What happened in Koo Wee Rup in 1913

This is a look at what happened in Koo Wee Rup in 1913. In retrospect, 1913 was the last normal year for many years for Australians as 1914 was the start of the Great War. After that, for the next four years, communities like Koo Wee Rup devoted most of their time and energy to fundraising and activities to support the war effort. The community also had to deal with their young men going away to fight and then the sadness when they were killed or injured. So here’s a look at 1913 - a year of optimism and community spirit.

In March, the Presbyterian Church was lined with Wunderlich metal plates, a very modern choice of building material. St Georges Anglican Church held their first ‘Fruit and Flower’ Show on April 28 at the Hall. The event was enthusiastically supported by the public and the range of exhibits was of good quality. The exhibits encompassed 271 categories of fruit and vegetables. The evening finished with a concert and over £20 was raised for the Church funds. (Lang Guardian March 12 1913 and April 30 1913)

Lang Lang Guardian March 12, 1913

On May 3, the local football started with five teams - Koo Wee Rup, Yannathan, Lang Lang, Yallock and Tooradin. (Lang Lang Guardian May 7, 1913)

Also in May, a skeleton was found in a gravel pit just outside the town. It was believed to be that of an Aboriginal. The police were called and the skeleton was sent to the Coroner’s Office. There was no report to what happened to the skeleton after that. (Lang Lang Guardian May 21, 1913)

The Argus of June 16 reports that the long promised dredge has arrived at the Lang Lang River. This was the Lubecker Steam bucket Dredge, imported by Carlo Catani, Chief Engineer of the Public Works Department, from Germany at the total cost of £4,716. After it worked on the Lang Lang River it was moved to the Swamp and worked on the Main Drain, Cardinia Creek and the Yallock outfall drain. All that remains of this grand machine is a set of wheels on display at the Swamp lookout tower, on the South Gippsland Highway.  It was fortunate that the dredge arrived when it did, because once war was declared in August 1914, it would have been impossible to import German machinery.

Also in June, skating was held at the Hall to raise money to line the walls and to install an ‘up to date’ acetylene light plant. The report is below.

Lang Lang Guardian June 25 1913

In September, £900 worth of improvements was carried out at the Koo Wee Rup Railway station including improving the level crossing and the railway yards. (Lang Lang Guardian September 17, 1913)

In October, Archbishop Mannix carried out confirmations at the Catholic Churches at Koo Wee Rup and Lang Lang. (The Advocate, November 1 1913) The same month, a local Cricket Association was formed which consisted of teams from Koo Wee Rup, Modella, Lang Lang, Tooradin, Yallock and Yannathan. The first match was played November 1, 1913.  (Lang Lang Guardian  October 29, 1913)

There were reports in various papers of floods in November -  the Main Drain overflowed at the bridges, 2,000 aces of potatoes were inundated and  the school ground at Five Mile School was under water amongst other damage. Carlo Catani visited the area and was reported as saying that the reports of damage had been greatly exaggerated. (Read more about this, here) So as we have seen over recent years there was a gap between the reality of the floods and the rhetoric of the government (or Melbourne Water) – so no change there.

On December 10, Swamp pioneer, Agnes Hudson passed away, aged 86. Agnes was born in Scotland and came to Victoria with her first husband, Alexander Mickle. They settled at the Yallock Station. In 1861, Alexander died and she was left a widow with two young children and was eight months pregnant with their third child.  She later married Andrew Hudson and had two more children. After Andrew died in 1888 she moved into The Grange, in Koo Wee Rup. This house, off Sybella Avenue, still remains. (Mrs Hudson's obituary is in the Lang Lang Guardian December 17, 1913)

Finally, my favourite report for 1913 is this one - a cheese maker from Koo Wee Rup wrote to the Commonwealth Offices in London seeking their help to find a wife. His ‘golden girl’ had to be a ‘tall, fair lump of a Protestant’. A not very romantic description and sadly, I don’t know whether he turned out to be lucky in love.  It was in the Adelaide Mail, from October 18 1913

Adelaide Mail October 18, 1913

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article59639808

What happened in Koo Wee Rup in 1912

This is a look at what happened in Koo-Wee-Rup and surrounds, one hundred years ago, in 1912. These references are taken from various papers on-line at http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper

In January, Mrs McKenzie, who had been Head Teacher at the Koo Wee Rup State School for the previous 22 years was entertained in the Hall, prior to her departure to Moolart, where she had been transferred. Over 100 people attended the function and were entertained with performances by her previous students amongst other amusements. Mrs McKenzie was presented with a book of Shakespeare’s poems and a purse of sovereigns (South Bourke & Mornington Journal, January 25 1912)

The South Bourke and Mornington Journal reported that on Saturday, February 17 the Pakenham Magistrates Court was crowded with onlookers to hear the case between two Koo-Wee-Rup residents, William Himbeck and Matthew Killeen. Himbeck had accused Killeen of assault and using bad language. Several witnesses were called from both sides and the evidence given was very contradictory. The paper reports that some witnesses heard very bad language indeed, whilst others heard only the pure Australian accents undiluted with profanity. The Bench found Killeen guilty and fined him £1 for the assault with 28 shillings in costs and five shillings for the bad language with 20 shillings in costs. So all up that was £3 and 13 shillings; a fair bit of money at the time as the average wage for a factory worker was about £3 per week and for a man employed under the Rural Workers Award the weekly wage was £2 10 shillings.

The South Bourke & Mornington Journal of July 4, reported that a concert was held in the Koo Wee Rup Hall with 300 in attendance to raise funds to build a shelter shed at the School. £16 was raised and a dance was held after the concert. The shelter shed was built by John Colvin and completed in October.

On July 5, which was Arbor Day, nearly all the residents of the district turned up at the State School with their horses, carts and spades and planted 50 trees at the School and they laid out the teachers garden and the school garden, planted hedges and erected fences. The ladies of the district provided lunch and afternoon tea. The report goes on to say that a new school building is badly needed as the existing one is too small to accommodate the sixty children.  A new Koo Wee Rup State School building was erected in 1915 and burnt down in May 1950.  The original building had been erected in 1884 between Koo-Wee-Rup and Bayles and relocated into Rossiter Road in 1910 relocated again in 1919 to become the Dalmore East School (No.3925) later known as Island Road School. Island Road School closed in 1974 and the building was relocated back to Koo-Wee-Rup, and became part of the Primary School. (The Arbor Day event was reported in the South Bourke and Mornington Journal on July 11, 1912)

On July 16, the School was closed by order of the Health Officer, Dr Harkness, as three children were suffering from diphtheria. Diphtheria could be fatal and in 1912 257 Victorians died of the disease. (Report from the South Bourke and Mornington Journal of July 25, 1912.)

In September, the Railway promised to erect a small sheep and cattle yard at the Station. Locals had complained that the nearest livestock loading yards were at Monomeith, five miles by road. (The Age, September 4, 1912)

The Age September 4, 1912

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article196253130

In October, Yannthan defeated Koo-Wee-Rup in the Lang Lang District Premiership League final – Yannathan scored 4 goals and 11 behinds and Koo-Wee-Rup 3 goals and 9 behinds. (The Argus, October 2 1912)

A report in the South Bourke and Mornington Journal on October 10, said that the London Bank purchased the land on which their premises stood. Whatever their original premised were, they were obviously demolished as the existing building (the A.N.Z Bank) was built in 1919.

On November 26, The Argus reported that the passenger platform at the Koo-Wee-Rup Railway Station was lengthened to accommodate the new longer trains and in December a new train was added to the timetable - a Goods train with a passenger carriage attached.  This would leave Koo-Wee-Rup at 6.50am daily and meet up with the Warragul train at Dandenong from where it would leave at 8.57am, eventually arriving in Melbourne at 10.04am. In comparison to today, three hours to get into town isn’t too bad. In 1912 you would have had time for morning tea at the Dandenong Railway Station Refreshment Rooms, which had been built at a cost of £750 in 1908 and there would have been a clean, functioning toilet at the Station - so compared to getting stuck on the Monash Freeway for hours, it sounds like a great alternative. (The report on the extra train comes from the South Bourke & Mornington Journal of December 5, 1912)

What happened in Koo Wee Rup in 1911

This is a look at what happened in Koo-Wee-Rup and surrounding areas one hundred years ago, in 1911. These references are taken from various papers on-line at http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper

On January 9, The Argus reported that The maize crops on the Koo-wee-rup Swamp have been completely destroyed by a plague of caterpillars. The cabbages and potatoes arc now being attacked.  More more bad news for the local farmers was reported in The Argus on February 7 - Potato diggers on Koo-wee-rup Swamp have ceased work, owing to Irish blight being discovered in the district, and many of the men have taken their departure for other potato districts. Strict measures have been taken by the Government to prevent the disease from spreading, and also to prevent potatoes affected form being marketed. This was not the end to the disastrous season the local farmers were having because The Argus reported on March 23 that the potato blight was also attacking carrot crops. To top if off the Weekly Times of March 25 reported that due to prevalence of pleuro-pneumonia among cattle, the sale yards at Koo-wee-rup and Lang Lang have been closed. It wasn't until May that the sale yards were re-opened after the outbreak had been checked.

Continuing on with the ordinary year, on June 12, The Argus reported that Main Drain (or Koo Wee Rup canal as it was called) had overflowed at Cora Lynn and flooded the surrounding area. There was also one foot of water in the newly built Mechanics' Institute (Public Hall). As we can see from the later report, below, this postponed the official opening of the Hall. This report said there was three feet of water through the Hall. The Hall was officially opened in August - the event was presided over by Shire President, Cr W. Carney and official guests were W.S Keast, M.L.A, after whom the hall was named and Mrs Keast. This was reported on in The Argus of August 9, 1911.

The Argus June 14, 1911

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article10909711

In other matters not connected to farming or floods, The Argus of February 10, 1911 reported on a Victorian first for the town of Cora Lynn - The parents of children at the Cora Lynn State School, in Gippsland, have secured the distinction of appointing the first school committee in Victoria under the new Education Act passed last year which provides for the constitution of such committees in place of the old boards of advice. Well done, Cora Lynn! You can read the full article, here.

On October 7, The Argus reported on a a proposed extension of the railway line from Nar Nar Goon to Cora Lynn and on through the Gippsland Country - that never happened! There was later report on October 17 (read it here) that said the proposed line was to go from Cora Lynn to Modella and then onto Mirboo.

The Argus October 7, 1911

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11622072

We will end on a sad note, on October 26, The Argus reported on the sad news that the body of a newly-born male child in an outhouse there. Constable Watt had taken the body to the Morgue, and a post-mortem examination had shown that suffocation was the cause of death. I can't find a follow-up report so we don't know who this unfortunate little child was.

What happened in Koo Wee Rup in 1910

The first article I wrote for the Garfield Spectator in 2010, was a look back at what happened in the town 100 years previously (read it, here) I thought that was such a good idea, I started doing the same for Koo Wee Rup for The Blackfish, so this is the first Koo Wee Rup article on that theme. 

This is a look at what happened in Koo Wee Rup and surrounds in 1910.  Most of these references are taken from The Argus, on-line at  http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper. 

In March, at a sale of Crown land at Koo Wee Rup -  two 20 acre allotments sold for two pounds, ten shillings per acre. Four other five acre blocks sold for five pounds per acre. There was a report in July about the State revaluing land held by settlers from the Crown There are in all some 800 settlers on the swamp. The board which had charge of the matter investigated the cases some time ago. Its method has been to take the length of time a man has been working a property and the amount he has expended on it, and to consider both these important points in arriving at the value of the land. The price was originally fixed when land had a fictitious value. It is on record that a Koo-wee-rup block at the time of the "boom" brought something like £40 per acre, while others realised £20 and £30. Some time after that the State thought £10 an acre was a fair price for some of the best land, and this price was fixed, while other blocks were appraised as being worth £9, £8, £7, £6, and a few as low as £2 per acre.
By the time the settlers had to  clear the land, maintain drains and farm the block many were facing financial hardship so they were granted relief by having the land re-valued and some had their payments suspended. (The Argus, March 2, 1910 and July 23, 1910. I have quoted from the July article, you can read the full article, here.)

Victorian Government Gazette June 8 1910

The township of Cora Lynn was proclaimed on May 31 and the Cora Lynn Cheese Factory opened in December of 1910.

The Argus February 18, 1910

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article10835571 

The Koo Wee Rup State School was moved into the township, to Rossiter Road, from Bethune’s Road.  A tender for the removal of the school was advertised in February 1910 and the school opened in Rossiter Road in the September.

