Cora Lynn General Store

The Cora Lynn was opened in 1907 by George Petrie Murdoch.  As we saw in the last post George and his father, George Petrie Murdoch Senior (1851-1934), were some of the earliest owners of township allotments in Cora Lynn. George Petrie Murdoch, junior, was born in Bunyinong in 1872 to George and Alice (nee Dean) Murdoch. He married Emma Rose Parker in Balranald in NSW in 1897 and they had the following children  - 

Arthur Charles (born 1897, birth registered at Bunyip South, alter called Iona.  Arthur served in World War One and is listed on the Cora Lynn War Memorial, here and the Iona Honour Board, here)

Mary Ellen (1899, Bunyip South)

Baby girl (1900, Bunyip South, died one day old)

Hugh James (1902, Balranald)

Allan John (1904, Bunyip South)

Lily (1906, Bunyip South)

Stanley (1907, Bunyip South)

Archibald William (1909, Dandenong. See an example of his poetry, here)

Alice Jean (1911, Bunyip South)

Emma Murdoch died in March 1920 aged only 39 years old and is buried at the Bunyip Cemetery. George married Mary Jane Whitta in 1921 and they lived in Bayles, where they had opened the Bayles General Store in January 1921 (read about this here.) They were still in Bayles in 1963 according to the Electoral rolls, but the 1967 Electoral roll lists him at Booran Road, Caulfield South. Mary Jane died 1963, aged 86 and George died on Christmas Day, 1971, aged 99 in Glenhuntly.  

Cora Lynn store, c.1910. 

Peter Corcoran standing in front with bicycle.
(Photograph from the Berwick Pakenham Historical Society collection)

The Weekly Times of November  16, 1907 published a letter to Uncle Ben, one of the editor's of the children's pages about Cora Lynn and the store his father was building -

Arthur Murdoch's letter

Weekly Times of November  16, 1907 

 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/222777407#

Cora Lynn, 7th October.— Dear Uncle Ben,

This is the first time I have written to you. I would very much like to see my letter published in "The Weekly Times." I go to school every day, and I am in the second class. I have two miles to walk to school. We have a football at school, and we have great fun with it. My father is getting a new store

built in Cora Lynn. It will only be about two chains from the school. We are having lovely weather here now. The grass is looking beautiful in the paddocks. My sister has a little pet lamb. There are a good many hares about here. My father shot one yesterday. There are a great many snakes here this season. I killed a small one last week. With love to yourself, Aunt Connie and the little children in the cots - I remain your loving friend, ARTHUR MURDOCH, aged 10 years and 3 months.

Cora Lynn, possibly 1911. The building on the right is the E.S.& A. Bank, 

and the store is next.

This was a postcard my grandfather sent, read the story here. 

George Murdoch opened a store in Bayles in 1921 (see here) and operated the Cora Lynn store until 1922 when Alexander and Elizabeth Beatrice Chisholm took over. The Electoral rolls list her as Elizabeth Beatrice, but her death notice as Beatrice Elizabeth, so I will call her Beatrice.  Alex had married Beatrice Knox in 1920 and they had a daughter Jean, who was born in December 1921. Jean attended Cora Lynn State School in 1926 and 1927. I haven't found anything much about their time in Cora Lynn, they left in 1927, but in the 1931 and 1937 Electoral Rolls the are at 158 Victoria Street, Richmond and his occupation is Postmaster. In the 1943 and 1949 Electoral Rolls, they are at 3 Wishart Street, Kew, and again his occupation is that of Postmaster.  Elizabeth died in March 1953, aged 68,  at 21 Church Street in Abbotsford. Her death notice in The Argus,  lists  Alex and Jean as well as Jean's husband, Phil, and their daughter, Susan. Alex was in the 1954 Electoral Roll at 21 Church Street, occupation Postmaster; then in the 1958 to 1967 Electoral Rolls he was living with his daughter, Jean and her family in Hortense Street, Burwood. He died in 1968

Death notice of Beatrice Chisholm

The Age, March 16, 1953  https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/23233441

Death notice of Alexander Chisholm

The Age, April 16, 1968, p. 14

The Chisholms had the Cora Lynn store until 1927, when Edwin Ernest and Sophia (nee McMahon) Dillon took over. The couple had married in 1910  in Woods Point and Edwin (known as Ted) at first supported the family by gold mining, but then decided to go into the hotel business in various country towns. Before they arrived in Cora Lynn they operated the store at Woods Point. 

