Isador Magid and Narre Warren

The City of Berwick Civic Centre was opened in December 1978 on land donated by the developer, Isodor Magid, whose Overland Construction Corporation built the Fountain Gate Shopping Centre, which opened in March 1980  (you can see where Magid Drive and Overland Drive at Fountain Gate got their name.) Mr Magid also developed the innovative Fountain Gate Housing Estate off Tinks Road, in the mid 1960s.  The Civic Centre became the City of Casey Civic Centre and has now become redundant due to the construction of Bunjil Place, which opened in October 2017.

In my mind, there are two people who had a profound influence on the development and direction of the town of Narre Warren - Sidney Webb in the nineteenth century and Isador Magid in the twentieth century. I have written about Sidney Webb before - around 1888, he built the first shops in Narre Warren, he agitated for the Narre Warren Railway Station to be built, which opened 1882 and he donated land for the school and the Mechanics' Institute.  Fast forward 90 or so years and another force  hit Narre Warren when Mr Magid opened the Fountain Gate Shopping Centre, which had a major effect on how we shopped - traditional local shopping strips began to decline as people flocked to Fountain Gate (and still do).  The Shopping Centre also encouraged other development - such as new housing estates, new businesses  and new transport links.  Even though Sidney Webb's Webb Street shopping has declined in importance as a shopping strip in the face of Fountain Gate Shopping Centre, I fully believe that Sidney Webb would approve of  Isador Magid's shopping centre as both men obviously had the same  entrepreneurial flair and vision. 

Before Fountain Gate, Isador Magid developed, amongst other things, the  Princes Domain housing estate in Hallam in the early 1960s and the Mountain Gate Shopping Centre at Ferntree Gully in 1961 (perhaps inspiring the name for Fountain Gate). He donated land for the Alexander Magit Memorial Infant Welfare and Preschool Centre in Harwell Street in Ferntree Gully, which was established in 1967 and has just celebrated it's 50th anniversary. The Centre was named in honour of his father, Alexander Magit (the family surname was later changed to Magid). You can read about the Centre's 50th anniversary on the City of Knox's website here. Another development was the  Brandon Park Shopping Centre at Wheelers Hills which opened in 1970. 

Isador Magid received the Key to the City of Berwick at a ceremony held May 20, 1993. This was the highest award the City could bestow, according to the Mayor, Cr Trevor Smith.

Berwick Journal  May 31, 1993

Apart from his property company Mr Magid was involved in many philanthropic activities however there is an interesting 'twist' to his story and that is, he was responsible along with his business partners George Shannon and Henry Korbritz, for introducing Twisties (that gastronomic delight!) into Australia. According to Wikipedia, the on-line encyclopedia that is an interesting (but sometimes not always accurate) source of information for popular culture -  In the early 1950s Melbourne businessman Isador Magid imported a rotary head extruder from the United States which initially did not work. After bringing out a technical expert from the USA as well as receiving valuable advice from the CSIRO, Magid started producing Twisties. The product was popular but large scale distribution was difficult so Magid decided to sell the machine and the brand in 1955 to Monty Lea from Darrell Lea for £12,000. Monty and his brother Harris experimented with the machine further using rice and various flavourings. Twisties became popular in Australia - some of its early success is attributed to promotional activity that included advertising the product on Graham Kennedy and Bert Newton's TV show In Melbourne Tonight, making it one of the earliest products advertised on that program. After an unsuccessful attempt to launch Twisties in the UK and competition for shelf space in Australia the Lea brothers agreed to sell the Twisties brand to the Smith's Snackfood Company.

Isador and his wife Ira, had arrived in Australia from Shanghai in 1948. They had four children  of which two pre-deceased them. In the 1986 Queen's Birthday Honours list Isador received an A.M. 'for service to the Community, particularly the Jewish community'.  He died in November 2004 at the age of 91. 

