Gembrook

Gembrook derived its name from the property owned by early European settler, Albert Le Souef who was the first official settler in the area when he purchased 129 hectares (320 acres) of land in July 1873. He called this property Gembrook Park.  The original Gembrook settlement was south of today’s town and the community that grew around the Ure familys Silver Wells property was to the north of today's town. However, the commercial focus of the town shifted to around the Gembrook Railway Station when it opened as part of the Puffing Billy railway line. The Fern Tree Gully to Gembrook Railway, as it was officially known, was a narrow gauge railway of 2 feet, six inches and opened December 19, 1900.

                           

Gembrook Railway Station, taken between 1920 and 1954.

State Library of Victoria Image H32492/2159

Dorfmans Ranges Hotel Gembrook. Wolf Dorfman was licensee between 1935 and 1946.

State Library of Victoria Image H32492/4109 

One of the earliest buildings in Gembrook is the Ranges Hotel which was opened in 1902 by John and Jane McMahon. From around 1904, the hotel was operated by brothers,  Fred and Howard Pitt. In 1921 it was taken over by John and Catherine Beacham who transferred the licence to Wolf Dorfman in February 1935. Dorfman transferred the licence to Daphne and Alfred McGregor in 1946.  

 

Another view of the Hotel, most likely taken in the 1940s or 1950s.

State Library of Victoria Image H32492/267 

                              

Panorama of Gembrook

State Library of Victoria Image H32492/4110

Other community buildings followed the Hotel -  an Anglican Church opened  in 1905, a Catholic Church in around 1922 and various shops. The Memorial Hall was opened in December 1921 and later a Library and a Meeting Room was built under the Hall, as it was on a sloping block. The Memorial Hall was demolished in 1981 and replaced by a ‘community centre’. 

There was an earlier privately owned hall which, from 1906 until 1915, was used for State School No.2506, which had previously been located in Gembrook North. This School began in 1879 as the part time school No.2110, sharing the same number as Emerald State School,  and became full-time in 1889. Classes took place in the Union Church from 1884 until it moved to the Main Street in 1906. In 1915, a new building was built and the School moved to its current location.  There were four other Gembrook Schools -  Pakenham Upper School, No.2155, was called Gembrook South from 1879 until 1916, when it was renamed Pakenham Upper. It became part of Pakenham Consolidated School in 1951.  Gembrook West, No.3211, operated for just over a year from August 1894 until October 1895. The second Gembrook West School, No.4073, operated from 1921 until 1923. Finally Gembrook South East, No. 3468, opened half time with Nar Nar Goon North in March 1904 and closed in December 1908.

Finally, Gembrook is the home of the Gilwell Scout Camp, established in 1926 and visited by Lord Baden Powell, the founder of the Scots movement,  in 1931 and 1935. 

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The Grange, Harkaway

The Grange was built  for the Honourable William Arthur Callandar A'Beckett, M.L.C., J.P. (1833-1901) in 1862 or 1866 (depending on sources). It was designed by local architect George Washington Robinson. The house had views over Port Phillip Bay and was off A'Beckett Road, even though the original entrance was from Halleur Road as A'Beckett Road was made after The Grange was built.  A'Beckett married Emma Mills in 1855 and one of their daughters, Emma Minnie (1858-1936), who was an artist married fellow artist, Arthur Merric Boyd (1862-1940).  In 1948, The Grange  was purchased by Arthur and Minnie's son, the author, Martin A'Beckett Boyd (1893-1972) and his nephew, Arthur Boyd (1920-1999) painted murals in the house. Sadly, this grand house was sold in 1955 and then re-sold in 1963 to a Quarry.

On November 26, 1967  photographer, Richard Dunbar, took some photographs of The Grange and the murals and his widow, Margaret has kindly allowed us to reproduce them here. This is a rare opportunity to see the murals, in situ. 

Peter Freeman, the author of Brick Homes of Berwick* saw The Grange before it was demolished and wrote (possibly circa 1963)  It is now owned by the quarry - which owns the whole property, and it is slowly being surrounded by overburden, cracked by heavy blasting work and is bound to be demolished in the near future. It is  a tragic end to a beautiful and historic house. I do not know the exact date The Grange was demolished, but as it was standing in November 1967, then 1968 would be  a likely date. We have a 1970 aerial photograph in the collection and it has certainly been demolished then.

