Miss Emily Soldene and Henry Nelson Weippert

In December 1877 Miss Emily Soldene appeared at the Prince of Wales Opera House in Melbourne. This was the first time Melbourne had seen this famous actress who played the Grand Duchess in Offenbach's comic opera The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein. Emily Soldene was born in London in 1838 or 1840 or 1844.  Various dates have been suggested because as Emily said it was a woman's privilege not to give their exact age  and I have a different age for every census. (1). Her family was of a Puritanical background and in 1859 she run away and  married Jack Powell, a law clerk, to whom she had four children, Kate, Ellen, Edward and  John between 1860 and 1867 (2).  During this time Emily also had her first stage appearance in Il Trovatore in January 1865, and this was the start of a wonderful career no doubt due to her possessing a glorious mezzo-soprano voice [to this] she added physical form and handsome features to her other accomplishments, and was soon in the front rank (3). By the time she toured America in 1874/1875 she had her own Repertory Troupe and it was this troupe which toured Australia starting in Sydney in August 1877.

Miss Emily Soldene, 1870s.

Photographer:  Lock & Whitfield. National Portrait Gallery Image NPG Ax7716 www.npg.org.uk

Not only was Emily Soldene (and you can read more about her life and career, here and here) a talented actress and entrepreneurial, but she was also a talented writer. In 1897 Emily wrote a regular column, My Musical and Theatrical recollections which was published in the Sydney Evening News and from 1900 to 1909 she had another regular  column, London Week by Week, also published in the Sydney Evening News.

When Emily and her troupe finished in Sydney in 1877,  most of the company went by sea to Melbourne but she took a Cobb & Co coach to Melbourne which was an adventure that she wrote about as part of her My Musical and Theatrical recollections series and published on May 15, 1897 (4). When the coach finally arrived in Melbourne. Emily wrote,  we lived at St. Kilda, at Mrs. Gardiner's. She was a furrier by trade, had a business in Melbourne, had prepared the furs for his Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh when he visited there (1868), and related the episode every day, sometimes twice a day. Some days it was very interesting, other days one found it monotonous; after many days it made one sick.

The St. Kilda residence was a pleasant one - a long, low house of one storey, built on piles, with a
broad passage running down the centre, and ten or twelve rooms opening off on each side. St. Kilda is close to and looking over the sea - so close to the sea, in fact, that a man-o'-war practising miles away had sent a big shot through the local pianoforte shop just before we arrived. It was a delightful place, but we seemed to have a good many hot winds there. They always gave me a horrible headache. 

Emily visited  Mr. and Mrs. Saurin Lyster - the impresario and the namesake of the town of Lysterfield -   We went out to their delightful place at Fern Tree Gully, drove in a four-in-hand down a 'corduroy' road constructed at an angle of 45deg, had a lovely dinner and a lovely day, crept down the gully and saw the huge fern-trees, rode bush ponies over stumps, through and over and under the trees, emulating and nearly sharing the fate of Absalom.

The most amusing apart of Emily's essay was this - During my stay in Melbourne, one day I got a letter from a place called 'Brandy Creek.' It was from Mr. Weippert, once upon a time of Regent-street, London. It was very sad. He said he was there in that God-forsaken place in distress, and needed help to buy a piano to get his living. From his description 'Brandy Creek' seemed to me to be about the last place in the world in which a professor the pianoforte should set up his tent (5).

This is what Brandy Creek was like when Henry Nelson Weippert was living there.

Buln Buln Brandy Creek, c. 1880.  Photographer: Fred Kruger

State Library of Victoria Image H35016  http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/69363

Mr Weippert was Henry Nelson Weippert, and we can place him at Brandy Creek at the time through this Electoral notice, below, where he was the substitute Returning Officer.  Brandy Creek was a small town on the  original coach road to East Gippsland. When the Gippsland railway line to Sale went through in 1878 to the south of Brandy Creek, the nearest station to Brandy Creek was Warragul. The township which developed around the Warragul railway station soon overshadowed Brandy Creek, which is now known as Buln Buln.

Henry Nelson Weippert, substitute Returning Officer

The Argus June 17, 1878   http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5936592

Henry was born in 1840 the fifth of nine children of William and Corunna (nee Bradford) Weippert of London. Henry married Julia Harris in London in 1862 and they had six children John, Annie, Frances, Jane, Edmund and William born between 1864 and 1874. In the 1871 English Census, Henry's occupation was Music Publisher and it was noted that he employed four men and 2 boys. In 1873 he was listed in the London Electoral Registers at 266 Regent Street in London, so sometime between and 1877 he came to Australia.

I am unsure whether Julia went to Australia at all. Julia is listed in the 1881 English Census as living with her mother, Martha Harris and her two sons, Edmund and William and yet at this same time William and 'Mrs Weippert' are living in South Australia (more of which later).  In the 1891 Census she is still in England living with daughters Frances and Jane and son William. Julia died October 18, 1900 in London and her Probate records lists her as widow. She wasn't a widow as Henry was alive and well and living in Australia - but perhaps he was 'dead to her' (6).

So for what ever reason, Henry Weippert finds himself in the small town of Brandy Creek and sends a letter to his old acquaintance the well known actress, Emily Soldene. I don't know whether Emily helped him out in any way but Henry did his best to bring some culture to the small town of Brandy Creek and on December 21, 1877 held a Grand Concert and Soiree Dansante at Bradley's new hall.

Advertisement for Henry Weippert's Grand Conert

South Bourke & Mornington Journal   December 12, 1877 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article70010558

In February 1878 the South Bourke and Mornington Journal published an article A trip up the Gippsland Road to Brandy Creek and the writer, who used the pseudonym Nemo, described the trip and also mentioned Henry Weippert - Just opposite [the hall] a school is being erected by Mr. Weippert, who is also a teacher of music and dancing, showing that he has faith in the future of the township (7). 

