Park Orchards Chalet
To many people "The Park Orchards Chalet" means a dinner dance and a relaxed fun evening, but the Chalet was originally built to be a club house for a country club, a place to play billiards, cards, or quietly read a book. In 1926, the Park Orchards Estate was launched as a residential country club by Mr Australis Sharp and Mr John Taylor, timber merchants of South Melbourne. Sharp had many land holdings and estates around Melbourne and with John Taylor had launched the Ranelagh country club estate near Frankston. The Park Orchards scheme was imaginative and ambitious, 650 half acre blocks were to be sold to form the club. Purchasers of allotments were to become members of the country club and enjoy open air sporting facilities. The idea was to create a family playground, where life would be healthy, pleasurable, and worth living.
The club itself did not eventuate for the depression of 1930 was on the way. Only a few blocks were sold, but the promoters built a football ground, a croquet lawn, tennis courts, and a club house. The club house was a large high building in Spanish mission style, with white stucco walls and tall arches on the verandahs and main windows. It was completed in 1928 at a cost of two thousand pounds. A ballroom was in the centre with a tall ceiling supported by timber trusses. The interior had a rich quality with its blackwood panelling. Along each side were glass doors. The glass panels of the doors were filled with delicate blackwood glazing bars. A platform was provided for a band and on the far wall was a large stone fireplace. The ballroom stood higher than the side wings with clerestory windows above the lower roof. Along the Park Road side was a billiard room and two smaller rooms for cards and a library. Each room had its own fireplace. On the other side were verandahs opening onto a courtyard. A short wing contained a bathroom and toilets which opened onto the verandah. At the rear was a residence.
The Chalet was leased by Mrs Martin, who with her two daughters served afternoon teas and catered for weddings and functions. After two years, they left and the Chalet was leased by others, but it remained a dining room and dance hall. In the early 1930s, a nine-hole golf course was laid out along the south of the estate. Golfers dressed in the fashion of the time, with a golf cap, Fair Isle jumper and plus- fours, carrying a golf bag over the shoulder, walked up to the Chalet for afternoon tea or a shower and change in the bathroom.
At the commencement of the Second World War, the Australian Army was looking for an isolated secure area suitable for radio reception. Park Orchards was reported to be a suitable place. It was sufficiently remote from settled areas and had good natural protection, but the club house was reported to be in a state of disrepair. The Army requisitioned the area and four hundred personnel moved in. The men lived in tents on the football ground between Arundel Road and Park Road. Octagonal huts were built as service buildings. Later the Chalet, with six acres on the east and north, was purchased and repaired. The Army paid for electric power and water mains to be extended into Park Orchards. Previously, a windmill had pumped water from a well for the Chalet and kerosene lamps had been used. The unit was to run a wireless interception and signals communications station. The interception station was not installed, but the unit carried out communication to the Pacific area.
The Chalet itself was used for recreation, and often concerts were held in the ballroom. A piano was loaned by Linda and Clive Petty when Lou Toppano came to entertain the troops. They left the piano for the men to use until the unit moved out. When the piano was returned it smelled strongly of beer. After the end of the War, the Chalet was sold to Mr W R Jones for three thousand, two hundred and fifty pounds. Mr Sharp had died two years earlier so John Sharp sold the remainder of the estate, including the golf course, to Edments, the variety store in Bourke Street. They intended to build a rest and recreation centre for their staff but building restrictions prevented Edments carrying out their scheme. Eventually, the estate was put up for sale. The golf links disappeared and the sports ground was subdivided. Mr and Mrs Jones opened the Chalet as a cabaret. At that time a liquor licence could not be granted to such premises. Being in an isolated area, the patrons felt safe to bring their own drink. Bottles were kept under the table and cups were used for drinks. The cabaret was successful and for many years the hall was filled on Saturday nights.
