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LOCAL INDEX
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The Family of Alexander Allan(1865-1924) & Mary Matilda McKinnon(1878-1964) from right Robert, John (Jack), David, Marjory, Richard (Rix) and Isabel. With Mary Matilda in 1955 (approx) |
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Note 1 - Birth Years are used in parenthesis after names throughout this document since the repetition of first names is so prolific. eg. Geoffrey Allan(1942)
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David Allan's Biography (1906-1990) ( see also David Allan's Recollections for the full text) This is abridged from the text of a letter written to me by Uncle David Allan in 1987. Geoffrey Allan. I will write this history of the Allan family in the first person as I feel that will be the easiest way for me to tackle it. (David Allan) Richard ALLAN(1782) [great,great-grandfather] My great, great, grandfather's name was Richard, a name that continued to every generation until mine. He married Elizabeth DARLING and had 5 sons and 2 daughters, all well educated - both in academics and in strict Scots spiritual principles. Andrew ALLAN(1805) [great-grandfather] This saga starts with his son, my great grandfather Andrew Allan. On his marriage certificate, of which I have a copy, he was shown as a shepherd while his wife Catherine Drummond was shown as a housemaid. They were married in St. Cuthbert's Parish Church in Edinburgh in 1832. Later Andrew became the manager, I think the Scots called him the Doer, for an estate north of the Forth called Inverlair. My father called our home in Gippsland "Inverlair". Andrew had 3 sons and 2 daughters. refer also "Our Trip to Inverlair" by Alison and Ida Allan. David ALLAN(1837) [grandfather] His brother, David, my grandfather, followed Richard to Australia in 1854 on the "Oliver Lang"(ca) and took a stagecoach from Geelong to Ballarat (86 miles in 7 hours - pretty good riding on a rough road (lt)) to the diggings to meet his brother. He spent several (3) years digging for gold in Ballarat (lt) and eventually worked a farm of 93 acres near the township of Newlyn that he and his brother purchased in 1857 (at 4 pounds/acre (ca)). I feel the original farms were about 40 acres but grandfather extended his holdings until he must have had over 200 acres of very rich volcanic soil. He married his brothers sister-in-law, Isabella Robertson in 1863 at Scrub Hill. Grandfather was a very dour Scot with very Calvinistic religious principles. He wouldn't harness the horses to go to church on Sunday and the family had to walk. Missing church was a mortal sin. On Sunday no one was allowed to read anything except the bible or Pilgrims Progress. To fill their evenings the family played cribbage, which needs a scoreboard with holes punched in it. Pegs were put in the holes to keep the score. Not having a score board they each used a bar of soap with holes punched in it. They didn't understand why Peter wanted his own bar until the checked and found there were ten less holes in his bar. As with most Scots at the time grandfather believed in a good education. It which wasn't that common of the people of the age, and dad and his brothers attended Creswick Grammar School. Dad later on had a library of books that I would find hard to read today with my much greater education (he was an elementary school principal). I remember on our shelves, SARTOR RESATUS by Carlysle, Gibbon's "Rise And Fall of the Roman Empire" and others I can't remember. Recently we traced the site of great-grandfather to an unmarked grave. We have since put a marker on it. I supplied the money for the inscription and my cousins for a concrete slab over the grave. It wasn't until I went to the funeral of one of my uncles that I found out that another of dad's brothers, John, was buried there. Evidently he died in infancy, a fairly common happening in those days. And, by the way, as a result of great-grandfathers will I was already 21 I received a bequest. I forgot whether it was 10 or 20 pounds. My youngest sister Marge received a lot more when she reached her majority as it had been gathering interest for many years. Last year Leslie and I attended the 125th anniversary of the opening of the Presbyterian Church in Scrub Hill, about a mile from grandfather's property. I think the first services were probably held in granddad's home. Five generations of Allans' worshipped there. Strangely enough my Uncle Robert McIndoe (he married mother's elder sister) and his father carted the stone for the church with their bullock team. Alexander Allan(1865) [father] My father Alexander and his brther selected and cleared land in South Gippsland between where the townships of Leongatha and Mirboo North are sited today. I gather that Andrew wasn't all that fond of work and the bulk of it fell onto dad. Later Andrew married Agnes Lester, a member of a family that came from Ascot, near Creswick. I had always had a suspicion that it was dad that Agnes wanted but she had to be satisfied with second best. After the marriage the brother dissolved the partnership and Dad selected the block