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John Nicholas McCann

31/12/2020

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John Nicholas, son of Peter and Elizabeth (née Begley) McCann was born in 1851 at Geelong. He married Emma Hill in 1875. The couple had the following children:
Herbert William — born in 1876 at Ceres, married Mary Cecilia Hayes in 1913 at Melbourne, died on 8 April 1943
Sarah Elizabeth — born in 1877 at Ceres, married Alfred Pigdon in 1904 at Bellarine, died on 12 July 1950 at Geelong West
Clarence Newham — born in 1880 at Ceres, married Grace Marendaz in 1899, died on 4 September 1957 aged 77 years at Geelong, buried in the Independent section of the Geelong Western Public Cemetery
Gertie Eva — born in 1887 at Ceres, married Harold Charlton Webster in 1925, died in 1988 aged 100 years at Newcomb
Hilda May — born in 1890 at Ceres, married William Stanley Holt in 1922, died in 1973 at Ormond

John, with his father Peter, established quarries at Waurn Ponds and in 1888 cement works at Fyansford. John served as a Barrabool Shire councillor from 1887 until 1895 and from 1902 until 1905. His brother, Sydney Herbert (1872-1948), served for thirty four years from 1914 until his death in 1948, including nine terms as president. His grandson William S McCann served from 1972 until 1981. Ernest W McCann (1905-1985) son of Sydney Herbert, a farmer served in many positions of importance — on Geelong Harbor Trust, Pipelines Commission, Farmers' Federation, Rotary Governor.

John died on 7 May 1929 aged 77 years at Newtown and was buried in the Church of England section of the Geelong Western Public Cemetery. Emma died on 7 Mar 1934 aged 78 years at Geelong and was buried with him.
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McCann's quarry showing poor quality top stone with improvement with depth — from St Paul's Cathedral archive
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William Ham

10/12/2020

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​William, son of Samuel and Suzannah Ham was born on 26 April 1843 at Bideford in Devon, England. He married Sarah Zealley who came to Australia on the Queen of the South in 1864. She came to Australia when her nephew, George Zealley's first wife died, to look after his house and children. During this time she met William Ham and married him in 1870 when George remarried. She was born in Tintinhull in Somerset.

William and Sarah had the following children born at Geelong:
Hedley William de Robert — born on 13 November 1871, married Fanny Louisa Hunt in 1898, died on 24 June 1959 aged 87 years at Malvern East
Myra Grace — born in 1875, married Frederick James Yarra in 1915, died in 1953 at Ballarat, buried in the Methodist section of the Highton Cemetery
Ada Emma — born in 1877, married Francis McKim in 1905, died in 1918 aged 41 years at Geelong, buried in the Methodist section of the Highton Cemetery
Maud Zealley — born in 1881 at Geelong, married John Andrew Charles in 1912, died on 5 August 1966 at Ballarat, cremated at Ballarat New Cemetery ashes collected
Ernest William — born in 1883 at Geelong, married Maria McHarry in 1911, married Flora McKenzie in 1925, died in 1963 at Benalla aged 80 years, buried in the Church of England section of the Benalla Cemetery
Samuel Francis — born in 1879 at Waurn Ponds, married Elizabeth Ann McHarry in 1914, died in 1953 aged 73 years at Geelong

William farmed land originally owned by John McPherson at Waurn Ponds. He was elected to the School Board of Advice for the Moriac riding in 1885. He was a Barrabool Shire councillor, serving from 1895 until 1916 including four terms as president. He wrote a history of the shire's first fifty years. His son, Samuel Francis was elected as a councillor in 1935, serving until 1948.

Sarah died on 2 January 1906 aged 63 years at Geelong and was buried in the Methodist section of the Highton Cemetery. She was a beneficiary under the will of Robert Zealley, late of Mount Duneed who died on 22 January 1870. She left an estate valued at £2080 to William. William died in 1932 aged 89 years and was buried with her.



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William Ham
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from Jerilderie Herald and Urana Advertiser 14 July 1932
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Land farmed by William Ham in Waurn Ponds fronting McPhersons, Ghazeepoore and Reservoir Roads
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The Waurn Ponds Outrage

19/11/2020

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John Henry, third son of William and Jane (née Murphy) Todd, was born in 1851. He married Mary Gertrude Sweeney in 1875. They had no children.

John, in partnership with his brother Francis, ran a butcher's shop in Mount Moriac.

With William Thomas Bartrop he was brought before the court in October 1876 charged  with the murder of Thomas Lilley. Lilley had been badly injured when driving his waggon near the Waurn Ponds Tollgate and made a deposition while in hospital. The prisoners had been found with blood on their hands and clothes. Lilley's clothes and whip were found at Bartrop's house. Various witnesses, some who had spent the day drinking at hotels in Geelong gave conflicting accounts of the events that had taken place. Todd and Bartrop were convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to ten years in gaol.

Mary Todd was declared insolvent in 1880. One of the reasons for her financial troubles was the falling off  of business. John was released on 19 November 1883. Francis had moved to Pyramid Hill by 1885 when his first child was born.

​John died on 17 July 1887 aged 37 years at St Huberts Post Office* where Mary was postmistress. He was buried in the Roman Catholic section of the Lilydale Lawn Cemetery.

Mary married Pat Loughery in 1895. She died in 1925 aged 81 years at Donald.

