Sunday, July 5, 2026

Julia Avenue, Balaclava and the Buchholz family

Julia Avenue in Balaclava was developed as a private street in 1886 by Simon Buchholz and named for his wife Julia. Around 1912 it was renamed Carlisle Avenue, and given that it runs off Carlisle Street it appears to be a decision that would have led to confusion regarding mail deliveries. Carlisle Street is named after the Earl of Carlisle. On the corner of the Avenue and Carlisle Street is St Colman's Catholic Church. The original building, a weatherboard one, was officially opened as the Church of the Holy Angels in October 1900  The current brick Church was opened in November  1913  and it was renamed St Colman's in 1939. (1) 

Simon Buchholz was born (as listed on his death certificate) in Bomst, Germany in 1825; an area which is now part of Poland. (2) He migrated to England when he was 15 and around 1855 married German born Julia Gruenthal in Sheffield, England (3).  Their first child, Emma Esther, was born in 1856 in Sheffield. (4) The next year, the family moved to Victoria and their next four children were born in Ballarat East - Solomon in 1858; Morris in 1859, Louis in 1861 and daughter Frances in 1862. (5) Around 1864 they moved to New Zealand where Simon operated a general store in the town of Moteuka, on the South Island. (6) Their sixth child, Samuel, was born in Moteuka in 1868. (7) In June 1882, Simon sold his business to Abraham Manoy. (8) 1882 was also also the year that Simon was naturalised. (9) 

On July 26, 1883 tragedy struck the family when 24 year old Morris accidentally drowned at Takaka. The circumstances were reported on the the newspaper, The Colonist - 
Late on Saturday news was received in Town that Mr Morris Buchholz, a son of an old and respected resident in the district, was missing between Parapara and Takaka, and it was at once feared that he had met with an accident in endeavoring to cross the Takaka River. We learn that on Thursday last Mr Morris Buchholz, who was travelling for Mr M. Davis of this city, obtained a horse from Mr Miles at Collingwood, and that at 4 o'clock in the afternoon he started to ride to Takaka, taking with him some packages strapped to his saddle. He was seen as far on his road as the Parapara, and on Saturday, upon its becoming known at Collingwood that Mr Buchholz had not arrived at Takaka, alarm was at once caused, and as soon as the tide admitted the local constable started on a search. Mr Hicks, the Takaka constable, and others also proceeded, we understand, to search for the missing gentleman. Yesterday morning the horse that Mr Buchholz rode was found hear the mouth of the Takaka with the saddle turned round so that it was under its belly, and it was saturated with water. One of the stirrup leathers was also found on the beach, so that the nature of the accident is too apparent. There was no fresh in the river at the time, but if our information is correct Mr Buchholz could not have arrived at the river till long after dark, when there would be the danger of getting into a deep hole, and then, with the stirrup leather breaking, and the saddle slipping round, there would be but small chance for the rider to escape. (10)  Morris' body was found in twenty feet of water on August 12, and he was buried at the Nelson Cemetery, two days later. (11) 

Soon after Morris' death, Simon and Julia and some of their children returned to Victoria; but only six months later another tragedy struck the family. Solomon, the eldest son who was 27, died in Sydney on January 24, 1884. He had spent the past three years living in Fiji, and the Jewish Herald reported on the unusual circumstances of his death  - 
A New Zealand contemporary publishes an account of the death of Mr. Solomon Buchholz, which, we regret to say, took place under painful circumstances. The deceased gentleman was the Fiji government agent of the schooner Glidi; and having left the island in that vessel to proceed to Sydney, was seized with fever, of which he died. On the news of his untimely death reaching Suva, a gloom was cast over the whole town. The flags of the vessels in harbour, together with those at the offices of their agents, and at the Norwegian consulate, wore lowered at half-mast, and the shutters of the principal stores closed, as a token of respect. (12)

It was around October 1886 that Simon developed Julia Avenue. The St Kilda Telegraph reporting on a St Kilda Council meeting noted that -
That in reference to letter from Mr Samuel Bucholz [sic], he be informed that, conditionally upon his
paying into the hands of the Borough Treasurer the sum of £350, the Council will form, channel, &c, the private street known as Julia-avenue, including entrance and drain into Williams-street, and that on receipt of the sum named, tenders will be called for the work.(13)   The article lists Samuel as the author of the letter but given that he was only 18 years old at the time, I believe this is an error. 

