E.J. Lupson was an engineer with the State Rivers and Water Supply Commission (SRWSC). When he retired in 1953 the
Photographer: J.W. Moore.
For people familiar with the history of the drainage of the Koo Wee Rup Swamp then they would know of the Lupson report, of which E. J. Lupson was the author. He started work on the report in 1935, following the devastating December 1934 flood. The report - The Lower Kooweerup Drainage Works Proposed Improvements (3) was released in early 1936 and as he wrote in the report -
The Commission has made a through investigation of the conditions and formulated an improved scheme of works to alleviate flooding. It is considered that a complete scheme to cope with the extraordinary floods is financially impracticable, and in the circumstances, a modified scheme has been prepared to deal effectively with flood discharges in the main canal of 11,000 to 14,000 cusecs by providing an overflow floodway along the south east side of the canal for a distance of approximately 4 miles above Cora Lynn, to carry the quantity of water which overflowed that section in the December 1934 flood, and discharge it into a large new drain to be constructed on the West side of the No. 4 Yallock Drain and thence into the Yallock outfall to Western Port Bay.
A Royal Commission was also established in 1936. Its role was to investigate the operation of the SRWSC. The Royal Commission report was critical of the SRWSC’s operation in the Koo Wee Rup Flood Protection District in a number of areas. It ordered that new plans for drainage improvements needed to be established and presented to an independent authority. Mr E. G Richie was appointed as the independent authority. The Richie Report essentially considered that the Lupson Report was sound and well considered and should be implemented. The main recommendation of the Lupson report was the construction of the Yallock outfall drain from Cora Lynn, cutting across to Bayles and then essentially following the line of the existing Yallock Creek to Western Port Bay. The aim was to take any flood water directly to the sea so the Main Drain could cope with the remaining water. The Yallock outfall drain was started in 1939 but the works were put on hold during World War Two and not completed until 1956-57 (4).
This is the Yallock Outfall Drain, Ernest Lupson's lasting legacy on the
Koo Wee Rup Swamp.
This water was diverted from the Main Drain at Cora Lynn, to take the pressure from that Drain and thus help to protect everyone downstream from flooding.
The Drain is normally just a bed of reeds.
Image: Heather Arnold October 27, 2022
Who was E.J. Lupson? Ernest John Lupson was born on July 26, 1888 at the family home, 53 Cambridge Street, Collingwood. His parents were John Thomas Lupson, a draughtsman who was 31 years old and 29 year old, Agnes Matilda Johnson, who had married on October 12, 1883. Ernest had three sisters, Edith Agnes, born 1884; Marjorie May, born 1890 and who died at the age of two months and Dorothy Grace, born 1898 (5). The family lived at Cambridge Street until 1905, when they moved to 267 Burke Road in Camberwell, and from 1912 to 39 Alma Road, Camberwell (6). In 1904, John Lupson, who had been listed as a Surveyor in the 1903 Electoral Roll was appointed as an Instructor of Drawing at Melbourne University. He later became a Lecturer in Surveying in the Engineering Faculty and was a Fellow of the Victorian Institute of Surveyors (7)
Education was clearly important in Lupson house and Dorothy, and possibly, Edith attended Lauriston Girls' School, at the same time as the daughters of Carlo Catani, another engineer connected to the Koo Wee Rup Swamp (8). Ernest attended Wesley College and was Dux of the Upper Fourth form in 1903 and in 1904 in the Lower Fifth form won the prizes in Mathematics; English and History; Physics; Scripture. I don't know where he studied after that, however in 1910 he is listed in the Working Men's College examination results for Applied Mechanics, however this may have been a single subject and he may have studied at Melbourne University (9).
On June 4, 1912 when he was 23 he married Winifred Alice Ede Clendinnen. His occupation was listed as Student in Engineering. Winifred was 22 years old, the daughter of William Algernon Ede Clendinnen, a dentist, and his late wife Alice (nee Roberts) who had sadly died in 1892 when Winifred was just two years old. Ernest and Winfred are listed in the Electoral Rolls at 35 Westgarth Street, East Malvern from 1915 until 1919 and during this time their first son, Kenneth Edward was born on June 22, 1918 at Allendale Private Hospital in Hawthorn (10).
