Patrick O'Halloran's General Store at Pakenham

I bought this postcard of Patrick O'Halloran's store in 'Old Town', Pakenham. The 'old town' was the town on the Gippsland Road (Princes Highway) near the Toomuc Creek. New Pakenham or Pakenham East was the town that developed around the railway station from 1877. I don't know when the store opened; Patrick is listed in the Electoral Rolls of 1903 as a grocer and that is the first reference I can find. His father, John, is listed in the Shire of Berwick Rate books at Pakenham from 1885/1886 as owning 'house and land, Henty's subdivision'. According to the 1884 Rate books, Thomas Henty owned 4,421 acres of land, being Lots 1, 2, 8, 11 to 20, 46 to 46, so John must have purchased some of this land after it was subdivided.

Thomas Henty's land sale

South Bourke & Mornington Journal, November 25, 1885  https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/6745862

Patrick is not listed in the Rate Books until 1914/1915 and he then has '23 acres William's subdivision'. I am unsure where that was. Part of the problem with tracking the family through both the Rate books and the Electoral Rolls is that their surname is sometimes listed as Halloran and sometimes as O'Halloran. What we do know is that Patrick's store was on Gippsland Road or the Princes Highway and this is where the photograph on the postcard was taken.

  

Patrick was one of the advertisers in the first edition of the Berwick Shire News of September 8, 1909. The newspaper was the forerunner of the Pakenham Gazette.

Patrick's last advertisement when his store was located in 'old Pakenham.'

Pakenham Gazette November 19, 1920

In November 1920, Patrick left old Pakenham for new Pakenham and removed to new premises in Main Street, next to the Post Office.

Patrick advertising his move to Main Street, Pakenham East.

Pakenham Gazette November 26, 1920.

In August 1927, Patrick sold his business to Mr Jackson of Korumburra. 

Report of the sale of the business

South Bourke & Mornington Journal August 18, 1927 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/214589156

Mr Jackson's first advertisement in the Pakenham Gazette

 Pakenham Gazette September 2, 1927.

Patrick was the son of John Halloran and Johanna Scanlon, who had married in 1873. They had nine children, the first two were registered at Berwick and the last seven at Pakenham, which gives us some idea when the family moved to Pakenham.  The children were -  Mary Ann (1875 - 1966, married Charles Maltby in 1915), John (1877 - 1955), Johanna (1878 - 1954, married Sydney John Donahoo in 1920), Michael Patrick (1880 - 1943), Timothy (1881, Killed in Action in France July 1916), Stephen (1883 - 1957), Dominick (1884 - 1958), William (1886 - 1891), Thomas (1887 - 1964). John died April 19, 1922 aged 78 and Johanna April 18, 1934 (1). 

This is part of John's obituary which was published in the Pakenham Gazette of  April 21, 1922 - The deceased gentleman, who was a native of County Clare, Ireland, was an old and much respected resident of this district, where he had lived for about 40 years, and he will be sadly missed by many friends. He was for many years connected with the Railway Department and on his retirement form service he settled in Pakenham. He always took a keen interest in public matters and was a great lover of sport, especially football.

Patrick, our store keeper was Michael Patrick. He married Jane Elizabeth Dillon and 1907 and they had two children, James and Marie. He died on May 18, 1943 at the age of 62 and Jane died on July 1, 1949, also aged 62 (2). 

The Pakenham Gazette of May 21, 1943 published the following obituary of Patrick -

Prominent Pakenham Man Accidentally Killed

District saddened by death of Mr. M. P. Halloran

A gloom was cast over the whole district last Tuesday afternoon, when it was learnt that Mr Michael Patrick Halloran had been killed by the falling of a limb of a tree at his property, Gembrook road, Pakenham.

Mr Halloran had gone to cut down a tree which had been partly burnt through, and apparently it came down unexpectedly and one of the limbs struck him on the head. Death must have been instantaneous.

Discovery of the sad event was made by Mr Halloran’s daughter (Miss Marie Halloran) who on noticing that sound of chopping had ceased and that one of her father’s dogs which followed him everywhere had returned to the house without him, went to discover if anything unforeseen had happened.

Mr Halloran was born at Pakenham 62 years ago and had spent practically the whole of his life in the district. For a number of years he conducted a general store at Old Pakenham and later established at Pakenham East the business which is now conducted by Messrs J. J. Jackson and Sons, who purchased it from him some 17 years ago.

On his retirement from business Mr Halloran erected a residence at his orchard property on Gembrook road and continued to reside there up to the time of his death.

As a young man he was prominently associated with most of the sporting activities of the town as well as generously supporting all movements for the progress of the district.

In business affairs and in public and private life Mr Halloran was known far and wide as a man of high principle – upright in all his dealings and ever ready to assist any in need of a helping hand. These sterling qualities and his bright and cheerful nature won for him many deep and lasting friendships; and with his death the district has lost one who will be greatly missed.

The heartfelt sympathy of the whole community goes out to the sorrowing widow, son and daughter, also to Mr Halloran’s brothers and sisters at this sad time.

The funeral, which was very largely attended, took place at Pakenham Cemetery yesterday morning, following Requiem Mass at St Patrick’s Church. Mr Halloran’s nephew (Rev. Father L. Halloran), assisted by Rev Father Sullivan, officiated at the Church and at the graveside. The coffin bearers were Messrs P. Brown, W. Stone, B. Bourke and R. Miers, and the pall-bearers Messrs W. and B. Doherty, J. and T. Carney, Milo Bourke, P. Clarke, T. Fuller and M. Mullane.

Footnotes
(1) Family information comes from the Indexes to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages https://www.bdm.vic.gov.au/research-and-family-history/search-your-family-history You can read Timothy's story on the website A Century After the Guns Fell Silent: Remembering the Pakenham District's WWI Diggers 1914-1918, here https://www.pakenhamww1.com/halloran-timothy
John's death notice was in The Argus, April 21, 1922, see here. Johanna's death notice was in The Argus, April 19, 1934, see here.
(2) Jane's death notice was in The Argus, July 2 1949, see here.

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

Fawkner Cemetery postcards

I have three postcards of the Fawkner Cemetery, which was also known as the New Melbourne General Cemetery.  It does seem like an unusual subject for  a postcard. Did people buy a postcard at the cemetery kiosk after a funeral and send it to  a loved one? Possibly. The person who sent these Fawkner Cemetery postcards ran the tearooms, more of which later.

The Fawkner Cemetery opened on December 5, 1906. The opening had been delayed for months for various reasons including  issues the Board of Health had with the Cemetery's rules and regulations (1).  The first burial took place five days later, on December 10, and it was of five year old Doris Gladys Knapp, the daughter of the assistant station-master at Brunswick Railway Station. Little Doris had passed away  August 19 1906, and owing to repeated delays in opening the cemetery her parents had to have her embalmed whilst they waited for the cemetery to open and she could be buried (2).

The new Fawkner Railway Station was constructed on the Somerton line, right at the entrance to the Cemetery and was opened at the same time as the Cemetery. This allowed both coffins and mourners to journey to the Cemetery from the Flinders Street Mortuary Station (3).  There was also a railway line from the Springvale Station to the Necropolis which operated from February 7, 1904 to December 19,1951 (4). 

A Crematorium opened at Fawkner on June 19, 1927 (5).  It was the second such facility in Victoria. The first cremation had taken place at the Necropolis at Springvale in April 1905, when Edward Davies was cremated. He had specifically requested this in his will and also that his ashes be scattered to the four winds of heaven (6). 

