Friday, January 24, 2020

Baxter's Merry-Go-Round

Baxter's Merry-Go-Round was a fixture of carnivals for many years and this is a short history of it. I'd first heard about it at St Kilda, but it travelled throughout Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania and South Australia. The Baxters who owned the merry-go-round were William Baxter and his cousin Fred Baxter. Fred died on May 26, 1937 at the age of 79, and we can find out something about his life from his obituary that was published in the Adelaide Mail on May 29, 1937 (see here)  Fred Baxter was the son of a Thames River tugboat owner and was an apprentice on a windjammer, but after one voyage he decided that the sea was not for him,so he runaway when the vessel arrived in Melbourne. He found his way to  Heywood in the western district, worked on a farm and drove cattle with his brother Frank. He then visited England and on his return to Australia he decided to join his cousin William in the side-show business, this was  in 1885. They imported a steam merry-go-round from England which had galloping horses, the first in Australia. William and Fred were also early pioneers in the moving picture business, but in the end Fred concentrated on his steam merry-go-round. After Fred's death in 1937, his son Arthur took over the running of the merry-go-round (Adelaide Mail, January 7, 1950)


Fred Baxter
Adelaide Mail May 29, 1937  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article55934241

The Baxter's Merry-Go-Round was considered to be superior to the others on the side-show circuit. Here are some descriptions of it. The Hobart Mercury had  a report on the Hobart Agricultural Show of 1887 -  Mention must also be made of what proved a source of much attention to the youngsters present - a most elaborate merry-go-round, constructed by Mr. W. C. Baxter, of Melbourne, which comprised in its intricate anatomy a steam piano, that discoursed loud if not the sweetest music. (Hobart Mercury, October 22, 1887, see here)

This report of the New Year's Day Port Adelaide Regatta of 1892 was in the Port Adelaide News - Every kind of amusement was provided along the wharves, the most popular with the juveniles
being swing-boats and merry-go-round. The latter, however, was a very poor substitute for Baxter's merry-go-round of last year, which was driven (including the organ) by steam-power. The one provided on this occasion was worked manually, and had not even a barrel organ. (Port Adelaide News January 8, 1892, see here.)

In 1894  the merry-go-round was in Mount Gambier - Baxter's Steam Circuit, a merry-go-round of a superior character, and four swing boats, opened in Commercial-street on Wednesday evening, and have been a great source of enjoyment to hundreds of young people nightly since. There are in the circus 30 capitally made - horses and two cars, all prettily painted and named after Australian turf celebrities, the whole being set in motion by a small portable engine. The movement of the horses is accompanied by appropriate music, supplied by an organ composed of a number of brass instruments, which is also worked by the steam machinery, and plays 27 tunes. The centre of the circus inside the circle of horses is brilliant with mirrors and spiral columns brightly painted, and when the horses are moving these mirrors and columns revolve with a dazzling effect. (Mount Gambier Border Watch, March 17 1894, see here)

In 1895 a children's fete was held at Government House in Melbourne and amongst the entertainment provided was Baxter's steam merry-go-round (the most perfect of the kind ever seen in Melbourne), with its adjuncts the see-saw merry-go-round and the swinging - boats. (Weekly Times, December 21, 1895, see here.)

From the Laura Standard  - the merry-go-round is a most beautiful sight, the horses moving as nearly to life as possible, and the swing boats carry the passengers right around, at times just stopping in mid-air. They are of course fastened in, but the screams from the fair sex caused some amusement. (Laura Standard, June 10 1904, see here)

I did find one slightly critical report of the merry-go-round.  This was in 1907 from the Hamilton Spectator - The licensee of a hotel at Albury has been fined for allowing Baxter's merry-go-round to perform on a vacant piece of land adjoining and belonging to the premises. It appears that a merry-go-round falls within the definition of "music" though it requires some stretch of imagination to realise the fact. (Hamilton Spectator, July 23, 1907, see here)


