484 



A USTRALASIA ILL USTRA TED. 



midst of ample pleasure grounds maintained in perfect order and adorned with conserva- 

 tories, ferneries, tennis-lawns, shrubberies and flowery parterres of considerable beauty. 

 Some of these demesnes embrace an area of from ten to fifty acres, and as the average 

 v.ilue of the land in this neighbourhood is certainly not less than a thousand pounds 



sterling an acre, it af- 

 fords some criterion of 

 the wealth of the own- 

 ers of these luxurious 

 residences. Many of 

 them are decorated 

 and furnished expen- 

 sively, and with refined 

 taste ; a Toorak man- 

 sion contains one of 

 the finest collections of 

 pictures by modern 



artists to be met with in the colony of Victoria. 

 Near the summit of the hill, on the left- 

 hand side of the road, stands the house which 

 eave its name to the district, and which for 



o 



many years was the hired Government House 

 of the colony, being first used for that pur- 

 pose by Sir Charles Hotham in 1854. It was 

 not too small for the vice-regal hospitalities 

 of those early clays, when " society," consist- 

 ing of the official classes and a few opulent people, was limited in number ; and 

 the garden parties of the period were pleasanter, in the opinion of those who re- 

 member them, than the larger gatherings of the present day. Moreover, the view 

 from the summit of the tower in the old Government House embraced a wide range of 

 country, and it was part of the entertainment to climb to its summit and enjoy the 

 prospect. To-day the prospect comprehends a much greater variety of objects. Conspi- 

 cuous in the foreground are the spire and tower of St. John's Church, rising out of a 

 mass of foliage, and to the right and left are the embowered mansions of wealthy 

 merchants, land-owners and "wool kings," who have established themselves in this beau- 

 tiful neighbourhood during the last five-antl-twenty years. The lofty spire of Christ 

 Church, South Yarra, marks the summit of a hill in that direction, and the eye ranges 

 over the whole of the southern suburbs of Melbourne, the Bay, the city itself, and is 

 carried onward to Mount Macedon and the Plenty Ranges. 



South Yarra and Toorak form part of the city of Prahran, one of the wealthiest 

 ami most progressive of the suburban municipalities. The estimated value of the ratable 

 property within its boundaries is five millions sterling, which is nearly one-half that of 

 the metropolis, and there are also nearly half as many dwelling-houses. The Town 

 Hall, which stands on the north side of Chapel Street, is a handsome structure erected 

 at a cost of fifteen thousand pounds sterling. It contains one of the largest free 



TOORAK, FROM THE OLD GOVERNMENT HOUSE. 



