Eliza Fraser of Pakenham, Hotel-Keeper

Michael Kelly established a hotel in Pakenham, known as the Pakenham Hotel, on the west side of the Toomuc Creek in 1869 (1). From September 15, 1881, the hotel was operated by Eliza Fraser (2). 

We can find out something about the Frasers from a Licence renewal hearing which took place in December 1882 at the Berwick Court and was reported in the South Bourke and Mornington Journal.  Mrs Fraser had applied for the renewal of her licence for her hotel and billiard table. This was opposed by Sergeant McWilliams on the grounds that her house was so badly kept that it disturbed the quiet of the neighborhood, and that she had got a husband living with her, therefore was not a responsible person to hold a publicans' license, as she might be called away by her husband at any moment (3). She had also been fined for Sunday trading. Her hearing was postponed until January 5, 1883 and this was also reported in the South Bourke and Mornington Journal.   At this hearing, Sergeant McWilliams said that the problems at the hotel were getting worse and that two months ago there was a drunken man lying outside covered with blood, apparently having been in a fight. Mrs. Fraser interfered, when Mr Fraser kicked her and gave her a blow in the face (4). 

The Sergeant went on to give other evidence against Mrs Fraser -
Some time ago, about 17th May, 1882, he was on duty in Berwick about nine or ten o'clock, when he was met by Mrs. Fraser in a great state of excitement, who rushed into his arms, exclaiming that she had run away from her husband, as she thought he was going to kill her. At his persuasions, on that occasion, she, after some trouble, returned home. Shortly after that she telegraphed down for the witness to come up to her hotel for the purpose of protecting her against the cruelties of her husband, which witness did. Afterwards she took out a summons before Mr. F. Call in Melbourne, binding her husband over to keep the peace towards her. He also said the outside buildings were in a very dilapidated condition, and what with its being surrounded by pigs and geese and other animals, it was in a most disgusting and beastly state (5).

 
Mrs Fraser's lawyer, Mr Gillott, appeared on her behalf and answered some of the allegations and said that she was dependent on the profits of the hotel for the support of herself and three children. Other information presented about Mrs Fraser included the following-
She had held a publican's licence for thirteen years; eleven years in Melbourne at the Inverness, Royal George, and Kirks Bazaar Hotels. There were twelve rooms in the Pakenham Hotel - Michael Kelly, the owner of the hotel, sworn, stated that if the license was granted he was prepared to put the hotel in proper order. The house had been continually licensed for the last fourteen years. The present applicant had been in it since 15th September 1881 (6). 

Mr. Gillott made an able address, and after joining issue on all of the objections that had been raised, said the only tenable one was her unsatisfactory marital relations with her husband which was not misconduct on her part but her misfortune for which she should not be deprived of her only source of livelihood and thrown upon the world with only a few sticks of furniture to sell to enable her to commence life afresh (7). The Court granted her licence to keep the hotel for another year on the condition that it was better conducted and the building put in order. For some reason the licence for the billiard table was not granted. 

Eliza Fraser has her licence renewed at a Licensing hearing in Berwick in December 1883.

South Bourke and Mornington Journal, December 12 1883 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/70042299

The next few years the licence was renewed without an issue in her name, however at a hearing in June 1886, the licence was formally transferred from Alexander's name to Eliza's name (8). I am unsure how it could have previously renewed in Eliza's name if Alexander was the licensee. 

Fraser's Hotel was part of allotment 1 & 2, Section 2, to the left (or west) of the Toomuc Creek. You can see Bourke's La Trobe Inn (also called Bourke's Hotel) on the other side of the creek.

The Township of Pakenham, County of Mornington. H. Permein, Assist. Surveyor ; lithographed at the Public Lands Office, Melbourne, April 22nd, 1858 by T. Ham. Victoria. Public Lands Office

State Library of Victoria - see the full map here - http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/100195

Eliza was the daughter of Phillip and Hannah Mulcahy, she was born in County Cork in Ireland, in c. 1846. On September 12, 1869 she married Arthur Ward in the Catholic Church at  Clunes. The marriage certificate noted that he was  30 year old hotel keeper, born in Hertfordshire, England. Her age was listed as 24. They had three children - Anna Maria, born in Clunes in 1870 and died aged 9 months; and two sons both born in  Ballarat -  John James in 1872 and Arthur born in 1874 (9). Her husband Arthur died May 26, 1874, from a coach accident whilst descending Anthony's Cutting, just out of Bacchus Marsh. At the time of his death he was a Cobb & Co. coach driver and was actually driving at the time. Eliza came to Bacchus Marsh from Ballarat to see her husband, who died twenty six hours after the accident. The Bacchus Marsh Express reported that - 

