Branching out - Cargerie Creek

Recently I had an opportunity to walk the course of a part of the Barwon River catchment which I had not seen before: Cargerie Creek. This little creek rises outside of Elaine and runs down through local farmland to confluence with the Leigh River on private land almost 3km south west of the Meredith-Mount Mercer Road.


Cargerie Creek

For the first few kilometres, the watercourse is shallow, however it soon becomes quite steep and rocky.

Cargerie Creek looking south from below the Mt Mercer-Meredith Road

Cargerie Creek, further south

This history of this little creek is similar to that of much of the district. Prior to European settlement, the creek flowed through the lands of the Wathaurong people who lived, hunted and gathered their food along its banks. This is attested to in the Journal and proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales (1877-1884) where the presence of indigenous cooking mounds (described in some detail) were noted along the banks of Cargerie and Woodbourne Creeks. Whether any indication of their existence still remains, I do not know.
The arrival of European settlers in the area saw Cargerie Creek incorporated into the large squatting runs which were taken up in the area. I have not been able to determine exact boundaries however the creek itself may well have formed the dividing line between the more northerly run of George F. Read Jnr known as Cargerie and the more southerly Woodbourne No. 2 Run held initially by the Wilson brothers and then by William James Reid.

The track leading down to the confluence of Cargerie Creek and the Leigh River

In the wake of the squatters, selectors moved into the district during the 1870s. It was at this time that much of the land along the west bank of Cargerie Creek was purchased by the Nolan family whose descendants remain on the property to the present day but whose initial purchase appears to have been a small block of land on the banks of the creek several decades earlier in 1839. East of the creek, things were a little slower to get moving, with that land (including the property I grew up on) not selected until the last few decades of the 19th century.
The lower end of Cargerie Creek is similar to the Leigh and Moorabool Rivers in that it runs through a deep channel which I assume would cause the water level to rise quickly in times of flood which is certainly the case for the Leigh a little further downstream.


Looking up the Leigh River near the confluence with Cargerie Creek

Looking down the Leigh River just above the confluence with Cargerie Creek

Below the confluence of creek and river, the channel remains steep and rocky whilst the land around is relatively flat.


The Leigh below Cargerie Creek

Walking beside the river, there are expansive views across the surrounding farmland and the occasional sign of the earlier days of European settlement.


Abandoned hut on the Leigh River below Cargerie Creek

Below the creek, the Leigh meanders first south and then south east to meet Wilsons/Woodbourne Creek several kilometres downstream. Our walk on this occasion, took us almost 3km past Cargerie Creek along the Leigh to a little ford which lead us to the property of our guide for the day (Marg Cooper) on the opposite side of the river.


Ford on the Leigh River

Looking upstream from the ford

Downstream of the ford

Whilst the ford marked the extent of our walk, the conjunction with Wilsons Creek is  further 10km downstream following the watercourse or a distance of less than 7km via the direct route, but that walk will have to wait for another day.

Branching out - Woodbourne No. 2: you learn something every day

In many parts of Victoria, the 1860s and 70s saw a significant change in the way land was distributed and used. On the heels of the departing squatters came the small selectors. Not everyone had struck it rich during the gold rush, most of the "easy" to find alluvial gold had been found and people were now looking for other ways to support themselves. Many had come from farming stock in their native countries, so it was natural that they would look to the land in their new country. What they saw however, was a large amount of land in the hands of a very few wealthy squatters, so pressure was brought to bear on the government for changes to the laws which would allow for smaller settlers to own their little piece of land, plant their crops, breed their livestock and raise their families.
And this was a plan that suited the government who were keen to establish a class of what they saw as "yeomen farmers" such as they had in the Old Country. Of course, smaller farms meant more intensive cultivation which meant higher productivity which meant a growing economy and more money for the government. The only people who didn't see things quite the same way were the squatters whose runs were being carved up by selectors.

