SECTION 3, PARISH OF TULLAMARINE, was granted to William Vesey Leslie Foster on 27-1-1843. It consisted of 640 acres and had a one mile frontage on the western side of the road leading north to Fawkner St, Broadmeadows Township (Westmeadows south of Kenny St) and a one mile frontage to the north side of Sharps Road west of Broadmeadows Rd. The grant extended north to a line indicated by the Londrew Court/ Freight Rd midline, the Derby St/ Melrose Drive corner and Post Office Lane (the northern boundary of Trade Park Industrial Estate.)

William Foster also received the grant for section 21 Doutta Galla directly across Sharps Rd from Section 3 Tullamarine and his younger brother John was granted section 20 between section 21 and the river. As the land in the parish of Doutta Galla is not the focus of this journal, suffice it to say that sections 20 and 21 extended south to the line of Spence St, Keilor Park, the northern part of section 21 became James Sharp's "Hillside" and Maurice Crotty's "Broomfield" and the Delaheys of Keilor were later associated with section 20.

A descendant of E.E.Kenny of Camp Hill informed me that Robert Hoddle surveyed the road to Bulla in 1847. Originally referred to as Mt Macedon road, this cut though the north west corner of section 3 and soon afterwards David William O'Nial established the Lady of the Lake Hotel on the road's north eastern side. O'Nial was described as being at "Springs" as were residents on the road to Keilor!" This was rather confusing so in the 1850's the locality east of Keilor was instead referred to as Springfield. The reason Tullamarine and the area near Keilor had both been called Springs was because 3 Tullamarine and 21 Doutta Galla were known by that name.


Tullamarine was never a township but closer settlement soon developed near the Lady of the Lake, Broombank and another leased property in the cut-off north eastern corner of section 3, many allotments being sold on J.P. Fawkner's subdivision (south west of the road) and Riddell and Hamilton's Camiston Estate (on the north east side), both north of section 3. ALSO tenants leased farmlets on the northern portion of section 3 now occupied by Catherine Avenue and the Trade Park Industrial Estate.

As I discovered very recently, the rest of section 3 was called "Springvale" by the later 1850's. See:
J.F.L.FOSTER CALLED HIS UNTENANTED PART OF SECTION 3 TULLAMARINE "SPRINGVALE". (VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA.)

John, often blamed unjustly for the Eureka Stockade, returned home in 1857, having previously become owner of William's grants. As you will see in the above journal SPRINGVALE was reduced in size during the late 1850's.
In 1867, John decided to sell the THREE CONTIGUOUS CROWN SECTIONS, as a whole or in parts. James Sharp, who'd recently been on Riddell and Hamilton's subdivision bought the north eastern part of 21 Doutta Galla and D.T.Kilburn bought 400 acres on the Sharps Rd frontage of 3 Tullamarine (on the date specified in the other journal.*) He called his farm Fairfield and George Williamson leased it for decades, as shown by Hunt reports.

*Kilburn paid 5 pounds per acre.
Mr Robert Byrne reports the following recent sales of properties, namely :— ...... ; 400 acres,Tullamarine, £2000 ; etc. (P.19, Leader, 14-12-1867.)


James Harrick, whose cottage north of the historic St Augustine's, Keilor is now the Keilor Historical Society's base, was later assessed on the farm but I have no idea if he called it Fairfield. James divided the farm into two equal parts, the eastern 200 acres going east to include the Fisher Grove house blocks.

COUNTRY AND SUBURBAN.
Messrs. A. E. Gibson and Co. report having sold by private contract, on behalf of Messrs. James Harrick and Son, 200 acres at Tullamarine, being the eastern portion of part of Crown portion 3, to Mr. George Mansfield;etc.
(P.2, Argus, 5-3-1910.)

The western half became "Brightview" bought by Michael Reddan who'd come from Bulla. The Reddans later farmed James Sharp's Hillside circa 1928 when the Albion-Jacana railway line was being built, and John Grant's "Seafield". The Doyles bought Brightview and renamed it Ristaro. My uncle, Alf Cock Jnr. and one of the Doyle's were both killed in W.W.2, their names thus being inscribed on the Tullamarine memorial Which Major Murphy moved from the Conders Lane corner to the Dalkeith Avenue corner.

This article doesn't tell us which 200 acre farm George Mansfield bought but Gordon Connor* told me in 1989 that George had built the Dalkeith homestead in 1910, so it was the farm from Fisher Grove house blocks to Broadmeadows Rd. Finding what George had called his farm is the reason for this journal.

