Cyrus Mason - the Buonarotti Club and 'Woodyats', Tynong

 I was going through Trove combining various words with Koo Wee Rup as a search term to see what I could discover and came up with an article in The Argus of August 10, 1929 on the Buonarotti Club - it was titled Buonarotti Club: Bohemians of the 'Eighties - Memories of noted artists by L.T. Luxton (1)

Stephen F. Mead, wrote a  history of the club, The Search for Artistic Professionalism in Melbourne: the activities of the Buonarotti Club, 1883 -1887 which was published in the State Library of Victoria's La Trobe Journal in December 2011, read it here. I have extracted a few paragraphs from his article.

Stephen Mead writes - The Buonarotti Club was instigated by the engraver, draughtsman and artist, Cyrus Mason in May 1883 at the Prince's Bridge Hotel (Young and Jackson's), on the corner of Swanston and Flinders Streets, in Melbourne.  It flourished for the next four years, eventually concluding its activities during September 1887. Mason was well acquainted with colonial literary, artistic and bohemian circles long before forming the Buonarotti Club, especially through his membership of Melbourne's Yorick Club. In the 1860s, he was one of the first illustrators of the Colonial Monthly edited by his friend Marcus Clarke, then the source of early Melbourne's Bohemian attitudes.

The Club was a professional artists' organisation that utilised literature and music to build the group into a more comprehensive artistic institution, distinct from other art and cultural societies of the period. Although it was divided into three 'sections' – 'Artistic', 'Literary' and 'Musical'- its membership consisted mainly of men and women who aspired to be professional painters. These included Frederick McCubbin, Louis Abrahams, Tom Roberts and Jane Sutherland. Admittedly literary clubs and societies were very popular in Melbourne during the 1880s, as demonstrated by the existence of the Shakespeare Society, the Shelley Society, the Burns Society and the Lamb Society. It must be stressed, however, that these groups were purely and proudly made up of amateurs, not professional writers. The Buonarotti Club differed from them in that it was artist-dominated, with members who possessed professional goals. These included painters who desired instruction, a cross fertilization of ideas and the opportunity to exhibit and receive critique from their peers to assist them in their participation in the commercial Melbourne art world.

The name of the Club 'Buonarotti' had been proposed by the founder, Cyrus Mason, to honour Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (1475-1564), the great Italian sculptor, painter, draughtsman and architect.

Stephen Mead concludes his article with Despite its early demise, it must be recognised that significant achievements were made of the Buonarotti Club in building up a strong code of artistic professionalism to meet the needs and challenges faced by artists of the period in Melbourne, even fostering a strong sense of artistic bohemianism in the city, and played a pivotal role with that group of artists who formed the now-designated Heidelberg School of painters. (2)

Richmond Road in 1883 by Cyrus Mason

State Library of Victoria Image H2012.271

Cyrus Mason, the founder of the Club, had a property at Tynong where he hosted artists who had painting expeditions to the shores of the Koo Wee Rup Swamp. The Koo Wee Rup Swamp, of 40,000 hectares, was drained between 1889 and 1893, you can read about it here. This means that when the members of the Buonarotti Club saw the swamp it was in its natural state and undrained. How wonderful it would be to see paintings and drawings of that.

The 1929 article in The Argus that I referred to at the start of this post had an interview with a Club member, Louis Lavater, a musician. Louis shared his memories which were of the out-of-doors excursions rather than the social activities of the Buonarotti; of finding a tiger snake as a bed companion on an excursion to Eaglemont and of killing it with a walking stick and nonchalantly turning over and going to sleep again; of happy-go-lucky painting camps on the shores of the Koo-wee-rup Swamp.

"Often we used to set out from Mr. Cyrus Mason's estate at Tynong for the old Koo-wee-rup swamp, with a loaf of bread, a bag of tomatoes, a bag of oysters, bottles of beer and plenty of cigarettes," said Mr. Lavater. "Painting was the first object of the expeditions, but the rough life had a zest all its own which appealed strongly to all of us and the humour! I wonder whether humour is gone from the bush roads when I think of the incidents of those excursions. I remember that there was a dear old couple who lived on an island in the swamp, who received a letter from a Melbourne solicitor stating that they had been left a small sum of money. The old woman, who was aged 84 years - four years older than her husband-was keenly conscious of her husband's youthfulness, and it was with the greatest reluctance that she allowed him to go to Melbourne to arrange a settlement with the solicitor. She used to tell us that every time she thought of her husband among 'those Melbourne hussies' she had a 'paroxum.' Her stern disapproval of our bathing in the swamp apparently caused her a few more 'paroxums,' for she used to come down and seize our clothes and stalk away with them in righteous indignation." (3)

Map of the Colony of Victoria designed, lithographed and printed by Cyrus Mason, 1854.

State Library of Victoria click here to see a high resolution version http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/119498

Cyrus Mason was born in London in 1829. He undertook an apprenticeship as a lithographer and in the May of 1853 arrived in Melbourne. In September 1856 he joined the Victorian Railways as a lithographic draughtsman and set up its lithographic printing branch. He left the Railways in 1864  had various jobs, was a member of different Artist's Societies, undertook freelance work, lectured and as we saw established the Buonarotti Club in 1883. (4) You can read a  more extensive account of Cyrus Mason's life in an article by Thomas Darragh in Design and Art Australia Online here.

Camping on the road. Artist W.H.O., lithographed and published by Cyrus Mason, 1855

State Library of Victoria Image H83.236/2

Cyrus Mason purchased 282 acres of land around December 1876 from William McKeone (5) and he called the property Woodyats. He was listed in the Shire of Berwick Rate books up until the 1898/1899 book; during this time his occupation was initially listed as a Draughtsman, but later changed to Grazier and towards the end it changed to the more refined Gentleman. Thomas Darragh says he returned to Melbourne about 1900, so this tallies with the entries in the Rate books. At Tynong, Cyrus bred Romney Marsh sheep and was a breeder of some note and participated in Stud Sheep sales, as we see from the advertisement, below.

Annual stud sales including Cyrus Mason's Woodyats stud at Tynong

Sydney Mail August 13, 1887 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/165222851?

I wanted to find the exact location of Woodyats and the Rate books list the property as Lots 16 & 17, Parish of Bunyip, and it is shown on the 1887 map immediately below. A later map from 1907, created after the Parish of Koo Wee Rup East was established, shows the allotments renumbered as 55C and 55B and part of the new Parish. The property is south-west of Garfield, facing onto what would now be Mont Albert Road. The property was on high ground on  the edge of the Swamp or the on the shores of the Koo-wee-rup Swamp as Louis Lavatar noted (6)

*click on image to enlarge*  An 1887 map showing Cyrus Mason's property, next to what was called Batty Island, the property owned by Thomas Batty. This was before the Koo Wee Rup Swamp was drained, so it would have been surrounded by water. See the 1907 map below, which shows the property in relation to later roads.

Bunyip, County of Mornington,  photo-lithographed at the Department of Crown Lands and Survey, Melbourne,

 by J. Noone 10. 5. 87. [1887] State Library of Victoria Image  http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/204488

*click on image to enlarge*  Cyrus Mason's property, south-west of Garfield, marked with blue stars. I have annotated the map and you can see it is surrounded by the Koo Wee Rup Swamp sub-divisions.

