The James’ Brothers of Mordialloc and Koo Wee Rup

John and Robert James are buried at the Cheltenham Pioneer Cemetery and their brother Charles at the Cheltenham Memorial Park. This is the story of the James’ brothers, the sons of Robert and Mary Ann James. I wrote this article for the Friends of Cheltenham Cemeteries newsletter, Raves From the Graves and it was published in the September 2024 issue. I am not related to the family, but came across the obituary of John James on the Koo Wee Rup Sun, and thought I would investigate further. 

Robert James married Mary Ann Butler on January 1, 1866 at the Wesleyan Church in Newington, which is now a suburb of Ballarat. Robert was a 24 year old miner, the son of Charles and Martha (nee Thomas) James and had been born in Blackford, Somerset. Mary Ann, was 19 years old, the daughter of Thomas and Mary (nee James) Butler and had been born in Bridghampton in Somerset. (1)

The Butlers had arrived in Geelong on the Sir Edward Parry on October 23, 1852 with Mary Ann who was their youngest child and four older children. Mary Ann’s mother, Mary, had been born in Blackford, and as she had the same surname and birth place as her future son-in-law it is likely that Robert and Mary Ann knew each other in England and were possibly cousins. (2)

After their arrival in Geelong the Butlers were employed by Miss Anne Drysdale and Miss Caroline Newcombe, of Coryeule, Moolap. These pioneering women gave their name to the towns of Drysdale and Newcombe. (3)

Robert and Mary Ann had eight sons in various towns throughout Victoria, the first in Moolap and the next three in Clunes, but by the mid 1880s they had settled in Geelong. The children were - William Butler (1866-1894), John (1868-1939), Charles (1870-1947), Joseph (1872, died aged 19 days old), Robert (1878-1918), Thomas (1879-1956), George Edward (1886-1915) and Arthur Bertram (1889-1949). Mary Ann died in Geelong on August 9, 1901 and is buried the Western Cemetery Geelong, with her first born son William, who died in November 1894. (4)

After the death of his wife, Mary Ann, Robert James purchased part of the Richfield Estate at Mordialloc which was auctioned in 1901. This land was formerly the Richfield racetrack established around 1887 by Alfred Bradshaw, and it was the first racecourse in the Mordialloc area. Tom Sheehy notes in his book Mordialloc-Chelsea: Aspects of History that Bradshaw was offered £18,000 for the property during the land boom, and even though the property had cost him only £40 he was too concerned with the need for paddocks to rest horses in to give serious consideration to profits. (5)

Main Street, Mordialloc, c. 1910 - how the town would have looked when the James' 

family owned Richfield.

Image: By the Creek: a Mordialloc History (6)

When Richfield went to auction on May 16, 1901 it was described as 253 acres of grand onion and potato land, and was sub-divided into farms of 13 to 30 acres. (7)  

The sale of the Richfield Estate in 1901

The Age, May 11, 1901 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article190033972

The James’ family purchased 165 acres of the property, which had an address of Wells Road, Mordialloc, for £20 an acre. (8)  Robert and his six sons farmed there until they sold in 1909. The reason for the sale was that Robert had died on June 12, 1905 aged 62, at St Arnaud Hospital. It would be interesting to know why he was in St Arnaud, as his death certificate lists address as Mordialloc, however son Thomas was born in St Arnaud so there was a connection to the town. Robert was buried at the St Arnaud Cemetery. (9)

Assets of Robert James as listed in his Probate papers.

Probate and Administration Files (VPRS28), 

https://prov.vic.gov.au/archive/F341797E-F215-11E9-AE98-CD4882710A7C?image=17#

Robert’s will listed the Richfield property as 165 acres Crown Allotments 129 and 130 Parish of Lyndhurst and it was valued at £3,300 for Probate purposes. The property also had a 6 room weatherboard house and out-buildings. His liabilities included wages due to his children for the period June 1902 to June 1905 - John, Charles, Robert and Thomas were to receive 15 shillings per week for the three years (or £115) and George and Arthur ten shillings per week (or £72.00). (10)

The homestead and haystacks on the Richfield property. 

Detail from sale flyer State Library of Victoria  http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/169848

In 1909, the Richfield property was advertised as 11 choice intense culture farms of rich black Carrum land it was for many years the property of  James' Bros and that for years it had upheld its reputation of being the best farm in the district. It was auctioned on September 29, 1909 and was divided into ten farms of around ten acres and one of 66 acres which included the homestead (located on the corner of Wells and Edithvale Roads). The land that was sold reached an average price of £31/9/ per acre. (11)

The sale of the Richfield Estate in 1909

State Library of Victoria  http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/169848

The James’ Brothers (with the exception of Charles) then moved their farming enterprise to Manks Road in Koo Wee Rup. The five brothers, either separately or in partnership with one other brother purchased 380 acres on eight different titles. (12)  Sadly, George died on September 11, 1915 when they were at Koo Wee Rup, aged only 29 and was buried at the Melbourne General Cemetery. (13)

George James' death notice

The Argus, September 13, 1915, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/1559412/386726

Between 1918 and 1920 the James’ brothers sold all the land on Manks Road and, apart from Arthur, left the area. The brothers held a monster clearing sale on July 21, 1920.

