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John Ford

31/7/2017

John Ford (1787-1870) was the earliest born of those interred at the Mount Duneed Cemetery. He bought some of the original Crown land in Mount Duneed. Five generations of Fords farmed the land at Mount Duneed.
His son John was born in October 1820 in Derbyshire, England. He was one of the founders of the Grovedale Wesleyan Church, which met in private homes until 1853 when the first church was built. He held office in the Sabbath School and on the building committee where he was appointed secretary in 1870 and became chapel steward in 1875. He was also mentioned for supplying wood and boiling the water at picnics and tea meetings. He married Hester (Esther) Humphrey (née Tansley) from Connewarre. He died in June 1892. Descendants of his in the Ford and Spencer families worshipped at Grovedale for many years. On 7 June 1892 he was found dead in the dray by his stepson George Humphrey. In a post mortem examination by Rupert Pincott he was found to have died of fatty degeneration of the heart and ossification of the mitral valve. He was aged 71 years. Their daughter Ann(1869-1908) married Benjamin Blyth, a son of Ewing Blyth and Agnes Tait.
The 3rd generation John Ford (1871-1946) was also involved in the same church in many ways, being first appointed as a helper in the Sabbath School in 1886. He married Mary Ann Blyth (1874-1945), also a child of Ewing Blyth, a survivor of the Earl of Charlemont shipwreck, and Agnes Tait, daughter of James Tait, an early settler at Tait's Point Lake Connewarre. Children of John and Mary Ann were:
Evelyn Hester — born 1899, died 24 July 1985
Gladys Alexandra — born 1901, died 5 February 1968 aged 67
Lesley Helen — born 1901, married Charles Henry Spencer in 1927, died 21 November 1992
Beatrice Annie — born 18 February 1906, died 26 May 1995
John — born 1912, died 17 August 1984 aged 72
Ron — born 1917, married Joyce, died 13 September 2007

John died on 15 April 1946. All were buried in the Methodist section of the Mount Duneed Cemetery.
The sons in the next generation were John (Jack) and Ron. Ron was also involved with the Grovedale Methodist Church. Jack was captain of the Connewarre Fire Brigade from 1943 to 1950. Land previously owned by the Ford family in Boundary Road is now being developed as Ashbury.

In an exceptionally short will John Ford left his estate to his wife Hester when he died on 7 June 1892. When Hester died she left the farm to her son John and other assets to Ann. The land on the corner of McCanns and Horshoebend Road was described as a grass paddock. The farm in the block bounded by Burvilles, Barwarre, Horshoebend and Boundary Roads was owned by Benjamin Blyth at the time of his death on 24 November 1918, but was later farmed by a fourth generation of the Ford family. It is currently being developed as Ashbury.

Wellington

26/7/2017

John Rout Hopkins by Edward Gilks

Wellington is another long lost Settlement in the parish of Duneed. Maybe it never became a township as very little is known of it. From accounts at the time it seems to be situated near the junction of Drewry Lane, Cape Otway, Hunts and Mount Duneed Roads.
The first mention of Wellington was in the published diary of Rev James Bickford. He visited the area in January 1856 to find out if the residents of the district wanted a Wesleyan church. Services were held in the home of the Dow family until John Rout Hopkins offered land for the church to be built. This was conditional on it being built of brick or stone. Hopkins was married to Eliza, daughter of George Armytage who owned many blocks in this area. In July 1867 Rev Bickford again visited the area to select land for the church. The foundation stone for the church was laid in April 1868 and the first service was held later that year. Rev Bickford officiated at the opening service.
In 1871 a petition was presented to Council to have the road grubbed and cleared from the chapel to Thomsons Creek.
The last known reference to Wellington was in the council minuted in 1899.

Rev James Bickford — State Library of SA

3 August — Chris Barr — The Bell Family — Past Event

20/7/2017

John Calvert Bell lived with his family at Calder Park, Mount Duneed from 1891–1901. Chris Barr will tell the story of this remarkable family before, after and during their life at Mount Duneed.

Thomas Powell

19/7/2017

Thomas Powell, son of Cornelius and Mary (née Maroney or Marooney) Powell, was born in Tulla, County Clare, Ireland in 1812. He arrived in Melbourne in 1839 on the William Metcalfe in the Colony of Port Phillip on 15 November 1839 with his wife Susannah née McNamara. They were bounty immigrants. Thomas aged 27 was listed as a carpenter and Susanna aged 20, a dressmaker. Their one year old son, Patrick died on the voyage.

