Time Travellers in Essendon, Flemington and the Keilor Plains

Libraries-Hygienic-Public-Circulating

 

Continued from  Early-Libraries-In-Essendon-and-Flemington

 

Early Libraries in Essendon and Flemington. Part 2

 

by Lenore Frost

 

 

 

Throughout the 1930s Depression, compulsory retirement of municipal workers reaching the age of 65 began to be discussed in municipal councils, generally with reference to widespread unemployment, and the intention to provide work for younger unemployed men.  The Collingwood Council discussed it in late 1930,[53] and it slowly spread to other suburban councils. It was not until 1938 that the Essendon Council made the resolution to compulsorily retire their older workers, after considering a superannuation scheme for them.[54]  By this time Sarah Windsor was eighty-eight years old and had been in the Council’s employ for over 54 years.[55]  

 

With her retirement imminent, interviews with this venerable lady gives us a last opportunity to have a look at what was on the shelves.

 

“Mrs. Windsor's manner and her under-standing of the tastes of customers have endeared her to the thousands of people who have visited the library. "The tastes of readers have changed considerably," she said yesterday. "Many readers keep abreast of the times both in general literature and in novels, but a few of the older ones still ask me when Mrs. Henry Wood is going to write a new novel! [56] There is little demand for classics”.

 

"Children always ask for Mary Grant Bruce and Ethel Turner's books and also for 'The Little Black Princess,' but they no longer seem to read fairy tales. The boys never tire of Jules Verne."[57]

 

"Far fewer really good books are read by the young people of today," she continues.  "They seem to go in so much for the light literature - film magazines, detective magazines, and pictorial magazines".[58]

 

“Mrs. S. Windsor, who has been city librarian at Essendon since March 1, 1882, has asked the council to release her from her duties after the Easter holidays”.[59]

 

A number of elderly council staff were farewelled with presentations from the Mayor Cr L T Thompson – Murray Pullar, the city surveyor, and John Oliver, the city curator, along with eight members of the ‘outdoor staff’ were presented with wrist watches, rugs, and a cheque as a retiring allowance.  Mrs Windsor was to continue as librarian until a new one was appointed.[60]   

 

On 12 March 1940, The Age announced:

 

Essendon Library Closed

 

Essendon council last night decided to close the municipal library. The decision followed a recommendation by the finance committee. The council also adopted its recommendation that the resignation of the librarian (Miss M. Dillon) be accepted, and that no more appointments to the position be made. The mayor, Cr. Lewellin, asked that his vote should be recorded against the proposal.

 

Cr. Divers said some of the books were bound in the days of Queen Anne, if someone could name one good book in Essendon municipal library he would eat it. "We have seven people who patronise the library regularly. They come down for a sleep every Tuesday, and they get it", he said.[61]

 

Queen Anne, who reigned over us from 1702 to 1714.  The present library would be only too

pleased to have books bound in her time.   Courtesy of the State Library of Victoria, H27390.

 

Outraged citizens swung into action, with local resident Gordon Hartnett and the Chief Librarian of the Public Library in Melbourne, Ernest Pitt, protesting strongly at a later Council meeting.

 

“The public gallery of the Essendon council chamber was crowded last night when a deputation waited on the council, and urged that the decision of the council to close the council's free lending library should be rescinded. The library has existed in the town hall, Moonee Ponds, for many years. Mr G Hartnett said the deputation represented thousands of ratepayers who considered that it would be a most undemocratic and retrograde step if the library were closed. E R Pitt, chief librarian of the Melbourne Public Library, said he regretted the decision of the council. He had inspected the library, and he did not think it was worthy of Essendon, it might be that it was better than none at all. He suggested that Essendon should embark on a ten-year programme, starting with £700 per year and increasing by £200, each year. At the end of ten years they would be spending £2500 per annum. There were very good reasons why the council should start with such a scheme, and there was a possibility that the council might even make a charge for lending works of fiction. Cr. Thompson said he would not advocate spending money on a library when the streets and footpaths were in such need of attention. Cr. Newing said he was appalled at the condition of the city. While the roads were in such a disreputable and muddy condition as existed at present, he would not vote for a large expenditure on a library. During a long debate only four councillors spoke in favor of retaining the library. The mayor (Cr. Lewellin) thanked the deputation, which withdrew without any motion for the rescinding of the resolution having been moved.”[62]

 

It was only five years since it was reported, “The Essendon City Council has decided to apply to the Carnegie Corporation of New York for a grant of £1,500 to establish a Carnegie library at Essendon”.[63]  The grant had evidently not been forthcoming, but the application does support Cr Divers’ contention that the library stock was run-down and poorly patronised, with which Ernest Pitt agreed. Nevertheless, the closure of the library would be felt in a community that would be asked to work hard in the war effort, particularly women staying at home with families while their husbands were away or working long hours, and little money to spare for entertainment. It was a petty cost-cutting decision.