The distress of Mrs. Ward during the time her husband was lying speechless and dying in a strange hotel among strangers was most pitiful, and on the arrival of her father and mother from Melbourne on Wednesday a few days after her husband breathed his last they finally persuaded her to return home to Ballarat (10). John was two years old and little Arthur was only three months old at the time of their father's death. The inquest found the accident was caused by brake failure,  due to the inferior quality of the wood the coach was made from. (11).  

Eliza then married Alexander Fraser on January 23, 1878, in the Catholic Church in West Melbourne. Interestingly, she married under her maiden name of Mulcahy and said that she was a spinster, not  a widow. Her age is stated as 31  and her occupation as a hotel keeper. Alexander is listed as being 22 (thus born c. 1856), having been born in Aberdeen in Scotland. His occupation was an engineer and his usual place of residence was 'at sea.'  They had one son, Alexander, born in 1879. (12).

In Memoriam notice for Eliza, inserted by her sons John and Arthur Ward. I wonder why Alexander was not listed; he was 10 or 11 when his mother died. 

The Age November 17, 1891 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/190624713

Eliza died August 16, 1890 at the age of 44 (13). Her Probate papers list her property as - 

that piece of land at Pakenham being part of allotment 1& 2, Section 2, Parish of Pakenham on which is erected a weather-board house containing seven rooms, and kitchen and bedrooms detached containing 3 rooms and the said land containing one acre. Also all that piece or parcel of land situate at Pakenham containing half acre or thereabouts. The value of the land was £890 and the total estate including personal property was valued at £915 (14). There was a debt of £330 pounds to a wine and spirt merchant, which left an estate of  £585.   Even though her probate papers are digitised at the Public Records Office of Victoria, her will is not, but I presume her estate was left to her three sons - John James Ward, Arthur Ward and Alexander Fraser. Her executors were John Dwyer; her son, John James Ward and Patrick Kennedy (15). 

John Dwyer took over as licensee of the hotel after Eliza’s death, according to a Berwick Licensing Court hearing, held on December 5, 1890 (16).  The 1889/1890 Shire of Berwick Rate books list Eliza as the owner of the hotel, for some reasons in the previous three years she is not listed and in 1885/1886 she listed as renting the building from Michael Kelly, which means it was sometime in that date range that she purchased the building from Mr Kelly.  I am unsure what happened after that - a property was listed in Eliza Fraser's name (either as Estate of or Executors of) up to the 1894/1895 Rate books, the address being Lot 1 Staughtons sub-division.  I did not find John Dwyer listed in the Rate Books, so I have no information about other owners of the hotel property or the fate of the building.

The headstone for Eliza and her son, John, at the Pakenham Cemetery

Photographer: Elaine J. 

http://www.ozgenonline.com/~vic_cem/cardinia/pakenham_hs_images/0648.jpg

Before we finish up we will have a look at  Eliza's children - her first son, John James Ward, was born 1872 in Ballarat. He married Ellen Gertrude Rice in 1891 and, sadly, died  April 12 1893 in his 21st year. John is buried in the same grave as his mother at the Pakenham Cemetery.  Ellen applied for Probate on July 21, 1893 and  the following information was listed - he was a grocer from Pakenham and they had two children - Bernard - 18 months old and John James - 2 months old. Ellen was living in Cowwar at the time. In 1897 she married Edgar Hawes. (17). 

John's death notice

The Age April 13, 1893 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article193441926

Eliza's middle son, Arthur Ward, was born in 1874 in Ballarat. Arthur enlisted in the First World War, on November 19, 1915 at the age of 42 (Service number 20154).  His address was a miner and he lived at Donnybrook in Western Australia. Arthur Died of Wounds on April 17, 1918. His Next of Kin was his sister-in-law, Ellen Hawes of Cowwarr (18). 

 Arthur is listed on the Honour Board at St Patrick's Catholic School in Pakenham, so he obviously went to school there.  There is more information on the St Patrick's Honour Board and other Great War Memorials in the Pakenham District on Patrick Ferry's website - A Century After the Guns Fell Silent Remembering the Pakenham District's WWI Diggers 1914-1918 http://www.pakenhamww1.com

Reference to Arthur Ward's death - 'native of Pakenham' - buried at Vignacourt in France Commonwealth War Graves Commission; London, United Kingdom; The War Graves Of The British Empire, Hem Farm, Hem-Monacu Suzanne Communal, Suzanne Military, Herbecourt British, Frise Communal, France. 

