Knox Historical Society

History of Lysterfield and District

The Early Settlers

In Helen Coulson’s book Story of the Dandenongs, the year 1838 is given as the time of the earliest settlement in this area. The Reverend James Clow took up land here for a time. Within ten years or so the leasehold was in the name of John Wood Beilby who purchased the 320 acre homestead block by right of pre-emption in 1854. A year earlier he had bought the 160 acres surrounding the Glenfern out-station, also under right of pre-emption. It seems odd that while the homestead was known as ‘Tirhatuan’ and the lease was also under this name and part of it as ‘Corhanwarrabul’, the pre-emptive right was registered as the Dandenong Pre-Emptive Right.

The big runs of early times had vague boundaries: a person could lay claim to as much as he was able to keep an eye on. James Clow is said to have had a run of some 36 square miles extending from the Dandenong Creek almost back to the foot of Mount Dandenong. On the other side of the Mount was another huge run reaching back to the Yarra River. I mention these together because of the extraordinary similarity of two cottages still standing on them, one dating from the 1850s which is part of the Cistercian Fathers’ Tarra Warra Abbey near Yarra Glen and the other part of Netherlea homestead on Lysterfield Road.

On these early runs it was necessary to erect out-stations about every three miles to keep the borders safe from intruders. We know that Clow’s horse station (later known as Mountain Gap) was about three miles from Tirhatuan and we also know that the Glenfern homestead was at one time another out-station of this run, again about three miles distant from the horse station. I find it feasible that the later Monbulk homestead was another one, also perhaps the Watercourse block. This latter was purchased by Thomas Dargon after he secured the homestead block of Monbulk in 1896. I would suggest that another out-station may have been about a mile north-east of present Scoresby, somewhere along Ferntree Gully Road near Knoxfield perhaps.

It would be next to impossible to hold this much land for long and the leasehold of Monbulk was registered almost concurrently with the Reverend Clow’s Tirhatuan and Corhanwarrabul runs. This ‘poor and scrubby’ land probably was not highly regarded by Clow. Helen Coulson mentions that the lease of Tirhatuan was held in 1863 by Barry, Dargon and Jennings. This date is apparently open to conjecture for by that time much of the land had been surveyed and sold. It seems more logical that they would have leased it in the 1850s and liking what they saw, bought some freehold and made their homes there. Beilby, who is believed to have held the lease during the 1850s was so busy with his various undertakings and financial problems that he may well have been glad not to have the responsibility of looking after cattle on this large, unfenced area.

As more settlers arrived and pushed further inland, they took up whatever land seemed suitable if they found it unoccupied. The authorities placed a limit on the amount of creek frontage any one settler could have. This was usually two miles, which meant that runs were often of strange shape, but roughly rectangular. Corhanwarrabul and Tirhatuan together would have covered four miles of creek running back some eight or nine miles into the hills. With one in his son’s name, the Reverend Clow was able to hold this big run for a time.

So we would say that the Lysterfield district grew out of three big cattle runs, Tirhatuan, Monbulk and Wat Will Roon. The latter has no pre-emptive block to mark it but the site of the old Aura Vale homestead was on part of this run, and may be seen from Kerr’s Lane.

According to Helen Coulson, the first freehold selector in the Lysterfield district was Edward Barry who bought Clow’s horse station in 1856. Barry’s two sons later selected more land along Wellington Road, one of them making his home there for many years. Their homestead on ‘Mountain Gap’ was destroyed by one of the frequent bush fires in the area.

From this time on settlement gradually came to the district later to be known as Lysterfield. When Berwick Shire was formed in 1864 it was part of the Scoresby Riding of that Shire. Eventually, when the Ferntree Gully Shire was created, it was part of the South Riding. Edward Barry’s son, William, represented the district on both councils for many years.

In the early 1860s, William Saurin Lyster first set foot in the lovely valley along the present Lysterfield Road which at that time had tree ferns along the creek and was a favourite beauty spot for day trips out from St Kilda and other places. Lyster established a most successful opera company in Melbourne, setting a standard for superb music which was to delight the Colony for the next twenty years. He was an Irish Protestant of good family, but little means, and was adventurous and energetic in all his endeavours.