Koo-Wee-Rup, County of Mornington, photo-lithographed at the Department of Lands and Survey, Melbourne, by T. F. McGauran, 1907. State Library of Victoria http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/104853  

In June 1893, Mason wrote a letter to the editor of the Leader newspaper about the Public Works Department, their Swamp drainage works, the hardship the new settlers faced and at the same time displaying  a practical knowledge of the area -
Two years back this May The Age published a letter (7) of mine giving the history of the Kooweerup country from 1847, including the various attempts at drainage, and stating that the volume of water always flowing past my property did not reach Western Port Bay. The Public Works department now admits that my statement made then is correct and explains the disappearance of the water by the process of evaporation. As most of the land included in the evaporating area for the calculation made in my presence by a public works engineer is on the south side of the main drain, and has as much to do with the water on the north side as the Fitzroy Gardens, the evaporation theory is valueless. For many years I have endeavored to deter the Public Works officers from blundering into the Kooweerup country without providing a way out. The winter's rains, unhappily, will compel many of the 20 acre section occupiers to find a way out, as they will be surrounded by water— a result not conducive to settling the unemployed upon the land. Last January I wrote to Mr. Webb, hoping through him to save the reputation of the Public Works department by allowing its officers the credit of the discovery I am now compelled to make known, for the Minister of Public Works in four months has not even favored me with an acknowledgment of my letter. Unfortunately it may take another two years and the useless expenditure of many thousands of pounds to force the truth into the official mind, so the sooner stated the better. 

I have discovered a river in Victoria, hitherto not shown on any map, and quite ignored by the Public Works engineers in their drainage scheme. Altogether apart from the Bunyip River, there is another and far larger body of water, which enters below Garfield the Kooweerup country, spreads out in width for half a mile, having four deep channels flowing westward rapidly, gathers into a volume of faster running water 9 feet deep at the south west, corner of my property, and in a mile disappears in an immense reed bed about a mile and a half south of the 42 mile post on the Gippsland railway. This fast running river forms a chord to the curve of what is termed the main drain, out at the east end through high ground, growing timber which required dynamite for its removal. Not 1 gallon of the Kooweerup River water flows into the Government cut except after excessive rains, but passes underground on its way to Port Phillip Bay, as stated in my letter of May, 1891.

It would be laughable, if not too painful and expensive in results, to see the unemployed trying to make what is called a "subsidiary drain " across this large river! A remarkable work to give the unemployed for the privilege of settling on 20 acres when drained, and affords to us an official illustration of Mrs. Partington with her mop operating against the Atlantic. My statement that the Kooweerup River exists is definite, and can be easily tested— (1) By walking from the Bunyip railway station south one mile to the public works main drain, by the track crossing the whole of the Bunyip River water, women and children have used it for months without wetting the soles of their boots by walking over the river on laid saplings. (2) A 9 foot pole will prove the depth of running water forming my south boundary. (3) It is within the knowledge of everyone who has seen the main drain below Nar Nar Goon during April that only a mere dribble of water from the Ararat Creek flowed in it towards Western Port. Had the Public Works officers examined these three points— included in about eight miles— they must have discovered the existence of the Kooweerup River, and refrained from starting the unscientific theory of evaporation. The Kooweerup River will have to be dealt with apart from the present made drain, which is not made large enough to carry the water could it be taken from low to higher ground. As all my efforts with Ministers and officers at the Public Works department have failed in obtaining any recognition of what might be made an additional and valuable river to Victoria, I bring its existence publicly under notice, and conclude my letter with the invitation I gave Mr. Webb last January, feeling sure of courtesy at your hands. I beg most respectfully to invite your attention to what must be considered the key to successfully open the Kooweerup country, and herewith enclose a tracing showing what I actually know as facts, with that hope that you will order an investigation of the correctness of my tracing before commencing subsidiary channels. I shall be happy to lend my boat, or render assistance to yourself or any officer sent to investigate, and if advised, will meet train at Tynong station with my buggy,— Yours, &c, CYRUS MASON. (8)

Cyrus Mason also created a water lifting scheme - a method to transfer water from a creek into a tank and thus to be used for irrigation and stock water, so he was not only a talented artist but inventive as well. The Australasian newspaper, of December 24, 1892 published an article on this invention -
a simple and economical mode of lifting water, the system brought into use by Mr. Cyrus Mason, J.P., on his property, Woodyats, Tynong, is well worth the attention of anyone having the command of a running stream, and desirous of using it for irrigating green crops, small fruits, vegetables, or for watering stock. As Mr. Mason, when building his wheel, was only desirous of proving its capabilities for irrigating an orchard and perfume garden, also obtaining a head of water to work a hydraulic ram, he authorises us to say that he will have pleasure in communicating information to anyone desirous of constructing a similar wheel. (9)

Cyrus Mason's simple and economical mode of lifting water

The Australasian December 24, 1892. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article138104822

There were two aspects of Cyrus Mason's life - the engraver and artist who sought the company of like minded people in the Buonarotti Club and the farmer of Woodyats at Tynong. It was his interest in his farm that was, in the end, one of the reasons for the demise of the Buonarotti Club.

L.T Luxton, the writer of the newspaper article I have referred to at the top of this post, quotes an un-named female member of the club and she attributes the decline of the Club to -
Cyrus Mason's move to Tynong. He was elected president. From that point to the time when Cyrus Mason retired to live in the country and the club 'petered out,' three years elapsed-one year as a men's club and two years as a mixed club. A short life if you like, but a very merry one. (10)

Louis Lavater, in the same article, also attributes the demise of the club to the resignation of key members -
"The end of all clubs," replied Mr Lavater, extending his hands, "Chance carried away a few of the dominant personalities, such as Longstaff, Julian Gibb and Cyrus Mason, and soon there were not enough strong personalities left to carry the dead weight of that section which has to be carried in every club. A slow 'petering-out,' and in a year, or two years - gone!" (11)

Family information

Cyrus married Jessy Montagu (nee Campbell) in 1853. They had, I believe, 10 children - I have listed them here with any details I can confirm (12) - 
Cyrus - born 1854, married Louise Scroggie in 1882 and died in 1931 in New South Wales.
Jessy Harriet - born 1855 and died January 27, 1857.
Arthur John - born 1857, married Hattie Adelaide Devol in Kansas City, Missouri. 
Walter and Willie - born and died in April 1859 - Walter on April 15 at 4 days old and Willie on April 22 at 11 days old.
Laura - born in 1860, married Richard MacDonnell in 1883 and died in 1935.
Herbert Reuben - born in 1861, died in 1885 in Queensland.
Valentine Frank - born 1864, died in 1944.
Constance - born 1866, married Frederick Kneebone in 1890 and died in 1952.
Theodore - born in 1867, died in 1947 in New South Wales.

After Cyrus and Jessy left Tynong they moved to Florence Street, Mentone; then to Gordon Street in Sandringham, and from there to Fitzroy and East Melbourne. (13)

Cyrus Mason died August 8, 1915 at the age of 86 and his wife Jessy died November 21, 1909 aged 84. They are buried at St Kilda Cemetery with little Jessy and the babies, Walter and Willie. Also on the headstone, which is shown below, is their grandson, Arthur Robert Mason, Killed in Action in France on August 28, 1918.  There is also the quite unusual smaller headstone on the same grave for Jessy's daughters from her first marriage to George Conway Montagu - Edith who died at the age of 63 in May 1911 and Jane who died in August 1938, aged 93. (14)

The Mason family grave at the St Kilda Cemetery, with the rather unusual second headstone for the Montagu sisters, the step-daughters of Cyrus Mason.

Photo: Isaac Hermann.

We will finish off this post with this beautiful poem, Noon at Woodyats, Tynong, by Grace Elizabeth Jennings Carmichael (1867-1904) , a member of the Buonarotti Club, published in The Australasian on January 21, 1888, under the name of  Jennings Carmichael (15). Grace died in London just before her 37th birthday. You can read more about her short life in her Australian Dictionary of Biography entry, written by Lyndsay Gardiner, here.

