itellya on Family Tree Circles

The following is an extract from my Peninsula Dictionary History, which I have not touched for over a year since I read Leila Shaw's THE WAY WE WERE and got sidetracked into Henry Gomm, Joseph Porta etc. The Mount Martha section is based on much speculation and should be taken with a grain of salt.Irvine St has no connection with the Coburg pioneering carpenter. The street names that are simply listed have definite historic origins and I'll have to take a holiday from family tree circles soon (with the occasional visit only) in order to continue with PENINSULA DISTRICT HISTORY and DROMANA AND ROSEBUD ON TROVE.

Other speculation, such as the origin of Hope St in Rosebud, has since been disproved. Hindhope was the original name of the farm including all Hope St house blocks and bounded by Boneo Rd, Point Nepean Rd and First Ave.I will edit this when I have time to read it through. It was Peter Young who was granted Nairn but Airey's did become part of Patullo's Craigbank.

HISTORIC STREET NAME ORIGINS
Co-ordinate given is where the street name is written.
MOUNT MARTHA.
I was tempted to start with Mornington (where I have a relationship to the Harraps dating from 1861) and “Green Island” where Sam Sherlock settled after working at many occupations and places in and near the parish of Wannaeue. That will have to come later as my original intention was to start with Safety Beach and if I don’t control myself, I’ll be telling you that the family of Thamer Burdett (H.W.Wilson’s wife) might be connected with the naming of a street in Frankston North.
Therefore I will start at Balcombe Creek with what I like to think of as “Essendon By The Bay”. It is possible that John Thomas Smith (seven times Mayor of early Melbourne and builder of the lovely Ascot House, which still stands in Fenton St, Ascot Vale) started the annual summer migration; a book I read yonks ago in the old Rosebud Library called him a pioneer of the area.
WELLS RD.
I know Wells Rd is nowhere near Mt Martha but Henry Cadby Wells’ daughter was probably the first white child born on the Southern Peninsula. Robert Rowley’s mother and stepfather, Richard Kenyon, along with Captain Adams at McCrae, were the first permanent settlers in the area. Shortly after, Robert arrived and within months, he and his friend, Wells had started a limeburning venture and “Polly” Wells had been born (7-6-1841).
By 1846, the depression caused a slump in demand for lime and many limeburners had departed while others turned to timber-getting or fishing. In about 1849, Wells, (a bootmaker by trade), returned from Melbourne to launch a crayfishing venture with Robert. It was hugely successful but wishing to see their families for a few days, they anchored in Westernport. The vessel was destroyed because of the huge tidal variation
In 1859, Wells planted a vineyard at Ranelagh in Mt Eliza but before long it was wiped out by a disease that destroyed almost every vineyard in the state. Wells retained his interest in the limeburning industry and visited the Sorrento area many times, probably staying with the Rowleys. (Google “The Wells Story.”)
MELWAY P.150-1
There are just so many names associated with the history of the area near Essendon found on these two pages that I feel justified in assuming that there was a summer exodus from that area to Mt Martha similar to that from Toorak to Portsea in slightly later times.
KILBURN GR. 150 H1.
See Fairview Ave.

ELMIE TCE. 150 H1
This was possibly the location of the holiday home of a prominent citizen of early Coburg. See “Between Two Creeks” Richard Broome.

AILSA ST 151 A1
This was possibly the site of a holiday home owned by Robert McCracken of Ailsa on Flemington Hill where Essendon Football Club played its first few seasons.

TAL TALS Cres. 151 C3
This was a name given by early settlers to a local aboriginal group.

CUMBERLAND DR. 151 C1
This was possibly the site of a holiday home of Alex. McCracken who lived at North Park in Woodlands St, Essendon and owned Cumberland which is part of Woodlands Historic Park near Tullamarine Airport.

SINCLAIR ST. 150 K1
This was possibly the site of a holiday house of Mrs Sinclair who had a farm fronting Rosehill Rd in West Essendon. The origin of the name could also have something to do with the family of Peter S.Sinclair, a grantee in Rye Township, after whom Sinclair St in Rye was obviously named. Peter only owned his land fronting Weir St for a decade so he might have been a speculator. If so, Sinclair St in Somerville might also be named after a member of his family.

LEMPRIERE AVE. 150 G2
HERE I WILL DISCONTINUE USING ‘This was possibly the site of etc.’
Lempriere at one time owned St Johns, a farm granted to Major St John who was famously libelled by J.P.Fawkner. This property became Essendon Aerodrome.
A member of the Lempriere family with very French Christian names was assessed on land in Sorrento in about 1880.
PRESCOTT AVE. 150 H2
Prescott was probably a developer who subdivided land here and at Safety Beach. He may not have been a resident of Sorrento but he was a guest at a wedding there. The newspaper account of the wedding of Florence Maud Dark and George Sutton is reproduced on page 77 of Jenny Nixon’s FAMILY, CONNECTIONS, SORRENTO and PORTSEA. Unfortunately, no date is given for the article but it may be from about 1920. My hunch is that Sutton and Prescott were friends from Mornington. One day, while walking in Mornington, I inspected an old house called Sutton Grange. Always on the lookout for historical connections, I wondered if it had any connection with the place east of Castlemaine and Faraday. This fine house might have been where George Sutton lived.

IRVINE AVE. 150 H2
Irvine was a prominent carpenter in Coburg’s early days. Notice the proximity to Elmie Tce. See Broome’s history.

RAMSAY CT. 150 J1
Ramsay built Clydebank in West Essendon, which now serves as a Catholic College.
From New Zealand, he invented a boot polish and named it KIWI.


FAIRVIEW AVE. 150 K2.
There were two farms in Tullamarine with this name but a nearby street makes it clear which one is associated. The Kilburns received land grants in Keilor Rd in what is now called East Keilor and Keilor Park, and also bought part of the subdivision of Thomas Napier’s land at what is now Strathmore. Mrs Kilburn also owned 400 acres bounded by Sharps and Broadmeadows Rds at Tullamarine; this farm, which she called Fairview, was later split into Brightview and Dalkeith.

DURHAM CT. 151 A3.
Durhams owned and possibly subdivided McMeikan land at Kensington in the 1880’s. Perhaps he found Mt Martha too hilly and moved to the very flat Durham Pl. in Rosebud.

DEAKIN DR. 150 F2.
Although the street may have been named by others to honour his contribution to Federation, he did defeat Alexander McCracken for the seat of West Bourke and represented the area from which these prominent holiday makers came, and he might have shared their summer relaxation at this “watering place” as promoters such as Dromana’s Spencer Jackson so quaintly put it.

PENLEIGH CRES 151 A2.
You might have noticed that many of the families mentioned are Scottish. Some of their daughters would have been educated at Penleigh in Park St, Essendon.

SHERWOOD CRES. 151 A3.
Alexander McCracken was heavily involved in the Oaklands Hunt Club and many of the post hunt get-togethers took place at Cumberland and the Inverness Hotel (near the north end of the runway). Eventually the hunt club established its own headquarters on a property called Sherwood. (See 178 D6.) Ref. “The Oaklands Hunt” by D.F.Cameron-Kennedy.

Another possible reason for the name is that there might have been a family of this name in the area. The 1879-80 Kangerong assessments record that George Sherwood, journeyman, and William Copeland, journeyman, constituting a firm called Sherwood & Co., had 173 acres and a building in the parish. This would have been crown allotment 10 A of just under 173 acres granted to G.Sherwood on what looks like 19-8-1876. This land was bounded by Tumbywood Rd, Eatons Cutting Rd and Mornington-Flinders Rd and extended east to the end of Holmes Rd. It is probable that Sherwood had moved on by 1900 and the property is not even mentioned; it might have been absorbed by Thomas Appleyard or passed into the hands of creditors during the depression of the 1890’s. By 1910, it had become the property of Charles Bennett of St Kilda.
No detail of which trade Sherwood was following is given, but readers may wonder what a journeyman was. A tradesman could progress through three stages. Usually an apprenticeship lasted seven years during which a lad would live with his master, receiving little payment other than food and shelter. On successful completion of the term, he would become a journeyman. He could conduct business on his own account but as can be seen, he probably would not have a nest egg to do so. Most likely, he would wander from place to place, working for various master tradesmen, picking up new ideas and techniques that might enable him to submit a piece of work to the guild and qualify as a master. The term journeyman comes from the French word for “day” and the master for whom he was now working had to pay him for each day’s work.
Perhaps Sherwood’s father was a master tradesman and actually owned the company. Therefore Sherwood and Copeland could obtain equipment and materials, but they could not employ anyone until they reached the status of Master.

McLEOD RD. 150 F4.
The McLeods were pioneers in the parish of Holden. (See 176 A11.)



HALL ST. 150 E4.
The Halls received grants near Lempriere’s St Johns and Kilburn’s Fairview and next to Kilburn’s grant in Keilor Rd. Joseph Hall had the Tuerong run briefly.

BARROW ST 150 F4.
Jim Barrow was an owner of Gladstone, which makes up the northern 777 acres of Gladstone Park.

SPENCER, JACKSON, PANORAMA 150 G5.
Spencer Jackson did much to promote Dromana. He even wrote a history of Dromana but some of its pages look suspiciously like an advertisement for his Panoramic Estate at Dromana. The history is not for loan but is available at Rosebud Library.


