Diamond Hill, Dandenong

 Diamond Hill was a location just out of Dandenong - the rise just over the railway crossing on today's South Gippsland Highway (1) or Cranbourne Road as it was called in the early days. It extended south to around Green's Road (2) (or Green's Lane as this road was originally called). This post looks at some references to Diamond Hill in books and newspapers.

We'll start with why the area was called Diamond Hill and this seems to be unknown. Jean Uhl writes this in her book Call Back Yesterday: Eumemmerring Parish (3) - The name Diamond Hill is obscure and obviously no great wealth from precious stones was ever forthcoming from that area although today the Drive-In Theatre at old Diamond Hill no doubt makes a good profit from its patrons. Diamond Hill and Prospect Hill were both identifiable addresses in the past, though Prospect Hill near Hallam is not to be confused with the hill so called in Dandenong because of the "Prospect" looking from the hill down over the township (4).

Advertisement for the auction of Daniel Canavan's land at Diamond Hill on November 9,  1878

South Bourke & Mornington Journal October 30, 1878 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/70011478/6743313#

A Splendid Orchard and Vegetable garden to lease at Diamond Hill, 1879.

South Bourke & Mornington Journal, August 27, 1879 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/70012300

Mrs Uhl also writes this about Diamond Hill - There was also the short-lived Diamond Hill Brick Company which was located where the giants General Motors-Holden, Heinz and International Harvester Company stand four-square to the winds of change near Diamond Hill with more material success to their shareholders than the Brick Company ever produced. It seems strange that the reason given for the collapse of the Brick Company was that the clay was unsuitable; someone blundered with the new type of kiln, evidently never going into the pros and cons of the industry, for it is in this very area that a clay pit is still being worked by the Ordish Firebrick Company Pty Ltd., founded over 100 years ago and the Centennial Brick Company managed to last for thirty years and gave employment to over 50 men in the 1880's (5).

There was a Civil Court case involving the Diamond Hill Bricks Works in June 1892 between the owner of the land on which the brick works were located and members of the Syndicate who owned the Company, you can read about it here. This wasn't the first time the Company was in the news as the August 1891 the Secretary and the Treasurer of the Diamond Hill Brick Works were charged with forging and uttering. Read a report of the Court case here.

33 acres of choice land for sale at Diamond Hill, 1880.

South Bourke & Mornington Journal March 17, 1880 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/70016621

In 2009, the Dandenong & District Historical Society published Jack Johnson's memories of Dandenong - When the Clock strikes: Growing up in the rural market town of Dandenong (6). Jack was born in 1929 and he mentions Diamond Hill and also talks about brick works - Three of the early brickmakers were Mr Handley in the Macrae Street area, Mr Hobbs in the Pultney Street area and Mr Northey (7) at the back area of the Diamond Hill property on Cranbourne Road (8). 

The clay pits at Mr Northey's Diamond Hill Brick Works were all in the area around the unmade end of Kirkham Road where it crossed Frankston Road and about where the junction of the Gippsland and South Gippsland rail lines are today. Its boundaries were Cranbourne Road, Princes Highway and Frankston Road. This brickmaking plant was operating over thirty years before the rail lines were laid in 1878/79. The Diamond Hill homestead was next to the Gippsland rail line at 78 Cranbourne Road. There was also a small granite quarry at the back of the hill. It was on this property that Mr Garnar was killed by a bull (9).

After the war, one of the first factories to be built on the Diamond Hill site in Cranbourne Road was the South Australian Rubber Factory. Another early factory, built at the back of this farm facing Frankston Road, was the Commonwealth Engineering Works. They built rolling stock for the Victorian Railways and today go by the name Bombardier (10).

Mrs Uhl wrote - This locality of Diamond Hill saw many of Eumemmerring's early settlers who considered it to be a suitable and pleasant area to live (11). Amongst these settlers was the Garnar family, mentioned by Jack Johnston. The Garnar family arrived in Dandenong area in 1854. James Garnar had a farrier's business on Pound Road and in 1857 moved into Dandenong and operated a shoeing forge. His sons, James and Edward, continued in the business and added a wheelwright and undertaking business (12). Around 1894 they sold most of the business and retired to one of their properties at Diamond Hill, still carrying on the business of undertakers (13). The Garnar family operated the Funeral Directors business until it was sold to Le Pine in 1950 (14). The aforementioned Edward Garnar, sold his share of the business to his brother and went to live on his paddock of 400 acres on the Cranbourne and Pound roads, where he resided until a few weeks before his death, when he was removed to his sister-in-law's residence for better attention, he being a bachelor, and living alone in his little house (15). His death took place at the residence of his sister-in-law, Mrs J. W. Garner, Diamond Hill, Dandenong on February 6, 1914 (16).

The death of Edward and James' mother, Christina, at Diamond Hill in 1889.

South Bourke & Mornington Journal, June 19, 1889     https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/70395700

Edward's sister-in-law, was Margaret Garnar, nee Carriss, who died in August 1946. Her husband, the late James W. Garnar, pre-deceased her 33 years ago, at “Hothamville,” Cranbourne Rd., Diamond Hill, the old home in which her family of one son and six daughters were all born and reared. They are: William J. (Dandenong), Madge (Mrs. Leppitt), Alice (Mrs. Taylor), Nellie (Mrs. Rawlings), Florence (Mrs. Sainsbury), Elsie (Mrs.Blain), and Hilda (17). It was Margaret's husband, James, who was killed by the bull, as mentioned by Jack Johnson (18).

Other interesting facts about Diamond Hill -
John Hemmings, a carpenter, constructed Richard Ellis' store in 1860 in Langhorne Street the timber being cut and sawn on Diamond Hill (19).

In April 1915, Diamond Hill was the scene of a fatal accident - On Saturday the Coroner inspected the scene of the fatal accident at the level crossing on Green's-lane, at Diamond Hill, near Dandenong, in which Mrs. Dowsett was killed. Mr. Dowsett is suffering from severe shock and fractured ribs (20).

In June 1917, there was another fatal railway accident at the Diamond Hill Railway Crossing, which I feel would have been the crossing on the South Gipplsland Highway - We regret very much to chronicle the death of Mr John Holly, nursery man, of Mornington Junction, which took place on Thursday afternoon at Nurse Campbell's private hospital, Thomas street, Dandenong, from the result of a railway accident, sustained at the Diamond Hill railway crossing, on Tuesday evening, May 29, at about 6 p.m. (21).

On a light hearted note, in 1918, a farm at Diamond Hill produced a perfect pumpkin - A very fine sample of Turk's Cap pumpkin, of perfect symmetry, is on view at the Club hotel, Dandenong, where a guessing competition as to its weight is in progress, in aid of the funds of the Alfred Hospital. We don't want to tell you the exact weight of the "pump," but it is somewhere between 251bs and 35 lbs. It was grown by Mr Alex Haslett, manager for Major Wilson,"Brackenhurst," Diamond Hill, Dandenong, The guesses are only 3d each, and the winner gets the cap (22).

The last mention of Diamond Hill I could find was in 1956 (23), but now it seems to have disappeared, as has any sign of the Diamond Hill Brick Works, the Garnar home where James and Margaret raised their seven children and Alex Haslett's pumpkin patch.

Trove list - I have created a list of articles on Trove connected to Diamond Hill, which includes references to other settlers. Access the list, here.

Footnotes
(1) Reminiscences of Early Dandenong by G.F.R. (Dandenong & District Historical Society, 1992), footnote p. 17. G.F. R was George Fenton Roulston, who originally published his book in 1935.
(2) The Age, April 23, 1915, see here and The Age April 27, 1915, see here.
(3) Uhl, Jean Call Back Yesterday: Eumemmerring Parish (Lowden Publishing, 1972)
(4) Uhl, op. cit., pp. 89-90
(5) Uhl, op. cit., p. 89.
(6) Johnson, Jack When the Clock strikes: Growing up in the rural market town of Dandenong (Dandenong & District Historical Society, 2009).
(7) Mr Northey, this may possibly by Mr Northway, who is referred to in Reminiscences of Early Dandenong on page 79.
(8) Johnson, op. cit., p. 201.
(9) Johnson, op. cit., pp. 201-202
(10) Johnson, op. cit., p. 202
(11) Uhl, op. cit., p. 73.
(12) Edward Garnar's obituary in the Dandenong Advertiser, February 12, 1914, see here and Reminiscences of Early Dandenong, pp. 34-35. I haven't found out when Edward Senior, dies. His wife Frances Christina (nee Tilney) died in 1889 aged 76. Their son Edward died 1914, aged 72 and their other son, James William Garnar, died in 1913 aged 62.
(13) Dandenong Advertiser, February 12, 1914, see here
(14) https://dandenong.starcommunity.com.au/news/2017-12-04/new-lease-on-life/
(15) Dandenong Advertiser, February 12, 1914, see here
(16) Dandenong Advertiser, February 12, 1914, see here
(17) Dandenong Journal, August 7, 1946, see here.
(18) South Bourke & Mornington Journal, March 27, 1913, see here.
(19) Reminiscences of Early Dandenong, op.cit., p. 30
(20) The Age April 27, 1915, see here.
(21) Dandenong Advertiser, June 7, 1917, see here.
(22) Dandenong Advertiser, March 28, 1918, see here.
(23) The Argus, February 13, 1956, see here.