Eliza's last son, Alexander Fraser,  was born in  Pakenham in 1879. This means that the Frasers were in Pakenham at least two years before they took over the licence of the Hotel in 1881, so I did some more research and found an article in The Herald about an Insolvency case brought against Alexander Fraser, farmer, of Pakenham. The article tell us that Alexander and Eliza had purchased 165 acres each in June 1878 and that my wife was possessed of and carried on business in the Royal George Hotel, Elizabeth street (19) - so this confirms that this couple are the same ones that held the hotel licence.  It is likely that Alexander being declared bankrupt was the catalyst for Eliza Fraser going back into the hotel business.

 I am unsure what happened to Alexander, there is an Alexander Fraser, an orchardist, listed in the Shire of Berwick Rate Books from 1910 to 1920 - he owned 85 acres at Gembrook South, later called Pakenham Upper. In 1915 he was the President of the Pakenham Fruitgrower's Association (17). His wife was listed in the Electoral Rolls at the time as Annie South Fraser, but I can't trace them after 1919 in the Electoral Roll. If this is him why didn't Arthur list him as his next of kin in his World War One Attestation papers? Also Alexander was not listed in the In Memoriam notice inserted by John and Arthur in 1891 for their mother. Did Alexander live with his father and they lost touch or became estranged? I don't know and also don't know what happened to Alexander Senior, either. 

Eliza Fraser was a  hard working woman, who had to cope with the death of her little girl and the tragic and unexpected death of her first husband which left her a widow with two young boys to look after. She had the misfortune that her second husband was a violent man. Eliza is a woman who should be admired for overcoming adversity and  doing all she could to make a secure life for her three sons. 

Trove list - I have created a list of newspaper articles on Trove on Eliza Fraser and her hotel and family, you can access it here.

Footnotes
(1) South Bourke & Mornington Journal, January 10, 1883, see here. In the Licensing Board hearing, Michael Kelly, the owner of the Hotel said that the house had been continually licensed for the last fourteen years. 

(2) Ibid - Michael Kelly stated that the present applicant had been in it since 15th September 1881. 

(3) South Bourke & Mornington Journal, December 13, 1882, see here.

(4) South Bourke & Mornington Journal, January 10, 1883, see here.

(5) Ibid

(6) Ibid

(7) Ibid

(8) South Bourke & Mornington Journal, June 9, 1886, see here.

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

(10) Bacchus Marsh Express, May 30 1874, see here.

(11) Bacchus March Express, June 13, 1874, see here.

(12) Marriage certificate and Indexes to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages.

(13) Her date of death on her Probate Papers is listed as July 31, 1890. 

(14) Probate Papers at the Public Records Office of Victoria can be found here and here.

(15) Ibid

(16) South Bourke and Mornington Journal, December 18, 1890, see here.

(17) Death notice; Indexes to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages;  Grant of Administration papers at the Public Records Office of Victoria, see here and here.

(18) View his record at the National Archives of Australia, here.

(19  The Herald, June 9, 1880, see here.

(20) Various articles in my Trove list,  see here.


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

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

A view of Maribyrnong Street Footscray, c.1875

Maribyrnong River and Maribyrnong Street, Footscray, c.1875.

Maribyrnong River at Footscray, c. 1875. Photographer: American & Australasian Photographic Company. 

State Library of New South Wales Image 63642. Click here for the original image.

I came across this photograph on the State Library of New South Wales website of the Maribyrnong River (also known as the Saltwater River) at Footscray. It's a great photo, taken c. 1875, and shows some of the buildings in Maribyrnong Street - the Bridge Hotel, on the right, then Pickett's house; the substantial bluestone building on the hill, is the premises of Samuel Henderson, Ham and Bacon Curers and further along is the double storey Ship Inn. Maribyrnong Street runs along the river between Hopkins and Youell Streets. We will have a look at these four buildings in a little more detail.

Close up of the four buildings, cropped from the photo above.

