Sunday, March 2, 2014

Garfield Picture Theatre

The Garfield Picture Theatre opened with a Grand Ball on Monday, December 22 1924. An advertisement in the Pakenham Gazette advertised the ball (see left), which was free to all and it also advertised Pictures every Saturday night and dancing every Friday night. One of the first films shown was Where the North Begins, a Rin Tin Tin movie. (1)

The Argus of December 30, 1924 reported on the opening –
The Garfield Picture Theatre was opened on Monday night. lt is one of the finest theatres outside the suburban area, and cost Mr. M. O'Donohue more than £5,000 to erect. In addition an electric-lighting plant, costing £1,000, has been installed. Mr. Meagher, of Collins street, was the architect, and the builders were Messrs. Rose and Wales, of Melbourne. The opening ceremony was performed by Councillor Dowd, and short addresses were delivered by Messrs. H. Coombs, H. Gardner, R. James, and H. Hourigan. Councillor P. Walsh occupied the chair. Mr. O'Donohue afterwards entertained about 700 guests, who enjoyed dancing and supper. The theatre will seat about 800 people. (2)

The Garfield Picture Theatre was one of the many cinemas constructed during the Australia wide boom in cinema building in the 1920s. In December 1925, The Argus could report the following interesting statistics regarding cinemas in Victoria -
Including the new theatres there are now 87 picture theatres in the suburbs. In the country the number is 242 of which 45 are of modern construction. In addition there are 170 touring shows, this including public halls and small places where pictures are exhibited only occasionally. There is scarcely a village without some sort of picture entertainment and the number is constantly being added to. As far as the suburbs are concerned a warning note has become necessary. Many are already fully supplied; some suburbs already count three or four cinemas, and in such cases there should be strict investigation before adding to their number.....The cinema attendances on an ordinary Saturday in the city including those at the continuous shows number approximately 32,000 while the 87 suburban cinemas, whose holding capacity is approximately (including afternoon exhibitions) 120,000 are all generally crowded. At a conservative estimate the Saturday and holiday attendances, under favourable climatic conditions number 150,000. (3)


The Garfield Picture Theatre
Image: Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society 

The Garfield theatre was built by Martin O’Donohue. It had a power house at the rear and a 230 volt generator (4) and was thus the first source of electricity in Garfield. This was an interesting situation and in January 1925 the Shire of Berwick received a letter from Martin O’Donohue asking for particulars of size of poles required for street lighting. (5) The Theatre supplied Garfield with power until SEC power arrived in conjunction with the power supplied to the Tynong Quarry, towards the end of 1929. (6)

As recorded in the Shire of Berwick Rate Books of 1924/25, Martin O’Donohue, whose occupation was listed as Hotel keeper, jointly paid the rates on the Garfield Hotel with Margaret and Daniel O’Donohue. Thomas O’Donohue was listed as owning the Hotel. Martin also owned sale yards and the Picture Theatre. Martin and Margaret also owned two other Garfield lots. Eileen O’Donohue paid rates on a Garage, owned by Thomas. Thomas also owned a saddlers shop, a confectionary shop, two lots in the Tynong township and 155 acres. I am unsure how all these O’Donohues are related, however I believe Martin and Thomas were brothers. A later source connects Martin O’Donohue to the Club Hotel at Warragul, and by all accounts they were an entrepreneurial family. (7)

J.Taylor initially leased the theatre from Martin O’Donohue. In February, 1925 the magazine Everyones: the Motion Picture Authority reported that   
Mr. Taylor, the proprietor of the new show at Garfield, was also a visitor to see us last week. Mr. Taylor informed us  that business was fair. Fox and  Universal were screened. A Hahn-Goerz projector and two Universal sets were giving excellent results. (8) 

In 1929, Mr Tomlinson took over the lease, and this was also reported on in  Everyones, whose edition of August 21, 1929 had this colourful report -
Garfield, where it rains every second day in the winter, and potatoes grow in abundance in the spring, is now controlled by Mr. Tomlinson, of Lang Lang, as far as picture interests are concerned. For some years Mr. Tomlinson has run successfully at Lang Lang, and the Garfield proposition has only recently been acquired. Quite a number of exhibitors have had a lease of the cosy little Garfield Theatre, but none have come out very successfully. The theatre is a bit ahead of the town, where the population diminishes to a mere 300 souls in the winter and increases a bit in the potato season. However, with a careful showman like Mr. Tomlinson, income should exceed the expenses nicely. (9)