In 1956, the Edwards family purchased the Chalet. It became a restaurant and was hired for functions. Licensing laws were still restrictive. It was necessary to apply personally, in the city, for a separate liquor licence for each function. A continual problem for the Edwards, but an added attraction to the Chalet. The restaurant, with its French chef Roland Rousseau, soon gained a reputation for excellent cuisine. Guests would enjoy Rousseau, with his white chefës hat and apron, coming to the table to prepare a crepe suzette or spectacular flambe dish. The next year Rousseau returned to France. The Edwards were unable to obtain a new chef, so they leased the restaurant for several years, until the family took over again. The Chalet soon regained its excellent reputation. To improve the building, changes were made. Some partitions were removed, opening up rooms, and the building was enlarged around the courtyard. A smorgasbord was installed in the ballroom, and new toilet facilities were built. The changes enlarged the entertainment area without changing the character of the building.
Park Orchards has its own special qualities, but standing high above the winding roads of the Park, the Chalet remains an integral part of the district.
Irvine Green writing in the 1982 09 DTHS Newsletter
Park Orchards Country Club Chalet
 |
| Park Orchards Chalet, formerly the club house of the Park Orchards Country Club, in Park Road. It was built in the 'Spanish Mission' style in 1929. It is now a reception centre. (Photograph mounted with caption) | Other Information: In April 2003 a user of the Whitehorse Manningham Heritage Network Project pointed out that Walter Burley Griffin is unlikely to have been involved with the building of the Park Orchards Chalet. He stated as follows:-"It is claimed within this site that there is a 'spanish mission style' chalet at Park Orchards designed by Walter Burley Griffin. Griffin's name has such cachet that it is understandable people wish to claim his association with all kinds of areas - at it is consistently suggested, incorrectly, in various places that he laid out the road scheme for Park Orchards itself which may be how the rumour about the clubhouse began. The Park Orchards Chalet does not appear in Turnbull and Navaretti's catalogue raisonne of Griffin work, The Griffins in Australia and India, and Griffin is unlikely to ever have worked in the 'spanish mission style'." 1980 Photo: Green, Irvine DP0072 |
 |
| The Chalet in 1943 when being used by the Australian Army. RINGWOOD NORTH, VIC 1943-05-04. GENERAL VIEW OF PARK ORCHARDS CHALET WHICH IS USED AS ADMINISTRATIVE HEADQUARTERS OF LAND HEADQUARTERS HEAVY WIRELESS GROUP. https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/051401/ |
PARK ORCHARDS COUNTRY CLUB CHALET
579 Park Road PARK ORCHARDS The former Park Orchards Country Club Club House (the Chalet), constructed c.1928, at Park Road, Park Orchards. The former Park Orchards Country Club Club House (the Chalet) is of local historic and aesthetic significance to Manningham City. Historically, the Chalet is significant as evidence of the failed Park Orchards Country Club, which is an early (perhaps the first) example of a planned residential estate within the study area. It is the only building associated with the development to survive. (RNE criteria A.4, B.2 and D.2) Aesthetically, the Chalet is significant as an unusual example of a Spanish Mission style building. (RNE criteria E.1) VHD-22553
Location: 579 Park Road PARK ORCHARDS, Manningham City
Municipality: MANNINGHAM CITY
Level of significance: Included in Heritage Overlay
Heritage Overlay Numbers: HO129
Heritage Listing: Manningham City
Statement of Significance:
The former Park Orchards Country Club Club House (the Chalet), constructed c.1928, at Park Road, Park Orchards.
How is it Significant? The former Park Orchards Country Club Club House (the Chalet) is of local historic and aesthetic significance to Manningham City.
Why is it Significant? Historically, the Chalet is significant as evidence of the failed Park Orchards Country Club, which is an early (perhaps the first) example of a planned residential estate within the study area. It is the only building associated with the development to survive. (RNE criteria A.4, B.2 and D.2)
Aesthetically, the Chalet is significant as an unusual example of a Spanish Mission style building. (RNE criteria E.1)
Manningham - Manningham Heritage Study Review, Context Pty Ltd, 2006; Manningham - Doncaster & Templestowe Heritage Study Additional Historical Research, Carlotta Kellaway, 1994;
22553
Physical Description: The former Park Orchards Country Club Chalet is a large Spanish Mission building, with single and double- storey sections. It has a number of features typical of this style including a terracotta tile roof and roughcast render walls.
