Rippon

Passing of the Pioneers

/ Merron Riddiford / Leave a comment

Just in the nick of time and after a few months break, Passing of the Pioneers is back with ten obituaries for the month of November.  Remember to click on any underlined text to take you to more information about a subject. 

RUSSELL, George – Died 3 November 1888 at Shelford. 

GEORGE RUSSELL 1852. Image courtesy of the State Library of Victoria http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/282507

George Russell was born on 12 June 1812 at Cluny, Fifeshire, Scotland.  At the age of eighteen, he left Scotland for Hobart to meet up with his brother Phillip who had been in the colony for nine years. George spent several months at Dennistoun, the property of Captain Patrick Wood at Bowthell, Tasmania. The following year George leased land in the area and spent the next two years, improving and cultivating it, doing much of the work himself. By 1835, George was twenty-three and leasing a property at Lauriston when he heard the news of John Batman landing at Port Phillip and of the good land in the area. It was then he decided he must go and see for himself.

Soon after, Captain Wood sold a flock of sheep to men wanting to establish a sheep station at Port Phillip so George took up the opportunity to travel with the sheep. They left in March 1836 on the schooner Hettie, landing at what is now Brighton, Victoria.  From there, George and the two station owners rowed up the Yarra River to what is now the city of Melbourne.  They then walked around 200 miles over the next seven days following the Werribee River to the Barwon River and then to the Leigh River. As they made their way through the valley of the Leigh, George decided that was where he wanted to settle.

George returned to Tasmania for the winter of 1836 and made plans to return to the Leigh Valley. He sold his property and arranged for his sheep to be transported to Port Phillip. Around that time the Clyde Company had formed and George was chosen to manage it.  The company’s first station was on the Moorabool River and George went there from the spring of 1836.

Advertising (1838, December 8). Port Phillip Gazette (Vic. : 1838 – 1845), p. 3. Retrieved November 16, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article225006721

Two years later at the age of twenty-six, he built a hut in the Leigh Valley where he had visited two years before and close to what would be become the township of Shelford.  The land on which the hut stood become the Golf Hill estate. In 1850, George travelled to England then on to his homeland of Scotland. While there, he married his cousin Euphemia Leslie Carstairs in 1852 and a daughter was born the following year. George and Euphemia returned to Victoria and in 1854, a daughter Ann was born at Geelong.  A further five daughters and one son were born over the next eleven years until the birth on 24 April 1866, of a daughter Janet.

George had become a partner of the Clyde Company and in 1857, the company was dissolved and George was able to purchase the freehold for the Golf Hill property. In 1859, photographer Thomas Hannay toured the Western District and dropped in a Golf Hill and took this photo of the then brick homestead and the three eldest Russell daughters. The home was designed by Alexander Skene of Geelong in 1846.

GOLF HILL c1859. Photographer: Thomas Hannay. Image courtesy of the State Library of Victoria http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/321169

On 3 March 1867, Euphemia died leaving George with eight children including baby Janet. The month prior to Euphemia’s death, George had purchased the Punpundhal estate near Camperdown. Considering his loss, George renamed the property Leslie Manor in remembrance of her. In 1882, he purchased the Strathvean and Poliah estates near Cressy from Hugh McVean.

In 1876, the brick cottage in the previous photo was demolished to build the homestead below, designed in the French Second Empire style.

GOLF HILL, SHELFORD. Image courtesy of the State Library of Victoria http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/320773

George made a great contribution to the nearby Shelford community including covering the cost of the construction of the Presbyterian Church below.

SHELFORD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. Image courtesy of the State Library of Victoria http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/320782

George died in 1888 and was buried at Golf Hill.  He left seven daughters and one son, Phillip. He inherited Golf Hill but Phillip’s youngest sister Janet, already having developed an interest in the property, who stepped in and took over the running of Golf Hill with Phillip’s blessing.  Phillip died in 1898 but with no wife or heir, it was Janet who inherited Golf Hill.

You can read more about George Russell and Shelford on the link to the excellent blog, Barwon Blog: Anything and Everything to Do With the Barwon River http://barwonblogger.blogspot.com/2013/07/branching-out-life-at-leigh.html

DILNOT, George – Died 29 November 1892 at Hamilton. George Dilnot was born at Herne Bay, Kent around 1852.  As a young man, he went to London to work as a commercial traveller. It was there he married Emily Wallis, a distant relative of Charles Dickens. Around 1882, the Dilnots arrived in Victoria and over the next two years, George held a range of jobs including working for James Henty and at Bruce’s Brewery at Sandhurst.  In 1884, the family arrived in Hamilton as George had been appointed to take over the running of the Western City Brewery (below) which he later bought and then sold again soon after.

VIEW OF HAMILTON VICTORIA. (1888, April 17). Hamilton Spectator (Vic. : 1870 – 1918), p. 1 (SUPPLEMENT TO THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR). Retrieved November 16, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article225809074

George then became an accountant with the Hamilton Spectator in 1887 and 1888 as well as taking on freelance work. He was then able to open his own accountancy and auctioneering firm. 

George died suddenly in 1892 leaving his wife Emily and five children  A large procession left his residence Marathon on the corner of Carmichael and Gray Streets for the Hamilton Cemetery where more mourners had gathered including members of the Masonic Lodge.

GRAVE OF GEORGE DILNOT, HAMILTON (OLD) CEMETERY

In February 1893, Emily and the children returned to England to live.

EDWARDS, Morris – Died 9 November 1904 at Casterton. Morris Edwards was born in England around 1832.  In 1854. Richard Lewis of Rifle Downs near Casterton imported a three-year-old thoroughbred from England called King Alfred who would go on to become the colony’s leading sire.  Morris Edwards accompanied the horse to Australia as its groom on the ship Severn.  On the ship, Morris met a young lady Eleanor Anne Lamborn.  They married in 1856.

Morris stayed at Rifle Downs for a number of years before working for John Robertson at Straun.  In the early 1870s, Morris and Eleanor settled at Casterton. Around 1877, Morris took over the livery stables of Casterton’s Albion Hotel which he did for about three years before retiring.

Advertising (1877, October 9). Hamilton Spectator (Vic. : 1870 – 1918), p. 3. Retrieved November 16, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article226043057

Morris and Eleanor lived on Toorak Hill at Casterton.  Morris died in 1904 at the age of 72 while Eleanor died in 1914 at Casterton.

In 1931, the following article was published in the Sporting Globe about a rather grisly family heirloom in the possession of Morris’ son Morris Jr. It was an inkwell made from a hoof of King Alfred who died in 1873 at Koolomurt near Casterton.

MOMENTO OF KING ALFRED (1931, January 10). Sporting Globe (Melbourne, Vic. : 1922 – 1954), p. 2 (FIRST EDITION). Retrieved November 16, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article183010196

In 1934, one of Morris and Eleanor’s daughters wrote a Letter to the Editor of The Age in search of passengers from the voyage of the Severn in 1854, the ship her parents, aunt, sister and of course the horse King Alfred arrived on.

