itellya on Family Tree Circles

ROSEBUD'S THREE "SEEKERS". (From my post on the HISTORY OF DROMANA TO PORTSEA Facebook page.)
1.Judith Mavis Cock, born in 1943, spent her first six summers on Fort Lacco's grant, c/a 20 Rosebud Fishing Village on the west side of Durham Place, before her D.F.C. winning father moved the family to Tasmania. Her great grandmother, Emily Durham and her grandfather Tony Durham both died in 1950 and the timber house in the middle of the block that Judith remembers was probably demolished shortly afterwards. When she started singing with Frank Trainor's jazz band, Judith took the maiden name of her mother Hazel (Tony's daughter) as her stage name.

2.This page sometimes produces gems and I would never have discovered this one if I had not opened all the comments and replies under a post about the Rosebud Pool. She was first referred to as Louisa Whistling but a closer version of the spelling came in a reply as well as the fact that Louisa's mum used to do cleaning.
The Seekers(Louisa Wisseling) Sparrow Song 1975 - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXg8nBNC7no
Jun 6, 2010 - The Seekers(Louisa Wisseling) Sparrow Song 1975.

Louisa, who was Dutch-born according to an article about her joining The Seekers in 1975, used to teach swimming at the old foreshore pool at Rosebud in the latish 1960's. The family lived in Murray Anderson Rd.


3. JULIE ANTHONY
Julie Anthony (singer)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Julie Anthony
Birth name Julie Moncrief Lush
Born 24 August 1949 (age 64)
Lameroo, South Australia
Genres Jazz
Occupations Singer, entertainer
Instruments Vocals
Years active 1960s?2000s
Associated acts The Seekers
Julie Moncrief Lush AM OBE (born 24 August 1949 in Lameroo*, South Australia), better known as Julie Anthony, is an Australian soprano and entertainer. She sang the Australian National Anthem at the Opening Ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympics with Human Nature.
She has also sung with The Seekers, first taking the place of Judith Durham as the lead vocalist in the song "The Carnival Is Over" for the Closing Ceremony of Expo '88. Later, Anthony became a member of the group with Bruce Woodley, Athol Guy and Keith Potger.
Anthony starred in both the Australian and West End productions of Irene in the mid-1970s.
At midnight between 31 December 1987 and 1 January 1988, in celebration of the start of Australia's Bicentennial year, Anthony sang the Australian National Anthem "Advance Australia Fair" on the national broadcaster, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, which continued to show the recording of her performance at the close of broadcasting for many years afterwards, until the broadcaster introduced 24 hour broadcasting.
Anthony is among the most awarded of Australian entertainers. She was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) (1980)[1] and a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) (1989)[2] and has been voted by her peers as "Entertainer of the Year" three times and "Best Female vocalist" 11 times. She also appeared in commercials for St.George Bank from 1974 until 1999.
]Artist Biography
b. Julie Moncrieff Anthony, 23 August 1951, Galga*, South Australia. Anthony was born in Galga (population 15) and raised on the family farm. In her teens she began singing with a local band and in 1970 won an amateur television talent quest. Her victory and the first prize ($600 and a trip to Tasmania) led to regular appearances on the Adelaide Tonight Show. She moved to Sydney, making television appearances and performing on the club and cabaret circuit, and eventually embarking on international tours. An engagement at the Hong Kong Hilton in 1973 was followed by the lead role in the Australian production of Irene. Three years later she starred in the UK version at the Adelphi Theatre. The Play and Players of London honoured her with the Best Newcomer (Actress) award for 1976. She returned to Australian television and appeared in three national specials, and in the same year she married her manager Eddie Natt. In 1977 she won the Sammy and Penquin awards for Best Television Variety Performer. Tours of America followed and Anthony worked with Bill Cosby, Roy Clarke and Merv Griffin. In 1980 she was awarded an OBE for services to the entertainment industry. Three years later she accepted the role of Maria in The Sound Of Music; following a season in Sydney, the show successfully toured major and regional centres.
For the 1988 World Expo held in Brisbane, Anthony was invited to sing with the re-formed Seekers, joining the group as lead singer from 1988-89. In 1988 she sang the national anthem at the official opening of Australia?s new Parliament House. The same year she returned to the stage in I Do!, I Do! In 1990, she was awarded AM in the Order of Australia for services to the entertainment industry. In 1994, Anthony further demonstrated her versatility by teaming with jazz musician Don Burrows (reeds/flute) for tours, including a successful appearance at the Jazz and Blues Festival at the Gold Coast International Hotel in 1995. A year later she returned to cabaret with a season at the Tilbury Hotel in Sydney. In her extensive repertoire she demonstrated great conviction, whether singing ?Amazing Grace? or material ranging from Stephen Sondheim to the Beatles. In June 1996 she accepted a cameo role as a band singer in the Bruce Beresford film Paradise Road, starring Glenn Close and Jean Simmons. Julie Anthony is one of the best and most durable theatre and variety performers in the post-war Australian entertainment industry. She has won the prestigious Mo Award for Entertainer Of The Year three times, and Best Female Variety Performer nine times. An admirable singer and engaging personality, she has successfully blended her career and family duties.
*DID YOU SPOT THE DIFFERENCE?
Galga is a tiny farming settlement (that might or might not have a pub) which is 145.1 km from Lameroo,just under three hours away by car. Lameroo is obviously the regional centre so the birth may have been at its hospital or the birth may have been registered there. So the place of birth is not a problem. But the date of birth certainly is!
How did I know about George Jarry and the fishing trips at Rosebud? That was certainly not in any Julie Anthony biography.
EXTRACT FROM MY JOURNAL "ROSEBUD ROLL OF HONOUR,1914-1918."
It cost George (Jarry) ten bob a year to join the RSL at The Old Green Mill in Melbourne. He then took a soldier settlement farm at Willaura for 3 or 4 years before selling up and coming to Melbourne where he purchased an international truck and carted bricks for approximately 15 years. [Moving to Rosebud in 1939 George spent the years of the Second World War cutting and carting wood for those in need and essential services. Later buying a 24 foot fishing boat the Georgie (named by a friend after the manageress of the local hotel at the time) George carried passengers on fishing trips up until his retirement in 1963 and it was during this time that he met Ed Natt who was to become the husband of Julie Anthony and when Julie was honoured on This Is Your Life in July 1978 George appeared as a guest.
This website has a photo of Julie with George on his 90th birthday.
(Peter (George Henry) Jarry 605
www.tunnellers.net/profiles___photos/jarry_peter_605.doc
For reasons unknown, when George Henry Jarry enlisted in the A.I.F. he used his ..... In 1939 he moved the family to Rosebud to a small holiday house he had built ... One of his fishing companions was Eddie Natt who married Julie Anthony.)
IT LOOKS AS IF JULIE WAS BORN AT THE LAMEROO HOSPITAL LIKE HER OLDER SISTER BETTY.
BIRTHS
LUSH. ? On August 24, at Lameroo Hospital, to Betty and Les? a daughter (Betty Moncrieff). Thanks to Dr.Cock and hospital staff. (Chronicle (Adelaide, SA : 1895 - 1954) Thursday 1 September 1949 p 44 Family Notices.)

The Seekers(Louisa Wisseling) Sparrow Song 1975
The Seekers(Louisa Wisseling) Sparrow Song 1975
YOUTUBE.COM

Royce—Horsley,—On 28th April, at Burwell, Neil street, by the father of the bridegroom, assisted by Rev. Wm. Williams, Arthur, second son of the Rev.J. S. H. Royce, of Sale, to Alice, second daughter of Wm. Horsley, Ballarat.(P.2, The Ballarat Star, 22-5-1886.)

ROYCE.-On the 10th inst., accidentally drowned at Cape Schanck Thomas William Arthur, son of
Rev J.S.H.Royce, of Geelong, aged 30 years. (P.1, Argus, 21-1-1893.)

Poor pregnant Alice was hoping for a miracle!
ROYCE. —On the 10th inst., accidentally drowned at Cape Schanck, Thomas William Arthur, the beloved husband of Alice V. Royce, Geelong Ladies' College, aged 30. (P.1, Argus, 24-1-1893.)

ROYCE. —On the 8th inst., at 205 Yarra street, the wife of the late T. W. A. Royce—a son.
(P.1, Argus, 14-8-1893.)

itellya NEVER GIVES UP. My Brady (FACEBOOK) post on PIONEERS OF THE MORNINGTON PENINSULA resulted from chance discoveries made while I was looking for an article that changed my mind about how the families of William John Brady and Rose Roberts became acquainted. I'd originally assumed that the two families met because the Brady family's Mount Evergreen (Melway 254 D1) was near the Roberts' grant (Crown allotment 1C, section A, Parish of Flinders, granted to C.Roberts on 21-7-1890) at 255 B1. However John and Hannah Roberts had spent much time at Geelong and since F. Brady (now obviously Frederick George Holland Brady, born in 1866, aged about 26 at about the time of the following tragedy and later a Presbyterian minister and missionary) was teaching at Geelong, it became most likely that the two families became acquainted in Geelong.
It took me about three years to find the proof that Dromana's much-loved medico, Watson Eaton, had never received any medical training and I still haven't found his testimony that he'd never attended University. It looked as if I'd never find the article about the tragedy near Cape Schanck which revealed that young Brady was a teacher at Geelong. Constant changes of search terms on trove (e.g. BRADY TEACHER GEELONG; BRADY ROSEBUD; HEADMASTER DROWNED) brought no results until I tried BRADY MOUNT EVERGREEN.

SAD DEATH BY DROWNING.
A BATHING FATALITY.
Yesterday morning the news of the death by drowning of Mr Thos. W.A.Royce, principal of the Geelong Ladies' College in Ryrie-street east, caused a general expression of deep regret. The lamentable occurrence was known to several gentlemen in Geelong late on Thursday night, but the sad intelligence was not communicated to the relatives until yesterday morning.

The first intimation of the unfortunate affair was communicated from Cape Schanck lighthouse, situated about 20 miles to the eastward of Port Phillip Heads, when it was reported by telegraph that a man was seen drifting out to sea, and the alarm bell at Queenscliff was tolled to attract the attention of the life-boat crew.
The facts connected with the sad event were elicited from Mr F. Brady, one of the masters engaged at the Junior Grammar School, who returned last evening from the scene of the accident. The late Mr Royce, about ten days since, went with Mr Brady to his father's farm at Mount Evergreen, situated between Dromana and Mount Schanck, about 10 miles from the coast, to pass a portion of the school holidays.

He spent a very pleasant time in the locality, and intended returning to Geelong on Wednesday last, but there not being any steamer crossing from Dromana on that day a party was made up for an outing to the coast on Thursday. About noon on the last named day a brother of Mr Brady (either William John, born 1862 or Obadiah Whitfield, born 1864, there being no other brothers), a friend named Ruddock (Rudduck), Mr Royce, and a fourth gentleman whose name has not transpired, went into the sea to have a bath at a site three miles on the Point Nepean side of Cape Schanck.

The place selected for the swim was a deep crescent shaped inlet in the rocks, beyond which was a ledge of rocks lashed by the waves, the intervening space forming a deep channel through which there was an exceptionally strong current. The four swimmers, with the view of reaching the outer rocks, ventured to cross the channel, but soon found that the current was too strong for them and all but Mr Royce were able to regain the still water in the rocky crescent. Poor Mr Royce, as he was swept down the channel, vainly cried for assistance, and his companions made an effort to rescue him but were driven back again owing to the force of the current, one of them narrowly escaping the fate of the rapidly disappearing schoolmaster.

For several minutes Mr Royce was observed struggling on the tops of the waves, and finally he was lost to view. A close search was made along the coast for the unfortunate swimmer, and his friends had to reluctantly conclude that he had been drowned, and whilst two members of the party gave information of the affair to the lighthouse keeper at Cape Schank; young Brady rode off towards Mount Evergreen, and meeting his brother, Mr F. Brady, made him acquainted with the accident.

Parties were at once formed for searching the coast line in the hope that Mr Joyce might have been washed ashore, but up to last night no tidings of the missing swimmer had been received, and our Queenscliff correspondent wired-" There is nothing known here about the man drowned near Cape Schanck on Thursday. It is impossible for the body to be found at Queenscliff, owing to the prevailing winds, which are westerly."

The late Mr Royce, who was 30 years of age, was married to Miss Horsley, of Ballarat, who has been left with five children, the youngest being a baby in arms. The deceased gentleman was the second eldest son of the Rev. J. S. H.Royce, of Yarra-street south, a superannuated clergyman of the Wesleyan denomination. He was a student of Wesley College, Melbourne, and afterwards completed his education at the Melbourne University. For a considerable period he was one of the masters of the Geelong Scotch College,and after leaving that scholastic institution he became one of the masters in the Ballarat Ladies' College, under Mr Buley?, the principal of that college.

When Mr M'Burney? was retiring some years since from the Geelong Ladies' College, in Gheringhap-street, the institution was taken in hand by the late Mr Royce, and the school was subsequently removed to premises in Myers-street, vacated by Mr W. F. Ducker, and a few months since the college was removed to a handsome villa at the corner of Ryrie and Swanston streets. The late Mr Royce was one of the trustees of the Yarra-street Wesleyan church, and was a firm adherent of the Wesleyan denomination and frequently officiated as a local preacher.He took a great interest in all educational matters, and acted as secretary of the University Extension lectures, and he has filled the position of a member of the Geelong Free Library.
(P.3, Geelong Advertiser, 21-1-1893.)

As my correction of digitisation in the article missed a few mistakes and you can bet that funny things will happen to apostrophes etc when I submit, Royce researchers should send me a F.T.C. private message asking me to email the proper correction of text to you.

EXTRACT FROM MY PENINSULA DICTIONARY HISTORY ABANDONED IN 2011 WHEN I JOINED FAMILY TREE CIRCLES.

TRUEMAN
Lime Land Leisure gives a few details of this pioneering Tootgarook family and unfortunately many are wrong. So rather than start at the very beginning of my findings, I will start at the end; a seventeen page Trueman genealogy supplied to me by Heather Spunner, the wife of James Trueman’s great grandson, Graeme Spunner. The whole of this will be provided to the Rye Historical Society but my summary will begin at page 3.
The family moved around but within the county of Wiltshire. Jeffrey was born in All Cannings in 1719 and died there in 1791, likewise for his son, Thomas, (1743-1810). His son, Thomas, was born at the same village in 1774 but married at Collingbourne Ducis in 1799 and died there in 1841. His son, William, (1800-1870) entered and left the world in this new village. It is of interest that his wife was Jane Bennett, whom he married in 1822. I wonder if Jane was the aunt of Tom Bennett, a peninsula pioneer, and if Tom arranged for James Trueman to come to Tootgarook as a labourer indentured to James Purves. There is little evidence that James would have been able to pay for his passage.
The family seems to have been locked into poverty. Jeffrey was buried by the parish because he had insufficient funds. The same generosity was required for the burial of his son, Thomas’s wife, Elizabeth. William Trueman, Jane and their six children were the recipients of charity from the parish of Collingbourne Ducis in 1837, when money was raised to buy coal for the poor of the parish.
Their first child was James Trueman, born 16-6-1822 in Chute, Wiltshire, which seems to have been Jane’s home village as she died there in 1865. Some of his sisters were Ann, Elizabeth, Ellen and Sarah; I have included them here because no death details have been supplied and one of them could have been the grandmother of the mysterious Mrs Libbis.
James was described as an agricultural labourer in the 1841 Census. He married Jane Cook (b.1827 in Collingbourne Kingston, Wilts.) on 6-6-1850 in Collingbourne Ducis, and in 1851 they were living in Maddington, Wilts. Their first child, Annie, died after living just one month, all 38 days in Collingbourne Ducis. George Trueman was born on 2-3-1852 in Maddington and Henry was born in the same place on 30-9-1855.
Thus when James and Jane boarded the Sabrina at Southampton on 24-1-1857, they had two boys with them, but unfortunately young Henry was destined never to see their new home. He died near the Cape of Good Hope on 10-3-1857. Their passage was swift and they arrived at Hobson’s Bay on 13-4-1857. George must have preferred the open road to farming; he was listed as a carter and James was not impressed with his work on the farm and overlooked him when dividing his grant. He died on 10-10-1932, apparently a bachelor. The other five children were:
SARAH b.1857 Pt Nepean, d.1936 Dromana. Married Charles Moat 1891.
ELLEN b. 1858 Tootgarook, d.1899 Parramatta. Married Henry John Cook.
THOMAS b.1863 Tootgarook, d.1925 Dromana. Married Matilda Elizabeth Geary 1899.
WILLIAM b.20-3-1866 Tootgarook, d.1949 in Wangaratta. Married Elsie George 1901.
JOHN b.1870 Tootgarook, d.1943 in Sorrento. Apparently a bachelor.

