Place Names of South Australia - G
Gairdner, Lake - Gambier, Mount
Gairdner, Lake
Nomenclature
Discovered by Stephen Hack in August 1857 and simultaneously by P.E. Warburton and Samuel Davenport. Named by Governor MacDonnell in October 1857 after Gordon Gairdner, Chief Clerk of the Australian Department in the Colonial Office.
General Notes
Details of Warburton's explorations in the area are reported in the Register,
9 August 1858, page 2g; also see
20 August 1858, page 2f-g:
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It is very strange that successive explorers see the same country with impressions so irreconcilable. We are quite aware of the immense difference of appearance which a tract of land will exhibit at different seasons of the year. But an Australian explorer should be able at any time to affirm, with tolerable certainty, what aspect a country will present at all other times... The tract of country described by Mr. Hack as comprising four or five thousand square miles of excellent pastoral land, Major Warburton calculates will sustain sheep at the rate of about one to the square mile. We cannot presume to say which is the more accurate estimate...
The land and pastoralists north-west of the lake are discussed in the Register,
27 August 1877, page 6c.
Gairdner, Lake - Gambier, Mount
G
Place Names
Galga
Nomenclature
The town in the Hundred of Bandon 32 km south-east of Swan Reach was proclaimed on 10 February 1916 and is an Aboriginal word meaning 'hungry'. Land in the immediate vicinity was first taken up by William Selby Douglas in 1868.
General Notes
Its school opened in 1925 and closed in 1966.
A photograph of a football team is in the Chronicle,
11 October 1934, page 49.
Gairdner, Lake - Gambier, Mount
G
Place Names
Gall Park
Nomenclature
Near Kingston, SE. John Gall (1830-1907), who arrived in the Baboo in 1840. From 1851 and for the next twenty-five years or more he held pastoral leases in the district.
General Notes
An obituary on John Gall is in the Observer, 21 December 1907, page 34e:
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John Gall was born in Aberdeen in 1830 and died in December 1907. He lived at Cantara Station, 38 miles from Kingston, S.E. He was president of the local council for many years and connected with the local School Board of Advice and the Lacepede Bay Institute. To the school children he was a practical friend; the institute possesses many valuable books through his generosity and the showground is a standing monument of his liberal gift...
Gairdner, Lake - Gambier, Mount
G
Place Names
Gallipoli Gardens
Details of the subdivision are in the Register,25 May 1922, page 5c,
8 June 1922, page 5c (sold as "Allenby Gardens").
Gairdner, Lake - Gambier, Mount
G
Place Names
Galway
Nomenclature
A subdivision of part section 249, Hundred of Adelaide by the South Australian Company in 1916; now included in Netherby. Sir Henry Galway, a former Governor of SA.
General Notes
Biographical details of the Governor are in the Register,
16 October 1913, page 7g, 18 April 1914, page 17a.
Gairdner, Lake - Gambier, Mount
G
Place Names
Galway Gardens
Photographs of the survey of the suburb are in the Observer,24 January 1920, page 25.
Information on the subdivision of Galway Gardens appears on
15 and 22 January 1920, pages 9d and 4c; also see
The Critic,
21 January 1920, page 8 (photographs),
Advertiser,
6 August 1923, page 15d.
"Trouble With Houses - Faulty Foundations" is in The Mail, 16 July 1921, page 2e:
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Trouble has arisen with the construction of some of the houses being built for returned soldiers at Galway Garden Suburb, Richmond, Several faulty foundations which had been put down were condemned by the inspector of the State Bank...
Gairdner, Lake - Gambier, Mount
G
Place Names
Gambier, Gambier
Also see under South-East for an essay on the discovery of Mount Gambier and pioneering in the district by pastoralists, etc.Nomenclature
Named by Lieutenant James Grant on 3 December 1800 after Lord Gambier who commanded the British fleet at the second battle of Copenhagen in 1807.
An Essay on Mount Gambier and District
(Taken from an unpublished manuscript titled "A Social History of the Lower South East in the 19th Century" by Geoffrey H. Manning.)
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The whole district was supposed to be one vast area of alluvial land
"waiting merely to be tickled with the hoe to bring forth abundantly."
Competitors eagerly attended the sales and land, good, bad and indifferent
was sold to eager purchasers at high prices. Some large capitalists,
however, by buying off competitors and other diverse means were able to
secure an immense quantity at a little over the upset price. Many persons,
however, could not afford to purchase outright and went to the capitalist,
who was ready to accommodate them with inferior land at high rental which
crippled their energies and blasted their prospects.. Year by year they
struggled on until insolvency reduced them to the ranks of the labouring
class, bringing down in their fall some of those tradesmen who had too eager
ly supplied them with credit.
(Register, 3 and 11 February 1875, pp. 6 and 7.)
The Founders of Gambierton
In 1837 Evelyn P.S. Sturt was Commissioner of Crown Lands for the Murray district in New South Wales and, following his resignation, went to Bathhurst from whence he drove a mob of sheep to the infant colony of South Australia. In company with Messrs Hardy, Campbell and Stein he departed in 1839 with 24 men and about 24,000 sheep, the trip taking three months. He regarded himself as one of the most fortunate overlanders, not having any serious collision with the Aborigines.
Following his occupation of land in the South East in 1844, the first reference we have of him is from the pen of Alexander Tolmer who described his trip to get evidence against a convict, and when he thought it necessary to apply to Mr Sturt for summonses. In order to do this Tolmer left Henty's hut and, under the guidance of Mr Cohen, Henty's overseer, set out for the homestead of Sturt's station in the vicinity of modern-day Compton. However, he was unsuccessful for Sturt informed him that he had not been sworn in as a magistrate. Describing his experiences in the South East Sturt said:
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When I fixed on the site for my new homestead I had not a shilling in the
world but, thanks to the success attending sheep farming, I outlived my
difficulties... There was a singular feature in the country. There were
many holes and caves. The caves appear endless and it required some degree
of nerve to head an exploring expedition in those subterranean territories.
..
I never discovered any petrifications in these caverns, but I thought once to have discovered something that would have handed down my name in posterity. In one of these niches I observed the figure of a man, bent as in an attitude of thought, his elbows resting upon his knees.... Anxiously I examined it and took an arm and hand which were loose to the open air for inspection. I then found it had more the appearance of a mummy, the skin having become hard dry and containing nothing but dust. It, however, merited closer inspection, but I had some miles to ride and determined to defer such examination to another time. Since then I never returned to the spot.
The first sale of freehold land took place in 1847 when four sections from 1100 to 1103, inclusive, were granted to Mr Evelyn P.S. Sturt at £80.1s. per section and he remained in occupation until 1853 when he left to take up the position of Chief Inspector of Police in Melbourne. In the interim period he laid out the town of "Gambierton" upon which there was to be built on three leased allotments "a slab public house owned by a person known as 'Black Byng', a store and a blacksmith's shop". A complaint against the "new publicans" was made in November 1847:
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Selling six glasses of liquor and a cigar for seven shillings is what we
should call a rather good percentage. We would advise the publicans not to
show themselves so greedy of gain; as, at their future appeals to the
Magistrates and the public, their exorbitant charges, or what our
correspondent calls a downright robbery, may prove far more disadvantageous
to themselves than they may imagine...
Named, sometimes erroneously, as the founder of the township, Hastings Cunningham was of Scotch ancestry, while his father was an officer in the British Army located in India, where he was born. He purchased the town section and sections 1101-2 from E.P.S. Sturt for £1,500 in October 1854 and, , in 1856, donated land in Sturt Street for a new school which opened in 1858 with James Smith in charge; it closed when a new public school opened in Wehl Street in 1878. Mr Cunningham was one of the first to interest himself in the export of frozen mutton to England and, in conjunction with Messrs Freebairn and Armitage, shipped a cargo by the steamer Strathleven in 1871. He died at St. Kilda, Melbourne on 21 September 1908 in his eighty-third year.
In respect of the town's nomenclature of "Gambierton" the Border Watch of 10 January 1862 says:
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It has frequently been a matter of deep regret - we had almost said disgust
- at the constant recurrence of inappropriate names given to new villages
or towns in the various colonies of Australia... We submit that in naming
a new locality reference should be made to some great feature or
peculiarity in the same, and in most cases, not all certainly, the Native
Names especially of South Australia, will be found euphonious, at any rate
more expressive than those adopted by the settlers...
There are a few imported names unobjectionable and slightly descriptive, viz., Mclaren Vale, Watervale. Mount Remarkable, etc., but leaving Adelaide and folowing any main road just glance at the stupid and inappropriate cognomens distributed on every hand... Kent Town in compliment to the original proprietor may not be deemed much amiss, but Stepney, Norwood and Kensington - who that retains any recollection of the first with its venerable church, the ancient tombstone connected with the legend of the Fish and the Ring - of the second with its shady walks and celebrated Gipsy, or of the last but not least - beautiful suburban Kensington, its forest like scenery, its music and gay promenaders, who, we would ask can trace the slightest resemblance between "the old Love and the New"....
The most appropriate appellation given to any village in that locality is "Klemzig", a name that would, from its derivation, at once indicate a row of dirty, ill contrived, lumbering cottages, gable ends, on to the single thoroughfare, embedded in mud, surrounded by pigstyes and dungheaps, every hovel ornamented with peculiarly fitted windows, here a dab of paper, there an unmentionable garment stuffed in the aperture, or occasionally an old hat or wisp of straw...
Enough for the present, we have started our locality as Mount Gambier, and Mount Gambier it shall be, to the end of the chapter... Our thriving town is not to suffer under a misnomer because of the hallucinations of an interloping Victorian barrister and tho? the Post Office officials may, under the effects of circumlocution fever or red tape delirium, adhere for a time to this stupid term [Gambierton] we have little doubt, but ere long, they will return to the proper designation of this place as announced by the Sheriff on 19 December and recognised by the Act of the South Australian parliament, dated 29th November 1861, viz., Mount Gambier
Growth of the Town
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Keats was not far wrong when he said "A thing of beauty is a joy forever".
Nor was that unknown author in error when he described the South-Eastern
district of South Australia as the "garden of the colony". Mount Gambier is
the gem of the South East as Damascus is the pearl of the East. The charm
of it is in its almost infinite variety and if one should seek to dismiss
it from his pen after dwelling on its physical fetures, its trade and its
prospects, I feel how numerous are its attractions and how varied are the
things for which it is remembered by those who have lived there at some
time.
(Register, 13 January 1881, p. 5)
In the 1850s the town was a mere hamlet - a bush village - where shepherds came to ?knock down" an entire year's wages in a week and where a man who had gone to "melt his cheque? invited all passers by to drink with him. Then there were the "larks" on week days, horse racing on Sundays and, occasionally, a stout, wild, barbarious fight, in which men battered and bruised one another.
- A prizefight took place in the neighbourhood of Mount Gambier for a
purse of £20 between "a man of colour" named Young Sambo and an Irishman
named Ned McMahon. At the end of the 43rd round and after an hour and twenty
minutes Maloney [sic] was beat.
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A humane baker, Springer by name, arrived on the Mount to bake the people's
bread; Fidler and Webb opened their stores; grave, respectable Mr Tuite
followed in providing for both the inward and the outer man; and
our friend, Ingram, whose anvil is singing in our ears as we write, came to
share the business of the Mount with the other three blacksmiths and
wheelwrights already established, McKay, Barrett & Heinneman and Wyatt.
To the public houses Mitchell's, Long's and South's were added the regular Board and Lodging House established by John Allen. But the crowning feature was the towering steam flour mill of Mr Burcham and that of Dr Wehl - the brother of the doctor managed the mill. The doctor himself and Dr Graham comprised the town's medical men. Also in the town were shoemakers, a watchmaker and tailor, Mr William Humphrey, while in the Border Watch a notice appeared calling for the presence of a barber. Mr Crouch kept a large store where auctions were held, while a model shop with double windows set out Melbourne fashion which was conducted by Mr Brown, the chemist.
The master of this "academy of the wilds" was a curious type of the old school of teachers. His zeal in temperance and religion had raised an enemy in the chief proprietor of the township proper, who was the publican. The simplicity of this man won the regard of many and his very blunderings provoked a smile, rather than a reproach. His singing demonstration in school was "less remarkable for harmony than noise; but, as it pleased the children and exalted the master, any criticism would have been unkind or useless." He loved the dear children and taught them what was sufficient and pleaded with them tearfully and lovingly to act as lambs of Christ's flock - his ungainlly gait, his grotesque dress and his lack of science, could be smiled at and forgiven.