Lyster’s enterprise in Australia was very successful and before long he decided to make his home permanently in the area. When land along the Monbulk Creek was opened for selection in 1867 he took up 400 acres and subsequently added more nearby. Lyster’s property, known as ‘Narre Worran Grange’, ran from the creek back to Wellington Road and included the later ‘Netherlea’ and ‘Netherbrae’. It was Lyster’s belief that the swampland could be drained and be made to produce. To this end he first changed the course of the creek through his land and put in numerous feeder drains. It was fenced into ten acre paddocks and ploughing began. While William Lyster was away dealing with matters to do with his Opera Company, the work was carried out by his manager, George Dickson, the husband of Lyster’s stepdaughter. Dickson also selected land of his own in the 1870s, 247 acres south of another of Lyster’s blocks. This ran from Wellington Road to the now closed Walker’s Road.

By 1878 this entire 542 acres was owned by William Elsdon, who built an eight roomed timber house there with Oregon beams under the iron roof, twelve foot ceilings, five fireplaces and the walls lined with knotty pine. This lovely old home was subsequently lived in by the Van Brummelen family and then the Donelan family, who bred Friesian cattle and conducted a dairy farm there. It was demolished when the State Rivers Water and Sewerage Commission compulsorily acquired the land for a catchment area about 1960.

The Lysterfield Valley for many years was an important part of the dairying industry and settlers followed the lead given by pioneer William Lyster. He not only kept a herd of pure bred shorthorn cattle but also built a cheese factory below his dairy in which top quality cheese was made. Whole milk for Melbourne was collected daily from many farms in the district until about the 1960s, but with the catchment area for the reservoir destroying so much fertile land, primary production has almost ceased to be a part of the area.

During the 1870s, Lysterfield was a close-knit community with families of culture and education enjoying their pleasant lifestyle in this beautiful district. Some of these families were William Lyster, his wife and their son-in-law George Dickson, a younger brother Arthur Lyster and his wife and family; the Selmans of Willow Vale; William Elsdon, whose two sons were sent to board at Melbourne Grammar School, (one later became a well known architect) and E.N. Charsley who built and lived at the Leasowes in 1883. By 1890 with the crash of many fortunes threatening, this scene greatly changed. The Lysters, Barrys and Charsleys had moved away, properties were sub-divided and prosperity was not so evident.

The Naming of Lysterfield

In 1874 William Lyster donated two acres of land on Wellington Road for a school which opened in 1877 as Narre Warren North State School No.1866.

In 1879 as a compliment to him, the name was changed to Lysterfield State School and eventually the whole district, including the district now known as Rowville was called Lysterfield. Despite various problems and changes, including the closure of the school from lack of pupils in 1884 for a few years, and again from 1892 to 1907, Robert Elsdon (who had taken over his father’s property on Wellington Road) suggested that it be reopened in a more central position. A school was then opened in the grounds of Hynam Park and continued until 1912, when the building burned down. For nearly ten years Lysterfield was again without a school until about 1918. Classes were resumed in a small Church of England building in Wellington Road. This had been put up in about 1906 and was removed in 1924 to Upper Ferntree Gully where it became St Thomas’ Church of England.

In 1924 a new building was erected on the present site of Lysterfield School and has been continually in use from that time. This district was so isolated and scattered that many pupils had a long walk there and back, often having to help milk cows before they left home in the mornings and again when they returned in the afternoon. I remember hearing in the early 1940s of some children riding a pony through paddocks and leaving it tied up on the opposite side of the road while school was in. On coming out at lunch time to feed and water the pony they found it dead, gored to death by a savage bull in the paddock.

(The author noted that in the year of writing, 1982, the school, after twenty years decline had some 45 pupils. The Rowville School had 450 pupils).

The word decline is used deliberately, in the belief that the once thriving farming district began to die after World War II, when its heart was torn out by the compulsory acquisition of so much of its best land, an exercise now proven to have been totally unnecessary and of no benefit to the municipality or its residents. It is a strange attitude of governments that forces our farmer to produce food on less fertile land further from the metropolitan areas where it is needed and thus increase transport costs.

With the advent of the first school at Lysterfield, people had a meeting place and a centre from which to collect mail. Even church services were held there. The district was sandwiched between the market town of Dandenong and the tourist centre of Ferntree Gully, the latter probably a little closer. However, market days in Dandenong became the highlight of many a farmer’s week, the road busy with horse-drawn vehicles from an early hour all heading for market with some produce and to bring back provisions. Dandenong developed rapidly into an excellent shopping centre, whereas Ferntree Gully had little to offer in this regard.