Thomas and Matilda had two daughters:
Gladys Emeline Nellie b. 1901, married Andrew Seator in 1932.
Bertha Matilda b. 1906 Pt Nepean, d.1985 Caulfield. Married Lester Brooksbank 1941.

William and Elsie had four children:
Albert Edward b.1902 Tootgarook, d. 1975 Tootgarook
Married Florence Annie Dark 1921.
William b.and d. at Tootgarook 1904.
Frederick James b. 16-1-1908 Pt Nepean, d. 3-11-1959 Sydney.
Married 1. Olive Runciman:child-Linda (McKay)
2. Zita Muriel Hunter at Auburn NSW in 1942.
Nellie May Trueman b. 4-7-1911, d. 27-4-1967 Melb.
Married Frank Ernest Spunner 18-7-1931 Sorrento.

James Trueman died in 16-4-1904 at Pt Nepean and was buried at Rye Cemetery. His wife, Jane died in 1908 at Pt Nepean. It is likely that the cash-strapped government had dispensed with the registrar at Rye so that deaths had to be notified at the quarantine station. As Thomas had the part of the Trueman property bought by Raymond Guest and Thomas died in 1925, I wonder which family member occupied the farm until c.1948. Was it Mrs Libbis?

James Trueman was granted lot 47 in the parish of Wannaeue (consisting of 112 acres) on 5-7-1877. It was on the west side of Truemans Rd, between farms granted to S.Stenniken, near the beach road, and Robert Rowley Snr. It is possible that James had selected the land at least a decade earlier. Linda McKay has confirmed that family folklore has it that James ran some sort of taproom or hotel on the Purves’ Tootgarook Station, which adjoined his farm at the midline of Morris and Keith Streets.
The following information was supplied by Linda McKay of Rosebud, who is a Trueman descendant, and lived on the property until 1938.
It is not known whether the Truemans had a lime kiln but it is likely that James was quarrying limestone on his property. He donated limestone for the building of the Anglican church in Rye (still standing in Lyons St opposite the cemetery, and heritage-listed.) According to LIME, LAND, LEISURE, their neighbours to the north, the Stennikens, did so too.
Some of James Trueman’s children were William T., Thomas, John, George, Ellen and Sarah. The Moat family obviously supplied details of Sarah’s marriage for Lime Land Leisure. (See MOAT-TRUEMAN in the FAMILY CONNECTIONS entry.)
Charles, son of William Moat, married Sarah, daughter of James Trueman. Details about Charles and their children, and possibly Sarah, can be found on pages 27, 35, 47, 52, 54, 55 and 61 of RYE PRIMARY SCHOOL 1667 by Patricia Appleford.

I believe that a female member of the Trueman family married and gave her daughter the Christian names: Stella Elizabeth Trueman, and that the latter married Ernest William Libbis.
TROVE; THE ARGUS, 1-11-1945, PAGE 18, ADVERTISEMENT.
ERNEST WILLIAM LIBBIS, late of Rosebud, guest house proprietor deceased-
After14 days Stella Elizabeth Trueman Libbis of Rosebud, widow, the executrix appointed by the deceased’s will (dated the 23rd July, 1945) will apply to the Supreme Court for grant of probate of the said will, leave being reserved to Ernest Charles Libbis of Rosebud, concreter, the executor appointed thereby, to come in and approve the same at any time. James P.Ogge LL.B Solicitor, 165 Greville St, Prahran.

Mrs S.Libbis was running the Narooma Guest House (Rosebud) in 1947-8 according to John Berry’s accommodation index. It is interesting that Narooma was the town in which Fred Trueman settled in N.S.W. His daughter, Pam Shepherd, is still in Fred’s house.
William T.Trueman married Elsie who died at the age of 54. The details of her death were reported in the Argus. On Monday, 18 February, 1935, Elsie was driving a jinker along Pt Nepean Rd when the horse bolted and she was thrown out of the jinker striking her head. It says much about the volume of traffic in those days that Emily was “found” unconscious. Once alerted, William and his son in law, Frank Spunner, rushed Emily to Melbourne but she had died and the hospital would not accept her body. Think of the sad return trip that William and Frank would have made! As there was no grave available, Elsie was buried at Rye Cemetery with Thomas Trueman who had died in 1925.
There is more interesting detail about Emily but first I will mention their children. Frank Spunner had married their daughter, Nellie. The Spunner family had started as limeburners with a kiln near the foreshore (front beach), just on the Melbourne side of Hughes Rd but some time after 1920 some members had occupied land south of Eastbourne, probably on land granted to Lovie and occupied for many decades by the Crichtons of Glen Lee. This was not far from the Trueman property, which would explain the family connection.
A son of William and Emily found a wife in much the same sort of way that his father had. His name was Fred and he was the father of my wonderful informant Linda McKay. The telephone line was being installed in about 1932 and a chap called Jim Black had come down from Melbourne for this reason, bringing his wife Silvia (Runciman). Fred befriended Jim and was rather taken by beautiful Silvia when he first saw her. He asked jokingly, “Any more like that where she comes from?” Jim probably answered that Silvia’s sister Olive was a bit of a sort too. Fred had probably been too busy growing vegetables (with pumpkins being his principal crop) to have time for womanizing so here was a heaven-sent opportunity.
Fred and Olive married but in 1938 they separated and Olive took Linda back to Melbourne to live with Grandma Runciman. Linda probably appreciated being able to walk without having to look down-for snakes. Their abundance was one of her main memories of the farm.
During the war, Fred was apparently involved in running the Corowa P.O.W. camp where the famous break-out occurred. Fred stayed in N.S.W. and a daughter from his second marriage, Pam Shepherd, lives in Fred’s old house in Narooma. Now back to how Linda’s grandfather, William, met Elsie. There is no timeline on the following yet, but for some reason William’s brother, Thomas, (I suspect, much older) was at Beechworth. Because of the lack of markets, farmers had to leave the farm to earn money and perhaps Thomas was working alongside Hans Christian Hanson (Red Hill pioneer of 1887) “ a bridge building contractor and carpenter, who worked on all the bridges between Melbourne and Bright”. (Memoirs of a Larrikin P.9.)
Now, if there had been TV and programs such as Farmer Meets a Wife (or what ever they call it), the Trueman men might have left more descendants and information, but I think you’ll agree that Linda is doing a pretty good job of having this pioneering family recognized. In Beechworth, Thomas met Matilda, and (after he waltzed her-sorry, my humour gets out of hand after 1am) they married. Having a daughter of about 19, Matilda was no spring chicken. Thus Thomas arrived back at the farm with a wife and a grown-up stepdaughter. William seized this heaven-sent opportunity and married Emily.
John Trueman had severe arthritis and according to LIME LAND LEISURE was practically bedridden. After knocking over a lamp, he was unable to escape the resulting fire and died from his burns.
Rate records.
1864,65. Nil. James was probably running the tap room at Tootgarook Station and managing it while the Purves attended to their other properties* and traveled to Melbourne with horses to sell at Kirk’s Bazaar and for other purposes, which Hollinshed dwells on.) *See Purves entry.
POSTSCRIPT 2015. THE ONLY TROVE REFERENCE TO THE TAP ROOM FOUND IS PETER PURVES' APPLICATION FOR THE (FIRST) TOOTGAROOK HOTEL IN 1857.

1879.James Trueman (leasing from Crown) 112 acres. The grant was issued on 18-7-1877! See what I mean about errors being perpetuated in rate books through copying the previous year’s entries?
1900. James Trueman 125 (sic) acres.
1910. Thomas Trueman Rye farmer, 62 ½ (sic) acres 31b (sic)
William Trueman, Rye farmer, 62 ½ (sic) acres 31b (sic)
1920. Thomas Trueman, Rye, 56 acres, part crown allotment 47
William Trueman, Rye, 56 acres, part crown allotment 47.
See what I mean about errors being perpetuated? They had it right by 1920.
Unfortunately the microfiched rate records end at 1920, but as has been shown, at least half of lot 47 was farmed until 1938. The Stenniken grant had been offered for subdivision in 1920. (See STENNIKEN entry.)

The following information about the Truemans comes from Nell Arnold’s “RYE: A BOOK OF MEMORIES.”
It is understood that the first inn in the Rye area was the Tootgarook Inn built by James Trueman and dating from the early 1850’s.
The first building on the site of St Andrew’s Anglican church was a limestone hall built in 1866 that served as a school and a place of worship (probably shared by different denominations like Dromana’s Union Church). By the time it became a State School, it was in need of serious repair and when part of a wall fell down, schooling continued in a room attached to John Campbell’s hotel. A new school on the present site commenced in 1875.
There is a claim in LIME LAND LEISURE that the Stennikens donated limestone for the Church of England. Yet Nell Arnold backs up Linda McKay’s claim that the Truemans donated it. Can both claims be correct? With the original building no longer needed as a school, it was demolished in 1875 and the limestone blocks (probably donated by Stennikens circa 1865) supplemented by limestone donated by James Trueman (circa 1875) were used to construct the original portion of the present church.
The two small brass vases (very heavy) are in memory of Elsie Trueman, relative (ie. daughter in law and grand daughter in law!) of James Trueman. As she was the wife of William, she was a daughter in law and because she was the daughter of Thomas’s wife she was a grand daughter!
W.Trueman was in Rye Cricket Club’s first published team list of season 1890-1.

We must thank Marie of Tootgarook for the following information, given to her by Raymond Guest, who was her hairdresser in Canterbury. Raymond’s father, was also a hairdresser and looked after many TV stars including Panda, Graham Kennedy’s famous barrel girl on In Melbourne Tonight. He bought part of the Trueman grant in about 1948, probably after the Libbis will of 1945 had been finalized, and it is likely that the will involved Thomas Trueman’s 56 acres. See the GUEST entry for further details. I have managed to contact Raymond Guest and he has sent me a subdivision plan of the ALMARAY ESTATE (named after his parents, Alma and Ray.) Ray alerted me to neighbouring land being owned by a Mr Doig and another speculative phone call resulted in contact with Ron Doig and his wife, both local history enthusiasts.

(The following comes from Ronald Doig, whose mother was a Rowley.)
In 1939 Henry Doig bought part of James Trueman’s grant, most likely William Trueman’s 56 acres, which had passed to Fred. When Fred and Olive separated, Fred had probably sold the property before going to New South Wales because Henry Doig bought his land from Mrs Murkett. See the DOIG entry for details.
Streets on the Trueman grant are named after the Guest and Doig families.

No members of the Trueman or Libbis families are listed in The Sands and McDougall directories of 1950 for Rosebud, Rosebud West or Rye. However the ACCOMMODATION entry near the beginning of this work shows that Mrs S.Libbis was running the Narooma Guest house in the summer of 1947-8.
It is now clear that James Trueman built his house close to the boundary between his farm and James Purves’ Tootgarook Station. One would expect that he would have built it near the government road (Truemans Rd); the fact that he built it at the back of the block indicates that HE WAS WORKING ON Purves’ Tootgarook PRE-EMPTIVE RIGHT. It was this house that Thomas later occupied, and his 56 acre farm was subdivided by Alma and Ray Guest as the Almaray Estate. The Trueman house pictured in Joseph Dubois’ historical newspaper belonged to William Trueman and his son Fred. Harry Doig’s family lived in this house and Ron Doig’s photo (taken during their time there) shows little change except for the addition of iron ornamentation on the veranda. The Doig farm was subdivided as the Oceanaires Estate.
Finally, Ron Doig has confirmed that James Trueman’s taproom on the Tootgarook Station was the building that became the Bright family’s home. The Brights had a portion of Tootgarook Station,450 acres of which was the Jennings’ Rye Park.
The following detail comes from “Lime Land Leisure”.
James Trueman married Jane somebody. They had sons named Tom, William, George and John. A daughter, Sarah, married Charles Moat. Their marriage was said to have been the second performed at St Andrews Church of England ie. in 1875. They had a son named William, who married (Ada Campbell. This is wrong; William Moat married Ada Elizabeth Myers!)
Thomas Trueman married Matilda in 1899. William married Matilda’s daughter, Elsie.Their daughter, Gladys, married a son of Edward Williams of Chinamans Creek (Eastbourne.) Another daughter was named Bertha. Wrong! Gladys and Bertha were daughters of Thomas Trueman and Gladys married Andrew Seator.
Although the mystery of the Trueman-Libbis connection is yet to be solved, some great genealogical detail has been supplied by Heather Spunner of Berrigan, N.S.W.
James Trueman married Jane Cook on 6-6-1850 in Collingbourne Ducis, Wiltshire. Their first child was born in September 1850 but died in October. George was born on 2-3-1852 and had much more luck, living for eighty years before dying in Prahran in 1932. Henry was born on 10-3-1855. James and Jane, with their two boys, left England aboard the “Sabrina” on 24-1-1857 and they had a quick voyage, arriving at Hobsons Bay on 13-4-1857. Unfortunately young Henry died at sea on 10-3-1857 near the Cape of Good Hope. Sarah was born at Pt Nepean in 1857 and Ellen at Tootgarook in 1858. (They were probably both born at Tootgarook; birth records refer to the place of registration and there was probably no registrar at Tootgarook until 1858.) Their other three children were Thomas, William and John.
Ellen married Henry John Cook and Heather Spunner succeeded in tracing some of their children despite them departing the scene. See her findings in the Libbis entry.
Although there may be no relationship to the Truemans at all, it is interesting that a Stella Gladys Myrtle Cook obtained a divorce from Bernard Charles Cook (Sydney Morning Herald 14-12-1927 page 12.) Her three given names are shared with Stella Libbis, a daughter of Thomas Trueman and Ellen Trueman’s first child (Myrtle Cook).

Having become aware that James Hearn may not have been the last lessee of the Mount Martha Run and that William Biggam was the lessee of the run in 1850, and that William Biggam was insolvent by 1859 and may have forfeited the run, thus leaving the pre-emptive right, Dalkeith open to purchase at auction by Hearn, I was doing a "Mount Martha" search on trove (1840's) when I saw what was a vague reference to Jamieson selling his special survey to a man in Sydney which was so vague that it seemed little more than a rumour but was confirmed moments later.

The Mount Martha Run was north of, and the Survey south of, a line indicated by Ellerina/Bruce/Foxeys Roads from the bay to Bulldog Creek Rd.

NOT A RUMOUR AFTER ALL!

Special Surveys. — The Herald, of Tues
day. states, that Mr. Hugh Jamieson has
disposed of his Special Survey at Mount
Martha, to a gentleman in Sydney for
£10,240, at a credit of three years on good
security, bills bearing bank interest. The
name of the purchaser is not mentioned.
(Port Phillip Patriot and Melbourne Advertiser (Vic. : 1839 - 1845) Thursday 19 August 1841 p 3)

BY ORDER OF THE MORTGAGEE,
5,120 ACRES, PARISH OF KANGERONG
COUNTY UNNAMED
A Grant by Purchase to Hugh Jamieson,
A SPECIAL SURVEY,
And Sold to J, T. HUGHES, of Sydney
TO BE SOLD BY AUCTION,
BY MR. SAMUEL LYONS,
On THURSDAY, lb. 8th February, 1844, at his
Mart, George.street and Charlotte-place, at
twelve o'clock precisely.
Description as per Deed of Grant, under the
hand and seal of His Excellency Sir George
Gipps, dated 18th day of October, 1841.
ALL that Piece or Parcel of Land, containing
by admeasurement 5,120 acres, be the same
more or less, situated in. the county (unnamed*)
and parish of Kangerong, near Mount Martha;
bounded on the west by
PORT PHILLIP BAY,
on the north by a line about 10 chains south of
Mount Martha bearing east 328 chains 75 links;
on the east by a line bearing south 160 chains,
and on the south by a line bearing west 369 chains
75 links, being the land advertised as Lot 6, in
the Government Notice dated 3lh June, 1841.
A Cottage has been erected on the Estate, and
other improvements have been made thereon.
Terms at sale. (P.3, Port Phillip Gazette, 31-1-1844.)
* COUNTY OF MORNINGTON.

In view of the above, this passage from page 30 of A DREAMTIME OF DROMANA seems interesting.

The next day (February 10,1844)Captain Reid and Mr McCrae inspected that part of Jamieson's Survey which allows a small run to be taken up. Georgiana recorded that on February 15th, "Captain and Mrs Reid, Mr (Hugh*)Jamieson, Mr McCrae and myself went on horseback to inspect the Survey."

*Colin McLear had quite logically assumed that the Mr Jamieson mentioned was the grantee of the survey, but he might have been the Mr Jamieson who wrote the letter to Governor Latrobe, quoted on page 25 of Colin's book, stating:"I arrived in Port Phillip towards the end of the year 1838 and about six weeks later etc."; this was ROBERT Jamieson of the Cape Schanck Run.

