Lost & Found

Louisville...not the baseball slugger sort but the Gippsland variety

2011-07-25T22:45:00.000+10:00

Louisville, Gippsland.
Apparently 100 kms north-west of Bairnsdale in the Gippsland area, on the Dargo in the valley below Sugarloaf and Mount Pyke.
Not heard of it?

Well, let me tell you about Jean-Louis Hubert Hanckar.
Or Louis Hanckar as he was regularly known.
Or possibly plain old Lou.
He first turned up on the Victorian goldfields (aged 31) with his good lady wife, Madame Hanckar, (a mere slip of a thing aged 25) from New York, in 1856.
The fact he was born in Maastricht, Netherlands, right on the border of Belguim (which probably explains the differing birthplaces that are attributed to him) means he'd been exploring the world before he hit our shores.

After working flat out like a lizard drinking Louis founded a gold mine at his self-named township, Louisville, what sprang up with 1500 miners overnight and gradually spawned shops and dwellings galore all along the Dargo River in 1863, which later settled into a calmer 300 bods.
The population was enough to support a polling booth at election time in 1867 when Louis played ~~Little Red Riding Hood~~ Deputy Returning Officer, despite the 'apathetic' turn out of voters.
No sausage sizzle.
After 15 years in The Fair Isle of Oz Louis applied for and was granted naturalisation as an Englishman in what I calculate to be 1871.

By the following year, on March 16, 1872, Louis applied for a new mining lease under the auspicious title of the Louisa Quartz Mining Company for a mere 30 acres.
Noice one, Louis!
But....something or someone whispered sweet nothings in Louis' lughole for that same year he upped stumps and began opening up the nickle mines in New Caledonia.

From reports in the papers old Louis had made his fortune on the Louisville gold field and the nickle mines were another venture that he turned to...gold
By 1873 he was back in England before trotting back to New Caledonia where he was the consul for Italy.
He and a business partner, Higginson, displayed their New Caledonian nickle wares at an exhibition at Noumea on March 16 and 17, 1876, for which they won special gold medals.
Our Louis was blinged out even more when he was decorated with many foreign awards including being knighted with the French Legion of Honor in 1880.

Also in 1880 Louis became business partners with Higginson and Garnier, creating the company Société Le Nickel (SLN) which received backing from Baron de Rothschild (and stayed under Rothschild control until 1970s).
Louis was sailing back and forth to The Fair Isle of Oz to which his wife finally said goodbye and sailed off into the sunset with her beloved Louis in 1881.

The last rumoured word is that Louis died as a happy and wealthy bloke in London.
Sometimes the nice guys do finish first.

Sources
Trove

Papers Past

RootsWeb

International Directory of Company Histories

Wikipedia

Bonzle

HomeBush, Homebush, Lower HomeBush, HomeBush Lower and another Homebush or 3

2011-07-25T12:04:00.000+10:00

NB Those pretty colours are links to photos and websites....go explore them, there will be an *exam on this later.

Homebush? you say.
Have you gone mad? (Rhetorical question, of course I'm mad).
Everyone knows Homebush is in NSW.
Ahhh....but is it?

Once upon a time a bajillion years ago I parked my carcass in a little area outside Bendigo (Vic) known as Junortoun.
Which, until just 20 years earlier, had been called.....Homebush.
It had hosted a Homebush gold rush....a Homebush Hotel which provided background scenery to a murder most foul..... the Homebush Steeplechase and Homebush Welter (horse races)...
It was changed as so many people had their mail accidentally re-directed to Homebush in NSW.
Which isn't in Victoria, obviously.
They were so lax in using postcodes.
Tsk, tsk.

Although the Homebush in Queensland is still in existance.
Do we assume they use carrier pigeon...?

And not to forget HomeBush and Lower HomeBush.
Or HomeBush Lower.
Also in Victoria.
Not at the same time as the Junortoun one.
That would just be too silly.
Imagine, using the same town name over and over....*ahem*
Yes, the two would have been alive and thriving at the same time.

HomeBush and Lower HomeBush/HomeBush Lower (near Avoca) popped up during a flush of gold fever, as towns were want to do, in 1853.
It did stick around long enough to get well established to the point it had a HomeBush railway station (squeezed in between Avoca and Bung Bong on the line to Maryborough), pubs, mines, schools, shops, a boarding house, churches, the whole catastrophe.

And....it still exists.
HomeBush in Victoria may have a 0 population but it is still marked on maps....hasn't changed its moniker... go on, go check it out on Google Maps , sadly no Street View as Google hasn't trundled down the unpopulated streets/roads/lanes.
You can still go back to HomeBush.....

*No, no exam, just playing with your mind.

Federal Hotel (Coffee Palace) Melbourne

2011-03-27T11:23:00.000+11:00

Andrew just posted about the glorious but sadly lost Federal Hotel (former coffee palace) and it niggled at my grey matter....so I trotted over the collection of books I've amassed on Australian pubs (yes, a fair few for someone who rarely darkens their doorstep *snort* I live vicariously through my tomes) and dug out a book where I found a couple of little extra tidbits about this beautiful building.

The design of this flight of fancy was decided by an architectural competition ; the owners hankered after the exterior drafted by the firm W.H Ellerker and E.G Kilburn (first prize) but second prize went to W. Pitt, who had a bit of nouse about how a hotel actually functioned, for his interior designs and the two different firms worked together.

The dirty digging and foundation - performed with elan and flair by N.Kingston of Richmond and which signalled the start of the ~~Grand Prix~~ construction in 1886 - alone cost close to £10,000 while the finished product - furnished to the gunwales by decorator T.Cawthorne and slapped together by builder T.Cockram & Co - lightened the owners hip pockets by £154,000.

It was originally meant to lodge up to 600 bodies in beds but the small issue of an economic depression kinda kicked that detail to the kerb, leaving just 400 beds and rooms for the poor people to lounge, write (that thing we did with our fingers before computers, kids), read, relax, smoke and play billards while the ice plant in the basement cooled the delicious foodstuffs and ~~drinkie-poos~~ lolly water (remember, it was a temperence-influenced coffee palace at this stage, no alcohol allowed) in hot weather as the residents whipped up and down with gay abandon to their bedrooms in the 6 Waygood and Sons 'accident proof' lifts.

Fire regs were starting to bite so stone stairs at each corner and in the centre were thrown in for good measure while fire hoses - with their own water supply from tanks on the roof - stood ready at every landing, oil lamps were kept lit just in case the gas lighting gave up in an emergency and a couple of porters trotted about the hallways each night, all night keeping a beady eye out as an early warning system along with those 'new fangled electric bells'.

Source: The Australian Pub by J.M Freeland

I won't post a photo of it here as there are many availble in the following links showing what a gorgeous creation once graced our skyline.

Further details and photos on this lost architectural beauty available in the following links -
Marvellous Melbourne; Federal Coffee Palace.
Walking Melbourne ; Federal Hotel and Coffee Palace.
Walking Melbourne; Melbourne's Lost Hotels.
Australian Postal History; Federal Palace Hotel to Battle Creek.
eMelbourne; Federal Coffee Palace.

Melbourne's Homeopathic Hospital...or Prince Henry's Hospital, take your pick.

2008-11-18T10:58:00.000+11:00

This post is due to a niggling curiosity of mine and a question or 3 from Andrew.

Yes, for a whole 66 years Marvellous Melbourne was blessed with a Homeopathic Hospital, from the moment a free Melbourne Homeopathic Dispensary opened in 1869 until the hospital itself was closed in 1934.
Quackery, did I hear you say?
Nay, good reader, twas none of the sort!
The Homeopathic Hospital was created and run by many dedicated professionals, as the Colony of Port Phillip had a great many Homeopathic doctors as residents since the gold rushes of the 1850's.

Many homeopathic doctors settled in Victoria and soon had large, successful practices, the majority choosing Collins St (Melbourne's equivalent of London's Harley St) to hang their shingle.
The 1861 census showed that out of 592 medical practitioners only 61 were medical doctors with the rest being midwives and homeopaths.
Logic dictates there wouldn't be so many if it was a load of old cow pats.

In 1855 the first Homeopathic Dispensary was established at 85 Collins Street and, after several changes of ownership, it moved to 90 Collins Street - obviously staying in the medical precinct where all the homeopaths had their rooms.
A group of homeopaths got together and had a meeting on October 30th, 1869 where they decided to establish a dispensary to treat people for free (goodness, imagine that!); they didn't muck about as they had rented a house at 153 Collins St for the Melbourne Homeopathic Dispensary and opened it's doors by November 22.

The year 1874 saw that the Homeopathic Committee was filled by 15 very influential Melbourne women who agitated for a homeopathic hospital; never underestimate the power of women for they not only got the Melbourne Homeopathic Dispensary on their side but the good ladies got themselves a Govt grant of land in St Kilda Road.
These ladies were making history; while the permanent hospital was being built, a temporary one was run from a 3 storey house at 17 Spring St which consisted of 14 beds and an Outpatients Dept with it being the very first homeopathic hospital in the Southern Hemisphere. (See above for not underestimating the power of women).

The foundation stone of the hospital was laid by the Gov of Victoria in 1882 and opened later that year.
Want to see what an architectural beauty, in style, grace and form, that once welcomed the sick through its doors?
Click HERE...or HERE...or HERE.
Yes, it was gorgeous. *sigh*

In 1889 yet another typhoid epidemic swept Melbourne (or Smellbourne as it came to be known before a decent sewerage system was built) with almost all of the hosiptals within Melbourne swamped with ill patients.
The Melbourne Hospital (a "traditional" medical hospital) treated 351 patients with a mortality rate of 22%, while the Homeopathic Hospital treated 408 with a mortality rate less than half of the Melbourne Hosptial's, being 10%
But by then the Homeopathic Hospital was having difficulty attracting new doctors. Many came from England - and their 5 year degree was automatically recognised throughout Oz - but those from America - with their 4 year degree - were not allowed to register and soon upped sticks and left.
Although the Medical Board disregarded this archiac rule, and generously allowed a whole 1 homeopath per year to be registered if they came from Boston or New York, the word had got out internationally and very few American homeopathic doctors came to Oz.
The Victorian Medical Board drove another nail in the Homeopathic Hospital's coffin by writing up a "code of ethics" in 1906 which banned outright any medical doctor from working with a homeopathic collegue.

Making history again, Dr Janet Cooper became the first female doctor at the Homeopathic Hospital in 1917. She later went on to become the first female Mayor of South Melbourne and was awarded an OBE for her extensive welfare work.

1924 saw the death knell tolling as allopathic doctors - traditional medical doctors - allowed to practice at the Homeopathic Hospital due to a drastic shortage of those who had homeopathic training.
As the Homeopathic Hospital had previously had no use for labs or equipment such as X-ray machines, the medical doctors kicked up a fuss and the Homeopathic Hospital was no more.
By Royal decree from King George V himself it became titled as Prince Henry's Hospital, a traditional medical hospital.

It was, originally, to have been named Prince George's Hospital but the Prince George of the time got himself shackled in engagement so his brother Prince Henry (Duke of Gloucester) popped along to Melbourne in his place, opened the Shrine of Remembrance and his papa decreed that the hospital be named after him.

That beautiful ediface of the Homeopathic Hospital was *gag* demolished to make room for THIS.
While it was not as pretty as its predecessor, I've been told by many a nurse who worked there that the atmosphere at Prince Henry's was friendly, supportive and a great place to work.

Sadly, it lasted only 60 years, just 6 years shy of the Homeopathic Hospital lifetime, being torn down for more damn roadways in 1994.

Donkeywoman's Gully - go on, find it, I dare you!

2008-11-02T16:20:00.000+11:00

Yep, go on; hop onto Google Maps and see if you can find Donkeywoman's Gully in Victoria (or any where else for that matter!).
Give up, yet?
*tapping foot, looking at watch*
Oh, alright, it was properly known as Lamplough.
Yes, you will find it on Google Maps.
No, you won't find a seething metropolis there.

Lamplough was another town born from the galloping blucher boots of miners thirsting after gold, and into Donkeywoman's Gully they trotted in November 1859 when a couple of Welsh brothers stumbled over the glittery stuff.
In it's early debut stages as a mining field Lamplough went by the moniker Clare Castle Diggings, named after the solitary pub in the area (which was near local miners tents - good marketing!).

When the word went out about the gold find they came running from all directions literally, swelling the population of the tents around the pub from 4 miners to 500 overnight, to 3,000 the next day and then 10,000 in the following two days.
Within a month the National Bank had a branch opened there, the streets were covered in gravel to control the dust,a post office was built, the police had a camp, the streets had been surveyed, they even had their own newspaper being published.
Soon it had the usual baubles any self-respecting town decorated itself with ; general stores, pubs, billard halls, churches, schools, theatres, a police court with the usual array of barristers, brewery, bowling green, and Uncle Tom Cobbley and all.

But just as quickly as it had sprung up, Lamplough began disappearing; with new gold strikes found further afield barely 1 year after it had become established overnight Lamplough was pulled apart at the seams with stores, churches, schools and all buildings torn down to be erected on the next big paying gold diggings.

16,000 people populated a town that has left barely a sign it ever existed.
There's a few houses scattered willy-nilly along the Sunraysia Hwy but Lamplough and its Commercial Street, that stretched for a mile with pubs, pubs, grog shantys, general stores, more pubs and every kind of business, has long since departed.
The bush has reclaimed Donkeywoman's Gully.

Cockle Steam Train...but no Molly Malone.

2008-11-02T16:03:00.000+11:00

Molly Malone might have been trundling a barrow through streets broad and narrow but the Cockle Steam Train can beat that any day.
All the poppets in South Oz who lived near Victor Harbour would hop on board a horse-drawn train to Goolwa and trip lightly down to the beach to collect those yummy cockles (but not mussles) from near the mouth of the Murray River.

In 1854 The Powers That Be listened to those with commonsense (they used to do that more frequently back then) and built what was the first public railway with steel tracks in Oz to service not just those seafood junkies but to connect the trade on the Murray River with Port Elliot and Victor Harbour.
Steam engines took over the job from the gee-gees in 1884 and have been doing the work ever since.

You can click HERE for more info on times, tickets and trivia.
But there'll be no fishmongers nor links to Dublin's fair city.

Rottnest Island Horse-drawn Tram

2008-11-02T15:51:00.000+11:00

Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away there was an island that was full of rats.
No, seriously the native quokkas were mistaken for rats (easy error, made the boo-boo myself a few times as they were rooting around in my wardrobe) and the Dutch called it Rottnest Island.

The hoi polloi were attracted to sea travel, the bracing sea air and watching the queer ~~rats~~ quokkas gambol and romp about the lump of sand just off the Westralia coast.
Now, despite it being a prison, tourists were popping over to Rottnest Island at an alarming rate in private boats from the early 1900's until some clever clogs worked out how to make it pay for them and thus began the ferry services in 1902.

Shortly after this tram tracks were gracefully plonked in the sand with a horse-drawn tram collecting the tourists and transporting them to other parts of the isle.
You can see a picture HERE of the horse-tram to prove I'm not making this up, or had wild dreams from eating gherkins after 10pm.

Sadly the motor vehicle invention replaced the sedate horse-trams in 1925, with most of the original track being recycled at the Perth Zoo.
But they did leave a few little sections which you can hunt out next time you pop over to watch the ~~rats~~ quokkas playing by the seaside.

Victor Harbour Horse-drawn Tram still going since 1894.

2008-11-02T15:15:00.000+11:00

But I'm sure they've changed the dobbins a few times since they began.

A lovely old style of transport still working it's magic on tourists to Granite Island from Victor Harbour in South Oz.
Once upon a time Victor Harbour thought it was in the running to become the capital of the South Oz colony, so it built the causeway to Granite Island on which the neddies still clip-clop today.
If you're up on your geography you'll know that Adelaide, not Victor Harbour, got to wear the capital crown of the colony but it's good to know the movers and shakers of the losing town didn't just throw everything out and kept the horse-drawn tram that entices thousands to the region every day.
You can feast your eyes on pictures and info HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE.

