Studley Park Boathouse and its natural surrounds beside the Yarra River have a remarkable history as the place where Melburnians would gather when having a picnic and rowing boats were two of the city’s most popular recreations.
Established in 1863 as Burns Boat Shed, it is the oldest continually operating public boathouse on the Yarra River, surviving severe floods as well as the ups and downs of its popularity linked to the changing habits of Melburnians.
It was established by the Burn family, who ran a boat building business in nearby Punt Road in Richmond, building row boats which were a copy of those used on the Thames River in London. Generations of the Burns family operated the boathouse until 1940.
For 160 years Studley Park – the parkland covering the lower section of Yarra Bend Park on the southern side of the river – has been a magnet for people enjoying the beauty of the river and its banks. Studley Park was a popular picnic and recreation area in the 1850s and 1860s, with people gathering for picnics, especially on weekends.
The riverbanks of Studley Park would attract large gatherings on Christmas Day and New Years Day. The river was also a destination for boating, a popular pastime especially in the years between the world wars, with Melburnians coming from far afield to enjoy the tranquility and nature.
In 1863 a small boat hire business known as Burns Boat Shed – sometimes known as Riversdale Boat Shed – opened on the lower section of Yarra Bend Park on the southern side of the Yarra River. It attracted people from all over Melbourne who enjoyed rowing their hired boat around the willows and elms whose branches would hang over the river’s bank and into the water. The willows and elms were brought in and planted along the riverbank re-create in the colony a setting similar to the banks of the rivers in the Old Country. Looking at photos of the picnickers the reasonably formal dress sense also reflected English ways.
Even though it was close to the city, being in Studley Park with its dramatic hills, thick scrub and magnificent gums, was like being in the country. But it was not as easy to get to as it is today. According to a heritage interpretation plan prepared for the Yarra Bend Park Trust the construction of new bridges across the Yarra in the 1850s increased accessibility to the parklands for picnicking and boating. A cable tram service from the city to the Johnston Street bridge opened in 1887 which made Studley Park even more accessible (the tram service ceased in 1939).
The park was later renamed Studley Park after settler and politician John Hodgson’s nearby house “Studley House”. Hodgson had named his house after his birthplace, the village of Studley in Yorkshire. He began building the house in 1857.
Hodgson, a central figure of the area at the time, also established Hodgson’s Punt, at the foot of what is now Clarke Street, Abbotsford, used by locals of the Kew district to get wood and other products over the river to Collingwood. It operated from 1856 to 1862.
By 1898 the Burns Boathouse was offering refreshments as well as boat hire. The family added new rooms to the boathouse including refreshment rooms, a surrounding verandah, a rear fernery, a landing stage on the river and a house to the rear.
Studley Park Boathouse saw many changes over the years including a large elevated early 20th Century addition in the Edwardian style with boat storage below. The river had a say in some of the changes. There were severe floods in 1863, 1891, 1934 and 1952. The 1934 floods badly damaged the boatshed and structures around it.
A single-span suspension bridge called Kane’s Bridge was constructed adjacent to the boathouse in 1928 to provide pedestrian access between Studley Park and Yarra Bend Park, linking Kew to the public golf course across the Yarra. It was badly damaged during a record-breaking flood in 1934 and rebuilt in 1935.
By the 1870s the middle Yarra was the place to be. The heritage plan tells us that in 1878 The Argus reported: “As the great outlet for the pleasure parties from the northern parts of Richmond and the eastern parts of Fitzroy and Collingwood, the Studley Park has always secured a large share of the patronage of those who take pleasure in picnics. Studley Park, one of the most favourite (sic) resorts of private picnic parties, was visited by thousands of people on Saturday, most of whom went early and spent a pleasant day on the banks of the Yarra.”
With an eye to the increasing popularity of boating, public boathouses were built along the middle Yarra above Dights Falls. The first was Burns Boat Shed in 1863, then in the 1890s the MacAuley Boat Shed and then, in the early 1900s, the Willow Dell (later known as the Fairfield Park Boathouse). In 1890 the Rudder Grange was built at Alphington Street and then Chipperfield’s in the 1920s.
In 1940 the Burn family disposed of their interest in the site, having owned and managed it for 50 years. It was owned for a brief time from 1942 by Mr Carl Sierak before it was purchased by the van der Sluys family in 1945.
Paul van der Sluys’s family ran Studley Park Boathouse for more than 40 years. It was Paul’s first home when he was born in 1945. Paul’s parents had run another nearby boathouse on the river called Rudder Grange and were asked if they would be interested in managing the boathouse at Studley Park. They bought it from Mr Carl Sierak and the family made it both their home and their business, living in the house above the sheds where the boats were stored.
