Change of road names in Catani and Yannathan

The Koo Wee Rup Sun of January 16, 1979 published this notification of the re-naming of roads -

South Yannathan Road between O'Sheas Road and Westernport Road renamed Thwaites Road.

O'Sheas Road, Priestleys Road and the section of the South Yannathan Road between O'Sheas Road and Priestleys Road renamed Heads Road.

No. 3 Drain Road running between Koo-wee-rup Longwarry Road and South Yannathan Road renamed McCraws Road

Edies Road between South Yannathan Road and Pioneer Road renamed Cameron Road.

Wates Road running between South Yannathan Road and North Yannathan Road renamed Purvis Road

New name              Old name
McCraws Road -    No. 3 Drain Road
Heads Road -         O'Sheas Road
Heads Road -         Priestleys Road
Cameron Road -    Edies Road
Thwaites Road -    South Yannathan Road
Purvis Road -        Wates Road

Towns named Garfield

This is nothing to do with the history of the Koo Wee Rup Swamp, but I wrote this for the Garfield Spectator so I thought I would put it up here as well. You can read about the the history of  Garfield on this blog. The Garfield Spectator website has photos of Garfield today http://www.garfieldspectator.com.au/ 

Garfield in Victoria, just on the north eastern edge of the Koo Wee Rup Swamp, was originally called Cannibal Creek. In May 1886 the Cannibal Creek Post Office was established at the Railway Station. There was community agitation to change the name and eventually Garfield was selected, and the Post Office became known as the Garfield Railway Post Office on May 16, 1887 and around the same time the School also changed its name from Cannibal Creek. So who was Garfield, the man who gave the town its name?  James Abram Garfield was the 20th President of the United States of America. During the Civil War (which lasted from April 1861 to May 1865) he also served on the Union side and became a Brigadier General and two years later a Major General of volunteers.  He was an abolitionist and supported the end of slavery. While he was serving in the Union Army, he stood for election for the Federal House of Representatives and was elected in October 1862. Garfield then went on to win another eight elections. He began his Presidency on March 4, 1881. Garfield’s presidency, noted for his attack on political corruption, was short lived as on July 2, 1881 he was shot by Charles Guiteau at the Baltimore and Potomac Railway Station in Washington. Sadly, for President Garfield he had a very slow death and this was exacerbated by the medical procedures of the time and he finally died on September 19, 1881.  

There are 23 other places in the world also called Garfield, according to this website https://geotargit.com/  – all in the United States. I have included an interesting fact about each of these town.  If you had the time and the money a visit to each town named Garfield in the USA would make an interesting holiday. According to the 2016 Census Garfield, Victoria had a population of 1, 786, which makes it a bigger town than most of the American Garfields. 

Garfield, Arkansas.  Near Beaver Lake which has 487 miles of natural shoreline and 31,700 surface acres. Beaver Lake is the largest supplier of water for Northwest Arkansas, serving more than 450,000 customers. One out of 7 people in Arkansas get their drinking water from Beaver Lake.   https://www.arkansas.com/garfield  and https://www.swl.usace.army.mil/Missions/Recreation/Lakes/Beaver-Lake/

Garfield, Arkansas is near Beaver Lake.

Image: https://www.swl.usace.army.mil/Missions/Recreation/Lakes/Beaver-Lake/

Garfield, Georgia. Population in the 2010 Census was 210. The town was incorporated in 1905. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garfield,_Georgia

Garfield, Idaho. The community is situated on Garfield Bay, an inlet of Lake Pend Oreille, which is the largest lake in Idaho and the 38th largest lake in the US.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garfield,_Bonner_County,_Idaho 

Garfield, Illinois. Garfield Township is a farming district. The Chicago & Alton Railroad, which passes almost through its centre from a north-easterly to a south-westerly direction; and the K. & D., owned by the Big Four System, passing through the north-western part, carry its products to Chicago. Garfield was created in 1902.   https://grundy.illinoisgenweb.org/history/garfieldtwp.php

Garfield, Indiana. I can’t find much about the town but the creator of the Garfield comic strip, Jim Davis, grew up on a farm in Fairmount, Indiana.