the family still has and started all over again. Dad did keep 80 acres of Nerrena, part of the original selection. (this conflicts slightly with historical records (see properties in David's saga) Alexander(1865) ALLAN marries Mary McKINNON [parents] In those days the people around would gather on Sundays at my uncle Bob McIndoe's home he called "Authoringa" to have a "natter" and collect their mail. It was one of their few chances to have a social occasion. Dad became very friendly with my Uncle Jack McKinnon and in one of his letters home, he wrote very frequently by lantern light, he spoke of meeting Jack McKinnon's sister Mary who seemed to be a nice girl. She became my mother. Dad was about 40 when he married and there was 15 years difference in their ages but it was an ideal marriage. Mum must have had her work cut out. She had 4 children under the age of six, made her own bread, made the butter and even the clothes for the kids while as a treat she could sometimes visit the township 8 miles away. Young though I was at the time I remember when Rix came along a little early and dad galloped down to get Mrs. Garvie our next door neighbor to act as a midwife and I can still see Mrs. G. running like mad from their place. Mrs. G. at that time was a widow with 10 children and a lovely old lady who lived to become a great, great grandmother. When her 2 younger children (Bob & Marge) were about due she didn't make the same mistake. Mum boarded next to the hospital for a week or two prior to the big event. When grandfather died I was about 10 years old. His property was left to my uncles Dave and Dick but dad received nothing which I still consider was a very miserable state of affairs considering how hard he worked on the property without wages before moving to Gippsland. Dave married a neighbor, Esther Binns, but Dick remained a bachelor all his life. He had the misfortune of having a cleft palate and I used to find it hard to understand him at first. Strangely enough my cousin Isa was also inflicted with a harelip but they are the only two of what can be thought of as hereditary complaints. Isa's lip was fixed up but when Uncle Dick was born you just had to live with it. The youngest brother of the family, Uncle Bob, became a Mining Engineer in Tasmania and married a Hilds Cowburn whose family owned the "Bush Inn" in New Norfolk. We called to see her once but she was very old and didn't seem terribly interested to meet us. After clearing his new block dad became a grazier, keeping cattle to fatten for the market, and when this didn't produce an income to feed and educate six kids he gradually moved into dairying. All of us were sent to high school in Leongatha which meant we had to board in the town which was of course a considerable drain on finances as there were three of us there at the same time and we could never have been considered a wealthy family. While I was there I obtained a teaching scholarship so I must have been a great deal smarter then than I am now as there were only 40 for the whole state. Nowadays there are hundreds of them. Winning the scholarship meant I was tied to the teaching profession, something I have never had cause to regret. I matriculated when 17 and got my first job as a junior teacher at Elsternwick when my pay, after settling my board, was 5 shillings a week ($0.50). Isabel attended for 2 years and Jack for 1. He only went so he could learn some woodwork. A special case was made for him so that he could do so. Dad was one of the originators to have the High School established and was on the council for many years. Jack must have had some success with his woodworking classes as later on he built Rix's house by himself. (Footnote: he also did additions to the Presbyterian Church Hall, School, Hall and the old Farmhouse) My Uncle Jack McKinnon died very young at only 51 and Dad and Uncle Dave Campbell were named as his executors and quite a job they had as his affairs were in quite a mess. I always wish I knew more about Uncle Jack, as he must have been quite a man. He was also very generous hearted and lent money to quite a few people who couldn't or wouldn't repay it. One couldn't as he was killed in World War I. the Executors sold off all the properties that were mortgaged and one that was really an addition to Sprayden. Dad bought this from the estate, the ninety acres on which Rix's house was built. He borrowed 200 pounds from Uncle Dick to help in the financing of this and put the property in mother's name. Sprayden was left to Aunt Eliza and Uncle Duncan McKinnon and after their death it was to be sold and the proceeds divided between Hector McKinnon, Gordon McKinnon and John McKinnon Allan. Jack didn't live long enough to receive his share so it passed to your mother Geoff. In 1924 dad became very ill and had to spend some months in hospital in Leongatha. In an era when the basic wage was 4.10 pounds/week we were paying 4.4 pounds/week for the hospital; and 6 pounds/week for a special nurse; while several visits from Melbourne, by 2 specialists, cost 100 pounds each. By the time dad died at the early age of 59 their financial state was bad. Mother had never had to