Thompsons Road and Patrick Thompson

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

According to the Cranbourne Shire Rate Books, Patrick Thompson owned 308 acres, Lots 19 and 22 in the Parish of Lyndhurst – the land was on either side of what is now Thompson’s Road. The land was originally owned by members of the Wedge Brothers. Various of the Wedge Brothers, John, Charles, Richard and Henry Wedge held the Banyan Waterholes Run (based around the Carrum Swamp) from 1839 to 1852 and the Corhanwarrabul Run near Dandenong from 1845, plus they had obviously purchased land after the Government land sales of the early 1850s as you can see from the Lyndhurst Parish Plan, below.

Part of the Parish Plan of Lyndhurst. The Thompson Property, Lots 19 & 22, is outlined in red. 

On the map it was still owned by C & R Wedge. Click on image to enlarge it.

I don't know very much about Patrick, I know nothing about his personal life at all and this is what I have found out about his public life.

In 1856, Thompson was listed in the State Government  Gazette as being appointed a Trustee of  the land set aside for the Presbyterian Church. 

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

From 1860 to 1863,  Thompson was a member of the Cranbourne Road Board. Gunson in The Good Country: Cranbourne Shire book says that his property was called Oaklands.

Thompson left the area in 1863 according to this advertisement (below) which appeared in The Argus of April 8, 1863. I have no information as to where he went to.

The Argus April 8, 1863

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article6484785

Another advertisement appeared in The Argus of May 22, 1863, leasing Oaklands.

The Argus  May 22, 1863

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article6485933

1863 is the first  year we have of the Cranbourne Shire Rate Books and James Sloan is listed as leasing Lots 19 and 22 from Patrick Thompson. This is the only mention of Thompson in the Rate Books, though James Sloan is listed until 1867. From 1864 to 1866 there is no owner listed – so we can’t tell if Sloan actually is leasing the farm or owns it. In 1867, Sloan is still listed as the Rate payer, however the owner is listed as Atkinson. There is an advertisement in The Argus of April 18, 1868 advising that Sloan is selling all his dairy stock and farm produce.  

Also in 1868, William Cameron is listed as the Rate Payer of Lots 19 and 22 and the owner is still listed as Atkinson. There is an advertisement in The Argus of October 5, 1868 from William Cameron of Oaklands in Lyndhurst requesting that some horses be removed from his paddock, so this confirms again that Lots 19 and 22 were the same property as Thompson's Oaklands.

Incidentally, also in The Argus of April 18, 1868 directly underneath the Sloan advertisement is another, advertising the sale of a Mr Thompson’s property Mt Tabor at Lyndhurst. Is this the same Mr Thompson? If so it doesn’t tally with the information in the 1863 advertisement that he had left the district. It may be a completely different person.

 I cannot tell exactly where his house was – his block bordered Evans Road as well as being either side of Thompson Road, so it would be interesting to know which road he was on. He had a ‘whole of the household of furniture’ which he sold at the sale advertised in The Argus of April 8, 1863 – so you would have to assume it was more than just a one room shack. 

If you are related to Patrick Thompson, then I would love to hear from you.

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Berwick Nostalgia: a pictorial history of Berwick

One of my main sources of photographs for Berwick is the book Berwick Nostalgia: a pictorial history of Berwick. It was published by the Berwick Pakenham Historical Society in 2001, It really is a great book and is the first place to go for historical photographs of Berwick.

The book is a companion volume to North of the Line and Oak Trees and Hedges: a pictorial history of Narre Warren, Narre Warren North and Harkaway.

It is available from the Berwick Pakenham Historical Society and the National Trust Shop in Pioneer Park.  Here are three of my favourite photographs from Berwick Nostalgia.

Hay stacks at The Springs, Greaves Road, Berwick.

Original members of the Berwick Red Cross Unit, 1914.

