Wattles on the Koo Wee Rup Swamp

It is wattle time on the Koo Wee Rup Swamp.  I believe the local species is the Black Wattle (acacia mearnsii). It grows anywhere, it lines the Swamp roads and also the Main Drain from Bunyip to Koo Wee Rup and if you dig up any soil and leave it for a few weeks you will soon have black wattles growing. The trees are neat enough when they are young, but after a few years they get messy, branches break off and they begin to look a bit ugly. 

They are a bit slower coming out this year, but I took these photos on July 31, 2011, and they show how lovely they are. 

Looking west along Main Drain Road from the Eleven Mile bridge

Taken  July 31, 2011

Same wattles along Main Drain Road, as in the image above, looking west

 from the Eleven Mile bridge, showing the Main Drain

Taken  July 31, 2011

Clump of wattles on Main Drain Road near the Eleven Mile bridge

Taken  July 31, 2011

Looking east along Main Drain Road from the Eleven Mile bridge

Taken  July 31, 2011

Looking south down Eleven Mile Road, from the Eleven Mile bridge

Taken  July 31, 2011

The Main Drain - looking east from the Eleven Mile bridge

Taken  July 31, 2011

The blooms of the Black Wattle 

Taken July 31, 2011

The flowers of the Black Wattle are a pale yellow, not nearly as pretty as the Cootamundra wattle (acacia baileyana) or Australia's floral emblem, the Golden Wattle (acacia pycnantha benth) but from late July to the first few weeks of August the Black Wattle is glorious - they line the roads and the drain banks and you can look across the paddocks and see glimpses of yellow everywhere. It really is a magnificent sight.

Swamp paperbark (melaleuca ericifolia)

Taken July 31, 2011

You can also see other remnant Swamp vegetation, including the Swamp Paperbark (melaleuca ericifolia). The photograph, above, was taken in Dessent Road at Vervale, but you can see this everywhere on the Swamp.

Reeds 

Taken July 31, 2011

Another common plant are the reeds (phragmites australia), they grow everywhere on the Swamp, where there is a bit of water. This photograph, above, was taken also taken in Dessent Road. 

You can also see the reeds in the photograph, above.  It is part of a series of post cards produced for Koo Wee Rup in the late 1940s or early 1950s. I think that's a blackwood wattle (acacia melanoxylon) behind the bridge.

William Wordsworth may well have been inspired by a host of golden daffodils, but to me there is nothing better that a host of golden wattles, brief though their time of glory may be. 

Back-to Garfield June 1962

It is sixty years since Back-to Garfield celebrations took place. This Back-to was held from June 1 to June 4 in 1962 and all the proceeds from the weekend were to go to the Garfield Swimming Pool Fund.

The head-line to the Pakenham Gazette report

Pakenham Gazette, June 8 1962 p, 1

 There was an extensive list of activities commencing on the Friday when a Cabaret Ball was held in the Picture Theatre, from 8.30pm to 1.30am. This was attended by 250 people. On the Saturday morning Jack Payne, the President of the Back-to committee, performed the official welcome. At 11.00am an Old Scouts reunion was held in the Scout Hall, where there was also a popular display of historic photographs.

Later that afternoon a big crowd attended the football match with Garfield convincingly defeating Nar Nar Goon, 17.16 to 4.21. According to a report in the Pakenham Gazette, Nar Nar Goon had no answer to the dashing play of the Garfield forwards and ruckmen. The best on the field for Garfield were Jim and Tom Miller, Keith Looby, Eric Preston, Wayne Gibson and Tony McMahon. Other players in the team included Pat Looby, Brenchley, T. Christie, Pumphrey and the goal kickers were Jim Miller with five, Tom Miller and Pat Looby, three goals and A. McMahon and T. Christie two goals.

On the Saturday evening 350 people attended the official dinner, in the Garfield Theatre, where the Guests of Honour were the Shire President, Cr Dan Cunningham and the local MLA, Les Cochrane. A teenage dance was held at the same time in the Garfield Hall. Church services were held the next morning, with the service at the Anglican Church being conducted by the Bishop of Gippsland, Dr Garnsey. On Sunday afternoon a large crowd attended the T.Q midget car racing at Cannibal Creek Reserve. More activities were to come with 240 people attending the community singing in the evening. The singing was led by Mr ‘Tiny’ Snell and ex-resident Mr Bumper Gee who enlivened proceedings with his racey stories of pioneering days on the Swamp.

