The 1937 flood

It is eighty years since the Koo-Wee-Rup Swamp experienced the second largest flood in its history. The largest flood took place in the first week of December 1934. The 1937 flood hit the area on October 18 and water was 60cm deep in Rossiter Road and Station Street in Koo Wee Rup. The flood peaked at 20,000 cusecs (50,000 megalitres) about half the 1934 flood volume. There had also been a smaller flood of around 10,000 cusecs in April 1935. 

Station Street, Koo Wee Rup October 20, 1937

State Rivers and Water Supply Commission photograph

The 1937 flood was caused by an extraordinary amount of rain over the proceeding few days. The Argus of October 20 1937 had a map showing the rainfall totals of the five days from the 14^th to the 18^th of October and Dandenong had 532 points (just over 5 inches or 125 ml) and Gembrook had 977 points – close to 10 inches. The Pakenham Gazette reported that Pakenham had over 4 inches at the same time and Pakenham Upper 7.5 inches.  As you would expect, with that amount of rain, parts of Melbourne including the Yarra River and the Patterson River also flooded.

The Koo-Wee-Rup Sun of October 21 1937 reported that the experience of previous floods had taught Swamp settlers the lesson of removing stock and what property that could be shifted to higher levels and this precaution, as far as possible, was taken. Therefore although the body of water was almost as great as the 1934 flood, damage to the above was in no way as large. Crops however suffered in many cases owing to the waters being diverted since then, there were many cases in which settlers fared worse by this deluge. The Koo Wee Rup Sun estimated the damage at £50,000.

The townsfolk placed the blame for the water in Koo Wee Rup squarely on the closure of the openings in the railway embankment which caused the water to be bottled up in the town. They were made even angrier by the fact that this was seen to be the cause of the town being flooded in the 1934 and 1935 floods and there had been no action to rectify the problem. The Koo Wee Rup Defence Corporation was established after the 1937 flood, at a representative meeting of trades people, residents and farmers of the township and district... Nothing but bitterness was expressed at the continued apathy of Government bodies in ignoring all the past representations and in failing to at least take measures to ameliorate the consequences of the disastrous flooding.  The Koo Wee Rup Sun reported that in 1934, the Premier, Mr Dunstan, had promised to go into the question of co-ordination of the Railways and the State Rivers & Water Supply Commission but up to the present had sat idle.

Letter to the Editor of The Argus October 25, 1937

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11103142

There was a lot of publicity about the effect of the flood in the Koo Wee Rup township but surrounding areas also suffered as testified in this letter to the editor of The Argus on October 25, 1937 signed ‘Also a mug’ from Cora Lynn.  

 It is a cause of annoyance to residents of Cora Lynn and adjoining districts to read in the newspapers, and to hear over the air, the plight of the people of Koo-wee-rup. We are sorry for them, but they have the railway to remove them from the danger zone. They have many more hours of warning than we, with greater facilities for getting away. The water that floods Koo-wee-rup has previously surged over our lands and homes. Long before the flood reaches us in Cora Lynn all means of exodus have been cut off by the flooding of such towns a Vervale, Iona, Tynong, and Garfield for the most part. Cora Lynn is in a very decided depression, and, in my opinion, suffers more than most of the unhappy districts during the awful floods which visit us with monotonous regularity.

Click here to see photos of Cora Lynn in the 1937 flood.

The Age of October 19, 1937 had this report about the effect of the floods in the local area.

The rain continued almost continuously until to-day, when about 4 inches had been registered. At Picnic Point the Tarago River overflowed several properties. At Longwarry it flooded the butter factory to a depth of 4 feet, causing considerable damage to the machinery. Stores had to be removed to the mechanics' hall for safety. North of Garfield, Cannibal Creek over flowed its banks by 5 feet, and properties in this area were flooded. The Ararat Creek between Tynong and Nar Nar Goon became flooded, and there was 3 feet of water on Princes Highway. The

Longwarry-Nar Nar Goon road, which runs parallel to the railway line, was submerged for more than half a mile. The railway embankment and line was washed out for a distance of 26 chains, and the railway service was disorganised. Buses had to run from Nar Nar Goon to Bunyip.

 The main canal fed by Bunyip and Tarago rivers first overflowed its banks at Cora Lynn, but later it overflowed near Long-bridge, between Longwarry and Bunyip. The water is now over the Princes Highway and the the Longwarry-Nar Nar Goon road. Many residents have been compelled to go to Bunyip, as their homes have been flooded. Stock, sheep and pigs, wherever possible, have been removed to higher ground.

At Cora Lynn there is 5 feet of water in the Drouin Co-operative Cheese Factory, and at Keast Hall the water is flowing through the windows. At the railway bridge between Bunyip and Longwarry the river overflowed its banks. The Bunyip show ground is submerged to a depth of 2 to 3 feet, and water is flowing copiously across the old racecourse. The golf links is a lake of water. Many residents have water running through their homes and women and children have been removed to places of safety. It is feared that if the rain continues throughout the night the record flood of 1934 will be eclipsed.

  

A report in The Age of October 20 said that the ballast that had been washed away from the railway line between Nar Nar Goon and Tynong was replaced the day before and by 10.00am the line was ready for light traffic. The Argus of October 20 reported on the telephone lines The exchange at Iona, near Bunyip, went out of order when flood waters reached the cables. The exchange was in touch with Melbourne, but could not give connection to subscribers. Men were working on the fault last night, and expected to have the lines clear by this morning. All other country exchanges carried on services.

Koo Wee Rup October 19, 1937 - the water tower in the background gives an indication of the location of the photo. 

