Beaconsfield World War One Memorial

The Beaconsfield War Memorial was officially unveiled on Saturday, March, 13 1920 by General Brand. The Pakenham Gazette reported on the event. 

Beaconsfield Soldiers’ Memorial.

Unveiled on Saturday last.

The unveiling of a Memorial to fallen soldiers took place at Beaconsfield on Saturday afternoon last, and attracted a fairly large attendance, including about twenty of the district soldiers, who were in uniform.

The Memorial, which is of polished granite, and is neatly designed, had been placed in a good position at the junction of Wood Street and the Main Gippsland road. It bears the names of nine fallen soldiers and above these is a representation of the A.I.F. badge in bronze. The names given are:
Sgt. G.H. Manning.
Cpl. A.R. Bragg.
Dvr. H.J Harbour.
Bombdr. A.G. Childs
Spr. H. M’Naughton
Pte. L. Christie
Pte. J. Osborne.
Pte. J.F. Tucker.
Pte. E. Dinsley.

On the base is the inscription: - “Erected as a tribute to men who enlisted from Beaconsfield and district, and in memory of those who made the supreme sacrifice in the great war, 1914-1919.”

Mr W. Nixon, president of the Memorial committee, acted as chairman. On behalf of the committee and the public, he extended a hearty welcome to General Brand. Beaconsfield, he said was proud of the fact that 33 men had enlisted from there. All regretted that 9 of these had made the supreme sacrifice. He then went on to explain how the necessary funds had been raised for the Memorial.

A short address by Colonel G.H. Knox followed. He welcomed General Brand, and said he was proud of the district which sent so many men to the front. The enlistments from Beaconsfield and Upper Beaconsfield were equal in proportion to any other district in the State. He welcomed the General not merely because of the position he held in the military forces, but because he was a favorite with the rank and file. The Memorial had been raised by loving and affectionate friends to the memory of those who had fallen and to those who had fought and returned. No memorial was requited at present to remind us of the brave deeds of our soldiers, bit it would serve to perpetuate the memory of these men for future generations. Many of the fallen soldiers were unostentatious in their private life, but proved themselves gallant gentlemen. They were an honor to their parents.

Cr W.G. a’Beckett, shire president, said he was honored to represent the district and was pleased to take part in the unveiling of the Memorial. He extended hearty congratulations to the soldiers who had returned. The Australian soldiers were the finest military men of the time on account of their gallant dash and brainy initiative. The Memorial was an ornament to the town and district, and as such they were proud of it, but the real memorial to the gallant soldiers was in our hearts.

Mr Frank Groves, M.L.A., said the soldiers had done their job and it was well done, and the responsibility rested now upon the shoulders of the people to see that the sons and daughters and relatives of the brave men who had fallen were properly cared for. They should see that the boys and girls were educated to the standard of other children who had their parents. They should see that their promises to the boys were fulfilled. The memory of the brave men should never die.

Cr. Geo. W. Martin felt honored to have to say a few words. He felt the ground on which they were standing was holy ground. The men had fought and some had given their lives to uphold those principles and institutions so dear to the heart of every Britisher. They had preserved to us our hearths and homes. They did not seek glory or gain, but liberty and freedom. The children, he said, should be brought round the Memorial annually and told of the deeds of our brave boys. He hoped later to see the Memorial surrounded by green turf, bordered with forget-me-knots.

Brigadier-General Brand, who unveiled the Memorial, said on an average he attended a similar function twice a week. Memorials took various forms, but the soldiers say the greatest memorial is to see that the widows and relatives shall never want. That was the best memorial. He was not one who said the A.I.F. won the war. He had been fighting with various troops, and what he did say was that the men of the A.I.F. had few equals and no superiors. In civil life the Australian was accustomed to rely on his own initiative, and his ready wit and good humor gave him a great advantage, but they always felt that the people were behind them and that helped them wonderfully. To the relatives of the fallen he offered sympathy. He asked all to remember that these brave men had passed out so that we might enjoy liberty.”Greater love hath no man than this.” The General then unveiled the Memorial, and expressed a hope that that deeds of these men would inspire the rising generations.

The Last Post was then sounded by Bugler Peters. Two handsome wreathes were placed at the base of the Memorial by friends. At the close, afternoon tea was provided.

