The Riversdale Tragedy

As alluded to in my post Where did it all go? I have dealt with the topic of murder in relation to the Barwon before. These cases (which received media coverage at the time) were within living memory, however  the case which recently caught my eye dates to a much earlier period and at least indirectly involved the Roadknights. Well, to be more precise it involved the property Barwon Crescent, the home of William Roadknight from the 1840s and by 1876 owned by his son Thomas.
In the mid 1840s, William built a large brick home for the family to replace the more modest "Barwon Cottage" in which they had previously lived.  His eastern neighbour on the opposite side of Pakington Street was the lawyer, pastoralist and politician Charles Sladen Esq. whose residence - known as Sladen House - was built only a few years after Barwon Crescent in 1849/1850. To the west was the one-time property of Captain Foster Fyans, known as River(s)dale and it was from this that the Bendigo Advertiser took the title for its article of 15th February, 1876. The title which I have also used for this post.
William also established an orchard which from later context, I believe was located on the low-lying land between the river and the bottom of Pakington Street. Today, this area of river flats forms part of the park lands along the river trail. It has been revegetated with native plantings and Barwon Water has recently made several changes, removing a boardwalk which ran from the stairs at the bottom of Pakington Street.

Looking west from below Pakington Street across what may have been the
Roadknight orchard. The chimney of the Austral Paper Mill is in the
middle distance

In 1876 however, it was an orchard which the Roadknights had leased out to a market gardener by the name of William Stenton and his family. According to newspaper reports, on 11th February, 1876, Stenton and his adult daughter were picking fruit in the orchard at about 2:30pm. The pair returned to the house in which they were living (by implication I am thinking this may have been the older Barwon Cottage, as Thomas and his family were living at Barwon Crescent at the time).
On her way back down to the orchard, the daughter heard cries of "murder!". The report posted in various newspapers including the Queenslander of 26th Feb described the events which then unfolded thus:

She [the daughter] rushed up there and found her father standing over her mother and holding her by the hair, battering her head on the stone door-step. He then took off his boots and struck her a terrific blow on the temple. The daughter screamed and ran to Mr. Roadknight's house, but there were no men about. The alarm was sent to Sir Charles Sladden's(sic) residence, which is opposite, and that gentleman's groom, named Hinchcliffe, rushed over to Stenton's and saw him. Stenton seized a log of wood and made at Hinchcliffe, who ran for the police, informing several of the neighbours on the road, several of whom ran down, and the first man there found Stenton lying on his back a few yards from the house, with his throat cut from ear to ear, and still grasping a razor in his hand.

This image, held by the State Library of Victoria was first published on 19th
February, 1876 in the Police News

The Colac Herald of 17th February and Bendigo Advertiser of 15th February give broadly similar accounts, but have Stenton attacking his wife and chasing his daughter before once again setting upon his wife who returned inside against the daughter's advice. The mother then died in her daughter's arms in the bedroom where she had taken her after the first attack to dress her wounds. Stenton it seems then grabbed a razor and slashed his own throat before staggering outside. He was still alive when concerned neighbours began arriving, however by the time a doctor was summoned it was too late.


Current path leading from the river flats up to the bottom end of Pakington Street

But what drove him to such lengths? According to the same articles, some months prior to these events, much of Stenton's crop had been damaged by flooding. Whilst there is little in the papers which indicates a significant flooding event in the months prior to Stenton's death, there was mention of sheepskin sales being low in early June as a result of flooding along the Barwon. Perhaps it was at this time his crop was damaged. Furthermore, according to the Queenslander, at about this same time, one of Stenton's three sons ran away to sea.
The resultant stress, it was believed, so unhinged his mind as to render him a "dangerous lunatic". As a result, in December, 1875, the local magistrate's court committed Stenton to be confined at the Kew Lunatic Asylum.