*St Huberts Post Office opened 1 November 1874 and was renamed Yeringberg Post Office on 15 August 1890

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from Geelong Advertiser 2 March 1880
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John Henry Todd
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William Thomas Bartrop
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Waurn Ponds Avenue of Honour

21/6/2019

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Centenary of Armistice

24/10/2018

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Remembrance Day —  Waurn Ponds
Sunday 11 November 2018
10:40 am — Waurn Ponds Memorial Reserve
Corner of Cochranes Road and Waurn Ponds Drive

Everyone is welcome to attend the service 


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2018 marks 100 years of the ending of the First World War. A memorial service will be held at the Waurn Ponds Memorial Reserve to commemorate this significant event. Wreaths will be laid followed by a minute silence to remember all those who served our nation.
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Follow Waurn Ponds Memorial Reserve on Facebook

1914-1918                              Lest We Forget                              1914-1918
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Louis Mermod

5/10/2018

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A post office which operated at the Pettavel store at the 8 mile post on the Colac Road opened on 12 January 1865 under the charge of François Louis Mermod. It closed on 1 November 1894.

​It is difficult to be precise about the location but when it was sold it was advertised as being 144 acres on allotment A portion V. The old parish map on the right indicates that this block of 585 acres marked David L Pettavel, stretched from Reservoir Road to Waurn Ponds Creek with Colac Road running through it. It therefore could have been either side of Colac Road. It stretched from Draytons Road to Pettavel Road.

The property was later described as an old weatherboard cottage which contained a bedroom at each end and two sitting rooms in the centre facing the Colac Road. The sitting room door opened onto Colac Road and there was a large gate at the east end of the house abutting on the road. The kitchen door of the house opened onto the yard leading to the gate. The post office was a detached building at the west end. The business transacted was very small.

In 1872 Louis Mermod was granted a wine license at the store. He was cautioned that he must keep the store and post office separate from the drinking part of the establishment. There had been complaints of horse racing being carried out on Sundays at his place.

In 1874 he had his colonial wine licence transferred from the Pettavel store to Waurn Ponds where he held a rural store license. His land was near the corner of Cochranes Road and Colac Road, now named Waurn Ponds Drive. This venture was probably not successful as he was trying to sell his rural store site by late 1875. He subsequently appears to have moved to Korong Vale.

In 1875 Louis was accused of dummy bidding when Harriett Patterson who owned the three acre allotment  next door applied to purchase her allotment held under a rural store license. An objection was heard as she had not erected a store on her land accusing her of being a dummy for Louis. She had lived with him for five weeks. I do not know what her relationship with Louis was. Louis' stepson, Armand Le Court, had owned the block of about 2½ acres to the north of hers since March that year.​ 
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​Louis had several children with Marie Louise Le Court (née Matthy) who had arrived in the colony in 1854. She was a native of Neuchatel, Switzerland​. She did not seem to be related to other Swiss in the district who came from Neuchatel. Louis was born at Geneva. He was described as a watchmaker. Is it possible he was related to the Swiss watchmakers of the same name who were renowned for making music boxes? Louis and Louisa's children were:
Louis Frederick — born in 1862 at Paraparap, died in 1932 at Ballarat
John Alfred — born in 1864 at Paraparap, died 1920 at Sunbury
Rosaline — born in 1865 at Barrabool, married Robert Irving in 1892, died on 5 August 1943 aged 77 at Inglewood
Emelie Caroline — born in 1867 at Geelong, married Andrew Hamilton in 1892, died in 1937 aged 70 at Inglewood
Henry Charles — born in 1868 at Geelong, died in 1873 at Duneed aged 4 years, buried at Mount Moriac Cemetery
Eva Elizabeth — born in 1870 at Geelong, died on 30 December 1952 aged 81 at Wendouree
Louis and Marie Louise married ​in 1876 just a few years before Louis died on 18 April 1880 at Fernihurst. He was buried at Mysia Cemetery. Marie Louise died on 16 February 1911 at the age of 79 years at Kilpaniel.

Marie Louise had been married previously to Armand August le Court de Billott. They married at St Peter's at Eastern Hill on 12 January 1855. They had 3 children together before Armand's death in December 1859 from heart disease. Marie Louisa was born the following June:
Armand August Leon — born in 1856 at Raglan, died young

Armand August Henri — born in 1857, died in 1942 aged 85 at Salisbury West
Ernest Auguste Gustave — born in 1859, died in 1935 aged 76 at Korong Vale
​Marie Louisa (registered as Elizabeth) — born on 12 June 1860 at Inglewood, married William Hamilton, died in 1939 aged 79 at Korong Vale

Armand and Ernest Le Court ran a sheep farm, selling sheep at the Bendigo Live Stock Market on a regular basis. In April 1808 they expanded their farm by purchasing 240 acres from the estate of William Eyres for £7 per acre. They then started successfully breeding quality draft horses and cattle.
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from Geelong Advertiser 15 September 1875
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from The Horsham Times 29 February 1884
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from The Argus 16 November 1883
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Waurn Ponds Memorial Reserve Service — Past Event

2/7/2018

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​The Waurn Ponds Memorial Reserve Committee of Management invites everyone to the 99th anniversary of the planting of the Waurn Ponds Memorial Reserve. The annual memorial service will be held on Sunday 1st July 2018 10:30am at Waurn Ponds Memorial Reserve corner of Waurn Ponds Drive and Cochranes Road.

There will be a march before the service with the Army, Navy, Airforce Cadets and Veterans marching together. The Geelong Military Re-enactment Group will fire from the 25pounder gun.

After the service there will be a BBQ and Light Refreshments in the Waurn Ponds Hall. Ladies are asked to bring a "Plate".