State Rivers and Water Supply Commission photo

As we saw before there was widespread unhappiness and anger after the 1934 flood and, as a result, the State Rivers and Water Supply Commission (SRWSC) worked on new drainage plans for the Swamp and these plans became known as the Lupson Report after the complier, E.J Lupson, an Engineer. A Royal Commission was also established in 1936. Its role was to investigate the operation of the SRWSC. The Royal Commission report was critical of the SRWSC’s operation in the Koo-Wee-Rup Flood Protection District in a number of areas and it ordered that new plans for drainage improvements needed to be established and presented to an independent authority. Mr E. G Richie was appointed as the independent authority. The Richie Report essentially considered that the Lupson Report was “sound and well considered” and should be implemented. Work had just begun on these recommendations when the 1937 flood hit the area

The main recommendation of the Lupson / Ritchie report was the construction of the Yallock outfall drain from Cora Lynn, cutting across to Bayles and then essentially following the line of the existing Yallock Creek to Western Port Bay. The aim was to take any flood water directly to the sea so the Main Drain could cope with the remaining water. The Yallock outfall drain was started in 1939 but the works were put on hold during World War Two and not completed until 1956-57. The Yallock outfall drain had been originally designed using the existing farm land as a spillway i.e. the Main Drain would overflow onto existing farmland and then find its own way to the Yallock outfall drain. Local farmers were unhappy at this, as the total designated spillway area was 275 acres. They suggested a spillway or ford be constructed at Cora Lynn so the flood water would divert to the outfall drain over the spillway. The spillway was finally constructed in 1962.

An Acrostic History of Garfield

This is an eclectic look at some themes from Garfield's  history and the first letter of each theme spells a seasonal greeting! I did this one for the Garfield township newsletter, The Spectator, in December 2017.  I did a similar one for the Koo Wee Rup township newsletter, The Blackfish, in December 2016. You can read the Koo Wee Rup one, here.

M is for Movies, shown at the Picture Theatre. The Garfield Picture Theatre opened with a Grand Ball on Monday, December 22, 1924. Apart from the Picture Theatre locals could also view movies at the Wattle Theatre at Koo Wee Rup and King’s Picture Theatre at Pakenham, which both opened in 1927. Harrington’s Electra Pictures had been shown at the Garfield Hall and films were shown at Tynong - there is still a bio box or projection room, which is currently inaccessible, at the Hall.  The original Bunyip Hall also showed movies however, when it burnt down in March 1940, the ‘picture plant’ was destroyed. The Garfield Theatre closed in the early 1960s although it did reopen weekends in 1970 and 1971. The Theatre has more recently been extensively renovated and is now a live music venue.

Garfield Picture Theatre, 1920s/1930s

Image: Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society

E is for Education.  The first school in town, the Cannibal Creek State School, opened in 1886. The School was located on the Princes Highway, west of North Garfield Road. The school changed its name to Garfield around May 1887. In 1899, the School building was re-located to Garfield Road at the top of the hill, half way between the Princes Highway and the Railway Station. In 1910, the Garfield School No. 2724 moved to a new building on its present site near the Railway Station. The old building was removed in 1914 to North Garfield where it became State School No.3489.

R is for Religion.  Garfield has had a number of Churches - St Mary’s Church of England or Anglican Church was opened in March 1935 by Archdeacon Weir of Sale. It was dedicated to the memory of the late Mrs Beswick, who had raised funds for the building.  It was demolished in 2010. The Uniting Church began life as the Methodist Church. There was a Methodist congregation in Garfield from the 1910s, but I am not sure if they met in the Hall initially or a purpose-built Church as I don’t have a date for the construction of the church. There was a Presbyterian Church at Iona which opened in 1908 and, also at Iona is St Joseph’s Catholic Church which opened in 1900. The existing brick Catholic church dates from 1940.

R is for Racing. The first race meeting was held on Wednesday, March 12, 1902 at the Recreation Reserve. The Garfield Race Club had fluctuating fortunes - it went quiet over the War Years but had a revival in the 1920s - a Race meeting held in November 1920 had so many horses entered that the last race had to be abandoned or else the horses and patrons would miss the special train back to Melbourne at 5.55pm. In March 1923, a report says that over £400 was spent in remodeling the track. However, in 1933 the Chief Secretary wanted to curtail the number of race meetings in country areas and thus at a meeting held in the July, Garfield had its races reduced from two to zero, and Bunyip, Iona, Cora Lynn Clubs also suffered a similar fate. So, it was all over for Garfield and these other Clubs.

Y is for Youngsters.  The Garfield Baby Health Centre was opened in July 1935 with Mrs J. Patterson as President and Mrs A. Nutting as Secretary. Sister Mitchell was in charge. A new Infant Welfare Centre and Pre-School was constructed on the corner of Main Street and the Fourteen Mile Road in 1952. It was built by E.C Cox & Sons.  In that year, the Clinic cared for 42 babies under two years old and 6 infants over two - with a total of 351 visits for the year. 

The  Infant Welfare Centre and Pre-School that was built in 1952.

Image: Casey Cardinia Libraries, Shire of Pakenham photo.

C is Cars. The first cars appeared in the town in the 1910s and by the 1920s cars were increasing in popularity.  From the 1940s Frank Dean had the garage near the bakers and George Hamm had the garage near the Hotel. Hamm’s garage was taken over by L.J Brenchley in March 1947 and the Brenchley family operated the garage for decades after and were Austin and Morris dealers.

H is for Hall. The Hall was built by Ingebert Gunnulson and opened December 1904. The usual range of events were held in the Hall - dances, dinners, use as a polling booth, concerts, wedding receptions etc. Then on Thursday, April 15 in 1937 the Hall was destroyed by fire. It had apparently started at 1.30am in the supper room and everything was destroyed. It was rebuilt and was re-opened possibly as early as September 22 the same year. The Hall was destroyed by fire, once again, in February 1984.

R is for Reading Newspapers (the way we used to get news before the Internet). This area is fortunate that its history has been recorded in local newspapers since the 1860s. The South Bourke and Mornington Journal was published from 1865 and covered everywhere from Dandenong to Warragul to Phillip Island to Mornington.   Garfield and Bunyip have had coverage in the West Gippsland Gazette which started in 1898 and became the Warragul Gazette in 1931. The same publisher also had the Bunyip Free Press from around 1909 to 1915. The Bunyip & Garfield Express was published from 1883 to 1979. The area is now covered by the Pakenham Gazette, which started in 1909 and is still owned by the Thomas family.