(Pakenham Gazette, Friday, March 19, 1920, p.3)

Beaconsfield War Memorial

Photograph courtesy of the Casey Cardinia Remembers website

www.caseycardiniaremembers.org.au

The Memorial, as noted, has the names of the nine men who did not return, and they are listed below with their Service Numbers (SN) so you can look up their full record on the National Archives of Australia website, www.naa.gov.au.

Bragg, Arthur Robert (SN 2564) Arthur, born in West Maitland, NSW, was 39 when he enlisted on August 2, 1915. His occupation was a hotel keeper, and his next of kin was his wife, Emily, of the Central Hotel in Beaconsfield. Corporal Bragg was reported missing in France on July 28, 1916 and  a later Court of Enquiry determined that he had been Killed in Action on July 19, 1916. 

Emily Bragg takes over the licence of the Central Hotel.

South Bourke & Mornington Journal, August 19, 1915 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article66188272

Arthur Bragg

Australian War Memorial  https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1670847

Childs, Albert George  (SN 2599)  Albert enlisted on July 7, 1915. He was born in England and was a 29 year old dairyman. His father Robert, his next of kin, was from Bridport in Dorset where Albert was born.  His address on the Nominal Roll is Primrose Park, Beaconsfield, however he is listed as living at Nar Nar Goon in the 1914 Electoral Roll.  Albert Died of Wounds on August 5, 1917 in France. Albert is also honoured on the Nar Nar Goon Honour Roll which is at the Nar Nar Goon Public Hall, see here.

Christie, John Leslie  (SN 3054) He was listed as L. Christie on the Memorial, so it seems like he was known as Leslie, so that's what we will call him.  Leslie was born in Lang Lang, the son of William and Ada (nee Thatcher) Christie, and was 25 years old when he enlisted on July 22, 1915. His occupation was a labourer and his next of kin was his father, William of Beaconsfield.  Leslie was listed as missing on July 28, 1916 and a Court of Enquiry determined that he was Killed in Action on July 19, 1916, in France. 

In memoriam notice for Les Christie. Steven Sleigh, listed in the notice is honoured on the Bunyip War Memorial (see here) and the Tonimbuk Honor Board (see here)

The Argus, July 19, 1918  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1408837 

Dineley, Edward Bernard (SN 1151)  Edward was born in Charters Towers, to Frederick and Mary Dineley,  and was a 22 year old engineer when he enlisted on March 22, 1916. His next of kin was his mother, Mary, of the Cardinia Park Hotel at Beaconsfield.  Edward was Wounded in Action in Belgium and he died from these wounds on September 21, 1917.

Report of the death of Edward

Pakenham Gazette, October 12, 1917 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article92155988

Harbour, Herbert Joel  (SN 3337) Herbert enlisted on July 19, 1915.  He was 27 years old, a labourer, and was born in Beaconsfield to John and Sarah (nee Beecham) Harbour. His next of kin was his father, John, of Beaconsfield. Herbert was Killed in Action, in France, on February 27, 1917.

Herbert Harbour

Australian War Memorial https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1633208

Report of the death of Herbert Harbour

Dandenong Advertiser, March 22, 1917 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article88657329

Manning, George William Harold (SN 219)  George enlisted on August 17, 1914. He was 20 year old salesman, born in Beechworth, to John Goodyear Manning and his wife, Mary Ann (nee Furnell).  His next of kin was his father, John, of Beaconsfield.  George died of wounds, which were received whilst fighting at Gallipoli, on August 8, 1915. 

Report of the death of George Manning

Berwick Shire News, December 15, 1915 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article92094080

McNaughton, Hugh (SN 3869b)  Hugh enlisted on August 2, 1915. He was 31, born in Longford (Vic.) to Archibald and Mary (nee McDonald) McNaughton. His next of kin, on enlistment, was his mother, Mary, of Beaconsfield. Hugh was Wounded in Action on October 16, 1917, suffering gun shot wounds to the head and arm. He was sent back to Australia on the hospital ship, the Euripides, which reached Melbourne on March 21, 1918.  He was discharged from the AIF on May 1, 1918 and died at the Caulfield Hospital on May 15, 1918.