Locally, the town of Wonthaggi was proclaimed on September 14. The town and the associated coal mine was good news for the Koo Wee Rup Swamp - The opening up of the Powlett coalfield has provided a new and profitable market for produce grown on the swamp. Tons of potatoes, onions and chaff are being despatched to Powlett from the Koo-wee-rup station at frequent intervals. (The Argus May 30, 1910)

In November, the Yannathan Butter Factory was turning out six tons of butter per week, up from 3½ tons at the same time the year before. (The Argus November 12, 1910)

Headline in The Argus February 12, 1910

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/10834034

Finally, we will end on a sad note. In February, a body was found in a bag in the water at Tooradin. The victim had been seen before in the township of Tooradin and he was camped near where his body was found. When the bag was pulled from the water, a hand was protruding from a hole in the bag. This led to speculation as to whether it was murder or suicide, as the victim could well have tied the bag himself. An inquest, two days later, returned the verdict of suicide. The body was not identified, however it was said that he was of  'the swagman class'. (The Argus, February 12. The Coroner's inquest is reported in The Argus of February 14 - it is quite interesting about how the  body was found, how the man was living before his death, but sadly no evidence as to the identity of the man. Read the article, here)

What happened in Garfield in 1919

This is a look back 100 years at what happened in Garfield and surrounds in 1919. 1919 is, of course, the year after the Great War ended on November 11, 1918 and the community was enjoying peace after four years of war. Most of these reports come from the various newspapers available on Trove.  http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/

In January, there was an interesting story in The Herald - Anxiety caused by the disappearance on November 30 from Trinity Grammar School, Kew, of Merson lnglis, one of the scholars, 14 years of age, has been removed by the return of the boy to his home at Monegetta South, Romsey. A friend of his father discovered him working in a field at Garfield, where the boy was digging potatoes. A previous report in a paper said his father had offered a reward of 25 pounds for information about his son. Hard to believe that these days a 14 year could go missing and get work on a farm, but in those days you didn’t need a tax file number or any ID. (The Herald, January 10 1919)

The Herald January 10, 1919

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article242667207

In February, the Bunyip and Garfield Express reported on some fishing trips - Last week a party of seven from Tynong proceeded to Tooradin for a fishing excursion, and had one of the most successful for the season. They landed 95 schnapper, weighing from 2 to 7 pounds in weight. On Tuesday a party from Bunyip also obtained a good haul, their catch being 150 whiting about 50 schnapper. (Bunyip & Garfield Express, February 7, 1919)

The South Bourke and Mornington Journal reported on February 27  - During last week, 150 tons of potatoes were trucked at Tynong railway station. It is estimated that the potato crop from that district will yield something like 5000 tons.

On March 13, the South Bourke & Mornington Journal reported that a weigh bridge had been erected at the Garfield Railway Station. The same report said that the Cora Lynn Cheese Factory in the past fortnight had treated 7,516 gallons of milk and the Iona factory 5,366 gallons. A gallon is the equivalent of 4.5 litres. 

Also, in March the Iona St Patricks Day annual carnival was held at the Garfield racecourse to raise funds for St Joseph’s Catholic School at Iona. There was a full race meeting under the supervision of a VRC steward, the Iona Brass Band rendered acceptable selections during the afternoon which enlivened the proceeding considerably, the Ladies Committee provided tasty eatables. The day finished off with a ball at the Columbia Hall at Iona. (South Bourke & Mornington Journal March 20, 1919)

On May 28, The Age reported that Country Roads Board has attended to the unmade portion of the main Gippsland road [Princes Highway] between Garfield and Bunyip, but in its present state it is not fit for motor traffic.

In June, many papers reported on a train accident at Tynong - this report is from The Argus of June 6 - A railway accident with peculiar features occurred at Tynong at about 5 o clock on Tuesday morning. A goods train from Melbourne was shunting at the station, and was partly on the main line, when another goods train from Warragul collided with it. The impact was sufficient to break the buffers and cow catcher of the Warragul train and to damage the cow catcher of the other engine, which with four trucks attached continued as far as the next station, Nar Nar Goon, where it was stopped by the assistant stationmaster (Mr Burge) The points near the east end of the yard were damaged, as were also some sleepers, while the cattle pits at the western crossing were badly knocked about, presumably by the damaged cow catcher of the runaway engine. When it became evident that the collision could not be averted the crews jumped from the two engines to escape injury.