The Kew Lunatic Asylum in its early years, image held by the State Library
of Victoria

One can only imagine the stigma associated with having an "insane" relative in the 19th century and one who furthermore was the family's chief bread-winner. This is not to mention the inconvenience of having their father and husband incarcerated in Melbourne. Why he was not committed to a local facility is not made clear, however perhaps Kew - opened only five years earlier - was seen as the state-of-the-art facility at the time.
Likewise, Geelong Hospital had its own "lunatic ward" which was first mooted in 1867 and finally established in 1872. Ironically in view of the events at Barwon Crescent, an article appearing in The Argus of 15th March, 1869, quoted Charles Sladen as saying that the hospital trustees did not have the power to approve the erection of such a ward on hospital grounds as this was outside the scope of the original intention for their use. Eventually it seems, his opinion was overruled and the ward built. Prior to this time, Geelong's mentally ill patients were housed at the Geelong Gaol about which I have blogged previously.
However the question remains as to why Stenton was sent to Melbourne for treatment. An article published in The Argus on 16th February - after the deaths of William and his wife - indicated that William had been admitted to the asylum suffering from depression and insomnia on 9th December, 1875, but that he was neither "dangerous nor destructive". After a week or two his symptoms were greatly alleviated and his physical health -which had not been good- improved. He was keen to return home.

Closer to the river, the land has been revegetated and the Barwon River Trail
runs through it, however further back a creek or drain runs below the steep drop
from Pakington Street and the area is choked with reeds as well as ash, elm
and poplar which no doubt date back to the 19th century

Regardless he remained there a few weeks longer until his family, learning of this improvement in his condition, successfully secured his release on a two month trial on 12th January, 1876. However, upon returning home, some reports claimed he would often fly into a rage, threatening his family with violence whilst others indicated that he was quiet and refused to see guests, but until the afternoon of his death, he used no force and caused no physical injury.
In a sad adjunct to the whole affair, it was indicated that Stenton's eldest son was soon to be married, the banns due to be posted a third time only two days after the death of his parents. The wedding, it was stated, would have to be postponed.

The old Light Blue

The next couple of posts I intend to write are of interest to me for several different reasons, not least of which is that they closely involve my alma mater - Geelong Grammar. Not however, the Grammar of today, spread far and wide across Geelong and the state of Victoria, but rather Grammar in its earliest days as a school.
Initially catering to only 14 boys, the Geelong Church of England Grammar School was established in 1855 in Villamanta Street, Geelong West with the support of the then Bishop of Melbourne, The Rt Rev. C. Perry. The following year it moved to Knowle House in Skene Street, Newtown before relocating once again in 1858 to its purpose-built campus in central Geelong.  The new school and its grounds were located on the block of land bounded by McKillop Street to the north, Maud Street to the south and Moorabool and Yarra Streets to the west and east respectively - perfectly situated on a ridge line overlooking Corio Bay to the north and the Barwon River to the south. The town centre was nearby with both the bay and the river providing easy access to a variety of sporting and recreational activities - an aspect of education which the school has always considered an important addition to academic pursuits.


Geelong Grammar School, 1862 showing the front entrance facing
Moorabool Street. Image held by the Victorian State Library

And they did not take long to take advantage of the river's proximity when in 1870 boys began rowing with the Barwon Rowing Club. By 1874 the school had established its own rowing club on the banks of the Barwon and before long were competing with the best.
The school building itself was built by the architect firm of Backhouse and Reynolds in 1857 whose design won a competition for the contract. The brief for the building was that it must cater for 525 pupils and include a residence for the headmaster.  Their building was a quadrangular construction in the Tudor Gothic revival style with the master's quarters contained in the south wing and amenities located in the east. A single story wing faced north with the main entrance off Moorabool Street.
The building is repeatedly described as bluestone and concrete-rendered, however the picture above and another from about 1914 appear to show a bluestone finish with sandstone dressings on the north wing, rather than a rendered finish. By contrast the sections of the building which remain today (the south and east wings) are definitely concrete-rendered. Whether only part of the building was rendered or this was added later, I don't know.
Also unknown (by me) are the origins of the building materials used to construct the school. This is somewhat of a contrast to many of the historic buildings around Geelong and along the Barwon, however given the date of construction and the sourcing of materials for other buildings from this period, I would hazard a guess that the bluestone was quite quarried somewhere along the Barwon.

