itellya on Family Tree Circles
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RED HILL, VIC., AUST. (Entry from my Peninsula District History.)
This journal describes where the grantees' land was in greater detail than in the other journal but also contains information from Keith Holmes about later occupants of those blocks and even some genealogy. Sheila Skidmore has excerpts from Joseph McIlroy's diary about working at Huntley's and later leasing the property for five years. Here we find out where the Huntley property was.
Red Hill.
THE FIRST SETTLERS.
The Bunurong* people were the original inhabitants and their dreaming recounts the flooding of their former hunting plain, Nerm, (with the stream mistakenly called Yarra Yarra flowing through it to join the Tamar in what is now Bass Strait).
(* There are multiple spellings for this word.)
Their territory included the Port Phillip Bay coast from the Werribee River to Point Nepean and extended around Westernport to Gippsland but they would be wary of going too far east because of their fierce neighbours. No doubt recent dredging of the bay sucked up countless middens from the former banks of the Yarra and the Werribee rivers; the latter stream would have been followed on the way to the western boundary of their territory, where one of their number might have yelled, ?I can see a ring-tailed possum!? in words that have been corrupted to Maribyrnong.
With so much coastline, it was inevitable that they would spend much time on the coast and shellfish middens were found in abundance. They built eel races and this probably accounts for the naming of Eeling Creek at Rosebud and Eel Race Rd at Seaford. They spent time at the spot still dotted with banksias where Dunns Ck meets the bay at Safety Beach, and entertained the McLear lads with their returning boomerangs. The McCraes of the Arthurs Seat Run were more understanding than most early settlers and groups of aborigines would camp near their homestead for several days.
They were nomads but not in the way that people think. The area was broken up so that small groups could each have their seasonal harvest; one of the groups, Tal Tal, is recalled by a street name in Mt Martha. In this way food was sourced sustainably, in the same way as a farmer limiting the stock numbers in a paddock. Without calendars they knew exactly when to move on to the next designated place from signs such as the appearance of a bird or a tree starting to blossom.
Did they spend time in Red Hill? Although they were not great lovers of forests, and used fires to turn these into the open forests that the first British observers likened to Gentlemen?s estates, it is likely that food sources existed in that rich red soil that were unavailable elsewhere. It is easy to imagine Georgiana McCrae?s friends waving farewell as they moved east toward the Bunurong Track to climb over Wonga. In the Wurundjeri tongue Wonga meant bronze- winged pigeon and as the two groups shared a common boundary (the Yarra), they probably had a common definition. They named the hill Wonga because these birds decended on Arthurs Seat?s ?scrubby timbered areas? in huge numbers and, as they ?made excellent eating?, Ben Benjie?s group probably grabbed some fast food on the way to Red Hill. (Quotes from P.8 of A Dreamtime of Dromana.)
Having sampled Red Hill?s bounty they might have moved to their next camp at 148 D2 before going east to Watsons Inlet, or stopped at Blacks Camp (253 A1) before crayfishing near Cape Schanck.
Hec Hanson was told by his aunt, Emily Lenz, nee Purves, that only she and Hec?s mother were at Tootgarook Station one day in the late 1880?s when seven aborigines came to ask for a drink of water from their well. Frances was only about 6 and was probably terrified so Emily, 16 years older, calmly responded to their request. Each drank appreciatively until the mug was given to the last one, who threw it away because, as the leader, he expected to have been served first.
This story runs counter to claims that the first inhabitants disappeared from the peninsula within decades. Although numbers declined rapidly at first because of European diseases, alcoholism etc, the Bunurong were probably not denied their hunter- gatherer lifestyle as much as the Wurundjeri were by the likes of North West (Melbourne) settlers such as Aitken, Taylor, Robertson, Big Clarke, Brodie, Foster and Walter Clark who ran thousands of sheep and got rid of the kangaroos. Kangaroos were hunted relentlessly by peninsula pioneers too, as Colin McLear recalls, but as long as the Bunurong stayed in lime country, there would have been little objection to their walkabouts as long as they left the Purves and Ford bullocks alone.
It is a pity that Barak Rd (146 E8) is so named. William Barak was a Wurundjeri elder who died at Healesville, as many Bunurong probably did, all of the remaining Kulin near Melbourne having been removed from their homelands. Barak was a fine man but surely a suitable Bunurong name could have found in Protector Thomas?s records, such as that of his wife?s friend who was devastated when Mrs Thomas had to go to Melbourne.A Street in Melbourne Airport was to have been named after Barak in 1988 but the historic renaming project was abandoned at the last minute with only Gowrie Park Drive eluding the veto.
PARISH MAPS.
For this history, I will use the boundaries of Red Hill and Red Hill South as given in Melway, although I might mention people and properties just outside this area if they were historically associated with Red Hill.
I will not discuss the runs as this information is given in other histories. It seems that the more northern runs afforded better grazing than those south of Hearn?s Mount Martha Sheep Station. Maurice Meyrick?s relatives had a much longer tenure at Coolart than he did at Boniyong, but he gave us two place names, Merricks and Boneo. The Purves made a success of horse breeding at Tootgarook and Peter?s descendants obviously later used Green Hills in Purves Rd for the same purpose.
Runs were a stop-gap measure to control settlement until land could be surveyed and sold. As some, such as Hugh Glass and Big Clarke, were determined to buy as much land as possible, by the time the peninsula was surveyed no more square mile allotments were on offer such as near Tullamarine in the 1840?s; most were 160 acres as was common earlier closer to Melbourne and near creeks or main roads.
This did not stop Glass and Clarke. The former obtained the grant on the Safeway side of Boneo Rd but a nearby allotment seems to have bought for him by a dummy bidder and Clarke finished up owning Jamieson?s Special Survey, which included Safety Beach and extended east to Bulldog Ck Rd.
Red Hill is situated in Kangerong and Balnarring parishes, but many Red Hill farmers had land west of Mornington-Flinders Rd in the parish of Wannaeue. A small area of land east of White Hill Rd is officially in Dromana, but as many of the grantees here were described as being in Red Hill, I will list them with the Kangerong Grantees.
ABOUT THE GRANTEES.
In LIME LAND LEISURE and elsewhere, it is often stated that a pioneer bought (Crown) land. The date specified is usually that on which the pioneer selected the land. It is true that early grants went to the highest bidder, usually members of the squattocracy who were aristocratically born but unable to inherit the family estate at home. Once the political power of this elite was broken by critics such as Edward Wilson of Arundel in Tullamarine (Argus editor) and fiery 5 foot 2 Johnny Fawkner, the politicians saw the merit in the land right demands of the Eureka rebels. Even humbly born men such as Hugh Glass and Big Clarke were snapping up all the land they could by using dummy bidders.
The selection acts required that land had to be marked with corner posts, surveyed and a licence applied for; the selection was not to take total holdings above 320 acres. If a selector did not live on the land, or make improvements such as fencing, buildings or cultivation, the licence became void. The cost of these improvements was taken off the purchase price when the selector had been a good boy and could afford to buy, often at least 10 years after he had selected the land. (Ray Cairns, Robert Adams? licence application for Balnarring land in the angle at the north end of Tucks Rd between two properties belonging to his in-laws.)
THE GRANTEES.
A Melway reference or description of boundaries will precede details of each grant.
Kangerong Parish..
7B. (190 C-E 1.) 150 acres, granted 27-3-1879. Settled by Watson Eaton and granted to his executor, Rebecca Griffith.This is just west of Red Hill but it is included to explain the naming of Eatons Cutting Rd, which is the boundary. At least one Red Hill resident (Thiele) was killed in an accident on this hairy road. Watson, brother of gold mining Bernard, had partly completed medical training before leaving America, and died in 1877 from a fall while riding to attend to a patient. The Watsons and Griffiths farmed together on the Safety Beach area when they first arrived.
10A. (190 F1-3) 173 acres granted to George Sherwood. This became W.A.Holmes? ?Outlook Paddock?
10B. (Sheehans and Tumbywood Rd were boundaries and the land shares a boundary with the Holmes Rd Reserve (which itself seems to have been reserved in 1856.)
172 ? acres granted to Robert Caldwell in 18(68?)
11AB. (Between Sheehans Rd and Arkwells Lane.) Granted to James Wiseman. The acreage on the parish map is illegible here but it seems to indicate a total of 93 acres. Rate books show that the shopkeeper/blacksmith had 106 acres so I must assume that the missing 13 acres were needed for Wisemans Deviation (White Hills Rd south of the Sheehans Rd corner).
18A. (160 K12) Almost 51 acres granted on (3-6-1860?) to Henry Dunn, who called this hilltop property Four Winds and built a shop on the corner. Henry had rented Jamieson?s Special Survey from 1846-1851 and had rented land on Hearn?s Mt Martha during the same period. He was a pioneer of the Dunns Rd area of Mornington. As if this was not enough land to manage, in 1879, he was farming S.S.Crispo?s grants, which were later Edward Williams? ?Eastbourne? and from 1980 Charles Jacobsen?s ?Village Glen?.
Between White Hills and Harrisons Rds, heading north from Four Winds, were:
65 acres owned by Thomas Appleyard, who also had most of the land east from Harrisons Rd (to the line of Bowrings Rd);
the Dromana Secondary College site, possibly part of the racecourse;
the racecourse which operated until about 1927 and is now a recreation reserve*;
the Moat(pronounced Mowatt) family?s land, responsible for the corner at the Highway?s bend becoming known as Moats Corner.**
(*A course also operated on Watkin?s 16 acres and then Lou Carrigg?s 33 acres, behind the Dromana Hotel until 1923. ** Some of the Moats became Rye pioneers.)
Fronting the Bittern Rd from Harrisons Rd were George and Susan Peatey (101 acres), Alf Harrison 63 acres, James Clydesdale (63 acres), who had all followed Henry Dunn as tenants on the Survey, and the McIlroy family after whom the road heading east from Dunn?s shop was named. The Peateys found their land too wet for farming and in 1888 became early residents of the Rosebud street named after later neighbours, the McDowells.
12AB. (Between Arkwells and Andrews Lane, including the showgrounds and extending north to the Two Bays Estate Vineyard.) 143 acres granted to John Arkwell in 18(62?) and 1870.
13AB. (West of Andrews Lane to the Mechanics Rd corner, including all the Kindlian Society land, which extends to the north boundary.) This was granted to Margaret Davies on 20-8-1877 and consisted of just under 130 acres. 13c of 23 acres, north of A and B, was granted to Frances Windsor.
14 AB and 16B. (Frontage to Mechanics Rd and Station St to the west boundary of Vines of Red Hill. Donaldson St heads north west to the boundary between 14 A and B and then indicates the western boundary of 16B, which includes Ellisfield Farm.) Granted to William McIlroy (14B in 1864) and totaling 294 acres.
15 AB.
HOLMES.
Source: Keith Holmes.
Keith believes that there were two completely different Holmes families associated with the Red Hill area but there could be some link back in the old country and extensive genealogical research would be needed to prove that there was no connection, as in the case of Henry William Wilson of Dromana and George Wilson of Shoreham Rd.
1.The Kangerong rates for 1864-5 and 1865-6 reveal that Holmes was assessed on 140 acres; he would have been occupying the land under licence from the Crown. The Kangerong parish map shows that J Holmes was granted lots 15 A and 15 B of 104.3.34 each (six perches, about the size of the cricket pitches area on the M.C.G., or 150 square metres, short of 105 acres.) It is likely that he had settled on one of these blocks and the rate collector had written 140 instead of 104. Once a mistake like this was made, it would be carried on for years, because rate collectors would basically copy the previous year?s details and make alterations if they received knowledge of a sale or new lessee.
15 A and B were at Melway 191 E-F 3 and extended south from the Kangerong Conservation Nature Reserve to Red Hill Rd with the south west corner being just north of Rosebank Cottage. The northern half appears to have been granted in the 1870?s and the southern on, possibly, 3-7-1873. The northern half was granted to J.Holmes & Co. The 7-9-1867 assessments show that the other partner was Lawrence Weadson. Holmes is not recorded in the 1879-80 rates but it is pleasing to see that the rate collector now calls the original property 105 acres. It must have been at about this time that the first Holmes pioneers left Red Hill.
John Huntley, gardener, owned 105 acres in Kangerong. Keith Holmes confirmed that he was on land granted to J.Holmes. This was the southern half, which now includes the VINES OF RED HILL land. In 1900, Mrs Mary Huntley was assessed on the 105 acres; John had died and Mary was a widow. She was not assessed in 1910 and Keith Holmes explained why. Jack Shand, the son of Alex Shand of Main Ridge, married Mary and after living on the 105 acres for a while longer, Mary and Jack moved to Merricks North, where for some reason, Jack was then called Peter. Perhaps his second name was Peter and there was a cousin called Jack already living in the new location.
The northern half was being leased by gardener, William Kemp, from Wadesson and Holmes executors in 1879.Kemp received a grant of 100 acres on the east side of Bowrings Rd on 3-2-1904 and was occupying it by 1900, by which time 15 B must have been broken up and was possibly occupied by Fred, Henry, James and Jonathan Davis (a total of 106 acres).
Between Donaldson Rd and a northern extension of Bowrings Rd were three lots between 13-14 and McIlroys Rd: 16A (T.Milner, 88 acres, granted 11-12-1862) and west of it, 17 AB (with 13C totalling 188 acres, granted to Frances Windsor.) True pioneers of the area north of McIlroys Rd include the Counsel family, which was involved with Gracefield in Dromana, Robert Coxon Young, Andrew Fritsch, and J.Davey.
RED HILL SOUTH.
Balnarring Parish. (East and South of Red Hill Rd.)
South of Craig Avon Lane/ Dromana-Bittern Rd and west of the line of Tonkin Rd.
79A (161 J11-12) 126 ? acres granted to J.Davey.
79B (191 H-J1) 128 ? acres granted to George Sherwood on 28-11-1872.
78A. (Western part of Port Phillip Estate Winery extended south to Stanley Rd.)
W.Gibson received this grant, consisting of 190.1 acres on 23-7-1874.
78 B1. (Eastern part of the winery extended to Stanley Rd.) Granted to J.B.Journeaux on 22-1-1877 and consisting of 95 acres. The grantee?s middle name was Bowring, which indicates a relationship through marriage between the two families.
78B2 (East to include the Conservation Reserve.) about 95 acres, part of 256 acres, including 54A, granted to James Smith.
BETWEEN STANLEYS RD AND CALLANANS RD.
77 (Fronting Red Hill Rd with an eastern boundary starting from Tar Barrel Corner and
passing approximately through 28 Thomas Rd.) Part of 305 acres granted to W.Aitken on 20-4-1881.
81, 82A (East of 77 nearly to 101 Stanley Rd with a 1400 metre frontage to Callaghans Rd, finishing at about the location of No. 4.) Granted to J.R.Thompson on 12-2-(1874?).
The acreage is not stated but it could be about 300 acres.
82B, 83A1, 83BB1 (East of 82A to where the equestrian trail turns at the end of Tonkins Rd. 191 H-J 5-8 except for Hindmarsh?s grant.) 339 acres granted to Bryan Tonkin on 27-7-1875.
83B1. (This lot had a frontage of about 250 metres on Stanley Rd and about 872 metres on Tonkins Rd.) John Hindmarsh was granted this 80 ? acre block on (10-3-1871?).
BETWEEN CALLANANS RD (which used to meet Station St near Red Hill Centrepoint) AND PT LEO RD.
88. (The eastern boundary of 77 continues to the bend near 195 Pt Leo Rd.)
This was the rest of Aitken?s 305 acres, probably about 150 acres.
87AB,86AB. (East of 88, with NE and SE corners indicated by 4 Callanans Rd and 159 Pt Leo Rd.) G ranted to J.Buchanan. Date not stated. A total of 428 acres.
85. (East of 86B to end of Callanan Rd and 117 Pt Leo Rd.) A 10 acre block on Pt Leo Rd was probably Buchanan?s original selection but no date can be ascertained. I presume that the other 622 ? acres were also granted to him.
84. (From the ends of Callanans and Paringa Rd to the blue line indicating the start of Bittern.) J.Wighton received the grants for the 203.3 acres on 23-4-1874. He also acquired the 507 acres between allotment 84 and Merricks Township.
RED HILL-WANNAEUE PARISH.
A total of 636 acres in Wannaeue parish, between Main Ck and Mornington-Flinders Rd, is included in Red Hill.
29A. (Fronting Arthurs St Rd and the other two roads, this block went south to a point across Main Ck Rd from the Whites Rd corner.)
Benjamin Hards, who purchased land in Nepean Parish as well, and was probably a speculator, received this 331 acre grant. The numbering of allotments in Wannaeue is so illogical that it is no surprise to find that there is no allotment 29B! Incidentally the Wannaeue land east of Jetty Rd is in section B but no parish map says so.
28AB. (These take us south to the boundary between Red Hill and Main Ridge. 28A is west of the straight part of William Rd and 28B is to the east. The dog leg is in 29A.
28A. James Davey Jnr received the grant for this 158 ? acre allotment on 5-9-1878.
The Davey family is recalled by street names on ?Gracefield? and ?The Survey? near Dromana. J.Davey, probably James, was also granted 156 acres in Kangerong, extended to 190 acres (Henry Davey 1900), including the Kangerong Nature Conservation Reserve. In 1920, Bertram John Davey had 446 acres in the Safety Beach area, apparently just purchased.
28B. John Griffith acquired title to this 136 acre allotment on 4-8-1885. This would be John Calvin Griffith, about whom much detail is given in ?A Dreamtime of Dromana?. His mother, Rebecca, probably the sister of Watson and Bernard Eaton, was the former?s executor and received title to the 150 acres near Eatons Cutting that Watson had settled. 28B was only 720 metres away from Rebecca?s 150 acres. Watson Eaton and John?s parents, all Americans, had at first farmed together on the Survey (Safety Beach area). John?s brother, Jonah, was a builder and supplied squared beams for the Dromana pier.
The proofreading of page 70 of Colin McLear?s book was poor unless John Griffith?s eleven children were really born after he died.
John?s first daughter, Evelyn,(28/3/1875-23/3/1959) married one of the Shand boys. This indicates that Cr John Griffith actually lived on 28B and recalls something that Keith Holmes told me. Alexander Shand chose Main Creek as the location for his saw mill as it was the only creek with a regular flow. Roberts Rd follows the course of a track made by the Shands as they took the shortest and least steep course to haul their timber up to Red Hill. One can imagine young Evelyn waving to the Shand boys as they passed by 28B. Another way Evelyn could have met her future husband is that the Shands would have often have been at the property of William Henry Blakely directly across Mornington-Flinders Rd. Blakely was a sawmaker (1884, assessment No. 27) and saws would often need repair or replacement.
74. The Red Hill Village Settlement.
(190 K 5 to end of Prossors Lane and east to the corner of Mechanics Rd and Station St.)
As allotments and their grantees can be easily ascertained from this map with one exception, I will detail only that block. F.Nash: 6 acres 3 roods 27 perches.
There is no guarantee that a parish map actually shows grantees (Keith Holmes has a Balnarring map with different names in some lots, such as Holmes instead of Parry).
However I believe that those named in this map were grantees.
MEASUREMENTS ON PARISH MAPS.
A rood is a quarter of an acre and forty perches equal one rood so Nash?s small block is 6.86 acres correct to two decimal places (137 perches divided by 160).
No boundary measurement are given for these village blocks, but you can see them on surrounding allotments, such as 3350 for McConnell?s frontage on Beaulieu Rd. (Had you realized that Beaulieu is French for fine place?)
That is 3350 links. To explain links, I must first mention an English king, whose identity I have forgotten. In setting up a system of measurement for his kingdom, he decided that the basic unit would be the distance between his fingers and his nose. This was the yard, one third of which was called a foot; this was then divided into 12 inches. Strangely he used the old Roman word for distance, although a mile was a bit more than a thousand paces (1760 yards or roughly 1600 metres).
Now, the king owned all the land in his kingdom but if somebody pleased him greatly, through loyalty when opposition was rife or valour / success in battle, the King would grant land to that person, along with a title such as Duke. Of course the Duke did not pay for the land as our grantees did, but they would be expected to pay taxes and supply cannon fodder for the king. It is interesting that the word ?title? is now used for the document that proves land ownership!
The grant would be large and the boundaries would be measured in miles, but how would they be measured accurately? The length of paces could change because of leg length, tiredness, uphill slopes and so on. Yard- stick* use was too tedious and ropes could stretch and fray. It is likely that blacksmiths had arrived at a standard length for chain links of about 20cm, probably checked with implements at hand such as the funnel of bellows. (* Poles, whose lengths I have forgotten, probably about 5 metres, were used along Steeles Ck in East Keilor.)
A chain was durable and accurate but had to be of a length to avoid moving it along too often, but if it were too long, it would be too heavy for surveyors to carry and drag.
Then some genius discovered that a chain with 100 links was not only of the right length and weight, but was 22 yards long and if moved 79 times (80 chains) would equal a mile. To prevent excessive tiny writing on survey maps, 33 chains and 50 links would be written as 3350. As a chain (cricket pitch) equals 20 metres, 3350 links equals 660 metres+ 50X 20cm= 670 metres.
Normally a square mile grant (not on a shore or stream line) would measure 8000X8000 links. On such a block, the Duke could theoretically accommodate 640 serfs if the land was good. The Duke would build a village nearby and with no internal fencing, each serf could access his plot without the need for roads (which reduced farming land.) Each plot would be a chain wide and a furrow (10 chains) long. This is how the racing term, furlong, originated. Each block was one acre, which seems to be a French word, so perhaps the king was William the Conqueror. (Adopted from Palestine during the Crusades, I presume.)
Each serf had to supply so many bushels of his crop as rent and of course sacrifice his life in war if the king required it. As one acre blocks would not lead to efficient farming, serfs would probably have blocks of about 7 acres (as in John Pascoe Fawkner?s yeoman farmer subdivisions) or perhaps about 20 acres (as in Red Hill Village and suburban lots in villages/towns such as Keilor and Dromana.) I HOPE YOU?VE ENJOYED MY ?ADVENTURES OF ENGLISH? AS MUCH AS I ENJOY THE TELEVISION SERIES.
BETWEEN MORNINGTON-FLINDERS AND PT LEO RD.
72A. (Red Hill Consolidated School corner, 190 E-F 4) R.H.Holding received the grant for this 140 ? acre block on 20-2-1865. It later became Henry Blakely?s farm.
72B. (South of 72A, with the end of Pardalote Rise indicating its south east corner.)
Granted on (18-7-1863?) to Joseph Pitcher, this140 ? acre block later became Henry Ault?s property.
71AB. (Straddling Stony Ck Rd with lot A extending to Pardalote Rise, and lot B going south to the present Tucks Rd corner and east to Stony Creek.)
This is the Red Hill boundary with Main Ridge. Pioneers to the south were William Hopcraft, Robert Adams of Adams Corner (McCrae Plaza site) in Rosebud (on land granted to M.Byrne), A.Allan and F.Bullock.
East of Stony Creek.
73AB. (Lot 73A, was west of Stony Ck with its north east corner almost over the road from Sheehans Rd and extended east almost to Stony Ck. Lot 73B was between 73A and the Red Hill Village; the eastern boundary being over the road from the south east corner of the showgrounds.)
Granted to James McKeown, both 147.7acre lots passed into the hands of the Sheehans.
It comprised two farms, Wildwood (73A) and Glenbower (73B). Keith Holmes said that they were not of equal size and this was probably because the creek, east of the allotment boundary, was used as a border so that both farms had water access. (See FARMS.)
75D and ? (Lot 75D, of 182 acres, was north of Beaulieu Rd / Simpson St with Baynes Rd being its eastern boundary. Straddling Stony Ck, its western boundary is indicated by Pardalote Rise. Lot 75 (C?), of 122 acres, was between Beaulieu Rd and the Red Hill boundary from Stony Ck to the line of Baynes Rd.) James McConnell settled both blocks and one was granted to him and the other to his executors (of whom one would have been John McConnell. It is likely that our James McConnell was the grantee of land near Puckle St, Moonee Ponds and McConnell St. Kensington, both in the parish of Doutta Galla.
FARMS.
GLENBOWER
Glenbower and Wildwood were on allotments 73 A and B of the parish of Balnarring, each of 107 acres 2 roods and 32 perches, a total of over 215 acres, granted to James McKeown. There is extensive information in Colin McLear?s ?A Dreamtime of Dromana? about James McKeown and his brother-in-law, Hill Hillas. The former settled in Red Hill in 1862 and the latter in 1855. James built a house on the property called Glenbower, which was south of the Showgrounds (Arkwell?s grants.)
Keith Holmes said that the two farms were not of equal size and the 1887-8 rates indicate that Glenbower may have consisted of 115 acres, which James had apparently mortgaged with the Land Investment Co. James had probably used the loan to buy Gracefield (between Caldwell Rd and the triangular quarry reserve, from Gracefield Ave to the south boundary of part of the State Park) near Dromana. Glenbower changed hands in 1889 and the new owner was Robert Sheehan.
In 1887-8, Alfred Sheehan had 219 acres in Balnarring and Robert 215 acres in Kangerong. (See Wildwood.) In 1889, the Sheehans apparently bought Glenbower and Wildwood.
William Alfred Holmes had a chance meeting with Emily Sheehan and married her. Their son William (known as Jack) later bought Glenbower.
WILDWOOD
Wildwood was south of Wiseman?s grants (west to the Sheehans Rd corner). Alfred Sheehan?s land in 1887-8 would have included about 99 acres (Wildwood) and might have included the future village site of about 120 acres. Keith Holmes said that Wildwood adjoined Blakely?s land.
Rate books reveal that Blakely had 140 acres, which must have been R.H.Holding?s grant (72A) at the corner of Arthurs Seat and Mornington-Flinders Rds. South of that block was 72B of 140 acres, granted to James Pitcher in 18(69?) and later leased by Henry Ault and apparently bought by William Henry Ault, carpenter.
It is likely that Robert Sheehan?s 215 acres in Kangerong consisted largely of Robert Caldwell?s grant (10B of 172 ? acres) west and north west of Sheehans Rd, and almost over Arthurs Seat Rd from the Blakely-Wildwood boundary.
FOUR WINDS
Henry Dunn received the grant for 18A Kangerong of almost 51 acres on 4-8-1860. This land is indicated by Melway 160 K12. He built a shop on the corner and named his property ?Four Winds?. Keith Holmes said that the property was at the top of the hill so there would have been little protection from the wind, no matter its direction!
William Calder, Chairman of the Country Roads Board (after whom the Calder highway was named) bought Four Winds. He was President of the Red Hill Show Committee for some time but died just before the show in 1928 or 9. Robert Holmes stepped into the breech. Calder?s son designed the Old Shire Hall at Dromana.
LOOKOUT PADDOCK
George Sherwood was granted 10A Kangerong of 172.46 acres on the east side of Eatons Cutting Rd with a road frontage of 454 metres. The 1879 rates show that this 173 acre property was occupied by George Sherwood and William Copeland, both described as journeymen, leasing from Sherwood and Co.This George Sherwood was probably the son of George Sherwood, nurseryman, who on (28-11-1873?) was granted 79 B Balnarring of 128 ? acres now occupied by Port Phillip Estate Wineries at 191 G-H2.
A journeyman was a tradesman who had finished his apprenticeship and would journey from one master of the craft to another working and widening his experience. He was not subject to Master and Servant provisions (as apprentices were) and could set up in business on his own account but could not employ apprentices until he had submitted a piece of work that gained him the status of Master, in George?s case perhaps a graft, pruning etc).
In 1900 the A.E.Bennett trustees were assessed on 642 (sic) acres including 471 acres of Wannaeue land (190 B-D 3-4 and D 5-6) and 10 A Kangerong (173 acres).
William Alfred Holmes bought the Lookout Paddock, which now contains Lookout Rd and Holmes Rd.
THE PEOPLE,
The Nash family hailed from Beaulieu in England and arrived in Red Hill in about 1898. A Nash married a daughter of W.Davidson and it seems that he later gained ownership of Davison?s 18 ? acres and then added part of James McConnell?s grant to the south, of which Beaulieu Rd marks the southern boundary. Frederick, Elizabeth and Frances Streets are named after members of the Nash family.
LITTLEJOHN.
In 1919-20, F. and W.A.Littlejohn had 130 acres (lot 11) and 205 acres (Lot 9) on the Special Survey.
Today, Australians boast of having a convict ancestor; quite different from the 19th century shame which I think led a Mentone, Rosebud and Somerville pioneer to spell his parents? surname wrongly when they were buried at St Kilda and tell his children that he came to Australia with Tommy Bent (who was born in Penrith, N.S.W.) The first Littlejohn was a convict and settled in Brunswick upon gaining his ticket of leave.
The first Littlejohns in our area were William Alfred and his brother Frederick. They had land across the road from eachother near Moats Corner. After a while Fred moved back to Coburg and William moved to Red Hill. William was a builder and was followed in this trade by his son Herb, who married Florrie Bowring in 1935 but died at the young age of 25. Herb?s brother, Ron farmed at Moat?s Corner.
William was known as Littlejohn the builder and people would call at his house to discuss the building of their house. He built Sam Loxton?s house and the Hansons? second ?Alpine Chalet? when they sold the land containing William Hopcraft?s beautiful old double storey house.
RENOUF ON THE MORNINGTON PENINSULA, VIC., AUST.
POSTSCRIPT 11-12-2018. Knowing nothing about Victorian BDM in 2012, I had presumed that Sarah Renouf had been the daughter of Henry Prosser of Frankston Fish Company fame. As she died in 1916 aged 95 (thus being born in about 1821) and Henry Prosser had married Margaret Smith Grayden, daughter of Charles Grayden*, (after whom Graydens Rd may have been named), in 1869, this was clearly wrong so I looked for Sarah's death record to discover her parents.
* https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/73267830
EventDeath Event registration number9828 Registration year1916
Personal information
Family nameRENOUF Given namesSarah SexUnknown Father's nameProsser Jas Mother's nameAnn (Adams) Place of birth Place of deathDromana Age95
Henry and Sarah weren't siblings either (see their parents.) Henry died in 1889, aged only 45.
EventDeath Event registration number5483 Registration year1889
Personal information
Family namePROSSER Given namesHy SexMale Father's nameWm Mother's nameEsther Mary (Mann) Place of birth Place of deathTyabb Age45
Extracts from my THE FEMALE DROVER: A HISTORY OF MOOROODUC. The source quoted for "Island View" is Graeme Butler's Hastings Heritage Study.
ISLAND VIEW. (Appendix 1, page 260.) See Flood St on page 57.
In the 1880’s, James and John Flood were granted a total of 500 acres (allotments 1 and 7B in the parish of Bittern) on the south side of Bungower Rd, extending from Boes Rd to Alden St. J.Flood was, on 7-3-1873, granted 2A of 94 acres, between lot 1 and W.Boes’ 2B of the same size. Butler confusingly says that John Scott subdivided the former Flood Estate into 30 acre blocks and sold one to Charles and Lydia Renouf in 1912. Renouf called his property Island View. It is likely that John Scott subdivided only Crown Allotment 1, consisting of 166 acres. Island View Drive probably occupies three of the 30 acre farms, with the drives of the other two, at the northern end of allotment 1, shown in Melway as “private access”.
RENOUF/SAWYER/GRIFFITH/PROSSER/COXSHALL/HOPCRAFT.
The Argus of 29-7-1916 reported the death of Sarah Renouf, the widow of Amise Renouf of Frankston, who died on 15-7-1916 at her daughter’s residence in Dromana. She was 95 and a colonist of 68 years. Strangely all of her children had the surname “Sawyer”, indicating an earlier marriage. Two of her sons had moved to the vicinity of Neerim but another two were pioneers of the locality known as Moorooduc and a daughter married into a prominent Dromana pioneering family. Her children were: L. and H.Sawyer (at and near Neerim), J.Sawyer(Moorooduc), F.Sawyer (Bittern), Mrs John Hopcraft and Mrs Jonah Griffith.
As my original area of research was between Safety Beach and Tootgarook, I think I can be forgiven for having a hazy recollection of information that I have noticed about places outside this area. I am sure a Renouf was a director of the Frankston Fish Company and it may have been Amise. David Renouf, who bought a block (which had seen many Floods since it was granted) from John Scott and named it Island View, might have been a son or nephew of Amise.
The same depth of knowledge exists in relation to Henry Prosser. I know that Henry was a fisherman and I think he owned farmland as well. Having deliberately ignored the Westernport area (so I wouldn’t get side-tracked), I’m not even sure whether he was at Hastings or Flinders. The fact that he stood against Alfred Jones in the East Riding of Mornington Shire in 1881 indicates that it could have been the former. He seems to have become a councillor. When some Government big-wigs came to Frankston, Cr Prosser drove them around the district.
Henry Prossor, descendant of a Fingal pioneer, later moved to Red Hill and was in no way related to this Henry Prosser. But what do the Prossers have to do with the Renoufs and Sawyers?
I googled Sawyer-Prosser on Trove in the hope of finding some details of the marriage. There I found information posted by somebody who must be researching the Hodgkinson family. It so happened that Sarah Renouf had been born Sarah Prosser and had married Isaac Sawyer. Jessie Sawyer, her son, who had a farm called “Summerlands" (Annals 26-2-1921) had a daughter that married John Hodgkinson (born 1898 Daylesford). In the following, all deaths occurred in Victoria where no details appear.
Jesse was born in 1854 and died on 21-11-1925 at Mornington. (So his retirement, at 67, lasted only four years.) He married Mary Ann Coxshall at Frankton on 6-2-1878. She had been born at Moorooduc on 29-4-1858 and died at Schnapper Point in 1909. It is strange that the old name for Mornington appeared in records so long after the name change. A search of Summerlands on trove revealed that Jesse was living in View St, Mornington, at the time of his death (Argus 26-11-1925.) Mary Ann died at Summerlands on 3rd October (Argus 5-10-1909.) Their son, James William died at Mornington on 24-5-1948 (Argus 29-5-1948.)
I’ve heard of short pregnancies but this takes the cake (unless Sarah’s father was equipped for a bit of rabbiting after the wedding service!) It seems that Jesse was a frisky devil and that Mary Ann was not the type to develop a headache at bedtime. Or perhaps, she had developed a method to make all her pregnancies last only three months and nineteen days! With SP standing for Schnapper Point, here are the details of their fifteen children.
1. SARAH EMILY B. 25-5-1878.
2. ANNIE B.10-9-1879 SP
3. FREDERICK HENRY B.1-7-1881 SP D.1-4-1882 SP.
4. JAMES WILLIAM B.10-8-1882 SP D. 1948 MORNINGTON.
5. JESSIE B. 2-10-1883 Bittern D.14-8-1950 CHATHAM, VIC.
Jessie married James Alexander Johnstone (and other spouses.)
6. MARY ELIZABETH B.28-11-1884 SP D.1886.
7. ERNEST THOMAS B.8-5-1882 SP.
8. JOHN RENOUF B.10-7-1887 SP.
9. ETHEL MAUDE B. 16-8-1888 SP D. 24-6-1969.
10. ALICE RUBY B. 20-1-1890.
11. HILDA MAY B. 12-5-1891MOOROODUC.
12. HENRY ISAAC B. 5-9-1892 D. 25-9-1892.
13. WINIFRED FRANCES B. 1-12-1893.
14. GRACE B. 11-2-1895 D.1973 MENTONE. M. John Hodgkinson.
15. HAROLD STEWART B.12-7-1898 MORNINGTON, D. 29-1-1963 ELSTERNWICK.
It is likely that Isaac Sawyer had died and his widow had remarried by 1887 when John Renouf Sawyer was born and named.
Mrs John Hopcraft- See the Sawyer land in Wannaeue.
Mrs Jonah Griffith.
I quote from page 69 of Colin McLear’s “A Dreamtime of Dromana”.
Jonah Griffith died on July 12, 1933, aged 83. He was married to Sarah Sawyer and had seven children.
1.Maud Alice 1871; 2. Edith Annie 15/11/1873-1953; 3.Delia Sarah 5/3/1874-1951
4. Gertrude18/8/1876; 5. Sylvester Frederick George 1872 (1882?);
6. Harry Lewis Theobald 23/1/1885-27-3-1954; 7. Grace Dora 26/10/1889-1977.
Jonah, known as Doan, was a builder and a professional fisherman working closely with Harry Copp. He lived in Seaview Parade off Jetty Rd (Melway 159 H8).
Colin has plenty of information about the Griffith family. Doan’s father came from Philadelphia with his wife Sarah and (probably) Watson and Bernard Eaton. Bernard was the gold miner and father of Maud Eaton. Hollinshed called him Mr Eaton because Colin did not know his Christian name.
THE SAWYER LAND.
Wannaeue.
In 1879 Frederick Sawyer was leasing 142 acres in the parish of Wannaeue from the Crown. There were only three Crown allotments of this size and Hearn already had two of them. This left only 21B of 142 acres 3 roods and 1 perch, granted to Alex. Shand Jun. on 1-6-1909. This land is fairly well indicated by Melway 190 D9 and C-D10.
And guess who had the land north of his. John Hopcraft. Guess who had 178 acres (70 A and B, Balnarring) to the north and east of the start of Tucks Rd. William Hopcraft! Directly across Tucks Rd (69A Balnarring) was Robert Henry Adams, whose “gentlewoman” wife, a Hopcraft girl, refused to live at Hopetoun House with the ungentlemanly old sea salt, Captain Henry Everest Adams. Both Frederick and Robert did not extend their licences and their land was granted, respectively, to Shand and M.Byrne. The Hopcrafts moved further south later and the Hansons occupied William’s beautiful house and called it Alpine Chalet. (Sources: parish maps, rates, marriage certificate of Adams-Hopcraft, Adams family legend, “Adams Corner”, “Memoirs of a Larrikin” Hec Hanson.)
In the FAMILY CONNECTIONS entry of my PENINSULA DISTRICT HISTORY, I demonstrate how the bride and groom met each other. In most cases the two families were at some stage very close neighbours. Fred Sawyer was in 1879 the neighbor of John Hopcraft, the man that his sister married.
Bittern.
The grants in this parish are described in the 26-2-1921 entry in the Annals of Moorooduc.
26-2-1921. Having sold Summerlands, 5 miles from Mornington and 8 miles from Somerville, Jesse Sawyer was having a clearing sale. Summerlands was possibly lot 17B Bittern, of almost 115 acres, granted to Jesse Sawyer on 3-6-1899. This had a frontage of 220 metres to Loders Rd with its north boundary a continuation of Bentons Rd. F.Sawyer was the grantee, in 1905, of lot 68A Bittern of almost 50 acres close to the flower farm in Stumpy Gully Rd (Melway163 E2.)
Moorooduc.
There is a chance that Summerlands was in the locality of Moorooduc rather than the parish of Moorooduc. The former included the parish of Bittern. After careful measurement in Melway, I have concluded that the location of Summerlands as given in the advertisement of 26-2-1921 is nonsense. There is no way it could have been 8 miles from Somerville and still be near Moorooduc. Perhaps the distances were written in figures and a typesetter misread a 3 as 8. The corner of Coolart and Tyabb Rds would be about 5 miles from Mornington and 3 miles from Somerville.
Not much about Renouf so far but here's a gem from OrangeBlossom which prompted this journal.
RENOUF.�On the 6th August, at his residence,
176 Cotham-road, Kew, Philip, dearly beloved
husband of the late Annie Maria Renouf, son of
the late Honourable Amice Renouf, nephew of
the late Sir Peter Renouf, of Jersey, and brother
of Frederick Renouf, Frankston.
You will find more information on Sir Peter Lepage Renouf on Wikipedia etc. I know that there are Renoufs that can be traced back from both Jersey and Guernsey islands. Maybe this confused some at the time because my information shows that this family should have been from Guernsey not Jersey as this Family Notice suggests.
Thank you, OrangeBlossom.
PRESENTATION TO MR PHILLIP RENOUF. The officers, and teachers of the Frankston Wesleyan Sabbath School feeling they could not allow their late superintendent ; (who had been compelled to sever his connection with the school on account of failing health), to leave them without shewing their appreciation of his long services, held a social tea in the school-room, on Monday evening last, to which Mr Renouf, and the senior scholars, past and present, were invited. The catering, for the tea was carried out splendidly by Mr J.D.Box AND THE OTHER TEACHERS!), and the tea tables were ably presided over by the Misses McComb (2), Box, and Cameron; these ladies being most mssiidols in their. atteliltious to tihosu ((P.3, Mornington Standard, 26-4-1890.)
As the article is about five times the length of what I have corrected (and the rest is similar to the last five words above),I'll just give a few details. Phillip had been teaching at the Sunday School for 22 years and was superintendent for most of that time. He had spent a short part of that period at Sale and Hastings, starting the Sunday School at the latter.The wording of the Illuminated Address presented to him is given at the end of the article.
The directors of the original Frankston Fish Company (John Box, Harry Prosser, Phillip Renouf, Jim Croskell and Thomas Ritchie)are shown in a photo in an article entitled MEET THE PIONEERS.
(P.5,Frankston Standard, 5-10-1949.) John Box was probably Phillip's replacement as superintendent at the Sunday School, and Thomas Ritchie who founded the grocery business (now part of I.G.A.)lost four children in a house fire (obituary P.2, Mornington Standard, 21-9-1907.) Renouf and Croskell were among Ritchie's pall- bearers.
It came as no surprise to find Phillip Renouf's name listed on the Frankston regatta committee along with those of other Fish Company directors. ((P.2, Mornington Standard, 24-11-1892.)
And in case you were wondering in which year Phillip Renouf died on the 6th of August, the answer is provided in another death notice:
RENOUF.-On August 6, at his residence, Walthamstow, Cotham-road, Kew, Victoria,Phillip Renouf, dearly-beloved father of Mrs. Cyril Sadleir, Claremont.
Phillip Renouf was an early (Frankston?) shire councillor, along with publican, Mark Young, J.D.Box, Alf Jones and Captain (Ben) Baxter according to pioneer, Charles Wells.(P.1, Frankston and Somerville Standard, 29-10-1926.) Alf Jones of Almond Bush Stud at Somerville, was one of the three Canadians who travelled along Boundary Road supplied timber to the Liverpool lying a mile offshore at Mt Eliza. Can you guess the present name of the road that formed part of the boundary between the parishes of Frankston and Moorooduc?
This company (the Frankston Fish Company) consisted of (1) Messrs Henry Prosser, who arrived in Victoria in 1844, and carried fish from Hastings to Frankston, before joining the company; (2) James Croskell an American from Rhodes, who came to Frankston in 1859; he was also an extensive land owner; (3) John Dixon Box, born in Tasmania, 1840, and worked with Wren Bros., fish dealers, Melbourne. Later he bought Frankston's first bakery from Croskell and Ritchie; (4) Phillip Renouf, born at Jersey Island, arrived in Adelaide in 1863. He carried fish from Frankston to Hastings before joining the company; (5) Thomas Ritchie (senior), born at the Isle of Man. He came to Frankston in 1852, owned Frankston's first bakery, which was under Frankston House.
(P.6, Frankston and Somerville Standard, 15-2-1930.)
REUNION FOR LONGTIME AND FORMER RESIDENTS OF RED HILL NEAR DROMANA, VIC., AUSTRALIA.
THE "BACK TO RED HILL" WILL BE HELD
AT THE RED HILL CRICKET CLUB PAVILION AT THE RED HILL RECREATION RESERVE (MELWAY 190 J3)
ON SUNDAY 22 OCTOBER,2017
FROM 1:30 TO 4:30 P.M.
A reunion was held in March 2015 with about 90 people attending despite clashing with a Hilli family reunion, which I didn't find out about until it was too late to change the date, and a Rosebud High School anniversary, as well as many people finding out about the event after it had taken place. This will be the last BACK TO I will be organising because it has occupied time needed to complete my chronology of burials at Dromana. If this reunion is enjoyed as much as the previous one, some people might form a committee to organise the next one.
Don't miss this opportunity to meet your old friends while you still can.
Since the last reunion three family histories have been written, two of them by Barry Wright and Helen Blakeley who contacted me through family tree circles. They add significantly to the information in Sheila Skidmore's THE RED HILL and PENINSULA PIONEERS, written by Stephen Lynch, our fellow member, toolaroo.
REUNION FOR MEMBERS OF THE DANIEL FAMILY OF "NARBONNE", OAKLANDS RD, BULLA.
TOGETHER AGAIN in DESPERATELY SEEKING, SUNDAY HERALD SUN, p.76,11-1-2015.
A reunion of the Daniel family will be held at the Sherwood* (sic) Hunt Club in Bulla on SUNDAY, MARCH 22,(2015) FROM 11-3 P.M. Contact Trevor Parton at trevor_parton@bigpond.com for further details.
*"Sherwood" was part of a run apparently leased by Major Firebrace and part of Section 3,parish of Bulla,granted to Tulip Wright and subdivided as the gold rush got into full swing. In 1888,the Oaklands Hunt Club was formed but it was many years before it had its present headquarters,the late Dr Dickinson's SHERWOOD*. Much of the club's history revolved around the Daniel family, as is well and truly shown in D.F.Cameron-Kennedy's THE OAKLANDS HUNT. Don't be surprised to see photos of at least two of the Daniel men displayed in the clubrooms at Sherwood,the headquarters of the OAKLANDS Hunt Club. The Oaklands Hunt Club is situated in Melway 178 C6, its eastern boundary being that of the parishes of Bulla and Yuroke.
*A trove search for DICKINSON, SHERWOOD, BULLA shows that the original article about the farm was reprinted in countless country papers.
As my journal about John Cosgrave shows,Mary Daniel and her family were among the early pioneers of the future Bulla Road District. It must be nearly 25 years since I read the Daniel family history and it would be nice to think that this will be reprinted,perhaps with updates. One other thing I would like to see is the renaming of Daniels Rd to Daniel Rd so that it correctly recalls the surname of this pioneering family. (Otherwise Daniel may be thought to be a spelling mistake and that there was some sort of relationship to the pioneering DANIELS family of Keilor.) If a petition to this effect was signed at the reunion, I will be pleased to see that it is presented to Hume Council with the backing of the Broadmeadows Historical Society. If Trevor needs help to prepare arguments to support the request, I will be only an email away.
