2022
President’s Report July 2021 – June 2022
This year the Friends are celebrating 35 years of activity. What was happening in 1987?
1987 was the year of Australia’s first mobile phone call, the National Tennis Centre opened and now covers what was Flinders Park, John Cain Jr was the Premier of Victoria and Jeff Kennett the opposition leader, while Bob Hawke was the prime minister of Australia
Soon after our 2021 AGM the State of Victoria entered yet another period of lockdowns due to COVID restrictions. During the second half of 2021 the Gardens were in heavy use by the community and picnic and group gatherings outdoors were popular, as they were all permitted by the pandemic restrictions.
Over the past financial year four Newsletters were prepared in July, September, November 2021 and March 2022 and have been placed on the Friends website. During this period, we held four general meetings and on 12th December the Friends held a Christmas Party in the Gardens.
Spring into Gardening:
Just like the year before the 2021 Spring into Gardening had to be cancelled due to COVID19
Victoria Gardens Volunteers:
Due to COVID19 restrictions it was impossible to progress with any volunteer program. Council is supportive of recommencing volunteer working bees, and have prepared new guidelines which are being reviewed by the Friends.
Prahran High School:
At the March 2022 meeting it was agreed to abandon this proposal. This might be reviewed in future but presently the priority is to support the volunteers and Victoria Gardens. It was unclear how High School support would benefit the Gardens and Friends activities.
Garden Inspection Walk:
The annual May Garden inspection walk was delayed due to staff availability and was finally held yesterday, 11 July 2022. Attending were John and Jill Hawker from the Friends and from Council, Dominic Mazza, Adam De Zoete, Sara Raeside (Parks Team Leader and Jarvis Hawkridge-Hall arborist.
The main matters discussed during the inspection included;
1. A need to plant gaps in the playground
2. Obtain a French Hawthorn to replace 2 trees north of the RSL memorial 3. Relocate the young Araucaria heterophylla from beside the memorial wall 4. Cut back and coppice Buddleja madagascariensis prune basal watershoots on Lombardy Poplars
5. Plant a flowering tree where the Cape Chestnut fell over in the SE corner 6. Concern about the waterlogged lawn along the SE boundary
7. Concern about rear gate access and shrubbery damage by Trinian Street residents
8. Fallen branch from Plum Pine, elm suckers and palm seedling removals 9. Plant 2 Magnolia grandiflora trees in North boundary bed, west side 10. Remove dying Pampas Grass and watershoots from Magnolia beside depot gate 11. Prune Cherry tree, Plectranthus and reduce Prickly Paperbark branch over shrubbery 12. Monitor Yew with codominant trunk and shape canopy
13. Lift and reduce Plane tree canopy over west shrubbery
Draft Domestic Animal Management Plan (DAMP)
In March the Friends responded to the Draft Domestic Animal Management Plan during the Community Consultation period 15 March to 10 April 2022.
According the Council’s website, Council endorsed the Plan in May 2022 and the Plan was then submitted to Agriculture Victoria on 30 May. While the Plan was meant to be approved between May-June 2022, this is yet to occur.
The main matters raised in the submission included;
1. Raised concern that a random check of registrations at dog off-leash areas by Animal Management Officers (AMO) reveal a high proportion of dogs are not registered with Council [p12]. This makes it extremely difficult to comply with laws, regulations and legislation.
2. The Plan identified the conflict between off-leash areas and other open space activities. This does not only apply to sports grounds but also gardens, especially the significant historic Victoria Gardens. The Garden’s relatively small area has both off-leash space in the sunken oval and the remaining leashed area. It is almost impossible for Council to enforce dog controls in the leashed area and as a result extensive garden damage occurs. A solution is to designate Victoria Gardens as “Leashed Only”.
3. Appendix 3 of the Plan lists the qualifications of staff and their ongoing training and education schedule, but was not included the Draft.
4. The Plan excludes any information on how incident reports and complaints will be administered, what structure and systems are in place for reviews
I would like to thank fellow members of the Friends Committee, Denise Saville, Secretary and Public Officer, and Treasurer Jill Hawker. To Nick Hawker for the management of the Friends website. And thank you to Nobby Seymour for providing this meeting venue, and for many years of valued commitment to the work of the Friends.
John Hawker
President
12 July 2022
2021
Presidents Report July 2020 – June 2021
The Friends are now into their 34th year and this is my first President’s report since 2011. I would like to thank and acknowledge the enormous work by the previous president Vihra Migios from 2012 to 2020.
The 2020 AGM was held on the 24 November. Over the last financial year four Newsletters were prepared (in July, September, November and March) and have been placed on the Friends website. During this period, we held four general meetings and on 13th December the Friends held a Christmas Party in the Gardens.
The past 18 months living under a COVID-19 pandemic has presented all types of challenges due to lockdown restrictions including delays in meetings and cancellation of the annual Spring into Gardening usually held in October.
Pandemic lockdown restrictions, including not being able to move more than 5km from home and more people working at home, has seen a much higher use of the Gardens by the community. The upgraded Lumley Playground which opened in September 2020 has experienced increased use. Some members may not be aware but until about 1990 there was collection of play equipment in Victoria Gardens on the lawn in the south west corner. The relocation of this equipment to Lumley Playground was important to protect the heritage values of Victoria Gardens.
Spring into Gardening:
The cancellation of this important community event in 2020 has been a major disappointment as the event gave the Friends an opportunity to present the Gardens history and significance to visitors, provide information on plants, gain new members and importantly, was the only opportunity to raise funds for the Gardens. It is unknown at present if Spring into Gardening will occur in 2021. It is possible that the event will be presented in a different form which is still being developed by Council.
Sustainable Environment Unit:
1. Community Vision 2040
The City of Stonnington has declared a Climate Emergency along with 46 other Councils.
The Sustainable Environment Unit is coordinating a range of programs to develop a Community Vision 2040 Plan for Stonnington. The Council is undertaking extensive consultation with our community to hear what you want for the future of this city and then Council will create a plan. As part of this process, Council held a conversation about climate action and sustainability on Thursday 18 February. A follow up session was held on 17 June.
