Official visit to Koo-Wee-Rup December 1893

This is an interesting account of the early days of Koo Wee Rup Swamp settlement from page six of  The Argus of December 22, 1893, see here. I have transcribed the article.

The Minister of Public Works, Mr Webb, paid his first official visit yesterday to the drainage works and village settlement in connection with the Koo-Wee-Rup Swamp. He was accompanied by Mr Methven and Mr Winter M.L.A’s; Mr Davidson, Inspector General of Public Works and Mr Catani, the engineer in charge of the drainage works. At the Bunyip end of the Main Drain the prospects of the Village Settlers seem very good, the land being exceptionally rich, though heavily timbered. Very good progress has, in some cases, been made with gardens, and the Government experimental plot, though the results are those of  a few months’ work only, forms a very useful object lesson to those not familiar with the cultivation of the soil. All the fodder grasses as well as Lucerne, maize, mangels [a type of beet, related to silverbeet and beetroot], flax, hemp, beet and vegetables of many varieties were growing splendidly, though the land, cropped for the first time has hardly lost its sourness. Early potatoes especially give a splendid crop. 

There can be no doubt as to the value of this Bunyip land eventually, but the clearing is heavy work, and though there is an impression in Parliament at one time that 20 acres was too large a block here, a visit to the spot shows that by the time the land has been brought into proper cultivation the new home will be well earned. A wooden tram has been laid down for the carriage of goods and this worked on co-operative principles, has already paid a dividend. There were a great many children running about idle in the settlement and the school, for which residents are still pressing, is badly needed. 

The principle of a fortnight’s work on the Swamp and a fortnight on their own land works admirably and a vast improvement is manifest since May, when the first settlers were just building their huts and not a tree had been cut. The Department consider that they will be able to provide work on those lines for the next tree years and by that time the settlers at the Bunyip end at any rate will be in a position to get a profit from their blocks.

Travelling down towards Koo-Wee-Rup the land is not nearly so good. The clay is at too great a depth and the surface is soft and peaty, so that now, even in dry weather a horse cannot leave the beaten track or he is at once bogged in the soft soil. The Minister and members saw for the first time a sled for dragging up scrub by the roots at work, but though it has achieved good results on sounder land, the soil was too soft here for a team of 18 bullocks to do much good. It would appear as though the cost of clearing here and getting land ready for grass even has been somewhat under-estimated. The bullocks in this case were, however, new to the work, and much more better results are obtained when they become accustomed to sinking in the treacherous soil. Most of the ti-tree has been burned off, but the thick network of roots and short stumps remain, making it almost impassable. Most of the settlers at the Koo-Wee-Rup end of the drain are making gardens, but the results are not quite so good as at the other end, through the land apparently being more sour. 

The first steps towards building a second school here are being taken. By-and-by a tramway will run the whole length of the Main Drain from Bunyip to Koo-Wee-Rup, but at present there is a gap of several miles in the middle of it. Mr Webb was not at all impressed with this end of the Swamp and to anyone acquainted with the difficulties of clearing scrub lands; it was obvious that with hand labour only it is a slow and toilsome task. The Minister was inclined to think that the same amount of work given to the founding of a home in the northern irrigable lands would give a better result in quicker time. All, or nearly all, the men settled in the Swamp at present are married men with large families, who prior to coming here were barely able to keep body and soul together.

First land sales in Garfield 1887 and the Pasquan family

On November 29, 1887 at 2.00pm a sale of township allotments in Garfield took place at the Auction rooms of Munro and Baillieu, 40 Collins Street, Melbourne.  Some of the blocks were 'improved' and some 'unimproved.'

Advertisement for the sale of Garfield Township lots

 The Argus, November 29, 1887  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article7918862

The ‘upset’ price was £10 per foot and the purchaser also had to pay survey costs. These allotments were south of the Railway line, running from just west of Thirteen Mile Road to the Fourteen Mile Road.  

Garfield Township plan

Public Records Office of Victoria

 https://prov.vic.gov.au/archive/983EBAF3-F3FB-11EA-BE8C-BD2C6DFA967C 

The Garfield Township Plan shows us that the purchasers at this first land sale were -  

Lot 1 - G. Sweet 

Lot 2 - F. Steed

Lots 3 & 18 - M. Ryan

Lot 4 - W. Harnwell

Lots 5, 8 & 15 - M. Hood

Lots 6 & 11 - A. Ritchie 

Lot 7 - A.E Biggs

Lot 9 -  J.W Borland

Lots 10 & 16 - M. Pasquan

Lot 12 -  M.I Jones

Lot 13 - W.M.K Vale

Lot 14 – J. Pearson

Lot 15a – Reserved for Police purposes

Lot 17 - F.G Hartley 

Lot 19 - A.E Dangerfield.  