This is a steam operated merry-go-round, like Baxter's was - the portable engine is on the left. It's from a series of photos at the State Library of Victoria called Bannon family and friends and views of Victoria and South Australia, taken c. 1914 to 1937. Is this actually Baxter's Merry-Go-Round? Right time frame, right location (Victoria and South Australia) and not dissimilar to the merry-go-round in the photograph, below, which I know is Baxter's.
State Library of Victoria Image  H84.201/4

You can see from the above that Baxter's Merry-Go-Round toured widely and not only to capital cities. There are reports in the paper of it being at Port Pirie and Orroroo in South Australia; Adelong and Tenterfield in New South Wales; Bairnsdale and Rochester in Victorian and Longford in Tasmania. Given that in the early days it would have been transported by horse and dray they are extraordinary distances. Even later on if they used a truck it was still an achievement. There is also a report that the merry-go-round arrived in Renmark by barge.

Baxter's Merry-Go-Round was  a fixture on the St Kilda foreshore for over twenty years.  The first mention I can find of it connected St Kilda was in 1894 when the St Kilda Council had -  an application from Mr. William Baxter to erect swinging boats; steam merry-go-rounds, aerial slides and a cosmorama on the beach during the Christmas holidays. (Prahran Telegraph, November 21 1894)  I can't find  a report on the outcome of this application, but they were definitely there in the summer of 1896/1897 and they continued to exhibit at St Kilda until 1918.

Baxter  was obviously initially happy with St Kilda as according to a report in the Prahran Chronicle of February 22, 1902 he applied to the St Kilda Council to for  a lease of the reclaimed land, containing about 4 acres, on the Lower Esplanade, for a term of 20 or 21 years, at a pepper corn rental. I will expend during the first three years a sum not exceeding £5000, to be spent in three equal sums, one in each of the three years. Such money to be spent in the erection of brick and wooden buildings according to plans to be approved of by the Council - to comprise an amusement pavilion with refreshment and other conveniences ; also a stage and band stand, shrubbery, fencing etc. All improvements to become the property of the council at the end of the lease. (Prahran Chronicle, February 22, 1902, see here)

A grand plan indeed, and it was referred to the Council's Public Works Committee for consideration, but the Council did not accept Mr Baxter's offer. He made the same offer to the Council in September 1904. The Council discussion was reported in the Prahran Telegraph of September 17, 1904 (see here) The discussion covered a number of issues such as whether the Council actually 'owned' the land or whether it was a Reserve. Baxter has also applied for land at the pier. A rental for this was suggested but again there was a  discussion as to whether the Council controlled the land and whether it should be  a depot for shooting galleries and merry-go-rounds. Baxter's Merry-Go-Round was located on various sites in St Kilda (more on this below), so the Council did not agree to him having a 20 year lease on the four acres on the Lower Esplanade.


This is Baxter's Merry-Go-Round at St Kilda (1). Photographer: Nicholas Caire. 
To the right of the merry-go-round is Baxter's 'Royal Shooting Salon'  
State Library of Victoria Image H2014.184/123. Click here to see a higher res version on the SLV website.

 In 1918 Baxter's relationship with the St Kilda Council soured and he ended up in the St Kilda Court - Fredk. W. Baxter was charged on the information of Sergeant F. Dainty, summoning officer to the St.Kilda Council, with being the occupier of certain premises situate at the Upper Esplanade, did permit a public amusement to be conducted in and on such premises, namely, a merry-go-round, without such premises being registered, contrary to bye-law No. 79 and part 6 of the 13th schedule of the Local Government Act, 1915. The result of the court case was that Baxter was found guilty of twelve charges, fined ten shillings on each charge and over three pounds in costs.  Read about the case in the Malvern Standard May 11, 1918, here.

It was after this that Baxter moved his operation to Glenelg in Adelaide, where it was still operating in 1950. Another reason put forward for the move from St Kilda to Glenelg was mentioned in Fred Baxter's obituary - It was keen competition of St. Kilda that brought Mr. William Baxter and
his large merry-go-round to this State [South Australia] in 1918. (Adelaide Mail May 29, 1937 see, here)  There are other reports confirming the strong competition for the entertainment dollar (or more correctly the entertainment shilling) in St Kilda at this time. This is from the Sydney paper, The Referee of January 8, 1908 -  St. Kilda Beach is the outdoor show place of Melbourne. Up within three years ago Baxter's merry-go-round had the district "on its own." Then came "The Pierrots" two seasons ago, also "The pester King" in the the same year and the report goes on with various other amusements and how much income the St Kilda Council derived from these shows.