I is for Iona Hotel.   The Iona Hotel at Garfield was originally opened around April 1904. A newspaper report of April 13, 1904 said the hotel is of very pretty design, presenting a thoroughly up to date appearance. The hotel had twenty-nine rooms including the bar room, parlours, commercial room, dining rooms, drawing rooms, billiard room with a full sized Alcock's table and fixtures and sixteen bedrooms. The building was constructed of weatherboard and had gas lighting and an 'excellent' septic sewerage system. There was also substantial stabling. Sadly, the hotel was destroyed by fire on April 23, 1914. The existing Hotel was erected the next year and a report in the South Bourke and Mornington Journal from May 27, 1915 stated that no expense had been spared by the proprietors to make it all respects one of the best equipped hotels in the colony.

S is for Swamp.  Garfield owes some of its early prosperity to the drainage of the Koo Wee Rup Swamp as it became a service town for the Swamp residents.  The Swamp originally covered about 40,000 hectares. The Chief Engineer of the Public Works Department, William Thwaites, surveyed the Swamp in 1887 and his report recommended the construction of the Bunyip Main Drain from where it entered the Swamp, in the north, to Western Port Bay and several smaller side drains.  Work started in 1889 and despite strikes, floods and bad weather by March 1893, the private contractors had constructed the 16 miles of the drain from the Bay to the south of Bunyip and the Public Works Department considered the Swamp was now dry enough for settlement. At one time over 500 men were employed, and all the work was done by hand, using axes, shovels, mattocks and wheel barrows. By 1904, over 2,000 people including 1,400 children lived on the Swamp. Many more drains have been added over the years.

T is for Timber Industry.  The Gippsland Railway line to Sale was opened in stages between 1877 and 1879. Sidings developed along the line which allowed timber to be despatched and so the local timber industry boomed.  In Garfield, Jefferson’s Saw Mill and brick works and the Cannibal Creek Saw Mill Company were established. Joseph Jefferson established a saw mill in 1877 on the site of what was to become his clay pit, off Railway Avenue. He sent this timber out via Bunyip Station until the Cannibal Creek Siding was built in 1885 to accommodate the timber tramline which run for about 8 kilometres, to the Two-Mile Creek. The Garfield North road basically follows this tramway.  As well as producing timber products Jefferson also mined the sand on his property to be used in the building industry in Melbourne and when he discovered clay on his property he began making clay bricks. The 1880s was a boom time for Victoria and Jefferson could produce over 50,000 bricks per week and fire 75,000 at a time in his kiln. The Depression of the 1890s saw a decline in the building industry which flowed onto his business and the brickworks eventually shut down in 1929.

M is for Medical Matters - the Garfield Hospital. The push to get a hospital in Garfield started about 1930 when the community raised around £340, but due to the Depression the momentum for Hospital slowed. Money continued to be raised, new Committees were formed in 1940 and again in 1945 but all the development was stalled due to the Second World War. After the War there was still no government finance available. Various submissions were made in the 1950s to the Hospital Commission to get the Garfield Hospital established but to no avail. In the end the Garfield money (over £2,600) was added to the money left to the community by local chemist, Mr Emile Shelley, and it went towards the Shelley Memorial Hospital at Bunyip which opened in March 1966 and closed in May 1991. The building is now part of Hillview Hostel.

A is for Agriculture. Garfield is surrounded by farms - apple orchards were planted north of the town in the hills area from around 1890.  South of the town was the Koo Wee Rup Swamp which by the 1920s, was producing one quarter of Victorian potatoes and was also a major producer of dairy products. Today, over 90% of all Australian asparagus is produced on the Koo‐Wee‐Rup Swamp and many other food items are grown including broccolini, strawberries, cabbage, leeks, celery and lettuces.

S is for Shops and Businesses. According to the 1903 Electoral Roll the following businesses were in Garfield - there were three bakers, two blacksmiths and two butchers. There was a Draper and three men with the occupation of storekeepers. George and Thomas Ellis were Produce Merchants and Joseph Rutledge was a saddler.  Garfield had one builder and three carpenters - Ingebert Gunnulson, Samuel Harvey and Phillip Leeson. Joseph Jefferson is listed as a brick maker and John Jefferson as a wood merchant. To satisfy the grooming needs of Garfield, Percy Malcolm was a hairdresser and John Daly, the School Teacher, took care of educational needs. There was also one woman with an occupation listed – Florence Mason was the Post Mistress.

A trip from Dandenong to Bunyip by rail on the Gippsland line

In a previous post we did a road trip from Dandenong to Garfield along the Gippsland Road - so this month I thought we will take the same journey on the railway, on the Gippsland line. The Gippsland line was the first railway line to straddle the Koo Wee Rup Swamp, the second one was the Great Southern line, which you can read about here.

The Gippsland line, from Melbourne to Sale,  was opened in stages - Morwell to Sale - June 1, 1877; Oakleigh to Bunyip - October 8, 1877; Moe to Morwell - December 1, 1877; Bunyip to Moe - March 1, 1878 and the last stretch from South Yarra to Oakleigh on April 2, 1879 (1).

Interesting to note that the line from Dandenong to Bunyip was finished by 1877 and all the railway stations we pass today (except one) were in place by around 1885, about 130 years ago. Given that the population of the area (the old Shire of Berwick) in the mid 1880s was around 6,300 and the population of the same area today is about 200,000 and given that the only new station in all that time (apart from the short lived industry specific General Motors Holden stop) is the Cardinia Road Station and, thirdly, given that the majority of the stations are now unmanned and have minimal shelter structures  it seems that there has been a remarkable lack of government money spent on public transport infrastructure in the area in the last 130 years. There was however some money spent on the line in the 1950s as it was duplicated from Dandenong to Morwell and also electrified due to the need to transport briquettes from Yallourn to Melbourne (2).

The railway line from Oakleigh to Bunyip opened, as we said,  in October 1877 and originally the only stations between Dandenong and Bunyip were Berwick and Pakenham. According to some newspaper reports the official opening seems to have been October 5 even though most sources say that it is October 8, so that may have been the first day of passenger services (3).  

