An Acrostic History of Koo Wee Rup Swamp

This is an eclectic look at some themes from the history of the Koo Wee Rup Swamp and the first letter of each theme spells a seasonal greeting. This was published in the December 2025 Blackfish, the Koo Wee Rup Township newsletter.  I did a previous one in 2016 for the Blackfish, read it here; and for the Garfield Spectator in 2017, read it here.

M is for Main Drain.
The Chief Engineer of the Public Works Department, William Thwaites (1853 – 1907) surveyed the Koo Wee Rup Swamp in 1887 and his report recommended the construction of the Bunyip Main Drain from where it entered the Swamp in the north, to Western Port Bay and a number of smaller side drains. A tender for works was advertised in 1889. In spite of strikes, floods and bad weather by March, 1893, the private contractors had constructed the 16 miles of the drain from the Bay to the south of Bunyip and the Public Works Department considered the Swamp was now dry enough for settlement. At one time over 500 men were employed and all the work was done by hand, using axes, shovels, mattocks and wheel barrow. It has flooded many times and, in fact, this was expected from the start as the drain was constructed with dimensions to merely facilitate the removal of flood waters and thus permit the use of land between floods. The Roads such as Five Mile Road, Seven Mile Road etc were named because they are five miles and seven miles long the Main Drain from the Bay.

Iona - looking to the south side of the Main Drain.

Image: Berwick Pakenham Historical Society 

E is for Electricity.

Electric power was first supplied in Koo Wee Rup by the Koo Wee Rup Electric Light & Power Company and the official ‘switch on’ took place on Friday, July 22, 1927. The State Electricity Commission was established in 1921 and the Koo Wee Rup Progress association had written to them and asked for the current to be installed here. As a result, an officer of the commission was sent to make a report, and after investigations it was learned that they had very little chance of getting electricity. However, the officer said, “Why not get one of your own.” They were supplied with all the details and the Koo Wee Rup Electric Light & Power company was formed. Dave Mickle, the man in charge of the power house and who was later a local historian, wrote that Initially the supply of single phase 230-460 V electricity was available daily from 4.00pm until midnight, except that on Tuesday the start was 2.00pm. That was because at that time, housewives’ routine was washing Monday and ironing Tuesday. Later, the power was also available between 6.00am and 8.00am. Continuous S.E.C power was switched on in Koo Wee Rup on August 1, 1935 from a line which came across from Tynong, via Cora Lynn.

The Koo Wee Rup Electric Light & Power Company Power House, built in 1927 and closed in 1935.

Image: Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society

R is for Royal Automobile Club of Victoria (RACV)

Tooradin was the birthplace of the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria in 1903. Susan Priestley, in her book The Crown of the road: the story of the RACV, tells us of the formation of the RACV - On a fine weekend late in September 1903, a dozen of Melbourne's more prominent wheelmen, who were also proud owners of the new motorized cycles, took their machines on a very pleasant outing to the flat reaches of Tooradin on Westernport Bay...The outing was reported in the Australian Cyclist... and the next issue of the journal featured a prominent article on the very singular lack of a motor club in Melbourne. The writer of the article was probably Sydney Day, described by Mrs Priestley as a printer by trade but a cyclist and cycling writer at heart. Mrs Priestley says that he was one of the three like-minded friends who claimed to have hatched plans for a motoring club while on that trip to Tooradin. The other members of the trio were James Coleman (manager of a Cycle business) and Henry (Harry) Barton James, advertising manager of Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Company.

R is for Roads
The Western Port Road started at Dandenong and traversed the old Shire of Cranbourne from Cranbourne to Tooradin to Tobin Yallock (the original Lang Lang township). This section is now known as the South Gippsland Highway. There was a report on the state of the Western Port Road in the Leader newspaper of September 19, 1874.
A coach (Cobb's) leaves the Star Hotel from Dandenong every morning in week days. There is a very good metalled road from thence to the flourishing post town of Cranbourne - 9 miles - but the remainder of the road from the latter place here is simply execrable. Some portions of it are even worse than execrable, for they are, in this season of the year, and the three months just passed, absolutely dangerous, and do anything but credit to the road surveyor's department. After leaving Cranbourne, there is a couple or three miles of fairly metalled road, but after that (and this passage I pen for the especial benefit of the above department) come the counterparts of the Great Dismal Swamp, and the Valley of the Shadow of Death. One spot in particular, called Frenchman's Hole, or Flat-bottomed Creek, is highly dangerous to a stranger. The mails are carried over this beautiful spot twice a week, on horseback, and no doubt the man who carries them could give a much more graphic account of this picturesque route than myself. Be that as it may, the traffic on it is much on the increase, and I consider it shameful neglect on the part of the post-office authorities not to organise a better system of mail delivery for this district; and the sooner they let us have three deliveries a week instead of two the better for our convenience and their reputation.

Frenchman’s Hole was near Lang Lang and according to Dr Niel Gunson, the local historian, a Frenchman had tried to cross the two miles of the flat land but he disappeared down a hole, covered with water and only his hat was ever discovered or so the legend goes.

Y is for Youngsters – that is Babies
The Victorian Baby Health Centres Association was established in 1918 and Health Centres were established all over Victoria. The first Centres in this area were Garfield and Bunyip, both operating by 1936; Lang Lang was opened by 1938 and Koo Wee Rup in 1946. The annual report of the Victorian Baby Health Centres Association for 1946/1947 had the following statistics for Cranbourne and Koo Wee Rup - they both had about the same number of individual babies treated (40 for Cranbourne and 42 for Koo Wee Rup) and yet Cranbourne's total baby attendance was 586 and Koo Wee Rup's was 276. Thus Cranbourne mothers had an average of 14 visits per baby compared to Koo Wee Rup's 6 per baby - it's hard to know why - were Cranbourne babies more sickly or did more of the mothers live in the town and not on farms and it was easier to attend or did the Infant Welfare Centre Sister encourage more visits? Baby Health Centres were a valuable and free service for mothers where they received professional advice and information about looking after their babies.

C is for Cheese and Milk Factories
By 1895 there were 174 factories and 284 creameries in Victoria, including a number in the Koo Wee Rup Swamp area. Up until the 1930s the area could sustain several factories for a number of reasons. Firstly, dairy cattle numbers were at their peak in the 1920; it is estimated that the Koo Wee Rup Swamp had 12,000 dairy cattle at this time. Secondly, most farmers were still using horse and cart for transport, so local factories were necessary. Lastly, the factories had slightly different purposes. For instance, whole milk was received at Iona and Cora Lynn, whilst farms with a separator could deposit cream at Drouin, Lang Lang or Bayles. At Iona, a Creamery run by the Fresh Food and Frozen Storage Company, was opened in 1897 and by 1900 it had 50 suppliers. The Creamery operated until around 1907. In 1906, the Drouin Co-Operative Butter Factory (D.C.B.F.) established a factory in Iona on the corner of Little Road and the Main Drain. It closed in October 1928 and was demolished in 1930. The Cora Lynn Cheese factory opened in November 1911. The factory was remodelled and extended in 1932, partially to compensate for Iona closing down; in that year the factory had around 500 regular suppliers. It was closed in the late 1940s/early 1950s. The D.C.B.F took over the Bayles Butter Factory in 1944, which had been established in 1922. It was re-built and enlarged in 1966 and operated until January 1980. Yallock Southern Creamery, which was situated on the corner of the Yallock Creek and the No.5 Yallock Drain Road (which was thus also known as Creamery Road) opened in 1897, closed in 1898, re-opened 1899 and eventually sold to the owners of the Lang Lang Butter Factory. A Yannathan Butter Factory was established in the early 1900s and was purchased by Ivan Stedman at the same he purchased the Lang Lang Factory. The plants from both factories were dismantled and re-assembled at Lang Lang. Factory Road, off Heads Road, is all that is left to remind us of the Yannathan Butter Factory.

Bayles Milk Factory, 1943.

Image: Bayles Fauna Reserve collection.

