TOMMY LOFT OF "DALKEITH", TULLAMARINE.
Dalkeith was the name that Tommy gave to the 200 acres fronting the west side of Broadmeadows Road with a half mile (800 metre) frontage to Sharps Rd which included today's Fisher Grove house blocks. A stalwart of the Tullamarine Methodist Church he acted as its Sunday School Superintendent for many years and his daughter, Doris Scoones, ran very popular Sunday School concerts at the hall in Westmeadows. His son, Ray, married Maggie Millar, rented and then bought "Broombank" which included the North Edge apartment site, Tadstan Drive and Millar Rd, which he subdivided in 1952.

Tommy, whose full name was Thomas Benjamin Loft convened the meeting in 1924 at which the Tullamarine Progress Association was formed and in 1929, he had the Junction Hotel closed down; soon afterwards Cec and Lily Green bought the closed hotel and used it as a lolly shop and garage with the result that Tullamarine Junction became known as Greens' Corner.

By the time of Tommy's death, Dalkeith, now only 160 acres, was owned by Leslie King Dawson and in about 1951, Percy Hurren, formerly the postmaster at Jones' Corner at Moorooduc, became the last man to farm Dalkeith.

Tommy had attempted an early subdivision but there was little demand. Eumarella St was named after Eumeralla, a place where Tommy had grown up and Gordon St was named after Tommy's grandson, Ray and Maggie's son. When Percy Hurren's farm was subdivided as the Broadwood Park Estate in the 1960's the main through street was called Dawson St but it was not until about 1974 that a bridge over Spring Creek allowed the Broadmeadows and Sharps Rd ends to be connected.

Tommy certainly got around. In 1914, while living on the west side of Ascot Vale Rd, he was running a dairy farm at Melton, becoming insolvent in 1918. In 1920, apparently while living at 265 Ascot Vale Rd, he was leasing land on the north west corner of Mickleham and Somerton Rds at Greenvale (immediately east of John McKerchar's "Greenvale" which Robert Millar had renamed as "The Elms", possibly explaining how his son Ray had first met Maggie Millar.) Also in 1919-20, Tommy was leasing crown allotments 28 and 29 Wannaeue, a total of 323 acres*, the residential portion of Moonah Links at Melway 252 D-E, 1-3.) The late Ray Cairns, ten days after his 100th birthday, who was then a 10 year old boy, remembered him with affection as a wonderful man.

*The Shire of Flnders rate records lacked much detail and I assumed that John and James Orr of "Kia ora" (Melway 5 J 5 which they were leasing from the Donald Kennedy Estate until 1929 when they bought it) were also leasing the land at the back of Rye in 1917 and 1918 and that in 1919 Thomas Loft had taken over the lease. However the Orrs had owned the land and sold it to Tommy in March 1920.

320 acres situate at Rye, on account Mr John Orr, Broadmeadows. to Mr T B Loft, of Ascot Vale.
(P.3, Yea Chronicle, 25-3-1920.)

A stock report indicated that T.B.Loft was at Greenvale and every time he was moving between Greenvale and Melbourne he would have passed Kiaora.

Mr T. B. Loft
Mr Thomas B. Loft, who died on Sunday at the age of 79, was a well known personality at Newmarket saleyards. For about 35 years he was a member of the country staff of Macarthur and Macleod Pty Ltd. In his young days he was engaged in farming in the Melton district, where he owned several large areas: In recent years, because of failinghealth, he had been living in semi retirement. He has left a widow, two sons; and two daughters. (P.4, Argus, 5-7-1947.)

EventDeath Event registration number5305 Registration year1947
Personal information
Family nameLOFT Given namesThomas Benjamin SexMale Father's nameLOFT Henry Mother's nameEmma (Shandeven) Place of birthVICTORIA Place of deathCHELTENHAM Age78

It was Tommy's daughter-in -law, Maggie, nee Millar, who stated at the 1989 Back to Tullamarine that Eumarella St was named after the place where Tommy grew up. Unfortunately Tommy's place of birth is not given in his death record but Charles Loft who died in 1941* and was born at Macarthur seems to have had the same parents despite the mother's maiden name differing.. Macarthur is near the start of the Eumeralla River!
*CHARLES LOFT

Charles' death record wrongly gives his place of birth as Windsor.
EventBirth Event registration number3719 Registration year1878
Personal information
Family nameLOFT Given namesCharles SexUnknown Father's nameHenry Mother's nameEmma (Bradley) Place of birthMA CA

Charles and Thomas were definitely brothers!
EventBirth Event registration number9600 Registration year1869
Personal information
Family nameLOFT Given namesThomas Benjamin SexUnknown Father's nameHenry Mother's nameEmma (Bradley) Place of birthMACARTHUR


LOFT. - On August 2, Clara, widow of the late Thomas Benjamin Loft, 49 Aberfeldie street, Essendon,dearly loved mother of Hazel, Doris, Ray, and Harold, aged 82 years.
-At rest. (Private interment.)
LOFT. - On August 2, Clara, the dearly loved mother of Doris (Mrs.J. Scoones, Millpark, South Morang).
-Sweet peace. (P.13, Argus, 3-8-1949.)

