Cardinia Hall - the original Trustees

The Cardinia Hall was opened on December 17, 1924, you can read an account here. I have written about the community activity which led to the building of the Hall, here.  In this post we will now look at the five original Trustees - Michael Conroy, Alexander Duff, George Benjamin Beazley, Ernest Gordon Mills and Joseph Gordon Lobb. The first three men - Messrs Conroy, Duff and Beazley -  are names synonymous with Cardinia.

Michael  Conroy

Michael, born in Bungaree in 1876, married Ruby Elizabeth Thornell of Somerville on November 11, 1915.  They settled on their property Corofin, Ballarto Road in Cardinia and raised their family of seven children - Elizabeth Bridget (1916-1920), James William (1917), John Patrick (1919), Michael Mark (1920), Brendan Ignatius (1921) Bernice Mary (1922) and Phoebe (1925).  Michael was involved with the Football Club, the School Committee and the Hall Committee. Michael and Ruby retired to Somerville in 1948.  Michael died July 1956, aged 79 and Ruby died August 1973, aged 87. They are buried at Cranbourne Cemetery.  Their son Michael spent his life in Cardinia and his wife Joan, who turned 100 in 2024, had the honour of cutting the Cardinia Hall Birthday cake, along with 90-year old Ian Ridgway, at the Centenary Celebrations. (1)

Wedding report of Michael Conroy and Ruby Thornell

Mornington Standard November 27, 1915. 

Read the full report here http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article70073953

Alexander Duff

Alexander, was a descendant of the Reverend Alexander Duff (1824-1890), the first Presbyterian Minister in the area. The Reverend Alexander had married Annie Tucker in Belfast, Ireland and they had eight children, three of whom settled on farms in the Cardinia area. The name Alexander was used for one of the sons, a grandson and a great grandson. Which one was the Hall Trustee? Son Alexander (1869-1941) married Mary Irwin in 1899. He was a Cranbourne Councillor from 1930 until 1936,  and a keen cricketer. Alexander and Mary had three sons, the eldest being Alexander William who was born in 1900, and who died in 1987. Either of those are the right age to be a Trustee, even though Alexander William would only have been just 21 when he was appointed, so I believe the older Alexander (1869-1941) would be more likely the original  Trustee. (2)

The obituary of Alexander Duff (1869-1941)

Dandenong Journal, October 8, 1941. 

Read the full report here http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article214605386

George Benjamin Beazley

George was a descendent of Henry and Susanah (nee Lineham) Beazley. Her parents, James and Charlotte (nee Ridgway) Lineham had taken up land in Cardinia in 1878; earlier still, in 1854 had taken up land at Clyde. Henry and Susanah had numerous children including George Henry, born in Cheltenham in 1874. George and two of his brothers, Fred and Sam, farmed at Cardinia. George married Jane Williams in 1911 and they had three children. The Beazleys were all involved in community life in Cardinia, including the School, the Church and the Hall. George and his family left Cardinia in 1937 and moved to Cockatoo. He died in 1965, aged 87, Jane had died in 1943, aged 65. (3)

The Beazley's leave Cardinia

 Dandenong Journal, April 1, 1937. 

Read the full report here  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article200679647

The other two Trustees were Ernest Gordon Mills and Joseph Gordon Lobb.

 
Ernest Gordon Mills
It appears from the Electoral Rolls that Ernest Mills was only in Cardinia from 1919 until around 1925. He had previously lived in Woodleigh and Wonthaggi. He married Eliza Azenath Hutton in 1913,  and  they had three children – Harry (born 1913), William (1914) and Clara (1920). Sadly little Clara, born at Cardinia, died only six weeks later, at only 6 weeks of age. Ernest and  Eliza farmed on 40 acres.

Harry and William commenced at the Cardinia School in 1919; however, by 1925 the Mills' farm was sold and they were living back in Wonthaggi, where Ernest was a fruiterer. He died in Wonthaggi, aged 70, in 1955 and Eliza died in 1965, aged 77. 

The only other thing I can tell you about the family was that in 1945, Harry, then 31, was charged with murder of his wife, Linda Marion Mills, with whom he had two children aged 3½ and one year old. They were living at Wonthaggi, and his occupation was a coal miner. There was evidence given at the Inquest that he had a 'friendship' in the previous four years with 20 year old Elizabeth Mary Grayden of Phillip Island and he had asked his wife for a divorce;  his father gave evidence about the gun and his mother also have evidence as Harry called her first after the shooting and, and as she lived only three doors down, she was quickly on the scene. Harry gave various versions of the event, including at one stage blaming his 3½ year-old daughter, saying she had pulled the trigger whilst he was cleaning the loaded gun which he had put down for a short time. 

