Stawell Historical Society in Stawell, Victoria | Community organisation

Stawell Historical Society

Locality: Stawell, Victoria

Phone: +61 3 5358 3789

Address: 46 Longfield St 3380 Stawell, VIC, Australia

Website: http://home.vicnet.net.au/~shsinc

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24.01.2022 STAWELL’S LOST SAW-MILLS In the early days there were many saw-mills operating in the Stawell district. As the population began to grow, particularly in the Halls Gap area, several saw-mills were set up around the timbered areas. Families by the name Folkes and Evans were the pioneers of the trade in this area and in later years Stawell timber cutters Messrs. Sanderson, Ingleton, Redman, Williams and Morris cut timber in nearby forests but mainly in the Grampians, which they ...carted to Stawell. The timber was transported to timber mills such as Stawell Timber Industries (S.T.I.). The large mills cut the timber into building supplies and also for fence posts. In those early years, timber was hand sawn and before motor vehicles were introduced, timber was carted by bullock teams and horse drawn wagons. The main types of wood that were milled came from stringy-bark, messmate and various types of gum trees. Many towns had their own saw-mill, which was usually located beside the railway line near the local Railway Station. These saw-mills were driven by a steam engine and timber was sawn into ‘foot blocks’ (30cm lengths) for fire wood, which was delivered locally by road truck, or by railway trucks to Melbourne and other places. An example of sawmilling in the Stawell district was at Deep Lead were Mr. Thomas Williams owned 1100 acres and timber logs from his property were sawn at his two saw-mills. Even Stawell Timber Industries had their own nearby saw-mill. A tragedy occurred in 1902 at Halls Gap when Chandler’s saw-mill blew up and one of the workers was killed. Last Timber Mill? The Stawell Times-News of 6th January 1984 featured a headline stating Stawell’s Loses Last Timber Mill To Fire In early January 1984 a timber mill owned by the Smith brothers in Hill Street, Stawell was destroyed by fire. About 50 firefighters from Stawell and district attended the fire but could not stop the considerable damage to the machinery, sheds and other equipment. The Smith brothers had operated the mill for 11 years with a varied output but averaged 20,000 super-feet per year.

24.01.2022 W.G. GRACE On the 8th, 9th and 10th of January 1874, the all England 1st 11 Cricket Team played a 3 day game of cricket against a Stawell and district team of eleven. The game was played at the Botanical Reserve at the Old Lake. Great excitement resulted in Stawell and district when it was announced that the famous English Cricketer W.G. Grace would be wielding the willow in Stawell. To get to Stawell from Melbourne the team had to travel 280 kilometers in Cobb and Co. coa...ches, over hot and dusty bush tracks quite undeserving of being called a road. 3000 spectators at the Reserve saw England make 43 and 91 in their first and second innings whilst Stawell made 71 and 64 in their two innings resulting in the Stawell team winning the match by 1 run with 10 wickets in hand. Mr Thompson, a local Nurseryman, was not given enough time to prepare the pitch and the Englishmen pronounced it to be the worst piece of ground they had ever played on. W. G. Grace made 16 and 14 in his 2 innings.

23.01.2022 DANE BROS GROCERS The name Dane has long been associated with Stawell having operated Grocery Businesses in Main Street from 1865 to 1960. Robert William Dane and his wife Sophia were born in England and arrived in Melbourne in 1854. In 1858 Robert opened "The Machine Hotel' in Concongella which he sold in 1863. In 1868 he then opened a wine & spirits General Store with a bakery on the Corner of Layzell and Main Streets where Harcourts Real Estate is now located. In 1926 th...e business was moved to a larger and more modem premises located on the corner of Main Street and Doyle Lane. In April 1960 Mr Cliff Earle bought the business and operated under the names of 4 Square, Tuckerbag, Safeway, SSW and IGA. On Mr Cliff Earle’s retirement, the business was purchased by his son Greg. The business now operates as Ritchies IGA. Robert William and Sophie Dane are both buried in the Stawell Cemetery.

23.01.2022 UNITED METHODIST CHAPEL In the latter half of the 19th Century, the Wesleyan Methodists, the United Free Methodists, the United Methodists and the Primitive Methodists all existed in Stawell. On 8th July, 1871 the foundation stone of their new Chapel was laid. The church was opened on the 10th September, 1871 in what was known as ‘Cornish Town’, the address being Wakeham Street, Cornish Hill. They all merged in 1902 to become the Methodist Church of Australia.... After the Union in 1902 the building became the Masonic Temple until the Masonic Hall was built in Skene Street in 1926. The building was subsequently taken over by the Stawell Brass Band in 1929 and still remains as their meeting place for band practice today.