By the end of 1878 Henry was touring South Australia and Tasmania in a production of The Infant Mozart. His sister, Emma or Madame Weippert Patey, as she was called was also in the production. Henry was a vocalist as well as the conductor. From 1880 to 1882 we can find references to him living, teaching and performing in Nuriootpa, in the Barossa Valley in South Australia and his occupation was Professor of Music. There are also references to a Mrs Weippert, as I said before. This may be his mother Corunna, who had come to Melbourne in March 1864, with her daughters: sixteen year old Corunna and fourteen year old Emma (8).  In the 1890s we can find a Professor Weippert in Castlemaine, and I am assuming this is Henry (9). From around 1904, Henry is in Sydney, where in 1906 at the age of 66 he married 27 year old, Ruth Mildred Major. Henry remained Sydney, living in Woollahra until his death on August 14, 1914 (10).

We will have  a look at some of the other members of the Weippert family. William and Corunna (nee Bradford) Weippert were married on May 18, 1828 in London. William (1809 - 1857) was a Professor of Music. There is an interesting website A biographical register of Australian colonial musical personnel by Dr Graeme Skinner of the University of Sydney, which has information on some of the Weippert family, see it here. He has slightly mixed up the generations, however Dr Skinner says that William was the son of John Michael Weippert (c. 1775-1831), a harpist who was the younger brother of the more famous composer and bandmaster John Erhradt Weippert (1766-1823).  Corunna Weippert was born in 1809, came to Melbourne as we said before with her two youngest daughters and died in South Melbourne, March 19 1889.  She may have spent time in Tasmania, where her daughter Mary lived.

Mary Eleanor Weippert (1833 -1874) had married James Joseph Pollard in 1853 and they arrived in Tasmania in October 1854 and settled in Launceston where James was pianoforte tuner and teacher of music. Mary died in Launceston in July 1874 and James then married her sister Corunna in January 1876. Her occupation was a 'teacher of dance'. Between Mary and Corunna they had at least sixteen children (11) and as the children grew up they were taught music thoroughly, both vocal and instrumental, the latter including reed, string, and brass—each of them being proficient on several instruments. So strict was the father with them that two hours' practice was compulsory before breakfast. The outcome of this training was a family of clever musicians, which, during the middle seventies, became known as "Pollards Orchestral Union." Balls, parties, and theatrical orchestras were supplied, and the production of amateur opera was also a feature of the programme (12). 

Pollard's Lilliputian Comic Opera Company, 1881.

Poster designed by Richard Wendel. State Library of Victoria Image H2000.180/75

The family then formed the Pollard Lilliputian Opera Company and toured extensively, their first production being Gilbert and Sullivan's, H.M.S. Pinafore (13).  The company toured extensively: New Zealand, Burma, Singapore and Calcutta amongst other places. As well as the family members the Company also had other talented young performers in the Company. It was on the way back from Asia that James Pollard died in Charters Towers in Queensland in May 1884 (14). After his death the company went into an hiatus until 1891 when Tom Pollard, Mary and James' son revived  it (15). Corunna settled in Melbourne in Northcote and died in 1906, aged 59. You can read Dr Graeme Skinner's research on the Pollard family, here.

May Pollard - the daughter of Mary and James Pollard in theatrical costume, c. 1885.

Photographer: Bishop-Osborne. State Library of Victoria image H10159

Olive Pollard - the daughter of Mary and James Pollard in theatrical costume, c. 1881.

Photographer: Hemus and Hanna. State Library of Victoria image H10429

Albert Weippert was another son of William and Corunna's who came to Australia. I don't know when Albert arrived but on February 10, 1862 he married Ann Jane Warren at the Presbyterian Manse at Williamstown. In 1865 he was in Launceston, Tasmania - a pianoforte maker, tuner and regulator. Albert died January 15 1897, aged 56. I have no information about Ann.

Albert Weippert - Pianoforte tuner

Launceston Examiner September 28, 1865  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article38662607

William and Corunna's last child was their daughter Emma (1850 - 1939). Emma had arrived in Melbourne in 1864 with her mother and sister Corunna. She married Boyle Robertson Patey in 1866. In the late 1870s Emma had toured with her brother Henry, in the production of The Infant Mozart,  but we will let her obituary tell us more of her career in the  Arts - A versatile member of the theatrical profession passed away yesterday after noon in the person of Mrs. Emma Patey, of Speight-street, Thornbury.....A highly accomplished and versatile performer, she was widely popular on both the dramatic and variety stages,as well as on the concert platform. It was she who sang the dedicatory ode at the opening of the Melbourne Town Hall. Amongst her mast noteworthy dramatic successes were Nancy Sikes (Oliver Twist) and Madge Wedfire (Heart of Midlothian). She supported the noted John Dunn in a long round of plays. The deceased lady married Boyle Robertson Patey, well known In Melbourne legal circles, who predeceased her. There were four children, of the marriage, all of whom survive. Mr. Fred E. Patey, well known in broadcasting circles....She was the oldest living actress in Australia (16).

Emma Patey pictured at the Golden Wedding anniversary celebration of her daughter Louise and her husband George Tutton. This is the only photo I can find of  Emma Weippert Patey. 

Emma and her husband, Boyle Robertson Patey had celebrated their Golden Wedding anniversary on June 11, 1916 (17). 

The Argus June 3, 1938  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11173786

Acknowledgement 

I came across Emily Soldene's story of her trip from Sydney to Melbourne by Cobb & Co coach in the book They came to Australia: an anthology, edited by Alan Brissenden and Charles Higham (F.W. Cheshire, 1961). Emily's story was published under the title A coach ride to Melbourne.

Sources

I have created a list on Trove of newspaper articles relating to  Emily Soldene and various members of the Weippert family who came to Australia, see it here. Much of  genealogical information came from Birth, Deaths and Marriage notices on Trove; Tasmanian Archives and sources on Ancestry database. 

The website A history of Preston in Herfordshire - Emily Soldene: her life story was useful and interesting, see it here

As referred to in the text this website - A biographical register of Australian colonial musical personnel by Dr Graeme Skinner of the University of Sydney was also both useful and interesting - access the Weippert family entry, here, and the Pollard family entry, here. 

Footnotes

(1) Adelaide Chronicle, April 20 1912, see here.

(2) A history of Preston in Herfordshire - Emily Soldene: her life story, see here.

(3) Adelaide Chronicle, April 20 1912, see here.

(4) Sydney Evening News, May 15, 1897, see here.