Nevertheless fund raising activities in the Lysterfield district were usually aimed at Ferntree Gully facilities. One of the earliest was the building of St Bartholomew’s Church of England. One of the functions was a Grand Concert to be held in the Lysterfield School room in March 1885, for which William Barry was Honorary Secretary. The tickets were one shilling each and apart from purely local talent, Mrs Lyster was to sing.

Many years later during World War II, while preparing for an attack from the Japanese, the district realised that it had no ambulance. It was Edmund Burke of Tecoma who headed the ARP (Air Raid Precautions) in the Shire and he played a leading role in organising the Ambulance Appeal. This, I think, was in 1942 when petrol was rationed and things were generally difficult. However, the required 1,000 pounds necessary to buy and equip a second hand vehicle was raised in about six weeks. I can remember riding with my mother Councillor Violet Lambert along Wellington Road from house to house collecting for this appeal. She often made short journeys on horse back. Lysterfield residents played their part in helping get the very necessary ambulance for the Shire. My mother was the ARP warden appointed for the district and it was her responsibility to canvas every house in Lysterfield and Rowville, not only on this occasion but also to conduct a census regarding the ability of each household to help in an emergency. She was also elected president of the Lysterfield and Rowville Fire Brigade formed in that year but not the captain!

Again funds had to be raised and this time I remember card parties held in various houses in the area. How such a small place managed to finance all these needs is amazing, but in those days there was an impending threat of enemy attack and the community did rally to each cause as it came along.

The Water Pipeline

A water supply came to parts of Lysterfield in 1924 as a result of a failed scheme to supply Dandenong. This was and I believe still is, a wonderful boon to those fortunate enough to be able to use it.

The Belgrave Reservoir was constructed on the Monbulk Creek about 1893 to supply water to Dandenong and a storage basin (later known as Heany Park) was put in south of Wellington Road, north-east of the junction of Bergin’s and Police Roads. A pipeline connected the two storages and ran on to Dandenong.

After this scheme failed for various reasons, the pipeline water was made available from 1924 to dairy farmers of Lysterfield and for the next fifteen years caused constant trouble; the creek users with riverbank rights wanting sufficient water to flow down the creek, the pipeline users not wanting any restrictions and the holiday makers and residents of Belgrave wanting the reservoir as a swimming pool. Threats to blow up the wall came from one side and of tearing up the pipeline from the other. Pollution by swimmers caused fears that dairy farmers would not safely be able to use the water.

The State Rivers Scheme Authority was sick and tired of the complaints and constant wrangling and threatened to take up the pipeline and remove it altogether. Ferntree Gully Shire Council, pressed by the South Riding Representative, Violet Lambert, sought a lease of the pipeline and this was granted from 1940-1950 at 150 pounds per year, this amount to be recovered from the water users. Lysterfield farmers along the route of this pipeline were very dependent on it as were the farmers along the creek but once the problems of pollution at the reservoir end were solved, these two groups managed to avoid too many problems.

As the time for the lease to expire drew closer, Councillor Lambert worked constantly to think up a scheme whereby the pipeline water would be safe for Lysterfield farmers. Her interest was solely on behalf of the ratepayers she represented and her concern for the welfare of the district. The pipeline did not pass anywhere near to land owned by her or her family. In 1946 she had instigated the holding of annual swimming carnivals at the old storage basin, now no longer required, and had successfully moved in Council that the area be used for recreation purposes and be named after Shire Engineer, Tom Heany. This was in the hope he would be encouraged to take interest in its development.

The carnivals were to help finance the maintenance of the pipeline and repayment to Council after it agreed to purchase the pipeline for 1,250 pounds. This amount was met from revenue from Heany Park. It was believed the Park Ranger’s salary was also met from these funds, therefore it became a self supporting scheme. Instead of polluting the water at the source, people could now swim at the end.

In 1956 vandals partly destroyed the finishing platform and the Council refused a request for a full time caretaker. In 1959 Councillor Violet Lambert lost her seat on the Shire Council after 28 years as South Riding Representative and her influence and support for the Lysterfield district effectively ended.

