Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee

Queen Elizabeth celebrates her Diamond Jubilee this year and the main block of celebratory activities takes place  from June 2 to June 5. If you happen to be in England you could attend these events - check out the following websites.The official Royal Family website can be found at  http://www.royal.gov.uk  and the official Jubilee website is at http://www.thediamondjubilee.org/  

Casey Cardinia has various links to the Monarchy. Firstly, Lord Casey after whom the City of Casey was named, lived in Berwick and was the Governor General of Australia from September 1965 until April 1969. The Governor General is appointed by the Monarch and is the Monarch's representative in Australia. Secondly, some of our roads have a Royal connection -  the Princes Highway was originally known as the Gippsland Road but changed in 1920 after the visit of Edward, Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII, then the Duke of Windsor). Station Street in Berwick was changed to Gloucester Avenue after the visit of the Duke of Gloucester to Victoria in 1934. Prince Alfred, the Duke of Edinburgh and son of Queen Victoria, visited Beaconsfield in 1869 and stayed at the Gippsland Hotel. John and Margaret Doveton, who gave their name to Doveton are said to have been descended from Edward 1 and his wife Eleanor of Castille.

 

The Queen and Prince Phillip came to Australia in 1954, they arrived on February 3 in Sydney and left on April 1 from Fremantle. Whilst they were here they visited every state and many country towns. On March 3 the Royal couple were in Gippsland, they flew to Sale for  a reception, then went by the Royal Train to Traralgon for a reception, by car to Yallourn to see the open-cut coal mine, then they drove to Warragul for a reception and then took the Royal Train back to Melbourne.  Many towns along the way decorated their shop fronts including Berwick. These photographs, of High Street Berwick,  are from our Archive and show how Berwick celebrated the 1954 visit by the Queen.The photographs were donated by Mrs Julie Berry (nee Halleur)

If anyone knows the name of this gentleman, then I would love to know. He is presumably the Local Real Estate, replacing his sign with a banner.

My family actually has a connection to this Royal visit. My father, Frank Rouse, was doing his National Service at the time and they had to put in a certain amount of hours and one of his duties was being a Guard of Honour, along the route. Dad and his colleagues, spent about seven hours standing at their designated spot (in his case on the outskirts of Warragul) and the Royal motorcade apparently passed by in a second. He has his gun, but no bullets, however, he can (and does) say that he successfully guarded the Queen! 40,000 people were  in Warragul on the day of the Queen’s visit. 

In honour of the Diamond Jubilee, the Queen has made available the diaries of her great, great grandmother, Queen Victoria.  Queen Victoria also celebrated a Diamond Jubilee and this why they have been released at this time. The journals have been digitised, so you can  see Queen Victoria's own hand writing and also the illustrations she interspersed amongst the text. This one is a self portrait from August 21, 1850. These journals are  a great historical resource and even if you are not especially interested in the content, then this represents a great example of how history meets technology - not only can you read the diaries, you can follow Queen Victoria's thoughts on Twitter and you can 'like' her on Facebook. The journals can be found at http://www.queenvictoriasjournals.org

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Pages from the Past

The Casey Cardinia Branch of the National Trust has recently produced the local history Pages from the Past: shapshot histories of people, places and public life in Casey and Cardinia. As the name suggests the book provides brief insights into different aspects of the history of the City of Casey and Shire of Cardinia. It covers People such as Lord Casey and Ada Armytage; Places such as the Berwick Primary School and Maryknoll and Public Life which covers such topics as growing up in Beaconsfield in the 1930s and the development of the railways. The book is a  collaborative effort with contributions from many people and is well worth the $19.00 price. It is available from the National Trust Gift Shop and Information Centre at Pioneers Park on the corner of  Peel Street and Lyall Road in Berwick. They are open everyday, except Tuesdays, from 11.30am until 3.00pm. It's  a great little shop and has many unusual gifts and interesting books and is run entirely by volunteers. You can also borrow it from your local library - click here to check availability.

