The Victorian Heritage Database

On May 5, I attended Day 2 of the Victorian Association of Family History Organisation (VAFHO) conference in Ballarat.  It was a great day with some wonderful speakers and I regret I couldn’t make the first day.

The first keynote speaker was Lisa Gervasoni, a town planner dedicated to Heritage conservation and a member of the Daylesford & District  Historical Society, among other things.  She gave a great talk about using Google Maps to help with family history research and then showed us the usefulness of the Victorian Heritage Database (VHD).  Timely, as I had considered a post about the VHD as I think it is a valuable resource for those researching families from Victoria.

The Victorian Heritage Database is a collection of Heritage places and precincts in Victoria including Heritage studies completed by local councils around the state.

While writing Passing of the Pioneer posts, if I see a property name in an obituary, I head straight to the VHD.  If the property is on the database, most times I can find more about the obit’s subject.  There is always a history of the building, property etc offering a wealth of information

In May Passing of the Pioneers, one obituary belonged to Mary Laidlaw (nee Learmonth).  She and her husband David lived at “Eildon” in Hamilton.  A search found information about the house, the architects Ussher and Kemp and the Napier Club that purchased the building in 1939, the year of Mary’s death.  Not only was I able to expand on the obituary, I learnt something of a house that it is a Hamilton landmark and has intrigued me since childhood.

“EILDON”, HAMILTON

The VHD was useful when I researched The Parisian, the 1911 Melbourne Cup winner, because his owner John Kirby lived at “Mt Koroite Station” opposite Coleraine Racecourse .  On the VHD entry for “Mt Koroite” I found out more about John and even what he did with his winnings from the Melbourne Cup.

The VHD  is useful when researching a cemetery and I have used it for cemetery related posts.  There are photos of headstones and the Byaduk Cemetery entry even has a photo of Jonathon Harman’s headstone.  A short history of the town is given and a history of the cemetery, early burials and notable “residents” and more.

I have searched property names and  town names, but not surnames and Lisa’s talk made me realise I should.  Individuals may be listed as builders of a property or a labourer on a station.  My search of towns had found some references to my family members but I thought for the purpose of this post I would search specific family names.

None of my family were owners of large holdings or houses but the Diwell family were bricklayers and George Jelly was a builder, so maybe there was a chance.

When searching the VHD, use the “Advanced Search” form (below). It  will give you more results than the “Simple” search.

VHD Advanced Search form http://vhd.heritage.vic.gov.au/#advanced;user

There are plenty of options to narrow down a search, but I only used the field “with all of the words“.

An entry on the database will include the location, statement of significance, history and description of the building or otherwise.  There is a Google Maps link with both the aerial view and Street View and most times there is a photo or photos.

Now for my results.  I did find entries I had seen before when searching towns,  but there were some new things.  What all the results show is the different ways your family members can be found at the Victorian Heritage Database.

HADDEN

My search started with the Haddens on my mother’s maternal line.  I had two relevant matches.  The first was about a Bills Horse Trough, in the Lions Park on the Glenelg Highway at Glenthompson installed in the 1920s.

While the horse trough had nothing to do with a Hadden, the entry has a history of the site, previously a blacksmith shop run by Donald Ross.  The other blacksmiths that operated in the town are named including the shop of  Harold James Hadden, my 2nd cousin 1 x removed.

Buggies outside blacksmith’s shop. Image courtesy of the State Library of Victoria – Elliot collection. http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/42869

I knew Harold was a blacksmith and that he lived in Glenthompson during that time period, but I didn’t know he ran his own blacksmith shop.

Another entry under “Hadden” was found on a previous search of “Cavendish” and is about gg uncle William Hadden, son of William Hadden and Mary Mortimer.  In 1913, he purchased the Cavendish Cobb & Co Depot and Stables (below) and the adjacent property on the corner of the Hamilton Road and Scott Street, Cavendish.  The 1914 Electoral Roll lists William’s occupation as blacksmith, useful with a Cobb & Co depot.  However, in 1915, the train came to Cavendish taking passengers away from Cobb & Co.

By 1919, William was living at Kiata near Nhill in the Mallee, running the Kiata Hotel.  I am not sure if he had sold the Cobb & Co depot by that time but he never returned to Cavendish and died in Geelong in 1927.

