A BLUESTONE EXCLUSIVE:

Words by Carol Altmann

The owner of the former Fletcher Jones factory in Warrnambool, Dean Montgomery, is expected to be announced shortly as the new owner of the former Glenormiston Agricultural College.

Bluestone Magazine has learned that Mr Montgomery is the frontrunner to take over the 300ha college site and historic Glenormiston Homestead, near Terang, which has been vacant for two years following the departure of TAFE.

The site has since been under caretaker control of the State Government, which earlier this year launched an Expression of Interest process to try and find a new owner.

Previous attempts by the former Coalition Government to secure a new tenant fell over in 2014 and it was also unable to find a buyer for the site.

The Andrews Labor Government, however, is expected to announce shortly that Mr Montgomery, who is based in China, is the successful buyer following an extensive negotiation process. Mr Montgomery could not be reached for comment.

Bluestone has been told that the sale is expected to include the multi-million dollar wooden staircase carved by colonial woodcarver and cabinet maker Robert Prenzel for the original owners of the homestead, the Black family, in 1909.

Wealthy pastoralist Niel Black built the five-bedroom mansion in 1847 and the Black family owned the property until 1949 when it sold it to the State Government for use as an agricultural college, although Glenormiston Agriculture College did not start until 22 years later.

The 35 Prenzel wooden panels along the staircase had been the subject of some dispute over just who owned them, having been removed by the Black family and donated to Melbourne University, which later returned them to the property and included them in the transfer to TAFE in 2005.

The homestead is considered of architectural and historical significance to Victoria because of its design, but also its reflection of how south-west Victoria was colonised.

Heritage Victoria makes the point that, prior to Niel Black arriving at the site, it was the scene of an aboriginal massacre and “as on many other Western District estates, violence towards aborigines was used to consolidate the property”.

“Glenormiston’s origins, thus, are intimately bound up with the violence that accompanied the early expansion of the Western District frontier in the 19th century,” its Victorian Heritage Database listing says.

The expected purchase of Glenormiston College is one of several prominent property purchases by Mr Montgomery in the recent years.

The Geelong-born businessman bought the former Fletcher Jones site in Warrnambool in 2014 with a view to establishing the Warrnambool Motor Museum that is now under construction. He has also purchased the T&G building in Geelong, the Leura Hotel in Camperdown and the historic Motang homestead on Hopkins Point Road, Warrnambool.

At this point we can’t confirm what the Glenormiston College site will be used for under Mr Montgomery’s ownership, although the State Government had stipulated in the EOI process that at least part of it continue to be used for education and training.

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[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #8F9F59;”] H [/dropcap]aving changed the future of one Warrnambool landmark with his purchase of the former Fletcher Jones factory, Hong Kong-based businessman Dean Montgomery has bought another significant property.

Bluestone has learnt that Mr Montgomery is the new owner of the 140-year-old ‘Motang’ stone house and surrounding 58-acres that occupies a slice of prime land between the beach and Hopkins Point Road, at the eastern entrance to Warrnambool.

The homestead dates back to the 1870s and was originally owned by the pioneering Thomas Manifold, who in the 1850s bought several hundred acres that made up the ‘Motang’ estate on both sides of Hopkins Point Road.

According to historians Helen Doyle, Louise Honman and Richard Aitken*, Thomas and his wife, Jane Manifold, may have used the property as a summer retreat, but the house itself was most likely built by a sharefarmer tenant at the Manifold’s expense, as was a common arrangement at the time.

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #8F9F59;”] S [/dropcap]ir Walter Synnot Manifold, the son of Thomas, inherited the property after the death of his parents, but apparently never lived there.

He instead resided in the family home at Wollaston, from where he maintained his busy life as a state politician representing the Western Province in the Legislative Council. Like Sir Fletcher Jones, Sir Walter was a man of the people and well-respected for his inclusive approach to business.

Sir Walter, who died in 1928, put the entire ‘Motang’ estate up for auction in 1906 at a reserve of £40 an acre. It was passed in, but sold shortly after to John Wilson Younger, from Younger’s store fame in Warrnambool, who was also a former mayor.

