The Upper Yarra Hotel was built by David Bell who came from County Tyrone in Northern Ireland. Bell and his wife Isabella were married in l840. They had taken the romantic step of being married and then sailing to the other end of the world to begin life in a new country.
Soon after arriving in Melbourne a son, William, was born. It was William who, when he came of age, was to take over the responsibility of running the hotel from his mother.
In 1850, David Bell was appointed Pound Keeper at Bulleen. The Pound was on the river at a small creek in the area reserved for a township, where later Finn's Hotel was built. Bell's farm extended east along the rich river flats past Ruffey's Creek.
After the township of Templestowe was surveyed in 1852, Bell built the Upper Yarra Hotel. It stood on a rise of land opposite the end of Parker Street, with a view across the river flats to the Yarra, winding its way among the river gums. The Hotel was a long low building with whitewashed walls and a picturesque thatched roof. At first, the Hotel was called "The Bulleen“ but a few years later it was known as "The Upper Yarra".
At the land sales in 1854, Bell bought the eight acres of land where his hotel stood. He had been a prominent member of the community, but was not able to enjoy his position for long. In 1856 he became a victim of one of the hazards of his profession, and died as a result of drinking to excess. Bell was buried at Heidelberg by his friend, George Hicks. David Bell had died just a few weeks before his Hotel had the distinction of being the meeting place for the formation of the Templestowe Roads Board, the forerunner of our municipality.
Isabella was left with five children and a Hotel that was heavily mortgaged. She sold the Hotel to John Crooks, but remained on as licensee. Crooks was a well-known local man who later was elected to the Roads Board.
During the 1860's, the Upper Yarra Hotel ran into difficulties. The Hotel had been largely supported by passing travellers who stopped for food and refreshment or a night's shelter. In its early days there was not only traffic to the Anderson‘s Creek Gold Fields, but also this was one of the tracks to Brushy Creek and Lilydale areas. After 1860, gold mining at Anderson's Creek declined and then the Warrandyte bridge was washed away. The Bells left the Hotel and Robert Mundy took over the Licence.
In 1866, there was increased competition when J. Field the Postmaster and James Finn both opened Beer Shops in Templestowe. The Hotel changed hands every year. First there was John Hewish then C. Ashmore then Louis Le Compte. In 1869, Sparks opened the Templestowe Hotel and a Beer Shop was opened by Jackeriah Jenkins directly across the road from Louis Le Compte. There was considerable ill feeling which came to a climax when Jenkins set fire to a haystack at the rear of the Upper Yarra. In 1870, Le Compte left and the Hotel became vacant.
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| Finns Upper Yarra Hotel, c1872 |
James Finn was working as a groom at the Heidelberg Presbytery when he bought two blocks of land at Templestowe in March, 1865. This land was on the river flats each side of the Upper Yarra Hotel. It had been owned by John Semar, an early pastoralist who bought the land in 1854. On the block opposite the end of Thompsons Road, he had built the house that later became Finn‘s Hotel.
Robert Mundy was living in this house when Finn bought it. Then next year Finn moved in and opened a Beer Shop which he called "The Happy Home".
James Finn was a smallish strongly made man who was always neatly dressed. He had a typically Irish beard which he kept carefully trimmed. With his quick wit, and colourful language, and generous nature he soon became a popular member of the community.
When the Upper Yarra Hotel became vacant, James Finn bought it, thus joining his blocks into one sixteen acre area. On 7th March, 1872, Finn re-opened the Upper Yarra Hotel in his own building. It was a simple well-proportioned two storied timber building with a brick front. There were two sitting rooms, four bedrooms, a bar and a single storey kitchen at the rear.
In 1870, Finn had owned sixteen acres of land. Ten years later, he had increased his holding to seventy acres. His land lay along the Yarra and up the hill on the west of Thompsons Road. Finn was a keen gardener. As well as cultivating the land, he planted a well laid out garden of shrubs and trees on both sides of the road, making a picturesque setting for the Hotel.
