THE HOBSONS OF DAREBIN CREEK, KANGERONG, ROSEBUD,TOOTGAROOK, KENSINGTON, TARWIN AND TRARALGON, VIC, AUST. :: FamilyTreeCircles.com Genealogy
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THE HOBSONS OF DAREBIN CREEK, KANGERONG, ROSEBUD,TOOTGAROOK, KENSINGTON, TARWIN AND TRARALGON, VIC, AUST.

Journal by itellya

As local histories ignore details not pertaining to the area of discussion, Lime Land Leisure and On the Road to Rosebud focused mainly on Edward Hobson being on Kangerong and moving to the Tootgarook Run before the former became Jamieson's Special Survey.
This pioneer's full name was Edward William Hobson, not William as the DISCOVER THE MORNINGTON PENINSULA website states. The runs held by him were: on the Darebin Creek (early 1837, see below), Kangerong (1837, see below), Tootgarook (not specified, until 1850 according to Hollinshed) Wooloowoolooboolook (1850-1850 according to Hollinshed, see George Smith below), Tarwin Meadows (1843-January 1845), Traralgon (occupied August 1844-Early 1853.See origin of Traralgon's name in comments under my ABORIGINAL VOCABULARY journal.)

The two Mornington Peninsula histories give the impression that Edward Hobson moved to Gippsland after he had sold the Tootgarook Run lease to James (and Peter!) Purves. The above shows that he was in Gippsland beforehand. As Edward's brother, Edmund, who held the licence for the Traralgon run, did not visit the run until 1847, Edward would have had to be there instead of at Tootgarook. This confirms Charles Hollinshed's belief that Purves might have been managing Tootgarook for Hobson.

Soon after Owen Cain arrived on the peninsula in about 1844, his four year old daughter went missing and was found near-dead four days later. Rescuers had been near where she was found but she didn't call out, thinking the searchers might be aborigines. She was taken to the Wooloowoolooboolook Run homestead (reckoned to be on the Cape Schanck road, six miles from his Arthurs Seat homestead, by young McCrae, which I calculate to be near Pattersons Rd) where George Smith's wife nursed her back to health. In his "Beautiful Dromana" of 1927, Spencer Jackson stated that George's wife was related to Captain Hobson of the Rattlesnake , after whom I presume Hobsons Bay near Melbourne was named. It would be a reasonable assumption that this made George Smith a relative of Edward Hobson too. Young McCrae's estimation of distances must have been astray as Patterson Rd in Fingal would have been in the Boniyong or Cape Schanck runs. James Purves received grants totaling 414 acres south of Hiscock Rd and west of (Old) Cape Schanck Rd (Melway 169 J 8-9 to 170 D8-9) so Wooloowoolooboolook was more likely in that vicinity.
I was going to mention that Hobsons Rd, Kensington (Melway 42 G-H3)might be connected with these Hobsons. As a matter of fact, it certainly was! For that reason, I will paste an extract from my "Early Landowners: Parish of Doutta Galla".
ALLOTMENT 22.
Consisting of only 49 acres (those to the east being about 66 acres) this allotment was granted to Edmund Charles Hobson in 1847. By 1-11-1848, he had died and the property was leased to Richard Philpott for 14 years by his executors, James Horatio Nelson Cassell and John Robert Murphy (owner of allotments 17-19). Ownership of the allotment probably reverted to the widow, Margaret Hobson, and her sons, John and Charles in the early 1870?s. In 1874, Margaret bought, from Wight, a one chain-wide strip of land through Wight's allotment 21 that is now the eastern end of Hobsons Rd.
It is likely that subdivision took place in or before 1882 because the 1883 directory (the first to list Kensington residents in streets) named Bayswater Rd, which apparently had 14 residents. The attached map of Kensington shows Murphy's, Wight's and Mrs Hobson's land.

West of Kensington Rd was Edward Byam Wight's allotment 21, which he named "The Ridge" and now contains The Ridgeway and Bangalore St. The Hobson grant would include Westbourne and Baywater Rds. It's time for more information about the grantee of crown allotment 22, section 2 in the parish of Doutta Galla. Strangely this information is found by googling Edward William Hobson and clicking on the A.N.U. BIOGRAPHY. Most of the information above came from this website and William Cuthill's history of Traralgon.

Edmund Charles Hobson (1814-1848)was born at Parramatta and was sent to Tasmania at the age of 2 to be cared for by his maternal grandfather in Tasmania. I will let you read the biography regarding his scientific and medical contributions.Edward William's birth in 1816, also at Parramatta, might have caused difficulties, which could explain why the first-born was sent away.Edmund Charles married Margaret Adamson in September, 1837; she was the widow who bought part of "The Ridge" in 1874. By this time Swamp Rd (Dynon Rd) had probably been made and Hobsons Rd would have provided a short cut to allotment 22.