 

It presented, however, an opening for the canny small-business person.  Although circulating libraries had been scattered about the district for many years, the numbers of additional libraries which sprang up in 1940 were notable.  They had a mainly unobstructed opportunity for the next nearly 30 years while the Council refused to concede the need for a free public library.  In 1967 Essendon became one of the last municipalities in metropolitan Melbourne to provide a public library.[64]

 

Flemington and Kensington Free Library and Mechanics Institute 1883

When  the separation of the Borough of Essendon and Flemington occurred in 1882, the new Flemington and Kensington Borough Council obtained rooms on the eastern side of Racecourse Road, close to the Newmarket Hotel.[65]

 

A meeting of a committee formed to introduce a Free Library in the Borough of Flemington and Kensington was reported in the North Melbourne Advertiser on 26 January 1883, though the committee had probably been formed in 1882.  The President was T S Marshall,  head teacher of the Kensington State School from 1881 to 1894.

 

“In confirming the minutes of the last meeting reference was made to the clause touching upon the present committee, agreeing to provide 100 volumes previous to the removal of the old library. The President gave five volumes of Chamber's papers for the people, and promises to the number of about seventy additional volumes were made”.[66] 

 

What ‘old library’ was being removed is not clear, but we note from this report that the foundation of the library was to be donations. 

 

Marshall’s donation of Chambers's Papers for the People had been published in several volumes in the 1850s by Scottish brothers Robert and William Chambers, who were influential in scientific and political circles. Each volume contained several essays on a variety of topics.  Volume 2, for instance, had an article on ‘Mechanics’ Institutes’, as well as ‘Arctic Explorations’, and ‘Recent Discoveries in Astronomy’.[67]  Let it be noted that a twenty-year-old set of essays was not considered out of date.  ‘Tried and true’ was to be the watchword.

 

The exact location of this new library is clouded by lack of records, but it was most likely co-located with the Council. Subsequent events appear to confirm this supposition.

 

It was reported in March 1883 that ‘The library will be open every Wednesday, from 7 till 10 p.m. and the committee will be pleased to see the public to whom the rooms are open free of charge. The shelves contain between three and four hundred well selected volumes, and the latest papers and periodicals are on the tables for the inspection of all.’  A large number of residents attended the informal opening, with the formal opening to take place at a later date.[68]

 

In April 1883 it was further remarked in the North Melbourne Advertiser that ‘The public can at any hour visit the rooms, and read the daily and weekly papers’.[69]  The implication of these two reports is that a Reading Room was available for the daily newspapers and magazines, but the books were accessible only on Wednesday evenings, presided over by committee members.  It is likely that the free reading room for newspapers was overseen by the Town Clerk. 

 

Subscriptions were to be 2s for gentlemen and 1s 6d for ladies, though the period was not specified.  Most likely, as a later report indicates, it was quarterly.[70]

 

The official opening of the library took place in June 1883, with T S Marshall in the chair and special guests, Members of the Legislative Assembly, Alfred Deakin, Samuel Staughton and Dr James Rose.  Deakin made some remarks to the meeting, giving expression to a widely held contempt for ‘trashy novels’.   ‘He was pleased to find in the library so many standard and celebrated works’ and encouraged young men to develop a taste for high class literature.

 

“The president (Mr Marshall) who occupied the chair, stated that the Free Library was first opened on 28th February last, since which the number of admissions had been 328, the contributions £11 17s 6d, volumes donated by committee 141, and the number of volumes at present in the Library were 528. The Library was open to the public at least one evening in each week between the hours of seven and ten, during which time they had the right to the use of papers and books, etc”.

 

It is not clear from this report whether the library was open more than one evening in each week (ie, during the day) but the numbers represent an average of 31 visitors a week.

