Tributes to Carlo

Carlo Catani was the subject of many compliments and tributes when he was alive  here are some of them.Of course, many were bestowed on him posthumously, and you can read these here.

The promotion of Mr. C. Catani, of the Public Works department, to the position of engineer in charge of harbors and rivers, as well as roads and bridges, has been approved by the Governor in Council. Formerly Mr. Catani occupied the position of assistant engineer in the harbors and rivers branch. The harbors and roads branches were previously in charge of two distinct officers, but are now amalgamated under Mr. Catani, who is also entrusted with the carrying out of reclamation works. The latter duty has been discharged by him for some time past to the entire satisfaction of the Commissioner of Public Works who, together with the inspector-general, speak in the highest terms of Mr. Catani's ability and zeal.

The Age, November 24, 1892, see here.

Mr. Catani, who as a landscape designer has few equals...

Yarragon Settlement News, June 25, 1908, see here. Referring to design by Carlo for the Warragul Park. 

Only those who have had some experience in such work fully realise the difficulties involved in landscape gardening ; in fact, it is a profession by itself, and Councillors after pondering over the problem wisely decided that it would be prudent to consult Signor Catani, who has already achieved a high reputation in landscape gardening; as the result of the splendid scenic effects which he has designed and carried out on the St Kilda road and the Alexandra avenue. It was Signor Catani who very kindly designed the Warragul park and with that artistic instinct, which is such a prominent characteristic in his own countrymen, he would naturally feel a personal interest in the ornamentation of the pleasure grounds which have been partially laid out according to his design.

West Gippsland Gazette, June 22, 1909, see here. Referring to design by Carlo for the Warragul Park. 

Mr. Catani, to whose genius and untiring efforts the completion of the work is mainly due.
Traralgon Record October 23, 1908, see here. Referring to the Mount Buffalo road. 

Acting on the suggestion of the Bright Shire Council, the Victorian Government has decided that the picturesque lake on the top of Mount Buffalo shall be named Lake Catani. This is considered to be a well-deserved recognition of the work done by Mr. Catani, chief engineer of the Public Works department, in connection with the opening up of Mount Buffalo as a tourist resort. The construction of the lake was suggested and carried out by Mr. Catani. All through the season it has been full to overflowing and has proved a great addition to the attractions of the district, being popular with visitors both for bathing and boating. It has been stocked with rainbow trout. In the winter the lake will be frozen over, and, with additions, that Mr. Catani has proposed, an area of 10 acres of shallow water for skating will be provided.

Border Morning Mail, January 27, 1911, see here. 

Mr Catani's sense of floral beauty would be also of advantage in beautifying the place.
Williamstown Chronicle, March 25, 1911, see here. Proposed work to reclaim and beautify the Williamstown foreshore

Their best thanks was due to Mr Catani, who was the brain box of the Public Works Department, and one of the most conscientious and ablest officers in the employ of the State.
Snowy River Mail, February 15, 1912, see here. Carlo and the Treasurer, Hon. W.A. Watt and Hon. James Cameron were visiting East Gippsland and this is part of  a report of a dinner at the Commonwealth Hotel in Orbost.

 Orbost in 1915 - this is how Orbost would have looked when Carlo and the 

Ministerial party visited only three years before.

In February 1912, Carlo Catani and a Ministerial party including the Treasurer, Hon. W.A. Watt, the Minister for Public Works, W.L. Baillieu and the Hon. James Cameron, visited East Gipplsand, including the town of Orbost. 

Image: Photographer: S. Vogt Studio. Museums Victoria https://collections.museumvictoria.com.au/items/773010

There exists no engineering problem to vex Mr Catani's soul for an instant.

Geelong Advertiser, June 6, 1913, see here. Need for improvement to the Barwon River.

When a jaded Minister of State goes touring in Victoria, he tries by hook or by crook to get Carlo Catani, Engineer of the Public Works Department, assigned to him as official guide and mentor. Carlo Catani is a most interesting companion on a long train or motor trip and in the bush. Incidentally he uses his conversational prestige to push forward his beneficient schemes for the making of beauty spots, good roads, new harbors and what not; in fact, he is the life and soul of the Public Works Department in Victoria, and his engineering feats have been applied with equal success to stubborn nature in the wilderness and in the Cabinet. He has done, much to make the Melbourne to Heidelberg Yarra drive an assured proposition, and in that achievement his gifts of planning and persuasion were exercised with, the best effect.
Table Talk, September 11, 1913, see here.

Mr Catani enthuses with all the poetry of the idealist, if there was one work he would go heart and soul into it was the work of beautification, as after all money-making did not satisfy the desires of human nature. 
Mount Alexander Mail, January 28, 1914, see here.  Plan to create  a lake  for recreation at Happy Valley, near Castlemaine. 

Mr. Catani, the departmental landscape beauty expert.  
Bendigo Independent, June 2, 1914, see here. Regarding the beautification of the Vaughan/Glenluce Springs area.

In response to a request for the laying out of a croquet lawn in the reserve, for the amusement of lady enthusiasts in the pleasant, game, the Borough Council has requested Mr. Catani - an accepted authority on all matters of the kind - to work the croquet ground into his scheme for the better-laying out of the area.
The Horsham Times, July 14, 1914, see here. Clearly, Councils thought there was no end to Carlo's talents.