Farm land on the Woodbourne Creek at Bamganie

The end result was the passing of laws in the early 1860s which allowed prospective farmers to purchase a few hundred acres of land from the crown, either outright or on easy terms which could be paid off over time. And if I read the parish maps correctly, this is exactly what happened on the Woodbourne No. 2 run.
This then was the backdrop to the land acquisitions which occurred in the latter half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century as smaller landholders moved in, fences were erected, crops were planted and families put down roots. Naturally enough, with the increase in population, the demand for education arose and eventually two schools were established on the old Woodbourne run.
The Woodburn Creek Primary School No. 1748 which first opened its doors on 3rd August, 1876 after three years of wrangling with the education department, was situated on land just west of the creek and north of the Meredith-Mt Mercer Road. Not surprisingly its roll read like a list of the local selectors.

The original Woodburn Creek school site. A post from the school grounds can
just be seen in the middle of the photograph

The school operated on this site until its closure in 1906. That building was eventually removed to Sheoaks where it was later destroyed by fire. The school reopened a second time in 1935, about a mile to the west at the intersection of the Meredith-Mt Mercer and Bamganie Roads in a building provided by Mr AG McNaughton on whose land it was built. This time it operated until 1946 when falling numbers again saw it close. In 1953 it reopened for the final time, taking in students (myself included) from properties in the surrounding district.


Woodburn Creek Primary School No. 1748. The second building on the new
site at the cross-roads c1978

In 1971, the old school building was replaced by a portable classroom (pictured above) which remained until the school's final closure which occurred in 1983 when enrolments fell to three students.

Geelong Advertiser article at the time of Woodburn
Creek's closure

As on previous occasions when the school closed, the local community were keen to make use of the building, however the Department of Education would not agree to such a scheme and the main building was moved to Tate Street Primary School in East Geelong. The small annex which had been built from funds raised by parents was moved to the Meredith Primary School and later demolished.

The second site of the Woodburn Creek Primary School today with memorial plaque

There were several reasons why the Woodburn school almost didn't eventuate, with disputes over where to locate the school, questions raised about student numbers and over funding, however one of the main reasons the education department questioned the need for a school on the Woodbourne Creek site was the recent opening in September, 1872 of Cargerie State School No. 1151, on land previously belonging to the Larundel Estate (originally Narmbool). It was argued that students could walk across country to Cargerie instead.

Map showing the sites (in green) of the Woodburn Creek Primary School. The
earlier site near the creek is on the right and the later site at the crossroads to the left

Then, in August, 1875 whilst negotiations over the Woodburn school were still in progress, a second school was opened, which would make Woodburn Creek Primary the second school on the old Woodbourne Creek run. This was Bamganie State School No. 1590.
The school was initially located on what became known as School Point, in the V of land formed by the confluence of the Woodbourne and Wilson Creeks. Like Woodburn Creek Primary, the school at Bamganie was moved from its original site and was plagued over the years by fluctuating student numbers.

Map showing the two sites (marked green) occupied by the Bamganie
State School. The lower site between the creeks was the original site

The original location overlooking the creeks, suited no-one as all students had to cross a creek to get to the school, making access difficult. The solution came in 1883 when it was decided to relocated to a new site on the west side of Bamganie Road about 2km from the southern end of Bamganie Road. Fulltime teaching commenced in that year and continued until 1890 when - with falling numbers at both schools - Bamganie operated together with Woodburn Creek, some 9km distant by road, on a half and half basis until the closure of Woodburn Creek in 1906. From this time, Bamganie and Cargerie (about 14km away by road) were operated together.
In 1923, to commemorate those students from the school who fought in the First World War, a pine tree was planted around the perimeter of the school for each of the servicemen and was accompanied by a plaque. Each of the fourteen current students planted a tree with the fifteenth planted by two students who were to start at the school the following year.