This image of the school taken some time after 1914 also appears to show
bluestone with dressed sandstone on the north wing. Image held by the
Victorian State Library

 Like much of the original building, the first occupants are long gone. The first headmaster was the Rev. George Oakley Vance who resigned in 1860 when the school closed as a result of funding issues. It had only been in its new premises for two years, however one of the masters - John Bracebridge Wilson - who had joined the staff in 1858 managed to keep the student body together, teaching 40 students in rented premises until, in 1863 with 58 day students, 2 boarders and Bracebridge Wilson as its principal, the school reopened at its McKillop Street campus as the grammar school. Presumably to avoid a repeat of earlier problems, the new-look Grammar saw a number of changes. A restructuring took place which also included the drawing up of a new constitution. This change in direction was driven by a new group of trustees including prominent Western District names such as Chirnside, Armytage and Manifold as well as that noted Geelong citizen and owner of Sladen House - Sir Charles Sladen.
Over the latter half of the 19th century, the school continued to build its reputation and by 1911 had outgrown the Moorabool Street campus. The decision was taken to sell both this campus and land which had previously been earmarked as a potential school site in Belmont and move to 400 acres of land on the banks of Limeburner's Bay in Corio.
The move took place in 1914 and the old building and grounds were sold to the Geelong City Council who had planned to use the building as a town hall - a plan which never came to fruition. Over the following years, the grounds were gradually subdivided and sold and in 1916 the west wing which included the main entrance was demolished. The north wing and quadrangle area were put to use as a factory whilst the remaining south and east wings became the private hotel called Dysart.

The remaining south wing of the school (facing Maud Street) in 1930 known as
the hotel Dysart. Image held by the Victorian State Library

In 1954 the building was sold once again, this time returning to its educational roots, when it became the Reformed Theological College, in which capacity it still operated in 1986 when I sat my HSC German oral exam in the building.
According to the Victorian Heritage Database, the north wing was demolished in about 1960, leaving only the east and south wings which the Theological College occupied until 1999 when they relocated to another former Geelong Grammar campus at Highton.
This remaining section of the building comprises 47 rooms including three bathrooms, a large kitchen as well as living and dining rooms. After the departure of the Theological College, it was sold once again, passing through the hands of a number of private owners before most recently being put on the market in June, 2011 by its owner of ten years, Norm Lyons - a local businessman.

The former Geelong Grammar in October, 2012

The sale of the property finally took place in May, 2012 and settlement is due to occur some time within the next few weeks (November, 2012). The buyer is an undisclosed local investor who, the agent stated, plans to renovate the property and continue its use as a private residence. A subsequent article in the Geelong Independent of 7th September suggested the building will be developed into student apartments. The sale price was undisclosed but is believed to be somewhere in the vicinity of $2.45 million.

Going once! Going twice! Going three times! Sold!

Bricks and Mortar

Trying to connect the topic of this post to the Barwon River is drawing a rather long bow, however I though it interesting enough to include anyway. So here goes:
A recent geocache hunt took me to Limeburners' Point where the remains of five lime kilns can still be seen so of course I snapped a few photos and did some research.

Remains of lime burning kiln at Limeburners' Point, East
Geelong

One of the earliest and most important industries to develop in the Geelong region was the production of lime which was in high demand by the building trade where it was used in the production of mortar, cement, plaster and stucco amongst other things. Lime production on the site is believed to date back to 1838 and the earliest days of European settlement in the region when limestone was quarried nearby and burnt in kilns on the western side of the point. Seashells were also collected and used in production. This site was no doubt chosen for the availability of limestone which was found in the cliffs, in the limestone gravel of the beach and in the shells which collected there. 
The limestone in the cliff face which is believed to be between 65 and 3 million years old was covered by a layer of clay, deposited in a later period. Other limestone deposits in the region are believed to have formed around 20 - 35 million years ago during the Oligocene-Miocene periods, when changing sea levels lead deposits of shells to form along shorelines which no longer exist. I wasn't able to discover how the deposit at Limeburners' Point relates geologically to these other deposits at places like Waurn Ponds, Fyansford and Batesford.
During the peak of operations at Limeburners' Point, the kilns operated day and night, burning timber which was hauled in on drays. Alternating layers of timber and limestone were fed into a funnel-like chimney at the top of the kilns which were stone and brick structures built into the cliff face. The contents were burnt, then the lime rendered by this process was collected from the chamber at the bottom of the chimney, bagged and carted away.