My postcards were all sent by the same person, Martha Bamber, to her mother and her sister, Clara, who lived in Sydney. They are shown below, in what I believe is the order they were sent.

Railway Station at the New Melbourne General Cemetery, Fawkner.

The letter on the back of this card reads - Our place is just as you come out of the white gate but of course not on the photo. How is my darling niece, Roslyn (?).  I should love to see her. I am awfully dissapointed [sic]  I thought to be able to come to Sydney this year, but unless things alter cannot. I hope you are feeling stronger. I went to a  Masons dance on Sat. Annie lent me her dress because I had been to so many in mine,  it was a very nice affair.

Railway Station at the New Melbourne General Cemetery, Fawkner - letter.

View at Entrance, New Melbourne General Cemetery, Fawkner

The letter on the back of this card reads -

Dear Ma & Clara, 

I know you will think me unkind but really I seem to have so little time, I am up here 7 days a week & if Annie was not good, I couldn't do it. We are doing a bit better but Harry will finish here on the 30 of March so I don't know how we shall go on about his wage. I hope things will mend up. Mrs ?  says if we can only hold out 12 months we shall have the best paying (?) cuisine in Melbourne and Geelong

View at Entrance, New Melbourne General Cemetery, Fawkner - letter.

Waiting Rooms, New Melbourne General Cemetery, Fawkner.

The letter on the back of this card reads - This is our place, only where the verandah is is our shop. We are doing very well week ends but week days very quiet. We are looking for a house as we have finished up here. We got one Frazer had been paying 18 /- and they were going to charge us a 1-0-0, behold someone came and offered 25/- so I would not take it. I do not know where we shall get to now (?)  Molly (?)

Waiting Rooms, New Melbourne General Cemetery, Fawkner - letter

What go these letters tell us? The writer may be called Molly - that's what the last word of the last letter looks like. She is upset that she can't visit her family in Sydney and this suggests that is where she came from originally.   They also tell us that money may have been a bit tight as she couldn't afford  a new dress to go to the dances and had to borrow one from Annie. Running the refreshment kiosk was a seven day a week business with poor returns and the family relied on Harry's wage. The fact that Molly said they were looking for  a house as we have finished up here suggests that they may have lived on a house on the Cemetery property.

On December 23, 1925 The Argus reported that the Fawkner Cemetery tearooms operated by the Misses Bamber and Jackson had been broken into (7). The tearooms at Fawkner Cemetery opened  in around 1923 in a temporary wooden building, which was replaced in 1928 by a new brick building designed by Charles Heath, who had also designed the Crematorium (8).  As Molly says that her place is in the waiting room building (middle postcard) this suggests that the postcards were written between 1923 and 1928, when the new tearooms opened. 

Fawkner Cemetery tearooms broken into

The Argus, December 23, 1925  https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/2175257

The Electoral Rolls of 1924 and 1925 show a Harry and Martha Bamber were at 5 Rodda Street, Coburg. His occupation is listed as a caretaker. Was he the caretaker at the Fawkner Cemetery and Martha operated the tearoom? It would actually be more likely that a caretaker would have a house on the property and if he was finishing up, then they would need to find another. In the 1922 Electoral Roll, their address is the Coburg Cemetery and once again Harry is listed as a caretaker. 

Harry and Martha Bamber - 1922 Electoral Roll

Ancestry.com. Australia, Electoral Rolls, 1903-1980

Harry & Martha Bamber - 1925 Electoral Roll

Ancestry.com. Australia, Electoral Rolls, 1903-1980

Martha Bamber died February 9, 1936 at the age of 59, and her death notice said she was the loving sister of Mrs Annie Monk (9).  Is this the same Annie she borrowed a dress for the dance from and the same Annie who was good and helped her in the tearoom?  She was also the mother of Harold Bamber.

Martha Bamber's death notice

The Age, February 11, 1936 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/205238676

There are two other mysteries - who was Frazer, who had a rented a house for 18 shillings a week? I cannot tell you. Secondly, who was Miss Jackson who operated the tearoom with Miss Bamber? She was possibly connected to J. Jackson, late A.I.F, who managed the new Refreshment rooms in 1929 (see below). 

J. Jackson is the manager of the Refreshment Room at Fawkner in 1929

The Age September 7, 1929  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article204147528

I believe that the three postcards of the Fawkner Cemetery were written by Martha Bamber, wife of Harry, who was for a time the caretaker at Fawkner. To support this we have the report of the break-in at the tearooms, the fact the she had a husband named Harry who was the  caretaker at the Coburg Cemetery and possibly Fawkner and finally she had a sister Annie and an Annie is mentioned in two of the three postcards. The only thing working against this is that the third card looks like it was signed Molly. Molly was used historically as a pet name for Mary however it may also have been used by Martha's family for her. I am at least 85% percent sure that Martha Bamber is the person who sent these postcards.

Footnotes

(1) The Argus, November 14 1906, see here; The Argus, November 28, 1906, see here.

(2) The Argus, December 12, 1906, see here.

(3) The Age,  December 6, 1906, see here.

(4) Harrigan, Leo J Victorian Railways to '62 (Victorian Railways, 1962), p. 287.

(5) The Age, June 20 1927, see here.

(6) The Age, April 14, 1905, see here. Don Chambers has written an interesting history of  the Necropolis -  City of the Dead:  a history of The Necropolis, Springvale (Hyland House, 2001)

(7) The Argus, December 23, 1925, see here.

(8) I can't find a specific date of the opening of either the old or new tearooms, however, an article in the Adelaide Advertiser of February 22, 1928 (see here) talks about the new refreshment rooms being built and that the board of management of New Melbourne Cemetery five years ago arranged a tearoom and flower-stall, for the convenience of visitors, in a temporary wooden building. 

(9) Her parents are listed as Richard Wignall and Elizabeth Kenyon. 

The Dunkinson family of Narre Warren

This postcard of the Dandenong Post Office was sent from that building on December 14, 1910 to Miss Dunkinson of Narre Warren.

The letter reads - I am sending your basket up by train this afternoon, I took it up to Mrs W but I see it has not gone yet. I am very sorry for keeping it so long, G.N.  It is not  a very interesting message, even though I do wonder why G. N., had Miss Dunkinson's basket in the first place. I can't tell you who G.N is or who Mrs W. is but I can tell you who Miss Dunkinson is and the amazing connection her father has to the start of Australian Rules Football in Victoria. The family is also the source of the name Dunkinson Street in Narre Warren.

We will start with Mr Dunkinson - John Valentine Dunkinson. His first connection to Narre Warren is in 1890 when he is listed in the Shire of Berwick Rate books, renting one acre with a house, part Crown Allotment 12, Parish of Berwick, from Sydney Webb. CA 12 is on the north side of the Princes Highway, and the west side of Narre Warren North Road (1). His occupation was listed as a labourer and he remained at this property until his death in 1930, having purchased it around 1914. John and his family had been living at Gisborne before the move to Narre Warren.

John was born on February 14, 1836 in Yass, in New South Wales, to William and Georgina (nee McGregor) Dunkinson.  When he was two, his family came by boat to Melbourne, a journey which took six weeks (2). On April 23, 1856 John married Mary Ann Butler, the daughter of Alexander Bishop Butler and his wife Charlotte Selina Mortimer, of Cheltenham (3). The had five children (4) all born in Melbourne -
Charlotte Selina - born 1857 and died in Dandenong 1933, aged 76.
Alexander William (Alec) - born 1859, married Vida Amelia Grenfell in 1895 and died in Kalgoorlie in Western Australia in 1913.
Arthur Herbert - born 1861, married Ellen Eliza Vibert in 1884, death date unknown.
Georgina Emily - born 1863, died in Narre Warren in 1950, aged 87.
Florence Adelaide - born 1866, died 1867, aged 1.

