A BRIEF HISTORY OF TOOTGAROOK FOR JUSTIN. Justin is not a member of family tree circles but is primarily responsible for my ability to post and is interested in local history, so when he asked for some information about Tootgarook’s past, how could I refuse?

Great confusion has been caused by the name of George Smith's homestead on his run being thought to be a separate run, whose location was never specified. The Tootgarook Run itself, and the area it occupied has also been described by a variety of names.



Edward Hobson was one of the earliest Southern Peninsula pioneers. He was on the Kanjeering (Kangerong) run by 1837 but “Before the close of June 1837, he moved down the bay past Arthurs Seat and took up the country between the present day townships of Dromana and Rye. His run (was) known to Henry Meyrick as Packomedurrawurra..” (P.25, A DREAMTIME OF DROMANA.)
By 1844, after some time near the Tarwin River, Edward moved to the location of present day Traralgon to manage the run of his brother, Dr. Edmund Hobson:
An Historical Account of Traralgon
www.traralgonhistory.asn.au/rolf/chapter2.htm
• When Edward Hobson reached here in 1844,
It must have been the Hobsons who gave the Traralgon run its name. The name comes from the aboriginal words "Tarra", meaning a river, and "Algon" meaning little fish, and that is why I have called this story "The River of Little Fish". It was probably Edward Hobson who spelt the name as we spell it today, for the Doctor, who did not come up to see the run for three years, spelt it "Tralgon" when he was writing a letter to his wife in Melbourne while he was here.
George Smith, who supposedly married the mother of Edward and Edmund Hobson, had a run called Wooloowoolooboolook (which had various spellings); when Sarah Ann Cain went missing and was eventually found; she was taken to George’s homestead where Mrs Smith nursed her back to health.
1844.
" October 26.—News from Arthur's Seat of the discovery and safety of Sarah Ann Cain, the child of the lime-burner. She was only four years old, and had been lost for four days and five nights in the bush. Some of the nights were very severe, with heavy rain. She had heard the men cooeying, but did not answer, fearing they were blacks. When found, she was warding the attacks of the crows on her face with her hands, and was all but exhausted. A warm bath and the administration of food in small quantities brought her completely round ; and she afterwards grew up a fine young woman. (Georgiana McCrae’s Journal.)
Smith’s run probably adjoined Hobson’s run and was known to include the foreshore land near the McCrae lighthouse. It might have been Hobson’s run! It is likely that Smith managed Hobson’s run when the latter departed for Gippsland. In 1850, according to C.N.Hollinshed in LIME LAND LEISURE, Edward Hobson bought Smith’s lease and requested that both be transferred to James Purves. Purves obviously had a business relationship with Edward and by 1855 bought “The Rosebud” from him and insured it for 700 pounds before it was stranded at you know where.James Purves, an architect and businessman, retained the run and bought the Pre-emptive Right.
But he was not really a pioneer of Tootgarook! It was his brother, Peter, who applied for a licence for the Tootgarook Inn in 1857, the tap room in Leonard St, Rye that the shire recently allowed to be demolished. It was Peter Purves who in 1859, with James Ford, persuaded practically all their neighbours to oppose a proposed fence from White Cliff to the back beach. Peter, who probably gave the run its new name of Tootgarook, died in 1860 and his son, James, took over the management of Tootgarook Station. The homestead was named Broomielaw and the greatest indication that his uncle, who owned the station, spent little time there was the 1877 report of a sale that stated, “At Tootgarook, which, at this late date in the history of Victoria, is not famous for a very imposing homestead-or indeed in any building that does not require demolishing and rebuilding –“
Because of the run, the area became known as Tootgarook and though the village to the west was called Rye, the first school, on the site of Rye’s present Anglican Church and the post office were officially described as Tootgarook. In 1867 when former Dromana resident William Cottier applied for a licence for a “house” built on the grants of his partner and fellow ex-Dromana resident, John Campbell, who built the first stage of the Rye Pier in that year, he called it the TOOTGAROOK Hotel* (not the Rye Hotel as claimed in LIME LAND LEISURE.) It was in Cottier’s hotel that doomed Rosebud fisherman, Patrick Tolmut Wee Wee, a Maori, met the four doomed quarrymen and arranged to take them to the Quarantine Station.

(*There have been two Tootgarook Hotels and two Rye Hotels.The first licence for a Tootgarook Hotel was by Peter Purves in 1857; this hotel was almost certainly the tap room on the Tootgarook pre-emptive right. In 1867, William Cottier applied for a licence for the Tootgarook Hotel which was almost certainly on the grants of his partner, John Campbell, between today's Ray White Real Estate and the shop on the east side of Shark Shack fish and chips (inclusive of both.) In 1870, Cottier became insolvent and the partnership was dissolved by mutual consent, the hotel's ownership probably passing to Campbell who applied for a licence in 1873, now calling it the Rye Hotel. George Trueman probably ran it in 1872 but did not specify a name for the hotel. The second Rye Hotel was on part of its present location. Its forerunner was built in about 1877 by Patrick Sullivan on land granted to William Grace and named the Gracefield Hotel. In about 1927,Mrs Hunt demolished the Gracefield and built the art deco core of the present Rye Hotel. Remarkably William Cottier, John Campbell and William Grace were all former Dromana pioneers. For more details about the hotels and the Trueman family, see my journals:
GEORGE TRUEMAN'S HOTEL AT RYE, VIC., AUST., IN 1872 SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN THE ORIGINAL RYE HOTEL.
by itellya on 2015-10-04 03:29:39. page views: 108, comments: 4
THE TRUEMANS OF TOOTGAROOK, VIC., AUST.
by itellya on 2015-10-04 20:16:38. page views: 63, comments: 0)