Garfield Picture Theatre, March 1932

The Shire of Berwick Rate Books indicate that in 1931 the theatre was sold to Walter Anderson Lawson and Roy Everard Ross of Warragul. They closed the theatre for two weeks in March 1932 to install new sound equipment, renovate and redecorate. In April 1932, Everyones magazine could report that R. E. Ross and W. E. Lawson opened up very successfully with their new enterprise at Garfield. Their theatre is equipped with Raycophone, and results are said to be very satisfactory. They sold it to James Murphy in 1953. Mr Murphy owned the theatre until it closed in the early 1960s. (10)


Theatre reopens after renovations.
Koo Wee Rup Sun, March 17, 1932, p.4.

An article by Gerry Kennedy in Cinema Record, Volume 1, January 1994 (the newsletter of CATHS, the Cinema and Theatre Historical Society www.caths.org .au) has some technical details about the theatre - the bio box was built above the entrance vestibule. To the left of the bio box was the rectifier room and, to the right, the winding room, both with ports to the auditorium. Apparently when the theatre was constructed there was no ceiling which interfered with sound quality and caneite panels were fitted to the walls in the 1950s to improve the sound. A 30 foot wide cinemascope screen was installed and the theatre was equipped with R.C.A Star Projectors. Kennedy also writes that the Garfield Theatre re-opened at weekends from 1970 to 1971 and was operated by Dennis Grigg. (11)


Garfield Picture Theatre, late 1970s/early 1980s.
Shire of Pakenham photographer

In the 1980s the Theatre was used as a second-hand furniture and antiques shop. In 2016, after many years of renovations, it was opened as an entertainment venue by the current owners, Fred and Susan Perez. The Theatre today, can honestly be described as the hub of entertainment for the area. (12)

Two other Picture Theatres were also built in the 1920s in the area. The Wattle Theatre at Koo Wee Rup opened with a grand ball in July 1927 and King’s Picture Theatre at Pakenham opened on September 7, 1927. However even earlier, local residents had been able to view movies at the Pakenham Mechanics’ Institute. Harrington’s Electra Pictures had been shown at the Garfield Hall and Colvin’s Pictures began weekly screenings in September 1922 at the Memorial Hall in Koo Wee Rup. (13)

Of the three purpose built theatres the Garfield Theatre was by far the most substantial building being constructed of brick. Koo Wee Rup has external walls of corrugated iron and Pakenham (which was located roughly opposite the Uniting Church in Main Street and demolished in the 1990s) was made of asbestos cement sheet. Apart from these venues, films were shown at Tynong - there is still a bio box or projection room, which is currently inaccessible, at the Hall. They were also shown at the Bunyip Hall and when the original 1906 Hall was burnt down in March 1940, a ‘picture plant’ was also destroyed. (14)

Garfield Picture Theatre was a great source of entertainment for not only Garfield locals but those further afield. As noted by David Mickle in his book More Mickle Memories of Koo-Wee-Rup the Garfield, Pakenham and Koo Wee Rup theatres were in keen competition to provide Saturday night entertainment (15) and issues of the Koo Wee Rup Sun in the late 1930s have advertisements for the three theatres. Mr Mickle also wrote that the ‘talkies’ had arrived at the Garfield Picture Theatre by May 1931, a few months earlier than Koo Wee Rup (16)

Koo Wee Rup Sun, July 6, 1939, p.1



My father, Frank Rouse (1933-2020), remembers that at its peak, the Garfield Picture Theatre had shows on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturday nights. Simcock’s Bedford bus used to travel out to Murray Road, Cora Lynn and surrounding areas on a Saturday night and pick up theatre goers and return them after the show. There was always a rush to get served at Simcock’s milk bar during the intermission. 


