roads, bridges and tolls, among other local concerns. In 1855 blocks of land on the south side of the creek in Waurn Ponds were auctioned. In November 1849 Robert Tweedy opened the inn in a new stone building. He had previously held the license for the Hibernian Hotel in South Geelong. On 10th August 1852 Tweedy, aged 38 years, died after "a long and distressing affliction." His funeral took place at the Bridge Inn, South Geelong. The following year his widow, Ann Jane née Irwin, applied for the license. Robert (from Northumberland) and Ann (from Armagh) came to Australia separately in 1841 as bounty emigrants on the George Fyfe. They married the same year. After Robert's death she married Thomas Fitzgibbon and they kept the inn going until 1858, the year they both died. Esther, widow of Martin Priest applied for the license in 1859. In 1860 George Marsh applied for a license to run the inn, but failed to obtain it, probably because he failed to appear in court. He was insolvent and his hotel and household goods were sold. After this the inn became a private residence. In 1861 the farm was leased to Bankin brothers. It became known as Victoria Heights when it was occupied by the family of Robert Shaw Hunt and his wife Harriet nee Bone from the 1890s until his death in 1845. In 1902 their two year old daughter Vera drowned in Waurn Ponds Creek. In 1874 Louis Mermod had his colonial wine licence transferred from his Pettavel store to Waurn Ponds where he held a rural store license. His land was near the corner of Cochranes Road and Colac Road, now named Waurn Ponds Drive. This venture was probably not successful as he was trying to sell his rural store site by late 1875. He subsequently appears to have moved to Korong Vale. The block on the corner marked "camping" is now Waurn Ponds Memorial Reserve. The reserve is maintained by a local committee to commemorate local residents who served in World War 1. |
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