Gradual neglect and vandalism gradually wrecked all the work accomplished over ten years including a specially constructed pool for children. History seems to show that where there is a person or group of persons enthusiastic enough to work hard and stimulate interest in a project, it will go ahead. Frequently, later lack of interest or apathy will destroy some longtime achievements and one wonders whether all the work involved was worthwhile.

The Progress Association

The Lysterfield Progress Association was formed in 1928 at a time when similar organisations were being set up all over the countryside. Settlers felt the time had come for them to have improved amenities and such a body would be able to influence local Shire councillors and Members of Parliament to create better roads, electricity, improved water supply and many things long taken for granted by city people. The first essential they felt was for a Public Hall, somewhere to hold meetings and functions and to bring district residents together. Fred Williams, who lived in Major Crescent and whose wife had been a nurse in the War, was the live wire secretary. He believed that a better life was the right of everyone and that all should work to make this possible. He was the driving force behind fund raising and working bees, he was the thorn in the side of the Shire Council: but he got results. I remember him well, he was the sort of volatile person one doesn’t easily forget. He was secretary of the Progress Association for some ten years, really put the district on the map, and kept it moving. Residents tendered him an evening social and gave him a gold watch when he resigned.

The Public Hall Councillor A.E. Selman of Willow Vale was first president of the Hall Committee and it was on his land I believe that the Hall was built. This was completed in 1931 and officially opened by Colonel Knox – later Sir George Knox – who was the local member of parliament. Councillor Selman was a Trustee, as were F.H. Williams and Josiah Hobbs. On Selman’s death around 1935, H.A. Bailey became a Trustee and served the district well for many years, and Councillor Violet Lambert took over as President.

Donations were sought from residents towards the building and functions were held. There was some contention as to where the Hall should be, a site near the Post Office being favoured by those living near that end. However, it was explained that the site was as near as possible to half-way between Lysterfield and Rowville and would thus serve both equally.

The Hall was built by voluntary labour and was strong and serviceable. I believe that both Mr Williams and Mr Bailey may have been carpenters by trade. The dance floor which they laid down and prepared was said to be outstanding. I don’t know if they used kerosene and sawdust, but this is what was used in Pakenham for many years and everyone’s children used to run and slide over it to make it ‘fast’. Then it would be swept up and the whole process repeated halfway through the night to lay the dust and keep it ‘fast’.

Keen dancers came from as far away as suburbs of Melbourne and the home-made suppers prepared by the Lysterfield Ladies’ Auxiliary were widely praised. Mrs Bailey, Mrs Reynolds and Mrs Gillies were the backbone of this Auxiliary. Not only did they have to bake cakes and make sandwiches, but they often had to carry this food across paddocks for a mile or more to the Hall. I remember a small galvanised iron detached kitchen – if you could call it that – where the food was laid out ready to be taken into the Hall by the men. It was they who carried round the steaming hot coffee in a huge pot and poured it into cups. Water was heated in an open copper with a flue above the tin hut roof, just outside the door. This was heated by wood and kept well stoked, a hot job in summer.

The Ladies Auxiliary

The Ladies’ Auxiliary was formed in 1933 at the suggestion of Mrs F.H. Williams to raise funds to add dressing rooms to the Hall. They catered for dances and ran euchre parties to such good effect that by the end of 1934 Colonel Knox was able to return to the Hall to declare the new cloak room officially open. The ladies regarded this effort as their contribution to the Centenary Year being celebrated in Victoria. These rooms were built voluntarily by Mr Williams and Mr Bailey. Every year a Ball was held to celebrate the birthday of the Hall. These Birthday Balls became known far and wide and were always well attended. From about 1934, the widow and daughters of Gus Powell, who died in that year, donated beautiful silver cups for the dancing competitions, particularly for the ‘Old Time Waltz’.

These Powell Cups were a feature of Lysterfield’s Birthday Balls from that time on, certainly well into the 1950s. Gradually, district apathy, a changing way of life, the novelty of television and the forced move from the district of many community spirited people due to the State Rivers eviction, left the old Hall unwanted and uncared for.

By 1967, the only surviving trustee was an elderly Fred Williams. The Shire Council made no move to take over responsibility for the Hall; it was easier to forget its existence. Vandals could do as they wished and nobody seemed to care. One person, however, watched this gradual disintegration with distress and decided to find out who was responsible for the building. When it was found that one elderly and frail man was sole trustee and virtually owner, he was approached by an interested group through legal channels. As a result it went to the Shire of Sherbrooke for the consideration of one pound ten shillings.

