The Hunt Train and the Melbourne Hunt Club

 In 1850, George John Watson, the founder and first Master of the Hounds of the Melbourne Hunt Club arrived in Melbourne (1). His father, John, was the Master of the Carlow Hounds in Ireland from 1808 until 1869. George also bought with him from Ireland a few couples of fox hounds from his father's kennels. In 1853, George acquired the best of the hounds from the disbanded Werribee and Corio Hunts and the Melbourne Hunt Club was established. The hounds were kept at Kirk's Bazaar (2). Kirk's Bazaar was a horse bazaar (or sale yard) in Bourke Street, between Queen and Elizabeth Streets. It was established in 1840 by James Kirk, and later taken over by Watson. George Watson, also owned the I.Y.U estate on the Toomuc Creek at Pakenham from 1866 until 1884 (3).

In the late 1850s George moved the hounds to East St Kilda, initially in Dandenong Road and then to Alma Road (4). The Club later moved to Neerim Road in Caulfield, then in 1885 to Mount Derrimut or Deer Park. In 1897 the Club again moved, this time to Oakleigh, on land between North Road and Centre Road. It was at Oakleigh until 1929, when it relocated to Cranbourne (5).  

In April 1929, The Herald reported -
The Melbourne Hunt Club has purchased the Fenwick estate at Cranbourne and intends to keep the kennels there. The estate was formerly owned by Mr A. T. Creswick, master of the hounds, and is considered an ideal site. The surrounding country is suitable for hunting. There are large paddocks of cleared land. (6).  By the September the Dandenong Journal noted that  the Melbourne Hunt Club has installed its hounds in the new kennels, at Cranbourne, and the “music of the pack” is now a feature of the locality. (7)

Melbourne Hunt Club at Dingley 

Having made the Cranbourne district its new headquarters, the Melbourne Hunt Club met yesterday at the picturesque old church at Dingley, five miles from Dandenong, for another trial run with the young hounds. In the foreground with the pack is the huntsman (Mr. Norman Wood). 

The Argus May 22, 1929 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4007814

The Club were forced to move from one location to another due to development - the empty paddocks of St Kilda, then Caulfield, then Oakleigh became housing estates and this was the eventual fate of the Cranbourne land. In 1996 the Hunt Club buildings at Cranbourne were demolished or removed  -  two buildings are now in Modella and being used as a private house (8) - and the area is now also covered in houses.

The Melbourne Hunt Club at Cranbourne, November 26, 1980. 

It was located on the east side of  Narre Warren-Cranbourne Road (Cameron Street) and the north side Berwick-Cranbourne Road (Sladen Street extension). The railway line bi-sects the photo.

Image: Casey Cardinia Libraries

The Hunt Club at Cranbourne.

Image: Casey Cardinia Libraries

The Melbourne Hunt Club, when it was located in Cranbourne, played a large role in the social and community life of Cranbourne and the surrounding area. As historian Claire Turner noted - 

A curious and compatible relationship developed between the local Cranbourne community and the
patrons of hunting who travelled up from Melbourne. They shared a love of the country and of sport. Horse people and other locals from surrounding properties joined in the club activities, rubbing shoulders with prominent politicians, visiting dignitaries and wealthy business people from the city.....The Club was a very established part of Cranbourne’s identity. There are many memories held by locals who had various involvements with the club, either as members of the Hunt, workers at the hunt complex or as children. Children from nearby properties loved to play at the grounds. (9)

Window in the Oaklands Hunt Club building at Somerton.

Photo: Heather Arnold, November 2016

The Melbourne Hunt Club was one of four clubs operating in Melbourne at this time - there was also the Findon Harriers, the Oaklands Hunt and the Yarra Glen and Lilydale  Hunt (10). The Oaklands Hunt Club building, in Somerton, is now a reception centre. It consists of a mid 1870s homestead, Sherwood and a 1938 Tudor Revival style hall with six interesting etched glass windows with hunting motifs, including one of a fox with a hunting horn and a border which includes acorns. It is shown above.

The Hunt Train at Berwick Railway Station, July 11, 1927.

A2.800 on Hunt train at Berwick. Victorian Railways, photographer.

State Library of Victoria Image H1077

Before everyone had a car and a horse float participants in Hunts in the greater Melbourne area took the Hunt Train to the locations and I came across this photo (above) of the Hunt Train at Berwick in 1927. The Hunt Train not only took passengers but their horses and the hounds as well.

Notice of the Hunt train timetable

The Age September 7, 1925 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/155816521

The earliest reports of Hunt Train which I can find is from 1883 (11). There was this interesting report from 1909, below, about this train holding up the regular trains on the Whittlesea line, on a Friday.

A complaint about the Hunt train

The Argus September 23, 1909 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/10735700

The Melbourne Hunt Club frequented Shires of Berwick and Cranbourne, even when they were based at Oakleigh.  The Herald reported on the Club in 1924 - It hunts over the wide-stretch of country lying between Beaconsfield and Clyde, and meets are hold regularly twice a week during the season - this year probably on Tuesdays and Thursdays. On an average some fifty members attend on each day, and many citizens of Oaklelgh have witnessed the picturesque scene when the hunt train draws in, and the clamoring, eager hounds are placed aboard by the huntsman and his assistants. It is the hounds, with their expressive faces and beautiful eyes, that usually attract the greater attention by the way, though fleeting glances are also thrown at the scarlet clad human beings (12). 

There was another report of a hunt in September 1927 in The Australasian, which started at Andrew Chirnside's property, Edrington at Berwick. It went from Berwick to Beaconsfield to Officer and if you know where Brunt Road and Rix Road is, it will give you some idea of the route taken by the Hunt -

Hounds were then taken on to the Cardinia Creek, which was worked from Lecky's crossing. Hounds found a fox in Abbott's, and pushed him through the timber into Marsden's, over Pound road, to Boag's. Here bounds took some little time to bustle their fox through the thick tea-tree, but at last got him away to the open on the Berwick side. Leaving the creek hounds ran through Boag's into Nixon's and May's, but here the fox turned back and crossed the Cardinia Creek to the sand pits. The pack ran up-stream for about a mile, then swung right-banded through the pipe works into Stevens's, where they turned in the cultivation and beaded for Brunt's. Travelling at a great pace hounds streamed across Brunt's flat into Jones's, where they crossed a lane into Rix's, and headed for Officer station. Heavy rain began to fall, and as hounds ran through a mob of cattle, they were at fault. Swinging on their own cast they hit off the line once more, and rattled through Rix's up to Officer road into C. Greaves's, where they were again in trouble in the crop. The heavy rain seemed to wash away all traces of scent (13).

The Hunt Special, c. 1920s.

