Removal of Palm Trees at Sloss Street Reserve Melbourne

In August 1934, The Age published this scathing report on the removal of trees, including Palm Trees, along part of St Kilda Road, at  Sloss Street. The removal of these trees was considered especially egregious as Victoria was about to celebrate its Centenary and Prince Henry, the  Duke of Gloucester, was visiting the State in connection to these celebrations. St Kilda Road was one of Melbourne's premier boulevards and would have been traversed by the Duke and many considered the once hidden buildings in Sloss Street were unattractive.

Sloss Street no longer exists - it was named after a City of South Melbourne councillor, John Sloss and was closed in 1961 to allow construction of the Victorian Arts Centre. (1)

 You can see Sloss Street at the top of this map, running parallel to St Kilda Road, and you can also see the tree reserve, the subject of this article. 

Collins' Melbourne and suburban street directory, 1922

State Library of Victoria https://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/288556

The Tree-felling Orgy. St. Kilda-road Defacement. A Regrettable Misunderstanding. 

Move to Have Trees and Palms Replanted.

Strong criticism is likely to be expressed at to-day's quarterly meeting of the City Council with regard to the tree-felling orgy in which the parks and gardens committee has been freely indulging at the St. Kilda-road - Sloss-street reserve. The parks and gardens committee met yesterday, but this very contentious subject was "merely mentioned." It will be "mentioned" again at to-day's meeting - but without the gentle modification that is implied by the "merely." Many members of the City Council yesterday protested that when they voted for the cleaning up of this reserve they had no idea that so many beautiful trees and palms would be ruthlessly sacrificed. Indeed, the mention of tree felling was cunningly omitted from the memorandum submitted by the parks and gardens committee to the City Council when this "beautification" scheme was recommended. The committee's memorandum referred to the cutting down of a mound. There was nothing about the cutting down of trees and palms. So members of the council will seek an explanation from the chairman of this committee (Alderman Stapley) about the whole matter.

Criticism has become so strong that it was proposed yesterday by leading members of the council that the only way to repair the artistic damage thus done to this reserve is to replant trees and palms on the flattened reserve. This course will be proposed by a member of the council at to-day's meeting, and the proposal may be agreed to.

The most regrettable part of the whole business is that the position has been misunderstood, even by members of the parks and gardens committee, and there is a strong feeling that the City Council was actually misled by the diplomatically worded memorandum which accompanied the recommendation concerning the "beautification" plan for this reserve.

The bareness of the reserve, now that the trees have been removed, is sufficient to make anyone, even only remotely threatened with a sense of beauty blink. Instead of lovely trees and stately palms there is a nerve-shattering vista of a conglomeration of structures which would easily earn special awards in an ugly buildings competition. There they stand on Crown land in the municipality of South Melbourne, in all their drab unattractiveness without a tree to decently shield their naked ugliness. And the parks and gardens committee calls this "beautification." No wonder the City Council will demand the replanting of trees and palms at to-day's meeting. 

Silence is the strongest weapon of the curator of the City Council's parks and gardens (Mr. J. Smith) in refuting the arguments of his critics, but yesterday he said that all he wanted was time. That requirement is just what cannot be conceded to him. The Centenary celebrations will be commenced in a very few weeks from now, and what ever is to be done to remedy this regrettable disfigurement at such a time of the famous St. Kilda-road avenue must be done quickly. (2)

Sloss Street

The following images all referred to the ugliness of Sloss Street

Caption: Today's Picture Of The "Perfect" Sloss Street View

"Let Trees Grow as God Intended," will be the request of the Victorian Town  Planning  Association, when it forms a deputation to the City Council garden committee. The use of the axe in the plantation which separated St Kilda Road from Sloss Street, South Melbourne, will probably be criticised. In this picture, the view unsightly buildings, which was objected to when the work began, is now nearly complete. The 15 trees which were removed concealed this area from beautiful St. Kilda Road.

The Herald, August 22, 1934 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article243104678

Caption: "The Wreckers" in Sloss Street.

Progress on the "beautification" of the St. Kilda Road plantation. This work caused a great public outcry. For illustrations of the extent to which this scheme has spoiled the beauty of the city's approach, see Back Page.

The Herald, October 4, 1934 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article243060884 

Caption: The Duke will see Sloss Street.