'

Mr Chisholm leaves the Cora Lynn store and Mr Dillon arrives.

The Argus, June 25, 1927  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article3862859

Ted and Sophia had six children Doreen (born 1911), Phillip (1914), Molly (1918), Eddie (1920), Joyce (1925) and June (1930). Sadly,  Ted died August 7, 1932, aged only 49, clearly a shock to the family and the community.  Doreen and Phillip then helped their mother run the store and they were assisted by Elva Watson and Frank Hester.

The death of Edwin Dillon

Koo Wee Rup Sun August 11, 1932 p. 1

Dillon's Store, c. 1930s

Image courtesy of Des Dineen.

Dillon's Store, c. 1950s.

Image courtesy of Val Slade.

As the years went by the children married - Doreen married local farmer Harry Dineen in 1938; Phil married Aileen McGrath in 1939 and they lived at the store with Sophia, until she retired to Warragul in 1950, where she died March 25, 1968. Joyce married Raymond Jarred in 1946. In 1950, Eddie married Mary Egan, whose grandparents had arrived on the Swamp in 1893; Molly married Ray Hammond in 1954 and June married George Krygger, who worked at the store. 

The Cora Lynn store, known far and wide as Dillon's Store, was run by Phil and Eddie until Eddie left about 1960 to take up farming. Phillip and Aileen then operated the store until they retired in 1973. This ended  46 years of ownership, of the store but not the Dillon connection to the community, especially the football club and Mary Dillon's noteworthy contribution as the long-term Secretary of the Koo Wee Rup Potato Festival Committee. In the early days the local telephone exchange also operated from the store. After the Dillons, the store was then operated by the Thompsons, then the Van den Berghes, then Norm and Kim Dalziel, then the Simons and it closed in 1999. 

Acknowledgement

The Dillon family information comes from a short history of the family supplied to me by Val Slade; she received the information from Helen Uren (nee Dillon). I am unsure if Helen wrote the history or it was another family member; if so happy to acknowledge the author. 

Cora Lynn township plan and early land sales

This is the Cora Lynn township plan. This shows the original township allotments and the first owner of the allotments after the Government land sales. 

Township of Cora Lynn plan - the town is split between the Parish of Koo Wee Rup and that of

 Koo Wee Rup East.

Click on image to enlarge.

See the entire plan on the State Library of Victoria here 

http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/93024

In Section T some of the sales must have taken place in 1904 as Allotments 14a to 14c have a purchase date of  June 28, 1904. Land sales were generally advertised in the newspapers and I have found this report in The Argus of October 5, 1909 with Allotments 10b, 10d and 10f of Section T for sale - each about half an acre. According to the Plan, above, George Petrie Murdoch Senior (1851-1934) and George Petrie Murdoch Junior (1872-1972) purchased this land and the other adjoining allotments. George Junior also operated the Cora Lynn store, which opened in 1907 on what I believe are Allotments 14b & 14c, Section F; J.L. Stein being listed as the land owner on this plan. More information on the  Cora Lynn store, see here.

Crown land sales, including blocks at Cora Lynn

The Argus, October 5 1909 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/10738242/357108

100 years ago this week - Ice Cream manufacturers

This is from a report, in the South Bourke and |Mornington Journal, 100 years ago this week,  of  the Berwick Shire Council Meeting held on Saturday, January 11 1913 and refers to applications to make Ice Cream at Garfield and Bunyip.

South Bourke and Mornington Journal January 16, 1913 page 5.

