Templestowe, Victoria

Infobox Australian Place | type = suburb
name = Templestowe
city = Melbourne
state = vic

---

caption =
lga = City of Manningham
postcode = 3106
pop = 16,428 (2006)Census 2006 AUS | id = SSC21665 | name = Templestowe (State Suburb) | accessdate = 2007-09-29 | quick = on]
area = 14.7
est =
propval = $650,000cite web | last = | first = | title = Templestowe suburb profile @ domain.com.au | url=http://www.domain.com.au/public/suburbprofile.aspx?suburb=Templestowe&postcode=3106 | accessdate = 2007-11-27]
stategov = Bulleen, Warrandyte
fedgov = Menzies
dist1 = 19
location1= Melbourne
near-nw = Lower Plenty
near-n = Eltham
near-ne = Warrandyte
near-w = Templestowe Lower
near-e = Doncaster East
near-sw = Doncaster
near-s = Doncaster East
near-se = Donvale

:"Templestowe" redirects here. For the Victorian Legislative Council Province, please see Templestowe Province.Templestowe is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its local government area is the City of Manningham. It has a number of natural attractions, including ample parklands, contrasted with large, modern shopping malls.

Geography

Templestowe is located in the North-Eastern area of Melbourne, 19km from the City. Templestowe is bordered by the Yarra River, King Street, Victoria Street, Blackburn Road and some parks.

The landscape of Templestowe is striking. Gentle, rolling hills extend from east of the Yarra River flood plains along Templestowe Road (towards the Eastern Freeway) for seven km (4.3 miles) to the north-east. The altitude of the plain above sea level is 50 m, and the topography is subdued and mostly flat; the hills are just below 60 m, the slopes rounded, and there are several forrested gullies.

Since the Southern Ocean sea-level stabilised 3000 years ago, the rivers of the Port Phillip Sunkland ceased eroding their channels and have been depositing an alluvium of silt, clay, and sand in the lower reaches of the flood plains. Over the last 2000 years the slowly coursing river widened the build-up to form a series of meanders ("billabongs"). In Warrandyte the river flows through a steep sided gorge for a distance of 26 km, forming an "antecedent" stream: the absence of steps or high river terraces on long spurs inside meander bends indicates some relatively recent deposition. In the suburb itself, at the confluence with the Plenty River, the valley opens up into "wide flood plains surrounded by undulating country of tertiary geology."

Degradation of the soils in the steep slopes at the river's edge has been exacerbated over the last century by unsustainable agricultural processes (such as the harvesting of storm-felled trees), deforestation and the introduction of rabbits; following the 2006 drought, the community newspaper has reported several times the population was only brought under in 2007, 12 years after baiting programs were begun [cite news
last =
first =
coauthors =
title = Rabbit control pays off
work = Manningham Leader
publisher =
date = 2008-08-20
url =
accessdate = ] Failed verification|date=August 2008 and that more conservation funding is needed to halt the loss of vegetation along the river. [cite news
last = Allen
first = Stacy
coauthors =
title = Growth harms waterways
work = Manningham Leader
publisher =
date = 2007-12-31
url = http://www.manninghamleader.com.au/article/2007/12/31/27333_dtv_news.html
accessdate = 2008-08-28 ] Most of the surrounding area has been cleared for agricultural and orchard use, although an "urban forest" exists in the densely populated rural-residential areas. [PDFlink| [http://www.qp.org.nz/pubs/3708.pdf City of Manningham Biodiversity Initiatives Program] |709 KiB. Retrieved on 2008-08-03.] There is a wide diversity of growth within the flood plain.

Climate

Most of the area corresponds to the climate recorded in Melbourne, though some variation has been recorded in the hills to the north-east. The rainfall in this forrested area is 782 mm in 169 rain days per year, which exceeds the metropolitan average of 655 mm in 143 rain days by approximately 12 mm daily.