22.01.2022 Due to the current COVID-19 crisis and declared state of disaster in Victoria, Stawell Historical Society will be temporarily closed for all research and associated activities until further notice with immediate effect. We are taking these steps not only for the well-being of our volunteers, but also for the health and safety of the general public. Please stay safe everyone and follow Victorian Government Regulations and health guidelines. This notice will be updated as the situation changes.

22.01.2022 FRANK FLOYD HARDWARE - SCOTLAND PLACE, STAWELL The site on the corner of Florence Street and Scotland Place was a hub for trades people in Stawell from the early 1900's until May, 2007. In the 1920's Mr Tom Shirreff operated a tank making business at the Florence Street end and employed Frank Floyd as a tank maker. At the property next door heading towards Main Street, Jack Riley conducted a spray painting business and then further on was Ollie Anderson's Oxy Arc Welding bus...iness. The last business along the street (with the corner door), was W.E. Coward who was a carpenter and joiner. In 1946 Frank Floyd purchased the business from Tom Shirreff. In 1948 Mr Fred Court joined Frank in the business and in the following years they eventually took over all the buildings when the Cowards moved their carpentry business to Campbell Street. Frank retired in 1973 leaving Fred to manage the hardware business until selling to David and Margaret Jones in December 1981.

20.01.2022 NALDERS GARAGE AND SHOWROOMS (Corner of Patrick and Sloane Streets, Stawell) Mr Jack Nalder established his car sales and garage on the corner of Patrick and Sloane Streets in 1946 after taking over the premises of W.H. Mitchell and Co, who for many years had conducted a Grocery Store in the building. During the Second World War, some of the Mitchell premises were leased to the Department of the Army as part of the Wartime effort. ... After the occupation of the building Mr Nalder enlarged the premises by taking over an adjoining fuel depot and Scout Hall in Patrick Street. Over the years Toyota, Ford, Hillman, Rambler, Humber, Vanguard, and Triumph cars were sold by Mr Nalder, along with Fergie Tractors. After his retirement, Jack's son Wes took over the running of the business and in 1974, after his premises were purchased by the Education Department, Mr Nalder purchased the building diagonally across the street from Mr Bill Barry to establish a new, modern Garage and Showroom. The old premises in Patrick Street were eventually demolished and the new Community Library was built on the site opening in March 1980.

17.01.2022 SOAP FACTORY Monsieur Jean Baptiste Gravier conducted a successful Soapworks factory for many years in the Coopers Flat area (now D'Arcy Street, Stawell). Monsieur Gravier was born in Villar, Colmars, in the Basses Alpes Region of France in September 1826 where his father was the Mayor. He arrived in Australia in 1854 and went first to the gold diggings at Castlemaine where he was in luck and amassed a fortune of 14,000.... He moved from Castlemaine to Ararat for a short time before moving to Stawell in 1880 to set up his soap making business. His products included soap, candles, vinegar and essences which were available in many retail stores in most parts of the country and by 1888 he was manufacturing 75 tons of soap per annum! His business was one of those industries that had been created by the aid of Stawell's good water supply. He married Annie in 1856 and he died in Stawell in August 1910. Both Jean and his wife Annie are buried in the same grave, along with their daughter Leonie in the Stawell Cemetery.

16.01.2022 SISTERS ROCKS (Western Highway 3km south of Stawell) These huge granite boulders have been formed by the exposure and erosion of a granite mass which intruded overlying sediments of Ordovician age (500 million years). They take their name from the three sisters of the Levi family. The immigrant Levi family disembarked at Port Fairy and proceeded by bullock wagon to the ‘diggings’ eventually arriving on the Stawell field. They made a camp at the rocks which became kn...own as the home of the three young sisters. The girls married and with husbands became pioneering settlers. The story of the preservation of these rocks is told in Stawell Past and Present by Maynard Ord which was published in 1896. These big rocks, as natural curiosities, exited little attention during the feverish rush after gold; they were almost hidden by the surrounding timber, and seen by very few. After the formation of the Roads Board (1861) it so happened (in 1866) that the services of a photographer named Armstrong were secured to take views, representative of local scenery and objects of interest to be sent to a distant exhibition, and the ‘Sisters Rocks’ were pointed out to him and formed the subject of one of his best pictures, the whole series of which were later hung in the Shire Hall. By this time buildings of a permanent character were in the course of erection at the ‘Reefs’ (Stawell) and stone was wanted for the foundations and other purposes. The rock jutting out of the ground offered an easy means of obtaining the material required, and Mr Armstrong fearing that the ‘Sisters rocks’ might be demolished by someone in search of building stone, protested to the local body against such possible vandalism, and asked that that they be protected in the interests of the public. Consequently one of the members, the late S. J. Davidson, took up a small piece of ground under the 42nd section of the then existing ‘Land Act’, and enclosed the rocks with a rough fence at his own cost. This saved those natural attractive objects from demolition at the time, yet very few young people who have since found coolness and enjoyment under the shadow, are aware to whom they are indebted for the rock’s preservation. Davidson’s application for 10 acres of land was dated 30th January 1867 and a title was issued in his name on 21st October 1873. Stawell Borough Council offered 20 for the land which was finally purchased by them on 28/8/1887. The preservation of the Sisters Rocks must rank as one of the first attempts at nature conservation in Australia.

