The history of Doncaster and Templestowe dates back to the 1830s.
In 1837, Robert Hoddle sent out his surveyors to map an area including what is now known as Doncaster and Templestowe. They mapped an area bounded by the Yarra River, Deep Creek and Koonung Creek and called it the Parish of Bulleen.
The Imperial Government decided that any person, once approved, could buy eight square miles of Crown land for two dollars an acre. Eight men took up the offer, including F. W. Unwin, Henry Elgar and Owen Poole. Soon the Government suspended the offer and allowed only the purchase of smaller parcels of land. This was to prevent speculators buying large allotments near expanding areas.
In 1838, the brothers J. and W. Wood were the first people to settle in the Bulleen area.
Later, in 1839, James Anderson brought his cattle to an area near Warrandyte and the stream which was to become known as Andersons Creek.
Also in 1839, Major Charles Newman settled on land near the present Newmans Road.
By 1844, much of the land between Bulleen and Templestowe had been developed, and the Unwin Special Survey between Koonung Creek and Templestowe was either largely either sold or leased and under cultivation. The first crops included wheat, vegetables, berries, grapes and a few fruit trees. Another major product at that time was timber, which was in plentiful supply. Both firewood and building materials found a ready market in Melbourne
In July 1851, the discovery of gold in Warrandyte by Louis Michel and William Habberlin gave a boost to the district.
By mid-August 1851, more than 200 diggers had been attracted to the area between Jumping Creek and Harris Gully. Later, many of the prospectors were attracted away from the area by gold discoveries in Ballarat, Bendigo, Castlemaine and Clunes.
It was not until the 1860s that the first significant planting of fruit trees was made, and by the 1880s the area had become a prosperous orchard region.
In 1882, three Doncaster orchardists, Tom Petty, Alfred Thiele, and Richard Serpell were the first Australian growers to export pears to the United Kingdom. The region reached its peak fruit production in the 1920s when approximately 20,000 acres were under cultivation.
Local government in Doncaster and Templestowe dates from the election of the first Templestowe District Roads Board on 8 December 1856.
There are no figures to show the net annual valuation until the year 1866. At this time, the Board's area covered some 22 square miles. The annual valuation was $11,300 and the annual revenue was shown to be $1,900. At that date there were 217 ratepayers. Much of this revenue came from the seven hotels in the area; each hotel paying a licence fee of $50 per year to the Board. A toll gate which stood at the foot of "Raggs Hill" (near Koonung Creek) on Doncaster Road, was also a good source of income for the board.
By 1874, the Board's net annual valuation had reached $20,000 and under the Local Government Act, they were eligible to apply for the full status of a Shire Council. This was acquired on 7 May 1875. The Templestowe Roads Board then officially became the Shire of Bulleen, and its functions broadened to include the provision of such services as public works and health.
The first Council elections took place on 1 July 1875. The following year the Council gave Warrandyte full representation, and the Bulleen Shire was divided into three ridings: Doncaster, Templestowe and Warrandyte. In 1890, Doncaster separated from the other Ridings, forming the Shire of Doncaster, which held its meetings in the old Shire hall in Council Street. The Templestowe and Warrandyte ridings were united and renamed the Shire of Templestowe. Both the Shire of Doncaster and the Shire of Templestowe were served by six councillors.
In 1915, the Shires were reunited, and the entire area was known as the Shire of Doncaster until 1926, when it was renamed the Shire of Doncaster and Templestowe. At that stage there were six councillors for the whole municipality. In the same year, a third riding, Warrandyte was created and the number of councillors increased to nine. A fourth riding was created in 1966, when the Doncaster riding was divided into the Doncaster East and the Doncaster West ridings.
The Shire of Doncaster and Templestowe was declared a City on 28 February 1967. The City of Doncaster and Templestowe now has four wards: Doncaster East, Doncaster West, Templestowe and Warrandyte. Currently, the municipality is served by twelve Councillors, three from each of the four wards.
As the population of the City increased, the need to change the Ward boundaries became evident and a general res-ubdivision of the municipality occurred in 1980.
Very little of the original orchards and farmlands of the municipality remain today, but the names of the early settlers are remembered through the many parks and streets named after them.
