Frank Woodward, M.A., translates Palm Leaf Manuscripts

The Hobart Mercury of March 12, 1949 had this interesting article about Mr Woodward, previously principal at Mahinda College, Sri Lanka (1)  who lived on the Tamar River in Tasmania and translated manuscripts written on Palm Leaves  

Translating Original Buddhist Scriptures - Living in seclusion at the quiet West Tamar town of 

Richmond Hill is an 80-year-old graduate of the Cambridge University, Mr. F. L. Woodward, who is translating and editing original Buddhist scriptures into English to replace those destroyed in England's blitz. For many years Mr. Woodward was principal of the Mahinda College at Gaile, Ceylon. His home, which is filled with books, on India and Buddhism, is surrounded by a neglected orchard.

Yesterday Mr. Woodward was thrilled by a visit from two teachers from Ceylon, who are touring Australia in educational research. They are Messrs. K. W. Diessanayaka, vice-principal of an Indian secondary school, and Lenel Lokuliyana, headmaster of a secondary school. They told a Launceston college of their intention to convey to Mr. Woodward the good wishes of the people of Ceylon, and thank him for his services to education.

The palm leaf manuscripts he is translating are tied with string through two holes punched in each leaf. The writing is carved, as Burmese and Cingalese who wrote the works used neither pen nor pencil. Mr. Woodward takes a daily stroll to Richmond Hill township to pick up his bread, milk, and mail. (2)

The Melbourne Herald picked up the story and two days later published a similar but slightly different article -

Translates Writings On Palm Leaves - A 79-year-old graduate of Cambridge university, Mr F. L. Woodward, is living in seclusion in a small seaside town on the West Tamar spending his time deciphering, translating and editing original palm leaf manuscripts written by Buddhist monks. He was visited last week by two teachers from Ceylon, whoare touring Australia in educational research. They are K. W. Diessanayaka and Lionel Lokuliyana, both of whom are studying at the Melbourne University for a Bachelor of Education degree.

Mr Woodward, who was principal of a Buddhist college in Ceylon, retired from teaching 27 years ago to live at Richmond Hill, on the Tamar. The orchard on his property is neglected as he has little time to spare from his original Buddhist scriptures, which he is preparing for publication to replace those destroyed during the blitz on Britain. 

The palm leaf manuscripts are tied with string through two punched holes in each leaf. The writing is carved because the Burmese and Cingalese who wrote the works used neither pen nor pencil. The Ceylon students took a message of good wishes to Mr Woodward from the people of Ceylon. (3)

A Palm leaf manuscript

Singhalese manuscript 143. Source: Wellcome Collection.

https://wellcomecollection.org/stories/stories-of-asian-palm-leaf-manuscripts

I  had never heard of  Palm Leaf manuscripts but came across the informative website of the Wellcome Collection,  a free museum and library in London. On the website, Adrian Plau, has written an article -Stories of Asian palm-leaf manuscripts which commences with -  

Palm-leaf manuscripts are one of humanity’s most ancient and widespread technologies for transmitting and preserving knowledge in written form. They are made from two types of palms: palmyra and talipot, both found in South and Southeast Asia. Palmyra palms have an enormous range of uses, from mats and thatching to hats and fans, in addition to making palm-leaf manuscripts. The talipot palm lives for around 60 years but flowers only once. Death follows soon after its lone blossoming, but the leaves of the tree are cooked and dried and take on a second life. Inscribed with a stylus and rubbed with ink, they become palm-leaf manuscripts. Read  the rest of the well illustrated article here https://wellcomecollection.org/stories/stories-of-asian-palm-leaf-manuscripts

The John Rylands Research Institute and Library, part of the University of Manchester, have digitised thirty-two Sinhalese Manuscripts and they can be viewed here 

https://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/services/digitisation-services/projects/sinhalese-manuscripts/

Mr F. L.Woodward was Frank Lee Woodward (1871-1952). He was born on April 13, 1871, the third son of the Rev. William Woodward, who was the Rector of Catworth, Huntingdonshire and his wife Elizabeth Mary Ann (nee Lee).  He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1893 from Cambridge University and taught at several schools and then from 1898 until 1903 he was Second Master at Stamford School in Stamford,  Lincolnshire. He received his Master of Arts, also from Cambridge, in 1902 (4)

Frank Lee Woodward, M.A.

https://stamfordschools.org.uk/news/history-of-frank-woodward-second-master-1898-1903 

The Stamford School website has this information about Frank's career both there and at Mahinda College - Outside his teaching duties, Frank took up studying Western and Eastern philosophy. He even joined the Theosophical Society, where he became acquainted with Colonel Henry Steel Olcott (5), co-founder and President of the Society, who had founded the Mahinda Buddhist College in the city of Galle, Ceylon (modern-day Sri Lanka). In 1903, Frank was invited to go to Ceylon to become Principal of the College. His departure from Stamford School was regarded as a great loss by both the staff and pupils....The Mahinda Buddhist College was established in 1892, and still exists today. The school prospered under Frank’s leadership; the student body grew rapidly necessitating the move for the establishment to a more suitable location. Frank settled on one of the highest plots of land in Galle with a spectacular view of the Adam’s Peak mountain. Frank laid the foundation stone of the School hall on 15th January 1908, and the new building’s ceremonial opening took place on 1st August 1912. Whilst there he was also co-editor for the Ceylon National Review and The Buddhist magazines. Frank left Mahinda in 1919 after sixteen years. (6)