MORE ABOUT GEORGE SMITH.
I stated before that George Smith may have been on Tootgarook.On page 4 of The Argus of 21-5-1850,a government notice lists occupants and other details of runs for which the occupants were to submit applications for 12 month leases from 1-1-1851. In the County of Mornington,No. 17 of 19 was George Smith (occupant), 20 square miles (extent), Tootgarook (name of run), Port Phillip Bay.
"Contrary to what is widely asserted, he did not hold a licence for Wul-Wul-a-Bulluk on the Mornington Peninsula: a thorough search of the original Pastoral Run Papers produced no papers for Wul-Wul-a-Bulluk in the box which holds all the original ‘W’ Pastoral Run Papers.50 Wul-Wul-a-Bulluk is not a pastoral run; it is the name of the house at Capel Sound where he lived in the 1840s.51"
(I SUCCEEDED ONCE.)
I also mentioned that George was supposedly married to the mother of Edward and Edmund Hobson. A Tootgarook 1850's search on trove brought up Marie Hansen Fels' explanation of the relationship, as well as some new information about Tootgarook, in I SUCCEEDED ONCE.
"The simple, though for the time, extraordinary explanation* is that George Smith lived with Malvina Hobson nee Lutterell, mother of Edward and Edmund at Capel Sound. George Gordon McCrae devotes pages to describing their lovely house and garden and view, and Mrs Smith’s culinary achievements and her kindness to the McCrae boys. But there is no record of a divorce from Edward Hobson senior and she died as Malvina Hobson, as indicated earlier.
(* of the lack of detail re George Smith's family.)
The biographer of the Lutterell family57 tells an amazing story of Malvina’s life. Baptised in Tonbridge Kent in 1799, one of ten children in the family, she was brought to New South Wales by her father Dr Edward Luttrell who received a land grant and an appointment as assistant colonial surgeon at Parramatta. She was married as a child-bride to Edward Hobson senior in 1813, and produced her two sons Edmund and Edward quite quickly. They are alleged to have been born in Parramatta, but New South Wales has no record of this and their baptisms are recorded in VDL, and Edmund at least was raised by his grandparents in Hobart. Edward Hobson senior is last picked up in the records running a school in Clarence Plains, VDL.
By 1823 Malvina was living openly with a convicted man named Bartholomew Broughton: Broughton’s offence is unspecified but he was a gentleman, formerly a lieutenant in the Royal Navy. Malvina’s parents must have approved of Broughton because when he died, he was buried with Dr Lutterell in the Lutterell family vault. But Dr Lutterell definitely did not approve of Malvina – in his will, in which he left his estate to his sons and to his dearly beloved grandson Edmund, he noted that Edmund was a poor unfortunate orphan whose parents did not love him and who left him without any provision or patrimony.
Malvina Lutterell/Hobson/Broughton/Smith was a practical woman it seems. In 1844, when Sarah Anne Cain, a lime burner’s four year old daughter was found, exhausted, keeping crows off her face with her hand, having been missing for four days and five nights, it was Mrs Smith who had the knowledge and the presence of mind to put the child in a warm bath, then feed her a teaspoon of food at a time until the little girl recovered.58 She was generous as well. In the winter of 1845 Georgiana McCrae sent one of the men working for the McCraes to Mrs Smith to borrow some beef because the McCraes had run out, and the contract with their workers Henry Tuck and Lanty Cheney specified a ration of ten lbs of beef per week; Mrs Smith sent back not only the requested beef but a ham and greens as well.59
The Smiths were living at Capel Sound in July 1846 when George Smith’s blackfellows called in en route from Melbourne with the bag which Georgiana McCrae’s servant raided for onions, but which contained daffodil bulbs.60 The McCrae’s tutor Mr John McLure was a visitor to George Smith’s station along the beach in 1848, as was Mr Liardet.61 However they managed it, Mrs Smith was acknowledged in polite society, and George Smith remained connected to her sons and grandsons, though not to her. She was buried in Brighton after her death in 1866 with a neighbour as informant, ignorant of her living son’s name and whereabouts, aware only that she had a son who was a doctor.62 There is a letter in the Hobson Papers from George Smith by this time, 1867, resident in Sydney, addressed to Dr Hobson’s son, dealing with the issue of 125 acres of land in Sydney granted to Malvina Luttrell the mother of Edward and Edmund Hobson.63
It was George Smith and Edward Hobson who established the fame of the cups country for horse breeding, not James Purves who purchased the run as a going concern with an already established reputation. George Gordon McCrae mentions Smith’s horses well before Purves came to the district, ‘It was always a pleasant tramp for us from Arthur’s Seat [to Boniong] through Hobson’s flat with its little knots of horses and browsing cows’.64
GRANTEES.
James Purves purchased the 640 acre (square mile) Tootgarook Pre-emptive right on 22-10-1855. There was no real need for him to buy it so early because as long as he paid the yearly rent to the crown, nobody else could buy it. It was bounded by the beach road,Government Rd/Weeroona St,Brights Drive (roughly) and the Kevin St/Morris St midline.
The parish of Wanneue is divided into Section A and section B, the former consisting of the former Tootgarook Run and the latter of the Arthurs Seat Run. As the land west of Elizabeth Avenue to Truemans Rd was later referred to as Tootgarook later, I will include it in our discussion.Lime merchant, William Allison Blair, bought c/a 53 of 60 acres between the beach road and the westernmost 694 metres of Eastbourne Rd and another 75 metres east of Ned Williams' Chinamans Creek channel.He also bought crown allotments 51, 49 and 45,a total of 419 acres fronting the east side of Truemans Rd from the beach road to Hiscock Rd.
This was bought by the Woinarski family which built the heritage listed "Woyna" at 9-11 Terry St and was eventually subdivided as the Woyna Estate,hence Woyna Ave. For details see my journal on family tree circles entitled:
WOYNA AVENUE (ROSEBUD WEST, VIC., AUST.), A NOBLE NAME ...
www.familytreecircles.com/woyna-avenue-rosebud-west-vic-aus…...
On the west side of Truemans Rd, three of our pioneers bought land from the beach road to the freeway reservation. On 16-8-1865, Sam Stenniken bought c/a 48 of 108 acres extending 833 metres to the Kevin /Morris midline (and the Tootgarook P.R.) and nearly 744 metres south to he Bona/Ronald St midline.) Sam Stenniken married the older sister of Sam Sherlock, who did a horseback mail run between Rye and Cheltenham and worked for Barker near Cape Schanck before becoming a pioneer at Green Island between Mornington and Mt Martha.The Stennikens had a daughter named Maria who married Godfrey Burdett Wilson. Burdett St recalls Godfrey and the maiden name of his mother, Thamer (nee Burdett.)
James Trueman bought 112 acres between Ronald St and Guest St (both inclusive) on 5-7-1877.
HE CALLED HIS FARM "WENSAW".
COOK-TRUEMAN.— On the 1st October, at the Church of England, Rye. by the Rev. C. Chase, Henry John Cook,of Granville station, New South Wales, eldest son of the late Mr. George Cook, of Union-street, Brunswick, to
Ellen, second daughter of Mr. James Trueman, farmer,Wensaw, Rye, Victoria.(P.44, Leader, 26-10-1889.)