James' Brothers clearing sale July 21, 1920

Koo Wee Rup Sun, July 8, 1920 p. 1

After the sale of land one brother did remain in Koo Wee Rup, the youngest one, Arthur and his wife Elizabeth, who took up a farm on Rossiter Road in Koo Wee Rup. (14)  Arthur died on May 7, 1949 in sad circumstances as the Dandenong Journal of May 11, 1949 reported -

While watching his son play football for Kooweerup last Saturday Mr. Arthur Bertram James, farmer, of Rossiter Rd., Kooweerup, collapsed and died. Deceased, who was very well-known, was 59 years of age and is survived by his wife and three sons, John, Alan and Frank. (15)  

Arthur James'death notice

The Argus, May 9, 1949 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article22727315

As a matter of interest, Arthur’s son John, known as Jack, had a shoe shop in Koo Wee Rup and I can honestly say that every pair of shoes that I owned during my school days would have come from Mr James’ shop in Rossiter Road.

Jack James' shoe shop

Koo Wee Rup Sun, January 27, 1965, p. 4.

What happened after they left Koo Wee Rup?

Charles, who did not move to Koo Wee Rup, had married Polly Adams in 1910, and they had one son Keith. Charles was a carpenter and they lived at Mordialloc and later at 422 Centre Road, Bentleigh. He died on January 12, 1947 and is buried with Polly (who died in 1937) at the Memorial Park. (16)

Charles James' death notice

The Argus January 13, 1947 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article22401699

Thomas had a farm on the Princes Highway at Dandenong and married Linda Aileen Roberts in 1937. He died on February 17, 1956, and was cremated at Springvale. They had no children. (17) 

Thomas James' death notice

The Argus, February 20, 1956 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article72536820

Robert had died at his brother John’s home on Point Nepean Road, Mordialloc on March 17, 1918. He was aged 39, was not married and, as we said, is buried with John at the Pioneer Cemetery. (18)

Robert James' death notice

The Argus, March 18, 1918 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1646667

Which brings us to John, who died on January 19, 1939. John had an obituary published in the Koo Wee Rup Sun of January 26, 1939, which I came across when looking for something else and it was the catalyst for this research and story - 
We regret to record the death of Mr John James, of “Manuka” 301 Beach Road, Mentone, who passed away on Thursday last at the age of 70 years. Although he had not been laid aside with illness, Mr James had not been well for some time, but his death was rather unexpected. He was quite well on Thursday afternoon and did not complain of feeling ill until Thursday evening, when he had a severe heart attack from which he did not recover.

Formerly a resident of the Kooweerup district, Mr James was married about 13 years ago to Miss Lillian Griffiths, of Dandenong. His wife survives him and there were no children of the marriage. Mr Tom James, well-known resident of Prince’s Highway, Dandenong, is a brother, and other brothers to survive him is Mr Arthur James, of Kooweerup, and Mr Charlie James, of Mordialloc.

The funeral which took place on Saturday, was very well attended, the remains being interred in the family grave in the Methodist portion of the Old Cheltenham Cemetery. The pall-bearers were Messrs H. Higgins, F.A. Singleton, H. Osborn, S. Norton, J. Nott, B. Vale, G. Halford, J. Wilson, E. Breen, and M.M. Dally. Rev. Clark of Mentone conducted the service both at home and the graveside, and the funeral arrangements were in the hands of Mr W.J. Garnar of Dandenong. (19)

John James' death notice

The Argus, January 28, 1939 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12091279

John’s wife Lillian Griffiths came from an established Dandenong family who had arrived in the town in 1874. Her father Arthur, who died 1926 aged 79, was a blacksmith, operating first in premises at the corner of Lonsdale and Foster streets and later in Pultney street. Her mother, Rachel Susan Griffiths (nee Wright), died aged 84 in 1935. She was the mother of ten children of whom all except her son, Wallis, were still alive at the time of her death. Wallis had been killed in Action in France on May 3, 1917. Lillian died March 18, 1971 aged 88 and she buried at Springvale Cemetery. (20)

The James’ Brothers are representative of the many farming families who could make a living on their small farms in the Mordialloc region; farms which have now turned into housing, or in the case of some of the Richfield property, a retirement community that carries its name.

Footnotes

(1) James/Butler marriage certificate

(2) Chuk, Florence  The Somerset Years: Government assisted emigrants from Somerset and Bristol who arrived in Port Phillip/Victoria 1839-1854 (Pennard Hills publications, no date), p. 174.

(3) Ibid.

(4) Indexes to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages. Mary Ann James' death notice, Geelong Advertiser, August 10, 1901, see here; Geelong Cemeteries Trust   https://gct.net.au/resource/location/geelong-western-cemetery/

(5) Sheehy, Tom Mordialloc-Chelsea: Aspects of History (Standard Newspapers, 1970), p.  31-34.

(6) Whitehead, Graham & Gamble, Leo By the Creek: A Mordialloc History (City of Kingston, 2014), p. 107

(7) The Age, May 11, 1901, see here.  

(8) As listed in Robert James' Will and Probate papers, held at the Public Records Office of Victoria https://prov.vic.gov.au/archive/F341797E-F215-11E9-AE98-CD4882710A7C?image=1

(9) Robert James' death certificate

(10) See Footnote 7

(11) Richfield sale poster, State Library of Victoria  http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/169848; Clearing sale at Richfield - Brighton Southern Cross, September 18, 1909, see here;  Clearing sale results - The Australasian, October 9, 1909, see here; Property sale results - Geelong Advertiser, October 2, 1909, see here.

(12) Shire of Cranbourne Rate books

(13) Robert James death and funeral notice - The Argus, September 13, 1915, see here. 

(14) Shire of Cranbourne Rate books

(15) Obituary - Dandenong Journal, May 11, 1949, see here; Death notice - The Argus, May 9, 1949, see here.  