In the 1889/1890 Shire of Berwick Rate books, the first year the properties were listed there, we find the ownership of some blocks had already changed hands. I have also listed the Net Annual Value (NAV).   

Lot 1 & 2 - Martin Ryan. Occupation - publican. NAV £10.

Lots 3, 8, 13 & 15 - Martin Hood. NAV £20.

Lot 4, 5, 9, 16 & 17  -  Owner - no names listed. NAV £25.

Lots 6 - Adam Ritchie. Occupation - carrier. NAV £12.

Lot 7 -  William Biggs. NAV £8.

Lot 10 -  Mrs M. Pasquan. NAV £8. 

Lot 11 - William Travers; Rated paid by Robert Amason. NAV £8.

Lot 12 -  Thomas Shipton, tenant. Owner not listed. NAV £8.

Lot 14 – John Pearson. NAV £8.

Lot 15a – Reserved for Police purposes

Lot 18 - Joseph Walker. Occupation: Biscuit maker. NAV £5. 

Lot 19 - A.E. Dangerfield, leased by Michael Lawlor. NAV £8.

Some of the lots, as you can see by the Rate Book entries, above, it appears the Council were not aware of who the owners were. It is possible that they were purchased as a speculative venture and then the owners considered the blocks were not worth paying the rates on. 

I have tried to find out some more information about these original land owners from the Rate Books and other sources, some of whom may have been speculators as they didn’t live locally. Adam Ritchie was a carrier. I assume he was the same Adam Ritchie who was the brother of George and Alexander Ritchie, who owned various parcels of land from Nar Nar Goon to Garfield. His sister, Jane, married Richard Fortune and they lived on Bald Hill Road, Nar Nar Goon. W.M.K Vale is listed as owning not only Lot 13 in Garfield but five different lots in Bunyip. A. E. Dangerfield was an accountant, address Melbourne.  W. Harnwell’s address was in Little Collins Street; Martin Hood is listed as a ‘Gentleman’ and his address is also Melbourne. 

Martin Pasquan, an original land-owner, sadly, died on November 19, 1888 at the age of 45 (1). His wife, Fanny, then took over the ownership of the block, and as she is the first female land owner in Garfield and held the land until 1902, we will have a closer look at her life. Her occupation in the Rate Books was listed as ‘Lady’ which belied her real role in life as a publican running various hotels.

Martin Pasquan had married Fanny Pascoe on February 13, 1874; she was a 21 year old housemaid and he was the 29 year old publican of the Station Hotel in Footscray. Martin had been born in Fiume, Hungary to Cosmo and Matilda (nee Matteo) Pasquan and Fanny had been born in Cornwall, England to William and Eliza (nee Thomas) Pascoe. (2). Fiume is now part of Croatia.

They had already had a child before the marriage, Paulina, who was born in 1872 and died the next year aged only 7 months old. Their other children were Martin, 1875-1878; Cosmo, 1877-1879; Maximillian, born 1879; Roberto 1881-1885; Florinda 1886 - died the same year aged 11 months. (3).  It really was a tragic time for the family - losing five children as infants and then Martin dying so young. 

Martin Pasquan's Albion Hotel, Therry Street Melbourne

State Library of Victoria Image  H32088/121

After Martin left the Station Hotel, he held the licence of the Hotel de Roma on the corner of Brunswick Street and Victoria Parade. The family then moved to the Albion Hotel in Therry Street, Melbourne. The next venture was a restaurant at 148 Little Collins Street, where he supplied between 500 and 600 meals daily. At the time of his death, he was at Pasquan’s Hotel, 60 Bourke Street (4). After his death Fanny took over the licence of their Hotel. (5)

Fanny remarried on July 27, 1889 to Joseph Pasquan. Their marriage certificate lists his age as 30, occupation as a Tobacconist, birth place as Fiume and parents as Martin and Maria Pasquan. (6). Was he Martin's younger brother (there were 16 years age difference) or a cousin or even a nephew? 

Warragul, as it would have looked when Joseph and Fanny Pasquan arrived in 1909, to take over the license of  the Railway Hotel.  

The building on the right is the Orient Hotel; the Railway Hotel is the building in the centre with the two storied verandah and the white horse out the front.

State Library of Victoria Image H33674/13

Joseph and Fanny had one daughter Lorinda (also called Linda), born in 1891. They operated various hotels including the Terminus Hotel in King Street, the Morning Star Hotel in South Yarra, the Commercial Hotel at Wangaratta and in 1909 they took over the Railway Hotel at Warragul (7).  When Fanny Pasquan died on August 21, 1918, at the age of 64, they were at the Parade Hotel in Wellington Street, East Melbourne. Joseph died on August 11, 1935 (8).

