First Home in HawthornPrint Page

The cairn commemorates the site of the first of the first home in Hawthorn built by John Gardiner.

Gardiner was in a movement of graziers called "The Overlanders" which commenced in 1836 stimulated by Major Mitchell`s "Australia Felix" report. With Captain Hepburn and Joseph Hawdon he was the first person to take cattle overland to Melbourne, and he built a house on the Yarra River which is now part of the Scotch College grounds. The Cairn was unveiled on the Glenferrie Road frontage by Mrs. Andrew Lyell of Hawthorn, and mentions are made of Hepburn and Hawdon. 

The Hawthorn Council has decided to place the suggested John Gardiner memorial cairn in Scotch College grounds during the Christmas vacation. Councillor Lyall said yesterday that the cairn was not intended to be a memorial to Gardiner, but would mark the place where the first house was built in Hawthorn.  Gardiner came from New South Wales and built the house on the site of the existing old school house. The cairn will be placed slightly nearer the river. At the request of Scotch College authorities, the unveiling will be postponed until after the college has reopened so that the scholars may attend the ceremony. The cairn will not cost more than £10. 
The Argus (Melbourne), 14 December 1934. 

The interest taken in the erection by Hawthorn council of a cairn to commemorate the erection of the first dwelling in Hawthorn by John Gardiner was demonstrated by the fact that between 1500 and 2000 people witnessed the unveiling ceremony yesterday. The cairn which cost £90 has been placed on the Glenferrie-road frontage of the Scotch College site, on land which formed part of Gardiner's homestead. After musical items by the East Kew State School Boys' Band and the Hawthorn Pipe Band, the cairn was unveiled by Mrs. Lyell wife of Cr. Andrew Lyell, who was responsible for inducing the council to erect the memorial. Mrs. Lyell Is a member of the Historical Society of Victoria. 
Excerpt from The Age, (Melbourne), 27 July 1935.

In an effort to placate those who contend that the inscription on the memorial cairn erected at Scotch College is contrary to fact. Hawthorn council has decided to make an addition to the memorial tablet. Since it was first erected the council has been criticised by several hlstorians for the absence from the inscription of any reference to Hepburn and Hawdon, who were partners with John Gardiner in the cattle overlanding venture from New South Wales to Victorla. The council persistently pointed out that the memorial was erected solely to mark the site of the first home in Hawthorn. Anxious to ensure that any further details on the memorial tablet should be in accordance with facts, the council consulted Mr. A. S. Kenyon and other members of the Historical Society of Victoria, and as a result intends to place in a suitable position on the cairn the following additional inscription: "In the overlandlng of the cattle John Gardiner was accompanied by Joseph Hawdon and Captain John Hepburn."
The Age, (Melbourne), 24 February 1939. 

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Dedication