RIPPON, George Reynolds – Died 2 November 1912 at Hamilton. George Rippon was born in Geelong on 27 May 1867, a son of George Reynolds Rippon and Maria Smith.  In 1876, his father went into a partnership in the Hamilton Spectator newspaper, later becoming sole proprietor. The family moved from Geelong to Hamilton and George attended Hamilton College before going to work at the National Bank.  He then obtained a job a the Melbourne Stock Exchange.

Eventually, George returned to Hamilton and went to work at the Hamilton Spectator as a journalist. His father died in 1899 and George’s brother Herbert took over the running of the Spectator.  In 1900, gold was discovered at the foot of Mount William in the Grampians. It wasn’t long before the area was populated with those seeking their fortunes. George travelled to the Grampians to see the diggings for himself and decided to start a newspaper for the miners called The Mount William Pioneer.  Printed at the Hamilton Spectator, the paper and it was very popular with twenty-three editions published between July and December 1900.  The rush was short-lived and the newspaper folded.

WINTER ON THE MT WILLIAM DIGGINGS 1900 Image courtesy of the State Library of Victoria http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/172520

No title (1900, July 28). Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic. : 1869 – 1954), p. 2. Retrieved November 27, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article222249274

Like his father, George was a talented sportsman and was a particularly good cricketer, a notable all-rounder.  While at Hamilton College, George could throw a cricket ball over 100 yards.  He was also a good footballer and was captain of his team in Hamilton.  He had an interest in horse racing and was a handicapper for the Hamilton Racing Club and several other clubs around the district.  He was also one of the best runners in the area over 50 yards,  was a champion amateur billiards player, played lawn bowls and was an excellent shot.  He was au fait with the sport of boxing and refereed matches while he was on the Mount William diggings.

George was sick for most of 1912, having contracted a disease while in NSW. He succumbed on 2 November 1912.  When the news of his death reached the citizens of Hamilton, flags around the town flew at half-mast.  George never married and was buried in the Rippon family plot at the Hamilton (Old) Cemetery.

RIPPON FAMILY PLOT, HAMILTON (OLD) CEMETERY

O’DONNELL, Annie – Died 20 November 1917 at Hamilton. Annie O’Donnell was born in Limerick, Ireland around 1840. She arrived in Victoria and on 1 February 1863, she married  Adolphe Jean Baptiste Destree born at The Hague, Netherlands. Adolphe was a Hamilton jeweller and watchmaker who previously had a shop in Portland. He also served as a Magistrate. A son Adolphe was born at Hamilton in 1864, the first of a family of five sons and one daughter.  In November 1868, Annie became Lady Mayoress of Hamilton when Aldophe was elected Mayor. On 11 February 1875, Annie gave birth to a son but exactly four months later on 11 June, Adolphe died aged forty.  Annie continued the business but by September 1875 she had sold to Farroll & Sons Jewellery Importers.  

Advertising (1875, June 26). Hamilton Spectator (Vic. : 1870 – 1918), p. 2. Retrieved November 16, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article226071758

Annie eventually moved from Kennedy Street to French Street close to the Hamilton Botanic Gardens. In 1898, the Hamilton Borough Council was one of several councils to receive a cannon from the decommissioned HMVS Nelson.  It was placed near the main entrance of the gardens on the corner of French and Thompson Streets.  In 1900, for Mafeking Day, the council thought it a good idea to fire the cannon. They tried it two years earlier and the result was broken windows to homes and businesses in the area. Of course, nothing was different in 1900 and many, including Annie, suffered broken windows and structural damage to their homes.  Annie’s damage costs were £100 and she sought compensation from the council.   

At the time of her death, Annie had four sons still living. She was buried at the Hamilton (Old) Cemetery.

THE DESTREE FAMILY PLOT, HAMILTON (OLD) CEMETERY

RANKIN, John – Died 10 November 1936 at Colac. 

JOHN RANKIN. (1923, August 3). Farmers’ Advocate, p. 3. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article223631678

John Rankin was born in the Mallee around 1865 and went to Colac with his family at a young age.  When he was of working age he became involved in the local dairy industry and went on to become one of the leaders of the Australian Dairy industry.  In 1892, John married Mary Jane Monkivitch.  Aside from dairying, John was a non-commissioned officer with the Mounted Rifles and on the board of the Colac Waterworks Trust.  Mary Jane died in 1932.

At the time of his death in 1936, John was chairman of directors of the Western District Co-operative Produce and Insurance Co Ltd, chairman of directors of the Colac Dairying Co Ltd, director of the Western and Murray Co-operative Bacon and Meat Packing Co Ltd, director of the Co-operative Insurance Company of Australia Ltd, a member of the executive council of the Victorian Dairymen’s Association, a member of the council of the Co-operative Butter and Cheese Factories Association of Victoria and a member of the Federal council of the Australian Dairy Cattle Research Association.  Four sons and three daughters survived John.  He was buried at the Colac Cemetery.  

SAVIN, Mary – Died 29 November 1936 at Heywood.  Mary Savin was born at Macarthur around 1867. Soon after, her parents William and Elizabeth settled at Muddy Creek, south of Hamilton.  The family were involved with the local Primitive Methodist Church.  Mary married John McIntrye in 1895 and they moved to Wallup in the Wimmera but later returned to the south-west, settling at Heywood. 

During WW1, Mary and John’s second eldest son Murray enlisted. He was killed on 4 July 1918 at Amiens France while serving with the 23rd Battalion.  In 1921, John McIntyre died and Mary continued on the farm with her sons. At the time of her death in 1936, Mary had eight children still living.  She was buried at the Portland Cemetery. 

On 24 June 1937, an article in the Portland Guardian reported on a send-off held for those members of the McIntyre family still living in the Heywood district who were off to Gippsland to live.  “And so this respected family has left the Heywood district to the regret of everybody in that locality.”

VAUGHAN, Daniel – Died November 1944 at Swan Marsh.  Daniel Vaughn was born at Ballangeich east of Woolsthorpe around 1872. As a young man, Daniel travelled around the country as a  shearer before selecting land in the Otway district.  In 1903, he married Mary O’Donnell and they went on to have a large family of eight sons and four daughters.  Daniel was a supporter of the union movement, horse racing and in his early days, he was a good footballer. He was buried at the Colac Cemetery.

BOYD, James Alexander – Died 10 November 1944 at Camperdown. James Boyd was born at South Geelong around 1857.  When he was about twelve, his parents went to live in Camperdown before settling at nearby Pomberneit. James married Mary Louisa Cooper in 1877 and they lived at Braeside Pomberneit. 

James was a  member of the Camperdown and Colac P&A societies.  He was also an exhibitor at the local shows with his Lincoln sheep and in 1932, he revealed to the Camperdown Chronicle his collection of prize cards from the 1880s.  He was also proved himself a thoughtful husband, having bought Mary a gold watch with his winnings.

CAMPERDOWN CHRONICLE. , OCTOBER 11, 1932. NEWS. (1932, October 11). Camperdown Chronicle (Vic. : 1877 – 1954), p. 2. Retrieved November 30, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article23367240

James was a member of the Leura Lodge of Freemasons, the Pomberneit Rifle Club and in his early days, played cricket for Pomberneit

In 1937, James celebrated his eighth birthday.  Later, he placed a Thank You notice in the Camperdown Chronicle

Family Notices (1937, June 22). Camperdown Chronicle (Vic. : 1877 – 1954), p. 7. Retrieved November 30, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article26090561

James was a champion for the local children.  He donated basketball trophies for local state schools to compete for in order to encourage the children to play. He also lobbied for a swimming pool at Camperdown for the ‘kiddies’.