(5) Sydney Evening News, May 15, 1897, see here.

(6) Family information comes from various sources on Ancestry database including the English Census, English Births, Deaths and Marriage records, Probate records etc.

(7) South Bourke & Mornington Journal, February 27, 1878, see here.

(8) Public Records Office of Victoria Unassisted Passenger lists - they arrived on the Coldstream in March 1864,.

(9)  Mount Alexander Mail August 4, 1892, see here.

(10) Henry Nelson Weippert is buried at the Rookwood Cemetery in Sydney.

(11) Mary had at least 13 children and Corunna had three. They may have had more, but I have only discovered the 16 so far.

(12) Hobart Daily Post March 30, 1909, see here.

(13) Hobart Daily Post March 30, 1909, see here.

(14) Launceston Examiner May 6, 1884, see here.

(15) Hobart Daily Post March 30, 1909, see here.

(16) The Age July 26, 1939, see here.

(17) Preston Leader June 10, 1916, see here.

Pageant of Loyalty, Frankston, September 1917

This photograph  comes from Museums Victoria, and is labelled Armoured Car in a Street, Victoria, 1914-1918. Part of the description offers the suggestion that it may have been taken in Playne Street, Frankston. I assumed it was connected to a procession or fundraiser in World War One, and with some research on Trove I found it was an exhibit in the Pageant of Loyalty held in Frankston on September 1, 1917. 

Imitation tank from the Pageant of Loyalty, Frankston, September 1 1917

Museums Victoria https://collections.museumvictoria.com.au/items/2098766

The Pageant of Loyalty was a fundraiser for the Red Cross effort, to augment the fund for the erection of an honor roll in the town bearing the names of locally enlisted soldiers, and to help the Wattle Club and Australian Club of Frankston, each of which entertains men going to and returning from the war (1). One of the ways that money was raised was through the sale of  a beautiful souvenir [which had] been prepared and will be on sale for 1s. It is entirely original, and contains, besides other treasures, a list of the names of the boys who have gone from the district to fight for us. Everyone should make a point of  obtaining one at least of these books (2). 

The main attraction was a spectacular procession (3) which started at the Frankston State School, wound it's way around the main streets of Frankston and ended up at Frankston Park. There were some special guests, of which the most distinguished were their Excellencies, Sir Arthur and Lady Stanley - Sir Arthur being the Governor of Victoria (4). The Prime Minister, Mr Hughes (5) was also scheduled to attend, but was unexplained absence, however the local M.L.A., Mr Downward (6) was in attendance. The Shire of Frankston and Hastings was represented by Cr Oates, in the absence of the Shire President, Cr Watts (7).

That's a brief overview of the day and we will have a look in more detail how the day unfolded. The picturesque little town (8) of Frankston was en fete for the pageant - The display of bunting in Frankston had never before been equalled, flags of every color and design being suspended on ropes hung at short, intervals across the street, while the front of the business places were also decked with flags and colored ribbons (9). 

Troops from Langwarrin leading the procession.

Table Talk September 16, 1917 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/146477220?#

The procession, which was reported to be a mile and a half long (10) started as we said at the Frankston State School, hence to Davey Street, Bay Street, Playne Street (where the photo of the tank was taken) to the Railway Station, Wells Street, back to Bay Street and onto Frankston Park (11).  It was lead by exhibits organised by the Langwarrin Military Camp -  a Band, headed by pony mascotte; Infantry guard, 2 platoons, under Sgt Tarrant; Army Medical Corps, 3 stretcher squads, cyclist orderly, ambulance waggon and field dressing station, under Staff Sgts Cox and M'Henry. Army Service waggon, 8 horse team, and display of stores, arranged by Supply Officer Nedwell and Transport Sgt Fishwick. Home Service Kitchen, in charge of Sgt Beer. Blacksmith's Forge, Farrier Sgt Blackway. Y.M.C.A. in charge of Mr M. J. Blok (12). 

Following these were the community groups and floats - Mornington Red Cross, Britannia (Soldiers and Sailors), Britannia (The Allies) - The United States and Britannia were both represented allegorically by classically garbed ladies wearing helmets and draped with the national flags (13);  Frankston Red Cross, Frankston Tent of the Independent Order of Rechabites. Next to come were various tableaux showcasing aspects of Australia's history which included Australian Home, Wounded Soldiers, Young Australia, Bourke and Wills and Captain Cook. This was followed by other exhibits such as the Fire Brigade, Company Red Cross Nurses, Company of Boy Scouts, Bugle Band, School children and about 50 cars of the Volunteer Motor Corps with wounded and returned soldiers (14). Another highlight was Loads of pretty girls in fancy costumes, embowered in greenery, wattle bloom and heath (15). 

Some of the pretty girls in fancy costumes in the pageant.

Table Talk September 16, 1917 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/146477220?#

The procession ended with the whole winding up with a veritable "Tank," with swivel turret and guns, which were fired at intervals along the route, and created no end of wonderment to the youngsters (16). The tank was built at the Langwarrin Miltary Camp. When the  procession arrived at Frankston Park a number of speeches were made, prayers were offered for the troops serving their Country and the National Anthem and the  hymn, O God, our help in ages past, were sung. The Governor, Sir Arthur Stanley's speech focused on our connection to and love of the Empire, the need to unite in the cause of liberty, equality and fraternity and the fight for freedom.  You can see a report of the speeches, here.

Of course there were many school children present and they had a special treat as during the speeches, the children were marched off to the Anglican Sunday School ground, where Mrs. Deane and Staff Sgt Cox, assisted by a detachment of the Army Medical corps, provided them with the good things so liberally contributed, and which had previously been prepared in bags by a body of workers. 500 bags of cakes, fruit and lollies vanished in the onslaught (17).  The newspapers reported that the pageant was a brilliant display (18) and the afternoon's display was very entertaining, creditable to the organisers, and financially successful, much money being collected by ladies and secured by sales of souvenirs (19). 

