Squatting Runs bordering the Koo-Wee-Rup Swamp

The original European settlers in this area were the Squatters and there were a number of Squatting Runs which bordered the Swamp. Below is a list of the Main Runs and the lease holders. The map on the other side shows the location of most of the Runs. They are listed here in order of location, west to east around the Swamp.

This map is taken from The Good Country: Cranbourne Shire by Niel Gunson, 

published by the Shire of Cranbourne in 1968.

Balla Balla. On Rutherford’s Creek. 5 miles south of Cranbourne.  3,480 acres. 1839 Robert Inness Allan; March 1848 Charles Haslewood; March 1850 Henry Foley; August 1852 Henry Jennings; July 1854 James Smith Adams; May 1872 Alexander McLean Hunter. The Balla Balla Homestead was built by Alexander McLean Hunter.

Kilmore. also called Rutherford’s Station. On Rutherford Inlet. 4,480 acres.  August 1842 Thomas Rutherford and Blackmore; April 1847 Richard Corbett. February 1868. Lease cancelled. 

Manton’s, also called Toorodan or Big Plains.  Adjoining Tooradin township. 16,000 acres. 1840 Charles & Fred Manton; 1846 John Atkins and Robert Nalder Clarke; April 1850 John Pike; August 1852 Mickle, Bakewell and Lyall; February 1859 John Bakewell; October 1873 William Cameron. March 1877 lease cancelled. Mickle, Bakewell & Lyall played a pivotal role in the settlement of this area and I will do a feature on them in a future newsletter.

St Germains. On the Cardinia Creek. 5,760 acres. February 1845 James Buchanan; January 1848 Alexander Patterson; March 1860 Vaughan & Wild; December 1862 John Myers; September 1869 Alexander Patterson. August 1873 Lease cancelled. 
Alexander Patterson (1813-1896) was an original member of the Cranbourne Road Board when it was established on June 19, 1860 and an original member of the Shire of Cranbourne when it was established February 24, 1868. He built the current St Germain’s Homestead in 1893. 

Gin Gin Bean. 7,000 acres. 1840-43 J.F.Turnbull & H. Reoch; August 1844 J.B. Quarry; April 1846 James Lecky; March 1858 James Murray; July 1871 Ralph Blunt. James Lecky had purchased the 640 acre pre-emptive right of Gin Gin Bean in 1855 and built his homestead, Cardinia Park, on the Cardinia Creek, three miles south of Officer. James Lecky was also an original member of the Cranbourne Road Board and the Cranbourne Shire Council. The Lecky’s owned the property until the 1930s. 

I.Y.U. On the Toomuc Creek. 12,945 acres. October 1839 William Kerr Jamieson; October 1850 William Waddell; June 1866 George John Watson; December 1872 Lease cancelled. George Watson (1828-1906) established the Melbourne Hunt Club, which moved to Cranbourne in 1925.

Toomah. Also on the Toomuc Creek. 13,500 acres. 1840 John W. Howey & Robert Patterson; January 1853 James Bathe; March 1860 Robert James Gilmour & William Gilmour; February 1864 James Bathe. June 1867 Lease cancelled. Bathe had purchased the pre-emptive right part of Toomah in 1854 and named it Pakenham Park. It was then sold to the Henty family in 1856 and they held the land until 1929. Pakenham Park is where the Cardinia Shire Offices are now located.

Mt Ararat 2. Six miles east of Pakenham. 16,000 acres. August 1844 John Watson and Edward Byham Wight; 1845 John Watson, Edward Byham Wight and Richard Philpott; September 1848 Frederick Wight; April 1853 S.H. Clutterbuck; April 1870 John Startup. February 1874 Lease cancelled. John Startup was an original member of the Berwick Road Board which was established September 29, 1862. 

Mt Ararat Creek. On Mt Ararat Creek. 5,120 acres. September 1846 William Walsh; September 1849 William Walsh and Hugh O’Brien; September 1851 William Walsh and Daniel O’Brien. September 1871 Daniel O’Brien. August 1873 Lease cancelled.

Coonabul Creek.  8,960 acres. 1845 Michael Reedy & James Hook.
Coonabul Creek 2. On the Bunyip River. 1845 Terrence O’Connor and Hayes.  Both Coonabul (or Cannibal) creek Runs were north of the Swamp. Terence O’Connor also leased the Cardinia Creek Run, where the town of Berwick is.

Tobin Yallock or Torbinurruck. On the Lang Lang River. 1,920 acres. July1839 Robert Jamieson; 1845 Henry Moor and Septimus Martin; June 1851 Mickle, Bakewell and Lyall; Jan 1864 James Jellie; April 1870 Arthur & James Facey; November 1877 George Poole.

The information for this article comes from
• The Good Country: Cranbourne Shire by Niel Gunson, published by the Shire of Cranbourne in 1968.
• Pastoral pioneers of Port Phillip by R.V. Billis & A.S. Kenyon. Published by Stockland Press, 1974
• In the wake of the Pack Tracks. Published by the Berwick Pakenham  Historical Society, 1982.

