Branching out: 'Narmbool'

Whilst writing my previous post, I came across quite a bit of information about the Narmbool Run; enough that it required a post of its own, so I am taking a slight detour on the track to the goldfields before heading east to Darriwill, Steiglitz, Darra and beyond.
Today, 'Narmbool' is a 2,000 hectare (4,942 acre) working property capable of running up to 12,000 head of sheep. It has been owned by Sovereign Hill since 2000 and in addition to its grazing interests, provides educational programs aimed at students in the middle years of their schooling as well as a range of facilities suitable for conferences, retreats and weddings. Of course this hasn't always been the case and sheep haven't always been the pastoral focus.

The rolling hills of 'Narmbool' with Mt Buninyong in the distance and
Williamson's Creek running through, October, 2015

For many thousands of years before European settlement, 'Narmbool' formed part of the lands belonging to the Wathaurong people. As I have mentioned in previous posts, many of the roads we drive today in large part follow the bullock tracks established by the European pioneers as they spread out across the countryside in search of grazing land. They in turn however, often followed the tracks of the Wathaurong people and Mary Akers in her book about 'Narmbool' "Hold fast the Heritage (2010), suggests that this may well have been the case for that part of the Geelong to Buninyong Track which passed through what became Narmbool Station.
That there were indigenous people living in the area is well documented and traces of their presence today can still be found by those who know what to look for. The name 'Narmbool' itself is believed to be a derivation of an indigenous word marmbula meaning "kidney fat".  The fat from around the kidney was important to indigenous tribes across the country who used it in their ritual practices. The fat was often taken from an enemy - alive or dead - or from the body of someone who had died an untimely death. It was then daubed on the body of the medicine man to strengthen his powers or placed on objects belonging to someone who was to be cursed.

Shaped edge on a piece of stone, still sharp enough to cut

Groove worn in a rock slab, presumably from repeated use

The cultural practices of the Wathaurong people of the 'Narmbool' region however, were severely disrupted by the arrival of European settlers in the late 1830s. The way the land was used was also changed forever when, in January, 1839 a young Glaswegian called Hugh Niven took up the lease on the 22,842 acres of land lying between Mt Mercer Cattle Station in the west and Borhoneyghurk in the east.
Niven ran both sheep and cattle on his property, but his main focus was the cattle and he was looking to increase both his herd and his land holdings. His plans were cut prematurely short however later that year when during a ride to Geelong on 21st September, he was thrown from his horse and kicked. He died two days later and was buried in Geelong's Eastern Cemetery. He was 34 years old.

Hugh Niven's grave at the Eastern Cemetery, Geelong. Hugh was the first
person to be buried there on 23rd September, 1839

Following Niven's death the lease for the still unnamed Portland Bay number 261 run, was taken up - along with the stock - in December, 1839 by a Melbourne solicitor whose name is still familiar to the area today - Charles Williamson. It was his name which was adopted for the creek which flows through 'Narmbool'. Like Niven, he concentrated on the breeding of cattle, holding the lease for the property until 1845 when it was taken up by brothers Thomas, William and Gideon Lang. It was the Langs it is thought who were responsible for giving the name of 'Narmbool' to the property during their short tenure of less than twelve months.
Over the next several years the licence for 'Narmbool' was held by Hector Simson and John Duerdin. They in turn transferred the lease to Henry Jackson Munday who took up the lease in May, 1849 and two years later in July, 1851 applied to take up 640 acres as his pre-emptive right, including his homestead, outbuildings and a dam. On this land in about 1850 he had constructed a two-roomed bluestone cottage. The Victorian Government Gazette of 25th August, 1854 records that at that time, Henry's Narmbool run was stocked with 20 horses, 150 cattle and 9,570 sheep, however by 16th February, 1855, these numbers had reduced to 10 horses, 100 cattle and 6000 sheep.