Even though the War had ended soldiers were still returning home throughout the year and the towns were still holding ‘Welcome home’ functions. The Bunyip and Garfield Express on October 10, reported of an evening held at the Tynong Hall where, amongst other celebrations -  Gold medals, suitably inscribed, were then presented by the chairman to the following returned soldiers - Lieuts White and Wright and Ptes A. Martin, F. Snow, G. Rowley, E. Coombes, J. M’Walter, A. Weatherhead, P. Haines, J. Robinson and R. Thompson.

This report was in the Bunyip and Garfield Express on November 7 - During play hour this week, the [Garfield] school children stumbled across a large snake in the paddock adjoining the school ground. The reptile was quickly dispatched and was soon roasting over a big fire.  A week later, the same paper also reported on the Armistice anniversary at Garfield - The ceremony in connection with the Armistice anniversary was observed here. All work was suspended at 11am for a period of 2 minutes. At the school children were formed in a hollow square around the flag staff. The flag was dropped to half-mast and the Last Post was sounded by Lieut. Corby

Also, in November a garage opened in the town - Messrs Dessent and Doherty announce that they have opened a motor garage at Garfield, where cars can be hired and repairs effected, fishing parties arranged, oil, petrol and tubes kept in stock. (Bunyip & Garfield Express, November 21, 1919)

Bunyip & Garfield Express, December 5, 1919

We will finish the year off with the unveiling of the Garfield Honor Roll which took place on Wednesday, November 26 1919 at the Garfield Hall. It was unveiled by Mr Shreeve. - 

The following names are inscribed on the board - Fallen in Gallipoli - P. Gunnelson, W. Leeson, C. Mynard, L. Plant.

Fallen in France - E. Beswick, E. Bullock, E. Gunnelson, J. Gaghin. A. M'Donald. F. Toner, A Watson, J. Whiston, F. Whiston.

Returned - A. Boase, W. Body, W. Burnett, J Burrows, A. Barker, F. Bullock, G. Dunne, E. Edis, R. Gunnelson, G. Gillespie, E. Hobson, G. Hobson, R. James, S. King, R. Leeson, T. Lambden, R. Morgan, T. Mynard, J Mynard, F. Mynard, W. Ottoway, K. Olsson, H. Roberts,  F. Shreeve, H. Trasler, D. Tynan and T. Vaughan. (Bunyip & Garfield Express, December 5, 1919)

What happened in Garfield in 1918

Here is a look back 100 years to what happened in Garfield and surrounds in 1918. 1918 is, of course, the year the Great War ended on November 11, and the local community were still involved in fundraising for the War effort, local men were still enlisting and soldiers who had served were returning home, but this article will look at the other activities that went on in the area. Most of these reports come from the various newspapers available on Trove,  http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/

In January, the Shire of Berwick called for tenders for two bridges at Garfield, one on the 13 Mile and one on the 14 Mile. These were replacement bridges and I have found reports in a 1903 paper about the bad state of these bridges. In fact, the 14 Mile bridge was called a death trap, so whether they had been replaced in the interim (I doubt this) or just a series of repairs undertaken (more likely) I don’t know for sure. One hundred years down the track there are still issues with the 14 Mile Bridge at Iona, however the Council’s ‘solution’ is just to close the bridge to vehicular traffic, so we have not progressed at all in the past 100 years on this issue. (Pakenham Gazette, January 11 1918 and South Bourke & Mornington Journal, August 12, 1903)

The South Bourke & Mornington Journal reported on February 14 on the Berwick Shire Council meeting. Correspondence was read from a number of ratepayers of Iona and other parts of the Shire complaining of the spread of blackberries, and requesting that the council take some action in the direction of coping with the nuisance, which is causing considerable inconvenience and annoyance to landholders.  Once again 100 years on, blackberries are everywhere, so no change there!