In 1861 the town's main street was all but an impassable bog, without drainage or regulations for the removal of the foul unsanitary nuisances that "choked the very doors":
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Though the men may knock through the mud, the women are imprisoned at home;
we have scarcely any social life and until something is done all of us
might as well be clothed in bear skins and imagine ourselves the denizens
of that doleful region, of which as Dante, the Italian poet, sings, there
is inscribed on the portals - "All hope abandon ye who enter here."
To avoid the mud hazards the citizens resorted to riding their horses on the footpaths thus "driving men, women and children inside the paddock fence and causing them to trespass on ploughed ground where the crop is just rising above the soil." The remedy for this state of affairs was to be addressed when, in Jume 1863, a district council was formed and its first meeting held in the old Telegraph Station. Within a few years there were two district councils controlling the affairs of the district - Mount Gambier East and Mount Gambier West, one having control over 60 square miles and the other over 100.
Further, it was considered a lawless town because it was without the operation of the Police Act, or the "presence of any authority exercising a check upon the drunken mad so frequently witnessed; and without prospect of amendment." These were not the only evils to be complained of because a long list could have been made out with every one having a just claim for notice, for the Editor of the Border Watch was to complain:
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The worst aspect of the matter is that "the orange is being squeezed nearly
dry" and there is little hope for now that there are no more lands to be
sold. Had we a Wallaroo to boast of, where the personnel of the Ministry
might quietly invest or speculate, we could then hope for some attention;
but because we can only show the vigorous buildings of that substantial
interest which has for years past been the backbone of the colony - which
tends to settle the country with a respectable, honest and industrious
population; which creates and reproduces wealth more certainly than any
other interest in the colony - because, in short, we are an agricultural
community, simply, we must be left to shift for ourselves.
The present population here is about 2,000 souls; this time next year it is estimated that there will be at least 4,000 people in this locality, with a vastly increased power of production of exportable goods. The question is now, therefore - will the government allow the existing state of things to continue - will they allow themselves to remain so ignorant of the real principles and duties of statecraft, as to stultify the growth of a promising district, depress its trade and ruin its settlers, for the want of a little timely attention?...
-
Two mills and two doctors stand up on the Mount,
And also nine stores, if right I can count,
Five shoemakers, too, who say, nothing's like leather,
For keeping you dry in the wettest of weather;
Wheelwrights and a watchmaker, who don?t go upon wheels,
And able any day to put tips on your heels,
A blacksmith, strong, rather weak in the brains
? baker who sells all the bread that remains,
A tailor who dines on his cabbage and goose,
A cobbler who lives in a hole like a mouse,
A carpenter man that ne'er lifted a hammer,
And a learned schoolmaster that studies his grammar,
A dandified clerk that knows nothing but figures,
Men that walk out on Sundays with guns that have triggers,
Little boys and girls all chattering like monkeys,
And overgrown lads as heavy as donkeys.
A very great bank to cash all your cheques,
And plenty of doors that shut only with "snecks".
A barber, with a razor keen, who, as you may well suppose,
Can take your beard off very clean, while he holds you by the nose.
A chemist, too, the only one, I think, who is upon the town,
And if you want a dose of salts, go ask for Mister Brown,
Three public houses, and three churches, too,
Stand out distinct and patent to your view,
Whereas I heard a teetotaller say,
(Shouting aloud from the other side of the way):
Wherever God erects a House of Prayer,
The Devil always builds a chapel there!?
(Border Watch, 25 April 1862, p. 2.)
However, a matter for concern was the situation of the town that was not well-chosen for it was laid out on low land and, therefore, subjected to "cold chilling fogs that never visit[ed] the higher ground." In winter it was very damp and from the nature of the building stone there was "scarcely a house in it that was not more or less damp."
On a more mundane level, and of great concern to many citizens, was the number of vicious dogs roaming the streets:
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Some of these animals are starved and neglected by their owners and they
prowl about and plunder any kitchen that has an open door; others set up
each night such a yelping and howling that sleep is banished from many a
pillow, while others have the dangerous propensity of rushing suddenly at
the heels of horses entering the township...
- As a rule two or three quarrelsome brutes make their way to the
Court every sitting and catching, we suppose, the infection of the place,
do their best to interrupt the business and to bring the Court into contempt.
Persons having business at Court are advised to leave their dogs at home
to prevent these unseemly rows.
The inns in the town were of a superior character and Mitchell's was declared to be "clean and good and charges not excessive" while Long's establishment was the favourite haunt of judges from Adelaide while attending the circuit court and, as for the quality of the beer, it was declared to be "the best I have tasted in Australia and it is of colonial manufacture, being brewed at Castlemaine."
In January 1867 the most disastrous fire that ever visited the district swept in upon Mount Gambier from the west. During the previous ten days bush fires raged on the Glencoe run and on more than one occasion they came up to the boundary of the farms but were always "beat back without doing any harm." But on Saturday, 12 January, the wind blew as if from a furnace from the north west and, towards the afternoon, from the south west. This change was the cause of a good deal of extra injury for the fire was whirled about in a most unexpected manner.
At about midday the inhabitants of the town looked with alarm at a dense column of smoke rising over Compton but, as no messenger came with evil tidings, they began to feel reassured that the fire was in the Glencoe scrubs. This comfortable assurance was dispelled rudely when Mr Varley drove into the town shouting "Fire". Large troops of citizens hurried off to the scene - four to seven miles distant - and lent a willing aid to check its progress. The damage done was estimated at upwards of £10,000.
In hindsight, Mr James Umpherston, Chairman of the Mount Gambier East District Council, said:
- This fire shows the absurdity of keeping Rangers who give more
annoyance to the settlers than all the good they do; and by saving the feed
on the roads render them the greatest source of danger the district has.
In this case it is affirmed that but for the district road from Compton to
Vause's being in such a rough state with feed, the fire could easily have
been stopped at Leake's fences.
However, if the fire was the result of an incendiarist the offender was never prosecuted, but a warning was issued to smokers when the Editor of the Border Watch informed his readers that a man had been "fined 30 shillings for smoking his pipe in a stubble field."
At this time the Institute was housed in a wooden building whose principal room - used as a reading room - was of a fair size but a visitor opined that:
- I am at a loss to imagine what possible temptation there can be to
resort to it. On the table I saw copies of two Mount Gambier newspapers,
a Portland and one or two other Victorian newspapers and there were an
imperfect file of the Adelaide Observer, one or two numbers of
Punch and odd numbers of other newspapers. But there was not a single magazine,
review or other periodical lying on the table- the explanation of this
being that members had been in the habit of walking off with them. The
library was locked away in another room...It was with regret that I heard of
the prevalence of insobriety for there were no fewer than 180 convictions
for drunkenness during the preceding 12 months in and around the township.
On the domestic front, in May 1867 a town crier appeared in the form of a youth who, with bell in hand and the aid of powerful lungs, announced that a sale was to be held "at the O and F Hall", while Mr Sellwood, watchmaker, erected, in front of his premises, a large clock to intimate the time of day and the Border Watch proudly proclaimed that it would "indicate Mount Gambier time."
By June 1868 here were three ?clocks? in the town, namely, Mr Clarke's bell ?which guides so many?, at the Telegraph Office and one over the door at Mr Cochrane's establishment and much confusion was caused due to the disparity in the times displayed by them. In November 1868 the government erected a clock ?in front of the Telegraph Office? and the local press suggested that it " something of an anomaly that what may be looked upon as a town clock should give Adelaide in the place of Mount Gambier time..."
By way of explanation, in Queensland a Standard Time Act came into force on 1 January 1895, while those passed in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia became effective on 1 February 1895. From that day when the hour of the day was noon in any part of Western Australia it was one o'clock in any part of South Australia and two o'clock in all portions of the three eastern states; Tasmania was, presumably, included in this zone, but not mentioned specifically.
The observance of standard time in South Australia caused considerable inconvenience, delay and confusion on the part of business people and others, while our mercantile firms were placed at a great disadvantage when conducting interstate business. Further, sporting, athletic people and the agricultural community were known to favour a reduction of the hour difference with the eastern states. Accordingly, as from 1 May 1899 the difference was reduced to half an hour.
Returning to the local scene, home gardens were subjected to depredations of opossums and ?notwithstanding that during the full of the moon hundreds [were] shot nightly, there [was] not any perceptible diminution in their numbers." Another hazard was uncleaned chimneys and, although the town possessed a professional chimney cleaner, many residents failed to clear their houses of accumulated soot and, accordingly, it was not uncommon to find ?fire pouring forth? from chimneys and, as there was no organised fire brigade, most fires of any magnitude were just let to burn themselves out.
The housewife also suffered on other fronts because firewood became scarce and expensive due to the ?improvidence of those who, in clearing their land in this district resorted to burning off instead of topping and tailing the fallen timber and stacking the butts which sooner or later could bring them a very handsome sum", while the winter months saw the return of the dreaded whooping cough among children, a remedy for which was described as:
- Take a bundle of water cress and put it with about two tablespoons
of crystallized sugar, bruise them well together, then strain off the juice,
of which give a dose regularly.
A few years later an outbreak of diphtheria in the town caused considerable alarm and Dr Jackson advised the residents to see that the ventilation of every house was thorougly attended to and "to open all windows and keep them open and to visit all cesspools and other places emitting unpleasant smells and disinfect them with either chloride of lime, carbolic acid, Burnett's disinfectant or Condy's fluid."{An 1874 outbreak is discussed in chronological order.]
The year of 1867 saw, also, reports of the 'social evil? obtaining dimensions in the town:
- It is self evident that persons following their lawful avocations and
proceeding homewards, as many are obliged to after dark, are either to be
mobbed or solicited by a number of abandoned women to their very disgust.
This kind of thing must be put down...
-
Is it a nuisance to have pigs, goats, cows and horses running about
the streets and entering people's gardens? I think so. Is it a nuisance to
throw out baskets full of oyster shells on the streets, piles of old
leather and other debris? I think so. I may be singular in my opinion for
the aforesaid four legged nuisances are to be met with all over the town,
while the latter abounds at the well known rookery that now graces the
centre of the town.
In April 1868 the English sparrow, described as ?this impudent little bird?, was introduced to Mount Gambier by Mr Long of the South Australian Hotel when he released seven of them and expressed a wish that "sportsmen will not shoot nor boys entrap these little feathered strangers who, although they will take toll of the orchard, are found to be an invaluable friend to the farmer."
The Editor of the Border Watch supported Mr Long and said he hoped the birds would receive the protection of those whose society they may seek and "not be wantonly shot down under a pretext of their predatory habits." A month later a Mr Stapleton let loose a further fifteen birds and, by January 1869, over 30 sparrows were found disporting themselves in the yard of the Commercial Mill and as "they are to be found in other parts of the district it is clear that the Mount is found to be most congenial to the ir habits." By late October 1875 a cave in the town had been enlarged by quarrying for stone and was frequented by thousands of sparrows as a nesting place.
Not to be outdone, twelve months later Mr Riddoch, MP, purchased some pheasants in Adelaide and it was hoped that "like the English sparrows at Mount Gambier, [would] take kindly to the soil and climate and increase abundantly." However, he only had moderate success in rearing young birds because, in the first season, only six were added to his flock from a total of 120 eggs that were set.
In 1869 the main corner of the town was occupied by a hotel built by Mr Mitchelll and conducted by Mr McKay. Opposite stood the National Bank, while the others were occupied by the Post Office ?quite unworthy of the architectural style sustained by private house owners? and the English, Scottish and Australian Chartered Bank. Turning eastward the principal buildings and places of business were the new Institute and Hall, the Mount Gambier Standard and Border Watch offices, Long's South Australian Hotel, a row of handsome shops occupied by Mr Oubrey, J.M. Nobe's Furniture and Land Mart, Mr William's mill, other shops occupied by Brooks and Muirhead, A, Macgeorge, W.A. Cronde, N.A. Lord, etc., and Finlay McKay's foundry.