300 ex-students returned to the school on the Monday to chat about old times. On the Monday afternoon a reunion was held for the Garfield R.S.L. The Branch President, Keith Clay gave the welcome speech, a wreath was placed on the memorial by Hector Wikman and an address was delivered by Bert Thomson. Later that afternoon the first sod of the swimming pool was turned in the presence of Mr Hunt, M.L.C. The honour of turning the first sod was given to Mr J.J. Kavanagh, a pioneer of the district.

 
The Pakenham Gazette reported that - Tours had been arranged for the back-to people and many who had been away for years could hardly believe their eyes as they noticed the transformation of the countryside since the pioneering days. The festivities ended with a Celebration Ball, once again at the Picture Theatre, which was scheduled to run from 8.30pm until 2.00am, on the Monday night. The Theatre was packed to the doors. The highlight of this event was the cutting of a 75 pound cake (about 34 kg) made in the form of a swimming pool.

A souvenir booklet produced for the occasion included a history of the township by Bill Parish and a list of Office bearers of the organizing Committee. The Committee consisted of President Jack Payne, who had a timber yard on the corner of the Fourteen Mile Road and Main Street (a house is now there); Vice presidents were Cornelius Hurley, the licensee of the Hotel and Ian Taylor, the Chemist. Secretary was George Fischer, who was the head teacher at the school and the Treasurer was Alan Wallace, the Bank Manager. The Social Secretary was Lorna Walters.

The Garfield and District Memorial Swimming Pool was officially opened by the Governor of Victoria, Sir Rohan Delacombe on February 11, 1967. 

Sources: Souvenir booklet for the Back to Garfield celebrations, June 1962; Back-to program in the Pakenham Gazette April 10, 1962; Report of the Back-to in the Pakenham Gazette June 8, 1962.

Grosby Slipper Factory at Koo Wee Rup

The Grosby Shoe Company purchase the old flax mill at Koo Wee Rup. 

Koo Wee Rup Sun December 3, 1947 p. 1

In December 1947, the Koo Wee Rup Sun announced that the Grosby Shoe Co., P/L had purchased the Flax Mill buildings in Koo Wee Rup. They planned to specialize in the manufacture of slippers and open operations in early 1948. The Flax Mill had operated from December 1940 until November 1946, you can read about it here. As the article from the Koo Wee Rup Sun notes, Grosby also operated a factory at Beaconsfield, which had opened in May 1945 and operated until around 1953 (1).   

There were various advertisements in the newspapers over the next few years for staff at the factory - 

Advertisement for experienced clickers.

 A clicker cuts the leather required for making shoes, into pieces (2). 

Koo Wee Rup Sun December 10, 1947 p. 4

An article in the same issue of the Koo Wee Rup Sun informed the locals that applications for employment at the Koo Wee Rup factory should be sent to Grosby in North Melbourne.

Koo Wee Rup Sun December 10, 1947 p. 1

Advertisement for Sewing machine mechanic in 1949

Dandenong Journal, June 22 1949 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/222211108

Excellent salary for the right man at the Grosby decentralised slipper factory 

at Koo Wee Rup. 

The Argus, April 15, 1950 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/22822601

The Staff at the Grosby factory were featured in a Weekly Times special on Koo Wee Rup in July 1952.

Staff at the Koo Wee Rup Grosby factory

Weekly Times July 23, 1952 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/224880245/24104981

Less than a  month after the photo appeared in the Weekly Times, the Koo Wee Rup Sun on Wednesday, August 20, 1952 announced that the Grosby factory would be closing that day.  The employees were redeployed to the North Melbourne factory. The building was auctioned on December 13, 1952. What happened to the building after Grosby left? As I wrote in my post on the Flax Mill, here, one building, an army hut, was erected on land adjoining St John's Catholic School in Koo Wee Rup, I don't know the date;  and in 1964 the old amenities building was purchased and used as the Scout Hall.  That's all I can tell you at the moment.

The closure of the Grosby factory at Koo Wee Rup.