Remains of a bluestone quarry on the Barwon River

Initially owned by Messrs Taylor and Bourchier, the kilns were purchased in 1852 by George Cakebread from Caleb Joshua Jenner. Sources appear to differ on when the surviving kilns were built, however it would seem that these kilns date only to the 1860s or 70s. There are also the remains of a powder magazine at the site which dates back to 1854.
So important to the early building industry of the region was Cakebread's lime (the only other source of lime at that time was Point Nepean Peninsula) that it was shipped all over the Western District. I would imagine therefore that many of the significant homesteads of the region were built from rock quarried from basalt deposits along the Barwon and held together with mortar made using lime from the shores of Corio Bay.
One such example is Sladen House, Newtown which was built in 1849 with basalt taken from Melville's Quarry on the river at the bottom end of Noble Street. The first to do so.

Sladen House

Quite a number of quarries operated in this area: on West Fyans Street either side of Shannon Avenue, at Windmill Reserve overlooking Queen's Park and also near the end of Camden Road. All tapped into the deposits of basalt along the Barwon Valley, providing stone for local churches such as the Wesleyan Church in Noble Street, houses and even the Geelong-Queenscliff railway line.
Another example perhaps is the privately owned Barwon Bank in Riversdale Road, Newtown which was constructed between 1853 and 1856 from - I assume local - basalt, trimmed with freestone from the Barrabool Hills. Likewise, Barwon Park Mansion at Winchelsea is also built from basalt.
In addition to these buildings, Barwon Grange, Kardinia House and St. Albans Homestead along the banks of the Barwon are all brick, or stone and brick, structures built between 1850 and 1875 which presumably used Cakebread's lime.
Despite this overwhelming need for lime, pressure from tourist interests at nearby Eastern Beach soon saw the lime burning process forced to move to the eastern side of Limeburners' Point where these remaining kilns are situated. Production was not affected by the move and reached a peak in the 1870s, however nothing lasts forever and by 1875, another lime-burning operation located on the opposite side of Corio Bay at Duckponds (near Lara) was producing a superior quality lime. By the 1880s only one of the kilns at Limeburners' Point remained in operation and profits had dropped ten-fold.

Barwon Bank

The new producers had set up their kilns on the shores of the small lagoon into which Hovell's Creek empties. Somewhat confusingly, this is now known as Limeburners' Bay. At that time however, the entrance to the lagoon was known as  Limeburners' Point, with the site which is known by that name today, instead called Galena Point.
It is also worth mentioning that Duckponds and Limeburner's Point weren't the only source of Limestone in the region. The deposit near Waurn Ponds - an extension of which reaches to the Barwon where it forms the Belmont Escarpment - is still being quarried to make cement by Blue Circle Southern Cement Ltd. The stone is also used for monument-making purposes by various stonemasons in the region.
Historically, it seems that quarrying took place at Waurn Ponds as early as the 1840s, however it was probably only used for building purposes at this time. It was not until the 1880s when production at Limeburner's Point was in decline that kilns were built at Waurn Ponds and lime production began.
A little later, in 1890, the cement works at Fyansford commenced operation. The lime to supply these works was quarried about 5.6km away at Batesford from the Miocene era deposit which was found there in 1888. The rock was crushed on site and then transferred to the works at Fyansford first by a ropeworks and then by rail. With the opening of a new quarry in 1931, stone was loaded straight onto trucks and then taken to the works by rail for crushing. This open cut quarry is still in use today, despite the closure of the cement works.
Further research has just shown me that there was almost a very direct link between lime production in Geelong and the Barwon River. In the early 20th century the Fyansford Cement Works needed to get their product to the rail lines which would take it to Melbourne. Before the route from North Geelong to Herne Hill was eventually chosen, two other options were put forward. One was a railway line running from South Geelong through Newtown and Chilwell and then along what would become Deviation Road, whilst the other involved a siding running from South Geelong Station to the Barwon River and a wharf at Yarra Street. A second wharf upstream at Fyansford would be serviced by an aerial ropeway from the cement works. This plan however was overlooked in favour of the branch line from North Geelong.