However this Mr Jamieson may have had cattle on the Survey as shown by this passage on page 31 Colin's book. Of course the cattle could have strayed all the way from Cape Schanck. If it was Hugh Jamieson, he might have been leasing the Survey from JOHN TERRY Hughes who, with John Hosking, had bought huge areas of land in the parish of WILL WILL ROOK,(in the present suburbs of Broadmeadows, Glenroy and Attwood) snapped up for a song by Donald Kennedy in the mid 1840's. (P.15, 22, BROADMEADOWS A FORGOTTEN HISTORY, Andrew Lemon.) Hughes probably never saw any of the land that he had bought in Sydney. His speculation was undone by the 1843 depression.

Of a later time on the visit of February 15 1844, Georgiana wrote:
Returning over the hill, Mr Jamieson was able to identify some of his own bullocks among strangers, quietly at graze, whereupon, he and Captain Reid, with much shouting and cracking of whips, proceeded to cut them out from the mob.

It is likely that John Terry Hughes' mortgagees in 1844 were the same bank that leased the survey in two parts to (a)Charles Graves and William Brownlee, the southern 4000+ and (b)the Connells, the northern 1000+ acres, in 1851. Leonard Wilding would have obtained the following information from Charles Graves.

The survey was occupied for some time by Jamieson Bros, and later on passed into the hands of the Bank of Australasia. In the middle of January, 1851*, Mr Graves, now of Woodlands, Flinders, entered into a tenancy of 4120 acres of the area. The other portion, including the house, was rented by Connell Bros. When Mr Graves and his partner, Mr Brown Lee (who at the start, went in extensively for wheat growing), had occupied the place for about five years, it was purchased by Mr Clark*, the grandfather of Sir Rupert Clark*, the present owner. Five years after the sale Mr Clark**, Mr Griffiths, and Mr Gibson, whose families are still in possession, became the tenants of the property. The rental paid by Messrs Graves and Brown Lee in the early days was 10s per acre.
HISTORY OF THE Mornington Peninsula. EARLY SETTLEMENT.
Mornington Standard (Vic. : 1889 - 1908) Saturday 2 September 1905 p 6 Article

* Clarke **An owner can't be a tenant on his own property. Clarke was assessed on portions of the estate not being occupied in any given year.

On page 33 of A DREAMTIME OF DROMANA, Colin McLear quotes from the Victorian Historical Magazine, Volume XIII, 1928-9: "Hugh Jamieson did not reside for any length of time on the Survey, and from about the middle forties until 1851, it was leased to Henry Dunn*, after whom Dunn's Creek is named. Rolf Boldrewood recorded that by 1842, Hugh Jamieson was at Tallarook on the Golburn with his brothers, Archibald and Thos. In 1851, Allison and Knight, who had a flour mill at Dight's Falls on the Yarra, became agents for the land, and leased it to Charles Graves and William Brownlee who grew extensive areas of wheat on it. Later it was sublet into small areas to several tenants, and ultimately, a great deal of it passed into the hands of the Clarke family."

*Henry Dunn was on the Survey by March 1845 when he killed a snake. He sometimes visited the Arthurs Seat homestead. (P. 33, A DREAMTIME OF DROMANA.) HOWEVER, HE WAS NOT ON HIS OWN! When I first read Edmond Dunn's biography in 1988, I didn't have a clue where Jamiesons Special Survey might be.

PAGE 424, VICTORIA AND ITS METROPOLIS:PAST AND PRESENT (1888), ALEXANDER SUTHERLAND. (Paraphrased.)
DUNN, Edmond, Broadmeadows, is a native of Devonshire, who arrived on the WESTMINSTER in 1841 after a voyage of 100 days. He resided in the metropolis for a few years working for others and doing a little farming on his own account, growing oats on a small patch of land on which Coburg now stands. After leasing some land on JAMIESON'S SPECIAL SURVEY for FIVE YEARS,he purchased Viewpoint Farm at Broadmeadows in 1849 and commenced growing wheat.

ALL of the Survey passed into the hands of William John Turner (Big) Clarke as described in great detail by C.N.Hollinshed in LIME LAND LEISURE. Clarke sold the northern 1000+ acres to John Vans Agnew Bruce a partner in Cornish and Bruce which later built the Murray River and Mount Alexander Railway (which by sheer coincidence had a crazy detour from Diggers Rest through Sunbury (at the back of the future "Rupertswood" which had its own private station!)to Clarkefield before returning to the logical course through New Gisborne. The northern 1000+ acres were sold AT A PROFIT to Bruce, and were certainly not a wedding present to a member of the Prime Minister's family.

The McLears arrived in 1851 which makes me suspect that the subletting of part of the southern 4000+ acres may have commenced almost straight away, instigated by William Brownlee who was at the Plenty at the same time as John McLear was murdered on Boxing Day, 1849 and may have suggested to John's widow, who became a partner with Charles Graves in a hawking business, that a small farm (The Willow)could be available for her. The Connells continued to lease parts of the Bruce Estate well after James Connell* (who played in the Peninsula's first football match, organised by the Barker Brothers) received his grants near the north end of Balnarring Rd, near the Tuerong Station.
* JAMES CONNELL

The 1851 lease must have been only for two years as Allison and Knight were advertising the northern 1000+ acres again in 1853. That portion had obviously not been sublet yet.

TO LET. 1024 acres of Land, a portion of Jamieson's Special Survey, having a frontage of 32 chains to the Bay of Port Phillip; Apply to Allison and Knight. 18845 (P.3, Argus, 1-3-1853.)

All from my HERITAGE WALK, DROMANA journal.
FIVE POUNDS REWARD.
STOLEN, on Saturday evening, or Sunday morning lost, from off Jamieson's Survey,Western Port-A bay mare, a little white on hind legs, branded (something?*) over C right shoulder, and a circle cross-barred on off neck, and a switch tail.

To any person bringing the mare to the Globe Inn, Melbourne, £2 will be paid ; and £5 to whoever gives such information as will lead to the capture and conviction of the thief,who is well known.
WILLIAM BROWNLEE. April 26, 1851.(P.3, Argus, 1-5-1851.)

WHO IS THE OLDEST RESIDENT IN THE PENINSULA.
TO THE EDITOR.
SIR, - Re "New Chum's" inquiry in your last issue as to the oldest resident of the Peninsula, I think I am one of the few that are left. I left the Isle of Man in August, 1849, and arrived in Melbourne December the same year. After spending 12 months near Melbourne, I came to Dromana (then called Jamieson's Survey) on January
15th, 1851. I rented 4000 acres of land from the Bank of Australia for nine years, and in 1860 bought the
property I am now living on. You will therefore see that I am one of the old pioneers.
C. GRAVES. "Woodlands," Shoreham. (P.3, Mornington Standard, 22-3-1902.)

WALTER GIBSON ALSO HAD A BROTHER ON THE SURVEY WITH HIM. Both were sons of Adam Gibson and Janet Purdie.
Extract from my journal THE GIBSON OF DROMANA WHO BECAME A KIWI in which all sources are given.
COPIED FROM:
John Gibson 1859 - 1932 Kangarong, Victoria, Australia
www.wikitree.com/wiki/Gibson-2063
Cert reads: 3 August 1859, Jamiesons Survey, Kangerong, Victoria, John, not ... or nurse to certify, signatures of occupiers or other witnesses, Mrs Brownlee ... Registered 3 Oct 1859 at Schnapper Point by William Armstrong, Deputy Registrar ..

SARAH WAS ANOTHER WIDOW WHO SETTLED ON THE SURVEY.
SARAH WILSON.
Like Mary Ann McLear, Sarah arrived on the Survey as a widow.
Extract from my journal THE MYSTERIOUS SARAH WILSON.
Sarah Spence was born in County Tyrone,Ireland and at the age of 21, she married Oliver Wilson, a staunch Presbyterian and a shoemaker. Oliver, son of George and Martha,was born on County Donegal in 1791.His mother died in 1831 aged 80 and probably because he no longer had the responsibility of her care,he married in 1832 at the age of 40. Three children were to share the voyage to Australia: George b.1833,Jane b.1834 and Matilda b.1837.

Since 1835, there had been a bounty of 38 pounds paid for married couples under the age of 40 who went to the colony so Oliver,now 49, declared that he was 38 and that Sarah (actually 29) was 34. Having crossed the Irish Sea,they sailed from Liverpool on the Argyle,leaving on 7-11-1840 and landing at William's Town on 12-4-1841, glad to step ashore after the confined space in steerage.

Oliver continued his trade as a shoemaker and the family had a house in Flinders Lane where their fourth child,Robert, was born on 11-7-1843. Melbourne had been declared a Town in 1842 and by the birth was probably in the grip of a severe depression,but Oliver persevered and by 1847 was making a good living from his craft, with help from 14 year-old George. Oliver died on 12-1-1851 and soon rents became astronomical because of the gold rush, so 18 year-old George,now the head of the family suggested a move to cheaper housing on Jamieson's Special Survey near Arthur's Seat (the present Safety Beach, east to Bulldog Creek Rd.) This makes it likely that Sarah's family arrived on the Survey in 1851 or soon after,rather than 1855 as stated by Colin McLear and the pioneer pathway plaque. How could Jane and Matilda have married fellow Survey residents on 18-4-1855 if they had not spent some time getting to know each other?

From my journal GEORGE YOUNG THE MYSTERIOUS PIONEER OF DROMANA.

George's father, also George, was born in Birmingham and, convicted of stealing brushes at the age of 16 was transported to Van Dieman's Land in 1820. Having served his time, he married Charlotte, who had been convicted of highway robbery, in 1826 and George Junior was born in 1828. Charlotte was murdered by being pushed into a fire when the boy was about 7 and his father later married Elizabeth Jones (who had been transported for stealing a purse.)George's father and stepmother were recorded as passengers to the Port Phillip District (Victoria) in 1848. Petronella Wilson speculated that George (junior)worked his passage across and mentioned no siblings (which surely there were unless there was a reproduction problem.)

George Young junior married Jane Wilson at Sarah Wilson's house on the Survey on 18-4-1855. Jane had been born in 1834 to Oliver and Sarah Wilson and had been about 7 when the family arrived on 12-1-1841. George was now 25 and his occupation was given as carpenter. On the same day, possibly simultaneously, Jane's sister, Matilda, married William Johnson. The two couples later moved to Melway 255 H-J 1 with George Wilson, brother of the brides.George and Jane had five children:Jane Ann, George, Mary Jane, John and Sarah.

Jane died at 29 shortly after Sarah's birth on 12-8-1863 and the baby was taken in by Matilda and William. On 2-1-1866,George married Janet White, an orphaned 18 year old from Mt Martha. George Wilson and his fiancee, Mary Jane Connell were witnesses; Mary Jane's father, Anthony, had been granted a huge area of land across three chain road from the grants of Andrew White, who may have been Janet's father.

Jamieson did not spend much time on his survey but somebody who did live there was Mrs Newby. On 15-2-1844, Captain Reid and his wife, (Hugh?) Jamieson and Georgiana McCrae and hubby, Andrew, visited the Survey, meeting Mrs Newby and her two daughters. Mrs Newby complained of loneliness during Captain Newby's absences at sea. On 27-7-1845,Andrew told Georgiana about the three Newby children drowning. (P. 30 A DREAMTIME OF DROMANA.) Was this true? Yes!

SHIPWRECKS. LOSS OF THE MARY. By the steamer Shamrock, which arrived here on Sunday, the distressing intelligence has been received of the total wreck of the barque Mary, Captain Newby, from this port to London in Bass's Straits; and we are sorry to add that no less than seventeen of her passengers have perished. The Mary left Sydney for London on the 19th of May, having on board 69 souls, including the crew, and a very valuable cargo. It was intended by the owners that she should proceed by the usual course round Cape Horn, and the Mary stood away to the southward for that purpose, but when she was off Cape Howe, the wind being at east south-east, with every appearance of a continuance from the same quarter, Captain Newby determined to attempt the westerly passage, notwithstanding the unpromising time of the year, and accordingly stood into Bass's Straits for that purpose. On the morning of the 24th May, the Mary was off Wilson's Promontory, when the wind suddenly died away, and at 10 A. M. a strong breeze sprung up from the northwest, and gradually increased to a gale with heavy rain. Thinking he had now got into a westerly wind, the captain determined to give up the westerly passage, and accordingly bore up and ran to the southward of Sir Roger Curtis' and Kent's Groups. At 6 P. M. he estimated the ship's position to be five miles south of the body of Kent's Group, fixed her course at east by north, and having been up the two previous nights, the captain went to bed, there being then a breeze from the north- west, which was sending the ship seven knots per hour. The chief mate had the watch from 8 to 12; about 11 he called the captain, saying he thought " land was handy ;" but upon the captain going upon deck, he could not see any land, and found that it was almost a calm. Broken water, however, was soon discovered off the lee beam,and a strong current was rapidly driving the ship towards it. There was no wind to make the ship answer her helm, she refused stays and drove broadside onto the rock. She first touched on the starboard bilge, then under the fore chains, and immediately parted abaft the foremast, the bows slipping off the rock into deep water; she then struck abaft, unshipped her rudder, and the topsides floated off the bottom,over the reef into smooth water. In seven minutes from the time she struck, the ship was in pieces. The most melancholy part remains to be told. Seventeen women and children were drowned and what is most extraordinary is, that not a mast was lost. Those drowned were-three of Captain Newby's daughters; six children of Mrs. Evans; Augusta and Catherine, daughters of Captain Collins, of Illawarra ; Mrs Heather, and two children, Mrs. Grey, Mrs. Turnbull, and Sarah Foulkes, servant to Mrs. Collins. How the remainder were saved we cannot understand. Captain Newby only remarks," we were saved in the long boat in the most wonderful manner." The above parties were lost in consequence of the upsetting of the whale boat, into which they had been lowered, but it has not been ascertained how this accident occurred. The reef upon which the Mary was lost lies to the north east of a rock described in the Australian Directory as Wright's rock, about three and a half miles, and is known to the sealers who visit Furneaux's Island as the north east or deep reef. etc.
(P.3, Mornington Chronicle, Sydney, 25-6-1845.)

This journal was formerly part of a summary of Sheila Skidmore's THE RED HILL. Sheila gave little specific information about the village settlement pioneers on pages 41-3 of her book so I decided to fill the void. I felt that having the following information in the journal about Sheila's book detracted from the flow of the summary, so it will be deleted from that journal.


P.41-3. THE VILLAGE SETTLEMENT. The Dromana Historical Society decided to reprint Sheila's book without any alterations. Hopefully there is now an index. Sheila's description of living conditions is excellent and settlers are quoted without mentioning any names. As in the case of an original pioneer, Frances Windsor, these later settlers have not been mentioned. Therefore, they are detailed below.

To avoid needless typing, certain sources will be abbreviated. MS02= Mornington Standard 30-8-1902 p.2; article entitled "Around Red Hill". FKRO2 = Shire of Flinders and Kangerong rates 1902-3. FKR19 = same shire 1919-20. KH = Keith Holmes.

HISTORIANS-BEWARE OF HASTY ASSUMPTIONS. I was excited to find a newspaper report about the Premier, Mr Patterson, visiting the Red Hill Village Settlement. Unfortunately none of the settlers were mentioned by name. I was rather puzzled that the Premier was afterwards driven to Drouin where he caught a train back to the city. Was Eatons Cutting Road that bad? It transpired that there was another Red Hill Village Settlement, near the railway line between Longwarry and Drouin, one of many communities organised by Rev. Tucker, whose committee included a Mr Rudduck. This leads me to suspect that Nelson Rudduck of Dromana may have had some influence in the Government's choice of our Red Hill for one of its village settlements.


H.TASSELL, 74a, 20 acres fronting main road west of Prossors Lane. The Tassells were no longer on the village settlement in 1902, apparently having been followed there by Tom Sandlants. Edwin Louis Tassell had leased the northern 1000 acres of Jamieson's Special Survey in the 1860's. This was between Ellerina Rd and Tassells Creek, extending east to the corner of Foxeys and Bulldog Creek Rds (Melway 151 K11-12) and became the Bruce Estate. Tassells Creek is now called the Martha Cove Waterway but Tassells Rd at Safety Beach recalls his seemingly brief tenure. Edward Luis Tassell was assessed on the 1000 acres, leased from W.J.T. "Big" Clarke in 1863 and in 1864 Louis Edward Tassell was similarly assessed (N.A.V. 45 pounds.) In 1865, he was called Edwin Louis Tassell.In view of the name changes, I assumed that the family had moved away after the death of the father. However, because of the brief tenure on the village settlement, I suspected that the Tassells were quitters. Out of respect for our pioneers, I could not harbour this suspicion without justification, so it was back to the rate records at the library this morning!

The Tassells were assessed last, on their 1000 acres leased from Big Clarke, in 1868. In the assessment of 4-9-1869, the name of Edwin Louis Tassell was crossed out and replaced with Robert Brown Riddler, leasing from Bruce, who had obviously just recently married Big Clarke's daughter and received, according to Colin McLear, his wedding present.The new occupant morphed into Robert Broome Riddler who was still there in 1873, his land being described as only 100 acres in 1871 despite having the same nett annual value as the 1000 acres in 1870 and 1872!

