I came across the following from the book Early Days of Berwick (1) about Richard Grice and a plaque which was installed in his honour in High Street, Berwick. Before we look at the plaque, which actually wasn't installed until 1917, we will look at Richard's life.
Reference to the Grice plaque in Early Days of Berwick (1)
Richard Grice was born in 1858 in Collingwood to Richard and Ann Grice. Richard Grice senior (1813-1882), had arrived in Victoria in 1839, being amply supplied with funds by his family (2). He and his business partner, Benjamin Heape, set up in business together. Grice was soon a leading pastoralist and his land holdings included the Mount Alexander run near Castlemaine. On August 21, 1844 he married Ann Lavinia Hibberson (1822-1905) and they eventually settled in Melbourne. Heape returned to England and Grice set up partnership with Theodotus Sumner. Later, Sumner’s daughter Annie married Grice’s son James and the firm became known as Grice, Sumner and Co. (3) As a matter of interest, Alice Sumner, another daughter of Theodotus, married Charles Snodgrass Ryan and they became the parents of Maie, whose husband Lord Casey was the Governor General of Australia from 1865 - 1969, and the namesake of the City of Casey. (4) The firm Grice, Sumner and Co was one of the oldest mercantile houses in Australia and held large tracts of land in Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia and Queensland. Grice senior, died in Fitzroy in 1882 and left a substantial estate valued at £320,000. (5).
Richard senior and his Ann had twelve children, but there were only seven living when he passed away on November 4, 1882. One son, John, was given a Knighthood and was Vice Chancellor of Melbourne University and had substantial business interests. Another brother, James, was a foundation member of the Victorian Amateur Turf Club and Chairman on a number of occasions. (6). Ann died November 17, 1905 at the age of 83. (7)
This brings us to Richard Junior. Richard married Louisa Jane 'Lula' Currie (1858-1908) on September 16, 1884 at St George's Presbyterian Church, East St Kilda. Louisa was the daughter of John Lang Currie. Currie and his wife Louise (nee Johnston). He was described as a pioneer squatter, had arrived in Victoria in 1841 and by the mid 1890s he owned 80,000 freehold acres in Victoria's Western District, plus land in other states. When he died on March 11, 1898 he left an Estate valued at over £500,000. In his will he left his daughter, Louisa Grice, £30,000 of which she had already received £7,000. (8)
Richard purchased 710 acres in the Shire of Cranbourne in 1884/1885 and in 1887 he purchased 234 acres in the Shire of Berwick. (9) It was on the Cranbourne property that they built the wonderful house, Eirruc most likely in 1887 or 1888 (10) Eirruc is Currie spelt backwards, perhaps indicating that some of Louisa’s family money paid for the Estate. Eirruc (now called Eyrecourt) is always referred to as being in Berwick, but technically it was in Cranbourne and in modern times the address is 211 Grices Road, Clyde North.
Eirruc (later Eyrecourt) by Charlie Hammond
State Library of Victoria http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/149421
Image has been cropped. This illustration is from the Sketchbook of Charlie Hammond, held at the State Library of Victoria. The sketchbook contains both photographs and illustrations of various houses in Victoria. The book has been digitised by the State Library of Victoria and can be seen here.
On April 17, 1909 Richard Grice held a sub-divisional sale of the Eirruc property, including the homestead. (11) Grice did retain some Berwick property and he was living in the town when he died on September 6, 1911. His Probate papers at the Public Records Office of Victoria lists all his assets and, amongst other property, Grice had 66 acres in the Shire of Cranbourne; a weatherboard house, Wonalta, described as seven rooms, plus kitchen, bathroom, scullery and outbuildings on three acres in Berwick; a block of land on Station Street (Gloucester Avenue) and another block on Elgin Street in Berwick. (12)
Subsequent owners of Eirric, include Humphrey Weinholt, then Richard Edols, who sold in November 1913 to Alexander Buchanan Pearson. Mr Pearson renamed the property Hilton. Around January 1920, Pearson sold to Kevin Kinsella, who renamed the property Eyrecourt. He was there for a short time selling to Mrs Burnside in 1923, and she sold to Lionel Grimwade in June 1924 and he was still in 1928, but that's where we will leave the owners. (13)
Advertisement for the sub-divisional plan of Eirruc.
The Argus, November 12 1909 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/10698543
Lounge Hall, Eirruc, Berwick, in 1910.