I wonder if this tank inspired the Tank Tour around Victoria and New South Wales in 1918?  In that year,  the Commonwealth Government sought to raise 40 million pounds through the  Seventh War Loan. Each state was allocated an amount they needed to raise - Victoria's share was  £13,500,000 and each Victorian Municipality was given a quota to raise money, based on valuations and population etc. One of the ideas to encourage members of the public to subscribe to the War Loan was to have a imitation Tank tour the countryside where at each stop people would hopefully be inspired to subscribe. This idea had also been used in England and the United States the previous year, but were they inspired by the Pageant of Loyalty tank? I have written about this tank tour, and there are photographs of the tanks, in another of my blogs, Casey Cardinia Commemorates: Our War Years, read it here. 

The Tank

Table Talk September 16, 1917 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/146477220?#

This is the photograph that confirmed that the Museums Victoria photograph at the top of this post, was the veritable tank of the Pageant of Loyalty, which caused no end of wonderment to the youngsters who saw it. 

Trove list I have created a list of articles on the Pageant of Loyalty on Trove. You can access it here. All the articles referred to in this post are on the list. 

Sources

(1) The Age September 3, 1917, see here.

(2) Mornington Standard September 1, 1917, see here.

(3) Punch August 30, 1917, see here.

(4) Sir Arthur Stanley (1875-1931) and Lady Stanley (nee Margaret Evelyn Evans Gordon). he was Governor of Victoria from 1914 until January 1920. Read his Australian Dictionary of Biography entry, here. Lady Stanley was the first President of the Australian Red Cross, Victorian division. Read about the formation of this branch, here, in The Age of August 22, 1914. 

(5) Prime Minister, William Morris Hughes (1862-1952) read his Australian Dictionary of Biography entry, here.

(6) Alfred Downward (1847 - 1930). Member for the seat of Mornington in the Legislative Assembly from 1894 to 1929. https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/about/people-in-parliament/re-member

(7)  Shire of Frankston and Hastings - William James Oates, Shire President  1915, 1918, 1931 and 1944. He was defeated after 34 years on the council in August 1944, at the end of term as Shire President. He died in 1958, aged 82 and is buried in the Frankston Cemetery. Cr Watt - I believe this is James Morice Watt, who was an orchardist, from Hastings. He was Shire President in 1917. He died in 1932, aged 67, you can read his interesting obituary here, in the Frankston and Somerville Standard of February 13, 1932. 

(8) The Argus September 3, 1917, see here.

(9) Mornington Standard September 8,  1917, see here.

(10) Mornington Standard September 8, 1917, see here.

(11) The Age September 3, 1917, see here.

(12) Mornington Standard September 8, 1917, see here.

(13) The Age September 3, 1917, see here.

(14) Mornington Standard September 8, 1917, see here.

(15) The Age September 3, 1917, see here.

(16) Mornington Standard September 8, 1917, see here.

(17) Mornington Standard September 8, 1917, see here.

(18) Mornington Standard September 8, 1917, see here.

(19) The Age September 3, 1917, see here.

Alden family of 'Little London', Tyabb

This delightful postcard of the Queen Victoria Memorial Gardens in Melbourne was sent to Mrs Alden, of 'Little London', Tyabb on August 5, 1913 from Mary Buckley.

Mary wrote - Dear Mrs Alden,

We arrived safe here. Uncle Jack met us at the station. We got here at ten past seven. We are just going out to look for work. I wonder how we shall get on? I don't think work and I will agree, somehow, after the pleasant time at Little London. I give my love to all, 

Yours affectionately, 

Mary Buckley

The Alden family settled in Tyabb in 1901. The family consisted of Albert, his wife Mary (nee Newcombe) and children Albert Allen, known as Bert and Ivy Mary. We are fortunate that Albert Alden was interviewed in the Weekly Times in 1913 (1), 1918 (2)  and 1933 (3) , so we have some interesting sources of information about the family.   Mr Alden had been on a family farm with his father and brothers at Surrey, 7½ miles from London Bridge. The farm grew both fruit and vegetables and twice  a week Albert took the produce into Covent Garden market.  However, due to the ill health of family members Albert and Mary decided to sell their interest in the family farm and move to Australia.

They purchased 150 acres at Tyabb, and called their property, Little London. The land was situated on a nice elevation within a mile of the Tyabb railway station.  The soil consisted of from 12 to 18 inches of friable loam on a substrata of congenial clay (4).  They paid just over £6 and acre for the land which had nine acres of apricot trees planted and the rest was was covered in tree and scrub.  The Aldens spent another £5 per acre to clear 60 acres to establish the orchard (5). It is hard to imagine Tyabb now in a state of natural bush with the original wildlife, but there was an account in the Mornington Standard in May 1902 of Mr Alden's encounter with this wildlife - Some little time ago Mr Alden secured a splendid specimen of iguana, which measured 6ft 3½ in length and 18in in girth. Having captured it in his own paddock he is justly proud of it, and it is now stuffed and preserved in all its naturalness (6).  I wonder what became of this example of the taxidermist's art?

Orchards, of course, take  a long time to establish themselves, thus in the early years the family grew vegetables for an income.  By 1913, the first interview in the Weekly Times, the Aldens were exporting 2,500 cases of fruit, mainly apples and sending another 500 cases to the Melbourne and interstate markets. Twenty years later, in 1933, it was reported that the Aldens during the past season, 3760 cases having been sent abroad, of which more than 3000 cases were apples of the Jonathan, Five Crown, Dunn's (or Munroe's Favorite) and Sturmer varieties, and the remainder Josephine, Packham's Triumph and Broompark pears (7). The Aldens were not the only orchardists who exported their fruit. Fresh produce was a large export earner for Australia at this time, the 1934 Commonwealth Year book reported that in 1932/33 the value of the fresh apples Australia exported to the United Kingdom was £1,676,525; to Germany it was £169, 631 and to Sweden £28,540 (8).

The Tyabb and Somerville area was well known fruit growing area and in the Weekly Times article from 1933 they reported There are about 125 growers within a three-miles radius of that centre [Tyabb], and the latest crop is estimated at 140,000 cases, of which approximately 85 per cent, was apples. Deliveries at the Tyabb co-operative trading and cool stores totalled 56,000 cases (9).

Tyabb Cool Store, c. 1915,  used by the Aldens and other local growers.
The cool store was officially opened April 21, 1914. It is now an Antiques centre.