Noon at Woodyats, Tynong
It is a day to dream one dream,
And then in full content to die,
Bearing away in memory
The colours of that cloudless sky;
The odour of the fragrant green
As 'mid its seeded spears we lie,
The motion of those throbbing wings
That up the bluey distance fly.

It is a day to dream one dream
Of earthly peace, forgetting all
The bygone gleam of darker days -
The keen cold blast and sullen fall
Of slant grey rain, the leafless range
Of solemn poplars straight and tall.
The burial thoughts mid-year June,
That wrap the earth with sable pall.

A day to dream one dream of trust,
Untortured by foreboding fears,
To drink in joy the breezy gust
That round this spreading lightwood cheers.
To clasp dear Hope with eager arms.
And look with eyes undimmed by tears,
While memory blots away for once
The sorrow of the yesteryears.

In the broad march the colours glow,
Nut browns and blues and shading gold,
Deep purples fill the dimpling clefts
Between the wooded mountain folds.
On yonder gradual slope the clear
Transparent summer-sunlight holds
No wraith of shadow standing bright
Against the circle of the wolds.

A day to dream one dream of rest -
Oh friends, your happy voices ring
So freshly from the glowing lawn
That glistens through the sombre wing
Of yon old fir; sweet is the sound
The echoes to my senses bring.
Fainting soft pictures of content
That ever to the brain will cling.

I ween 'twere happy so to die.
To see this perfect world alight,
Just as the shadow of th' eclipse
Falls in irrevocable might;
To close loth eyes, their vision rich
With earth sweet largesse, full and bright;
Then in that view to sink away
Into the silence of the night.

Sources:
Darragh, Thomas Cyrus Mason in Design and Art Australia Online, see here.

Mead, Stephen The Search for Artistic Professionalism in Melbourne: the activities of the Buonarotti Club, 1883 -1887 in the State Library of Victoria La Trobe Journal No. 88 December 2011, see here.

Trove list: I have created a list of newspaper articles referenced in this post, access it here.

Footnotes
(1) The Argus, August 10, 1929, see here.
(2) Mead, Stephen The Search for Artistic Professionalism in Melbourne: the activities of the Buonarotti Club, 1883 -1887 in the State Library of Victoria La Trobe Journal No. 88 December 2011, see here.
(3) The Argus, August 10, 1929, see here. The 'dear old couple who lived on an island in the swamp' were Thomas and Agnes Batty, I have written about them here   https://kooweerupswamphistory.blogspot.com/2023/10/battys-island-and-thomas-batty-c-1802.html 
(4) Darragh, Thomas Cyrus Mason in Design and Art Australia Online, see here.

(5) William McKeone also spelt as M'Keone advertised his property for sale in December 1876 - it was described as adjoining the Koo Wee Rup Swamp and as one of the nicest little farms within many miles around. I have written about William McKeone in my history of Tynong, here.
(6) The Argus, August 10, 1929, see here.
(7) The Age, May 23, 1891, see here.
(8) The Leader, June 10, 1893, see here.
(9) The Australasian, December 24 1892, see here.
(10)  The Argus, August 10, 1929, see here.
(11) Ibid

(12) Indexes to the Victorian, New South Wales and Queensland Births, Death and Marriages; Personal notices in the newspapers.
(13) Electoral Rolls on Ancestry.com
(14) St Kilda Cemetery headstone transcriptions on Ancestry.com
(15) The Australasian, January 21, 1888,  see here.

Tynong Mechanics' Institute

The earliest public building in Tynong was the Mechanics’ Institute and this post looks at the history of this Hall and the other one (or was it two or even three?) Halls that may have at one time been at Tynong. You can read a general history of Tynong, here. 

In the nineteenth century the term ‘mechanic’ meant artisan or working man. The Mechanics’ Institute movement began in 1800 when Dr George Birkbeck of the Andersonian Institute in Scotland gave a series of lectures to local mechanics. The lectures were free and popular. They led to the formation of the Edinburgh School of Arts (1821) and the London Mechanics’ Institute (1823). The movement spread quickly throughout the British Empire. The first Victorian Mechanics’ Institute was the Melbourne Mechanics’ Institute established in 1839 and renamed The Melbourne Athenaeum in 1873, which continues to operate in its original building on Collins Street. Over a thousand were built in Victoria, and over 550  remain today (1).  The buildings were essentially a public hall with usually a Library. 

The first reference I can find to the Tynong Mechanics’ Institute was in The Argus in February 1886 (2), when the building was used to hold a political meeting, so that would indicate a likely build date of late 1885, early 1886. The first school in Tynong which operated from August 1887 until 1892 was in the Mechanics' Institute (3). 

First reference I can find to the Tynong Mechanics' Institute

The Argus, February 23, 1886 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article6085232

In the early days Mechanics' Institutes had to send in a return to the Government and these returns were published in the annual  Statistical Register for the Colony of Victoria compiled from official records in the office of the Government Statist (4).  Tynong appears in the 1887, 1888, 1889, 1890, 1891 and 1892 editions of the Statistical Registers. 

The 1887 issue tells us that the building cost £145 to erect of which £21 came from the Government and £29 from other sources, £50 in total, which meant that £95 pounds was still owing. They had a collection of 236 books and they were open every evening. The next year, 1888, the book stock was 200, the opening hours were 1.00pm to 3.00pm and 7.00pm to 9.00pm and they had 550 visits throughout the year and received a Government grant of £20.  1889 - book stock -196; hours 9.00am -11.00am and 6.00pm to 8.00pm, annual visits were 350 and received a Government grant of £6 18 shillings.  1890 - same opening hours as 1889, book stock 207 and annual visits were 600. 1891 - book stock was 300; hours were 7.00pm to 10.00pm Thursday and Saturday and annual visits were 260. 1892 - book stock was 200, opening hours 7.00pm to 10.00pm on Wednesday and visits had declined to 100 (5). 

Fancy dress ball at Tynong

South Bourke and Mornington Journal September 6, 1903 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article66140686

The next Tynong school (No. 2854) opened on May 1, 1905 in the Tynong Hall and it was used for this purpose until 1908, when the old Cardinia school was shifted to a newly acquired site on the west side of Tynong Road (where St Thomas Aquinas School is now located) (6). 

In December 1917, the Dandenong Advertiser reported on
The occasion of the opening of the local public hall (the need of which has long been felt), on Friday evening last, was honored by the holding of a concert, a coronation ceremony and a ball......The purpose of the queen carnival was to provide funds, not only to put the building in such a condition, that the requirements of the Board of Public Health would be met, but also that some degree of comfort might be secured, and to this end a large committee room, and a ladies' room were' added to the structure. About £100 were spent on these improvements (7). This was not the current hall which opened in 1927, more of which later.

I feel  these additions of the Ladies' Rooms and the Committee Room were to the original Mechanics' Institute.  However, the book From Bullock Tracks to Bitumen notes that the first public hall was originally the school, put on land bought by the Progress Association in 1913 from Mrs Gault. It was opened in 1917 (8). So, was the 1917 building a new hall and not an extension to the old Mechanics' Institute? 

A report in the Pakenham Gazette of November 10, 1961 says the history of the 

Tynong Hall goes back to 1909, in which year the Progress Association purchased the present site from Mr Gault. A year or so later they purchased from the Education department an old Schoolroom and that served as Tynong’s Hall for many years. (9).

There is yet another account of a Tynong Hall from the Pakenham Gazette of June 15, 1962 which are the reminiscences of an early resident, Mrs Ryan. Mrs Ryan says -
Where Wilson’s home is at present in 1918 a partly built house, three rooms and frame work for more. The Centre rooms were at one time a Tynong Hall. It was in the paddock opposite the lane that runs between Jack Hamill's amd Keith Nilsson's. Mr Jas Smith later sold to Mrs Gault and Miss O'Connor. In the early 1920s Mr Jas Marsden bought it and had a nice 6-roomed home made of it. (Mrs Marsden for years had a catering business.) Mr Cecil Brand bought the property and turned it into a nice home and complete with fowl pens etc. There have been a few more tenants since then, and at present Wilsons occupy it (10).