(16) Indexes to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages; Electoral rolls on Ancestry.com; Death and funeral notice, The Argus January 13, 1947, see here.

(17) Death and Funeral notice The Argus, February 20, 1956, see here. 

(18) Death and Funeral notice, The Argus, March 18, 1918, see here.

(19) Koo Wee Rup Sun, January 26, 1939, p. 1.; Death notice The Argus, January 28, 1939, see here.

(20) Arthur Griffiths obituary, South Bourke & Mornington Journal, August 19, 1926, see here;  Rachel Griffiths obituary Dandenong Journal, June 6, 1935, see here; Lillian death notice The Age, March 20, 1971, from newspapers.com

The Follett Family of Heatherton and Cheltenham

I wrote this article for the Friends of Cheltenham Cemeteries newsletter, Raves From the Graves and it was published in the April 2024 issue. I am not related to the family, however, as I discovered, the 'original' Follets, Joseph and Harriett, came from South Petherton in Somerset, as did my 3x great grandfather, Jacob Lawrence, who came to Victoria in May 1849. The reason I started researching the Follett family is because I came across a report of the Golden Wedding of William and Mary Follett of Cheltenham in the Koo Wee Rup Sun in July 1924 and wondered what their connection to Koo Wee Rup was, and the research led to this story.

 The Follett Family of Heatherton and Cheltenham

There are many members of the Follett family buried at the Cheltenham Pioneer Cemetery and the Cheltenham Memorial Park. As one of their obituaries noted  - The name Follett is synonymous with Heatherton and Cheltenham, and quite a large family bearing the same name resides throughout these townships and at Mentone. (1) 

Joseph and Harriett (nee Hill) Follett arrived in Geelong on the Victory on December 24, 1852, with their two sons. Joseph was 26, Harriett was 23, James was three and William was one year old. Both Joseph and Harriett could read and they were members of the Church of England. They had come from South Petherton, in Somerset. Florence Chuk, in her book The Somerset Years: Government assisted emigrants from Somerset and Bristol who arrived in Port Phillip/Victoria 1839-1854 notes that the Folletts, were an old family in this market town: a Mary and Robert ffollett were listed in the Hearth tax records of March 6, 1670. Mrs Chuk also writes that at the time South Petherton was a market town where approximately half the workers were tradesmen or craftsmen of some kind or other, while others were employed on the land. (2)

Joseph’s uncles - his mother’s brothers - Simeon and Thomas Male had already migrated from South Petherton, having arrived with their families on July 23, 1841 on the George Fyffe. The Males settled at Brighton where they were saw-millers. Thomas died, aged 43 on October 13, 1856 after he was thrown from his cart and is buried at  the Brighton Cemetery in a double grave with other family members, including his wife Eliza (nee Dunstone) who had died the previous December from childbirth at the age of 41. Simeon died in 1868, aged 61 and his wife Esther (nee Laver) in 1855, aged 45. The brothers are the source of the name Male Street in Brighton. (3)  

It is more than likely that this family connection to the Male Brothers  influenced the decision of Joseph and Harriett to settle initially in Mordialloc. The 1862 Moorabbin District Road Board rate books list the Folletts in Centre Road, where they took up market gardening and dairying, and later in the Heatherton / Cheltenham area.  Joseph and Harriett had seven more children in Victoria - George (1854), Mary (1857), James (1860), Harriett (1863), Charles (1865), Joseph (1867) and Sarah (1871). (4)

Sadly, as was all too common in those times, four of the children died young - James, the eldest child who had been born in England, was found drowned in a waterhole on October 22, 1856, aged 8; Harriett died at 16 months old; Joseph died at the age of two; and Sarah died at the age of eleven. The four children are buried at the Brighton General Cemetery in the same grave as parents, Joseph and Harriett. Joseph, died on November 17, 1889 aged 63, at Boundary Road, Dingley. Harriett, died May 17, 1915, aged 86. (5)

Harriett Follett (1829-1915)

The Moorabbin News of May 22, 1915 published this short obituary of Harriett Follett -
The death is announced of Mrs. H Follett, relict of the late Joseph Follett. The sad event took place on Monday last at the residence of her daughter in Old Dandenong Road. Deceased was a colonist of 62 years and had been gradually failing for some years. She was 87 years of age at the time of her demise. Mrs Follett was the mother of Mrs Besant, William, George, James and Charles Follett. Her remains were interred in Brighton cemetery on Wednesday, where a large number of friends and relatives attended.  Messrs Rose Bros., had charge of the funeral arrangements. (6)

Of the five surviving children of Joseph and Harriett, four were buried at the Cheltenham Pioneer Cemetery. By my calculations they also had 37 grandchildren of whom 21 are buried at the Pioneer Cemetery and three at the Cheltenham Memorial Park. (7)  We will look at the lives of the five surviving children.

William Follett (1851-1929)
William, who had came out with his parents as a one year old married Mary Elizabeth Taylor, of Berwick on July 2, 1874. Mary was the fifth child of John and Emily (nee Tyler) Taylor, and was only one year old when her mother died in 1853. (8)

William was a market gardener and they had ten children, all the births were registered at Cheltenham – Joseph William (1875-1950), Edward John (1876-1907), George (1878-1950), James (1880-1961), Elizabeth Emily (1881-1881), Albert Thomas (1883-1942), Alfred (1885-1885), Alexander Robert (1887-1967), Harriett Emily (1887-1957) and Ellen (1889-1889). (9)

Willian Follett (1851-1929)

William and Mary were fortunate to celebrate their Golden Wedding Anniversary and there was a report of this event in the Koo Wee Rup Sun of July 17, 1924 -
The golden wedding of Mr and Mrs Wm. Follett, of “Seaview,” Balcombe Road, Cheltenham, was celebrated at their residence on Wednesday, July 2nd, and was attended by forty relatives of the family, including five sons and one daughter, 23 grand children and one great grandchild. The ceremony was more interesting by reason of the fact that on that day Mrs Follett celebrated her 73rd birthday.

