St Kilda City Council: Carlo's 1914 re-subdivision and Carlo urged to nominate in 1917

The City of St Kilda was re-subdivided from three wards into four wards in April 1914, the new boundaries being based on the plan devised by Carlo Catani.   

There had been agitation for this increase in wards for years, as the Prahran Telegraph reported in October 1909 -

At the St. Kilda Council meeting last evening Councillor Stedeford moved - " That this council, at its next meeting, take the necessary steps to constitute a new ward, dividing the city of St. Kilda into four Wards, in lieu of three wards as at present constituted." The proposal had been before the council during the past nine or ten years, but had been postponed for various reasons, the main objection being that the vacant Crown land at Elwood had not been sold. Some of the land had now been sold. There had been a large increase of settlement in the South Ward. The area was twice that of the other wards, and the number of ratepayers was nearly twice the number of the other two wards. (1).

In October 1912 at a Council meeting Cr. Hewison moved that the public works committee be directed to take into consideration the advisableness of resubdividing the city into four wards, and report to the council. The number of ratepayers in the three wards was noted as 1400 and 1300 in the North and West wards, and over 2000 in the South. The motion was lost on the casting vote of the Mayor and this was his reasoning -

The Mayor (Cr. O'Donnell) stated that when the matter was previously discussed it was decided that nothing be done until the Elwood land had been sold. He would not vote for an additional ward being created until that eventuated (2).

John Butler Cooper, in his History of St Kilda explains how the four wards eventually came to fruition  -

The marvellous developments of the southern portion of the City of St. Kilda, that followed the subdivisional sales, by the Government, of the reclaimed lands at Elwood, was such that it disturbed the balance of municipal representation in the Council, and obviously suggested the advisability of resubdividing the city into four Wards, with the consequent increase in the number of councillors from nine to twelve. Prior to that the business of the City was carried on by nine councillors, representatives from three Wards, and that had been so from November 27, 1868, when it was proclaimed in the Government Gazette that St. Kilda was divided into three Wards, respectively, the North Ward, the South Ward and the West Ward.

The St. Kilda Council faced the position created by the development of Elwood. It received a petition from certain ratepayers desirous that a new Ward of the City should be created. A plan of the proposed subdivision, prepared in October, 1913 by Carlo Catani, at the desire of the Hon., the Minister of Public Works was approved at a conference held between the St. Kilda Council, and the petitioners. Copies of the petition were issued for signature, by ratepayers in favor of the resubdivision of the City of St. Kilda into four Wards (3). 

The Conference accepted Carlo's scheme of sub-division with the exception that the name of the Central Ward be substituted for that of the proposed Balaclava Ward, and South Ward for that of the proposed Elwood Ward. (4). 

The re-subdivision into four wards was gazetted on April 8, 1914. All nine councillors were stood down, and the first election under the new boundaries was held on August 27, 1914. The successful candidates were -

Central Ward : T. G. Allen, J. H. Pittard, J. J. Love; North Ward : H. F. Barnet, H.B. Gibbs, F. G. Hughes ; West Ward : E. O'Donnell, R. A. Molesworth, G. B. Renfrey ; South Ward : Burnett Gray, J. H. Hewison, H. McL.Duigan. (5).

Cooper published this interesting table of the statistics of the four wards in October 1913. The table was prepared by the Town Clerk, Mr. F. W. Chamberlin. 

Statistics of the four St Kilda wards in 1913. 

Carlo Catani also presented similar and extra statistics, see footnote 6.

Source: John Butler Cooper History of St Kilda  (7).

The well respected Carlo, was urged to stand for Council after his retirement from the Public Works Department. In March 1917, the In the Barber's Shop column of the Prahran Telegraph, which was written under the pseudonym of Figaro, reported this -
It has been suggested to me that Mr. Catani, who is retiring from the public service, and who is a resident of St. Kilda, would make a very fine councillor, from his knowledge of public works, if he could be induced to enter the council. I pass the suggestion on to those who are more actively engaged in electioneering than myself. (8).

The same paper reported in June 1917 -
A requisition was presented by a number of influential ratepayers to Mr. Carlo Catani, J.P., asking him to nominate for a seat in the St. Kilda Council for the south ward at the coming elections. After consideration, Mr. Catani declined. (9). 

The St Kilda Town Hall, as Carlo would have known it.

A portico and new foyer were added in 1925 and the brick was rendered in 1957 (10)

State Library of Victoria Image H84.346/75

It's a shame that Carlo never stood for election, he no doubt would have romped home at the head of the poll, however even though he had retired he was still involved in other civic activities such as the St Kilda Fore Shore Committee and from May 1917 he sat on the bench at the St Kilda Magistrates Court as an Honorary Justice (11). 

Trove list - I have created a list of articles on the lead up to the 1914 re-subdivision of the City of St Kilda, which will give some extra information on the process of the change, access it here. 

Footnotes

(1) The Prahran Telegraph, October 9, 1909, see here.

(2) The Age, October 2, 1912, see here.

(3) Cooper, John Butler The History of St Kilda from its first settlement to a city and after 1840 - 1930, v. 2 (St Kilda City Council, 1931), pp. 178-179. 

(4) The Argus, October 28, 1913, see here.

(5) Cooper, op. cit., p. 179.

(6) From the Prahran Telegraph, October 4, 1913, see here. 

The figures attached to Mr. Catani scheme of re-subdivision are as follows:

West ward. — Rateable property, 345 acres, reserves 177 acres, total, 523 acres; valuation, £102,087; ratepayers, 1611, population, 9076, probable increase in ten years, nil ; valuation in ten years, £102,087.

North ward.— Rateable property 436 acres, reserves 62 acres, total 498 acres; valuation, £74,159; ratepayers 1580, population, 7204, probable increase in ten years to 10,686, probable valuation, £84,845.

Balaclava Ward. — Rateable property, 382 acres, reserves, 43 acres, total 425 acres, valuation £65,826; ratepayers, 1752, population 6740, probable increase in ten years to 17,667, probable valuation, £83,493.

Elwood ward. — Rateable property, 555 acres, reserves, 94 acres, total 649 acres; valuation, £49,898; ratepayers, 1444, population, 4466; probable increase in ten years to 39, 076 probable valuation, 

£88, 974.

Totals. — Rateable property, 1719 acres, reserves, 379 acres, total 2009 acres; valuation, £291,970; ratepayers, 6387, population 27,436; probable increase in ten years to 67,429; probable valuation, £359,399.

(7) Cooper, op. cit., p. 179.

(8) Prahran Telegraph, March 17, 1917, see here.

(9) Prahran Telegraph, June 30, 1917, see here.

(10) Town Hall history http://skhs.org.au/SKHSbuildings/33.htm

(11) St Kilda Fore Shore Committee - https://victoriancollections.net.au/stories/carlo-catani-an-engineering-star-over-victoria/st-kilda-foreshore-gardens St Kilda Magistrates Court - http://carlocatani.blogspot.com/2022/03/carlos-time-as-honorary-justice-at-st.html