If anyone has any history of the Waurn Ponds Servicemen and women we would love to hear from you?

Wreath Laying Welcome . Everyone Invited.

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John Lowe Hobbs

20/4/2018

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John Lowe, son of Henry Timothy and Elizabeth (née Lowe) Hobbs, was born on 26 April 1829 at Astwood in Buckinghamshire, England. He married Ann Phoebe Jane, daughter of Thomas and Ada (née Oddell) Austin on 2 November 1847 at Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire. They left Buckinghamshire in 1853 arriving in the colony in August. Their two children born in England were:  
Emma Austin — born in January 1850, married Henry Austin Bennett on 17 December 1867 at the Wesleyan parsonage at Geelong, married Alexander Reilly in 1882 at Penshurst, died on 24 September 1892 aged 42 years in Geelong, buried in an unknown location in the Methodist section of the Highton Cemetery
Sarah Austin — born 10 February 1852, married Walter Rankin on 24 August 1871 at Noble Street  Wesleyan church at Chilwell, died 17 July 1927 buried in the Methodist section of the Highton Cemetery.

John and Annie were both twenty three when they emigrated to Australia as assisted passengers on the Lady Kennaway, with their two small children, John's nineteen year old sister, Sally, and their Allen cousins. John's father, Henry, followed in 1860, paying his own passage after the death of his wife. He died in 1865. John and Annie settled at their home, Bexley Farm in Colac Road Waurn Ponds. Their other ten children were born here:
Charlotte — born 1854 at Waurn Ponds, married Charles Thomas Neale in 1875, died 9 November 1944 at Elliminyt Colac, buried in the Methodist section of the Colac Cemetery
John Emmanuel — twin born 6 April 1856, married Elizabeth Jane Short on 6 December 1887 at Geelong, died 19 April 1912, buried at the Highton Cemetery
Henry —  twin born 6 Apr 1956 at Geelong, died 26 April 1856 at Highton
Louisa Jane — born 1858 at Geelong, married Alexander Steen in 1896, died 13 December 1937 at Geelong, buried in the Methodist section of the Geelong Eastern Cemetery
Ann — born 8 February 1861 at Highton, married John Henry Horwood, died October 14 October 1937 at Geelong West
Ada — born 8 June 1863, died 21 Jun 1870 at Geelong
Susannah Rachael — born 29 September 1865, married Alfred Charles Johns on 7 June 1888, died 1935 at Newport, Victoria
Edwin Austin — born 4 April 1868, married Annie Martha Adcock on 10 August 1893 at the home of the bride in Highton, died 29 October 1956 at Belmont
Henry Thomas Lowe — born 30 December 1870, married Salena Bennet on 4 January 1899 in Geelong, died 29 April 1854 at Geelong
George Abel Austin — born 1873 at Geelong, married Emma Sophia ​Smith in 1912 at Geelong, died 26 April 1958 at Belmont, Geelong

He was a South Barwon Shire councillor, serving from 1873 until 1885.​ In 1879 he was elected to the South Barwon School Board of Advice.

John died on 10 August 1886 at the age of 57 at his residence, Bexley farm in Colac Road, Waurn Ponds. Bexley farm was between the Colac Road and Waurn Ponds Creek probably ​near where the Waurn Ponds shopping centre is now or a bit closer to Geelong​. He was buried in an unknown location at Highton Cemetery. Annie died on 18 December 1920 at the age of 91 years and 11 months and was also buried in unknown location at Highton Cemetery. At the time of her death she had 54 grandchildren and 75 great grandchildren.
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Annie, wife of Johns Lowe Hobbs
​News of the Week photo July 1917

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from Melbourne Punch 2 December 1886
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Obituary of Ted Rankin
son of Sarah Austin Hobbs and Walter Rankin
​from The Argus 1 August 1944


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Thomas Powell

19/7/2017

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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. He was also a toll collector at Waurn Ponds. 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 after a service at St Mary's.

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.
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The Bank of Australasia was on the corner of Gheringhap and Malop Streets, opposite Johnstone Park.
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​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.
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Waurn Ponds Memorial Reserve Service — Past Event

11/6/2017

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The reserve is situated on the north east corner of Cochranes Road and Waurn Ponds Drive (the old Colac Road).
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Waurn Ponds Memorial Reserve
contributed by Thomas Welsh
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Claremont, Waurn Ponds

17/5/2017

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Thomas Powell purchased 245 acres 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.

​After selling his brewery in 1858 he retired to Claremont. After returning to the brewery Claremont was advertised to let in 1863. The farm on almost 200 acres of first rate land and the vineyard and orchard on about 11 acres, nearly all bearing fruit, could be let separately. In 1870 Claremont was sold to ​​Daniel Dean. He sold Claremont not long after the marriage of his third daughter, Ellen, on 29 March 1883 to Thomas White of Rosebank, Clifford. It was described as a large brick house of eight rooms, and about 250 acres of ground stretching from the hill to the left-hand side of the Waurn Ponds bridge down to the Colac Road. Of the quantity of land referred to, 135 acres are under cultivation, the remainder being kept for grazing purposes and for the orchard. The property was purchased by Mr Hugh McLeod, late of Benyeo, Mount Gambia, South Australia, but formerly a resident of Geelong. He paid £2,500.