None doubted the ability of Mr Catani, who by sheer merit had risen to the top of his profession: he knew no one in Victoria who had a higher standing professionally than Mr Catani.
Geelong Advertiser, August 12, 1914, see here. Barwon River Improvement League meeting, Hon. H.F. Richardson, M.L.C quoted.

Here is a most unique personality whom the State will remember, because each year as it passes will help to perfect his artistic work.
Ovens and Murray Advertiser  April 7, 1915, see here. This is the same article where they talked about how gets his suits made, see here.

To transform it by means of a magic wand would be foolish, and yet we make bold to say that when the scheme of beautification has finally been effected, it will look so beautiful, so perfect, serene, and so exquisitely full of "Catani ideas," that the world at large will be loth to disbelieve that the magicians wand hadn't been at work after all!
Prahran Chronicle, April 15, 1916, see here. Referring to the St Kilda foreshore. 

 He has not contented himself with designing and superintending utilitarian works but has been largely responsible for beautification schemes which have won widespread admiration....It is doubtful whether Victoria has ever had a more conscientious or industrious public officer, or one who so completely and patriotically identified himself with the advancement of the State. 

The Herald, February 15, 1917, see here. A look back at Carlo's life in his retirement.

Praise was showered on ....the handiwork of Mr Catani, chief engineer of the Public Works Department, the result of whose artistic genius the foreshore now presents such a fine ornamental picture. 
Malvern Standard, March 17, 1917, see here. Visit of Government officials and local councillors to view the St Kilda foreshore improvements.

Mr. Catani is about the only man who ever galvanised the Victorian Works Department into anything in the form of aesthetic life. Probably he was able to do so much with the slow-moving civil servants around him because he was blessed with unusual vigor himself, and could paint a rosy scheme in treble languages. He was about the best story-teller the department ever had, so that, in addition to losing an able engineer, the service is parting with a pleasant social light.
Table Talk May 3, 1917, see here. Referring to Carlo's retirement.


Acknowledgement: I found most of these tributes by trawling through the newspapers on Trove, however I got a few of them from my fellow Carlo researcher, Isaac Hermann. Thank you again, Isaac.

Fathers and sons: mateship and monuments

In Alfred Square, St Kilda, there is a Boer War Memorial designed by Arthur Peck; on the Upper Esplanade opposite is the Clock Tower Memorial designed by Norman Schefferle in honor of Carlo Catani.  It was my research colleague, Isaac Hermann, who told me about the Boer War Monument (1) and because we both like historical connections, I wondered if there was some connection between either Carlo Catani and Arthur Peck or Norman Schefferele and Arthur Peck. As it turns out there is a connection between Carlo's son Enrico and Arthur's son Archer. Hence the title of this post - Fathers and sons: mateship and monuments. 

The Arthur Peck Boer War monument in Alfred Square, over looking the Carlo Catani Clock Tower Memorial on the Upper Esplanade, St Kilda. 

Photo: Isaac Hermann.

We will start by having a look at Arthur Peck, the architect. Arthur was born in 1855 to Hugh and Emma (nee Buswell) Peck. According to various newspaper reports  he attended a boarding school in England for four years from the age of 14. When he returned to Melbourne he entered an Architect's office, Lloyd Taylor and Wyatt. He was an adventurer, went off  to find gold in New Guinea in 1879 (read about this here), learnt how to fly  a plane when he was 80 years of age, was still practising architecture at 82, was a keen sailor and held various positions at the Royal Yacht Club, the Davey's Bay Yacht Club at Frankston and also founded what was to become the Sandringham Yacht Club. It was quite an interesting life, I will write a post on him some day.  His father Hugh, who died in 1904,  was a financial and real estate agent who lost his considerable fortune in the collapse of the land boom according to his obituary, see here.

Arthur Peck's parents, Hugh and Emma, have a memorial plaque at All Saints Anglican Church in East St Kilda. I wonder if this was installed when Archer and his brothers Hugh and Ronald were still serving overseas or did they wait until the boys returned home, so they could be there to see their grandparent's plaque installed.

Photo: Isaac Hermann.

Arthur Peck married Mary Frances Archer at the Christ Church Anglican Church in  Longford in Tasmania on Dec 21 1887. She was Tasmanian gentry - her father was Joseph Archer of Panshanger, Longford. Joseph inherited the property from his uncle of the same name.  You can read about Joseph snr, here  and Mary Peck's father here. Arthur and Mary had four children - Hugh born September 1888, Ronald born December 1889, Olive born January 1891 and Archer born June 1892. Mary died in 1923, aged 65 and Arthur died in 1945 aged 90.

The boys attended Melbourne Grammar School for various lengths of time, which is the same school Carlo's sons Enrico and Ettorre attended and this is the first connection that can be found between the families.  I am not saying that any of the boys were best friends but we can place them there together. I own the book Liber Melburniensis, 1858 - 1914 which contains a list of Melbourne Grammar students and it tells me that Enrico (born January 1891)  was at the school 1905 to 1909; Ettore (born April 1893)  1905 to 1912; Hugh 1903 only; Ronald 1904 to 1905 and Archer 1908 only. After leaving school Enrico and Archer then attended Dookie Agricultural College, where they obtained a Diploma.