Sadly Paul lost his father William Oswald – known as Ossie – in 1948 and the Boathouse was run by his mother Donella May until 1970 when Paul took over its management. The family connection to Studley Park Boathouse lasted until 1990.
The van der Sluys family took over in an era when boating was a very popular recreational activity. Melbournians would travel from across the city to enjoy the peace and tranquility of Studley Park and the river. During World War 11 it became a popular destination for visiting American GIs who would spend time there renting boats or picnicking.
The entire area was a drawcard including the Deep Rock Swimming Club, in the Yarra near Dights Falls. Deep Rock was a natural swimming hole at the base of huge rock walls, which the brave would sometimes dive off into the river. In the 1920s a concrete swimming basin was constructed which was the place to be in summer months before municipal pools became popular across Melbourne.
The van der Sluys family’s connection to the river and to the Studley Park Boathouse is profound. Each morning they would wake up to the sounds of birdlife as the river flowed gently by. They would see kingfishers hunting for fish, and sometimes platypus would venture onto the banks.
For Paul and his brother Peter it was an exciting place to live. As young boys the boathouse and its surrounds were their backyard and where Paul and his friends enjoyed many adventures. “On hot days after school I would jump into the river or swing off a rope attached to a tree,” Paul says. “It was just part of living on a river.”
Helping run the business was also part of that life. As a young boy Paul would help his mother with customers renting their boats. “People came every weekend to hire boats,” Paul remembers. “Mum would be there with the bag on her shoulder and take the money. When I was about 12 I would be helping Mum and I would take the money from the customers and organise their boats.”
Paul’s mother worked hard to keep the business running. Paul remembers his mother often rowing down the river to retrieve a boat that had floated away.
Back then willow trees proliferated along the riverbanks but they clogged the river. In the 1950s and 1960s they would have ‘river snaggers’ who would go up and down the river trimming the willows.” The willows were all removed in the 1970s.
By the 1950s many of the people had gone too. By this time, more people had acquired cars and could travel further for their recreation, and with the popularity of the movies, the appeal of boating at Studley Park began to wane. The boathouses along the river decayed through neglect and most closed. But the van der Sluys continued to operate the boathouse, always renting out boats. Occasionally boarders would be taken in to help with costs.
In 1970 Paul took over the management of the boathouse. He gave it the name Studley Park Boathouse after years of it being known as Burns Boat Shed or simply the boathouse. He felt the name, describing its location, helped with its marketing. He also felt he needed to expand the operation. In a fibreglass workshop at the boathouse he introduced a canoe-building operation. The business grew from four canoes to 120 to became a substantial boat hire operation.
For a time Paul also sold canoes from the boathouse. Another innovation was the introduction of a 40-passenger riverboat called M.V. Tom Thumb which he had brought from the Gippsland Lakes for groups to take river cruises. The service went for four years.
By the late 1970s the area had become popular again, and not just with picnickers. Studley Park appealed to film makers and TV series producers because of the bush-like environment and its proximity to the city. Paul remembers one day meeting Paul Hogan who was filming a comedy sketch nearby.
Of the many boathouses dotted along the Yarra, just two – Studley Park Boathouse and Fairfield Park Boathouse – remain today. Paul’s connection is deep with both. When he stepped away from managing Studley Park Boathouse in 1990 he didn’t travel far: he now owns and runs Fairfield Park Boathouse and Tea Rooms – just down the river from where he grew up.
With the decline in the popularity of boating popularity the Fairfield Park Boathouse was closed in 1980 as the derelict building had recently housed squatters and possums. It was declared unfit for human habitation.
In 1984 Paul won the tender through the Northcote council to restore the boathouse and after a project that involved 30,000 hours of restoration work it was re-opened. The gardens were also restored to encourage birdlife.
Paul’s connection to Studley Park Boathouse and the surrounding area is a lifelong one. As a young man he drew maps of the river and named spots which he would include in brochures for the boat business and would later become common usage. These included Bellbird Park in Kew and Galatea Point, a peninsula, around which the Yarra meanders near the boathouse.
Paul now reflects on the sweep of history of this iconic boathouse. “Studley Park Boathouse has been popular and it’s declined and it’s had re-births”, he says. “There were good times and not so good times. When we lived there it was desolate. On weekends you’d see people, but not during the week. Over the years it’s certainly had its ups and downs.”
In the 1990s the Studley Park Boathouse was restored, and now, 30 years on, it is about to launch into its newest chapter.
Paul is pleased that great care and attention has been given to the boathouse’s latest iteration as it re-opens. “This will bring it to life and draw patronage from far and wide,” he says. “There’s no doubt it’s an important part of Melbourne’s history. I feel proud that my family kept it alive for more than 40 years through economic turmoil, the advent of movie theatres, television, cars – all the things that threatened these sorts of places. The boathouse proved to be very resilient.”