GLENCOE DR. 153 A1.
Glencoe was the Duncan farm just north of the McLeod farm in the parish of Holden. It was on this farm that the famous Sunbury Music Festival was held. Ref. “Bulla Bulla” I.W.Symonds. (See 352 J5.)

NAIRN PL. 150 G7.
If I remember correctly (this whole work is written from memory as I gave all my maps, notes and the 3500 pages of “Dictionary History of Tullamarine and Miles Around” to custodians when moving to Rosebud) Nairn was granted to Captain Airey but became part of David Patullo’s Craig Bank. It was west of Wildwood Rd where it bends near the turn off to the Brannigans’ “St Johns”. (See 177 C3.)

HEARN RD. 150 E4, CLARKES AVE. 145 B8, BRUCE RD 150 F10.
Hearn had the Mt.Martha Run and in1865 appears to have built the forerunner or original 4 rooms of Heronswood at Dromana. He also received the grants of extensive property on both sides of Purves Rd on the south side of Arthurs Seat’s summit. His son, James married a daughter of W.J.T.(Big) Clarke who had bought Jamieson’s Special Survey, the property south of Hearn’s run. Colin McLear said that Clarke gave another son-in-law, (a Mr Bruce of the family that produced a prime minister) part of the survey as a wedding present. This was probably the northern 1000 acres leased by E.L.Tassell. ( Hollinshead stated that Clarke sold it to him at a profit of 600 pounds). Big Clarke was looked after in his last days at James Hearn’s Roseneath in Woodlands St, Essendon. Woodland St apparently got its name from a huge Clarke property. The Roseneath estate was earlier owned by E.Clarke and later owned by William Salmon who donated Salmon Reserve to the council.
Sources: Wannaeue map, Kangerong rates, Dreamtime of Dromana, Lime Land Leisure, Essendon &Hawstead map, Essendon rates, Lenore Frost’s books on Essendon homes and street names.
N.B. Big Clarke’s son, W.J.Clarke, built Rupertswood at Sunbury (the birthplace of “TheAshes”) and named it after his son.


FAIRBAIRN AVE. 150 C7.
The Fairbairn family settled near Ballan very early. Like Hugh Glass, Big Clarke and John Aitken near Sunbury, they bought grants on the way to Newmarket to rest and fatten their stock. Fairbairn’s was on the south side of Raleigh’s Punt Road. Today it is Fairbairn Park. Fairbairn owned an impressive house (called Ardoch Towers if my memory serves me right) just north of the Essendon Footy Ground.

DALKEITH HOUSE. Being so far from Essendon on the Bay, this is pure conjecture, but there might have been some connection with Tommy Loft’s farm, Dalkeith, at Tullamarine. (See Kilburn and Fairview.) Tommy Loft owned land on the west side of Truemans Rd in 1920, which adds to the possibility of a connection.







Safety beach and dromana now on USB.






BURTON ST 159 C9
There might be a connection with the Burrell or Coburn families.
It might also have been intended to be Burston Ave. I cannot be sure that, in 1919, George Burston of Fitzroy had 368 acres of the Arthurs Seat Pre-emptive Right because the same section and allotment was used to detail land there, and at Boneo. If he did there would be another 272 acres to account for.
Since 1900 and probably the 1890’s depression, Catherine Burrell had owned 70 acres and the Coburns 88 acres. The Rudducks’ Wonga was 25 acres, Judge Higgins had Heronswood on 10 acres, the Hearns nearby had 40 acres and the Cornells had 10 acres where Smythe had built the hut for old Tom who tended his wattles. Charles Wedge of Ringwood had 26 acres taking us to a total of 637 acres, so with a few subdivision blocks the 640 acres are accounted for. Hmmm! By the way Burston also had 709 acres in another riding.


CHARLES ST 159 A10 HENRY ST 159 B10 CATHERINE ST 158 K 12
BURRELL ST 158 K12 COBURN AVE 159 B9 BARTELS ST158 K10.
Charles was the given name of one of the four Burrell brothers who took over the Arthurs Seat estate in 1851 with their sister Kitty. The author of “Rosebud: Flower of The Peninsula” said that he married Miss Coburn.
Henry was another of the four Burrell brothers. By 1910, he was living in East Melbourne but he was leasing a house and 4 acres from the Coburn family, possibly Killarney.
Catherine Burrell and her four brothers took over the McCraes’ Arthurs Seat Run in 1851. Brook and Joseph were the two brothers after whom streets were not named unless the author of the book mentioned under Charles St made a mistake. Rate records do little to verify the names of the brothers but they do indicate the shrinking acreage of the Burrell property. In 1864, Charles Burrell had a six-roomed house and a large garden (orchard) on 34 acres and – Burrell had an eight-roomed house and large garden on a 42 acre frontage and the remaining 4400 acres of the Run. Edward Burrell was assessed on a slab hut and 15 acres.
In 1865, the rate collector assessed only Joseph Brooks Burrell, on the 640 acre pre-emptive Right. By 1879, Joseph John Burrell, grazier, was assessed on 580 acres, leased from C.Burrell. In 1900 and again in 1910, Catherine Burrell was assessed on 70 acres. I had assumed that she was a widow but she might have been Kitty who arrived with the four brothers. Her next- door neighbour was Caroline Coburn, possibly mother in law of Charles Burrell, living on the 88 acre Springbank.
The first mention of the Coburns that I have transcribed was from the assessments compiled for the 1887-8 year; W.J.Coburn was assessed on 370 acres. He might have been leasing part of the Arthurs Seat Pre-emptive Right of 640 acres. The author of “Rosebud: Flower of the Peninsula” states that Mr Coburn built several houses including Killarney in 1891 and Springbank in 1894. She says that Springbank burnt down in 1912 but the Coburns must have given the name to another house that he had built, as their address was still Springbank in 1919. The house on the site of the one that was burnt down was built in 1927.
In 1910, Mrs Caroline E.Coburn, a farmer, was assessed on the 88 acres of Springbank while William John Coburn, farmer of Springbank, was assessed on two allotments on Crown Allotment 17 (near McDowell St.)
By 1919, Miss Catherine Burrell had only 40 acres. The remaining 30 acres must have been sold to such as Frank and June Cornell (10). David Cairns Jnr (10) and “Back Road (Now Bayview Rd) Bob” Cairns may have had the rest. There is no mention of the Coburns in the West Riding, but there is a separate listing for the Springbank Estate.
The lots themselves were of little value and, no matter whether one or five lots were owned, the nett annual value was almost always two pounds. As mentioned before, Springbank consisted of 88 acres. C.W. Coburn was assessed on 44 acres and part of lots 4 and 5. Mrs S.Burrell who was living at “Springbank”, Dromana (or more correctly Dromana West as McCrae would be called for another couple of decades), had lots 8, 9, and 4 and 5 (of which Coburn had a part.) Charles N.Coburn, of Caulfield, had lots 22-5, 30-32, 22-81, 59, 60, and 87-95. (That’s right; assessed twice on lots 22-25!) E.J.Alexander (Queensland), Edith Anderson (Camberwell), and The Phillips (Murrayville), like the above, had buildings and thus a NAV of ten pounds or above.
The Bartels family from Oakleigh had property with a total NAV of L12.J.Bartels had lots 11, 18, 19 and buildings, while Mrs E.J. and E.C. and A.C. Bartels had lots 61-64. No doubt this family later did their own subdividing.

GEORGIANA PL. 159 A11.
Georgiana Place is named after Georgiana McCrae who supported her husband in his bid to establish a successful Run at Arthurs Seat. A cultured lady, she was asked by Gov. Latrobe to accompany him at the opening of the first Princes Bridge when his wife did not feel well enough to attend. In her famed diary, she recorded life in the infant colony with descriptions of pioneers rivaled only by those of Harry Peck. How else would I have known that Captain Bunbury (granted section 1 of the parish of Tullamarine, and head of the Water Police at Williamstown) had lost the use of his right arm but could paint beautifully left-handed?
Now doubt the walls of the Arthurs Seat homestead displayed some of Georgiana’s fine paintings. The McCrae homestead can provide a glimpse into the life and times of Georgiana. The artistic tradition at the homestead was carried on by John Twycross, who married one of the Burrell girls; noted as a photographer later, he produced some beautiful paintings, which are housed in display drawers in the new Burrell Room.



A NAVIGATOR THEMED ESTATE? 159 A12 and pages 170-1.
Poole St may be named after Captain J.Poole who commanded a 368 ton barque named the Indus. The Maitland Mercury of 12-2-1853 reported the arrival of the ship from Melbourne.
Parkes St, named after Sir Henry Parkes (the father of Federation whose enthusiasm was caught by Alfred Deakin) seems to be the exception to the theme; perhaps it was a later addition to provide access to the water tower.
Somers Ave seems to be part of the estate too. This was named after Lord Somers, the Governor from 1926-1931 who started a youth camp on Merricks Creek.
Matthew. Flinders, Cook and Bass need no explanation but an examination of the monument outside the Dromana Museum will help to explain the choice of Murray and Bowen. Have a look at it on a Sunday afternoon drive and visit the museum.
Dorothy Crt probably resulted from the subdivision of a homestead block later.