Koo Wee Rup Sun August 20, 1952 p. 4

Auction of Koo Wee Rup Grosby factory.

Dandenong Journal, December 10 1952  https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/222363424

Trove list - I have created a short of articles  relating to Grosby at Koo Wee Rup,  access it here.

Footnotes
(1) Grosby factory at Beaconsfield - the building was owned by Herman Roberts and later Katherine Lucy Roberts, who both leased it to Grosby. The Shire of Berwick Rate books list Grosby as the tenant until 1953/1954. See Marianne Rocke's entries on these people here and here on her Residents of Upper Beaconsfield website.

(2) A clicker - this explains the process https://www.rushdenheritage.co.uk/shoetrade/shoemakingclicking.html

The Rossiter family of Koo Wee Rup

Rossiter Road is named after Charles Rossiter. Charles and Ellen Rossiter took up 317 acres of land at Yallock in 1873 (1) and named the property Hawkesdale. It was located at Lot 10b, Parish of Yallock and situated between Koo Wee Rup and Bayles, near Bethune's Road.  Before this Charles and Ellen lived at Ravenhurst (later called Gladys Park and  Tulliallan) on Clyde Road, south of Grices Road in Cranbourne North. 

Charles and Ellen Rossiter, early 1890s. 

Photographer: Yeoman & Co.

State Library of Victoria Image H82.96/39

Dr Niel Gunson, in The Good Country: Cranbourne Shire (2) explains the complicated ownership of the Ravenhurst property - Ravenhurst was part of the Garem Gam Run of 3,200 acres (1300 hectares) taken up by James Bathe and T.J Perry in 1837. In 1845, Garem Gam was subdivided and the eastern part was called Ravenhurst.  Ravenhurst was held by John Crewe until his death in 1850 and was then taken up by Benjamin Rossiter (Charles’ father) and Maurice Feehan. In 1851 it appears that the property (Garem Gam) was leased as a whole by Benjamin Rossiter, Maurice Feehan and Sarah O’Shea.  By 1854, Benjamin Rossiter had the entire property  Sarah O'Shea had been leasing the other section of the Garem Gam property with John Crewe (3). Crewe had also acquired the  Mayune from Frederick Ruffy in 1850 just before he (Crewe) died in 1850 at the age of 31.  Crewe’s widow Eliza then took over the lease of  Mayune until the property which was then acquired by Alexander Cameron in 1851 (4). I have written about Mayune and John  Crewe, here. 

Benjamin Rossiter (1786 - 1858) and his wife Zillah Baynton (1789 - 1871) had arrived in the Western Port area in 1842, having come out from Somersetshire in 1842 (5).  Benjamin Rossiter died in 1858 and his sons Charles and Thomas, took over the property. As well as the two boys Benjamin and Zillah had two daughters - Ann who died as a teenager and Mercy who married Henry Wedge. Henry Wedge and his bothers Charles and John had the Bangam and Ballymarang Stations (6). Bangam was located between the Dandenong and Eumemmerring Creeks (modern day Doveton) and Ballamarang, which is around modern day Carrum Downs and across to Seaford and Port Phillip Bay. Wedge Road in Carrum Downs is named for the family. Mercy Wedge died in 1903 aged 80. Thomas James Rossiter, who died in Molong, New South Wales in 1908, married Mary Ann O’Shea in 1854, the same year his brother, Charles, married Ellen O’Shea.  Mary Ann and Ellen were sisters, the daughters of  John O’Shea (died 1852 aged 51) and his first wife, Mary Josephine Ryan. The Sarah O'Shea mentioned before is believed to be John O'Shea's second wife. O’Shea’s Road is named for the family (7). 

The aforementioned Eliza Crewe died in 1868 at the age of 44. She was the daughter of Thomas Baynton and Eliza Arabella Smith. Thomas Baynton was the brother of Zillah Baynton who was married to Benjamin Rossiter, who took over the Ravenhurst property from Crewe after his death. You may wonder was this to help out their niece, Eliza Crewe, or they just knew the area and wanted to settle here. A bit more on Thomas Baynton - he had the Darlington Run near Kyneton in 1841. Baynton the town near Kyneton is named after him (8). Totally irrelevant to this story but an interesting fact is that the Bourke and Wills Exhibition passed by the Baynton property on its way north - Ludwig Becker sketched the occasion (see below).

