Name Origins of Some Places in Rowville

Tirhatuan Golf Course

Tirhatuan (correctly pronounced "tirha-tuan") was the name James Clow gave to the homestead he erected in 1841. The homestead stood on a rise on the east side of Dandenong Creek near Wellington Road and the site has been excavated by the Archaeological Society of Victoria.

The name "tirhatuan" is generally thought to be an aboriginal word referring to the "flying or gliding possums" which once abounded in the area. However, Ann Hamilton in her 1938 biography of James Clow, argued that it refers to the "cry of the wild pigeon".

Police Paddocks

The reserve along Stud Road known as the "Police Paddocks" obtained its name from the area's long association with police work going back to 1837 when the first Native Police Force was established and based on the site.

In later years, a second Native Police Force operated under Captain Dana from 1842 to 1853, after which the police used the property to breed and agist the thousands of horses needed for police work.

In 1879, black trackers were brought down from Queensland to assist in the Ned Kelly hunt. They continued to be stationed there until the 1920s when the property was vacated by the Police Department.

In 1930, 1720 acres were proclaimed as a public reserve to be known as the "Police Paddocks".

Churchill National Park

The area which the National Park covers was once part of the Native Police Depot and later the Police Horse Stud. In 1939, 476 acres of the hilly north-east section of the Police Paddocks were reserved for a National Park and in 1943 the Dandenong National Park was proclaimed. In 1944 the name was altered to Churchill National Park as a tribute to Sir Winston Churchill.

C.E. Exner Memorial Park

This reserve in Scoresby, which includes the Scoresby Oval, tennis courts and netball courts, was named in honour of Carl Erenfreid Exner for his lifelong work for the Scoresby community.

Exner came to Rowville from Mulgrave about 1900 and was one of the first market gardeners in the Knox area. For many years after the Great War, the major local fund raising activities were held in his barn, with music provided by Exner himself on his accordion.

As a result of these functions, the Scoresby Hall was erected in 1924 and the Scoresby Oval purchased and opened in 1925.

He remained active throughout his life in local sporting teams, playing in the first cricket team in 1925 and being on the executive committee of the football club when it began in 1925 and when it was reconstituted in 1946.

Heany Park

The old swimming pool and surrounds were named after Thomas Moore Heany who began his career with the Shire of Ferntree Gully in 1906 when he was appointed Acting Secretary. In the following 40 years he served as the Clerk of Works and Value (1911-1921) and then as the Shire Engineer (1921-1947) until he moved to the Shire of Mulgrave.

His association with Heany Park went back to 1924 when the Water Supply Commission still operated the 300,000 gallon storage basin (built in 1894) which linked the Belgrave Reservoir with Dandenong.

In 1940 he arranged with Cr. Violet Lambert for a ten year lease of the pipeline for the benefit of Lysterfield farmers. In 1952, the Council purchased the pipeline rather than see it dismantled and later use of Heany Park ensured that the purchase price was more than covered.

Benedikt Park

Rosa Benedikt owned Scoresby's oldest remaining house, "Glennifer", from 1946 to 1970. In 1959 she was responsible for the sub-division of the property for housing, naming it "Glennifer Farms". This is the area bounded by O'Connor Road and Stud Road.

Most of the streets in the sub-division are named after members of her family - Zerfas, Armin and Benedikt are, for example, the names of her three husbands!

The line of pine trees along the park's eastern boundary was once part of the property and led to a large dam at the northern end of where the park now is.

Caribbean Gardens

A.W. Spooner acquired 300 acres of land at Scoresby in 1945 which he named "Dalmore Park" and where he built a French Provincial mansion.

In 1958, whilst overseas, he noticed a new material, fibreglass, and realised its potential in the boat-building industry. Soon after, he established the Caribbean Boat Factory. It soon became necessary to have a lake for testing the boats and in the early 1960s Lake Caribbean was created. It was subsequently opened to the public and developed by one of his sons, Rod Spooner, as Caribbean Gardens.

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