Tecoma 1950

Tecoma in the late 40s looking up towards Belgrave. The Old Store was operated by the Foxcroft family from the late 30s to 1950 (source: M Foxcroft)

Important Dates in Tecoma History

1835 Batman and Fawkner establish site of Melbourne (B)

1837 Joe and John Hawdon estbablish Sheep run near current day Dandenong (W)

1838 James Clow take up extensive runs thats uncludes modern day Cockatoo, Narre Warren, Bayswater, Olinda and Bayswater (W)

1839-1842 Daniel Bunce explored Dandenong Range (W)

1840 Glenfern Outstation established in Ferntree Gully (C)

1852 Jame Dobie and J.S. Kerr lease part of Clow run that includes Lystefield, Belgrave South and Belgrave Heights (W)

1852 Timber camp established in Upwey (C), Sandells and Fountain split pailings in Mast Cully Creek (W)

1854 T. Dobson establsihed wood splitting camp near Upper Ferntree Gully (W)

1854 Exploration of ranges by Baron Von Mueller (Government botanist)(C)

1867 Comprehensive survey of the ranges by John Hardy (C), Dandenong and Woori Yallock State Forest esablished as a timber reserve (W)

1879-80 Terry's Avenue area surveyed into 20 acre allotments for private sale (C)

1880 18 acre property secured (north western corner of Rutherford Road and Sophia Grove) by A. Stevenson and shortly after bought by G. Douglas, Jun. (C)

1880 House established by Douglas near corner of current day Alexander Avenue and Rutherford Road (2)

1890 Douglas house occopied by Issac Simmons (timber worker and axeman)(C)

1893 Chas Rutherford (Melbourne Stonemason) brought southern part of Stevenson's holding (C)

1894 Belgrave Resrvoir built to provide water to Dandenong (ended in 1924) (R1)

1894 William Anderson established home ("The Pines") on main road of Tecoma (C)

1897 Alfred S. Dickinson (brother in law to C. Rutherford) brought property on north eastern corner of existing Sandells Rd and built the first store (known as "the old store") (C)

1898 Dickinson's old store built in main street in Tecoma (R1)

1899 William Anderson and wife take up 10 acre selection north of Tecoma (along current Anderson Rd)(C)

1900 Narrow guage Railway established from Upper Ferntree Gully to "Monbulk" - renamed "Belgrave" in 1904 (A)

1900 Sir George Syme (newspaper owner) built house at the end of the current Kalulu Road (C)

1900 Upper Ferntree Gully State School No. 3356 opened at "The Pines" - the name was changed name to "Upwey" in 1903 and "Belgrave" in 1908 and finally "Tecoma" in 1961 (existing site established in 1915)(C)

1904 "Upwey" Church of England built on land between Rutherford Road and the main road )C)

1907 Griffiths Mission hall erected in 1907 (C)

1907 John T. Mahoney (famous figure in local history) established sawmill at the top of Sandells Rd (C)

1908 Charles T. Alexander obtained 186 acres of Bensons selection (C)

1909 C.T. Alexander purchased 120 acres south of the current Tecoma station (C)

1916 Belgrave State School opened (C)

1916 ZAlbert ercho purchases house at North West corner of Burwood Hwy and Rutherford Rd (called Zercho's Corner) which still exists (R1_

1917 W. Owens butchery opened (east of current Walter Street)(C)

1920 Hazel Vale Dairy established by Frederick Pitt (d. 1947), currrent site of Hippy Haven (C)

1924 Formal naming of town as "Tecoma" with opening of railway station (other names used before that date - Upper Ferntree Gully, Lower Belgrave and Upwey). Mrs J. Burke won a prize for the name (after a plant that grew in te area) (C)

1926 Picture theatre erected west of Walter Street (C)

1935 Cameo Theatre opens in Belgrave (C)

1939 Belgrave pool opened (R1)

1954 Narrow guage railway officially closed after landslide in 1953 (A)

1957 New Progress Hall opened in Water Street (C)

1958 Last steam train arrives in Belgrave on anrrow guage (R1)

1958 Electrified broad gauge line bulit between Upper Ferntree Gully and Belgrave (A)

1962 First Electric train arrives in Begrave (R1)

References

A.N. Anchen, "The Dandenongs", Sierra Publishing , Ferntree Gully, Ist Edition 2008

G. Blainey, A History of Victoria, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (UK), 2006

H. Coulsen, "The Story of the Dandenongs 1838-1958", F. W. Cheshire, Melbourne, 1958

J. Larkins, "The Book of the Dandenongs", Rigby, Adelaide, 1978

M. Jones, "Prolific in Gods Gifts, A Social History of Knox and the Dandenongs", George Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 1983

M. Jorgensen, "More Men in Hats", 2002

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

"Reflections of the Past", Sherbrooks Foothills Historical Soceity, 1998

"Reflections of the Past (Vol.2)", Sherbrooke Foothills Historical Society, 2001

"Reflections of the Past (Vol. 3)", Sherbrooks Foothills Historical Society, 200?

http://www.tecomaps.vic.edu.au/text/background_act6.htm

Tecoma - An Introduction

Tecoma is an outer Eastern suburb of Melbourne that is bordered by Sherbrooke Forest in the North and the fields of Lysterfield in the South. From the northern edge edge of Tecoma, along Terry's Rd, there are magnificant views of Port Phillip Bay, the city of Melbourne and the Mornington Peninsula. The town is largely residential but it is not a typical outer suburb, as Tecoma is full of native trees, steep blocks, fern filled gullies and unconventional houses. Sometimes the boundary between the forest and residential zones becomes blurry and one could feel that you were in a mountain community, not the suburb of a major city. The demographics of the suburb are best described as eclectic, the natural beauty and relaxed lifetsyle of the area attracting an intriging mixture of people.

A railway line that connects the small town (just over 2000 peope according to the 2006 census) to the centre of Melbourne 34 kilometers away runs south easterly towards Belgrave from Upwey. The railway line roughly follows the line of Burwood Highway which finishes at a busy roundabout in Belgrave just a couple of kilometers from the Tecoma shops. Burwood Highway connects many of the residents of the "hills" (a generic term to describe the Dandenong Ranges) to the city and the large shopping centres in nearby suburbs. At peak times, the traffic along the climb up Burwood Highway between Upper Ferntree Gully and Tecoma can be extreme and consequently this stretch of road has earn't the title "the mad mile".

Apart from Burwood Highway, the major roads are Terrys Rd (running North South from Sherbrooke Forest to Belgrave), Sandells Rd, which climbs from Burwood Highway to Terrys Rd, and McNicolls Rd with winds away from the southern side of Burwood Higway and follows downards into a valley on the edge of Belgrave Heights and Lysterfield. On both sides of the highway, there are myriad of minor roads, cresents, courts and avenues, that suggest either a random approach to town planning or a degree of eccentrity at the shire offices.