Crossing an ancient crater from near Dr. Baynton's 25 August 1860. Artist: Ludwig Becker. 

State Library of Victoria Image H16486

Charles and Ellen Rossiter had eight children -  Edwin Augustus (1856 - 1939, married Ellen Louisa Craig in 1890), Emily Baynton (1857 - 1883), Helena Ellen Teresa (1859 - 1902), Charles Benjamin (1865 - 1942, married his first cousin Zillah Rossiter in 1899), Hubert (1869 - 1870), Ellen Teresa (known as Nellie, 1871- 1926 married William Brierley in 1906), Norton Baynton (c. 1875 - 1947, married Hilda Hodgson in 1906) and Claude Cecil (c. 1878 - 1947, married Stella Mary Paragreen in 1907). Charles died on February 6, 1895 aged 74 and Ellen died June 3, 1909 aged 73. They are both buried at the Cranbourne Cemetery (9). 

Death notice of Charles Rossiter.

The Age February 7, 1895 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article193458166

Claude, Nellie and Norton Rossiter at Hawkesdale, early 1880s

State Library of Victoria Image H82.96/17

What do we know about their life in Koo Wee Rup? Once again we turn to Dr Gunson's book, The Good Country: Cranbourne Shire - Rossiter’s property Hawkesdale was regarded as a show place in the district and the homestead was set off by a profusion of flowers – geraniums, dahlias, rhododendrons, roses, broom and cactus. Besides bloodstock and a shorthorn dairy herd, Rossiter applied intense cultivation -  'in a paddock on the east side of the homestead seventeen successive crops have been grown and for the last fourteen years without manure - the present crop will yield 2 ½ tons of hay to the acre'. 

The Rossiters at Hawkesdale, early 1890s. Photographer: Sydney Herbert Edwards.

The photo shows Charles on the left, seated are Ellen and one of the daughters, possibly Nellie. Son Charles is at the back and Norton is lying on the ground.

State Library of Victoria Image H82.96/88

Charles was an original Committee member of the Mornington Farmers Society from 1856, a Cranbourne Shire Councillor from 1869 to 1884 and Shire President on four occasions.  Charles and his brother, Thomas, bred horses, amongst their other agricultural pursuits. As he had many children, Charles was interested in having a school established in the area and was one of the local land owners to sign a petition for its establishment. Subsequently, Yallock State School No. 2629 (later called Koo Wee Rup State School) was opened on November 1, 1884 at Bethune's Road (10).  

Hawkesdale, Koo Wee Rup, 1890s.

Photo shows Norton, Claude, Nellie, Charles and their cousin, Zillah. Charles and Zillah married in 1899.

I presume this is the building described as 'the dairy, meat room and buggy rooms' in the sale advertisement, below.

State Library of Victoria Image H82.96/45

The Hawkesdale property was put up for auction in November 1898, by Charles’ executors. It was described at the time as being only two miles from the Koo Wee Rup Railway Station. There was a good four roomed brick house, kitchen and kitchen bedroom, two pantries, a large building 70 x 30, comprising dairy, meat room and 2 buggy rooms, storeroom, man's rooms, stable, tool-house, &c; large 10 stalled cow-shed, and calf-room. with hay-room in front; refrigeration room, pig-houses, &c. Good orchard. There was a State School and creamery adjoining the property and it was one of the finest dairy farms in the district.

The sale of Hawkesdale.

The Australasian November 12, 1898 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article138667979

Acknowledgment
We are fortunate that a member of the Rossiter family donated some family photos to the State Library, so we can get a snap shot of their life at Hawkesdale and other properties. The photos were given by Mrs Leila Trickey (1908 - 1985) the daughter of Claude Rossiter.

