Mount Cannibal - the origin of the name

The Pakenham Gazette of June 1, 1962 had the following article 

"Cannibal" or "Connibul" Creek

Pakenham Gazette, June 1 1962, p. 9

"Cannibal" or "Connibul" Creek
The Historical Society has been endeavouring to ascertain whence the name "Cannibal Creek" was derived. Incidentally that was the name of Garfield until about 75 years ago.

Mrs P.B. Ronald has found in "Pioneer Families of Port Phillip" by Billis and Kenyon, a possible clue.

Amongst pastoral runs in existence about 1845 were "Connibul Creek" (leased by Michael Ready and James Hook), north of Kooweerup; and "Connibul Creek No. 2 (leased by O'Connor and Hayes), north of Bunyip River.

Could "Cannibal Creek"' be a corruption of the original "Connibul Creek."

 In response to this, a letter from E.C. Henry appeared in the next issue of the Pakenham Gazette, June 8, 1962

Origin of name "Cannibal"
To the Editor
Sir, - The square-topped mountain north of Prince's Highway and due north of Garfield, from which the creek and surrounding ranges get their names is known far and wide as Mount Cannibal.
One of the many droving trips between Warragul and Pakenham with my brother, Alan, in the early part of the century, I asked how the name Cannibal originated, thinking it referred to Cannibalism amongst the black tribes which were about Gippsland in the early settlement days.
The old generations who kept the hotels where we stopped at various stages, were always willing to impart what they knew of early-day history, and I regret that I did not record some of the things we were told as they would make interesting reading to-day.
Mount Cannibal got its name from the following incident, which is said to have happened:
A timber cutter camped near Mt. Cannibal left his dog tied near his camp, with water and food (probably a carcass of a kangaroo) for a couple of days, while away getting supplies. On his return to camp he was horrified to find only the dog's head. The dog had been eaten by dingos, which were known to be in the adjoining ranges.
Dog ate dog, hence the name Cannibal.
This may be the answer to the query.

Yours, etc.
E.C. HENRY "Glen Falloch," Berwick.

Pakenham Gazette, June 8, 1962, p. 9

Note 1: Mrs P.B. Ronald -  Heather Barry Ronald (nee Lambert, 1928-2007), of Koo-man-goo-nong, Pakenham. Wife of Peter Ronald. Mrs Ronald was the author of  various books including Wool before the wind: a history of the Ronald family and the Australian Mercantile Land and Finance Company; Hounds are running; a history of the Melbourne Hunt; Wool past the winning post: a history of the Chirnside family and Farewell my heart : the life of Violet Barry Lambert O.B.E., J.P.

Note 2: E.C. Henry - Evan Clarence Henry (1887-1980). From his obituary -  Mr Evan Clarence Henry, who died in the Berwick Bush Nursing Hospital last Tuesday, aged 93 years, was indeed, a part of the history of the town. He played an important role in establishing the character of the township and during his lifetime influenced the direction taken by many of the organisations around the Berwick district.

A living memorial to Mr Henry are many of the beautiful trees lining the streets of Berwick. He, together with Dr. Percy Langmore, worked at establishing the trees over a period of fifty years.

He was a life member of the Berwick Agricultural Society, of which he was President on several occasions, a member of the Board of Management of St. Andrew's Church for over 40 years. Chairman of the Berwick Cemetery Trust for 22 years, a foundation member of the Berwick Historical Society, author of histories of the pioneers of the Pakenham and Berwick district, a Justice of the Peace since 1946 and served on the Bench for 14 years. Chairman of the Berwick branch of the Liberal Party for a number of years. President of the Men's Auxiliary of the Berwick Hospital for three years, and a foundation member of the Berwick Masonic Lodge formed in 1924. (Pakenham Gazette, January 23, 1980, republished here https://upperbeaconsfieldhistory.au/g0/p413.htm#i12383)

Rythdale - the origin of the name

Rythdale is a locality towards the western end of the Koo Wee Rup Swamp. It is a small pocket of land bordered on three sides by Pakenham South; on the south by Koo Wee Rup North and also partially on the west by Cardinia. It was a Soldier Settlement area - Soldier's Road in Rythdale is a reminder of this fact. The properties which were sub-divided by the Closer Settlement Board to create this Soldier Settlement area were known as McGregor's and Hagelthorn's. McGregor's of 2,208 acres was divided into 37 blocks with an average size of 60 acres and Hagelthorn's of 1,560 acres, had 14 blocks with the average size of 111 acres (1).

The new settlers needed a school and on November 10, 1924 McGregor's Estate School, No. 4231 opened in a room of a house. It later moved to a house until the new hall opened in  February 1927 and the school relocated there. The school closed in September 1951 and the pupils moved to Pakenham Consolidated School.  In December 1970, the Council Building Inspector ordered the Rythdale Hall to be demolished. (2). 

