George and Margaret McLellan's farm, Ellerslie, at Lyndhurst

On August 8, 1908 The Leader newspaper had an article on Dairying in the Lyndhurst district. This was the start of the first paragraph - At Dandenong the two Gippsland railways diverge. The next station on the South Gippsland line is Lyndhurst, distant twenty-three, miles from Melbourne. Conveniently situated with regard to the metropolis, it is only to be expected that the district would be dotted with dairy farms. From the local station a considerable quantity of whole milk is daily railed direct to Melbourne. In this connection a Sunday railway service proves of great value to the suppliers (1)

One of these dairy farms dotted around Lyndhurst, was owned by George and Margaret McLellan. Their farming operations were reported on in newspapers in 1908  and 1912 and give us a general  insight into the life of a farmer and a specific insight into their farm management.  The farmer's life is often romanticised, but in reality it is a life of long hours all year round, coping with the vagaries of the weather, the high cost of feed if it is needed to be bought in and the cost of labour. The McLellans supplied milk to the Melbourne market which as the 1908 article pointed out in this connection it is well to remember that a supplier to a city milk distributing firm is bound to supply a certain minimum quantity all the year through. He cannot, like the butter factory supplier, let his cows go dry when the feed fails, but must, in one form or an other, provide them with the wherewithal to produce a normal yield of milk during every day in the year (2).

Mr G. A. McLellan's Ayrshire Herd, at Lyndhurst

 Weekly Times September 29, 1917 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article132695134

The two articles basically cover the same ground, so I transcribed only the 1912 article, which is below. Of interest is the fact that this article actually mentions George's wife. The reality is that on family farms the wife played just a large as role as the husband, but she is rarely mentioned in any other articles I have come across. 

Before we look at the McLellan's farm, we will have a look at the McLellan family. George's father Donald, a Scotsman, took up land in Lyndhurst around 1853. In 1857 he married Catherine  McMillan and they had seven children - Dugald (1859), John (1859), Margaret Ann (1862), Alexander Malcolm (1863), Archibald (1865-1868), George Archibald (1872) and Mary Flora (1870). They were all raised on the farm, called Ellerslie, Taylor's Road, Lyndhurst. It is George Archibald who is the subject of this story. George married Margaret Close in 1905. She was the daughter of James Close and his wife Louise Hall. They were both locals, the Close family owned Willowdale, on Cranbourne Frankston Road (read about Willowdale  here). Louise was a Hall from Ercildoune in Hall Road, Lyndhurst (read about Ercildoune, here). (3).

George and Margaret had three children, Gladys (born 1907, married Keith Bedwell in 1935); Mabel (born 1910, married Charles McNab in 1938. The McNabs owned Ercildoune after the Hall family, read about this here) and George Archibald (born 1916, married Barbara Perry in 1945). George had taken over the family farm, Ellerslie, and in turn it was taken over by his son, George, who was still on the farm in 2004 (4). George snr died on December 2, 1958, aged 87. Margaret, died on September 14, 1958, aged 85.  They were both cremated at the Necropolis at Springvale. (5).

The 1908 article was in The Leader, on August 8, 1908 (read it here) The article, below, was in the South Bourke and Mornington Journal of March 21, 1912 (see here)

Mr. Geo. McLellan's Dairy Farm. The Economics of Dairying.

 Dairymen engaged in the supply of whole milk for the metropolitan area find that the season is entirely unfavorable. The heavy rains of winter rendered the land so boggy that the sowing of the usual crops was rendered more or less impossible. In the few cases where Algerian oats were sown the yield was extremely poor. In many instances not more than a ton of hay to the acre was harvested. Immediately on the heels of this excessively wet period set in a spring notably lacking in rain. The sodden ground soon set hard, and again almost defied ploughing. Where such fodder crops as maize, sorghum and millet were sown the results have been extremely unsatisfactory. October and November were remarkably deficient in moisture. There was a fair precipitation in December. Since then there has been an abnormally rainless interval. 

About the end of January the pastures began to dry up to almost incredible extent. Contemporaneously the milk yield of the cows has fallen to unpayably low averages. This is a general consensus of opinion amongst dairymen that the manner in which the flow of milk from the cows has dwindled is almost without precedent. It is now tolerably certain that all the fodder crops are failures. With good hay at drought prices, and bran costing about £6 a ton on the farm, hand feeding is necessarily a costly item. It is claimed by some of our most capable dairymen that even with milk selling at 1/ a gallon it is not possible just now to do more than cover working expenses. There is no profit for the producer.