Normal procedure should have been to call a public meeting and appoint a committee of management, but instead of this a seven year lease at $50.00 per annum was granted to the Hut Theatre, who were to be responsible for all costs of repair, maintenance etc. Perhaps the people of Lysterfield deserved to be thus deprived of their Hall, for which so many of their predecessors had worked so hard. They certainly showed no interest in it until it was once again a flourishing landmark at the corner of Wellington and Kelletts Roads, this time as the 1812 Theatre.

By 1972 the Hut Theatre people had spent some $32,000 including alterations in that year costing $4,500. On 2 June their theatre was burned to the ground. Rebuilding was out of the question for such a group and so the old Lysterfield Progress Hall died together with the 1812 Theatre. The latter arose like the phoenix to begin again at Upper Ferntree Gully, but no-one has shown any interest in the Lysterfield Hall site. It is presumably still owned by Sherbrooke Shire, but no sign of its history remains. The 1812 Theatre is well remembered by a cairn and plaque on the site but the people of Lysterfield have not shown any interest in the fate of the Hall, once the centre of all district activity.

The Lysterfield and Rowville United Services Association

The Lysterfield Presbyterian Ladies’ Guild organised church services in the old Hall once a fortnight and held an annual fete. They hoped to raise funds to eventually build a church in Lysterfield. In such a scattered community it entailed considerable enthusiasm to attend meetings and working bees, when many had to walk long distances in all sorts of weather to fit these activities in between farm chores and cooking for their families. In the 1930s cash was short too.

The Hall saw 21st birthdays, wedding receptions, send-offs and other community activities and during the second World War it was used for Red Cross meetings, first aid classes, fire brigade meetings, (the Lysterfield and Rowville Rural Fire Brigade was formed in 1942) and meetings of the Lysterfield and Rowville United Services Association, a group formed in 1941 to work directly for the men of the district who had enlisted for service abroad.

It was the Association’s aim to arrange farewell functions and present parting gifts, also to send gifts and comforts to the men while they were on active service, to welcome them home and to establish a fund to suitably recognise their service when they returned.

This organisation included among its workers Councillor V.B. Lambert, Mr A. Coster, Mr & Mrs H.M. Watson, Mrs Simpson, Mr Donelan Snr., Mrs Masterson, Mrs Knowles, Mr Willis, Mr Hyams, Mr J. Hobbs, Mr M. Albert, Mr van Brummelen, Mr & Mrs G. Hyden, Mr & Mrs Gillies, Mrs Toms, Mrs Golding, Mr Pendlebury, Mr W. Taylor, Mr Gearon, Mrs Hine, Mr Walker, Miss Reynolds, Mr Lennox and Mrs Dobson. Funds were raised to enable five shilling canteen orders to be sent regularly to the men as well as food parcels and knitted goods.

The Association was disbanded at a meeting held on August 6th 1946 and a resolution passed that: “the funds of the Association be used to purchase an Honour Board to commemorate the war service of the men from the district: the Honour Board to be hung in the Progress Hall”. This move was subsequently disallowed by the Repatriation Department and the funds taken over, I believe, by the Ferntree Gully Shire Repatriation Local Committee whose policy was against Honour Boards.

Perhaps since the old Hall later burned down, this was a good move. The names of the men from the district are included here for future interest.

Men from Lysterfield and Rowville who served abroad 1939 – 1945

Red Cross

Red Cross meetings in the old Hall at Lysterfield were held regularly, when knitted goods and other handmade articles were sorted, labels sewn on and parcels packed to send to headquarters. Material and wool were distributed for making up and plans for raising money were made. This was an organisation with a much wider scope than the group working specifically for the local servicemen. When the injured service personnel began returning to Melbourne hospitals and were well enough to be taken for outings, the Lysterfield and Rowville Red Cross ladies played their part in opening their houses for country visits by some of these groups.

I was away at school throughout the War, but at holiday time I well remember some of these Red Cross meetings, and also classes held in the Progress Hall for First Aid and Home Nursing. I think I came in handy for bandage practice! Transport in such a scattered community had always been difficult and with petrol rationing in force some way had to be found to get people to these vital meetings. My mother, Councillor Violet Lambert, a South Riding representative in the Ferntree Gully Shire Council, somehow managed to commandeer a Shire utility truck on Red Cross days, leaving her own vehicle at the Depot. I travelled with her on a few occasions, picking up passengers along Wellington Road and conveying them to the Hall. Two bench seats were set up in the back and the more agile ladies climbed in there. Imagine the outcry if someone tried to do this today; life is controlled by so many rules and regulations that such initiatives are unheard of.