LOOKING AROUND (1943, January 12). Camperdown Chronicle (Vic. : 1877 – 1954), p. 1. Retrieved November 30, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article28322115

Mary died in July 1940 aged eighty-four. James died in the Camperdown Hospital in 1944 aged eighty-seven and was buried at the Camperdown cemetery.

WHAT A COINCIDENCE

While searching for further information on one of this month’s pioneers Annie Destree (nee O’Donnell), I found the following Birth notices from the Hamilton Spectator of 13 February 1875. As well as the Destree birth there was also the birth of a daughter to another of this month’s pioneers Morris Edwards and his wife Eleanor. Fancy that!

Family Notices (1875, February 13). Hamilton Spectator (Vic. : 1870 – 1918), p. 2. Retrieved November 26, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article226076215

 

Passing of the Pioneers

/ Merron Riddiford / Leave a comment

If you caught my last post, the March edition of Passing of the Pioneers, you will know the PP posts are running behind.  This is a very late April edition  There are just four pioneers but two led very full and interesting lives, one of those being among the earliest Australian Rules footballers in the state.  One of the other men was among the Wendish settlers who trekked from Adelaide to the Western Victoria in 1852.  I did try to find a woman to add to the mix but unfortunately, my April list of obituaries is currently men only.  Click on the links on the underlined text for further information about a subject.  They include a link to the very interesting Wendish  Heritage website,

CHIRNSIDE, Andrew Spencer – Died 30 April 1890 at Colac

ANDREW CHIRNSIDE. Image courtesy of the State Library of Victoria http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/153089

Andrew Chirnside was born at Berwickshire, Scotland, around 1817. He arrived in Melbourne in 1839 and met up with his older brother Thomas who was already in the colony. The brothers went on to Sydney to buy stock to take overland to Adelaide to sell. They then took up a run on the Loddon River in 1840, passed and named by Major Thomas Mitchell only four years before. From the Lodden, Thomas and Andrew followed the path of Mitchell again towards the Western District and in 1842 they found before them the highest peak in the Grampians named Mount William by Major Mitchell. The land appealed to the brothers, and they established a station named after the nearby peak.

LOOKING TOWARDS MOUNT WILLIAM

The brothers ran Merino sheep and cattle at Mount William and a large woolshed (below) with twenty stands was built in 1865. Thomas and Andrew went on to buy Mokanger station on the Wannon River near Cavendish in 1843 and in the years after, acquired properties such as Mount Emu Creek and Carranballac near Skipton (below) and Kenilworth South and Victoria Lagoon near Cavendish. From 1849, Thomas began acquiring land at Wyndham, west of Melbourne and he soon built up an estate of 80,000 acres known as Werribee Park.  By 1870, between them, they had acquired around 250,000 acres of land in Victoria.

The Chirnside name was soon connected with horse racing in the colony.  The Chirnsides were racing horses they’d bred, and it was Mount William station bred Alice Hawthorn in the late 1850s who brought them their first notable success.  Andrew was interested in the racing side while Thomas preferred the breeding side of the business. Many of the horses raced in Andrew’s name, including 1874  Melbourne Cup winner Haricot (below).

MR. A. CHIRNSIDE’S HARICOT, THE WINNER OF THE MELBOURNE CUP. (1874, December 2). Illustrated Australian News for Home Readers (Melbourne, Vic. : 1867 – 1875), p. 193. Retrieved May 22, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article60447659

In 1850, Andrew returned to Scotland and married Mary Begbie. Children were born at Carranballac and the Chirnside’s Point Cook station. Andrew and Mary lived at Carranballac (below) for a number of years.

CARRANBALLAC HOMESTEAD. Image courtesy of the J.T.Collins Collection, State Library of Victoria http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/233699

They then moved to Werribee, where Thomas had built a large mansion (below). In 1887, Thomas Chirnside died at Werribee.

WERRIBEE MANSION AT WERRIBEE PARK. Image courtesy of the State Library of Victoria http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/155659

In 1889, Andrew funded the establishment of a half battery of horse artillery at Werribee. He paid for the horses, their feed, uniforms, and instruction. Forty men turned up for the first meeting at the Werribee Club Hotel.  The battery was commanded by Andrew’s son John.  Andrew was also the founder of the Wyndham Racing Club and a president of the Wyndham Shire Council. In his last years, Andrew went on trips to Queensland and Tasmania but he was in poor health.  He died at Irrewarra, Colac the home of his daughter Maggie Calvert. Aged seventy-three, he left his widow Mary, four sons, and two daughters.  Mary died in 1909.

You can find more information about Andrew Chirnside on the following links:

Biography of Andrew Chirnside from the Australian Dictionary of Biography

Alice Hawthorn – The Western Mare

RIPPON, George Reynolds – Died 26 April 1899 at Hamilton.  George Rippon was born in Berkshire, England on 17 September 1838. His father John James Rippon, was a successful manufacturer with several large factories.  George completed his school in France, giving him competency in the French language. He arrived in Australia in 1857 aboard James Baines and worked for a surveyor at Geelong, thought to be surveying the railway routes through the Western District.  He then worked as an accountant.

By the 1859/1860 cricket season, George was playing for the Corio Cricket Club and was among the team’s better players with bat and ball. In February 1860, he topped scored in a shortened match against Emerald Hill.

CORIO INNINGS. (1860, February 27). Geelong Advertiser (Vic. : 1859 – 1929), p. 2. Retrieved May 22, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article148789089

In 1862, George was selected in a squad of twenty-two from Geelong and the Western District to play an All-England team but unfortunately, he went out for a duck in the first innings of the match on 20 January 1862 and for eleven in the second innings. By 1863, he was captain of the Corio side. George went to Sydney in 1866, as a member of a Victorian team for an intercolonial match, however, poor form in lead-up games saw him dropped from the side. 

In October 1867, the Corio Cricket Club played two matches against an Aboriginal XI months before their departure for an English tour. On the Corio team was Tom Wills, considered the father of Australian Rules football and original coach of the Aboriginal team before Charles Lawrence took over. Wills captained the Corio team in the first match and the Aboriginal XI was led by Lawrence. George Rippon captained the Corio side in the second match. He was clean bowled by Johnny Mullagh for seven runs, one of five wickets for Mullagh. In the second innings, Johnny Mullagh was caught out off George’s bowling for four runs. 

CRICKET At GEELONG. (1867, October 19). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957), p. 6. Retrieved May 30, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5781100

In his last season playing cricket in Geelong, George took eight wickets for twenty runs in a match against the Kardinia Cricket Club during January 1876,  

Australian Rules Football was emerging as a sport during George’s first years in Geelong. The Geelong Football Club was formed in 1859 and not only was George one of the first players for the club, he served as club president in 1859 and 1860. In 1861, George was the leading goalkicker for Geelong. Another highlight was when he kicked a goal to seal the game for Geelong against Melbourne in a challenge match on 12 September 1863 at the Richmond Paddock (below).

