Lake Murdeduke

In my previous post, I looked at the history of the Murdeduke Estate, which in part lay on the banks of the Barwon River. To the west, the estate also encompassed the eastern shore of Lake Murdeduke and for this reason - amongst others - I thought it worth looking at the history of the lake itself.
Today, Lake Murdeduke is a RAMSAR listed wetland, home to a variety of birds and other fauna. Whilst I did not see a single bird in the time I was at the lake, I did see a pair of Australian Shelducks and a Nankeen Kestrel in a field not too far away as I was leaving. Of course, many of the birds which frequent the lake are migratory.
The lake is made naturally saline by the release of minerals from the decay of volcanic rock in the region. It is fed by Mia Mia Creek which rises in the high ground south west of Mt Mercer and flows south to the top of the lake. When full, Lake Murdeduke covers around 4,200 acres, however it is many years since the lake has reached capacity.

The boat ramp highlights how far the shoreline has receded. In the background
Mt Gellibrand can be seen to the left and the broader rise of Mt Hesse to the right

In addition, years of reduced rainfall have lead to the lake being classified as hypersaline, that is, having a salt content up to 10 times higher than sea water. In general, it has no outflow (meaning it is classed as endorheic), however during periods of exceptionally high rainfall such as occurred during the 1950s and 1990s, water from the lake can make its way east to the nearby Barwon River.

The receding waters of Lake Murdeduke with the cone of the extinct
Mt Gellibrand volcano rising in the background

Lake Murdeduke evolved from a combination of factors millions of years in the making and whether they realised it or not, the various families to occupy Murdeduke Estate over the decades were reaping the rewards of these geological quirks. In geological terms however, this is a relatively new region. Volcanic activity during the Pliocene Epoch as recently as 2 million years ago, saw the original course of Mia Mia Creek blocked by a flow of basalt. This natural damming resulted in the formation of Lake Murdeduke in a depression in the basalt. Over the following millennia winds blowing in from the west, breaking down the volcanic rocks deposited soil against the eastern bank of the lake, forming a "lunette lake".
The formation of lunettes is a particularly southern Australian phenomenon which occurs when westerly winds sweeping across the countryside, cause curved dunes to form on the eastern banks of a lake. Typically, the western or windward side is steep whilst the eastern or leeward side has a more gentle slope. This is true of Lake Murdeduke which lies on high ground at the edge of the basalt flow, above the flat plains which stretch away to the Barwon below.

Steep windward bank of the lake

Longer, undulating, leeward side of the lake's east bank

All of these factors combine to make this particular area of land some of the most fertile in the region. The breakdown of volcanic rock from these recent lava flows has resulted in rich, well-drained soil situated on higher ground, which takes the form of stony rises. This makes for good winter pasture which does not become waterlogged and at the same time, the rocks can provide protection for stock. The older, lower-lying plains which are also found on the estate are more useful in summer weather, having deep soil deposits which hold water during the hot months better than the porous volcanic soil of the stony rises which become dry.

Grey clay soil deposited on the floor of the lake

It was features such as these which first attracted land-hungry squatters to the region in the late 1830s and which then continued to make Murdeduke and the other estates which stretch across Victoria's western districts so successful down the decades, however the fertile land was exploited by humans long before the arrival of European settlers.
For 40,000 years the indigenous people of the region fished and hunted along the shores of Lake Murdeduke. Several different species of ducks as well as migratory wading birds were caught and a variety of edible plants were also gathered by the people of the four Gulidjan clans. Their land extended west to the shores of Lake Corangamite, south to the Otways and east to the Barwon River and the lands of the Wathaurong, with a portion extending in a northerly direction to a point west of Meredith. The Gulidjan were a semi-nomadic people with a matrilineal clan structure, each belonging to either the Gabadj (Black Cockatoo) or Guragidj (White Cockatoo) moiety. Among the many artifacts found along the lake shores are stone tools and blades which suggest a trading system with neighbouring tribes, with whom they also intermarried.