I tried Trove to find out where the Tassell family was between 1869 and the purchase of the village settlement block and found a nugget! The Argus, 7-5-1874, page 12. "MT MARTHA. Tenders are invited until 12 May, 1874 for a three year lease of Brokil Estate (lately occupied by R.B.Ridler, Esq. butcher, previously by the lateE.L.Tassell, Esq.) containing 1024 acres of good pastoral land, well watered and subdivided, a large portion sheepproof. J.Vans Agnew Bruce, Fletcher St, Essendon."

I have not found a death notice for Edwin Louis Tassell but he had died before May 1874. Perhaps he had died at the Brokil Estate, leaving Clarke without a tenant, thus providing his son in law with the option of choosing a tenant to occupy his wedding present. I am sure that Bruce was the partner in Bruce and Cornish, the firm that built the Mt Alexander and Murray River Railway, which deviated miles from the direct course so it would pass through Big Clarke's estates recalled by Rupertswood and Clarkfield.(The upper part of Tassell's Creek is still called Brokil Creek.)

Another trove entry which might apply to the Safety Beach pioneers concerns Edward Tassell suing Matthew Ingle Brown of Greenhills, Diggers Rest for wrongful dismissal. He was employed as a boundary rider at 45 pounds a year but also had a right to rations,and to graze cattle and cultivate a small paddock. Big Clarke was not a spendthrift but had made his way in the world by shrewd practical knowledge resulting from hard work. Thus he had sympathy with strugglers and may have arranged a job for Edwin Louis Tassell's lad with a tenant on his huge Rockbank Estate, which was in the parishes of Maribyrnong and Holden. Brown had left an overseer called Allen in charge. Allen fed Edward rotten mutton which caused an argument and Edward's wrongful dismissal by Allen. (The Argus, 23-11-1872 page 4.)

As H.Tassell was the grantee of 74a in the village settlement, it is reasonable to assume that Henry Tassell of Sorrento was connected. S.Tassell was granted a wine licence at Sorrento (Mornington Standard 3-12-1896 page 3) not long after the wife of Henry Tassell of Sorrento had given birth to twin daughters on 23-5-1895 at Fitzroy (The Argus 24-9-1895 page 1.) The birth might have taken place at his mother in law's place or at St Vincent's Hospital which opened at about this time in a row of houses if my memory serves me correctly. Henry would not have been the only Red Hill resident connected to Sorrento. The Heads sold produce there and a descendant presently plays footy for the sharks; Thomas Appleyard who displeased Red Hill residents by closing a main road straddled by his huge property was a Sorrento resident.

There were parcels and goods waiting at Mornington Station for 22 recipients including Tassell.
(Mornington Standard 30-5-1908 page 3.)

One last trove entry shows that Edwin Louis Tassell was interested in municipal affairs. The candidates standing for three vacancies on the Kangerong District Road Board in August 1864 were William Grace (of Gracefield at Dromana and grantee of the block at Rye on which Sullivan, his son in law, built the Gracefield Hotel,replaced in 1927 by Mrs Hunt's Rye Hotel), James Purves (mainly absent owner of the Tootgarook Station, which was run by James, the son of his deceased brother, Peter),Edwin Louis Tassell, Richard Watkin (Dromana Hotel)and Francis Edward Windsor (grantee of about 176 acres between Margaret Davies' grants and McIlroys Rd on which L.Tassell was leasing 25 acres by 1919.) Unfortunately no results of the election or 1865 meetings appear on trove and Colin McLear does not mention the members, so we must wait to see if Edwin was successful.


Like many of the early Survey tenants, the Tassells moved towards the red hill. H.Tassell must have been daunted by the amount of clearing that was required on 74a. However, the 1919-20 rates reveal that L.Tassell of Footscray was assessed on 25 acres, part 13A, Kangerong. This was roughly a third of the 77 acre allotment, granted to Frances Windsor fronting the south side of McIlroys Rd with an extension of Andrews and Nashs Lanes indicating the west and east boundaries.

C.A.74a was occupied by Tom Sandlant by 1902 but he was living elsewhere as there was no house on it.(FKR02) The block was heavily timbered but Tom had been busy clearing and planting four and a half acres of strawberries.(MS02) Robert Henry Holmes owned 74A by 1919.

Keith Holmes remembers 74A being owned by Dave Holmes so he was probably a descendant of Robert Henry Holmes.

C.THIELE. 74b, 20 acres south of Tassell's.
On Charles Thiel's block adjoining (Sandlant's), as well as 5 acres of orchard, strawberries, cape gooseberries, raspberries, wine berries and black currants had been planted. (MS02)Charles' 74B was one of four blocks on which a house had been erected in 1902. (FKR02)

The Ararat Advertiser of 24-4-1915 had this article on page 3.
Mr and Mrs Thiele, old residents of the Red Hill district, were driving towards Dromana on Sunday and it is believed that, when they were descending Eaton's Cutting from Red Hill to Dromana, the horse bolted. At a dangerous turn in the road, the wheel left the buggy and the occupants were thrown heavily to the ground, with the result that Mr Thiele's neck was broken and he died almost immediately. Mrs Thiele is now in a low condition, suffering from severe bruises and shock.

The death notice was on page 13 of The Argus on 24-4-1915.
THEILE (sic).On the 18th April (accidentally killed)at Red Hill, Charles August William , dearly beloved husband of Lena Thiele. (Interred 20 April at Dromana.)
This notice tells us Charles' full name and that of his wife but unfortunately does not reveal his age,
descendants, parents or siblings. There may have been no children."Old residents of Red Hill" in the above article could be a reference to age rather than time spent in the area.

There is a possibility that Charles was a descendant of Doncaster pioneer, Gottlieb Thiele, who planted the first orchard in that district in 1853. After arriving in 1849, Gottlieb set up as a tailor in Melbourne before spending time at several places including Red Hill .GOTCHA! These places were on the diggings and this red hill was near Castlemaine. (The Argus 8-5-1953, p.19; Box Hill-Doncaster Centenary. Their Gold grew on trees.) A photo of Gottlieb accompanies the article. With the area being so close to Melbourne, available land for orchards would have been snapped up quickly, so Gottlieb's descendants would have had to look elsewhere after a while, and no doubt the payment terms on the Red Hill Village Settlement would have been reasonable.

The assessments of 28-11-1914 show that the name of Thiele Charles had been written for assessment number 892. The surname had been crossed out and replaced with White. On 9-11-1915, Eden White, a Main Creek farmer, was assessed on 74b.By 1919, Herbert Alfred Hall of Middle Brighton was assessed on 74b.


H.P.PROSSER.74c? and d of 20 acres each fronting the west side of the second half of Prossors Lane. In 1902, Edward Bowring was assessed on 74C and the article said that Edward had been on the block for 12 months. He had planted 2 acres of orchard and also had 2 acres of strawberries as well as currants and raspberries. He'd been successful with summer vegetables. Thomas Harvey was building a 4 roomed house on the block (which was noted in the 1902 assessment, one of only four on the village settlement at that time, another being on 74D.)

Keith Holmes said that Edward Bowring was on the last block on the right but as Prossors Lane does not go to the south boundary of the village settlement as shown on the Balnarring parish map (because of an extremely steep slope), he could have been referring to 74C.

The 1919 assessments show that Henry P.PROSSOR was assessed on 74c as well as another 32 acres of settlement land. It appears that the rate collectors had finally discovered the correct spelling of the grantee's surname. And where was Edward Bowring? By 1910 he had moved to 18A Kangerong, 60 acres granted to Henry Dunn at the south corner of White Hill and McIlroys Rd. By 1919 he was on part 19 Kangerong slightly to the east and across McIlroys Rd, Bowring Rd being the east boundary of the 27 acre block.
Rates (in this shire) rarely had entries indicating the owners of land but it is likely that Edward was leasing in 1902 and 1910 but owned the 27 acres in crown allotment 19 (which must have included 8 acres of Red Hill township blocks, as mentioned by Sheila) at Melway 161 A11.

It is possible that Edward Bowring was related to John Bowring Journeaux, a grantee in Balnarring parish near Tubbarubba. Florrie Bowring married Herb Littlejohn . The first Littlejohns in the area were William Alfred and Frederick, sons of a convict who had settled in Brunswick after gaining his ticket of leave. They had land across the road from each other near Moat's Corner. After a while Fred moved to Coburg and William to Red Hill. William was a builder and was followed in this trade by his son, Fred, who married Florrie Bowring in 1935 but died at only 25.(Thelma Littlejohn, their daughter.)
Fred and William Littlejohn had lot 9 of 205 acres and lot 11 of 130 acres in 1919. Lot 9 is inside the curve of the Nepean Highway with the non-historic Bluestead Cottage at its north west corner (160 H3-4) and lot 11(160J-K 5) is north of Dunns Ck Rd to a point opposite No 665 with its frontage to the highway extending a little less than halfway to Wallaces Rd.

74D. Henry P. Prossor was assessed in 1902 on 40 acres on 74D, 74C obviously being leased to Edward Bowring. As mentioned previously Henry was assessed on 40 acres (74 E and 74C) and 12 acres (part 74E).C.A.74E was stated as being vacant in the 1902-3 rates and later was bought in two parts, the northern (74E1)of 7 acres by Fred Nash and the southern (74E) of 12 acres by Henry Percival Prossor. Therefore, the 40 acres consisted of 74D and 74C in 1919.
Also assessed in 1919 was Norman Prossor. He had 43 acres and building, part 71A1 Balnarring. This crown allotment, bounded on the west by Mornington- Flinders Rd, on the south by Stony Ck Rd, with its eastern boundary and northern extent indicated by Pardalote Dr, consisted of eighty three and a half acres so Norman's portion probably fronted Mornington- Flinders Rd with the western tributary and Musk Creek forming the eastern boundary; Musk Creek joins Stony Creek in 190 G9.One might ask why there was a 71A1 when there was no 71A. I believe that 71A was to be alienated in two parts, but the grantee, Alfred Head, bought both parts on 26-5-1882 after obtaining the grant for 71B,of 116 acres south of Stony Creek Rd, much earlier.

Norman Prossor married May Holmes, the daughter of William and Emily Holmes.(Sid Prosser, their son, and brother of Norma Bright.)
Henry Percival Prossor was at Boneo before he moved to Red Hill in about 1893. (Sid Prossor.)


W.MARSHALL.74G, 19 acres at the east corner of Prossors Lane.

In August 1902, Mr Marshall was chiefly growing peaches and apricots,which did not seem to be as successful as the usual fruits. He was also growing vegetables and strawberries.(MS02)

At the Dromana Show in 1897, Mrs D.Marshall came second, behind Mr H.Prosser,a fellow Red Hill resident, in a category for vegetables. (MS 23-4-1897, P.3.)

In 1898, W.Marshall of Red Hill requested permission from the Flinders and Kangerong Shire to cut saplings in front of his property.(MS 29-9-1898, p.3.)

The largest strawberry patches were on the properties of J.McIlroy and J.Shand but those of W.J.McIlroy, Arkwell, Marshall and H.Prosser were fruiting heavily. (MS1-8-1903, p.3.)

Colin McLear says much about William Marshall in "A Dreamtime of Dromana". P. 27 William Marshall was an early tenant on Jamieson's Special Survey, living roughly near the intersection of Pickings Rd and Lansell Ave in Safety Beach. John and Mary Ann McLear had done well on the famous John Oxley's property at Cambden, N.S.W. and in 1846 moved to the River Plenty where they took up residence on the property of Mr Green, after whom Greensborough was probably named (and whose descendants might have owned Green's Bush near Red Hill.)

On Boxing Day,1849, John McLear, who had employed William Marshall as a groom for his horses, attended a race meeting, near the Plough Inn, Plenty, with William Marshall. John had won a bet but John Holland refused to pay up and tried to hit John with sticks and a whip, which William confiscated.One of Holland's mates hit the back of John's head and killed him. It would be likely that William would have accompanied the widow, Mary Ann, to Jamieson's Special Survey, especially if he had come with her from N.S.W.

William might have been already married upon their arrival in 1851 because he was one of a number of Survey tenants whose children attended a private school on the east side of the Nepean Highway about 400 metres north of Wallaces Rd (near the Hickinbotham of Dromana Winery.)

In 1863, he was leasing 70 acres from Big Clarke, which had shrunk to 60 acres in 1865, his house still of two rooms. His name does not appear in my transcription of the 1879 rates but I did not record assessments in Balnarring rates. Alex Marshall, the first postmaster in Red Hill in 1871 had been succeeded in this post by 1873 (see page 23 in summary.) It is possible that William, the groom and 1851 Survey tenant was born about 1825 and had sons named Alex and William in about 1850. This would have made Alex about 23 when he took on the post office and William about 40 when he bought 74G.

By 1919 Frederick Nash senior owned 74G, which now houses the Greek church.


F.NASH. 74f, 19 acres south of Marshall's and 74(E1), south of 74f, containing 7 acres.

In August, 1902, Mr Nash had 6 acres of the usual fruits and more cleared and ploughed. (MS02.)
The 1902-3 assessments show that F.Nash was assessed only on 74F and that 74E was vacant. Fred Nash must have bought 74 E1 of 6 acres 2 roods and 25 perches after this time and Henry Prossor his 12 acre share.

By the 1919 assessment Frederick Nash Snr was assessed on 8 acres (part 74E), 37 acres and buildings(74 F, 74G ) as well as 40 acres (lots 6 and 7,part crown allotments 73A, 73 B.) Mrs Emmie Nash was assessed on 20 acres (lot 5, part crown allotments 73A, 73B.) Frederick Nash Jnr was assessed on 25 acres, part 13B, Kangerong.

Crown allotments 73 A and B, west of the village settlement, were granted to James McKeown. The family later moved to Dromana where they bought William Grace's grant, Gracefield , crown allotment 5 of section 3, Kangerong, consisting of almost 250 acres ( roughly Melway 159 G-H 9-11.) Gracefield Ave may have been the entrance to this farm. In about 1892, James and his son, Henry, built the Aringa Guest House at the north west corner of Foote and Clarendon Sts, which provided a living for his girls until after World War 2. The above details come from Colin McLear's "A Dreamtime of Dromana" and the Kangerong parish map. Now I will quote Colin.

"James McKeown was born in 1831 and died aged 88 in 1920. His wife, Catherine Townsend McKeown was born at Port Fairy (I think it was then called Belfast) in 1841 and died in 1928. James migrated to New Zealand in 1853, moving to Warrnambool in 1856. His sister, Mary, had married Hill Hillas in Ireland in 1846 and migrated to Red Hill in 1855 and taken up farming. James travelled to Red Hill in 1862 and purchased 200 acres of farming land south of the current oval. He returned to marry Catherine at Koroit and they travelled to Red Hill in a bullock cart in 1863. His orchard was called Musgrove Farm and he built a wooden house on the property called Glenbower. In 1874, James cut and sold timber piles for the building of Dromana pier. The Red Hill property was sold to the Sheehan family in 1889when the family moved to Dromana.

The twelve children of James and Catherine were:
Anna (b.1864, d. 1950), Henry (b.1865, d.1916), James (b.1867, d. 1935), Williasm (b.1869, d.1950), Isabella (b.1871, d. 1932), Arthur (b. 1873, d.1937), Eva (b. 1874, d.1953), Maud (b. 1876, d.1945), Ethel (b.1879, d.1964), Ernest (b.1881, d.1941)Ada (b.1883, d.1887), Edith (b.1886, d.1987.)"
THERE IS MUCH MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE McKEOWNS IN COLIN'S BOOK. IF YOU CAN'T FIND A COPY, REQUEST MORE INFORMATION IN "COMMENTS".

73A and 73B, Balnarring each consisted of 107 acres 2 roods and 32 perches, thus making a total of 215.375 acres. Keith Holmes told me that this became two farms of unequal size, Glenbower (adjoining the future village settlement) and Wildwood (adjoining William Henry Blakeley's 72A, which now houses the Consolidated School.) The two farms seem to have been jointly owned (by the Holmes family?)and subdivided by 1902 when properties described in "Around Red Hill" had to be west of the village settlement. The 1919 assessment shows that William A. Holmes had 147 of the 215 acres while Fred Snr and Emmie Nash had 60 acres, and Alexander Prossor 49 acres. It seems that the rate collector was fazed by all the new subdivisions (with hundreds of unknown ratepayers) and accidentally labelled Alex Prossor's land as part of 73A instead of 75A which was south of the village settlement and other Prossor land. This 49 acre block was until recently (1918-9) occupied by Charles William Ward.