FOOTBALL AT RICHMOND PADDOCK IN 1866. Image courtesy of the State Library of Victoria http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/111640

In June 1865, the Geelong Racing Club was established and George was unanimously elected as secretary of the club. By that time, he was one of the best sportsmen in Geelong playing cricket, football, rope quoits, billiards, and rowing. Just one of his achievements was topping the bowling averages for Geelong Cricket Club in 1870/71. He was also involved in coursing, including serving as secretary of the Geelong Coursing Club.  In 1872 he was Vice president of the Geelong Football Club.  

On 24 November 1864, George married at Geelong to Maria Smith, and a son, John James Rippon, was born the following year. George and Maria lived in Moorabool Street with further children born at their home, sons George in 1867 and Herbert in 1869, followed by daughters Martha in 1870, Emma in 1872, and Alice in 1874.

Aside from sport, George’s literary and writing skills caught the attention of the Geelong Advertiser and he was employed by the newspaper around 1864 and remained there until July 1876, when he moved to Hamilton.  He was thirty-eight.  There were several testimonials for George in Geelong. his home of more than fifteen years including one conducted by the Geelong Football Club,

GEELONG FOOTBALL CLUB. (1876, July 8). Geelong Advertiser (Vic. : 1859 – 1929), p. 3. Retrieved May 6, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article150633093

George and his family were off to Hamilton because George had purchased a share of the local newspaper, the Hamilton Spectator. In July 1876, George entered a partnership with George Mott and George Robinson. Robinson took up a retiring role in the paper and left the proprietorship in 1879.

Advertising (1876, July 12). Hamilton Spectator (Vic. : 1870 – 1918), p. 2. Retrieved May 26, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article226037595

George wasted no time getting involved with town activities. As soon as the 1876/1877 season came around, he was playing with the Hamilton Cricket Club.   And when the 1877 football season started, he was involved with the Hamilton team but in a non-playing role as a judge. By the 1878 football season, George was vice-president of the Hamilton Football Club. His wide-ranging sporting prowess continued in Hamilton where he left off in Geelong. He was part of a team to play in the Murray Challenge Cup in cricket. George was still playing cricket in 1890 at the age of fifty-one, playing a match at Portland with his sons Herbert and George.  His obituary mentioned his last cricket match when he played with his sons, and the three of them had a combined score of 179. George was the president of the Hamilton Cricket Club for many years. He was one of the best rope quoits and billiards players in the Western District.  He continued his interest in coursing in Hamilton and was a president of the Hamilton Bowls Club. He was a member of the Hamilton Racing Club and acted as a judge and did the same at Penshurst. 

Away from sport, on 7 May 1879, George’s father John James Rippon died at Altham Hall, Accrington, Lancashire, England, aged seventy-nine. George’s home Altham Lodge in Hamilton on the corner of Collins and Dryden Street was similarly named to the home of his father. George and Mott built up the Hamilton Spectator and by 1876 it was published three times a week and was a leading voice in Western Victoria. In 1885, George Mott sold his share of the Spectator to George Rippon, who became the sole proprietor of the newspaper.

VIEW OF HAMILTON VICTORIA. (1888, April 17). Hamilton Spectator p. 1 (SUPPLEMENT TO THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR). http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article225809074

George was a member of the Hamilton Hospital committee, president of the Hamilton Fire Brigade for eighteen years, and vice president of the Hamilton Pastoral and Agriculture Society.  He was a member of the Freemasons Lodge and was a Past Grand Registrar. He was also a Justice of the Peace and a member of Melbourne’s Yorick Club founded by Marcus Clarke in 1868 for men with literary interests. Among other members was Adam Lindsay Gordon.

On 12 March 1888, George and Maria’s eldest son John died aged twenty-two. In August 1891, Johnny Mullagh who was part of the Aboriginal Cricket XI tour of England died. George Rippon called for a monument for his grave at Harrow and opened subscriptions to fund it. It was twenty-three years since George and Johnny were on opposing teams in Geelong. 

THE LATE JOHN MULLAGH. (1891, August 18). Hamilton Spectator (Vic. : 1870 – 1918), p. 3. Retrieved May 29, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article226082134

There was plenty of support for George’s proposal and in late 1892, a memorial stone was erected at the Harrow cricket ground and a smaller monument on Johnny Mullagh’s grave.

HARROW. (1892, December 13). Hamilton Spectator (Vic. : 1870 – 1918), p. 1 (SUPPLEMENT TO THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR.). Retrieved May 29, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article225182122

George’s wife Maria died on 18 September 1897 aged fifty-four.  George died at  Altham Lodge on 26 April 1899, aged sixty-one.  He was buried with his son John and wife Maria at the Hamilton (Old) Cemetery. 

RIPPON FAMILY GRAVE, HAMILTON (OLD) CEMETERY

George’s son Herbert took over the Hamilton Spectator, owning it for fifty-five years.  Another son George, wrote sports reports for the paper.  After Herbert died, his son George Reynolds Rippon formed the Hamilton Spectator Partnership and was managing partner until the 1970s. Herbert’s daughter Clarice was the office manager of the paper for three decades. The paper is still in publication today.

HAMILTON SPECTATOR

Additional Sources:

Hay, Roy and EBSCOhost Aboriginal people and Australian football in the nineteenth century: they did not come from nowhere. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, 2019.

Kirkpatrick, Rod and Victorian Country Press Association, (issuing body.) The bold type: a history of Victoria’s country newspapers, 1840-2010. The Victorian Country Press Association, Ascot Vale, Vic, 2010 p233.

RENTSCH, Johann – Died 14 April 1909 at Byaduk. Johann Rentsch was born in Germany around 1834.  When he was seventeen, he arrived in Adelaide aboard Helena in 1851 with several other Wendish families. The following year, the families set off for Victoria.  Their journey took four weeks, and they arrived in Portland on 26 May 1852.  In May 1854, Johann purchased land in South Hamilton, on what is now the north-eastern side of Ballarat Road and Hillers Lane in an area with several other German settlers. The area was known as Hochkirch on the Grange. In 1856 Johann married Magdalena Burger. The Burgers were another of the Wendish families who travelled from South Australia. The couple went on to have seven children.  Johann selected land at Byaduk around 1860 and he and Magdalena settled there for the rest of their lives. They were members of the Byaduk Lutheran Church. Johann was buried at the Byaduk Lutheran Cemetery.  

You can read more about the Wendish settlers in the Western District on the following link – Wendish Heritage 

MORRISSEY, Michael – Died 12 April 1913 at Branxholme. Michael Morrissey was born in Limerick, Ireland around 1853 and arrived at Portland with his parents the following year about New Zealander.  The family settled at Port Fairy.  When Michael was a young man, he took up land at Broadwater, naming his property Cloverdale.  In 1881, Michael married Anne Purcell. During his time at Broadwater, Michael was one of the selectors behind the Eumerella Drainage Scheme involving the drainage of the Eumerella Swamp with work beginning in 1906.  In 1912, Michael purchased a property at Mount Eccles and built a home.  The intention by Michael and Anne to live out their lives there was short-lived when in April 1913, Michael fell ill and went to Branxholme for medical treatment.  He died there at the age of sixty.  Michael was buried in the Macarthur cemetery.