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Duck pond at Fountain Gate Shopping Centre at Narre Warren

As many of you are aware, the City of Casey is building Bunjil Place at the Fountain Gate Shopping Centre at Narre Warren. This is a 125 million dollar project and will house the Council Offices, the Library, an Exhibition space, 800 seat theatre and an Art Gallery amongst other community facilities. You can read about Bunjil Place here http://bunjilplace.com.au/project

Many people have asked about the duck pond which was a feature on the corner of Magid Drive and the Princes Highway. Sadly, the duck pond has now gone, the new Complex will be built over it, but I sure that the ducks have all safely moved on to other ponds in the area. There has also been some discussion about how long the duck pond has been in existence. 

Narre Warren c. 1900 - this land is now the site of Fountain Gate Shopping Centre. There is clearly a natural low spot in the undulating landscape but no lake.

Narre Warren 1974

The photo, above, is a 1974 aerial of  Narre Warren which shows the future site of the Civic Centre and Fountain Gate Shopping Centre. The old Narre Warren oval is bottom right on the corner of Narre Warren North Road and the Princes Highway. Left of the oval is Webb Street and left again is Brechin. Then we see the vacant land that became the Fountain Gate Shopping Centre but there is no duck pond or dam or natural lake.

I believe the duck pond was built in conjunction with the Civic Centre which opened December 8, 1978. This is  a 1979 photograph of Magid Drive and the Princes Highway and the duck pond appears on the left.

So, here is  a nostalgic look at the dear, late departed duck pond, play ground and Rotary Club BBQ shelter.

Duck pond, December 30 1993

A majestic pelican with his duck friends. May 17, 1994.

The ducks on  October 28, 1994

The Rotary Club BBQ shelter, October 28 1994, looking across to the Civic Centre.

Here are two photos of the playground - taken December 1993 (above) and undated but around the same time, below.

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Narre Warren Railway Station - the early years

The Narre Warren Railway station was opened on March 10 1882. When the Gippsland line was established in stages from 1877 to 1879 the only stations between Dandenong and Bunyip were Berwick and Pakenham.

Narre Warren Railway Station, circa 1900 to 1910.

State Library of Victoria Image H2012.171/340. Max Thomson collection.

Photographer Michael J. Drew

Sidney Webb, of Holly Green, Narre Warren agitated for the establishment of  a railway station near his property and his shops - Holly Green is located  where the Fountain Gate Shopping Centre is now and Webb's shops were on the corner of the Princes Highway and what is now Webb street.

Early days of Berwick page 92

Once the Station was opened Sidney Webb agitated again, this time for a a road to be put through to connect 'the township' with the Station (see excerpt, above, from Early days of Berwick)   In reality the 'township' did, I believe, pretty much consist of shops that Webb had an interest in. According to the Shire of Berwick Rate Books, in 1888 and 1889 a number of businesses were established in Narre Warren -  Albert Raduchel, a blacksmith; Thomas Woodley, a baker; Thomas Stones, a butcher and James Middleton, a storekeeper. They all leased their premises from Sidney Webb. 

Shire of Berwick Minutes from the meeting held April 1, 1882.

As we can see from the Shire of Berwick Minutes, Captain Wauchope, requested that the new road to the station be called Roseneath Road.  The Council did agree at the time. I don't know what happened to Roseneath Road, is it now Webb Street?.

Shire of Berwick Minutes from the meeting held April 29, 1882.

The name Narre Warren originally referred to the township of Narre Warren North. George Rae established a store at Narre Warren North, in the corner of John Troup’s paddock in 1857 and the town was surveyed around  1860. I don't know the exact date when the decision was made to call this new station Narre Warren but it appears that the Shire of Berwick had  role in the naming of the station, as it was mentioned  in the minutes of the April 29, 1882 meeting that the name for the new station had been 'noted'. (see above) Sadly, that's all I can find of this issue, it would be interesting to know if any other names had been suggested.

Shire of Berwick Minutes from the meeting held May 27, 1882.