Sad end of Hugh McNaughton

Dandenong Advertiser, May 30, 1918 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article88816707

Osborne, James Patrick (SN 2733)  James was born in Walhalla to Patrick and Bridget (nee Traynor) Osborne. He enlisted on August 2, 1915 aged 36. He was a labourer, and  next of kin was his mother, Bridget, of 'Lower Beaconsfield', I assume some people still called the town around the Railway Station that to distinguish it from Upper Beaconsfield. James was Killed in Action in France on August 19, 1916.

Death notice of James Osborne

The Argus, September 23, 1916  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1614050

Tucker, John Frederick  (SN 2795)  John was an orphan and he enlisted at the age of 22 on August 2, 1915. His occupation was a driver and his next of kin was listed as his employee, Mr A. W Shorthouse of Upper Beaconsfield.  There is an Arthur William Shorthouse in the  Electoral Rolls, so I believe this is him.  John was Killed in Action in Belgium on September 3, 1916. There is a letter on his service file at the National Archives, from Mr Shorthouse, requesting John's medals. Mr Shorthouse said that John had no blood relations and had lived and worked with him for eight years, prior to which he was an Orphanage boy. The AIF would not give him the medals as the Deceased Soldiers' Estate Act had  a prescribed list of whom the medals were to go to (they had to go to a blood relation) and suggested that Mr Shorthouse get a Statutory Declaration setting out his claim. This was in March 1921 and the file does not tell us whether Mr Shorthouse was successful.

Death notice of John Tucker. Mary Anne Nixon is listed in the Electoral rolls at Upper Beaconsfield, along with Margaret Ann and Henry Nixon.

The Age, October 7, 1916 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article155067909

A version of this post, which I  wrote and researched, appears on my work blog, Casey Cardinia Commemorates: Our War Years

The Inebriates Asylum at Beaconsfield

Between 1889 and 1892 there was an Asylum for Inebriates operating at Beaconsfield, and even though the Asylum was short lived, it gave its name to the surrounding area and even as late as 1925 a report in The Argus called the area Inebriates Hill (1).  The area is now known as Guys Hill.

The Inebriates Act of 1890, defined Inebriates as persons who habitually used alcoholic liquors and they could be committed to an Inebriate Asylum for detention and curative treatment for up to three months (2).  Around 1881, Dr Charles McCarthy had opened the first Melbourne Inebriate Retreat at Northcote and this was compulsorily taken over by the Government in 1890, though he was appointed the Medical Superintendent of the establishment (3). More of Charles McCarthy later. Previously inebriates were committed to the Lunatic Asylum. 

We can trace the early history of the Asylum through the Victoria Government Gazettes (4). On September 30, 1889 the Governor in Council ordered that the buildings and premises situate at Beaconsfield and hitherto known as Craik’s Boarding House shall be an Asylum for Inebriates.

The start of the Inebriates Asylum

Victoria Government Gazette, October 4 1889, p. 3320.  https://gazette.slv.vic.gov.au/images/1889/V/general/103.pdf

A week later, the  Government Gazette noted the appointment of the Superintendent of the  Asylum, Thomas Elmes and the Secretary, Charles Williams. Thomas Elmes was a Doctor with a practice at Berwick (5). Charles William was the Superintendent of the Belair Inebriates Retreat in Adelaide, upon which the Beaconsfield facility was modelled. Belair had opened in June 1877 (6). 

Appointment of the Superintendent and Secretary of the Beaconsfield Asylum.

Victoria Government Gazette, October 11 1889, p. 3377  https://gazette.slv.vic.gov.au/images/1889/V/general/107.pdf

On November 4, 1889 the Governor in Council ordered that The buildings and premises belonging to Mrs M.H.Blair, situate at Beaconsfield, and known as Walnut Grove, shall be an Asylum for Inebriates, to be used for the care and treatment of female patients only.

Facilities for female at Beaconsfield

Victoria Government Gazette, November 8, 1889, p.3834. https://gazette.slv.vic.gov.au/images/1889/V/general/118.pdf

The Victoria Government Gazette of December 20, 1899 (7) published the Regulations relating to the discipline and conduct to be observed by patients in asylums for inebriates. This covered such things as meal times - Breakfast at 8.00am, Dinner at 1.00pm and Tea sat 6.00pm; Bed-times - 10.00pm and to rise at 6.00am in the summer and 7.00am in the winter; there was to be no gambling and patients were not to receive any articles from visitors without permission of the superintendent. 