Richardson's Abattoirs - boiling down works

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Casey Cardinia - Local Government Timeline

Here is a time line of local government in this area -

1842 -  The Town of Melbourne created - the first local government body in Victoria.

1860 - Cranbourne Road Board proclaimed June 19.  The first members of the Cranbourne Road Board were Dr James Smith Adams, Chairman, who owned Balla Balla Estate; James Bruce, owner of Sherwood Park; Richard Burgh Chomley, owner of Tongola at Lyndhurst; James Lecky, Cranbourne land-owner who also owned the Cardinia Creek property; Edward Malloy, owner of Mayune property; Alexander Patterson, owner of St Germains Estate; Christopher Bond Peed, owner of Springmount; Patrick Thompson, owner of Oaklands and John Wedge, owner of Johnswood at Lyndhurst. Population of the Road Board area was 857.

1861 - The town of Berwick and the town of Cranbourne proclaimed on February 25.

1862 - Berwick Road Board proclaimed September 29.  The first members of the Berwick Road Board were John Brisbane (Chairman), early Berwick landowner; Robert Bain, the owner of the Border Hotel (Berwick Inn) in Berwick; Francis Barr, a Berwick land owner; Michael Bourke, owner of the La Trobe Inn, later known as Bourke’s Hotel, at Pakenham; James Buchanan, owner of Ardblair, who later went on to be a Member of the Legislative Council; David Connor, licensee of the New Bunyip Hotel on the Bunyip River; John Pitman, Pakenham landowner; John Startup of Mount Ararat Station; John Troup, land owner at Narre Warren North and Gotlieb Wanke, a land owner at Harkaway. The Road Board met at the Border Hotel (Berwick Inn)

1865 - Shire of Berwick Council chambers built in High Street.

1868 - Shire of Cranbourne proclaimed  February 24. The Road Board members then became the first Councillors. They were James Lecky - Shire President; Edward Malloy, Alexander Patterson, William Norquay, Frederick Poole of Triuna, Lyndhurst; Edward John Tucker, owner of the Cranbourne Hotel; Thomas Keys, George Poole and Herbert Foley who owned Sherwood Park.

1868 - Shire of Berwick proclaimed, May 5. The Road Board members then became the first Councillors. They were James Wilson, Shire President; John Brisbane, David Connor, Joseph Smith, H. Smith,  John T. Dobson (who later became a member of the Ferntree Gully Council when the Scoresby Ward was annexed to the new Shire in 1889),  Francis Barr, Thomas Henty, owner of Pakenham Park at Pakenham and James Buchanan.

1873 - The 'agricultural area of Lang Lang' was annexed to the Shire of Cranbourne on July 4

1875 - Cranbourne Shire Offices opened March 6

1889 - The Scoresby Ward of the Shire of Berwick, including Scoresby, Fern Tree Gully,  Clematis, parts of Emerald and Avonsleigh was severed from Berwick and became the Shire of Fern Tree Gully on May 23.

1893 - Yannathan and Lang Lang East annexed from the Shire of Buln Buln  to the Shire of Cranbourne on January  23.

1902 - Shire of Berwick Offices move to Pakenham Mechanics’ Institute.

1912 - Shire of Berwick Offices open in Main Street Pakenham, corner of John Street.

1963 - Shire of Fern Tree Gully split and the Shire of Knox was formed on  November 16 (it became a City on July 4, 1969)  The remains of the Shire of Fern Tree Gully were renamed Shire of Sherbrooke and this was announced in the Victorian Government Gazette of  December 23, 1964.  

1973 - The City of Berwick and the Shire of Pakenham were formed on October 1,  when the Shire of Berwick split. The Shire of Pakenham continued to use the Main Street Offices and the City of Berwick used temporary buildings in Kays Avenue, Hallam until the Civic Centre opened in 1978.

1978 - Cranbourne Shire Offices officially opened in Sladen Street, April 22

1978 - Civic Centre at Narre Warren opened December 8. Demolished in 2018.

