John Newman Tremearne was a doctor, an inventor, was at one time was charged with manslaughter, and claimed to be able to cure cancer. Dr Tremearne, who was born in Cornwall, England in c.1844, arrived in Melbourne on the Norfolk on July 9, 1872 (1) and took up a position of Resident Surgeon at the Creswick Hospital (2). The activities of a country doctor were many and varied and there are reports that he treated typhoid patients, amputated limbs after accidents, performed post-mortems and at one time performed a lithotomy on a kidney stone the size of a hen's egg (3).
In 1876, at St John's Church of England in Creswick, John married Ada Jane Martin, whose father, Francis Martin, was the editor of the Creswick Advertiser.(4). The couple had six children (5) and only the one grandchild.
- Arthur John Newman (1877 - 1915). Arthur had a military career and in July 1895 received a commission in the 3rd Ballarat Battalion. He was a Lieutenant when he left to serve in the Boer War in 1899 with the First Victorian Infantry Company. He was invalided to England in June 1900. In 1908 and 1909 he served in Northern Nigeria and had his face grazed by a poisoned arrow whilst fighting the natives. The Age on June 13, 1910 reported that the University of Cambridge awarded him a certificate for his researches into the origin, language and folklore of the Houssa tribe in Nigeria. The certificate carries the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Captain Tremearne has also been awarded by the Cambridge University a Diploma of Anthropology for his thesis on Nigerian head hunters. Arthur was the author of a number of books including The tailed head-hunters of Nigeria: an account of an official's seven years' experiences in the Northern Nigerian pagan belt, and a description of the manners, habits and customs of the native tribes as well as The ban of the Bori: demons and demon-dancing in West and North Africa and also Hausa folk-tales: Hausa text of the stories in Hausa superstitions and customs, in Folk-lore. Arthur enlisted in the British Army at the start of the First World War and was killed in Action in France on September 25, 1915. He had married Mary Louisa Tremearne in 1906, I presume she was a cousin. According to the 1911 English Census she had been born in Bengal in India. (6). I don't believe they had any children.
- Ada Avenel (1879 - 1890). Her parents installed a memorial window in her honour at St John's Church of England in Creswick in June 1892. (7).
- Francis Clement (1880-1881)
- John Eliot (1882-1951). John was journalist on The Herald newspaper - a music and dramatic critic for 20 years until he retired in 1946, according to an obituary. He was a foundation member of the Australian Journalists' Association and a friend of fellow Creswick native, Norman Lindsay. John married Veronica McNamee in 1911 and they had one daughter, Veronica in 1913; she married Graham Green in 1946. Young Veronica had nine month trip to England and Europe in 1937, where she saw the International Exhibition in Paris; travelled for two months by car around England and Scotland and saw the Coronation procession of King George VI. Her father's newspaper, The Herald, reported on the trip. (8).
- Frank Bazeley (1884- 1955) Frank enlisted to serve in the First World War on November 1, 1917 at the age of 33. He Returned to Australia July 23, 1919. He married Frances Daintry Harrison in 1945. Frank was also a journalist, like his maternal grandfather and his brother. He was with The Argus. (9).
- Guy Howard (1893-1897).
During the number of years they have resided here, much philanthropic work has by them, and
their removal from Creswick, will leave a blank not easily filled. (11).
From 1883/84 Dr Tremearne began to acquire large parcels of land east of Dandneong, in what is now Hallam and Endeavour Hills. The 1883/84 Shire of Berwick Rate Books show that he owned Grasmere, Parish of Eumemmerring, part of Thomas Herbert Power's old Estate; a notation shows the rates were paid by R. B. Ridler. In the 1884/85 Rate Books the entry is under R.B. Ridler. In 1885/86, Dr Tremearne is listed as owning 653 acres, Parish of Narre Warren; as well as the 1815 acres in the Parish of Eumemmerring, leased to Robert Ridler. In 1886/87, Tremearne owns 292 acres in the Parish of Eumemmerring, plus the 1815 acres in the Parish of Eumemmerring leased to Robert and Leonard Ridler. In 1887/88 - 292 acres Parish of Eumemmerring and a house; and 300 acres, also in the Parish of Eumemmerring, plus the 1815 acres in the Parish of Eumemmerring leased to Robert and Leonard Ridler. This is Tremearne's last appearance in the Rate Books. (12).
Dr Tremearne is said to have built Four Oaks homestead around 1883. The house is still standing at 13 Cardigan Street, Endeavour Hills. Four Oaks was so named as there were four oak trees on the property and is the name of one of the City of Casey Wards. There are only two oak trees remaining. I do not believe that Dr Tremearne actually lived here as there is evidence that he was still working in Creswick at the time, so it may be that he held this land as a speculative investment and the house was built for a farm manager or the Ridlers (13).