H is for Hares
William Lyall (1821-1888), the owner of Harewood, on the South Gippsland Highway at Koo Wee Rup was an enthusiastic member of the Acclimatisation Society which was established in Victoria on February 25, 1861. The object of this Society was the introduction, acclimatisation, and domestication of all innoxious animals, birds, fishes insects, and vegetables, whether useful or ornamental ; the perfection, propagation and hybridisation of races newly introduced or already domesticated;  the spread of indigenous animals, &c. from parts of the colonies where they are already known, to other localities where they are not known.

William Lyall introduced many species to his property, Harewood, including deer, partridges, pheasants and hares. There was a thread of letters to the editor of The Argus in August 1873, about the last mentioned animal, the hare, and who was first responsible for its introduction to Victoria - the Acclimatisation Society or William Lyall. This is the letter from William Lyall on the subject, published on August 22, 1873 -

"Honour to whom Honour is due" Sir, - Referring to Mr. Godfrey's letter in this day's Argus, I beg to say that I imported hares, pheasants, and partridges long before the Acclimatisation Society had an existence, and that the county of Mornington and a great part of the Western district of this colony are stocked with hares from Harewood.

In fact, so proud was the Lyall family of introducing the hare to Victoria that William's daughter, Margaret, wrote to The Argus in June 1937, 64 years after her father did, also noting the Lyall role in this matter -
Sir, - In her letter on "Horsemen and Hounds" in 'The Argus" of Saturday, June 12, Mrs M. L. Drought is mistaken in thinking that Mr Godfrey was the first to bring hares into Victoria as my father, the late William Lyall released hares on his property at Western Port in the year 1858. Mr Lyall was also a member of the Victorian Acclimatisation Society. The station property was named Harewood from that date. Yours &c, Margaret M. Timms, Warragul, June 14.

William Lyall 

Image: Gunson, Niel The Good Country: Cranbourne Shire (Cheshire, 1968)

R is for Racehorse - In the 1860s and 1870s there was a racehorse named Koo-wee-rup, owned initially by Dr Leslie Ogilby Patterson of St Kilda. Here are some reports of his races. Koo-wee-rup, was entered in the Maiden Plate on the first day of the Victoria Racing Club’s Spring Meeting, in November 1868. A report of the race described Koo-wee-rup, like the majority of Touchstone’s progeny, appeared small and weedy. In the end, Palmerston won the race with Koo-wee-rup, who threw his rider directly the flag fell, bringing up the rear.

In March 1869, Koo-wee-rup was entered in the Helter Skelter Stakes of the Victorian Racing Club’s Autumn Meeting, which he won in a canter by half a dozen lengths. The horse was then sold to Mr Clarke for £41. Mr Clarke entered Koo-wee-rup in the District Plate in the Woodstock Races in May 1869, which he won. In November 1870, Koo-wee-rup was entered in the Footscray Plate on Derby Day. His Royal Highness, The Duke of Edinburgh (Queen Victoria’s son) was in attendance on the day. Koo-wee-rup came in second. In late November 1871 at the Ballarat Turf Club Spring meeting Koo-wee-rup was one of five starters in the Scurry Stakes, which he won with ease. However he was later disqualified, as being underweight as his jockey was found to be 4 pounds underweight at the after-race weigh-in

The final mention I could find of Koo-wee-rup was at the Croxton Park Race meeting on Boxing Day, 1871. The horse was entered in the Selling race, where he didn't place, and later at the same meeting entered in the Flying Handicap, a one mile race. Six of the ten horses that entered the race started, with Koo-wee-rup a favourite. He started well, but had a fall and broke his leg, so it was a sad end for our racehorse.

I is for Italian Prisoner of War Camp.
This camp opened on October 21, 1944. It was located on Main Drain Road, near the corner of Backhouses Road. The actual Camp was only 7¼ acres and it was leased from Leslie Einseidel for just over £10 per annum and he could still use the rest of the farm for cattle grazing. The camp had one officer and ten ‘other ranks’ and 88 POWs, including one who was a medical orderly. There were three sleeping huts, two kitchen buildings, two of which doubled as a mess room; a separate mess room; a store room and two buildings housing latrines. For transport, there was a one ton van and two 30cwt trucks to transport prisoners to and from work.

The Prisoners were employed by the Department of Commerce and Agriculture and they were paid 1/3d per day, plus they were provided with all equipment, blankets, clothing, food etc. The prisoners came from the Murchison Camp and had a medical and dental examination before they were ‘allotted’ to local farmers to provide labour. Local contractors would provide perishable foodstuffs and appropriate arrangements were made with the local church authorities for the spiritual welfare of prisoners. Most other arrangements e.g. financial appear to have been dealt with at Murchison. In February 1946 the camp was dismantled and the buildings sold.

S is for Snakes. Two snake tales -
From the Koo Wee Rup Sun of February 5, 1931 - Mr M. Murton, while engaged on Mr W. Goble's farm, Kooweerup, last Thursday felt a sharp sting on the arm, but went on with his task. Later he found his arm beginning to swell and punctures from a snake bite were found. Immediately a ligature was applied and the usual measures taken to counteract the poison, after which he was conveyed to the surgery of Dr. Hewitt. Mr Murton quickly recovered from the effect of the bite.

From The Argus of March18, 1933 - Koo Wee Rup - For several weeks a resident of the district has found that bread left in a box outside his house by the baker has been nibbled and he has blamed mice for it. But when a tramp was passing the box today he saw the tail of a snake protruding from it. He crept towards the box and found that the snake was eating the bread. He killed the snake.

T is for Trains
The Great Southern Railway line commenced construction on January 2, 1887 and was opened to Korumburra on June 2, 1891, and by January 13, 1892 went all the way to Port Albert. The section from Dandenong to Tooradin was relatively easy and was officially opened to the public on October 1, 1888. The stations in this section were at Lyndhurst, Cranbourne, Clyde and Tooradin. The Koo Wee Rup Swamp proved to be impediment to the building of the line. The excavation of the Main Drain to drain the Swamp did not start until 1889 and was not completed until 1893, so the rail contractors were essentially working in an undrained swamp. As noted by Railway historian, Keith Bowden at Koo Wee Rup - four separate bridges were necessary in every mile of embankment to allow for the escape of swamp and flood waters. Each of these bridges was one hundred yards long and contained seventy-two piles. To get timber to this site Falkingham [the contractor] tried bullocks but they sank almost out of sight in the mud....he was then forced to proceed very slowly, carrying his bridge timbers on his locomotive along approach embankments, and so build each bridge as he came to the site. It was impossible to build bridges in advance. The bridge crossing the main drain in the swamp had 137 eleven-foot openings, to allow for the escape of heavy flood waters. The Stations from Tooradin on the Koo Wee Rup Swamp were Dalmore, Koo Wee Rup, Monomeith, Caldermeade and Lang Lang.

Falkingham began carrying passengers between Tooradin and Koo Wee Rup on August 19, 1889. In February 1890, the service to Lang Lang was established. The South Gippsland Railway line now stops at Cranbourne, after services ceased in the 1990s.

A trestle bridge over the Koo Wee Rup Swamp

Image: The Great Southern Railway: the illustrated history of the building of the line in South Gippsland  by Keith Macrae Bowden (Australian Railway Historical Association, 1970)

 
M is for Mechanics’ Institute.
The public hall opened in Koo Wee Rup on April 8, 1903. It was located between the Presbyterian Church and the Historical Society in Rossiter Road. In 1912 the Hall became a Mechanics’ Institute in order for it to access government grants. In the nineteenth century the term ‘mechanic’ meant artisan or working man. Mechanics’ Institutes generally had a library, and may have offered lectures, discussions or classes. Bayles was another local town which had a Mechanics’ Institute. This was located in the Bayles Hall which had been re-located from Yallock and officially opened in January 1932. The Tooradin Mechanics' Institute was built in 1882, burnt down in 1937 and the existing Hall was opened in 1938. The old Cora Lynn hall was also originally a Mechanics’ Institute.