Footnotes
(1) Gunson, Niel The Good Country: Cranbourne Shire (Cheshire, 1968) p. 52 Cranbourne Shire Rate Books.
(2) Gunson, Niel The Good Country: Cranbourne Shire (Cheshire, 1968)
(3) Gunson, op.cit., p. 36
(4) Gunson, op.cit., p. 52
(5) Ibid

(6) Gunson, op. cit., p. 34

(7) Family information - Gunson, op. cit., p. 52; Indexes to Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages; Obituary of Thomas Rossiter in the Molong Express, of January 4, 1908, see here; Personal notices in the newspapers. I had some trouble confirming the relationship between Mary and Ellen O'Shea and John O'Shea, but  a comment left on my original post about the Rossiters on my work blog, Casey Cardinia Links to our Past, by G. Sibbald explains it - I am a descendant of Charles and Ellen Rossiter. Mary Ann Josephine O'Shea and and Ellen Teressa O'Shea are indeed sisters. Sarah O'Shea was not their mother. Their mother's name was Mary Josephine Ryan. I believe that Sarah O'Shea nee Fitzgerald was John O'Shea's second wife. Mary Ann and Ellen's brothers John and George died in Victoria in 1848 and 1852 respectively. John and Sarah had sons David and Edward, half brothers of the above, who were born in Victoria. 

(8) Indexes to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages; Personal notices in the newspapers; Pastoral Pioneers of Port Phillip by R. V. Billis and A.S. Kenyon (Stockland Press, 1974)

(9) Early Settlers of the Casey Cardinia Region (Narre Warren & District Family History Group, 2010) Indexes to Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages

(10) Gunson, op. cit., p. 111, p. 242 footnote 36. Dr Gunson is quoting the Mornington County Herald, December 4, 1891

(11) Gunson, op. cit., pp 180, 260, 162. 

A version of this post, which I wrote and researched, first appeared on my work blog, Casey Cardinia Links to our Past.

St George's Anglican Church in Koo Wee Rup

This was the original design for St George's Anglican Church in Koo Wee Rup.  The tower was never built and doors were added to the front, rather than having a side entrance. The Architect was Louis Williams of the firm North and Williams. Williams also designed the Finlay McQueen Memorial Presbyterian Church in Lang Lang in 1936 and the St John the Evangelist Anglican Church, also in Lang Lang, in 1959 (1). 

An effective design for  small church - Koo Wee Rup Anglican Building

The Herald, June 4, 1917 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/242678982

The text which accompanied the above illustration was - Our illustration shows an effective design by Messrs North and Williams, for a small church. It is being used in the erection of St. George's Anglican Church, Koo-wee-rup, the foundation stone of which was recently laid by Dr. A. W. Pain, Bishop of Gippsland. The nave of the church is to be built first, at a cost of £567, and it is expected to complete the full plans in the next two years for a total outlay of £1200. The Rev. Noel Danne is the priest of St. George's (2).

The same illustration appeared on the cover of Architecture magazine a year later, in May 1918.

The original design for St George's Anglican Church

Image: Architecture: an Australasian review of architecture and the allied arts and sciences. 

Vol. 3 No. 5 (1 May 1918) via Trove.

The same issue also had the following photograph of the entrance with the double doors. 

West front of St George's Anglican Church

Image: Architecture: an Australasian review of architecture and the allied arts and sciences. 

Vol. 3 No. 5 (1 May 1918), p. 128 via Trove.

The first Anglican service in Koo Wee Rup was held on October 7, 1897 by the Cranbourne vicar, the Reverend H. Hitchcock (3). Cranbourne vicars continued to hold services in the area until 1905, when the town became part of the Lang Lang District (4).  For some years services were held at the Presbyterian Church (5), and later the school. In 1915 the parishioners decided to build their own Church and a building committee was formed under Clarence Adeney, a parishioner and the manager of the local London Bank (6).  

The foundation stone of St George’s was laid by Bishop Pain, the Bishop of Gippsland, on May 1, 1917,  before a large gathering of the residents from Koo Wee Rup  and Lang Lang districts. After the ceremony the Bishop opened the annual Flower Show (7). 

On September 1, 1917, the Cranbourne Shire Engineer reported to Council that the Anglican Church at Kooweerup has been completed and complies with all the necessary requirements, so would recommend the council to grant its approval (8). 