I can't remember how and when Mary became a widow but she was quite capable of fending for herself and her youngsters. Narbonne's orchard was well known but as an amusing story in the family history relates,the ground was prepared by unpaid labourers. Mary's boys? No! But relatives and friends who all carried the label "New Chums". These new chums had an enormous advantage in that they could avoid the inflated cost of the little-remaining and shoddy accommodation in Melbourne while they prepared for their journey to the diggings by staying at Narbonne. Cunning Mary explained that digging for gold was hard work and it would be wise to develop muscles and pick and shovel skills on Narbonne ground before venturing into the unknown.
Like John Pascoe Fawkner's mother, Mary valued the importance of an education and her descendants reaped the benefits, two working as municipal administrators at Bulla, with stone bridge-building being another accomplishment. Young Oswald Daniel displayed his pride in the history of Bulla while modestly giving the Daniel family rarely a mention (unlike D.F.Cameron Kennedy!) Oswald's history is included below. "Daniell" and the version of Firebrace* would seem to be typesetting errors rather than Oswald's but it is possible that Cosgrove for Cosgrave was the boy's boo boo. Anyone wishing to copy and paste the article should do so from the DANIEL entry in my DICTIONARY HISTORY OF BULLA journal,where lines have been put into A4 length AND MISSED ERRORS CORRECTED.
(*Part of Pascoe Vale Rd in the Essendon and Hawstead map was called Firebrace St.)
HISTORY OF BULLA.
Bulla derives its name from the abor-
iginal words, 'Bulla-Bulla,' which
mean 'two round low hills,' or 'the
two breasts.' I do not know who gave
the district that name, but it must have
been named in the early settlement of
the colony.
Two of the earliest settlers of the
district were Mr Martin Batey (of Red
Stone Hill), and Mr George Evans
(father of Mr R. C. Evans, of Emu
Bottom, near Sunbury), who, with their
wives, landed in Melbourne from Tas-
mania before John Fawkner. (Evans was on Fawkner's Enterprize but Fawkner was ordered off at Queenstown to settle his affairs, not because of sea-sickness, and had to appoint Captain Lancey as leader. THE LIFE AND TIMES OF JOHN PASCOE FAWKNER, C.P.Billot.)
When these pioneers essayed their
eventful trip across Bass Strait the
weather was so rough they had to turn
back for shelter, when Fawkner decided
that he would not go on, and the first
trip was accomplished without him ;
and he did not come over till the second
trip.
Mrs Batey was sixteen years of age,
and Mrs Evans a year younger.
Other settlers were :—Messrs Page
Brothers, ??, Cognall (COGHILL), Fawkner, Duncan, Grant,
M'Nab, Riddell, Loeman, Dickens,
Hunter, and Greene.
Woodlands was the residence of Mr
Greene, who was a naval officer and re-
ceived this section of ground as a free
grant for services to the Crown.
The sections running northward are
now occupied by the Oaklands Hunt
Club, Messrs Peters, Quinlan, and
Anderson ; there were also grants from
the Crown to Major Fairbrache, Captain
Taylor, and other military officers.
The first church (the present Church
of England), which stands on a corner
of Woodlands, was built by Mrs Greene,
and a right of passage existed until re-
cently for persons attending church to
walk along the southern boundary of
the land.
One of Mr Greene's sons (Rawden)
died of thirst while travelling with
stock in Queensland, but his name is
perpetuated in the township of Bulla—
the street near the Roman Catholic
Church being named 'Rawden,' and the
street on which the Shire hall stands
—'Greene' street. (Wrongly written as Green St for years and now named as Somerton Rd.)
The section extending from Mus-
grove's corner to the late Andrew
Carroll's was owned by Mr William
Wright, who cut it up and sold it about
the year 1852. Messrs Musgrove,
Johnson, Daniell, Carroll, Tulloch and
Waylett were among the original pur-
chasers. Mrs Mary Daniell purchased
two blocks of the estate, one of which is
still held by her grandson, Mr A. F.
Daniel.
The adjoining block she sold to the
late John Cosgrove, who was alderman
and first treasurer of the City of Mel-
bourne. Mr Cosgrave used to cycle out
on a 'bone shaker,' (a term given to a
certain make of early cycles) that must
have had an earlier history than the
famous machine of the late Professor
Kernot, and in his trips from North
Melbourne to the farm he used to arrive
with such an enormous appetite that
one of his standing boasts was that he
could eat anything that was put before
him, On one occasion a crow was pre-
pared, and he was invited to have a
meal of crow. After he had finished
the meal he remarked : 'Humph ! I
can eat crow, but I don't hanker
after it.'
Mr Cosgrove afterwards sold to
Messrs Hunt and Standen. Mrs T.
H. Dean, of Moonee Ponds (a daughter
of Mr Standen) next possessed the
property ; then her son, Melbourne ;
and it has now become the property of
the Hunt Club.(SEE COSGRAVE JOURNAL RE DANIEL OCCUPANCY& KENNELS.)
It is a coincidence that the first run
of the Oaklands Hunt Club, in which
Mr H. H, Daniel carried the drag,
finished upon the very spot where the
kennels are now built.
Mr William Wright built an hotel,
which was named the' Bridge Inn,' on
the Deep Creek, but it is now a ruin.
He was known as ' Tulip' Wright. The
name was supposed to have been given
him when he was chief constable of
Port Phillip, but, as he had a beauti-
ful garden, and a fine collection of tulips
—in which he took a great pride, it is
more probable the name arose from the
latter source.
For many years in the early days of
the district, there was no cemetery at
Bulla, and a considerable number of
those who died were buried on the bank
of the creek about Bulla bridge ; but in
1863 a grant was obtained from the
Government of a piece of land near the
Oaklands road, which is now used for
the cemetery.
About the year 1842 the late Mr
Michael Loeman came up from Moonee
Ponds and took up the land which he
named ' Glenloeman.' On his second
trip he brought up the late Mr John
Dickins, who also look up land next to
him. Mr Loeman married a Miss
Isabella M'Lean, who was escorted in a
long overland journey from New South
Wales by the late John Dean, when the
New South Wales blacks had become
so dangerous that the white settlers
had to leave. Although Mr Loeman
was one of the very early settlers, when
he paid his first visit to Bulla a well
known identity, the late William Pen-
der (or ' Old Bill Pender' as he was
popularly known) was camped in a tent
on the edge of the creek just above
'Glenloeman' on land now occupied by
Mr James Allen. During the drought
of 1868 Mr Richard Brodie, of Helens-
ville, gave Mr Pender the remainder of
his sheep, which were in the last stages
of starvation, on condition that he took
them away, so that he could not see
them die A couple of days-after Mr
Pender left rain came and left Mr Pen-
der with a fine flock. He used to run
his stock along the roads between Bulla
and Lancefield, which was known as
'Pender's run.'
Messrs Hume and Hovell, in their
first overland journey, must have crossed
the Deep Creek near Bulla, as the spot
where it is considered they crossed
Jackson's Creek is close to Mr A.
Randall's, in Tullamarine Island.
In 1860 the Burke and Wills ex-
pedition passed through Bulla, their
second camp being at a small water-
hole, traces of which are to be seen be-
hind the gorse bushes opposite the In-
verness Hotel, which was then kept by
Mr Melville.
A meeting was called on 23rd Octo-
ber, 1862, at the Bridge Inn for the
purpose of forming a Road Board Dis-
trict. Mr James Macintosh was in the
chair. The first Council was formed
and elected by a show of hands at the
meeting ; it consisted of Messrs Walter
Clark, Michael Loeman, Martin Batey,
James Macintosh, William Bethell,
Thomas Branigan, David Patulla,
Dugald Stewart, and John Dickins.
Mr James Macintosh was appointed
first chairman and Mr Walter Clark
occupied the chair the following year.
Mr Macintosh went to New Zealand,
where he took a prominent part in polit-
ics, and was Minister of Lands when
he died.
At that time the Bulla Road District
extended towards Melbourne as far as
Woods' Hotel, and the first ratepayers'
roll was revised at the Moone Ponds
Police Court, and signed by Messrs R.
McCracken, T. Napier, and M. Loeman.
After holding two or three meetings
at the Bridge Inn Mr Frost wanted to
charge the Council for the use of the room and Mr Melville of the Inverness
came to the rescue, and allowed the
council to have a room free of charge.
After holding their meetings for five
years in the places mentioned, the Coun-
cil built the present Shire hall, in which
they held their first meeting on 20th
November, 1867.
The Bulla district was the first in the
colony in which wheat was grown. Mr
Maurice M'Auliffe, of Wildwood, gives
interesting accounts of the farmers is
the early 'fifties carting their wheat in
to Melbourne to Gillespie's mills, and
bringing home their supplies of flour.
Mr William Hunter also had a mill on
the creek, just above Bulla, the ruins of
which are still to be seen. The late Mr
Donald Ross was one of the masons
employed in the building of it.
The first school in Bulla was built on
a piece of land which had been granted
to the Church of England, about one
hundred yards north of Bulla Bridge,
and had for the first teachers the
Misses Thorpe. Miss Dickins, Messrs
P. Loeman, E. Fanning, and J. Lawlor
were among their pupils.
This school did service from 1854 til
1870, when the present school was built.
The opening of the new school was cele-
brated by a grand ball, which was held
in a marquee opposite the Shire hall,
and a special treat given to the children
by the late Richard Brodie, of Helens-
ville.
In the early days of the district there
used to be a boiling-down works on
Glenara, just above old Glencairn dam,
and about 1867 a pottery works was
started by the Victorian Pottery Com-
pany alongside the kaolin deposit at
Bulla bridge.
These, with the flour mill referred to,
were the only manufactories established
in the district, and have long ceased to
exist.
Since the year 1870 the district has
simply been a farming one. With little
change or alteration, and very little
history can be recorded for these years.
The Oaklands Hunt Club was started
in 1888, Mr A. M'Dougall being the
first master.
The first show of the Bulla Horticul-
tural Society was held on lst May,
1897, Mr A. F. Daniel being presi-
dent, Mr E. Meeking secretary, and
Mr W. Peers* treasurer, and now com-
pletes its fourteenth year of existence
with this show,
OSWALD DANIEL.
(Age, 12 years 10 months). (P.2, Sunbury News, 4-6-1910.)
(*William Peers was Alister Clark's gardener on Glenara and deserves credit for his boss's fame as a breeder of Roses. According to Wally Mansfield,who lived on Roseleigh, adjoining Glenara, William Peers won Tatts and retired.)
REV. JOHN REID (ESSENDON AND NORTH MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA) RUFFLES SOME FEATHERS.
Those who have read JOHN THOMAS SMITH AND HIS ELECTORS would have seen a reference to the Rev. John Reid receiving a letter of encouragement and donations to further his mission after visiting the Goulburn Region. One of those who gave support was Peter Young who was a Free Presbyterian. The Presbyterian Church was quite fragmented and Young was involved in a battle with another faction over the establishment of a church at Broadmeadows Township.
However, the nastiness seems to have stepped up to another level in the case of Rev. John Reid. I will not quote from the many newspaper articles but merely give an outline of the story as I understand it. I came across this saga while seeking more information about Alexander Blair and investigating a theory that Peter Young's "Clyde Park, Westernport" might have actually been near Essendon, since the Historical Society near Clyde had never heard of Young or Clyde Park.
A meeting was held at Thomas Armstrong's "Coalville" to get a Presbyterian Church (which became St John's, Essendon) erected. The meeting resolved to ask Rev. John Reid to be the congregation's minister.(Argus 1-7-1852 page 5.) Alex Blair had been chairman at this meeting and was to occupy the chair at a later one concerning Rev. John Reid's call to the new North Melbourne church. He was also to be Rev. Reid's staunchest ally in his darkest hour.
Those prominent in the formation of the church were Armstrong, Blair,Thomas Rogerson, Dugald McPhail, James McNay (McNae), John and Quintin Dick, Joseph Pitcher (Pitches), George Barry, James Crighton and John T.Hinkins. Thomas Millar (the subject of another of my journals) was later appointed a trustee. Hinkins, the first postmaster and teacher at Moonee Ponds, if I remember "The Stopover That Stayed" correctly, was not a member of the church and was thanked for acting as Secretary and Treasurer. Dugald McPhail of Rose Hill was Alex Blair's neighbour, James McNae (possibly an early squatter?), whose house still stands, was in charge of Davies' vineyards on Ngarveno, south of Dean St, Moonee Ponds, John Dick was involved with land on the south side of Keilor Rd,and Joseph Pitches ran what was later Chadwick's Farmers' Arms Hotel across Buckley St from St John's and near Pitches St (Melway 28 G5).Of the other three I know little except that the Crighton name was prominent in the Essendon Football Club and a grandstand at Windy Hill bore the name.
Rev. Reid was soon busy performing marriages. In June, 1853, he conducted two of particular interest to me. He married Robert McDougall of Glenroy and Margaret, the daughter of John Rankin, at Roseneath Cottage near Flemington. This was almost certainly Rankin's house at the corner of Princes St and Raleigh's Punt Road (or in later terms, the corner of Rankins Rd and Macaulay Rd) a stone's throw from the Kensington Station of 1860. It is possible that John Rankin was one of those who enticed Rev. Reid to North Melbourne. Robert McDougall had been involved nearer to town in about 1850 when he built the original section of Dean's Hotel, at the corner of Mt Alexander Rd and Dean St, where the Moonee Ponds Tavern now stands. More details about Robert's time at Glenroy, Aitken's Estate and Arundel at Tullamarine are given in JOHN THOMAS SMITH AND HIS ELECTORS.
The other marriage hints at a relationship (through marriage) between Alex Blair and Thomas Rogerson, who took opposing sides in the issue of the manse at Essendon. Rev. Reid married Robert Rogerson and Christina, daughter of Alex. Blair, at St John's Presbyterian Church, Doutta Galla.
There seem to have been two issues behind Rev. John Reid's problems. The first is that he spent his own money improving the manse at Essendon and then placed it in the hands of people (who were not trustees) for the benefit of the parish. Two of the trustees, Thomas Millar and Thomas Rogerson, laid a complaint about this. The second problem stemmed from Rev. Reid bad-mouthing some of his prominent seat-holders in the new North Melbourne parish. A Flemington doctor must have copped a real spray and probably had enough influence with the trustees to have Rev. Reid and his congregation locked out of the Presbyterian school where services were held.
Rev. Reid was suspended as a minister. What happened next?
As will be the case in a future journal, SHOVEL TROUBLE AT HOBSON'S FLAT, (about an ongoing barney between two Rosebud pioneers), I will let you find the actual details on trove as I did, and make your own judgement about who were the goodies and baddies. All the articles are in The Argus, except for a good summary of the conflict on page 3 in the Sydney Morning Herald of 14-11-1856.
Postscript. Thomas Rogerson rang a bell but softly, like Guthrie and Glengyle. I have not been able to find my reference to the family but the attempt produced information about Dick and Crighton.
The 1849 applicants for admission to the electoral roll included: Thomas Rogerson, dwelling house, Saltwater River.
John Dick purchased crown allotments 17C and 17D, Doutta Galla bounded by Keilor Rd, Hoffmans Rd, the line of Farrell St (Melway 15 K11) and Spring St, from William Nicholson on 15-3-1854 but the title reverted to Nicholson on 22-7-1861.
Allotment 22 F, bounded by Parer Rd, the line of Nomad Rd in Essendon Aerodrome, Fraser St and Thomas St, was granted to A.Wright and J&T.Crighton in 1848.
Bob Chalmers of the Essendon Historical Society told me that David Rogerson was leasing Robert Hoddle's grant (the northern third of the present Moonee Valley Racecourse)at the time and "Coleville" might have been a house still standing in Thomas St. The Rogerson and Dick families were related by marriage and also an Armstrong family.(See ROOTSWEB WORLD CONNECT PROJECT: COTTERS, RUTHS, KEALEYS, CLANCYS by Mary Cotter.)
The Farmers' Society had a ploughing match on Messrs Rogerson and Dick's farm, which was probably in the parish of Yuroke, in 1849.(See The Argus 8-6-1849 page 2 DOMESTIC INTELLIGENCE.)
REV. WILLIAM H. TAYLOR'S EASY JIGSAW PUZZLE: SAFETY BEACH AND MAIN RIDGE, VIC. AUST.
Well it was easy for me because I cut the outline of the pieces (A DREAMTIME OF DROMANA, trove articles and the evidence of a foundation member of the Safety Beach Country Club) and knew how to fit them together. The following comes from comments under my RED HILL POST 1940 AND PROPOSED BACK TO RED HILL journal. Taylor, Bean and Roberts descendants would be unlikely to find them there,hence the new journal.
TAYLOR. On the 21st April, at Safety Beach, Dromana, Victoria, Rev. William H. Taylor, dearly loved husband of Esther, and loving father of Rev. F. W. Taylor (Numurkah),Will H. Taylor (450 Little Collins-street, Melbourne), Win (Mrs. W. G.Roberts, Main Ridge), Rene (Mrs.A. McCutcheon, Cavendish), and Doris (deceased). At rest.(P.1, Examiner, Launceston,3-5-1935.)
Now I'm wondering why this notice was in a Tassie newspaper and how Win Taylor came to meet W.G.Roberts of Main Ridge.
by itellya on 2015-02-11 07:59:59
TAYLOR/ ROBERTS/ BEAN.
Reverend Taylor (see previous comment) had probably been at Safety Beach for at least seven years and was involved with the Mornington Peninsula Development League, apparently handling the sale of badges to raise funds for improvements on Arthurs Seat.
PENINSULA DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE MEETING AT HASTINGS.
Frankston and Somerville Standard (Vic. : 1921 - 1939) Friday 16 November 1928 p 2 Article.
BEAUTIFUL MARINE DRIVE.
Rev. Taylor said how favorably impressed Mr. Clapp was with Marine Drive when he visited Mornington recently. Mr. Clapp was most anxious to see the road trafficable: Rev. Taylor said the best thanks of the league were due to Mr. Jackson for his efforts in having Marine Drive attended to in Flinders shire portion.
I was thinking Rev. Taylor might have been the Presbyterian minister at Dromana in the 1890's until I found this.
News of the Churches. MORNINGTON AND DROMANA CIRCUIT
Spectator and Methodist Chronicle (Melbourne, Vic. : 1914 - 1918) Wednesday 18 April 1917 p 439 Article
News of the Churches.
MORNINGTON AND DROMANA CIRCUIT (extract)
Mr Roberts was appointed the Sunday School visitor. Rev. W. H. Taylor reported that he had visited most of the Sunday Schools in the interest of the Young Australia Temperance League, and that nearly all the scholars had signed the pledge. The resignation of Mr.Trewin, the Junior Circuit Steward, on account of ill health, was accepted, and Mr. Counter was appointed in his place.
IT'S A SMALL WORLD! You can say that again! Okay, IT'S A SMALL WORLD!
This has nothing to do with Red Hill but after all the Red Hill Lions Club does publish HILL 'N' RIDGE and the Roberts family pioneered Main Ridge decades before it had that name.
I wouldn't mind betting that the Rev.W.H.Taylor was living in the house on the SOUTH west corner of Seaview and Victoria St, Safety Beach at the time of his death in 1935. This house was the homestead of Mr Bean,one time president of the R.A.C.V., who organised the R.A.C.V.speed trials at Safety Beach, and was probably introduced to Spencer Jackson by Rev.W.H.Taylor himself. (See my journals about SAFETY BEACH and SPENCER JACKSON AND THE BUS BAN for sources.)
GOLDEN WEDDING.
TAYLOR-BEAN-On the 2nd April, 1885, at the residence of the bride's parents "Sutton"
Haines street, North Melbourne, by the Rev J W Crisp, assisted by the Rev.W.H. Taylor, brother of the bridegroom Frank E Taylor, youngest son of Mr and Mrs.J.E. Taylor,North Melbourne to Louisa, eldest daughter of Mr and Mrs J.Bean. (Present Address, 20 Grace St, Moonee Ponds.)
(Family Notices,The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957) Tuesday 2 April 1935 p 1.)
REVIEW OF A HISTORY OF DISTRICT GOLF ON THE MORNINGTON PENINSULA (VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA.)
Whoever invented the word hacker must have been watching a golfer whose efforts on the golf course were similar to mine. But I loved the game despite my disability because each round had resulted in a nice walk. On the courses where I played, each fairway was like a lovely wide green path through a forest, not quite wide enough for a golfer who displayed more hooks than a fisherman and more slices than a baker. For a bloke who loved running through the Wombat State Forest at Blackwood, it was heaven! The author of this book likes another type of course and dropped the Dromana Historical Society's copy into me on the way home after a round at The Dunes. This is a links course, the first of several of this type designed on the ideally-suited Peninsula, and ever curious, I asked what Links meant in golf. I found a Wikipedia article with an aerial photo of the famed Links course at St Andrews in Scotland.
Links (Golf)
For those who have already seen the aerial photo, here's the summary of the article.
"A links is the oldest style of golf course, first developed in Scotland. The word "links" comes via the Scots language from the Old English word hlinc: "rising ground, ridge"[1] and refers to an area of coastal sand dunes and sometimes to open parkland. It can be treated as singular even though it has an "s" at the end and occurs in place names that precede the development of golf, for example Lundin Links, Fife.[2] It also retains this more general meaning in standard Scottish English. Links land is typically characterised by dunes, an undulating surface, and a sandy soil unsuitable for arable farming but which readily supports various indigenous browntop bent and red fescue grasses. Together, the soil and grasses result in the firm turf associated with links courses and the 'running' game. The hard surface typical of the links-style course allows balls to "run" out much farther than on softer turf course after a fairway landing. Often players will land the ball well before the green and allow it to run up onto the green rather than landing it on the green in the more targeted-landing style used on softer surfaces."
A pitch and run shot onto the green at The Dunes would require great accuracy judging by the green pictured in that Links' history (surrounded by so many bunkers that the approach reminded me of a crumpet!)
This book, entitled FROM COAST TO COUNTRY, has been a three year labour of love for its author, Trevor Roberts, the Golf Peninsula Vic* historian. My review's aim is to examine its value to historians wishing to write a history of the peninsula and family historians. HOWEVER, my focus has also turned to making sense of some confusing histories provided to the author by clubs such as Montuna. If Trevor had tried to do this, it would have involved a 30 year labour of frustration!
(*Golf Peninsula Vic was the result of a merger of the Peninsula District Golf Association and Mornington Peninsula District Women's Golf in mid 2015.)
The names index shows references to approximately 352 people many of whom have been champions. Apart from the history of the various clubs, the recording in one place of winners of various competitions is a main focus of the book. It is absolutely packed with photos of courses and winners. Rather than reproduce the index, I will describe photos-abbreviated as P (and those named in them) and lists, and note any information that tickles my fancy as a local historian.
Title page P Iconic ancient Moonah trees at the National Golf Club.
Table of Contents:
P.5 History of Golf on the Peninsula (P.10-14) History of Golf Clubs (P. 16-74) 25 clubs, courses.
P.6.Women's Golf 1949-2018: the organisation(P.78-82), champions 1968-2018 (P.89-90), events, women's pennant (P.103-132.)
P.7. Men's Golf 157-206: P.D.G.A , executives, life members,district champions, country teams, mid-week cup, masters' pennant, other men's events. Junior Golf (P. 241-258.)
P.8.BIBLIOGRAPHY P.271-2, APPENDIX 1 DROMANA GOLF CLUB P.274, APPENDIX 2 RYE GOLF LINKS P.276, APPENDIX 3 MT. ELIZA GOLF CLUB P.277, APPENDIX 4 CARRINGTON PARK GOLF CLUB P.278, NAME INDEX 281-299, SPECIAL THANKS 300.
P.10.Discovery of trophies and a scrapbook that inspired the history and sources of information,
P.11. Early private courses that became housing estates. PFlinders Golf Clubhouse circa 1948-54 that is now part of the clubrooms at Balnarring Race Course.
The statement that the Dromana Golf Club near the Dromana Primary School site was built in the 1930's is wrong. The course shown on Melbourne Brindle's map of Dromana in appendix 1 was drawn from his memories of Dromana before he left for America in 1918 at the age of about 14. The map was drawn in America decades later, showing his incredible visual recall that made him a famous illustrator. The course that was built in the 1930's was the DROMANA COUNTRY GOLF CLUB at Safety Beach. See DROMANA COUNTRY GOLF CLUB
P.12. P Early golfers, men and women, playing on the Flinders course, and players in front of the clubhouse at the Beaconshill course at Warburton.
P.13. The year of affiliation of each district club is given, Flinders, Mornington, Sorrento and Portsea being the Foundation clubs with the last two apparently having been a combined club from 1907 until 1925. One of the Growth clubs, Warburton became affiliated in 1952 and would have had lengthy trips to every away fixture until Beaconhills affiliated in 1964. Rosebud was affiliated in 1960 and Rosebud Country Club in 1962, the former's affiliation year previously not in my memory bank. Due to the end of the war, the end of petrol rationing and increased ownership of cars, the Peninsula experienced a huge upsurge of tourism, whole colonies of suburbanites camping together at Rosebud. Many of these were golfers!
In 1929, a new reserve for Rosebud had been obtained by Alfred Downward of Mornington, the local state member of parliament. A public course had been established on it in about 1951 if I recall correctly, but it was so popular with holiday-makers that the locals found it hard to slot in a round. Charles Coleman's BOGIES AND BIRDIES explained that this was the reason for the establishment of the Rosebud Country Club. Don Farquhar, blinded during the war, would not have been game to try his first go at blind golf on such a busy course, and did so at Mildura with the encouragement and assistance of Charles Coleman.
Other GROWTH CLUBS on the Peninsula to become affiliated were H.M.A.S CERBERUS, Carrington Park (formerly Rosebud) and Devilbend (in 1975.)The NEW ERA clubs, affiliated between 1976 and 2006, include Dromana's third club, Mount Martha Valley Country Club (now Safety Beach Golf Club) in 1991, and The Dunes (originally Limestone Valley Golf links) in 1994.
P.14. maps showing locations of Foundation, Growth and New Era clubs.
P.16. Flinders Golf Club. P David Myles Maxwell.
It is stated the David saw four roughly carved out holes at Flinders when he arrived to manage an onion-growing farm*, and that the imagination of the inaugural champion at the Melbourne Golf Club was stirred. In 1902, David set about forming the Flinders Golf Links on two pieces of land owned privately and by the Union Bank and within twelve months boasted a full eighteen holes. By the end of 1905, the club, affiliated with the V.G.A. since 1903, had 155 members.
I think this information about a bloke named MAXWELL, a name I'd thought to be of little importance in the history of Flinders, demonstrates that Trevor's book will be of great value to both local historians and family historians!
*MAXWELTON. The Barker Estate (portions of their run they had purchased as grants circa 1860) was subdivided in the early 1900's, one of the purchasers being a Mr Maxwell, who intended to grow onions on his farm, as did many of the other purchasers such as Mr Levien. If Mr Maxwell was not David, he was almost certainly a relative and possibly his father. If it was David, he might have been managing a neighbour's farm too. As far as can be worked out from the following article and the parish of Flinders map, Levien and Maxwell's blocks were near the south end of Punchbowl Road not too far south west of Flinders Township, Henry Tuck's Manton's Creek pre-emptive right, and of course the Flinders Golf Course.
AROUND FLINDERS,P.2, Mornington Standard, 13-9-1902.)
EXTRACT.
" LEVIEN'S.
Continuing some two miles or so along the road to Flinders we come to the land (also a portion of the Cape Schanck estate) recently purchased by some enterprising gentlemen for purposes of onion growing. Of these blocks the one in the best condition is about 94 acres, owned by Mr Levien, M.L.A. As regards the soil on the holding, Levien, who is acknowledged one of the best authorities on onion growing in the State speaks highly. The principal drawback is, in his opinion, the fresh briny breezes which blow from the Southern Ocean and are the delight of the jaded city visitors in the summer time. Most of the block is laid down in onions, and Mr Jennings, who is managing the place; has the land ploughed and worked until it was in a very friable condition and made an excellent seed bed. There are now a good many weeders and onion thinners on this and the adjacent properties, and the place has a much busier appearance than it had 12 months ago, when the land was used for grazing purposes only.
MAXWELL'S .
Adjoining is about75 acres recently purchased by Mr Maxwell. On this property stands "The Grange," which was Mr Barker's first homestead after he took up the Cape Schanck run. In spite of the eloquent request in verse,written by a local poet*, who is a true disciple of "bard Robbie," and printed in these columns some time ago, this place is still known by the old title and has not been re christened "Maxwellton". Mr Maxwell is working his onion crop on the share system with Mr Nicholls, who is also a new arrival in the district. The hay crop at "The Grange," alias Maxwellton," is also looking very well."
*HENRY TUCK JNR'S POEM.
MAXWELL'S BONNIE BRAES.
[By Henry Tuck, Flinders.)
The Spring returns again, Maggie*,
With bud and bloom to cheer,
And memory bears us backwards
To the spot we both revere.
Ah! there 'mid Nature's sunshine
We spent our brightest days,
And called it New Maxwelton,
Ere Maxwell saw the braes.
Again I twine a garland
To wreathe your bonnie face,
And view the landscape o'er
From yonder lofty place.
The arrowy shafts of sunlight
Shoot forth in golden rays,
And bathe the oaks and hill-tops
Of Maxwell's bonnie braes.
And we built our airy castle
In glowing colours set,
And through misfortune dark and fell
It has not crumbled yet.
Once more in fancy, Maggie,
We hand in hand do stray
And call it still Maxwelton
And love the dear old braes.
(P.4, Mornington Standard, 27-9-1902.)
*Henry Tuck Junior who was born on Arthurs Seat while his father was building the historic McCrae Cottage, married Margaret Dowling, daughter of Flinders pioneers, in 1877.
DAVID MYLES MAXWELL'S WEDDING NOTICE.
MAXWELL—VALANTINE.—On the 10th May, at Invergowrie, Rose-street, Armadale, by the Rev. D. S. Maxwell, David Myles, third son of the Rev. D. S. Maxwell, to Rebecca, third daughter of the late David H. Valantine (Messrs. M'Clure, Valantine, and Co.), Melbourne.(P.1, Argus, 28-6-1898.)
Trevor Roberts mentioned that David Maxwell hailed from St Andrews in Scotland. He obviously remained at Flinders for many decades. You'll never guess the name of his property!
MAXWELL.-On August 31, at private hospital, Melbourne, Rebecca, dearly beloved wife of the late David Miles (sic) Maxwell, of St. Andrew's, Flinders, loving sister of Margaret (Mrs. R. B. Mair) and Mary (Mrs.J. A. Shaw). (Privately cremated September 1.) P.2, ARGUS, 2-9-1942.)
REBECCA'S DEATH RECORD.
MAXWELL Rebecca, Death
mother: Rebecca, nee MCCLURE
father: VALANTINE David Hood
places of birth and death: MELBOURNE, MELBOURNE EAST
age, year, register number: 75, 1942, 9467/1942
Mr. D .M. MAXWELL.
Mr.David Myles Maxwell, 77 years,of St Andrews guest house, Flinders,died in a Melbourne private hospital on Saturday. A son of the late Rev. David Skinner Maxwell, a Presbyterian minister,Mr. Maxwell was a native of Montrose*
(Scotland). He was a brother of the late Mr. George Maxwell, M.P., who for many years represented the Fawkner
seat. Mr. Maxwell is survived by a widow. Rev. John Mackenzie conducted the service when the cremation took place on Saturday afternoon. (P.12, The Age, 24-1-1938.)
*Montrose is 69 km north along Scotland's east coast from St Andrews, via Dundee.
An article found last night stated that the mysterious Mr Maxwell of Flinders was the brother of a lawyer who was tough on witnesses. This application for probate of a South Australian, obviously a relative, shows that in 1913 David had already named his guest house as "St Andrews".
PAGE 5, ARGUS, 5-12-1913, COLUMN 6.
ALEXANDRINA ARNOT MACPHERSON
EXTRACT. CREDITORS WERE ASKED TO SEND PARTICULARS TO "George Arnot Maxwell, of Selborne Chambers, Bourke street, Melbourne, Victoria, barrister at law, and David Miles Maxwell, of St. Andrew's, Flinders, Victoria, householder, the executors therein named" etc.
TRUSTEES OF "BASS PARK" IN 1914
Bass Park was the private land purchased by the golf land company given to the government in exchange for the crown land that had become part of the course.
P.17. David, honorary secretary of the club since its inception,and the committee worked to secure the site, a company formed to buy the private land and some of this land being exchanged to the government for the part of the course that had been set up on crown land.
P MODERN VIEW OF THE CLUBHOUSE AND PART OF THE COURSE IN THE BACKGROUND.
THE ORIGINAL LINKS. I knew that one of the holes had been named after Bill Darley, handicapped from childhood when he was gored by a pig. There were some other fascinating names for holes, such as Niagara (3rd) and Spion Kop (4th.) Niagara was of course down hill and Spion Kop back up to the top of the cliff with any shot that fell short classed as out of bounds. It is likely that the 4th hole was named by a member recently returned from the Boer War. The Boers were obviously fortified on the top of a hill of that name, 38 km west south west of Ladysmith and the British forces faced the seemingly impossible task of making the top of Spion Kop (Dutch: Slag bij Spionkop; Afrikaans: Slag van Spioenkop) to relieve Ladysmith. It was more than seemingly impossible, the battle resulting in a Boer victory, and perfectly described the chances of hitting the ball up to the top of the cliff on the fourth when a south westerly was likely to blow the ball back to the tee near the high water mark.
P. 18. The ladies played alternate holes instead of these 3rd and 4th holes. Other colourful names for features on the course were the Coffin and Purgatory Ravines and Aunt Sally.
I've read plenty of trove articles about horse racing on the peninsula, including at Flinders. Never once did I see the location of the Flinders racecourse mentioned. It was on the golf course and last used in 1926. The finishing post was near the end of Wood St.
P Dr Alister Mackenzie, famed course architect, was brought to Australia to design the Royal Melbourne Golf Club's new links at Sandringham in 1926 and to spread the expense, Flinders and nine other clubs were invited to avail themselves of his services, Flinders contribution to be 100 pounds which was raised with ease, oversubscribed by 14 pounds. He recommended the closure of the 3rd and 4th holes.
P.19. The Flinders members must have thought that golf wasn't meant to be easy. They enjoyed the battle with Niagara and Spion Kop. The recommended closure of these two holes was rejected and immediate carrying out of the other recommendations was beyond the clubs resources at the time. However The Coffin where both the Coffin and Purgatory ravines were poised to swallow any less than perfectly hit shots has become the club's signature hole.
P.20. Mornington Golf Club.
P map and layout of course in 1904 and circa 1930 respectively. Modern photo of bunker and green with bay and harbour in the background.
The club celebrated its centenary in 2004.The club's activities started on Grover's, Barrett's and Cook's paddocks behind the Tanti Hotel.Mr W.S.Cook, a solicitor became the club president in the years before the first world war. After no sign of activity between 1915 and 1925, because the above-mentioned paddocks had been subdivided, a new course of nine holes was established at the racecourse, mainly inside the track but with some tees outside it. With the military occupying the track in 1940, the committee negotiated use by members of the 9 hole private course of the Dava Lodge Guesthouse.
P.21.
P Dava Lodge course circa 1947, map of the Mornington course, presumably as leased from Sir George Tallis in 1946, modern photo of part of the course with the bay and Sunnyside beach in the background.
The first nine holes were opened on 29-4-1950 and the other nine were opened not long afterwards. The site was later purchased from the Tallis family.
Without local knowledge, Trevor could only work with information supplied by the various golf clubs. He's found more than has been posted by the club on its website, such as the course lay-outs and maps, from Ian Gatliff's ROUND ON THE HILL:THE HISTORY OF MORNINGTON GOLF CLUB 1904-2004. I felt duty-bound to add something more. I wonder if Ian found this achievement.
COUNTRY GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP.
At the country meeting at Fishermen's Bend, on Wednesday Mr. S. P.Townsend, of Mornington, gained the
distinction of being the first country champion of Victoria. (Much detail of the contest.)
P.4, KYNETON GUARDIAN, 19-9-1914.
Good ol' S.P. was still starring when his only son, Richard Denis (Hare?) Townsend became engaged* to Dorothy in 1935. From the son's birth record, I was able to establish that Victoria's first Country Champion was Samuel Phillip Townsend.
*Richard married Muriel Dorothy Dawborn in 1937.
TOWNSEND
Richd Denis (Hart?), Birth
mother: Isabella, nee RICHARDSON
father: Saml Philip
place of birth, year, reg. no. SCHNAPPER POINT, 1909 6249/1909
YA GOTTA LAUGH. Whether the champ's son was a hart or a hare, he would have had to be wary of hunt clubs!
P.22.Sorrento Golf Club.
P drawing of the (1912?) clubhouse, wrongly captioned as the original clubhouse, the first clubhouse leased from November 1907 till 1912.
As was the case at Flinders, the members of the golf club, established at a meeting held at the Conti on 30-3-1907, formed a golf lands company to purchase the site for a course which the golf club would lease. The owner of the site, James Wright, was an original shareholder of the company, as were Henry Bellingham, Howard Smith, Isaac Edward Bensilum, Augustus Frederick Hiskens (see SORRENTO SCHOOL HISTORY below) and John Winterburn Kemp (the teacher after Hiskens at the Sorrento State School), which was situated on the Nepean Highway near the club's present 17th green.
Portsea children had previously been taught by the teacher at the Quarantine Station, with lessons conducted across the fence, which was a most unsatisfactory situation, and the Sorrento school was built on this site between the two townships*. It was possibly because of this combined school that the golf club was originally named Sorrento-Portsea. *See SORRENTO SCHOOL HISTORY
P.23.
P Clubhouse opening in 1927, current clubhouse.
The original course consisted of nine holes and was accessed via lanes now known as Greenwood Avenue and Booroondara Road. In November 1907, the weatherboard cottage which served as the clubhouse until 1912 was rented for 8 shillings per week. The club's land was declared a sanctuary for native game. In 1909, Portsea was dropped from the club's name for reasons not explained in the minutes.
P.24-25. Double-page photo of the course in early times looking towards the clubhouse with 1st green and 2nd tee in foreground. Plenty of holes in the ground (bunkers) but not a sign of the many lime quarries which had been filled in!
The discovery of the death of James Scott, a Sorrento resident for many years, in 1907 (in a par after the one about the Sorrento-Portsea links), led to another discovery, an amusing tale about J.D.A.Scott, the Sorrento Golf Club architect and professional, who was in demand in either capacity from clubs as far afield as Sale and Colac, but disappointed the Sorrento members who were champions in business affairs but chumps on the course.
CHUMPS, NOT CHAMPS
THE ABOVE GIVES SOME INDICATION OF THE DETAIL THAT WILL BE FOUND FOR EACH COURSE DISCUSSED IN THE BOOK. SO I DO NOT INFRINGE COPYRIGHT, I WILL CONFINE MYSELF TO PROVIDING NAMES OF PEOPLE INVOLVED AND DESCRIBING PHOTOS AND LISTS FROM NOW ON.
P.26-7.THE DUNES GOLF LINKS.
In January 1994, Duncan Andrews P bought a partially built golf course (Limestone Valley)designed by Colin Campbell from butcher Vin Jervis. There was hardly a tree on the property.
Whether Andrews was a saint or not, his decision, perhaps inspired by his own surname, may have made him think of the type of golf courses famed in Scotland, the birthplace of the game, such as St Andrews.
He decided to take a punt that golfers in Australia might like a course that had no trees. The course superintendent, Simon Muller, who moved to The Dunes in 1912 after 12 years at Old Melbourne commented,"It started a bit of a renaissance here in Australia of links golf courses."
The secret to the course's continued relevance is that it allows scratch markers and hackers to derive satisfaction from a round of golf. Andrews worked closely with designer Tony CashmoreP to ensure there was none of the intellectual snobbery in the design which would see the ordinary golfer who strays marginally off the fairway at times losing heaps of balls in ridiculously high rough. Sullivan's* lime kiln P, lovingly restored, would be of great interest to the historically-interested golfer, or even Mark Twain who considered that golf was a waste of a good walk!
In about 1843 the elderly Dennis and Honora Sullivan moved to Point Nepean to start lime burning, as did James Ford, the founder and namer of Portsea, who married their daughter, Hannah in 1841. In 1852 the Ticonderoga arrived at the heads, with so many passengers fever-stricken that the authorities did not dare let the vessel proceed to quarantine facilities near Melbourne (Elwood?)in case some of the inmates escaped. The Sullivans' land was quickly taken over with compensation being paid. Patrick Sullivan, by now head of the family, moved it to Rye and continued lime burning there. After Patrick's death, his son James concentrated on the Gracefield hotel in Rye and establishment of a firewood business, and placed Antonio Albress in charge of the kiln, which remains on the links. Albress was a Cape Verde Islander, whose name sounded like Albas in Portugese, and the author of LIME LAND LEISURE speculated that Antonio Albas was Tony Salvas (another Cape Verde Islander.) That sort of error is what convinced me to extend my local history research to the Mornington Peninsula in 2010.
P.28-9. THE DUNES GOLF CLUB.
At Melway 157 E 10, we see Links Rd. I think it had something to do with the Sorrento Downs Golf Club.
Amazingly the location of the course is still on the internet.
"Sorrento Downs Golf Course
Sorrento Downs Golf Course is a golf course in Victoria and has an elevation of 10 metres. Sorrento Downs Golf Course is situated southeast of Sorrento and is close to Tuckey Track Reserve."
Trevor described its location in this way."The area in question included a 12 hole golf course and adjoining undeveloped land bounded by Melbourne Rd and houses facing (fronting)Tarakan Ave, Petrel Ave.,Westmore Ave., Lister Ave. and Collins Parade, for which general approval for subdivision of 360 building blocks had been previously obtained."
In July 1994, members of the club were informed that the whole property had been sold by David Deague to a company headed by M.Steel. The course remained open until December 1994. As the V.G.A. would recognise only one club per course, sharing another course with an existing club was out of the question and discussions with Steve Montgomerie, manager of the Dunes Golf Links, revealed that this was the only local course with no V.G.A. affiliations.
After discussions with Dan Andrews, the owner of the Dunes Links, it was agreed that the club would transfer to its new home on 1-2-1995.
The club's history was compiled and written by John Fitzgerald and George Richards with further details written by club secretary Trevor Roberts (1999-2003) and other members.
Mr Andrews allowed the club to use the storeroom under the original building as temporary clubrooms until the completio of the new clubhouse in 2000. P.Presumably both adjacent buildings are shown on page 29.
The club was incorporated in June 1995. Some of the Limestone Valley golfers had joined with the Sorrento Downs members when they moved to the Dunes Links. I hadn't mentioned it earlier because I couldn't recall where Limestone Valley was. The penny finally drops! That's what The Dunes was called when it was owned by Vin Jervis*. (See the previous chapter.)
* A BIT ABOUT VIN JERVIS
Garth Jacoby was the inaugural Pennant Captain in 1999, guiding one team. Under John Cotter's Captaincy from 2000 to 2004, with expert tuition from the club professional, David Hogben (2001-2004)some success was experienced. The club's highlight has been the Division 1 team , under the management of Denis Oliver, winning a threepeat of Pennant finals from 2014, a feat achieved by only two clubs in the district, Portsea and Rosebud Country Club.
P.30-35. WARBURTON GOLF CLUB.
P FIVE BEAUTIFUL PHOTOS OF THE COURSE, THREE FROM EARLY DAYS.
In the 1930's, several local businessmen persuaded Phil Mayer, proprietor of the Warburton Chalet and St Andrews Guest House, to allow them to lay out a few holes on 20 acres of grazing land, a mile on the Melbourne side of the town, on which the guest house was located. The game became so popular that Phil engaged the services of course architect Hedley Vernon Morcom to design a course on Chalet land. Despite depression difficulties in 1932, Phil engaged local workers who constructed a nine hole course using horse and scoop, pick and shovel.
Those using the original course realised that the Chalet course offered a challenge to the finest golfers, and in 1935, Phil agreed to the proposed club using his course. It affiliated with the ruling body as the Upper Yarra Golf Club and changed its name to the Warburton Golf Club in July 1951.
CRISIS. Following the death of Phil in the early 50's, the course was managed by his widow, Winnie, and his brother Julius, but after Winnie's death in the mid 60's there was pressure from the family to realise assets. You'll have to read the book to find how the club's loss of its home was averted. (You won't find out on the internet!)
People involved were: Bill Hester, Peter Bartlett, Ivan Weinert,Harry Levy, Orm Singer and Ken Ireland (sub-committee to investigate purchase); Malcolm and Peter Walker, locals who purchased the course and advised that it would be enlarged to 18 holes, (designed by Jack Watson and opened by V.G.A.President, Jack Lovett on 10-5-1970); Messrs Hester, Singer, Peter Bartlett Jnr, R.Eddy, Jack Coulson and C. Middleway (sub committee in 1972 appointed to consider an offer from the owners to lease or purchase); R.Leith, O.Singer, Ross Eddy*, P.Bartlett Jnr. (trustees. *Ross Eddy resigned in 1973 due to his transfer to W.A.); Jack Coulson (headed a sub committee to plan extensions to the clubhouse.)
AFFILIATION WITH DISTRICT CLUBS. Upper Yarra Golf Club, as it was then known, together with the Mornington Peninsula clubs, was allocated to the West Gippsland District Association; (I think this means in regard to country week.)
John Beckwith (Ranelagh) and A.A.B.Webster (Long Island) called a meeting, held at the Grand Hotel, Frankston because the West Gippland District was too large in area. Warburton was represented by the President, Harry Martyr, and captain Peter Bartlett Snr. It was 1952 and Warburton became a foundation* member of the Peninsula District Golf Association.