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

Memorial to Sidney Webb in Narre Warren

This is a story with a bit of a mystery - who is the creator of the memorial to Sidney Webb (1844 - 1920) at Narre Warren? I was reading Early days of Berwick (published 1948, updated 1959) and I came across this about Sidney Webb The beautiful oak trees which he planted on the sides of the Princes Highway at Narre Warren stand as a living emblem to his memory. A tablet erected to his memory at the intersection of the North Narre Warren Road and Prince's Highway and unveiled by Sir George Knox in February 1955, at which the Shire President, Cr C. Harris, presided. The tablet bears the inscription - 

 Honoring

SIDNEY JOHN WEBB

who planted this row of

Oak Trees in the year 1890.

The trees as young seedlings came from the Nobelius Nursery at Emerald, a pioneer family of nursery men now in its fourth generation. Mr J. Nobelius of Narre Warren is a member of this well-known family. Mr Smith, the man who designed the memorial was present at the unveiling. He also designed that well-known memorial near the Shrine of Remembrance in St Kilda Road, 'The Man with the Donkey'

The Sidney Webb memorial, unveiled Sunday, February 20, 1955 by Sir George Knox. 

You can see one of Sidney's oak trees in the background.

Image courtesy Casey Cardinia Remembers, a Narre Warren & District Family History Group project.

There was a report in the Pakenham Gazette of February 25, 1955 about the opening and we will quote from this to give more detail about the occasion  - In a simple but impressive ceremony in the presence if about 200 district residents, a memorial to the late Mr Sidney John Webb was unveiled at Narre Warren last Sunday afternoon. An unobtrusive, yet pleasing memorial at the junction of Prince's Highway and Webb St., it is set amidst an even more impressive and lasting memorial - the magnificent row of oak trees which Mr Webb planted 55 years ago.  Mr Pat Sweeney, President of the Progress Association spoke, followed by the Shire President, Cr C. Harris. Cr Harris mentioned the battle that the Shire had with the Country Roads Board to save the trees when the Highway was widened. [The trees on the south side have since been removed.] The Federal Member, Mr R. Lindsay then spoke and he was followed by Sir George Knox. Sir George spoke about the outstanding qualities of Mr Webb who generally had the record of an outstanding citizen, with a vision into the future. In unveiling the monument Sir George said he did so to the Glory of God and in honour and memory of Sidney John Webb, who planted this row of oak trees in the year 1890. May his memory and all he worked for and achieved be a guide and inspiration to those who come after him. Sidney Webb's son, Harry, responded on behalf of the family and then all present were entertained at afternoon tea in the Narre Warren Hall.

Sir George also mentions the designer of the memorial Mr Smith, who was responsible  for that wonderful memorial in Melbourne, "The Man with the Donkey." He was pleased to see Mr Smith present that day. 

The 'Man with the Donkey' monument, designed by Wallace Anderson and unveiled June 20, 1936.

Image: Photographer: Rose Stereograph Co., State Library of Victoria H32492/5212.

The 'Man with the Donkey', was  John Simpson Kirkpatrick, known as Jack Simpson, who rescued many wounded soldiers and carted them back to medical help at Gallipoli. You can read his Australian Dictionary of Biography (ADB) entry, here.

The mystery is that the 'Man with the Donkey' monument  was designed by Wallace Anderson (1888 - 1975, read his ADB entry, here) and not Mr Smith, so why is it attributed to Mr Smith and who is he? I do not know, but here are three scenarios -
1. There is more than one 'Man with a Donkey' monument at the Shrine, one designed by Anderson and one by Smith. I don't believe that is the case.
2. The book and the newspaper both made a mistake attributing the monument to Mr Smith. That is possible but even if the newspaper account is incorrect, then surely that mistake would not have been repeated four years later in 1959 when the second edition of Early Days of Berwick was published? Or did the book use the Pakenham Gazette as the source? More than possible given that Herb Thomas, the publisher of the Gazette was a founding member of the Historical Society of the Berwick Shire (in 1962) along with Norman Beaumont, an author of Early Days of Berwick.
3. Mr Smith had a role in the design of the monument. We know that Wallace Anderson was the sculptor and the statue was cast in bronze in Italy. Did Mr Smith design the granite base? The Sidney Webb monument looks plain but it does have some carved detail at the top - the initials SJW - Sidney John Webb, thus Mr Smith has skill in stone carving. I cannot, however, find any newspaper reports about the 'Man with the Donkey' monument which mention Mr Smith.

The top of the Sidney John Webb monument showing his initials, S.J.W.

Image: cropped from the photo at the top of this post.

Whether or not Mr Smith had a role in the design of the 'Man with the Donkey' monument he did design the Sidney Webb memorial, but who was he? The book and the newspaper refer to him only as 'Mr Smith' not even a first initial. However, I borrowed a book called Real Life Portrait: The life of Wallace Anderson Australian War Artist by Roderic Anderson (Big Sky Publishing, 2010) Roderic is Wallace's son. On page 297, Roderic writes Wallace received a few good commissions, working on them in partnership with Alec Hall who designed all the stonework and Bill Smith who made it. So this gives us Mr Smith's first name, Bill, and the fact that he was stone mason and worked with Wallace Anderson. This leads me to believe that it was Bill Smith who carved the stone base of the 'Man with the Donkey' statue.  There was another mention of Bill Smith on page 298 of the  book - Though further out of town than he would have chosen if he had more money to spend on it Wallace liked the house in Surrey Hills and he wasn't cut off from his family and friends. Peter and Ruth Newbury, Les and Mary Bowles, Arthur and Amy Lawrence and Bill Smith and his wife often drove out there.  So now we have discovered something else about Bill Smith - he was married. 

Now I knew his first name I looked at the Probate records on the Public Records Office of Victoria website, www.prov.vic.gov.au. and came across a William Smith, occupation Master Mason, who died on March 29, 1961. His address was Footscray. I then checked the Footscray Cemetery records and there was a 95 year old William Smith who was buried on April 4, 1961. Also in the grave was a Jean Alves Smith, buried October 13, 1936 aged 63 and an Isabella Smith who was buried May 22, 1943, aged 42.  I then went to the Electoral rolls and in 1926, William Smith, stonemason, was at 111 Cowper Street, Footscray,  and Jean Alves Smith was at 109 Cowper Street. In 1931 there was a William Smith, occupation mason, at 11 Greig Street, Footscray and also at the same address was an Isabella Smith. In 1954 William Smith, occupation stone mason, was at 113 Cowper Street in Footscray.  Isabella was the daughter of William Smith and Jane Alves according to the Indexes to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages. So, this confirms to me that the William Smith buried at Footscray was the stone mason. Was he the Bill Smith, stone mason, who created the Sidney Webb memorial? The obvious flaw in my argument is that would an 89 year have been capable of creating this  monument in 1955? I do not know. So we have progressed a  little further and can now at least give our Mr Smith a first name - Bill. But, if you have any information on the life of Bill Smith, I would love to hear from you.

The memorial was funded by the Narre Warren & District Progress Association.  They spent a few months in 1954 arguing with the Shire of Berwick and the Country Roads Board to have the memorial erected in their preferred location. An article in the Dandenong Journal of July 29, 1954, quoting Cr Rae said that he understood the memorial was already completed, inscribed and ready to place in position. Unfortunately it gives us no details about the artist.  

Advertisement for the dance held to raise money for the Sidney Webb memorial.
Dandenong Journal, July 7, 1954. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article218510769

Acknowledgement
Even though I borrowed the Wallace Anderson book, I did not actually read it, however my friend and fellow historian, Isaac Hermann, did read the book (it is unindexed) and found the two references to Bill Smith, so I am very grateful to him for helping solve the mystery of Mr Smith.