In the end he settled on this explanation - he was greatly in love with Betty Grayden. He knew his wife would not divorce him. The situation with his wife became such that they could hardly bear to be in each other's company... "I don't know what came over me; I must have gone mad. I put a bullet in the chamber and was working the bolt back and forwards to test the ejector. I saw my wife coming down the yard, something came over me, the gun went off and I saw my wife fall down."

He was charged with murder, however the Jury found him guilty of manslaughter and sentenced him to ten years in gaol.  I have nothing good to say about this man, especially as he cravenly tried to blame his little daughter.  It would be interesting to know how many past scholars of the Cardinia School have been charged with murder, but that’s a story for another day. (4)

Death notice of little Clara Mills

The Age, April 3, 1920  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article203707608

Joseph Gordon Lobb 

The fifth Trustee was Joseph Gordon Lobb, on whose land the Hall was built. Joseph was born in South Australia in 1885 and married Rose Alice Burgess in 1911 at Hill End, in Victoria. Rose had a daughter in 1908, Marjory Grace, and after her marriage had four more daughters - Hughina Margaret (1912),  Doris Anne (1914), Rosamond Alice (1916) and Pearl May was born in 1924 whilst they were living at Cardinia. Joseph served in the First A.I.F - enlisted July 1917, embarked for overseas service December 1917 and Returned to Australia December 1918.  Joseph and Rose had been on a dairy farm in Clayton Road, Notting Hill before they arrived in Cardinia and took up their 67 acres around 1920 - which was the year that three of their daughters, Marjorie, Hughina and Doris commenced at the school and a year later their fourth daughter Rosamund also started at the school. 

Joseph Lobb took up community life in Cardinia with gusto – he was a Hall Trustee, chairman of the school committee, on the Board of Management of the Presbyterian church, as a Returned Soldier he addressed the school children on Armistice Day and chaired the Arbour Day celebrations. However it appears the marriage did not last and by 1931 Joseph was living at Hill End and Rose was living in Oakleigh. In 1948, Joseph married Margaret Scouller. Joseph died in 1973, aged 87 and Rose died in 1967, aged 78. (5)

Wedding report of Joseph Lobb and Rose Burgess

Narracan Shire Advocate, July 19 1911 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article256443038

To read a report on the opening of the Cardinia Hall, click here. To read about the community activity which led to the building of the Hall, click here. 

Acknowledgment - Look to the Rising sun: Back to Cardinia 1984 - a history of Cardinia and District, including Rythdale and Pakenham South, by  Eileen Williams and Jewell Beard. (Published by the Back to Cardinia Committee, 1984) provided very useful information on the lives of Michael Conroy, Alexander Duff and George Beazley. 

Footnotes

(1) Conroy information sources - Indexes to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages; Wedding report of Michael Conroy and Ruby Thornell in the Mornington Standard November 27, 1915, see here; Look to the Rising Sun (see Acknowledgment).

(2) Duff information sources -  I have written about the Reverend Alexander Duff at the bottom of this post -  https://kooweerupswamphistory.blogspot.com/2021/12/cardinia-tree-plantation-in-honor-of.html;  Indexes to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages; Look to the Rising Sun (see Acknowledgment); Alexander Duff obituary - Dandenong Journal, October 8, 1941, see here. 

(3) Beazley information sources - Indexes to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages; Look to the Rising Sun (see Acknowledgment); report of the Beazley family leaving Cardinia  for Cockatoo - Dandenong Journal, April 1, 1937, see here. 

(4) Mills family information - Indexes to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages; Look to the Rising Sun (see Acknowledgment); Electoral Rolls on Ancestry.com; Shire of Cranbourne Rate Books; Clara Mills death notice The Age, April 3, 1920, see here. Mills murder case -  The Herald, March 22, 1945, see here; Inquest report - The Herald, May 1, 1945, see here;  The Age, July 20, 1945, see here; The Sun News Pictorial, August 17, 1945, see here.

(5) Lobb family information - Genealogy SA - https://www.genealogysa.org.au/ ;  Indexes to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages; Wedding report of Joseph Lobb and Rose Burgess, Narracan Shire Advocate, July 19 1911, see here;  Joseph's First Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossier at the National Archives of Australia; Electoral Rolls on Ancestry.com; Shire of Cranbourne Rate Books; Look to the Rising Sun (see Acknowledgment); Some of Joseph's activities in Cardinia - South Bourke & Mornington Journal, October 14, 1926, see here; Dandenong Journal, November 17, 1927, see here; Dandenong Journal, March 29, 1928, see here; Dandenong Journal, July 19, 1928, see here; The Argus, August 20, 1928, see here; Dandenong Journal, April 11, 1929, see here; Dandenong Journal, February 6, 1930, see here.