Image: Mrs G. Moore's collection from Hounds are Running: a history of the Melbourne Hunt by Heather B. Ronald (Lowden Publishing Company, 1970)

The fact that they hunted during week days meant that the average working person could not participate as they were at work. Hunting was an activity for the well off. The same Herald article from 1924, referred to above itemised the costs involved in hunting -
The average citizen knows comparatively little of this "Sport of Kings' - which is not at all surprising, in view of the fact that the average income is strictly limited. To hunt regularly during the season will cost a man at the very least £5 per week, and this is doing it cheaply. There is no difficulty in spending twice or thrice that sum if desired, and a fairly heavy investment of capital is required at the start. A suitable horse, for instance, may cost anything from £50 and upwards - often upwards. There are, indeed, a few "one-horse men," but the average hunting follower keeps two animals, and there are some even who use five or six. In addition, there is the hunting kit to be purchased - no small item, so that the would-be fox hunter must be prepared for a big outlay.

In any of the good stables the horse will cost about £3/3/ a week for keep, and to this the expense of taking it on the train to the various meets has to be added. Furthermore, the hunt club subscription, may be £10/10/, for the season, and there are sundry incidentals to be paid for, so that, taking it all round, hunting is not a cheap pastime; but it is a fascinating one, and the delights of an eight to fifteen miles run in the keen winter air across open country have been sung by poets and described by writers innumerable....the value of the hounds at Oaklelgh varies from £35 to £100 per animal (14).

The Hunts were an activity in which many women participated with the men. The names of the participants of the 1927 Hunt from Edrington at Berwick was listed in the report and there were 32 men listed and 23 women - Misses Moira Pennefather, on Phillip; Geraldine Pennefeather, Dell; Daisy Farrell, Menander; Hylda McCardel,Clark's Chance; Ursula Syme, Red Harry; Fairlie Hagenauer, Little Rocket; Marie McKinnon, Simon; Betty Bayles, Snip: Margot Anderson, Albury; Violet Farmer, Rubicon Lad; Jess Mackenzie, Jemba; Gwen Johnston, Rocket; Fairlie Lyon, Harmony; Noel Lyon, Ansaldo; Lorna Embling, Delteetim; V. Jordan, Refrain; Violet Turner, Bonnie Lass; Jean Demergue, Redcap; Joan Sewell, Judy; Betty Sewell, Hazel; Suzanne Sewell, Sam; Edith Churchill, Greygown; Violet Richardson, St. Leonard (15).

These women are off to the Hunt, organised by the Findon Harriers. The photo gives you an idea of the outfits which were required to be worn.

Original caption: Misses L. Warner, D. Foster and D. Clarke arriving at Spencer Street station to catch the special hunt train to attend today's meet of the Findon Harriers at Epping.

The Herald, August 26, 1932 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/243040370

Hunting also appeared to be an activity enjoyed by young and old. There was a report in The Herald in June 1933 of a meeting of the Findon Warriors -
Foremost among the riders was one of the oldest huntsmen in Victoria. Mr H. C. Pennyfather, riding Bogie, is more than 70, but had travelled from Berwick for the day's sport. Little Isabel Bunting, aged 5, was the youngest follower. On a shaggy pony she had ridden four miles with her father to the meet (16). It would be unlikely that it would be accepted that a five year child should ride with a hunt these days, as the whole aim is to chase down and kill a fox, however these were different times. Mr Pennyfather was Hugh Claude Pennefather of Ardsley, Clyde Road in Berwick, he died in February 1951 at the age of 87 (17).

 

The Whip and the Hounds: Mr Jack Snowden, the Whip of the Melbourne Hounds, waiting for the special hunt train which left Oakleigh today for Pakenham.

The Herald July 4, 1929 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/244104560#

The last report I can find of a Hunt train was in 1936 (18). By then, more people would have had cars and it appears by the mid 1930s horse floats became more common (19). So the sight of horses and hounds waiting at railway stations for the Hunt Train became a thing of the past.

The Melbourne Hounds met at Lyndhurst on June 11. The Master (Mr A.T. Creswick) and the Secretary (Mr Norman Wood) are here seen waiting with the hounds for the train at Oakleigh.

The Australasian, June 16, 1923 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article140745736

Trove lists
I have created a list of articles on Trove on the Hunt Train, access it here; as well, I have created a short list of articles about the establishment of the Melbourne Hunt Club at Cranbourne in 1929, access it here.

Footnotes
(1) There are various dates reported as to Watson's date of arrival in Melbourne and also his year of birth. His obituary in The Leader of July, 14, 1906, see here, says he arrived in 1851 and that he was born in 1831. His obituary in The Herald of July 11, 1906, see here, says he arrived in 1851 and had been born in 1828. His Australian Dictionary of Biography entry, see here, says he was born 1829 in Ballydarton, County Carlow, Ireland, and arrived in Melbourne in March 1850. Watson died July 11, 1906 and his death certificate, under George John Watson, records that he was 80, which makes him born in 1826 and had been in Victoria for 55 years, which means he arrived about 1851. His death certificate also said he was married at the age of 24, to Sarah Jane. I have a marriage certificate of a John Watson to a Sarah Jane Townsend - the marriage took place on August 20, 1850 at St James Church of England in Melbourne. James' death certificate lists eleven children.
(2) This information about the Melbourne Hunt Club and George Watson comes from Hounds are Running: a history of the Melbourne Hunt by Heather B. Ronald (Lowden Publishing Company, 1970). The direct quote about the fox hounds coming from Ireland is on page 6. Interesting book and well indexed, the book is worth tracking down if you have an interest in hunting.
(3) Read George Watson's Australian Dictionary of Biography entry, here. The author says that he owned I.Y. U from 1872 until 1884. I believe he purchased it 1866, see this article in The Herald, April 6, 1866, here and The Leader of April 7, 1866, here. He certainly owned it in 1867, Ovens & Murray Advertiser, July 25, 1867, see here. I.Y. U. was sold to the Staughton Brothers in 1884 (Weekly Times, August 23, 1884, see here.)
(4) Mrs Ronald writes on page 6 of Hounds are Running - that They firstly moved to a site in Dandenong Road near the junction with Wattletree Road, where the low-roofed sheds which housed them were a land-mark known as the 'old kennels' long after the Melbourne Hounds moved to new quarters. The new kennels were built in Alma Road East St Kilda about 1859 on land purchased from John Callow. They were situated on the south side of the road, on the face of the hill, east of St Kilda Cemetery, between what is now Alexander Street and Lansdown Road, and extending back to Inkerman Road. On the four and half acres of land was a small wooden house, stables and kennels. The boys school 'Cumloden' was afterwards built on the site. which is now covered by blocks of modern flats.
(5) Hounds are Running: a history of the Melbourne Hunt by Heather B. Ronald (Lowden Publishing Company, 1970).

(6) The Herald, April 23, 1929, see here.

(7) Dandenong Journal, September 26, 1929, see here.

