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. 

Dr John James Helsham of Cranbourne

In 1866, James H. Watson, who later became the President of the Royal Australian Historical Society, spent some time on Quail Island, at the northern end of Western Port. You can read his account of his time, here. Of interest was that he described Cranbourne at the time - Two or three small cottages, and the ruins of another with a big stone bush chimney still standing, completed the town of Cranbourne. The ruined cottage is mentioned because in it lived, or rather existed, the local doctor - a clever man, but one who had the habit that many an otherwise good man has fallen a victim to. The minister kept his books and instruments, and, for special cases, he was sobered up for a couple of days, the hotel being tabooed to him till he had completed the case in hand (1).

I have done some research and discovered that the local Doctor, who was sadly addicted to drink was John James Helsham.

Dr Helsham was born c. 1833 in Dublin in Ireland (2).  He was a Licentiate of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, 1857 (3). Family trees on Ancestry list his parents as Captain George Paul Helsham and Elizabeth Anne Conway, even though they do not list any sources. The trees list five or six other siblings including George Macklin Helsham (4). We know that George Macklin Helsham had a brother called John James Helsham. They both joined the Freemasons Lodge, No. 37 Kilkenny; George on January 4, 1853 and John on December 13, 1853 (5). Also, in 1875, John and George were listed in the Encumbered Estate (6) register as the sons of Captain George Paul Helsham. 

Encumbered Estates Registry, 1875 showing that there was a John James Helsham who was the son of Captain George Paul Helsham and the brother of George Macklin Helsham.

Ancestry.com Ireland, Encumbered Estates, 1850-1885

George Macklin Helsham had also come to Australia and his 1870 Queensland Death Certificate lists his parents as George Paul and Elizabeth Ann Helsham (7).  The question is this - is Dr John James Helsham the same John James Helsham who was the son of Captain George Paul Helsham? There is every possibility that there were two men of that name born around the same time in the same location; anyone who has done a lot of genealogical research would know that this occurs. However, I am leaning towards our Dr Helsham being the son of Captain Helsham and his wife Elizabeth Conway.

After our Doctor graduated he left Ireland for Victoria and the first account I can find of his life in Victoria was in November 1859 when Dr Helsham had a letter published in the Ovens and Murray Advertiser claiming that he had been libelled in another newspaper report concerning his treatment of a patient, John Bragg. In the letter he writes that  I took him from the wagon with the assistance of some friends, and carried him in, but medical assistance was of no avail. He never spoke one word, and was utterly unconscious until the time of his death, which occurred in less than half an hour, after reaching Longwood (8).  I don't have the full story, however it does place Dr Helsham in the Longwood area in 1859.

The Barkly Navarre Goldfield, c. 1861. This is a landscape that Dr Helsham would become familiar with after his appointment to the area in 1860.

The Barkly Navarre Goldfield. Photographer: Richard Daintree.

State Library of Victoria Image H9324

In 1860, he was appointed as the Public Vaccinator  for the district of Crowlands and Navarre (9).  The towns are both on the Ararat-St Arnaud Road. In August 1861, he performed a small operation on William Broadfoot who was suffering from varicose veins; he lanced an abscess on the man's leg  and apparently cut into a vein and Mr Broadfoot started bleeding. Helsham was called again and was satisfied with the patient's condition, however Mr Broadfoot later bled to death. An inquest was held into his death and in Mrs Broadfoot's evidence she said this about the doctor at the time I do not think Dr Helsham was sober. Another witness, William Smith, said on the second visit Dr. Helsham was tipsy (10).  The Ballarat Star in their report of the incident was quite scathing about Dr Helsham - this is how they reported the case - Unfortunately for him, some of his friends introduced, on Sunday last, a medical gentleman, from old Navarre, styling himself Dr Helsham. After manipulating the ailing limb of Mr Broadfoot, he expressed a most extraordinary surprise that another medical gentleman who had seen the swelling in the leg did not lance it at once. The bouncing charlatan tucked up the sleeves of his coat and commenced lancing what he deemed an abscess (11).

The Coroner ruled that the deceased, William Broadfoot, came to his death having cut varicose veins and not taking proper precautions to stop the bleeding and he committed Dr Helsham for trial for manslaughter (12). The manslaughter trial was held at Ararat in October and the Doctor was acquitted (13).