1934 flood at Koo Wee Rup - photos from The Herald

These photos appeared in The Herald on December 3, 1934 (see the page on Trove here). They were given to the Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society by Robert Dusting. You can read all about the 1934 flood, here.

St John the Baptist Catholic Church in Station Street

Rossiter Road and Station Street intersection. The building, top right, is the Wattle Theatre.

Station Street

The Great Flood of December 1934

December 1, 1934 was the day when the largest flood ever to hit Koo Wee Rup and surrounding districts  occurred. There had been above average rainfall in the October and November and more heavy rain fell across the State on December 1st. This rainfall caused a flood of over 100,000 megalitres or 40,000 cusecs across the Swamp and this was only an estimate because all the gauges were washed away. The entire Swamp was inundated; water was over six feet deep in parts of the Koo Wee Rup township, and this flooding was exacerbated by the fact that the railway embankment held the water in the town. 

At Cora Lynn, 3½ feet of water went through my grandparent’s house (Joe and Eva Rouse) in Murray Road. The family, including the four children aged 11, 5, 3 and nearly 1 (my Dad, Frank), spent three days in the roof of the house. This flood also affected other parts of the State. The Argus reported that there was four feet of water over parts of the Princes Highway between Dandenong and Berwick. The Yarra River caused flooding along its banks from the City to Heidelberg to Warburton; the Moe Swamp around Trafalgar flooded; the old Carrum Swamp around Chelsea was flooded as were low lying parts of Melbourne such as Kensington.  

Over a thousand people were left homeless as a result and around 15 people, including six locally, were sadly drowned throughout the State. The Argus of December 3, 1924 (see here) reported -
Two men, both thought to be farmers, were drowned near Bunyip. They were Councillor John Dowd, formerly president of the Berwick Shire, and a man whose name was Jolly. George Wilson, of Iona who was drowned near Garfield. The body of a man named Williams was recovered at Garfield yesterday morning by Constable Jordan. The body of John Samwell, aged about 55 years, sustenance worker, was seen by Mr John Hickey being carried by the flood waters toward the main drain in the Koo-wee-rup Swamp. Mr Hickey, who is aged 70 years, was rescued after he had clung to a tree for 28 hours. Gordon Nash, aged 14 years, of Tonimbuk, was drowned in Diamond Creek

Another man was reported missing - Mr. Patrick Brennan a resident of the town [Garfield] has been missing since Friday night, and as his horse and jinker have been found fears are felt for his safety. His body was found a few days later.

Weatherhead Brothers timber yard at Tynong in 1934 flood.

Photographer: Alf Weatherhead

See more flood photos here and here.

The town of Koo Wee Rup was especially hard hit. The women and children were evacuated by train, mostly to Dandenong. Relief trains arrived on Monday, December 3rd which contained food, clothes and equipment. The homeless men were housed in tents, which had also arrived on the relief train, and were paid to help clean up. At the eastern end of the Swamp, the hundreds of homeless people took refuge at Garfield in the Mechanics' Institute and the hotel.

The flood didn’t just have human toll, many animals were also killed. The Minister in Charge of Sustenance, Dr. Shields, visited the area and reported that –
"More than 2,000 carcases including cows sheep pigs goats and poultry have already been disposed of," he continued. "The carcases have been thrown into the main canal and floated down to Westernport. There are still about 1,000 dead animals in the district but some of these will have to be buried. The party was told that the carcases would be devoured readily by sharks which were plentiful in the northern end of Westernport. One resident said that they were so numerous that fishermen were afraid to put out in small craft. Countless hundreds of chickens and fowls have been destroyed by the floods. Only the dogs seem to have escaped. These are ravenously hungry and fight for scraps of food when it is thrown to them. (The Argus, December 6, 1934, see here)

As well as the loss of livestock, 12,000 acres of potatoes were destroyed around Koo Wee Rup and Trafalgar as were many acres of other crops such as onions. The School at Koo Wee Rup closed until the New Year and the Hospital, which had seven feet of water through it, re-opened on Christmas Eve (read more about the Hospital and the flood, here)

If it wasn’t bad enough losing everything and being stuck on your roof, The Argus, noted another danger - Saturday night was a night of terror for the persons marooned on the housetops. The waters were infested with hundreds of swimming snakes, which tried to reach the roofs. The stranded persons had to fight them off with sticks as well as try to keep themselves above the level of the flood. 

(The Argus,  December 3, 1924, see here) 

Rossiter Road.  Koo Wee Rup. The house, Mallow, was built, c. 1916,  by John Colvin for his daughter Margaret on her marriage to Les O'Riordan. 

It is now the home of the Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society. 

Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society photo

Here are two eye-witness accounts of the flood.
This account is from More Mickle memories of Koo Wee Rup by David Mickle. 

