Garden

Sketch of Garden Plan

Miss Campbell laid the garden out in an Edna Walling style with paths, marked out by granite, wandering along the contours of the east facing hill. The stone lined paths continue under the current boundary fences into 4 and 6 Rivington Avenue to the east and 8 Owen Street to the south indicating the property was once larger.

Shrubs consist chiefly of Azalea, Carmellia, Rhododendrons, Hydrangeas, Wisteria Fuchias, and Christmas Roses (Helleborus) whilst the notable trees are 3 large Copper Beech, (Fagus sylvatica) Acers (grafted ornamental Maples and standard Japanese Maples), Magnolia, Ash, Silver Birch, Cabbage Tree Palm (Livistona) Sweet Chestnut, Sycamore, purple leaved Ornamental Plum (being ravaged by Possums), Barberyy (Berberis) small Oak sprouted from the Oak trees in Owen Street, together with Tree Ferns (Cyathea) Blackwood, Pittosporum and conifers including the Yew, Japanese Cedar (Cryptomerra japonica Elegans) along the drive-way (see 6 young trees along Owen Street second photo-montage) and a very large Cupressus (and in 6 Rivington Avenue an enormous Himalayan Cedar).

When was Gairloch Built?

Victorian Lands Title Volume 05416 Folio 165 shows that Bessie Campbell took title to land that stretched between Owen Street and Rivington Avenue on 16th April 1928. The land title only shows when mortgages were taken out with banks and all Shire records were lost in an office fire; there is no actual record found as yet to say when the house was built.

The picture above shows the land titles circa 1890's. The present day Gairloch garden is shown by the red line. Owen Street did not exist then but a track ran north more or less aligned with what is now Rivington Avenue and Wembley Avenue west of Beagley's Bridge

Kallista village is located in a saddle at the intersection of the Belgrave - Monbulk route (south north) and the Sherbrooke - Emerald route (west east). The community was originally known as South Sassafras but after a local competition, changed name to Kallista on 1st April 1925, being derived from the Greek word Kallistos meaning beautiful place.

The first selector to settle in the Kallista area was George Gilmour in 1893. A careful overlay of the 1890's Land Titles map illustrated on page 7 of the Kallista RFB / CFA book shows "Gairloch" is located on the northern parcel owned by Mr Gilmour on which he had owned an orchard business. An access track starting near the present Kallista roundabout traversed across the Gilmore property towards what is now Rivington Avenue.

Early photographs show the Kallista saddle as cleared land with large tree stumps but with few visible houses in 1907 (Reid et al 1993, page 27) in 1913 (Coulson, 1959, facing page 112) and 1915 (Coulson 1959, facing page 337 see below).

(Click on photo to view full montage) The above picture is a view east over the Monbulk road. The right half of the above picture was published by Helen Coulson (1959) and identifies the Kallista Mechanics Hall (at right) in 1915. I have stitched the left photograph from the Victoria State Library Rose Collection which can be easily made to fit by the shape of the large open paddock with one solitary tree/post near its northern boundary. Two or three buildings are discernible on the west side (closest) being probably the General Store and Arcadia Tea Rooms along the roadside.

(Click on photo to view full montage)

Photographs P1222 and P437 from the Rose Collection show the a similar view east across the developing Kallista village. Numerous trees in the paddocks are some 10-15 metres high and more than 15 houses are present in the east side of the Monbulk Road. In the foreground at left is a large house roof with one chimney. A small shed is present at the south side. A garden gate entrance is located on an upper road along which are planted 6 'conical' fir trees and a lower fence suggests a driveway leading down to the house. This house is Gairloch on Owen Street and the photo montage suggests the date could be around 1920-1930 ( ie allowing 5-15 years for the trees to grow since the 1915 photograph. The Japanese Cedar are now huge and wondrously twisted).

Based on the photograph and the Land Title it is estimated that Gairloch was built around 1929.


The photograph (above) is a view overlooking the Monbulk Road towards the west. Gilmore's orchard is seen at lower left with what looks like a tracked entrance to his property. The house "Burrowye" (3 Owen St) sit above its circular garden design is believed to be Gilmores house. Arcadia Tea Rooms ( 97 Monbulk Road) is visible at lower right and behind it a large empty paddock in which "Gairloch", 10 Owen Street is now located. A post on the south side of the General Store and a row of posts with wire alongside Sherbrooke Forest suggest a telephone line was in use.


Gairloch and Loch Gairloch are located in NorthWest Scotland ( north of the Isle of Skye) perhaps reflecting the ancestory of Miss Campbells family. (In the Dandenongs there is another house named Gairloch on the Monbulk-Olinda Road)

Gairloch with a red roof from a 1960 Picture Postcard strip

 View of Gairloch from Monbulk Road Kallista, The Dandenongs in colour 1973, by Ronald Ryan page 5

Gairloch from Monbulk Road, extract from Cottage gardens in Australia book, 1983

 Gairloch  pen ink sketch by Leo Buckley,  1987

Gairloch (Autumn 2012)

 

Bibliography

Kallista A School in the Forest, 1919-1993 Researched Heather Marshall and Jan Howarth, 38 pages (written to celebrate South Sassafras-Kallista Centenary).

Dandenong's Sketchbook, 1970 Text by Joy Hayes, Drawings by Don Angus 62 pages (page 22 describes South Sassafras Post Office and page 48 explains the Baron of Beef - just up the road- was built in 1914)

Beautiful Views in Colour of The Blue Dandenongs, Victoria, 1960 The Valentine Publishing Company, photographs by H.L Chapman, (An 8 strip folding postcard- card 6 Autumn colours at Kallista shows Gairloch standing proudly on the hillside with 3 chimneys and a red roof- see picture above)

Cottage Gardens in Australia, 1983, by Peter Cuffley 248 pages (page 221 features a b/w photograph taken from Monbulk road showing Gairloch on the hillside)

The Hills of Home, 1988, by A.P Winzenried,

A Village in the Forest Kallista 1893-1993, The Story of Kallista 1993 by Alec Reid, Betty Hotchin, Yvonne DeLacy (the bible for information on Kallista, Miss Campbell and Gairloch are mentioned on page 87)

From Bell to Siren 75 Years of Service 1926-2001 A historical reflection of the Kallista-The Patch Rural Fire Brigade, 2005, Compiled by Dianne Kueffer, Emily Ross, Megan Corbett

Story of the Dandenongs (1838-1958), 1959 by Helen Coulson, (the bible for information on the area. Kallista is covered on pages 320 -338)The Book of the Dandenongs, 1978 by John Larkins, 192 pages (Kallista view illustrated on page 53)

The Dandenongs in colour (1973)  by Ronald Ryan. Page 5/ 4th photograph. A view of Gairloch taken (with a telephoto lense perhaps ) from the Monbulk Road. Caption reads" Traditional green-roofed homestead surrounded by the brilliant autumn colours of the Silver Birch, provides a contrast against the evergreen eucalypts".    Note this view from the Monbulk Road is now grown out.  The electric service pole on the north side of Owen Street is now barely visible from Gairloch garden, the Japanese Cedar are only just house height and the Cupressus tree is below verandah height. There appears to be a water tank at the northwest corner of the house.   See reference to roof colour in postcard strip 1960 above