Photographer: American & Australasian Photographic Company.  State Library of New South Wales Image 63642

The Bridge Hotel, on the corner of Wingfield and Maribyrnong Streets was built in 1854/55 by James Maher (1).   It was originally known as the Punt Hotel, due  to its proximity to the punt which crossed the river to Bunbury Street. James Maher was declared insolvent in November 1856, but still held the licence in 1859 (2).  This Punt Hotel is not to be confused with an earlier hotel called the Punt Inn built in 1838 and destroyed by fire in January 1848 and called the Bush Inn between 1843 and 1847 (3).  At the time of the fire it was owned by Charles Kellett. Kellett then sold his punt to Michael Lynch and his hotel licence to William Pickett (4) the husband of Michael's half-sister, Mary Dowd, more of whom later. Just to confuse matters even more Michael Lynch later established a Punt Hotel on Ballarat Road, near Lynch's bridge. This later became the Pioneer Hotel (5).

 The opening of the bridge at Hopkins Street, viewed from the Punt Hotel, and the reason the name changed to the Bridge Hotel.

Opening of the draw-bridge, Salt Water River, from the Australian News for Home Readers March 23, 1863. 

State Library of Victoria Image IAN25/03/63/9

The  Hotel changed its name from the Punt Hotel to the Bridge Hotel around 1863 (6),  when the new bridge over the Maribyrnong was opened in March 1863. This bridge connected Dynon Road to Hopkins Street, and was opened by the Governor, Sir Henry Barkly. The bridge was a boost to the locals as the Footscray people have hitherto suffered great inconvenience from the want of a proper crossing place, which necessitated a long circuit to reach Melbourne. The bridge was  built with a moveable roadway which, by means of machinery, can be removed at any time when a vessel requires to pass (7). The bridge was replaced in 1903, and this is when I believe it was named the Hopetoun bridge after Lord Hopetoun, who had been Governor of Victoria from 1889 until 1895. Lord Hopetoun had visited Footscray on April 23, 1891 on the day it was proclaimed a city (8). The bridge was replaced in 1969 by the existing bridge (9).

Advertisement for a leaseholder for the Bridge Hotel. Perhaps the idea was for the landlord to supplement his income from fish sales.

The Argus April 17, 1866. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/5787155

The Bridge Hotel had other licensees and this advertisement in 1866 (see above) said that the house should have a Waltonian landlord. That's rather interesting, a Waltonian being an angler or a follower of Izaak Walton (1593-1683) who wrote The Compleat Angler. In 1907, the Licences Reduction Board was established whose role was to reduce the number of hotel licences in Victoria to the statutory number which was based on the population of an area (10). The hotels which lost their licence would be given compensation based on the profit of the past three years (11). The Bridge Hotel and the Ship Inn along with eight other local Footscray hotels were the subject of a licence deprivation hearing at Licence Court in May 1918 (12). As we shall see later, the Ship Inn was ordered to close. The Bridge Hotel's licence was reviewed again in May 1926 (13) and it was delicenced by January 1927 (14). The building was  demolished in 1966 (15).

Licence Court hearing into hotels in Footscray and Yarraville, including the Bridge Hotel.

The Age April 9, 1918  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article155089602

Interesting comparison to the c. 1875 photo at the top of the post, which shows the industralisation of the waterfront. Looking under the 1903 Hopetoun bridge, you can just see the Bridge Hotel, to the left of the Port Phillip Mills factory. They were a wool treatment business. In front of the hotel are Raisbeck & Campbell, Boat Builders (16). 

  Hopkins Street Bridge and Maribyrnong River, Footscray, dated 1920s-1954. 

Photographer: Rose Stereograph Co. State Library of Victoria Image H32492/933

Bridge Hotel, c. 1953  This photograph was published in Early Melbourne Architecture 1840-1888: a photographic record (17). The caption in the book says Bracketed eaves and wide-banded arches, painted in red ochre against yellow walls, gave a foreign air to this old house on the west bank of the Maribyrnong River.

Facing Maribyrnong River, c. 1953. State Library of Victoria Image  H2010.73/29

The Bridge Hotel, 1963, three years before demolition.

Footscray, corner Wingfield and Maribyrnong Streets, February 16, 1963. 