The lands of the Gulidjan people

The arrival of white settlers however, brought conflict as the Gulidjan were forced from their lands and their traditional food sources were taken away. There were deaths on both sides, the best known being the disappearance of the explorers Joseph Gellibrand and George Hesse in 1837. It has been suggested that members of the Gulidjan people were responsible and whilst the topic is still debated to the present day, the real answer is probably more complex than this common version of the "legend" would suggest. The issue is discussed further in this post. The Gulidjan reacted to the loss of their lands by driving off stock whilst the settlers broke up indigenous camps and took their tools. The Gulidjan were also hit hard by European diseases such as the flu, chickenpox and smallpox which greatly reduced their numbers.
In 1839 an attempt to provide for the remaining members of the surrounding indigenous clans resulted in the establishment of the Buntingdale Wesleyan Mission Station by the Reverend Tuckfield to the north west of Deans Marsh, however the venture was not a great success and the license was forfeit in 1851.
Today, the lake is surrounded by private property - including Murdeduke Estate, however public access is available via Blocks Lane off the Shelford Road from Winchelsea where the above pictures were taken.

The Murdeduke Estate

In a previous post I looked at Wormbete Station, which was established by Henry Hopkins in 1837, the lease for which he handed over to his second son John Rout Hopkins in 1851. The year before, John had taken up the lease of the nearby St Stephen's Station. At the same time that John took over Wormbete, Henry turned his sights to the nearby Mt Hesse Station. In that year, he took up the lease of the part of the run held by John Highett (after whom the Geelong suburb of Highton is named) who had been in partnership with William Harding. Harding retained the remainder of the Mt Hesse Estate. Highett's section of the Mt Hesse land was situated to the north and west of the Austin's Barwon Park run, with a narrow frontage to the river north of Barwon Park, stretching along the eastern shore of Lake Murdeduke which will be the topic of my next post.

Looking north west across Lake Murdeduke

After the 1851 carve up of the Mt Hesse Estate, I suspect that John Hopkins used the newly acquired land in addition to his other properties, to establish his Merino breeding interests. Meanwhile, in 1853 with the lease still in his name, Henry took up the pre-emptive right to 640 acres of this portion of the Mt Hesse Estate, at the time still known as Mt Hesse or in some cases Hesse Mount. In 1855 however, the lease (along with the freehold land) had once again been transferred, this time to Henry's third son, Arthur.
At some point, the property was renamed Murdeduke (a Wathaurong name as was Wormbete), perhaps to distinguish it more clearly from the remaining portion of the run which retained the Mt Hesse name. Murdeduke Station adjoined the north west boundary of St Stephen's whilst Wormbete Estate bounded St Stephen's to the south, so that the smaller St Stephen's provided a link between the larger Wormbete Estate and Arthur's Murdeduke Station.
In February 1854 Arthur married Lucy Rout at Murdeduke. One John Wingate Rout was also married on the property at the same time. Presumably both were maternal relatives of the Hopkins' via their mother. Like his brother John, Arthur served on the Winchelsea Shire Council and he and Lucy raised their family of three daughters at Murdeduke.

Looking east from the rise beside the lake, across Murdeduke land to the
Barwon River and the Austin's Barwon Park

In 1870, the license to the run was forfeited, however as was usual, Arthur Hopkins was able to buy - presumably through deals and family connections - a significant proportion of the original 22,214 acres they had previously leased.
Unlike Wormbete, Murdeduke Station has not retained the original homestead. Whilst it is thought that the driveway may date back to as early as 1854, the original house built in the 1840s era of Harding and Highett was replaced in 1875 by Arthur Hopkins with a 20 room, Gothic style bluestone structure designed by noted Melbourne architects Terry and Oakden. Stone for the house was quarried on the property.

Murdeduke homestead, 1970. Image retrieved from the Victorian Heritage Database

Arthur died in March, 1882 after an extended illness at the age of 51 and is buried in the Winchelsea Cemetery. Murdeduke however, did not remain long in the hands of the Hopkins family. Following the death of Arthur in 1882, his youngest daughter Sarah, married William J Austin, the second son of the late Thomas Austin of neighboring Barwon Park who took up a lease of several years on the property. Upon expiry of the lease in August, 1886 the estate comprising 13,568 acres was purchased at auction by Peter McIntyre of Mawallock, a Scotsman who had migrated some 34 years earlier. Peter ran the property with his wife Margaret and sons until his death in 1908, followed by that of his wife in 1918.