The next two references I can find to Dr Helsham were both appointments as the Public Vaccinator in February 1862 to the district of Barkly (14) and then in May 1864 to the district of Dimboola (15). Two years later, according to James Watson's report of his trip to Quail Island, the Doctor had moved to Cranbourne. In March 1867, he held an inquest into the death of  a man found dead at Bass, a normal duty for  a country doctor to perform (16).  He was also the secretary of the local Court of Foresters Lodge (17) and in December 1867 was appointed the Public Vaccinator for the district of Berwick (18).

In July 1868 an inquest was held into the death of four year old Mary Mead, of Cranbourne, who was badly scalded when she accidently tipped a billy of hot water over herself. The Age reported that no doctor attended the child on the day of the occurrence, because the only practitioner in the neighborhood, Dr. Helsham, refused to come to see her. He, however, gave some dressing for her; and the resident surgeon at the hospital, where the child was removed the next day, deposed that medical aid would have been of no avail. A verdict of 'accidental death'  was recorded (19). 

The Weekly Times reported on October 30, 1869 (20) that Dr Helsham had died of snake bite - this turned out to be untrue - he was bitten by a snake, but he did survive. The Herald of November 4, 1869 gave a report of the true version of events and it is worth repeating in full as an example of the medical treatments available at the time -
As a garbled account of this accident has found its way into print, a correspondent furnishes the following narrative: A very severe and almost fatal case of snake bite occurred at Tooradin, in Cranbourne district, on Wednesday, 27th October. The following are the facts as related by a young man who attended on the sufferer. As Dr. Helsham was out snipe shooting on the morning of the above day, his dog pointed to what he took to be a snipe, but on nearer approach found to be a black suake, about three feet long; he directly fired at the reptile, standing about a yard distance from it. The dog immediately rushed forward to seize the snake, which the doctor prevented, when the snake sprang up and bit him very severely on the second finger of the right hand. He then killed the snake, bound a ligature tightly round the finger, and walked to the homestead a distance of a mile, carrying the snake in his hand all the way.

When he reached home, a young man on a visit to the place took him in hand, and first cut the piece out with a razor, and scored the finger to the bone from the root of the nail up to the second joint, and rubbed in some gunpowder. By this time, some brandy and ammonia, which had been sent for, had arrived. This was administered: half a tumbler full of brandy and ten drops of ammonia every half-hour. Within one hour of being bitten he became drowsy and insensible, and it took the united efforts of two men, slipping, pricking, pinching, and dragging him about to keep him awake. After a time, even these failed. After about two hours he became convulsed, frothing at the mouth very much; pulse became weak, almost ceased to beat; hands, face and lips turned black, extremities cold, and life almost despaired of. Ammonia was then applied to the wound, to his nostrils, and sprinkled over his face. This lasted for about half an hour, when he seemed to rally a little and breathe easier, and was allowed to sleep twenty minutes, and was afterwards only kept awake by the most severe treatment, being quite unable to walk and altogether paralysed. 

Towards four o'clock p.m., seeming a little better, he was taken to an hotel two miles distant. A medical man by this time having arrived, he continued the same treatment which had already been used. Between his removal to the hotel and two o'clock next morning he relapsed twice, both times his life being almost despaired of; but large doses of brandy and ammonia being given and vigorous efforts being used to keep him awake, he again rallied, and by four o'clock a.m., or eighteen hours after the accident, he had recovered sufficiently to walk about a mile to a friend's house, and was considered to be out of danger, although very weak and sick from the effects of the bite and the treatment (21)

Ammonia was a common cure for snake bite at the time and you could purchase special syringes to inject the liquid. Warning: Do not try this at home!