 

‘Mr. Deakin, who was received with cheers, said that he felt proud to attend for the noble purpose of opening the library, which he felt sure would be most beneficial to the people of the district, who he hoped would use their utmost endeavors in promoting the interests of the grand institution they were now about to establish. He earnestly approved of libraries, and hoped that the present one would be a success. Free libraries were the means of making the poorest portion of a population intellectual, because they could obtain knowledge without paying for it. He, however, thought that in the colony there was too great a tendency to devour unwholesome light trashy reading. This was to be lamented, and he hoped that the young members of the new library would partly ignore light reading, and endeavor to wrestle with the more instructive and useful literature, which, although sometimes ponderous, would be in the end the most profit able and pleasing. He heartily wished prosperity to the movement, and expressed his intention of donating to the library 12 volumes of some useful English works’.[71]

 

Many supporters of public libraries at this time deplored the sight of feckless youths hanging about the streets, and thought they would be better employed attending a library – but regrettably the feckless youths when they did go to the library often caused a nuisance to the other patrons.

 

The path of the new library, however, was strewn with more serious difficulties. In August 1884 a ratepayer wrote to the North Melbourne Advertiser complaining about the fact that the library had been closed for over six months,[72] perhaps since February 1884.  On 12 February the following year a meeting of the Committee was held to try and resolve the problems.  The Committee had incurred debts which were unable to be paid ‘chiefly through the defalcations or the late town clerk (W. C. Hawkins)’.[73] The delay in sorting out the affairs of the library may have been caused by awaiting the trial of W C Hawkins, who was found guilty and sentenced to three years’ gaol.[74]

 

But defalcation was not the only fault of Mr Hawkins.  Marshall commented that he was sorry to say that “when Mr. Hawkins was secretary the library was principally attended by a lot of boys who seemed to take a delight in smoking, spitting about the place, jumping over the forms and generally making themselves a nuisance.” Further,  “It was unanimously decided to wait on the directors of the New Hall, to ask permission to use a portion of the building as a library and reading room”.[75] 

 

The directors of the New Hall, however, were reluctant to provide the space for free, and asked for a nominal rent to be paid.  A suitable rent was not agreed upon, so the library for the time being remained in the Council Chambers.   Subscriptions would cost 2 shillings and sixpence per quarter, a sixpenny rise on the previously fixed subscription. “It was pointed out that someone should be in attendance at the library to see that proper order was maintained ..... and it was suggested that each member of the committee should take it in turn”.  The library was to re-open on 4 March 1885.[76]

 

A few months later the Flemington and Kensington Borough Council moved its offices to the New Hall in Racecourse Rd, opening for business there on 2 June 1885.[77]  Whether the library was at this time was actually open and using the Council Chambers is not established, but two years later, in September 1887, there was still some doubt about opening a library at Newmarket:

 

“Efforts are being made at Newmarket to establish a library and reading room……. Such institutions are of great advantage to any district blessed with them, and their influence on the morality and respectability of its inhabitants, weaned from the pernicious practice of street roaming at night, and even if they pass their time in the library, only in the perusal of sea-novels and the records of the deeds of North American Indians, it is time infinitely better spent than chewing cigar butts, rendering the footway loathsome, and remarking on the appearance of every unprotected female.  The selection of books is an important question, and one that needs careful consideration. It is no use cramming the shelves with works on theology and philosophy which no one will look at; and, on the other hand, a library full of works of fiction, is simply a vitiating of people's mental health with literary sweetmeats.[78]

 

Sea novels and stories about North American Indians might seem rather appealing to some Time Travellers, but library committees were determined to stamp out imaginative writing.  We have already looked at the list of books Edward Dale Puckle gave to the Essendon Public Library, which he offered to give to the Flemington and Kensington library in 1888.  No sea novels or books about North American Indians were included.

 

The building marked by an arrow is New Hall in Racecourse Road, built in 1883.[79] The Borough Council moved its Chambers to this building in June 1885 and remained there until they built their own Town

Hall in 1901. Courtesy of the State Library of Victoria Collections, H90.160/859.

 

 

 

Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works Plan, 1898, showing the New Hall on the south side of

Racecourse Rd. Courtesy of the State Library of Victoria.