The boys did battle on the sports field whilst they were at Dookie College - Enrico competed in the  100 yards handicap, sack race, 100 yards hurdles, where he came third and the obstacle race, whereas Archer was more of a distance runner and competed in the one mile handicap.  Enrico was also on the football team at Dookie.

Enrico graduated in 1912 and took up  a farm Glenvale at Pastoria East, near Kyneton and Archer, who graduated in 1911, became an overseer at Urana Station, in Urana in New South Wales according to Liber Melburniensis, 1858 - 1914 but when he enlisted he was an orange grower at Lake Boga. Sadly for the men their farming life was put on hold with commencement of the War and the halcyon days of battles on the sports field was swapped for the horrors of the battle field.  They were not of course, the only 'old boys' from Dookie who served, as the Principal said The college has sent more than its quota to the front, and it is still sending. The lads from the college have the right Qualifications - pluck, healthy blood, good and trained brains, and hard muscle. (Dookie and Katamatite Recorder  January 6, 1916)

This photo, taken by Isaac Hermann, shows St Kilda's classic palm trees, a feature of Carlo Catani's garden designs - the rugged trunk of  a palm tree is on the right edge of the photo; the Carlo Catani Clock Tower Memorial; Alfred Peck's Boer War Memorial and the white marble statue  to the right is the St Kilda Victoria Cross sculpture (2). 

Enrico and Archer enlisted and served in the 21st Batallion, 6th Infantary Brigade and they embarked on the HMAT Ulysses on May 10, 1915. They arrived in Egypt and then left Alexandria in the Southland for the Gallipoli Peninsula. On the morning of September 2, 1915 the Southland was torpedoed.  There were over 1,800 men on board, with around 40 that died in the attack. The Southland managed to make it back to a port under its own steam. You can read more the Southland here and here.

We know what Enrico and Archer were doing the moment the Southland was hit as two other Dookie boys were also on board, William Carroll and Harold Nathan (3) and William wrote a letter to the Principal of the College, a report of which was published in the Dookie and Katamatite Recorder. W. E. Carroll and Harold Nathan, who used to amuse us in the art of legerdermain, have written from the front. The former writes to say he was delighted and grateful for the principal's newsy letter - just what is wanted by the boys. Archer Peck and "Puss" Catani were listening to the news about the old college when the torpedo smashed into transport. Needless to add, it interrupted me some, but I displayed sufficient presence of mind to stow the letter away for a more favorable opportunity. Archer took ill a few days after we landed, and has been in the hospital since. We had been in the trenches for seven weeks. The main thing is to be able to shoot, and to use a pick and shovel. (Dookie and Katamatite Recorder  January 6, 1916, see here)

William Carroll was not the only soldier on board the Southland who displayed a calm demeanor after the torpedoing. This report is representative of the many reports in the Australian newspapers about the incident and starts with a quote from Lieutenant Sir Michael Bruce - "I should like to write to every paper and say that never could men have faced death with greater courage, more nobility, or with a braver front than the Australians and New Zealanders aboard the Southland. At the last they sang, 'Australia will be There !' By God, she was! We knew them brave in a charge. Now we know they are heroes. Long live, in honor and glory, the men of the 21st and 23rd Australian Infantry!" 

The report goes on to say In the burning words above, the officer named [Bruce] who was with the Australasian troops being conveyed to Lemnos aboard the Southland when she was torpedoed on September 2, expressed his intense admiration for the manner in which the Australasians aboard the doomed troopship awaited the outcome. There was no screaming of panic-stricken men when the deadly missile tore into the bowels of the vessel. No sign of fear was writ upon the faces, or shadowed forth in the demeanor o the untried troops from the Lands of the Southern Cross. (The Globe November 27, 1915, see here)

The men on the Southland, just after it was torpedoed. The photograph was taken at the time by Lieutenant-Colonel J. F. Hutchinson and published in the Herald on December 12, 1916. "It was a remarkable sight to see the steadiness of the men," he said when, speaking of his experiences. "It was a grand sight, and I never felt prouder, of the boys."

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article242466488

Enrico had also sent a letter to the Dookie College Principal, which was reported on in the same article as William Carroll's letter - The principal had a long and interesting letter from E. Catani, giving an account of his adventurous experiences of being torpedoed whilst on the transport in the Mediterranean. The letter was read to the students, who were glad to hear from their old jovial fellow-student. "Puss" Catani has not lost any of his sense of humor or modesty. He does not tell us he had been made a lieutenant, but letters from his old mates supply the information. (Dookie and Katamatite Recorder  January 6, 1916)

The Southland with list to port and down at bow. 

The caption reads: Hospital ship, Neuralia, and French destroyers rushing to rescue. 

Drawn by an eye-witness and referred to in the letter from Captain F. Johnston.

Image courtesy of Janice Caine.