CAIRN (sic) RD 158 K12
This road was intended to be named after Robert Cairns, or “Back Road Bob” as he was known- as he lived on Cape Schanck Rd, which has been renamed Bayview Rd. He received grants for almost 180 acres on the east side of the back road with the northern and southern boundaries indicated by the extent of streets named after British cars. His northern boundary divided his property from the Arthurs Seat Pre-emptive Right and the southern boundary had bends which are the northern boundaries of the present Rosebud Golf Course. His land extended to Melway 171 A2.


GELLIBRAND ST 158 J11
Joseph Tice Gellibrand was one of the members of the Port Phillip Association on whose behalf John Batman made his purchase of thousands of square miles on the north and west of the bay. Gellibrand, appointed attorney-general of Van Diemans Land, took up his post in 1824 but the despotic Governor Arthur probably conspired to ensure his dismissal within a couple of years.
In 1827, he and Batman applied for a grant in the Port Phillip District (as Victoria was called until it gained Separation) but the request was refused. In 1835 he joined the P.P.A. and devised the treaty. After landing at Westernport in 1836 and strolling to Melbourne and then to Geelong, accompanied by William Buckley, and then towards Gisborne, then Melbourne, then the Plenty River, he went back to Tassie for a well-earned rest. He returned with George B.L.Hesse and, landing at Geelong on 27-2-1837, they set off to follow the Barwon River to its junction with the Leigh River and then cut across to Melbourne. They disappeared and no trace was ever found of them.

PARKMORE RD 158 H11
“Parkmore was a comfortable house built in 1896 by Mr Holloway, an architect. A lovely fountain graced the garden. Parkmore was later occupied by Mr and Mrs Fair. The Clemingers bought it in 1908 and introduced tented accommodation.” This information comes from “Rosebud:Flower of the Peninsula”, which as well as being ‘ not for loan’ is no longer kept in the local history room at the library. I have written a summary of its information, with notes, under the same title.
The rate assessments for 1900-1 show that Albert Holloway had 5 acres and a building; it would have been too much trouble to call it a house, let alone give its name!
Wise’s 1893-4 directory lists Albert Holloway as a resident of Rosebud and gives his occupation as “builder”, as does their 1895-6 directory. This historic house is still standing although well hidden by a high fence and perimeter foliage and will soon be completely hidden from view by new housing. See details of Parkmore and subdivision of Crown Allotment 19 in ADAMS CORNER by Ray Gibb (available at Dromana Museum.)

LONSDALE ST 158 K12
William Lonsdale was appointed Police Magistrate for Port Phillip District as soon as Governor Bourke received permission to form the new settlement and was hurried off in Captain Hobson’s Rattlesnake, arriving on 29-9-1836. Bourke was anxious to impose control on the illegal settlers before things got out of hand. Lonsdale could have been dictatorial, given the additional powers invested in him but he was generally applauded for his even-handed attitude. When Latrobe arrived, he served under him until his boss retired in 1854.

WATTLE RD 158 J 11,12
The road to Portsea (as the highway was known) was called Esplanade where it skirted the foreshore through Dromana and Rosebud. The Avenue at McCrae was the boundary between the Arthurs Seat Pre-emptive Right and Captain Henry Adams’ grant , allotment 20 of the parish of Wannaeue. I doubt that The Avenue was made to Cape Schanck (Bayview) Road in the early days. The only people that came from the east to ADAMS CORNER before the mid 1860’s would have been those calling at the Arthurs Seat homestead before going to the solitude of the Cape Schanck, Boniyong or Tootgarook runs. If they weren’t stopping at the homestead and did not want to wait for low tide so they could get around Anthonys Nose on the beach, they would enter Cape Schanck Rd at Foote St in Dromana.
However, if they did stop at the homestead, they would take a route that headed west with the least arduous ascent. This would explain the crazy angle at which Wattle Rd (now Wattle Pl.) leaves the beach road. Even before the McCraes settled on their run, Captain Adams had a house on Adams Corner, built from his schooner’s timber in 1839-40 and it is likely that anyone choosing the beach route around Arthurs Seat instead of the steep climb out of what would become Dromana would enjoy his company and hospitality before proceeding. There was no road along the foreshore and many creeks (Adams, Eeling and Peateys and others before Jetty Rd) as well as the Tootgarook Swamp near Chinamans Creek (with jungles of ti tree) that would deter travelers from taking that route.
When Henry Cadby Wells and his wife were walking to the heads to join young Robert Rowley in a limeburning venture in 1841, it is likely that they stopped at Henry Adams’ place for the night. As they prepared to leave the next morning they would have seen some of Adams’ workers heading off in a south westerly direction.
“Where are they going in the dark?”
“Can you see those piles of bark?
They go out in any sort of weather
And strip the wattles for tanning leather.”
The demand for wattle bark in Melbourne would lead to this track, made by the earliest travelers, being used by bark gatherers who would have to go further up the mountain each day as they depleted the supply along the wattle road and then at the end of it.

BARODA ST 158 G12 MITCHELL ST, LYON ST 158 F12 MADURA ST 158 H 12
All of these streets seem to have a link with the Maddens of Travancore, which was part of the old Flemington Estate of Hugh Glass.Both Baroda and Madura are street names in the Travancore Estate ((29 A11). The main Madden business was supplying horses for the army in India. Their initial link with the Peninsula was probably through the Purves family at Tootgarook with James supplying heavy horses for hauling and James Jnr breeding thoroughbreds for the lighthorse brigades. If the Maddens did establish a holiday retreat east of Adams Ave., it was not far from Green Hills, near the south end of Purves Rd, where, at his uncle Peter Purves’ farm, Alf Hansen and others imitated the man from Snowy River.
The Lyon family was prominent in the Essendon area from early days and possibly involved on the council with the Maddens.
The Mitchell name is common in early Peninsula history, and because of the proximity of two streets named after pioneering families, I believe Mitchell St was named after one of them. James Mitchell was one of the early settlers on Jamieson’s Special Survey, renting a hut from Big Clarke in 1863.As he did not have land, he was probably fishing at Safety beach or timber cutting. He was also there in 1864, but not in 1865 unless my transcription was faulty. It was probably his daughter who married John Bryan, a neighbour on the survey.. (See Brian St, map 158.) Mitchell might have moved to Rye in 1865 to work in the lime trade. George Mitchell was the postmaster at Rye by 1879. (See RYE PRIMARY SCHOOL 1667 P 60, 72 re the Mitchells.)
If the Madden land extended across Adams Ave, Mitchell St could have been named for Mitchell who ran huge flocks of sheep on Woodlands and Cumberland, which today constitute most of Woodlands Historic Park near Tullamarine Airport. He took over this land after the death of Alexander McCracken in 1915. (See Mt Martha streets such as Ailsa & Cumberland.)
Mitchell and Madden might have been connected through the Oaklands Hunt Club or perhaps marriage.


ADAMS AVE 158 G12
Captain Henry Everest Vivian Adams first landed at Dromana (which included McCrae until recent times) sometime between 1839 and 1840 on the schooner “Roseanne”.He received the grant for allotment 20 Wannaeue, which was bounded by Point Nepean Rd, The Avenue, Bayview Rd and Parkmore Rd. By 1865, he had purchased allotment 19, which went west to Adams Ave.
His first house was built from the timbers of his schooner, but with the help of his son, Robert, he built another house on the Wattle Rd corner (Adams Corner), which was named Hopetoun House in honour of the Governor who would stay there on his way to Sorrento. Like many farmers (even today), he had to turn his hand to many things to make a living. It is probable that he carried lime, timber and bark up the bay to Melbourne. He picked up and provided accommodation to tourists when Dromana’s pier was built, had a vineyard, and produced bricks. In about 1890, when the construction of St Mark’s Anglican Church was being organized Henry’s son, Robert, donated 10 000 bricks.
Hopetoun House later became Merlyn Lodge guest house, which was being run by Mrs S.A.Adams in 1947. R.W. Adams was running a milk bar in 1950.
Two pioneer families linked to the Adams through marriage are the McGregor and Freeman families. Keith McGregor, who took over Jimmy Williams’ fish run from Rosebud West to Mornington, married Mabel Adams and later sold his run to Mabel’s brother, Bill. Another Adams girl married a Freeman according to Ray Cairns.


PATERSON ST 158 F12
CAIRNS ST 158 F12
JETTY RD 158 F12 (3 PIERS).
BUCHER PL. 158 E12
DURHAM PL 158 E12
WANNAEUE PL. 158 E12
McDOWELL ST 158 D12
HEAD ST 158 D12

MAPS 170-171.
SHANDS RD 171 K12
WHITES RD 171 G3
WILSON RD 171 G6
BARKERS RD 171 H 12
PURVES RD 171 E1
BALDRYS RD 171 E12
GREENS RD 171 E12
CAIRN (sic) RD. 170 K1-2
McLAREN CT 170 K4
BRITISH CAR THEME 170 J2
HOVE RD 170 G 3
SHERWOOD AVE 170 G7, FENTON AVE 170 G7

WOONTON CRES& ST 170 F3,G2.
I remember seeing the name, Woonton, in a list of early Mornington residents. The 1919-20 rate records show that James W. Woonton was leasing 152 acres from Edward Wilson. This land, which had recently been vacated by Ned Edmonds, was on the south side of Browns Rd, starting 340m east of Truemans Rd and continuing 940 m towards Boneo. The Sands and McDougall directory of 1950 lists James H.Woonton as a farmer of Boneo. De Garis bought Potton’s farm but must have had trouble selling it quickly enough to pay his loans and committed suicide in 1927. Soon after, the depression of the 1930 and the Second World War would have made the chance of selling blocks even less likely. Perhaps the Woontons bought the land for a song shortly after 1950. As the east end of Woonton Cres extends into Crown allotment 19, owned by the Adams family of McCrae, it is likely that they had also unsuccessfully subdivided it or sold to De Garis.