The average flood in the Koo Wee Rup township had been up to two feet. The State Savings Bank Building Department specified that floor levels in this locality must be 30 inches above the ground. We had the highest single level house in town and consequently on December 1, 1934 about 8.00am we invited Wally Bethune, his wife and two children to come from their ground level home opposite to our “unsinkable three footer”. Mr Graham and child came to help us but very soon we were sinking too. I waded to a wood shed for a ladder to put through the man-hole in the bathroom ceiling and very soon the Bethunes, Grahams and Mickles - total eleven - were on blankets in the ceiling. The flood would have been four  feet deep outside then and rising fast. The depth was five feet six inches when apparently it managed to cross the railway embankment and stopped rising. This embankment had caused the flood to back up with disastrous results. Here we stayed like many others on and in roofs until boats arrived. From these vantage points we watched cows, sheep , pigs and poultry intermixed with oil drums and trees go by... That afternoon Pomp Colvin came with his boat and took Mr Graham and girl to their house. Nine of us were taken to the Railway Crossing at 10.30am the next day, Sunday, by boat. On the Monday, men only, were allowed back into the town to organise the cleaning up.

This account is from Patsy Adam Smith from her book Hear the train blow.  Her mother was Station Mistress and Post Mistress at Monomeith railway station at this time and her father was a fettler.

At home we were perfectly safe because of the house being off the ground up on the platform. On the second day Mum heard on the radio that homeless people were being brought into the Railway station at Koo Wee Rup. She walked in to help. Where she walked on the five-foot the swirling waters lapped over her shoes, the ballast had been swept away and the sleepers were held up only because they were fastened to the rails. The whole line in parts was swinging…..Dad and other fettlers brought in scores of people who had been cut off on high ground or in the ceilings of their homes. The water had run over the land so suddenly that most people were taken unawares. The Bush Nursing Hospital was caught this way. The fettlers cut through the roof of that building to take out the patients…… Mum, helping patients out of the boat when it reached Koo Wee Rup station found Dad’s coat around an old lady who had only a thin nightdress beneath it

David Roberts in From Swampland to Farmland: a history of the Koo Wee Rup Flood Protection District pays tribute to the early pioneers on the Swamp and it is a fitting tribute to our parents and grandparents.

It is interesting to note that the three large floods of 1924, 1934 and 1937, all within a thirteen year time span contributed to the development of a “breed” of people –people who had faced floods and continued to work their land in the belief that they could be beaten and that the good years would outweigh the bad. A certain resilience and tight knit community spirit had grown amongst the people, some of whom were children or grandchildren of the original drain diggers, and like their predecessors they weren’t going to be beaten by the Koo Wee Rup Swamp.

References:
More Mickle Memories of Koo Wee Rup by David Mickle (The Author, 1987)
Hear the train blow by Patsy Adam-Smith (Nelson,  1981)
From Swampland to Farmland: a history of the Koo Wee Rup Flood Protection District by David Roberts. (Rural Water Commission, 1985)

Newspaper articles - see my Trove list, here.

100 years ago this week - An embrocation

Local farmers may find this embrocation of use, if you could actually still purchase the ingredients.

Farmers Advocate October 14, 1918

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article223662270

In October, Mr M.D. Dalley of Koo Wee Rup, wrote the following letter to the Farmers’ Advocate newspaper - Among the papers of my late father the following recipe was found; it has been used by him on many occasions, and found an excellent embrocation (lotion). For the benefit of farmers I give it: - 1 oz. Laudanum, 1 oz. Tincture of Myrrh; 1 oz. Tincture of Aloes; ½ oz. Sulphate of Zinc; 1 oz. Carbolic Acid. Mix with 5 oz. salad oil.

For the young readers of this article, the word oz is the abbreviation for an ounce which is about 28 grams. These ingredients were obviously freely available at the time; I am not sure how you would access them all now. Laudanum is opium mixed with alcohol and, not surprisingly, no longer available at the local shops; Myrrh is a type of tree resin and was one of the gifts given by the Three Wise Men at the birth of Jesus. I didn't actually realise that it was used anywhere outside the Bible; Aloes is made from the leaves of the aloe plant; Sulphate of Zinc is the dietary supplement; Carbolic Acid or phenol is used as an antibiotic or disinfectant and is considered to be a poison. Salad oil sounds like the least dangerous and easiest to obtain ingredient out of this list. As a matter of interest, Mr Dalley’s full name was Moorabool Darriwell Dalley, quite an unusual set of given names. He was born at Batesford, which is on the Moorabool River, and Darriwell is the name of a land administration Parish, just north of Batesford. Darriwell was also the name of the 1879 Melbourne Cup winner.

Bunyip Cemetery

The Bunyip Cemetery site was officially reserved on November 22, 1886 and on December 6, 1886 the first Trustees were appointed - William Harry Webb, Lawrence Finch, James Mortimer, Joseph Archer, Christian Hansen, Peter Gillespie and John Reynolds.  The first official burials, as listed in the Cemetery Register, did not take place until eight years after the Cemetery was officially gazetted with the first one in March 1894. Of the first 20 burials in the register, 19 were children. This was a result of the high infant mortality rate at the time before vaccinations and antibiotics came into widespread use. Here is a sample of this depressing and sad list: William Barnes aged 6 - cause of death Diphtheria; Ethel Wayneith, 9 months - Marasmus (severe undernourishment); John Peart, 2 months - Marasmus; David Fallon 9 weeks - Maramus; Ann Benham 10 months - Pneumonia; Lily Norton 10 weeks - Whooping cough; William Heuson 4 months - Whooping cough; Denis McIvor 20 days - Meningitis; Mary Anne Mulligan 3 years - Diphtheria.