​Mr M Comyn auctioned Claremont on 7 February 1893. Two farms were for sale. The block of 254 acres stretching from Waurn Ponds Creek to the railway line had the homestead erected on it. The 231½ acres to the south of the railway line was sold separately.
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​In June 1894 the Geelong Advertiser reported the sale of Claremont containing 254 acres by Mr AC Palmer to John Gottfried Erdmann Baum of Gippsland at £9 per acre; a total of £2286. Gottfried was born at Mount Duneed in 1856.
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On 7 February 1893 Claremont was auctioned in two lots. The homestead was on the northern block of about 254 acres. The southern lot was about 231 acres.
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Dogs often accompanied shooters targetting hares and rabbits often causing damage, by injuring ewes and killing lambs
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Claremont, Waurn Ponds. In 1849 Thomas Powell also occupied section 15 to the east of section 16.
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from Geelong Advertiser 19 November 1864
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from Geelong Advertiser 30 December 1869
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from The Age 28 May 1892
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Charles Rowand

1/2/2017

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Charles Rowand built a bluestone cottage on his 38 acre block on the corner of Williams and Feehans Roads, Mount Duneed
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He also owned this 9 acre block in Lemins Road, Waurn Ponds across the road from the quarry. Most of the blocks in this area were used for grape growing
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from the Geelong Advertiser and Intelligencer 1 November 1855 — Each year a small number of the passengers of the Travancore who arrived at Point Henry on 1 November 1849 met for a celebratory dinner.
Charles Rowand came to Australia on the Travancore ​arriving in Geelong with his father, Dr Charles Rowand, brothers and sisters in 1849 after the death of his mother, Maria née Griffen. His father, who graduated at University of Glasgow in 1844, set up practice in Ashby (Geelong West). Charles practised privately until 1852 when he joined the Bridges Department as assistant engineer. He was the engineer of the first Barwon Bridge completed in 1848. He designed the Pollocksford Bridge which was completed in 1859. He became an engineer at the Central Road Board (the forerunner of Country Roads Board, then VicRoads) when the office in Geelong was established.

He married Agnes Lees Robertson (daughter of Gilbert Robertson) in 1854. Their children were:
Agnes Maude — born 4 June 1855
​Gilbert Roberts (or Robertson) — born 3 April 1857
Margaret Elizabeth — born 1859
Frances Amy Stewart — born 1861
Charles Macdonald — born 5 October 1864
Maria Louise — 5 August 1866
​Jean Reid — born 18 May 1871

Charles purchased land near the creek at Mount Duneed where he planted 4 acres of vines by 1858.

​He had a bluestone cottage built on his land on the south east corner of Feehans and Williams Roads.

He served 1 term on the Barrabool Road Board in 1861. He became engineer of the Ballarat and Western District and was living at Connewarren, near Mortlake, when his son was born in 1864 and daughter in 1866.

​He later moved to Gippsland where he became the first engineer of the Shire of Buln Buln in 1878. He purchased crown land in the district.

He died on 1 September 1908 at the age of 83 at Armadale and was buried in the Geelong Eastern Cemetery. He was said to have been the oldest road engineer in Victoria at the time.
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In 1858 Charles Rowand built a bluestone cottage on his 38 acres at Mount Duneed. A bottle in the foundations contained this letter together with a copy of the Ballarat Miner and Weekly Star dated Friday, October 22, 1858, a copy of the Geelong Daily News dated October 21, 1858 and a Maundy coin (4d value) dated 1854.

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​​A broken column signifies a life cut short (perhaps grandson Gilbert Robertson Macdonald).
​Gilbert Robertson was 56 when he died on 5 September 1851.
​Buried with him are:
Agnes Lees Robertson, his wife — died 28 January 1853 aged 51 years
​Charles Rowand, his son-in-law — died 1 September 1908 aged 83 years
​Agnes Lees Robertson Rowand, wife of Charles — died 10 August 1891, aged 61
​Jean Reid Lucas, daughter of Charles Rowand — died 2 August 1947
​Theodora Lucas, daughter of Jean Reid Lucas — died 23 August 1963
​Gilbert Robertson Macdonald, son of Alexander C and Margaret Rainy (née Robertson) Macdonald, a grandson of Gilbert Robertson — died 2 January 1854

PictureAlexander C Macdonald
Alexander Cameron Macdonald was born on 9 August 1828 to Alexander Cameron and Sarah (née Warby) Macdonald at Campbelltown and was educated there. He loved the bush and learned the ways of the blacks. He made many explorations into the trackless country. He later opened the first post office in Wangaratta. He then became assistant to and later the partner of Charles Rowand at that time practising as a surveyor, architect and civil engineer at Geelong. Much of the laying out of Geelong was done by the pair. He was attracted by the gold rush and tried his luck in Ballarat but had little sucess. He returned to Geelong in 1852 to resume surveying and also ran an auctioneering business. In 1876 he moved to Melbourne where he suffered in the financial depression of the 1860s. In 1873 he was secretary of the Western District Railway League. He was a member of the Geelong Town Council for two terms. He stood for Parliament on three occasions but was unsuccessful. He established vineyards on the banks of the Barwon and Moorabool Rivers but suffered when phylloxera became an issue.

​He went to Melbourne in 1876 where he went into business as an accountant and manager of companies, and spent much of his time collating his records of the aborigines and their language and ways. He soon became an authority and in 1883 he founded the Royal Geographical Society of Australiasia. He became its first hon secretary and hon treasurer. He also edited the society's journal until 1906. To mark his retirement the members presented him with a purse of sovereigns. He served as a councillor for the Shire of South Barwon from 1888 until 1914.