View Larger Map

HARMAN

A “Harman” search brought up not a building but a roadside Memorial plantation at Byaduk, sadly in poor condition.  The trees, planted in memory of the Byaduk soldiers that served during WW2, have not been maintained over the years.  My 1st cousin 3 x removed and grandson of James and Susan Harman, Leonard Roy Harman, was killed during the war as was another Byaduk man A.R.McNair.   The Southern Grampians Shire Heritage study on this site reported that much of the significance and integrity of the site had been lost.

The Memorial planting was the only “Harman” reference found until I did a “Byaduk” search.  Then I discovered that a search of “Harman” did not bring up any references to “Harman’s”.  This was after I read the report about the Byaduk General Store ruins.  The general store is thought to have opened around 1863 when another early shop opened,  Joseph Harman’s, bootmaking shop.

DIWELL

I then turned to Mum’s paternal side and searched the Diwells.

Surprisingly the result took me back to Cavendish, a town I never thought they had links to.  However, I found my gg uncle William Diwell, a bricklayer, was the contractor that built the Cavendish Memorial Hall in 1920.

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It was no surprise William Diwell was a bricklayer.  The following entries are about his father and grandfathers, all bricklayers or builders.

Firstly, St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in Merino.  Builders Northcott and Diwell built the church in 1868.  That would be ggg grandfather William Diwell and I am assuming Northcott is George Northcott of Merino.  George owned Merino’s Commercial Hotel (below) and the Cobb & Co Station.  From the VHD I  discovered they received  £126/15/- for the job and that they had also built the Merino Free Library and the Mechanics Institute.

COMMERCIAL HOTEL, MERINO 1880 Image Courtesy of the State Library of South Australia http://images.slsa.sa.gov.au/mpcimg/22000/B21766_112.htm

The next Diwell match was for the Sandford Mechanics Hall (below).  I knew from a transcript of the booklet, Back to Sandford Centenary: 1957  on the Glenelg and Wannon Pioneers site, William Diwell senior had a link to the building of the Mechanics Hall but only that he suggested that it be made of brick and not wood.  The VHD shed a little more light on a conversation that took place between William and the committee secretary J.S. Anderson in 1864, but in doing so, it leaves me questioning the entry

From the Back to Sandford booklet ,I knew that William ran into Mr Anderson on the Casterton Road.  Anderson told William of the plans to call for a tender for the building of a wooden hall.  William suggested a brick building and that Mr Anderson should take the idea to the committee before advertising.  The committee thought it was a great idea and they called for tenders for a brick hall.

Turning to the VHD, the report continues on from the above story but cites rate book entries from 1863 that Richard Diwell of Casterton was a brickmaker or bricklayer.  Richard was my gg grandfather and he was nine in 1863 . It continued with the story that William suggested Anderson go back to the committee, but added that William had a proposal , maybe an offer of funding.  The committee agreed to the unknown proposal and the tender process began.   The tender was won by James McCormack.

The thing is, the hall was not built until 1885, 19 years after William Diwell met Mr Anderson on the Casterton Road.  William had been dead 14 years.  So he could hardly be credited for a brick hall,  surely.  Also, why is Richard Diwell mentioned?  Did they mean William or was Richard involved later when the hall was built when, as a 30-year-old bricklayer, it was more realistic?

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JELLY

I found entries for George Jelly, my ggg grandfather, and father-in-law of Richard Diwell.  George built the Anglican Rectory in Henty Street Casterton in 1887.

What particularly interested me came from a spontaneous search I did for “George Jellie”.  It brought up the Coleraine Anglican Church.  The history of the church referred to the original structure built in 1853 by Casterton contractor, George Jellie.  My George Jelly did not arrive in Victoria until 1855 aboard the Athelate with his wife Jane and daughter, Mary.  According to his obituary, they first went to Murndal at Tahara, run by Samuel Pratt Winter and then on to Casterton.  George and Jane’s first born child in Australia was my gg grandmother, Elizabeth Ann Jelly at Casterton in 1856.

That beggars the questions, was there a George Jellie, contractor of Casterton in 1853 or did the first building at the Coleraine Anglican Church not get constructed until around 1856 by which time George Jelly had arrived in the town?  More research is needed on that one.

George’s obituary credits him for building the Casterton Mechanics Institute also, however that building is not on the VHD.