The Hall after the wind storm of Wednesday, August 5, 1959.

Pakenham Gazette August 14, 1959, p. 1

The current Hall was officially opened on January 14, 1927 by Councillor J. Dowd, the Shire President. The Hall cost £900.00 (11). Disaster befell this Hall thirty years later as the Pakenham Gazette of November 10, 1961 reported -
August 5, 1959 , was a black day in the history of Tynong. On it a gale, sweeping through a narrow belt of country, blew over their Public Hall. So great was the damage that opinion was almost equally divided as to whether the building could or could not be restored to its original condition. If August '59 was a black day, November 6th, '61, was a 'red letter night', for it marked the re-opening of a much better Hall than Tynong ever possessed before, with the addition of a new supper room and other rooms. Needless to say, the building was packed to the doors for the happy occasion. About 250 attended. The supper room had a well-equipped kitchen and there was also a Ladies' room. (12).

The Tynong Hall at its re-opening in November 1961.

Pakenham Gazette November 10, 1961, p. 1

Tynong Hall

Image: Heather Arnold, 2023

Tynong Hall also has a Projection Room, clearly seen in the picture, above, which is currently inaccessible. I have no confirmed information about this Projection Room. Was it built in 1927 when the Hall was built – the 1920s was time when many Picture Theatres were being erected, so that would be logical.  However These Walls Speak Volumes: a history of Mechanics' Institutes in Victoria notes that in the 1950’s the Hall Committee purchased a film projector and used the Hall as a Picture Theatre and that there is a memorial tablet in the bio-box (13). But then I found this advertisement from April 1952  about the Tynong Theatre plant being sold as a going concern. Were they selling recently acquired equipment? If the Theatre wasn't in the Hall, where was it? I have no answers.

Picture Theatre Tynong Plant sale.

The Argus, April 12, 1952 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article23173771

The Mural of the Tynong Quarry, which supplied the granite for the Shrine of Remembrance. 

The Artist was Andrew Rowe and the mural was unveiled in 2004.

Image: Heather Arnold, 2023

The current hall was built in front of the Mechanics' Institute Hall, and in the 1950s and early 1960s original hall was being used as Infant Welfare Centre and a Supper room (14). I presume that the article, below, is referring to the 1885 building, however it really only adds to the confusion as to whether there was actually a hall built in 1917.  My local sources tell me that the building was sold and moved to the Bayliss farm on the Highway (15). From there it was  relocated to Old Gippstown at Moe in 1973 (or 1978), where it remains today; and Old Gippstown claim it to be the original Mechanics' Institute (16).

Move to sell Tynong's first public hall (or was it?)

Pakenham Gazette, February 9, 1962, p. 10

So, were there in fact three or even four Tynong Halls? The 1885 Mechanics’ Institute, the 1927 current Hall and a Hall that was opened in c. 1910 or 1917 or was there yet another Hall that became part of Mr Wilson’s house? Tynong is said to be Aboriginal for ‘plenty of fish’ but I believe it must really mean ‘plenty of halls’. 

Trove list - I have created a short list of articles about the halls at Tynong, access it here. 

Footnotes

(1) http://www.mivic.org.au/history-of-mechanics-institutes.html
(2) The Argus, February 23, 1886, see here. 
(3) Vision and Realisation: a centenary history of State Education in Victoria, edited by L.J. Blake. (Education Department of Victoria, 1973)
(4) Statistical Register for the Colony of Victoria, access them here.
(5) Ibid

(6) Vision and Realisation, op. cit.

(7) The Dandenong Advertiser, December 20, 1917, see here.

(8) From Bullock Tracks to Bitumen: a brief history of the Shire of Berwick (Historical Society of Berwick Shire, 1962), p. 44.

(9) Pakenham Gazette, November 10, 1961, p. 1.

(10) Pakenham Gazette, June 15, 1962. p. 5.

(11) The Argus, January 17, 1927, see here. 

(12) Pakenham Gazette, November 10, 1961, p. 1.

(13) Baragwanath, Pam and James, Ken These Walls Speak Volumes: a history of Mechanics' Institutes in Victoria (published by the authors in 2015), p. 584.

(14) Pakenham Gazette, February 9, 1962, p. 10; Information supplied by Mrs Gladys Quigley and Mrs Bev Henwood February 28, 2023.

(15)  Information supplied by Mrs Gladys Quigley and Mrs Bev Henwood February 28, 2023.

(16) Baragwanath and James (see above) note it was removed in 1973 and the Old Gippstown website (see here)  says 1978.

A version of this post, which I wrote and researched,  has appeared on my work blog, Casey Cardinia Links to Our Past, as well as the Garfield Spectator. This is an updated and expanded version.

Tynong - a short history

Tynong is a town on the edge of the Koo Wee Rup Swamp in West Gippsland. The area was opened up in the 1870s for farming and timber, which was used for sleepers for the construction of the Gippsland Railway line. The 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).  In this area the original railway stations were Dandenong, Berwick, Pakenham and Bunyip.

The first reference I can find in the newspapers to Tynong was a  May 1876 marriage notice between John M'Keone, of Tynong and Ellen Bourke of Pakenham.  Michael and Kitty Bourke, the parents of Ellen, had taken up Minton's Run,  a property of 12, 800 acres on the Toomuc Creek in Pakenham in 1843. Around 1850, they established the La Trobe Inn, more commonly known as Bourke's Hotel, on the Gippsland Road (now called the  Princes Highway) and Toomuc Creek.

Marriage notice - the first reference I can find to Tynong in the newspapers

The Argus, May 28, 1876 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article7440234

The next reference I can find to Tynong also relates to the M'Keone family - in October 1876 their farm was advertised for sale. The Shire of Berwick Rate books lists William McKeone as the 'person rated.'  John and William were the sons of Dudley and Eliza (nee Nesbit) McKeone. John died in Narrandera, N.S.W., in 1895 and William had died in 1877, aged 31. (2) Whether William was ill and this prompted the sale of the land or the McKeones just made the decision to  move on from the Swamp, the property was put up for sale in October 1876.

The M'Keone farm for sale at Tynong

The Argus, October 26, 1876 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5907125

M'Keone's farm was re-advertised in December 1876.

The Age, December 11, 1876 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article200238552

As we can see by the advertisement above the farm was near the main Gippsland Road and adjoining the Koo Wee Rup Swamp - it was one of the nicest little farms within many miles around and and was located south-east of Tynong and south-west of Garfield.  The farm was purchased by Melbourne engraver and artist, Cyrus Mason (1829 - 1925).  I have written about Cyrus  here. 

The early residents in the area were actually mainly at North Tynong and the 1962 publication From Bullock Tracks to Bitumen (3),  lists these settlers as Rogerson, Brew, Jolly, Pharoah, Lamb, Ingwerson, Middleditch, Robertson, Kerr, Lungrum, Mazenti, Mentiplay, Davis, Parkes, Ewart, Doomsday, Highton, Rutledge, Kersey, Cunningham, Rowlerson, Orack, Linborg, Noble, Brockway, Burke, Weatherhead. The book notes that Sleeper cutting, eucalyptus distillery, milling and grazing were the main activities. 

There was agitation from the settlers for a railway station at Tynong after the line opened up. It was reported that in August 1880-
On Wednesday last, 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. It was represented that the convenience  of the settlers who lived in the direction of the neighbouring mountains would be greatly served by the stoppage of the trains at that point, and it was stated also that the traffic on the line would be much increased if accommodation such as that requested was provided. Mr Patterson replied  that he would issue instructions that the siding should be made (4).  I do not know where Kelly Road was. 