The property has since been progressively divided up and held by different owners over the years, with farming brothers Edward and William Tomlinson among those to own the portion that included the eight-room homestead and outbuildings.

They auctioned off 100 acres in 1934 to the Ryan family, when the asking price for the “marine frontage” was £1 an acre! The Ryan family later used the property to raise racehorses.

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #8F9F59;”] M [/dropcap]r Montgomery could not be contacted for comment, but it is understood he intends to retain and restore as much of the original homestead and outbuildings as possible.

The white-washed homestead is derelict and, like the Fletcher Jones building, has suffered at the hands of squatters, but still retains much of its character.

Historians suggest it was modelled on Scottish/Irish farmhouses of the time, and built from stone quarried on the land.

A sandstone wall is just about all that remains of the original barn, but it also still captures the building techniques of the period.

As it happens, another significant chunk of the Manifold’s original ‘Motang’ property is for sale across the road from Mr Montgomery’s purchase.

That 70-hectare property is owned by the family of the late Dan Madden, a Warrnambool solicitor, and – unlike the homestead portion – falls within the town boundary for subdivision.

The asking price is believed to be around $20 million: a little more, to say the least, than the £40 per acre that Sir Walter was asking for…

[box]*Helen Doyle, Louise Honman and Richard Aitken, ‘Warrnambool Heritage: A report on selected sites in Allansford, Bushfield, Farnham and Woodford’, prepared for Warrnambool City Council, November 2001.[/box]

Bluestone Magazine would like to thank historian Dr Helen Doyle (Context) and Steve Myers (Warrnambool City Council) for their invaluable help in retrieving a copy of the above report which provided the historical information for this story.

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By Carol Altmann

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A02F2F;”] T [/dropcap]he last cross to adorn the Fletcher Jones silver ball in Warrnambool is being restored to light up again at Pleasant Hill from next month – but not on top of the ball.

Instead the cross, which has been in storage at the Warrnambool City Council depot since 2010, will be located somewhere within the gardens as an illuminated artistic installation.

The cross has already been returned to the new owner of the Fletcher Jones complex, Dean Montgomery, who plans to have it lit up by December 1, in time for the Fletcher Jones Christmas Garden Party on December 14.

Dean told Bluestone in an email interview that it was time for the cross to be returned to the site, but it was unfortunately logistically impossible to return it to the top of the ball.

 “I am not sure if it will ever be on top of the ball again, as all of the fixings have been removed several years ago,” he said.

The silver ball, however, will be completely repainted either later this year or early next year.

The return of the cross – which replaced an original wooden cross in the 1980s – is a symbolic milestone in the revitalisation of the iconic site, part of which will house a new Warrnambool Motor Museum from next year.

Dean said he was on track to open the first stage of the museum before July with up to 50 exhibits – expanding to more than 150 vehicles by 2016.

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A02F2F;”] I [/dropcap]nternal rooms have been demolished, asbestos removed, windows and roofing replaced and new walls and toilets added. Ironically, one of the biggest clean ups involved removing more than 1000 old car tyres dumped in the buildings.

“The first stage will be next year and then whilst that is open, the larger area will begin being renovated,” Dean said.

He said the public response to the motor museum had already been “huge” – its new Facebook page attracted hundreds of likes within hours – and he believes it will become a major tourist attraction for the city.

“I think it will be really interesting and a real drawcard for people visiting Warrnambool. I really have a love of all things automotive and in all forms.”

The museum will feature a number of exhibits from Dean’s own personal collection, including vintage, classic and sports vehicles, and racing cars driven by the legends of Australian motor racing including Peter Brock, Alan Moffatt, Dick Johnson and Sir Jack Brabham.

For Dean, the story behind each car is as important as the car itself, so even a total non-motoring enthusiast should find it a challenge not to get caught up in the collection.

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A02F2F;”] W[/dropcap]hile the Warrnambool Motor Museum is being developed, the existing secondhand markets are also in for a makeover and will be relocated to a larger, one-level space that will see a wider range of products.

