1900.
Forty members of the Red Hill rifle club were mighty sore
After working long with axe and saw
To clear a range on Joe McIlroy's land;
Muscles so tired and blisters on hand.
------------------------------------------

When Heredford-born John Arkwell arrived in 1854, Hannah was only nineteen;
Hannah (nee Lewis) had pushed the future King's pram for the Queen.
Emily, Alice and Walter B. were born while John ran a plant nursery
On the site where Abbotford nuns later said their Rosary. (1)

John bought his Red Hill grants between Arkwells and Andrews Lane
In 1862, and while clearing for an orchard never did complain.
He was the pioneer in the growing of Red Hill's famed strawberries;
Flower-growing also becoming an Arkwell expertise.(2)

Ern, Herb, Clara and Percy were born at Red Hill (1)
And with their older siblings worked with a will.
Their 20 acre orchard was well-kept, probably the best,(2)
And the growing of blooms would allow little rest.


By 1900 John had finished his duty,
And left Red Hill of mountainous beauty.
And Hannah,his longtime mate,
Administered John's estate.

South Bourke and Mornington Journal (Richmond, Vic. : 1872 - 1920) Wednesday 28 February 1900 Edition: WEEKLY. p 2 Article
Letters of administration have been granted in the estates of John Arkwell, late of Red Hill, Dromana, gardener, to Hannah Arkwell. widow, of same place;
(1) The Red Hill by Sheila Skidmore. (2)Around Red Hill(P.2, Mornington Standard, 30-8-1902.)


1902.
Robbing honey from the bees was fun for lads to do
But this saw Bobby Wilson's head tragically split in two.
Brother Jim and Alf Hanson were chopping the branch that held the hive
When Bobby fell as the axe came down; lucky to stay alive!

1904.
At Eatons and White Hill, people were destroying roads;
The reason this was happening wasn't heavy loads.
W.A.Holmes' complaint was about towing timber like a sled
To slow descent, as in 1908 by respected Alfred Head.

When hardship struck a Red Hill family
Their neighbours reacted speedily.
E.D.Davis thanked teacher,W.R.Simpson, for his path
Of organising a concert on their behalf.

1908.
Timber provided income for Red Hill farmers as they cleared their land
And was milled at Main Ridge, near Roberts Rd, by Alexander Shand.
What better place beams to seek
For the brand new bridge at Balcombe's Creek.

To illustrate my sources, I have included my notes for the following poem. Storey of "Seven Oaks" (Crown allotment 79A, parish of Balnarring)was probably related to the Dromana family which lost the terrier. Hazeldine of Dromana was the teacher at Rosebud for some time. The references to Hazeldine living in H.B.Simon's house, which he moved to the Catholic Church site in Foote St, and being a rate collector come from P.153-4 of A DREAMTIME OF DROMANA.

1908 JAS MATTHEWS (B 1863 M SARAH YOUNG 1882-GIVING DESTINY A HAND) BUILDING (BRINDLE'S SUNNYSIDE -MELBOURNE BRINDLE'S MAP AND MEMOIRS) SCAFFOLD COLLAPSED ANKLE CRUTCHES
STOREY THE OAKS ERECTING BUILDING AXE SLIPPED ALMOST SEVERED LEG 2 MILE TRAIL OF BLOOD
SOMERVILLE'S MR MURRAY DESCENDING RED HILL (DID A MULGA BILL-Banjo Paterson) BROKEN NOSE STITCHES
PETS POISONED GODFREY WILSON TWO CATS HAZELDINE AND STOREY TERRIERS
(MORNINGTON AND DROMANA STANDARD,1908-1911,25-7-1908,P.3 under DROMANA.)

In high esteem Dromana's doctor was held;
Matthews, Storey and Murray were grateful to Dr Weld
When accidents happened like you wouldn't ken
And he managed to put Humpty together again.