The same issue also published the Regulations for the Management, Supervision, Inspection , and Regulation of Asylums for Inebriates. The Regulations covered the amount of food allowed to each inmate; intoxicating liquor was banned; inmates were banned from having money or stamps and all letters were opened before being handed to inmates. Regulations also covered what to do if an inmate became insane (they were sent to a Lunatic Asylum) or died (a letter was sent to the local Coroner and to the ‘person who shall have made the last payment on account of such patient'). The Fees were also set out - £2 per week for patients on the ‘lower scale’ and £5 per week for those on the ‘higher scale.'

The daily rations for each inmate.

Victoria Government Gazette, December 20, 1899, p 4450-4451 https://gazette.slv.vic.gov.au/images/1889/V/general/135.pdf 

I found the following descriptions in the newspapers of the Asylum at Beaconsfield -
A report from July 1891 noted - There was only accommodation for 10 male and seven female inmates, and these were kept in buildings two miles apart from each other (8). From January 1892 - The [male] asylum consists of two blocks of wooden buildings a slight distance apart, one of which was on the land when it was leased by the Government; the other has been since erected (9).  A later report from July 1892, described the male complex - Government had purchased a large area of property and built a number of houses, as well as a caretaker's private residence of considerable dimensions (10).

There were two tragic stories connected to the Asylum. The first concerns Thomas Bissell, of South Melbourne,  who on Tuesday April 28, 1891 escaped through a window, wearing only a nightshirt, drawers and socks. The grounds and surrounding area were searched and there was a reported sighting on the Thursday morning. The Aboriginal trackers were called in and started work on Friday morning but could not pick up the trail (11). On the Saturday morning - 

about 60 horsemen and 30 or 40 people on foot assembled at the retreat. The horsemen were divided into parties under Constables Roberts and Falkiner, and Messrs. Fuller and Williams, who scoured the bush right through to Gembrook. The footmen, under Messrs. W. Paternoster and Gardiner, searched the Cardinia Creek for about four miles, dragging all the water holes, but when the daylight drew in the party had to give up without finding any trace (12).

Thomas Bissell missing

Victoria Government Gazette, May 15 1891, p.2021. https://gazette.slv.vic.gov.au/images/1891/V/general/65.pdf

On July 17 two young men were out shooting in the Gembrook Ranges, about 12 miles from the Asylum, and discovered a human skeleton at the bottom of a gully. The news was sent to Berwick, and Constable Roberts proceeded to the place indicated, where the remains were identified, by means of the little clothing on them, as those of Thomas Bissell, the escaped inebriate. They were conveyed to Berwick, and the usual course in such matters taken. It is satisfactory to know that the mystery surrounding the sad affair will be cleared up (13).

The second sad story concerns Francis Key, a cordial manufacturer of Seymour (14).  He was found in his room on January 3, 1892 having shot himself, the bullet having  entered the head at the chin, and blew the face and fore part of his head to atoms (15) as the local paper graphically reported. He had been living separately from his wife  and at the time of his admission he was suffering from alcoholism and was in a weak state. Under medical treatment, however, he rapidly improved, and appeared cheerful and contented until a few days before his death, when he expressed a wish to obtain his release (16).

Another report notes that -
On the 30th ult. his wife visited him at the asylum, when she noticed that he had a gun in his bedroom, and on her return home the following day she wrote to Mr. Williams, the secretary of the Asylum, cautioning him, "On no consideration to allow her husband to have firearms in his possession, as he was very cunning and had suicidal tendency." The letter was received by the secretary on the 2nd inst., but beyond submitting it to the visiting medical superintendent, no action was taken with regard to it, and on the following morning the deceased shot himself. Two letters the deceased had written to his wife, but had not posted, showed that the act was premeditated. (17).

It may seem extraordinary that inmates at an Inebriates Asylum should have access to guns but as The Age reported, Mr Key had obtained the gun -

from Seymour about a fortnight previously for the purpose of joining the other patients in shooting parties, which occasionally take place under the charge of the secretary, Mr. C. Williams, who resides on the premises. Although patients on their entry into the asylum are deprived for a time of any instrument with which they could injure themselves as soon as they have quite recovered from the effects of alcohol they are treated like residents of an ordinary country boarding house, the only difference being that they are not allowed to leave the asylum grounds except in charge of an attendant. To relieve the monotony of detention, shooting, fishing, &c., are occasionally indulged in, and this accounts for the presence of a gun in the room of the deceased. (18).