2. Stonnington Engaged:
The sustainability team and the Environment Education Officer Deb Neumann has joined forces with Stonnington Engaged team from Council’s Aged, Diversity and Community Planning department (this team run social activities and events for community members 55 years and over) to hold a monthly ‘All About Gardens’ presentation session.
On Monday 3rd March a Gardens walk was conducted by John Hawker for 15 participants from the Stonnington Engaged network. Two Friends (Julie-Ann Hobbs and Peter Saville) attended to share information on the role of the Friends and talk about the Gardens history, features and significant plants.
3. City Nature Challenge:
During May, Council participated in the City Nature Challenge using the iNaturalist app. The purpose was to encourage the concept of the Citizen Scientist, and to get people outdoors and observing nature, to learn about species around them, both plant and animal, and to contribute to an overall picture of biodiversity across the city.
Community Group Registration:
In early June the Friends were invited to be included as a Community Group on the Council’s website. There are about 45 other similar community groups and organisations in Stonnington and the directory will be useful in connecting to these groups.
Visit: Find a community group City of Stonnington
Garden Inspection Walk:
The annual May Garden inspection walk was delayed due to COVID-19 and was held on Tuesday 15 June with four Friends and Council staff in attendance.
A range of maintenance works were identified, including oval works, weed and dead tree removal, pruning, planting and a review of the trees and screen planting along the Murray Street flats boundary in the north east corner.
Also, in attendance for part of the meeting was Angelo Hatzis, Community Amenity and Service Officer who attended following concerns about unofficial rear gateways, paving works and shrub lopping along the east boundary.
Victoria Gardens Volunteers:
There has been no Volunteer activity over the past 12 months. The matter has been raised with Council and a reply is yet to be received.
Prahran High School:
There have been no further discussions over the past 12 months.
I would like to thank fellow members of the Friends Committee, Denise Saville, Secretary and Public Officer, and Treasurer Jill Hawker. And thank you to Nobby Seymour for providing the meeting venue, and many years of valued commitment to the work of the Friends.
John Hawker
President
13 July 2021
2020
FOVG Inc. President’s report 2019-2020
What an interesting and unsettling year it has been in 2020. A pesky virus named Covid-19 reached pandemic proportions early in 2020 and has affected the whole world.
This report was initially written in anticipation of the July 2020 AGM. Covid 19 put paid to this as we were in lock down in July.
My report has been expanded to take into account the remainder of the calendar year to the AGM to be held on November 24th 2020.
REPORT July 2019 – 30.6.2020
The 2018-2019 AGM was held in June 2019 and saw the spill of the then current committee and the appointment of the new one to take us into the 2019-2020 financial year. Jill Hawker was nominated and appointed to the position of Treasurer, Denise Saville as the Public Officer and Vihra Migios as President, continuing what has been a most productive committee team. John Hawker produced four newsletters (November, September, March, June) whilst Nobby Seymour continued to host our meetings.
All in all 4 general meetings were held throughout this period, these being on 16 July, 10 September, 12 November, with the last on 3 March 2020, just before the Covid-19 shut down was announced.
Our activities:
The FoVG and Council had seven different projects already underway in this financial year. We celebrate the achievements of six (though two are on hold due to Covid-19 restrictions) whilst one continues to be under discussion and is an ongoing issue.
1 Victoria Gardens signage: Completed
The signage is now in place, to the right of the High St entrance. The graphic representation celebrates the diverse flora in the gardens. The text celebrates the then Prahran City Council’s foresight in purchasing the land (1884) and the community spirit that led to the myriad private donations that adorn the Gardens. More recently, two new garden benches commemorating family members were privately donated, one of which was in memory of Rae Jackson, a past treasurer of the FoVG.
2 The Victoria Gardens Lumley Playground: (work scheduled)
Our late 2017 bid for a more timely upgrade of this playground (years ahead of the then proposed schedule) led Council to allocate a budget (2018-2019) and to employ a landscape architect, Alex Hogan, to consult and work with residents. A contractor was chosen with work scheduled to begin sometime in late July 2020. Council demonstrated that it is able to mount an extensive and well-designed community consultation process and we looked forward to a new playground. Our member Amy Lee was able to garner considerable communityinvolvement (from other parents with young children) in this process.
3 May Inspection walk:( completed).
This very successful inspection and proposal for work to be done (instigated some years before by John Hawker), was held in May, this being on 28 May 2020. It was attended by four Council representatives and the FoVG was represented by five members with John Hawker again leading the inspection. John’s report of the walk is then used as the basis for monitoring progress on the agreed work to be done. All in all it has been a most pro-active and effective way of ensuring the ongoing maintenance and improvement of the Gardens.
4 Council Web site (completed)
The new Council web site entry for Victoria Gardens (early June 2020) reduced the description of the Victoria Gardens to a “dog park” with “19th Century decorative elements”. I requested that we be consulted and was able to negotiate a more satisfactory description. https://www.stonnington.vic.gov.au/Community/Parks-and-gardens/Victoria-Gardens
5 Victoria Gardens Volunteers: (on hold due to Covid-19)
The VG Volunteers program (initiated by member Alex Ralton) trial that had begun late in 2018 was put on hold whilst Council staff worked their way through their procedures for gaining full Council approval for the program. These were finally completed early this year and a new date for re starting this was set for April 2020. But Covid-19 restrictions put this on hold.
6 Prahran High School: (on hold due to Covid-19)
Late in 2019, the Friends decided that it would be good to engage with the students and staff at the newly established Prahran High School. We examined the proposals that the school put forward and agreed to continue to discuss how our participation could be achieved. We hope to resume these discussions once Covid-19 restrictions are lifted.
All in all these six initiatives have been a very positive addition to our work in supporting the care and enhancement of the VG and our work with Council and the community.
7 Animal management (on going)
By 2018-2019 FoVG members had become very concerned with the ever increasing number of dogs being walked in the Gardens. The concern was that dogs were being taken off leash on entry and allowed by their owners to roam freely and also into the garden beds. In 2019 we consulted with members, tabled the results and met with Council in attempts to not only inform Council but to also seek improvement to animal management. All to no avail.