Railway Timetable

South Bourke & Mornington Journal June 1, 1881 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article70049456

When the line opened it did not actually get you into Melbourne as the section from South Yarra to Oakleigh didn’t open until April 1879. As a journalist in the South Bourke and Mornington Journal of October 10, 1877 wrote after his trip on the railway line   It is not necessary to dwell on the mistake now so lamentably obvious, which was committed in beginning the line at a point 10 miles from Melbourne - only to be reached by means of horse drawn wagons and carts - but practical men outside of the service of the Government, which, of course is prudently reticent on the subject, estimate that as much money has been wasted in the cartage of materials for the first section and part of the second as would have built a large part of the now needed section from Melbourne to Oakleigh (4).

The information about the date of the Railway Station openings comes from an interesting website Vicsig  http://vicsig.net/  which calls itself the ‘Premier Victorian Rail resource’.   

We will start at the Dandenong Railway Station. This station became a junction station on October 1, 1888 when the Great Southern line, which eventually went to Yarram, opened as far as Tooradin.  

The next station along the line was opened on November 18, 1956 to serve the General Motors Holden Factory which at one stage employed 3,000 people.  The Station closed July 2002 and you can still see remnants of it as the train passes by.

The Hallam Station opened on December 1, 1880 as Hallam’s Road and changed its name to Hallam in May 1904. Hallam was a ‘flag station’ when it opened and only stopped when there were passengers to discharge or a  flag was displayed to indicate that there were passengers to be picked up.  As early as May 1883 the local residents were asking the Railways for increased platform accommodation (according to a newspaper report) and if you have ever been past the station in the morning peak hour you would know that the platform accommodation is still inadequate.

The Narre Warren Station opened on March 10, 1882. A local influential resident, Sidney Webb agitated for the railway station and after it was completed he agitated for a road to be put from the Princes Highway to the railway station, the road was not surprisingly called Webb Street. The original Narre Warren settlement, well north of the Highway was renamed Narre Warren North after the new town developed around the station.

Woodcut of Berwick Railway Station, 1877

Source: Early days of Berwick and its surrounding districts (Berwick Pakenham Historical Society)

Berwick opened October 8, 1877, one of the original stations. Beaconsfield opened December 1, 1879. The Officer Railway Station began as Officer's Wood Siding, constructed to despatch timber from land owned by the Officer family to Melbourne. It was renamed Officer in February 1899. Sir Robert Officer was at one time the Health Officer for Hobart and a member of the Legislative Council and in the early 1840s he moved some of his interests to the main land. It was his son, William, who had their Mt Misery property, near Beaconsfield, and after the railway line was opened he used to rail his sheep from his other property at Deniliquin to Officer in times of drought.

Cardinia Road station opened on April 22, 2012. The next stop, Pakenham was an original station. The town that developed around the station was known as Pakenham East, initially in opposition to the ‘old’ town of Pakenham which had developed around the La Trobe Inn (also known as Bourke’s Hotel) on the Gippsland Road, near the Toomuc Creek. Eventually Pakenham East over took not only the original town of Pakenham, but its name as well although it was still referred to as Pakenham East well into the 1960s.

Nar Nar Goon. There were various reports in the papers saying that the residents of Nar Nar Goon had petitioned the Minister of Railways for a siding and platform in August 1878, they tried again a year later in August 1879 but were told there was no money and even if there was the Railway Department considered a station at Nar Nar Goon unnecessary. The Station opened April 1, 1881. 

Tynong - like Nar Nar Goon there are newspaper reports that Tynong residents agitated for a railway station after the line was opened, and Vicsig website has the opening date at February 12, 1880. However, in August 1880 it was reported that a deputation introduced by Mr Mason, M.L.A., and Mr. Buchanan, M.L.C., waited upon the Commissioner of Railways, and asking that a siding should be constructed at the intersection of Kelly-road with the Gippsland line, near Tynong (5), so the Vicsig date seems to be  a but early. Either way, there was a station at Tynong by April 1881 (6).

The Garfield station developed from a timber siding in the same way that Officer did. The Cannibal Creek Siding opened in December 17, 1884 to accommodate the Cannibal Creek Saw Mill Company and it was renamed Garfield in March 28,  1887.

Garfield Railway Station, c. 1910

Image from the book North of the Line: a pictorial record  published by the  Berwick Pakenham Historical Society.

Bunyip was opened October 1877 as one of the original stations and the extension of the line from Bunyip to Moe opened March 1, 1878. 

Just before you get to the Bunyip Railway Station there is an electricity substation which has been heritage listed, which I must say was a surprise to me. The Heritage citation says that it is one of 19 sub and tie stations constructed between 1952 and 1954 from Nar Nar Goon to Traralgon for the electrification of the main Gippsland line.  It is listed as it is historically significant as it serves as an important reminder of the electrification of the first main line in Australia. It is technically significant as it serves as an important reminder of the electrification of the first main line in Australia and the system of electric locomotives associated with the transportation of briquettes and the industrial growth in the Latrobe Valley and it is socially significant as it represents an important tangible link with the transportation of brown coal and the associated coal and briquette industry located at Latrobe Valley which was central to the economy and economic development of the State of Victoria particularly in the 1950s. (7).

Footnotes

(1) These dates are from Victorian Railways to '62 by Leo J. Harrigan (Victorian Railways, 1962)

(2) Duplication dates from Vicsig - Dandenong to Narre Warren - November 18, 1956; Narre Warren to Berwick - February 25, 1962; Berwick to Officer - May 13, 1956; Officer to Pakenham - February 27, 1955; Pakenham to Nar Nar Goon - October 10, 1954; Nar Nar Goon to Tynong - June 28, 1953 and Tynong to Bunyip - August 19, 1956. 

The line between Dandenong and Warragul was Electrified  July 21, 1954. 

(3) South Bourke and Mornington Journal October 10, 1877, see here

(4) South Bourke and Mornington Journal October 10, 1877, see here

(5)  South Bourke and Mornington Journal, August 18, 1880, see here.

