This journal results from an overlong aside in my SHIRE OF FLINDERS journal about non-councillors who were involved in a meeting about the Flinders and Kangerong Farmers' Union. As not much seems to have been written about the Boag family genealogy, I took the opportunity to add some information but as the Shire of Flinders journal is primarily about council matters and details about the councillors, I thought it best to paste the present information here (where I can add more) and leave only a summary, directing Boag researchers to this journal.


James Robertson Boag owned or leased much land in the parish of Fingal and established a dairy and guest house, "Melrose" at Dromana.(JAMES BAG (SIC) WAS ASSESSED ON HOUSE AND 88 ACRES ON 3-9-1864. THIS WAS MELROSE. While at Fingal, James probably supplemented his income with some fishing, which would account for the naming of Boag Rocks (Melway 252 B11.) Robert Quinan,Dromana schoolteacher, was living at Melrose, when he committed suicide. To earn extra income he did book-keeping for the shire and finding the figures didn't balance, tried to borrow money from Richard Watkin, who owned the Dromana Hotel.The request was refused and he could not face the shame of incompetence, being an acclaimed teacher as demonstrated by the 1861 petition.It was at Boag's that George McLear first met his beautiful future wife. See A DREAMTIME OF DROMANA. James Boag's farm was on crown allotment 11 of section 1 Kangerong, consisting of 88 acres and he was assessed on it in the first Kangerong Road Board rate record of 1864. James Edward Boag was in occupation in 1910 and Melrose continued as a dairy after the Boags sold it, the last operators being the Turners. The Turner Estate, west of the Monaco Estate, has streets named after plants, the end of Heath Rd indicating the western boundary.

As Colin McLear had no genealogical detail on the Boag family, I have included the following seemingly mystifying snippet.
WAINWRIGHT.?On 2nd August, at the residence of his parents. 15 Horace-street, Quarry Hill, Bendigo. William, twin son of H. M. and A. R Wainwright. grandson of Mrs. B. T. Boag, Dromana, and Mrs. W. Allison., Footscray, aged 17 months.(P.6, Bendigo Advertiser, 5-8-1914.)
Catherine Wainwright's husband had died while they were running the Arthur's Seat Hotel, between Permien and Foote Sts in Dromana. In about 1887-8, she married William Allison but H.M.Wainwright was her son. He obviously married a Boag girl.

A very pretty wedding was celebrated on Tuesday afternoon at the Dromana Presbyterian Church, when Miss Annette Ross Boag, ,eldest daughter of Mrs Boag, of " Melrose," Dromana, was united in the matrimonial bonds to Mr H. W. Wainwright, of Western Australia. A full report of the interesting event is to hand, and will be published next week: (P.5, Mornington Standard, 25-3-1905.) Annette's pet name seems to have been Meta.
The marriage of H. M. Wainwright, of this city, and Meta Boag, of Melrose, Dromana. Victoria, will be cele-
brated in tho Presbyterian Church, Dromana, on March 21.(P.9, The Daily News, Perth, 27-2-1905.)

BOAG. ?On the 17th August, at his residence,"Melrose," Dromana, James Robertson Boag,late of Milnathort, Kinross-shire, Scotland. (Home papers please copy.) (P.1, Argus, 18-8-1903.)

DROMANA. A meeting of the Kangerong A. and H. society was held in the Dromana Hall on Saturday. The treasurer (Mr J.E.Boag) submitted a balance-sheet showing receipts and expenditure in connection with the recent show etc. (P.2, Mornington Standard, 7-4-1906.)

Ten applications for stage coach licences were received and dealt with. After an inspection of the vehicles, which were all four-wheelers, the following were granted : - W. C. Brent, John Brent, John Boyd, J. B. Baldassari, and R. A. Boag, to carry seven passengers ; John Tuck four teen passengers (six inside and eight outside) ; John Tuck, nine passengers; David Cairns, eleven passengers; David Cairns, four passengers.
(P.2, Mornington Standard, 25-11-1897.)
No mention is made here of contracts, for carriage of mail etc, so I presume that the passengers were tourists arriving on steamers at Dromana and being conveyed to guest houses. I believe all of the above, apart from Boag were in the parish of Flinders. David Cairns senior had been paralysed in 1897 and did what he could to help his wife run a boarding house in Flinders. The main purpose of A.R.Boag's coach would have been to pick up guests staying at "Melrose". (It is possible that A.R.Boag is a result if somebody mishearing J.R.Boag.)

