William Lyall and the Acclimatisation Society

William Lyall (1821-1888) (1), 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 (2).

From the First Annual report of the Acclimatisation Society, 1862, listing William Lyall as a Committee member.

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/141530#/summary

I actually own a book that was part of the Zoological and Acclimatisation Society's collection - Beeton's Dictionary of Natural History: a Compedious Encyclopaedia of the Animal Kingdom, published by Ward, Lock & Tyler in 1871 - the title page is reproduced below. No doubt William Lyall would have owned his own copy.

Beeton's Dictionary of Natural History: a Compendious Encyclopaedia of the Animal Kingdom, published by Ward, Lock & Tyler in 1871.

The ownership stamp from my copy of Beeton's Dictionary of Natural History: a Compendious Encyclopaedia of the Animal Kingdom,

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. William Lyall and his business partners John Mickle and John Bakewell were the owners of large tracts of land in this area from 1851 (3) and Lyall's claim was supported by Bakewell's nephew, Edward Howitt. 

From J.R. Godfrey, Zoological and Acclimatisation Society, August 21,1873

"Honour to whom Honour is due"

Sir, - I observe that my name is mentioned in connexion with that of Mr. Lyall, at the dinner given by the Coursing Club to Mr. W.J. Clarke, in connexion with the introduction of the hare into this country and though it is true that this animal was imported by us at considerable expense, I would be sorry to claim to myself the merit of their success, as they had been introduced by the Acclimatisation Society, and were sent to various parts of the country before any were imported privately from Europe. I have often been surprised on looking over the list of subscribers to the above society, to notice the absence of the names of those gentlemen who derive most pleasure from the sport of coursing - a sport for which the Acclimatisation Society is mainly to be credited. Had the sporting community waited until the hares imported by Mr. Lyall and myself were numerous enough to afford a day's sport, they would not have been enjoying this amusement so freely at the present day (4). 

From William Lyall, 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. (5).

William Lyall's letter

The Argus, August 23, 1873 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/5870071

From Edward Howitt, August 23, 1873
The Acclimatisation of Hares
Sir, - I observe opinion is divided with regard to the credit of first introducing hares into this colony. I am not aware of the date at which they were just imported by the Acclimatisation Society However, I send you the particulars with reference to (I believe) those introduced by Mr Lyall. In 1860, when in Yorkshire, I was partly instrumental in procuring - at the request of my uncle, Mr John Bakewell, then resident in London - 16 hares from the gamekeeper of Lord Middleton, at Rethington-house. Thirteen of these were shipped and five of them I believe arrived alive in Hobson's Bay. I mention this to show the probable date of their introduction by Mr. Lyall. (6).

Edward Howitt's account is confirmed by The Argus of June 9, 1860, where this short report appeared - By the Norfolk, which came into the bay a few days ago, we may add, five English hares arrived in good condition, out of ten embarked, for W. Lyall, Esq., of Yallock, where they are now (7)

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. (8).

I feel that we can conclusively confirm that William Lyall should receive all the 'credit' for the introduction of the hare into Victoria and that it was in 1860. Interesting that Margaret  says that the hares gave the Lyall property its name, Harewood. I did not know that. 

Margaret Lyall Timms' letter

The Argus, June 19, 1937 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/11072967

The following is a report from April 1862, of William Lyall’s project to introduce hares at Harewood (referred to in this article as his property at Western Port) and the casual manner in which some early settlers sought to eradicate native fauna to protect the introduced species. Frogmore was the Lyall property at Carnegie.

Hares. - Mr. Lyall, of Frogmore, turned out some English hares a year or two ago on his property at Western Port. The spot he selected lies between the shore of the bay and some cultivated ground. About the spot there is plenty of clover in the form of low bushes and tall grass and solsolaceous plants. Since the hares were first turned out they have been occasionally seen, have bred, and have also appeared to be thriving well. We regret to learn, however, that an enemy, has lately attacked and killed one or two grown ones. This is a species of hawk, which either strikes them when running or darts down upon them. We should like to know what hawk it is for there are very few here large enough to attempt anything of the kind. The Australian eagle commonly called an "eagle-hawk" has been known to stoop and carry off kangaroo rats, &c, and we suppose it is this bird which has killed Mr. Lyall's hares as it is also often very destructive to young Iambs.

