m8dunlop - Beaumaris Conservation Society

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One-Hundredth Year
No. 19,409 MELBOURNE, WEDNESDAY EVENING, AUGUST 2, 1939 Price 1½d 24 PAGES

INDUSTRIAL GARDEN CITY
Big Firm’s MoveTo Beaumaris
£1,500,000 COST
A model town for 10,000 people, containing 1200 houses, shops, hospital, theatre and school, is to be established at Beaumaris under the biggest housing and industrial project yet planned in Australia.

The scheme – to cost £1,500,000 – has been prepared by the Dunlop-Perdriau Rubber Co. Ltd., which will leave its present works at Montague, Port Melbourne, for the new seaside site.
Months of Negotiation

New factory, new plant, and the transfer of what will be retained from the old works, will cost roughly £500,000. The £1,000,000 will be spent on the garden city, and the services to be provided for the 2200 employees and their families. Latest ideas of town-planning will be incorporated in the garden city. Today the Dunlop company issued a statement to its 11,000 shareholders advising them of the proposal. This marked the official culmination of months of planning. Negotiations for the acquisition of 2000 blocks of land held by 1000 separate owners were begun six months ago. The area concerned covers more than three-quarters of a square mile. Location at Beaumaris depends on land-owners agreeing to make the land available at reasonable prices. Otherwise, another site will be chosen among those which have been considered by the directors. The scheme requires 450 to 500 acres of land. It is understood that already, on behalf of the company, lots aggregating 300 acres have been acquired or are under option. This is about two-thirds of the total area required. The price paid for many sections of the land so far obtained is believed to be from £50 to £100 an acre, according to conditions. Acquisition of so many separate holdings on behalf of the company by Baillieu Allard Pty. Ltd. represents probably the most widespread land negotiation in Australia’s history. Previous big land transactions have been in the reverse direction – subdivision of large holdings into small lots. The area in which land-holders have been approached is bounded on the north by Balcombe Road, on the west by Haydens Road, on the east by Cromer Road, and on the south by Anita Street and a continuation of Anita Street.	A small tongue of the land touches Beach Road, about 500 yards north of Rickett’s Point. The area consists almost entirely of vacant land with tea-tree scrub. It was cut up about 15 years ago in the subdivisional boom which followed the war. Most of the present blocks have a 50 feet frontage by a depth of around 140 feet. In the subdivisional period inflated values were paid by some of the bidders – as much as £150 to £200 – for less than a quarter acre block. In recent years, however, much of this land has been worth only a few shillings a foot. Arrears of rates recently amounted to £6000. The high sums paid by some holders have increased the difficulty of making purchases at reasonable prices in this area.
“Work And Play” Ideal
The Victorian Railways extended the Black Rock tram about three miles through this area and beyond some years ago. The line was abandoned in the depression, and recently an Act was passed empowering the Railways to uproot the rails. This was actually begun this week. Sea transportation is likely to be embraced in the company’s plans, as deep water is available not far from the shore.	Probably goods will be carried by lighters from a jetty near Black Rock.
	The site lends itself to landscape planning and the contour of the country will be carefully considered in the design. The scheme will provide for a type of house suitable to the locality and for the planting of trees. Recreation facilities and sports grounds will be a feature. Provision will be made for football and cricket, tennis courts, athletics, gymnasium and other pastimes. In addition to the beaches, which will be a natural attraction, children’s playgrounds will be provided. The object is to make the model town a completely self-contained unit – for work, for living and for play. Essential services, which will be carried to the area are gas, electricity, water and sewerage.

HOSPITAL, SCHOOLS, AND CRECHE IN MODEL CITY
Buses will run to Sandringham and Cheltenham railway stations. In the shopping centre, provision will be made for grocers, butchers, bakers, drapers, and other shops, dairies, hairdressers and beauty salons, post office, police and fire stations, library and theatre. Provision will be made for churches, doctors, dentists, health centre and a hospital. A technical school is contemplated. Not only will this improve the efficiency of the personnel available to the company, but it will serve to reduce the problem of unskilled labor and dead-end jobs for boys, and help to raise the standard of earning power and living. A creche will be established to take care of children during the absence of parents at work or otherwise. Among the household conveniences being considered in the designs are the possibility of arranging for street maintenance and lawn-mowing in front of and at the back of the home by power machines on a community basis. One ideal, which the sponsors of the scheme would like to achieve if possible, is to lighten the housewife’s Monday morning drudgery by establishing a community laundry service for washing. Another project, which the engineers are likely to go into, is the possibility of reticulating hot water by insulated pipes from a central station. It will probably be a city without fences. Most of the residential streets will be cul-de-saces instead of through-roads. This will keep fast-moving traffic out of the residential streets, and add to the safety of children.	Provided agreement is received from the remaining land-holders yet to make their land available, a start will be made with the ground formation of the town within about two months. Building would begin about six months later. The Dunlop factory first began at Montague nearly 40 years ago. Transfer to the new location will provide an opportunity for obtaining maximum benefit from latest ideas and practices in factory and plant design. Executives of the company believe that the town will become one of the show places of the State. The scheme sets a new standard in the assumption of responsibility for the well-being and improvement of its work-people by a big business undertaking.
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