Cardinia Hall - the very early days

The Cardinia Hall was opened 100 years ago on December 17, 1924. You can read a report here. There was a function held at the hall on November 23, 2024 to celebrate the Centenary, which in spite of the very hot weather, was attended by over 120 people. Some of the locals spoke of their memories of events held at the Hall and the role it played in the local community. I also gave a short talk on the early history of the Hall which is the basis of this post. The original Trustees were Michael Conroy, Alexander Duff, George Benjamin Beazley, Ernest Gordon Mills and Joseph Gordon Lobb, and I have written about them, here.

The Cardinia Hall, taken November 23, 2024 at the Centenary Celebrations.

Image: Heather Arnold

I looked at the three Cardinia Hall files at the Public Records Office of Victoria (PROV) and I paid to have two of the files digitised, and you can look at them online - 

VPRS 242/P0000, C72699 Cardinia Hall Site Correspondence, view it here;  

VPRS 5714/P0000/14893, 496 Cardinia Hall Site Trustees, view it here; 

and VPRS 7882/P0001, 1142 Cardinia Public Hall Building files. 

My other source was Look to the Rising sun: Back to Cardinia 1984 - a history of Cardinia and District, including Rythdale and Pakenham South, by  Eileen Williams and Jewell Beard. (Published by the Back to Cardinia Committee, 1984)

As noted in Look to the Rising Sun the first hall in Cardinia was built about 1880 in Bould Road, the same road where the original Cardinia Primary school operated from 1874 until 1906. The current school opened 1911. The Bould Road Hall  building was used until 1914, when it was sold and this left the town without a hall, and thus in 1921 a public meeting was held with the view to establish a new hall. (1)

What I found from the files at the PROV was that on July 29,1921  Henry Whitmore (2) of Connewarre, Cardinia, Secretary of the Cardinia Hall wrote a letter  to the Public Works Department  - 

Sir, At a representative meeting of the residents of this district, a site on which to erect a hall, offered by C. E. Osborne, Esq. (3) was accepted. Five Trustee for the proposed hall were also appointed at the meeting their names being Mr Conroy, Mr Lobb, Mr A. Duff, Mr E.G. Mills, Mr G. Beazley....... (4)

The first page of Mr Whitmore's letter from July 29, 1921.

 Public Records Office of Victoria VPRS 242/P0000, C72699 Cardinia Hall Site Correspondence

The map that was sent to the Public Works Department  showing the proposed site of the Hall on Mr Osborne's land. 

Public Records Office of Victoria VPRS 242/P0000, C72699 Cardinia Hall Site Correspondence

However on July 6, 1921, a few weeks before Mr Whitmore's  letter, Cardinia farmer, Joseph Lobb had written a letter to the Closer Settlement Board (CSB) asking if they would raise any objection to -

me having a general store opened on a site facing Ballarto Road near the School Ground on Block 71C Homestead Moxon's Land.....or of a site being given for the purpose of erecting a Public Hall or Tennis Court. The position is one of the most suitable for the purpose that can be found in the district..... (5)

The CSB was happy for both a store and or a hall and on August 22, 1921 Joseph wrote again that -

I propose to give a site of 1/3rd or ½ an acre as may be required, adjourning the School Ground on the west and having a frontage of  66ft to Ballarto Road. He also wrote that there would be  a public meeting held on August 26 to discuss the adoption of the proposed site. (6) 

Consequently on August 31, 1921 Mr Whitmore wrote another letter to the Department of Lands and Survey telling them that it had been decided at a public meeting to build the hall on Mr Lobb’s land rather than Mr Osborne’s. Mr Whitmore had also written earlier saying that they wished to apply for moneys from the sale of the old hall. (7)

Joseph Lobb's correspondence with the Close Settlement Board.

Public Records Office of Victoria VPRS 5714/P0000/14893, 496 Cardinia Hall Site Trustees

The map sent to the Department of Lands and Survey showing the 'new' Hall site 

next to the Cardinia School.

Public Records Office of Victoria VPRS 7882/P0001, 1142 Cardinia Public Hall Building files.

The surveyed site of the Cardinia Hall drawn up by J.R. MacDonald April 26, 1924.