 

In 1891, ratepayers were again complaining about the hard-to-find library in Flemington:

 

“Some inquisitive ratepayers would like to know where they can find the Flemington and Kensington library - can anyone oblige? It is whispered all the books must long since have been demolished by that useful insect the moth - or the equally nimble village goat. The rising generation (in the "model" borough) evidently don't appreciate literature - prefer to stand and talk slang at street corners. The "Cup" winner is more in their line just now - sad, but true”.[80] 

 

It is hard to establish precisely when the Flemington Library operated and when it didn’t, but it was apparently still, or again, not operating in 1892 when the Wombat Club, a newly established social club in the district, wrote to the committee to offer the use of a room for the library.  The library committee responded quickly to the offer and met with the Wombat Club for discussions, but mutual disappointment followed.  The Wombat Club wanted 12 shillings and 6 pence per week in rent for one room, and the Library Committee wanted the Wombat Club to provide a caretaker for the books.  “Cr. Barrett said he thought that as the Council had a lot of books locked up for years, something should be done to utilise them. The position of the Club's rooms in Railway place was a good one, and if the rent was reasonable, the Council ought not to consider a few shillings in such a matter”. The matter was referred back to the Library Committee.[81]

 

What occurred in relation to the library between then and 1897 is unclear from lack of records, but by then Committee had become more active on the matter, and had hit upon a novel approach to filling their shelves – a Book Concert.

 

" A novel form of entertainment, entitled a 'book' concert was held in the New Hall, Newmarket, on Monday night. There was no charge for admission, but to secure entry every visitor was required to present a book (not of necessity new) of the value of not less than 1s. for use in the library. The concert was in aid of the Flemington and Kensington Free Library and Mechanics' Institute. A varied musical programme, in which the local liedertafel appeared, was gone through. During the evening Mr. A. Deakin, M.LA., addressed those present, and congratulated the promoters of the concert on its success.[82]

 

Leaflet advertising the Book Concert to be held on 7 June 1897.

Courtesy of the Local History Collection, Sam Merrifield Library, LAP 375.

 

Alfred Deakin, Member of the Legislative Assembly for Essendon and Flemington, continued his support for the Flemington and Kensington Free Library by chairing the evening.  G W Debney was the President of the library and William Cattanach the Honorary Secretary.

 

There are no reports on the books donated on this occasion, but perhaps a few of the patrons mischievously brought along some sea-novels or romances to enliven the shelves. The fundraiser held the following year may have been a form of commentary on the Book Concert – they held a Cinderella Dance at the New Hall. No further Book Concerts have been noted.[83]

 

The foundation stone of the Flemington and Kensington Town Hall having been laid in March 1901,[84] the building was occupied before the end of the year.  A library was intended for inclusion in the building, and presumably the library, possibly now operating at the New Hall, moved with the Borough Council at this time.  Time was ticking away, however, for the Flemington and Kensington Borough.  In November 1905 it amalgamated with the City of Melbourne and became the new Hopetoun Ward.[85]

 

But in  January 1918, once more the Fickle Finger of Fate pointed at the Flemington and Kensington Free Library and Mechanics Institute, and struck it down.  With a vengeance.

 

“Fire at Kensington. A serious fire occurred at the Kensington Town Hall early last Sunday morning, when the main hall, library, committee room and billiard room were practically destroyed. It is thought that the fire originated either through a careless smoker in the billiard room or the fusing of an electric light wire. A large crowd witnessed the fire, and 36 men, with a large equipment, fought the flames”.[86]

 

The library had face setbacks before, however, and once more rose like a phoenix to re-establish itself at the end of 1918.    Again, the book stock is not described, but a fresh start could be made.  Being a Mechanics’ Institute, billiard tables were an indispensable ancillary asset.

 

“Flemington and Kensington Free Library, which was burnt about two years ago, has been re-established in an improved building. Two full-sized billiard tables have been installed. It is the intention of the committee to arrange social gatherings. A committee was formed at the annual meeting held on Tuesday, when Mr Joseph Girdwood was elected president, Mr W. D. Graham hon. secretary, and Mr J. H. McBean hon. Treasurer”.[87]       

The location of the new and improved building was not spelt out, and further work needs to be done to establish the exact location.  Anecdotally it was located in a wooden building on the town hall block in Bellair St in the 1930s or 1940s, and the Spanish Mission building next to the Town Hall is also suggested as a location.

The Minutes Book for the Flemington and Kensington Free Library and Mechanics’ Institute, 1929 to 1939 is located in the Local History Collection at the Sam Merrifield Library, Moonee Ponds.  It goes without saying that this never recorded the location of the library or the meetings. 

 

Monthly meetings were held to approve payment of invoices and the librarian’s salary.  In 1929 the librarian, Mr W H Sherwood, received £7 per month.  In 1937 the librarian was named in the minutes as E M Sherwood.  In May 1939, the last recorded meeting in that book, the librarian received £7 per month. Presumably the position was part time, perhaps with assistance with opening from the Committee. The role of the librarian is not spelt out, nor do we know directly about the type of books they had in the library. 