The Jury at the Inquest found  -

"That the deceased, Francis Key, came to his death through a gunshot wound, inflicted by himself, during a fit of alcoholic mania," and added a rider, " That we also think sufficient precaution was not exercised by the officials, after the letter of warning from deceased's wife, received on the day before his death, intimating his tendency to commit suicide." (19)

Both Beaconsfield and Northcote were closed in 1892. Dr Charles McCarthy, who established the Northcote Facility as a private concern in 1881, wrote to The Age in July 1892 on this subject, accusing the Government of having ulterior motives and being financially extravagant -

Sir, — I saw from The Age that the Government intends to shut up the Northcote Inebriates Retreat, as well as that at Beaconsfield, on the 30th September, for three reasons, viz. : — 1st. that there is no demand, on account of the smallness of the number of patients ; 2nd, the expensiveness of the staffs ; 3rd, that the matter had better be left to private establishments. Sir, I have supplied every member of Parliament with printed matter, proving that there is not the slightest foundation for the above three pleas being the cause of this determination. First, in May, 1890, when I had male and female patients, I got the option from the Government either to be removed from the Retreat or to accept office under the Government for one year, and with the condition that I should discharge all my patients and admit none but " female paupers." For 18 years not three female paupers applied in any one year. This showed me at once that it was intended to shut up the Retreat. As such, therefore, I had only from one to four patients, with 16 bedrooms empty. During that year a very large number of pay patients, male and female, applied for admission, begging and urging me to receive them up to the day that I was leaving, and on that day also, but I was not permitted to do so. Yea, and up to last week here in Hawthorn. Second plea, of expense : For the previous 14 years the Retreat did not cost the Government 1s. When I saw that for one patient I had four servants, and when I complained to the head of my department that these servants were allowed by him to be out at night, his remedy for that was to promise to appoint two additional female servants, a clerk at £3 per week, who had nothing to do, with 18 books from Kew Asylum, some of them immense ledgers for lunatics. I protested against this extravagance in vain, I saw the object of it, namely, an excuse to shut it up. I begged to be allowed to receive the females from Beaconsfleld This would not be allowed till after my removal. 3rd. That the cure of inebriates had better be left to private institutions. The Lunacy Commission got the Parliament to pass an act forbidding private retreats, and making Northcote retreat a Government institution, and now, when the property has been secured to the Government, it is only private retreats that must be depended on! Very much was said about the poor by the commission. Though I offered the Government to admit the poor, but not as "paupers," this was repeatedly refused, hence it was never intended to have a permanent inebriate retreat, as the above proves. It was only intended to get my property, to prevent patients entering, and to make the expenditure appear disproportionate to the number of patients. Of this there is not a shadow of doubt. Under these circumstances I am entitled to compensation for my compulsory removal.

— Yours, &c., CHARLES M'CARTHY, M.D. 16th July. (20)

The closure of the Asylum at Beaconsfield was of concern to the local community. The Argus reported in July 1892 

- that during the past day or two residents of this locality have been much concerned as to the notion taken by the Government in closing the local inebriate asylum....[The Government] have decided to dispense with the services of the men numbering about twenty and abandon the place which has cost a great deal of money. It is the intention of the residents to send a deputation to the Government on the matter. Notices have been issued to the men that their services will not be required after the 30th September next and the residents are anxious that some definite settlement should be arrived at before that time (21).

However, they concerns of the Beaconsfield community fell on deaf ears and the Asylum was closed. On August 31, 1894, the empty building  caught fire as reported in South Bourke and Mornington Journal by the journalist using the pen name Todea Africana (22) - 

On Friday last an old land mark of Beaconsfield disappeared. I don't know how long Mrs Craik's old boarding house has been in existence. It was certainly flourishing when I first became acquainted with this famous health resort. Situate on the foothills, as it were, of these ranges and looking across the valley, the position was a very, pleasant and healthful one if not so picturesque nor commanding such a grand view as its successor on the Hills, Kincraik. 

As Upper Beaconsfield was growing more and more in favor, it was decided by the proprietor to build a more extensive establishment, and a site was chosen which is certainly second to none on the hills, near the post office. After remaining unoccupied for a period the old premises were let to the Government as an inebriate retreat, and under the efficient management of Mr Charles Williams, formerly of Adelaide. 