One of Mr McLellan's best milkers

The Leader August 8, 1908 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article197064710

A Typical Case

Mr. George McLellan, of Lyndhurst, is a well-known dairyman engaged mainly in the production of whole milk for the metropolitan area. He is one of the leading Ayrshire breeders of the State, and his fine representatives are frequent prize winners at many of our important agricultural shows. His cows are bred largely on utilitarian lines, and the Ayrshires from this farm are an unusually good lot of milkers. The figures of such a farmer are therefore instructive, since there can be no question as to the good dairy character of his milking herd. The animals are also well fed-almost too well fed, one is inclined to suggest, having regard to the heavy cost of concentrates at the present time. 

The fodder supplied to three good milkers. 

The pumpkin was a soft skinned American pumpkin named the Mammoth is successfully grown, and is found of great value. It has the special quality of not requiring to be cut up before being fed to the cows. As its name suggests, it grows to a large size, is a heavy yielder, and provides a wholesome, succulent fodder at a time when other green feed is scarce (6). 

Image: The Leader August 8, 1908 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article197064710

The farm consists of 320 acres, of  which about 50 acres is under crop each year. About 30 acres of Algerian oats are sown in autumn, while some 20 acres are seeded with Hickory King maize at the first convenient opportunity in spring. At the present time 44 cows are being milked. They consume each week 134 bushels of bran and 2 tons of chaff. In addition to the continuous service of Mr. McLellan and his wife the dairying absorbs hired labour costing £4 10/ per week. Fixed charges, such as rent or interest on the value of the land, interest on the capital sunk in stock and working plant, depreciation and rates and taxes, amount to £5 per week. 

So far, the milk is selling at 11d. per gallon. The weekly expenditure (7) is therefore as follows:

134 bushels of bran at £6 per ton.. £  8  0  0

2 tons of chaff at £3 ... .................. £  6  0  0

Wages ... ... ... .... .......................... .£  4 10 0

Fixed charges ... ............................ £  5  0 0

Railway freights..............................£  1 0  0

Total expenditure............................£24 10 0

Income:

Sale of 525 gallons at 11d.............  £24 1  3

Profit on sale of stock . ..................£ 2  0  0

                                                               £26 1 3

Lyndhurst Railway Station - the milk from the McLellan farm was sent

 to Melbourne from this Station.

Image: The Great Southern Railway: the illustrated history of the building of the line in South Gippsland by Keith Macrae Bowden. (Australian Railway Historical Association, 1970)

Charges that are ignored

According to this statement, Mr M'Lellan and his wife work hard all through the week, and at the end of it are, strictly speaking, less than two pounds in pocket. This is an accurate review of the financial position of a capable dairyman under the conditions that have obtained during the last months, and which are likely to continue for several months longer. 

The question not unnaturally arises, why does the dairyman continue at such a poorly remunerative industry? There are two answers. One is that it is not always an easy matter to get out of a going concern. The other is that, like many other men on the land, this farmer ignores several charges which are essentially a part of the cost of production. For instance, the farm itself is worth from £3300 to £3500. At four and half per cent. this represents £156 per annum. Plant, including implements, horses, vehicles, engines, cans, etc., represents an outlay of £675. As the wear and tear is heavy, depreciation of at least eight per cent. should be allowed for by the owner. In other words, he is content to make a fair return over actual working expenses without paying due regard to those fixed charges which are always a recognised item in any correct balance sheet.

Labor Problems

It may be argued that Mr McLellan could have reduced his cost of feeding by growing fodder crops on the farm. To some extent this claim would appear to have a sound basis. As a matter of fact, a good area is placed under maize each year, and a portion of the crop is converted into ensilage. But when this point was submitted to Mr. M'Lellan he pointed out that it was impossible to go in for much cultivation nowadays. The labor problem, he avers, will not only prevent the dairyman from extending his cultivation as he would like, but will actually compel him to restrict it. The growing of fodder crops on right lines, their cutting, storing and hand feeding, are all operations calling for a large supply of

reasonable cheap and efficient labor. At the present time this seems to be out of the question; therefore the dairyman will be able to produce less fodder for the regular nutrition of his cows. 