Some people have remained in my mind with greater clarity than others and from these Red Cross activities I vividly recall Mrs Seebeck. The utility would pull up on the road below her house and sound the horn if she was not in sight. She would come hurrying to the top of the drive and then run back again before finally coming down the hill to the truck. The other ladies used to say that she was recently married and always went back to kiss her husband goodbye once more!

Property Owners and Land Use

The property once known as Mountain Gap was, I think, at this time owned by Sir William Angliss, and the Red Cross used to run gymkhanas there during the War. Opposite was Hynam Park, where Mrs Masterton had charge of the Women’s Cavalry, an unofficial mounted division of the Army who were, I think, mainly trained to be despatch riders. At this period after Pearl Harbour, it was feared that the Japanese would land in Westernport Bay and march through Lysterfield. An Army Camp was set up in the Police Paddocks area and slit trenches dug in farmers’ paddocks where troops held night drill and generally caused considerable nuisance. Big tanks on night manoeuvres were known to drive right through fences and by the time men returned to mend them next day, livestock had often got out.

The camp was west of Hallam North Road, beyond some very good farmland. Here in the 1930s I remember citrus orchards on the slopes covering many acres, part of the old Warren Park Estate. The original brick homestead was still in excellent repair (1982) and had been beautifully kept. The garden is maintained as a typical Victorian type garden and is really lovely. A German family lived there when I knew it first and the orchards were planted by the Finger family, very famous orchardists.

On the other side of Hallam Road was the old Battersby house, with Kinrade’s farm south-east of it; and then William McDougall, who had married John Battersby’s daughter Florence. She bore him 20 children, including some sets of twins, but could still run in and win the married ladies’ race on Sports Days at Lysterfield School. They had a dairy farm, I think, probably selling cream to Dandenong or sending whole milk to Melbourne.

J.F. Walker, who is believed to have built the Warren Park homestead, was a big selector of land in the district, his holding covering some 1,100 acres in all. This extended from the Police Paddocks right through to Logan Park Road.

My mother Violet Lambert, bought one section of this in 1926, naming it Chandanagore and another part east of Powell’s Road was taken over by the State Rivers and Water Supply Commission a year or so later to form the Lysterfield Reservoir. This large tract of water was conserved to supply the Dandenong area and beyond, it was of no use whatsoever to the farmers round it who were dependent on rainwater, tanks and dams.

I remember hearing of one drought year when desperate farmers cut the fence to let their dying stock drink and of another occasion when the McDougall family formed a chain to pass buckets of water from the reservoir to their house. A water supply is vital to everyone, but to farmers in particular, and perhaps especially to dairy farmers and market gardeners. It is a strange thing that a reservoir from which they could get no water was the cause of removing all the surrounding farmers from Lysterfield between 1946 and 1960.

My childhood home, Chandanagore on Walker’s Road, was among those destroyed by the S.R.W.S.C. acquisition of a 3,000 acre catchment area for their now abandoned reservoir. In my memory, to the north of us was the Donelan family in Elsdon’s old home and along Powell’s Road, the Church of England Boys Training Farm on the east and Martin Foy and E. Wright to the west. This Training Farm was on the old Sweet Hills property owned for many years by my grandfather, Gus Powell. I think A. McQueen was the owner between him and the Church of England, a period of perhaps five years. Next to it was Josiah Hobbs who had a dairy farm and the Post Office; he had a gate on to Powell’s Road as well as the main entrance off Wellington Road, so it was easy for me when home for school holidays to ride up there to pick up the mail and call also at the store if necessary. Often I would return home via Logan Park Road if I had plenty of time. One could say that my personal knowledge of the district and its few residents was gained mostly from these rides within a fairly small radius.

I was mainly interested in horses and very little else. I liked to ride to the blacksmith, Jack de Coite at Ferntree Gully, whose forge was beside the old Baby Health Centre on the Main Road; visiting on occasions the Watson family at The Leasowes as I passed. Next to them were the Reynolds family and then the Simpsons. Mrs Simpson was a daughter of George Gillies – at one time a share farmer living at Netherlea. The property Wompini has (in 1982) another very old homestead still standing, a brick cottage with tiny attic, which can be seen from Lysterfield Road.