Peter McIntyre, 1896, Image held by the State Library of Victoria

During his time on the estate, McIntyre not only contributed greatly to the development of sheep breeding in the region, but also expanded his land holdings. In 1900 he purchased the neighbouring Mountside Estate (previously also part of the original Mt Hesse run) from Walter Tully for his eldest son Charles Duncan McIntyre.
The McIntyre family remained at Murdeduke for several more decades despite the sell off of over 2,000 acres of Murdeduke land in 1910 following Peter's death. Finally, in 1938 the estate was again reduced substantially, this time to a size of 4,500 acres which was sold to James P.W. Wilson. Today, Murdeduke remains in the hands of the Wilson family who run a successful mixed farming enterprise with interests in sheep, cattle, pigs and various crops.

One thing leads to another: Mt Hesse Estate

In my previous post, I looked at Wormbete Station, and by extension, I uncovered quite a bit of information about another estate also owned by the Hopkins family - Murdeduke, however it is not really possible to look at the Murdeduke Estate without first considering the Mt Hesse Station which was originally established by squatting partners William Harding and John Highett (after whom the Geelong suburb of Highton is named) in 1837 and which incorporated the Murdeduke land. The original extent of the Mt Hesse Station taken up by Harding and Highett was some 45,700 acres which extended from the Barwon River above the Barwon Park holdings of the Austin family, west across the plains to Lake Weering and south of Lake Murdeduke.
Upon moving onto the property with his sister Elizabeth, Harding erected a small house in 1840. It was originally constructed as a two-roomed stone cottage and later, a stone skillion and a weatherboard section were added. William lived there with Elizabeth prior to her 1845 marriage to neighbouring squatter Thomas Austin of Barwon Park.


Original homestead 1975, J.T. Collins Collection,La Trobe Picture Collection, State Library of Victoria.

Various other outbuildings were also erected over the years including stables and a 20 stand shearing shed which was erected by Harding in 1852.

The Mt Hesse Woolshed, image from onmydoorstep.com.au

In 1851 however, the original Mt Hesse Estate was divided in two with (I have read) Highett's part of the property passing to the Hopkins family at that time. Harding unfortunately had overstretched his finances and was forced to give up the lease so in 1853, the main part of the estate was taken up by local merchants William Timms (Snr) and John Wilson. Timms was at the time Geelong's largest wool exporter. Three years later in 1856, he bought out his partner, becoming the sole landholder. It was also around this time that the main Mt Hesse homestead was built for Timms to the design of architects Backhouse and Reynolds. This was later extended in 1873 for William Timms (Jnr) by Davidson and Henderson. At the same time, a gatehouse known as The Lodge was built near what was at the time, the main entrance to the property.

Timms however did not live long enough to enjoy his prosperity, dying in 1858, leaving his estate to be run by trustees until his sons were of an age to take over. During this time, there was a push by the government to break up the big squatting runs to allow smaller selectors on to the land. I described this process in my Woodbourne Creek post, but like that station, the Timms were faced with the division of "their" land. Like many others, they took up the pre-emptive right to which they were entitled then through a string of deals with family and friends were also able to purchase the majority of the land they had occupied and so keep the estate intact.

Mt Hesse homestead prior to 1941, image taken from the Victorian Heritage Database

In the end, the Mt Hesse Estate remained in the Timms family for only a few decades with the remainder of the original land divided into three properties (Mountside, Eurack and the homestead section - still known as Mt Hesse) which were run by William Timms Senior's three sons - John, William (Jnr) and Robert.

However, by 1882 the Timms brothers had also run into financial difficulties and, the whole of the estate was put on the market. William Jnr's Mt Hesse section of the estate comprising 15,707 acres was sold to James Kinninmonth and remained in the Kinninmonth family until 2002. By this time, the property was reduced to 8,772 acres as much of the remaining Mt Hesse land had been reclaimed by the Soldier Settlement Commission in 1956 for resale as soldier settlement blocks. In 2002 then, the property was sold to the German based  Südwolle Group who are the current owners. David Kinninmonth remained as manager after the sale.

