Hallam - Part 2 - Community builders

In our second post on Hallam, we will look at some of the earliest settlers in the area who lived and worked in the town and helped build the Hallam community (to read the other two posts, click here and here) These families included the Andrews family, the Hallam family and the Frawley family. John and Bridget Andrews settled on 118 acres (about 48 hectares) of the south side of what is now the Princes Highway, in 1854. John and his brother James had been sentenced to transportation and seven years hard labour for stealing two sacks of wheat, two hives of bees and owning a dog, thought to be used for poaching. They served their time in Tasmania and then arrived in Melbourne, where they had a market garden at Brighton. John married Bridget Tracy in 1841. They had eight children. After John died in 1879 the farm passed to his eldest son Thomas, who sold it to his siblings Elizabeth and Frank. Bridget lived with her daughter Elizabeth until her death in 1890 at 75 years of age. Elizabeth run the farm operating a dairy and sold her butter and eggs at the Dandenong market, which she transported on her cart, pulled by Tim, her black pony (pictured below). She died in 1934, aged 85, ending the eighty year Andrews connection to Hallam. Elizabeth is pictured in 1924, above left, with her great-niece Marie Dempsey. Frank and his wife Margaret also had a house on the farm, which is pictured below. Frank was only 39 when he died in 1893.

Elizabeth Andrew's cart, pulled by Old Tim.

John and Bridget Andrews sold land to the Education Board for School No.244, which began as Eumemmering Denominational School, then became a State School, changed its name to Hallam’s Road in 1906 and to Hallam in 1923.Which brings us to the Hallam family, after whom the suburb was named. William and Mary Hallam purchased the 50 acres (20 hectares) in 1856 between the Andrews farm and Hallam Road.They established a store and a Post Office and eventually operated a 'licensed house' which they sold, with their land to Edmund U'ren, in 1885. Edmund operated the premises as a Hotel until his death in 1892, when his wife Elizabeth took over. This Hotel has also being known as Hallam's Road Hotel, Uren's Hotel, Hallam's Eumemmering Hotel and various other combinations of those names which once again reflects the fluidity of the early place names. You can read about the Hallam Hotel, here.

An early photograph of the Hallam Hotel, taken sometime before 1931 when it was modernised and extended.

Another early family was the Frawley family, remembered in the area by Frawley Road. Mary Frawley acquired 60 acres (about 24 hectares) in 1857 on the north side of the Highway. It then passed to her son James, who died in 1906 aged 76. James was married to Roseanna Cosgrave (though she is sometimes listed as Rose) and they had eleven children. After the death of James, the Shire of Berwick Rate Books list the land as being owned by his widow and their son Jeremiah. Jeremiah farmed with his sister Rose and they both remained unmarried. In 1909 the land is listed as being owned by William (another son) and Jeremiah. Rosanna died in 1914, aged 76. Jeremiah retained his ten acres (4 hectares) until 1934 and William sold his remaining land in 1943, 86 years after the Frawley family first arrived in the area.

The house owned by Frank and Margaret Andrews.

Sources :

A small farm at Hallam : the Andrews 1854-1934, complied by Deborah Stephan, from information written and provided by Marie Carson (nee Dempsey). (City of Casey Historical pamphlet 1) Marie is pictured at top with her great aunt. The photographs are from this booklet.
Hallam 1830-1930  by Deborah Stephan. (City of Casey Historical Pamphlet 2)
Call back yesterday: Eumemmering Parish by Jean Uhl (Lowden Publishing 1972).

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