Branching out - settling in

From what I have seen of the earliest days of settlement along the three rivers, there were two types of squatters who came to settle "Australia Felix". All were graziers, bringing with them the stock they hoped would thrive in the new land. All were adventurers, often embarking on extended treks into territory unknown to Europeans in search of grazing land but not all came to stay.
There were those like Cowie, Stead, the von Steiglitz brothers and the Learmouths who came, established their runs over the course of the 1840s and then returned to the United Kingdom. Then there were those like Russell, Thomson, the Austins and many more who came, built permanent houses on their runs and often took on prominent roles in the communities which grew up around them.
So for this post, rather than focus on a single part of a river or a single property, I thought this time I would look at a particular person who was amongst the second group: Dugald McPherson.

Dugald McPherson. Image held by Museum Victoria

Dugald was a Scotsman, born at Ashens, Argyllshire on 9th September, 1820. In 1840, he and his brother Peter arrived in Victoria and that same year, along with William Taylor - another Scottish immigrant -  Dugald took up the squatting licence for the property Moranghurk on the Moorabool River, about 42km from its confluence with the Barwon at Fyansford. There they ran their stock and built a small timber cottage.
They remained at Moranghurk until 1846 when, together, they made the move to the Wimmera district where they took up land. In 1848 the run was divided between the two. McPherson named his 53,000 acre run Ashens for his hometown in Scotland, whilst Taylor's run was known as Longerenong.
On the 1st June, 1852 at Melbourne, McPherson married Mary (May) O'Cock, the daughter of a St Kilda solicitor. With his new wife, Dugald returned to the Wimmera where May became the first white woman in the district, where she was considered quite a curiosity by the local indigenous population.
Only two years later however, McPherson was once again on the Moorabool River when 1854 he purchased the leasehold of John Cowie's Bungeeltap West run, presumably along with the pre-emptive right to 640 acres of land along the river which Cowie had purchased that same year.

Looking northwest across the Moorabool East Branch to Bungeeltap land
from the driveway of Emly Park

Here too the McPhersons are believed to have interacted with the local clan of the Wathaurong tribe, with Mrs McPherson reported to have witnessed a corroboree at the township on "Ballan Flat". The name Bungeeltap of course is derived from a local Wathaurong word, however I have seen two quite different meanings for the name. The first claims the meaning as "spirit water" the second, "eagle's nest". I do not know which is correct, but Bunjil (aka Bungal) was the name given to the eagle believed by the Wathaurong to be the creator spirit and who dwelt nearby at Lal Lal Falls.
Whilst not the first Europeans to settle the Bungeeltap West land, the McPhersons were the first family to call it home. In about 1863 they built a two-storey stone house in the gothic revival style, overlooking the east branch of the Moorabool River. It was at Bungeeltap homestead that their eight sons and five daughters were born. Two of the children who died in early childhood - Norman aged 3 (died 1861) and Cluny aged 4 (died in 1871) - are buried on the property. A shepherd named Tim who died from a snakebite during John Cowie's tenure in 1840 is also buried on Bungeeltap land, beside the river.

Looking north west across Bungeeltap land from the Egerton-Bungeeltap Rd

As with most of the large squatting runs, when the land acts of the 1860s were enacted, Bungeeltap West was thrown open for selection. In addition to the land held as part of his pre-emptive right, McPherson also purchased a further 293 acres directly to the north along the river. Another 274 acres were also purchased in the name of his father-in-law, Richard O'Cock, giving a total of around 1,200 acres in family hands before the squatting licence for the property was finally relinquished in 1880.
Then in November, 1875, a notice appeared in The Argus stating that estate agents had "...closed the sale of Emly Park Estate containing 6,700 acres...to Dugald Macpherson(sic)..." thus it seems that for a while at least, Bungeeltap East and Bungeeltap West were again held by a common owner. I cannot be sure how long Emly Park remained in McPherson's hands, however I was able to discover that in 1900, Vincent Valentine Mogg of nearby Yallock Vale purchased the property which he owned until his death in 1843.
As well as a grazier, McPherson was an innovator and was keen to improve his property and his flocks and herds. He was the first in Victoria to use an "earth scoop" also known as a "leveller" - a horse-drawn machine, guided by hand which was used to level ground for irrigation. He had his machine made at a local foundry from a drawing he had seen in a book.
Over the years, the property became known for its fine merino wool and beef cattle. Horses and horse breeding were also of interest to Dugald who it is reported, would drive a carriage and four-in-hand when visiting either Ballarat or Melbourne. At Ballarat's first national agricultural show in 1868, his horses, cattle and ewes all appeared in the prize lists and his name regularly appeared in the stock pages of the newspapers throughout the 1870s, 80s and 90s.