In 1941, the Mt Hesse homestead was severely damaged by fire, however it was rebuilt in 1947 in part from original materials.

The above sketch map taken from the Victorian Heritage Database shows the
buildings on the Mt Hesse Estate. B1 = house built by Harding, B2 = stables,
B4 = woolshed , B5 = main homestead

Of the remaining portions of the estate, John Timms held the Mountside section and Robert held Eurack. In 1876 a bluestone homestead was built on Mountside for John in a style described as Victorian Picturesque Gothic and consisting of 15 main rooms. It was designed by the western district architect Alexander Hamilton. The 1882 sale however saw Mountside pass into the hands of Walter Tully who ran the estate until 1900. At this point, Mountside was sold to Peter McIntyre, owner of Murdeduke thus (for a time at least) bringing two parts of the original estate back together. McIntyre purchased the estate for his son Charles Duncan McIntyre who married Margaret (Maggie) Fairbairn Armytage that same year. The couple raised two sons and two daughters. Charles died in 1932 and Maggie some decades later in 1964 but the family retained ownership of the property until 1971. At this time the estate was advertised for sale by auction by the executors of the late Charles Duncan McIntyre in three sections comprising a total of 7,501 acres.
Some years later - see comment below - Mountside was again placed on the market. In 1984 it passed back to the McIntyre family when Peter - son of Hector and grandson of Charles - purchased the homestead and the adjoining 2,500 acres of land. Today, Peter continues to run the property along with his son Alistair and Alistair's family including his son who will also one day work the property as his ancestors have done.

Mountside homestead 1970, .T. Collins Collection,La Trobe Picture Collection, State Library of Victoria.

Meanwhile, a third homestead was built on the Eurack part of the estate for youngest son Robert. Like the other houses, it was a bluestone structure and the grounds also included the expected outbuildings and garden.
Then, in 1882 when Mt Hesse and Mountside were sold, so too was the 8,231 acre Eurack Estate which was purchased by A M Edward. His tenure however was short-lived as the property was next purchased by Robert Chirnside during the 1880s. He in turn on-sold the property. Having left for a stint in England and Europe by late 1886, he put the property up for auction with the intention of subdividing the estate into smaller farms which would then be sold individually. The following year, the estate of roughly 6,000 acres was offered for sale in lots varying from 30 to 1095 acres in size. The largest portion including the bluestone homestead, manager's house, woolshed, stables and a substantial garden was to be sold with 1905 acres of the land.

Eurack homestead, image held by the Department of the Environment

However, it would seem that his plans did not go ahead, as the government stepped in during 1901, purchasing Eurack whole in order to provide land for smaller farmers as part of a closer settlement policy which would eventually develop into the Soldier Settlement Commission following the Second World War.
Over the years, Eurack House has passed through various hands and today is owned by the Ingram family.

Wormbete Estate

After looking at Wormbete Creek and the associated Wensley Brae coal mine, I thought it might be time to add to the list of squatting runs I've looked at for this blog by seeing what I could discover about the history of Wormbete Station.
As European settlement stretched out beyond the shores of Port Phillip Bay in the late 1830s, large squatting runs were taken up, often along the region's watercourses. Many runs were selected along the Barwon River and its tributaries, including Wormbete Station which was first established as a sheep run by Henry Hopkin who it is believed took the word from a local indigenous term meaning "lake with a black fellow's mound".

Henry Hopkins c1860s, Image held by the
Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts

Hopkins was a business man and wool buyer, born in Deptford, Kent, England in 1787 who had migrated to Tasmania in 1822 with his wife (also his first cousin) Sarah Rout where he was responsible for that colony's first wool exports in that same year. Over the following years, he continued to prosper, travelling to the Port Phillip District from Tasmania in 1836 before returning to Tasmania to buy Merino sheep which he then sent to stock his newly-acquired Wormbete run.
Despite his pastoral interests on the mainland, Henry spent little if any time there. In 1840 he travelled with his entire family to England where they stayed until 1842 before returning to Tasmania. By 1845 it appears that Hopkins had retired from most forms of business, spending the remainder of his life in Tasmania, leaving his second son John Rout Hopkins to take over his Victorian interest.