The name of the area changed in 1926 to Rythdale and on September 30, 1926, the name of the school was also changed (3).  There seems to be some mystery as to where the name came from, Les Blake in his Place Names of Victoria (4) book says it is apparently a coined word and this is repeated in Look to the Rising Sun: a history of Cardinia and District (5).

However, I came across this article (reproduced below) about James Cuming's estate, Rythdale in the South Bourke & Mornington Journal of January 27, 1909, and this is clearly the source of the name of the town.

 The Rythdale Estate: Koo Wee Rup Swamp

A visit was paid a few weeks ago to the above estate, and, as affording an example of what can be done with apparently irreclaimable wastes, may be of some interest to readers. This estate, comprising some 1,600 acres, was bought five years ago by Mr Jas. Cuming, jun. of the firm of Messers Cuming, Smith & Co. It was then overgrown with ti-tree and "tussocks," and in winter the most part under water, and, only about 50 acres cleared. Mr Cuming was, however, fortunate in securing the services of a very able and capable manager in Mr. Ed. Wright, formerly of the Goulburn district, a gentleman of wide experience and dogged pluck, and under his supervision this property has been transformed from a wilderness into one of the most cultivated and up-to date farming and grazing estates in this State. 

It is divided into 23 paddocks, containing six dams with three windmills on different portions of it. At the time of visiting, the reapers and binders were in full swing, and some 16 hands busily employed. Besides the large produce enterprise Mr Cuming makes a speciality of pedigree Ayrshire stock and Clydesdale draught horses. The dairy herd is composed of 15 pedigree Ayrshire cows, 10 pedigree calves and two pedigree Ayrshire bulls. All these cows are prize winners at different shows in the State; several at the Royal Agricultural Show; and only lately one young bull was sold for 32 guineas and resold immediately for 50 guineas, winning at the last Royal Agricultural Show in a class of 40 yearling bulls. 

 Cora, a typical example of the Ayrshire females in the herd of Mr. J. Cuming, jun., 

of Rythdale Stud Farm, Pakenham. 

Leader December 18, 1909 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/197074981#

The Clydesdale draught stock are a splendid collection, some prize winners and one champion, including a beautiful Clydesdale stallion. There is also a small select stud flock of 1000 Leicester sheep; grazing for fattening purposes. Close to the homestead a new tank has been sunk, 19ft. x 17ft., capable of holding 40,000gal.; a silo, carrying 60 tons of ensilage; milking sheds, 15 stalls with three loose boxes and feed-room; separating-room; men's-room; boxes for stallions and bulls; stables for 20 horses; and two large sheds each being capable of receiving 200 tons of hay. 

All work such as chaff, wood cutting, &c. is done on the estate. There has of course been a large outlay in reclaiming this land, but it clearly shows what enterprise can do, and too much praise cannot be given to Mr Cuming for the example he has set, and Mr. Wright for the work he has done. The monthly wages alone average from £50 to £80. The cream from the dairy herd is sent weekly to Melbourne; the cow test is carefully kept every week and milk weighed, each cow making from 10 to 13lbs of butter per week. 

The article finishes off with Mr Cuming's other interests - a farm at Shady Creek, also large manure manufactory at Yarraville, an acid and tar manufactory and, saw mills at Warburton, where alone he has £40,000 in the last two years (8).

It was, of course, the manure and acid and tar manufactories at Yarraville which enabled Mr Cuming to finance his agricultural pursuits. James Cuming (1861-1920) was the son of James and Elizabeth (also known as Betsy, nee Smith) Cuming. James senior and his brother-in-law, George Smith and a Melbourne merchant, Charles Campbell, purchased Robert Smith's acid works in Yarraville in 1872. James was born in 1835 in Aberdeen, Scotland (as were Smith and Campbell) and undertook a farrier's apprenticeship. In the 1850s the Cuming family migrated to New Brunswick in Canada (9).

James senior moved from Canada across the border to Portland in Maine (where James junior was born), before migrating with Betsy and the children to Victoria in 1862. He established a forge and with the money he saved was able to buy the acid works in partnership. The business was called Cuming Smith & Co. James was self taught in Chemistry, studying it at night at the Melbourne Public Library and thus had scientific knowledge and more importantly drive and energy (10).  The Company expanded, took over a bone mill (bones were used to make fertilizer) and then moved into the superphosphate business.

