8. Sandringham band rotunda and gardens

Built in the days when outdoor band concerts provided popular entertainment, the Sandringham Rotunda could accommodate 25 musicians on the upper level, which commanded a fine view of the audience. The  Sandringham City Council organised construction of the bandstand which was completed in 1926.

The City’s statement of receipts and expenditure for 1926 records a loans account for a bandstand of 984 pounds, five shillings and tenpence.

W. T. Sunderland the City Engineer, who was ahead of his time in working with concrete, drew up the plan. The basic wooden frame was built and the concrete structure decorated with ornate scrolls. Small urns stood at each of the four corners. Gardens were created and palm trees planted beside the rotunda, which became a notable feature of the landscape.

By the early 1980s Council became concerned at the deterioration of the Rotunda and considered demolition. At this point, the Mayor, Cr Lesley Falloon, argued that every city had its icon – Paris had the Eiffel Tower and Sandringham had the Rotunda, which should be repaired and remain on the cliff top. The Victorian State Government contributed $2,500, while Cr Falloon and others worked to raise several thousands toward the cost of refurbishment. One fund-raiser involved the sale of t-shirts printed with a picture of the rotunda and a palm tree and including  the caption, ‘I’VE GOT A DATE IN SANDRINGHAM’. Celebrations in 1985 marked the restoration of the landmark, which is now considered to be of aesthetic and historical significance.

In the late 1980s the Rotunda gained new importance when Cr Pauline Reynolds, the Mayor of the day, organised the creation of a huge jigsaw  puzzle made from a photograph of school children in front of the rotunda. Each piece of this jigsaw puzzle was sold in order to raise money for the Children’s Aid Society. A copy of the photograph is reproduced in the local history, Bayside Reflections, and the great original  picture adorns the entrance to the Sandringham and District Historical Society.