Of Jurors and Blue Bottles
I've been reading early local inquests in an effort to solve a few minor but nonetheless interesting questions. My first question was about the location of Samuel Cheek's Bridge. This existed in the 1860s and was not much more than a log across the One Mile Creek but...
‘Glen Ashley’ – 1 Chisholm Street
I have been asked to look into the history of a house named 'Glen Ashley' situated at 1 Chisholm Street Wangaratta, on the north east corner of Ely Street. Due to changes in land records, and subdivisions, researching this block and house has proven difficult, but...
George Clark and his unfortunate end
I have written previously about the inquest into George Clark's death in June 1854 and how it allowed me to put together information to come up with the location and name of the Grape Inn which was owned by George's brother William Henry Clark (WHC). George Clark's...
William Henry Clark and his hotels – a new chapter
It's not often that one is thankful that a person died in such gruesome circumstances that an inquest was held. This is one of those exceptions and I apologise to my four times great uncle George Clark for the happy excitement his inquest generated. George died a...
A Whirlpool of Profligacy
Fear not dear reader! This is not another post about riots and debauchery in the good town of Wangaratta. In fact, this story lauds the gentility and culture of early 1870s Wangaratta. The opening hours of the town's Athenaeum was the subject of a letter to the...
Ancestral Places Geneameme
A few weeks ago Alona Tester asked bloggers to join in her Ancestral Places Geneameme. I had only recently published a post on the names and associated places I was researching and didn't want to just regurgitate that list in a revised format. Instead I set about...
Ivan Keith Jackel – an introduction
The 18th August 2017 is the 100th anniversary of the birth of my grandfather Ivan Keith Jackel. I haven't prepared anything nearly good enough to honour his impact on my life, so instead of attempting a biography or memorial, I am simply calling this an introduction....
Who Was … Eliza Armstrong?
In history there are many souls assigned to oblivion, due mainly to circumstances at their death, and a lack of connecting information with their living past. One such person is Eliza Armstrong. Eliza was a partner to George Clark (1818-1854) who was a brother of my...
Wangaratta Fire Brigade’s First Home
I have long been searching for the first home of the Wangaratta Fire Brigade. There was much fanfare over the opening of the purpose-built building in Ford Street in January 1896 (see my post here), but no clues were given as to where the brigade was located before...
An Early Post Office
When Alexander Cameron MacDonald passed away in 1917, local newspapers heralded him as Wangaratta's first Postmaster. This was not true, as at least two other men acted in the capacity of Postmaster before MacDonald arrived in the infant town and he was never the...
Sepia Saturday – 8th April 2017 – Choir Boys
Today's inspirational Sepia Saturday image is of three fresh faced choir boys. I know I have similar images of real choir or altar boys in my collection but I couldn't get past these alternative and far less attractive 'choir boys'. They are dolls made by one of my...
Sir Charles Hotham and the good citizens of Wangaratta
Sir Charles Hotham was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of the colony of Victoria on 6 December 1853. This posting was considered a difficult one due to the huge social and economic changes that were sweeping the colony after the discovery of gold. After the resignation...
My Family Surnames
Below are my family surnames. If you think you may be connected, I would love to hear from you! ABERLINE – Germany & Oswestry, Shropshire, England - Victoria, Australia ALLARD – Tenterden, Kent, England - 1700s ALLEN – Denver & East Dereham, Norfolk, England -...
Hickey’s Garage
The lovely image below is of Hickey's Garage in Murphy Street and was taken in 1923. The photo was taken from a negative donated to Museum Victoria in 1988 by M. B. Porter as part of The Biggest Family Album in Australia project to preserve the images that ordinary...
Wangaratta Fire Brigade Origins
Wangaratta Fire Brigade had it's origins in a "Hook and Ladder Brigade" formed in 1872. This was rather late for the organisation of a co-ordinated fire fighting effort, considering that the settlement was over 30 years old. It wasn't that fire was unknown in the...
Sepia Saturday 352 – Two Hats and a Funeral
This post is inspired by an image of Ella Fitzgerald and Dizzy Gillespie held by the Library of Congress and shared on Sepia Saturday. While there were many musicians in my family none were as accomplished or well known as these two. What did strike me in this image...
On This Day in Wangaratta – 24th January 1896
On this day in Wangaratta celebrations were held for the official opening of the new Wangaratta Fire Station in Ford Street. The Captain Alfred Pinkerton and Hiram A Crawford represented the Fire Brigades Board. Reputed to have cost £300, most of the cost of the...
On This Day in Wangaratta – 19th January 1910
This is an enlightening newspaper article from the Ovens & Murray Advertiser of the 20th January 1910 about a disastrous fire in Murphy Street the previous day. The fire occurred on a Wednesday afternoon which was a usual half-holiday before shops opened five days...
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