In 1897, Cuming Smith & Co. combined with Felton, Grimwade & Co.'s acid and chemical works at Port Melbourne and James junior became the General Manager of the Company (11). Around the time James Cuming purchased Rythdale, Cuming, Smith & Co. was the largest and oldest manufacturers of manures and acids in Australasia (12) and their plant occupied 14 acres at Yarraville (13) and in the busy season employed over 600 men (14).

James junior did not have to study Chemistry in the Public Library after work like his father. He and his three brothers were educated at Melbourne Grammar School and James undertook further study in industrial chemistry (15). Such was his interest in Chemistry that in 1923, three years after his death, the James Cuming Memorial Chemistry building was presented to the University of Melbourne by Cuming, Smith & Co., in his memory (16). 

A delightful informal photograph of James Cuming, junior, and his wife Alice (nee Fehon) and their children - Alice, Henry, baby 'Mac', Will and Jack. 

Image: John Lack's A History of Footscray (Hargreen Publishing 1991) p. 173.

The first record of James Cuming junior owning land on the Koo Wee Rup Swamp was in the 1903 Shire of Berwick Rate books where he is listed as owning  557 acres, being Lots 4a and 4b, Parish of Pakenham and 282 acres, being part Lots 65a and 66a, Parish of Nar Nar Goon (17). Lots 4a and 4b were bounded by Cardinia Road on the west, Watson Road on the north, Toomuc Creek on the east and Wenn Road on the south. The Lots in the Nar Nar Goon Parish were on the east side of Toomuc Creek, south of Watson Road (in fact they were originally owned by G. Watson) and west of Koo Wee Rup-Pakenham Road. The locality of Rythdale is located right in the middle of his holdings that were situated on the east of Toomuc Creek. 

Part of James Cuming's Dispersal sale advertisement, October 1912. 

The entire advertisement is reproduced in Footnote 18.

The Age October 22, 1912 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/203318494

The first reference to Rythdale as the name of Cuming's property is in December 1905 (19). He was not in the area for long as he had a clearing sale in October 1912 where he disposed of his livestock, plant and equipment as well as 640 acres. The sale advertisement said that he had already sold the homestead block (20).  There are references in the newspaper of Frederick Hagelthorn owning Rythdale from around 1916 until 1920 (21). In 1918 the Berwick Shire Rate Books list Hagelthorn's holdings as 993 acres - Lots 64a, 64b, 65a, 66a and 93, Parish of Pakenham; 251 acres Lot 95, Parish of Nar Nar Goon and 232 acres Lots 90 and 97, Parish of Nar Nar Goon - a total of 1,476 acres. 

Hagelthorn was a Stock and Station agent as well as a member of the Legislative Council from 1907 until 1919. In his Parliamentary career, he championed farming interests and steered bills dealing with closer settlement, railways, water distribution and education through the ponderous deliberations of the Legislative Council whose members objected to his barn-storming tactics (22). One hundred years down the track this interest in Closer Settlement and selling some of his land to the Closer Settlement Board would seem like a conflict of interest.

I firmly believe that the small town of Rythdale took its name from Cuming's property, later owned by Frederick Hagelthorn. James Cuming had died in 1920, but it is more than possible that it was Hagelthorn who suggested the name of Rythdale for the new town.

What is the origin of the name Rythdale? It does not appear in the Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Placenames (23).  However, there was a house in Moseley, a suburb of Birmingham, in England called Rythdale. I found the following references in the Birmingham Daily Post on Newpapers.com, an Ancestry.com add-on. The database includes English, Scottish, Irish, American and Canadian papers but the Birmingham Daily Post provided the only results on the name apart from twenthieth century references to the local town. The earliest report came from 1873. 

The first mention I could find of Rythdale was this advertisement for a servant in 1873. 

Birmingham Daily Post October 22, 1873

Death notice of Eleanor Howes of Rythdale, Moseley

Birmingham Daily Post  19 November 19, 1886, 

Advertising Rythdale for lease

Birmingham Daily Post  February 16, 1888.

Sale of Rythdale, Park Street, Moseley

Birmingham Daily Post February 16, 1895 

There were two other references I found to Rythdale which are closer to home. There was a property at Byaduk, south of Hamilton in Victoria called Rythdale. It was owned by Thomas Harper. His daughter Selina married Albert Brand in October 1899 (see notice, below) and his sixth daughter, Annie married Archibald Forsyth in September 1902 (24).

Marriage of Selina Harper, of Rythdale, Byaduk.

Hamilton Spectator, November 11, 1899 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/226135418

The other reference to a Rythdale I found was that of the Reverend Rythdale Richards. He was an Evangelist who, in April 1890, held services in Hastings and Dromana with Miss Gilbert, the talented lady Evangelist (25).  I have no other information about him, but it is a curious and unusual given name.

The Reverend Rythdale Richard preaches at Dromana.