worry before about anything on the farm as dad took care of everything and now she was saddled with a load of debt and without experience. She could not have possibly managed without Jack and later Rix. Jack just took over and managed the farm and in due course cleared the debt. Rix would have preferred an academic life but he was needed on the farm and had to make it his life's vocation. Rix married to his first childhood sweetheart and Jack later. They ran the farm in partnership for years but friction developed and it was decided to cut the farm in half. To pay for the surveys and necessary fencing they were forced to sell the 80 acres in Nerrena, which nearly broke their hearts. It was a very good property with a good creek and a permanent spring, which never ran dry even in the worst drought. The division of the property by the way Geoff was before, not after, your father's death. Now to get back to Dad's brother David and his family. He was the only other on of the six brothers who had children. Dave had 3 children. Isabel(Isa) who is now about 82; Allison, a couple of years younger; and Alex (Andrew Alexander), named after my father and his elder brother, who died last year (1986?). Isa, Alison and their mother, after Alex' marriage and her father's death, bought a home in Ballarat. Alison was a high school teacher and finished up as headmistress of a big school in Ballarat. Isa took care of her mother and, after her death, began kindergarten teaching. Some years ago while holidaying in America she had a severe stroke which left her slightly incapacitated and hasn't done anything kind to her disposition. Alex had 2 daughters but no son to carry on the old farm and a couple of years ago before he died he sold it to another farmer of Scottish descent in the district. I don't know much of his daughters except the both are married with children. Now for grandfather's brother and his family. As two brothers had married two sisters the families were almost like brother and sisters also. During dad's generation and when we were young we saw a lot of that branch of the family. Dick, the oldest, after a shot at farming, ran a garage in Glenferrie which was more than successful. He had three children Richard III, Jim both married and Ann never married. Jim Allan died fairly young but Dick lived to be fairly old. Sometime later in his life he went to live in Tasmania. You can find out as much as I know from the family tree. I think my sister Isabel keeps in touch with both families. Strangely enough when we were in Creswick recently visiting one of Leslie's distant cousins, an Elizabeth Northcott (related to the ex-governor of N.S.W. - General Northcott) another Northcott she hadn't seen for 20 years happened to drop in. He is in charge of a University in Fiji and said he knew a Ron Allan over there. I think he is a Parson, or something like that, and he is the son of Dick III. Hows that for me having a parson in the family! Of Richard II's three sisters only one, Catherine, married and she had no children. The other two had a news agency in Port Melbourne and looked after their brother Jim who like his uncle was bone lazy but passed as an invalid. Elizabeth really ran the shop and cared for the other two. Isabel (Belle) was really a semi-invalid but as often happens the nurse went before the patient. I knew all of them and Belle often visited the Bob Inglis family where she was very friendly with Barbara. I saw her often there and she was a very nice person. Grandfather's sister, Catherine, married John Inglis and had two daughters and two sons. Margaret married a chap named William McWhae and died early of leukemia. Kate never married and became a rather unpleasant old woman. She always cherished the idea that dad had married beneath himself and she gave mother and her sisters in law quite a bad time. She thought the world of dad and I sometimes wonder if she was just jealous of mother. Bob and Andrew, the sons, married sisters. It seemed to be a family habit. Andrew married Ellen Elliot who died fairly young of consumpsion and later he married a Mrs Farmer whose maiden name was Bair, a sister of the hotel owning Bairs of Leongatha and Inverloch. They had no children. Bob married Barbara Elliot who lived into her seventies and was the mother of my greatest friend Jack Inglis who died suddenly when he turned 70. Jack had two sons and two daughters. Robert married again after a divorce of his first wife. He had two sons from each wife. I don't know how many children Ian has or the sexes. Barbara is married and has children but I think is separated from her husband while Ann, the baby, I know nothing of except that I have heard that she is living in South Australia. David Allan was retired for many years and lived with his wife, Leslie, in a "Victorian" home in the Melbourne suburb of St. Kilda. He passed away in 1990 and was cremated at the Springvale Crematorium. His ashes were spread in the "Autumn Garden" and is recorded in atrium under ?? Geoffrey Allan