And this we find him living at Richmond Hill, although his address in the Electoral Roll is Rowella, apparently neglecting his orchard, but translating manuscripts written on Palm Leaves. His obituary notes that - Before his death, Oxford Press had published more than 25 books of his translations. (7) However, these translations were not his only activity - amongst other things he played the organ at the Anglican Church in nearby Beaconsfield and he was the Patron of both the Rowella Cricket Club and Rowella Football Club. (8)  Frank died on May 27, 1952, at the age of 81 and is buried in the Carr Villa Memorial Park in  Launceston. (9)

Frank's death notice

Launceston Examiner, May 29, 1952  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article52880216

Footnotes

(1) Mahinda College https://www.mahindacollege.lk/about

(2) Hobart Mercury, March 12, 1949, see here. 

(3) The Herald, March 14, 1949, see here.

(4) Stamford School website - https://stamfordschools.org.uk/news/history-of-frank-woodward-second-master-1898-1903; from Ancestry.com - England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975 and  Cambridge University Alumni, 1261-1900

(5) Colonel Henry Steel Olcott - Founder of the Theosophical Society with Madame Helene Blavatsky. We have written about them and the Theosophical Society in our book - Enchanted beneath the bluff : Agnes & Geraldine's pursuit of Elwood's elusive black diamonds by Isaac Douglas Hermann and Heather Andrea Arnold, published in 2023.

(6) Stamford School website - https://stamfordschools.org.uk/news/history-of-frank-woodward-second-master-1898-1903 

(7) Obituary - Launceston Examiner,  May 29, 1952, see here.

(8) Launceston Examiner - December 4, 1928, see here and June 17, 1930, see here; Launceston Examiner, September 13, 1949, see here; Hobart Mercury, April 11, 1950, see here.

(9) Death notice - Launceston Examiner, May 29, 1952, see here.

Powlett Reserve East Melbourne Palm Trees

Powlett Reserve in  East Melbourne, is bordered by Powlett, Albert, Simpson and Grey Streets. It is also surrounded by Palm Trees. 

Powlett Reserve, 1899

Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works detail plan. no. 1031, 1032, City of Melbourne, 1899.

 See full plan at State Library of Victoria 

https://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/109263

East Melbourne historian, Winston Burchett, notes that in the 1850s the land was set aside for the Eastern Hill Cricket Club; and later likely used by the Collingwood Cricket Club, who also had the use of the adjoining block to the north. In August 1871, the reserve was temporarily reserved as the Volunteer Parade Ground. (1)  In 1881, in response to the Government contemplating the sale of this land, a letter from Captain  F.S. Small, a member of the Reserve committee was published in The Argus, which read in part - 

the Powlett street ground is the only place in Melbourne in which troops can be assembled for parade or drill. In every other reserve the planting of trees and the laying out of the ground into flower beds and walks prevent the movements of troops. To sell the Powlett street ground is equivalent to depriving the Engineer Corps, the East Melbourne Artillery, and the Second Battalion of Rifles (numbering in all 800 men) of the only ground available for general muster and drill. (2) 

The Reserve wasn't sold and in 1893 the area was permanently preserved as a Park, Garden and Children's Playground Reserve. (3) 

In  December 1918, the Herald reported that -

Reserve Neglected -  What is known as the Powlett Reserve, a fairly large block of land, bounded by Powlett, Albert, Grey, and Simpson streets, East Melbourne, which is under the control of the Defence Department, presents a  neglected appearance. The reserve is used occasionally for drill, but chiefly by children in playing cricket and other games. An old and dilapidated notice-board states: "Any person found trespassing on this reserve or damaging the fence will be prosecuted. - By order (signed), Robert Collins, Secretary of Defence." Apparently this order has been a dead letter for a long time, as numerous pickets have been removed from the fence, and in places whole panels have disappeared. Horses, which are allowed on the reserve for week-ends, are kept from straying by single lines of barbed wire stretched across the gaps. The reserve is fringed by fairly well-grown trees, and others have been chopped down and cut up, most likely for firewood. Generally the reserve looks neglected, and is out of keeping with the trimly-kept municipal reserves in the immediate neighborhood. (4)

Eighteen months later, in April 1920, the Herald had some good news -
New City Playground Powlett Street Reserve....Recently the reserve was handed over to the  [Melbourne] City Council, and the Parks and Gardens Committee is converting it into a garden and children's playground. The fence has been repaired, and some thousands of loads of earth have been spread on the reserve to level its surface. When completed, the reserve should not only present a much improved appearance, but should prove a great boon to the children of the neighborhood in affording them a fine playing area.  (5)  More amenities were added to the Park in 1924, when the tennis courts were opened. (6)

Powlett Reserve, March 1957.  

