Alfred Deakin 1856-1919

Deakin, along with several other key figures from different colonies, helped to make Federation a reality. The Age, on day after Federation said that they “have lived at a memorable time, and they have helped to make history. They have witnessed the birth of the Australian Commonwealth, which now passes from the hands of its authors and enters upon an unknown future.”

Deakin was born in Fitzroy, and married Pattie Browne in 1882. Pattie was a keen advocate of women’s right to vote, and Deakin supported her in this. During Deakin’s second prime ministership Pattie accompanied him to London for the Imperial Conference and for the first time took a public role in addressing women’s meetings. Back in Australia she became involved in a number of outside interests, mostly focusing on the lives of women and children, beginning with assisting with the organisation of the Australian Exhibition of Women’s Work.

Alfred and Pattie had three daughters, Ivy, Stella and Vera. He had a pleasant manner and was known as ‘affable Alfred’.

After he finished his law degree, from 1878 to 1883 he worked as a reporter on The Age newspaper.

Deakin served in various roles in the Victorian Government, including Minister for Public Works and Water Supply, Chief Secretary and Solicitor General and he led the Liberal Party from 1886. The fall of the ministry in 1893 forced his return to the backbench where he remained throughout the 1890s, also returning to his legal practice in order to support his family. His voracious and wide ranging appetite for books and writing continued; his reading encompassing titles and authors as diverse as Plato, the Bhagavad Gita and George Meredith and he also published 'Temple and Tomb in India' (1893), an exploration of religion and architecture in India.

He also developed a long standing interest in irrigation after the drought of the 1880s led to him being appointed head of a Royal Commission into this topic. The lack of available information on irrigation caused him to take a three month tour of the United States in order to gather facts. On an overseas fact-finding tour, Deakin discovered three Canadians, the Chaffey brothers, running a successful irrigation colony in California. He tempted them to Australia with low-mortgage land and they opened the way for thriving towns and properties along the whole length of the Murray.

It was from 1887 to 1900 however, that Deakin became increasingly involved in the movement for Federation and became Victoria’s most prominent representative in all the Federal Conferences and Conventions held to discuss this issue and develop an Australian Constitution. The movement towards Federation had developed from a necessity to reach agreement on cross border trade and the need for a collective voice in dealing with the British Government.

All Australians were eligible to vote in 1898, including women (Australia was one of the first countries in the world to allow female suffrage) but excluding Aboriginals .

Deakin was a proud, native born Australian and at the same time a staunch imperialist. It was these factors, and his skills and knowledge relating to law, history, oration and negotiation which meant that he played a vital role in the burgeoning Federation movement until its culmination in 1900 when the Constitution was finally passed by the British Parliament.

Alfred Deakin in an oratorical pose

Edmund Barton andAlfred Deakin


Alfred Deakin after proposing his retirement

Edmund Barton became Australia’s first Prime Minister and Deakin became the first Attorney General and Leader of the House. Deakin was to become Australia’s second Prime Minister and he served in this role for three terms (1903-4, 1905-8 and 1909-10). It was during his second term as Prime Minister that he received the first indications of the toll his hard work and responsibilities were taking on his health. His memory began to fail him and he wrote of his concern regarding this in his private journals.

As Prime Minister, Deakin was largely responsible for building the basic national government structure by recognising the need for, and fighting to establish, institutions such as the High Court, the Public Service and the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration. Legislation relating to immigration, trade protection, defence and labour were framed by his Government, which gained an international reputation for experiments in welfare policies and reforms in working conditions.

Deakin was highly respected and regarded throughout his public life by both sides of the political spectrum. His stature and renown led to him being offered many honours and awards, including a knighthood; however his modesty led him to refuse all these.

Deakin retired from Parliamentary life in January 1913 with his health broken and his once magnificent memory virtually non-existent. Tragically, he was fully aware of his decline; his retirement was meant to be full of books and writing, but he was now unable to remember things that he had read the previous day. Despite this, he was persuaded to chair a Royal Commission on Food Supply in 1914 and to act as president of the Australian Commission at the International Exposition in San Francisco in 1915. He found both tasks extremely onerous and his mental state worsened. The loving support of his wife, family and friends provided him with a great deal of comfort and eased his life as much as was possible until his death on 7 October 1919, at the comparatively early age of sixty-three. He was buried in the St. Kilda Cemetery.

Deakin’s grave in St. Kilda cemetery

After Deakin’s death, Pattie’s work with women and children’s causes continued and included involvement in the National Council of Women, the Melbourne District Nursing Association and the Guild of Play for Children’s Playgrounds. She continued her philanthropic work and also spent time gardening and sketching and with her eight grandchildren.
This has a good form of history in regard to his early political endeavour in Victorian Government until the formation in 1901 of the Commonwealth Government.