Sheep grazing in the distance at 'Narmbool', October, 2015

In September, 1852 he applied to purchase a second block of land within his run including an a washpool which he used for his sheep, however his request was denied, indicating instead that the area should be set aside as the site of a village. By that time, the gold rush was in full swing and there was great demand for accommodation, supplies and later, land and housing for the diggers who flocked to the goldfields.
That village would soon become the little settlement of Burnt Bridge, located near the site of the old log bridge constructed by Henry Anderson and William Cross Yuille as they journeyed to take up their runs on the other side of Mount Buninyong years before. First there was John Morrison's Burnt Bridge Inn, then a coffee tent, more hotels (one of which was a staging post for the Estafette Line of Coaches), a school, houses, and when the new road was surveyed, a toll house was also installed. By 1855 the government was calling for tenders to supply feed for police mounts which were also
stabled at Burnt Bridge.
By 1855 at 'Narmbool' however, Henry (whose brother William had died in January and was buried on the property) gave up the lease, married his brother's widow and moved back to Geelong. At this time the run passed back to a former leaseholder - John Duerdin - who also purchased the pre-emptive right.
Unlike Munday, Duerdin did not live at 'Narmbool', instead leasing it out. In this way, he held the lease until 1860 when it was transferred one last time to Samuel Wilson, younger brother of the Wilsons who had taken up the lease of the Woodbourne No. 2 Run not far away. In addition to his pastoral pursuits Samuel also trained as a lawyer and later, moved into state politics. Over the years he contributed greatly to the community, ultimately receiving a knighthood for his service to the Colony of Victoria.

Samuel Wilson, owner of 'Narmbool'. Photograph of an 1862
 painting. Image held by the State Library of Victoria

Wilson Hall at the University of Melbourne was named after him. The English perpendicular Gothic building was a centrepiece of the university and considered one of Melbourne's grandest buildings. It was built in 1882 at a cost of £40,000, following a £30,000 donation from the benefactor whose name it bore.The original building along with numerous paintings, ornate stained-glass windows and historical artifacts was destroyed by a fire caused by faulty electrical wiring on 25th January, 1952.
By this time, Wilson was long gone from 'Narmbool'. In 1863, He sold his pre-emptive right to David McNaught and John Boyd whilst continuing to maintain the lease on the remaining land. Finally, on 9th February, 1872, the lease was forfeited and the ownership of the property (now a freehold) passed to the partnership of David McNaught and John and Alexander Boyd. Having made their fortune as shopkeepers on the goldfields of Ballarat, McNaught and John Boyd ventured into property. This included 'Narmbool' which they ran successfully for many years, both at various times living on the property - or at neighbouring 'Cargerie'.

Wide open spaces, October, 2015

Over the period of their ownership however, laws enabling selection were passed and on 20th February, 1866 'Narmbool' was gazetted for selection. A number of portions of the original leasehold were taken up by selectors, several of whom worked for either Boyd or McNaught. By the time the property sold to members of the Austin family in 1884, only 18,000 acres of the original land remained. At the time the Austins took over, the homestead was a timber building. In 1889, extensive renovations were undertaken by Herbert Austin, although whether he completely demolished the original timber building  or merely added the large bluestone front an timber billiard room to one side, to the existing structure seems unclear.
A year prior, work on a second grand, brick home on the property had been completed and the land was then divided between the two Austin brothers. The snew house and the 7,500 acres which surrounded it, became 'Larundel', whilst the old homestead retained 10,500 acres of land.
In mid-1923 'Narmbool' passed out of Austin hands, purchased by William Phillips, however, like many of the large properties around the district, within months, about half the remaining land was acquired by the Closer Settlement Commission and divided into smaller lots for settlement by returning servicemen following the First World War. The endeavour was unsuccessful, with extensive land-clearing during the Austin era and over-farming by the settlers ultimately leading to a drop in productivity. By 1930, all of the acquired land had been returned to the Commission.

'Narmbool' 1972, image taken from the John T Collins Collection, State
Library of Victoria