It is pointed out that the claims of the Rural Workers' Union will represent on an average farm a weekly payment of from 70/ to 80/to each adult worker. If the eight hours' principle is cancelled, and overtime and other concessions are allowed-according to the scale formulated by the union-it is pretty safe to say that the average dairyman will have to pay £4 a week for each man he employs. A scrutiny of Mr. M'Lellan's balance sheet will show how impossible it is that his wages should be thus doubled.

(South Bourke and Mornington Journal March 21, 1912, see here.  The article was originally published in The Leader)

Trove list - I have created a list of articles connected to the McLellan family on Trove, access it here.

Footnotes

(1) The Leader, August 8 1908, see here.

(2) The Leader, August 8 1908, see here.

(3) Information in this paragraph comes from 100 Years in Skye 1850-1890, by Dot Morrison (Mornington Family History Society, 2004) 

(4) This information is from 100 Years in Skye 1850-1890, by Dot Morrison, as above and reports on the family in the local papers, see my Trove list, here.

(5) Margaret's death and funeral notice were in The Age, September 15, 1958 and George's death and funeral  notice in The Age of December 3, 1958.

Margaret's funeral notice in The Age September 15, 1958

George's death notice in The Age December 3, 1958

(6) The Leader, August 8 1908, see here.

(7) It is hard to get the columns to line up. The figures show pounds, shillings and pence - hence total expenditure is 24 pounds, ten shillings and no pence and total income is 26 pounds, one shilling and three pence.

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Mr Clark's dairy farm at Hallam Valley

The Weekly Times of March 29, 1930 had an interview with Mr Norman Clark, a settler on the Hallam Valley Estate at Berwick. His property, Allotment 5, Section 4 was on the corner of Berwick-Clyde Road and Greaves Road.

Part of the Eumemmerring Parish Plan, showing the Hallam Valley Estate.

We can learn something of Norman's life from the interview but here is some additional information. Norman Oakley Clark was born in 1886, the son of Robert and Louisa (nee Oakley) Clark. Norman married Clara Maud Rogers on January 6, 1914 at the home of her parents, Mr and Mrs Noah Rogers of Brim. The Warracknabeal Herald reported on the quiet but pretty wedding. The bride looked charming in white silk; the bridesmaid, Ivy Rogers, wore a stylish gown. After the wedding breakfast the couple left by the midday train for Ballarat and  thence to Doncaster, their future home. They were the recipients of a number of useful and costly presents. You can read the wedding report, here.

Norman served in the First World War and had enlisted in the A.I.F on May 1, 1916. His Service number was 5982. He was sent overseas, but then repatriated back to Australia and discharged from the Army on medical grounds due to 'defective vision' on September 6, 1917. Norman and Clara had six children - James born 1915 at Warracknabeal; Gladys Clara, born 1918 at Swan Hill; Donald Norman born 1920 at Swan Hill; Noah born 1923 at Swan Hill; Albert Allen born 1925 at Werribee and Peter, who died in 1929 at seven days old. The four surviving sons served in World War Two - James (V367614) in the Army; Donald (V101737, W2790) in both the Army and the Navy; Noah (VX106242) in the Army and Albert (146886) in the Air Force. It must have been a worrying time for Norman and Clara to have four sons serving.

The Death notice of Norman and Clara's eldest son, James, at only 36 years of age.

The Age, October 4, 1951 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article205325645

The Shire of Berwick Rate books list Norma and Clara at Berwick until 1938 and then they are in the 1942 and subsequent Electoral Rolls at 29 Willesden Road, Oakleigh. Norman died at Oakleigh in October 1954, aged 68 and Clara died in June 1989, aged 95. They were both cremated at Springvale Botanical Cemetery.

Norman and Clara's entry in 1936 Electoral Roll, Electorate of Flinders. 

Their address is interesting. The Electoral Rolls are available on Ancestry.

This is the article from the Weekly Times of March 29, 1930. It is transcribed below, and you can read it here. 

Soldier Settler's Fine Dairying Scheme At Hallam

Milk for the City Trade

By "Casein"

Among many fine examples of initiative and well-directed effort which have characterised the work of returned soldiers in different parts of the State, that of Mr Norman Clark, on a small block in the Hallam Valley settlement, near the town of Berwick, is of special interest.

Less than three years ago he went to the locality to grow vegetables under a scheme devised by the Water Commission. After two seasons, however, he came to the conclusion that the results did not justify a continuance of that branch of primary production, and decided to engage in dairying. A start was made in May of last year with five cows. At the same time Mr Clark arranged with an adjoining landowner (Mr C. F. Greaves) to take over 150 acres of pasture property on which 35 cows were being grazed and milked, under a satisfactory share agreement.