(8) 1996 date - Claire Turner - see Footnote 7; Hunt buildings removed to Modella - Information from Mavis Martin, Modella resident; https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-acreage+semi-rural-vic-modella-132870694

(9) Cranbourne: a town with a history published by the City of Casey in 2001. Access it on-line here https://www.casey.vic.gov.au/historical-publications  The section written by Claire Turner (now Sandell) starts on page 8.7 of the Recreation chapter; Graham Facey has also written his memories of the Hunt Club at Cranbourne, starts on page 10.6 of the Appendixes and on page 10.14 is a list of the Masters of the Hunt Club.

(10) The Herald, May 10, 1924, see here.
(11) See my Hunt Train Trove list, here.
(12) The Herald, May 10, 1924, see here.
(13) The Australasian, September 3, 1927, see here.
(14) The Herald, May 10, 1924, see here.
(15) The Australasian, September 3, 1927, see here.
(16) The Herald, June 9, 1933. see here.
(17) Mr Pennefather's obituary was in the Dandenong Journal of February 21, 1951, see here.
(18) See my Hunt TrainTrove list, here.
(19) Shepparton Advertiser, June 6, 1935. Interesting article which starts with the transport of racehorses by motor horse boxes has now become a specialised business in most of the leading centres of the world. Read it here.

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

Nurse Brockhurst's private hospital in Cranbourne

In May 1918, Mrs Isabella Brockhurst applied to the Cranbourne Shire Council to register a private hospital. Dr Langley, the Shire Health Officer reported to the Council meeting that whereas the building is not large and the rooms small, the place is very clean, and the rooms are quite suitable for the purposes of a maternity hospital. In the hands of Mrs. Brockhurst it will be well conducted, and a great benefit to the district (1).  The Hospital was called Kilora. It would be interesting to know who the first baby was born at her Hospital, the earliest birth notice I can find is this one of Mervyn Forster, born September 22, 1918.  He was the son of Arthur John and Bertha May (nee Smith) Forster. 

The birth of Mervyn Forster at Nurse Brockhurst's Hospital, 1918

The Age September 22, 1918 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/155133300

Sadly not all births had a happy ending and this is the notice for baby Leslie Westaway, who only lived 40 hours. Leslie was the son of Ernest and Theresa (nee Keighery) Westaway.

Birth notice of Leslie Westaway at Nurse Brockhurst's Hospital, 1923

The Argus, November 12, 1923 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/1997125

In February 1919, Nurse Brockhurst applied to register the building as a nursing home (2), I presume so she could broaden the scope of her services. The Hospital was advertised regularly in 1920 in the South Bourke & Mornington Journal. The advertisement was always on the bottom left corner of the front page. 

Mrs Brockhurst's regular advertisement in the South Bourke and Mornington Journal in 1920

South Bourke & Mornington Journal June 10, 1920 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article66198223

In the last months of 1926 and throughout 1927, Mr Branston, the Dentist, ran this advertisement, below. He consulted at Nurse Brockhurst's Hospital on Monday between 1.00 pm and 5.00pm. Arthur Branston began practicing as a dentist in Dandenong in 1902 and was an enthusiastic member of the tennis club, the Dandenong Progress Association and the Dandenong Mechanics' Institute (3).  As a matter of interest, in 1913, he sued Drayton & Garson, Funeral Directors for damages. They had inserted a notice regarding the funeral of an Arthur Branston, which he alleged in Court, thereby meant he was dead, and was to be buried, in consequence whereof  [he] has been greatly damaged in his reputation and business (4).  He didn't win the case, you can read about it here. 

Arthur Branston, Dentist, consults at Nurse Brockhurst's.

South Bourke & Mornington Journal September 23, 1926 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article214585764

On June 8, 1927, Isabella was appointed the Registrar of Births and Deaths at Cranbourne (5). She held the position until her resignation on November 24, 1931 (6). This means that she could have both delivered the baby and then registered the birth.

Isabella's appointment as Registrar of Births and Deaths at Cranbourne

Victoria Government Gazette June 15, 1927  http://gazette.slv.vic.gov.au/images/1927/V/general/79.pdf

There was an article in the South Bourke and Mornington Journal in June 1927 saying that Sister Gould had taken over the Hospital vacated by Nurse Brockhurst (7), however there are still references in the newspapers of Nurse Brockhurst's Private Hospital after this so either Sister Gould did not stay long or perhaps it was still referred to by it's original name. 

What do we know about Mrs Brockhurst? She was born Isabella Suriez around 1884 in the Falkland Islands, that very remote part of the British Empire in the South Atlantic Ocean. She is the first person I have ever come across born in the Falklands. Isabella was married to Frank Brockhurst on March 6, 1906 at St Stephen's Church of England, West Ealing, which is part of Greater London.   He was a 23 year old Dairyman, born in Alton in Hampshire and she was a 22 year old Spinster. Her father's occupation on the marriage certificate was listed as Shepherd in the Falkland Isles (8).

I believe Isabella's father was actually called Carlo not Claro. This is an excerpt from Isabella and Frank's Marriage Certificate showing his occupation.

London Metropolitan Archives; London, England; London Church of England Parish Registers;

Reference Number: DRO/148/01/009 - From Ancestry.com

Their daughter, Isabella Mary, was born November 2, 1906 at Godalaming, Surrey and their son Francis George (known as George) was born June 5, 1908, also in Godalaming (9).  The family were listed in the 1911 Census at Godalaming - Frank's occupation was a Dairyman; Isabella's occupation was 'assisting in the business'. The household also had two boarders and a servant living with them (10). 

I do not have a date for when the family came to Australia, but in 1914 they were listed in the Electoral Rolls at Tallangatta. When Frank enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on November 27, 1916, they were living in Cranbourne. Frank was not considered fit enough  to serve overseas but spent two years with the Army on Home Service (11).  The 1917 Electoral Rolls shows them at Spring Meadows in Cranbourne. They are also listed at this address in 1927 (12).  Frank's occupation was a farm hand and they did not own the property. 

There was a clearing sale of cattle and some equipment held at Spring Meadows in February 1920 and the owner was listed as George Lehman (13) and another sale in March 1928 when the property was auctioned. It was described as 327 acres, stocked 750 sheep and 80 cows were milked  - a large concern in those days. Sel. Kennon Esq., was the owner in 1928 (14). This was Selbourne Kennon, of  J. Kennon and Sons - the operators of a large tannery, leather manufactuary and wool exporters in Richmond on the Yarra River (15). With Frank's previous experience as a dairyman, he would have been a valuable employee. After the farm was sold,  Frank and Isabella moved to Perivale,  a house in Childers Street,  Cranbourne (16).  Perivale is less than two miles from West Ealing in England where the couple were married - perhaps that was the location of their first home together.