Land was set aside for the Cemetery November 22, 1886

http://gazette.slv.vic.gov.au/images/1886/V/general/126.pdf

However, the Cemetery was obviously in use before it was officially gazetted and a register established as there is a report in the Weekly Times of August 21, 1886 of the death of 22 year old Henry Manley, whose body had been found in a waterhole near his house at Cannibal Creek (Garfield). It was surmised that he had fainted, as he had been having treatment for heart disease, and fallen into the waterhole when he was collecting water in a billy. The report goes in to say that he was buried in the ‘new Bunyip Cemetery’ (1).

The first Trustees of the Bunyip Cemetery appointed December 6, 1886.

http://gazette.slv.vic.gov.au/images/1886/V/general/132.pdf

Apart from the six Trustees listed above the following were amongst the men that acted for various lengths of time as Trustees in the first 20 years - William Pitt, Arthur Gadsby, Enoch Holgate, Michael O’Brien, William Masters, Patrick Heffernan, John Ryan, Daniel Topp, William George Kraft, James Pincott, John Hade, Charles Pearson and Henry Rodger. As far as I know there has not been a woman who has been a Trustee but there have been a number of women who have undertaken the role of Honorary Secretary, including Mrs Sarah Kraft who had the role for 25 years. In June 1914 she was presented with ‘an artistic illuminated address, nicely framed’ to mark the appreciation of her work as Secretary (2).

We will now have a look at some of the early burials that were reported in the local papers.  Amongst the saddest burials is that of Alfred Ernest Duncan, who drowned in the Main Drain on June 14, 1901 trying to rescue his sister, nine year old Janet (also referred to as Jane).  He was 10 years and 9 months old. They were the children of John and Mary Margaret (nee Grant) Duncan who also had another daughter, Annie. From reports in various papers we can piece together what happened. The children attended the Iona State School (then called Bunyip South) and they were going to school and instead of using the school bridge (3) they used a plank further along the river. Janet fell into the drain and her brother said Janet, turn on your back and I will save you. Albert immediately plunged in, caught the girl, held her head above water for some moments but both sank and were separated (4). Her body was never found. The Inquest of Alfred has been digitised and is available on the Public Records Office of Victoria, website, here.  It is very sad reading.

Report of the drowning and the public meeting held to raise money for a memorial

The Argus June 22, 1901 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/10557352

The funeral service was held on Tuesday, June 18. 1901. The children attending the State school marched in front of the hearse to the Bunyip cemetery. The Age reported: The service at the grave was a very touching and impressive one, the clergyman dwelling on the noble action by which young Duncan lost his life (5).  The Bunyip community raised money for a memorial to be placed on his grave and this was unveiled in December 1901 (6).  The grave, which is in the Presbyterian section, is, sadly, a bit neglected. It has the motto - ‘Greater love has no man than this; that a man lay down his life for his friends’

Alfred Duncan's grave

Image: Heather Arnold

Many of the early pioneers are buried at Bunyip - Bartholomew Fitzgerald settled on 20 acres in 1892 on the Main Drain at Bunyip South. Bartholomew, his wife Annie, and their 13 children worked the family farm. Bartholomew died in March 1906. Annie, who died in 1948, is also buried at Bunyip. Joseph Archer, aged 77, died in  August 1908. He had lived at Garfield for 31 years and is source of the name Archer Road.  Honora (or Hanorah) Fallon died in September 1908, she was wife of Michael and mother of ten children. They had settled at Iona in 1901. Michael, who died in March 1915 is also at Bunyip. The family is the source of the name Fallon Road (7). 

If you read reports of deaths in old newspapers, then you would know that many deaths were caused by workplace accidents. In June 1915, 40 year old Joseph Henderson, who drove a wagon for the Drouin Butter Factory, was struck by a train at the Garfield Railway Station, whilst transferring milk cans from one platform to the other. He was ‘badly mangled, one of his legs being severed from the body’ according to a graphic report in the Bunyip Free Press (8). Joseph was buried at Bunyip.

One of the more publicised deaths at the time was that of 40 year old Miss Clara Snell who died June 13, 1914. Clara had been born at Bunyip and died at Nar Nar Goon. Clara and her sister Anna and brother Thomas were part of the ‘Gippsland Giants’ who toured the world. The trio were of abnormal size and weight as the South Bourke & Mornington Journal  reported, with Clara being 39 stone and over six feet tall. When they finished touring Clara and Anna operated the Robin Hood Hotel at Drouin.  Clara, her parents, Sophia and William, and other relatives are all buried at Bunyip (9).