Where were Baxter's located in St Kilda?  J.B. Cooper writes about the merry-go-round in volume two  of his History of St Kilda (1) He writes about various amusements on the St Kilda foreshore such as the English Pierrots - Before those regular beach shows there was in full whirl, Baxter's Merry-Go-Round, which gave many happy minutes to thousands and thousands of holiday-making children, enjoying glorious days at St Kilda with their buckets, spades and sand castles. Baxter's Merry-Go-Round is notable because it was the first amusement on the first piece of reclaimed shore land. The St Kilda Council made the reclamation...starting at the foot of the pier and spreading out from there, towards Kenney's baths...the subsequent beautification of the foreshore of St Kilda, had its source, in this modest beginning, upon which Baxter was allowed to place his Merry-Go-Round, as so he became the first tenant on reclaimed shore land at St Kilda.


Advertisement for Baxter's 'riding gallery' located on the Esplanade between Pier and Kenny's Baths.
 Prahran Telegraph December 19, 1896. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article144633411

The Merry-Go-Round had, as I said before, various locations in St Kilda in the time it was there - here are some of the locations as reported in the newspapers. Cooper's 'first piece of reclaimed shore land' was near Luna Park - the St Kilda 'triangle area' (3).  In 1896 - they were between the Pier and Kenny's Baths (see advertisement above). The Prahran Chronicle of November 19, 1904 said they  they were located at the entrance to the pier. The  Prahran Telegraph of  January 5, 1907 reported that Baxter's merry-go-round quite held its own in popular favour, and, although the location is different, this innocent amusement is just as popular as ever it was. This doesn't tell us any exact locations, but it does indicate it occupied various locations in St Kilda. In 1916 it was located on an allotment on the other - the Esplanade Hotel - side of the street. (The Argus January 17, 1916).  In 1917, Baxter applied to  use  the ground adjoining the Royal Hotel, Esplanade  (Malvern Standard, December 22, 1917). The Royal Hotel was on the corner of Robe Street.  At one time it was operating on the corner of the Upper Esplanade and Acland Street (where McDonalds is now located) and where the Empire Cafe was opened in December 1918. (3)

Baxter's Merry-Go-Round  brought a lot of joy to the public but there were also some accidents associated not with it but with Baxter's other side-show attractions - a steam swing boat and  a shooting gallery. Here are reports of some of these incidents.   In August 1891 a lad named Hammond, was in Market square [Castlemaine]  He was passing the swing boats attached to Baxter's steam merry-go-round when one of the boats struck him on the forehead and inflicted a severe wound. The lad was conveyed to the hospital and this evening was in a critical condition. (The Argus, August 17, 1891, see here)  The steam boat was also the source of another accident in December 1900 when an employee, Charles Beresford, was swinging himself to and fro in the boat and he stood up, toppled over and fell back downwards through the air, a distance of 30-feet, his head crashing with great violence against one of the solid wooden stays of the suspended boat, after which he lay on the sand bleeding from a large scalp wound as the Age of December 26, 1900 graphically reported (see here). Charles was rushed to the Alfred Hospital and operated on. I don't know what happened to him in the end.

In Numurkah the next year George Williams met with an accident with the lighting plant attached to the merry-go-round -  the calcium carbide used for lighting had somehow become damp and on Williams lifting the lid of the drum in which it was kept the lighted watch he was carrying ignited the gas from the decomposing chemical with a consequent explosion of flame. Williams had his hair and moustache burnt off and was otherwise rather severely singed. (Numurkah Leader, June 14 1901, see here) However, the most tragic incident occurred in 1907 in Rochester, when sixteen year old George Sullivan was shot at Baxter's shooting gallery -  A man was going to have a shot, but decided to change the rifle he was about to use for another. He laid the loaded weapon on the table, and an attendant, named Cooper, picked up the rifle to unload it. The rifle went off, and Sullivan, who was standing near by, was shot in the breast. (The Age, April 12 1907, see here)  The  verdict of  inquest into his death was that it was an accident and thus Cooper was not charged.