Bungeeltap stables. Image taken 1965 by John T Collins. Image held by
The State Library of Victoria

The McPhersons were also particularly active in the growing community at Ballan. Dugald was a councillor on the Ballan Council from 1864-1873, served as chief of the Highland Society of Ballarat and along with others was a founding member of the Australia Club in Melbourne. He was a devout Presbyterian and was the driving force and principal benefactor behind the establishment of St Paul's Presbyterian Church, Ballan which held its first service on 22nd June, 1866. The building still stands today as the Ballan Uniting Church.

Ballan Uniting Church

Dugald's wife "presented" the central stained glass window which adorns the northern end of the church and also laid the foundation stone. Her efforts to start a Sunday school at their Bungeeltap homestead, resulted in the opening of Bungeeltap State School No. 1155 in 1875.

Northern end of Ballan Uniting Church showing the window
presented by May McPherson

Interestingly, despite their Scottish ancestry and involvement with the Presbyterian Church, at least one of Dugald and May's sons attended Geelong Church of England Grammar School and is listed amongst the old boys in a 1915 issue of the school magazine The Corian.
In addition to their support for the church, the McPhersons appear to have taken an active role in the sporting life of the district. On 26th January, 1889 the younger members of the family were host to a cricket team made up of Ballan residents who travelled to Bungeeltap by coach to compete against a side composed of seven of the McPhersons and a few of their friends. The match was preceded by a luncheon, following which, hostilities commenced on "the well grassed flat on the banks of the Moorabool, between the Emly Park home station and Bungeeltap house" - I imagine on the Bungeeltap side. Whilst, the ladies of Bungeeltap were said to have been avid spectators at the game, Dugald does not appear to have been a participant in the match which was won comfortably by the Ballan men.
In addition to his pastoral interests at Bungeeltap, McPherson also held licences for Nhill Station in Northern Victoria and Paddington Station at Cobar in New South Wales, whilst his father-in-law Richard also moved to live near the family at Ballan. This house - known as Westcott - also passed to the McPhersons upon O'Cock's death in 1883, with one source indicating that the family used it as their town house. Between 1914 and 1930, the house was used as a private hospital and the fourth McPherson daughter died "at her residence, Westcott, Ballan" on 4th May, 1924.

The remaining portion of Westcott, Ballan

Dugald died at Bungeeltap on 20th October, 1901, but the family remained at Bungeeltap for the next 15 years until May also died there on 14th August, 1916. She was buried in the Ballan New Cemetery with Dugald in the family grave.

McDugald family grave, Ballan New Cemetery

Following her death, a clearing sale was held on the property, selling off the farm equipment and the property was leased out, however, the property did not remain long in family hands and by 1922, the property had been sold to William Rhodes who then undertook substantial renovation of the homestead and retained ownership of the property until his death in 1931 after which the estate passed to his widow and two children.

Branching out - Bungeeltap

In my previous post I mentioned two of the earliest squatters to settle near Geelong, overlooking the Moorabool River at Bell Post Hill - John Anthony Cowie and David Vere Stead. David Stead, born in 1797, was a Quaker from Falmouth in England. Cowie, also from England was born on 13th April, 1806. He was the youngest son of George Cowie, a bookseller from Hackney, London and Rachel Buxton. Cowie arrived in Tasmania in 1828 in a good financial position and took up land near Avoca. Soon he was expanding his holdings.