“I want it to be much more then just a vintage market,” Dean said.

“Probably a mix of vintage, antique, craft, art etc. I would like to see some locally made new products within the market too.”

There are also plans for a new cafe/restaurant, and an expansion of the existing Factory Arts space to accommodate more tenants.

Outside, head gardener Lex Caldwell, who has kept the gardens alive mostly through volunteer labour, now has more funds to restore the garden beds and furniture, and repair fountains that were no longer functioning.

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A02F2F;”] D[/dropcap]espite the cost and enormity of the whole task, Dean, who is a Geelong-born, self-made millionaire now based in China, said he had “found the whole experience so far fantastic” and the people of Warrnambool friendly and helpful.

He was particularly impressed by the work of local builder, Jeremy Porter, who is coordinating most of the clean-up and build.

There is still one “missing” item, however, that Dean would dearly love to add to the site’s revival.

“What I would love to find is Fletcher Jones FJ Holden that I believe he used to drive.

“Wouldn’t that be great to find and have it restored within the museum?”

Check your old sheds: it just might be in there.

[box]The Fletcher Jones Christmas Garden Party, coordinated by the F Project, will be held on Sunday December 14, 11am-3pm, with artisan stalls, live music, food, children’s activities and – naturally – a visit from Santa. Meanwhile, work is also progressing on securing funds to record some of the Fletcher Jones stories from within the community.[/box]

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OPINION – Carol Altmann

If there was any doubt as to how much the Fletcher Jones Pleasant Hill site in Warrnambool means to locals, the recent spring picnic has laid it to rest.

Around 1500 people flocked to the gardens last weekend to wander among the market stalls, listen to the music, stretch out on the grass and – like so many thousands of children and adults before them – take pleasure in the many garden delights that Sir Fletcher Jones created in his factory grounds.

Cr Jacinta Ermacora has leapt on this huge wave of support to announce today in the local newspaper that she thought it was “time to tell the Fletcher Jones story”, and a meeting would be held shortly between all of the interested parties to work out how this could be done.

What Cr Ermacora failed to mention, or was not reported, was that the council was first asked to collect these stories way back in 2002, when it was a key recommendation in a report it commissioned into the future of the Fletcher Jones site.

What has been done by anyone on the council since then?

Absolutely nothing.

There is also a vast amount of precious Fletcher Jones memorabilia cast about Warrnambool, with some in History House, some at The Artery, and some in people’s private homes, that needs to be collated, assessed and preserved for future installations.

What has any council member done about that so far?

Absolutely nothing.

In the interim, as people age, and pass away, the stories are being lost and the memorabilia is getting harder to trace (and let’s not forget that many items ended up in a skip bin when the site was first sold by the council in 2005, only to be retrieved by artists).

This is why a small group of people, led by Julie Eagles from the Warrnambool Planning and Heritage Group, has been asking the council for months whether there is any funding set aside in this year’s budget to at least start the process of gathering these stories.

It was hard to get a clear reply.

Bluestone got a reply on Thursday and this is it in full:

“We have no funding specifically allocated to telling the story of Fletcher Jones in this year’s budget.

However, the history of Fletcher Jones and other elements that tell the story of Warrnambool will be on the table when the time comes to look at public art as part of the city centre renewal.

Once we have the foundation stage of the renewal plan completed – which addresses issues including accessibility and mobility – we’ll be engaging the community in a discussion on public art.” – Nick Higgins, Manager Communications.

So how much funding is there for the Fletcher Jones story project?

Absolutely nothing.

By contrast, Melbourne University has already started work on collating and recording the business story behind Fletcher Jones and Melinda Barrie, from this project, has shown a willingness to work with local groups to capture the local stories.

It is embarrassing, to say the least, that a Melbourne institution has been more motivated and excited by our local, contemporary history than our own council.

And by contrast to the council’s inertia on what we might call the whole Fletcher Jones package – the stories, the site, the potential – last Sunday’s picnic was a triumph of what can be done through hard work, passion and belief.