BOAG. ?On the 25th May, at the residence of her daughter (Mrs H. Wainwright) Gurglata, Fell crescent East Malvern, Beta Theresa, widow of the late James Robertson Boag, Melrose, Dromana, loving mother of James E
(Melbourne) and Emily (Mrs B Budds, Montrose), aged 88 years (Privately interred at Dromana, 27th May.)
(P.17, Argus, 29-5-1926.)

The above clears up a few problems. Mrs.B.T.Boag, grieving grandmother, was Beta Theresa and A.R.Boyd was not a son of J.R. and B.T. Perhaps he was a nephew and living on the Fingal land. Annette Ross Boag's pet name was her grandmother's actual maiden name. The Boag family was much involved in the Comedy Club with Misses E. and N.Boag often mentioned. J.Boag is often mentioned(J.R.or J.E.)re community groups It seems that J.E.Boag may have had a son. Special prizes were awarded to W: Chapman, 1st ; J. Boag, 2nd, for Scripture. Ada Story,
lst ; Edith Story; 2nd, for catechism.(P.2, Mornington Standard,20-10-1892, Dromana, Pres. Sunday School.)
I've also found a Mr T.Boag (SKATING CARNIVAL, P.2, Mornington Standard, 24-6-1911.)

My apology for the length of this(Boag)aside, but it may be years before my DRAMA ON TROVE is made available, and I thought it might prove handy in the meantime.One more thing. I WRONGLY believeD that Beta Theresa was the daughter of Captain Ross who was granted crown allotment 12 of section 1 Kangerong, adjoining the Boag land on the west and extending to Jetty Rd. It was very common for a mother's or grandmother's maiden name to be used as a given name. (It is possible that James E. Boag, Annette Ross Boag's father, was the one who had married a Ross girl-WRONG.) In 1865, John Saunders Ross, probably the son of (K.H.W.?) Ross, had two town lots; in 1879, he was described as a tinsmith and his land as lots 4 and 5 , section 2. Each of these half acre blocks, granted to J.S.Ross on 27-4-1860, had a 20 metre frontage to both Foote and McArthur St, commencing 100 metres towards the beach from Clarendon St. What's more, M.G.H.W.Ross, almost certainly the captain, was granted the whole of section 6 (two acres), bounded by Paisley, Layard, Stawell and Clarendon Sts, on 18-8-1856.

WHY "CAPTAIN" ROSS?
MONDAY, APRIL 11, DROMANA. SALE by PUBLIC AUCTION of 60a 3r S4p ,Parish of Kangerong (Dromana) Near tho Sea,
And SEVEN ALLOTMENTS In the Village of Dromana For Unreserved Sale By Order of tho Trustees of the Will of the Late Commander Ross, R. N.
ALFRED BLISS has received Instructions from the trustees in the above estate to SELL by PUBLIC AUCTION, at the room, 32 Collins street west, on Monday, the 11th April, at twelve o' clock,Allotment 12, of Section 1, parish of Kangerong (Dromana), containing 60a 3r 24p. This is a splendid piece of land, close to tho bay
Also The following Crown Allotments in the township of Dromana
Allotment 1 Section 3 containing 2r
Allotments 1 and 2 Section 4 containing each 2r
Allotments 1, 2, 3 and 4, Section 6 containing each 2r
These seven allotments are in the best part of the township, close to the sea.
1 or j niltlve and al soluto s 1 Title Crown grants, to be seen at the o Heos ofMeier? Mallesun, Kurland and Stewart, solicitors,Queen street TerniB-Ono fourth cash, bsl ineo six and 12 months,bearing ? percent
Sale takes place at tho room 32 C illins s'reet wo t,on Moi diy, April II at twclvpocltck _
(P.2, Argus, 2-4-1881. Did you spot the text that I didn't correct?)

JAMES ROBERTSON BOAG'S LAND IN FINGAL.
Unable to find my note (among information that I was actually seeking at the time of discovery)about James Boag's land in Fingal, I hit the rate records again. The 1864 rates have the section about Fingal missing but in 1865 James Boag was assessed on 444 acres in the parish of Fingal, its nett annual value being 40 pounds.His full name of James Robertson Boag was later recorded but details remained the same until the first Flinders and Kangerong Shire assessment of 2-10-1875. His occupation was given as grazier and he was said to be the owner of the 444 acres. That was his last assessment on the Fingal land.

