Carlo Catani retired from the Public Works Department on April 28, 1917, the day he turned 65. Subsequently on May 9, at the Lands Department, Sir Alex Peacock, Premier of Victoria, presented Carlo with a magnificent illuminated address as a token of our pleasant association with you. The illuminated address was the work of Richard Fiddes Brown, of Messrs. Mason, Firth & McCutcheon, a printing, lithography and publishing firm, established in the 1870s (1).
The illuminated address, which is now held by the State Library of Victoria, was bound in morocco leather and had the signatures of the Premier, members of the Cabinet, heads of all departments, and officers of the Public Works Department. There were also views of the Governments’ Public Offices at 2 Treasury Place, where Catani was based and views of some of his major projects and sites: Alexandra Avenue, the Yarra River Improvements, Eurobin Falls, and Lake Catani.
Carlo Catani's Illuminated farewell address - the work of Richard Fiddes Brown.
State Library of Victoria Manuscripts collection. Image: Isaac Hermann.
Carlo Catani's Illuminated farewell address - the signatures of the Politicians
and Public Servants.
State Library of Victoria Manuscripts collection. Image: Isaac Hermann.
Carlo Catani's Illuminated farewell address - the work of Richard Fiddes Brown.
Illustrations depict - Governments’ Public Offices at 2 Treasury Place, Alexandra Avenue and the Yarra River, Eurobin Falls and Lake Catani.
State Library of Victoria Manuscripts collection. Image: Isaac Hermann.
It was, perhaps, no coincidence that this firm produced the farewell address as the manager of the firm, Robert George McCutcheon, knew Carlo Catani. McCutcheon was the member of the Legislative Assembly for the seat of St Kilda from 1902 until 1917, and he, along with Carlo, were among the original members of the St Kilda Fore Shore Committee, established in 1906 (2). At a St Kilda Council meeting in May 1917, the Council expressed their appreciation to the recently retired Carlo for his service to St Kilda and the State of Victoria. Both Carlo and Robert McCutcheon were invited guests at the meeting and it was reported that -
Mr. McCutcheon said he was extremely sorry that Mr. Catani had resigned from the public service. He had given magnificent service to the State, and during his long career in the Public Service he had gained the good-will and esteem of all with whom he had come in contact (3).
Richard Fiddes Brown, the talented artist, was born on April 5, 1876 in Oxley near Wangaratta in 1876. He was the third child of Robert Brown and Dorothy Anne Fiddes, who had married on January 19, 1873. He had six brothers and three sisters. We can track the location of the family from the birth places of the children; Robert Brown was an engine driver, presumably with the Victorian Railways, which may explain why they moved around so much. The next child after Richard was born in Barnawartha; the following three in Malmsbury from 1880 to 1884; and the last three were born in Richmond from 1887 to 1893. It is therefore likely that Richard attended school in Malmsbury and finished his schooling in Richmond. He possibly then started an apprenticeship with Mason, Firth & McCutcheon or a similar firm (4).
Richard was married to Florence Edith Brown on November 18, 1902 at St Johns Church of England, which was in La Trobe Street, Melbourne by the Reverend Cadwalader Pierce Thomas. Flora was 29 years old, born in Sydney and the daughter of Charles and Mary (nee Orkney) Brown. Their daughter Marjorie Fiddes Brown was born in 1904 in Brunswick and a son Stewart Fiddes Brown in 1906 in South Melbourne. The 1913 to 1919 Electoral Rolls show the family were living in Northcote; during the 1920s they were in Canterbury and in the 1930s in Camberwell. In spite of the fact that he was clearly a skilled artist, his occupation throughout the years was that of a traveller (salesman). (5)
The first reference I can find to Richard's community activities is in 1902 when he was listed as the Secretary of the Executive Committee of the local M.H.R, James Hume Cook, who as a member of the Protectionist Party, represented the Bourke Electorate from 1901 until 1910. Hume Cook had previously been a member of the Legislative Assembly in Victoria from 1894 until 1900 and was also a president of the Australian Natives' Association (A.N.A.) (6). Fiddes Brown was one of Hume Cook's groomsmen when he married Miss Nellie Maine at the Brunswick Presbyterian Church in March 1902. One of Nellie's bridesmaid was Florence Brown, the future wife of Fiddes Brown. I wonder did they know each before they were both members of the wedding party or is that how they met? A notable guest at the Hume Cook wedding was the Prime Minister, Edmund Barton. (7).