 

Passing of the Pioneers

/ Merron Riddiford / 2 Comments

Welcome to a bumper May Passing of the Pioneers. So many interesting pioneers passed in the month of May, I had to leave some for next year. Those that remain had such great stories that it was necessary to share some extra bits and pieces found about them. Some just passed through the Western District from time to time, others lived there only for a short period while others were residents for over fifty years, but they all left their mark in some way. They include army captains, ship captains, a dentist, and a naturalist.

Captain Foster FYANS:  Died 23 May 1870 at Newtown. Western Victorian historian, Margaret Kiddle, wrote in her book Men of Yesterday: a social history of the Western District of Victoria (1834-1890) “the story of  Foster Fyans’ commissionership is a joy to historians” (p.50) . Born in Dublin, Ireland, Foster Fyans was an army captain. He enlisted in 1816 and served with different regiments of the British army including a stint in India. On arrival in Australia in 1833, he became the captain of the guard on Norfolk Island and remained there for two years. In 1837, he left the army and headed to Port Phillip to become the first police magistrate at Geelong.

From 1840, Foster Fyans held the important position of  Crown Lands Commissioner for the Portland Bay area.  A squatter taking up land had to seek permission from the Commissioner and pay an annual fee. The Commissioner’s word was law and there was no arguing with Foster Fyans, a man with a temper.  He tangled with many squatters including the Hentys.  Governor  La Trobe had his moments with Fyans and Kiddle cites La Trobe declaring Fyans “secured to him the chance of a duel once at least in the week as long as he may live” (p.50).

As commissioner, Fyans would ride great distances from Geelong through to Portland and into the Wimmera, a formidable task but his skills marking out selections may not have been as great according to Richard Bennett’s Early Days in Port Fairy (edited by Jan Critchett).  Fyans’ marking of runs “amounted to almost a farce” as Bennett  described the technique used by Fyans:

“They were usually laid off in ten mile blocks, measured with a compass in his hand, and timing his horse.  A blackfellow followed, and notched a tree line.  When the Commissioner had travelled what he considered the distance, he notched a corner tree with a broad arrow, and then rode off again at right angles to the next corner, and so on round the block.  Captain Fyans was a bluff old gentleman…” (p.26).

Despite his ways, Fyans was kept on as Commissioner because there was no one else qualified to do the job.

THE LATE CAPTAIN FYANS. (1870, June 18). Illustrated Australian News for Home Readers (Melbourne, Vic. : 1867 - 1875), p. 114. Retrieved May 19, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article60449034

THE LATE CAPTAIN FYANS. (1870, June 18). Illustrated Australian News for Home Readers (Melbourne, Vic. : 1867 – 1875), p. 114. Retrieved May 19, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article60449034

Foster Fyans died at Balyang (below) in the Geelong suburb of Newtown and while the house was demolished in 1896, the site is now a part of the Balyang sanctuary. Around the Geelong area the Fyans name is still present with Fyans Street and the suburb, Fyansford. Around the Grampians, there is Lake Fyans and Fyans Creek.

BALYANG, RESIDENCE OF FOSTER FYANS c1851. Image courtesy of the State Library of Victoria Image no. H88.21/107 http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/71805

William CARMICHAEL:  Died May 1890 at Macarthur. William lived at Harton Hills, near Macarthur. According to his obituary, William purchased the property in 1843 from squatter James Hunter.  However, the Macarthur Historical Society website states William bought the property from the Bolden brothers in 1842.  Any wonder William’s obituary notes there were “many and varied stories” about how he acquired Harton Hills.

Captain Alexander CAMPBELL:  Died 25 May 1890 at South Yarra.  Alexander Campbell was born in 1803 in Argyleshire, Scotland and followed his brothers to Tasmania in 1825. After farming for a few years, Alexander left for Sydney in 1831. The following year a position in charge of the whaling station at Portland was offered to him but he didn’t take up the role until 1836.  In the meantime he went whaling, sailing as far as Japan. After Portland, he went on to Port Fairy where he stayed for about fifteen years.  In that time he built at least two cottages, one occupied by his sisters. In 1851, he became a harbour master and later moved to Gippsland where he returned to farming.  In his last years, Alexander and his wife moved to Caroline Street, South Yarra where he died aged 87.

Captain David FERMANER:  Died May 1893 at Newport. Earlier this year I wrote a Trove Tuesday post entitled Gilding the Lily.  Captain David Fermaner may have been guilty of just that.  At the time of his death, Fermaner, a whaler, was credited as being Victoria’s earliest colonist and that he was standing on the beach at Lady Bay when the ship carrying the first Henty’s reached the Victorian coastline. However, after reading Jenny Williams Fawcett’s account of David Fermaner and his link to the legend of the Mahogany Ship, it became obvious telling the truth was not one of his strong points.

CAPTAIN DAVID FERMANER. Image courtesty of the State Library of Victoria Image no. H2889/85 http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/68327

After his time in the south-west, Fermaner later became pilot and harbourmaster at Port Albert in Gippsland.

William Thomas PILE:  Died 25 May 1901 at Portland. William Pile was born in Devonshire, England, and as a boy served an apprenticeship in the fishing industry at Hull.  With an urge to see the world, he became a sailor and in 1852, his ship Cossepore arrived at Portland, but he travelled on to Geelong and like many other ships’ crew he left and headed to the diggings.  The thrill of the high seas and travel was a greater lure and he returned to England. It was not until 1854 on a return visit to Portland, he decided to settle.

William’s working life in Portland started as a fisherman and in 1869 after a trip home to England, he returned with a new type of gun to harpoon whales.  He bought into a wattle bark business with Stephen Jarrett that proved lucrative. In 1876 William became a Portland Councillor and then Portland Mayor in 1880 and 1886.

Stephen DUDDEN:  Died 2 May 1903 at Hamilton. Stephen Dudden was born in Somersetshire around 1819 and arrived in Victoria in the 1860s. Stephen showed some entrepreneurial skills setting up a refreshment tent opposite the Hamilton Lands office, in Brown Street, during the rush to buy land after the passing of the Land Act in 1860. He later went to Portland working as a stonemason and then retired to Myamyn. In the month prior to his death, a dehydrated and disheveled Stephen was found by a Hamilton policeman and taken to the Hamilton Hospital where he remained until he passed away from senile decay.

Janet MILLAR:  Died 3 May 1910 at Portland. Janet’s obituary named her only as Mrs. Browning, so I turned to the Australian Death Index to find her birth name, Janet Millar. Janet and her husband John Browning arrived in Victoria in 1849 and headed to Portland to set up a school. With the discovery of gold, the school was abandoned and the Brownings headed for the diggings. They returned to Portland and eventually, John set up another school, John Browning’s Boarding School for Boys.

Janet was eighty-eight at the time of her death and had kept relatively good health and was still tending her home.  However, it was a once in a lifetime chance to see Halley’s Comet in 1910 that led to her demise. She had been out early on cold mornings trying to catch a glimpse of the comet and developed a chill, too much for her weak heart.