Sad though this is, given the number of people entertained by Baxter's side-shows over the years the number of incidents was very small, although I am not dismissing the pain and anguish these incidents caused. There was another side to Baxter's side-shows and that was their donations to various charitable causes - here's a few examples - the hospital at Narrandera, the Mining Disaster fund at Bendigo, the Blind Soldier's Fund at Mildura; the Alfred Hospital and the Womens' Hospital in Melbourne and the Chelsea Fire Brigade.


 Baxter's side-show exhibits at St Kilda (1). Photographer: Nicholas Caire.
The merry-go-round is on the left, then the shooting gallery, a ferris wheel and round-about attraction with boats - is that the Swing boat? There also appears to be another Swing boat on the very right of the photograph. 
   State Library of Victoria Image H2014.184/124. Click here to see a higher res version on the SLV website. 

Baxter's was around for so long that is worked it's way into the social fabric of the community - here are some anecdotes -
This was from an article on horse racing - reminds us of the old gag and the almost certain winning bet that used to be made on the way to down-the-line meetings. "There will be a lot of grey horses
seen out to-day" would say one chap. The shrewdie would consult his race book and see not more than one or two entered. He would offer to bet they would not see three grey horses. The alleged shrewdie alongside would see the book, too, and stand in half with him. But they never win. The
point of the joke is that every market gardener for miles this side of and beyond Mordialloc has a grey horse, and any day you may see not three but dozens of grey horses. The alleged shrewdie thinks only of the racehorse greys, and the market gardeners don't come into his calculation-but he has to pay. One day the joke nearly went astray. It was the market gardeners' picnic. The jokists seemed certain to lose their money, but darned if Baxter's merry-go-round wasn't planted right near the bridge on the main road. And they're all grey horses! (Richmond Guardian, February 23, 1908, see here)

While the merry-go-round is used as an excuse for taking little Mary and Willie out of an evening, in reality pa and ma desire the outing for the purpose of meeting old and lost-sight-of friends. And it is "marvellous how many old friendship have been renewed at Mr. Baxter's "show place"! (Glenelg Guardian November 15, 1923, see here)

This was in an article written by jockey, Laurie Meehan - As I returned to the jockeys' room a racegoer told me I would fall off Baxter's Merry Go-Round if I wasn't tied on. (The Call (Perth, W.A) July 17, 1947, see here)

What happened to the Merry-Go-Round?  1885 appears to be when they imported the first steam Merry-Go-Round, but in the interview with Frederick's son, Arthur,  in the Adelaide News of December 30, 1952 (see here)  he says the Glenelg merry-go-round is 50 years old, thus from 1902. It also says that Mr. Baxter's father imported a merry-go-round from Norwich (England) 60 years ago. It's still running at Cronulla (NSW). This dates the original steam merry-go-round to 1892.  But in the long run a couple of years here and there is unimportant and what is important is the fact that Baxter's Merry-Go-Round gave joy and happiness to thousands of children and adults over the years all throughout Australia.

Trove list
I have created  a list of newspaper articles on Trove about Baxter's Merry-Go-Round, access it here. Every article referred to here is on the list.

Footnotes
(1) To say I was excited finding these photos of Baxter's Merry-Go-Round and other side-show attractions is the understatement of the year. The State Library of Victoria have the five photos in this series labelled as "St Kilda Foreshore, Victoria, dated as '1890-1910?' They are stereographs - so I have cropped the 2nd photo.

(2)  John Butler Cooper wrote the two volume The History of St Kilda from its first settlement to a City and after, 1840 - 1930. It was published by the St Kilda City Council in 1931. The information on Baxter's Merry-Go-Round, which I quoted is from Volume 2, page 206 and 207.

(3) It was my friend and research colleague, Isaac Hermann, who told me about Baxter's Merry-Go-Round initially, and the fact that the Empire Cafe at St Kilda was built in 1916 on a previous location of the merry-go-round. I have more information on the Empire Cafe, here. Isaac also told me that the first piece of reclaimed shore land, which J.B. Cooper identified as the original location of Baxter's Merry-Go-Round in St Kilda was the land near Luna Park.