Garfield, Iowa. Located in the south central portion of Mahaska County, lying just west of the county seat of Oskaloosa. The most notable communities that lie within this township include; Beacon and Evans. At one time, Bolton and Coal City also existed in the township, but disappeared when the coal mining presence left the scene in the early 20th Century.  https://www.iowaheritage.org/items/show/78623

Garfield, Kansas. Garfield is a sleepy, drive-by hamlet in Pawnee County on the U.S. 56 highway, built on part of the legendary Santa Fe Trail. Passing through, a few tourists may stop and rest for a bit in the city park and perhaps peek into the Wayside Chapel, but there is not much in the town to detain a visitor.  Garfield was never a metropolis, but in the late 19th century and first half of the 20th, it was a robust agricultural community with a thriving small-town economy. It was typical of the many towns that sprang up throughout the Great Plains as settlers poured in to break up the hard prairie sod and plant wheat. It’s population today is 190 and it is nearly a ghost town.       https://readthespirit.com/feed-the-spirit/apple-cake-garfield/

Garfield, Kansas - City Hall and Post Office.

Image: https://readthespirit.com/feed-the-spirit/apple-cake-garfield/

Garfield, Kentucky. A Post Office was established in 1880, a small town.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garfield,_Kentucky 

Garfield, Maryland. One of the few structures in Garfield is the Garfield United Methodist Church. It is relatively small and is located on Stottlemeyer Road. The town has an elevation of 1,453 feet (443 m). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garfield,_Maryland

Garfield, Michigan. The township has a variety of inland lakes including Perch, Crooked Lake and Eight Point Lake.     http://www.garfieldtownship.net/pictures.htm

Garfield, Minnesota.  Located on the Central Lakes Trail. This is a 14 foot wide, 55 mile long, nearly level, paved trail built on a former railroad line stretching between Fergus Falls and Osakis. It additionally passes through the communities of Dalton, Ashby, Melby, Evansville, Brandon, Garfield, Alexandria, and Nelson. The trail traverses through, or next to, a scenic mixture of woodlands, grasslands, lakes, wetlands, and farm country.  http://www.garfieldmn.com/ and https://www.centrallakestrail.com/ 

Garfield, Minnesota - City Hall and Community Centre -

Back row: Paulynn Terhark (City Clerk), Joyce Kvilhaug (Council-member), John Nienaber Jr. (Mayor), Jason Uhde (Council-member) Front Row: Troy Mills (Council-member) and Trent Ziegelman (Council-member)

Image: http://www.garfieldmn.com

 Garfield, Missouri. A little village and post-office in Oak Grove Township. The village was earlier known at Sittonville for a captain of the Confederate army, John J. Sitton, who kept a store on his farm. When the post-office was established, in his store, Thomas Hays, an old army chum of his, suggested the name for President James A. Garfield.. All has disappeared but the school and church.

https://thelibrary.org/lochist/moser/oregonpl.html

Garfield, New Jersey. Originally called East Passaic when the town was developed in 1873 and the name was later changed to honour President Garfield.  There is an interesting history of the area here https://www.garfieldnj.org/

Garfield, New Mexico. It’s on the Rio Grande River. Elevation is 4,104.3 ft (1,251 meters) and the population in 2010 was 137.      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garfield,_New_Mexico

Garfield, New York. Rural locality; has a cemetery and a Church. South of Cherry Plain State Park. I found this out from Google maps.

Garfield, Ohio. Garfield is a tiny community of about twenty homes and a busy feed mill along Ohio State Route 534, right along the Norfolk Southern railroad a mile north of Damascus. When the railroad was built through Salem to Alliance and beyond in 1852, Garfield became an important stop on the line. The railroad brought businesses to Garfield, including the Spear fruit packing house, the Quaker Valley Fruit Canning House, the Garfield Creamery Company, a brick yard and Tillman Hall’s steam-powered feed mill. https://www.farmanddairy.com/columns/rusty-iron/garfield-ohio-home-to-macdonald/15356.html

Garfield, Pennyslvania. A suburb of Pittsburgh – described as ‘squeezed between Lawrenceville and Bloomfield, is the up and coming neighborhood of Garfield!  Receiving its namesake from being established the day US President James Garfield was buried, Garfield Pennsylvania is quickly becoming Pittsburgh's most lively community.  This neighborhood emphasizes the arts, Eco-friendly habits, and community togetherness’ https://www.thedustinnulfteam.com/garfield.html Another interesting website here https://pittsburghneighborhoodproject.blog/2019/03/01/garfield-a-neighborhood-profile

Garfield, Pennyslvania - A colorful assortment of row homes off of Dearborn Street 

on the south-western edge of Garfield.

