Century-old

A 100-YEAR-OLD oak tree at the property once known as Wanda in Army Road Pakenham is among the last reminders of a glorious history.
Many might have wondered over the years why the old house, still standing at number 40, faces backward. It is because diplomats and politicians would visit there, entering from the highway to be received at the front verandah.
Also still standing are century-old blue spruce trees, sent to Wanda from the Consul-General of Norway, Andes Schruder. His brother-in-law Bill Close, and Agnes Close, owned Wanda.
It was Bill’s grand-daughter, Gail Dudeck, who contacted the Gazette this week in a plea to save what remains of the last vegetation at Wanda.
Housing estates now cover the hills instead of cow paddocks, chicken runs, and orchards.
And a plan is in place to build villas.
“I do hope the trees will be saved and that the old oak and the Gazette can enjoy 100 years together,” Mrs Dudeck says.
“There is not much history left in Pakenham.”
Wanda was originally 32 acres. William Close was a councillor and shire president in the former Shire of Berwick, and he was a pioneer for the bush nursing hospital and the first Pakenham Show.
Amid a family dispute, the house at Wanda was sold in 1975.
Built in 1915, the house was the first in the district to be built from the new, fire-proof asbestos sheeting.
Gail’s great-grandfather James Close planted the nearby oak tree in 1909.
“The original house was to be built in 1908, but due to the death of their first child, the plan of Wanda had to be modified and a proposed second storey was abandoned,” Gail said.
“The second tree of importance is the blue spruce between the door and the shed, the one that came from Norway.
“There are other spruces still on the property. They arrived every year for Christmas.”
The property was originally called Closeburn, and it extended from the highway on both sides of Army Road. By 1942 only 32 acres remained, consisting of plantations, orchards, new houses, stables, and a cow shed.
The last 32 acres was subdivided in 1972 after the death of Gail’s grandmother Agnes Close.
Gail says the old house was the scene of much entertainment, including balls and tennis matches.
She wants a plaque to mark the trees of significance and has also written to the developer suggesting the name Closeburn or Wanda be retained in some way also.
“From the verandah you can see Western Port,” she says.
As the Gazette celebrates its centenary this year, Gail wonders about the fate of the trees that started life in Pakenham the same year Albert Thomas started the Berwick Shire News and Pakenham and Cranbourne Gazette.
“A grand old-style timber-framed home, once the pride of the district, with floor area of 239m2 and surely capable of restoration to its original era of providing spacious living areas,” the auction sign in 1976 stated.