Before many of the blocks were sold, Simon passed away at the age of 58, on November 3, 1887 at his home, Motueka, in Grey Street, the house obviously named after the town in New Zealand where they lived for around 20 years. (14)  Eleven blocks of land in Julia Avenue formed part of his estate and they were valued for Probate at £2,932. (15)


This is the plan of the Julia Avenue allotments from Simon's Probate papers at the Public Records Office of Victoria. The darker shaded blocks are the eleven allotments owned by Simon. Lot 13 on Carlisle Street is the location of St Colman's Church.
Simon Buchholz Grant of Probate Public Records Office of Victoria

These eleven block of land, described in the advertisement as valuable building sites with frontage to Julia Venue and Balaclava Road (as that part of Carlisle Street was then called) were auctioned  on June 30, 1888. (16)  


The Julia Avenue allotments auctioned on behalf of the executors of Simon Buchholz.
The Age, June 16 1888 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article195991136

I have no information as to whether the blocks sold, however the 1898 Melbourne & Metropolitan Board of Works Plan shows only two houses built in Julia Avenue. However, of  interest, is that the house at what was then 249 Carlisle Street (17), on the corner of Julia Avenue (see in the MMBW plan below) was occupied from 1890 to 1896 by the artist Elizabeth Parsons (1831-1897).  Elizabeth was one of the first professional women artists to work in Victoria and exhibited with Heidelberg School artists Tom Roberts, Frederick McCubbin, Arthur Streeton and Charles Conder. She had lived in St Kilda at other addresses previously and often painted St Kilda scenes.  At her Carlisle Street home, which was named Sah-Luma, Elizabeth mentored young artists through her Stray Leaves club, whose aim was  primarily designed to bring together and encourage young people interested in art.  Elizabeth also held exhibitions of her works at Sah-Luma. (18)  The house is now demolished.


Only two houses in Julia Avenue in 1898, and Elizabeth Parson's house at 249 Carlisle Street is on the left of Julia Avenue.
Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works detail plan. no. 1438, City of St. Kilda, 1898
State Library of Victoria - see full plan here https://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/124923

As you can see from these references from the Sands & McDougall Directories,  development did not take off until  after 1905.


Residents of Julia Avenue from 1895 to 1915
Sands and McDougall Directories, State Library of Victoria


For some reason, as we said before, around 1912, the name changed from Julia Avenue to Carlisle Avenue. The last reference to Julia Avenue I can find in the newspapers on Trove is June 1912 and the first references I can find to Carlisle Avenue are also in June 1912. (19) 

Which brings us back to the Buchholz family. After the death of Simon the family moved to Redan Street, St Kilda and they named that house Motueka as well. (20) This is where Julia died on April 6, 1894 at the age of 69. (21) She was buried with her husband in the Jewish section of the St Kilda Cemetery. (22) 

The two surviving sons, Louis and Samuel both sadly died by suicide. Samuel was a Chemist (pharmacist) and died on July 15, 1903 after taking poison; he was only 35 years old. He is buried with his parents at St Kilda Cemetery. (23)  

Louis, at the age of 44, had married Stella Clarice Raphael on April 18, 1905, the service being conducted by Rabbi Dr Abrahams.  They had two daughters Mollie born in  March 1907 and Joan in February 1909 at their home Astra, Park Street, St Kilda (24) Louis was a partner in the firm of S. Cohen and Sons, a hardware firm in Lonsdale Street; he was at work on January 21, 1910 when he tragically shot himself.  He is also buried at St Kilda Cemetery. (24) The whole thing is just too sad for words. 