Whilst the family was at Cranbourne their daughter, Isabella Mary, known as Molly was married on March 30, 1929 at St John's Church of England to Fred Whiteway of Northcote. The Church was filled, the bride being very popular said the report in the Dandenong Journal. Iris Stick was one of Molly's bridesmaids and later in 1929 she married Molly's brother George (17). George enlisted in World War Two, on August 11, 1943. He was a Post Office employee in civilian life and served with the 2nd Australian Base Postal Unit, initially in Victoria but from May 1944 until September 1945 in Lae, New Guinea (18).

Frank and Isabella left Cranbourne in October 1931 - Much regret is expressed that Mr. and Mrs. F. Brockhurst, after a residence of 15 years in Cranbourne, are shortly leaving the district. Mrs. Brockhurst has conducted a private hospital for a number of years, and has won the affection of many residents. She and Mr. Brockhurst have taken an active part in local movements' for the welfare of the town and district. They have been especially interested in St. John’s Church of England, having been actively associated with the organisation of that church (19). 

The next I can find of the Brockhursts was that in 1937 they were listed in the Electoral Roll at Maffra.  Isabella died on October 6, 1954 at Maffra and Frank in September 1963. They were both cremated at the Necropolis at Springvale (20). 

Small private hospitals, like the one operated by Isabella Brockhurst were the mainstay of medical care in the suburbs and country towns at this time - almost always run by women, and they dealt with births, deaths and everything in between - including illness, accidents and caring for people after operations

Other examples of small hospitals in this region are -

  

Shepton Private Hospital in Berwick, operated by Kathleen Duigan and Florence Vines. 

I have written about Nurse Vines, here.

Dandenong Advertiser January 29, 1914 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/8487638

Mrs Harriet Fink's Private Hospital in Dandenong

Koo Wee Rup Sun August 20, 1919.

Mrs Osborn was at Koo Wee Rup - I am unsure whether she operated a hospital in her house or if she attended to patients in their own homes.

Koo Wee Rup Sun August 13, 1919.

From 1911, Bush Nursing Centres were established in country towns. The Bush Nursing movement provided a country town with a qualified, experienced Nurse and the local community had to raise the money to fund the cost of the nurse’s salary, board, uniform and transport. The earliest Bush Nursing Centre in this area was at Koo Wee Rup which opened in July 1918. The Nurse treated patients in their home. On May 23, 1923 the Victorian Bush Nursing Centre, Fallen Soldiers' Memorial Hospital was opened in Koo Wee Rup. In December 1955, it was replaced by the Westernport Memorial Hospital. Pakenham Bush Nursing Hospital was established in 1926 and Berwick in 1940. The first large public hopsital in the area was opened at Warragul in August 1908 and Dandenong was opened in April 1942.

Opening of the Koo Wee Rup Hospital

Koo Wee Rup Sun May 10, 1923

Isabella Brockhurst and many other nurses like her who operated their own hospitals in country towns provided a valuable service to the local area, where they were involved in community life and and even more importantly, won the affection of many residents (19).

Trove List
I have created a list of articles on Trove on Isabella and Frank Brockhurst and the Hospital, access it here.

Footnotes
(1) Lang Lang Guardian, May 11 1918 see here.
(2) South Bourke & Mornington Journal, February 6 1919, see here.
(3) Arthur Branston - Weekly Times, July 19, 1930, see here;  Dandenong Journal, February 9, 1949, see here.  
(4) The Argus, July  4, 1913, see here.
(5) Victoria Government Gazette June 15, 1927, p. 1910 http://gazette.slv.vic.gov.au/images/1927/V/general/79.pdf
(6) Victoria Government Gazette December 2, 1931, p. 3348
http://gazette.slv.vic.gov.au/images/1931/V/general/278.pdf
(7) South Bourke and Mornington Journal, June 16 1927, see here.
(8) I found out Isabella's maiden name and birth place from the Indexes to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages. This led to their Marriage Certificate, which is available on Ancestry.com and their entry in the 1911 Census, also available on Ancestry.com and these documents contained the details in this paragraph.
(9) Isabella Mary's Baptism record in on Ancestry.com and that gave her date of birth. Francis' birth date comes from his Second Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1939-1947 at the National Archives. He enlisted in the Army on August 1943 and was discharged January 14, 1947. See Footnote 18. 
(10) 1911 U.K Census is on Ancestry.com.
(11) National Archives of Australia - Applications to enlist in the Australian Imperial Force papers,
https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=6535344&S=1&R=0
(12) Electoral Rolls available on Ancestry.com
(13) The Argus, February 21, 1920 see here.
(14) The Argus, March 14, 1928, see here.
(15) Articles about J. Kennon & Sons in The Australasian, August 25, 1923, see here and the Weekly Times of September 3, 1932, here.
(16) Dandenong Journal, April 11, 1929, see here.
(17) The wedding was reported in the Dandenong Journal, April 11, 1929, see here. George's wedding date is from the Indexes to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages. Molly and Fred had two sons - Raymond and Robert. Raymond sadly died in July 1942, aged 12 years old. George and Iris had one daughter, Valma.

Death notice for Raymond Whiteway, Frank and Isabella's grandson.

The Argus July 18, 1942 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/11986395

(18) National Archives of Australia, Second Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1939-1947

https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=6060532
(19) Dandenong Journal October 29, 1931, see here.
(20) Southern Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust https://smct.org.au/deceased-search

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

Mrs Gertrude Kilroy of the Motor Club Hotel, Cranbourne

At a hearing of the Dandenong Licensing Court held on March 17, 1914 Gertrude Emily Kilroy applied to have the license of the Motor Club Hotel, Cranbourne transferred from Julia O'Brien to herself. The application was granted (1).

Notice of  Mrs Kilroy's licence application

The Age, March 7, 1914 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/189398219

The Motor Club Hotel was established in 1860s by Thomas and Eliza Gooch (2) as the Mornington Hotel, There were various owners and licensees after the Goochs and on December 14, 1911 the Dandenong Licensing Court approved an application from John Taylor to renew his license of the Hotel and also for the Hotel to be renamed the Motor Club Hotel (3). 

Application to change the name of the Hotel approved

South Bourke and Mornington Journal, December 21, 1911 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/66179793

This name change to the Motor Club Hotel, may have been related to the birth of the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria in Tooradin (4) or may have reflected the fact that Cranbourne was a popular destination for early motor car excursions. John Taylor still owned the hotel during the time Gertrude was the licensee (5).

The Mornington Hotel, when it was owned by Thomas and Eliza Gooch. 

It was later renamed the Motor Club Hotel; the current building was erected around 1924.