Soon after the turn of the century, additions were made to the Upper Yarra Hotel. A two storey timber building with a balcony at the front was added to the west side. The new section with its higher ceilings made the old building look squat by comparison. It was a strange mixture of a typical compact country pub and what looked like only part of a stylish hotel with decoration and wrought iron lace.
During these years, bar trade was decreasing. Most days only a few drinkers would call and sometimes the bar would be empty all day. The Hotel relied mainly on its dining room for Finns had the reputation of keeping a good table. Picnic parties and sportsmen would call to enjoy the well cooked meals of fresh produce grown on Finn's own land.
In the 1920's reforms were being carried out by the licensing Court. Many hotels were closed during this time and the Upper Yarra with its small bar trade had little chance of retaining its licence. The Hotel was closed.
Over the years, the building matured with age. The two sections that were architecturally incompatible, had been painted a rusty red colour which gave unity to the building. The Hotel began to look old and developed a picturesque charm that attracted artists. Finn‘s became a favourite subject for painters and photographers, and the National Trust gave a "D" Classification to the building.
James Finn had died same four years before the outbreak of the First World War. Perhaps the green river flats and mellow evening mists had reminded him of his native Ireland. During his years in Templestowe, he had contributed much to the life of his chosen village. The memory of Jimmy Finn with his quick wit and his endearing character made the Upper Yarra Hotel a legend in the district.
Irvine Green A.I.A.P. writing in 1974 02 DTHS Newsletter
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| Jame-s Finn's 'Upper Yarra Hotel' c 1967. James Finn opened a beer shop at Templestowe in 1866, which became the Upper Yarra Hotel in 1872 when Finn built a brick section in front. The block-panelled two storey section on the left was erected in 1910. The premises were destroyed by fire in 1968 in suspicious circumstances. DTHS-DP0591 |
Upper Yarra Hotel Cairn
The first hotel in the the district the "Upper Yarra" was built in Templestowe in 1852.Twenty years later James Finn replaced the original building with a new hotel on an adjacent block. The character of James Finn did much to make the "Upper Yarra" part of the life of the district. The hotel was de-licensed in the 1920's and in its later years became a favourite subject for painters and photographers.
A cairn built with bricks from the hotel marks the position of the Upper Yarra Hotel.
Extract from Irvine Green writing in 1978 02 DTHS Newsletter
"At Templestowe" also known as "The Road to Templestowe". 1889 Arthur Streeton. oil on canvas 25.4 x 40.7 cm, Elder Bequest Fund, 1941. Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide/ Artists Footsteps (Feb2023)
Arthur Streeton during the drought Summer of early 1889, visited the site where Buvelot painted ‘Summer Afternoon, Templestowe’. Although living at this time in Eaglemont, Streeton noted that ‘It was my interest in this (Buvelot) picture which caused me to walk from Heidelberg Station to Templestowe and paint a small canvas.’ ‘The Road To Templestowe’ depicts an easterly view along Templestowe Road. Cows graze in Finns Reserve to the left, while the light coloured building beyond is Finns Upper Yarra Hotel.
https://www.artistsfootsteps.com/html/Streeton_attemplestowe.htm
Summer afternoon, Templestowe 1866 Louis BUVELOT (1814-1888) oil on canvas 76.6 × 118.9cm. National Gellery Vic http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/explore/collection/work/4461/ Feb2023
https://www.artistsfootsteps.com/html/Streeton_attemplestowe.htm
Finn's Hotel
(Ben Frawley - Facebook)
Finn’s Hotel, built in 1872 in Templestowe, was earlier known as the Upper Yarra Hotel. It was a well-patronised stopping place for miners on the way to the Anderson’s Creek Goldfields. It lost its licence in the 1920s and gradually became dilapidated and was burnt down in 1967. The hotel was a famous landmark in the district which had a picturesque charm attracting artists and photographers. A number of paintings of the hotel are displayed, mainly in Atkins Cottage.