I CAN SAVE MYSELF A BIT OF TYPING HERE. PARDON A LITTLE REPETITION. (Copied from my info on wikipedia!)
In 1857, James Trueman and his wife, Jane (nee Cook) sailed to Melbourne on the "Sabrina" and probably went immediately to Purves' station. The birth of his daughter, Sarah, was registered at Pt Nepean in 1857 and that of Emma was registered at Tootgarook in 1858; a registrar had probably been appointed in between the births, most likely the teacher at the Church of England school in what would become Rye. James is said to have built and operated a tap room on the Purves' property. (Peter Purves applied for a licence in 1857.)
Tootgarook basically consists of the Tootgarook Station and four blocks between it and Truemans Rd. The Stennikens received the grant of 108 acres which extended south from the beach road almost to Ronald St. It was auctioned on 4-2-1920. Burdett St recalls Godfrey Burdett Wilson, a son in law of Ben Stenniken. Probably one of the first buildings on the subdivision was Birkdale House, which still stands on the east corner of Carmichael St.
James Trueman was granted 112 acres which was later two 56 acre farms owned by his sons, Thomas and William. Thomas had the part west of Darvall St, which was bought by Raymond Guest in 1948. Ray was a hairdresser who looked after the grooming of T.V. stars such as Graeme Kennedy's barrel girl, Panda.Guest St and Alma St were named after himself and his wife and the other east-west streets (except Ronald St) were named after his brother, Russell, and his sons. The subdivision was called the ALMARAY ESTATE. The portion fronting Truemans Rd was bought by poultry farmer, Harry Doig, in 1939 after Fred Trueman and his first wife had left the farm. Ronald Doig was one of the foundation pupils at Tootgarook State school when it opened in 1950.Harry Doig had become a friend of Wilfred Rowley in the Mallee and when he came to Birkdale to visit him, he met Dot Rowley, whom he later married. As the ALMARAY ESTATE was subdivided before Harry's land, the street names applied there were given to the continuations west and east into Bright and Doig land. Harry's land was subdivided as the OCEANAIRES ESTATE in the mid 1950's. Ronald St and Doig Ave are named after family members but Harry Doig was responsible for another name.
From just south of Guest St to the northern boundary of the Truemans Rd tip (or the proposed freeway)two allotments totalling 117 acres were granted to Robert Rowley, one of the peninsula's first permanent pioneers.Robert's wife Christine (Edwards) was from Longford in Tasmania. Their farmhouse was at the end of Carboor St.
Tootgarook was at first the official name for Rye as well as the Purves' station. After the Purves sold out, the area was variously described as Rosebud, Rye, and Birkdale (the most prominent feature being Birkdale House.) Harry Doig agitated successfully for the old name of Tootgarook to be used once again. (Whittaker's busline had advertised Dromana, Rosebud, Birkdale and Rye as drop off and pick up places for their tourist runs from Melbourne.)(Sources:Memoirs of a Larrikin,Rye:A Book of Memories, Ron Doig, Ray Guest and subdivision plans, Heather Spunner (Trueman genealogy), Parish maps, rate records, The Argus)
The Tootgarook station was sold in about 1920 and most of it became Rye Park of 519 acres, leased by Ern Jennings as a dairy farm until 1939. Between there and Morris St lived the Bright family. Frank Bright was the first captain of the Tootgarook Rural Fire Brigade. The Bright house was James Trueman's old tap room.Brights Drive is named after the family.
Like Rosebud West and Rye, Tootgarook had abundant limestone: the Stennikens supplied the stone for the original C of E school in Rye and James Trueman supplied additional limestone when this was demolished and the present front section of the church was built. (Sources: Lime Land Leisure, Rye: A Book of Memories.)
Today
In the same suburb, but extending to neighbouring suburbs, is the Tootgarook Wetland. This wetland is about 300 hectares in size and supports many rare and endangered species of flora and fauna. Most of the wetland is in private ownership and some is vulnerable to development.
The local school in the area is http://www.tootps.vic.edu.au/ Tootgarook Primary School, which currently has 203 students.
(Suburb Description for Tootgarook - Apartments Australia ...
www.apartmentsaustralia.com.au/suburb/…/3941/tootgarook/more)

