Motor Club Hotel Cranbourne - a short history

Kelly's Motor Club Hotel is a landmark in Cranbourne, but it wasn't the first hotel on that site. The original Hotel, called the Mornington Hotel, was opened sometime in the 1850s by Thomas and Elizabeth Gooch (1)  The historian, Niel Gunson, writes that -
Gooch, who held a master's certificate, had signed on the Sacramento (2) as mate in order to reach Australia. Elizabeth Minister whom he married at St Peter's Eastern Hill in 1854 had also been on the Sacramento and both lost all their possessions when it was wrecked near the Heads. Both Gooch and his wife took an active part in the life of the Church of England, Mrs Gooch having been one of Bishop Perry's school teachers in England. (3) 

Thomas and Elizabeth Gooch

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

The  actual date of their marriage was  September 19, 1853; Thomas was 31 years old and Elizabeth was 28 years old. Thomas had been born in Long Melford, Suffolk to Edward Woodcock Gooch, a draper, and his wife Fanny Munnings. Elizabeth was born in Cambridge, England to Edward Minister, a carpenter and his wife Elizabeth Amey. (4)  Elizabeth gave birth to nine children between 1855 and 1867; they are listed here with year of birth and place of registration - Thomas (1855, Western Port ), Alfred (1857, Cranbourne), Susan Ellen (1859, Cranbourne),  Arthur (1860, Cranbourne), Charlotte (1861, Cranbourne), Walter Edward (1863, Cranbourne), Harriet Beumont (1864, Cranbourne), Frank Frederick (1865, Cranbourne), Fanny Elizabeth (1867, Berwick).  (5)   Elizabeth died on September 28, 1900 at 1 McPhail Street, Essendon, aged 75 and Thomas died on November 13, 1902 at 407 Canning Street, North Carlton, aged 80. (6)

Gooch's Mornington Hotel

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

By then of course, the Goochs had long since left the Mornington Hotel. Thomas became insolvent in January 1866 due to depreciation in property and falling off in business. (7)  At some time, the Licence was transferred to James Harris, who in turn transferred the Licence to Isaac Mullin in July 1869. Dr Gunson wrote that Isaac Mullin held the licence until 1872, when he concentrated on store keeping. Harris came back to the Hotel, and after his death in September 1875, his wife Elizabeth, took over the licence. She was still there in 1887. (8) 

In the 1890s licensees included Thomas Pearson and Henry Nurse senior and Henry Nurse junior.(9) William Lang  took over the freehold and the licence in July 1901 from Henry Nurse; and later licensees in the first decade of the 1900s included J. Lane and Letitia Buchanan. (10)

Around 1911, John Taylor took over the licence of the Mornington Hotel and in December 1911  he applied to have the name changed to the Motor Club Hotel and this was approved at a Licensing Court Hearing held December 14, 1911. (11)  This name  may have been related to the birth of the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria in Tooradin or may have reflected the fact that Cranbourne was a popular destination for early motor car excursions. (12)  John Taylor purchased the freehold of the hotel in 1912. (13).

The change of name from the Mornington Hotel to the Motor Club Hotel

South Bourke & Mornington Journal December 21, 1911 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article66179793

Julia O'Brien took over the licence of the Motor Club Hotel in February 1913 and was there until March 1914. (14) It was then operated by Gertrude and William Kilroy, who I have written about here.  In May 1918, it was reported that William James Taylor had taken over the licence and the lease of the business from Gertrude Kilroy; I presume that William and John Taylor are related. In May 1919, William Taylor applied to transfer the licence to  Mrs Sarah Kelly of 214 Williams Road, Hawksburn,  however John Taylor is listed in the Cranbourne Shire Rate books as owning the Hotel until the  1921/1922 Rate Year. (15) This was a short-lived occupancy by Sarah Kelly as by July 1920 John Blencowe was advertising as the proprietor of the Motor Club Hotel. (16)  In April 1922 the licence was transferred from John Blencowe to Arthur Kelly and the 1922/1923 Rate books lists Arthur Kelly as the owner of the building. Members of the Kelly  family still operate the Hotel. (17)  I have no information as to whether Sarah Kelly was related to Arthur Kelly. 

At the bottom of this list of Hotel Licence transfers is that of John Blencowe to Arthur Kelly,

The Age, April 27 1922 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article205044523

Arthur Kelly had previously operated the Cranbourne Hotel, which was situated where Greg Clydesdale Square in High Street is now located and which was demolished around the 1970s. It had been established by Robert and Margaret Duff, around 1860. Robert Duff (1827-1861) was the brother of the Reverend Alexander Duff, the first Presbyterian Minister in the area.  Margaret, whose maiden name was also Duff, married Cranbourne storekeeper, Edward John Tucker in 1866. (18)

Traditionally, hotel keepers in Australia are seen as being of Irish and Catholic background, but in the 1850s and 1860s in this area it was not unusual to have Protestants operating hotels. By the 1880s there was a movement towards abstinence from alcohol or the Temperance movement with the rise of groups such as the Band of  Hope, the Independent Order of Rechabites and the Woman's Christian Temperance. Many Protestant Churches promoted abstinence and as Dr Gunson writes The Gooches, Tuckers and Duffs and Mrs Bowman of the Gippsland Hotel were perhaps the last of their kind to combine Evangelical piety with the publican's profession.  (19) 