Image: Somerville Tyabb and District Heritage Society

https://cv.vic.gov.au/stories/a-diverse-state/postcards-stories-from-the-mornington-peninsula/

The three Weekly Times articles go into great detail about the varieties planted and the farming methods adopted by the Aldens, but we wont go into that here, we will have a look at their personal and social life. From the start there are accounts in the local papers of the Alden family partaking in community activities. By 1904, Albert was the President of the Tyabb and Hastings Fruitgrowers Association (10) and in August 1911 he was elected to the Frankston and Hastings Shire Council, defeating the Shire President, Cr H.P. Woodhouse in a surprise result (11).  Arthur was Shire President in 1917 and 1929 (12) and he retired from the Council in 1938. This was the same year his wife Mary died on August 19, at the age of 80.  The local paper reported that Mrs. Alden was an old resident of the district, and was held in high esteem by a large circle of friends (13).  Arthur died June 1, 1951, aged 88.

Their daughter, Ivy Mary had married Arthur Edward Benton, of Clifton Park, Tyabb on September 23, 1915 at All Saints Church at Tyabb. It was a very pretty wedding and the church was beautifully decorated with white roses, double white stocks, lilies and marguerites, and, as the occasion was
favored with beautifully fine weather, a large assembly of relatives and friends turned out to witness the ceremony. The bride was given away by her father and was beautifully attired in white silk, orange blossom wreath, and veil, and carried a shower bouquet of white roses, double white stocks and asparagus fern (14). Arthur was also a farmer and an orchardist and the couple had five children, George, Irene, Len, Edna and Myrtle (15).  Ivy Mary died on June 25, 1962, aged 69.

Arthur and Mary's son, Bert, who was also an orchardist, became a local councillor when he was elected in September 1942. He had married Ruth Unthank (nee Foubister), a widow with one son, Eric, in 1937 (16).  Bert died December 7, 1966 aged 75.  Arthur, Mary, Bert and Ivy Mary are all buried at the Frankston Cemetery (17).

What do we know of Mary Buckley, who sent the original postcard to Mrs Alden after her pleasant time at Little London? Nothing, but I hope that she eventually found work which agreed with her.

Trove list: I have created a list of articles on Trove, connected to the Alden family, you can access it here.

Sources:
(1) Weekly Times April 19, 1913, see here.
(2) Weekly Times December 14, 1918, see here.
(3) Weekly Times September 16, 1933, see here.
(4) Weekly Times April 19, 1913, see here.
(5) Weekly Times April 19, 1913, see here.
(6) Mornington Standard March 10, 1902, see here.
(7) Weekly Times September 16, 1933, see here.
(8) Commonwealth Year Book, 1934.  Copies of the Year book have been digitised from 1908 to 2010 and are available on the Australian Bureau of Statistics website, here.
(9) Weekly Times September 16, 1933, see here.
(10) Mornington Standard, October 22, 1904, see here.
(11) Mornington Standard, August 26, 1911, see here.
(12) Frankston: Resort to City by Michael Jones (Allen & Unwin, 1989)
(13) Frankston & Somerville Standard, August 26, 1938, see here.
(14) Mornington Standard, October 9, 1915, see here.
(15) Children are listed in Arthur's death notice in The Argus of June 12, 1945, see here.
(16) Ruth's first husband Gordon Percy Unthank died July 22, 1932. His death notice was in The Argus July 23, 1932, see here.
(17) Frankston Cemetery has some on-line records  and there are also photos of Albert and Mary's grave; Bert and Ruth's grave and Ivy and Arthur Benton's grave    https://www.australiancemeteries.com.au/vic/frankston/frankston.htm

Discoverers of Port Phillip monument, Sims Street, Footscray

I came across the following in the 1957 book  Peeps into the Past: a book of  Melbourne  Curiosities by  Mary Maxwell (1) -  Remembered yesterday and forgotten today - that is the fate of an obelisk standing  a few yards off the Melbourne Road near the Footscray Swing bridge. Erected by  a patriotic group about  a quarter of  a century ago (the actual date of the unveiling and by whom are obscure) to mark the original junction of the Yarra and Maribyrnong Rivers, discovered by Charles Edward Grimes in 1803 and rediscovered by Batman in 1835, few people today are aware of its existence. The land was presented to the Old Pioneers' Memorial Fund by the Melbourne Harbour Trust as a site for an historic marking; the memorial was officially unveiled on Sunday, November 23, 1941. Details of a well-known ship which sailed Port Phillip Bay in those days may be found on the back of the monument.

The Discoverers of Port Phillip monument, Sims Street

Photo: Isaac Hermann February 2020

The memorial is in Sims Street, just where it passes under Footscray Road, and was erected in this location to mark the original junction of the Yarra and Maribyrnong Rivers. The route of the Yarra was altered by the construction of the Coode Canal (2) in 1886 and  you can see the original route of the Yarra in this map, taken from a 1938 Street Directory, below.

The memorial is just south of Sims Street and the 'new Melbourne and Footscray Road' intersection. You can see the old course of the Yarra - it says 'river practically abolished'

Morgan's Official Street Directory, 1938 21st edition

State Library of Victoria  http://digital.slv.vic.gov.au/R/?func=collections&collection_id=2982

The monument has two inscriptions    -

This monument has been erected to mark the original junction of the Yarra and the Maribyrnong Rivers which was near this spot. These rivers were originally discovered by Charles Howard Grimes in February 1803 and refound by John Batman in June 1835.

Photo: Isaac Hermann February 2020

Port Phillip was discovered by John Murray in the Lady Nelson in February 1802. The first vessel in Hobson's Bay was the Cumberland with Grimes the Surveyor. The first man o'war was the Calcutta at the end of the same year 1802. The first vessel to ascend the Yarra was John P. Fawkner's Enterprise.

Photo: Isaac Hermann February 2020

Miss Maxwell lists the date of the unveiling as November 23, 1941, in spite of the fact that she said the actual date of the unveiling and the by whom is obscure but never mind. I have found some newspaper reports of the unveiling and who attended the ceremony.