John Anthony Cowie, image on display at Osbourne House,
North Geelong

No doubt having heard of the potential wealth of "Australia Felix" as the unclaimed land across Bass Strait was known, both Cowie and Stead travelled to the Port Phillip district in November, 1835 from Tasmania with John Batman's party of settlers on the ship Norval, bringing stock for Dr Alexander Thomson. By March, 1836 the pair had taken up a run at Bell Post Hill overlooking Corio Bay and began to ship over their own stock.
According to the 1836 census of the Port Phillip district, Stead arrived there in February, 1836 which I am guessing may indicate that he returned to Tasmania after his initial landing to gather stock for the run he and Stead intended to select. In July, their colleague John von Steiglitz landed stock at Point Henry, presumably also for the Bell Post Hill run.
Their stay in the Geelong region however, was relatively brief. By 1838 Cowie, Stead and two of the von Steiglitz brothers were on the move again, taking their stock with them in search of greener pastures. These they found above the confluence of east and west branches of the Moorabool River. According to one story, after drawing straws it was decided that Stead should take up land on the east bank of the East Moorabool River, presumably leaving the west bank for Cowie. The von Steiglitz brothers moved on a little further still. Their properties will be the subject of a future post.
Together, the land held by Cowie and Stead covered some 30,000 acres. In 1850 the original run was officially divided. Stead's run to the east of the Moorabool East Branch was known as Bungeeltap East whilst Cowie's run was Bungeeltap West.


Looking towards Bungeeltap East from west of the river

Cowie settled into his new run by cementing family ties when on 14th September, 1842 he married Charlotte Christine von Steiglitz, the youngest daughter of the von Steiglitz family, sister to John, Robert and Charles von Steiglitz. The marriage took place at Ballanee, the squatting run of John von Steiglitz, located on the Werribee River.
Some years later, on 25th April, 1848 David Stead married Mary Jane Belcher, the daughter of Joseph William Belcher and Elizabeth Austin. The marriage took place on the run at Bungeeltap. The year following their marriage or soon thereafter, the Steads built a comfortable house known as Emly Park - no doubt named for his home in Falmouth, England on the eastern section of the run, overlooking the river. The original house still stands (with additions) today on the Egerton-Bungeeltap Road near the corner of the Ballan-Meredith Road. It is described as a colonial style house constructed from local sandstone and is open to the public as a guesthouse.

The front gates to Emly Park

David and his wife Mary Jane remained in Victoria for some years (although possibly not on the property), then, somewhere between 1858 and 1861, like many of the other Victorian pioneers, they returned to the United Kingdom. Their second son - named for his father - was born at Studley, Rostrevor, Ireland in 1861. Stead may none-the-less have maintained his licence at Bungeeltap for some time as he is listed as holding the property as late as 1861. This despite Thomas Montague Hammond described as being "of Emly Park" as early as 1854. David and Mary returned to Melbourne on at least one occasion from the UK, their names appearing in the shipping records in 1868.
Their fourth daughter Lillian Brooke Vere Stead (born 1863), further strengthened ties between the Stead, Cowie and von Steiglitz families, when she married John Charles von Steiglitz on 22nd September, 1886 at Bayswater, London. John was the nephew of John Cowie's wife Charlotte Christine von Steiglitz. The couple returned to Australia where they settled in Tasmania.
Sadly, less than two weeks after his daughter's wedding, Stead died in London on 5th October, 1886.

David Vere Stead, image held by the State Library of Victoria

The Cowies chose not to remain at Bungeeltap for quite so many years and in 1854 Cowie's portion of the run was taken over by another familiar name - Dugald McPherson - who with William Taylor held the original lease for Moranghurk from 1840 to 1846. McPherson (born c1820) was a Scottish immigrant who arrived in 1840 and built up large land holdings across Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.
During his tenure at Bungeeltap West, McPherson built a two storey, gothic style house which has been dated to about 1862. Over the years the house underwent significant renovation. In 1922, the top storey was removed and the house almost entirely rebuilt. It sits on the west bank of the river, less than a kilometre as the crow flies from Emly Park.