Emma, who had been born in Sheffield in 1856 married Siegmund Schwartz in Wellington, New Zealand on June 19, 1883, the service being conducted by Rabbi Herman Van Stavern. (26)  The couple later moved to Melbourne; there were no children from the marriage and they separated in 1905. (27).  

Frances, the second daughter never married. She taught at the St Kilda Hebrew and Sabbath Schools; her father Simon was at one time President of the St Kilda Hebrew Congregation. In the late 1880s Frances was also on the committee of the St Kilda Jewish Young Ladies Sewing Society, a philanthropic organisation. In 1903 she was Secretary of the Jewish Women's Guild. (28)  

Frances was living Motueka, Redan Street with her brothers Louis and Samuel when Samuel  committed suicide there; Frances and Louis moved out soon after and she sold off all her splendid furniture including a superb walnut upright grand piano at an auction in December 1903. (29)  In the 1905 Electoral roll Frances and Louis were both living at the Prince of Wales Hotel in St Kilda. By 1910, she was living with her sister Emma  at 31 Loch Street, St Kilda and in 1913 they were at Tintern, another house in Redan Street. By 1916 Emma and Frances were living at Astra, 8 Robertson Avenue, St Kilda with their sister-in-law Stella and her daughters Mollie and Joan. Interesting that Stella named this house Astra, after her old Park Street home (30)

In 1916, Emma changed her surname from Schwartz to Shaw. The same year Frances and Stella  changed their surname (and that of Mollie and Joan) from Buchholz  to Buckley, no doubt due to anti-German feeling during the War. (31)

Emma died on February 6, 1922 at the age of 66 and is buried in the Jewish section of  the Brighton General Cemetery, under the name Emma Shaw. Frances died on August 31, 1935 at the age of 73. (32)


Emma's death notice
The Argus, February 7, 1922 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4705560


Frances' death notice
The Argus, September 2, 1935 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11763291

Stella, their sister-in-law, with whom they both seemed to have a lovely friendship, died on November 14, 1947, aged 74 and is also buried in the Jewish section at Brighton Cemetery, under the name Stella Buckley.  Stella's two daughter's both married - Mollie to Lionel Shotlander and they had three daughters; Joan to  Frank Coleman Myers and they had two daughters and a son. (33)


Stella's death notice
The Argus, November 18, 1947 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article22520589

We need a campaign to change the name back to Julia Avenue and give Mrs Julia Buchholz her rightful place in history.

Acknowledgment - My research colleague, Isaac Hermann, told me about Carlisle Avenue originally being called Julia Avenue. I thought it would make a good story and set myself the task of finding out who Julia was, and discovered she was Julia Buchholz. I also wanted to find out why the name was changed, but am still working on this. Isaac also alerted me to the interesting fact that the artist, Elizabeth Parsons, lived on the corner of Julia Avenue. 