After the Southland incident, Enrico served at Gallipoli and was then Killed in Action at Pozieres on July 29, 1916.   You can read about his war service here, which I had taken from the book War Services of Old Melburnians (4) published by Melbourne Grammar School in 1923. As we are on the subject of monuments, Enrico was buried at the Cemetery Post Station, near Pozieres. However in 1932 Enrico's sister, Enid, received a letter from Army Base Records which noted that during the course of recent exhumation work in the vicinity of Pozieres, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission was successful in recovering the remains of this Officer which have since been re-interred with every measure of care and reverence in the Serre Road Cemetery, with a new headstone.  Enrico had been identified through a disc and other effects. Enrico's former headstone at the Cemetery Post Station was replaced with one inscribed with "Unknown Australian Lieutenant." (5)

This is Archer's entry from War Services of Old Melburnians - 

A. PECK enlisted on 25th March and embarked as Private in 21st Battalion on 8th May 1915. He duly arrived in Egypt and on journey from there to Anzac was on board the transport 'Southland" when torpedoed on 2nd September 1915. He arrived in Anzac on 17th September 1915 and remained there till Evacuation on 19th December, being one of ten Privates of his Battalion selected to remain in Steele's Post trenches till 3.30 in the morning of Evacuation. On return to Egypt he took part in operations in Sinai Desert during January and February 1916 and on 21st March arrived in France. He took part in the Battles of Pozieres and Mouquet Farm in 1916 being wounded in left knee and in hospital for two months and in September was promoted to Corporal. In 1917 he took part in the Battle of Bapaume and on 31st August obtained his Commission. He was promoted to Lieutenant on 2nd January 1918 and took part as Scout and Intelligence Officer for his Battalion in the Battles of Villers-Bretonneux, Ville-sur-Ancre, Hamel, Amiens, Cappy, Mont St. Quentin and Montbrehain in which he was gassed and after which he was transferred to 24th battalion from 21st battalion which was broken up owing to lack of reinforcements. He returned to Australia on 17th July and his appointment was terminated on 26th October 1919. (War Services of Old Melburnians)

Notice in the local paper of Archer being wounded at Pozieres.

Swan Hill Guardian and Lake Boga Advocate September 7, 1916

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/92121363

Archer's brothers Hugh and Ronald had also enlisted and they both returned home during 1918. Hugh became an Architect and worked initially with his father and died in 1965, aged 76 years old. Ronald may have survived the War, but like so many men he never physically recovered and died in 1933 at the age of 41. There was a short obituary in The Argus Mr. Peck, who was educated at Melbourne Grammar School, was seriously wounded and gassed at Messines while serving with the 29th Battery, 8th Brigade, Field Artillery, in the Great War. Until about two years ago Mr. Peck was employed by the Lothian Publishing Co. Pty. Ltd., but ill health caused by his war injuries led to his retirement. (The Argus, October 14, 1933).  Ronald  had only been married in 1924 and had three sons, it's all so sad. Their sister, Olive, died in 1982 at the age of 91.

The War Service of the Peck brothers 

The Great War: the RVIA Record of Service from The Royal Victorian Institute of Architects Journal, March 1921.

Digtised on Trove https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-402122138

After his return to Australia Archer married Grace Ethel Ellis in 1932, I don't know if they had any children. We can get some idea of what Archer did after his return from the War from the Electoral Rolls. He did not return to Lake Boga, in 1924 he is listed as a grazier living at New Gisborne. In the 1937 and 1943 rolls Archer and Grace are living in Mont Albert and his occupation is that of Librarian. I don't know if he worked at the State Library of Victoria or some other Library or if he actually operated a 'Circulating' Library, a small private library where people would have to pay to borrow. Either way, I was a bit surprised to see this as his occupation (and nothing wrong with being a Librarian, of course, I am also a Librarian). By 1954 Archer and Grace had moved to Mount Eliza and he had taken up farming again, his occupation being  a grazier.  Archer died in 1967 at the age of 75.

The Catani family and the Peck family - on paper two very different families - the Peck family has long  links back to the early days of white settlement in Australia, whereas Carlo Catani was a more recent migrant from Italy. The Pecks and the Archers were also migrants of course, but being English, they would never have considered themselves to be such, Tasmania and Victoria were after all British colonies, just another part of the Empire. Yet both Carlo Catani and Arthur Peck made their mark in Victoria - Carlo was a man who achieved so much that a monument was erected to him by the people of St Kilda and Arthur was respected enough in his field of architecture to be given the honour of designing a monument to the men from St Kilda who served in the Boer War.

Arthur Peck's name on his Boer War Memorial (1) in St Kilda. The tiles were constructed by the Australian Tessellated Tile Company. 

Photo:  Isaac Hermann

Did Carlo Catani and Arthur Peck know each other? Did they meet each other at Melbourne Grammar speech nights or sports days? Did they meet at the unveiling of Peck's Boer War Memorial in St Kilda on March 12, 1905? Did they meet at Dookie College if they went to visit their sons when they were both studying there? Did they meet on May 10, 1915 when they were seeing their sons off on the HMAT Ulysses?  I cannot tell you, but we do know that their sons, Enrico and Archer, knew each other, that even though they had left their College days behind them they were both keen to hear the news from Dookie College on their way to Gallipoli on the Southland, with their other College mates.

Next time you are at the Carlo Catani Memorial in St Kilda, gaze across to the Arthur Peck designed Boer War memorial and think of their sons - Enrico and Archer, mates from College, brothers in arms.

