The Shire of Bulleen having been duly proclaimed by the Victorian Parliament, the first elections were conducted on the 1st July, 1875, when the following were the successful candidates: Cr. E. Tatham, M. H. Hon J. Smedley Jnr., R. Laidlaw, W. Kent and J. Delaney. Messrs. J. Smith and Robert Hunter were unsuccessful, the latter had taken a prominent part in advocating the Templestowe toll gate, so it is not surprising that he ran last in the poll. The returning officers were Robert Thompson at the Shire office, Thomas Evans, Deputy Returning Officer at Doncaster, and Richard Clay, Deputy at Anderson Creek.
The first meeting of the council was held on July 21st, when Cr. Tatham became the first Shire President. The late Chairman of the Roads Board, Mr. R. Williamson, was asked to sign a voucher for the transfer of £88. 2.11 to the credit of the old Board in the Bank of New South Wales, Melbourne, and pay the same into the Commercial Bank at Heidelberg to the account of the Shire of Bulleen. Thomas O'Brien was re-appointed Secretary and Thomas N. Bride was appointed Inspecting Engineer on a percentage basis.
In August, Cr. Moore gave notice of a motion to divide the Shire into three separate ridings, viz. Doncaster, Templestowe and Warrandyte. His idea, however, was not well received and the motion was lost. Cr. Laidlaw stating that the proposal should have come from the ratepayers. At the September meeting of the Shire, Robert Williamson and Joseph Smith waited with a petition signed by 87 ratepayers urging the council to construct a deviation to the road between Deep Creek and Newman's Road. At this time travellers to Warrandyte had the choice of two next to impassable routes, one being the present Porter's Street which is recognised as one of the steepest around Melbourne and was consequently very trying on the horses, and the other was the old Government road which struck off at right angles at Deep Creek.
At the same meeting, Messrs. Richard Serpell and Frederick Rhodes requested the Council to build still another deviation, this time from Williamson Road to Anderson Creek Road, the road now known as Serpell's Road; at that time the residents living in the area bounded by King Street and Reynolds Road were compelled to make a long detour via Doncaster to Templestowe. The Council acknowledged the need for both deviations but felt that, with their limited means, they could not undertake more than one at the time, and decided to proceed with the one from Deep Creek, though Mr. Bride was instructed to draw up a survey of both roads.
The summer of 1875 saw the Shire's first serious epidemic, on the first of November the Central Board of Health informed the Council that two cases of Scarlet Fever had occurred in the district, one being at the Morning Star Hotel and the other at Sandilands. They urged the Council to take every precaution, and to provide a disinfecting apparatus capable of 250 deg. of heat in order to disinfect the patients wearing apparel free of charge. At the following meeting, the Sergeant of Police at Heidelberg wrote stating that there had been several instances of Scarlet Fever in the Shire and, in some cases, the families had been too poor to obtain medical assistance; the police had provided the services of Drs. Roberts and Bleak and he was enclosing an account for their services. On the motion of Drs. Smedley and Laidlaw it was decided that the Council would pay the medical fees of families who were unable to meet the same.
A petition, signed by the ratepayers of Bulleen and Warrandyte, requesting that the Shire be divided into three ridings as urged by Cr. Hoare was bitterly criticized by the Councillors. On the motion of Cr. Laidlaw the Secretary was directed to write to the Public Works Department stating that the allegations contained in the petition, of the diversity of interest of various portions of the Shire and the remoteness of other parts were entirely incorrect, and that no acts of injustice had been performed by the Council. An amendment moved by Crs. Hoare and Kent that the memorial be allowed to take its course was defeated by 4 votes to 2.
The Governor in Council, however, decided to grant the prayer of the petition and the Shire elections held in August, 1876, were the first held under the three riding scheme, when the following candidates were successful :- Doncaster Riding - Henry Finger, John Smedley, Alfred Hummell; Templestowe Riding - Robert Williamson, Robert Laidlaw and John Delaney. In Warrandyte - Lewis Grant, George Hollaway and Henry Stiggants were returned unopposed. Mr. M. H. Hoare, who had worked hard to bring about the constitutional rearrangement, unfortunately ran last in the Doncaster poll and lost his seat. His efforts to increase the Council revenue by establishing toll gates, and the fact that he was a hotel keeper, had made him unpopular with the ratepayers. He, however, had some consolation when Lewis Grant sent in his resignation without taking his seat; he stood for the vacancy at Warrandyte and scored a comfortable win over the popular local candidate, Thomas J. Dowd.