The Herald, March 29, 1872 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/245699334

There are a few references in the newspapers to Dr Helsham after his recovery from snake bite - he conducted an inquest in 1874 (22) and was appointed Health Officer for the Shire of Cranbourne in 1876 (23).  He died suddenly at the age of 45 (24), on August 11, 1878 whilst at the Grantville Hotel, which was owned by John Payne.  This was a Sunday and evidence from the witness statements tell us what happened.  Dr Helsham had come to Grantville to examine James McMahon in the billiard room of the hotel. Afterwards, at around  6.00 p.m., he was having a meal with some others. Witnesses described him as his normal self, cheerful, pleasant and that he appeared sober. He was eating beef steak when he suddenly threw his head back made a choking sound and then he was dead. The Constable, George Ardill,  from Griffiths Point (San Remo) was called, and he took witness statements from Michael Richardson, James McMahon, Catherine Conner, Abram Field and John Payne. The information was passed onto the Coroner who decided than an Inquest was not necessary as there were no suspicious circumstances (25).  His death certificate says that Dr Helsham was buried on August 16, 1878 at the Grantville Cemetery; the undertaker was John Payne and that there was no minister of religion present but three witnesses - John Monk, James Cain and William Matthews.

Dr Helsham is in an unmarked grave at Grantville - the little marker on the right is his grave - it is row 31, plot 6. The Grantville Cemetery has a website, www.grantvillecemetery.org.au which has a list of those buried there. The grave in the photo belongs to the Sloss family, Margaret was buried there in 1891. The grave to the right with the wrought iron fencing, belongs to Isabella Jane Curr or Carr, who was buried in 1878. The next grave is George Casey, buried in 1880 and then Dr Helsham.

What was the reaction in Cranbourne to the death of their Doctor? The South Bourke & Mornington Journal reported that the sudden death of of Dr. Helsham at Grantville seems to have caused general regret in the Cranbourne district where he had so long resided, and dissatisfaction is expressed that a proper enquiry as to the cause of death was not instituted, it being believed by some that it may be possible he died from choking whilst eating. The supposition is that apoplexy was the cause (26). However for some there was no regret. At a Cranbourne Shire Council meeting discussing Helsham's replacement as the Shire Health officer,  Dr Phillips, who was addressing the meeting said that the late doctor was never fit for his duties (27). In response, Councillors Patterson and Poole spoke in favor of the late Dr Helsham, passed high eulogiums on the manner in which he had carried out his duties, and both very much regretted Dr Phillips remarks about him (28). 

It does appear that Dr Helsham had a drinking problem, he may even had been sent out to the Colonies  by his family for this reason either to make a fresh start or to rid them of an embarrassing problem. By 1861, when he was charged with manslaughter and he was only 28 he already had a reputation as a drunkard and a bouncing charlatan.  But in Cranbourne he still had friends, including the local Presbyterian Minister, the Reverend Alexander Duff (29), who looked after his books and instruments. I understand that Cranbourne and other communities deserved a  better Doctor than Dr Helsham, but I can't condemn him completely and agree with James Watson's description of him as a clever man, but one who had the habit that many an otherwise good man has fallen a victim to.

Trove list

I have created a list of articles on Dr Helsham on Trove, access it here.

Footnotes
(1) On June 20, 1927, James H. Watson, the President of the Royal Australian Historical Society, Sydney presented a paper to the Historical Society of Victoria - Personal Recollections of Melbourne in the 'Sixties. It was a look at various events and activities of the 1860s including this story - Dipping Sheep on Quail Island. The story was published in the Victorian Historical Magazine, v. 12, June 1928 available on-line at the State Library of Victoria https://www.slv.vic.gov.au/search-discover/popular-digitised-collections I have transcribed it here. Niel Gunson also quotes this account on page 68 of his book, The Good Country: Cranbourne Shire (Cheshire, 1968) which is where I first saw it. The Minister was the Reverend Alexander Duff - see footnote 29.
(2) His death certificate said he was born in Dublin and and he was 45 years old when he died in 1878, which makes his birth date c. 1833, although a family tree on Ancestry lists the birth date was 1831, see footnote 4.
(3) Licentiate of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, 1857 - that is how Dr Helsham is listed in the 1875 UK & Ireland, Medical Directory, which are available on Ancestry.com

Ancestry.com - 1875 UK & Ireland, Medical Directory: Practitioners resident abroad. 