The Koo Wee Rup hall was of weather board and it was extended in 1919. The brick front and other rooms were added in 1925 and it was renamed the Memorial Hall to honour the First World War soldiers. The Hall was demolished in 2002 and plaque on the fence marks its location.

The Koo Wee Rup Hall, c. 1920

Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society image

A is for Asparagus.

Over ninety percent of Australian asparagus is grown on the Koo Wee Rup Swamp. The first commercial grower in Victoria was Thomas Roxburgh, at his farm Cheriton Park, on the corner of Fallon Road and Simpson Road at Vervale. The farm was locally known as Roxburgh Park and was 350 acres. Thomas Roxburgh did not personally work on the farm, he employed a farm manager and by 1927 it was reported he had planted 100 acres of asparagus, and his farm was one of the most lucrative farms on the Kooweerup Swamp area, as a ready sale is found for the product at £1 per box. The rich, peaty soil is particularly adapted for the production of the plant, which grows to perfection. By 1932, the farm had 120 acres under asparagus and in the cutting season 20 to 25 men are employed every day. Most of the asparagus was canned by either the Gartside cannery at Dingley or the Rosella Preserving Company or A.J.C. (Australasian Jam Company).

During the Second World War, the Roxburgh farm had the Australian Women’s Land Army women working on the property, as well as some of the men from the Italian Prisoner of War camp. Cheriton Park was sold in 1947 to A.J.C and by that time it had 125 acres of asparagus under production.

S is for Stormy Weather.
From The Age, May 12, 1928 - Cyclone at Bayles. Roof carried half a mile. Butter Factory workers terrified. At 12.30 p.m. today some men working in a butter and cheese factory owned by Sage and Co. Pty. Ltd, Melbourne, heard an extraordinary noise, which appeared to be caused by a sudden roar of wind, ending in a thunderclap. They rushed out of the factory, and as they did so the roof seemed to be lifted bodily and was swept away at a terrific speed. Later on the greater portion of the tin roof, measuring 60 feet by 20 feet, was found half a mile away. The cyclone was awe inspiring, and struck terror into the hearts of those who witnessed it. The men working in the factory were not injured, and after finding out where the rest of the roof had landed they returned to work. The machinery was not damaged. The weather had been fine up to the time of the cyclone, but after that it rained heavily.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Cyrus Mason - the Buonarotti Club and 'Woodyats', Tynong

 I was going through Trove combining various words with Koo Wee Rup as a search term to see what I could discover and came up with an article in The Argus of August 10, 1929 on the Buonarotti Club - it was titled Buonarotti Club: Bohemians of the 'Eighties - Memories of noted artists by L.T. Luxton (1)

Stephen F. Mead, wrote a  history of the club, The Search for Artistic Professionalism in Melbourne: the activities of the Buonarotti Club, 1883 -1887 which was published in the State Library of Victoria's La Trobe Journal in December 2011, read it here. I have extracted a few paragraphs from his article.

Stephen Mead writes - The Buonarotti Club was instigated by the engraver, draughtsman and artist, Cyrus Mason in May 1883 at the Prince's Bridge Hotel (Young and Jackson's), on the corner of Swanston and Flinders Streets, in Melbourne.  It flourished for the next four years, eventually concluding its activities during September 1887. Mason was well acquainted with colonial literary, artistic and bohemian circles long before forming the Buonarotti Club, especially through his membership of Melbourne's Yorick Club. In the 1860s, he was one of the first illustrators of the Colonial Monthly edited by his friend Marcus Clarke, then the source of early Melbourne's Bohemian attitudes.

The Club was a professional artists' organisation that utilised literature and music to build the group into a more comprehensive artistic institution, distinct from other art and cultural societies of the period. Although it was divided into three 'sections' – 'Artistic', 'Literary' and 'Musical'- its membership consisted mainly of men and women who aspired to be professional painters. These included Frederick McCubbin, Louis Abrahams, Tom Roberts and Jane Sutherland. Admittedly literary clubs and societies were very popular in Melbourne during the 1880s, as demonstrated by the existence of the Shakespeare Society, the Shelley Society, the Burns Society and the Lamb Society. It must be stressed, however, that these groups were purely and proudly made up of amateurs, not professional writers. The Buonarotti Club differed from them in that it was artist-dominated, with members who possessed professional goals. These included painters who desired instruction, a cross fertilization of ideas and the opportunity to exhibit and receive critique from their peers to assist them in their participation in the commercial Melbourne art world.

The name of the Club 'Buonarotti' had been proposed by the founder, Cyrus Mason, to honour Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (1475-1564), the great Italian sculptor, painter, draughtsman and architect.

Stephen Mead concludes his article with Despite its early demise, it must be recognised that significant achievements were made of the Buonarotti Club in building up a strong code of artistic professionalism to meet the needs and challenges faced by artists of the period in Melbourne, even fostering a strong sense of artistic bohemianism in the city, and played a pivotal role with that group of artists who formed the now-designated Heidelberg School of painters. (2)

Richmond Road in 1883 by Cyrus Mason

State Library of Victoria Image H2012.271

Cyrus Mason, the founder of the Club, had a property at Tynong where he hosted artists who had painting expeditions to the shores of the Koo Wee Rup Swamp. The Koo Wee Rup Swamp, of 40,000 hectares, was drained between 1889 and 1893, you can read about it here. This means that when the members of the Buonarotti Club saw the swamp it was in its natural state and undrained. How wonderful it would be to see paintings and drawings of that.

The 1929 article in The Argus that I referred to at the start of this post had an interview with a Club member, Louis Lavater, a musician. Louis shared his memories which were of the out-of-doors excursions rather than the social activities of the Buonarotti; of finding a tiger snake as a bed companion on an excursion to Eaglemont and of killing it with a walking stick and nonchalantly turning over and going to sleep again; of happy-go-lucky painting camps on the shores of the Koo-wee-rup Swamp.

"Often we used to set out from Mr. Cyrus Mason's estate at Tynong for the old Koo-wee-rup swamp, with a loaf of bread, a bag of tomatoes, a bag of oysters, bottles of beer and plenty of cigarettes," said Mr. Lavater. "Painting was the first object of the expeditions, but the rough life had a zest all its own which appealed strongly to all of us and the humour! I wonder whether humour is gone from the bush roads when I think of the incidents of those excursions. I remember that there was a dear old couple who lived on an island in the swamp, who received a letter from a Melbourne solicitor stating that they had been left a small sum of money. The old woman, who was aged 84 years - four years older than her husband-was keenly conscious of her husband's youthfulness, and it was with the greatest reluctance that she allowed him to go to Melbourne to arrange a settlement with the solicitor. She used to tell us that every time she thought of her husband among 'those Melbourne hussies' she had a 'paroxum.' Her stern disapproval of our bathing in the swamp apparently caused her a few more 'paroxums,' for she used to come down and seize our clothes and stalk away with them in righteous indignation." (3)

Map of the Colony of Victoria designed, lithographed and printed by Cyrus Mason, 1854.

State Library of Victoria click here to see a high resolution version http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/119498

Cyrus Mason was born in London in 1829. He undertook an apprenticeship as a lithographer and in the May of 1853 arrived in Melbourne. In September 1856 he joined the Victorian Railways as a lithographic draughtsman and set up its lithographic printing branch. He left the Railways in 1864  had various jobs, was a member of different Artist's Societies, undertook freelance work, lectured and as we saw established the Buonarotti Club in 1883. (4) You can read a  more extensive account of Cyrus Mason's life in an article by Thomas Darragh in Design and Art Australia Online here.

Camping on the road. Artist W.H.O., lithographed and published by Cyrus Mason, 1855

State Library of Victoria Image H83.236/2

Cyrus Mason purchased 282 acres of land around December 1876 from William McKeone (5) and he called the property Woodyats. He was listed in the Shire of Berwick Rate books up until the 1898/1899 book; during this time his occupation was initially listed as a Draughtsman, but later changed to Grazier and towards the end it changed to the more refined Gentleman. Thomas Darragh says he returned to Melbourne about 1900, so this tallies with the entries in the Rate books. At Tynong, Cyrus bred Romney Marsh sheep and was a breeder of some note and participated in Stud Sheep sales, as we see from the advertisement, below.