Image: The Good Country: Cranbourne Shire by Niel Gunson (Cheshire, 1968)

Gertrude (also referred to as Emily or Emeline) was born in Parramatta in New South Wales in 1865 or 1869 (depending on sources), to William and Emma (nee O'Toole) Tasker. Her father was a Military Officer (6). Gertrude married Nicholas Keam on August 24, 1887 in North Sydney. Sadly, for Gertrude, this was a disastrous marriage. About a year after they were married they moved to Victoria, to Bendigo, where they lived with Nicholas' father. Nicholas was out of work, so Emily took a position in a Hotel and some time after that he went away and she did not hear from him for seven years. Around mid 1902 Gertrude discovered that Nicholas was living with another woman, Annie Lewis, by whom he had a number of children. In February 1904, Gertrude instituted divorce proceedings. The Judge granted her the divorce and described Nicholas Keam as a cold blooded scoundrel (7).

Gertrude's (or Emie as she called herself) sentimental In Memoriam notice for her parents.

Bendigo Advertiser January 29, 1892 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/89013671

On May 31, 1906 Gertrude married William John Kilroy - he was listed on the marriage certificate as a 35 year old commercial traveller, born in Maryborough, Victoria. The service was conducted at 24 Brunswick Street Fitzroy, by Albert James Abbott, a clergyman of the Free Christian Church (8). Gertrude's occupation was a housekeeper, she was 37 years old and their address was 396 Albert Street, East Melbourne (9). The couple had been together since at least 1903 as they are both in the Electoral Roll at 49 Clark Street, Prahran, and she was using the surname Kilroy (10).

In 1909, the couple were living in Bendigo and in April 1910, Gertrude took over the licence of the Camp Hotel, in Hargreaves Street in Bendigo, which she held until March 1912 (11). After Bendigo they moved to Oaklands and the Inverness Hotel at Oaklands Junction, where once again Gertrude was the licensee (12). They moved to Oaklands Junction to the Motor Club Hotel.

The first advertisement for Kilroy's Motor Club Hotel

Dandenong Advertiser, April 9, 1914 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/8487694

Once in Cranbourne they joined in with the community life. In July 1914 a dinner to celebrate the achievements of Anthony Facey, Cranbourne Shire Secretary and later Shire Engineer (13),  was held at the Motor Club Hotel where a sumptuous poultry dinner was in waiting, prepared by the deft fingers of Mrs Kilroy. The table decorations were in giant violets and wattle blossom, and the effect of the purple and gold (the Royal colors) was very pleasing. The viands were excellent, and full justice was done to a five course dinner (14).

In June 1916 Mrs Kilroy's catering was praised again when she catered for a function given by the Cranbourne Turf Club - The tables were laden with edibles to satisfy the wishes of any epicure, and full justice was done to the inner man, which reflects great credit on Mrs Kilroy, licensee of the Motor Club hotel, who had charge of the catering (15).

Whilst in Cranbourne the Kilroys donated prizes for fund raisers, William was an official of the Cranbourne Turf Club; Gertrude played the piano at a Red Cross function and William sung a solo at a farewell function for local soldiers amongst other activities (16). They also carried out Extensive alterations and improvement are now in progress at the Motor Club hotel, Cranbourne, which when completed will add greatly to the appearance of the building and increase the comfort of the interior. Enterprise is displayed by the proprietress and Mr Kilroy, who have now a motor garage, at which the general public can hire cars (17).

There were two other significant contributions made by the Kilroys at Cranbourne. Firstly it was reported in the South Bourke and Mornington Journal in March 1917 that Mrs Kilroy, of the Motor Club hotel, Cranbourne, has at considerable expense obtained, a most unique collection of photos of local volunteers, which have been nicely arranged on the walls of the parlor of the hotel mentioned, and are well worth a visit of inspection. It is also an indication that Cranbourne has responded well to the call for volunteers (18). What an amazing collection of photographs they would have been, a lovely tribute to the local boys who enlisted and if only we could go back in time to see them.

Mrs Kilroy's Unique collection

South Bourke & Mornington Journal, March 22, 1917 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/66191708

The other significant thing was that William enlisted to serve in the Army on May 11, 1916. He was 41 years old. The local paper reported that he has passed his initial examination. The late boniface of the Club is a good solid-looking man, and should stop a bullet with the best of them if he gets through his finals (19). It seems age was against him as he was discharged as being medically unfit on August 28, 1916 due to Rheumatoid Arthritis (20).

Part of William Kilroy's enlistment papers

National Archives of Australia www.naa.gov.au

First Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1914-1920

In May 1918, four years after they arrived, the Kilroys left Cranbourne and the Motor Club Hotel for the Royal Mail Hotel in Whittlesea. They were not there long and they moved to the Racecourse Hotel in Keilor in October 1919. By 1921 they were at the Tatong Hotel and in September that year, Gertrude took over the licence of the Railway Hotel in Goorambat and April 1922, she took up the licence of the Redesdale Hotel and by August 1923 that licence was transferred (21). Five Hotels in five years, a very quick succession and Redesdale appears to have been their last Hotel. I wonder why they kept moving, but it seemed to be the pattern of their life after that.

In 1926 they were at 20 Beaconsfield Parade, St Kilda, where Mrs Kilroy rented out rooms and William was a traveller or salesman (22). They were innocently connected to a murder while they were there as one of Mrs Kilroy's boarders was charged with murder. He was 65 year old Henry Tacke, who was infatuated by 34 year old Rachel Currell, a married woman with one child. She had already complained to her husband about his stalking her. Tacke came around to their house at 4 Mary Street, St Kilda on December 15, 1925 fought with her husband and then shot her five times - he claimed he just fired down the passage way to frighten her. He then calmly walked home to Mrs Kilroy's as if nothing had happened. At his trial he was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to a mere seven years. Tacke died in gaol in September 1927 (23).

The Electoral Rolls list the Kilroys at two other addresses in St Kilda in the late 1920s - 241 Barkly Street and 114 Acland Street. In 1934 they were at 182 Williams Road in Toorak; 1936 at 165 Point Nepean Road in Carrum and 1937 at 127 Disraeli Street in Kew (24). William died May 15, 1939 at the age of 64, and their address listed in the death notice was 39 Alma Road, St Kilda. He was the son of William John and Margaret (nee Hughes) Kilroy and he had five sisters, Annie, Rose, Emily, Sarah and Mary and one brother, Thomas. He was also the devoted uncle of Madge, Bill and Bernie and one notice and one notice said he was loved by all and sadly missed (25). 

After William died, the next I can trace of Gertrude is that she was at 30 Hodgkinson Street, Clifton Hill and in 1954 she was at St Josephs Home, Northcote (26). She died in April 1956, at the age of 91 and is buried with William in the Catholic section at the Fawkner Cemetery (27). I cannot find a death notice for Gertrude or a Will. Gertrude was a hard working woman, essentially supporting herself all her adult life as a housekeeper, hotel keeper and even after she retired from the Hotel business, she took in boarders to help make ends meet. Gertrude Emily Kilroy - enterprising, a sumptuous and expert caterer, sentimental and community minded.