 Dandenong Advertiser reported that on Saturday, May 22 Dr Mannix, the Catholic Archbishop, opened a bazaar in connection with St Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, Iona, where there was a very fine attendance. Dr Mannix gave a very powerful address, and referred to the [Conscription] referendum campaign, and to Roman Catholic schools and the education question. On Sunday, May 23, Archbishop Mannix opened the Convent School at Cora Lynn. The Advocate reported that there was a vast assemblage from the Parish at the opening. The school was located, not surprisingly, in Convent School Road and closed in 1975. (Dandenong Advertiser, May 30 1918 and The Advocate June 1, 1918)

On June 21, an Ugly Man Competition was held and raised over 50 pounds for the Red Cross. People voted for the ugliest man by donating money to each individual. The voting closed at 9.30pm and the local bank manager, Mr Gardner and his assistant Mr Fitzgerald then counted the money. The winner was Peter Pederson (dressed as Peter the Great), closely followed by Mr. G. Doherty (Kewpie), with Harold Gee (Bumper) a good third. A procession of the candidates was held and the winner, Peter the Great, was crowned with a scooped out pumpkin and then presented with the winning prize, a parcel 9 x 4 x 3 (feet or inches - it doesn’t say) which, when finally unwrapped, contained a single bank note. (Lang Lang Guardian, June 28 1918)

On August 5, the courteous and obliging, Miss Price, who had been in charge of the local Post Office for the past year was farewelled at the Garfield Hall. She was presented with a travelling rug. She said that her work in Garfield had been a pleasure and she would long remember the many kindnesses. (Pakenham Gazette August 9, 1918)

Local Cheese Factories performed well at the Royal Melbourne Show held in September. Here are some results - Cheese over six months - first, Iona Butter Factory; second, Cora Lynn Butter Factory. Cheese under four months - first, lona. Cheese suitable for export, over three months -  second, Iona. Cheese loaf, not over four mouths, second, Cora Lynn and third, Iona. (The Age September 24, 1918)

The Argus September 27, 1918

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1403533

There were reports in The Age and The Argus that a man’s skeleton, fully clothed was found in Bunyip North, in a tent in a thick belt of scrub.  The clothing was rotten and the tent was much weather beaten.  The man, described as a swagman, was about 60 years old and under his body was a newspaper dated March 13, 1917. Several articles found in the tent were marked with an M. An inquest was held on September 26, 1918 and Mr C. Pearson, J.P returned an ‘open verdict’. I wonder who the man was and if he had any relatives who wondered what happened to their son, father or brother? (The Argus September 27, 1918 and The Age September 26 1918)

The Bunyip and Garfield Express reported on the Bunyip Police Court hearing held on October 2, 1918. The hearing was to prosecute Edward Dreier, licensee of the Iona Hotel in Garfield, for serving three persons, under the age of 18, with liquor. They were Frederick Sippo, Hugh Murdoch and Stephen McMillan. The first two boys were 16 and as it turned out Stephen was actually 18, so that charge was dismissed. The licensee was away on the day of the alleged event and the boys, who had been playing billiards in another room, were served by Mrs Dreier. However, Mr Dreier did say that the three boys had previously told him that they were over 18. The charges were dismissed by the Bench as Dreier had evidently put his foot down on the matter by taking every precaution. The three boys were also at the Gippsland Hotel (Top Pub) at Bunyip on the same day with George Schmutter. We know this as the publican, Henry Wilson, was also charged with serving liquor to underage persons.  Wilson refused to serve Murdoch and McMillan, but served Schmutter who had bought a drink (a shandy) for Sippo, but as the publican could not see Sippo and did not know he was underage the charges were dismissed. Not yet finished with their pub crawl, Schmutter and Sippo then went to the Railway Hotel where they were playing cards in a room behind the bar. Schmutter bought a bottle of wine, but the Bench was satisfied that Sippo had not been served so charges against the licensee, Tom Stacey, were dismissed. (Bunyip & Garfield Express, October 4 1918)

What happened in Garfield in 1917

This is what happened in Garfield 100 years ago in 1917.  Naturally the town was still focused on the war effort, local men were still enlisting, sad news about injuries and deaths continued to arrive and the town was still raising money for the War effort and the comfort of soldiers. These reports all come from the various newspapers available on Trove,  http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/

The South Bourke and Mornington Journal reported on a divorce case on February 15. There were no privacy considerations in those days and divorces were often reported in full detail. In this case, the divorce was reported in two local papers and the Melbourne dailies, The Age and The Argus.  George Bird sought a divorce from his wife, Grace Bird, on the ground of desertion. Both the parties were 52 years of age and they had been married in October 1896 and there were two children. In January 1909, Grace had left Garfield, where they had been living for eight years taking her daughter with her. George had seen her twice since then and she stated that she would not return because she found life in the country, ‘too slow’. The divorce was granted and the alimony was fixed at the rate of 15 shillings a week. George was a baker and it was reported in a paper in August that he was building a new brick bakehouse and storeroom in Garfield.