Geology

Devonian volcanic intrusions containing quartz and feldspar are present on both sides of the river, as well as in the hills to the west (Heidelberg). The Newer Volcanics (2.5 to 5 million years old) are concentrated in the upper reaches of the river but it was their flows just upstream that blocked off the depression into Port Phillip Bay, forming a large lake at Fairfield. The Yarra subsequently cut across to the east of the flow and the lake was drained. The basalt is exposed at both the Fairfield locality and along the Plenty River. Quaternary sediments in the form of river alluvium, including half a metre of fine gravel, have been deposited on the floodplains and in the river channels; only some of this forms high river terraces, most material being diverted in massive annual floods.

A report from "The Argus" in 1923 gives rare insight to interest in the area. It had been recently accepted that "when the coastal plain is overweighted the back country rises" due to inexorable forces moulding the surface of the earth, and the so-called "Templestowe anticline" was studied as representative of microscopic faulting which accommodated this elevation of the eastern suburbs. It was observed that the new reserve grounds established along it would become a "Mecca" for geologists: [cite news
last = Chapman
first = F.
coauthors =
title = Beauty Spot for Balwyn
work = The Argus
publisher =
date = 1923-09-22
url = http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1995160
accessdate = 2008-08-28 ]

History

Templestowe has had two notable waves of human settlement. The first occurred "c." 40000 BCE, its history being preserved in legend amongst the tribes#tag:ref|The original "custodians" [cite book
last = Harrison
first = Jane
coauthors =
title = Tribal Expressions: The business of art and culture in Indigenous Victoria
publisher = Koori Business Network, Department of Innovation, Industry and Regional Development
date = 2006
pages = p. 7
month =
isbn = 1-920-921-672 ] of the land.|group=nb of the Kulin nation (a confederation of at least [PDFlink| [http://www.latrobe.edu.au/linguistics/assets/downloads/Staff/blake/Kulin&itsneighbours.pdf Kulin and its neighbours] |698 KiB, Barry J. Blake. Retrieved on 2008-08-19.] five language groups) via the dreamtime pathways. Most interpretations depict a pathway from the area today known as Port Phillip Bay along the Goulburn River, across "The Black Spur" at Healesville and down the Yarra River to what are now the cities of Manningham and Nillumbik, in the eastern suburbs.

The land to the east of Melbourne was acquired by The Crown early in the 19th century, during the Stawellian timocracy; the Wurundjeri people, who [http://greenmapcommunity.org.au/directory/the-wurundjeri-people-and-sustainable-living inhabited] the Yarra River Valley and its tributaries for 500 years, [cite conference
last = McBriar
first = Marilyn
coauthors = Loder and Bayly
title = Historic Riverland Landscape Assessment
booktitle = Heidelburg Conservation Study Part 2
place =
date = 1987
url =
accessdate = ] were granted "permissive occupancy" of Coranderrk Station, near Healesville, and forcibly#tag:ref|Green records that by the 1850s the situation had "got pretty bad for the local Aborigines, and the [conflict over land] was brought to a head when the local tribe were visited by a few relatives from Drouin way. They then started to go on their traditional walkabout route, and much to the consternation of local settlers, began a corroborree at a traditional site in Bulleen, and then moved to Pound Bend [near Warrandyte] where it lasted two weeks. Troopers were ultimately called out when the tribe failed to return to their camp at Pound Bend. A number were arrested and sent to the police stockade at Dandenong. The remainder [there were no more than eighteen remaining in the district at last count, in 1862] were ultimately sent to the new Aboriginal reserve in Healesville, and Templestowe's 'Aboriginal problem' was quickly solved."|group=nb resettled. Extensive trading networks had been established with the predominantly British colonists prior to pastoralism in 1835, George Langhorne, a missionary in Port Phillip from 1836-39, noting in his recourse to the Colony of New South Wales that a substantial monetary trade was "well established" in 1838: "A considerable number of the blacks obtain food and clothing for themselves by shooting the Menura pheasant or Bullun-Bullun for the sake of the tails, which they sell to the whites." [cite book
last = Langhorne
first = George
coauthors =
title = Aborigines of Port Phillip
publisher = Inward Registery, Port Phillip District Authority
date = 1835-1839
pages = p. 229
month =
isbn = ] The increasingly rapid acquisition of guns, the lure of exotic foods and a societal emphasis on maintaining kin relationships meant they weren't attracted to the mission. [cite journal
last = Cahir
first = Fred
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = "Dallong" (Possum Skin Rugs): A Study of an Inter-Cultural Trade Item in Victoria
journal = Provenance
volume =
issue = 4
pages = 2-3
publisher = Public Record Office Victoria
location =
date = 2005
url = http://www.prov.vic.gov.au/provenance/no4/DallongPrint.pdf
format = PDF
issn =
accessdate = 2008-08-03] According to John Green, the Inspector of Aboriginal Stations in Victoria and later manager of Corranderrk, [PDF| [http://www1.aiatsis.gov.au/exhibitions/languages/smyth_pdf/m0042851_a.pdf The Aborigines of Victoria: The Yarra and Western Port] |1388.4 KiB. Retrieved on 2008-08-03.] the people were able to achieve a "sustainable" degree of economic independence: "In the course of one week or so they will all be living in huts instead of willams [traditional housing] ; they have also during that time [four months] made as many rugs, which has enabled them to buy boots, hats, coats etc., and some of them [have] even bought horses." [cite book
last = Yallock
first = Woori
coauthors = S. Wiencke
title = When the wattles bloom again: the life and times of William Barak, last chief of the Yarra Yarra tribe
publisher =
date = 1984
pages = p. 52
month =
isbn = ]