Trove list - I have created a list of newspaper articles on Gertrude Kilroy, William Kilroy and their life and work, access it here.

Footnotes
(1) The Age, March 7, 1914, see here.

(2) In The Good Country: Cranbourne Shire, Niel Gunson writes that Thomas Gooch was chief mate on the Sacramento. Elizabeth (nee Minister) had also been on the same ship, which was wrecked near the Heads, Port Phillip Bay. They both lost all of their possessions, but found true love and married each other in 1853. Elizabeth gave birth to nine children between 1855 and 1867. They were Thomas (1855), Alfred (1857), Susan Ellen (1859), Arthur (1860), Charlotte (1861), Walter Edward (1863), Harriet Beumont (1864), Frank Frederick (1865), Fanny Elizabeth (1867).
(3) South Bourke & Mornington Journal, December 21, 1911, see here.

(4) https://kooweerupswamphistory.blogspot.com/2022/02/tooradin-short-history.html
(5) John Taylor was licensee of the Hotel in 1911 and in January 1912 had purchased the freehold of the Hotel. Julia O'Brien took over the licence of the Motor Club Hotel in February 1913, until March 1914. In May 1918, it was reported that William James Taylor had taken over the licence and the lease of the business from Gertrude Taylor. In May 1919, Sarah Kelly took over the licence from William Taylor. Members of the Kelly family also operated the Cranbourne Hotel, also in High Street. John Taylor is listed in the Cranbourne Shire Rate books as owning the Hotel until 1921/1922 Rate Year. In 1922/1923, Arthur Kelly is listed as the owner. I feel that William James Taylor is probably the son of John Taylor, but have no evidence.  

The existing Motor Club Hotel, was built around 1924. I am basing this on the valuation in the Cranbourne Shire Rate Books - in 1923/24 and 1924/25 the Net Annual Value was 240 pounds, in 1925/26 -it had leaped to 420 pounds and the next two years it was 400 pounds, so I believe the increase in rates was due to the erection of the new building. As the Local Government year used to run from October 1 to September 30 then the new building would have been erected between October 1924 and September 1925 to appear at the higher valuation in the 1925/26 year.  

(6) Information from her Marriage certificate to William Kilroy. Her mother is listed as Mary O'Toole on Gertrude's marriage certificate. Her marriage certificate said she (Gertrude) was 37 in 1906, hence born 1869. The Index to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages says she was 91 when she died in 1956, hence born 1865. I cannot find a birth record in the New South Wales Births, Deaths and Marriages.

(7) Information about Gertrude's marriage and divorce comes from the reports of her Divorce hearing in Bendigo Independent, February 13, 1904, see here;  Bendigo Advertiser, February 13, 1904, see here and The Age, February 13, 1904, see here.
(8) Albert James Abbott, a clergyman of the Free Christian Church - an interesting, slightly dodgy character. These two articles tell you something about him - The Age, December 1, 1892, see here and The Age November 9, 1909, see here. 
(9) I bought their Marriage certificate.
(10) Electoral Roll on Ancestry.com
(11) The Argus, April 5, 1910, see here.
(12) Cannot find a licence application for Gertrude for the Inverness Hotel at Oaklands Junction, but she is listed there in the 1913 Electoral Roll as a Licenced Victualler.
(13) Anthony Northey Facey - Cranbourne Shire Councillor 1876-1881; Cranbourne Shire Acting Secretary from 1884, Secretary from 1887 until 1909; Cranbourne Shire Clerk of Works 1884-1909 and Cranbourne Shire Engineer 1909-1912 (Information from Niel Gunson's The Good Country: Cranbourne Shire (Cheshire, 1968)) Mr Facey died in 1916, aged 67, read his obituary in the South Bourke & Mornington Journal of August 12, 1915, here.
(14) Dandenong Advertiser, July 9, 1914, see here.
(15) South Bourke & Mornington Journal, June 15, 1916, see here.
(16) See my Trove list, here, for accounts.
(17) South Bourke & Mornington Journal, December 9, 1915, see here.
(18) South Bourke & Mornington Journal, March 22, 1917, see here.
(19) Dandenong Advertiser, May 4, 1916, see here. The term Boniface for a hotel keeper comes from Boniface, the innkeeper in The Beaux' Stratagem written in 1707, by George Farquhar.
(20) View William's file at the National Archives of Australia https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=7372476
(21) You can see all the advertisements for applications and transferences for the Hotel licences in my Trove list, here.
(22) I assume he was a traveller as that was his occupation in 1928 according to the Electoral Rolls.
(23) Report of Tacke's committal trial was in The Argus, January 9, 1926, see here. Report of his death was in The Argus, September 10, 1927, see here.
(24) Their addresses are from the Electoral Rolls on Ancestry.com
(25) Death notices in The Age, May 16, 1939, see here. The names of his parents come from the Victorian Index to Births, Deaths and Marriages.
(26) Electoral Rolls on Ancestry.com. St Josephs Home in Northcote was operated by the Little Sisters of the Poor, read about it here https://heritage.darebinlibraries.vic.gov.au/article/342
(27) See footnote (6) regarding her date of birth. Fawkner Cemetery records https://www.gmct.com.au/our-locations/fawkner-memorial-park

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

Lady Talbot Milk Institute and George Hope's Model Dairy at Cranbourne

This is the story of the Lady Talbot Milk Institute and George Hope's Caulfield Model dairy, which suppled pure milk to the Institute. In 1912, George moved his operation to Mayfield at Cranbourne. The Hope family sold their property in 1949 to  Frederick Spottiswood who renamed it Nirvana Park. Fred had established the Nirvana Dairy on the corner of Waverley Road and Belgrave Road in Malvern East in the 1930s. 

On Monday, April 11 in 1927, Lady Stonehaven, the wife of the Governor General, Lord Stonehaven, visited the Caulfield Model Dairy Farm at Cranbourne. She was accompanied by Dr Vera Scantlebury (1), the Director of Infant Welfare and Sister Peck (2), Assistant Director of the Victorian Health Centres. The party was shown the milk production process by the proprietor, Mr George Hope. He explained the production process from milking, cooling, bottling and sealing to the final act of packing the milk in ice-lined cases for delivery to the railway station for distribution in Melbourne (3). 400 gallons (around 1800 litres) was produced daily at this dairy in the 1920s, principally for the Lady Talbot Milk Institute, which then distributed this special milk to around 1,600 babies (4).  The milk from George Hope's farm was regularly checked by laboratories at the University of Melbourne for contamination, the cows were checked Government veterinary officers to ensure they were free from tuberculosis and the farm employees also needed to have medical checks (5). These checks were done to ensure the milk was pure and safe for the babies

Early in the 1900s there was concern about the high infant mortality rate, and various schemes were introduced in order to improve the life of mothers and babies. Lillias Skene (6) a welfare worker and women’s activist, suggested the establishment of a safe milk supply and this led to the foundation of the Lady Talbot Milk Institute in 1908. The inaugural meeting was held on June 24, 1908 where the motion That an institute for the supply of safe clean milk to be called the Lady Talbot Milk Institute be established as a charitable institution in Melbourne was passed (7).  Lady Talbot was the wife of the Victorian Governor (8). Dr Jeffreys Wood (9), who moved the motion said that those medical men in particular who had had to work at the Children's Hospital, had felt the utter hopelessness of treating children as the result of drinking stale milk and sending them back home to drink the same milk. Absolutely fresh milk would do an immense amount of good for the poorer children of the state (10). The Children's Hospital also used Talbot Institute milk for the infants in their care (11). 