13.01.2022 STAWELL POLICE STATIONS (1857 to 2020) Since the construction of the first Police Station In 1857 in what was then known as Quartz Reefs, there have been five Police Stations in Stawell. The Stawell East Station and lockup were built in Clemes Street and was in use up until 1955. The block on the comer of Patrick and Clemes Streets also had two houses, one for the Senior Officer and the other for the Constables. This was not used after 1955 when the Police moved into the new... two-story Station in Patrick Street. This was subsequently replaced by another new Station on the same site in 2001. The Stawell West Station was on the Western Highway in the vicinity of the old Court House. The Stawell North Police Station was formed in 1876 and closed in 1903. Although there is reference to this Station in old newspapers, the exact location has not been established. Over the years there have also been Police Stations at Navarre, Great Western, Deep Lead, Glenorchy and Marnoo. Photo (left to right): Constable Jack Nesbit and Sergeant McCurrach.

12.01.2022 PRIVATE SCHOOLS IN STAWELL It was reported in the The Pleasant Creek News and The Wimmera Advertiser on Thursday 6th March,1873 that in Stawell at the end of the school year of 1872, there were fourteen private schools in Stawell. One for boys, two for girls and eleven for mixed students. The lessons at these schools were given by ten male and eighteen female teachers. The scholars in attendance at these fourteen schools numbered 339 males and 352 females. Following the in...troduction of the new Education Act, a large portion of the students sought admission into the State Schools in Stawell and only a small percentage were accepted as a consequence of a shortage of accommodation. Some of the private schools were: Miss Carroll's Private School Clarence College One Tree Hill School Mrs Hogan's School Harvard College Belmont College Ellerslie Ladies School Marmlon School Cornishtown School Glenara School The photo is of students playing tennis in the 1920’s at Belmont College, which was located on the corner of Wimmera and Campbell Streets, Stawell.

10.01.2022 CHARLES HUNT AND SON GROCERS, WINE AND SPIRIT MERCHANTS Three brothers were the original owners of the Grocery Store on this site. They were the Childe Brothers: John, George and Edward. They operated their business from 1859 and were Grocers Wine and Spirit Merchants. John was a Justice of the Peace for Victoria, a Councillor of the first Stawell Borough Council and was on the first Committee of the Pleasant Creek Hospital as well as the Victorian Roads Board and the Boar...d of the Stawell Race Club. Childe Street, Stawell is named after John Childe. The original building burnt to the ground in 1866 in the great fire that destroyed all the businesses up to Patrick Street. After the fire, the Childe Brothers rebuilt the present brick building, although it has been substantially altered over the years. The business closed as a Grocery Store in 1964 and reopened as a Sports Store. After the death of Charles Hunt in 1965, his son Alf ran the store until 1968 when he sold to Henry Gunstone. The Sports Store has subsequently been owned by Noel Raitt and Shane Young.

10.01.2022 Stawell Historical Society - re-opening! To all our Facebook followers, we are pleased to advise that the Stawell Historical Society is re-opening to visitors for direct consultation with our Research Team at our usual opening hours of 10am until 4pm Wednesdays and Thursdays. We will continue to practice safe social distancing and hand sanitiser is available at the entrance to the Research Centre. For those unable to attend in person, you can email your research enquiry to... our Research Team at [email protected]. We also have available our 2021 Stawell Historical Society Calendar which includes the topic 'SCHOOLS OF STAWELL AND DISTRICT'. This will be of interest to many of you, so pop down and collect a calendar or phone us on 5358 3789 to have one sent to you! We look forward to welcoming your back.