It was however, during this period that Ernest also started working at Koo Wee Rup with the SRWSC and I believe that Ernest at least must have been living in Koo Wee Rup as he was involved with many community activities. We first find him in the local newspapers in October 1917 where he took part in concerts at both the Koo Wee Rup and Five Mile Halls to raise funds for Patriotic causes. He contributed items of harmony as the newspapers called it, at various concerts until the end of 1918. In July 1918 at a concert given in honour of Nurse Homewood, the Bush Nurse, Mr Lupson was in great form, and rendered several songs, " Take a Pair of Sparkling Eyes." " Glorious Devon," and was warmly encored, giving " The Land of I Dunno Where," and " Shirts," a comic item which elicited much laughter. (11).
In November, just days before the Armistice was announced at another show it was reported that E.J. Lupson sang "The Yeoman's Wedding" in good style; he followed up with a humorous duet Upper Ten and Lower Five with H.J. Townson and later still the humorous trio, "Sea Dogs," with Messrs Lupson, Donald and Townson as three inebriated sailors, brought down the house, and a recall was inevitable. After the concert, the Koo Wee Rup Comedy Company performed their inaugural play, a romantic comedy, On and Off, and Ernest played the character, Alphonso de Pentonville, a man of romantic temperament. Ernest also performed at an impromptu concert on the day the news of the Armistice reached Koo Wee Rup (12).
We know that Ernest and Winifred were living in Koo Wee Rup from 1925 until 1928, as they are listed in the Electoral Rolls, however their time in the town was marred by tragedy. Their second son, William John 'Billy' was born on March 4, 1925, but he sadly died on November 30, 1926, not even two years old (13).
Obituary for Billy Lupson
Koo Wee Rup Sun, December 2, 1926, p. 4
Around 1929, they left Koo Wee Rup and moved back to Melbourne to 54 Elphin Grove, Hawthorn, even though he still had the role of district engineer in charge of floor protection work in the Koo Wee Rup and Cardinia Districts at least until 1936 (14). From the early 1930s, and for the next 30 years or so, 36 Avenue Athol, Canterbury was their home. Their son, Kenneth went to Scotch College and enlisted in the Army in July 1940. In 1942, he was reported Missing and ended up as a Prisoner of War in Ambon, Netherlands East Indies and not liberated until September 1945. Kenneth lived a long life and died just before his 90th birthday in 2008 (15).
As we said before, Ernest had two sisters who lived to adulthood. Edith married Charles Perry Stanway in 1913 and had a son, Chares Raymond 'little Ray' in 1914 and another son, Eric Percival, in 1919. Eric was born after his father died at the age of only 33 in November 1918. Tragedy was to strike the family twice more in quick succession, Edith died on April 17, 1929, aged 44, and on March 20, 1930, Eric died at the age of eleven. Ernest Lupson was the Administrator of her estate. Ray, who was only 15 when he was orphaned, then appears to have lived with his aunt, Dorothy Dalton, and her family at 526 Burke Road, Camberwell. He is listed there in the 1936 Electoral Rolls, with the Daltons and his widowed Grandmother, Agnes Lupson. 526 Burke Road was also his address when he enlisted in the RAAF during World War Two. Ray survived the War and died in 2001. (16)
The other sister, Dorothy, married Robert Martin Dalton in 1916 and also had two sons. Robert Geoffrey, who served in the Army and the RAAF in the War and the younger son John, also served in the RAAF and held the rank of Flight Sergeant. Sadly, he was accidentally killed in England in July 1944. Dorothy died in 1981, the same year as her son Robert; his cousin Kenneth Lupson was the Administrator of his estate (17).
Ernest Lupson retires from the SRWSC at the age of 65.
Koo Wee Rup Sun, July 29, 1953, p. 1
Ernest Lupson retired from the SRWSC in 1953, when he turned 65, and the staff at the Koo Wee Rup Office presented him with a bowler's case, so he obviously played lawn bowls. He was also a keen golfer and was a member of the Kew Golf Club, where he put his expertise as a drainage and water engineer to good use, as this short report from 1938 explains - A handsome hall chiming clock was presented by the president to Mr E.J. Lupson, a member of the club, who was the engineer responsible for the design and supervision of the watering scheme. Mr N. Black, who assisted him, was presented with a scries of volumes on engineering (18).