(4) From information on Ancestry - Captain George Paul Helsham (1802-1861) married Elizabeth Ann Conway (1809 - 1841) in 1830 in Paris. He is listed in various sources as belonging to the Irish Militia, Kilkenny Fusiliers or the Royal Irish Fusiliers. In 1829, whilst in France, he shot a man dead in a duel. It was reported in the Australian papers The Colonial Times of Hobart, January 29, 1830, see here and then there was a subsequent murder trail reported in the same paper on February 18, 1831, see here. His great, grandson John George Douglas Helsham was killed at Gallipoli and his obituary in the Bendigo Independent said that Captain George Helsham was the recipient of an inscribed dagger from the hands of H.R.H. Prince Albert. Private Helsham, therefore, is of a fighting family, and it was his lot to inherit a gold repeating watch and a gold seal which had been handed down from generation to generation for many years (Bendigo Independent June 12, 1915, see here) George and Elizabeth had six children - the birth dates are approximate - George Macklin (1830-1870), John James (1831 or 33 - 1878), Elizabeth Ann (1833 - 1872), Rebecca Blount (1834- 1900), Amelia (1835 - 1835) Paul (1836-1836).
(5) Ireland, Grand Lodge of Freemasons of Ireland Membership Registers, 1733-1923, available on Ancestry.com. Technically, the fact that they both joined the same Lodge does not prove they are brothers.
(6) Encumbered Estate - This definition is from Ancestry.com -  The Encumbered Estates' Court was established to facilitate the sale of Irish estates whose owners were unable to meet their obligations because of the Great Famine, regardless of whether the land was entailed. The need for the Court was caused by the impoverishment of many Irish tenant farmers during the 1840s famine, rendering it impossible for them to pay their rents to the landlord who in turn could not make his mortgage payments. Until this Court was established, the lending bank could not get a court order to sell the mortgaged land because of the entail.
(7) George was the Town Clerk of Dalby in Queensland. He died in tragic circumstances at the age of 39. He was rushing to help out at a fire and run into a tree stump and sustained internal injuries and not recover. He left a wife and four children. You can read accounts of the accident in the Darling Downs Gazette February 12, 1870, see here, and the Queensland Times of February 19, 1870, see here. It was George's grandson who was killed at Gallipoli, see footnote 4.
(8) Ovens and Murray Advertiser, November 5, 1859, see here.
(9) The Age, August 4, 1860, see here.
(10) An account of the incident can be read in the Ballarat Star of August 22, 1861, see here. The two quotes about his sobriety are from the Maryborough and Dunolly Advertiser of August 28, 1861, see here.
(11) Ballarat Star August 22, 1861, see here.
(12) Maryborough and Dunolly Advertiser, August 28, 1861, see here.
(13) Ballarat Star, October 19, 1861, see here.
(14) The Herald, February 19, 1862, see here.
(15) The Argus, May 27, 1864, see here.
(16) The Age, March 26, 1867, see here.
(17) The Leader, September 21, 1867, see here. The Court of Foresters was a Friendly Society, which were formed to help members pay for medical care. Read about Friendly Societies here https://www.emelbourne.net.au/biogs/EM00614b.htm
(18) The Age, December 7, 1867, see here.
(19) The Age, July 29, 1868, see here.
(20) The Weekly Times, October 30, 1869, see here.
(21) The Herald, November 4, 1869, see here.
(22) The Argus, May 7, 1874, see here.
(23) The Argus, September 30, 1876, see here.
(24) He was listed as 45 years old on his death certificate.
(25) The information about his death comes from his Inquest record held at the Public Records Office of Victoria and which is also digitised on Ancestry.com
(26) South Bourke & Mornington Journal, August 21, 1878, see here.
(27) South Bourke & Mornington Journal, October 2, 1878, see here.
(28) South Bourke & Mornington Journal, October 2, 1878, see here.
(29) Reverend Alexander Duff (1824 - 1890), read more here (scroll to bottom of post)

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

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

Thompson's Road, Shire of Cranbourne, and Patrick Thompson of 'Oaklands' Lyndhurst

Thompson's Road (1) runs from Patterson Lakes, through Carrum Downs, Cranbourne and Clyde nearly to the Cardinia Creek, so essentially all the way west to east across the old Shire of Cranbourne. It was, I believe, named for Patrick Thompson, early land owner and member of the Cranbourne Road Board.  