Mr Patterson, the Railways Commissioner was a man of his word and a stop was opened at some time in early 1881 (5). 

After the station opened tramways were constructed from the mills. Mike McCarthy, in his book Settlers and Sawmillers: a history of West Gippsland Tramways and the Industries they served (6), lists the early mills and their establishment -  Maffey and Sons, c. 1882; William Fraser, 1884,  who sold to David Smythe in 1886. And as noted by McCarthy - From 1895 the firewood industry at Tynong declined rapidly. It wasn't until Horatio Weatherhead and his sons arrived from Lyonville (near Daylesford) late in 1908  that timber again became an important  commodity in the economy on this part of Gippsland (7). 

Horatio Weatherhead's Mill in North Tynong in 1910.

Horatio Weatherhead (my great-grandfather) was granted a license by the State Forests and Nursery Branch of the Department of Lands and Survey,  to mill 2,000 acres of forest in North Tynong. He shifted his operations from Lyonville and his first mill commenced around December 1909 at Wild Dog Creek.  From that date,  Horatio and his sons Fred, Arthur, George, Frank and Alf all operated various mills in North Tynong, either together or separately. From 1947 Arthur's sons Roy, Max and Cyril had a mill on Cannibal Creek until it finally closed in 1979 (8).

Original sub-division of the town of Tynong, 1883, as you can see the original allotments were south of the railway line. 

Village lots at the Tynong railway station, Parish of Bunyip, County of Mornington / surveyed by J. Lardner, Assistant Surveyor, 11.6.83 ; lithographed at the Department of Lands and Survey, Melbourne by F. Kelly, 12.9.83.

State Library of Victoria http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/107835

During this time the town of Tynong, based around the railway station, was growing. In November 1882, a Post Office was opened at the Railway Station (9). A school opened part-time with Garfield, in the Mechanics' Institute in August 1887, but closed in 1892. The Mechanics' Institute opened in 1885 and I have written about this and the other Tynong Hall (or was it Halls?) here. 

The next school (No. 2854) opened on May 1, 1905 in the Tynong Hall and in 1908, the Cardinia school was shifted to a newly acquired site on the west side of the road that went from the railway line to the  Highway (where St Thomas Aquinas School is now located).  This building soon proved to be too small and new school was built, opening in April 1915. The Tynong School closed in April 1951 and the school population moved to Pakenham Consolidated School.  A school at Tynong North (No. 4464) operated from June 1930 until December 1951, when both the building and the students were transferred to Pakenham Consolidated (10).

Tynong, possibly 1920s

Image: North of the Line:  a pictorial record (Berwick Pakenham Historical Society,  1996)

In July 1917, a Memorial Grove, to honour the local men who had served in the War was planted at the Tynong State School, you can read about this here. 

Aerial of Tynong, 1985 - the treed site is the old school site.

Shire of Pakenham photographer

In July 1903, it was reported that - 

the land for the first shop opened in Tynong was surveyed on Friday last, so we shall have a store at last. I am in formed that it is for Mr. Harcourt of Bunyip and Garfield (11). This was Edwin Harcourt. Other Tynong shopkeepers include Alfred Watson from around 1906/1907 until 1917/1918; he then entered a partnership with Henry Coombs to become a Land and Estate Agent.  Harriet Snell, in the 1920s and from 1927 until 1931 she leased the store to  Francis Ryan (more of whom below). Harriet died in March 1932, aged only 47 and Ernest Oram then took over the Store (12) Ernest Oram was also a foundation member of the Tynong Plumpton Club also called the Tynong and District Coursing Club, formed in 1941. I have written about this here. 

Around 1908 John Mappin had a blacksmith and coach-building operation on the corner of North Tynong Road and the Highway and George Rowlerson also had a blacksmith business at Tynong.  In 1920, George Cousins opened a butchers shop, on the south side of the railway line in 1920. The old Feed Store was built in the 1940s (13).  The town  really didn't get much bigger than this. 

Sadly, Tynong never rose to become the Queen City of the East

Bunyip Free Press, July 15, 1915 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/129630666

Tynong also supplied the granite for the Shrine of Remembrance which was built between June 1928 and November 1934 to honour the soldiers who served in the First World War. There was a competition to design this memorial to the soldiers of the Great war and it was won by Philip B. Hudson and James H. Wardrop. It was built by the Company, Vaughan and Lodge and was officially opened by the Duke of Gloucester on November 11, 1934 (14).

Granite for an everlasting Shrine

The Argus, November 14, 1928 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article3968930

This is a not very clear photograph (above) of the Tynong Quarry - transcription follows - 

Granite for an everlasting Shrine - 

Certain that the people of the State will approve fully, the National War Memorial Committee has now decided that the Shrine of Remembrance shall be built, not of freestone, which is subject to weathering, but of granite, the most lasting of structural materials. Beautiful silver-grey granite of an eminently suitable kind is available at Tynong, in Gippsland, and workmen are shown in the photograph hewing the blocks of granite from the hillside. Inset:-A fine heap of granite blocks ready for dressing. They measure from six cubic foot upwards.

Tynong Granite Quarry, 1929

Museums Victoria Collections https://collections.museumsvictoria.com.au/items/768350

The Quarry ended up supplying 100,000 cubic feet of granite for the Shrine of Remembrance, which was valued at from £50,000 to £60,000 (15).   Not only was this important to the economy of the town, but it had the added benefit of bringing electric light to both Tynong and Garfield towards the end of 1929. (16)  On September 6,  1929, The Age reported  that power had been supplied to the Quarry -

Messrs. Vaughan and Lodge's granite quarry, which has been opened to supply stone for the Shrine of Remembrance, has commenced operations under power supplied by the Yallourn Electricity Commission. The whole of the machinery is driven by electricity, and when the undertaking is fully developed 32,000 volts will be used. The firm has installed a large steel saw 12 ft. in diameter, which cuts the stone into blocks from four to ten Ions in weight. It is said to be the only implement of its kind in Australia, and works with eight "teeth" on chilled steel revolving shot, cutting through a block of stone six feet by three feet deep in thirty minutes. Six compressed air drills, technically known as "hammer jacks," capable of drilling holes twenty feet deep, are used in the breaking-down process, and three electrically-driven cranes are employed in carrying the blocks to the saw benches. Up to the present blocks of flawless granite containing up to 40,000 square feet have been unearthed. The stone is said to be equal for building and monumental purposes to anything of its kind in the world. This discovery was made some years ago, when the stone was in demand for additions to the Melbourne Town Hall. The quarry is expected to keep eighty men permanently employed (17). 

The book, From Bullock Tracks to Bitumen, referred to previously, says Mrs Mary Ryan, who lived at Black Rock, first noticed the granite stone when a war memorial was being discussed, and through her it came to the notice of those responsible  for the memorial (18).  A plaque that was unveiled  at the Tynong State School on Remembrance Day in 1934 to commemorate the contribution of the Tynong Granite to the building of the Shrine. It was removed in 2005 to Railway Avenue, near the War Memorial, and re-dedicated (19).  

The plaque commemorating Mrs Ryan's role in the use of Tynong Granite for the Shrine of Remembrance.

Image: Heather Arnold, 2023

The plaque describes Mrs Ryan as a local amateur geologist. It is possible Mrs Ryan was living at Black Rock in 1962 when the book was published, but between 1927 and c. 1931 Mary Ann Ryan and Francis Michael Ryan were listed at Main Street, Tynong, his occupation being storekeeper (20). In fact, in December 1930, Mary Ryan applied for a Victualler's Licence for premises at Tynong. If successful she was going to build a brick hotel with ten bedrooms for the use of the public, three bathrooms, diningroom, &., at a cost of £4000. The application was refused on the grounds that there were only 200 people in the locality and other hotels near by (21). 