Photographer: John T. Collins State Library of Victoria Image H96.210/214

In our original photo, along from the Bridge Hotel is Pickett's house. In 1840, 21 year old Margaret Dowd arrived in Victoria and the next year she married William Pickett. In March 1848, William took over the licences of the 'Salt Water Punt Inn' and also operated the punt. The road to Melbourne by way of  Pickett's Punt, was well named "The Summer Road' for the journey was impossible in winter. (18). No wonder the community was happy when the bridge was opened in 1863. In 1853, Michael Lynch evicted them from the hotel and punt business, and gave it to his sister Ann to operate, but they had done well enough out of the business to purchase the land where they built their house in 1854 -  Pickett's house, as shown in the photo. Sadly for the family, William died in April 1858 at  only 35 years of age. Margaret was left with seven children from 16 years old to a baby born after William's death and had also given birth to three other children who had died young. Margaret lived in the house all her life and died in 1875, aged 55 (19).  The house is demolished, I cannot tell you when, but it is not in the November 1926 photo below. The life of Margaret Dowd Pickett and her children is recorded in the book Pubs, Punts and Pastures: the story of Pioneer Irish Women of the Salt Water River (20).

This is the temporary railway bridge over the Maribyrnong and was replaced in 1928. It runs into the Bunbury Street rail tunnel and is same location as William and Margaret Pickett's punt. The Bridge Hotel is visible, perfectly framed by the second span of the bridge on the right. The Michaelis Hallenstein tannery is the edifice behind the hotel. The Pickett house is gone, but the Ship Inn can still be seen, centre of photo, behind the railway line supports.

South Kensington to West Footscray, temporary bridge over Maribyrnong River, looking upstream, November 8, 1926. Victorian Railways Photographer. State Library of Victoria Image H28682/11

The next building  is the blue stone premises of Samuel Henderson, Ham and Bacon Curers, built around 1873. It included a house as well as the piggery. The slaughterhouse was 90 feet by 45 feet, and after they were killed and cleaned over 200 pigs could be hung on hook on a railing in one room and pushed along railings to the next stage. There is a detailed description of the process in the Illustrated Australian News for Home Readers of July 15, 1873, see here. The building had a number of later uses, and community action saved it from demolition (21).  You can read the Victorian Heritage Database citation, here. The building is now the Footscray Community Arts Centre.

A pretty picture of Henderson's Piggery.  The Bridge Hotel is in the background. What is missing is the smell and of course, the 1863 bridge.

Premises of Samuel Henderson, Ham and Bacon Curers, Saltwater River, Footscray, c. 1873. 

 Artist: S.T. Gill. State Library of Victoria Image H25128

Which brings us now to the Ship Inn, on the corner of Bunbury and Maribyrnong Streets. It was built around 1859 by Ann Dowd (22) who was Margaret Pickett's sister.  Ann had arrived in Melbourne in 1850, with her husband Thomas Delaney and two children. Thomas died in May 1853, and she married Cuthbert Harrison in August 1854 - all up she had five children with Thomas Delaney and another six with Cuthbert Harrison (23). Ann was entrepreneurial and her husband took full advantage of this according to Footscray historian, John Lack - it was a fruitful economic partnership for Harrison. (24). The construction of the Ship Inn was technically organised by her husband, Cuthbert Harrison, but it was no doubt her money. You can also read about the life of Ann Dowd Delaney Harrison in Pubs, Punts and Pastures: the story of Pioneer Irish Women of the Salt Water River (25).

Does this tender refer to the Ship Inn?

The Argus February 26, 1858 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/7147168

Cuthbert Harrison also had the licence for the Rising Sun Hotel in Footscray.  The Rising Sun Hotel appears to have been opened around 1857 and one of the first references I can find to it in the newspapers is the April 1857 report of a County of Bourke Hotel Licencing session where Michael Dowd was granted the licence of the Hotel. Michael Dowd, who died at the age of 99 in 1881, was the father of Ann and Margaret Dowd.  In April 1858 the licence was granted to Cuthbert Harrison. (26)

Michael Dowd granted the licence of the Rising Sun Hotel in Footscray. Cut Paw Paw is name of the land administration Parish, which covers Footscray, Yarraville and Williamstown.

The Age April 22, 1857 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/154821016

An advertisement placed by Cuthbert Harrison letting some of his wife's blocks of land in Maribyrnong Street.

The Age, July 21, 1859. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/5684855

As mentioned before, the Ship Inn lost its licence at a Licence Reduction Board hearing which began in May 1918. The hotel was demolished in 1970 or as John Lack wrote simply crumbled into pieces during demolition (27).

Report of the Licence Reduction Board, which resulted in the closure of the Ship Inn.

The Argus June 12, 1918  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1665434

This and the photo below are from a series of photos taken during the construction of the railway bridge over the Maribyrnong, March 1927. The Ship Inn is on the right, partly obscured by a wharf shed.

