While I was on duty at the Dromana museum on Easter Sunday we had a visitor who was chasing information about Safety Beach. She was a descendant of James Manson Sharpley after whom Sharpley Avenue (Melway 150 E10) was named. I referred her to my journals about Safety Beach and told her that I'd try to find out the name of the previous owner of the land. James,a butcher, had accepted the land in lieu of payment of a debt.

She gave me her number and also wrote her name. Noticing that her surname was Matheson, I asked if she was related to Margaret Matheson who was granted crown allotment 11,section 23, parish of Moorooduc,on the south west corner of Three Chain Rd (Moorooduc Rd)and Mornington-Tyabb Rd. Just to prove that it's a small world,she replied, "No,the Mathesons were from Trentham." That's when the penny dropped. I remembered that the Matheson family was also involved at Blackwood and when I mentioned Margot Hitchcock, Sandra said that she'd read Margot's histories. And guess where I was off to as soon as I left the museum- Blackwood! On Easter Tuesday I was admiring the polished granite seat in memory of the Matheson, Cann (and Byers?) families installed near some Matheson graves.

I was hoping to meet Margot when I arrived. We've communicated by email but I'd never met her. Having arrived at dusk, I started my hunt on Monday morning. The chap in the general store told me about the book launch on Sunday and said she'd probably be at the museum.He gave me directions that made no sense at the time because I didn't know about the new C.F.A. building. The historical society building next to the adventure playground was closed and a notice referred to the Stables Museum being opposite Cobb and Co.,which I thought would be the pub. However,I saw it on the corner of Simmons Reef Rd and a brief conversation with a bloke loading his earth-moving machine led me to Margot's house,immediately across the (no through-) road from the historical society building (which WAS the Stables Museum.)

I'm still reading the book but I intend to mention the pioneers involved as witnesses apart from Billy,his wife, and the (almost)minister.Extensive genealogical detail is given about the families of Billy, his wife and the lay-reader, also the mental health issues that led to the tragedy and will not be repeated here. The book is available for purchase at the Garden of St Erth. The museum is open on the first Saturday of each month.

Margot's website is: Blackwood Publishing | Genealogical and early history of ...
www.blackwoodpublishing.com/.


Page numbers will be given here for each reference to Blackwood pioneers other than the Pincombe, Robinson and Saunders families. The book has an index.
P.8. Map showing the location of the vicarage and the Pincombe and Hayden houses nearby as well as the Vigor house.
P.10.Mr J.Byres,captain of the Rifle Club, reporting Billy's 7 consecutive bulls eyes.
P.16. Nurse Plews of Blackwood looked after Billy's wife in 1906 after her child was born.
P.37. Michael Hayden and his two sisters were often threatened by their neighbour,Billy.
P.38. Michael Hayden kept his gun loaded and within easy reach. Billy had a confrontation with the Rev. Father Collins and threatened to fight him in a duel. Constable Charles Henry Saunders of Blackwood (photo on cover) interviewed Billy about this threatening letter.
P.42. Mitchell Armstrong who had been mending a fence between Billy's house and the vicarage reported that the shot came from Billy's place.
P.43. William Aston, a local resident, ran to the constable's aid. William Cann searched Billy, finding a loaded revolver and pockets of cartridges.
P.44.Charles,20 year old son of Mounted Constable Charles Henry Saunders went with his father to arrest Billy.
P.45. Dr Anderson of Trentham was sent for to attend to the critically wounded Billy.
Inspector Beck and Constable Kroger of Trentham arrived. Rev. Father Collins was probably the "Roman Catholic priest,then resident in the district" that Billy had allegedly threatened to murder.
P.46. Pincombe accused the Hayden family of hypnotising him. Beck and Kroger found a real arsenal in Billy's house. Mitchell Armstrong heard the shot but saw nobody when he looked toward the source of the noise. Mrs Herbert Cann heard a shot and then the sound of something falling on her roof which was 500 yards from Billy's house but no bullet was found.
P.47. The constable's son Charlie waited outside the Pincombe house but rushed inside when he heard the shots and was relieved to see his father still standing.
P.48.Billy's house and the vicarage were 70 yards apart with a lane in between.
P.49.Mitchell Armstrong was Mr.M.A.Armstrong who was repairing the church fence. Much detail about the slain preacher.
P.50. Billy's claim about the Hayden's hypnotising him are repeated.
P.51.The captain of the rifle club,probably J.Byres,was in the habit of supplying Billy with just enough ammunition for the day. The funeral service was conducted by Canon Bishop of Kyneton,Rev.G.A.Rowell-incumbent of the parish (Trentham?),and Mr Morris of Eaglehawk (who had previously been a lay reader at Blackwood.)
P.52. Detective Sexton was assisting Constablr Kroger to investigate the case. Pincombe wasformally charged before Mr.J.H.Terrill,J.P. Mrs Dr.Plews has been most attentive to the prisoner who would have bled to death without her treatment. (She is called Nurse Plews on page 16!)
P.55. Rev. Father Collins was based at Trentham.
P.57-61. Much detail about the slain preacher, his Reverend-stacked family and his wife's family.
P.62-4. Mr H.E.Hyde had been reader-in-charge at Blackwood in 1905-6 when Canon George Watson visited.Watson, then at the vicarage, Rochester,wrote a letter claiming that if Billy had been put away by Constable Saunders when he fired(at cats!) and hit the vicarage in 1905, lay reader Robinson would not have died.
P.64-5. The Robinsons from a Brunswick perspective.
P.66Mrs Plews,the doctor's wife of Blackwood !!!!
P.72. Photo of the vicarage as seen from the Pincombe house taken in 1976 by Margot. (Ditto P.73 in 2009.)
P.75.Testimony of the lay-reader's wife;Mrs Byrne (Byres?),Mrs Vigor (to whose houses she ran for assistance), Messrs. Aston and M.Richards arrived shortly after her husband was shot,followed by Constable Saunders.
P. 77.Mitchell Armstrong's testimony.
P.78. William Aston's testimony.
P.79.Testimony of Jane Vigor and John Byres.
P.80. Billy's brother's testimony.
P.81.Testimony of Dr John Anderson and William Cann.
P.82-5.Testimony of Constable Saunders.
P.86-7. Testimony of Henry Kroger,stationed at Trentham who gave very precise distances between various buildings, the bullet that killed Robinson having travelled 63 yards (not 70) and Vigor's house was 150 yards from the vicarage.
P.89-98.Official Inquest Reports,Telegrams and statements from Harriet Robinson,William Cann,Morris Richards (store manager for W.J.Anderson at Blackwood), William Aston,Jane Vigor,Jessie Byrne, Michael Hayden (cattle dealer),John Byres, Constable Saunders and his son,John Anderson,Henry W.Kroger, John Byres again, William Aston (who mentioned Mr Livy crossing the road near Cann's hotel),William Cann,John Anderson again,Billy's brother,Constable Saunders again.(P.93.Photos taken by L.V.Terrill of Blackwood for the inquest.)
P.101-111. Extensive information from the police historian and genealogical detail re Constable Saunders.
P.112-116 Death of Billy and burials of Billy,his parents and Mr Robinson in the Blackwood cemetery.
P. 117-127. Details about the religious book that the bullet passed through before killing the lay reader. It was bought by a priest in the Ballarat diocese and then the Rev. Don Hardy who gave it to Rev. Phil Savlin of the parish of Woodend,which included All Saints,Blackwood. When Phil retired in 1984,he gave the book to Bert Oliver for safe keeping but when Bert moved to Adelaide the book did too so Tom Garnett, another All Saints parishioner retrieved it and minded it until it was displayed in the general store in a display case made by Jack Langford,one of the church wardens.