WHY DID EDWARD WILLIAM HOBSON LEAVE THE RUN NEAR DAREBIN CREEK AFTER SUCH A SHORT TIME.? As soon as Melbourne had been surveyed, Governor Bourke's next instruction was to start at Batmans Hill (Spencer St Station site) and survey along the Moonee Moonee chain of ponds (Moonee Ponds Creek), establishing parishes of no more than 25 square miles.Land in the parishes on the east side were sold first; If I remember correctly, Will Will Rook was alienated in 1839, so Jika Jika would have been sold earlier. The lease for the run probably was cancelled as soon as the survey was completed.

WHY DID EDWARD LEAVE KANGERONG? The Safety Beach area was probably a bit swampy with Tassells Creek (now Martha Cove), Dunns Creek (which flowed into Sheepwash Creek) and Sheepwash Creek probably being blocked at the beach and having ill-defined banks such as Chinamans Creek at Rosebud West.But, as nobody was occupying the land in 1837, he would have found nice open woodland on the slopes of the future Dromana Township, courtesy of regular burn off by the aborigines.One day he might have been on a kangaroo shoot with his mate Jamieson of Cape Schanck and been introduced to the area along the present Bayview Rd (known as Hobson's Flat Road in the early 1900's.)
Having passed the barrier of Arthurs Seat and found this rich flat,Edward may have let his stock wander wherever they pleased. They would have to be rounded up at times and on one occasion, he might have been almost blinded. A white glare on a sunny day that caused the eyes to close involuntarily! Lime! He had probably heard of John Pascoe Fawkner becoming a lime merchant and heard the rumour that Richard Kenyon and his wife, the former Mrs Rowley, were at the Heads supplying him. It was a long way to drive cattle to Melbourne and there was no guarantee that they would be sold. Lime was in demand for mortar! Why not get a run in this locality and combine grazing with a steady income? He built a lime kiln near the present Marks Ave (Melway 170 A2.) This street was named after a co-grantee of crown allotment 13 Wannaeue.

WHAT DID EDWARD DO AFTER HE LEFT TRARALGON? He occupied "Traralgon" until early 1853 and it was probably then that he bought the Rosebud and another boat. The Rosebud was wrecked in 1855, not 1840 as stated in Mr Cuthill's history. Peter Wilson stated that the Rosebud was not insured but it was (for 700 pounds by James Purves, as discovered in trove.) I'll let you read about the cattle stealing, N.S.W. etc in the biography.

by itellya Profile | Research | Contact | Subscribe | Block this user
on 2012-01-29 09:32:21

Itellya is researching local history on the Mornington Peninsula and is willing to help family historians with information about the area between Somerville and Blairgowrie. He has extensive information about Henry Gomm of Somerville, Joseph Porta (Victoria's first bellows manufacturer) and Captain Adams of Rosebud.

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by itellya on 2013-05-29 19:12:50

An Historical Account of Traralgon - Traralgon & District Historical ...
www.traralgonhistory.asn.au/rolf/chapter2.htm‎

Chapter 2 gives excellent detail about Edward Hobson and his medico brother Edmund and also the Meyricks who were involved near Traralgon as well as on the Boniyong and Coolort Runs on the Mornington Peninsula.

The history is a good read. There is one error however; the Rosebud was wrecked in 1855, not 1840 as stated in THE RIVER OF LITTLE FISH.

by itellya on 2013-08-18 06:35:43

EXTRACT FROM:
'I Succeeded Once': The Aboriginal Protectorate on the ... - Spiffa
www.spiffa.org/uploads/2/6/7/5/2675656/i_succeeded_once.pdf‎
'I Succeeded Once': The Aboriginal Protectorate on the Mornington Peninsula,. 1839?1840. Marie Hansen Fels. THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY.