Some of the commemorative pines can be seen behind the more recent eucalypts

Like the Woodburn school, the Bamganie Primary School was the focus of many district activities being used for divine service by both the Presbyterians and the Methodists as well as for community events. The final closure for Bamganie State School No. 1590 came in 1933. The building remained on the site until being offered for auction as a hall in 1943.
In 1967 fire swept through the area, damaging some of the trees and, it was reported, burning four houses. I can attest that this was nearly five houses as the fire closely approached the property recently purchased by my parents, some 5.5km up the road. Through the efforts of my grandfather, it was stopped at the plantation which surrounds the house.


Bamganie World War 1 soldiers' memorial at the Bamganie State School site

Today, the school no longer stands however some of the pine trees which survived the fire do. The location is marked by the above sign which was erected in 2011 and was accompanied by a book about the servicemen and the school by local author Margaret Cooper. Her 2007 publication commemorates the Woodburn Creek Primary School.



Branching out - Woodbourne No. 2 - no rush!

In 1851, the history of Victoria changed forever when gold was discovered near Ballarat. It created a frenzy of activity which resulted in any likely quartz deposits being "prospected" in the hopes of finding gold. In 1855 the Stieglitz goldfields were discovered and the area found itself in the grip of a rush.
Like the creeks and gullies around Stieglitz, Woodbourne Creek harboured a number of gold deposits, however unlike Stieglitz which was "rushed", resulting in a huge population influx and extensive prospecting in the area, the history of gold discovery along Woodbourne Creek was more of a dawdle than a rush.
It was known that there were likely gold-bearing deposits along the creek and from the late 1850s periodic attempts were made to mine them.
In 1864, a field was opened at Woodbourne when alluvial gold was found by a German prospector in "Munroe's Gully" - a tributary of the Woodbourne. Gold was soon found along the creek itself which in various places still shows signs of mining activity.

This section of the state forest is scattered with old mounds. Often, as in this
case, trees have grown in them

A surveyor's map from 1867 at one point notes: "Gold has been found in many places along Reids [Woodbourne] creek and in some spots payable". The map also notes the presence of four gullies immediately east of Woodbourne Creek, the second being a "Quartz Reef Gully" (from position probably Wilson Creek) and the fourth is labelled "Digger's Gully" - towards the boundary of the Woodbourne and Golf Hill estates.
In 1888 a geologist's report published in the Argus described a quartz reef which runs along west bank of Woodbourne Creek near the Meredith-Mount Mercer Road. It described the reef as running south along the creek bank, in places some 80 feet (over 24m) above the creek's course at that time. To the north it also followed the creek, crossing underneath the streambed before being covered by geologically more recent basalt flows somewhere near the homestead.

Looking towards Woodbourne homestead. Woodbourne Creek lies to the right

The southern end of this reef was on the land of "Lingford and McCrae" both of whom made some attempts to mine the gold in the gullies which cut across the reef, however were not satisfied with the results achieved.
By contrast, in 1879 one article claimed that a "quartz reef of tolerable richness" had been found. It was described as being "on the crown lands adjoining Mr McAdam's property". Survey maps show that Robert McAdam held about 300 acres of land east and at the southern end of the current state forest and near the head of Wilson Creek from this same year. A newspaper report a couple of months later indicated a yield from the Bamganie Gold Mining Company (the same group of miners perhaps?) which was so promising they intended to erect a 5 head battery to process the quartz on site, rather than sending it to Ballarat for processing. Shares in the company were still being sold in 1891.

A five-head battery from Trunkey Creek, probably similar to that used on
Woodbourne Creek

Two years earlier another enterprise with the pragmatic name of Leidwill's New Find Gold-Mining Company was established to work a lead in a "small tributary running parallel to the creek" (Woodbourne Creek?).
In 1880 and 1883 further reefs were located and worked at Bamganie, then in 1891 it was reported further that "rich patches of alluvial and quartz have been found [on Woodbourne Creek], a deep alluvial lead has been discovered but has not yet been fully tested". Mining notes in the Argus of November, 1895 record the lowering of water levels in the South Day Dawn mine on Woodbourne Creek.
Attempts to find gold on what was originally the Woodbourne run continued over the years and another speculative venture was undertaken at Bamganie in 1901 when the Duke of Wellington Mine was opened.