Mr Follett arrived in this country in his youthful days, and resided at Heatherton, where he entered upon gardening pursuits. His marriage to Miss Mary Elizabeth Taylor, of Berwick, was celebrated at the Church of England, Melbourne, by Rev. A. Turner, and they drove from Heatherton to the church, as in those days a district train service was unknown. Twenty-five years ago Mr Follett retired from gardening and removed to Balcombe Road with his wife to spend the evening of their lives in the neighbourhood of two of their sons.

A pleasing feature of the celebration was the receipt of many letters and telegrams of congratulations from old residents of the district. On behalf of the family a presentation of a clock was made to Mr and Mrs Follett, senr. (10)

If you want to know why this report was published in the Koo Wee Rup Sun it was because two of William and Mary’s children lived there at the time – George and his wife Charlotte; and Albert and his wife Violet (nee Besant, his first cousin). Charlotte met with an unusual accident in 1924, as the Koo Wee Rup Sun reported in June –
On Thursday morning last Mrs J. Macain, of Kooweerup, while attending to domestic duties, had the misfortune to run a darning needle into her right hand. She was conveyed to Dandenong, where under X-rays, the needle was discovered deeply imbedded in the flesh. She had to undergo an operation to have it extracted, and it is pleasing to record she is making satisfactory progress. Only the previous week Mrs G. Follett, of Kooweerup, met with a similar accident, and had to go to Dandenong. She is also making rapid recovery. (11)

The Weekly Times interviewed George Follett about his farm and farming methods at Koo Wee Rup in February 1932, and he mentioned his previous experience at Mentone - 

Mr. Follett formerly was engaged in market gardening at Mentone, and that probably accounts for the neatness and attention to detail which are so much in evidence about his place. "It is 16 years since I came to Koo-Wee-Rup with £1400, the savings of 17 years," he told me. "I paid £39 an acre for 84 acres, and unfortunately struck a flood the first year, during which I could not work the property. That meant a severe blow but I was able to carry on, and four years ago acquired another 40 acres at £45 an acre." (12)

William died on October 5, 1929 at his home, 250 Balcombe Road, Mentone aged 78; Mary died on April 15, 1930, at a private hospital in Cheltenham, aged 78. They are buried together in the Pioneer Cemetery. Nine of their ten children are also buried at the Pioneer Cemetery (Alexander was cremated at Springvale). (13)  

Also buried at Cheltenham was Mary’s father, John Taylor. His short obituary was in the South Bourke & Mornington Journal of September 19, 1906 - Mr John Taylor, a very old resident of Berwick, died at the residence of his daughter, Mrs Wm. Follett, Balcombe Road, Cheltenham, on Sunday week. Deceased had reached the old age of 88 years. (14)

George Follett (1854-1918)
George was the first child of Joseph and Harriett to be born in Victoria. He married Mary Louise Porter, in 1881. Mary was the daughter of James and Hannah (nee Davey) Porter. They were also from South Petherton, having arrived in Victoria on the Mooltan on August 2, 1853. They took up farming at Centre Road, and are listed as a neighbour to Joseph Follett in the 1862 Rate Books for the Moorabbin District Road Board. Hannah Porter, actually gave evidence at the inquest of 8-year-old James Follett, when he drowned in the waterhole in October 1856, and she was the one who pulled his lifeless body out of the water. (15)

George and Mary had seven children, all the births were registered in Cheltenham -  Sarah Ann (1882-1883), Walter Charles (1884-1950), Herbert George (1887-1957), Hannah Mary (1888-1889), Frederick (1890-1966), Lillian Hannah (1892-1892) and  Hilda May (1893-1893). As you can see, the four little girls died tragically young, and they are all buried at the Pioneer Cemetery. (16)  Their deaths naturally had an effect on Mary and on December 15, 1896 she was admitted to the Sunbury Lunatic Asylum as mentally [she] was the subject of chronic mania. Mary was still in the Asylum when she died on January 23, 1915 of pulmonary tuberculosis, at the age of 53 years of age. (17)  Such a sad life for her, for George and her three boys, who essentially grew up without their mother being actively present in their lives.

George Follett (1854-1918)

George died three years later on February 7, 1918. His obituary in the Cheltenham Seaside News of February 9, 1918 was very informative -
With tragic and startling suddenness Mr. G Follett passed away at his residence, Cheltenham, last Thursday morning. He retired as usual on the night previous and was taken a cup of tea by his house keeper, Mrs Lucas at 7 a.m., on the day mentioned.

Shortly afterwards a peculiar bump was heard and upon Mrs Lucas entering Mr Follett's room, she found him lying in a helpless condition on the floor. Medical assistance was obtained, but deceased had passed away "to that bourn from which no traveler Returns” Mr Follett was an enthusiastic bowler and billiard player, and played both games as usual on Wednesday evening. He was 64 years of age, son of the late Mr J. Follett and father of Mr Walter Follett, Heatherton, Mr Fred Follett, now on active service, and Mr H. Follett at Koo-wee-rup. His wife predeceased him a few years ago.