Pulling pile sheeting at Coffer dam, with steam hammer, March 17, 1923; South Kensington to West Footscray, bridge over the Maribyrnong River. Victorian Railways photographer. State Library of Victoria Image H28682/51

View down the Maribyrnong River, the Ship Inn can be seen on the right bank. March 1927.

View of north side of Maribyrnong River bridge March 19, 1927;South Kensington to West Footscray, bridge over the Maribyrnong River. Victorian Railways photographer. State Library of Victoria Image H28682/52

.....................................................................................................................

Sources

• Lack, John A history of Footscray (Hargreen Publishing, 1991)
• Early Melbourne Architecture 1840-1888: a photographic record compiled and edited by Maie Casey et al (Oxford University Press, 1953, 3rd edition 1975)
• Footscray: a pictorial record of the Municipality from 1859 to 1988 (City of Footscray, 1989).  Footscray & Yarraville:  a pictorial record (Footscray Historical Society, 2005)
• Footscray's first 100 years: the story of a great Australian City (City of Footscray, 1959)
• Pubs, Punts and Pastures: the story of Pioneer Irish Women of the Salt Water River by Joan Carstairs and Maureen Lane (St Albans Historical Society, 1988)

Footnotes
(1) Lack, John A history of Footscray (Hargreen Publishing, 1991), p. 45

James Maher was granted a licence for his hotel at the Annual Licensing Meeting for the District of Bourke, held Tuesday April 17, 1855. Report was in The Argus, April 19, 1855, see here.

(2) Report of James Maher's Insolvency was in The Argus, November 17, 1856, see here. He was still the Hotel in 1859 according to this article in Bell's Life in Victoria and Sporting Chronicle, January 29, 1859, see here.
(3) Punt Inn - Footscray's first 100 years: the story of a great Australian City (City of Footscray, 1959), unpaginated and Lack, op. cit., p. 410.
(4) Lack, op. cit., p. 39
(5) Lack, op. cit., p. 46 and Footscray & Yarraville:  a pictorial record (Footscray Historical Society, 2005) p. 46.
(6) The earliest newspaper reports on Trove using the search term Bridge Hotel Footscray date from 1863, the year the bridge opened. I have no other evidence.
(7)  The Leader, March 7, 1863, see here.
(8) Footscray's first 100 years: the story of a great Australian City, op.cit. unpaginated.
(9)  Living Museum of the West  website    https://www.livingmuseum.org.au/projects/stories_places/warves/FW_infrastructures_bridges.html
(10)  The Herald, July 9, 1906, see here and The Herald June 13, 1912, see here.
(11)  The Age April 26, 1907, see here.
(12)  The Age April 9, 1918, see here.
(13)  The Argus, May 5, 1926, see here.
(14)  The Argus of January 22, 1927 reported that the licensee of the Bridge Hotel (now delicensed) was charged with having disposed of liquour in prohibited hours on December 11. See full report, here.

(15) Footscray & Yarraville:  a pictorial record, op.cit., p. 46.
(16) Raisbeck and Campbell are listed in the 1950 Sands & McDougall Directory at the State Library of Victoria, but the 1945 edition. Access the Directories here https://www.slv.vic.gov.au/search-discover/popular-digitised-collections
(17) Early Melbourne Architecture 1840-1888: a photographic record compiled and edited by Maie Casey et al (Oxford University Press, 1953, 3rd edition 1975)
(18) Footscray's first 100 years: the story of a great Australian City, op.cit., unpaginated.
(19) The information about Margaret Dowd Pickett comes from Pubs, Punts and Pastures: the story of Pioneer Irish Women of the Salt Water River by Joan Carstairs and Maureen Lane (St Albans Historical Society, 1988)
(20) Pubs, Punts and Pastures: the story of Pioneer Irish Women of the Salt Water River by Joan Carstairs and Maureen Lane (St Albans Historical Society, 1988)
(21) Lack, op. cit., p.388.
(22) Lack, op. cit., p. 410. On page 52, John Lack writes Ann Dowd brought the Junction Hotel site [corner Bunbury and Whitehall Street] in 1854, and Lynch's Maribyrnong Street properties in the same year, selling the former to Robert Jones and building the Ship Inn on the latter.
(23) Ann Dowd's family information comes from Pubs, Punts and Pastures: the story of Pioneer Irish Women of the Salt Water River, op. cit.
(24) Lack, op. cit., p. 52.

