Stonnington Community Historical Society

Home
Australia
Malvern, VIC
Stonnington Community Historical Society

The Stonnington Community Historical Society is an active group within the City of Stonnington. Formerly known as the Malvern Historical Society.
(1)

The society supports the Stonnington History Centre and is an advocate for the preservation of history especially within the suburbs of Armadale, Glen Iris, Kooyong, Malvern, Malvern East and Toorak. Hawksburn, Prahran, Windsor and parts of South Yarra are also part of the City of Stonnington. The Malvern Historical Society actively collects and preserves material relating to the area formerly the

City of Malvern, now part of the City of Stonnington. Stonnington History Centre
The Stonnington History Centre is an archive dedicated to preserving and interpreting the history of the City of Stonnington and the former cities of Malvern and Prahran. The centre is a branch of the Stonnington Library and Information Service and is located at Northbrook, behind Malvern Library. http://www.stonnington.vic.gov.au/Discover/History/Stonnington-History-Centre
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 8290 1360

18/06/2026

Stonnington Council is undertaking a heritage review across South Yarra, Prahran and Windsor to identify and protect the places that contribute to our municipality’s unique identity.

17/06/2026

In 1937 John Landy moved with his family to Central Park Road, opposite Central Park. The oval became Landy’s daily training venue throughout the period leading to his setting new world records in 1954 and his participation in the Melbourne Olympics in 1956.

Landy won the Australian Mile Championship three times (1953, 1954, 1956), the 3 mile title in 1956, set world records for the 1500m and the mile, and won two Games medals - a Silver in the 1954 Empire Games for the mile and a Bronze for the 1500m in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. Landy read the Olympic Oath at the 1956 Games and retired from running the following year. In 1997 a ceremony was held to unveil the plaque naming the Central Park Oval the “John Landy Oval”. John Landy was inaugurated as Govenor of Victoria on January 1, 2001.

Lon Spurrier was the world record holder for the 880 yards at the time of his visit to Australia. Landy and Spurrier raced against each other at Olympic Park, Melbourne in 1956.

Photo is of Landy and Spurrier jogging in Central Park in 1956
Stonnington History Centre

16/06/2026

Community Bank Malvern East
Thanks for the support! 🥰

10/06/2026

This undated photo shows 'Asolandau', the home of Henry and Agnes Rice. It was located on the east corner of Dandenong Road and Bowen Street, one allotment west of Chadstone Road, Chadstone. The large Edwardian weatherboard house was surrounded by extensive formal gardens, pagolas and garden furniture. ‘Asolandau' was built around 1908. Between 1909 and 1928, occupiers included Fred McDonald, Francis Bligh, William Luke and John Burgess. The Shadforths purchased the property in 1954. The house was replaced by units in 1968.

Stonnington History Centre MP1742

08/06/2026

Kings Arcade in Armadale was built in 1893 by Frederick Phillips. The original building consisted of three double-storey shops which were connected by a central archway that opened onto the laneway. In 1894 the shops were bought by James Paterson who made minor additions such as baths, laundries and lavatories.
Frederick King, a fruiterer, purchased the Arcade around 1921 and over the next three years built further shops along either side of the arcade. He used the shops at the front for his fruit business and made the arcade into a thoroughfare between Armadale Station and High Street and named it Railway Arcade. In 1946 it was renamed Kings Arcade by their son, Gordon. The Arcade still remains in the King family.

Stonnington History Centre
PH60680 - c1942
PH23400 - c1939-45 (Morey Street and the laneway leading to Kings Arcade)

06/06/2026

The first Malvern Station is thought to have been built about 1878/79. It was demolished after the excavation for the line was carried out. Very few photos of the original Malvern station exist due to the fact that the entire line from South Yarra to Malvern was lowered and the original 2 track mainline was replaced by a 4 track mainline by 1915.

www.victorianrailways.net

04/06/2026

Flooding at Kooyong is affecting the Glen Waverley line tonight. Back in 1934, Warra Street had the same problem, although judging by this photo, the locals simply swapped the train for a rowing boat!

Stonnington History Centre MP2274

02/06/2026

C1970 view looking east along Toorak Road at Tooronga. The Toorak Drive-In is on the hill and the gasometer is on the right.

Gasometers were built around the turn of the last century and were used until the early 2000s. They stored gas for local distribution, generated from coal. The Tooronga gasometer was decommissioned around 1980 and the site was later redeveloped into Masters and now HomeCo Shopping Centre.

Malvern Historical Society MP13581

30/05/2026

The first electric tram left the Malvern Tram Depot in Cold Blo Road on this day 116 years ago - 30th May 1910. The first photo shows the first tram travelling north along Glenferrie Road. The vacant block on right is at the corner of Union Street.

The Prahran & Malvern Tramways Trust was formed in 1908 to construct and operate municipal electric tramways. The trust's first lines were along High Street, from Charles Street Prahran to Tooronga Road Malvern, and along Glenferrie and Wattletree Roads to Burke Road.

Stonnington History Centre

28/05/2026

Duldig Studio museum + sculpture garden on Burke Road, East Malvern has successfully achieved Reaccreditation through the Community Museum Accreditation Program (CMAP).

Address

Corner Glenferrie Road And High Street
Malvern, VIC
3145

Website

http://www.schs.org.au/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Stonnington Community Historical Society posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to Stonnington Community Historical Society:

Shortcuts

Want your organization to be the top-listed Non Profit Organization in Malvern?