​In 1852 he married Margaret Rainy, third daughter of Gilbert Robertson. She died on 8 February 1901 and was buried at the St Kilda Cemetery. ​Her husband died at his residence in Punt Road, Prahran on 18 June 1917 and was buried beside her. He was looked after in his declining years by their adopted daughter Lily. Their one month old son, Gilbert Robertson Macdonald who died on 2 January 1854, was buried with his grandfather Gilbert Robertson in the Geelong Eastern Cemetery.


​Gilbert Robertson, father of Agnes Rowand, was born on 10 December 1794 in Trinidad to a Scottish father and a West Indian slave mother. At the time money and lineage were more important than race. Mixed race children were often sent back to Britain to get a good education and then found a profession, carrying with them their family name. This was common in the West Indies and also in India. Gilbert was brought up in Scotland where he served a four-year apprenticeship to a Lothian farmer, acquiring the skills and knowledge of agriculture which gave him a reputation of being one of the best agriculturists in the southern hemisphere. He arrived in Van Diemen's Land in 1822 with his wife and child. Five more children were born in Australia. He set up a farm and later served for some time as Superintendent of Agriculture. In 1832 he had an association with the Hobart Town Press. In 1834 he set up his own paper which was the first in Hobart to be produced daily. He occupied a very prominent position in public affairs in Van Diemen's Land where he suffered persecution from his position at the time of an unpopular government. Gilbert's life in Australia probably did not live up to his expectations. He had a number of setbacks and was revered more in death than in life. 

​During 1845 and 1846 Gilbert became Superintendent of Agriculture at Norfolk Island. His wife and young children joined him there. His married daughter Fanny stayed in Hobart.  The family lived at Branka House at Longridge. The main purpose of Longridge was to maintain an agricultural settlement with convicts supplying the labour.

​Early in 1847 Gilbert resigned his position at Norfolk Island and travelled to Hobart to secure employment and prepare for the family to follow him. He probably did not find a suitable job in Tasmania as he came to the Geelong area soon after. He convened a number of public meetings. He was nominated to stand for election on the Geelong council in 1850. In his role as editor of the Victorian Colonist and the Chronicle he often expressed unpopular but well meaning opinions.

On 5 September 1851 he died about a mile from the Barwon bridge while riding his horse to Colac. Although he received immediate assistance he could not be saved. A subsequent inquest was held where it was decided he had died of an apoplectic seizure. It was learned that two previous seizures had occured. He was aged 56 years. On Sunday 7 September his remains were conveyed to the Geelong Eastern Cemetery for burial. Although the public had not been formally notified his funeral was attended by the most numerous and most respectable assemblage that had been witnessed in Geelong.

Very soon after his death about 80 of his friends met at the Prince of Wales Hotel to show their respect for him by raising of a sum of money by public subscription to be invested for the benefit of his family who were left in scant circumstances. It was expected that about £500 (a considerable sum back then) would be collected. By December it was reported that £1400 had been collected. His wife, Agnes née Lees, who died on 28 January 1853 at the age of 51 was buried beside him.

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Grave of Elizabeth White Robertson in the Norfolk Island Cemetery
While Gilbert was Superintendant of Agriculture at Norfolk Island, his daughter Elizabeth White Robertson, wrote a series of letters to her married sister Fanny in Tasmania which were published in diary form. The book named "Elizabeth Robertson's Diary, Norfolk Island 1845" covers an early six week period of the life on the island soon after her arrival. She had contracted tuberculosis and feared she would never see her sister again. By 1847 Gilbert had resigned his post at Norfolk Island and headed to Hobart to gain employment and make arrangements for the family to follow. Sadly Elizabeth died on 14 January and is buried on the island.
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The House Museum at Deakin University, Waurn ponds

5/10/2016

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The Australian House Museum began in the late 1970s using the vacant land in front of Deakin University at Waurn Ponds. Buildings were arranged in a row in a street named “Common Place”. This project  resulted in many buildings being classified and preserved that would have otherwise been demolished. This project ceased as a result of high maintenance of the houses and the need for the land to be used for other purposes. Frank Campbell gathered historic buildings at the campus between 1979 and 1992.
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The Freshwater Creek School and residence provided office space and an area for a small artefact museum. These buildings were  used by Deakin as a valuable part of Australian Studies. It was planned for other humanities courses and possibly social science ones to use this resource for teaching purposes in the future. 
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PictureHawker's cottage
86 Skene Street, Newtown ​​​"Hawker's Cottage"
Built in 1854 as a two roomed house, it expanded to three, then four rooms. The detached kitchen was built in 1886. Kitchens began as outdoor fires with rudimentary shelter. They were detached by law for reasons of fire, tradition and hygiene.

​Disease was thought to be caused by smells and vapours and drainage usually ended in a cesspit. The kitchen seemed to be designed to create a room for a servant.

​After the museum closed this cottage was considered beyond repair and was demolished.
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PictureBromley cottage
​​26 Lupton Street, Geelong West  ​"Bromley's Cottage"
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This tiny house by our standards housed twelve people in the Bromley family who lived there from 1862 to 1862 in a space 18 feet by 18 feet. Edward Thomas Bromley was transported to Port Phillip Colony at the age of 14 in 1847. His wife was the widow of his business partner, John Sherry. Sherry's family probably lived in the cottage too.
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​The floor in the front two rooms was originally made from packing cases. As was common at the time the internal walls were lined with hessian and covered with wallpaper to keep out the drafts. It had timber shingles under the corrugated iron roof.