(25) See footnote 18.
(26) Lack, op. cit., p. 52; The Age April 22, 1857, see here;  The Age, April 22, 1858 see here;

(27) Lack, op. cit., p. 388.

White Horse Hotel at Box Hill and Patrick Trainor

The White Horse Hotel was established by Patrick Trainor (c.1822-1888) in 1853 in what was then known as Nunawading, and later called Box Hill. The Hotel gave its name to Whitehorse Road, and much later (1994) the City of Whitehorse. As I have an interest in place names, I thought we would have  a look at the history of the hotel and the Trainor family. It's an eclectic look, I was inspired by the fact that I found the two photos of the hotel at the State Library - it was really the statue of the horse that caught my eye.

White Horse Hotel, Box Hill, c. 1933. Photographer: John Kinmont Moir

State Library of Victoria Image H4841b

Ivan Southall in his book A Tale of Box Hill (1) says that Patrick Trainor arrived in Melbourne in 1852  with his family (2) and in late 1853 Patrick acquired 90 acres of land at Nunawading and built  a hotel on the south east corner of what is now Whitehorse Road and Elgar Road (3). The Hotel was originally going to be called the Corduroy but once, while out riding he caught  a flash of silver through the trees, and it was a handsome stallion coming down the long hill from Melbourne way and Patrick remembered it in his heart thus called his hotel the White Horse Hotel (4). 

The Hotel was a two storey building and  Andrew Lemon in his history of Box Hill (5) says it was the only brick building in Nunawading until the 1880s (6).  At the time the Parish of Nundawading had a population of 254 (7) but  Patrick's hopes of success must have been bouyed by the fact that at the time Whitehorse Road was a contender for the main access route into Gippsland (8). 

The area grew and the Nunadwading Road Board was established on August 7, 1857 and in common with other areas the first meetings of the Board were held in a hotel, in this case the White Horse Hotel. Patrick Trainor was an inaugural member of the Road Board and also the treasurer. On September 9, 1858 £600 belonging to the Road Board was stolen from the White Horse Hotel. In spite of advertisements in the newspapers offering a £100 reward for information,  it was never recovered. There were of course suspicions that Patrick had taken the money himself.  In 1859, Patrick faced the  the Insolvent Court  (9) and was declared bankrupt and thus ended up losing the White Horse Hotel.

Patrick Trainor offers a reward for information about the robbery of Road Board funds.

The Argus September 14, 1858 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article7300972

The Hotel had a series of licensees after that and in 1888, Andrew Lemon says the hotel was extensively remodelled, the second storey was removed and the statute of the white horse added (10). Sadly for the licensee, Mr Graham, who had taken over the Hotel in July 1888 (11) and had undertaken  the  renovations the hotel burnt to the ground on March 25, 1895. The hotel was rebuilt, and is shown in the photo, below. 

White Horse Hotel, Box Hill, c. 1933. Photographer: John Kinmont Moir
State Library of Victoria Image H4841a

On New Years Day in 1921 (12) the hotel and all others in the area, closed its doors as the voters in the Shire of Nunawading had voted in the Local Option Poll for  No-License (13). The closed hotels did get compensation, in the case of the White Horse Hotel £700 for the owner and £150 for the licensee (14).  The Hotel was demolished in 1933, the Council acquired the horse and the porch from the hotel and they were erected in Whitehorse Road. In the 1980s the monument was removed and the statue of the horse is now located in the Box Hill Town Hall. There is a replica on Whitehorse Road, erected in 1986 (15).

The statue and the porch from the 1895 building

Image - A Tale of Box Hill: Day of the Forest by Ivan Southall ( Box Hill City Council, 1957)

The White Horse Hotel was immortalised in verse by C. J. Dennis - his poem was printed in The Herald in July 1933 (16) - Delicensed in 1921, the old White Horse Hotel, with its familiar carved sign, from 1853 the first changing place for Cobb & Co. coaches on the Lilydale run, is now to be torn down to make way for brick houses.   

In olden days the Old White Horse

Stood brave against the sky;

And ne'er a teamster shaped his course

To pass the good Inn by.

Far shone its lights o' winter nights

To beckon weary men;

By the long road where calm life flowed

It loomed a landmark then.

And many a right good yarn was spun

Mid pewter-pots agleam;

And many a friendship here begun

Grew riper as the team

Drew down the road its precious load

Of merchandise or mail,

And faced the ills of long, steep hills

To far-off Lilydale.

