Rawlins Cottage, Devon Meadows

Rawlins Cottage, on Worthing Road in Devon Meadows, is listed on the City of Casey Heritage database as well as the National Trust Register. Even though it was only built in the 1920s the suite of buildings are considered significant. The following is from the National Trust significance statement This group of owner-built pole and pug structures of twentieth century date, comprising a farmhouse and outbuildings of 1922 and later, is significant at a State level as an example of primitive structures. They relate to a tradition of pole and pug building which was especially prevalent on French Island from the 1890s, and of earlier wattle and daub structures on both French Island and the Mornington Peninsula. The house itself, the creamery and one shed to the north-east, are substantially of this construction and, though severly decayed, illustrate the method very well. Two other sheds also contain fragments of pole and pug.

Two views of the Cottage, above and below. The photograph, below, clearly shows the construction method. The photographs were taken in 1994.

One of the out-buildings.

The City of Casey Heritage database says the Cottage complex is significant as a rare surviving example in the Devon Meadows area of a farm complex, which illustrates the development of the area as a result of closer settlement during the interwar period. Thomas and Alice Rawlins moved to Devon Meadows around 1920 from Lawloit, between Kaniva and Nhill in the Wimmera district. They moved because Mr Rawlins wanted to go somewhere which had green grass. They had four children Roy, Rhoda, Cyril and Phill. Rhoda was interviewed for the book Uncovering Devon Meadows: a collection of local lives* and she says that when they arrived there was only a little hut on the block and then her father built the house, he dug up the soil around and made the mud and put it in between the sticks. The house consisted of three bedrooms, a lounge and a kitchen and had only kerosine and candles for light. The family milked cows, grew their own vegetables and Mr Rawlins also had a horse and a single furrow plough. The photographs show Thomas (1880-1969) and Alice  (nee Eva Alice Lee, 1877-1956). The photograph of Mrs Rawlins was taken in 1942. In the next post we will look at more of the history of Devon Meadows.

Rawlins Cottage. Mrs Rawlins was obviously a keen gardener, as you can see in the photograph above. She won many prizes in the 1935 Devon Meadows Flower Show.

The Argus Saturday, November 23, 1935 p.18
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11857487

*Uncovering Devon Meadows: a collection of local lives. Published by the Devon Meadows Primary School, 1985.
All photographs are from the Casey Cardinia Library Corporation Archive.

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The mystery of the Quietly Club

I had an email from the Dandenong & District Historical Society asking if I knew anything about the Quietly Club in Berwick. They had received an email on this subject from Maurice Mishkel from Canada, a collector of stamps and envelopes. Maurice had purchased this envelope, below, addressed to Horace Bennett.

I passed the query onto Judith Dwyer and Corrine Brewis of the Berwick Mechanics’ Institute (BMI). The BMI have scanned their Minute Books and Attendance Registers and Judith recognized the art work. The artist was John Warne, a Berwick painter and decorator, who with his brother Charles a plasterer, had started a business in Station Street (now Gloucestor Avenue) Berwick in the late 1880s. In 1901 John married Henrietta Searle, the daughter of Henry and Jane Searle. Henry had operated a blacksmiths on the corner of Wheelers Street and High Street (known as Searle’s Corner) in Berwick from around 1860. Sarah and John had four children - Joseph Thomas (known as Tom) b.1902, Marian Hilda (known as Hilda) b.1904, Jack b.1907 and Samuel Charles b.1910. Tom followed his father and also became a painter and signwriter.

John Warne's illustration from the Attendance Register of June 18, 1894.

From 1893, until she married, Henrietta was the Librarian at the BMI. From the attendance books we know that both Horace and John Warne were regular visitors to the BMI and that John frequently ‘annotated’ the attendance book (see above) Horace’s last visit to the BMI was November 3 1894, and he added Fare the Well after his signature.

Horace's last visit to the Berwick Mechanics' Institute, November 3, 1894.

So what was the Quietly Club? – we don’t know but can only surmise it was a bit of an in-joke with John and Horace and the other lads. Perhaps it was to do with Libraries encouraging silence or the Library may have been quiet after Horace left.

Tarcoola Station is near Pooncarie on the Darling River and was firstly occupied by William Campbell. It was taken over by Charles Nicholson in 1851 and at the time consisted of around 30,000 acres. A series of amalgamations with other properties saw Tarcoola having over one million acres in the 1880s, with 21 workmen employed as well as Managers, cooks, maids, grooms, stable hands, a black smith and Chinese gardeners. Tarcoola was broken up in 1918 into ten leases. We don't know what Horace's role was at Tarcoola. An entry in the Attendance Registers lists Horace as a butcher, so may be that was what he also did at Tarcoola, nor do we know when he arrived at Tarcoola. The only other thing we know about Horace was that he was T.H Bennett, and that it is likely his father was also called Horace.