Footnotes
(1) First film shown was listed in Bill Parish's notes on the history of Garfield, held by the Berwick Pakenham Historical Society.
(2) The Argus, December 30, 1924, see here.
(3) The Argus, December 17, 1925, see here.
(4) Bill Parish's notes on the history of Garfield, held by the Berwick Pakenham Historical Society.
(5) Pakenham Gazette, January 16, 1925, p. 3
(6) I have discussed this in my post on the history of Tynong - https://kooweerupswamphistory.blogspot.com/2023/02/tynong-short-history.html
(7) Martin O'Donohue - died in May 1941. His family had a long connection to Buckhurst Street in South Melbourne. A short obituary in the Emerald Hill Record, of May 31, 1941, here; His daughter Annie, married Bart Kavanagh of Garfield, her short obituary is in the Emerald Hill Record on November 7, 1942, here; Reference to the Club Hotel in Warragul, Gippsland Times, June 1, 1939, see here. I will do more research into the family one day.
(8) I don't have any other information about Mr J. Taylor. Everyones: the Motion Picture Authority, February 18, 1925, p. 10 on Trove http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-558649466
(9) Everyones: the Motion Picture Authority of August 21, 1929, p. 46 on Trove- http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-566229515
(10) Koo Wee Rup Sun, March 17, 1932, p.4; Everyones: The Motion Picture Authority,  April 6, 1932, p. 20 http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-546318882Cinema Record, Issue 1, January 1994, published by the Cinema and Theatre Historical Society. 
(11) Kennedy, Gerry The Garfield Picture Theatre in Cinema Record, Issue 1, January 1994, published by the Cinema and Theatre Historical Society. 
(13) Various advertisements in the Koo Wee Rup Sun; Cardinia Shire Heritage Study, volume 3: Heritage Places by Graeme Butler & Associates (Cardinia Shire, 1996), pp 229-231.
(14) Cardinia Shire Heritage Study, volume 3: Heritage Places by Graeme Butler & Associates (Cardinia Shire, 1996), pp 229-231; https://kooweerupswamphistory.blogspot.com/2023/02/tynong-mechanics-institute.html; Nest, Denise Bunyip Mechanics' Institute Hall 1906-2009 (The Author, 2006)
(15) Mickle, David More Mickle Memories of Koo Wee Rup (The Author, 1982), p. 159
(16) Ibid, p. 55 & 56

I first wrote this post in 2014, but substantially updated it in October 2024.

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

100 years ago this week - Gay life at Garfield

100 years ago this week - from the Bunyip Free Press of February 14 1914 comes the following report. The headline indicates how the meaning of word gay has changed over the years. 

Gay Life at Garfield.
Two Men and a Woman.
On Saturday the Bunyip police got word that two men and a woman of the nomad travelling class, all under the influence of liquor, were behaving in a disgraceful manner in Garfield township. Constables Anstee and Phillips proceeded to Garfield, and a short investigation convinced them that the report was only too true. They arrested John Fitzgerald, Elizabeth Fitzgerald, and A. Moss. Two vehicles were chartered, and the unsavoury cargo was landed in the Bunyip look-up. On Monday the trio were brought before Mr. C. Pearson, J.P., when the two men were each fined £5, in default one month in gaol; while the "wife" was fined £2, or a fortnight imprisonment. None of the fines were paid, and Constables Anstee and Phillips escorted the trio to his Majesty's hominy factory in Melbourne.

 I had never come across the term hominy factory before; it means prison as apparently hominy is a slang word for prison food; hominy being a thin gruel or porridge made from cornmeal.



Gay life at Garfield
Bunyip Free Press, February 14, 1914, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article129628335

Thursday, January 30, 2014

100 years ago this week - British Association Football

100 years ago this week - on February 4 1914, the Lang Lang Guardian published this article about forming a league for British Association Football or 'soccer'.  Mr Frank Garwood of Modella wanted to start the League which would cover the area between the two Railway lines - Koo-Wee-Rup to Lang Lang and Garfield to Longwarry.  There was already at least one team practically formed at Modella. Mr Garwood urged anyone interested in playing the English soccer game (NOT rugby) to contact him. 

I have no idea how it went, but I suspect that it was not successful.



In February 1914 Frank Garwood was appointed the Secretary of the Modella Cricket Club and at the Presentation night on April 15, 1914 he came second in the batting averages. I don't know anything else about him.

Thursday, January 23, 2014

100 years ago this week - Yallock Methodist Sunday School Picnic

100 years ago this week, on January 23 1914 the Yallock Methodist Sunday School held their picnic on the Yallock Creek. Mr Reiter provided music from his dulciphone - which I believe is a sort of gramophone and there was a freezer containing ice cream - no doubt appreciated as the heat was rather severe

Lang Lang Guardian January 28, 1914, page 3.


