Gairloch, Kallista: Bibliography

Gairloch Owners and modifications

1890's - 1928 Gairloch is located on the northern part of one of the oldest properties selected by George Gilmore who was head gardener at Coles Nursery in Belgrave. He set up his own nursery and orchard business on his selection located northwest of Monbulk Road and Clematis Avenue (now known as Sherbrooke Road) and an access track traversed across the hill-slope below what is now the Gairloch garden and linked to what is now known as Rivington Avenue.

1928 - 1973 Miss Elizabeth (Bessie) Campbell, spinster daughter of a Toorak family with business in steel. Gairloch was believed to be originally built as a family weekender. Miss Campbell employed a gardener, Mr Shepherd who used to live with his wife in a single room under the north east corner of the house (with its own fireplace) and later they built their own cottage in a section of land gifted to them by Miss Campbell in 1961. (The Shepherds were still living at 4 Rivington Avenue when we took up residence in 1983).

1974-1981 Peter Stevens. Architectural plans dated 1977 detail the renovations made by the Stevens including a stairwell, creation of the large room downstairs, sauna and shower area and new laundry, and upstairs a new kitchen and corrugated tin roof. Mr Shepherd continued to look after the garden for Stevens for 2 days a week.

1982 Mr Sutherland lived in the house with two lady friends and frequently visited a friend in an Olinda nursery. He tried to sell Gairloch at auction in 1982 but it was passed in and then, when he won Tattslotto, he willingly sold for a lower price.

1982- 1st September to present. George and Zina Carman took up residence with their 3 children Derek, Gemma and Nicholas. Modifications made over the years have been (in 1984) the merging of 2 public rooms and french doors onto the east veranda, (in 1987) creation of 3 bedrooms downstairs by remodeling walls and bringing in an under-the-house shed, laid slate in kitchen floor and painted house (in 1988), installed second septic tank downstairs and connected to mains gas line (1993), took down crumbling kitchen chimney (in 2003), modernised the kitchen and bathroom fittings, relocated and installed in the lounge an ornate wood fireplace surround from Armadale (in 2004), created a blokes shed under the north veranda (in 2006), developed part in-ground concrete water tank into a studio/office (Geodirect's office = The Think Tank in 2006) and installed new rainwater tanks behind garage and Think Tank.

Some Events around Gairloch

1939 Bushfires threaten Kallista .

1944 Miss Campbell held a Garden Fete at Gairloch and raised Pds 150 for the Red Cross and Prisoner of War (quoted from A Village in the Forest 1893-1993; The Story of Kallista p 87)

1962 Many of the ridges of the Dandenong Ranges burned under bushfires but they never passed the Beagleys Bridge area and never entered Kallista.

1983 Ash Wednesday (16th February) bushfires started in South Belgrave were initially driven south (away from Kallista) by hot northerly winds but when a cool change came in from the SW in the evening smoke and glowing ash blew over the garden and across the Gairloch verandas. Gairloch housed evacuees from Selby for the night.

1985? Snow fell on Gairloch

1986-1989 Zina Carman owned and managed the popular Deli in the Kallista Main Street

1987-1989 George Carman was a Sherbrooke Shire Councilor.

1987 A street bi-centennial party was held on Owen Street outside Gairloch.

1993-2001 George & Zina moved overseas to work and live in Kuwait, India and Pakistan. Friends of Friends rented the house. In 2001 when the New York Towers were attacked by terrorists life became untenable for Zina in Pakistan (because of global east v west sentiments) and she returned to Australia. George completed his contracts and they took up residence again in 2004.

2006 George joined the Kallista Rural Fire Brigade/ CFA

2008 ?? Snow falls on Gairloch

2009 Black Saturday (7th February) Bushfires fill the Kallista valley with smoke first from the Kinglake area to the north and then from the Bunyip area to the east. Kallista CFA members attended a smaller fire in Peters Lane Belgrave on Sunday 15th February and a fire started on Birds Land, Upwey saw Kallista CFA again in action on 23rd February 2009.

Sunday, February 1, 2009

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

1 comment:

AnonymousDecember 18, 2015 at 5:11 PM
As a resident of Rivington Avenue I can sadly inform you that the gardens of Gairloch have recently been butchered. The current owners have very little respect for the history of the property and instead have chosen to level most of their backyard - it looks terrible and the council doesn't care at all. A sad loss of history.
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Gairloch, Kallista

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Gairloch Owners and modifications

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Gairloch from its garden

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Bibliography

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