According to the Cranbourne Shire Rate Books, Patrick Thompson owned 308 acres, lots 19 and 22 in the Parish of Lyndhurst – the land was on either side of what is now Thompson's Road. The land was originally owned by C. & R. Wedge - Charles and Richard Wedge, who along with their other brothers, John and Henry had extensive land holdings. They were the nephews of the surveyor, John Helder Wedge. They had arrived from  Tasmania in 1836 and took up land at Werribee. They later acquired the Bangam  and Ballamarang runs, 42 square miles which ran from essentially modern day Hampton Park to Frankston and covered the Carrum Swamp (see map, below).They held this property collectively, which they called Banyan Waterholes, until 1852 when it was divided between them (2).

Banyan Waterholes, fronts Port Phillip Bay. 

Squatting Runs, Western Port

Image: The Good Country: Cranbourne Shire by Niel Gunson (Cheshire, 1968), p.50.

You can see Patrick Thompson's land on the map below, it is outlined in red.

Part of the Parish Plan of Lyndhurst. 

The Thompson Property, Lots 19 & 22, is outlined in red. 

On the map it was still owned by C. & R. Wedge. 

I don't know when Patrick purchased this land from the Wedge Brothers, the Cranbourne Shire Rate books start at 1863, the earlier ones are missing, but in October 1856, Thompson was listed in the State Government  Gazette as being appointed a Trustee of  the land set aside for the Presbyterian Church, so we could presume that he owned the land then. 

Patrick Thompson appointed as a Trustee for Cranbourne Presbyterian Church.

Victoria Government Gazette, No. 137 1856 http://gazette.slv.vic.gov.au/images/1856/V/general/137.pdf

Thompson was also appointed as a Trustee of the Cranbourne Cemetery on December 11, 1857. This was also listed in the State Government Gazette.

Patrick Thompson appointed as a Trustee for Cranbourne Cemetery.

Victoria Government Gazette, No. 146 1857 http://gazette.slv.vic.gov.au/images/1857/V/general/146.pdf

Patrick Thompson was elected to the newly created Cranbourne Road Board on July 8, 1860 and held the position until 1863. Other members of this first Road Board included Alexander Cameron, James Smith Adams and Edward Malloy, who were also fellow Trustees of the Cranbourne Cemetery (3). Dr Gunson in his book,  The Good Country: Cranbourne Shire book says that his property was called Oaklands (4). In April 1863, Patrick Thomson held a clearing sale of stock, crop, implements and household  furniture and the farm was advertised for lease, in consequence of his leaving the district, but I have no information as to where he went to.

Sale at Patrick Thompson's stock, crop, implements and household furniture.

The Argus April 8, 1863   http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article6484785

Another advertisement appeared in The Argus of May 22, 1863, leasing Oaklands for three years. There was a good description of the farm -
The farm contains 308 acres, 200 of which are black soil, of the richest description. It is divided by a Government road in two equal parts, and subdivided into nine paddocks, nearly all of which are fenced and drained; 130 acres of the land have been under cultivation, 20 acres thereof under English grass and clover. There is a good house, dairy, three-stall stable, and farm offices, spring-wells, and water-holes, with other conveniences, all in complete repair; likewise a close-fenced garden, planted with choice fruit-trees, and vines in full bearing. It would be interesting to know where his house was - his block bordered Evans Road as well as being either side of Thompson Road (called a Government road in the advertisement), so he had a good choice of road frontage.

Oaklands available for a three year term.

The Argus May 22, 1863  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article6485933

1863 is, as I said before, the first  year that the Cranbourne Shire Rate Books are available and James Sloan is listed as leasing lots 19 and 22 from Patrick Thompson. This is the only mention of Thompson in the Rate Books, though James Sloan is listed until 1867. From 1864 to 1866 there is no owner listed – so we can’t tell if Patrick Thompson still owns the land. In 1867, Sloan is still listed as the rate-payer, however the owner is listed as Atkinson. There are advertisements in The Argus in 1868 advising that Sloan is selling all his dairy stock and farm produce.  

Mr Sloane of Oaklands selling his dairy stock and farm produce.

The Argus, April 14, 1868 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5813493

From 1868 until 1874, William Cameron is listed as the rate-payer of lots 19 and 22 and the owner is still listed as Atkinson. William Cameron held an immense clearing sale at Oaklands on March 2, 1874 selling the whole of his dairy stock, dairy plant, farm implements etc.

William Cameron's immense clearing sale.

