WILLIAM MANN AT BALNARRING. It would seem that the farmer at Balnarring in 1902 was William Mann, who may or may not have been related to John G.Mann of Mt Eliza two or three decades later. As William Mann was the person rated in 1901 and 1906, his farm described in 1902, which was then said to have changed hands more than any other property in the district,was almost crown allotments 11A and 11B, Balnarring of 185 acres 2 roods and 32 acres granted to James McCormick on 11-3-1876. About ten acres of 11AB might have been acquired by the Crown for the construction of Balnarring and Myers Rds by 1900,leading to William Mann being rated on only 175 acres.

I had little interest in the McCormicks (my focus being on the MANN)until the study below mentioned the store that James McCormick had run on a corner on crown allotment 65A, which every reader of the heritage study (but yours truly)would have assumed was ALSO in the parish of BALNARRING.


The following is selectively transcribed/ paraphrased from pages 25-27 (of 529 pages) of the Strategic Hastings Heritage Study.
Hastings District Heritage Study Vol. 1.pdf - Mornington ...
www.mornpen.vic.gov.au/files/.../Strategic_HastHeritageStudyVol1.pdf
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NAME OF PLACE . McCormick farm house at Willow Creek Vineyard.
PLACE IDENTIFIER. 554.
OTHER NAMES. Willow Creek Vineyard homestead.
ADDRESS. 166 Balnarring Rd,Merricks North.
STUDY GRADING. Shire (local.)
CREATION DATE. 1900 C.
MAP (Melway) 162H8.
PHOTOGRAPH OF HOUSE.
DESCRIPTION. Cited on the winery brochure as being built in 1870, the house appears to be instead a redbrick Edwardian era (etc.)
HISTORY. Cited to have been built in 1870,the house is thought by others to have been built in the 1880’s using bricks made on the property. James McCormick received the grant for this site in 1876, paying 186 pounds for crown allotments 11a and b Balnarring. He died on 12-12-1888 and his executor, John McCormick, a Balnarring farmer, mortgaged the property, which in 1895 was sold to Fanny Chambers, (wife of Balnarring solicitor, Ernest Chambers) who sold it to Thomas F.Jones in 1895.
A four lot subdivision was declared in 1905 with plans being submitted in 1906. AT THIS POINT THE ANNUAL VALUE OF THE 175 ACRE PROPERTY,THEN RATED TO WILLIAM MANN, WAS 65 POUNDS AND NOTED AS SUBDIVIDED. IT HAD ALSO BEEN LISTED AS MANN’S IN 1900-1 WHEN THE VALUATION WAS 50 POUNDS.


N.B. 1. McCormicks also ran a store on crown allotment 65A at the corner of Stumpy Gully and Myers Rds.(Miss Hurley.) This could have been on Mann’s farm that was described in 1902; no store was mentioned in 1902 but McCormick apparently operated the store in the 1880’s before his occupation was again given as surveyor before his death in 1888.

VAGUENESS LEADS TO DISCOVERY!
I hate vague statements and the location of the store explains why. If any McCormick descendants want to look up crown allotment 65A, don’t consult the Balnarring map. Being east of Balnarring Rd, the corner of Stumpy Gully and Myers Rds is in the parish of BITTERN.

The online Bittern map does not show grantees but I have a paper map which does so. Crown allotment 65 Bittern is at the north west corner of Stumpy Gully and Myers Rds. Crown allotment 65A, consisting of 40 acres, granted to M. McCormick (possibly brother or son of James) on 1-10-1879 is the north east quarter of c/a 65 and thus nearly 400 metres north of the said road corner. If James McCormick’s store was actually on the said road corner, this might have been because he was leasing all of c/a 65 from the crown. The remainder of c/a 65 (65B of 120 acres)was granted to William Myers on 3-11-1898.
However, I doubt that the store was on the said road corner but on a roughly 2 acre block fronting Stumpy Gully Rd immediately north of 65A, exactly 3990 links (802 metres and 66 centimetres) north of Myers Rd. Crown allotment 64A of 2 acres 1 rood and 37 perches was granted to M.McCormick on 20-6-(1880?) The block extended north 98 metres and was almost 100 metres deep.
2. Crown allotments 11AB, Balnarring were at the south west corner of Balnarring and Myers Rds, with frontages, respectively, of 913 and 719 metres. The remaining 159 acres 26 perches of crown allotment 64 were granted to William Myers on 15-2-1905.

3.BUT WAIT,THERE’S MORE! Just as I was thinking the McCormicks might have leased both 65 and 64 from the Crown for some time, my eye roamed slightly to the west and I discovered that John McCormick, executor of James McCormick was granted 60B, 90 acres 1 rood and 10 perches, on 21-1-1902. This block adjoined c/a 65 on the west and its Myers Rd frontage of 2263 links (455 m.) started 4031 links (810.9m.) west of Stumpy Gully Rd.