We were to find out (not through any consultation with FoVG) in mid to late 2019 that the Feb 2019 Council had passed a motion limiting the number of dogs being walked simultaneously to 4, as was the case in adjoining municipalities. This limit raised the ire of commercial companies and dog owners and this led to Council mounting a municipality wide survey.
This survey conducted in the later part of the year was flawed in design and scope, raising serious questions as to the validity of its findings. By December 2019 it was clear that Council had had little intention to abide by the survey (whether flawed or not) results and had spent the past 10 months working to rescind their Feb 2019 decision (4 dog limit), and with intent to 3 lobby the State Government on behalf of commercial interests. The use of Victoria Gardens as n “off leash dog park” continued unabated.
Council’s Domestic Animal Management Plan 2016-2021 is due for review in 2021 and Ianticipate that the FoVG will take the opportunity to participate in this review. The new plan that arises from the review will affect how domestic animals are to be managed in Victoria Gardens. Copy of the current plan is available at
Post June 2020 and Covid-19
We were pleased to see the increased number of children and adults using the Gardens (with
most applying the face mask and distancing rules) during the Covid-19 lock down.
Two significant changes (items 7 and 2 above) :
1. Animal management
Late August 2020 and without any notice or consultation with the FoVG, Council posted 5 signs in Victoria Gardens regarding animal management requirements. The signs were headed “Attention all Dogs”. Three were placed around the oval (long past entry. with dogs off-leash in what is on-leash areas), one was at the Murray St entrance, and one facing the oval in the garden bed to the left of the High St entrance.
We requested that they be placed more appropriately but before we could meet to discuss this, all but the Murray St entrance sign had been vandalised. Council proposed to deal with this by posting more permanent signs and advised that there are now 4 Council officers to monitor compliance. We were also advised that non-compliance will be noted with a written warning notice, and if found to be non-compliant again, will be issued with a fine. It appears that other Stonnington parks had also experienced similar problems with owners not having the required control over their pets and the same management strategy is to be applied elsewhere in the municipality.
2. VG Lumley Playground
The Victoria Gardens Lumley Playground was completed and opened in September 2020, much to the delight of the children and families. Safety issues re the gate to the toilet and the light fencing of the garden beds were raised with Council and this resulted in the needed improvements. We have also requested that an additional rubbish bin be located at the Victoria Gardens entrance to the playground. Congratulations to all who participated in the process of gaining Council support for the much improved schedule and for participating in the excellent community consultation that eventuated.
3. Emerging issues
Public us of the Victoria Gardens has increased, so much so that picnickers have now enjoyed the Gardens in far greater numbers than before the pandemic. Unfortunately this additional use has not been accommodated with additional rubbish bins or recycle bins. And it seems that an increasing number of people see nothing wrong in using the garden beds as their public toilet, adding to that being offered by dogs that have been allowed to roam freely. I appreciate that 4 this is a rather negative way to end this report, but hope that Council will at some stage begin to act in a more timely manner to remind the public of responsible and appropriate use of public facilities and services. And especially so in an enclosed heritage garden like Victoria Gardens.
Thanks
On behalf of the membership I would like to thank the 2019-2020 FoVG committee: Jill Hawker (treasurer) and Denise Saville (public officer) for their support and work in keeping the FoVG Inc. an active community group. Our thanks go to member John Hawker for his informative newsletters and for leading the May Inspection Walk and other Gardens specific processes. Our thanks also go to Nobby Seymour, not only for being a most genial host, but also for his active participation in many of the consultative processes that we undertook.
As to our FoVG members, we would not be able to maintain our commitment and action in support of the Victoria Gardens were it not for your continuing support.
A personal note
I will not be accepting nomination to what is left of July 2020 – June 2021 committee at the November AGM. I first accepted nomination to the FoVG Inc. presidency in October 2012, and so, after 8 years and some very successful advocacy on behalf of the Gardens, it seems to me time to hand on the baton. I wish the new committee years of positive continuing advocacy on behalf of the gorgeous Victoria gardens.
In closing, I would like to thank committee members Denise Saville and Jillian Hawker for long their years of commitment and support. Also, I could not have taken the pro-active role that I took without Nobby Seymour’s mentorship.
Vihra Migios
FoVG Inc. President
July 2019-November 24th, 2020
2019
Friends of Victoria Gardens Annual General Meeting Tuesday 16 July 2019 President’s report 2018-2019
The 2017-2018 AGM was held on 17 July 2018.
As required, all office bearers stood down and members were called on to nominate the new committee. Denise Saville was nominated and accepted the position of secretary and public officer; Jill Hawker was nominated and accepted the position of treasurer and Vihra Migios was nominated and accepted the role or president. Our meetings continued to be held at Nobby Seymour’s studio, a most welcoming, cosy and intimate venue.
The Year in Summary
The FoVG met 4 times in the financial year 2018-2019. The date of each meeting is notified some weeks before and is also foreshadowed in the March minutes. The 2018-2019 AGM on July 17th was immediately followed by our first General Meeting for the financial year.
This was followed by the second General Meeting on 11 September 2018; the third on 13 December 2018, and the fourth meeting on 19 March 2019. These were well attended and a great many issues discussed. We held our annual Christmas party on 2 December.
John Hawker prepared our Newsletters and again led the May Inspection Walk. Our thanks go to Dominic Mazza, Steve Watt, Tim Rathbone, Adam de Zoete (City of Stonnington) and FoVG member Jenny Legge for this year’s attendance.
John’s Newsletters provide a good summary of improvements that continue to bear a direct link to our efforts to support the maintenance crews and gardeners in their work and the continued enhancement and maintenance of these heritage gardens.
Some of the matters that were discussed, and more importantly, achieved in 2018-2019 include:
- Upgrades: The upgrade of the marble plaque on the fountain base and the refurbishment of the two shelter sheds on the eastern path.
