February 2026

It was Pride March today in St Kilda, and on the edge of the Catani Gardens is one of those historic markers – and when I leaned in to read it I was very surprised to see it was all about a gay beat toilet block that once existed in the little gardens opposite! No photos of it I could find, but I did find earlier ones.

The little park is called Cleve Gardens after a long term St Kilda citizen Sali Cleve who donated a lot for Council beautification here – it looked quite different around 1911, with paths and seats and planting and trees, and a fountain. Now it’s mainly just one huge tree (a fig ?). I suppose the toilet block could have been 1930s. The park was shrunk in 1968 when the beach road was widened making it a less nice place to be.

By the 1990s the park had also become popular as a gathering place for First Nations people, known as the parkies, and they painted an aboriginal flag on the toilet wall. They were infamously moved on in 1996, due the Grand Prix, and the toilets demolished.

The fountain was a monument to a Boer War soldier from 1902, but was only a base for ages with drinking taps on top. It was then reinstated in shadow form. Cute.

The X marker was part of a project by Vichealth with the @cityofportphillip from c2003, but I couldn’t find much at all.

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