(6) The Argus, April 13, 1881, see here.

(7) Victorian Heritage Register http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article70049456

Eleven Mile Bridge, Cora Lynn

There was a report in the Dandenong Journal of April 26, 1944 from the Shire of Berwick Engineer, Mr H.L. Keys, on the Eleven Mile bridge at Cora Lynn. He said This is a  three span timber bridge over the Main Drain on the 11 mile road. The central span is 40 feet with two approach spans of 30 feet each. Forty feet span in a timber bridge of this class is altogether too large and it is remarkable that it has stood up to heavy traffic for so long. The whole bridge is  now in an advanced state of decay and it is difficult to see how any repairs of a permanent nature can be effected. However, as it may be some time before the construction of  a new bridge can be considered I would suggest that about 40 pounds be spent in renewing some of the decking and running deck and that notices restricting the carrying capacity of the bridge to 2 tons be posted'

Dandenong Journal April 26, 1944

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article214165386

Mr Keys was correct in saying that it may be some time before a new bridge could be built as it wasn't until the War was over that money and man power could be found for a new bridge. The Dandenong Journal reported on July 23, 1947 that a tender for just over £1,055 was accepted by the Shire of Berwick to build a replacement bridge over the Main Drain at the Eleven Mile Road. The tender was from the Sippo Brothers.

The Sippo Brothers were recognized bridge builders and had been used and would be used by the Shire on many previous and future occasions.   For instance, in March 1942, they were working on the bridge at Cora Lynn which was completed by July 1943; they then moved onto the construction of a timber culvert on the corner of the Nine Mile and the Eleven Mile Roads at Tynong; also in 1943 they constructed culverts and approaches on the Nar Nar Goon-Longwarry Road. In December 1947 they won a tender to recondition three bridges in the Shire of Berwick on Narre Warren-Cranbourne Road, Leckie Road and Foy’s Road.  

However, back to the Eleven Mile Bridge.   In August 1947 the Country Roads Board (the CRB) approved the tender for the construction of the bridge which was to be a three span timber and rolled steel joist (RSJ) bridge. The CRB would reimburse the Council 5/6^th of the cost. By December 1947, the Dandenong Journal reported that the piles had been driven and the concrete sheeting cast. RSJs will be delivered as soon as available. It is suggested that the filling of the approaches be carried out by direct labour. [It was] anticipated that the new front end loader would be available for this work early in the New Year.

My father, Frank Rouse, remembers the way the piles were driven in - the wooden pile had a steel frame next to it which was stabilised by cables attached to the drain banks. The top of the steel frame, which was higher than the piles, had a pulley through which a cable with a one ton weight attached was positioned over the top of the pile. The cable was attached to the back of a Dodge truck - the truck would move forward to raise the weight, then the cable was released and the weight would drop onto the top of the pile which forced it in and then the process was repeated and then the steel frame was moved to the location of the next pile.

Later in December 1947 it was reported that the crossheads have been fixed and the contract is now held up pending receipt of rolled steel joints.  In the New Year they were waiting for the delivery of decking and essential iron work.   

By the end of April 1948, the bridge was nearly finished, but they needed to acquire land on the south side of the bridge for a road deviation.   The land was being acquired from McMillans. It appears that the agreement to transfer the land happened in June 1948 and the compensation required (apart for the land payment presumably) was new fencing and an iron grate. In the August of that year the Dandenong Journal reported that the approaches to bridge over 11-mile will be commenced at an early date, weather permitting,  which perhaps indicates the work was nearing the end.

Who were the Sippo Brothers?  According to the book ‘Call of the Bunyip’ by Denise Nest, Simon Sippo, who was born in Finland, and his wife Ollie (nee Warren) arrived on the Koo-Wee-Rup Swamp in September 1893, the first three of their children were born in Footscray and the remaining six in Bunyip South.  Simon was a bridge builder and in 1911 was building a bridge at Yallock and won contracts to build bridges in Heatherton Road and Corrigan Road for the Shire of Dandenong.

His sons obviously continued in the same occupation and it was William Leslie Sippo and, I believe, Alfred Liddle Sippo who were the ‘Sippo Bros’. There is a report in the Dandenong Journal of June 24, 1942 saying that Alfred Sippo would be released from military duties to enable him to complete the Cora Lynn bridge.

Eleven Mile Bridge August 27 1962

State Rivers and Water Supply Commission photo

State Library of Victoria Image RWP/C7638

You can see by the photo above that the drain has suffered from erosion over the years as it quite shallow compared to the 2015 photo, below. The Eleven Mile bridge had been repaired over the years with strengthening and a new deck or two but was demolished in November 2015 and the new bridge completed the next month. The cost of the new bridge was $700,000, half funded by the Council and half by the Federal Department of Infrastructure and Development. I have some photos of the construction of the bridge, here.

The wooden Eleven Mile bridge, taken October 24, 2015.

Fatal Shooting at Weatherhead's saw mill near Glenlyon

When Alf Weatherhead was eleven years old, he was involved in a fatal shooting on Easter Saturday, April 6, 1907 at his father's saw mill near Glenlyon. I had only vaguely heard about this when I was growing up, however I had a phone call out of the blue, from a nephew (or grand nephew) of the little boy who was shot and I felt really guilty about the whole thing, even though none of it is my fault. I sort of got the impression that the family of the boy thought that it was less of an accident and more a deliberate act. I was told that at 2.30 in the afternoon Alf was playing with Stanley and Gordon Barber. Gordon and Alf walked towards the hut; Alf must have picked up the gun and said 'I can shoot you' and Gordon said 'No, you can't' and Alf shot him.  The gun was supposed to be unloaded. 

The two newspaper reports have the name of the family incorrectly listed as Barbour, nor Barber. Gordon was the son of George and Francis (nee Chandler) Barber. His death certificate says he was   6 years, ten months old and there was an enquiry into his death held by William King, J.P on April 8 which determined that he died from a  'haemorrhage as a result of  a gunshot wound in the neck.' 

