This is an extract from the leaflet of the same name, put out
by WHS for the Australian Bicentennary in 1988.
- Commence at Glen Waverley library, at the corner of
Kingsway and Bogong Avenue, Glen Waverley. Directory of
historic markers (unveiled 1984). Plaque in plaza marking
site of former Cook family cottage (unveiled Australia
Day 1988).
- Gold Discoveries, 1893. Marker 17: Springvale
Road, west side, north of High Street Road). Gold was
first discovered near the Mountain View Hotel by a digger
named James Bridge. Phillip Holland and his sons obtained
gold from the reef near the hotel. The Mountain View
Hotel, now modernised, has functioned since 1877.
- First European Settlers, 1839. Marker 2: High
Street Road, south side, west of Dandenong Creek, near
entrance to Napier Park. Thomas Napier, a skilled
builder, became a squatter near the Dandenong Creek in
1839.
- Mount View State School is built on land which was
previously Waverley common land and was purchased by
Peter Gallagher c 1866.
- The Police Academy (south west corner of Waverley
and View Mount roads). Originally Corpus Christi Roman
Catholic Seminary, the foundation stone was laid by
Archbishop Mannix in 1954. Acquired for the Victoria
Police in 1972 at a cost of $2,232,000 with a further
$403,000 spent adapting it for police use. On the west
side of Lum Road, just south of Waverley Road, is a
quarry used to obtain stone by the Begg Brothers. Stone
from here was used to build St Matthew's Anglican Church,
Mulgrave.
- Jells Park (east end of Waverley Road). Now an
MMBW Park; the land was first settled by Joseph Jell in
1849.
- The Mulgrave State School (optional visit). Marker
13: Wellington Road, north side, east of Garnett Road.
Mulgrave State School was built on two hectares (five
acres) close to the Dandenong Creek in 1901. This was the
third school in the area. The first commenced in 1861, it
was close to St Matthew's, corner Wellington and
Springvale Roads. In 1879 a small weatherboard cottage on
the south side of Wellington Road was leased and used as
a school.
- Automobile Club of Victoria Car Rally, 1905.
Marker 19: Ferntree Gully Road, north side, east of Jells
Road. At least 50 cars and motorcycles took part in the
rally on the testing slope of Wheelers Hill. The
steepness of this hill can be seen today although it has
been cut down and widened.
- The Cheshire Cheese Hotel, 1864. Marker 7:
Ferntree Gully Road, north side, west of Lum Road. This
hotel was built from local sandstone and later became
known as the Temperance Hotel. Lum Road was named after
the family who built their wattle-and-daub home there.
Mulgrave
Presbyterian Church, 1891. Marker 16: Ferntree Gully
Road, north side, west of Lum Road. The old church has
been moved back twice because of a road widening and now
forms a part of a modern complex.
- Glen Waverley Mechanics Institute. Marker 22:
Springvale Road, west side, south of Waverley Road. After
much community enthusiasm and physical effort, a
recreation reserve was opened in 1908 and a Mechanics
Institute Hall in 1909. Two front rooms were added in
1926 but the whole building was destroyed by fire in 1956
when it was being used as a temporary school room.
Memorial
Cenotaph and Gates. Outside central reserve,
Springvale Road. Dedicated to the memory of those who
made the supreme sacrifice during the wars since 1914,
and to all who served their country. The pine tree is a
direct descendant of the Lone Pine at Gallipoli.
St Leonard's Roman Catholic Church, original
site 1913. Marker 23: Springvale Road, west side, south
of Waverley Road. Built in 1913, the building was later
moved in 1956, north, along Springvale Road to the site
of the new St Leonard's centre.
- The Blacksmith's Forge, Black Flat, 1885. Marker
15: Springvale Road, east side, south of Waverley Road.
Glen
Waverley State School, 1880. Marker 14: Waverley
Road, north east corner with Springvale Road. The first
school was held in the Wesleyan Chapel (stop 12) which
later became a state school. The new brick school with
residence was built on this corner in 1880 and this
building can still be seen. On the opposite corner was
the site of an early General Store and Post Office.
- The Wesleyan Church, Black Flat, and Church School,
1868. Marker 9: Waverley Road, south side, west of
Springvale Road, near the Bowling Club. The small
weatherboard chapel built here in 1868 was the focus of
community life and worship for many years until a new
church was built in Springvale Road, at the of corner
Kingsway in 1962.
- The Booroorung People. Marker 1: Waverley Road,
north side, west of Montague Street. A tribute to the
nomadic aboriginals, who were the original inhabitants.
Acknowledges the original inhabitants of the current City
of Monash - the Woi wurrung and Bunurong peoples
Scotchman's
Creek. Further West along Waverley Road. A very
pleasant walkway has been created along one of the creeks
which were so important to our early pioneers.
- Old Shire Offices, Notting Hill, 1921. Marker 24:
Ferntree Gully Road, south side, west of Blackburn Road.