Trove lists
I have created  a list of newspaper articles on Trove, on the monument, you can access it here. They are from the Dandenong Journal and only go up to 1954, so they are just about the planning and fundraising for the Memorial.

I have also created a list on Trove, of articles on the 'Man with the Donkey' monument. You can access it here.

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

Street names in Cranbourne

This post looks at the names of the streets in the original 1856 subdivision of the town of Cranbourne and the streets in the 1888 Cranbourne Park subdivision,

1856 Subdivision
This is a map of the original Cranbourne township allotments which includes the original owners. The streets names represent two different sources of names - some are named after local land owners and some are named after Government officials. I have made an ‘educated guess’ as to the source of the street names which I believe are derived from Government officials but as the first Cranbourne township lots were surveyed in 1856 and the first land sales took place in March 1857 and this period coincides with the time that these officials were influential then I believe that they are the most likely source for the names.

Map of the 1850 subdivisions in the Cranbourne township

Click on the link to view or download a larger version http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/94154

Bakewell Street and Lyall Street
John Bakewell and William Lyall were part of the influential partnership of Mickle, Bakewell and Lyall who arrived in the area in 1851. John Mickle (1814 - 1885) and John Bakewell (1807 - 1888) were business partners in Melbourne from 1847 and they were soon joined by William Lyall (1821 to 1888) whose sister Margaret was the wife of John Mickle. In 1851 they acquired the Yallock Run (based on the Yallock Creek, south of Koo-Wee-Rup). In 1852 they acquired the Tooradin run and in 1854 they acquired the Great Swamp run and at one stage they occupied nearly all the land from Cranbourne to Lang Lang.

After Government land sales in 1856 the trio subdivided their jointly owned land. Bakewell’s portion included Tooradin, Tobin Yallock, the Bluff and Warrook on the Yallock Creek. Mickle received the Upper Yallock blocks which he renamed Monomeith. Lyall received the Yallock pre-emptive right and the remaining land. William and Annabella Lyall built Harewood house in the 1850s and the property remained in the Lyall family until 1967. John Bakewell died in England in 1888 (1)

Barkly Street
Sir Henry Barkly (1815 - 1898) was Governor of Victoria from 1856 to 1863. The western end of Barkly Street is now called Brunt Street and the eastern end is Lecky Street. It is separated by the Cranbourne Secondary College site. (2)

Brunt Street
Brunt is named for the Brunt family. William Brunt and his wife, Mary Jane (nee Espie), lived at Spring Villa, where the Settlement Hotel is now located. William was a Cranbourne Shire Councillor from 1904 to 1923. Brunt Road in Officer is named after William's cousin, Ralph Brunt. Ralph and his wife Mary Jane (nee Funston) had land from 1871 on the Cardinia Creek and later had part of the Gin Gin Bean run, near Officer. (3)

Cameron Street
In March 1851, Alexander Cameron (1815 - 1881) took up the lease of the Mayune Run and a few years later at the Government land sales he purchased 592 acres, the Mayfield Pre-emptive Right, on the corner of what is now Cameron Street and the South Gippsland Highway (where the Life style retirement Village is now located). The Cranbourne Road Board was proclaimed in June 1860 and Cameron was elected in 1863 and served until 1867. He was married to Margaret (nee Donaldson, 1822-1895) and they had seven children. (4)

Childers Street
Hugh Culling Eardley Childers (1827 - 1896) and his wife, Emily (nee Walker) arrived in Australia in 1850. His first Government appointment was an Inspector of Denominational Schools in 1851. He was a member of the Legislative Council and appointed Auditor General. He was the first vice chancellor of the University of Melbourne and helped found the Melbourne Public Library (both established in 1856). He returned to England a few years later where he became a member of the House of Commons and was also a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and the Royal Society. (5)

Clarendon Street
George William Frederick Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon (1800 - 1870) was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from 1847 to 1852 and the British Foreign Secretary on three occasions from 1853 to 1870. He negotiated a favourable outcome for Britain at the end of the Crimean War in 1856 at the Congress of Paris Peace talks. The Crimean War, which was a war between Britain, France, Turkey and Sardinia against Russia took place largely on the Crimean Peninsula in Russia. The war was commemorated in many towns in Australia by street names such as Alma, Inkerman and Balaclava which were places of battle etc during the war. (6)

Codrington Street
Sir William John Codrington (1804 - 1884) was Commander in Chief of the British Forces in the Crimean War from 1853 to 1856. Alternatively, but I feel less likely, Codrington Street could be named for the British Admiral, Sir Edward Codrington (1770 to 1851) who was Captain of the HMS Orion at the Battle of Trafalgar (1805) and also served in other Wars. (7)

Lecky Street
Lecky Street is named after local land owner, James Lecky (1802 - 1884). He purchased Gin Gin Bean on the Cardinia Creek in 1846. Lecky was a Cranbourne Road Board and Shire Council Member from 1860 to 1881 and Shire President on many occasions. He and his wife Elizabeth (nee Woods, 1803 - 1891) and their six children arrived in Victoria in 1841. (8)

Lyons Street
Admiral Sir Edmund Lyons (1790 - 1858), 1st Baronet Lyons, commanded the Black Sea fleet during the Crimean War. (9)

Russell Street
Lord John Russell (1792 - 1878) was Home Secretary under Lord Melbourne when he was the British Prime Minister on various occasions between 1834 and 1841. Russell was also the British Prime Minister from 1846 to 1852 and from 1865 to 1866. Lord Melbourne is the source of the name Melbourne and Russell Street in the city is also named after Lord Russell. (10)

Sladen Street
Sir Charles Sladen (1816 - 1884) was a member of the Legislative Council and Treasurer of Victoria and Premier for 67 days in 1868. (11)

Stawell Street
Sir William Foster Stawell (1815 - 1889) was appointed Victorian Attorney General in 1851 and became Chief Justice of Victoria in 1857. (12)

Cranbourne Park subdivision, 1888
On November 9, 1888 the blocks at Cranbourne Park Estate at Cranbourne were auctioned off. The land was sold on very easy terms with a two pound deposit. The auctioneers, Carney & Kelly, in conjunction with John Collins provided the prospective buyers with a 'special train leaving Princes Bridge Station at 11.15am' and also provided a 'free luncheon in a spacious marquee'

Map of the Cranbourne Park Estate

State Library of Victoria - click on the link to view or download a larger version http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/135527

Part of the advertisement for Cranbourne Park Estate in The Age November 8, 1888

See the full advertisement here http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article193401330

Here is a list of the Streets in the Cranbourne Park Estate and the derivation of their name

Barkley Street
Sir Henry Barkly (1815 - 1898) was Governor of Victoria from 1856 to 1863. Barkly Street had already been used in Cranbourne in the original 1856 sub-division, see above. The western end of the original Barkly Street is now called Brunt Street and the eastern end is Lecky Street. (13)

Berwick Road
It was called Berwick Road as it lead to Berwick (actually it leads to Narre Warren, but perhaps they thought that Berwick was more well known than Narre Warren) Now known as Cameron Street, after early land owner, Alexander Cameron, who took up land in Cranbourne in 1851. (14)

Bowen Street
Sir George Ferguson Bowen (1821 - 1899) was the Governor of Queensland from 1859 - 1868, Governor of New Zealand 1868 - 1873, Governor of Victoria 1873- 1878, Governor of Mauritius 1879 - 1882 and then Governor of Hong Kong 1882 - 1886 - so clearly moved around the British Empire serving Queen Victoria wherever he was sent. (15)

Camms Road
Charles Camm (1837 - 1924) is listed on the Cranbourne Parish Plan as owning Lot 69, 100 acres, this land was at the end of Patterson's Road, near Pound Road. According to the Cranbourne Shire Rate books, by 1884, as well as this 100 acres, Robert Camm (1811 - 1890) was listed for 87 acres Lot 7 and 316 acres Lot 35, which was originally owned by Alexander Cameron. There is some discrepancy with the spelling of the name - the Parish Plan lists it as Cam, the Rate books call it Camm and Niel Gunson in his book The Good Country: Cranbourne Shire spells it as Cam. (16)

Canterbury Road
John Henry Thomas Manners-Sutton (1814 - 1877) was the Governor of Victoria 1866 - 1873. In 1869, on the death of his brother, he became the third Viscount Canterbury. (17)