Along with the photographs was this, undated, newspaper article from The Age, written by Geoff Maslin,  about the murals.  In the article, Melbourne Art dealer, Joseph Brown, says that when they removed the murals steel frames had to be made to fit around each section of the four walls and a mobile crane and a semi-trailer were needed to cart them away. At the time the article was written (circa 1990) the murals were being stored at a Canberra warehouse by the National Gallery.

*Brick homes of Berwick by Peter Freeman. We have a photocopy of this typed manuscript in the Archive, it is undated, but written possibly circa 1963.  Mr Freeman looks at The Grange and other early brick homes of Berwick, Harkaway and Narre Warren North.

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German settlers at Harkaway

Many of Harkaway’s first European settlers were German Lutherans and in this post we look at some of these families. As we will discover many of these families were connected not only by their faith but by inter- marriage. Most of this information comes from Early Days of Berwick (henceforth referred to as Early Days)  and Early Settlers of the Casey Cardinia District. According to  Early Days the first of these settlers was Johann Gottlieb Scholz (1807-1884) and his wife Eleanor (nee Fellenberg 1807-1887). The couple and their eight children had arrived in South Australia in 1838, where their last child was born. They settled in Harkaway in 1844. The next year, John Martin Friedrich Fritzlaff came to the area, left to try his fortune on the gold fields and was apparently successful as he retuned, with his wife Johanna (nee Reiger 1825-1917) and purchased land with Wilhelm Wiese, a carpenter and builder, in 1855.  Fritzlaff established the first Post Office and store in Harkaway.

State Library of Victoria image Image H36420/11. Labelled 'The 1st house in Harkaway' 

Photographer E.J Frazer. 

Also around 1855 Gustav Koenig (1817-1887) arrived and ran a dairy farm. Koenig gave his name to Koenig Road, which was anglicised to King Road around the First World War, due to anti-German sentiment. His first wife, Charlotte (nee Weidenberg) died on the voyage out to Australia and his second wife Henrietta (nee Finger) died in 1863, aged 37, having given birth to nine children in the thirteen years of their marriage. Joseph Walsdorf (1803-1881) was another early settler. He and his wife Agnes Schmitt (1810-1889) lived ‘on the gully at the back of Harkaway’, according to Early Days. Their daughter, Christina married Henry Edebohl (1826-1904). He was a road contractor, bridge builder and a farmer and the source of the name Edebohls Road.

Henry Bruhn (1816-1908) brought 120 acres in Harkaway in 1856, which he farmed with his wife Caroline (nee Hubner 1833-1917) Also in the same year Carl Metzenthein (1815-1901)  bought land on the bank of the Cardinia Creek at Harkaway. Carl had seven children from his first wife, Auguste Schultz (or Scholts) and another four by his second wife Johannes Weniger. Reinhold (1846-1909) the son of the first marriage was a boot maker in Berwick and according to the story in Early Days, in 1869 evangelist, Mr A.J Hamill, called in to have his boot repaired as he was walking back to Prahran after preaching in Pakenham. Mr Hamill began to preach the gospel and at a later visit he baptised Reinhold and his wife Elisabeth (nee Meyer) in the Cardinia Creek and they congregation grew and became the Church of Christ.

State Library of Victoria Image H36420/9. Labelled 'Post Office Harkaway. 
Photographer E.J Frazer.

J.F Wilhelm Aurisch (1826-1911) was married to Caroline Tschirner (1835-1871) the daughter of Harkaway pioneers Gottfried and Rosina Tschirner who built the original farmhouse at Rowallan Farm in Harkaway.  Wilhelm’s brother Johann Gottlob Aurisch (1817-1898) also arrived  in 1854 and they each purchased part of the original 640 acres purchased by Dr Wanke in 1853 (more of the Wanke family later). Johann was married to Dorothea Scholz, the daughter of original settlers Johann and Eleanor Scholz. Another Aurisch brother, Carl (1818-1901) also came to Harkaway, with his wife Christine (nee Wolfe). They had four children.

John Jacob Meyer (1808-1882) arrived in Australia in 1852 with his second wife Sabine (nee Schwarz) who sadly died the next year. His son Benjamin, from his first marriage, had attended the Academy of Hofyl in Switzerland, an experimental school established by Gottlieb Fellenberg, the father of Eleanor Scholz. Benjamin was a builder who built many local houses and in 1868 married Auguste Metzenthin, the daughter of Carl and Auguste and the sister of Reinhold. Reinhold in the same year married Elisabeth Meyer, the half sister of Benjamin.