Image: https://pittsburghneighborhoodproject.blog/2019/03/01/garfield-a-neighborhood-profile/

Garfield, Texas. Garfield, on State Highway 71 twelve miles southeast of Austin in eastern Travis County, was formed around 1880. In 1884 the settlement reported fifteen residents, a church, a school, a steam gristmill, a cotton gin, and a general store. By the early 1890s its population was estimated at 100. The Garfield post office was discontinued in 1902, and mail for the community was sent to Del Valle. During the 1980s, however, when developments on the Colorado River began attracting new residents, Garfield began to grow. In 1985 its residents voted to incorporate the community to avoid annexation with Austin. The population was reported at 745 in 1988, 1,336 by the early 1990s, and 1,660 in 2000.     https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/garfield-tx-travis-county

Garfield, Texas - Water Tower

Image and more information can be found here http://www.worldstallestwatersphere.com/?p=819

Garfield, Utah. The town of Garfield was a mining town built by Utah Copper in 1905-1906 to house the workers and their families who worked at the Smelter, Refinery, Arthur and Magna Mills. At one time there were over 2,000 people in Garfield.     https://onlineutah.us/garfieldhistory.shtml

Garfield, Vermont. The Town of Garfield was one of seven towns granted in 1779 by the State of Vermont. It was organized in 1798. Nearly all of the early settlers belonged to the Society of Friends (Quakers) and for many years that was "the only society that sustained regular religious worship" in the town. This is from a 1927 report Lessons From a Eugenical Survey of Vermont, so it makes for some 'interesting' reading     http://www.uvm.edu/~eugenics/primarydocs/00-temp-results-throwout/3rdannual.html

Garfield, Washington. It has a population of 600, is situated in the Palouse Hills region, surrounded by awe-inspiring scenery and golden wheat fields. ‘A more attractive and friendly town would be hard to find’. https://www.garfieldwa.com/

Garfield, West Virginia. The home of the Garfield Christian Church Cemetery. Here’s how to get there.  It is located near the Wirt-Jackson county line. Traveling up Turkey Fork road toward Palestine, turn right on Leroy road. Cemetery is about 1/4 mile on right at top of hill in a wooded area, not visible from road. It is a V-shaped lot between the Somerville-Davis and Wilkinson farms, with wide part toward the road.    https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2481219/garfield-christian-church-cemetery

Garfield, Wisconsin. The town owns Lake Wapogasset Park. The park was deeded to the Town of Garfield on November 13, 1926. The rules for the park included the fact that ‘no public dancing, use of intoxicating liquors or disorderly conduct of any kind shall be permitted on said premises’. Has a website http://www.townofgarfield.com/

Garfield, Wisconsin - Town Hall

Image:  http://www.townofgarfield.com/

Cora Lynn 1907

The Cora Lynn State School, No. 3502, opened in January 1907 as Koo Wee Rup Central. It was renamed Cora Lynn in July 1907 when the Progress Association requested that the newly established postal service be called Cora Lynn, to prevent the confusion of the name with Koo Wee Rup. Joe Dineen had recalled that it was the Head Teacher of the school, John McGibbon, who proposed the name, after the scenic rocky gorge and popular picnic  area on the North Esk River, just out of Launceston in Tasmania (1). The name Cora Lynn comes from the Gaelic coire meaning ‘cauldron or kettle’ and linn ‘pool’ (2).

Tender for the erection of the Koo Wee Rup Central / Cora Lynn School

Great Southern Advocate March 8, 1906 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article211322718

The original school building was 26 feet by 24 feet and cost £322 (3). As mentioned, the first head teacher was John McGibbon, who was at the school until September 1909 when he was transferred to Drysdale State School (4).  He was then appointed to various schools across Victoria - Miepoll (north west of Euroa), Emerald, Mirboo North and from 1931 lived at various addresses in Geelong and suburbs. John Barker McGibbin was born in 1883, so he was 24 when he started teaching at Cora Lynn. He married Margaret Emma McLean at the Geelong Presbyterian Church on Christmas Day, 1911.  He was teaching at Miepoll at the time. John died in Geelong in on May 23, 1965, aged 81. Margaret had died in 1964, aged 78 (5).