The Leader February 21, 1874  https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/198498008

After William Cameron leaves the Oaklands property and the Rate book show that Arthur Facey takes over the lease. It is still owned by Atkinson, the Rate books do not list even an initial, so I have no idea who this Atkinson person is. In 1878 ownership of the property is listed as W. Norquay, and that's as far as we will go.

The earliest reference I can find to Thompson's Road is in 1872 in a report on a Cranbourne Shire meeting in The Argus in the May.

This is the earliest reference I can find to Thompson's Road.

The Argus, May 27 1872  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5862872

I know nothing about Patrick Thompson's personal life, and I don't know for sure if Thompson's Road was named for him, but the fact that he had land on either side of the road and was a member of the original Cranbourne Road Board makes it highly likely that it was.

Footnotes

(1) It is officially Thompsons Road but it should be either Thompson's Road or Thompson Road, but it's too late to be telling that to VicRoads.
(2) The information on the Wedge Brothers comes from The Good Country: Cranbourne Shire by Niel Gunson (Cheshire, 1968), p.34, 52-53.  Their holdings are also listed in Pastoral Pioneers of Port Phillip by R.V. Billis & A.S. Kenyon (Stockland press, 1974) You can read  about their uncle, John Helder Wedge, in the Australian Dictionary of Biography, here.

(3) Cranbourne Road Board members are from page 259 of Neil Gunson's book (see details footnote 2). The original members of the Road Board were - Dr James Smith Adams of Balla Balla; James Bruce of Sherwood Park; Richard Burgh Chomley of Tongala, Lyndhurst; James Lecky snr of Cranbourne; Edward Malloy of Mayune; Alexander Patterson of St Germains; Christopher John Peed of Springmount; Patrick Thompson of Oaklands and John Wedge of Johnswood, Lyndhurst.

(4) Niel Gunson's book (see details footnote 2), p. 259.

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

John and Margaret Doveton - the namesakes of the suburb of Doveton

The suburb of Doveton was established in the mid 1950s by the Housing Commission to provide housing for the employees of the 'Big Three' Industrial companies, International Harvester Company, H.J Heinz and General Motors Holden. The area was originally known as Grassmere or Eumemmerring, which I have written about here.  However in September 1954 the new suburb was named Doveton after Captain John Doveton. This is an interesting choice given that Captain and Mrs Doveton were only in the area for ten years and there are other families with a much longer or much earlier connection to the area. They had already been remembered in the area by the naming of Doveton Avenue, which dates from the mid-1920s (1). Doveton is variation of the name Dufton which means dove farm or farm where doves are kept (2).

This post looks at the life of John and Margaret Elizabeth Doveton.  They were actually first cousins, he was the son of John Bazett Doveton and Margaret was the daughter of Francis Crossman Doveton. They married on October 8, 1873 at All Saints Church in St Kilda. Their marriage certificate tells us that he was a Master Mariner, born in Saltford, Somerset and she was a Spinster, born in Tasmania. Usually marriage certificates state the age of the couple, but theirs just said they were of 'full age', however he was 30 and she was 29.

The marriage notice of John and Margaret Doveton.

The Argus October 10 1873 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5873339

These are the signatures of John Doveton and Margaret Doveton from their Marriage Certificate. We don't have any photographs of them, so it is the only physical connection we have to them.

After they married they lived for a  time in Barkly Street, St Kilda and then Murray Street, Prahran and during this time, John continued his career as a master mariner. There was a report in The Age of September 21, 1874 about the new steamship Durham which had just arrived from London after 47 days of sailing. Mr John Doveton is listed as the Second Officer (3).  The Argus has various reports, in the Shipping Intelligence column, of Captain Doveton arriving and departing Melbourne as the Captain of the Julia Percy, then the Tamar and then the Southern Cross. 

A report in the Hobart Mercury of May 8, 1882  (see below) said Southern Cross, under Doveton, run ashore on the Vansittart Shoals between Babel Island and Cape Barren in Bass Strait. Captain Doveton was suspended from the Command, pending an enquiry. Another report in the same paper of  May 23, 1882 said that Captain Doveton had resigned. After this, the only reports I could find about Captain Doveton involved him supervising work at the Wright, Orr & Co. floating Dry Dock and later at the Alfrred Graving Dock, so it appears he was still involved in the maritime industry, but no longer went to sea (4).