Yallock Methodist Church being moved to Koo-Wee-Rup, 1932
Image: Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society

The Methodist Home Mission Station was opened in Yallock in 1907, with the hall being used for services. The Yallock Methodist Church was opened in 1909, built by Thomas Pretty. In August 1932, it was moved from Yallock to Rossiter Road, Koo-Wee-Rup and used by the Methodists and later the Uniting Church. In 1978 this building was moved to a camp in Grantville and a wooden church, the Narre Warren East Uniting Church, was relocated to the site, it was given a brick veneer and a new hall added and opened on February, 3 1980.

A tramway through the Swamp June 1893

An early account of life on the Koo Wee Rup Swamp from  page three of the Warragul Guardian and Buln Buln and Narracan Shire Advocate from  June 23, 1893, see here. I have transcribed the article.

Those of the unemployed who were sent to work at Koo-Wee-Rup Swamp by the Public Works department some time ago, and who have since obtained 20-acre blocks fronting the Main Drain from the  Lands Department, with the view of cultivating  them and making homes for themselves and their families there, are showing a praiseworthy desire to assist themselves. Each alternate week they devote towards clearing the ti-tree off their blocks, and now they have entered into an arrangement with the Public Works department to construct a tram way from Koo-Wee-Rup Station, on the Great Southern Railway, along the Main Drain to Bunyip Station, on the Gippsland line, a distance of 15 miles. They have formed themselves into a co-operative company, and each man on the settlement is to give one day's work free towards constructing the tramway.

They have also agreed to give a shilling a month for six months towards the purchase of the rails, which are to be supplied by the Government, and each man undertakes to go into the bush and cut 50 sleepers without making any charge. The gauge of the tramway will be 2ft. 8in., and it will be worked by horses. The spongy nature of the country precludes the formation of good roads, and hence the necessity for the tramway. As soon as it is finished they will work it and charge freights according to distance. The Government intend giving the men every encouragement, and an expert in horticulture from the Agricultural Department will shortly visit the settlement and give the men instructions how to plant fruit trees, &c., on their holdings.

Official visit to Koo-Wee-Rup December 1893

This is an interesting account of the early days of Koo Wee Rup Swamp settlement from page six of  The Argus of December 22, 1893, see here. I have transcribed the article.

The Minister of Public Works, Mr Webb, paid his first official visit yesterday to the drainage works and village settlement in connection with the Koo-Wee-Rup Swamp. He was accompanied by Mr Methven and Mr Winter M.L.A’s; Mr Davidson, Inspector General of Public Works and Mr Catani, the engineer in charge of the drainage works. At the Bunyip end of the Main Drain the prospects of the Village Settlers seem very good, the land being exceptionally rich, though heavily timbered. Very good progress has, in some cases, been made with gardens, and the Government experimental plot, though the results are those of  a few months’ work only, forms a very useful object lesson to those not familiar with the cultivation of the soil. All the fodder grasses as well as Lucerne, maize, mangels [a type of beet, related to silverbeet and beetroot], flax, hemp, beet and vegetables of many varieties were growing splendidly, though the land, cropped for the first time has hardly lost its sourness. Early potatoes especially give a splendid crop. 

There can be no doubt as to the value of this Bunyip land eventually, but the clearing is heavy work, and though there is an impression in Parliament at one time that 20 acres was too large a block here, a visit to the spot shows that by the time the land has been brought into proper cultivation the new home will be well earned. A wooden tram has been laid down for the carriage of goods and this worked on co-operative principles, has already paid a dividend. There were a great many children running about idle in the settlement and the school, for which residents are still pressing, is badly needed. 

The principle of a fortnight’s work on the Swamp and a fortnight on their own land works admirably and a vast improvement is manifest since May, when the first settlers were just building their huts and not a tree had been cut. The Department consider that they will be able to provide work on those lines for the next tree years and by that time the settlers at the Bunyip end at any rate will be in a position to get a profit from their blocks.