The Church was dedicated on December 7, 1917 by the Bishop of Gippsland, The Right Reverend George Cranswick. The next week the Lang Lang Guardian had this report -
Koo-Wee-Rup
On the afternoon of Friday, 7 December, the Bishop of Gippsland, the Right Rev. G. H. Cranswick, officiated at the dedication of St. George's Church here. There was a full congregation. Amongst the visiting clergy present were:- Revs. A. Adeney (Morwell), G. H. White (Korumburra), R. Hamilton (Wonthaggi), Backholm (Bunyip), B. T. Syer (Drouin), and the local clergyman Rev. Danne. The secretary to the church, Mr C. A. Adeney, read a petition from the board of guardians asking the Bishop to dedicate the church. 

After singing "O God our help in Ages past" the Bishop started from the font, then went to lectern, chancel steps, and communion table, before which different members of the clergy read appropriate chapters from the scriptures. The Bishop afterwards delivered a helpful address from the text "I was glad when they said unto me, I will go into the house of the Lord." During the service the choir rendered the anthem "The Lord is in His Holy Temple," Mrs Hudson accompanying at the organ. 

Immediately after a baptismal service was held. At night there was an overflowing congregation when 20 persons - 11 males and 9 females - were confirmed. The Bishop gave a fine address to the congregation on the meaning of confirmation and to the confirmees he delivered a message from the text "Thy grace is sufficient for thee." A collection in aid of the home mission fund was taken up.

After the service, Mr C. Adeney, manager of the London Bank, entertained the clergy. During the stay of the Bishop in the district, he was the guest of Messrs N. Bennett, J. Carton, F. Smethurst, of Yannathan, and P. Einsiedel of Monomieth (9).

The Anglican Church closed in 2012 and the congregation moved to the Uniting Church.

The Anglican Church, c. 1940s

See the rest of the photographs in this series, here.

The Church in October 2010

Image: Heather Arnold

Footnotes

(1) Cardinia Local Heritage Study Review - Volume 3: Heritage Place & Precinct citations. Final report, revised December 2020. Prepared for the Cardinia Shire Council by Context P/L.   https://www.planning.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0034/408499/C249card-Cardinia-Local-Heritage-Study-Review-Vol-3-Heritage-Places-and-Precinct-Citations-Revised-Dec-2020.pdf

(2) The Herald, June 4, 1917, see here. 

(3) Gunson, Niel The Good Country: Cranbourne Shire (Cheshire, 1968) p. 166)

(4) Clark, Albert E. The Church of our Fathers:  being the history of the Church of England in Gippsland, 1847-1947 (Diocese of Gippsland, 1947), p. 264

(5) Gunson, op. cit., p. 166.

(6) A short history of St George's Koo Wee Rup, 1917-1997. This is a booklet published by the Church in 1997. 

(7) South Bourke & Mornington Journal, May 10, 1917, see here.

(8) South Bourke & Mornington Journal, September 6, 1917, see here.

(9) Lang Lang Guardian, December 15, 1917, see here.

Plowright Brothers sand mining operation

The photographs, below, of the Plowright Brothers sand mining operation on the Main Drain just out of Koo Wee Rup are from the Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society collection. The photographs are undated but the Siding closed in 1931 (1), which dates them to between 1926 - 1932.

Marilyn Ramsay in Steam to Strzelecki: the Koo Wee Rup to McDonald’s Track Railway (2) wrote this about the sand mining - 

To service the sand mining industry the Railways Department (during 1925 and 1926) built sidings on the line between Koo Wee Rup and Bayles, at three miles one chain and four miles from Koo Wee Rup. In March 1925 Cameron Bros. began transporting water-washed sand pumped from the Main Drain along a 2-foot gauge steel-railed tramway which they had built to the siding. The next year Plowright Bros and the Koo Wee Rup Water Washed Sand Co, each took over part of  Cameron Bros operations . Plowright's tramline to the 3-mile siding ran almost two miles north-east, and the Koo Wee Rup Water Washed Sand Co.'s. tramline ran about one and a half mile along the line of Backhouses Road to the Main Drain. Initially both tramlines were operated by horse but later Fordson tractors provided motive power. The skips were filled from hopper tanks beside the Drain and tipped from a platform into railway trucks at the siding. I have written about the Strzelecki railway line, here.