Public Records Office of Victoria VPRS 5714/P0000/14893, 496 Cardinia Hall Site Trustees

A year later on August 22, 1922, the hall site of 2 roods was excised from Mr Lobb’s 67 acres and sold to the Trustees for £9/16/6. (8)

Sale of the Hall site to the Trustees in August 1922

Public Records Office of Victoria VPRS 5714/P0000/14893, 496 Cardinia Hall Site Trustees

After the land was acquired the  real work started with fund raising for the new hall and as reported in Look to the Rising Sun, tenders were called in March 1924 for the erection of the hall and Mr Sykes’ tender of £496 was accepted, plus £17 for painting. (9)  The specifications of the Hall were sent to Public Health Department in June 1924 (10) and the Hall was then opened on December 17, 1924, as mentioned before.

The original plan of the Cardinia Hall, in the specifications sent to the Public Health Department, dated June 25, 1924.

Public Records Office of Victoria VPRS 7882/P0001, 1142 Cardinia Public Hall Building files.

The Supper Room was added to the Cardinia Hall in 1927.

Application to erect a supper room at the Cardinia Hall on January 15, 1927.

Public Records Office of Victoria VPRS 7882/P0001, 1142 Cardinia Public Hall Building files.

The Supper Room plan

Public Records Office of Victoria VPRS 7882/P0001, 1142 Cardinia Public Hall Building files.

1927 is where we will leave the Cardinia Hall and 100 years since it first opened in 1924 still plays a role in the  life of the Cardinia community.  To read an account of the opening ceremony from December 17, 1924, click here; to read about the five original Trustees, Michael Conroy, Alexander Duff, George Benjamin Beazley, Ernest Gordon Mills and Joseph Gordon Lobb, click here.

Footnotes

(1) Information in this paragraph from Look to the Rising sun: Back to Cardinia 1984 - a history of Cardinia and District, including Rythdale and Pakenham South, by  Eileen Williams and Jewell Beard. (Published by the Back to Cardinia Committee, 1984) and Vision and Realisation: a centenary history of State Education in Victoria, v. 3, edited by L.J. Blake.  Published by the Education Department of Victoria, 1973.

(2) Henry Francis Whitmore, Connewarre, Cardinia. His entry in the Electoral Rolls said he lived at Dalmore, with his wife Doris Margaret. Doris was the daughter of  Walter Duff (1855 - 1925) and his wife Eva Sharp. Walter was the son of the Reverend Alexander Duff - I have written about the Reverend Alexander Duff at the bottom of this post  https://kooweerupswamphistory.blogspot.com/2021/12/cardinia-tree-plantation-in-honor-of.html and thus Doris was the niece of original Trustee, Alexander Duff.  In 1927, the Electoral Rolls show they were living at Natya, which is east of Ouyen and southwest of Mildura. Henry died in 1959 aged 58 and Doris in 1973, aged 85.

(3) C. E. Osborne - the Shire of Cranbourne Rate Books list Harry and Ernest Osborne owning 423 acres, Allotments 21 to 32, Parish of Koo Wee Rup at Cardinia in 1921. Ernest Charles Osborne, the son of  James and Esther (nee Houston) Osborne died March 25, 1926 and his death notice, see below, notes that he was from Kergunyah, Cardinia, aged 52 and that his death was the result of wounds received during the War. A notice about his estate notes his occupation as a Solicitor. 

Ernest's death notice.

The Argus, March 27, 1926 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article3742355 

 Ernest Osborne's bequest

The Argus, October 21, 1926 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article3816415

The other owner of the property, would be his brother Harry Houston Osborne, listed in Ernest's will. So the only other mystery is Ernest's War service. Harry served in the Fifth Victorian Mounted Rifles in the Boer War (see here) but I can't see Ernest listed, nor is he listed at the National Archives or the Australian War Memorial. I suspect he may have enlisted in England - there is a Corporal Ernest Charles Osborne listed on Ancestry.com in the UK, World War I Service Medal and Award Rolls, 1914-1920 database, but there is no other information about him. However, in 1917 twenty-five trees were planted at the Cardinia State School, in honor of the boys of this district who have responded nobly to the country's call and one was for Ernest and he is also on the Honor Board. You can read about this here  https://kooweerupswamphistory.blogspot.com/2021/12/cardinia-tree-plantation-in-honor-of.html

(4) Public Records Office of Victoria VPRS 242/P0000, C72699 Cardinia Hall Site Correspondence

(5) Public Records Office of Victoria VPRS 5714/P0000/14893, 496 Cardinia Hall Site Trustees

(6) Ibid

(7) Public Records Office of Victoria VPRS 242/P0000, C72699 Cardinia Hall Site Correspondence

(8) Public Records Office of Victoria VPRS 5714/P0000/14893, 496 Cardinia Hall Site Trustees

(9) Look to the Rising Sun - see footnote 1.

(10) Public Records Office of Victoria VPRS 7882/P0001, 1142 Cardinia Public Hall Building files.