Varied Experiences
When Mr Clark was invalided home in 1917 he settled on an irrigation block at Woorinen; near Swan Hill, and planted a vineyard for the production of sultanas, currants and raisins. The results exceeded expectations, but the climate did not suit his health or that of his family, and the property was sold at a price which left a substantial profit. From Woorinen Mr Clark went to a 40 acre lucerne block at Werribee. The conditions there were not so satisfactory as had been expected, and three years later he sold out at a loss with the object of market gardening at Hallam.

Prior to the war Mr Clark, who was a native of Warrnambool, had been associated with general farming pursuits and the dried fruits industry at Mildura. After having acquired a block of 19½ acres at Hallam, on the conditional purchase terms of £37 an acre, he found that the production of vegetables needed more cultural skill than he possessed. About the time he decided to engage in dairying a block of 21½ acres was abandoned by another settler, who had not been able to make a success of market gardening, and Mr Clark acquired it.

Returns From Milk
With the two blocks he estimated that he would be able to keep up a regular supply of fresh milk for the city trade from a herd of 20 cows. The results during the last eight months have confirmed that belief, and there are indications that the feeding capacity of the comparatively small area can be increased substantially, if not doubled, with special fodder crops and permanent pasturage in paddocks not exceeding three acres. It was, of course, fortunate that circumstances permitted Mr Clark to take advantage of the offer of Mr Greaves for an extension of the scheme at an opportune time. Apart from that, however, the settler is convinced that with the irrigable area of 42 acres he would have been able to establish a profitable scheme of dairying.

With nine cows selected and purchased by himself, and 35 belonging to Mr Greaves, he is of the opinion that he will be able to have an average of between 30 and 35 milking in each of the seasons. At the present time 38 are being milked twice a day for an output of 60 gallons. Since the beginning of summer the supply has been purchased by a city distributing firm at the rate of 1/- a gallon, less 1½d. a gallon for the cartage of the milk to the depot at Collingwood. The transport waggon calls twice a day at the dairy, and the service is satisfactory.

The Clark house on the Hallam Valley Estate at Berwick (not Hallam as the head-line says).

The Weekly Times, March 29, 1930 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/23974951

Assisted by his wife and son, Mr Clark does all the work on the farm. From the cows the milk passes through a pasteuriser, for which a special cold water service has been established through the medium of a brick and cemented underground tank, and reduced in temperature to between 55 and 60 degrees Fah. Clearances of the supply are made each day before 10 o'clock in the morning, and about 6 o'clock in the evening.

The gross return from the milk during the last two months has been approximately £20 a week, and it is not likely to go below that amount. During the spring period the milk yield is considerably larger than in the other seasons. Mr Clark realises that unless a fairly regular supply is maintained throughout the year the industry will not be as profitable as it should be. The regulation of the cows in regard to their freshening periods is, therefore, a matter of paramount importance.

A pure-bred Ayrshire bull is mated with specially selected grade Ayrshire and Jersey cows. It is intended to establish a pure-bred herd of Ayrshires or Jerseys, but action in that direction will not be taken until arrangements have been completed for the subdivision of the property so that fodders and the best kinds of grasses can be grown. Plans have been made for the cows to freshen at varying times from the beginning of the year until July and August. Some of them already have calved.

Under the existing conditions the cows have an extensive grazing area in the dry paddocks owned by Mr Greaves. The fodder they gather there is supplemented by the green herbage which grows luxuriantly in the irrigated portion of Mr Clark's land. All the animals are in excellent condition. While he does not contend that the conditions in the Hallam Valley settlement are unsuitable for successful market gardening Mr Clark has no hesitation in asserting that the land in blocks of from 40 to 50 acres can be put to more profitable use by utilising it for dairying. The area in the settlement, he points out is sufficiently large to enable dairying to be carried on in conjunction with the production of vegetables. Some of the blocks, he points out, are not so suitable as others for market gardening, and are admirably adapted for dairying on a small scale.

In the recent season Mr Clark obtained 20 tons of excellent hay from six acres. This will be fed to the cows during winter. Maize and Japanese millet make exceptionally quick growth with the assistance of irrigation, and there now is sufficient green fodder in several of the small paddocks to keep the cows in prime condition until the beginning of winter. Through the cold months a ration of hay and bran will be used. From the sections which were seeded last season with Subterranean clover and rye grass the results exceeded expectations, and provided abundance of rich milk producing food for the herd from the early part of spring, until summer was well advanced.

