What's in a name?
Generally, we take the names of our cities, suburbs and streets for granted. They become part of our daily lives and their true historical significance is often lost. Yet knowing the origins of these names can give our suburban communities the colourful personalities they deserve. Take a peek at some local history, then see if you can find these pieces in today’s Bayside.
In 1841, Henry Dendy bought 5120 acres of land in what is now the Bayside area. Dendy surveyed a town site and created the unique Inner and Outer Crescents that now lead from and to, St Andrew’s Street, Brighton. Since another English settler had already used the name Brighton, Dendy originally marketed his settlement as Waterville. The name was unsuccessful and he soon renamed it Brighton Estate. Dendy subdivided the lots and hired Jonathan Binns Were, a market gardener and later a prominent stockbroker, as his property agent. However, a financial depression meant few sales
Still, Dendy remains a prominent part of Bayside with Dendy Street, Dendy Park and Dendy Village bearing his name. J.B. Were also earned his place in modern Bayside; Were Street runs from Hampton Street to Beach Road, Brighton.
In early Melbourne, those with the means vacationed at the Retreat Hotel, a seaside establishment near Pic-Nic-Point. This area became known as Retreat. It was later renamed Hampton after Dyas Hampton, a local market gardener. Hampton is also honoured with a street that runs from Brighton to Sandringham and now boasts one of Bayside’s most prominent shopping strips.
Pic-Nic-Point was not only popular with tourists, it was also favoured by the local fishing community. Their area was cheerfully known as, Gypsy Village and in fact, one property developer, Josiah Holloway tried to call his development, Gypsy Estate. In 1888, the area formally became Sandringham, a reference to the Prince of Wales’ Sandringham House suggested by parliamentarian and landowner, Charles H Jones.
Sometimes though, the motivation for name choices remains unknown. In 1845, James Moysey named his grazing property Beaumaris Park. The Welsh might recognise the name from Edward I’s Beau Marais castle, Wales. Moysey, however, was from the English town of Devon. Nevertheless, the suburb remains Beaumaris.
Within Beaumaris there are four parkland reserves. The largest, Donald MacDonald Reserve is flanked by Keating Street and Haydens Road (both off Balcombe Road). The reserve honours a local teacher and journalist who wrote on the virtues of conservation. Though he died in Black Rock in 1932, his concepts formed the basis for the Beaumaris Tree Preservation Society.
Not all place names are memorials. Some owe their significance to nothing more than dirt.
Black Rock, however has no charred boulders or ebony soils. It owes its name to Charles Hotson Ebden, an affluent local who built a fine residence in 1856. He called his home Black Rock House after Black Rock, Dublin. The surrounding suburb eventually adopted the name Black Rock. (Ebden built another house that he called Elster and which forms the basis of the suburb name, Elsternwick.)
Our final suburb entry also derives its name from a local establishment, the Cheltenham Inn, which opened in what was then Two Acre Village in 1853. The owner, Charles Whorral, was himself from Cheltenham, in Gloucestershire, England. His hotel also lends its name to Cheltenham Road that runs from Bluff Road to Reserve Road, Black Rock.
So next time you see a street or suburb name, take a moment to imagine the person whose life, achievements or ideas inspired it.
Historical references for this article were taken from www.arts.monash.edu.au
