Koo Wee Rup Swamp History

Wednesday, April 13, 2022

Voters' Roll, compiled July 1930, for the Koo Wee Rup Riding, Shire of Cranbourne 1931.

Voters' Roll, compiled July 1930, for the Koo Wee Rup Riding, Shire of Cranbourne 1931. This booklet is from the Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society collection. There are 243 people on this list, of which 47 are women. The more valuable your property was, the more votes you got. Fifteen people had property valued over £200 - Agnes Dunlop of Yallock £646; James Greaves, Yannathan, £410; John Daniher, who owned the Royal Hotel, Koo Wee Rup, £403; John Mickle of Malvern £327; Christopher Coughlin, also of Malvern £286; Charles Hornbuckle, Bunyip, £285; Alice Mickle of Koo Wee Rup £285; William Paterson, Koo Wee Rup, £269; Henry Beattie, Caulfield £234; David Coles, Bayles £234; Matthew Bennett, Caulfield, £231; Robert Jeffers, Cora Lynn £226; John Bethune, Koo Wee Rup, £219; George Benham, Bayles, £218; Keith Cameron, Catani, £218.

You can see the Voters roll for 1928, here.

Voters' Roll for the Koo Wee Rup Riding, Shire of Cranbourne 1931 - cover

Voters' Roll for the Koo Wee Rup Riding, Shire of Cranbourne 1931 -

Roll numbers 1-55.

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Voters' Roll for the Koo Wee Rup Riding, Shire of Cranbourne 1931 -

Roll numbers 56 - 112

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Voters' Roll for the Koo Wee Rup Riding, Shire of Cranbourne 1931 -

Roll numbers 113-168. I believe this booklet was owned by David Mickle, hence the correction.

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Voters' Roll for the Koo Wee Rup Riding, Shire of Cranbourne 1931 -

Roll numbers 169 - 224

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Voters' Roll for the Koo Wee Rup Riding, Shire of Cranbourne 1931 -

Roll numbers 225 - 243.

Click on image to enlarge.

I have transcribed the list - just the names and the addresses - so the names can be picked up in a Google and other Internet searches. Many of these people are also on the 1928 list, some with a slightly different spelling, so it is worth looking at that list as well, see it here.