He was born at Heatherton and has lived the whole of his life in the district. The name Follett is synonymous with Heatherton and Cheltenham, and quite a large family bearing the same name resides throughout these town ships and at Mentone. The late Mr Follett originally lived opposite the Heatherton State school, and later removed to the old homestead of his father in Boundary road. Some five years ago, he retired from a successful market gardening business after a strenuous series of years. He was taking things easy, enjoying his latter years in comparative comfort. Mr Follett was a good sport, quiet and unassuming, genial in disposition equally able to enjoy a joke against himself as to participate in one against his friends. He enjoyed nothing better than in exchanging reminiscences of the early days, and was always interesting to listen to - possessing a quiet shrewd sense of humor, and was always a gentleman.

The funeral leaves Mr Follett's late residence 'Oakwood,’ Pt. Nepean road, at 3 p.m. to-day. Owing to the suddenness of the death, a post mortem elimination was held by Dr. Morris on yesterday morning. After due examination a verdict was recorded that death was due to cardiac dilatation and degeneration. (18)

George and Mary are buried at the Pioneer Cemetery, as is their son Herbert; Walter is at Springvale and Frederick in New South Wales. (19)

Mary Besant (1857-1944)
Mary, the daughter of Joseph and Harriett, married Alfred Besant in 1879. Alfred and Mary were market gardeners from Heatherton. Alfred was the son of Alfred and Sarah (nee Warry) Besant, and they were also a local farming family, with Alfred senior listed at Springvale Road in the 1864 Rate books and later at Kingston Road. (20)

Mary and Alfred had nine children, the births were all registered in Cheltenham -  Everilda (1880-1972), Albert Alfred (1881-1962), Frank (1883-1950), Violet Harriett (1884-1966), Walter George (1886-1939), Charles Edwin (1887-1891), Ernest William (1890-1913), Elsie Sarah (1891-1979) and Harold Joseph (1893-1968). (21)

The 1900 Shire of Moorabbin Rate books list Arthur as owning 37 acres on Kingston Road, which was most likely Alfred senior; and Mary Besant as owning 7½ acres on Old Dandenong Road and leasing two other parcels of land from her brothers, both of ten acres and both with a house also on Old Dandenong Road. I presume some of her sons lived and farmed there. (22)

Mary Besant (1857-1944)

The Besant family grave at the Pioneer Cemetery is a triple grave, with three headstones. They commemorate - Sarah Besant, Mary’s mother-in-law who died in 1891, aged 67 and is buried with her grandson Walter who died later in 1939. Alfred senior, who died in 1901 aged 78 and is buried with his son Alfred, Mary's husband, who died in October 1919, aged 70 and his little grandson, Charles Besant who was only 4 when he passed away in 1891. Mary died on October 4, 1944 at the ripe old age of 87 and she is the grave with son Ernest. (23) Ernest was killed in 1913, aged 23, in an accident in South Melbourne, when his cart was hit by another cart. He was thrown to the ground and run over by his cart and did not survive his injuries. The accident was caused by the other vehicle, the driver of which was charged by the police as being drunk in charge of a horse and vehicle. (24)

Two other of Mary and Arthur’s children are also buried at the Pioneer Cemetery – Violet and Walter; Elsie is at the Memorial Park and Everilda, Albert, Frank and Harold are all resting at Springvale. As a matter of interest, Harold was a City of Moorabbin councillor and Mayor in 1943/1944. There is a Besant Street in what was Moorabbin, but now called Hampton East, named after the family. (25)

Before we leave the Besant family, they have a very interesting connection to both the Queen and Oscar Wilde. Dorothy Helen Thelma Besant was born in 1910 to Frank and Matilda Besant, the son and daughter-in-law of Mary and Alfred Besant. Thelma, as she was known, worked for Cyclax cosmetics as a lecturer and demonstrator and the company suggested to the Royal Family that the then Princess Elizabeth might need some advice on skin-care and make-up.  Thelma become the Queen-to-be's Cosmetician and Beauty Adviser – guiding her through the Coronation and years of public appearances. In 1943 Thelma married Vyvyan Oscar Beresford Holland, the son of Oscar Wilde. He had been born with the surname Wilde in 1886, but in1895 his mother changed his surname to Holland, after Wilde had been charged with “gross indecency.”  Thelma and Vyvyan had one son and she died in 1995. (26)

James Follett (1860-1944)
James married three times and had seven children – the births of whom were all registered at Cheltenham, apart from his eldest child who was registered at Mordialloc. James married firstly in 1885 to Marion Jack. They had two children Joseph Henry (1886-1961) and Marion (1888-1942). Sadly their mother Marion died in July 1888, at the age of 28, the same year her daughter was born. (27)

James then married Marion’s sister Helen in 1890. Helen gave birth to Albert James in (1892-1893) and two years later to daughter Helen (1894-1957). Tragedy struck the family again and Helen died on February 28, 1894, at Boundary Road, Heatherton, aged only 25. (28)

Marion and Helen were the daughters of James and Margaret (nee Henderson) Jack of Heatherton. They are also buried in the Pioneer Cemetery. James Jack’s obituary in the Brighton Southern Cross of June 3, 1911 reads –
An old resident of Heatherton was removed in the death, of Mr. James Jack, which took place on the 21st May, at his residence, Jack Road, after a long and painful illness. The deceased gentleman, who had reached the advanced age of 85 years, was born in Airdrie, Lanarkshire, Scotland, and came to Victoria in l854; two years later he came to Heatherton, where he has resided since. He leaves two sons and four daughters, his wife having predeceased him five years ago. (29)

James Follett (1860-1944)