If you visit the Bunyip Cemetery then you would know that is very attractive and well maintained. It seems that this has always been the case as the Bunyip Free Press from November 11, 1915 had this to say about the cemetery the Bunyip cemetery looks just "it" now that the plants and bulbs are in full bloom (10).

Footnotes

(1) Weekly Times, August 21 1886, see here.

(2) South Bourke & Mornington Journal, June 18, 1914, see here.

(3) South Bourke & Mornington Journal, December 18, 1901, see here.

(4) Both quotes from The Argus June 22, 1901, see here.  

(5) The Age June 19, 1901, see here.

(6) Read a report of the unveiling - South Bourke & Mornington Journal, December 18, 1901, see here.

(7) Some of the information in this paragraph comes from Call of the Bunyip: History of Bunyip, Iona and Tonimbuk 1847-1990 by Denise Nest (Bunyip History Committee, 1990)

(8) Bunyip Free Press, July 1 1915, see here.

(9) Clara Snell's obituary - South Bourke & Mornington Journal, June 18, 1914, see here.

(10) Bunyip Free Press, November 11, 1915, see here.

The 1910s - a spiritual decade for Iona

 The 1910s was a very spiritual decade for the small township of Iona (or Bunyip South as it was originally called) as two churches were built in the town - in 1900 the Catholic Church and in 1908 the Presbyterian Church.

Catholic services had taken place in the area since the permanent settlers had arrived from 1892. These services were held in private houses, Kavanagh’s Iona store and the Pioneer Hall which had opened in 1895.

On December 16, 1900 the Catholic Church was opened by the Very Reverend M. J. Maher, C.M, and Fr Maher was assisted in the function by the pastor of the Dandenong mission, in which the new church is situated (Rev. J. Gleeson) according to The Advocate of December 22, 1900. The report went on to say the building is of wood and is considered very good value for the sum of £250, the contract price. The preacher concluded with an appeal on behalf of the debt on the new structure, and a generous response was made, the sum £48 being received.

Damian Smith, in his book 100 years of a faith community: St Joseph’s Iona 1905 -2005 writes that the church was built by Charles Pearson of Bunyip and it was 40 feet by 25 feet and could accommodate 350 people. The church was dedicated to St Joseph.

Catholic Church, Hall and Presbytery at Iona.

 Image from 100 years of a faith community: St Joseph’s Iona 1905 -2005 by Damian Smith (The Author, 2005)

The next major building project for the Catholic community was the erection of the Presbytery (the house where the Priests live). It was built at a cost of £725 sometime between June and December of 1905, for the newly appointed Parish Priest, Father James Byrne. Two other significant events happened in 1905 - the Parish of Iona was formed; the area was previously part of the Catholic Parish of Dandenong. The other event that happened was that Bunyip South officially changed its name to Iona in July of 1905, even though, according to articles in the local papers, the area had clearly been known as Iona from around 1901 and the Iona Riding of the Shire of Berwick had already been named.

The Columba Hall, was officially opened on October 28, 1906. The event was celebrated by a concert and a ball, both of which were well attended. This Hall was destroyed by fire on December 26, 1927. A new brick hall (the existing hall), was opened October 21, 1928. The last building in the ‘Catholic precinct’ at Iona was the Convent, built to accommodate the Sisters of St Joseph. This was officially opened April 11, 1915. The existing St Joseph’s Church was opened April 14, 1940.

The Presbyterian Church at Iona, St Johns, was opened in February 1908. Here is a report from the Bunyip and Garfield Express of February 18, 1908.

The Scotch folk are again to the front and are to be congratulated for their enterprise in building a new kirk at Iona which reflects great credit on all who have had anything to do with the building of it and is decidedly an acquisition to the district. The opening services were conducted by the Rev J. Downey, M.A, B.B., of Warragul who preached suitable sermons for the occasion to large and appreciative congregations. At the evening service, solos were sung by Miss Bruce and Mr Thompson of the Longwarry Presbyterian choir which were highly appreciated, especially Mr Thompsons rendering of ‘Dream of Paradise’. Special hymns were sang by the choir under the able leadership of Miss Adamson, choir conductress. The collections for the day amounted to [just over] 5 pounds, which was considered by the Committee to be highly satisfactory. It was suggested that those connected with the kirk should get to work and have some trees planted. Some friends have offered to supply trees free of charge and as the kirk is in a very exposed position…[illegible].. beautify the kirk and ground. In future, services will be conducted every sabbath morning at 11.00am by Mr L. Watson, the home missionary, instead of fortnightly. The best thanks of the Committee are due to Mr McIntosh who always looks after the welfare of visiting ministers while in the district.

Not sure when the Church closed - we believe around 1980.

St John's Presbyterian Church at Iona, c. 1908.