The foundation stone was laid in 1920 (the cost of the
building was 1200 pound) and the offices were in use
until 1955 when the growth of population demanded new
premises in a central position in Waverley.
- Town Common, Waverley Road, 1861. Marker 6:
Forster Road, west side, corner of Waverley Road. In
addition to their own small farms the people looked to
common land to provide extra grazing for their working
animals. However, in the 1870s these blocks were sold and
John Forster obtained the title to the common land at the
corner Waverley and Forster Roads.
- Mount Waverley State School, 1906 (optional
visit). Marker 21: Park Lane, west side, south of William
Street. In 1905, on a two acre site donated by residents,
the Education Department built a school. A new room was
added in 1912 and from 1953 the population increased
until there were 1141 children on the roll in 1968.
The
concrete roads around the area were constructed in 1929
for the Glen Alvie Estate, but the Great Depression
stopped further development and no houses were built
until 1946.
Just west of Park Lane in Waverley Road you will pass
a blue spruce which was planted by the late councillor
John Marriot on Arbor Day 1921. The large gum tree is
over 75 years old. The mail man from Oakleigh threw mail
out at this spot.
- Scotchman's Creek Run, 1840. Marker 3: Huntingdale
Rd, east side, south of Waverley Road. John McMillan
leased, in January 1940, five square miles of land around
Scotchman's Creek. This was later sold to a Dutchman
named Van Amstel.
Along Power Avenue you will see the
first housing commission homes built on the Jordanville
Estate in the 1950s.
- Waverley's Bicentennial Project: Homes for the Elderly in
Elizabeth Street
Toll Gates, 1868. Marker 10:
High Street Road, south side, east of Warrigal Road. The
local Road Board was given a share of tolls from the
district and much of this was spent in collecting and
burning dead trees and logs which cluttered the tracks.
Travellers tried to evade the toll gates by finding
tracks around them. In 1874 an Act of Parliament decreed
the gradual phasing out of all toll gates and those in
High Street Road and Waverley Road were dismantled in
1876.
On left past Vannam Drive is Ashwood College, an area
originally farmed by John Jordan, first president of the
Shire of Mulgrave.
On the right at the corner of High Street Road and
Cleveland Road are the Robin Boyd-designed
reinforced concrete buildings which were originally built
in 1954 as a supermarket and dwelling. Their unique
design echoes the former Nissen huts at the now
demolished Holmesglen Migrant Hostel.
- St Stephen's Church and Common School, 1865.
Marker 8: High Street Road, north side, west of Alice
Street. This was the first church built in Waverley and
is now the oldest standing church building in Waverley.
It is built from hand-made bricks and contains a memorial
window (1914-1918). This now known as St Stephens &
St Mary following the incorporation of the St Mary's
Parish.
- "Waverley", 1854. Marker 4: in reserve
at south-east corner of Stephensons and High Street
Roads. Dr Silverman, a Russian by birth, bought land at
this corner for 760 pound. He later surveyed and
subdivided his property, calling it Waverley.
- Tait's Post Office and Store, Mt Waverley, 1905
(optional visit). Marker 20: Stephensons Road, east side,
in Mount Waverley Shopping Centre. In 1905 on a trial
basis, a mail bag was taken from Mrs Tait's store each
Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Her two youngest
daughters kept the store going until 1944 when the first
brick shop was built.
- Mount Waverley Reservoir, built 1926. On the south
side of High Street Road. The trees adjacent to the
footpath were planted in memory of First World War
soldiers.
Mount Waverley Uniting Church
(previously Methodist church), established 1887. The
first building was destroyed by fire in 1942.
Horticultural Hall, 1899. Marker 18: High
Street Road, south side, corner Stewart Street. Built for
the staging of horticultural shows, it became a focus for
community life - concerts, dances, meetings, etc. Known
locally as "Horty Hall".
- Sir Redmond Barry's Country Estate, Syndal. Marker
11: High Street Road, north side, west of Lawrence Road.
From July 1869, Sir Redmond Barry planted fruit trees and
vegetables on his estate thus becoming one of the pioneer
orchardists in the area. The name "Syndal",
meaning sunny dale, was another of the legacies he left
to Waverley.
- Tally Ho Hotel and Race Track, 1877. Marker 12:
Highbury Road, south west, corner Blackburn Road. In 1871
a public house was opened next to the store on this
corner and was named the Tally Ho Hotel in 1877. In 1890
the new owner expanded the hotel's fruit garden into 10
acres of prime orchard. A race track was built near the
hotel in 1898 and 2000 people arrived for the carnival in
1899.
- On the fringes of Waverley - East Burwood State School.
North side of Highbury Road, east of Blackburn Road.
Children from the other side of the road in Waverley were
educated here.
Tally Ho Boys Farm was established by
the Central Methodist Mission in 1908. The land was
purchased from the Hoadley family. Many people came to
work here and later settled in Waverley.
Return to city offices which were opened in 1984. The first
offices, which are adjacent to the present site, were built for
the Shire of Mulgrave in 1955 and are now used by the Sheriff of
Victoria.