Albert Street is at the top of the reserve, Simpson Street is at the right and Grey Street is at the bottom. 

The building, bottom right of the reserve, is a Kindergarten, which opened in 1951. 

Labelled as: Aerial view of residential streets, Collingwood, 23 March 1957. Photographer: Airspy. 

See full image here at State Library of Victoria 

 https://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/4325234

In 1923, one of the fairly well-grown trees surrounding the Reserve was cut down by the Melbourne City Council- 

An Ancient and Noble Gum Tree at East Melbourne - The City Council authorities responsible for converting the Powlett-street reserve, East Melbourne, into a children's playground and beauty spot have been guilty of a piece of work that is to be regretted. A fine gum tree at the corner of Simpson-street and Albert-street has been cut down and converted into firewood. The tree was in splendid 

condition, and was an ornament that cannot be replaced. (7)

All this suggests that until the playground was established in the 1920s the ground was fairly rough and ringed with trees  - some of which were seemingly remnant gums from before European settlement and some of which were removed for firewood, so it appears that there was no large affection for the trees from either the local community or the Council. 

When were the Palm Trees planted? I believe after the playground and tennis courts were installed. Late 1920s, possibly, but that was the Depression, would the Council have money on landscaping during this time? I think the trees were planted in the 1930s, which makes them 20 to 25 years old in the photograph. If you have any information  on the date they were planted, I would be interested in knowing.

Footnotes

(1) Burchett, Winston East Melbourne 1837-1977: People, Places and Problems (Craftsman Press, 1978), p. 47

(2) The Argus, February 21, 1881, see here. 

(3) Burchett, op. cit., p. 47.

(4) The Herald, December 10, 1918, see here.

(5) The Herald, April 20, 1920, see here.

(6) The Herald, August 9, 1924, see here.

(7) Sun News-Pictorial, June 11, 1923, see here.

The Palm Trees in Palm Grove, Deepdene

I came across this photo of Palm Grove in Deepdene, planted with Palm Trees. Palm Grove, a short street of originally 8 houses, runs between Walsh Street and Barnsbury Road. It was established around 1926. The Palm Trees are no longer there, but it appears the original houses have survived, including the one with the four pillars on the right, which is No. 8 Palm Grove.

Palm Grove, Deepdene, 1930s? 1940s?

Looking east to Walsh Street. Photographer: George Naunton. State Library of Victoria image H90.49/32

 https://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/15454

I believe Palm Grove was established, as I said, in 1926, as it wasn't listed in the 1925 Sands & McDougall Directory (1), but was in the 1930 edition. In August 1926, the Camberwell City Council accepted a tender to construct Palm Grove roadway and footways in concrete for £1183.00 (2)

Tender to construct Palm Grove 

Box Hill Reporter, August 27, 1926 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article257144524

The houses were all constructed by 1940, as we can see from the following entries from the Sands & McDougall Directories.  Deepdene was listed in these directories under Balwyn.

Palm Grove (listed as Palm Avenue) entry from the 

1930 Sands & McDougall Directory of Victoria

 (on-line at the State Library of Victoria)

Palm Grove entry from the 1935 Sands & McDougall Directory of Victoria

 (on-line at the State Library of Victoria)

Palm Grove entry from the 1940 Sands & McDougall Directory of Victoria

 (on-line at the State Library of Victoria)

I found references to two houses which were built in Palm Grove. In September 1930 an attractive new brick residence with 8 splendidly appointed rooms, a fitted up kitchen on land 70 feet by 125 feet was auctioned, as well as a two magnificent residential allotments (3). The advertisement  listed the address as Palm Grove, Camberwell (North).  Presumably Camberwell was seen as more upmarket than Balwyn or Deepdene. 

Attractive new brick residence in Palm Grove to be auctioned.

The Age, September 27, 1930  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article202242028

Another Palm Grove house was designed by architect, Joseph Plottel (4) of 31 Queen Street and it was written up in The Argus in March 1937. The report reads in part - 

Much thought has been given to the planning of the house illustrated, which has just been completed in Palm grove, Deepdene, so that all the requirements of good planning could be combined with the features of the site, which is on a hill commanding good views. The rooms are well grouped and proportioned, and there is no waste space. From the entrance hall and a short service passage direct access can be had to all the ground floor rooms. A modified form of the English cottage style has been adopted. The external walls are of smooth-faced clinker bricks, and the roof is covered with tiles in shades of red and brown to match. (5)

House in Palm Grove, Deepdene, designed Joseph Plottel

Read the rest of the article and see the house plans here - http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11051913 in the 

The Argus, March 25, 1937

The house was at No. 5 Palm Grove and designed for Mrs Hector James McDonald. Mrs McDonald was Doris Florence McDonald; Hector's occupation, as listed in the Electoral Rolls, was a manager. (6)  Architect, Joseph Plottel, advertised for tenders to construct the house in September 1936 (7)