Fiddes Brown shared with Hume Cook an involvement with the A.N.A. The A.N.A was a Friendly Society, established in Victoria in 1871, and open to Australian born or 'native' men to promote and protect Australian interests, to promote the social and intellectual improvement of members and to provide medical benefits - such as the attendance of a Doctor when required, sick pay when ill and death benefits to the wife on the death of a member. It also banned any discussion of religion or an allusion calculated to excite sectarian feeling (8).
J.E. Menadue, in his history of the A.N.A.,
(9) notes Fiddes Brown's involvement as -
a member of the Brunswick Branch and was Assistant Secretary and President of the Branch. He was Chairman of the Metropolitan Committee in 1917 and 1918. It was the first time anyone had been Chairman for the second time. He was also a member of the Board of Directors (1917-1919) and a delegate to Annual Conference for 15 years. Menadue also lists another achievement of Fiddes Brown -
[to him]
goes the honour that as a result of an interview with Mr F. Tate, Director of Education, Victoria it was decided that the Australian Flag, and not the Union Jack, was to be saluted at Australian ceremonies.Richard Fiddes Brown, on his election to the President of the Working Men's College
In January 1915, Fiddes Brown, was elected as the Vice-President of the Working Men's College (later to become the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology) and two years later he was appointed the President (10).1917 was indeed a busy time for Fiddes Brown as The Herald noted -
As president of the Working Men's College Council for 1917 and chairman of the Metropolitan Board of the Australian Natives' Association, Mr. Brown's spare time this year will be well occupied. (11). Added to these roles was the creation of Carlo's illuminated retirement address, presented in the May.
Fiddes Brown clearly had an interest in Technical education and in August 1917 he presented a lecture on the subject at the Glen Huntly Hall. Some of the more interesting parts of his speech are transcribed here (you can read his full speech in the Cheltenham Seaside News, here)
Technical education, he said, was one of the most important questions of the day.... In Victoria there is no systematic method of finding out what calling a lad is adapted for, and the worst instance of improper selection is found to be in the parents themselves. In giving examples of this, he referred to five callers recently at the Working Men's College. Each parent wanted his boy to be an Electrical engineer or a mechanical engineer. In many instances owing to faulty selections, boys are being put to trades for which they are unsuitable, and frequently after two years work it is found that the boy's time, and the parents money had been wasted.
When the war was over they would have a hard trade war, and workmen could not compete unless they attended technical schools and were given the necessary training. New South Wales were spending £2,500,000 on education, whilst Victoria spent £1,500,000. Mention had been made of an effort to secure a technical school in Caulfield, and he would, urge that a site be selected which would permit of room for expansion. It is absolutely essential that the land be sufficiently large to provide for additions, as taking the other suburbs such as Brunswick, the day the school opened it would be filled. The Australian can hold his own against any race in the world. He is quick and smart to pick up a thing, and you will find that many high positions are held by those who have been students at the Working Men's Collage. The British monitors doing such fine work in this war were designed by an ex-student of the Working Men's College, and the automatic firing, which was fitted up in the trenches at Gallipoli to delude the Turks during the evacuation, was an invention of an ex-student of the same college. The man who is technically trained is better equipped to fight than he would be otherwise.
On the question of repatriation much good work has been done by the college in training returned soldiers in the work of boat clicking and in this the State War council has given great help and up to date eighty men have been trained and enabled to take up work, earning £3 per week and giving satisfaction to the employer and employee alike. Wool sorting has also been taken up and the men after selection some eight months ago have been trained and fifty of these have started work for this wool season. The others now being trained will take up the work next year. Toy-making at the Collingwood school has also been successful notwithstanding reports to the contrary (12).
The dapper Richard Fiddes Brown on the left with Mr M. Devine at the A.N.A fete in Janaury 1919
Scouting was another activity in which Fiddes Brown took an interest. In August 1918 it was reported that -
The dinner arranged by the Scout Masters' Association in commemoration of the amalgamation of Baden Powell and Australian Imperial Scout Sections was held at the Cafe Royal on Saturday evening, when 60 Scout Masters, members of the central executive committee and invited guests were present, Brigadier-General Burston occupied the chair and was supported by Mr Fiddes Brown, Mr Coe, chairman of the central executive committee, being unavoidably absent....The function will be long remembered by those who were present (13).
In May 1921, The new Scout Hall at Blackburn was officially opened on Saturday afternoon. Mr R. Fiddes Brown, chairman of the Headquarters Staff in declaring the hall opened, spoke of the spirit of citizenship displayed by Mr Saunders, who is nearly 80 years of age, and built the hall for the benefit of the Blackburn troop (14).