I can see that would be an unsatisfactory determination if I was the parents of little Gordon.

The Age April 9 1907

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article196152641

FATAL SHOOTING ACCIDENT. DAYLESFORD. Monday.

A fatal shooting accident occurred at Weatherhead's saw mill, near Glenlyon, on Saturday. Mr. Barbour, of Korweinguboora, who carts timber from the mill to Daylesford, took his two boys with him to the mill during the Easter  holidays, where they played with the proprietor's son, aged about eleven years. While Mr. Barbour was away with a load on Saturday a gun that young Weatherhead had been using accidentally exploded, and the charge struck young Barbour, aged seven years, full in the face and chest, killing him almost instantly.

A similar report appeared in The Leader of April 13, 1907

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article196647843

Alf was the youngest son of Horatio Weatherhead (18/5/1853 to 24/10/1925) and Eleanor Hunt (17/2/1856 to 15/5/1927). They had nine children Fred (1881 - 1955, married Ethel Ellen Wesley in 1910), Ada (1883 - 1966, married Edward Shelden in 1903), Charles (1884 - 1957, married Emily Hunt in 1908),  Arthur (1886 - 1945, married Inez Coombs in 1912),  George (1888 - 1944, married Annie Ainger in 1916), John (1890  1892), Frank (1893 - 1970, married Alice Burleigh in 1923), Alf (1895 - 1976) and Eva (my grandma, 1901 - 1982, married Joe Rouse in 1922)

Iona Hotel at Garfield

This post looks at the history of the original Iona Hotel at Garfield, which opened in 1904 and burnt down in 1914.

In June 1903 it was reported that a petition for a local option poll for a Hotel in Garfield had obtained 200 signatures from voters in the recently created Iona Riding of the Shire of Berwick; more signatures were also gathered from the Pakenham Riding (1).  This petition led to a local option poll taking place on  August 27, 1903 in the Pakenham Licensing District, as a result of an application by George Ellis for a hotel licence at Garfield (2). It was reported that the statutory number of hotels to which the district is entitled is eight and the existing number is seven (3). The vote was restricted to the Iona and Pakenham Ridings and it was in favour of the Hotel at Garfield. Subsequently, in December 1903, the licensing bench which sat at Berwick on the 12th inst. granted a licence to Mr G. W. Ellis for an hotel at Garfield, subject to the building being completed in accordance with the plans and specifications, by June 1. It is expected that the premises will be ready for opening by March 1 (4). 

I presume that the fact that the Hotel was located in the Iona Riding, which was formed May 31, 1901 (5) and the ratepayers of this riding had supported the establishment  of the Hotel through a petition and voting in the local option poll, that it led to the Hotel being called the Iona Hotel.

The advertisement  for the Iona Hotel which run in the 

South Bourke & Mornington Journal from April 1904

The Iona Hotel at Garfield was opened in mid-March 1904 (6).  A comprehensive report on the new Hotel was published in the South Bourke and Mornington Journal of April 13, 1904 - 

Garfield certainly ranks amongst the towns on the Gippsland line of railway which have innovations of improvement during the past two or three years, the most recent step in this direction being the building of a house of accommodation, via, the Iona hotel. Residents in the vicinity have agitated in this respect for some time past and success has attended their efforts, for they have now an hotel which is a credit to the place, and those who have occasion to visit Garfield will find the enterprising proprietor, Mr Geo.

W. Ellis, all that is to be desired as regards a landlord. 

There is no reason now why the place should not become a favorite resort for both holiday seekers and sportsmen, as within a short distance from the town are to be found innumerable fern gullies and caves of marvellous beauty, and, for those who are in quest of game, the surrounding country will be found all that a sportsman wishes, a whether it be with the gun or fishing-rod.

The hotel stands on a prominent site only a few yards from the railway station, and is of very pretty design indeed, presenting a thoroughly up-to-date appearance the hotel and outbuildings, &c. occupy about an acre of ground. The structure comprises twenty-nine rooms, including a spacious bar room, parlors, commercial room, dining room, drawing room, sixteen bed rooms, billiard room (with full sized Alcock's table and fixtures), kitchen &c. The building, which is of weather board, is lathed and plastered throughout, and the front portion outside (six feet from the ground) is of jarrah-wood, oiled and polished, which has a pleasing effect. 

The appointments are of modern style, and in each of the principal rooms electric bells are provided. Add to this the fact that the place has a gas manufacturing plant and a sewerage system, then it will be realised that the hotel is thoroughly complete in every detail. The acetyline gas is laid on right through the building, and is a beautiful illuminant. The septic sewerage system is reed, and an excellent one it is. From the whole of the building the refuse is carried by an underground pipe to the filter beds (which are in the yard) and there treated effectively. This system has been approved of by the Board of Health. The stabling accommodation is also of a substantial nature. Judging by the provision made by the huge underground tank there should never be a water famine here; from this source water is supplied and pumped into iron tanks placed in position for use in bath rooms, lavatory, &c. 

The architects (Messrs. H. W. and F. B. Tompkins), and the contractors (Messrs. Atkinson & Gordon) have every reason to feel proud of their work. The furnishing of the place, which although not yet quite completed, is a matter which clearly shews the heavy expense the proprietor has been under, but good taste is displayed in this direction also. To sum up briefly, Garfield has an hotel sufficient for its requirements for years to come, and it is to be hoped Mr. Ellis' venture meets with the reward it deserves (7).

In 1907, George Ellis sold the Hotel to Thomas O’Donohue who was connected to Martin O’Donohue who built the Garfield Picture Theatre in 1924 (8). In the four years that Ellis owned the Hotel the Net Annual Value of the site had risen from £75 to £125 (9) which is an indication of the growth of the town. Ellis and his family were farewelled from the town at a function at the Hotel in September 1907. Mr Hattersley, who chaired the function said There were few men who had done more for a township and neighbourhood, than their guest, and whatever was for the advancement of the district Mr. Ellis was always in front to do his part. He presented Mr Ellis with a set of pipes which he trusted the pipes would bestow great comfort during hours of worry, and whenever he took and filled it that it would remind him of the friends left behind in Garfield (10).