Dandenong Ranges and Puffing Billy

The Dandenong Ranges includes a National Park, maintained by Parks Victoria.

It offers scenic drives through the Ranges , a picnic at the Fern Tree Gully Picnic Ground or in Sherbrooke Forest.

Near the park are coffee shops and restaurants, bed and breakfasts, craft shops, antique shops, gardens and the historic Puffing Billy train from Belgrave to Gembrook.

Numerous walking tracks are excellent for short family strolls or longer hikes.

Through their cultural traditions, Aboriginal people maintain their connection to their ancestral lands and waters.

Puffing Billy is a well regarded tourist attraction, and gives people somewhere to go and something to look forward to. They offer a tour of the train from Belgrave to other parts of the Dandenongs. There are pictures of the old Puffing Billy from many years ago at Belgrave station.

One of the beautiful things of the Dandenongs are the ferns and flowers that grow there, and make the area a tourist attraction, with all kinds of bushes, trees and natural habitats.

Enjoy the mountain scenery and panoramic views which pass by your carriage window. You may stop over for a few pleasant hours bushwalking, swimming or just relaxing in the peaceful country setting.  The terminus of the line at Gembrook is a delightful country town with much to offer the visitor.

It travels 42 kilometres from Belgrave, in the Dandenongs, via Sherbrooke Forest, trestle bridge, Selby, Menzies Creek, passing farmlands, Emerald, Cockatoo and Gembrook.

Between 1958 and 1962, a new station and yard was constructed entirely by volunteers, using parts of the old Belgrave station. More recently a major redevelopment project has provided a new, level station yard and improved passenger amenities including a 1920's-style station building.

Shortly after departure from the station, the Locomotive Depot may be seen to the left of the train. The large brick building was designed to blend in with Puffing Billy's 'period' image and was designed and built in 1975.

Gembrook has cafes, a hotel and many interesting places to visit in the region.  Puffing Billy will stay here for some time to allow you to explore the town, before returning to Lakeside and Belgrave, or you can stop overnight at one of the outstanding accommodation establishments.

Colourful, inviting and cool, especially in summer, the Dandenongs are popular for daytrips, not only for their intrinsic beauty but also for the many beautiful gardens and great variety of European and native trees and shrubs.

The Dandenongs are home to 6 of the Great Gardens of Melbourne. The rich volcanic soil and plentiful rain ensures that plants flourish here, and there are many nurseries and arboretums to visit.

The smattering of restaurants, art galleries, antique shops and tearooms in the many townships of the Dandenongs provide excellent detours from exploring the region's stunning scenery.

Major towns in the area offering accommodation for a weekend getaway from Melbourne include: Belgrave, Emerald, Gembrook and Olinda in the Dandenongs and Healesville, Yarra Glen and Warburton in the Yarra Valley.

Sherbrooke forest features huge mountain ash trees and ferns. If you’re lucky you might see kangaroos, rosellas kookaburras.

The Dandenong ranges are rich in wildlife with 130 native bird species, 31 native mammals, 21 reptiles and 9 amphibian species recorded.

The Superb Lyrebird is its most famous inhabitant. People the world over are fascinated by the ability of this bird to mimic the calls of other bird species. Sulphur-crested Cockatoos, Crimson Rosellas, Laughing Kookaburras, Eastern Yellow Robins, Yellow faced Honeyeaters and Pied Currawongs are some of the native birds most frequently seen in the park.

Heavily-scarred eucalypt trees (as mentioned above) are evidence of the night-time feeding of Yellow-bellied Gliders and tiny Feather-tail Gliders make their homes in the hollows of mature trees. Tree Goannas can also be found in the park.

The plant communities in the park are remnants of the original vegetation that has receded over the last 150 years with the rapid growth of Melbourne's suburbs.

Dandenong Ranges National Park has six major vegetation communities in which about 400 indigenous plant species occur. The park is particularly well known for its spectacular Mountain Ash forests (as mentioned earlier) and fern gullies.

Other vegetation communities include Cool Temperate Rainforests, Box Stringybark Woodlands, Riparian Forests, Mountain Grey Gum-Messmate Forest and Sclerophyll Woodlands. The park supports significant plants such as the Slender Tree-fern and Summer Spider Orchid. Fire plays an important role in the ecology of the vegetation.

St. Kilda and Port Melbourne History

Port Melbourne is a former railway station

on the former Port Melbourne line.

The Sandridge line played a historic significance for being

the first railway station in Australia.

 

Port Melbourne station opened in 1854. The Sandridge line took passengers, both local and from overseas, to Flinders Street Station.  The railway line was closed in 1987 and the same thing had been done to the St Kilda Railway Line.

The bridges to St Kilda and Port Melbourne have been saved from being taken away due to the efforts by an enormous amount of support from the people of Australia who won their objection.

The bridges have been converted to walkways where there are arts of differing kinds, which have become an enjoyable way to see Southgate, Flinders Street, and the Casino.