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While the Victorian Heritage Database is full of useful information, I do wrestle with it on occasions as it takes on a mind of its own.  I use a Firefox browser and I think it doesn’t agree with the database. I have tested Chrome and it seems a lot happier.  Another problem I occasionally have is when clicking on a link to VHD from Google or Western District Families.  I get a message that my session has ended.  If that happens, page back and click again and it will come up.

More on Lisa Gervasoni.  Lisa  has over 300,000 photos on Flickr and they are also found with a Trove search.  Lisa’s photos of landmarks and war memorials, often come up in my searches of Western Victorian towns.  When I have wanted to see what something in the Western District looks like, Lisa’s great photos have been there.  Thank you Lisa.

More on the VAFHO conference.  It was great to finally meet in person, Liz Pidgeon from the Yarra Plenty Regional Library and Infolass blog, who I have known on social media for some time.   I also met Craige from the Mortlake Historical Society.  You should check out the great Facebook page he is running for the society.

Trove Tuesday – For Wives and Daughters

The “For Wives and Daughters” columns from the Colac Herald first came to my attention while researching my fashion posts.  The column has fashion tips, recipes, handy hints and more.  I found the column in two other papers, the Warwick Examiner and Times of Queensland and the Western Mail from Perth.  The earliest date I found the column was 1897. The earliest column in the Colac Herald was 1910 and it seems to have run through to the end of 1918 in that paper.

FOR WIVES AND DAUGHTERS. (1916, February 23). The Colac Herald (Vic. : 1875 – 1918), p. 3. Retrieved May 12, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article75256133

In 1914, the tight skirt was on the way out.

“Waste not, want not” was an adage I heard regularly throughout my childhood, one of Nana’s favourites.

If you want to make dish washing less of a chore, here is a handy hint courtesy of an American housewife.  Or if the cooler weather has caused your nose to run, be sure to apply Vaseline around your nose and mouth area before bed tonight.

OR WIVES AND DAUGHTERS. (1914, April 1). The Colac Herald (Vic. : 1875 – 1918), p. 3. Retrieved May 13, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article74224403

Wondering what to have for dinner tonight?  Fancy some tongue?  Maybe some Pigeon Pie is more to your liking.

Useful Recipes. (1914, April 1). The Colac Herald (Vic. : 1875 – 1918), p. 3. Retrieved May 13, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article74224398

Look out for more “For Wives and Daughters” on future Trove Tuesdays.

Misadventures, Deaths and Near Misses

Sometimes the Misadventure, Deaths and Near Misses (MDNM) posts are like a newspaper version of Funniest Home Videos (I’m thinking of the horse in the sidecar last edition), but there is, of course, a serious side.  The accidents of Western District pioneers remind us of the dangers they faced in their everyday lives. Even mundane clothes washing could turn disastrous.

Fire was ever-present in early homes for light, cooking, warmth and washing.  That led to many injuries and women were the most likely victims simply because they worked with fire often and their long dresses were prone to catch.   My own family did not go unaffected by fire.  My ggg grandmother, Ellen Gamble, lost her life in a house fire from a knocked candle and my ggg aunt, Jane Diwell passed away after catching fire while boiling turpentine and beeswax.  Newspapers articles on the danger of fire were often published.

What to do in [?]ase of Catching Fire. (1900, May 12). Australian Town and Country Journal (NSW : 1870 – 1907), p. 43. Retrieved May 4, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71380496

The following ladies all had accidents with fire and for each it was their impractical dresses that contributed to their injuries.

In 1889, Jane Brennan was travelling home from mass with her husband and son, when the boy smelt smoke.  They blamed a hot axle until they found  Jane’s dress on fire.  Despite her husband’s desperate attempts to douse the flames, Jane received severe burns.  Mr Brennan also had bad burns including his fingernails burnt off.  Despite being transported to the Ararat Hospital, a later edition of The Portland Guardian reported Jane had sadly died.  The cause of the fire was unknown.

For Constance Sarah O’Connell of Heywood and Eva Dyson of Bessiebelle, it was domestic duties that resulted in their burns.  Mrs O’Connell was tending a copper in the backyard of the Commercial Hotel, Heywood where she worked, when her dress caught fire.  A doctor was called from Portland to tend Mrs O’Connell’s burns but the poor woman was sent by afternoon train to Hamilton Hospital where she later died.  I am curious why she did not go to Portland, closer than Hamilton.