 

The invoices being paid appear to be related to purchases of books, newspapers and magazines, stationary, and occasionally an advertising campaign on slides at the local picture theatre to boost membership.  Payments into the kitty included subscriptions (111 members in 1929, and 118 in 1939), and a six-monthly grant from the City of Melbourne Council. 

 

The Minutes entry for 15 October 1929 gave some valuable details of the operation of the library:

 

Members                           111

New                                       5

Loss                                       3

New books bought             32

Received by librarian           28

No of Books returned       579

No of books lent              560

Attendance                       450

 

Monthly subs:            £4-14-6

 

Expenditure:     

Mr Sherwood             £7 -0-0

Willis & Co                       3-6

Corlett & Sons             2 -5-0

J Anderson                    1-8-8

Robertson & Mullins    2-1-6

E[lectric] Light                  5-3

Total Expenditure £14-3-11

 

The minutes  on the same date as the above  also recorded that the purchase of new books would be restrained till 31 December 1929 when the financial position could be reviewed.  In the above list Corlett & Son were printers in Racecourse Road,  Flemington, and Robertson & Mullens were book suppliers to the book trade in Melbourne.

 

In  November 1929 the committee recorded discussions in favour of opening a children’s library, but it was not until 1938 that the committee applied to the State government for a grant to do so.  The application was successful, and the children’s library was established.  A £250 grant was expended - £200 for books and £50 for bookcases – ‘necessary to keep the books under lock and key’.  It was a very different approach to children’s libraries 50 years later.

 

The long and complex history of this library continues, but for now the Time Travellers will take their leave, and will come back to the future at a later time.

 

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One last mention is made of a subscription library, though it should be kept in mind that there were multiple small subscription libraries established in local organisations throughout this period to satisfy a serious want of reading matter.  The one below is typical of many others.

 

Kensington Methodist Church library, established 1889

The Kensington Methodist Church in McCracken St, Kensington, which opened in 1889, established a library for the use of Sunday School teachers and scholars, as required by the Methodist Church.  In 1892 the scholars were charged one penny per month to use it, and donations to purchase books were also sought.  It was thus a private subscription library.

 

In 1930 a special appeal for books to restock the library outlined one of the prime motivations for keeping what amounted to a subscription library was to ‘prevent [the children] reading unsuitable literature’.  The aim was to provide ‘up to date healthy [stories] with a moral for children’, and to discourage the reading of ‘vividly illustrated paper-covered books, wherein law-breaking and other sorts of things are lionised’.  The library requested donations of books that had outlived their usefulness at home, being reluctant to ask yet again for funds in the ‘distressing period’.  Donations were scrutinised for content.  This library continued until at least 1961 when discussions began about how to dispose of the books.  Ultimately they went to the Cambridge Street school in Collingwood.[88]

 

The next part of the story of early libraries in Essendon and Flemington concerns the circulating libraries, but Time Travellers are advised that this might take a little time to evolve.

 

 

c  2015   Lenore Frost

 

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[54] SUPERANNUATION PLANS. (1938, March 15). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), p. 6. Retrieved November 9, 2015, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11172938.

[55] Librarian for 56 Years. (1938, April 8). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), p. 7. Retrieved October 11, 2015, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11178314.

[56] Mrs Henry Wood, as mentioned earlier, wrote a book in 1860, recommended for the Flemington-Kensington library by Edward Dale Puckle in 1888.

[57] Librarian for 56 Years. (1938, April 8). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), p. 7. Retrieved October 11, 2015, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11178314.

[58] Essendon Gazette, Thursday April 1938.

[59] PERSONAL. (1938, March 31). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), p. 10. Retrieved October 11, 2015, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11154587.

[60] PRESENTATIONS AT ESSENDON. (1938, May 7). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), p. 2. Retrieved October 11, 2015, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11157081.

[61] Essendon Library Closed. (1940, March 12). The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954), p. 12. Retrieved October 11, 2015, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article204421445.

[62] Essendon Library. (1940, May 7). The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954), p. 6. Retrieved October 14, 2015, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article206774555.

[63] GENERAL. (1934, May 24). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), p. 1. Retrieved November 5, 2015, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article10939702.

[64] Two: Assessment of Community & Administrative Facilities: Funeral Parlours, Kindergartens, Exhibition Building, Masonic Centre,  Municipal Libraries and Council Offices. Prepared for Heritage Victoria by Built Heritage Pty Ltd. Croydon, 31 May 2010.