This report is from the Koo Wee Rup Sun of June 24, 1926, just before the Plowright Brothers operation commenced -

Plowright Brothers commence operations

Koo Wee Rup Sun June 24, 1926

Who were the Plowright Brothers? John Plowright of Station Street in Koo Wee Rup passed away September 24, 1942 aged 55. He was the husband of Isabel (nee Bethune) and the father of Jean and Lindsay. An obituary (3) said that he had been a resident of Koo Wee Rup for 30 years. John and his two brothers, David  (died in 1969 aged 77) and William (died in 1967 aged 74) were born in Kings Lynn, Norfolk in England the sons of John and Sarah Ann (nee Harrison) Plowright (4). 

The death notice of John Plowright

Dandenong Journal September 30, 1942 

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/215710598/21587643

Another obituary (5) also said that he had been in business for 18 years, which means the business would have started around 1924. At the time of John's death he was a partner and director of the firm Plowright, Albion Sand and Gravel Co.

Obituary of John Plowright

The Age September 30, 1942 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/206823665

Plowright Brothers was acquired by an new company, Albion Sand and Gravel Co., in 1930 (6).

Plowright Albion Sand and Gravel Co., formed. 

The Age December 27, 1930 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/203274094

The captions on the photos of the Plowright Albion operation are partially taken from the original captions as written on the back of the photos.

At the Main Drain - Plowright Albion Sand Co. Sand Pumping Unit, c. 1926-1931. 

Image: Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society.

At the Main Drain - Loaded truck being towed to rail siding,  c. 1926-1931.

Image: Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society.

At the Main Drain - Trucks filled with water washed sand leaving the hopper, c. 1926-1931.

Image: Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society.

At the Main Drain - Sand passing through hopper onto trucks,  c. 1926-1931.

Image: Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society.

This article from the Koo Wee Rup Sun of April 12, 1926 explains how the operation 

works at the Railway Siding.

At the Railway Siding - Trucks are winched up an elevated ramp and tipped into the waiting railway trucks,  c. 1926-1931.

Image: Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society.

At the Railway Siding - The elevated ramp,  c. 1926-1931.

Image: Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society.

Footnotes

(1) Ramsay, Merilyn Steam to Strzelecki : the Koo-Wee-Rup to McDonald’s Track Railway (Australian Railway Historical Society, 1991) p. 69

(2) See above

(3) Obituary -  Dandenong Journal September 30, 1942, see here.

(4) Dandenong Journal September 30, 1942, see here and Indexes to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages.

(5) The Age September 30, 1942, see here. 

(6) The Age December 27, 1930, see here. 

"Corpse" that came to life

This report appeared in the Sydney Truth newspaper of March 10, 1925. Not sure if it is true or not, but it’s a great story.

What does it feel like to be dead? “Scotty” McDonald, of Koo-wee-rup (Victoria), says it is quite a pleasant experience. "Scotty" ought to know, because he has been officially dead and buried, but confounded his mourners by walking in on them and ordering a pot of foaming beer.

"Scotty" is short and stocky, and somewhere over the 60-year mark in age. A grizzly moustache and stubbly beard mark his weather-beaten features. In a humble hut near Dalmore, five or six miles from

Koo-wee-rup, he lives while the potato-digging is on. Before his miraculous death, burial, and resurrection Scotty's headquarters were the Royal Hotel, Koo-wee-rup. There was he to be found in the intervals between his luring of the elusive spud from the soil.

Not Wilfully Dead.
Man is not master of his own destiny, and Scotty was not to be allowed to have control of his own death. The matter was taken out of his hands without his consent. A body was found in a paddock some miles from Koo-wee-rup, and was brought into the township by a passing carter. There is no such thing as a mortuary in the township, and as is customary in such places bodies are taken to the local hotel, where post-mortems and inquests are held. There the body was taken to the scene of Scotty's best triumphs on the imitation bagpipes, and an awed bar paused awhile over its pots of beer to talk of poor old Scotty's sudden end.

One "Butcher'" (christened Mick), who had quaffed the flowing bowl full many a time and oft with
Scotty, could not contain his tears. So while the habitues of the Royal hostelry held an informal wake for Scotty, the doctors made a post-mortem examination, which showed that death was due to certain persistent poisoning of the heart and other organs. "That's Scotty," said everyone who knew the "deceased.”