Eva Dyson was carrying out her household chores in front of a fireplace when her dress caught fire.  Her screams brought her mother and sister who were able to extinguish the flames but not before they all also suffered burns.

A past edition of MDNMs discussed the frequency of headlines such as “Peculiar Accident” or “Extraordinary Death” in the papers.  The death of  Matthew Kelly of Eurambeen was definitely “extraordinary” or maybe just what can happen when a joke gets out of hand.

The Portland Guardian,. (1888, July 23). Portland Guardian (Vic. : 1876 – 1953), p. 2 Edition: EVENING. Retrieved May 7, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article63589310

On July 25, 1888, The Portland Guardian reported that Mrs Kelly would stand trial over the manslaughter of her husband.  I did not find an article about her trial and the result.

A peculiar accident occurred at the Ararat Railway Station in 1922 and the cause was the railway bell.  A Minyip lady received stitches above her eye as a result.

A RAILWAY BELL MISHAP. (1922, November 21). The Horsham Times (Vic. : 1882 – 1954), p. 5. Retrieved May 8, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article72741866

NEAR MISSES

It was a near miss for James Hadden, my gg uncle,  working at a saw bench at Mt Sturgeon Station, near Dunkeld.  The saw went between his fingers and while he suffered some nasty cuts, his fingers remained intact.

On September 12, 1884, two “cowboys” rode up beside the mail coach between Nhill and Dimboola causing the horses to bolt.  Both the driver and the only passenger Mrs Dungey of Kaniva, were thrown from the box seat of the coach.  Fortunately they both survived but Mrs Dungey was badly injured.  The driver managed to get the coach back in order, surprisingly with the help of the two culprits.  They loaded Mrs Dungey and the driver took her to a doctor in Dimboola.  The police investigated the incident, the second of its kind in a short period.

Mr Shrive did something that still occurs regularly today.   He fell from a ladder.   Notice Mr Shrive’s accident was the third of its kind around the time of  June 1888.

HARROW. (1888, June 29). The Horsham Times (Vic. : 1882 – 1954), p. 3. Retrieved May 8, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article72883804

A bull had the last word when  Mr D. Williams, a butcher, was attempting to slaughter it.  The beast kicked its leg out,  pushing the butcher’s knife into the lower arm of Mr Williams, inflicting a nasty wound that cut the artery.

Albert Reed of Muddy Creek was my 1st cousin, 4 x removed, a nephew of my ggg grandmother Sarah Harman (nee Reed).  He owned a cantankerous young Jersey bull that happily roamed the paddock but would not enter the cow yard.  Until one day in August 1913 when it chose to jump the fence into the cow yard where Albert was standing.  It immediately charged Albert and for sixty metres, it pushed Albert along the ground trying to lift him up onto its horns.  Finally William broke free and called for help but the only person home was his mother Sarah Burgin, then 67.  Between them they were able to secure the bull.  It was later shot.

F.Lovell of Portland had a very near miss!

ACCIDENT. (1906, September 28). Portland Guardian (Vic. : 1876 – 1953), p. 3 Edition: EVENING. Retrieved May 9, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article63963309

in 1889, Reverend Father Foley was on his way home from conducting mass at Goroke when he came across John Breen .  John had fallen from a horse and had broken his leg.  Rev. Father Foley constructed splints from the bark of a tree, lifted John into his buggy and transported him to Nhill hospital.  Dr Ryan of the hospital was most impressed with the surgical skills shown by the man of the cloth.

Trove Tuesday – More Commandments

As promised last week, more of those amusing marital commandments from Trove, this time for both wives and husbands.

NEW COMMANDMENTS. (1914, February 13). Forbes Times (NSW : 1912 – 1920), p. 7. Retrieved May 6, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article100263189
MLA citation

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TWENTY MORE COMMANDMENTS. (1928, January 14). Mirror (Perth, WA : 1921 – 1956), p. 12. Retrieved May 6, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article76410193

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TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR HUSBANDS. (1934, June 3). Sunday Times (Perth, WA : 1902 – 1954), p. 3 Section: Second Section. Retrieved May 6, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article61196667

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For Men Only. (1935, February 9). Recorder (Port Pirie, SA : 1919 – 1954), p. 4. Retrieved May 6, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article100816903

Burial Sites

Family historians love a cemetery, but how do you find the cemeteries where your ancestors have been laid to rest?  If you are lucky enough to have Western District Families, there are two great sites available to help the search.