Friday, January 17, 2020

Sculpture of Mercury by C. D. Richardson


Sculpture of Mercury, The Age building, Collins Street
Collins Street, Melbourne, c. 1910 State Library of Victoria Image H82.62/11

I was looking at photos of Collins Street on the State Library of Victoria website and found this one, shown above, and wondered what the sculpture was on the building on the left. The building is The Age newspaper building at 239 Collins Street. It was built in 1879, designed by Reed & Barnes, and then extensively remodelled and enlarged in 1898/1899 at a cost of £15,000. The frontage has been doubled by the acquisition of the premises formerly occupied by the Victoria Permanent Building Society (The Leader August 12, 1899). The Architects, Hyndman and Bates had to undertake the work whilst the business of producing The Age and The Leader was still being conducted. There is a very informative article in The Leader of August 12, 1899 about the new building, read it here.


The Age building in Collins Street, before the 1899 remodelling
The Age 1879 office building. Engraver: F.A. Sleap.
Illustrated Australian News February 21, 1879. State Library of Victoria Image IAN21/02/79/20

In 1931 a new 'modern' eight story building was erected adjoining this building, you can read about this in The Agehere. It is a very extensive article and tells us that the building was designed by Godfrey and Spowers, that all the material in the building was Australian made and it also has interesting information about how the newspapers are produced and distributed.

The Age building in Collins Street, showing the results of the 1899 remodelling, the Mercury statue and the 1931 addition.
The Age building, 239-241 Collins Street, south side, Melbourne, c. 1957. Photographer: Lyle Fowler. 
State Library of Victoria Image H92.20/6031

As part of the 1899 works the sculpture of Mercury was erected on the pediment. It was designed by Charles Douglas Richardson, known as Douglas Richardson. Richardson (1853 - 1932) was born in England and arrived in Victoria with his family in 1858. He was educated at Scotch College, studied at the National Gallery of Victoria's School of Design and then the Royal Academy of Arts Schools in London. He was a painter and a sculptor and in 1898 he established the Yarra Sculptors' Society with others including Margaret Baskerville, whom he married in 1914. Margaret Baskerville (1861 - 1930) is responsible for the statue of Victorian Premier, Thomas Bent, in Brighton and the Edith Cavell memorial in St Kilda Road. You can read more about Charles Douglas Richardson in the Australia Dictionary of Biography, here and Margaret Baskerville's entry, here. She's an interesting woman, I will write more about her one day. I have a photo of the Edith Cavell memorial, here.

Back to the Mercury sculpture - the Bendigo Adveriser had an informative article on the sculpture
David Syme is certainly to be congratulated on the magnificent statue of Mercury erected over the new imposing "Age" edifices. The work, from the designing of the erection, was entirely conducted in Melbourne, under the supervision of those well known architects, Messrs. Hyndman and Bates. The figure is formed of stout copper sheets, shaped by hammer and rivetted together. From the base of the globe on which it stands to the extremity of its extended arm, the height of the figure is 12ft. 9in.; the weight, in spite of its massive appearance, is but about 15cwt. A 2½in. steel rod is fastened to a steel blade stretched across the chest in the same manner, but slightly higher, than the human diaphragm. This rod passes down the interior of the left leg and extends downwards through the parapet for a distance of 8ft., thus insuring stability and safety. The sculptor and designer of this artistic creation was C. D. Richardson, Esq., Collins-street, Melbourne, who must be warmly commended on the graceful outlines and correct pose of the figure. The realisation of Mr. Richardson's model was entrusted to Messrs. Rocke and Co., Collins street, who successfully performed this onerous undertaking at their factory in Leicester-street, Carlton. The workmanship of this enterprising firm, the only one in Victoria that undertakes high-class work of this description, is equal, is not superior, to that of any European manufacture. We are indebted to the courtesy of Mr. Herbert Wood, of Messrs. Rocke and Co., for the particulars of this latest addition to Melbourne's sights. (Bendigo Advertiser, July 12 1899, see here)

The Mercury sculpture was a reproduction of the statue of Mercury by John of Bologna - Giovanni Bologna (1529 - 1608). Mr Richardson also sculpted three figures in relief in the tympanum, the inner portion of the pediment, representing Literature, Science and Art (The Leader August 12, 1899). They can be seen in this photograph, below.