​It was relocated to Sun Street, Moolap before being included in the museum in 1984. After the museum closed this cottage was considered beyond repair and was demolished.

PictureHerd's house
69 Fyans Street, Chilwell  ​"Herd's House"


This is a lower middle class house built before the 1892 depression. The cast iron lacework is Indian inspired. The Herds were painters, decorators and plumbers.

​In 2004 this house was relocated to 122 High Street, Drysdale.

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PictureJacob Werner's cottage
​13 McNicol Street, Geelong West  ​"Werner's House"

This building is presumed to have been two separate one roomed miners cottages built about 1855 and relocated from the goldfields. The two dwellings were combined and divided into rooms to form a four roomed house about 1865.

​Originally the cottages had no ceilings or walls. These were added by Jacob Werner after he moved in. He was a German musician, who settle in Geelong and became a painter and decorator. Originally the roof was covered in whitewashed timber shingles. This house may have been relocated in central Victoria.
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Picture21 Brewongle Ave, Hamlyn Heights
​22 Coronation Street, Geelong West   "Arthur's house"

This 1854 prefabricated house in Geelong West was recommended by the Geelong West City Council for inclusion in the project at Deakin University to allow the site in Coronation Street to be redeveloped. When the house was at this site the front of the house was on the boundary with the front doorstep on the footpath. The house is considered to be of architectural significance and as such was protected under the Geelong Regional Commission's Interim Development Order. Developers planned to donate the house and contribute $500 towards the cost of its removal. 

The house was a rare example of a prefabricated timber house believed to have been built in Singapore in 1853 to help meet a housing demand caused by Victoria's gold rushes. Factories set up by the British in Singapore employed Chinese craftsmen making thousands of houses to meet the demand. Alexander Fyfe who built Hillside in Williams Road, Mount Duneed imported many of these houses.
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When the museum was being wound up Arthur's House hit the road again for its new home facing a tree-lined park in 21 Brewongle Avenue, Hamlyn Heights.

PictureThe shed at Muckleford
The Winchelsea Goods Shed
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​The shed which originated at Winchelsea on the Geelong-Warrnambool line is similar to many others. A similar shed was once at Birregurra on the same line. Built in 1876 it came to the museum in 1987 and was used to store recyclable building materials. After the project closed the shed was moved to the Muckleford station on the Victorian Goldfields Railway.
​It is available for hire for parties or for corporate events as well as Victorian Goldfields Railway training and general activities.

​

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Police Lock-up, East Street, Inverleigh
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​This lock-up, which was erected in 1888, is very secure as it has a steel cage concealed under the timber. Almost 200 of these were installed throughout Victoria at small police stations. They were used from the 1870s until the 1960s. They were cold in winter and hot in summer. They were mainly used to hold drunks overnight. The policeman's wife had to supply meals.

When the museum closed it was returned to Lawsons Park, East Cambridge Street, Inverleigh.
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​

PictureThe room at Natimuk
Natimuk Open-Air Pavilion School
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Natimuk Open Air Pavilion School was constructed by the Public Works Department in 1914 as an open air classrom at the Natimuk State School. It was the only building in the museum not to have originated in the Geelong area and was moved to the museum in 1988. The room held up to 48 children. Three sides had canvas shutters fitted above three feet. Forty four of these classrooms were built between 1911 and 1914 in the hope of creating a healthier environment at a time when Tuberculosis was at plague proportions. These classrooms were unpopular with teachers in the winter.

​The room was returned to 28 Noradjuha Road, Natimuk, in the grounds of the Natimuk School in 2002.

PictureThe school at Mount Duneed
​The Freshwater Creek State School
The local Freshwater Creek community contacted the museum to suggest that their school be moved to the Waurn Ponds site, as they felt it was doomed by eventual road widening. The building comprises a teacher's residence and a schoolroom with a capacity of 60 children. 

After demolition of chimneys the bricks were moved to the university. A large front room added in the 1950s was also removed. The roof was cut off as the gothic style school was too high to travel in one piece. It was then moved in two sections. After relocation the building has been fully renovated.

The three two metre finials on the gables had to be remade, a new verandah, new rear porch and balconies and walkways constructed. 
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Most schools of the 19th century have been well researched and the design of original features could be taken from this knowledge and by research from the people of Freshwater Creek. 

This type of school and residence was designed by the government architect, based on traditional designs which evolved  slowly in the 19th century. The schools were built in a set of standard sizes. The teacher's residence has two bedrooms, built in an era when five or more children per family was usual. The schoolroom was heated by an open fire.

​After the museum closed the school was returned to its original site. In 1994 the school was once again on the move, this time because of the merging of Freshwater Creek, Connewarre and Mount Duneed State Schools. The school is now in the grounds of Mount Duneed Regional Primary School and is used as a classroom.

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3 McKillop Place Geelong  "Shabott's Cottage"
An 1849 cottage moved to Deakin in 1982. It was later demolished








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from The Australian (Sydney) 2 February 1826
​If you wish to read more about the houses an excellent book named "Guide to The Australian House Museum" by Frank Campbell has lots of pictures of the houses and the people who lived in them as well as detailed notes on the renovation and history of buildings.

​For Campbell, founder and director of the Australian House Museum, the ultimate goal of the project was to aid the understanding of Australian society and culture, using the Geelong region as a case study. He describes relocation of buildings as an old Australian tradition. Some early settlers brought their portable houses with them. Others bought houses after they arrived. Importers cashed in on this demand.