Travelling down towards Koo-Wee-Rup the land is not nearly so good. The clay is at too great a depth and the surface is soft and peaty, so that now, even in dry weather a horse cannot leave the beaten track or he is at once bogged in the soft soil. The Minister and members saw for the first time a sled for dragging up scrub by the roots at work, but though it has achieved good results on sounder land, the soil was too soft here for a team of 18 bullocks to do much good. It would appear as though the cost of clearing here and getting land ready for grass even has been somewhat under-estimated. The bullocks in this case were, however, new to the work, and much more better results are obtained when they become accustomed to sinking in the treacherous soil. Most of the ti-tree has been burned off, but the thick network of roots and short stumps remain, making it almost impassable. Most of the settlers at the Koo-Wee-Rup end of the drain are making gardens, but the results are not quite so good as at the other end, through the land apparently being more sour. 

The first steps towards building a second school here are being taken. By-and-by a tramway will run the whole length of the Main Drain from Bunyip to Koo-Wee-Rup, but at present there is a gap of several miles in the middle of it. Mr Webb was not at all impressed with this end of the Swamp and to anyone acquainted with the difficulties of clearing scrub lands; it was obvious that with hand labour only it is a slow and toilsome task. The Minister was inclined to think that the same amount of work given to the founding of a home in the northern irrigable lands would give a better result in quicker time. All, or nearly all, the men settled in the Swamp at present are married men with large families, who prior to coming here were barely able to keep body and soul together.


Monday, January 13, 2014

First land sales in Garfield 1887 and the Pasquan family

On November 29, 1887 at 2.00pm a sale of township allotments in Garfield took place at the Auction rooms of Munro and Baillieu, 40 Collins Street, Melbourne.  Some of the blocks were 'improved' and some 'unimproved.'


Advertisement for the sale of Garfield Township lots
 The Argus, November 29, 1887  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article7918862

The ‘upset’ price was £10 per foot and the purchaser also had to pay survey costs. These allotments were south of the Railway line, running from just west of Thirteen Mile Road to the Fourteen Mile Road.  


Garfield Township plan
Public Records Office of Victoria

The Garfield Township Plan shows us that the purchasers at this first land sale were -  
Lot 1 - G. Sweet 
Lot 2 - F. Steed
Lots 3 & 18 - M. Ryan
Lot 4 - W. Harnwell
Lots 5, 8 & 15 - M. Hood
Lots 6 & 11 - A. Ritchie 
Lot 7 - A.E Biggs
Lot 9 -  J.W Borland
Lots 10 & 16 - M. Pasquan
Lot 12 -  M.I Jones
Lot 13 - W.M.K Vale
Lot 14 – J. Pearson
Lot 15a – Reserved for Police purposes
Lot 17 - F.G Hartley 
Lot 19 - A.E Dangerfield.  

In the 1889/1890 Shire of Berwick Rate books, the first year the properties were listed there, we find the ownership of some blocks had already changed hands. I have also listed the Net Annual Value (NAV).   
Lot 1 & 2 - Martin Ryan. Occupation - publican. NAV £10.
Lots 3, 8, 13 & 15 - Martin HoodNAV £20.
Lot 4, 5, 9, 16 & 17  -  Owner - no names listed. NAV £25.
Lots 6 - Adam Ritchie. Occupation - carrier. NAV £12.
Lot 7 -  William Biggs. NAV £8.
Lot 10 -  Mrs M. Pasquan. NAV £8. 
Lot 11 - William Travers; Rated paid by Robert Amason. NAV £8.
Lot 12 -  Thomas Shipton, tenant. Owner not listed. NAV £8.
Lot 14 – John Pearson. NAV £8.
Lot 15a – Reserved for Police purposes
Lot 18 - Joseph Walker. Occupation: Biscuit maker. NAV £5. 
Lot 19 - A.E. Dangerfield, leased by Michael Lawlor. NAV £8.

Some of the lots, as you can see by the Rate Book entries, above, it appears the Council were not aware of who the owners were. It is possible that they were purchased as a speculative venture and then the owners considered the blocks were not worth paying the rates on. 

I have tried to find out some more information about these original land owners from the Rate Books and other sources, some of whom may have been speculators as they didn’t live locally. Adam Ritchie was a carrier. I assume he was the same Adam Ritchie who was the brother of George and Alexander Ritchie, who owned various parcels of land from Nar Nar Goon to Garfield. His sister, Jane, married Richard Fortune and they lived on Bald Hill Road, Nar Nar Goon. W.M.K Vale is listed as owning not only Lot 13 in Garfield but five different lots in Bunyip. A. E. Dangerfield was an accountant, address Melbourne.  W. Harnwell’s address was in Little Collins Street; Martin Hood is listed as a ‘Gentleman’ and his address is also Melbourne. 