The figures of Literature, Science and Art sculpted by Charles Douglas Richardson, 1899
The Age building in Collins Street.
State Library of Victoria Image H93.335/81

By 1967 the original building has been demolished and replaced with, in my opinion, an incredibly bland multi-story and the Mercury statue had been moved to the top of the 1931 building.


The Mercury statue on the 1931 The Age building, the original building has been demolished.
Office buildings, 227-247 Collins Street, Melbourne, 1968. Photographer: Wolfgang Sievers.
State Library of Victoria (SLV) Image H99.50/188.
There is also a 1967 photo by Wolfgang Siever that shows the 1931 building with the Mercury statue, see it here on the SLV website.

The State Library of Victoria has a 1970 photograph of The Age building and this time not only has Mercury disappeared but seven stories of the 1931 building have also gone! What an ignoble end to a grand building.


1970 - all that remains of  The Age building is the ground floor.
Hothlyn House, 233-241 Collins Street, Melbourne, 1970. Photographer: Wolfgang Sievers. 
State Library of Victoria Image H99.50/150

What happened to the Mercury statute?  It is now at the Museum of Victoria. The is from their website -  In 1969 it was moved to the Age building on Spencer Street first standing on a platform on the corner of Spencer and Lonsdale Streets and then on the Spencer Street verandah. The statue did not appear to best advantage in either location, and was placed in storage. In 1985 it was lent to the Museum of Victoria for the Story of Victoria exhibition, and was then donated to the Museum in 1997. Read more and see photographs of it, here on the Museums Victoria website. One of the photos is shown below.


Statue of  Mercury by Charles Douglas Richardson. 
This photo is from the Museums Victoria website, taken by John Broomfield.


I have created a list of newspaper articles, on Trove, on The Age building in Collins Street, Charles Douglas Richardson and the Mercury statue - you can access it here. All the articles referred to in this post are listed.

Sunday, January 5, 2020

Tubbs Hill and the Victoria Cross connection

I have an interest in War Memorials and also an interest in trucks, as my husband John was involved in the transport industry for over 50 years. Amongst our collection of truck photos is this one, it was a  slide that I scanned.


Tubbs Hill, near Euroa, early 1970s. 
Photo: John Arnold

It's a Kenworth John drove for Cameron's Transport and it was taken at Tubb's Hill, on the old Hume Highway near Euroa, in the early 1970s. If you are interested this is a S-model Kenworth, with a GM 6V71 engine and a 12 speed Spicer gear box (and see more here)

Anyway, I wondered why Tubb's Hill was named that and discovered that it was named after World War One, Victoria Cross recipient, Frederick Harold Tubb. In the same area is a Maygar Hill, named after Boer War Victoria Cross recipient, Leslie Cecil Maygar.  It's an interesting way to recognise war veterans and a bit different from an Honor Board or Avenue of Honor. It's probably peaceful now, but Tubb's Hill and Maygar's Hill wouldn't have been very peaceful until they were by-passed in the 1980s or 1990s - there would have been a continuous stream of trucks going through the gears night and day in the early days.

North Eastern Ensign, May 4 1934

The hills were named in 1934, according  to this article, above. Balmattum Hill was not, in the end , named after Corporal Burton, but there is a bridge in Euroa, on the old Hume Highway, named Burton Bridge, after Corporal Alexander Burton.

Captain Frederick Harold Tubb - the namesake of Tubb's Hill
Image: Australian War Memorial   https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/P11013425

Frederick Harold Tubb (1881-1917), was born at Longwood, near Euroa, the son of Harry and Emma (nee Abbott) Tubb, of St Helena, Longwood.  He enlisted on August 12, 1914 at the age of 34. He was a grazier. His brothers, Alfred, Arthur and Frank also enlisted.  Frederick was awarded his Victoria Cross for his gallantry at Lone Pine. Captain Tubb Died of Wounds September 20, 1917.  