Signs of the past close to the Woodbourne Creek bed

A 1901 map of the "goldfields" in the area shows mines with names such as the Duchess of Hamilton, Golden Fleece, Star of Bamganie, The King, Home Rule (presumably an Irish outfit), Day Dawn and Leap Year located along the reef running down from the homestead along the creek, on both crown and private property.
At one time, up to 50 leases were issued for the area. Of those along the creek,  several were held by Thomas Nichols, Arch. Campbell and Angus Grant. In 1902 Nichols was involved in a legal stoush over the incorrect staking of a claim for his Duchess of Cornwall Gold Mining Company whilst the 1932 Victoria Government Gazette lists Grant amongst others under "Applications for mining leases abandoned".
There is one other twist to the story of goldmining on Woodbourne Creek and that is Lewis Hubert (Harold Bell) Lasseter of "Lasseter's Lost Reef" fame. He was born Lewis Hubert Lasseter to parents William John Lasseter and Agnes Cruickshank at Bamganie in 1880. Lasseter only lived in the district until he was seven and I can see no sign of Lasseters on the survey maps however, in the year of his birth a John Cruickshank selected land on Woodbourne Creek just above the confluence with Wilson Creek. Presumably he and his family lived nearby.

Lewis Hubert (Harold Bell) Lasseter

Lasseter lived a colourful often controversial life and claimed to have found (but lost) a fabulous quartz reef in the interior of the country. It has never been found nor have I found any suggestion that he ever returned to his birth place. Perhaps he would have had more success had he tried his hand prospecting at Bamganie...

Branching out - Woodbourne No 2: where is it now?

Well this turned out to be a whole lot more complicated than I expected, so what was going to be one post will now be three of them. I initially set out to discover the history of Woodbourne No. 2 - one of the original squatting runs lying in part on the Leigh River, but covering the entire length of Woodbourne Creek, a tributary of the Leigh.

The Woodbourne Creek at the Meredith-Mt Mercer road crossing

The Woodbourne Creek at the Meredith-Mt Mercer road crossing

Woodbourne No. 2 is perhaps one of the lesser known squatting runs in the region of the three rivers. It is of particular interest to me however, as I grew up on a farm which formed part of the original run. I also attended the local Woodburn Creek Primary School - yes, the spelling is different.
The run itself covered the area bounded on the south east by Native Creek No. 1 run (then in the hands of the Learmonth brothers of the Derwent Company), to the south west by Golf Hill and the Upper Leigh runs of the Clyde Company, to the north and west by the Cargerie run of George FH Read Jnr and on its short north eastern boundary just above Meredith, by the Borhoneyghurk run of John Norman McLeod. In total, an area of about 14,000 acres.
Prior to European occupation, the land was of course home to the indigenous tribes of the Wathaurong and according to the Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales (1877-1884) there were obvious signs of Wathaurong habitation along the Woodbourne Creek in the form of oven mounds and trees stripped of their bark which had a variety of uses.
The Woodbourne No. 2 run was first occupied in 1844 by Alexander, Charles and John Wilson who formed a partnership known as Wilson Brothers. It was the smallest of three squatting runs held by the Wilsons, the other two being Kewell (117,760 acres) and Walmer (40,000 acres), both located in the Wimmera district.
Whilst it is reasonable to assume that the brothers spread themselves between their three runs, we know they spent enough time at Woodbourne to build a house.


Woodbourne homestead. Copyright Department of the Environment

The structure was a six room, timber homestead which records indicate had a central hallway and was constructed from pit-sawn stringybark or yellow box planks. The roof was covered by stringy bark shingles.