Image from Call of the Bunyip: history of Bunyip, Iona & Tonimbuk 1847-1990 by Denise Nest (Bunyip History Committee, 1990)

What else was happening in Iona at this time? The Advocate newspaper had a Children’s column called ‘Letters to Aunt Patsy’. On September 18, 1906 Ellen May Elizabeth Fitzpatrick wrote the following letter with a description of Iona -

Dear Aunt Patsy - This is my second letter to you. I hope my oar is not rusty. I am going to tell you about Iona. There are three stores, one Catholic church and presbytery; a new Hibernian Hall is getting built, one school (there's a new school nearly finished), one mechanics' institute, a new bank, a cream depot, and a post-office. We live four miles from Garfield, and six miles from Bunyip. Dear Aunt Patsy, have you ever been to Iona? The flowers are all out nice now. The paddocks are also nice and green. The Rev. Fr. Byrne is our parish priest. He passes our place to say Mass in Koo-wee-rup. The birds are building their nests now. We found a parrot's nest with two little birds in. We left them till they get bigger. I shall bring my letter to a close, hoping you are all well.  I remain, your loving niece, Ellen May Elizabeth Fitzpatrick. (The Advocate, October 6, 1906, see here)

As you can see, Iona was a much larger town than it is today. And, in case you are wondering, Aunt Patsy had not been to Iona.

Sources - 

• 100 years of a faith community: St Joseph’s Iona 1905 -2005 by Damian Smith (The Author, 2005)
• On the edge of the swamp: a history of the Iona Primary School No. 3201 1894-1994 by Denise M. Nest ( Iona Primary School Back-To-Committee, 1994)

Divorces in the 'olden days'

 The Divorce Court proceedings were reported in much detail in the newspapers in the past, and this was because one party had to prove the other party was at fault - reasons such as adultery, desertion or cruelty -  so the hearings made interesting stories and there seemed to be no privacy considerations taken into account. In fact, one report had the heading -  A divorce case of interest to residents of Yannathan and Heath Hill. Also worth noting is that sometimes the Judge refused to grant  the divorce, thus the unhappy couple had to remain married.

 
Women were in a vulnerable position years ago as there was not the Government support we have today - Child endowment was introduced in 1941, the Widows pension (which did not cover single mothers or divorced mothers) in 1943 and the supporting mothers pension in 1973. So, unless the woman could get maintenance or find a job (not an easy thing when there was no child care) or get support from her parents, many women had no choice but to stay with a philandering or violent husband. It wasn’t until 1975 that no fault divorce came in and one partner just had to show the marriage had an irreconcilable breakdown. Here are some interesting local divorces reported in the papers years ago.

November 1904 - HUNT V. HUNT

Edward Hunt, of Yannathan, sought a divorce from Mabel Jessie Hunt on the ground of misconduct. The parties were married on November 6, 1896, and there were three children. Evidence was given that the respondent was living an abandoned life. A decree nisi was granted. Mr. Hotchin (instructed by Mr. S. Marriott Watson) appeared for the petitioner. Misconduct is a euphemism for sexual relations and I presume an abandoned life is a euphemism for an alcoholic or a woman who was indulging in misconduct. 

(The Argus,  November 24, 1904, see here)

Hunt vs Hunt

The Argus November 24, 1904, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article10351973

February 1909 - LYONS V. LYONS 

Joseph Lyons (45) petitioned for a divorce from Mary Teresa Lyons (44) on account of alleged misconduct on her part with Maurice L. Bloustein and Richard Butler, who were joined in the suit as co-respondents. The facts disclosed were that petitioner resides at Monument Creek, and is a school teacher. Bloustein was a watch maker. The marriage took place on 11th January, 1888, at St. Patrick's Cathedral, Ballarat, and there had been no children. For a time petitioner was an hotelkeeper, having been licensee of the Iona Hotel, Garfield. It was there that co-respondent and respondent met, and, as alleged, were guilty of misconduct on 2nd May, 1908. Mr. L. S. Woolf, instructed by Messrs. Courtney and Dunn, appeared for petitioner. His Honor granted a decree nisi, with costs against both co-respondents.     

(The Age, February 24, 1909, see here)

August 1909 - MARTIN V. MARTIN

William Martin, aged 66, a farmer at Garfield, applied for a divorce from Annie Jane Martin, aged 57, on the ground of desertion, dating from December, 1904. Dr. T. P. M'lnenney appeared for the petitioner. Petitioner stated he was married at the registrar's office, Collingwood, on 15th January, 1895, and one child, now 11 years old, was born of the marriage. Respondent was a widow, with two children, when petitioner married her. While he went into residence on his farm at Garfield respondent was living at North Melbourne. A difference arose between them over the children of the former marriage, and respondent suddenly left her husband, taking with her the child of the marriage and her two other children. William Maloney, medical practitioner, stated that he knew both of the parties intimately. The respondent informed him that she would leave her husband, and he tried to dissuade her from doing so, informing her that the petitioner, a man of some property, had made a will providing for her and her child. She, however, refused to take his advice. He did not know the whereabouts of respondent. Petitioner was still willing to provide for his daughter. A decree nisi was granted.   