The role of the Lady Talbot Milk Institute was to supply pure bottled milk to infants to reduce deaths caused by unsanitary milk. Before refrigeration and pasteurization, coupled with generally low standards of hygiene and germ control, unsanitary milk was a major cause of infant death and illness. Contaminated milk could cause tuberculosis, gastric upsets, diarrhoea and typhoid. The process of  pasteurisation was invented by Louis Pasteur in the 1860s, and it was being used in Victoria from the 1890s but did not become compulsory in Victoria until after the Second World War (12).  Interestingly, even in 1927 the milk from George Hope’s farm was not pasteurised, and its purity came from the stringent handling methods (13). 

Letter from George hope regarding pasteurisation of his milk

The Argus, April 14, 1927 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/3849131

The Lady Talbot Milk Institute supplied milk, with an ice chest, to ‘deserving’ cases. Families had to apply through Infant Welfare Centres, the local council or be recommended by their doctor and the milk was subsidised by a combination of the local council, the State Government and Institute funds. In an Annual report around 1910 the City of Prahran noted  Splendid work has been done in this city through the agency of the Talbot Milk Institute, towards which the Council contributed £100. During the year 90 babies have received the special milk, the mothers in most cases paying the market price for it, viz., 2d. per pint, although the cost to the Institute is about 4½d. The nurses in charge of the district have taken considerable trouble to keep in touch with the babies receiving the milk, advising mothers in respect to the general treatment of young children, feed, nursing, etc. (14). 

The Argus reported in 1923 - The value of Talbot milk as an infant food is shown by figures, supplied by Dr Jeffreys Wood, who, in a report to the association, stated that of 386 babies housed on the milk during last summer only five died, while only nine suffered illness. The mortality rate for the Commonwealth is 53 deaths per thousand infants (15). The Lady Talbot Milk Institute was still in existence in 1940, but I have no information when it ceased operation. 

Who was George Hope? George had commenced his Model Dairy on 60 acres in Kooyong Road in Caulfield.  In 1909, his farm was the subject of an article in the Weekly Times which started with There is a property in the Melbourne metropolitan area which is fast becoming one of the show farms of Victoria. A report a year earlier described his new concrete silos which could conserve up to 400 tons of silage (16).  In 1912, George Hope purchased 592 acres (240 hectares) at Cranbourne and moved his Caulfield Model Farm to this new location. This land was the Mayfield pre-emptive right, originally owned by Alexander Cameron (17). George had been supplying milk to the Lady Talbot Milk Institute since 1908 and this continued at Cranbourne (18). 

George was protective of his milk’s reputation and in November 1925 he went to court to seek an injunction to stop other dairies using the milk bottles with the Lady Talbot Milk Institute label and filling them with ordinary milk. A public advertisement, see below, appeared in The Argus of December 5, 1925 warning dairymen against the use of the specially labelled bottles. 

Warning to dairymen about using Lady Talbot branded bottles.

The Argus, December 5 1925 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/2171319

George Hope (1865-1941) had married Mary Elizabeth Robinson (1867-1948) in 1900 and they had four  children - Elizabeth (1901), George Robinson (1903), James Haworth (1906) and David Dickson  (1911). James died in 1916 at the age of ten and is buried in the same grave as his parents at Cranbourne Cemetery. Elizabeth married Noel Sumner Nash in November 1935, he was the first cousin of  Maie Casey, the wife of Lord Casey, engineer,  politician and Governor General of Australia from 1965-1969.  George married Edna Josephine Warburton in 1939 and the same year David married Thirza 'Jill' Cargill in New South Wales. Both George, David  and their  brother-in-law, Noel, served in World War Two - George and Noel in the Army and David in the Air Force (19).

In 1945, George and David held a clearing sale as they were giving up dairying - they had close to 380 head of cattle on offer, mainly Illawarra-Ayrshire cross and all guaranteed to be tuberculosis free (20). The property was then sold in 1949 to Fred Spottiswood, of Nirvana Park, Camms Road, in Cranbourne, where he operated a Illawarra cattle stud.  Mr Spottiswood was a Shire of Cranbourne Councillor from 1949 until 1955 and he was Shire President from 1951 to 1952. He was also on the Committee of the Cranbourne Turf Club and Chairman in 1951/52. Before he came to live full-time on his farm in Cranbourne in 1946, Mr Spottiswood operated the Nirvana Dairy (hence the name of his farm) on the corner of Waverley Road and Belgrave Road in Malvern East (21). An article in the Kiama Reporter of July 4, 1945 noted that Mr Spottiswood  who has achieved distinction for the extensive milk retailing business he has built  up in  Malvern and in a similar manner to the model business thus established, he aspired to the creation of  a model stud farm with the noted Australian Illawarra Shorthorns the breed to be utilised (22). 

I am not sure when Fred Spottiswood started the Nirvana Dairy, the earliest reference I can find to it is in November 1934 when the Dairy won a prize for the best 'four wheeled light delivery turnout'  in a parade of business vehicles held in Malvern (23). Nirvana Dairies opened  a new building on October 28, 1938. It was opened by the Minister of Agriculture, and the newspaper report said It must be a great comfort to mothers to know that milk is clean and pure," Mr. Hogan said. "To achieve cleanliness and purity it is necessary that dairies should be sanitary, with durable Interiors, ample space, arrangements for expeditious handling, and good lighting, ventilation, and drainage"  (24). 

An interesting new building was how Nirvana Dairy was described in Building magazine.

The building was the Dairy Bell Ice Cream building from the mid-1970s to 2015.

Image: Building: the magazine for the architect, builder, property owner and merchant 

Vol. 63 No. 378 (24 February, 1939), p. 63. (from Trove)

The Interior of the Milk Bar at the Nirvana dairy

Image: Building: the magazine for the architect, builder, property owner and merchant

Vol. 63 No. 378 (24 February, 1939), p. 63. (from Trove)

The opening of the Nirvana Dairy is a good example of the connection between rural and urban industries that was once obvious to most Australians and is now largely lost. It was the Minister for Agriculture opening the new dairy because it was recognised that rural industries, such as the dairy industry, needed secondary industries, such as Nirvana Dairy which produced milk products and ice cream and also had a milk bar and cafe. Small factories like the Nirvana Dairy, often had a house attached where the owner lived and they were part of the fabric of every suburb; unlike today where the industrial area in many towns is set well away from the residential area.