Integrity: Not known
Park Orchards - Heritage Council Hearing on its inclusion
Submissions relate to Military History
Needs conversion and extraction of images.
HERITAGE COUNCIL HEARINGS PROTOCOL 2 REGISTRATION SUBMISSION TO HERITAGE COUNCIL
(Pursuant to Section 38 of the Heritage Act 1995)
Place/Object Details
Place/Object Name: __Park Orchards Chalet___________________________________________ Address/Location: __________________________Park Orchards, Victoria____________
Date of Notice of Recommendation (of the Executive Director or Heritage Council): 18 June 2010 *note: this submission must be lodged within 60 days of the recommendation being published
This submission: (tick relevant box/es)
□ Supports a recommendation to include the above place/object in the Heritage Register
□ Supports a recommendation not to include the above place/object in the Heritage Register
□ Objects to a recommendation to include the above place/object in the Heritage Register
Objects to a recommendation not to include the above place/object in the Heritage Register
□ Supports the “Extent of Registration” and “Permit Policy/Permit Exemptions” recommended
□ Objects to the “Extent of Registration” and “Permit Policy/Permit Exemptions” recommended
□ Other (provide detail) _________________________________________________________
Reasons for Submission
In accordance with the Heritage Act, this submission must relate only to the issue of whether or not a place or object is of cultural heritage significance or to the recommended extent of registration or permit policy/permit exemptions.
During the Second World War the Chalet was the site of an espionage training school, code-named the School of Eastern Interpreters (SEI). SEI was run by the Services Reconnaissance Department, commonly known as “Z Special Unit” or Z Force”.
Apart from the Park Orchards Chalet, there are no other remaining examples of Z Special Unit Training Facilities in a relatively intact state and this fact alone gives the site immense historical and cultural significance. The Chalet provides a tangible link between Special Forces of WWII and today’s Army Special Forces units and veterans.
It is on these grounds that I object to the Park Orchards Chalet NOT being included in the Heritage Register. I have provided several Appendices which illustrate the espionage training uses of the Park Orchards Chalet.
It is my opinion that the Chalet should be retained intact and placed on the Heritage Register to protect it from planned destructive development. It is also my opinion that the Chalet’s secret history of espionage and spy training should be widely promoted by the Heritage Council as a unique heritage asset for Victoria. See attached Appendices
Do you wish to be heard by the Heritage Council in relation to this submission?
Yes □ No *note: if a hearing is not requested the Heritage Council may determine the matter on written submissions.
Submitter Details
Name, Company/Agency Name: Craig Brown_______________________________
Address:
Business/Mobile No: _Email address: (optional)
_______________________
Please note that all written submissions received will be treated as public documents. While the Heritage Council will endeavour to respect any privacy wishes of which it is informed, it is bound by the Freedom of Information Act 1982. You should expect your submission to be freely and wholly available to anyone seeking access to it.
Submitter Signature __
________ Date _16 June 2010________
Send your submission to: Heritage Council of Victoria, Level 4, 55 Collins St (PO Box 2392), Melbourne 3001. Fax: 03 8644 8811.
For further information, contact the Heritage Council Hearings Officer on 03 8644 8921 or at heritage.council@dpcd.vic.gov.au.
Craig Brown – 16 June 2010
Submission to the Heritage Council regarding the decision to NOT include the Park Orchards Chalet in the Heritage Register
APPENDIX A :
Photographs of the Park Orchards Chalet in use by Services Reconnaissance Department (Z Special Unit) as the School of Eastern Interpreters, circa 1944-45
Source: National Archives of Australia (www.naa.gov.au)
1.
2.
Title World War Two - Special Operations Australia (SOA) -
Services Reconnaissance Department (SRD) - Establishments -
School of Interpreters, main entrance
Series number A3269 Control symbol Q11 Contents date range 1945 - 1946
Access status Open Location Canberra Barcode 8295435
Title World War Two - Special Operations Australia (SOA) -
Services Reconnaissance Department (SRD) - Establishments - School of Eastern Interpreters, main
building, front view Series number A3269 Control symbol Q11 Contents date range 1945 - 1946
Access status Open Location Canberra Barcode 8295436
Eastern
3.