(The Age, August 6, 1909, see here)

May 1912, ROHL V. ROHL 

Mary Elizabeth Rohl, 26, of Iona, Gippsland petitioned for a divorce from Oscar Rohl, 30, miner, on the ground of desertion. Mr. L. Woolf (instructed by Messrs. Snowball and Kaufman) appeared for petitioner. The parties were married on 15th October, 1904, and there was one child. Evidence was given that they lived together for about two weeks, after which respondent went to Queensland. He sent his wife £4 or £5 per month until November, 1905, when he wrote that he was coming back to Melbourne. Petitioner, however, had not seen him since. A decree nisi was granted.  

(The Age, May 14, 1912, see here)

November 1912 GLENISTER V. GLENISTER 

Frederick William Glenister, 55, of Bunyip, contractor, petitioned for divorce from Margaret Glenister, 51, on the ground of desertion. Marriage took place on April 28, 1886, and there were four children. It was stated that the respondent threatened to leave home in 1900, and after September, 1905, she declined to live with him. Since 1909 they had been separated. Petitioner took proceedings for divorce in 1910, but owing to lack of money had to abandon them. Mr. Larkin (Reynolds and Larkin) appeared for the petitioner. A decree nisi was granted.    

(The Argus, November 20, 1912, see here)

September 1914 - MCKAY V. MCKAY 

A divorce case of interest to the residents of Yannathan and Heath Hill came before Justice a'Beckett in the Melbourne Divorce Court last Monday, when Margaret McKay, of Yannathan, sought a dissolution of her marriage with Charles W. A. McKay, aged 46 years, laborer, on the ground of desertion. Mr. Ham appeared for the petitioner. The petitioner, whose age was given as 43 years, stated that the marriage took place on 8th January, 1908, and there was one child. Later on in the same year respondent left his home, merely saying he had to go away. She knew of no reason for his leaving, and had not seen him since. A decree nisi was granted.   

(Bunyip Free Press, September 3, 1914, see here)

A divorce of interest

Bunyip Free Press  September 3, 1914 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article129629496

February 1917 - BIRD V. BIRD

George Bird, 62 years, of Garfield, sought divorce from Grace Bird, 62 years, on the ground of desertion. The case for petitioner was that the parties were married on 21st October, 1896, and there were two children. In January, 1909, respondent left Garfield, where they had lived for about eight years, taking the daughter with her. He had seen her twice since, and she stated that she would not return because she found life in the country "too slow." A decree nisi was granted, and the amount of alimony was fixed at the rate of 15/ a week. 

(The Age, February 10, 1917, see here)

July 1919 -  The Argus newspaper headed their report - Soldiers' Divorce Suits. Another crop of cases in which soldiers sought divorce from wives who had been unfaithful during their absence on active service was heard before Mr Justice Hood in the Supreme Court yesterday.

ROBB V. ROBB

Alexander Thomas Robb, 32, farm labourer, living at Colac, sought the dissolution of his marriage with Susan Robb, 32, on the grounds of misconduct with Charles Beasley, of Koo-wee-rup, who was joined as co-respondent. The parties were married in July 1904, and there are five children. In October, 1916, petitioner left for the war, leaving his wife £3 a week. He was away for two years and three months and on his return he found his wife in bed at Loch, in Gippsland, with a newly-born child, of which she admitted Beasley was the father. Mr. Justice Hood said that the co-respondent had not been properly identified by the witnesses. The case could be adjourned, to obtain further evidence, or another course could be adopted. Petitioner stated that he was willing to leave Beasley out of the suit rather than than it be adjourned. Mr. Justice Hood thereupon granted a decree nisi. Mr R.F. Hayes (instructed by Messrs. Glover and Ormond, agent for C.W. St. J. Clarke, of Colac) appeared in support of the petition.  

(The Argus, July 17, 1919, see here)

April 1920 - NICHOLS V. NICHOLS

Mr Justice Cussen to-day concluded the hearing of a petition by Violet Victoria Nichols, 35, of Point Nepean road, Elsterwick, for a dissolution of her marriage with William Nichols, 38, asphalter, on the grounds of misconduct. Of the marriage, which took place in 1908, there are two children. Petitioner said that in July, 1917, respondent bought a farm at Garfield, where it was arranged she should live until he joined her after selling his asphalting business. He visited her once a month, and when she spoke to him about delay in selling the business he said certain debts had first to be settled. She remained on the farm until June, 1919, when she received a letter signed “A Charwoman, Brighton," stating that misconduct had occurred between respondent and a young woman named Doris Edwards, who had given birth to a child. A brother of the girl told her that respondent had for 12 months, under the name of “Bill Johnson" paid attentions to his sister, intending to marry her, and take her to a farm at Bunyip. He had taken the girl away on the understanding that he would get her a situation, but subsequently lived with her. Respondent subsequently admitted to petitioner that he had been “carrying on" for 12 months before he sent her to Garfield. For the sake of the children, she forgave him, but one night he came home late, and when she accused him of having been with the woman again. He rushed at her, and almost choked her. A decree nisi was granted, and petitioner was given custody of the children, and allowed 25/ a week for the maintenance, on condition that she did not claim alimony for herself. 