Annual stud sales including Cyrus Mason's Woodyats stud at Tynong

Sydney Mail August 13, 1887 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/165222851?

I wanted to find the exact location of Woodyats and the Rate books list the property as Lots 16 & 17, Parish of Bunyip, and it is shown on the 1887 map immediately below. A later map from 1907, created after the Parish of Koo Wee Rup East was established, shows the allotments renumbered as 55C and 55B and part of the new Parish. The property is south-west of Garfield, facing onto what would now be Mont Albert Road. The property was on high ground on  the edge of the Swamp or the on the shores of the Koo-wee-rup Swamp as Louis Lavatar noted (6)

*click on image to enlarge*  An 1887 map showing Cyrus Mason's property, next to what was called Batty Island, the property owned by Thomas Batty. This was before the Koo Wee Rup Swamp was drained, so it would have been surrounded by water. See the 1907 map below, which shows the property in relation to later roads.

Bunyip, County of Mornington,  photo-lithographed at the Department of Crown Lands and Survey, Melbourne,

 by J. Noone 10. 5. 87. [1887] State Library of Victoria Image  http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/204488

*click on image to enlarge*  Cyrus Mason's property, south-west of Garfield, marked with blue stars. I have annotated the map and you can see it is surrounded by the Koo Wee Rup Swamp sub-divisions.

Koo-Wee-Rup, County of Mornington, photo-lithographed at the Department of Lands and Survey, Melbourne, by T. F. McGauran, 1907. State Library of Victoria http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/104853  

In June 1893, Mason wrote a letter to the editor of the Leader newspaper about the Public Works Department, their Swamp drainage works, the hardship the new settlers faced and at the same time displaying  a practical knowledge of the area -
Two years back this May The Age published a letter (7) of mine giving the history of the Kooweerup country from 1847, including the various attempts at drainage, and stating that the volume of water always flowing past my property did not reach Western Port Bay. The Public Works department now admits that my statement made then is correct and explains the disappearance of the water by the process of evaporation. As most of the land included in the evaporating area for the calculation made in my presence by a public works engineer is on the south side of the main drain, and has as much to do with the water on the north side as the Fitzroy Gardens, the evaporation theory is valueless. For many years I have endeavored to deter the Public Works officers from blundering into the Kooweerup country without providing a way out. The winter's rains, unhappily, will compel many of the 20 acre section occupiers to find a way out, as they will be surrounded by water— a result not conducive to settling the unemployed upon the land. Last January I wrote to Mr. Webb, hoping through him to save the reputation of the Public Works department by allowing its officers the credit of the discovery I am now compelled to make known, for the Minister of Public Works in four months has not even favored me with an acknowledgment of my letter. Unfortunately it may take another two years and the useless expenditure of many thousands of pounds to force the truth into the official mind, so the sooner stated the better. 

I have discovered a river in Victoria, hitherto not shown on any map, and quite ignored by the Public Works engineers in their drainage scheme. Altogether apart from the Bunyip River, there is another and far larger body of water, which enters below Garfield the Kooweerup country, spreads out in width for half a mile, having four deep channels flowing westward rapidly, gathers into a volume of faster running water 9 feet deep at the south west, corner of my property, and in a mile disappears in an immense reed bed about a mile and a half south of the 42 mile post on the Gippsland railway. This fast running river forms a chord to the curve of what is termed the main drain, out at the east end through high ground, growing timber which required dynamite for its removal. Not 1 gallon of the Kooweerup River water flows into the Government cut except after excessive rains, but passes underground on its way to Port Phillip Bay, as stated in my letter of May, 1891.

It would be laughable, if not too painful and expensive in results, to see the unemployed trying to make what is called a "subsidiary drain " across this large river! A remarkable work to give the unemployed for the privilege of settling on 20 acres when drained, and affords to us an official illustration of Mrs. Partington with her mop operating against the Atlantic. My statement that the Kooweerup River exists is definite, and can be easily tested— (1) By walking from the Bunyip railway station south one mile to the public works main drain, by the track crossing the whole of the Bunyip River water, women and children have used it for months without wetting the soles of their boots by walking over the river on laid saplings. (2) A 9 foot pole will prove the depth of running water forming my south boundary. (3) It is within the knowledge of everyone who has seen the main drain below Nar Nar Goon during April that only a mere dribble of water from the Ararat Creek flowed in it towards Western Port. Had the Public Works officers examined these three points— included in about eight miles— they must have discovered the existence of the Kooweerup River, and refrained from starting the unscientific theory of evaporation. The Kooweerup River will have to be dealt with apart from the present made drain, which is not made large enough to carry the water could it be taken from low to higher ground. As all my efforts with Ministers and officers at the Public Works department have failed in obtaining any recognition of what might be made an additional and valuable river to Victoria, I bring its existence publicly under notice, and conclude my letter with the invitation I gave Mr. Webb last January, feeling sure of courtesy at your hands. I beg most respectfully to invite your attention to what must be considered the key to successfully open the Kooweerup country, and herewith enclose a tracing showing what I actually know as facts, with that hope that you will order an investigation of the correctness of my tracing before commencing subsidiary channels. I shall be happy to lend my boat, or render assistance to yourself or any officer sent to investigate, and if advised, will meet train at Tynong station with my buggy,— Yours, &c, CYRUS MASON. (8)

Cyrus Mason also created a water lifting scheme - a method to transfer water from a creek into a tank and thus to be used for irrigation and stock water, so he was not only a talented artist but inventive as well. The Australasian newspaper, of December 24, 1892 published an article on this invention -
a simple and economical mode of lifting water, the system brought into use by Mr. Cyrus Mason, J.P., on his property, Woodyats, Tynong, is well worth the attention of anyone having the command of a running stream, and desirous of using it for irrigating green crops, small fruits, vegetables, or for watering stock. As Mr. Mason, when building his wheel, was only desirous of proving its capabilities for irrigating an orchard and perfume garden, also obtaining a head of water to work a hydraulic ram, he authorises us to say that he will have pleasure in communicating information to anyone desirous of constructing a similar wheel. (9)

Cyrus Mason's simple and economical mode of lifting water

The Australasian December 24, 1892. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article138104822

There were two aspects of Cyrus Mason's life - the engraver and artist who sought the company of like minded people in the Buonarotti Club and the farmer of Woodyats at Tynong. It was his interest in his farm that was, in the end, one of the reasons for the demise of the Buonarotti Club.

L.T Luxton, the writer of the newspaper article I have referred to at the top of this post, quotes an un-named female member of the club and she attributes the decline of the Club to -
Cyrus Mason's move to Tynong. He was elected president. From that point to the time when Cyrus Mason retired to live in the country and the club 'petered out,' three years elapsed-one year as a men's club and two years as a mixed club. A short life if you like, but a very merry one. (10)

Louis Lavater, in the same article, also attributes the demise of the club to the resignation of key members -
"The end of all clubs," replied Mr Lavater, extending his hands, "Chance carried away a few of the dominant personalities, such as Longstaff, Julian Gibb and Cyrus Mason, and soon there were not enough strong personalities left to carry the dead weight of that section which has to be carried in every club. A slow 'petering-out,' and in a year, or two years - gone!" (11)

Family information

Cyrus married Jessy Montagu (nee Campbell) in 1853. They had, I believe, 10 children - I have listed them here with any details I can confirm (12) - 
Cyrus - born 1854, married Louise Scroggie in 1882 and died in 1931 in New South Wales.
Jessy Harriet - born 1855 and died January 27, 1857.
Arthur John - born 1857, married Hattie Adelaide Devol in Kansas City, Missouri. 
Walter and Willie - born and died in April 1859 - Walter on April 15 at 4 days old and Willie on April 22 at 11 days old.
Laura - born in 1860, married Richard MacDonnell in 1883 and died in 1935.
Herbert Reuben - born in 1861, died in 1885 in Queensland.
Valentine Frank - born 1864, died in 1944.
Constance - born 1866, married Frederick Kneebone in 1890 and died in 1952.
Theodore - born in 1867, died in 1947 in New South Wales.