Mr George Haslam, a local hobbyist, made an authentic model of the hotel in the 1960s, complete with rusting iron roof and the correct outbuildings and decorations.
The model, now displayed in the Sloyd Room at the Schramms Cottage Museum, is a significant exhibit in our collection as a re-creation of an important building which no longer exists, with connections to an early settler and to the Warrandyte goldfields.
The council of Doncaster-Templestowe have received a cheque for $365.95 in full settlement of a claim for Finn's Hotel. The historic old hotel was destroyed by fire earlier this year. Council had purchased a large area of land on which the hotel stood for park development. At the beginning of this year council placed an eviction order on the occupants, so that the building could be demolished for the widening of Templestowe Rd. On the night the occupants left the building it was destroyed. To date work has not commenced on the widening of the road. Doncaster And Outer Circle MIRROR Wed 27Sep1967
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| Finns Hotel Burning |
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| Front view James Finn's 'Upper Yarra Hotel' 1967. James Finn opened a beer shop at Templestowe in 1866, which became the Upper Yarra Hotel in 1872 when Finn built a brick section in front. The block-panelled two storey section on the left was erected in 1910. The premises were destroyed by fire in 1967 in suspicious circumstances. Photo: Irvine Green DTHS-dp0590 |
Finn’s Hotel, built in 1872 in Templestowe, was earlier known as the Upper Yarra Hotel. It was a well-patronised stopping place for miners on the way to the Anderson’s Creek Goldfields. It lost its licence in the 1920s and gradually became dilapidated and was burnt down in 1967. The hotel was a famous landmark in the district which had a picturesque charm attracting artists and photographers. A number of paintings of the hotel are displayed, mainly in Atkins Cottage.
Mr George Haslam, a local hobbyist, made an authentic model of the hotel in the 1960s, complete with rusting iron roof and the correct outbuildings and decorations.
The model, now displayed in the Sloyd Room at the Schramms Cottage Museum, is a significant exhibit in our collection as a re-creation of an important building which no longer exists, with connections to an early settler and to the Warrandyte goldfields.
Kay Mack writing on Facebook OCT2017
FINN'S WORTH $365
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| James Finn and his wife in their buggy, outside the Upper Yarra Hotel, Templestowe Road, Templestowe. DTHS-dp0276 |
Doncaster Templestowe Historical Society Newsletter, December 1994, pp 6 - 9 includes an article outlining the history of Finns Reserve, Templestowe. Once the site of the Bulleen Pound and of the Upper Yarra Hotel it is now a public park, with the land including the Templestowe Scout Hall, a toilet block, a children\'s playground and an exercise site for adults. The Templestowe Rotary Club has erected a cairn and a history pavilion containing copies of photographs of Old Templestowe. The article is illustrated with a sketch of Finns Upper Yarra Hotel.
Part of Templestowe's history will soon crumble when Finn's Upper Yarra Hotel (above) is demolished. The 125 year old hotel in Yemplestowe Rd, near Thompson's Road corner, is to be pulled down in a few weeks, it was decided at the Doncaster and Templestowe City Council meeting. The Council is to ask the Housing Commission to issue an eviction order on the occupants, Mr Ned Finn, his brother, Andrew, and sister Marie. the pub is on council property which has been ear-marked for parkland. According to the council, the building is in a dangerous condition and unsuitable for people to live in. But the Mayor of Doncaster and Templestowe, Cr Stan Shepherd, has said he is prepared to preserve the hotel if anything can be done. Mr Peter Stoughton, chairman of the surveys committee of the National Trust, says the hotel has been classified as "D" by the Trust, meaning that it is of historical interest. "It is a shame it shoudl go. It would be a good setting for a restaurant with an Australian setting". Australian author, Alan Marshall, thinks the building would make an ideal folk museum. Only a few weeks ago, the Governor of Victoria, Sir Rohan Delacombe, in declaring the shire a city, referred to the rich history of the area.
via John Unsworth. Facebook
But there was a problem. Finn’s Upper Yarra Hotel, a local landmark of some renown, stood right in the path of the new road.