Original section of Woodbourne homestead showing timber walls and roof
battens. From the Bob Reid Collection, Copyright, Department of the Environment

The site of the house whose remains still stand, is close to the head of the Woodbourne Creek. The creek rises from a natural spring around 5.5km north west of the present day town of Meredith and would have provided a permanent water source for the settlers.
In November, 1847 the brothers placed an advert in the Geelong Advertiser seeking information on a bay mare branded with a W (presumably for Woodbourne) which had strayed from the property two months earlier.
About a month later the brothers applied to have the licences for their various properties renewed. They are listed as the landholder of Woodbourne No 2 in the Squatters' Directory of the Occupants of Crown Lands of Port Phillip 1849 indicating that their application was successful.
However, the partnership did not long survive this point and was dissolved at the behest of brother Alex when the following announcement appeared in The Argus of 1849:

Notice,

The partnership hitherto existing between John Wilson, Charles Wilson and Alexander Wilson, under the designation of Wilson Brothers, is this day dissolved as far as the said Alexander Wilson is concerned, he having withdrawn from the firm.

EALEX WILSON.

For WILSON BROTHERS,

                          CHARLES WILSON.

Witnesses   ANDREW LOVE Jun.

                         CHARLES MACKINNON

Woodbourne February 26th, 1849

The homestead and its surrounds today

Further testament to the Wilson's time in the area is a little creek (just over 10km in length) which bears their name and which is joined by Woodbourne Creek about 1.8km above their confluence with the Leigh River at Bamganie.
Whether the longer Woodbourne Creek (about 15km in length) takes its present name from the name given to the run by the Wilsons or the run was named for the creek, I do not know, however I have seen at least one survey map from the 1860s which gives the name of the creek as Reid's Creek.
This name reflects that of the person who took over the run after the departure of the Wilsons, in 1853 - William James Reid, an Irishman from Letterkenney in the north of Ireland.

William James Reid, squatter

Reid took possession on 2nd January, 1853 and a few months later in May of that year brought his new bride Elizabeth Elliott Armstrong to live on the property. Together, they raised a family of nine children and as the need arose they extended the original timber house with a bluestone extension consisting of three extra rooms and a passageway. The new section was situated in front of the original house and was roofed with slate and surrounded by a verandah of corrugated iron. At some point the shingle roof of the original building was also covered with iron. The ceilings were of pressed metal and - in the front rooms - lathen plaster whilst the floors were hardwood.

The homestead showing the old (rear) section and the newer (front) section.
From the Bob Reid Collection, Copyright, Department of the Environment

At the time of purchase from the Wilsons, the run carried 5,000 sheep. A geographical and topical map produced for the surveyor's office in 1867, indicates a brush fence separating the Woodbourne run from that of George Russell's to the south as well as a set of "brush yards" which if I calculate correctly would have been about 1km west and 3.5km south of Bamganie and the Meredith-Mt Mercer roads respectively.

Reid and his family remained at Woodbourne until 1872 at which point one source indicates that he forfeited the lease on the run. I suspect that the timing of his exit may have been no chance thing. In the early to mid-1860s, the Victorian government introduced new laws to encourage closer settlement, allowing small "selectors" to take up blocks of crown land on easy terms, including areas held under current squatters licences. The squatters complained vehemently to the government that the new laws discriminated against them, the very people who had opened up the countryside and brought about such improvement.
After all their effort, they were - they claimed - at risk of having their land snatched from beneath them by moneyed "land sharks". On the other hand, many squatters themselves attempted to rort this new system by having "mediums" purchase the rights to the land on their runs which in turn would immediately be leased back to the squatter - in return for a fee of course!

Wilson Creek below its confluence with Woodbourne Creek looking across land
which was selected from the original Woodbourne run in 1872 by P O'Donnell

His obituary claims that William Reid argued long and hard against the land sharks and his refusal to pay "tribute" to them cost him dearly. Newspaper reports of the day indicate that Reid did in fact fight against the resumption of "his" land and looking at the surveyor's maps of the era, there were several blocks of Woodbourne land selected during the 1860s and possibly further blocks sold outright to selectors. Much of it seems to have been to the east of the railway line with some to the north of the homestead site. This may well account for statements indicating that the size of the run had been reduced to 10,000 acres by 1865.
By 1869 and during the 1870s however, the uptake of land seems to have gathered considerable pace. Much of the land to the west of the homestead and down to about 1.5km south of the Meredith-Mt Mercer Road was taken up. A number of blocks towards the most southerly part of the run along Wilson's Creek were also selected.