In 1919, Frederick Nash Junior had 25 acres, part of 13B Kangerong. Crown allotments 13A and B, west of Andrews Lane, consisting of almost 130 acres, was granted to Margaret Davies, who was obviously a widow. The western boundary of 13B (now the Kindilan Society property) just happens to be Nashs Lane (Melway 191 A4.) As no more rate records are available on microfiche, I can only speculate that young Freddy bought more land nearby or was at the end of the lane.

It is possible that the Red Hill Nash family was descended from Charles Nash of Fairview and Bayview in Tullamarine.



H.PROSSER.74(E), 12 acres at the end of Prossors Lane with the opposite boundary parallel with Shoreham Rd.
This land was still vacant in 1919, possibly because it was too steep. Fred Nash bought the northern 7 acres (74E1, now Trevor Holmes' Cherry farm) and Henry Prossor the southern 12 acres, part of which is now owned by the Edwards family, and about 8 acres (including the old homestead) by Trevor Holmes.
The name Prossor/Prosser means son of Roger, being a mutation from ap Prosser. (Prossor website accessed through Holmes genealogy website.) See 74 C and D for other Prossor details.


T.HARVEY.74h, 20 acres fronting Arthurs Seat Rd from the general store to the Mechanics Rd corner.

In August 1902, Mr Harvey of "Fernside" had a 9 acre orchard which was a model of neatness, 5 acres of strawberries and gooseberries, passionfruit bearing heavily and Japanese plums.

In 1902-3, F.Harvey was assessed on 74H. By 1919, 74H was occupied by Samuel L.Holland.

Keith Holmes recalls Ethram Harvey. Ethram may have been the son of Thomas Harvey, who was building a house on the block occupied by Edward Bowring in 1902 and was probably the grantee of 74h. Edward Bowring married a Harvey girl according to Keith Holmes, so he may have married the daughter of Thomas Harvey.

In the 1910-11 assessments, E.Harvey and Joseph Harvey, Red Hill farmers, were assessed on 213 acres (23b and 23b2 Wannaeue) and 144 acres (24 Wannaeue) respectively. It would seem fairly easy to locate these properties but the rate collector did not help much. James W.Gibson, the grantee, had 24 Wannaeue of 114 acres so Joseph Harvey could not have been there. E.Harvey's land was actually 23B (about 153.25 acres) and 23A (almost 60 acres), both granted to William Hillis. Access to 23A was via Wilson Rd at its south west corner and this allotment went north halfway to Whites Rd (roughly Melway 171 H6.) Crown allotment 23B was west of this, with frontages to Whites Rd and Main Creek Rd (roughly 171 J-K 5-6.)
Joseph Harvey might have had 24B, of 145 acres, granted to Nelson Rudduck of Dromana or 24D and 23A1 of a combined 146.7 acres but John and James Bayne, Shoreham graziers, still had their grant so Joseph must have had 24B. The north east corner of this strangely shaped allotment was in Heath Lane (the original end of Main Creek Rd) 70 metres from Arthurs Seat Rd and the road frontage continued south 227 metres to roughly the site of the Miceli Winery (Melway 190 A3.) There it met 24A of 50 acres, granted to J.Pierce but occupied by James McIlroy of Red Hill. which fronted Main Creek Rd and the eastern 425 metres of Whites Rd. Joseph's block fronted the next 425 metres of White's Rd, from which point the western boundary headed nor nor west to, roughly, the top left corner of Melway 171 J3.

Also in the 1919-20 assessments, T.J.Harvey of Healesville had 25 acres, part 25A, Wannaeue. Crown allotment 25A, granted to Peter Watson and consisting of almost 83 acres was on the south side of Arthurs Seat Rd(roughly Melway 171 J 1-2 , K2)and had a frontage to the northern 70 metres of Heath Lane; it was north of 24B which Joseph Harvey had occupied in 1910.

T.S.PARRY. 74i, 20 acres south of Harvey's with its south east corner roughly across the road from the south boundary of the Red Hill South Community Reserve.

In August 1902, Mr Parry had a two and a half orchard which had been planted in that year. The rate collector was a little confused in the 1902-3 assessments and had assessed Neaves on 74i (with Parry written above Neaves) and has assessed Davidson on 74J instead of 74K.

This block became "Kia Ora" a farm owned by a member of the Holmes clan (Keith Holmes.). The 1919 assessments seem to indicate that it had been bought by James Andrew Holmes; there was a house on the property which must have been built by Parry some time after 1902.

G.NEAVES. 74j, 19 acres south of Parry's about opposite the Station Rd corner.
In August 1902, Mr Neaves had 4 acres cultivated, mainly strawberries.

George Neaves was still on 74J in 1919. He had erected a building on it by 1902, according to that year's assessment. George's daughter, Eva, went to school with Ruth Holmes. (Keith Holmes.)

W.DAVIDSON. 74k of 17 acres opposite Centrepoint.

W.Davidson was assessed in 1902-3 (see 74i.), but the rate collector was confused.Unless my transcription was faulty, the Davidson block was not mentioned in "Around Red Hill" written in August, 1902. By 1919, 74K was occupied by Mrs Frances Edwards.
Mrs Davidson was "Dolly" Nash, who could not move one of her arm and always had it clad in a stocking.Mr Davidson's sister married a Cavanagh from Balnarring.(Keith Holmes.)

A very confused entry in the 1910-11 rates indicates that rates on a property were to be written off. The property, of 60 acres, 18A Kangerong, seems to have been leased by Jonathon Davis and to be the estate of William Davidson, care of Mrs Edwards of Red Hill. The land,on the south corner of White Hill and McIlroys Rd, had been granted to Henry Dunn and formed all or part of his "Four Winds". The block was almost square with its western boundary extending to a point opposite Tumbywood Rd.


Areas are rounded to the nearest acre. Frances, Elizabeth and Frederick Sts are not on the village settlement but are on 75A, Balnarring, granted to J.McConnell.

Hi (ITELLYA'S REAL NAME!)
I always wondered about this.
On the corner of Kent Road and Observation Drive there used to be an old limestone building, a water tower and about 100 metres away a Well. All constructed out of Limestone. It was all demolished in the late 1980?S . Any idea who owned this property?
Regards Steve

Henry Cadby Wells walked through Rye before it ever existed and probably before anyone lived or quarried lime there. Owen Cain arrived to quarry lime at Tyrone soon afterwards, but after the birth of Henry's daughter on the site of Sorrento's Koonya hotel, (Owen, almost losing his four year old daughter!)Therefore, when Henry's descendant says jump, I ask how high? Another factor that prompted this journal is the lack of discussion regarding water supply on the peninsula. I'm not talking about reticulation by the authorities because it seems that provision of water and electricity to the fort at Pt Nepean had a strong relationship to the coastal towns receiving their supply.

Towns on the peninsula were obviously situated near a water source, such as the spring below the site of the Dromana Bowling club that fed a ti tree swamp or a creek. Rosebud had Adams' Creek (The Avenue), Eeling Creek which now flows under the Tom Salt Park car park and Peatey's Creek (Murray Anderson Rd.) People obviously used tanks, which are most often mentioned in school histories, but I have not seen any mention of who used to bring water when the tank was empty or where they obtained their water. How did the isolated limeburners, such as those at Canvas Town (cnr Tasman Dr and Canterbury Jetty Rd) obtain water?

Bores would have been too expensive for most pioneers. The late Ray Cairns explained how a spring was opened up on a high part of Maroolaba at Fingal to irrigate lower ground. In ROSEBUD:FLOWER OF THE PENINSULA, Isobel Moresby told how Smythe, a Flemington tanner,opened up a spring on the southern half of Burrell's pre-emptive right on Arthurs Seat to water his wattle plantation.

Were there any creeks at Rye and Sorrento with a reasonably constant supply? What were their names? Was it hard washing clothes using bore water? Who refilled tanks? I ask anyone with knowledge of how the pioneers coped in regard to water to supply their information in COMMENTS.

And now back to Steve's query.

I might be able to work out who had it but you must mean the corner of Observation and Valley or Kent and Sussex. Whether the first corner or the second corner that I specified, the tower would have been in crown allotment 12 of Rye Township, the first corner being just inside the south east corner of c/a 12 and the whole township. Therefore, I will examine the 1914 ratebook, which I know describes property locations fairly well, to see who had c/a 12, Rye Township of 98 acres 2 roods and 9 perches..

I thought the tower might have been built by James Little Brown (restorer of rabbit and ti tree infested land into beautiful pasture and councillor after whom Browns Rd was named) but the information I gathered for his entry in my SHIRE OF FLINDERS journal seems to dispel this theory. He did own the land bounded by Dundas, Collingwood and Napier Streets and the south boundary of the Kanasta Caravan Park. His homestead, Hillcrest, at 1 May St was built using lime from the last firing of the big kiln on the fire station site.

South of Brown's crown allotments 1,2,3,section 5 and the cemetery, all the land east of Dundas St was granted to William Allison Blair, a lime merchant. The part occupied by the golf course was situated in crown allotments 10, 11 and 12 of Rye Township, a total of 199 acres 1 rood and 35 perches,the land south of the Dundas St/Golf Pde corner being crown allotments 4, 20 and 21 of the parish of Nepean, a total of 374 acres 2 roods and 37 perches.(The Jennings' Kariah, bounded by Dundas St, Browns Rd and Weeroona St was said to consist of 212 acres but I believe that should be 221 acres, being crown allotments 20 and 21 Nepean, extending north to the freeway reservation.)

On crown allotments 10, 11 and 12, Rye Township was St George's Golf Links, a nine hole course which was constructed in 1935 by John McDonald and his two sons, Jack and Max. The course, bounded by Dundas St and Golf Rde, was subdivided circa 1954 as the Ryelands Estate by a young bloke from the Prentice real estate firm who soon after moved to Rye, but originally parked his car at the end of Lyons St as his office. There's an advertisement for the estate in the Argus Mornington Peninsula supplement in December, 1954.

It seems the water tower, whose location you mentioned was not used to water the golf course unless the details that follow describe a second method of supplying water that made the tower redundant. Water from the bore near the old homestead (now in Athol Court) was pumped into a twenty thousand gallon tank atop of what is now Highview Court and then reticulated to the nine greens." (P.14, Rye Township 150th Anniverary Edition-Southern Peninsula News.)

WHO OWNED THE WATER TOWER?
Although blindness and insanity were rapidly approaching before I made my breakthrough, I have made some progress. By the way, I've made your query the subject of my latest journal in the hope that somebody with personal experience regarding the water tower, homestead and well, all constructed of limestone and in crown allotment 12, Rye Township, will be able to supply further information.I though it was a good opportunity to remind the Nepean and Rye Historical Societies that every time they mention Robert Rowley, they should spare a thought for his lime-burning and cray fishing partner, Henry Cadby Wells.

I chose the 1914 assessment as the best place to start because I knew that property locations were described well. Hoping for a short cut, as the entries are alphabetical in each section, I looked for McDonald and Jennings but found neither. After going through the entire west riding, which took about two hours of squinting at entries written with diluted ink (only one tiny bit more legible than invisible ink),I found no mention of crown allotments 10, 11 and 12, Rye Township (between the Kanasta Caravan Park and the Dundas St/ Golf Pde corner, c/a 4 Nepean, south to the freeway reservation or crown allotments 20 and 21 Nepean, which I assumed to be Dod Jennings' Kariah.

I have a very naughty computer that sends emails (without me clicking send) and it did just that at this point. Steve replied:
Thanks, where do you find this information. It was the corner of Kent & Sussex. We lived on Golf Parade (all dirt roads at that time). At the time it was situated in thick bush. A Greek family (Passouilis) purchased some of the land, demolished the buildings and built a house. The Well was all that remained. On the opposite side of kent Road there was a limestone slab like a pestle (hollowed out on the inside).


The reason I missed the golf course land was because it was referred to as c/a 10, 11, 12, section A, Nepean. I did, however find that David Swan, carter of Rye, was assessed on crown allotment 10 and buildings,Rye. (Folio 84 >, assessment number 1681.) The nett annual value of David's property was 12 pounds; I did not record an acreage, perhaps because there wasn't one recorded but the NAV seems reasonable for a suburban allotment of 52 acres adjacent to the township. I also found that William Laverton Thompson, of Rye, importer, had crown allotments 1,2,3 section 5, immediately north of David Swan's land, that by 1919 had been purchased by James Little Brown.



The fact that Blair had been granted c/a10 and it was occupied by David Swan in 1914 recalls a huge battle between Charles Gavan Duffy and William Allison Blair that I discovered while researching Sidney Smith Crispo. They were acquiring huge tracts of land, Blair in both Wannaeue and Nepean, Duffy only in the latter parish. They were accusing each other of using unfair tactics and Duffy accused Swan, who did much fencing for Blair, of being a dummy bidder for Blair.


In view of Sorrento becoming so successful so early and dominating the west riding, it may surprise you to find that there was no township of Sorrento until well after Rye Township was declared. Crispo of Manners-Sutton/Canterbury (Blairgowrie) and "Eastbourne", who was an official of the Coastal Survey, suggested to the head of the Lands Department that a piece of land in dispute between Duffy and Blair be declared a village because there was no way to determine which had submitted his application first. It was declared soon after and the blocks sold in a flash.


Next, I tried the 1915 assessment, knowing I would at least find Jennings and Kariah. I did! Not knowing their given names, the rate collector had written:

Jennings, Rye, farmers, 221 acres and buildings,c/a 20, 21.(folio 72, Ass. No. 1431.)

My belief that Kariah consisted of 221 acresand not 212 had been proven.

J.L.Brown (called John in practically every assessment, but actually James) was assessed on 202 acres, c/a 10, 11, 12, section A, Nepean.(folio 66, A.N.1310.) I believe he was the builder of the water tower. As well as grubbing out ti tree and installing rabbit proof fencing, he reticulated water to water troughs. The limestone house and well may have been constructed by J.L.Brown as well but may have also been the work of P.and D.Sullivan. The map on page 57 of LAND LIME LEISURE shows: 11, marking the site of their first lime kiln in the Rye area, in almost the south east corner of the township, with the latitude perfect but an underarm throw too far east.

Dennis Sullivan, after Melbourne had been amazed by their gigantic cucumber and his wife, Honora, offended against the Masters and Servant Act, took his family to the Heads where they built a limestone IRISH BOG HOUSE in 1843 and burnt lime.They were dispossessed in 1852 by the construction of the Quarantine Station and son Patrick move lime burning activities to Rye. Blair would have dispossessed them again when he was granted 10, 11, 12 Rye Township (or section A Nepean) on 16-3-1869. I would be amazed if Blair built a homestead because he had no intention of residing on the land, only wanting the lime under it. Therefore, I believe the Sullivans built the limestone house and well sometime between 1852 and 1869.

My only question remaining concerned crown allotment 4, Nepean,south of the Golf Pde corner to the freeway reservation where it adjoined the Jennings' Kariah. Extending from Dundas St to the parish boundary with Wannaeue, Weeroona St, and consisting of 153 acres and 30 perches,it was granted to Blair on 19-6-1867.S.Lucas of Rye was assessed on 153 acres, crown allotment 4 Nepean in 1915. (folio 72, A.N. 1138.) He was also assessed on 36 section A Wannaeue of 158 acres which was being occupied by Ernest Keal. This latter piece of land,granted to Blair in 1875, was directly across Weeroona St from Kariah and adjoined the Tootgarook pre-emptive right. It must have been subdivided by 1919 and J.R.Jennings had 96 acres of it, according to the rate collector while Edward Keal of Rye was assessed on the whole 153 acres. Sounds just like the Brindle-McKeown debacle on Gracefield at Dromana! Talk about double-dipping!

When the councillor, who helped me with an attempt to ensure recognition of David Mairs and Edward Louis Tassell, tells me that he is related to Portsea pioneers and arranges an interview with his relatives "now", there is no delaying, no matter how many journals are currently in progress.

The councillor's oldest connection with Portsea is through Alex Watson. LIME LAND LEISURE (the history of the Shire of Flinders) has considerable information about the Watson brothers on page 42. Henry and John Watson had visited the Diggings but fishing was in the blood of these sons of a Bannf fisherman and they commenced operations at Weeroona Bay between 1860 and 1862.

Henry built the first hut on the beach at Point Franklin, then known as Quarry Point. John built a house on the beach under Policeman's Point but soon moved to Point Franklin. Charles Hollinshed said that two houses were later built but my notes are unclear about which brother built them and when. A stranger arrived in 1862 and it took some time before the two Watsons recognised their younger brother, Alex. When the Watsons arrived, their only neighbour was Dennis McGrath whose house was on the cliff top near the Back Beach Rd corner.

The surname "Watson" is mentioned on pages 34, 41, 44 an 50 of RYE PRIMARY SCHOOL 1667.

June Opie is my main informant regarding locations and anecdotes in this journal, with older sister Gladys Helen Pittock introducing a new anecdote every time I thought we had finished for the day, licking my lips at the prospect of a 3p.m. lunch. The two have another sister, Betty Rose Broderick, who was not visiting Gladys on the day.