The Southern Cross runs aground

Hobart Mercury, Monday, 8 May 1882.  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article9009163

In 1893, the couple moved to Grassmere, just east of Dandneong, which at the time was still very much a country town.  The first listing for Captain Doveton in the Shire of Berwick Rate books was in 1893/94. He owned a house and 2½ acres at Lot 53, Parish of Eumemmerring, in Grassmere. The following year he is listed as having another 2½ acres, Lot 56, so five acres in all.  Even though Captain Doveton was listed as the ratepayer, according to the Title, the property was actually purchased in Margaret's name. From 1900 it was leased out and was sold on August 21 1903 to Robert Skinner. The house, which is now demolished was located around Gumbuya Close, off Doveton Avenue (5).

The thirteen voters on the Supplementary Electoral Roll at Oakleigh in the Kooyong Electorate in 1913, including John and Margaret Doveton.

Ancestry.com Australia, Electoral Rolls, 1903-1980 

When the property was leased they moved to Oakleigh and in the 1903 Electoral Rolls they were at Ferntree Gully Road, in Oakleigh and his occupation was a Poultry Farmer. They then moved to  Burnett, Atherton Road, Oakleigh, where John Doveton died at the age of 61, on April 7, 1904. He is buried at Oakleigh Cemetery. Margaret was still listed at Atherton Road in the 1909 Electoral Rolls, but by 1912 had moved to Williams Road, Prahran, then various addresses in Malvern until 1924 when she is listed at Everdon, Rose Street, Surrey Hills. She was still there in the 1937 Electoral Rolls, however her address when she died on December 13, 1941 was 13 Randell Street, Mordialloc. She was 97 years old and was buried at St Kilda Cemetery, where her father was buried, and not for some reason at Oakleigh with her husband. The couple did not have children (6).

Life of Margaret Doveton

The Argus, November 17, 1941 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/8217085

We have looked at John and Margaret's life together, now we will have  a look at their lives before they married.

John Doveton was the son of  John Bazette Doveton and Mary Harriett  Fenton, they had married in October 1838 in Saltford, Somerset. The Minister who performed the ceremony was the Reverend John Frederick Doveton, the father of the groom.  John was baptised on February 21, 1843 in Saltford,  I don't have  his date of birth, but based on the date of his baptism its is likely to be the end of 1842 or beginning of 1843. His father, who was also a Church of England Minister, actually performed the baptism ceremony on his son.  John's father and grandfather had both studied at Oxford University and they both held the position of Rector of the parish of Burnett, Somerset (7). As  a reminder of his childhood, John and Margaret had named their house in Atherton Road, Oakleigh Burnett.

John Doveton's father, John Bazett Doveton went to Oxford University. John Frederick Doveton is the grandfather of both John and Margaret. 

Ancestry.com. Oxford University Alumni, 1500-1886 

The family were quite well off. In the 1851 Census the family is listed at Burnett - John Bazett (aged 44, occupation Rector of Burnett), Harriet (aged 32) and their children, Catherine (aged 9), our John (aged 8), Bazett (aged 6), Caroline (aged 3) and Ella (aged 1). They also had a Governess and four female servants living in the house. In the 1861 Census, John Bazette Doveton was still the Rector of Burnett, and there are two more children in the family, Mary Harriet aged 9 and Henry aged only 10 months (8).

John Doveton's Second Mate Certificate

National Maritime Museum. Ancestry.com. UK and Ireland, Masters and Mates Certificates, 1850-1927

John went away to sea and in May 1862 gained the qualification of Second mate (9). He obviously sailed his way to Victoria as he married Margaret in 1873, but I don't have any details of this part of his career. Margaret Elizabeth Doveton was born in Hobart on November 17, 1844 to Francis Crossman Doveton and Margaret Bostock. Francis and Margaret had married in Launceston in September 1842. They had another daughter Rachel Emily in Tasmania in 1846 and then moved to Victoria where they had three more children, Annie (1848), Francis (1850) and John (1852). Margaret died in 1853 and in 1855 Francis married Mary Ann Snell and they had eight children together (10).