The report continues that after the Asylum was closed down  It was next occupied as a dairy farm, but in this character had a short lived existence, and latterly has been let to a lady who was sent to Beaconsfield for her health, as so many are, but alas, at too late a stage of her disease. Her death occurred but recently, and it was whilst the house was being cleaned out that the fire occurred. As in the case of all wooden buildings in the country, once the fire fiend had got a grip, he did not let go until the tenement was purified out of existence, and nothing but a heap of ashes and charcoal with a few dozen tortured and twisted shoots of iron corrugated with agony, remained to tell the tale. It was insured for £700 (23).

As I mentioned at the start of this post the last reference I can find to Inebriates Hill is this sad account of the death of Mr Jack McNaughton of Beaconsfield who was killed instantly in an accident on December 21,  1925 -

As a bullock team driven by Mr. Jack McNaughton, of Beaconsfield, was being driven down Inebriates' Hill, two miles from Beaconsfield, on the Upper Beaconsfield road, the team became out of control and bolted. McNaughton attempted for a time to regain control of the bullocks, which were harnessed to a heavy jinker. He was unsuccessful, and when the jinker passed over a rut he was thrown to the roadway.  One wheel of the jinker passed over his body, killing him instantly (24). 

Jack was 44 years old, the son of Archibald and Mary (nee McDonald) McNaughton, of Beaconsfield.

Trove list - I have created a list of articles connected to the Beaconsfield Inebriates Asylum on Trove, access it here.

Footnotes
(1) The Argus, December 22, 1925, see here. 
(2) Inebriates Act of 1890 https://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/hist_act/ia1890113.pdf
(3) The Argus, February 10, 1881, see here; The Age, November 29, 1890, see here. Also Public Records Office of Victoria  https://prov.vic.gov.au/about-us/our-blog/inebriate-retreats
(4) https://gazette.slv.vic.gov.au/

(5) Thomas Elmes entry in Residents of Upper Beaconsfield by Marianne Rocke   https://www.upperbeaconsfieldhistory.org.au/g0/p163.htm#i4874 

(6) Charles William and Belair Inebriates  Asylum -  South Australian Register, June 8, 1877, see here; South Australian Advertiser, June 21, 1877, see here; The Argus, September 2, 1889, see here. Also see an account of the Belair Asylum https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~dicummings/genealogy/SA-InebriatesRetreat.htm

(7) Victoria Government Gazette, December 20, 1899, p 4450-4451, see here.  

(8) The Argus, July 1, 1891, see here.

(9) The Age, January 5, 1892, see here. 

(10) The Argus, July 6, 1892, see here. 

(11) Reports of Thomas Bissell - The Argus, May 4, 1891, see here; The Leader, May 9, 1891, see here; South Bourke and Mornington Journal, July 22, 1891, see here; 

(12) The Leader, May 9, 1891, see here

(13) South Bourke and Mornington Journal, July 22, 1891, see here

(14) Reports of Francis Key - The Age, January 5, 1892, see here; The Argus, January 6, 1892, see here; South Bourke and Mornington Journal, January 6, 1892, see here; Weekly Times, May 28, 1892, see here.

(15) South Bourke and Mornington Journal, January 6, 1892, see here

(16) Ibid

(17) Ibid

(18) The Age, January 5, 1892, see here

(19) South Bourke and Mornington Journal, January 6, 1892, see here

(20) The Age, July 26, 1892, see here. 

(21) South Bourke and Mornington Journal, September 5, 1894, see here. 

(22) Todea Africana / Thomas Cole Mackley  see  Residents of Upper Beaconsfield by Marianne Rocke https://upperbeaconsfieldhistory.au/g0/p234.htm#i7000 and https://upperbeaconsfieldhistory.au/g0/p46.htm#i1360

(23) South Bourke and Mornington Journal, September 5 1894, see here. 

(24) The Argus, December 22, 1925, see here.

A version of this post, which I first wrote and researched in 2010, appears on my work blog, Casey Cardinia Links to our Past. This is an updated and expanded version.

Land sales in Beaconsfield, Victoria

On November 3, 1879 G. W. Robinson, C.E., Surveyor completed this plan of a subdivision of land owned by Charles Souter of the Gipplsland Hotel, for the new township of Beaconsfield. 