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EARLY MEMORIES OF MARDAN SOUTH by Isabel Milner Looking back over the early years on the farm, comes a very clear picture of the days at school. A 3 mile walk in any kind of weather (rain, hail or sunshine). Running down the hill from the house (walking was difficult because it was so steep), crossing the creek, up the hill on the other side, over the stile on the dividing fence of the neighbors, across this paddock to another stile of the public road. Then along the trackup the curdoroy road past Gardiners and then down the other side to the school. On rainy days it was great to sit on forms circled round an open fire while shoes dried on the hearth in front of you. No one shirked school because of the rain, thinking of the fun at the other end. Later we had ponies to ride, bur someone always had to walk. One pony did not like to take 2 passengers. At school there was a paddock to let the ponies feed. Of course, they had to be caught at the end of the day for the return journey. Out in front of the school was a stump used as a mounting block for the back seat passenger to clamber on - if the pony sstood still long enough! Going to high school in later years was an entirely different proposition. We went by "buggy and pair" (of horses) on monday morning and returned on friday afternoons. In the meantime, we boarded in town, girls at the hostel and boys with a private home. After dad died, it fell to my task to drive the others each way, sometimes over flooded roads at the Tarwin River. Coming down over Smith's Hill,also known as Crighton's or O'Shannesy's Hill, on the return journey was a challenge. I had to keep one foot on a brake that I could scarcely reach and hold on to the reins with both hands. At 16 years of age it was quite a task. These days children walk to the road gate and travel by bus, and what fun they miss! Christmas day was one special event of the year. The families all gathered at "Sprayden" and later at "Authoringa". Sprayden is not there anymore so a description of the building might be appropriate. I was a wooden frame home, built in 2 sections. The front consisted of 3 double bedrooms and a lounge with a huge open fireplace occupying the whole of one wall. The other section contained a dining room, with a single bedroom on one side and a large kitchen on the other. The kitchen had one large fire stove and a sink. Outside the kitchen door was a passage way (where one cleaned shoes) beside a bathroom. Washing clothes was done in a copper and troughs out in the open. Between these two sections was a very large jooning room, called a vestibule, big enough to seat 40 people at a time. Every family brought some contribution towards the meal which was served hot. Poultry, ham and vegetableswith the usual plum pudding and cream where every child collected at least one threepenny piece if ,if not in, then under the pudding. Uncle Jack McKinnon always saw to it that every child got at least one piece. Later going to "Authoringa" was a nerve wracking trip down a very steep hill but well worthwhile once one arrived, off course with the usual buggy and pair of horses. Anoth event we looked forward to was the anual Sunday School Picnic. This was held at "Argyle" where there were swings and slides and races for all age groups. There were wonderful spacious grounds with plent of trees and places to play. Of course there was always the usual sumptuous spread of cakes and, even home made ice-cream which was enjoyed as a special treat. Aunty Kate (nee McKinnon) and uncle Dave Campbell always welcomed children to their lovely home, having no children of their own, they "adopted" all the young folk in the district. Aunty Kate used to organise a dance once a month at the local hall. The boys paid 5 shillings (50 cents) for admission and the girls provided the supper which Kate supervised. There was ususlly a shortage of girls attending, so on one occasion some of the boys dressed up as girls and caused quite a laugh. Ernie Trease who provided the music caught sight of the "girls" coming past the stageand commented when he saw my brother,. Rix Allan, "Isabel has at last got her hair in a semi shingle" - until he discovered it was Rix dressed in my frock, as most of them were. In the early days of the farm the cows were milked by hand. To facilitate this, the cows were "bailed" in a shed, or out in the open, with thei outside leg roped securely to a rail to prevent them from kicking the milk bucket and spilling the contents. (or kicking the milker) The milker sat on a 3 legged stool for the purpose. The milk was then put through a separator, to separate the cream from the milk. This contraption had to be operated by a handle and the operator had to keep turning at a steady pace to ensure the cream was of a consistent density. The skim milk was fed to the calves or pigs, and the cream poured into metal cans which had to be delivered to the roadgate two or three times a week. For this task a sledge was used and drawn by one or two draft horses. The factory hand brought the empty cans on his outward journey and collected the full cans on his return which meant only one trip to the road for the farmer. The empy cans would often be used to deliver loaves of bread from the town bakery, and also meat from the butcher!