Fred Spottiswood sold the Nirvana Dairy in 1946 and the family, as we said before, moved to  Nirvana Park in Cranbourne (25). The 1945/46 Shire of Cranbourne Rate Books list about 60 acres in various parcels owned by Fred Spottiswood and also show that he leased land from the Crown and the Railways - the railway land was from the Railway line, north to Camms Road, with High Street/South Gippsland Highway being the western boundary and Narre Warren Cranbourne Road,  being the eastern boundary. In 1954, the Spottiswoods moved again, this time to a new house they had built on the site of the old Mayfield homestead. Spottiswood then renamed the property from Mayfield to Nirvana Park. (26).

Frederick David Spottiswood (1903-1992)  married widow, Vevers Lorna Hemsworth (nee Lasslett, 1915-1999)  in 1942. There were two sons from the marriage and Vevers had a daughter from her previous marriage. Fred and Vevers Spottiswood are listed in the Electoral Rolls in Cranbourne until 1968 and by 1972 they are in Frankston. They are both interred at the Bribie Island Memorial Garden in Queensland, his plaque describes him as always optimistic and her plaque describes her as stylish and witty (27). 

The lives of many babies were saved over the years due to women such as Lilias Skene advocating for a clean milk supply and dairy men like George Hope and Fred Spottiswood providing the pure milk and clean processing plants required for its distribution.

Acknowledgement - I first found out about Fred Spottiswood from a long term Cranbourne resident, the late Val Bourke, and she told me that his dairy was  a red brick building on Camms Road. Val also told me that the Spottsiwoods moved from the original farm in Camms Road to another property in Cameron Street, south of Sladen Street or Berwick-Cranbourne Road as that part of Sladen Street is now called  (about opposite the back entry of the old Cranbourne RSL) where they also had  a dairy. I used Val's information as the basis for the rest of the Spottiswood story. Val Bourke was such a lovely woman, and I still miss her.

Trove lists - I have created a list of articles on the Lady Talbot Milk Institute and George Hope's Model Dairy, access it here; and a list of articles on Nirvana Park and Fred Spottiswood, here.

Footnotes
(1) Vera Scantlebury Brown (1889-1946), read her Australian Dictionary of Biography entry, here.
(2) Muriel Peck (1882-1947), read her obituary in The Herald of May 21, 1947, here and a tribute to her in the Gippsland Times of June 5, 1947, here. Sister Peck was instrumental in the establishment of Baby Health Centres, I have written about this here. Sister Peck also visited many country towns on the Better Farming Train and gave valuable advice to many rural mothers. I have written about the Better Farming Train, here. 

(3) The Argus, April 12, 1927, see here.
(4) The Argus, October 22, 1923, see here.
(5) The Argus, April 12, 1927, see here.

(6) Lilias Skene (1867-1957), read her Australian Dictionary of Biography entry, here.
(7) The Argus, June 25, 1908, see here.
(8) Lady Talbot - The Institute was named for Lady Talbot, the wife of the Governor of Victoria, Sir Reginald Talbot. Lady Talbot, born Margaret Jane Stuart-Wortley in 1855, married Sir Reginald in 1877. Sir Reginald was Governor of Victoria from 1904 until 1908 and during this time Lady Talbot promoted many charitable ventures including the Talbot Colony for Epileptics, which later became the Royal Talbot Rehabilitation Centre. 
(9) Arthur Jeffreys Wood (1861-1937), read his obituary in The Herald, April 13, 1937, here.
(10) The Argus, June 25, 1908, see here.

(11)  Gardiner, Lyndsay Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne 1870 - 1970 (published by the Hospital in 1970), p. 57.
(12) There was a report in 1898 of David Mitchell (famous as the father of Nellie Melba) pasteurising his milk in The Age January 1, 1898, here; The Milk Pasteurisation Bill finally passed Victorian Parliament in December 1949, but still wasn't implemented a year later, see The Age January 8, 1951, here.
(13) The Argus, April 14, 1927, see here.
(14) Cooper, John Butler The history of Prahran from its first settlement to a City (Prahran Council, 1912) pp., 313-314
(15) The Argus, October 22, 1923, see here.

(16) Weekly Times, February 27 1909, see here; The Australasian, August 15, 1908, see here.
(17) Shire of Cranbourne Rate Books. In March 1851, Alexander Cameron (1815 - 1881) took up the lease of the Mayune Run and a few years later at the Government land sales he purchased 592 acres, the Mayfield Pre-emptive Right, on the corner of what is now Cameron Street and the South Gippsland Highway. The Cranbourne Road Board was proclaimed in June 1860 and Cameron was elected in 1863 and served until 1867. He was married to Margaret (nee Donaldson, 1822-1895) and they had seven children (The Good Country: Cranbourne Shire by Niel Gunson ( Cheshire, 1968)
(18) The Australasian, June 27, 1914, see here.
(19) Family information - Indexes to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages; personal advertisements in the newspapers and WW2 Nominal Roll.  Noel Sumner Nash was the son of Albert and Mary Maud Nash, of Ballarto, Cranbourne. Maud was the daughter of  Theodotus Sumner and his wife Sarah (nee Peers). Her sister Annie was married to James Grice, who was the brother of Richard Grice, land owner in Berwick and Cranbourne, after whom Grice's Road is name. Another sister, Alice, married Charles Ryan, they were the parents of Lady Casey who owned Edrington at Berwick. In spite of being socially well connected it doesn't seem like it was  'happy families' all the time as there was a family dispute over Theodotus Sumner's will - you can read about this here.
(20) Dandenong Journal, December 5 1945, see here.
(21) Cranbourne Shire Rate books; The Good Country: Cranbourne Shire by Niel Gunson  (Cheshire, 1968); The Dandenong Journal, March 6, 1946, see here. 

(22) Kiama Reporter, July 10 1945, see here.
(23) The Argus, November 15, 1934, see here.
(24) The Argus, October 29, 1938, see here.

(25) The Dandenong Journal, March 6, 1946, see here

(26) The Dandenong Journal, November 10, 1954, see here.

(27) Indexes to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages; personal advertisements in the newspapers and http://www.chapelhill.homeip.net/FamilyHistory/Photos/Bribie_Island_Memorial_Gardens/

This post is an updated, expanded and much improved version of two posts I wrote and researched on my work blog, Casey Cardinia Links to our Past. I wrote the Lady Talbot Milk Institute post in 2009 and the post on Nirvana Park in 2014.