Tampe Albert

I am grateful to the Knox Historical Society for permitting the R-LCNews to reprint the following reminiscences of Albert Tampe. You will see that Albert’s story has been presented as he wrote it with only a couple of explanations of his sometimes puzzling spelling.

Albert Tampe was a son of one of the earliest Rowville pioneer families, Mr and Mrs Herman Tampe. Before he died in 1963 at the age of 94, he set down many of his recollections of Rowville’s early days. The following article contains extracts of these reminiscences which were made available by the Dandenong Historical Society.
My father selected land on the Stud Road, he was not the first to select, Mr Rowe’s property ran from the creek to Wellington Road. He was on one side of the road and we were on the other down by the creek.

In those days the district was called Narree Warren. We had a frontage to the Corhanwarrabul Creek. It is a black fellow’s name. It is the boundary between Narree Warren and Scoresby. I was born out there on the farm 87 years ago (1869). My father had 3 acres of a peach orchard on the creek. He grew some of the best peaches that came to the Melbourne market – big yellow peaches, called Califonie peaches. He used to pack them in trays with the vine leaves between them so they would not get bruised. He used to get 6d a pound for them.

Now about my mother – she was a very hard working industrious woman, she kept about 200 fowls and about 80 ducks. We used to milk the cows and I used to assist her to churn and make the butter then weigh and pat it into shape ready for her to print. All butter had to be printed in those days or you could not sell it. Our butter box held 30lbs in 4 trays and we had to put a damp cloth on every tray. My mother had to go to Prahran every weekend with the eggs and butter and bring back everything that was wanted in the house! Meat and bread and a bag of corn or pollard for the ducks and fowls!

She also started breeding geese. At one time my mother sent in more geese than anyone else to the Dandenong Market. Customers were always asking when are you going to bring in the geese. She also sold a lot around the district, but in the end we had to get rid of them. They are very destructive, if they get to a haystack, they would start pulling out one straw at a time to get the corn, but in no time they would have a big bundle of hay. We always had to have the hay stack wire netted. They would also get in an oats crop and trample it all down, and their droppings (no beast!) would eat the grass where they had been.

We also kept sheep. We got a lamb or two from the shepherds down on the creek, reared them on milk and it was surprising how they increased. We used to kill the ram lambs and keep the ewe lambs for breeding. Some ewes will have 2 lambs and we had one ewe that had 3 lambs. We thought we would have to take one away from her and rear it, but she objected, she was terribly upset so we had to let it run with her! She had a bag as big as any ordinary cow. I was sorry I did not get a Sun photo man out – it would look well in the Sun.

Now something about myself! I started carting firewood to Prahran but the hours were very long – had to get up at 4 o’clock to feed the horses and harness them – it took 7 hours to go down there, 1 hour to feed the horses down there, and 5 hours or more to get back, usually made 2 trips a week. I gave the wood carting up for a while and went ploughing for Ted Rowe. I ploughed a lot of land for him. I had a good team of horses.

After, I got on buying pigs and killing them, taking them down to town with the eggs and butter. Mr Sutton learnt me the trade, he was a good butcher. When I was at it for a little while I could kill and dress a 70lb porker in 20 minutes. I don’t think he would have learnt me only he thought I would have hooked on to his daughter. There was a butcher shop in Toorak, he would back me for dressing a pig against anyone “this side of the Yarrow”. He would always put my pigs in the front window for show. He told a lot of the Dandenong pig dealers who was admiring them but none of them would accept the challenge. I mentioned that I would kill a pig and dress it in 20 minutes but I had to have the assistance of a lad – it is not a one man job. I carried on for 12 years.

When I got typhoid fever I was in the Alfred Hospital for 6 weeks. Doctors wanted me to go to a convalescent home but I said I would rather go to my own home. My mother was too good to me, gave me too much to eat, and it kept me back. I was in a lodge and the doctor said I would have to go steady. He kept me on the lodge for 12 months – do a little work, get on to it gragely (gradually). I got one pound for 12 months.

When I got going again different regulations came in, and I was finished with the slatering (slaughtering). When I was killing I could kill on the farm and sell – no Inspection! I just had to pay every year 5 shil, for a slatering licence! But they brought in different rules, no yard to get them killed and examined by an inspector and branded, and would have to pay for that. I lost my customers so I gave it best, I just did a bit of contracting instead. Got a few more cows and sold cream to the Dandenong Butter Factory. In a very short time I was the second biggest supplier to the Factory.