This is Captain Tubb's citation from the London Gazette of October 15, 1915. 
Was awarded the Victoria Cross for most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty at Lone Pine trenches, in the Gallipoli Peninsula on 9th August 1915. In the early morning the enemy made a determined counter-attack on the centre of the newly captured trench held by Lieut. Tubb. They advanced up a sap and blew up a sandbag barricade, leaving only one foot of it standing but Lieut. Tubb led his men back repulsed the enemy and rebuilt the barricade. Supported by strong bombing parties, the enemy succeeded in twice again blowing in the barricade, but on each occasion, Lieut. Tubb, although wounded in the head and arm, held his ground with the greatest coolness and rebuilt it and finally succeeded in maintaining his position under heavy bomb fire. Corporal Burton, see below, was also awarded a Victoria Cross for the same incident.

Captain Tubb has an entry in the Australian Dictionary of Biography, you can read it here. You can read his full military history in file at the National Archives of Australia, here.


Lieutenant-Colonel Leslie Cecil Maygar - the namesake of Maygar's Hill

Leslie Cecil Maygar (1868 - 1917) was born at Kilmore to Edwin and Helen (nee Grimshaw) Maygar He served in the Boer War, in the 5th Victorian Mounted Rifles,  which was where he was awarded the Victoria Cross. He also served in the First World War, where he enlisted on August 18, 1914 at the age of 43. His occupation was grazier and his address was Strathearn, Longwood.  He Died of Wounds November 11, 1917.  

Lieutenant- Colonel Maygar's Victoria Cross was reported in The Leader - The action for which Lieutenant Maygar receives the cross "for valor" was performed in a fight at Grelhoutboom. One of his men was left dishorsed on an open plain, under heavy Boer fire, and Lieutenant Maygar, dismounting, placed the man  on his own horse, himself running the gantlet of the Boer fire of foot until he could reach cover. (The Leader February 15, 1902) During the Great War, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and was Mentioned in Dispatches, three times. 

Lieutenant-Colonel Maygar has an entry in the Australian Dictionary of Biography, which you can read, here. You can read his World War One service record at the National Archives of Australia, here.

Corporal Alexander Stewart Burton
Australian War Memorial  https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1498

Alexander Stewart Burton (1893 - 1915) Service Number 384. Alexander was born at Kyneton, the son of Alexander and Isabella (nee Briggs) Burton, and he enlisted at the age of 21 on August 18, 1914. His occupation was ironmonger and he was living at Binney street in Euroa.  Alexander was Killed in Action at Lone Pine on either August 8 or 9, 1915.

Corporal Burton's citation reads -
For most conspicuous bravery at Lone Pine Trenches in the Gallipoli Peninsula on the 9th August 1915.
In the early morning the enemy made a determined counter attack on the centre of the newly captured trench held by Lieutenant Tubb, Corporal Burton and Dunstan and a few men. They advanced up a sap and blew in a sandbag barricade, leaving only one foot of it standing, but Lieutenant Tubb with the two Corporals repulsed the enemy and rebuilt the barricade. Supported by strong bombing parties the enemy twice again succeeded in blowing in the barricade, but on each occasion they were repulsed and the barricade rebuilt, although Lieutenant Tubb was wounded in the head and arm and Corporal Burton was killed by a bomb while most gallantry building up the parapet under a hail of bombs.

Corporal Burton has an entry in the Australian Dictionary of Biography, which you can read, here. You can read his World War One service record at the National Archives of  Australia, here.

Corporal William Dunstan (Service Number 2130) of Ballarat was also awarded the Victoria Cross, I have written about him here https://victoriaspast.blogspot.com/2021/04/the-chalet-geneve-on-albert-park-lake.html

Trove list
I have created a sort list of articles on the three men on Trove, you can access it here.

There is a Victoria Cross Memorial Park in Kirkland Avenue, Euroa, which has statues of the three men. See more details here http://www.nevictoria.com/euroa.htm