The routes to St Kilda and Port Melbourne will enable you to get the picture of the tramlines.  The previous railway lines have been converted to the light rail lines.

The light rail trams carry passengers from St Kilda and Port Melbourne.  Both lines carry an enormous amount of passengers; and they provide a short period of time for the lines in both direction.

The trams when they get to the junction go in reverse directions. One is for the St Kilda line; and the other line to Port Melbourne goes straight ahead on the Port Melbourne line.

South Melbourne Beach provides a tram service, serving passengers going past Albert Park Lake, where many people enjoy walking, cycling, running and walking dogs. The tram continues along Canterbury Road and turns right into Mills Street.

In March every year the Grand Prix takes place around Albert Park Lake. Passengers going to the Grand Prix can travel free for four days. These trams terminate at Albert Park where the trams turn back and head back to the City of Melbourne and they then return to Albert Park.

The tram along Clarendon Street heads from South Melbourne Beach and returns towards East Coburg.

The tram goes on Clarendon Street where the South Melbourne Shopping Centre is located.  As the tram continues, and when having got to the Casino on one side with Jeff’s shed on the other side, and then goes over the Spencer Street Bridge.

On the way to Port Melbourne there is Jeffs shed on the right hand side and the tram depot where there is another bridge – Montague Street.

The tram 95 route goes from the tram junction towards St Kilda & Port Melbourne.
Route 95 serves between St Kilda Beach and East Brunswick; the route travels along the Albert Park terminals for different ticket holders who are based close by to certain stands along Canterbury Road. The tram continues on heading towards the entry from the St Kilda Station towards Fitzroy Street and then continues on towards the St Kilda Beach.

On the last end of the line Acland Street has a wide range of eating places including cafes. Acland Street has a big influx of tourists who come there in the day and night where there is a wide range of nightclubs in certain areas down to Fitzroy Street.

At the other end of Acland Street there is Luna Park where they have all kinds of ride-on trains going up and down the big dipper and other sorts of formats for Luna Park.

Now we will go towards Port Melbourne where we start at the junction from where the route 109 which serves Port Melbourne to Box Hill which is one of the longest tram lines in Melbourne.

The Sandridge Bridge over the Yarra has been converted to a cycle and pedestrian link with arts.

The station building at Station Pier (Sandridge was the main name of the line as well as the Sandridge Railway Bridge over the Yarra River) is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register and is located north of Beach Street and to the east of Canberra Parade; the centre has been converted into a medical centre and café to serve the residents in the area.

When you leave the station there is track for pedestrians and bicycles going to Sandridge beach. On the weekend, there are lots of people going for a stroll. Further along the beach, we get a good view of the container ships and cranes, as well as the rows of imported cars being put on semi-trailers.

People go to Station Pier to look at the ships from behind the gate. Such as the Princess of Tasmania, which comes and goes twice daily, and the large overseas ships – some are over 14 stories high.

Continuing underneath the Westgate Bridge, the parks in different seasons provide ideas and are stimulating. One area I especially enjoy is the Webb dock and Westgate Park area. There have been a lot of different flowers planted there, and free mulch for locals to take away. Water has returned to the lakes, and there is a bird sanctuary. From here we can see Science Works in Yarraville.

When you leave Sandridge station, and go towards St. Kilda, new flats have been built in the old brick factories. If you turn off into Pickles Street, there is the Gasworks, which has been turned into a park and community project for the arts. It contains the original buildings and cobble-stoned footpaths connected to the original gasworks. This has become a landmark in Melbourne. Back along Beaconsfield Parade, there is a large white building – the Danish Club, and further along, housing commission flats, recently renovated. On the left, when you arrive at St. Kilda, are the Catani Gardens. On Sundays, they have pony rides for the children. In February there are many singing groups in connection with the St. Kilda festival.

And Acland is just a few yards away – time for a coffee and a rest.

I enjoy having a coffee in the small coffee shop and milk bar near the small park on the way to Fitzroy Street.

Roy Hirsch

My name is Roy Hirsch and I am happy to share my interests with you and others with welcoming suggestions on subjects.

Travel is one of my subjects I love and it enables me to provide you with photos from other places I’ve been to. One of my favourite cities was St Petersburg and Beijing was another one. History was well laid out in those cities and it was a marvel with the numerous arts in St Petersburg and historical landmarks going a long way back in Beijing.

Photography is a gift that I have where my photographic activities have covered all kinds of areas.  Photography has been one of my hobbies over the last 40 years, which has grown and developed each year. I have used Photoshop to create my web page, which has photos from a wide cross-section of interests these include my travels to St. Petersburg, Moscow, Paris, Beijing; and many other places.

One of my other interests that link up with photography and travel is cycling: all these three interests are a marriage where they all link one to the other.

Thanks for the interest.