A FAREWELL.
MR. AND MRS. G. MANSFIELD.
The Seymour Express has the follow-
ng: - Seymour and the district lose an
estimable and highly respected family in
that of Mr. and Mrs. George Mansfield,
by their removal, in order to be nearer
the metropolis, from the beautiful prop-
erty 'Mayfield' to Tullamarine, near
Essendon. Mr. Mansfield's farm was
recently purchased by Mr. Bjorkstein,
the late owner having secured a 200
acre estate at Tullamarine. The Sey-
mour property was originally owned by
the late Mr. David Mansfield, from
whom it passed to his son George, over
twelve years ago, 'Mayfield' has been
in the family for 23 years. Mr. Mans-
field is not a stranger to his new abode,
Tullamarine, having lived there during
the first three years of his married life.
The desire to educate his family - two
sons and three daughters - induces him
now to return to the old locality, where
he can take advantage of the proximity
of the city to meet his wishes in this
respect. After 12 years of dairying and
cropping here he has sold his herd of
cows, and intends on his new property
to grow hay for the Melbourne markets.
During his tenure here Mr. Mansfield
was considered one of the progressive
class of agriculturalists, ready to go
ahead on new methods, and was succes-
ful as the result. His late home was a
model of completeness and its ready sale
was the outcome of the confidence felt
in Mr. Mansfield. As citizens, Seymour
will miss a man and wife who took a
pride in the place, and who indeed were
loth to leave. They have spent a happy
and prosperous time in the district, and
will carry away nothing but kindliest of
recollections of the period they lived in
it.
The Sugarloaf Creek correspondent
of the same paper, writes:- Mrs. Mans-
field has always been a most prominent
and energetic worker in anything con-
nected with the social life of the district,
and her well-known presence at picnics,
concerts, etc., will be sorely missed. We
wish the family all prosperity in their
new sphere of activity. (P.2, Sunbury News, 2-4-1910.)

*EventBirth Event registration number18326 Registration year1899
Personal information
Family nameCONNOR Given namesGordon SexUnknown Father's nameJos Mother's nameAmelia (Nash) Place of birthESDON

Mr. H. S. K. Ward reports having sold
by private treaty Mr. George Mansfield's
property, situated at Tullamarine, con
taining 200 acres, for the sum of £4200,
the purchasers being the Messrs. Baker.
(The Essendon Gazette and Keilor, Bulla and Broadmeadows Reporter Thursday 12 February 1914 p 2 Article)

Tullamarine
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28.
At One o'clock sharp.
Clearing Sale
HORSES. PLANT, IMPLEMENTS,
VEHICLES, MANGER HAY, TANKS, ETC.
H. S. K. WARD, under instructions from Mr. Geo. Mansfield (who has disposed of his property), will SELL by PUBLIC AUCTION on the property, "QUEENLEIGH," Bulla road, 9 miles from Melbourne, on the above date,(etc.)
(P.2, Flemington Spectator, 22-1-1914.)

PRESTON PARK.
I knew about the Bakers before I discovered their name for the eastern 200 acres because Gordon Connors told me that one of the Bakers had died in an accident at the farm. BUT I KNEW NOTHING ABOUT THE BROS. BEING SONS OF THOMAS BAKER, ONE OF THE BIGGEST DAIRY FARMERS IN VICTORIA, AFTER WHOM BAKERS RD. IN NORTH COBURG WAS NAMED.

BAKER.—In loving remembrance of our beloved father, Thomas Harrison, who died at Somerset Dairy, Somerton, 13th September, 1910; also our beloved mother, Elizabeth, who died at "Merrilands," Preston, 3rd September, 1889; also our beloved brother, Thomas Harrison, who died at "Preston Park," Tullamarine, 25th February,
1915.(P.1, Argus, 13-9-1916.)

See: PRESTON PARK

The above journal gives details of later owners of the Bakers' Preston Park who are summarised here.
Thomas Loft named the farm Dalkeith, recalled by Dalkeith Avenue. His son Ray had married Maggie, nee Millar*,and taken over the lease of Broombank (Millar Rd,Tadstan Drive area), finally purchasing it when the O'Nial girls died in the early 1930's. At some stage Tommy subdivided the eastern 40 acres of Dalkeith so the farm then consisted of 160 acres. Eumarella St was named after a place where Tom had previously lived but the spelling is wrong. Gordon St was named after Ray's son. Tom, a staunch Methodist and long-time Sunday School superintendent at Tullamarine had the Junction Hotel(over Bulla Rd from the north east corner of Dalkeith and south of Broombank) closed in 1929; Cec and Lily Green bought the pub (a haunt of Squizzie Taylor) and operated a store with petrol pump at GREEN'S CORNER for decades, once having a visit from a retired policeman who showed them a bullet lodged in a door during a raid on the Junction Hotel to capture Squizzie. Lily's fondest memory was serving petrol to Alister Clark of Glenara at Bulla.
*LOFT—MILLAR.—On the 13th February, 1924, at Maribyrnong road Presbyterian Church,Ascotvale, by the Rev. D. S. McKenzie,assisted by the Rev. W. Goyen, Raymond T. B., son of Mr. and Mrs. T. B. Loft, of Dalkeith, Tullamarine, to Isobel Maggie,youngest daughter of Mrs. and the late Mr. Robert Millar, of Ballater Park, Greenvale.(P.13, Argus,8-3-1924.)