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Narre Warren landfill gas fuelled power station

The Narre Warren landfill gas fuelled power station was officially opened on July 12, 1992. The Power Station is on the site of a former quarry which had been used since November 1982 as a 'regional refuse disposal site' or tip as it would have been known in the olden days.  The tip was managed by the City of Berwick in partnership with five other Councils. When garbage and waste breaks down, 'landfill' gas is produced which is generally fifty five percent methane and forty five per cent carbon dioxide.This gas can cause environmental problems and so a power station was constructed to use this gas as fuel for power generation. The end result was a decrease in odour and methane emissions and the production of  electricity for generation plants.

  
The  waste heat was used to heat green houses and for a business that re-cycled paper. Both projects were  operated by Minibah, now called Outlook, which provides services to children and adults with a disability. The landfill closed in 1996 and the power station is still operating. These photographs were taken in 1995.

 The power station.

 

The gas provided heat to operate green houses in which roses were grown, some of which are shown below.

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Casey Cardinia Remembers website

The Narre Warren and District Family History Group nwfhg.org.au have complied a database of Monuments and Memorials in the City of Casey and Shire of Cardinia. This project has taken many hours of volunteer time to locate, photograph and transcribe the monuments and then to create the website which you can search at caseycardiniaremembers.org.au. To show you the range of monuments and memorials on the website, we will look at the entries for Gembrook. All the photographs are from the Casey Cardinia Remembers website and used with permission.

This is the Centenary log at Gembrook, 1874-1974. It commemorates the timber industry and the work of the pioneer hardwood millers.

 This is the Avenue of Honour memorial for World War One Soldiers. The Casey Cardinia Remembers website has the full list of soldiers who are honoured, plus a photograph of each individual plaque.

This is the E.A.C Russell Memorial scoreboard at the Gembrook Football Grounds. E.A.C. 'Bill' Russell was involved in many organisations in Gembrook, owned timber mills and was also a Shire of Berwick Councillor and Shire President in 1962.

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Street names of Cranbourne

This is a map of the original Cranbourne township allotments which includes the original owners. The streets names represent two different sources of names - some are named after local land owners and some are named after Government officials. I have made an ‘educated guess’ as to the source of the street names which I believe are derived from Government officials but as the first Cranbourne township lots were surveyed in 1856 and the first land sales took place in March 1857 and this period coincides with the time that these officials were influential then I believe that they are the most likely source for the names.

Map of the 1850 subdivisions in the Cranbourne township

click here to view or download a larger version http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/94154 

See below for the full version  of this plan

Bakewell Street and Lyall Street
John Bakewell and William Lyall were part of the influential partnership of Mickle, Bakewell and Lyall who arrived in the area in 1851. John Mickle (1814 to 1885) and John Bakewell (1807 to 1888) were business partners in Melbourne from 1847 and they were soon joined by William Lyall (1821 to 1888) whose sister Margaret was the wife of John Mickle.  In 1851 they acquired the Yallock Run (based on the Yallock Creek, south of Koo-Wee-Rup). In 1852 they acquired the Tooradin run and in 1854 they acquired the Great Swamp run and at one stage they occupied nearly all the land from Cranbourne to Lang Lang.

After Government land sales in 1856 the trio subdivided their jointly owned land. Bakewell’s portion included Tooradin, Tobin Yallock, the Bluff and Warrook on the Yallock Creek. Mickle received the Upper Yallock blocks which he renamed Monomeith. Lyall received the Yallock pre-emptive right and the remaining land. William and Annabella Lyall built Harewood house in the 1850s and the property remained in the Lyall family until 1967. John Bakewell died in England in 1888.

Barkly Street
Sir Henry Barkly (1815 to 1898) was Governor of Victoria from 1856 to 1863. The western end of Barkly Street is now called Brunt Street and the eastern end is Lecky Street. It is separated by the Cranbourne Secondary College site.

Brunt Street
Brunt is named for the Brunt family. William Brunt and his wife, Mary Jane (nee Espie), lived at Spring Villa, where the Settlement Hotel is now located. William was a Cranbourne Shire Councillor from 1904 to 1923. Brunt Road in  Officer is named after William's cousin, Ralph Brunt. Ralph and his wife Mary Jane (nee Funston)  had land from 1871 on the  Cardinia Creek and later had part of the Gin Gin Bean run, near Officer.