John Valentine Dunkinson, aged 92

Sporting Globe May 26, 1928 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/184268739?#

It appears that John Valentine Dunkinson had a number of interesting accomplishments. A letter to editor of The Argus in December 1907 said  Mr. W. Dunkinson, of Narre Warren, Gippsland, [is]  if not the oldest colonist, must be very near it, as he was brought to Victoria in 1838 from Sydney by his parents (5). An article reporting on his 91st birthday said he was an authority on the Australian aborigines and their curious customs (6). It was an interview with Mr Dunkinson in the Sporting Globe in 1928 (7) which talked about his many significant sporting achievements - he was a founder of Australian Rules Football, helped peg out the Melbourne Cricket Ground, was the first ever central umpire for a football match and an inaugural and life member of the Richmond Cricket Club. It is a fascinating interview covering not only the history of sport in Melbourne, but also some of Melbourne's history, read it here. I will quote some of the Sporting Globe article -
Only two of the founders of the Australian game of football - H. C. A. Harrison and John Valentine Dunkinson aged 92 - are still alive. Mr Dunkinson is a remarkable old gentleman. Still clear of vision and alert, this grand old Australian delights in visits from present or past athletes. He prizes photographs of players, which were presented to him by Syd. Sherrin.

Mr Dunkinson recalls the match played between the Police and the Fourteenth Regiment. So strenuous was the play that most of the players were in the hospital for several days afterwards. It was a fight to the finish in those days. If no decision were reached in one day, the match would be continued at a later date.

At first the umpire controlled the play from the goals, but the futility of this was soon seen, and Dunkinson was the first man to act as central umpire. In addition to umpiring a great deal, Mr Dunkinson was one of the original Melbourne players.

The original Melbourne ground was near Spencer street, but this was not connected with the M.C.C. The old ground, to his knowledge, was located there in 1856. The next ground was just below Prince's bridge. There was a little pavilion and a picket fence. Floods however, brought down silt, which was deposited in the locality. He took a prominent part in the construction of the present M.C.C. ground, and helped to peg off the area chosen. A man named Gass was the contractor. Many old gum trees, "crusty old devils," according to Mr Dunkinson, had to be shifted by blowing up the trunks.

In addition to taking an active part in football, Mr Dunkinson was associated with cricket. He played with Richmond and was the first member of the Punt road club. He recalls such players as Ted Mortimer, Jack Huddlestone, and Sam Costick. At his home at Narre Warren he has a photograph of the Australian Aborigines' team, which went to England in 1869 "I remember them as a great bunch of fellows—a gentlemanly lot."

So that's Mr Dunkinson, the extraordinary sportsman and to be honest I am not actually sure if all of this is totally true, but it is a good story.  

Who was Miss Dunkinson - the recipient of the postcard? It can only have been Charlotte or Georgina, and it was Charlotte. Charlotte is listed in the Electoral Rolls, living with her parents at Narre Warren from 1903 right through to 1928. Her occupation was always 'home duties'. Georgina moved around - in 1906 she was in Brunswick, in 1913 she was in New South Wales near Moree, then from 1913 until 1926 she was listed in the Electoral Rolls at Mornington Junction, the old name for Baxter. Her occupation was also 'home duties' (8).

John Valentine Dunkinson died on May 14, 1930, aged 94. His wife, Mary Ann, died October 20, 1917, aged 84. Charlotte died on October 16, 1933 aged 76 and her sister Georgina, who was also unmarried, died June 7, 1950 aged 87. They are all buried at the Berwick Cemetery (9). I don't have any information on how Charlotte and Georgina lived their lives. I presume Charlotte remained at home helping out with the household and taking care of her parents as they got older. Georgina, who lived way from the family home, and still had her occupation listed as 'home duties' in the Electoral Rolls may have been a live-in companion or  a housekeeper.

Did John and Mary Ann have any grandchildren? Alec, who died in Kalgoorlie, and his wife Vida had one daughter, Hazel Dorothy, who was born in Melbourne in 1896. Albert and his wife Nellie (who died in 1905, aged 42) had two daughters - Alice Esther May, born 1886 and Alexandra Beatrice, born 1889 and one son Richmond Valentine Dunkinson, born in 1887. Richmond was Killed in Action at Gallipoli on May 4, 1915 (10).

I can only hope that when Miss Charlotte Dunkinson walked down to the Narre Warren Railway Station in December 1910, after receiving her postcard, that her basket was waiting for her.

Trove List - I have created a list of articles connected to the Dunkinson family of Narre Warren on Trove, you can access it here.

Footnotes
(1) Around 1920, Georgina, John's daughter, purchased the house but John continued to be listed in the Rate Books. An entry for Georgina in an Electoral Roll has her address as Narre Warren North Road, so I presume the house backed onto the northern section of Webb Street.
(2) Interview with the Sporting Globe of May 26, 1928, see here.
(3) Marriage information from a Marriage notice in The Argus of April 24, 1856, see here and the Index to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages, see here.
(4) Information on the children comes from the Index to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages, see here and various family announcements in the newspapers on Trove.
(5) The Argus, December 20, 1907, see here.
(6) South Bourke & Mornington Journal, February 17, 1927, see here.
(7) Sporting Globe, May 26, 1928, see here.
(8) Electoral Rolls are available on Ancestry database.
(9) Information on the death dates comes from the Index to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages, see here and various family announcements in the newspapers on Trove.
(10) Information on the grandchildren comes from the Index to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages, see here and Richmond's entry the AIF Project, see here.

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

Mrs Edgar Walker of Pen Bryn, Beaconsfield Upper

On December 27, 1904, this postcard was sent from Torquay, in England,  to Mrs Edgar Walker, Pen Bryn, Beaconsfield Upper. It is a delightful postcard -  a self-portrait of Elisabeth Lebrun. Elisabeth (1755 - 1842) was  a popular French portrait artist who painted Marie Antionette over 20 times.

The card reads - Torquay 1st January 1905 - "A bright and Happy New Year to you" -

the initials appear to be FMW.

So who is Mrs Edgar Walker and what is Pen Bryn? We will start with Pen Bryn (Welsh for top of the hill) - it is the name of a house in Beaconsfield Upper. The original building on the site was  Beaconsfield House which was built by William Brisbane (1842 - 1910) in 1877, on the highest point in the town on what was to become St Georges Parade and Salisbury Road (1).  Most of the building was destroyed by fire on the night of May 30, 1893 (2).  Beaconsfield House was where the journalist, The Vagabond, based himself when he visited and wrote about Beaconsfield Upper in 1885, you can read his account in The Argus of November 28, 1885, here.

In 1902, David John Davies Bevan (1873 - 1954) built  Pen Bryn on the site of Beaconsfield House. (3).  David Bevan was a barrister and was appointed as a judge in the Northern Territory in May 1912; he held the position until September 1920 (4). On May 8, 1924 he was married at Pen Bryn to Doris Reed, the daughter of Joseph Reed, Victoria's Surveyor General (5) and they had two children, John and Doreen (6).   

David was the son of the Reverend Doctor Llewellyn David Bevan (1842 - 1918) and his wife Louisa Jane (nee Willett, 1844 - 1933).  Llewellyn, born in Wales, was a Congregational Minister, who had arrived with his family in Melbourne in 1886, to take up an appointment at the Independent Church in Collins Street. Dr Niel Gunson, who wrote Reverend Bevan's Australian Dictionary of Biography entry (read it here) said that he was a leader of Protestant intellectual life in Melbourne. The entry also includes information on Louisa.