Ernst Gottlob Wanke (1823-1897) was a medical student who had nearly finished his degree when he came to Australia as a ships doctor. Like many others, he deserted from the ship in Melbourne and went to the gold fields, before buying land in Harkaway in 1853.He was known as Dr Wanke and according to Early Days, his medical knowledge was of great value to the Harkaway settlers. Dr Wanke also donated land for the Church and the school and served on the Cemetery Trust. Ernst Wanke Road is named after him. His first wife and child had died in Germany and he came out with his second wife, Pauline (nee Schurmann 1822-1904). They had one son, Immanuel (1856-1934) who married Bertha Aurisch, the daughter of Wilhelm and Caroline Aurisch.

State Library of Victoria Image H36420/13. Labelled 'Wanke's dairy farm, Harkaway'

Photographer E.J Frazer. 

Dr Wanke’s brother, Johann Gottlieb Wanke (1814-1889) also came to Harkaway.  He was married to Helena Muller and they had five children. Their daughter, Caroline married another local settler, Peter Erdmann (1827-1872) who arrived in 1853 and had land in A’Beckett Road in Narre Warren North and was one of the original trustees for the Harkaway Lutheran Church. Ida Erdmann, a daughter of Peter and Caroline, married Charles Weist (1859-1941) who had  a block of land near the Harkaway cemetery.

Halleur Road is named after Rudolf Halleur (1826-1912, or von Halleur as Early Days calls him.) He arrived in Australia in 1852, deserted his ship and went to the gold fields, then settled in Harkaway in 1858.  He married Johanna Scholz (1838-1932) another daughter of Johann and Eleanor. He was a sail maker by trade and turned this skill into making harnesses and boots. Rudolf and Johanna had nine children.

Johann Hillbrich (or Hillbrick, 1814-1899) purchased land in Hessel Road in 1855, where the family operated a dairy farm. This property was then passed onto son, Ernst (1842-1914) and then to his son Stanley, who farmed the land until 1959 when it was sold out of the family. It is now part of Timbarra Estate. Johann was married to Maria Wagner (1821-1888) and they had ten children.

Hessel Road was named for Jacob Hessel (1833-1904) the inaugural teacher at the Harkaway State School when the Harkaway Lutheran School was taken over by the Education Department in 1876. The Lutheran School had started in 1856 with Traugott Friedrich Warmbrunn (1803-1885) as the original teacher, though it is believed that Eleanor Scholtz taught local children before that. Warmbrunn was very active in the Lutheran community, but his teaching career was hampered by his lack of English, so he had to resign, however he remained in Harkaway. The next teacher was Carl Hubner, who took over in 1857. Once again, his poor English meant he had to resign, which he did in 1861. Jacob Hessel started at the school in 1862 and was there until 1883.

State Library of Victoria  Image H36420/10. Labelled 'State School Harkaway'. 

Photographer E.J Frazer. 

Other German Harkaway settlers included Gustav Warmbrunn (1836-1912), the son of the teacher, who lived near the School in the 1860s according to Early Days. He was married to Wilhelmina Scholz, another daughter of the original pioneers, Johann and Eleanor. Wilhelmina (1840-1928) gave birth to eleven children. Lotha Schmidt had a vine yard and winery in Harkaway. August  Dubberke (known as Martin, 1843-1926) settled in Victoria in 1864 and farmed at Harkaway. He was married to Augusta (c.1845-1913), daughter of Johann and Helena Wanke.  Carl Ernst August Fleer (1832-1904) was a baker and also had a small farm at Harkaway. He was married to Emma Metzenthin (1841-1927) another daughter of Carl and Auguste. Peter Rumph (1820-1895) and his wife Catherine (nee Chenmel 1831-1879) purchased their land in 1854. He was a builder and helped build the Berwick Inn. Another settler with a connection to the Berwick Inn is Wilhelm Braun (c. 1827-1919) also known as William Brown. He married Ellen Barry (c. 1836-1918) in 1855 and they had eight children.. He arrived in Berwick in 1854, worked on local farms and was also a builder and brick maker. His bricks were used in the newer parts of the Hotel, the two storey sections added in 1877 and 1887.