The Upper Yarra Hotel was a much loved building. James Finn had opened his hotel as a beer shop on the Templestowe corner in 1866, near what is now a vanished river crossing, and over the years various additions had been made to it which had combined to create a strange amalgamation of architectural styles. The idiosyncratic compact construction of the original building seemed to stand at odds with the later, two-storey block fronted section but somehow they combined almost by accident to form a building of considerable rambling charm.
The Upper Yarra was delicenced in the early 1920s but as it aged and became more dilapidated the rustic appeal of its setting became a favoured subject for local artists. The various parts of the hotel itself were painted a rusty red colour in an attempt to bring unity to its conflicting parts and as the paint peeled the overpainted words “Finn’s Upper Yarra Hotel” stood out like a ghostly commentary as to the building’s former life, an old world garden and a cobbled stable yard behind the hotel completing the overall effect of a genteel rural decay.
The grown up grandchildren of James Finn were still living somewhat reclusive lives at the old hotel in the mid 1960s when the Council came a knockin’. Doncaster and Templestowe City Council had purchased the land on which the Upper Yarra Hotel stood from the executors of the estate of the son of James Finn and the Council were trying to force his grandchildren from the building which the surviving generation still occupied. The Council met with some militant but probably understandable opposition from the residents who objected to being moved away from the building their family had occupied for over a hundred years. One contemporary newspaper report described how a party of journalists was chased away from the hotel environs one evening in 1967 by an aging Finn brother wielding a big stick, smashing up a photographer’s car in the process in the mistaken belief that the newspaper party were officers from the Housing Commission come to enforce an eviction order.
In the end the Council got their way of course and the Finns removed themselves voluntarily from the building on the 28th May, 1967. On the night of departure however a mysterious fire broke out in the old weatherboarded building, quickly reducing it to a pile of cinder and rubble in spite of the best efforts of the Country Fire Authority to combat the blaze.
It was a tragic loss to history for the area. The Council had been discussing the possibility of moving the hotel out of the path of the imagined road realignment in a manner that they would later employ to save another historic Doncaster building, Schramm’s Cottage, in the 1970s. The fire put an end to any further discussion, Ad infinitim.
Eventually the Council accepted a cheque of $365.95 as compensation for the loss of the building, but the money was not really the point. The final irony in the telling of this story is that when the realignment of Templestowe Rd eventually took place, a decision was made to straighten the route to meet with Foote St parallel to Parker Street, which is the situation as it exists today. If Finn’s Hotel had been standing and not by then a pile of ashes, it would have been in the clear.
Today a so-called “History Pavilion” on Templestowe Rd, Templestowe marks the site of the former Upper Yarra Hotel, with photographs plastered around the interior detailing the (now mostly vanished) history of the area. It is a strangely sad, not often visited tribute.
Extract from "Vale Banyule"
Finns Reserve at Templestowe is rich in local history. On the Templestowe side of the reserve, John James looked after the Bulleen Pound in the 1840s. Then, in 1852, David Bell was pound keeper and he built the Upper Yarra Hotel. The hotel was a long low building with whitewashed walls and a picturesque thatched roof. It stood on a rise of land with a view across the river flats to the Yarra winding its way among the river gums. David Bell's hotel had the distinction of becoming the meeting place for the formation of the Templestowe Roads Board, the forerunner of our municipality. Bell had died in 1856 and the hotel changed hands frequently. Then, in 1869, the Upper Yarra Hotel burnt down.