- Interpretive signage: Progress was made on the interpretative signage that is to be installed in the gardens. John Hawker negotiated these improvements on our behalf. Vihra and Denise worked on the welcome information blurb for the signage whilst John paid attention to the graphic depictions. We should be able to report on the outcome of these items of interest during our first General Meeting following the AGM.
- Volunteer proposal: Following the go ahead for this programme, the first session was held on Saturday 1 December. This and the other three sessions proved extremely enjoyable for volunteers (including children) and Adam De Zoete who supervised our efforts. The 2 February session meant that the now weed cleared gardens were ready and looking their best for that night’s Opera in the Park event. Our thanks to gardener Adam De Zoete for his informative and good humoured supervision of the volunteers. The volunteer programme is now on hold until it recommences in the spring.
- Lumley Playground: We successfully lobbied Council to undertake the Lumley Playground upgrade years earlier than their schedule for this work. The upgrade will take place sometime in 2019-2020 with Council employing a landscape architect to research and survey users.
- Dogs on and off leash. The moderator of the Facebook page “Victoria Gardens dog owners” wrote to us with the issues he identified and this was tabled at a general meeting in 2018. He posted our invitation (on the Facebook page) to the dog owners to participate in a proposed process with the expressed aim to work on how to improve the amenity for all.
- Consultative process: Council has undertaken to always consult with the FoVG in all matters relating to the Gardens. This to be applied across all Council departments. We thank our members and Cath Harrod (General Manager Community and Culture) for achieving this important commitment from Council.
Sincere thanks.
On behalf of the FoVG I would like to extend our sincere thanks to our secretary Denise Saville for the excellent way she manages to summarise our discussions; to treasurer Jill Hawker for keeping finances and membership lists up to date and for attending to the group emails she sends on our behalf. Our thanks go to Nick Hawker for maintaining our web site and updating flyers as required. Our thanks also go to Alex Ralton for his efforts to create a community development activity in the gardens.
We would not be able to hold the Council to account for the management of the gardens without John Hawker’s extensive knowledge and expertise, and trust that you enjoy his informative newsletters. Nobby Seymour continues to be a most genial host and to give us an opportunity to marvel at his creativity.
We welcome all the new members who joined us in 2018-19 and thank existing members for their continued support. Just knowing that you are there supports those of us who can take a more active role to continue the work we set out to undertake some 30+ years ago.
Vihra Migios
President
FoVG 2018-19
2018
Friends of Victoria Gardens
Tuesday July 18th, 2017
The 2017-2018 AGM was held on July 18h, 2017, completing our 30th year since inception in
1987.
As required, all office bearers stood down and members were called on to nominate the new
committee. Denise Saville was nominated and accepted the position of secretary and public
officer; Jill Hawker was nominated and accepted the position of treasurer and Vihra Migios
was nominated and accepted the role or president. We appear to have settled into a routine that serves us well and reflects the commitment of our members. Our meetings continued to be held at Nobby Seymour’s studio, a most welcoming, cosy and intimate venue.
The Year in Summary
The FoVG meets 4 times a year and follows the financial year calendar that is required of an
incorporated body. The date of each meeting is notified some weeks before and is also
foreshadowed in the minutes.
John Hawker produced 4 Newsletters and led the very successful May Inspection walk that he
had instigated some years before.
The 2017-2018 AGM on July 18th was immediately followed by our first General Meeting for
the year. This allowed us to fulfil our intention to ensure that we can keep a 3 monthly
calendar between our General Meetings. The linking of the two proved most successful.
We continued to enjoy and build on the good relationship that we have developed over the
past years with Council staff and the gardeners. Our May Inspection Walk strategy has been
instrumental in creating this. Our thanks go to FoVG members led by John Hawker, and
Council staff including Parks Coordinator: Dominic Mazza; Head Gardener: Adam Dezoete;
Arborist: Steve Watt; and Parks Team Leader: Tim Rathbone for this year’s attendance. See
our Newsletters for a summary of improvements that continue to bear a direct link to our
efforts to support the maintenance crews and gardeners in their work and the continued
enhancement and maintenance of these heritage gardens.
The July meeting was followed with the second general meeting on 5th September; the third
on15th November, and the fourth meeting on 20th March 2018 . As usual these were well
attended and a great many issues discussed. Our end of year Christmas party on December 3
also celebrated our 30th anniversary and was hosted by Jill and John Hawker.
Thank you to Nobby Seymour for the addition of the 30th anniversary dates to the large banner
that he hung on the High St fence in time for the Spring into Gardening event in October.
Members took turns to attend to our stall. There was a lot of interest in our exhibition and we
hope that Council will allocate a larger stall in the future.
2017-2018 Some of the issues we raised and discussed included:
• Allocating Council’s $20,000 grant for work at Victoria Gardens. We decided to
allocate these funds to three projects: the upgrade of the marble plaque on the fountain
base; refurbishment of the two shelter sheds on the eastern path; and the interpretative
signage that is to be installed in the garden bed next to the depot. John Hawker
negotiated these improvements on our behalf and provided progress reports in his
informative newsletters.
• Volunteer proposal. Alex Ralton followed up on the volunteer proposal to Council and
will be lodging the required documentation in time for spring in the 2018-2019 year.
• The use of Victoria Gardens for paid performances. We joined local residents in a
meeting with Council staff who heard our objection to this use of the Victoria Gardens.
Council staff understood our and residents’ concerns. They managed to cancel all but
one of the scheduled performances.
• We have not been able to progress the Lumley Playground upgrade to a time that more
closely reflects the age of the toddlers who currently use it. On the other hand it is
pleasing to see that Council has improved the playground upgrade budget.
Dogs on and off leash.