Death notice of Fanny Pasquan

The Herald, August 21 1918 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/242737089

Lorinda was a talented singer, who studied singing in Rome under Madame Falchi and was an  exponent of all the graces and characteristics of the old world's artists. (9). There are  frequent newspaper reports of her concert appearances throughout Victoria - Warragul, Donald, Bacchus Marsh, Mornington, Williamstown, Drysdale  and at the Melbourne Town Hall where it was reported that -

Miss Linda Pasquan, who has often delighted Warragul audiences with her singing, was accorded quite a flattering reception at the Melbourne Town Hall recently, at a concert given by the Ragged Boys' Home. It is an honor to be included in a programme performed in the legislative hall of the city, and still more so to receive such a flattering reception and gain an unmistakable encore. (10)

Linda Pasquan's wedding to Thomas Tyrer

Standing: Mrs. Canny (matron of honor), Mr. W. Podmore (best man), Mrs. Tyrer (mother of bridegroom), Bridegroom, Bride, Mr. Pasquan (father of bride), Mr. B. Downing (groomsman), Mrs. L. Jeacle (matron of honor), Mrs. H. Verge. In front—Misses Nina Terdich and Raie Langley (bridesmaids).

Table Talk, December 4, 1919, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/146473070

On November 17, 1919 she married Thomas William Tyrer at St Francis' Catholic Church in Melbourne. Table Talk reported that - 

The bride, who was given away by her father, wore a handsome gown of ivory duchesse satin and georgette, trimmed with Limerick lace. The court train was prettily ornamented with shell pink ninon and orange blossom. An exquisite veil of Limerick lace was worn, with a coronet of silver leaves, and she carried a sheaf of water lilies. (11)

Linda Pasquan on her wedding day

Table Talk, December 4, 1919, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/146473070

The same month as her marriage, Lorinda  had applied for the licence of the Union Club Hotel in Geelong. After Geelong they had the Terminus Hotel in Tocumwal; then Lorinda held the licence of the  the Club Hotel in Murtoa,  Golf Club Hotel in Lower Plenty and the Pier Hotel in Port Melbourne (12).  From around 1936 to 1945 the Electoral Rolls show that Lorinda and Thomas lived at 78 Victoria Street in Richmond, and his occupation was listed as a watchmaker. Thomas died November 1, 1945 and Lorinda then lived with their two daughters - Yvonne Lillian and Lorinda Patricia -  at 148 Barkers Road, Hawthorn. (13)  Lorinda died on January 26, 1964. (14) Interestingly, young Lorinda, known as Lorrie, was a watchmaker. She was interviewed in The Argus in October 1947, when she was 23 and she said that she had began her apprentice ship with her father and after his death took over his Bridge Road business (15). 

Death notice of Lorinda Tyrer (nee Pasquan)

The Age January 28, 1964 newspapers.com

Back to Maximillian, born in 1879 and the only surviving child of the marriage of Fanny and Martin. In  December 1904,  he married Mary Maddern in Melbourne but it was a short lived marriage as in April 1908 Mary took him to Court suing for maintenance. In her evidence she said that on the day after the marriage he had left and gone to Western Australia where he was until February 1908 when he sent her a telegraph saying meet me at the Ascot Vale Railway Station, prepare for bad news. When they met he said I don’t like you anymore. I like somebody else better. The Court ordered him to pay her 10 shillings per week and they divorced in 1911. (16).  In 1918 when his mother died he was living in Ponsonby, New Zealand, with his wife Ruby May Elizabeth (nee Raymond) whom he married in 1915. He remained in New Zealand where he died in 1953, aged 74. (17).

Even  though Fanny Pasquan never lived in Garfield she deserves to be recognised as the first woman to own land in the town, as a business woman running family hotels and as a woman who overcame the tragic death of five of her children.

Trove list - I have created  a list of articles on Trove connected to the Pasquan family, access it here.

Footnotes

(1) The Argus, November 20, 1888, see here.

(2) Marriage Certificate

(3) Victorian Indexes to the Births, Deaths and Marriages; Family notices see my Trove list. 

(4) Station Hotel, Footscray - Williamstown Advertiser December 18, 1875, see here; Hotel de Roma - The Argus November 22, 1877, see here; Albion Hotel  - The Age September 26, 1878, see here; 148 Little Collins Street - December 19, 1883, see here;  Pasquans Hotel - The Age June 22, 1888, see here

(5) The Argus, November 27, 1888, see here.