Mr Cole, J.P., of Lang Lang, came to Koo-wee-rup and held a formal inquest on the body of John McDonald, deceased. There was no question of foul play, and the medical evidence was accepted as sufficient for the granting of an order of burial. So Scotty was buried. A motor lorry belonging to Gilchrist and Co. was requisitioned, and the coffin was taken to the Lang Lang Cemetery on the Wednesday afternoon, and interred several feet below in the embracing Mother Earth.

Now, whose body was it, since it was not Scotty's? Undoubtedly a body was buried, but whose?

 
Was it a Joke?
Constable Whiteside, of Koo-wee-rup says it was the body of another McDonald altogether, and that someone must have been trying to play a joke on Scotty. But the explanation advanced by those who knew both Scotty and the other McDonald is probably nearer the mark. The other man, though taller, was very like Scotty in facial appearance; "like twins," one man described them. When the body was brought in everyone assumed that it was Scotty, and it was Scotty who was buried.

Came a public holiday, and all Scotty's cronies were gathered in the bar of the hotel. They missed the clank of his unconventional beer billy made from a 2lb jam tin. The beer splashed merrily on thirsty throats, and the till clanged cheerily. Prominent in the gathering was Mick, still willing to join in toasts to the memory of departed Scotty.

The swing doors opened from the street. Casually the company turned to see who was coming in. Then the silence of the tomb fell upon the crowd. With beer mugs poised in mid-air they stood as inert as the stuffed fox in the corner: An apparition from Eternity was framed in the doorway! The wraith of Scotty had come to haunt his former resting-place. "It's Scotty's ghost!" shrieked Mick. “It's a banshee, O-ooh !" He would not look, for had not his own scarf-pin been used to pin the blanket around Scotty's lifeless form? The ghost announced himself in full blooded human language to the gaping bar. "What the hell are you staring at?" he demanded. "What's the joke?"

Movement returned to the awed company. It might be Scotty's ghost that stood in the doorway, but at least it was a ghost that put on no superior ethereal airs. If Scotty had some back to haunt the bar he was going to do it properly, for as wondering eyes were dragged from the spellbound contemplation of the familiar face it was seen that the ghost carried Scotty's beer-billy. It seemed to have come prepared to haunt the place in a respectable manner, with the rattle of glasses rather than chains.

Cautiously the more daring spirits investigated, and were met with pointed instructions to go to the place that it might have been reasonably expected Scotty had come from, judging by his adjectives. A babel of explanations smashed the silence, and everyone tried to tell Scotty that he was dead.

He Ought to Know.
He refused to believe it, and told them so, asserting that he was the person who should know. Panting dispensers of news gasped word of Scotty's return to the people who did not happen to be in the pub at the time, and he became the show sight for the day - the man who had returned from the grave. Mick was the last to be convinced, and then, like the doubting disciple Thomas, he would only be convinced of the resurrection by physical contact. To him it seemed that Scotty's ghost had come before him as a warning, and it was some time before he would approach. Then, much to Scotty's indignation, Mick convinced himself by vigorously pinching the man who should have been dead.

The earnest explanations of the erstwhile mourners mollified the anger of Scotty, over what he thought was a rotten joke, and over a few "welcome back to earth" pots, he forgave them all and realised what had happened. While he was being "buried" he had been out some miles and he had not been able to assure them that the reports of his death, like those of Mark Twain's, "had been grossly exaggerated."

When a man is so unceremoniously shuffled off this mortal coil, without having a say in the matter, it is up to him to prove conclusively that he is very much alive. Was it not Constable Whiteside who had had some part in this dastardly attempt to take a man's life away from him? To be sure, and the honor of the McDonalds demanded a bout with the doughty limb of the law. Scotty decided that the honor of the McDonalds would be compensated by a wrestle for drinks, and therefore he challenged the constable to a fall - the loser to shout for the company. But the policeman declined to satisfy any ghost, and informed Scotty that a night in the lockup was all the satisfaction the pride of the McDonalds would get.

Koo-wee-rup had thought that it had seen Scotty make his last motor ride when the motor lorry bore away the rough coffin, but a few days later it witnessed a very hilarious ghost leave by motor for Lang Lang with the constable. On the Saturday morning he was fined 6s for being drunk. The fine was inflicted by Mr. Cole, J.P., who had three days before signed the order for Scotty's burial!

Source: Sydney Truth newspaper of March 10, 1925 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article168706639