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    The Basin Centenary Celebrations - 1967$

The Basin Centenary Celebrations - 1967

In 1964 a meeting of all local organisations in The Basin was called with the object of forming a committee to organise suitable celebrations for the town’s centenary which had been determined to be 11 February 1967. A committee was set up with Bill Wright as chairman and representatives from seventeen organisations. Each put in $10.00 to start up an organising fund. Midge Beesley from The Basin Theatre Group took on the position of secretary and Jean Pritchett was treasurer.

One of the first decisions was to accept Ron Ikin’s offer to write a short history of The Basin, beginning with the first purchase of land by William Reverill Watson on 11 February 1867. The purpose of the book was not only to provide a record of the town’s history, but to publicise the proposed celebrations. Despite a number of early problems, Ron’s book was an outstanding success and even the centenary committee were surprised by how quickly it sold out. The centenary committee were appreciative of Ron’s contribution and also the technical “know how” and advice provided by George Russell in the printing of the book.

In addition to the centenary book, pennants and post cards were used to promote the celebrations and raise funds. Functions held throughout the year included open days at Doongalla, a Pop Concert at the Boronia Theatre, Basin Badminton Club Tournament, Basin Kindergarten open day and Carols by Candlelight.

The opening Centenary function was the inaugural dinner which was attended by the Minister of Agriculture the Hon. G. L. Chandler and many other distinguished local identities and parliamentary representatives.

The official opening of the new Country Fire Authority fire station at The Basin took place on Saturday, 11th. The opening was followed by an informal social evening; the success of this function was due, in no small way, to the efforts of The Basin Fire Brigade Captain Don Maguire and his many helpers.

A thanksgiving service was held in the Salvation Army Home grounds on Sunday, February 12. The service was graced by the presence of the Dean of Melbourne, the Rev. Tom Thomas and representatives of all local organisations. A large crowd attended and music was provided by the Salvation Army Band.

An Early Citizens dinner was held on Friday, February 17. The dinner was attended by many local citizens who have played a long and prominent part in the development of the district and also by former residents who have provided significant contributions in years gone by.

Peoples day on Saturday, February 18, saw a huge influx of visitors from outside the district, including many from interstate. The Lieutenant-Governor, Lieutenant General Sir Edmund and Dame Mary Herring were guests of the centenary committee at an informal luncheon at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Fergus Chandler on this day. Nominated representatives of local organisations were guests of the centenary committee at this function which was also attended by the Shire President and Councillors.

Peoples day commenced at 11.00 a.m. with a floats procession through the main streets of Boronia, proceeding up Forest Road to The Basin Progress Hall. The procession was led by six Police Troopers followed by a timber jinker pulled by sixteen bullocks. Twenty-Five floats, bands from Southern Command, Nunawading Pipe Band, Marching Girls, many novelty entries and vintage cars made an interesting and spectacular parade. Many appreciative letters and comments received by the centenary committee testified to the success of the parade.

Distinguished Resident - Jim Stephens

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The Basin Centenary Celebrations - 1967$

Entertainment was provided throughout the afternoon, concluding with three parachutists landing in the area. On the same day as the parade, the school committee held a “back to school” and people’s day concluded with an open-air concert followed by open-air dancing.

A number of four day exhibitions were staged in conjunction with the centenary celebrations. These included a historical exhibition and displays of historical models, antiques, stamps, Latvian craft, art and international dolls. Banks in Boronia also staged displays to coincide with the centenary and Messrs R. Brewer, Bert Chandler and Son, G. Chandler and N. Perry opened their properties for public viewing.

As a permanent reminder of The Basin centenary, a small cairn, suitably inscribed, was erected on a piece of land, generously donated by the Salvation Army for a Centenary garden, opposite the Basin Progress Hall. The cairn was unveiled by Bert Chandler on the night of the dinner and he planted a tree to provide a living memento of 100 years of The Basin history and perhaps to provide a link with The Basin Bi-centenary in 2067. The cairn contains a time capsule which is to be opened in the year 2017.