This entry from the Shire of Berwick Minutes of May 27, 1882 (reproduced above) is the first mention I can find of the Narre Warren Railway station, actually referred to by that name.  It also talks about the formation of the new road and the fact that the Council had accepted a tender of 39 pounds from Rumph Brothers (of Harkaway) for the metalling of the new Roseneath Road. 

This is from the State Government Gazette of  May 11, 1883 where there is a list of works approved by the Governor in Council that the undermentioned services be preformed without tenders being advertised. The works, costing 200 pounds, were  to construct the new road to the Narre Warren Railway Station and Walton's Road. Is this  another road to the Station and not Roseneath road,  which going by the evidence above  was finished a year earlier in 1882?. The State Government Gazette also mentions Walton's Road. I presume that this has a connection to Thomas and Eliza Walton. Thomas & Eliza arrived in Narre Warren  1852 and built Holly Green. They left in 1877 and Sidney Webb purchased Holly Green in 1880. 

The Argus  February 13, 1883, page 10 

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article8495821

An article in The Argus of February 13, 1883 lists a schedule of railway works which have been undertaken and completed or partially completed since July 9, 1881 when Mr Bent took office as Minister for Railways. As you can see it includes the Narre Warren siding and platform.

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Narre Warren and Narre Warren North - aerial and road photographs from the 1980s.

These photographs of Narre Warren and Narre Warren North were taken by the City of Berwick in the 1980s. In the thirty years since these photographs were taken the area has changed considerably, especially the areas shown in the last two photographs. 

Aerial of Narre Warren North Road and Memorial Drive, Narre Warren North, looking south west. Narre North Road is shown coming in from the top left (or south) of the picture. 

 Photograph labelled 'Grantchester Road Estate.' Grantchester Road runs between Avonwood Road and Belgrave-Hallam Road in Narre Warren North. 

Narre Warren North aerial showing Heatherton Road. From the centre right Heatherton Road intersects with - Narre Warren North By-pass Road; Randle Court on the left, with Casdar Court running off  it. Tom Jones Court is on the right. The street coming off at an angle is Main Street. The last intersection at the bottom left is Memorial Avenue. 

Photograph is labelled 'Narre Warren North By-Pass Road, looking west'. The court on the right side of the picture is Tandderwen Court, which runs off Tom Jones Court. The road running to the top (or west) of the photograph is Heatherton Road. 

Narre Warren Caravan Park, now known as Casey Gardens Residential and Tourist Village. It is bordered by Centre Road/Fullard Road, Narre Warren-Cranbourne Road, the Gippsland Railway line to the north and the Narre Warren Creek to the west. The intersection at the top left of the picture is of Narre Warren- Cranbourne Road and the Princes Highway. The trees at the very top.are part of the Narre Warren Recreation Reserve

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 Narre Warren-Cranbourne Road, looking south, at the intersection of  Fullard Road and Saxonwood Drive. This is also shown in the aerial above.

 Vehicle turning into Pound Road from Narre Warren-Cranbourne Road, Narre Warren. 

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Narre Warren landfill gas fuelled power station

The Narre Warren landfill gas fuelled power station was officially opened on July 12, 1992. The Power Station is on the site of a former quarry which had been used since November 1982 as a 'regional refuse disposal site' or tip as it would have been known in the olden days.  The tip was managed by the City of Berwick in partnership with five other Councils. When garbage and waste breaks down, 'landfill' gas is produced which is generally fifty five percent methane and forty five per cent carbon dioxide.This gas can cause environmental problems and so a power station was constructed to use this gas as fuel for power generation. The end result was a decrease in odour and methane emissions and the production of  electricity for generation plants.

  
The  waste heat was used to heat green houses and for a business that re-cycled paper. Both projects were  operated by Minibah, now called Outlook, which provides services to children and adults with a disability. The landfill closed in 1996 and the power station is still operating. These photographs were taken in 1995.

 The power station.

 

The gas provided heat to operate green houses in which roses were grown, some of which are shown below.