Back to Logan Park Road and here I remember Mrs Tom, a little English woman who lived on a dairy farm there with her husband and brother-in-law. Next to them were the Gasketts and further along on the same side, the Aslings. Opposite the Toms, on another part of Walker’s original selection, was, I think, the Goodsir family, but during the War this was owned by the Thomsons, whose son, Bob, lived there after his discharge from the services. Back to Wellington Road and across to a small farm owned by the Costers and further still along an unmade track to Mrs Brandt on the old Monbulk property. Her house was burned down about 1958. This was the original pre-emptive section bought in the late 1850s by Thomas Dargon, her mother’s first husband. He owned 760 acres on the Hallam Road, which remained in the family into the 1930s. This was the beautiful Dandaraga, later known as Mossgiel Park.

I find Wellington Road little changed and remember Miss Broughton on the corner of Glen Road, who had countless numbers of yapping dogs; the school; the Hall; Ron Stewart, whose pioneer forebears had taken up land there and established quarries; the Hicks family who had bought Hynam Park and renamed it Pine Hill; the site of Mountain Gap Station; the Gearon family who milked a big dairy herd; old resident Thomas Gill and two members of the family – Reg and Leo Gill; the Seebecks; Mrs Manly – living in a brick house on the north-east corner of Stud Road which had been built by her father or grandfather, Matthew Bergin (now only recognisable from some old fruit trees there); opposite this the Rowville Post Office where Miss Bergin lived; then across Stud Road with the Army Camp on the south side – firstly for American Servicemen and later for Italian prisoners-of war, and on the north, two dairy farms run by the Gibbs and the Bickertons; past them on the south, after the War, I remember the Pearson family whose daughter Lois was a great pianist and had her own dance orchestra.

Down Stud Road to Kelletts Road was Stamford Park as I recall, the home of the Drummond family, and on the other side of the Road was Exner’s market garden. Towards the corner of Napoleon Road on the south of Kelletts Road was the Kellett house. I don’t remember any of the family living there, I think the Misses Kelletts lived in Melbourne. On the north-west corner was Alberni’s market garden and new brick house and I have often heard this road referred to as the Spaniard’s Road.

Opposite this was Blossomfield where Bill and Jack Taylor lived. Another settler on the Monbulk Creek was John Buckley who built the brick cottages above the bridge over the creek on Lysterfield Road. After his death in 1911, his daughter continued to live there and in her latter years employed a manager to help run the property. I can remember her sitting up straight in her single-seater car, driving about the district. Maybe the old car became unsafe, or maybe it became increasingly difficult for her to climb into it, but about the beginning of the War she bought a big black limousine and her manager at the time, Gus Lizza (who inherited the property on her death and still lives there (1982), drove her everywhere from then on. I suppose that the Lizza families and I are the only people still with land along Lysterfield Road that haven’t moved there in the past ten years or less. This is probably a general trend in areas so close to Melbourne where the farm rates are so terribly high. It is almost impossible to continue farming.

Electricity and telephone came to Lysterfield officially about 1937 and before long Netherlea was connected. However, at Chandanagore we were not so lucky; electricity was never connected and, no doubt due to the War, only possible for those engaged in essential services. I don’t know when Lysterfield was first connected to a telephone service but I think it was probably during the 1920s if not earlier. Certainly it was the telephone which made life bearable on our isolated property. In times of severe floods, which frequently cut us off from any other contact in early times, it was vital.

The roads were so bad and often impassable, that even horse-drawn vehicles could not be used at times and walking through the flood waters was the only way out or in.

I have heard that after my father’s death in 1930, when my mother was living in this isolated place alone, her father, Gus Powell, did his best to persuade her to move to Netherlea which had a decent made road. She, however, having put so much effort into laying out her lovely garden and altering the house to her design, did not want to leave. It was at this stage that she decided to stand for the Council so that she and other isolated farmers might have better roads. The extremities of the Shire seemed always to be neglected and she set out to change this. No longer would Lysterfield be the Cinderella of the Shire but it would fight for its fair share of amenities.
Heather Ronald

Comments

 From Stephen Hallett (27 Aug 2005)