Bungeeltap homestead in the 1960s. Image:  J.T. Collins collection,
La Trobe Picture Collection, State Library of Victoria

After giving up the Bungeeltap lease, Cowie meanwhile left Australia for the United Kingdom where he lived at  Rostrevor, County Down, Ireland. He died there on 7th January, 1875. His wife Charlotte survived her husband by four years, she died on 3rd April, 1879 at "The Willows" Rostrevor, Ireland. There were no children born to the marriage.
The squatting licence for Bungeeltap West, still held by Dugald McPherson was listed in the Victorian Government Gazette as up for renewal in April, 1880 however, I believe the lease was cancelled in 1880.

Moorabool East Branch, Egerton-Bungeeltap Road, boundary of Bungeeltap
East and West runs looking toward Bungeeltap West.

Both the Bungeeltap and Emly Park homesteads have changed hands numerous times over the ensuing century and a half and the squatters are long gone, however both houses remain as tangible links to Victoria's colonial past.

Branching out - Moranghurk

As mentioned in a recent post, I attended a book launch and plaque-unveiling at Moranghurk near Lethbridge a couple of weeks ago. I subsequently posted a little about the history of soldier settlement in the area through which the Barwon and its tributaries run. Because the two topics are so intertwined in local history, this then got me thinking about the squatters who were the first Europeans to live in the area. That then resulted in yesterday's rather lengthy post on the subject of the local "squattocracy".
Now, I intend to have a look at some of the estates mentioned in yesterday's post and hopefully over time this will build up a handy picture of the historic properties along the banks of the three rivers and beyond, showing what they were and what they have become today. Some are already the subject of previous posts so for the moment I will concentrate on some of the others.
First:

Moranghurk

The front gate

Whilst the history of Moranghurk as a squatting run and then as an estate only dates back to 1840, the name itself is much older. The property name was originally spelt Moranghourke but both spellings are believed to be derivatives of the Wathaurong word Murrangurk. One meaning given for the word is to describe someone returned from the grave and was the name given to the escaped convict William Buckley who was discovered by the Barrabool tribe. A slightly different version tells that Buckley was found at the grave of a famous warrior of that name and, not having seen a white man before, he was thought by the Wathaurong to be the reincarnation their hero. Why the name was chosen for the property is not clear.
Unlike many of the estates in the area, Moranghurk has always been in the hands of a partnership or a family. The first selection of 18,00 acres was taken up in 1840 by the Scottish settlers William Taylor and Dugald McPherson who held it until 1846. The property included land along both sides of the Moorabool River. To the west it was bounded by the Native Creek No 1 Estate, at that time occupied by Robert Sutherland for the Clyde Company, to the north by John McLeod's Bohoneyghurk and to the south by the Clyde Company's Tall Tree Estate . East of the Moorabool, Moranghurk shared a boundary with Durdiwarrah belonging to the Steiglitz family and a small section of its south eastern perimeter with the Anakie Estate of Frederick Griffin.

View south down the Moorabool Valley from Moranghurk.

The next to takes up the lease was Peter Sharp in 1846 who transferred it to his brother William in 1848. By 1849 the Squatters' Directory of that year showed the estate as 18,333 acres held by William Sharp.
In the earliest days, Taylor and McPherson built a small cottage on the property made of mud and stone. At some point in the 1840s the present house was constructed, possibly to a design by Thomas Albin Nuttal. Whether it was Taylor and McPherson who had the house built or the Sharps is unclear.

Moranghurk homestead

In 1853 Andrew Love (son of the Presbyterian minister) took over the leasehold before mortgaging the estate to one William Ross in 1854, however Love's subsequent insolvency saw the property once again return to William Sharp in 1856 who then sold the lease to John Matheson in 1857. This period saw a significant amount of legal wrangling with Ross mounting actions against various people including Love.