Hotham Street
Sir Charles Hotham (1806 - 1855) was appointed Lieutenant Governor of Victoria in December 1853 and full Governor in February 1855, a post he held until he died in December 1855. The Eureka Rebellion took place during his appointment. (18)

La Trobe Street
Charles Joseph La Trobe (1801 - 1875) was the Superintendent of the Port Phillip District from 1839 - 1851, then Lieutenant Governor of Victoria 1851 - 1854. (19)

Loch Street
Henry Brougham Loch (1827 - 1900) was the Governor of Victoria 1884 - 1889, he was then appointed High Commissioner for South Africa and Governor of the Cape Colony. (20)

Melbourne Road
Obviously the road to Melbourne (if heading north), but now called High Street, part of the South Gippsland Highway and also called, in the past, Western Port Road or the Bass Road or Grantville Road as that was where the road went to when heading south. Melbourne was named for William Lamb, second Viscount Melbourne (1779 - 1848), a British Prime Minister. (21)

Normanby Street
George Augustine Consantine Phipps, second Marquis of Normanby was the Governor of Queensland 1871 - 1874, Governor of New Zealand 1874 - 1878 and then Governor of Victoria 1879 - 1884. (22)

Footnotes
(1) Bakewell & Lyall https://kooweerupswamphistory.blogspot.com/2017/08/mickle-bakewell-and-lyall.html
(2) Barkly -  Australian Dictionary of Biography https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/barkly-sir-henry-2936

(3) Brunt - The Good Country: Cranbourne Shire by Niel Gunson ( Cheshire, 1968) and In the Wake of the Pack Tracks: a history of the Shire of Berwick (Berwick Pakenham Historical Society, 1982).
(4) Cameron - The Good Country: Cranbourne Shire by Niel Gunson ( Cheshire, 1968)

(5) Childers - Australian Dictionary of Biography https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/childers-hugh-culling-eardley-3202

(6) Clarendon - Encyclopaedia Britannica - https://www.britannica.com/biography/George-William-Frederick-Villiers-4th-earl-of-Clarendon

(7) Codrington - http://www.historyhome.co.uk/forpol/crimea/people/cod-tonW.htm

(8) Lecky - The Good Country: Cranbourne Shire by Niel Gunson ( Cheshire, 1968) and In the Wake of the Pack Tracks: a history of the Shire of Berwick (Berwick Pakenham Historical Society, 1982). Obituary in the South Bourke & Mornington Journal, February 27, 1884, see here.

(9) Lyons - Oxford Dictionary of National Biography - available via the State Library of Victoria

(10) Russell - Australian Dictionary of Biography - https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/russell-john-2619

(11) Sladen - Australian Dictionary of Biography - https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/sladen-sir-charles-4589

(12) Stawell - Australian Dictionary of Biography - https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/stawell-sir-william-foster-4635

(13) Barkley - Actually Barkly - see Footnote 2

(14) Berwick - named for the town of Berwick. Captain Robert Gardiner (1812 - 1889) one of the first European settlers in the Berwick area,  selected land in 1837. Gardiner named his property Melville Park, after his father Melville William Gardiner. The Gardiner family had a connection to Berwick-upon-Tweed in the United Kingdom and this influenced the naming of town of Berwick

(15) Bowen - Australian Dictionary of Biography -  https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/bowen-sir-george-ferguson-3032

(16) Camms - The Good Country: Cranbourne Shire by Niel Gunson ( Cheshire, 1968) and Shire of Cranbourne Rate Books.

(17) Canterbury - Australian Dictionary of Biography - https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/canterbury-third-viscount-3161

(18) Hotham Australian Dictionary of Biography - https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/hotham-sir-charles-3803

(19) Latrobe - Australian Dictionary of Biography - https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/la-trobe-charles-joseph-2334

(20) Loch - Australian Dictionary of Biography https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/loch-henry-brougham-4033

(21) Melbourne - Oxford Dictionary of National Biography - available via the State Library of Victoria

(22) Normanby - Australian Dictionary of Biography - https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/normanby-second-marquess-of-4307

Another version of this post, which I wrote and researched,  has appeared on my work blog, Casey Cardinia Links to our Past and other places.

Pakenham - who is it named after?

Pakenham is a town on the outskirts of Melbourne, it used to be a country town, but is now really an outer suburb. I went to Pakenham Consolidated School (1) in the 1960s, so I have an interest in the town. I  have seen four possible suggestions for the source of the name Pakenham.

In the Wake of the Pack Tracks: a history of the Shire of Berwick (2) suggests Pakenham is named after Major General Sir Edward Michael Pakenham (1778 - 1815) who served with the Duke of Wellington in the Peninsula War and was killed in 1815 at the Battle of New Orleans (3). 

Major General Sir Edward Michael Pakenham (1778-1815)

Image: National Parks Service https://www.nps.gov/people/edward-pakenham.htm

Les Blake, in his book, Place Names of Victoria (4) suggests that Pakenham was named for “General Pakenham who served in the Crimean War”. This is Lieutenant-Colonel Edward William Pakenham (1819 -1854) who was killed at Inkerman during the Crimean War (5). The Lieutenant Colonel was the son of Sir Hercules Pakenham who was the brother of Major General Sir Edward Michael Pakenham.

Lieutenant-Colonel Edward William Pakenham (1819-1854)

Image: Hampshire Country Council

https://artuk.org/visit/collection/hampshire-county-councils-fine-art-collection-638

The third suggestion is from Place Names of Australia by A.W. Reed (5).  Mr Reed suggests that the town was named for Catherine Pakenham, who was the wife of the Duke of Wellington. Catherine (1773 - 1831) married the Duke of Wellington in 1806. They had two sons, Arthur born in 1807 and Charles in 1808 (6).

Catherine Pakenham, the Duchess of Wellington (1773-1831)

Catherine ('Kitty') Pakenham, Duchess of Wellington by Sir Thomas Lawrence 1814

Wellington Collection, Stratfield Saye House

http://www.wellingtonestates.co.uk/stratfield-saye-house

From Bullock Tracks to Bitumen: a brief history of the Shire of Berwick (7)  has this to say about the origin of the name – when Captain Clark was surveying the area, his cousin, a Naval officer named Pakenham, visited him. The two men agreed that the place should be named Pakenham, after their grandfather, Rev. Pakenham a Dublin minister. This is the Very Reverend Henry Pakenham (1787 - 1863)  who was Dean of St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin from 1843-1863.

Very Reverend Henry Pakenham (1878-1863)

Henry Pakenham's image on St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin.

http://discovery.dho.ie/home.php

Henry Pakenham's obituary 

The Empire March 16, 1864 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article60577702

The Duchess of Wellington  and the Very Reverend Henry Pakenham were siblings of Major General Sir Edward Pakenham and Sir Hercules Pakenham. Their father was the second Baron Longford and their nephew was Lieutenant-Colonel Edward William Pakenham.  Blake also suggests that the area was once called Longford. Pakenham was originally based around the Princes Highway and Toomuc Creek and the town that developed around the Railway Station from 1877 was known as Pakenham East. It was still referred to as Pakenham East until the early 1970s.

Here's a partial family tree to help explain the relationships:
Edward Michael Pakenham - 2nd Baron Longford, succeeded to the Title in 1776, a Peerage of Ireland. He had the following children, that are of interest to us - 
-Catherine, Duchess of Wellington (1773-1831)
-Major General Sir Edward Michael (1778-1815)
-Sir Hercules (1781-1850) - the father of Lieutenant Colonel Edward William (1819-1854)
-Very Reverend Henry (1787-1863).

A 1964 edition of the Victorian Historical journal had an article by J.S. Ryan, Memorials of Ireland: Place names in Victoria (8).  Under names connected to the county of  West Meath, he noted - 

The Pakenham name

Victorian Historical journal  Volume: 35 Issue: 136, May 1964, p. 82.

 http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/115941

This seems to confirm my theory on the origin of the Pakenham name, which is that I believe (and some people disagree with me) the most likely candidate is Lieutenant-Colonel Edward William Pakenham who was killed during the Crimean War as Victoria and Melbourne have other place names with a Crimean connection including the towns of St Arnaud and Sebastapol and the suburb of Balaclava. St Kilda has streets with a Crimean War connection - Inkerman Road, Crimea Street, Redan Street, Alma Road and Odessa Street. Clarendon Street, Codrington Street and Lyons Street in Cranbourne are also connected to Crimean War personalities. See here for more on Crimean War connect place names. 