Codrington - where bushranging is honoured in a town that never was.

2008-11-02T13:28:00.000+11:00

If you're tootling down the Princes Hwy to Portland you'll pass through an area called Codrington.
There are a few houses there, set well back from the road, but no bustling, busy service town.
Nothing but paddocks, trees, grass, cows, paddocks, more cows, and a few more trees.
After Port Fairy and Yambuk but before Portland.
Yes, that's the long stretch of countryside I mean!

Back in 1850 a chappie by the very high-falutin' sounding name of Codrington Revingstone took to bushranging.
It was a smart career choice as he was rather talented in this field and he also had the bottle for deering-do.
Codrington robbed the mail coach on June 29, 1850, but was quickly arrested.
(Don't fret, he was the one who got away).
While he was in police custody on board the ship "Cecelia" in Warrnambool Bay waiting to sail to Melbourne, a court trial and, inevitable, gaol, on August 10 Codrington did a successful bunk.
The policeman, Constable Hogan, did try to get some shots off at the departing bushranger but his powder was damp (I can't stand it when my powder gets damp) and Codrington made it to shore safely.
Barely 2 days later Codrington was up to his old tricks and robbed the mail coach again just near the scene of his first robbery. The bushranger was feeling quite chipper as he informed the mailman that all the constabulary were "a set of applewomen".
Not too sure what this means but I don't think it was meant to be complimentary.
Anyway, Codrington kept his head down and didn't get up to any mischief (or none that was attributable to him) unti his 3rd and final mail coach robbery in November.
Same area - which had gained the local name of Codrington's Forest by this time - same coach, same bushranger, same outcome.
And that's where Codrington Revingstone vanishes out of the history books.

Now, gallop forward 20 years and we find ourselves in the 1870's when a township was surveyed on the site of Codrington's Forest, and a proposed new road was to travel closer to the coast on it's way to Portland.
Liking the sound of the local name for the area it was officially adopted without checking it's origins.
Fortunately for the surveyors in the hot seat the road was built further inland and the township idea never took off, leaving Codrington the town that never was, named after the bushranger who vanished.

Home Rule in NSW ...is not a political demand.

2008-11-02T12:26:00.000+11:00

Home Rule was once a thriving, bustling township on the Mudhut Creek Road in NSW.
Just north of Mudgee and slightly south-east of Gulgong, it was the rich pickin's at Canadian Lead that drew the bodies and souls like flies to honey, with eventual gold discoveries a little further east at Home Rule.

Thriving and bustling indeed; with 20,000 inhabitants from May 1872 busting a gut to gouge the gold from the ground and the many and varied businesses that seem to spring up, like fungus on a damp log, around human habitation sites.
There were at least 10 pubs, several boarding houses, a couple of general stores, butchers, bakers and tent makers, a butter and corn store, saddlers, chemists and at least 3 doctors, a saleyards, a bootmaker and a restaurant.
(One wonders if the restaurant necessitated the need for the doctors; it couldn't possibly have been the hotels, surely!)
There was a school for the, inevitable, arrival of rug-rats, a greengrocers store and a *gasp* billard parlor!

As several of these establishments were owned by Chinese people, one may assume there were many Chinese miners also grunting and groaning their way through the hard soil for the elusive glittering gold.

But, of course, nothing lasts forever and the gold reefs in and around Home Rule obeyed the laws of averages exactly.
Once the gold began disappearing so did the miners and along with a vanishing mob of customers so the various businesses followed.
Trek over to Home Rule via Google Maps (ooo I so love that gadget!) and say g'day to the very few scattered houses that mark the spot of the once large town site.

Darwin Town...but not the one in the Top End.

2008-11-02T11:56:00.003+11:00

Did you know that Darwin was once a mining town?
Or that it gets snow?
And that it's a tad difficult to drive into Darwin at any time of the year?

Well, if you'd read the title of this post correctly you'd know I wasn't waffling on about Darwin, the capital of the Northern Territory.
I am, in fact, burbling on about Darwin Town in Tassie.
It was a short-lived mining town, named after the mountain on which it was perched, Mt Darwin.
This peak is parked in the West Coast Range (on the West Coast of Tassie, of course) with it's sister Mt Jukes with both having had many a digging site pock-marking their sides that are known as the Jukes-Darwin fields.

But back to Darwin Town.
Well, there's not a lot to say as there's sweet bugger-all available online about this long-forgotten place and I'm too cheap and lazy to hunt out The Peaks of Lyell history book by Prof. Geoffrey Blainey (I'll let you have the honour of doing that).
Enough souls called it home for the North Mt Lyell Railway to chug into, and beyond, the town from 1900.
The Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company recognised a decent option and took the railway over in 1903, running it until it closed for good in 1929.

Darwin was plopped on the eastern side of Mt Darwin, no doubt enjoying a hefty snowfall in Winter and lovely breezes in Summer.
But we won't know that for certain as you really can't get to it these days along the old railway due to over-grown tracks, undergrowth and distance.
Oh, and flooded valleys, too.
So, wave in the general direction of the meandering Mt Darwin Track in Google Maps, coz there's nothing else marked to lead you to the lost town that lasted barely 30 yrs.

Let's get lost at Cocoroc !

2008-10-26T20:13:00.001+11:00

OK, how about let's not get lost at Cocoroc.
(For those wondering, it's Aboriginal for "frog" ).
Might make for awkward explanations as to why we're all wandering around in a ghost town only 44kms from Melbourne.
Yes, Cocoroc is merely a name on the old Google map these days, although street view will give you a great close up of all that is no longer of the town.

Waaaay back in the dim dark past of 1892, when The Powers That Be realised that Marvellous Melbourne (or Smelbourne as it was fast becoming known) was seriously on the nose, a sewerage filtration plant was built.
Now, logic dictates that any treatment system needs to be far from the delicate nostrils of the upper echelon but it still required people to work it; so Cocoroc came into being.
A town built to house, educate and grow into a community to over 500 people with 4 primary schools, their own town hall and post office.
They fielded their own footy team, which trained on it's own home footy ground, swam in their own swimming pool in Summer, lobbed a few tennis balls over the net at their tennis courts and on Sundays they attended the Cocoroc church.
Cocoroc came to an end slowly; although the rent was cheap with 2 milking cows thrown in, with no gas or electricity the residents had to use kero lamps and candles, and pumping water for the house was a daily chore, as was boiling up the copper for wash day.
And then the houses were needing more and more maintenance.....
The houses and buildings were carted away when the Metropolitan Board of Works called it quits, with one of the 4 schools being demoted to becoming the Werribee Scout Hall.
So jump onto Google maps and have a gander at Cocoroc, have a wander along the main road in Street View but try not to get lost there coz no bugger will be around to lead you home.

The Murrells of Mentone

2008-08-21T13:11:00.003+10:00

I came across this a few weeks back and it intrigued me.
Who were they? Why did they inspire such a dedication?
Newspaper files of the time show stable fires - with horse and human deaths - weren't uncommon, so what made this couple special?

Turns out William and Violet Murrell were the Brad and Angelina, the Nicole and Keith, the Mary and Fred of the racing world in their day.

Violet was the daughter of racehorse trainer Harry Farmer; she was on horses almost before she could walk, developing a deep love and affinity with these animals.
Violet rode many of her father's, and other trainers', horses in both flat gallops and hurdles races.
At the time female jockeys weren't allowed to compete in the metropolitan races, which frustrated her no end, but Violet won many country races in Victoria and NSW, beating the same jockeys who were undefeated in the metropolitan races.
One mini-biography states she was also the first female jockey to race at Randwick, NSW.

Violet also competed in numerous point-to-points, riding to hounds with hunts clubs, schooling some of her father's future champion race horses over the fences and ditches, to win several seasons.
Many newspaper reports state that at least one champion racehorse, Agricolo, had been greatly improved by her riding him to hounds.

William Murrell was no slouch in the racing department himself, having grown up on horses at his birthplace of Corryong; he was the Australian Cross Country champion several times, one of those times being on the champion hurdles racehorse Mosstrooper. He'd also won the Commonwealth Steeplechase,the Grand National Steeplechase, the Australian Steeplechase and Australian Hurdles amongst many other races, riding Mosstrooper, Roisel and other great jumps horses to victory.
William rode interstate and overseas, racing for 2 years in India, returning in 1923 to resume his winning career in Melbourne.

William and Violet married in 1927, he handsome and fresh faced while she was quite beautiful, the stunning couple clad in their racing colours in the studio portraits shine out clearly even after all these years.
Violet was given her champion hack Garryowen in 1931.

Violet and Garryowen quickly developed a deep affection for one another, with the pair winning more than 200 championships in both the Royal Melbourne and Sydney Shows.
When she talked to the horse, he'd nod or shake his head in appropriate reply. He was a beautiful bay colour with a lovely nature; completely reliable they photographed him trotting in the driveway of their home in Mentone with no rider or bridle, such was his calm temperament.
Violet often referred to him as her pet and good friend.

William and Violet had stables with 6 stalls at the back of their Latrobe St, Mentone home which was not far from the popular Mentone Race Course.
In early 1933 William decided to retire from racing as a jockey and became both a racehorse trainer and Violet's coach. The continued wins for both prove the great combination they made.

March 24, 1934 at 2am both William and Violet were suddenly woken by a horse's screams and a neighbour banging on their door - the stables, only 50 yards from their house, were aflame.
Violet ran into the burning stables, in just her flimsy nightdress, in a vain attempt to rescue Garryowen.
William's racehorse, Piquant, and the family dog, Billy, were also caught in the inferno.
Although he was momentarily knocked out by a falling timber, William ran into the burning building to rescue Violet; finding her collapsed in front of Garryowen's stall and unable to free the animals, William carried Violet out of the stables only to collapse outside himself.
Neighbours did their best for them, one of them a doctor, while the Cheltenham and Mentone fire brigades were hard pressed to contain the fire just to the stables.
Faulty wiring was later found to have been the cause.

Both Murrells were taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital where Violet was immediately operated on and given a blood transfusion but she died in the early hours of March 25, aged 28.
William was also fighting for his life, with extensive burns to his face and hands, but he was not told of his wife's death.

The whole of Mentone and the racing fraternity were in shock at the death of Violet Murrell.
The large number of floral tributes and visitors, in the midst of the Great Depression, shows how deeply respected she was by many people. 2 cars were needed to carry the many wreaths while the funeral cortege stretched for more than half a mile.
Hundreds of people lined the funeral route to the Cheltenham cemetery while past champion jockey's acted as pall bearers.

William Murrell passed away in the early hours of April 4, 1934, aged 42, never having known his beloved Violet had died.
His death again shocked and deeply saddened the Mentone and racing communities.
His funeral was equally as large as his wife's had been ; many jockeys, trainers, racehorse owners and hundreds of local residents came to pay tribute to a successful man they'd known as a friend and neighbour.

Such was the depth of sadness at this couple's sudden death that the Purple Cross dedicated the horse trough to the couple for the people of Mentone while the Royal Melbourne Show Committee established the Garryowen Trophy Event later that same year, in 1934, to commemorate the respect and love Violet held for both Garryowen and all horses.
*With thanks to Jahteh and Andrew for their assistence in research.

Laura and Charles Ferguson Museum in Mentone

2008-08-18T23:37:00.000+10:00

I was going tell you about this brilliant little museum tucked away in Old Bakery Lane, behind Mentone Parade, in Mentone.
I was also going to tell you that it has some fantastic items on display, is rich in resources and is quite an eye-opener of what our urban beaches once looked like.
Another thing I was going to share with you was that the volunteer staff are helpful, friendly, cheerful and waiting to answer any query people might have for them.
But Feral Beast has beaten me to the punch and blogged about the museum HERE.
But you can still pop along and visit this wonderful museum every Sunday 2-5pm for the miserly sum of $2 entry and get a great look, and feel, for many a lost yesteryear around Mentone, Parkdale, Beaumaris, Mordialloc and districts.

Ballarat Trams

2008-05-11T21:06:00.002+10:00

December 1887 saw the birth of the horse-drawn tramway in Ballarat, a new form of public transport that was to garner many a fan from the public throughout it's existence until 1902, owned and operated by the Ballarat Tramways Company Ltd .

The horse trams were double-decker models that could park 44 bums on seats with 150 horses to haul the favoured conveyance around the Ballarat streets.

By 1902 ownership of the tram company, like that of the Bendigo Tramway Company, passed into the hands of the Electric Supply Company of Victoria.
Again like the Bendigo steam trams, the Electric Supply Company electrified the Ballarat tram lines and extended the track network.

When the SEC took over the network it was in poor condition and many pennies were spent on upgrading a worn-out system with a minor extension of the Lydiard Street North route.

For some reason there were only 2 years of profit from the Ballarat tramways under 37 years of ownership by the SEC which, again like the sister tramway in Bendigo, petitioned several times to close the lines until the Victorian Govt voted in it's favour in 1970.

The last day had large crowds of people, a brass band and the local radio station witness the end of an era. The very last tram carried over 200 passengers to Sturt St where they exchanged their seats for tramway men who travelled, for the last time, to the depot.

The Ballarat Tramway Museum came into being shortly before the closure of the tram lines, like it's Bendigo counterpart, to preserve some of the stock and track, and to keep some of the trams working as a tourist tramway.

Map courtesy of Google and research courtesy of Andrew.

Bendigo Trams

2008-05-11T19:10:00.004+10:00

Beginning way back in the dark ages of 1890 Bendigo streets were graced with chugging battery powered trams for a whole 4 miles of track.
Unfortunately, while the batteries in the trams might have been simply grand on the flat, the up hill and down dale terrain of Bendigo proved too tough (even with a tail wind), leaving the trams (and passengers) stranded at the Eaglehawk end of the track where the driver would grab any horse ambling past and turn it into a horse-drawn tram for the return trip.

After a very short 13 months the Sandhurst and Eaglehawk Tramway Company found their finances as flat as the tram batteries and were bought out by the Bendigo Tramway Company.

This new business saw the writing on the wall for the batteries and, instead, made it over into a steam- engine driven tramway which proved a winner with everyone.

Sadly the fire went out of the steam tram business with the depression and, once more, the business was up for sale when it was gobbled up by the Electric Supply Company of Victoria in 1897.

Now, an electric company isn't going to see a steam-driven tramway as good advertising for it's own product so, of course, the trams were electrified.
With plans to scurry their trams all over the place, more land was bought for routes, generation plant, tram depot, etc.
The electric trams were a huge success.

There were no specific route destinations, the trams carried their passengers either north-south or east-west, with Charing Cross in the heart of Bendigo being X marks the spot where all the routes met, shook hands and continued on their way.

When the govt-owned SEC came into being it took over the Electric Supply Company's assets, including the Bendigo Trams. A shedload of dosh was needed to be spent on upgrading the equipment and spend it the SEC did, albeit reluctantly.

With the increase in popularity of that nasty, foul smelling motorised thing, the motor car, profit from passengers started to fall off prompting the SEC, several times, to try to close down the tramways, finally getting permission from the oh-so-forward thinking Victorian Govt (nice to know some things never change!).
A massive crowd turned out to farewell the trams on April 16, 1972, with massed pipe bands leading the last trams from Quarry Hill and massed brass bands leading the last trams from Eaglehawk, while a solo piper played Will Ye No Come Back Again as they disappeared from view.

Bendigo only has the Talking Tourist Trams today due to the Bendigo Trust listening to very vocal public opinion (something the State Govt seems to be forever deaf towards) and proposed to retain the whole kit and kaboodle, which was approved by the Govt (hooray for small mercies) the same year that the line was closed, 1972.

Map courtesy of Google and fantastic research courtesy of that splendiferous lad, Andrew.