The subsequent, pioneer settlement process was drawn out due to the area's geographic inaccessibility relative to that west of Melbourne: the land was hilly and thickly timbered, as opposed to the open plains of greater Geelong. Additionally, it was believed that the soil was shallow and infertile, a fallacy which was not debunked until T. R. Nutt surveyed the land in 1839.

The original Templestowe village was situated between what is today Finns Reserve and the Templestowe Hotel, as this expanse of land ran by a fresh water stream. It was formally recognised in legislative writ following the establishment of the school in Tom Hicks' barn, as the educational facility was also utilised in an official capacity by the community, that is, it facilitated the burial of the dead and town meetings. The original building was roughly situated on the corner of Serpells Road and Williamsons Road and was first cited in a judicial trial in 1856.

Founding Families

The first permanent resident in Templestowe was Major Charles Newman (1795-1866). He served for 30 years in the Honourable East India Company and rose to the rank of Major in the 51st Regiment of the Indian Army, the Bengal Native Infantry. As his vision had degraded, Newman retired from the military and migrated to the penal colony of Van Dieman's Land with his wife, children, and two step daughters. He purchased a large area of land near the town of Pontville, which was to become the colony's second largest estate. Hearing that land was selling quickly in the newly formed town of Melbourne, he purchased 36 km² (13.9 square miles) during the 1830s around what is now Newmans Road. In 1840 he began construction of Pontville Homestead, relocating there with his remaining family in 1843. The Newman family were at the time the furthest settlers east of Melbourne. Their descendants occupied the land until 1950.

The other founding families include:

* Adams
* Atkins
* Bell
* Britton
* Clancey
* Collins
* Channey
* Cunningham
* Chivers
* Eccleston
* Finn
* Fitzsimons
* Fromhold
* Griffin
* Hunter
* Hodgson
* Haughton
* Howett
* Howith
* Hardidge
* Johnston
* Jacks
* Jenkins
* Joughin
* Kent
* Kean
* Lowe
* Lacey
* McNamara
* McEwin
* Mahoney
* McGahy
* Parker
* Rawnsley
* Read
* Rhodes
* Schuhkraft
* Smith
* Stacher
* Taylor
* Trott
* Todd
* Williamson

There was an early settlement of Irish and Scottish folk from the ship "Midlothian" through Bulleen and Templestowe, which had arrived in June of 1839. The grassland there was interspersed with large Manna and River Red ("Be-al") gum trees and broken up by chains of lagoons, the largest of which, called Lake Bulleen, was surrounded by impenetrable reeds that stove off attempts to drain it for irrigation. [cite book
last = Green
first = Irvine
coauthors =
title = Petticoats in the Orchard
publisher = Doncaster-Templestowe Historical Society
date = 1987
pages = pp. 3-7
month =
isbn = 0-9500920-9-6 ] Due to the distribution of raised ground, the flats were always flooding and for a long time only the poorest (non-English) immigrants leased "pastoral" land from Unwins Special Survey, the estate of the Port Phillip District Authority. Hence although far from prosperous, the farmers living close to nature, most were "independent", such that a private Presbytarian school#tag:ref|Which did not qualify for Government aid.|group=nb was begun for the district in 1843:

cquote|The ready market for firewood and building timber [led to the construction of] several pits and charcoal burners. In winter, the tracks on the river flats became quagmires and to overcome this, corduroy roads were built consisting of layer upon layer of timber carted by bullock wagons and drays.