(6) Marriage Certificate

(7) Terminus Hotel - The Argus, November 6, 1890, see here; Morning Star Hotel - Prahran Telegraph, April 7, 1900 see here;  Commercial Hotel - North Eastern Ensign, October 27, 1905, see here; Railway Hotel, West Gippsland Gazette, May 18 1909, see here.

(8) The Herald, October 21, 1918, see here; The Argus, August 12 1935, see here.

(9) Punch, July 1, 1909, see here; Geelong Advertiser, March 8, 1920, see here - this article lists her teacher as Madame Palchime of Rome.

(10) West Gippsland Gazette, July 18, 1911, see here.

(11) Table Talk, December 4, 1919, see here.

(12) Union Club Hotel - Geelong Advertiser, November 13 1919 see here; Terminus Hotel - Cobram Courier, January 29, 1925, see here; Club Hotel - Horsham Times April 24, 1925, see here; Golf Club Hotel - listed there in the 1931 Electoral Rolls; Pier Hotel - The Age, January 17, 1933, see here

(13) Electoral Rolls on Ancestry.com

(14) Death notice, The Age, January 28, 1964.

(15) The Argus, November 15, 1947, see here.

(16) The Herald, April 14, 1908, see here;  The Age, August 17, 1911, see here.

(17) New Zealand Birth Deaths and Marriages https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/; 

Address in 1918 - article in the New Zealand Herald, April 25, 1918 on Papers Past    https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers

Hail storms in the local area

Here are some reports of local hail storms in the area over the years. The rain is recorded in points - there is 100 points to the inch; an inch is 25.4 millimetres

From The South Bourke and Mornington Journal September 16, 1903  (see here) 

Iona - At mid-day on Sunday we experienced a severe hailstorm so heavy that the paddocks bore the appearance of being covered with snow.

From The Argus of November 4, 1903 (see here) 
Bunyip - There was a curious hailstorm on Sunday evening. It appeared to come from the north west and the pieces of ice were so large that windows were smashed in all directions. At Kraft’s Hotel [Top Pub] about twenty were broken and the same number at the State School. One of the pieces of ice weighed half a pound. 

The South Bourke and Mornington Journal of November 4, 1903 also reported on this storm (see here)

Iona - Hail stones weighing 8 ounces are not an every day experience or welcome visitors and the damage hail can do young growing crops in a few minutes the settlers of Iona now know to their sorrow. On Sunday afternoon, during the thunder storm which passed over the settlement the elements cannonaded the district with irregular chunks of ice - not proper hail-stones, many weighing as above stated with such force, a strong wind was blowing at the time, as to batter the roofs of the houses in a most incredible manner. All windows facing the north were immediately demolished, and in some cases the hail actually drilled a round hole through the windows without shattering the pane. The crops of onions and potatoes suffered severely. Mr. W. Carey’s best cow was struck by lightning during the storm. The township and school also suffered severely. Miss Bell who was caught in the storm on horseback fainted, but happily help was at hand and a fatal catastrophy [sic] averted. A travelling glazier would do a good trade in the town-ship.

The Argus of October 28, 1911 (see here) reported 

Mr J.A. Kirwan, store keeper at Iona was delivering when he was caught in a hailstorm and the horse, becoming restive, backed into the canal. The horse, vehicle and driver fell over the steep bank into the water. Mr Kirwan escaped with minor injuries.

From The Argus of December 20, 1911 (see here)  

Bunyip - A heavy fall of hail occurred this afternoon. The hail was as large as pigeon eggs and did a great deal of damage to the potato and onion fields and also caused considerable loss to orchardists. 

The Argus of February 19, 1913 (see here)   reported

The heavy hailstorm of Monday afternoon had a disastrous effect on the orchards at North Bunyip and Tonimbuk. Heavy yields were expected from the apple crops, but the hail, which was almost the size of hens eggs, almost cut some of the apples in two

From ‘Nature notes & queries’ column of The Argus of July 30, 1920 (see here) comes this letter from Mr Horatio Weatherhead of Tynong - 

In February 1887 there was a hailstorm at Daylesford, when jagged lumps of ice nearly a foot long and weighing up to 4lb fell. The damage to windows, roofs and crops was considerable but no-one was seriously injured. The hailstorm was referred to at the time as 'falling icebergs.'

(Horatio and his sons moved from Lyonville to Tynong North in 1909)

The Dandenong Journal of July 30, 1931 (see here) reported - 

The football match, Dalmore v. Clyde, which had been eagerly looked forward to was commenced on the new ground in Mr. Croskell’s paddock, on Saturday, but owing to a severe hailstorm was abandoned shortly after half-time. At half-time Dalmore were leading by three goals, which lead Clyde reduced to two points before the game was abandoned. Clyde had a very good chance of winning had the game been played out.