We have yet to achieve a cultural change in the way dog walkers use the gardens. FoVG
members regularly express frustration that members of the public take off-leash dog access to
Victoria Gardens for granted and not as a hard won privilege. It is not uncommon for most dog
walkers to let their dogs roam free on entering the gardens. Council does not appear to have
the means to enforce the dogs-on-leash-only-on-the oval rule; FoVG members are abused
when they bring this rule to the attention of the public; dogs’ offerings in the garden beds are
regularly cleaned by the gardeners. It is not the gardeners’ job to point out the rules. Walking
or playing on the lawns also means having to be alert to dog offerings. FoVG members
recognise the important role that pets play in their owner’s lives and are loathe to recommend
that these gardens be completely closed to dogs-off-leash. What to do? I shall be putting this
on our agendas for 2018-2019 as there has to be a solution to ensure that we can maintain the
heritage values and lawn and garden bed health of our wonderful gardens.
On behalf of the FoVG I would like to extend our sincere thanks to our secretary Denise
Saville for the excellent way she manages to summarise our discussions; to treasurer Jill
Hawker for keeping finances and membership lists up to date and for attending to the group
emails she sends on our behalf. Our thanks to Nick Hawker for maintaining our web site and
updating flyers as required. Our thanks also to Alex Ralton for his efforts to create a
community development activity in the gardens.
We would not be able to hold the Council to account for the management of the gardens
without John Hawker’s extensive knowledge and expertise, and trust that you enjoy his
informative newsletters. Nobby Seymour continues to be a most genial host and to give us an
opportunity to marvel at his creativity.
We welcome all the new members who joined us in 2017-18 and thank existing members for
their continued support. Just knowing that you are there supports those of us who can take a
more active role to continue the work we set out to undertake some 30 years ago.
Vihra Migios
President FoVG
2017-2018
2017
Friends of Victoria Gardens
Tuesday July 18th, 2017
President’s report 2016-2017
The 2016-2017 AGM was held on July 5th, 2016 and so began our 29th year since our inception in 1987.
As required all office bearers stood down and members were called on to nominate the new committee. Denise Saville was nominated and accepted the position of secretary and public officer; Jill Hawker was nominated and accepted the position of treasurer and Vihra Migios was nominated and accepted the role or president. We appear to have settled into a routine that again serves us well and reflects the commitment of our members. Our meetings continued to be held at Nobby Seymour’s studio and it has proven to be a most welcoming, cosy and intimate venue.
John Hawker produced 4 Newsletters and led the very successful May Inspection walk that he had instigated some years before.
YEAR IN SUMMARY
The FoVG meets 4 times a year and follows the financial year calendar that is required of an incorporated body. The date of each meeting is notified some weeks before and is also foreshadowed in the minutes. The 2015-2016 AGM in July was followed with general meeting in August, December and March. As usual these were well attended and a great many issues discussed.
Members took turns to tend to our Spring into gardening Stall on October, and soon after followed this with our end of year party in the Gardens.
2016-2017 has seen some significant achievements
- We settled on the wording and graphic design of a small flyer and thank Nick Hawker for his excellent work.
- We also agreed to hold future AGMs and the first General Meeting for the year on the same date. This was because we found the 6-month lag between general meetings (interrupted by the AGM) meant that we could not keep track of the work we had set ourselves. See May 11 email to members for details.
- Amy Lee continued to investigate the Council’s intentions for the Lumley Playground and discovered that Stonnington Council’s scheduled playground upgrades was drawn up long before the demographic changes that were occurring in Prahran had been taken into consideration. One example of this is a small Prahran street with less than 50 residences (9 of which are 1 bedroom flats) and is now the home to 19 toddlers and babies, and more on the way! Unfortunately, we have yet to see a change in the upgrade schedule which, if followed, will mean that all these children will be far too old to enjoy the amenity.
- The May Inspection walk was again led by John Hawker and included 4 Council staff as well as FoVG members. See our Newsletters for a summary of improvements that continue to bear a direct link to our efforts in supporting the maintenance crews and gardeners in their work and the continued enhancement and maintenance of these heritage gardens.
- We sent a Submission to Council’s Draft 2017-2021 Plan and in May spoke at the meeting held to hear such submissions. Four of us attended this meeting, and despite being warned that only the president would be allowed to speak, member Amy Lee was granted permission to speak to the issues that pertained to the Lumley Playground. We were surprised to find that we were the only members of the Stonnington community who elected to speak to their submission. It was disappointing to see that Stonnington takes it for granted that the community does not engage and we questioned why this was accepted rather than questions raised as to how Council can generate community engagement.
- Copy of the submission and my speaker’s notes will be on the FoVG web site following the AGM and will also be available at the AGM.
- We intend to follow up by seeking Council’s response to our submission; to follow up on the suggestions we made for community engagement, and to continue to lobby for a timely upgrade to the Lumley Playground thus anticipating another busy year.
- We have yet to finalise discussion around the kind of signage we envisage that identifies the history and flora in the gardens.
On behalf of the FoVG I would like to extend our sincere thanks to our secretary Denise Saville for the excellent way she manages to summarise our discussions; to treasurer Jill Hawker for keeping finances and membership lists up to date and for attending to the group emails she sends on our behalf. We would not be able to hold the Council to account for the management of the gardens without John Hawker’s extensive knowledge and expertise, and trust that you enjoy his informative newsletters. Nobby Seymour continues to be a most genial host and to give us an opportunity to marvel at his creativity.
We welcome all the new members who joined us in 2016-17 and thank existing members for their continued support. Just knowing that you are there supports those of us who can take a more active role to continue the work we set out to undertake some 29 years ago.
2017 is the 30th Anniversary of the FoVG. And we thank all members past and present for their support and contributions.
We also thank the Stonnington Council and staff for the work that has gone into the new watering system and the oval resurfacing. We trust that all our dog walking members encourage other dog walkers to keep their dogs off leash only on the oval to ensure that the garden beds and other lawns are not dug up and gardeners do not find doggy offerings!
Vihra Migios
President FoVG
2016
FRIENDS OF VICTORIA GARDENS INC. Annual General Meeting
Tuesday July 5 th 2016
64 Bendigo St Prahran 3181
President’s Report 2015-16
Our 2014-15 AGM was held on June 23rd 2015 and so began the 2015-2016 year with the election of office bearers. Jennifer Withcomb took on the task of acting treasurer until such time as we had a full time candidate to take it on. Jill Hawker very kindly stepped forward and was duly charged with the onerous task of maintaining our database, sending out reminders and accounting for the income received from members.