On March 1, the Dandenong Advertiser reported on the annual excursion of children attending schools from Longwarry to Pakenham took place. The trip was to Sandringham, one of the beautiful stretches of our bay shore.  A very large number of children accompanied by their parents and friends were conveyed to the seaside in three special trains which were fully loaded. The trip being thoroughly enjoyed by the excursionists. 

There was a report in The Argus of March 22, of two house fires in Garfield.  On March 15, Mr T.W. Jefferson’s four roomed house was totally destroyed by fire caused by the wind blowing open the front door and scattering sparks from the fire. On March 19, a house owned by Mr H.A. Hourigan and occupied by Mr & Mrs Norton was set alight when Mrs Norton accidently overturned a lamp. The blaze spread quickly and the house was well alight before help was available. The report goes on to say that the house was insured for £130 and the furniture for £100.  T. W Jefferson was Thomas William Jefferson, the brick maker and H. A Hourigan was Henry Hourigan who was a coach builder.

In May, it was widely reported in many papers that Carlo Catani had retired as Chief Engineer of the Public Works Department. A function was held on May 9 and the Premier of Victoria, Sir Alexander Peacock presented Mr Catani with an ‘Illuminated address’. Catani was responsible for the all drainage works on the Koo Wee Rup Swamp from 1893 and had been employed by various Government Departments since his arrival in Melbourne from Italy (via New Zealand) in 1876.

The Cora Lynn Horticultural Show was held on May 12. The exhibits were down from previous years but they were of very good quality, in fact the fancy work was of an exceptionally fine standard a triumph of art and patient industry. (Dandenong Advertiser, May 24, 1917). Whilst on the subject of shows, the Iona Cheese Factory won a prize at the Royal Melbourne Show in September for the best cheese over 6 months old and not less than 300lbs in weight (that’s 136kg - a big cheese!) The Cora Lynn Cheese factory was second. (The Age, September 26, 1917)

Gippsland Independent June 22, 1917

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article136291268

On June 8, local teachers met at Tynong and were given instruction in gardening. The instructor, Mr Lee, of the Drouin School pointed out that the geometrical style was not now encouraged, and that elaborate and complicated arrangement of flower beds should be avoided. He advised having most of the school garden laid out in grass, and flower beds distributed over those lawns. Shrubs formed a fine background for the beds.  Teachers today, should be grateful that they don’t have to plant and maintain the school gardens in addition to their many other duties! (Gippsland Independent, June 22, 1917)

In more school news on September 13, the Dandenong Advertiser reported that September, Garfield Head Teacher, Mr Thomas Loutit was transferred to Sea Lake and in December various newspapers reported that Mr William Waugh was transferred to Garfield State School from Elphinstone.

At the beginning of August, Mrs Aspinall, the wife of the Manager of the London Bank in Garfield was presented with a very chaste silver rose bowl, suitably inscribed by the members of the Church of England Sunday school.  Chaste in this case means without unnecessary ornament. Mr Aspinall was presented with a gift, a valuable case of pipes at a social evening a few weeks later.  William and Jean Aspinall were moving to Moama, they had been in Garfield since about 1913. (Dandenong Advertiser, August 9, 1917 and August 30, 1917)

Dandenong Advertiser August 9 1917

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article88818504

The Pakenham Gazette of September, 14 reported that the Post Office, known as Kirwan’s was to be changed to Vervale. This is the Post Office on the corner of Main Drain Road and the Thirteen Mile. It was known as Kirwan’s after John Kirwan who ran the Post Office and general store from 1907 until 1915 when it was taken away from him as he was convicted of selling liquor without a license.

And finally in November in a report on the Berwick Shire Council meeting, Cr Pearson pointed out that owing to the different meal hours at various Post Offices the telephone service was held up from about 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. every day. At Nar Nar Goon, the office was closed from about 4pm to 5pm and at Bunyip from 5pm to 6pm. He moved that the Department be asked to arrange for a uniform closing hour. The motion was seconded by Cr Dore and carried. (Pakenham Gazette, November 9 1917)