James Follett married again in 1906 to Emeline Law, and had three daughters – Lillian (1906-1973), Elsie Anne (1909-1989) and Emeline Jane (1911-2001). They farmed at Heatherton. James died in August 1944 at the Echuca Hospital; his short obituary in the Riverine Herald on August 19, 1944 noted that - Mr Follett, father of Mrs Coates of Mathoura, who was over 80 years of age and had been in the Echuca Hospital for some time, passed away yesterday. (30)

Mrs Coates was his daughter, Helen. James is buried at the Pioneer Cemetery in a double grave with his first wife Marion, his second wife Helen and their little boy Albert who died in 1893, aged 20 months. Also in the grave is his third wife Emeline, who died in 1948 and their daughter, Lillian, who died in 1973. (31)

Charles Follett (1865-1940)
Charles was also a market gardener and lived in Mentone.  Charles’ wife was Jane Morton Shanks Jack, the sister of Marion and Helen Jack, who had both married James Follett and died tragically young. Charles and Jane had four children - Margaret Isabella (1891-1943), Charles Arthur (1892-1969), Albert George (1893-1963) and Annie Eleanor (1898-1987).  Charles died on January 15, 1940, aged 75 and Jane, two months later, on March 14, 1940, both at their home 5 Cremona Street, Mentone. They are buried at the Brighton General Cemetery, in the same grave as his parents, Joseph and Harriett. Of their four children Margaret and Annie are buried at the Memorial Cemetery and Charles at the Pioneer Cemetery; their brother Albert was cremated at Springvale Crematorium. (32)

Charles Follett (1865-1940)

Conclusion
The Folletts were a successful family, with strong connections by marriage to other local farming families and they made the most of the opportunities that the Colony of Victoria offered them. They were generational farmers producing food to feed Victoria’s increasing population and quietly contributing to the growth of the Cheltenham area. Follett Road in Cheltenham is named for the family.

Acknowledgement: Thank you to Graeme Follett, a grandson of Albert and Violet (nee Besant) Follett, for some family information and especially for the information about Thelma Holland and her amazing Royal career. Graeme also kindly supplied the family photos from his family tree on Ancestry.com

Footnotes
(1) Cheltenham Seaside News, February 9, 1918, see here.
(2) Chuk, Florence  The Somerset Years: Government assisted emigrants from Somerset and Bristol who arrived in Port Phillip/Victoria 1839-1854 (Pennard Hills publications, no date) - Follett arrival in Victoria, p. 199; Follett history in South Petherton, p. 199; South Petherton as a market town, p. 63.
(3) Chuk, op. cit., p. 63-64, 199; Thomas Male, report of inquest - The Argus, October 22, 1856, see here; Brighton Cemetorians database  https://www.brightoncemetorians.org.au/  ; Indexes to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages.   
(4) Moorabbin District Road Board/ Moorabbin Shire Council Rate Books from Ancestry.com; Indexes to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages.   

(5) Inquest Deposition files of James Follett at the Public Records Office of Victoria    https://prov.vic.gov.au/archive/9AD6FDAA-F1BB-11E9-AE98-CF53C50BA1D8?image=1; Joseph's death notice, The Age, November 19, 1889, see here; Harriett's death notice, The Argus, May 18, 1915, see here; Brighton Cemetorians database  https://www.brightoncemetorians.org.au/

(6) Cheltenham Seaside News, May 22, 1915, see here.

(7) Friends of Cheltenham Cemeteries database, https://www.focrc.org/

(8) Koo Wee Rup Sun, July 17, 1924 p. 4.; Indexes to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages.   

(9) Indexes to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages.   

(10) Koo Wee Rup Sun, July 17, 1924 p. 4. 

(11) Koo Wee Rup Sun, June 5, 1924, p. 4.

(12) Weekly Times, February 13, 1932, see here. There is a photograph of George Follett's Koo Wee Rup  house, in the same issue, see here.

(13) William's death notice, The Age, October 7, 1929, see here ; Mary's death notice, The Argus, April 16, 1930, see here.; Friends of Cheltenham Cemeteries database, https://www.focrc.org/ ; Springvale Botanical Cemetery database https://smct.org.au/deceased-search
(14) South Bourke & Mornington Journal, September 19, 1906, see here.
(15) Chuk, op. cit., p. 241; Moorabbin District Road Board/ Moorabbin Shire Council Rate Books from Ancestry.com; Inquest Deposition files of James Follett at the Public Records Office of Victoria    https://prov.vic.gov.au/archive/9AD6FDAA-F1BB-11E9-AE98-CF53C50BA1D8?image=1;

(16) Indexes to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages; Friends of Cheltenham Cemeteries database, https://www.focrc.org/

(17) Inquest Deposition files of Mary Louise Follett at the Public Records Office of Victoria - https://prov.vic.gov.au/archive/1C45BDF0-F1C3-11E9-AE98-F75A795BE5A3

(18) Cheltenham Seaside News, February 9, 1918, see here.

(19)  Friends of Cheltenham Cemeteries database, https://www.focrc.org/; Springvale Botanical Cemetery database https://smct.org.au/deceased-search; Indexes to the New South Wales Births, Deaths and Marriages.