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The Institute was "entitled to precedence, both from spirit and liberality with which it is supported, and the practical advantages it affords." At suitable seasons of the year periodical literary and musical entertainment afforded a constant source of intellectual enjoyment. They were usually held once a fortnight, admission was sixpence and the proceeds which averaged about £100 per annum were, of course, devoted to the purpose of the Institute.
Prominent among new buildings in the town were Mr Maas's with a commodious billiard room at the back, Mr McGuigan, tobacconist, Mr Hiller, tailor and Mr Williams, butcher. A Saturday market commenced on 12 March 1870 but, after five weeks, the holders of produce found it all but impossible to effect sales even at ruinously low rates - ?as a consequence money is 'tight' and amomg all classes there was more or less monetary pressure."
A brass band comprising fifteen members was formed in 1870 under the leadership of Herr Wackeldiene and, on the Prince of Wales birthday which was celebrated on 9 September, it paraded the town at 10 a.m. playing "favourite airs", while in the afternoon its venue was the Lakes where the great centre of attraction was a German picnic.
On New Year's Eve the band marched along Commercial Street playing spirited marches and, precisely at midnight, there was a "general discharge of musketry... which was kept up for several minutes. Happily, there were no larrikin tricks committed to annoy the public as on the previous new year's celebrations." Earlier, Mr W.J. Browne, of Moorak, offered to present a gift of £10 to the first band formed at Mount Gambier playing at his residence and, early in February 1871, members of the Union Brass Band proceeded to that place and "carried off the prize."
It was during these festive celebrations that Mr John Purchase was engaged by "a few spirited individuals" to patrol the town and keep a lookout for evil doers, after the "regular guardians of the peace had retired" and he announced that he prevented many petty thefts and had no doubt would make the place "too hot for prowlers."
During the night of 22 and 23 February 1871 Mount Gambier experienced a deluge when nearly 2? inches of rain fell in about an hour resulting in the lower parts of the town being several feet under water. In one or two instances the torrent in the streets overflowed the footpaths and inundated several business premises.
A tremendous storm of wind and rain hit the town during the early morning of 6 May 1873 when it blew down scores of gigantic trees in its path, overturned chimneys and did much damage. Messrs Norman's mill in Evelyn Street was swayed to an angle of about 75 degrees and bore a resemblance to the leaning tower of Pisa. Two windows in Mr Varley's house in the same street were blown into atoms; one of the chimneys of the South Australian Hotel belonging to Mrs Long in Sturt Street laid prostrate across the footpath and, beyond the town to the eastward, a blackwood tree was blown on to Mr J. Sutton's house and completely wrecked it.
Larrikinism was rife in the town and Dr Wehl suffered much inconvenience when his horses were let out of their stable on a systematic basis. Determined to rectify the matter, a watchman was armed with a gun loaded with powder and saltpetre. Early on a Sunday morning the intruders were noticed crawling cautiously into the stable and, as they opened the door, a shot rang out causing the intruders to make a desperate leap that was followed by loud screaming and a disappearance into the darkness. It was conjectured that they would for some time ?have to practice standing up at meals, etc."
By the close of 1874 the great scourge of the young - diphtheria - had assumed alarming proportions and the most fatal cases were brought into the town from Allandale (sic) where this fatal disease had settled down "like a plague". This ingress of patients alarmed the citizens of Mount Gambier because, when such outbreaks of contagious diseases occurred, the hospital had no provision for the reception of such cases and, in fact, they were excluded and accommodation found for them within the town.
To alleviate the problem a concerned resident of Millicent proffered the following remedy for diphtheria:
- Take half an ounce of camphor; add half a pint of common brown
vinegar; boil slowly with the lid on for 4 or 5 minutes. Then dip a piece
of flannel in and wrap around the throat; also apply to chest and back,
between shoulders as hot as bearable; one or two applications will be
sufficient. Allow flannels to remain on for two or three hours. In all cases
that have come to my notice I found that almost instantaneous relief was
obtained...
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If there is a slaughter house inspector, what is he about to allow
Lee's slaughter yard to be kept in such a disgraceful state as it is in.
There has been enough said about vegetable matter to accumulate, but I fancy
if some of the reformers had stepped up our way they would have talked
about animal matter too. The stench is frightful and during the late hot
weather has been enough to breed a pestilence...
- For some time the inhabitants have been sadly annoyed and disgusted
by the conduct of several prostitutes of the worst type who have located
themselves there. It is no unusual thing to see these degraded wretches
lying about the roads helplessly intoxicated or, what is worse, just drunk
enough to insult with their blasphemous and filthy language whomsoever they
chance to meet. As the inhabitants of Claraville are for the most part
mechanics with large families, and as there are only two public schools
there - one of them only an allotment between it and a brothel - there can
only be one opinion as to the importance of having these characters removed
from the locality without delay... I have seen a number of youths (some of
them full-blown larrikins, others just budding) who should have been at
home busy with their lessons, listening, instead, in great glee to the drunken
rows in these dens...
At this time there were four licensed schools in the town - one of them the property of the government and the other three owned or rented by the teachers. These schools were too small for the number of pupils attending them and in one case the overcrowding was so great that the teacher was warned by the Board of Education that he must either enlarge his premises or reduce the number of scholars.
By the close of 1874 the public school was considered to be a relic of early Mount Gambier architecture but completely out of date. It was ill-adapted for receiving additions - "in fact it was like the old garment of scripture - a building that it would be a sheer waste of money to attempt to improve." The absurd regulation of the Board of Education that restricted the cost of government schools (including teacher's residences) to a sum not exceeding £400 had had a most prejudicial effect and fostered the establishment of small schools and small buildings to accommodate them. Fortunately, this rule was modified in late 1874 and, in January 1877, the tender of Robert Haigh of £5,300 was accepted for the construction of the new State school and the foundation stone laid on 18 April 1877 by Mrs Watson, wife of the Mayor.
October 1875 heralded the opening of the new carriage drive round the Blue Lake, when a procession led by a reformed Temperance Band, and followed by members of friendly societies, five or six vehicles of various descriptions, the leading one containing district councillors of the Gambier West body, completed the circuit amidst the noise of "cannons" being fired on the north side of the lake where a crowd was assembled and refreshments, both solid and liquid, liberally provided at two large booths.
Mr W.A. Crouch, one of the oldest inhabitants, advised that at the celebration of the new drive it was proposed to call it Boopik Terrace, the native name for a hill. He considered the name inappropriate and suggested that it should be Warr Warr, their name for the Blue Lake. At the same time he provided the following local nomenclature: Mount Gambier, Powpee; Valley Lake, Yart-lumbow; Punchbowl, Thaduway; Dr Browne's [sic], Curralwaddie; Mount Schank, Parreen; Township Cave, Tuirchee; Umpherston Cave, Ballambull; Mrs Mitchell's cave, Cowan.
By January 1876 another hazard, in the form of the practice of building hay stacks in close proximity to houses in the town, was condemned as being a fire risk and it was hoped that when the corporation came into being that body would "give early attention to the subject." On a happier note Messrs Watson & Wedd introduced a number of improvements to their photographic studio, including a solar camera by means of which a negative could be enlarged to life size.
Invariably,typhoid fever followed the setting in of winter rains and Mr Varley, of the Gambier West council, suggested this was due to the fact that residents dispensed with their well water and used that caught from the roofs which "was not wholesome owing to it having filtered through unwholesome matter at the bottom of the tanks." Later, his suggestion was commented upon by the Central Board of Health in Adelaide which concluded that "zymotic diseases are so often traceable to impure water that all possible care should be taken to prevent its use for domestic purposes."
The need for a corporate body to look after the needs of the town was canvassed in the local press following a public meeting held in the Gambier West Council chamber in July 1875 to consider the matter:
- One of the most crying arguments for its formation is the necessity
of sanitary reform... Medical men tell us that the accumulation of filth
breed certain diseases and feeds other where they make their appearance
and death reaps his largest harvest when sanitary laws are most set at
defiance.... Other advantages that might be secured [is] a copious supply
of good wholesome water... [further], greater security from fire would have
the effect of reducing insurance premiums...
The Corporation of the Town of Mount Gambier was gazetted on 25 May 1876 and some of the first tasks undertaken were to arrange with the Road Board to spread metal on the main roads running through the Corporation, calling tenders for the grubbing of trees and stumps in the Recreation Reserve, fencing the Cemetery Reserve and planting it with trees, planting a belt of gum trees in the Cave Reserve and prohibiting young boys from playing football thereon and instructing the surveyor to define the footpath on South Terrace from the Bay Road to the cemetery.
A little distance outside the corporation's boundary was the cemetery consisiting of 17 acres, five of which were enclosed for burial purposes and in October 1862 Mrs Newlands, the wife of the superintendent at Glencoe, died in "childbed" and for her burial a hearse was used in Mount Gambier for the first time.This addition to the town's sophistication prompted the Editor of the Border Watch to pronounce that it was "one of the indications of our social progress" and conducting ?our funerals with the show of decency and respect."
Among the monumental stones were many costly ones, not the least conspicuous of which was an obelisk erected by the ladies of Mount Gambier to the memory of "Mary Jane Buchan, aged 19, who fell victim to the hands of an assassin, July 11, 1875" - the assassin being her "lover" and the scene of the murder a paddock, but a few yards from the public thoroughfare, where passers-by heard the screams of the unfortunate, but virtuous girl.
During the first half of 1876 the district suffered a severe depression and it was remembered that, in 1873, an attempt had been made by several farmers to compete with Warrnambool in the growth of potatoes. The speculation proved to be a success beyond the expectations of the most sanguine. Large prices were realised by every producer and in the face of extensive emigration to Horsham in Victoria, where freehold land was obtainable on easy terms, there were many who believed that this new enterprise would establish the prosperity of the town on a firm basis.
Possessing the best land in the district, the soil surrounding the town bore comparison with the finest in Europe and was rushed with fabulous rents being demanded. House rents went up and many untenanted properties were soon occupied. Almost everything was sacrificed by the farmers to the new mania; pigs were done away with as a nuisance by many while wheat growing was looked upon as something to be despised.
The next season turned out to be particularly dry and the crop was a partial failure. A good price, however, was obtained for what was sent to market. Nothing daunted, the following season saw every available piece of country for miles around covered with 'spuds?. The season was splendid with a resultant enormous crop and bags standing in rows "looked like so many regiments of soldiers in perfect military order."
Unfortunately, the shipping facilities at Port MacDonnell were not equal to the requirements at certain times of the year. This, combined with the open nature of the port and the many storms that swept over it, rendered the sending of produce a very precarious matter and, for this reason, many tons of potatoes had to be destroyed. From the same cause many tons lay in the ground undug and it was hoped that that "one of the first lines pushed forward by the government will be the Rivoli Bay railway."
One of the great unsatisfied needs of the town was a public park and, to alleviate the problem,in November 1876 Dr W.J. Browne of Moorak offered to assist the corporation in purchasing a suitable block and it was suggested that negotiations be opened with the view of securing "that section belonging to Mr Vansittart opposite the Grammar School."
By 1877 many citizens were to complain about cows wandering about the town at night. Indeed, the Telegraph Office garden was a regular sufferer, while Mr Varley said that "six foragers had broken into his garden" and did considerable damage and expressed deep concern that "people habitually turned their cows out at night to graze on the streets."
Ever watchful to his profession, Mr Nobes introduced the African boxthorn hedge plant, ?which had lately come into favour in Victoria?, to the district and opined that ?neither cats, hens, sheep nor bullocks would think of attempting to penetrate through the barrierof immensely strong, horrid spines." During the season of 1877 Mr Nobes raised 2,000 plants which he offered to the public.
There was no drainage in the town and every household was obliged to get rid of its waste as best it could and the most common plan was to dig a deep hole and let the offensive matter run into it. If this hole was sufficiently distant from the dwelling no great harm resulted but, as the blocks of the town got built upon, these holes got closer together and so much under the nose of residents that they were not only offensive, but dangerous to health. Indeed, there was no doubt that many back yards were no less than ?hot beds of disease?and many outbreaks of typhoid and kindred diseases that occurred periodically were due solely to their presence.
In an attempt to obviate this nuisance the corporation invoked the provisions of the Health Act and 'some butchers thought it little short of an infringement on their liberty that an Inspector looks them up occasionally and tries to keep the stench they make within bounds.?