EXPLOITING THE SWAMP.
I had the same opinion of swamps as the pioneers, that they were a nuisance causing detours for travellers and a waste of valuable land. Buckley St in West Essendon used to be called Braybrook Rd because it led to the closest early crossing of the Saltwater River to Melbourne, Solomon's Ford,the aboriginal fish trap which had stopped Grimes' progress upriver by boat in 1803. The West Melbourne swamp prevented travel towards today's Footscray and Dynon Rd was originally called Swamp Rd.

Paul Dillon's children's book about frogs forced to flee the Balnarring swamp*, Cameron Brown's efforts to save the Tootgarook swamp, and the following, certainly changed my mind.
(*The Author — The Symphony by Paul Dillon
www.thesymphonybook.com/author/)


Wetlands, swamps 'hold great potential' to store carbon, fight ...
www.abc.net.au/news/2015-02-16/australian...swamps.../6107624
Feb 15, 2015 - "Wetlands can store approximately 50 times as much carbon as quite high carbon sequestration ecosystems such as tropical rainforests.

DANGER???
The suspension of the standing orders was moved by Cr Clark in order to hear the views of a deputation from landowners, Boneo, re the danger of swamp. Ex-Cr Cain, Messrs Jensen;-Woinarski and Crichton spoke in support of request for assistance in forming one road and the widening of three besides -Cr Rudduck supported the request, and stated that they should certainly help the progressive spirit., Here they had landowners who were prepared to put their hands into their pockets to improve their holdings, which would be beneficial to the. council. (P.2, Mornington Standard, 3-2-1912.)
N.B. John Cain's land was east of the swamp, his historic limestone house still standing just south of Bunnings, Woinarski was on Woyna between Elizabeth Ave and Truemans Rd south to Hiscock Rd and Alex Crichton was for many decades on John Lovie's grants south of Eastbourne and Woyna,Hiscock Rd being his northern boundary except for the southern 30 acres of the original Eastbourne that he farmed.


POWER??????
The lime deposits were not a startling discovery, most early pioneers from Boneo Rd to Portsea being engaged in the lime burning industry. It is interesting that the swamp area had been home to grass trees which remain in the Betty Clift Conservation Reserve (Melway 170 E6) in some numbers.

VICTORIAN SWAMP DEPOSIT.
VALUABLE COMMERCIAL, PRODUCT.
On a health trip to Europe, Mr .W.Cochrane Robertson, the supervising analyst of the Victorian Department of
Agriculture passed through Fremantle yesterday on the mail steamer Osterley. Combining business with pleasure, Mr.Robertson is taking to England for analysis a number of deposits amongst which is a unique organic substance from the Boneo swamp on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, which, it is claimed, will be of great commercial value. The treatment of a parcel of 50 tons, which is being conveyed to England by the s.s.Boorara, will be supervised by Mr.Robertson.