James Finn had come to Templestowe in 1865. He had been working as a groom at the Heidelberg Presbytery when he bought a house on the Yarra flats across a small creek from the Upper Yarra Hotel. James Finn opened a beer shop that he called "The Happy Home". After the fire, Finn purchased the Upper Yarra hotel land, thus joining his two blocks to form the areas that is now Finns Reserve. He then built a brick front with a garret room on his house and applied to renew the Upper Yarra Hotel license.
On 7th March 1872, Finns Upper Yana Hotel was opened. It was a well-proportioned timber building with a two story brick front. There were two sitting rooms, four bedrooms, a bar and a single storey kitchen at the rear.
James Finn was a smallish, strongly built man who was always neatly dressed. He wore a typically Irish beard that he kept neatly trimmed. With his quick wit, colourful language and generous nature, he soon became a popular member of the community.
In 1870, Finn had owned sixteen acres of land but ten years later he had increased his holding to seventy acres. His land lay along the river and up the west of Thompsons Road. He was also a keen gardener, cultivating the land and growing a well laid out garden of shrubs and trees, making a picturesque setting for the hotel. His vegetable garden provided fresh food for the dining room table and Sunday dinner at Finn's became an attraction.
Soon after the turn of the century, when James Finn had died, his family made an addition to the hotel. A two storey timber section with a balcony on the front was added on the left. The higher new building made the old hotel look squat by comparison. It was a strange mixture of a typical compact country pub and what looked like a small stylish hotel decorated with cast iron lace.
By the 1920s, the bar trade had declined with only a few drinkers calling and sometimes the bar would be empty all day. The hotel relied mainly on its dining room for Finns had kept up its reputation for a good table. Picnic parties and sportsmen would call to enjoy the well-cooked meals of fresh produce grown on Finn's own land.
It was then that reforms were being carried out by the Licensing Court who closed down many hotels. At Templestowe, there was the choice between Finns or the Templestowe hotel. The Finns and Sheahan families had become joined by marriage. The family decided to keep the Templestowe Hotel. Finns Upper Yarra Hotel was closed down.
Over the years, the building had matured with age. The two sections, that were architecturally incompatible, had been painted a rusty red colour that gave unity to the whole building. The hotel developed a picturesque charm that attracted artists. Finns became a favorite subject for painters and photographers and the National Trust classified the building.
In 1967, Templestowe Road was to be widened and Finns Hotel was in the way. Plans were being made to move the hotel then on the 30th of May, the hotel burnt down and Finn's land became Finns Reserve.
During the celebrations of the centenary of the municipality in 1975, the Doncaster-Templestowe Historical Society, with the help of the Council, erected a cairn to mark the site. Now The Rotary Club of Templestowe has built a descriptive history Pavilion at the cairn. At the same time the council carried out improvements to the reserve. They erected a post and rail fence along Templestowe road and planted a large number of native plants and grasses. Also a walking track crosses the creek, now called Finns Creek, on a new bridge.
The car park for the reserve stands alongside the river at the end of Union Street. In this area is the Templestowe Scout Hall, a toilet block, a children's playground and for adults, a cardiovascular ìexerciteî. The ìexersiteî provides a complete do-it-yourself program. A cardiovascular fitness guide and a graphic panel show how to do the individual exercises and there is equipment for a log hop, bench dip and bench curl.
On the Templestowe side of the park, a path leads to the suspension bridge that connects with the Yarra Trail. The bridge was built in the 1950s for the Blessed Sacrament Fathers to travel to St. Patricks Cathedral from their monastery across the river. This is the building that became Odyssey House. Recently Melbourne Parks and Waterways restored the bridge to become part of the Yarra trail.
In the opposite direction, a path runs under trees along the river bank to the far end of the park, on the way the path crosses the new bridge over Finns Creek. The creek that once divided James Finn's and David Bell's land was named Finns Creek at the Templestowe festival earlier this year.
In the history pavilion, Templestowe Rotary placed the photographs of 'Old Templestowe' at the top of the walls in an attempt to avoid vandalism and so far this has been successful. The photographs are from the Doncaster-Templestowe Historical Society archives. There is also a plan, with information, of the "Walk through History" planned by the Rotary Club at the Templestowe Festival.