This is a list of the first pupils from 1907, at Cora Lynn State School, in the order they appear on the roll. Name, date of birth, parent’s name and occupation listed.

ANDERSON, Corrie. 13/4/1893. James Anderson. Gardener.

NESTOR, Mary. 15/12/1893. Martin Nestor. Farmer

NESTOR, Agnes. 15/4/1895. Martin Nestor. Farmer.

NESTOR, Patrick. 29/3/1894. Martin Nestor. Farmer.

FITZPATRICK, Ellen. 27/5/1895. James Fitzpatrick. Farmer.

FITZPATRICK, Margaret. 8/10/1893. James Fitzpatrick. Farmer.

FITZPATRICK, James. 8/7/1897. James Fitzpatrick. Farmer.

FITZPATRICK, Thomas. 27/3/1899. James Fitzpatrick. Farmer.

FITZPATRICK, Annie. 21/6/1901. James Fitzpatrick. Farmer.

JEFFERS, Raymond. 18/1/1893. Alexander Jeffers. Farmer. 

JEFFERS, Violet. 10/8/1894. Alexander Jeffers. Farmer

JEFFERS, Evelyn. 17/1/1900. Alexander Jeffers. Farmer

BAIN, Norman. 13/8/1895. James Bain. Farmer.

BAIN, Richard. 13/9/1898.James Bain. Farmer.

QUIGLEY, Bridget. 24/4/1896. Margaret Quigley. Farmer.

QUIGLEY, Agnes. 15/6/1899. Margaret Quigley. Farmer.

EVANS, Grace. 30/10/1898. James Evans. Farmer.

EVANS, Rupert. 27/12/1900. James Evans. Farmer.

WATSON, John. 14/8/1900. Robert Watson. Farmer.

FINNIGAN, Joseph. 22/10/1900. Joseph Finnigan. Farmer.

JEFFERS, Robert.15/1/1900. Robert Jeffers. Farmer.

JEFFERS, Thomas. 28/3/1901. Robert Jeffers. Farmer

DINEEN, Thomas. 7/9/1898. Michael Dineen. Farmer.

DINEEN, Adela. 3/6/1900. Michael Dineen. Farmer.

STRIBLING, Charles. 22/7/1897. Charles Stribling. Farmer.

HUGHES, Ruby.11/4/1897. Thomas Hughes. Farmer.

HUGHES, David. 11/8/1899. Thomas Hughes. Farmer.

JOHNSTON, Frank. 5/4/1899. William Johnston. Farmer.

JOHNSTON, Alberta. 26/2/1897. Henry Johnston. Farmer.

LEVISTON, Caroline. 22/11/1901. Benjamin Leviston. Farmer.

LEVISTON, Emily. 19/2/1896. Benjamin Leviston. Farmer.

TIERNEY, Patrick. 30/12/ 1893. Patrick Tierney. Farmer.

SCANLAN, Joseph. 25/7/1895. William Scanlan. Farmer.

SCANLAN, John. 25/5/1897. William Scanlan. Farmer.

LEVISTON, David. 21/10/1893. Benjamin Leviston. Farmer.

FISCHER, June. 14/1/1897. Walter Fischer. Farmer.

SCANLAN, Evelyn. 4/9/1899. William Scanlan. Farmer.

SMITH, Bertie. 9/12/1895. William Smith. Farmer.

MURDOCH, Arthur. 25/7/1898. George Murdoch. Storekeeper/Farmer.

MURDOCH, Mary. 31/8/1899. Storekeeper/Farmer.

MURDOCH, Hugh. 22/3/1902.  Storekeeper/Farmer.

JOHNSON, Tudor. 17/1/1895. Henry Johnson. Farmer. 

WALSH, Walter. 19/5/1901. Peter Walsh. Farmer.

JOHNSTON, Edwin. 18/1/1901. William Johnston. Farmer.

JOHNSTON, Esmonde. 5/5/1901. Henry Johnston. Farmer.

CARROLL, Michael. 20/12/1899. Michael Carroll. Farmer.

CLAPPERTON, Leslie.  19/07/1896. Thomas Clapperton.  Sergeant of Police. 