Strychnine is the best remedy, and in many parts of the colony it has been so much used in that eagles are not so numerous as in former years. The best mode of applying it is this - Place the skinned carcase of any dead animal on an open piece of ground that it may be seen easily; score the fleshy parts with a knife, making the cuts within half an inch of each other, and sprinkle into them a few grains of strychnine crushed to a fine powder between two pieces of writing paper. We have seen five or six poisoned a single day. (9)

Hard to believe that you would kill a wedge-tailed eagle, they are so magnificent to watch. I was going to say that they were different times then, but there was a case in 2018 where a man was charged with poisoning over 400 eagles in East Gippsland, so sadly, it still happens (10).

In December 1862, we find this report William Lyall's success with introduced species - 

English hares and pheasants. - It appears that the English hares introduced a few years ago by Mr. Lyall, and turned out on his property by the shores of Western Port Bay, are now in a prosperous condition, and seem to have multiplied greatly. Mr. Lyall informs us that recently, in crossing the field where he first turned out the two or three pairs of imported hares, he started five apparently thriving animals. Mr. Lyall, we believe, was the first to bring hares to Australia, and he now considers the experiment most satisfactory, as these animals seem thoroughly established. At the spot where they were first turned out both native-cats and tiger-cats are numerous; but it appears that such animals are not so destructive to hares as we know they sometimes are to rabbits. From Mr. Lyall's experiments we may also learn that hares are not disposed to stray from localities where they may be first turned out; a very important fact, and worthy the attention of acclimatisers. 

Mr. Lyall's introduction of pheasants has not been attended with such success, thanks to the members of a surveying party in the public service. Some Cockney sportsmen belonging to the party having come
upon the half-tamed pheasants, shot them down as they sat on the gum-trees, and then, having eaten them, carried the intelligence to Mr. Lyall that they had made an important discovery of a new Australian bird- one which no traveller had ever met with before. When charged with having shot imported English birds, the sportsmen undertook to bring a specimen of the newly-discovered bird to the injured proprietor, and next day presented a lyrebird. This style of vindication, however, was self-condemnatory, for as the lyrebird never alights on trees, it would be impossible to have shot it in the gumtree, as described by the sportsmen. (11)

This is a letter, written to the Acclimatisation Society, from William Lyall about his success with some of his introduced species -
Yallock, Sept 29, 1865.
Dear Sir - A sight of the Sambur deer has just put me in mind of my duty to the  Society - that is, to report progress. The animals entrusted to my care have, l am happy to say thriven remarkably well. The three does have three fine fawns, and all are in fine condition. To-day, a doe and a buck were enjoying themselves by taking a swim in a waterhole—indeed, they appear to be fond of the water: so much so, that I am bound to believe that swamps must be their natural habitat. I feel certain that all the islands in the great swamp will, in time, become stocked with the magnificent Sambur deer. At present there is rally one of the bucks (the youngest) remaining with the does: another has taken possession of the garden here, and a very bad gardener he has proved himself to be, I propose having him taken over to join the does in the swamp, where he will he out of harms way. I believe that this part of the colony is, perhaps, better adapted for a home for the pheasant than any other part of Victoria. If the council will send a few down, I win take charge of them.
My hares are doing well and are spreading over the country.
Wishing the society every success, believe me, dear sir, yours very truly, William Lyall. (12).

So successful were his efforts at introducing new hares to Harewood that as reported at an Acclimatisation Society meeting held in December 1867, Mr Lyall had some spare ones that he was willing to give away -

 A letter was read from Mr. W. Lyall, stating that the hares were so numerous on his property at Harewood that he thought several might be safely caught now for distribution in other localities. The council decided to at once avail themselves of Mr. Lyall's kind offer, and send down men to trap the hares. (13)