Laurence FINN:  Died 24 May 1914 at Port Fairy. Laurence Finn from Tipperary, Ireland arrived in Melbourne with his parents in 1841 and in 1843 they settled in Port Fairy. In 1858, Laurence married Ellen Crowe and they took up residence at Comely Banks, Port Fairy. Laurence’s father ran the Belfast Inn for a time until he let the lease lapse. As a the only child from his father’s second marriage, Laurence and his children inherited a large amount of land. Laurence was a Justice of the Peace and was a member of the Port Fairy Agriculture Society.  Laurence was buried at the Port Fairy Cemetery, below.

John McCOMBE: Died 7 May 1916 at Casterton. Fourteen-year-old, John McCombe arrived in Melbourne aboard the Champion of the Seas in 1854. His family headed directly to Portland but John soon moved on to the Casterton district taking up work at Dunrobin and Nangeela. He purchased a bullock team and began a carrying business and moved to Sandford around 1861 after he married. Four years later he bought land at Deep Creek, Corndale and he remained there until his death.

Frederick Sunderland Wood MAWSON:  Died 19 May 1916 at Geelong. Frederick Mawson was a dentist and he travelled the Western District and Mt. Gambier inspecting the teeth of the residents.  Born around 1843, Frederick studied dentistry in England and practiced in Yorkshire.  After acquiring the necessary qualifications for Australia, Frederick set up practice in Geelong and for a few years had a practice in Mt Gambier.

DENTISTRY. (1914, April 2). The Casterton News and the Merino and Sandford Record (Vic. : 1914 - 1918), p. 1 Edition: Bi-Weekly. Retrieved May 23, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article74760513

DENTISTRY. (1914, April 2). The Casterton News and the Merino and Sandford Record (Vic. : 1914 – 1918), p. 1 Edition: Bi-Weekly. Retrieved May 23, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article74760513

This “advertorial” from the Border Watch gives a good description of Frederick Mawson and his dentistry.

dentist1

F. J. Mawson,. (1899, April 5). Border Watch (Mount Gambier, SA : 1861 - 1954), p. 4 Supplement: Supplement to the BORDER WATCH. Retrieved May 23, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article81713460

F. J. Mawson,. (1899, April 5). Border Watch (Mount Gambier, SA : 1861 – 1954), p. 4 Supplement: Supplement to the BORDER WATCH. Retrieved May 23, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article81713460

 

George Deihl McCORMICK: Died 29 May 1916 at Warrnambool.  Born in Toronto, Canada, George McCormick arrived in Victoria in 1852. He farmed and apparently became a part-owner of Cobb & Co. coaches. While I can’t find evidence of this claim, George did know a lot about Cobb & Co. as recorded in his reminisces from 1902 with a writer from the Warrnambool Standard. The article also appeared in the Portland Guardian of January 20, 1902

mccorm mccorm1 mccorm2

This is a perfect opportunity to show a Cobb & Co. coach and the Leviathan coach, introduced in 1862, was the height of madness. Smaller coaches would have been scary enough to ride in as they hurtled along unmade roads. But a coach for 89 passengers. What were they thinking? George’s account above mentions the perils facing the Leviathan coach, but it was not the risk that proved them unsuccessful. Rather, the driver’s whip could not reach the front horses, so a bag of stones was carried to throw at the leaders.

COBB & CO COACH WITH 89 PASSENGERS. Image courtesy of the State Library of Victoria Image No. H4051 http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/72175

COBB & CO COACH WITH 89 PASSENGERS. Image courtesy of the State Library of Victoria Image No. H4051 http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/72175

George became a police magistrate in 1882 and purchased Bournfield Park Estate at Woodstock near Whittlesea and in 1889 he arrived in Warrnambool.  He remained there until his death.  He left a wife, Barbara Waddell and five sons and four daughters.

John James VILLIERS:  Died May 1917 at Warrnambool. London born John Villiers was a talented man. He arrived in Victoria in 1858 aged around seventeen and headed to the diggings. In the early 1860s, he went to Warrnambool and his obituary in the Argus on 12 May 1917 said he ran a painting and decorating business in Liebig Street and imported crockery.  John’s interest in painting went beyond house painting.  He enjoyed painting landscapes in oils and watercolors and once he presented a painting to the Warrnambool Art Gallery.

A man of the arts, John was also an amateur dramatic and vocal performer and organised dramatic events to raise money for the likes of the Warrnambool Hospital and the Mechanics Institute. John was a part of the earliest known sound recording in Australia by Warrnambool shoe shop owner, Thomas Rome on one of the first Edison phonographs. John Villiers sang The Hen Convention and if you click on the link, you can hear the song. More information about Thomas Rome and John Villiers and their recordings can be found in a story by ABC Southwest from 2010.

Sarah BARKER: Died May 1917 at Ararat. Most months I can find a pioneer that I have even just a tenuous family link to.  This month it is Sarah Barker. Sarah was the mother of Stephen Ward. Stephen married Isabella Harman, daughter of James Harman. I didn’t know that Sarah Jerrett, as she was in her obituary, was formally Sarah Ward and Sarah Baker.  When I read the obituary, however, it mentioned the Ward connection and her son Stephen.

Sarah, from Norfolk, England, and her first husband James Ward, arrived at Portland in 1852.  She was twenty-three.  Sarah remained there until the late 1890s when she moved to Ararat. Prior to that  Sarah and James had seven children. including second youngest Stephen in 1867. James died in 1879 and Sarah married Francis Jerrett in 1883.

John GURRY:  Died 24 May 1917 at Condah. John Gurry and his wife left Ireland for Portland in 1857. They tried Harrow and Branxholme, running the Western Hotel there, then settled in Condah where John ran a farm. In their later years, they moved into the Condah township. John was buried in a family grave at Portland.

OBITUARY. (1917, May 28). Port Fairy Gazette (Vic. : 1914 - 1918), p. 2 Edition: EVENING. Retrieved May 23, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article88021627

OBITUARY. (1917, May 28). Port Fairy Gazette (Vic. : 1914 – 1918), p. 2 Edition: EVENING. Retrieved May 23, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article88021627

Adam EDGAR:  Died 8 May 1941 at Tapanui, New Zealand.  At the age of six, Adam arrived in Portland aboard the Severn in 1857 with his parents, James and Isabella, and his eight siblings. The family went straight to Pine Hills  Harrow the property of James Edgar’s brother, David. Like his cousins and siblings, he was educated at the private school David Edgar had established at Pine Hills.  In 1871,  Adam married Margaret Huston and in 1875, they left for New Zealand where they stayed for the rest of their lives. One of Adam and Margaret’s sons was the Reverend James. Huston Edgar, an explorer, missionary, and author who spent much of his life in China. His obituary is below. Adam’s sister Jean Edgar was a Passing Pioneer from March 2012.