LEVISTON, Ernest. 03/08/1901. Ernest Leviston. Blacksmith.

The first mention of Cora Lynn that I could find in the newspapers was in the South Bourke & Mornington Journal of July 17, 1907 -
The Cora-Lynn folks are quite jubilant at having a daily mail running from Garfield. The time, I think, is not far distant when there will be a quite a little township at that place (6). 

The following two letters are from The Advocate of July 20, 1907. The Advocate was a Catholic newspaper which reported on and promoted Catholic interests. It was published from 1868 until 1990. The paper had a children’s column run by Aunt Patsy, which published letters and poems from school children. They had a club called the Magic Fairy Boat Club which the children could join. Aunt Patsy referred to all the children as her nieces and nephews, they called her aunty and referred to all the other children in the Club as their cousins. 

Cora Lynn, l/7/1907.
Dear Aunt Patsy,
It is a long time since I last wrote to you, so I thought I would write to you again. I am going to a new school now: I like it very much. Our teacher's name is Mr. M'Gibbon, and we all like him exceedingly. There are 38 children going to school. It was opened after the Christmas holidays. I have two sisters and two brothers going to school with me. We are getting a shelter-shed put up at our school. We are going to have Arbour Day at the school on Friday next; we expect it will be a fine day. We have got a loose bag from Garfield to the school, and we can get our mail there. I will bring my letter to a close, hoping you and the curly-headed captain are well,
I remain, your loving niece, Ellen M. E. Fitzpatrick

Cora Lynn, I/7/1907.
Dear Aunt Patsy,
This is the first letter I have written to you. I hope you will accept me as one of your many nieces. My parents take the ''Advocate" every week; I like reading the Children's Corner very much. My sister has written to you before, so I thought I would write, too. On the 10th of this month, our little twin babies will be twelve months old; their names are Michael John and Francis. I go to the Koo-wee-rup Central State School with my brothers and sisters. Our teacher's name is Mr. M'Gibbon, and we all like him very much. The name of our school is going to be changed to Cora Lynn. We have to walk 1¾ miles to school. I will bring my letter to a close, with love to yourself and the curly-headed captain,
I remain, your would-be niece, Margaret Emma Veronica Fitzpatrick (7). 

As Ellen mentioned in her letter to Aunt Patsy, a shelter shed was to be erected at the school and the South Bourke & Mornington Journal of August 21, 1907 reported that -
A dance will be held at the Cora Lynn. Shelter Shed on Friday evening to raise funds to meet the building expenses. As this is a worthy object it is to be hoped that the dance will be a success (8).

On November 16, 1907 this letter written to ‘Uncle Ben’ was published in the Weekly Times, foreshadowing the new store that was to be built in the town.

Cora Lynn, 7th October
Dear Uncle Ben,
This is the first time I have written to you. I would very much like to see my letter published in "The Weekly Times." I go to school every day, and I am in the second class. I have two miles to walk to school. We have a football at school, and we have great fun with it. My father is getting a new store built in Cora Lynn. It will only be about two chains from the school. We are having lovely weather here now. The grass is looking beautiful in the paddocks. My sister has a little pet lamb. There are a good many hares about here. My father shot one yesterday. There are a great many snakes here this season. I killed a small one last week. With love to yourself, Aunt Connie and the little children in the cots
I remain your loving friend, Arthur Murdoch, aged 10 years and 3 months (9).


Footnotes:
(1) This information comes from Des Dineen
(2) Blake, Les Place names of Victoria (Rigby, 1977)
(3) Blake, L. J (editor) Vision and Realisation: a centenary history of State Education in Victoria, (Education Department of Victoria, 1973)
(4) The Age, September 1, 1909, see here.
(5) School locations and addresses come from the Electoral Rolls on Ancestry; Birth, Death, and Marriage information comes from the Victorian Indexes to the Births, Deaths and Marriages; wedding information is from the Geelong Advertiser, December 30, 1911, see here; his death date comes from the Geelong Cemeteries Trust website, gct.net.au
(6) South Bourke & Mornington Journal, July 17, 1907, see here.
(7) The Advocate, July 20, 1907, see here.
(8) South Bourke & Mornington Journal, August 21, 1907, see here.
(9) Weekly Times, November 7, 1907, see here.