Presumably as a consequence of this compulsory acquisition, by the end of 1923, the remaining 4,000 or so acres of the property had again been sold. This time, the purchaser was Alexander Sutherland, a land valuer with the government who had also advised on the carve up of 'Narmbool' by the Commission. Alec - as he was known - bred sheep and indulged his interest in horses. With difficulty, he nursed the property through the depression years of the 1930s, at one time even going shares in a speculative but ultimately unsuccessful mining venture on the property. During the 1920s, Alec also oversaw the establishment of a private game sanctuary at Narmbool. This government-sanctioned, private wetland retained its status until 1968 when the relevant legislation was changed. By that time, the property was in the hands of Alec's only son Ian who fought - to no avail - to have the sanctuary's status maintained.
Fortunately despite Ian's concerns, the native wildlife at 'Narmbool' was not adversely affected by the loss of sanctuary status. His tenure of the property lasted until 1980 when it was sold one final time to Robin and Andrew Ferry.
Upon their arrival, the Ferrys embarked upon an extensive program of replanting, regeneration and reclamation. Over the ensuing years, they installed a series of dams, fenced off the gullies and performed remedial works to tackle the significant erosion and salinity problems caused by the tree clearing and over farming of previous generations. In addition to this, they have been responsible for the planting of at least 40,000 trees across the property which not only contribute to halting erosion but have also provided habitat which has seen the wildlife at Narmbool flourish.
The next step in the Ferry's plans was a succession strategy. They were determined not only to leave 'Narmbool' in a better state than they acquired it, but also to preserve it for the community with a strong focus on education. To this end, after years of negotiations and planing, the property was was gifted to Sovereign Hill, to be used primarily to provide live-in 'environmental discovery programs' for middle school students whilst continuing the environmental initiatives put in place by the Ferrys.  In addition, changes were also made to provide a restaurant (The Garden Room) and function facilities, providing opportunities for interaction with the wider community.

Recreation settler's hut constructed onsite by Sovereign Hill for the education
program, October, 2015

Most recently, only days before Christmas on 19th December last year (2015) 'Narmbool' was dealt a devastating blow. A bushfire originating near Scotsburn, travelled south towards 'Narmbool', decimating the property and much of the surrounding land. The staff present on the day enacted their fire plan which meant that the  immediate homestead site, the lodge, the learning centre and some parts of the garden survived, however almost all of the pasture and fencing, as well as trees and some of the bush camp facilities used in the education programs were burnt in the fire. In addition, stock losses are believed to have numbered well over 1000, whilst parts of the garden were significantly damaged by the fire.

Burnt Bridge burns again: 29th December, 2015, roadside near the site of
Burnt Bridge following the Scotsburn fire

Roadside on the Midland Highway, looking south east towards Williamson's
Creek at the site of Burnt Bridge, following the Scotsburn fire,
29th December, 2015

In all, almost 4,700 hectares of land were burnt in the fire. The map below shows the extent of the Scotsburn fire as estimated by the "Incidents and Warnings" page of the Vic Emergency website, overlaid on Google Earth. Outlined in green is the current land area of 'Narmbool', with the red line indicating the extent of the original 22,842 acre Narmbool Run (my estimation from the 1848 surveyor's description) taken up by Hugh Niven in 1839.

Google Earth overlaid with the Vic Emergency website estimate of the Scotsburn
fire. The green line indicates the current extent of 'Narmbool'. The red line gives
the approximate boundaries of the original Narmbool Run

Finally, during a recent conversation I was informed that only 250 acres of 'Narmbool' land remained unaffected by the fire. It will be a long road back for this grand old property.

Making tracks - the Mt Doran dilemma

With Watson's Hotel and the fledgling township of Meredith now behind them, the aspiring diggers of the gold rush era continued their journey up the "track". As I discovered whilst researching my previous post, this most likely took them out of town across Coolebarghurk Creek (at that time known as Marrabool Creek) and either towards Lal Lal on the old Lal Lal Road or along a route running roughly parallel to today's Midland Highway, at a distance a few hundred metres to the east.

At this point, things would seem to be a little hazy and in some places, downright contradictory, however as I alluded to previously, I may have found an explanation. In short, it all comes back to post offices and one or two old maps. Looking once again at Skene's 1845 map of Victoria, the track from Geelong to Buninyong appears to lead out of Meredith along the old Lal Lal Road as described by a local resident in 1943. From there, it was claimed, the track lead "through Mt Doran to Buninyong and Ballarat". Skene's map however, shows the road veering slightly away from the Lal Lal Road following a north westerly path instead; a path which passed directly through the site which became the township of Elaine.

From this point, the track continued its parallel path beside the Midland Highway, passing east of a little settlement known as Burnt Bridge. This route leaves the current Mount Doran some 5 or 6 km to the east and is seemingly at odds with the contention that the bullock track passed through Mount Doran - a route which would have added several kilometres to the diggers' journey at a time when there were no established towns between Watson's Hotel and Buninyong. Disappointingly I cannot locate the survey books for the upper part of the parish of Meredith and those of Borhoneyghurk Parish, meaning I cannot clarify the issue by continuing to plot the tracks I described in my last post.