Abel, David G. - Bayles
Anderson, Andrew P. - Koo Wee Rup
Armstrong, John J. - Catani
Ashby, Minnie Agnes - Yallock
Bailey, Alfred P. - Yannathan
Barr, Horace - Bayles.
Bath, Olive C. - Koo Wee Rup
Bath, Wilfred J. - Koo Wee Rup
Beasley, Alfred J. - Koo Wee Rup
Beattie, Henry - Caulfield
Bedwell, Albert V. - Koo Wee Rup
Benham, George - Bayles
Bennett, Matthew -Caulfield
Bethune, Florence E.M. - Bayles
Bethune, John - Koo Wee Rup
Bethune, Norman - Bayles
Bickerdike, Arthur -Sandringham
Blyth, Edward T. - Bayles
Body, William H. - Catani
Bourke, B.J. - Monomeith
Boxhall, Henry - Yallock
Burgan, Frederick - Koo Wee Rup
Burton, Annie - Koo Wee Rup
Burton, Thomas - Koo Wee Rup
Bush, Robert J. - Burwood
Byron, Johnson Mrs - Koo Wee Rup
Callanan, J. Patrick - Koo Wee Rup
Cameron, Keith - Catani
Carson, William - Koo Wee Rup
Casey, George - Dandenong
Coburn, Phil - Koo Wee Rup
Cochrane, David - Koo Wee Rup
Cochrane, Albert W. - Koo Wee Rup
Cochrane, Ernest D. - Koo Wee Rup
Cochrane, Lucy - Koo Wee Rup
Cole, David - Bayles
Colvin, Andrew C. - Koo Wee Rup
Colvin, Anne - Koo Wee Rup
Colvin, Oliver - Koo Wee Rup
Conway, Sarah - Koo Wee Rup
Coughlin, Christopher - Malvern
Cougle, Ernest - Koo Wee Rup
Crameri, Paul D. - Koo Wee Rup
Cuff, Kate - Koo Wee Rup
Daniher, John P. - Koo Wee Rup
Daniher, Marie Ann - Koo Wee Rup
Darington, Benjamin - Koo Wee Rup (surname is actually Darlington)
Davenport, Wilton R. - Koo Wee Rup
Dick, William - Koo Wee Rup
Dickson, Richard J - Koo Wee Rup
Donelly, Horace - Koo Wee Rup
Duncan, Andrew W - Catani
Duncan, David H. - East Malvern
Dunlop, Agnes M - Koo Wee Rup
Dusting, Robert - Koo Wee Rup
Eason, William - Koo Wee Rup
Edney, A.E. - Hampton
Egan, Alice - Bayles
Egan, Dennis - Bayles
Egan, Francis - Bayles
Einsiedel, Arthur L. E. - Monomeith
Einsiedel, Claude G.P. - Monomeith
Einsiedel, Percy J. - Monomeith
Farmer, Stanley - Koo Wee Rup
Finck, Louis W., Jr. - Yallock
Forster, George - Koo Wee Rup
Games, Robert S. - Koo Wee Rup
Garnham, Jessie - Koo Wee Rup
Garnham, John - Koo Wee Rup
Garrett, James - Monomeith
Gilchrist, Albert J.- Koo Wee Rup
Gilchrist, Lillian - Koo Wee Rup
Gilchrist, William - Koo Wee Rup
Gill, Samuel C. - Koo Wee Rup
Goble, William - Koo Wee Rup
Gorey, Bridget - Koo Wee Rup
Gray, George - Yannathan
Gray, Margaret - Koo Wee Rup
Graydon, Samuel - Yallock
Greaves, James - Yannathan
Green, Alfred - Bayles
Gregory, James - Caulfield
Hall, George - Koo Wee Rup
Hall, Hilda Ruby - Koo Wee Rup
Hall, John - Koo Wee Rup
Hall, Robert - Dandenong
Hamilton, Margaret - Koo Wee Rup
Hawker, Catherine - Bayles
Hayes, Thomas - Dandenong
Haylock, Albert H. - Koo Wee Rup
Heffernan, Kate J. - Koo Wee Rup
Hester, Thomas J. - Koo Wee Rup
Hewitt, Allan - Koo Wee Rup
Hogan, John - Caldermeade
Hornbuckle, Charles - Bunyip
Hornbuckle, Robert J. - Myrnong (presumably Myrniong)
Hornbuckle, Thomas - Melton
Hornbuckle, William - Catani
Humphries, Alexander - Koo Wee Rup
Humphries, Arthur E. - Catani
Hyland, John - Koo Wee Rup
Jack, Thomas Sr - Koo Wee Rup
Jack, Louisa - Koo Wee Rup
Jackson, Annie V. - Koo Wee Rup
Jeffers, Robert B. - Cora Lynn
Jeffers, Thomas M. - Cora Lynn
Jeffrey, William H.K. - Koo Wee Rup
Johnson, Eliza - Koo Wee Rup
Johnson, John G.B. - Koo Wee Rup
Johnson, Joseph S. - Koo Wee Rup
Johnson, Walter - Koo Wee Rup
Kane, John - Koo Wee Rup
Keighery, Christopher - Koo Wee Rup
Keys, Thomas - Oakleigh
Killeen, Thomas - Koo Wee Rup
Kirwin, Eliza - Koo Wee Rup
Kirwin, Thomas H. - Koo Wee Rup
Knowles, James R. - Koo Wee Rup
Kroft, Mrs S.A. - Bunyip (surname is actually Kraft)
Lalor, V.S. - Koo Wee Rup
Lavelle, Michael - Koo Wee Rup
Lavelle, Michael Jr. - Catani
Leeson, Mary - Yallock