A further report about this contribution was in The Herald in 1953 -
In 1938 E. J. Lupson designed and supervised the installation of the overall watering scheme at Kew GC. For this great and gratuitous service Ernie last week was honored by a life membership. His work revolutionised playing conditions and the outlook of the club, cost about £2100 (It would run to about £8000 now), paid for Itself by "business" in less than 18 months, and at the time was unique in our golf. (19).
In 1952 his son, Kenneth, married Joan McAnulty and they would go on to have two children. Winifred died on May 21, 1957 and her death notice referred to her as a dearly loved wife, loved mother, fond mother-in-law and dear Nana. Ernest died on August 23, 1967. They are both buried at Boroondara Cemetery with their little son, Billy. (20).
Trove list - I have created a list of newspaper articles on Trove connected to the life and work of Ernest John Lupson, access it
here.
Footnotes
(1) Koo Wee Rup Sun, July 29, 1953, p. 1
(2) Image - State Rivers & Water Supply Commission district engineers and officers attending a demonstration of the Walsh Weed cutter, taken at Koondrook spillway, February 11, 1948. Photographer: J.W. Moore. The original photo is below, Ernest Lupson is on the left.
(3) State Rivers and Water Supply Commission - The Lower Kooweerup Drainage Works Proposed Improvements, 1936.
(4) Information in this paragraph from
From Swampland to Farmland: a history of the Koo Wee Rup Flood Protection District by David Roberts. (Published by Rural Water Commission in 1985). I have written about the history of the drainage of the Koo Wee Rup Swamp, here
http://carlocatani.blogspot.com/2018/10/koo-wee-rup-swamp.html(5) Birth certificate and Indexes to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages. Thomas Lupson died 1928 and is buried at Boroondara Cemetery and Agnes Lupson died in 1945 and is buried at Burwood Cemetery.
(6) Electoral Rolls on Ancestry.com. Interesting article by Peter Harms about 39 Alma Road, Camberwell in the Camberwell Historical Society newsletter,
Camberwell History, from June 2019. The Lupson family owned it until 1988, and even though it was left to Ernest in 1928, after his father died, he never actually lived there (according to the Electoral Rolls). Read article,
here.
(7)
The Age, February 3, 1904, see
here; Obituary -
The Argus, August 31, 1928, see
here.
(9)
The Herald, December 15, 1903 see
here;
The Herald, December 14, 1904, see
here;
The Herald, January 12, 1911, see
here.
(10) Marriage certificate; Indexes to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages; Electoral Rolls; Kenneth's birth notice
The Argus, July 6, 1918, see
here.
(11) See articles in my Trove list,
here; the concert for Nurse Homewood Lang Lang Guardian, July 5, 1918, see
here.
(12) See articles in my Trove list,
here; Koo Wee Rup Comedy Company report -
Koo Wee Rup Sun, November 13, 1918, see
here.
(13) Birth notice -
The Argus, March 18, 1925, see
here; Death notice - The Age, December 4, 1926, see
here.
(14)
The Argus, July 15, 1936, see
here.
(15) Electoral Rolls; Kenneth's Attestation file at National Archives, see
here; Report of Kenneth's release
The Argus, September 21, 1945, see
here. Death notice of Kenneth,
here.
(16) Indexes to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages; various personal notices, see my Trove list,
here; Letters of Administration file at the Public Records Office of Victoria, see
here; Electoral Rolls; Ray's Attestation file at National Archives, see
here.
(17) Indexes to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages; various personal notices, see my Trove list,
here; Robert's Attestation files at the National Archives, see
here and
here; John's Attestation file at the National Archives is not yet digitised, his Roll of Honour circular, is
here; Legal notice regarding Robert Dalton's estate in
The Age, October 1, 1981, p. 28
(18)
The Herald, March 19, 1938, see
here.
(19)
The Herald, April 28, 1953, see
here.
(20)
The Argus, April 19, 1952, see
here; Winifred's death notice in
The Age, May 23, 1957. p. 13.
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