The three sisters were the only children of William Alfred Stirling who was born at Portsea in 1895. Known as Bill, he married Amelia Martin who had come to Portsea from Bendigo in 1916 at the age of 12 with her parents, Sydney Martin and Emma Jay (nee Stanley).

Bill Stirling's parents were John (Jock) Stirling and Helen Smith (nee Watson), the daughter of Alex and Alice Watson. Alice Watson's maiden name please, June. Jock was a sailor and was on his second voyage to Australia aboard the "-------" when he sought his discharge papers which are dated --------.

Although there were not many rate payers in 1864, the rate collector forgot all about the Watsons. It was all to do with the stupid idea of listing ratepayers alphabetically instead of geographically. The advantage of the latter method is explained in the ASSESSMENTS entry in my DICTIONARY HISTORY OF RED HILL journal.

In the 2-9-1865 assessments, Watson (no given name) was assessed on a hut on Crown land.For the next three years no member of the Watson family was assessed. The records presented to Council on 4-9-1869 showed that John Watson owned the house and town lot(nett annual value 5 pounds) that he was occupying in the Point Nepean Division. The 3-9-1870 rates show that the house consisted of two rooms and the land of one acre but the owner column was blank throughout. By 1875, John Watson was still the owner and occupier of the house and land at Portsea but it now had a NAV of 7 pounds Alex Watson was assessed on 1 acre ** roomed house, the * being dittos that had been disguised as mini blots to hide the rate collector's uncertainty; the property was owned by Alex and was given a nett annual value of 6 pounds.

In the 27-6-1878 record, occupations were noted. John Watson, fisherman, still owned the same property at Portsea but the NAV was now 8 pounds, a minor increase. However it seems as if a later huge jump in value was caused by a mistake or a bloke called George Morse! Alex Watson was described as a hotelkeeper and we are left to assume that the "building" on one acre at Portsea was actually a hotel. (At one stage Dromana had two hotels and three hotelkeepers; perhaps they played "Musical pubs"!) This was the original Portsea Hotel, of which June has a photo, and its nett annual value was 40 pounds, which indicates it was slightly less elaborate than George Assender's Arthurs Seat Hotel (NAV 60 pounds including 5 town lots) and far less so than the Dromana Hotel (12 rooms and 110 pounds in 1864, 17 rooms and 170 pounds in 1886).

The 31-7-1880 assessments show that the nett annual value of the acre block and building owned by fisherman, John Watson had jumped from 8 pounds to 50 pounds, ten pounds more than Alexander's Portsea Hotel! By 27-7-1882, this valuation had dropped to 40 pounds probably adjusted by the revision court following a protest. A year later the only Watson recorded was John J.Watson Jnr, labourer, 1 allotment and building, Sorrento, NAV 5 pounds.

In 1886, Alex Watson was assessed on the hotel whose nett annual value had risen to 52 pounds, perhaps this included a post office and store nearer the pier.John Watson, fisherman was assessed on 2 allotments and buildings at Sorrento (NAV 35 pounds.)Joshua Watson, grazier, was leasing 195 acres Nepean (parish) from W.A.Blair (possibly south of Rye township but more likely on the north side of Melbourne Rd between Tarakan St and St Pauls Rd); he was more likely related to the Watson, after whom a street in Mt Martha was named, that bought Hearn's Mt Martha Estate at about this time, than the Portsea/Sorrento fishing family. James Watson, a plasterer, was assessed on an allotment and building at Sorrento, with a nett annual value of 10 pounds, that he owned.

After being assessed on the hotel once more (16-7-1887), Alex had an allotment and building at Portsea (NAV 30 pounds) in 1888; as a fisherman again, an allotment and building, Sorrento (N.A.V. 10 pounds) in 1889 (while John, fisherman seems to have bought (lots) 5-10, of an unknown section in Sorrento Township I suppose, with the high NAV, for land, of 70 pounds. It was hard to be certain where Alex had his land because its location often alternated between Sorrento and Portsea, the latter in 1892. Perhaps he sold the Sorrento building blocks to build his Portsea house. June told me that John had sold the Portsea Hotel and gone back to fishing, and it seems to have been in the boom year of 1888; W.H.Sweetapple seems to have been assessed on the Portsea Hotel in 1891 and may have been the buyer.

John (Jock)Stirling, who married Alex Watson's daughter,Helen, seems to have arrived in late 1891 or early 1892, being first included in the 1892 rates, described as a labourer and assessed on 1 allotment and buildings at Sorrento (NAV 10 pounds). In 1893, Jock's details were unchanged and Matthew Watson was assessed on a house on an acre block, while James Watson, plasterer and John Watson, fisherman also had houses at Sorrento on acre blocks. Matthew Watson, hotelkeeper, now had 1 allotment at Portsea, with the building on it actually called a hotel!

The final microfiche inspected (before I came blind because of the diluted ink due to the depression) indicates that by 13-9-1899 James Watson had died because Mrs James Watson was assessed on the plasterer's one lot and house, Sorrento (NAV 10 pounds.)Jock Stirling had moved to a lot and house at Portsea (NAV 10 pounds).

There will be more rate research post 1900 and it will be interesting to see how long Alex and Watson take to acquire their dairy. Now for some anecdotes and a bit of detail about landholdings which has been considerably lacking so far.

Alex Watson built the original Portsea Hotel but later sold it and returned to fishing. Alex and Alice also had a store and post office just east of the path to the Portsea pier. They had a dairy extending from Ocean Beach Rd to Franklin Rd and straddling Martins Lane (whose name probably bears some connection to the maiden name of William Alfred Stirling's wife Amelia.) The south east corner of the dairy is indicated by Ibis Way and the north west corner was the south side of the bull ring.

The what? The bull ring was the oldtimers' name for the Portsea Recreation Reserve, incorporating the Percy Cerutty Oval.Bulls are most upset with any other bulls that enter their territory. There was one at the Quarantine Station and another at Sorrento and one day while strolling they came upon each other in a swamp in a fairly deep depression, resembling an amphitheatre. A battle royal ensued and everyone knew where the bull ring was from that day forth! Now you do too!

THE MAD COW.(Circa 1940.)
There was another swamp on the dairy farm too. The three Stirling girls were catching tadpoles in what is now the Portsea Lagoon Wildlife Sanctuary when oldest sister Gladys proclaimed that her little serfs should go to get a jar to put them in. Alec and Alice Watson patted the calves on the head rather too vigorously and they tended to die leaving a lot of surplus milk to sell, which made Alec and Alice very happy. Unfortunately it seemed to make the calves' mothers very upset.

You know how it is when you're in a bad mood; anyone within range becomes a target, no matter how sweet and innocent. I'm sure June will be happy with the description of her nature but a cow whose baby had died that morning was in a paddock that June and Betty were crossing and she was a very very bad mood. June managed to dive through a wire netting fence just in the nick of time and Betty,,,,,,,,,,,(in the swamp?)

THE MAD HORSE.(Just after W.W.2.)
Jim Wishart managed a store at Portsea for Stringers and used to deliver with a horse and cart. It was a very nice cart but the same compliment did not apply to the horse. Single-hoofedly he smashed three carts to bits. He used to graze on the bull ring and the kids took a very wide detour.

The Portsea school site is now occupied by the Ramler Mews dwellings.

The larger swamp, west of Ibis Way, was partially filled in by Ray Skelton who earned a living removing green waste, bricks, soil and other material.

Jock Stirling's limestone house, built by George Morse on the south east corner of Blair and Back Beach Rd (Melway 156 E3) is still standing.

Here's a question to ponder. Why did Sorrento resident, Jeff Robinson, use the brand name Franklin for the caravans that he manufactured?

FROM THE INTERNET.
Extract from website THE PORTSEA CAMP.
The camp's first permanent structure - 1870
The site of the Portsea Camp was well known as the home of the Scotsman, John Watson. A somewhat garrulous man, who had migrated from Scotland , he built a small fishing hut just off the point. Local holiday makers were never impressed by the structure which, they felt, disturbed the view and the ambience of the nearby bathing boxes.

Over the next few years John Watson's brothers arrived from Scotland and by about 1873 the family had built a small limestone house on the beach. The 'Commondant's house' was built by Frederick Rose, who established the School for the Deaf in St Kilda Rd.

Eunice Watson supplied information about the old days in the following article.
Shifting sands
Author: Dugald Jellie
Date: 20/01/2012
Words: 3337
Source: AGE
Publication: The Age
Section: The Melbourne Magazine
Page: 36
Portsea, Australia's richest postcode, is where old traditions and new money come together every summer, not always happily, writes Dugald Jellie.

Auctioneer Warwick Anderson found a spot in the sand. A crowd had gathered on a hot January afternoon in 2011 for his day's last job: selling a sun-pinched timber boatshed in the dunes of Shelly Beach. Most came barefoot, strung in towels, limbs bare and salted from insouciant days of dipping in turquoise brine. Up for grabs was a prized heirloom - S27A, a bathing box, on stumps, shrouded by tea tree. A who's who of locals arrived, many with chequebooks in their swimming trunks. "It's a question of supply and demand," says Anderson, of the spectacle of finding market value for these bijou seaside boxes. One had sold nearby for $455,000. Rumours were rife a new record was on. "It's petty cash for these people."

Coastal wattle spread on the dune, pigface flowered pink. Anderson, in short sleeves, took an opening bid of $300,000. Before him stood an array of Melbourne's merchant princes, industrialists, the idle rich, on a lustrous shore where, in dusk light, the city gleams on the horizon like a faraway jewel. After more than an hour, the auction's penciller had recorded 127 bids. The gavel fell, applause rang out. The boathouse had sold for $585,000, about $18,000 per square metre and the price of a decent family home in a Melbourne suburb.

This is how it is in Portsea - the country's top-earning postcode by taxable income. A geographical and demographic full-stop put on the map in 1842 by James Sandle Ford, an emancipist and homesick English lime-burner who built the first pier and planted the area's first cypresses, it's an end-of-the-road cul-de-sac where not a penny's pinched, where neighbourly squabbles make the news, and where the beautiful and the damned mingle each summer in an epic narrative of privilege, social hierarchy and just a little tattle about what Lindsay Fox has gone and done next. Children's footfalls slap on grey-weathered jetty planks; whoops and squeals punctuated by baritone splashes. A blonde woman parks her black Porsche Cayenne with personalised number plates. The pock pock pock of a tennis game floats over beds of flowering agapanthus. Electronic surveillance is on continuous loop. Vast properties step down the slope like hanging gardens laden with fruits of abundance. Some homes are as big as office blocks. A clear footprint can be seen from Google Earth: most blocks have the powder-blue oblongs of a swimming pool, and judging by the number of lurid green rectangles, it could be true that Portsea still has more tennis courts per square kilometre than anywhere else in the world. Land values on the cliff, on the bay side of Point Nepean Road, the most sought-after stretch of real estate in Victoria, start at about "five something" - as in $5 million (and the rest), according to local Kay & Burton agent Liz Jensen.

Year-round locals have for decades quietly observed the comings and goings. "It was them and us," recalls Eunice Watson, 87, who long ago married into the Watson family who, from 1862, were the first fishermen of Portsea. "Those people with all the big homes were the people with money from Melbourne. They would keep to themselves."

This paragraph is included to put Eunice's next comment into context.

"Our children were terribly lucky to grow up in Portsea," says Judy Matear, whose father-in-law in 1927 bought the fashionably chic Hotel Australia on Collins Street, and 20 years later bought Ilukya from Vacuum Oil boss Harry Cornforth. They hosted lavish parties, all smoked salmon and ostrich plumes, with patriarch Fred Matear taking whisky and sodas in his white silk pyjamas and pith helmet. Judy's son Rick, an artist currently exhibiting at Manyung Gallery in Sorrento, remembers his neighbour "showing me an Arthur Boyd hanging over the fireplace. He told me stories of Boyd and John Perceval going down there to do paintings for their parents. He said John once borrowed the car and dented it, so to pay he gave them the painting." Penleigh Boyd, father of Robin, joined Arthur Streeton in painting Portsea, filling canvases with loose plein-air brushstrokes that distilled the area's luminous northern light and its thick blanket of tea trees and moonahs. White limestone cliffs and the knuckle of Police Point are recognisable in one work, but the two fisherman's shacks and staked fish pens by the beach have long since gone.

"They caught salmon and mullet and bay trout that would come in shoals, hundreds of boxes worth," says Eunice Watson. She moved to Portsea in 1947 to marry fisherman Frank and lived on the beach in the fishing cottages Boyd had painted, with no running water, kerosene lamps and a wood stove to cook on. In those days, the couta boats weren't rich-kid playthings - they were used by fishermen scooting through the Heads pursuing barracouta. Harold Holt, who wasn't yet PM, bought fish from them on the beach. "On the Sunday he drowned, I was going to tennis," Watson recalls, "and he waved to me as he was driving past."

The article went on to discuss the "new money" families and their houses.

The Watsons were well represented in this premiership team! S.Martin might have been related to the Stirlings. Fishermen played in the Rosebud team as well; the Burnhams had moved from Sorrento onto the Hindhope Estate a decade earlier and one of the Aldersons, being a Carlton supporter, suggested a change to the Rosebud Football Club's present jumper after their first season in 1929.

GRAND FINAL SCORE SHEETS
1922/23 ROSEBUD V PORTSEA AT SORRENTO

W.Jennings (Rosebud) won the toss and sent Portsea in to bat.

PORTSEA 1ST INNINGS

W.Watson caught Stevens bowled W.Jennings 20
J.Watson caught R.Gray bowled W.Jennings 2
F.Goss caught W.Jennings bowled H.Head 5
J.Knight bowled W.Whitehead 42
E.Howard bowled W.Jennings 1
J.Foran bowled Stevens 21
N.McKinnon bowled R.Gray 5
A.Knight bowled W.Downie 15
S.Martin caught W.Burnham bowled L.Cairns 5
J.Murray run out 4
M.Watson not out 1

Extras 4

Total 128

No bowling details.

ROSEBUD 1ST INNINGS

H.Head bowled J.Knight 0
D.Cairns run out 0
W.Whitehead bowled J.Knight 7
W.Alderson bowled A.Knight 4
W.Downie bowled A.Knight 5
Stevens bowled A.Knight 2
W.Jennings(c) not out 6
W.Burnham bowled J.Knight 2
E.Inglefinger bowled J.Knight 0
R.Gray bowled J.Knight 0
L.Cairns bowled J.Knight 0

Extras 8
Total 34

J.Knight 6/7 A.Knight 3/11

PORTSEA 2ND INNINGS

W.Watson caught D.Cairns bowled H.Head 68
J.Watson caught L.Cairns bowled W.Jennings 4
F.Goss caught W.Burnham bowled H.Head 5
J.Knight bowled W.Jennings 17
E.Howard not out 16
J.Foran not out 49
N.McKinnon caught W.Burnham bowled H.Head 7

Extras 7
Total 5/173

W.Jennings 2/18 H.Head 3/53
PORTSEA WON BY 94 RUNS ON THE 1ST INNINGS.(Rosebud Cricket Club website.)


This hut under Point Franklin, probably built by H. Watson later passed to W. White.
This caption appears under a picture of the hut partly obscuring another picture (of limeburners at work) in a
book about the Officer Cadet School. The picture can be accessed by entering "watson, white, cadet school, portsea" and clicking on CHAPTER 4, THE ENVIRONMENT.

TROVE.
A. WATSON, PORTSEA.
A letter to the editor from Henry Watson was on page 7 of the Argus on 29-1-1877. He explained that they made only tuppence (twopence) a basket from their fish and enclosed an account of sales made on Alexander's behalf.
Henry was living at Portsea. I don't know if Alex and Henry were fishing at The Sisters with John who supposedly moved his operations there in 1873, according to LIME LAND LEISURE.

The engagement of Valda Milne and Lance-Corporal Gordon Watson,elder son of Mr and Mrs W.J.Watson of Portsea, was announced on page 8 of the 4-7-1940 Argus.

The weather was probably warm on that November day in 1928, but young George Alexander Watson probably regretted having ever been on the beach on that day.(The Argus 10-5-1929, Page 15.)

Messrs Watson and McLeod took their friends on an outing by road to Dromana, everyone meeting at Mr Watson's hotel at 8am. (The Argus 14-9-1893 page 4, PORTSEA.)

I think the hotelkeeper would have been Matthew Watson, who was assessed on the hotel (nett annual value 60 pounds) in 1896-7. Alex (Alec) Watson, who built the (original) Portsea Hotel apparently drank a fair proportion of the profits and was forced to sell the hotel to his brother John, according to June Opie. Going by rate records, Alec built the pub after October 1875 and a fair time before June 1878. He must have sold a great number of baskets of fish (at 2d a basket) in 1876-7 to build the hotel. It is possible that John Watson was still the owner of the hotel in 1893 and installed Matthew as the licensee, but there is no mention of a hotel in connection with either in the 1-8-1893 rates.Perhaps the assessment was McLeod and Watson (under M rather than W.) Mr Watson was still running the Portsea Hotel in December, 1905 and applied for a reduction of the valuation from 65 pounds to 50*. (Mornington Standard 12-12-1895, page 2, LICENSING COURT.)