* This puzzled me because I presumed that the FOUNDATION CLUBS, (see page 13), had been members of the Peninsula DISTRICT Golf Association but apparently the body's name was PENINSULA GOLF ASSOCIATION.
Gippsland Golf Association.
Traralgon Record (Traralgon, Vic. : 1886 - 1932) Tuesday 20 April 1926 p 2 Article
On the motion of Messrs Wall and Heath, the secretary was instructed to write to the V.G.A. re Country Golf Week, asking them to reconsider their decision to include the Peninsula Golf Association in our section.
I was apparently wrong earlier, while discussing Warburton on page 13, in assuming the northern clubs had to travel to the Peninsula for pennant matches.
"The Association (P.D.G.A.) was divided into North and South Zones due to the considerable distance between the clubs. The north consisted of Beaconhills, Montuna, Emerald and Warburton. Emerald later withdrew from the Association."
In 1962, Peter Bartlett, Warburton's captain, was elected Vice-President of P.D.G.A. and continued in that position until 1971, when on the retirement of Mornington's Jack Watson, he became President. Peter became the third life member of P.D.G.A. in 1972.
P.36-7. DEVILBEND GOLF CLUB.
The article provided by the club is also posted verbatim on the internet. Situated at Melway 146 J-K 12 to 152 J-K1 and fronting Loders Rd, the 141 acre site was obviously obtained with the help of the Shire of Hastings after Cr Cyril Fox had moved at a public meeting attended by 80 people on 28-2-1973: "That this meeting resolve to form a Golf Club in the Shire of Hastings." At a further meeting on 18-4-1973, the club was formed and the draft constitution was
accepted. A co-op was formed and the take-up of memberships was excellent. The dams, which obviously provide water hazards as well as providing a picturesque setting, were constructed as well as nine holes so that the course could be used and a year later the course had been extended to 18 holes. Finally on 20-12-1975, Club President, Kevin Phyland, hit off from the 1st tee to declare the course open. In October 1995 a new lease for the next 21* years was signed, providing security and the capacity to add another nine holes.(*Internet.)
I don't like loose ends so I've asked Rick Warren, the Devilbend Pro., if a new lease has been obtained and for how many years.
EMAIL RECEIVED 17-12-2019.
Hi ---,
This has been passed onto me by our Pro Rick.
---, the Club signed a new 21-year lease in 2017.
I hope this helps.
Kind Regards
Tim O'Sullivan
General Manager
Devilbend Golf Club
P. 38. PORTSEA GOLF CLUB.
Arthur Relph? Ive never seen him mentioned in regard to Portsea. Was he Arthur J.Relph, the keen photographer of the bush? No![
"What a magnificent golf links this country would make!" thought Arthur William Relph as he surveyed the land between the Quarantine Station and the ocean. Eventually about 90 acres were set aside by the Portsea Land Company on 18-6-1923 and the nine hole links first opened for play from December 1924 to Easter 1925, the club's committee first meeting on the last day of 1925. A tenth hole was added in 1926, an 11th late in the decade, 12th and 13th in 1930, a 14th in 1934, 15th and 16th in 1955, and 17th and 18th in 1965. It seems that, like at Flinders, some of the holes have special names such as "Delgany" P, the par 3 13th hole.
P The clubhouse from Delgany Hill, c.1960, Juniors showing the Way at Portsea (Adam Cervi, Ryan Grant, Craig Scott, Louise MacDonald.)
As mentioned earlier, the club histories were mainly provided by the clubs themselves. This one, apart from demonstrating how the number of holes was increased in several stages, is frankly disappointing. Who were the people involved? What was the relationship between the Portsea Land Company and the members of the golf club? Who designed the course? Exactly what did Arthur William Relph do to establish the club? Why does the history state that Relph set out to acquire the land and later state that the club leased it from a land company?
Perhaps the club may wish to add the following to its history on the internet which added nothing to what it provided to Trevor. The land company obviously consisted of members of the club, as at Flinders, Sorrento etc.
THE PORTSEA GOLF LINKS,
The laying-out of the Portsea Golf Links
has been proceeding steadily during the
winter, Mr. Jock Young, the Riversdale
professional, directing the work. The
course is already taking shape, a con-
siderable amount of ti-tree scrub has been
cleared from the fairways, nine tees and
greens have been formed, and are now
being planted with grass, and a water
supply is being installed, several large
tanks and many thousand feet of piping
having been purchased for this purpose.
The Portsea Lands Company Pty. Ltd.
which controls the property, and is laying
out the links, has been registered, and
the following directors have been elected:
Messrs. A. W. Ralph (Relph) (chairman); Harold
Armytage, E. G. Brooke, W.W.Gudgeon
W. L. Davidson, H. J. Manson, .and J. B.
Young.
For the ensuing summer months a tem-
porary nine-hole course is being laid out
for the use of visitors. Next year the
fairways will be ploughed and planted
with suitable grasses, and the club house
will be erected.(P.14, Table Talk, 11-10-1923.)
These links will need to be pasted into your search bar to discover more about people involved in the club.
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/182548128
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/146583740
And let us not forget that there was earlier a combined Sorrento-Portsea club (until 1909, as pointed out in the Sorrento history.) https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/65828572
P.40-41. MONTUNA GOLF CLUB (1922-80); BERWICK MONTUNA (1980-2016.) Melway 212 B4.
THE MONTUNA GOLF COURSE OCCUPIES THE SITE OF THE HOMESTEAD OF ONE OF THE FIRST OVERLANDERS
LOTS OF BIRDIES AT MONTUNA
It is difficult to establish the size of the Montuna property on trove because the Luke family remained in ownership and there were no advertisements for its sale. Edmund Lake (a retired artist and photographer) died in 1938 but his widow, Ida Florence was probably still living on Montuna until her death in 1960. She celebrated her 90th birthday there in 1952* and was probably the Mrs Luke mentioned in her daughter's death notice in 1953.
LUKE.— On March 12 (suddenly), at his residence, "Montuna," Beaconsfield, Edmund Thomas, loved husband of Ida Florence, Monte, Ernest, Una, Vic, Bert (Lill (Mrs. Ashcroft), Kelvey and Vera (Mrs. Dennis), aged 74 years.
(P.1, The Age, 14-3-1938.)
* Reunion for 90th Birthday
The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954) Saturday 17 May 1952 p 3 Article
LUKE Ida Florence, Death, mother's surname: MASON, father:PEARSON Charles Kelney
places of birth and death: AVOCA, BEACONSFIELD
Age, year, registration number: 98, 1960, 22330/1960
It is difficult to understand what 1922 signifies in 1922-1980. The courses, both at The Lakes and on Montuna seem to have been constructed in about 1928. As correctly stated in the history, the Montuna course was closed (because of the ill-health of Ernie and Bert.)
The earliest and only report of the Montuna Golf Club before 1946 was in 1932 when the word, club, may have been wrongly used instead of "course". "Members of the Pakenham Golf Club will pay a visit to the Montuna Golf Club next Saturday." (P.4, The Dandenong Journal, 13-10-1932.)
The same error may exist in this 1946 report of the revival of the Montuna golf "club" ,which provides great detail about the people involved. It will be interesting to see if the former players at the Lakes Golf Club (Ernie Dennis etc) are mentioned. (SOME WERE. TOM BLACK WAS ELECTED AS PRESIDENT.)
The course was built by Ernie and Bert at the suggestion of their father, Edmund Lake, who'd brought the Upper Beaconsfield property in 1907 and named it Montuna (after the two children whose names I've put in bold type in Edmund's death notice above and would not appear to be the two youngest children as claimed.)
The course opened for public use in November 1929. The history does not say when it was closed due to ill health BUT IT WAS SOME YEARS BEFORE THE 1946 MEETING.
The formation of the club came about through a number of locals who used to play at the Lakes Golf Club (now Beacon Hills.) The persons concerned were Ernie Dennis, Ossie Williams, George Bould, Vic Barlow,, Fred Black and Tom Black.
The Lakes, at the time was owned by a company whose manager, Herbie B.Falconer, suggested that we form a golf club but the company had decided to sell the land which became Beaconhills. AT WHAT TIME? The year mentioned previous to the use of these three words in the fourth paragraph was 1941 (at the end of the first paragraph) when Lilly Luke's store became a post office. (No year is mentioned in relation to THE FORMATION OF THE CLUB.)
Those interested in forming a local club held a meeting in the Beaconsfield Hall at which it was decided to approach the Lukes with a view to making Montuna their home club.
It was decided to take up the option of purchase. To raise a deposit, seven members each put up one hundred pounds free of interest. J.S.Loveridge, W.Johnston and T.F.Black were appointed trustees.
In 1946* they started operations......all the work done by members.... The late Sid Thewlis brought his field mowers and hay rake to do the fairways, the greens were cut by hand mowers.
* At last some indication of the meaning of AT THAT TIME is given. It does not mean 1922, the year that a headline reader would assume marked the formation of the Montuna Golf Club, 1928, the year Ernie and Bert finished constructing their course, 1929, the year the course was first used. It is possible that Ernie and Bert had taken six years to complete their golf course and had started in 1922. The purchase of the golf course obviously did not take place until after the death of Ida Luke's daughter in 1953 or Ida in 1960 unless they only purchased part of the Montuna property. Note that the operations mainly involved restoring the course which had not been used for several years (as reported in the 1946 revival of the Montuna golf "club" article.)
Once again an important date is not given, that of the purchase.
Before purchasing from the Lukes, the water supply was limited to what could be obtained from the dam between the third and fifth fairways. After the purchase a lease was obtained to pump water from the Cardinia Creek (the lease had been held by the Lukes.)
A clubhouse was constructed in 1946 and demolished for a second building adjacent to the first tee which is still in use re green fee players etc. A new clubhouse to provide better facilities for members was planned in 1964, completed in 1969 with the latest extension completed in 1979. (A pity that such clear timelines were not given earlier in the history!)
Montuna was originally in the West Gippsland Country District, with headquarters at Warragul. Sid Thewlis and Tom Black were the delegates, continuing in this role after the club was transferred to the Peninsula District Golf Association (in 1964,as stated on page 13 of the book-another important date missing from the club's history.)
No detail is given about why the club was renamed as Berwick Montuna Golf Club, apparently in 1980. The most recent refurbishment to the clubhouse was completed in 2007.
PTwo shots of the course (beautiful parkland!)and a recent one of the clubhouse.
As this journal is approaching capacity and further information may be lost if I exceed it, I will now concentrate on naming names of people who have contributed to, or excelled in Peninsula District Golf.
P.42. THE NATIONAL GOLF CLUB. First launched in Feb. 1885 and was claimed to be the first new golf club in Melbourne for approximately 60 years. I was going to state that testing the veracity of the claim would be an interesting piece of research but I thought about William Allison Blair Senior's former farm at Braybrook and the claim was shot down in flames within seconds. They bragged about their four courses and their designers but gave no indication of where they are. The only part of the WE LOVE US piece that is of interest to me is that the Long Island Course is not actually on LONG ISLAND. I can remember some years ago searching on Melway for such an island in the bay near Frankston. No such thing! The island was bounded by water sure enough; the bay on the west and Kananook Creek from the Carrum Creek (renamed Patterson River after a politician)to its mouth in Frankston near the hotel that Mark Young established. The course is on the east side of Kannanook Creek at Melway 99 G10 near the site of the former Frankston Drive-In Theatre.
P. 44-53 GOLF AT ROSEBUD INCLUDING CARRINGTON PARK GOLF CLUB ON P.51-2 AND BAY VIEW PUBLICITY ON P.53.
ROSEBUD COUNTRY CLUB
THE CLUB ON THE HILL.
The title is misleading because the country club course (2 x 18 holes) is on the former Wannaeue Estate on the Boneo plain (roughly Melway 170 B-E 7) and the club or course on the hill was The Rosebud Park Public Golf Course (Now Bay View) on the north side of Elizabeth Drive at Melway 170 J4.
The article about the origins of golf in Rosebud contributed by the country club (Dorothy Mortlock and the author of THE STORY OF ROSEBUD COUNTRY CLUB 1962-2012, Bill Hitchins) explains that information is scarce because most of those involved had passed away and any records that had been kept were destroyed in a clubhouse fire in 1965.
The article states in regard to the group of golfers inspired by Scotland-born solicitor Straun Wright- Smith who had a practice at Rosebud, that they formed the Rosebud Park Golf Club. But government regulations and the terms of the lease meant the golf club could not deal directly with the Lands Department and instead had to FORM a Park Trust to do so on its behalf. Wrong as this assumption was, it is based on a strong connection between the club and trust memberships. Whenever land was set aside from crown land, for a church, reserve etc. trustees were appointed. By circa 1950, shire councillors were often acting as trustees of such land, (as representatives of the Land Department. Crs.Bert Herman, Reg. Henderson and Ray Baker were successively elected to Chair the Trust in the mid 1950's. All three were strong supporters of both Rosebud Park and later Rosebud Country Club. P.46) However the Rosebud Park Trust had existed for decades, ever since Alf Downward had obtained the land for a recreation reserve (with H.M.Clemenger of "Parkmore" being one of the original trustees, as stated in the 1929 article.)
The funniest thing and strongest evidence for the wrong assumption was that Fred Bishop was the secretary of both the club and the trust, frequently firing off angry letters to HIMSELF.
The above assumption was apparently in Charles Coleman's BOGIES AND BIRDIES. Another account of Rosebud Park Golf Club's formation mentioned in the history stated that the trust started the golf club which is highly unlikely too.
What is stated in the history (whose author was unaware of the Lands Minister, Alf Downward's achievement of having Rosebud Park reserved for public recreation)was that Straun Wright- Smith, who was a Flinders Shire Councillor, had seen (probably in correspondence to the council)that the Lands Department wanted something done to increase use of Rosebud Park; it being too far from Rosebud and lacking attractions offered by the summit views and Kings Falls on Arthurs Seat, to which picnic parties often walked. (Ethel and Laura Fountain's memoirs.). It was the Lands Department's ultimatum to the shire to USE IT OR LOSE IT that led to the formation of the club. (P.44.)
I will repeat what I have written on page 13 about Alf's achievement and why some Rosebud Park golfers decided to purchase their own course, and present evidence that interest in obtaining a course had been generated in 1946 (three years before 1949 as claimed in the history) and strongly supported by Cr Forrest Edmund (Joe) Wood, who was also pushing to solve overcrowding at Rosebud State School and get a High School so that Southern Peninsula students weren't spending countless hours travelling to and from Frankston High.
In 1929, a new reserve for Rosebud had been obtained by Alfred Downward of Mornington, the local state member of parliament.. A public course had been established on it in about 1951 if I recall correctly, but it was so popular with holiday-makers that the locals found it hard to slot in a round. Charles Coleman's BOGIES AND BIRDIES explained that this was the reason for the establishment of the Rosebud Country Club. Don Farquhar, blinded during the war, would not have been game to try his first go at blind golf on such a busy course, and did so at Mildura with the encouragement and assistance of Charles Coleman.
Re Don Farquhar at Mildura. I tried to find the article when I was discussing page 13. This is not the version that I've included in the Rosebud Sea Scouts History which mentioned that Charles Coleman was a member at Rye (the McDonalds' course south of the cemetery.)
BLIND MAN GOLF STAR
A BLIND man played golf at Mildura this week and drove a ball 250 yards. Donald Farquhar, of Rosebud, Victoria, was
blinded in 1942 when in the nose of a Flying Fortress hit by ground-fire in a raid on Jap-held Rabaul. At Mildura on holiday, Farquhar and his wife were caddying for friends, Charles Coleman and his wife, of Rosebud.
Farquhar, who played golf before the war, had a few swings with a club, then played 18 holes, the last four in par.
He teed-up each ball on the fairway. On the green Coleman rattled the pin in the hole to give him direction and
distance when putting.
Farquhar conducts a boat-hire business, does engine repairs, painting, and other maintenance himself.
(P.3, The Sun, Sydney, 8-7-1951.)
PROPOSED GOLF LINKS AT ROSEBUD.
Flinders Shire will give all help possible towards establishing a golf course on a recreation reserve of 150 acres at the rear of Rosebud.
Cr. F. Wood speaking on the proposal, said if a links could be established, it would be a tremendous asset to the whole shire. Several folk were keen to see links established, and council help would be appreciated.
The enterprise, he felt sure, would be a splendid proposition.(P.6, Standard, Frankston, 21-3-1946.)
SOME OTHER CONTRIBUTORS (to one club or the other) MENTIONED IN THE HISTORY BUT NOT YET NAMED, OR A BIT MORE DETAIL.
Pages 45, 47,48,51,279. Pat McLaren, (owner of "Carrington", the mansion across Elizabeth Drive from the Rosebud Park golf course entrance built and named by the Moran family)who was elected as a life member of Rosebud Park Golf Club. He provided two tractors and other machinery worked on the course for two years at no charge.
P.46. Ossie "Jock" Bishop, no relation to Fred, who was employed by the club to collect green fees and controlled the order in which players started their rounds. It was because of his moral scruples that prevented him from allowing Rosebud Park club members to jump the queue that the idea of the formation of the Rosebud Country Club was born.
P.46. Cr Bert Herman has been mentioned in my commentary, but he helped in essential ways to construct the course, driving his tractor and seed drill at no cost.
P.46. Ray Baker, a shire president and successor to the Bacchli family as licensee (AND OWNER)of the Rosebud Hotel, was also a member of both clubs (Rosebud Park and Country Club)and frequently hosted club meetings. His hotel was virtually the de facto headquarters for both clubs in their early years.
P. 47.Ray Mentiplay, Bob Grant. Ray was a baker at Rosebud, as his brother was at Rye. The first member of the Mentiplay family to set foot in Rosebud did so in 1867, near The Rosebud, as a survivor of the Prize Fight disaster. In 1962, Ray became president of the Rosebud Park club, succeeding Bob Grant who had led the transition to the country club. Ray became the founding president of the Country Club when it came into existence at the annual meeting in November that year, but he never got to see the new course. He died on 30 December 1962.
P.47. Straun Wright-Smith was the first president of Rosebud Park Golf Club.
Members of Pat Mclaren's family.
Local businessman, Alec Webster (See Peter Wilson's ON THE ROSEBUD for extensive detail about Alec.)
George Williams (one of the first four life members shown in the page 48 photo) and later his son, Alex.
Colin Wright-country club captain 1964-7 secretary 1968-70, life member 1973.
Jack Hiscock, club treasurer for 15years from 1964.
Bob McMahon, honorary solicitor 1962-1985.
Reg. Kilborn, honorary auditor from the beginning (1962?) until he died in 1966.
Tom Gallagher, his wife, Barbara and her father Keith Ditchburn. {i]Well there's a bit of Rosebud family history that I didn't know! I believe Tom was a racehorse trainer at Rosebud and the brother of Fred Gallagher who played footy for Essendon. The Ditchburns arrived in Rosebud straight after W.W.1 and were the last to run the post office established by John Roberts before the licence was taken over by Ernie Rudduck's store in 1920.
GALLAGHER Thomas Sheperd Marriage DITCHBURN, Barbara Lillian 1950 17016/1950
Barbara was the Country Club's ladies' champion in 1966 and 1968 and Tom is a life member.
Arthur Norris, Bob Grant; Ray Bolle; Jack Heil and his golf professional son, Alan;as well as the Rosebud Hotel's Doug Bachli* and his successor and shire councillor, Ray Baker.
* Doug Bachli probably caused the need for the creation of the country club. He was stressing the need for a golf course by 1946 when he became the Victorian Country Champion. I wonder how many Rosebud golfers used to watch him practising on the foreshore footy ground 20 metres away over the road from the pub(the remains of which became today's village Green) and how many golfers holidayed at Rosebud with the hope of seeing the young champ in action. For the first time articles about Rosebud focused on golf as well as camping. No wonder Rosebud Park became too busy for the members! For further detail about the Bachli family see:NO TIME TO PRACTISE ON A COURSE
P.48. Tom Maw was Rosebud Park's first Captain in 1956 and so significant was his contribution to the formation of the courses at Rosebud Park and the country club that the entrance to the latter is named Tom Maw Drive. His machinery, his staff and expertise greatly assisted the members to clear (no easy task at Rosebud Park as indicated by the aerial photo on page 52) and shape the fairways at both clubs. His son, Alan recalled that bills to be sent to the club disappeared into his father's drawer. Tom was elected as one of the club's first four life members and the club's oldest tournament is named after him.
P. 49. Nell Burley was the first female champion at Rosebud Park in 1959.
T.M.NICHOLSON,[/url], ANZ Bank manager who was treasurer of the Rosebud Park Golf Club in its start-up phase before moving to Sunshine.
Cr.F.E.(Joe)Wood, as shown by the 21-3-1946 article above, was right behind the golfers three years before the Lands Department ultimatum, and obviously had the backing of his council colleagues. The first suggestion of the need for a golf course for Rosebud probably came at a meeting of the ROSEBUD AND DISTRICT CITIZENS' LEAGUE soon after its establishment at a 1945 meeting chaired, and probably convened, by Cr Wood.
Charles Coleman is only mentioned as the author of Bogies and Birdies, but the fact that he was one of the country club's first four members* indicates that he played a prominent part. (* The photo on page 48 was reversed on the country club's website until I posted a link to it on the HISTORY OF DROMANA TO PORTSEA Facebook page and was informed that the caption did not match the photo. The manager of the club remedied the mistake very promptly after I informed him.
P.51-2. CARRINGTON PARK (Originally at Rosebud Park Public Golf Course, now at Eagle Ridge Golf Course.)Liz
Article and the three photos on p.52 provided by Carrington Park life member, Liz MacDonald.
The club evolved in 1960 when Phillip (Pat) McLaren P was going to sell Carrington P, his private residence at Elizabeth Drive, Rosebud. In 1964 the club was incorporated with the first directors being Julius (Judy) Lockington Patching, Phillip Patrick McLaren, David Lloyd Lewis, Kenneth Lyons Greer, and Quentin George McLaren.
As early as 1966, the Carrington Park mens' and ladies's golf members commenced play. An agreement of allocated tee times had been arranged with the Rosebud Park golf course. The Rosebud Country Club may never have been born if this concession to members had been achieved a decade earlier!
In 2009, financial restraints caused by falling memberships and expensive costs to run and maintain "Carrington" were being felt. In 2013 Carrington was sold to developers and the club accepted the invitation of Eagle Ridge Golf Course to become its "In House Golf Club.
POriginal booking shed at Rosebud Park; panorama of Rosebud Park course c. 1960 from an elevated position -probably the closed portion of Hove Rd; aerial photo of Rosebud Park indicating how many trees and shrubs had needed to be removed from proposed fairways-"house" near the entrance is "Carrington". Fairways indicated in the third photo show that the course consisted of only 9 holes and did not extend north across Hove Rd into the northern 66 acres 2 roods 17 perches of the PUBLIC PARK AND RECREATION RESERVE gazetted in 1927 from the southern part of the 158 acre reserve from which 7 acres, now occupied by the Rosebud Tennis Club, had been reserved for a cemetery, never used despite funeral notices for Sidney Smith Crispo and a lady (whose name I've forgotten) stating that they would be buried at the Rosebud Cemetery; Crispo was buried at Rye!
P.53. BAY VIEWS GOLF COURSE.
Ex Rosebud Park public golf course and Carrington Park golf Club.
Nothing but an advertisement with two nice photos.
P. 54. Safety Beach Country Club. (Originally Mt Martha Valley Country Club.)
Article and photos provided by Jenny Dovosan of the Country Club.
Property Developer, David Deague, planned an estate of 400 homes intertwined with 9 hole golf course and boasting a spectacular clubhouse and function centre now known as The Atrium with five floodlit tennis courts and a swimming pool between The Atrium and course. The plan was inspired by the Gold Coast's Sanctuary Cove, probably the reason more than 1000 palm trees were planted on the site. The Mt Martha Valley Country Club was for the use of residents and landowners who were contracted to pay yearly maintenance fees.
Slow land sales meant there was not enough income to support, maintain and enhance the course so a group of residents and estate landowners formed a company named Mt Martha Estates Limited,which purchased the sporting facilities and function centre from the developers. To become viable the club needed to open all facilities to the public.The course was extended to 18 holes during the next two years. Following completion the name was changed to Safety Beach Country Club to be geographically correct. An old rumour that Safety Beach was originally referred to as Shark Bay due to effluent from a whaling station flowing down Dunns Creek is then mentioned. True locals knew the name well but Shark Bay is not once mentioned on trove and the derogatory name was coined when the Wilsons opened their abattoir near Moats Corner in 1954, twenty seven years after Safety Beach acquired its name.
No stalwarts of the club or timelines are mentioned here or on the country club's website. On page 13, 1991 is written in association with the Mount Martha Valley Golf Club, which I take to be the year of its affiliation with the Peninsula District Golf Association.
P. 56. CAPE COUNTRY CLUB. (Now RACV Cape Schanck Resort and Cape Schanck Golf Club.
Doug Clayton, who with his son became a member of the country club, sold this land to Bill Thomas who was convinced by Colin Campbell [bP to form Cape Country Pty Ltd to develop a resort. Colin started work on the course in 1969 with the help of Benito Grasso, an Italian bulldozer and Tractor driver, finishing the first 9 holes in late 1972 after working ten hours a day, seven days a week and finishing the other nine holes EVENTUALLY!
Green fees were collected by the starter in Colin's Mercedes. EVENTUALLY a small log cabin was built. EVENTUALLY a number of people became interested in forming a club. Colin wanted men and women to have equal playing rights. A women's club was soon affiliated with the VLGU and(and probably because of the V.G.A. policy of one club per course mentioned earlier the men's section waited another year before becoming affiliated with the V.G.A.
The Cape Country Club Golf Club held its first club championship in 1978 and a members only area was added to the log cabin.The Men's teams were affiliated with the P.D.G.A. (in 1978.p. 13)and the women's teams with the Mornington Peninsula Women's Golf Association. The men won the B Grade pennant in 1983 and the A Grade Pennant in 1984 but due to insufficient income from green fees, the said company was struggling and was eventually sold to the developers of the adjacent, current, National Golf Course. Harry Huxtable bought shares in the company from Bill Thomas and secret negotiations about developing the site began with David Inglis who took over a year to discover Laurie Curtis and his group. Laurie's team included Len Stone (site manager), Tony Cashmore (architect) and Peter Speedie (surveyor.) Colin Campbell had second thoughts about the sale but his majority shares were in the name of his estranged wife who agreed to sell to the developers.
Article sourced from Ian Collins P in association with John Meadows P, Trevor Main and Sandy Johnson, who are compiling a history of the Cape Country Club. Photo of Colin Campbell courtesy of Nepean Historical Society.
P. 58. RACV CAPE SCHANCK RESORT.(home of the Cape Schanck Golf Club
Colin Campbell's course was acquired by developers in the mid 80's and the National and Cape Schanck courses were built simultaneously; the latter, redesigned by renowned course architect, Robert Trent-Jones, to be a public course and the National to be a private club.
P. 60. BEACONHILLS COUNTRY GOLF CLUB (NOW CARDINIA-BEACONHILLS COUNTRY GOLF LINKS.)
William Schlipalius was Sorrento's famed ice cream man*. Charles Schlipalius,who was in 1878 the first owner* (grantee) of the land now occupied by the Cardinia-Beaconsfield Golf Links (Melway 210 H 6,7 to 211 B 6,7) was his father.
* SCHLIPALIUS HOUSE
**As Charles selected the 309 acres the grant may have been issued some years later. In 1910, Charles sold 289 acres and retained 20 acres.
Here are the birth and death records and death notice of Sorrento's William Schlipalius.
SCHLIPALIUS William Henry Birth
mother: Jessie Ann, nee MAWHAN
father: Charles Leopol
Place of birth, year, reg. no. FITZ, 1879, 23227/1879
SCHLIPALIUS William Henry Death
mother: Jessie Ann, nee MARSHALL
father: SCHLIPALIUS Charles Leopold
places of birth and death:FITZROY, MELBOURNE
age, year, reg. no. 67,1947, 4648/1947
SCHLIPALIUS. - On May 6, at Alfred Hospital, William Henry Schlipalius, of Hotham road, Sorrento, beloved husband of
Lucy, and loving father of Roy, Rose (Mrs.Seedsman), Walter, Reuben, and Albert, aged 67 years.
SCHLIPALIUS. - On May 6, William Henry, loving son of the late Jessie and Charles Schlipalius, late of William street,Malvern, loved brother of Charlie, Jessie(Mrs. Hopkins), Alfred, Edith, and Harold.
-At rest. (P.2, Argus, 7-5-1947.)
WAS WILLIAM'S FATHER, CHARLES LEONARD SCHLIPALIUS, THE BEACONSFIELD PIONEER?
ELECTORAL DISTRICT OF DANDENONG.-BERWICK DIVISION.
THE Ratepayers and General List for the above division are now printed,and copies may be inspected, free of charge,
until the day appointed for revision, at any office, at every post office within the division,and at the offices of my deputies, as under.
Patrick Keogh, Pakenham.
Charles L. Schlipalius, Upper Beaconsfield
Arthur S. H. Smartt, Gembrook.
Edward S. Hill, Bunyip South.
Amelia Piggott, Bunyip,
William 0. Ryan, Narnargoon.
Robert W.-Graham, Sheerbrooke.
JOHN BROWN,
Registrar at Berwick. (South Bourke and Mornington Journal, Wednesday 24 January 1906, P.2.)
The Beaconhills Country Golf Club history states that Charles (Leonard) Schlipalius was "son of a noted plant collector". Charles Leonard Schlipalius's golden wedding notice (re his marriage in 1870) confirms that this is the death notice of his father, whose place of origin is revealed.
SCHLIPALIUS.—On the 13th May, at his son-in-law's residence, 2 Macquarie-street, Prahran,Charles Gustave Schlipalius, late foreman, Melbourne Botanical-gardens, aged 73 years. Dresden and Saxony papers please copy. (P.1, Argus, 14-5-1897.)
www.schlipalius.com
schlipalius.com
is a google search result for SCHLIPALIUS, SORRENTO. It states:
" Welcome
Hi - if you have information on the Schlipalius family (who in Australia are descended from German immigrants and connected to the Mornington Peninsula Victoria).
Please email me if you wish to publish family information here, or add your own information or wish to have a schlipalius email address."
The above information is enough to convince me that Trevor Roberts' FROM COAST TO COAST (A HISTORY OF DISTRICT GOLF ON THE MORNINGTON PENINSULA) will be of great value to family and local historians. Those who have been involved in Peninsula Golf will have a different reason for appreciating Trevor's efforts to compile details of those who founded the clubs, those who continued their efforts and those who gained distinction by success in pennant, country golf teams and so on. While expensive, the book will be a great coffee table book, especially if post-it notes are used so that visitors will look at the right pages and see the names of the purchasers, their family members and friends first. I need say no more.
REVIEW OF CHRIS LASKOWSKI'S "STEELE CREEK AND THE LADY OF THE LAKE" (TULLAMARINE TO ABERFELDIE, MELBOURNE , VIC., AUST.)
SURNAMES OF PIONEERS NAMED BY CHRISTINE ABOUT WHOM I HAVE PROVIDED ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.
TIERNEY, SHARP, STEELE, KILBURN, FOSTER, WINTER, BATEY, HARPER, JOHNSON, MORGAN, NASH, McKENZIE, CROTTY,O'NEIL, McCORMACK, O'NIAL, RIDDLE, HAMILTON, HARRICK, KILBURN, WILLIAMSON, MANSFIELD, BAKER, LOFT, DAWSON, HURREN, FITZGERALD Morris, SHARP William,MOOLHEIN, HIGH, WATSON Robert George, (I'LL ADD THE OTHER NAMES IN A WHILE)
POSTSCRIPT 2-5-2018.
THE LADY OF THE LAKE WAS ON SECTION 6 AND PART OF THE CAMIESTOWN ESTATE. Christine was right and I was wrong!
I don't hide my wrong assumptions, because they show that even big know-alls like yours truly make them. They are necessary in a search for the truth but a true historian always seeks to confirm or disprove the assumption which Christine has helped this know-all to do, as well as helping me to limit the time of the fiery end of the Lady of the Lake to a few months in the second half of 1861.
My Dictionary History of Tullamarine and Miles Around written between the 1889 and 1998 Tullamarine Reunions was based on the pioneers of the shires of Keilor, Broadmeadows and Bulla which all included the area described as Tullamarine. Parish maps and transcriptions of rate records, directories and local histories are all good sources to identify an area's pioneers and properties. The last two areas had official municipal histories, although Andrew Lemon's BROADMEADOWS A FORGOTTEN HISTORY focussed more on speculators than I.W.Symonds' BULLA BULLA which was pioneer focussed. There was no official history of Keilor so I had to rely on three souvenirs: Keilor Village Centenary 1950, Proclamation of the City of Keilor 1961, and Centenary of establishment of the Keilor Road Board 1963. Luckily the Keilor Historical Society had been reformed in 1989 and the dud first President (me) was replaced the next year by Susan Jennison OAM and soon after Chris Laskowski started providing articles from old newspapers for the newsletter.
Then Angela Evans & Co. (Joan Carstairs etc.) produced KEILOR PIONEERS: DEAD MEN DO TELL TALES which was a valuable source for my EARLY LANDOWNERS; PARISH OF DOUTTA GALLA. Decades later, I recall with great amusement the tale of "Gay Lothario" and Owen Connor's letter, written WITH AN IRISH ACCENT after he'd returned to Ireland.
My local history career commenced because the history of Tullamarine consisted of only one and a half foolscap pages and Andrew Lemon, who had devoted some pages to my great grandfather, had hardly mentioned any of the other pioneers in my Broadmeadows rates transcriptions, and only a handful of pioneers were included in Alexander Sutherland's VICTORIA AND ITS MEROPOLIS: PAST AND PRESENT. I wanted to acknowledge as many pioneers as possible, explaining with fair precision where their farms were: i.e. Local History for Family Historians.
It is because STEELE CREEK AND THE LADY OF THE LAKE is the ULTIMATE LOCAL HISTORY FOR FAMILY HISTORIANS that my reading of the book changed from a search for possible errors to pure enjoyment, sharing the delight that descendants of the many pioneers mentioned will experience. Each crown allotment is shown with all owners and tenants listed. Amazingly, there follows a biography of each of these people with extensive genealogy, and terrific detail of their life before and after their time in the vast area, stretching from Tullamarine to Aberfeldie known in the 1840's as Springs. Chris deals with so many families that all the surnames would not fit in the surnames list. Lenore Frost whose books about Essendon's mansions and street names were invaluable sources for my DHOTAMA, has helpfully posted an index for Christine's book on the internet. Here's a link.
LENORE'S INDEX
My change of focus is indicated by a dotted line.
I have known Chris since about 1990 and admired the great job she did for years as editor of the Keilor Historical Society's newsletter. Her articles were thoroughly researched and interesting. Her book is based on countless sources and mentions many pioneers that I have never seen mentioned.
Intrigued by the title of the book, I suspected that it was due to an extract on page 95 of my EARLY LANDOWNERS: PARISH OF DOUTTA GALLA the only printed copy of which I gave to Bob Chalmers of the Essendon Historical Society.
"SPRING TIMES. (P.S.Crown allotments are in the parish of Doutta Galla unless otherwise stated.)
Steele Creek starts in the parish of Tullamarine. One branch commenced across the now-named Mickleham Rd from the Mobil garage site, where the 1860 geological survey noted the existence of “a constant supply of excellent water”. The map’s topographical contours show no depression that would funnel rainfall into the commencement of a creek, so the source was obviously a spring. The water flowed west one chain into section 3 Tullamarine and continued, south of Foster’s Lane (as Sharps Rd was known) into section 21 Doutta Galla. These two crown sections were granted to W.V.L.Foster, who called his farm The Springs. By 1849, the name Springs was used to describe residents as far apart as Alexander Smith of Norwood (9B and 11B), which straddled Buckley St, James Laverty in Keilor Rd (see 18D), and David O’Nial of Tullamarine, whose Lady of the Lake hotel fronted Melrose Dr between Millar Rd and Derby St. This obviously caused confusion so, by 1856, Bernard Cavenagh (sic, Kavanagh) of 18B, James Collier (50 acres comprising the northern half of Niddrie quarry), Patrick Phelan (17A) and Edward Fegan, operator of the North Pole Inn were described as living in Springfield. Once again a farm name (that of 18B) had been used to designate a locality. Springs and then Springfield referred to the area either side of Steele’s chain of Ponds. The Spring theme was continued with farm names: Springfield (18B), Spring Park (17A), Spring Vale (18D), Springbank (lots 7-11 section 12), and Spring Hill (section 7, allotments 3 and 4). Due to a lack of water, locals referred to the creek as Spring Gully by the 1890’s, as is shown by reports of meets in Cameron-Kennedy’s THE OAKLANDS HUNT."
However in the introduction Christine states: "I was encouraged some years ago by a friend, Lenore Frost, to write a 'short story'covering the early years of settlement in and around Steele Creek, which runs through my former home suburb of Avondale Heights..." Nor is there any mention of my Early Landowners. That Chris had not seen my history is confirmed by the map on page 3 which shows the Lady of The Lake Hotel on section 21 Doutta Galla at approximately Melway 15 G5.
The purpose of this review is to sometimes add information and alert readers to any possible incorrect assumptions so that any other information can be taken as gospel. I had never heard of a Lady of the Lake Hotel being on section 21 Doutta Galla so let's examine the justification of the location shown on the page 3 map.
P. 62, The Lady of the Lake (1844) William Hancock,David William O'Nial
In April 1844, William Hancock obtained a licence for an inn named The Lady of the Lake which was situated on J.F.L.V.Foster's land at the Springs..... In January 1846 the licence of The Lady of the Lakewas transferred to David William O'Nial.
At the top of page 64, after much detail about the O'Nials that I've never seen elsewhere, Chris mentions that the original track (through section 21 Doutta Galla, which I have seen on title documents) was to be replaced by a new road (today's Bulla Rd-Wirraway Rd-Melrose Drive)and O'Nial had no option than to relocate his business.
On 21 June 1850, O'Nial announced in the Melbourne Morning Herald:
REMOVAL. Mr.D.W.O'Nial, landlord of the Lady of The Lake Hotel, Mount Macedon Road, has obtained a removal of his licence from the old to an extensive new house erected within a short distance of the old inn.
This certainly shows that the hotel was in two different locations but not that the first one was on 21 Doutta Galla. Chris states that plans were afoot to build a new road to Mt. Macedon in 1850 but a descendant of E.E.Kenny, grantee of land at the south west corner of the parish of Tullamarine, told me that the new road was surveyed in 1847.
However the road must not have been built for quite a while. Kenny's Camp Hill originally adjoined the Fosters' section 3 Tullamarine at today's Broadmeadows Road. The new road would pass through it so the 89 acres between today's Melrose Drive and Broadmeadows Rd, later called Mansfield's triangle, was sold off by Kenny from 1854.
FROM MY TULLAMARINE PARISH: EARLY LANDOWNERS.
MANSFIELDS TRIANGLE
On 14-11-1854, Kenny sold 11 acres of lot 3 and 52 acres of lot 4 west of Bulla Rd. The latter extending south to the southernmost bends in Birch Ave and Banksia Gr. Kenny died at Camp Hill on 19-9-1861 at 78 and on 20-2-1865 his widow Frances Anne (nee Gray) sold the southern 26 acres of Mansfields Triangle to Thomas Washbourn and William Goldsborough Chadwick.
This would tend to confirm that use of the new road started at about the time the hotel was relocated but the use of "short distance" rather than 13 chains or thereabouts (1.260 kilometres, the distance between the location shown on the page 3 map and the later location*)makes it impossible to confirm the original inn being near the end of Barrie Rd by the creek (Melway 15 G5.)
The north west of Section 3 Tullamarine (a Foster grant and part of SPRINGS) is indicated by the corner of Mickleham Rd* and the Freight Rd/Londrew Court midline. The 1850 Lady of the Lake location given by Chris was: "On the Deep Creek Road, now Melrose Drive, just west of the Broadmeadows in the estate of Camiestown**".
(*Formerly Broadmeadows Rd, then Old Broadmeadows Rd until Hackett St-the west boundary of Broadmeadows Township-was constructed and a bridge built to replace the detour down Fawkner St, turning left at the Broady pub with a climb up Ardlie St, to produce a direct connection with Mickleham Rd.
**THE CAMIESTOWN ESTATE.
SATURDAY, 12th FEBRUARY.
Messrs. Riddle*** and Hamilton's Estate, known as the Camiestown Estate, at the Springs, on the Mount Alexander* Road Near the Lady of the Lake Inn, and extending across** to the Moonee Ponds.
(P.2, Argus, 12-2-1853.) (*Mt Macedon Rd was now THE GREAT ROAD TO THE DIGGINGS,hence the new destination **north including section 15 Tullamarine. *** Wright St is named Riddle (sic, Riddell; this is my spelling mistake I refer to later) Rd in the Camieston Estate subdivision plan. Like Nash's Lane (now closed apart from Mercers Drive), originally Victoria Rd, it went north from today's Melrose Drive to the Moonee Ponds Creek.)
The north boundary of Foster's section 3 Tullamarine is indicated by Post Office Lane, the north boundary of the Trade Park estate across Melrose Drive from the Derby St Corner.) Its boundary with section 6 was a continuation of this line to Freight Rd. Derby St was part of Camiestown but enclosed Hamilton Terrace, consisting one acre blocks which were rectangular apart from a 1.5 acre triangular block north of the Lady of the Lake site which still exists and was owned circa 1950 by Andy Craig. The rest of the Camieston Estate was divided into blocks of about 7 acres and the large Chandos, later subdivided into Judd's Chandos Park, Lockhart's Springburn and Wright's Strathconnan. The Lady of the Lake was next to, not on, the Camiestown Estate.
Something that always troubled me is that travellers to Sydney via Old Sydney (Mickleham) Road were told to turn right at the Lady of the Lake Hotel*. This would require a detour through Chandos. Even when the original route to Mt Macedon passed by today's Silicon Court, travellers to Sydney would probably have left it near Barrie Rd and entered the parish of Tullamarine (north of Sharps Rd)to follow Broadmeadows Rd. O'Nial's original Lady of the Lake AT TULLAMARINE may have been on Green's Corner on Foster's land (Springs, later Springvale as detailed in another of my recent journals) where the 711 has replaced the Mobil garage that stood there for many decades. This was a SHORT distance from the 1850 "house" which was between the Millar Rd corner and ALMOST the Derby St corner being only 30 chains (600 metres) away. Another possibility was 70 metres from today's Melrose Drive along Millar* Rd (which was the drive to the house.) Colin Williams lived in this house,the "Broombank homestead that his parents occupied after my great grandfather, John Cock (from 1867-1882)and from which the O'Nial girls viewed the Robert O'Hara Burke procession through the cape broom hedge in 1860. This tiny building would indeed have been a VERY SHORT distance from the second "extensive house".
(*Ray Loft who married Maggie Millar bought Broombank from the girls' estate in the 1930's and subdivided it in 1952. John Cock's leasehold increased by about six acres after the Lady of the Lake burnt down about 1870. Colin William's dad found many coins and other relics of the pub while ploughing. My GGF probably mainly grazed until he moved to Springbank.)
*POSTSCRIPT, 1-5-2018. THE PENNY DROPS! Re "Something that always troubled me is that travellers to Sydney via Old Sydney (Mickleham) Road were told to turn right at the Lady of the Lake Hotel*" Christine's reproduction on page 34 of Hoddle's map of 1847 showing the old and new roads to Mount Macedon and ditto to Keilor shows the beginning of TWO TRACKS heading north east from the INN, which I have now accepted was the original Lady of the Lake Hotel. These tracks TURNING RIGHT were obviously heading to the north east corner of section 21, the Sharps/Broadmeadows Rd corner, from where Sydney-bound travellers would head north, fording the Moonee Ponds Creek at what was to become Broadmeadows Township (Westmeadows) in 1850, and climbing up Ardlie St to reach Mickleham Rd (which past the Marnong gates is still called Old Sydney Road.)
WHEN WAS THE NEW ROAD MADE?
HIS Excellency the Governor, with the advice of the Executive Council, having deemed it expedient to open and make certain Parish Roads, in the District of Port Phillip, viz. :1. New line of road from North Melbourne to the Village of Bulla, known as the Mount Macedon Road. (P.1, The Melbourne Argus, 20-6-1848.)
Other roads were mentioned including an occupation road* which happened to be Oakland Rd which left the road to Bulla at what was the original Oaklands Junction where the Inverness Hotel, the third camping place for R.O.Burke's expedition, was later built. As Oaklands, Nairn, Warlaby etc. along that road were being advertised in September, it seems obvious that the new (Mt Macedon)road was being used because the old road through 21 Doutta Galla didn't seem to head that way.
(*3. Occupation Road, leading from the Mount Macedon Road to Taylor and Green's purchases in Bulla Bulla
Parish.(P.1, The Melbourne Argus, 2-6-1848.)
It is possible that the Lady of the Lake had three sites if there was one on 21 Doutta Galla. O'Nial may have moved to Green's Corner or the tiny house in 1847, as a result of the Governor's proclamation, before relocating to the extensive house in 1850. There was a track on 21 Doutta Galla but there is no proof that it remained in use until 1850.
POSTSCRIPT.
From my Brownlee/ McLear journal.
As usual this journal arises from research for another journal (in this case, my review of Chris Laskowski's STEELE CREEK AND THE LADY OF THE LAKE. I am pleased to add another early (1843) pioneer of SPRINGS, not mentioned by Christine.
Tierney, Martin, dwelling house, Springs,parish Doutta Galla. (P.1, Port Phillip Gazette, 31-5-1843.)
I now have little doubt that Hancock's Lady of the Lake hotel was on section 21 Doutta Galla and it would seem that Hancock invented the name. Martin Tierney may have had the hotel before Hancock but is not in the book's index. He was there when the 1843 electoral roll was published.