Not only did it showcase the magnificent efforts of resident gardener Lex Caldwell and his team of volunteers who have kept the gardens alive, but it was a celebration for all those other volunteers who believed that the best parts of this iconic site were worth saving.

Those who pressed hardest to keep Pleasant Hill on the public radar – Julie Eagles, The F Project arts collective, us here at Bluestone Magazine, and the consequent Save the Silver Ball and Fletchers Gardens Facebook page started by Tonia Wilcox – all did so without any official backing.

Similarly, the spring picnic was organised within weeks by The F Project/The Artery without a cent of funding and relied heavily on volunteers who pulled it all together – people like Dr Emma Charlton, Megan Nicolson, Des and Helen Bunyon, Ruby Richardson, Danielle O’Brien, the Factory Arts crew, Julie Eagles – the same names that keep coming up time after time and who continue to make exciting things happen around the city.

They don’t sit around waiting for others to do something: they just get on with it.

The F Project, for its efforts, made less than $400 on the day from a raffle, but it was never about raising money. It was all about bringing life back to the gardens through the arts, but you can’t keep expecting volunteers to do all the heavy lifting.

And so it is with the capturing of the Fletcher Jones stories.

The funding is there: it’s just how the council chooses to spend it. 

It recently found $10,000 on short notice for the Oddball movie, and another $3 million of state and council funds are about to be plunged into sound and light shows at Flagstaff Hill.

So unless Cr Ermacora can come to the meeting armed with a firm proposal for council funding, it is nothing more than hollow words on the back of very successful picnic and that – unlike a pair of Fletcher Jones’ scissors on the factory floor – just won’t cut it.

[box type=”bio”] Fletcher Jones gardens spring picnic celebration is on Sunday, September 14, from 3pm-6pm, with the movie screenings from dusk.[/box]

[dropcap style=”color: #a5cecd;”] T [/dropcap]he Fletcher Jones gardens in Warrnambool will play host this month to a spring picnic, market and twilight film screening to celebrate the beginning of a new chapter for the much-loved landmark.

The arts collective, The F Project, which took its name from the late Sir Fletcher Jones, is the driving force behind the community event on Sunday 14 September (3pm-6pm), having gained approval for it to go ahead from the site’s new owner, Dean Montgomery.

September 14 marks 70 years to the day since Fletcher Jones started his first company, FJ Trousers Pty Ltd, with the inaugural meeting of the board of directors. The Pleasant Hill site was bought three years later, when the company morphed into Fletcher Jones and Staff.

The day will include an afternoon picnic and high tea with food stalls and live music, together with a spring market featuring work by artists from The F Project.

Bluestone Magazine will have its very first market stall, with limited edition Bluestone tote bags for sale at $10 each. We will also be selling copies of “Warrnambool – This is Home” and have a free car sticker for each person who drops by to say hello.

A twilight film screening is also planned, starting with Last Man in the Ball, a short film by Julie Eagles/Colleen Hughson, followed by the main feature of Fabric of a Dream, a 55-min documentary about the life of Fletcher Jones.

[dropcap style=”color: #a5cecd;”] I [/dropcap]t will be the first time in many years that the Fletcher Jones gardens have been opened up for a large community event and taps into the history of the family Christmas parties held in the gardens each year during the 1960s and 70s.

The fact the event is being held at all is something of a minor miracle, given the bleak outlook for the property up until its sale to Mr Montgomery in May this year.

Since then, preliminary work has started on repairing the iconic silver ball water tower and re-roofing of the buildings and Mr Montgomery has indicated he plans to repaint and restore as much of the original garden furniture and features as possible.

An impromptu opening of the site a fortnight ago, including tours of the derelict factory and sandstone tunnels, gave some indication of how popular the factory remains with locals and ex-pats, with more than 100 people taking the opportunity to see inside.

Factory Arts – housed within the old building – will open their studios for the day to give visitors a glimpse of the changing tide within the complex. There is much to celebrate!

[box]

To follow happenings at the Fletcher Jones site and share memories and images, you can join the We love the Silver Ball and Fletchers Gardens Facebook page here. [/box]