In September, 1876, the Councillors received rather a bombshell when the Secretary informed them that the Victorian Government had abolished all toll gates not returning a yearly revenue of £500; both the Templestowe and Doncaster Toll Gates had fallen into this category and consequently the tolls had ceased to be collected since the 31st of August. Local authorities throughout the land were protesting violently at the Government action, but the Bulleen Councillors stated they were not in favour of re-establishing the Doncaster Toll unless they received a more equitable share of the proceeds from the Boorondarra Council. The subject of re-establishing the Templestowe Toll was left in the hands of the Member of Parliament, however, as all toll gates were abolished from the 31st of December, 1877, no further action was taken. The Doncaster Toll was put up for sale by Tender in February, 1879, when the keeper's house was sold to G. H. Smith for £9. 2. 6. The gate was sold to Colin Phillips for £2 and the tank to James Tierney for £1. The notice board was repainted and sent to do further service at the Anderson Creek Pound. A tender of £1. 5. 0 for the Templestowe Toll House and 12/6 for the gate was considered to be too low and was not accepted by the Council.
The question of compensation for the property owners on the Deep Creek - Newman's Road deviation came before the Council in September, 1878. Mrs. Honara Kent stated that she would be pleased to let the Council have the land if she received a similar strip of the old road in compensation. Mr. J. Smith stated that he would accept £8 an acre and finally agreed on £7. Mr. Johnston, who owned a tiny allotment of 2 roods on the corner of Newman's Road, wanted £20; the Council offered £10 but Johnston was adamant and the matter was adjourned in the hope of reaching a satisfactory agreement. Later the fencing contractor reported to the Council that Johnston had ordered him off the property. Johnston, who was present, said he could not accept less than £15. The Councillors remonstrated that, as they were dealing with taxpayers' money, they could not pay more than a fair price and they would have to summon him before the court; the case was accordingly heard at Heidelberg in February, 1877, when Johnston was allowed £5 for his land and ordered to pay £1.13.0 costs of court.
Considerable progress was made towards improving the Shire's roads in the succeeding 2 years, the Deep Creek deviation was declared open for traffic, though a great deal of earth works were necessary and it was the best part of 20 years before the Council got it into proper order. In the Warrandyte Riding considerable progress was made on the road between Deep Creek and the township, this being largely through the efforts of Cr. Hoare and included the grubbing and forming of the road from Deep Creek to the Recreation Ground, the cutting of the Deep Creek Hill which was carried out by Ben Logan, the metalling of the road for a quarter mile through the township, and the erection of a bridge over Holmes Creek on the Warrandyte - Ringwood Road with the aid of a small subsidy from the Lilydale Council.
Another important work which was carried out during the year 1878 was the cutting of Swadleys Hill from the Morning Star Hotel, the contract being let to Mr. Deveron for £236. The cutting was put down to the depth of about 4 feet and was little wider than the average vehicle, it was considerably deepened and enlarged in 1886. Another work done at the same time and by the same contractor was the cutting of Sandilands Hill on Thompson Road, just off Bulleen Road, which cost £180, both roads were closed during the work and it is said that the Pobby family made a sizable profit by charging a toll of 6d. for traffic to cross their paddock on Swadleys Hill.
Mr. Bride gives us a good description of the roads then existing in the Shire when he reported on the condition of Anderson Creek Road from the Deep Creek Bridge to the section corner in December, 1878; he found that for 27 chains from the Deep Creek Bridge the road was both steep and siding with many deep water courses running across it, and was usually impassable in wet weather; from there to the school corner (now Reynolds Road) there were many ruts and water courses but generally passable.
From the school to the section corner a good track wound its way through the trees and stumps. Another road which he inspected was Springvale Road, then described as a cross road leading off the Dancester - Ringwood Road. He stated that it was largely impassable and that 30 chains of the road in front of Hislop's property would have to be formed and drained and a culvert inserted to stop the water from flowing all over the road. The work was carried out as the property owners agreed to pay a substantial amount towards the cost.
In 1879, Cr. Robert Laidlaw reported that he had inspected the Deep Creek deviation road in company with Mr. Ferguson, M.L.A., and the latter was of the opinion that there was every chance of obtaining a Government grant towards the cost of the work. It meant a long struggle, however, and it was not until January, 1882, that Mr. J. Keys, M.L.A., reported that the Government had given the Shire a grant of £300, - £150 for the deviation and £150 to erect a bridge across Koornung Creek on Elgar Road. The increased traffic in connection with the building of the Box Hill - Lilydale Railway had made it imperative to erect a bridge at the crossing.