In 1931, The Age had a short report on fossils found at Tynong by Mrs Ryan - 

Tynong.....has of recent years come into prominence as n place where vast supplies of flawless granite have been found..... It is, of course, nothing more than a slender coincidence that another kind of stone has been found there which may prove to have considerable scientific interest, namely, a number of fossils, including the skull of a native bear, and various bones, the property of Mrs. M Ryan. If, as is thought, one of the stones is fossilised whale bone, the fact should be of exceptional interest to geologists. The fossils have not yet been subjected to the discerning scrutiny of the scientific eye, fortified with a microscope, but a photograph has been sent to the Australian Institute of Anatomy at Canberra, the director of which (Sir. Colin Mackenzie) has expressed his interest in them. (22).  I wonder of it was actually a fossilised whale  bone? 

The 1940s in Tynong saw the Fire Brigade established  in 1942 and  the  Infant Welfare Centre opened in the Hall, in September 1943, with Mrs Ritchies as President and Mrs D. Jolly as Honorary Secretary. (23).

The opening of the Tynong Infant Welfare Centre. 

You can read about Dr Vera Scantlebury Brown, Director of Infant Welfare, here.

Dandenong Journal, September 22, 1943 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article214309754

Tynong Office bearers of the Infant Welfare Centre from the 1943-1944 Annual Report 

of the Victorian Baby Health Centres Association, see here.

Another interesting fact about the area is that in March 1949, 540 acres of land in North Tynong off Snell Road, was sold by Reg Sykes to Father Wilfred Pooley, to establish a 'City of God' in the bush. This was part of a broader movement in the Catholic community, encouraged by the Melbourne Archbishop, Dr Daniel Mannix, for Catholics to move away from the distractions of the city to a rural environment and become closer to God. The  North Tynong rural settlement, St Mary's, was based on the principals of faith, family life and co-operative enterprise. To that end, Catholic families would move to the community, own a few acres of land to build a house and work in  the co-operative industries which were established including a housing co-operative, a joinery, hardware store and an aerated water factory. The cornerstones of community life, the Holy Family Church and the Holy Family School, were both opened by Archbishop Mannix on September 3, 1950 attended by more than 3000 people. With the arrival of a Post Office in 1955 the name of the settlement changed from St Mary's to Maryknoll, to avoid confusion with other towns named St Mary's (24).

A trestle bridge in North Tynong, 1912, Eva Weatherhead is standing on the bridge. 

Before we leave Tynong - When Horatio and his sons left Lyonville in 1908 for North Tynong, his wife Eleanor (nee Hunt) and their youngest child, Eva, remained in Lyonville until she finished Grade 8 at the end of 1913. When she was 16,  Eva travelled by train to Melbourne to attend Stott's Business College and then worked in town, boarding in South Melbourne. Eva returned home in early 1919, to look after her elderly mother and became the Post Mistress in Tynong, renting her office  from Mrs Julia Hollingsworth, who operated a coffee palace for 17/6 per month. At the time the Post Office was on the south side of the railway.  Eva held this position until she married Joe Rouse, a farmer from Cora Lynn, in November 1922.  They had seven children, including my Dad. Grandma was always very proud of the fact that the Shrine was made of Tynong Granite and used to tell us about this when we were young. 

Trove list - I have created a list of articles on Tynong, which I have used for the research for this post. access it here.

Footnotes 

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

(2) McKeone family information from the Victorian and New South Wales Indexes to Births, Deaths and Marriages; Family trees on Ancestry.com

Death notice of William McKeone, late of Western Port, a term used at the tome to describe much of West Gippsland, including Tynong.

The Argus, October 13, 1877 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5940970

(3) From Bullock Tracks to Bitumen: a brief history of the Shire of Berwick (Historical Society of Berwick Shire, 1962).

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

(5) It was there in April 1881 - The Argus, April 13, 1881, see here.

(6) McCarthy, Mike Settler and Sawmillers: a history of West Gippsland Tramways and the Industries they served (Light Railway Research Society of Australia, 1993)

(7) McCarthy, Mike, op. cit, p. 18

(8) McCarthy, Mike, op. cit, pp. 18-22

(9) Victoria Government Gazette, November 17, 1882, p. 2705   https://gazette.slv.vic.gov.au/images/1882/V/general/122.pdf

Opening of the Tynong Post Office

(10) Vision and Realisation: a centenary history of State Education in Victoria, edited by L.J. Blake. (Education Department of Victoria, 1973)

(11) South Bourke and Mornington Journal, July 22, 1903, see here.

(12) Shire of Berwick Rate Books, Electoral Rolls, newspaper articles and advertisements. Francis Ryan is not listed in the Shire of Berwick Rate books as owning the store, Harriet Snell is listed as the owner  in the years the Ryans were in Tynong.

(13) The 1908 Electoral Rolls list John James Mappin, Coachbuilder at Tynong and George Walter Rowlerson, Blacksmith at Tynong; neither are listed in the 1906 Rolls. Mappin's address -  corner of North Tynong Road and the Highway - comes from From Bullock Tracks to Bitumen, see footnote 2. The butchershop information is from Cardinia Shire Heritage Study, volume 3: Heritage Places by Graeme Butler & Associates (Cardinia Shire, 1996). The Feed Store information is from Cardinia Local Heritage Study Review 2008 - Volume 5: Stage B Individual places, Draft June 2008, Context P/L.

(14) History of the Shrine of Remembrance https://www.shrine.org.au/history-shrine-remembrance

(15) The Herald, January 25, 1932, see here. 

(16) The Argus, October 19, 1928, see here - The State Government Commission has decided to extend the transmission lines in the Gippsland district to supply energy to Garfield and Tynong. At Garfield a local undertaking will be superseded, and at Tynong, which has no electric supply the granite quarries will be the largest consumers.  

The Argus, August 30, 1929, see here - The Electricity Commission has installed electric light, in Tynong town.

Dandenong Journal, November 21, 1929, see here - From State Electricity Commission, [to the Berwick Shire]  forwarding agreements for Tynong and Garfield lighting.—To be attended to.

(17) The Age, September 6, 1929, see here.

(18) From Bullock Tracks to Bitumen, op. cit. p.44.

(19) https://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/technology/industry/display/103748-tynong-granite

(20) Electoral Rolls on Ancestry - the Ryan's weren't in the 1926 Rolls at Tynong, but they were listed there from 1927 to 1931 and not listed at Tynong in the 1934 Rolls. They are not listed in the Shire of Berwick Rate Books as owning the shop.

(21) The Age, December 23, 1930, see here. 

(22) The Age, August 19, 1931, see here. 

(23) Dandenong Journal, December 23, 1942, see here;   https://kooweerupswamphistory.blogspot.com/2022/10/baby-health-care-centres.html 

(24) White, Gael Maryknoll: history of a Catholic Rural Settlement (The Author, 1982, republished in an updated and expanded version by Artistic Wombat in 2002). I have written about Maryknoll, here,   https://kooweerupswamphistory.blogspot.com/2023/04/maryknoll-early-history-and-buildings.html

Tynong Grove planted in honour of local Great War soldiers

A grove  'to honour the men who had gone from the district to the Great War' was planted at the Tynong State School to celebrate Arbor Day on July 6, 1917.  There was a report on this event in the Dandenong Advertiser of July 12, 1917.   You can read the full report here and it is transcribed  below.  The same day this grove was planted, trees were also planted at the Cardinia State School in honour of local soldiers, you can read about this here.