Mr Clark is satisfied that he will have no difficulty in keeping a herd of 20 cows in full milking condition throughout the year on the 40 acre area. The beneficial effect of bran has been noticed, and the cows receive not less than 2lb. a day even when the grasses and summer fodders are at their best. Since the beginning of the year it has taken nearly two tons of bran a month to meet the requirements but Mr Clark is convinced that the outlay on the concentrate is money well expended.

Shelter belts have been planted around the paddocks, and the eucalypts have made such vigorous growth that it will not be more than five or six years before these weather screens will give additional value to Mr Clark's dairying scheme and make it go effective that the capacity of the place may be raised to nearly a cow to the acre.

...............................................................................................................

Sources: The information about the Clark family comes from various sources - 

Indexes to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages https://www.bdm.vic.gov.au/research-and-family-history/search-your-family-history

Norman's WWI enlistment papers are at the National Archives of Australia 

https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=1967599

The dates of birth and military details of the sons comes from the WW2 Nominal Rolls 

https://nominal-rolls.dva.gov.au/ww2

Some information comes from newspaper reports and announcements on Trove

https://trove.nla.gov.au/

Casey Cardinia Libraries hold the Shire of Berwick and Shire of Cranbourne Rate books; the Electoral Rolls from 1903-1980 are available on Ancestry. The death dates of Norman and Clara are from the Springvale Botanical Cemetery records - part of Southern Metropolitan Cemetery Trust - https://smct.org.au/deceased-search

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Nirvana Park and Nirvana Dairy

I had a query about a property called 'Nirvana Park' in Cranbourne. As I knew nothing about it, I went to Trove and typed in 'Nirvana Park' and I found it was a property owned by Frederick David Spottiswood from about 1944 to around the mid 1960s.

The 1945/46 Rate Books list about 60 acres in various parcels owned by Spottiswood and shows  he also leased land from the Crown and the Railways - the railway land was from the Railway line, north to Camms Road, with High Street/South Gippsland Highway being the western boundary and Narre Warren Cranbourne Road,  being the eastern boundary.  Mr Spottiswood operated an  Illawarra Shorthorn stud at ‘Nirvana Park’. An article in the Kiama Reporter of July 4, 1945 (left) reports that Mr Spottiswood  who has achieved distinction for the extensive milk retailing business he has built  up in  Malvern and in a similar manner to the model business thus established, he aspired to the creation of  a model stud farm with the noted Australian Illawarra Shorthorns the breed to be utilised. More about the milk retailing business later.

I have spoken to a long term Cranbourne resident, Val,  and she told me that his dairy was  a red brick building on Camms Road.Val also told me that the Spottsiwoods moved from the original farm in Camms Road to another property in Cameron Street, south of Sladen Street or Berwick-Cranbourne Road as that part of Sladen Street is now called  (about opposite the back entry of the Cranbourne RSL) where they also had  a dairy. Fred and Vevers Spottiswood are listed in the Electoral Rolls in Cranbourne until 1968 and by 1972 they are in Frankston.

Mr Spottiswood was a Shire of Cranbourne Councillor from 1949 until 1955 and he was Shire President from 1951 to 1952. He was also on the Committee of the Cranbourne Turf Club and Chairman in 1951/52.

Fred  Spottiswood is on the right of this photograph. It was taken at the 1964 Cranbourne Cup presentation.

Source: Of heath and horses:  a history of the Cranbourne Turf Club by Mark Fiddian (Published by the Cranbourne Turf Club,  1993)

Before he came to Cranbourne in 1945,  Mr Spottiswood operated the Nirvana Dairy (hence the name of his farm) on the corner of Waverley Road and Belgrave Road in Malvern East.  If you know the area, it is where Dairy Bell ice cream factory still operates today.  Many of us from this area are familiar with the Dairy Bell factory as we had to use  Malvern Road before the South Eastern Freeway (which ended at Toorak road) was connected to the Mulgrave Freeway which finished at Warrigal Road (about 1989 they were connected by the South Eastern arterial)

I am not sure when Fred Spottiswood started the Nirvana Dairy, the earliest reference I can find to it is in November 1934 when the Dairy won a prize for the best 'four wheeled light delivery turnout'  in a parade of business vehicles held in Malvern. Spottiswood is first listed in the City of Malvern Annual reports as an ice cream manufacturer in the 1936/37 year.   The City of Malvern Annual reports  can be found here. They are,  surprisingly, interesting reading as many businesses had to registered under the Health Act, and they are listed in the reports and thus the reports present an interesting  picture of the area at the time - for  instance in 1936/37 there were 32 other  ice cream manufacturers in the City of Malvern as well as the Nirvana Dairy.