Footnotes

(1) Pakenham Consolidated School - In the 1940s and 1950s there was a movement to consolidate small rural schools into one larger school. This was partly a response to a shortage of teachers, due to many male teachers enlisting during the Second World War. The War also caused a shortage of materials and labour and many Schools fell into disrepair. The Education Department decided that Pakenham would be one of the first six Consolidated Schools to be established and that all schools within 8 kms or 5 miles would be closed and beyond that, the Schools would have an option.

The Pakenham Consolidated School was officially opened on May 29, 1951, on the site of the Pakenham State School, No.1359, in Main Street. The original Pakenham School had opened on a site near the Toomuc Creek in January 1875 and it moved to the Main Street site in 1891. The Pakenham Gazette of June 8, 1951 reported that on May 29th, four buses conveyed 130 children from surrounding districts to Pakenham Consolidated School. At present there are 258 pupils attending the School, and it is hoped that in September several other schools will be consolidated, raising the attendance to over 400 children.

The first Head Master was Charles Hicks. The School offered classes up to Year 10 (Form 4). The schools that formed the Consolidated School were Pakenham Upper No. 2155 (closed January 1952),  Pakenham South No. 3755 (closed September 1951), Toomuc Valley No. 3034 (closed September 1951), Army Road No. 3847 (closed April 1947), Mount Burnett No. 4506 (closed October 1949), Tynong No. 2854 (closed April 1951),  Tynong North No.4464 (closed December 1951),  Nar Nar Goon North No. 2914 (closed October 1951),  Nar Nar Goon South No. 4554 (closed May 1951), Rythdale No. 4231 (closed September 1951), Officedale No. 4242 (closed May 1951), Cora Lynn No. 3502 (closed May 1951) and Koo-Wee-Rup North (Five Mile) No. 3198 (closed November 1959). 

This information is from -  Vision and Realisation : a centenary history of State Education in Victoria, edited by L.J. Blake. Published by the Education Department of Victoria, 1973.

(2) In the Wake of the Pack Tracks: a history of the Shire of Berwick (Berwick Pakenham Historical Society, 1982).

(3) More information about Major General Sir Edward Michael Pakenham - Dictionary of Irish Biography - https://www.dib.ie/biography/pakenham-sir-edward-michael-a7165
(4) Blake, Les Place Names of Victoria (Rigby 1977). 
(5) Reed, A.W Place Names of Australia (Reed 1973).
(6) More information on Catherine - https://castletown.ie/focus-on-miniatures-catherine-sarah-dorothea-wellesley-duchess-of-wellington/

(7) From Bullock Tracks to Bitumen: a brief history of the Shire of Berwick (Historical Society of Berwick, 1962)

(8) Ryan, J.S. Memorials of Ireland: Place names in Victoria in the  Victorian Historical journal  Volume: 35 Issue: 136,  May 1964, p. 82. http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/115941

Another version of this post, which I wrote and researched,  has appeared on my work blog, Casey Cardinia Links to our Past and other places.

The Arthur Streeton painting of the Brown family of Berwick

I was reading Early Days of Berwick (1) and came across the following in the Harkaway chapter - For some time an artist, Mr Ford Patterson [sic], lived on this property. Whilst there he painted on the stable door a stockman which was a very fine piece of work. What became of it is not known. Mr Paterson was the brother of Mrs Geordie Brown, of the Berwick Border Store. Her son represented Australia as a hurdler in the Olympic Games. After her husband's death Mrs Brown married James Gibb, M.H.R. (2).

That was interesting, because it is said (3)  that Arthur Streeton (1867-1943) painted a portrait of the Brown family in their house, Inveresk, at Berwick, but there didn't seem to be any evidence that this family portrait existed, so when I found the reference above about the link between the Brown family and the artist John Ford Paterson (1851-1912), I thought I would investigate further.

John Ford Paterson's Australian Dictionary of Biography entry by Marjorie Tipping, says, in part, as a landscape painter he was not as successful as others in the Heidelberg group. His work was more romantic in mood and his sense of colour, draftsmanship and mystical feeling for the bush placed him among the important Australian artists of the nineteenth century. With such artists as Conder and Roberts he broke away from the Victorian Academy of Art to found the Australian Art Association. In 1888 these organizations amalgamated as the Victorian Artists' Society; Paterson was its president in 1902 (4). The two other men mentioned are Charles Conder (1868-1909) and Tom Roberts (1856-1931).

Clearly, Paterson was an artist of some note, he knew Arthur Streeton, and they socialised together at Paterson's  house in Carlton (more of which later).  In July 1888, the fact that they were both elected to the Victorian Artists' Society Council (5) and they exhibited together in May 1892 (6), are other examples of  their connection.  This connection strengthened the likelihood in my mind that Arthur Streeton may have painted a portrait of the Brown family at Inveresk.

Inveresk, Berwick, the residence of George Brown, designed by Little and Beasley.

Image originally in Building, Engineer and Mining Journal, March 28, 1891 and republished in Berwick Nostalgia: a pictorial history of Berwick (Berwick Pakenham Historical Society, 2001)

Inveresk was built by George Brown, a draper, of Berwick in 1891 (7). George had been in Berwick for many years and was originally married to Margaret Stewart. Margaret was the sister of Susan Bain, the wife of Donald Bain, who had established the Border Hotel, also called the Berwick Inn, in High Street Berwick in 1857. Donald and Susan married in 1859 and George and Margaret married in 1864. George and Margaret had one son, George in 1864, who died in tragic circumstances on May 31, 1887 when he was hit by a train. Margaret died July 28, 1884, aged 50 (8).

George Brown married again in January 13, 1887 to Mary Jane Paterson. He was 50 and she was 32 and a widow (9). Her first husband, Thomas Esson, had died in Scotland around 1881 and Mary Jane came to Australia with her son to join other family members, who were already in Melbourne (10). Her son, Thomas Louis Buvelot Esson (1878-1943) was the playwright, poet and Socialist (11). Mary Jane had two other brothers in Melbourne, apart from John Ford Paterson; her brother Hugh was also an artist and the father of artists Esther Paterson (1892-1971) and Betty Paterson (1895-1970). Another brother Charles was a decorator whose firm, Paterson Bros later monopolized the decoration of wealthy homes and such public buildings as Government House, Melbourne Town Hall, the Parliamentary Library and the Prahran Public Library (12).

George and Mary Jane had the one son, Francis Paterson Brown on November 13, 1887 (13). Louis Esson's entry in the Australian Dictionary of Biography said that Francis was his mother's favourite and that Louis considered his mother to be flighty and economically irresponsible (14). In spite of the fact that Francis was supposedly his mother's favourite the brothers apparently lived together and  socialised. A story was published in The Argus on May 21, 1938, about the suburb of Carlton in the 1890s (15) - Melbourne had its Bloomsbury -

John Ford Paterson, one of Victoria's pioneer artists, lived in a three-story house in Queensberry street with his brother Hugh, and the two were the centre of as famous a group of Australian artists as ever got together for a pipe and an argument.

Every Sunday morning and evening the Patersons' studio was filled with Melbourne's intelligentsia, and Scots voices and tobacco smoke fought for the mastery. Here came Fred McCubbin, who lived with his wonderful wife and growing family round the corner, and Arthur Streeton and John Longstaff. Walter Withers was not often absent, and Max (then better known as Duncan) Meldrum, Alec Colquhoun, Montagu Brown, and Mather were all among the stalwarts who could carry on wordy warfare as slickly as they could wield a brush. When he was in Melbourne Phil May was a joyous visitor and kept the Campbells coming as only he could.

In those days the boys came on almost from the cradle. If you lived in Melbourne you supported Melbourne and it upheld you. Louis Esson and Frank Brown, the former our first real dramatist, and the latter one of our Olympic champions, lived next door to the Patersons and joined the Sunday circles almost as soon as they were breeched (16).

In 1891, George and Mary Jane built, as we said, Inveresk at 93 High Street, Berwick.   It was made of local Berwick bricks, roofed in slate imported from Wales and designed by architects were Little and Beasley, who had who also designed the Berwick Grammar School  at 76 Brisbane Street (17).  John Little and Hillson Beasley had formed a partnership in January 1891 (18). John Little was later in partnership with John Grainger, the Architect and Civil Engineer, a man overshadowed in life by his famous son, Percy Grainger (18). Hillson Beasley's previous work included the East St Kilda Congregationalist Church on the corner of Hotham and Inkerman Streets and in 1896 he moved to Western Australia where he became the Chief Architect of the Public Works Department (20). 