Footnotes
(1) The Advocate, October 20, 1900, see here;  The Advocate, December 6, 1913, see here; The Advocate, December 7, 1939, see here. 
(2) Death Certificate.
(3) Simon's migration to England was listed in his daughter Emma's Grant of Probate papers held at the Public Records Office of Victoria - see here
His death certificate notes he was married in Sheffield, the date of marriage is my guess taken from when their first child was born.
(5) Index of the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages. 
(6) Date of arrival based on the fact that when he sold the store in 1882, it was noted that he had operated in Moteuka for 18 years. See -  Evening Post, Volume XXIII, Issue 23, 30 January 1882, Page 2 - https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP18820130.2.24.1
(7) Birth notice - Nelson Evening Mail, Volume III, Issue 11, 14 January 1868, Page 2
(8) Colonist, Volume XXVI, Issue 3497, 3 July 1882, Page 1  https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/TC18820703.2.2.5
(9) Simon's naturalisation date was listed in his daughter Emma's Grant of Probate
(10) Colonist, Volume XXVI, Issue 3941, 30 July 1883, Page 3
(11) Colonist, Volume XXVI, Issue 3952, 13 August 1883, Page 3
Funeral - Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XVIII, Issue 191, 13 August 1883, Page 2
(12) Solomon - Death notice: Sydney Morning Herald, January 25, 1884, see here; Report of death - Jewish Herald, February 22, 1884, see here. There is another report of Solomon's death here -
Colonist, Volume XXVII, Issue 3865, 12 March 1884, Page 3
(13) St Kilda Telegraph, October 9, 1886, see here.
(14) Simon - Death certificate; Death notice - The Argus, November 4, 1887, see here.
(15) Simon's Grant of Probate at the Public Records office of Victoria - Plan of Julia Avenue allotments - https://prov.vic.gov.au/archive/28C8A6EA-F1D4-11E9-AE98-E709A3C4CAA5?image=25
Valuation of allotments - 
https://prov.vic.gov.au/archive/28C8A6EA-F1D4-11E9-AE98-E709A3C4CAA5?image=23
(16) The Age, June 16 1888, see here. 
(17) 249 Carlisle Street is now numbered as 287 and the house has been demolished.
(18) Elizabeth Parsons - https://www.geelonggallery.org.au/whats-on/exhibitions/elizabeth-parsons There is a link on that page to the Exhibition catalogue written by Veronica Filmer, More than a Memory: the art of Elizabeth Parsons. I have also written about Elizabeth and mainly her connection to Berwick, here https://victoriaspast.blogspot.com/2021/12/elizabeth-parsons-1831-1897.html
(20) Property as listed in Julia's death notice - The Argus, April 7, 1894, see here
(21) Julia - Death certificate; Death notice - The Argus, April 7, 1894, see here.
(22) On Ancestry. com - Victoria, Australia, Cemetery Records and Headstone Transcriptions, 1844-1997
(23)  Samuel - Jewish Herald, June 18, 1891, see here; Death notice - The Argus, July 16, 1903, see here. Reports of Inquest - The Argus, July 16, 1903, see here; The Argus, July 25, 1903, see here; On Ancestry. com - Victoria, Australia, Cemetery Records and Headstone Transcriptions, 1844-1997
(24)  Louis - Wedding report - Punch, April 27 1905, see here;  Mollie -  birth notice - Prahran Telegraph, March 30, 1907, see here;  Joan - birth notice - The Argus,  February 13, 1909, see here.
(25) Louis - Death notice - February 5, 1910, see here; Report of death -  The Argus, January 24, 1910, see here.
On Ancestry. com - Victoria, Australia, Cemetery Records and Headstone Transcriptions, 1844-1997
(26) Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XVIII, Issue 145, 20 June 1883, Page 2
(27) Siegmund Schwartz: Grant of administration at the Public Records Office of Victoria - https://prov.vic.gov.au/archive/D8B1564C-F1F6-11E9-AE98-F970997A373C?image=1
(28) Teaching - Jewish Herald, September 26, 1888, see here; Jewish Herald, November 20, 1891, see here; Sewing Society - Jewish Herald, April 26, 1889, see here;  Womens Guild -  Jewish Herald, April 24, 1903, see here; Simon President of Congregation - Jewish Herald, August 31, 1888, see here.
(29) The Argus, December 10, 1903, see here;
(30) Electoral Rolls on Ancestry.com
(31) Name change -Emma Shaw's Grant of Probate papers held at the Public Records Office of Victoria 
Frances and Stella - Graphic of Australia, October 13, 1916, see here.
(32) Emma: The Argus, February 7, 1922, see here; Brighton Cemetorians database -  
https://www.brightoncemetorians.org.au/  Frances: The Argus, September 2, 1935, see here. 
(33) Stella - The Argus, November 18, 1947, see here; Brighton Cemetorians database -  
https://www.brightoncemetorians.org.au/  Mollie's children listed on her headstone at Brighton Cemetery - https://www.brightoncemetorians.org.au/  and Joan's children listed on her headstone in Wellington, New Zealand https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/221609323/joan-sidney-myer
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