Mornington Standard, April 26 1890 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/6393233

I cannot connect James Cuming junior or his wife Alice Fehon, whom he married in 1885 (26), to Rythdale in Moseley, Rythdale in Byaduk or the Reverend Rythdale Richards, so as yet I do not know why Cuming called his property Rythdale.   However, it was a name that had been used before Rythdale the town on the Koo Wee Rup Swamp came into existence and Cuming's use of the name for his property is clearly the source of the name of the town.

Trove list

I have created a list of articles on Trove on James Cuming and Rythdale, access it here.

Footnotes

(1) Gunson, Niel  The Good Country: Cranbourne Shire (Cheshire, 1968). p. 273.

(2) Williams, Eileen & Beard, Jewel  Look to the Rising Sun: a history of Cardinia and District including Rythdale and Pakenham South (Back to Cardinia Committee, 1984) 

Vision and Realisation: a centenary history of State Education in Victoria, edited by L.J. Blake. (Education Department of Victoria, 1973)

Look to the Rising Sun has two photos of Rythdale School pupils - one from 1929 the other from 1935 and also a full list of students. 

Demolition of the Rythdale Hall

Koo Wee Rup Sun December 2, 1970 p. 10

(3) Williams & Beard, op. cit., p. 64.

(4) Blake, Les  Place Names of Victoria (Rigby, 1977), p. 232.

(5) Written by Eileen Williams and Jewel Beard, see footnote 2.

(6) James Cuming (1861-1920). Read his entry, written by John Lack, in the Australian Dictionary of Biography, here.

(7) South Bourke & Mornington Journal January 27, 1909, see here.

(8) South Bourke & Mornington Journal January 27, 1909, see here.

(9) Information about James Cuming senior comes from 

Lack, John  A History of Footscray (Hargreen Publishing 1991)

Cuming, James  James Cuming: an autobiography. Edited by John Lack and M. A. Cuming (City of Footscray Historical Society, 1987)

Footscray's first 100 years: the story of a great Australian City (City of Footscray, 1959)

(10) Information in this paragraph as per Footnote 9. The quote about James Cuming's drive and energy is from John Lack's History of Footscray, p. 93.

(11) James Cuming's entry, wrtten by John Lack, in the Australian Dictionary of Biography, here.

(12) Ovens  & Murray Advertiser, September 2, 1905, see here.

(13) The Leader, September 16 1905, see here.

(14) Healesville & Yarra Glen Guardian September 23, 1905, see here.

(15) As per Footnote 11.

(16) See my Trove list, here, for reports of the opening.

(17) Shire of Berwick Rate Books, available at Casey Cardinia Libraries.

(18) James Cuming's Dispersal sale advertisement from The Age, October 22, 1912, see also here.

(19) Weekly Times December 23, 1905, see here.

(20) The Age October 22, 1912, see here. Sale advertisement reproduced in Footnote 18.

(21) See my Trove list, here, for reports.

(22) Frederick Hagelthorn (1864-1943), read his entry, written by J. W. Graham, in the Australian Dictionary of Biography, here.

(23) Ekwall, Eilert The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names (Oxford University Press, 1951)

(24) Annie Harper's wedding report was in the Hamilton Spectator of September 23, 1902, see here.

(25)  Mornington Standard, April 19, 1890 see here and Mornington Standard, April 26, 1890, see here.

(26) James Cuming married Alice Fehon on February 3, 1885 at St John's Church in Footscray. She was the daughter of William Meeke Fehon (1834-1911), read his Australian Dictionary of Biography entry, here. James and Alice had six children - William (b. 1885), James (1887-1888), Henry (1888), James (1890), Alice (1894) and Marianus (1902). 

Marriage of James Cuming and Alice Fehon, 1885

Footscray Independent, February 7, 1885 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article73246780

Towns named Garfield

This is nothing to do with the history of the Koo Wee Rup Swamp, but I wrote this for the Garfield Spectator so I thought I would put it up here as well. You can read about the the history of  Garfield on this blog. The Garfield Spectator website has photos of Garfield today http://www.garfieldspectator.com.au/ 

Garfield in Victoria, just on the north eastern edge of the Koo Wee Rup Swamp, was originally called Cannibal Creek. In May 1886 the Cannibal Creek Post Office was established at the Railway Station. There was community agitation to change the name and eventually Garfield was selected, and the Post Office became known as the Garfield Railway Post Office on May 16, 1887 and around the same time the School also changed its name from Cannibal Creek. So who was Garfield, the man who gave the town its name?  James Abram Garfield was the 20th President of the United States of America. During the Civil War (which lasted from April 1861 to May 1865) he also served on the Union side and became a Brigadier General and two years later a Major General of volunteers.  He was an abolitionist and supported the end of slavery. While he was serving in the Union Army, he stood for election for the Federal House of Representatives and was elected in October 1862. Garfield then went on to win another eight elections. He began his Presidency on March 4, 1881. Garfield’s presidency, noted for his attack on political corruption, was short lived as on July 2, 1881 he was shot by Charles Guiteau at the Baltimore and Potomac Railway Station in Washington. Sadly, for President Garfield he had a very slow death and this was exacerbated by the medical procedures of the time and he finally died on September 19, 1881.  