Horace is listed as a butcher, above, on January 10, 1894 and in the entry, below, of July 18, 1894 there is a reference to Good old Bennett, what price fish, so perhaps he also sold fish?

However as you can see, below,Horace also signed in as H.R.H The Duke of York October 8, 1894 and on November 1 of the same year he was The Humble Horace Bennett - so it does appear he was a bit of a joker.

The entry from March 6, 1894 - there's John Warne's signature and we think Horace Bennett is the father of Horace of Tarcoola. What does B.C.B stand for?

The whole Horace Bennett Quietly Club mystery brings up a few issues – first the importance of networks. There are hundreds of Local History and Heritage Societies in Victoria, many of whom keep in touch through regional networks such as the South Eastern Historical Association. We have our own network here in the Casey Cardinia Region, the Local History Reference Group, who meet quarterly. It’s good to know that if you can’t answer a query, then you can pass it onto someone who may be able to help. Secondly, it brings up the issue that the role technology now plays in Local History – without email we could never have passed around this query so quickly and if the BMI had not decided to scan all their records would Judith and Corrine have had easy access to the original registers and recognized the art work? Scanning has made all these old Registers immediately available at the click of a mouse button and another click can have these images whizzing around the world.

Thanks to Maurice for sharing his envelope and giving Horace Bennett and the Quietly Club a place in our history. I would love to hear from you if you know anything about Horace. The information on Tarcoola Station came from The history of Pooncarie and District by Rob Lans, Thelma Smith and Bill Smith. It was published by the Pooncarie School Centenary & Historical Committee c. 1988.

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Lang Lang

Here are some interesting early views of Lang Lang. The photograph below is the Main Street (Western Port Road) taken in the 1920s. Amongst the shops in the photograph are a a General Store which sold The Argus as well as Texaco products; Tomlinson's Store which sold drapery, footwear and china; Glasscock's Grocery and ironmongery and the Post Office


The Cardinia Shire Heritage Study describes the English, Scottish and Australian Bank Ltd building (above) as one of the more architecturally sophisticated buildings for the district and the era. Its classically inspired rendered two storey parapeted form is unusual for commercial buildings in the Shire's townships. It was built in 1929.

The Masonic Temple was built in 1926. The Lang Lang Lodge, No.236, was consecrated on October 27, 1915 and met in the Mechanics' Institute until their Temple was built. The first Master of the Lodge was William Eason, who was the Head Teacher at Koo-Wee-Rup State School from 1914 to 1936.

The Soldiers Memorial Hall was originally built as a Mechanics' Institute. The original Hall had been built at Tobin Yallock and re-located into the new town of Lang Lang (based around the railway) in the early 1890s. In 1925 the Hall became a Soldiers Memorial Hall and the brick front was added. The Hall burnt down in November 1966.


Finally, a lovely view of Railway Avenue. The construction of the Great Southern Line was responsible for the development of Lang Lang. Lang Lang's fore runner, the town of Tobin Yallock, was based around the intersection of McDonald's Track and what is now the South Gippsland Highway. The nearest railway station to the Tobin Yallock settlement, called Carrington, opened in February 1890 and was re-named Lang Lang in the December.

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Pakenham High School

If you went to Pakenham High School in the early days, then this book should interest you. It is written and produced by a past student, Roger Harvey, who has his own website http://www.rogerharvey.net/
The book, Packy High: the good, the bad and the ugly (1969 to 1974) is a fantastic record of the time. It is produced in scrap book style, A3 size, from contemporary photographs, articles from the local paper and Roger's illustrations and writing. Roger is now a professional cartoonist and illustrator and lives in New South Wales.



Secondary Schooling in Pakenham had been provided at the Consolidated School from when it opened in 1951; the 'forms' went up to fourth form, or Year 10. The High School was established in 1967, still using the Consolidated School buildings and it started at its existing location in 1970. Pakenham students had also attended Koo-Wee-Rup High School, which was established in 1957, though Form One to Form Four education was available from 1953 when it was the Koo-Wee-Rup Higher Elementary School.


Pakenham's first Principal was Alex McCulloch, then from 1969 it was Lindsay Thomson. When he was was appointed in the February of 1969 there were 426 students enrolled, a huge jump from the 290 enrollments of 1968. By February of 1971 this had increased again to 733. At this time, the Pakenham catchment area went all the way from Berwick to around Nar Nar Goon. Berwick did not get its own High School until 1977. According to the book, Mr Thomson is now 86 and lives in Berwick.

A few pages from the book, you can see the eclectic style of the book (click on images to enlarge them)

Roger writes that this book covers the rites of passage as some 140 of us kicked off in 1969, until about 50 wrapped it up in 74's H.S.C Group. This was about the same ratio, i.e one third, who would have gone through to the Higher School Certificate at Koo-Wee-Rup High School when I was there from 1971 to 1976. After Form Three or Year Nine, when most students were about 15, and a large proportion left to take up apprenticeships or office jobs, many more left after Form 5 to work in Banks or for , the girls to take up Nursing.