A second cairn was erected by the Chandler Family under the great “Chandler” oak tree in Sheffield Road. Legend has it that this tree was planted by William Chandler in 1875 to commemorate the birth of his son Archibald. The Shire President, Councillor Arthur Kleinert, whose forebears were neighbours of the Chandlers unveiled the cairn.

Knox Council kindly donated $400.00 towards the centenary celebrations and generous personal donations were received from Cr. Kleinert and Cr. Ernholm. It should be recorded that all organisations received a 300% profit on their shares.

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    The Basin Primary School Centenary - 1980,

It would be impossible to mention all those who contributed to the success of the centenary, but the efforts of the entire centenary committee particularly Chairman Bill Wright, the Secretary Midge Beesley, the Treasurer Jean Pritchett and Jim and Barbara Stephens deserve special mention. The contribution of those who opened their gardens was greatly appreciated as was the input from countless others without whose co-operation the Hon. Gilbert Chandler would not have been moved to state “This is possibly the best function conducted in the Eastern Suburbs”.

Photo - Bus in The Basin Primary School Centenary Parade

The Basin Primary School Centenary - 1980

Heavy rain and poor weather conditions failed to dampen the enthusiasm and pleasure of the hundreds of people who joined in the festivities to celebrate The Basin Primary School’s Centenary held over the weekend of 12, 13 and 14 December, 1980. One hundred years was condensed into that weekend as many past students and teachers returned to share their laughter and memories.

The festivities started on 12th (Friday) with a presentation of centenary medals to present pupils and staff. This was followed by a grade six luncheon in The Basin Progress Hall and, later, a family barbecue at the school. A twilight sports meeting followed and in the evening films of old school camps were shown.

On Saturday the school was open all day for visitors. The historical display was very popular, particularly by those former students returning to the school and reliving old memories. Of particular interest was the slice of an old pine tree cut down recently with each yearly growth ring tagged with that years historical significance to the school. Many old school photographs were on display, causing many former students plenty of head scratching in working out the names of their old classmates. The school photographs on display were the start of a huge collection which date from 1892 - 100 years of school children in over 500 photographs with most children named. This collection is held by local resident Jim Stephens.

At 1.30 p.m., a procession from The Basin Progress Hall to the school was watched by hundreds of people. The procession included the many forms of transport used by children travelling to the school over the years, a horse and cart and old school bus generating much interest. Marching Girls, local organisation members and people in period costume all joined in the procession.

At 3.00 p.m. the centenary celebrations were officially opened by the Minister for Education, Mr. A. J. Hunt when he unveiled a commemorative plaque at the school. In attendance at the plaque unveiling, was Miss Kitty Chandler, 93, who was the oldest returning pupil at the celebrations. Miss Chandler began school at the age of 3 and her name is shown on a list of pupils in 1893. Other former students and teachers travelled from all over Australia to attend the celebrations.

Later in the day, the Assistant Minister for Education, the Hon. Norman Lacy, was involved in a tree planting ceremony. The school choir performed an item, and a dance and gymnastic display closed the days celebrations at the school.

In the evening, The Basin Progress Hall was the venue for a foot tapping old time bush dance which entertained parents, pupils and teachers late into the night.

On the Sunday, an ecumenical church service was the highlight of the day. The school was again open all day for visitors.

Lachlan and Briony Armfield, who attended the school in 1980, were direct descendants of Mr. William Chandler, one of the first settlers in The Basin.

Melinda Dobson and Catherine Smith, who also attended the school in 1980, were fourth generation pupils at The Basin School. Their great grandmother, Janet Wicks, attended the school when it opened. She married Robert Dobson, and their son Robert John Dobson attended the school from 1907 to 1916. He was a member of the school committee for 20 years, and a memorial playground was erected in recognition of his work. He married Kathleen Burden who first attended the school in 1914, and also taught at the school in 1923. Their children, James, Joyce, Lois and Alison attended the school between 1940 and 1951.