Sorrento Steam Tram

2008-04-30T14:55:00.003+10:00

Actor, politician and entrepreneur George Coppin - who gave Melbournians Cremorne Gardens and The Iron Pot Theatre - started making Sorrento The Place To Be.

May 18, 1889 he launched the Sorrento Tramway Company, and by 1890 the 2 steam engines, which had been used by the Loch Valley Timber Company near Noojee, were hauling up to 20,000 tourists each season.

No timetable was set; the tram would meet the paddle steamers that plied the bay (also owned by Coppin) and would then chug the mere 2 kms from Sorrento Pier to the back beach. A toot on the whistle in the afternoon would warn tourists to hurry back to the tram to begin their journey home again.

As time stands still for no man, neither does progress and, with increasing car ownership and usage, both the steam tram and paddle steamers became obsolete. The tram ceased services in 1921 and the paddle steamers were cut from 8 down to only 2 bobbing about on the waves by 1940.

For more great photos and info, click HERE, HERE and HERE.

Map courtesy of Andrew.

Horse Drawn Trams #7 Beaumaris

2008-04-30T14:07:00.003+10:00

February 8, 1889 saw the beginning of the Beaumaris Tramway Company horses clip-clopping their way from Sandringham railway station following the seafront of Beach Rd until Tramway Parade was found.

Turning left into the parade, the tram tracks faithfully copied the wiggles of the road into the straight stretch where Tramway Pde met Balcombe Rd.

Reining the horses to the right the tram would travel the short way to Charman Rd where the tracks, and Dobbin, would swing the passengers in their seats to the left, conveying them to the Cheltenham Railway station.

Due to the lack of that nasty thing, money, being spent on the upkeep of the tram tracks, it was deemed too expensive to repair, too expensive to electrify and too expensive to replicate so the Beaumaris Tramway Company began closing services in 1915.

For further details, information and pictures (including a map of the route) click HERE.

Photo from Clang,Clang,Clang; A Study of Melbourne's Tramways by Marc Fiddian.

Horse Drawn Trams # 6 Caulfield-Glenhuntly-Elsternwick

2008-04-30T12:45:00.002+10:00

April 1889 saw the first of the Caulfield Tramway Company's horse-drawn trams tripping merrily from Glenhuntly Rd to Caulfield railway station and back again but not for very long as the line closed later that same year.

The Caulfield Tramway Company opened, also in April 1889, their horse-tram line from Elsternwick train station to Glenhuntly railway station, along Glenhuntly Rd.

This kept trotting along the 4 miles, 30 chains distance until the Company went belly up in 1894 but was reopened, albeit briefly, by the newly formed Caulfield,Elsternwick and Malvern Tramway Company Limited in November 1901.

This new reincarnation only lasted until October 1902 when the line was closed for good, although the rails were still to be found in Glenhuntly Rd when those new fandangled electric trams were put through in 1913.

Lost Cable Tram Lines #17 West Melbourne

2008-04-30T12:31:00.002+10:00

18th April , 1890 saw the West Melbourne cable trams begin their rather short-ish route, clad in a drab brown.

Stepping out from the corner of Elizabeth and Victoria Sts, the West Melbourne tram would slip along Victoria St until it found Errol St suitable enough to nip into on it's right.

Ducking round the corner into Queensberry St, the tram would breathe a sigh of relief as it finished it's uninspiring parade of mission brown clothing when it stopped at Abbotsford St, where it shared the engine house with the North Melbourne cable tram.

A change of paint colour to the uniform chocolate and cream couldn't save the West Melbourne tram from closing on the same day as it's North Melbourne sister, July 20th, 1935.

Lost Cable Tram Lines #16 North Melbourne

2008-04-30T12:06:00.002+10:00

Attired in fabulous green, the North Melbourne cable tram line began to scoot from the corner of Elizabeth and Lonsdale Sts on March 3rd, 1890.

When reaching the corner of Lonsdale and Spencer Sts the tram would tuck it's heels under it as it sailed round the corner to it's right and would then zoom along Spencer St, leaning into the curve of the carriageway before it found Abbotsford St, on it's right, was a good lurk to check out.

Probably giving it's engine house barely a blink as it crossed over Queensberry St, the green gremlin tram would slow to a tinkling canter as it turned left into Flemington Rd, which it would follow until it found the limit of it's cable at Felmington Bridge.

The line was closed, with barely a whimper, on July 20th, 1935.

Lost Cable Tram Lines #15 North Fitzroy

2008-04-30T11:47:00.003+10:00

Melbourne streets were never the same after October 2, 1886 when the North Fitzroy cable trams began prettying up the street-scape with it's buttercup yellow livery.

Starting it's casual stroll from the corner of Collins and Spencer Sts, the tram would amble up Collins St to Spring St where it would sneak off to the left into Macarthur and Gisborne St for a brief diversion until it found the busy Victoria Parade.

Performing a ballet-like maneuver the sunshine-hued tram would nip into Victoria Pde to it's right only to confuse any followers by quickly, and gracefully, tripping lightly to it's left into Brunswick St, past it's own engine house.

Once in Brunswick St the cable made sure the tram could not be distracted by any sidestreets and it stuck to it's tracks until the thoroughfare nudged over to the right and became St George's Rd.

St George's Rd took the tram past the Edinburgh Gardens and into the wilds of Fitzroy and Thornbury where it ran parallel to the railway line and could almost race the train from Merri station to Thornbury.
But once the tram reached Miller St, the race would have been over for it as it was the end of the line, just as it was for good and all on June 7th, 1930.

Lost Cable Tram Lines #14 Clifton Hill - Northcote

2008-04-30T11:25:00.002+10:00

3 years after the Clifton Hill cable tram route was started, on February 18, 1890 the Clifton Hill - Northcote extension began hustling about it's business.

Beginning where the Clifton Hill line left off, at Merri Creek Bridge, the tram would gather it's skirts about it's ankles and flash along High St in all it's red hussy painted glory.

Crossing over Separation St and then dashing beyond the reaches of Darebin Rd to it's right, the tram would then pass it's engine house on the corner of Martin St as it chortled along for the last bustle, slowing for a bow to it's partner when it gained the intersection of High and Dundas Sts.

October 26th, 1940 saw the Clifton Hill - Northcote cable tram flash into history.

Horse Drawn Trams #5 Richmond - Kew Cemetery

2008-04-28T13:40:00.002+10:00

Anyone wishing to travel further along from the Victoria Bridge cable tram route would have to remove themselves from the cable tram, cross the Yarra River via Victoria Bridge on their own 2 feet and hail the horse drawn tram on the other side.

Starting a little over 1 year after the Victoria Bridge cable tram route opened, on December 28, 1887, the Richmond - Kew Cemetery horse tram was kept busy with people discovering the joys of commuting further distances than they'd dreamed possible before.

Travelling along Barkers Rd, Neddy would take the passengers around to the left into High St where they'd pass through the Kew Junction only to continue along High St until the Kew Cemetery was reached.

So busy was this particular route that 8 tram cars, and matching gee-gees, were in use until the last day of December, 1914 when the line was electrified.

Lost Cable Tram Lines #13 Victoria Bridge

2008-04-28T13:30:00.002+10:00

The 22nd day of November, in the year of our Lord 1886, was the birth date of the Victoria Bridge cable tram route.

Beginning it's working day from the corner of Collins and Spencer Sts, the cable tram looked resplendent in it's red livery as it gathered it's passengers for a run.

Shepherding them the whole length of Collins St, and collecting not a few stragglers along the way, the tram would lean to the left as it crossed Spring St to enter MacArthur St, which became Gisborne St before it arrived at Victoria Parade.

Deciding that the right-hand turn appealed to it the most, the tram would trundle along Victoria Pde, quickly passing it's engine house on the corner of brunswick St and continuing down this rather busy thoroughfare.

Crossing over Hoddle St, the tram kept finding and losing commuters along Victoria St until it found itself at the end of it's journey at Victoria Bridge.

The 13th July, 1929 may well have been a Black Friday for the tram route as it was on this date that the tram ran no more.

Lost Railway Stations - Williamstown Pier

2008-04-28T13:20:00.003+10:00

Once upon a time the Williamstown line had one extra station under it's belt - Williamstown Pier.

Built in 1905, this station was the real terminus of the line although it's main use was for the dockyards with grain shipping.

Found on Melways Map 56 F 10, the station was located opposite the Prince of Wales Hotel in Nelson place until it was demolished in 1987 after a derailment occurred on the sharp curve from Williamstown Pier to Williamstown Station.

Ironically it is now a car park.

Horse Drawn Trams #4 Richmond - Hawthorn

2008-04-28T11:48:00.003+10:00

Where the Richmond Cable Tram route finished, at Hawthorn Bridge, was a horse drawn tram that would whisk it's passengers to Hawthorn.

From January 27, 1890, commuters travelling to Hawthorn would step from the cable tram at Hawthorn Bridge and climb aboard the horse tram to venture along Burwood Rd until the Power St corner was attained.

Turning right into Power St, Dobbin would pull the tram filled with passengers down the road where the horse would step out smartly to his left into Riversdale Rd.

The equine could have a brief rest when Auburn Rd, and the end of the route, was reached.

Gardeners along the route were blessed with free manure for 36 years until the line was closed and those new electric fandangled trams were put into service.

Lost Cable Tram Lines #12 Brighton Road

2008-04-28T11:10:00.004+10:00

The 11th of October, 1888 saw the opening of the cable tram route that brought even more access from the hot, dusty city to the milder, cooler climes of Brighton for the hoi polloi.

For those waiting for a tram at the corner of Queensberry and Swanston Sts, the Queensberry Hotel was very generously built a mere 2 years later, giving men a place to rest their weary elbows ( and ladies a chance to loosen their stays) before they alighted upon the newest vehicle conveyance to catch some Brighton air.

The tram would snootily take it's cargo down Swanston Street, past the City Baths and veer ever so gently to the left as it entered the city straight where it would serenely sail along, passing that valued place of reading The State Library, the Melbourne Town Hall, that newly finished church St Paul's Cathedral until it genteelly nodded acknowledgment of it's larger sister, Flinders Street Station.

Crossing Princes' Street Bridge, the tram would continue on it's way down St Kilda Rd , passing the various gardens, Government House Drive and The Shrine of Remembrance on it's immediate left.

Wiggling around the curve to the left the tram would probably distreetly tinkle it's bell as it pushed past it's engine house on the corner of Bromley St on the left and sallied further along St Kilda Rd, outstripping Fawkner Park on the left and Albert Park Lake to the right, resolutely marching towards the St Kilda Junction.

Streaming through the intersection the cable tram would find itself in St Kilda, waving a hand at the streets Alma, Inkerman and Carlisle as it crossed them until it found the carriageway had changed it's name to match the suburb and was now Brighton Rd.

Having Balaclava on it's left and Elwood on it's right the tram would gently cease it's forward momentum as it reached the end of it's line at Glen Eira Road.

Alas, the hoi polloi found a lump of coal in the toe of their stocking on December 29, 1925 in the form of the cable tram route being closed to all and sundry, forever.

Lost Cable Tram Lines #11 Johnston Street Bridge

2008-04-28T10:41:00.003+10:00

On the 21st December, 1887, the good people of Melbourne were given an early Chrissy pressie in the form of the Johnston Street Bridge cable tram route.

How exciting it would have been for last minute shoppers to climb aboard on the corner of Rathdowne and Johnston Sts to find themselves giddily transported along Johnston St at a rate of knots not previously experienced.

As they crossed the intersection of Johnston and Brunswick Sts, interested passengers could peer at the rapidly disappearing engine house of their cable tram whilst being still hurtled along the great carriageway.

Those wishing to take a gentle stroll in Studley Park to recover their breath could do so after the tram terminated at the Johnston Street Bridge.

But, from April 15th, 1939, the great Johnston Street Bridge cable tram dash was no more.

Lost Railway Stations - Holden

2008-04-28T10:19:00.002+10:00

Yes, we've had - still have, actually - the station called General Motors but way back in the steam-driven past of 1860, for 1 brief year, we also had a train station named Holden.

Why it was called Holden, I don't know, but the road near the station is still titled Holden Rd so the iron road may have borrowed the gravel road's moniker.

Located on the Bendigo - Melbourne line, Holden graced the paddocks from January 1, 1860 until December 31, 1860, near the aforementioned Holden Road (Melways Map 354 H3).
Why it was opened no one can say and why it was closed is as much a mystery.
The station buildings were shifted to Gisborne train station and thus Holden was relegated to dust and a footnote in the history of Victorian Railways.

Nypo School, Mallee District

2008-04-27T21:48:00.003+10:00

Having never heard of Nypo in the Mallee district, I tried Googling it but to no avail.
Alas it is probably another lost district in our rural areas that have disappeared.

Taken from The School Paper, December 1, 1917.

Lost Railway Stations - Campbellfield

2008-04-24T19:23:00.003+10:00

Back in 1889, had you been standing near the current-day intersection of the railway line and Camp Rd, Campbellfield, looking north you would have spied the Campbellfield Railway Station.
(Melways Map 7, F 9)

Being the second last stop on the then single track train line to Upfield, Campbellfield had a semi-busy existence for 67 years, despite having only 1 platform, with the Broadmeadows Military camp and many varied businesses, including clay pits, within spitting distance.

With the urban sprawl reaching it's fingertips further out from the Melbourne CBD, one would have to wonder at the 1956 demolition of the Campbellfield station.
A clean up to present a pretty face for the Melbourne Olympics, no doubt, saw the end of this little station that is desperately needed these days with the large shopping centre and residential estates now colouring the area.

An undated photo of the Campbellfield station may be eyed HERE.

Lost Cable Tram Lines #10 Clifton Hill

2008-04-24T14:32:00.002+10:00

Opening 20 days earlier than the Nicholson St cable line on 10th August, 1887, Clifton Hill generously shared it's engine house on the corner of Gertrude and Nicholson Streets with it's sister line.

Also beginning at the corner of Spencer and Bourke Streets, Clifton Hill cable tram would swing it's way up Bourke St until it huffed up beside the Windsor Coffee Palace and, turning it's back on the edifice of wowsers, would trundle to the left into Spring St.

Finding that little better with the politicians taking up residence, the tram would nip off to the right into Nicholson Street, where it would gurgle and bubble with excitement like a puppy let off the chain and the miles of Nicholson Street track would be gobbled up in an instant.

Reaching Gertrude Street the tram would give a cheeky wave to it's engine house as it zipped around the corner to the right and skipped it's way along Gertrude St until it found Smith St a better proposition and lurched left into it.

Smith St must have entertained the Clifton Hill cable tram no end, for it stuck to it's guns and saw Smith St to the end and then wandered to it's right into Queens Parade to look for further fun, coming to an abrupt halt when it finally found the limit to it's free reign at the Merri Creek Bridge.

Alas, the fun and games of the Clifton Hill cable line came to an end on 26th October, 1940.
Pfft, wowsers and spoilsports.

Lost Cable Tram Lines #9 Nicholson Street

2008-04-24T14:15:00.003+10:00

The 30th August, 1887 was the birth date of the Nicholson Street cable tram line.

Beginning it's jaunt from near the corner of Spencer and Bourke Streets in the City, the tram would sedately tootle up Bourke Street politely nodding it's passengers heads as it passed the GPO and, further along, Coles Book Arcade, until it came to a brief halt beside the Grande Dame of architecture, The Hotel Windsor.

Turning left into Spring St the tram would then gently sashay to the right into Nicholson Street where it would stubbornly stick to it's delicate track and stroll along; through East Melbourne and beyond it's own engine house on the corner of Gertrude and Nicholson Sts, into the wilds of Fitzroy and then the many gardened areas of Carlton.

With Fiztroy North to it's right and Carlton North to it's left, the tram would come to a gentle finish at the intersection of Park St.

Resolutely the cable tram followed this pattern - and it's track - for 53 years until it was deemed an antique and closed on October 26th, 1940.