I wonder where all these students are now? Once again, click on the images to enlarge them.

This book really is an amazing work and an amusing tribute to the School, the teachers and the students. If you have any connection with Pakenham in the days when it was a country town or went to any Government High School during the time of this book, then this is a book worth looking at.

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The Inebriates Asylum at Beaconsfield

On September 30, 1889 the Governor in Council ordered that the buildings and premises situate at Beaconsfield and hitherto known as Craik’s Boarding House shall be an Asylum for Inebriates. Thomas Elmes was appointed the Superintendent of the Asylum on October 1, 1899.

Victoria Government Gazette, October 4 1889, p. 3320. The Victoria Government Gazette can be found at http://gazette.slv.vic.gov.au/

On November 4, 1889 the Governor in Council ordered that The buildings and premises belonging to Mrs M.H.Blair, situate at Beaconsfield, and known as Walnut Gove, shall be an Asylum for Inebriates, to be used for the care and treatment of female patients only.

Victoria Government Gazette, November 8, 1889, p.3834.

Inebriates were defined as a person who habitually used alcoholic liquors and could be committed to an Inebriate Asylum for detention and curative treatment for up to three months. Inebriate Asylums were established in 1888, previously inebriates were committed to the Lunatic Asylum. Beaconsfield was the first Asylum to be established, and one was also established at Northcote in 1890.

The Victoria Government Gazette of December 20, 1899 lists the Regulations for the Management, Supervision and Regulation of Asylums for Inebriates. The Regulations covered the amount of food allowed to each inmate; intoxicating liquor was banned; inmates were banned from having money or stamps and all letters were opened before being handed to inmates. Regulations also covered what to do if an inmate became insane (they were sent to a Lunatic Asylum) or died (a letter was sent to the local Coroner and to the ‘person who shall have made the last payment on account of such patient). The Fees were also set out - £2 per week for patients on the ‘lower scale’ and £5 per week for those on the ‘higher scale”

On May 15, 1891, the Victoria Government Gazette reported that Thomas Bissell, a patient was missing. The Argus of July 21, of the same year, reports that his skeleton was found in the Gembrook ranges, about 12 miles from the Asylum.

Victoria Government Gazette, May 15 1891, p.2021.

On January, 6 1892 The Argus reported that an inmate, Francis Key had committee suicide, by shooting himself, after being admitted to the Asylum suffering from alcoholism and in week state. Apparently his wife was aware that he had a gun in his room, and she wrote to the Asylum expressing her concern and telling them of her husband’s suicidal tendency. In spite of this it appears the gun remained in his room and as the Inquest noted ‘sufficient precaution was not exercised by the Officials’.

The Argus, January 6, 1892 p. 6 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article8392912. The Argus has been digitised by the National Library of Australia and can be found at http://newspapers.nla.gov.au/

Both Beaconsfield and Northcote were closed in 1892, Beaconsfield in September 1892 (see news report below) Another report in The Argus of September 4, 1894 says that the Asylum buildings were destroyed by fire. The owner, Mr Craik of Kincraik Boarding House, had the buildings insured for £700.

The Argus, July 6 1892, p.6 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article8436904

The Asylum gave its name to the surrounding area and even as late as 1925 a report in The Argus called the area Inebriates Hill. It is now known as Guys Hill.

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Woods Street, Beaconsfield by Ann Taylor and Charles Wilson

A street sign along the Old Princes Highway has been changed! An ‘S’ has been added to the Wood Street to make it Woods Street. The controversy over this street name has now been resolved. The Beaconsfield Business group contacted the Council querying the sign “Wood Street” on the Highway and Woods Street on the street pole. The Council has confirmed it is “Woods Street” and requested that Vic Roads change their two green directional signs to conform.

An early picture of Woods Street, from the Beaconsfield Progress Association collection.

The first record of Woods Street appears in the South Bourke and Mornington Journal of October 5, 1889 when the Berwick Shire Council approved the alignment of this new street. It was named after John Woods (1822-1892) a member of the Victorian Parliament from 1871 to 1893, and Commissioner for the Railways 1877-1880. When the railway line from Sale to Oakleigh was opened in April 1879, there were stations at Berwick and Officer but none at present day Beaconsfield. In 1876, entrepreneur William Brisbane of Berwick, knowing the rail line was being built, and realising there was a great demand for sawn timber and firewood in rapidly expanding Melbourne, entered into partnership with John Day, and built a sawmill near the present day Central Hotel, then called the Gippsland Hotel. Brisbane needed a rail siding to get his timber to Melbourne, and knew a siding would also benefit the new selectors in hills district- now Upper Beaconsfield, and Little Berwick, the small settlement near Cardinia Creek, later named Beaconsfield.