The Herald, of August 16, 1935 (see here) had this thrilling account of a cycle race. The headline was Girl Cyclist sets record through fierce hailstorm -

When Mrs Valda Unthank, the Brunswick cyclist, clipped 17mins. 15sec. off the women's road cycling record over 83 miles from the Prahran Town Hall to Wonthaggi yesterday, she battled through one of the worst storms experienced for many years in South Gippsland. Today, Mrs Unthank's badly swollen left ankle is a legacy of her fight to keep from being blown off the bicycle. "I have never experienced such weather," she said. "I averaged 20 miles an hour until I reached Pakenham, but then I had to contend with a fierce southerly gale, big hailstones and rain. I was blown right off my bicycle many times, and finally had to get off and walk for some distance."

Mrs Unthank's record card checked and signed by the Mayor of Wonthaggi (Cr. S. Fincher, J.P.) is:- Departed Prahran Town Hall, 6.31 a.m. Arrived Dandenong 7.19, Hallam, 7.30, Narrewarren 7.36, Berwick 7.44, Beaconsfield 7.50, Officer 7.56, Pakenham 8.9, Koo-wee-rup 8.50, Lang Lang, 9.20½, Bass Shire 10.30, Bass 11.19, Anderson 11.40, Kilcunda 12.2 p.m„ Wonthaggi 12.34, 45 sec. Time for distance, 6hr. 3min. 45sec. On Tuesday, Mrs Unthank will visit Bairnsdale, where she will establish a

time for women cyclists from Sale to Bairnsdale, a distance of 43 miles.

The Argus of February 24, 1945 (see here) reported -

Hailstones that were found to measure 2 inches in diameter fell during a freak electrical storm that broke over Garfield late yesterday afternoon. In 45 minutes 310 points of rain were recorded. Vegetable crops were swamped, fruit crops ruined by the hail, and some shops in the main street flooded with 2ft of water. The disturbance covered an area of about five miles. The railway line was flooded near Tynong, and the afternoon train from Melbourne was delayed two hours.  

The Weekly Times of February 28, 1945 (see here) had this dramatic report of the same storm - 

Heavy rain in Gippsland - Groceries were washed from shelves into the street from a store at Tynong, Gippsland, when nearly three inches of rain fell in half an hour during an electrical storm on Monday. The rain was so heavy it penetrated the roof of the store. Lightning struck a chimney on a house at Garfield, eight miles away, and sheared it off level with the roof. Bricks crashed on the roof of the building. Others were thrown to the ground several yards away. Heavy hail fell at both towns.

The postmaster at Tynong (Mr A. Besant) had to shovel hail off the roof. At Garfield hail stones as large as marbles smashed windows. Several houses were damaged by water. It was the second severe electrical storm in the district within a week.

On the subject of hail storms, there was a big storm on the evening of Thursday,  January 17, 1963 - two days before day before my aunty was married, so Mum remembers the date clearly. These photographs were taken at Grandmas in Murray Road, Cora Lynn on Friday, January 18th! Almost like snow!

The Age of  January 18, 1963 reported that this hail storm wiped out between  80-90% of the fruit harvest in the  Doncaster orchard district ...  worst hit by the hail storm were the orchardists of the Doncaster, Templestowe, Vermont and Narre Warren orchard areas, who lost their whole year's work and income within minutes....The orchards carpeted with ripped off leaves, butts, bits of fruit and twigs look as if they were blitzed. The Pakenham Gazette of January 25, 1963 noted that the hail belt stretched right through from Narre Warren to Nar Nar Goon North...the three who had suffered most in this area were Mr Albert Warner of Nar Nar Goon North; Mr R Perkins, Nar Nar Goon  North and Mr W. Mann, Pakenham Upper. In each case practically the whole of their crops had been wiped out.

100 years ago this week - Bunyip Court

One hundred years ago, this week in January 1914,  the Bunyip Court had to deal with this case of  bicycle theft. A seventeen year old, William Ayres, was found guilty of stealing a bike from Michael Dineen, of Cora Lynn. He was sentenced to three months in gaol, an extraordinary sentence compared to what he would have got today and, of course, today his name would not be published as he is under 18. 

Theft at Cora Lynn

Bunyip Free Press January 8, 1914   http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article129628102

The Bunyip Court Bench, consisting of Messrs. Chas. Pearson and A. J. Botterill, J's P., was occupied for some time in hearing a case of bicycle theft preferred against a young man named William Ayers. The evidence of Constable Boxhall, of Campbellfield, was to the effect that from information received he arrested Ayers at Craigieburn on a charge of stealing a bicycle, valued at £6, the property of Michael Dineen, of Cora Lynn. Michael Dineen swore that Ayers had worked for him and after leaving returned and took away the bicycle which was witness's property. The machine had new tyres on it now, but the old tyres (produced) he could identify as well as the frame. Accused pleaded guilty, asked to be dealt with at once, and admitted a prior conviction for a similar theft in Gippsland last year. In answer to questions from the Clerk of Courts Ayers said he was a native of Bullarto, near Daylesford, and was 17 years of age. Accused was then sentenced to 3 months' imprisonment and the Bench ordered that the bike be returned to the owner.