Discussing the potentialities of the deposit with a "West Australian" representative, Mr. Robertson explained that it was composed of a species of sedge grass or Zanthaema--a grass tree. The deposit was about five feet in depth and covered an area of 800 acres. Preliminary tests, which he had conducted in the destructive distillation of the substance, had resulted in an excellent return of sulphate of ammonia, light solvent oils and methyl alcohol, all of which are essentials in commerce particularly for the generation of power in its many forms. 'My particular mission," said Mr. Robertson, "is to determine the most suitable retort in which to conduct the distillations. To assist me, the department has arranged for the parcel of the deposit to be treated in several different ways and the results will guide me in my choice. If the success is as great as I anticipate these apparently useless swamp lands will become a valuable asset and will revolutionise the
vicinity in which they are situated." Mr.Robertson added that apart from the byproducts it would be made possible to provide power at an extremely small cost, and as there would be a large surplus
for disposal, considerable encouragement would be given to the establishment of industries. The deposit was superimposed upon a stratum of whiting which was eminently suited to the production of high-grade cement and the surrounding country was largely made up of lime deposits.
"'You will think I am expecting too much from 800 acres of swamp land," Mr.Robertson concluded, with a smile. "but if Western Australia could find a similar deposit-and there is no reason why there should not be one tucked away in this great State of yours--your agriculturists and scientists would find it equally beneficial to exploit as we shall." (etc.)(P.8, The West Australian, 24-3-1921.)

FERTILISER,THE TRAMLINE AND THE CICADA.
EXHIBIT OF VICTORIA'S NATURAL FERTILISING DEPOSIT. "CICADA." BY TOOTGAKOOK ESTATE PTY. LTD.
(P.38,The Australasian,2-10-1920. PHOTO.)


WILL THE (RED HILL)LINE PAY?
It is said that there is a large deposit of material useful as a fertiliser in the Boneo swamps. If this deposit is valuable and extensive, the goods traffic on the railway will eventually be great enough, perhaps, to pay for operation. Baldry's is five miles from Red Hill, and Boneo is five miles farther on. No request has been, or is likely to be made by the Railway Department for the extension of the railway, but interests are at work which may compel attention. (P.3, Frankston and Somerville Standard, 9-12-1921.)

KETCH ASHORE
The Cicada, a wooden auxiliary ketch of 35 tons, belonging to tho Tootgarook Estate proprietary, Limited, and which trades in Port Phillip, was blown ashore at Dromana, Victoria, by a strong wind. A heavy sea was running, and by means of a line, which was made fast ashore,the crew of three landed safely. The vessel was laden with timber. (P.4,The Newcastle Sun, 11-8-1922.)

The Cicada had obviously been purchased to transport the fertiliser to Little Dock in Melbourne but between these trips,perhaps some of the 2 ft 6 inch lengths of ti tree provided by Ben Stenniken and James Sullivan were carried from Rye to Melbourne for the bakers' ovens. However the voyage above proved to be a disaster and may have been the reason there had been the difficulties associated with transport mentioned on 28-10-1922.

THIS DAY. At Twelve O'clock Noon. At the Rooms, 15 Queen Street Under Instructions from the Tootgarook Estates
Pty. Ltd., as Owner.
SALE by PUBLIC AUCTION of the AUXILIARY KETCH CICADA, As She Now Lies at the Entrance to Dromana, Together with all her Gear, including Gardiner Motor Engine (4-cylinder, Oin. stroke, 30-li.p.)and Winch Engine.
The vessel was built in 1877 at Huon, Tasmania, and measures 67 3-10th feet, breadth 18ft., depth in hold from tonnage deck to ceiling, 5ft. and two-tenths; gross tonnage, 35 and eight-tenths. She was refitted in December, 1920, and all her sails, &c., are practically new. CHARLES FORRESTER and Co. (P.2,Argus, 12-9-1922.)

Mornington Peat Deposits.
Fertiliser Plant to be Installed.
LONDON, Oct. 27.
Mr Walter Hiscock, of Melbourne, in conjunction with Mr E Lloyd Pease, of Stockton-on -Tees chemical works, has arranged to establish a plant at Mornington Peninsula for the production of a new fertiliser from Mornington's unique peat deposits.

The site selected by Mr Hiscock lies between Rosebud and Rye, in what is known as Boneo Swamp, on the Mornington Peninsula. In the district there is an immense deposit of valuable peat composed of decayed vegetable matter, guano and sea shells, which tests have shown to be of a great value, after a process of destructive distillation as a fertiliser The deposit is from 1ft to 8ft in depth, and extends towards Cape Schanck. In places it is exposed on the surface. Up to the present the output has been limited owing to the
difficulty of handling and transport. It is expected that within 12 months the works will be established.
(P.29, Argus,28-10-1922.)

Transport to the site of the "works" (now occupied by the motel on the east corner of Truemans Rd) was provided by a tramline that ran up the east side of Truemans Rd. The tramline is shown on an early map posted on the HISTORY OF DROMANA TO PORTSEA Facebook group page by Ron Doig.

DRAINING THE SWAMP.
RECLAMATION OF LARGE SWAMP.
Proposal to Minister
With the object of making available for settlement the area of 1,200 acres covered by the Tootgarook swamp, a mile and a half from Rosebud, a deputation from the Flinders Shire Council yesterday requested the Minister for Public Works (Mr.Goudie) to provide £750 from unemployment relief funds for the regrading of the Boneo drain. The council, it was stated,was willing to contribute £250, and it was claimed that the soil, if properly
drained and sweetened for a few years, would be equal to the best in Victoria.Mr. Goudie said that if the residents were willing to form a drainage trust to ensure the proper maintenance of the drain he would inquire into the practicability of effectively draining the swamp. (P.10, Argus,22-7-1937.)