It was at Inveresk that Arthur Streeton was said to have painted the portrait. This has been an on-going mystery for myself and others for many years. In 2013, a colleague of mine, Alice Woolven, asked what I knew of this portrait and she then emailed Dr Anna Gray at the National Gallery of Australia who kindly contacted Oliver Streeton, the grandson of Sir Arthur Streeton and this was his response -
Dr Anna Gray has forwarded on to me your e-mail to her of 8th April. I have no knowledge of a print by Arthur Streeton of “Inveresk”, Berwick, but a portrait of a child, Frank P. Brown '91 has been offered for auction three times, according to the Australian Art Sales Digest record: Joels 22/11/1995 - lot 108 - unsold; Joels 27/11/1996 - lot 111 - unsold; Joels 3/8/1999 - lot 246 - unsold.

The date '91 is possibly a mis-reading of the date inscribed on the painting because there is mention of a visit to Berwick in two letters of Arthur Streeton; to Tom Roberts, June 1892, “... - I’m off this week to Berwick to work at the two £10 commissions I have......” ; to Tom Roberts, 29th June 1892, Berwick Sunday Evening; see the text of these letters in Letters from Smike; the letters of Arthur Streeton 1890 - 1943, edited by Ann Galbally and Anne Gray, Oxford University Press, Australia, 1989 - pp 51 - 54.

There is mention of a possible portrait of Mrs Brown, but I do not know if one exists. When I find a better image of the portrait of young Frank P. Brown, I will try to examine the date to determine what has actually been inscribed. As the painting appears to have remained unsold, I suppose there is a possibility that it can be tracked down from Joels vendor records.

There are two early watercolours by Arthur Streeton, Berwick (Joels, 13/4/1988 - lot 1219 and Joels, 20/4/1993 - lot 150) and Haystacks at Berwick (Joels, 8/11/1978 - lot 521 and Joels, 27/5/1981- lot 509). Both watercolours are undated but appear to me to be in an mid-1880s style. So far I have not come across any reference that would explain Streeton’s visit to Berwick at this time. I attach an image of the Frank P. Brown portrait below.
With best wishes,
Oliver Streeton

Portrait of Frank P. Brown, 1891 by Arthur Streeton

www.aasd.com.au, who credited Leonard Joel for the image.

Frank P. Brown - is surely  Francis Paterson Brown, the son of Mary Jane Brown, nee Paterson,  and the nephew of artist, John Ford Paterson. Frank Brown, attended Scotch College, and played for Melbourne and St Kilda in the Victorian Football League. He was an all-round athlete and Australian Hurdles Champion, and represented Australia at the Festival of the Empire Games held in London during the festivities held during the Coronation of King George V in 1911 and won the 120 yards Hurdle at an International meet in Berlin in 1912, but I can find no evidence he competed in the Olympic Games, as stated in the Early Days of Berwick.  Frank served in the A.I. F during World War One. He was the boxing and athletic editor of the Sporting Globe, when he died at only 41 years of age in  November 26, 1928. One of his obituaries in The Herald is written by C.J. Dennis (21).

Francis Paterson Brown during his Scotch College days.

https://www.scotch.vic.edu.au/greatscot/2010sepGS/51.htm

There may well still be a portrait of the Brown family, painted at Inveresk by Arthur Streeton, waiting to be discovered, but I am of the opinion that Arthur Streeton did paint a portrait at Inveresk, but it wasn't of the Brown family, it was of their son, little Frank Brown. 

Acknowledgment
Thank you to Alice Woolven, Dr Anna Gray and Oliver Streeton. It was Alice, who in 2013, was curious enough to email Dr Gray, who contacted Mr Streeton. Between the four of us, we have (I believe) solved a mystery.

Footnotes
(1) Early Days of Berwick and its surrounding districts, compiled by Norman E. Beaumont, James F. Curran and R.H. Hughes (3rd edition published by Rotary, 1979), p. 74. The book was originally published in 1948.
(2) The reason I was looking up Early Days of Berwick was to see what information they had on Franz Schmitt, who had the Steinberg vineyard at Berwick. Early Days of Berwick referred to a property owned by a Lotha Schmidt who operated a vineyard and winery and this was the property that John Ford Paterson lived on for a time. Franz Schmitt, Lotha Schmidt their vineyards are a story for another time.
George Brown died December 29, 1896 and Mary Jane married James Gibb on July 30, 1898, when she was 43 years old and he was 55. The Hon James Gibb (1843 - 1919) was the son of Alexander Gibb of Campbellfield. James was the M.L.A for Mornington from 1880 to 1886 and also owned at one time, Melville Park (now Edrington in Berwick, the former home of Lord and Lady Casey). Gibb was also a draught horse breeder and described as one of the most enterprising farmers in the State - a champion ploughman, gentleman an politician. He was a Shire of Berwick Councillor for 30 years and the Federal Member for Flinders from 1903 to 1906. You can read his obituary in the Weekly Times of March 8, 1919, see here. In 1904, Mary Jane Gibb purchased the Tullillan property in Clyde Road. Read about Tulliallan, here. She died on July 30, 1932 aged 78. Read her obituary in the Shepparton Advertiser of August 1, 1932, here.
(3) The Heritage of the City of Berwick, researched by Context P/L and published in 1993, quotes (page 320) A Brief Cultural Review of the City of Berwick by Helen Millicer, which was produced in 1991. I have not seen the Millicer document.
(4) Read John Ford Paterson's entry, written by Marjorie Tipping, in the Australian Dictionary of Biography https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/paterson-john-ford-4372
(5) The Argus, July 26, 1888, see here.
(6) The Argus, May 14, 1892, see here.
(7) The Heritage of the City of Berwick, researched by Context P/L and published in 1993.
(8) Family information from various notices in the newspapers and Early Settlers of the Casey Cardinia District researched and published by the Narre Warren & District Family History Group in 2010. George Brown, junior married Emily Gissing on August 14, 1885, she was the daughter of George Gissing of St Kilda. You can read an account of the Inquest into his accident in the South Bourke & Mornington Journal, of June 8, 1887, here.
(9) Marriage certificate of Mary Jane Esson and George Brown.
(10) Louis Esson's entry in the Australian Dictionary of Biography, written by D.R. Walker, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/esson-thomas-louis-buvelot-6115
(11) Ibid.
(12) Esther Paterson https://www.womenaustralia.info/biogs/AWE3783b.htm
Betty Paterson https://www.womenaustralia.info/biogs/AWE3782b.htm
Charles Paterson, is mentioned here    https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/paterson-john-ford-4372
(13) Scotch College, Melbourne website https://www.scotch.vic.edu.au/greatscot/2010sepGS/51.htm
(14) https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/esson-thomas-louis-buvelot-6115

(15) I took the date (1890s) from the headline of the article 'a generation ago' and the fact that John Ford Paterson died in 1912. Melbourne had its Bloomsbury: the Carlton of a generation ago was thronged with Artists and Bohemians by Gladys Hain.

(16) Melbourne had its Bloomsbury: the Carlton of a generation ago was thronged with Artists and Bohemians by Gladys Hain in The Argus, May 21, 1938, see here.
(17) The Heritage of the City of Berwick, researched by Context P/L and published in 1993
(18) The Age, January 3, 1891, see here.
(19) John Little https://manchestervictorianarchitects.org.uk/architects/john-little John Grainger https://cv.vic.gov.au/stories/built-environment/john-harry-grainger/
(20) Hillson Beasley - East St Kilda Congregationalist Church http://skhs.org.au/SKHSchurches/east_st_kilda_uniting_church.htm Australian Dictionary of Biography entry https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/beasley-hillson-12789
(21) Frank Brown - Football career is listed on the Scotch College website https://www.scotch.vic.edu.au/greatscot/2010sepGS/51.htm; Other information - Obituary Sporting Globe, November 28, 1928, see here; Obituary The Argus, November 27, 1928, see here; Obituary by C.J. Dennis, The Herald, November 27, 1928, see here.

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

Elizabeth Parsons (1831-1897)

Elizabeth Parsons (1831 - 1897) was a professional artist, who created many delightful landscapes in water-colour, oil and drawings. The State Library of Victoria has around thirty of her works on-line, many of the St Kilda area (1) however Elizabeth also has a number of works of Berwick, which was then a country town and where the family stayed during summer.