Carpenter James Matthews, who in '82 made George Young's Sarah his bride,
Was building Brindle's new house at Sunnyside
When the scaffold collapsed and put him in gravity's clutches.
His ankle was fixed and he's now on crutches.

Storey of "The Oaks", south of Craig Avon Lane
Was the one who suffered the greatest pain.
While splitting timber for a building, he badly cut his leg.
He left a two mile trail of blood , assistance for to beg.

While cycling down Red Hill
Somerville's Mr Murray did a Mulga Bill.
Dr Weld stitched him up and fixed his nose;
Murray went back to his "good old horse" I suppose.

Someone is laying baits and poisoning pets.
I wonder what satisfaction this person gets!
Godfrey Wilson lost two cats and a death so gory
Was experienced by terriers owned by Hazeldine and Storey.
Wilson was probably at Beauvoir, 8 McCulloch, still complete,
And rate collector Hazeldine's dog lived at Simon's old house, moved to Foote St.
---------------------------------------------------------------
1908.
Eddie Bowring cycled in three hours from his father's home in Essendon (1)
To the Prossors Lane block in Red Hill where he'd settled in 1901.
By August '02 he'd planted vegetables, cleared many trees
And had two acres each of orchard and strawberries;
Tom Harvey of "Fernside", his future father-in-law
Was erecting a house whose rooms numbered four. (2)

When Eddie married Emily on 11 March 1903,
There was no hint of future tragedy,
But the heat wave in January,1908
Consigned two residents to their fate.

Esther Moat, relict of William, died at Sutton Grove
(probably the farm past which Red Hill people drove);
Aged 83, a colonist of over 50 years,
But another death also produced Red Hill tears.

Two days earlier Eddie and Emily lost their "infant daughter";
Sometimes a severe heatwave's toll cannot be stopped with water.
The Bowring and Harvey homes so grieved by the grim reaper's capers
That they seem to have failed to put a death notice in the papers.

(P.13, Argus; P.3, Mornington Standard; 1-2-1908.)

(1) Pasted from my journal,DICTIONARY HISTORY OF RED HILL, VIC., AUST. (PIONEERS, FARM LOCATIONS AND NAMES, ANECDOTES.)
Eddie Bowring was no slouch as a cyclist. He had ridden his bike to Melbourne, probably to visit his parents in Essendon, and decided to "open her up" on the way back to Red Hill. He made it in just over three hours!
(Mornington Standard 26-4-1902 page 2.)

(2) AROUND RED HILL. SOME PROPERTIES DESCRIBED
Mornington Standard (Vic. : 1889 - 1908) Saturday 30 August 1902 Edition: MORNING. p 2 Article





1909.
Getting fruit to market was a problem for the orchardists.
Boat service was poor and Stenniken's offer was rejected by realists;
Fruitgrowers owning a ship they did not seek,
But soon the Meeinderry came three times a week.


J.W.Brady had lit a fire to prepare his meal
And while outside with another task to deal
A spark ignited his old house,which was burnt to the ground;
For Harry Prossor's shed and haystack fire, no cause was found.

A violent storm ripped pears and apples from the trees
While, below the Mount, fishing boats were swamped by heavy seas:
John McLear's, Dohn Griffith's and Harry Copp's "Spray";
Luckily none went Davey Jones's way.

1910.
A Flinders meeting saw agreement for the areas to combine
In "open route" agitation for a railway line.
Discussion turned to "loading" (extra rates to support the cost),
But disputes about routes soon saw co-operation lost.
-----------------------

Sheila Skidmore wrote of W.A.Holmes' saw mill
At a specified site actually in Red Hill.
This made me wonder "When?"
The answer must be 1910.

Just south of Arthurs Seat road, 'tween The Settlement and Blakely,
Jackson sank a bore for Holmes,few thinking a good result was likely.
Such a good supply at an elevated spot had never been suspected.
"Mr Holmes proposes to have a mill erected."

(P.3, Mornington and Dromana Standard,12-2-1910.)