Historic Buildings

Some of our past pupils' mothers should recall a couple of houses which used to be at the back of the oval facing Commercial Road. The tree line at the side of the synthetic sporting field marks where the back fences of the neighbouring houses once stood. Many years ago, up until the 70s, a dairy operated on the corner of Commercial Road where the tennis courts now stand. Staff members Ms Sue Dempster, Mrs Anne Brown and Mrs Marian Le Bas would recall this and possibly the draught horses in the paddock next door. 

The two remaining houses were still standing for a number of years after my arrival here. One, an old weatherboard place, was the ‘Art House’, where senior Art students were able to leave their projects laid out until they returned to work on them. My wife Kerrin, did sewing in one of its rooms in 1977. Incidentally, the junior Art rooms occupied two ground floor rooms where the Music Centre now stands, separated by a concertina wall.

The other house, a more modern yellow brick house, was home to the Uniform Shop, providing easy street access, totally separate from the College. On occasions, a student would need to leave class to meet her mother there to try something on. Following the removal of the Art House, which was draughty to say the least, it is believed the Uniform Shop moved elsewhere and the Art students moved in to the brick building, for a short time until the current art precinct was ready for occupation.

Another old building, acquired for a short time, was Mentone Police Station. In days gone by, Mentone’s former police station was a large Hawthorn brick building and the Sergeant of Police there was Mr Tom Condon, father-in-law of former staff members Mieka and Geraldine and great grandfather of the Price girls Jasmine, Abi and Gemma. When the Condons arrived in 1952, one of their three sons, Dennis, started at Kilbreda. Brendan Condon went to St Bede’s and Tom Condon junior, who was just finishing Grade 2, went to St Bede’s, despite the fact that St Bede’s only started at Grade 3 in those days. He sat in the back of Grade 3 for the final months of the year and then went on with the incoming group the following February. The family lived in the original police station until it was removed towards the end of the 1950s. The main photo included shows the new police station not long after it they moved in. 

A petition to keep Mentone Police Station was created in 1983, but, shortly after the turn of the century, it was closed and purchased by Kilbreda. It was taken down and the Hall extended with the addition of the Delany Building, comprising the Food Technology kitchens, Circuit Room and what is now the Physical Education office. The last remnant of the original police station, the 1880s lockup, was the last thing to go. Tom Condon tells me that these lockups were prefabricated in Canada and were used all over Australia. 

I did suggest we keep it as a deterrent to wayward girls, but, in hindsight, I should have emphasised its historic value as a piece of local history. I can’t recall what became of it, but it would have ended up as a backyard shed or cubby house somewhere, I imagine. The  photo below shows the former Art House (partly hidden) and uniform shop in the late 1970s.

Damian Smith 

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 * with thanks to Tom Condon