As the land was cleared, crops of wheat, barley, oats and potatoes were gown and dairy farming started, the land having flooded as early as 1847. The [village] was in fact the first wheat exporting community in [Port Phillip] .

The first priority of the settlers was shelter, so they built homes from materials readily available, such as trees, bark, and locally quarried stone and probably following the example of materials in local aboriginal housing. A bark hut with one or two rooms was the quickest to erect. Wattle and daub huts were made from wattle sticks interlaced horizontally, nailed to uprights then daubed over with a mixture of clay and water, this gave a rought cast appearance.

The slab hut was constructed from large slabs of timber two or three inches thick. Consequently the hut lasted many years. The stone house was of course the most permanent dwelling. All houses were roofed with either bark or wood shingles, and had chimneys made out of stone or timber slabs, rendered over with mud on the inside to prevent it catching fire. An iron bar was positioned in the fireplace so that cooking utensils could be suspended over the open fire. Three legged pots and camp ovens were used for baking.

[...]

Nearly every home kept fowls, a cow or two, and pigs. The women of course milked the cows, made butter and cheese, collected eggs and looked after the vegetable plot. When there was a surplus, the women often walked to Kew and Collingwood to sell it. The pig when slaughtered, was cured and hung from the rafters in the kitchen. Women also worked alongside their husbands ploughing and sowing crops, then reaping with scythe and sickle. They also stripped the bark from wattle trees to use in the process of leather tanning.

Pontville Homestead

Pontville Homestead was constructed in the early 1840s on part of Newman's pastoral holding, at the confluence of the Yarra River and the Mullum-Mullum Creek. The remains of his first dwelling, a turf hut, was located near the site.Fact|date=January 2008 Pontville now comprises a house constructed "c." 1843-1850 and extended in the 1870s, remnantplantings, cottage foundations, outbuildings, bridge foundations, tracks,and a range of other features associated with the farming use of the areasince the 1830s. Pontville was acquired by the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works in 1978, and Melbourne Water and Parks now manages the property as part of Paddle Reserve.

Pontville Homestead is socially, if not in practice, one of the last pastoral selections on the Yarra River within the metropolitan area, and is associated with the earliest development of the Templestowe area. Newman, one of only two ex-Indian Army officers resident in Victoria at the time, was influential in the development of Australian colonial society, and his Indian experience strongly influenced the architectural form of the Pontville homestead. Newman was also associated with gold prospecting in the district following the discovery of gold at Anderson Creek in Warrandyte. He was among the first in south-eastern Australia to mine quartz reefs.

Pontville is historically and aesthetically significant amongst the early towns as its landscape contributes to the greater understanding of 1840s agricultural and garden history, as well as for containing numerous relics of aboriginal life. The survival of its formal garden terracing and the presence Hawthorn hedgerows, used for fencing, is unusual. In his book [cite book
last = Windschuttle
first = Keith
authorlink = Keith Windschuttle
coauthors =
title = The Fabrication of Aboriginal History Volume One: Van Diemen's Land 1803-1847
publisher = Macleay Press
date = 2002
pages = p. 80
month =
isbn = 1-876492-05-8 ] on pastoralism in Tasmania and the 1920s conflict with the island natives, Keith Windschuttle writes:

The property itself (now subdivided) has several remnant plantings of the colonial era including Himalayan Cypress, Black Mulberry and willow trees; and, the integrity of ancient scar trees, ancestral camping sites and other spirit places of the Wurundjeri aborigines which was respected by the Newman family. They can be observed in their original form along the trail systems at the Tikalara ("meeting place") plains tract of the Mullum-Mullum Creek. [ [http://home.vicnet.net.au/~fommv/linearpark.htm Mullum Mullum Creek Linear Park: Vision, Major Reserves, Bushlinks and Greenlinks] , accessed 7 January 2008]