Martin Pasquan, an original land-owner, sadly, died on November 19, 1888 at the age of 45 (1). His wife, Fanny, then took over the ownership of the block, and as she is the first female land owner in Garfield and held the land until 1902, we will have a closer look at her life. Her occupation in the Rate Books was listed as ‘Lady’ which belied her real role in life as a publican running various hotels.

Martin Pasquan had married Fanny Pascoe on February 13, 1874; she was a 21 year old housemaid and he was the 29 year old publican of the Station Hotel in Footscray. Martin had been born in Fiume, Hungary to Cosmo and Matilda (nee Matteo) Pasquan and Fanny had been born in Cornwall, England to William and Eliza (nee Thomas) Pascoe. (2). Fiume is now part of Croatia.

They had already had a child before the marriage, Paulina, who was born in 1872 and died the next year aged only 7 months old. Their other children were Martin, 1875-1878; Cosmo, 1877-1879; Maximillian, born 1879; Roberto 1881-1885; Florinda 1886 - died the same year aged 11 months. (3).  It really was a tragic time for the family - losing five children as infants and then Martin dying so young. 


Martin Pasquan's Albion Hotel, Therry Street Melbourne
State Library of Victoria Image  H32088/121

After Martin left the Station Hotel, he held the licence of the Hotel de Roma on the corner of Brunswick Street and Victoria Parade. The family then moved to the Albion Hotel in Therry Street, Melbourne. The next venture was a restaurant at 148 Little Collins Street, where he supplied between 500 and 600 meals daily. At the time of his death, he was at Pasquan’s Hotel, 60 Bourke Street (4). After his death Fanny took over the licence of their Hotel. (5)

Fanny remarried on July 27, 1889 to Joseph Pasquan. Their marriage certificate lists his age as 30, occupation as a Tobacconist, birth place as Fiume and parents as Martin and Maria Pasquan. (6). Was he Martin's younger brother (there were 16 years age difference) or a cousin or even a nephew? 


Warragul, as it would have looked when Joseph and Fanny Pasquan arrived in 1909, to take over the license of  the Railway Hotel.  
The building on the right is the Orient Hotel; the Railway Hotel is the building in the centre with the two storied verandah and the white horse out the front.
State Library of Victoria Image H33674/13

Joseph and Fanny had one daughter Lorinda (also called Linda), born in 1891. They operated various hotels including the Terminus Hotel in King Street, the Morning Star Hotel in South Yarra, the Commercial Hotel at Wangaratta and in 1909 they took over the Railway Hotel at Warragul (7).  When Fanny Pasquan died on August 21, 1918, at the age of 64, they were at the Parade Hotel in Wellington Street, East Melbourne. Joseph died on August 11, 1935 (8).


Death notice of Fanny Pasquan

Lorinda was a talented singer, who studied singing in Rome under Madame Falchi and was an  exponent of all the graces and characteristics of the old world's artists. (9). There are  frequent newspaper reports of her concert appearances throughout Victoria - Warragul, Donald, Bacchus Marsh, Mornington, Williamstown, Drysdale  and at the Melbourne Town Hall where it was reported that -
Miss Linda Pasquan, who has often delighted Warragul audiences with her singing, was accorded quite a flattering reception at the Melbourne Town Hall recently, at a concert given by the Ragged Boys' Home. It is an honor to be included in a programme performed in the legislative hall of the city, and still more so to receive such a flattering reception and gain an unmistakable encore. (10)


Linda Pasquan's wedding to Thomas Tyrer
Standing: Mrs. Canny (matron of honor), Mr. W. Podmore (best man), Mrs. Tyrer (mother of bridegroom), Bridegroom, Bride, Mr. Pasquan (father of bride), Mr. B. Downing (groomsman), Mrs. L. Jeacle (matron of honor), Mrs. H. Verge. In front—Misses Nina Terdich and Raie Langley (bridesmaids).