From Trove http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper

In the 1914  Electoral Roll, Catherine Louch was listed as the Newsagent at Garfield. Margaret Bell of Bunyip is listed as a 'Confectioner'.  Commercial production of ice cream was relatively new in Australia. According to the book Cream of the Country: a history of Victorian dairying by Norman Godbold (Dairy Industry Association of Australia, 1989) ice cream became popular around 1910 and there were many manufacturers. They originally used custard in the ice cream but this was revoluntionised by Fred Peters, an American, who had arrived in Sydney in 1908 with his mother's ice cream recipe which used only pure dairy products. It took Peters four year to accumulate enough money to go into the ice cream business  and when he did in 1912 the demand for his 'American' style ice cream was amazing. Peters Ice Cream is now part of Nestles.

I don't know how successful the new ice cream making ventures of Catherine and Margaret were, however in the 1919 Electoral roll Catherine is still listed as the Newsagent, but in the 1924 Electoral roll there is a Catherine Louch listed in the St Kilda area and her occupation is listed a 'Confectioner', so it seems likely that her career started in Garfield. You can read more about Margaret here.

Cora Lynn Cheese Factory

Cora Lynn Cheese Factory, 1998.

Image: Heather Arnold

The Cheese Factory at Cora Lynn is  a prominent landmark, and as you can see by the date on the factory, it was established in 1910. This photograph was taken in 1998 and it has since been refurbished. I have tried to find out the exact date of the opening, but can only conclude from the following newspaper reports that it was in November 1911. The factory was was established by the Drouin Co-Operative Butter Factory.  The factory was remodelled in 1932 and at that time had around 500 regular suppliers. (1) The factory appears to have closed in the late 1940s and then re-opened for a short time time in the early 1950s. (2)

In August 1910, it was reported that the shareholders of the proposed cheese factory at Cora Lynn asked the Lands department to sell them some land on which to build a factory. The initial price of the land  was £50 per acres, which was considered too high and it was later reduced to £30 per acre.

Proposed Cheese Factory at Cora Lynn

The Argus,  August 3 1910 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article10449147

The land was acquired and a tender was accepted in October 1910 to build the factory from W. Hughes for £290. 

Tender accepted from W. Hughes.

The Argus, October 15 1910, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article10469183

   The Factory was under construction in December 1910.

Factory under construction

Berwick Shire News,  December 7, 1910, p. 2

In January 1911, it was reported in the Bunyip and Garfield Express that -

The local cheese factory is now approaching completion, and the floors are now being put in. Within the next few weeks the company expect to have the building ready for the machinery, which will be  installed immediately.

Approaching completion

Bunyip and Garfield Express, January 24, 1911, p. 2

There were a number of 'optimistic' newspaper reports which noted that the factory had been completed, such as this one in January 1911 - 

Cora Lynn making rapid strides

The Argus, January 31, 1911, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article10875263

However, in March 1911, The Leader reported - The dairy farmers around Cora Lynn are complaining of the delay in completing the new cheese factory, as they are missing the flush of the season. (3)  On April 8, The Leader reported - The new cheese factory at Cora Lynn, on the Kooweerup swamp, has been completed. (4)  The building may well have completed, but it was still a long way from being opened.

In August, the factory still had not opened, but they were apparently planning something extra special, as the Bunyip and Garfield Express, reported -

Speaking of the cheese factory reminds this writer that there is no official mention of the opening date, but when the matter is fixed, I understand that the opening  is to be something extra special, and it is expected that Mr. Newton of the Gippsland Co-operative Butter Factories Company will attend, and several other public speakers. 

No official opening date yet....

Bunyip and Garfield Express, August 29, 1911, p. 3

On September 5, 1911 the Bunyip and Garfield Express reported on a speech from Mr A. Jeffers, a director of the Drouin Butter factory, where he mentioned a possible reason why the Cora Lynn factory wasn't yet opened - 

He hoped to see the local cheese factory started in a fortnight, or, at the latest, on October 1. If the suppliers could guarantee 200 gallons of milk daily, it could start immediately, but one thing they must remember that the running expenses of the factory would amount to £3 per week, and that would be debited against the local factory; therefore the full supply should be forthcoming before the factory opened. 

