Farmers
Rate books show James Cousens’ house and land* occupied by William Redmond from 1867-70; farmer Thomas Brown from 1874-77; and farmer Andrew Kane/Keane from 1878-82. (* The location is given variously as Whitehorse Road, Koonung Creek and Springfield. James is referred to as James Cousins, Joseph Cousins, Joseph Cousens and Cousins. In 1882 the owner is listed as Mrs Cousins.)
Tom Petty, a Doncaster fruit-grower; Thomas Lawford, a Nunawading fruit-grower; and David Abbott, gentleman of Picnic Point, Brighton, purchased approximately 162 acres, being part of Crown sections 69 and 70 on 7 March 1884. The holding was sold to Thomas Richard Burrowes Morton, a Collins Street accountant, in 1886. Thomas Morton joined the Nunawading council in 1888 and was president three times in an association lasting more than 30 years. He lived at Clonmore, Blackburn: his daughter was born there in 1893 and he died there in 1923.
Tom Petty, a Doncaster fruit-grower; Thomas Lawford, a Nunawading fruit-grower; and David Abbott, gentleman of Picnic Point, Brighton, purchased approximately 162 acres, being part of Crown sections 69 and 70 on 7 March 1884. The holding was sold to Thomas Richard Burrowes Morton, a Collins Street accountant, in 1886. Thomas Morton joined the Nunawading council in 1888 and was president three times in an association lasting more than 30 years. He lived at Clonmore, Blackburn: his daughter was born there in 1893 and he died there in 1923.
Land boomers
Interestingly, Thomas Richard Burrowes Morton sold his land to the Freehold Investment and Banking Company of Australia on 14 July 1892, while the company was in liquidation.
The Freehold Investment Company was one of a complicated network established by Matthew Davies MLA. He was chairman of the 1887 Royal Commission into banking operations, which recommended that banks be allowed to buy and sell property. The other directors were Joseph Bartlett Davies, who was managing director and Matthew Davies’ brother; James Balfour MLC; and John Moodie.
By 1892 Victoria’s 1888 land boom was crashing. The Freehold Investment Company went into voluntary liquidation in February 1892. The Voluntary Liquidation Act 1891 (Vic) protected many companies from court scrutiny. Liquidators were often company directors and officials, and section 154 of the Insolvency Act 1890 (Vic) allowed them to make secret agreements with their creditors.
There was public uproar at information that did emerge. The Freehold Investment Company had formed subsidiary companies, such as the Blackburn & Tunstall Property Co Ltd, to buy its properties at inflated prices; it manufactured profits for balance sheets without receiving the full payment. While making losses the company took money from deposits and continued to pay an 8% dividend to shareholders, who were predominantly the directors.
Criticism was also levelled at the liquidators’ fee of £1000 each per annum during the first year of liquidation. One of the liquidators was Thomas Richard Burrowes Morton who, in addition to his civic duties at Nunawading, had been the company secretary of the Freehold Investment Company. He resigned as liquidator in December 1892.
The Freehold Investment Company was one of a complicated network established by Matthew Davies MLA. He was chairman of the 1887 Royal Commission into banking operations, which recommended that banks be allowed to buy and sell property. The other directors were Joseph Bartlett Davies, who was managing director and Matthew Davies’ brother; James Balfour MLC; and John Moodie.
By 1892 Victoria’s 1888 land boom was crashing. The Freehold Investment Company went into voluntary liquidation in February 1892. The Voluntary Liquidation Act 1891 (Vic) protected many companies from court scrutiny. Liquidators were often company directors and officials, and section 154 of the Insolvency Act 1890 (Vic) allowed them to make secret agreements with their creditors.
There was public uproar at information that did emerge. The Freehold Investment Company had formed subsidiary companies, such as the Blackburn & Tunstall Property Co Ltd, to buy its properties at inflated prices; it manufactured profits for balance sheets without receiving the full payment. While making losses the company took money from deposits and continued to pay an 8% dividend to shareholders, who were predominantly the directors.