Beeton's Dictionary of Natural History: a Compendious Encyclopaedia of the Animal Kingdom, has this to say about the hare - they are very prolific, and were it not for the multitudes which are annually shot, or otherwise slaughtered for the London market, they would soon overrun the country. Hares form a great object for pursuit on the part of sportsmen, and hunting them with the greyhound is termed "coursing."  Fast forward to over 160 years since William Lyall introduced the hare to his Harewood property and there are still multitudes of hares in this area.  However, by 1919 another of his acclimatised species, the deer, was said to be in short supply; The Argus reported that  that deer are to be found in the scrub around Koo-wee-rup Swamp and Lang Lang, but they are scarce now, having been thinned down by settlers (14)

Footnotes

(1) William Lyall (1821-1888) Australian Dictionary of Biography entry https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/lyall-william-4051 and http://kooweerupswamphistory.blogspot.com/2017/08/mickle-bakewell-and-lyall.html

(2) The Argus, February 26, 1861, see here.

(3) https://kooweerupswamphistory.blogspot.com/2017/08/mickle-bakewell-and-lyall.html

(4) The Argus, August 22, 1873, see here.

(5) The Argus, August 23, 1873, see here.

(6) The Argus, August 25, 1873, see here.

(7) The Argus, June 9, 1860, see here.

(8) The Argus, June 19, 1937, see here.

(9) Freeman's Journal, April 5, 1862, see here.

(10) https://eastgippsland.net.au/news/eagle-slaughter-update

(11) The Argus, December 4, 1862, see here.

(12) Australasian, October 7, 1865, see here.

(13) The Argus, December 4, 1867,  see here.

(14) The Argus, March 21, 1919, see here.

The Mickle Family

John Mickle (1814-1885) arrived in Melbourne in 1838. He came from Berwickshire in Scotland, where his family were farmers, and not especially wealthy, but John was ambitious and an astute businessman. He set up as a Stock and Station agent and was later joined by John Bakewell.  In 1848, they sold out to Richard Goldsborough who later established the Goldsborough Mort Company which merged with Elders Smith in 1962.

In 1851, Mickle and Bakewell joined with William Lyall and formed the partnership of Mickle, Bakewell and Lyall.  Previous to this, John had built a house in Collingwood, and owned seven acres of land adjoining Chapel Street in Prahran, which was valued at £100 per acre. Mickle and John Bakewell then purchased 159 aces in Kew  - the 75 acres facing Studley Park Road cost them £20 per acre and the rest £13 per acre. The pair then held various large properties in Victoria and in 1851 Mickle and Bakewell with William Lyall took up the Tobin Yallock (also called Yallock) run of 1,920 acres – this run was located on the Yallock Creek. In the same year they acquired Red Bluff (south of Lang Lang) and then the Tooradin Run in 1852 and the Great Swamp Run in 1854. The partnership was dissolved in 1857 and Mickle ended up with the Upper Yallock Run, renamed Monomeith.

By 1854, the trio were seriously wealthy. Mickle had married Margaret Lyall (William’s sister) in 1851 and in 1854 they all returned to Great Britain for a holiday - John and Margaret Mickle, her mother and her brother, William Lyall, and his wife Annabelle and their three children; John Bakewell and his brother also went plus about seven others. The group embarked on February 25, and did not clear the Heads at the entrance to Port Phillip Bay until March 1; they arrived in London on May 22. The party toured London and other parts of England.  John and Margaret Mickle returned to Melbourne in 1857 and had a house at the top end of Collins Street. However in 1861 they left again and sailed to the port of Suez in Egypt and then overlanded to London and then onto Scotland. They purchased a house in Scotland and John died there in 1885 at the age of 71.  Two personal facts about John Mickle - he was  a man who strictly celebrated the Sabbath and he was described as a  ‘huge man’, well over six foot tall, taller than his wife Margaret who at six foot tall was extraordinarily tall for  a woman in those days. They must have been an imposing looking couple.

Other members of the Mickle family also came to Australia including John’s brother, Alexander, in 1855 and his cousin Andrew Hudson. It was Alexander, Andrew and William Lyall who managed the Mickle property on behalf of John and Margaret whilst they were overseas. Alexander and his wife, Agnes, settled on the Yallock property, having come by bullock dray to Tooradin, and then by boat to the Yallock Creek. They later moved onto a new house on the Monomeith property. Sadly, in November 1861, at the age of 33, Alexander died from appendicitis and peritonitis leaving Agnes a widow, with two young children, David (b. 1858) and Margaret Isobel (b.1860) and eight months pregnant with their third child. On the day Alexander died, the only other person on the property was “the lad” John Payne, who had to ride into Cranbourne for the Police and to arrange the funeral. Four weeks after the death of his father, John Alexander Mickle, was born on Boxing Day.