POTTON AVE 170 F3.
Crown Allotment 18 of the parish of Wannaeue is bounded by: the highway, Jetty Rd, Bayview Rd and the line of Adams Ave. It was granted to G.Warren and consisted of 152 acres (and 56 perches that rate collectors never recorded.) It seems to have been leased to a Mr Parr in 1864 but Warren was assessed in 1865. Warren might have been a friend of the Rudducks from Dandenong and the father of Fred Warren who died early leaving his widow (nee Patterson of Fingal) running a store in Dromana for a living.
By 1900, ownership had passed to Mrs Thomas Bamford. The first page of the 1879 assessments is missing from the microfiche and as no property of that size is mentioned that cannot be located elsewhere, Mrs Bamford probably already owned it. Two acres at the FJ’s corner of Jetty Rd housed Jack Jones’ store by 1900, leaving 150 acres.
The Pottons bought the land in 1906, according to Peter Wilson in his “On the Road to Rosebud, and in 1910, Mrs Potton of Brunswick was assessed on the 150 acres. By 1919, the 2 acre store site had been subdivided into five lots and the buildings, on one acre were owned by – Talbot and occupied by Chiltern. Mrs P.J.Potton was now living on the farm and paying rates on three of the subdivided blocks as well as the 150 acres.
S.Potton fought in WW1. In 1950, Warwick A. Potton, carpenter was listed as a Rosebud resident. See the chapter in Peter’s book entitled “Henry Potton’s Farm”.


NAVIGATOR THEME 170 F 4-5

OLD CAPE SCHANCK RD 170 F6& C11
GIPPS ST 170 E1
BARRY ST 170 E1
GRASSLANDS RD 170 E 11
BROWNS RD 170 D 11

WOOD ST 170 D 1.
I will use this entry to illustrate why I do not often quote sources for my information; to do so would probably double the length of what I write.
On page 52 of “On the Road to Rosebud”, Peter Wilson stated that in about 1946 Mr F.E.(Joe)Wood and Mr B.P.(Barney)Rogers, seeing that Rosebud needed a new hall, formed a local citizens’ committee, which conducted a carnival over the 1946-7 summer on the foreshore. In “Rosebud: Flower of the Peninsula”, Isobel Moresby informed us that Cr Wood was one of the owners of the historic McCrae Homestead after the Burrells.
LIME LAND LEISURE has a list of Flinders Shire councillors. Forest Edmond Wood was a councillor in 1942-3 and from 1945 to 1955. Without doubt Wood St was named after Joe.
BANKSIA PL. 170 C3, CLACTON DIVIDE 170 C2, THE LINK, LEA WAY 170 D2,
First to Ninth Ave were the north-south streets of the Clacton-on- Sea Estate. This estate, named after a coastal resort in Essex, 70 miles north east of London, was put on sale in 1908 and only a few blocks were sold despite later attempts to keep it in the public eye by offering blocks as prizes in radio competitions and raffles on the steamers. By the 1980’s the Eastbourne Rd end was still a largely uninhabited wasteland and the council decided to do something about it, as described in “On the Road to Rosebud”. Closing of most of the avenues at Eastbourne Rd, and construction of internal link roads, was probably prompted by the imminent freeway.

FIRST-NINTH AVENUES.
This entry has been prompted by a history myth passed on to me at the football on 14-5-2011. As the teller knew a bit about Rosebud’s history, I was fascinated, but I thought it strange that the tale had not been in Isobel Moresby’s history of 1954 or Peter Wilson’s books. Jim Dryden has lived in Rosebud since 1932 and confirmed that the story was rubbish.
During WW2 there was a huge tent city to house American soldiers and in the American fashion, the major north-south tracks dividing the area were given numbers as names.
Trove decisively confirmed Jim’s claim that the street names existed before the war. An advertisement (at the top of the last two columns of page 2 in the Argus of 30-1-1926) refers to blocks being sold in the Clacton-on-Sea estate facing Second Avenue.

ROSE AVE 170 B1
This street and Rosebrook St were probably one street in the subdivision of the Hindhope Estate in about 1920. Traffic management measures obviously led to the one-way section being renamed by dropping the second syllable.


HOPE ST 170 B2
As this was one of the streets in the Hindhope Estate (see Rose Ave entry), I would expect that a Mr Hope was one of the partners in the firm that subdivided it, with Mr Hind being another. Raymond and Alma Guest used a similar naming stategy for the naming of the ALMARAY ESTATE at Tootgarook in the 1950’s.

ABORIGINAL THEME 170 B 2-3
MAPS 168-169
ROSEBUD WEST
MARKS AVE 169 K2
R.Marks was granted allotment 13 B of Wannaeue on the west corner of Boneo Rd and the road to Portsea. This consisted of 5 acres and from about 1920 was known as Martin’s Corner because of a shop built on it by a man of that name. The grant for the other 123 acres of allotment 13 was issued in the name of Benjamin and Co. Marks was obviously a partner in the company because he later had sole ownership of lot 13 whose boundaries are described in the Dalgleish St entry. Marks had a lime kiln that had been built by Edward Hobson before he sold the Tootgarook Run in 1850; it was located near the corner of Marks Ave and Whitehead Grove.


DALGLEISH ST 169 K2
Alexander Cairns was one of the three Cairns brothers who settled at Boneo.
Robert came first, in 1852, with Alex and David arriving two years later. Alex had married Janet Dalgleish in Scotland. David (born 1861) and William (b. 1864) leased and then bought allotment 13 Wannaeue, consisting of 128 acres and bounded by Pt Nepean Rd, Boneo Rd, Eastbourne Rd and a line just east of Miriam St. David built the limestone house, Elanora, that is now part of the hospital and was known as Elanora Davey. Dalgleish St was named after their mother’s maiden name, which was also used as a given name for a sister and a brother.

CAIN ST 169 K4
HENRY WILSON DR. K7, THAMER ST 169 K8
JENNINGS CRT 169 K7
Robert came first, in 1852, with Alex and David arriving two years later. Alex had married Janet Dalgleish in Scotland. David (born 1861) and William (b. 1864) leased and then bought allotment 13 Wannaeue, consisting of 128 acres and bounded by Pt Nepean Rd, Boneo Rd, Eastbourne Rd and a line just east of Miriam St. David built the limestone house, Elanora, that is now part of the hospital and was known as Elanora Davey. Dalgleish St was named after their mother’s maiden name, which was also used as a given name for a sister and a brother.
CAPEL AVE 169 H2.
This explanation of what I believe to be the origin of this street name will be complicated and long. On 29-8-1895, Alfred Julius Kaeppel of Murrumbeena.bought 10 acres in crown allotment 33A of section A in the parish of Wannaeue. This allotment was granted to Patrick Sullivan in 1874 and consisted of 148 acres. The Sullivans, like many others in the depression of the 1890’s had been unable to make mortgage payments and had lost their land to financers. Another 10 acres had been sold to Navioga Gaudevia and 6 acres to William Heron, with 78 acres being occupied by John Pigdon. The Pigdon family, at that time, owned the historic Dunhelen property between Greenvale Reservoir and Dunhelen Lane.
In 1909, the man after whom Browns Rd was named arrived and bought a huge area of rabbit and ti tree infested land at very little cost; he tranformed it into the lush pasture we see today as we drive along Browns Rd. The assessments presented for the Flinders Shire councillors’ approval in September 1910 show that Patrick Sullivan’s son, James, had regained 100 acres of 31A and Brown had 35 acres. John L.Morae, a Rosebud farmer, had 10 ½ acres. The rate collector had accounted for all but 2 ½ acres of the land between land now occupied by The Dunes golf course and Peninsula Hot Springs. While James Sullivan was running the Gracefield Hotel (on the site of the present Rye hotel), Antonio Albress was running the Sullivan lime kiln on the remaining 100 acres.
Kaeppel had obviously sold his 10 acres, at a low price but for far more than his purchase price. It would be fair to assume that Kaeppel was a speculator and was keen to reinvest in the same area when the time was right. He had unusual Christian names. Alfred recalls the Saxon King killed by a Norman arrow in 1066 and Julius may have been intended to show the German link to the Heiliges Romisches Reich (Holy Roman Empire). Kaeppel seems to be a German name.
Thousands of Australians changed their surnames between 1910 and 1920, one of them being the popular publican at the Junction Hotel in Tullamarine. He anglicized his German surname because of a groundwell of hatred of all things German during World War 1, and local histories of almost any area could supply similar examples. I believe that Alfred Julius changed his surname to Capel, the C less German than K would have been.
Capel Avenue is on Crown Allotment 53 Wannaeue, between Mirriam Ave and Elizabeth Ave. In 1929 James Sloss bought land and built holiday bungalows to establish “Leisureland”. By the end of World War 2, a demand for land had arisen, similar to that after WW1 when Ewart Paul bought 4 acres of lot 53, and Leisureland was subdivided in about 1958, creating Capel Ave. Leisureland might have been subdivided by the son of Alfred Julius Kaepell.