View from Wilson's Hill, Berwick, 1878 by Elizabeth Parsons.

Image: National Gallery of Victoria A35-1976

This is a very short history of her life and works, most of which I have summarised from the book More than a memory: the art of Elizabeth Parsons by Veronica Filmer.  This is the catalogue of an exhibition of Elizabeth Parson's work held at the Geelong Gallery in 2004. The exhibition was also curated by Veronica Filmer. It's a lovely book, I found a copy at an on-line second-hand book seller and it is well worth tracking down, however the Geelong Galley has recently digitised the book and it is available on their website, here https://www.geelonggallery.org.au/whats-on/exhibitions/elizabeth-parsons

Elizabeth was born to William and Elizabeth (nee Keens) Warren on November 27, 1831.  The Keens were market gardeners and William and Elizabeth and their children lived on the family property after their marriage in 1820. Elizabeth (the younger) found employment as a governess and in the late 1850s began art lessons with instructors including Thomas Miles Richardson and James Duffield Harding.

Elizabeth Parson

The Age, December 10, 1932, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/204305272#

Her mother, who died in March 1867, left Elizabeth an annuity as long as she remained unmarried and this gave her some freedom to travel around England on sketching trips. It was on one of these trips that she met George Parsons (1830 - 1920) who was the manager of the Lizard Serpentine Marble Works.  George had trained as a surveyor and was a widower with two sons, George and Cecil. Elizabeth and George married on October 28, 1868. Elizabeth gave birth to  a daughter, Adeline, in August 1869. 1869 was also significant for Elizabeth as she exhibited seven works in the Society of Female Artists exhibition, her first major exhibition. Elizabeth exhibited under the name of Mrs George Parsons.

In 1870 the family decided to migrate to Australia and they arrived in Melbourne on May 20, 1870 and their son Henry was born the same year. In 1872 another son, Warren, was born followed by two more sons, Noel in 1875, Jonathon in 1876 and a still-born baby in 1879.   Elizabeth lost no time in establishing herself as an artist in her new country and she exhibited in the Victorian Academy of Art exhibition in November 1870. The Argus had a two part review of this exhibition, which you can read here and here. The Argus said that there were three water-colour landscapes of conspicuous merit by Mrs G. Parsons (2).

There was also a more detailed review of Elizabeth Parson's work in The Argus of December 26, 1870, which Ms Filmer quoted in her book (3) and I have reproduced, below.

Praise for Elizabeth Parson's work.

The Argus December 26, 1870 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5839972

Elizabeth commenced teaching in the early 1870s as well as continuing to exhibit works  depicting local landmarks such as the Carlton Gardens and Melbourne University. Around 1873, Elizabeth rented a studio in Flinders Lane and the next year the family moved to a house in Neptune Street, St Kilda. They later moved to Charnwood Road in the same suburb and then to 249 Carlisle Street in Balaclava.

The family also toured the State and scenes from areas such as Mornington, Geelong, Woodend and Berwick featured in Elizabeth's work. Ms Filmer writes that the family spent many summers in Berwick, where they had either leased or brought  a small holiday house. From here Elizabeth could make sketching trips into the surrounding district. (4)  The picture, below, shows  the back of the holiday house in Wilson lane (or Wilson Street as it was actually called). Ms Filmer also writes that from the Berwick house popular locations such as Harkaway and Koo Wee Rup were easily accessed (5).  I checked the Shire of Berwick Rate books and neither George or Elizabeth are listed as owning property at Berwick,  so they must have rented a house in Berwick. 

Wilson lane, Berwick, c. 1876 by Elizabeth Parsons.

Image: More than a memory: the art of Elizabeth Parsons by Veronica Filmer (Geelong Gallery, 2004)

Elizabeth's standing as an artist continued to grow and in December 1874, she was elected to the Victorian Academy of Art Council, which is all the more remarkable as there was much opposition to women taking up public positions of any kind and also that she had the responsibility of a  young family to care for and George was often away due to his job as inspector and auditor of the Seymour to Avenel section of the North Eastern railway line. Elizabeth also continued to exhibit and began painting in oils.

In the early 1880s, Elizabeth became more enterprising and published three books - the Drawing book of Australian Landscape - book one covered buildings, book two trees and book three landscapes. Books one and two have been digitised by the State Library of Victoria, here and here and Ms Filmer writes that no trace has been found of the third book, Landscapes (6) 

At Berwick, 1882, by Elizabeth Parsons. This illustration was originally published in her book, Drawing book of Australian Landscape - Part 1 - buildings.

Image: National Gallery of Australia Image NGA 86.1996.

The 1880s saw Elizabeth continue to exhibit in the annual Victorian Academy of Arts shows, the Sydney Art Society exhibition, Victorian Jubilee Exhibition of 1884, amongst other shows. In 1886 she joined the newly formed Australian Artist's Association along with other artists such as Tom Roberts, Arthur Streeton and Charles Conder. The first exhibition of this group was reported on in the Melbourne newspapers, see below and you can read Elizabeth's review, below.

Praise for Elizabeth Parson's work at the inaugural Australian Artist's Association exhibition.

The Argus September 7, 1886 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11571934

Elizabeth was also a member of two social clubs - the Buonarotti Club, whose members were mainly young artists (7) and the Stray Leaves Club, which was active from 1889 to 1892 and often met at the Parson's home in Balaclava. Emma Minnie Boyd (nee A'Beckett, 1858 - 1936) was also a member of the Stray Leaves Club.  Ms Filmer writes that Emma Minnie Boyd and Elizabeth Parsons, exhibited together from the mid 1870s, had stylistic similarities and that Elizabeth may have been something of  a mentor to Emma (8).  The A'Becketts owned The Grange property at Harkaway, the town just north of Berwick, so it is likely that they also socialised when the Parsons were at Berwick.

At Berwick, 1882, by Elizabeth Parsons. This illustration was originally published in her book, Drawing book of Australian Landscape - Part 1 - buildings.

Image: National Gallery of Australia Image NGA 86.2250

From 1889 Elizabeth decided to retire and sold many of her works at a sale in 1890 and she held another sale in 1896. You can read the coverage of the 1896 sale in The Age of  July 17, 1896, here.  By this time Elizabeth was suffering from breast cancer and she died May 28, 1897. She is buried in the St Kilda Cemetery, as is her husband, George, who died January 19, 1920.

There were periodic exhibitions of Elizabeth Parson's works after her death, mainly instigated by her daughter Adeline, and also one in 1920, which Ms Filmer said reignited interest in Elizabeth and her art (9).  The Herald reviewed this exhibition, you can read it here and it is transcribed, below. 

The review of Elizabeth Parson's 1920 retrospective exhibition.

The Herald, March 15, 1920  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article242159510

Mid-Victorian Memories by A. Colquhoun

An exhibition of 65 paintings in water-colors by the late Elizabeth Parsons (Mrs George Parsons) was opened today at the Decoration Galleries, Collins street. Mrs Parsons occupied a prominent place in Victorian art during the seventies and eighties, and her work was accepted not merely as that of a talented woman painter but as an equal of the leading professional artists of her time and environment. Her manner of using water-color was direct and forceful, free from tricky manipulation of any kind, and generally characterised by a uniform sincerity of purpose. In the present collection, which ranges over many years, the quality is naturally unequal, but there is no example shown which has not some claim to be considered on its merits as a work of art. Apart from their artistic worthy these pictures have overlooked, and they form, collectively or individually, an impressive record of the great changes which have taken place in Melbourne and its environs during the lust 40 years. Mrs Parsons, who was a woman of intellect and of attractive personality, died in 1897. The exhibition will remain open till March 20. (The Herald, March 15, 1920).

The man who wrote this review, Alexander Colquhoun (1966-1941), was an artist and the art critic who wrote for The Age, as well as The Herald (10).  In 1932, he profiled Elizabeth Parsons in his series Australian Artists of the Past for The Age (11).  It is an interesting look at her life which addresses the difficulties she face balancing raising a family as a professional artist. It also looks at some of the prejudice she faced initially as a woman, when the art world was dominated by men.

Australian Artists of the Past - Mrs Geo. Parsons. By A.C.