The tap-room rang to many a song,

While patient teams stood there;

And talk and laughter loud and long

Held nothing of despair;

For spoke they then, these bearded

men,

Of fortunes shining near —

Spoke with a grand faith in their land,

A faith that laughed at fear.

Gone are the days and gone the ways

Of easy, calm content;

Yet few supposed an epoch closed

The day the old inn went.

Now, past brick houses trim and cold,

The swift cars, speeding by,

Shall see no beacon as of old,

Shall see no brave White Horse stand

Patrick Trainor and his family

We will now have a look at the Trainor family. Mr Southall says that the family arrived, as assisted immigrants, in Victoria in 1852 with three children, including Emma Eugena who was born on the way out, on the Indian Ocean. He says they went out to 'Henty country' where Patrick's sponsor was, worked there for  a while, and then Patrick worked his way through the gold fields and then ended up at Nunawading (17). Dr Lemon says that after they left the Hotel the Trainors went to Colac and the Wimmera (18). 

I found a funeral notice for Mrs Trainor, who died in December 1854. I cannot find her death in the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriage Indexes so cannot apply for her death certificate , which would have told us her first  name.

The funeral notice of Mrs Trainor

The Argus December 18, 1854 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4801928

As Patrick was left with three children, I assumed he would have married again, and he did - on July 28, 1856 at Colac to Ellen Danaher. He was listed on the marriage certificate as a 36 year old hotel keeper of Nunawading and she was a 26 year old servant of Colac. The marriage certificate also says he had two living children and his parents were Hugh Trainor and Susannah Mullhearn and he was born in Monaghan in Ireland. 

I was hoping to find the names of his children, so went to the shipping records at the Public Records Office of Victoria and it lists the following arriving on the ship, Emma Eugenia in July 1852  - Patrick, 34 years old and Judith, 35 years old. Also listed are -  James 15 years; Mary 14 years; Matthew 7 years; Margaret 3 years; James no age listed; Mary no age listed and an unnamed infant.  Apart from the unnamed infant, who I presume is the baby born on the way to Victoria (who may or may not have been called Emma Eugenia after the ship) I do not know the relationship of the others to each other.

I bought Patrick's death certificate hoping that would list the names of the children. He died December 4, 1888 in St Arnaud at the age of 66. His occupation was listed as gatekeeper. The particulars of the first marriage are listed disappointingly as 'first marriage particulars unknown' and his children are listed as Susan 41 years old from his first marriage and then from his second marriage to Ellen - James, 30 years old; John 28; Catherine 25; Ellen 22 and Hugh 19 years of age. I then looked for information on his daughter Susan who was born about 1847 and found what is possibly her death in 1904 - her father is listed as Patrick and her mother as Catherine McKenzie - which doesn't fit with the Judith in the shipping record.

This is what we can confirm - Patrick was born in Monaghan in Ireland to Hugh Trainor and Susannah Mullhearn. We know his first wife died in December 1854, but cannot confirm her name. His marriage certificate confirms they had at least two children and his death certificate confirms one was called Susan. We know that he married Ellen Danaher on July 28, 1856 and they had five children together. We know he died in St Arnaud on December 4, 1888. We also know that he established the White Horse Hotel in 1853 and even though Patrick is long gone and his hotel is also long gone we are reminded of his life and hotel by the naming of Whitehorse Road and the City of Whitehorse.

Trove list - I have created  a list of articles connected to the White Horse Inn and Patrick Trainor, you can access it here.

Footnotes

(1) A Tale of Box Hill: Day of the Forest by Ivan Southall (Box Hill City Council, 1957)

(2) Southall, p. 20

(3) Southall, p. 21

(4) Southall, p. 21 & 23

(5) Box Hill by Andrew Lemon (Box Hill City Council & Lothian, 1978)

(6) Lemon, p. 16

(7) Lemon, p. 17

(8) Lemon, p.17

(9)  Lemon, p. 26 and various reports in the newspapers, see my Trove list, here.

(10) Lemon, p. 108

(11) The Argus, July 26 1888, see here. 

(12) Lemon, p. 148

(13) Lemon, p. 145-148

(14) The Argus, July 1, 1921, see here.

(15) http://www.picturevictoria.vic.gov.au/site/boxhill/BoxHill/9664.html

(16) The Herald, July 13, 1933, see here.

(17) Southall, p. 20 & 21

(18) Lemon, p. 26