"...landlord to a ghost..."

Ghosts it seems, have a long association with the Barwon and its surrounds. From the very earliest times, the local indigenous Wathaurong tribes believed in ghosts. The Moorabool River which flows into the Barwon at Fyansford is named for the ghosts which the Wathaurong people believed haunted a large billabong which lay on the river. Moora means ghost in the local dialect. Another local legend suggests that the call of the Curlew - probably the Bush Stone-curlew - was thought to be the voices of ghosts in the night. The Bush Stone-curlew is a nocturnal bird, more often heard than seen. Its long, drawn out "eeeeooooooo" call, especially when coming from multiple birds would be quite eerie and not a little dissimilar to the long drawn out wail of the Currawong which the newly arrived white settlers also believed was the call of ghosts.
In fact, one of the Wathaurong's  earliest contacts with a white settler was they believed, a supernatural encounter. As I have previously described, when they stumbled upon the escaped convict William Buckley, they believed him to be the ghost of a legendary warrior known as Murrangurk.


Barwon Grange, Newtown

With the arrival of European settlers in the area, further tales and traditions of ghostly encounters arose. Not surprisingly, where you have old houses, you tend also to have ghost stories and several of the stately homes upon the Barwon lay claim to ghosts.
Oral tradition has it that Barwon Grange has a female ghost who appears in a long gown. I am not sure who this apparition is supposed to be, but the weatherboard house was built in the Gothic villa style of the early Victorian era in 1855 for Johnathan Porter O'Brien - a wealthy, upper middle class banker, merchant and financier who, with his young family lived in the property for only a year before returning to England, selling off all the property's goods and chattels at auction upon their departure. Subsequently, the house underwent a string of changes in ownership including names such as Chadwick, Mercer, Buckland, Giblin, McCormick, Haimes and Elms before, being handed over to the National Trust in 1970 who undertook a restoration of the property to its original, 1855 decor. There do not appear to be any stories of murder or unnatural death associated with the house which might have given rise to the reports of a ghost sighting, so the at this point the identity of the lady in the long gown remains a mystery.
Along this section of the river are a number of historically  significant homes which were built in the 19th century. Not far upstream is Barwon Bank, built in basalt in the Regency style between 1853 and 1856 for local solicitor John Alexander Gregory. It boasted 18 rooms and a large garden and was considered the finest home in Victoria in its day. I have not come across any suggestion at this point that the property might be haunted.

Barwon Bank

Further upriver at the bottom of Pakington Street is Sladen House. It was built between 1849 and 1850 for the solicitor and later Victorian Premier Charles Sladen. Substantial renovations were undertaken in 1863. The style of the house is Victorian Italianate and like Barwon Bank it is built in basalt. Unlike the former two houses, Sladen House was demolished in 1940 for its materials but then rebuilt according to its original detail at a later date. Again, no ghost stories seem to attend the property.


Looking through the gates of Sladen House

The same can not be said however, for The Heights. One of Geelong's best known historic homesteads, the Heights sits on the corner of Aphrasia and Ruthven Streets at the top of "Joey's Hill" in Newtown overlooking the River. Built in 1855, it consists of 14 rooms and is a pre-fabricated timber house of German origin. The original bluestone stables, built soon after the house was erected, can be seen from the road as you rise from the valley. The house was built for Charles and Mary Anne Ibbotson and their family who occupied it for three succesive generations until 1975 when the National Trust took control of the property. It underwent significant modernization in the 1930s. Like many of Geelong's leading figures of that era, Ibbotson was a pastoralist and woolbroker and fulfilled many other public roles.
It is said that in recent years, the housekeeper reported seeing the ghost of a woman and on another occasion, it was said that the piano was heard to be playing of its own accord. Perhaps Mary Anne - who died in 1882 - or one of the younger Ibbotson women continues to walk through the rooms of this grand old home.
Opposite Barwon Grange on the Belmont side of the river, sits Kardinia House. The initial building was erected in a similar era to the other houses mentioned (1850-1855) by one of Geelong's earliest pioneers - Dr. Alexander Thomson. Thomson was medical officer for the Port Phillip Association as well as a leading churchman and politician. Kardinia house underwent extensive renovation over the years, with major additions made prior to 1869 and changes to the verandah in 1889. As it stands today, the exterior reflects further renovations carried out in 1890 by a local businessman H.F. Richardson, rendering the original facade unrecognisable.