There are 23 other places in the world also called Garfield, according to this website https://geotargit.com/  – all in the United States. I have included an interesting fact about each of these town.  If you had the time and the money a visit to each town named Garfield in the USA would make an interesting holiday. According to the 2016 Census Garfield, Victoria had a population of 1, 786, which makes it a bigger town than most of the American Garfields. 

Garfield, Arkansas.  Near Beaver Lake which has 487 miles of natural shoreline and 31,700 surface acres. Beaver Lake is the largest supplier of water for Northwest Arkansas, serving more than 450,000 customers. One out of 7 people in Arkansas get their drinking water from Beaver Lake.   https://www.arkansas.com/garfield  and https://www.swl.usace.army.mil/Missions/Recreation/Lakes/Beaver-Lake/

Garfield, Arkansas is near Beaver Lake.

Image: https://www.swl.usace.army.mil/Missions/Recreation/Lakes/Beaver-Lake/

Garfield, Georgia. Population in the 2010 Census was 210. The town was incorporated in 1905. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garfield,_Georgia

Garfield, Idaho. The community is situated on Garfield Bay, an inlet of Lake Pend Oreille, which is the largest lake in Idaho and the 38th largest lake in the US.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garfield,_Bonner_County,_Idaho 

Garfield, Illinois. Garfield Township is a farming district. The Chicago & Alton Railroad, which passes almost through its centre from a north-easterly to a south-westerly direction; and the K. & D., owned by the Big Four System, passing through the north-western part, carry its products to Chicago. Garfield was created in 1902.   https://grundy.illinoisgenweb.org/history/garfieldtwp.php

Garfield, Indiana. I can’t find much about the town but the creator of the Garfield comic strip, Jim Davis, grew up on a farm in Fairmount, Indiana.

Garfield, Iowa. Located in the south central portion of Mahaska County, lying just west of the county seat of Oskaloosa. The most notable communities that lie within this township include; Beacon and Evans. At one time, Bolton and Coal City also existed in the township, but disappeared when the coal mining presence left the scene in the early 20th Century.  https://www.iowaheritage.org/items/show/78623

Garfield, Kansas. Garfield is a sleepy, drive-by hamlet in Pawnee County on the U.S. 56 highway, built on part of the legendary Santa Fe Trail. Passing through, a few tourists may stop and rest for a bit in the city park and perhaps peek into the Wayside Chapel, but there is not much in the town to detain a visitor.  Garfield was never a metropolis, but in the late 19th century and first half of the 20th, it was a robust agricultural community with a thriving small-town economy. It was typical of the many towns that sprang up throughout the Great Plains as settlers poured in to break up the hard prairie sod and plant wheat. It’s population today is 190 and it is nearly a ghost town.       https://readthespirit.com/feed-the-spirit/apple-cake-garfield/

Garfield, Kansas - City Hall and Post Office.

Image: https://readthespirit.com/feed-the-spirit/apple-cake-garfield/

Garfield, Kentucky. A Post Office was established in 1880, a small town.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garfield,_Kentucky 

Garfield, Maryland. One of the few structures in Garfield is the Garfield United Methodist Church. It is relatively small and is located on Stottlemeyer Road. The town has an elevation of 1,453 feet (443 m). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garfield,_Maryland

Garfield, Michigan. The township has a variety of inland lakes including Perch, Crooked Lake and Eight Point Lake.     http://www.garfieldtownship.net/pictures.htm

Garfield, Minnesota.  Located on the Central Lakes Trail. This is a 14 foot wide, 55 mile long, nearly level, paved trail built on a former railroad line stretching between Fergus Falls and Osakis. It additionally passes through the communities of Dalton, Ashby, Melby, Evansville, Brandon, Garfield, Alexandria, and Nelson. The trail traverses through, or next to, a scenic mixture of woodlands, grasslands, lakes, wetlands, and farm country.  http://www.garfieldmn.com/ and https://www.centrallakestrail.com/ 

Garfield, Minnesota - City Hall and Community Centre -

Back row: Paulynn Terhark (City Clerk), Joyce Kvilhaug (Council-member), John Nienaber Jr. (Mayor), Jason Uhde (Council-member) Front Row: Troy Mills (Council-member) and Trent Ziegelman (Council-member)