This article made me wonder when the Bunyip Court first started - I found this article, below, in the South Bourke and Mornington Journal.  The first court session took place on March 15, 1905 in Kraft’s Hall which was a privately owned hall operated by William Kraft, of the Gippsland Hotel. Kraft's Hall was located where the public hall is now.

First  session at Bunyip

South Bourke and Mornington Journal March 22, 1905  

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/66142961

As reported in my last, a court of petty sessions was held in Kraft's Hall on Wednesday, March 15. Naturally, being the first, some little speechifying was looked forward to, which however did not come off. Mr. Cresswell, P. M., and Messrs. Ramage and a'Beckett. J's.P., occupied the bench. Only two cases were listed. Myrtle Morris was charged by Constable J. Ryan with having no visible means of support, and was remanded to Prahran for further bearing.

John Mannix, aged twelve, was charged with endangering the property of R.McAllister by setting fire to some scrub whereby a quantity of grass and fencing was destroyed. After hearing the evidence the Bench stated its unwillingness to record a sentence, and on the father entering into a recognaissance for the boy's future good behaviour, the case was dismissed.

Once again, this article shows how the legal system has changed (for better or worse depending on your view point) a 12 year old would never have his name mentioned in relation to a legal trial today.

I have written in more detail here about the Bunyip Court here

100 years ago this week - St Thomas' Horticultural Show

A three day horticultural show was held at St Thomas' Church of England in Bunyip, 100 years ago this week in December 1913. It raised fifty five pounds which went  towards building the Parsonage. The church was opened on December 28, 1902 and the Parsonage opened in June 1915.

Bunyip Horticultural Show

The Argus December 22 1913 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article7260099

HORTICULTURAL SHOWS - BUNYIP

The three-days' show in the Bunyip Hall, held last week in aid of St. Thomas's Church of England, was such a pronounced success that the promoters intend to make it an annual fixture. The exhibition of  flowers, fruit, vegetables, &c was excellent. Mr. W.S. Keast, M. L. A., opened the show. In cut flowers, Mrs B.L. A'Beckett was the chief prize-winner, taking eight firsts, including that for champion carnation, and also for collection of flowers. H.C. Nelson took six firsts, and other prize winners were the Rev. A.L. Kent, Mr W. G. Kraft and Masters A. Burns and Cecil Corrigan. Mrs A'Beckett was also chief prizetaker for roses, but J.A. Holgate carried off the award for champion bloom. H.C. Nelson also won a number of prizes. Miss Allen won for best arranged basket of flowers, three ladies' sprays and three gent's buttonholes; whilst Miss P. Holland was first for collection of wild flowers. In the cookery section, a prize given for best plain cake made by a married man was won by Mr. W. Walker. Captain A'Beckett being second. Mr A. Boyle won the prize for bachelor's cake, the Rev. A. Banks being second. The show resulted in a clear profit of about £55 towards the new parsonage.

Amongst the prize winners was Horace Nelson, listed in the Electoral Roll as a farmer from Bunyip; William Kraft, who with his wife Sarah, ran the Gippsland Hotel in Bunyip. Their son, William, later became the manager of the Drouin butter factory.  Miss Allen who won a number of prizes doesn't have a first name or initial listed, so I don't know who she was; Miss P. Holland won the prize for wild flowers, but she wasn't in the Electoral Roll in 1914. In the cookery section, Mr William Walker won the best plain cake made by a married man. He is listed in the Electoral Roll as a hairdresser of Bunyip. Captain Arthur A'Beckett, came second in this category - he was the husband of the prize winning Beatrice. Mr A. Boyle won the prize for the batchelor's cake. There is a Frederick and Elizabeth Boyle listed in the Electoral Rolls (Frederick is listed as carpenter) so perhaps they are the parents of Mr A. Boyle and the lad, Master A. Boyle who won prizes. 

Home Deliveries to Cora Lynn in the 1940s and 1950s.

The Rouse family have had the newspaper delivered to Cora Lynn and Vervale since the end of World War Two. Dad remembers that Mrs Simcocks, from the Garfield Newsagency, used to deliver papers and the mail in her Chev (or it may have been a Dodge, it was a big American car). In the late 1950s, Mrs Simcocks got a VW Beetle and used that for deliveries.  We also got the mail delivered by Mrs Simcocks - apparently she took it from the Garfield Post Office to the General Stores at Vervale and Cora Lynn, where it was sorted and then delivered it with the papers.