Louisa was just as interesting, she wrote and illustrated hymns and was also involved in the National Council of Women (7). The National Council of  Women in Victoria was formed in November 1901 at Clivenden in East Melbourne, the home of Janet Lady Clarke. Louisa Bevan was a foundation member and Vice President in 1903 to 1905 (8).  There was an interesting report of the founding of this branch in the Arena on November 28, 1901, you can read it here.  Amongst other things the article tells us what the women were wearing -  Mrs Bevan was a most picturesque figure in black with Maltese lace draping her head and soldiers (9).  It's a shame it didn't actually tell us what the aims and activities of the Council were, but they included the education and health of women and the suffrage issue.  Two of the early issues the Council advocated for  were prison reform including the provision of female warders (or 'police matrons' as they called them) in lock-ups and the establishment of an Epileptic Colony (10).

In 1904 when Mrs Bevan was Vice-President, Evelyn Gough was the International Secretary. Evelyn Gough (1854 - 1931) has an indirect connection to the Beaconsfield Upper area in that her daughter, Doris, married Merric Boyd, the potter. Merric was the son of Arthur Merric Boyd (1862 - 1940) and Emma Minnie A'Beckett (1858 - 1936). Emma was the daughter of William Arthur Callander A'Beckett, M.L.C., J.P. (1833-1901) and his wife Emma Mills (1838 - 1906) who built The Grange at Harkaway, the town next to Beaconsfield Upper (11).

Back to the Bevans  - Llewellyn and Louisa had eight children - the aforementioned  David, who built Pen Byrn and  Hopkin Llewellyn Willett (1871 - 1933), Louis Rhys Oxley (1874 - 1946), Penry Vaughan (1875 - 1913), Muriel Eliza Marienne (1876 - 1955), Hester Gwladys (1877 - 1968), Sibyl Ceredwyn (1879 - 1962)  and an adopted daughter Dorothy Leigh Wilkins (1893 - 1970). (12)

The Bevan family in 1909.

Image: Upper Beaconsfield: an early history by Charles W. Wilson (Upper Beaconsfield Association, 2013)

It is Muriel who is the Mrs Edgar Walker to whom the postcard is addressed. Muriel  married Edgar William Walker (1879 - 1942) on  December 4, 1901. The service was conducted by her father, at the Independent  Church in Collins Street. Hester, Sibyl and Dorothy were the bridesmaids and Mrs. Bevan broke tradition by adopting the unusual practice of giving her daughter away. The bride wore ivory crepe de chine, set off with a very handsome train of silvery brocade (13). You can read reports of the wedding here and here.  

Charles Wilson, in his book Upper Beaconsfield: an early history says that Louisa Bevan took up residence at Pen Bryn after her husband died in 1918 and lived there until her death in 1933 (14).  David and his wife Doris lived at Calembeen, the Reed family home, which is also in Upper Beaconsfield (15). As the  postcard was addressed to Muriel at Pen Bryn in late 1904, it appears that she and Edgar were living there. They are listed in the 1905 Electoral Rolls at Beaconsfield Upper, but by 1909 they had moved to Camberwell. The couple had three children - Janet, David and Lois (16).

In 1954, 42 acres of the Bevan property was sold, leaving Pen Bryn on 8 acres. Pen Bryn was sold out of the Bevan family in 1960 (17).

Acknowledgement - The lovely post card was given to me by my postcard collecting friend, Isaac Hermann.

Footnotes
(1) Wilson, Charles Upper Beaconsfield: an early history by Charles W. Wilson (Upper Beaconsfield Association, 2013), p. 96.

(2) Ibid

(3) Wilson, op. cit., p. 97.

(4) Appointment - The Argus, April 29, 1912, see here; Commonwealth of Australia Gazette, May 11 1912, see here. Termination: The Argus, December 15, 1920, see here.
(5) Marriage notice The Argus, June 14, 1924, see here. Doris' father - Joseph Martin Reed was appointed the Surveyor General in 1899. You can read his life in this article in the Weekly Times, August 19, 1899, here and his obituary in the Korumburra Great Southern Advocate of June 30, 1932, here.
(6) Children John and Doreen are listed in his death notice in The Age, October 4, 1954, see here.

(7) Gunson, Niel Bevan, Llewelyn David (1842–1918), Australian Dictionary of Biography, see here.

(8) Another account of the formation can be read in The Age, November 22 1901,see  here. Mrs Bevan's resignation The Age, February 17, 1905, see here. 

(9) Arena, November 28, 1901, see here.

(10) The Australasian, December 19 1903, see here; Weekly Times, May 7 1904, see here.

(11) Evelyn Anna Walker Gough (nee Rigg) -  married Thomas Bunbury Gough in 1873; read her obituary in The Herald, January 9, 1932, here. Arthur Merric Boyd, read his Australian Dictionary of Biography (ADB) entry, here, the entry also includes information about his wife, Emma A'Beckett. William Arthur Callander A'Beckett, read his ADB entry, here.

(12) The information on the Bevan family comes mainly from Marianne Rocke's Residents of Upper Beaconsfield website https://www.upperbeaconsfieldhistory.org.au/

(13) Arena, December 12, 1901, see here.

(14) Wilson, op. cit., p. 97,

(15) Ibid

(16) Muriel's death notice - The Argus, October 3, 1955, see here.

(17) Wilson, op. cit.,p, 97.

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

Forget-me-not flower decorated horseshoe postcards of Melbourne

This is my collection of postcards with the Forget-me-not flower decorated horseshoes and scenes of Melbourne. I just love them. The horseshoe is a symbol of good luck. According to Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (first published 1870 (1)) one day the Devil asked St Dunstan, who was noted for his skill in shoeing horses to shoe his single hoof. Dunstan, knowing who his customer was, tied him tightly to the wall and proceeded with the job, but purposely put the Devil to so much pain that he roared for mercy. Dunstan at last consented to release his captive on condition that he would never enter a place where a horseshoe was displayed. So far, I have nine of these postcards and I feel that would be enough to protect me from the Devil. Having said that, if I come across any others, I will add them to my collection because they are just delightful!

Only one of the cards has a date on it - from 1920, but I believe they were most likely made in the heyday of postcard collecting which was around 1904 until the start of the First World War. They were printed in Germany. At first glance they all look the same, but there are actually five different flower designs. I have  another series of pretty postcards, see them here.

St Pauls Cathedral, Melbourne

St Pauls Cathedral, Melbourne

The building of the Cathedral, on the corner of Flinders and Swanston Streets, commenced in 1880 and it was consecrated in January 1891. It was designed by English Architect, William Butterfield, and the construction was supervised by Melbourne architects, Terry and Oakden, and later Joseph Reed. It is described as High Victorian Gothic style. The towers and spires were designed by James Barr, the construction of which started in April 1926 and was completed in April 1933.

Source: Victorian Heritage Database, see here.

The text on the back of this postcard, which was sent in an envelope, as it it does not have a stamp or postmark reads - 

Dear Mum, Received P.cards. I am sending a bit of print for Dot. I made Clem two dresses of same, it looks nice made up. Glad your foot is better. We are having very warm weather. Everyone think Clem looks better after his holiday, he is full of tricks now. Well hoping this will find all well, with love to Dot  and all. Your ever loving dau, Eth.  Did you get ointment, we find it so good.

Parliament House, Melbourne

Parliament House, Melbourne.

Parliament House was built in six stages from 1856  to 1892. The first sitting of Parliament was held there on November 25, 1856. Previous to this, Parliament sat at St Patrick's Hall in Bourke Street.