DONCASTER
The district of Doncaster was originally known as Vermont, and there are two opinions concerning the origins of the name "Doncaster". One theory is that the name was given by an early settler, William Burnley, after his birthplace in England. Another opinion is that the area was named by John Robert Wilson after Doncaster, England.
When the Post Office was established in 1855, the area was officially known as Doncaster.
Settlers first began arriving in the area during the 1850s. During these early years, the main industries in the area were wood cutting and charcoal burning. Melbourne was the primary market for these timber products.
Two German residents Oswald and Gottlieb Thiele, were the first of a number of German settlers to move into the district. They formed a small community in the area bounded by King Street, Blackburn Road, George Street and Church Road. This area was given the name "Waldau", which means " clearing in a forest".
In 1858, these settlers built a church the first church in the district. The remnants of the cemetery which surrounded the Lutheran Church can still be seen on the present Schramms Cottage site in Victoria Street (originally known as Bismark Road).
One of the first schools in the area was conducted by Mr Max von Schramm, who opened a school for the Lutheran Church in Doncaster in 1860. The number of pupils soon grew too large for the Lutheran Church building. In 1864, he built a brick school and house in Doncaster Road, which was to become known as "Schramm's Cottage". In 1971, the building was moved to make way for the widening of Doncaster Road. It is presently located on the site of the old Lutheran Church in Victoria Street, opposite the Municipal Gardens.
Doncaster is one of the oldest fruit growing districts in Victoria. The early settlers planted fruit trees for domestic use, but in the 1860s, orchards of significant size were planted for commercial purposes.
By the 1920s fruit production peaked with approximately 20,000 acres under cultivation.
In 1882, three Doncaster growers were the first growers to successfully export pears to the United Kingdom.
The first cool store was built by the Government in 1905. As the need for additional storage space grew, the store was enlarged until its capacity was 20,000 cases in 1909.
Later, in 1915, the cool store was purchased by local growers and was known as the Central Cool Store until it closed in 1932. Many other private cool stores were constructed, the largest being the Orchardists Cool Stores in the Main Road East Doncaster, built by a co-operative in 1915. Its capacity was 120,000 cases; the largest cool store in Victoria outside Melbourne.
One of the well known attractions in Doncaster during the late 1880s was the Doncaster Tower. Built in 1878, the tower was 285 feet high and stood at the top of Doncaster Hill. It stood until 1914, when it was demolished for safety reasons.
In 1889, an electric tram was operating between Box Hill and Doncaster, along what is now Tram Road. This is claimed to be the first electric tramway in Australia. It finally ceased operations in 1896, after suffering many economic problems.
East Doncaster became a township in 1909, when the post office was built near the East Doncaster School. In 1923, Donvale was officially recognised by the opening of a post office on the corner of Springvale and Mitcham odes Roads.
Other community services were soon to follow.
Electricity became available in the Doncaster area during the years 1914-1918. It was formally switched on in 1916, and East Doncaster received supply in 1921.
In 1919, the post office was the first building to have a telephone installed.
In 1922, the area obtained mains water supplies through an upgrading of the 2" pipe that had provided water since 1896.
After World War II, a bus service was introduced to the area. Operated by Mr Withers the service linked Doncaster and Melbourne until the service was sold to the Tramways Board in the 1960s.
Serpells store, built in 1890, on the corner of Tram Road and Manningham Road was demolished in 1969 to make way for another landmark - Doncaster Shoppingtown. In the following years Doncaster, Williamsons and Manningham Roads were upgraded to cope with the increasing volume of traffic.
TEMPLESTOWE
Confusion surrounds the origin of the name Templestowe. One possible origin is the popular Walter Scott novel of the time, "Ivanhoe". Another theory is that "Templestone" was originally suggested by the Bulleen Roads Committee, but the surveyor of the district, Henry Foote, objected to this, saying there was no stone in the area. Instead, he called the area "Templestowe". A small settlement in England known as "Temple's Stowe", could also have been the original inspiration for the name.
The first settlers arrived in Templestowe in the late 1830s. Among them was Major Charles Newman who arrived in 1837. He built a stone house called "Pontville", which is still standing and is among the oldest houses in the district.
In 1852, Henry Foote laid out a township on the reserve set aside in the original survey. The land was divided into town size allotments and an auction was held in November 1852. Lots sold for an average of $78, far above the reserve price of $5.