Right - John Mickle (1814 - 1885) 

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

Agnes married Andrew Hudson in 1865 and she had two more children. They lived at Monomeith where Andrew operated a dairy and made cheeses, and later lived on the Warook property (the existing Warook homestead was built by the Greaves family in 1906). Again sadly, Andrew Hudson died in 1888, aged 55, shortly before the family were to move into the newly built The Grange, in Koo Wee Rup. Agnes remained at The Grange until she died in 1913, aged 86.  The Grange was sold out of the family by her son, James Hudson, in 1920; some of the land was sub-divided and Sybella Avenue was laid out in 1921. The Grange homestead is still standing and was also used for the first Presbyterian Church services in Koo Wee Rup, until the existing church opened in 1896.

Back to Alexander and Agnes - their son, David, married Alice Atyeo and they were the parents of Alexander; David, the local historian, and Fred.  They lived at Wellfield a property on the south side of The Grange, consisting of 300 acres. It was named because of the good supply of underground water.  Isabel married Richard Scott of Poowong and they had seven children.  John, the baby born after his father died, married Laura Leggo of Ballarat and they had two children. John owned the 300 acre Lauriston Park in Koo Wee Rup. The part of his land with a frontage to Rossiter Road was subdivided in the 1920s and later, around 1926, John and Alexander and Mickle Streets were created.

Thomas Roxburgh (1851-1931) - Asparagus Pioneer

Over ninety percent of Australian asparagus is grown on the Koo Wee Rup Swamp (1) and asparagus has been commercially grown in this region for over 100 years, so this is a look at the early history of asparagus growing on the Swamp.

The first mention I can find of asparagus was in The Australasian of October 31, 1896.  There was a report on James Pincott’s farm on the main channel about three miles from Bunyip -

one of the most interesting and best managed in the settlement. Mr. Pincott carried out some experiments for six months for the Agricultural Department on this plot, when the fertility of the soil was being tested, and the place locally has consequently become known as the “experimental farm." (2) He grew potatoes, onions, strawberries, and clover, amongst other crops and found that Asparagus and celery can be raised to wonderful perfection. (3)

The next reference was in The Age of May 10, 1912 when it was reported that 

That land on the Kooweerup Swamp can be turned to more profitable account than growing potatoes has been demonstrated by Mr. Roxborough [sic]; who, although a busy man in Melbourne, pays a good deal of attention to his farm at Iona, and for a considerable time has experimented in the cultivation of asparagus. Some three years ago he put in one acre as a test, adopting the American principle of planting 1 foot in depth and 3 feet between the plants, with rows 10 feet apart, so as to allow of

cultivation between, the soil being of a peaty nature. Now he has nine acres under asparagus, and intends extending the area, as the managers of hotels and cafes in Melbourne have advised him that the

asparagus is of the finest quality.

Some time ago Mr. Roxborough induced an American expert to visit the locality, and he declared that the Kooweerup Swamp land is particularly well adapted for this, form of cultivation, and Mr. Roxborough's experience bears out his opinion. It is stated that a Melbourne jam factory has offered to put up a canning factory if Mr. Roxborough will agree to put 20 acres under asparagus. (4)

Who was Thomas Roxburgh and where was his farm? His farm, Cheriton Park, was on the corner of Fallon Road and Simpson Road at Vervale, even though it is also listed in the newspapers (such as in the article above) as being at Iona, Garfield or Catani. The farm was locally known as Roxburgh Park and was 352 acres. The Roxburgh's had begun their purchase of land on the Koo Wee Rup Swamp in 1902-1903.