Those responsible for tearing down the plantation between St. Kilda Road and Sloss Street said the view of unsightly buildings would be veiled when the trees were in leaf. The top picture shows the

"beautification" scheme practically complete, but the leafy trees are unequal to the task of hiding the eyesore. Beneath, Burns statue (seen also above) set in the "spinney" which originally extended for the whole distance.

The Herald, October 4, 1934 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article243061026

Footnotes

(1) This site - Arts Centre Melbourne, see here, gave me the information about Cr Sloss and the date of closure, however it incorrectly states that  Sloss Street linked Sturt Street to Grant Street, it clearly did not; John Sloss obituary - Emerald Hill Record, June 22, 1918, see here; 

(2) The Age, August 9, 1934, see here.

The Palm Tree in the Parliament House Gardens Melbourne

In September 1933, the Sun News-Pictorial published this blurry photo with the following caption-
This Giant Palm Tree which had a girth of 11 feet, was uprooted and cut up for removal from Parliament House gardens yesterday. The gardens will be remodelled.

'

Sun News-Pictorial, September 12, 1933 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article277060759

So, clearly the photograph tells us nothing, but it is interesting that its removal was deemed to be news-worthy; however I have found photographs of this Palm Tree.

A young Palm Trees, peeking over the fence and the hedge

Parliament House, looking up Spring Street, dated c. 1900-1925. 

Photographer: S.J. Jones. 

State Library of Victoria image H82.43/108  https://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/76742 

Elevated view of the Palm Tree and garden

Federal Parliament House, 1923-1925. Photographer: C.M.H. 

State Library of Victoria image H2010.18/4 https://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/68769 

The Palm Tree and gardens.

Parliament House, Melbourne, c. 1920s - 1933. Photographer: Carl Reinhold Hartmann. 

State Library of Victoria image  H2009.143/227 https://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/108065 

The Parliament House Garden, without the Palm Tree and the hedge, in 1942.

Locations and Buildings in Melbourne, 1942. No photographer listed. 

State Library of Victoria image H2017.275/89 https://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/4218202

Source

• The Sun News-Pictorial, September 12, 1933, see here

Honor Your Uncle The Palm by George Maxwell

The January 28, 1950 issue of  the Sun News-Pictorial, published this tribute to Palm Trees and the Date fruit, written by George Maxwell (of whom I can find no other information.) 

Honor Your Uncle The Palm

Those succulent looking dates, protected by a cellophane wrapper, are something more than just an after-dinner munch - they serve as bread to thousands of our Asian neighbors, and have a legendary history as old as time itself. 

The dish had stayed in the middle of the table all through dinner. Now, as I sat back and reached for my cigarettes, my host pushed it over and said, “Have one.”
"Those look as though they might have been dates,” I said. "What are they, Bob”?
"They are dates - ginned dates.”
"Ginned dates, eh?" I exclaimed.
"That’s a new one. I thought dates were only good for throwing into puddings and things."
"That’s all you know about dates," my host replied.

I confess it was, almost, but I know more now. I know, for instance, that dates are as old as creation. Legend claims that some time before the apple episode, Adam cut his hair and nails and buried the 

cuttings in a corner of the Garden of Eden. A tree loaded with ripe dates immediately grew on the 
spot. Adam fell prostrate with surprise and adoration. Whereupon, the Angel Gabriel appeared and designated the fruit as Adam’s future food. "You were created of the same material as this tree which shall nourish you," the Angel said.

The date palm is almost a sacred institution to the Arab. It is the chief means of existence for hundreds of thousands of the Semitic race. Nomadic tribes in the deserts of Arabia have been known to subsist for weeks at a time on nothing but dates, washed down with water or milk. In many parts of Irak, dates are used to an even greater extent than bread and potatoes.

The Prophet Mohammed during his lifetime consecrated the palm with these words: "There is among the trees one tree which is blessed. It is the palm. Honor your Uncle the palm. It resembles man by its upstanding bearing, by its separation into two sexes, and by its necessity for the pollination of the female. If its head is cut off, like man it dies. If its heart is exposed to too great a strain, it perishes. If its limbs are cut off, it cannot grow others in the same place. It is covered with a fibre analagous to the hair of man."

In the Bible, the date palm is mentioned as being used only for ornamental purposes. This is because the climate of Palestine is not conducive to the ripening of the fruit. It was very prominent in all the carvings that covered the walls of Solomon's temple. A palm sheltered the stable in which Mary gave birth to the Christ Child. Later, when Jesus entered Jerusalem on that memorable Sunday, He carried a date palm in His hand as a sign of authority.