Kelly's Motor Club Hotel, c. 1930s

Image: Cranbourne Shire Historical Society

The existing Motor Club Hotel, was built around 1924, by Arthur Kelly. I am basing this date on the valuation in the Cranbourne Shire Rate Books - in 1923/24 and 1924/25 the Net Annual Value was 240 pounds, in 1925/26, it had leapt to 420 pounds and the next two years it was 400 pounds, so I believe the increase in rates was due to the erection of the new building. As the Local Government year used to run from October 1 to September 30 then the new building would have been erected between October 1924 and September 1925 to appear at the higher valuation in the 1925/26 year. (20) The building is listed on the City of Casey Heritage Database, which describes it as of local historic, social and aesthetic significance to the City of Casey. (21)

Footnotes
(1) Gunson,  Niel The Good Country: Cranbourne Shire (Cheshire, 1968), p. 65

(2) The Sacramento - wrecked off Point Lonsdale at 3.00am April 27, 1853; it had left London on December 22, 1852.  This report from the Geelong Advertiser of April 28, 1853 (see here) -

Wreck at the Heads - The Barque Sacramento, Holmes, master, from London, with 250 government immigrants, arrived off the Heads yesterday. At about 3 o'clock a.m. the ship struck upon the Point Lonsdale reef, about one mile from shore and four from the lighthouse. The long-boat, life-boat, and two smaller boats were immediately hoisted out, and the landing of the immigrants commenced. Some were taken to the shore and others landed temporarily on the reef. The news was brought to Geelong yesterday afternoon, by the Rev. Mr. Lord, chaplain to the Sacramento. When he left the pilot station yesterday morning at nine, the boats were busily engaged in landing the immigrants, but as a heavy surf was running the process was necessarily slow, and even if the weather remained favourable, it would occupy the greater portion of yesterday to land them all. The condition of some of the poor creatures; crowding into the boats, many of them in their night dresses only, was truly pitiable. From the ship's position she is not likely to be got off; and in the meantime the immigrants' luggage and cargo is in jeopardy; indeed, as the weather has since been very squally, the vessel has most likely already gone to pieces.

(3) Ibid; Bishop Perry (1807-1891) https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/perry-charles-4391

(4) Marriage certificate; St Peter's Eastern Hill, Victoria, Australia Marriages, 1848-1955 on Ancestry.com

(5) Index to Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages. 

(6) Elizabeth death notice -  The Age, October 1, 1900, see here; Thomas death notice -  The Argus, November 15, 1902, see here.
(7) The Argus, January 10, 1866, see here.
(8) Licence transfer - Harris to Mullin - The Argus, July 10, 1869, see here;  Gunson, op. cit., p. 67; James Harris - application for licence The Argus, June 11, 1872, see here;  James Harris death - The Australasian, September 11, 1875, see here; the first reference I can find to Elizabeth holding the licence was in the South Bourke & Mornington Journal, January 2, 1878, see here; meeting at Mrs Harris' Hotel - South Bourke & Mornington Journal, June 8, 1887, see here. 
(9) Licence transfer - Pearson to Nurse - The Argus, January 23, 1895, see here;  Henry Nurse snr to Henry Nurse jnr South Bourke & Mornington Journal, March 4, 1896, see here

(10) Licence transfer - Nurse to Lang South Bourke & Mornington Journal, July 24, 1901, see here; Licence transfer - J. Lane to Buchanan - The Argus, June 19, 1908, see here. 
(11) Name change - South Bourke & Mornington Journal, December 21, 1911, see here.
(12) Priestley, Susan The Crown of the Road: the story of the RACV (McMillan, 1983).
(13)  Taylor freehold - South Bourke & Mornington Journal, January 18, 1912, see here.
(14) Licence transfer - Taylor to O'Brien - South Bourke & Mornington Journal, February 20, 1913, see here; Licence transfer -  O'Brien to Kilroy - The Age, March 7, 1914, see here. 

(15) The Kilroys - https://victoriaspast.blogspot.com/2022/08/mrs-gertrude-kilroy-of-motor-club-hotel.html Licence transfer - Kilroy to W.J. Taylor -  The Age, May 14, 1918, see here. Licence transfer - W. Taylor to S. Kelly - The Argus, May 3, 1919, see here. Shire of Cranbourne Rate Books. 

(16) Licence Transfer - S. Kelly to Blencowe - The Argus, May 15, 1920, see here; Blencowe - South Bourke & Mornington Journal, July 8, 1920, see here.
(17) Licence transfer - Blencowe to A. Kelly - The Age, April 27, 1922, see here. Shire of Cranbourne Rate Books. 

(18) Gunson, op. cit., p. 67. I have written about the Reverend Alexander Duff  here  https://victoriaspast.blogspot.com/2026/01/reverend-alexander-duff-1824-1890.html
(19) Gunson, op. cit, . p.185
(20) Shire of Cranbourne Rate Books. 
(21) Casey Heritage Study 2004: Volume 2 - Key Heritage Place and Precincts Citations (Readopted by Council in 2006 with minor corrections), prepared by Context P/L (City of Casey, 2006), access it here https://www.casey.vic.gov.au/heritage-at-casey

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

Frank Green, 13 years old, a victim of the Brighton Cyclone

On Saturday afternoon, February 2, 1918 Brighton suffered a severe storm which left a wave of destruction and two people dead, one of whom was Frank Green, who had turned 13 years old only ten days before. The Argus, had a very comprehensive report of the storm, the first few paragraphs are transcribed here.

Ferocious Storm Devastation at Brighton. 

Houses Demolished by Blast. 

Trees torn up by roots. 

Two Deaths: Many Injured. 

Wind 200 Miles an Hour. 

The most furious windstorm experienced in Australia since meteorological records have been taken occurred at Brighton and Brighton Beach at about a quarter to 5 o'clock on Saturday afternoon. The area affected was fortunately limited to a fairly narrow strip; but within that strip the passage of the wind was marked by a trail of collapsed or damaged houses, uprooted trees and levelled fences. It was a scene of extraordinary devastation. So far as has yet been reported only two deaths occurred as the result of the storm, but many people were injured, more or less seriously.