President of The Basin School Council, Mr. Bob Cole, summarised the success of the school over the past 100 years in part of his speech

“Many of our children have achieved greatness in both local and State affairs and each child, in his/her own way has taken something of The Basin to enrich their lives”.

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The Basin 125 Year Celebrations - 1992"

The Basin 125 Year Celebrations - 1992

Superb weather contributed to the success of the focus of the 125 year celebrations held on the weekend of November 7th & 8th at The Basin Primary School. Over 3,000 past and present residents of The Basin joined in the celebrations

The idea of staging 125 year celebrations had been considered for some years before the event. It was at a Basin Progress Association meeting in November 1991 that a decision was made to hold the celebrations and planning commenced early in 1992. The theme for the festivities was to be “Back To The Basin”. A program of events between October 1992 and February 1993 was planned with the focus on the weekend of 7th & 8th of November.

Local resident Rick Coxhill volunteered to edit a book entitled “Fire on the Hill - Flowers in the Valley - The Basin 125 Years” to be published in conjunction with the celebrations in November. The book was to expand on the Centenary Booklet edited by Ron Ikin.

A balloon launch , held at The Basin Primary School on Tuesday November 27th 1992, officially launched the 125 year celebrations. Students of The Basin Primary School and St. Bernadettes Primary School joined together to release hundreds of helium filled balloons. Each balloon was tagged inviting the finder to attend The Basin 125 Year Celebrations and/or advise the school where the balloon landed.

A cocktail party held at The Basin Progress Hall on the 29th November, 1992 to launch the book was extremely successful with over 100 people in attendance. The organisers were privileged to have Mrs. Eileen Turner, who was “Queen of The Basin” in 1930, involved in the official launch of the book. Also in attendance was His Worship, Colin Tidball, Mayor of The City of Knox, and Ron Ikin, author of the Centenary Booklet.

A 50/50 dance organised by The Basin Fire Brigade and held on Friday 6th November at The Basin Progress Hall, attracted over 100 people and was a fitting start to the weekend celebrations.

The celebrations held over the weekend of the 7th & 8th of November were focused at The Basin Primary School and consisted of continual entertainment and included the following happenings:

A highlight of the weekend celebrations were free conducted bus tours of some of The Basin’s scenic & historic sites. Three mini-buses leaving from The Basin Primary School at hourly intervals, gave over 1000 people enthralling one hour historical tours of The Basin.

A “Farm to Forest” run on Sunday attracted over 150 entrants. Two courses were offered, a 9km and 3km run. Both commenced at The Basin Primary School with the 9km run winding through the Salvation Army Home and Doongalla Forest Reserve.

The Basin Theatre, The Salvation Army Home and Bert Chandler Gardens held open days over the weekend where visitors were welcome at any time.

The final 125 year celebration event occurred on Saturday 6th February 1993 when Clevedon celebrated 100 years of establishment in The Basin with an open day.

Many individuals, traders and community groups contributed to the success of the 125 year celebrations. For the organisers of the event, over nine months of planning came to successful fruition.

The Basin Music Festival

Local resident John Mortimore had been saying for years that someone should organise a music festival in The Basin. Musical gatherings have had a long history in the neighbourhood so taking the next step to having a musical festival seemed perfectly natural

Those early ambitions of John were realised on the weekend of 18-20th March 2005 when the first festvival of live entertainment and original music was held in The Basin.

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    Sources of Information

Organised by the The Basin Music Festival Association, the event was an outstanding success with folk, acoustic, jazz, pop, blues, country, bluegrass, celtic and a hint of reggae sounds featured across several stages in restaurants and around The Basin Progres Hall and park.

After Fridays opening night acts, Saturday was the festival’s main day with Sunday featuring a village fair and picinic in the park.

In 2006, the event was held on the April Fools day weekend.

In 2007, the event was held on the weekend of 23-25th March.

Sources of Information