In reviewing the progress of the pioneer artists of Australia one is apt to think of it a a parade fit males only, and in the main the presumption is largely borne out by fact; for in those early colonial days woman had other things to do than fiddle about with paints and brushes; and though she had since amply justified her claim to recognition on a professional footing, the time was not yet ripe in the seventies for her acknowledgment as any thing more serious than a pretty dabbler in the arts. The woman who then sought to make art her vocation in life had many things to reckon with and overcome before attaining even a moderate grip on success, and only one of those was a popular conviction that her only credible sphere of action was in that shrine of early Victorian smugness - "the home."

The perfunctory lady amateur had rather a vogue in Queen Victoria's days but with Mrs. Parsons the case was different, for though the mother of a family and a domesticated woman in the true sense of the term, her art never fell to the level of a hobby or accomplishment, but was, from the first to last, the serious business of her life. She was born at Islesworth, on the Thames, and lived there until she married, at the age of thirty-five, her husband being a widower, whom she met while on a sketching trip in Cornwall, and with whom, a few years later she left England to settle in Australia. Mrs. Parsons, like Glover and Buvelot, brought with her to this country a record of past achievement. 

Before her marriage she was a pupil of Thomas Miles Richardson, a man of some note in his day as a painter, engraver and illustrator, and on various occasions an exhibitor at the Royal Academy exhibitions. His landscapes, in oils and water colors, were painted in a bold and original manner, and he had a special gift for "sunset effects," which had then a more popular appeal than in these sophisticated days. Her next mentor in art was James Duffield Harding, celebrated as a teacher, painter and lithographer, and who published several works relating to the practice of his profession, among them "Lessons in Art" and "The Principle and Practice of Art", both of which had a wide circulation. The teaching of this artist had a lasting influence on the work of Elizabeth Parsons, and though in the light of modern opinion some of his methods might be regarded as superficial, Ruskin, in his "Modern Painters," says of him: "Let us refresh ourselves for a moment by looking at the truth; we need not go to Turner - we will go to the man who, next in order, is unquestionably the greatest master of foliage in Europe - J. D. Harding." 

On her arrival in Melbourne, Mrs. Parsons lost no time in identifying herself with the art of the new land of her adoption. On 1st December, 1870, an exhibition of paintings by Victorian artists was opened by Viscount Canterbury at the Melbourne Public Library, in which 230 pictures were shown.

Among the artists represented were Buvelot, von Guerard, O.R. Campbell, Chester Earles; and three water colors, which were described as of conspicuous merit, were by Mrs. Geo. Parsons.

Working quietly but assiduously, she again came to the front in a mixed display of pictures held in a well-known art gallery situated somewhere in the doctors' quarters of Collins-street. This was in 

1872, and her water colors received further praise from the newspapers as being of outstanding quality. She had now become a recognised personage in the art life of Melbourne, and a constant contributor to the exhibitions of the Victorian Academy of Arts on Eastern Hill, in connection with which body she was elected a member of the council somewhere about 1873. Though voicing the restricted sentiment of the day, some of the sitting members strongly resented the intrusion of a female into their conclaves; probably on the grounds that her proper place was in the "home" minding her children and darning her husband's socks. These found, however, that they had an advance representative of the Australian new woman to deal with, and the interloper was not long in consolidating her position and making her influence felt in the raising of the standard in local art. 

Much of her time was spent in teaching, and in this branch of her many activities she established a reputation for method and scrupulous sincerity of purpose which did not tend to lighten her labors. One of her scrupulosities - which is worthy of imitation - was a rigid taboo of all impermanent colors, however brilliant, and as a result pictures painted by her party of fifty years ago still retain their freshness of yesterday, which is a matter for consideration by young artists with a possible fifty years of life still before them.

In the Colonial and Indian Exhibitions held in London in 1886, we read in the Magazine of Art an article by R.A.L. Stevenson, who, after speaking of J. Ford Paterson, refers appreciatively to a painting by Mrs. Parson entitled The Red Bluff as "another work inspired by study of good schools, it is composed and arranged with taste and method, and the color is laid on in good broad washes." In this number of the magazine the pictures reproduced are On the Lerderderg, by John Ford Paterson; The Red Bluff, by E. Parsons; and Luck at Last, by G. K. Ashton. For her work in this exhibition the artist was also warmly commended in a letter from Peter Graham.

While the standard she aimed at and reached was normally a high one, her art was, as is the case with every capable painter, liable to variations and reactions to environment and conditions. Perhaps the best things she produced belong to her mid-Australian period, and her daughter, Adeline, speaking of this, says she believes there was a slight falling off while her children were little and requiring constant care, but it revived later, and almost up to the year of her death, in 1897, kept pace with the progress and development of the times. 

Besides contributing freely to general exhibitions, she was one of the first exponents of the "One-Man Show" in Melbourne, one successful display being made about 1885, and another - her latest public demonstration - in 1896. Though a prolific worker conditions did not, as a rule, admit of her travelling very far afield in search of subject matter, and indirectly owing to this a special interest attaches to many of her pictures of near-by rural spots which are to-day marked by tram lines and busy suburban streets.

A pianist of more than average ability she was, in company with John Longstaff, Fred McGubbin, J. G. Gibbs, the writer and other artists of the then younger generation, a member of the then Buonarotti Club, which, with Cyrus Mason as president, was a source of semi-Bohemian culture in the Melbourne of the late eighties, and, when after some years of activity it ceased to function, Mrs Parsons, who rather leant to functions, and liked to have people about her, started a new society, happily named the "Stray Leaves' primarily designed to bring together and encourage young people interested in art, which purpose it served helpfully for a time when going the way of all such organisations.

Perhaps the happiest lime of the artist's life was when she was associated with the old Academy of Arts, and was one of the group of enthusiasts who, in the face of much that was discouraging, kept the door of art open in this country in the interests of the coming generations. The building, described as "a large bluestone room lit at the top by skylights," was opened in 1874, and cost £800 - an unpretentious beginning, perhaps - but it has borne fruit, and tribute is due from this generation to the memory of the pioneers. Among whom besides Mrs. Parsons were the Hon. H. T. T. a'Beckett, grandfather of the late Penleigh Boyd, J. A. Panton, F, Mackennell, father of Sir Bertram Mackennell ; Buvelot, von Guerard and Chester Earles.

To excite interest in the cause of art which, in those days, seems to have wanted a good deal of tickling, an art union was arranged in connection with the academy, and Mrs. Parsons had the honor of having her work chosen and sent to Tasmania, where it was well received. So it will be seen that, though like others who served in the burden and heat, her name has become little more than a memory - she was not without honor in her day, and honor, fairly earned, is a thing that dies hard. (The Age, December 10, 1932, see here)

We will finish this post on Elizabeth Parsons once again quoting Veronica Filmer - Through persistence and hard work Elizabeth Parsons reached a prominent position in the Victorian art world and was an inspiration to many around her who aspired to do the same. (11)

Acknowledgement
Much of this post I have summarised from Veronica Filmer's essay on the life and work of Elizabeth Parsons, which was published in More than a memory: the art of Elizabeth Parsons (Geelong Gallery, 2004). It is of course a much more comprehensive, scholarly and detailed study of Elizabeth's life and work than what you read here. Here is the link to the work again from the Geelong Gallery website https://www.geelonggallery.org.au/whats-on/exhibitions/elizabeth-parsons Even though you can view it on-line, as I said before, if you ever come across a copy of the book, it is still worth buying. I've scanned the cover, so you will recognise it if you see it. It has 40 of her works reproduced, it's just a delight. I found out about Elizabeth Parsons, her connection to Berwick and Veronica Filmer's book, from my fellow historian, Isaac Hermann.

Footnotes
(1) As well as the Elizabeth Parson works which are on-line at the State Library of Victoria, www.slv.vic.gov.au you can view some of her works on the Geelong Gallery website, https://www.geelonggallery.org.au/. The National Gallery of Victoria has three of her works, on-line, https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/ The National Gallery of Australia has nine of her works on-line https://nga.gov.au/

(2) The Argus December 1, 1870, see here.  
(3) Filmer, Veronica More than a memory: the art of Elizabeth Parsons (Geelong Gallery, 2004) page 15.
(4) Filmer, page 17
(5) Filmer, page 28
(6) Filmer, page 24
(7) Filmer, page 33
(8) Filmer, page 33. Ms Filmer was alerted to the possible connections between Elizabeth Parsons and Emma Minnie Boyd by Jennifer Phipps of the National Gallery of Victoria (footnote 79, page 33)
(9) Filmer, page 35
(10) The Age, February 15, 1941, see here.

(11)  The Age, December 10, 1932, see here.
(12) Filmer, page 37

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