The casualties known are as follow:—
Killed.
Frank Green, 14 [sic], Chetwynd street, North Melbourne, almost decapitated. [more about Frank later]
G. McLeod,  of Sydney, drowned at St. Kilda.
Injured
Winnie Kendall,  aged 6 years, Wellington street, Brighton, broken leg.
F.J. Prescott,  Moffat street, Brighton, broken arm.
Thomas W. Stillman, New street, Brighton, bone of right arm splintered.
D.P Nicholson,  Toorak road, Kooyong, exhaustion, bruises, and shock from immersion.
W. Menardi, Albert Park, exhaustion, bruises and shock from immersion.
- McCarroll,  caretaker, Bentleigh, facial cuts and other injuries.

Fearful Four Minutes.
The meteorological conditions which accompanied the storm were such as had never been experienced in Australia before. Fairly early on Saturday afternoon the whole sky became overcast and the sultry heat of the morning gave place to a strong squall from the north or north west, accompanied by driving sheets of rain, which caused the abandonment of many outdoor sports. The wind was strong enough to break large branches off trees, and to uproot a few of the more exposed, but it did no more damage than many previous storms.

At about half past 4, however, residents of Brighton noticed the heavy blue-black cloud gathering in the south west and growing more and more menacing. A quarter of an hour later, with scarcely a warning sound, a gale of unprecedented violence struck the foreshore, demolished half the bunks in the baths, stripped the roof off a large portion of the main building, lifted up a small refreshment store bodily, hurling it 40 yards across the road, and passed on to wreak havoc among the buildings for more than two miles inland. The moment it struck the mainland the air became thick with flying tiles, sheets of galvanised iron, branches of trees, and pieces of wood. The wonder of it is that more people were not injured. Sheets of iron were flying through the air like birds, and there are authenticated cases of heavy beams being carried more than 100 yards before they fell to earth. Sheds were moved bodily. Chimneys fell through the roofs of houses and in many cases the houses themselves proved unable to stand against the terrific pressure of the wind and collapsed. Women became hysterical, and many, although not physically injured, are still suffering from shock to the nerves. Windows crashed in under the weight of the wind or were broken by flying missiles, and through every gap in the roof or window that the storm made the rain poured in in torrents. Every house that was unroofed was also flooded, causing serious damage to carpets, pictures and furniture. The three or four minutes for which the storm lasted was a period of terror. Then it passed as suddenly as it had come, in its wake many stricken homes and a desolate landscape, with scarcely a whole tree left standing.

It was in the first burst of the storm that the two fatalities occurred. Fortunately then were no other deaths directly attributable to the wind, but it would be impossible to catalogue all the wonderful escapes that occurred during the short time that the storm lasted. Nor is it possible to form a correct estimate of the damage done to property; but £100,000 may be regarded as well within the total, that will be required to repair the havoc that was wrought.

How the Storm Arose.
One of the most remarkable aspects of the storm was the lack of uniformity with which houses suffered. The "blow" seemed to split up into tongues, which followed fairly well defined courses. Along those courses was devastation. Between them the houses, and even the trees, seemed to have escaped almost unscathed. At Brighton Beach almost every house within a fairly narrow radius suffered severely but between the Royal Terminus Hotel and Wellington street, a distance of about a mile, hardly a house along the foreshore showed any effects of the storm. Even in Wellington street, where some of the worst damage was done, the houses on the south side, with two exceptions, escaped with no more than the loss of a few tiles. And between Wellington street and Chatsworth road there is another long stretch showing scarcely any damage. It would seem that the drowning incident at St. Kilda was caused by still another tongue of the same squall. The theory most favoured, as explaining the peculiar distribution of the "blow" is that the wind from the north-west collided with the wind from the south-west somewhere in the bay, increasing in its violence, and giving it an irregular front, which explains the seemingly distinct squalls that struck the mainland. Apparently one tongue struck at the Brighton Beach Baths another drove up Wellington street, and converged with the first in Halifax street, a third struck in the vicinity of Chatsworth road, and a fourth struck St. Kilda. (1)

The arrows show the direction taken by the two tongues of wind. The starting points are given as Brighton Beach and Wellington street, joining at Halifax street, then swinging away to the north-east, so that Landcox and Ormond, to the north, and Jasper road, to the east, are shown.

The Argus, February 4, 1918 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1637265

The aftermath of the Cyclone. 

The State Library of Victoria has this image labelled as Presbyterian Church, Brighton  - struck by a  cyclone and wrecked. However, The Argus, has an almost identical photo labelled as Methodist Church, Mills Street, North Brighton. 

Image: State Library of Victoria  H19996. 

See The Argus photograph here http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1637265

Frank Green - a victim of the storm

The Argus wrote this about young Frank - 

Boy's Shocking Death. After he had attended a missionary lecture on Brighton Beach in the afternoon, Frank Green, aged 14, [sic] of Chetwynd street, North Melbourne, left the C.M.A. Sowers' Band picnic with a son of the Rev J.H. Frewin to have a swim at the baths. They had only reached the refreshment kiosk known as "The Ozone," a wooden structure 12ft square, when the storm broke, and they stood in the lee of the kiosk. At the climax of the south-westerly blast the frail building was smashed in, and falling on Green severed his skull completely in a line from the forehead back to the ears. The wreckage was carried on across the road, leaving the boy dead where he had been struck. 