Image: http://www.garfieldmn.com

 Garfield, Missouri. A little village and post-office in Oak Grove Township. The village was earlier known at Sittonville for a captain of the Confederate army, John J. Sitton, who kept a store on his farm. When the post-office was established, in his store, Thomas Hays, an old army chum of his, suggested the name for President James A. Garfield.. All has disappeared but the school and church.

https://thelibrary.org/lochist/moser/oregonpl.html

Garfield, New Jersey. Originally called East Passaic when the town was developed in 1873 and the name was later changed to honour President Garfield.  There is an interesting history of the area here https://www.garfieldnj.org/

Garfield, New Mexico. It’s on the Rio Grande River. Elevation is 4,104.3 ft (1,251 meters) and the population in 2010 was 137.      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garfield,_New_Mexico

Garfield, New York. Rural locality; has a cemetery and a Church. South of Cherry Plain State Park. I found this out from Google maps.

Garfield, Ohio. Garfield is a tiny community of about twenty homes and a busy feed mill along Ohio State Route 534, right along the Norfolk Southern railroad a mile north of Damascus. When the railroad was built through Salem to Alliance and beyond in 1852, Garfield became an important stop on the line. The railroad brought businesses to Garfield, including the Spear fruit packing house, the Quaker Valley Fruit Canning House, the Garfield Creamery Company, a brick yard and Tillman Hall’s steam-powered feed mill. https://www.farmanddairy.com/columns/rusty-iron/garfield-ohio-home-to-macdonald/15356.html

Garfield, Pennyslvania. A suburb of Pittsburgh – described as ‘squeezed between Lawrenceville and Bloomfield, is the up and coming neighborhood of Garfield!  Receiving its namesake from being established the day US President James Garfield was buried, Garfield Pennsylvania is quickly becoming Pittsburgh's most lively community.  This neighborhood emphasizes the arts, Eco-friendly habits, and community togetherness’ https://www.thedustinnulfteam.com/garfield.html Another interesting website here https://pittsburghneighborhoodproject.blog/2019/03/01/garfield-a-neighborhood-profile

Garfield, Pennyslvania - A colorful assortment of row homes off of Dearborn Street 

on the south-western edge of Garfield.

Image: https://pittsburghneighborhoodproject.blog/2019/03/01/garfield-a-neighborhood-profile/

Garfield, Texas. Garfield, on State Highway 71 twelve miles southeast of Austin in eastern Travis County, was formed around 1880. In 1884 the settlement reported fifteen residents, a church, a school, a steam gristmill, a cotton gin, and a general store. By the early 1890s its population was estimated at 100. The Garfield post office was discontinued in 1902, and mail for the community was sent to Del Valle. During the 1980s, however, when developments on the Colorado River began attracting new residents, Garfield began to grow. In 1985 its residents voted to incorporate the community to avoid annexation with Austin. The population was reported at 745 in 1988, 1,336 by the early 1990s, and 1,660 in 2000.     https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/garfield-tx-travis-county

Garfield, Texas - Water Tower

Image and more information can be found here http://www.worldstallestwatersphere.com/?p=819

Garfield, Utah. The town of Garfield was a mining town built by Utah Copper in 1905-1906 to house the workers and their families who worked at the Smelter, Refinery, Arthur and Magna Mills. At one time there were over 2,000 people in Garfield.     https://onlineutah.us/garfieldhistory.shtml

Garfield, Vermont. The Town of Garfield was one of seven towns granted in 1779 by the State of Vermont. It was organized in 1798. Nearly all of the early settlers belonged to the Society of Friends (Quakers) and for many years that was "the only society that sustained regular religious worship" in the town. This is from a 1927 report Lessons From a Eugenical Survey of Vermont, so it makes for some 'interesting' reading     http://www.uvm.edu/~eugenics/primarydocs/00-temp-results-throwout/3rdannual.html

Garfield, Washington. It has a population of 600, is situated in the Palouse Hills region, surrounded by awe-inspiring scenery and golden wheat fields. ‘A more attractive and friendly town would be hard to find’. https://www.garfieldwa.com/

Garfield, West Virginia. The home of the Garfield Christian Church Cemetery. Here’s how to get there.  It is located near the Wirt-Jackson county line. Traveling up Turkey Fork road toward Palestine, turn right on Leroy road. Cemetery is about 1/4 mile on right at top of hill in a wooded area, not visible from road. It is a V-shaped lot between the Somerville-Davis and Wilkinson farms, with wide part toward the road.    https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2481219/garfield-christian-church-cemetery

Garfield, Wisconsin. The town owns Lake Wapogasset Park. The park was deeded to the Town of Garfield on November 13, 1926. The rules for the park included the fact that ‘no public dancing, use of intoxicating liquors or disorderly conduct of any kind shall be permitted on said premises’. Has a website http://www.townofgarfield.com/

Garfield, Wisconsin - Town Hall

Image:  http://www.townofgarfield.com/

How do you spell Koo-Wee-Rup?

