January 2026

This quirky little thing once stood at the bottom of the Point Ormond lookout in Elwood.

It was built by the St Kilda Council in 1916 as part of beautification of the area, and right next to where a new tram line extended from Glenhuntly Road terminated. It was an odd spot actually, without much of a beach view. The tram line was discontinued in 1960, the kiosk lasted into the 70s, but the whole area is now scrub.

The kiosk is said to have been designed by Carlo Catani, who was the govt engineer in charge of the landscaping – but he isn’t known as an architect, and at opening day on 22 April he said how nice it was (and better than Brighton) but didn’t take credit for it. Update : it was designed by famous architect Harold Desbrowe Annear, who won a competition for it in 1915.

Pics via Tony Beyer ‘I grew up in Elwood’ Facebook page.

• Uncategorized