Peter O'Brien chaired today's club meeting at Gilberts. Guests included member partner, Gary Ramage, and our guest speaker, Anne Kilpatrick from the Glen Eira Historical Society.CLUB ANNOUNCEMENTS
- Breakfast orders at Gilberts - a gentle reminder to all club members. When registering to attend a club meeting on the club website and placing an order for breakfast - please be aware Gilberts will make up the order as requested and will require payment regardless of whether the member attends or not.
- Happy Birthday wishes to Larry Green.
- Rosters for next week's club meeting and market attendance were announced.
GUEST SPEAKER - Anne Kilpatrick from Glen Eira Historical Society - The Treasures of Bentleigh Heritage
We were privileged to hear Anne Kilpatrick talk about some of the historical aspects of Bentleigh and in particular the history of some of the buildings and houses within the area that still stand - many that most people would drive past without a moments notice and not appreciate their history and the times they represent. For a short period on Wednesday morning Anne brought their history to life.
Glen Eira Historical Society was established in 1972 (originally the Caulfield Historical Society) with the purpose to preserve Glen Eira's history through collections and housing of items, performing public talks, issuing newsletters and books, and holding exhibitions. Anne has been involved with the Society for the past 10 years following her retirement. She displayed the original map of the area that was sold by the Crown to Henry Dendy as a Special Survey in 1841 - a huge area that extended from the bay and bordered by North Road, East Boundary Road, and South Road. Further details of the Special Survey are available on the State Library website. At the time, the land was not considered valuable, however, history shows it was indeed very valuable and suitable for market gardens and poultry farms. Over time, the land was subdivided and sold off in plots. Anne displayed three separate properties that still stand, and spoke of their history - the original and subsequent owners, and the unique features of each building representing current styles of the time. Of particular interest was Centre Arcade in Centre Road, Bentleigh that was built in 1959, and which remains unchanged and still in tact with the original interiors and flooring. It was architect designed for the Russo family, and is still owned by the family. It was built to the current 20th century international style of the time with an aluminum frame which was also used to build the original Melbourne Myer Music Bowl in the Alexander Gardens around the same time.
Anne spoke of future work planned by the Society that includes work on the Bentleigh War Memorial and completing a contemporary heritage review for some areas within Glen Eira council. Anne finished with information about the closure of the Box Cottage Museum in Joyce Park - advising an opening will be held on Sunday 25/10, with the final opening on Sunday 29/11. Thank you Anne for your most wonderful presentation - it truly brought history to life.
FUTURE EVENTS
- Next Week's meeting on Wednesday 21/10 - ARH - Lift the Lid - Mental Health month with guest speaker, Cassidy Connor, from Headspace.. Club members are encouraged to wear a hat. Prizes will be awarded for the most interesting and colourful hats.
- Evening fellowship dinner at Cilantro on Thursday 26/11. Details will be displayed on the club website under Events.
President Neville closed the meeting - Create Lasting Impact.