MR. J. H. EDGAR DEAD. (1936, April 6). The Courier-Mail (Brisbane, Qld. : 1933 - 1954), p. 14. Retrieved May 26, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article36803018

MR. J. H. EDGAR DEAD. (1936, April 6). The Courier-Mail (Brisbane, Qld. : 1933 – 1954), p. 14. Retrieved May 26, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article36803018

Captain Robert Ernest BAKER: Died 4 May 1943 at Larpent. What an interesting character Captain Baker was. Not a ship’s captain, but a captain in the AIF during WW1 he served with the 8th Light Horse. Reading his eighty-eight-page service record, I found that Baker was actually a Lieutenant when delisted and was only a temporary Captain for a short time during his service. “Captain” does have a better ring to it.

This wonderful photo from the Australian War Memorial has a real Western District flavour but sadly only one, Robert Baker, returned.  Captain Baker is seated on the left.  He was forty-one at the time of enlistment.  The other men are seated right:  Keith Allan Borthwick of Armadale. Standing from left: Major Thomas Harold Redford of Warrnambool, Lt Edward Ellis Henty of Hamilton, Lt Eliot Gratton Wilson of Warrnambool.

Edward Ellis Henty was the grandson of Stephen George Henty. He, Borthwick, Redford, and Wilson joined up on the same day, 21 September 1914 and all died on the same day, 7 August 1915 at the battle of The Nek at Gallipoli.  Robert Baker’s war was plagued with illness, including dysentery and lumbago, but it probably saved his life.  On 7 August 1915, he was in the No 1 Australian Stationary Hospital on Mudros.

Image Courtesy of the Australian War Memorial P00265.001 http://www.awm.gov.au/collection/P00265.001

Image Courtesy of the Australian War Memorial P00265.001 http://www.awm.gov.au/collection/P00265.001

After the war, Captain Baker transformed his property at Larpent into a sanctuary for the native fauna.  He often contributed to the Nature Notes in the Argus.

NOTES FOR BOYS. (1930, September 9). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), p. 9. Retrieved May 26, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4189243

NOTES FOR BOYS. (1930, September 9). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957), p. 9. Retrieved May 26, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4189243

In 1936, he offered kangaroos from his own sanctuary to the Healesville sanctuary.  Healesville Sanctuary was in its first years as it was officially opened in 1934.

Healesville Shire Council. (1936, May 2). Healesville and Yarra Glen Guardian (Vic. : 1900 - 1942), p. 3. Retrieved May 26, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article60453763

Healesville Shire Council. (1936, May 2). Healesville and Yarra Glen Guardian (Vic. : 1900 – 1942), p. 3. Retrieved May 26, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article60453763

Herbert Edward RIPPON:  Died 19 May 1954 at Hamilton. Herbert Rippon was the son of George Rippon, part-owner of the Hamilton Spectator.  Herbert lived at Edradour, a house on Ballarat Road, Hamilton I must have passed a thousand times.  Photos of Edradour can be seen on a Hamilton real estate agency listing.  Herbert inherited ownership of the Hamilton Spectator in 1899. The Victorian Heritage Database has a short bio on Herbert and he was one of the original backers of Sir Reginald Ansett, then a Hamilton resident. He also was a director of John Thompson & Co department store of Hamilton.  Herbert is pictured below at the Hamilton races, third from the left.

WESTERN DISTRICT PICNIC RACE CLUB’S ANNUAL MEETING, HELD ON THE HAMILTON (V.) RACECOURSE ON WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 12. (1923, December 22). The Australasian p. 58.  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article140831487

He was buried at the Hamilton (Old) Cemetery with other members of the Rippon family.

RIPPON FAMILY GRAVE, HAMILTON (OLD) CEMETERY

Passing of the Pioneers

/ Merron Riddiford / 4 Comments

The Ararat Advertiser (1914-1918) is now available at Trove and October Passing of the Pioneers highlights some obituaries from that area.  They show the lure of gold drawing people to Victoria with some of them, such as Mr. and Mrs. George Stock and Elizabeth Williams, being more like “gold rush chasers” moving from town to town as a rush occurred.

If you hoped your ancestor may have been a gold seeker and you haven’t found them at Bendigo or Ballarat, maybe they were at towns like Pleasant Creek (Stawell), Ararat, Landsborough, or Ampitheatre. I thought I had no gold miners until I found that James Bishop was a miner at Mount Ararat when my gg-grandmother, Elizabeth Bishop, was born.

Other pioneers featured include one of my family members, Edward Gamble, Mrs. Hannah Johnstone who would never have starved if she had a gun at hand, and two friends of Adam Lindsay Gordon. I have noticed reading obituaries that Adam Lindsay Gordon had a lot of friends, maybe even more than he thought himself!

James STARRIT: Died 3 October 1889 at Portland. It could be easy for those like James Starrit to be forgotten forever.  I have come across similar obituaries of men and women, unmarried and with few living relatives. James Starrit, his two brothers, two sisters, and elderly father arrived at Portland from Garry Gort, County Donegal, Ireland on August 18, 1852.  James and his two sisters never married and lived together on a farm, earning enough from the farm to allow them to live their simple life.  Prior to farming, James had been a policeman at Portland.

Edward GAMBLE: Died October 1897 at Colac. Edward was my ggg uncle and the son of Thomas Gamble and Ellen Barry. He was only forty-seven at the time of his death from cancer. His obituary alludes to its cause being his work canning rabbits, a job he had for twenty-one years.  There was a preserving factory in Colac and surrounding towns.  Born in Geelong in 1847, Edward married Martha Hodgins in 1873. They had 10 known children. Almost 100 Oddfellows attended Edward’s funeral, dressed in their full regalia as a tribute to their fellow lodge member.

John McKAY:  Died October 1907 at Richmond. At the time of his death at age eighty-four, John McKay was living with his son-in-law. Prior to that, he resided in Portland where he made his name as a blacksmith and wheelwright. He arrived in Victoria in 1853 and Portland in 1854.

Martha HILLS: Died 30 October 1908 at Portland. Martha Hills died at the home of her grandson Charles French, just three months short of her 99th birthday. Martha raised Charles and his siblings after the death of their father Henry and as the obituary puts it so well “…the love and care she gave the three little ones was not relaxed as years advanced, and in return she in her declining years reaped the full reward by equally as loving care and devotion”.  Martha arrived in Victoria around 1858, and spent a few years in Hamilton before moving to Portland with her husband Charles French. She had two children living at the time of her death.

Mary BURNELL: Died October 1910 at Stawell. Mary Burnell was born in Yorkshire on October 23,1836 and at thirteen she travelled to Adelaide, South Australia. She married John Moulden and around 1875, they moved their family to the Wimmera in Victoria. They later moved close to Stawell where she remained until her death.

Mahala CARBIN:  Died 14 October 1915 at Malvern. Born in Cornwall in 1824, Mahala Carbin arrived in South Australia with her parents in 1840. Mahala and her gold-seeking parents moved to Victoria around 1852. She married John Little at St Paul’s Cathedral in Melbourne in 1857 aged thirty-three and they lived in the Ararat district throughout their married lives. Just weeks before her death, Mahala moved to Malvern to live with her daughter.  Mahala lived through the reign of five monarchs and was ninety-one at the time of her death.

Thomas Christopher COATES:  Died 26 October 1915 at Buninyong. Thomas Coates was one of the founding members of the Ballarat Stock Exchange and served as the secretary of the Ballarat Benevolent Society for twenty-six years. He was born in Westmorland, England, and arrived in Australia in 1853. He settled at Creswick in 1854. He died at the home of his son.

