As the 1990 marked the thirtieth anniversary of the building of Hotham Gardens Block E, included is some information about this brave new experiment in housing. Hotham Gardens was the first large block of O-Y-O flats on land reclaimed by the Housing Commission of Victoria. O-Y-O titles were introduced to Victoria in the late 1970's so when Block E was constructed the idea of Service Companies was very new. Until the end of the 1970's the six service companies of the six blocks of Hotham Gardens flats employed the same secretary. This was a very helpful arrangement in the beginning when a great deal of pioneering work had to be done in regards to managing O-Y-O flats.