His companion, Frewin, aged 10, was blown some distance along the Esplanade, and was rescued by two Japanese sailors. He was dazed and bruised, and his benefactors placed him in the train for

Melbourne. Some persons in the train noticing his weak state took him out of the train at Balaclava, and at the suggestion of the stationmaster the police took care of him. His father, responding to a telephone message, came to Balaclava, and going through to Brighton Beach, gave the Rev. A. R. Ebbs, who was in charge of the picnic, the first intimation that it was Frank Green who had been killed. There were 500 children attending the picnic, and the organisers delayed departure till half-past 9, so that all could be gathered in. Many had taken refuge in shops near the gardens, and no others were seriously injured. The body of Frank Green was taken to the Morgue by Constable Kearsley, of Brighton. (2)

The C.M.A. was the Church of England Missionary Association and the Reverend Arthur Rowley Ebbs was the Honorary Secretary of the Association.  The Sower's Band raised funds for the C.M.A. Young Frewin, mentioned in the article was the son of the Reverend John Henry Frewin, who in 1917 was the Vicar at St Mary's Church of England in North Melbourne. (3)

Frank's funeral notice said that he was the adopted son of Mrs Zurich of 5 Chetwynd Street, North Melbourne. He was buried at the Coburg Cemetery. (4)

Frank's funeral notice

The Argus, February 4, 1918 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1637226

In Frank's Inquest he is named as Frank Ladd, known as Frank Green. Frank Edwin Donald Ladd was born on January 22, 1905 to unmarried seventeen year old Nellie Isabella Ladd at the Women's Hospital in Carlton. (5) Nellie had been born in Sydney in 1887 to Thomas and Jane (nee Shaw); Jane applied for a divorce from Thomas in 1893 in New South Wales, on the grounds of cruelty and desertion (6).  I don't know whether Nellie was living in Melbourne normally, or whether she sent down to Melbourne to give birth and save the family embarrassment. 

Did Nellie give Frank up for adoption?  He was known as Frank Ladd and she is listed on his death certificate as his mother. I believe that he was adopted informally by a friend or relative of Nellie Ladd, because if he was adopted by a stranger, then they would not have known of  the name of the birth mother for the death certificate.  However, if Mrs Zurich was his adoptive mother,  this did not explain why Frank Ladd became known as Frank Green.  Then in the 1915 Sands and McDougall Directory, I found Henry Green as the occupant of 5 Chetwynd Street.  I then found the following Bereavement notice in The Argus (7) from Mr and Mrs Green thanking friends, the aforementioned Reverend Frewin and Mrs Frewin; the Reverend  Wenzel and the Sunday school teachers and choir at St Mary's in North Melbourne for their sympathy in the loss of their dear son, Frank.

Bereavement notice for Frank

The Argus, March 2 1918 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1643315

The 1917 Electoral Roll (8) lists William Henry Green and Alice Green at 5 Chetwynd Street. I  assume that Mrs Zurich was also Mrs Alice Green and was married (or co-habitating) with Henry Green , and that they had adopted young Frank and he took their surname.  If she isn't the same person, then I have no explanation as to who she is. 

The Green in the 1917 Electoral Roll.

Electoral Roll from Ancesty.com

Frank had an inauspicious start to life, being born to a young single mother and I hope his short life was happy; he was obviously very involved with the Sowers Band and the St Mary's Anglican Church community at North Melbourne and well loved by his adoptive parents. I wonder what contact Nellie had with her son after his birth.

I have no other information about William Henry Green or Alice Green or Mrs Zurich.

Before we leave this post, we will have a look at the life of Frank's birth mother, Nellie Ladd. On December 27, 1911, Nellie Ladd married Gustave Zarth in Sydney. (9)  

Marriage of Nellie Ladd

Daily Telegraph, February 3, 1912 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article239055835

Nellie and Gustave lived in Oakleigh and later Armadale in Melbourne, and the Electoral Rolls list Gustave's occupation as a hoist driver.  Gustave enlisted in the First A.I.F in May 1916 at the age of 31. Whilst serving overseas in France he was wounded - gun shot wounds to right shin and right arm and after treatment in England he was Returned to Australia in January 1918. Nellie and Gustave had three children, all born in Oakleigh - Thelma in 1914; Laurence in 1919 and Allan James in  1924. Nellie died at the Alfred Hospital in  Melbourne on January 7, 1949. Gustave died on February 18, 1955, aged 69. They are buried together at the Springvale Cemetery. (10)

Death notice of Nellie

The Age, January 8, 1949 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article205355536

One more thing - surnames beginning with the letter Z were relatively rare in Australia when these events written about above took place. So it is interesting that Frank's adoptive mother was Mrs Zurich and his birth mother became Mrs Zarth.

Footnotes

(1) The Argus, February 4, 1918, see here.  There is also a comprehensive report in the Sandringham Southern Cross, of February 9, 1918, see here and continues here. 

(2) The Argus, February 4, 1918, see here

(3) Punch, January 13, 1916, see here;  The Herald, September 29, 1913, see here; Electoral Rolls on Ancestry.com

(4) The Argus, February 4, 1918, see here.

(5) Frank Ladd Inquest Deposition file, Public Records Office of Victoria   https://prov.vic.gov.au/archive/9D7E08E1-F1C3-11E9-AE98-195931C827B8?image=1; Frank's Birth certificate and Death certificate

(6) New South Wales Indexes to Births, Deaths and Marriages; New South Wales Government Gazette, August 4, 1893, see here.

(7) 1915 Sands and McDougall Directory - on-line at the State Library of Victoria;   The Argus, March 2, 1918, see here.  

