2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the opening of The Ballarat Arch of Victory. The Arch is the starting point of Ballarat’s Avenue of Honour. The Arch was designed by Mr. H.H. Smith who was the Head of the Art School at the School of Mines. It took local bricklayer George Brookes and his team three months to lay the 70,000 bricks to build the structure of the arch. The foundation stone was laid on 7 February 1920 by General William Birdwood, who was an ANZAC Commander of the ANZACs, who directed the landing and evacuation at Gallipoli.
The opening of the Arch coincided with a royal tour and the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII) officially opened the Arch on 3rd June 1920 to a crowd of people. In the image below you can see the Mrs Tilly Thompson from Lucas Clothing factory presenting the Prince with silk pyjamas that employees of the factory had made for him. Third from the left in the image is Matthew Baird who is also honoured in the avenue.
Here is a link to the opening programme for the opening which appeared in the Ballarat Star 1 June 1920: Click here.
Matthew Baird was born on 15 October 1879 at Mt Blowhard, Victoria to Scottish parents Robert and Agnes (nee McKerrow). Matthew was one of ten children, seen here furthest to the left with his mother. He attended Learmonth Primary School and University College, Ballarat. After finishing school, he worked on the family farm ‘La Rose’ before enlisting in the army to serve as a trooper with the Victorian Mounted Rifles in the Boer War from 1901-1902.
After returning home he studied Law and was admitted to practice as a solicitor in 1910 when he partnered with his brother Robert in Ballarat firm, Baird & Baird. In 1913 he married Ruby Melita Coutts and joined the citizen militia. He then joined the Australian Imperial Force from 1915 to 1916 and served as a Major in Egypt and Gallipoli, where he was wounded and sent home. Here is a link to a letter he sent to the Ballarat Star from Gallipoli: Click here.
In November 1911 he was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly for Ballarat West. He held various portfolios during his career including, Minister for Public Instruction (1917-1918), Minister for Labour (1919-1920) and Chief Secretary and Minister for Public Health (1919-1923). He held his seat until it was abolished in 1927. He was heavily involved in community organizations where he served as President of the Learmonth Australian Natives Association and the Ballarat Australian Natives Association, member of Ballarat Rotary and served as a member of the Ballarat Agricultural and Pastoral Society. He died in Ballarat on the 14 January 1930 aged 50.
He is buried in Ballarat New Cemetery. Church of England Area, Section 11, Grave 4. Here is a link to his obituary that appeared in the Melbourne Argus: Click here.
Simon Jacks
Australiana Research Collection
Ballarat Research Hub at Eureka (BRHAE)