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Frog Hollow Reserve, Endeavour Hills

Frog Hollow Reserve in Endeavour Hills has a number of sporting fields and is also an established wetlands  and  provides  a significant environmental and landscape corridor along the southern fringe of Endeavour Hills. The land has always been a bit swampy, low lying and  flood prone, due to its proximity to the Eumemmerring Creek, as well as a frog habitat and thus the name Frog Hollow was suggested by Cr Keith Wishart for the Reserve.* When the Reserve was first proposed around 1986, it was called the Hallam North Road Recreation Reserve. Frog Hollow is much more picturesque and sounds like something you would find in The Wind in the Willows.   These photographs were all taken by the City of Berwick.

These two photographs, above and below, were taken in May 1993, before replanting.

 There has been substantial planting of indigenous species since the establishment of the Reserve - the photograph above was taken in  August 1993. This planting has been continued by the Friends of Frog Hollow, which was established in 2002. The Friends have planted over 60,000 native trees.

September 1994.

Pavillion at Frog Hollow, taken September 1994.

This photograph is labelled ' Eumemmerring creek works opposite Frog Hollow' and was taken in September 1994. The friends of Frog Hollow are currently advocating for a walking/cycling track from Frog Hollow to Lysterfield Lake; this link should also improve wildlife habitat. There is an interview with Stephen Hallett, the President of the Frog Hollow Friends Group, which is part of the 52 stories in 52 weeks project, initiated by the Federal Member for Holt, Anthony Byrne. Click here for the link to the interview.
If the link doesn't work, you can find the interview, plus some other interesting interviews with local people who volunteer their time to make a difference to the Community at http://anthonybyrnemp.com and then click on Media.

*Place names of Berwick by Debbie Stephan (City of Casey Historical pamphlet 3, November 1994)

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Local shopping strips

These are  photographs of local strip shopping centres, taken mainly in 1990s, by the City of Berwick. This is how we all used to shop before the arrival of the large shopping centres - if you grew up in Victoria, then you would know that Chadstone was the first of these big centres, it opened in 1960 and it is apparently so big now that I wouldn't be surprised if you can see it from the moon.  Locally,  the Centro Shopping Centre in Cranbourne  and the Endeavour Hills Shopping Centre both opened in 1979 and Fountain Gate Shopping Centre in 1980.

This is Autumn Place in Doveton, 1992.

 This is Spring Square in Hallam in 1992.To see another photograph of Spring Square, click here.

Webb Street in Narre Warren, taken 1992.

Webb Street in Narre Warren. I am not sure of the exact date of this picture, but it is around the early 1990s. You can see the old Railway signal box in the background.

High Street in Berwick, 1992. To see more photographs of High Street click here.

This is an earlier shot of High Street, taken in 1975.

If you want to see  photographs of the local shopping strip at Pakenham, then click here,  or in Cranbourne, then click here

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Cardinia Creek at Soldiers Road, Beaconsfield

The first four photographs, below, are of the Cardinia Creek at Soldiers Road, taken in the late 1970s. They also show the old wooden bridge which was replaced around 1980 with a wider, concrete bridge. Bucolic, riparian and nostalgic are words that spring to mind to describe these photographs.  They were taken by the City of Berwick.

This is the construction of the new Soldiers Road bridge and shows the Beaconsfield Railway Station in the background.

 Above and below, the circa 1980 concrete bridge on Soldiers Road,  over the Cardinia Creek.

Utilitarian and functional are the words that spring to mind to describe this scene.

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Cr Jeune Matthews

I wish to commemorate the passing of Cr Jeune Matthews, who was a Councillor from 1972 until 1988, originally for the Shire of Berwick and from 1973 for the Shire of Pakenham, which was created when the Shire of Berwick split (the area west of the Cardinia Creek was renamed the City of Berwick). In 1979,  Cr Matthews had the distinction of being the female Shire President of the Shire of Pakenham, and its predecessor, the Shire of Berwick. This was a remarkable achievement given that local government in this area began with the formation of the Cranbourne Road Board in 1860 and the Berwick Road Board in 1862, the precursors of Shires of Cranbourne and Berwick, both of which were established in 1868.  The City of Berwick’s first female Shire President/Mayor was Cr Jan Bateman in 1980 and for the Shire of Cranbourne it was Cr Judy Elso, in 1988.

Juene (nee Johnston) and her late husband, Cyril, farmed at Garfield and had five children. She died on December 7, 2012 aged 83.

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