The Lost Cemetery of Beaumaris.

2008-04-24T13:54:00.001+10:00

Well, it's not as lost as some would claim!

Way back in the not-so-very distant annals of time, or 1855 to be precise, a nice chappie called Stephan Charman gave a plot of land to the Methodist Church to build a...church on the site.
The site being the current-day western corner of Balcombe Rd and Bickford Crt, Beaumaris.

A Wesleyan Church and cemetery were established, with many bodies filling both the church and the cemetery.
1893 saw the church shifted to Langwarrin with the left behind patch of dirt used for grazing cattle, circus animals and, in 1954, subdivided into 7 building blocks.
With the 126 + burials still intact!

Along came an intrepid woman, Shirley Joy, who spent probably endless hours tracing documents and details until she was able to assemble a list of the names of those buried and exactly where the cemetery was...and still is.
Read about Shirley Joy HERE.

The site is classed as one of historical significance and also a Sacred Site as the cemetery contains the burial of an Aboriginal person.
Further details are available HERE.

Welshpool Horse Tram - Can you help?

2008-04-18T10:04:00.001+10:00

Tony sent me this marvellous photo, circa 1910, from his father's collection.
It is the horse tramway that connected Welshpool train station to Port Welshpool Jetty 5 kms away which I have previously posted about HERE.
Can you identify any of these chaps in the photo or have any information about the horse tramway at Welshpool at all ?

Lost Railway Stations - Bell Park

2008-04-15T15:40:00.003+10:00

Although this is titled "Lost Railway Stations", Bell Park isn't so much lost as more hidden.

With the North Melbourne - Coburg railway line opening on September 9, 1884, Bell Park was the next station along the track and made its grand entrance into the world shortly afterwards, on October 8th that same year.

With a potted history of popularity, Bell Park was given the once over by The Powers That Be and closed without even a whimper on 13th July 1903.

However, by 1914, increased commuters residing in the area and demand for the station to grace the line once more saw it given a lick of paint and thrust back into the limelight with a new identity on October 1st, 1914, as Batman Station.

Lost Railway Stations - Cremorne

2008-04-14T20:35:00.003+10:00

Once upon a time Melbourne was graced with Cremorne Gardens, a Luna Park long before Luna Park was built.

So large and popular was this sprawling fairground that a special train station was built just for those who wished to visit.

The station was on the Richmond - South Yarra line, situated near the intersection of Balmain and Stephenson Sts in Richmond (Melways map 2G, J 12) .

Of course the station is long gone as is the playground it serviced but to see a map with full description click HERE.

Lost Railway Stations - White City

2008-04-14T17:04:00.003+10:00

White City, on the Sydenham line, was birthed on November 11th, 1927 as Coursing Platform and re-christened as White City in 1929.

It's main function was to sit there and look pretty for the chaps and chappesses who worked in the local industries even though it pulled its proverbial finger out and worked as a garden variety suburban station, too.

As it was only 700 metres west of Tottenham Station (Melways map 41 C4) , it was decided to shut up White City's shop permanently after Tottenham had extensive botox, liposuction and renovations in 1981.
The station was demolished some time after this and not a trace of it is to be spied today, even though you may gaze at this picture HERE for as long as you like.

Lost Train Lines #17 Koondrook Tramway / Railway

2008-04-14T16:37:00.003+10:00

Koondrook Railway was, technically, a tramway as it had no signals, wasn't fenced and was built on the light side...but it was a railway.

Built as a light, broad gauge railway in 1889, it was privately owned by the Kerang Shire Council to meet the Victorian Railways station at Kerang and to convey goods and people to and from Koondrook on the Murray River, including goods brought to Koondrook by the river boats.

Victorian Railways took over the tram/railway in 1952 and it continued its hard working life until 1976 saw the passengers alight for the last time and the freight goods off-loaded for the final time in 1978.

For more detailed information and some great photos click HERE.

Lost Cable Tram Lines #8 Richmond

2008-04-14T12:15:00.003+10:00

11th November, 1885 was a momentous day in Melbourne history that witnessed the opening of the very first cable tram route, to Richmond.

The Richmond "Baby Line", as it was known, ran a trial tram on October 27 and all was well with the New York-built Tram No 1.

Starting from the corner of Bourke and Spencer Sts, the blue tram whizzed down Spencer St to the Flinders St corner where it would slip around to the left, giving the conductor the opportunity to warn passengers "Mind the curve!".

Chortling along Flinders St the tram would gracefully veer to the right into Wellington Parade, where it would continue along with a slight meander to the right, again, as it crossed over Punt Rd and into Bridge Rd, and past its own engine house.

After it sailed over Church St, Bridge Rd (at the time) became Campbell Parade but the tram still doggedly continued on its merry way until it reached the end at Hawthorn Bridge at Yarra Boulevard.

Although June 30th, 1927 was the date the Richmond line closed, Tram No 1 remained in service until the last cable tram line ceased in 1940.

For a great pic of the official opening of the Richmond line, click HERE.

Lost Train Lines #16 Walhalla Railway Line

2008-04-13T17:55:00.002+10:00

The last of the 4 narrow gauge railway lines built in Victoria, Moe - Walhalla, took almost 6 years to build as it challenged engineers' and labourers' wildest imaginations (not to mention their aching backs) with the mountainous ups and downs along its route.

Opened in 1910 this line arrived at the tail end of the gold boom for the little town; the Long Tunnel gold mine, which had been so rich with pickings, was closed in 1914 and with the main employment gone, Walhalla began to shrink.

A clever chap, named Charles Lee, organised a "Back to Walhalla" special on January 31st, 1938 which saw over 800 populating the trains to the small town in this and following years.
Not long after this, though, in mid-1938 the Powers That Be made their shorts arms and long pockets felt by dismantling the Walhalla Station and plonking it down to serve as the Hartwell Station on the Camberwell line, despite long and loud protests from the residents.

By 1944 the very reduced numbers of goods and passengers calling on the narrow gauge railway saw the beginning of the line closure with the final section closed in 1954, leaving yet another isolated rural community without any public transport.

Fortunately there were some who were prepared to work hard to resurrect this unique train track and the Walhalla Goldfields Railway was born.

For some fantastic photos and a map of the line click HERE.

Lost Railway Stations - Pic Nic

2008-04-13T13:11:00.002+10:00

With a name that conjures up wicker baskets packed with the kitchen reject crockery and enough egg and pickle sandwiches to open another hole in the ozone layer with the results, Pic Nic Train Station sounds like it was an ideal spot to venture to on balmy Sunday afternoons.

And perhaps it was, for, as close I can scout on the maps, Pic Nic was most likely smack bang in current-day Burnley Oval; near the bank of the Yarra River and with the train terminating for 7 months at Pic Nic, it would have been a pretty spot to do just as the name suggests - picnic.

The line from Richmond to Pic Nic opened on September 24, 1860 with the line not extended to Hawthorn until April 13th the following year, so there would have been many commuters who discovered the reason for such a pretty name of a steam train terminus.

Alas, like all good things, Pic Nic came to an end almost 38 years afterwards, on 19th July, 1898 and was demolished.

Lost Railway Stations - Botanical Gardens

2008-04-12T16:03:00.002+10:00

Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away there existed a train station that was closer to the MCG than the current Richmond Station ; Botanical Gardens Railway Station.

On the 3rd February, 1859 the quaint little station opened to service rail passenger traffic intent on exploring the joys of the Royal Botanic Gardens and the woes of watching a favoured cricket team lose at the MCG, on Wednesday arvos, Saturdays and Sundays (with a half day off for good behaviour).

Located on the Richmond line near the current-day footbridge from Yarra Park to Swan St, Botanical Gardens was obviously still searching for its success when it was closed and demolished a mere 3 years later.

Lost Train Lines # 15 Warburton Railway Line

2008-04-12T15:40:00.002+10:00

November 13, 1901 saw the grand opening of the Warburton Railway Line; so grand was it that all State schools in the Upper Yarra Shire celebrated with a holiday and a large picnic at Warburton West.

It was originally suggested to be a narrow gauge line but this was dismissed with a wave of a hand and the line was built as a proper, sturdy, take-no-nonsense broad gauge railway which carried upon its hearty back both goods services and passengers alike.

Chugging its way through 11 stations before it slid to home base at Warburton, sadly declining passenger numbers rang the death knell for this 38km line that wound its way through some of the prettiest countryside in Victoria. The last train graced the tracks on August 1, 1965.

The line could still be reinstated today; with almost all of the *gag* rail trail intact and only 1 bridge to be replaced perhaps some day (don't hold your breath though) a govt will realise the potential value of renewing the trains upon that track.
Click HERE for the *gag* rail trail site.

Lost Cable Tram Lines #7 Toorak

2008-04-12T14:55:00.003+10:00

The Toorak cable line swung into action on February 15, 1889 and swept the grand masses along its route until October 1st, 1926 a mere 4 months shy of its 38th birthday.

Beginning at the intersection of Domain and St Kilda Rds, the cable tram would majestically canter along Domain Rd, past the green splendor of Domain Gardens and gently swing to the right into Park St.

The short trip along Park St would come to an end when Toorak Rd was reached where a waltz to the left would find the passengers pacing themselves along the thoroughfare until Irving Rd was attained.

For an idea of what it looked like click HERE, and for an interior view of the engine house - located on the corner of Toorak Rd and Chapel St- click HERE.

Lost Cable Tram Lines #6 Prahran

2008-04-07T20:38:00.005+10:00

Shoppers in 1888 were as discerning for quality goods as they are today and thus Chapel St became a shopping mecca necessitating a cable tramway to cater for those bustled beauties who shopped till they dropped.

October 16 of that illustrious year saw the first cable tram service running its little cotton socks off from the Toorak Rd / Chapel St intersection - where its engine house called home - down past the tempting goodies of Patterson's Cakes, Turkish Baths ( both hot and cold) on offer at The Prahran Arcade and Read's Emporium tempting the hoi polloi.

Many other grand visions bedazzled the boggled eyes of the passengers until the corner of Wellington St was attained where, before the Astor Theatre was in residence, horse stables claimed the corner as home until the Diamond Picture Theatre, later known as The Theatre Rex, began enchanting passers by.

Alas, the Astor Theatre was never to witness cable trams rattling to a stop near it as the Prahran cable service ceased transporting people to worlds of wonder, as well as merely to Wellington St, on August 28th, 1926.

For pics of the Prahran cable tram click HERE and HERE.

Horse Drawn Trams #3 Coburg Horse Tram

2008-04-07T13:54:00.006+10:00

16 months after the Melbourne Tramway & Omnibus Co. opened the Brunswick cable tram route the need to extend the line even further had become apparent so the Northern Tramway Co. began running the Coburg Horse Tram in February 1889.

At the intersection of Moreland and Sydney Rds the horse tram would begin where the cable tram left off and passengers wanting to travel even further into the wilds of Coburg did so under horse power.

Sitting bolt upright in the saloon tram cars, passengers could sight see all the wonders of Coburg and surrounds behind a reliable dobbin, who would clop that tram all the way up Sydney Rd until it reached the intersection of Gaffney St.
And stop.

The sight and sound - and, no doubt, smell that sent gardeners scurrying for a dust pan and brush - of the working tramway horses was later controlled by the Coburg City Council and then not at all after 1916 as the line (but not the equines) had become electrified.

For some photos of the Coburg Horse Tram click HERE and HERE .

Horse Drawn Trams #2 The Zoo Horse Tram

2008-04-06T17:08:00.005+10:00

Back in the past of October 1, 1887, the Melbourne Tramway & Omnibus Co. began operating its Brunswick cable tram line service.
Coincidentally on the same day it started running its very own Zoo Horse Tram, a branch line off the Brunswick cable tramway.

The 2 gee-gees who pulled the saloons or toast-rack tram cars would gently plod their passengers from the corner of Gatehouse St and Royal Parade to the main entrance of The Royal Melbourne Zoological Gardens.
And back again.

The route did not follow the current tramline that runs through Royal Park but is today marked by the avenue of Moreton Bay Fig trees that originally lined the tracks.

While passenger numbers were on the nose the final nail in the coffin of the Zoo Horse Tram was the arson of its depot, located in Royal Park, in the riots that took place during the Melbourne police strike of 1923.
The evening of November 5th, 1923 saw the tram horses doing a runner but the tram sheds, containing the tram cars and other paraphernalia, go up in a blaze of flame and smoke.

Cheltenham's Lost Steam Tramway

2008-04-06T16:36:00.004+10:00

Sometimes you read an article outlining the loss of something of historical significance and you really, reeeeeeeeally wish for a blue police phone box just for the opportunity of going back in time and slapping that idiot someone/somebody upside the head.
This is one of those moments.

When the Melbourne Benevolent Asylum in North Melbourne was deemed unfit for man or beast, The Powers That Be decided to start from scratch and build the whole thing again in Cheltenham, to become what is now known as Kingston Centre.

But the sandy soil made the roads a fair bugger to transport a man on a horse, let alone tonnes of building materials from the train station to the building site, 1 mile distant.

So a steam tramway was constructed, narrow gauge of course, tootling along from the Cheltenham train station in Park Rd (then known as Tulip Rd) never getting up much steam or speed - very Occ. Health and Safety! - as it chugged along Centre Dandenong Rd to reach the intersection of Warrigal Rd (Old Moorabbin Rd in the old money).
Hanging a very slow - but entirely safe - left hand turn, the tram would putt-putt it's way to The Melbourne Benevolent Asylum For The Aged and Infirm (that's Kingston Centre to you).

A 4 acre plot of dirt, on the corner of Park and Charman Rds, was bought and used for goods sheds, engine house and to store supplies.

Although it was initially intended only to transport building equipment, almost from the beginning it became the only steam passenger tramway in the whole of Melbourne, giving lifts to visitors for picnics held in the grounds of the new Centre.

At the completion of the building works in November 1910, after the Asylum authorities knocked back the offer of buying the tram and track - like most other historic Aussie thingies and whatsits - it was ripped up only weeks later to be lost forever.

For further details and some fantastic photos of the 2 steam engines used on the line click HERE.

Lost Electric Tram Lines #5 Moonee Ponds Junction - Moonee Ponds Station

2008-04-06T14:43:00.003+10:00

This tiny, short, eeny weeny, itty bitty tram line had as lengthy a life span to equal is track.

Opened in 1906 and puddling up Puckle St from the Moonee Ponds Junction to sit around and look pretty when it reached Moonee Ponds Train Station, this tramline just wasn't appreciated for its beauty and brains by the local traders.

The Puckle St business owners got their knickers in the proverbial twist, believing this innocent tramline effected their businesses in such a negative way that they agitated The Powers That Be until they succeeded in having the line shut down on January 12th, 1924.

Lost Cable Tram Lines #5 Port Melbourne

2008-04-06T14:18:00.005+10:00

Opened on the 10th of June in the dim recesses of history that was the year 1890 was the cable tram line to Port Melbourne.

Beginning only 1 week earlier than it's sister line to South Melbourne Beach, the Port Melbourne line also shared the same engine house (near the corner of Cecil St and City Rd) and the same terminus that was the corner of Collins and Market Sts in the City.

But after the Port Melbourne tram had raced from its starting blocks and crossed Flinders Street and rounded the curve that was Queensbridge St (formally introduced to the masses as Sandridge Rd) it ignored it's sister line's tempting turn-off into Clarendon St and continued down City Rd.

Like a duck seeking water the Port Melbourne cable tram stuck to its direct route to the sea and kept trundling down City Rd until City Rd changed into something more comfortable and became Bay St.

Pausing briefly to catch it's breath at the end of Bay St, the tram would zip around to the right into Beach St and present the sparkling Port Phillip Bay on its left to the passengers.
Having fulfilled its promise to the public, the tram would potter along until it reached Station Pier where many a loved one was seen off with tears and promises to write - and others were just seen off.

