Back to Other Hawthorn Plaques
This plaque and sign is located on the corner of Tooronga Road and Campbell Grove, on the site of Thomas Shiel's Cash and Family Grocer, established in 1903.
The land of Hawthorn East was traditionally owned by the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation. Following settlements in the surrounding areas, the Crown Land located south of Riversdale Road, between Auburn and Burke Roads, was the last in Hawthorn to be subdivided into allotments and sold to the public.
In 1853, the double-block to the east of Tooronga Road, north of Campbell Grove, was sold to Patrick Mornane, and commonly known as Mornane's Paddock. The block to the South was sold to merchant John Hodgson, who later sold the propert to Thomas Cole, who owned the adjoining block to the South, forming the Coles' Estate. To the east of Tooronga Road, the Cole brothers owned a large nursery and orchard. North of the Coles' Estate, much of Mornane's Paddock was leased to Thomas O'Brien, cab proprietor.
 |
| Cole Family House, Tooronga Road c. 1914 |
In 1874, William Horden's mansion house "Stoneyhurst" was built on Auburn Road, on the north corner of present Fairmount Road. The 1880s saw the further subdivision and sale of many estates in the area, with over 130 homes by 1891. Amongst these developments was an 18-roomed mansion with tower and arched balcony, built by Henry Graham in 1885, later to become St Joseph's Convent by 1912.
In Mornane's paddock, east of Tooronga Road, patriotic street names emerged: Campbell and Havelock Roads were named after Sir Colin Campbell and Sir Henry Havelock, who serviced during the 1857 Mutiny; Clive Road named after General Robert Clive; Hastings Road named after Warren Hastings, the Governor of Bengal; and Beaconsfield Road in memory of Benjamin Disraeli, the Earl of Beaconsfield, who died in 1881.
Along the east side of Tooronga Road, buildings still remain from this period. At 498 stands a house built for Gustav Lachal in 1888. Two other buildings from the same year stand at 514 and 522 Tooronga Road. The property at number 520 was built in 1886, and the single-storeyed terrace at 500-512 dated 1890. Further away, south of Mornane's paddock, Tower Hill Estate was also subdivided, with "Warrowitur" built with 10 rooms in 1890 for Charles Brown. The building still stands at 1 Neave Street.
 |
 |
| Early image of Thomas Shiel's Cash and Family Grocer, Tooronga Road. |
Interior of Sheil's Cash and Family Grocer, 1938 |
The economic depression of the 1890s substantially slowed down building development in the area. However, some new buildings appeared in the 1900s, as the area grew as a shopping district. In 1901, "Noorat" was built for Arthur Bell in 534 Tooronga Road. Thomas Shiels' Grocer was built on the corner of Tooronga Road and Campbell Grove in 1903, and Shiels later owned four shops to the south of Campbell Grove.
Further South, on the corner of Anderson and Tooronga roads, stands an old milk bar which was built c. 1930. East of Anderson park, on Myrniong Grove, W. J. Ireland's Dairy building was built in 1940, on the site of Ireland's Sunnyside Dairy, which had been there since 1872.