(8) Electoral Rolls on Ancestry.com

(9) Daily Telegraph, February 3, 1912, see here

(10) Electoral Rolls on Ancestry.com; First A.I.F Personnel Dossiers at the National Archives of Australia https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=3457290; Victoria Indexes to Births, Deaths and Marriages;  The Age, January 8, 1949, see here; The Age, February 19, 1955 (see below); SMCT   https://www.smct.org.au/deceased-search

The Age, February 19, 1955, p, 21 from Newspapers.com

Casey Airfield at Berwick

The Casey Airfield at Berwick was established in 1938, on the Edrington property at Berwick, owned by Colonel Rupert Ryan and his sister, Maie Casey. Lady Casey's husband, Lord Casey was politician and the Governor General of Australia from September 1965 until April 1969. Lord and Lady Casey were both keen flyers. (1)

For an early history of the Casey Airfield at Berwick we will turn to Early Days of Berwick (2)
The Casey Airfield was established at Berwick in 1938 by Colonel Rupert Ryan, owner of "Edrington," for the use of his brother-in-law, Mr R.G. Casey., M.P. who had recently purchased a new Percival Gull monoplane, which he and his wife then used for commuting to and from Canberra.

The Casey's were flying enthusiasts and allowed their many flying friends free use of the property for flying practice, field days and competitions. Included amongst the many to receive advantage from this was the Royal Victorian Aero Club, and the well-remembered Gertrude McKenzie Flying School.

During 1948 the Victorian Motorless Flight Group founded a permanent base for gliding at Casey Aerodrome, and continued to operate there until the early 1960's, having flown thousands of hours during the period. (3)

As Early Days of Berwick notes on April 16,1968 Colonel Keith Hatfield and Major Ron Kerrison took over the airfield and operated a flying school under the name Group Air Pty Ltd. Sadly, less than two years later, on November 22, 1969,  Major Kerrison and his passenger, Mrs Roma McLeod, were killed in  an air crash at the field. Colonel and Mrs Hatfield continued to operate the airfield after this tragedy. (4)

Leslie Keith Hatfield was born in Queensland in November 1919. He served in the British Army in World War Two and whilst in Japan, met Elsa Dickson. Elsa had been born in Shanghai and was on her way to Australia and had reached Manila when she was interned for over three years by the Japanese in the Philippines. Elsa was released in  February 1945 and went to Japan with the British Commonwealth Occupation Forces, and there met Keith. Keith joined the Australian Army after the War  and flew with the American Air Force in Korea. (5)  Keith died in November 2013. He was interviewed in 2004 by the University of New South Wales as part of their Australian At War film archive, you can read a transcript of the interview here  https://australiansatwarfilmarchive.unsw.edu.au/archive/htmlTranscript/2047

When the airfield was established in 1938, Berwick was a small country town, however by the 1990s, it had developed into a suburb of Melbourne and it appears that a small airfield had no place in Berwick anymore. The beginning of the end came in 1992 when the Berwick Campus of Chisholm TAFE was constructed and it finally closed in 1994 when it was announced that the Berwick Campus of Monash University was to be built on the site.

The Airfield, photograph undated, possibly 1940s.

Image: Casey Cardinia Libraries.

Lady Casey standing beside a small aeroplane, most likely at Berwick, c. 1930s.

State Library of Victoria Image H2013.295/1

Casey Airfield (photo undated)

Image: Berwick Nostalgia: a pictorial history of Berwick, Victoria  (6)

Berwick Showgrounds with the Casey Airfield on the right, c. 1938.

Photographer: Charles Daniel Pratt/Airspy.

State Library of Victoria image H91.160/1411.

See high-res version here https://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/20325

Aerial photograph of the Casey Airfield, taken December 27, 1963.

The road bi-secting the photograph is Berwick-Clyde Road. The Railway line shows up as a curve from the top left to the bottom right of the photograph. You can see the criss-crossing of the runways. The hangars appear in the centre of the photograph, they are the white dots, the dark dots are the rows of cypress trees, still seen in the 1992 photograph further below.

Image: Casey Cardinia Libraries

Victorian Motorless Flight Group at Berwick.

Photographer: Rod Kinnear.

The Herald, February 6, 1954. See here for clearer images http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article245139695

There is a great video on You Tube taken during the 1950s of the gliders at Casey Airfield  - see it here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgE-vXjGWw0

An air show at Casey Airfield. The Photograph is most likely from the 1980s.

City of Berwick photographer. Image: Casey Cardinia Libraries

Casey Airfield, October 1992

City of Berwick photographer. Image: Casey Cardinia Libraries

Casey Airfield, October 1992. Shows the encroachment of new houses.

City of Berwick photographer. Image: Casey Cardinia Libraries

Casey Airfield, October 1992. 

In the background - the construction of the Berwick Campus of Chisholm TAFE 

City of Berwick photographer. Image: Casey Cardinia Libraries

The official announcement that the State Government had obtained the Casey Airfield site for the Berwick Campus of the Monash University. Photograph dated January 6, 1994. Left to right are Federal Member for Latrobe, Bob Charles; Tertiary Education Minister, Haddon Storey; Monash University Deputy Vice Chancellor, Ian Chubb; City of Berwick Mayor, Cr Norma McCausland and the State Member for Berwick, Robert Dean.

City of Berwick photographer. Image: Casey Cardinia Libraries

Footnotes

(1) Australian Dictionary of Biography entry https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/casey-richard-gavin-gardiner-9706 and https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/casey-ethel-marian-sumner-maie-12296 

(2) 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) The book was originally published in 1948.

(3) Early Days of Berwick, op. cit., p. 151.

(4) Ibid

(5) University of New South Wales as part of their Australian At War film archive transcript   https://australiansatwarfilmarchive.unsw.edu.au/archive/htmlTranscript/2047;  POW Research Newtwork Japan 

http://www.powresearch.jp/en/activities/report/201210aus.html

(6) Berwick Nostalgia: a pictorial history of Berwick, Victoria  (Berwick Pakenham Historical Society, 2001.