Leydon, Edward - Koo Wee Rup
Light, Thomas - Bayles
Lineham, Benjamin - Yannathan
Lineham, Frederick J. - Yannathan
Lineham, George J. - Yannathan
Lineham, William J. - Bunyip
Livock, Glenelg - Koo Wee Rup
Long, Althea - Nathalea (presumably Nathalia)
Loveday, Elaine N. - Koo Wee Rup
Loveday, William - Koo Wee Rup
Mackin, John Charles - Koo Wee Rup
Malcolm, John W. - Catani
Mallcott, Mary A. - Koo Wee Rup
Marrett, Francis - Koo Wee Rup
Marshall, Edward - Koo Wee Rup
Marshall, Samuel - Koo Wee Rup
Marshall, William - Koo Wee Rup
Marshallsea, Henry G - Shepparton
Martin, Lawrence G. - Koo Wee Rup
Matthews, John - Catani
Maughan, George - Tooradin
Methvin, Thomas J. - Koo Wee Rup (surname is actually Methven)
Mickle, Alice - Koo Wee Rup
Mickle, Joseph J. - Koo Wee Rup (Joseph crossed out and David written in red ink)
Mickle, John A. - East Malvern
Millard, Albert E. - Koo Wee Rup
Misson, Edward W. - Lang Lang
Moore, Joseph M. - Tarwin Meadows
Mortensen, Henry - Koo Wee Rup
Mortimer, Annie L. - Koo Wee Rup
Mortimer, James - Koo Wee Rup
Murdock, George - Bayles
Murdock, George P. - Bayles
McCord, Ellen - Yannathan
McCord, Mary - Yannathan
McDonald, Duncan - Catani
McDonald, Jane - Koo Wee Rup
McEarchan, James - Melbourne
McFarlane, George - Caulfield
McKay, John - Yannathan
McKean, Edward H. - Bayles
McKissock, James T. - Anderson's L.B.
McMillan, William J - Koo Wee Rup
McNamara, James - Koo Wee Rup
Nichols, Charles Sr. - Koo Wee Rup
Nicholson, Jane S. - Bayles
Nicholson, Norman - Bayles
O'Brien, John - Melbourne
Ollson, Karl N. - Catani
O'Neil, Annie - Catani
O'Neill, Cyril J.F. - Catani
O'Neill, Francis J. - Catani
O'Neill, James P. - Koo Wee Rup
O'Neill, John - Koo Wee Rup
Opie, Albert - Koo Wee Rup
O'Riordan, John Leslie - Koo Wee Rup
Osborne, George - Bayles
Osborne, Henry - Cora Lynn
O'Toole, Mary - Albert Park
Paterson, William K. - Koo Wee Rup
Patullo, Abraham - Catani
Patullo, Elsie M. - Catani
Peck, Frederick - Yannathan
Peck, William R. - Yallock
Pellissier, Antonne A. - Koo Wee Rup
Pence, R.E. - Koo Wee Rup
Perry, Eli - Koo Wee Rup
Perry, John - Koo Wee Rup
Perry, Noble - Koo Wee Rup
Phillip, Alexander - Koo Wee Rup
Phillip, Margaret - Koo Wee Rup
Pitt, Leonard - Catani
Pollock, William J. - Koo Wee Rup
Poole, Dick - Caldermeade
Quigley, Thomas J. - Cora Lynn
Ridgway, Harold E. - Bayles
Ridgway, Mark - Yannthan
Robertson, David - Bacchus Marsh
Russell, Elizabeth - Koo Wee Rup
Rutter, John - Cora Lynn
Saunders, William H. - Bayles
Savage, John - Koo Wee Rup
Savage, Roy - Koo Wee Rup
Scott, John H. - Koo Wee Rup
Shields, Arthur - Koo Wee Rup
Sluiter, Charles J. - Koo Wee Rup
Sluiter, Cornelius - Koo Wee Rup
Sluiter, Cornelius J. - Koo Wee Rup
Sluiter, William E. - Koo Wee Rup
Smethurst, Herbert C. - Yallock
Smith, Ross G. - Melbourne
Stanfield, Olga - Koo Wee Rup
Stephens, Francis P. - Yallock
Stevens, Gar. - Koo Wee Rup
Stewart, John A. - Yannathan
Swain, Albert T - Yannnathan
Tattam, Felix - Koo Wee Rup
Taylor, Ephraim G. - Koo Wee Rup
Taylor, Ronald W. - Koo Wee Rup
Taylor, William - Koo Wee Rup
Timmins, Thomas - Koo Wee Rup
Tozer, Harold V. - Koo Wee Rup
Turnbull, Mary B. - Koo Wee Rup
Turner, Ben - Koo Wee Rup
Wadsley, Thomas H. - Koo Wee Rup
Walsh, Eileen - Catani
Walsh, Cathleen - Koo Wee Rup
Walsh, Mary Ann - Catani
Walsh, Patrick - Catani
Walsh, Thomas - Koo Wee Rup
Whiteside, Robert - Koo Wee Rup
Wiggins, William W. - Koo Wee Rup
Wilkinson, Roy H. - Koo Wee Rup
Wilkinson, Sarah E. - Cora Lynn
Wilkinson, William - Cora Lynn
Williams, Kevin R. - Koo Wee Rup
Wilson, Alexander H. - Lang Lang
Woodman, Albert - Koo Wee Rup
Woodman, Henry J. - Bayles
Wylie, Helen S. - Black Rock