Martin Tierney applied for a license to a house near the Springs on the Mount Macedon road. The bench granted the application, and hoped it would be kept better than the public-house at Keillor, or Mr. Tierney would soon have the license taken from him.
MARTIN TIERNEY
In 1843,his hotel was called the Prince of Wales and its location according to the 1843 Port Phillip electors roll was Springs, Doutta Galla. Had his licence been removed within a month? Yes, and he had been replaced by William Sharp, who may been the father of William Skill Sharp (Harriet's husband) and an ancestor of the Grants of Craigllachie on Tullamarine Island. The alterations may have caused William's insolvency two months later.
Martin Tierney, Mount Macedon Road, Prince of Wales.(P.2, Port Phillip Gazette, 28-4-1843.)
Caution to Publicans. — Yesterday Mr.William Sharp, of the Prince of Wales,Springs, on the Mount Macedon Road, was fined by the police bench, forty shillings,and costs, for a breach of his recognizance in not having sufficient accommodation in his licensed house for guests. Mr. Sharp said that he had only been in possession of
the premises since the first of July, and consequently had no time to effect any improvement, but he intended to make some material alterations immediately. (P.2, Port Phillip Gazette, 9-8-1843.)
NEW INSOLVENT.
William Sharp, publican, Springs, Mount Macedon — Liabilities, £342 6s. Assets, £279 8s. Balance deficiency, £62 18s. (P.2, Port Phillip Gazette, 18-10-1843.)
Now it was Hancock's turn but there was a fundamental flaw with the original Mount Macedon Road in the early 1840's as a site for a hotel- hardly any passing traffic. Sydney-bound traffic would travel up today's Pascoe Vale Rd past the Young Queen Hotel, turn left near the present Broadmeadows Station downhill to Broadmeadows Township and up Ardlie St hill to Mickleham Rd which is still called Old Sydney Road past Donnybrook Road. It was not until 1854 when a timber bridge was built across Moonee Ponds Creek to link the two sections of Ardlie St in the township that Sydney-bound travellers could choose to go via the Young Queen OR the Lady of the Lake.
ARDLIE STREET BRIDGE IN 1857
The link is not working so google BROADMEADOWS TOWNSHIP, COUNTY OF BOURKE.
N.B. notice Hackett St, the west boundary, which is now part of Mickleham Rd.
The old Mt Macedon Rd would have mainly carried sheep hoofing it to market or the occasional bullock dray carrying squatters' wool to market or supplies to the station. There was still plenty of room closer to Melbourne for hay growing so few hay wagons would have passed The Springs. Hancock did not stay long either. If O'Nial had moved to Tullamarine as soon as work had started on the new road, there were still no diggers passing by but at least there would have been plenty involved in the new road's construction willing to quench their thirst at knock-off time.
RELATIVES OF WILLIAM SHARP, THE INSOLVENT PRINCE OF WALES PROPRIETOR?
...and a rule to administer the freehold property of William Sharp, of Tullamarine, yeoman, was granted to
Harriet Sharp, who also obtained letters of administration of the goods of the same deceased person.
(P.7, Advocate, 24-9-1870.)
SOLOMON'S FORD.
P.11.
I CAN HEAR A RING-TAILED POSSUM.
"In February 1803 Charles Grimes and an exploration party, made their way up a river known as Mirring-gnai-birr-nong by the native people as far as today's suburb of Avondale Heights."
According to MARIBYRNONG: ACTION IN TRANQUILITY, read in 1990, this means I can hear a ring-tail possum. Probably the same source explained that Cut Cut Paw was the corruption of a phrase meaning a clump of she oaks.
"From the commencement of European settlement the old fording place at the end of Canning St, Avondale Heights, first noted by Grimes in 1803, also became an important crossing point for travellers when travelling to Williamstown or Geelong."
The ford at the end of Canning St was not Solomons Ford as it was not shown on an early parish of Cut Cut Paw map (specified in others of my journals) while the one south of Rhonda St was (with dotted tracks leading south)and was about a mile downstream from fresh water ACCORDING TO GRIMES'DIARIST, FLEMING. The Canning St ford was built by Michael Clancy almost half a century after 1803. The ford near Rhonda St and Clancy's ford are both shown on the page 3 map. I refer to the first Solomon's ford as Grimes' Ford. The second Solomon's Ford was already planned in the mid 1850's, was accessed from the north via North Pole(Milleara)Road and North Road, the ramp still shown on Melway and is named (road to Solomon's Ford) in the same Cut Cut Paw map. The Victorian Heritage Council takes no responsibility for incorrect information provided by municipalities which now appears on Google maps so Chris cannot be blamed for relying on such sources.
P.13. Around 100 aborigines came to John Aitken's tent at "Mount Aitken" in 1936. He considered this tribe more savage than the Westernport tribe.
The Boon-wurrung who lived on the Peninsula as well as the Gippsland coast of Westernport helped Aitken get his sheep ashore when the Chili ran aground near Arthurs Seat in March 1836 so he would have had a fresh memory of their friendliness but they were ready for retribution raids on the neighbouring aborigines of Gippsland according to Marie Hansen Fels in I SUCCEEDED ONCE. One of the raids on Mount Aitken was led by Tullamarine.
P.15.Grimes' party was barred by an aboriginal fish trap. Unable to get their boat across they left their boat at the rocky ford. Upstream of the ford they found excellent fresh water.(Paraphrased.)
I believe Fleming indicated how far upstream. My conclusion is that the fish trap was the Rhonda St ford- not Clancy's ford of half a century later which was just upstream of the start of fresh water, as indicated on Melway.
Gumm's Corner was named by John Batman after James Gumm.
James was commonly known as Jemmy. He caused problems between the Batmans and Fawkner when he went to work for the latter. Jemmy and others in Batman's employ were nearly killed by aborigines at Indented Head, near Portarlington but they were warned about the raid by William Buckley, probably the first man to circumnavigate Port Phillip on foot starting from Sorrento, who could no longer speak English.
P. 16. "In 1835 John Pascoe Fawkner organised for Captain John Lancey and an expedition party led by George Evans to travel to Port Phillip."
According to C.P.Billot's LIFE AND TIMES OF JOHN PASCOE FAWKNER, Fawkner was taken ashore at Georgetown just as they were about to leave, to settle his affairs, and covered his embarrassment by claiming he was seasick.
Okay we all tell a fib or two. It was a miracle that, living among riff raff at Sorrento and Hobart, the 12 year old grew up literate and resourceful. His mother, Hannah nee Pascoe, was responsible. The Moreland Council adopted my suggestion, based on Billot's information, that a street in Gowanbrae should be named after her.
Pages 21-25. How Steele Creek got its name. Wow! I had found no evidence in Shire of Keilor ratebook apart from a suspicion that it might have been related to a Rupert Steele who was leasing land on the north side of Keilor Rd at a fairly late stage, well after the creek had been named. Chris had produced much biographical and geneological information about the Steel and related families.
M.Steel was living at Steel Creek in 1841. In 1840, Richard Cooke had a depasturing licence for Mr Steele's Horse Station, b]Westernport on the Deep Creek in the parish of Darraweit Guim.
Many people would know where Darraweit Guim is and would be mystified that this station could be described as being in Westernport but this squatting district went as far, if not farther north, than south of Melbourne. Westernport squatters included Edward and John Barker who had shared runs near Cape Schanck and William, their brother, near Castlemaine when a main road and creek are named after him.
DARRAWEIT GUIM PARISH. To inspect the map, google DARRAWEIT GUIM, COUNTY OF BOURKE.
Michael Steel was the grantee of sections 26-29, a total of 1877 acres on the west side of Saltwater River (Deep Creek)and at the north west corner of the parish. W.J.T.(Big) Clarke was the grantee of about three quarters of the parish.
Pages 25-39.Roads etc.
P.26."Plans drawn by surveyor Smythe in 1842 show a track 'from Geelong' crossing the Saltwater River" at a ford marked just south of (the west end of)present-day Canning Street, Avondale Heights."
This is the only mention of Smythe in the index so the plan is obviously not reproduced in the book. A pity because this could have offered proof that Clancy's ford was the original ford.
FIND THE CUT CUT PAW MAP.
The map showing the Rhonda St Ford (Grimes')with no evidence and NO FORD at the end of Canning St (then called North St)is actually James Reid's Braybrook Township map. Here's the link.
braybrook township
Note the location of the pound (mentioned next) near the (Grimes') ford, the track leading south from the ford into Cut Cut Paw, the lack of a track leading south west from the west end of Buckley St at North Pole Rd to the west end of Canning St and the absence of a ford at the western end of Canning St (shown as North St.)
PUBLIC POUND. 1849.
NOTICE is hereby given that, the Public Pound at Footscray, in the County of Bourke, will be removed from its present site to Braybrook, near Solomon's Ford in the said County, and that the same shall be henceforth called the Braybrook Pound. (P. 1, Argus, 10-4-1849.)
CHRIS REPORTED THIS ARTICLE AND COMMENTED THAT THE POUND (as shown in an 1855 map*) WAS JUST EAST OF BARBARA CRESCENT, CLOSE TO THE FORD ORIGINALLY MARKED BY HODDLE AS GRIMES' ROCKS(i.e. the Rhonda St Ford.)
(*The 1855 map was almost certainly James Reid's map for which the link was provided above:
Township of Braybrook / [James] Reid Assist. Surveyor, January 5 1855, [No. 55/19])
It is strange that Chris failed to notice that there was no Canning St Ford!
Before we leave this map, notice the road west of the river leading from the township's northern boundary "to Solomon's Ford", that is the second one which the Melbourne Hunt referred to later as McIntyre's Ford.
P.27. The new road* described at the top of the page was a continuation of Buckley St from the east boundary of section 12 (the track that became Hoffmans Rd and was finally made when Dorothy Fullarton was Mayor of Essendon and her son was the President of Keilor Shire.)That is the reason that North Pole (Milleara) Road, not Hoffmans Rd, was called the Essendon road in advertisements for James Laverty's North Pole Inn and the Noble Estate of Spring Vale. The zig zag, north 81 degrees west 3 chains 25 links (65 metres), thence running north 73 degrees west 12 chains 50 links (250 metres)and passing through the property of Mr Dugald McPhail (Rose Hill)thence running south 80 degrees west 25 chains etc. took the road north west to an easier crossing of Steele Creek and south west again. The road then joined the present (east west) road at the dividing line between sections 11 and 12 (Rachelle Rd, named after one of the ill-fated twin girls of John Beale whose property "Shelton" occupied much of J.P.Fawkner's subdivision between it and North Pole Rd.)
(*It is stated that this was a road connecting Mt Alexander Road to Solomons Ford so it could have been Buckley St or Milleara Rd. Knowledge of landowners enabled me to determine that it was Buckley St, known for many decades as Braybrook Road.
Pages 27-38. Excellent detail mainly about the Keilor Bridge and a bit about Steele Creek bridges on Keilor Rd and Buckley St. South Park next to Butzbach would have to be part of James Robertson Snr's crown allotment 13C. Robertson's bachelor son Francis, a member of parliament, later inherited the property and renamed it Mar Lodge. It was then owned by the McCrackens who allowed part of the property to be used as a golf course.
P.34.Hoddle's 1847 map showing old and new Keilor and Bulla Rds. An inn is shown in 21 Doutta Galla but is not named as the Lady of the Lake.. As the second route is not shown north of Sharps Rd it is likely that it was not intended to go to Bulla (which village was only proclaimed in 1847) being merely an access track to section 3 Tullamarine, (the northern part of Leslie Park) formed in 1840 when the Fosters were given a ten year lease (probably cancelled in 1843.) As suspected a track leaves this track in a north easterly direction towards the Sharps Rd/Broadmeadows Rd corner but Hoddle traced only the start of this and other side tracks.
P. 38-9.Good information about the Central and Keilor Road Boards.
P.39-43. The Springs Estate. Excellent information about the land and John and William Foster. Chris shows her awareness that John was made the scapegoat for the Eureka revolt by Hotham, who persisted with the despised licence system despite John's advice to abolish it. No sources are given for the map showing the subdivision of 21 Doutta Galla but the details re boundaries and purchasers seem very accurate. Chris does not include 3 Tullamarine in the Springs Estate despite it being called Springs*. It was only in about 1867 that a portion of Section 3 was called Springvale.
*By 1850 (if not earlier) David William O'Niall had relocated the Lady of the Lake to just south of the present Melrose Drive and Derby St corner at Tullamarine. This was handy to Bulla Village and Broadmeadows Township but also at the midpoint between Robert McDougall of Cona on "Glenroy" and Peter Young of Nairn (Melway 384 H10), the main proponents of establishing the church. The Foster's section 3 Tullamarine was being called Springs too!
FREE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF BULLA AND BROADMEADOWS.
THE Members of Committee, appointed at the house of William Coghill, Esq., on the 19th of March last, are requested to meet at Mr O'Nial's, Springs Mount Macedon Road. on Friday the 3th instant, at Four o'clock P.M.
ROBERT M'DOUGALL. Convener.(P.4, Argus, 7-8-1851.)
The area of Tullamarine in section 3 was still being called SPRINGS when David O'Nial died in 1853. Hamilton Terrace, immediately north-west of the Lady of the Lake, was called neither Springs nor Tullamarine in 1853. If Tullamarine was used it meant anywhere in that parish unless a road or landmark (such as the Moonee Ponds Creek) was mentioned.
DIED.
On the 4th inst., at his residence, at the Lady of the Lake Springs, Mount Macedon Road, Mr David William O'Nial, aged 38 years.(P.4, Argus, 6-1-1853.)
Camiestown, Moonee Ponds, l acre lots in Hamilton-terrace, fronting the main road, with a road 1 chain wide* at the back.(P.8, Argus, 22-7-1853.) * Derby St.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PURE ENJOYMENT!
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION RE PIONEERS DISCUSSED BY CHRISTINE.
P.41. John Fitzgerald Leslie Foster. An excellent biography, including C of E services being held at the Springs and his donation with William of 155 pounds to the building fund of St Paul's Broadmeadows (Westmeadows) which have not been seen in any other source.
John's horse whipping of Dr Farquhar McCrae over a disputed land transaction in Queen St is ambiguous. The assault happened in Queen St but the land was at Eumemmering near Dandenong. That's why streets are named after both in Dandenong. McCrae was the grantee of MORELAND, named after a plantation his (uncle?) owned in (Jamaica?)which is bisected by Moreland Rd but had purchased La Rose and started building today's heritage listed WENTWORTH HOUSE,with Moreland being managed and then rented by Bulla pioneer, Michael Loeman. McCrae fled to Sydney, fearing further retribution and was instrumental in the early days of the Sydney hospital.
As mentioned re page 105, John Foster donated land near Cherie St, Tullamarine to the Wesleyans.
WESLEYAN.-On Sunday, September 16th,
a new school-room, which will be used
also as a place of worship, in connection with
the Wesleyan Church, was opened. Two ser-
mons were preached by the Rev. J. C.
Symons, of Collingwood. The congregations
were exceedingly good, as also the collections
which were made at the close of each service.
On the following Wednesday a tea-meeting
was held therein, and though the weather was
showery, yet the school-room was filled. Tea
being over a public meeting was held, over
which J. L. F. Foster, Esq., late Colonial
Secretary, presided. After a short, but appro-
priate speech from the chairman, the Rev. B.
S. Walker submitted to the meeting a state-
ment of accounts, and urged the liquidation
of the remaining debt. The Rev. J. Eggle-
ston, of Melbourne, next addressed the meet-
ing in an excellent speech, on education and
its benefits, and was followed by Messrs.
Parnham and Williams. The gratifying in-
formation that the building is free from debt
was then announced, the Doxology sung,
and prayer offered, when the friends de-
parted, pleased and benefited by the after-
noon's entertainment. The building is
situated in Tullamarine, in the Pentridge*
Circuit, and is near** to the Lady of the Lake
Inn, on the Deep Creek Road. The ground
{an acre in extent) upon which it is erected is
the gift of J. L. F. Foster, Esq., and is cen-
trally situated. Previously divine service
was conducted in tho house of Mr. E. Dunn***,
farmer, on the afternoon of every Lord's
Day.(P.5, Argus, 24-9-1855.)
* Coburg after 1869. ** 25 chains or 500 metres. *** EDMOND DUNN
P.44. Edward Winter.
Edward's daughter married Isaac Batey of Redstone Hill near the Lancefield turn off at Sunbury and because of her, contribution to Isaac's fabulous history of Sunbury (and many miles around) my misconception that Mr Trimmer's school of 1850 at The Springs (as discussed in Andrew Lemon's BROADMEADOWS: A FORGOTTEN HISTORY) was on section 21 Doutta Galla was corrected. It was down Post Office lane (north boundary of Trade Park Estate), the boundary between sections 6 and 3 Tullamarine. The Beech Tree Hotel was on section 6, a tad north of opposite the Melrose Drive Reserve. so the school was probably on the north side of the lane too.Governor Hotham blamed Foster for the Eureka Stockade, and was obviously believed by the Batey's, but Christine presents the facts; it was Hotham who was high-handed!
Some years before our '47 trip, farming had started at Keilor, because my late wife, Lydia Winter, was born there in '43, on a farm that her father rented from John Leslie Vasey Fitzgerald Foster. I am not sure if he had the name of Vasey, but it is enough to say with reference to him that his high handedness during Governor Hotham's time brought about the Eureka Stockade. There were sheoaks away back from the Beech Tree, and by my wife's statements, one Jimmy Trimmer had a hut among the trees in question, which he utilised as a school. Mrs. Batey said the rate for each child was 3d. per week. Trimmer was illiterate, because his pronunciation of the words 'could,' 'would,'and 'should' was ' coold,' woold,' and 'shoold.' (P.4, Sunbury News, 16-4-1904.)
EventMarriage Event registration number173 Registration year1877
Personal information
Family nameWINTER Given namesLydia SexFemale Spouse's family nameBATEY Spouse's given namesIsaac
SOME GREAT STORIES BY A DESCENDANT OF EDWARD WINTER.
What's in a name? - Cicadas, Bees and Barge PolesCicadas, Bees ...
https://cicadasbeesandbargepoles.com/whats-in-a-name/
The location of Springs was discovered from Christine Laskowski's EXCELLENT book according to the author. I have posted some comments about Edward's boss who was granted land that became Coghill's CUMBERLAND just over the Moonee Ponds Creek from today's Melbourne Airport as well as the Latrobe Golf Course Site mentioned in Margaret's blog, (en route to Greensborough where Isaac Batey's father planted the oldest fruit tree in Victoria* for the Flintoffs.)* OLDEST FRUIT TREE IN VICTORIA IN 1937
P. 48. JAMES DELAHEY.
CONFIRMATION OF: "James Delahey, born on the Saltwater River, Keilor in 1846, married Jessie McCormick, born in Scotland in Ayrshire, Scotland, around 1889."
EventMarriage Event registration number5362 Registration year1889
Personal information
Family nameDELAHEY Given namesJas SexMale Spouse's family nameMCCORMICK Spouse's given namesJessie Mary Josphine
P. 59 THE NASH FAMILY. Chris supplied excellent genealogical and biographical information. Her map of the break up of section 21 Doutta Galla on page 40 has solved my puzzlement of exactly where Thomas Nash's land east of Fosters Rd and straddling Steele Creek was. It was the land labelled 6, Edward Cahill. I'd seen Cahill's assessment of 150 acres but had no idea where it was or if Edward was related to the Cahills on Gumm's Corner until the flood of 1916, after which they were replaced by Jose Borrell.
Harry Nash's widow, Olive, nee Simmons, had told me much about the Nash family in 1989, as Had Hilda Drever and Alma Koch. As my emphasis was to identify the pioneers of the area and specify the locations of their farms, many of which were acquired for the jetport, and record anecdotes, genealogy was not pursued. I suspected that Thomas Nash was a son of Charles Nash and Mary (nee Gage) but it was not until I recently discovered Victorian BDM online that I managed to confirm it.
Mary Gage's family had settled in Broadmeadows Township (Westmeadows)and Dicky Gage was renowned in the area as a haystack builder. Charles had bought land on Riddle and Hamilton's Camiestown Estate in 1852. Located at Melway 5 F-G 6-7, his farm, "Fairview" consisted of lots 1-6, 15-20 (67 acres 2 roods 25 perches), lots 7 and 21 (9 acres 3 roods and 25 perches) and land (about 20 acres) fronting the Moonee Ponds Creek (except for a water reserve for all Camiestown Estate buyers one chain wide at the bottom of 5 F-G 5.)Charles sold some of his land fronting Wright St to Wallis Wright who named his 40 acre farm Sunnyside. Charles must then have bought some of the small blocks to the south to bring Fairview up to 100 acres.
If I remember correctly Charles Nash's brother, John, was still in the area in 1863 and was assessed by the Broadmeadows Road Board on a BONE MILL.(This was on the end of Wright St where the Tullamarine children's favourite swimming hole THE BONE MILL was, according to Colin Williams. The Broadmeadows children preferred a waterhole to the east called by them Peterson's Hole according to Jack Hoctor, which was actually a corruption of Peter's son's hole, John Peter having bought the land east of Derby and Wright Streets which became "Chandos" Fairview was only a kilometre from Broadmeadows Township so Charles did not have to go far to court Mary Gage.
Christine mentioned his property, mainly within the Tullamarine district, which was valued at 3075 pounds at the time of his death aged 58 in 1884. She described Edward Cahill's former farm which was fairly run down in 1884.
The Nash,Wright and Parr families were stalwarts of the Tullamarine Methodist Church for over a century. Its first services were in the Wesleyan school built in 1855 on land near Cherie St donated by John Foster until the church was built (on the north corner of Trade Park Drive) in 1870, the land, part of Charles Nash's "Bayview" being donated by Charles. The other Tullamarine land mentioned by Olive Nash was a 40 acres paddock on Mansfields Rd used to spell dry cows. Mansfields Rd will no longer appear on maps, swallowed by airport expansion but luckily I did extensive titles research on John Pascoe Fawkner's subdivisions and this paddock, lots 31 and 32 of the section 13 Tullamarine subdivision, which is shown as the Broadacres Kennels and cattery in the 1999 Melway was situated in Melway 4G4 seven chains (140 metres) west of McNabs Rd.
Christine did not detail the break up of section 20 Doutta Galla. She knew that Thomas Nash was a son of Charles and Mary Nash, which I had always suspected but never proved until recently, thus the title of the following. She was not aware that Thomas had a farm on the west side of Fosters Rd.
THOMAS NASH WAS THEIR SON.
In 1989, I was able to write plenty about Thomas Nash. He had land on both sides of Fosters Rd, which has since been renamed as Keilor Park Drive. At one time, possibly 1915, he and Bill Parr had 165 acres each of Annandale. As I knew where Bill Parr's homestead was (top right corner of 15 D2), I had assumed that Thomas Nash's land must have been on the south side of Annandale Road. It was.
AUCTION SALES
Wednesday, October 17th
At Three O'Clock.
AT SCOTT'S HOTEL, MELBOURNE
SALE OF THE WELL-KNOWN
Annandale Farm
Containing 168 Acres or thereabouts
situated at Tullamarine, about 4 miles
from Essendon P.O. and 10 miles
from the G.P.O., having a frontage to
Annandale Road and Foster's Lane.
Eminently Suitable for Dairying
and Cultivation, or would make a
Splendid Subdivision.
This Property has been in the pos-
session of the members of the Nash
family for the past 40 years.
TO BE SOLD ON GOOD TERMS
TO FARMERS, GRAZIERS, LAND
SPECULATORS, AND OTHERS
W. S. KEAST Pty. Ltd.
Stock and Station Agents, Queen's
House, Queen Street, Melbourne, have
received instructions from the owners
to SELL by PUBLIC AUCTION
That very fine dairying and agri-
cultural property, containing 168
acres or thereabouts, situated 4 miles
from Essendon P.O., 10 miles from
the G.P.O., and one mile from the
school and post-office, having a front
age to Annandale road and Foster's
lane.
The soil consists chiefly of good,
strong loam, and is first-class hay
and oat growing country. There are
one hundred and fifteen acres of oats
looking particularly well, 40 acres of
fallow, and 6 acres of peas. Well
watered by 2 dams, 3 galvanised iron
tanks, 4000 gallons, and a large un-
derground cemented tank 14ft. x 14ft.,
full of water at present. Subdivided
into five paddocks, post and wire
fences.
The improvements consist of a six
roomed weatherboard house, pine
lined, kitchen, wash house, etc., in
good order. Men's quarters, W.B.,
cooling and separator room, 14-bail
cowshed, 10-stall stable, loose-box,
good garage, implement shed, exten-
sive poultry runs; half acre of young
orchard.
The agents draw special attention
to the sale of this splendid property,
which is admirably situated, practi-
cally on the border of the northern
suburbs and within three-quarters of
a mile of a subdivisional estate. We
consider the possibilities of this pro-
perty as a subdivisional proposition
to be unequalled on account of its
good position and frontage to main
roads.(P.8, Sunshine Advocate, 6-10-1928.)
As the Keilor rate records weren't very specific about the locations of the Nash properties, I was lucky enough to have Joe Crotty and Noel Butler to supply more detail. Claude Butler had married a Harrick girl and established the Moonya dairy in about 1943. He had bought the above land, which had obviously not sold in 1928 or during the depression that took hold for a decade not much later. The other Nash land seems to have been near Randwick Drive, Keilor Park.
It wasn't only rate records that I found in the strong room to which the rates officer,Adrian Dodoro (Essendon Football Club recruiting officer now) had given me access.
The children at Keilor State School had written a book about the Keilor men who served in W.W.1. The article about Frederick Bernard Nash contained far more than is found in his service record so the pupils must have interviewed the servicemen or their relatives. I remember F.B. had been taken to the Caulfield Military Hospital but (after about 28 years) had quite forgotten that he'd died, aged only 21.
Regimental number 303
Place of birth Ellerslie, Victoria
School Ellerslie State School
Religion Methodist
Occupation Farmer
Address 25 Kielor Road, Essendon
Marital status Single
Age at embarkation 19
Next of kin Thomas Nash, 25 Kielor Road, Essendon
Enlistment date 13 July 1915
Rank on enlistment Private
Unit name 29th Battalion, A Company
AWM Embarkation Roll number 23/46/1
Embarkation details Unit embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board HMAT A11 Ascanius on 10 November 1915
Rank from Nominal Roll Corporal
Unit from Nominal Roll 29th Battalion
Fate Returned to Australia 23 March 1919
Place of death or wounding France
Age at death 21*
* POSTSCRIPT, 3-8-2020.
When compiling biographies for those named on the Tullamarine War Memorial, I discovered that Frederick Bernard Nash did not die at the age of 21 and supplied evidence to UNSW. THE SERVICE RECORD HAS NOW BEEN AMENDED.
Fate Returned to Australia 23 March 1919
Discharge date 8 July 1920
Other details
War service: Egypt, Western Front
Commenced return to Australia from Liverpool on board HT 'Czar', 23 March 1919; transshipped to HT 'Dongala', Suez, 10 April 1919; discharged (medically unfit: gun shot wound, right groin), Melbourne, 8 July 1920.
Medals: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal
Miscellaneous details Address incorrectly entered on Embarkation Roll as Kielor Road, Essendon, Victoria.
Date of death 23 March 1978
Age at death 81
Place of burial Keilor Cemetery, Victoria
Sources NAA: B2455, NASH Frederick Bernard
At the time, I wondered if Thomas Nash and his hero son were descended from Charles Nash and Mary, nee Gage but finishing WHERE BIG BIRDS SOAR before the 1989 Back to Tullamarine and other jobs in hand, such as Anthony Rowhead's bicentennial project to rename Tullamarine Airport's streets after indigenous, European and aviation pioneers, prevented me from checking this with Nash descendants.
Better late than never!
Thomas Nash died in 1947 shortly after retiring and selling the above farm to Claude Butler, and was buried in the Bulla Cemetery. Thomas Nash had been named after Charles Nash's father. Charles died in 1884.
CHARLES NASH.
EventDeath Event registration number7994 Registration year1884
Personal information
Family nameNASH Given namesCharles SexUnknown Father's nameThos Mother's nameAnn (Bowen) Place of birth Place of deathBROADMEADW Age58 Spouse's family nameGAGE Spouse's given namesAnn???? MARY!
Mary was probably the informant so "Ann" was probably a blue by the person entering details in the online index.
MARY NASH.
EventDeath Event registration number1602 Registration year1919
Personal information
Family nameNASH Given namesMary SexUnknown Father's nameGage Richd Mother's nameUnknown (Unknown) Place of birth Place of deathEssdon Age81
DEATH AND BIRTH RECORDS FOR THOMAS NASH.
EventDeath Event registration number1627 Registration year1947
Personal information
Family nameNASH Given namesThomas SexMale Father's nameNASH Charles Mother's nameMary (Gage) Place of birthTULLAMARINE Place of deathROYAL PARK Age88
EventBirth Event registration number1760 Registration year1859
Personal information
Family nameNASH Given namesThomas SexUnknown Father's nameCharles Mother's nameMary (Gage) Place of birthB'MEADOWS (i.e. Shire of Broadmeadows and registered in Broadmeadows Township!)
FROM A GENEALOGY WEBSITE.
Charles Bertram Nash, 1827 - 1884
Charles Bertram Nash was born on month day 1827.
Charles married Mary Nash (born Gage).
Mary was born in 1837, in Cambridgeshire.
They had 9 children: Ellen* Cooper (born Nash), Ann GORDON (born Nash) and 7 other children.
Charles passed away on month day 1884, at age 56 at death place. (https://www.myheritage.com/names/charles_nash)
Ellen Nash married Mark Cooper. Their daughter Mrs Alma Koch (pronounced Cook), who lived in Forman St, Westmeadows, was one of the Nash descendants whom I interviewed in 1989. Alma recalled walking across "Chandos" to visit Grandma Nash at "Fairview".
P. 50 JAMES WATSON. It was a surprise to find that he had bought part of Springs. I had found the memorial (volume B, folio 658) recording his purchase of the 50 acres and transposed his block on my 1999 Melway but never twigged that he was the lessee and "namer" of Keilor. My transposition of the block's location is identical to that shown on page 40 of the book. Chris has not explained how she determined the boundaries of the section 21 subdivision blocks, from boundary dimensions or a plan on a sketch of title, but I can assure readers that she's spot on regarding Watson's block.It encompassed most of the Cadbury Schweppes block, the western boundary being from 4 to 7 chains from the curving Beverage Drive with the south west corner 1 chain east of the property's entry and the southern boundary was a maximum of 4 chains (80 metres)north of Beverage Drive just west of Steele St.
Strangely original streets in Keilor Village were named after Watson's partner, Hunter, and head honcho of the syndicate, the Marquis of Ailsa, but it was not until James Anderson's "Braeside" south of Church St was subdivided (as Calder Rise?)that Watson was honoured by the name of Watson Rise.
James Watson was the grantee of the land that became Hugh Glass's Flemington Estate and crown allotment 13D Doutta Galla bounded by McCracken St, Keilor Rd, Lincoln Rd and Buckley St (known at that time and for decades longer as Braybrook Rd.)
The following will provide the reason for Watson's naming of Flemington and Rosanna. it also saves me copying titles information from my EARLY LANDOWNERS: PARISH OF DOUTTA GALLA.
JAMES WATSON
I had thought that Watsonia was named after James Watson but wikipedia states otherwise: "Watsonia originally belonged to the Wurundjeri people.[2] It is named after early property developer and landowner Frank Watson."
I.W.Symonds in BULLA BULLA stated that Tulip Wright, a native of Lincoln, had built the Lincolnshire Arms in 1850. Like William O'Neil Tulip was a former policeman (Chief Constable?) so I would not suspect he'd tender to build it for James Watson whose advertisement calling for tenders was on page 3 of the 9-4-1850 Argus, according to Christine.
"TENDERS.
FOR the Painting and Glazing, finding all materials, of a new public house at the junction of the Keilor and Mount Macedon roads, five miles from Melbourne. Apply at the office of JAMES WATSON.Elizabeth-street, 6th April, 1850."
The truth of the matter seems to be that James Watson was the first owner of the hotel and Tulip Wright was the first licensee. Christine states that Watson was in financial difficulty by the end of 1850 and insolvent by early 1851 so it is possible that Tulip had bought the hotel at Bendigo Corner/Essendon Crossroads (as the junction was called over the years)and run it for a year before moving on(to Sunbury?*)I don't think the new licensee was the Argus editor, but you never know, do you?
TRANSFERS. Edward Wilson, the Lincolnshire Arms, from Mr Wright. Granted.
Incidentally, from the same list of transfers:
Charles Fitzgerald**, the Lady of the Lake, from Mr O'Nial. Granted.
(P.4, Argus, 21-4-1852.)
(*If I attach a question mark to a statement, it means I'm not absolutely sure. My belief comes from a reading of Bulla Bulla (without any note being made about Tulip's next hotel) in late 1989, about 28 years ago. My memory's not bad.
Sir John Franklin | Vandemonian Royalty
https://vandemonian.info/taxonomy/term/1526
The Sir John Franklin hotel was in Sunbury, Victoria. ...in 1854 (Tulip) Wright built the Sir John Franklin hotel on Vaughan Street, at its junction with Macedon Street, possibly to tap the custom of both routes. Source: Hume City Council: Heritage Citation - Jackson's Ford, Sunbury. The hotel was named ...after the ill-fated ...)
(**Brother of Ellen O'Nial who died March 1854. P. 66)
Pages 58-9 MAURICE CROTTY. JAMES SHARP.
Christine has consulted countless sources but does not seem to have referred to VICTORIA AND ITS METROPOLIS: PAST AND PRESENT (1888)which contains the biographies of many pioneers. Upon Maurice Crotty's arrival in 1853 worked for the Brannigans at St John's Hill (Melway 384 J5 north of Warlaby and across Konagaderra Rd from Harpdale. It was probably on this property that Maurice farmed at Deep Creek before moving to Tullamarine, as mentioned by Chris. The earliest ratebook I could find at Keilor was that of 1868 but Chris obviously found the earlier records which showed Maurice renting 450 acres from Alphabetical Foster. When Mary Crotty wrote in 1867 that somebody had bought part of their farm she was referring to James Sharp whose 133 acre purchase, memorialised in volume 176 folio 786, showed that it included Barry Rd and the north-south part of Allied Drive, and the Airport Drive/Western Ring Road interchange is in its south east corner. Maurice Crotty's 230 acre purchase of "Broomfield" from Foster in 1868, as mentioned by Chris was memorialised in volume 180 folio 386.
(Transposition of titles information on my 1999 Melway.)
Joe Crotty was the last to farm Broomfield and sold out in about 1960 when land to the north was being acquired for the jetport and retired to Ray Loft's old place, the Californian Bungalow at 3 Eumarella St which backed onto the Gordon St house that my great uncle Alf Cock of Glenview had retired to. Joe was living in Sunbury by 1989 when he told me this, so our conversations were by phone and I misheard him regarding his farm's name, thinking he'd called it Bloomfield. This farm and Broombank at Tullamarine which later included the Lady of the Lake block, were both so-named because of the Cape broom which grew in profusion at the former and formed a hedge at the latter in 1860 when Burke and Wills passed by on their way to their second camp by the Incerness Hotel.
Joe put me in touch with his (great nephew?) Glen Cotchen who was researching the Crotty family history and told me about the Governor's mansion on 21 Doutta Galla, the locations of the original and 1890's Broomfield homesteads, the McCormacks' 44 acre "Chesterfield", a triangular farm on section 2 Tullamarine south of Annandale Rd from the Sharps Rd, Fosters Rd corner to Lambeck Drive and Mary Crotty's bravery at Corryong,and gave me copies of letters including the 1867 one mentioned above.
Before adding my additional information, back to James Sharp. Chris mentioned that he had been farming at Broadmeadows in the 1860's before buying land from Foster in 1867. The 1863 Broadmeadows ratebook showed that W. Love was leasing most of Chandos and James Sharp was leasing 40 acres of it. Chandos was bounded by Broadmeadows Rd (now Mickleham Rd) from the Freight Rd/Londrew Court to the Moonee Ponds Creek, Derby St and Wright St.
FOSTER, SHARP AND CROTTY OF TULLAMARINE, VIC., AUST.
EXCERPT FROM "EARLY LANDOWNERS: PARISH OF DOUTTA GALLA".
SHARP'S "HILLSIDE" AND CROTTY'S "BROOMFIELD".
SECTION 20 and 21.
The north and south boundaries of both sections are indicated by Sharps Rd. and Spence St. Section 21 was between Barrie Rd. (named after the son of Joe Thomas who died young) and Fosters Rd (Keilor Park Drive). Section 20 runs from Keilor Park Drive to the river. In 1840 the Foster brothers were granted a 10 year squatting lease on a station called Leslie Park and this might be why much land in the Doutta Galla and Tullamarine parishes was not alienated until 1849-50. Both William and John had Leslie as Christian names and John's friends called him Leslie. William, the older brother, bought section 21 as well as section 3 in the parish of Tullamarine across Sharps Rd. At the same time, in the early 1840's, John bought section 20. They called their land Springs and the name was confusingly used in 1849 to describe the location of both James Laverty in Keilor Rd. and David O'Nial, who had opened the Lady of the Lake Hotel (near Millar Rd. at Tullamarine*) on his property Broombank at the n.e. corner of section 3, Tullamarine.
(POSTSCRIPT 30-4-2018. It is debatable whether David, whose surname was pronounced as O'NYALL according to Colin Williams who knew the O'Niall girls, Catherine and Minnie,was at Tullamarine by 1849 but I believe his 1850 relocation, a SHORT distance, was from his house 70 metres along today's Millar Rd from Bulla Rd to the larger premises, not from the old Mt Macedon Rd on section 21 Doutta Galla as Chris believed.)
In 1843, John horsewhipped Dr. McCrae of La Rose on 1-12-1843 because he thought the doctor had hoodwinked him in relation to the Eumemmerring Cattle Station at Dandenong, and the Doc. bolted for Sydney. It seems, despite the "Pastoral Properties of Port Phillip" entry under Foster*, that the Fosters were dissatisfied with McCrae's former run and stayed only 1839-40, which prompted their move to Tullamarine. (Notice that main streets in Dandenong are named after each of them.) * 1839-45 but only till 1840 under Station entry.
A fine stone house was built on section 21 and John must have lived there after William inherited and returned home, as it became known as the Governor's house according to Joe Crotty. John Foster was later colonial secretary and as well as drafting Victoria's constitution with his cousin, William Stawell, he served as Governor between La Trobe and Hotham.
In December 1844, one of John Foster's native servants, Booby, was murdered by another aborigine named John Bull while driving a dray back to Springs from Melbourne. Another servant, Maurice Fitzgerald, who was driving a dray behind Booby, was a prime witness.
In 1860, Maurice Crotty, who married a McCormack* lass from Annandale, on the other side of Fosters Rd., started leasing "The Springs". Charles Kavanagh was the occupant of The Springs before Crotty moved in. Seven years later, Mrs. Crotty reported that someone had bought part of their farm. That was James Sharp. Tullamarine Park Rd. was close to the boundary between Sharp's Hillside and the portion that Maurice bought in 1868 and called Broomfield. The original Broomfield homestead was across Tullamarine Park Rd. from Allied Drive and their 1890 house was on the site of Honda's riding school.
(*A McCormack/ Crotty/Delahey/ O?Neil family reunion was held in February 2000. The contact number of 9 739 7182 may help relatives who missed this function to make amends.)
Butcher Thomas bought Hillside in about 1940 and renamed it as Carinya Park. Sharp's homestead was extended by Joe Thomas. Sadly, Carinya Park's homestead was bulldozed in 1998 by Vaughan Constructions; the gate pillars made using stone from James Sharp's original kitchen will hopefully remain.
In 1847, William O'Neil, who later received the grant for 9B Doutta Galla with Davies and Robinson and bought today's Horseshoe Bend Park, was obviously leasing section 20 from John Foster. He was on Lesley Bank, Springs, Mt Macedon Rd according to the directory. Lesley should be Leslie but the inclusion of bank in the farm's name would suggest a river (which forms the west boundary of section 20) rather than the small creek running through section 21.
As mentioned elsewhere, all three roads heading north (Pascoe Vale, Bulla, Keilor Rds) were called Mt Macedon Rd at various stages, but this time it may have meant Keilor Rd. "Leslie Banks" may have included part of section 19 later owned by James Harrick (who was married at Williamstown in 1861 and obviously not yet in Keilor), thus extending to the road.
The Delaheys owned section 20 by 1868 and until at least 1900. Early this century, Thomas Nash, who had been leasing Hillside, bought land south of the bend in Fosters Rd, 150/1 acres straddling the section 20/21 boundary which Edward Cahill had been farming in 1868. Later he added 188 acres north of the present Botanical Gardens. The Wards and then the Williamsons farmed where Keilor Park clubs now play footy and tennis. In about 1943 Claude Butler established the Moonya Dairy Farm on the former Nash land. In 1940, James White found the famous "Keilor Skull" while digging a sand pit at the junction of Dry (Arundel) Creek and the river. This spot (Melway 14,K/2) is at the north- western corner of both the parish and section 20.
Titles information on sections 21 and 20.
Maurice Crotty bought the north western portion of section 21, roughly bounded by Tullamarine Park Rd and consisting of 243 acres, for 913 pounds on 8-6-1868. The Crotty dairy farm, Broomfield, was a feature of the area for a century. The original house was opposite Allied Dr and the 1890's house near the motor cycle school.
Incidentally, in 1867, both Sharps Rd and Broadmeadows Rd were known as Foster's Lane (Vol. 175 folio 509).
Section 20, between Fosters Rd (Keilor Park Drive) and the river, was leased to James Henry Smith for 5 years on 23-6-1857, the lease probably being extended for a further 5 years. On 7-9-1868 Henry and James Delahey bought 692 acres (all but the s/w corner) from Foster/Fitzgerald for 2641 pounds. This farm had been known as "Leslie Banks".
SPECULATORS.
In the land boom of the late 1880's a railway line was proposed, along the east side of the Saltwater River, to Keilor.
This led to subdivisions at the end of Braybrook Rd (renamed as Buckley St) where Ramsay built Clydebank on the
south side and the Rose Hill and Buckley Park estates were placed on sale along Hoffmans Rd.
The Essendon Land, Tramway and Investment Co., which may have been involved in the aforesaid subdivisions,
was certainly expecting to reap quick profits along Fosters Rd. On 4-5-1889 the company signed contracts to buy the Delaheys' 692 acres (whose s/e boundary was the diagonal part of Fosters Rd) for L46 318/3/10 and Maurice Crotty's 243 acres at the n/w portion of section 21(for L10581/4/9), while Thomas Nash contracted to buy 150 acres in section 21 from the company for L 5536/12/7. (This 150 acres fronting the east side of Fosters Rd south of the bend, and therefore including about 20 acres of section 20, had been leased by Edward Cahill for 5 years from 1-4-1866).
The rescissions of the first and third contracts were memorialised on 20-8-1890 and 1-8-1890.
On 4-5-1889 and 18-7-1889 other contracts cancelled revealed that the Doutta Galla Estate Co Ltd, Evan Roberts and James Evans (estate agents), and the Ascot Vale Land Co. Ltd. had also been involved in the web of deals concerning the Delahey, Crotty and Nash land.
(356 808, 364 378, 376 110, 356 809, 356 810, 364 900, and V.356 folios 805, 806, 807.)
No memorial of the Crotty contract has been found but it's a fair bet that the new Broomfield homestead near the Honda Riding School site was paid for with the speculators' money.
Joe Crotty told me that dairy farming on Broomfield was hard work for little financial gain and this claim is backed up by these James Crotty memorials, which almost certainly relate to mortgages:
388 493, 392 697, 400 361, 429 829, 435 769, 473 742, 491 469, 501 688 (14-9-1922), 516 713 (13-11-1925).
On 5-2-1868, James Sharp paid J.F.L.Foster (by then called John Foster Vesey Fitzgerald) L682/10/- for 133 acres 1 rood 10 perches. This had a Sharps Rd frontage from opposite Broadmeadows Rd to 1/3 of the way between Allied Drive and Tullamarine Park Rd. Its s/e corner was near the North/ Thomas St corner and its s/w corner was 160 m west of the start of the off ramp to Airport Dr.(176 786).
Thomas St probably gets its name from the Thomas family, which took over Sharp's Hillside in about 1940 and called it Carinya Park. Barrie St is named after Joe Thomas's son who died young.
James Sharp enlarged Hillside by buying 22A, of 87 acres 1 rood 28 perches, for L1114/15/4 on 10-7-1877 (267 607).
By 1893-4, Sharp had acquired 303 acres and was leasing 294 acres to Thomas Nash while he remained in the homestead on 8 acres.
HISTORY OF THE KEILOR PARK FOOTBALL OVALS.
I have been contacted by Brenda Lee, who has asked me for details of the land on which the club's ovals are located; the following may supplement her story of how the club was formed. This information comes from Titles Office documents, Keilor Council rates, directories and oral history (Gordon Connor and Colin Williams from the pre W.W.1 days and Joe Crotty and Noel and Joe Butler regarding later times.)
The land between Sharps Rd, the lines of Barrie Rd and Spence St, and the river was granted to William Vesey Leslie Foster and his younger brother John Fitzgerald Leslie Foster on 15-10-1842. This land would have been part of Leslie Park, for which the brothers received a 10 year lease in 1840. William's 640 acres, section 21 of the parish of Doutta Galla, was east of Foster's Rd and John's section 20 of 712 acres was west of it.
William sold his 640 acres to John on 31-3-1843 and returned home to claim his inheritance.
In 1847 William O'Neil, who later purchased Horseshoe Bend Farm, was leasing Lesley Bank, Springs, Mt Macedon Rd?, which was probably on section 20, on which the clubs ovals now stand. On 23-6-1857, section 20 was leased to James Henry Smith for 5 years and it is likely that he occupied it for another five years.