This is an expanded version of a post I wrote for my work blog Casey Cardinia Links to Our Past.

Captain Kenney of St Kilda - his Baths and his Family

In 1854 Captain William Kenney established his bathing ship baths at St Kilda, at a location in line with the end of Fitzroy Street. J.B. Cooper, St Kilda Historian, wrote -

Thus it was, in the year 1854, that Captain Kenney bought the Swedish brig, of 200 tons, the "Nancy," after a protracted voyage  from Hong Kong. At the time of her purchase she was laid up in the port of Melbourne for sale, in the same way as dozens of other ships were deteriorating in Hobson's Bay, wanting, and unable to obtain, crews. Sailors of such ships had deserted them, and made off to the gold diggings. The seagoing conditions of the "Nancy" were probably much worse than those of the ships for sale anchored about her. It was said that her timbers were worm-eaten, green with marine growth, and carpeted with barnacles. The ship's surveyors condemned her as unseaworthy. She was believed to have been sailing the seas for a period of one hundred and fifty years, or more. (1)

The brig of the Nancy was dismantled, and scuttled in ten to twelve feet of water. Later, fences to keep fish out were established to extend the swimming area and a narrow pier built from the shore to the bathing ship. Nancy the bathing ship survived until 1912. You can read a full account of Captain Kenney's bathing shop in J.B. Cooper's History of St Kilda (2)

Kenney's Baths are marked on this 1900 map, to the left of the pier. Hegarty's Baths, Kenney's Ladies Baths and Hegarty's Ladies Baths are to the right of the pier. 

St. Kilda,  photo-lithographed at the Department of Lands and Survey, Melbourne by T. F. McGauran, 1900

https://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/166881 

This post is actually about the circular structure on a stand, on Kenney's Baths which I noticed on this postcard, below. It is the second structure on the right.

The same structure is in this painting (shown below) by John Clifton Rowland Clark (1859-1908). 

The circular structure is in the left and is shown in detail, below.

St Kilda Pier by John Clifton Rowland Clark, 1899.

State Library of Victoria image https://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/459490

The mystery circular structure on Kenney's bathing ship.

Details of St Kilda Pier by John Clifton Rowland Clark, 1899.

State Library of Victoria image https://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/459490

Our structure is also in this photograph by N.J. Caire, taken c. 1900

St Kilda Foreshore, c. 1900. Photographer: N.J. Caire

State Library of Victoria image H2014.184/123. Image has been cropped from a stereograph, see original here https://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/460134

It is also pictured here, in this image from J.B. Cooper's History of St Kilda, v.1. 

The History of St Kilda from its first settlement to a City and after, 1840 - 1930, v. 1 by J.B. Cooper (City of St Kilda, 1931).

What was the purpose of this circular structure on a stand? Initially we thought it might be a small ferris wheel, but the structure in the painting looks more like a windmill, with pennants attached. I believe it was a decorative windmill, used for advertising the baths or to attract attention to them, perhaps the forerunner of the 'big thing' fad.

Then I found that in 1882 Captain Kenney advertised to purchase a water-wheel, 30 feet or 9 metres in diameter. The advertisements appeared in the Ovens and Murray Advertiser, between June and August 1882.

Captain Kenney's advertisment

Ovens and Murray Advertiser, June 15, 1882  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article199462488

Was Captain Kenney successful in obtaining this large water-wheel? I believe he was successful, and that he mounted it on the bathing ship on a stand, attached some small colourful flags to it to attract people to his business. If you have any information about this circular structure, I'd be interested to hear it, leave a comment below. 

Acknowledgment - I found out about this structure through my research colleagues, Isaac Hermann and David Brand, both St Kilda history experts and we discussed the possible options of what the structure might be. Isaac also alerted me to the John Clifton Rowland Clark painting and N.J. Caire  photograph. Thank you!

Captain William Kenney 

I had heard a lot about Captain Kenney and his baths, so I decided to find out more about him and his family. Captain Kenney was born in 1820 in  Harwich, the seaport of Essex. Now we return to J.B. Cooper for some information on his early life and arrival in Melbourne -

He went to sea as a ship's boy in a collier that sailed the cold grey North Sea. Brighter days came with his manhood, when he rose to be a ship's captain. He arrived in Melbourne, from Liverpool, on December 16, 1852, in command of the ship "Yarmouth," which he had chartered to convey emigrants to Victoria. After completing that charter successfully he decided to make his home in Melbourne. He bought a small vessel called "The Apprentice," and commenced to make trade ventures in her along the coast, and continued to do so until "The Apprentice" was wrecked on King Island. Marooned on that island, Captain Kenney decided to attempt to make the adventurous voyage through Bass Straits to Port Phillip. A small open boat, the ship's dinghy, had been saved from the wreck. She was partly boarded over before Captain Kenney, with his crew of two men, started for Melbourne. They reached Hobson's Bay, and the Captain's dauntless seamanship was admired by shipmasters, who knew the perils of the passage, and by others. That experience closed Captain Kenney's sea career as a ship's captain. (3)  

William Kenney was born, as J.B. Cooper noted in Harwich to Edmund Kenney, a ship owner, and his wife, Mary Anne (nee Pyman) Kenney. William married Mary Jackson on November 16, 1863 (4) at St James Church in Melbourne, when he was 37 and she was 29. Mary was the daughter of William and Frances Jackson (5) and she had been born in Nassington, in England. William and Mary had six children -  two at least were born before they were married - Emily Selina (born c. 1860), William Edmund (1862), Beatrice Maude (1864), Arthur Thomas (1866), Frances Hana (1867) and Edith Eleanor (1870). All the children were born in St Kilda (6).