Thomas Roxburgh was born in Jamaica, West Indies to Adam Roxburgh and Jane Watson. The family arrived in Melbourne on September 28, 1853 when Thomas was two years old. They moved to Ballarat which was where he married Sarah Anne Holthouse on July 2, 1879. Sarah was the daughter of Ballarat’s well known and most esteemed citizen, Dr Thomas Le Gay Holthouse, as he was described in a newspaper report, and his wife Hanna (nee Pratt). As noted in Thomas' obituary -

Later he became a member of the firm of James Fry and Co., wheat millers and ship charterers. In 1895 Mr. Roxburgh commenced business on his own account as a grain and shipping broker in Collins-street, and this business he personally conducted practically up to the time of his death. He did a large business with the East, and was agent for steamers trading with Japan. Mr. Roxburgh established an asparagus farm at Garfield, Gippsland, where an extensive business is conducted by his two sons, Mr. Leslie le Gay Roxburgh and Mr. Reginald Owen Roxburgh. (5)

Thomas and Sarah had seven children; the first two children were born in Ballarat and the others in Hawthorn - 

Edith Jenny (1880-1881)

Mabel Stella (1881-1970) 

Leslie Le Gay (1884 -1969, married the delightfully named Miss Widgie Potts of Narrabri, NSW,  in 1915. Her real name was the more prosaic Ann)

Reginald Owen (1889-1953, 1st A.I.F)

Dorothy Alice (1890-1987)

Leeuwin Beatrice (1895 - 1981, married Peter Charles Ferguson, of Barcaldine, QLD,  in 1924)  

Mary Hope Bradgate (1899 - 1978, married Jeffrey Ivey Retallack in 1942).  (6)

Thomas Roxburgh (1851 - 1931)

The Argus December 31, 1931  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4432544

Thomas died on December 29, 1931 and he was buried, as we said, at the Brighton Cemetery. The service was conducted by the Reverend Charles Strong of the Australian Church and the pall bearers were - 

Sir James Elder, trade advisor to the Commonwealth Government and Director of Goldsbrough Mort pastoral company, who is also buried at Brighton Cemetery.

Japanese Merchant, Mr T. Hirai - I have no more information about him at the moment, but he may have been connected to the Japan-Australia Shipping Line of which Roxburgh was an agent. 

Walter Herbert Sollas, shipping agent, died 1933 aged 78.

William Howell Swanton, Director of William Crosby & Co. - Ships Agents, Charterers and merchants, died 1951 aged 88.

John Fordyce, General Manager Union Bank, Collins Street, died 1942, aged 78.

Norman Seale, chairman of the Overseas Ship Owners Association and chairman of the Victorian Stevedoring Co.

Aubrey Clifton Matthews, who later became a Director of Thomas Roxburgh Pty Ltd.

W. Parbury - presumably connected to the firm of Parbury, Henty & Co, merchants and importers and exporters. (7)

Sarah Anne Roxburgh died on July 24, 1942, aged 84. Thomas and Sarah are buried at Brighton Cemetery. Interestingly, their name is spelt as Roxburghe on the head stone. (8)

Back to Thomas and his asparagus, he did not personally work on the farm he employed farm managers and later his son, Leslie,  managed the farm.  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. (9)  By 1932, the farm had 120 acres under asparagus and in the cutting season 20 to 25 men are employed every day, and from 10cwt. to 15cwt. of asparagus a day are despatched. (10) [cwt - hundred weight or 112 pounds or 50 kg]. 

During the Second World War, the Roxburgh farm had the Australian Women’s Land Army (AWLA) girls working on the property. The AWLA was established to fill the gap in agricultural workers due to the War. They had training at Mont Park or the Werribee Research Station and were then allocated to farms. (11)

The Land Army Women at Roxburgh's farm in November 1942

The Australasian, November 21, 1942  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article142417773

Australian Women's Land Army girls - Naida Rose and Jennie Shouewille working on Roxburgh's farm.

The Australasian November 21, 1942.