Locating James Boag's land in Fingal was not the massive task I had expected it to be. I looked at the parish map in the area near Boag Rocks and there it was, on the west side of the end of Truemans Rd. Crown allotment 12, granted to a speculator named Thomas Monanahan (who may also have been interested in lime), consisted of 321 acres and 25 perches and is now the St Andrews Club Gunnamatta Course(Melway 252 C8), its northern boundary continuing west to meet the coastal reserve near the end of Constantine Ave.The southern boundary starts at the drive into 740 Truemans Rd(which for some inexplicable reason was a 198.5 metre kink in the original surveyed road) and continues to meet the coastal reserve south of Krynen St (the St AndrewsBeach/Fingal boundary.)

Crown allotment 13, granted to William Cottier, consisted of 122 acres 3 roods and 25 perches and is now the triangular part of the national park south of St Andrews Beach and the Gunnamatta Course. Crown allotments 12 and 13 total 444 acres 1 rood 10 perches. It is possible to arrive at almost as exact an acreage by combining c/a 13 with any of three Godfrey Howitt grants (11, 15, 16) on the east side of Truemans Rd, but I'm almost certain they became part of Robert Anderson's "Barragunda".

JAMES ROBERTSON BOAG GENEALOGY.
View Tree for James Robertson Boag James Robertson Boag (b. 28 April 1825, d. 1903)
James Robertson Boag (son of James Boag and Grace Robertson) was born 28 April 1825 in Blairfield, Orwell, Kinross-shire, Scotland., and died 1903 in Dromana, Victoria, Australia.. He married Theresa Bete (Bele?) Ross on 1876 in Victoria, Australia.

More About James Robertson Boag:
Death recorded: Vic BDM Index 9389 (aged 72).
Fact 1: 1825, Emigrated to Australia and married Miss Ross.
Fact 2: Had three children.

More About James Robertson Boag and Theresa Bete (Bele?) Ross:
Marriage: 1876, Victoria, Australia.
Marriage Recorded: Vic BDM Index 3168.

Children of James Robertson Boag and Theresa Bete (Bele?) Ross are:

+Annette Ross Boag, b. 1877, Dandenong, Victoria, Australia., d. date unknown.
James Edward Ross Boag, b. 1879, Dandenong, Victoria, Australia., d. 1965, Croydon, Victoria, Australia..
+Emily Grace Ross Boag, b. 1882, Dromana, Victoria, Australia., d. 1972, Croydon, Victoria, Australia..
(From the MY GENEALOGY HOME PAGE.)

James Robertson Boag's wife died 1926 in East Malvern, Victoria but no details were given in the above website regarding her parents. Did her parents live in Dandenong?As the earliest connection I have found on trove between Ross and Dandenong was in the 1890's, I believe the answer is no. Ross St in Dandenong was possibly named after H.M.Ross who seemed to be a prominent Dandenong citizen circa 1890.

The following, written in my DROMANA, ROSEBUD AND MILES AROUND ON TROVE before I joined FAMILY TREE CIRCLES, was discovered while I was searching in that unfinished work for other information.

JAMES ROBERTSON BOAG. (Argus 18-8-1903 page 1) James Robertson Boag died at his residence ?Melrose?, Dromana, on the 17th of August. He had come from Milnathort, Kinross-shire, Scotland. Colin says that he was born in 1830. He ran the town?s first dairy. James owned allotment 11 of section 1 Kangerong, consisting of 88 acres 2 roods and 32 perches, and bounded by Palmerstone Ave and Boundary Rd, with its width indicated by Heath Rd.
(Mornington Standard 23-5-1905 page 5.) Miss Annette Ross Boag, eldest daughter of Mrs Boag of ?Melrose? Dromana married Mr H.W.Wainwright of Western Australia at the Dromana Presbyterian Church. There is a full report of the wedding on page 2 of the 1-4-1905 issue. How did they fit so many guests in at ?Melrose? for the reception? A Mrs Catherine Wainwright who was running the Arthurs Seat Hotel in 1887 must have been a widow and seems to have married William Allison within a year. Annette Boag must have fallen for Wainwright while they performed in the Dromana Comedy Company in 1896. Peninsular lads flocked to West Aussie in droves in the 1890?s as work was zero here because of the depression but plentiful there because of their gold rush. Nine years later, it seems that Annette and her husband were living in Bendigo, when William, a twin, died at the age of 17 months. (Argus 5-8-1914 page 1.) He was the son of H.M. and A.R. Wainwright (A.R. obviously being Annette Ross, although someone has given the wrong second initial for hubby and I think it would have been the Standard which commonly called S.S.Crispo Crisp.) The grandparents were Mrs B.T.Boag and Mrs W.Allison.