The Council was slowly but surely winning the battle to improve the roads of the Bulleen Shire. In 1881, however, they received rather an unfortunate setback when the firm of Messrs. Solicitors, wrote stating that Mr. F. Heydon, his wife and sister of Ascot Vale, had been upset in a conveyance on the Doncaster Road on April 18th, and they were holding the Council responsible owing to the bad state of the road; after long and drawn out legal proceedings, the Council was ordered to pay £800 damages. When the news was known in June, 1884, that the case had gone against them a special meeting of the Council was called to discuss means of meeting such a heavy claim in view of the limited amount of revenue and the large requirements of the district. It was ultimately decided to meet the claim by means of the general rate and to raise a special loan for the works of the Shire. Mr. Tom Petty in later years stated that this claim cost the Shire nearly £2,000, and that all the back roads were consequently fenced off to protect the ratepayers and it is owing to this case that Church Road still remains fenced off today.
Evidence of the popularity of the district as a tourist resort is clearly shown in the early 1880s with the opening of the towers. In January, 1882, the Rev. Max Von Schramm led a deputation to the Council comprising of John Smedley Jnr., A. Reynolds and R. Clay seeking the Council's assistance in obtaining police protection for the district. The deputation stated that the inhabitants of Doncaster were a quiet and peaceable people, but it was well known that the place was becoming a resort for strangers, especially on Sundays and holidays, and some were of an undesirable element; there had been trespassing and damage to fruit gardens. The Council stated that they were wholeheartedly in favour of the idea and the Doncaster Riding Councillors were appointed to wait on the Chief Secretary. The following April Mr. Keys wrote stating that the request had been approved.
In September, 1882, Mr. W. Kent waited on the Council on behalf of a number of residents of Deep Creek and stated that it was desirable to open a new trafficable road from Deep Creek to Melbourne. There was, he said, a circuitous road existing, but, owing to a steep gudge, traffic was next to impassable, and the residents of Deep Creek and Warrandyte were compelled to cross private property for which they had to pay an expensive and vexatious toll. The circuitous road referred to was Blackburn Road and the route desired to be opened was through Mr. W. Rutledge's property from the section corner to Wagstaff Corner, which is now the Anderson Creek Road.
Mr. J. Smith opposed the application stating that, although the necessity existed for the new road to Melbourne, he questioned the advisability of opening it; at present his property was situated on a main road - if the new deviation was put through his property would be on a bye-road and therefore lose some of its value. The engineer reported that the cost of improvement to the old road would be £336 as against £176 for opening the new road, and a total of £47 had been promised by residents towards the cost. The new route, he said, would be a more gradual grade and a better road for the horses. Mr. Smith immediately took exception to the engineer's plan, but the President over-ruled him saying that he could not allow their accredited engineer to be subject to an uncalled for challenge by an unqualified man.
A long and animated discussion then took place among the Councillors as to whether they should proceed with the plan in view of the heavy cloud of legal expenses which hung over the Council. Speaking to the proposal, Cr. Petty said he agreed that the deviation was most important but, thought they should have some guarantee as to where the money was coming from before they undertook the work. Cr. Firth disagree stating that the dangerous places on the old road should be put in order first. He was supported by Cr. Williamson who said if the dangerous places were left, some accident would probably occur and they would be mulched in such damages that well might ruin the whole Shire.
The Shire President, Cr. Smadley, said he agreed with necessity of securing the dangerous places, but he thought there were few places dangerous to sober persons and they couldn't be expected to guard against accidents to drunken persons. He accused Cr. Firth and Williamson of sidetracking the issue, which they in turn hotly denied. Mr. Smith submitted that, if the new road was opened, the Council would have to maintain two roads instead of one. He stated that the only reason why Mr. Rutledge made a charge for crossing his property was because Mr. Kent had threatened one of his men for crossing his land, otherwise the charge would never have been made.
The question of a plebiscite was then mentioned, but the President thought it would be an undignified course for the Councillors to take. Cr. Petty and Firth said they had no objection to the poll, but Cr. Laidlaw endorsed the view of the President, saying that if they could not decide the issue under discussion they were not fit to sit as representatives of the ratepayers. Cr. Hutchinson said he was all in favour of the deviation, but they had a large amount hanging over their heads that might require a 2/6 rate and that would mean ruin to many people.