BYADUK CEMETERY

CEMETERIES OF S.W. VICTORIA

I have used this site, created by Ian Marr, for years and it has done much to help me track down my family members.  Ian has visited what seems like every cemetery in the Western District, from the big ones such as Warrnambool and Hamilton to little ones in paddocks.  He has recorded the details from the headstones and compiled them in an easy to use website.  Not only that, Ian describes each cemetery, gives directions, facilities available and contact details.

The small cemeteries are interesting.  There are Aberfoyle Station, Casterton Swamp and McNeil’s Paddock cemeteries, each with one or two burials on private property.  Some of the names are great such as Lemon Springs and Moonlight Head cemeteries.

The site allows searches by surname or cemetery name.  If you choose a surname search, click on the relevant letter then scroll the names to find your own.  All cemeteries where the name appears are listed beside each surname and you can click through to the cemetery from there.

The 16  largest cemeteries lists are not available online, but Ian has compiled  a range of DVDs and USBs of the entire collection or individual cemeteries  to buy.  These also have photos of headstones from many of the cemeteries.  The name search results on the website will still show a surname match for any of those 16 cemeteries.

If you prefer to browse by cemetery, simply click the cemetery name and a list of names will appear.  Click on your surname and it will go to all matching surnames at that cemetery.

Some of the headstones have researcher links too, so you could find someone else researching your name.  Or add your own contact details on a headstone as I have done for James Harman in the Byaduk Cemetery and William Hadden in the Cavendish Cemetery.

KIRKWOOD HEADSTONE-HAMILTON OLD CEMETERY

CAROL’S HEADSTONES

Carol’s Headstones offers photographs from cemeteries from mostly Victoria, but also N.S.W., South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia.  The main page lists the available cemeteries.  Click on a cemetery and a list of headstones will come up.  If you email Carol, she will kindly return a photo of your selected headstone.

I have made use of this fantastic service offered by Carol and received headstone photos of Julia Holmes (nee Harman) from Casterton Cemetery and Amelia Bell (nee Harman) from the Heywood Cemetery.

While there are common cemeteries to Cemeteries of  S.W. Victoria, what you can’t find on one you may find with Carol.  Also it is possible to see a headstone list for Camperdown and Casterton, for example, that are only available on the DVD/USB version of Cemeteries of  S.W. Victoria.

Carol’s Headstones has a War Memorial Index too.  Some of the Western District memorials include Branxholme and Hotspur and there plenty of new entries.

Carol has a blog, Carol’s Headstone Photographs so you can keep track of cemeteries or War Memorials as they become available.

What strikes me about both websites is the amount of work Ian and Carole put in to deliver us a fabulous free service.  Thank you to both of them.

OLD PORTLAND CEMETERY

A Moment of May Madness Maybe?

Advertising. (1953, May 5). Advocate (Burnie, Tas. : 1890 – 1954), p. 6. Retrieved May 2, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article69470334

My creative juices are not flowing freely at the moment, so while planning posts for May, my mind wandered and I set up a Facebook page for Western District Families instead.  I have considered it from time to time, but I usually talk myself out of it and head back to my Google+ page.

It is fair to say that while I love Google+ as a way to connect with other genealogists, it does not have the reach of Facebook and I am not connecting with Western District researchers or those with just a vague interest in their Western District Families.  I also find it has limited opportunities for followers to interact and share.

I have been wary of setting up a Facebook page because I tend to like pages that have regular, but not excessive, interesting updates.  Just like my blog has a pieces of the blogs I like to read, I felt the pressure to do the same with a Facebook page.  That would mean contributing more that just a link to my posts.

However, the upside is I like to share stories about Western District Families, places to find them and news about the history of Western Victoria.  I also love to hear other people’s family stories and marvel at the wonderful history of the Western District.

So I did it.  It may have been May Madness but I hope you like the Western District Families Facebook page all the same.

Trove Tuesday – The Husband’s Commandments

Trove Tuesday this week comes from the Bunyip of Gawler, dated May 11, 1872.

THE HUSBAND’S COMMAND. (1872, May 11). Bunyip (Gawler, SA : 1863 – 1954), p. 4. Retrieved April 28, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article97206557

Next Trove Tuesday I will share some variations of the Husband’s Commandments that ran at different times up until the 1950s.  Wives got their own back too.