(P.119. Tom Garnett and his wife,Penny, made the special trip to recover the book,despite Tom's ill health. Tom established the Garden of St Erth at Simmons Reef. He was once headmaster of Geelong Grammar and in his retirement wrote articles for The Age including Godly Book Fails to Stop Vengeful Bullet on 6-3-1984. No prizes for guessing what that was about!)

P. 128-9. Pincombe's House. This was vacant because the Pincombes left soon after Billy's brother, Henry, had done his best to make amends for the tragedy,and was dismantled and re-assembled at the Cricket Ground as a club house. When tenders for this task were called for in the Bacchus Marsh Express of 7-11-1908,the Recreation Reserve Trust consisted of M.T.Vigor (Chairman),M.M.J.Croker (Hon.Sec.)and Messrs H.H.Cann and H.H.Terrill. Mr.W.Croker was paid 12 pounds for forming a bicycle track and tenders were to be called to relocate the cottage. Soon after the cottage was removed,Bill and Frank Matheson built a stone cottage on the site, the stones brought from the Lerdederg in a wheelbarrow.(Photo of this house taken in 1976.)
P.130. Those who gave to Henry Pincombe's collection to support the lay reader's widow were J.P.,A. Buchanan,F.Hodgkiss, Mrs Bates,J.Matthews,C.H.Derrick,S.Taylor,Mrs Mackie,E.E.Hosking, J.H.Terrill, T.A.Matthews, W.Broad,A.Duncan,W.H.Miller,Mrs Whitford,G.H.McPherson,J.Skinner,A.Skinner,W.Alcorn and four other named as Sympathy,Friend or Anon.

The rest of the book concerns Pincombe/Morrish genealogy,asylum records and Billy's brother's's war service.
P.137. The Blackwood State School Honour Roll is kept in the Blackwood Hall.Here's hoping my magnifying glass is good enough to read the photo.

Asterisks indicate that the name is later repeated.
ARMSTRONG A.M.*, ARMSTRONG T.M., ARMSTRONG W.E., BYRNE J., BROAD W.J., BYRES W., CARRUTHERS G.R.*, CARRUTHERS H., CHERRY H., COCCIARDI A., DAVEY R., DAVEY L., DOWNING A., DOWNING G.T., DOWNING R., HALL R.W.M., LAWRENCE W.*, MORRISH H.C., MARSHALL A.S., MURPHY T.*, McCRACKEN J.N.*, NELSON S., NELSON H., PERRY H., PATTINSON A.O., PATTINSON J.H. It seems to be implied that those following "Greater love etc" had been killed in the war.#.Those already named will be indicated with an asterisk above.SKINNER W.F., SEYMOUR J., STEPHENS I., WHATMOUGH R.H., PEARCE R.L., PEARCE L., PINCOMBE J.R. (Billy's brother), RAE F., SPEARY N.J.W., (SKINNER W.F.repeated), SAUNDERS G., SHESLER G., SMITH M.M., SMITH T., SMITH E., SEYMOUR E., (SEYMOUR J. repeated), SUFFERN G.E., SWEET J., (STEPHENS I. repeated), STEPHENS C.R., VIGOR A.J., (WHATMOUGH R.H. repeated), WHATMOUGH W.J., WEBSTER?.T.

#As John Ridd Pincombe died in 1934 aged 66,the honour roll is a nice job of lettering (except in the case of both the Stephens men and Webster) but cannot be relied on as to who died during the war. The desire to have the "Greater love hath no man etc" bit as a centrepiece and the name of A.M.Armstrong being repeated under it, gave the impression that he and all those under his second appearance did not survive the war. IT'S A PITY THAT THE USUAL PRACTICE, OF INDICATING THOSE WHO HAD MADE THE SUPREME SACRIFICE WITH AN ASTERISK, WAS NOT FOLLOWED.