Finns Park, where the Finn family once grew fresh vegetables, is a beautiful area of grassland dotted with fine trees, that stretches across to the river bank above the Yarra. In summer or winter, a walk along the well formed gravel paths is delightfully refreshing. Although close to busy Templestowe Road the park is peaceful and relaxing.
1994 12 DTHS Newsletter
Kay Mack writing on Facebook OCT2017
Council will pull down this old pub. Author Alan Marshall, says "Make it a Museum"
Herald 5/4/1967Part of Templestowe's history will soon crumble when Finn's Upper Yarra Hotel (above) is demolished. The 125 year old hotel in Yemplestowe Rd, near Thompson's Road corner, is to be pulled down in a few weeks, it was decided at the Doncaster and Templestowe City Council meeting. The Council is to ask the Housing Commission to issue an eviction order on the occupants, Mr Ned Finn, his brother, Andrew, and sister Marie. the pub is on council property which has been ear-marked for parkland. According to the council, the building is in a dangerous condition and unsuitable for people to live in. But the Mayor of Doncaster and Templestowe, Cr Stan Shepherd, has said he is prepared to preserve the hotel if anything can be done. Mr Peter Stoughton, chairman of the surveys committee of the National Trust, says the hotel has been classified as "D" by the Trust, meaning that it is of historical interest. "It is a shame it shoudl go. It would be a good setting for a restaurant with an Australian setting". Australian author, Alan Marshall, thinks the building would make an ideal folk museum. Only a few weeks ago, the Governor of Victoria, Sir Rohan Delacombe, in declaring the shire a city, referred to the rich history of the area.
via John Unsworth. Facebook
Finn's Upper Yarra Hotel
In the mid 1960s, at a time before the first spade had been turned on Melbourne’s freeway network, a plan was developed by Doncaster and Templestowe City Council in conjunction with the Country Roads Board to widen Templestowe Rd in Templestowe at the Thompsons Road intersection. The plan when first discussed involved realigning Templestowe Rd at its closest approach to the Yarra River with Parker St in the east, through the heart of the Templestowe township.But there was a problem. Finn’s Upper Yarra Hotel, a local landmark of some renown, stood right in the path of the new road.
An early view of the Upper Yarra Hotel before the addition of the west wing.
The Upper Yarra was delicenced in the early 1920s but as it aged and became more dilapidated the rustic appeal of its setting became a favoured subject for local artists. The various parts of the hotel itself were painted a rusty red colour in an attempt to bring unity to its conflicting parts and as the paint peeled the overpainted words “Finn’s Upper Yarra Hotel” stood out like a ghostly commentary as to the building’s former life, an old world garden and a cobbled stable yard behind the hotel completing the overall effect of a genteel rural decay.
The grown up grandchildren of James Finn were still living somewhat reclusive lives at the old hotel in the mid 1960s when the Council came a knockin’. Doncaster and Templestowe City Council had purchased the land on which the Upper Yarra Hotel stood from the executors of the estate of the son of James Finn and the Council were trying to force his grandchildren from the building which the surviving generation still occupied. The Council met with some militant but probably understandable opposition from the residents who objected to being moved away from the building their family had occupied for over a hundred years. One contemporary newspaper report described how a party of journalists was chased away from the hotel environs one evening in 1967 by an aging Finn brother wielding a big stick, smashing up a photographer’s car in the process in the mistaken belief that the newspaper party were officers from the Housing Commission come to enforce an eviction order.
In the end the Council got their way of course and the Finns removed themselves voluntarily from the building on the 28th May, 1967. On the night of departure however a mysterious fire broke out in the old weatherboarded building, quickly reducing it to a pile of cinder and rubble in spite of the best efforts of the Country Fire Authority to combat the blaze.