I had 2 clearing sales – found the milking and growing food for the cows too much work so I sold all the cows and the plant, dairy utensils, etc., and went in for dealing. I was at that for 5 years when I had another sale. My wife was always in very bad health, I was suffering from rhumoid arthritis, so I have lived in retirement ever since. My wife passed away 7 years ago. I think I have said enough about ourselves.

EDWARD ROW

I will move out and meet E.M.Rowe at his stables at Stamford Park. He always had hunters and show horses, and high jumpers. He used to take them by train all over Victoria to the various shows and New South Wales as far as Deniliquin. He had a bit of bad luck he had a fire in his stable (1901), lost a fine chestnut high jumper, Cedric, and 2 other hunters. Cedric could clear the sticks at 6 feet at various shows. Some of the other show horses broke clear, but not to be done, he went to Deniliquin and brought down a very good jumper, Mohonga. He was a very hard horse to understand. I went to the Show in Melbourne to see him jump. The usual thing is for the jockey to take the horse up to the jump and show him what he has to get over, but it was different with Mohonga. Mr Rowe was mounted on one of his show horses. He had to ride alongside of Mohonga and lead him by his bridle nearly up to the jump. He only liked a short run. As soon as Rowe let go the bridle he was up and over, and as soon as he was over his rider had to slip out of the saddle. If he did not he would start bucking and buck him off.

NICK BERGIN

When Rowe came back from the shows he used to take all his prize tickets and present them to Nick Bergin. Nick put them up on the wall of his shop, and by the time he retired from business he had the four walls of the shop well decorated.

Nick was very proud to have the tickets as he did all the shoeing for the show horses and jumpers. I might mention that Mohonga won the high jump in Melbourne – it was worth 50 pounds. There were 5 competitors in for it.

Now we will move along and see Nick Bergin. His shop is in Wellington Road about two chains from Stud Road. Nick sent in to headquarters an application for a post office, and his application was granted but only for 3 days a week – Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, but as time went on he was to get a full-time P.O. I am not sure what year that was in. But there is one thing I am sure of, I will cross over to Scoresby.

I received all my education at the Scoresby State School. I went to school when I was between the age of 5 and 6. Mr MacComb was my teacher. I got my Certificate when I was eleven, a nice guilt edge. It read –

SCORESBY STATE SCHOOL

This is to certify that Albert Tampe has been educated up to the standard of education required by the Education Department Act. (and some numbers.)

James H. McComb, Head Teacher.

MAIL DELIVERY

I might tell you I went to school 2 years after I got my Certificate. I finished up at 13, and during all those years I was at School there was no Post Office at Scoresby only a loose bag. My dad used to get letters from Melbourne, they always read Herman Tampe, Scoresby care of McComb’s Loose Bag.

Mail in those days came up from Oakleigh. Mr Beavon had a coach and a pair of horses and he never pulled up at the school, he just threw the letter bag on the side of the road. The teacher or some of the kids would always see him, they were always looking out for him. He was to carry the mail right up to Ferntree Gully. The School Master would empty the bag out on his desk and give the scholars any letter that was addressed to them when they were going home from school.

Ferntree Gully had to get their letters from Oakleigh the same as Scoresby, but when the Railway was built to Ferntree Gully it was different. When they did get a Post Office at Scoresby it was only a box about 6ft square stuck on the corner of Horner’s Paddock. Mrs Foster was Post Mistress. She used to come 1 hour every day to take charge of the mail when it arrived, and send what letters she had back with the postman. It was in different hands. A man by the name of Wilson carried the bag on horseback.

Now we will go to Nick’s shop at Rowville. He got the post office promised, I suppose he had to sign a lot of documents before it was fixed up, but his striker in the blacksmith was carrying the mail on foot for years – it was about 2 miles – and then his boss bought him a grey pony, but he was a very poor rider, he never took the pony out of a walk. We will leave Nick Bergin.