After Cyrus and Jessy left Tynong they moved to Florence Street, Mentone; then to Gordon Street in Sandringham, and from there to Fitzroy and East Melbourne. (13)

Cyrus Mason died August 8, 1915 at the age of 86 and his wife Jessy died November 21, 1909 aged 84. They are buried at St Kilda Cemetery with little Jessy and the babies, Walter and Willie. Also on the headstone, which is shown below, is their grandson, Arthur Robert Mason, Killed in Action in France on August 28, 1918.  There is also the quite unusual smaller headstone on the same grave for Jessy's daughters from her first marriage to George Conway Montagu - Edith who died at the age of 63 in May 1911 and Jane who died in August 1938, aged 93. (14)

The Mason family grave at the St Kilda Cemetery, with the rather unusual second headstone for the Montagu sisters, the step-daughters of Cyrus Mason.

Photo: Isaac Hermann.

We will finish off this post with this beautiful poem, Noon at Woodyats, Tynong, by Grace Elizabeth Jennings Carmichael (1867-1904) , a member of the Buonarotti Club, published in The Australasian on January 21, 1888, under the name of  Jennings Carmichael (15). Grace died in London just before her 37th birthday. You can read more about her short life in her Australian Dictionary of Biography entry, written by Lyndsay Gardiner, here.

Noon at Woodyats, Tynong
It is a day to dream one dream,
And then in full content to die,
Bearing away in memory
The colours of that cloudless sky;
The odour of the fragrant green
As 'mid its seeded spears we lie,
The motion of those throbbing wings
That up the bluey distance fly.

It is a day to dream one dream
Of earthly peace, forgetting all
The bygone gleam of darker days -
The keen cold blast and sullen fall
Of slant grey rain, the leafless range
Of solemn poplars straight and tall.
The burial thoughts mid-year June,
That wrap the earth with sable pall.

A day to dream one dream of trust,
Untortured by foreboding fears,
To drink in joy the breezy gust
That round this spreading lightwood cheers.
To clasp dear Hope with eager arms.
And look with eyes undimmed by tears,
While memory blots away for once
The sorrow of the yesteryears.

In the broad march the colours glow,
Nut browns and blues and shading gold,
Deep purples fill the dimpling clefts
Between the wooded mountain folds.
On yonder gradual slope the clear
Transparent summer-sunlight holds
No wraith of shadow standing bright
Against the circle of the wolds.

A day to dream one dream of rest -
Oh friends, your happy voices ring
So freshly from the glowing lawn
That glistens through the sombre wing
Of yon old fir; sweet is the sound
The echoes to my senses bring.
Fainting soft pictures of content
That ever to the brain will cling.

I ween 'twere happy so to die.
To see this perfect world alight,
Just as the shadow of th' eclipse
Falls in irrevocable might;
To close loth eyes, their vision rich
With earth sweet largesse, full and bright;
Then in that view to sink away
Into the silence of the night.

Sources:
Darragh, Thomas Cyrus Mason in Design and Art Australia Online, see here.

Mead, Stephen The Search for Artistic Professionalism in Melbourne: the activities of the Buonarotti Club, 1883 -1887 in the State Library of Victoria La Trobe Journal No. 88 December 2011, see here.

Trove list: I have created a list of newspaper articles referenced in this post, access it here.

Footnotes
(1) The Argus, August 10, 1929, see here.
(2) Mead, Stephen The Search for Artistic Professionalism in Melbourne: the activities of the Buonarotti Club, 1883 -1887 in the State Library of Victoria La Trobe Journal No. 88 December 2011, see here.
(3) The Argus, August 10, 1929, see here. The 'dear old couple who lived on an island in the swamp' were Thomas and Agnes Batty, I have written about them here   https://kooweerupswamphistory.blogspot.com/2023/10/battys-island-and-thomas-batty-c-1802.html 
(4) Darragh, Thomas Cyrus Mason in Design and Art Australia Online, see here.

(5) William McKeone also spelt as M'Keone advertised his property for sale in December 1876 - it was described as adjoining the Koo Wee Rup Swamp and as one of the nicest little farms within many miles around. I have written about William McKeone in my history of Tynong, here.
(6) The Argus, August 10, 1929, see here.
(7) The Age, May 23, 1891, see here.
(8) The Leader, June 10, 1893, see here.
(9) The Australasian, December 24 1892, see here.
(10)  The Argus, August 10, 1929, see here.
(11) Ibid

(12) Indexes to the Victorian, New South Wales and Queensland Births, Death and Marriages; Personal notices in the newspapers.
(13) Electoral Rolls on Ancestry.com
(14) St Kilda Cemetery headstone transcriptions on Ancestry.com
(15) The Australasian, January 21, 1888,  see here.

George McDonald, Assistant Surveyor, and the Great Swamp

The Argus of June 12, 1863 published this interesting letter written by George McDonald, Assistant Surveyor, about the Koo Wee Rup and Moe Swamps, which at that time were thought to be connected and not separate Swamps. After surveying the area, George McDonald could confirm that the swamps were not connected, but separated by land which was dry and hilly, the hills rising gently and forming a succession of wide valleys. 

George McDonald was the  man who surveyed McDonalds's Track which went from what is now called Lang Lang to Morwell, via Mount Worth. I gave written about George and his track, here. Work to reclaim the Moe Swamp, which was essentially north of the railway line between Darnum and Moe, commenced in 1887. Carlo Catani, Public Works Department Engineer, worked on the Moe Swamp and I have written about it here. The Koo Wee Rup Swamp drainage scheme commenced in 1889, and from 1893 Carlo Catani was also involved in project. I have written about this here.

We will start with two maps, one from 1851 and the other from 1859 which show the Koo Wee Rup and Moe Swamps as one.

1851 map showing the Great Marsh, i.e shows the Koo Wee Rup Swamp

and the Moe Swamp as one.

From: Victoria, or, Port Phillip - the map drawn & engraved by J. Rapkin ; the illustrations by A. Warren 

& engraved by J. Rogers

National Library of Australia https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-232646335/view 

1859 map showing the Koo Wee Rup Great Swamp  i.e shows the Koo Wee Rup Swamp 

and the Moe Swamp as one.

From: Robinson's Road map of Victoria 1859, created by E.L. Robinson

National Library of Australia https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-231373394/view

This is the letter published in The Argus of June 12, 1863 (see here) from George McDonald on his Discovery of good soil where a large Swamp was supposed to exist

DISCOVERY OF GOOD SOIL WHERE A LARGE SWAMP WAS SUPPOSED TO EXIST.

(FROM THE PUBLIC LANDS CIRCULAR, JUNE 10)

The following letter, from Mr. Assistant Surveyor M'Donald to the surveyor-general, is published as indicating good soil where a large swamp was supposed to exist :

Survey Camp, Yallock, May 15.

Sir, - have the honour to inform you that, in compliance with your instructions, I have surveyed a number of lines between the upper road to Gipps Land and the proposed new road to the same district, for the purpose of ascertaining the nature of the country between those roads.

Hitherto it has generally been considered that the country between was occupied by either the Koo-Wee-Rup or the Moe Swamp, the general opinion being that those swamps were connected-one flowing eastward, the other to the west. I have found, however, that such is not the case, but that the country, instead of being a wet and impenetrable swamp, is dry and hilly, the hills rising gently and forming a succession of wide valleys. By the lines which I have surveyed the dimensions of the Great Swamp are considerably reduced and I am inclined to think that by further examination its extent, as shown on the old maps, would be still further contracted; in fact, I believe that the only foundation for the previous opinions as to the existence of the so-called ' Great Swamp ' is a narrow chain of swamps on the west and north-west of its supposed position, formed by the overflow of the Tarwin and Buneep rivers.