Pontville is architecturally important in the evidence surviving from the original homestead building, most notably its distinctive Indian Bungalow form (a core of three interconnected rooms surrounded by a broad verandah formed by the continuation of the main hipped roof slope, within which the ends were built in to create further rooms) and elements of the original fabric which provide a technical history of colonialism. Important items include a displaced hearth of a stone clearly imported from outside the Port Phillip District, possibly English millstone grit, some unexplained sallow cream bricks, probably of local manufacture, pit sawn hardwood ceiling joists, and a stair opening in the ceiling trimmed with tusk tenon joints. Other significant elements are the plaster finishes and remnant ruled lime stucco - the oldest such surface finish in authentic condition to be identified in Victoria, if not Australia. Indian influenced houses are a significant element in Australian colonial architecture, but are extremelyrare in Victoria. Associated with the homestead building are the farm outbuildings which are important for their ability to contribute to the historical understanding of the homestead property.

Pontville is archaeologically important for the below ground remains inherent in the location of, and the material contained within the archaeological deposits associated with Newman's turf hut and the subsequent homestead building, cottage, associated farm and rubbishdeposits. The structures, deposits and associated artefacts are important for their potential to provide an understanding of the conditions in which a squatting family lived in the earliest days of the Port Phillip settlement. [Heritage Council of Victoria] [Carl Bradley Newman Webster]

Namesake

The government initially adopted the Aboriginal name "Bulleen", meaning "resting place", to refer to the area near the meeting of the Plenty River and Yarra River. Settlers to the south, in Heidelburg, were known to have called the area "the forest", in reference to its stringybark forests and other gum trees.

The name Templestowe was chosen when a village was proclaimed. Its exact origins are unknown, although "Templestowe" is mentioned in the book "Ivanhoe" by Sir Walter Scott. As the village of Ivanhoe was settled immediately prior to Templestowe, it is believed by some that the name was chosen to preserve the literary parallel.

Development

Dairy farming was the primary vocation of the pioneer settlers, and was practiced along the river flats in Templestowe and Bulleen well into the 20th century. Orcharding was taken up in the 1870s, soon providing prosperity for the district. Apples, peaches, lemons, pears and other stone fruits were grown, providing inspiration for the post-modern "peel" structure on Fitzsimons Lane. Fruit, vine-growers and market gardeners were soon able to build new and more comfortable houses, using brick and weatherboard as materials. Many of these houses still exist, although for the most part they have been modernised beyond the scope for heritage classification by the National Trust of Australia.

Until the expansionism of the 1970s, Templestowe was scarcely populated. Additionally, it was then part of the so-called "green belt" of Melbourne and subdivision into less than 20,000 m² (2 hectares) was not possible in many parts of the suburb. As Melbourne spread past Kew and Balwyn, the price of land escalated and pressure mounted to change the boundaries of the restricted land subdivision. By the 1980s Templestowe was being openly marketed as an alternative to the "dry suburbs". The suburb today has many nouveau riche mansions. In 2006, a property on Church Road was sold for $7.2 million, a record for the area.

Transport

Templestowe lays between two of Melbourne's rail services (the Hurstbridge and Epping lines) and did not facilitate the city's urban development. Throughout the 1970s the Doncaster line was planned by the state government to run down the middle of the Eastern Freeway and serve the suburb, with land acquired for the line but sold in the 1980s.cite journal
year = 1998
month = February
title = Whatever Happened to the Proposed Railway to Doncaster East
author = Stephen Cauchi
journal = Newsrail
publisher = Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division)
volume = 26
issue = 2
pages = page 40–44 ]

A number of major roads combine to provide the basis for the metro infrastructure. They include:
*Manningham Road
*Foote Street/Reynolds Road
*High Street
*Thompsons Road
*Williamsons Road/Fitzsimons Lane
*Porter Street
*Blackburn Road
*Newmans Road
*Websters Road (named after Robert William Webster)

The area has since been built into and, while there is still no rail service, there is now a modest bus network operating routes to the city in the west, Box Hill and Blackburn in the south, and Ringwood in the east. Service is comparatively poor, with average interval times between buses of one hour after peak hours and few services running after 10pm (departure time), although it is likely to improve from 2007-2010 under the Victorian Labor Government's $1.4 billion "Smart Buses" program.PDF| [http://www.mtf.org.au/binary.php/latest_news/alp_response.pdf ALP response November 7, 2006 to MTF transport survey] |22.1 KiB. Retrieved on 2008-01-07.]