The Victorian Heritage Database citation for Parliament House is here.

This postcard has not been used.

Fire Brigade Station, Melbourne

Fire Brigade Station, Melbourne.

Located on the corner of Victoria and Gisborne Streets, it was opened November 3, 1893. The new Fire Station opened in 1979 and parts of the original building are still used for offices and for a museum.

Source: eMelbourne, see here. 

This postcard was sent to Alice Drayton, of Jumbuk in Gippsland. I have written about the family, here.

St Kilda Pier

St Kilda has always been a prime tourist location, so it is not surprising that there would be at least two postcards of the town. This one is on the Pier, and the one below of the St Kilda beach.

The text on the back of this postcard, which was sent in an envelope (or perhaps hand delivered), as it it does not have a stamp or postmark reads -

To Amy, Wishing you a merry Christmas, from. That's all it says, does not list the sender.

St Kilda Beach

St Kilda Beach.

The text on the back of this postcard, which was sent in an envelope, as it it does not have a stamp or postmark reads -

Miss Bell Cranstoun

Dear Bell, just a card, hoping you are well and happy, also Mrs Goulden. I haven't heard from Dad since, I will write to you as soon as I hear from him. Willie's cold is a lot  better and the rest are all well, all the neighbours wish to be remembered to you. I have not heard from Mrs Willis recently, no one has been about to see the house lately. Now I must close with love and kisses from all. Kind regards to  Mr and Mrs Goulden, from Mother.

The writing appears to be in biro and I feel was written much later than after the postcard was originally produced. The 1937 and 1943 Electoral Rolls have a Bell Cranstoun, a bank clerk, living at 33 Cromwell Road, South Yarra with a Margaret, a secretary and  a Jessie, home duties. Bell was born in 1916 and Margaret in 1909 to George Elliott and Jessie (nee Haig) Cranstoun. In 1949 Bell was in the Electoral Roll at  Red Cross Cottage, Lambell Terrace, Darwin, her occupation was a Secretary, so the card was possibly written to her in Darwin.  

Other children of George Elliott Cranstoun and Jessie Haig were - James Haig (1907-1922), unnamed son (1910-1910), Robert Stirling (1911-1922), Colin Campbell (1914-1922). Tragedy struck the family on August 14, 1922 when the father, who was a doctor, poisoned his entire family with morphine, having told them he was testing out a new influenza vaccination. He died, along with the three boys and Gladys Bayliss  who was living in the house. Mrs Cranstoun and Margaret and Bell survived. Read the accounts of the Inquest here and here. I did not expect that this pretty postcard would uncover such a tragic story. 

Jessie Cranstoun died at Cromwell Road, April 9, 1955, aged 71. Her death notice listed a brother, William, possibly the Willie referred to in the postcard. The reference to Dad is possibly referring to her father. Her daughter Margaret died 1972, aged 63, she had never married. Jessie is buried at the Brighton Cemetery with her three sons and her husband. Margaret was cremated at Springvale. Bell is listed as Mrs D. L. Meek in her mother's death notice. Her husband was Douglas Louis Meek, he died February 1974 and Bell died October 1, 1982 both in Queensland. (2).

River Yarra near Melbourne

This is Alexandra Avenue, with the Morrell Bridge (also known as the Botanical Bridge) on the left. 

Alexandra Avenue was officially opened in 1901. It was designed by Carlo Catani. The Morrell Bridge design was also conceived by Carlo Catani. My colleague, Isaac Hermann and I have written about the life and works of Carlo Catani in our Victorian Collections story, Carlo Catani: an engineering star over Victoria here.  

This postcard has not been used.

River Yarra

Another view of Alexandra Avenue and the Yarra River.

This postcard has not been used.

Alexandra Avenue, Melbourne

The Alexandra Gardens were also designed by Carlo Catani and opened in 1904. 

The Federation Star Bed is a feature of the Gardens, I have written about it, here. 

The text on the back of this postcard, which was sent in an envelope, as it it does not have a stamp or postmark reads -

Addressed to - Miss McGrath, 310 Macquarie St, Hobart, Tasmania.

Newmarket, May 3.  Dear Alice, I received your pretty P.C. I was sorry to hear father had been ill. I hope he is better before this. I see by the papers it is very cold over there now. Love from [illegible, looks like F. Fruher] There is an Alice McGrath (junior) a typiste in the 1919 Electoral at 412 Macquarie Street, listed with an Amy and an Alice and a John Joseph McGrath, I presume her sister and parents. This may be the Alice to whom the postcard was addressed.

Gardens near Princes Bridge, Melbourne

Alexandra Gardens. You can read about Carlo Catani's role in creating the Gardens in our previously mentioned Collections Victoria story, here.

The text on the back of this postcard, which was sent in an envelope, as it it does not have a stamp or postmark reads -

King Street, Dandenong November 18, 1920. Up Saturday evening. W.G.C. I have checked the Electoral Rolls, but cannot find a person with those initials in King Street.

Princes Bridge, Melbourne

Princes Bridge, Melbourne.

Carlo Catani also had a role in the construction of the Princes Bridge, which was officially opened on October 4, 1888. I have written about this here. 

This postcard has not been used.

Exhibition Buildings, Melbourne

The Exhibition Buildings, Melbourne.

The Royal Exhibition Building was constructed in 1879-1880 to house the 

International Exhibition of 1880.

The Victorian Heritage Database citation for the Exhibition Buildings is here. 

This postcard has not been used.

Footnotes

(1) My edition of Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable was published by Cassell in 1967 and is the 10th edition. 

(2) Information from the Victorian and Queensland Indexes to the Births, Deaths and Marriages, the Electoral rolls and Mrs Cranstoun's death notice in The Argus, April 11, 1955, see here.

The Chalet Geneve on Albert Park Lake and the Mathieu sisters

This postcard of the Fitzroy Gardens Kiosk Refreshment rooms was addressed to Mr Waters, c/o Madame Savary, Chalet Geneve, Middle Park. The bottom right corner of the postcard has the names of the 'proprietoresses', the Misses Mathieu. They were the sisters of Madame Savary, who operated the Chalet Geneve, on Albert Park Lake. Two other sisters operated the kiosk at Central Park in Malvern.  This is the story of Chalet Geneve, the Mathieu sisters and a Victoria Cross recipient.

Kiosk Refreshment Rooms, Fitzroy Gardens

Image: Isaac Hermann

The Fitzroy Garden Kiosk was the first of the three kiosks operated by the Mathieu sisters to open. It was officially opened by the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Cr Weedon of February 27, 1908. The building cost £900 (1).  At the opening, the Chairman of the City of Melbourne Parks & Garden Committee, Mr J. Harris said that the kiosk had no equal in any of the other states. The erection of such a pavilion would make the Fitzroy Gardens even more beautiful than they were at present, although, before its erection, the gardens were as beautiful as any to be seen anywhere else in the world (2). It was leased by Misses F. and K. Mathieu for a considerable term (3).  These women were Frances and Katherine Mathieu, more about whom later. The Kiosk was damaged by fire in 1960 and later demolished. A new Kiosk, on the same site, opened in 1964 (4).  

The Kiosk, Central Park, Malvern. Photographer: Rose Stereograph Co.