The President then moved that "contingent on the ratepayers raising 1/3 of the cost the Council should proceed with the work of opening up the new deviation". Cr. Laidlaw counselled him not to rush the issue and the President agreed to give it as a notice of motion.
On the motion coming up for discussion the following month, Cr. Firth said the Council had only £48 to meet an expenditure of £100. Cr. Pettit however, pointed out that £47 had been promised by the residents - that would be sufficient to purchase the land and improvements would have to wait until sufficient funds were available. On the motion being put, it was carried unanimously with the exception of Cr. Firth. The road was fenced and surveyed almost immediately but, of course, it was several years before it was formed and metalled.
Still another road was opened the following month, February 1884, when the Engineer announced that the deviation originally urged by Messrs. R. Serpell and Alfred Rhodes was ready for traffic. A slight hitch occurred when Mr. J. Read said he did not agree with certain actions of the Council and he would not sign the transfer paper unless the Council agreed to pull down the deviation fence. Cr. Laidlaw traversed the long and arduous task the Council had had since the move for the road had first begun and stated he had gone too far to turn back but, on Mr. Read still declining to remove the fence, the President demanded to know when he intended to do the work or else they would have no option but to take legal action. Mr. Read then reconsidered and undertook to have the fence removed before the next Council meeting.
Cr. Laidlaw then moved that the new line of road be named Serpell's Road. Mr. Serpell, he said, had given a handsome sum towards the cost of putting the road through and had taken a great interest in the movement since the beginning. Cras. Williamson and Smedley endorsed his remarks about Mr. Serpell's high spirited action, a little pleasantry then took place among the Councillors on the success which had attained their efforts. They said the Government had made a further grant of £150 towards the cost of the Deep Creek deviation and £200 towards the cost of cutting the Deep Creek Hill, Serpells Road had been opened for traffic and plans and specifications had been drawn up for the new Anderson Creek Road deviation which was to prove a great boon to the residents of Deep Creek and Warrandyte and gave them a new route to Melbourne.
On February 4th, 1884, Mr. T. Burrows commenced the first coach service from Doncaster to Box Hill, leaving the Box Hill station at 7.8 a.m. and 5.11 p.m. and returning from the Doncaster Post Office at 8.47 a.m. and 6.57 p.m. The route was via Elgar Road, then known as Crossman's Road, and the fare advertised at 9d. single and 1/- return.
In December, 1884, the Shire of Bulleen, in spite of the heavy expenditure they had had to face, decided on raising a further loan of £1,000 for public works. They proposed to raise the loan by an issue of 10 debentures of £100 each at 6 per cent, payable at the Heidelberg Branch of the Bank of Australasia on the 1st March, 1885. The money to be spent as follows: £100 on the Templestowe Road, £180 for the erection of a bridge on the Williamson Road over Ruffy's Creek, and £150 for metalling the road Thompson Gully, £150 for excavations and metalling on the Warrandyte Road and £450 for the erection of a tramway up Smedleys Hill from the Morning Star Hotel to Dr. Thomas Fitzgerald's new home "Fullamore" (now the Eastern Golf Links).
Determined protests were made to the Council, particularly in regard to the laying down of the tramway. A well got-up petition by the ratepayers yielded 159 votes, but it was less than one-third of the voters' roll, which was required by law to prevent the Council from raising the loan. The Councillors, however, had a worrying time ahead of them.
Long and drawn-out efforts to obtain Government assistance to complete the Smedleys Hill Cutting had come to nothing and, in 1882, Cr. Smedley had suggested that a solution to their worries might be the erect of a tramway. Cr. Williamson commented that he had had experience of tramways in Scotland and it would probably prove a success; the years dragged on and, with still no concrete offer of Government assistance, the Council decided to proceed with the projected tramway. The loan was successfully raised and on the 30th November, 1885, Cr. Petty (in the absence of Cr. Williamson) moved the following resolution :- "That the top of Kennedy's Hill (now Smedleys) be widened to the full width leaving a foot pass of about 6 feet on the south side, next to Petty's fence, and that a tramway be laid on the north side of the road to commence at about Dr. Fitzgerald's gate, the widening to be done by day labour and the tramway to be laid by skilled labour under the supervision of the surveyor. The motion was seconded by Cr. Smith and carried unanimously.