Why did they travel by road? Perhaps the "White Road" had just been made. For over a decade the local lime trade had been a shadow of its former status, with provision of firewood for Melbourne's households and bakers' ovens taking over as a source of income. Abandoned kilns were dotted everywhere, with spoil around them, which the shire used to make the beach road and some others. Although they were as smooth as a baby's bottom, they were slippery at times and fragments could damage hooves. Ray Cairns added that once they started to break up deterioration was rapid.

* Lugger Jack Clark wanted the value of the Mornington (now Koonya) Hotel at Sorrento halved from 100 pounds but would have been pleased with 60 pounds.The licence of H.Levy for the Nepean Hotel (on the site occupied by modern shops across the road from the present Portsea Hotel)was renewed; a photo of the Nepean is on one of the websites mentioned, probably the Cadet School one.

Miss Annie Watson was a scarlet lady (sorry a black and scarlet lady), those being the colours of the attire she wore to the concert/ball to raise funds for the Roman Catholic Church.Miss Watson (Portsea) wore black with green trimmings. (M.S.31-8-1899 P.3.) Annie was living in "Franklin" (House) in 1910.

The engagement of Monica Frances Watson,youngest daughter of Mr and Mrs F.H.Watson, to J.V.Horskins was announced.(Argus 1-3-1941 P.9.)

How did Rex Watson of Portsea come to marry a Slocombe girl from Tyabb? (Standard, Frankston, 5-3-1943, P.1.)

In 1934, Watson and Hill, footballers from Portsea, were showing impressive form at Essendon. (Argus 6-4-1934 P4.)

The following comes from page 4 of the Argus of 17-2-1934 when Victoria was preparing for its centenary and interest in history was at an all-time high.

A SPLENDID PIONEER By A. M. A'BECKETT

The Centenary year is, perforce, turning one's thoughts to the pioneers of the State, and articles such as "Portsea Recollections," by Mr. J. C. Fitchett, last Saturday provoke discussion and reminiscence.

The name of the late Alexander Watson, the pioneer of the beach fishermen, as Mr. Fitchett calls him, conjures up the picture of a fine type of settler. Strong, keen, courageous, full of fun, interested in all members of the families of Portsea, he would sit in his little snow-white cottage or lean over the gate talking of his beloved Portsea and his experiences, and impressing the third generation with his remarks, especially when he referred to a little chap's grandfather, for whom he had a great regard. Mr. Watson had a remarkably clear memory and a ready wit. He told an interested little audience how In May, 1862, he left London for Sydney in the Aberdeen ship Jason, commanded by Captain Stewart, who later commanded the Catherine Adamson, which was wrecked Inside Sydney Heads about the time of the wreck of the Dunbar on South Head, when the sole survivor was taken up the cliff by a rope. The voyage out took three months, at the end of which Watson stayed with Captain Stewart for a few weeks before coming to Melbourne by steamboat and landing at Sandridge (Port Melbourne) Railway Pier. Watson brought a message from his home town, Banff, Scotland, where he spent his youth fishing with his father at Whitehills, to Mr. William Adamson, whom he sought and found in Melbourne, and during a long chat Watson spoke of going down to Point Nepean to join three brothers who were already fishing at Quarry Point, now called Point Franklin,

Portsea.

A heavy smoker, Watson was keen on growing some tobacco, although he did not know anything about its culture. Mr. Adamson supplied the seed, and Watson left Melbourne by the small steamer Vesse, running once a week. On September 10, 1862, he landed at Weeroona Bay and found his way up through the scrub. The only signs of settlement were a tiny fisherman's hut on the beach, a stone house on the cliff belonging to Mrs. McGrath, sen., and a small enclosure with a scrub fence. He cleared about 40ft. of this, the ground having been dug, possibly, once before, scratched it over with his hands and feet, mixed the seed with dry sand, and put it in broadcast, raking it over with a bush. It grew well. By the end of March, 1863, it was 6ft. high and looked splendid, and later it was cut. About the beginning of April Watson left with his brothers for Westernport for the winter fishing. They landed at Crib Point, about four miles from Hastings. Halfway between Crib Point and Hastings was a small island called Koola mada, leased by Mr. Rogers, a sheep and cattle owner. He had about eight acres of tobacco already cut, and he was well satisfied with his crops for several years. In 1864 the Watson brothers returned from Westernport to Portsea, and later they were joined by two others. At Weeroona Bay the fishing had been begun by Mr. Inglis, who left for Queenscliff about this time, and Alexander Watson bought the shingle cottage on the beach. Later he pulled it down and built the white limestone cottage, still standing, in its place. At that time Mr. Walker was superintendent of the quarantine station, with Mr. W. Anderson as handy man. One of his daughters married Watson in 1865, and the small cottage on the beach near the cutting was their first home. Not far from this was the limestone kiln, on the cliff, the remains of which may be seen to-day, from which lime was sent to Melbourne.

About 1869, four years after his marriage, Mr. Watson selected a site from the Government on which to build a home. To prepare for this he set about planting fruit trees, but he found about 3ft. below the surface limestone rock. For three winters he worked at getting out the limestone, and then, having obtained bags of lime from the kiln, ho got Mr. George Morse, of Sorrento, to build for �24 four rooms. Mr. Watson was induced to let his house for a month in the summer at �4 a week, and during that time took his family back to the beach cottage. The next year he built a bar and applied for a licence, calling tho house the Portsea Hotel. He remained as proprietor till the bursting of the boom, when the mortgagee sold him up, and he returned to the little white cottage on the beach and took up his fishing again. Here he died in 1924, but his sons, Mat, Alex, and Frank, with their families, still live in Portsea and carry on the family tradition.

N.B. I changed Mat to bold type. No wonder they call it TROVE!

The wife of Mr Watson, fisherman, of Portsea, committed suicide yesterday by drowning herself in an underground tank. (The South Australian Telegraph 14-12-1885 P.5, COLONIAL TELEGRAMS.)


Messrs. Watson Brothers, fishermen, of Portsea, had a most successful haul on January 22, just inside the Heads, when they landed fish enough to fill 300 baskets. The fish were of a kind called salmon trout, and the value of a basketful is about 8s.(The Australian Sketcher with Pen and Pencil, 21-2-1874 P.206.)

GOOGLE: WATSON, SORRENTO.
SORRENTO CEMETERY RECORDS.
After age is the spouse's name and extra information from the headstone. Many thanks to Julie N. for her tireless work on cemetery records, including photos of headstones.
STIRLING William Alfred b1895 d1964 Amelia par John D. & Helen Stirling
STIRLING Amelia b1904 d1981 William A. par Sydney & Emma J Martin
STIRLING John died 19/9/1976 79 Alma M. par John D & Helen S Stirling
STIRLING Alma Mary .. 16/7/1983 79 John par George & Mary Jennings
STIRLING E.A. .. 1/11/2004 79
STIRLING Gordon Douglas .. 23/7/1974 80 Esther A.M. par John D.Helen S Stirling
STIRLING Esther Annie May .. 2/8/1985 83 Gordon D. par John & Maby Sullivan
STIRLING Helen Smith no dates d1948(cd) 79(cd) John D. par Alex & Janet Watson
STIRLING John Douglas no dates Helen S
STIRLING Agnes .. ?/11/1913 21 par John Douglas & Helen S Stirling
STIRLING Alex .. ?/2/1914 10 par John Douglas & Helen S Stirling

Because of additional headstone information, I could not fit each entry into one line as above.
WATSON Daisy Clarke 25/6/1889 30/1/1988 Charles Eric Charles E b1893- d1941,mother to David and buried with daughter Shirley Balfour,
WATSON Garry b.26/1/1944 d.15/11/2004 Linda father to Rosemaree,Michelle,Debbie
WATSON Janet .. 24/?/1908 60 Alex .C.
WATSON Henry Edward .. 28/4/1977 Gladys
WATSON Gladys .. 22/7/1998 Henry E.
WATSON Robert (Patrick) b1946 d1981 35 mother Nellie
WATSON Peter Graeme .. 24/5/1985 par Harry (dec)Gladys,bro to Paul,Michael,Jann
WATSON Marion Elizabeth 2/9/1977 93 buried with par Edward & Sarah Williams *& sis Helena Myers
WATSON John d. ?/8/1906 74 Annie buried with children Henry,David,Jessie
WATSON Annie .. 27/8/1928 84 John par John and Annie Sullivan ,buried with children Henry,David,Jessie
WATSON Henry .. ?/10/1922 buried with par John & Annie Watson
See Henry's death notice and Janilye's comment.

WATSON David .. 12/10/1925 49 buried with par John & Annie Watson
WATSON Jessie .. 6/8/1948 75 buried with par John & Annie Watson
WATSON James George .. 16/12/1946 64 Lucy E. par James G & Margaret Watson
WATSON Lucy Elizabeth .. 26/12/1979 87 James G. par George & Elizabeth Hill
WATSON John George .. 4/8/1947 34 par Hy & Marion E Watson.buried with Ethel R.G. Street
WATSON Richard Alexander b.27/9/1918 d.4/1/2002 83 Ursula father to Garry,Donald,Brian
WATSON Catherine Ann d.11/8/1952 72 par James G & Margaret Webster ,buried with Albert E & Mary A Whitmore
WATSON Alfred Henry d.6/6/1968 75 par James G & Margaret Watson,buried with bro William R Watson
WATSON William Roy d.24/5/1974 76 par James G & Margaret Watson,buried with bro Alfred H Watson
WATSON Margaret d.?/4/1925 65 par William & Catherine Watson,buried with daughter Alice M Hosie
WATSON Alan W. d. 25/6/1970 51 Joan L
WATSON Joan L. .. 30/10/1980 Alan W
WATSON Maie Alice .. 15/4/1944 William J mother to Gordon & Alan
WATSON William J. .. 5/9/1949 Maie A. father to Gordon & Alan

TROVE B: WATSON, SORRENTO.
Holiday maker, William Watson, was swept off rocks and drowned while fishing at Sorrento's back beach. He could have been a member of the pioneer family but is not listed above.

FISHERMAN MISSING.

Believed to Have Been Drowned.

�.ORRI MO iuesdiv (SORRENTO,Tuesday.- Henry Witson, a fisherman, M cnt(went) out m (in) his bo it (boat) eirli tins (this) morning. Sonic (Some) time later the Hutchins Urotlicri (brothers) who weie anchored in the South Ch iniiel tish inn (channel fishing);, F.W(saw) a bo-it with the sail set dinting (drifting). They went after it and found there was no one in it. Ihcj took it ni tow ind brought it into Sorrento and advised the police who sent out word to the different stations on the coast.

A strong southcrlv breeze sprung (sic) up and it is surmised that Watson wis struck. by the boom and knocked overboard as his lines were over the side and a fish ivas on one Imp (line). Owing to the strong soutlierlj bieczo the body mai. be found on the eastern shore between Mornington and Frankston.
(Argus 20-12-1922, Page 21, FISHERMAN MISSING.)

(I hope you enjoyed solving the little mystery which proves that computers have no right to be labelled SMART! TROVE relies on people to correct errors produced in digitising of newspapers.I can't copy and paste the actual article so I copied the digitised version. So it could be read at all, I fixed it in places but you might get an idea why I get a headache from deciphering rate book entries.)


Several drowning accidents during the Christmas holidays are reported to have occurred in Victoria.
A man named Alan McDonald was drowned inthe river at "Wurruk; two brothers, Reginald and Norman Swaine lost
their lives in a boating accident at Geelong; Alfred Watson while holidaying at Sorrento was swept off
some rocks and caught in a whirlpool and drowned.(Sunday Times, Perth 3-1-1926 Page 3s.) The Brisbane Courier of 30-12-1925 stated on page 5 that the drowning took place on the morning of the 29th and the victim's name was Alfred William Richmond Watson. His wife had been holidaying with him.


MORN1NGTON LICENSING COURT, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13; 8ti::"(1887) - Before Messrs. Hare (Chairman), Shuter and Alley, P.M's. . . A. Watson of the Sorrento hotel, applied for transfer of license to W. H. Sweetapple . No appearance of the applicant, and Police Inspector Scanlon stated the application had not been received in time to be heard and the case was struck out.(South Bourke and Mornington Journal 21-9-1877 Page 2.)


WEDDING. WATSON--MAYNARD. On Wednesdays 26th June, Christ Church, Drouin, was the scene of a very pretty wedding, when Mr Charles William Watson, of Sorrento, was united in the holy bonds of matrimony with Miss Minnie Maynard, elder daughter of Mr. and Mrs. E. H. Maynard, of Drouin. (West Gippsland Gazette 9-7-1912 P.7)

From Jas. Watson, Sorrento, explaining his reasons for not proceeding with his contract for maintenance metal, Portsea road; and requesting return of his deposit. (Mornington Standard 7-12-1893 P.2.)

A satirical article, on page 3 in the Border Watch (Mt Gambier)of 20-1-1886,has a swipe at Land Sharks and mentioned that the Minister of Lands tried to deprive Watson, the fisherman, of his selection at Sorrento.

On page 13 of the 1-12-1936 issue of The Argus, the Sorrento correspondent reported that Mrs S.Hosie, a daughter of old Sorrento residents, the late Mr and Mrs James Watson, had died.


WATSON, John Thomas - On February l8 (suddenly), at his residence, Darebin, St Paul's rd , Sorrento, beloved husband of Jane, loved brother of Chrissie (Mrs W Newton, Portsea), aged 75 years

WATSON, John Thomas. - On February l8 (suddenly), at Sorrento, son of the late John and Anna Watson, formerly o� Franklin House, Sorrento, loving brother of Chrissie (Mrs W Newton).
(The Argus, 19-2-1953 Page 15.)

DARK. �On the 20th June, at her late residence, "Glenroy," Sorrento, Rose, dearly beloved wife of W. A. Dark, and daughter of Annie and the late John Watson, Sorrento, aged 35 years.
(The Argus 27-6-1908 Page 13.)

At the Shire Council meeting of 27 Sept., a letter was received from Hill and Watson, cancelling their sanitary contract at Sorrento. (Mornington and Dromana Standard 2-10-1909 Page

A WHALE HUNT.
[BY TELEGRAPH.]
MELBOURNE, Wednesday.
A whale and its calf appeared at Sorrento, the well-known watering place at the Heads recently, and the calf was captured, Great efforts to catch the whale are to be made with a special harpoon to be fired from a rifle, and to be constructed by a local blacksmith.

A whale and calf entered the Heads about 10 days ago (the Register's Melbourne correspondent telegraphs). Today several fishermen again went out and endeavored to capture them. Mat Watson, accompanied by an
old whaler named Emanuel, got close up. . Emanuel poised a harpoon, hewn the whale calf rose under the stern,of the boat, the shock throwing the 'occupants "down. Watson, however, harpooned" the" calf, which was subsequently towed into shallow water near Rye. " The calf is 21ft. long and 8ft across the tail. The whale, having lost the track of the calf, has been going at a tremendous pace up and down the bay between Sorrento and Rye. The whale was nearly 80ft. long, and is what whalers call a "Californian grey," one of the most dangerous kind. (Barrier Miner, Broken Hill, 31-8-1892 Page 3.)

HUSH -On the 10th November at St Vincent's Hospital, Alice May, dearly beloved daughter of the late James George and Mararet Watson of Sorrento, loving sister of Kitty, Jim, Mary (Mrs Whitmore! Charlie, Louie (Mrs J.Hosie), Alf and Willie, and mother of Harold, aged 47 years -RIP. (Argus 21-11-1936 Page 7.)

The digitised version of the following death notices in the Argus of 23-12-1922, has been corrected so I assumed a Watson descendant was responsible but it was janilye. See comments.
WATSON-On the 19th December at Sorrento(accidentally drowned) Henry, dearly beloved husband of Ruby, loving father of Maudie Nellie, Harry, George, Nancy and Dick aged 51 years.

WATSON. On the 19th December at Sorrento (accidentally drowned) Henry dearly loved eldest son of Annie and the late John Watson of Sorrento loved brother of Margaret (Mrs Russell) Lily (Mrs Macfarlane-sic) Rose (Mrs Dark, deceased) Jessie, David, John, Annie (Mrs Riley) William and Christina (Mrs Newton) aged 51 years.

WATSON. -On the 12th October (suddenly, from heart failure) David second dearly beloved son of Annie and the late John Watson (Sorrento), loving brother of Margaret (Mrs. Russell), Lily (Mrs. Macfarlan), Henry (deceased) Rosa (Mrs. Dirk deceased) Jessie, John, Annie (Mrs Riley) William, and Christina (Mm. Newton), aged 49 years RIP. (Argus P.17, 17-10-1925.)