Part of the article, transcribed below, about the planting of the Tynong Grove

Dandenong Advertiser of July 12, 1917. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/88658717

 The Arbor Day proceedings at the school were marked by the planting of a grove in honor of the men who have gone from the district to the Great War. Mr. W. S. Keast, M.L.A. attended, and was welcomed on behalf of the residents by Mr T. W. Cunningham, chairman of the School Committee and President of the Progress Association. Mr Keast, in the course of his remarks, said that he was pleased and proud to be present on the occasion. Nothing was too good for the men who had gone to fight the Empire's battles, and it would be the duty of the Federal and State Government to do the best possible for them. He had been pleased to learn how well the pupils of the school had been working for the War Relief Funds, and to show his appreciation of their efforts he would be pleased to forward a cheque for a pound, and another for a similar amount when the school fund reached 100 pounds.  He recognised also the splendid work being done by the ladies of the Red Cross Societies. It was the first time he had been present on an occasion such as this, and he was pleased to pronounce the first acre of the grove well and truly planted. 

Mr T. Gleeson, in proposing a vote, of thanks to Mr Keast, mentioned his ever willingness to assist in all matters for the welfare of the district, and the appreciation of those present for his assistance on that day. Subsequently trees were planted to: Pte. E. Bullock, Pte. R. Brown, Pte. Bourke, Trooper Coombs, Pte. L. Doherty, Pte. F. Doherty, Corporal L. Gordon, Gunner Harris (killed in action), Pte. J. Hargraves, Pte. V. Jones, Pte. C. Lamb, Pte. Leeson, Trooper Madden, Ptes. P. and L. Orrocks (killed in action), Pte. L. Orde, Pte.W. Rowe, Pte. J. McQualter, Pte G. Rowley, Pte. J. Robinson, Pte. F. Snow, Corporal R. Thompson, Ptes. F. and A. Weatherhead, Pte. H. Wright, Pte. T. White, and Pte. T. Whiston. The fencing of the grove was nearly completed, whilst the School Committee and helpers also further improved the school ground by planting many trees and shrubs around its border, by fencing a portion for the children's ponies and a start was made at the pipe draining of the ground. During the day's program, a talk on local timbers was given by Mr H. Weatherhead, and Mr J.H. Lord of Bunyip gave a demonstration on tree-planting. After afternoon tea, which had thoughtfully been provided by the ladies, had been served, Mr D. Danson expressed the thanks of the committee to those who had attended and made the day's proceedings such a success.

Here is a first hand account of the planting out of the Memorial Grove, through the eyes of a seven year old -
Dave Danson, living at Tynong, writes:—
On Arbor Day, in the morning, we sang songs and the teacher told us about trees. Then the ladies came and gave us a jolly good spread. In the afternoon we planted a grove of trees for the soldiers who have gone from Tynong. Then we had our photos taken and had our tea. The men made a paddock for our horses. I am seven years of age, and in the third grade at school. We get "The Weekly Times" every week. (Weekly Times, October 6, 1917, see here)

The Tynong State School, No. 2854, opened May 1, 1905 in the Tynong Hall. It moved to the new site in Tynong Road in 1908, to a building which had been shifted from Cardinia. In April 1915, a new school building was opened. The School closed on April 14, 1951 as it became part of Pakenham Consolidated School. St Thomas Aquinas School now occupies the site of the Tynong State School. There was a previous school in Tynong, which operated part-time with Garfield, from August 1887 until 1892 and it was in the Mechanics' Institute.* I have written a short history of Tynong, here.

Some years ago a new memorial was erected in Tynong in memory of all the men and women from the Tynong area who served in the Boer War, the two World Wars and the Korean and Vietnam War.

Tynong War Memorial in honour of all conflicts.

Image: Heather Arnold, 2023

What follows is a list of the 27 men honoured with a tree, I have had mixed success in identifying them, so if you can help I would appreciate it. Of the 27, eleven were Killed in Action or Died of Wounds.  I have listed their Service Numbers (SN) so you can look up their full record on the National Archives of Australia www.naa.gov.au

Bourke  Listed as Private Bourke, I don't know who this is, but it is possible that he was connected to the Pakenham Bourkes -  Michael and Kitty Bourke who took up the 12,800 acre Mintons Run property in 1843 and in 1849 built the La Trobe Inn (also known as Bourke's Hotel for obvious reasons) on Toomuc Creek.

Brown, R.  I am not sure who this is, I cannot find a R. Brown with  a local connection.  There is a Richard Vincent Brown listed in the Electoral Roll at Tynong from 1916 to 1919 - his occupation is pensioner, so our soldier may be connected to him. 

Memorial card for Ernest Bullock

Australian War Memorial https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1220979

Bullock, Ernest (SN 6291) Ernest was nearly 21 and a farmer when he enlisted on July 7, 1916.  He was born in Murrumbeena and his next of kin was his mother, Mrs Mary Bullock, of Oakleigh. I assume that Ernest was living with his brother Thomas, who was a labourer from Garfield, who enlisted on the same day as Ernest.  Ernest was Killed in Action in France on October 4, 1918. Ernest and Thomas are also listed on the Garfield Honour Roll as well as the Clyde North State School Roll, where they attended school.  

Coombs, Henry Ernest (SN 4080) Henry enlisted on August 9, 1915 aged 18. His next of kin was his father, also called Henry, of Tynong and his mother was Inez (nee Ffrost). Henry Returned to Australian March 4, 1919.

Doherty, Edward Francis (SN 1218) Listed as F. Doherty on the memorial and known as Frank. Frank enlisted on March 9, 1915 at the age of 26. Frank was Killed in Action on August 4, 1916.
Doherty, Louis Michael (SN 12392). Louis enlisted at the age of 21 on July 17, 1915. Louis Returned to Australia in May 30, 1919. 

Frank and Louis were the sons of John and Bridget (nee Smith). John Doherty was a Veterinary Surgeon and they lived on Nine Mile Road, Tynong. Both of the men also had their occupation listed as farmer. The brothers are also listed on the Cora Lynn War Memorial.

Gordon, L Corporal   You would think Corporal L. Gordon would be easy to identify, but I  can't.  I have checked every Corporal Gordon in the Nominal Rolls and none have an obvious local connection. The only Gordon I could find in the area in the Electoral Rolls was a Duncan Gordon of Bunyip in the 1909 roll. 

Hargraves, J  Private Hargraves is another mystery. I cannot find a Hargraves with a local connection. There was a Edward and Mary Hargrave at Bunyip from 1903 to 1909 in the Electoral Rolls, but that's the closest Hargraves I could find to Tynong. 

Harris, Leo  (SN 3132)  Leo enlisted on July 20, 1915 at the age of 20 and he was a farm labourer. His next of kin was his mother,  Josephine Harris of Nar Nar Goon. Leo was Killed in Action, in France, on August 9, 1916 and his name also appears on the Nar Nar Goon Honor Roll (see here)

Gertie Brent's In Memoriam notice from The Age September 25, 1918

in honour of her fiance, Victor Jones.

Jones, Victor Herbert (SN 3150)  Victor was 27 when he enlisted on July 26, 1915. His occupation was 'engine cleaning', a Railway's job. His father and next of kin was William Jones of Moe who was a railway ganger, so working for the  Victorian Railways was  a family affair. As you can see from the article below, he was positioned at Tynong for some years. Victor was Killed in Action in Belgium on September 25, 1917. His will left his estate to his father and to his fiancee, Miss Gertie Brent of Tynong.   