Nirvana Dairies opened  a new building on October 28, 1938. I believe this is the existing Dairy Bell building.  It was opened by the Minister of Agriculture,  Mr Hogan, who described the dairy as sanitary, of durable interior, having ample space, good lighting, ventilation and drainage.  The story of 'Nirvana Park' and Nirvana Dairy is a good example of the connection between rural and urban industries that was once obvious to most Australians and is now largely lost. It was the Minister for Agriculture opening the new dairy because it was recognised that rural industries, such as the dairy industry, needed secondary industries, such as the 33 ice cream manufacturers in Malvern,  to sell their product to. Small factories like the Nirvana Dairy, often had a house attached where the owner lived  and they were part of the fabric of every suburb; unlike today where the industrial area in many towns is set well away from the residential area.

Account of the opening of the Nirvana Dairy in Malvern

The Argus October 29, 1939  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12528044

On a personal note - Frederick David Spottiswood was born October 4, 1903 and died June 12, 1992. He married Vevers Hemsworth (nee Lasslett)  in 1942. Vevers was born January 31, 1915 and died May 31, 1999. They are both interred at the Bribie Island Memorial Garden in Queensland, his plaque describes him as 'always optimistic' and her plaque describes her as 'stylish and witty'.

 I have created a list of newspapers articles about Nirvana Park and Nirvana Dairy on Trove, click here to access the list.

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Lady Talbot Milk Institute

The Argus, November 1 1919
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4662515

On Monday, April 11th in 1927, Lady Stonehaven, the wife of the Governor General, Lord Stonehaven, visited the Caulfield Model Dairy Farm at Cranbourne. Lady Stonehaven was shown the milk production process, by the proprietor, Mr George Hope. He explained the production process from milking, cooling, bottling and sealing to the final act of packing the milk in ice-lined cases for delivery to the railway station for distribution in Melbourne. 400 gallons (around 1800 litres) was produced daily in the 1920s, principally for the Lady Talbot Milk Institute, which then distributed this special milk to around 1,600 babies. The milk was regularly checked by laboratories at the University of Melbourne for contamination, the cows were checked Government veterinary officers to ensure they were free from tuberculosis and the farm employees also needed to have medical checks. These checks were done to ensure the milk was pure and safe for the babies.

Early in the 1900s there was concern about the high infant mortality rate, and various schemes were introduced in order to improve the life of mothers and babies. Lillias Skene (1867-1957) a welfare worker and women’s activist, suggested the establishment of a safe milk supply which contributed to foundation of the Lady Talbot Milk Institute in 1908. Mrs Skene also fought for the establishment of Infant Welfare Centres. The role of the Lady Talbot Milk Institute was to supply pure bottled milk to infants to reduce deaths caused by unsanitary milk. Before refrigeration and pasteurization, coupled with generally low standards of hygiene and germ control, unsanitary milk was a major cause of infant death and illness. Contaminated milk could cause tuberculosis, gastric upsets, diarrhoea and typhoid. Pasteurisation was introduced in Victoria in 1905, but did not become compulsory until after the Second World War even though interesting enough, even in 1927 the milk from George Hope’s farm was not pasteurised, and its purity came from the stringent handling methods.

The Argus, April 14 1927
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article3849131

The Institute was named for Lady Talbot, the wife of the Governor of Victoria, Sir Reginald Talbot. Lady Talbot, born Margaret Jane Stuart-Wortley in 1855, married Sir Reginald in 1877. Sir Reginald was Governor of Victoria from 1904 until 1908 and during this time Lady Talbot promoted many charitable ventures including the Talbot Colony for Epileptics, which later became the Royal Talbot Rehabilitation Centre. The Lady Talbot Milk Institute supplied milk, with an ice chest, to ‘deserving’ cases. Families had to apply through Infant Welfare Centres, the local council or be recommended by their doctor and the milk was subsidised by a combination of the local council, the State Government and Institute funds. In 1914-1915 the City of Prahran donated £100 for the ‘special milk’ and their Annual report of that time said that the provision whereby mothers may obtain this boon for sickly infants has been much appreciated, and the reports to hand indicating the advantages in the saving of child life by this means are highly encouraging.