COOPER-HOSIE.-VX107939. Pte. Harold James, died of wounds, New Guinea, September 21, 1943. dearly loved foster-son of the late Mrs. Alice M. Hosie, much-loved foster-nephew of the Watson family, Hotham road, Sorrento, aged 21 years. -R.I.P. (Argus P.2, 21-9-1944.)

The engagement is announced of Miss Clare "May (Maisie)Gardiner, eldest daughter of.Mr and Mrs J. Gardiner, Melbourne road, 'Frankston, to Mr Robert Watson Riley, youngest son of Mr and. Mrs J: Riley, Portsea road, Sorrento. (Frankston and Somerville Standard P.4, 15-7-1938.)

In concluding my information about the Watsons of Portsea and Sorrento, I must make mention of their involvement in the sporting activities of both such as cricket, football and athletics (one member of the family being a good hurdler.)
SEE PORTSEA RECOLLECTIONS AND SAD MEN OF THE SEA UNDER "STIRLING".

TROVE: STIRLING, PORTSEA.
P.4, Frankston and Somerville Standard, 22-6-1923. STIRLING-SULLIVAN. Gordon Stirling married Esther, daughter of Mr and Mrs Spencer Sullivan. (The Sullivans were pioneers at The Heads in 1843.)
P.8, The Argus, 2-8-1949. SANDERSON-STIRLING. Alexander, only son of Mr and Mrs J.Stirling, Dundee ,Portsea, married Catherine Jean, younger daughter of Mr and Mrs W.Sanderson of Sorrento.
P.3,The West Australian, 21-4-1944. Jock's adopted daughter became engaged to a West Aussie boy. This is just another example of sweethearts being found far from home during wartime, whereas they were usually neighbours or former schoolmates.
P.10, The Argus, 6-5-1944. MERRYWEATHER-LYONES. A short engagement! Their future was possibly in the air!
(Come on itellya, don't be so obscure! All right, they were both in the air force and were probably being posted to different stations.)
P.9, The Argus, 3-11-1954. SAD MEN OF THE SEA. Photo of Archie Knight, Jock Stirling and Frank Watson. No wonder mention was made by Frank Watson's wife (earlier in this journal) of animosity between the moneyed cliff top dwellers and the hard-working fishermen. Their nets had been ruined with acid and their look-out tower smashed with axes.
P.4, The Argus, 11-9-1941. The death notice for Matthew James (Barney) Stirling gave much information about family members. Barney, son of Helen and the late John Douglas Stirling died at 28 and was described as a patient sufferer.
P.24, The Argus, 19-3-1951. A.Stirling was one of a small group of lifesavers which rescued nine people dragged out to sea by a powerful undercurrent.
P.4, The Argus, 10-2-1934. PORTSEA RECOLLECTIONS. Much information about the Watsons and Stirlings. Jock had the contract to carry supplies to the South Channel Lighthouse.
P.13, The Argus, 9-11-1912. John and Helen's second daughter had died.
P.13, The Argus, 31-8-1918. POLWARTH. Two death notices were inserted for George Polwath, killed in action in France, by the Stirlings. He was an esteemed comrade of G.D.Stirling and possibly the sweetheart of May Stirling who inserted the second notice.
P.3, The Argus, 5-3-1956. Sam Stirling, captain of the club's surf boat crew was watching from the top of the clubhouse as his friend was taken by a shark.
THERE IS STILL PLENTY OF INFORMATION ABOUT THE STIRLINGS ON TROVE. HERE I MUST FINISH SO I CAN GET ON WITH UNFINISHED JOURNALS.










JEFF ROBINSON OWNED FRANKLIN HOUSE WHEN HE BEGAN BUILDING HIS CARAVANS!

PRIVATE MESSAGE TO ITELLYA.
William Webster jumped ship (Genghis Khan) in 1853, somewhere in Port Phillip - maybe near to Sorrento, and then established himself in Sorrento eventually as a builder. He is our ggg grandfather. He married Catherine Condon in Melbourne in 1857 and together they raised their family in Sorrento. There are a few landmarks named after William webster but we would like to follow up more about his life in that area until he died in 1928. Any help would be appreciated. Rae (Surname supplied.)

P.156,LIME LAND LEISURE (C.N.Hollinshed-available for loan from Rosebud Library.)
William Webster deserted with five other crewmen in 1853 near the Quarantine Station.

UNCONFIRMED MEMORY
Lime Land Leisure or Rye Primary School 1667 by Patricia Appleton,most likely the former. I believe I remember a mention of William Webster snoozing in the Sullivans' lime kiln south of the present Browns Rd/Weeroona St intersection. I don't think he was badly burnt. FIND!!!!!!!!!!!!

FOUND!!! My memory's a bit tangled isn't it?
Webster, William 134
falls into lime kiln and is nearly killed 53, 156
works at Edward Russell?s lime kiln 147
(Index to Charles . Hollinshed, ECF Bird and oel Goss's Lime ...
www.anzsi.org/UserFiles/file/Index%20Series%207.pdf)

The only harvest from 422 results in a "Webster,Sorrento" google search has been posted in comments. By the way,the Williamsons mentioned in the Flinders Heritage Study (Sorrento area) might have been Webster relatives.



SORRENTO, MONDAY.
Dr. Rowan, of the Melbourne Lying-in Hospital, is attending a family named Webster, the members of which are laid up with scarlet fever. Two are convalescent, four are seriously ill, and two are unaffected. The cottage is quite isolated, being over a mile from the township. All communication with it has been prohibited.
(P.5, Argus, 7-12-1875.)

SORRENTO, Tuesday.
No other case of scarlet fever has occurred. Dr. Rowan reports the Webster children to be very much better. All danger is past.(P.5, Argus, 8-12-1875.)

TO LET, Sorrento, six roomed COTTAGE, close to baths, splendid bay view. Apply W Webster,Sorrento.
(P.8, Argus, 12-3-1878.)

WEBSTER, SORRENTO,VICTORIA,ARTICLE SEARCH.
W. Webster, Sorrento dayman, applying for leave of absence.-14 days, granted. (Flinders and Kangerong Shire Council. (CORRESPONDENCE.)Mornington Standard (Frankston, Vic. : 1911 - 1920) Saturday 4 May 1912 p 2 Article.)

Public Works, re council's application for wire netting.-The Secretary stated all preliminary action had been taken ; the netting would soon now be available. The following were appointed to receive the netting and
hand over to applicants, Messrs Lamble (Bittern), Wilding (Flinders), Webster (Sorrento), and J. Clydesdale (Dromana): (Flinders and Kangerong Shire Council.
Mornington and Dromana Standard (Vic. : 1908 - 1911) Saturday 5 June 1909 p 3 Article.)

ACCUSED BUT THE JUDGE DIDN'T BELIEVE IT!
(IN DIVORCE. Geelong Advertiser (Vic. : 1857 - 1918) Tuesday 7 August 1906 p 4 Article.)
(CURIOUS DIVORCE CASE. Bendigo Advertiser (Vic. : 1855 - 1918) Tuesday 7 August 1906 p 8 Article.)
(The Prahran Telegraph (Vic. : 1889 - 1909; 1914 - 1918) Saturday 12 November 1904 p 3 Article.)

From Mr. Webster, asking council's permission to remove a sandhill in front of his house at Sorrento. Carried.
(COUNCIL NEWS. FLINDERS AND KANGERONG SHIRE COUNCIL.
Mornington Standard (Vic. : 1889 - 1908) Thursday 4 June 1896 p 3 Article.)

Miss Judith Armstrong will spend the Christmas holidays as the guest of her fiance's parents, Mr and Mrs Webster, at Sorrento. (Table Talk (Melbourne, Vic. : 1885 - 1939) Thursday 15 December 1938 p 33 Article Illustrated.)

RESUME FROM PAGE 6 OF RESULTS. Search continued to P.12 of results,then for 1880-9 and 1990-9 with no results.

CORRESPONDENCE. From W. Webster, resigning position as Inspector of Nuisances at Sorrento. Accepted.
(Flinders and Kangerong Shire Council. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 30th.
Mornington Standard (Vic. : 1889 - 1908) Saturday 7 December 1907 p 3 Article)

Next article chronologically.
SORRENTO-At a well attended annual meeting of the Sorrento Progress Association on Thursday, the following office bearers were elected:
-President, Mr Walter Stringer; treasurer, Mr.A. Webster; secretary, Mr McKiernan; vice presidents.-, Councillor Macfarlan Messrs. C. Pope and Ploog; committee Dr Brown, Messrs. Hurr,Robins, Moffat, Tayton, Redman and Spunner -
Tenders for building the Soldiers' Hall will shortly be called.
(The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957) Monday 3 September 1923 p 15 Article)
N.B. Family noticesshoe that A. Webster was neither a son of William Webster nor William Webster Junior.

No more articles for the decade.


WEBSTER.-On the 22nd April, at Sorrento, Catherine, beloved wife of William Webster,snr., beloved mother of Mrs. Watson, Mrs. Priest,Mrs. Eldred, Mrs. Hastings, William, and Mrs.Williamson, aged 78 years.
(P.1, Argus,25-4-1916.)

WEBSTER.-On the 11th August, at his daughter's residence, 14 Rooding street, North Brighton, William, beloved husband of the late Catherine Webster, and loving father of Annie(deceased), Margaret Watson (deceased), Ellen
(Mrs. Priest), Catherine (Mrs. Eldred), Mary Jane (Mrs. Hastings), William, Caroline (Mrs.Williamson), late of Sorrento, aged 96 years. R.I.P. (P.1, Argus, 15-8-1928.)

WILLIAMSON.-On the 17th November, Caroline Edith, beloved wife of George Williamson,Clinton, Sorrento, and loved sister of Annie (deceased), Margaret (Mrs. Watson, deceased), Ellen (Mrs. Priest),- Katie (Mrs. Eldred), Jinnie (Mrs. Hastings), William Webster. R.I.P.

WILLIAMSON.-On the 17th November. Caroline Edith, beloved daughter of the late William and Catherine Webster, of Sorrento, and devoted sister of William and Jinnie Hastings, Fitzroy street, St, Kilda. R.I.P.
(P.13, Argus, 24-11-1928.)

WEBSTER - In sad and loving memory of my dear father, William, passed away August 11,1928, also my dear mother, Catherine, April 22,1916, late of Sorrento - R.I.P. (Inserted by their loving daughter, Jinnie Hastings, St Kilda.) (P.1, Argus, 11-8-1932.)

The following would be the son of William and Catherine. (See Rae's information.)
WEBSTER. - On March 5, at Sorrento, William, beloved husband of the late Margaret, and loving father of Dorothy (Mrs. Paul). Alicia (Mrs. Woods), and Edna (Mrs.White). -R.I.P. (P.2,Argus, 6-3-1946.)

WEBSTER.-The Funeral of the late Mr.WILLIAM WEBSTER will leave his residence,St. Paul's Road, Sorrento. THIS DAY (Wednesday), at 2.30 p.m., for the Sorrento Cemetery. CHAS. MORGAN. Sorrento. Phone 15.
(Argus,6-3-1946: digitisation with page 2, notice on page 18.)

The wonderful Muzza of McCrae has recorded so much of the peninsula's heritage with his photography.
Attanagh (2010). This was built in 1896, for William Webster, who was for many years the Crown Land Bailiff at Sorrento Back Beach. (The photo of Attanagh is the 7th in the top row.)
(Sorrento Photos | Lets Book Hotel
www.letsbookhotel.com ? Australia Photos)

Attanagh was obviously built for Willam Webster Junior whose 1946 funeral left from his St Paul's Rd residence.
Attanagh is at 60 St Pauls Rd.

60 St Pauls Road SORRENTO (Photos.)

Property Summary Features:
3 beds, 1 bath

Property Summary
Price:
$850,000 - $915,000
Property type:
House
Suburb:
SORRENTO (profile)
Region:
Melbourne Region

Attanagh - A Gorgeous Sorrento Coastal Cottage
Built in 1896 this pretty, refurbished and extended fisherman's cottage is perfectly located only 670m from the bay beach and just 4 blocks to Sorrento village.

The perfect character family beach house situated on a huge, level 1068sqm approximately, the home comprises 3 bedrooms, a cosy lounge with mantle and open fireplace, sitting room with second fireplace and a sunny living room extension opening through bi-fold doors onto a large north west facing deck area. With high baltic ceilings and a charm that only a true period Sorrento beach house can harbour, there's an attractive country eat-in kitchen, a central bathroom, separate toilet and a laundry.

Boasting a fully useable and rare grassy allotment of 1068SQM approximately, the opportunity exists to move in and enjoy this wonderfully comfortable beach escape as is, further extend, or even rebuild in this prime location. Plus your morning cappuccino and paper awaits at the St Paul's General Store...simply perfect!
(60 St Pauls Road, Sorrento - Real Estate for Sale ...
www.reviewproperty.com.au ? ... ? VIC ? Melbourne Region ? Sorrento
With high baltic ceilings and a charm that only a true period Sorrento beach house can harbour, there's an ... Attanagh - A Gorgeous Sorrento Coastal Cottage.)

KILVENNY (see comments) the house built by William Webster Snr in the 1850's does seem to be the core of the present dwelling. The text accompanying Muzza's photo says that Kilvenny was built in the 1920's but "extended" would seem to be a more appropriate verb, judging from the roof lines. This was almost certainly the dwelling that William leased out during the season in the 1870's. Like many other families, his family probably moved into a fairly basic shack for the season in order to boost finances. I can only presume from the google location that Webster's Corner was the corner of Pt Nepean Rd and St Paul's Rd. (No need to presume; I should have looked at Melway first! See 157 C 8.)

For some reason this morning, I had an urge to trace the Moonee Ponds Creek on Melway to its outlet as the most southern part of the creek I remember seeing was near Macaulay Station where it sometimes flooded during the 1950's. This got me onto the West Melbourne Swamp. The Wikipedia entry mentioned the pumping station on Brown's Hill but didn't mention where the hill is. It remains at Melway 43 A5, north of Dynon Rd near Lloyd St, but is not labelled on the map.

Then I struck gold, a blog published by the State Library of Victoria, replete with maps.
THE BLOG

One detail that is missing is the connection of Melbourne's former waterfall (near William St) with the construction of the Coode Canal. It may have been in BEARBRASS or EARLY MELBOURNE that I saw the statement that the stone blasted to remove the waterfall was used to line the Coode Canal and naturally assumed that both projects were almost simultaneous. The Melbourne Water story of the Yarra did not mention such use of the stone and seemed to indicate that the blasting took place about a decade before work started on the canal, so I tried another article,ALSO WITH MAPS, which indicates that the rock ledge was not blasted till the 1880's.
COODE'S CANAL

The Yarra in the Docklands area was originally lined with wharves up to the rock ledge and later only up to Spencer St where the TURNING BASIN was a feature of the Yarra. It was at a surprisingly late juncture that the bridge linking Spencer St to Clarendon St , South Melbourne was suggested by former South Melbourne footballer, Morley Kidgell, president of the Carriers' Association.
NEW BRIDGE OVER YARRA. Petition by Carriers.
The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957) Saturday 2 July 1921 p 16 Article
... NEW BRIDGE OVER YARRA. Petition by Carriers. At the annual meeting' of the Master Carriers ... ' Association of' Victoria, held on Thursday evening, the president (Mr. H. Morley Kidgell) said that the new

While few pioneers are mentioned in these articles, family (and professional) historians will find them invaluable in understanding claims made in family folklore and historical articles such as:
Grandpa said that after being evicted, they spent most of the 1930's at Dudley Flats;
John Batman had not noticed the Yarra River during his exploration up the Saltwater River (John Daniel's
BATMAN'S ROUTE

While looking for early references to "Springs" near Tullamarine, I came across an 1839 article about the Port Phillip District's harbours and rivers.
PORT PHILLIP

Having discovered that the Maribyrnong River was first called the Arndell by Hume and Hovell in 1924, I wondered what I'd find if I googled, ARDNELL RIVER, MELBOURNE, and found a fantastic article about the history of Melbourne's western suburbs with some great historic photos.
MELBOURNE'S 180TH BIRTHDAY

Unfortunately the wrong source was consulted about the Arndell River, as the Arndell was confused with the Exe, BUT the origin of the name (as confirmed below) was explained.

Hovell, William Hilton (1786–1875)

by T. M. Perry

This article was published in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 1, (MUP), 1966

William Hilton Hovell (1786-1875), sailor, explorer and settler, was born on 26 April 1786 at Yarmouth, Norfolk, England. He went to sea as a boy and by 1808 commanded a vessel trading with South America. In London on 10 May 1810 he married Esther, a daughter of Surgeon Thomas Arndell, and in November 1811 applied for permission to settle in New South Wales. (etc.)