Drunkenness was also a problem and by early 1878 the Border Watch was to proclaim that :
-
A large number of people with money to spend come in from the country and many of them got rid of their
cash by converting themselves into "drunk and incapables". But for the distance between the polic cells and
the centre of business a great many apprehensions would be made... [The police] suggest that a cell should
be provided in the central part of the town...
-
Cooees, crows, coughs and other loud noises could be heard easily at a distance of two or three feet from
the instrument and conversation could be readily heard when placing the instrument to the ear.... Some one
at Penola sang ?Come birdie Come? and Mr Maytum sang a verse.... and Messrs Hopkins and H.
Rubenkonig also tried their voices...
-
I have watched with interest the various entertainments which have been held in Mount Gambier during the
last two years and a distinction has occurred to me... Entertainments may be roughly divided into two
classes; those given by strolling players, the proceeds of which are taken from the town for ever and a
day, and those which are local in their purpose. Not only are the former a drain upon our financial resources
but many of them [are]... questionable in their tendency. On the other hand, local entertainments especially
when instructive in character and praiseworthy in object should be encouraged on the ground that however
great their success the town is not impoverished thereby.
Take the entertainment on Charles Kingsley as a case in point. The total proceeds amounted to £12. 10s. which will be divided as follows; Institute Hall, £1.5s.; Border Watch, £2.16s., SE Star, £1.13s.; Wesleyan Circuit, £6.15s.6d. Apart from the spirit of such an entertainment the simplest will see that the financial results are absorbed by the Institute, the Press and the Church. On these grounds alone - that such entertainments as ?An Evening with Charles Kingsley?are calculated to foster and develop a literary taste and enrich our local institutions - I think them worthy of the most generous commendation and liberal support.
By 1886, Gambierton had about 400 houses and a population of 2,450 and the principal thoroughfares were paved and drained and footpaths curbed with dressed stone. There were numerous well cultivated gardens planted with fruit and other trees which, from their luxuriant growth, gave the town an attractive appearance. A number of "runaway holes" were sunk in several places to assist in carrying off surface liquids. Water was laid on from the Blue Lake, but in the eastern portion of the town wells up to 90 feet deep were still being used.
There was no regular rubbish collection, but the principal streets were cleaned and refuse removed once a fortnight. Accordingly, householders had to make their own arrangements with the result that much unsanitary offal, etc., was allowed to accumulate to the detriment of public health. Prior to water being laid on in the town the Local Board of Health encouraged the use of the pan system in privies, but as carried out they were unsatisfactory.. Where cesspits were used some were well constructed and others merely holes sunk through the lava to various depths.
Piggeries abounded about the town and became a considerable nuisance, many of them being in an unsatisfactory condition. A bylaw was in force limiting to three the number of pigs to be kept by one person, but a closer inspection would have revealed that many citizens kept as many as ten. Rosaville contained 50 houses with a population of about 250 and its streets were narrow, while the township was laid out in small allotments. Consequently, the dwellings were crowded and necessary outbuildings unavoidably close to the dwellings. The site was rather flat but, as the soil was very absorbent, surface liquids disappeared quickly. The water supply was from wells and tanks.
By 1891 Mount Gambier was not the place it was a few years before as witnessed by the closed business places. It was on a down grade and no one could wonder because it was hemmed in by locked lands in the hands of squatters and a visiting reporter expresssed the view that:
-
Truly a progressive land tax is sorely needed in this, the garden of
Australia. Let the most rabid opponent of the scheme only visit the place
and look dispassionately at the position and he must come to the conclusion
that a discriminating tax is not only desirable but necessary... The estates
contain land sufficient to settle hundreds of families and put thousands
of pounds in circulation annually.
This is a matter that concerns people as a whole for in a few years we
will have federation and, unless we get our industries firmly established
and railway freights reduced, Warnambool, having then no duty to pay as at
present, will swamp the market with produce to the injury of the Mount
Gambier people... Now is the time to take action or we will find when too
late that we have allowed ourselves to drift with the tide and are upon the
rocks without hope.
Settle the people upon the land, give them good laws, fair terms, long leases, quick transit and cheap freights on the railways, which are the property of the public and which the people have the right to expect to be worked to some extent to foster colonial industry, then South Australia will take her proper place with the neighbouring colonies and not play second fiddle...
General Notes
"The Discovery of Mount Gambier" is in the Observer,
22 December 1900, page 34a,
"A Page of Early History" in the Chronicle,
7 May 1904, page 33a.
A comment on "exorbitant charges" of the new publican is in the Register, 20 November 1847, page 2c:
-
A complaint against the ?new publicans? was made in November 1847: 'selling six glasses of liquor and a cigar for seven shillings is what we should call a rather good percentage. We would advise the publicans not to show themselves so greedy of gain; as, at their future appeals to the Magistrates and the public, their exorbitant charges, or what our correspondent calls a downright robbery, may prove far more disadvantageous to themselves than they may imagine...?
"Mount Gambier and the Mounted Police" is in the Register,
20 May 1851, page 2c; also see
27 May 1851, page 3e.
Also see South Australia - Police.
An account of a local bunyip is in the Register, 30 December 1852, page 3a:
-
When the monster of the bulrushes made his appearance, the blacks on the bank [of the lagoon]... set up a fearful yell... The animal was about 12 or 14 feet [long] and I suppose must be the bunyip, so long supposed to be a creation of the native's imagination.
The laying of the foundation stone of the Wesleyan Chapel is reported in the Register,
30 September 1861, page 3f and
its opening on
19 April 1862, page 2h.
"Craters and Lakes - History of Mount Gambier" is in the Register,
13 August 1921, page 5c.
"The Early History of Mount Gambier", by Rev John Blacket, is in the Register,
17 and 24 February 1923, pages 12e and 11b,
3, 10, 17, 24 and 31 March 1923, pages 5e, 13a, 10g, 12a and 6g,
7, 14, 21 and 28 April 1923, pages 7a, 13a, 7a and 12a,
15 December 1923, page 11g,
12 January 1924, page 11d.
A horse race meeting is reported in the Observer,
16 September 1854, page 12g.
Historical information is in the Register,
25 June 1904, page 4f.
"Racing in Early Days" is recalled on
20 June 1927, page 5e,
Observer,
23 June 1928, page 29d.
Also see South Australia - Sport - Horse Racing.
The history of horse racing in the South East dates from an early period when Penola was the centre of activity. There were many gatherings of the "old fashioned type" held. Squatters and other prominent men assembled at that town and when the meeting was over a grand ball generally concluded the proceedings. One man closely associated with early fixtures was Mr Thomas Cawker. He began his racing career before 1850 and won the Mount Gambier Cup with Colewort in 1886 and again in 1889. The Buchanan brothers of Mount Gambier, together with Messrs McArthur and Mr T. Wheeler were also prominent in the early days. Mr Robert MacDonald of Millicent owned horses as far back as 1876, while Mr M. Geoghean was connected with the sport from the 1860s.
At Kingston, Mr J. Banks raced a stable of horses while Mr Riddoch of Yallum Estate had his colours prominent throughout the SE and the western district of Victoria and with a horse called Duffer he won the Warnambool steeplechase. Mr W. Trainor, a great friend of Adam Lindsay Gordon, piloted the Duffer in a jumping double at Penola
A race meeting in the South East in the early days was something to be remembered. All the squatters and their sons were splendid horsemen and the horses as good as any in the colony. Drudgery of agricultural pursuits was non-existent and:
- The young bloods were wont to get rid of their surplus energy at race time which could last a week. Hard riding in the day time, race balls and parties and rough practical jokes among the boisterous. One old gentleman on arriving home at 1 a.m. discovered that the reason his buggy was so wobbly and the seat so slippery was that both front wheels were on one side of the buggy and both hind wheels on the other. A joke of this kind was considered to be quite mild. Hurdle racing was a favourite past- time and every station had grand jumpers.
4 February 1853, page 2c.
An 1856 sketch of the town is in The Critic,
26 February 1898, page 19.
The arrival of Chinese "on the way to the land of Ophir" is reported in the Observer, 19 July 1856, page 3h:
-
We have just received another large importation of Chinese, who, like the rest, forgetting the precepts of Confucius, are on the way to the land of Ophir. Many of these poor pedestrians seemed quite footsore and exhausted on their arrival here. They carry all their effects with them, slung on the extremities of bamboos cane in true Chinese fashion. One thing is particularly noticeable about them and that is their uniform good behaviour whilst in encampment. Amongst the several relays passing through here, I have invariably remarked perfect good order and decorum. Their national vice, however, of gambling accompanies them whilst on the road and it is singular, though painful, to observe how intensely the passion for play burns in this race.
Also see South Australia - Mining - Gold.
An article entitled "The Mount Gambier Volcano", which also includes a comprehensive description of the lakes, is in the Register,
1 October 1857, page 3c-f - an errata appears on
22 October 1857, page 3e - although not stated, it was probably written by Rev Julian Woods (see Place Names - Mosquito Plains); also see
12 and 13 May 1885, pages 6a and 5h.
Information on a school is in the Observer,
25 December 1858, page 4g;
26 February 1859, page 7g;
examinations at the Crouch Street School are reported in the Chronicle,
30 December 1871, page 13f,
Express,
11 July 1872, page 2e.
A report of a Catholic schools' picnic is in The Irish Harp,
15 January 1875, page 3c.
The laying of the foundation stone of the public school is reported in the Observer,
21 April 1877, page 4b and
its opening on
19 January 1878, page 4g.
A "Hoisting the Flag" ceremony is reported in the Chronicle,
25 May 1901, page 19d; Also see South Australia - Miscellany - Flags and Patriotic Songs
a photograph of a school children's procession appears on
12 July 1902, page 41.
For the opening of the high school see Advertiser,
28 April 1928, page 11a-b.
Information on the State School Mothers' Club is in The News,
28 March 1929, page 8c.
Photographs of a schools' demonstration are in the Observer,
30 March 1929, page 36,
of an Arbor Day in the Chronicle,
16 August 1934, page 34.
Also see South Australia - Education - Arbor Days.
Information on the School of Mines is in the Chronicle,
2 March 1907, page 43e.
The Register of 10 February 1860 has an interesting article entitled "A Seaport for Mount Gambier".
For an essay on SE ports see under South-East.
The laying of the foundation stone of a Wesleyan Chapel is reported in the Register,
30 September 1861, page 3f and
its opening on
19 April 1862, page 2h.
Parliamentary Paper 59/1862 has a petition from residents for the establishment of a hospital - The laying of its foundation stone appears in the Register on
18 February 1867, page 2h.
It is described on
6 January 1868, page 3d and
19 February 1869, page 3d.
Historical information is in the Observer,
14 July 1928, page 17e.
The Mount Gambier Hospital
- [Dr Browne said] It should be treated with respect with reference to an outlay for all public institutions, in the same way of Adelaide. It stands in a most singular position and it should have its own hospital, Institute and Botanic Garden and all those facilities afforded for the amusement and instruction which the capital has, and at the cost of the Government.
(Register, 8 December 1866, p. 2.)
By 1869 it comprised one wing and its architecture was of the Italian Gothic order. There was a tower in the centre of each wing and another in the centre of the main front:
- Neither of them, judging from the design, is worthy of the name and the one that is erected is eminently suggestive of a compromise between the top of a pepper castor and an extinguisher. Three such abortions would make hideous a finer pile of masonry than even this hospital will... when completed it had a capacity of 72 beds present. However, there is good accommodation inside.
22 July 1875, page 5a.
"The Mount Gambier Mail Robbery" is in the Advertiser,
3 April 1863, page 3a.
Also see South Australia - Communications - Mail and Postal.