Notice of the death of Victor Jones

Narracan Shire Advocate November 17, 1917 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article129625905

Lamb, Charles Hargrave (SN 3092)  Charles was the son Joseph and Annie Lamb. Joseph Lamb was listed in the 1909 and 1914 Electoral Rolls at Nar Nar Goon, his occupation was a boot maker. Charles,  a blacksmith, was 18 when he enlisted on December 4, 1914. He Returned to Australia in March 1916 to recover from a gun shot wound to the neck. He re-enlisted on  February 2, 1917 and was Killed in Action, in Belgium, on October 4, 1917. When he enlisted in 1917, his father was deceased and his mother, Annie, lived in East Brunswick. Charles is also listed on the Nar Nar Goon Honour Board (see here)

Leeson Private Leeson could be either Robert Leeson or William Leeson, the sons of Phillip and Amelia (nee Ransom) Leeson of Garfield. Robert and William’s grandmother, Kathleen Leeson, was the licensee of the Pig & Whistle Hotel on Cannibal Creek.
Leeson, Robert Victor (SN 2589) Robert enlisted in Melbourne, at 20 years of age, on June 30, 1916. Robert Returned to Australia on December 18, 1918.
Leeson, William Herbert Charles (SN 1178) William enlisted at Tynong on September 26, 1914, aged 24. William was Killed in Action on  May 2, 1915 at Gallipoli.
William is listed on the Bunyip War Memorial and he and Robert are on the Garfield State School Honour Roll.

Madden, Trooper Trooper Madden could be either Frank or Thomas Madden. They are the sons of Thomas and Grace (nee Cook) Madden of Nar Nar Goon, although they are later listed at 9 Caroline Street, Clifton Hill. There is also a Thomas Madden in the 1914 Electoral Roll listed at Tynong on 1914 so clearly they lived somewhere between the two towns. Frank and Thomas were both wool sorters by occupation.
Madden, Frank (SN 1798) Frank enlisted on January 13, 1915 at the age of 19. Frank was awarded the Military Medal and he Returned to Australia on April 8, 1919.
Madden, Thomas William (SN 2232) Thomas' address on the Embarkation Roll is Nar Nar Goon, and he was 25 years old when he enlisted on April 1, 1916. He Died of Wounds on October 17, 1917 in Belgium.

The brothers are also listed on the Nar Nar Goon Honor Board (see here).

McQualter, John Hughes (SN 3199) John enlisted on December 18, 1916 aged 23. His wife, Ellen (nee Watt) was listed as his next of kin. They lived at Tynong.  John Returned to Australia on July 8, 1919. John  was granted a Soldier Settlement farm after the war, you can read his file here. 

Ord, Albert Leslie (SN 3889) Listed as L.Orde in the newspaper report. Albert enlisted on August 7, 1915. He was 22 years old and  a labourer.  He was the son of Frederick Thomas and Margaret (nee Leishman or Leichman) Ord. Their address on Albert's Attestation papers was Nar Nar Goon, however they were at Tynong in the 1914 Electoral Rolls. Albert Died of Wounds in France on September 25, 1916 - he was accidentally shot in the hip by another soldier who was cleaning his gun. Albert's Roll of Honour Circular at the Australian War Memorial said that he attended Tynong State School.  Albert is also listed on the Nar Nar Goon Honor Board (see here).

Orrock, Harold Augustus Alexander (Alex) (SN 552)

Orrock, Percy Newton (SN 3580)
Percy and Alex were the sons of David and Emma Orrock of Tynong and were sadly killed within three months of each other. Alex was 20 when he enlisted on March 3, 1916, he was a farm labourer and was Killed in Action on April 22, 1917. Percy was a 28 year old Grocers Assistant when he enlisted on July 16, 1915. Corporal Orrock was Killed in Action on February 8, 1917.

Notice of the deaths of Harold and Percy Orrock

Mount Wycheproof Ensign and East Wimmera Advocate May 18, 1917 

  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article154455039

Robinson, John Richard (SN 2304)  John enlisted at the age of 22 on July 7, 1915. His occupation was listed as an 'Agent'.  His next of kin was his guardian, Mrs Hollingsworth of Tynong. John married Elizabeth Maskell on November 29, 1918 when he was in England and the Returned to Australia April 27, 1919.  Mrs Hollingsworth was, I believe, Julia Hollingsworth, listed in the Electoral Rolls as a storekeeper.

Rowe, W.  Private W. Rowe is on the list but I can't work out who he is - there are number of W. Rowes with a Gippsland connection but no-one with a specific Tynong connection. There is a William Rowe in the Shire of Berwick Rate Books listed at Tynong, occupation farmer, around 1914;  a F.H. Rowe of Tynong  wrote  a letter to the Berwick Shire in September 1916 complaining about drainage - so Private Rowe may well be connected to either of these men. W. Rowe is also listed on the Nar Nar Goon Honour Board (see here).

Rowley, George Albert  (SN 1989)  George was a 23 year old labourer and he enlisted on March 11, 1916. His next of kin was his father,  Joseph, of Tynong.  George Returned to Australia April 19, 1919 and was granted a Soldier Settlement farm, you can read his file, here.

Snow, F.  I can't find a Snow with a local connection. 

Thompson, Robert Henry (SN 664)  Robert enlisted on December 16, 1916 at the age of 27, he was a fireman with the Victorian Railways. His next of kin was his father, Samuel, of Tynong.  Corporal Thompson Returned to Australia January 30 1918 and was discharged on medical grounds (rheumatism) in May 1918. 

Alf Weatherhead, taken in 1915

Image: Rouse family collection

Weatherhead, Alfred (SN 1005)

Weatherhead, Frank (SN 6960)
Alf and Frank were the sons of Horatio and Eleanor (nee Hunt) Weatherhead. In 1908, Horatio took up the lease, for saw milling purposes, of 2,000 acres at Tynong North and in December 1909 he built a mill at Wild Dog Creek, the east branch of Cannibal Creek. The family had previously lived in Lyonville. Frank enlisted on July 8 1915 at the age of 22 and Returned to Australia on January 14, 1919. Alf enlisted at the age of 19 on February 13, 1915 and Returned to Australia March 17, 1919. Frank and Alf are my great uncles, brothers of my Grandma, Eva Rouse (nee Weatherhead).

Frank Weatherhead, in Edinburgh, 1917

Image: Rouse family collection

Whiston, Julian Thomas (SN 3526) I assume that T. Whiston is Julian Thomas Whiston, presumably called Thomas, so that's what we will call him. Thomas, a farmer,  enlisted on August 7 1915 aged 18. Thomas Died of Wounds on March 21, 1918. Thomas had two brothers who also enlisted Frederick (SN 3524) and John (SN 3525) - they were  the sons of Fred Whiston of Cora Lynn. Thomas and Fred are also listed on the Bunyip War Memorial.

Julian Thomas Whiston

Australian War Memorial https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1115272

White, T  I am unsure who this is. There was a Robert Anthony White listed in the Electoral Roll at Tynong in 1914 so this man may possibly have  a connection to  Private White, but I don't know. 

Wright, H  This is possibly Harold Sidney Wright (SN 6407) I say this because he enlisted at Warragul on October 24, 1916 as a 22 year old and his occupation was an orchardist - and there were orchards close by at Garfield, however his address was listed as Mooroolbark on his enlistment papers. His next of kin was his father who lived in England. Harold Returned to Australia June 4, 1919. If it isn't Harold, then H. Wright may have some connection to William Wright, Railway Employee, who was listed in the 1915 Electoral Roll as living at Bunyip; an Elizabeth Wright was also listed. 

* School information from Vision and Realisation : a centenary history of State Education in Victoria, edited by L.J. Blake. Published by the Education Department of Victoria, 1973.

A version of this story, which I wrote and researched, appears on my work blog, Casey Cardinia Commemorates: Our War Years It has also been published in the Garfield Spectator.