Francis Crossman Doveton, was another son of the Reverend John Frederick Doveton and his wife Elizabeth Crossman and thus the brother of the Reverend John Bazett Doveton (11).  Francis joined the British Army, when he was married his occupation was listed as a Lieutenant in the 51st Regiment. The 51st  Regiment (2nd Yorkshire West Riding), or The King's Own Light Infantry Regiment escorted convict ships to Australia in 1837 when they left Tasmania for Bengal in 1846, Francis remained behind (12). Francis and Margaret moved to Victoria around this time. From 1851 Francis had a number of Government appointments the first being the Commissioner of Crown lands in the Buninyong and Lodden Districts (13).  This covered Ballarat and he was stationed at Ballarat during the Eureka uprising where he had the unpopular responsibility of leading the troopers against the gold diggers  (14).

Francis Crossmam Doveton's first Victorian Government appointment.

Victoria Government Gazette http://gazette.slv.vic.gov.au/images/1851/V/general/8.pdf

In 1852 he was appointed a Magistrate of the Colony of Victoria, in 1855 Chairman of the Local Court of the District of Hepburn and a Police Magistrate; and in 1858 he was appointed a Warden of the Gold Fields, then a Chinese Protector and in 1860 he was appointed as a Coroner, acting at Daylesford. Francis Doveton died on July 10, 1905 and is buried at the St Kilda Cemetery (15). As you can see in the article below, Doveton Street in Ballarat is named for him.

Obituary of Francis Crossman Doveton

The Age, July 13, 1905 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article198601487

As we saw before Margaret named her house in Surrey Hills, Everdon, and there is an Everdon Hall, a Grade II listed building, in Everdon, Northamptonshire, which was built around 1820 for General Doveton, so Margaret and John are almost certainly connected to him. The article, above, mentions a Sir William Doveton (1753-1843), he apparently spent all his life on St Helena in the service of the East India Company, so possibly General Doveton was his brother (16). 

Everdon Hall. Grade II listed building. Photographer: Michale Trolove. 

Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved] © Copyright Michael Trolove and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence. This image has been cropped - the original is here https://www.geograph.org.uk/more.php?id=3321126

John and Margaret came from  a very well connected solid middle (upper?) class family. It is ironic, then, that the suburb of Doveton was from the start a working class suburb. It did, however, have  a strong sense of community. Dennis Glover grew up in Doveton in the 1960s and 1970s and has written about the suburb in his book An economy is not a society: winners and losers in the new Australia (Redback, 2015). Well worth tracking down to look back at time before economic growth was considered more important than community. There is a great interview with Dennis Glover here, in the Sydney Morning Herald  of February 18, 2014.

In conclusion, the fact that Captain John Doveton and Margaret Elizabeth Doveton were first cousins, means that Margaret should have as much status as the namesake of the suburb of Doveton as her husband has traditionally had.

Footnotes
(1) I have written about Grassmere, Eumemmerring and Doveton Avenue, here.
(2) Mills, A.D A dictionary of British Place names (Oxford University Press, 2003)
(3) The addresses come from the Rate book on Ancestry.com; The Age September 21, 1874, read here.
(4) Hobart Mercury May 8, 1882, see here; Hobart Mercury, May 23 1882, see here; The Argus, February 6 1885, see here;  The Herald, April 5, 1888, see here.
(5) Rate Books are at Casey Cardinia Libraries. The Title was in the Archive there. 
(6) Death certificates of John Doveton and Margaret Doveton. Electoral Rolls are on Ancestry.com.
(7) Marriage and Baptism certificates on Ancestry.com as is the list of Oxford University Alumni.
(8) U.K Census available on Ancestry.com
(9) Ancestry.com. UK and Ireland, Masters and Mates Certificates, 1850-1927
(10) Tasmanian Archives and the Indexes to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages.
(11) Parents listed on Death Certificate.
(12) https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/51st-2nd-yorkshire-west-riding-or-kings-own-light-infantry-regiment

(13) Victoria Government Gazette http://gazette.slv.vic.gov.au/

(14) The Argus, November 17, 1941, see here.  
(15) Victoria Government Gazette http://gazette.slv.vic.gov.au/ ; Death Certificate.

(16) Everdon Hall - https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/photos/item/IOE01/06653/23             St Helena -  http://sainthelenaisland.info/importantpeople.htm

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