State Library of Victoria Image H32492/7058

The Kiosk at Central Park in Malvern was officially opened by the Mayor of the Town of Malvern, Cr Alex McKinley on May 26, 1911 (5). It was a big week for Malvern, because on May 30 the Town of Malvern was advanced to become the City of Malvern (6).  The kiosk was built by the Council, and then let to the Tramways Trust for three years. This was an advantageous arrangement as the kisok at  Central Park was at the terminus of the Malvern Tram and thus would stimulate traffic (7).   The Tramways Trust sublet the building to Mesdames Baumgartner and Schlichting at a rental of £1 per week until November next, and £2 per week for the balance of the three years' lease (8). These women were May Baumgartner and Sarah Schlichting, sisters of  Frances and Katherine Mathieu. The Central Park Kiosk was demolished in 1973 (9).  

The third kiosk run by the Mathieu women was the one at Albert Park Lake. This kiosk was part of  grander plans proposed by the Albert Park Committee or Trust. In 1907, there were newspaper reports that £10,000 would be spent beautifying the park and that a scheme be prepared by Mr. Catani, engineer of the Public Works department, and the engineers of the two councils for consideration (10). Nothing came of this, but two years later the South Melbourne Council proposed a £20,000 scheme for improving Albert Park. It was suggested that once again Mr Catani should prepare a comprehensive scheme for the improvement of the park (11).  However, in the end the Council decided that they should call for competitive designs for the park and the winning designer would receive £50 (12). As the money for this scheme was not forthcoming it did not go ahead, however the Albert Park Committee, of which Carlo Catani was a member, proceeded with the idea of building a kiosk (13). 

In January 1911, the Emerald Hill Record published this report The committee of management of the Albert Park reserve has accepted the tender of Mr. R. L. Phillips, contractor, of Murrumbeena, for the erection of a new and commodious tea kiosk in the park, at a cost of £634. The building is a substantial two story one, having on the ground floor a large refreshment room 30 x 23, fitted with counter and shelving, and having a large shop window at the entrance. Leading off the room is the residential quarters, consisting of sitting room, two bedrooms, and kitchen, with small pantry. At the north-west corner provision is made for ladies and gentlemen's lavatories. On the east side of the building is a verandah 10 feet wide, where refreshments may be served. The upper floor consists of a large open pavilion comprising 1225 square feet of floor space, which would accommodate a large band on any special occasion. The building will be roofed with iron, and will be connected to the Metropolitan Board of Works sewer. It is expected that the building will be completed by the 1st April. The architect of Mr. D. F. Stevenson, of York Chambers, 47 Queen-street, who is a local resident. The picturesque design reflects great credit on him (14). 

Tenders to occupy the building for three years were advertised in March 1911, but it was the sewerage connection which caused a delay in the opening of the building for over six months as there was a  dispute with the Metropolitan board regarding the payment for sewerage connections (15).  This, plus other extras, meant the total cost of the kiosk was close to £1,000. The kiosk was located in the Albert Park between Middle Park and Albert Park railway stations, facing the old Speedway, which was later renamed Aughtie Drive (16). 

I expected to find many photographs of the Chalet Geneve, but they are very rare, this is cropped from the image, below. The photo shows Aughtie Drive and the tennis courts surrounding the Chalet, which were opened in 1923. 

View of Albert Park Lake, Melbourne. Photographer: Charles Daniel Pratt, c. 1954.

State Library of Victoria http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/386126

Albert Park Lake - the Chalet Geneve is top middle, railway line is on the right, South Melbourne Technical School bottom right.

View of Albert Park Lake, Melbourne. Photographer: Charles Daniel Pratt, c. 1954.

State Library of Victoria http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/386126

The kiosk was officially opened on December 9, 1911. There were many reports of the opening including this one - under the capable management of Mr. H. O. Allan, Secretary to the Albert Park Committee, who is a past-master at organising such gatherings, everything had been done that could lend to the success of the occasion. In the unavoidable absence of Major Morkham, Chairman of the Committee of Management, His Worship the Mayor of South Melbourne (Cr. D. M'Arthur) performed the ceremony of declaring the kiosk open to the public, and in doing so predicted for it a most successful future (17). 

Other officials in attendance were Councillors from St Kilda and South Melbourne, the two municipalities responsible for the maintenance of the building, through the Albert Park Committee and the aforementioned Henry Allen and Carlo Catani. Even though Carlo Catani was not called upon to draw up the beautification plans for Albert Park, he was, I believe the force behind the erection of the Chalet. This was alluded to in the speech of Councillor Jacoby of St Kilda, who when thanking individual members of the Albert Park Committee for their work on the Kiosk said (in a jocular manner) he believed Mr Catani had something to do with it (18).   Cr Baragwanath of South Melbourne confirmed this as his speech concluded with a tribute of praise to Mr Catani, to whom was due the erection of the building (19). The construction of the kiosk was funded by the Public Works Department. 

The Chalet Geneve, photographed on the opening day, December 9, 1911.

Punch, December 14, 1911 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/177535383#

The opening ceremony proceedings were considerably enlivened by selections played by Di Gilio's band (20) and a toast was made the lessees of the kiosk Misses Savary and Matthieu, who named the kiosk, Chalet Geneve (21).

The Albert Park Lake tea-room was artistically decorated, the prevailing tints being green, from the green carpet on the floor to the green plush fringe curtain which divides the apartment from the other room. A stairway leads to a large tea room above, open on three sides, from which extensive views may be had of the surrounding country, with glimpses of sea water, and in front of the lake, with its white-winged craft, rising to the hills of the Botanical Gardens and the Domain, crowned by Government House (22). The green colour scheme was also extended to the waitresses' uniforms which were pea-green and white (23).  

The Chalet Geneve as well as being a Refreshment Kiosk also hosted many other functions including twenty-first birthdays, dances and wedding breakfasts. One wedding in 1914 was described thus a reception was held at the Chalet Geneve, Middle Park, when about a hundred guests partook of a daintily served wedding tea. The table decorations in silver and pale pink chrysanthemums were very effective (24). 

Rosanna Savary operated the kiosk until 1928 or 1929 (25).  In October 1929, the Albert Park Committee of Management decided to renovate the Chalet (26) and towards the end of that year (27) the lease of the building was taken over by Miss Marie Fitzpatrick, who had previously conducted a mixed business in Victoria Avenue, Albert Park (28). Susan Priestley in her history of South Melbourne, says that under the Miss Fitzpatrick, the Chalet was a prime catering and social venue for the district (29). The Emerald Hill Record described her thus Miss Marie Fitzpatrick is one of the best-known citizens of South Melbourne, her work in practically every movement for the welfare of the city and its inhabitants, being particularly notable (30). There are reports of her work with the St Vincent's Hospital Auxiliary, the Homoeopathic Hospital Auxiliary and Marie was also the President of the South Melbourne Home Help Auxiliary, which amongst other activities, provided meals at the local Elderly Citizens Club in Park Street (31).

Marie Fitzpatrick (1886 - 1970)

Image courtesy of her great-nephew, Geoff Fitzpatrick.

The tennis courts surrounding the Chalet, which were built by the South Melbourne Council from 1923, were also managed, along with the Chalet, by Rosanna Savary and later by Marie Fitzpatrick (32). The Courts were so popular that by 1930 over 400 girls played tennis there each week and the Council were going to open two more courts (33). Miss Fitzpatrick was at the Chalet until at least 1955 (34) by then she was 70 years old. Of the Chalet itself, it was still there in the early 1960s (35) but I don't know when it was demolished. 

The Chalet Geneve waitresses, taken at official opening on December 9, 1911.

