This blog is about the history of the Koo Wee Rup Swamp and surrounding areas, including Garfield, and Western Port as well as some of my family history. It's my own original research and writing and if you live in the area you may have read some of the stories before in the Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society newsletter or the Koo Wee Rup township newsletter, The Blackfish, or the Garfield township newsletter, The Spectator. Heather Arnold.
Sunday, December 28, 2014
100 years ago this week - Granite quarry
Monday, December 22, 2014
100 years ago this week - strychnine poisoning
Sunday, November 23, 2014
Drainage of Bunyip - 100 years ago this week
Sunday, November 2, 2014
100 years ago this week - Miss Bell, confectioner, fruiterer and caterer.
100 years ago this week - Patriotic Concert
Saturday, October 25, 2014
100 years ago this week - Rabbit Inspector resigns
Michael Kelleher was officially appointed on December 17, 1912 and his resignation dated from November 15, 1914 according to the State Government Gazette, where all Government appointments were listed.
State Government Gazette November 4, 1914
Pakenham Gazette November 11, 1914
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article89082964
Friday, October 24, 2014
A short overview of the drainage of the Koo-Wee-Rup Swamp.
It soon became apparent that drainage works needed to be carried out on a large scale if the Swamp was to be drained and landowners protected from floods. The Chief Engineer of the Public Works Department, William Thwaites, surveyed the Swamp in 1888 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 a number of smaller side drains as well. A tender was advertised in 1889. Even with strikes, floods and bad weather, by March 1893 the 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. In spite of this, the Public Works Department was unhappy with the rate of progress and took over its completion in 1893 and appointed the Engineer, Carlo Catani to oversee the work.
Catani implemented the Village Settlement Scheme. Under this Scheme, all workers had to be married, accept a 20 acre block and spend a fortnight working on the drains for wages and a fortnight improving their block and maintaining adjoining drains. The first 103 blocks under this scheme were allocated in April 1893. The villages were at Koo-Wee-Rup, Five Mile, Cora Lynn, Vervale, Iona and Yallock. Many of the settlers were unused to farming and hard physical labour, others were deterred by floods and ironically a drought that caused a bushfire. My great grandfather, James Rouse, a widower, arrived on the Swamp with his nine year old son Joe, in 1903. James, who had been a market gardener in England, was part of a second wave of settlers who were granted land as they had previous farming experience. By 1904, over 2,000 people including 1,400 children lived on the Swamp. By the 1920s, the area was producing one quarter of Victorian potatoes and was also a major producer of dairy products.
The original drainage works were completed in 1897 but later floods saw more drainage work undertaken, including widening of the Main Drain and additional side drains. None of these works protected the Swamp against the Big Flood of December 1, 1934. The entire Swamp was inundated; water was over six feet deep in the town of Koo-Wee-Rup and over a thousand people were left homeless. Another bad flood hit the Swamp in April 1935 and yet another one in October 1937. A Royal Commission was also established in 1936 and its role was to investigate the operation of the State Rivers and Water Supply Commission regarding its administration of Flood Protection districts, amongst other things. 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 be established. The subsequent works saw the creation of the Yallock outfall drain and the spillway at Cora Lynn, the aim of which was to take the pressure off the Main Drain in flood times and channel the flood waters directly to Western Port Bay.
Today we look at Swamps as wetlands, worthy of preservation, but we need to look at the drainage of the Swamp in the context of the times. Koo-Wee-Rup was only one of many swamps drained around this time; others include the Carrum Swamp and the Moe Swamp. To the people at the time the drainage works were an example of Victorian engineering skills and turned what was perceived as useless land into productive land and removed a barrier to the development of other areas in Gippsland.