Tenders invited for Mrs McDonald's house in Palm Grove

The Argus, September 12, 1936 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11914071

When were the Palm Trees planted in Palm Grove? Looking at the size of the trees and the established houses in the photograph, I presume the 1930s. They are no longer there, so when were they removed? In 1970 No. 5 Palm Grove was advertised for sale - with the street described as an interesting tree lined grove. (8) Was it interesting because the trees were Palm Trees, which was relatively unusual? I believe this was the case, so we can establish the palms were still there in 1970. Google Street View images start at 2007, and they had been removed by then; that year there were a few jacarandas and some recently planted trees, supported by stakes. Thus the Palm Trees may  had been recently removed then, or the new trees may have replaced the trees that previously replaced the Palm Trees. In short, if you have any information as to when the Palm Trees in Palm Grove, Deepdene were removed, I would be interested in hearing.

5 Palm Grove, an interesting tree lined grove, to be auctioned on October 29, 1970

The Age, October 10, 1970, p.31 from newspapers.com

Footnotes
(1) Sands & McDougall Directories are on-line at the State Library of Victoria
(2) Box Hill Reporter, August 27, 1926, see here.  

(3) The Age, September 27, 1930, see here.  

(4) Joseph Plottel (1883-1977) You can read about his professional and early life here   https://www.arbv.vic.gov.au/joseph-plottel  Joseph married Dr Rachel Gross on December 15, 1915, the marriage being conducted by the Reverend Jacob Danglow. You can read reports of the wedding in the Emerald Hill Record of January 1, 1916, here and the Weekly Times of December 25, 1915, here; the Weekly Times report is headlined - Woman Doctor Married. Joseph died on May 28, 1977.

The Age, May 30, 1977, p. 30 from newspapers.com.

(5) The Argus, March 25, 1937, see here.
(6) Hector James McDonald and Doris Florence McLaughlin were married at St Peter's Eastern Hill in Melbourne, on February 23, 1924. He was a 29 year-old cabinet maker and she was a 23 year-old hairdresser. Hector was the son of  James and Eliza (nee Nichols) McDonald; James was chair manufacturer. Doris was the daughter of John and Jessie (nee Ridley) McLaughlin; John was a policeman. Hector and Doris did not have any children (or rather, none are listed in their death notices). Hector died on May 27, 1973 and Doris on August 24, 1983. [Source - From Ancestry.com - Victoria, Australia, St. Peter's Eastern Hill, Marriages, 1848-1955]

The Age, May 28, 1973, p. 14 from newspapers.com

The Age,  August 31, 1983, p.25. from newspapers.com

(7) The Argus, September 12, 1936, see here. 

The Governor plants two Palm Trees at White Cliffs

In October 1909 the Governor of Victoria, Sir Thomas Gibson Carmichael, toured the Mildura area and the new settlement of White Cliffs (which was soon to be renamed Merbein). At White Cliffs the official party inspected the irrigation works and pumping station and then the Experimental Farm, where various types of produce were being trialled.

On October 21, as the Mildura Cultivator reports - 
While at the Experimental Block His Excellency performed the ceremony of planting a couple of Palms, one on each side of the main entrance. The holes had been dug and the trees (well-grown Date Palms) were held in place while the Governor shovelled in some of the loose earth which was lying conveniently by. A certain amount of joking went on while this work was in progress and willing hands held the trees in position while equally willing feet trampled the earth around them.

An interesting incident occurred here, when a little two-year-old boy was brought forward by his mother and told to go and help the Governor plant the tree. The sturdy little chap was nothing loth and grasped the shovel with both his chubby hands, evidently feeling that he was doing some serious work. The inevitable photograph was taken. (1)

The sturdy little chap was Master Robinson; I wonder how his life turned out.

The Governor plants a California Fan Palm on the Experimental Plot, White Cliffs : 

Master Robinson lends a hand.  

The Australasian, October 30, 1909 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article139214932

A report in The Argus (2) noted that the trees planted were two Californian fan palms, rather than date palms and the Merbein Historical Society website concurs, that they were indeed two Californian Fan Palms (Washingtonia filifera). The Historical Society website, has a recent photograph of the Palm Trees (see it here) and also tells us that -

Today, the two palms on Channel Road, across the road from the rear of the Merbein P-10 College, still survive and are a testament to the success and resilience of the Merbein settlement which was one of the first State owned Pumped Irrigation Settlements in Victoria. (3)

The State Library of Victoria has six images of the Governor planting the Palm Trees, taken by Victor Hood, two of which are shown here. You can view the others, here. 

The Governor planting a Palm

His Excellency Planting Commemoration Palm, White Cliffs Nr Mildura, 1909.  

Photographer: Victor Albert Nelson Hood.

State Library of Victoria image H36531/18/23

The Governor, and the little two year old boy, Master Robinson,  planting a Palm.

His Excellency Planting Commemoration Palm, White Cliffs Nr Mildura, 1909.  

Photographer: Victor Albert Nelson Hood.