Title World War Two - Special Operations Australia (SOA) - Services Reconnaissance Department (SRD) - Establishments - School of Eastern Interpreters, main building, side view Series number A3269
Control symbol Q11 Contents date range 1945 - 1946
Access status Open Location Canberra
Title World War Two - Special Operations Australia (SOA) - Services Reconnaissance Department (SRD) - Establishments - School of Eastern Interpreters, main building, rear view Series number A3269
Control symbol
Q11
Contents date range 1945 – 1946 Access status Open
Location Canberra
Barcode 8295437 4.
Barcode 8295438
5.
Title World War Two - Special Operations Australia (SOA) - Services Reconnaissance Department (SRD) - Establishments - School of Eastern Interpreters, admin buildings
Series number A3269 Control symbol Q11 Contents date range 1945 - 1946
Access status Open Location Canberra Barcode 8295439
Title World War Two - Special Operations Australia (SOA) - Services Reconnaissance Department (SRD) - Establishments - School of Eastern Interpreters, gymnasium
Series number A3269 Control symbol Q11 Contents date range 1945 - 1946
Access status Open Location Canberra Barcode 8295440
6.
7.
Title World War Two - Special Operations Australia (SOA) - Services Reconnaissance Department (SRD) - Establishments - School of Eastern Interpreters, information room
Series number A3269 Control symbol Q11 Contents date range 1945 - 1946
Access status Open Location Canberra Barcode 8295441
Title World War Two - Special Operations Australia (SOA) - Services Reconnaissance Department (SRD) - Establishments - School of Eastern Interpreters, students lounge
Series number A3269 Control symbol Q11 Contents date range 1945 - 1946
Access status Open Location Canberra Barcode 8295442
8.
9.
Title World War Two - Special Operations Australia (SOA) - Services Reconnaissance Department (SRD) - Establishments - School of Eastern Interpreters, photography workshop Series number A3269 Control symbol Q11 Contents date range 1945 - 1946
Access status Open Location Canberra Barcode 8295443
Title World War Two - Special Operations Australia (SOA) - Services Reconnaissance Department (SRD) - Establishments - School of Eastern Interpreters, interrogation
Series number A3269 Control symbol Q11 Contents date range 1945 - 1946
Access status Open Location Canberra Barcode 8295445
10.
11.
Title World War Two - Special Operations Australia (SOA) - Services Reconnaissance Department (SRD) - Establishments - School of Eastern Interpreters, Major G. Astley
Series number A3269 Control symbol Q11 Contents date range 1945 - 1946
Access status Open Location Canberra Barcode 8295446
Craig Brown – 16 June 2010
Submission to the Heritage Council regarding the decision to NOT include the Park Orchards Chalet in the Heritage Register
APPENDIX B:
Photograph of Chinese Canadian army special forces party training at the Park Orchards Chalet in use by Services Reconnaissance Department (Z Special Unit) as the School of Eastern Interpreters, circa 1945 See note below
Source:
The photograph shows the Canadian Chinese Operatives on the gravel driveway/parking area of the Park Orchards Chalet as seen in Photograph of Admin buildings in Appendix A. These men were training for Operation OBLIVION, a plan to drop ethnic Chinese Special Forces soldiers into Japanese- occupied southern China with a view to organising local guerrilla forces and sabotaging enemy installations. Upon returning from the Pacific Theatre, several of the men pictured were instrumental in gaining the right to Canadian citizenship for Chinese Canadians.
Excerpt from email from in Operation Oblivion
1. Doug Jung, K.50902, cmi
2. Jim Shiu, K.69286, RCE
3. Norman Wong, A.61714, CIC 4. Hawk Wong, A.50317, CIC
5. Louey King, K.50207, RCAC
6. John Bong, K.50956, RCA/CIC 7. Ed Chow, B.91866, RCAMC
describing the above photograph: “List of Names Who Were
8. Roy Chan, K.69908, RCA/RCASC 9. Wing Wong, L.100443, RCCS 10. Norm Low, K.49785, CIC
11. Roger Cheng, RCCS
12. Tom Lock, B.113018, CDC/CIC 13. Ray Lowe, H.71083, CIC
February 8, 2010
Hawk Wong is the remaining member. He turned 90 in November, 2009.
