Wills Street

From Boroondara Wiki

Wills Street is a minor street running north-south between Gordon Street and Birdwood Street in the suburb of Balwyn.

Etymology

Named for the William John Wills, a British surveyor who was second-in-command of the disastrous Burke and Wills expedition in 1860-61.[1]

History

Wills Street was part of the Belmore Park Estate which was made up of streets named for various explorers of the period. The others in this area were King Street, Grey Street and Eyre Street, gazetted in April 1890. Properties were subdivided into 123 quarter-acre allotments with 20 metre frontages.[1][2]

The street was only partially built until some unknown time during the early 20th Century when it was extended south to Gordon Street and Deepdene Railway Station and extended slightly north to meet Birdwood Street.[1].

A drainage scheme was constructed by Camberwell Council in 1927.[3]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 McWilliam, G. Balwyn Background Streets. McWilliam Enterprises: 2010.
  2. City of Boroondara. Balwyn and Balwyn North Heritage Study. July 2013. https://boroondara.vic.gov.au/-/media/Files/Your%20Council/Building%20and%20planning/Heritage/balwyn%20and%20balwyn%20north%20heritage%20study/Balwyn-REPORT-V5-pdf, accessed: 2 February 2017
  3. 1927 'CAMBERWELL CITY COUNCIL.', Box Hill Reporter (Vic. : 1925 - 1930), 25 November, p. 5. , viewed 13 Dec 2021, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article257218783