The town is described in the Register,
22 May 1866, page 2g; also see
30 May 1866, page 2g and
27 and 28 February 1867, pages 3d and 3c (the latter report also comments on a journey from Mount Gambier to Adelaide),
Observer,
2 March 1867, page 1h (supp.),
Chronicle,
30 January 1869, page 4f,
15 May 1869, page 5a,
Observer,
15 and 22 March 1873, pages 14 and 15,
Farmers Weekly Messenger,
22 January 1875, page 5c.
Register,
11 February 1875, page 7a,
Chronicle,
16 October 1875, page 6f,
22 March 1879, page 1d (supp.),
10 May 1879, page 8a,
Register,
28 September 1880, page 5f,
12 and 23 October 1880, pages 5f and 5g,
5 February 1883, page 5g,
24 January 1885, page 5h,
Observer,
6 February 1886, page 37b,
Register,
9 and 15 April 1889, pages 6f and 7a,
12 July 1889, page 7g.
Also see Advertiser,
29 May 1891, page 7c,
Register,
5 January 1892, page 6e,
11 January 1893, page 6d,
1 May 1894, page 7a,
2 April 1896, page 5h,
19 October 1903, page 6a,
2 February 1910, page 6h,
Chronicle,
22 April 1899, page 39d,
8 July 1899, page 17a,
Advertiser,
7 September 1927, page 14a,
Register,
25 October 1927, page 12,
16 and 17 April 1928, pages 9a and 9a.
Photographs are in the Observer,
24 June 1911, page 31,
Chronicle,
27 June 1914, page 29.
Information on hotels is in the Register,
30 May 1866, page 2g.
"To Mount Gambier by Mail Coach" is in the Register,
23 February 1867, page 2h.
Also see South Australia - Transport - Horse Coaches.
"The Mount Gambier Tragedy" is in the Express,
12 November 1867, page 2c.
The laying of the foundation stone of the Institute is reported in the Register,
11 January 1868, page 3g,
Observer,
11 January 1868, page 6c.
Examinations at a Catholic school are reported in the Catholic Herald,
20 January 1868, page 65.
A ploughing match is reported in the Chronicle,
4 July 1868, page 6e.
Also see South Australia - Industries - Rural, Primary and Secondary - Ploughing Matches.
Charles Clark's foundry is described in the Register,
21 July 1868, page 3a; also see
7 September 1868, page 3b,
while the Standard Brewery and West End Brewery are reported upon on
17 August 1868 and 7 September 1868, pages 3c and 3b.
Also see South Australia - Industries - Rural, Primary and Secondary - Brewing.
The Register of
21 and 30 July 1868, pages 2h and 3a has information on the town's water supply,
Observer,
3 January 1925, page 16a.
Mount Gambier & Its water Supply
-
Mount Gambier was badly supplied with water. There was an unlimited supply some 70 feet or more underground but it was a work of great labour to bring it to the service.
(Border Watch, 24 June 1868.)
Twice or thrice they nearly got water laid on to the town - once they even got the pipes out from England, but they were sent away from the Mount to Adelaide. Two or three times they nearly got gas, but the scheme exploded and in 1883 the subject was raised again and as the water pipes were spreading throughout the town they may summon up unanimity to go in for gas
(Register, 5 February 1883, p. 5.)
- There are several beautiful lakes in the vicinity in addition to underground streams and there is a rugged cavern in the centre of the town containing a mass of water which, however, is very odorous. The tradespeople and residents obtain their ordinary supplies from wells 80 to 100 feet deep by means in most cases of that primitive appliance the windlass. The water thus obtained is neither profuse in quantity nor super excellent in quality...
Oswald Brown gave Mount Gambier water from the Blue Lake with a pumping station and reservoir, Christopher Jobson carried out this work; also the reticulation and 1883 saw the water laid on at Mount Gambier.
The level of water in the Blue Lake was 80 feet below the post office in the town so that it was necessary to pump it up to a reservoir on the highest point of the lip of the crater. On a jutting promontory of the lake a picturesque building was erected.. Two or three attempts were made to put a boat on the lake but the unfortunate propensity of the larrikins to destroy everything useful thwarted all efforts to maintain a boat. Sometimes cattle slipped into it and, in May 1885, a carcass had to be dragged with ropes to a place where it could be cut up and removed. This was accomplished at great risk to life and limb to those who were engaged in the novel operation, which could have been avoided if a boat was at hand. .
An account of the Governor's visit to the district is in the
Register,
12 and 14 June 1869, pages 3a and 2h.
Also see South Australia - Governors and Ancillary Matters.
A report on the laying of the foundation stone of the new Presbyterian Church is in the Register,
2 August 1870, page 5d (see
14 December 1871, page 5f for an account of its opening and
30 May 1928, page 5a for its jubilee);
likewise, that of the Primitive Methodist Chapel is to be found on
8 October 1870, page 5e; also see
22 March 1871, page 5b,
Register,
21 April 1908, page 3d,
Observer,
25 April 1908, page 15e.
Information on the Baptist Church is in the Observer,
19 January 1924, page 16a.
A proposal to grow sugar beet in the district and the aftermath is discussed in the Register,
27 June 1871, page 5d,
13 and 22 July 1871, pages 3d and 5a,
7 August 1871, page 5a-6f.
Also see under South Australia - Industries - Rural, Primary and Secondary - Miscellany.
The golden wedding of Mr & Mrs Patzell is reported in the Register,
8 August 1871, page 5c.
"Potato-Digging-Machine Match" is in the Observer,
1 May 1875, page 9d.
Potato Growing
- Potatoes are an excellent feed for both horses and cattle. For dairy cows they improve both the quality and quantity of milk.... At Mount Gambier cows almost universally eat potatoes.and many of them are so fond them that they will go to considerable trouble to get them when opportunity offers.
(Border Watch, 7 October 1876.)
About 830 acres of the Moorak estate was leased by some 20 growers whose holdings were from 20 acres upwards, the following being the principal ones: G. Janeway, A.B. Sinclair, W. Berkerfield, W. Bailey, V. Stuckey, D. McArthur, S. Earl, Pegler, W.H. Renfrey, T. Williams, J. McNamee, R. Wallace, Edwards, J. Sinclair, W. Peel and O'Neill. The holdings at Yahl amounted to about 800 acres and were worked by Messrs Ruwoldt, W. Hay, C. Blune, T.H. Williams, John Lange, D. Buchanan, Joseph Lange, Norman, senior, Messrs Hill, W. Umpherstone, Lehmann, C. MacArthur, A. Smith, Kannenberg, J. Umpherstone, W. Mitchell and Nitschke.
OB Flat growers occupied 400 acres and they were G. Norman, Davis brothers, A.C. Spehr, G. Coutts, J. Smith, Laube, W. Spehr, O. Spehr, A. McLean, P. Hay, J. Parvis and J. Schinkel. At Compton there were 250 acres held by J. Frew, T.H. Williams, J. Hay, J. Powell, Honan, Sasinowsky, J. MacFarlane and Collins, while at Square Mile there were Vorwerk brothers, Unger, and Patzel brothers
Another class of grower was the working speculator who secured a piece of land and with the aid of, perhaps, his sons, got in his crop and either sent it to market himself or sold it in the ground to local buyers. The buyers again were two classes - the trading dealer who supplied the Adelaide market regularly, or the speculative dealer who gave a certain sum per acre for the whole crop, took the risk of the yield and stipulated for delivery in bags at the railway station in the quantities required. He sent either truckloads to the Adelaide merchant or to the agent who auctioned them weekly.
In 1885 there was a glut in the market and loads taken down to Port MacDonnell for shipment were actually cast into the sea because the Adelaide agents required a cheque to be forwarded in advance to cover any costs of sales that would not cover the expense of sending them to the metropolitan market. The principal potato fields were at Moorak, OB Flat, Yahl, Compton and Square Mile. At Millicent there were only about 300 acres, grown principally on the ridges thrown up from the drains
In the 1880s the land in the potato districts of Yahl and OB Flat was worth about £40 per acre, while some nearer the town changed hands for a higher price but it was evident that the grower was plagued with seasonal difficulties:
-
I am glad to see the Treasurer has promised a deputation to see if the distillation laws may not be relaxed in some way in favour of distillation from potatoes for there was a shameful waste of this vegetable in the district. Driving through Yahl and OB Flat hundreds of tons were lying under hedgerows rotting, ostensibly because the land had been "sticky" where the general crop was gathered and these gleanings - a ton or more to the acre sometimes - were not worth the gathering and the cost of sending to market.
(Taken from an unpublished manuscript by Geoffrey H. Manning, titled A Social History of the Lower South East.)
The laying of the foundation stone of the post office is reported in the Observer,
21 April 1877, page 4b.
The railway to Rivoli Bay is discussed in the Register,
19, 20 and 27 May 1879, pages 6b, 6a and 6f.
An article on the "Naracoorte and Mount Gambier Railway", which includes a description of contiguous districts, is in the Register,
7 June 1887, page 5g; also see
8, 10 and 17 June 1887, pages 3d, 6a and 4f.
"Portland to Mount Gambier Railway - Its Prospects and Uses" is in the
Register,
6 March 1917, page 4g.
Also see under South Australia - Transport - Railways - Miscellany for an essay on railways of the SE.
Football in Mount Gambier
Information on the football team is in the Observer,
18 October 1879, page 10d.
Also see South Australia - Sport - Football.
At first football teams were fielded by the respective cricket clubs and games played on a "green" at the rear of Clark's foundry, but in August 1867 the Mount Gambier Football Club was formed closely followed by the Tradesmen's Football Club in May 1868 - eleven from each club met late in August 1867, the former team winning by four goals to nil. The match was not without an argument or two when one goal became the subject of a slight contention "bearing out the remarks we have made on several occasions that no match should be played without an umpire having been appointed, thereby preventing the bickerings..."
The Mount Gambier football team that played Penola in August 1870 comprised H.A Price (captain), J.G. Smith, A. Wilson, J.S. Browne, A Rubenkonig, C. McDonald, G. Sharp, G. Dawson, G. Carter, J. Tyler, R. McMasters, L. Holtzmann, E.J. Harris and G.A. Harris. The captain of the Penola team was A. Clark and the game was played at Penola on Mr Ralston's paddock. After scoring one goal apiece, by mutual consent the match was terminated and the players adjourned to the Prince of Wales Hotel for dinner. The return match was played a fortnight later on the "Mount Gambier football ground" and after two hours of hard play A. Clark of Penola sored a goal and this was followed by another from the boot of C. Hayes. This was the last match of the season and Penola was adjudged to remain the championship side for the season.
At a meeting of young men in March 1876 it was decided to found a football and athletic club because "football clubs at Mount Gambier had a rather ephemeral existence and the idea of adding general athletic exercises to the club would be a wise one... Many will no doubt join for the sake of the other exercises who object to the rough game of football." The office holders were: Dr James Jackson, President; T.C. Ellis and Thomas Williams, Vice-Presidents; G.M. Turnbull, Treasurer; H. Perry, Secretary; A.F. Laurie, C.A.F. Bolte, J.A. MacIntosh, H. Glover, J. Lewis, A Hopkins and Nash, Committeemen. The rules of the Kensington Association were submitted but not approved and several members undertook to procure other rules from Melbourne and Adelaide and "The secretary was authorised to procure a ball at once. It was resolved that Mr Plate should be written to with reference to the goals removed by him from the old ground..." The first match was played on the public recreation ground on 26 April 1876 when two sides comprising 10 members each, and chosen by Messrs H. Perry and S.D. Mansell, met in combat:
- Considering the state of the ground (which had been ploughed only the year previous and was, therefore, very heavy and uneven) a fair amount of skill was displayed... When the club moves its quarters to Mrs Mitchell's paddock (opposite the English Church) which has kindly been lent by that lady, the spectators are promised some very good footballing... The match resulted in Mr Mansell's side winning by two goals.
The first match between the two teams was played on Hedley Park on 20 May 1876:
- It is a rather narrow ground and cannot conveniently be widened by reason of a number of trees on the southern side which occasionally interfere with play . Its northern side abuts on the buildings on the south side of Sturt Street. These also are drawbacks as the ball frequently leaps into yards, over buildings, etc., through which a loss of time occurs.... It was arranged that play should cease a five o?clock and according to rule when half time had elapsed, without either side securing a goal, ends were changed.... At lenght about five minutes to five after a grand struggle... the ball was once more brought down to the Young Australian's goal and in the scuffle that ensued George Allison scored a goal for the Mount Gambier Club... The only casualty was Richard Wilkinson of the defeated team who suffered a broken rib.
-
Behold a day when each may act his part,
A day to fire the brave and warm the cold,
To gain new glories or augment the old.
Not hate but glory made these clubs contend,
And each brave foe was in his soul a friend.