(Ballarat Star, April 22, 1920 see here)

March 1921 - TAYLOR V. TAYLOR

Alleging desertion, Richard Thomas Taylor, of Perth street, Prahran, in the employ of the Railways Department as a carriage builder, asked for a dissolution of his marriage with Annie Isabel Taylor. It was alleged that Mrs. Taylor had sold the house in which the parties had lived, kept the proceeds, and went to live with her daughter at Yannathan. In reply to the Chief Justice, Mrs. Taylor said that the house had been bought in her name, and that it was her husband's wish that he should leave him. The petition was dismissed. Thus, in spite of the fact that Richard wanted a divorce and Annie was happy to leave him, the Judge dismissed his petition for a divorce. 

(Prahran Telegraph, March 12, 1921, see here)

February 1922 - HULSE V. HULSE

Before Mr. Justice Macfarlan yesterday, Mary Hulse, aged 42 years, was granted a dissolution of her marriage with Arthur Ernest Hulse, 45 years of age, farmer, of Bunyip, on the grounds of desertion and repeated acts of misconduct with Wilhelmina Ford, of Bunyip. The petitioner was allowed 15/ a week alimony and costs.   

(The Argus, September 17, 1922, see here)

September 1923 -  ROGERS V. ROGERS

William Henry Rogers, aged 53 years, of Nar-nar-goon, formerly a constable of police, but now a farmer, petitioned for a dissolution of his marriage with Alice Ann Maud Rogers, aged 47 years, of Canterbury road, Toorak, on the grounds of desertion. Mrs. Rogers defended the suit, and claimed that she had had just cause for leaving her husband owing to his cruelty. Mr. Justice Macfarlan found that desertion had been proved, and granted a decree nisi. Rogers was ordered to pay his wife's costs. Mr. Hudson appeared for Rogers, and Mr. L. S. Woolf for Mrs. Rogers. 

(The Argus, September 10, 1923, see here)

April 1925 - CLANEY V. CLANEY

Margaret Winifred Claney, 31 years, of Tennyson-street, Sandringham, nurse, sought divorce from William John Claney, 50 years, of Iona, farmer, on the ground of desertion. Petitioner stated that while

she and her husband were living on a farm she one evening found him in the dairy with the girl who was employed on the farm. The girl had her arms round respondent's neck. The girl left the farm, and some time later respondent sold the farm. She heard afterwards he had met the girl, and that respondent had since admitted the girl was with him. She obtained a maintenance order against respondent. A decree nisi was granted, with costs, and an order was made for permanent alimony at 25/ a week.

(The Age, April 9, 1925, see here)

December 1925 - TAPLIN V. TAPLIN

Albert Edward Taplin, 48 years, of Catani, farmer, sought divorce from Sarah Annie Taplin, 52 years, of Yarragon, on the ground of desertion. Petitioner said the marriage took place in Wales, England, in July, 1907. He came to Australia in 1911, and went to the war in 1915. He came back in the following year, and in 1919 went to live at Catani. While there respondent went on a visit to a farm which he had given her at Yarragon, and she refused to return to him. Respondent filed an answer to the petition and gave evidence denying desertion. She said she was forced to leave her husband on account of his cruelty. Her husband had visited her on several occasions and cohabitation had taken place. He had also sent her gifts of various kinds and money. His Honor said he was not satisfied petitioner had proved desertion for the required period, and the petition was dismissed with costs. 

(The Age, December 16, 1925, see here)

February 1930 - GRIFFITHS V. GRIFFITH

Charles William Griffiths, 33 years, of Raglan-street South Melbourne, motor driver, sought divorce from Doris Clarice Griffiths, 27 years, of Tynong, on the ground of misconduct. Hilary Charles Phillips, of Page-street, Middle Park, taxi driver, was joined as co-respondent. The parties were married on 27th May, 1922, at Melbourne. A decree nisi was granted with costs against co-respondent.

(The Age, February 8, 1930, see here)

September 1934 - YOUNG V. YOUNG

On the ground of desertion, Caroline Young, 43 years, Luscombe-street, East Malvern, petitioned for divorce from Herbert Young, 44 years, Cora Lynn, near Garfield. The marriage took place on 16th January, 1912, at Brunswick, and there are four children. A decree nisi was granted. (The Age, September 4, 1934, see here)

July 1950 - GLOVER V. GLOVER

Archie Lee Glover, farmer, of Koo-wee-rup, was awarded £450 damages against William Mortensen, farmer labourer, also of Koo-wee-rup, the co-respondent in Glover's divorce suit. Glover sued for a divorce from his wife, Joyce Lillian Glover on the ground of her adultery with Mortensen. He also sought £1,000 damages from Mortensen and asked for custody of the three children of the marriage. The suit was undefended. Mr. Justice Coppel granted Glover a decree nisi and ordered that Mortensen pay £450 damages into Court within 14 days. He reserved his decision on the question of custody of the three children. Mr. W. Fazio (instructed by John P. Rhoden) appeared for Archie Lee Glover. 

(The Age, July 22, 1950 see here)