History
History of our area
Land sales had begun in the area in the 1850s and eventually the farms and market gardens made way for houses, both residential and vacational. There are still many historical homes in the region and local streets bear witness to early settlers.
In 1852 a land speculator, Josiah Holloway, purchased approximately 1786 acres opposite a popular seaside spot for day trippers known as Picnic Point. He attempted to sell off allotments and named the ‘estate’ Gipsy Village.
On the 16 May 1862 the Moorabbin Road District was incorporated covering from the outskirts of Brighton on the southeast along both sides of Nepean Road as far as Mordialloc Creek . This took in the areas known now as Hampton, Sandringham, Beaumaris and Mentone.
In 1881 Gipsy Village had a census population of 183 persons, and in the following year rumours of a railway extension provoked a more successful land sale at the Picnic Point area.
Picnic Point became part of Hampton and Gipsy Village became Sandringham in 1888, the year after the railway extension.
Sandringham was part of the Moorabbin Shire, and the West Riding which comprised the bayside townships of Hampton and Beaumaris agitated for separation in the early 1900s.
Municipal severance came on 28 February 1917, with the creation of Sandringham Borough, with an estimated population of 8175 in 1918. It became a town on 9 April 1919 and a city on 21 March 1923.
On 15 December 1994, the City of Sandringham was amalgamated with the City of Brighton and parts of Moorabbin and Mordialloc cities to form the City of Bayside.
Sandringham & District Historical Society
The Sandringham & District Historical Society was started in 1986 by a group of like-minded, local history enthusiasts. With considerable community assistance, rooms were made available over a period of years for meetings and storage of our collected assets. Eventually the City of Sandringham (now the City of Bayside) allocated the Society a site of its own, between the library and the senior citizens’ rooms in Sandringham.
In November 2018 Bayside City Council decided to enlarge and update the library and consequently, we were relocated, initially to temporary premises at 31 Abbott Street. .In 2019, we moved once again to temporary premises, this time at 62 Bay Road. We are now located at 15 Melrose Street,
Melrose Street
Melrose Street was first created in the Sandringham Estate in 1882. The shop at no. 15, the oldest surviving building in the street, was built for Mr Thomas Kevan as a newsagency. It was designed by the architects Sydney, Smith & Ogg, who also designed many pubs, and State Bank branches in the early twentieth century. https://www.melbourneplaygrounds.com.au/rotunda-architectural-trail-walk-sandringham
15 Melrose Street is a heritage listed building which was constructed in 1903. It is a picturesque shop and dwelling recalling the Arts and Craft movement with art noveau, leadlights, floral stuccoed frieze and Tudoresque half timbering to the overhanging gable end. A central bay window is flanked by fretted balustrading to balconettes whilst the brickwork is red with corbelling to the parapet ends. In the 1940s, the building became a cake shop called ‘The Blue Bowl’ (a reference to its striking use of blue chinaware). It is a beautiful and elegant building.
In the early 20th century Melrose Street was established as a retail centre in Sandringham, 12 businesses opening in 1900 alone. According to historian Andrew Ward, these included Mrs Bristow’s tea rooms, a wine café, refreshment rooms, the Sandringham Public Hall, the first station and De Henzell & Co’s estate agency. There were no businesses in Waltham Street or Station Street. By 1918 the number in Melrose Street had increased to 31, seven businesses had been established in Waltham Street, five in Bay Road and 21 in Station Street.
City of Sandringham Heritage Conservation Study 1989 https://www.bayside.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2021-09/Volume%203%20–%20Data%20sheets.pdf