Nicholas, son of John and Johanna (née Darcy) Ervin, was born in 1837 at Kilmoylar, Tipperary in Ireland. He married Ann Daffy (née Pardy) on 27 February 1862 at Duneed (#591). They had the following children: John James — born about 1863, died 2 February 1895 aged 32, buried at Mount Moriac Cemetery Nicholas — died 24 June 1895 at the Geelong Hospital of Phthisis aged 30, buried at Mount Moriac Cemetery Thomas Joseph — born in 1868, married Elizabeth Margaret (Bessie) Buckley in 1904, two sons Nicholas and Clarence, died on 20 November 1947 at Mount Moriac, buried in the Roman Catholic section of the Mount Moriac Cemetery with Elizabeth who died in 1972 at Newtown (Geelong) aged 90 Mary Ann — born on 12 January 1866 at Pyramid Hill, married John Francis Considine in 1890, died on 24 November 1891 aged 26, buried in the Roman Catholic section of the Mount Moriac Cemetery. GTC records show her as Mary Consedine and Mary Ervin Daniel Edward — born in 1867, married Catherine Eliza Downes in 1895, died on 1 October 1918 at Mount Moriac aged 50, buried in the Roman Catholic section of the Mount Moriac Cemetery. The cortege comprised the hearse, two landau carriages, 98 conveyances, 8 motor cars and 28 horsemen. The procession was a mile long. Margaret Ellen — born in 1871, died in 1891 at Mount Moriac, buried in the Roman Catholic section of the Mount Moriac Cemetery Nicholas died on 29 March 1883 aged 46 and was buried in the Roman Catholic section of the Mount Moriac Cemetery. Thomas Ervin was a Barrabool Shire councillor from 1914 for 25 years. Thomas and his brother Daniel bought the Mount Moriac Hotel and hall diagonally opposite. Nicholas' sons, Daniel and Thomas, became proprietors of the Mount Moriac Hotel. They carried on farming at first. They also acquired the land diagonally across the junction of Colac and Hendy Main Roads, on which they built a hall, after enlarging and renovating the hotel. This hall was used for public purposes until it burned down in 1962, but remained part of the hotel property for many years. After many accidents caused by runaway vehicles it was decided to build a new hall at the Recreation Reserve. After Daniel's death in 1918, his wife and son, Winter, who died 1964, conducted the hotel for a long period. |
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In 1875 the families moved to the Shepparton area. John took up a selection at Tallygaroopna and Matilda took up the allotment next to it. John and Mary retired from farming in 1890 and moved into a small cottage in Shepparton where John died on 8 May 1998. Mary died on 29 August 1904 at the home of her daughter at Tallygaroopna. They were both buried in a family grave at Shepparton Cemetery. A book written by Bob Argus traces the Argus family back to villages in Devon and Cornwall, where the family name was Hargest. The difficulties of his ancestors are described in interesting detail. They were very early settlers of this district where three of John Argus' children married three of Lawrence Trewin's. In the mid 1870s the families shifted to the Shepparton area to gain more land and a better future. Although the book is written as a story it includes maps, documents and family trees. http://www.argus-family.info/Book.htm
The Bible Christian Ebenezer Chapel, Sandlands Road (now Hendy Main Road), Mount Moriac was opened with a service on Christmas Day 1856. This was followed by a tea provided by the ladies at 5pm. The cost of the 24 x 18 feet building was £190 of which £120 had already been raised. The tea raised an extra £30. It was built on the west side of Hendy Main Road, north of Colac Road.
On 24 August 1869 church services were disrupted by six lads between the age of twelve and fifteen years who threw rotten eggs and stones at worshippers and into the church. John Argus, who was attending the meeting was struck by a rotten egg.
In 1952 working bees were held to clear away the stone from the original church that had been erected in 1860. As the old church was unsafe after the recent storm damage it was decided to rebuild the new church on the foundations of the old church. Built of Mount Gambier limestone, the cost was £5000. The old steeple was incorporated into the new design. It was hoped to find records of the laying of the foundation-stone (31 October 1858) in a bottle inserted into one of the stones, but this did not happen. The new church was not as large as the old one which had beautifully carved doors and windows. When it was erected in the early 1860s there was also a presbytery and school. It had been built to serve a much larger population. The Mount Moriac country was once thickly populated. Evidence of this could be seen from the number of deserted and decaying houses fifty years ago. The blocks were relatively small and as families grew the settlers found they could not make ends meet. These farmers often shifted to remote areas where blocks were larger such as in the Wimmera. A large proportion of the earliest settlers in Mount Moriac were Catholic and as this was the only Catholic church between Geelong and Colac parishoners flocked to it. It was reported that the stone used in the construction of the first church was faulty, and on many occasions the church had to be repaired. In 1869 the walls, erected at a cost of £4,500, were cracking and needed a large amount of money to make them secure. This damage was caused by the loose manner in which the foundation was put in. Alterations were again carried out in 1887. Damage to the church in that year included broken slates, and the destruction of the large stained glass western window which was shattered by a furious hailstorm. In 1929 leadlight windows were broken by someone throwing stones. In February 2017 more than 200 people watched at the auction when the property was sold for $605,000 to a local buyer. |
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