The memorial was unveiled by Mr A. D. MacKenzie, the Chairman of the Harbour Trust Commissioners, whilst the Hyde Street State School band sang Rule Britannia. The Argus reported on the unveiling - Mr Mackenzie said one of the first works carried out in Port Phillip was a wharf built by Capt. George Ward Cole. Mr Isaac Selby, secretary Old Pioneers' Memorial Fund, had wanted a site near the confluence of the Maribyrnong and Yarra rivers for the memorial, but port authorities had to visualise what the port was going to be 100 years hence. Eventually a new dock would be placed in that position, so the trust had found the present site for the memorial, where it was hoped it would be able to remain for ever. Mr Selby said the memorial was due to the generosity of Mr Allan Tye. Mr. Selby suggested that Mr. Mackenzie might make available an area of land round the memorial which might appropriately be named Rebecca Park, after Batman's little vessel. (3)

Mr Augustus Wolskel, President of the Victorian Historical Society; Mr John Gent; William Jacka, Mayor of the City of Footscray; Mr E. W. Mylrea and Miss Helen Baillie, Vice President of the Aboriginal Advancement League also are reported to have spoken (4).  The memorial was, as reported, donated by Allen Tye.

The memorial when it was first erected, you can see it is sitting on a base. I don't know when that was removed. 

The Age November 22, 1941 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/209807009?

We will have a look at the people listed above who were involved with the Memorial.
Helen Baillie   I was amazed that not only was a woman invited to speak but that she would have given a  speech with an Indigenous viewpoint (although Helen Baillie was not Indigenous). Helen Elizabeth Jacqueline Baillie was born February 17, 1893  to William and Mary (nee Fellows) Baillie. The birth was registered in Kettering, Northamptonshire. The family migrated to Australia and after finishing school in Melbourne, she undertook nurse training at the Essex County Hospital at Colchester from 1917 to 1920. From September 1921 Helen undertook a years training at the City of London Maternity Hospital (5).

Interesting insight into Helen Baillie's personality and work ethic from the UK & Ireland, Queen's Nursing Institute Roll of Nurses, 1891-1931 - Roll of Queen´s Nurses, Vol 29 (1922 - 1923) from Ancestry.

Helen returned to Australia in the 1930s and  it was during her sea journey that she became enthralled by the work of Mary Bennett, an internationally renowned activist on behalf of Australian Aboriginal people. In 1932, Baillie formed the Victorian Aboriginal Fellowship Group and became their Honorary Secretary. In 1933 she also became involved with the Victorian Aboriginal Group; a group with similar objectives to the Fellowship.  (The Australian Women's Register, see here) 

Helen Baillie became a member of other activist groups, including the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom and the Council for Aboriginal Rights. In addition, Miss Baillie volunteered as a nurse for the Republican forces during the Spanish Civil War and also worked for the Spanish Relief Committee in Melbourne.  Miss Baillie died in 1970 at the age of 77. You can read more about Helen Baillie's life of Indigenous activism here on the City of Stonnington website.

John Gent  Town Clerk of the City of Footscray for 29 years. He was appointed in 1917 and retired in 1946. He died in 1966 at the age of 90 (6).

William Jacka  Mayor of the City of Footscray. Cr Jacka was the brother of Albert Jacka, V.C. Albert Jacka was also a Mayor of the City of St Kilda, and the first Australian to be awarded the Victoria Cross medal in the First World War (read about him, here). William Jacka died in 1979, aged 81. The Jacka brothers grew up in Wedderburn, you can read more of their life in that town here.

A.D (Aubrey Duncan) Mackenzie  (1895-1962).  Civil engineer and Chairman of the Melbourne Harbour Trust. Read his Australian Dictionary of Biography entry, here.

Ernest Wallace Mylrea  Primary School teacher who was at one time at the Hyde Street State School in Footscray. He formed the Hyde Street School band. Mr Mylrea died August 19, 1943 at the age of 71 (7).

Isaac Selby  Secretary of the Old Pioneers Memorial Fund which promoted the study of history. He also led a campaign to save the Old Melbourne Cemetery from destruction and in 1924 wrote the book The Old Pioneers' Memorial History of Melbourne. You can read more about Isaac Selby's colourful life in the Australian Dictionary of Biography, here.

Augustus Woskel   Founded and was the first General Manager of the Phosphate Co-operative Company of Australia. He was also a keen historian, involved with the Royal Historical Society of Victoria and President from 1938 until 1942.  He died December 20, 1949 at the age of 82 (8).

Allen Tye  The memorial was donated by Allen Tye. Allen and his brother George, came to Australia from Canada in 1886. They established a company called Messrs Tye and Coy, Proprietary Limited whose big emporiums for the distribution of furniture, vehicles, motorcars etc., are distributed over the city and the principal suburbs (9).  Allen married Cecelia Sullivan in 1894 and they had no children. Allen died on January 16, 1948 at the age of 85 (10).

There is a later edition to the monument - a plaque erected in 1995. It reads - Historical  note 1995 -  When this monument was erected in 1941 it was believed that HMS Calcutta took on fresh water from the Yarra in November 1803. The Calcutta's log indicates that the ship only came as far north as Frankston, and took water from Kananook Creek.The first Man 'o War to enter Hobsons Bay was HMS Rattlesnake (Capt W. Hobson) on  29 September 1836.

1995 plaque, a later edition to the monument.

Photo: Isaac Hermann, February 2020

Acknowledgement - 
My fellow historian, Isaac Hermann, and I wanted to take some photographs of  the memorial. We drove down Sims Street, couldn't see it, drove back up and there it was in a small reserve, currently fenced off due to some infrastructure project. That was disappointing as I thought we would not get any good photos, however lucky for me Isaac decided to climb the fence, strictly in the interests of historical research, and the image (left) shows the difficulties he faced in taking the photos. Thanks, Isaac.

Trove list: 
I have created a list on Trove of articles and websites relating to the monument and people connected with it. You can access it here.