Sufficient cream was withheld for family use, probably to make a supply of butter which meant it had to be put through a churn. To get the cream cool enough for satisfactory churning in the summer time, it had to be taken beforehand to the "spring" or a pool in the creek. Later on a "Koolgardie" safe was used. This was a contraption made of hessian cover metal frame with a container in the roof that was kept full of water. Pieces of towel were placed with one end in the water, and the other hanging over the side. (the evaporation of the water kept the inside cold) Yes the safe had a door and was usually placed in a cool spot, in a draught or in the shade of a tree. Ice chests arrived later to replace this most effective refrigerator.
In reference to the roadside milksheds. Sometimes they were shared by 2 farms. On one occasion, a farmer returned to the road to go shopping just in time to find his next door neighbour at the shed with both cans opened. When questioned he said "I was just giving mine a stir. I thought I would give yours one too". After the rough trip of hale a mile or so, one would think it would need stirring. Draw you own conclusion. |
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My Dad's Story - by Geoffrey Allan Dedicated to my father John (Jack) McKinnon Allan [1908-1957] who taught me work ethics, carpentry and other skills I have used to enrich my own life. The most vivid memory I have of my father is of him coming up the hill to the house from the milking shed, a distance of 100 meters in all with no more than 30 meters on the steep section. He took a long time, stopping at each fence post to catch his breath. His asthma was that bad. Here was a man that, 2 years before, could do strenuous physical activity from before sunup to after sundown. Geoffrey Allan(1942-).
As I labor up this hill from the chicken coup to the house; struggling from fence post to fence post; each time waiting to catch my breath again before moving on; I find myself looking back at my life of 48 years and taking some pride in our accomplishments. I hardly expected to be so hampered by asthma that I am now limited to light duties around the house and must rely on my son, Barrie, to do my share of the farm work along with my brother Rix. I feel my time is running out so let me go back to that first fence post and start from my beginning. FENCEPOST #1 - My Childhood. I was welcomed into this world by my parents Alexander and Mary McKinnon Allan, my 2-year brother - David, and my sister Isabel - just 16 months. I was born in Leongatha (1908, on the farm?), Southeast of Melbourne, Australia. Leongatha is the nearest township to the 240-acre farm my father selected and cleared. From an early age I helped my dad with simple chores like feeding the calves, fencing, harvesting and the likes. With so much to do I found school, a good 2-mile cross-country walk, of little interest except to play pranks on our teacher? One subject I did like was "sloid" or woodworking as it is called today. Later in my life it would become a skill I could use to save money at home and donate as a service to the community. My parents were well educated and respected in the district, my father was on the original Leongatha High School committee, was a councilman and President of the Woorayl Shire ( ). FENCEPOST #2 - Working the Farm. Our Farm was being cleared of dense forest and by the time I was old enough to help we already had a good herd of cows. My father, Alexander, died in 1924 and at that time I had to run the farm alone for a year. After that my brother, Rix, finished high school certificate (year 8) and came to share the work. We milked by hand for another 15 years and had to cart the cream cans by sled up to the main road 3 days a week. Some of the milk was "separated" for cream and what was fed to the pigs. During the day we would be kept busy - preparing planting and harvesting crops of hay, maize, and potatoes. Grubbing, cutting and carting stumps for firewood and fencing. Pruning and spraying an extensive orchard of some 40 trees - mostly apples. Spraying weeds and slashing bracken fern, 7 times a year for 3 years, to get it under control. Trapping and digging out rabbits (later using mixamitosis bio-control).