ACCIDENT IN STUD ROAD

I will tell you of 2 women that lived in a lane off Wellington Road. They call it Blutchers Road now. (Later named Taylors Lane – Ed.) They were neighbours and decided to take fowls to the Dandenong Market in boxes in a spring cart. They got as far as the police paddock hill. Going down the hill, which was very steep in those days, Mrs Shepard was driving. She ran over a stump and turned over the cart. Mrs Barnet was throne clear but Mrs Shepard was pinned under the cart. She was crying out to Mrs Barnet to “try and lift this great weight off me” but Mrs Barnet was a very poor frail woman, very nervy. She was running about to see if anybody was coming along. Mr Chandry was the first to come along to get the cart off her but she was dead, and the fowls were running about in the scrub for about a week before they were caught.

THE POLICE PADDOCKS

Now about the Police Paddocks. It was a very large area of land set aside by the government to run the Police horses on when ever they wanted a spell. I would surmise there would be about two thousand acres. They built a mansion of a house up on the hill and Mr Fitzgerald was given in charge. He was a horse doctor and if any horses wanted attention he was the man to do it. Also with him was Senior Constable Fawkner. He was married to a Fitz daughter. Fawkner had charge of the three black Trackers. They had up to date stockyards with 4 rail fences about 6ft high divided into several yards and a crush to put the horses in they wanted to catch. No trouble to catch a horse.

Mr Fitzgerald was a very strict Catholic. He was head man at the Catholic Church here in Dandenong. In the old days there was a little porch on the front of the Church. He used to sit in it to collect Christmas and Easter dues, and if any person passed him he would follow them in to the seat they were sitting in and tap them on the shoulder. He also used to take the plate around and believe me he watched what everyone put in! He has an eye like a hawk. He also made the trackers go to church. When anything happened and the trackers had to go away, only 2 went, there was always one stayed at the Station. I used to see him carrying the mail bag 2 or 1 a day.

BEE KEEPING

My Mother always kept bees, and when I was only a school boy I always used to help her to rob them. My job was to keep the bees out of the dishes of honey, if I let them in I would get a lift in the ear. Before the bees were put in the box, the front of the box was removed, all big nails pulled out and only a few small short put in temperly (temporarily) just to hold it together with the top of the nail sticking out so you could catch them with small pinches. When you want to rob the hive, you must give them a bit of smoke, put some dry cow dung and a bit of old bagging into an old tin makes a good smoke. When it is lit have the tin in rediness alite before you start. First remove the front of the box, the bees will rush out at you, give them a taste of the smoke, that will send them back. They will soon start sucking the honey and will not bother you much. Put a piece of board under the back of the box to let the bees get out of the way, and then cut out the honey. There is always a certain amount of what they call fouled brood – you must keep that separate from the good honey. You must always leave them a bit of honey at the back of the box.

A chap that was working for us his people were also neighbours of ours, thought he had a better way of robbing the bees. He did it at night time, he turned the box upside down and placed another the same size on top of it, got the quilt of his bed and tied it right around to keep the bees from getting out, then got 2 sticks and hammered on the side of the box to make the bees go up into the empty box, which they did most of the time, and then take the honey at your leisure, but we found it was not a good way. The bees next day found themselves in an empty box, would not stop, got discusted, swarmed and flew away.

The bees stinging my mother did not affect her much, she would have a veil on at the start but she always pushed up the veil and rolled up her sleeves. If she got a sting or two she just rubbed out the sting with the honey knife and did not bother much. Bees get used to a person going among them, if a stranger happens to come they can look out! I have heard it said that 40 bees can put as much poison into you as a snake.

When we got the honey in the dish from the bees the next job was to strain it, cut it up with a knife or break it up with a stick. If it was hot weather it was easy to strain, but in cold weather you will have to heat it over hot water or a fire. Put it into a thin hession bag and let it stop as long as there is any honey coming out, then empty the bag and put what is left of the honey comb in the garden for the bees to suck. Now the honey has to be strained a second time, this time through a thin muslin cloth. Put the cloth over a kerosene tin and strain into it and then it is fit to use. In days gone by my mother used to make me take the top right off the kerosene tins, she thought it was not possible to clean the tins without. When I started to sell honey to Mr Bullock he told me to leave the tops on! I said how could you clean them, he said quite easily! with Caustic soda and hot water, wash them twice only! Washed twisted twice it is quite sufficient.
Please note that the full version of Albert Tampe’s memoirs are available at Ambleside Park for your perusal.