What's the correct way to spell Koo-Wee-Rup?  Any way you want apparently. The article below, a letter to the editor of the Kooweerup Sun written by Mr C. Einsedel, suggests that Koo-wee-rup or Koo Wee Rup are the most acceptable. The way I usually spell it, Koo-Wee-Rup, is 'an absurdity' according to Dr Niel Gunson, historian and author of  'The Good Country: Cranbourne Shire' a history of the Cranbourne Shire,  published in 1968. It is a book that I admire and use frequently.  

Kooweerup Sun (that's how they spell it) March 21, 1973.

I was interviewed in the Pakenham Gazette about this very issue - here is the article from April 3, 2013. What I said was that my Birth Certificate has the town spelt as Koo-Wee-Rup and Kooweerup and that various documents from my time at the High School in the 1970s has the name spelt as Koo-wee-rup, Kooweerup and KooWeeRup, so  even Government organizations were having a bet both ways.

VicNames - the Register of Geographic Names lists it as Koo Wee Rup. You can access their website here https://maps.land.vic.gov.au/lassi/VicnamesUI.jsp

Whatever it is,  I believe that it should be three words. I agree with Dr Gunson as quoted in Mr Einsedel's letter that running the word together is a 'mark of laziness'.

Vervale

Vervale is a little known town or locality between Cora Lynn and Iona. I grew up in Vervale, although I often say Cora Lynn, because no-one has heard of Vervale,  Most people haven't heard of Cora Lynn either, but it's slightly more well known.  The name Vervale wasn't applied to the area until 1917, more of which later.

Vervale had a State School, and although it had three names it was never called Vervale. State School No. 3201, located on the corner of Thirteen Mile Road and Main Drain Road, was established in 1894 as Koo Wee Rup North School, changed its name in 1899 to Bunyip South and changed its name again in 1905 to Iona. The School closed December 1993. (1)

Vervale didn’t have a lot of facilities – there were no Churches, for instance. Until around 1960 Methodist and Presbyterian Services were held on alternate Sundays at the Cora Lynn Hall, or Presbyterians could attend the Iona Presbyterian Church. Catholics could attend St Josephs Church at Iona and those of the Methodist and Anglican faiths could attend Churches in Garfield. (2) There were no Vervale sporting teams – you had to go to either Cora Lynn or Garfield to play sport.

Vervale did have a  General Store and Post Office, established in 1907 by John Andrew Kirwan. John had married Alice Gleeson in 1904 and they had six children - Isabell Mina (born 1906, birth registered at Northcote),  John Andrew James (1908, Northcote), Henry Patrick (1910, Clifton Hill), Thomas Michael (1912, Bunyip South), Mary (1914, Bunyip South), Margaret Sarah (1916, Garfield).  Sadly Alice died on March 3, 1917 aged only 32. She was buried at the Bunyip Cemetery. John died only five years later, on August 22, 1921, he was buried at Fawkner Cemetery.  (3)

Alice Kirwan's death notice

The Argus, March 5, 1917 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1601447

John Kirwan's death notice

The Age, August 25, 1921 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article206711686

However, at the time of Alice's death, John had lost the right to operate the Post Office, as the Bunyip Free Press reported -  for some year residents of Iona obtained their mail at Kirwans’ store. Since Mr Kirwan was fined for selling liquor without a license the Postal authorities have removed the post office to the residence of Mr Clark. (4) This was possibly Richard Clarke, listed in the Electoral Roll in 1916 as a farmer at Iona, with his wife Ethel Edith Clarke.

John still operated the General Store, which possibly due to the death of his wife, he sold  in 1917 to James and Edith McMannis. (5)  I assume the Post Office was returned to the General Store when the McMannis couple took it over. In 1920 James McMannis was awarded the tender for the local mail service.

Mail Service tender

Commonwealth of Australia Gazette , September 30, 1920  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article232517605

Mr McMannis died April 9, 1959, aged 90, and Mrs McMannis died June 4, 1967, aged 88, thus ending 51 years of store ownership. (6)  I only remember going there once, it must have been just before Mrs McMannis died and all I remember was that Mrs McMannis looked really old. Given that she must have been well into her eighties and I was only about seven, it's not surprising. Mr and Mrs McMannis are buried at the Bunyip cemetery.