As required all office bearers stood down and members were called on to nominate for a new committee. Denise Saville was nominated and accepted the position of secretary as did Jill Hawker in the role of treasurer and Vihra Migios in the role of president. Our meetings continued to be held at Nobby Seymour’s studio giving us the opportunity to view and marvel at elements of what was then his upcoming exhibition.
John Hawker continued to produce the newsletters, and the three that were produced in 2015-16 are posted on the website.
OUR YEAR IN SUMMARY
The FoVG meets 4 times per year following the financial year’s calendar and within the requirements of an incorporated body. The date of each meeting is notified some weeks before the meeting is to be held and is also foreshadowed in the minutes.
The 2014-2015 AGM in June was followed with general meetings in August, December 2015 and March 2016. These were well attended and a great many issues discussed.
Members took turns to tend the ‘Spring Into Gardening’ stall on October 11th. (December 2015 Newsletter). FoVG members recall that this event arose out of the FoVG ‘fete’ to raise funds for the refurbishment of the fountain. A small community led event has morphed into the “Spring into Gardening’ event held by Stonnington Council each year.
We followed this with the Christmas Party on December 13th. We took the opportunity to enjoy the seating offered by the new RSL memorial space. Peter Legge once again took home the prize in the small photographic competition, and the challenge is now to all members to enter in December 2016, as Peter would like some more competition.
Members followed up on a request for a meeting with a person concerned with the condition of the Malvern Gardens on High Street. Unfortunately there is no ‘friends of’ community group to oversee or lobby Council on behalf of this very important garden. Is there a role for Stonnington Council’s Community Development staff here?
Stonnington Council oversees the building of large apartment blocks whilst at the same time acknowledging that Stonnington residents enjoy the second smallest public open space allocation in Melbourne. In the meanwhile, the existing gardens and playgrounds are being offered far less than optimum maintenance and improvements. The increasing number of apartments on what was once a single occupancy point to a rates revenue stream that has the potential to improve Council’s commitment to increase their budgetary allocation for existing gardens.
Of particular more local interest is the request from a new member that we consider how to get improvements made to the Lumley playground. It appears that these playgrounds are scheduled for updates every 27 years, and given the schedule that applies to the Lumley playground, the babies and toddlers who live in the area will be teenagers by the time this is done.
Given the increasing use of the gardens we also formed a small group to discuss ways we could ‘market’ FoVG membership and thus increase the potential to maintain our pro-active involvement in the care of the gardens. The two strategies developed will be tabled for the consideration of the members.
Practical lobbying for such improvement has been part of the strategy of the May Gardens Inspection. Council has responded to the call for a clear path to the Lumley playground and has provided us with a plan for such. The leveling of the entrance to the toilet is now complete. The next newsletter will provide a more detailed summary of improvements that bear a direct link to our efforts in supporting the maintenance crews and gardeners in their work.
On behalf of the FoVG I would like to extend our sincere thanks to our secretary Denise Saville, for her ability to follow what often feels like free wheeling discussion and to summarise the main points and decisions in the minutes. Our thanks also go to our treasurer, Jill Hawker, for the well-kept membership list and accounts, and for the group emails she sends on our behalf.
We also thank John Hawker for the role he plays in producing the informative newsletters and his leadership in instigating and leading the May Gardens Inspection, a pro-active strategy that is yielding significant improvements. Our thanks also go to Nobby Seymour for being the most genial of hosts and for making his studio available for our meetings.
Welcome to all new members and a reminder that we appreciate both those who simply join and add their names to our membership list, and that we have already enjoyed the enthusiasm and new ideas of those who are in a position to take a more active role.
VihraMigios
President
2015
FRIENDS OF VICTORIA GARDENS INC. Annual General Meeting
Tuesday June 23rd 2015
64 Bendigo St Prahran 3181
President’s Report 2014-15
We began the July 2014-June 2015 year with the election of office bearers. The committee, comprising Denise Saville, Vihra Migios, was re-elected for a further 12 months and John Hawker continued to take responsibility for the Newsletter. However, despite Jennifer having put us on notice at the last AGM, we were unable to nominate a new Treasurer and Jennifer very kindly offered to take on the role of acting Treasurer pending another member stepping up to the plate (more on this later in the report). Our meetings continue to be held at Nobby Seymour’s studio in Bendigo St, a venue perfectly suited to a group such as the Friends.
We have successfully aligned our meetings and memberships with the financial year and trust that the Direct Debit facility makes it easier to keep membership up to date and we thank all members for their prompt attendance to this. A gentle reminder though that the 2015-2016 membership will be due on June 30th, and another gentle reminder to members who forgot to cover their 2014-2015 memberships. Can we try to make it a full house of dues for the coming year?
OUR YEAR IN SUMMARY
The 2013-2014 AGM was held on June 24th 2014. A general meeting on August 2nd 2014 followed it. Members took turns to attend to the ‘Spring Into Gardening’ stall on October 12th. The Christmas Party was held in the Gardens on December 14 and gave us an opportunity to trial the ‘members’ photography’ competition. The normal quarterly meeting of April 14 was followed by the commemoration of the newly built RSL memorial in the gardens on April 18th. John Hawker produced three newsletters.
TREASURER
Jennifer once again put us on notice this time with a very final statement that her tenure as acting treasurer would be finished by the June 2015 AGM. The flyer was emailed to members
URGENTLY WANTED
Treasurer – Friends of Victoria Gardens Inc
(an Incorporated Association with approximately 90 members )
Knowledge of Outlook (or equivalent) & Excel, plus very basic accounting skills.
Maintain and update membership database including subscriptions paid.
Our membership year is 1st July –30th June
Maintain record of donations & expenses – plus banking.
Send out reminders re unpaid member dues – when required.
Prepare and deliver the financial report for AGM.
Complete paperwork for Consumer Affairs. The Association’s reporting year ends 20th February. The AGM must be held within five months of this date. This is usually held in June.