In the group photo, there is Vincent Yeung who according to John Bong, was with the Chinese Force in Hong Kong”
Craig Brown – 16 June 2010
Submission to the Heritage Council regarding the decision to NOT include the Park Orchards Chalet in the Heritage Register
APPENDIX C: Excerpt from “Official History of Special Operations Australia” Volume 1 Copy 1 – Organisation
Source: National Archives of Australia (www.naa.gov.au)
Reference:
Title [The Official History of the Operations and Administration of] Special Operations - Australia [(SOA), also known as the Inter-Allied Services Department (ISD) and Services Reconnaissance Department (SRD)] Volume 1 - Organisation - copy no 1 [for Director, Military Intelligence (DMI), Headquarters (HQ), Australian Military Forces (AMF), Melbourne]
Series number A3269
Control symbol O7/A
Contents date range 1946 - 1946 Access status Open
Location Canberra
Barcode 235324
See over the page
Craig Brown – 16 June 2010
Submission to the Heritage Council regarding the decision to NOT include the Park Orchards Chalet in the Heritage Register
APPENDIX D: Excerpt from “Borneo Story” an unpublished 1992 memoir by Keith Barrie (now deceased), a Z Special Unit Operative
This excerpt covers Mr Barrie’s recollections of his time training in “Underground Methods” at the Park Orchards Chalet when it was known as the School of Eastern Interpreters
See over the page
Excerpt from the unpublished memoir, “Borneo Story”, Keith Barrie, Z Special Unit Operative, WWII. Pages 23‐24
Section Titled “To Special Intelligence School Ringwood” directly relates SGT Barrie’s experiences training at the Park Orchards Chalet, or School Of Eastern Interpreters as it was known within Z Special Unit.
Craig Brown – 16 June 2010
Submission to the Heritage Council regarding the decision to NOT include the Park Orchards Chalet in the Heritage Register
APPENDIX E: Excerpt from “Downstream Twice” an unpublished 1968 memoir by Bill Sochon (now deceased), a Z Special Unit Operative
This excerpt covers Mr Sochon’s recollections of his time practicing “Underground Methods” on the streets of Melbourne during training at the Park Orchards Chalet when it was known as the School of Eastern Interpreters
See over the page
The following is extracted from the unpublished
memoir of Z Special Unit Officer Bill Sochon.
It describes training exercises on the streets of Melbourne conducted
while a student at the School of Eastern Interpreters at the Park Orchards Chalet
Between planning sessio ns the members of SRD w ere constan tly given e xercises in initiative. The term ` initiative’ is frequently inte rpreted r ather b roadly by trainin g staff, and it gives cause for won der, that service p ersonnel abou t t o tak e off int o unexplored j ungle lands where the foot of a whit e man has infrequently , i f ever, trodden, should be subjected to the sa me sort of `initiative tr aining’ as their counterparts to be dropped into the highly civilised and built-up areas of Europe. Be that as it may, SRD followed somewhat slavishly the training patterns set up by their British counterparts. Several exercises were set within the same contest. The luckless `agent’ would be driven out to some remote part of Melbourne and let loose. Dressed in borrowed civilian clothes which, purposely, did not fit; deprived of papers and the all-important identity card; and s upplied with no money whatsoev er, they were ordered to make their way to so me d istant suburb or outly ing t own in a g iven time. There is no doubt that the initiative was exercised, but it is hard to see that the ability to get across Melbourne in broad daylight is in any way comparable to making one’s way through the hea vy jungle of Bo rneo or travel ling by prahu down the Rejang River. It was not unlike trai ning a soldier in the art of t he b low-pipe and then dropping him into the suburbs of Paris.