Thursday, October 2, 2014
100 years ago this week - Potatoes and Asparagus
Monday, September 29, 2014
Koo-Wee-Rup Brass Band
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
100 years ago this week - Royal Melbourne Show
Saturday, August 23, 2014
Bunyip Magistrates Court
The first sitting of the Bunyip Court was held on March 15, 1905. The bench consisted of Mr Cresswell, the Presiding Magistrate, and two Justices of the Peace, Ramage and A'Beckett. The first case concerned Myrtle Morris who was charged with having no visible means of support. Myrtle was remanded to Prahran for a further hearing. The second case involved a twelve year old, John Mannix, who was charged with endangering property by setting fire to some scrub, which destroyed gates and fences. He was released into the care of his father who entered a recognizance for the boy's future good behaviour. This article shows how the legal system has changed (for better or worse depending on your view point) as a 12 year old would never have his name mentioned in relation to a legal trial today.
In another case heard on March 16, 1910 before Presiding Magistrate Harris and JPs A’Beckett and Pearson, George Nicklen of Iona was charged with inflicting grievous bodily harm on his 15 year old niece, Elizabeth Bidwell. The report in the South Bourke and Morning Journal said that he was in the habit of beating the girl unmercifully and the case had been brought under the notice of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. In her evidence, Lizzie Bidwell said her uncle had chained her to a bed for days at a time and he had threatened to hang her with a rope. In the end the poor girl ran away to neighbours who took her to the doctor. Nicklen denied giving the girl more than she needed and was fined £10.00, plus costs or three months in gaol. Ironically, on the same day the Court fined a man £8.00 for stealing four heifers or three months in gaol, if he didn’t pay. I don’t know what happened to poor Lizzie Bidwell but it’s sad to think that the Court valued her suffering at about the same rate as the theft of four cows.
The Bunyip Free Press of January 15, 1914 reported that the court was crowded when four cases of sly grog selling were launched against an aged Assyrian with the very Anglicised name of John Ellis. Ellis was represented by Mr M. Davine and had brought his own interpreter as he didn’t speak English. A Revenue Detective, Joseph Blake, had been working undercover in the area and he had visited Ellis on a number of occasions as Ellis had a little shop, with general stock; Ellis also did hair cutting. Blake alleged that Ellis sold him alcohol, Ellis denied this. Patrick McGrath, who leased the house to Ellis and had known him for nine years, called Ellis one of the best and straightest men on the Swamp. Mr Davine presented evidence that Joseph Blake was a professional liar and an informer. In the end, the case was dismissed with the payment of costs; the Presiding Magistrate said we will give Ellis the benefit of the doubt if he will pay costs. The costs were just over £17.00 but were reduced to £15.00 after some haggling; a report a few months later said the costs had been paid. There was a similar outcome a few months later when Frederick Carpenter was charged with conducting a gambling house in Garfield. The charges were withdrawn on the condition that he paid the Crown’s cost of £15.00.
There are reports of cases in the Court up to the 1950s and they cover the whole range of legal matters from a committal trial for murder, theft, assault, traffic matters, debts and failure to send a child to school - in 1914 there was a spate of these and the recalcitrant parents were fined five shillings or 48 hours in the lock up. I presume that the Court met at the Bunyip Hall, so I would be interested to know if that was the case. According to the State Government Gazette the Bunyip Court closed on May 1, 1981. The announcement stated that the books and other records of the said Court and of the Clerk thereof be delivered to the Clerk of the Warragul Magistrate’s Court. My parents have no memory of the Court at all, in spite of the fact that Dad has been at Cora Lynn for all his 85 years and Mum has been there since she was married 63 years ago, so perhaps it wasn’t used very often after the Second World War. The last case I could find in the papers was from May 1953 when the Dandenong Journal reported that Berwick and Cranbourne Shire rate payers will be pleased at the success Health Inspector K. N. McLennan is having in his war against roadside rubbish dumpers. Mr McLennan successfully prosecuted at the Bunyip Court, J. Lyon, grocer, of Boronia, fined £3, with £3/6/6 costs, for depositing rubbish on the Princes Highway near Tynong. He also had four cases at the Pakenham Court. (Dandenong Journal, May 6, 1953)