Punch, December 14, 1911 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/177535383#

The Misses Savary and Mathieu of the Chalet Geneve were Rosanna Savary and her sisters Frances and Katherine, who were still operating the Fitzroy Gardens Kiosk.  The women were the daughters of James Augustine Mathieu and Mary Ann McNamara. They were married on April 6, 1858 at Whroo by the minister of the Independent Church, the Reverend John Macilrea. This was interesting as the couple declared on the marriage certificate that they were both members of the Roman Catholic Church; there was possibly no Catholic Priest in the area. James was a 30 year old miner, born in Manchester and Mary Ann was listed a 21 year old servant, born in Crusheen, in Ireland (36). The couple had nine children, all the births were registered in Rushworth 

Rosanna (1859 -1930). Married Henri Armad Savary (1858-1910) in 1889. They did not have children.
Anna Maria (1860 - 1893). Married Martin O'Grady in 1881 and they had seven sons.

Josephine Cecelia (1861-1930). Married Charles Hamilton Smyth in 1902. They did not have children.

Katherine Louise (1863-1930). Operated the Fitzroy Gardens and Albert ParkLake kiosks.
Frances Ellen Agatha (1864-1917). Operated the Fitzroy Gardens and Albert Park Lake kiosks.
Sarah Ann (1865-1947). Married Henry Arthur Schlichting in 1896 and had one son. Operated the Malvern kiosk.

James Augustine (1867-1943). Married Emma Price in 1895 and had two daughters.
Margaret Emily 'May' (1869-1948). Married George Baumgartner in 1900 and had one son. Operated the Malvern kiosk.

John Baptiste (1871-1849). Married Agnes Ellen Millett in 1902 and they had six daughters and one son (37). 

They were a close knit family (38) and devout Catholics. Katherine and Frances hosted many fundraisers for Catholic causes in their Fitzroy Gardens kiosk - this is from February 1916 - In order to render substantial assistance to St. Vincent's 'Million Shilling Fund,' the Misses Mathieu, of the Kiosk, Fitzroy Gardens, have, in their usual kindness of heart and Catholic charity, ever-fervent, organised special band afternoons for the 6th and the 20th of February (39).  Another event was held in the April - A band performance, organised by the Misses K. and F. Mathieu, was given by St. Vincent's Orphanage Boys in the band-stand, Kiosk, Fitzroy Gardens, on Sunday, 9th April, in aid of St. Vincent's Hospital Million Shillings Fund, and realised the sum of £13/1/1.... All the expenses were defrayed by the Misses Mathieu (40).

After Frances died in February 1917 Table Talk had this short obituary- Miss Frances E. Mathieu, connected since its opening with the tea kiosk in the Fitzroy Gardens, died last week at her residence, East Melbourne. Though suffering for an extended period from an incurable malady, she bravely bore up and refused to let her relatives know the seriousness of her case, till she suddenly collapsed. Many will miss her kindly presence from the place with which she has been, associated, while the charities will lose a benefactress, who never failed to make opportunity to assist them (41).  

She was so well respected that a movement headed by Mrs. A. M. Davidson, Mayoress of Collingwood, is being started to erect a drinking fountain in the Fitzroy Gardens to the memory of the late Miss Frances B. Mathieu. Her friends feel that this would be a good way of expressing their regard for one who during her reign at the gardens kiosk did much to assist the charities. The bands men of Melbourne purpose giving a performance in aid of a fund. The Mayoresses of contiguous municipalities, the staff of the gardens and leaders of different societies will support the movement. The design as proposed will be carried out by Miss Margaret Baskerville (42). I cannot find any references to the drinking fountain ever being erected. 

During the First World War the family also supported patriotic causes.  In May 1915 it was reported in the Weekly Times that In aid of the funds of the French Red Cross Society, a doll, dressed to represent Victory, holding aloft the flags of the Allies, has been given by Madame Savary, of Middle Park. The doll will be raffled when £50 has been obtained. It is on view at present at the kiosk Fitzroy Gardens, East Melbourne (43).  

Sadly for May and Sarah of the Central Park Kiosk at Malvern, their patriotism was called into question due to their surnames. George Baumgartner wrote a letter to the editor of The Age in 1916, defending his wife and sister-in-law - At a recruiting meeting at Malvern the other night an interjector made some untrue and objectionable statements as to the nationality of the lessees of the Malvern Kiosk. If such statements are not refuted they are liable to give a wrong impression, so on behalf of my wife and her sister, who are the lessees referred to, I wish to state that they are both Australian born, and that their father, whose name was Mathieu was a Frenchman, while their mother was Irish. As to myself, I am also Australian born, and my father (who was born in England, and whose father came to that country from Berne, Switzerland) was one of the pioneers of this country, having landed in Victoria over sixty years ago. Both my wife and I have relatives at the present time fighting for the King and Empire, in both the Australian and the English forces, and we shall be grateful to you if you will give publicity through the medium of your columns (44). 

It may have been this personal connection with Anti-German feeling that prompted Rosanna Savary and her sisters at the Chalet Geneve to host functions of the Anti-German League. For instance in July 1916 the Chalet Geneve hosted a social and dance for the League attended by over 100 people. Amongst the entertainers was Mr. E. Littlewood, of Prahran, Australia's popular ventriloquist, [who] gave a very interesting account of himself, together with his funny children, Tommy and Katie (45). The Albert Park branch of this league was formed in November 1915 (46).  The objectives of the League were to  financially and otherwise assist any distress or hardships that might exist among returned soldiers or their dependants, to assist in fighting the enemies of the Empire; to encourage recruiting and to undertake to those who enlist that the league will carry on a vigorous and unceasing campaign to induce the Federal and State authorities to safeguard the public interests from danger at the hands of the enemies in our midst; to advocate the internment of all alien enemies, as well as of all other disloyal persons (47).

May Baumgartner's only son, Charles, was the assistant editor of the The Herald and his only son became a Priest in the Christian Brothers Order (48). Mary Ann Mathieu died in 1918, at the Chalet Geneve where she was living with her daughter, Rosanna.  Her obituary made note that Rosanna was married to the grandson of General Savary, who earned distinction in the Napoleonic wars, and was afterwards created by Napoleon, Duc de Rivigo (49).  Mary Ann's husband James,  had died in 1881, in Shepparton (50).

This brings us to the postcard, addressed to Mr Waters, c/o Madame Savary, Chalet Geneve, Middle Park. 

The back of the Kiosk Refreshment Rooms, Fitzroy Gardens postcard. 

Image: Isaac Hermann

What is the connection between Mr Waters and Madame Savary?  The 1916 Electoral Roll has Charlotte Annie Waters at 69 Canterbury Road,  Middle Park. Her occupation is a canvasser. The address is very close to the location of the Chalet Geneve. Mrs Waters died in October 1946 at the age of 90, she was thus born around 1856, just a few years older than Rosanna Savary. She had two children, Thorold, who was a musician, music critic and journalist and  daughter, Mother N. Borromeo de Sion, a Catholic nun (51).  Charlotte and Rosanna were both similar ages, neighbours, both Catholic and I believe they were friends. I am assuming the postcard writer met Mr Waters, who was perhaps lunching with his mother at the Chalet Geneve, they got talking, he sent the writer a postcard and they had no address to reply to, so they sent it care of Madame Savary to pass on. 