George Hope had commenced his Model dairy in Kooyong Road in Caulfield and purchased 592 acres (240 hectares) at Cranbourne in 1911. This land was the Mayfield pre-emptive right, originally owned by Alexander Cameron. The earliest date I can find for George supplying milk from Cranbourne, under the Lady Talbot Dairy scheme, is 1923 and it was being supplied from his farm until at least 1938. George was protective of his milk’s reputation and in November 1925 he went to court to seek an injunction to stop other dairies using the milk bottles with the Lady Talbot Milk Institute label and filling them with ordinary milk. A public advertisement appeared in the Argus of December 5th, 1925 warning dairymen against the use of the specially labeled bottles. Incidently, Lady Talbot Milk Institute milk bottles now sell for about $20 to $25.00, according to bottle collecting sites on the Internet.

The Argus,  December 5 1925
nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2171319

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Butter and Cheese Factories - Part 3

Lang Lang Butter Factory.

Image: Lang Lang & District Historical Society

In this blog post, we will look at the Yallock, Lang Lang and Yannathan milk factories. Yallock Southern Creamery, which was situated on the corner of the Yallock Creek and the No.5 Yallock drain, opened in 1897 as a Co-Operative, closed in 1898, re-opened 1899 and eventually sold to the owners of the Lang Lang Butter Factory. A butter factory had operated in Lang Lang for a few years before it closed in February 1893. It re-opened around 1895 with Charles Wood (or his company Wood & Co) being listed as the owners until 1926, when it was sold to Southern State Produce. It was then purchased by Ivan Stedman, a butter merchant, in 1928. It closed in 1940. The Factory was a major employer in Lang Lang. Farm pick-ups were initially done by horse and cart, but the 1930s the Factory had a fleet of trucks which collected from farms as far away as Phillip Island.

Image: Lang Lang & District Historical Society

Lang Lang Butter Factory trucks. The photograph above, shows a truck on the punt to Phillip Island.

Image: Lang Lang & District Historical Society

Yannathan Butter Factory (pictured below) was established in 1900 or 1905 (depending on sources) and was purchased by Ivan Stedman at the same he purchased the Lang Lang Factory. From 1929 the Cranbourne Shire Rate books lists the Yannathan factory as the “old Butter Factory” so I assume it was closed at this time. Yannathan, Catani and Bayles dairy farmers could also send their milk to Melbourne on the train, after the Strezlecki Railway line opened in 1922, and in 1923 the milk train carried over 1000 gallons of milk per day from those stations.

Yannathan Butter Factory

Image: More Mickle Memories of Koo-Wee-Rup by David Mickle, published by the author, 1987. 

Incidentally, Ivan Stedman (1895-1979) was a champion swimmer and led the Australian team at the opening ceremony of the Antwerp Olympics in 1920. He won a silver medal in the 4x200 freestyle relay team at those Olympics and also competed in the 1924 Paris Olympics. This is an achievement, made even more remarkable, by the fact that Ivan spent over three years in the A.I.F. during the First World War and was wounded at Passchendaele.

To read Part One of these blog posts on Butter and Cheese Factories, click here. To read Part Two, click here.

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Butter and Cheese Factories - Part 2

Cora Lynn Cheese Factory (taken 1998)

Image: Heather Arnold

As we discovered in the previous blog post, in 1888 the Victorian Parliament allocated money to establish creameries, cheese and butter factories in the Colony and in the 1890s there were over 140 such factories in Victoria, including some in the Casey Cardinia. Up until around 1930 the area could sustain several factories for a number of reasons. Firstly, dairy cattle numbers were at their peak in the 1920s. It is estimated that the Parishes of Koo-Wee-Rup, Koo-Wee-Rup East and Yallock had 12,000 dairy cattle in early 1920s. Secondly, most farmers were still using horse and cart for transport, so local factories were necessary. Lastly, the factories had slightly different purposes in that whole milk could be was received at Iona and Cora Lynn, whilst farms with a separator could deposit cream at Drouin, Lang Lang or Bayles.

The Rouse farm at Cora Lynn, in 1928. Typical of many small dairy farms in the area.

Image: Rouse family collection.