Garfield Bush Nursing Hospital
To obtain a Bush Nursing Centre, the local community had to raise the money to fund the cost of the nurse’s salary, board, uniform and a ‘means of locomotion’. The salary was set by the Bush Nursing Association at the rate of around £80.00 per annum, the rate of pay for a hospital nurse with five or six years experience. The first Victorian nurse was appointed to Beech Forest in March 1911 (2). Eventually some towns provided cottages for the nurses to provide accommodation for both the nurse and the patient. Koo Wee Rup was an early example of this where the original nurse, Nurse Homewood, started work in the bush nursing centre in July 1918. On May 23, 1923, a Bush Nursing Hospital, which was named the Fallen Soldiers' Memorial Hospital, to commemorate the local soldiers who died in the First World War, was opened (3). Pakenham’s Bush Nursing Hospital opened in June 1926 in temporary premises and in a new brick building on February 11, 1928. (4)
Denise Nest in her History of Shelley Memorial Hospital noted that the push to get a hospital in Garfield started about 1930, when Dr Kenneth McLeod proposed the idea (5). Dr McLeod had arrived in Garfield around 1928 (6). The Annual Report of the Bush Nursing Association, released in September 1928, stated - there are now 59 bush-nursing centres and 13 bush-nursing hospitals. New hospitals are in process of organisation at Katamatite, Garfield, Yarra Junction, Gisborne, Violet Town and Broadford (7). It would thus appear that Dr McLeod began work to establish a hospital in Garfield soon after his arrival in the town.
A new Committee was elected towards the end of 1944. The President was John Fallon, a farmer from Iona; Vice-Presidents - Alf Parish and E. Schmutter - presumably Edward Schmutter of Vervale; Treasurer was Cecil John Jackson, Bank Manager at Garfield and the Secretary was Garfield plumber, Frank Marsh. There was also a committee of thirteen. (15).
Medical matters at Koo Wee Rup
The Bush Nursing Centre
The Bush Nursing Centre at Koo Wee Rup was established in July 1918. The Bush Nursing Hospital Movement began in 1910 with the establishment of the Victorian Bush Nursing Association (V.B.N.A.). At the time the current medical system consisted of big hospitals such as the Royal Melbourne which were run along charitable lines and whose role was to treat poor people, who could not afford to pay a Doctors fee. There were also private hospitals which only the wealthy could afford. To help offset medical costs Friendly Societies or Lodges were established which people could join for a yearly fee. This gave them access to the Friendly Society doctor and access to medicine dispensed from the Friendly Society Dispensary. There was also a growing move to nurse people in their own homes through what is now the Royal District Nursing Service. People in the city and the suburbs could have a nurse visit them to help recover from confinements and general illness. This type of service took pressure off the public Hospitals. Lady Dudley, the wife of the Governor General, was aware of these visiting nurses and had also seen firsthand the need for skilled nurses in the bush, so from these experiences came the idea of Bush Nursing Hospitals. Lady Dudley (1867-1920) promoted and raised money for the idea and thus the Victorian Bush Nursing Association began in 1910. (1)
To obtain a Bush Nursing Centre, the local community had to raise the money to fund the cost of the nurse’s salary, board, uniform and a ‘means of locomotion’. The salary was set by the Bush Nursing Association at the rate of around £80.00 per annum, the rate of pay for a hospital nurse with five or six years experience. The first Victorian nurse was appointed to Beech Forest in March 1911 (2). The first Bush Nurse at Koo Wee Rup was Nurse Homewood, who commenced work on July 1, 1918.
Ellen Amelia ‘Nell’ Homewood was born October 2, 1891 in Rockhampton, in Queensland, to Alfred and Margaret (nee Burns) Homewood, of Lavendale, Kunwarara. She was the seventh of their thirteen children. Ellen undertook midwifery training at the Rockhampton Women’s Hospital; four of Ellen’s sisters were also nurses, and two of them, Martha and Grace, served in the Australian Army Nursing Service in World War One. In 1917, Ellen was the Bush Nurse at Cowangie Hospital and from there she came to Koo Wee Rup.(3).