If you lived less than two miles from the Post Office / General Store at Cora Lynn or Vervale, you didn’t get a mail delivery you had to pick it up from the Post Office.  Mrs Simcocks would also bring out small parcels such as items from the Chemist or even meat from the butchers if you rang early enough. The Rouse family on Murray Road always had the Sun News Pictorial delivered and this continued when Dad and Mum got married in 1956 and moved onto the farm on Main Drain Road. Sadly, our newspaper deliveries stopped at the end of June, 2017.

This is Grandma and Grandpa (Joe and Eva Rouse) and Delacy* the dog, taken around 1950. Joe's reading the paper, delivered that day from Garfield. I think Grandma has her apron in her hand. It's taken in front of the toilet, obviously a sunny spot!.

After Mum and Dad were married in 1956, they also had the bread delivered from the Garfield Bakery. Clarrie Lindsay delivered it on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Mum always ordered a Vienna loaf and this was delivered, unwrapped, and put into the letter box, which sometimes meant that if Mum and Dad had been out during the day it was a bit crusty when they took it out of the letter box a few hours later. In the 1950s, some of the owners of the bakery were the Umlaufts and the Lowndes.

The butcher, Mr Cumming, from Bunyip also delivered meat to Grandmas. Dad says that the butcher came out in his van and would do the butchering on the spot - the carcase had already been skinned etc, but he would just cut off chops etc to order. It sounds like a bit of a health and safety nightmare, but obviously people were made of sterner stuff in 1940s and 1950s!

This photograph shows some of the shops in Main Street in Garfield. 

It is possibly an Anzac day service as they appear to be laying a wreath, 1960s.

Mum always went to the butcher in Garfield; she went to Jimmy Fawkners, who was up near the Opp shop. She also went to Ernie Robert’s grocery shop (where the cafe is) which was a general store and also had hardware, crockery and groceries. Philip and Vera Wharington also had a grocery store in Garfield and they also stocked haberdashery.  However, around 1968 Robinsons in Pakenham opened up an experimental self service store and Mum began to shop there. Robinsons had operated a grocery store in Pakenham from the 1950s and later had the SSW store until Safeways took it over (around 1980)

Grandma, and most of the surrounding area, also had groceries and other goods, such as fed for the chickens, delivered from Dillon’s store at Cora Lynn. Mum remembers that Grandma would have sugar delivered in 70lb bags and flour in 25lb bags.  In the 1950s, Les North, the delivery man, would come around on a Wednesday and take the order, which would be delivered the next day. The Cora Lynn store had opened in 1907 and the Dillon family took over in 1927 and operated it for decades.

* the dog was named after Grace De Lacy Evans, of Vervalac, Iona. She married Percy Pratt on June 24, 1919. Mr Pratt is on the Iona Honour Board, you can read about him and the other soldiers with an Iona connection, here.

Agnes Mickle - Pioneer woman

Alexander and Agnes Mickle (nee Johnston) arrived in Victoria in October 1857 on the ship, Blackwall. Agnes was 28 and Alexander was 27. They had tried to come to Australia the year before but their boat, the Mull of Kintyre, was shipwrecked just after it had left Scotland. They both came from Berwickshire, on the Scottish border.  Alexander was the third of the Mickle brothers to arrive in Melbourne, with John having arrived in 1838 and Thomas in 1841. John Mickle, who along with his partners, William Lyall and John Bakewell, had amassed a large amount of land which they divided up in 1856. John Mickle’s share included parts of the Yallock Run, which he renamed Monomeith and Alexander and Agnes came out to manage this property.

Alexander and Agnes took a bullock dray from Melbourne to Tooradin, then went by boat to the mouth of the Yallock Creek. They lived in the original homestead until 1860 when a new house was built. In November 1861, Alexander died suddenly from appendicitis and peritonitis and Agnes was at Monomeith, eight months pregnant and with her two children David, aged 3 and Isabella Margaret, nearly 2. The only other person on the property was “the lad” John Payne, who had to ride into Cranbourne for the Police to make arrangements for the burial. Their third child, John Alexander, was born four weeks later on Boxing Day, 1861. [Much of the information in these first two paragraphs comes from Dr Niel Gunson's book The Good Country: Cranbourne Shire (Cheshire, 1968).]