There is one more story of Fiddes Brown worth sharing, that of his support for the retention of the Old Melbourne Cemetery. The Age reported on a protest held in 1920 -
Old Melbourne Cemetery. Protest against Desecration
That the opposition to the City Council's proposal to utilise the old cemetery for the extension of the general market adjoining is growing, both as to numbers and influence, was evidenced yesterday, when some hundreds of people assembled at Batman's monument to participate in the annual Foundation day service. Sir John Monash, who presided, laid a tribute to the work of Mr. A. H. Padley and those associated with him for the efforts made to defeat the council's proposal. He said that many of the men who were on active service were, like himself, astounded to learn that such an historic area was to be callously desecrated, and feared that the harm would have been done before they returned. Thanks to Mr. Padley and others this was avoided and the opportunity being afforded him, he intended to do everything possible to bring councillors to see the wrongfulness of what they proposed. (Applause.)
The cemetery, was the most historic and sacred spot in Victoria, and it would be a national crime to destroy it. The very idea of turning it into a vegetable market was revolting, and if carried into effect would prove that the people of Melbourne were utterly devoid of sentiment, and utterly lacking in gratitude to the pioneers who had blazed the trail they were following. (Applause.)
Apart altogether from the sentimental aspect, it would be a great breach of faith, amounting to robbery, to those who had paid for the graves and, the right of their dead to lie in peace for all time, while to do it at a period when they were talking of erecting memorials would be to show themselves a community of hypocrites. (Applause.)
Dr. Springthorpe, in moving a motion of protest, said he would sooner become a carniverous animal and live without vegetables altogether than eat vegetables sold on such a sacred site; a place sanctified by the burial of the first ten thousand of Melbourne's dead. The motion was seconded by Mr. I. Selby, who argued that the cemetery, because of its sacred, historical and democratic associations, was the ideal location of a national memorial to those who fell in the war. Mr Long (Educational department) moved, and Mr. Fiddes Brown (A.N.A.) seconded, that a deputation wait on the Lord Mayor to seek his support in preserving the cemetery. Both motions were unanimously agreed to. (15)
In spite of the high profile support, the Cemetery was closed and only the marked graves were exhumed and reinterred at other cemeteries. The rest remain buried under the Queen Victoria Market.
As was common in those days, it was the men who were involved in public life, but we do have one reference of Florence Fiddes Brown taking part in a community activity, and it is more than likely she was involved in many other activities. In June 1918, The Herald reported -
When a small hand held out 10/ yesterday to help in the penny offensive at the Town Hall, Mrs R. Fiddes Brown, to whom the money was given, was surprised, and questioned the boy Vernon Hodgson, of The Parade, Ascot Vale. The boy had made £1 by the sale of paper beads which he had made. He gave 10/ to the Comforts Fund and 10/ to his school fund. (16).
Richard and Florence's children both married. Marjorie was married in 1937 to Joseph Frances Forster and her death notice in
The Age of November 29, 1982 lists five children and sixteen grandchildren. Stewart married in 1929 to Evelyn Rosetta Margaret Reaby. He was a Solicitor and they lived in Horsham. Florence died on July 30, 1929, aged 55 and Richard died November 13, 1936, aged 60. They are buried at the Box Hill Cemetery
(17).
Trove list - I have created a short list of articles about Richard Fiddes Brown and his work, personal life, community activities and people he was associated with. Access it
here.
Footnotes
(1) Report of the presentation -
The Herald, May 9, 1917, see
here.
(2) Robert George McCutcheon (1841 - 1918) - obituary:
The Argus, October 21, 1918, see
here;
Spectator and Methodist Chronicle, October 23, 1918, see
here. St Kilda Fore Shore information - 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), p. 204.
(3)
Malvern Standard, May 26, 1917, see
here.
(4) Family information - Birth Certificate and Marriage Certificate; Indexes to Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages.
(5) More Family information - Marriage certificate; Indexes to Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages; Electoral Rolls on Ancestry.com
(7) Hume Cook wedding -
Punch, March 27, 1902, see
here.
(8) Menadue, J.E. A Centenary History of the Australian Natives' Association, 1871-1971 (Horticultural Press, 1971), p. 10.
(9) Menadue, op. cit.
(10)
The Age, January 27, 1915, see
here.
(11)
The Herald, January 27, 1917, see
here.
(12)
Cheltenham Seaside News, August 25, 1917, see
here.
(13)
Weekly Times, August 31, 1918, see
here.
(14)
The Herald, May 23, 1921, see
here.
(15)
The Age, January 26, 1920, see
here.
(16)
The Herald, June 25, 1918, see
here.
(17) Indexes to Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages; Family notices in the newspapers.
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