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Narre Warren Mechanics' Institute

The first township of Narre Warren was surveyed in 1860, and is now known as Narre Warren North and the township which developed around the Railway Station, which opened in 1882, became Narre Warren Railway Station and later just Narre Warren.

The man responsible for the growth of this town was Sidney Webb. Webb agitated for a Railway Station at Narre Warren and he collected money to purchase land for a road to connect the town to the Station. He built the early shops in the township which further consolidated when Sidney Webb donated land for the School which opened in 1889 and Mechanics' Institute which opened in November 9, 1891 (or the birthday of the Prince of Wales as the invitation, reproduced below, says)


The building was used for lectures, concerts, Balls, billiards, and meetings. It also housed a subscription lending library which initially was open 3.00pm to 4.00pm on Saturdays and 4.00pm to 5.00pm on Tuesdays. In 1898 there were 990 books in the Library and this had grown to over 2,000 in 1905. The Library ceased operation in 1941, when the books and the shelving were sold. Library services at Narre Warren later operated from a building in Malcolm Court.

The Mechanics' Institutes of Victoria have an ongoing scanning project to scan the existing records of all Victoria's Mechanics' Institutes. Over 1,000 Mechanics Institutes were built and 562 remain, including the Narre Warren one.


The records of the Narre Warren Mechanics' Institute have been scanned. The first Minutes we have are from the meeting of March 14, 1892, they are shown above. Given the role that Sidney Webb played in the development of the Narre Warren township it is not surprising to find that he chaired the meeting. The meeting appointed 'Messrs S.Webb and McDonnell as ' joint Librarians honorary.' S.Webb was Sidney Webb's son, also called Sidney. However, we have earlier Ledger records that date from August 1890, which list donations made for the establishment of the building and, later on, subscriptions. These scanned records provide us not only with a full picture of the workings and activities of the Mechanics' Institute but also a snapshot of who lived in the township at the time. They are an amazing resource.

Subscriptions collected in 1895, click on the image to enlarge it.

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Narre Warren - the early years

The first township of Narree Warren was surveyed in 1860, and is now known as Narre Warren North and the township which developed around the Railway Station became Narre Warren Railway Station and later just Narre Warren. When the large squatting runs were broken up and sold off, farmers moved into the area, some of the earliest being Thomas & Eliza Walton who arrived in 1852 and built Holly Green, where Fountain Gate Shopping Centre is now located. Walton held ploughing competitions, grew tobacco, flax and grapes – he had 2 acres of vineyards and made a ‘good dry wine”. Around 1855 the Mornington Hotel was built on the Walton’s property, you can read more about this, here.

Holly Green, built by the Waltons, was demolished in 1937, by John Lloyd who built Brechin on the site.

In 1853, Daniel & Kathleen Crowley purchased 632 acres around Prospect Hill Road and built their home where the Fountain Gate Primary School is now located. They also had 160 acres, called Granite Hills, due to the Granite outcrop. This was sold to Cornelius Killeen then to Anthony and Mary Kent who arrived around 1875. Other early settlers were John & Daniel Sweeney who arrived around 1860.

Kent's General Store, situated on the north east corner of the Princes Highway and Webb Street. The photograph was taken around 1912.
Image: Oak Trees and Hedges: a pictorial  history of Narre Warren, Narre Warren North and Harkaway