..........................................................................................................................................
Acknowledgement
Once again, I am indebted to fellow Carlo Catani enthusiast and my research colleague, Isaac Hermann, for, as I have already mentioned, alerting me to the St Kilda Boer War Memorial, which led me down this research path which connects Enrico and Archer. Isaac also told me about the St Kilda Victoria Cross Memorial and supplied me with some great photos and the blog post title Fathers and sons: mateship and monuments. Thanks, Isaac.

Trove list
I have created a list of articles on Trove relating to the Peck family, Enrico's time at Dookie College and few other Dookie College articles and the Southland.  You can access it here. All the articles referred to in this post are on the list.

Footnotes
(1) For more information about the St Kilda Boer War Memorial, see the Victorian Heritage Database (VHD) citation, here.  The Memorial was unveiled on Sunday, March 12, 1905 by the Governor of Victoria, Sir Reginald Talbot. The VHD citation says that it was designed by Arthur Peck, although it is probable that Robert Haddon, who did work for other architects including Peck, was largely responsible for the design. There are no sources listed for that statement but Haddon and Peck did work together. In 1905 they designed the Malvern Presbyterian Church. A report in The Age of July 31, 1905 (see here) says that Mr. R. J. Haddon, assisted by Mr. Arthur Peck, had drawn up architectural plans for a handsome building to cost about £3000, and these plans were submitted to the meeting and approved. The Memorial also has a life-size figure of a soldier on one side, sculpted by Charles Douglas Richardson -  I have written about him, here.

 C.D. Richardson's soldier on the St Kilda Boer War Memorial.  

Photo:  Isaac Hermann.

The Memorial honors local men who volunteered to fight with British forces against the Boers, or Dutch-Afrikaner settlers in South Africa from 1899 until 1902. It is also called the South African War and referred to as the Second Boer War. The First Boer War, fought between the Boers and the British, took place in 1880-1881, but no Australian troops were officially involved. You can read more about Boer War on the Australian War Memorial website   https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/atwar/boer

Robert Patrick Norton Robertson is listed on the St Kilda Boer War Monument and he also has a plaque at All Saints Anglican Church in East St Kilda. It is located right below the plaque to Hugh and Emma Peck, which is an interesting connection. You can read about Robert's family and his sister Muriel, here, on the East Melbourne Historical Society website.

Photo: Isaac Hermann.

(2) The Victoria Cross Monument was unveiled April 21, 1985. It was designed and sculpted by Peter Schipperheyn. You can read about the monument on the Monument Australia website, here. The monument honours four men who received the Victoria Cross.
Captain Albert Jacka (1893 - 1932) - received the first Victoria Cross awarded to the A.I.F in the Great War, was later the Mayor of the City of St Kilda. Jacka Boulevard in St Kilda is named for him. Read his Australian Dictionary of Biography (ADB) entry here. 
Major William Ruthven (1893 - 1970) - had a distinguished military career in both World Wars, was a member of the Legislative Council and Mayor of Collingwood. The railway station of Ruthven, near Reservoir is named for him. His ADB entry can be read here.  
Lieutenant Lawrence Dominic McCarthy (1892 - 1975) - had a sad start to his life as his parents died when he was young and he was raised in an Orphanage. Lieutenant McCarthy was also awarded the French honor, the Croix de Guerre avec Palme. Read his ADB entry, here.
Flight Lieutenant William Ellis Newton (1919 - 1943) - born in St Kilda. Was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross; he was captured by the Japanese and beheaded March 29, 1943, Read his ADB entry here.
Interesting to note that Enrico, Archer and the three Great War V.C recipients Albert Jacka, William Ruthven and Lawrence McCarthy all fought at the Battle for the Somme.

(3) W.E. Carroll was William Edward Caroll - Service number 815 - he was a farmer. Harold Nathan - you would think Harold Nathan would be easy to identify, but no. There was  a Harold Nathan who enlisted twice, but he wasn't in the 21st Batallion and was still in Australia when the Southland was torpedoed.  The article (see here) which published William Carroll's letter also includes this Harold Nathan writes that two of his brothers were killed and two cousins and another brother are leaving for the front. He is anxious for news from his old college.  I can't find two men with the surname of Nathan who were killed in 1915, so I believe Harold 's surname was listed incorrectly.

(4) Melbourne Grammar published War Services of Old Melburnians in 1923. You can also access the same information on their website here
 http://dbtw.mgs.vic.edu.au/dbtw-wpd/textbase/war_services.htm

(5) Enrico's  file at the National Archives of Australia; the official name of these files are the First Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1914-1920. Read his file here https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=3219509

George Robert Ashley - curator of the St Kilda foreshore gardens

The Catani Gardens in St Kilda were designed by Carlo Catani on reclaimed land. The reclamation work on the foreshore, began in the 1890s with a sea wall built out of rubble between St Kilda Pier and Captain Keeny’s Bathing Ship, which allowed for the creation of the Pier Lawns around the St Kilda Yacht Club by 1896. In 1899, a bluestone wall was set to further extend to Cowderoy Street, completed around 1906. Also in 1906, the St Kilda Fore Shore Committee, the special duties of which should be the work of reclamation and of beautification, according to St Kilda historian, J.B. Cooper (1).  Carlo Catani was involved in this reclamation project from the beginning and was an inaugural member of the Fore Shore Committee. The gardens on this reclaimed land were designed by Carlo Catani and his ongoing work was recognised by having them named after him in October 1927. Before the area was renamed for Carlo it was known as the Captain Cook Lawns, due to it being the location of a statue of Captain Cook (see here) and, as I said, previous to this it was known as the Pier Lawns.