On 7-9-1868, 692 acres of section 20 was bought by Henry and James Delahey for 2641 pounds. The vendor, John Foster Vesey Fitzgerald, was none other than John Foster, who had changed his name and returned home to inherit from his late brother. This was all of section 20 apart from the area including the courts running east off Fosters Rd and the western end of Randwick Drive; the northern part of Keilor Park Drive indicates the boundary between sections 21 and 20. The Delaheys owned the land for many decades. A contract of 4-5-1889 to sell the land to the Essendon Land, Tramway and Investment Co. for 46 318 pounds was rescinded on 20-8-1890; the land boom and the prospect of a railway line to Bulla had ended abruptly. The Delahey family, and their relatives, the Dodds, also owned most of the land between Milleara Rd and the river. James Harrick was leasing the 692 acres from the Delaheys in 1900-1.
JAMES AND MARY SHARP OF "HILLSIDE" TULLAMARINE, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA AND A McNAB-McMILLAN MARRIAGE
CRAZY, CRAZY, CRAZY!
This morning, I woke up with an urgent task in mind. Almost all of the tenants of James Sharp's Hillside had been detailed except for Michael Reddan. Joe Crotty had told me that Michael was on Hillside during the construction of the Albion-Jacana railway line circa 1928 and his hay harvest was so massive that it was almost impossible to drive a cart between the sheaves.However the list of tenants could not be found in Christine's book so it must have been my subconscious creating drama to keep me on my toes. P.R.Johnson is only mentioned once, on page 94, as an agent re the sale of another property.
A SHORT HILLSIDE CHRONOLOGY.(There are only 17 results on trove for HILLSIDE, TULLAMARINE!)
1888, James Sharp's clearing sale, his farm, like many others such as "Stewarton" (Gladstone Park), having been sold to speculator G.W.Taylor who anticipated the railway to Bulla going along Bulla Rd, with a branch line to Broadmeadows Township, rather than the route along the east bank of the Saltwater River through Keilor anticipated by C.B.Fisher and the Essendon Tramway and Land investment Company purchasers of property, respectively, in the Ascot Vale/Aberfeldie/Avondale Heights, and Fosters Rd areas.
The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946) Saturday 21 April 1888 p 7 Advertising
1916, JAMES SHARP'S DEATH.The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957) Thursday 7 December 1916 p 1 Family Notices
1917, P.R.Johnson's long tenancy ends.The Essendon Gazette and Keilor, Bulla and Broadmeadows Reporter (Moonee Ponds, Vic. : 1914 - 1918) Thursday 8 February 1917 p 2 Article
1920, MARY SHARP'S DEATH. The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957) Thursday 8 April 1920 p 1 Family Notices
Mary had appointed Isabella Padgett of Hillside, Tullamarine as her executor.
The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954) Thursday 15 April 1920 p 12 Advertising
EventDeath Event registration number6373 Registration year1920
Personal information
Family nameSHARP Given namesMary SexUnknown Father's nameClark James Mother's nameMary (Langwill) Place of birth Place of deathKeilor Age92
I wonder if Isabella's maiden name was McMillan, Clark or Langwill! James and Mary had no children.
P.60. JOSEPH HARPER. The excellent biography does not mention Joe's involvement in horse racing as referred to by Isaac Batey: "The late Mr Joseph Harper, of horse racing fame, stated to me ..." HORSE RACING FAME
One of Joseph's thoroughbreds, Orlando, raced while Joseph was at the Springs. I was not surprised at the identity of the author of this article but that he had commenced writing his memoirs by 1883, well before the death of his wife, Lydia, nee Winter, in 1899.
"Joseph Harper owned the entire blood horse Orlando, which he kept at " The Springs," and used to run on the Melbourne course." ORLANDO
Christine mentions Joseph being a blacksmith and the Harpers moving to Woodend by 1855. Isaac Batey reveals Joseph's contribution to one of the early wool presses, made by the Page brothers of "Glencoe" (the site of the Sunbury Pops Festival.) I imagine that the box was made of iron rather than wood.
"The woolpressing arrangements, though primitive, were very effective, for in 1850 with my help in handing up the fleeces, Mr. Page turned out 11 bales of wool in one day. This appliance, known as the'Lever Press,' was in general use then, and with the exception of the box built by the late Mr. Joseph Harper at a cost of £7, everything else was the work of the two brothers, who were exceedingly handy men." JOE'S BOX
Due to excessive drinking, the Page brothers lost everything and by 1861 one of them was "dependant upon the bounty of Mr Harper", probably Joseph.CHEAP RENT
P. 62,THE LADY OF THE LAKE HOTEL, MARTIN TIERNEY.
Too exhausted to resume my review after waking up at midnight after a long nap,but feeling guilty at losing hours of research time, I had a quick look at mentions of Keilor road in the 1840's on trove, and found Booby's murder, D.T. Kilburn's two 80 acres paddocks at Springs and the boxing match etc. mentioned by Chris. Then I tried Mount Macedon road and found a publican who was running the pub for which William Hancock was granted a licence in April 1844. Tierney was apparently only there for a year but like Morris Fitzgerald,Foster's employee and the main witness to Booby's murder,his name is not included in the book's index.
COUNTRY LICENSES GRANTED.
.......; Martin Tierney, Springs, Mount Macedon Road....... (P.2, Port Phillip Gazette, 19-4-1843.)
It seemed strange that Martin's name did not appear in the book's index because his name seemed familiar. Perhaps that was because I have previously inserted this article in the journal. At the risk of repetition*:
Martin Tierney applied for a license to a house
near the Springs on the Mount Macedon road.
The bench granted the application, and hoped
it would be kept better than the public-house at
Keillor, or Mr. Tierney would soon have the li-
cense taken from him.(P.3, Port Phillip Patriot and Melbourne Advertiser, 8-12-1842.)
Martin apparently called the inn the Prince of Wales.
Martin Tierney, Mount Macedon Road, Prince of Wales.(P.2, Port Phillip Gazette, 26-4-1843.)
I thought this Martin Tierney may have been the one running the Victoria Hotel at East Ballarat three decades later but if Mary Deway is supposed to be Mary Dwyer, it appears that Martin Tierney of Ballarat whose first child born on terra firma, at Ballarat in 1857, arrived in 1855.
EventBirth Event registration number136 Registration year1855
Personal information
Family nameTIERNEY Given namesMathew SexMale Ship nameEpaminondas Father's nameTIERNEY Martin Mother's nameMary (Deway) Place of birthAt Sea
*POSTSCRIPT 4-5-2018. My suspicion was correct. Near the start of the journal re "P.62 The Lady of The Lake", I had mentioned my discovery that Martin Tierney had been running the hotel at Springs before William Sharp, neither of them lasting for a full year or mention in the book. William Hancock only lasted from April 1844 till January 1846 when the licence was transferred to O'Nial. Such short tenures seem to confirm my suspicion that there was little passing trade and that O'Nial would have moved before 1850 to the new Mt Macedon road running through the north east corner of section 3 Tullamarine, granted to William Foster on 27-1-1843.
"SPRINGS" AND SPRING CREEK.
As mentioned previously, the name Springs derived from a spring (indicated by PLENTIFUL SUPPLY OF FRESH WATER noted on the Geological Survey map), not far north of today's Camp Hill Park (Melway 5 15 J1)feeding Spring Creek east which crossed the roads to Broadmeadows (into section 3 Tullamarine) and Bulla Townships, flowed (in 1971 when I arrived in Tullamarine and a few years longer) as a rat-infested drain along the east side of today's Leo Dineen Reserve, curving right around the southern boundary, then south through the reserve on the south side of SPRING Street (shown in Melway 15 H 2-3), merging with SPRING CREEK west (officially so-named by Keilor Council in the 1970's,which starts at 15F1, also on section 3) near Clyne Court. Crossing Sharps Rd, it entered section 21 Doutta Galla, flowing through James Sharp's 1857 purchase and south to its confluence with Steele Creek. The two branches of SPRING CREEK started on section 3 Tullamarine and provided two miles or more of water frontage on that grant and 21 Doutta Galla, whereas Steele Creek provides only half a mile on the latter.
Steele Creek starts at 5 B12 about 30 chains north of Annandale Rd,near the eastern boundary of Geraghty's Paddock, exits Annandale (section 2) after providing a western boundary for the McCORMACKS'1850's 44 acre "Chesterfield", flowing 20 chains farther south into section 20 Doutta Gallabefore curving right and left to cross Keilor Park Drive (originally Fosters Rd) into section 21 at 15 D5, finally merging with SPRING CREEK at the WATER RESERVE in the north east corner of c/a 18A Doutta Galla.
Section 3 Tullamarine was also called Springs so if David William O'Nial had moved to the new road in 1848, his new address would have been the same, Mount Macedon Rd, Springs.
LOOK FOR ONE THING AND FIND ANOTHER.
While searching O'Nial in the 1840's to find a name or some other clue to confirm my belief that he had moved to Tullamarine before 1850, I discovered that he was a literate and prominent man.
ST. PATRICK'S SOCIETY
Another gem was the discovery of what David William O'Nial had been doing before taking over the Lady of the Lake from William Hancock and what a miserable hut it had been during the tenures of Martin Tierney, William Sharp and Hancock.
Stokes' Mt Macedon Inn was apparently the Carlsruhe Inn according to one corresponent, there being no Mt Macedon Inn. Tulip Wright's inn, deemed unsatisfactory also, was at Bulla. The third persecuted publican was D.W.O'Nial.
"The last instance and probably the
worst, is that of Mr D. W. O'Nial,
of " the Springs." Mr. O'Nial is
an old colonist, and for some years
past has been in the employment (as ac-
countant) of Mr. W. Easey ; the nature
of his avocations brought him much in
contact with the public, his irreproach-
able character gained him deserved es-
teem ; his industry enabled him to enter
into a licensed house, also situate on the
Mount Macedon Road — he succeeded a
not very eligible occupant, and his ap-
plication was most flatteringly and res-
pectably recommended. When he ob-
tained the transfer, he found the licensed
premises consist of a hut, and in three
months he has erected a commodious
house, affording three times the accom-
modation required by the Act ; he had
resigned a remunerative situation to
enter into this business, in the natural
hope of creating a competency for his
family; he expended the hard earned
savings of several years in improve-
ments, probably expecting thereby
that he was thus providing for the
public convenience, and best fulfill-
ing the intentions of the Act. But
go he must with the rest. The fiat of
their worships has gone forth — their
breath has consigned (if proper resist-
ance be not offered) unoffending men to
comparative, and probably positive, beg-
gary. It may be asked what is the
object sought by these extraordinary
proceedings ? — the object is, to prevent
bush servants generally, but those in the
employment of certain justices, par-
ticularly, from taking " a glass too
much," when in funds to do so— thus
particular individuals and the public, are
ordered to sacrifice their fortunes and
convenience to prevent the bullock
drivers of some five or six sheepfarming
J.P.'s from occasional intoxication."
DELIBERATE CRUELTY
D.W.O'Nial probably got his licence renewal on 12 May 1846, 18 days after the above letter was published. [url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/226353348]O'NIAL'S PETITION.
I eventually found two names, Weston and Brace, confirming that O'Nial's Lady of the Lake was still on section 21 Doutta Galla in mid 1849.
The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957) Thursday 21 June 1849 p 2 Article
I'd forgotten about Mrs O'Nial's accident in town.[url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/4765883]THE ACCIDENT[/url.]
MEMORIES!
Before I leave the O'Nials, it is of interest that there are no records on Victorian BDM of the births of the two O'Nial girls who watched the 1860 expedition pass by. It was Colin Williams who told me of this, his father finding many coins while ploughing the former hotel site which had become part of Broombank during John Cock's tenure, and John Cock telling Colin's dad that the Broombank homestead was haunted.
Colin was born in 1900:
EventBirth Event registration number24548 Registration year1900
Personal information
Family nameWILLIAMS Given namesCollin Samuel Smith SexMale Father's nameThos Mother's nameCath (Ellis) Place of birthBROADMEADOWS
Ellen O'Nial was said to have married Richard Beaman but there is no marriage certificate on Victorian BDM, possibly the reason Chris hadn't mentioned the year of the marriage, but the birth record of the first of two Davids (who'd obviously died by 1859) was in 1855. "Beaman" was recorded as the owner of Broombank by 1867 and until his death in 1892, Ellen having died eight years earlier. Strange then that ownership passed to the Misses O'Nial of Docker St, Richmond, not the Beaman children. They obviously made nostalgic visits to their birthplace, regaling Colin with their childhood memories but refused to sell the property to Ray Loft who leased it from the 1920's living on Dalkeith rather than in the tiny homestead built circa 1850 by their father,finally buying Broombank after Minnie's death. Colin gave the girls' names as Catherine and Minnie, the latter obviously a pet name.
CATHERINE.
EventDeath Event registration number7391 Registration year1926
Personal information
Family nameONIAL Given namesEllen Kate SexFemale Father's nameONIAL David William Mother's nameEllen Theresa (Fitzgerald) Place of birth Place of deathRICHMOND Age79
MINNIE.
EventDeath Event registration number4903 Registration year1933
Personal information
Family nameONIAL Given namesMary Johanna SexFemale Father's nameONIAL David Mother's nameEllen (Fitzgerald) Place of birth Place of deathRICHMOND Age85
P. 65. A SERIOUS ERROR.
I can find little fault in Christine's information but this one is a serious error.
Ellen Sturmer described three routes to the diggings, supposedly at Eaglehawk and Forest Creek. As Christine's source was a book rather than a newspaper the destinations cannot be checked. Forest Creek meant Castlemaine and going along Deep Creek road makes sense, as it was termed the great road to the diggings in the early days of the rush, but it did not lead to Somerton and if she meant Somerton Rd, this road was not made for some time.
The Yuroke parish map shows Cliffords Rd joining the old Sydney road and the new Sydney road while land for Somerton Rd has not been reserved and had to be bought from McKerchar and Co. later on. UNMADE SOMERTON RD
The link does not seem to be working. The Yuroke parish map referred to can be accessed by typing YUROKE, COUNTY OF BOURKE into your search bar and opening the first result.
"The first she (Ellen) said was via the road to Sydney (that is north west along Bulla Road to Somerton) which turned eastwards to get onto the old Sydney Road."
There were only two routes to Forest Creek and Eaglehawk, via Bulla and Sunbury, and via Keilor, Diggers Rest The Gap etc. In some forgotten source, perhaps one of Christine's articles in the Keilor Historical Society's newsletters decades ago, I recall Ellen's account of passing through Keilor.
There were three routes to the McIvor diggings near Heathcote- and to Sydney.(See pages 31, 32, BROADMEADOWS: A FORGOTTEN HISTORY.)
These were via the Plenty, via Pascoe Vale Rd past the Young Queen Inn at Pascoeville, Broadmeadows Township and Mickleham Rd/Old Sydney Rd and from 1854 when the timber bridge linking the two portions of Ardlie St was built,via the road to Bulla to the Lady of the Lake, today's Mickleham Rd to Ardlie St in Broadmeadows Township to Mickleham/Old Sydney Rd. These three routes converged near Wallan.
The direct route to Sydney through Pentridge (Coburg) the new Sydney road was on the drawing board by 1850, as was making the OLD SYDNEY ROAD (Pascoe Vale Road)and linking it (via Cliffords Rd, Somerton,) to the new road.
P 67. Colin Williams told me that the Lady of the Lake had burnt down and I'd never discovered when this happened. Christine obviously hadn't known about the fire but narrowed down the time frame of the hotel's end. I'd thought it must have been sometime between the Shinty match of New Years Day 1857 and a posthumous mention of the hotel in 1861.
The Victorian Farmers Journal and Gardeners Chronicle (Melbourne, Vic. : 1860 - 1862) Saturday 19 October 1861 p 16 Article
FARMING IN THE DEEP CREEK DISTRICT.
TULLAMARINE.
At a distance of about twelve miles from
Melbourne, on the road to Bulla, is situated
Tullamarine, hamlet, village, or township,
whichever it may be, but under which of these
designations it now ranks we should be rather
perplexed to decide. Time was, when Tulla-
marine might have hoped for development into
a full-blown village, but that was ere railways
had an existence, and before also the now
capitally metalled, but little used road, had re-
placed the rugged and at times im-
passable bush track, the only faci-
lity afforded for travellings in those days.
It was then that butchers, bakers, and store
keepers, plied an active trade with the multi-
tude of draymen who thronged to the levées of
the “Lady of the Lake,” (peace to her ashes)
alas, no more. The “Beech Tree” alone now
offers the shade of its wide spreading branches,
as a rest for the thirsty traveller; the slight
wooden tenements, in which a thriving business
once was done, are apparently deserted, and the
traffic on the road is insufficient to prevent the
metal becoming nearly as verdant as the fields.(ETC.)
Chris reveals that Roderick McKenzie* was the licensee in 1857, that it was taken over in July 1857 by William Higgins and in June 1860 by Edward Higgins who was still operating the hotel in July 1861."
THEREFORE THE LADY OF THE LAKE WAS DESTROYED BY FIRE SOME TIME BETWEEN JULY AND OCTOBER 1861!
TWO MYSTERIES.
*Roderick McKenzie may be the man who became insolvent when farming on Upper Glengyle** in 1855 but I have been unable to confirm this. There was a publican of that name who had the Albion Hotel in Elizabeth Street in 1853 after running the Rose and Thistle in the same street previously. (P.3,Argus, 14-3-1853.)
He may have been the man awarded a contract which led him to the Lady of the Lake:
CONTRACTS ACCEPTED — The Government have entered into the following contracts: — Roderick McKenzie, to supply and erect mile-posts upon the various roads in the vicinity of Melbourne (P.5, Argus, 5-4-1856.)
A man named Roderick McKenzie was a grantee in the parish of Will Will Rook in 1852.
156. 304a 3r 22p, Roderick McKenzie, 21 per acre.(P.2, Geelong Advertiser and Intelligencer, 31-1-1852.)
This was crown allotment 15A fronting the east side of the old Sydney road (Pascoe Vale Rd) between King William St to almost Phillip St and extending east 7615 links to a line 100 metres past the west boundary of today's Northcorp Industry Park which could be shown by joining King St (north of Northcorp) to the east boundary of the Will Will Rook Cemetery. (Google WILL WILL ROOK, COUNTY OF BOURKE to see the parish map.)
** Upper Glengyle is also a mystery. It was one mile from Keilor while Glengyle was from one to two miles from Keilor. That would mean that Upper Glengyle was the horseshoe bend now bisected by Browns Rd which was not higher than the portion of the Glengyle Estate that Edward Wilson renamed as Arundel, nor farther upstream of it.
P.67-8 RIDDELL AND HAMILTON, THE CAMIESTOWN ESTATE.
I just realised that I have written John Carre Riddell's surname as Riddle somewhere in this journal.
The estate was not only comprised of section 6 as would be assumed from the book. It included section 15, also granted to Riddell. Section 15 was north of section 7 and 6, adjoining them at a line joining Grants Rd and almost Bamford Rd which was the southern boundary of Percy Judd's Chandos Park, later owned by Bamford, and fronted the Moonee Ponds Creek from the present Mickleham Rd bridge to the bottom of Melway 5 D2.
Riddell swapped land with John Pascoe Fawkner so their estates would be respectively on the Broadmeadows and Keilor side of Bulla Rd, thus the Beech Tree was on Riddell's grant but Fawkner's subdivision. The south west corner of Riddell's section 15 was not swapped but sold to John Mansfield (volume 106 folio 595), was Payne's pig farm when acquired for the jetport circa 1960 and now houses the airport terminal building and streets north of Grants Rd (which has been partly renamed as Melrose Drive east to what locals called Ellis's corner on Bulla Rd. The 377 acres 2 roods 6 perches across Bulla Rd between that triangle and the creek was separated from Charles Nash's "Fairview" only by a wedge-shaped purchase (wider at Bulla Rd than the creek)by William Love (v.188 f.367 and v188 f.367) which by 1960 was owned by the GREEK poultry farming Ellis family, related by marriage to the (Chambers?) family who then owned the 377 acre property whose name was guessed by Olive Nash in 1988 to be GLENDURA, this spelling being used in my WHERE BIG BIRDS SOAR of 1989.
Soon after the 1989 Back to Tullamarine, I started my dictionary history of Tullamarine and miles around.That was when I found William Dewar's biography (VICTORIA AND ITS METROPOLIS 1888)and read that he had managed Riddell and Hamilton's estate for some time before purchasing Glendewar! The Cleanaway waste treatment facility, earlier the Hillview Quarry that forced Olive Nash to sell Fairview because of the dust and noise, probably grew from a much smaller hole from which the well regarded DEWAR road metal came.
Christine quotes a description of the Camieston Estate in February 1853 which may justify her claim that the Lady of the Lake was on the Camiestown Estate, which I have previously disputed in this journal:"subdivided into small farms, part of the property having already been laid out as a township. Stores, blacksmith's shop, Inn and other erections having already been established."
As this was before rate books existed, I can only rely on other sources for details of the stores and smithy.
Before settling at Bulla, Gilbert Alston* was at Tullamarine and his smithy may have been on the 28 acres 26 perches which my 1999 Melway transposition seems to indicate was bought by J.Munsie in 1861.In 1883, Fred Wright*, having been Munsie's apprentice took over Munsie's smithy.(*VICTORIA AND ITS METROPOLIS.)
The Tullamarine Methodist Church centenary souvenir of 1970 mentioned Hosking's store across Bulla Rd from Tullamarine State School 2613 on the Conders Lane corner. The school opened in 1884 but the store may have been built just over three decades earlier and was probably on the north east side of Bulla Rd at the bottom left corner of Melway 5 F8,near the north west end of the township, Hamilton Terrace, bounded by Victoria Road (Nash's Lane, now Mercer's Drive), Bulla Rd and Derby St.
As stated elsewhere in this journal, because Derby St meets Melrose Drive at a right angle, the southern-most block in Hamilton Terrace was south of Derby St and triangular with only a post comprising its frontage to Bulla Rd. In the 1920's Stephen Peachey came to Tullamarine because of swine fever in what is now called Hadfield. He had a dairy later subdivided by Snowy Boyse of Barbiston and father of the Essendon footballer, hence Boyse Court. Now that I look at the Melway map more closely I realise that the two sections of Millar Rd (off Bulla Rd and off Derby St)roughly indicate the boundary of Beaman's "Broombank", occupied by John Cock (1867-1882),and Colin Williams' family. When Ray Loft subdivided Broombank in 1952, it would have included the Lady of the Lake block which was added to Broombank during John Cock's tenancy and as the section of Millar Rd off Derby St is just north of the boundary between section 3 to the south and section 6 to the north, THE LADY OF THE LAKE WAS ON SECTION 6 AND PART OF THE CAMIESTOWN ESTATE. Christine was right and I was wrong!
I don't hide my wrong assumptions, because they show that even big know-alls like yours truly make them. They are necessary in a search for the truth but a true historian always seeks to confirm or disprove the assumption which Chritine has helped this know-all to do, as well as helping me to limit the time of the fiery end of the Lady of the Lake to a few months in the second half of 1861.
P.68. SOUTHWAITE GILL.
Christine's every detail is correct. In 1989, Sid Lloyd allowed me to photocopy his brother George's MICKLEHAM ROAD 1920-1952. In it George referred to the farm just south of the railway bridge as South Wait but Sid could not explain the origin of the name. The Lloyd brothers were contractors with stock transport a big feature of their work so they knew the farmers on every road in Tullamarine and many miles around.
John Hall was the son of Joseph Hall and Ann, nee Walton. Southwaite is a village nine miles from Kirkoswald,
Cumberland, England where John's parents had married in 1831.
Gordon Connor was a grandson of Charles Nash and his parents used to go from Moonee Ponds to Fairview every summer to help with the harvest. Among the information that ninety year old Gordon gave me in 1989 was that Jack Howse conducted a slaughteryard on South Wait (as Gordon also called it.)
My maternal great grandfather, John Cock, arrived in 1864 indentured to work for John Hall and a child was born in that year, the birth place given as Tullamarine so Southwaite Gill was almost certainly my family's first association with the Tullamarine DISTRICT.(THERE WAS NEVER A TULLAMARINE TOWNSHIP!) In 1888 John Cock was a prominent citizen and his biography in VICTORIA AND ITS METROPOLIS: PAST AND PRESENT claimed that he arrived in 1867 (when he started his lease on Beaman's "Broombank" near the ashes of the Lady of the Lake)because an indentured labourer was a virtual slave, liable to prosecution if he left to accept a higher paid job elsewhere and unlikely to succeed if he took his master to court over unpaid wages or other issues.
P.70. THE TRAVELLERS' REST.
Once again Christine's findings accord with my research, with much more detail, such as Mrs Poulton, one of the hotel's licensees, being (I presume*) the daughter of MARTIN Dillon, a pioneer of the Bulla District after whom the Wildwood Rd bridge is named (Melway 384 A 12.) * I'D BETTER CHECK!
EventDeath Event registration number13714 Registration year1903
Personal information
Family namePOULTON Given namesMary SexUnknown Father's nameDillon Martin Mother's nameHanora (Quirk) Place of birth Place of deathHoth E Age44
The Howse family was running the hotel by 1854. Christine states that the hotel was almost opposite Southwaite Gill* so it's no surprise that one of John Cock's four wives (all but the last pre-deceasing him) was a Howse girl.
EventMarriage Event registration number3838 Registration year1877
Personal information
Family nameCOCK Given namesJohn SexMale Spouse's family nameHOWSE Spouse's given namesElizabeth Alice
*Boundary descriptions memorialised in Volume 29 folio 783 show that the 9 acre block purchased by T.B.Howse was bounded by Bulla Rd, the east-west section of Dromana Avenue, Louis Street and a southern boundary of 15 chains about a chain (20 metres) south of Rood St (Melway 16 A5.)
ROOD ST MAY HAVE GOT ITS NAME FROM THE NAME OF A UNIT OF AREA MEASUREMENT.
Rood is an English unit of area, equal to one quarter of an acre or 10,890 square feet (1,012 m2). A rectangle that is one furlong (i.e. 10 chains, or 40 rods) in length and one rod in width is one rood in area, as is any space comprising 40 perches (a perch being one square rod).
P.75-6. MICHAEL BOURKE.
Chris states correctly that Michael later moved to Diggers Rest. As well as farming, Michael had the Manchester Hotel at The Gap*, west of Sunbury, which was discussed in detail in I.W.Symonds in BULLA BULLA. The Gap was a township that took off after 1854 when Brees' bridge at Keilor saw the Keilor or Portland road replace the road through Bulla and Sunbury as the great road to the diggings. Sunbury west of Jacksons Creek and south to the cemetery was in the parish of Buttlejork whose name was supposed to have meant "a flock of wild turkeys" (emus.) The railway revived Sunbury from the late 1850's but the Diggers Rest area from where the railway headed east as far as Clarkfield for Big Clarke's benefit was serviced by the same line and continued to support more than one hotel. Today there is little evidence of the township.
Michael Bourke, Manchester Hotel, Buttlejork, £75; (Sunbury News and Bulla and Melton Advertiser (Vic. : 1892 - 1900) Saturday 28 December 1895 p 2 Article)
The Diggers Rest Hotel at the west end of the Bulla-Diggers Rest road was in the parish of Holden whose name is recalled by the Holden bridge at Melway 176 F4 and the Holden Flora and Fauna Reserve at 352F-K 1-3.
P.78.WILLIAM CHERRY.
William may have used North Pole Rd (Milleara Rd)more than any other Keilor landowner as he travelled between his grants near Brimbank Park and Bertram's Ford, and Seaford House at Altona. He probably used the original Solomon's ford (Grimes' Rocks)before there was access* from Braybrook Township to the second Solomon's ford at the end of North Rd. (*Only a dotted line on the 1855 map.)
P. 79 CONSTABLE MARTIN MORGAN.
Two others with the same surname mentioned, William, a Kyneton bullock driver (P.64-5) and Patrick (P.124, 132) should not be presumed to be related to Martin.
Martin was the brother of Bridget Gorman who eventually became the wife of William O'Neil,described as a gay Lothario in KEILOR PIONEERS:DEAD MEN DO TELL TALES, and mainly associated with "Horseshoe Bend" at Melway 15 A9.
Martin and William had joined the Melbourne Police by 1841. Bridget was 17 and having been asked to tie the knot a date was set in April of that year but apparently O'Neil demanded a dowry and no knot was tied. Martin and his two sisters moved to Geelong and an action for breach of promise was launched. Bridget was awarded damages of 100 pounds.The marriage eventually took place in 1842*. Their children all married into specified families living in or near Keilor (Paraphrased.)
* EventMarriage Event registration number4538 Registration year1842
Personal information
Family nameGORMAN Given namesBridget SexFemale Spouse's family nameONEIL Spouse's given namesWilliam Henry
The assumption would be that Martin stayed in Geelong, but he actually later farmed at Springs.
MELBOURNE INSOLVENCY LIST. No. 254. Martin Morgan, Leslie Park,Farmer. Debts, £66 3s. 6d. Assets — personal
property, Sec., £12 10s.; debts, good and bad,£114 6s. Balance deficency, £39 7s. 6d.
(P.2, The Melbourne Weekly Courier, 9-3-1844.)
LESLIE PARK of about 1500 acres would have consisted of 20 Doutta Galla (712 acres) and 21 Doutta Galla (640 acres), a total of 1352 acres and may have included c/a 18B, through which Steeles Creek flows from 21 Doutta Galla,later to be known as Springfield and not granted to W.Nicholson till 27-6-1849. According to Sam Merrifield's ANNALS OF ESSENDON, John and William, both of whom had Leslie as a given name, received a ten year lease of Leslie Park in 1840 but sections 20 and 21 were purchased in 1842.Springfield (consisting of 151 acres 0 roods and 20 perches is the only adjoining property that would take the area of Leslie Park to about 1500 acres.
LESLIE PARK, containing about 1500 acres, to be let in small farms, or sold in such portions as may be required. The land is good, and well adapted for the farming purposes or for market gardens; it is six miles from Melbourne, on the Mount Macedon road, and contains the well-known springs. For particulars apply to T. M. MARSHALL. LESLIE PARK
I had considered that the 148 acres required to make Leslie Park's area about 1500 acres might have been part of the Keilor Township now Keilor Park, near Fosters Rd south of Spence St, Keilor Park. However the distances following show that the new road finished at Spence St. (1 mm = 1 chain on map 15.)
NEW ROAD.-Yesterday's Government Gazette contains an announcement that a map and a plan describing the courses and bearings of a new road, from the Junction of Broadmeadows and the Deep Creek Roads to Keilor, had been deposited in the office of the Central Road Board.
The same publication gives the following particulars of the road :-The road commences at the junction of the Broadmeadows and Deep Creek roads, at a point marked K on the plan, running due south 42 chains 17 links, to a point marked F, passing through the properties of Messrs. Clark, Baxter, Macdonald, and Colonel Kenny ; thence due west one mile (already proclaimed) to a point marked D ; thence due south 60 chains to a point marked M; and thence south-west by south 25 deg. 20 min. 21 chains 70 links passing through the property of J. V. L. Foster Esq. The quantity of land required to be taken for the proposed road is twelve acres one rood and twenty perches, and the estimated cost of effecting the said work is three hundred and sixty-six pounds sterling.
(P.7, Argus, 19-4-1856.)
K= top of Melway 15 J1,the present Mickleham Rd/Melrose Drive corner. Melway indicates that Broadmeadows Rd actually runs south for 47 chains so the typesetter may have mistaken a seven for a two.
P.78.THOMAS CAHILL. The original part of Arundel Rd at Keilor is named Borrell Rd. Thomas Cahill's house still stands at Gumm's corner near the bicycle path and overlooking a saucer-like depression. Jose Borrell, one of several Spaniards to INVADE Keilor (with no Sir Francis Drake to repel them!), including Jack Vert from Barcelona, had previously stayed, upon his arrival, with relatives at their market garden near the appropriately-named Garden St at Melway 28 J3. His son, Joe told me that the great floods of the river were in 1906, 1916 and 1974. Jose moved to Gumm's corner after the 1916 flood. There was a gully running through the farm so he levelled it with a horse and scoop. Thomas Cahill's old homestead was extended with the original building becoming the lounge room. The additions have since been removed, only the original homestead remaining as a reminder of Thomas Cahill while the curious depression, Borrell Rd, and street names in Melway 14 H5, remind us of the Spanish invasion and transition from fruit to vegetable growing. In 1974 the depression became a lake and the Burrells harvested their cauliflowers in a rowboat!
P.80-7, MATTHEW GOUDIE JUNIOR.
The surname GOUDIE can hardly be mentioned without it being linked to the Dodd family. Ray Dodd wrote some fabulous history and there is quite some DODD history here that is only loosely connected to Keilor.
THE DODD CLAN
P. 89 Under the heading CHARLES KENT MEDICAL PRACTIONER:TATE, TULLAMARINE
"In 1860 the death of six-year old Elizabeth Tate of Tullamarine, prompted an inquiry into her death."
It would be natural for readers of the book to suppose that the Tates were living near the new Mount Macedon Rd and the Lady of the Lake but in fact they were living about four miles west at Pleasant Vale (Melway 176C 11)on Tullamarine Island and later Tate children attended the Holden School just across Jackson's Creek via Tate's ford near McLeods Rd in the parish of Holden.The Tates would have been unknown by most Tullamarine pioneers, being socially involved at Keilor and possibly Bulla. See:
MILBURN/TATE
TATE'S FORD
P.92-8 c/a 18A SOME TITLES INFORMATION FROM MY "EARLY LANDOWNERS:PARISH OF DOUTTA GALLA".
Meehan's farm as shown on Christine's page 92 map was sold by McKenzie to William Connor on 22-9-1856 (volume 41 folio 243.)John High, Robert George Watson, and David Moolhein are not mentioned in the book. Charles and Joseph Bradshaw are only mentioned in passing. There is a lot of information about John Peel in the book.
TITLE INFORMATION RE 18 A.
It seems that Grey conveyed his share of the grant to Wedge in N 420. Wedge conveyed 18 A to John Gemmell (38 417). On 31-12-1853, Gemmell sold the 132 acres 3 roods and 20 perches to Charles and Joseph Bradshaw for L2657/10/-. Charles and Joseph Bradshaw were involved with 9 of the 20 crown allotments between Brewster and Glass Sts in Essendon, and much of the land between Union and Ascot Vale Rds. It is likely that MacKenzie, who bought most of 18A from the Bradshaws, was the man involved in land dealings in the North, Middle and South St area at Ascot Vale.
The Bradshaws subdivided the grant, naming Erebus, Terror and Snow streets. I believe the first two were named after ships commanded by Nelson. The Bradshaws may have also named Victory St after Nelson’s flagship but the street is not mentioned in the memorial.
The Sir John Franklin hotel, shown on the east corner of Collinson St and Keilor Rd in the 1860 survey map, was actually on lot 1 of allotment A and Henry Elridge’s purchase of this land from Charles Bradshaw is recorded in 20 361. Eldridge bought his corner block for 278 pounds on 1-6-1854. It consisted of 1 acre 3 roods and 17 perches, having frontages of 132 ft to Keilor Rd and 606 ft on the western boundary (Collinson St). The boundary between his lot 1 and High’s lot 2 was 621 ft because the northern boundary (roughly indicated by Swan St) was not parallel with Keilor Rd. The Sir John Franklin Hotel is shown in this portion of the Crown Survey map.
Two other early purchases from Charles Bradshaw were lot 2 (John High, 20 360) and J.MacKenzie (4 pieces, 24 734).
High made his purchase on the same day as Eldridge, paying 285 pounds for lot 2 of 1 acre 3 roods and 24 perches. His land only contained 7 more perches than Eldridge’s and he paid a pound for each one. (A perch is 25 x 25 links or roughly 5 x 5 metres.) He had the next 132 ft Keilor Rd frontage and his eastern boundary, 2/5 of the way to Erebus St, was 637 feet.
John Mackenzie bought his four parcels in 18A and 50 ½ acres in section 21 on 15-3-1855. He paid 3000 pounds to Bernard Kavanagh who had paid 3959 pounds to Charles and Joseph Bradshaw previously (24 734). Kavanagh must have been desperate for cash to accept such a loss. Had he mortgaged the four parcels to the Bradshaws and been unable to complete repayments?
The first parcel was bounded by the eastern boundary of 18 A (a line north from the Roberts Rd corner), Snow St, Terror St and the Government road (Keilor Rd).
N.B. Highlighted names are those specified in the memorial.
The second was bounded by the line of Roberts Rd, Spence St, Erebus St and Snow St , but excluded a half acre water reserve 8 chains (8 mm on Melway) east of Russelton St and a road leading to it from Snow St.
The third was bounded by Keilor Rd, Terror St , Snow St and Erebus St but excluded a block with frontages of 132 ½ feet to Keilor Rd and 617 feet to Terror St, which had been sold to David Moolhein.
The fourth was bounded by Erebus St, Spence St, Collinson St and, after skirting around Eldridge and High’s lots, the government road 662 ½ feet south east to the Erebus St corner,
Lots 1 and 2 consisted of 5.79 acres (965x600 links) and Moolhein’s block 1.87 acres (935x 200 links) so by deducting this 7 acres 2 roods and 19 perches from 132.3.19, we can ascertain that Mackenzie owned 125 acres 1 rood and 1 perch of allotment A, section 18.
On 22-9-1856, Mackenzie conveyed the first parcel of land (bounded by Roberts, Snow, Erebus and Keilor Rd) to William Connor for 462 pounds. This land would have consisted of about 24.4 acres (41 243). William’s widow, Sarah, still owned this land in 1900.She had about 160 acres (lots 23, 24, 33-36, 38-40 in section 19, hence 61 acres) and 18A (99 acres to equal the total of 160 acres). John and Edward McNamara were leasing 369 acres (Spring Park, Springfield and logically 25 acres of 18A.)
As Sarah Connor was leasing 78 acres in sections 18 and 21 and also owned 31 ½ acres east and s/w of the cemetery, she must have been a busy widow.
45 733 R.G.Watson.
On 6-2-1857, John Mackenzie sold lot 13 to Robert George Watson. The boundaries of this land started 861 ft west from the s/e corner of 18A and went west for 132 ft, north for 601 ft, east for 136 ½ ft and south for 617 ft. This was exactly the same block at the corner of Mackenzie’s third parcel that had been owned by David Moolhein in 1855.
On 9-7-1864, Mackenzie sold lots 28-31 of 18A and 50 ½ acres of section 21 to E.Joyce, who paid 2067 pounds to Mackenzie and 108 pounds to Robert Joseph Peel. The 50 ½ acres had been bought from J.F.L.Foster by John Peel for L2015/8/9 on 27-6-1855 and adjoined lots 28-31. The 18A land was the 2nd parcel specified in 24 734 (bounded by Spence,Erebus, Snow and the eastern boundary of 18A ( a line north from the Roberts Rd corner). John Peel had bought this land (lots 28-31) for L290/19/6 on 29-6-1860
but had probably mortgaged it to Mackenzie and been unable to repay the money.
P.100, JAMES KAVENAGH.HEADS OR TAILS?
The spelling of this family fluctuated between Christine's spelling and Kavanagh. To check which one was right, I searched on Victorian BDM for a death record for him.
EventDeath Event registration number4433 Registration year1860
Personal information
Family nameKAVANAGH Given namesJames SexUnknown Father's nameBrian Mother's nameCatherine (Not Stated) Place of birthQUE Place of death Age44
The death record of his wife, also from Queens County, Ireland gave the surname as Kavenagh.
EventDeath Event registration number3157 Registration year1859
Personal information
Family nameKAVENAGH Given namesMargaret SexUnknown Father's nameHoran James Mother's nameAnn (Unknown) Place of birthQUE Place of death Age42 Spouse's family nameKAVENAGH Spouse's given namesJas
As they were married in Ireland the spelling of the surname on a wedding record could not be consulted, so I tried births 1840-1856. This had to be the first child born on (or at) Springfield, according to Chris. She was the only one of 7 results for KAVENAGH that made sense despite Margaret's name being given as Mary.
EventBirth Event registration number5253 Registration year1850
Personal information
Family nameKAVENAGH Given namesMary Anne SexFemale Father's nameKAVENAGH James Mother's nameMary (Unknown) Place of birthSPRINGFIELD
Mary was probably named after one of James' siblings who arrived in 1851 and married Terence Joseph O'Hanlon in 1858 after the death of his first wife.
EventDeath Event registration number2346 Registration year1902
Personal information
Family nameOHANLON Given namesMary SexUnknown Father's nameUnknown Mother's nameUnknown (Unknown) Place of birth Place of deathMbury Age72
T.J.O'HANLON'S OBITUARY
James and Margaret had six sons and three daughters; Bernard the eldest was born in 1841 so there should be eight other birth records from 1841 until about 1855, when the last child, Ann who died aged 2 in 1857 was born, Were their surnames recorded as Kavanagh or another variation seen, Cavanagh?
Firstly the Kavenagh search was extended to 1856, none of the 8 results likely to be the right ones.
Here's the death record of Michael who died on 1-2-1854 aged 17 months from Dysentry, according to Chris.
EventDeath Event registration number769 Registration year1854
Personal information
Family nameKAVANAGH Given namesMichael William SexUnknown Father's nameJames Mother's nameMargaret (Unknown) Place of birthSPRINGFIELD Place of death Age1
Well, Victorian BDM online was a fat lot of help! MIGHT AS WELL USE A COIN OR DIE!(OKAY, I'M OLD FASHIONED!)
James Henry Kavenagh must have been born in about 1849.
KAVENAGH.—On the 10th ult., at Port Albert, acci-
dentally drowned, James Henry Kavenagh, second
son of the late James Kavenagh, of Springfield,
Keilor, aged 24 years.(P.4, Argus, 8-2-1873.)
KAVENAGH—SLATER. —On the 8th ult., by the
Rev. H. Darling, Emerald Hill, James Henry
Kavenagh, son of the late James Kavenagh,
Springfield, to Harriet Slater, daughter of John
Chartris Slater, St. John's, New Brunswick.(P.4, Record, Emerald Hill, 20-4-1871.)
EventBirth Event registration number42525 Registration year1849
Personal information
Family nameKAVENAGH Given namesJames Henry SexMale Father's nameKAVENAGH James Mother's nameMargaret (Freeman) Place of birthMELBOURNE
James Henry was born in 1849 but unless a typist at Victorian BDM has made a serious mistake, Christine has. His mother's maiden name is given as Freeman instead of Horan. I believe that Christine has assumed that "Ann Horan, Margaret Kavenagh's sister" (first line, second last paragraph, page 101) was unmarried. 737 is the source given for "and married Margaret Horan(737)about 1838."
737. Margaret is listed on James Kavenagh's death certificate as Margaret Horan, on her death certificate as Margaret Horan and on the children's birth certificates as Margaret Freeman.
These are the birth certificates referred to.
KAVENAGH Given namesJohn EventBirth Father's name / Spouse's family nameKAVENAGH James Mother's maiden name / Spouse's given nameMargaret (Freeman) Reg. year1844 Reg. no440
Family name (surname)KAVENAGH Given namesJohn EventBirth Father's name / Spouse's family nameKAVENAGH James Mother's maiden name / Spouse's given nameMargarite (Freeman) Reg. year1844 Reg. no37573
Family name (surname)KAVENAGH Given namesMargaret EventBirth Father's name / Spouse's family nameKAVENAGH James Mother's maiden name / Spouse's given nameMargaret (Freeman) Reg. year1846 Reg. no1820
KAVANAGH Given namesJames Henry EventBirth Father's name / Spouse's family nameKAVANAGH James Mother's maiden name / Spouse's given nameMargaret (Unknown) Reg. year1849 Reg. no3658
KAVANAGH Given namesMargaret EventBirth Father's name / Spouse's family nameKAVANAGH James Mother's maiden name / Spouse's given nameMargaret (Freeman) Reg. year1846 Reg. no39464
Family name (surname)KAVANAGH Given namesMary Anne EventBirth Father's name / Spouse's family nameKAVANAGH James Mother's maiden name / Spouse's given nameMargaret (Freeman) Reg. year1850 Reg. no43656
CAVANAGH Given namesBernard* EventBirth Father's name / Spouse's family nameCAVANAGH James Mother's maiden name / Spouse's given nameMargaret (Freeman) Reg. year1841 Reg. no36006
RE BERNARD: "In 1853, a notice offering a reward for a stolen pony was placed in The Argus by Kavenagh's eldest son, Bernard:"
The pony had been taken from the stable of Mr Bernard Kavenagh. In 1853, Bernard, born in 1841 would have been about 8 years old and unlikely to be addressed as Mr. The boy, like the future Mrs O'Hanlon was obviously named after one of James Kavaegh's siblings who came out with their mother in 1851.
Tomayto, tomarto, let's call the whole thing off, as the song goes!
P.105.KILBURN'S ESTATE. "Kilburn had other land holdings within the district, including a 404 acre farm known as Kilburn's Estate on the Broadmeadows Road."
Usually referred to in rate records as 400 acres, this was all but 240 acres of section 3 Tullamarine and south of a line indicated by the midline between Catherine Avenue and Janus St. It fronted today's Broadmeadows Rd and Sharps Rd from there to its western end. The land to the north of "Fairfield", as the Kilburns called it, had been sold to Ann Parr, John Wright, Thomas Purvis, Charles Nash, George Mounsey and J.F.Blanche and a small block where the Melrose Drive service road meets Cherie St had been donated by John Foster on which the Tullamarine Wesleyan School was opened in 1855. Charles Nash owned about half of the 240 acres, his farm being called Bayview. Charles donated the land for the Tullamarine Methodist Church (north corner of Trade Park Drive.)