View this and other photos here   http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article142417773

The Argus of November 11, 1942 interviewed Mr G. Roxburgh (this was Thomas’ son Leslie Le Gay, who was listed in the Electoral Roll at Vervale, occupation farm manager) - about the Land Army 'girls' and the  family farm which was growing asparagus for the use of the Army. Mr Roxburgh was quoted as being “very proud of the girls. He finds them fine workers, though physically they cannot stand up to the same speed of work as the men. He thinks that 5 girls can do the work of 3 men”. “They are steady workers," Mr Roxburgh said, "and once I have told them what fields I want done I do not have to worry again.” The women did the cutting, placing the spears into bundles, the picking up of the bundles onto the cart and also worked in the packing shed. The report goes onto describe the living conditions - There are 20 girls, and they live in a camp on the estate, where they sleep in tents and have a small recreation hut. The camp is run on the lines of a Girl Guides' camp, as 2 of the girls first there are Guides, and they helped to establish the camp. The day is a long one. The girls rise at 6.15 and are in the fields at 7.30. They have one hour for lunch, 12 to 1, when they all go to the cookhouse for a generous hot meal, and then spend 20 minutes or so in their tents resting. Work finishes about 5.30, or sometimes earlier if they are able to get through their day's work quicker. In spite of this long day, the reporter said that after work the girls often ride the 6 miles on bicycles to Garfield, to go to the pictures or to a dance. The day I was there several girls were going to walk 2 or 3 miles to a dance! (12)

Australian Women's Land Army girl - Norma Elliott working on Roxburgh's farm.

The Australasian November 21, 1942. 

View this and other photos here http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article142417773

In June 1943, The Herald reported on the state of the asparagus industry - 

Victoria's crop, which is estimated to be nearly 40, 000 cases, each containing 24 2-lb. tins, is grown by about 20 growers on nearly 1000 acres in the Koo-Wee -Rup, Portarlington and Barwon Heads, and Bairnsdale districts. All but about 20 per cent of the crop, which was sold fresh, was processed for Commonwealth consumption. (13)  

However during the War the Federal Government declared asparagus to be a luxury item. Charles Gartside, M.L.C., of Gartside Brothers Cannery, was not happy about this and he was interviewed by The Herald on June 1, 1943 on the issue -

The action of the Commonwealth Department of Agriculture in listing asparagus as a luxury vegetable and taking over the entire crop for the services was a "political move designed to impress on civilians the need for austere living" one of Victoria's leading canners. Mr Gartside, M.L.C., said today. Canneries which had processed practically the entire output, were virtually told that tins could not be provided for asparagus designed for civilian consumption. Instead of canning asparagus in long spears, canneries had been ordered to cut it into small soup pieces, which turned good food into pig's food, claimed Mr Gartside. Both civilians and service personnel were prevented from eating asparagus as it should be eaten - long spears dipped in melted butter or iced - and troops would have to eat it in soup or with a fork. (14)

The main processors at the time were the Gartside Brothers Cannery at Dingley, the Rosella Preserving Company or A.J.C. (Australasian Jam Company).

Australian Women's Land Army girls - setting out for the field after their midday rest on Roxburgh's farm.

The Australasian November 21, 1942. 

View this and other photos here http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article142417773

From October 1944 there was a small Italian Prisoner of War Camp at Koo Wee Rup (read more here) and the men were allocated to work on various local farms, including the Roxburgh farm. My Dad, Frank Rouse, who was ten at the time, remembers truckloads of the prisoners driving down the road to the farm in the morning, one guard on each truck. At lunch time a food van with a portable cooker would go the farm to feed them. 

Cheriton Park was advertised for sale by auction in 1947 and at that time it had 125 acres of asparagus under production. The top offer was £20,750, but this was below the reserve and the sale was not completed. (15)  Two years later the Weekly Times of November 24, 1949 could report that the Koo Wee Rup Swamp had 1,300 acres under asparagus. (16)  

In April 1951 Cheriton Park was on the market again and was sold for a price close to the reserve of £39,000. The buyer was listed in the newspaper as the Australasian Jam Coy. Pty. Ltd., a subsidiary of Henry Jones Ltd, even though the Shire of  Berwick Rate Books have the owner as the Tatura Cultivation Company Pty Ltd, of  1 Garden Street, South Yarra, the same address as A.J. C. They held the land until around the early 1970s. (17)

There were several other early growers from the Koo Wee Rup Swamp which I found reports on. In 1934, The Age reported that -