Some buildings that have been shifted:
​Waurn Ponds school
​Summer Hill
​Marshalltown Post Office
​St Cuthbert's Church
​Freshwater Creek School

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At Deakin — JT Collins Collection, La Trobe Picture Collection, State Library of Victoria
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Rural Store Licenses Waurn Ponds

26/8/2016

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In September 1872 at a local land board sitting the following applied for land near the old Victoria Inn:
​Joseph Asplin — 7 acres
David Davies — 20 acres
Louis Mermod — 12 acres
James Neale — 5 acres
​Objections were raised by Messrs Hanson, Miller and JH Sleator concerned that such valuable land was being sold too cheaply. The board decided to recommend that the land be sold by auction in 5 acre lots. ​In 1873 a number of small sites were advertised for selection.

At the local land board held in Geelong on Friday 4 April, 1873 a number of applications were lodged for rural store licenses for 3 acre sites. These applicants were expected to improve the land before they could claim ownership. They were sold for £10 per acre, a lower price than earlier expected. Many of these blocks were sold within the next few years.

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Cochranes Road sites. The block marked camping is now the Waurn Ponds Memorial Reserve
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Waurn Ponds Hall

29/7/2016

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Waurn Ponds Hall today. The room on the right side is a later addition. I am told it was the former Waurn Ponds School which had previously been shifted to the Grovedale School grounds.
Early in 1924 it was proposed that a hall be built at Waurn Ponds to be used as a mechanics institute and free library. On the afternoon of 18 June 1924, with the hall more than half paid for, Alderman JN McCann performed the official opening of the hall. He had donated the land for the hall and £50 towards its erection. The donation was conditional of the residents raising £200. This was accomplished by bazaars and other efforts and also a government grant of £50. The grant was obtained because the project included a free library. 100 books were purchased with the expectation of 150 more within the following 12 months.
​The final cost of the building was £650 and over £700 with the inclusion of furniture.
​At the inaugural meeting the following trustees were appointed:
R Polley (chairman)
T McKim
R Hunt
A Larcombe
A Pigdon
​
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Waurn Ponds Quarries

18/7/2016

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Quarries at the corner of Lemins and Colac Roads. This road is now called Waurn Ponds Drive.
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This lime kiln, on the south side of Waurn Ponds Drive, was built P McCann & Son after purchasing the land containing the quarry from Benjamin Holdsworth. The picture below shows how the kilns have eroded
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Sea-pen: Branch of Virgularia (enlarged)
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Sea-pen: Pennatula Spinosa

When the main road to Colac was cut through the Waurn Ponds Valley in the 1850s the sandstone in the area was first exposed. No one realised the value of it at first and it lay dormant. The stone was occasionally used for chimneys of farm houses and a hotel which was later used as a private dwelling was built of it.

​About the mid 1870s the fragments and quarry rubbish, which could not be utilised for building, were taken to the Yarra Street wharf monthly to be transported to Williamstown and on to the Stony Creek works nearby. A trial had been made to produce cement from this limestone and it was found to be of equal or superior quality to the celebrated Portland cement, invented by Joseph Aspdin.

​In 1880 an article appeared in the Geelong Advertiser describing the picturesqueness of the Waurn Ponds Valley with it's vineyards and farms. It documented the deposits which came to light after the land had been quarried particularly by Benjamin Holdsworth and Henry Miller. The land had been under the sea in a bygone era. In the quarry owned by Holdsworth many interesting fossils had been found, some being sent to the museum in Melbourne. Ear-bones and teeth of three now extinct species of giant carniverous whales had been found. The teeth of several genera of shark were found in abundance. The long rectangular bones of a gigantic Sea-pen (Graphularia Robinae), a rare fossil were an exciting find.

​In 1883 Peter McCann bought 164 acres containing a quarry for £1,500 and another 138 acres with a house at £6.15 per acre from John Airey and also the land where he later built lime kilns. McCann and his son John Nicholas, trading as P McCann & Son, established the lime kilns  to burn the waste from the quarry for use as building and agricultural lime.
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At the back of the lime kilns looking north. This quarry cannot be seen from Waurn Ponds Drive, but needs to be looked down on from Lemins Road.
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The other side of the same quarry
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Waurn Ponds Hotel

9/7/2016

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The remains of the Waurn Ponds Hotel — possibly the stables.

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In the mid 1850s the land around the Waurn Ponds Creek was sold in small lots of varying sizes. William Murray established the Waurn Ponds Inn in 1856 on the south-west corner of Marendaz and Colac Roads. The population in the area had increased rapidly with quarries, orchards and vineyards providing plenty of work.

​By 1859 Charles Simmons, who migrated from Norfolk, England to join his parents, took over the hotel. He retired from the hotel in 1876 and farmed land at Waurn Ponds until his death on 22 January 1894 at the age of eighty years. He was buried at the Geelong Eastern Cemetery.