CHATFIELD AVE 169 J2

WOYNA AVE 169F3.
The Woyna Estate was one of many subdivision started by 1920. It was probably based only on allotment 51 Wannaeue, bounded by the beach road, Truemans Rd, a line from Broadway’s west end to Orchid St, and Elizabeth Ave. The street was named after the estate. Some of the earlier purchasers are discussed in my “Rosebud West”. One of them, E.W.White was running the Mayville Guest House in 1950. The estate was probably a project of the Tootgarook Land Company, which owned 456 acres in allotment 51 and south to Hiscocks Rd, including the site of the Chinamans Creek Nature Reserve.
WATERBIRD THEME 169 K5, F5

TRUEMANS RD 169D5
This road was referred to as “the government road between Rosebud and Rye” when the Stenniken grant was advertised in 1920. (See TRUEMAN entry.)

BURDETT ST 169 D4
This was obviously another subdivision of land owned by the butchering business started by Henry William Wilson. Burdett was the maiden name of his wife, Thamer, and the second given name of his son, Godfrey. Godfrey Burdett Wilson had married Ben Stenniken’s daughter and may have been the buyer or seller in 1920. (See Truemans Rd.)

DOIG AVE 169 D6, RONALD ST 169 C5
Poultry farmer, Henry Doig bought part of the Trueman grant in 1939, probably the 56 acres farmed by William Trueman and his son Fred. Ronald St is named after his son.
(See DOIG and TRUEMAN entries.)

GUEST ST, ALMA ST, RUSSELL ST, RAYMOND ST, JOHN ST, VINCENT ST 169 D5-6
Hairdresser, Raymond Guest bought part of the Trueman grant in 1948, most likely the 56 acres farmed by Thomas Trueman, He died in 1925 and I believe the property passed to his wife Matilda briefly and then to a daughter of one of Thomas’s sisters (Mrs Libbis). I think that it was part of her husband’s estate in 1945, and after she had finished her duties as executrix, she sold the land to Raymond.
Alma was Raymond’s wife and the other streets are named after their sons.
WOODTHORPE AVE, FIELDING RD 169 H3.
These streets were in the Woodthorpe Estate.It may have encompassed all the land between the subdivision of Sloss’s Leisureland (based on Capel Ave) and Elizabeth Drive. Edward Fielding purchased about 5 acres, probably in the 1920’s. After he sold the land, it was subdivided and Fielding St was made and named. Edward Fielding was an indent agent who lived in East Malvern and had an office in Flinders Lane. He imported fabric, which was used for Holland blinds and furniture. He had one son, Edward, and a daughter. His grandson, alsoTed, supplied this information.
HISCOCK RD 169 E7
MARSHALL RD 168 K4
FIELD ST 169 A 6
Samuel Field was granted crown allotment Wannaeue on 10-11-1880.Consisting of almost 106 acres, this land now houses Moonah Links and The Cups Vineyard down to the southern boundary of the latter. In 1875, Samuel was assessed on 124 acres in Wanneue. The only allotment that makes sense is 13A bounded by Pt Nepean Rd, Boneo Rd, Eastbourne Rd and the western end of Whyte St, and consisting of 123 acres and 13 perches. I would be amazed if Samuel was not engaged in producing lime, like his later neighbours, Page, White and Sullivan. When he obtained his grant, he probably quarried limestone on it to supply Patrick Sullivan’s kiln near the east boundary of The Dunes links, as LIME LAND LEISURE does not mention him having a kiln. Allotment 13A had a kiln near Marks Ave built by Edward Hobson and later Marks, James Ford and George Hill, so Samuel would have been able to burn his own lime. Also, the lime could be loaded, a stone’s throw away, onto limecraft, which were sailed in at high tide and propped up on the extensive sandbanks.
GOVERNMENT RD 168 J5
This road was the boundary between the parishes of Wannaeue and Nepean. It is shown on the parish map as running to Browns Rd. A 1954 map confirms that it was called Jennings Rd at that time. Surveyors never drew crooked lines in parish maps and many of their government roads were later deviated around sections of their course that were made impractical for wheeled transport by the terrain. Weeroona St is such a deviation.
WEEROONA ST, HYGIEA ST, OZONE ST 168 H5
These were named afterthe most famous of the Bay steamers that made the Peninsula a tourist destination before and after the 1880’s when Edward Williams opened a road around Anthonys Nose. It was only after the road around “the rocks”was improved by Allnut in the 1920’s, and cars became more common, that the steamer trade declined. Most of the passengers stayed in guest houses, some of which continued past the days of the steamers, (See ACCOMMODATION entry.) The Clemengers had tented accommodation on Parkmore for steamer passengers who would have had trouble bringing a tent, unlike motoring tourists who popularized foreshore camping.
WEIR ST 168 G5
GRACE ST 168 G4
HUNT AVE 168 G4



GOLF PDE, GOLF LANE 168 G6, McDONALD RD. 168 H7 PRENTICE AVE 168 F7
On 18-5-1869, F.McDonald received the grant for suburban allotment 2 of Rye Township consisting of just under 33 .5 acres. Its northern boundary was the beach road and it included Whitecliffs Rd and Minnimurra Rd, with its south west corner being the end of Weatherly Court (168 C5). Suburban lots 10,11 and 12 were east of Dundas St, south to about the Golf Pde corner and east to Valley Drive. W.A.Blair bought these allotments from the Crown, a total of 201 acres, as well as allotment 3 (containing the R.J.Rowley Reserve), 9 and 15 (another 105 acres) along Melbourne Rd. (Plus allotments 4,20 and 21 Nepean (376 acres) south to Browns Rd.)
Following Blair’s death, it took some time to unravel his financial affairs because of his vast land holdings near Rye, between Truemans and Boneo Rds and near Main Ridge. By 1920, the Tootgarook Land Company had bought his Rosebud West land
and subdivided the Woyna Estate (including Woyna Ave.) It was probably at about that time that the McDonald family bought lots 10,11 and 12.
Ray Cairns was born in 1910 and was probably playing cricket for Boneo by 1925. He remembers playing against Rye on the grassy area near the pier where Australia Day is celebrated. Later Rye’s home ground was for a while on McDonald’s farm south of the cemetery. Ray also recalls playing on the golf course that Jack and Max McDonald constructed. (TALKING HISTORY WITH RAY CAIRNS by Ray Gibb.)
This course was quite big and must have been in use until about 1960 as a fellow Rye Historical Society member in his 70’s remembered playing there.
Between Weir St and Government Rd were allotments 1,2 and 3 of the parish of Nepean, granted to James Purves of the Tootgarook station across Government Rd. By 1900 George Baker, who had bought the present post office site and other lots on section 7 west of Weir St, had bought 67 acres of lots 1 and 2 Nepean. George had died and his executors were assessed on the land. Allotment 3 was probably sold at the same time and later added to “old McDonald’s farm”; McDonald Rd is on crown allotment 3, Nepean.
W.E.Prentice was the selling agent for the Rye-Lands Estate, the former Rye Golf Links, in 1954 and Max was probably running the sales office at the (then) end of Lyon St. Prentice Ave is on the former golf course. (See McDONALD entry.)

NELSON ST , NAPIER ST COLLINGWOOD ST BOWEN ST LYONS ST 168 F4
It is likely that these street names were designated when the township was surveyed. Everyone knows about Horatio Nelson, the Admiral famous for his victory in the Battle of Trafalgar. Napier was an army commander famous for the relief of Lucknow in India.
Now it’s your turn to supply some information. Who was Tony Shaw’s vice captain when Collingwood won the premiership in 1990? The reason that I asked was to make you realize that the second in command often misses out on the recognition he deserves.
Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood seemed to spend much of his career taking commands from which Nelson had just been promoted. He assumed command when Nelson was killed at Trafalgar and had a glorious career marked by his bravery. He died of cancer in 1810.
Bowen of course was involved very early in the exploration of Port Phillip Bay. It is likely that Lyons was Chief Secretary (premier) when the town was surveyed.


DUNDAS ST 168 F6
The Dundas name was associated with two areas in the 1800’s to my knowledge. One family had a factory on the Swamp Rd (Dynon Rd) between Footscray (Kensington) Rd and the river. (EARLY LANDOWNERS IN THE PARISH OF DOUTTA GALLA by Ray Gibb.) The other family was in South Melbourne and associated with the bakery trade. (Dundas St Sth Melb) Most Township street names honoured Chief Ministers (Premiers) and war heroes; my knowledge of the chief ministers is limited but I think that the South Melbourne baker might have been in parliament. The descendant of the Kensington Clan who was put onto me for information would have mentioned political involvement if there had been any.
Dundas St was apparently established by Rye pioneers going to the back beach and returning with plunder. On Page 32 of RYE PRIMARY SCHOOL 1667, Patricia Appleford states that Dundas St was originally called Browns Rd; this claim is confirmed by a plan in an advertisement for the Rye-Lands Estate in 1945. (See McDONALD entry.)