The Kilburn farm was leased by George Williamson for many years. Eventually it was sold to James Harrick who divided it into two farms of 202 or 200 acres. In 1910 George Mansfield bought the one fronting Broadmeadows Rd and built the homestead near the Dawson St corner, soon after selling to the Bakers who called the farm Preston Park. Tommy Loft bought it circa 1920 and called it Dalkeith and was succeeded by Leslie King Dawson by 1943 and Percy Hurren in 1951. The other farm, east of the Tullamarine eastern boundary (Fisher Grove corner) became Michael Reddan's "Brightview", later the Doyle farm, "Ristaro".
P.107 LAWRENCE KELLY.
"Kelly, the son of a tailor, was born in Co.Tyrone, Ireland and it was there that he married Margaret Fox in November 1854."
Margaret Kelly's death record unfortunately did not give her parents' names.
As stated by Christine, Margaret was buried at Keilor.
KELLY.— The Friends of the late Mrs. MAR-
GARET KELLY are respectfully invited to
follow her remains to the place of internment, the
Keilor Cemetery. The funeral will leave the Essen-
don railway station THIS DAY (Thursday, 22nd
inst., at 2.30, on arrival of train from Violet Town.
(P.10, The Age, 22-1-1903.)
How I hate the family notices in this paper, always on more than one page, with no indication of which page the preceding or following notices are on. There was no link for page 1, so I had to select page 2 and then click previous page. Margaret's death notice was not there.
How to confirm my suspicion that Margaret Fox was related to Kelior pioneer, Michael Fox?
HOW GLENGYLE, KEILOR (SECTION 1,TULLAMARINE) BECAME ARUNDEL, "TURNER'S" AND ELLENGOWAN. (VIC., AUST.)
Journal by itellya
DEDICATED TO THE BROWN FAMILY, EARLY PIONEERS OF KEILOR.
FROM jOE27.
I have recently purchased Christine Laskowski's book "Steel's Crk.etc" and was interested in mention of Thomas Bertram and Ellangowan. I have been endeavouring to identify :Glenlyle" and Ellangowan since as the name of my neighbour's property in Brown's Rd, is "Ellangowan". They are of the opinion it was named after the school their mother attended in S.Aust, which it could be. Perhaps it is a mere coincidence
A piece I have read on Arundel farm states that Colin Campbell* was the owner following
Capt. Richard Bunbury. Christine states that Thomas and wife Anna McLean Campbell arrived in 1849 and stayed for a while with his brother-in-law, Colin Campbell at "Glenlyle" before purchasing nearby property "Ellangowan." I am pleased that you have given me much information.I now have to find out who owned it before Thomas**.
Re Lawrence Kelly and wife Margaret. In another journal re North Pole Road you wonder if Margaret Kelly (nee Fox) was a sister of Michael Fox who also lived on North Pole Road. This surprised me as *Mrs. Margaret Fox who came to Aust. with son Michael was the greatgrandmother of my late husband, Joe Brown. His grandmother, Bridget Brown*, was Bridget Fox who arrived about 1850. Looking up Death Cert, of Margaret who died in 1881, she did have a daughter Margaret but she is noted as deceased on certificate. Reference to Lawrence and Margaret Kelly in "Dead Men do tell tales" states they were married in County Tyrone. She died at Violet Town in 1903 while staying with her daughter.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading your journals on Keilor and Tullamarine. Thank you.
Regards,______.
The writer lived in Browns Rd, which I believe was the subdivision road of Bertram's Ellengowan when the Arundel Closer Settlement was established following the death of William Taylor of Overnewton.
*If this Mrs.Margaret Fox was actually Margaret Kelly, she was Michael Fox and Bridget Brown's mother, nee Burns and the widow of Christopher Fox when she married Michael Kelly.
POSTSCRIPT 6-5-2018, 4 a.m. SEE P.117 MICHAEL FOX.
The information in the link about the pioneering fox and brown families of keilor make it unlikely that Margaret Kelly, nee Fox was the mother of Michael Fox and his sister,Bridget, the wife of Thomas Brown. She may have been related to Margaret Fox and her son Michael Fox who later occupied the former Kelly farm.
EventDeath Event registration number13308 Registration year1918
Personal information
Family nameBROWN Given namesBridget SexUnknown Father's nameFox Chriser Mother's nameMargt (Burns) Place of birth Place of deathKeilor Age85
EventDeath Event registration number9315 Registration year1918
Personal information
Family nameFOX Given namesMichl SexUnknown Father's nameFox Chriser Mother's nameMargt (Burns) Place of birth Place of deathKeilor Age79
Of interest is that SPRINGS PIONEER, SAMUEL FLEMING,who is not mentioned in the book, married a Margaret Brown in Tyrone in 1817. She may have been related to Bridget Brown's husband.
More About Samuel Fleming:
Immigration 1: 03 Oct 1838, "Parland" arrives Sydney, NSW from Londonderry, Ireland.207
Immigration 2: 28 Jan 1840, Samuel Fleming from Tasmania destination "The Springs" Keilor, Vic.208
Residence 1: 13 Sep 1846, "The Springs", Keilor, Victoria.209
Residence 2: 24 Nov 1853, "Rockdale Farm", Kyneton, Victoria.210
The above was in my reply to Tom.
FROM TOM.
Came across your interesting articles re the Springs Tullamarine/Keilor. My Wife's GG Grandfather was Samuel Fleming who arrived at Port Phillip in 1839 on the ship "Hope" from Sydney,they quickly settled (by family contacts) at the Springs I assume on a ten year lease. They moved to Mia Mia in 1850 becoming one of that area's earliest settlers. The Fleming's family still thrive today.
SAMUEL FLEMING, SPRINGS
Obituary of Michael Fox, "Keilor road contractor and farmer" who occupied Cheverstone Farm (page 117) but that still doesn't help me specify on which corner of North Pole Rd his house was located because it consisted of !8c and 18D.
MR. MICHAEL FOX.
Sincere regret has been expressed at
the death of Mr. Michael Fox. which oc-
curred at his residence, Keilor, on
Tuesday evening, September 3rd. The
deceased gentleman, who was 79 years
of age, had enjoyed excellent health
until the last few years, during which
time he suffered considerably, from
heart disease, which eventually caused
his death. Mr. Fox came to Australia
in his youth, and, after spending a
short time in Queensland, settled at
Keilor. where he resided continuously
for the past 52 years. For several
years he occupied the position of shire
councillor, and at the time of his death
was president of the shire. Mr. Fox's
wife, the late Mrs. Rose Fox, prede-
ceased her husband by sixteen years, as
also did six children — one boy and five
girls Five son's and one daughter
Messrs. Patrick, John, Thomas, Philip,
and Christopher, and Miss Martha Fox
—are now left to mourn, the loss of
good father. The remains of the late
Mr. Fox were interred in the Keilor
Cemetery on Thursday, September 5th,
in the presence of a large number of
friends who were present to pay their
last tribute of respect to one whom
they held in high esteem. Rev. T. W.
O'Collins , officiated at the graveside. R.I.P.
(P.25, Advocate, 14-9-1918.)
FOX.— The Friends of the late Mr. MICHAEL
FOX are respectfully invited to follow his re-
mains to the place of internment, in the Keilor
Cemetery. The funeral is appointed to move from
his residence, North Pole-road Keilor,
THIS DAY(Thursday), 5th inst., at 2.30 p.m.
(P.10, The Age, 5-9-1918.)
P.110. Re: "Meanwhile Laverty had taken over the licence of the twelve roomed Harvest Home Hotel in Moonee Ponds, situated on the property known as McNay's farm.
James McNay was granted crown allotment of section 5, consisting of 51 acres on 21-7-1847. This went from Ascot Vale Rd to the Moonee Ponds Creek between Dean St and the line of Steele St. The reason McNae St goes farther south and Ngarveno St extends north into McNay's grant is that James McNay (or McNae) tended Davies' vineyard on Ngarveno to the south.
The hotel built on the Dean St corner became known as Dean's Hotel and Greenvale pioneer, Robert Shankland of Waltham, claimed in 1888 (Victoria and its Metropolis) to have built the original portion of this hotel in 1852. This claim is supported by a title document.
P 424. Robert Shankland paid McNay 10 pounds on 17-4-1852 for land on the (present) Dean St/ Mt Alexander Rd corner with frontages to these streets, respectively, of 134 5/6 feet and 152 ¼ feet.
McNay sold other land and then the titles trail followed the same sort of track as in Mains Estate with J.P.Bear again involved.
11 298. 1-5-1854. McNay mortgaged about 50 acres to Charles Payne for 1075 pounds.
19 804. 15-11-1854 conveyance of the 50 acres (see 11 298) to John Pinney Bear for 4500 pounds.
Bear subdivided some of the land.
70 44. 4-10-1858. After Bear has reconveyed land to him on 12-11-1855 and 11-4-1856, McNay mortgages the land described in 33 354 to Michael Dawson for 600 pounds.
J.P.Bear’s Subdivision.
28 4042 29-6-1855, Jessie Haining, lot 1 , 410 pounds.
28 519 9-7-1855, John Davies, lots 14-18, 23, 24, 645 pounds.
29 781 14-8-1855, James Laverty, lots 5,6,22, 2715 pounds.
30 328 29-8-1855, John and Peter Pitches, lot 11, 195 pounds.
30 385 1-9-1855, Ralph Singleton, lots 7,8, 565 pounds.
31 82 22-9-1855,J.T.Hinkins, lot 2, 110 pounds
31 83 22-9-1855, Frederick Wood, lot 3, 150 pounds.
31 738 15-10-1855,W.Armistead, lots 12, 13, 380 pounds.
33 353 12-11-1855, James McNay, land as in 33 354 under McNay, 500 pounds.
36 385 11-4-1856, James McNay, 2 pieces, 200 pounds, lot 10 and 19/20.
40 206 16-5-1856, John Wilson, lots 25-28, 225 pounds.
60 601 11-3-1858, William Learmonth, 100 pounds, lot 4.
65 74. 18-3-1857, James Laverty, lot 21, 75 pounds.
Laverty had purchased lots 5,6,22 and 21.Bear's subdivision was bounded by Mt Alexander Rd, Dean St McNae St and a southern boundary indicated by the north end of Lamb St in line with Steele St, the southern boundary of the grant. Lots 5 and 6 were between Mt Alexander Rd and a back lane linking Hinkins and Davies Stsabout halfway between Dean St and the Davies St corner. Lot 21 was bounded by the lane, Hinkins St and Ovens St while lot 22
continuing south to Davies St went a bit farther east. The Harvest Home was less than 2 chains (40 metres) from Shankland's Hotel!
(P.25-6, EARLY LANDOWNERS:PARISH OF DOUTTA GALLA.)
P.117 MICHAEL FOX, SEE INFORMATION UNDER "P.107 MICHAEL KELLY above.
Michael's son John took his deceased father's place as a Doutta Galla councillor and continued for decades before standing for the Tullamarine Riding where he'd probably been living for much of that time, on Geraghty's paddock where Steele Creek starts, which, my memory dictates, he called Bendene.
The information in this journal makes it obvious that Margaret Kelly, nee Fox, was not the mother of Cr Michael Fox or his sister, Mrs Bridget Brown as I had earlier speculated. It also includes anecdotes and details of landholdings. THE PIONEERING FOX AND BROWN FAMILIES OF KEILOR, VIC., AUST.
P. 124 WILLIAM JOHNSON OF MALMSBURY.
This is one of the briefest of the pioneer biographies in the book, consisting of only three lines.
The following resulted from an email conversation with Evelyn Brown of Canberra in 2012.
McKERCHAR/ROBERTSON/JOHNSON.
GIVEN INFORMATION WITH MY COMMENTS IN BRACKETS.
23-2-1863. William Johnson married Wilhelmina Robertson at Gellibrand Cottage in the parish of Yuroke, the home of Wilhelmina’s parents, Peter and Henrietta Robertson. In the same ceremony,Wilhelmina’s older sister, Margaret, married Donald McKerchar, widower (of Colina) of “Springfield”. Donald renamed his property “Greenan” in honour of his wife’s birthplace in Scotland. (This was his 302 ¾ acre grant, lot P of section 9, across Mickleham Rd from Springfield.) A third sister, Henrietta Robertson, married Donald McNab in 1855.
Donald and Margaret’s only daughter, Henrietta (or Etty, who was only a week old when Donald died in 1869) was for many years the postmistress at Greenvale. She did not marry and died in 1944 of drowning (in a dam on the property. Was this Greenan or Springfield North?)
Gellibrand Cottage (must have been reasonably close to Gellibrand Hill) as in 1861 an attempt was made to establish a toll gate and it was resolved to offer Mr Robertson of Gellibrand Hill 8 pounds to ascertain the traffic on the road and to call for tenders for the erection of a toll house and gate on the Broadmeadows Road opposite Mr Robertson’s house. (I have seen no mention of a toll gate near Gellibrand Hill. The toll gate at the intersection of the roads to Broadmeadows and Bulla Townships at Tullamarine and the one at Pascoe Vale would have dealt with travellers likely to pass Gellibrand Hill on the way to Sydney or McIvors Diggings at Heathcote. The local farmers would have hated having a toll gate near Dundonald because they would have been paying tolls every day. The toll gate would most likely have been placed at the intersection of Mickleham and Somerton Rds but there is no mention of a toll gate in that area in the 1863 rate record of the Broadmeadows Roads District.)
Henrietta Robertson (d.22-6-1867 at 76) and Peter Robertson (d.22-10-1876 in Yuroke aged 79) are both buried at Campbellfield.(A list of people buried at the Will Will Rook cemetery, labelled drawer 3 No.11,lists the Robertsons of Gowrie Park, north of present-day Hadfield, and Alex. W.(27-6-1930),Elizabeth (28-4-1919) and Sterbinella (24-1-1867), but not Henrietta or Peter. Therefore I presume they are buried in the graveyard of Scots Church on Sydney Rd.) The Robertsons arrived from Scotland about 1853-4.
The Johnson family arrived from Huntingdonshire in 1852 and John Johnson worked in Moonee Ponds for Peter McCracken.(Peter McCracken was on Stewarton,the part of Gladstone Park north of the Lackenheath Dr. corner, from 1846 to 1855. It was probably here that John worked for him. Peter owned a dairy at Kensington (1855-63) and “Ardmillan”, bounded by Mt Alexander Rd, the line of Trinifour St, Waverley St and Derby St at Moonee Ponds (1855-71), but they were a bit far from Greenvale unless John lived on the farms instead of travelling to work each day. Moonee Ponds meant anywhere near the creek and was invariably used to describe the location of “Stewarton.”)
John Johnson’s son, William, purchased land at Drummond in 1856 as did Peter and Robert McCracken. John went to manage this property and in 1861, John and William bought the McCracken land. William became a prosperous Drummond/Malmsbury identity. His son, John, purchased “Glendewar” at Tullamarine in about 1906 and retained it until his death in 1948. Glendewar was sold in 1951 (probably mostly to Mr W.Smith with A.A.Lord owning the 80 acres including the Hills’ “Danby Farm”and part of Glendewar, which with the Lanes’ Gowrie Park comprised section 14.) From about 1919 to 1934, John Johnson leased, and the family lived on,“Cumberland” adjacent to Glendewar.
Evelyn Brown (P.O.Box 509, Dickson A.C.T.2602) is:
The great grand-daughter of William Johnson
The grand-daughter of John Johnson who bought Glendewar.
The daughter of Walter Frederick Johnson and Emma (McKenzie).
Emma worked for a time at Woodlands before marrying Walter in 1924.
I PRESUME that the John Johnson who worked for Peter McCracken was Evelyn’s great great grandfather.
MR W.JOHNSON OF SPRING PARK. (M1)
The Essendon Gazette of 22-7-1909 contains the obituary of Mr W.Johnson of Spring Park, Essendon, who was well known in pastoral circles. The 73 year old pioneer was born in Huntingdonshire, England and came to the Port Phillip District 57 years ago*. A resident of Drummond, near Malmsbury, he was an early breeder of Lincoln sheep. He moved to Essendon in 1903. (P. 127, The Annals of Essendon Vol.1, R.W.Chalmers.)
William’s widow, Wilhelmina, was still living on Spring Park when their third son, James Alexander (born 28-6-1874, died 28-9-1913) was buried in the ninth row of the Church of England section of Bulla Cemetery. John Johnson (D.14-3-1948 at 81) and Blanche (D.12-7-1951) are buried in this row also. The cemetery is at Melway 177, H/8.
*At the age of about 16, so I presume his father, as well as his son, was named John.
JOHNSTON OR JOHNSON? Greenhill (M2)
Broadmeadows’ ratebook of 1863 mentions three pieces of property in the parish of Yuroke owned by John Johnston. They were:
a farm (N.A.V. 18 pounds) listed immediately after those of Donald and John McKerchar and before entries for the square mile south of Somerton Rd and bisected by Mickleham Rd.
a farm (N.A.V. 54 pounds), known to be his grant, lot E of section 22 at the north west corner of Mickleham and Craigieburn Rds, which consisted of 97 acres 2 roods and 35 perches. He called it Greenhill.
A house (N.A.V. 9 pounds) that seems to have been overlooked and then inserted before
John Johnston was 51 when elected to the Broadmeadows Roads Board (1858?) and, although he remained a member only until 1863, he remained in the district until his death in 1877 at the age of 70. (Broadmeadows: A Forgotten History by Andrew Lemon.)
After W.W.1, Reg Poole renamed Greenhill as Lancedene. (Jack Simmie of Harpsdale.)
Was John Johnston the father of William Johnson? His surname seems to have been consistently written with the T, but that does not necessarily mean it was right. It is a strange coincidence that Reg.Poole took over the Johnston grant and Blanche Wilhelmina Johnson married a Poole.
GELLIBRAND COTTAGE.(A MYSTERY)
At first I thought this might be related to Gellibrand Farm, which was advertised for sale in the Melbourne Morning Herald of 11-12-1849. It was 10 miles from Melbourne , was enclosed by a new fence and had a cottage, dairy and two double huts for workers. A 10 mile radius takes in Camp Rd, Broadmeadows but in a line towards Gellibrand Hill, it extends only to the Mickleham Rd turn off. The 10th mile post on Bulla Rd was outside the Parrs’ farm “The Elms” south of the Link Rd corner. As the crow flies, it is 19 km, or nearly 12 miles to Swain St, the entrance to Woodlands Historic Park from Mickleham Rd, which indicates the southern boundary of the parish of Yuroke. As the reference to Gellibrand Cottage, parish of Yuroke, seems to come from a document, we must discount any possible locations south of Swain St- Mladen Court.
The land east of Section Rd, Greenvale, allotment C of section 2, was granted to Leonard James and George Wolfenden Muchell (sic) in 1843. This was subdivided and sold to Messrs Lavars, Bond, Salisbury, Johnson, Davidson, and in 1854, John Lawrence bought lots 6 and 7. Part of lot 6 became the church site in Providence Lane. (Greenvale: Links with the Past by Annette Davis found in the Bulla file at the Sam Merrifield Library, Moonee Ponds.)
Notice that one of the above buyers was Mr Johnson. I wonder if this was John Johnson who had been working for Peter McCracken at Stewarton two miles to the south. There is no mention of a Peter or Henrietta Robertson in the 1863 ratebook despite the fact that they were living in a house near Gellibrand Hill on the 23rd of February in that year. Neither does the surname Johnson appear. Was John Johnston’s house (N.A.V.9 pounds) or farm (N.A.V. 18 pounds and therefore about 40 acres) where Peter and Henrietta Robertson were living without paying the rates? As Henrietta was 72 and Peter 66, it is possible that they were guests of a 56 year old Johns(t)on. It is not possible to determine where Johns(t)on’s house and small farm were but it is likely that they were between Section Rd and Mickleham Rd.*
* POSTSCRIPT 29-4-2018. Title documents show that John Johnson's farm on what was called PROVIDENCE PLAINS was the 40 acre farm located in Melway 178 G-H 11 and later owned by Harry Swain, between Swain St (now closed but the entrance off Mickleham Rd to the Dundonald portion of the Woodlands Historic Park and part of the boundary between the parishes of Will Will Rook to the south and Yuroke) and Providence Lane.
P.126 Re: "In January 1859, having decided to leave the colony, Napier held a (clearing) sale at Rosebank......During the Napiers' absence local farmer James Robertson took up residence at Rosebank."
The question of which James Robertson this was would have stumped Andrew Lemon, author of BROADMEADOWS: A FORGOTTEN HISTORY who called James Robertson of Campbellfield (in today's suburb of Gowrie Park) a Keilor farmer. I would never have known the answer but for Deidre Farfor.
Star Weekly | Historic Robertson's homestead may be restored
www.starweekly.com.au › News
Mar 20, 2017 - Seven Brimbank councillors toured Robertson's Homestead in Sydenham Park on Saturday to assess whether the 1840s bluestone cottage could be ... Deidre Far For, the great-great granddaughter of James Robertson, the pastoralist who built the house almost 180 years ago, was thrilled the house's ...
The local farmer could not have been the Campbellfield pioneer so that left three possibilities:
1.J.R. senior who founded Upper Keilor and received grants in Doutta Galla from Aberfeldie north to Keilor Rd.
2.J.R. junior of Upper Keilor who inherited the southernmost part of these grants (his brother Francis getting the grant north of Buckley St which he called Mar Lodge.) He built the mansion "Aberfeldie" and was a neighbour of Peter McCracken of "Ardmillan" across Waverley St, so it was no surprise that the two families became related through marriage.
3. James Robertson, son of Coiler Robertson of "La Rose" and brother of Grace who married Peter McCracken before they spent nine happy years at "Stewarton" part of today's Gladstone Park (not the suburb of Moonee Ponds as the author of THE GOLD THE BLUE thought.) A 17 year old brewer on arrival, James probably contributed to the success of the McCracken brewery. His father had purchased section 6 land which James inherited, building the "Trinifour" mansion on the west side of the Park St railway crossing. Coiler Robertson had bought La Rose soon after Dr McCrae had started building the homestead and fled to Sydney when Alphabetical Foster horse-whipped him. Coiler and James extended McCrae's core of the house and it is now known as Wentworth House.
wentworth house - VHD - Heritage Council of Victoria
vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/places/919
Wentworth House is historically significant as the home of Farquhar McCrae, an eminent early gentleman colonist, and a member of the notable McCrae family. It has strong associations with pioneer agriculturalists in the district, especially Coiler Robertson, and with James Robertson, a prominent early brewing ...
I'm not a gambling man but I would put my last dollar on number 3.
Napier's original Rosebank homestead, destroyed by fire was fairly close to the extant mansion built by his son in law, (G.W.?*)Barber and thus near Rosebank Avenue (Melway 16 J 12.) Wentworth House is at the north corner of Le Cateau and Mitchell Sts (Melway 29 A-B 1.) Rosebank and La Rose (which extended east to Rose St and north to Bell St), were separated only by the Moonee Ponds Creek.
* Oops, G.P.Barber. STRATHMORE HISTORY
J.R.3 died at Trinifour in 1879.
ROBERTSON.-On the 6th inst., at his residence, Trinafour (sic), Moonee Ponds, Mr. James Robertson, of La Rose, aged 60 years. (P.1, Argus, 8-9-1879.)
P.156-172. MAIN'S PURCHASE.
Here's the language of a grant, included on page 57 of my EARLY LANDOWNERS.
A COPY OF THE GRANT FOR SECTION 12 WAS FOUND IN SKETCH OF TITLE 15377, CONCERNING C.B. FISHER’S APPLICATION FOR TITLE OF McPHAIL’S “ROSE HILL”. IT STARTS:
PORT PHILLIP DISTRICT
L A N D P U R C H A S E
Suburban Lot
GRANTEE James Patrick Main VICTORIA, by the Grace of God of the United
DATE 30 October 1846 Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
COUNTY Bourke Queen, Defender of the Faith and so
ACRES 640 forth:
TO ALL to whom these presents shall come,
GREETING: -
WHEREAS in conformity with the laws now in force for the sale of Crown Lands in our Territory of New South Wales, and our Royal Instructions under Our Signet and Sign Manual issued in pursuance thereof JAMES PATRICK MAIN of Melbourne has become the purchaser of the Land hereinafter described for the Sum of Eight hundred and thirty two pounds Sterling….
The 832 pounds did not include the yearly quit rent of one peppercorn (if demanded) and Her Majesty reserved such parts and so much of the said land as may hereafter be required for making Public Ways, Canals, or Railroads… AND ALSO All Sand, Clay, Stone, Gravel and Indigenous Timber….
My EARLY LANDOWNERS:PARISH OF DOUTTA GALLA which covers all the land between the Moonee Ponds Creek and Saltwater River from Swamp Road (Dynon Rd)did not focus on genealogy/biography as much as Christine's book does, and did not provide as much titles information on every single crown allotment in this area as Christine did in her area south to the Steele/Rose Creek junction with the river. However my findings did assist greatly in later explaining family connections (usually between neighbours at the time or before)such as Robert McDougall and one of the Eadies of Sunbury being sons in law of Kensington pioneer, John Rankin, and Sandy Smith's marriage to Robert McDougall's daughter, Jeannie in 1881 (the notice on page 186 of Christine's book).
I had two reasons to delve into section 12 titles information. Peter Anderson, descendant of James Anderson,who married the daughter of (Irma?) Henderson (after whose family Henderson Rd, Tullamarine was named) had been one of my oral history informants in 1989 and Lenore Frost had given what seemed to me the wrong location for Collier's farm.
My map showing the 12 lots on Mains Estate, transposed on Melway from information in memorials, involved some assumptions because the memorials don't mention farm names and some do not specify lot numbers. My assumption was that the numbers went north from Braybrook Rd (Buckley St),the closest part of the square mile to Melbourne, odd numbers from 1-11 up today's Hoffmans Rd and on the other side of Steele Creek, even numbers up Rachelle Rd from 2-12.
Christine's map has no lot numbers and differs from mine in the location of Rose Hill, which I've called Sinclair's farm and her South Park which I've called Rose Hill.
Laverty's lot 6, Farm Hill as shown on Christine's page 156 map was James Laverty's name for the farm. It was later Alex Blair's farm whose name is surely in my journal: THE BLAIRS OF ESSENDON
Lot 8, labelled as Roberts by Christine became part of John Beale's Shelton Estate.
"Early title information about lot 8 is given in 5769, which refers to Sinclair’s Farm, west of the creek and south of Rosehill Rd. See below under Sinclair’s Farm. Sheet B of 7607 continues on, referring only to lot 8.
1-12-1848. J.&.J.P.Bear to Henry Roberts. (E 712.* Wrong memorial. See below.)
1-11-1862. Roberts to Matthew McCaw, mortgage for 150 pounds. 17-6-1863. Ditto.
1-5-1863. Reconveyance, McCaw to Roberts, for 800 pounds.
1-6-1865. Roberts to John Beale, Tullamarine, farmer. (150 124)."
(* F 712 shows that Roberts paid L85/17/- for 50 ½ acres. E 712 concerns the sale of Kilburn land in Melb.)
Lot 5, labelled "Buckley Park (part of)" on Christine's map was Alex Blair's farm whose name is surely in my journal: THE BLAIRS OF ESSENDON Bob Chalmers believes that Alex Blair's farm on section 12 was called "Flatfield." I had been confused by this name because part of the grants obtained by James Robertson senior of Upper Keilor, (stretching from Aberfeldie to a Keilor Rd frontage running east for 400 metres from McCracken St) had been given this name according to Deidre Forfar, a Robertson descendant and Christine stated on page 164 that Flatfield was "near the Keilor Road and the Essendon Hotel.(1374.)The Essendon Hotel, still known by that name when John Coleman ran it,has since undergone several name changes, and was in 1999 called the Grand located at Melway 28 F1, directly opposite Keilor Rd and 400 metres from McCracken St, the eastern boundary of what James Robertson's bachelor politician son called Mar Lodge. I believe that Blair called lot 5 {b]FLOODFIELD.
As Christine has not provided much titles information about section 12, I will post my EARLY LANDOWNER'S information which also includes early suburban history.
SECTION 12 (East Keilor west of Rachelle Rd, Niddrie south of Farrell St.)
SECTION 12, MAIN’S ESTATE.
Bounded by Rachelle Rd., Buckley St., Hoffmans Rd. and the latitude of the north side of Farrell St., this was granted to James Patrick Main in 1846. He was probably related to Patrick who built the first bridge over the Moonee Ponds Creek at Flemington, still known as Main’s bridge after it had been swept away by floodwaters and rebuilt.
James P.Main, “ builder and settler, Moonee Ponds” in 1841 and 1847, may have been living on Main’s Estate. At the latter date, Thomas Anderson, dairyman, was on “Main’s Estate, Moonee Ponds”. I wonder if Thomas was related to James Anderson (a later occupant of Main’s Estate.)
James Wilson, who came to the colony in 1847 at 21 worked as a shepherd etc., and ran the Golden Fleece hotel at Pentridge for 5 years before buying 185 acres on Mains Estate in 1857. (In 1868, James Wilson was only assessed on 100 acres so he was obviously leasing a part of his land to somebody.) The farm was called Springbank and the homestead, a two storeyed brick mansion, was on the south corner of Hoffmans Rd. and Teague St. until it was demolished in the 1930’s and replaced by a garage which was itself demolished in early 1992.
Keilor’s 1868 ratebook shows that Wilson had 100 acres. His known neighbours on Main’s Estate were William Hoffman 100 acres, Dugald McPhail 221 acres, Thomas Cox 50 acres, James Collier 46 acres.
Possible occupants of the remaining 123 acres of Main’s Estate in 1868 were Thomas James Trahey (Saimey?) 60 ac. and John Foley 70 ac. (POSTSCRIPT 6-5-2018. CHRISTINE'S BOOK DETAILS TREHY AND FOLEY'S FARMS WHICH WERE NOT ON SECTION 12.) p.s. Cox and Collier occupied the site of the Niddrie quarry. (Title information at end.)
Blacksmith, William Anderson was killed in an accident near the toll gate at the Keilor bridge (Brees’ 1854 bridge) on 25-2-1862, leaving his wife Catherine (nee Clark) and children, Janet, Catherine, Margaret, Alex. and James. The widow was Keilor’s midwife for thirty years until dying in September 1892. The daughter named after her seems to have been a pioneer of Ardmillan Rd from 1877 until 1894 (at old No.81, now 65 and 65A and from March 1909 Miss Morris’s Blinkbonnie Ladies College), when she probably moved back into her late mother’s Keilor residence. James worked at many occupations including that of shearer, was an overseer at Arundel in 1868, and in 1882 bought a butcher’s shop in Keilor. When that was sold, he and his wife (Annie Grace, daughter of Donald Stewart) went to a farm on North Pole Rd (50 acres in section 12 on the west side of Spring Gully) and afterwards to Springbank.
A press report of the Oakland Hunt Club’s meet of 20-5- 1899 says that the quarry was chased around Pinnacle Hill to a slaughterhouse, then east to Anderson’s well-kept farm etc. James later, some time after 1930, moved to a farm called Braeside (the 30 ½ acres in Keilor containing Meehan Ct, Watson Rise, Fleming Ct and Tan Ct), where he died on 2-6-1943 at 96. His son Don bought a part of William O’Neil’s Horseshoe Bend Farm in 1937 and his orchard became a feature for those descending down Curley’s Hill into Keilor. Don’s son, Peter, married a daughter of the Hendersons from Tullamarine and still lives across Church St from his grandfather’s Braeside land.
In 1900 James Anderson was farming Springbank of 179 acres and 214 acres (probably Sinclair’s Farm of 114 acres and two farms of about 50 acres each fronting the north side of Rose Hill Rd. He also had 50 acres accessed from North Pole Road (Cox’s Farm, lot 10 of section 12). He later owned “Braeside” on the hill overlooking Church St. and Green Gully Rd. at Keilor.
Blocks on the Rose Hill estate had been sold to 28 buyers but about 60 acres of unsold land was being leased by Chapman Woods. Ralph Dixon moved into Gilbertson St in 1911 and Hoffmans Rd in 1923. One feature he recalled in 1961 (P.6 Proclamation of the City of Keilor) was the Woods family’s dairy farm near Sapphire St. Blocks on the Rose Hill estate had first been offered for sale on 8-9-1888. (“Annals of Essendon” R.W.Chalmers Vol.1.)
(Peter Anderson, Keilor Centenary Celebrations 1950, “Keilor Pioneers etc.” A.Evans, “Ardmillan”R.Gibb, Keilor 1868 and 1900 rates, “The Oakland Hunt” D.F.Cameron-Kennedy, Keilor Township map, Dictionary History of Tullamarine and Miles Around” A Volume, R.Gibb.)
This map shows the subdivision of section 12. Boundaries are obtained from memorials.
An undated Doutta Galla map, known to contain errors in section 23 and O’Brien’s part of 11A, and probably from the boom time of about 1890, shows Mains Estate divided into thirds laterally. From the south they are labelled Rosehill Estate, Buckley Park Estate, and Gillespie (probably the Flour Miller who lived in the house now occupied by St. Columba’s school.) The map is wrong unless Rose Hill and Sinclair’s farm were owned by one person*, lots 5,7, 6 and 8 by another and lots 9, 11 and Cox’s and Collier’s farms by Gillespie, which is highly unlikely as Springbank (lots 11,9,7 ) was still one property in 1918.The middle portion’s name is confusing because William Hoffman’s Butzbach, renamed Buckley Park, was just across Hoffman’s Rd. I had trouble understanding Peter Anderson’s description of the location of his grandfather’s farm as being on Buckley Park; this was a reference to the middle third of Main’s Estate, not Butzbach.
(* Hoffmann is known to have owned Rose Hill, Sinclair’s Farm and lots 5 and 6.)
On 13-3-1916 there was a big sale of land at Spring Gully. Farms belonging to the late Alexander Smith were auctioned. They included Norwood (73 acres of 9B and 13 acres of 11B), Sinclair and Hoffman’s farms (115+48 acres), Cox’s Farm (50 acres) and Colliers Farm (46 acres). Bob Chalmer’s Annals correctly said that all were WEST of Spring Gully, but “Sam Merrifield’s House Names Index” edited by Lenore Frost, states that Hoffmans Farm was on the east bank as well as calling Norwood “Collier’s Farm”. Hoffman’s farm could have been lot 6 west of the creek (48 acres) or Blair’s purchase from Main on the east bank (49 acres) because both blocks, extending about 260 metres north from Rosehill Rd, were owned by William Hoffman. However, for reasons explained later, I believe that lot 6 was Hoffman’s Farm.
An undated subdivision plan at Sam Merrifield Library (which has proved to be Land Plan 3151 of 20-10-1890 ) shows the lots on Butzbach on the other side of Hoffman’s Rd and a subdivision north of Rosehill Rd on section 12. This included those streets with gem names and went north to the northern boundary of Niddrie Secondary College (or the bend in Garnet St just south of Ida St). This area north of Rosehill Rd was Alex. Blair’s purchase from J.P.Main, later owned by McPhail and then Hoffman. The map shows the proposed railway to Keilor.
James Wilson’s old Spring Bank farm was put up for sale, obviously in 1918. The claim is made that the 179 acre farm had been in family ownership for 80 years; nonsense unless Wilson was related to J.P.Main, the grantee (and occupier since at least 1841).
Buckley St actually detoured to a ford, west of the St Bernard’s College car park, and it was not until July 1912 that a wooden bridge was built over Rose Creek.
Probably one of the last farmers on Main’s Estate was Keith Gregory. A butcher at the abbatoirs in Smithfield Rd, he used land fronting Buckley St and opposite Ned Courtney’s Maribyrnong Stud Farm (section 8 west of creek) as a holding paddock for stock, according to Bart Lauricella.
St John’s Presbyterian parish owes its origin to Dugald McPhail, who used to take a led horse to the city to pick up Rev. Hetherington, who conducted early services on McPhail’s farm in 1849. I had assumed that these first services were on Rose Hill but when McPhail bought this farm in 1853, he was probably still living on Spring Hill (Allotments 3 and 4 of section 7). Sandy Smith of Norwood, south west across Buckley St, was involved from those early times and the Keilor Rd Presbyterian Church was named in his memory. His widow donated the land and 100 pounds towards the wooden church in Keilor Rd. Sandy stated that the first services were held on Spring Hill.
McPhail, a tailor in McKillop St, Melbourne in 1842, and the next year in Richmond, rented land from J.F.L.Foster near Fosters Rd from 1844 till 1849, when he was supposed to have purchased his own land but actually leased Spring Hill (Aberfeldie). John and Duncan McPhail, “farmers Saltwater River” in 1849, were obviously on Spring Hill. McPhail later owned the North Park land before Alex McCracken bought it and built his mansion on the south side of Woodland St. Dugald’s son, Donald, played for the Essendon Football Club in the 1870’s. James McPhail married a daughter of William Dewar of “Glendewar” in Tullamarine.
SECTION 12 TITLE INFORMATION.
THE GRANT.
A COPY OF THE GRANT FOR SECTION 12 WAS FOUND IN SKETCH OF TITLE 15377, CONCERNING C.B. FISHER’S APPLICATION FOR TITLE OF McPHAIL’S “ROSE HILL”. IT STARTS:
PORT PHILLIP DISTRICT
L A N D P U R C H A S E
Suburban Lot
GRANTEE James Patrick Main VICTORIA, by the Grace of God of the United
DATE 30 October 1846 Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
COUNTY Bourke Queen, Defender of the Faith and so
ACRES 640 forth:
TO ALL to whom these presents shall come,
GREETING: -
WHEREAS in conformity with the laws now in force for the sale of Crown Lands in our Territory of New South Wales, and our Royal Instructions under Our Signet and Sign Manual issued in pursuance thereof JAMES PATRICK MAIN of Melbourne has become the purchaser of the Land hereinafter described for the Sum of Eight hundred and thirty two pounds Sterling….
The 832 pounds did not include the yearly quit rent of one peppercorn (if demanded) and Her Majesty reserved such parts and so much of the said land as may hereafter be required for making Public Ways, Canals, or Railroads… AND ALSO All Sand, Clay, Stone, Gravel and Indigenous Timber….
THE BEAR FACTS.
James Patrick Main mortgaged section 12 to John and John Pinney Bear on 26 Jan., 29 July, and 3 December 1847 and on 4-4-1848 he made a Conveyance of Equity of Redemption in which the Bears paid him 1030 pounds. (D 801, E 252, E 601, E 956.) The last memorial apparently put the grant into the Bears’ ownership and they sold some of it as detailed later. On 10-1-1854, Main seems to have regained ownership, from Charles Kilburn, of the land that Blair was later to buy from him (49 259) and the southern part of Springbank, which he later sold to Wilson.
On 19-4-1851, Main mortgaged part of James Wilson’s later purchase to James Graham and Alexander McLean Hunter for 325 pounds (M 277). On 10-5-1854, he mortgaged both pieces of Springbank to Thomas Clark, a further amount being paid to him on 10-7-1854 (11 450 and 14 310).
LOT 6. HOFFMAN’S FARM. (Labelled LAVERTYon my map.)
On 21-10-1848, Lot 6 was sold to James Laverty by J. & J.P.Bear (who had become the owners of Main’s grant on 4-4-1848) for L104/12/-. This land was obviously then mortgaged and was reconveyed to James Laverty by Joseph Hall on 9-8-1852 along with 18D (Q 632). The boundaries of this block were Rachelle Rd, Lincoln Dr, Steele’s chain of ponds and a reserved road (Rosehill Rd). North of lot 6 was lot 8.
Laverty mortgaged lot 6 to A.F.Dougall for 600 pounds on 28-10-1858 (70 707). Laverty must have been unable to complete payments and on 16-12-1861, Archibald Falconer Dougall conveyed lot 6 of 49 acres to Dugald McPhail for 450 pounds. McPhail sold it to William Hoffman (together with land east of the creek adjoining lot 6) for 850 pounds on 16-3-1868. I believe that lot 6 became known as Hoffman’s Farm (described as adjoining Sinclair’s Farm and being south of Cox’s Farm in “ Sam Merrifield’s House Names of Essendon”), which was part of the late Alexander Smith’s estate when offered for sale on 13-3-1916. (R.W.Chalmers’ “Annals of Essendon”.)
Main, having regained part of his grant*, then sold two farms between Hoffmans Rd and Spring Gully.
(*Main regained the northern 27 chains of Wilson’s Springbank from Henry Moor (who had bought it fom J.P.Bear for L202/14/- on 31-10-1848) on 4-4- 1851 for L300, and the southern 12 ½ chains from Charles Kilburn (who had bought Sinclair’s Farm, Blair’s later purchase and lot 7 from Bear on 1-12-1848 in F 719) on 10-1-1854 for L288/15/-.)
LOTS 11?,9?,7. SPRINGBANK.
On 9-8-1855, James Wilson bought Spring Bank from J.P.Main for 4732 pounds. Wilson claimed to have established the farm in 1857 (Victoria and Its Metropolis 1888). Did he mortgage it straight after the purchase and take two years to pay it off? This land ran south 4008 links from the northern boundary of section 12 to the northern boundary of Niddrie Secondary College (29 662.) These boundaries explain the bends in Newman Cres. (north) and Garnet St (south). It is of interest that John Wilson started leasing 18c (which touches the n/w corner of section 12) from J.P.Bear on 31-7- 1855, just over a week before James Wilson bought Springbank.
Wilson’s family seems to have owned the property until 1918. James Anderson was occupying Springbank, possibly by 1895 (1918-23 years) and certainly by mid 1899 (Oaklands Hunt report) and was still there in 1930, his address being given as Buckley Park (Vol.534 fol.973). No mention of Springbank is made in the James Wilson or James Anderson title index but “Sam Merrifield’s House Names Index” contains an entry claiming that Anderson owned the farm. (Owner Mr Anderson. Occupier Mr Swan, butcher of Essendon. Vide Essendon Gazette 8/2/1900. 2 storied brick mansion. Abuts Conniston Ave. Demolished 1930’s.) Conniston Ave. could have been Hoffmans Rd or Teague St.
Land Plan 10004, lodged by C.R.Anderson on 27-11-1923, deals with the subdivision of Springbank. The plan shows that the northern boundary of section 12 was the front fenceline of houses on the north side of Farrell St. The south boundary of Springbank was at the southern end of the bend in Garnet St. See further details at end of Section 12 entry under Hoffmans Rd heading.
Peter Anderson told me that James Anderson’s youngest son was named Colin when I asked if he’d heard of C.R.Anderson. However, the second Christian name of Colin, born in 1900 at Keilor to James Anderson and Annie (nee Stewart), was Lindsay. C.R.Anderson lodged many land plans and was probably no relation of the Springbank farmer.
An undated entry on P. 32 of “Sam Merrifield’s House Names Index” (L.Frost) seems to date from 1918 and, as well as making the ridiculous claim that Springbank had been owned by the same family for 80 years (possibly a typo for 60!), states that the same lessee had been there for 23 years. The previous entry (in brackets above) says that James Anderson owned it and the second seems to indicate that James was only a lessee. Was James Wilson related to James Anderson? Was Anderson sub-letting to Swan?
MAIN REGAINS ANOTHER PART OF HIS GRANT.
Main had lost his grant on 4-4-1848 to J.P.Bear who sold lots 2,4,5 and 7 to Charles Kilburn, Rose Hill to Ashurst, the northern 21 chains of Springbank to Henry Moor, 45 ½ acres to James Collier, lot 6 to James Laverty and lot 10 to Thomas Cox between 8-7-1848 and 12-11-1850. Main had regained the northern 2/3 of Springbank from Moor in 1851.
The “release to uses”, from Kilburn to J.P.Main, of two of these pieces of land were memorialised on 10-1-1854:
i.e. 7 88. Commencing 41 chains north from the s/e corner of section 12 and extending a further 13 chains north and bounded in the south by lot 5 in the plan of sale. Main paid L288/15/-. This was the southern 1/3 of Spring Bank, which I assume to be lot 7. The other part regained by Main was lot 5.
LOT 5. REFERRED TO AS BLAIR’S PURCHASE.
49 259. Commencing 2850 links north from the s/e corner of section 12 on the north side of a 50 link wide private road and extending a further 1250 links north. This had to be lot 5. Main paid 2500 pounds.
On 27-5-1857, Main sold this area (Lot 5) between Spring Bank and a road 50 links wide running e-w through the section (Rosehill Rd) to Alexander Blair for L2700/10/-. Its boundaries were: 4274 links (N), the creek running into the Saltwater River to the e-w road (W), this road east 3736 l to a 50 l wide road reserved out of section 12 (Hoffmans Rd) (S) and this road north for 1250 links (E) (49 260). The area of this land, averaging the N and S boundaries, would be 50.0625 acres. On the next day, 28-5-1857, Alex Blair mortgaged this land to John Catto for 1000 pounds. As Blair’s index in the first and second series made no further mention of this land, Catto’s index was consulted and showed that Catto sold it to Dugald McPhail for 630 pounds on 6-7-1861 (108 326). McPhail then sold the land to William Hoffman (together with lot 6, due west across the creek) for 850 pounds on 16-3-1868 (177 896).
Land Plan 3151 deals with the subdivision of Blair’s purchase as well as Butzbach (across Hoffmans Rd), both owned by William Hoffman. This land plan was lodged by J.Tarrant on 20-10-1890. The subdivision would have fizzled because of the depression that started about a year later.
LOTS 1 AND 3? ROSE HILL.
The index for J.P.Main does not include information about the land south of Rosehill Rd. Luckily, much detail is supplied in a memorial recording a mortgage of 1-7-1861 (108 216). On this date Dugald McPhail mortgaged land (specified as 112 acres 2 roods and 19 perches in the reconveyance) to William Hoffman, for 900 pounds. This was Rose Hill.
Its boundaries commenced 3833 links east from the s/w corner, (where Buckley St crosses Steeles Ck), and went east 4397 links to a road reserved out of section 12 (Hoffmans Rd), north for 28 chains, west for 3697 links to the creek running into the Saltwater River and then south along the creek until it reached the boundary of John Aitken’s land (section 8.)