Advertising poster for the land sale at Beaconsfield on May 14, 1881.

The map is signed by G. W. Robinson and dated November 3, 1879.

State Library of Victoria, http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/165479

The sale of the land at what  was called East Berwick was scheduled to take place on December 6, 1879. The advertisment for the sale is shown below.  It included the Gippsland Hotel and 44 acres, plus 36 allotments of land varying in size from half an acre to 2 acres, near the new railway station; 10 allotments of two to five acres and one block of 35 acres and one of 60 acres. For some reason this sale did not take place and another sale was scheduled for January 10, 1880.

The first advertised sale of Charles Souter's land in East Berwick, as Beaconsfield was known at the time. The sale was scheduled for December 6, 1879.

South Bourke and Mornington Journal November 26, 1879. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/70012545#

The land was advertised again this time the auction was to be held on January 7, 1880. An almost identical advertisement as the one above, appeared in the papers, including the South Bourke and Mornington  Journal of January 7, 1880, which you can see here and in footnote 1. 

Advertising poster for the land sale in township of Beaconsfield or East Berwick.

The sale was scheduled for December 6, 1879 and this was crossed out and January 10, 1880 written in pencil, see detail below.

State Library of Victoria http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/160198

Detail of the plan, immediately above.

State Library of Victoria http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/160198

I am unsure if the January 1880 sale took place and only some blocks were sold, or if the sale did not take place.  However, Mr Robinson's subdivision plan did not go to waste and the land was advertised again to be auctioned on May 14, 1881 and as we saw, his 1879 plan was used in the advertising poster.

Part of the 1881 advertising flyer for the land sale at Beaconsfield on May 14, 1881. The complete flyer is reproduced at the top of this post.

State Library of Victoria, http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/165479

The May 14, 1881 auction used the original 1879 plan (the plan at the top of this post) which  has 38 small blocks facing Woods Street and the Highway and 23 blocks east of what became Railway Avenue. This does not tally with the 1879 advertisement or the 1881 advertisement (below) which advertised the Hotel on 44 acres; 13 allotments of one half to 2 acres and 22 allotments of three to five acres. I feel that we can conclude that some of the block were sold in January 1880 and the May 1881 was held to sell the remaining allotments. 

Advertisement for the May 14, 1881 auction of land in the new township of Beaconsfield.

The Argus May 3, 1881 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5969338

A report of the sale in the South Bourke and Mornington Journal of May 18, 1881,  read it here, said that the auction sale by Mr J. B. Patterson at, Beaconsfield on Saturday was fairly successful, and altogether fifteen township lots in Beaconsfield close to the railway station were disposed of at satisfactory prices. The attendance at the sale was good, but was composed chiefly of local people, who did not seem disposed to buy, the purchasers being principally city people. There is little doubt but that, had a special train been chartered from Melbourne, it would have induced a large number of people to visit the locality, and, very likely, to become owners of some of the blocks offered. The lots varied in size from half-an-acre to one acre, and realised from £23 to £50 per block, or about £46 per acre. A genuine offer of £1750 was made for the Gippsland hotel, with paddocks, &c., adjoining, but was not accepted.

Of interest is the fact that sometime between January 1880 and May 1881 the name of the town changed from East Berwick (I have also seen it referred to as Little Berwick and Lower Beaconsfield) and became Beaconsfield, named for  Benjamin Disraeli, the Earl of Beaconsfield. Disraeli was the British Prime Minister on two occasions in 1868 and from 1874 to 1880. On the subject of names it is also interesting that Souter Street on the subdivision plan is now called Beaconsfield Avenue. Beaconsfield Avenue was proclaimed on July 30, 1888 (2). The unnamed road next to Woods Street is  Railway Avenue. A new Souter Street, which is to the right of Railway Avenue, was created at some later time, I presume in 1921 when the Beaconsfield Station Estate was sold (3). 

Charles Souter, who owned the land that became the new township of Beaconsfield took over the Gippsland Hotel from the Bowman family, who had established the Hotel in 1855.  The earliest date I can find of his ownership of the Hotel is 1869 (4). After he left the hotel he moved to Frankston. During his time there Charles became involved with the  Community - he was elected to the Frankston Council and took an interest in the Mechanics' Institute, the Anglican Church and was also the Worshipful Master at the Frankston Masonic Lodge. The Souters left Frankston in November 1891 and at a farewell function held at the Pier Hotel, he was presented with a handsome illuminated address from the residents (5).  Charles returned to the Beaconsfield region and lived at Norwood in Gembrook where he died on July 9, 1895 at only 65 years of age (6). His wife Sophie (nee Newland) died at Berwick on August 15, 1937 at the age of  96 (7). 