Cameron Street
In March 1851, Alexander Cameron (1815 to 1881) took up the lease of the Mayune Run and a few years later at the Government land sales he purchased 592 acres, the Mayfield Pre-emptive Right, on the corner of what is now Cameron Street and the South Gippsland Highway (where the Life style retirement Village is now located). The Cranbourne Road Board was proclaimed in June 1860 and Cameron was elected in 1863 and served until 1867. He was married to Margaret (nee Donaldson, 1822-1895) and they had seven children.

Childers Street
Hugh Culling Eardley Childers (1827 to 1896) and his wife, Emily (nee Walker) arrived in Australia in 1850. His first Government appointment was an Inspector of Denominational Schools in 1851. He was a member of the Legislative Council and appointed Auditor General. He was the first vice chancellor of the University of Melbourne and helped found the Melbourne Public Library (both established in 1856). He returned to England a few years later where he became a member of the House of Commons and was also a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and the Royal Society.

Clarendon Street
George William Frederick Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon (1800 to 1870) was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from 1847 to 1852 and the British Foreign Secretary on three occasions from 1853 to 1870. He negotiated a favourable outcome for Britain at the end of the Crimean War in 1856 at the Congress of Paris Peace talks. The Crimean War, which was a war between Britain, France, Turkey and Sardinia against Russia took place largely on the Crimean Peninsula in Russia. The war was commemorated in many towns in Australia by street names such as Alma, Inkerman and Balaclava which were places of battle etc during the war.

Codrington Street
Sir William John Codrington (1804 to 1884) was Commander in Chief of the British Forces in the Crimean War from 1853 to 1856. Alternatively, but I feel less likely, Codrington Street could be named for the British Admiral, Sir Edward Codrington (1770 to 1851) who was Captain of the HMS Orion at the Battle of Trafalgar (1805) and also served in other Wars.

Lecky Street
Lecky Street is named after local land owner, James Lecky (1802 to 1884). He purchased Gin Gin Bean on the Cardinia Creek in 1846. Lecky was a Cranbourne Road Board and Shire Council Member from 1860 to 1881 and Shire President on many occasions. He and his wife Elizabeth (nee Woods, 1803 to 1891) and their six children arrived in Victoria in 1841.

Lyons Street
Admiral Sir Edmund Lyons (1790 to 1858), Ist Baronet Lyons, commanded the Black Sea fleet during the Crimean War.

Russell Street
Lord John Russell (1792 to 1878) was Home Secretary under Lord Melbourne when he was the British Prime Minister on various occasions between 1834 and 1841. Russell was also the British Prime Minister from 1846 to 1852 and from 1865 to 1866. Lord Melbourne is the source of the name Melbourne and Russell Street in the city is also named after Lord Russell.

Sladen Street
Sir Charles Sladen (1816 to 1884) was a member of the Legislative Council and Treasurer of Victoria and Premier for 67 days in 1868.

Stawell Street
Sir William Foster Stawell (1815 to 1889) was appointed Victorian Attorney General in 1851 and became Chief Justice of Victoria in 1857.

Map of the 1850 subdivisions in the Cranbourne township

click here to view or download a larger version http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/94154 

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Iona Hotel at Garfield.

I have spoken before about Trove, it is my of my favourite historical resources and a while ago I came across this interesting article.

Barrier Miner (Broken Hill, NSW : 1888 - 1954), Saturday 19 October 1912, page 4
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article45223730

I am not sure how true the story is, as it didn't appear in any local papers such as The Argus or the South Bourke and Mornington Journal, but it was in the Cairn's Post and the Brisbane paper, The Worker and I suspect it might be a 1912 version of an urban myth.

The Iona Hotel at Garfield was originally opened around April 1904. It was built by George Ellis. The hotel had twenty nine rooms including the bar room, parlours, commercial room , dining rooms, drawing rooms, billiard room with a full sized Alcock's table and fixtures and sixteen bedrooms. The building was constructed of weatherboard and had gas lighting and an 'excellent' septic sewerage system. There was also substantial stabling. This information comes from a report in the South Bourke and Mornington Journal of April 13, 1904.