Henderson's Road which crosses Wilson Creek at "Tayolor's Bridge" was named
for a later selector from the 1880s who took up land to the west of this site on the
Leigh River - probably on Golf Hill land. This road may have formed part of the
boundary between the two properties. Edwin Taylor selected the land which can
be seen immediately the bridge in 1880.
behind the bridge

At this point, Reid probably saw the writing on the wall for his run and in 1872 chose to forfeit his lease and sold the remaining 3,000 acres and homestead to John Matheson of Moranghurk.
 This enabled him to pursue his squatting ambitions on the Darling River. From there, he went on to purchase a number of stations in New South Wales and one as far north as Cloncurry in Queensland as detailed in his 1914 obituary. In later life, he retired to Geelong and is buried at the Eastern Cemetery with his wife and several other family members.


Views fit for a squatter. The Reid family grave at the Eastern Cemetery

From 1872 onwards, the homestead was used as staff housing by the Mathesons, remaining in good condition until the 1950s. The land along with the neighbouring Native Creek No. 1 run - also acquired by Matheson - was absorbed into the Moranghurk Estate, remaining intact until soldier settlement arrived in 1953.
At that time, the block containing the homestead passed to Mr George Morris Lloyd and his wife Olive. The Lloyds and their children farmed the block until 1973, despite having suffered heavy losses in a fire in 1967. In that year, they sold the farm to Alan and Margaret Parkinson, who are still the owners of the farm they called Woodbourne.

The remains of the homestead today. The walls of the bluestone section
remain standing however the roof appears to have completely collapsed. The
stables (right) built in the 1870s appear to be mostly intact.

The rest of the Woodbourne No. 2 run - mostly the southern section - seems to have reverted to crown land which was taken up by selectors during the 1880s, 1890s and into the early 20th century. The only part to remain in government hands today is the land along the lower section of Woodbourne Creek which now forms the Bamganie State Forest.

Inside the state forest, looking across Woodbourne Creek

The creek at this point is steep and quite heavily wooded and would not have been appropriate for either grazing or cultivation which may in part explain its continued reservation as crown land.


One of the many gullies running down to Woodbourne Creek near the state forest

There is however another possibility which will be the subject of my next post - GOLD!

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.

Squattocracy - life on the run!

The first Europeans to settle on the plains surrounding the Barwon River and its tributaries were squatters and many of their names would still be familiar to us today: names such as Armytage, Roadknight, Russell, Swanston, Austin, Learmonth, Fisher, Bell, Mercer and Morrison to name a few.

And they are with us still! Street signs from the
suburbs of Geelong, Geelong West, Manifold
Heights, Belmont  Newtown and Corio.

They can be found in the names of our streets, parks and suburbs and towns. In addition to the above street names (and a few besides such as Highett Road, Highton and Clyde Road Bannockburn, McLeod and Read Streets, Meredith), the suburbs of Manifold Heights, Newcomb, Thomson, Highton, and the towns of Drysdale, Batesford, Bells Beach, Bellbrae, Stieglitz, Pollocksford and Sutherlands Creek are all named for original squatters in the district as are Point Roadknight near Anglesea, Cowies Creek, Austin Park, Stead Park and then of course, Fyansford - named for Captain Foster Fyans who arrived in the district as police magistrate at the request of these squatters and himself tried his hand as a squatter in the coming years.
These first settlers arrived in the region in 1836 following John Batman, keen to find pasturage for their stock. With this in mind, various groups set out to investigate the area - in particular the explorer and surveyor John Helder Wedge and the ill-fated Hesse and Gellibrand. From early 1836, stock was landed at Williamstown, Point Henry and Indented Head and left in the care of shepherds, whilst the squatters made their own explorative journeys in search of suitable runs. At the same time, some travelled overland with their flocks from New South Wales.
Amongst the very earliest settlers were representatives of the Derwent Company. Formed from the remains of John Batman's Port Phillip Association they were a group of Tasmanian settlers who had set out in 1835 to acquire land in the Port Phillip district from the indigenous occupants. Despite the government in New South Wales declaring Batman's transaction with the Wurundjeri people invalid, they came anyway.
By the late 1830s the Derwent Co. held 26,000 acres of land extending across the "Portland Bay" region including the Barwon, Moorabool and Leigh Rivers. Its members included Captain Charles Swanston, Major William Drumond Mercer and his son George Duncan Mercer, Thomas Learmonth, George Armytage and David Fisher.