In 1877 the Railway line went through to Bunyip and, by 1879, all the way to Sale, but the seminal event in the development of Narre Warren, was the arrival of Sidney and Ann Webb. Webb is listed as owning “house and land” in the 1876 Rate books and in 1880 they purchased Holly Green. Sidney Webb (1844-1920) was a Newsagent, who founded the Victorian Authorised Newsagents Association. One book says When he retired from business he purchased Holly Green, which would have made him 36 years old. Webb agitated for a Railway Station at Narre Warren, which opened in 1882 and he collected money to purchase land for a road to connect the town to the Station. According to the Shire of Berwick Rate Books, in 1888 and1889 a number of businesses were established in Narre Warren. Albert Raduchel, a blacksmith; Thomas Woodley, a baker; Thomas Stones, a butcher and James Middleton, a storekeeper. They all leased their premised from Sidney Webb. By 1891, Richardson’s, who also had a business in Berwick, had taken over the Butchery. Later on, Alfred and Alice Kent had a General Store. Alfred was the son of Anthony and Mary Kent and Alice was the daughter of Sidney and Ann Webb. These families had a double connection as Ada Kent married Harry Webb. The Webb’s had also married into another prominent local family, the Baileys. William & Fanny Bailey settled in Narre Warren North in 1894 established the first orchard in the area on Bayview Farm. Their son James married Lucy Webb and their eldest son, George had a General store in Narre Warren. George was first listed as a Storekeeper in the Rate Books in 1914 and it was operated by family members until the 1970s.

This photograph also shows Kent's General Store, and Thomas Woodley's bakery. The sign on the fence says "High class pastry cook" and "Hygenic bread factory". Further down the hill is Raduchel's Blacksmiths and also shown are the oak trees planted by Sidney Webb in 1890.
Image: Oak Trees and Hedges: a pictorial  history of Narre Warren, Narre Warren North and Harkaway

Narre Warren further consolidated as a town with when Sidney Webb donated land for the School which opened in 1889 and the Mechanics' Institute which opened in 1891. Sidney Webb’s lasting legacy is the row of oak trees along the Princes Highway which he planted in 1890 and of course, Webb Street.

The Webb Family, taken around 1890.
Image: Oak Trees and Hedges: a pictorial  history of Narre Warren, Narre Warren North and Harkaway

Before we end, Sidney Webb gets a lot of well deserved credit for the development of Narre Warren but in the back ground was his wife Ann Hart. They married in 1866 and she bore him fourteen children from 1866 to 1886. Ann died in 1914, aged 70.

Here is  a list of their children and any information I know about them -

• Sidney - born 1866, married Lilias McKenzie Blackwood in 1893, died 1933. You can read his short obituary from The Argus of October 14, 1933, here.
• Annie Ellen - born 1868, married William Davison Oliver in 1902, died 1955.
• Amelia Mary - born and died 1870
• Howard - born and died 1871
• Alice Isabella - born 1872,  married Alfred Ernest Kent in 1898, died 1951.
• Edith Hannah - born 1873, married Charles James Dellar in 1908. 
• Jessie Maria - born 1874, died 1875.
• Lucy Agnes - born 1877, married James William Bailey in 1903, died 1945.
• Florence Emily - born 1878, never married,  died 1947.
• Henry Liston - born 1880, married Ada Evelyn Kent in 1903, died 1964.
• Robert - born  1881, died 1957.
• Bertha Eliza - born 1883, married Alexander Moran in 1911, died 1958.
• Walter Edwin - born 1885, died 1897.
• Percy John - born 1886, married Muriel Amy Isabel Heywood in 1911. 

The photographs in this post come from the book Oak Trees and Hedges: a pictorial  history of Narre Warren, Narre Warren North and Harkaway. It is published by the Berwick Pakenham Historical Society. They operate a Museum, open on Sundays, from 2.00pm until 4.00pm, in the Old Shire Offices, corner of McGregor Road and Main Street in Pakenham (enter from the Highway service road off James Street)

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Narre Warren - the growth of a suburb

Narre Warren's origins as a country town have now been largely obscured by housing developments and suburbanisation, so I was interested to come across these land sale advertisements in the Pakenham Gazette. They are from 1959. We have the Pakenham Gazette and it's predecessor, the Berwick Shire News, from 1909 to 1965 on DVD at Cranbourne, Emerald, Narre Warren and Pakenham Libraries.