Criticism was also levelled at the liquidators’ fee of £1000 each per annum during the first year of liquidation. One of the liquidators was Thomas Richard Burrowes Morton who, in addition to his civic duties at Nunawading, had been the company secretary of the Freehold Investment Company. He resigned as liquidator in December 1892.
SubdivisionAn undated plan of subdivision, of part of Crown lots 69 and 70, shows Koonung Road running through the middle from Koonung Koonung Creek to Springfield Road. It also shows Henry Street and Fithie Street. (The latter was labelled Kerrimuir Street in some plans.)
In liquidation the Freehold Investment and Banking Company sold two parcels of land:
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Plan of subdivision, part of allotments 69 and 70.
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Lots purchased by Harris brothers.
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Harris familyAlfred John Harris and Arthur Henry Harris were orchardists of Junction Road, Blackburn. They were sons of John Harris and Jane Heath who had lived in Blackburn since 1890. The brothers held lots 1 to 7, and split that holding in half in January 1910. Alfred John Harris retained lots 4 and 5, and part of lots 3, 6 and 7 and John Harris was the new owner of the rest.
Further subdivision created the current site of Koonung Cottage. A 1923 auction notice shows 159 allotments, collectively named Blackburn Heights Estate. (Hirst, Alma and Gordon Streets are now called Southey Street, Peter Avenue and Gay Street respectively.) The auctioneers offered potential purchasers a free first class return ticket to Blackburn on the Ringwood railway line and free car transport from the station to a seated marquee on the land. |
Selling points for the estate included:
- An eight-minute walk to Blackburn railway station.
- A twenty-seven minute trip to the city.
- The highest position in Blackburn and magnificent drainage.
- Electric light on the estate and water mater mains adjoining.
Blackburn Heights Estate, 1923.
It is not clear what happened at the auction but on 27 May 1926 Alfred John Harris still held the land between Koonung Road and Alma Street. A large area on the corner of Springfield Road and Alma Street, with an existing villa, was not a numbered lot in the Blackburn Heights Estate.
Later owners
Harris sold this land in parcels over the next 2½ years. Florence Spicer, a married woman of Laburnum Road Blackburn, bought lots 16 to 22 on 31 March 1928.
Victor Leslie Clarke, a St Kilda jeweller, bought lot 16 in 1948 and built the house. See Building.
Lot 16 changed hands a few more times. New owners were:
Victor Leslie Clarke, a St Kilda jeweller, bought lot 16 in 1948 and built the house. See Building.
Lot 16 changed hands a few more times. New owners were:
- Elizabeth Rose Chapman, a widow of Rupertswood, Koonung Road Blackburn, in 1954.
- Florence Edith Sumner of Balwyn (probate after Elizabeth Chapman died in 1969).
- Philip Henry Pippey, a Box Hill solicitor in 1970.
- Methodist Church in 1973.
- City of Nunawading in 1977.
Image sources:
- Plan of subdivision, part of allots 69, 70, Parish of Nunawading (cartographic material). Available online at State Library of Victoria.
- Blackburn Heights Estate (cartographic material), Melbourne, 1923. Available online at State Library of Victoria.
- Certificates of title (volume 1537, folio 307338; volume 2488, folio 497586; volume 2970, folio 593901; volume 3389, folio 677794; volume 5140, folio 1027837; volume 5390, folio 1077848; volume 7222, folio 1444346).
- 'Family notices', The Argus (Melbourne), 25 September 1893, p. 1.
- 'Nunawading's new president', The Reporter (Box Hill), 24 September 1909, p. 5.
- 'Family notices', The Argus (Melbourne), 9 October 1923, p. 1.
- Michael Cannon, The land boomers: the complete illustrated history, Melbourne University Press, 1972.
- John Waugh, 'Company law and the crash of the 1890s in Victoria', UNSW Law Journal, 1992, pp. 356-388.
- 'The Freehold Investment and Banking Company', The Argus (Melbourne), 4 February 1893, p. 9.
- 'The Freehold Investment and Banking Company', The Argus (Melbourne), 23 February 1893, p. 7.
- Birth Death and Marriage Index, Victoria.