One very cold morning, decked out in an ill-fitting and rather gru bby blue serge jacket, apparently veteran `props’ f or this t ype of performance, I was let l ose in Melbourne with orders to r eport to the far sid e of tha t large city by a sp ecified h our. Nothing daunte d, I clim bed abo ard a tram and rode it until the conductress approached me for the requi site fa re. Being penniless I was unable to obse rve th is nicety, and rapidly ho pped off in the middle of Bourke Street , th e hea rt of the shopping section. Th e condu ctress was ha ving none of that nonsense and loudly hailed a policeman standing nearby. Acutely conscious of the star es of bystanders, I duckeddownasidestreet,theconstableinhotpursuit. Happilywell-conditionedby
- 118 -
Mallaig, Ringway and the Queensland Commando School, I soon outpaced him and, doublingbacktwoblocks,jumpedona tramtravellingintheoppositedirection. I had no sooner sat down than th e icy im pact of the seat confir med what a sudden ripping so und had suggested as I leap ed for the runningboard. The cen tral sea m on the rear of my pants had given way.. Judiciously waiting until the tram was opposite a hotel, and warily keeping an eye on the conductress who was then happily engaged at the far end of the tr am, I ju mped off, ran past the startled doorman and streaked for the gents. Here, with the aid of a c ouple of safety pins, I w as able to rep air the damage sufficiently to permit me to be on my merry way. Ragged, unpressed, grubby and ill-fitting clothes are one thing, but the sight of an unkempt, furtive figure slinking along Melbourne’s main streets, bare-arsed to boot, would have been too much even for the police of that city.
The war y ears brough t together many strange fellow c reatures, and there is h ardly a person who donned a unifor m in t hose days who cannot remember at least one `character’. Indeed, it used to be said in the Regular Army, `If you can’t be a brilliant officer, be a character’, the i nference being t hat one should get away with murder whilst the b etter-behaved ty pes w ere not exp ected to p erform in a si milar manner. One of my companions was such a man. A well-buil t figure, he sported a Seaforth kilt, th e fam ous red and blue flashes of the Highland D ivision, par atroop w ings, wound st ripes and, to crown all, a gian t-sized gi nger handl ebar moustache. His unfailing go od hu mour and h is hilarious an tics h ad already set hi m apart fro m his fellows, and he w as much lik ed. He and I w ere stand ing on the platform of a Melbourne tram , clanking down St Kil da Ro ad one afternoon wh en th e Highlander saw an a cquaintance on th e footp ath. Without a word he st epped off on to the roadway, co mpletely di sregarding th e speed of the r attling tram, made a b eautiful two-point land ing, rolled over briskly in true copy-book p aratroop fashion, came to his feet, and without a word of explanation, advanced smilingly towards his friend, his hand outstretched in greeting.
- 119 -
Craig Brown – 16 June 2010
Submission to the Heritage Council regarding the decision to NOT include the Park Orchards Chalet in the Heritage Register
APPENDIX F: Excerpt from “SEI Lectures”, the Training Syllabus for the School of Eastern Interpreters which used the Park Orchards Chalet during the Second World War.
Source: National Archives of Australia (www.naa.gov.au)
Reference:
[The Official History of the Operations and Administration of Special Operations Australia (SOA), also known as the Inter-Allied Services Department and Services Reconnaissance Department (SRD) - Volume 4 - Training Syllabi - part 1 - appendix F - pages 408 to 505] SEI [School of Eastern Interpreters] Lectures
Series number A3269
Control symbol Q1/A
Contents date range 1944 - 1945
Access status Open Location Canberra Barcode 235338
Doubt over re-development of once-loved Park Orchards Chalet as vandalism and decay takes hold
THE future of a proposed aged care facility in Melbourne’s east is under a cloud with work still not happening to upgrade a once-loved chalet.
UNCERTAINTY surrounds the future of an aged care facility planned for the site of the abandoned Park Orchards Chalet.
The 89-year-old chalet, which was intended to form the country club house, has long been regarded as a unique example of Spanish architecture from 1920s Melbourne but plans for it to form part of a broader country club failed.
Land planned for a golf course has long since been sold off and redeveloped but the one remaining building, which Manningham Council listed on the Victorian Heritage Database, still stands despite being abandoned.
When Leader visited the site there was extensive tagging on the walls, and the building appeared tired, shabby and uncared for. It appeared as if some windows were broken.
According to the listing, the country club failed to attract investors during the depression and was subsequently abandoned.
Teresa Dominik, Manningham Council’s director of planning and development, said council first issued a planning permit back in 2010.