The end of Finn’s Upper Yarra Hotel on the night of 28 May, 1967 as reported in “The Sun” news pictorial the next day.
It was a tragic loss to history for the area. The Council had been discussing the possibility of moving the hotel out of the path of the imagined road realignment in a manner that they would later employ to save another historic Doncaster building, Schramm’s Cottage, in the 1970s. The fire put an end to any further discussion, Ad infinitim.
“History Pavillion,” at Templestowe on the site of the Upper Yarra Hotel, November, 2017. The bricks used in the cairn were salvaged from the ruins of the hotel after the fire.
Today a so-called “History Pavilion” on Templestowe Rd, Templestowe marks the site of the former Upper Yarra Hotel, with photographs plastered around the interior detailing the (now mostly vanished) history of the area. It is a strangely sad, not often visited tribute.
Extract from "Vale Banyule"
Templestowe History Pavilion (on the site of Finns Upper Yarra Hotel)
James Finn's Upper Yarra Hotel was opened on this spot in 1872. About 200 bricks from the hotel were used in the construction of this marker. David Bell's Upper Yarra Hotel was built near here in 1853 on the eastern side of the creek, and in 1856 was the first meeting place of the Templestowe Roads Board, the forerunner of the City of Doncaster and Templestowe.
Templestowe History Pavilion. Finn's Reserve. A joint project of the City of Doncaster and Templestowe and the Rotary Club of Templestowe. Opened by the mayer, Cr Irene Goonan on 5 March, 1994
Finn's Reserve
Finns Reserve GoogleMap 2019
James Finn had come to Templestowe in 1865. He had been working as a groom at the Heidelberg Presbytery when he bought a house on the Yarra flats across a small creek from the Upper Yarra Hotel. James Finn opened a beer shop that he called "The Happy Home". After the fire, Finn purchased the Upper Yarra hotel land, thus joining his two blocks to form the areas that is now Finns Reserve. He then built a brick front with a garret room on his house and applied to renew the Upper Yarra Hotel license.
On 7th March 1872, Finns Upper Yana Hotel was opened. It was a well-proportioned timber building with a two story brick front. There were two sitting rooms, four bedrooms, a bar and a single storey kitchen at the rear.
James Finn was a smallish, strongly built man who was always neatly dressed. He wore a typically Irish beard that he kept neatly trimmed. With his quick wit, colourful language and generous nature, he soon became a popular member of the community.
In 1870, Finn had owned sixteen acres of land but ten years later he had increased his holding to seventy acres. His land lay along the river and up the west of Thompsons Road. He was also a keen gardener, cultivating the land and growing a well laid out garden of shrubs and trees, making a picturesque setting for the hotel. His vegetable garden provided fresh food for the dining room table and Sunday dinner at Finn's became an attraction.
Soon after the turn of the century, when James Finn had died, his family made an addition to the hotel. A two storey timber section with a balcony on the front was added on the left. The higher new building made the old hotel look squat by comparison. It was a strange mixture of a typical compact country pub and what looked like a small stylish hotel decorated with cast iron lace.
By the 1920s, the bar trade had declined with only a few drinkers calling and sometimes the bar would be empty all day. The hotel relied mainly on its dining room for Finns had kept up its reputation for a good table. Picnic parties and sportsmen would call to enjoy the well-cooked meals of fresh produce grown on Finn's own land.
It was then that reforms were being carried out by the Licensing Court who closed down many hotels. At Templestowe, there was the choice between Finns or the Templestowe hotel. The Finns and Sheahan families had become joined by marriage. The family decided to keep the Templestowe Hotel. Finns Upper Yarra Hotel was closed down.
Over the years, the building had matured with age. The two sections, that were architecturally incompatible, had been painted a rusty red colour that gave unity to the whole building. The hotel developed a picturesque charm that attracted artists. Finns became a favorite subject for painters and photographers and the National Trust classified the building.