G. W. Washington's signature on the Beacosnfield subdivison plan

State Library of Victoria, http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/165479

G. W. Washington, C.E., Surveyor, who drew the plan was George Washington Robinson (1843 - 1928) He came to Narre Warren North in 1856 with his mother, Hannah, who had purchased 107 acres. George later named the property, Hillsley. George was a Civil Engineer and Surveyor and was the Shire Engineer and Secretary at the Shire of Berwick from 1876 to 1890 and then the Shire Engineer from 1894 to 1904 (8). He married Eliza Walton in 1867 and they had six children (9). Eliza's parents, Thomas and Eliza Walton, moved to Narre Warren in 1852 and built Holly Green. This property was sold to Sidney Webb in 1880, it was later renamed Brechin and is  now the site of the Fountain Gate Shopping Centre (10). 

Footnotes
(1) Sale advertisement for January 7, 1880 from the South Bourke &  Mornington Journal

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/70016454

(2) Beaconsfield Avenue was proclaimed July 30, 1888.

State Government Gazette August 3, 1888 page 2472, see here.

(3) Beaconsfield Station Estate sale was held on Saturday, April 30, 1921. The land had frontages to three main roads - Main Gippsland, Beaconsfield Avenue and Woods Street - all made roads. The other streets were Souter Street, Railway Avenue, Horner Street and Goff Street.

Beaconsfield Station Estate advertisement

The Argus April 30, 1921 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1752395

(4) The Hotel at Beaconsfield was called the Gippsland Hotel, established by David and Janet Bowman in 1855 on their Panty Gurn Gurn Run, on the Cardinia Creek, which they had acquired in 1853. David died in 1860 and Janet continued the hotel for some years. In 1861-62, Janet Bowman paid to have a 50 mile track cut from her Hotel to the Hughes Track which went to the Jordan Goldfields (around Wood's Point). The track was said to have cost £1500. Some said that Mrs Bowman cut the track so miners would go past her door however she maintained that she did it because the Government had announced that it would compensate people who provided tracks to the Goldfields. After much fighting, in 1878, the Government awarded her £300 (or £500 depending on sources) as compensation. As she wrote to the editor of The Age of November 26, 1877 (see here) you readily understand the expensive means and firm determination were required to accomplish a work the magnitude of which would have deterred most people from even attempting. The benefits at the time from the track were immense and more recently the advantage to selectors has been appreciated by that energetic body of men. Mrs Bowman, has been described as enterprising, courageous and a devout Presbyterian. Janet Bowman died in 1904, aged 93 having out lived six of her eight children.  The Hotel is now called the Central Hotel and the existing building dates from 1928.

Earliest reference I can find to Charles Souter having the licence of the Gippsland Hotel.

The Age July 2, 1869 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5833594

(5) The report of Charles Souter's farewell at the Pier Hotel in Frankston in 1891 can be read in the Mornington Standard of November 5, 1891, see here. 
(6) Norwood was listed as Gembrook in Charles' death notice. Charles' Will (at the Public Records Office of Victoria) had Norwood at Upper Beaconsfield. 

Charles' death notice was in The Argus, July 10, 1895. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/9365777

(7) Sophie Souter's death notice was in The Age, August 16, 1937. 

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/19267406

(8) In the Wake of the Pack Tracks: a history of the Shire of Berwick, now the City of Berwick and the Shire of Pakenham, published by the Berwick Pakenham Historical Society in 1982.
9) The information about G. W. Washington's arrival in the area and his marriage and children comes from Early settlers of the Casey-Cardinia district published by the Narre Warren & District Family History Group in 2010 and Early days of Berwick and its surrounding districts - Beaconsfield, Upper Beaconsfield, Harkaway, Narre Warren and Narre Warren North, complied by Norman Beaumont, James Curran and R.H Hughes (Berwick Pakenham Historical Society).

A version of this blog post, which I wrote and researched, also appears on my work blog - Casey Cardinia Links to Our Past.