State Library of Victoria image H36531/18/27

Footnotes
(1) Mildura Cultivator, October 27, 1909, see here. 
(2) The Argus, October 22, 1909, see here.
(3) Merbein Historical Society https://www.merbeinhistoricalsociety.org.au/merbeins-foundation-palms.html

The Palm Trees in Gahan Reserve, Abbotsford

Gahan Reserve is a small park in Park Street, Abbotsford and has seven Canary Island Date Palms (Phoenix canariensis), plus a much larger number of Plane trees. (1)

The Park was established in 1903, as this report from the The Age tells us -
With a view to adding an attractive lung to the city of Collingwood, Cr. Gahan (the mayor) moved in the local council - "That this council dedicates, for the use of the public, the reserve at the rear of the town hall as a park, and that the public works committee be requested to have the trees planted as soon as the land is prepared." The land was cut through by the railway. The western margin, immediately behind the town hall, has been taken up by the bowling club, the Abbotsford Tennis Club and the Collingwood Quoit Club. The portion now to be planted is about four acres, having a frontage to Park-street, and running along Vere-street on the north and Stanley-street [sic] on the south. Cr. Gahan suggested that about 150 trees should be planted, and diagonal pathways cut from the four corners. Cr. Cain seconded the motion, which was carried. (2)

MMBW plan of the area from 1901, showing the Council land, behind the Collingwood Town Hall, which became Gahan Reserve. Stanton Street, was later extended across to Park Street, possibly in 1906 when Gahan Reserve was landscaped. 

Detail of Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works detail plan. no. 1313, City of Collingwood, 1901,

 from the State Library of Victoria, see full plan here https://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/117687

Three years later, in 1906, The Age could report that -

The Collingwood council has just completed the ornamentation of a new reserve at the back of the town hall, in pursuance of its policy of making improvements where practicable in the city. The reserve is a little under five acres in area. It is bounded by Park, Vere and Stanton streets and the railway line, and unfenced. There are eight cultivation plots, all graded to an elevated star shaped centre, with rock borders and recesses for fourteen substantial wooden seats. About 100 plant trees have been distributed over the ground, and it is contemplated by Cr. Rain (chairman of the public works committee) to have the four winding paths from the corner to the centre lined to form shady and picturesque avenues. (3)

It is likely that the six Palm Trees were planted at this time.  I don't believe that the reserve was initially called Gahan Reserve, and the first reference I can find to the term, Gahan Reserve, is 1908. (4)  It was named for Cr John Gahan (1851-1916). This is from his obituary -

The death of Cr. John Gahan, which occurred at his residence, 'Langi Koort' Heidelberg-road, Ivanhoe, early on Saturday morning, has deprived Collingwood council of a most useful member. Cr. Gahan was the 'father of the council.' He was elected as far back as 1887, when the city was first divided into wards. After his initial contest for Victoria ward he invariably had a 'walk over.' Cr. Gahan was very nearly a foundation representative on the Metropolitan Board of Works, having served for 24 years in that capacity, during which time he was vice-chairman. He was also a member of the Manchester Unity Order of Oddfellows and was a prominent Mason, having passed through all the degrees in the Earl of Carnarvon lodge. 

Cr. Gahan was born in 1851 in London, and with his parents landed in Victoria on New Years day, 1854. He was at the time of his death an estate agent in Abbotsford. Cr. Gahan had not been in good health for some time and after being prostrated for several weeks, he died from heart failure. He leaves a widow, six sons and a daughter. One of the sons, Studley Gahan, is in the A.I.F. fighting for the Empire and was in the famous landing at Gallipoli. The funeral of Cr. Gahan took place yesterday afternoon, and was very largely attended, there being 500 people present at the Boroondara Cemetery. (5)

The only two historic images I can find of Gahan Reserve are 1950s aerial photographs, taken by the company Airspy. They are shown below.

Gahan Reserve, behind the Collingwood Town Hall, March 8, 1951.

Photographer: Airspy. State Library of Victoria image  H2010.91/417. 

See the full photograph here https://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/4223658

Gahan Reserve, March 23, 1957.

Aerial view of residential streets, Collingwood. Photographer: Airspy. 

State Library of Victoria image H2010.91/457. 

See the full photograph here https://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/4325234

In 1919, there was a proposal to spend £2,000 to erect a kiosk and rotunda in the centre of Gahan Reserve. (6)  These did not go ahead, but it was, however, still an attractive park without these additions and a vast improvement on its original state, as The Herald reported in June 1924 - 

Much time and money were expended on bringing Gahan reserve to its present attractive condition. This reserve, which is at the rear of the municipal buildings and alongside the local railway line, was once a waste on which, as members of the Capulet and Yarra Yarra clubs, the late Harry Trott, an Australian XI, captain, his brothers and others learnt to play cricket on hard and rough wickets. (7)