The soil of the largest portion of the country over which I passed is of a very rich description, being formed principally of rich decomposed volcanic rock: the remaining part is inferior, being a clay loam formed by the disintegration of a sedimentary rock. The change is instantly perceptible, being marked by a corresponding change in the vegetation, which, from being straight and dense, becomes open and stunted on the poorer soil.

The scrub is not so dense as on the top of the Dividing Range, and is sufficiently open to permit the passage of wild cattle, a few of which I saw, and numerous traces of others, occasionally in places which I would imagine were impenetrable to animals so large.

A plan of my survey, with description of the soil, timber, &c., I have drawn upon the map of the proposed road to Gipps Land.

I have the honour to be, sir,
Your most obedient servant,

George T. McDonald,
Assistant-Surveyor.
C. W. Ligar, Esq., surveyor general.

A visit to Koo Wee Rup in 1886 - part 1

In May 1886 The Leader newspaper had a two-part report of a visit to the Koo Wee Rup area. This was before the construction of the Main Drain. The article mentions Duncan McGregor and Frederick Peers. In March 1875 Duncan MacGregor (1835-1916) and Frederick Peers (1843-1896) purchased parts of the Great Swamp run, previously leased by John Mickle, John Bakewell and William Lyall. MacGregor purchased 3,871 acres and Peers 426 acres, in present day Dalmore (which was named after MacGregor’s property) (1). MacGregor was instrumental in establishing the Koo Wee Rup Drainage Committee which, from 1876, constructed channels to take the water from the Cardinia Creek and the Toomuc Creek to Western Port Bay at Moody’s Inlet (2).

Part one of the report appeared in The Leader on May 8, 1886, it is transcribed below and you can read it on Trove, here. Part two, appeared in The Leader on May 15, 1886, it is transcribed here, and you can read it on Trove, here.

A VISIT TO KOO-WEE-RUP

[By our Agricultural Reporter]

It is really surprising now little is known by the general public about the Koo-wee-rup swamp. A vague idea is entertained by most that good land is to be found there, but the difficulties in the way of draining and clearing are supposed to be so great that the work must be done either by Government or large capitalists. The swamp certainly has an uninviting look, for on the undrained portion of it the tall ti-tree, in many places 20 feet in height, now stretches for miles without a break that the eye can discern, and the no less troublesome looking reeds give evidence of the boggy nature of the ground. One can scarcely wonder then, that when the tide of selection was in flood keen practical men passed it by in disgust and tried their fortunes in the great forest and hazel scrub of Gippsland. It seemed utterly impossible to obtain a footing in the swamp, the green appearance of the scrub on top and the moisture underneath apparently precluded all idea of fire being made the clearing agent; and as it is the watershed of a large tract of rangy country, several permanent creeks running through and spreading their waters over it in flood time, it was thought that enormous difficulties existed in regard to drainage, and the confining of flood waters to their proper channels.

Seeing the waters of so many creeks spread out over such a large tract of country, one would conclude that the natural fall was insufficient, and, therefore, the making of drains would not only be useless but mischievous by allowing the sea water to flow back and inundate the swamp. The fallacy of this is apparent when it becomes known that a fall of something like 80 feet exists in 20 miles, and the visitor, whose idea is that the swamp is a sink which cannot be drained, will have his illusion dispelled by a walk along the embankment of any one of the main drains running south and emptying into an inlet of the sea. The rush of water and the scour which has taken place since the drains wore formed will convince the most sceptical of the facilities for drainage. 

Were it not for a mistaken idea of the difficulties and expenditure necessary to cope successfully with this land it would long ere this have taken up, and instead of the greater portion being as now a mere unsightly waste it would be peopled by scores of thriving families. To reclaim it all that is necessary is a co-operative system of drainage amongst the settlers. Had the entire swamp been taken up in blocks of not larger than 200 acres, and the selectors combined to effect the drainage, it is not too much to say that Koo-wee-rup, instead of being almost impenetrable, would now be one of the most prosperous and productive districts in the colony.

The soil is magnificent, the decomposed vegetable matter and ashes of centuries having accumulated and formed a rich black mould, more like a well-rotted manure heap in appearance than anything else. Such soil should be capable of producing heavy yields of almost any kind of crop, and that it is so has been amply demonstrated by the crops grown on the cleared portions of the land secured by a few adventurous spirits. The growing of crops on the reclaimed portion has not, however, got beyond the experimental stage, for the simple reason that the roads are so bad that it is impossible to get a large quantity of produce to market, hence attention is chiefly directed to the sowing of grass and fattening of stock.

When thoroughly drained — and the sooner this is set about the better — this state of things will no longer exist, for as the ground becomes consolidated with traffic, its capacity to carry heavy loads will be increased, and there will be a prospect of getting the produce to a railway station with a greater degree of comfort, and a less expenditure of vocal exercise of a profane nature than at present.

A large portion of the swamp was offered for sale some years ago, but purchasers were only found for a part, and as care was not taken to prevent any one purchaser acquiring a right to more than one block the portions alienated from the Crown are held by a few settlers in large blocks. The land was sold subject to a drainage fee of 5s. per acre, to be paid to the shire council, and by whom the work of draining was to be carried out. The sum named being considered too small, the council refused to have anything to do with it; therefore, the purchasers formed themselves into a drainage committee, and submitted a plan to the Government which had been approved of by the shire council. This was accepted, and the drainage fee exacted from the purchasers was handed over to the committee, and the work of draining proceeded with. It was, however, found that further calls were necessary, and the work actually performed cost the purchasers 15s. 6d. per acre.

The work carried out by the Koo Wee Rup Swamp Drainage Committee, from 1876.

From Swampland to Farmland by David Roberts, Rural Water Commission, 1985.

In addition to this the more energetic of the landowners, notably Messrs. Peers and M'Gregor, have expended large sums in draining and clearing their land, and the experience gained will be of great practical value to those who follow their example. The difficulties in the way of settlement on the swamps are not so great as might be imagined by looking at the country and compare favorably with those to be met with in the much-vaunted hazel scrub of Gippsland. The expense of preparing the swamp land for the reception of grass seed is undoubtedly greater than in the hazel scrub country, which as a rule can cut for 10s. per acre, but in the latter case the big timber remains and is likely to do so for some generations to come, whereas in the swamp there is no timber which cannot be uprooted by a team of bullocks.

Anyone who has had practical experience in grubbing big trees knows the easiest portion of the work consists in getting the tree down; it is the after labour of cutting up and burning off which takes time. True, the big trees are not, as a rule, taken out, but a certain percentage of smaller ones must be extracted before the land is fit for the plough, and this in addition to ringing and scrub cutting, necessitates considerable expenditure. Then limbs from the large trees are constantly falling and destroying crops, this giving a great deal of extra labor to pick up. A Koo-wee-rup there is good evidence to prove that the cost of drawing and eradicating the scrub will be from £5 to £10 per acre, and when the land is once cleared there is but little further trouble with it. Sometimes the scrub may sprout but as a rule it does not, and a paddock properly cleared presents a beautiful open appearance which contrasts very favorably with the so-called clearing of timbered land.

So little was known of the proper way to cope with the scrub that mistakes were made by those who first attempted to clear, but with the experience gained, the remaining portion, can be reclaimed at a less cost per acre than has hitherto been paid. Several different kinds of scrub are found in the swamp, but two species of ti-tree predominate. These are locally known as white and black ti-tree respectively, the black variety being much harder to get rid of than the white. Hundreds of acres are covered with tall reeds, the roots of which apparently go to a great depth, as they extend deeper than any of the drains hitherto constructed. This renders them somewhat difficult to get rid of, but as stock readily eat them when they sprout after being burned, they are not looked upon as a great nuisance.