Punch October 13, 1910 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article175607444
Richard's informative obituary has other details of his life -
The friends of Mr Richard Grice, of Berwick, will regret to hear of his death from heart failure, at a private hospital in the city on September 6. Mr Grice, who was the son of the late Mr Richard Grice, was born in the old family mansion in Victoria Parade, which is now occupied by the Turn Verein Club. He was interested in the Retreat, a large squatting station on the Thompson river, but lived most of his time at "Eirruc," a small estate near Berwick. When Mrs Grice died two years ago he bought a smaller place close by the township. Mr Grice was a member of the committee of the V.R.C. for some years. He owned Hova, which ran second in a race for the Melbourne Cup. He was very fond of hunting, and on several occasions acted as deputy master for the Melbourne Hounds. He leaves a son and two daughters. (14)
Mr Grice was also a Mornington Farmers Society. He was a Shire of Cranbourne Councillor from 1894 until 1903 and Shire President 1898-99 (15)
As mentioned in his obituary, Richard and Louise had three children - John, Henrietta and Annie.
John Alan Grice was born on August 10, 1885 at South Yarra and he died on May 25, 1932 at his property in Corowa. This is his obituary-
The death occurred in tragic circumstances on Wednesday last of Mr. John Alan Grice, aged 47, who for the past ten years, had been a resident of the Lowesdale district, having occupied the property there known as "Pine Lodge." Last week Mr. Grice was an inmate of St. Margaret's Private Hospital suffering from pleurisy, but he left that institution, and returned to his home at the week-end. He attended the Corowa races on Saturday and was in Corowa on Tuesday, returning to his home on Tuesday afternoon, when he retired. At about 8.30 on Wednesday morning, however, his manager, Mr. Lumby, on entering his room, found deceased lying in his bed, and attempting to arouse him, discovered that life was extinct. The funeral took place yesterday. (16).
Henrietta May Grice was born at Valetta, Toorak, on August 25, 1889. From 1912 to 1914 she was listed in the Electoral Rolls at Mount Elephant at Derinallum. Her grandfather, John Lang Currie, owned Larra at the foot of Mount Elephant and when he died in 1898 it was taken over by his son, John Lang Currie junior, so I assume she was living with her Uncle and cousins. She married in England in April 1915 - this is the report from Table Talk -
The marriage of Miss May Grice, elder of the two daughters of the late Mr. and Mrs. Richard Grice, to Mr. Auburn Wilson, a nephew of the late Sir Samuel Wilson, took place in London last month. It was a a sudden affair, as the bridegroom, who had enlisted, was about to leave England for the front. Mr. Wilson was out here on a visit about two years ago. Miss Grice, with her sister, has been residing in Knightsbridge, London, for a time under the chaperonage of Miss Mary Chomley. The couple had two daughters, Vivian and Yvonne and sadly it was not a happy marriage and the couple divorced in May 1921. Even sadder still Henrietta died on February 28, 1922 in England, The grandfather of the two girls, Harold Charles Wilson, was assigned their guardian as their father had renounced guardianship. (17)
Annie Elinor Julia was born May 2, 1894 at Eirruc. She married Lieutenant Percy Robert Murdoch Collins in London on May 11, 1915. Sadly, he was killed in action near Ypres in France on June 25, 1917 and Annie died on December 8, 1918 in London. Percy was the son of Henry and Isabella Collins of Frankston (18). This is from her obituary -
Sir John Grice has had a cable from Blighty, telling of the sudden death of his widowed niece, Mrs. Collins, who succumbed to an attack of pneumonic influenza, early this week, just a year after the death of her husband, Captain Collins, a son of Mr. Henry Collins, one-time manager of Reuters in this city. She leaves a tiny daughter. Mrs. Collins, who was the younger daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Richard Grice - the latter was one of the Western District Currie clan - went to England with her sister, May, a year before the War started, and stayed there under the chaperonage of Miss Mary Chomley. During the first year of the War, both sisters were married - one to Mr. Wilson and the other to Lieut. Collins. Both sisters were extremely pretty girls, popular with all who knew them. The deepest sympathy is felt for the former in the loss of her only sister. (19)
In October 1925 a stained glass window in St Paul’s Anglican Church in Frankston was dedicated to the memory of Percy and Annie. -
At St. Paul's Church, Frankston, on Sunday morning last, the Ven. Archdeacon Aicken, in the presence of a very large congregation, unveiled and dedicated a mosaic tablet to the memory of Mr. H. M. Collins late wife, also a stained glass window in memory of Mr. Collins' soldier son, Major Percy Collins, D.S.O., who fell in the Great War, and Mrs. Percy Collins, who was a daughter of the
late Mr. Richard Grice. The window was by Brookes, Robinson & Co., and illustrated the Marys at the Tomb. (20)
Richard and Louise (who died December 30, 1908, at the age of 50) are buried at the Berwick Cemetery (21). Now, as we said at the start of this post there was another memorial to Richard Grice, the tablet in High Street, erected in 1912, by the Berwick Town Improvement Association. (22) As we can see by the article below, it was decided at a meeting in June 1912 to erect the plaque but I haven’t been able to find the exact date the plaque was placed in High Street - or that is what I wrote when I researched the first version of this story in 2014.