Some of the park land was later used for an Infant Welfare Centre, which cost £1,500 and opened on August 5, 1927. (9)  Interesting that if these figures are correct, how much cheaper it was to build the Infant Welfare Centre than the kiosk and rotunda. The Infant Welfare Sisters had previously operated out of a room at the Town Hall (9) and the new Centre was an immediate success. As The Age reported -

since the fine new centre was opened last year in Gahan Reserve the sisters have been able to give still more effective help to the mothers, and there have been 461 new entries on the roll of the centre. The total attendances of babies at the centre during the past year were 6673, and 46 individual expectant mothers have been advised: 1174 visits were paid to homes. (10)

That's a lot of little babies, who I am sure all appreciated the beauty of the well landscaped Gahan Reserve, and especially the six Palm Trees. 😀

The Gahan Reserve Palm Trees and the Infant Welfare Centre

Image: https://melbournelocalista.com.au/listing/gahan-reserve, with photo credit given to 

Fairly Moon: https://maps.google.com/maps/contrib/116090308450787816101

Footnotes

(1) Victorian Heritage Database - Gahan Reserve

 https://vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/places/103954

(2) The Age, June 10, 1903, see here.

(3) The Age, May 1, 1906, see here.

(4) Darling Downs Gazette, December 15, 1908, see here; the next use of the term I could find was in a real estate advertisement in The Age of October 12, 1910, see here. [ad is at the top of the sixth column]

(5) The Age, July 31, 1916, see here.

(6) The Herald, October 11, 1919, see here.

(7) The Herald, June 18, 1924, see here. 

(8) Weekly Times, July 30, 1927, see here; The Age, August 3, 1927, see here. Victorian Heritage Database - Infant Welfare Centre - https://vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/places/87899

(9) The Herald, June 8, 1927, see here.

(10) The Age, July 27, 1928, see here.

Palm Trees in Mildura

Mildura is a town on the Murray River, established in the late 1880s by the Chaffey Brothers, who introduced an irrigation scheme which turned the land into a productive agricultural area. The town was a planned town, well laid out and the main street was Deakin Avenue, named after Alfred Deakin who, before he became Australia's second Prime Minister, was a Victorian politician. In 1884, Deakin  chaired the Victorian Royal Commission into Irrigation and the same year he met the Chaffey Brothers in California when he went there to investigate irrigation. (1)  Mildura is a town with many Palm Trees, some planted soon after it was established.  Here are some newspaper articles which refer to Palms.

Palm Trees at Rio Vista, Chaffey's Homestead at Mildura, c. 1915.

Photographer: August Muller

Museums Victoria 

https://collections.museumsvictoria.com.au/items/772877

In July 1913, Mrs Emily Pelloe wrote to the Mildura Cultivator regarding the proposal to remove gum trees in Deakin Avenue and replace them with palm trees. Mrs Pelloe described these gums as the finest straight double row of sugar gums in Australia. She also wrote that -
It is suggested that palms be planted in their place. Now palms, though certainly handsome in some situations, are very stiff, monotonous in color, and entirely lack the graceful beauty and dignity of the gums, with their changing tints; besides being quite useless in comparison, for shade purposes. Many a horse (and motor car, too, if it could) would regret the change, not to speak of the many men, women and children who, by the use they make of it, greatly enjoy the shade of these trees in the hot summer months. (Mildura Cultivator, July 12, 1913, see here)

A letter in response noted, inter alia -  It will now be opportune to deal with Mrs Pelloe's sweeping but naive indictment of palms in general and I might ask where she obtains her information that all palms are stiff and monotonous in outline or lacking in umbrageous habit? Has she seen the palm (Jubaca Spectabilis) with which it is proposed to plant four equidistant rows in Deakin-avenue, and, if so, has she seen it in its proper climatic zone and can she possibly describe it as lacking in grace or beauty? I am greatly afraid from the tone of her remarks that her knowledge of palms beyond the few representatives of the order to be seen here, and the coddled specimens further south, is painfully limited. (Mildura Cultivator, July 16, 1913, see here)  

The editor of the Mildura Cultivator made this comment at the end of the second letter - Our correspondent has the courage of his opinion and a good amount of solid reasoning on his side, but he will not get many supporters of the proposal to remove the Deakin-avenue gums.

Date Palms at Mildura, c. 1908.

State Library of Victoria image H90.140/1066

There were, however, palms in other locations in Mildura, in fact in 1920, the Mildura Council decreed that they must be planted. L. Jacob wrote to the Council asking permission to remove pepper trees from his block on the corner of 11th Street and Benetook Avenue. - Permission granted, provided palms were planted in the breaks. (Mildura Telegraph, February 6, 1920, see here) . 

The issue came before the Council again, the next year - 

Street Trees -  Council Control of Private Planting. Are Palms a nuisance? The question of citizens planting palms in front of their residences is to be discussed by the Mildura Borough Council, as it is considered that some uniform plan should be adopted, so as to make the avenues more attractive. At present different species of palms might be planted in the avenues, and detract from the attractiveness of the thoroughfares. Certain kinds of palms do not grow well in Mildura, and some adapt themselves to the climate excellently.

At Thursday night's meeting of the Mildura Borough Council a letter was received from Mr. A. F. Brown, asking permission to plant palms in front of his residence in Lime Avenue. Cr. R. M. Black said that some regular plan should be carried out with the planting of palms. Other councillors inquired whether the palms were to be planted right along the avenue, and were answered in the negative.