In 1967, Templestowe Road was to be widened and Finns Hotel was in the way. Plans were being made to move the hotel then on the 30th of May, the hotel burnt down and Finn's land became Finns Reserve.
During the celebrations of the centenary of the municipality in 1975, the Doncaster-Templestowe Historical Society, with the help of the Council, erected a cairn to mark the site. Now The Rotary Club of Templestowe has built a descriptive history Pavilion at the cairn. At the same time the council carried out improvements to the reserve. They erected a post and rail fence along Templestowe road and planted a large number of native plants and grasses. Also a walking track crosses the creek, now called Finns Creek, on a new bridge.
The car park for the reserve stands alongside the river at the end of Union Street. In this area is the Templestowe Scout Hall, a toilet block, a children's playground and for adults, a cardiovascular ìexerciteî. The ìexersiteî provides a complete do-it-yourself program. A cardiovascular fitness guide and a graphic panel show how to do the individual exercises and there is equipment for a log hop, bench dip and bench curl.
On the Templestowe side of the park, a path leads to the suspension bridge that connects with the Yarra Trail. The bridge was built in the 1950s for the Blessed Sacrament Fathers to travel to St. Patricks Cathedral from their monastery across the river. This is the building that became Odyssey House. Recently Melbourne Parks and Waterways restored the bridge to become part of the Yarra trail.
In the opposite direction, a path runs under trees along the river bank to the far end of the park, on the way the path crosses the new bridge over Finns Creek. The creek that once divided James Finn's and David Bell's land was named Finns Creek at the Templestowe festival earlier this year.
In the history pavilion, Templestowe Rotary placed the photographs of 'Old Templestowe' at the top of the walls in an attempt to avoid vandalism and so far this has been successful. The photographs are from the Doncaster-Templestowe Historical Society archives. There is also a plan, with information, of the "Walk through History" planned by the Rotary Club at the Templestowe Festival.
Finns Park, where the Finn family once grew fresh vegetables, is a beautiful area of grassland dotted with fine trees, that stretches across to the river bank above the Yarra. In summer or winter, a walk along the well formed gravel paths is delightfully refreshing. Although close to busy Templestowe Road the park is peaceful and relaxing.
1994 12 DTHS Newsletter
Wombat Bend Park
Aerial of the nature playground at Wombat Bend Park, just west of Westerfolds Park within Finn's Reserve Wikipedia
Finns Upper Yarra Hotel - Painting by Maurice Cantlon (signed at left between verandah posts). Image donated by Victoria Reynolds.
Victoria grew up in a big white brick house on the hill of Foote street overlooking the river flats and Finn’s Pub.
In 1967, her mother was celebrating her birthday with friends in the front of the house where there were big picture windows, when suddenly her older brother stared with disbelief and exclaimed "Finn’s Pub is burning!!". It was well alight. Her father ran down the street with the family camera and captured the very sad demise of this much loved legendary building.
Her parents bought an artwork by Maurice Cantlon of the old pub which was probably painted in the early 1960’s. Cantlon was the senior lecturer in Art at Swinburne in Melbourne (1926-1980).
Source: Victoria Reynolds, Personal Communication, July 2023
Finn's Hotel Fire
Finns reserve is about half a mile down from where I live – Finns reserve had an old wooden hotel on the land – the old hotel was called "Upper", so me thinks or other; and it was owned by the Sheahan family. The Sheahan's and the Finns were related by marriage. In fact, I went to Christian Brothers College with the Sheahan son. He was killed serving with the army in New Guinea in World War II. There is a memorial window in St John's Catholic Church in Heidelberg in his honour. Old Ned Sheahan, who owned the land and the old hotel, which was full of blackberries and snakes was furious because the local council classified it. So he solved the problem by setting fire to old hotel structure. He was then in his 90s, so the council fined him, but I think he refused to pay and later sold the land to the council and it was named Finn's Reserve.
Source: Letter from Frank Gilbert 1/12/2023
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