This land across the Moorabool Valley would originally have been part of the
Moranghurk Estate

Over the ensuing decades, Matheson consolidated his holdings. In 1870, the squatting licence for the estate was cancelled. Matheson took up the pre-emptive right to about 5,000 acres of the original run, but had to relinquish the land east of the Moorabool as pressure from disenchanted gold diggers on the Stieglitz side of the river pushed for farmland of their own. At some point he acquired the Native Hut No 1 Estate to the west as well as 3,000 acres of the Woodbourne No 2 Estate to the north (including the homestead - the subject of a subsequent post). Presumably prior to 1870 - his holdings totalled 26,000 acres, however ultimately he held around 19,000 acres of land, possibly including some reclaimed portions of the original estate west of the river.

The Moorabool Valley and Moranghurk land from the front lawn

During his time Matheson increased the stock on the run and made significant improvements. In 1862 he was running 8,943 head of sheep but by the time of his death in 1882 this had increased to 19,945.
In the early squatting days, property boundaries were often determined by natural features such as creeks and rivers, or by dirt ditches, dug to mark the line. By 1879 he had fenced the run and divided it into paddocks with a combination of stone, brush and post and rail fences.


Several of the Cyprus and a small bridge along the Moranghurk driveway

Between 1873 and 1875, Matheson turned his attention to the house and buildings, extending the former and building a number of outbuildings including shearers' quarters, woolshed, stables and dairy. Other buildings were also constructed during the 1860s. Ninety-seven of the Cyprus trees which line lengthy driveway were planted in 1879.

The house and gardens

Following his death in 1882, Matheson was succeeded by his son John Matheson Jnr. The younger John however died in 1893 at the age of 37, leaving two young sons. So for the next 18 years, the estate was run by his trustees who continued to make improvements including several further outbuildings until, in 1912 - having completed his education at Harrow and Trinity College, Cambridge - John Lee Matheson and his younger brother Norman McDonald Matheson returned to the property to live along with John L's wife Lynette. They were the first generation of the family to live permanently on the estate.
They suffered a setback not long after taking control of the property however, when a grassfire which was believed to have started when a man at the Larundel Estate near Elaine threw out a pan of hot ashes, burnt through several miles of their fencing, consumed a significant amount of pasture and killed a large number of sheep. None the less, they were able to make a success of the estate and their tenure saw a number of further improvements with a focus on fine quality Merino production. This youngest generation of Mathesons were also responsible for building the gate lodge, the garage, the men's quarters and also an ornate pump house on the river. All this activity was interrupted by a period of English service during the First World War for John during which Norman managed the estate.

The gate lodge at Moranghurk

They were however, the last generation of the family to own it. John died childless in 1953 and the property passed to his brother Norman. By this time however, it was much reduced as the Soldier Settlement Commission had resumed around 12,000 acres of Moranghurk land in 1952 - the distribution of which is the topic of the recent publication Moranghurk, soldier settlement at Meredith: this is their story compiled by Margaret Cooper.

The garage

Like his contemporary Janet Biddlecombe at Golf Hill, John L is believed to have been unhappy with the break up of the estate. Following John's death, Norman had hoped to run a model stud farm on much of the remaining land. The government however, were not prepared to cede more than the  homestead block of 2,183 acres, having already claimed the remaining acreage.
Norman felt he needed at least 5,000 acres to make the project work, so as a result he sold the last of the land along with the house to the Commission who then auctioned it to George "Dudley" Erwin and Jack East, mates from the air force.
Erwin and East were not however, long term occupants and changed little on the property. Erwin went into politics and the property was once again sold, this time in 1957 to Isaac Peter Ralton Scott. Like the Mathesons before him, Scott was keen to improve the property. In addition to another round of alterations to the house - including the demolition of a stone section of the building - land usage began to change. Paddocks were cleared, crops sewn and pastures improved. From being exclusively a grazing run, it now moved towards mixed farming producing not only sheep but cattle, grain and a variety of other crops.

The garden today with glimpses of the valley beyond

Isaac was helped on the property by his son Roger, however upon Isaac's death, the property once again changed hands. This time in about 1988 it was sold to the current owners Ross and Liz Wilkie who have done much to restore the garden and who now operate the former "men's quarters" (styled the shearer's quarters) as a group accommodation facility.
Additional details concerning the history of the property can also be found in Eric A. McGillivray's book The heritage of Lethbridge.