Catani is deservedly credited with the garden design, but he always generously shared praise with the curator of the gardens, George Robert Ashley (1871 - 1952) and this post looks at the life and work of Mr Ashley.

George was the second curator of the foreshore gardens.  The first curator, employed by the St Kilda Fore Shore Committee, sometimes called the St Kilda Fore Shore Trust (2) was Arthur W. Kenny. He was a man of some talent and the Prahran Telegraph had this to say about him and his work -  It is very noticeable what an excellent crop of grass Mr. Kenny the curator has been able to grow this year. This is all the more creditable when it is remembered that it was the end of November before some of the seed was sown. Mr. Kenny knows his work, and the Trust are to be complimented in getting such a fine gardener. (Prahran Telegraph February 2, 1907 see here)

However, Mr Kenny soon had a 'tree change' and on May 1908 he is listed as the gardener at the guest house, Kerami, at Marysville. The grounds around "Kerame," (sic) the new tourists' resort built by Miss Glover, of Melbourne, are now completed and present a fine appearance. The work was carried out by Mr. A. W. Kenny, late curator of St. Kilda foreshore, and reflects great credit on his ability in this class of work. (Healesville and Yarra Glen Guardian, June 19, 1908 see here)

I am assuming that George Ashley was appointed after Mr Kenny left for Marysville, but I do not have proof of his appointment at that time but neither can I find evidence of the  appointment of another person. However supporting his appointment at this time is the fact that in 1906 George and his wife Alice are listed in the Electoral Rolls at 13 Budd Street, Collingwood and in 1908 they are living at 57 Clyde Street in St Kilda. So, I believe that Ashley's role as the curator of the St Kilda Fore Shore Committee commenced in 1908.

The role of the Curator was varied - he obviously created and cared for the gardens that Carlo had designed  - more of which later -  but he also had administrative duties.

Left: Auction of Katzenjammer Castle.
The Argus, September 13, 1913
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/7259067


In 1913, the Fore Shore Committee had for sale 'The Glidaway', an open air skating rink which had opened in November 1907 on the foreshore, and Katzenjammer Castle, which was part of the Princes Court, the Acme Pleasure Resort according to their advertisements, which was established in 1904 on St Kilda Road, where the Arts Centre is  now located. It closed in 1909. I assume that Katzenjammer Castle was then re-located to the Lower Esplanade in  St Kilda as in September 1912 it was advertised for sale, due to the expiration of the lease. It must not have sold as it then became the responsibilty of the Fore Shore Committee to dispose of both attractions and it was auctioned in September 1913. The point of telling you this is that George Ashley was the contact person for further particulars.

Katzenjammer Castle, 1909. Photographer: Frank Ernest Allen.

State Library of Victoria Image Image H2009.29/161

Other administrative jobs included being the contact person for people wanting to run refreshment stands on the St Kilda foreshore and giving evidence in Court cases. In May 1914, Alice Maud Cummings was charged with having damaged flowers valued at one shilling in the Luna Park Reserve. The case was heard at the St Kilda Court and Mr Ashley, who had caught Mrs Cummings cutting the flowers, was the main witness. Mrs Cummings was found guilty of stealing dahlias, cosmos and chrysanthemums and was fined five shillings with  three pounds in cost. It does seem a small matter but Ashley was concerned because much damage had been done to the beauty of the reserve. He gave evidence in a similar case in March 1917 where two sisters were charged with the larceny of a bunch of flowers. The girls were fined 20 shillings each. The Chairman of the St Kilda Court, Cr John Jeremiah Love, said that the curator, Mr. Ashley, was a generous man, and was always willing to give anyone a bunch of flowers, bulbs or seeds. 

Mr Ashley worked closely with Carlo Catani in the design and maintenance of the garden. The Prahran Telegraph had this tribute to Carlo and it shows the role that Ashley played in maintaining the gardens - Early in the morning, and on almost any morning of the week, Mr. Carlo Catani, Chief Engineer in the Public Works Department of Victoria, may be seen on the St. Kilda foreshore generally in consultation with Mr. Ashley, the curator of the Foreshore Committee, and in the evenings again, on his way home from his department; he may again be observed. His has been the artistic mind which has planned to make the sea beach of St. Kilda a place of beauty and of attraction to the countless thousands of visitors who resort to it during the summer time.....Where when Mr. Catani first assumed charge, only Mr. Ashley and a boy were engaged in these works of improvement, to-day there are five men regularly engaged. One begins from what has been accomplished to understand the design as a whole, and to appreciate the artistic ability of Mr. Catani as a landscape gardener. (Prahran Telegraph, August 19, 1916, see here)

The same issue of the Prahran Telegraph had a report about the unveiling of the plaque that was affixed to the Captain Cook statue which we mentioned before. This report also paid tribute to Carlo and Mr Ashley - Mr. Catani, with the assistance of Mr. Ashley, had been giving the citizens of St. Kilda beautiful lawns, against all the false prophecies which were made a few years ago, prophecies over which those gentlemen had triumphed. (Prahran Telegraph, August 19,  1916, see here)

St. Kilda foreshore and the arrival of the Prince of Wales, 1920. 