Thoughtfully the clerk added the information that McPhail had purchased the said land from Henry George Ashurst on 1-2-1853. (108 216). The land was reconveyed to McPhail on 16-3-1868, repayment of the 900 pounds having been completed (177 895).
Further investigation reveals that Ashurst sold Rose Hill to McPhail for 2800 pounds (2 144). Ashurst had earlier leased the 112 59/160 acre property to Henry Eldridge on 1-11-1848 at a rent of 56 pounds per annum (F 694) and mortgaged it to James Donaldson on 4-7-1849 (G 674). Eldridge later bought land at the s/e corner of 18A in mid 1854 and established the Sir John Franklin Hotel there soon after.
The reason Rose Hill does not appear in the J.P.Main index is that J.P.Bear became the owner of the whole grant on 4-4-1848 and sold this south eastern part to H.G.Ashurst for L304/5/9 on 8-7-1848 (F 251).
Incidentally, Henry George Ashurst had been involved with land ownership in the area since 1842 when he purchased part of John Pascoe Fawkner’s Belle Vue Park at Pascoe Vale, which later became well-known as John Kernan’s Merai Farm (“Broadmeadows:A Forgotten History” A.Lemon.) On 16-3-1868, McPhail had regained Rose Hill and on the same day sold lot 6 and Blair’s lot ( 49 and 48 acres fronting the whole northern side of Rosehill Rd) to Hoffman for 850 pounds (177 896).
Sketch of Title/ Search Certificate 15377 helps us to trace ownership of Rose Hill further as well as disclosing a treasure (a typed copy of the grant of section 12 to J.P.Main).
McPhail was probably still renting Spring Hill (Aberfeldie) from James Robertson of Upper Keilor when he bought Rose Hill from Ashurst on 1-2-1853. This is despite the claim in “Victoria and its Metropolis” that he started farming on rented land (on sections 20 or 21) in 1844 and six years later removed to land of his own not far distant.
The Sketch of Title also contains the information that Charles Brown Fisher purchased Rose Hill from Dugald McPhail for 3000 pounds on 20-1-1882. According to Dorothy Minkoff in “A History of Ave Maria College and Clydebank”, Fisher owned nearly 600 acres west of Vida St along the north bank of the river by 1876. (Probably section 8, 7 (1) and 7(2), a total of 545 acres and possibly William O’Neil’s 74 acre share of the 9B grant.) Dorothy adds that Fisher’s land on the north bank was sold in 1882, and possibly this included Rose Hill, which he’d bought in January of that year. Unfortunately the C.B.Fisher index makes no mention of section 12 land but my search was worthwhile as it provided information about land at Tullamarine and Avondale Heights. Did Fisher sell the land or lose it through a mortgage, or did it revert to McPhail’s ownership?
LOT 8.
No memorials concerning this lot have been found. The northern boundary of lot 6, 13 ½ chains north of Rosehill Rd, is described as running along lot 8 in Q 632.
Luckily, information about lot 8 is supplied in Search/ Sketch of Title 7607, which revealed that John Beale had land in section 12 as well as Shelton on 11B. A sketch of the land, on the western side of Steels (sic) Ponds, shows a road (Rosehill Rd) 28 chains north of the southern boundary of section 12, a property extending another 1250* links to the north and then Beale’s land. (*Note that this is different from the western boundary of lot 6 given in Q 632. In later conveyances to McPhail and then Hoffman, it was given as 1250 links.)
The land (obviously lot 8 but not specified as such) went another 1300 links further north. The western boundary was a 50 link wide road (Rachelle Rd). The northern and southern boundaries stretched 3941 and 3830 links respectively to the creek. This land today contains the e-w parts of Noga Ave and Lincoln Dr/ Herbert Cres.
Early title information about lot 8 is given in 5769, which refers to Sinclair’s Farm, west of the creek and south of Rosehill Rd. See below under Sinclair’s Farm. Sheet B of 7607 continues on, referring only to lot 8.
1-12-1848. J.&.J.P.Bear to Henry Roberts. (E 712.* Wrong memorial. See below.)
1-11-1862. Roberts to Matthew McCaw, mortgage for 150 pounds. 17-6-1863. Ditto.
1-5-1863. Reconveyance, McCaw to Roberts, for 800 pounds.
1-6-1865. Roberts to John Beale, Tullamarine, farmer. (150 124).
* F 712 shows that Roberts paid L85/17/- for 50 ½ acres. E 712 concerns the sale of Kilburn land in Melb.
It is interesting to discover that John Beale, who owned Shelton west of Rachelle Rd, spent some time at Tullamarine. The 1868 Keilor ratebook shows that Beale was farming 130 acres in the East Keilor area and was no longer at Tullamarine.
SINCLAIR’S FARM (LOTS 2 AND 4?)
This information comes from Sketch of Title/ Search Certificate 5769.
30-10-1846. Grant to J.P.Main. Then the mortgages to the Bears, which I have detailed, are listed as well as a reconveyance to Main.
3-12-1847. Main to J. and J.P.Bear. (E. 956) The nature of this memorial was “Conveyance of Equity of Redemption” which seems to mean that the Bears acquired the whole 640 acre grant.
1-12-1848. J.& J.P.Bear to Charles Kilburn. 114 acres 0 roods 37 perches. (F 719)
1-2-1854. Charles Kilburn to Catherine Gordon Sinclair. (21 999).
10-2-1855. Alexander McCallum leases Catherine’s land for 5 years at 300 pounds p.a. (23 195). The land is mortgaged to Robert McCracken (155 110) and others.
1-3-1871. Dugald McPhail agrees to lease the land from Catherine from 1-3-1871 to 1-3-1874 at 80 pounds p.a.
10-3-1873. C.S.Sinclair to William Hoffman, conveyance in fee.
The land was west of the creek and bounded by Rachelle Rd, Rosehill Rd and Buckley St, that is Sinclair’s Farm of 115 acres on the west bank of Spring Gully as advertised in the Essendon Gazette of 22-11-1917. (“Sam Merrifield’s House Names Index” Lenore Frost, P.32.) When it was advertised, in the same paper, to be sold on 13-3-1916, it was part of the estate of the late Alexander Smith.
JOHN PINNEY BEAR AND JOHN BEAR. SORTING OUT LOT NUMBERS.
John Pinney Bear’s name often crops up while various areas near Essendon are being researched. On 6-11-1852, he bought 18C, which adjoins the n/w corner of section 12 and later added North Pole Farm before selling these adjoining farms to Taylor for a staggering L34 350 in 1888. James Sharp bought the Caterpillar land at Tullamarine from him in 1877. James Laverty bought the site of the Harvest Home Hotel in J.P.Bear’s subdivision of McNay’s Farm in Moonee Ponds.
As mentioned earlier, these men gained ownership of section 12 in 1847,for only 1030 pounds. They were to sell a large part of section 12. As mentioned under lot 8, Henry Roberts bought the land, later acquired by John Beale, on 1-12-1848. The Cox and Collier Farms, north of lot 8, are discussed later.
The Bears sold the part of Springbank between Farrell St and the Coghlan/ Muriel St midline to Henry Moor on 31-10-1848 for L202/14/- (f 622), but Moor resold it to J.P.Main on 4-4-1851 for 300 pounds (M 276).
They sold lots 2, 4, 5 and 7 to Charles Kilburn on 1-12-1848 for 445 pounds. (F 719). Although these lot numbers are written in the Bear index, the memorial does not specify lot numbers. However other memorials give enough information to enable lot numbers to be worked out with fair certainty. No lot numbers have been seen in connection with Spring Bank, Rosehill, Sinclair’s Farm or Collier’s Farm. In 7 988 where J.P. Main regained the southern third of Springbank from Kilburn on 10-1-1854, it is mentioned that the block to the south (Blair’s later purchase and regained by Main on the same day in 49 259) was lot 5.
In an anti- clockwise direction from the north east corner, we can then account for most of Main’s Estate:
i.e. Springbank (J.Wilson), Blair’s purchase, Rosehill Rd, and Rose Hill east of the creek, then heading north, Sinclair’s Farm, Rosehill Rd, lot 6 (1848 Laverty, McPhail, 1868 Hoffman) and lot 8 (1848 Roberts, 1865 Beale). The only area yet to be detailed is that occupied by the Niddrie Quarry.
LOT 10, COX’S FARM.
On 12-11-1850, Thomas Cox bought lot 10 from the Bears for 96 pounds. Consisting of 50 acres 1 rood 22 perches, this land started about 40 metres north of Noga Ave and included the southern 1/3 of the quarry site (K 876). It is likely that this was the 50 acre farm accessed from North Pole Rd, which James Anderson was leasing in 1900-1 and had occupied before moving onto Springbank, but it is also possible that Anderson’s “North Pole Road” farm was lot 8.
Other memorials concerning this land are:
1st series index- none.
2nd series.
307 359. 29-1-1883. Lease to John Beale for 10 years at a rent of 25 pounds p.a.
350 207. 8-5-1888. Contract and conditions of sale to speculator, G.W.Taylor, who also contracted to buy 18 C and D at about this time. (See the reasons why and the outcome in the section 18 entry.) Taylor agreed to pay L5542/12/6, which would have been equivalent to nearly 222 years rent under the terms of John Beale’s lease. C.B.Fisher’s purchase price of 3000 pounds for the 112 5/8 acre Rose Hill in January 1882 showed that the land boom was starting but Taylor showed, by paying almost twice as much for less than half as much land, that the Boom was flying along in top gear! Obviously Taylor forfeited part payments and the land, as he did with so many other farms.
385 168. Mortgage of the share and interest of Elizabeth Julia Whelan in 50 acres, Doutta Galla to John Butler Besley and Henry Besley of Bruthen for L 154/16/8. Elizabeth was the daughter of Thomas Cox and had inherited the land in the will of Thomas Cock (known as Cox), of which Ellen and William James Cock (known as Cox) were the exectrix and executor.
This memorial is the only entry in the E.J.Whelan index and no memorial concerning lot 10 is in the J.B. and H.Besley index so it is impossible to tell whether lot 10 was regained or forfeited.
LOT 12? COLLIER’S FARM.
James Collier bought the remaining 45* acres 2 roods 3 perches from the Bears on 14-2-1849 for 87 pounds cash. (*Called 55 acres in the Bear index but the memorial, which must have been written with poor quality ink, does say forty five.) I’d be willing to bet my last dollar that this was lot 12. It was north of Cox’s land and covered the rest of the quarry site (to a latitude indicated by the northern boundary of the Peter Kirchner Reserve east of the creek). Collier’s index reveals that he also had land on 6C (bisected by Puckle St/Holmes Rd). Another memorial concerns 39 acres in Doutta Galla (perhaps the land on 6C). Other memorials are:
K 750. 14-10-1850. Equitable Mortgage of 45 acres 2 roods 3 perches commencing 67 chains from the s/w corner of section 12 and extending 1406 links to the northern boundary of section 12. Charles Payne paid 35 pounds to James Collier.
236 954. 27-8-1860. Equitable Mortgage of the same land to secure to Margaret Harriss the repayment of 160 pounds she had lent to James Collier. I have been unable to determine whether Collier was able to repay the money or forfeited the land. However, this mortgage has helped to locate a farm mentioned by Angela Evans in “Keilor Pioneers: Dead Men Do Tell Tales”. Lawrence Kelly seems to have settled in Keilor by 1861. (Keilor’s ratebook of 1868 shows that he was leasing 18C of 163 acres from J.P.Bear.) By 1875, according to the above book, he was also renting 48 acres at Spring Gully from Margaret Harris. This would seem to indicate that Collier did lose his block if Margaret Harris still had ownership 15 years later.
The acreage of Collier’s Farm does seem to have been 45 83/160 acres. It is likely that Patrick Joseph Corcoran was leasing it in 1900-1 (part lot 0 section 12, 46 acres). Collier’s Farm was described as 46 acres when the late Alexander Smith’s land west of Spring Gully was advertised for sale on 13-3-1916.
N.B. The entry for Collier’s Farm in “Sam Merrifield’s House Names Index” edited by Lenore Frost, is wrong. The farm described is actually Smith’s Norwood. (See section 9.)
376 185. James Collier’s will of 26-1-1866 left all his (unspecified) estate to his daughter Mary, subject to an annual payment to James Collier’s wife Margaret. James died on 15-12-1868. These details were recorded much later on 13-8-1892 (376 185) and Mary was Mrs Amiss. The arrangements resulted from a marriage settlement between Mary and John Haines Amiss (soon to marry Mary) and the executors, James Jenning and John Cunningham, on 28-7-1879.
BARGAINS DURING THE 1890’S DEPRESSION?
Sandy Smith of Norwood (73 acres in section 9 and 13 acres in 11B) finished up owning most of the land on section 12 west of Spring Gully: i.e. Sinclair’s and Heffernan’s farms (163 acres), Cox’s Farm (50 acres) and Collier’s Farm (46 acres). (R.W.Chalmers’ “Annals of Essendon”Vol.1, P. 179, entry dated 13-3-1916.) The first should be Hoffman’s and Sinclair’s Farms (48 + 115 acres). (P. 17 and 32, “Sam Merrifield’s House Names Index.) Hoffman’s Farm was probably lot 6, rather than Blair’s purchase, as on p.19 of the same book, Cox’s farm was described as being north of Sinclairs and Hoffman’s.
HOFFMANS RD 1923-1969. Eddie Deutcher’s memories. The Fullarton Connection.
It is of interest that in 1923 Hoffmans Rd only went south to the northern end of Moushall Ave, which was originally called Hoffmans Rd until 9-11-1960 (Land Plan 10004). Keilor Council had first made moves to have Hoffmans Rd constructed in 1945 but it was not until November 1969 that the road was made. Essendon and Keilor had agreed in 1957 to construct the road forthwith but it was 10 years before work started. The hold up was a dispute about the proposed width, the two councils’ preferences differing by two feet. No doubt the Fullarton connection had something to do with the eventual resolution. John Andrew Peter Fullarton was an Essendon councillor from about 1958 for 13 years (followed by his wife, Dorothy, Essendon’s first female councillor, until 1986.) Their son Graeme was Mayor of Keilor in 1969-70. (“DICTIONARY HISTORY OF TULLAMARINE AND MILES AROUND” R. GIBB, PAGE F.96-7.)
The land plan also shows that Garnet St was called Grieve St until 8-6-1962.
It seems that the 1923 subdivision of Springbank fizzled, probably because the tramway extension to Hoffmans Rd did not eventuate. (The Tramway Extension Estate with frontages to Hoffmans Rd and other, but defunct, streets, was advertised for sale on 12-4-1919 according to Bob Chalmers’ Annals of Essendon, but obviously shared the same fate.)
SPRINGBANK LINGERS.
On 25-7-1930, when James Anderson mortgaged his land across Green Gully Rd from Braeside (13K Maribyrnong of 35 acres, from the midline of Buchan and Tarwin Courts to the bridge) he was described as a dairyman, formerly farmer, of Buckley Park. As explained before, the location of Springbank was known as Buckley Park in those days, the modern designation of Niddrie not having spread south from 17B, which Henry Stevenson had so-named after a suburb of his native Edinburgh in about 1870. The double storey brick Springbank mansion must have been decaying as it was demolished in the 1930’s. James Anderson may have built a new farmhouse before moving to Braeside. Eddie Deutcher said that when he arrived, the farmhouse was a pink weatherboard occupied by Merle someone and then Mr Shell from 1954 or 1955.
EDDIE DEUTCHER’S MEMORIES.
Ralph Dixon has been mentioned earlier. It is unclear which side of Hoffmans Rd he built on C.1923 but Eddie Deutcher recalls that he was later living opposite Mary St (present No. 49). The Broadmeadows Observer Souvenir edition of 1961 (Proclamation of the City of Keilor) states wrongly that Eddie Deutcher was the first resident on the Keilor side of Hoffmans Rd; Ralph beat him by quite a few years.
A Mr Spencer subdivided his land into four blocks of 44 ½ x 138 feet (their depth later reduced to 130 feet when Hoffmans Rd was made.) Spencer, of Price St, died in 1980 and his widow later lived next door to Eddie Deutcher. The only other resident of Hoffmans Rd when Eddie moved in was Harry George at the corner of Mary St. Eddie says that the development of Hoffmans Rd mainly took place between 1951-2 and 1965. In 1949, Eddie bought his block (No. 63) for L135. The other blocks sold for L500 (C.1953), L750 (1956) and $15 000 (about 1969). Eddie moved onto his block from St Kilda in 1951 but had to live in a caravan for 2 ½ years because of the post-war shortage of building materials.
Council- owned land in George St was an unofficial dumping ground and a haunt of youngsters who gathered there to smoke. The tip was the source of several fires that threatened the widely scattered houses.
There used to be a training track for trotters near Garnet St.
The Clippertons were another early family in the area. Russell Clipperton was a foundation pupil at the Doutta Galla Primary School. Part of what we now call Hoffmans Rd was occupied by Fred Clipperton’s car wrecking yard and people travelling south had to take the Hoffmans Rd Dogleg which is now called Moushall Ave.
The first shop in Hoffmans Rd was Fred Cook’s general store on the Teague St corner, later Joe Wiley’s and a self serve bottle shop. Probably next was the green grocery started, and still operated many decades later, by Tony Sicerliano. Ray Orchard’s model aeroplane shop and Miss Gartland’s pharmacy were features of the shopping centre for many years.
Power and water came to Eddie and his neighbours in 1953 and sewerage in 1965.
In 1954, Eddie became a Keilor councillor and judging by his grasp and recall of details as shown above, he would have been a good one.
. More of Eddie’s memories are on Pages D. 95-8 of my Dictionary history of Tullamarine and Miles Around.
P.166. Re map at bottom of page: Through no fault of Christine, who had confined her focus to land within the Shire of Keilor, the map shows Buckley Park extending two thirds of the way to Lincoln Rd rather than halfway, with Christine not having commented on this error. South of Keilor Rd,the shire adjoined the Essendon municipality at Hoffmans Rd, which remained unmade with, due to a Lands Department boo boo, a dogleg via Moushall Avenue, for over a century of settlement. While interviewing old residents of Ardmillan Rd, Moonee Ponds before I started EARLY LANDOWNERS, I was introduced to Dorothy Fullarton former Mayor of Essendon who had grown up near Benalla and helped me greatly with information about William Goldsborough Chadwick, a pioneer of Pascoeville, Broadmeadows Township, and the Farmers Arms at Essendon and Benalla. She, as Mayor of Essendon, and her son, simultaneously the head of Keilor Council, finally ended a century of bickering between the two council and got the boundary road made.
It was this knowledge, that the Essendon road mentioned in the advertisement of the sale of the North Pole Inn and the noble estate of Springvale could not be Hoffmans Rd, that later allowed me to discover that the hotel was NOT just west of the Niddrie shopping centre as claimed in a Keilor Historical Society newsletter article. With the aid of boundary dimensions (links on the parish map and feet in the advertisement) I was able to determine eighteen years ago that the hotel was on the west corner of North Pole (Milleara) Rd.
EXTRACT FROM MY EARLY LANDOWNERS.
Section 13. (HOFFMANS Rd to LINCOLN RD.)
This was between Buckley St. and Mt. Alexander Rd., which Keilor Rd. was called until at least 1900.
The western half, consisting of lots A and B, between Hoffman’s Rd. and the walking track near Hedderwick St., was granted to William Hoffman, one of the handful of Germans in the north west. He called his house Butzbach but the farm appears to have been known later as Buckley Park. (The renaming may have occurred near the time of W.W.1, when anti- German feeling led to moves to change the names of Coburg and Essendon, the latter thought by some to have originated from Essen, and many residents such as Groenberger of the Junction Hotel at Tullamarine changed their surnames.)
Later owners were Messrs E.A. and William Croft. In 1914, William Croft was the only resident west of Nimmo St; the house was apparently near Croft St. and between Buckley and Temple (Spencer) Sts. This accounts for the kink in Price St.
A map at the Merrifield Library shows that when the estate was subdivided, land containing the “Butzbach” residence of “Croft Esquire” was at the south west Temple (Spencer) St/ Nimmo St corner with Price St (down to the bend) as the western boundary. Part of this block of 4 ½ acres was sold as eight allotments fronting Price and Market Sts on 23-10-1924. The old homestead must have been demolished in the early 1950’s to make way for Croft St, as this street was first mentioned in 1953. Mr Spencer, mentioned in Eddie Deutcher’s memories under section 12, may have been living in the old homestead.
Just as Peter McCracken was one of the first lessees on Stewarton, his brother Alexander Earle McCracken was possibly the first to rent Butzbach. He had erected a four stall stable and a barn on it within 10 months of the grant being issued to Hoffman, and in March 1851 was apparently building a house. A.E.McCracken grew wheat on Butzbach and the farm prospered but due to the ill health of his wife, Jane, this branch of the family returned home in 1857, probably to Ardwell Farm on the Ardmillan Estate in Ayrshire. In a letter written on 14-4-1858, Robert McCracken informed Alexander Earle that Butzbach had been taken up by the McAuleys.
One of the early occupiers of subdivision lots on Buckley Park was Ralph Dixon, who settled in the Gilbertson St area in 1912 before moving to Hoffmans Rd in 1923. Some things he recalled were:
*the two rows of pine trees, through which the drive ran to the Hoffman / Croft house from Buckley St,
*the Woods family’s dairy farm in Sapphire St (see section 12 Rosehill Estate in 1900),
*old Mrs Sinclair’s goats near Ogilvie St,
* and James Anderson’s dairy farm with its homestead on the (1961) service station site. (This was across Hoffmans Rd on the south corner of Teague St.)
TWO DROMANA PIONEERS.
P.177 ROBERT DENY DENISON QUINLAN, about whom I've written a separate journal.
P.181 EDWIN LEWIS TASSEL/ EDWIN LOUIS TASSELL. The Martha Cove Waterway was known as Tassell's Creek and a Safety Beach street name still honours this pioneer of Dromana and Avondale Heights. I had traced Edwin from the Survey to the Avondale Heights block and Christine had done the opposite. See my journal which mentions Tassells at Sorrento and Woodend too.
EDWIN LOUIS TASSELL, EARLY TENANT OF THE NORTHERN PART OF JAMIESON'S SPECIAL SURVEY NEAR MT. MARTHA, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA.
REVIEW OF ROSALIND PEATEY'S "SETTING THE SPIRIT FREE; THE PIONEERS OF THE SOUTHERN MORNINGTON PENINSULA" (VIC., AUST.)
Rosalind Peatey's PINE TREES AND BOX THORNS was a wonderful history of George and Susan Peatey and their descendants. I discovered it soon after I had started my research on the Mornington Peninsula in 2010. I was really excited when I discovered that Rosalind had written another history in 2004.
The CONTENTS are as below.
Introduction page 9, Port Phillip 11, John Batman 14, Joseph Gellibrand 17, John Fawkner 18, The Henry Brothers 20, Armytage and Franks 21,George Smith 22, Sir Richard Bourke 25, Magistrate William Lonsdale 30, Cape Schanck 37, Edward William Hobson: Kangerong and Tootgarook Runs 40, Maurice Meyricks (sic): Boniyong Run 46, Captain Henry Everest Adams 48, Andrew McCrae: Arthur's Seat Run 50, James Purves 56, Edward Latrobe Batman 58.
Apart from the subjects in bold type, this is more a history of the Port Phillip District than the Mornington Peninsula and new information was limited. In this journal, I will detail information that has not been seen in readily available sources and point out errors that could lead readers astray.
NEW INFORMATION.
Page 14. "John Batman, who was born at Parramatta in 1801, the son of a freed convict, who had been transported for receiving stolen saltpetre, and a mother who had paid her own way out from England, with two children, to be with her husband. In 1816, Batman was apprenticed to a blacksmith in Sydney. This came to an end when he had to give evidence against his employer. In December 1821, John with his brother Henry, moved to Van Dieman's Land."
These facts are in his biography, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/batman-john-1752 but are not often mentioned in articles about John Batman.
Pages 25-7 and 30-33. Rosalind gives an interesting perspective of the difficulties faced by Sir Richard Bourke and William Lonsdale to impose order in the Port Phillip District. While they had authority, anything that might cost money, such as a court and police to enforce proclamations, had to be approved by the Colonial Secretary in England. Lengthy delays in getting such approval were inevitable. Such delays were the main reasons that the Hentys, Port Phillip Association (i.e Batman's group)and Fawkner had decided to settle at Port Phillip without permission- as mentioned earlier in the book.
Pages 28-9.
The New South Wales Government Gazette of 19-4-1837, pages 309 and 303, makes very interesting reading, being scans of the pages rather than a digitised version. Items mentioned include Captain Hobson's plotting of the position of the Crocodile Rock in Bass Strait, the naming of Hobson's Bay, William's Town and Melbourne, and notice of a sale of Melbourne town allotments on 1-6-1837.
Page 32. Dr Thompson and Dr Cotter- see under pages 35-6.
Pages 34 and following folding sheet. The census of 9-11-1836. Luckily this too is a scan rather than the digitised version which cannot reproduce columns. It lists the 43 "occupiers in town or proprietors in country" with the number of persons under and over 12 on each establishment, all free with no convicts. The only heads of establishments connected with the Mornington Peninsula's history on the list were George Smith (from 1843 to 1850) and William Buckley (in 1803.) Buckley had escaped from Collins' settlement and made his way around the bay to the Bellarine Peninsula. This trek has recently been commemorated with a William Buckley Walk inaugurated by former councillor Graham Pittock and the construction of a WILLIAM BUCKLEY REST near the boat ramp at Safety Beach. John Pascoe Fawkner is conspicuously absent from the list. He'd most likely planted his crop on the Crown Casino site and built his inn in Market St.(P.18) which Smith was probably occupying, but he had probably returned to Launceston to wind up his affairs there and obtain necessities such as a printing press for his handwritten newspaper.
The folding sheet has a plan of the part of Melbourne bounded by King, Bourke, Swanston and Flinders Sts., showing sections, crown allotments and purchasers. It shows Fawkner's c/a 14, section 3 in Market St, purchased for 10 pounds, where he built his inn, probably occupied by George Smith on 9-11-1836. Fawkner eventually had Smith evicted from this inn so Smith then built the Lamb Inn. The Lamb Inn might have been built on Crown allotment 2 of section 2, 40 metres east of William St between Collins St and Collins Lane, for which Smith paid 46 pounds. The waterfall at the foot of William St played a significant part in the history of Melbourne. It ensured a supply of fresh water upstream and a wide turning basin for ships where wharves were built, the very reason that the Customs House was at the east corner of William and Flinders Streets and the general market was north of it, between Flinders Lane and Collins St and fronting Market St of course. The rocks were eventually blasted and used to line the Coode's Canal in 1886*.
*https://poi-australia.com.au/points-of-interest/.../coodes-yarra-river-canal-c-1886/
I've often wondered where St James Old Cathedral (where Henry Everest Adams was belatedly married in 1855 when his son Robert was about 9 years old) was originally located. Perhaps it was in section 15 fronting the west side of William St between Collins and Bourke Streets, reserved for CHURCH OF ENGLAND. Interestingly CHURCH STREET, named on the plan as the west boundary of the block north of Little Collins St, has retained its name and can be seen at Melway map 2F,B5.
This map alone makes Rosalind's book valuable as a source.
Pages 35-6. William Lonsdale's return of dwellings, stock and cultivation in 1836-7 (from the 9-11-1836 census) shows that John Batman's statement to Fawkner (recounted by Fawkner in his memories) that Batman had obtained in his treaty any land worth having is confirmed by most squatters having settled in the Geelong and Dutigalla
area (this having been the original name of Batman's Port Phillip Association.) The area on the west side of Port Phillip Bay must have been prized because access was difficult, involving a trip toward Mount Macedon as far as today's Buckley St West, Essendon, known then and for several decades as Braybrook Road and then west to Melway 27 C9 (not 27B8 as wrongly assumed by several municipalities for whose findings the Victorian Heritage Council takes no responsibility.)
"Dr. Alexander Thompson was appointed assistant colonial surgeon by William Lonsdale but (Lonsdale) was to recommend Dr Barry Cotter over Dr Thompson as medical practitioner in charge of the colony." (Page 32.)
Londale's decision* was probably based on the fact that Alexander had already moved to his run by 9-11-1836 and would not be in Melbourne to perform this role. Alexander had arrived in February 1836 but by November his residence was given as Barwon. His trip to "Kardinia" in January, 1837 as described in his biography must have followed some months spent preparing accommodation for the 11 people on his run.
*The following states that Alexander Thompson had resigned.
http://www.historyvictoria.org.au/events/pioneer-public-health-practitioners-in-the-port-phillip-district
Pioneer Public Health Practitioners in the Port Phillip District
Presented by Dr Walter Heale.
Dr Alexander Thomson was employed by the Port Phillip Association to provide health care to new settlers. Arriving in March 1836, he was briefly employed by Government, resigning to pursue pastoral interests. His temporary replacement was Dr. Barry Cotter responsible for the care of military personnel and prisoners, and re-employed in 1840 during the quarantine of the fever ship the Glen Huntly.
Pages 44-5. Edward William Hobson's application of 22-6-1850 for the Tootgarook Run to be transferred to Mr James Purves of Melbourne. The second sheet is a declaration that Edward had held the licence for the previous 12 months, apparently a lands department memorial, volume 51, folio 834.
Pages 48-9. Captain Henry Everest Adams.
"We shall probably never know what drew Captain Adams to the Arthurs Seat area in 1842. Even his descendants have little to fall back on in actual facts.... Among the very first settlers on the Port Phillip side of the Peninsula, they chose the western side of Arthurs Seat where they took up a large area from the corner of Wattle Rd (Wattle Place since Lonsdale St. was built) and Nepean Rd, back to Old Cape Schanck Rd."
Luckily some descendants have worked hard to dispel myths in the family folklore, such as the captain being the illegitimate son of Lord Vivian and receiving a 750 acre grant from the Government in New South Wales. When Dromana was proposed on the other side of Arthurs Seat, it seems that the Village of Wannaeue was proposed on the west side. The captain may have obtained a LEASE of the village reserve until such time that there was sufficient demand to ensure good prices for blocks. When the village was alienated in the mid 1870's, the Captain and his son Robert received the grants for all that part of Section 20 Wannaeue between South Road and Old Cape Schanck Rd. Isaac White, the grantee of section 19, between Parkmore Rd and Adams Avenue was a friend of Henry and his wife and may have acted as a dummy to ensure that Henry could acquire that land too. There is no real proof of when the family arrived. Henry was also the grantee of 36 acres on the west side of Tower Rd on Arthurs Seat and 56 acres between Diamond Bay Rd and Mission St. near Sorrento. There is an interesting fact about Henry's marriage in my comment about the folding sheet after page 34 which explains why Robert Henry Adams and Mary Jane, nee Hopcraft, would want their descendants to have such a hazy understanding of the family history.
A family history may well be underway but anybody wanting genealogical information urgently may private message me.
Page 50-54. Andrew McCrae: Arthur's Seat Run. Very rarely do I read information about the peninsula that I have not already seen. Rosalind has done some great research here. Until I read this book, I was unaware that Farquhar McCrae (about whom I became aware in 1988) and Andrew McCrae had a brother, Captain Alexander McCrae who gave one of his daughters the strange given name of Thomasann. Rosalind can be forgiven for stating that Farquhar's "La Rose" was in Moonee Ponds; Moonee Ponds meant in the early days anywhere near the Moonee Moonee Chain of Ponds, not today's suburb, an assumption made by professional historian, Andrew Lemon, who assumed that Glenroy Farm was in Moonee Ponds. Andrew's son, George Gordon, himself made an even worse mistake, assuming that La Rose was on Uncle Farquhar's other property, "Moreland". See:http://www.familytreecircles.com/george-gordon-mccrae-s-boo-boo-about-his-uncle-farquhar-s-la-rose-homestead-victoria-australia-67571.html
Rosalind puts Andrew's decision to take up his run in context with her knowledge of the depression of 1842-3. I was thrown into confusion when I read: "Captain Cole had married Thomas Ann McCrae." I thought Rosalind was referring to Captain Alexander McCrae's daughter, Thomasann, who wrote a letter in 1933 signed as Thomasann Blackburn. This letter, http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/203820343 shows that George Ward Cole's second wife was one of two sisters of Andrew, Farquhar and Alexander, who had come to the Port Phillip District with them.
GEORGE WARD COLE'S WIFE.
EventMarriage Event registration number645 Registration year1842
Personal information
Family nameMCCRAE Given namesThomas Anne SexFemale Spouse's family nameCOLE Spouse's given namesGeorge Ward
http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/cole-george-ward-1908
Cole arrived in Melbourne on 4 July 1840 in the schooner Waterlily, of which he was part-owner. He set up as a general merchant, and in 1841 bought land on the Yarra River near Spencer Street, where he built Cole's Wharf. In 1842 he married for the second time. His first wife had been a widow, Eliza Cantey, the daughter of Colonel Charles Brietyche. His second wife was Thomas Anne, daughter of William Gordon McCrae, formerly of Westbrook, Midlothian, Scotland. He had one son by the first and three sons and three daughters by the second marriage.
CAPTAIN ALEXANDER McCRAE'S DAUGHTER.
Thomas Ann(sic) Cole MCCRAE
Female 1852 - 1945
Birth 1852 Collingwood, Victoria, Australia
Christened 1852 St Peter's Church, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Gender Female
Died 1945 East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Person ID I656 Victoria Pioneers
Last Modified 10 Sep 2008
Father Capt Alexander MCCRAE, b. 1789, d. 1861, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Mother Susannah DANWAY, b. Abt 1812, England d. 1870, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Family ID F73 Group Sheet
Family Maurice BLACKBURN, b. 3 Oct 1848, Campbell Town, Tasmania, Australia d. 1887, Avoca, Victoria, Australia
Married 1880 Victoria, Australia
Page 55. See digital.slv.vic.gov.au/dtl_publish/simpleimages/30/2611207.html
The Arthurs Seat pre-emptive right became crown allotment 1 of section B (331 acres fronting the bay) and crown allotment 2 of section B (309 acres adjoining Seawinds, south for 395 metres from a line (1160 metres long heading east from the intersection of today's The Avenue and the freeway)to another line 1940 metres long heading east from about Banks St.
Document showing that Joseph Brooks Burrell who had bought 331 acres in 1850 was applying on 16-4-1859 to purchase a further 309 acres to take his P.R. up to the allowed 640 acres, a square mile.
ERRORS.
P. 10. Discussing the Rosebud area, Rosalind stated, "The struggle to survive in a not so paradisical land was possible, and survive they did, as many of their descendants are part of the community today. Of these, the most prominent are the descendants of the Cairns, Patterson and Crichton families from Boneo, the Adams, Bucher, Freeman, Lacco and the Peaty families from Rosebud, all here between 1850 to 1890." The error lies in the Freemans being given as much prominence as much earlier pioneers.
All apart from the Freeman family were very early settlers, some a decade or more before the Rosebud Fishing Village was alienated in 1872; in 1899, John Freeman had purchased 16 acres in the part of section 14 Wannaeue (between First Avenue and Boneo Rd)south of 50 First Avenue and the Hope St house blocks, that became part of Ramsay and Nora Couper's THE THICKET by about 1908. After Hugh Glass's death, his creditors had divided section 14 into parcels of 29 and 29 acres that became Hindhope, the northern half of the grant, and parcels of 20, 20 and 16 acres that became The Thicket.
"THE THICKET.
In 1893,the Landhold Investment Co.was rated on 56 acres, Wannaeue, almost certainly Hindhope. Mrs Alfred Hicks (Harriet) owned one of the 20 acre farms and Ramsay Couper the other. In 1894 Jeremiah Brosman of South Yarra was assessed on 16 acres Wannaeue. This remained the case until 1899 when John Freeman bought the 16 acre property. In 1900 Ramsay Couper was assessed on Mrs Hicks' 20 acres which for years had stupidly been described as being in Rye (where Harriet actually owned another 4 acres.) In 1908 the 16 acre property had the rate collector guessing and assessment No 831 had Couper Freeman as the person to be rated on 16 acres; in 1909 Nora Couper was assessed,Ramsay having the other 40 acres of The Thicket."
Page 12. The term "De pasture licences" is used on the first of many occasions. The correct term was "depasturing licences".
Page 15. The impression given is that the Port Phillip Association was formed after Batman's treaty was accomplished and "private settlers were steadily arriving at Port Phillip." The land acquired by Batman was stated as being "the Bellarine Peninsula and the coastal strip from Geelong to the Yarra", quite ignoring that the treaty took place on, and included, land well north of the Yarra(such as the parishes of DOUTTA GALLA and JIKA JIKA.) The Henty Brothers were said to be members of the association which seemed strange because they had settled near Portland* before John Batman came to the Port Phillip District. (*Edward went first on the Thistle with labourers, stock, potatoes and seed. After a voyage of 34 days the Thistle arrived at Portland Bay on 19 November 1834 at 8 a.m. EDWARD HENTY, WIKIPEDIA.)
FROM WIKIPEDIA.
The Port Phillip Association (originally the "Geelong and Dutigalla Association") [1] was formally formed in June 1835 to settle land in what would become Melbourne, which the association believed had been acquired by John Batman for the association from Wurundjeri elders after he had obtained their marks to a document, which came to be known as Batman's Treaty.
The leading members of the association were John Batman, a farmer, Joseph Gellibrand, a lawyer and former Attorney-General,[2] Charles Swanston, banker and member of the Legislative Council,[2] John Helder Wedge, surveyor and farmer, Henry Arthur, nephew of Lieutenant Governor George Arthur of Van Diemen’s Land, and various others including William Sams, Under Sheriff and Public Notary for Launceston,[2] Anthony Cottrell, Superintendent of Roads and Bridges,[2] John Collicott, Postmaster General,[2] James Simpson, Commissioner of the Land Board and police magistrate,[2] John Sinclair, Superintendent of Convicts,[2] Michael Connolly, Thomas Bannister, and John and William Robertson.[3]
Page 17. Joseph Tice Gellibrand only had one connection with the Mornington Peninsula but the page about him dealt with Hesse and Gelliband's disappearance west of Geelong, not his trek through the peninsula.
Joseph Gellibrand - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Gellibrand
Joseph Tice Gellibrand (1792–1837) was the first Attorney-General of Van Diemen's Land ... In January 1836 he crossed Bass Strait and, landing at Western Port, walked with companions to Melbourne.
J.P.Manifold and J.B.Were were mentioned as others who arrived from Tasmania. The latter was a major grantee in the parish of Fingal near Cape Schanck so another peninsula connection was missed.
Page 19. "(John Pascoe Fawkner) was one of the Port Phillip Association." Oh no he wasn't. Before law was established, the Association had forced Fawkner to move to the south side of the Yarra* where he planted the colony's first wheat crop.
*http://www.mcg.org.au/the-stadium/mcg-history/in-the-beginning
Melbourne Cricket Club was founded in November 1838 when the population of the Port Phillip District was only about 2000.
The first cricket match was played between the MCC and a military team on the Old Mint site in William Street, Melbourne.
However, this area proved unsuitable and in January 1839 the club established its second ground at the foot of Batman's Hill, now Spencer Street Railway Station.
This was Melbourne's cricket ground until October 1846 when impending acquisition for railway use forced a transfer to the southern bank of the Yarra near the present Crown Casino site.
John Pascoe Fawkner had planted the colony's first wheat crop on this field, but it was susceptible to flooding and the club had to advertise more than once for the return of its dressing shed when the Yarra broke its banks!
Page 22. "(George) Smith's first move was to apply to the Governor Sir Richard Bourke for a de pasture licence, 'beyond the bounds of settlement.' Land at Woul Woul a Ballack, along the southern shore of Port Phillip Bay (seemingly from the early settlement of Lieutenant Colonel Collins at Sorrento.)" The assumption that George Smith's run was near Sullivan's Bay comes from the part of the following passage given in bold type.
FROM PAGES 208-9 OF "I SUCCEEDED ONCE"
Contrary to what is widely asserted, he (George Smith) did not hold a licence for Wul-Wul-aBulluk
on the Mornington Peninsula: a thorough search of the original Pastoral
Run Papers produced no papers for Wul-Wul-a-Bulluk in the box which holds
all the original ‘W’ Pastoral Run Papers.50 Wul-Wul-a-Bulluk is not a pastoral
run; it is the name of the house at Capel Sound where he lived in the 1840s.51
He did hold the licence for Tootgarook through the late 1840s,52 and he is on
Commissioner of Crown Lands Edward Grimes’ list for 1848 of people who have
not paid their licence fee.53 George Gordon McCrae described him as a ‘settler’
whose ‘little station’ was seven miles* from Arthurs Seat, the first establishment
past the Old Settlement site when travelling towards Arthurs Seat from Point
Nepean. It was ‘called by the natives Wul-wul-buluk’, and it was a little to
the south of what used to be called the Big Swamp**.54 George D Smythe’s 1841
‘Survey of the coast from the west side of Port Phillip to Western Port’55 locates
the first establishment past the old settlement site when travelling towards
Melbourne as Dr Hobson’s sheep station. It is perhaps a quarter of a mile from
the eastern sister on the track to Arthurs Seat and Melbourne, with Cameron’s
station*** a little further on, about midway around Cameron’s Bight.56 Smythe’s
map also locates Tootgarook but he records it as a place or an area with a native
name, not as a run; in fact he makes three of his characteristic dots for locations
of settlers, only one of whom he names, Freeman**** (Thomas records Freeman as
running sheep).
The simple, though for the time, extraordinary explanation is that George Smith
lived with Malvina Hobson nee Lutterell, mother of Edward and Edmund at
Capel Sound. George Gordon McCrae devotes pages to describing their lovely
house and garden and view, and Mrs Smith’s culinary achievements and her
kindness to the McCrae boys. But there is no record of a divorce from Edward
Hobson senior and she died as Malvina Hobson, as indicated earlier.
*SEVEN MILES FROM ARTHURS SEAT.
George Gordon McCrae was a boy, and even adult country people were said to be notoriously bad at estimating distance. Furthermore Georgiana's journal stated that these seven miles were from the Arthurs Seat Homestead ON THE ROAD TO CAPE SCHANCK! This was in relation to four year old Sarah Ann Cain being nursed back to health by Mrs Smith at Wooloowoolooboolook (George's spelling)after being lost in the bush for four days. Seven miles measured from Anthonys Nose extends to Dundas St Rye, and as the McCrae homestead is 60 chains (three quarters of a mile) east of The Rocks, George's seven miles would take us to the left edge of Melway 168 C3 just past Cain Road. As Owen Cain was on Tyrone by this stage, it was unlikely to be part of Smith's run but as C.N.Hollinshed stated in LIME LAND LEISURE that the Tootgarook run extended west to White Cliff, the first measurement (from the rocks) might be fairly accurate, the western boundary of the run being near Dundas St.
However, the following, which has little to do with the peninsula, should serve as a warning that George Gordon McCrae should not be accepted as the ultimate authority on the locations of properties.
http://www.familytreecircles.com/george-gordon-mccrae-s-boo-boo-about-his-uncle-farquhar-s-la-rose-homestead-victoria-australia-67571.html
**THE BIG SWAMP. Known as the Boneo or Tootgarook Swamp, this was between Boneo and Truemans Rds. Not having a map to consult, young George McCrae presumed that Smith's house was south of the swamp when the Tootgarook pre-emptive right starts roughly 3000 links (600 metres) WEST of Truemans Rd. Complicating matters, Rosalind was unaware that Edward William Hobson had left Tootgarook for Gippsland in about 1843 and been replaced by George Smith while Edward Hobson was managing the RIVER OF LITTLE FISH (Traralgon)* for his brother, Dr Edmund Hobson. She therefore plotted Smith's supposed Run much closer to Sorrento than it really was.
(*https://www.traralgonhistory.asn.au/rolf/chapter2.htm)
***CAMERON'S STATION could not exist if George Smith's supposed WOUL WOUL A BALLACK run was where it is plotted on page 24.
**** FREEMAN. It is possible that this Freeman was an ancestor of the Freemans named as pioneers of Rosebud, in which case, I'd need to retract my comment about them not being early pioneers, but proof would be required.
Page 23. About this time (circa 1838) Smith's wife, Mary, died."
There is only one death record for a Mary Smith between 1836 and 1843* and as George Smith had a son, apparently approaching manhood,this one would seem to be too young to be George's wife. As the so-called Mrs Smith (Malvina Hobson, nee Lutterell) who nursed Sarah Ann Cain back to health at Wooloowoolooboolook circa 1844 was born in 1799 she would have been about about 44 when she and George moved onto Tootgarook and it could be assumed that she would have been about the same age as George Smith, whose genealogy is a mystery. Malvina died in 1866.
EventDeath Event registration number159 Registration year1839
Personal information
Family nameSMITH Given namesMary SexFemale Father's nameUnknown Mother's nameUnknown (Unknown) Place of birthUNKNOWN Place of deathMELBOURNE Age20 Spouse's family nameSMITH Spouse's given namesUnknown
P.24. A map shows George Smith's Woul Woul a Ballack Run. Its location could be between Canterbury Jetty Rd and Portsea or west from Boneo Rd depending on whether features on the north or south coast are used as indicators. As in the case of all run locations shown, this is too vague to be of any use. Transposition on a present day map is the only way to indicate run locations properly but, as Rosalind mentioned, descriptions of run boundaries are so vague that they are useless. For example the Cape Schanck run description below should state how many miles the run extended west from Main Creek and how far north from the "salt water" to the "unoccupied barren land."
FOLDED SHEET BETWEEN PAGES 36 AND 37.
Early runs (approximately.)"As there is little to go on, positions of runs can be only approximate.George Powlett was the District Commissioner for the Southern districts in 1841 and later when Andrew McCrae's run was visited. Marks used to certain gum trees leave present day residents in confusion."