Agnes GORMAN: Died  11 October 1916 at Rosebrook.

Obituary. (1916, October 19). Port Fairy Gazette (Vic. : 1914 – 1918), p. 2 Edition: EVENING. Retrieved October 22, 2012, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article88009495

Elizabeth DAVENPORT: Died 30 October 1916 at Port Fairy. Elizabeth Davenport was born in Parramatta, New South Wales in 1838. When she was eleven, she spent six weeks on a voyage to Port Fairy with her parents. She married William Presnell, a farmer, known for having one of the first threshing machines in the Port Fairy district. Elizabeth and William had thirteen children, six sons, and seven daughters.

William ARMSTRONG:  Died 5 October 1917 at Colac. William was born in Belfast, Ireland the son of a Presbyterian Chaplin. He arrived in Victoria in the 1860s, first spending time with his uncle at West Cloven Hills before setting up his own dairy farm at Darlington. His community interests included the Darlington Presbyterian Church, and the Mechanics Institute and he was the Darlington correspondent for the Camperdown Chronicle. He left a widow and nine children.

Elizabeth PURNELL: Died October 1917 at Ararat. Born in 1823 in Somersetshire, England. Elizabeth Purnell married George Stock around 1852. Not long after they married they sailed for Geelong arriving in October 1852. In 1853, they moved to Ballarat then Stawell when gold was discovered in 1856 at Forty Foot Hill, and then on to Ararat for the “Commissioners Hill” rush.  George was obviously following gold as they then went on to the rushes at Amphitheatre, Barkly, and Landsborough. Finally, in 1867, they settled at Ararat. Elizabeth and George had eleven children, with seven still alive at the time of her death.  Like Mahala Carbin (above), Elizabeth’s obituary mentioned that she had lived through the reign of five monarchs.

Elizabeth BREWIS: Died 10 October 1918 at Ararat.  Elizabeth Williams was an early resident of Ararat. She was born in Essex, England around 1824 and sailed for Sydney in 1852 aboard the Earl of Elgin. While in Sydney she married J. Green. After a year and with the lure of gold, she arrived in Bendigo, Victoria, and followed the rushes until she ended up in Ararat.  She remarried to Robert Williams and they had three daughters.

Mary BARRETT: Died 19 October 1918 at Ararat. Mary Barrett was born in Ireland and arrived in Ararat in the 1860s. Her uncle, Reverend Father Barrett was a pioneer Roman Catholic priest in the Ararat district and Mary resided with him. Mary never married and when her health was failing, she moved to the Brigidine Convent in Ararat where she passed away aged seventy years.

James R. KEAN:  Died 11 October 1926 at Ararat. Born in Portland in 1858, James Kean started working as a printer at age twenty. Two years later, he became a journalist and produced the Portland Mirror. The paper started out small, but within a year the subscribers increased and the paper was already thought of as “an influential and up-to-date journal”  In 1885, James purchased the Portland Guardian a paper established in 1842.  In the same year, he married Jane Robertson, daughter of Angus Robertson of Straun station near Merino. James was a member of the St Stephens Church choir, a member of the Portland racing club, and the Masonic Lodge.

St Stephens Church Portland

John JOHNSTONE: Died October 1930 at Portland. John Johnstone was a very early arrival in Portland, in 1841, as a baby with his parents James and Dorothy Johnstone. James was a blacksmith and wheelwright but he eventually purchased land at Kentbruck and built the Emu Flat Hotel or as known by travellers,” Mrs Johnstone’s”.  After his parents’ deaths, John took over the running of the hotel for a short time before selling it and taking up farming. More commonly known as “Jack”, he was an expert bushman and rider and was a friend of Adam Lindsay Gordon. He married Elizabeth Angus and they had three daughters and two sons.

John Richard MALLINSON:  Died 14 October 1934 at Pomborneit.  Born in Portland, John spent time in Merino and Hamilton as a child and young man. He completed an apprenticeship as a blacksmith and wheelwright and opened a business in Coleraine. After eight years, he moved to Timboon and then Camperdown in 1894 where he again ran a blacksmith’s shop.

Having lived in a number of towns and with his work as a blacksmith he had many friends with horse interests including Cobb and Co drivers of renown and the likes of John Johnstone (above) Adam Lindsay Gordon.

OBITUARY. (1934, October 20). Camperdown Chronicle (Vic. : 1877 – 1954), p. 2. Retrieved October 24, 2012, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article27395509

Frederick WRIGHT:  Died 14 October 1934 at Camperdown. Frederick Wright was born in Cambridgeshire, England around 1842 and arrived at Corio Bay, Victoria aboard the Omega aged fourteen.  He worked as a nurseryman in the Geelong district before learning to drive bullocks.  At eighteen years of age, he took a load of flour to the goldfields at Stawell, the first bullock wagon driven into that area and he only had bush tracks to follow. He moved to Camperdown in 1871 and ran a dairy farm and a chaff mill and later a butcher shop. He was an original member of the Camperdown Turf Club.  He had thirty-five grandchildren and thirty-nine great-grandchildren at the time of his death.

Hannah HANNON:  Died October 1937 at Portland. Hannah was born in Adelaide in the late 1840s and moved to Kentbruck, near Portland aged eighteen.  She married Thomas Charles Johnstone, brother of John Johnstone (above).  Hannah was a woman not afraid to open and close gates and was handy with a gun.  She was known around Portland for sharing ducks or other game she had hunted.  Hannah and Thomas had ten children.

John Alfred RIPPON:  Died 13 October 1938 at Camperdown.

VICTORIA’S OLDEST “BULLOCKY”. (1938, October 20). Camperdown Chronicle (Vic. : 1877 – 1954), p. 1. Retrieved October 24, 2012, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article22995091

John Rippon carted the first load of timber into Purrumbete Estate owned by the Manifold brothers at age eighteen.  He liked it there and stayed for ten years. He then spent another ten years with William Irving Winter-Irving at Tirrengower near Colac.  He then returned to work for William Thomas Chirnside splitting timber.  But John yearned for his bullock driving days and he began his own carrying business.

VICTORIA’S OLDEST “BULLOCKY”. (1938, October 20). Camperdown Chronicle (Vic. : 1877 – 1954), p. 1. Retrieved October 25, 2012, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article22995091

Rachel BLACK: Died 27 October 1941 at Kongorgong. Rachel Black was born in the mid-1850s at Bridgewater. Her father was Joshua Black, a pioneer of that area. When Rachel married James Lightbody, the union brought three Bridgewater pioneering families together as James Lightbody was the son of Rebecca Kittson also from a pioneering family of Bridgewater,

Colin CATHELS: Died 26 October 1952 at Hamilton. Although he died at  Hamilton, Colin Cathels was a Portland identity.  Old age forced him to leave the town he loved and he was not happy in his last days. Born in the 1850s, Colin knew much of  Portland history and enjoyed reminiscing about picnics at the Henty’s home. He was the Portland manager of the Belfast and Koroit Steamship Navigation Company. Colin married a Robertson girl, from a well-known local family.