Attend meetings when possible – only four per year including AGM.
Send out Newsletters and Notice of Meetings, Agendas and Minutes and any additional info as required. Most members have email with only six who do not (either hand deliver or post)
If available (and interested), assist at Stonington’s ‘Spring into Gardening’ at the ‘Friends’ marquee, usually held in October.
The current Treasurer, Jennifer, will help you learn the ropes.
Time required works out to around 4 hours per month.
MEMBERS’ PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION at the Christmas Party 2014
Six members participated in the ‘trial’ Member’s Photography Competition that was ‘judged’ by Kevin Birks (recently retired from Photographic Imaging College (http://pic.org.au) with Peter Legge winning with his image of the gardens taken under the artistic direction of Jenny Legge. Members agreed that we should continue with this competition in 2015, and details will be posted by the end of the financial year.
RSL REDEVELOPMENT
Work on the redevelopment began in January 2015 and the site completed in time for the commemorative event on April 18th. The event was well attended by members of the public, representatives of returned soldier organisations, students from local schools and Council, RSL and State and Commonwealth Parliamentary representatives.
FoVG WEB SITE (http://fovg.org.au)
The web site has been in use for the past 12+ months and we are slowly getting used to what needs to be done to keep it up to date. Our thanks to Nic Hawker for maintaining it during its ‘teething year’ and a reminder to members to communicate directly with Vihra (vmigios@gmail.com) should they wish to have their items or feedback added to the web site.
VICTORIA GARDENS INSPECTION
John initiated a ‘Victoria Gardens Inspection’ on Thursday 21 May 2015 with committee members and Stonnington City Council representatives with specific responsibilities for the maintenance and development of parks and gardens. Denise Saville, Vihra Migios and John Hawker joined Stonnington staff Rebecca James (arborist), Steve Watt and Glen Anderson in what turned out to be a two hour walk around the gardens identifying garden bed and other maintenance issues as well as celebrating some of the wonderful flora that make this the only truly unique heritage garden in Stonnington. The Friends are very fortunate to have a member like John Hawker who has absolutely intensive knowledge of every plant/tree in the Victoria Gardens and who also can comment with authority on its heritage values. His expertise gives the Friends the reputation for being an extremely well informed and knowledgeable community group. We anticipate that the ‘Victoria Gardens Inspection’ will become a yearly event.
PRESIDENT’S THANKS
My sincere thanks to
*Denise Saville for her excellent work in keeping track of our rather freewheeling meetings and the production of minutes that reflect the central points of discussion and proposals for action;
*Jennifer Withecomb for stepping in to act as our treasurer for yet another year;
*John Hawker for the informative newsletters and for sharing his extensive knowledge with us;
*Nobby Seymour for making space in his studio for our meetings and the wonderful platter of fruit and cheeses with which he tempts us to stay on and chat after a meeting;
*Nic Hawker for maintaining the FoVG web site through the first year of its existence
and
*All the current and past members who have made the Friends the community organisation that it is.
Vihra Migios
President Friends of Victoria Gardens
June 2015
2014
The 2014 AGM meeting elected the following committee for a further 12 months. The FoVG meets 4 times per year.
The date of each meeting is notified some weeks before the meeting is to be held and is also foreshadowed in the minutes.
- President : Vihra Migos, ph: 9529 1959 email: vmigios@gmail.com
- Secretary & Public Officer: Denise Saville
- A/Treasurer: Jennifer Withecomb
FRIENDS OF VICTORIA GARDENS – Annual General Meeting
Tuesday June 24th 2014 64 Bendigo St Prahran 3181
President’s Report 2013-2014
We began the July 2013-June 2014 year with the election of office bearers. The committee, comprising Denise Saville, Vihra Migios, and Jennifer Withecomb, was re-elected for a further 12 months and John Hawker continued to take responsibility for the Newsletter. However, Jennifer put us all on notice that this would be her final year as treasurer and that she would not stand for office for the 2014-2015 year.
We made a very conscious effort to align our meetings with the financial year and advised members that membership fees would also be due on July 1st. We trust that the Direct Debit facility makes it easier to keep membership up to date and we thank all members for their prompt attendance to this.
Our 2012-2013 AGM was held on June 18th and was followed by a general meeting on August 27th. The ‘Spring Into Gardening’ stall on October 13th was followed by our Christmas Party and launch of the web site (http://fovg.org.au) on December 8th. We held an extraordinary meeting on December 10th and held a normal meeting March 25th. John Hawker produced three newsletters and the contrast between the wet in 2013 and the dry in 2014 is rather telling.
The above is a rather dry summary of what has been a most eventful year. Early in 2013, Stonnington City Council (SCC) advised us that the Prahran RSL was interested in improvements to the RSL this as the current memorial, first introduced into the gardens in the 1950s, had become degraded over time. We were also given to understand that SCC had accepted a ‘gift’ of a statue from the Bruce Steel Kingsbury Society, and was inviting us to show where in the gardens such a statue could be erected.
August 27th 2013
SCC staff attended our August 27th meeting to present the draft proposal for the redeveloped RSL site. Members made very constructive suggestions to the designer of the redevelopment. Passions flared when it came to discussing the request for the erection of a statue as a separate item to the RSL redevelopment. The FoVG members agreed to keep an open mind and to reserve our decision until the full designs were presented.
December 10th 2013
We held an extraordinary meeting on December 10th on the understanding that we would be finalising our response to the two proposals: i.e. the RSL redevelopment and the possible erection of the Bruce Kingsbury Society’s statue in the gardens.
Our recommendation re the statue
having spent considerable time walking the gardens, and given that this statue was to be ‘life size’ on a 600-900mm pedestal (very sketchy information and only one image of a ‘maquette’ of the proposed statue had been provided), we could not see how it could be erected in the gardens and do justice to the sculptor or the sculpture, or for that matter to the Victoria Cross recipient it sought to commemorate.
The FoVG wrote to SCC to advise that there was no suitable place in the gardens where such a statue could be erected and suggested that Council seek an alternative garden, one with the open space to do it justice.