Sadly one last thing this line shared with the South Melbourne Beach line was the date of closure, March 3rd 1937.

The car house for the Pt Melb line was located in Beach St, Pt Melb.

Malcolm

2008-04-05T08:40:00.003+11:00

I'm over the moon to finally have a DVD copy of the great Aussie movie Malcolm.
Filmed all over Melbourne it was released in 1986, 22 years ago but it has lost none of its humour, quirkiness and, yes, it still leaves you with a warm feeling inside and a gentle face ache from smiling and laughing.

Malcolm is shy and unable to connect to people and the world around him unless it involves his great loves of mechanics, trams and gadgets.
Is he autistic/Asperger's?
These days we'd probably label him as such but Asperger's was only just starting to get the once over from the psychiatrists et al in the '80's and "shy" or "socially inept" were the general labels that would have stuck.
Colin Friels captured the character of a person with autism/Asperger's perfectly; I was watching Malcolm, not an actor playing a 2 dimensional description of a person.

The Melbourne scenery is amazing in how quickly the skyline and landmarks have changed in just 2 decades. Playing "spot the location" is fun and trying to explain to the offspring about the alterations is almost constant.
When Malcolm double dates with his neighbour and his 2 boarders Judith and Frank at the local pub you can smell the mingling odours of cigarette smoke, tomato sauce splotched out on top of the meat pies with their own aroma of baked pastry and the spicy vinegar of fish and chips whirling around the clink of the pool table and beer at the bar.
I haven't watched the commentary on the making of the film as yet but I expect it to be revealing and have not a few interesting points.

Apparently many American critics bagged the movie when it was released but then, like today, the subtle comedy doesn't work in the USA as a whole.
And Malcolm is a subtle comedy in many ways; Colin Friels uses body language to convey Malcolm's emotions or reactions in a scene, facial expressions, one liners, music and just the simplicity of it all creates a typical Aussie comedy that doesn't batter the audience with raw emotion or dramatic acting.

Malcolm was both dedicated to and based on scriptwriter, producer and director Nadia Tass' late brother.
This movie was a beautiful and successful testament of her love and respect for her brother, with Colin Friels playing the part perfectly while Lindy Davis and the late, great John Hargreaves were the ideal co-star rogues.

Horse Drawn Trams #1 Fairfield, Melbourne's First Horse Drawn Tram

2008-04-03T23:21:00.005+11:00

At Fairfield Station on January 10th, 1885, those interested in buying land found themselves in for a treat - Melbourne's first tramway was ready to be boarded.

Operated under horse power, the equine tram was solely to convey potential land owners northwards from the Fairfield train station approx. 1 mile to C.H James' land sales at Thornbury in a double-decker tram.

With cable trams beginning operations in 1891 the old dobbin-drawn tram clopped along Station St to Thornbury no more.

Lost Electric Tram Lines #4 Wellington St, St Kilda

2008-04-03T22:45:00.004+11:00

On the day following Boxing Day 1925 one of the shortest electric tram routes came into being.
The fact that the Wellington St, St Kilda line ran for almost 43 years, until its demise in November 1968, proves how popular it had become.
The Dandenong/St Kilda Rd tram routes were joined up and altered from Wellington St when the brand spankers Queens Way/ St Kilda junction over- and underpass was built.

Beginning at the St Kilda Rd (then known as High St) end of Wellington St, the tram pottered up the one and only street, stopping when it met Chapel St near the Astor Theatre.
That was it.

Lost Cable Tram Lines #4 South Melbourne Beach

2008-04-03T22:04:00.005+11:00

The 17th June, 1890 saw the opening of the South Melbourne Beach cable tram route.

Running from its terminus at the corner of Collins and Market Sts in the city, the cable trams would huff and puff their way down Market St, leaning to the right as they entered Sandridge Rd (known these days as Queensbridge St) and continued down the road veering slightly to the right as Sandridge Rd (this part known as City Rd now) crossed over Kings Way.

Hanging a sharp left into Clarendon St the tram would puddle along down that carriageway until it came upon Park St where it would change its mind and chuck a right.
Park St scenery would soon give way to a left turn into Montague St but that would only last until the passengers reached a right hand turn at Bridport St.
Bridport St was a fairly straight run except with the dog leg bend to the left where it became Victoria Parade which the tram would faithfully follow, its cables leading it ever onward when it would find the end of its journey at Beaconsfield Parade and the gritty sand of South Melbourne Beach.

This route was worked every day for almost 47 years till the line was closed forever on March 13th, 1937.
The engine house was located near the corner of Sandridge Rd (City Rd) and Cecil St.

Lost Electric Tram Lines #3 Box Hill - Doncaster

2008-04-03T16:04:00.005+11:00

On the 14th October, 1889, probably the world's only tram line to cause an outbreak of war-like behaviour, (and Australia's first electric tram line) was opened.

While the many tourists escaping the heat and dust of the city made the tram line a necessity the local land owners and orchardists campaigned furiously against it.

The larrikin had emerged by this stage in Melbourne culture and, with friends and girls of the various "pushes" (gangs) egging them on, larrikins thought nothing of climbing fruit trees to steal fruit and wreck havoc; verbally and physically challenging those residents who demanded they cease and desist.

As the tram way was the one thing bringing these destructive louts into the fragile idyll of the area, the tram way was the one object on which people vented their anger and frustration.
Overhead lines were left in the mud when the poles on which they were strung were chopped down, tracks and rails unearthed and left scattered.

Much to-ing and fro-ing between the tram company, locals and law courts saw the stop/start of the line, with a long section beyond Whittens Lane cut off when permission to cross land was withdrawn and wire fences erected.
Eventually the line was able to run but, with the economic depression of the 1890's causing more havoc than the drunken larrikins ever could and the previous problems of running the line depleting the coffers, the line was finally closed on January 6th, 1896.

The line began at the corner of Whitehorse Rd and Station St, plodding along in a pretty straight line until it reached a slight dog leg and meandered to the left which became Tram Rd and from there it ran along till it finished at the triangle intersection of Elgar and Doncaster Rds.
The depot was on the corner of Wimmera and Station Sts .

For a picture of the tram click HERE and HERE.

Lost Cable Tram Lines #3 St Kilda - Windsor Route

2008-04-03T15:48:00.003+11:00

Opened on the 17th October 1891 the St Kilda to Windsor cable tram route went about its business for almost 34 years before the locals bid it adieu on 29th August 1925.

Beginning at the corner of Chapel and Wellington Sts, the cable tram tootled its way along Wellington St, past its engine house near the corner of Marlton Cres and over St Kilda Rd.

Veering to the left immediately after zipping over the major intersection, the tram merrily chugged down Fitzroy St and around the big, sweeping curve to the left that is The Esplanade before throwing an unsuspecting right into Acland St and finishing the run at the corner of Barkly St.

Lost Electric Tram Lines #2 St Kilda - Brighton Beach

2008-03-31T11:57:00.007+11:00

On the 15th May, 1906 Victorian Railways began running electric trams from St Kilda to Brighton Beach.

The tram would collect its passengers from the now "light rail" tram stop that was once St Kilda train station and zip off down Grey St, throwing a right into Barkly St with a meander off to the left down Mitford St.
Wandering slightly to the right in the dog leg where Mitford St becomes Broadway the tram would chuck an immediate left as it crossed Glen Huntly Rd into Ormond Rd then a right as it reached St Kilda St.
It was pretty much a straight run after that; along St Kilda St/Esplanade, following, of course, the few wiggles and jiggles in the road until it finished at Brighton Beach train station where those who wanted be seen alighted and proceeded to promenade with a flourish and take the sea air - because the sea air was soooo much better in Brighton than in St Kilda.

The new tramline ran for a mere 10 months before its depot, at Head St, Elwood, went up in a blaze of fire taking all the trams with it on March 7th, 1907.
Reopening the line only 10 days later, Victorian Railways was determined (in those days, at least!) to keep the service running for commuters and they reopened the new depot on June 20th that year.

By 1958, however, spending money on public transport was becoming a frowned upon expense by the government (pretty much like today) and the St Kilda -Brighton Beach line was requiring significant dosh to maintain and update it so on the 28th February 1959 the line was closed and replaced with a bus.

The tram depot at Head St was converted into a private bus depot, then it was owned by the government again only to be sold off to a private owner then to be totally humiliated by being flogged off for private housing development.

Lost CableTram Lines # 2 Brunswick Route

2008-03-30T23:44:00.015+11:00

On October 1st, 1887 there was the birth of the Brunswick Cable Tram route.

Beginning at the corner of Flinders and Elizabeth Sts the cable trams whipped their way up Elizabeth St, along the dog leg into Royal Parade, getting up a bit of speed as they steamed their way up the straight of Royal Parade and over the intersection at Brunswick Rd then into the final stretch of Sydney Rd until they hit the skids to finish at Moreland Rd, which you can view HERE.

The engine house for this route was on the corner of Brunswick Rd and Black St - near the Sarah Sands Hotel. You can read about its heritage listing and description HERE and have a gander of it in all its glory HERE.

Sadly the cable trams were no more after the 29th September 1934, with stretches of the line converted to electricity and diverted onto other routes.
Following the route, below, with the purple dots/lines, there was little opportunity for the conductors to use the usual cable tram call of "Mind the curve!".

You can watch some short clips from the documentary Commuting By Cable HERE.

Lost Electric Tram Lines #1 Sandringham - Black Rock

2008-03-28T13:59:00.006+11:00

This is the first of the lost electric tram lines (kindly supplied to moi by Andrew at High Riser), the Sandringham to Black Rock tram line.

Opened on the 10th March 1919 and operated by Victorian Railways, the "bush tramway" (as it was known by locals) would choof along its line from Sandringham railway station up into Bay St, hang a quick right into Fernhill Rd, round the dog leg then threw a lefty into Royal Ave. Hitting Bluff Rd the tram would chuck a right and keep travelling along it until it came to the end at Balcombe Rd, Black Rock.

Leaving its depot at Sandringham Station Yards for the final time at the end of August 1931, the line was officially closed on September 1st 1931 due to bugger all bums on seats as, most probably due to the economic depression, the area was slower to develop than had been anticipated.
A bus replaced the old tram.

For a photo of the grand opening of the tram line click HERE.

This electric tram service replaced an older horse-drawn tram service, read about it HERE.

Lost CableTram Lines # 1 North Carlton Route

2008-03-28T13:07:00.006+11:00

The delightful Andrew from High Riser fame has been a hard working chap in the search for Melbourne's lost cable tram routes and has given me a list of both the cable tram routes and lost electric tram routes to play mischief with!

Opened on the 9th December 1889, it trundled along from its terminus at the corner of Lonsdale and Swanston Streets, hung a left at Russell street, up and into Lygon St, whipping along until it hung a right into Elgin St where it chucked a quick lefty into Rathdown St and kept going alllllll the way till it finished at Park St, where its engine house sat on the corner.

This cable tram route was closed down on August 2nd 1936.
Perhaps, instead of ignoring our history, it might behoove the state govt to mark the old cable tram routes with plaques similar to those used for the Rosstown Railway line.

To view some of the preserved cable tram cars click HERE.

The Celluloid Heroes

2008-02-27T15:07:00.004+11:00

Oh look, the mad old bat is reviewing DVD's now!

Borrowed The Celluloid Heroes from our local library and it's been both an eye-opener and an entertaining experience.

This doco is narrated by the very ocker Bryan Brown and gives the viewer some great interviews with actors, directors and scriptwriters while showcasing film footage barely seen since the cinemas aired their premier showing.

This walk through history shows how little respect and confidence the Australian government placed in the fledgling film industry, despite Australia giving the world the first film doco and the first full-length feature film.

In the face of almost insurmountable odds - like the big Hollywood studios being allowed to buy up all the Aussie cinemas and forcing the smaller independents to show only American movies, the NSW Police Commissioner banning all Aussie bushranger movies while approving American westerns and some American film studios removing all mention of USA-based movies being shot in/directed by/acted in or written by Australia and Australians - the Aussie film industry fought to retain even a pulse in some years but rebellious film makers stood their ground and, eventually, won some little rewards for their efforts.

Have a look at this 4 episode doco on the history of Aussie cinema and, while you'll have a great laugh at some of the comedians, you'll discover some of the not-so-humourous comedians who wrecked the industry behind the scenes.

Lost Train Lines # 14 Strzelecki Railway Line

2008-02-27T14:32:00.002+11:00

The Strzelecki line must have one of the shortest lived sections of track in Australia.

Opened in June 1922 as a branch line off the South Gippsland railway line, it trundled off from Koo Wee Rup station and chugged its way through 8 stations of the farming district of the Strzelecki Ranges, offering freight and passenger services.

But the first section to be closed was a mere 8 years after it began; a trestle bridge between Triholm to Strzelecki developed such a sway it would make any madame blush. The powers that be deemed their hip pockets too deep and their arms too short to repair the bridge, so the section was permanently shut.

The Yannathan to Triholm section was closed in 1941 after floods in the Lang Lang River damaged one of the four trestle bridges spanning it. Again the deep pockets and short arms decided the closure.

The Bayles to Yannathan section was closed for business in 1950 with the last tiny part of track from Koo Wee Rup to Bayles servicing the butter factory at Bayles until it too was shut down in 1959.

Better be sitting down for the next bit - as Koo Wee Rup station is still mainly intact and the rails are in pretty good condition, ~~when~~ if the line between Cranbourne and Leongatha is ~~ever~~ reopened in the hopefully near future Koo Wee Rup station could easily be reinstated as a stop on the line.
Click HERE if you don't believe me!

Australia's Wild Cattle at Cowpastures

2008-02-27T14:11:00.002+11:00

A few short months after the First Fleet landed their great clod-hoppers on Aussie soil 4 cows and 2 bulls did a bunk from the convicts who were supposed to be watching them.
Governor Phillip was a tad miffed but wrote them off as he believed they would probably have been eaten by aborigines or escaped convicts.

Fast forward to 1795 when a group of explorers were strolling through the area now known as Camden and weren't they surprised to eyeball a herd of 61 cattle!
Governor Hunter trotted up to see this herd of wild cattle for himself and soon identified them as offspring from the lost cows and bulls.
But he was a happy camper.

Breeding stock in the new colony had been painfully slow and they'd had to import most of their meat. Getting anywhere near that herd of wild cattle to tame them would be almost impossible and to slaughter them would be wasteful and leave them in the same pickle, forced to import meat, that they were already in.

So Governor Hunter used his God-blessed grey matter and chose to leave the cattle right where they were; he marked the area out of bounds, named it Cowpastures and sensibly left them to keep on multiplying, as they'd managed it successfully without any human help, to become a future resource.

By the time Governor Hunter upped sticks and left the colony 5 years later the herd had increased to 300 and within 10 years it numbered over 5,000.

Extract from The Sydney Gazette Sunday March 25 1804

2008-02-27T14:03:00.002+11:00

"The following curious and extraordinary recital we copy from a Letter brought by the Union from Norfolk Island :
"On the 8th February a man was perceived floating on a raft, not less than two miles distant, from the appearance of whom much serious apprehension arose, lest he should be indicative of the loss of some vessel on the Coast. The sea running very high every attempt to render him assistance was impracticable until he approached the shore, almost exhausted. By the yet timely exertions of the Inhabitants he was then brought in and proved to be a man employed at Nepean Island, whither he had been sent for flagitious practices, and accounted for his rash and extraordinary enterprise by his becoming apprehensive of a scarcity of water on the Island. His floating machine consisted of an old door with holes pierced to admit the legs through, he was eight hours performing the exploit, and declares he was nearly the whole time surrounded by sharks, through which he paddled in momentary expectation of falling a victim to the ingenuity of his contrivance , although miraculously he did escape their voracity."