SINCLAIR AVE 168 E5
P.S.Sinclair was granted allotments 4, 6, 7, 8 and 12 of section 7 in Rye Township. As the name “Sinclair” does not appear in the index that I made for Patricia Appleford’s “Rye Primary School 1667”, I doubt that he was ever a resident of the township. Section 7 was sold in 1872, and was bounded by the beach road, Lyons St, the line of Ballabil St and Weir St. G.Baker bought lots 1, 2, 3 and 6 extending 180 metres east from Lyons St and the same distance south in Lyons St. Lots 9 and 10 were granted to G. Ellis. Lot 11, an original school site was across Lyons St from the cemetery. I have come across the names of Baker and Ellis in the history of the area. There is a Sinclair St in Somerville, probably from a subdivision in the 1920’s, but the name of Sinclair does not rate one mention in Leila Shaw’s excellent history of the area, “The Way We Were”. This leads me to believe that the family was involved in land speculation from early times.
A subsequent search in rate records revealed that he had the five allotments until 1882, in which year he seems to have acquired another two lots, giving him 7 acres. His occupation was given as contractor but no address was recorded. Thereafter, his name is absent from assessments and he did not seem to have been leasing his land to anybody. He seems to have sold his land to Harry Horniman, the teacher at Rye.
A continuing connection with Rye is suggested by the burial at Rye Cemetery of
Arthur G.Sinclair in 1983 at the age of 70 and also Colin Sinclair.

MAORI ST 168 E4
WHITE CLIFFS RD 168 C4
CAIN RD 168 C4
NEVILLE DR 168 B4
Michael Cain’s wife was a Neville. She and Michael spent time in Gippsland and Adelaide after their marriage; the daughter born at the latter place married “Hill Harry” Cairns. Each of Hill Harry’s three children, all boys, spent their first ten days at Grandma Neville’s place in South Melbourne before travelling by bay steamer to Dromana from where Henry drove them to Maroolaba in Fingal. Thus the Neville family of South Melbourne had links with two pioneering peninsula families and probably had quite a deal to do with ensuring that their offspring were born in near proximity to medical attention; the lack of this resulted in far too many deaths of both mother and child in those days. More details in TALKING HISTORY WITH RAY CAIRNS by Ray Gibb (available at Rye Museum.)
MICHAEL ST 168 A5
It could be said with fair certainty that this street was named after Michael Cain.
GOLF THEME 168 A5-6
FRANCIS ST 168 B9
MAPS 166-167

TYRONE AVE 167 K3
MURRAY ST 167 J4
Anne Murray, possibly the daughter of Margaret Murray, teacher at Dromana Common School from November 1869 to at least 1873, married Owen Cain’s first son, Joseph, who seemed to have been a resident of Dromana and, like Robert Rowley senior, made his wages there on the bay, which claimed his life in middle age. See FAMILY CONNECTIONS entry.
CANTERBURY JETTY RD 167 H7
FORD ST 167 J3
KILLARNEY ST 167 J2
PACIFIC/SHIP THEME 167 J 2-4
PEARSE RD 167 F6
REVELL ST 167 F3
(Source: Steve Watson, who is not related to the pioneering fishermen.)
This street is named after Harold Revell, who moved to the area in his retirement in 1948. When he was a young man, Harold lived in Poowong and was delivering mail on horseback for his parents who were running the post office there in 1903. Later the family moved to Port Fairy where his mother was the Mayor and Harold worked, until his retirement, as an accountant. The Watson family lived in the area and supplied Harold’s daughter, Ilo Beth, with a husband and Steve was their child. Upon his retirement, Harold moved to Northcote where he served for some years as President of the V.F.A. club, Northcote, at whose ground the champion aboriginal footballer, Doug Nicholls, was the secretary and administrator; he was later knighted and became Governor of South Australia.
Steve Watson recalls rabbiting along St Johns Wood Rd during his holidays on Harold’s property. Harold bought a 1948 M.G. saloon at about the time he settled in Blairgowrie. Its registration number was PF1948 and Harold used to say that PF stood for Port Fairy. He had a mongrel dog called Tiger that would move into the driver’s seat as soon as Harold got out of the car. He was a regular at the Rye and Koonya hotels and Dorothy Houghton, who ran the latter, claimed that the dog used to drive him home.

WILSON RD, GODFREY ST 167 F2, COUTTS CT 167 D2 BENJAMIN PDE 167 E2
The first butchers in Dromana were the McLear brothers. They soon decided to concentrate on other occupations; John took up fishing and George carted timber to Peter Pidota’s boat at Sheepwash Creek’s mouth (for the construction of piers around the bay) and horse breeding.
Henry William Wilson, a former bullocky, decided to fill the void and did his early slaughtering on the McLear farm “Maryfield” until he bought a 45 acre block (the Dromana Aerial Landing Ground of 1927 pictured on page 172 of DREAMTIME OF DROMANA). Henry then opened a shop in Sorrento on the advice of George Coppin and probably put Edward Williams out of business, forcing his relocation from his Browns Rd farm just east of Truemans Rd to Eastbourne (Village Glen site). When his son Godfrey took over, the business boomed and much land was needed for grazing. Land was bought at Safety Beach (Coutts St etc) and all over to service their many shops and a more central slaughteryard was established near Dr Blair’s “Blairgowrie”. Godfrey’s sons, Henry William Burdett Coutts Wilson and Benjamin Godfrey John Ralph Wilson must have hated forms that required them to write their names in full!
The abbatoir land was subdivided when a new one was established in Shergolds Lane at Dromana. The above names plus Thamer and Burdett (from Henry’s wife) are indications of subdivisions of former Wilson land.

FAWKNER AVE 167 D2
John Fawkner and his parents and William Buckley could justly claim to be the first permanent settlers of Victoria. It was not the Fawkners’ fault that the lazy David Collins relocated them from Sullivans Bay to Hobart instead of finding the Freshwater (Yarra) River that Grimes had already explored. John’s father, a silversmith, had been transported for stealing and his mother Hannah (nee Pascoe) did a sterling job bringing up the 12 year old boy among the dregs of humanity to be a literate, hard-working man. On his mother’s death, John became John Pascoe Fawkner as a token of respect. I was delighted to have Hannah Pascoe Drive in Gowenbrae named in her honour. Another claim that J.P.Fawkner could make is that he was light years ahead of the government in establishing Closer Settlement. He did it circa 1850 and the government did not finally get it right until the Act of 1904. Fawkner’s father leased his son’s Belle Vue at Pascoeville for a while; this farm featured oak trees, one of which survives, prompting a later owner, flour miller Hutchinson, to rename it Oak Park. The strange thing is that Fawkner never lived in Fawkner, his square mile grant, west of the cemetery was called Box Forest and has been renamed after Cr Rupert Hadfield.

McFARLAN AVE 167 D2
Take a drive to the Sorrento Footy Ground and read the history board about David McFarlan. While you’re there have a look at the Sorrento tramway station on the hill above the pier and its terrific history boards and the museum at the Melbourne Rd roundabout. The Op Shop at the roundabout is worth a look too.
LIME LAND LEISURE has much detail about this pioneer as does Jennifer Nixon’s FAMILY, CONNECTIONS ETC on page 92.

DANA AVE 167 D5
Captain Dana headed the native police. There were many paddocks for grazing their horses, such as Churchill National Park at the end of Police Rd near Dandenong. There was a plan to build a fence From White Cliff to the back beach to protect grazing for police horses and it was opposed by James Ford and James Purves who wanted to continue fattening their bullocks west of that line. It was found that many who signed their petition actually wanted the fence. (See ON THE ROAD TO ROSEBUD.)
BLAIRGOWRIE AVE 167 D1
STRINGER RD 167 C1.


MAPS 156 AND 157.
FAMILY, CONNECTIONS, SORRENTO and PORTSEA is a history of this area.