[65] Melbourne Directory, Sands & McDougall, 1884.

[66] KENSINGTON FREE LIBRARY. (1883, January 26). North Melbourne Advertiser (Vic. : 1873 - 1894), p. 3. Retrieved September 8, 2015, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article66158715.

[67] Robert Chambers, Chambers’s Papers for the People, London, W & R Chamber, 1956.  Retrieved 25 November 2015.  http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89092497304;view=1up;seq=209

[68] THE ADVERTISER. (1883, March 2). North Melbourne Advertiser (Vic. : 1873 - 1894), p. 2. Retrieved November 20, 2015, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article66158838.

[69]THE ADVERTISER. (1883, April 13). North Melbourne Advertiser (Vic. : 1873 - 1894), p. 2. Retrieved November 20, 2015, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article66158980.

[70] OPENING OF THE FLEMINGTON AND KENSINGTON FREE LIBRARY. (1883, June 29). North Melbourne Advertiser (Vic. : 1873 - 1894), p. 3. Retrieved November 21, 2015, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article66159249.

[71]FLEMINGTON AND KENSINGTON FREE LIBRARY. (1883, June 21). The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954), p. 6. Retrieved October 1, 2015, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article190595288.

[72]FLEMINGTON AND KENSINGTON FREE LIBRARY. (1884, August 29). North Melbourne Advertiser (Vic. : 1873 - 1894), p. 3. Retrieved October 1, 2015, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article66160514.

[73] THE ADVERTISER. (1885, February 13). North Melbourne Advertiser (Vic. : 1873 - 1894), p. 2. Retrieved October 1, 2015, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article66154347.

[74] TRIAL OF W. C. HAWKINS. (1884, February 8). North Melbourne Advertiser (Vic. : 1873 - 1894), p. 3. Retrieved November 20, 2015, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article66159916.

[75]THE ADVERTISER. (1885, February 13). North Melbourne Advertiser (Vic. : 1873 - 1894), p. 2. Retrieved October 1, 2015, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article6615434.

[76]KENSINGTON LIBRARY. (1885, February 27). North Melbourne Advertiser (Vic. : 1873 - 1894), p. 3. Retrieved October 1, 2015, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article66154385. 

[77] THE ADVERTISER. (1885, May 29). North Melbourne Advertiser (Vic. : 1873 - 1894), p. 2. Retrieved November 25, 2015, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article66154705.

[78]THE ADVERTISER. (1887, September 10). North Melbourne Advertiser (Vic. : 1873 - 1894), p. 2. Retrieved September 8, 2015, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article66157497.

[79] FLEMINGTON AND KENSINGTON FIRE BRIGADE. (1883, September 7). North Melbourne Advertiser (Vic. : 1873 - 1894), p. 3. Retrieved November 25, 2015, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article66159465.

[80] QUINTESSENCES. (1891, September 11). North Melbourne Advertiser (Vic. : 1873 - 1894), p. 2. Retrieved October 1, 2015, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article66162219.

[81] FLEMINGTON AND KENSINGTON COUNCIL. (1892, June 17). North Melbourne Advertiser (Vic. : 1873 - 1894), p. 3. Retrieved November 24, 2015, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article66163501

[82]Church News. (1897, June 9). South Bourke and Mornington Journal (Richmond, Vic. : 1872 - 1920), p. 3 Edition: WEEKLY.. Retrieved October 1, 2015, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article70018574.

[83] Social. (1898, August 5). Table Talk (Melbourne, Vic. : 1885 - 1939), p. 11. Retrieved October 1, 2015, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article145861938.

[84] THE STORYTELLER. (1901, March 23). The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946), p. 26. Retrieved November 23, 2015  from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article139173005.

[85] Flemington and Kensington conservation study / prepared for the Melbourne City Council, 1985, [by] Graeme Butler & Associates, p 23.

[86] Fire at Kensington. (1918, January 4). The Essendon Gazette and Keilor, Bulla and Broadmeadows Reporter (Moonee Ponds, Vic. : 1914 - 1918), p. 2 Edition: Morning.. Retrieved November 23, 2015, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article74604733 ; FIRE AT KENSINGTON. (1917, December 31). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), p. 4. Retrieved November 24, 2015, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1671673.

[87]FLEMINGTON FREE LIBRARY. (1919, December 4). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), p. 4. Retrieved October 1, 2015, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4643194.

[88] Beverley Wendelken. Kensington Methodists, Christ Church Kensington History Project, 2001, pp 49-51.