10.01.2022 STAWELL BARK MILL Carl J Wehl was born in July 1830 in Celle, Hanover, Germany. In 1861 he arrived in Australia with his wife Sophia and settled in Mt Gambier. In 1872 they moved to Stawell and established a wool scouring and tanning business as well as a Wattle Bark Milling factory located on Horsham Road roughly opposite the old Pleasant Creek Hospital. In 1880 this Milling Factory was described as the largest of its kind outside Melbourne and was exporting 600 tons of wat...tle bark a year to England and Germany. He employed 25 hands and was also tanning 5000 bullock hides annually and was scouring the wool of 400 sheep per day. In March 1913 the business, now managed by Carl's son August, was destroyed when a serious fire occurred resulting in the loss of many thousands of pounds of stock and machinery. It appears the business was put on hold until 1927 when it was rebuilt next door to the Stawell Flour Mill in Taylor Street and where it remained as a business for many years. This photo of the Mill was taken around 1988. Both Carl J Wehl and his wife Sophia are buried in the Stawell Cemetery.

09.01.2022 On the 20th Anniversary of Cathy Freeman’s Sydney Olympic historical win, this footage of her at the Stawell Gift is sensational. What handicap??

06.01.2022 THE STAWELL TIMES NEWS AND PLEASANT CREEK CHRONICLE REPORTED ON SATURDAY 18TH AUGUST, 1945 THAT JAPAN HAD SURRENDERED UNCONDITIONALLY ON WEDNESDAY 15TH AUGUST 1945. The following article has been transcribed and edited from the THE STAWELL TIMES NEWS AND PLEASANT CREEK CHRONICLE. The 15TH AUGUST, 2020 marked the 75th Anniversary of the surrender. ... END OF WAR NEWS BRINGS WIDESPREAD REJOICING. The British Prime Minister (Mr Attlee) broadcasting in London at midnight. Message was received in Australia at 9.00am on Wednesday morning said: Japan has surrendered and the last of our enemies is laid low. His statement meant unconditional surrender and the global war which began nearly six years ago to rid the world of totalitarianism is completely over. Japan has accepted the provisions of the Potsdam declaration. V-P Day will live long in the memory of Stawell citizens. Probably never before in the towns history have such scenes of joyful excitement been witnessed. There was possibly a shade of fear that the protracted delay in the necessary official news of Japan’s acceptance of the Allied terms would rob the proceedings of the spontaneity and of much of their enthusiasm, but that fear was completely ungrounded. After the news had been made known the fire bell was rung, sirens, motor horns and engine whistles proclaimed the glad tidings and Stawell set about enjoying itself, intent upon making V-P Day one of the most memorable in the towns’ existence and all succeeded. lt was a wonderful day, not marred by a single unpleasant incident and was conspicuous not only for good humor, good fellowship and gaiety, but also for good conduct. Girls from the Woolen Mills danced a Hokey Pokey in front of the Post Office and residents and children from the schools paraded down Main Street, in carnival mood. The anxiety and restrictions of the war years were forgotten. It was a mighty demonstration of grateful relief and emotion. Note: Photo is from the Herald/Sun Souvenir edition printed in August 2005 with Lois Martin and friends celebrating on the streets of Melbourne.

06.01.2022 BOLANGUM INN KANYA The Bolangum Inn hotel was built in 1864 in the earliest days of the settlement of the district on the road between Navarre and Marnoo. At that time, the road passing by the Inn was the main track for travellers from Ballarat via Lexton, Crowlands and Navarre to Stations of the north. All this area was part Bolangum Station. The Bolangum Inn was built of solid bricks, which were hand made in a nearby creek just behind the Inn and the timber was obtain...ed locally. The Inn consisted of six rooms and a detached kitchen that later became part of the building and other rooms were added. In the early years, draft beer was sold at the Inn, but in later years the license of the Inn was conducted on a bottle basis only and an estimated 20 dozen bottles a week were consumed, plus wines and spirits. The draft beer came from the Stawell Brewery by a horse drawn lorry until the Brewery closed down in 1918 and then the beer came from Ballarat. Cordials and soft drinks sold at the Inn were manufactured in Stawell. It continued to function as a hotel for 106 years when it closed on 28th March 1970. The Liquor Control Commission enforced its closure after the board of the Commission told the licensee’s to renovate it to their standards or the license would not be renewed. This would have meant rebuilding the hotel, which would have destroyed the character of the Inn, so reluctantly the license was surrendered. The building had been classified by the National Trust in the 1960’s, which meant it was a notable building worthy of preservation. The Post Office moved into the Hotel around 1910 along with the telephone exchange. The Bolangum Inn had a 21-year association with the Royal Children’s Hospital Appeal and over those years raised $48,000 for the appeal. The old Inn was demolished in later years and a memorial stone on the site was unveiled on Sunday 27th April, 1991. See more