1979 - Cr Jeune Matthews first female Shire President of the Shire of Pakenham.

1980 - Cr Jan Bateman, City of Berwick’s first female Mayor of the City of Berwick

1983 - Shire of Pakenham Offices opened July 28 in Henty Way

1988 - Cr Judy Elso, first female Shire President of the Shire of Cranbourne

1994 - City of Cranbourne created on April 22

1994 - The City of Casey and the Cardinia Shire officially came into being on the December 15 at 4.00pm.

The City of Casey was created from the western section of the short-lived City of Cranbourne (Cranbourne, Tooradin, Pearcedale, Devon Meadows, Hampton Park etc) and the entire City of Berwick.

The Cardinia Shire was created from the Shire of Pakenham, the eastern end of the City of Cranbourne (Koo-Wee-Rup, Lang Lang, Yannathan, Bayles, Catani etc) plus Emerald, Clematis and Avonsleigh which were annexed from the Shire of Sherbrooke.  Langwarrin and Carrum Downs went to the City of Frankston from the City of Cranbourne.

The City of Cranbourne, Shire of Pakenham and City of Berwick ceased to exist on December 15.

2014 - Cardinia Shire Offices opened on November 17 in Officer.

2014 - Cardinia and Casey  both turn 20 on December 15.

2017 - City of Casey Offices - Bunjil Place - opened October 28/29

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Papers Past

Many families have  a New Zealand connection - it was not uncommon in the 1800s for family members to migrate from England to New Zealand, then Australia or vice versa or for one family member to come to Australia, one to New Zealand or Canada or some other corner of the British Empire. Papers Past http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/ is a great source of New Zealand history  - it's similar to the digitised newspaper collection on Trove http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper, which I use all the time.

According to their website,  Papers Past contains more than three million pages of digitised New Zealand newspapers and periodicals. The collection covers the years 1839 to 1945 and includes 92 publications from all regions of New Zealand.

I have selected three articles with  a local Casey Cardinia connection,  to show you the range of information you can discover on Papers Past and of course, if you come from New Zealand then it would be an especially valuable resource for family and local history.

The Press  November 18, 1905

This is a report of the marriage in Christchurch, of  George Hobbs and Muriel Simcox, and there is a double Casey Cardinia connection as George had  a connection to Berwick and Muriel to Officer. George is the son of John and Alice Hobbs, of Berwick, who both lived to the grand age of 90, John dying in 1940 and Alice in 1945, they are buried at Berwick Cemetery. Muriel died in Christchurch in 1948, aged 64 and she is buried in the same grave as her father, Samuel James Simcox who died in 1916 and I believe that George died in 1912, aged 32. I haven't found out the Simcox/Officer connection but will keep trying.

Mataura Ensign February 10, 1908

The Kerr family had large land holdings in Tynong; in 1903  five years before Edmund's death, they had around 1000 acres - north of the Highway around Fogarty Road; south of the railway line where Kerrs Road is, land closer toward Garfield plus some Tynong Township allotments.  I found another interesting reference to Edmund Kerr, I assume he is the same Edmund Kerr as above, in Table Talk newspaper on Trove which says that John Kerr of Tynong discovered the Kimberley mines in South Africa and they then fell into the hands of Cecil Rhodes, who went onto establish Rhodesia.  The Kerr family is thus a perfect example of the reach and influence of the British Empire in the Victorian era. 

Table Talk February 8, 1900

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article145933313

New Zealand Herald  September 23, 1933

This is an interesting article for two reasons, Mr C.D Lloyd  is Charles Duplan Lloyd (1863-1937) who purchased the Holly Green property (where Fountain Gate Shopping centre is) in 1924, from the Webb Family, and moved his Glen Iris jersey cattle stud from Glen Iris to Holly Green. The other reason it is interesting is that it shows how important rural industry was at the time, in both Australia and New Zealand, that farming matters were reported in the daily papers. 

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