Recently on a rare trip to Melbourne, it dawned on me that the War Memorial on the Dalkeith Avenue corner of Tullamarine Primary School can only be partly viewed from the footpath. Joshua Bull, State parliamentarian for the electorate which includes Tullamarine has shown such interest in my request to have the situation rectified that I thought I should write about the heroes whose names are inscribed on the monument. The following resulted from my research into James Lane's three sons, one of whom paid the supreme sacrifice.

THE LANES OF GOWRIE PARK.
In the land boom of the late 1880’s it looked as if a railway would be built to Bulla but it never eventuated because two routes were proposed: along Bulla Rd and along the east bank of the Maribyrnong River from the spur line to Flemington Racecourse and the Showgrounds.

G.W.Taylor bought much property along Bulla Rd and C.B.Fisher did so in Ascot Vale West, Aberfeldie,and today’s Avondale Heights. The Essendon Tramway and Land Investment Co. bought the Crotty family’s “Broomfield” fronting the south side of the western end of Sharps Rd.

Marks Herman* took an each-way bet, buying Gowrie Park fronting the west side of Bulla Rd, which you’re looking at if you gaze westward from the airport terminal building, and David Mansfield’s farm straddling Mansfields Rd between Gowrie Park and Deep Creek. He would be sure to benefit no matter which route was chosen. Before supporters of each route could reach a compromise, the 1890’s depression ended any chance of the railway being built and the speculators forfeited their deposits and part payments.

The Crottys and David Mansfield regained ownership of their farms and built luxurious new homesteads with their windfall. A.E.Lane was born in 1890 and attended Tullamarine State School so it can be assumed that his father James had purchased Gowrie Park sometime after Angus McNab had bought it in 1901.

“Geo Howatt sold privately the Gowrie Park Estate, Tullamarine comprising 560a.1r.31p., to Angus McNab of Victoria Bank, Tullamarine,” (P.9, Argus, 5-12-1901.)

Victoria Bank was 96 acres on the north side of Barbiston Rd (the proposed future second east -west runway) and only 400 metres south via McNabs Rd from the south west corner of Gowrie Park.

Angus had apparently sold Gowrie Park by October 1902 when he held a clearing sale on the property. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/9063108

James Lane was obviously the purchaser.
MELBOURNE LIVE STOCK MARKET.
Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic. : 1869 - 1954) Saturday 3 October 1903 p 26 Detailed Lists, Results, Guides
... James Lane, Gowrie Park;



* MARKS HERMAN GETS DESPERATE, BUT TOO LATE.
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22.
At Twelve O'clock.
GRAZING and AGRICULTURAL LAND,
BUILDING BLOCKS,
HOTEL,
NEWPORT, TULLAMARINE, BULLA.
FRASER and CO. LIMITED will SELL, under Instructions from Mr. Marks Herman, by AUCTION, at their rooms, 47 Queen-street, on Tuesday,22nd November, at twelve o'clock,
BULLA.
Lot 1.-DEAN'S HOTEL, with 23a 0r. 2p., Crown Allot. 2, Sec. 1, parish of Bulla Bulla
Lot 2 -Land, 12a. 2r. 36p., adjoining Dean's Hotel.
Lot 3.-Land, 24a. 2r. 19p., Crown Allot. 21, Sec. 1.
Lot 4 -Land, 44a. 2r. 6p., Crown Allots, 4 and 20, Sec. 1.
Lot 5 - land, 46a. 0r. 18p., Crown Allots. 1, 2, and 6, township Bulla. This land is situated near Inverness Hotel.
Lot 6.-Land, 75a, Crown Allots 12 to 15, 26, and part 25, parish Bulla, and Crown Allots. 1
to 9, Sec. 16, township Bulla, adjoining SHIRE. HALL, known as Deacon's land.
» NEWPORT.
Lot 7.-Land, 44a, 3r. 7p, being Crown Allots. P, U, V, and W, Sec. 3, parish Cut-paw-paw,
facing railway workshops.
TULLAMARINE.
Lot 8.-Land, 560a. 1r. 31p., part Crown Portion 14, parish Tullamarine, magnificent grazing
and agricultural land, known as GOWRIE-PARK, situate on the Bulla-road.
Lot 9.-640 acres land adjoining Gowrie Park, formerly belonging to D. Mansfield, Crown
Allots. A and B of Portion 13, parish Tullamarine.
Lot 10.-Land, 52 acres, part Secs, 6 and 7, parish Tullamarine, facing state school.
Lot 11.-Land, 43 acres, (part Crown Portion 7, Sec. 12, sic, part secs.6 and 7) Tullamarine, formerly belonging to Anderson and Carr (sic, Parr).
Terms-Very liberal.
Titles, certificates.
MARKS HERMAN

N.B. Section 1, parish of Bulla was immediately east of the township of Bulla and extended from the north side of Bulla Rd to Somerton Rd between Wildwood and Oaklands Rds. Dean’s Hotel was at its south west corner.
Lot 5 was not in the township of Bulla. It was actually crown allotments 1, 2 and 6 of section 1 Bulla, all granted to Walter Clark of “Glenara” in the early 1870’s:
i.e. c/a 1 of 14a. 1 r.26 p. (and 1A of 2 acres set apart for the Church of England, i.e. St Mary’s built by Mary Greene of Woodlands in 1858 and relocated to Bulla Village soon after the airport opened by Walter V. (Major) Murphy.); c/a 2 of 14a. 2r. 29p.; c/a 6 of 16a.3r.26p.-a total of 46 acres 6 roods and 81 perches (48 acres no roods and 1 perch and with the church land excluded, 46 acres 1 perch or 46.00625 acres.)
Lot 10 was James Henry Parr’s “The Elms” through which Link Rd runs south before turning to the west. The Link Rd corner was the corner of Conders Lane, one of the east-west subdivision access tracks on John Pascoe Fawkner’s subdivision of the parts of section 6 and 7 Tullamarine on the Keilor side of Bulla Rd. Tullamarine State School 2613 operated on the north side of Conders Lane. So the land did face the state school, looking north west.
The former owners of lot 11 would have been James Henry Parr and possibly Thomas Anderson, both stalwarts of the Tullamarine Methodist Church. “Anderson and Parr” were assessed in about 1900 on 165 acres which later became Bill Parr’s “Annandale”. Lot 11 was south of “The Elms” on another subdivisional track called Anderson’s Lane which left Bulla Rd opposite today’s Strathconnan Square. (J.P. Fawkner’s section 6,7 subdivision transposed on my 1999 Melway.) Incidentally this map has revealed the FERGUSON connection to Tullamarine!