You could image how busy George Ashley and his team would have been preparing the Garden for this event. The Prince has arrived at Port Phillip Heads on May 26, 1920 on the H.M.S Renown, which was prevented from entering due to fog. He transferred to the Destroyer, Anzac, which took him up the Bay to Port Melbourne, where he transferred to the Hygeia and landed at the St Kilda Pier, where the leaders of Australia had assembled to meet him. (The Herald May 26, 1920, see here)

State Library of Victoria Image  H36170

Because this is a  post celebrating Mr Ashley skills and commitment as a curator here are two other tributes to him. In  a report about the opening of a new cafe on the Upper Esplanade, the Malvern Standard said The surroundings of the new cáfe are also very finely laid out. They were designed by Mr. Catani the Public Works Department, and valuable assistance in the work of laying out was given by Mr. G. R Ashley, curator of the foreshore, whose success as an artistic gardener shows practical evidence wherever the eye turns. The cafe building was erected by the Prahran and Malvern Tramway Trust and was operated by Mrs Leonard a lady well suited to manage and conduct a public business of the kind, according to the report.  (Malvern Standard, January 6, 1917, see here.)  The cafe was opened on December 23, 1916 and was called the Empire cafe.  It was on the corner of Acland Street,  on the same site which was at one time occupied by Baxter's Merry-Go-Round. The site was originally surveyed by Carlo Catani.

The Prahran Chronicle had an article about a perambulation the St Kilda Councillors undertook around the municipality and regarding the foreshore gardens the paper said Mr Curator Ashley is deserving of much commendation for the attractiveness and beauty which is to be seen on all sides. (Prahran Chronicle, October 27, 1917 see here)

As we know, Carlo sadly passed away on July 20, 1918 and Mr Ashley ensured that his plans and vision for the foreshore garden were completed. In October 1919 a journalist from the Prahran Telegraph paid a visit of inspection to the beach, and saw the curator, Mr. G. R. Ashley, with plan in hand. Mr. Ashley shows us how the splendid scheme of foreshore improvement designed by the late Mr. C. Catani, the State Surveyor-General, is being faithfully carried out by him. Mr. Ashley has an intense regard for Mr. Catani's works, in which, we think, most people, competent to judge, share...... Unfolding Mr Catani's plan which he carries in his pocket, Mr. Ashley shows us what has been done and what is blocked out to be done. The design, as might be expected is a composite picturesque whole. Much of the detail work was carried out as the work progressed. In this Mr. Ashley explained, Mr. Catani showed his elasticity of mind. Generally, Mr Catani imbued his ideas on Mr. Ashley's mind, and it may be said he could not have left the completion of his work in more capable hands, nor with an expert curator with more sympathetic understanding. (Prahran Telegraph, October 11, 1919, see here). How wonderful it would be to find Carlo's plan which Mr Ashley carried in his pocket.

It was another four years of work to complete Carlo's vision as The Age reported Mr. George Ashley, the curator of the St. Kilda foreshore management committee, states that he can now see signs of coming to the end of his constructive work in carrying out the plans of beautification of the late Mr. Catani, "the engineer artist," who designed the garden landscape of lawns and shrubberies alongside the beach.  (The Age November 27, 1922 see here)

I know from newspaper reports that Mr Ashley was employed by the St Kilda Fore Shore Committee until at least 1926, but I do not know when he retired. He is listed in the 1928 Electoral Rolls at 45 Clyde Street and his occupation is curator. In the 1931, when he was 60, George and Alice are living in Wilson Street in Cheltenham, so I believe he would have retired from the Fore Shore Committee at that time.

Before I get onto George's family life I can tell you that he had a love of dahlias. During the First World War there was a shortage of seeds and bulbs as they could not be imported so gardeners had to create new varieties and at a meeting of the Malvern and District Horticultural Society some of these new creations were displayed including Mr Ashley's collarette and single dahlias. At the same meeting, George Cooper, who was the curator of the Alexandra Gardens and who also worked closely with Carlo was reported to have a promising Japanese iris bed, in which there are nearly 1000 seedlings of his own raising by the judicious crossing of imported varieties. (The Herald, April 18, 1917, see here) You can read more about George Cooper, here.

 The lawn and pier, St Kilda. Photographer: Rose Stereograph Co.

Carlo Catani's design, George Ashley's work

State Library of Victoria Image H32492/605

George Robert Ashley, was born in 1871 in Collingwood to James and Mary (nee Hogan) Ashley.  He married Alice Maud Rickards in 1893. She was the daughter of William and Sarah (nee Keeble) Rickards. They had eight children, the first three were born in Carlton and the rest in Collingwood. Sadly for the family three of the children died very young.