The Hobson family
Edward William Hobson and his brother Edmund Hobson are said to have been born in New South Wales:7
they were baptised in VDL:8
their father, also named Edward, was a schoolmaster in the VDL district of Clarence Plains.9
Edward William was a seaman in his youth in the coastal trade around Australia and
New Zealand, with his mother?s family the Lutterells. He arrived in Port Phillip
in 1837, taking up his first station on the Plenty River.
5 Bride 1983[1898]: 11?12. This is the mouth of Tassel?s or Brokil Creek, now developed as a marina.
6 Billis and Kenyon 1974[1932]: 83.
7 ?Hobson, Edward William (1816 ? 1890?)?, Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol 1: 544.
8 Register of Births, Deaths, Marriages, Archives Office of Tasmania.
9 Clark 2000, vol 5: 246.?I Succeeded Once?
176
Edmund, the much loved and respected doctor, was an heir to his grandfather,
Dr Lutterell, and was sent to Europe to obtain his medical qualification. He
accompanied Lady Jane Franklin on her overland journey from Port Phillip to
Sydney in 1839, and while on a stopover at Port Phillip, he visited Kangerong. In
1840 he returned permanently to Port Phillip with his wife Margaret, spending
time at Kangerong while he was convalescing from pulmonary disease. While at
Kangerong he travelled by gig to Wul-wul-a-bulluk, the station at Capel Sound,
for which he held the licence with his brother, and the place where a substantial
house was built by the time the McCrae family took up their run at Arthurs
Seat.10 The Index to Depasturing Licences, 1840 to 1851, shows him to have
taken out some licences in his own name, as well as other licences with his
brother Edward, and with Dr James Agnew, another connection from VDL, in
both the Western Port and Gippsland squatting districts.11
Robinson?s journal for 1847 records numerous mentions of visiting Dr Hobson,
taking tea with him, dining with him, showing interest in the fossil specimens
which Edmund, a distinguished naturalist, collected, and corresponding with
him while Robinson was away on field trips. When Robinson?s wife Maria lay
dying in the winter of 1848, Robinson sent a dozen roses to Mrs Hobson which
resulted in Mrs Hobson calling the next day: separately, Edmund Hobson called
and offered to pray for Mrs Robinson, an offer rejected by Robinson (Dr Godfrey
Howitt was Mrs Robinson?s physician, not Dr Edmund Hobson).12
The mother of Edmund and Edward Hobson, Melvina Hobson nee Lutterell, was known in Port Phillip as George Smith?s wife , though exhaustive searches
in Tasmanian, New South Wales and Victorian archives reveal no marriage, and
she was not buried as Melvina Smith but as Melvina Hobson, widow. She lived
with George Smith at Dr Edmond Hobson?s Melbourne house Carrencurrenalk,
on the south side of the Yarra, near the McCraes at Mayfield, opposite what is
now the Studley Park golf course. They had a house as well at Capel Sound.
George Smith had a son known in the records only as Mr Smith Junior (no given
name is ever mentioned), and it is not known whether he was Melvina Hobson?s son
by George Smith or George Smith?s son by a previous marriage.13 Edward Hobson was
the first squatter on the Mornington Peninsula, and the extended families, together
with their connections, were deeply engaged with the Bonurong.
10 Edmund Hobson to Margaret Hobson Ms 8457, Box 865/2B, SLV. This letter is undated but is possibly 1843 as Edmund enquires after ?little Jack?. Edmund and Margaret Hobson had twin boys born Melbourne 1843, one of whom John, died aged five in 1848 the same year as his father. This child is presumably little Jack, see Pioneer Index, Victoria, 1836?1888. In the same year 1848, Margaret Hobson had another set of twins.
11 Button Index, GMF 92/Box 38, SLV; Jane Franklin, GH, Hobart 18 February 1841 to my dear Dr Hobson, Ms 8457, Box 865/1/c, SLV.
12 Clark 2000, vol 5: 205. Mrs Robinson died on 10 August 1848.
13 For George Smith?s wife/Melvina/mother of Edward and Edmond, see George Gordon McCrae, Ms 2523/4/c, SLV; for Carrencurrenalk, see Kerr?s Melbourne Almanac for 1841.5 . Kangerong, Protectorate second station177
Kangerong was the principal encampment on the Mornington Peninsula and the run
functioned for Europeans as well, as the hub of the district. Edward Hobson was
helpful to the new chums Alfred and Maurice Meyrick at Boniong; later, he facilitated their brother and cousin Henry Howard Meyrick onto Colourt. Edward Hobson is the pivotal figure in the early history, and it is highly likely that this Bonurong speaking young man, with his good relations with the Bonurong, together with George Smith, his mother?s partner, set the tone of the peaceful interactions on the Mornington Peninsula . It is fatuous to dismiss these good relationships as attributable to the fact that the Bonurong were a mild and inoffensive race (a judgement sourced from Henry Howard Meyrick and repeated endlessly in local histories). The Bonurong were no different from any other nation in the Kulin Confederacy in terms of their culture and lifestyle. That there was no conflict at all on the Mornington Peninsula is to be explained in the same terms as conflict is explained in other regions of Victoria, that is, in terms of individual leaders, of social and political agendas of groups, of the tone of relationships both Indigenous and European. It is patronising to label such powerful and distinguished leaders as Old Mr Mann, Koolloorlook, Kurborough, Old Doctor, Bobbinary, Budgery Tom, to name but a few, as ?a mild and inoffensive race?.
Fig 27. ?Tommy Hobson?
Carl Walter photograph, 1866, at Coranderrk; possibly related to Edward Hobson?s Tommy. Reproduced with the permission of the State Library of Victoria.?I Succeeded Once?

As can be seen from the records of their relationships with the Bonurong in this
chapter and in the next, Edward Hobson and George Smith seemed genuinely
to like them and to respect them; more importantly, these day-to-day records
demonstrate that the Bonurong men and women observed Europeans keenly,
interpreted European reactions accurately, judged them, criticised them, defied
them, manipulated them to get what they wanted, all the while giving precedence
in their decision making to their prior tribal relationships: they also retained
their freedom of movement throughout their country (except Melbourne).

'I Succeeded Once': The Aboriginal Protectorate on the ... - Spiffa
www.spiffa.org/uploads/2/6/7/5/2675656/i_succeeded_once.pdf‎
'I Succeeded Once': The Aboriginal Protectorate on the Mornington Peninsula,. 1839?1840. Marie Hansen Fels. THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY.

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