When Newtown Almost Evicted Its Residents

2008-02-27T13:40:00.003+11:00

Nicholas Devine was sent out from Old Blighty as a free bloke to work as a convict overseer.
Old Nick did his job so well he was rewarded with a promotion to Chief Superintendent of Convicts and given a pay packet bonus of 210 acres south of Sydneytown that is now known as Newtown.

Nicky-boy threw together a wee cottage for himself on his bush block and when old age forced him to retire in the 1820's he parked his posterior in his hut on a yearly pension of £78, with a convict, Bernard Rochfort, to look after him.

Bernie obviously took grand care of old Nick as he found himself the recipient of the old man's land on his death. Bernie flogged off the land which became a pricey place shortly afterwards as everyone wanted a piece of it as Sydney expanded with the growing number of people.

Now back in Ireland old Nick's family got wind of the land sale and how expensive the dirt was in that area and the heir, a great-nephew, trotted over to the colony and claimed the patch for himself.
He threw a couple of arguments into the pot - he claimed his great-uncle was insane when he penned his will and that poor old Bernie was a prisoner and could not have legally acquired the land.

26 residents were mightily put out at this turn of events, so they banded together to defend themselves and the roofs over their noggins.
Sydney's Supreme Court found in the resident's favour in 1852 but the greedy great-nephew appealed to the Privy Council which allowed for a new trial.
Again, in 1857, the Supreme Court handed down a verdict in favour of the residents and further litigation from the Devine family was headed off by offering them a secret amount of dosh if the great-nephew walked away from his claim, which he sensibly did.

Australia's First Church

2008-02-27T12:54:00.002+11:00

Poor old Rev Richard Johnson was forever having a whinge about his working conditions.
Apparently pubs, brothels and playhouses were far more in demand in the colony than building a single church.
Imagine!

Dicky Johnson was getting a bit unwell after standing about in all weathers for 5 years but his whining was ignored by Governor Phillip and his successor Major Grose.
So he decided to take the bull by the horns and build his own church.

He picked the spot that is the current-day intersection of Hunter and Bligh streets in Sydney, used the oh-so-fashionable building materials wattle and daub with a thatched roof, in the shape of a cruciform. It could hold 500 worshipping sinners or more if needed.

Dicky Johnson put his back into it himself, with his 2 convict servants lending a hand and other convicts who had a spare spot in their diaries. Dicky paid the labouring lads in grog (of course), flour, salted meat, tobacco and tea from his own pantry. The building was finished without any union action on site within 3 months.

It opened for business in September 1793 and during the week it was used as a school to learn the convict kids their three R's, taught to them by convict men and women.

Dicky sent Major Grose the bill for £67 12 s 11 1/2 d, which Grose rejected, stating it cost far more than it ought, that Johnson had decided to build it himself therefore he should shoulder the cost.
Grose obviously noted standing around in pouring rain and searing heat for 5 years hadn't sweetened Johnson's disposition when Grose had a whinge of his own to the Colonial Office in which he stated "Johnson is a very troublesome, discontented character".
Wonder why?

In 1795 the colony's second Governor, Captain John Hunter, popped in and immediately reimbursed Dicky for the cost of the church and enforced compulsory church attendance.
Oops!

Hunter overlooked the fact that more than 40% of the convicts were Roman Catholics and had a slight aversion to being dragged out of their warm beds for 6am service only to be preached at by a proddy.

On the windy and moonless night of October 1, 1798 someone put a match to the church and with its timber and thatch it went up like a Roman Candle. Sydney once again had no church.
Gov Hunter offered a reward of £30 for info on "the wicked and disaffected" bodies that had performed such a dastardly act but, strangely, the reward was never claimed.

Lost Train Lines # 13 Welshpool Jetty Tramway

2008-02-22T16:32:00.003+11:00

Welshpool was a stop on the South Gippsland line, bustling with goods and people for a hard working 90-odd years of life.
By 1905 the large amount of locally caught fish found it difficult to swim over the 5 kms to the waiting Melbourne-bound train for the growing fish and chip trade, so the Port Welshpool Jetty Tramway branchline was born.
This was a narrow gauge horse-drawn tramway and operated 6 days a week, meeting the trains at Welshpool and trundling goods and some people back down to the jetty.
But, like all good things that have government fingers stuck in them, it came to an end on New Years Day 1941 and was the first of the 5 narrow gauge railway lines to be closed in Victoria.

The Iron Pot

2008-02-22T15:49:00.002+11:00

Way back in the days when the Port Phillip Colony was just a toddler, there was a wonderful comedic actor who's even sharper wits had him building, establishing and creating all manner of things for the populace to gawp at, Cremorne Gardens being just one of many.

George Coppin was an actor of considerable renown who used his earnings as an actor to start up many an enterprise after each bankruptcy, of which there was quite a few.

Rightly fearing none would lease him a theatre after his more recent financial hiccup, Coppin decided to build his own. He imported a pre-fabricated cast iron theatre from Manchester,England and, after slipping elbow A into footrest C and balcony R into roof gable T, in June 1855 Coppin opened his Olympic Theatre in Exhibition St, on the site of the current-day Comedy Theatre.

Alas, while the name might have officially been The Olympic Theatre, the theatre going public themselves christened it with a new moniker - The Iron Pot.

The Iron Pot was an oddity.
It creaked and groaned, was freezing in Winter and boiling in Summer - just like an iron cooking pot.

The Iron Pot was working its magic so much so that by 1859 Georgie-boy turned the theatre in a Turkish Steam Baths that limped soggily along until the late 1890's when The Iron Pot was dismantled and became no more - just an entry into an off-beat Aussie history blog.

Ten Mile Towns

2008-02-22T15:36:00.003+11:00

As you drive along the main thoroughfares these days it's easy to let the many country towns whip behind your vehicle without taking too much notice of them.
The likes of Kyneton, Bacchus Marsh and Woodend are indeed pretty and are steeped in history but are often overlooked as the highways by-pass them and many others nowadays.

These were "ten mile towns", so named for the approximate distance between them.
Why 10 miles?
Because the gold escort had to rest and change horses every ten miles and sometimes spend the night before pushing on again the next morning to deliver the precious cargo to Melbourne and, ultimately, England.
Often only a single public house or private dwelling offered food and drink to the riders, with more businesses quickly growing at the ten mile stops to eventually become a flourishing town.

Bullock drivers also favoured these ten mile towns as they were an almost perfect days' travel between each, allowing the bullocky to easily judge the speed of his animals and know there would be a roof over both his and the bullocks heads after a hard day's foot slogging.

So pour over a Melways and discover for yourself the rough equal distance between many country towns that grew from a simple need for fresh horses!

Addit-
A list of some of the Ten Mile Towns I should have included yesterday is...
Malmsbury, Kyneton, Carlsruhe, Gisborne, Mt Macedon and Diggers Rest on the way from Mt Alexander and Bendigo.
Buninyong, Ballan, Bacchus Marsh, Melton and Keilor from the Ballarat region.
Wangaratta, Benalla, Euroa, Avenal, Seymour and Kilmore from the Ovens Valley area.

Edward De Lacy Evans- The Man Who Wasn't

2008-02-21T14:54:00.002+11:00

Way back before bras were being burned or bras were even invented, it was strictly a man's world and heaven help any unattached female who found herself flung into the far corners of it without some form of male protection.
The gold rushes and opening up of the new land Australia attracted more than just men to hunt for the elusive glittery stuff; many immigrants came from the four scattered corners of the globe for a variety of reasons but the main aim was unanimous - a new start.

Females travelling without family or any kind of male protector and without money or status were often regarded as loose women or untrustworthy and could expect only the lowest of paid work.
Not mainly taught in your garden variety history lessons are the number of women who masqueraded as men, on both the goldfields and in trade, to simply make their way in life for whatever reason.

Edward De Lacy Evans was one such woman.

Ellen Tremaye was an Irish immigrant who shortly after arriving in Australia adopted the name of Edward De Lacy Evans and, to all intents and purposes, became a man.
Edward married 3 times and worked hard on the goldfields but his secret was only discovered after he was admitted to hospital following a head injury and a breakdown.
Others have written about Edward quite eloquently so to read more about him click HERE, HERE and HERE.

Collectors

2008-02-21T14:44:00.002+11:00

If you were lucky to catch the first episode of the new series of Collectors last Friday you would have seen actor/TV presenter Scott Mcgregor with his extensive collection of trains and paraphernalia.

An interesting remark was made on the railway network map of NSW that McGregor owns showing how many train lines have disappeared in NSW alone, an observation that in these times of climate change surely extending and increasing the railways is the way to go ??!
Hope the state and federal govts were watching that night!

Collectors now has a weekly Mystery Object Competition for anyone to enter so click HERE and have a go!

The Reason of The Great Ocean Road

2008-02-18T11:10:00.002+11:00

Most tourists and, of course, many Aussies themselves, have driven along that breath-taking panoramic stretch known as The Great Ocean Road.
But how many realise they are actually embarking along one of the world's longest war memorials?

Before WW1 most of the towns and villages all around that area were isolated due to the inhospitable terrain.Long and windy tracks had sprung up here, there and everywhere, with some train and coach services struggling to reach some areas.

But then a clever little dicky-bird by the name of William Calder had a light bulb spring to life above his noggin.
Calder was the chairman of the Country Roads Board and he'd been told by the State War Council to employ returned soldiers in 1917. He came back with the idea of the War Council giving some dosh to employ these returned boys in building roads in these isolated areas, then he submitted his plan for (as it was then titled) The South Coast Road to be built by returned soldiers as a memorial to those who hadn't made it home from the war.

Over 3,000 returned soldiers lived in tents during the 13 years it took to complete the road; they worked with pick axes and shovels, horse carts removed the rubble they sweated buckets to remove by hand. Blasting helped too, with many tonnes thrown into the ocean from explosives charges.
During the Great Depression this was often the only work available for returned soldiers and, as they had to work 8 hour days and a half day on Saturdays, it was many months (sometimes more than a year) before they were able to see their families.

More details and great photos available HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE

Captain Ramsey - Trouble with a capital T

2008-02-17T17:31:00.003+11:00

Captain George Ramsey must have wondered, quietly to himself, what on earth he'd done in a past life to always end up in trouble during his present incarnation.

He was captain of the ship Kitty when it left England for Australia in 1792 but it sprung a leak and turned back to England where eight convicts did a bunk.

Then he got stuck with Lt Daniel Woodriff on the second sailing attempt and he was a stickybeaking, pedantic bugger.
Woodriff ranted and nagged throughout the voyage and when they finally hit old Sydney town he whined that Captain Ramsey had defied his orders to increase sail and that he'd wasted time in Rio and Cape Town.
The jaunt had taken a lengthy 33 weeks, the cargo of flour had been destroyed in bad weather and 3 female convicts had popped their clogs.
Not a good start.

The ship Kitty was hired to take troops to Norfolk Island but Ramsey found more strife - the crew refused and nicked off for the bright lights of Sydney where they got other jobs, some joining the NSW Corps.
After having a word to Lt-Gov Grose the main troublemaker was given 100 lashes and the others soon pulled their fingers out again.

In May 1793 Ramsey thought it was all calm sailing ahead of him with the return home to England about to commence when several of the crew nicked off again and the rest refused to ship out.
On the eve of the planned departure Ramsey found the ringleader hadn't learned his lesson from his 100 lashes and was, in fact, as drunk as a lord and rather rude on board the ship.
After a bit of argy-bargy the poor captain found himself dumped overboard, the crew hoping he couldn't swim and would drown.
Fortunately for Ramsey he could swim and another crew member tossed him a rope and hauled him back on board.
In the morning the crew still refused to do as they were told; passengers had to raise the anchor and Lt-Gov Grose popped over to give the trouble makers between 100-150 lashes each.

But poor old Ramsey still had trouble as the trip home took a very lengthy 8 months due to running into every bad weather patch they could possibly find.
I know of some fishing rods going cheap if he wanted to take a break from sailing!

How St Patrick Rid Vaucluse Of Snakes

2008-02-17T17:07:00.003+11:00

The famous Vaucluse House, that commands the impressive view of Sydney Harbour , is actually the second house to be built on that site.
The first house, also called Vaucluse, was built by a wealthy convict who rid the area of snakes.

Sir Henry Brown Hayes, a wealthy Irish chappie who'd been Sheriff of Cork, was a strange old bird who was transported over as a guest of His Majesty in 1802.

He was in and out of trouble more times than a honeymoon dick, and on and off Norfolk Island faster than a brides nightie, yet he still managed to be pardoned by Gov Macquarie in 1810 and took himself back to Ireland in 1812.

Back in 1803 the wealthy Hayes managed to buy 105 acres at Vaucluse and build his 'umble abode with convict labour. He cleared just over half the land and spent £2,000 alone planting it with fruit trees. Awwww.
But at the time the area was crawling with enough snakes to give anyone the willies so Hayes, who firmly believed St Patrick had done the deed with the crawly buggers in Ireland, had a ditch dug all the way around his property and filled with a whole ship-worth of Irish soil he'd imported.

Must have worked coz there's no snakes there now!

The Man They Couldn't Hang

2008-02-17T16:47:00.002+11:00

On September 23, 1803 a silly bugger named Joseph Samuels ignored legal advice and insisted on pleading guilty in Sydney's Criminal Court to breaking into a house and pinching a writing desk that contained, of course, a large sum of dosh.

On September 26 Samuels was chauffeured to the gallows with another prisoner, Hardwicke, who was given one of those catch-your-breath last minute reprieves, but alas, there was none for Samuels.

Or so it appeared.

The first attempt to hang him and the rope snapped in the middle, leaving poor old Samuels face down eating dirt.
Of course he was helped to his feet and given support until the hangman trotted back with another rope.

The second attempt saw the rope immediately unravel, leaving Samuels only slightly hanging with his legs trailing on the ground.
He was unconscious when they scraped him up off the ground while the hangman got a little more exercise racing off for another rope.

Third time lucky, right?
Wrong.

The rope broke right beside his neck and sent him sprawling, still unconscious from the second try, into the dirt.
The Provost-Marshal couldn't stand this another second and hightailed it to Government House to whisper sweet nothings in the authorities ears. Scarcely had he left than he came scurrying back with the oh-so-sarcastically-unexpected news that Samuels had been granted a reprieve.

The rope was tested later that day with seven 56 lb weights.
It held.
They cut one strand with the weights in place.
It still held.
They cut two strands with the weights in place.
It still held and defied explanation of why a much lighter Samuels couldn't be hung.

Silly bugger Joseph Samuels didn't have his poor judgement shaken by the three attempts to hang him; only 3 years later he nicked off with eight other convicts in an open boat they pinched from Newcastle and none were ever seen again.

Michael Massey Robinson-The Only Aussie Poet Laureate

2008-02-05T13:11:00.000+11:00

Many believe Australia has never appointed its own official Poet Laureate but this is incorrect.
We've had a whole ONE Poet Laureate in our history.

Michael Massey Robinson was shipped over to good old Botany Bay like countless thousands of other convicts, even though he was a well educated and practicing attorney in London.
Michael was actually sentenced to death but, like so many before and after him, this was commuted to transportation for life. His crime was trying to screw money out of a bloke by threatening to publish a poem accusing him of murder. Nasty.

Anyways, from the very start, before the ship even popped into port at Sydney Robinson was treated differently; he was given free run of the ship, mixed with the passengers and was allowed a bottle of wine every day with his lunch. Niiice.

Robinson was rubbing shoulders with a chappie named Richard Dore who was on his way over to the colony to become judge-advocate. Dore and Robinson became such great mates that Dore had Robinson assigned to him as secretary and chief clerk, with a conditional pardon being bestowed upon Robinson by the Governor a mere 2 weeks after landing in Sydney.

Robinson managed to keep his nose clean for 4 years but then he was convicted to seven years of the best on Norfolk Island by Governor King for "wilful and corrupt perjury". A petition from leading citizens saved Robinson's neck but the silly bugger was up to mischief soon after, forging permits, and this time he was sent to Norfolk Island.

