The residents of Jeffery Street in Blackburn have long held a strong ‘sense of place’.
Originally part of the Seven Oaks Estate purchased by the Jeffery family from the Freehold Investment and Banking Co in 1906 (when much of Blackburn was developed), the estate stretched from Blackburn Road through to Lake Road with creeks [including KooyongKoot (Gardiners) Creek] running through the property.
Subdivision of the land took place in 1949 and the homeowners who took up residence were attracted to the natural beauty of the remnant bushland.
Jeffery Street crosses the KooyongKoot Creek about mid-way along its length as both wend their respective ways from Blackburn Lake to Blackburn Road. The road was unmade until 1967, when it was eventually [mostly] sealed, and a street committee was formed to maintain the road and bridge.
The photo below shows the then bridge over the creek in 1969 – the part of the street crossing the creek was deliberately left unmade.
Accessed 20 June 2025
In 2004, Whitehorse Council took over the street’s maintenance and introduced a scheme which included underground drainage and resealing both the road and the combined road and footbridge.
The bridge has been rebuilt since the 1969 photo above – but still retains its rustic charm even with the colour change as shown in the 2026 photo below:
National Trust Classification
Jeffery Street is one of a cluster of Blackburn streets near KooyongKoot classified by the National Trust in 1976 for their special landscape value.
Homes are hidden in the bushland, a tree canopy over the road gives an intimate character, and the street provides a wonderful indigenous habitat corridor linking Blackburn Lake Sanctuary and the Blackburn Creeklands downstream. Additional indigenous planting is encouraged, there are no front fences or footpaths, and traffic speed is reduced to 30km/hour.
Association Activities
The Association meets quarterly, and residents use a WhatsApp group to communicate news, etc.
New residents are presented with a welcome pack that includes an information booklet and an indigenous plant.
Each year, street activities include a nativity play just before Christmas (that has been held every year since 1958), where many children participate. Lately, it is held in the small reserve at the Blackburn Road end of Jeffery Street. Families gather to watch, and often the 10-minute performance is repeated.
Our photo shows one of the cast from the 1976 production – adapted from Robin Da Costa’s book Sevenoaks Park (1980, republished 2004) which provides an invaluable summary of the earlier history of the street, the subdivision and the community spirit going back to the early days of the subdivision.
Neighbor Day is celebrated in various ways, on or close to the last Sunday in March.
Working bees are a great opportunity for families to meet socially, while helping to maintain the street with the usual eradication efforts to remove Tradescantia, blackberry, and Ivy, but also plant indigenous tube stock. Local resident Su Dempsey often includes environmental activities for the children and families such as impromptu possum prowls to discover the nocturnal fauna which abounds.
A great example of the residents maintaining and enhancing the environmental value of their street in the KooyongKoot corridor for now and future generations, whilst providing a supportive communal ‘sense of place’ for each other.