The name Vervale was adopted for the area in 1917, when at a Berwick Shire Council meeting held on September 8th 1917 it was recorded that communication had been received from the Post Master Generals Department approving the change of name of the Post Office  from Kirwan's to Vervale.  (7) 

The adoption of the name Vervale

South Bourke & Mornington Journal, September 13, 1917  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article66192725

The name was then adopted for the surrounding area which had previously had various other names. It was sometimes referred to as Kirwans; however, the Shire of Berwick Rate Books listed ratepayers in the area with the address of either Cora Lynn or Iona. In the 1916 Rate Books, some of these same ratepayers had Clarke’s Post Office as their address (after the new Post office manager). From the 1917 Rate books the name changed to Vervale, which was first written as Vere Vale. (8). Vervale means “green valley”, a bit  ironic as  it is just flat Swamp land. 

Vervale General Store and Post Office, taken 1967 or 1969.

National Archives of Australia photograph. www.naa.gov.au

However, Vervale does have one claim to fame as it was the first place in Victoria in which asparagus was commercially grown. Thomas Roxburgh, who was a Shipping Agent, planted the first commercial crop of asparagus at his farm on Fallon Road,  Cheriton Park, though locally it was referred to as Roxburgh Park. The earliest reference I can find to this planting is an article in The Argus from 1912.

Asparagus Culture

The Argus,  May 8, 1912, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11673611

It's a bit hard to read - so here's what it says.   Asparagus Culture.  Bunyip, Tuesday. - Mr Roxborough, an enterprising resident of Melbourne, who owns land on the Koo-wee-rup Swamp, has grown nine acres of asparagus at Iona, and a jam company has offered to erect a canning factory on the land if he grows 20 acres.

The jam company, was, I presume A.J.C., as the farm was later called the A.J.C farm. Even though it says Iona it was really Vervale, but as I said before, Vervale  wasn't used as a name until about 1917. You can read more about Thomas Roxburgh and asparagus growing, here.

Footnotes

(1) I have written about the school here   https://kooweerupswamphistory.blogspot.com/2018/06/early-swamp-schools.html

(2) I have written about the Churches here   https://kooweerupswamphistory.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-1910s-spiritual-decade-for-iona.html and here https://kooweerupswamphistory.blogspot.com/2015/11/cora-lynn-church.html 

(3) John Andrew Kirwan, was the son of Henry Patrick and Sarah (nee Crowe) born in Geelong in 1868. Alice was the daughter of James and Margaret Gleeson. Information about the children from the Indexes to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages.

(4) Bunyip Free Press, December 2, 1915, see here.

(5) Shire of Berwick Rate Books

(6) Death dates - headstone at Bunyip Cemetery -https://www.australiancemeteries.com.au/vic/cardinia/bunyip.htm  James McMannis was the son of  Frank and Ann (nee Fitzgerald) McMannis, born in Piggoret in 1869. Edith Carter McMannis, was the daughter of Phillip and Charlotte Emma (nee Taylor) Williams, born in 1879 at  Mologa (between Pyramid Hill and Mitiamo). They married in 1904. 

(7) Other reports of the name change - 

Dandenong Advertiser, September 13, 1917 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/88818260

Pakenham Gazette, September 14, 1917 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/92155922

(8) Shire of Berwick Rate Books

100 years ago this week - Place names and railways

What was happening in the area 100 years ago this week? These are  two railway related articles and are from the South Bourke & Mornington Journal of November 7, 1912. Available on Trove  http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper

 South Bourke & Mornington Journal of November 7, 1912, page 2

Pakenham is a northern neighbour to the the Koo-Wee-Rup Swamp, however as this article is about both railways and place names - two of my favourite historical subjects - then I had to include it. The Gippsland line to Sale was opened in stages - Sale to Morwell June 1877, Oakleigh to Bunyip October 1877, Moe to Morwell December 1877, Moe to Bunyip March 1878 and the last stretch from South Yarra to Oakleigh in 1879. Originally the only Station open between Dandenong and Pakenham was at Berwick.

South Bourke & Mornington Journal of November 7, 1912, page 2

The article, above,  lists all the revenue taken at the stations between Oakleigh and Bunyip, including the now defunct stop at the spur line that went to the Necropolis at Springvale and Jefferson's siding - a siding established for the Jefferson timber mill and later brick works at Garfield. It closed in May 1912.  The Necropolis (or Springvale Botanical Cemetery as it is now blandly known as) opened for burials in March 1902 and the railway line from the Springvale Station opened in 1904 - February  for visitors and March for mortuary trains. The Mortuary trains ceased in 1943 and the last visitor train was December 1950.