Their subsequent children were:
Cornelius — born 1840
Thomas — born 1841, died December 1854 aged 13 years 7 months
Mary Jane — born about 1844, died 1909
John — born 1845, married Nora Fitzgerald, died March 1876
Catherine (Kate) — born 1848, 7 April 1873
Susanna — born 1850
Caroline — born 1852, died 1853 aged 8 months
Anne Mary — born about 1858, married Edward Thomas Brennan, died 15 November 1935

After shifting to Geelong he established a business as wheelwright and blacksmith in partnership with Michael Reynolds. The partnership dissolved in August 1842. He ran the Union Inn in Malop Street until he transferred the business to Alfred Lee Frost in 1849. In 1850 it was transferred it back to him for a few months and again transferred, later in 1850, to Henry R Gosling. Also in 1850 he started the Corio Brewery in Geelong and Stawell. It was often referred to as Powell's brewery. In 1852 he successfully stood for election in the Barwon Ward in the Geelong council election. After the election a petition was presented to the council claiming that he impersonated voters who were out of town. He did not contest the seat again at the next election. He was a South Barwon councillor from 1860 to 1867.

purchased 245 acres of crown land in Waurn Ponds in 1849 which he named Claremont. This land was east of Ghazeepore Road, south of Waurn Ponds Creek and stretched to what was a road aligned with Hams Road. He had an eight room brick house built on this property, the tenders being called on 2 March 1857.

His son Thomas died, aged 13 years, at Waurn Ponds on 23 December 1854, and his wife, Susanna, at Little Malop Street, Geelong on 8 January 1856. Soon after her death, in 1856, he married Mary Ann Rowley. Their son, David Rowley, was born on 6 August 1857 at Claremont. A daughter was born on 15 August 1858 and daughter, Elizabeth Jane, at Claremont on 21 June 1861.

Thomas sold his brewery in 1858 and retired to Claremont. Late in 1862 he became the second lessee as toll keeper at the tollgate at the Prince Albert bridge. In 1863 he returned to the brewery that he had sold, renting it from H Elms and conducted it and the Stawell branch until his death in 1877. He died while on a visit to Stawell. He was buried in a family plot in the Old Catholic section of the Geelong Eastern Cemetery.

His daughter carried on the brewery under the name of MJ Powell & Company. He may have been a brother of Connor Powell. They came from the same parish in Ireland.

The Bank of Australasia was on the corner of Gheringhap and Malop Streets, opposite Johnstone Park.

Buried in the grave below are:
Thomas Powell
Susannah Powell — first wife
Mary Ann Powell — second wife
Thomas Powell — Son
Mary Jane Powell — Daughter
John Powell — son
Nora Powell — daughter-in-law
Kate Powell — daughter
Ann Mary Brennan — daughter
Edward Thomas Brennan — son-in-law
Lilla Brenan — daughter of Ann and Edward
The large sandstone monument was erected in 1856 by Richard Cumming of Yarra Street, Geelong.

Michael and Margaret Feehan

12/7/2017

The Feehans lived on the north west corner of Torquay and Feehans Roads. They owned allotments D (with timber house) and E and 10 acres of allotment C in Section XX

from Geelong Advertiser 28 October 1890

The members of the St Patrick's Society were requested to assemble at Mount Duneed on Sunday 22 October 1899 to follow the remains of their late member, Michael Feehan to the place of interment, the Geelong Eastern Cemetery. The funeral cortege was a very lengthy one and included 49 private vehicles and several horsemen.

Michael and Margaret (née O'Loughlin) Feehan had come to live in Mount Duneed in the late 1870s. Their children were:
John Joseph (1872-1949)
Michael James (died in 1890 aged 16 years)
William Patrick (born 1877)
Mary Ann (1879-1973)
Patrick Thomas (1881-1956)
Francis Terence

When Margaret died on 26 October 1924 at the age of 81 years she left real estate valued at £1490 and £845 personal property fo her children subject to a bequest of £75 to St Mary's Church Geelong for school purposes.

She was buried in the Catholic section of the Geelong Eastern Cemetery.

Patrick Feehan, son of Margaret Feehan, was a labourer from Mount Duneed when he enlisted for World War 1 service on 1 March 1916 at the age of 36 years. He was wounded in action twice.

He was awarded the Military Medal "for conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty during the attack on Vauvillers, east of Villers-Bretonneux on 9th August 1918. The whole of the Lewis gun team to which this man belonged became casualties, including himself. Although badly wounded he carried his gun forward with the company and when the left flank of the company was in the air and seriously threatened by the enemy, he at once made his way to a position on that flank in the face of heavy enemy machine gun fire where he engaged the enemy inflicting very heavy casualties, thus enabling the comp[any to continue their advance. By his splendid courage and devotion to duty he materially assisted in the attack and successful capture of the village, which was, in no small part, due to the initiative of Private Feehan".