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George F Belcher was an estate and commission agent. He was a former Mayor of Geelong and is remembered by his gift to the city of a drinking fountain in 1874 on the occasion of his retirement from this position.
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Waurn Ponds Memorial Reserve

2/7/2016

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​Lately I have noticed a small block on the corner of Cochranes Road and Waurn Ponds Drive, so decided to have a closer look. It is the Waurn Ponds Memorial Reserve, a park dedicated to soldiers who served all world wars.
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In July 1919 the people of Waurn Ponds planted the avenue of trees honouring the fifteen men from the community who served in the First World War. A bronze plaque unveiled by BC Ruxton AM OBE, president of the Victorian branch of the Returned & Services League of Australia on 4 July 1999 bears the following names:
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JP Lugg
AH Ross
​GL Vienet
GH Donohue
​CF Delay
RF Hunt
RLC Hunt
L Imer
HJ Marendaz
A McCann
H McLean
E McKim
PJ Smith
​L Smith
M Stokes
J Brown KIA
HG McKenna KIA
FL Frewin
​JTP Frewin
CR Glew
WA Glew
AJ Harrison
RE Harrison
NW Harrower
HD Henderson
​LW Henderson
AW Honey
LW Nicholson
Sgt JC Ross DCM
CA Tetaz
CJ Tetaz
Sct EC Vienet MM
HA Vienet
​Mjr RJ Wallis MC

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4 Comments

Victoria Inn Waurn Ponds

2/7/2016

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The Victoria Inn was situated north of Waurn Ponds Creek almost opposite Lemins Road. Charles Rowand (abt 1825-1908) arrived in Geelong on the Travancore in 1849. He bought 9 acres in Waurn Ponds and 27 acres in Mount Duneed where he planted 4 acres of vines. He served one term on the Barrabool Road Board in 1861. He became Government Engineer of the Ballarat and Western District. At the time of his death he was the oldest road engineer living in Victoria. Frederick Imer (1836-1907) established a vineyard on 10 acres to the west of Charles Rowand.
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 Waurn Ponds grew around a pub. In March 1840, 968 acres on the Barrabool side of Waurn Ponds Creek was sold to Captain John Eddington, who had arrived in Australia with his family the previous year. Initially they settled near the Loddon River where the town of Eddington is today. The following year he established the Ballangeich run between Warrnambool and Mortlake. 

This land, which has access from Colac Road, was sold to Henry "Money" Miller who built a small stone house on it in 1846 which was let to Martin Priest. Priest was granted the first license for the inn in April 1846.  He also ran the Shamrock Inn on the corner of Malop and Yarra Streets, then called North Geelong. In July 1848, on leaving the Shamrock Inn, he took over the license of Mr O'Hara's house at Batesford. He advertised this business as Marrabool Inn. He also announced he had a new and secure yard on his premises which could contain upwards of  three hundred head of cattle.

In 1847 Harry Hooton took over the inn. In April 1849 Hooton was granted a license conditional on the erection of extra accommodation. If not completed in two months the license would lapse.

Early maps show a road to Colac following the creek to Mount Moriac. This gave the Victoria Inn, situated on the northern bank a good position to catch the passing traffic. The Inn took its name from Hon Henry Miller's Victoria Estate. During the short time the Victoria Inn was operating it was the district meeting place on many occasions for discussing the roads, bridges and tolls, among other local concerns. In 1855 blocks of land on the south side of the creek in Waurn Ponds were auctioned.​
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In November 1849 Robert Tweedy opened the inn in a new stone building. He had previously held the license for the Hibernian Hotel in South Geelong.  On 10th August 1852 Tweedy, aged 38 years, died after "a long and distressing affliction." His funeral took place at the Bridge Inn, South Geelong. The following year his widow, Ann Jane née Irwin, applied for the license. Robert (from Northumberland) and Ann (from Armagh) came to Australia separately in 1841 as bounty emigrants on the George Fyfe. ​They married the same year. After Robert's death she married Thomas Fitzgibbon and they kept the inn going until 1858, the year they both died.

​Esther, widow of Martin Priest applied for the license in 1859.
​
​In 1860 George Marsh applied for a license to run the inn, but failed to obtain it, probably because he failed to appear in court. He was insolvent and his hotel and household goods were sold.

​After this the inn became a private residence. In 1861 the farm was leased to Bankin brothers.

​It became known as Victoria Heights when it was occupied by the family of Robert Shaw Hunt and his wife Harriet nee Bone from the 1890s until his death in 1845. In 1902 their two year old daughter Vera drowned in Waurn Ponds Creek.

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The site of the Victoria Inn is marked by these trees where the creek almost meets the road

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In 1874 Louis Mermod had his colonial wine licence transferred from his Pettavel store to Waurn Ponds where he held a rural store license. His land was near the corner of Cochranes Road and Colac Road, now named Waurn Ponds Drive. This venture was probably not successful as he was trying to sell his rural store site by late 1875. He subsequently appears to have moved to Korong Vale. The block on the corner marked "camping" is now Waurn Ponds Memorial Reserve. The reserve is maintained by a local committee to commemorate local residents who served in World War 1.

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Louis Mermod owned land near the corner of Cochranes Road and the old Colac Road, which is now named Waurn Ponds Drive. The block marked camping is now the Waurn Ponds Memorial Reserve
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toll Gates

21/6/2016

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In 1853 the Act for Making and Improving Roads initiated the beginning of road boards. One of the earliest road boards was the Barrabool Road District which began in 1853. These organisations were the earliest form of local government. Tolls were collected to maintain and build roads and bridges at gates set up at well used sites. 

​Toll gates were:
Duneed Toll Gate, Main Colac Road
Duneed Toll Gate, Loutit Bay Road
Duneed Toll Gate, Duneed Creek Road
Modewarre Toll Gate, Main Colac Road
Kardinia Toll Gate, Barrabool Hill Road
​East Duneed Toll Gate, Germantown Road 


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The toll gates near Waurn Ponds Bridge, showing the three gates. Loutit Bay Road is now Anglesea Road and Duneed Creek Road is now Ghazeepore Road
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