Studded over the swamp are numerous small rises or islands (3), the soil of which is composed almost entirely of sand differing widely from the surrounding portions. After the swamp has been drained these will form splendid sites for the erection of homesteads, as they are always dry; and care should be taken in surveying to leave at least one on each block if possible. The soil of the swamp, judging by appearances, is second to none in the colony and is evidently the accumulation of ages.

In cutting the drains on the reclaimed portion, at a depth of 3 feet from the surface, extensive beds of ashes and old slumps are found which go to prove that a growth of scrub existed at a former period which was burned, and over which the present soil has accumulated. At a still greater depth — 5 feet from the surface — are found other, though not so extensive beds of ashes which give evidence of still more ancient fires. Where there is such a mixture of ashes and decomposed vegetable matter the productive qualities of the soil ought to be enormous, and some decisive steps should be taken to admit of its being worked.

It is positively disgraceful that such splendid soil is allowed to continue in its present unsightly and unproductive state, and the Government should have a proper survey made with a view to draining the swamp, and either selling or leasing it to those who would cultivate it, and thus considerably add to the common wealth. Some time ago a party of surveyors did visit it, and partly laid off the route of a main drain or canal, but with the wisdom and foresight for which the Survey department is sometimes remarkable they were sent so late in the season that they were flooded out and had to abandon the undertaking and have since evinced no inclination to resume it. The proposed route of the Great Southern railway runs through a portion of the swamp, and, when constructed, will materially assist in draining it.

Of those who have purchased land a few have been energetic, and the work of reclamation is being vigorously proceeded with, but others are holding back in the hope of being benefited by whatever scheme is carried out by Government. This has been the cause of putting those who have tried to drain and clear to a greater expense than would otherwise have been the case had all joined in one co-operative scheme. The entire fringe of the swamp has been selected, but, as already said, the swamp proper has been taken up by only a few, the portion reclaimed being about 10,000. In the next letter a detailed account will be given of the work performed by these as well as the experience gained as to the best way of eradicating the scrub.

(The Leader on May 8, 1886, see here.)

Part two of this report, appeared in The Leader on May 15, 1886, it is transcribed here, and you can read it on Trove, here.

(1) Gunson, Neil The Good Country: Cranbourne Shire (Cheshire, 1968), p. 125

(2) Roberts, David  From Swampland to farmland: a history of the Koo-Wee-Rup Flood Protection  District (Rural water Commission of Victorua, 1985), p. 9 -10.

(3) Read more about these sand hills, here.

A visit to Koo Wee Rup in 1886 - part 2

In May 1886 The Leader newspaper had a two-part report of a visit to the Koo Wee Rup area. This was before the construction of the Main Drain. Part one of the report appeared in The Leader on May 8, 1886, it is transcribed here and you can read it on Trove, here. Part two, appeared in The Leader on May 15, 1886, it is transcribed below, and you can read it on Trove, here.

A VISIT TO KOO-WEE-RUP. No. II

By Our Agricultural Reporter

One of the most energetic holders of swamp land is Mr. D. M'Gregor, of Coburg. The extent of this gentleman's property in the swamp is 3500 acres, situated about 5 miles nearly due south from the Pakenham railway station. A great deal of useful work has been done here, and good results obtained for the expenditure of time and money. Main drains surround the entire property, and one subdivides it. Between 500 and 600 acres has been reclaimed, the scrub cleared and is now sown down with English grasses. 

The main drains were partly constructed by the drainage committee, but have been enlarged by Mr. M'Gregor; altogether 27 miles of drains have been excavated, varying in width from 3 feet to 12 feet, and in depth from 3 feet 6 inches to 5 feet. The main drains are double, with a space of 30 feet between them, on which all the earth taken out is deposited, thus forming a strong embankment, which is of immense service in keeping back flood water. The outer drain is 12 foot wide by 5 feet deep and the inner one 10 feet by 5 feet. These have been found sufficient to protect the paddocks from the influx of flood water, though a considerable extent of undrained country lies northward, the waters from which are carried by these drains to some of the numerous inlets from Western Port Bay. An important fact in connection with these main drains must not be lost sight of, they act as a secure and permanent fence, which neither cattle nor sheep will attempt to cross. This saves a vast amount of fencing, the material for which comes very expensive, as carting on these bad roads for a considerable portion of the year is out of the question. 

The first work to be proceeded with is draining, and until this is accomplished it is useless attempting anything else. After the drains have been constructed, and previous to any other work being gone on with, it is better to wait and allow the ground to dry. The mistake made by those who first attempted to cope with the scrub was in trying to do too much — they wanted a return for their outlay at once but after experience has proved that it is better to wait and allow the ground to drain and become consolidated. It is found that as the land becomes more dry it shrinks away from the ti-tree roots, leaving them partly exposed; this in most cases is sufficient to kill the white variety.

The next proceeding is to get a fire through it. The dry ti-tree bums readily, and even where it is green if one side is cleared and straw laid along to give it a start a great deal can be destroyed on a hot day.The plan, however, followed at Mr.M'Gregor's in dealing with the green scrub is to lay it with a machine which has been invented by Mr.M'Donald, the overseer. This, like many great inventions, is exceedingly simple, the only difficulty being to find suitable material from which to manufacture it, and some trouble is experienced in this respect. A tree having somewhat the shape of the letter V is selected and sawn off a few feet below where the branches diverge; the limbs are then lopped to unequal lengths. To the longer a team of bullocks, from 16 to 20 in number, is attached. The shorter limb has a curve, which enables it to take a bite of the scrub, and the whole is of sufficient weight to crush down whatever is opposed to it. Sometimes the point of the shorter limb gets broken, and then a splice must be attached by strong bolts, as without the curve inward the work would not be so satisfactorily performed. About 5 acres a day can be laid, and then no trouble is experienced in getting a fire through it. 

The next proceeding is to uproot the stumps which remain, and for this a machine somewhat resembling a heavy sledge is used, with cross pieces shod with iron. This tears up the stumps and levels the ground at the same time. It is followed by an exceedingly strong and heavy rake drawn by two horses and worked by a man and boy. The rake was manufactured according to Mr. M'Gregor's directions by T. Robinson and Co., Melbourne, and is something after the style of an ordinary horse hay rake, but very much stronger and heavier, the teeth being raised by a powerful wooden lever. 

The roots and stumps are gathered into rows and burned, after which the rake is again run over and grass seed sown. With the present plant and the experience gained, Mr. M'Donald is of opinion that, apart from draining, the scrub can be cleared and a seed bed prepared for £2 per acre. It is not considered necessary to plough the land for the reception of grass seed, and the unploughed portion compares favorably with that from which a crop has been taken previous to the sowing down with grass. The reason of this is that the unploughed part is so consolidated by the working of the teams that the roots have a better hold and the soil retains more moisture than where it has been loosened by the plough. 

Clearing the Swamp, Dalmore. This was on E. Simpson Hill's farm and is much later that 1886, but it does give an idea of the efforts it would have taken to clear the scrub.

Image: Gunson, Neil The Good Country: Cranbourne Shire (Cheshire, 1968)

The present aim of those engaged in reclaiming the swamp is to drain it thoroughly, but when this is accomplished it will be interesting to note the result. The chances are that it will then be found necessary to irrigate, for although the natural rainfall is heavy the soil is of a nature calculated to absorb large quantities of water, and it is more than likely that on this and similar places the best results from irrigation will be achieved. If such a course is ever found necessary, all natural facilities are at hand for the thorough carrying out of an irrigation scheme. 

A mixture of several kinds of grass seed is sown; formerly more rye grass than any other sort was used, but in the later sowings this has been discontinued, as it is found the rye grass is apt to die out. The sorts now principally used are cockafoot and Alsyke or hybrid clover; the latter is highly spoken of on account of its coming more quickly than any other kind and its fattening qualities being excellent. Prominence will be given to this splendid clover in the preparation of all future pastures. 