"Barwon Falls" 1848 as painted by Charles Norton, artist, civil servant and
squatter on the Barwon River. Image held by the State Library of Victoria

Another group of investors formed the Clyde Co. which was established in 1838 by seven Scottish investors. They selected land along the Leigh and Moorabool Rivers, which was managed first by Philip Russell and then by his half brother George who eventually settled at Golf Hill near The Leigh (later Shelford).

George Russell, 1852. Pioneer, settler and manager of the Clyde
Company. Image held by the Victorian State Library

In addition to the big companies, individual families such as the Austins of Barwon Park, established large holdings on the Barwon whilst properties such as Moranghurk and Borhoneyghurk on the Moorabool and Narmbool on the Leigh were established by individuals or partnerships.
By 1842 however, the Derwent Co. was being wound up, with various founding members purchasing leases in their own right. The Clyde Co. survived until 1857/1858 at which time George Russell bought the freehold of Golf Hill, an area of 8,500 acres which he eventually expanded to 28,000 acres.
Today, through the foresight of Victoria's first Lieutenant-Governor, Charles Joseph La Trobe, a record remains which details many of these early settlers and their holdings. During his governorship on 29th July, 1853, La Trobe wrote to Victoria's pioneering settlers asking them if they could in turn reply to him, describing what they remembered of the dates and places in which they and their contemporaries had settled in the 1830s. His request generated some 58 replies from across the newly-declared colony - several of them dealing with settlement along the Barwon, Moorabool and Leigh Rivers - they were eventually compiled by Thomas Francis Bride and published in 1898 titled: Letters from Victorian pioneers: being a series of papers on the early occupation of the colony, the aborigines etc.

Lieutenant-Governor Charles La Trobe. Photo held by
Ballarat Heritage Services

From this and other sources, including the various newspapers of the day and government gazettes it is possible to build a fairly good picture of who these pioneering settlers were and where they held their various squatting runs.
The following table - whilst no doubt incomplete - shows who many of the initial landholders were and when they took up their runs. In each case I have attempted to identify the original occupant, however in some cases there may have been an earlier squatter on the land whom I can't identify through online records. If I find further information I will update accordingly.
As time has progressed, it has seemed appropriate to add some early properties to the list below which were not original squatting runs, but were rather the next generation of estates, established once land was opened up for sale. Examples include the Hope brothers at 'Darriwill' and 'Lynnburn' as well as Dr John Learmonth at 'Lawrence Park' all on the lower reaches of the Moorabool River.