(20) Indexes to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages; Moorabbin District Road Board/ Moorabbin Shire Council Rate Books from Ancestry.com

(21) Indexes to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages

(22) Moorabbin District Road Board/ Moorabbin Shire Council Rate Books from Ancestry.com
(23) Friends of Cheltenham Cemeteries database, https://www.focrc.org/
(24) Mary Besant's death notice - The Age, October 5, 1944, see here;  Inquest Deposition files of Ernest Besant at the Public Records Office of Victoria https://prov.vic.gov.au/archive/CA22ABED-F1C2-11E9-AE98-CB9968331161?image=1
(25) Friends of Cheltenham Cemeteries database, https://www.focrc.org/; Springvale Botanical Cemetery database https://smct.org.au/deceased-search; Harold - City of Moorabbin Councillor https://seha.org.au/shire-presidents-and-mayors-of-caulfield-and-moorabbin-councils

(26) Thelma Holland’s obituary by Margaret McCall, published in The Independent March 9, 1995 -

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-thelma-holland-1610458.html

(27) Indexes to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages; Marion's funeral notice The Age, August 1, 1888 see here.

(28) Ibid;  Helen's death notice The Leader, March 10, 1894, see here. 

(29) Brighton Southern Cross, June 3, 1911, see here.

(30) Indexes to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages; Riverine Herald, August 19, 1944 see here.

(31) Friends of Cheltenham Cemeteries database, https://www.focrc.org/

(32) Charles' death notice, The Sun News-Pictorial, January 17, 1940, see here; Jane's death notice The Argus, March 16, 1940, see here. Friends of Cheltenham Cemeteries database, https://www.focrc.org/; Springvale Botanical Cemetery database https://smct.org.au/deceased-search; Brighton Cemetorians database  https://www.brightoncemetorians.org.au/ ; Indexes to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages

Donkeys on the St Kilda Beach

In January 1905, The Australasian, published a delightful account of a family spending the day at the St Kilda beach, which included the following - 
About 2 o'clock the donkeys come down. They are such dear, little, obstinate creatures, and are about eleven in number; but more are to come from New Zealand, where they are bred. The children are delighted with the novelty. They pet and fondle them, and discover their names engraved on their halters. There is Gipsy, Topsy, Madcap, Murmur, Bland Holt, Seddon, and Napoleon. This last donkey objects to carrying adults or boys, he likes the girls best. It is strange how he knows, instantly a man or boy is wont to get on his back he bucks most viciously, and yet for the girls his temper is angelic. Double-seated wicker saddles are provided for the very little children, and the donkeys look so pretty with a double-freight of chubby babies; on their backs. I am sure they feel their twofold responsibility in carrying such precious burdens. Boys and girls ride straddle-saddle, so there is little fear of a fall. Even if such a catastrophe should happen, it would not be serious on the sand. Boys accompany the riders, whipping the donkeys up, until they break into a fast trot, and judging by the beaming faces of the children, it must be great fun, and well worth a trial. Several timid little girls want a ride badly, but they are afraid unless an elder sister walks beside the donkey to held then on. Then the difficulty is to get them off, as they have enjoyed the ride so much. (1)

Are these Gipsy, Topsy, Madcap, Murmur, Bland Holt, Seddon, and Napoleon?

Donkeys on the St Kilda Beach, dated c. 1906. State Library of Victoria image H33670/4   http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/289402

The donkeys belonged to Mr H. Wright, who had applied to the St Kilda Council in March 1904 for  permission to run donkeys on the beach foreshore for the amusement of children. Below high water mark the council has no jurisdiction, but, subject to supervision, it was decided to offer no opposition, and the application was referred to the public works committee to consider the terms. (2)

The Public Works Committee granted Mr Wright, permissive occupancy of the foreshore, between the baths and Brooke's boat house, for donkey rides, subject to regulations to be drawn up. (3)

In spite of this permission (and possibly because a new application was required each year) Mr Wright applied again to the Council in November 1904 to use a portion of the foreshore for the purpose of giving rides on donkeys to all and sundry. (4) He was granted permission for donkeys being run on the foreshore north of Kenney's baths to a point in line with Mary-street. (5)

Donkeys on the St Kilda Beach

Weekly Times, January 7, 1905 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/222539805/23493233#

Gipsy, Topsy, Madcap, Murmur, Bland Holt, Seddon, and Napoleon were very popular with the children, but there was drama in early January of 1905 when the donkeys were attacked. The following letter was written to the Editor of The Argus newspaper -

Sir -This is what happened at half past 4 on Tuesday afternoon on St Kilda beach. A respectable young man is running donkeys, and while some were carrying their human freights two larrikins took from a cart - which they had driven to the water's edge - one or two fierce bulldogs. The collar was removed and the bulldog let go. It deliberately set on to a donkey carrying a little boy. The boy was severely bitten about the legs necessitating hospital dressing, and the donkey was greatly injured, needing the services of a veterinary surgeon. Police assistance was sought in every direction and although the depot was telephoned no police arrived for fully 40 minutes. (6)

Donkeys on the Sands, St Kilda.

Image not dated but likely to be c. 1905

 Australian National Maritime Museum image 00001937 

https://collections.sea.museum/objects/48638/donkeys-on-the-sands-at-st-kilda

I have no information as to whether the donkeys were on the beach all year, or just over the Summer season, but as this article from the newspaper in November 1905, tells us 

Numbers of children were disappointed on Monday at St Kilda owing to the absence of the donkeys on the beach. It was not discernible whether it was because the public works department sand trucks are shifting the whole beach between Brook's boathouse and the baths or whether it was owing to some other reason. Anyhow the donkeys were not there and the sand tracks were, whilst it may be added that the beach is gradually disappearing. Will it ever - like the cat - come back again? (7)

On the Sands at St Kilda - lounging adults and children riding donkeys.