Because there was little, if anything, in the way of settlement between Watson's and Buninyong I cannot locate a detailed description of the area at the time the gold rush broke out, but within a few years, signs of enterprise had begun to arise, perhaps giving some idea of the route followed by the diggers.

Google Earth screen shot overlaid with a section of surveyor A.J. Skene's 1845
map. The dotted line indicates the route as shown by Skene. The Midland Highway
is shown in yellow and the green lines indicate the approximate tracks plotted in 
my previous post. Click to enlarge

Recalling a journey taken in 1854, one correspondent to the Geelong Advertiser recounted some 50 years later, that sly grog-selling was rampant between Geelong and Burnt Bridge, with one of those illegal establishments lying between Meredith and the Stony Rises - the earlier name for Elaine. When surveyor Maurice Weston was taking his measurements for the land north of Meredith in 1857, he noted a "tent" on the east side of the present highway, slightly north of its intersection with Boundary Rd and around 600m west of the approximate line of the "Old Main Road". I don't know if  this tent was the same as that described in 1854, but such establishments came and went regularly and probably changed location equally rapidly. If the establishment at the Green Tent was anything to go by, they could also be located some distance from the road - perhaps due to their less-than-legal status.

Depiction of a coffee tent in 1852, by S.T. Gill, Image held by the
National Gallery of Australia

Regardless, this might suggest that the Stony Rises was a known location even in the early days of the gold rush. The first contemporary use of the name which I could find was an 1854 reference in the Geelong Advertiser and Intelligencer to the above sly grog tent, followed in 1855 by advertisements in relation to the construction of the new road to Ballarat. In 1857 there is reference in The Ballarat Star, to a murder inquest held at the Stony Rises Hotel. The hotel was also marked on an 1868 survey map which placed it west of the current highway, almost opposite the road to Morrison's. An article from The Ballarat Star of 6th August, 1889 gave the following description of the Stony Rises Inn at the time of its destruction by fire some decades later:

In the destruction of the Stony Rises hotel there has been wiped out of existence one of the land marks of the "fifties." In the golden days it was known as "Yankee Bill's," and the owner of the soubriquet dispensed food to man and beast in a tent. The late building was erected on the site of the canvas hotel, and passed successively into the hands of John Boler, Jarvis, and Grenfell, the last of whom held possession at the time of "holocaust."

Liquor licenses show that John Boler was the publican  by early 1857. With "Yankee Bill" in residence before this, it would seem that the hotel in some form at least was present before 1857. I notice that the 1868 survey map shows the boundary of the new line of road deviating slightly towards the site of the hotel, making me speculate as to whether the building was present before the new road, dating it to at least 1855 and presumably on the line of the old road.
I should also note that another description from January, 1853 does not mention the inn, but does make reference to a second coffee tent located about a mile before the next stopping point for the diggers - and possibly part of the key to the Mt Doran puzzle and the track to Buninyong - the little settlement of Burnt Bridge. The first reference to the settlement appears in several editions of the Geelong Advertiser and Intelligencer of 1852. An 1855 survey map shows the prospective township situated a few hundred metres south of the first crossing of Williamson's Creek (a tributary of the Leigh River) on the east side of the Midland Highway heading to Ballarat. Not only does it show the current road alignment as a section of plank road (a type of timber roadway generally built to provide a firm surface over swampy, low-lying ground), but it also indicates the line of the "old track of road from Ballarat to Geelong" which ran parallel but to the east of the new road. The construction of the plank road began in 1854 and it was presumably this impending realignment which caused resident John Morrison in 1853 to build a new hotel facing the new road, replacing his original establishment - described by a traveller in January 1853 as a "coffee tent" - which stood some hundred metres away on the old road.

A Google Earth screen shot overlaid with a section of the 1855 survey map of
Burnt Bridge. The current road (roughly aligned with the plank road) is shown
in yellow. The old track is shown in red. Click to expand

So, the above information would seem to confirm that after leaving Meredith the old track to Buninyong followed a course reasonably similar to today's Midland Highway, passing some 6km to the west of Mt Doran. I did however make a discovery which may explain the reference to Mt Doran. In 1859 with the gold rush in full swing, the new road open, the Geelong-Ballarat railway under construction only a few kilometres away and Morrison's "Railway Hotel" doing a solid trade, a post office was opened. It was given the name "Mt Doran".