The postcard writer says that 'I went to see Lieutenant Dunstan from Ballarat receive the V.C. The Governor General pinned it on him before.....'  William Dunstan, born in Ballarat, enlisted on June 2, 1915 in the 7th Battalion. He was wounded at Gallipoli on the 8th or 9th of August 15 - gunshot wound to the left eye. After treatment in hospital he  returned to Australia where he was discharged on  medical grounds in February 1916. His Victoria Cross citation reads - For most conspicuous bravery at the Lone Pines Trenches in the Gallipoli Peninsula on 9 August 1915. In the early morning the enemy made a determined counter-attack on the centre of the newly-captured trenches held by Lieut. Tubb, Corporal Burton, Corporal Dunstan and  a few men. They advanced up a sap and blew in a sandbag barricade, leaving only one foot of it standing, but Lieut. Tubb, with the two Corporals, repulsed the enemy and rebuilt the barricades. Supported by stong bombing parties, the enemy twice again succeeded in blowing in the barricades; but on each occasion they were repulsed, and the barricade rebuilt although Lieut. Tubb was wounded in the head and arm, and Corporal Burton was  killed by a bomb whilst most gallantly  building up the parapet under a hail of bombs. Lieutenant Tubb and Corporal Burton were also awarded the Victoria Cross (52). 

Twenty-one year old Lieutenant Dunstan was presented with the Victoria Cross, by the Governor General, Sir Ronald Munro Ferguson, on the steps of Parliament House, in Melbourne on Friday, June 9, 1916, in front on thousands of spectators, including the writer of our postcard (53). It is an eyewitness account of the event, which obviously continued onto another a separate page, which I don't have.

The five sisters were in their forties when they took on the kiosks - Frances and Katherine were unmarried, May and Sarah were both married, each with a primary school aged son and Rosanna was recently widowed, her husband Henri having died a year before the Albert Park Lake kiosk officially opened. What made the Mathieu sisters take up the occupation of Kiosk refreshment room proprietoresses? It  gave them was the opportunity to operate their own business on their own terms and derive an income. For Frances, Katherine and Rosanna, who did not have  a husband to 'support them', this source of income was especially important. It was also a 'respectable' business and would not have had the stigma that running a hotel sometimes had, which was a not uncommon occupation for women at the time. As well, given that married women were often barred from working and even if women did work they earnt far less than men for the same job running your own business was an attractive proposition. This is my tribute to the Mathieu sisters, without whom it seems Melbourne's early cafe culture (or perhaps Kiosk culture might be more appropriate) would have been much the poorer.

Acknowledgment

The postcard of the Fitzroy Gardens Refreshment Kiosk, which was the inspiration for this post belongs to my fellow historian, Isaac Hermann, who also provided me with some of the research, particularily that related to Carlo Catani and the Albert Park Lake kiosk. Thank you!

Trove List  

I have created a list of articles on the establishment of the three kiosks and the Mathieu sisters on Trove, access it here. 

Footnotes

(1) The Argus, February 28, 1908, see here.

(2) The Argus, February 28, 1908, see here.

(3) The Argus, February 28, 1908, see here.

(4) Swanson, Rex Melbourne's Historic Public Gardens: a management and conservation guide (City of Melbourne, 1984), p. 33.

(5) Prahran Telegraph, June 3, 1911, see here.

(6) Cooper, John Butler  The History of the City of Malvern: from its first settlement to a City (Specialist Press, 1935), p. 193.

(7) The Age, July 19, 1911, see here.

(8) The Age, July 19, 1911, see here.

(9) Malvern Historical Society Facebook post of July 5, 1920, see here. 

(10) Emerald Hill Record, June 8, 1907, see here.

(11) Prahran Telegraph, August 28, 1909, see here.

(12) Prahran Telegraph, August 28, 1909, see here.

(13) Barnard, Jill & Keating, Jenny People's Playground: a history of the Albert Park (Chandos Publishing, 1996) p. 74.

(14) Emerald Hill Record, January 28, 1911, see here.

(15) The Age, December 11, 1911, see here.

(16) The Age, December 11, 1911, see here.

(17) Punch, December 14, 1911, see here.

(18) Prahran Telegraph, December 16, 1911, see here.

(19) Prahran Telegraph, December 16, 1911, see here.

(20) Emerald Hill Record, December 16, 1911, see here.

(21) Chalet Geneve - the first report of the Kiosk having a names was in September 1912, when newspapers referred to is as Geneva Chalet. The first use of the term Chalet Geneve was in April 1913. See my Trove list, here.

(22) Prahran Telegraph, December 16, 1911, see here.

(23) Prahran Telegraph, December 16, 1911, see here.

(24) Punch, April 16, 1914, see here. I have included other reports of functions held at Chalet Geneve in my Trove list.

(25) Rosanna Savary is granted £15 from the South Melbourne Council to supervise the tennis courts built at the Chalet (Emerald Hill Record, April 28, 1928, see here).

(26) The Age, October 25, 1929, see here. It was from Susan Priestley's book (see footnote 29) that I was alerted to the fact that the Chalet was renovated that year. 

(27) Emerald Hill Record, January 4 1930, see here.

(28) Marie was the daughter of John and Mary (nee Flanagan) Fitzpatrick. She was born in Clunes in 1886 and had four younger brothers - John (1888), Peter (1890), William (1891) and Edward (1893). Marie died in South Melbourne, aged 85 in 1970.  You can read her mother's interesting and detailed obituary in the Emerald Hill Record, May 12, 1951, see here. 

(29) Priestley, Susan  South Melbourne: a history (Melbourne University Press, 1995), p. 333

(30) Emerald Hill Record, May 12, 1951, see here.

(31) See my Trove list for reports of Marie Fitzpatrick's charity and community work. 

(32) Tennis Court opening - Emerald Hill Record, June 30, 1923, see here. Rosanna Savary - Emerald Hill Record, April 28, 1928, see here. There are many reports of Marie Fitzpatrick running the tennis courts - Emerald Hill Record, November 18, 1933, see here and Emerald Hill Record May 11, 1946, see here.

(33) Emerald Hill Record, June 7, 1930, see here.

(34) The Argus, April 30, 1955, see here.

(35) Australian Jewish News, May 12, 1961, see here.

(36) Details from the marriage certicate.

(37) Details of the children are from the Indexes to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages; family notices published in newspapers found on Trove and in the case of the last child, John Baptiste, his details are from the Queensland Births, Deaths and Marriages.

(38) I say they were close knit because they daughters worked together, plus they inserted regular In Memoriam notices in the paper for their father and their sister, Anna Maria, who died at only 33, as well as family death notices when the occasion arose. 

(39) The Advocate, February 5, 1916, see here.

(40) Punch, April 13, 1916, see here.

(41) Table Talk, February 8, 1917, see here.

(42) Table Talk, March 15, 1917, see here.

(43) Weekly Times, May 15, 1915, see here.

(44) The Age, February 14, 1916, see here.

(45) Prahran Telegraph, July 15 1916, see here.

(46) The Age, November 29, 1915, see here.

(47) The Age, December 23, 1915, see here.

(48) The Advocate, June 3 1948, see here.

(49) The Herald, June 18, 1918, see here.

(50) Index to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages.

(51) Electoral Rolls are available on Ancestry; Charlotte Waters death notice was in The Herald October 14, 1946; there are multiple references to  work and activities of Thorold Waters in the newspapers on Trove. He also has an autobiography - Much besides Music:  memoirs, published by Georgian House in 1951. He died in 1956.

(52) William Dunstan (Service No. 2130) read his entry in the Australian Dictionary of Biography, here. Read his service file at the National Archives, here.  I have already writte about Lieutenant Tubb and Corporal Burton, read about them https://victoriaspast.blogspot.com/2020/01/tubbs-hill-and-victoria-cross-connection.html

(53) Reports of the ceremony were in The Herald June 9, 1916, see here; The Age June 10, 1916, see here and The Argus, June 10, 1916, see here. As a matter of interest, the writer has dated their postcard Sunday, June 10 - which is incorrect as Lieutenant Dunstan's ceremony took place on Frday, June 9.