William died on March 6, 1907, aged 86 at his home (which was at the Baths) on The Esplanade, St Kilda. Mary, who operated Kenney's Ladies Baths, died on September 14, 1918, at the age of 74, at 42 Selwyn Avenue, Elsternwick. (7) They are buried at the Melbourne General Cemetery. 

The children of Captain William and Mary Kenney
Emily Selina Kenney died on February 14, 1920, at the stated age of 58. I can't find a record of her birth, however on her father's 1907 death certificate she was listed as being 46; on her mother's 1918 death certificate she was listed as being 58, so a birth year of 1860 or 1861 seems reasonable. She never married and worked at the family Baths. Emily was living at 42 Selwyn Avenue at the time of her death. (8)

William Edmund Kenney was born on January 14, 1862. He married Elizabeth Mary 'Lily' Stach von Goltzheim on August 26, 1891 at All Saints Church, St Kilda.  They had two sons - Arthur Ralph born in 1893  and William Harold born in 1894. Tragically, Arthur Ralph was Killed in Action in France in July 1916 and William Harold Died of Wounds, sustained at Gallipoli, in October 1915. That is so sad,  William died on June 30, 1935, and at the time of his death he was living  at 10 Loch Street, St Kilda. Lily died on May 24, 1950. (9)

Beatrice Maude Kenney was born in 1864. She also worked in the family business; in 1919 she was living at the family home at 42 Selwyn Avenue, Elsternwick. By 1930 she was living with her brother Arthur, in Lindfield, in New South Wales. Beatrice never married and died on June 8, 1939 in New South Wales. (10)

Arthur Thomas Kenney was born in 1866. He became a champion swimmer, winning races in Australia, Canada and the United States. Arthur studied Dentistry at the University of Pennsylvania. After he returned to Australia he had a dental practice in  Collins Street. Arthur  married Gertrude Chandler in Melbourne on November 15, 1911 and they had two daughters, both born in New South Wales - Marie Beatrice in 1915 (married George Martineau Heald in 1937 and died in 2008)  and Valerie Athena in 1918 (died 1975). By 1930, when his sister Beatrice was living with them in Lindfield, he was listed in the Electoral Rolls as an Orchardist. Arthur died on January 3, 1945 and Gertrude on May 26, 1963. (11)

Frances Hana Kenney (sometimes called Frances Flora)  was born in 1867. Frances married William Gordon Fyson in 1892, and they had one daughter Alma Beatrice the next year.  William died on June 1, 1913, less than two months after Alma had married Herbert Evans on March 12, 1913 at the Brunswick Presbyterian Church. Alma and Herbert, who was a Doctor, moved to Queensland, where they had two children Margaret Julia born in 1919 and Ralph William in 1923 - named it seems  in honour of  Alma's  two cousins who died in World War One.  After her husband's death, Frances lived at various addresses including Windsor,  St Kilda and South Yarra.  Frances died on June 18,  1950 at the Melbourne Home and Hospital for the Aged at Cheltenham. (12) 

Edith Eleanor Kenney was born in 1870. She never married  and also worked at family Baths. From around the time her mother died she is listed at various addresses, sometimes living with her sister Frances. As noted in her Inquest -  Edith was admitted to the Sunbury Mental Hospital on April 5, 1934 in a very frail condition, was very restless and troublesome over taking sufficient nourishment...her condition did not improve and she died on April 26th, 1934. The Inquest also said that her sister,  and a Minister  had visited her on the day of her death. (13)

Captain Kenney's had a high public profile and his Sea Baths were very well known, but I feel that his family seemed to have much misfortune -  his daughter Edith died in the Sunbury Mental Hospital; his two grandsons were tragically killed in World War One; grand-daughter Alma's husband died young, when her children were only 8 and 12 years old. But his six children seemed close to each other - they  lived together on occasions and placed loving notices in the paper such as the one below for Edith. Interesting that his daughter, Beatrice had two of her nieces named for her - Alma Beatrice Fyson and Margaret Beatrice Kenney, she must have been the favourite sister!

Edith's death notice.

The Age, April 30, 1934 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article203835331

Footnotes

(1) Cooper, J.B. The History of St Kilda from its first settlement to a City and after, 1840 - 1930, v. 1 (City of St Kilda, 1931), p. 160. You can read Cooper's 2 volumes of St Kilda history on-line on the St Kilda Historical Society website - https://www.stkildahistory.org.au/publications/ebooks

(2) Cooper, op. cit., chapter ix, pp 156-180. Interesting article on Nancy was published in The Age on May 21, 1912, read it here. 

(3) Cooper, op. cit., p. 157.
(4) Information from William and Mary's marriage certificate. On their son, William's 1862 birth certificate they state their wedding date as April 1, 1860; a fib to cover the fact that they weren't actually married at that time. 
(5) Frances Jackson's maiden name - on her daughter, Mary Kenney, death certificate Frances' maiden name is listed as Hana. On Mary and William's marriage certificate Frances' maiden name is listed as Ainer. On Frances' own marriage certificate her surname is listed as Eanor. Hana, Ainer and Eanor - essentially homophones. 
(6) Victorian Indexes to Births, Deaths and Marriages.
(7) Death certificates of William and Mary Kenney.
(8) Emily - Death certificates of  Emily and William and Mary Kenney; Electoral Rolls on Ancestry.com.
(9)  William - Birth certificate; Marriage notice - The Australasian, October 3, 1891, see here;  Victorian Indexes to Births, Deaths and Marriages. AIF Personnel dossier at the National Archives of Australia - Arthur Ralph Kenney -  https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=7367477 and William Harold Kenney - https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=7371251