“That was for an aged care facility to accommodate 91 residents, including high and low care residents, and palliative care suite on the Park Orchards Chalet site,” she said.
“Since then, council has granted two requests to extend the commencement date for the proposed development.
“The planning permit requires sewer to be connected to the land before development commences.”
Uncertainty still surrounds the future of a proposed aged care facility on the site of the abandoned Park Orchards Chalet.
Ms Dominik said the most recent planning permit extension was granted last June to Property Consultant Services on behalf of the owner of the land.
She said the permit was extended until October, 2018.
Historically, the Park Orchards Chalet is significant as evidence of the failed Park Orchards Country Club, which is possibly the first example of a planned residential estate in the area.
It’s also significant as an unusual example of a Spanish Mission style building.
The Park Orchards Country Club house (the chalet) and other facilities were built circa 1928 as part of a scheme to develop a ‘Country Club’ estate.
A golf course was built in 1931.
The Park Orchards Country Club Estate had its origins in 1925 when two South Melbourne timber merchants bought 559 acres at Park Orchards; they already had many land holdings including the Ranelagh Country Club Estate at Mt Eliza. At Park Orchards they launched a similar ‘Country Club’ subdivision concept.
The estate failed to attract buyers during the depression of the 1930s. To help recover financial losses much of the land was cleared and planted with pines to provide future timber for the timberyards.
By 1950 the area had only 25 families, and it was not until the late 1950s that the land started to be developed.
Source: Andrew Rogers. April 5, 2017 - 9:35AM. Manningham Leader, Herald Sun Website May2022 https://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/east/doubt-over-redevelopment-of-onceloved-park-orchards-chalet-as-vandalism-and-decay-takes-hold/news-story/a25dbe8a28c15f0340fad679c894eb96.
Facebook - Save the Park Orchards Chalet - Community Action Group
https://www.facebook.com/Save-the-Park-Orchards-Chalet-Community-Action-Group-101464611749427/
Identifier POCH-00682 Victorian Collections https://victoriancollections.net.au/items/5ffcf76e8e1bd20e7477177b. Need transcription.
Need Transcription. Notes taken by Graeme Tamme on Park Orchards and its residents, Unknown date
Identifier POCH-00752. Victorian Collections https://victoriancollections.net.au/items/5e0476ba21ea671fe811f3cd
Many more items on Victorian Collections at https://victoriancollections.net.au/organisations/park-orchards-community-house
Park Orchards Country Club Estate and Chalet
Brucedale, Ennismore, Dirlton and Hopetoun Crescents, Park Orchards.
The site of the Park Orchards Country Club Estate was originally part of a large orchard property owned by Tom Petty, described as "Doncaster's most active and progressive fruitgrower, Petty bought and developed orchards on 19 different properties in Doncaster and Templestowe. Park Orchards, which has been called his most ambitious project contained 80 orchard blocks, ten dams and 559 acres. (35)
A 1922 Army map shows the area as part of an extensive orcharding district. (36)
District rate records confirm that by 1924 Petty's Park Orchard land had been sold to William Sell, of the Mitcham estate agent firm, G. H. Gibb, Sell and Co., in partnership with Eva Jane and Minnie Gibb. (37) By 1925, Australis Sharp and John Taylor, South Melbourne timber merchants, had purchased the 559 acres of the Park Orchard Estate (38) Sharp and Taylor already had many land holdings including the Ranelagh Country Club at Mt. Eliza (1923) designed by Walter Burley Griffin. (39)
Peter Navaretti (RMIT lecturer), who has been carrying out a comprehensive study of W. B. Griffin's work in Australia and the United States, has not found any evidence linking Griffin with the design of the Park Orchards Estate, as has been claimed.