Irrespective of the accuracy of the run locations, Jamieson's Special Survey was not a run. Runs were leased from the Crown; special surveys were purchased not leased.The Arthurs Seat run is not in agreement with the 1848 description as in http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/225706715 because George Smith had transferred the land west of the rocks between the Cape Schanck road and the Bay to Andrew McCrae's run, as stated by Marie Hansen Fels in I SUCCEEDED ONCE. This former Tootgarook run land is tacked on after the semi colon as an addendum.
" ; also that piece of land
between the Cape Schank road and the
sea, commencing near the rocks or the
point known as St. Anthony's Nose,
and ending at the creek* at the junction
of the Point Nepean and Cape Schank
roads nearly opposite the end of the
paddock fence."
(*Adams Creek, roughly THE AVENUE, McCRAE. Wattle Road must have provided access to the back road to Cape Schanck.)
The south west corner of the Arthurs Seat Run was at Melway 170 E 7-8 where the Old Cape Schanck Rd crosses Drumdrumalloc Creek (as stated below) but the map seem to show the south west corner just west of Boneo Road.
"On the north by Mr. Jamieson's spe-
cial survey 4 miles, on the west by the
coast line of the bay to the nose of the
mountain called St. Anthony's nose,
from thence along the Cape Schank road
to the Drumdunnuallock creek, being
boundary line with Mr. Barker, and on
the south by the creek to its source,"
No source is given for the locations of runs but since Marie Hansen Fels has mentioned Smythe's survey of 1841, let's see if it shows the WOUL WOUL A BALLACK AND CAPE SCHANCK runs extending almost to Point Nepean.
N.B.Some idiot in the lands department has transposed James Purves' Tootgarook pre-emptive right, purchased on 22-10-1855, onto the original map!digital.slv.vic.gov.au/dtl_publish/simpleimages/33/1690433.html
It must have been this second version of the map that Marie Hansen Fels discussed. It shows Dr Hobson and Cameron's establishments. digital.slv.vic.gov.au/dtl_publish/simpleimages/35/1690435.html
The following map shows that the Tootgarook run extended to the Bass Strait coast near St Andrews Beach. This completely dismisses the assumption that the Cape Schanck run extended almost to Point Nepean,and explains why the survivors of the ELIZABETH were given refuge by George Smith and why George bought the wreck.
digital.slv.vic.gov.au/dtl_publish/simpleimages/47/1077023.html
The 'Elizabeth' Brig. — The wreck of
this brig, cast away on Sunday week, on the
shore near to Cape Schank, has been sold by
Mr G. Ralston, by public auction, and rea
lised the sum of £30 10s. The purchaser is
Mr. George Smith, Settler, at Point Nepean,
the gentleman who gave refuge to the ma-
riners shipwrecked in the above vessel. (P.2, The Melbourne Daily News and Port Phillip Patriot, 8-11-1848.)
P.38 (Re Cape Schanck.) "New laws had reduced the area to 960 acres. Barker gave the property to his daughter Edith, who had married Robert Anderson, and it was in their time that Barragunda was built. It was designed by Edward Latrobe Bateman, who shortly afterwards designed Heronswood in Dromana."
Robert Anderson married Edith Howitt*. There is doubt expressed in many sources that Bateman was wholly responsible for the design of Barragunda with a suggestion that he was responsible for the interior design. The original homestead of the Cape Schanck run was at Cape Schanck and it was the subject of a painting by Edward Latrobe Bateman.(http://www.wikigallery.org/wiki/painting_124949/Edward-La-Trobe-Bateman/Homestead%2C-Cape-Schanck)
A history of Boneo, discovered by the late Ray Cairns when he was clearing out Maroolaba before his departure to Rosebud, claimed that Barker had wanted Cape Schanck as his pre-emptive right but the surveyor did not allow this because he wanted treasures from the Angel Cave to decorate his garden. Howitt and J.B.Were were granted the portion of the run in the parish of Fingal and Barker's new homestead (which eventually became Clondrisse) was built east of Main Creek in the parish of Flinders.
*EventDeath Event registration number14385 Registration year1884
Personal information
Family nameANDERSON Given namesEdith Mary SexUnknown Father's nameHowitt Godfrey Mother's namePhebe (Bakewell) Place of birth Place of deathTOOTGAROOK Age50 Spouse's family nameANDERSON Spouse's given namesRobert
EventMarriage Event registration number2825 Registration year1866
Personal information
Family nameHOWITT Given namesEdith Mary SexUnknown Spouse's family nameANDERSON Spouse's given namesRobert
Also on page 38 is a map showing the Cape Schanck Run running north west along the Bass Strait coast from Cape Schanck. On Page 37, Rosalind states,"Cape Schanck Run was an area of approximately 9600 acres.." so it was the same size as described in 1848.
No. 20.
John Barker
Name of run—Cape Schanck Estimated area—9,600 acres
Estimated grazing capabilities—600 head of cattle
Bounded on the W by the Wooloomerang Creek, on the N & NE by unoccupied barren land, and on every other part
by salt water. (P.1, Argus, 26-9-1848.)
The western boundary of the run was the boundary between the parishes of Flinders and Fingal, shown on the Fingal map as Main Creek south to Melway 260 B2 and Wallermeryong Creek from there to 259 J12.
The Flinders part of the Barkers' run must have been originally called the Burrabong run but when the parish of Finders was alienated crown allotment A of B (roughly Melway 260 A-D 10-11), consisting of 640 acres and granted to John Barker on 15-10-1855, was described as CAPE SCHANCK P.R. Therefore the Barkers' Cape Schanck run eventually extended east to adjoin Henry Tuck's Manton's Creek Run.
Page 40, EDWARD WILLIAM HOBSON.
"The records only state that Edward Hobson bought Tootgarook Run from Smith in 1838." Which records?
"Tootgarook and White Cliffs were runs that seemed to overlap." I have seen no reference to a run called White Cliff. It is possible that Owen Cain's lime licence was for a portion of Tootgarook but he called his property TYRONE, not White Cliff.
"It was in 1844 that Hobson overlanded sheep from New South Wales for himself and the Meyricks. His own were driven to Tootgarook."
I have read plenty about E.W.Hobson and have seen no reference to him overlanding sheep from north of the Murray.He was no longer at Tootgarook from 1843.
His younger brother, Edward William Hobson (1816-1890?), grazier, was also born at Parramatta. As a youth he served as a sailor on ships plying between Tasmania, New Zealand, Western Australia and Port Phillip. Early in 1837 he established a small run on the Darebin Creek, near Melbourne. By June 1837 he had moved to the south-eastern shores of Port Phillip Bay and held a run, Kangerong, on the slopes of Arthur's Seat. This was followed by the establishment of Tootgarook, a run between Rye and Point Nepean.* In 1843 he also took over a run at Tarwin Meadows, on Anderson's Inlet and held it until January 1845. (*Actually between Anthonys Nose and about White Cliff until George Smith transferred the bay frontage (east of Adams Corner to the Rocks) to Andrew McCrae.)
In June 1841 he visited parts of Gippsland, in the area of the Latrobe River. In April 1844 he left Port Phillip with a large mob of cattle, paused at Tarwin Meadows, and then moved on into the Traralgon district. Four months later he took up, on behalf of his brother Edmund, a run of 19,000 acres (7689 ha) in this area. On Edmund's death in 1848, the control of this run passed to his executors, J. H. N. Cassell and J. R. Murphy, although Edward remained in occupation. In 1853 the run was divided into Traralgon East and Traralgon West, Edward Hobson occupying the latter for a few months. Although reasonably successful up to this time Hobson, who had been made a justice of the peace in 1847, now lost substantially in investments in shipping*.
(*The oft-repeated claim that he owned the Rosebud when it was beached in 1855 and it was uninsured is wrong. He did own it in 1854 but had obviously sold it to James Purves who had insured it for 700 pounds with a group of a dozen brokers, some of whom would not pay their share of the payout, thus providing terrific evidence of these facts.)
Page 42. "The name Woul Woul a Ballak had been dropped." George Smith, from 1843 to 1850, called the run TOOTGAROOK. As Marie Hansen Fels concluded, the W word was the name of his homestead, not his run.
"Hobson had already transferred his horses to Tootgarook by 1840. His very enterprising attitude and aptitude always alert, for he now discovered he also had lime deposits on his land at Tootgarook. (That sounds fair enough!) He erected three kilns and put in tramlines across the foreshore (there was no coast road then)at Boneo Rd, Truemans Rd and White Cliffs (where a restored Kiln is on the foreshore.) The last Kiln at Truemans Rd was there until as recently as 1997-8."
The tramlines may have existed and lime was certainly loaded at Boneo Road, by the Cairns family and possibly by James Patterson who was an early lime burner too. The tramlines folklore and the 1997-8 kiln were more likely to do with G.W.Hiscock and the 1920's tramline his Cicada fertiliser company built from the swamp along the east side of Truemans Rd to their manufacturing plant on the motel site. I'm not sure whether the kiln on the east side of White Cliff is a restored one or just a replica. He would have needed an awful lot of workers if he established three kilns and it is more likely that the lime loaded at White Cliff was Owen Cain's; if I remember correctly, today's Centre Drive was Owen's loading road.
Page 43. "In 1850, James Purves, an estate agent and auctioneer in Melbourne, whose brother Peter had managed Tootgarook for Hobson for the past few years was to purchase it and continue to raise bloodline horses."
Although there was a notice re payment required for depasturing licences from George Smith in 1850, Smith may have already left for California by then. Without any certainty about when he'd be back, Smith had probably asked Edward Hobson if he wanted to take over the lease, but still being on the run named with a corruption of the aboriginal phrase for RIVER OF LITTLE FISH (TRARALGON), he would have needed a manager for Tootgarook until he could dispose of the lease. Peter Purves would have been running Tootgarook for only about a year before Edward sold the leasehold to Peter's brother. Two years later, Peter was joined by James Purves, his long-alienated son, after whom Purves Rd on the south slope of Arthurs Seat was named.
Page 46. Maurice Meyricks (sic):Boniyong Run. THIS COULD NEARLY HAVE BEEN PLACED UNDER NEW INFORMATION APART FROM THE SPELLING OF MEYRICK AND THE IMPRESSION GIVEN THAT THE MEYRICKS AND EDWARD WILLIAM HOBSON WENT TO GIPPSLAND AT THE SAME TIME. IT CERTAINLY CONTAINS INFORMATION THAT WAS NEW TO ME AND HAS BEEN CONFIRMED.
The Meyrick information generally agrees with that found in biographies and heritage studies but the surname does not end with S. "In 1845, Hobson and Maurice Meyricks travelled to Gippsland to investigate grazing there" needs some clarification. Edward William Hobson had INVESTIGATED Gippsland in 1841 according to the portion of his biography pasted above and leased land at Tarwin River from 1843 before arriving at Traralgon (Doctor Edmund's run)in late 1844 while, following the arrival of Brodribb, Bennett, Gorringe and Turnbull, "Another settler who came here towards the end of 1845 was Maurice Meyrick. The Meyricks were friends of Hobson. There were three of them. Alfred and Maurice were brothers, and their cousin was Henry Meyrick. Henry Meyrick wrote some very interesting letters to his people at home in England while he was staying at Hobson's and they have all been kept for us to read, and are in the La Trobe Library in Melbourne.
Maurice Meyrick thought that there was enough room for him to squeeze in between Traralgon run and Hazelwood run, but he had to get out, and Hobson let him run his sheep on Traralgon run while he looked for another place for them.",according to THE RIVER OF LITLE FISH, CHAPTER 2 (http://www.traralgonhistory.asn.au/rolf/chapter2.htm)
Rosalind mentioned that because of the harsh conditions Alfred became ill and died and Henry's loneliness was eased by the arrival of Eagle, a young man from their home village, but Eagle died shortly afterwards as well. The above source confirms and adds to this information. "Early in 1846, Henry Meyrick set out from Port Phillip for Gipps' Land with his sheep. He came round through South Gipps' Land like all the others, and left his cousin Alfred in Melbourne to collect their cattle and to follow on. Henry had, as one of his assistants, a young fellow called George Eagle, about whom I will tell you more later*. Eagle also had 200 sheep in the flock. The Meyricks had decided to take up two runs on the Macalister River called Glenmaggie and Glenfalloch. Of course you have heard of those names even today.
Well, Henry Meyrick eventually reached Hobson's with his sheep in April, and in his letters he tells his brother in England how he has lived under a tarpaulin for the last twelve months. The way of making a camp in those days, was to throw your tarp over your dray, and you had a ready made home. He had three flocks of sheep, one each Alfred, Maurice, and himself - but he had only had one man to help him look after them. He had 1500 lambs born to his sheep in 1846, and 1350 of those lived !"
*"Henry Meyrick kept the sheep on Hobson's run during the winter, and decided to go on to his runs up the Macalister after the shearing in the spring. But, on 31st July, 1846, death came to Hobson's. George Eagle and Henry were working together when about four o'clock in the afternoon, Eagle felt ill and lay down. He died within an hour. Nowadays we think he may have been bitten by a snake, but it was in the wintertime and there should have been no snakes about. Henry thought he had burst a blood vessel. Henry and Hobson got some boards to make a coffin, but when they went down the next day to where he had died, they found the poor fellow's body in such a condition that all they could do was put him between some sheets of bark and to bury him where he lay. If you are allowed to pass through Mr. Gilmour's farm, and go down onto the creek flats, you can see his grave. For over one hundred years there was just a grassy mound, and nothing more to show that there lay George Bolton Eagle, the first pioneer to die here at Traralgon, far away from his home in England, with just his two friends here, Edward Hobson and Henry Meyrick, to bury him."
Rosalind mentions that Henry drowned later riding for a doctor to attend a neighbour's wife. This too is confirmed by THE RIVER OF LITTLE FISH.
"After leaving Glenmaggie, Henry and Alfred Meyrick went to live for a while with the Desaillys at their station on the Thomson River. It was here that in May, 1847, a further tragedy occurred. Mrs. Desailly became gravely ill, and Henry insisted on riding all the way to Alberton to get a doctor, there being none anywhere else in Gipps' Land at that time. The Thomson River was in flood, and in swimming his horse across, he drowned. A coffin was made for his body when it could be found, but poor Mrs. Desailly died a few days later, and his coffin was used for her. His body was found later and was buried on the banks of the Thomson River."
INCIDENTALS.
In looking for an account of the Port Phillip Association "persuading" Fawkner to relocate to the south side of the Yarra, I stumbled upon Fawkner's memories of the events leading up to his desire to relocate to Port Phillip, his attempt to reach an agreement with Batman, his supposed sea sickness which prevented him accompanying Captain Lancey, the Jacksons, George Evans etc. Fawkner lists all the members of the Port Phillip Association (not including the Hentys as I had earlier speculated.) Above all, his account betrayed his jealous obsession to belittle the role Batman had played in the founding of Melbourne. Did you know that Batman's Hill had originally been named Pleasant Hill?
"On Saturday the 28th of August, the ‘Enterprize’ was duly moored to the growing trees close to the shore opposite to a Hill on which my men pitched their first tent and called by them Pleasant Hill, this hill subsequently by Mr B's toadyism, finding Milk, Butter, eggs and Poultry &c to the ruling powers that arrived in 1836 got changed to Batmans Hill."
A very interesting read.
http://www3.slv.vic.gov.au/latrobejournal/issue/latrobe-03/t1-g-t1.html
Re Edward William Hobson, the Desaillys and Robert Jamieson. The Christmas dinner at Hobson's place is mentioned on page 41 of Rosalind's book. She wrote about the hardship (the struggle to survive)faced by the early settlers on page 10. The following article describes the party and the ordeal faced by Hobson's friends just to attend it. https://issuu.com/morningtonnews/docs/mn_20_december_2016/30
Just like George Smith's so-called run WOUL WOUL A BALLACK, the Desailly run TONDOMOHUE seems to have been a rumour rather than a fact. After two whole days of research on trove, no mention was found of Tondomohue. (It has been found now. See below.) Marie Hansen Fels seems to provide an explanation* for the naming of Desailly's Waterhole (Melway 252, bottom of J5)in I SUCCEEDED ONCE.
*Edward William Hobson sent the Desailley brothers to Capel Sound to erect some dwellings there. Bear with me while I search for this reference. On page 176 the first reference to Capel Sound appears."He" is Dr. Edmund Hobson.
"He accompanied Lady Jane Franklin on her overland journey from Port Phillip to Sydney in 1839, and while on a stopover at Port Phillip, he visited Kangerong. In 1840 he returned permanently to Port Phillip with his wife Margaret, spending time at Kangerong while he was convalescing from pulmonary disease. While at Kangerong he travelled by gig to Wul-wul-a-bulluk, the station at Capel Sound, for which he held the licence with his brother, and the place where a substantial house was built by the time the McCrae family took up their run at Arthurs Seat."
This, at the bottom of page 176 would seem to disprove any claim that Hobson bought the lease of the run at Capel Sound* from George Smith in 1838.
"Edward Hobson was the first squatter on the Mornington Peninsula, and the extended families, together with their connections, were deeply engaged with the Bonurong."
(*As shown on the Melway key map, the western end of Capel Sound, accessed from the Rye and Sorrento Channels, is at the most, just east of Canterbury Jetty Road where George Gordon McCrae's seven miles from the Arthurs Seat homestead would have been.)
Aha! I would far rather prove than disprove unsubstantiated claims. Tondomohue is said to be shown on Smythe's 1841 survey for which I've provided a link, but the spelling used was Tondanue.
I found some labels in the first map (with Purves' P.R. superimposed)and can find labels approximating Boniyong and Drum Drum Alloc Creek (emptying into the swamp)but I can find nothing resembling TONDANUE.
The second map (untainted)only goes as far east as Freeman's station and Tootgarook as mentioned by Marie Hansen Fels and does not include the area where TONDANUE or Tondomohue was supposed to be.
Page 181."George Desailley
George Desailley was another youngster, just 17 years old when he crossed
over from VDL. His father was Dr Francis Desailley and his brother was Francis
Junior. They arrived in the ill-fated Britannia on 1 April 1839: the father went to
the Glenelg River, then to Gippsland. The two young brothers went to Edward
Hobson’s Kangerong station and seemingly formed an outstation for Hobson,
marked on Smythe’s 1841 map as Tondanue at the back of Rosebud, en route to
Boniong. The connection was a family one; Edward Hobson’s grandfather, Dr
Lutterell, was a friend of both Dr Francis and Dr TA Desailley. The Desailley
brothers ended up in the Riverina holding 2,000,000 acres – the largest
landholding in New South Wales.31 Desailley’s hut is shown near Tondanue at
the back of present Rosebud on a Thomas map.32"
CAN'T WIN 'EM ALL!
I failed to find the reference to Hobson sending the Desailley brothers to Capel Sound to erect dwellings in I Succeeded Once , heritage studies or my journals but I know that I have given the source in a reply to Clive Smith of the Nepean Historical Society in a Facebook group in regard to Hobson's kiln and associated huts on section 13 Wannaeue (Melway 170A 2,3 west to about Chinamans Creek.)
REWRITING HISTORY. JOHN PASCOE FAWKNER VISITED THE SULLIVAN BAY SETTLEMENT NEAR SORRENTO IN 1833 ???
This is not a comeback either. I downloaded this Mornington Peninsula Shire heritage study because the summary mentioned "Mann" and I was hoping to find if there was any connection between Mr Mann (farmer near Balnarring in 1902) and Mr Mann who wrote the Mt Eliza history in 1926.
Councils rightly engage consultants in an effort to preserve the history and heritage of their areas but when the finished product contains such stupid errors as the one detailed in the title of this journal,one wonders how authoritative the rest of the findings are. As the studies are conducted by professional historians, one can just imagine a local historian claiming that reports of Fawkner not arriving (on his second visit to the Port Phillip District)before John Batman were false. Of course an authoritative source (THE STUDY DETAILED BELOW) would be quoted but that does not change fiction into fact!
Anyone can make a careless error. My usual howlers include confusing east and west and writing 1843 for 1943 etc. Billot's LIFE AND TIMES OF JOHN PASCOE FAWKNER gives a precise time-line for Fawkner's second coming, including the claimed seasickness which prevented him leaving Queenstown and forced him to appoint Lancey to lead his party in his stead while he carried out his legal obligations.
1833 is complete nonsense! Surely professional historians could have third parties with some knowledge of history proof read their final draft before pocketing our rate money. I pointed out errors in a City of Moreland heritage study but was informed that they could not be corrected because the study had been accepted by council! Luckily Mornington Peninsula Shire had Simon Lloyd as its heritage planning officer and when I pointed out that Edward Jones' Spring Farm at Moorooduc had been confused with another of his farms, Penbank at the south west corner of Jones Corner, the mistake was corrected.
PAGE 19, MORNINGTON
PENINSULA SHIRE
THEMATIC HISTORY
July 2013
Prepared for
Mornington Peninsula Shire
Graeme Butler & Associates
Edited by Context Pty Ltd
One of the families at the Collins settlement was that of John Pascoe Fawkner. Reminiscing
about his early Sorrento experiences, Fawkner noted the discovery of three commodities which
were to play major roles in the future development of the Peninsula: the abundant fish in the
bay, the native she-oak which grew profusely in many areas, and the lime deposits, stating
‘Before we left Port Phillip lime was found and this enabled every hut to build a stone
chimney’.56 Fawkner visited the settlement site again in 1833:
I went on shore where the first Settlement had been attempted in 1803—found the spots on
which ourselves and other settlers had built our Bush huts: The butts of the chimneys formed of
limestone were still standing and where each hut had been.57
Today, little physical evidence remains of the Collins settlement. The settlers’ sod huts with
their limestone chimneys have long since gone, as has the jetty built of she-oak. There is even
doubt that the early graves which survive in the settlement area are those of the pioneer
settlers.The graves were discovered in the 1870s and placed in a Crown land reserve in 1879.58
52 Calder, (2002), 20-21; see also Context & Urban Initiatives (2002).
53 Heritage Victoria First Settlement site Sullivan Bay Sullivan’s Bay HO1050 citation; Cotter, (2004), 14.
54 Ursula M. de Jong, Making tracks on the Mornington Peninsula -Quotes from Edgar French in Environment
Effects Act 1978, Blairgowrie Safe Boat Harbour, Assessment and Panel Report, December 1999, 5.
55 Moorhead, Op. Cit. 26.
56 Alexander, Op. Cit. 1 quotes Fawkner.
57 Alexander, Op. Cit. 1.
58 Nepean Historical Society Inc. 2008 comments.
P.S. A COPY OF THIS JOURNAL WILL BE EMAILED TO THE SHIRE. I WILL KEEP YOU INFORMED OF THE REACTION.
A FURTHER MESSAGE.
The map (figure 4) on page 24 claims to show tenants in the 1850's and 1860's but as it was probably Smythe's map of 1841, it is unsurprising that no tenants are named. The same map is included in Marie Fels' I SUCCEEDED ONCE (available online) and shows Hobson's homestead near the northern boundary and his (Bullock?) paddock near the southern boundary. The symbol # has obviously been added to the original map by Winty Calder to indicate homesteads such as widow McLear's "The Willow". If I remember correctly the area marked ? was one of the three Boon Wurrung encampments, the other two being just north of the survey (chosen by William Thomas) and near Hobson's homestead whose name was corrupted to Kangerong. The map confirms Colin McClear's claim that Dunn's Creek originally discharged into Sheepwash Creek before Walter Gibson dug the channel of about a mile to the present mouth. Marie Fels wrote glowingly of the friendliness displayed to the aborigines by Hobson and his (sort of) relative, George Smith.
A map showing post 1851 tenants can be seen in Colin McLear's A DREAMTIME OF DROMANA. Henry Dunn had leased the survey from 1846 to 1851. He may have concurrently sub-leased the Mt Martha run. (Osborne State School History.)
The two sentences in bold type are significant in regard to two themes. The first is in regard to the settlers changing the environment, making Dunns Creek enter the bay separately; the original volume of water at the mouth of Sheepwash creek must have created a deep channel which enabled Peter Pidota to load timber there. In regard to the aborigines, the study mentions their decimation and that they had nowhere to flee but from the start (Hobson 1837) they had many friends among the settlers such as the McCraes. If Thomas had not been held up by Robinson in trying to get the Boon wurrung away from the temptations of Melbourne, their demise may have been prevented.
OTHER ERRORS.
P. ??? Charles Groves*. (*GRAVES.)
Extract from the 1902 farms section near the end of my journal about RED HILL POST 1940 AND PROPOSED BACK TO RED HILL.
GRAVES' (c/a 15, section A,Flinders,s/w corner Punty Lane and Tucks Rd. Only 190 acres. Melway 255 J5, H6, fronting the north west side of Punty Lane with the western boundary being from the creek in the exact centre of G6 to a point almost opposite 425 Tucks Rd.In 1900, Charles Graves Snr and Jnr were assessed on 374 acres, Flinders. I cannot establish where the other 184 acres were. )
A little farther along the road toward the coast we come to "Woodlands," a property of nearly 400 acres, belonging to Mr Graves, a very old resident of the district. Besides having a large orchard and garden, the
owner of "Woodlands" goes in largely for poultry farming. Mr Graves also conducts one of the oldest storekeeping businesses in the southern part of the Mornington Peninsula. The property is in good order and crops of any sort should grow well in the rich chocolate soil.
See A DREAMTIME OF DROMANA re Charles Graves and his business partnership with Mary McLear before moving to Shoreham. .
P.???. Steel lighthouse at McCrae. Caption under photo gives the impression that its presence there dates from 1874 although earlier text shows that it was manufactured in 1874 and installed about a decade later.
P.79.
Dyson’s Peninsula Motors bus lines (1922-) had the school bus run from Sorrento and
Flinders to Frankston in 1930 and Phillips ran buses to Pearcedale in the 1950s.322 Dyson’s and
Lance Whittaker’s Portsea Passenger Service have become dominant in the area. Peninsula Bus
Lines was purchased by the Grenada* Group in 1976 and continues to operate from its Seaford
depot.323
(* GRENDA. Grenda's Bus Services was founded in October 1945 when George Grenda purchased four routes from Shaves Bus Service in Dandenong.[1]
Over the years a number of acquisitions were made:
Dandenong Boomerang Bus Lines in July 1951[2]
Peninsula Bus Lines, Seaford in August 1958[2]
O Bridges in the early 1960s[2]
H Glenny in June 1965[2]
Blue Line Tourist Coaches, Sydney was purchased in 1973, sold along with Grenda's Melbourne coach operation to AAT Kings in 1975
Portsea Passenger Service in February 1983[3] etc.WIKIPEDIA. )
P.89 and 90. ROSEBUD FISHING VILLAGE; 1886 OR 1872. (ALSO THE VILLAGE OF SORRENTO.) JAMES PURVES AND THE ROSEBUD.
P.89. Dromana and Rye were gazetted as official government township surveys in 1861, and
Rosebud in 1886. Watering places such as Sorrento waited until 1952*(354)and Portsea village was
carved out of private allotments, as a subdivision.355
P.90.Rosebud
The name ‘Rosebud’, according to various historians, came from the schooner owned by
Edward William Hobson, which was wrecked on the beach in front of the infant settlement.
Hobson, owner of the Tootgarook pastoral run, purchased the Rosebud from a syndicate of
Melbourne shipping agents in May 1854.** Although the early Rosebud settlement was on a
much smaller scale than that at Rye, it ultimately outgrew all the other townships in the former
Flinders Shire and is now the centre of local government. The town was surveyed and gazetted
in 1872. Rosebud’s origins were as a fishing village with a small shipbuilding*** industry.
*S.S.Crispo claimed that he was responsible for the declaration of the village of Sorrento. Charles Gavan Duffy was impressed with Sorrento in Italy as he sailed out from Ireland and is credited with naming the area. As noted in the study, he bought much land in the parish of Nepean. William Allison Blair, a lime merchant, bought much land at Rosebud West (later the Woyna Estate) and near Rye Township. As he sought land in the parish of Nepean, it was inevitable that Blair and Duffy would apply for the same parcel of land. Crispo stated that there was no clear evidence to prove which man was entitled to this particular parcel and being a member of the Coastal Survey (disbanded in 1867 and once led by James Grant)and a close acquaintance of Mr Grant, now in charge of the Lands Department, Crispo suggested that the disputed land be declared a village.
I have found no report of this particular disputed parcel of land; perhaps Crispo's suggestion prevented it becoming the subject of a court case. One well-publicised case (Duffy V Blair)involved each accusing the other of using Dummies. A SORRENTO VILLAGE search on trove produced results only for Sorrento in Italy and the novel AGNES OF SORRENTO until 1869. Two advertisements mentioning the village (Town and suburban lots) appeared in The Argus on 20-12-1869 (P.7) and 23-12-1869 (P.3.)
The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957) Monday 20 December 1869 p 7 Advertising
... , parish of Nepean, on Port Phillip Bay, adjoining the village of Sorrento. Upset prices £2 10s to ... LOTS. Sorrento, county of Mornington, parish of Nepean, on Port Phillip Bay, at Sorrento Point. Upset ... 9618 words
One would think that the village would have been declared before the advertisement was placed!
The Crispo claim. MR COPPIN AND SORRENTO. TO THE EDITOR.
Mornington Standard (Vic. : 1889 - 1908) Thursday 1 June 1899 p 3 Article
The Duffy/Blair dispute. SP.ECIAL LAND COMMISSION.
The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957) Saturday 9 January 1869 p 6 Article
... brought hy Mr. W. A. Blair against Mr. C. G. Duffy, - and of a similar charge brought by Mr. Duffy against ... insinuated yes-terday that he (Mr, Purves) was a dummy«of Mr. Blair's.
** Peter Wilson gave evidence of Hobson's ownership of The Rosebud in ON THE ROAD TO ROSEBUD. He stated that the vessel was not insured. It was insured! By James Purves who had bought the lease of Tootgarook Run from Hobson in 1850. A group of about 11 insurance brokers had provided the insurance and most paid up when the vessel was stranded in 1855 but some claimed that the policy was voided because some paperwork had not been produced and that the stranding occurred on the EAST coast of the bay (which the policy did not cover.)
COUNTY COURT OF BOURKE. £200 JURISDICTION. Monday, May 19th. (Before his Honor R. W.Pohlinan, Judge, and Messrs. Laing and Marres, assessors.) PURVES V. KENT.
The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954) Wednesday 21 May 1856 p 2 Article
COUNTY COURT OF BOURKE. £200 JURISDICTION. Wednesday, 28th November, 1855. (Before R. W. Pohlman, Esq., Judge, and two Assessors.) PURVES v. SMYTH.
The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954) Thursday 29 November 1855 p 6 Article
***ROSEBUD'S SHIPBUILDING INDUSTRY.
The name, Lacco, is synonymous with the building of wooden boats,as a google search for the words in bold type will clearly demonstrate. However these vessels could hardly be called ships and the industry had little to do with the origins of Rosebud. It was Mitchell "Mitch" Lacco (whose wooden statue is just across Murray Anderson Rd from his Rosebud workshop)who established the boat-building dynasty. In about 1916, his mother moved with Mitch to Queenscliff at about the same time as William John Ferrier (hero of the La Bella wreck at Warnambool in 1905) moved his family to their new house "Rosebud" (20 Beach St,Queenscliff.) Here Mitch honed his skills before returning to Rosebud while his mother helped to baby-sit the hero's children.
(Lew Ferrier, the hero's son.)
P.99. At Red Hill, a small store, post office and adjoining bakery were built by W.H. Blakeley in the
mid-1870s. The post office replaced an earlier one and still functions* as the Red Hill Post
Office and General Store.401
*The post office apparently still functioned as such when Sheila Skidmore wrote THE RED HILL. The building (710 White Hill Rd) is still standing with the post office boxes still intact but is now a private residence, having previously been a gallery. P.S. Is it all right for me to claim that the Empire State Building is STILL the world's tallest building? (I'm sure I could find a source even if it's 70 years old!)
P.101. The mistake is not in this study but a previous one. I'm not sure whether it was produced for Mornington Shire or Mornington Peninsula Shire but it gave the name and location of Watson's house and extensive grounds. However, displaying the same carelessness as J.P.Fawkner's supposed visit to the 1803 settlement in 1833, the name of the house was given as Melville House and as Melrose House. I had concluded that Melrose House was the correct version, probably based on an advertisement on trove.
In 1933 Melrose, Watson’s grand house of the 1880s at Mornington was purchased by builder
Eric Dowdle to add to his ‘Mary’ chain of guesthouses.
P. 106. 7.7 Providing health and welfare services
Nelson Ruddock (re the Dromana Bush Nursing Hospital) was Nelson Rudduck.
OBITUARY MR. N. RUDDUCK.
Frankston and Somerville Standard (Vic. : 1921 - 1939) Friday 18 January 1935 p 4 Article
Two items that should have been included are:
the many private hospitals mentioned in birth and death notices such as at Mornington, Dromana and Somerville, amateur medico's such as Watson Eaton and some of the women (like Susan Peatey of the Survey)who served their communities as midwives;
the role of Cr Jack and the Edward Wilson Trust in providing the peninsula's first motorised ambulance service.
P.121. This is not an error but an effort on my part to confirm that the IRISH Robert White was involved in the construction of the first proper hospital buildings at the Quarantine Station. In January 1857 there were many advertisements calling for tenders for this work but nowhere could I find any mention of contracts awarded. There were contracts awarded for a cookhouse and fittings for the hospital buildings and tenders called for a jetty. However despite SANITORY STATION and SANITARY STATION being used as alternatives for QUARANTINE STATION, I could not confirm Robert White's involvement.
Robert White was one of several IRISH brothers mentioned in Lime Land Leisure who signed the petition in 1859 against a fence being built from White Cliff to the back beach (as detailed in Peter Wilson's ON THE ROAD TO ROSEBUD.) Pam Colvin is a descendant of this IRISH family. There was a SCOTTISH Robert White from Clackmannan whose family's story is the subject of PENINSULA PIONEERS, written by Stephen Lynch of N.S.W.(Family Tree Circle's toolaroo.) His son, Robert, married (in succession) two daughters of Hill Hillis, was a pioneer of Rosebud 1875-1890 and Red Hill where he was known as Blooming Bob White as he used this word as an alternative to swearing. His nephew was named Robert White on his birth certificate (because his parents had not married due to the unavailability of ministers) but brought up as Robert James (under which name he was granted c/a 27A,section B,Wannaeue); he later adopted the name on his birth certificate and became known as Bullocky Bob White.
Let it then be clearly understood that the builder of the hospital buildings was Irish and, with George, a pioneer of the Sorrento/Rye area.
Quarantine the Second Phase 1856 to 1875 | Nepean ...
nepeanhistoricalsociety.asn.au/.../quarantine-the-second-phase-1856-to-1...
A Planned Response – the Second Phase: 1856 to 1875
Our accommodations on the Sanitary Station, either for the purposes of ablutions, or for treating disease, or for providing for healthy immigrants, have been very meagre. There is a prospect that before 1859 they will be ample. During my experience of above three years on the Station, we have succeeded in every instance in stopping and extinguishing the disease for which each vessel has been detained. With the improvements at present in progress, I look forward with considerable confidence to the continued efficiency of the establishment.26
Thus wrote Dr J Reed, Surgeon Superintendent of the Sanitary Station in his report to Parliament dated 1 January 1858 which detailed ‘the principal circumstances connected with the working of the Sanitary Station during the year 1857’. This was possibly the most significant year in the history of the station as it marked the commencement of work on the first ‘permanent’ structures: the five two-storey stone hospital buildings.
The five hospital buildings were sited by Dr. Reed and Alfred Scurry, the afore-mentioned Clerk of Works; two were sited on the rise (Hospital Nos 1 and 2), initially for the use of the ill and convalescing emigrants, and three Hospitals were sited on the flat to provide accommodation for those detained as a precautionary measure. Albert Scurry subsequently prepared the plan for the hospital buildings which are dated November 1856.
Plans for One of First Five Hospitals 1856
Plans for One of First Five Hospitals 1856
In April 1857 Dr. McCrea, the Chief Medical Officer of the Colony approved Scurry’s plans and local contractor Robert White commenced construction. To facilitate the works, White was permitted to keep sixteen bullocks – to haul stone and other building materials – and five horses on the station for the duration of his contract. Permission was also granted to undertake lime burning for the building works and to this end, White was permitted to utilised dead wood found within the station grounds. A quarry was also established at the station to supply the stone. Welch has written that initially the buildings were not rendered, but deterioration of the sandstone within a few years necessitated the rendering of the exterior stonework.27
Concurrent with the construction of the hospitals was the erection of a three-roomed cookhouse – including accommodation – behind the two hospitals on the rise – and three two-roomed stone cottages for labourers more permanently employed on the station. In addition a four-roomed stone cottage for the storekeeper was constructed; it occupied the site of the present-day Administration building.28 Drawings for these structures were prepared by Alfred Scurry and are dated December 1856. A proper jetty was also constructed – initially it was determined that it would be useful if the contractor Robert White constructed a jetty which the Government could then take over, no public funds being available for the purpose at this time.29
White must have balked at this assumption, for in 1858 a contract was awarded to Mussen & Company for the sum of £958 to construct a timber jetty, 249 feet in length, to plans prepared by Alfred Scurry.30
PATRICK TOMUT WEE WEE,a Rosebud fisherman buried at Rye Cemetery, lost his life while conveying four quarrymen to the Quarantine Station in 1869. The quarrymen, who also perished, are named in newspaper reports.
RYE ANGLICAN.
P.146. The sentence about the Rye Anglican Church (in bold type) is not only placed in the second paragraph (about the Dromana Anglican Church) instead of the first (about the Rye Anglican Church), but also gives the impression that it was the first place of worship for the Rye Anglicans. The second (present) place of worship was built on the site of the original school/church built with lime donated by James Trueman. As correctly stated (bold type in paragraph 1), the original stone was used (in addition to stone donated by Ben Stenniken) to construct the second building on the site. It is possible, because of crumbling masonry, that the old building could not be used for services during the period when the present school was being built, and that private homes were used for a while, but the Church of England school/church had been the place of worship for many years.
(Church website, Patricia Appleford's RYE PRIMARY SCHOOL 1667.)
St Andrew’s, Rye, built in 1882, became the second-oldest stone church in the Shire, after St
John’s at Sorrento, and represents the development of a substantial congregation at a
comparatively early stage in the population growth of the region. The church was built, to the
design of Henderson and Smart, with stone recycled from an earlier structure which had served
as a school hall and church until 1875. For some time the building was used by both
Presbyterian and Anglican congregations. The church was extended in 1980.589
Construction of St Mark’s of Dromana was commenced in 1892 as the third-oldest stone
Anglican church on the Peninsula after St Andrew’s, Rye (1882), and St John’s, Sorrento
(1874). *Prior to this, regular services at Rye had been held in private homes. Between 1885 and
1892, the Union church on the corner of Heales Street and Point Nepean Road was used by
the Anglican congregation. From 1893 until 1960 St Mark’s was included in the parish of
Mornington and Sorrento. The parish hall was added in 1958 followed by the parish office and
opportunity shop in 1989.590
P. 147-8. METHODIST CHURCHES.
No mention is made of the Dromana and Rosebud Methodist churches, the Rudduck involvement, the Band of Hope, Rosebud’s only Sunday School for many years, the Rudduck organ dispute with the Rosebud Mechanics’ Institute etc.
NO MENTION OF DROMANA PRES. AND BUILT IN A DAY ROSEBUD PRES.
Newspaper articles that prove the following paragraph from page 150 of the study have been found. A Dame Nellie Melba google search reveals that her son, George ARMSTRONG,inherited her property near the Melba Highway. I had assumed that the concert described by Grace E.Caldwell in 1921 had taken place in 1875 soon after the Continental Hotel opened (in October, according to Coppin's advertisement.) However "mine host" in December 1875 was not Hughes, as stated by Grace, but M.A.Cleary, who became insolvent because patronage had been affected by scarlet fever, stormy weather and THE HOTEL NOT BEING COMPLETED! As Cleary received his certificate of Discharge of Insolvency in October 1876, he must not have been the proprietor of the hotel for long and it is possible that William Hughes (who re-opened the hotel in 1879) became the proprietor soon after the 1875/6 peak season finished. My speculation that "mine host" might have been Sir Daniel Abraham Hughes would now seem to be wrong, although he might have sold the Continental site to Coppin's company, but the reference will not be deleted. If William Hughes was not "mine host" in about 1876,when Helen Mitchell would have been about 15, and Grace E.Calder was instead describing the 1885 concert (which was to raise funds for the cemetery), why would she have described Melba (by then a 24 year old married woman as a GIRL?
P.150. SORRENTO MECHANICS’ INSTITUTE. The hall was the venue of a concert by Madam
Melba, then called Mrs Armstrong on January 24th 1885, when Melba sang two solos and a
duet. This was reputedly her first concert since she first sang publicly, as a child, in her home
town Richmond.614 In the next year, she travelled Europe to begin a serious musical career.(614)
(614. 614 Sorrento and Portsea Yesterday, 58-9. N.B. THIS IS NOT MENTIONED IN THE BIBLIOGRAPHY.)
Is it possible that Dame Nellie gave two concerts in Sorrento? Grace Caldwell linked the first concert with the Continental Hotel (built 1875) which had just been constructed. Helen Mitchell would then have been about 14 years old. Could the author(s) of "Sorrento and Portsea Yesterday" have been a decade off the correct year or were there two concerts, or was Grace Caldwell wrong about Nellie being a girl when she organised the concert and when the Sorrento Cemetery was fenced as a result?
Extract from my journal, written as itellya, DAME NELLIE MELBA'S FIRST CONCERT, SORRENTO ...
Another thing, Dame Nellie Melba Queen of Song, gave her first concert in this the queen of watering places. The Continental Hotel had just been erected* (Hughes being mine host ) and Melba was here with her father. Walking one day they came across the grave of a member of the crew of a recent wreck and being told it was a cemetery which they were going through, the girl exclaimed, "And without a fence!" It was explained that it was probably owing to lack of funds that the cemetery was not closed in. She decided to give a concert, and wrote the placards herself being wise enough not to mention her own name for "singing in public makes a young girl bold" was the father's opinion who was then in ignorance of his daughter possessing "a singing voice." The concert was held, and a sum made that erected the fence that is still there, whilst today if Dame Melba repeated the performance, two people would have to occupy one chair, so great would be the enthusiasm to rehear her-
Yours, &c, GRACE E. CALDWELL.
Sorrento, Sept. 26.
(P.10, bottom of column 6,Argus, 28-9-1921.)
*The Continental Hotel was built in 1875 by Ocean Amphitheatre Co Ltd of which George Coppin was the Managing Director.( Continental Hotel - About www.continentalhotel.com.au/).
trove search re armstrong, concert (JAN,FEB 1885)/CONCERT, CEMETERY FENCE 1875/ HUGHES, CONTINENTAL 1875
THE COMPANY'S CONTINENTAL HOTEL,
Sorrento.
The above hotel is now being tastefully and comfortably furnished, and will be opened to the public at once.etc. (P.8, Argus, 23-12-1875). N.B. M.A.Cleary was the proprietor, not Hughes.
It is possible that "mine host" was not the lime-burning pioneer after whom Hughes Rd was named but an insolvent in 1875, Sir Daniel Abraham Hughes who had sold land to Coppin's Ocean Amphitheatre Company. Perhaps,he had owned the Continental Hotel site and Grace assumed that he ran the hotel. See:MELBOURNE, column 5, P.3,Geelong Advertiser, 13-7-1875. It would seem from the first advertisement that Cleary had not been the first lessee; perhaps it had been Sir Daniel. Coppin advertised,P.8, Argus, 2-9-1875:" SORRENTO Continental HOTEL to LET, now building. Possession in October. Full particulars of G. Coppin." Cleary wrote in December:" Tho proprietor begs to intimate that the hotel is in no way connected with anyone but himself." Michael Austin Cleary became insolvent because the Continental was unfinished when it started operating and scarlet fever (probably the Webster children)and stormy weather had reduced patronage.(P.7, Argus, 9-10-1876,LAW REPORT.)
It seems that Grace's facts were slightly incorrect. William Hughes was the proprietor of the Continental when it re-opened in 1879.
CONTINENTAL HOTEL, SORRENTO CONTINENTAL HOTEL, SORRENTO
RE-OPENING Of the CONTINENTAL HOTEL, SORRENTO
New Furniture and Stock Great Reduction in Prices to meet the times Terms-Board and Residence, 30s per week ; all meals, 1s. 6d Passengers and luggage taken from the steamer to the hotel free of charge
WILLIAM HUGHES, Proprietor (P.3, Argus,27-12-1879.)
The reference to a concert in the Mechanics'Institute in January 1885 is correct and it was in aid of improvements to the Sorrento and Rye cemeteries.
On Saturday evening an amateur concert will be given in the Sorrento Mechanics'Institute, in aid of the improvement fund of the Sorrento and Rye cemeteries. (P.5, Argus,22-1-1885, bottom of second last column.)
A concert which was attended with great success took place at Sorrento on Saturday in aid of the funds of the local cemetery. The hall, which was crowded, was very tastefully decorated. The performers, who were well known amateurs, viz., Mrs Armstrong, the Misses Service, Barry, Dawson, Donaldson, Anderson and Messrs Cadden, Hood and Hesselmann all rendered their solos remarkably well. The funds of the local cemetery will be increased by more than £20. (P.5,halfway down in column 3, Argus, 27-1-1885.)
P. 151 ROSEBUD MECH. INST.-NO MENTION OF SHIRE LIBRARY
DROMANA MECH. INST.-NOT MENTIONED; ROLE AS VENUE FOR SHIRE MEETINGS.
P.153-4. NO MENTION OF ROSEBUD OR DROMANA SCHOOLS.
P. 181. Well, this didn’t tell me anything about John G.Mann that’s not already in my journal: MR MANN WROTE A HISTORY OF MT. ELIZA.
From the bibliography.
Mann, J.; 1926. `The Early History of Mount Eliza on the Morning ton Peninsula’, re printed
in Mount Eliza Community Association, Mount Eliza, Mornington, 1985. In the possession
of Jess White.