Written by Jennifer Nixon and published in 2003, this book details the Skelton family and other families connected by marriage as well as general history. It lacks an index but I have produced one, which indicates people mentioned but only listing page numbers of first and major coverage.
Not all streets listed below are in Sorrento and Portsea and not all streets (possibly) named after those in my index are listed below but there seem to be many streets this side of Frankston whose names may be linked to those mentioned in Jennifer’s book. My index can be found at the start of the FAMILY CONNECTIONS entry.
As Jennifer’s book is available for borrowing, each street name is followed only by its Melway reference, and the page(s) on which that family is mentioned in Jennifer’s history. (P=PORTSEA, S=SORRENTO, BG= BLAIRGOWRIE, R=RYE.) There could be more details later (or earlier) regarding some of the street names.
SKELTON PL S 157 B8 - THROUGHOUT
TAYTON PL S 157A7 - P iii
CLARK CR S 157 C9 - 8, 11, 12-25
NEWTON AV S 157 B8 -8, 11,42-8, 92 (Formerly Cain St-page 49.)
WHITES WAY S 156 K7 -8
WATTS RD S 157 B7 -11, 29-36,56
MORCE AV S 157 A7 -11, 37-8,83, 122
DARK PDE S 157 B9 -11,69-70,76-9,92
KEATING AV S 157 D12 -12, 16-17
LEONARD CRES S 157 A6 -12
MORGAN ST S 157 B7 -12, 19-23
HUGHES RD S 157 F 12 -25,109
EVANS ST R 168 A8 -29
SULLIVAN ST S 156 K9 -90
FARNSWORTH AV P 156 B 4 &5 -42,79-80
KNIGHT BG 167 F4 -42
COKER CR P 156 D2 -49,52-3
FIELD ST R 168 J5 -50
HILL ST S 157 C9 -56
ERLANDSEN S 157 D9 -56
SPUNNER CT S 156 K7 -75
LENTELL AV S 157 A5 -81-2
STRINGER RD BG 157 G 12 -86-9
GRACE ST R 168 G4 -90 This could be named after William Grace or Grace Sullivan.
RUSSELL CR S 157 B 10 -92
McFARLAN ST BG 157 G12 -92
CROAD ST S 156 J6 -76
WILLIAMSON ST TOOTGAROOK 169 A5 -112
KEMP RD P 156 K4 -125
WATSON RD S 157 A9 92
WILSON RD BG 167 F2 -94-5








HUGHES RD 157 F12
COLLINS PDE 157 E10
CALCUTTA ST 157 E10
KINNEIL ST 157 D9
ERLANDSEN AV 157 D9
HILL ST, CLARK CRES, CORSAIR GROVE , WEBSTER ST, RUSSELL CRES 157 C10
WILLIAM BUCKLEY WAY 157 C12
KING ST 157 B11
BOWEN RD 157 B9
DARK PDE 157 B9
HISKENS 157 B8
COPPIN RD 157 A9
CONSTITUTION HILL RD157 B8
HAYES AVE 157 B8
KERFERD RD, DARLING RD 157 A8
SKELTON PL. 157 B8, WATTS RD 157 B7.
WHITES WAY 156 K7, SPUNNER CT. 156 K7.
SULLIVAN ST 156 K9.
CROAD ST 156 J6
DURHAM PL. 156 H8.
STONECUTTERS RD 156 H6
LIMEBURNERS WAY 156 H4.
DUFFY ST 156 H5
CAMPBELL RD 156 H5
WATTLE GR. 156 G 3,5.
FRANKLIN RD 156 F5
WEIR CT 156 F3
BLAIR CT & RD. 156 E3.
FARNSWORTH AV. 156 E4
LATROBE AVE 156 E5
LATHAM DR. 156 D5.
BASS RD 156 C5.
WEEROONA AVE 156 D2
MAPS 251 AND 252.
Somebody wanted to seize a (Caesar) chance to display knowledge of Roman history. Okay, I hear you; one more pun and I’m history! 251 J5.

BOAG’S ROCKS 252 A11.
It looks as if the interests of the Boag family extended beyond the guest house at Dromana.

LIMESTONE RD 252 A 3.
Limestone Rd was the southern boundary of the parish of Wannaeue, which continued West to the eastern boundary of The Dunes Golf Course (which indicates the boundary between Wannaeue and the parish of Nepean.)
Patrick Sullivan had a lime kiln between The Dunes and Foam Rd. On his death, its operation was taken over by his son, James, but it was managed by Antonio Albress (who had land across Browns Rd from the Moonah Links frontage.) Albress obviously pronounced his name with an accent because oldtimers thought it was Albas. (Hollinshead thought he was Tony Salvas!) It was at Sullivan’s kiln that William Webster was nearly burnt to death. He either was having a snooze inside when it was lit or fell in while loading it from the top.
North of Sullivan, across Browns Rd, was W. A.Blair (the daddy of them all), and Nathan Page, and to the east were Page, George White, Sam Field, Jenner and Spunner, all having received grants in Wannaeue. Earlier they operated under special licences. It is likely that limestone was easy to obtain here, but it would have been difficult to transport it to the bay from where it was taken by limecraft to Melbourne. If you want an idea what roads were like, try riding a bike on Old Cape Schanck Road south of Browns Rd!

MAP 253
MAXWELLS RD 253 A6.
PATTERSON RD 253 D10


TYABB and SOMERVILLE.
On page 278 of THE WAY WE WERE, Leila Shaw listed 33 streets whose names recall the area’s heritage.
To that list, I add the following:
BLACKS CAMP RD 148 D2 This probably led to the lagoon where the bank teller and George Gomm carried out the required quarterly testing of the bank’s pistols as related on page 202. The Bunerung obviously camped at this lagoon as they traveled between the two bays.
CRAIG AVE 148 G11 William Craig received the Crown Grant of allotment 27 in the parish of Tyabb. This was between Bungower Rd and Watsons Creek as shown in Leila’s map on page 6 (about 149 G2-3 in Melway). The family is mentioned several times in the book.
APPLEWOOD RISE 148 H3 Apples were probably the main crop of the famed orchards in the district.
FRUITGROWERS RESERVE 148 E1 Purchased from Henry Gomm, this 6 acre site was the venue of what was described as the biggest show of its type in the Southern Hemisphere. The Somerville Fruitgrowers and Horticulturists Association conducted this show in about March every year from 1895 to 1939, when the war caused its demise. It attracted such crowds that a special train traveled from Melbourne. From 1940, Ghymkhanas were held to raise funds for the Red Cross (averaging 250 pounds, a huge sum in those days) until a bushfire destroyed the pavilion in 1944.
FIRTH RD 147 J1 Although officially residents of Moorooduc, this family was much involved in the affairs of Somerville.
UNTHANKS BUSHLAND RESERVE 107 B12. See page 100 and throughout the book.
ORCHARD CT 107 H12 Although farmers engaged in subsistence farming in regard to dairy, poultry, vegetables and so on, the prevailing land use of the area was orchards and tree nurseries.
BARBER RESERVE 107 G12 See page 281 for one mention of these early pioneers.
TWO BAYS RD 106 B7 See page 99 about the Two Bays Nursery and Orchard Company’s 400 acre property at the corner of Jones and Bungower Rds.

What do you mean by "That's not good Grammar,"; I bet you wouldn't say that to Granpa! Sorry, my attempts at humour take control at times.
I strive to provide some sort of detail for family historians but when I wrote FOOTBALL NEAR TULLAMARINE, I knew nothing about some of those who attended the 1915 meeting, namely Islip, Fitzgerald, Hillary and Campbell. I had seen the first and last names and Bob Blackwell told me something about Felix Fitzgerald 22 years ago but my mind was blank.

ISLIP. Christopher Islip attended the Broadmeadows Court in 1908 to apply for an old age pension on behalf of James Waylett of Oaklands, who was 95 and couldn't leave his room. Constable Walsh (who would have been stationed at Broadmeadows Township but covered Bulla) stated that Waylett was an old and respected resident who had been a gardener at Oaklands since 1852.(Sunbury News 12-6-1908, page 3.)

C.W.Islip did contract work, probably road making or supplying road metal, for the shire and the final payment on one contract was nearly 26 pounds, which was a lot of money.(Sunbury News 24-10-1903 page 4.)

Mr Islip was one of a large group at the Bulla Shire meeting who were opposing the appointment of a ranger in the east riding. They wanted their cows to continue grazing on the roadside. (This was a common practice and Symonds wrote about certain roads being called Pender's Run for this reason.) Islip must have lived near the Oaklands Rd corner because Cr Brannigan would have turned off Bulla Rd there to go to St Johns Hill. Brannigan said that Islip's cows camping at the corner posed danger on dark nights. (Essendon Gazette and Keilor, Bulla and Broadmeadows Reporter, 22-1-1914, page 5.)

Ethel, the second daughter of Mr C.W. and Mrs Islip married Leonard P.Schiffman of Port Melbourne at St Mary's Bulla on 4-12-1911. (The Argus, 27-11-2911, page 1.) Ethel's older sister was Ivy, who attended the Bachelors' Ball in 1909 and was accompanied the next year by Ethel.Ivy won the under 14 girls' race at the 1907 school picnic, with 1908 seemingly her last year at the school. Oaklands Hunt reports indicate that the Islips, Fitzgeralds and Campbells lived near each other.

Thanks to Neil Mansfield, I can now access the information in my DHOTAMA (DICTIONARY HISTORY OF TULLAMARINE AND MILES AROUND.) This reveals that in 1882-3, Joseph and Chistopher had land at Oaklands Junction with nett annual values of 6 pounds and 10 pounds respectively. In 1914-5, L.J.Islip was leasing 46 acres from W.J.White. (Bulla Rates.)

FITZGERALD. The land on which the Islips, Fitgeralds and Camerons etc had their small farms was formerly the town common as shown in the map on Kathleen Fanning's website. I obtained a different version of the parish map from P.R.O.V.It shows three Fitzgerald's blocks and indicates that the common was subdivided by 1870. I do remember the late Bob Blackwell pointing out a brick well dome that William Bedford had built for Felix Fitzgerald but I can't remember whether it was in Oaklands or Somerton Rd.A block in Oaklands Rd started 84 metres north of the Cemetery Lane corner and adjoined a Campbell block which fronted the westernmost point of the curve. Two adjoining blocks were in Somerton Rd between points 458 metres westof Oaklands Rd and and 108 metres east of Blackwell's Lane.The first block was bought in 1874 and the other two in 1876 and 1880. The Ralstons ran a creamery near the Fitzgerald blocks and Bob Blackwell said that Mrs Ralston was a hard taskmaster. Apparently some of them had deserted from ships. When one of them pointed out that the Gilligans' workers, on the north side of Somerton Rd (Greenvale Lane), had knocked off, she replied, "Don't worry, they might have finished earlier, but you will start earlier than they do in the morning!"