Pakenham Gazette, December 11 1959 page 9

Pakenham Gazette, October 2 1959, page 7

An aerial view of Narre Warren taken December 1963 (click on image to enlarge it)

We have a great collection of aerial photographs in the Archive, and this one is of Narre Warren. The oval is the old Narre Warren Recreation Reserve, on the corner of the Princes Highway and Narre Warren North Road. If we follow the Princes Highway, towards the top left of the photo we come to the future site of the Fountain Gate Shopping Centre. The house surrounded by trees is Brechin, which was built on the site of Holly Green, formerly owned by Sidney Webb. There will be more about Brechin in the next blog post. You can see Webb Street, crossing the Princes Highway and intersecting with Narre Warren North Road. South of the highway (on the west side of Narre Warren-Cranbourne Road) is the start of the subdivision which includes Western Way, Meadow Wood Walk and Valley Fair Drive. On the other side of Narre Warren-Cranbourne Road you can see the sub-division which includes Stewart Avenue, Moran Street and Sweeney Drive.

We are lucky enough to have original copies of the Community newsletter, Narre Warren News, in our Archive. We have the second issue (the banner is reproduced above) from October 1971 and various issues to 1980. They include local events , news from Community Groups such the Progress Association, Sporting Clubs, Fire Brigade and Kindergarten. Each issue also included some history of the area and Council news.


One of the most interesting features of these Newsletters is the 'New Residents' column. It certainly harks back to a time when privacy wasn't an issue and when, even though Narre Warren was expanding, it still had a small town community feel. This list comes from Issue 3, Volume 1, 1971. You could probably identify some of the houses these residents moved into from the 1972 aerial below. I wonder if any of these people still live at the same address?

An aerial view of Narre Warren taken January 1972 (click on image to enlarge it)

You will see there are many more houses in the sub-division which includes Western Way, Meadow Wood Walk and Valley Fair Drive, though given the Estate was established in 1963, there are not as many houses as I would have expected. On the north of the Princes Highway is the start of the Fountain Gate Estate, and there will be more on this in the next blog post.

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Narre Warren Library

Narre Warren Library, at Fountain Gate, under construction, 1992.
Click on the photographs to enlarge them.

If you visit the Narre Warren Library you will know that it has recently been refurbished with new carpet and new paint. The Library was opened on its present site on November 21st 1992, by the Governor of Victoria, Richard McGarvie. When it opened it had a book stock of 30,000 and the same space now houses around 90,000 items. The building was designed by the Architectural firm of Lines Macfarlane and Marshall and was constructed by the company J.P Cordukes Pty Ltd whose tender for the building construction was $1,266,418.00. This Library replaced the previous library in Malcolm Court, which had opened on March 7th, 1978 - see photo below.

Narre Warren Library in Malcolm Court - the Library is on the right and the community centre on the left.

Last day at the Malcolm Court Library in 1992.

 Library services had been provided to the Narre Warren Community before this time by the Narre Warren Railway Station Mechanics' Institute. In the nineteenth century the term ‘mechanic’ meant artisan or working man. The Mechanics’ Institute movement began in 1800 when Dr George Birkbeck of the Andersonian Institute in Scotland gave a series of lectures to local mechanics. They led to the formation of the Edinburgh School of Arts (1821) and the London Mechanics’ Institute (1823). The movement spread quickly throughout the British Empire.The first Victorian Mechanics’ Institute was the Melbourne Mechanics’ Institute established in 1839 and renamed The Melbourne Athenaeum in 1873, which continues to operate in its original building in Collins Street. Over a thousand were built in Victoria and 562 remain today including the Narre Warren Railway Station Mechanics' Institute, which was opened on November 9 1891, on land  donated by Sidney Webb.
It had Railway Station added to it's name to distinguish it from the Mechanics' Institute at Narre Warren North. The building was used for lectures, concerts, Balls, billiards, and meetings. It also housed a subscription lending library which initailly was open 3.00pm to 4.00pm on Saturdays and 4.00pm to 5.00pm on Tuesdays. In 1898 there were 990 books in the Library and this had grown to over 2,000 in 1905. The Library ceased operation in 1941, when the books and the shelving were sold. The building itself continues to play an important role in the Community life of Narre Warren.

Narre Warren Mechanics' Institute, opened 1891

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