The Park Orchard Estate with its innovative 'circus' design was the work of Tween and Miller, surveyors, who had worked with Griffin at Ranelagh (Mt. Eliza) and Heidelberg. (40) A Lodge Plan dated 1926-27 prepared by G. L. Miller, surveyor, shows the original design with its curved roads and large one-acre allotments around Dirlton, Brucedale, Ennismore, Gosford and Elgin Crescents, and. smaller residential allotments in Arundal, Bowrnore, Colin and Daintree Avenues. (41)
An Auction Plan for the sale of these allotments (which may date from this time) described the Estate as the "site of the finest orchards in the State.,, Blocks were advertised as suitable for" a delightful week-end and holiday house" for City families in "health giving surroundings.' It was planned to build a club house, cricket ground, tennis courts, parks and bowling greens and croquet lawns for the use of the purchasers, all laid out by Tuxen and Miller. (42) However, despite the construction of some of these facilities and of a club house in 1928, the estate did not attract buyers at this time. (43)
The Chalet, a Spanish Mission style building with fine blackwood panelling in its interior, a ballroom and billiard room, was constructed for 2000 pounds. (44) It was rated first in 1929-30. () Later, in 1931, a nine-hole golf course was laid out along the south side of the estate. Unused bushland was cleared and pine plantations put in. (46)
During the Second World War, the Australian Army requisitioned the Park Orchard Estate and 400 personnel moved in , living in tents on the football ground. The Chalet with six acres of land was purchased and repaired. () The 1944-45 district rate records listed the Government as owning the Chalet and Lots 203-206, 222-224 in the Park Orchards Estate. (48)
In the post-war years after the deaths of Australis Sharp and John Taylor, there was another attempt in 1946 to sell the Estate allotments.
The land was advertised as an "exceptional opportunity to an Investor and to the Public, Educational and Private Organisations" desiring "a large allotment with easy access to the City. () In 1947, the Estate was sold to Edments, a Bourke Street department store, and the Army sold the Chalet to W. R. Jones, who ran it as a cabaret. Subsequently, the Edwards family purchased the Chalet, which became a restaurant. (50)
Of regional significance A unique combination of topography, site layout and plantings in the "garden suburb" tradition. It illustrates the work of Saxil Tuxen , an influential Melbourne surveyor, in its 1920s overall layout and curving road patterns. The Chalet, Spanish Mission in style, has been associated with the Estate from about 1929, as clubhouse, Army residence, cabaret and restaurant.
References:
35 Irvine Green, The Orchards of Doncaster and Templestowe, p. 53.
36 Ringwood, Military Survey 1 inch to a mile prep. Australian Section Imperial General Staff, June 1922.
37 Shire of Doncaster RB 1923-24 Templestowe Riding No. 502 (NAV 325 pounds).
38 Shire of Doncaster RB 1925-26 Templestowe Riding No. lllO; 1926-27 No. 462 (NAV 711 pounds).
39 Irvine Green, "Park Orchards Chalet" in Doncaster Templestowe Historical Society Newsletter, Sept., 1982.
40 Irvine Green and B. Beavis, Park Orchards. A Short History. 1983, p. 9.
41 Lodge Plan 11939 (1926-27).
42 Auction Plan. Park Orchards. Doncaster, n. d., Haughton Collection, SLV.
43 Irvine Green and B. Beavis, Park Orchards. A Short History. 1983, p. 12.
44 Irvine Green and B. Beavis, Park Orchards. A Short History. 1983, p. 12.
45 Shire of Doncaster and Templestowe RB 1929-30 Warrandyte Riding Nos. 541-549 (Chalet and 374 allotments and two reverted blocks. NAV 600 pounds).
46 Irvine Green and B. Beavis, Park Orchards. A Short History. 1983, p. 13.
47 Irvine Green and B. Beavis, Park Orchards. A Short History. 1983, p. 13.
48 City of Doncaster and Templestowe RB 1944-45 Warrandyte Riding NAV 547-549 (Valued at 116 pounds for water rating purposes).
49 Auction Plan. Park Orchards Estate, Mitcham. Dec., 1946, Haughton Collection, SLV.
50 Irvine Green and B. Beavis, Park Orchards. A Short History. 1983, p. 6.
Source: Doncaster and Templestowe Heritage Study Additional Research Carlotta Kellaway - July 1994 - http://www.manningham.vic.gov.au/file/26136/download
Park Orchards Public Golf Links Score card 1947.
Information and image kindly supplied by Leon 'Oldgolf' Rowbell.
No comments:
Post a Comment