In aid of the Red Cross and War Comforts Funds Melbourne City Council has transformed the Treasury Gardens into a Garden City with an extensive lighting scheme. It will be open on Monday at 1 p.m. for one month, with daily sessions from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Attractions will include the largest carpet of living flowers ever made in Australia, displays of spear throwing, bush tracking and aboriginal lore, and nightly concerts in the band stand. So pronounced the Sun-News Pictorial of 16 Oct 1939.
Germany had invaded Poland on 1 September, just six weeks earlier; Great Britain and France declared war against Germany the next day. But earlier, while storm clouds were already gathering, the promoters of the festival had held with the view that ‘however grave the world situation, an interlude of social gaiety is abundantly justified as a means of escape, and of relief by contrast.’ [The Age, 8 August 1939]
People came in their thousands and the event would seem to have been an outstanding success, but as always there were those who found fault. For a month the public was denied free access to one of the city’s treasures. There was damage to the lawns by the trampling of countless feet, and the erection of marquees and other structures. After the event the Gardens were left littered with debris and rubbish. In retrospect all this was nothing compared to the upheaval caused by the digging of air-raid trenches in the Gardens, and elsewhere, just over two years later. The festival was not repeated.
However, one relic of this moment of festivity remains. It is the public conveniences situated near the corner of Lansdowne Street and Treasury Place. It is surely the prettiest toilet block in Melbourne. The City Architect, Eric Nation Beilby, called for tenders on 21 August 1939 and it was up and running by opening day on 21 October.
Beilby had joined the Council in 1910, was for many years the assistant city architect and in 1936 was given the top job. He retired in 1951 and talked then of the tens of thousands of hours that he, and others in the department, had spent on plans that had never reached fruition. At least this little building stands as testament to his skills.
As part of its Statement of Significance for the Treasury Gardens the Victorian Heritage Database states that the building ‘is of architectural importance for its uncommon art deco design, decorative pattern brick and tile construction and extensive use of wrought iron detailing, including grills, gates, lamps, signs and brick planter, exhibiting outstanding craftsmanship.’
This article first appeared in the Inner City News of September 2024