Brisbane wrote to the Commissioner for Railways several times, requesting a siding at this site, but without success. In a flamboyant gesture, Brisbane invited 120 ladies and gentlemen from Melbourne to lunch at his guesthouse in Upper Beaconsfield on Saturday November 30, 1878.
The guests included three M.L.A’s - Dr. L.L.Smith, Bosisto, and John Woods, all of whom had selected 20 acre blocks in the Upper Beaconsfield area, so would have benefited from the proposed station. The visitors were picked up in horse drawn vehicles at the Berwick Station and on the way to Upper Beaconsfield were shown the place where a station was required.
At lunch, a toast to John Woods the Commissioner for the Railways was proposed. In reply Woods said he accepted Brisbane’s suggestion, and agreed to open a station. He then proposed a toast to Brisbane.

Beaconsfield Railway Station, 1910.

On the December 1, 1879 Beaconsfield Railway Station opened for traffic - passengers, and goods. The Station sign stated “Beaconsfield Station”, “Passengers for Beaconsfield Ranges alight here.” The Station was an immediate boost to the local economy. The first post office was opened at the station in 1883. When State School No. 3033 opened on its present site on June 5, 1890, it was officially called Beaconsfield Railway Station School. In 1951, the name was shortened to Beaconsfield School.

Woods Street was so named to acknowledge John Woods contribution to the early development of Beaconsfield. Beaconsfield soon grew as well with both homes and shops in the Woods Street area. There are still some early 20th Century cottages along Woods street which have been lovingly restored by their owners. In the early 1900’s Adamson’s hardware store was established and served the town from 1906-1983. Woods Street also had the Post Office and Jim Parke's butcher shop along with the Grosby factory (which operated from 1945 to 1951) and is still a mix of residential and businesses today. The War Memorial was built in 1920 and still stands at the end of the Street.

John Woods was born in Liverpool England on November 5, 1822. He was the son of a railway man and John trained as a locomotive engineer in Liverpool and then on the Leipzig and Dresden railway. He won first prize for axles at the 1851 Great Exhibition. He was married to Sarah Gibbons and they arrived in Victoria in 1852 and went to the Goldfields where he led passive resistance to the licence fee. At Ararat he was elected to the local court and then to the Mining Board and from 1859-1864 he was a member of the Legislative Assembly, from 1871-1892 representing the seat of Crowlands and then the new electorate of Stawell. He sat on many Select committees, mainly about railways. He was a commissioner for the 1880 Melbourne International exhibition and honorary commissioner to the 1883-84 Calcutta Exhibition; from 1890 he was a member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Railways. He died on April 2, 1892.

The Berwick Shire Rates Books show that John Woods purchased land, 20 acres Lot 130 Parish of Pakenham in 1878 and held it till his death in 1892. Lot 130 is off Hughenden Road just down from the intersection of Telegraph Road in Upper Beaconsfield. Woods was one of the first batch of selectors of 20 acre lots after the land was subdivided by the government in 1876-77.

This article was first published in The Beaconsfield Banner, June/July 2010 edition, the community newsletter produced by the Beaconsfield Progress Association. Ann is a regular contributor to the Beaconsfield Banner and the late Dr Charles Wilson, was a local historian, generous with his knowledge and research. Sadly, he passed away on June 5, 2010 at the age of 90.

References:
Biographical details from Australian Dictionary of Biography Volume 6 Melbourne University Press, 1976 pp. 434-435.
South Bourke and Mornington Journal 1889
Beaconsfield the school and it' s district: 1890-1990 by Audrey Dodson.
In the wake of the pack tracks by the Berwick Pakenham Historical Society.

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Victorian Community History Awards 2010

This blog has won a Commendation in the Victorian Community History Awards. The Awards, are organised by Information Victoria (1)  and the Royal Historical Society of Victoria and 'recognise excellence in historical method'. The six Award categories acknowledge that history can be told in many formats, thus prizes are awarded for the Best Collaborative or Community Work; Best Print Publication; Best Audio Visual or Multi Media; Best Exhibit or Display; Best Walk or Tour and Best Community Research or Registers. 

The Award Ceremony took place at the State Library of Victoria on Thursday, August 19 2010 and the awards were presented by Peter Batchelor, Minister for the Arts. It was very exciting and it was fantastic to have our Blog recognised. But, the best part was that there were 153 entries in various formats, all completed in 2009 and whether they won or not, that represents 153 different stories written about Victoria's history and 153 aspects of our shared history researched and recorded for the future. So in the end, the winner is our history and that's a good thing.

Footnote

(1) They are now organised by the RHSV and the Public Records Office of Victoria prov.vic.gov.au

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