1. Gladys Maude, 1893 - 1982.  Gladys married James Miller in  1923.
2. Sarah Florence, 1896 - 1898, died aged 2
3. Mary Ellen,  1898 - 1977.  In October 1915, when Mary was seventeen she was the subject of a drama when she was reported missing by her father. It was reported on in The Herald (see here).  Shortly after this she married Edward Rufus Schofield in 1916, had a baby Hector Ward Schofield, but  he sadly died at 5 months old in 1916. The couple then  had another baby Edward Gordon in 1918. When Edward Rufus died in 1942, Mary married Matthew Gilmore Lawson.  
4. Martha Keeble, 1901 - 1967. Martha married Donald Wallace Cameron in 1930, I believe they were divorced and she married John Sexton in 1950.
5. George Arthur,  1903 - 1903, died at the age of seven months
6. George Lewis,  1904 - 1904, died at the age of one month
7. Sarah Violet , 1905 - 1993. Sarah married John Henry Hodges in 1926.
8. Florence Emily 1908 - 1991. Florence married Bernard William Duthie in 1930. 

There is a story connected to the wedding of Sarah to John Hodges in 1926. On April 22 in that year George was found lying in the street in mysterious circumstances, the story was reported in The Argus -  At half past 4 o'clock yesterday afternoon George Robert Ashley, aged 55 vears, of Clyde street, St Kilda, was found found on the roadside in Martin street, Elwood. He told the police that he had been robbed of about £50 in notes. Senior-detective R. Brennan, Detective E. Ethell, and Plain clothes Constable Smith, of St Kilda, made premliminary inquiries into the incident, but, owing to his dazed condition, Ashley was unable to give them a coherent account of his movements. He said, however, that he has drawn the money the bank on Tuesday for the purchase of presents in connection with his daughter's wedding.

Ashley, who is a foreman gardener employed on the St Kilda foreshore, told the detectives that he had several drinks in an hotel at St Kilda yesterday morning, and that he remembered entering a motor-car driven by a man with coloured glasses. He knows nothing of his movements after that until he was found in Martin street. About £50, which he had in his possession was then missing. (The Argus, April 23, 1926, see here)

George Ashley's death notice from The Argus November 15, 1952.

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article23206087

Apart from the few years spent in Cheltenham in the early 1930s, George and Alice and family lived at three addresses in  Clyde Street in St Kilda - No. 57, No. 55 and from around 1936 at No. 45. Alice Ashley died June 14, 1959 aged 86. George predeceased her as he passed away November 14, 1952. He was cremated at Springvale and his ashes were scattered. His death notice described him as a loving father and devoted grandfather of Gladys, Shirley, Jean, Gordon, Robert, John and Brian. That's really sweet. I wish I had a  photo of George to show you, but I don't.

Holiday Makers at St Kilda - perhaps some of the many who flocked to St Kilda and left their rubbish behind for Mr Ashley to clean up (see below)

Image: The History of St Kilda from its first settlement to a City and after, 1840 - 1930 (see footnote 1)

We will finish this tribute to Mr Ashley, who not only worked closely with Carlo to ensure his vision of the St Kilda foreshore came to fruition but who was also clearly devoted to his role, with this excerpt taken from the Prahran Telegraph. The report was on the hundreds and thousands [who] flocked to the beaches. St. Kilda foreshore, from, west to south, was particularly crowded over the Christmas and New Year period..... One particular sore point about the business is that when Mr. George Ashley, the foreshore curator, gazes upon a scene such as that described, with the place littered with so much rubbish and cast off food pieces, he simply breaks down and weeps. But in course of time a transformation is brought about, and within a comparatively few hours the foreshore is looking as neat and trim as if tens of thousands of holiday makers had never been near it. It is said that George Ashley can get rid of the heaps of cast-off lunch-wrappers on the foreshore in as quick time as Byron Moore (3) can dispose of myriads of discarded betting tickets at Flemington. (Prahran Telegraph January 9, 1925, see here) 

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Acknowledgement
The information about the early history of the reclamation works of the St Kilda foreshore was provided to me by my research colleague, Isaac Hermann. Some of the first paragraph is actually his writing, so I am, as always, grateful to him for sharing this with me. Isaac also provided me with information about the Empire Cafe including its name, the date of opening and the fact that it was built on the site of  Baxter's Merry-Go-Round.  Thank you, Isaac.

Trove List
I have created a list of newspaper articles on Trove, connected to George Ashley. You can access it here. All the articles referred to here are on the list.

Footnotes
(1) John Butler Cooper wrote the two volume The History of St Kilda from its first settlement to a City and after, 1840 - 1930. It was published by the St Kilda City Council in 1931. The quote about the role of the Fore Shore Committee is from Volume 2, page 203. The image of the Holiday Makers is from Volume 2, facing page 190.

(2) The St Kilda Fore Shore Committee is also sometimes called the St Kilda Fore Shore Trust. My fellow historian, the aforementioned Isaac Hermann who has a particular interest in the history of Elwood and St Kilda,  explained to me that [he considers]  the Trust to be the legal and financial entity, while the Committee to be the operational body of members that constitute the Trust: so the Fore Shore Committee would meet to facilitate the projects, aims, goals, statutes of the Trust.

(3) Henry Byron Moore  (1839 - 1925) was Secretary of the Victorian Racing Club. You can read his Australian Dictionary of Biography entry, here.