Robinson graced the penal island for 18 miserable months and was allowed to return to Sydney where he got hitched at the ripe old age of 63. Governor Macquarie felt some sympathy for the reprobate so he gave Robinson a free pardon and his old job back as principal clerk.

Macquarie encouraged his writing and soon Michael Massey Robinson's pen was gushing forth in florid prose. The Governor commissioned him to compose odes for the celebrations of King George III and Queen Charlotte, inviting him to official receptions to recite his writings.
The Sydney Gazette even published them for the colony to cast their baby blues across them.

By 1818 Robinson was referred to as Poet Laureate by Macquarie and other officials; he was given the gift of 2 cows per year as payment and 600 acres with 3 convict servants.

Alas, with the going of Governor Macquarie and the coming of Governor Brisbane the title was retired along with Robinson's odes, although he retained his job as principal clerk till he dropped off the perch aged 82.

Private John Boatsman - Saved by Persistant Precipitation

2008-02-05T12:56:00.000+11:00

In 1801 it wasn't just the convicts who were doing a bunk and going bush; members of the NSW Corps were also suffering from restless feet and Private John Boatsman was another who caught the wandering bug.

He did a flit but didn't have much time to frolic in his freedom before being dragged to front up to a court-martial.
Poor old Private John Boatsman was sentenced to be executed for desertion by firing squad on 19th April 1801.

But the morning of the 19th dawned grey and wet, torrential rain hindered the execution which was deferred.
The 20th dawned equally damp and miserable; again the execution was deferred.
The 21st was just as bad but the Governor was given evidence of "favourable circumstances" about John Boatsman and granted him a free pardon.

April 22 dawned bright and clear, in mores than just the weather, for John Boatsman.

James Murrell - The Other William Buckley

2008-02-05T12:29:00.000+11:00

Everyone is familiar with the name of William Buckley, the convict who escaped from Collins Settlement in Victoria and spent many years living with Aborigines before announcing his presence to white settlers.
There was also James Murrell.

In Queensland in 1863, 2 shepherds were faced with a naked 'Aborigine' who called out "Don't shoot me, I'm a British subject".
After taking him in and giving him a good scrub-a-dub-dub and clothing, the shepherds were amazed to hear this wild man's story.

James Murrell was a sailor who'd been on the ship Peruvian when it ran aground on a reef off north Queensland in 1846.
Only 7 of the 22 aboard managed to escape onto rafts; after 6 weeks at sea they finally hit land at Cape Cleveland (near current-day Townsville).
Although the local Aborigines treated them kindly, 6 died from the long voyage leaving Murrell as the lone survivor.

He was a young, fit man who adapted to the Aboriginal way of life quickly. He moved further south, after several years, to live with another group of Aborigines, who again readily accepted him.
After many years James had given up hope of ever contacting white folk when members of the tribe told him of white settlers living in the area; that was when he found the shepherds.

Murrell told the tribe of his intentions to live with the white folk and had a tearful parting. He travelled down to Brisbane where he became a huge favourite; was given a job and interviewed by the Govenor. He penned his account titled "Sketch of Residence Among the Aboriginals of Northern Australia".

Although James Murrell married and had one child he never fully adjusted to life as a white man again, similar to William Buckley, and died less than 3 years after meeting the shepherds.
On his death, flags were lowered to half mast and a long funeral procession exhibited the respect the public had for him.

More details on James Murrell's life HERE.

Count von Attems who wasn't

2008-02-05T11:38:00.000+11:00

The Sydney mothers were all a'flurry and a'fluster on April 19, 1868 as the ship Northampton had brought to the fair shores of Australia Count von Attems.

The Count was a handsome, elegant, well-groomed gentleman who charmed all he met with his impeccable manners and delightful Continental accent.
Rumours flourished throughout Sydney that he was connected to the Royal House of Austria and that the Count was travelling "on a special, secret mission".

Marriageable daughters were preened and polished while their dear Mama's competed with each other to entertain this distinguished visitor. When he moved from the Royal Hotel, where his high living had netted a bill of over £200, the Count shifted into a house beside the Prussian Consul where he returned the entertainment favours to all those successful businessmen, merchants, and their wives and daughters alike, with unbounded generosity in food and drink.

Count von Attems was never short of a bob or three and was very happy to spend up big in all the shops. The shops and businesses, in return, were only too happy to grant him an unlimited line of credit.

Oops!

After taking the good people at their word and running up bills totalling over several thousand pounds, the Count bought himself a yacht called Hamlet's Ghost and decreed he was popping down to Melbourne for a visit and would return shortly.

Tick, tick,tick....

His valet who'd arrived in Sydney with him suddenly spilled the beans.
The Count was no count but an English confidence trickster (who'd have thunk it?!) and everything about him was false from his accent down to his wardrobe which was still unpaid for!
Horrors!
The reason for the valet's sudden honesty was that he'd lent his employer £27, on top of wages owing to the tune of £80 and he seriously doubted he was going to see a penny of it.

Merchants and businessmen tried in vain to pin down the Count in Melbourne but, alas, discovered too late that the rogue had sailed north from Sydney, arriving in Brisbane where he successfully turned his handsome tricks once more upon the unsuspecting population.

Count von Attems then sailed merrily into the sunset to Batavia where he became Captain Stone of the United States Army and started his high living once more.
The Dutch weren't quite as easily taken in as the Aussies and arrested him before he could do a moonlight flit.
He was found guilty of forgery and false pretences, and was allowed to holiday in gaol for 22 years where he made 3 failed attempts to bust out.

Welcome Stranger

2008-02-05T10:19:00.000+11:00

February 5, 1869 was the day Richard Oates and John Deason found the world's largest gold nugget, the Welcome Stranger.

At over 70kgs, it was a slightly large bugger!
Of course you can't see it today as it had to be broken into pieces by a blacksmith just to fit it on the scales to weigh it.
But you can see the cast that was made of it and the anvil on which it was busted up at the Dunolly Museum.

Not far from Dunolly, in Moliagul, was the birth place of this whopper piece of gold.
Oates and Deason had been puddling for gold, without much luck as was usual for many gold hunters, when their wheelbarrow worked a rut through the INCH of dirt covering this beauty.

I'm not going to reinvent the wheel as others have said it more eloquently before me today; click on the links below to read, in Deason's own words, how they found and dug up this massive nugget and view the pics ( and dream a little) of all that gold.

The monument,replica,transcripts and photos of Deason and Oates

Another view on the discovery, pic of a replica of the nugget and what happened to Oates and Deason after their windfall.

When The Russians Didn't Invade Victoria

2008-01-28T16:50:00.000+11:00

During the later half of the 19th century email and sms services weren't too good; they were so bad as to classed as non-existent. So news from overseas was unloaded at the docks with the latest cargo of goodies and bodies in a haphazard way, some of it being months old and outdated.

During the Crimean War there was plenty of fear-mongering running about the joint which resulted in the Victorian Volunteer Corps being created to protect the infant Victorian colony alongside the Imperial forces ( no,not the ones from Star Wars, the ones from Britain).

News filtered through in 1854 that there was a Russian squadron cruising the South Pacific (no, not the Hollywood musical, although I'm sure they felt like washing many men out of their hair).

On August 18, 1854 the steamship Great Britain blew in but was forced to park itself out near the heads due to an outbreak of smallpox on board, though the ship had managed to off-load its mail and news of the Crimean War before being quarantined.

On September 7 the ship was declared safe and at 9pm that night it steamed into Port Phillip Bay firing guns and rockets to celebrate.
This ~~unhinged~~ upset the residents who started running about ~~like chooks with their heads chopped off~~ and warning "The Russians are in the bay".

The volunteer force was called out, reinforced by the ~~bloodthirsty~~ safety conscious citizens armed with anything likely to induce pain on the enemy. The Governor and Colonial-Secretary were dragged out of a ~~mosh pit~~ party to talk some sense into the mob who'd trotted down the Port Melbourne road to repel the fearsome invaders....who never came.

Francisco Miranda- The Subtle Swindler

2008-01-28T15:55:00.000+11:00

During the Aussie gold rush in the 1850's there were many who were gold diggers of a different type.
One of these went by the name of Francisco Miranda and he was such a thorough and patient con man, no one realised they been dudded till after he departed our shores.

In 1857 the Joint Stock Bank in Sydney opened a letter from a London banking mob called Baring Brothers, stating a Portuguese bloke called Francisco Miranda was taking the sea air on his way over to the colony and, by the way, he's good for credit up to 20,000 pounds.

The gentleman himself breezed into Sydney in October 1857 and promptly said 'G'day' to the Spanish Consul who took him by the hand and introduced him to the manager of the Joint Stock Bank.

Francisco was lucky his nose didn't grow with the more than few porkies he rattled off to the manager ; he stated he was going to buy a Melbourne estate "so go ahead and cash in my letters of credit, pullll-eeeze, maaaaate ".

When he rocked up in Melbourne, slippery Francisco presented his letter of credit from the Joint Stock Bank to the bank teller of The Bank of Australia and cashed himself up to the tune of £20,000 as he was off to Castlemaine to complete a land deal...or so he said.
He'd missed the coach to Castlemaine that day but he parked his luggage in the coach-office overnight.
Francisco Miranda picked up his odds and ends the next day and that was the last anyone saw of Francisco Miranda in Australia.

Melbourne police heard on the grapevine that a Frenchman, Monsieur Le Prairie, bearing an uncanny resemblance to the missing gold toting Portuguese bloke, had sailed for South America on the (ironically) named ship Good Intent.
Of course it all came out in the wash that the letters and bills of credit from the banks in England were forgeries and Francisco Miranda aka Le Prairie had pulled the same stunt on several banks in South Africa.

Mother Buntine The Bullocky

2008-01-23T14:35:00.000+11:00

Why oh why hasn't anyone published a book on this woman's life?!

Agnes Davidson was a no-nonsense Scottish-born lass who came to Australia with her family at the ripe old age of 18.
Shortly after arrival, Agnes got hitched to another Scottish immigrant Hugh Buntine and they set about farming and creating the next generation, with Agnes giving birth to the first white baby in Gippsland at Port Albert, gaining the name Mother Buntine.

Agnes and Hugh had tried their hand at running cattle and a small pub so they decided to branch out big time with the establishment of 8,000 acres that was Bruthen Creek Station.
They opened a general store and pub on the road to Sale, with Hugh becoming known as Doctor Buntine for his work at looking after the sick and injured all over the area.

Now Hugh wasn't a well boy himself and Agnes wasn't a silly girl ; to give the family coffers a gentle boost Agnes started, aged 29, a carting business by becoming a bullock driver.

She drove her first bullock team over 200km across the Great Divide to the gold fields in Bendigo and opened 2 stores when she clocked in.
Agnes was far from being the shy, reserved type and she didn't tolerate bulldust; in Seaton she took a bull-whip to a bloke who'd made rude suggestions to a young girl and belted him sober.

Mother Buntine was handy with almost everything apart from the bull-whip; she could ride bullocks and horses, kill and dress meat, split timber, build fences and she knew the business end of a gun. In short she was an independent woman calling the shots in a man's world.
The diggers didn't give a stuff that she was a sheila, all they cared about was the fact that she could deliver the goods they were so desperate for, through rough and inhospitable terrain.

Agnes buried Hugh and later remarried, keeping her transport business going all the while, fighting flooded creeks, bushfires and the rough Aussie bush to deliver her goods to the remote towns and diggings that were springing up all over Victoria.

Mother Buntine kept on bullock driving right up to her death at 74.

For more details on this ballsy woman click HERE,HERE and HERE.

The Fortnight Hobart Went On A Bender

2008-01-23T13:38:00.000+11:00

Things weren't too flash in Hobart Town in 1807 what with a lack of food and spirits. People were feeling peckish and peevish when the ship Duchess of York pulled up in port on March 5.

On board was the delicious rice, tea, sugar, coffee, soap, candles.... and plenty of Bengal Rum.

You can see where this is going, can't you ?

Lieutenant-Governor Collins, no doubt missing that tot of rum (for medicinal purposes only,of course) lifted ALL restrictions.
Silly lad.
Within hours everyone was plastered ; with the lack of recent nourishing food and unused to the grog, the populace was pickled.
But it didn't stop there. Oh no, they had plenty of rum - a fortnight's worth of drinking was in order!

The good Reverend Knopwood toddled off home with 223 gallons all for his lonesome and for some strange reason church services were cancelled for March 7 and several days following.
By March 14 no church service was happening again, with Knopwood taking a tumble down his front steps and doing himself a minor mischief.

By the time March 19 dawned, the town was out of control.
Marines and convicts were having pitched battles in the streets, the gaols crowded with convicts awaiting to see the magistrate - Reverend Knopwood (hic).
Obviously feeling a tad under the weather, Knopwood sentenced the convicts to 100-200 lashes each.
That night, grog was smuggled into the gaol (some things never change) ; they had no chance of sobering up at all, and some, including Knopwood's own servant, were too soused to even walk to the parade ground to receive their lashes, so it was postponed.

Oddly enough a ship rocked up that day with rather sharp-ish orders from Governor Bligh that there was now a total ban on rum and a ban on any bartering of rum for other goods or labour.

Spoilsport.

Mr Wilson - The Silver Tongued Devil

2008-01-23T11:44:00.000+11:00

Con artists come in all shapes and sizes, and this was no different with John Thomas Wilson aka Abbott aka Soanes, who was available in a rugged, portly shape with red hair dyed brown and a silver tongue that prattled his glib patter to the gullible.

He'd done a runner from England as he'd bamboozled a schoolgirl from a filthy rich family to elope and get spliced. After the filthy rich family had had enough of him hanging about the family tree, they cut off his missus from the family dosh and he did a moonlight flit, nobly leaving the child bride and billy lids to battle for themselves and his many creditors to cry into their empty purses.

After a brief visit to USA, Mr Wilson hit Sydney Town around 1830 and wasted no time in getting his mitts and mug into every organisation available.

Once he'd set himself up as auctioneer and ironmonger, had seemingly successful businesses with ships tootling up and down the rivers, Mr Wilson started his womanising again, which was his downfall as these solid,upright citizens of Sydney wouldn't tolerate his carryings on.
One of his numerous public affairs was with a married actress who ditched her hubby believing Mr Wilson meant to marry her and even buy the Theatre Royal for her.
Alas, it was not to be and she became a fallen hussy whom the public viewed as yet another victim of Mr Wilson.

Satirical verse in the printed media about the silver tongued devil resulted in him horse-whipping a newspaper editor in George Street; the editor sued but was only awarded 5 pounds, much to the disgust of the public.

Around about this time Mr Wilson could see the tide was turning against him so he did what had worked before - he did another runner, leaving a pile of debts. The con-artist made his way back to England where he was promptly arrested. His creditors back in Or-stray-lia agreed to his conditional release so long as he was sent back to their waiting arms.

In 1838 Mr Wilson was banging his gavel and prattling his patter as an auctioneer in Sydney once again. Walking the walk and talking the talk he convinced his creditors to hang 5 while he built up his bank accounts.
But in the meantime Mr Wilson was promising the moon and stars to yet more soon-to-be-out-of-pocket creditors as he acquired the ship Nereus, got a booty of 60,000 pounds of goods and silkily explained to the now sweating-bullets creditors he was sending the ship on a trading voyage.

In October 1839 when all were hanging about to see the ship off, Mr Wilson boarded the Nereus to say fare-thee-well to the captain.
It was when the ship cleared the heads all the merchants started to panic that they sent another ship to play tiggy with the first, but alas, again Mr Wilson had given them the slip.

To read more about this infamous trickster click HERE, and HERE.

Mrs McDonald's Cycling Trip

2008-01-22T15:32:00.000+11:00

When Angus McDonald set sail for South Africa to report on the Boer War for The Argus newspaper, he left behind a wife bored with manicures,pedicures,hairdressers and shopping malls.
Mrs McDonald yearned for something more !