John Rout Hopkins c1890, Image held by the State Library of Victoria

Having served his apprenticeship as it were, learning the wool trade in Tasmania John was well-positioned to step into his father's shoes. He arrived in the Port Phillip District in 1845 and spent a period of time as manager - as far as I can tell - of St Stephen's Station, the licence for which was held at that time by John Stephens.
In August, 1851 Henry formally transferred Warmbete Station to John, at which point it was estimated at 31,000 acres and capable of carrying 3,000 head of sheep. The bluestone homestead which still stands today had been erected in the 1840s, with other outbuildings added in the two decades following. The Victorian Heritage Database notes that the property is laid out as a farm court, a formal style typical of the early years of settlement in New South Wales and Tasmania and English in style. The building's north-facing aspect is considered unusual for the period as are other features of its construction.


Wormbete homestead 1985, image copyright held by the Department of the Environment

John made a success of his pastoral activities. During the 1850s he acquired the pre-emptive right to 1,000 acres of Wormbete land as well as 640 acres of the neighbouring St Stephen's Estate to which he also took up the lease in 1857. Later he also acquired the lease to River Station which adjoined Wormbete and St Stephen's to the north west.

Out building at Wormbete Estate 1970, image from the J.T. Collins Collection,
La Trobe Picture Collection, State Library of Victoria

In addition to his pastoral pursuits, John was closely involved with his local community. An active sportsman and supporter of his church, he spent many years as a councillor with the Winchelsea Shire (and its predecessor the Winchelsea Roads Board), serving several terms as shire president as well as becoming the first shire president of Barrabool Shire. In addition to local politics, John was also a member of the Victorian parliament, holding the seat of South Grant in the legislative assembly (lower house) from 1864-1867 and then again from 1871-1877. In 1892 he was elected to the lower house seat of Geelong, also taking up the position of mayor of the town in the same year.
John married three times during his life but his first - and longest marriage - was to Eliza Ann Armytage, the daughter of his squatting neighbour George Armytage from Ingleby Estate to the south west of Wormbete. The couple were married in 1850 and before Eliza's death in 1885 raised a family of seven daughters and six sons at Wormbete.
John died on 20th December, 1897 and was interred the following day at Geelong's Eastern Cemetery with his first wife Eliza, two of their young children and a number of her relatives in the Armytage family mausoleum.


The Armytage family mausoleum, Eastern Cemetery, Geelong

Neighbours in life and death. The Austin family vault (back left) and the
Armytage family mausoleum at Geelong's Eastern Cemetery

Upon his death, Wormbete passed to his eldest son Walter who married Margaret Were, grand daughter of Victoria's longest-standing businessman Jonathan Binns Were in 1904. The couple raised the next generation of the Hopkins family on the estate, however life however was not always rosy. In 1896 Walter was declared insolvent due to a fall in cattle prices in Queensland and his inability to get a release from a mortgage held on the property. In 1901 a small bushfire broke out on the property, burning 100 acres of pasture land and some fencing.

The property and the Hopkins family however survived. Walter died in 1944 and is buried at the Winchelsea Cemetery. Following his death, the property was divided between his sons Henry - who retained Wormbete - and John whose portion of the estate was named Burong Station.

The end of an era came for Wormbete during the 1980s when the property was put on the market. The purchaser was millionaire businessman Alan Bond, however the property was soon returned to the ownership of the Hopkins family, only to be sold once again in 1997. The current owners of Wormbete are the Blakely family who run sheep, cattle and thoroughbred horses on the property.

The property is often host to a variety of community events including the Barwon Hunt Club who hosted children's day at Wormbete in 2014 whilst in a rather modern twist, Wormbete Station featured on a 2014 episode of Channel Ten's MasterChef with the contestants competing in a challenge.

*The name JW Rout later appeared listed as property manager of Wormbete Station in 1867 when he gave evidence before a parliamentary select committee, inquiring into the best route for the proposed train line from Geelong to Colac. History indicates that the "Black Line" - supported by Mr Rout and very  favourably aligned to service Wormbete Station, was eventually chosen. In fact, an 18km Wensleydale branch line with four stations (including Wormbete) was eventually opened in 1890 to further service the area.