The foremost appeal to mankind has been more mundane than ethereal. The date contains a big percentage of carbohydrates, fats, salts and proteins. Dates have a calorific value of 283, compared 
with 194 for mutton, and it is no mystery that they have become a most popular food the world over.

Irak, which produces nearly 80 per cent. of the world date crop of 350,000 tons, exports 120,000 tons annually. Curiously, the main port of Irak, Basra, is only a few miles from what is believed to be the site of the Garden of Eden - the legendary birthplace of the date. The Irak groves extend about 120 miles inland along the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates, to a depth of one to three miles. The whole area is pierced by over seventy canals averaging two miles in length, 120 feet in width and 15 feet in depth. These canals are used exclusively for irrigation and transport. Irrigation is carried out almost entirely by tidal action, the impact of the sea tides causing the river to rise and fill the inland arteries with fresh water twice a day.

Iraq. River scenes on the Euphrates taken at Hilla. Sun rays through a palm grove, 1932. 

Photographer: American Colony (Jerusalem). Photo Department. 

Image has been cropped see original here Library of Congress https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2019706905/

An interesting anomaly of the date trade is that countries like Algeria and Tunisia in North Africa, which themselves produce and export dates, import large quantities of the Irak product. The reason for this is that Basra dates keep in perfect condition in their containers for periods as long as twelve months. The North African climate being insufficiently hot and moist to dry the dates on the trees before picking, the Tunisians and the Algerians have to shin up their palms like telephone linesmen and cut their crops while they are still fresh. Such dates keep only for a short period of weeks before they turn sour and ferment.

You’ve been wondering, of course, how to prepare ginned dates. Well, here’s the recipe. Put one pound of whole dates, with stones, in a jar or pickle bottle. Add gin, whisky and rum. Cork the bottle or jar for three weeks until well matured. Then uncork and hoe in. Simple? Yes, but very delicious.

Source

The Sun News-Pictorial, January 28, 1950, see here

Royal Society of Victoria Palm Tree

In June 1925, the Palm Tree in the reserve surrounding the Royal Society of Victoria building in Exhibition Street was removed, along with the other trees. 

The Argus, had this interesting article on the tree removals -

More Trees Destroyed. Clearing Royal Society Reserve.

Men are busy removing the trees that surround the Royal Society of Victoria's building, at the intersection of Exhibition street and Victoria street. The building is in a large triangular reserve and it is stated, it is intended to remove all the trees and replace them with lawns. For a long time the reserve has needed cleaning up, for some beautiful trees, notably one palm, have been hidden by ugly, misshapen trees. The reason for removing all the trees, however, is hard to understand. No one could claim that the Royal Society's building, which will be exposed, has a beauty that justifies conspicuousness. The trees also served to hide, or at least to make less noticeable, the many undesirable buildings that face the reserve. The trees partly hid these buildings from the Exhibition Gardens, and from Victoria street; now the view of them will be uninterrupted. The caretaker's cottage on the reserve, surrounded by an ugly paling fence, will also be disclosed.

The work of removing the trees was begun at the end of last week, and a bonfire of trees was burning last night.

I don't have a photograph of the Palm Tree, but the image immediately below, from 1875, shows some of the vegetation surrounding the building, which clearly The Argus, did not think was very attractive. The Royal Society building was opened in 1859 and constructed of red brick which was rendered in 1880.

The Royal Society of Victoria building, in 1875.

Detail of Views from the Gaelic Church, Rathdown Street, 1875. Photographer: Charles Nettleton. 

State Library of Victoria image H88.22/23. https://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/132488

The Royal Society of Victoria building in 1933, eight years after the removal of the 

Palm and other trees. 

Royal Society of Victoria, 1933. Photographer: John Kinmont Moir.

State Library of Victoria image H4890

What is interesting is the headline of the article - More Trees Destroyed. Clearing Royal Society Reserve. The removal of trees in the City, was apparently an on-going and news-worthy matter; for good reason, as you can see how bare the Royal Society Reserve looked in 1933.

Sources

• Article is from The Argus, June 24, 1925, see here.
• The History of the Royal Society of Victoria building is from their website - https://www.rsv.org.au/