Patrick was a member of the Mount Duneed Mutual Improvement Association, a member of the Committee of Management of the Mount Duneed Recreation Reserve for many years from 1909-1951, a secretary of the Grovedale Athletic Club and the Mount Duneed Rifle Club, often winning trophies. He died on 1 December 1956 aged 75 and was buried at the Geelong Eastern Cemetery with his sister Mary Ann who died on 2 May 1973 aged 94.

Feehans Road was named after the Feehan family who were associated with Mount Duneed for 97 years.

Grave of Patrick Feehan at Geelong Eastern Cemetery

The Vegetable Garden

5/7/2017

I was given an old copy of the 1929 edition of The Australian Gardener by Leslie H Brunning many years ago and found it to have a very reliable planting guide for this area.

Joseph and Elizabeth Rainford

2/7/2017

Joseph Rainford

Elizabeth Rainford

James Rainford

The Rainford family

Joseph and Elizabeth (née Bate) Rainford sailed from Liverpool in the ship Araminta in 1852. Their son Thomas was born on this voyage. Joseph's 21 year old brother, James, came with them. They landed at Point Henry and Joseph worked as a wool presser before heading to the Ballarat diggings, where he had little success and returned to the Geelong district. Joseph became a market gardener at Marnock Vale. He could also cut freestone and bluestone blocks.

In 1857 he purchased land at Mount Duneed and built a bluestone home "Oakgrove" which was completed by 1863. He was actively involved in many activities in this area. He was a trustee for the Mount Duneed Cemetery and a committeeman of the local state school and also the Church of England. Joseph died on 19 February 1893 aged 67 years. Elizabeth died on 18 July 1904 aged 81 years. They were buried in the Church of England section of the Mount Duneed Cemetery.

Their children were:
Thomas Rainford was born in 1852. He was appointed a teacher at the state school in 1868 when about 100 children attended the school. He married Alice Mary Barker. He died on 17 September 1950.
Alice Rainford was born in 1855. She married George Tilley in 1877. She died on 30 August 1936 aged 80, and is buried in the Geelong Eastern Cemetery.
John Rainford born in 1859. He died on 12 March 1926 aged 66 years.
Joseph Rainford was born and died in 1861
Margaret Rainford was born in 1863. She did not marry. She taught at the state school and the Sunday school for many years. She died on 18 December 1936 aged 74 years.
James Rainford was born in 1868. She was an active member of the Church of England. He won the Geelong Rifle shot championship 2 years in succession. He died on 23 October 1960 aged 93 years.

Joseph Rainford died intestate. When Elizabeth died she left assets she had inherited from her husband to sons, John and James and daughter Margaret. Her land in Whites Road, between Torquay and Williams Roads is shown in the map above.

The grave of Joseph and Elizabeth Rainford and their sons James and John, daughter Margaret and grandson Thomas Gregson Rainford (son of Thomas) in the Church of England section of the Mount Duneed Cemetery

Thomas Rainford

2/7/2017

Thomas Rainford was the eldest son of Joseph and Elizabeth Rainford of Mount Duneed. He was born on their voyage to Australia on board the Araminta which arrived on 4 October 1852. He married Alice Mary Barker from Forest Creek, Victoria in 1881. They had seven children:
Alice Elizabeth Jane Rainford — born 1881
Thomas Gregson Rainford — born 1883 at Minyip. He died on 14 January 1889 at the age of five due to drowning in a water hole about 100 yards from the door at Mount Duneed. He was buried with his grandparents at the Mount Duneed Cemetery.
Mabel Rainford — born 1885 at Minyip, died 1886 at Minyip
Joseph William Rainford — born 1886 at Minyip.
John Lawrenson Rainford — born about 1890. He died in 1968 at Glenhuntly.
James Leslie Rainford — born about 1893. He died in 1968 at Box Hill.
Henry (Harry) Thomas Rainford — born 30 January 1898 at Colac. He married Ivy Millicent Rose Long in 1929 (my second cousin twice removed — common ancestors are William Long and Sarah Street, James Long and Elizabeth Adams). He died at Barwon Heads on 2 September 1984 at the age of 86 and was buried in the Church of England section of the Mount Duneed Cemetery. Ivy died on 18 October 1993 aged 88 and is buried with him.

The grave of Harry and Ivy Rainford at Mount Duneed Cemetery