Dr Tremearne put his land up for sale on November 23, 1887 - as you can see by the advertisement below. Interestingly the property is not called Four Oaks but Rockley Park. Rockley Park, allotments 17 to 20, Parish of Eumemmering is south of Heatherton Road, between Power Road and Hallam North Road and was just over 650 acres.
The 1880s was a boom time in Victoria with property values going through the roof which is reflected in the following story and also adds strength to my idea that Dr Tremearne had purchased this land as an investment. The property was sold by Tremearne to James Mirams on March 1, 1888 for £40,000. On March 14, Mirams sold the land for £48,000 to the Real Estate Bank. On May 1, the Real Estate Bank sold the land to Frederick Illingworth for £60,000. On June 14, Illingworth sold the land to the Grasmere Estate Company for £105,000. However when Tremearne sold the land to Mirams, Mirams paid in cash and promissory notes to be paid at specific times over the next few years and if Mirams failed to make a payment the contract was rescinded and this happened in March 1889. The contract was rescinded, however Mirams paid so the contract was reinstated. However the Grassmere Company used this to try to get out of the contract with Illingworth. (14). This involved Court case was written up in The Argus of September 10, 1889, you can read it here.
Back to Creswick. During the time Tremearne owned the land in what is now Endeavour Hills, there is plenty of evidence in newspaper reports to show that he was still living and practicing medicine in Creswick and it was during this time that he was charged with manslaughter. Richard Goatley was accidentally given a dose of morphia by Dr Tremearne rather than a dose of silicate of soda and he died. An inquest was held in February 1886 and the manslaughter trial at Stawell in the March (15). You can read about the trial, here. In the end the Crown entered a nolle prosequi or 'unwilling to pursue'. (16).
In 1896, when he was still at Creswick, Dr Tremearne discovered a cure for cancer. As the Sydney Mail newspaper noted -
In September 1902, Dr Tremearne's hospital was sold and they then left Creswick and moved to Melbourne, where two of their sons were living (20). In May 1908, Ada Tremearne's sister, Ella Martin purchased Mandeville Hall in Toorak. Melbourne Punch noted -
Mandeville Hall, a charming residence in Clendon-road, Toorak, built by the late Mr. Joseph Clarke
and lately occupied by Mrs. Ross Soden, has been taken by Miss Ella Martin to let in residential
suites or rooms. Miss Martin, who has had considerable experience in house management, has provided admirably for her patrons. Mr. Gillow of Robertson and Moffat's, has had carte blanche, and the firm have transformed the beautiful entrance hall, the handsome reception rooms, the bedrooms, and the smoke room into most refined and homelike interior, second to none of their kind. All the rooms have bells and fireplaces and the many bathrooms are fitted with hot and cold water. The rich and quaint mural decorations make the interior still more attractive, and the lovely liberty furnishing in rich Georgian designs add still more to the luxurious surroundings. Terms are from £2 2 a week. Mandeville Hall, standing on five acres of land, has tennis and croquet grounds, and fine lawns, is four minutes from the Toorak trains and near the tram line. (21)
The original house on the site was one of 12 rooms built for Alfred Watson in 1869. It was purchased by Joseph Clarke in 1876 who had the house enlarged to 30 rooms and an ornate facade added. These works were designed by the architect, Charles Webb. (22).
In May 1908 John and Ada moved to Mandeville Hall (23). Dr Tremearne died at the age of 68 on November 14, 1912 whilst living at Mandeville Hall. (24). Ella Martin sold Mandeville Hall in 1924 to the Loreto Order of Nuns, who turned it into a school, which is still operating (25).
It is clear that the Tremearne family were well off, but that didn't prevent the heartache of losing three of their six children at a young age - Ada was eleven years old, Francis was 8 months and Guy was three years old; and when Ada Tremearne died on April 1, 1942 at the age of 84 (26), she had only two sons living, John and Frank, Arthur having been killed in World War One. John and Ada are buried at the Creswick Cemetery, along with their little children - Ada, Francis and Guy.
I have created a list of newspaper articles about Dr Tremearne and his family on Trove, click here to access the list
Footnotes
(2) The Leader (Orange) November 18, 1912, see here.
(11) Ballarat Star, October 10, 1902, see here.
(12) Shire of Berwick Rate books and the City of Berwick Heritage Conservation Study, prepared by Context P/L in 1993 (see footnote below for access)
This is an expanded version of a post, which I wrote and researched, which appears on my work blog, Casey Cardinia Links to our Past.