Prairie grass also has been tried with success. The value of this fodder plant has not been so fully recognised as it deserves, the usual complaint being that it is eaten out by stock, which is about the highest praise that could be given to any grass. If prairie is sown with any other grasses stock will undoubtedly eat it out, for it is so sweet that while a root remains all other kinds will be neglected, but if sown by itself, and in small paddocks so that the stock can be changed, few if any other kinds of grass will be found so productive.

 It also makes splendid hay, giving two crops a year, and as only sowing is necessary, it must once, as far as profit is concerned, compare favorably with the cultivation of oats or wheat. At Mr. M'Gregor's about an acre has been sown and kept well eaten down with sheep. Under this treatment it seems to thrive and thicken. The seed from this patch will be saved and sown, next year. 

About 70 acres of oats were sown last year, which gave a return of 58 bushels per acre. This year the experiment of growing two crops will be tried. A paddock has been sown with oats, which are now about 1 foot in height when this is fit it will be cut, and another crop immediately put in. It is considered that the moisture in the soil coupled with the usually heavy rainfall will be sufficient to insure a good result from the second sowing. Root crops do splendidly here, potatoes, carrots and mangels giving heavy yields, but the difficulty of getting produce to the railway station is so great that only a limited quantity is grown. The productive qualities of the soil may be fairly estimated as equal to those of almost any other part of the colony. The splendid black mould extends for a depth of 12 or 15 feet, and judging by that thrown up out of the drains there is no diminution in quality, the soil keeping its character to the depth mentioned. 

All the stock are of a high class. The horses, with the exception of the riding and driving hacks, being pure Clydesdales. Noticeable amongst the brood mares is Maggie, by Roderick Dhu, dam Phyllis, imported. This mare, though rather low, is a perfect model of symmetry, and is now in foal to Lord Napier, a horse belonging to Mr. Watson, of Kyneton. Two yearling colts by the well-known horse Stanley are being kept as stallions; one of these, a bay, whose dam Bonnie Doon traces her pedigree back to Prince Charlie and Black Douglas, promises to develop into something good. The cattle are pure shorthorns of the Booth strain, they are descended from stock bred by Mr. B. M'Dougall of Arundel, the stud bulls used in the herd being invariably purchased from that gentleman. In-breeding has been Mr. M'Gregor's practice to a certain extent, and though the wisdom of this maybe questionable, the young stock here show no falling off in either size or quality. The bull now in use is a very fine animal; he is by the well-known prize taker Sir Roderick.

Mr. Peers is another of the energetic sort, and his estate, Moy Glass, is a model which might well be copied by all future settlers in Koo-wee-rup. When first taken up the estate was a perfect wilderness, the ti-tree being, as a rule, more than 20 feet in height, and had not Mr. Peers entertained the highest opinion of the capabilities of the soil, the difficulties in the way of clearing would have been sufficient to deter him from ever attempting to fit the land for the plough. If his example had been followed by all the present holders the swamp would bear a very different aspect to what it does now. 

The extent of purchased land is 1320 acres, which is subdivided into 12 paddocks. An area of 300 acres has been properly cleared, not a stump or root being left; this is subdivided into 40 acre paddocks. A main double drain surrounds the property similar to that of Mr. M'Gregor. This is estimated to have cost 1s. per cubic yard, whilst the numerous smaller drains have been excavated at prices varying from 4½d. to 7d. per yard, the latter price being given where the ti-tree was exceptionally heavy, and therefore a greater mass of roots had to be contended against. The plan of sub-dividing the estate into small paddocks is to be commended, as the fullest use can be made of them and the stock changed from one to the other as occasion requires. 

Cultivation has been tried, but more as an experiment to see what the land was really capable of than any thing else, as the difficulties in the way of getting produce to market are so great as to be a serious check to anything like extensive cultivation. As an indication of the fertility of the soil the yield of oats has been 60 bushels per acre, while a small patch of potatoes about 3 acres in extent gave a return of 9 tons per acre. On 33 acres which had been laid down under English grasses 534 store sheep were last spring kept for 10 weeks, and at the end of that time sold fat. Mr. Peers's plan of dealing with the scrub is somewhat different to that followed at Mr. M'Gregor's; constant burning is relied on to kill it. When nothing is left but the stumps, a heavy log, having five rows of inch iron spikes driven into it, is dragged along by bullocks, a chain being fastened to each end, by this means the stumps are knocked out or loosened so that they can be picked up and burned. The ground is then ploughed to the depth of about 8 inches, and allowed to lie fallow for a season, after which it is sown down with grass. The first ploughing is very difficult, a team of bullocks and a heavy plough being used to break the soil. The land itself is loose, but the trouble to contend against is the masses of roots and old stumps which are found at a depth of a few inches. 

The paddocks are securely fenced with sheep proof wire fences, these being preferred on account of being less liable to destruction by fire than post and rail. The posts have to be brought by boats from Queensferry. Mr. Peers estimates the cost of draining and clearing his land to be on an average £10 per acre. The stock at present at Moy Glass consists of 50 head of cattle, 16 horses, including 7 brood mares, 530 store sheep and a small stud flock of Romney Marsh sheep about 50 in number. When the Great Southern railway is completed it is Mr. Peers's intention to go in extensively for hay growing; this should be profitable, as a crop of about 4 tons per acre can be depended on.

(The Leader  May 15, 1886, see here.)

Part one of this report appeared in The Leader on May 8, 1886, it is transcribed here and you can read it on Trove, here. This is part two. 

Koo Wee Rup Village Settlement

The Illustrated Australian News of November 8, 1894 published these photos of the Koo Wee Rup Village Settlement. The Village settlement was on the newly drained Koo Wee Rup Swamp, read about this here.

Koo Wee Rup Village Settlement

Illustrated Australian News of November 8, 1894 http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/255107

Settler's House

Illustrated Australian News of November 8, 1894 http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/255107

Scrub cutting

Illustrated Australian News of November 8, 1894 http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/255107

Settler's Homestead

Illustrated Australian News of November 8, 1894 http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/255107

View of Main Drain

Illustrated Australian News of November 8, 1894 http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/255107

Livingstone's Survey Camp

Illustrated Australian News of November 8, 1894 http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/255107

The last photo is of Livingstone's Survey Camp. I believe this is William Livingstone. Livingstone, from Warragul, was a surveyor. He was also at one time a Warragul Shire Councillor and the Shire Valuator (1).  In 1893, the Warragul Guardian reported that Messrs. Boyd and Livingston Surveyers, Warragul, have just received instructions from the Lands Department, to survey the Timber Reserve adjoining Neerim North, into blocks ranging from 20 to 80 acres (2).  I assume that he was surveying on the Swamp for the same purpose, even though the Swamp blocks were generally of 20 acres or less. 

The life of a surveyor was an interesting one. This was reported in the Warragul Guardian in February 1894 - Mr. Livingstone, surveyor, had the good fortune to kill no less than 30 snakes by a single stroke the other day. A miner in the vicinity of the Rokeby Village Settlement was just about to drop into his shaft, when, to his horror, he detected a big tiger snake disporting itself in the bottom of the hole. With blanched face he acquainted several men near of the fact, and Mr. Livingstone, getting a 20 feet pole, managed to kill the vicious reptile, which, on being opened, was found to contain no less than 30 young ones. The specimen was so well developed that it was subsequently skinned (3).  Naturally, we do not condone the killing of snakes, they are a protected species.

William Livingston married Ellen Ireland in 1885. She was the daughter of Robert Ireland, a Jindavick pioneer (4).  William died in 1928 at the age of 68, whilst he was giving evidence in a court case. Read about this in The Age, here (5).

Footnotes

(1) Copeland, Hugh The Path of Progress: from forests of yesterday to homes of today (Shire of Warragul, 1934) p. 328.

(2) Warragul Guardian, April 18, 1893, see here.

(3) Warragul Guardian, February 20, 1894, see here.

(4) The date of the marriage comes from the Indexes to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages. The information about Ellen comes from Copeland pp. 45, 46 and 328.

(5) The Age, March 29, 1928, see here.