Thinking to fill in a few empty days in her diary, Mrs McDonald decided to get on her bike and venture from Sydney to Melbourne upon her iron steed.
She double dared a friend, Mrs Birken, to go with her and, accepting the dare, the gals set off on their high adventure at 6.30am on October 4, 1899.

They were happily trundling along on their treadlies when only 130kms into their trip, Mrs Birken fell and twisted her arm at Mittagong. Refusing to be called a wuss, Mrs Birken battled on until Goulburn where she stopped biting on her lace hanky, admitted defeat and the title of Wussiest Wuss Wuss of 1899, then promptly popped herself on a train back to Sydney.

Mrs McDonald was unable to decide if she should continue or not; after all, as everyone knows the wilds of Australia were commonly populated with bicycle stealing- bad breathed- hairy backsided -Bunyips. So she took a day off to rest, window shop and think over her options - how to get her bike home when there was a ban on bikes on peak hour trains?

But, throwing caution to the winds, Mrs McDonald plucked up her courage and set off, braving the wild Bunyip territory and arrived in Melbourne at 10.30 am on October 11, just in time for morning tea and some serious Collins Street window shopping.

Mrs McDonald's little trip did more to popularise cycling for women than anything or anyone else at the time.

Isaac Nathan- The Musical Spy

2008-01-22T14:50:00.000+11:00

Isaac Nathan was a decent sort who was hatched in England in 1790 and created 4 Aussie firsts.
He was the first reputable muso to settle here, the first to compose serious music here and the first to study Aboriginal music.
His last first will be mentioned at the end of the article.

He could warble quite well and taught several languages; by the time he was handed the key to the door on his 21st birthday young Isaac had a considerable rep as a musician, and not your 2 cord garage band sort, either.

Princess Charlotte was his patron, to whom he dedicated some of his music and in 1823 he presented a book he'd scribbled, in his spare time, on the history and theory of music which was given the thumbs up from everyone. Oh and he slipped in several operettas at the same time.
See what happens when a lad has too much time on his hands ?!

Now Isaac was, apparently, spying for George IV and William IV but Lord Melbourne refused to pay the bill in 1837. Faced with financial ruin, Isaac blew a raspberry to the old Dart and hitched a ride to Australia.
England's loss was one of our most excellent gains.

Once he hit town, young Isaac and his tribe made themselves at home. He opened a singing academy, sans Aussie Idol contestants, got the gig as choirmaster at St Mary's Cathedral, organised a huge concert and composed solemn odes for the official occasions.
In 1846 he penned Currency Lasses to celebrate 58 years of the colony and in 1847 he presented the first opera composed and produced on Aussie soil, Don John of Austria.

Isaac Nathan appreciated all music and he pioneered listening to and transcribing Aboriginal music, publishing 2 books on the melodies and chants.

Isaac's last first claim to fame was that he was the first man to be run down and killed by a horse drawn tram.
For more controversy and info on Isaac, click HERE and HERE.

William King - The Flying Pieman

2008-01-22T12:34:00.000+11:00

Eccentrics are, mostly, harmless and vastly entertaining.
Australia needs to celebrate her eccentrics from both the past and present day, for they are a rich source of reflections upon the shaping of our nation....and good value in any time period

In the 1840's the idol of every small child (and large adult) in and around Sydney was William King, better known to all and sundry as The Flying Pieman.

Billy boy was hatched in London in 1807 and was supposed to study to enter the Church but he was a tad restless for the quiet job at hand so he tried stockbroking instead. But here too he got the jitters, so he chucked it all in and took off for the furtherest reaches of the earth - Australia.

When he blew in, Mr King was given a stint as school master at a school almost 100 miles from Sydney's bright lights. Finding the slog a bit on the lonesome side, William followed the bright lights back to Sydney where he started pouring the schooners for the locals at the Hope and Anchor pub.

Soon after he branched out into business and began flogging pies, but Bill still had the wanders so he started on his career of bizarre feats, which he could indulge in, now he was his own master.

One of his first acts to make people sit up and say "what the...?" was when he set off for a stroll of 2,640 kms in just 39 days.
He twice beat the Windsor to Sydney coach and six consecutive days he toddled from Sydney to Parramatta and back, which was a daily trek of 97 kms.

Not satisfied with just merely walking about the colony, this possible red cordial closet drinker then made a bet and lugged a 32 kg dish licker 54 kms inside 8 hours and 50 mins, winning the bet with 10 mins to spare.
The Flying Pieman, as he was beginning to be known, then hefted a 42 kg goat on his back and carted it from Sydney to Parramatta in 6 hours and 48 mins.

But wait! There's more !
(This bloke is making me exhausted just reading his exploits...)

On Boxing Day 1847, obviously bored with his pressies from Santa, William not-so-very-sedately performed his most outstanding stunt yet.
Having a little wager on the side, as usual, The Flying Pieman was to run a mile, walk a mile, push a wheelbarrow half a mile, pull a gig with a sheila in it for half a mile, pick up 50 stones a yard apart and perform 50 leaps, all -get this- within 90mins with only 2 very brief rest stops.

He won with 45 seconds to spare.

To read further about this bloke click HERE, HERE and HERE.

Who Do You Think You Are? Australian Edition

2008-01-20T20:52:00.000+11:00

Yes, I am rather slack in posting about this, as the Australian series started last week with Jack Thompson and tonight's episode was Kate Ceberano.

Have no flippin' idea what I'm waffling about?

Who Do You Think You Are? is a UK-based show in which they ask a different celebrity each week to climb their previously unresearched family tree, with warts, skeletons and all being unearthed to viewers.

Having watched the UK version I thought I was prepared for the Aussie series but actually it's better - these Aussie characters everyone knows in Aussie surroundings, brings the history and humanity of distant lives much closer, and helps flesh out what could be (to many) a dull and staid history of Australia into the vibrant, rich tapestry our past truly is.

And should you get the fancy to start shaking the family tree to see what drops out, SBS have online forums with history experts and others hunting ancestors to discuss ideas and answer questions.

Who Do You Think You Are?
7.30pm Sunday SBS

Princes Court

2008-01-19T16:40:00.000+11:00

Before Melbourne was decorated with the Arts Centre in St Kilda road, from 1904 - 1909 the site was occupied by Princes Court.

Melbournians either enjoyed their entertainments or were sadly in need of amusements, for Princes Court supplied plenty of both.

That saucy minx Annette Kellerman put on a diving display in her barely there costumes while people could take out their frustrations on the rifle range or tug of war.
The mildly adventurous could throw their fate to the winds by strapping on those dangerous roller skates or, worse yet, balancing on a bicycle and race other daredevils !
The more sedate visitors had the quieter options of the Japanese Tea House, a wine bar or simply watching the more bolder members of society exerting themselves silly.

The main attractions, however, were the Camel Back Toboggan and the Canadian Water Chute, both rides which sent thrill seekers careening down from great heights, amidst squeals and screams of delight and terror.

During it's short-lived life, Princes Court played host to the Jumble Carnival that included the magnificent Chinese Procession, the main aim of which was to fund-raise money for the Women's Hospital.

For a pic of Shooting the Chute click HERE.

Lost Train Lines #12 Orbost Railway line

2008-01-17T11:35:00.000+11:00

Orbost, that town of over 2,000 permanent residents whose numbers swell considerably with the large amount of tourists popping in to visit the many surrounding national parks, once used to have a train line, branching from Bairnsdale and tootling through 8 stations till it had a tea break at Orbost Station.
Yes, I know, how sensible would it be to jump on a train to save petrol and greenhouse gas emissions?!
Ahh, if only the train line still existed....

The line graced Orbost from 1916 until 1987, shunting passengers, timber and delicious farm grown goodies. When the 1930's rocked round, the passenger service was dumped - why? who knows, but the Great Depression most probably had an influence.

The whole line was closed in 1987, becoming the East Gippsland Rail Trail, encouraging shanks' pony even more.

East Gippsland Rail Trail HERE.and HERE

Just for Andrew at High Riser a few pics and info of the Stony Creek Trestle Bridge HERE , HERE and HERE.

Australia's First Golf Club- A Cattle Paddock

2008-01-17T10:54:00.000+11:00

Golf.

For those who loath the sport, it's true meaning is spelled backwards (Flog), but Adelaide was home to probably Australia's first ever golf club that helped flag, not flog, the dismal spirits of the colony.

Thats a golf club in which to meet, not a golf club with which to whack a ball.

Now, when good old Sir James Fergusson set foot in South Oz to take up as Governor in 1869, it was to find the state in quite a state; it was bust. Too many bad seasons had seen bugger all crops, mineral and wool prices were in the toilet, unemployment was as common as a cold and the South Oz populace seemed hell bent on shifting to Victoria and NSW to better their lot in life.

Apart from his many duties to fix the mess he found, one idea was to introduce the frustrating game to Adelaide, probably to lift the spirits of the residents.

A course was laid out near the current-day Victoria Park Racecourse; with just 7 greens players had to waltz around the course twice for a full game, with not a bar to be sighted on the 19th.

And they had a hazard professional golfers don't have to contend with these days - cattle. A common practice was to let loose the cow of the house to graze in the parklands and, as no one thought to fence the course, the cows helped themselves to the juicy green grass there as well.
The by-product of juicy green grass digested by bovines was, no doubt, an added handicap.

With the departure of Sir James in 1875 interest in the strange game dissipated; the clubs were falling to bits from the harsh Aussie heat and repairs were costly and lengthy as they had to be shipped back to Scotland.
Not to mention the cattle had ruined the course with their hooves and by-products.

1892 saw the Adelaide Golf Club cranked into existence once more, playing on other parklands and by 1895 the working men were whacking a white ball about with as much enthusiasm as the wealthy players.

Fore !

More info HERE

Australia's First Car

2008-01-17T00:17:00.000+11:00

Go on, guess what was Australia's first car....

If you guessed the Holden, you're wrong.

Nope, waaay back in the dim dark years that were waving goodbye to the 19th century, a mechanic in Armadale, Victoria, did a lot of hard yakka on building the first successful Aussie car.

Herbert Thomson, in 1896, revealed his 2 cylinder steam-powered vehicle which took the state, and later the nation, by storm.

Not only did he reject both electricity and gasoline as useless in the Australian colonies ( smart lad, that one !) but his steam kettle beat a 3.5 horse powered, petrol driven Benz in a race.

Herbert was soon seen by all and sundry as he puttered all over Victoria, driving in rough terrain where only horses dared to tread (and even then they had a drover yelling at them), basically exhibiting his car as a means to advertise the little beauty.
This smart lad was planning on mass producing his steam-powered invention and, in an era where horses still reigned, he got a lot of publicity mileage by winning a prize for being the first motorist to drive more than 2,000 miles.

By 1900 the Thomson car was shipped to flash it's wares at the Sydney Easter Show, while afterwards the inventor was to drive like the clappers back to Melbourne. Not along the Hume or other paved highways and byways we are used to - but along little more than goat tracks and mires, because horses don't need a made road and no other cars had tried to drive such a distance before.

Don't panic ! Herbert and his cousin Edward Holmes got back to Melbourne in just 10 days to a roaring welcome, which cemented the Thomson Motor Car Co. success and plenty of orders for many years afterwards.

More info HERE, HERE and HERE.
Oh, if you really insist, another HERE.

Lost Train Lines #11 Wonthaggi Railway line

2008-01-14T21:54:00.000+11:00

Feel like packing a picnic and hopping on board a train to Wonthaggi to dip your tootsies into the rippling surf ?
Well tough...you can't.
But once upon a time you might have.

Yes, dear reader, waaay back in the dim, dark past of 1910 there was a railway line opened that branched off from the South Gippsland Line and merrily tootled down to picturesque Wonthaggi.

Wonthaggi is so pretty that dinosaurs chose to pop their clogs there and the Victorian Government want to ensure desalination plant workers have the best of views...

But I digress.

The line actually trundled on past Wonthaggi to the coal mines but, with coal production on a downward spiral and despite the potential to extend the line to Phillip Island for a passenger service ( Madness I tell you! Those thousands of tourists can walk, dammit and we'll call it the Bass Coast Rail Trail !) they closed the line in 1978.

Lost Aussie Inventions - The Black Box

2008-01-14T10:04:00.000+11:00

One of my other aims, on this blog, is to highlight the many ( and there have been, and continue to be, many) Aussie inventions that have been ignored, deemed immaterial, laughed at or simply lost in political power plays that have done , not only the inventor and invention a great disservice, but Australia as well.

Love him or hate him, An Onymous Lefty has uploaded an old history thesis dealing with the Black Box flight recorder HERE.

It is dated and has its flaws but he has had access to items not readily available on public record as his grandfather was involved in engineering the design.

It's an interesting read, reminding us of our pool of talented inventors we did, and still have, in Australia but some of whom have to look overseas for support and production due to the various aforementioned reasons that still hinder our country today.

Federation Square

2008-01-11T16:24:00.000+11:00

Prompted by High Riser's recent entry on Melbourne's Fed Square, I thought I'd pop in it's potted history.

Federation Square, that space directly opposite Flinders Street train station, began life in the Port Phillip colony as a swamp that was often topped up with overflow from the Yarra River.

This "first home-buyers dream house block" then became the public pound for straying horses/cattle/sheep and the pound keeper operated a punt at this point to help little old ladies across the Yarra River.

Deciding that this favourable river-side location,location,location was in need of a morgue and fish market to complete the view, they built them.

Then they decided these was not the best things to be eyeballing as travellers alighted from trains at Flinders St and Princes' Bridge Stations, so they done away with 'em and threw up the current Princes' Bridge, which is the third (and counting) to stand in the same spot.

In the 1960's some bright spark thought erecting the (hideous) Gas and Fuel buildings was a good idea, along with an arcade and the whatnot thingiemebobs associated with Princes Gate Development.

In 1996 someone saw the error of the previous visionarys' way and, amidst raucous cheering from the populace, the (hideous) buildings were removed to make way for the current Federation Square.

Doing The Block

2008-01-11T15:43:00.000+11:00

From the 1860's until the mid-1930's people who wanted to see and be seen would "Do The Block".

The section of Collins Street between Elizabeth and Swanston Streets, Melbourne was known as The Block and each weekday afternoon, and again on Saturdays, would find large numbers of the population following the trend of promenading around The Block.

Melbourne itself was on parade, without any pomp or band accompaniment. The various shops and establishments attracted the popular people who, in turn, attracted everyone else.

Exchanging greetings with others or even meeting anothers' eyes was frowned upon but this rule of etiquette was frequently broken.

With the construction of The Block Arcade in 1893 Doing The Block became even more fashionable ( if that was possible), as it offered a space where the ladies of the day could stroll and shop at leisure away from the heat and dust from the street.

When the motor car became the favoured mode of transport, cable trams were replaced with electric ones and people's lives gathered a momentum that left little time for Doing The Block, the practice fell into the past as a fad to be merely fondly recalled.

Cremorne Gardens

2008-01-10T12:21:00.000+11:00

From 1853 -1863 Richmond, Victoria, played host to Cremorne Gardens, Australia's first ever fairground.

Based on the models from France and England, Cremorne Gardens contained 10 acres of the most outrageous items of its day; tight-rope walking across a lake, fireworks each night, a rotunda specially for dancing with orchestra, a theatre, a mini-zoo of animals that was exchanged with animals in the Melbourne Zoo, a bowling alley, hot air balloons and a steam-powered gondola that would transport passengers along the Yarra to the Gardens.

It was the finishing point for the world's very first Eight Hours' Day march and the starting point for Australia's very first manned hot air balloon flight, it had its own train station, gas-lit public street lights, a tree house for lovers , and it even provided Burke and Wills with their camels for their expedition.

But alas, as pragmatic people know, money makes the world go round and the lack of it saw the closure of Cremorne Gardens after a brief 10 years of pleasure.

For more information click HERE , HERE and HERE.