The Grice Memorial plaque
Berwick Shire News, June 19 1912. p. 2.
I have now discovered that the plaque was not actually installed until 1917 - this is from the Pakenham Gazette of September 28, 1917 -
A marble tablet to the memory of the late Mr Richard Grice has been placed in the boulevard opposite the post office. This tablet was obtained about 3 or 4 years ago by the then existing Town Improvement Society but was not erected. (23) It was installed by Mr Miller, who has been engaged for the project in 1912, under the auspices of the Berwick Town Improvement Association. (24)
The plaque is no longer there, it was removed when the public toilet was built in High Street. At the time I wrote the original version of this post, 2014, one of the long term City of Casey officers, Ron Chidgey, made a few enquires for me and found that the plaque was stored safely at a Council depot. He sent me a photograph of it, see below.
The Grice plaque at the City of Casey depot in 2014
Eirruc / Eyrecourt in 1984
Eyre Court, April 26, 1984. Photographer: John T. Collins
State Library of Victoria image H2010.1/206
Trove list - I have created a list of articled connected to Richard Grice and the Berwick property, access it here.
Footnotes
(1) Early Days of Berwick and its surrounding districts, compiled by Norman E. Beaumont, James F. Curran and R.H. Hughes (3rd edition published by Rotary, 1979)., p. 31.The book was originally published in 1948.
(2) J. S. Legge, 'Grice, Richard (1813–1882)', Australian Dictionary of Biography https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/grice-richard-3669
(3) Ibid
(4) Diane Langmore, 'Casey, Lady Ethel Marian (Maie) (1891–1983)', Australian Dictionary of Biography https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/casey-lady-ethel-marian-maie-12296
(5) J. S. Legge, 'Grice, Richard (1813–1882)', Australian Dictionary of Biography https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/grice-richard-3669
(6) Judith Tyers, 'Grice, Sir John (1850–1935)', Australian Dictionary of Biography https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/grice-sir-john-6483 ; The Australasian, December 3, 1932, see here.
(7) Obituary of Ann Grice - The Leader, November 25, 1905, see here.
(8) Wedding announcement - The Argus, September 20, 1884, see here; J. Ann Hone, 'Currie, John Lang (1818–1898)', Australian Dictionary of Biography https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/currie-john-lang-3304 ; J.L. Currie's will - Geelong Advertiser, July 22 1898, see here.
(9) Shire of Berwick and Shire of Cranbourne Rate Books.
(10) In the 1886/1887 the Net Annual Value of the property was £250 and in 1887/1888 it was £350, so based on this increase, I am making the assumption that the newly built house was responsible for the increase.
(11) The Argus, November 12, 1909, see here.
(12) Death notice - Weekly Times, September 9, 1911 see here; Richard Grice Probate, Public Records Office of Victoria, see here.
(13) Weinholt to Edols - The Argus, December 3, 1910, see here; South Bourke & Mornington Journal, November 20, 1913, see here, had an advertisement for the sale of Richard Edol's superior household furniture, owing to the property having been sold. Alexander Pearson, his clearing sale in January 1920 advertised the property as Hilton, formerly known as Grice's property - The Argus, January 21, 1920, see here; Kinsella to Mrs Burnside The Argus, February 9, 1923, see here; Grimwade - The Herald, June 30, 1924, see here.
(14) Weekly Times, September 9, 1911 see here.
(15) Gunson, Niel The Good Country: Cranbourne Shire (F.W. Cheshire, 1968)
(16) Birth notice, The Herald, August 26, 1885, see here; Death notice, The Argus, May 27, 1932, see here; Obituary - Corowa Free Press, May 27, 1932, see here.
(17) Birth notice, The Argus, September 2, 1889, see here; Electoral rolls on Ancestry.com; Table Talk, May 6, 1915, see here; Details of divorce and children - Probate papers at the Public Records Office of Victoria, see here.
(18) Birth notice, The Argus, May 7, 1894, see here; Marriage notice, The Argus, June 23, 1915, see here; Percy's death notice The Australasian, September 15, 1917, see here; The Argus, December 24, 1918, see here.
(19) The Graphic of Australia, December 26, 1918, see here.
(20) Frankston & Somerville Standard, October 23, 1925, see here.
(21) Death notice The Argus, December 31, 1908, see here. Berwick Cemetery https://bhct.net.au/
(22) Berwick Shire News, June 19 1912. p. 2.
(23) Pakenham Gazette, September 28, 1917, see here.
(24) Pakenham Gazette, October 5, 1917, see here
This is an expanded and updated version of a post, that I wrote and researched which appears on my work blog Casey Cardinia Links to our Past.
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