Speaking to a Geelong district shire engineer, Mr Catani, of the Public Works Department, said the Geelong and district municipalities ought to contribute towards the proposal to plant the Geelong-Melbourne main road with trees, as it would make the thoroughfare one of the most popular in the State, and tend directly towards the advancement of the whole district. The estimated cost is £10,000, half of which it is expected the Government will contribute; if all the councils interested assist in raising their share it will not be a heavy undertaking particularly if the Government allows them extended payments at a reasonable rate of interest. The scheme has been approved by Geelong district councils, but none has so far indicated what it is prepared to contribute. (1)
The success of the project, as the article noted, relied on various the Councils contributing towards the cost. Geelong at the time was covered by the following municipalities - City of Geelong, Borough of Geelong West, Borough of Newtown & Chilwell, Shire of South Barwon and Shire of Corio; and the Geelong Road also went through the Shire of Werribee, thus six municipalities were involved.
Princes Highway (Geelong Road), Werribee in 1921
Country Roads Board collection, Public Records Office of Victoria VPRS 17684/P0003/34, 21_00072
There was support, in theory, for this project for different reasons, apart from the aesthetics of a shady, tree lined road. Firstly, as Cr McCann of Corio Shire noted scientists wore of the opinion that the destruction of trees tended to reduce the average rainfall. If trees were planted along the road it, would make admirable shelter and be a good break wind. (2) Secondly, support came from the Conservator of Forests who considered that the road could be planted with timber of commercial value, which in years to come would certainly be reproductive. (3) Thirdly, it would provide employment for married men who had become unemployed owing to the war and drought. (4)
However, from the beginning, the City of Geelong was not interested on the grounds that that it could lay out money to much better advantage on the foreshore and improving the Barwon river. (5) The Shire Engineer of Corio suggested that the only practical way to have the scheme carried out was to have the necessary power vested in the Country Roads Board (CRB); in that way all municipalities interested would be called upon to bear their proportion of the cost. (6) However, the CRB did not currently have the power to plant trees and the Shire President suggested that the Minister for Public works be asked to amend the Act with the object of giving power to the Country Roads Board to carry out tree planting on roads. (7)
The Country Roads Board was established in 1913, a central road authority with responsibility for those roads within the State considered to be main roads (8) and engineer William Calder (1860 -1928) was appointed Chairman. He had previously been the City Engineer at the City of Prahran. (9)
What happened of the Geelong Road tree planting proposal, that Carlo had advocated for? Nothing, and in all fairness the War would have meant that there were other priorities in the community for resources and man power.
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Princes Highway (Geelong Road) between Werribee and Little River, 1916.
Country Roads Board collection, Public Records Office of Victoria VPRS 17684/P0003/916, 16_00028
There were later proposals for tree planting. In 1918, the Werribee Shire intended to plant an Avenue of Honour along their section of the road. (10) In 1924 The Argus noted that this stretch of road was the best in Australia for its length, is also the most uninteresting. It is devoid of both scenery and hills, crossing a wide expanse of plain....A row of trees on either side would greatly relieve the monotony of the drive, and would enhance the prospect. (11) That same year, another plan was put forward by the Mayor of Geelong, Cr Robert Purnell who was hopeful that the Forestry Commission, with the assistance of the municipalities, will go through with the planting scheme. (12)
It wasn't until 1928, 13 years after Carlo and the Public Works Department were first involved that a tree planting project became a reality and by then the Country Roads Board, had tree planting powers. The Argus reported in April 1928 that To perpetuate the memory of the late Mr. W. Calder, who was chairman of the Country Roads Board, it is intended to complete the planting of trees along the Geelong road and to name the road the Calder avenue. (13)
The next year, in July 1929 it was reported that -
the planting of trees in the Calder memorial avenue along the Geelong road was recommenced last Monday, and in three days 368 trees were added to the plantations between Kororoit Creek and Aviation road, sold out between Werribee and Little River. At a meeting of the appeal committee yesterday representatives of the Country Roads Board reported that the board expected to plant 1,392 trees next week. It was stated that £1,475, which had been expended in making the avenue, represented only labour, in the trees planted having been presented by nurserymen. It was intended to purchase two varieties of trees which were not easily obtainable in Victoria. The committee expressed keen appreciation of the nurserymen's a generosity, and as a mark of gratitude it was decided to allot to them one of the plantations The committee decided to make a special appeal to motorists to contribute to the fund. (14)
Melbourne Road, Geelong (as that part of the Princes Highway is called in Geelong) in 1929. The Ford Motor Works is on the left.
Country Roads Board collection, Public Records Office of Victoria VPRS 17684/P0003/436, 28_00087
The planting of the Calder Memorial Avenue was completed in 1934, and by then over 60,000 trees had been planted. (15) I have no information about when the name Calder Memorial Avenue ceased being used. There are only 9 references to the name between 1932 and 1937 in the newspapers on Trove, so the early 1930s would be my guess. The road between Melbourne and Mildura, originally called the North-Western Highway, was re-named the Calder Highway in December 1928 (16), and this may have been a reason that the Calder Memorial Avenue name fell into disuse - apart from the fact the road already had two names, the Princes Highway and the Geelong Road.
Trove List - I have created a short list of newspaper articles on this topic, access it here.
Footnotes
(1) Colac Reformer, February 9, 1915, see here.
(2) Geelong Advertiser, February 25, 1915, see here.
(3) Geelong Advertiser, January 9, 1915, see here.
(4) Ibid
(5) Geelong Advertiser, February 25, 1915, see here.
(6) Ibid
(7) Ibid
(8) CRB - Public Records Office of Victoria https://prov.vic.gov.au/archive/VA722
(9) William Calder - Australian Dictionary of Biography https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/calder-william-5466
(10) Werribee Shire Banner, June 20, 1918, see here.
(11) The Argus, July 9, 1924, see here.
(12) The Herald, January 31, 1924, see here.
(13) The Argus, April 12, 1928, see here.
(14) The Argus, July 13, 1929, see here.
(15) Werribee Shire Banner, March 1, 1934, see here.
(16) The Age, December 24, 1928, see here.