List certified on July 25, 1930 - Jos. A. Taylor - Chairman; Geo. R. Burhop - Councillor; M. Bennett - Councillor and L.T. McLaren - Shire Secretary.

Wednesday, March 16, 2022

Join us in a trip around Koo Wee Rup

Join us in a trip around Koo Wee Rup. These are part of a little souvenir booklet of fold-out images of Koo Wee Rup, produced most likely in the late 1940s or early 1950s. The photos are reproduced here in the same order which they are in the original booklet.

Cover of the souvenir booklet

St John the Baptist Catholic School, opened in 1936.

Station Street, looking towards the Royal Hotel, which is the double storey building in the background. The E.S & A Bank was erected in 1906 and extended in 1919.

The Mills buildings (where the Radio shop is) were built about 1925.

The Main Drain or the Bunyip River, at Koo Wee Rup.

Rossiter Road. Scott's guest house was opened in 1934, the Alcove cafe next door was opened in 1933. The fire station is on the right - the Fire Brigade was established in November 1943 and a temporary fire station operated until the permanent building opened in 1947.

The Primary School at Koo Wee Rup. The original school was opened in 1884; it moved to this Rossiter Road location in 1910. This building was built in 1915 and burnt down in 1950. The Primary School relocated to Moody Street in 1960. The High School is now on this site.

Rossiter Road, taken from the railway crossing.

St George's Church of England. It opened in 1917, and due to declining numbers the last service at the Church was held in 2012.

Thursday, March 3, 2022

Loading potatoes at Koo Wee Rup Railway Station

These are photos from the Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society loading potatoes at the Koo Wee Rup Railway station. I believe they are from the 1950s (or maybe 1940s)

Koo Wee Rup Railway Station

Image: Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society

Loading potatoes at the Koo Wee Rup Railway Station. These (above and below) are the same scene, different view. They are back to the good old days of manual labour when men and boys could lift a bag of potatoes, which weighed 150 lbs or 68 kg, onto the back of a truck without a second thought. My father, Frank Rouse, and my uncle, Jim Rouse, grew potatoes at Cora Lynn from 1950 - from when Dad was 16 and Jim was 18. Allegedly Jim could lift two bags of potatoes at a time - one in each hand. It may be a family story, but like many farm boys they were working for money on neighbouring farms from when they were about 13 and then milking the cows at home after that, so they were very strong.

Koo Wee Rup Railway Station

Image: Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society

Trucks in Station Street outside the Koo Wee Rup Railway Station

Image: Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society

This is the line-up of trucks, in Station Street in Koo Wee Rup, waiting to go into the loading yard. The double storey building on the left is the Royal Hotel, built in 1915. Potatoes have been grown on the Koo Wee Rup Swamp since 1893, when the land was settled after the drainage of the Swamp by the digging of the Main Drain.

The Koo Wee Rup Railway Station was opened in August 1889,as part of the Great Southern Line. I have written about this railway line, here. Koo Wee Rup became a Railway Junction with the construction of the McDonalds Track Railway, or Koo Wee Rup to Strezlecki Railway line. This line opened in June 1922 and was completely closed by February 1959. I have written about this railway line, here.

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