WOYNA AT TOOTGAROOK?
Rosebud West did not have its own name and an early foreshore committee actually decided to call the area Eastbourne after Crispo's property which comprised the Village Glen and land westwards to the line of Elizabeth Avenue. The swamp extended into the southern portion of Eastbourne,being fed by the Drum Drum Alloc Creek alongside which an imaginary government road ran from the junction of (Old) Cape Schanck and Jetty Rds to Truemans Rd through an area described as Boneo. It's easy for a surveyor to draw a road on a parish map but much harder (and expensive) to make a road THROUGH A SWAMP.

As you will see below,the swamp was referred to as the Boneo Swamp but it is now known as the Tootgarook swamp which is not in reference to the suburb (west of Truemans Rd)but the TOOTGAROOK RUN which extended east near the foreshore to the rocks (Anthonys Nose) until George Smith generously transferred the easternmost portion near the lighthouse) to Andrew McCrae's Arthurs Seat Run so the latter could have beach access. (I SUCCEEDED ONCE, Marie Hansen Fels.) Despite not being in the suburb of Tootgarook, the swamp's present name is correct because it was part of the TOOTGAROOK RUN. The same applies to the Truemans Rd Reserve and an early description of the location of Woyna.

The swamp area was usually under water in winter but probably provided good grazing later in the year as the water trickled out through Chinamans Creek. But the "vibe*" of Woyna had changed, a fertiliser plant at the north west corner and quarrying at the south west,linked by a noisy tram, meant no more "tranquility*" and reduced grazing for the cows. No wonder the dairy plant was being sold.(*Couldn't help using iconic words from THE CASTLE.)

Extensive Sale
of
DAIRY CATTLE AND PLANT ROSEBUD ROSEBUD WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5, 1925 ALEX. SCOTT & Co. Pty, Ltd. have received instructions from the WOYNA DAIRY Co., "Tootgarook" Estate, 1 1/2 miles from Rosebud, 5 from Dromana, and 15 from Mornington, to sell by Public Auction, without reserve, on the Property, at 12 o'clock sharp on the above date
20 MILKERS 40 SPRINGERS 25 HEIFERS, 2 to 3 years. Jersey Bull, 2 years; Ayrshire Bull, 4 years; 3 Dt. Mares splendid workers; 5 Milk Cart Horses, good sorts; 31 h.p. Bartram Engine; 2 De Laval Separators (I steam); 4 Churns; 2 Coolers; 10 Milk Cans; etc. (P.2, Frankston and Somerville Standard, 31-7-1925.)

STENNIKENS' GRANT AND THE GOVERNMENT ROAD BETWEEN ROSEBUD AND RYE.
When tenders for road work were advertised the location was usually given as so many chains between A's and B's (names of property owners. Few roads bore official names, hence the description of Truemans Rd as in the title. This could easily be interpreted as the road from Rosebud to Rye! Ben Stenniken had died and his land at Rye was being offered for sale along with the north eastern 108 acres of today's Tootgarook which was described as being at ROSEBUD.

ROSEBUD.
LOT 3, on main road to Sorrento, corner of Government-road between Rosebud and Rye, Crown allotment 48, parish of Wannaeue, containing 103 acres 1 rood 23 perches, adjoining part of "Tootgarook Estate," and J. Trueman's property, a suitable block for subdivision into seaside allotments,having over half mile frontage to main road, with only the narrow Government reserve dividing it from the beach. (P.2, The Age, 24-1-1920.)

The Stenniken family had been associated with the Williamstown area* for some time and it is possible that they had named their grant,as described above, after a barque** operating since the 1880's and damaged by fire at Williamstown's Railway pier in 1923.
* Hobson's Bay Yacht Club. THE ANNUAL MEETING.
Williamstown Chronicle (Vic. : 1856 - 1954) Saturday 5 October 1907 p 3 Article
... . J. Drunmmond's Fidana, B. Stenniken's S.J.S. and A. Knight's Britannia being most successful.
** FIRE ON BARQUE BIRKDALE.
The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954) Monday 19 March 1923 p 15 Article

When I discovered that Whitakers had christened the area on the west side of Truemans Rd as Birkdale*, I assumed that this was because of Birkdale House on the east corner of Carmichael St,but perhaps the guest house was so- named because it was AT Birkdale! But an early advertisement does specify BIRKDALE HOUSE** as a stop rather than just BIRKDALE.
* DROMANA Rosebud Birkdale House Rye -Whitakers leave Whight's 116 Flinders st twice dally X4650
(P.30, Argus, 4-12-1937.)
** LEIGH. --- On the 4th March, at his daughter's residence, 13 Baxter street, Coburg, William Henry, beloved husband of Sarah Ann Leigh, loved father of Frank, Percy (Karkoak,N.Z.), Elsie (Mrs. Sinclair), Myrtle (Mrs.
Wiles), late Victorian Railways and Birkdale House, Rye. (No flowers. by request.) (P.8,Argus,6-3-1940.)

ROSEBUD: Birkdale House.Nepean Highway, cafe and apartments, 8 rooms, V.r., land 62 x160, walk-in. walk-out, passed In , £3,900, res. £5.200. (Eric Weber and Co. Pty. Ltd.) (P.11, Argus,11-10-1954.)

Obviously nobody else, apart from Whitakers,described today's Tootgarook as Birkdale and above it was called Rosebud and then Rye. Weber and Co. were obviously not locals and hadn't caught on that Birkdale House was now in TOOTGAROOK.

Mr. C. Gibbons
Mr. Claude Gibbons, who died at the week end, was a well-known land and estate agent at Tootgarook, near Rosebud. He was active in many moves for the advancement of Tootgarook, which is a new area between Rosebud
and Rye. Mr. Gibbons was a past president of Tootgarook Progress Association. (P.2, The Age, 12-10-1949.)

It is hard to be sure when the land on the west side of Truemans Rd was first called Tootgarook. No report of a Tootgarook Progress Association meeting mentions requests for the name to be adopted or even those in attendance (but I'll bet that Harry Doig was involved.) The name was mentioned in 1944 re a toilet block on the foreshore but since W.G.Hiscock who was the manager of the Tootgarook estate (with a house near the Broadway if I remember correctly)was reported in stock sales as being of Tootgarook,Rosebud,it is unclear whether the toilet block was to be east or west of Truemans Rd.

Claude Gibbons (as above) and Raymond Guest were in no doubt in 1948 about where the western half of James Trueman's grants was.

SATURDAY, NOV. 30. At 3.30 pm. On the Property,ALMARAY ESTATE, TOOTGAROOK.(Between Rosebud and Rye.)
GLORIOUS BEACH ALLOTMENTS each 64 Ft x 193 Ft, 4 Minutes from shops and Beach.
CLAUDE GIBBONS, Auctioneer. Rosebud, Tootgarook and Rye. Phone p u2914 and Ryt» 4.(P.5, The Age, 18-11-1948.)

I seem to remember that Claude Gibbons' office at Tootgarook was right near bus stop 25. Had he bought Birkdale House?

AUCTION, WEDNESDAY. 16th. at 1 o'clock sharp, on the property BIRKDALE HOUSE, Nepean Highway,- TOOTGAROOK (Between Rosebud and Rye. Right at Bus Stop 25).
CLAUDE GIBBONS, R.E.S.I. Auctioneer and Land Agent. Nepean Highway; TOOTGAROOK. Phone Rye 4.
(P.8, The Age,16-3-1949.)

FRANK BRIGHT FIRST CAPTAIN OF TOOTGAROOK RURAL FIRE BRIGADE.
You'll have to take my word on this. The brigade was not mentioned on trove. I believe the source was Nell Arnold's history.

JOHN M'LIVER.
John was a pioneer of the Tootgarook area that I'm sure nobody knew about. The only thing I knew about him was that he was not Lord (or Baron) Clyde's brother but that in 1869,it was assumed by the press that he would inherit the prize money won by Colin Campbell,who was born Colin M'Liver. The surname was actually McLiver but often appeared in newspapers with the apostrophe. He must have been related in some way to Baron Clyde whose father's name was John McLiver. The following is my attempt to provide details about John before and after the widespread publicity in 1869 but I can't guarantee that all references are to the same person.

DAVID HOWELL and Thomas B. Young will hear of imports I have by sending their address to John M'Liver, Williamstown Post Office.(P.1, Argus, 5-10-1853.)

NOTICE TO CARRIERS.
TO THE EDITOR OP THE ARGUS.
Sir,- Allow us to draw your attention to proceedings that took place at the Police Court,Swanston-street, this afternoon. We attended there to obtain a form of application for a carrier's licence, when a police officer
informed us there were no printed forms to be had. We were leaving, when a carrier, Edward Rowland, of Preston, came out to get change to pay for a form the police officer had written out for him at a charge of 2s. 6d. We told Edward Rowland the charge was only 1s. He stated to the officer the charge was only 1s, when the
officer said; "You may go and get one where you can." We then applied at tho office on tho left hand side of the entrance, and there obtained the printed forms at 1s. each.
We are, Sir, your humble servants, JNO. MARRIOTT,JOHN M'LIVER. 251 Elizabeth-street, Melbourne.
(P.6, Argus, 23-5-1859.)

FOR SALE, a young HORSE, three years old, from Van Dieman's Land. John M'Liver, Armstrong's Stables.
(P.8, Argus, 20-6-1859.)

FOUR-ROOMED verandah COTTAGE, newly built, quarter-acre garden, to LET, at Benevolent Asylum, foot Spencer-Street, rent low. John M'Liver,251 Elizabeth-street.(P.1, Argus, 24-9-1859.)

Contract Accepted. — Extras on John M'Liver's contract, No. 817 of 1860, for fencing batteries at Sandridge, £20, John M'Liver. (P.5,The Age, 7-11-1860.)