Agnes Mickle

Their son, David, was the grandfather of the local historian Dave Mickle. He has written various books and was instrumental in establishing the Koo-Wee-Rup Swamp Historical Society. Dave Mickle has written about Agnes, but no where does he write about what must have been the sheer horror (or so it seems to me) of the situation that Agnes was in - alone on the farm at the Monomeith; no close neighbours; about 30 kilometres from the nearest town which was Cranbourne, which at the time was a small town with a population of 115; and two little children and a baby on the way.

The management of the Monomeith property was taken over by Andrew Hudson, who was a cousin of the Mickles. Andrew planted wheat and operated a dairy farm. Agnes married Andrew on May 17, 1865 and had two more children, Agnes Lilly, who was born in 1866 and in 1868, when Agnes was 40, she gave birth to James Johnston.  Andrew and Agnes and family moved from the Monomeith property to Protectors Flats near Lang Lang, where along with the dairy farm, they also grew tobacco. In 1879, they moved to the Warook property on the Yallock Creek and built a house (not the existing Warook house) and a dairy. They leased this, on a ten year lease, from William Lyall. Towards the end of this lease they started building The Grange, in Koo-Wee-Rup. Sadly, before they moved, Andrew Hudson died suddenly at the age of 55 on August 3, 1888. Agnes, a widow once more, moved into The Grange a few months later on October 1.

After Andrew died it seems that her sons, John Mickle and James Hudson, took over the farm and they operated Koo-Wee-Rup Dairies, where they purchased milk from local farmers and made cheese, then later (after 1899) James worked on his own and milked  cows and produced cheese.

Agnes also faced the death of her two daughters, who both died within a year. Isabella Margaret had married Richard Scott of Poowong in 1886 and had six children. She died in February 1902. Her other daughter, Agnes Lilly, had a more tragic life. She married George Hook in 1899 and their first child, Isaac, died in 1905, aged 5. Their second child, George was born on February 2, 1903 and sadly Agnes Lilly passed away six days later on February 8. Dave Mickle, in Mickle Memories of Koo Wee Rup writes that little George, was adopted by his uncle, John Mickle and his wife Laura (John Mickle being the child Agnes gave birth to, four weeks after Alexander died)

Agnes Hudson died on December 10, 1913 aged 86. Her obituary (which is transcribed below) in the Lang Lang Guardian of December 17, 1913 describes her as having had a long, useful and honourable life …the deceased lady who was loved and respected by those who had the privilege of knowing her, possessed the sterling attributes of the great Scottish race whose early pioneering enterprises left such as impress on the early land settlement in the colonies…. her mind was bright and active to the close.. and her health was remarkably good.  This is a tribute to a remarkable pioneer woman, Agnes Hudson, who survived a ship wreck, the birth of five children, the death of two husbands and that of her two daughters.

Obituary - Death of Mrs Hudson

From the Lang Lang Guardian December 17, 1913.

On the 10th inst., there passed away one of the oldest, if not actually the oldest, resident in the district, Mrs Hudson, who, after a long, useful and honorable life, has gone to join “the choir invisible.” The connection of the deceased lady with this State, embraces a period of time antecedent to the history of the ordinary pioneer. Born in Berwickshire, Scotland, Mrs Hudson, then Mrs Mickle, came out to Victoria with her husband, and shortly afterward arrived at Tooradin in a bullock dray. Leaving Tooradin, they passed up the mouth of the Yallock Creek in a boat, but were unfortunate in being stranded on a mud bank. 

She lived on the Yallock Estate for a time and in 1858 settled at Monomeith, where she lived for a number of years on the property upon Mr H, Glasscock now resides. Here her husband died, and some years after she married Mr Hudson. Mrs and Mrs Hudson lived for a time at Lang Lang, on the property lately occupied by Mr Jos. Doyle on the Lang Lang River. After that they took a long lease of the property known as “Worrock”, now owned by Mr C. Greaves. Afterwards they purchased a part of the Yallock estate, known as the “Home run,” and here the late Mr Hudson died, just about the time of the expiration of the lease. 

The deceased lady then came to Koo Wee Rup, some 24 years ago, where she resided to the time of her death. By her first marriage she had three children, Messrs John and David Mickle, who are well known residents of the district, and the late Mrs Scott. By her second marriage she had two children: the late Mrs Hook and Mr Jas. Hudson, now occupying and carrying on the property. The deceased lady, who was loved and respected by those who had the privilege of knowing her, possessed the sterling attributes of the great Scottish race whose early pioneering enterprises left such an impress on early land settlement in the colonies. Though she lived to the ripe age of 86 years, she did not outlive her sympathies with the affairs of the world around her. Her memory was wonderfully retentive, and her mind bright and active to the close. She was a devoted member of the Presbyterian Church, which she attended until deafness prevented her following the services and her health was remarkably good.

The funeral took place at the Cranbourne Cemetery on Friday, and was attended by a large number of mourners.