It seems that Tommy may have married a cousin.
EventMarriage Event registration number1249 Registration year1894
Personal information
Family nameLOFT Given namesThos Benjn SexMale Spouse's family nameBRADLEY Spouse's given namesClara


Tommy's daughter Hazel was the mother of Stan Excell.
EventMarriage Event registration number2636 Registration year1923
Personal information
Family nameLOFT Given namesHazel Phyllis SexUnknown Spouse's family nameEXCELL Spouse's given namesJos Danl Pryse

THOMAS AND CLARA'S CHILDREN.
HAZEL born in 1896 at Malvern (reg. no.13098)

DORIS CORALIE, born at Malvern 1898 (reg. no.4694) Doris married Jim (James Henry) Scoones in 1926 (reg. no.2781)

RAY. Born at Malvern in about 1900 as indicated by his death record*. The year of birth given is obviously that of his son, Raymond Gordon, after whom Gordon St was named.
EventBirth Event registration number30022 Registration year1930
Personal information
Family nameLOFT Given namesRay Thos Bradley SexMale Father's nameThos Benj Mother's nameClara (Bradley) Place of birthMVERN

* EventDeath Event registration number19554 Registration year1979
Personal information
Family nameLOFT Given namesRaymond Thomas Bradley SexMale Father's nameLOFT Thomas Mother's nameClara (Bradley) Place of birthMalvern Place of deathMelbourne South Age79

ARTHUR HAROLD born at Malvern in 1906 (reg. no.12039.)

RAY'S MARRIAGE.
EventMarriage Event registration number1710 Registration year1924
Personal information
Family nameLOFT Given namesRaymond Thos Bradley SexUnknown Spouse's family nameMILLAR Spouse's given namesIsabel Maggie

LOFT—MILLAR.—On the 13th February, 1924,at Maribyrnong road Presbyterian Church,Ascotvale, by the Rev. D. S. McKenzie,assisted by the Rev. W. Goyen, Raymond T. B., son of Mr. and Mrs. T. B. Loft, of Dalkeith, Tullamarine, to Isobel Maggie,youngest daughter of Mrs. and the late Mr. Robert Millar, of Ballater Park, Greenvale.
(P.13, Argus, 8-3-1924.)

ARTHUR'S MARRIAGE.
EventMarriage Event registration number8753 Registration year1928
Personal information
Family nameLOFT Given namesArth Harold SexUnknown Spouse's family nameHOSSACK Spouse's given namesElizth Irvine

The Hossacks must have been at Greenvale at some stage. The Souters were related to the Gambles whose 180 acre "Brocklands", formerly known as "Springfield North" was purchased to establish Aitken College.

HOSSACK .—On May 17 at her residence, 558 Bell street Pascoevale South, Rachel beloved wife of George Hossack loving mother of Rachel (Mrs Souter, Portland) Mary (Mrs Prankerd, Buchan), Elizabeth (Mrs Loft, Foster), and George (Mansfield) aged 91 years.(P.14, Argus, 18-5-1951.)

EventDeath Event registration number28440 Registration year1977
Personal information
Family nameLOFT Given namesElizabeth Irvine SexFemale Father's nameHOSSACK George Mother's nameRachael (Irvine) Place of birthShepparton Place of deathLeongatha Age74

EventDeath Event registration number30526 Registration year1987
Personal information
Family nameLOFT Given namesArthur Harold SexMale Father's nameLOFT Thomas Benjamin Mother's nameClare (Bradley) Place of birthMelton* Place of deathHeidelberg Age81 (*Malvern on birth record)

As there was no marriage notice for Arthur and Elizabeth and Arthur may have died at the Heidelberg Repat.,( having fought in W.W,2?) leaving no common place of death for the above two deceased, I tried the formula that worked fairly well before I discovered Victorian BDM, namely:
birth surname, given name, married surname, in Elizabeth's case- HOSSACK ELIZABETH, LOFT.

GEORGE HOSSACK
--.--+ George Hossack (1860-1951) married Rachel Irvine (c1860-1951)
--.--.--+ Rachel Hossack (1892-?) married Frederick Stewart Souter
--.--.--+ Isabella Hossack (1893-1915)
--.--.--+ Helen Hossack (1895-1901)
--.--.--+ Mary Hossack (1897-?) married UNKNOWN Prankerd
--.--.--+ Penuel Hossack (1900.-1910)
--.--.--+ Elizabeth Irvine Hossack (1903-?) married Arthur Harold Loft
--.--.--+ George Cumming Hossack (1905-1974) married Mona Mary Russell


ONE MORE THING.
Which Loft child was born in 1930?
George and Rachel Hossack's house was probably the place of birth.
LOFT. –On the 8th March, at Bell street Pascoe vale to Mr. and Mrs.A.H. Loft of Tullamarine–a son (John David).
(P.1, Argus, 11-3-1930.)

It wasn't Gordon as I had suspected.
LOFT (nee Maggie Millar).-On the 1st February, at Sister Davies's private hospltal, Scott street,Essendon, to Mr.and Mrs. Ray Loft, Wahroonga,Tullamarine-a son (Gordon Raymond).P.56, THE AUSTRALASIAN, 16-2-1929.