CONTRACTS ACCEPTED.
...; Sydney and Heathcote roads, erection of mile-posts,£24, John M'Liver; Melbourne district, erection
of mile-posts, £43 15s., John M'Liver ; (P.5,Argus,26-1-1861.)

ANOTHER CONTRACT.
erection of mile-posts, £52 8s, John M'Liver. Melbourne to Ballaarat :(P.7,The Age, 1-1-1862.)


LAND SELECTION AT MELTON.
Mr John M'Liver entered a protest against the selection , Ellen Cecil of lots 4 of sec. 2, and 1 2 of sec. 8, she being under age. (P.25,Leader, 6-4-1867.)

M'LIVER-MAHONY.-On thE 4th ult., at St. Francis',John M'Liver, Kingston, Canada West, to Mary Mahony, Killcommon, Tipperary, Ireland. (P.4,Argus, 3-3-1868.)

The Herald of Saturday states:—"At the present moment a tiller of the soil is about to proceed to Europe to enforce his claim as next of kin to the late Lord Clyde, better known as Sir Colin Campbell. M'Liver, the free selector on Boneo, in the district of Tootgarook, who for some time has been, content to earn his bread by the sweat of his brow, bursts suddenly upon us as the heir-presumptive to the son of Mr John M'Liver, of Glasgow, and; who entered the army as Ensign Campbell in 1808, and who in 1858 was created a peer by the title of Lord Clyde. From what we hear it seems probable that the Australian M'Liver, who until now has been satisfied with the benefits conferred upon him under the 42nd clause of the Land Act, will be able to substantiate his claim to the accumulated prize-money of the hero of Chillianwallah; Alma, and Lucknow.
(P.2s, The Ballarat Star, 30-8-1869.)

Richard Dwyer, a somewhat elderly man, was charged with having stolen a £l note from the dwellinghouse of John
M'Liver, residing near Dromana. He had taken the money during the absence of the prosecutor from his house, and concealed it in his necktie, where it was found upon his being arrested. The note was fully identified by the prosecutor. The prisoner was convicted and sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment. (P.4, Argus, 2-3-1870.)

CORESPONDENCE.
Letters received-; From Mr..E. M. T. O'Halloran, solicitor,Queen-street, Melbourne forwarding a second application on behalf of Mr. John M'Liver for payment of £283 3s 6d., balance due for work and labour, and intimating that unless the amount with costs was paid within one week proceedings would be instituted against the council.-Cr. Johnston explained that M'Liver had entered into a contract to complete certain work for a
certain sum; the work had not been completed to the satisfaction of the borough inspector, and fresh tenders haIl been invited at his (M'Liver's) risk. He moved that the balance of the contract, less the amount paid to the Second contractor, be paid to Mr. M'Liver. (ST KILDA COUNCIL.The Telegraph, St Kilda, Prahran and South Yarra Guardian (Vic. : 1866 - 1888) Saturday 23 December 1871 p 3 Article)

NEW INSOLVENTS.
John M'Liver, farmer, of Villiers-street, Hotham. Causes of insolvency : High rent and bad crops. Liabilities, £92 5s.; assets, £51 ; deficiency, £41 5s.(P.3,The Age,22-9-1875.)

AVAILABLE FOR SELECTION.
Tbe following forfeited lands will be open
for selection on and after Friday, Nov. 19 Wanraue-John McLiver, 140 acres.

INSOLVENCY COURT.
Friday, 6th October.(Before Judge Noel.) Certificates (of discharge from insolvency)were granted to ...; John M'Liver,Hotham, farmer;etc. (P.6, The Age, 7-10-1876.)

BOARDS FOR HEARING REASONS AGAINST FORFEITURE OF LICENCES.
Benalla, 9th December.— .. Shepparton. llth December.— John M'Liver, 192a.,Arcadia.(P.9, Leader,6-12-1884.)

At the Hawthorn Court on Tuesday, before Messrs. Walsh (chairman), Wallis(mayor),Harbison, Nichol, and Stackpole, a man named John M'Liver was charged with assaulting Ann M'Ewen and trespassing on her premises. He was also sued for £12 rent. According to the complainant's story, the defendant, who resided formerly at Malvern, came to her house at Glen Iris, and asked permission to place cattle in her paddock for a fortnight, promising to pay £12. He made proposals to lease her farm, but on referring to her landlord's agents she was refused permission to sub-let. Defendant had meanwhile taken up his abode with her. When requested to leave he not only refused to do so, but broke into the house, assaulted thecomplainant, and turned her furniture out.

In cross-examination by Mr. Gillott for the defence, Mrs. M'Ewen swore that she did not put her mark to a document produced, which proported to be a receipt for a payment by M'Liver on account of improvements purchased from her, and which it was represented would alter the aspect of the case.The point-blank denial of the complainant resulted in the case being adjourned, in order to allow of a witness being brought who, it
was alleged, saw her make her mark upon it. (P.10,Argus,1-4-1885.)

IMPOUNDED at Williamstown, June 10th, 1886, by John M'Liver. Trespass, ld. each.N.B.John was not the poundkeeper. (P.3, Williamstown Chronicle,19-6-1886.)


www.traralgonhistory.asn.au
TRARALGONHISTORY.ASN.AU