So far I have seen about six Oaklands Hunt reports of pursuits across Fitzgerald farms, in one case two Fitzgerald farms.
R.Fitzgerald later bought 40 acres on Oaklands Rd at 12 pounds per acre.(Argus, 30-9-1920, page 10.)

Mrs Fitzgerald, wife of a farmer of Oaklands Rd Bulla, was talking to her husband, who was loading a dray with hay when a truss of hay fell on top of her, fracturing her thigh.(Argus, 23-5-1895, page 7.)

R.Fitzgerald was in Bulla's best when they played a combined Greenvale-Broadmeadows football team. (Sunbury News, 27-5-1905, page 2.) J.Hillary, mentioned later, was also among the best players.

James Gerald Fitzgerald, the second son of the late Mr and Mrs R.Fitzgerald formerly of Oaklands Junction, married Elizabeth Theresa, the only daughter of the late Mr W.P. Fanning and Mrs J Fanning of Sunny Side, at St Patrick's Cathedral yesterday. (Argus, 28-3-1952, page 6.) Google "bulla parish map" and you will find Kathleen Fanning's FANNING FAMILY HISTORY first up.

CAMPBELL. Wise's directory of 1884-5 lists Duncan Campbell, farmer, as a resident of Oaklands Junction. Archibald Campbell was assessed on 10 acres in the Oaklands and Green Gully subdivision of Bulla Shire in 1914-1915.Archie used to work at James Musgrove's implement factory (177 K5) but his boss would never call him Archie, as James regarded shortened versions of names as being disrespectful, according to Bob Blackwell.Buried in the Presbyterian section of the Bulla Cemetery are: Duncan Campbell (died 24-10-1908 at 76; Mary Campbell (died 10-9-1875 at 36); Marion Campbell (d. 24-1-1959 at 84)- all in row 1; Mary Elizabeth Campbell (d. 6-10-1937 at 69-row 6); Archibald Campbell (d. 18-4-1940 at 69 - row 7.) (DHOTAMA page C.19.) The above cemetery information was transcribed from (often- broken)headstones circa 1889 and fatigue may have caused an error. Neil Mansfield and John Shorten have produced a wonderful register of burials at the cemetery. Entry 279 is Mary Isabella Campbell; I wrote Mary Elizabeth. The register indicates that Duncan married Mary, the daughter (born in Scotland) of Duncan Cameron and Marion (nee McConichie.) Duncan's parents were Alexander and Mary (Gilchrist.) Marion (1867),Mary Isabella (1868) and Archibald ( 1870) were Duncan and Mary Campbell's children.

I had recorded two trove entries that I assumed were related to the Oaklands Junction Campbells; it did puzzle me how they could have thousands of sheep grazing on a tiny paddock! I will preface these entries with information from pages 15, 27 and 100 of Harry Peck's "Memoirs of a Stockman" that I have detailed on page C.19 of DHOTAMA.
Six Campbell brothers were early settlers in the Sunbury-Gisborne area. Hugh and John fattened sheep at Riddell's Creek and Dugald and Nichol at Traralgon Park. Incidentally the latter pair was probably on land first grazed and named by the Hobsons, subject of another journal.
(Argus 27-12-1893, page 6.) H. and J. Campbell of Bulla had sold 4700 wethers which had been delivered to "The Meadows" near Cobar.
(Argus 23-7-1891, page 1.) Mary Stewart Campbell, 11 years 9 months, daughter of John and Mary Campbell, died on the 2nd at Bulla Bulla Station, Cobar, New South Wales.

These Campbells were obviously not related to Duncan, Archie etc. It is likely that they were squatters west of Konagaderra Rd and that they called their run Bulla Bulla. The parish of Bulla Bulla adjoins the parish of Bolinda and it is possible that Hugh and John's run straddled the parish boundary. If they were there when Governor Bourke visited John Aitken at Mt Aitken, the Gov. might have heard the name and suggested that Hoddle use it for the land north of Tullamarine parish. Clarke's Special Survey probably took their run. If you google "Bulla parish map" and click on the first site (Kathleen Fanning's)you will see Bolinda Parish and Clarke's land (probably a pre-emptive right)that became Brannigan's "St John's Hill". I do not intend to investigate my suspicion that Hugh and John Campbell were the originators of the name "Bulla Bulla" at this stage. The words supposedly mean elbow or reclining on the elbow (rather than TWO HILLS as Symonds stated) according to a Donald
McDonald nature column in the Argus. (Although, if one reclined on an elbow, one cheek and feet, the trunk and knees would resemble two hills!)

HILLARY. John Thomas Hillary died at his residence, Bulla, aged 64 on October 15. He was the son of Thomas and Elizabeth Hillary and brother of Hannah. (The Argus 16-10-1946, page 19.) What about Bridget?
John was was one of Bulla's best in the footy game against Greenvale- Broadmeadows, as mentioned earlier.

(Sunbury News, 22 and 23-10-1910 etc.)
Martin Lawlor, J.M.Hillary, and Patrick Honan were neighbours near a closed north-south road that led to a creek. Lawlor saw Honan opening Hillary's fence.Hillary had a lease on the closed road and had installed a swing gates but as this had been taken off the hinges, he had replaced the gate with fencing. This had caused trouble for Honan in regard to his children getting to school and watering his cows at the creek.
The closed road may have been Quartz St which still exists or Felspar St which was shown on a Bulla Parish map (including township streets and blocks)that I gave to the Hume Library System. The closed road, which ran from Mica St to the common, had a gate at the south end and the north end ran into the creek.It could have been a portion of Trap St north of the Deep Creek crossing.(My kingdom for that map!)
Incidentally, Quartz, Mica and Felspar Streets were so- named because of the rare white Kaolin Clay which was mined for some time. Trap St may have been named because of the gold-escort troopers stationed nearby before they were relocated to Keilor, Trap being the diggers' term for a trooper.

I CAN KEEP MY KINGDOM. Maps and text in DHOTAMA (H 56 for Hillary and H 86 for Honan)show the following. Felspar st is the present main road that went downhill to the creek with William Bethell's bluestone store on the left. I always wondered why there was a coffee palace in Trap St. This would have to be because it was intended to be the main street, crossing the creek. Quartz St ran north to where the public section ends (177 A5)and then ran westward along the middle of the horseshoe bend.T.Hillary was granted lots 5 and 6 of section 2 of this western extension and in 1914-5, J. Hillary was assessed on this land. T.Hillary was also granted lot 1 of section 3 bounded on the south by Mica St(almost the course of Sunbury Rd as it climbs towards the west just over the bridge) and on the west by that northern extension of Trap St. The Honans were south of Mica St on lots 1 and 2 of section 6 leased from Slattery. Lawlor had a good vantage point to see Honan interfering with Hillary's fence because his land fronted the north east side of Sunbury Rd(176 J5, part K 5 and 6.) Hillary had probably fenced the northern part of Trap St off right at the Mica St corner and the present start of Sunbury Rd at Troopers Bend may not have been made (with the resultant discovery of gold rush skeletons). Why this would require Honan, and his children, to go around the north (uphill) side of Hillary's land is hard to understand. Perhaps he had also bought a block south of Mica St (which is slightly south of the present road)and blocked that street too. I can't be sure but I believe that the Bulla State School was still on the north side of the east end of Mica St (177 A6.)
Too many things don't make sense but next time you cross the bridge and start to climb, visualise Honan on your left, and on your right, Hillary, with Lawlor (the witness)up near the Loemans Rd roundabout.

OUCH! Mrs Hillary of Bulla suffered a compound fracture when one of her fingers was caught in the cog-wheel of a wool press. (Sunbury News, 13-10-1900, page 2.)

TRAGEDY . Mrs Thomas Hillary and her daughter were both drowned while bathing in Deep Creek.
(South Australia Register, 5-2-1895, page 8.)

(Sunbury News and Bulla and Melton Advertiser, 9-2-1895, page 3.)
At 3p.m. Mrs Hillary and 11 year old Mary Lawlor went to Deep Creek to bathe just below Mrs Scannell's house . After half an hour they were joined by Mrs Hilary's two daughters, Hannah and 9 year old Bridget Annie. The latter got out of her depth and Hannah also got into trouble trying to help her, and when their mother went to her aid, she and Bridget both disappeared in the water.Mary Lawlor ran to Scannell's but Mr Scannell was not home so Miss Scannell ran 300 yards to the Lawlor house. Mr Lawlor and his son, Daniel, got Mrs Hillary's body to the bank and rescued Hannah from neck-deep water. Daniel then dived and found Bridget Annie's body which James Cahill of Sunbury helped him remove from the water. Several neighbours and state school teacher, Mr Meeking, attempted resuscitation but in vain. John ,12, and Hannah,10, are now motherless. Mr Hillary is in the employ of the Shire as a roadsman.
WHERE WAS SCANNELL'S HOUSE?