Sadly, the hotel was destroyed by fire on April 23, 1914. I believe the existing Hotel was erected the next year as there is a report, once again in the South Bourke and Mornington Journal this time from May 27 1915 saying that the Shire of Berwick Health Inspector, Dr H. White, had inspected the Iona Hotel and he was pleased with the appointments and sanitation of the place and that no expense had been spared by the proprietors to make it all respects one of the best equipped hotels in the colony.

This photograph, from the Berwick Pakenham Historical Society collection, shows the Iona Hotel, most likely just after the new building was opened in 1915.

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The London Gazette

In the last post we looked at the life of Kathleen Kinsella, who did not survive the bombing of the Vyner Brooke on February 14, 1942. Whilst I was researching Kathleen I came across the fact that her sister, Nancie, had received an M.B.E (Member of the British Empire) so I began some research into this and came across a new resource that may be of interest to you. It is the London Gazette www.london-gazette.co.uk where, since 1665, all official British government notices are published. Before I tell you about the London Gazette I will tell you about Nancie Kinsella. Nancie, Kathleen and their three brothers were the children of Michael James Kinsella (1858-1919) and Susan (nee Lockens 1857-1930) of Cora Lynn. Michael Kinsella had selected 60 acres of land on the north side of the Main Drain at Cora Lynn in 1900. They both started school at Koo-Wee-Rup North and then transferred to Cora Lynn State School and they both became nurses. Nancie had left Australia before the War and when the War broke out she enlisted in the Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service. This service was started in 1902 by Queen Alexandra and provided nurses for military hospitals. Nancie nursed in the Middle East; was in Normandy where she looked after D-Day casualties and also nursed the 1,700 survivors of the Belsen Concentration camp. At Belsen, the nurses had to de-louse and clean the captives and the wards as well as provide treatment for all manner of diseases such as dysentery, tuberculosis, typhoid, typhus, diphtheria, heart and kidney problems as well as starvation. Nancie was awarded a M.B.E in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in North West Europe – this was listed in the London Gazette, issue 37004, of March 29, 1945.

 

She was also mentioned in Despatches for the same service and was awarded the Associate Royal Red Cross medal, which is awarded to nurses for acts of bravery or exceptional devotion to duty. This award was in the January supplement to the London Gazette, issue 38797, of December 30, 1949.

It appears that she remained in the Service and completed her time in the Reserve of Officers in 1956 as we can see below from the London Gazette, issue 40758, of April 17, 1956. In 1956, Nancie Kinsella was appointed the Matron at the at the Peter McCallum Hospital and the ‘Nancie Kinsella Patient Library’ there is named in her honour. 

Because Australia had the Imperial Honours System before 1975 all Australian recipients are listed in the London Gazette, so if your ancestor or relative received a C.B.E (Commander of the British Empire) or an O.B.E (Officer of the British Empire) or, like Nancie Kinsella, a M.B.E (Member of the British Empire) or even a higher honour such as a Knighthood then they will be listed in the London Gazette. The notice above was in the London Gazette, issue 45678, of June 3, 1972. Cr Thwaites was awarded an O.B.E for his services to Local Government. Cr Thwaites was a Cranbourne Shire Councillor from 1958 to the 1980s. Sir Sidney Sewell received his Knighthood in 1945 and it was listed in the London Gazette, issue 37119, of June 8, the same year. Sidney Sewell was a pioneer in the treatment of tuberculosis, founded the Association of Physicians of Australasia in 1930, lived at Roads End, Beaumont Road in Berwick and built the Tudor shops in High Street. The notice is also interesting for the use of the term 'Dominions' as it has been many years since Australian was referred to in that way. Other things you would find listed in the London Gazette include bankruptcies, naturalisations, patents, military honours, promotions and appointments and public service appointments. And, best of all, the entire 340 plus years of the Gazette are now digitised, searchable and free to print off. I would advise doing an Advanced search where you have the option of searching a phrase or limiting by dates. It is an amazing resource if your ancestors are from the United Kingdom or like Nancie Kinsella involved with a British Military unit.

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