Now foot to foot the hostile teams do stand,
Eager to fight, and only wait command.
The charges once made, no warrior turn the rein,
But fight or fall.
None turn their backs to mean ignoble flight,
Now here, now there, the tide of combat flows.
New force, new spirit to each breast returns;
The fight renewed with fiercer fury burns.
With giant strength endued,
Whose brawny shoulders and whose swelling chest
And lofy stature far exceed the rest,
Swift of foot and matchless in the race.
Famed in close fight and dreadful face to face,
Whose back is broad, his shoulders wider spread,
They tug, they sweat, but neither gains nor yields
One foot; one inch of the contended field;
Thus obstinate to death they fight, they fall,
Not these can keep, nor those can kick the ball.
That glorious acts more glorious acts inspire,
And catch from breast to breast the noble fire
On valour's side the odds of combat lie,
The brave live glorious or lamented die;
The wretch who trembles at the field of fame
Meets death, and worse than death, eternal shame.
8 May 1880, page 753c and
a cheese factory on
7 August 1880, page 210e,
16 October 1880, page 659b.
Also see South Australia - Industries - Rural, Primary and Secondary - Miscellany.
Information on the sounding of the Blue Lake is in the Register,
10 May 1880, page 6g and
a Government Geologist's report on the lakes appears on
18 March 1884, page 6e.
"Blue Lake Scenery - A Volcanic Gem" is in the Advertiser,
11 October 1902, page 11a.
The town's forest reserve is described in the Observer,
15 February 1879, page 10a,
Register,
21 September 1880, page 6a.
Also see South Australia - Industries - Rural, Primary and Secondary - Forestry.
Information on and sketches of an exhibition are in Frearson's Weekly,
31 December 1881, pages 3 (supp.) and 745.
A hanging at the gaol is reported in the Observer,
19 November 1881, page 32e.
"The Pioneer Distillery Works" is in the Register,
17 May 1886, page 6d; also see
Chronicle,
6 February 1886, page 7f.
Cricket in Mount Gambier
A cricket match is described in the Express,
9 June 1886, page 6e.
Also see South Australia - Sport - Cricket - Miscellany.
At Mount Gambier a newly formed cricket club played its first game in November 1861 on a flat "near the National School" where rain and wind interfered with proceedings and it was reported that after a few hours play they "all semed glad to become homeward bound." The first inter-town match was played on 6 March 1862 when the Mount Gambier team was successful by 27 runs.
By 1866 the Temperance Cricket Club showed the most vitality of any of the clubs existing in Mount Gambier, while others were Traders and Mount Gambier the main sporting venue being Mrs Mitchell's paddock at Hedley Park and among the members of the first named was a pure-blooded Aborigine named John Short, aged about 12 years, ?who astonished everyone at the style in which he wielded the willow, scoring in the first innings 14 and in the second, six runs." By 1876 the Dreadnought Cricket Club was amidst the local scene and amongst it members were S. Turner, D. Potter, L.A. Wells, P. Holzgrefe, J. Paterson, Sutherland, Y. Height, C. Barrett, R. Height, A. Reinicke and H.E. Turner (captain).
The three cricket clubs in the town were almaganated into one on 13 October 1870 when Mr J.P.D. Laurie was elected as President, Messrs Doughty and A.F. Laurie, Vice-Presidents, Mr Mueller, Hon. Secretary, Mr J. Frew, Hon. Treasurer, Messrs Bloxam, Russell, F.S. Poole, Smith, Winney. Byass and Mansell, committeemen.
Progress was slow and by 1874 the Editor of the Border Watch expressed his concern as to perceived shortcomings in the management of the game within the town:
- How is it that what should be the metropolitan club is unable to hold its own even against the inferior play it has to contend with - for the really "excellent cricket" we so frequently hear spoken of here is a mere chimera of the brain... Are there no cricketers in the Mount to form a team? There are seveal respectable players and many others who would soon become so with practice. Is it then impossible to form a club? A club exists, it possesses a ground, fund for all reasonable expenses could be raised and yet cricket is in such a drooping state as almost to have become extinct amongst us... Why should our township lag so far behind others of less importance and fewer inhabitants in this spledid old English game?
- It is considered to be a very strong one. It includes perhaps the best all-round cricketer in the colony, namely, R.N. Davenport; whilst Parkes, a recent arrival from the home country is regarded as one of the best bats in the team. Medhurst, Vyner, Glover, Lindsay and Lukey (another English importation) aree reliable bats and good in the field. T.C. Ellis and John Cock are the principal bowlers, the first being round arm with quick delivery and the latter a slow bowler. Bolte will probably be captain, as he has a happy knack of of keeping his men in good humour and knows each man's place to a nicety. If the bowling is at all loose Millhouse will create some leather hunting. Medhurst, junior, if he plays anything likes as well as his father will be an acquisition to the eleven.
However, in the next match against a Norwood team they were defeated by 181 runs and suffered further defeats before leaving for home and, no doubt, their spirits were raised when they were lauded by the Adelaide press for their "spirit and enterprise in coming nearly 300 miles to play in the metropolis with a view also to aid in advancing the interests of cricket in the colony."
In March 1875 a match between the married and unmarried members of the Commercial Cricket Club was played on Mr Cock's paddock while a team from Kent Town came to the town later in that year and played a game agaist a representative local team which was defeated by five wickets and in a return match the local side again went down by 30 runs.
"A Lover of Cricket" made public his misgivings as to the standard of cricket within the town in 1877 when he denigrated the "state of play":
- If a player, who is anxious to improve goes out to the ground, he will find no one there and to get up a game he has to run round the place hunting up two or three unwilling cricketers who really place themselves at a great disadvantage to accommodate him... Perhaps the feelings of the Mount Gambier cricketers would be hurt, and their pride receive a shock, if they were told that there was not a man in the whole club who is in a fit state to represent them in a match of any consequence... The batting has, as yet, been disgraceful and would shame a Grammar School boy; the bowling rubbish and the fielding, with one or two exceptions, as bad..
A presentation to J.W.B. Croft, stationmaster, is reported in the Register,
27 September 1887, page 7e.
A dairy co-operative factory is discussed in the Observer,
8 December 1888, page 11d.
Also see South Australia - Industries - Rural, Primary and Secondary - Dairying .
Dairying in the Lower South East
-
The Americans said "Corn and hogs go together" but it was possible to go one further and say "Maize, pigs and cows go together"because the refuse from farm dairy or factory mixed with corn, made a wonderful aid to the formation of meat on a pig.
(Register, 20 May 1891, p. 7.)
For many years dairying was carried on what was called a "cockatoo scale" until the lectures and writing of Mr Hugh Walpole, who was dispatched by Mr Fowler of Adelaide, roused the people of the South East into a knowledge of the advantages of cooperative dairying and he can be described as the father of factory butter and cheese making in the district. He demonstrated in a scientific, yet intelligible way, the capabilities of limestone pasturages and peaty country for dairying, and in many ways lent invaluable aid to the establishment of one of the most important industries in the colony. Strange to say he was, with all his undoubted theoretical knowledge of dairying, a poor practical manager and left the South East for Victoria, where he died in the early 1890s.
He established the pioneer factory near Umpherston's Caves in the 1880s but it was not as successful as some of those that came later. It was the first in the field of manufacture on the American factory principle and to show the farmers that a good living could be made for the greatest part of the year. There were two other small factories in the district the one at Compton being managed by Mr Spurge. Pig breeding was combined with these operations producing about 130 lbs of cheese daily.
The dairy factory at OB Flat was started in a small way by Mr Parriss in a primitive building and, as the owner modestly remarked, was "decidedly flat and required improving in many ways," and it was concluded that a man who could toil away almost single-handed, and with such primitive buildings and appliances turn out a weekly average in the 1888 season of 1,300 lbs of good factory cheese, deserved to succeed. He had a splendid herd of cows and purchased additional supplies of milk from local farmers at four pence a gallon.
At Lucieton, the Tantanoola factory was operated by the afore mentioned Mr Walpole and he purchased 400 gallons of milk daily from surrounding farmers. The first consignment of cheese was received and opened on Thursday, 16 December 1886 at the rooms of Messrs Sandford & Co., Currie Street, in the presence of the city merchants and leading grocers.
In January 1887 a meeting of farmers was held in the Murrimbum school house, five miles from Millicent by those interested in the formnation of a cheese factory company, when a number of questions were asked of Mr Walpole. The factory was established in the same year under the management of Mr J. Legg and it became the largest and most complete establishment erected on the factory system in the colony, processing about 800 gallons of milk daily. Five miles beyond Millicent towards Mount Muirhead the Millicent Dairy Company's factory was managed by a Mr Noble.
The Boobec Bacon Factory was alone in the district and did business principally with the Adelaide market on an extensive scale. In the early days when pigs were scarce their buyers crossed the border for a supply, but this changed following the arrival of cheese factories when waste products were utilised in pig farming.
Early in 1886 complaints were received in regard to the facilitues provided for the transport of dairy produce from the South-East and reports were requested from the station masters at Millicent, Tantanoola, Mount Gambier and Penola. It was alleged that butter from Penola became tainted because it was put in the same refrigerator as fish, but the Central Agricultural Bureau dismissed the suggestion because only one application had been made for Penola produce to be refrigerated
(Taken from an unpublished manuscript by Geoffrey H. Manning titled A Social History of the Lower South East.)
Hop growing in the district is reported in the Observer,
24 August 1872, page 7f,
5 March 1892, page 11a,
Register,
3 March 1892, page 3h and
an earthquake described on
13 May 1897, page 7f.
Also see South Australia - Industries - Rural, Primary and Secondary - Brewing .
- The hop gardens were situated within the limits of the Mount Gambier East Council and within the area of the volcanic ash. The yield in a single year was sometimes worth £40 to £50 per acre - equal to the price of the land. The climate was favourable and although hop yields were uncertain a good average crop was far more to be depended upon than in the county of Kent and other districts of the old country. But, unfortunately, the cost of production an in-gathering was great and the industry failed to develop to any great extent. In the 1870s it was thought that fortunes were to be made but the total district yield in 1879 was only 229 hundredweight as against 18,000 tons of potatoes.
However, there were several neat hop gardens in the district and Mr T. Williams, Dr Browne's manager at Moorak, claimed he was responsible for its introduction into the district in 1868 and at times he made up to £50 per acre off the land - not, however, reckoning for the cost of production:
- We hear that Mr Thomas Williams is about to try the experiment of growing hops in the Yahl Paddock. He has just received a parcel of 1,000 prime plants from Tasmania and these will be set out on a suitable piece of ground under the direction of an experienced hop grower. The result of this trial will be watched with much interest.
3 December 1892, page 8c.
Also see South Australia - Industries - Rural, Primary and Secondary - Mills .
Biographical details of a Mayor, Francis Davison, are in the Register,
10 December 1892, page 1c (supp.),
of F.H. Daniel on 28 November 1895, page 6h.
The laying of the foundation stone of the Baptist Church is reported in the Register,
12 June 1893, page 5d.
The opening of town baths is reported in the Register,
3 February 1898, page 6g.
A pigeon shooting match is reported in the Express,
7 October 1898, page 4c,
Observer,
8 July 1899, page 12b.
Also see South Australia - Sport - Pigeon Racing and Shooting
Cycling at Frew Park is reported in the Observer,
19 November 1898, page 21a,
7 January 1899, page 21b.
A photograph of a cycling club is in The Critic,
26 March 1898, page 19.
A photograph of ladies who participated in a "musical bicyle race" is in the Chronicle,
24 January 1903, page 42,
of cycling on
16 August 1934, page 35,
20 September 1934.
Also see South Australia - Sport - Cycling .
"Fires in the SE - The Country Devastated" is in the
Chronicle,
13 January 1900, page 19a.
Also see South Australia - Natural Disasters - Bushfires
Biographical details of Mrs Mary Maclachlan are in the Register,
15 January 1900, page 4g,
of Dr F.D. Jermyn on 18 January 1900, page 5a.
"SA History - The Discovery of Mount Gambier" is in the Register,
9 June 1900, page 6e; also see
27 November 1900, page 4e,
5 and 8 December 1900, pages 6a and 3g.