Barwon River
Borongoop	Caroline Newcombe and Anne Drysdale	1841
Geelong	Derwent Co. (David Fisher)	1837
Kardinia	Dr Alexander Thomson	1837
Highton	John Highett	1837
Barrabool Hills	John Charles Darke	c1837
Berramongo	Roadknights	1836
Pollocksford	Captain Pollock	1836
Murgheboluc Flat	Yuilles	1836
Weatherboard	Derwent Co (David Fisher)	1837
Barwon Park (Toolun, St Leonards & Waterloo Plains)	Thomas Austin and Brothers	1837
Wormbete	Henry Hopkins	1837
Ingleby	Derwent Co (Thomas Armytage)	1836
Yan Yan Gurt*	Roadknights	1838
Deans Marsh*	Roadknights	1848
Wesleyan Church (Rev Francis Tuckfield)	Buntingdale Mission Station	August 1839
Paraparap	Frederick Dewing	1838
Gerangemete	Roadknights	1839
Ricketts	Thomas Rickett	<September 1837
River Station	Roadknights	1840
Mt Hesse (Incuding Eurack, Mountside & Mt Hesse)*	William Harding (with John Highett)	1837
Murdeduke (originally part of Mt Hesse)	John Highett (with William Harding)	1837
St Stephen	John Stephens	<1841
Long Water Hole/Barrunah Plains*	Derwent Co. (James Austin)	1837
Warrambine*	Derwent Co. (Prentice)	<1842
Moorabool River
Bell Post Hill	John Anthony Cowie & David Stead	March 1836
Lynburnn	George & Robert Hope	1846
Batesford	Alfred & John Bates	1837
Manifold’s Ford (aka Dog Rocks/Batesford)	Thomas & Peter Manifold	1836
Lawrence Park	Thomas and John Learmonth	1839
Sutherland’s Creek*	Joseph Sutherland	1836
Darriwill	George, James & Robert Hope	1846
Russell's Bridge	Clyde Co. (George Russell)	1836
Moranghurk	William Taylor & Dugald McPherson	1840
Durdiwarrah	Robert von Stieglitz	March/April 1838
Borhoneyghurk	John Norman McLeod	1837
Lal Lal	Blakeney & George Airey	1840
Moreep	John Norman McLeod	October 1837
Ballark	John Wallace	1838
Bungal	George Egerton	1838?
Bungeeltap	John Anthony Cowie & David Stead	1838
Bungletap East/Emly Park	David Stead	1838
Hunterston	William Patterson?	1840s
Peerewerrh	Fairbairn & Gardner	<1849
Borambeta	Charles & Joseph Bradshaw?	<1849
Bolwarra	James Clarke?	1837?
Ballan	Robert William Stieglitz	1838
Leigh/Yarrowee River
Weatherboard	Derwent Co. (Thomas & Somerville Learmonth)	April 1837
(Native Creek No. 1)*	Derwent Co. (Thomas & Somerville Learmonth)	April 1837
(Native Creek No. 2) (later Woolbrook)*	Derwent Co. (Thomas & Somerville Learmonth)	1837
Golf Hill (including Upper Leigh & Tall Tree Creek Stations)	Clyde Co (George Russell)	1839
Native Creek No. 3 (later Barwonleigh)	Derwent Co. (Thomas & Somerville Learmonth)	April 1837
Woodbourne  No. 2	Alexander, Charles & John Wilson	1844
Cargerie	George Frederick Read Jnr	January 1838
Mount Mercer	Derwent Co. (David Fisher)	March 1838
Mount Mercer Cattle Station	Derwent Co. (Major William Drummond Mercer)	1838?
Narmbool (including Larundel)	Hugh Niven	January 1839
Warraneep	Levitt brothers and one other	1840
Waverley Park (later Bonshaw)	Henry Anderson	1838
Boninyong	Thomas & Sommerville Learmonth	1838
Ballarat	Archibald B & WC Yuille	February 1838

*These properties whilst not lying directly on any of the three rivers, were an integral part of the district and each did have at least one creek which flowed to either the Barwon or the Moorabool.
It is worth remembering also that runs often changed hands repeatedly (sometimes within a matter of months) and areas of land could be transferred in part or wholly between settlers meaning that the boundaries of properties shifted over time as squatters expanded or consolidated their holdings, forming and dissolving partnerships on a regular basis.
During the 1850s and 60s, following the dispersal of the Clyde and Derwent Companies, leases changed hands and the pre-emptive rights to various properties were purchased. The era of the squatter had well and truly reached the three rivers.