Cr. J. W. Washington pointed out that Mr. Brown was doing his bit to beautify the street. Others would not do their share, and perhaps the borough could not afford to plant the avenue with palms at the present juncture. The Town Clerk said the gardener had a number of palms available at the recreation reserve, which he was holding for extensive planting. Cr. Henderson submitted that the council should refer the matter to the Parks and Gardens Committee; Cr. Black said that it was a policy matter: other councillors asserted that the fan-palm was a nuisance and dangerous in town, and so the matter was deferred until a further meeting could consider it. (Sunraysia Daily, March 15, 1921, see here)

Deakin Avenue, Mildura, c. 1940s.

Photographer: Murray Views. State Library of Victoria image H2017.26/542/8

In 1920, there was this report about street trees, which notes that the Palm Trees in Mildura were 30 years old, hence planted around 1890 -  

Mildura has many imposing lines of trees, some of them far from the business centre; but the most strikingly picturesque are the stately rows of palms that the pioneers planted so generously and tended so religiously. Yanco, modelled in so many of its features upon Mildura, has some promising avenues of baby palms; but Mildura's are twenty to thirty years old, and, having found a congenial soil, they have come to a noble maturity. (Mildura Cultivator, June 5, 1920, see here)

Five years later in 1925, there was this report on the trees in Mildura's main street,  Deakin Avenue -

Mildura streets were laid out at right angles with a chief boulevard, Deakin avenue, 13 miles in length and 200 feet wide, admitting of ornamental tree and palm planting, which has been carried out by the early founders. Ample reserves were set aside by Chaffey brothers for churches, hall, reading rooms, schools, parks, gardens and the like. (Sporting Globe, May 13, 1925, see here)

A month later was this report on the same issue - trees in Deakin Avenue in the section between Eleventh and Twelfth Streets. The council desired some months ago to plant this particular section with date palms, owing to the excessively salty soil having killed the gum trees which had been placed there. (Sunraysia Daily, June 26, 1925, see here)

The Gardens, Deakin Avenue, Mildura, c. 1940s, perhaps showing some of the 424 trees of all varieties planted in 1934. 

Photographer: Rose Stereograph Co. State Library of Victoria image H32492/6933

In 1934, there were two reports of landscaping work on Deakin Avenue and we learn why Deakin Avenue was so wide and thus ideal for tree planting -

Deakin Avenue Plantation.  In the designing of Mildura, the Chaffey brothers made ample provision for the future needs of the district by providing wide roads. Deakin Avenue was designed for an electric tramway to serve the immediate settlement. With the introduction of motor transportation, that need does not now exist. But the Chaffey brothers gave Mildura a boulevard which is outstanding. The beauty of that road, with its centre plantation of trees and gardens, is to be extended by the work that is now in progress from Fourteenth Street toward Seventeenth Street. The Mildura Shire Council controls that section, which is being laid out in small plantations. It is proposed to plant 424 trees, which will include sugar gums, palms, jacarandas, umbrella cedars and Cape chestnuts. The completion will be a further step towards the ideal of an avenue of trees extending from Red Cliffs to Curlwaa bridge. (Sunraysia Daily, May 28, 1934, see here)

Work On Gardens. The following work was reported by the parks and gardens committee of the Mildura City Council last night: Fences were removed in Deakin Avenue on the sections of the central plantations from Eighth Street to Ninth Street, and a rockery was constructed around the bandstand. The section from Twelfth to Thirteenth Streets was fenced, and palms and wattles were planted. Palms and wattles were planted in the centre of Orange Avenue from Ninth to Eleventh Streets, and missing trees on the river frontage park were replaced with others. A section in Deakin Avenue, opposite "Sunraysia Daily" office, was planted with selected shrubs, and new beds were laid out at the railway reserve. (Sunraysia Daily, September 14, 1934, see here)

This 1938 report is not about Palm Trees, as such, but rather the name of Palm Avenue - 
A suggestion that Palm avenue, in which the late W. B. Chaffey lived, should be called Chaffey avenue was made yesterday by the town clerk (Mr T. J. Nihill) at a meeting of the works committee of the city council. He said that the proposal had been made by a visiting bowler, who had commented upon the failure of the council to name one of the principal thoroughfares after the city's founder. The suggestion was regarded favourably by councillors, and it was decided to investigate the matter at a later date. (The Argus, May 12, 1938, see here)

In 1951, the Mildura Cultivator reported on pioneer Palm Tree planters -
Pioneer who grew palms. The death on Tuesday of Mrs Amelia Ann Mahy at her home in Deakin Avenue severed another link with the history of the settlement of Mildura. She was the wife of Mr T. J. Mahy. Mr and Mrs Mahy came to Mildura in 1891 and purchased land on Morpung Avenue. They planted fruit trees, and at the same time beautified the avenue with a line of palm trees. Ten years later, Mr and Mrs Mahy and family returned to their homeland in Guernsey Channel Island where his people had bred stud Guernsey cattle for export to America for generations. In 1911, the family returned to Mildura and took up land on Deakin Avenue. Mrs Mahy always had an active interest in production of dried fruits and citrus. She is survived by her husband two sons and two daughters. (Sunraysia Daily, December 27, 1951, see here)

Palm Trees at the Grand Hotel, Mildura, c. 1960s.