The opening of the tower is reported on
28 and 30 April 1904, pages 7g and 4f,
Advertiser,
26, 27and 30 April 1904, pages 7b, 5c and 8a.
A photograph of "mountain climbing by motor car" is in the Chronicle,
13 November 1909, page 31.
"Ghosts!" is in the Express, 6 August 1900, page 2g.
Also see South Australia - Miscellany - Ghosts .
"Manufacturing Oatmeal" is in the Register, 8 June 1903, page 3e.
The golden wedding of Mr & Mrs Joseph Hosking is reported in the Register,
18 July 1904, page 3g,
the silver wedding of Rev & Mrs Matchschoss on 28 September 1904, page 3f.
A proposed war memorial is discussed in the Register,
17 December 1904, page 4e.
The unveiling of the Boer War Memorial is reported in the Observer,
23 June 1906, page 46e.
Also see South Australia - The Boer War .
Information on a proposed branch of the Savings Bank of SA is in the Register,
8 August 1905, page 6d.
Its opening is reported in the Register,
11 April 1906, page 7c.
"New Convent Dedicated" is in the Register,
25 February 1908, page 6d.
Biographical details of a Mayor, F.H. Daniel, are in the Observer,
8 February 1896, page 12d,
of Dr C.C. McDonald on 24 February 1900,
of John Watson on 29 December 1900, page 16d,
of Andrew Attiwell on 23 May 1908, page 47d, Register,
18 May 1908, page 7e.
Biographical details of Andrew Loutit, bank manager, is in the Register,
21 February 1907, page 5d.
A photograph of the golden wedding of Mr & Mrs W. Webber is in the Observer,
4 April 1908, page 31,
of the diamond wedding of Mr & Mrs D. Norman on 15 August 1908, page 32.
The diamond wedding of Mr & Mrs W.H. Renfrey is reported in the Register,
18 May 1908, page 4h.
The golden wedding of Mr & Mrs R.A. Caldwell is reported in the Register,
5 August 1908, page 7a.
Hastings Cun(n)ingham's obituary is in the Register,
23 September 1908, page 7e under the misleading heading "Founder of Mount Gambier" which, no doubt, had some influence upon Rodney Cockburn when he recorded similar information in his Nomenclature of South Australia, published in November 1908.
The foundation of a golf club on "Mr Laurie's Calula Farm" is reported in the Observer,
22 May 1909, page 21b; also see
28 May 1910, page 23b.
The new course is discussed in the Observer,
25 May 1912, page 24b,
1 June 1912, page 20e.
A proposed new location is discussed in the Observer,
31 May 1913, page 25a,
13 September 1913, page 26a,
18 October 1913, page 19e.
The new links plan was abandoned "on account of the conditions required by the town council to prevent Sunday golf" - see Observer,
11 April 1914, page 26c.
Also see South Australia - Sport - South Australia .
"Where Volcanos Were" is in the Register,
19 April 1911, page 6e; also see
21 April 1911, page 6d.
Biographical details of W.R. Lewis are in the Register,
14 June 1911, page 6g.
The golden wedding of Mr & Mrs F.W. Hirth is reported in the Register,
3 June 1914, page 16b.
Biographical details of a Mayor, G.B. Renfrey, are in the Observer,
18 December 1915, page 32b,
9 December 1916, page 48b.
The golden wedding of Mr & Mrs Stephen Kent is in the Register,
31 March 1913, page 6f,
of Mr & Mrs W. Barrows on 6 October 1913, page 8b,
the diamond wedding of Mr & Mrs John Bigham on 24 June 1915, page 6h.
The golden wedding of Mr & Mrs W.J. Anderson is reported in the Register,
11 November 1915, page 4g,
of Mr & Mrs Henry Knight on 18 May 1916, page 4h.
Biographical details of Hugh McCallum are in the Register, 19 February 1916, page 8e,
of Daniel J. McNamara on 19 February 1916, page 8g,
of W.H. Cox on 4 December 1916, page 8,
of Mrs Mary McMaster on 7 May 1917, page 6f, 16 August 1917, page 4e (obit.).
Photographs of an Australia Day celebration are in the Observer,
7 August 1915, page 29.
"Noisy Religious Music [from the Salvation Army]" is in the
Register,
4 March 1916, pages 8e-9b.
Also see South Australia - Religion - Salvation Army .
The golden wedding of Mr & Mrs James Papworth is reported in the Register,
10 October 1917, page 6h.
Biographical details of George W. Free are in the Register,
22 February 1919, page 4f.
Photographs of citizens engaged in roadworks are in the Chronicle,
7 December 1918, pages 24-25.
The opening of a telephone link with Adelaide is reported in the Register,
17 August 1921, page 7c.
Also see South Australia - Communications - Telephones .
Biographical details of Mrs W.H. Renfrey are in the Register,
8 March 1923, page 12c,
of W. Ballard on 13 August 1926, page 8h,
of Thomas Haig on 4 August 1927, page 13d,
of C.N. Mackenzie on 19 April 1928, page 8f.
The reminiscences of W.H. Millhouse are in the Observer,
19 January 1924, page 16b.
"Peeps Into History" is in The Mail,
9 May 1925, page 1.
The reminiscences of Rev F. Slaney Poole are in the Observer,
26 December 1925, page 19c,
2 January 1926, page 16a.
"Building Stone Cut From the Earth With Saws" is in The Mail,
7 November 1925, page 17.
Also see South Australia - Industries - Rural, Primary and Secondary - Building Stone .
"Back to Mount Gambier", by E.T. Saunders, is in the Register,
12 January 1926, page 3h.
Photographs are in the Observer,
13 March 1926, pages 32-33.
"Passing of the Coach [to Casterton]" is in the Register,
5 July 1926, page 6f.
"Adelaide to Mount Gambier by Air" is in the Register,
15 December 1927, page 19h; also see
18 April 1928, pages 9a-10,
3, 9 and 16 May 1928, pages 13e, 9g and 9g,
4 and 5 July 1928, pages 11b and 15b,
3 September 1928, page 8h.
An air crash is reported in The News,
1 July 1937, page 1a.
Also see South Australia - Transport - Aeroplanes .
Information on and a sketch of the Capitol Theatre is in the Chronicle,
26 February 1927;
its opening is reported in The News,
3 April 1928, page 16d.
Also see South Australia - Entertainment and the Arts - Moving Pictures and Television.
"World Record Waltzer [Sid Watts]" is in the Observer,
12 May 1928, page 54c.
Also see South Australia - Social Matters - Dancing and other Sins.
The golden wedding of Mr & Mrs C. Crafter is reported in the Register,
7 November 1928, page 12e.
The golden wedding of Mr & Mrs George Bodey is reported in the Observer,
17 November 1928, page 32d.
A photograph of a street procession is in the Chronicle,
10 April 1930, page 37,
of female golfers on
26 October 1933, page 38,
of lifesavers on
28 February 1935, page 38,
of a baseball team on
10 September 1936, page 38.
"5SE Opened" is in the Advertiser,
5 July 1937, page 20a.
Also see South Australia - Communications - Wireless and Radio.
Mount Gambier - Obituaries
An obituary of David Power is in the Register, 19 April 1884, page 5a,
of E.J. Catlow on 2 April 1885, page 5d,
of G.B. Scott, SM, on 18 February 1886, page 5b,
of G.A. Reinecke on 14 May 1891, page 5b,
of Reuben Underwood on 3 April 1894, page 5e,
of A. MacGregor on 12 January 1895, page 5a.
An obituary of George Avey is in the Register, 21 January 1890, page 5b,
of Duncan Buchanan on 4 February 1890, page 5d,
of George Doughty on 26 March 1890, page 4h,
of William Paltridge on 10 May 1890, page 4h,
of George Danby on 28 July 1891, page 5e,
of John S. Hayes on 19 May 1892, page 5b,
of August Holtje on 20 June 1892, page 5c,
of Thomas Paull on 20 November 1893, page 5a,
of Stephen Reid, hotelier, on 6 February 1894, page 5b,
of Mrs William Pegler and Mrs Susanna Howard on 28 September 1894, page 5h.
An obituary of Lawrence Egan is in the Observer, 28 February 1891, page 6e,
of Mrs Martha Needham on 16 July 1904, page 34d,
of Charles B. Wheeler on 22 October 1904, page 34e,
of James A. Ellery on 11 November 1905, page 38b,
of Robert Rymill on 19 May 1906, pages 37b-38c,
of E.J. Maytum on 26 May 1906, page 38c,
of Richard Telford on 1 December 1906, page 38b.
An obituary of August Holtje is in the Observer, 25 June 1892, page 29e,
of Mrs Christiana Smith on 6 May 1893, page 32c,
of Thomas Paull on 25 November 1893, page 29c.
An obituary of Mrs Fred Johns is in the Register, 8 May 1896, page 5e,
of David Plunkett is in the Register, 16 October 1896, page 5b,
of John Watts on 13 March 1899, page 3f,
of William Hart on 28 March 1899, page 7d,
of Robert Tucker on 24 October 1899, page 5a,
of F.M. Kessal on 25 October 1899, page 5d,
of George Kilsby on 20 November 1899, page 5b,
of Edward G. Brown, storekeeper, on 21 November 1899, page 5c.
An obituary of R.G. Crossley is in the Register, 1 February 1900, page 5b,
of Mrs F. Henstridge on 30 March 1900, page 5d,
of Alexander Maclachlan on 28 June 1900, page 4i,
of Mrs Susanna Creek on 9 August 1900, page 6f,
of Ronald MacDonald on 15 October 1900, page 4h,
of James McNamee on 13 February 1901, page 5b.
An obituary of Dr Angus J. McDonald is in the Register, 6 October 1902, page 4g,
of Mrs Mary Wilson on 11 March 1903, page 5b,
of Rev J.P. Niquett on 2 April 1903, page 4h,
of James Cullen on 8 July 1903, page 8c.
An obituary of Mrs Mary Wilson is in the Observer, 14 March 1903, page 36b,
of James Cullen on 11 July 1903, page 34e,
of John Nicholas on 28 January 1905, page 34e,
of George W. Harris on 11 March 1905, page 34d,
of Robert Savill on 14 July 1906, page 38c,
of William Sinclair on 22 December 1906, page 38c,
of James Pick on 29 December 1906, page 38a,
of Samuel Holding on 5 January 1907, page 38c,
of Theodore Hornhardt on 25 May 1907, page 40d,
of Joseph Hocking, builder, on 3 August 1907, page 40e,
of Thomas Mann on 23 November 1907, page 26e.
An obituary of Edmund Lewis is in the Register, 5 March 1904, page 4g,
of Mrs Elizabeth A. Davis on 21 May 1904, page 7b,
of Mrs Martha Needham on 12 July 1904, page 4i.
An obituary of Carl Kannenberg is in the Register, 2 January 1905, page 2g,
of John Nicholas on 23 January 1905, page 4f,
of Mrs Elizabeth Engelbrecht on 18 February 1905, page 7a,
of William Thurston, a former Mayor, on 1 March 1905, page 4h,
of George W. Harris, engineer, on 7 March 1905, page 4i,
of David Norman on 18 August 1905, page 8b,
of Mrs Catherine G. Goss on 13 September 1905, page 9d,
of James A. Ellery on 6 November 1905, page 5b.
An obituary of Matthew C. Wilson is in the Observer, 25 April 1908, page 38a,
of Arthur Wedd on 29 August 1908, page 40c,
of Thomas Major on 19 September 1908, page 42a,
of W.B. Shepherdson on 17 October 1908, page 40a,
of Rev R.A. Caldwell on 23 October 1909, page 40a,
of Thomas Hall, architect, on 29 January 1910, page 40b,
of L.G.J. Ehret on 18 June 1910, page 40a,
of W.H. Renfrey on 18 March 1911, page 41a,
of Archibald McArthur on 12 July 1911, page 39a.
An obituary of E.J. Maytum is in the Register, 18 May 1906, page 5d,
of Robert Savill on 9 July 1906, page 5c,
of Richard Telford on 24 November 1906, page 7a,
of William Sinclair on 18 December 1906, page 7b,
of Samuel Holding on 31 December 1906, page 7e.