On November 17, 1919 she married Thomas William Tyrer at St Francis' Catholic Church in Melbourne. Table Talk reported that - 
The bride, who was given away by her father, wore a handsome gown of ivory duchesse satin and georgette, trimmed with Limerick lace. The court train was prettily ornamented with shell pink ninon and orange blossom. An exquisite veil of Limerick lace was worn, with a coronet of silver leaves, and she carried a sheaf of water lilies. (11)


Linda Pasquan on her wedding day

The same month as her marriage, Lorinda  had applied for the licence of the Union Club Hotel in Geelong. After Geelong they had the Terminus Hotel in Tocumwal; then Lorinda held the licence of the  the Club Hotel in Murtoa,  Golf Club Hotel in Lower Plenty and the Pier Hotel in Port Melbourne (12).  From around 1936 to 1945 the Electoral Rolls show that Lorinda and Thomas lived at 78 Victoria Street in Richmond, and his occupation was listed as a watchmaker. Thomas died November 1, 1945 and Lorinda then lived with their two daughters - Yvonne Lillian and Lorinda Patricia -  at 148 Barkers Road, Hawthorn. (13)  Lorinda died on January 26, 1964. (14) Interestingly, young Lorinda, known as Lorrie, was a watchmaker. She was interviewed in The Argus in October 1947, when she was 23 and she said that she had began her apprentice ship with her father and after his death took over his Bridge Road business (15). 


Death notice of Lorinda Tyrer (nee Pasquan)
The Age January 28, 1964 newspapers.com

Back to Maximillian, born in 1879 and the only surviving child of the marriage of Fanny and Martin. In  December 1904,  he married Mary Maddern in Melbourne but it was a short lived marriage as in April 1908 Mary took him to Court suing for maintenance. In her evidence she said that on the day after the marriage he had left and gone to Western Australia where he was until February 1908 when he sent her a telegraph saying meet me at the Ascot Vale Railway Station, prepare for bad news. When they met he said I don’t like you anymore. I like somebody else better. The Court ordered him to pay her 10 shillings per week and they divorced in 1911. (16).  In 1918 when his mother died he was living in Ponsonby, New Zealand, with his wife Ruby May Elizabeth (nee Raymond) whom he married in 1915. He remained in New Zealand where he died in 1953, aged 74. (17).

Even  though Fanny Pasquan never lived in Garfield she deserves to be recognised as the first woman to own land in the town, as a business woman running family hotels and as a woman who overcame the tragic death of five of her children.

Trove list - I have created  a list of articles on Trove connected to the Pasquan family, access it here.

Footnotes
(1) The Argus, November 20, 1888, see here.
(2) Marriage Certificate
(3) Victorian Indexes to the Births, Deaths and Marriages; Family notices see my Trove list. 
(4) Station Hotel, Footscray - Williamstown Advertiser December 18, 1875, see here; Hotel de Roma - The Argus November 22, 1877, see here; Albion Hotel  - The Age September 26, 1878, see here148 Little Collins Street - December 19, 1883, see here;  Pasquans Hotel - The Age June 22, 1888, see here
(5) The Argus, November 27, 1888, see here.
(6) Marriage Certificate
(7) Terminus Hotel - The Argus, November 6, 1890, see here; Morning Star Hotel - Prahran Telegraph, April 7, 1900 see here;  Commercial Hotel - North Eastern Ensign, October 27, 1905, see here; Railway Hotel, West Gippsland Gazette, May 18 1909, see here.
(8) The Herald, October 21, 1918, see here; The Argus, August 12 1935, see here.
(9) Punch, July 1, 1909, see here; Geelong Advertiser, March 8, 1920, see here - this article lists her teacher as Madame Palchime of Rome.
(10) West Gippsland Gazette, July 18, 1911, see here.
(11) Table Talk, December 4, 1919, see here.
(12) Union Club Hotel - Geelong Advertiser, November 13 1919 see here; Terminus Hotel - Cobram Courier, January 29, 1925, see here; Club Hotel - Horsham Times April 24, 1925, see here; Golf Club Hotel - listed there in the 1931 Electoral Rolls; Pier Hotel - The Age, January 17, 1933, see here
(13) Electoral Rolls on Ancestry.com
(14) Death notice, The Age, January 28, 1964.
(15) The Argus, November 15, 1947, see here.
(16) The Herald, April 14, 1908, see hereThe Age, August 17, 1911, see here.
(17) New Zealand Birth Deaths and Marriages https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
Address in 1918 - article in the New Zealand Herald, April 25, 1918 on Papers Past    https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers