This article was found in an attempt to discover the ownership of Nyora between John Thomas Smith's death in 1879 and Henry Slaney's ownership of the property from about 1905 to 1922. At least two articles (including this one) insinuate that James Liddle Purves was this owner, while heritage citations/ studies claim that Purves was the owner of Nyora or a frequent guest at either Nyora or the Ranelagh guest house- can't remember which!)

PICTURESQUE PORT PHILLIP.
The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946) Saturday 27 February 1897 p 27 Article Illustrated
... NYORA, RESIDENCE OF MR. J. L. PERVES. PICTURESQUE PORT PHILLIP. Frankston is on the eastern shore ... deep blue sea. Mr. J. L. Purves lives some dis tance further on at Nyora, in a long roomy comfortable .
THE LINK:
PICTURESQUE PORT PHILLIP

Hopefully the Ranelagh Club has a photo of the Nyora homestead on display, but the history boards near the headless J.T.Smith memorial on J.T.Smith Reserve do not include a photo or mention when or if the homestead was demolished. Some red bricks from the homestead are inserted into the memorial.

From my journal about the origins of Mt Eliza street/place names within the Mornington Peninsula Shire and the parish of Moorooduc.

The truth of the matter is that J.L.Purves had only leased Nyora.
PROPERTY SALE.-The well-known property, "Nyora," containing 286 acres, situated on the Mornington road, at the junction of the Frankston and Hastings and Mornington shires, formerly leased by Mr J. L. Purves, has changed hands. The purchaser is Mr Henry Slaney, of the Haymarket, Melbourne. (P.2, Mornington Standard, 15-10-1904.)

Henry Slaney's executors must have sold Nyora to John Thompson.
Nyora Estate, Mount Eliza, has been sold. It is proposed to put down bowling greens, tennis courts and golf, links* on the estate. (P.15, The Age, 21-8-1923.)
* The golf links were built on the site of the Peninsula School.

RE SIR JOHN MADDEN.
It was probably from John Gilbert Mann's 1926 history of Mt Eliza that I found that Sir John Madden had married the daughter of Frank Stephen.

EventMarriage Event registration number2457 Registration year1872
Personal information
Family nameMADDEN Given namesJohn SexMale Spouse's family nameSTEPHEN Spouse's given namesGertrude Frances

Lady Madden died in 1925.

EventDeath Event registration number10354 Registration year1925
Personal information
Family nameMADDEN Given namesGertrude Frances SexFemale Father's nameSTEPHEN Frank Sydney Mother's nameFanny (Morgan) Place of birth Place of deathMELBOURNE EAST Age72

RE THE GRICE FAMILY'S BUSINESS INTERESTS. (From my T.J.Sumner journal.)
SUMNER.
The Victorian Government website on members of Parliament gives the following details about Theodotus John Sumner. He was born at Liskeard, Cornwall in 1920 and died on 20-4-1884 at Brunswick. His father was the Rev, John Sumner, a Methodist minister.
T.J.Sumner married Sarah Jones Peers. He was a merchant and his religion was listed as Methodist. Sumner emigrated to Van Diemans Land in 1841 and arrived in Melbourne in April 1842. He engaged in pastoral and agricultural pursuits and became a partner of Richard Grice in 1855 when Grice's former partner had died. Grice, Sumner and Co. were wholesale merchants who gave advances on pastoral properties. Theodotus was an early president of the National Agricultural Society and established a model farm on his Schnapper Point Estate. He became a member of the Board of Education in 1862 and was a member of the Legislative Council from May 1873 until February 1883.
Engaged in extensive charity work, T.J. endowed the Sumner ward at Melbourne?s Children?s Hospital. His widow administered his estate, a large part of which was in trust for charity, especially the Old Colonists' Home and the Melbourne Hospital.

A quick search on google revealed the following. Grice and Sumner had two ships built at Newcasle-on-Tyne in 1863: the Penola and S.S.Blackbird. The former was built especially for the Adelaide-Melbourne run but collided with, and sank, the City of Launceston in Port Phillip Bay on 19-11-1865. The damaged Penola was briefly replaced on the Adelaide run by the Blackbird which then worked the Brisbane mail run until 1873, undercutting passenger fares charged by the established lines. The Penola was sold to J.J.Grice and Partners and S.S.Blackbird was sold to Captain A.Campbell and Partners in 1876. (Flotilla-Australia website.)