The Grand Hotel is on the corner of Langtree Avenue and Seventh Street.

Photographer: Rose Stereograph Co. State Library of Victoria image H32492/381

Footnote

(1) Victorian Places https://www.victorianplaces.com.au/mildura

The Palm Trees of Elm Avenue, Elsternwick

Elm Avenue in Elsternwick runs from the Nepean Highway to the Sandringham railway line. It was part of the Garden Vale Estate subdivision, first sold in 1882. (1)

The Highway end of Elm Avenue now has the big car yards on both sides.  In 1955 there were eleven residences on the north side of the Avenue, there are now four; there were five residences on the south side, plus the Garden Vale Tennis Club; there is now only one, the Repton Court Flats. Repton Court Flats border Marmara Drive, named presumably for George Marmaras listed in the 1955 Sands and McDougall Directory of Victoria (see below).  If it wasn't named for George Marmaras, then it is very much a coincidence. (2) Marmara Drive was established as a private road around 1962. (3)

Elm Avenue residents in 1955

Image: Sands & McDougall's Directory of Victoria, 1955

 (on-line at the State Library of Victoria)

Also listed in the 1955 Sands and McDougall is Mr Robert Smith at No. 8 Elm Avenue. In January 1953, his son Daryl was bitten by a snake and this misadventure was reported in The Herald -

Snake or rat bite - A snake or a large rat bit a 5-year-old boy while he was playing in Elm Avenue, Elsternwick, today. The boy, Daryl Smith, said he thought a rat had attacked him, but doctors at Elsternwick and the Alfred Hospital, believe two punctures on his left thigh were made by a snake. They gave him a snake serum injection.

Daryl's home is near a railway line and tennis courts fringed by long grass. He and other children were sitting on the ground near a palm outside his house when he was bitten.

Daryl's father, Mr R. W. Smith, said his son came home crying and complained of a "stinging pain" in his left thigh. "The boy said he thought a rat had bitten him, but a local doctor told me he was almost certain the punctures were made by a snake," Mr Smith said. "He advised me to rush him to Alfred Hospital. We had him there in about 15 minutes. By that time, Daryl had stopped crying and said he could not feel any pain." (4)

The article mentions that young Daryl and his friends were sitting near a Palm Tree. This Palm Tree was one of twenty which once lined Elm Avenue. They were removed in December 1953, nearly a year after young Daryl was bitten by the snake

The twenty Palm Trees in Elm Avenue are clearly seen in this 1949 aerial (5)

The Repton Court Flats are next to the railway line on the top right; the Palm Tree in their front garden is still there. You can see the Garden Vale Tennis Club courts (the little dots are people playing tennis) on the right. 

Title: Part of Nepean Highway, from Glenhuntly Rd. to Bay St., 1949.  

Photographer: Aerial Survey of Victoria, published by the Department of Lands and Survey.

State Library of Victoria- see the full image here https://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/358991

The Herald, December 19, 1953 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article245028856

The Herald had this report of the removal of the Palms, under the headline - Elsternwick Protest on Tree "War" - 

Residents of Elm Avenue, Elsternwick, protested today to the Caulfield Council when workmen began removing 20 palm trees from their street. 

"There is no reason for it. The council is spoiling our beautiful street," Mrs R. Webb said. "I rang the council to protest but they said the trees were interfering with power and telephone lines and had to come out. The trees will be replaced with saplings but that does not help." Another resident, Mr P. Stevens, said, "If the council does not stop this, we will put them out at the next election."

A council employe [sic] said "The trees are poisonous and interfere with over-head wires. A council employe who was trimming the trees and was cut by a palm spike could not work for 11 months," he said. (4)

And that was the end of the Elm Avenue Palm Trees.

Footnotes

(1) Plan of the Garden Vale Estate, Elsternwick, 1882 - see plan at the State Library of Victoria  here https://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/161743

(2) Sands & McDougall's Directory of Victoria, 1955 (Sands & McDougall P/L, 1955)

(3) Marmara Drive does not appear  in the 1960 Sands & McDougall Directory,  but is in the 1965 Directory. Also I found the following advertisement in The Age of  May 19 1962, advertising brand new individual villa homes in Marmara Drive -

The Age, May 19 1962, p. 39 from Newspapers.com

In The Age from March 18, 1967, No. 2 Marmara Drive is advertised as being 3-years old and in a private court.

The Age, March 18, 1967, p. 42. from Newspapers.com

(4) The Herald, January 17, 1953, see here.

(5) To say I was excited to find this photograph and be able to identify Elm Avenue and then find the Palm Trees are shown so clearly, is an understatement!

(6) The Herald, December 14, 1953, see here.