Regrettably, little is known of those former presidents of these fledgling years.
Accordingly, the club is seeking the assistance of descendants of the following Carlton Presidents - Arthur Hewitt Shaw (1896-1900), Henry Bourne Higgins (1904), WF Evans (1905-06), John Urquhart (1907-09), John McInerney (1910-11) and David Young (1925-28) - in acquiring portrait images for inclusion on the wall of the Richard Pratt Boardroom at Visy Park.
Recently, the Club accounted for its seventh President David Bell with the assistance of Yvonne Emerton, whose great uncle was in fact the man himself.
With Yvonne’s support, the following image and article now appears.
David Bell was born in Ararat on July 23, 1873, the son of a Scottish father, David Bell, and an English mother, Elizabeth Bracher. As his father worked as a skin-dealer and wool-broker, David’s early duties involved taking the reins of a skin-filled wagon.
David’s links with Melbourne were first forged when he made the move to the big city in 1891. He later qualified as an accountant, working the ledgers at the Equitable Buildings at 314 Collins Street, Melbourne. He was also an auditor and a company director.
Amongst the positions David held were Secretary of the Second Australian Starr-Bowkett Building Society, Secretary of the Pioneer Permanent Building Society, Manager of the Bass Valley Coal Mining Company, and auditor for the Federal Institute of Accountants. He was appointed as a Justice of the Peace in 1913, and helped provide for his mother and sister when they relocated from Stawell to Carlton in the late 1890s.
At some point towards the end of the 19th century, David caught glimpse of Rosa Lilias Leith at a picnic. It was love at first sight, and the pair married in December 1899 at Melbourne’s Wesley Church. The Bells then took up lodgings at 247 Richardson Street, Carlton where their first two children - Mavis Bracher and Elizabeth Dorothy - were born in 1900 and 1902 respectively. Their last two children - Rosa Lilias (known as “Bonnie”), and David Leith - were born in Carlton in 1906 and 1909.
David and Rosa subsequently acquired a block of land on the corner of Wilson and Richardson Streets in Carlton. There they built a home, Banff, and there they stayed for the rest of their lives.
David was elected to the Melbourne City Council in 1909. Whilst standing for election in Victoria Ward, David “expressed views in favour of the Greater Melbourne Scheme, and of the municipalities taking over the Gas Company. He was against any further extension of the lease of trams and against any alteration of the Building Act in regard to any particular portion of the ward. He was in favour of an independent valuer, other than the rate collectors, to value properties, and urged that there should be more extensive use of arc lamps in place of incandescent lights. He also advocated the more extensive use of tarred metal in making the roads, as he felt sure it would be a means of minimising the dust nuisance; and was in favour of the more extensive use of water-carts in place of hydrants. He favoured the removal of fences from all gardens and parks, and, if possible, the establishment of more playgrounds for the children, and was in favour of all municipal employees being paid the ruling rates of wages paid outside, and of an eight-hours day.”
David won his seat with a tally of 1637 votes to his opponent’s 550.
David and Rosa together with their children (from about the age of eighteen) attended many functions, such as balls, concerts and dinners, at the Town Hall. Mavis and Dorothy made their debuts at a ball at the Town Hall, where they were presented to the then Prince of Wales (later Edward XVIII, the King who abdicated). Rosa and her daughters were also seen at the races, and Rosa supported fund-raising functions for some of Melbourne’s hospitals.
David also listed cricket, bowls, fishing and of course football amongst his pastimes. He was president of the Carlton Football Club, the Carlton Cricket Club and the Victoria Bowling Club. In 1912 he “entertained the Players and Committee at a smoke concert[1] held in the pavilion, which was thoroughly enjoyed by all those who were fortunate enough to be present, and was voted the best yet held in the annals of the club”. Also in 1912, David had a Life Governorship of the Melbourne Hospital conferred upon him by the club. (This was at the disposal of the committee because of the Victorian Football League’s charity vote).
The Carlton Football Club’s annual report for 1913 refers to “your worthy President, Councillor D. Bell…Your Club is particularly fortunate in having such a capable gentleman at the head of its affairs. His tact and courtesy are appreciated by all with whom he comes in contact…At our last annual general meeting, to show the esteem in which they hold him, your players presented him with a handsome enlarged group of photographs”.
David was re-elected unopposed at the beginning of the 1914 season, but in February of that year resigned from his position at the club for personal reasons. Regrettably it would cost him a moment or two in the sun, as the team, so ably coached by Norman “Hackenschmidt” Clark, later landed the 1914 and ’15 pennants.
David served on almost all of the Melbourne City Council’s committees and became chairman of the Council’s Finance Committee in 1914. He was the Council’s representative to the Fire Brigade’s Board from 1920 and was asked to be Mayor of Melbourne but declined, supposedly for financial reasons. From 1913 he had represented the Council on the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works.
In November 1927, David was unofficially and unanimously elected Chairman of the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works. He could not be formally elected until the previous chairman’s resignation took effect, and he was also required to dispose of his business and cease duties as a Melbourne City Councillor.
In the 1930s David and Rosa often holidayed in Healesville, at the Hotel Gracedale which overlooked the Maroondah Dam, one of the MMBW’s reservoirs. It’s true that David’s name can be seen on plaques at several Melbourne reservoirs and in September 1937, he turned the tap which released the flow of water into the Kew Reservoir in Cotham Road.
Towards the end of February 1939 David was granted three month’s leave of absence from the Board because of illness. A newspaper said he “had been confined to his bed for several weeks, but may now receive visitors”. He returned to his duties at the Board in May 1939, but in December announced that he would not seek re-election at the end of his current four-year term. On his resignation he received a pension of £1,000 per year for life.
David Bell died at the age of 66 on May 13, 1941 at his home in Wilson Street, Carlton. Among the pall-bearers at his funeral were two councillors from the Melbourne City Council, the chairman and secretary of the Melbourne Metropolitan Board of Works, a representative of the Victorian Cricket Association, and the former Fire Brigade chief.
A service was conducted at his Carlton home and another at the Fawkner Crematorium.
