Yan Yean, its hidden history By Barbara Miller It is generally accepted that the name ‘Yan Yean’ originated in the 1850s from the aboriginal tribes which frequented the swampy, fertile lands around the Plenty River. The waters were rich in fish, eels and birds, which provided an abundant food source for the inhabitants. Two scar trees were noted in the...
‘Heatherley’ at Whittlesea By Vance Bebbington The farm now known as ‘Castle Hill Farm’ was previously called ‘Heatherley’. Our grandparents Joseph and Edith Bebbington purchased the property in 1933 and moved there in September 1934. At that time, it consisted of 180 acres (72 hectares) with an additional 76 acres (30 hectares) being leased. The family sold the farm in...
HALL John Thomas Punch John Thomas Punch Hall was born in 1894 in Yan Yean and married Mabel Isobel Cordell who was also born in Yan Yean in 1900. They married in 1921 and had 9 children.
GIBBS Charles Carlisle Charles was born in 1865 in Manchester England. He came out to Australia and married Ella Maria Harriet Dowsett in Victoria in 1890. They moved to Whittlesea and had two children John Carlisle born in 1890 and Rita Hazel born in 1905.Charles died in Whittlesea in 1935.
GIBSON Robert Robert and his wife Sarah arrived in Melbourne in 1848 aboard the ship “William Stewart” from County Cavan in Ireland. Robert was born in 1808 but died in Yan Yean in 1871. They raised quite a few children who remained in the area.
FOREMAN John Campbell He was married to Priscilla and lived in Whittlesea at the turn of the century around 1900.
FORBES W. His family had come out from England and he worked on Mayfield Farm with the horses.
President’s Report – March 2024 Welcome to a new year, one which promises some exciting activities for WHS members. Our major focus for the year will be to collaborate with the developer of the old Post Office site in Church St, Whittlesea. The 1926 post office building still exists in the corner of this site, and WHS is keen to...
Thomastown’s 19th Century Irish Families By Rob Wuchatsch The Germans and Wends who settled at Westgarthtown in 1850 were one of four different groups to settle at Thomastown during the 19th Century. The other nationalities represented at Thomastown were the English, Scottish and Irish. Thomastown’s most prominent Irish settlers were the Devine, Larmer, Lewis, Mahoney, McCoy and Perry families. The...
Cr. Walter Thomas, J.P. Walter Thomas was born at Collingwood in 1844 and moved to Morang at age 7. He attended the state school there, under the tuition of Mr. Noble and Higgs, afterwards completing his education at Scotch College. Walter took up farming in the Morang District, where he remained until his death. He represented the Morang Riding of...