Sources:
(1) Peeps into the Past: a book of  Melbourne  Curiosities by  Mary Maxwell (Heinemann 1957, republished in 1960)
(2) Engineering Heritage Victoria history of the Coode Canal, see here.
(3) The Argus November 24, 1941, see here.
(4) Reports of who would be speaking or who did speak at the unveiling were in The Age, November 20, 1941, see here and The Argus November 24, 1941, see here.
(5) This information on Helen Baillie came from Ancestry - English Civil Registration Birth Index, UK and Ireland Nursing Registers and UK & Ireland, Queen's Nursing Institute Roll of Nurses, 1891-1931
(6) The Age April 2, 1946, see here.
(7) Williamstown Chronicle, August 27, 1943, see here.
(8) Encyclopedia of Australian Science, see here.
(9) The Herald, December 12, 1904, see here.
(10) Marriage and death notices published in various newspapers, they are in my Trove list, see here. Cecelia Tye died July 23, 1947.  I had originally thought that Allen Tye (1863-1948) was married to Carlotta Cadusch, but it was his nephew Allen Charles Tye (1891-1972) who was married to Carlotta. The Carlotta Tye Memorial Church in Selby was erected as a memorial to Carlotta by Allen. Allen was the son of Allen's brother George (1865-1934) who co-established Messrs Tye and Coy, Proprietary Limited. I am grateful to Lynne Bradley and Eileen Durdin of the Narre Warren & District Family History Group for clearing up the Tye family history. 

Mrs Julia Benjamin's Labor Office

This post, like others in this blog, started with a photo that I came across to put on the Lost Melbourne Facebook page - it's this great photo of  a row of horse and carts outside the Cobb & Co. coach office in Bourke Street in Melbourne. This area is now the Bourke Street Mall. The line-up of carts, the Cobb & Co coach lantern on the left and the Royal Mail Hotel which was established in the 1840s are all interesting. Then I noticed, at 62 Bourke Street,  Mrs Benjamin's Male and Female Labor Office - with the two signs - Employers  not charged until suited and Town & Country Orders supplied. I wondered who Mrs Benjamin was and this is what I found out.

 Bourke Street, Melbourne, south side between Swanston and Elizabeth Streets, looking east, 

Dec. 17 or 18, 1860.

State Library of Victoria Image H3044

We first meet Mrs Benjamim when she places advertisements in The Argus in January 1857. She has  a large and eligible selection of first-class Domestics, Housemaids, Cooks, Laundresses, Parlor and Nurse Maids, Needlewomen, Monthly women etc. She will also give satisfaction to employers and employed.

Mrs Benjamin's advertisement

The Argus  January 24, 1857 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article7143573

Mrs Benjamin was a regular advertiser in the papers and initially was located in Collins Street, but in 1860, the year the photo was taken, Mrs Benjamin moved to 62 Bourke Street.

Mrs Benjamin moves to Bourke Street

The Argus August 30, 1860 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5688901

It would appear that operating a Labor Office was  a very equal opportunity business as the paper has other advertisements from women operating the same type of business. In February 1860, The Argus had advertisements from not only Mrs Benjamin but Mrs Elderton, Mrs Main, Mrs Krom, Mrs Horn, Mrs McCormack, Mrs Byrne and Miss Currie (1).  Providing servants and other staff was a booming business in the Colony however at times employers railed against the type of person migrating to Victoria - loose London girls, or half-decayed male paupers were not suitable as servants, especially in rural areas (2).

One man wrote to the paper and said that he paid good wages  My wages are - man, £65; cook, £35; laundress £30; housemaid, £30; nurse, £25; under nurse £20. So you see I am not niggardly, every servant has a separate room, which is comfortably fitted up. The nurses, of course, sleep in the small children's rooms. However, he found that some servants were untrained, untidy, unsystematic and lazy (3).  In 1867, a letter to the paper said that - It is often said that a good servant is a treasure. This is quite true ; but, unfortunately, these treasures are, like angels visits, few and far between. The race seems to be rapidly dying out. In former times it used to be a master and a servant's boast that they had lived together for so many years ; and it was not unusual for generation after generation of servants to remain in the same families. But all this is changed now. The truth is that servants, especially female ones, fancy themselves above their position. In their own minds they think they are as good as their mistresses, if not better, and try to ape them in their dress and manners (4).

In 1859, Mrs Benjamin had some publicity in the papers when the talented Irish actress, Ellen Mortyn, died at her house. Miss Mortyn had been playing at the Theatre Royal in Melbourne and  three weeks before she died she had a rupture of  a blood vessel. Then on June 23 at five minutes to six o'clock she died in the house of Mrs Benjamin, the proprietress of a labor mart in Collins street. The cause of death was hemoptysis (coughing up of blood) and pthisis (pulmonary tuberculosis) (5).  Mrs Benjamin gave evidence that Miss Mortyn had lodged in my house in Collins Street. She had been with me for about ten months (6).

In 1861, the newspapers reported on a court case involving Mrs Benjamin and listed her first name as Julia, the first time I came across her given name. I later found she also listed herself as Julia in the 1865 Sands and McDougall Directory. The State Library of Victoria have digitised every fifth edition of these directories (1860, 1865, 1870 etc).

Mrs Benjamin's entry, 1860. 

Sands, Kenny & Co 's Commercial and General Melbourne Directory for 1860. 

State Library of Victoria https://www.slv.vic.gov.au/search-discover/popular-digitised-collections

Mrs Benjamin's entry, 1865.

Sands and McDougall Melbourne and Suburban Directory for 1865.

State Library of Victoria https://www.slv.vic.gov.au/search-discover/popular-digitised-collections

Mrs Benjamin was charged with obtaining money under false pretences and the case was heard at the City Police Court in September 1861.  Mary O'Callaghan had paid Mrs Benjamin five shillings to obtain a job as a barmaid. She then paid her another 30 shillings which would be used to send her to the job at Beechworth at a hotel owned by a Mr Marshall. When Mary asked for a written contract, Mrs Benjamin kept putting her off. When Mary made enquiries she was told that no such person had a hotel in Beechworth, so Mary decided not to go. Evidence was given that a Mr Marshall had a hotel in Rutherglen and he had apparently used Mrs Benjamin's services before  and he needed to as the place was a good one for young girls to get married...seven or eight [had] married from the place.  In the end the Court dismissed the case against Mrs Benjamin, but said that she should return the 30 shillings, which she hadn't done and that Mary O'Callaghan should sue for her money in the other court.  This appears to me to have been an unsatisfactory outcome for Mary O'Callaghan (7).