Following the Sir Rod Eddington-produced [http://www.doi.vic.gov.au/Doi/Internet/planningprojects.nsf/AllDocs/E195C22162760C83CA2571ED0080D1E5 report] into improving east-west travel, which included 20 recommendations for the area, the professor of public transport [cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Chair of Public Transport, Department of Civil Engineering
work =
publisher = Monash University
date = 2008-05-02
url = http://civil.eng.monash.edu.au/about/staff/gcurrie
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2008-08-23 ] Graham Currie gave his support of expanding the bus transit system (eight older vehicles were replaced in 2007) [cite news
last =
first =
coauthors =
title = Council Information: More buses
work = Manningham Matters
publisher = Manningham City Council
date = August 2008
url =
accessdate = ] but argued the need for rapid transit lanes throughout Manningham as an alternative to developing light and heavy rail. This would involve "separate road space so (specialised buses) don't have to wait in traffic or at traffic lights" as a solution to arterial congestion, without need for the extension of the route 48 tramline to Doncaster Hill favoured by the Manningham City Council. [cite news
last = Heagney
first = Melissa
coauthors =
title = Roads to nowhere?
work = Melbourne Weekly Eastern
publisher = Fairfax Community Network
date = 2008-07-15
url =
accessdate = ]

Education

There are currently five state schools ( [http://www.serpellps.vic.edu.au/index.html Serpell] , [http://www.templestowehts.vic.edu.au/ Templestowe Heights] , [http://www.templestoweparkps.vic.edu.au/homepage.htm Templestowe Park] and [http://www.tempvalprimary.vic.edu.au/ Templestowe Valley] ) and two Catholic schools ( [http://www.stcharls.melb.catholic.edu.au/ Saint Charles Borromeo] and [http://www.skvntstw.melb.catholic.edu.au/ Saint Kevin's] ),providing primary education to the suburb. [http://www.templestowec.vic.edu.au/ Templestowe College] serves some of the demand for secondary education.However, Templestowe College, Templestowe Valley Primary School, St Kevins PS and Templestowe Heights PS are located either on the border of Templestowe and Templestowe Lower or in Templestowe Lower.

porting Teams

* Soccer - [http://www.templestoweeagles.com/ Templestowe Eagles FC] (formerly Templestowe Eagles Soccer Club) (play in Doncaster as there are no available grounds in Templestowe)
* Australian rules football - Templestowe Football Club

ee also

* City of Doncaster and Templestowe - the former local government area of which Templestowe was a part.

Footnotes

References

*PDFlink| [http://www1.dvc.vic.gov.au/aav/heritage/reports/CityOfDoncaster.pdf The City of Doncaster and Templestowe: the Archaeological Survey of Aboriginal Sites] |6853 KiB, I. Ellender. Retrieved on 2008-08-23.
*cite book
last = Green
first = Irvine
coauthors =
title = Aborigines of Bulleen: The history of the Wurundjeri Tribe who inhabited the area which became the City of Doncaster and Templestowe
publisher = Doncaster-Templestowe Historical Society
date = 1989
pages = pp. 25-40
month =
isbn = 0-947353-00-3
*cite book
last = Poulter
first = Hazel
coauthors =
title = Templestowe: A Folk History
publisher =
date = 1985
pages = pp. 1-55
month =
isbn = 0-949196-00-2
*William Thomas' map of the Western Port Phillip District. Note that the two pioneer settlements west of the city are described (illegibly) as a group of "various splitters, lum [ber] ".

External links

* [http://www.manninghamleader.com.au/ The Manningham Leader Newspaper]
* [http://www.manningham.vic.gov.au Manningham City Council Online]