Smaller plantations in this locality are also being cultivated by Messrs. Dick and Hardy, with favorable results. Several other progressive farmers are also contemplating a change from potatoes. At Cora Lynn, Mr. D. Kinsella (Kinsella Bros.) has this season planted a 12-acre paddock. Mr. Wadsley has long been the pioneer of this vegetable at the "Five-mile." (18) 

Ten years later, in 1944, The Age published a short obituary of Mr Wadsley -  

Mr Charles William Wadsley, JP, 53, died at his home, Strathallan, Koo-wee-rup, on Tuesday after a long illness. Mr Wadsley was a former president of Berwick Shire, in which he represented Iona Riding for 11 years. He retired three weeks ago. He was an expert on asparagus growing, and in addition to his own property supervised an asparagus farm at Geelong. (19)

The Weekly Times of March 22, 1941 reported on Alf Ellett, another asparagus grower - 

When, in 1937, the whole of his farm was submerged for upwards of a week, Mr. Alf Ellett found that, when the water subsided, his few rows of asparagus - grown for his own use - alone had survived. Indeed, their subsequent growth showed that they had actually benefited from the thorough soaking which the land had received. The thought then occurred to him that asparagus growing was worth developing, not only as being equally profitable as other forms of vegetable culture, but as a safeguard against future floods. He thereupon set about putting almost the whole of his 42-acre block under asparagus.(20)

There is still a reminder of Cheriton Park. There was an interview in the Pakenham Gazette of December 8, 1999 with Bill Roxburgh, the grandson of Thomas. In the interview Bill talks about how his grandfather, who owned Cheriton Park, had planted all different kinds of trees on a five acre section of his land and had built his own park to relax in. Some of the trees are still there, and can be seem in the photograph below. 

Some of the trees planted by Thomas Roxburgh at Cheriton Park, on the corner of Fallon Road and Simpson Road, Vervale.

(photo taken about 2010)

Trove list - I have created a list of newspaper articles on Trove on asparagus growing on the Koo Wee Rup Swamp in the early days and Thomas Roxburgh, you can access it, here.

Footnotes

(1) See these websites of Koo Wee Rup Swamp asparagus growers - https://www.momack.com.au/ and https://www.mottaproduce.com.au/asparagus and https://raffafields.com.au/ 

(2) The Australasian, October 31, 1896, see here. I have written about James Pincott here   https://kooweerupswamphistory.blogspot.com/2024/10/mr-pincotts-model-farm-at-iona.html

(3) Ibid

(4) The Age, May 10, 1912, see here.

(5) Obituary - The Age, December 30, 1931, see here; Marriage report, July 3, 1879, see here;

(6) Indexes to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages and personal notices in the newspapers.

(7) The Herald, December 31, 1931, see here; James Elder - https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/elder-sir-james-alexander-6099; Japan-Australia Shipping Line -  The Age, April 28, 1927, see here;  Walter Sollas - The Argus, March 6, 1933, see here; William Swanton - The Age, November 12, 1951, see here; John Fordyce - The Age, April 13, 1942, see here; Norman Seale - The Sun News-Pictorial, August 27, 1925, see here;  The Sun News-Pictorial, October 21, 1944, see here; Aubrey Matthews - The Argus, September 6, 1938, see here; W. Parbury - Brisbane Courier-Mail, November 18, 1933, see here.

(8) Death notice - The Argus, July 25, 1942, see here.

(9) The Age, September 28, 1927, see here. 

(10) The Argus, April 2, 1932, see here.

(11) AWLA -  https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/encyclopedia/homefront/land_army  Training - The Age, November 24, 1942, see here;  The Age, January 26, 1943, see here.

(12) The Argus, November 11, 1942, see here.

(13) The Herald, June 1, 1943, see here. 

(14) The Herald, June 1, 1943, see here. Charles Percival Gartside (1887-1958)   https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/members/charles-gartside/

(15) The Argus, November 7, 1947, see here.

(16) Weekly Times, November 23, 1949, see here

(17) The Argus, April 28, 1951, see here; Shire of Berwick Rate Books.

(18) The Age, October 31, 1934, see here.

(19) The Age, September 14, 1944, see here.

(20) Weekly Times, March 22, 1941, see here;