Did the Donkeys come back that Summer? I cannot say. I have found other accounts of the donkeys at the the St Kilda Beach, the earliest one from November 1868. In January 1870, The Age advertised that Rowland's stud of Donkeys will be at St Kilda Beach during the week, and at Brighton on Sundays, during the season. (8)  But these donkeys were not popular with everyone as The Herald noted in February 1870- 

Donkey Riding at St. Kilda - A correspondent writes to us anent the "donkey riding nuisance," and says "it ought to be done away with by the authorities." Alluding to yesterday afternoon, our correspondent says : "At one time there were two or three hundred boys on the St. Kilda beach, where a man hired out several donkeys for short rides along the beach. Every time a donkey started a number of these boys would scamper after them, yelling, and shouting, and cheering, to the great annoyance of those who were out for a gentle stroll by the rippling waters of the bay to enjoy the fresh breeze after the confinement of the week." We quite agree with the writer of the above, that what he complains of is a great nuisance, and should be checked. (9)

In January 1871, Mr Rowland  put his stock of donkeys, mules and equipment up for auction which offered a man of small capital the opportunity to enter into a lucrative pursuit. (10)

Mr Rowlands sells his donkeys

The Argus, January 10, 1871 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/5840797

After 1871, I could find no reports of donkey rides until Mr H. Wright and his donkeys in 1904 and 1905. 

The next confirmed reports of donkey rides was in December 1923, when the newspapers could announce that one of the traditional delights of English seaside resorts donkey rules for children will be an attraction at St. Kilda this summer. (11) The Herald later reported - 

The week after next, children visiting St. Kilda beach will be able to hire donkeys and ride between Brooke's boathouse and the pavilion tea rooms. This innovation has been sanctioned by the St. Kilda Shore Committee, which has made arrangements with a private proprietor. An offer was also made to provide camels with Oriental trappings, each camel to be led, but the committee would not accept. The beach is too crowded at holiday times it was considered, for camels. The owner of the donkeys intends to seek similar privileges on other beaches, including South Melbourne, Brighton and Sandringham. (12)

Sadly for Mr Joe Gardiner, he was not allowed to provide camel rides on the beach and thus his camels, Mutt and Jeff, had to reside at Coburg.

The Argus, January 26, 1924 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/1927133

However,  the hopes of the youngsters for donkey rides were dashed, as The Herald reported -  

Rinderpest in West Australia is responsible for depriving children visiting the St. Kilda foreshore of the rides on donkeys to which they had been looking forward after recent announcements in the press. Mr H. O. Allen, secretary, of the St. Kilda Shore Trust, has been in formed by Mr J. Gardiner, who was given the right to provide the donkeys that he purchased some in Perth, West Australia, but was unable to ship them to Melbourne because of the regulations issued since the outbreak of rinderpest forbidding the transfer of animals likely to carry the disease. (13)

The next reference in the newspapers to donkeys on the beach at St Kilda was in December 1931,  when The Sun News-Pictorial published the following photographs -

Donkeys on the beach at St Kilda.

The Sun News-Pictorial, December 19, 1931 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/276261897

Four years later, The Herald in November 1935 published this cute photograph of a girl having a donkey ride at St Kilda

A donkey ride on the St Kilda Beach

The Herald, November 15, 1935 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/244779014

In spite of the donkeys looking cute and children being fond of them, again not everyone was happy for them to be on the beach. This was published in the The Sun News-Pictorial  in December 1935 - 

Denies Donkeys Nuisance On St. Kilda Beach - Replying yesterday to a complaint by a correspondent, that donkeys were allowed to be paraded on the beach at St Kilda, to the inconvenience of bathers, the secretary of the St. Kilda Shore Committee (Cr. Dawkins) denied there was any interference with bathers, or any pollution of the beach. The owner of the donkeys, who charged children a penny a ride, paid to take the animals there. This form of amusement, Cr. Dawkins said, was permitted on every popular beach in the world. (14)

Nothing came of the complaint as the donkeys were still providing entertainment  in January 1936 and a year later in January 1937, when this photograph was published in The Argus.

Kiddies enjoying donkey rides  on the beach at St Kilda.

The Argus, January 4 1937 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/11954036

From February to April 1938, the St Kilda Beach donkeys were for sale, advertised as quiet for children. (15)  

The riding donkeys for sale

The Herald, March 3, 1938, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/244591983

Was this the end of donkey rides being held on the beach at St Kilda on a regular basis? I can find no further references to them; the War naturally diverted resources from pleasure to patriotic causes and by the time things returned to 'normal' after the War ended, perhaps donkey rides were considered passé or donkey rides were confined to Parks.

Trove list - I have created a list of articles relating to donkeys on the St Kilda beach, access it here.

Footnotes

(1) The Australasian, January 21, 1905, see here.

(2) The Age, March 16, 1904, see here.

(3) Prahran Telegraph, April 2, 1904, see here.

(4) Prahran Chronicle, November 12, 1904, see here.

(5) Prahran Telegraph, December 24, 1904, see here.

(6) The Argus, January 7, 1905, see here.

(7) Prahran Telegraph, November 18, 1905, see here.

(8) The Argus, November 11, 1868, see here; The Age, January 15, 1870, see here.

(9) The Herald, February 21, 1870, see here.

(10) The Argus, January 10, 1871, see here. 

(11) Prahran Telegraph, December 14, 1923,  see here.

(12) The Herald, December 6, 1923, see here.

(13) The Herald, January 7, 1924, see here.

(14) Sun News-Pictorial, December 4, 1935 see here.

(15) The Herald, March 3, 1938,  see here.