Sadly, the hotel was destroyed by fire on April 23, 1914. The Bunyip Free Press had this report - 

A fire broke out between 8 and 4 o'clock on Thursday morning, April 23rd, at Garfield, at the Iona Hotel and Mr. E. A. Gabbett's general store. How or where the outbreak first took place appears to be a mystery, but it spread with such rapidity that both buildings and their contents were completely destroyed.

There were 26 persons sleeping in the hotel and Mr. Cryan had difficulty in waking and getting them clear of the burning building. Mrs. Ockenden, the cook at the hotel, states that the fire did not start in the hotel building, and is inclined to the belief that it started at the back of the store. A niece of Mr. Cryan's lost L14/10 in notes and gold in the flames.

The hotel was a fine, up-to-date wooden building, and was owned by Mr. T. O'Donohue, who had it partly covered by insurance, but his loss will be a heavy one, as the companies will not accept more than half the value of wooden buildings used as hotels. Mr. T. J. Cryan, the licensee, had a valuation of L600 on his stock, and he estimates his loss at double that amount, so that he too has suffered through the outbreak. We were unable to ascertain the insurances on Mr. Gabbett's stock or the building.

Only about a dozen chimneys now standing occupy the two blocks and the main street looks very bare (11).

There was another report of the fire, which differed slightly in detail, published in the Bunyip and Garfield Express of April 28, 1914 - 

A disastrous fire occurred on Thursday morning between three and four o'clock at Garfield, which resulted in the total destruction of the Iona hotel and Mr E. Gabbett's grocery store. Between the hours mentioned some employes at Bird's bakery, which is further along the street, observed a fire in the direction of the hotel, Investigation satisfied them that the building was burning and the alarm was raised.

There were between 20 and 30 inmates of the hotel at the time amongst whom were a number of ladies, but fortunately all escaped from the burning building. The fire appeared to some observers to start outside the eastern wall of the building while others declare it came from the kitchen. However, it had a good hold when first noticed and no time was lost by the lodgers and the family and friends of Mr Cryan, licensee, in leaving the doomed structure.

The fire spread with great rapidity, and was favored by a north westerly breeze. A salvage party however, made good use of the little time at their disposal and succeeded in saving a piano and a few other articles of furniture, but there was no time to rescue the heavy furnishings from the building and over £500 worth was destroyed. Miss Cryan, daughter of the licensee lost £14 in gold and notes which she left in the building. 

From the hotel the flames spread to Mr Gabbett's store, which adjoins it and soon the two structures were a seething mass of flame. The grocery stock was completely destroyed and the dwelling portion of the building, which is at the rear of the shop. The household furniture was destroyed. The insurances on the Iona hotel are as follows :-Mr T. Donohue, owner, £1500 on the building, furniture £500, Mr C.J. Cryan licensee, £600 on the stock. The amount of Mr Gabbett's insurance is not available, but it is understood that his stock was only lightly insured. All concerned are heavy losers. The business of the hotel is being carried on in a building next to the old premises, whilst Mr Gabbett has opened his store in Mr Bird's premises, pending building operations (12).

The Iona Hotel, completed.

Dandenong Advertiser, January 14, 1915 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article88659792

The new Hotel, which is the existing Hotel, was completed by January 1915, according to the report in the Dandenong Advertiser, above. I presume it officially opened soon after that, but once again, I can't find a specific opening date. Mr  Cryan continued to advertise his Hotel in the Bunyip and Garfield Express all though 1914 and 1915, presumably because he was operating in the building next door, so that doesn't give any clues.  There is a report, in the South Bourke and Mornington Journal  from May 27, 1915 saying that the Shire of Berwick Health Inspector, Dr H. White, had inspected the Iona Hotel and he was pleased with the appointments and sanitation of the place and that no expense had been spared by the proprietors to make it all respects one of the best equipped hotels in the colony (13), but whether the Hotel could operate before the official inspection, I cannot say.

 The 'new' Iona Hotel, taken most likely after it opened in 1915.

Image: Berwick Pakenham Historical Society

Trove list  - I have created a short list of articles connected to this post, access it here.

Footnotes

(1) South Bourke & Mornington Journal, June 3 1903, see here.

(2) The Age, August 28, 1903, see here.

(3) Ibid

(4) The Argus, December 15 1903, see here.

(5) From Bullock tracks to bitumen: a brief history of the Shire of Berwick (Historical Society of Berwick Shire, 1962). p. 10.

(6) I can't find a  specific opening date - The Argus of March 15, 1904, see here, reported that the building is now completed, and will be opened for business in a day or two.

(7) South Bourke & Mornington Journal, April 13, 1904, see here.

(8) Licence transfer - South Bourke & Mornington Journal, September 18, 1907, see here. Garfield Picture Theatre

 https://kooweerupswamphistory.blogspot.com/2014/03/garfield-picture-theatre.html

(9) Shire of Berwick Rate Books

(10) South Bourke & Mornington Journal, September 11, 1907, see here.

(11) Bunyip Free Press, April 23, 1914, see here.

(12) Bunyip and Garfield Express, April 28, 1914. This report was also republished in the Gippsland Independent, May 1, 1914, see here.

(13) South Bourke and Mornington Journal,  May 27, 1915 see here.  

A trip from Dandenong to Koo-Wee-Rup and Lang Lang by road

I wrote this article for the Koo-Wee-Rup newsletter, The Blackfish.  It is a companion piece to the one I wrote for the Garfield Spectator 'A trip from Dandenong to Garfield' which you can read here. They both start off the same at Dandenong.

Let’s imagine we are travelling by horse and coach down the South Gippsland Highway (also known as the Western Port Road, the Bass Road or the Grantville Road) from Dandenong to Lang Lang in the 1800s - what hotels would we encounter on the way? We would have the need to call in to some of these hotels to get something to eat and drink for both ourselves and the horses. The journey is about 50km or 30 miles so even going by Cobb & Co coach which was a ‘fast’ and relatively comfortable service with modern coaches which had a suspension system made of leather straps,  it was still a four hour  journey as the coaches travelled at about six to eight miles per hour. The horses were swapped every ten to thirty miles.  So we’ll start  our journey at Dandenong which had a large range of hotels -  Dunn’s Hotel and Dunbar’s Dandenong Hotel were both built in the 1840s, the Bridge Hotel and the Royal Hotel in the 1850s to name  a few.