Tenders for mail contracts at the time described the post office as "Mount Doran (Burnt Bridge)". Initially I suspected the post office may have been located at the Burnt Bridge settlement on the Geelong-Ballarat Road, however, tenders called the following year referred to the transport of mail from "the railway cutting (Mount Doran)".

I gather that this part of the line at the time of construction was known as the Burnt Bridge section and now believe that the post office was probably located in the temporary camp which sprang up to house the railway workers. Descriptions portray a series of timber cottages for management with the labourers housed in canvas tents. It was also remarked that some residents had built themselves little cottages and planted out small gardens in the bush surrounding the line.

The rail bridge on Blue Bridge Rd about 2.5km from Mt Doran and 3.5km from
Burnt Bridge on the Burnt Bridge section of the line

By the mid-1860s however, with construction on the line complete and the workmen gone, the tender notices for the mail run began to refer to "Mount Doran (Stony Rises)". My first thought was that perhaps "Mount Doran" may have referred to a much larger district than it does today and this may have been true as I also found an address stated as "Mount Doran, Clarendon", however there is another explanation which may account for the change.

Put simply, the "Mt Doran" post office, changed both names and locations over the years as the population fluctuated throughout the district. In about 1864 the post office was relocated from Mt Doran, to a site around a kilometre to the east of the developing township of Stony Rises. In 1872, reflecting the change in the name of the township, the post office was also renamed as Elaine.

 Just to confuse the issue however, Stony Rises/Elaine had been lobbying hard to have a railway platform erected in the township, near where the new line (which opened in 1862) crossed the surveyed road to Ballarat. It was finally granted in 1871 and then in 1875 after further lobbying by locals, the Post Master General opened a post office at the site. Perhaps somewhat confusingly, it was called the Elaine Railway Station Post Office. Elaine now had two post offices less than a mile apart.

Probably to avoid confusion, in October, 1877 the original Elaine Post Office to the east of town, reverted to its earlier name of Mt Doran. The post office at the railway platform was henceforth to be known as Elaine and was relocated to the primary school at around the same time. One disgruntled Mt Doran correspondent to the Ballarat Courier of 15th November was quick to point out the irony of this situation, stating:

It is passing strange that Mount Doran Post Office should not be at Mount Doran at all, but at Elaine, some four or five miles away. A few years ago that post office was really at the Mount: but the post-master and others, on the occasion of a [gold] rush to Elaine, eloped with our post office.

However, reading between the lines of the local newspapers, it may not have been long before the residents of Mt Doran got their wish as it seems that by the 1880s the post office had moved once again and was operating out of the Mt Doran State School.

Mt Doran State School, students and teachers in 1906. Image held by Museum Victoria

So, it would seem that the Mt Doran Post Office probably began its life in 1859 at the site of the Burnt Bridge railway cutting at Mt Doran, before moving in about 1864 to a location east of Elaine township (but central to several mines active at that time) before finally coming to rest back in the township of Mt Doran not too long after its final name change in 1877, where it probably operated out of the state school. This much-travelled little post office closed its doors for the final time in 1930.

So finally, from what I have found, I doubt that the crowds heading to the gold fields of Buninyong and Ballarat in those earliest years did actually pass through or near Mt Doran. Instead, they most likely followed the old track via the Stony Rises and Burnt Bridge. I think that over the years the story has become blurred.
Whilst the mount itself no doubt existed well before the gold rush, Mt Doran as a town or locality seems to post-date those earliest years of the gold rush, appearing only in the newspapers from 1858. Quite some years later in 1866 there was a small "rush" to Mt Doran which no doubt resulted in diggers travelling directly to the district, but by then, the modern roads had been surveyed and the original diggers were long gone.

A partially covered mine entrance. Testament to the gold rush at Mt Doran

Then, over the years, as often happens in rural communities Mt Doran was sometimes described alongside other towns such as Clarendon, Burnt Bridge and Stony Rises, all of which lie on what I suspect was the most likely route of the old road from Geelong to Buninyong.  In combination with the re-location of the Mt Doran Post Office to Elaine for about 20 years during the 1860s and 1870s, it probably isn't surprising then, that those living in Meredith and surrounds might come to say that the route to the gold fields of Buninyong, Ballarat and beyond lay up the old Lal Lal Road to Mt Doran.