The first settlers along the river flats grew crops such as wheat and barley. These activities gained some fame in 1847, when wheat and barley crops grown in Bulleen were exported to England. Other industries in the area included wood carting and dairying.
At the end of the 1800s, there were 80 people employed in the many dairy farms along the river flats from Doncaster to Templestowe.
In 1853, the Bulleen Hotel was opened. It was later known as the Upper Yarra Hotel, and was the location for the first meeting of the Templestowe Roads Board, the forerunner of our present day Council.
Gold was discovered in Templestowe in 1857. Shafts were sunk in the area north of Feathertop Avenue and from 1858, rich ore was retrieved. The gold ore was associated with antimony, which was difficult to separate at that time, so mining was spasmodic. The area was worked for a few years and again reopened during 1890 by the Antimony Hill Gold and Antimony Mining Company, which undertook mining on a large scale.
The domine finally closed down in 1905.
The first schools in the area were Mr Ferguson's Common School in Serpells Road and the Church of England School (built in 1854) in Foote Street. In 1874, these two schools were closed upon the opening of the present day State School in Anderson Street. The Mechanics Institute and Library was opened in 1883, and is now known as the Memorial Hall. It is located in Anderson Street in Templestowe.
During the 1900s many changes took place in both transport and communications. In the 1920s, the telephone was connected and the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works water mains were extended to Templestowe. Electricity was also made available by the Council.
In 1951, the Postmaster-General's department proposed the establishment of a post office in Bulleen Road and asked the Council for a list of suitable names for the area. The names "Banksia", "Bulleen" and "Templestowe West" were suggested. The name "Bulleen" was chosen. Bulleen was generally known as the area west of Thompsons Road to Manningham Road and west of Rose Avenue, north of Manningham Road. The name Bulleen was suggested because the area formed a large part of the Parish of Bulleen which was the original name given to the Doncaster-Templestowe area.
WARRANDYTE
The name Warrandyte originated from the Aboriginal word "warren", meaning "to throw", and "dyte", meaning "the object aimed at". It is believed that the area was used by aboriginal tribes for boomerang and spear throwing games.
Originally the Warrandyte area covered the district from Andersons Creek to Croydon. In July 1856, Hodgkinson's survey gave the name "Warrandyte" to the township then known as Andersons Creek.
In 1841, the Port Phillip Protectorate established an Aboriginal reserve of 1,103 acres at Pound Bend in an effort to help the Aboriginals. The aged and the sick were cared for, and blankets and rations provided. They were also trained in agriculture and other trades and were helped to find jobs.
The initial growth of the township was mainly due to the discovery of gold. The first gold discovered in Victoria was found in Andersons Creek by Louis Michel on 13 July 1851. This led to the declaration of Warrandyte as the first gold field in Victoria later known as the Victoria field. In 1935, a gold memorial was erected in Andersons Creek at the spot where Louis Michel discovered gold. A number of tunnels still exist in the surrounding area.
A punt was installed across the Yarra River in 1856, to provide a way to the goldfields to the north. The punt was 7.6 metres long and 3.0 metres wide. This service was later replaced by a wooden bridge in 1861.
In 1856, the National School Board determined that there were about 40 eligible children in the Warrandyte area in need of a school. The first known school in the area was established by the Church of England, with Mr Thomas Edington Downard as head teacher. The National School established in the Warrandyte area was built at the corner of Yarra and Forbes Streets in 1862, with Mrs Rosa Mary Pretty as head teacher.
During the 1860s houses were beginning to replace tents, and permanent buildings were beginning to appear. By the 1870s there were approximately 1,000 residents in Warrandyte and four hotels.
In 1870, the Evelyn Mining Company dug a tunnel through the hill at Pound Bend. The purpose of the tunnel was to divert the course of the river, leaving an area of dry river bed for dredging. The tunnel, which can still be seen today is 200 metres long, six metres wide and four metres deep. The cost of construction was approximately $4,200, and about $16,000 worth of gold was obtained. However, working expenses were too high, and the company was forced into liquidation.
In the 1880s, Warrandyte was in the process of changing from a mining town to a more established environment. A library was built, and in 1890, a Mechanics Institute was established. A bus service was established in 1913, linking Warrandyte and Melbourne. Electricity was not available in the region until 1935.
Source: Unknown Author, Unknown date. Loose typed pages in archives given to DTHS in Dec2022 by Manningham Council
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