An advertisement of Allotment 1 Moorooduc of 285.2.34 (the Ranelagh Estate at Mt Eliza) on which is erected Nyora (built by J.T.Smith and later Ranelagh Guest House) mentions that Mrs Sumner owned the adjoining Earimil. (Argus 7-11-1903.)

THIS JOURNAL WAS WRITTEN BEFORE I REALISED THE FOLLY OF NOT SUPPLYING PAGE NUMBERS!

BACK TO NYORA.
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25.
At the Rooms, 359 and 3G1 Collins-street.
At Half-past Two.
CHARMING SEASIDE RESIDENCE,
"NYORA,"
FRANKSTON; . ^
LAND, 283 ACRES 2 ROODS 34 PERCHES.
GEMMELL, TUCKETT, and Co. have received
instructions from THE TRUSTEES, EXECU-
TORS, AND AGENCY COMPANY LIMITED, to
SELL by PUBLIC AUCTION, at their rooms, as
above,

All that piece of land, being Crown Portion 1,
parish of Moorooduc, county of Mornington,
containing 285 acres 2 roods 34 perches,
fenced and subdivided, having FRONTAGES
to the PORT PHILLIP BAY and the MAIN
HOAD TO MORNINGTON, on which
erected the BRICK VILLA RESIDENCE
known as "NYORA,"
containing drawing, dining, and breakfast,
rooms (with folding, doors), six bedrooms,.
kitchen, servant's room, bathloom, pantries,
&c.: man's cottage, stabling, coachhouse,
poultry yards, vegetable and fruit garden,
&c.
This property is well situated, overlooking the
sea, and adjoins Earimil, the residence of Mrs.
Sumner, and is adjacent to Moondah, the residence
of James Grice, Esq., and the residence of James
Patterson, Esq., and others. (P.2, Argus, 21-11-1903.)

NYORA was not mentioned in this 1879 sale of the late John Thomas Smith's property. Sadly the executors are not named.
VALUABLE FREEHOLD PROPERTIES.

IN the SUPREME COURT of the COLONY of VIC
TORIA: Probate Jurisdiction -ln the Will of the
Honourable JOHN THOMAS SMITH, late of the City
of Melbourne, in the Colony of Victoria, Member of
the Legislative Assembly, Deceased -Notice is hereby
given, that after the expiration of fourteen days from
Ihe publication of this notice application will be made
to this honourable Court for PROBATE of the WILL
of the abovenamed John Thomas Smith, deceased to
be granted to Mrs Ellen Smith, the widow, and John
Thomas Smith and Sidney Smith, sons of the said
deceased, the executrix and executors named in and
appointed by the said will.
Dated this fourth day of February, 1879.
(P.3, Argus,5-2-1879.)

Having found no sale advertisements for Nyora in the 1880's (or "Portion 1 Moorooduc"), I dropped the inverted commas in the latter search and discovered that the Ranelagh Estate might never have happened! It was to be divided into blocks of between 5 and 20 acres. Portion 19 Moorooduc was called the Tower Paddock. I hadn't noticed that J.T.Smith senior was a grantee in the parish of Lyndhurst.
LYNDHURST AND MOOROODUC

Google LYNDHURST, COUNTY OF MORNINGTON to see John Thomas Smith's Lyndhurst grants. The southern boundary with the parish of Frankston was Seaford/Ballarto Rd (except on Long Island where Frankston went north to include today's Riviera Hotel site) and if you follow the road east you will find a fork (Melway 133 B9)that is now Cranbourne-Frankston Rd, Pearcedale Rd and the east boundary of Settlers Run Golf Course. East of the fork is c/a 13, granted to Hugh Glass, Smith's near neighbour at Flemington. Smith's c/a 14 was bounded by the proposed Ballarto Rd, Westernport Highway and (unsurprisingly!) HALL* RD., with c/a 15 to the north, extending north to a western extension of Duff St to the highway and east to the west end of Duff St. Part of the Ranfurlie Golf Course was on c/a 14.
(*Hall was leasing these grants.)

CHANGES OF PLANS FOR "NYORA".
The 1882 plans for blocks of between 5 and 20 acres went down like a lead balloon so the next tactic was selling the property as a whole, with plan B of three blocks all fronting the bay, in 1883.
ONE LOT OR THREE IN 1883, near end of last column.


By 1886, the plan had been changed to two blocks, one of 145 acres fronting the bay and the other, of 135 fronting the Schnapper Point road.
item 7, column 2, 1886