An advertisement from the South Bourke & Mornington Journal from February 14, 1877.

The next hotel I could find was run by Mrs Fagan on Lyndhurst Hill, where the ABC Radio station was later built (the triangle of road formed by the intersection of the Highway and Hallam Road). Mrs Fagan, who arrived in Victoria in 1853, was a survivor of a shipwreck. The ship she was a passenger on, Earl of Charlemont, went down off Point Henry near Geelong in June 1853. All the passengers were rescued but they lost all their possessions.  Mrs Fagan started the hotel in 1857 after her husband, Alexander, died at the age of 65. Her establishment was said to have dispensed the ‘water of life’ to coach drivers and she and her daughters were said to have a reputation for generosity and kindness. Who was Mrs Fagan? She was born Sarah Jones in Northern Ireland and married to Alexander Fagan. The two daughters referred to were Sarah, who married George Hall in 1855 and Agnes who married Mr Nelson - that’s all I know about him. Apparently, Sarah Hall used to walk from Narre Warren to Dandenong, even when she was 80, so she was an energetic woman. I don’t know when the Hotel ceased trading, nor can I find out when Mrs Fagan died.

After leaving Lyndhurst we travel to Cranbourne where there were two hotels. The Mornington Hotel (on the same site as Kelly’s Hotel) was started around 1860 by Thomas and Elizabeth Gooch, who like Mrs Fagan, were also survivors of a ship wreck. Thomas had been sailor and was on the Sacramento, which was wrecked off the Port Phillip Heads. He had met Elizabeth who was a passenger on the Sacramento - they both lost everything in the ship wreck, but found true love, as they married in 1854 and had eight children between 1855 and 1867. By 1912, the Hotel was known as the Motor Club Hotel and in 1919 it was taken over by the Kelly family. The existing Kelly’s hotel was built around 1926.  

The Mornington Hotel at Cranbourne 

(Photo from The Good Country: Cranbourne Shire by Niel Gunson)

 The other hotel in Cranbourne, called the Cranbourne Hotel, was established in the early 1860s by Robert and Margaret Duff. It was located next to Clydesdale Square, where the Cranbourne Park Shopping Centre is. Robert Duff died at the age of 34 in August 1861 ‘from being driven violently against a tree by his horse’ as his death notice in the paper said. He was the brother of the Reverend Alexander Duff, the first Presbyterian Minister in the area. Margaret’s maiden name was also Duff, so I presume she married a cousin, not unusual in those times.  Margaret continued to run the Hotel after her husband’s death and in 1866 married Edward Tucker, who owned a store in Cranbourne. The Cranbourne Hotel was demolished in the 1970s. Duff and Tucker Streets in Cranbourne are named after these people.

The Grantville coach at the Cranbourne Hotel at Cranbourne 

(Photo from The Good Country: Cranbourne Shire by Niel Gunson)

  

Continuing down the Highway, we would have come to the Sherwood Hotel, in Tooradin, which was near the corner of the South Gippsland Highway and Tooradin Tyabb Road. It was built around 1870 on land owned by Matthew Stevens. The Sherwood Hotel and 258 acres were put up for a mortgagee auction on March 14, 1878 and it is thought that the Poole family purchased the hotel at this time. The Poole brothers, Frederic (1826-1894), George (1827-1909), and Thomas (1837-1906) were early settlers in the Cranbourne area. Frederick was elected to the Cranbourne Road District Board and later the Cranbourne Shire, he lived at Lyndhurst. Thomas lived at Lang Lang and it was George Poole who became publican at the Sherwood Hotel. The ground of the Sherwood Hotel had a large stable, a diary and milking shed and the Pooles milked forty cows. George also constructed a racecourse and bred horses. When the Melbourne Coach refused to stop at his hotel, he built himself a Coach, which met the Cranbourne train and travelled on to Grantville.  George Poole had left the Hotel sometime before 1906 and after that there were a series of Licensees. The Sherwood Hotel was deprived of its licence on December 31 1917, after a ‘Deprivation Sitting of the Licenses Reduction Board’ hearing.

The next hotel was the Bridge Hotel at Tooradin. In January 1870, John Steer applied for a Beer Licence for his Bridge Inn and when he died in May 1876 the Hotel was taken over by Matthew Evans. Later publicans included Larry Basan who took over the licence in 1888 and rebuilt the hotel in 1895 and sold it around 1900. The hotel was demolished in 2016.

The Tooradin Hotel, 1970s. 

Photographer:  John T. Collins 

State Library of Victoria Image H98.251/1951

We have to detour off the Highway for the next Hotel which is the Royal Hotel in Koo-Wee-Rup built in 1915 for Denis McNamara. It was officially opened on Thursday, September 9, 1915.  A report in the Lang Lang Guardian at the time described it as a ‘fine commodious building of nearly 30 rooms’ and ‘one of the finest edifices of the kind in Gippsland’. 

Back out to the Highway and continuing down to Lang Lang was the town of Tobin Yallock on the corner of the Highway and McDonalds Track. The town started in the mid 1870s with a Church, a general store and Post Office and eventually had a drapery, bootmaker, bakers and Mechanics Institute Hall.  In 1877, the Flintoff family built the Tobin Yallock Hotel. The Tobin Yallock township declined when the Great Southern Railway was constructed and the Lang Lang Station opened in February 1890. By 1894 most of the businesses and public buildings had transferred to the new settlement near the Lang Lang Railway Station. In 1893 the Flintoff family built the Lang Lang Coffee Palace near the station.   The building later acquired a liquor licence and was renamed the Palace Hotel. The original building burnt down in May 1933 and the new Palace Hotel was built on another site (where it is now) and opened in June 1934.