An obituary of Theodore Hornhardt is in the Register, 21 May 1907, page 4h,
of Joseph Hocking on 31 July 1907, page 7b,
of John Ingleby on 7 August 1907, page 7b,
of Matthew C. Wilson on 16 April 1908, page 5b,
of Arthur Wedd on 26 August 1908, page 7a,
of Thomas Major on 11 September 1908, page 6i.
An obituary of Mark J. Hayes is in the Register, 6 March 1909, page 9g,
of Thomas Hall on 27 January 1910, page 4i,
of T.P.S. Smith on 22 March 1910, page 8h,
of L.G.J. Ehret on 15 June 1910, page 4h,
of Peter Simpson on 26 September 1910, page 4g,
of W.R. Allison on 18 May 1911, page 5b,
of Samuel Bates on 18 May 1911, page 5b,
of Archibald MacArthur on 12 July 1911, page 6i,
of Dr R.S. Muir on 28 September 1911, page 6h.
An obituary of T.H. Williams, miller, is in the Observer, 6 April 1912, page 41a,
of J.T. Morris on 6 April 1912, page 41b, of Charles
on 14 December 1912, page 39a,
of William Mitchell on 23 August 1913, page 41a,
of James C. Scott, livery stable keeper and horse-rider, on 6 September 1913, page 41a.
An obituary of James Bond is in the Register, 25 April 1912, page 6g,
of Mrs A.E. Mudge on 4 July 1912, page 6i,
of George Janeway on 4 July 1912, page 6i,
of William C. Webb on 3 October 1912, page 6f,
of Donald MacArthur on 24 October 1912, page 6f,
of Charles Parkin on 9 December 1912, page 6h.
An obituary of John Penny, who was the "leader of a few daring spirits who took a small boat out to the wreck of the Admella...", is in the
Register, 24 May 1913, page 17b,
Observer, 31 May 1913, page 41a.
An obituary of Mrs Mary Osborne is in the Register, 15 May 1913, page 6h,
of Mrs Mary deC. Donovan on 12 June 1913, page 6i,
of William Mitchell on 18 August 1913, page 6e,
of John Fraser on 8 January 1914, page 7b,
of Stephen Mitchell on 19 January 1914, page 8b,
of J.C.E.M. Ruwoldt on 25 February 1914, page 14a,
of Mrs Johana Engelbrechdt on 25 February 1914, page 14b,
of W.F. Simmons on 21 September 1914, page 6g,
of John Nicholas on 30 December 1914, page 4h,
of John Paris on 15 March 1915, page 6g,
of J.W. MacMorron on 28 September 1915, page 4g,
of John Bigham on 11 October 1915, page 4h.
An obituary of John Cock is in the Observer, 10 January 1914, page 41a,
of Stephen Mitchell on 24 January 1914, page 41a,
of Carl Engelbrecht on 28 February 1914, page 41a,
of J.C.K.M. Ruwoldt on 28 February 1914, page 41b,
of Thomas Edwards on 16 May 1914, page 41b,
of John Lees on 30 May 1914, page 41c,
of C.F.A. Rubenkonig on 6 June 1914, page 39a,
of John Spain, hotelier, on 6 June 1914, page 39a.
An obituary of John Laird is in the Observer, 20 June 1914, page 39a,
of R.G. Neale on 18 July 1914, page 25b,
of Ernest G. Dixon on 22 August 1914, page 51b,
of William F. Simmons on 26 September 1914, page 46b,
of John Nicholas on 2 January 1915, page 42b,
of Duncan Fraser on 23 January 1915, page 42a,
of J.M. Jens on 6 February 1915, page 41a,
of John Paris on 20 March 1915, page 40a,
of J.W. McMorron on 2 October 1915, page 45a,
of John Bigham on 16 October 1915, page 46a.
An obituary of Samuel T. Webb is in the Register, 24 January 1911, page 6h,
of John Lees on 27 May 1914, page 10a,
of C.F.A. Rubenkonig on 30 May 1914, page 10a,
of John Spain on 1 June 1914, page 10a,
of John Laird on 16 June 1914, page 8a,
of Duncan Fraser on 18 January 1915, page 4h,
of J.M. Jens on 2 February 1915, page 4g,
of Mrs Ellen Cameron on 18 February 1915, page 4g.
An obituary of Mrs Elizabeth Truman is in the Register, 31 January 1916, page 4f,
of John Dunn on 27 March 1916, page 4h,
of James S. Mountain on 29 June 1916, page 4g,
of Mrs Jane Crouch on 1 July 1916, page 8i,
of John Tyler on 17 July 1916, page 4h,
of Mrs Joseph Hosking on 28 September 1916, page 6h,
of Alexander C. Haig on 30 December 1916, page 9e.
An obituary of Mrs Elizabeth Truman is in the Observer, 5 February 1916, page 46a,
of D.J. McNamara on 26 February 1916, page 33a,
of Johanna Moore on 1 July 1916, page 21a,
of J.S. Mountain on 8 July 1916, page 19a,
of Mrs Jane Crouch on 8 July 1916, page 19b,
of John Tyler on 22 July 1916, page 19d.
An obituary of Sydney J. Norris is in the Register, 8 January 1917, page 4h,
of Dr C.C. McDonald on 1 March 1917, page 6g,
of James R. Moore on 8 March 1917, page 6h,
of Daniel O'Leary on 22 March 1917, page 6g,
of Mrs Johanna L. Habner on 24 March 1917, page 8h,
of Walter Golding on 26 April 1917, page 6f,
of C.A. Blume on 1 June 1917, page 6g,
of Thomas Bishop on 6 June 1917, page 6g,
of Robert MacDonald, gaol keeper, on 5 July 1917, page 6f,
of E.J. French on 31 October 1917, page 6h, 3 November 1917, page 6f,
of James Bigham on 17 September 1917, page 6g,
of Denis Regan on 12 January 1918, page 6h,
of John Ablett and William Johns on 28 February 1918, page 6g,
of James Lewis on 4 March 1918, page 4h,
of Mrs Emma Burdett on 15 August 1918, page 6h,
of Joseph Jenkins on 29 August 1918, page 6g,
of William Naylor on 30 August 1918, page 6g,
of Duncan Smith on 28 December 1918, page 6g.
An obituary of Joseph Hosking is in the Observer, 30 September 1917, page 35b,
of W.E. Cheesman on 28 October 1916, page 15b,
of James Barry on 23 December 1916, page 21a,
of A.C. Haig on 6 January 1917, page 23c,
of S.J. Norris on 13 January 1917, page 14c,
of Dr C.C. MacDonald on 10 March 1917, page 14b,
of James R. Moore, solicitor, on 10 March 1917, page 21d,
of Carl A. Blume on 9 June 1917, page 33a,
of Thomas Bishop on 9 June 1917, page 33b,
of Joseph Bone on 7 July 1917, page 19d,
of Mrs Mary McMasters on 18 August 1917, page 19b,
of James Bigham on 22 September 1917, page 43d,
of E.J. French on 3 November 1917, page 20c.
An obituary of Denis Regan is in the Observer, 19 January 1918, page 11a,
of William Johns on 2 March 1918, page 33e,
of James Lewis on 9 March 1918, page 29e,
of John Duell on 12 July 1919, page 42e,
of A.C.F. Rook, hotelier, on 26 July 1919, page 20c,
of August Lienau on 25 October 1919, page 19a,
of John Goss on 25 October 1919, page 19a.
An obituary of John Duell is in the Register, 7 July 1919, page 4f,
of A.C.F. Rook, hotelier, on 22 July 1919, page 4i,
of Richard Attrill on 29 July 1919, page 4f,
of W.F. Burnett on 11 August 1919, page 4h,
of Joseph Templeman on 15 August 1919, page 6g,
of J.A.O. Sassanowsky on 18 September 1919, page 6h,
of August Lienau on 18 October 1919, page 6i,
of John Goss on 18 October 1919, page 6i,
of James H. Virgo on 2 December 1919, page 6h.
An obituary of William H. Harrald (Harrold?) is in the Register,20 January 1920, page 7b,
of H.C. Rischbieth on 9 February 1921, page 6i,
of Mrs Mary Kilsby on 18 May 1921, page 8b,
of George A. Shepherdson on 9 July 1921, page 8c,
of George Marriott on 13 July 1921, page 8a,
of George Hansford on 21 July 1921, page 6h,
of Mrs Eleanor R. Shepherdson on 12 August 1921, page 9a,
of Donald McGillivray on 22 August 1921, page 9a.
An obituary of W.H. Harrald (Harrold?) is in the Observer,24 January 1920, page 18e,
of Tom Millhouse on 8 May 1920, page 20d,
of H.C. Rischbieth on 12 February 1921, page 34b,
of George Lowe on 23 June 1923, page 35a,
of G.T. Wright on 3 November 1923, page 39d,
of Hugh McCallum on 15 December 1923, page 59b,
of Mrs Anna Schmidt and J.U. Innes on 23 August 1924, page 38e,
of John Watson on 19 December 1925, page 43c,
of William Barrows on 10 September 1927, page 45a,
of S.W. Mansell on 25 August 1928, page 49b.
An obituary of A.F. Schonfeldt is in the Register, 20 January 1923, page 8h,
of William G. Pannell on 2 March 1923, page 11f,
of Mrs Ann Sims on 4 April 1923, page 6g,
of Mrs M.A. Kenny on 4 April 1923, page 6h,
of George Lowe on 19 June 1923, page 8h,
of Mrs Mary Bourke on 13 and 14 July 1923, pages 6g and 8f,
of Thomas Savill on 26 July 1923, page 10f,
of Mrs Mary A. Cornish on 28 July 1923, page 12d,
of George T. Wright on 25 October 1923, page 10f,
of Hugh McCallum on 10 December 1923, page 8g.
An obituary of Mrs W.H. Renfrey is in the Register, 20 June 1925, page 8e,
of George Young on 27 September 1926, page 11b,
of John T. Topham on 9 October 1926, page 18a,
of William Williams on 3 January 1927, page 6g,
of Carl A. Spehr on 17 January 1927, page 12c,
of Mrs A.F.W. Gladigau on 19 January 1927, page 13a,
of Mrs Maria C. Ruwoldt on 31 January 1927, page 6g,
of Mrs Eliza A. Carr and Ludwig J.A.W. Koop on 11 February 1927, page 8f,
of Mrs Emilie Samson on 1 March 1927, page 11e,
of H.J. Bodey on 7 March 1927, page 13f,
of William Aslin on 8 March 1927, page 12c,
of Mrs Margaret Kearney on 16 March 1927, page 8g,
of Charles T. Wheeler on 11 May 1927, page 10b,
of Henry J. Purvis on 20 May 1927, page 13a,
of Miss Margaret A. French and Sister Lily M. Cox on 22 June 1927, page 8g,
of Mrs Elizabeth Hayes on 4 July 1927, page 13b,
of Mrs Mary Allchin on 12 August 1927, page 8h,
of Donald Matheson on 19 August 1927, page 11f,
of William Barrows on 3 September 1927, page 10h,
of Alfred Addams on 6 October 1927, page 11b,
of Mrs F.H. Gerloff on 16 November 1927, page 15a,
of Mrs Kate I. Ellis on 7 December 1927, page 18f.
An obituary of Dr John Johnson is in the Observer, 21 April 1928, page 31c and of his wife on 12 May 1928, page 49b.
An obituary of Henry S. Cope is in the Register, 16 January 1928, page 8h,
of B.J.W. Seebohm on 17 January 1928, page 8h,
of Alfred Hopwood on 18 January 1928, page 13d,
of Mrs Eliza Anderson on 22 February 1928, page 8g,
of Dr John Johnson on 17 April 1928, page 13f,
of John R. Millhouse on 18 April 1928, page 8f,
of Ernest Warren on 23 April 1928, page 12f,
of Mrs Mary I. Johnson on 4 May 1928, page 13e,
of Mrs Margaret Watson on 22 June 1928, page 11g,
of Arthur W. Vears on 17 September 1928, page 11b,
of Amos Shelton on 21 September 1928, page 11c,
of Mrs Elizabeth Bradley on 2 November 1928, page 11f,
of William J. McIntyre on 6 December 1928, page 12f,
of James T. Drewitt on 22 December 1928, page 12c.
An obituary of Mrs Ellen Copping is in the Register, 10 January 1929, page 12d.
Gairdner, Lake - Gambier, Mount
G
Place Names