Our recommendation re the RSL Redevelopment
FoVG members expressed support for the redevelopment design and wrote to SCC and the RSL commending the design.
January 2014
Imagine our surprise when in January 2014 we received a response from SCC informing us for the first time that Council had already long ago decided that the statue be erected in Victoria Gardens, and that all that was required was for the FoVG to say where in the gardens this was to occur. FoVG was again invited to attend a meeting (March 2014) in the gardens to determine where it could be located, and it was then that we finally received the information that the SCC had made its unilateral decision to erect the statue in VG in 2011! As it transpired, neither the FoVG nor the Prahran RSL had been consulted at the time and the recommendation to erect this statue in the VG had been made entirely by SCC staff. But wait, there is more!
March 2014
Our March 2014 meeting dealt almost entirely with the decision by SCC to not only make unilateral decisions, but to also withhold this vital information from the consultative process that we had entered into in good faith. In addition we objected to the ‘go between’ nature of their consultative process, and to the large memorial footprint that the imposition of such a statue would create. Our objections were documented and sent directly to the SCC CEO. We requested a new meeting, this time with the RSL and other stakeholders in attendance.
May 2014
SCC finally held a meeting of all the stakeholders on May 27th. This meeting included the representative from the Bruce Kingsbury Society and the sculptor as well as SCC departmental heads. The Prahran RSL voiced their strong opposition to the abstraction that was to be the statue and to the process that had totally excluded them to date. The RSL had understood it to be a statue of Bruce Kingsbury VC (likeness) and not a statue commemorating Bruce Kingsbury VC (an abstract form). They objected most strenuously to the proposed statue being located in Victoria Gardens.
FoVG reiterated our opposition to the erection of a statue, not only because of its size and lack of clear space for such, but also as a separate entity to the RSL redevelopment. We also requested that the proposed RSL redevelopment site be clearly outlined prior to commencement of excavation/construction works so that its proposed footprint can be gauged more accurately. Simon Thomas, City Works General Manager, undertook to communicate our strongly expressed objections in his report to SCC.
The lack of coordination at the SCC end was apparent and it is clear that there are issues that can only be resolved between the SCC and the Kingsbury Society. And given the clear positions taken by the Prahran RSL and the FoVG, the Victoria Gardens are not to be used to resolve these issues.
All in all it has been a most eventful year! Thank you again to Denise, Jennifer, and John for their invaluable work throughout the year, and to Nobby for being such a great host of FoVG meetings. Thanks also to our members for continuing to show an interest in and concern for the beautiful Victoria Gardens.
Previous year
The 2013 AGM meeting elected the following committee for a further 12 months. The FoVG meets 4 times per year.
The date of each meeting is notified some weeks before the meeting is to be held and is also foreshadowed in the minutes.
- President : Vihra Migos, ph: 9529 1959 email: vmigios@gmail.com
- Secretary & Public Officer: Denise Saville
- Treasurer: Jennifer Withcomb
FRIENDS OF VICTORIA GARDENS – Annual General Meeting
Tuesday June 16th 2013 at 64 Bendigo Street Prahran
2013 President’s Report
We began our 26th year with a successful call to members to fill the vacancies created by the resignation of John Hawker as President (15 years in office) and Nobby Seymour (Public Officer). A new committee was elected at the 2012 AGM with Vihra Migios agreeing to the presidency on the understanding that John would continue his role as the FoVG horticulture expert and editor of the newsletter. Denise Saville took on the role of secretary, whilst Jennifer Withecomb remained as treasurer for another year, and will hopefully continue in this role. The dedication of the former committee members was recognised with a hearty round of applause.
The 2012 AGM was followed by the October 14th Spring Into Gardening event. Our stall was tucked behind the weeping Lilly Pilly and to the right of the Murray Street gates. Given the enclosed space it was hard to gauge the actual numbers who attended this event, but Council assured us that the numbers were up to expectation. We would like to thank the members who hosted the stall. We signed up 11 new memberships and welcomed 20 new members to our midst.
The second meeting was on Tuesday November 13th. We continued to discuss John Hawker’s proposal for the creation of a web page containing a guide to the Victoria Gardens. We also finalised the details for the forthcoming Christmas Party to be held in December. Thank you Lisa Wells for creating a funky invitation.
Our Christmas Party was held on Sunday December 9th. A highlight of this event (apart from the meet and greet of new and current members) was the guided walk around the garden led by John Hawker. All who followed him around appreciated his extensive knowledge and willingness to share this with us.
I accepted an invitation to attend the Christmas Party of the Prahran Garden Club. This invitation has led to a discussion of the merits of creating closer links with this organisation. The members meet (and pot) within the gardener’s enclosure in the Victoria Gardens.
The Prahran RSL is another community group with strong ties to the Victoria Gardens. The RSL is negotiating with Council over the long-term improvement of their commemorative site. In the short term, the gardeners planted ‘Rosemary’ and generally improved the appearance of the site in time for the 2013 Anzac commemorations.
The proposal to investigate the erection of a shade cloth over the Lumley Playground has been shelved. Unfortunately the FoGV committee members are no longer users of this playground so find it difficult to gauge user opinion. Perhaps FoVG member families who regularly use this playground during the summer months might like to take this up as a conversation starter with other users and gauge interest in developing such a proposal to go to one of our meetings?
We met again on April 16th. The April 2013 newsletter was again produced by John Hawker and included information about the removal of trees and notes on some of the new plantings. Agenda items at this meeting included the proposed web site and the confirmation of the membership year. The latter has been set as being a ‘financial year’ membership with all memberships due again as of July 1st 2013. This would bring membership dues into line with the AGM.
The proposed web site scope of project was discussed and agreement reached to invite graphic artist and web page designer Nick Hawker to give us costing for such an endeavour. Nick was responsible for creating the Prahran Historical and Arts Society web page, http://phas.org.au/. He comes highly recommended by Nobby.
We will finalise the details of this project at our next meeting on June 18th, and also fulfil the requirements of the AGM format.
To all our new and returning members, welcome to the 26th year of the Friends.