POSTSCRIPT 9-11-2016, including corrections in capital letters above. Apologies for any repetition.
18+-8-1903. JAMES ROBERTSON BOAG.
BOAG James Robertson photo (NO BIRTH DETAILS) 8/17/1903 73*
BOAG Beta Theresa photo 1838 1926

James Robertson Boag’s wife is said to have been born at Williamstown in 1838 (the year confirmed by her age being 88 at the time of her death according to her death record below) so it may be pure coincidence that his early neighbour near Dromana was Commander M.G.H.W. Ross. One of the pay-to–view ancestry websites states that she died in 1876. What a waste of money! 1876 was the year of her marriage, not her death!
Record information
Event-Marriage …Event registration number-3168 …Registration year-1876
Personal information
Family name-ROSS …Given names-Bete Theresa …Sex-Female
Spouse's family name-BOAG …Spouse's given names-James Robertson

Beta’s death record dismissed my theory that she may have been the commander’s daughter.
Record information
Event-Death …Event registration number-6166 …Registration year-1926
Personal information
Family name-BOAG … Given names-Beta Theresa …Sex-Female
Father's name- ROSS David …Mother's name-Johanna (Madigan)
Place of birth …Place of death-MALVERN EAST …Age-88

As was often the case, James Boag’s second given name was the maiden name of his mother, Grace, as revealed in his death record.
Event-Death … Event registration number-9389 …Registration year1903
Personal information
Family name-BOAG …Given names-Jas Robertson …Sex-Unknown
Father's name-Boag Jas …Mother's name-Grace (Robertson)
Place of birth …Place of death-Dromania (sic.) …Age-72
http://www.ozgenonline.com/~vic_cem/dromana/dromanaaf_data.htm


BOAG. —On the 17th August, at his residence, "Melrose," Dromana, James Robertson Boag,
late of Milnathort, Kinross-shire, Scotland. (Home papers please copy.)
(P.1, Argus, 18-8-1903)

Boag, James Robertson, Born Apr 28 1825* in Blairfield.Orwell.Kinross-shire.Scotland, Died 1903 in Dromana. Victoria. Australia.
http://www.tribalpages.com/tribe/familytree?uid=boag&surname=Boag

*Either the age at birth or the birth year has to be wrong.

BOAG’S ROCKS (Melway 254 B11.) James Robertson Boag is best known at Dromana for his ownership of “Melrose”, crown allotment 11, section 1, Kangerong of 88 acres, so I was surprised to find while researching another pioneer that he was assessed on a decent sized farm in the parish of Fingal. There was no indication of where in the parish this land was but the following confirms that it was near Cape Schanck- and Boag’s Rocks.

IF a brown MARE now running in my paddock near Cape Schanck Llghthouse, branded JP (conjoined) off shoulder, 74 off neck, bIemished in near hind foot, be NOT CLAIMED within
one month from this date she will be SOLD to defray expenses.
J. R. BOAG, Dromana.
Fingal, I9th September, 1871. (P.27, Leader, 23-9-1871.)

I could not find his assessment on this land in 1864 but the Kangerong Roads Board assessment of 2-9-1865 shows that his farm consisted of 444 acres, net annual value 40 pounds, increasing to 50 pounds by 1868. The first Shire of Flinders and Kangerong record of 2-10-1875 stated that James, described as a grazier, was the owner and occupier of the 444 acres but as many people still leasing from the crown were also stated to own their properties, his ownership would need to be confirmed. He was absent from assessments in Fingal by 1876. Perhaps it was in 1876 that James bought c/a 11, section 1 Kangerong.

I believe the 444 acres consisted of crown allotment 13 (section A?) Fingal, of 122 acres 3 roods 25 perches extending west to the coast from the last north-south section of Truemans Rd and 321 acres and 25 perches being c/a 12, extending north to the end of Constantine Ave and the north east corner of the Gunnamatta course. Crown allotments 13 and 12 consisted of 443 acres 3 roods and 50 perches (or 444 acres and 10 perches/444.0625 acres.) No other crown allotment or combination thereof gives a total of 444 acres.
(Google, Fingal, County of Mornington to see the parish map.)

James Robertson Boag was a member of the Kangerong Road Board.
KANGERONG-The usual fortnightly meeting of this board was held on Saturday last, at the
Dromana Hotel, and was attended by Messrs Caldwell (in the chair), Creighton (Crichton), Boag, and Anderson. (P.16, Leader, 5-5-1866.)