The Lang Lang Guardian
reported on her arrival in the town - Almost
as soon as she arrived Nurse Homewood's services were called into action at
Kooweerup. Little Jim Ellis had the distinction of being the first patient. On
Tuesday night the nurse was called to Dalmore, but got back in time for the
welcome. (4).
Bush nurses filled a great want in districts where the services of a medical man were unobtainable. They had a great many trials and difficulties to contend with, and it was their duty to alleviate suffering and save life. It was to their interest to join heartily in the movement and make it a great success. He welcomed Nurse Homewood to Kooweerup. The Lang Lang Guardian report continued Nurse Homewood, who is quite a young-looking girl, made an appropriate response, and hoped they would all work well together (5).
The next Bush Nurse was Nurse McKay, and I have no other information about her. Nurse McKay was followed by Mary Ellen Walsh, who took up the role April 21, 1920 (10). In February 1920, the Koo Wee Rup Sun reported that the Bush Nurse was forced to live three miles out of the town because while residents are desirous of having the services of a nurse in connection with the Bush Nursing Centre, yet there are no homes willing to take one in. This enforces her to stay at a residence three miles out, but she drives in very day to attend her duties. The position is very unsatisfactory. (11).
Since I wrote this, Barry Hester contacted me and told me that Mary Walsh was a very good friend of his grandmother, Margaret Hester (nee Knopp). When they were both living in Gisborne she delivered four of Margaret's children. Mary then moved to Koo Wee Rup to take up the position of Bush Nurse and convinced Margaret to also move to the area, which she did, buying a farm on McDonalds Drain Road. One of the incentives for the move was that Nurse Walsh said there would be work for the five Hester sons. Margaret's husband was a miner and so was frequently away. It is more than likely, as Barry said, that Nurse Walsh, after she arrived, that she lived out on McDonald's Drain with the Hesters. (12)
In 1920 it was decided to erect a hospital in Koo Wee Rup and in May of that year the following advertisement appeared in the Koo Wee Rup Sun. In the July it was announced that plans would be drawn up for a Fallen Soldiers' Memorial Hospital. (17).
Koo Wee Rup Bush Nursing Centre, Fallen Soldiers' Memorial Hospital opened in 1923
In May 23, 1923 the Bush Nursing Centre, Fallen Soldiers' Memorial Hospital was opened in Station Street. It was opened by the Shire President, Cr E.Simpson Hill. During the ceremony, Mrs Margaret Hamilton officially opened a ward in honor of the late Kitty Townson. I have written about these two women, here. The Hospital could accommodate medical, surgical and midwifery patients. There is a full report of the opening, here.At the ceremony a plaque was unveiled to honor the local soldiers who had not returned from the War. The names engraved on the memorial tablet are: - J. Banbury, D.G. Bethune, S. Blake, J. Bryant, T. Bryant, M. Callanan, L. Coates, P. Davis, J. Davy, C. Garbellini, H. Hamilton, J. Hannaker, R. Martin, C. Osborne, J. O’Shea, J. Randle, J. Slocombe, A. Williams, C. Woods. I have written about these men, here.
Koo Wee Rup Sun, May 3, 1923, p.1
galvanised iron and pulled his boy to safety up through the hole. Aided by others who came to the rescue, the 10 remaining patients in the wards were taken out in the same manner.
Mrs Mary Ann Bolleman, aged 59 years, another patient, held a baby in her arms above the water for 15 hours with the water surging above her neck before they were rescued. Mrs A. Adams and her baby which was born only the night before were being pulled out when the child was dropped into the water. She grasped the child's clothing frantically and saved it from drifting away. Both were raised through the opening to safety. (29).