Whether it was this court case or the trouble with supplying the right type of servant, by 1870 Mrs  Benjamin had changed the focus of her business and according to the Sands and McDougall Directory, she became a  a stay and corset maker although she still had  a 'servants' registry.'

Mrs Benjamin has a new career as a stay and corset maker.

Sands and McDougall Melbourne and Suburban Directory for 1870.

State Library of Victoria https://www.slv.vic.gov.au/search-discover/popular-digitised-collections

However, by 1875 Mrs Benjamin's business concentrated solely on stay making. 

Sands and McDougall Melbourne and Suburban Directory for 1875.

State Library of Victoria https://www.slv.vic.gov.au/search-discover/popular-digitised-collections

 

Sands and McDougall Melbourne and Suburban Directory for 1880.

State Library of Victoria https://www.slv.vic.gov.au/search-discover/popular-digitised-collections

I wanted to find some information about Mrs Benjamin's family life. There are two women named Julia Benjamin who died in Victoria between 1850 and 1920 - one was from Dimboola and the other from St Kilda (8).  I felt the St Kilda Julia was the most likely one, so I concentrated my research on her. 

Julia Benjamin was married to Benjamin Benjamin (not the Benjamin Benjamin who was Lord Mayor of Melbourne, received a Knighthood and was a member of the Legislative Council,  read about him here) - it was another Benjamin Benjamin.  Our Benjamin died July 21, 1889 at his house 23 Dalgety Street in St Kilda at the age of 63 (born c. 1826). His death certificate said he had been in the Colony of Victoria for 37 years, which is from 1852, that he had been married in London to Julia Marks. Their marriage was registered in last quarter of 1847 (9). Julia's death certificate says she died May 13, 1897 at the age of 72, born c. 1825,  and she had been in Victoria about 40 years (it was more likely 45 years.)  They are both buried at the St Kilda cemetery. 

Benjamin and Julia Benjamin's headstone on their grave at the St Kilda Cemetery. 

The headstone has lovely tributes to Benjamin and Julia -

Benjamin - a kind husband, an affectionate father and esteemed by all who knew him

Julia - an affectionate wife, a good and loving mother.

Photo: Isaac Hermann.

There were six children listed on the certificates (ages are from Julia's 1897 death certificate) -  Henry (47 years old), Rachael (46), Mark (45), Lizzie (43, listed as Elizabeth on Benjamin's certificate), Sarah (41) and Nelly (38, listed as Helen on Benjamin's  certificate). There was also another daughter between Sarah and Nelly - Caroline born in 1857 - but for some reason she is not listed on either parent's certificate (10).

When Julia died her assets according to her will included a house in Bond Street in Collingwood - described for Probate purposes as a six roomed brick house, building very much out of repair and scarcely habitable. It was valued at £170. She also had around £550 in debentures and money. Julia also had a third interest in the estate of her late husband, who had died without a will, this was a block of land in Smith Street in Collingwood, valued at £66 (11).

I still wondered if I had the right Julia Benjamin until I came across this listing (below) in the 1885 Sands McDougall Directory for Misses L. & N. Benjamin - anatomical and surgical belt, brace and prize stay makers - Lizzie and Nelly - following their mother's career as a stay maker. When I looked for advertisements in the newspapers they had been advertising their business since 1881.

Mrs Benjamin's daughters, Lizzie and Nelly, continue the family business.

Sands and McDougall Melbourne and Suburban Directory for 1885.

State Library of Victoria https://www.slv.vic.gov.au/search-discover/popular-digitised-collections

Of the other children, Rachael married Albert Levi in 1869 and they lived  at Tranmere, 50 Dalgety Street in St Kilda. Their  family donated a summer house to the St Kilda Botanical Gardens in memory of their parents in 1928 (12)  and it was erected the next year. Their son, Joseph, was Mayor of St Kilda in 1924/1925. Rachael died in 1928.

Left: The summer house donated by the family of Rachael and Albert Levi at the St Kilda gardens. Photo: Isaac Hermann.

Sarah married Solomon Mirls, locomotive superintendent at the Victorian Railway who died in 1889 (13) and  she then married  Fredrick Blacker in 1894, and she died in 1930.

Lizzie married Albert Gordon in 1891 and died in 1926. Mark married Ellen Myers in 1904. He died November 12 1919, aged 65. There are no children listed in the death notice. A year later his wife Ellen and his sister Rachael placed In Memoriam notices in The Argus (14).  I have no other information about Henry and Nelly.


Left: The plaque from the Levi family summer house.
Photo: Isaac Hermann.

In the 1851 English Census (15) Benjamin's occupation is listed as a Clerk. When he died his occupation was listed as gentleman.  On Julia's death certificate she had no occupation listed even though she was an established entrepreneur and business woman, in a time when many women's lives focused entirely on domestic and family responsibilities. Even more remarkable was that when she established her Labor Office in 1857 she already had six children under seven years of age and then gave birth to her last child two years later.


Trove list -  I have created  a list of articles on Julia Benjamin. All articles I have referred to here, plus many more, are on the list, which you can access here.

References
(1) The Argus February 29, 1860, see here.
(2) Hamilton Spectator March 30, 1861, see here.
(3) The Argus January 19, 1863, see here.
(4) The Age February 19, 1867, see here.
(5) Geelong Advertiser June 24, 1859, see here.
(6) The Age June 25, 1859, see here.
(7)  The Argus September 10, 1861, see here and Leader September 14, 1861, see here.
(8) Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages (BDM) Index https://www.bdm.vic.gov.au/research-and-family-history/search-your-family-history
(9) England & Wales Civil Registration Marriage Index on Ancestry.
(10) I found Caroline's birth listed in the Victorian BDM Index, but cannot find her death listed. One source on Ancestry database said she died in 1886, but doesn't list a source.
(11) Wills and Probate records at the Public Records Office of Victoria www.prov.vic.gov.au
(12) Prahran Telegraph December 21, 1928, see here.
(13) Leader January 4, 1890, see here.
(14) The Argus November 12, 1920, see here.
(15) 1851 England Census on Ancestry.