By 1943 Leslie King Dawson was being assessed on the now 160 acre farm and it is almost certain that Percy Hurren replaced him in 1951 when he joined the Tullamarine Progress Association* having previously been postmaster at Jones" Corner, Moorooduc in 1950 and telling David Shepherd of Moorooduc that he'd bought a farm at Tullamarine. (*Formed at a meeting called by Tommy Loft in 1924.)

By 1960 land had been bought for the jetport and houses were built in Theresa St for Americans involved in airport construction. Houses were soon built as far down Dawson St as the walkway (linking this street to Dalkeith Avenue) just east of the Kindergarten site. The Petersens would often wake up to see Percy's cows nibbling the shrubs in their garden. Percy's farm was developed as the Broadwood Park Estate according to Leo Dineen who was responsible for getting the east and south boundaries of the farm constructed at Commonwealth expense and the oval and hall built on part of Dalkeith farm, now officially named the Leo Dineen Reserve.

The Dawsons retained Tommy Loft's name for the 160 acre farm. In 1943, it was definitely Leslie KING Dawson who was assessed on the property. It seems that the Keilor rate collector got it wrong*.

HEWITT-DAWSON.--On May,25th, at Knox Presbyterian Church, Ivanhoe, by Rev. Simpson, Ida Muriel, second daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. V. Hewitt, Grant Street, Alexandra, to Leslie Donald, only child of Mr. and Mrs. L. D.
Dawson, Dalkeith, Tullamarine. (Alexandra and Yea Standard and Yarck, Gobur, Thornton and Acheron Express, Friday 7 June 1946 p 2 Family Notices)

* The rate collector was right!
HEWITT-DAWSON. - Ida Muriel,second daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. V.Hewitt, Grant street, Alexandra, to L.A.C. Leslie Donald, only son of Mr. and Mrs. L. K. Dawson, Dalkeith, Tullamarine.(P.10, Argus, 21-11-1942.)

NOT STRICTLY TRUE.
Tommy Loft's subdivision was a fizzer with only a few blocks occupied by Loft relatives* and Tom himself. Dawson might have bought the 160 acre farm and MANY UNSOLD BLOCKS in 1941 but certainly not 200 acres.Tommy had paid rates on the present Tullamarine Primary School site which contained a corn store and saleyards. The homestead was near the Dawson St corner.
[* LOFT.-On June 1, Thomas B.. beloved husband of Clara, father of Hazel (Mrs.Exell), Doris (Mrs. Scoones), Raymond, and Harold, aged 79 years. (Privately Interred.)P.9, ARGUS, 4-6-1947.

OCTOBER 27.-Auction Sale at Scott's Hotel, Melbourne, of Loft's Dalkeith Freehold Estate of 200 Acres at Tullamarine.(P.7, Argus, 1941.)

Tommy Loft's second given name appeared to be a closely guarded secret. I was hoping to find his place of birth.
Eumarella* St was supposed to be named after the river that flows through Macarthur!
EventDeath Event registration number5305 Registration year1947
Personal information
Family nameLOFT Given namesThomas Benjamin SexMale Father's nameLOFT Henry Mother's nameEmma (Shandeven) Place of birthVICTORIA Place of deathCHELTENHAM Age78

EventBirth Event registration number9600 Registration year1869
Personal information
Family nameLOFT Given namesThomas Benjamin SexUnknown Father's nameHenry Mother's nameEmma (Bradley) Place of birthMACARTHUR

*Eumeralla River
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Course and features
The Eumeralla River rises northeast of Macarthur, and flows generally south, and then west through the town of Macarthur,etc.


The first stage of the Dalkeith Subdivision is shown in the attachment.Gordon St house blocks were obviously added after the birth of Ray's son. Wahroona may have been the now-demolished Californan Bungalow at 3 Eumarella St. The Dalkeith Avenue shown on the plan was nearer the location of the current Dawson St.

LOFT (nee Maggie Millar). - On the 1st February,at Sister Davies Private hospital, Scott street,
Essendon, to Mr. and Mrs. Ray Loft, Wahroonga,Tullamarine - a son ( Gordon Raymond).
(P.13, Argus, 9-2-1929.)