Part of Mr Jeffers' speech

Bunyip and Garfield Express, September 5, 1911, p. 3

One month later, on October 3, 1911 the Bunyip and Garfield Express reported again on the Cora Lynn factory, and it still had not opened -

Speaking generally, fodder is not too plentiful, consequently, the opening of the cheese factory had been delayed beyond the date first anticipated. Referring to the factory, it is considered locally that once supply comes forward this industry will be the support of the district, since we are situated at a distance from the railway line. This means a considerable time on the road with consignments, whilst the cheese factory is right in the district.

The factory is still delayed 

Bunyip and Garfield Express, October 3, 1911, p. 3

Three weeks later on October 24, there was another report on the progress of the Cora Lynn factory in the Bunyip and Garfield Express -

The local cheese factory will be opened at an early date, and the manager (Mr Sherridan) is busy making preparations. Only 200 gallons daily are required to keep the factory working, but it is expected that the supply will greatly exceed this once the season starts. A number of farmers are adding to their dairy herds, and judging from the number of cattle in the district the supply should not be far short of 600 gallons of milk daily. The factory is a commodious building consisting of a vat room, engine room and cheese room, and should prove sufficient for the requirements of the district for some time to come.

Cheese factory to be opened soon.....

Bunyip and Garfield Express, October 24, 1911, p. 3

The manager noted in the above article was John Robert Sheridan, listed in the 1913 Electoral Rolls as a Factory Manager of Cora Lynn, also listed was his wife, Emily Florence. Their two children, Raymond and May,  were enrolled at the Cora Lynn State School in 1911. In the 1914 Electoral Rolls, the family had moved to Milawa,

I cannot find any report of the official opening of the factory, however the November 21, 1911 edition of the Bunyip and Garfield Express could finally report that the Cora Lynn Cheese factory was actually open -
The local cheese factory is now opened for business, and the supply coming forward is very satisfactory and is increasing daily. It is estimated that the district is at present capable of supplying 500 gallons per day which will be close up to the full capacity of the factory.

The Factory is opened

Bunyip and Garfield Express, November 21, 1911, p. 3

In December, the Bunyip and Garfield Express reported on the good progress of the Cora Lynn factory -

Since the opening of the cheese factory there has been a great increase in the milk supply thereto. On the opening day 80 gallons were supplied, now it has reached 400 gallons and there is a large daily increase, and it is expected that the supply will reach 500 gallons daily this week. The machinery is working to full capacity at present, and will shortly have to be supplemented. General satisfaction is expressed amongst the farmers with return from the factory, as they are much higher than the home separator. 

Cora Lynn Factory going well

Bunyip and Garfield Express, December 5, 1911, p. 3

The factory was remodelled and enlarged in 1932 and it was officially re-opened on September 28, 1932, by the local M.L.A., Matthew Bennett. The Age reported - 

The Cora Lynn cheese factory erected on the latest designs, has been officially opened. It will have a capacity of more than treble the present output. During the past fortnight the milk received at the factory was 319,110 lb., three times the quantity received at the two factories operating at Iona and Cora Lynn for the corresponding period thirteen years ago. At the Royal show the factory gained third prize for cheese over six mouths old. The company is entirely co-operative. The new factory was opened by Mr. Bennett. M.L.A., in the presence of a large gathering of suppliers, shareholders

and others interested. (5)

The Cora Lynn Cheese factory opening ceremony

Weekly Times, October 22, 1932 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/224466396

Trove list - I have created a list of articles on Trove, on the Cora Lynn Cheese factory. Access it here.

Footnotes

(1) The Argus, September 29, 1932 see here; The Age, September 29, 1932, see here.

(2) See articles on my Trove list, here.

(3) The Leader, March 4, 1911, see here.

(4) The Leader, April 8, 1911, see here.

(5) The Age, September 29, 1932, see here.