Joseph Harpen, the Springs
I was wondering if you have ever come across a Joseph Harpen of the Springs during your research? My great grandmother Catherine Guilfoyle was an Irish orphan assigned to him in 1849. In addition, Susan Guilfoyle was assigned to James Robertson of Portland in 1849. Do you know if he is connected to the James Robertson of La Rose?

Marcia, Ignore the first paragraph.
It's not much fun researching HARPEN on trove because most results are for happen, Harper and sharpen. I was going to link Harpen with Keilor or Doutta Galla but there seemed little prospect of getting a result, and based on one result and your mention of Portland,I entered Camperdown and Springs. There were probably scores of properties and places called Springs and it is possible that Joseph Harpen was at Springs near Camperdown.

Given that there were three totally unrelated James Robertsons within a few miles of Essendon (La Rose and Trinifour near Essendon; Upper Keilor and Aberfeldie; and Gowrie Park near Campbellfield), I would not even dare to suggest a relationship between Jimmy of Portland and the others. But you never know!

HANG ON, HANG ON, HANG ON!!!
What if the name of Catherine's employer in 1849 was Joseph HARPER? Joseph Harper was the wheelwright at the Springs in 1848 and 1849 and was up on a charge of dudding a servant. This does not mean that he was on the Foster estate stretching from Tullamarine to Keilor Park and if it did, there was no indication whether he was at the north end like David O'Nyall of the Lady of the Lake or on the road to Keilor.


For the delivery of the above mares and cattle, separately or conjointly to the under-signed, or Mr. Joseph Harper, Wheelwright at the Springs, the following rewards will be paid viz. :-?2 for the mare without foal and each of the three bullocks ; and 3 pounds, for the mare with foal.
WILLIAM O'NEIL,
Springs, Mount Macedon Road. September 19, 1848. (P.3, Argus, 26-9-1848.)

Mount Macedon Road doesn't help much to specify Harper's location because it was used to describe the road to Keilor and the one to Deep Creek (Bulla), and even Pascoe Vale Rd (the road to Sydney past the Young Queen Inn.) However William O'Neil is another matter.

A former policeman, called Gay Lothario in Angela Evans'"Keilor Pioneers: Dead men do tell Tales",William leased "Leslie Banks" from the Fosters for many years; Leslie Banks was across Fosters Rd (now Keilor Park Drive) from Springs, on the Maribyrnong River's banks, between the lines of Sharps Rd and Spence St. Soon after, the part of the Keilor Township in today's Horseshoe Bend Park was alienated in 20 acre lots, with lawyer F.D.Wickham securing most of them, but William O'Neil soon owned all of the horseshoe bend. This makes it likely that William O'Neil and Joseph Harper were operating on the road to Keilor rather than today's Melrose Drive.

It seems that Joseph Harper had moved to Kyneton by 1856.(P.5, Argus, 25-10-1856.)
He may have been an innkeeper at Woodend in 1852:
CAUTION.
LOST on the (I8th?) of November, between the Five Mile Creek, Mount Macedon, and Jackson's Creek, Two Cheques on the Union Bank of Australia. One on the 4th November, No 23, for ?215/10 s. do. on tho 10th, No 43, for?215/15s; drawn in favor of Joseph Harper,innkeeper, of the Woods End Inn, Five Mile Creek. (etc.)
(Signed) JOSEPH HARPER. (P.8, Argus, 16-11-1852.)N.B. WOODS END looked like WEEDS BAD, due to a surplus of ink, so I hope my guess was right.