William's death notice - The Argus, July 1, 1935, see here; Elizabeth's death notice - The Argus, May 25, 1950, see here.
(10) Beatrice -  Electoral Rolls on Ancestry.com; Death notice - Sydney Morning Herald - June 9, 1939, see here.
(11) Arthur - Weekly Times, December 16, 1893, see here;  Obituary - Sydney Daily Mirror, January 4, 1945, see here; Marriage - The Australasian, November 25, 1911, see here; New South Wales Indexes to Births, Deaths and Marriages; Electoral Rolls on Ancestry.com; Death notice -  Sydney Morning Herald, January 5, 1945, see here;  Gertrude -  Sydney Morning Herald May 28, 1963, p. 26 from Newspapers.com.
(12) Frances -named as Frances Flora on her mother's death certificate. Marriage - Victorian Indexes to Births, Deaths and Marriages; William death notice - The Argus,  June 2, 1913, see here; Alma wedding report  - Punch, May 8, 1913, see here;   Electoral Rolls on Ancestry.com; Queensland Indexes to Births, Deaths and Marriages; Death Certificate.
(13) Edith - Electoral Rolls on Ancestry.com.; Public Records Office of Victoria Inquest Deposition Files (VPRS24) https://prov.vic.gov.au/archive/0607C31A-F1B4-11E9-AE98-4790453846AC?image=1

Country Roads Board photographs - Princes Highway

The Country Roads Board was established in 1913 to maintain major roads in Victoria. Previous to this all roads were the responsibility of the local councils. The Public Records Office has digitised much of the CRB's photographic collection, you can access them here.  This post shows the Princes Highway photos from the old Shire of Berwick area; the South Gippsland Highway photographs from the old Shire of Cranbourne area can be seen here. 

Main Street, Dandenong, 1913.

Photographer: Country Roads Board VPRS 17684 Image 13_00047_A

Township of Dandenong - market day - Princes Highway East, 1913.

Photographer: Country Roads Board VPRS 17684 Image 13_00158

Berwick township section East side looking West, 1928.

St Andrews Presbyterian, now Uniting Church, is on the left.

Photographer: Country Roads Board VPRS 17684 Image 28_00005

Berwick township section East side looking West, 1928.

Photographer: Country Roads Board VPRS 17684 Image 28_00005

Junction of Princes Highway East with road to Upper Beaconsfield, 1913. This is, of course, Berwick and the Border Hotel / Berwick Inn (see here)

Photographer: Country Roads Board VPRS 17684 Image 13_00032_A

Princes Highway East Section 1 - Cardinia Creek Bridge at Beaconsfield, 1931.

This photograph is, we believe, mislabelled. Marianne Rocke of Upper Beaconsfied History wrote this about the photo - I believe that this photograph was wrongly labelled by the Country Roads Board/PROV. It was not taken in Beaconsfield. A few reasons: The bridge is too close to the turnoff to Upper Beaconsfield. The Princes Highway seems to be going up a small rise. There was only one other building on the north side of the road at that time, and  the hotel [Gippsland Hotel, now the Central Hotel] had a different architecture. 

Photographer: Country Roads Board VPRS 17684 Image 30_295

Road running North from Cockatoo station, 1913.

Cockatoo is north of the Princes Highway.

Photographer: Country Roads Board VPRS 17684 Image 13_00036

400 gallon heaters set up for spraying on the Cockatoo-Gembrook Road, 1931.

This road is north of the Princes Highway.

Photographer: Country Roads Board VPRS 17684 Image 30_00259

Princes Highway East (Section 1) : bridge over Toomuc Creek, Pakenham, 1937. 

The building behind the bridge is Burke's Hotel, also called the La Trobe Inn.

Photographer: Country Roads Board VPRS 17684 Image 36_00211

Princes Highway East section 1 : Hancock's Bridge, Pakenham, 1930. Hancock Creek is between Pakenham and Nar Nar Goon.

Photographer: Country Roads Board VPRS 17684 Image 30_00081

Princes Highway East Section 1 - between Pakenham and Nar-Nar-Goon, 1918

Photographer: Country Roads Board VPRS 17684 Image 18_00030

Sand Road, south of Nar Nar Goon, 1913

Photographer: Country Roads Board VPRS 17684 Image 13_00035

Princes Highway East section 1 - from Tynong Road - base course of granite, 1929.

Photographer: Country Roads Board VPRS 17684 Image 28_00098

Quarry at Tynong opened up by contractor Manrell, Pakenham, 1929. This is north of the Highway. 

Photographer: Country Roads Board VPRS 17684 Image 28_00201

Princes Highway East section 1 - between Garfield and Tynong turn-off: maintenance of granite sand surfacing 1929

Photographer: Country Roads Board VPRS 17684 Image 28_00100

Princes Highway East : section 1 : construction of mixed in place near Garfield, Pakenham, 1932.

Photographer: Country Roads Board VPRS 17684 Image 32_00074

Bridge over Bunyip River between Bunyip and Drouin : Princes Highway East, 1913

Photographer: Country Roads Board VPRS 17684 Image 13_00166

Princes Highway East section 1 - bridge over Bunyip River, 1929.

Photographer: Country Roads Board VPRS 17684 Image 28_00095

Princes Highway East Section 1 : wrecked approach span : Bunyip River Bridge after December floods 1934 : Eastern end

Photographer: Country Roads Board VPRS 17684 Image 34_00084

Train being shunted across Bunyip River after December floods 1934.

Photographer: Country Roads Board VPRS 17684 Image 34_00081

CRB's photographic collection, you can access them here.  This post shows the Princes Highway photos from the old Shire of Berwick area; the South Gippsland Highway photographs from the old Shire of Cranbourne area can be seen here. 

This post, which I compiled, first appeared on my work blog Casey Cardinia Links to our Past.