At Iona, a Creamery run by the Fresh Food and Frozen Storage Company, was opened in 1897 and by 1900 it had 50 suppliers. The Creamery operated until around 1907. In 1906 Drouin Co-Operative Butter Factory established a factory in Iona on the corner of Little Road and the Main Drain. It closed in October 1928 and was demolished in 1930. Another butter factory, operated by Holdenson and Neilson, operated in Iona from 1912 or 1917 (depending on sources) and was taken over by the Drouin Co-Operative Butter Factory in April 1921. At one stage the Fresh Food and Frozen Storage Company operated 70 butteries and creameries in Victoria. Holdenson and Nielson operated at least 20 and in the early 1890s they produced over 2 million pounds of butter, most of it being exported.

The Drouin Co-Operative Butter Factory was established in 1904 and expanded under the leadership of their aptly named General Manager, Bill Kraft. This Company should not be confused with the Drouin Co-Operative Creamery which was established in 1891, went into liquidation in 1895, and was taken over by the Victorian Creamery and Butter Company, who were another big player in the dairy industry, at this time.

The Drouin Co-Operative Butter Factory also established a factory at Cora Lynn in 1910. This was extended in 1932, partially to compensate for Iona closing down, when the factory had around 500 regular suppliers, however it was closed in the late 1940s. Drouin Co-Operative Butter Factory took over the Bayles Butter Factory in 1944, which had been established in 1922. It was re-built and enlarged in 1966 and operated until January 1980. This gave Drouin access to the Melbourne market as Bayles had a City distribution licence. It was for this same reason that Drouin had obtained shares in the Croftbank Dairy in Cranbourne in the 1930s.

The Bayles Butter Factory, taken in 1923.
Photograph from the Bayles Fauna Park collection.

In the next blog post we will take a look at other Butter factories in the region.

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Butter and Cheese Factories - Part 1

The Old Cheese Factory, Berwick, constructed 1875.

In my last blog post, I reproduced a copy of an article from the Argus newspaper of September 29^th, 1932 about the Cora Lynn Cheese Factory. I thought it would be interesting to find out more about Cheese and Butter Factories in the Casey Cardinia area, as dairying has played an important role in the life and the economy of the area since European settlement. Private factories, which processed milk, were erected in the mid 1800s, one of the earliest was a cheese factory constructed in the 1860s by James Buchanan, at his farm Ardblair in Beaumont Road in Berwick. However, the best known example of these factories is the Old Cheese Factory in Homestead Road in Berwick. This was erected for Sir William Clarke in 1875 and he employed Murdoch McDonald as the manager and Cheese maker. A report in the South Bourke and Mornington Journal of November 17^th, 1880 reports that the dairy is built specially for the manufacture of cheese, having double walls and double roof, with a space between to keep the building cool in hot weather, whilst the floor is well laid with cement. The lower room is used entirely for the manufacture of cheese, and the upper room for storing the cheeses when made. The daily work of the farm must be considerable, as two hundred cows are milked daily, and the establishment turns out 150 cheeses each week, employing about a dozen hands regularly , and at once shows the advantage of the excellent machinery in plant in use.

The property became part of a Soldier Settlement sub-division and as the tenants did not take up the option to purchase the property it reverted to the Crown. It was restored by the City of Berwick and officially opened on October 20th, 1985 as a "Centre for Cultural and Artistic Development" and can be hired out for functions and exhibitions.

Old Cheese Factory, ground floor, during 1985 renovations.

Another private cheese factory was constructed in 1892 by John Henry Smethurst on his property Glen Avis in Yannathan (pictured below). Smethurst was a pioneer in the use of machines. His dairy had a four horse-power boiler and a three horse-power Tangye engine which worked a 90 gallon separator and 200lb butter churn. He milked 75 cows at Yannathan and also had another cheese factory on his other property Lang Lang Park, at Athlone, where he milked 260 cows.

In 1888 the Victorian Parliament allocated money to establish creameries, cheese and butter factories in the Colony and in the 1890s there were over 140 of these factories in Victoria, including some in the Casey Cardinia and we will find out more about these in part two and three.

This is a photograph of the Smethurst property, Glen Avis, in Yannathan, taken from Buln Buln : a history of the Shire of Buln Buln by Graeme Butler (Shire of Buln Buln, 1979). It is now, unfortunately, out of print, but if you have an interest in the area it worth trying to track down a copy from a library or a second hand book dealer. Yannathan was part of the Shire of Buln Buln until 1893 when it was annexed by the Shire of Cranbourne. The book has an interesting chapter on dairying, where I found the information on Smethurst.

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