Almost a flood of protests followed and a widely attended protest meeting took place at the Atheneum in March, 1886, when speakers stated that tramways were costly and largely of an experimental character, that no tramway had ever been put down such a steep gradient in the colony and, even if it were practical, they said it would serve only a comparatively small section of the residents, whilst other road works of a much less expensive nature could be carried out. The following resolutions were carried :-
1. That in the opinion of the meeting the Councillors of the Doncaster Riding deserve the strongest censure, and we call upon them to resign the trust placed in them.The Councillors paid little heed to the resolutions of the meeting and stated their determination to continue with the project. A deputation by Messrs. R. Serpell and W. Meader waited on the Council but were virtually declined a hearing, the President stating that the Councillors were not to conclude that, because the ratepayers said it was wrong, that it must necessarily be wrong. He did not wish to force it on them but if it were demonstrated that it was an improvement why should the Councillors stay their hand because the ratepayers opposed it?
2. That the meeting request the Council to cause a poll to be taken to decide the tramway issue. 3. That the following be a committee to carry out the resolutions and, if necessary, urge the Governor in Council to intervene to prevent the laying down of the tramway :- Messrs. C. Smidt, W. Meader, J. Kent, Bloom, Serpell, Clay, Chivers, White and Schukraft.
Cr. Williamson, however, stated that he was going for a trip to Scotland in April and would obtain skilled advice from the engineers there; the matter was adjourned pending his return and little more was heard of the scheme though the cutting was completed. It is, however, a co-incidence that the prime movers to prevent the scheme were later prominent shareholders in the Lancaster - Box Hill Electric Tramway Company.
In September, 1886, the Minister for Public Works wrote asking the Council if there was any demand for unskilled labour in the district in view of the large number of unemployed in the city. The letter gave vent to a lengthy and irregular discussion. Cr. Petty strongly criticised the actions of the Government in paying such high wages to unskilled workmen, thereby placing them on a footing with artisans and mechanics. Cr. Williamson commented that there was plenty of work in the district, but not at the wages wanted by the unemployed, he considered that 15/- to 16/- a week was quite sufficient remuneration for farm servants and harvesters. It was resolved to inform the Minister that there was no work in the district for the unemployed. It is noticeable that at the same meeting Cr. Williamson declined the office of President, saying that "old age was creeping on".
Many changes had taken place in the district during the long and heated discussions in Council which marked the period, both Doncaster and Templestowe had made considerable progress, but there was also ground for concern in regard to public health. Typhoid Fever broke out during the year 1886, but considerably worse was the outbreak of Diphtheria in 1889; there was no satisfactory treatment for it then, and several rows of tiny graves in the German cemetery tell their own story of the tragic occurrence, the disease was prevalent in fruit growing areas but the actual cause was put down to sixty people dumping nightsoil in the district during the early hours of the morning. A determined effort by the Caulfield Shire to have the Government prescribe drastic penalties for this type of offence was supported by the Bulleen Council, it however took a long time to stamp out. The East Doncaster State School was, in particular, most unhealthy and was more often closed than open with successive epidemics of Typhoid, Diphtheria, Scarlet Fever and Measles etc. In January, 1891, a young teacher by the name of Thomas Rutter came from Warragul to be Head Master and was lying dead in his grave in less than six weeks after his appointment, a victim of Typhoid Fever. The Box Hill Reporter stated that it was really time something was done about the school and the Department appears to have taken some action in making the school more hygienic.
The district, however, made steady progress in the 1880s. The first police station was erected in 1882, an electric telegraph wire was laid to the Doncaster Post Office early the following year, the Templestowe Mechanics Institute was opened by Mr. J. Keys, M.L.A., the same year, and a branch of the E. S. & A. Bank was opened in the house now occupied by Mr. Fred Petty in Doncaster in March, 1886. The Church of Christ and the State School were opened the following year, whilst agricultural returns for the year 1887 showed that the Shire of Bulleen headed all Victoria in the output of fruit, it possessing 1878 acres of orchard, 91 acres of garden and 45 acres of vines. The figures for neighbouring Shires were :- Lilydale - 451 acres under vines and 85 under orchard, Eltham - 470 under orchard, 24 under vines, 23 under garden, Heidelberg - 450 under orchard, 27 under garden and 10 under vines.
Source: We believe from handwritten notes in records that the following text is an unpublished manuscript in 2 volumes (Ch1-11 and Ch12-21) written by Louis Radnor Cranfield (1927- 14 Oct 1992) F.R.HIST.S. (Fellow of the Royal Historical Society). Find a Grave Record. National Library of Australia Record.
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