Kardinia House, Belmont

In more recent times, Kardinia House was used as a children's home by the Salvation Army and is now used by Karingal Disability Services to provide an aged care facility. A local resident who lived in the house as the child of staff members describes waking during the night to see an old woman wrapped in a shawl, knitting at the foot of their bed. As they cowered under the covers, the apparition reached out to touch them and then was gone. The same person recalled that there were a number of occasions on which ghostly apparitions were seen in Kardinia House, appearing to the children who lived there and often not seeming as benign as the knitting lady. On one further occasion, the kitchen cupboards were for some unexplained reason emptied of their contents, tipping them all over the room.
Even further upriver, this time near the township of Winchelsea in August, 2009 there was significant media coverage of what was believed to be a photograph of a ghost taken during an evening ghost tour at Barwon Park. The 42 room, bluestone mansion plus stables was built by Thomas and Elizabeth Austin and completed in 1871, the year of Thomas' death.

Barwon Park

Born in England, he arrived in the Port Phillip District from Tasmania in 1837 with his brother James and took up land at Winchelsea. Thomas is credited with the very dubious honour of introducing rabbits to Australia in 1859, but was also a noted pastoralist and horse breeder. He also claimed to have introduced hares, blackbirds, thrushes and partridges.
By the end of his life, Barwon Park extended to some 29,000 acres and after his death Thomas' wife Elizabeth was credited with many charitable works, including the establishment of the Austin Hospital in Heidelberg and Austin Hall and Terraces, located in Yarra Street, South Geelong, only a few blocks from the river. This latter was erected as a home for "educated women in reduced circumstances" and has changed very little to the present day and maintains it's original function.
Barwon Park also remains much as it was in the Austins' day, but is now owned, like many of the properties mentioned, by the National Trust. As mentioned, in August, 2009 during a "ghost tour" of the stables, a photograph was taken which showed the image of a young woman in what appeared to be a low-cut, period dress - the ghost of Elizabeth Austin?
Well, probably not. Some few days after all the media hype, a young woman came forward claiming to be the face in the photo. This, along with other irregularities in the time stamp of the digital photo seem to have put paid to any ghostly claims, however it has been noted over the years, that a moving light can sometimes be seen coming from the window of the bedroom in which Elizabeth Austin died in 1910.
Finally, if we head back downriver as far as the present day Geelong suburb of St. Albans Park, we find the historic homestead of St. Albans, built in 1873 for renowned racehorse breeder and trainer James Wilson. The brick house consists of 30 rooms and was extended first in 1875 and then again three years later. The names of many famous racehorses were associated with the property during the 19th century and the early parts of the 20th century, including the great Phar Lap who was hidden on the property for three days prior to the 1930 Melbourne Cup after an attempt was made on the horse's life.
The property remains in private hands but has been opened to the public at some points. On one such occasion in 2003, the then owner remarked that whilst he had never seen a ghost in the house, he had noticed a number of unexplained occurrences such as mysteriously opening and closing doors. He also indicated that there were reported to be several ghosts associated with the property including a racehorse owner, a vanishing jockey and a lecherous ladies' man in the guest room. Exactly who these characters might be is not explained.
On balance then, it seems that there are a number of "ghosts" making themselves at home in the remnants of of 19th century architecture along the Barwon, however most are reported to be peacful apparitions and gruesome tales of murder and violent death seem to be largely absent. Perhaps, like many of us, these people from a bygone era so enjoyed their lives on the banks of the river that they are unwilling to leave.
No doubt there are many other ghost stories associated with the Barwon and its surrounds. These are just a few...