Milking and shearing became a lot easier with the advent of the machine allowing us to increase our herds and flocks. However, due to the cost of equipment and shearers I continued to shear 200 sheep, using hand clippers, until 1951. (3 years before Jack died -gaa) FENCEPOST #3 - Social Events Social Events were a means of taking a rest from the backbreaking jobs around the farm. In my younger years we would play football with Mardan teams in our front paddock at "Inverlair". On many of these occasions everyone would come back to the house for a meal prepared under the guidance of my sister, Isabel. We had a kitchen table that was 12 x 8 feet and it was laden with all manner of food. (I also played an occasional game of tennis) There were monthly socials at the Mardan Hall when we would dance to a trio of drums, piano and accordion while the older folks would play cards in the back room and the children pull each other around the slippery floor during breaks. There would be "lucky spot" competitions and dance exhibitions, by experts from the city, as well and always wrapped up by hot coffee and home made dessert (including sponge cakes, cream puffs, eclairs). Annual picnics would be held at Sprayden for Easter and at Argyle for Christmas. Families would take picnic lunches and enjoy watching the children at play and in races by age group. ( Argyle was the home of my mothers' sister, Kate Campbell, and had a magnificent park and huge trees, Elms, Oaks, and Gums. with swings attached to their branches and slides as well. The driveway was an avenue of assorted trees with 2 Norfolk Pines at the entrance, also 2 in the park. Argyle is still owned by a nephew Alex Campbell and his wife Lorraine, run today as an organic Dairy Farm.) There were "Shows" in Leongatha, Korumburra and Mirboo North where we would present our best cattle and sheep for judging and enjoy typical fair events. A district bonfire was held on Guy Fawkes Day at a local farm where a pile of old wood and tyres would be set on fire and families would bring an assortment of fireworks. There would be "tin kettlings" for newly weds. These would take place a few weeks after a marriage. The whole district would meet down the road and out of sight of their house. Each person would carry pots or pans and encircle the happy home. On a signal everyone would start banging and yelling with the inevitable "surprise". As a precaution a friend would visit just before this activity in order to ensure the couple were home and were not "embarrassed" by a surprise visit. Later there would be a party at a neighbor's home and gifts were presented. Agricultural shows were held annually at Leongatha, Mirboo North and Korumburra At these we would present our finest cattle and sheep for judging and were proud of the many championship ribbons we earned over the years. Later I became a judge of sheep at district shows. FENCEPOST #4 - Marriage and Family On July 3rd,1939 I married Irma Enid Hobson at St. Hillary's Church of England, East Kew, Melbourne. At that time I told her family and friends not to be sorry for her as I was taking her to a "good life". (My mother was shocked to find that, not only did he not have his own bank account, but that his mother was to run the household and Irma would be expected to be the "cook" for 6 regulars for several years - see footnote) Eventually we had a family of 3 boys and 2 girls - link to family tree. (Each was to go on and excel in their chosen careers. Barrie in Farming, Geoffrey in Electronics, Wendy in Nursing, David in Woodworking, and Janet in Public Service) Barrie, Geoffrey and Wendy were born in the war years and attended Mardan South State School which was over a hilly 3 miles away. They had to walk at first but later rode our trusty horse "Blazes" or bicycles - rain, hail or shine. David (1948) and Janet (1953) attended Koorooman State School and were able to take the high school bus. (This was after Jack died) The years our family was growing up were not easy on us and we never seemed to be able to get out from under the debts everything possible that could go wrong went wrong. E.g. Cows would not get in calf. Potatoes were not worth 2 Bob (shillings). We had a bad drought in 1956. Three Families in the district gave us Jersey heifer calves, so we could rebuild up the herd. I was constantly at the Bank seeking help and at the stores pleading for extended credit. By the time our milk cheques started again they would have been spent. In addition my wife, Irma, had ear problems which required numerous trips to Melbourne to see Specialists and for surgery. As I became more and more incapacitated by my asthma, I had to turn to Barrie, in much the same way as my father turned to me, to assist on the farm. By the time he was 15 he was doing my share of the farm work. FENCEPOST #5 - Carpentry Carpentry and other "creative" jobs provided a change from the routine of farm work and I was always looking for projects to take up. The larger tasks involved replacing windows; building construction, such as the Sunday school Hall, milking shed improvements, out- buildings, built in cupboards and tank stands. I remember making a cart, to be pulled by two horses, that consisted of a sled under the front and a wheeled trailer mounted on top. We used this for many years to cart milk cans to the road for pickup. A wheelbarrow made from wood with a semicircular tray cut from a 44-gallon drum was user for hauling soil and manure. Small projects like these were considered hobbies more than they were work. FENCEPOST #6 - Memorable Occasions Saving the Dam We recently had a dam excavated in the gully on the Leongatha side of the farm. This was a very expensive dam with the bulldozer working three days to complete. It was already winter and we were rushing to get it finished so it could fill up. That winter we had a lot of rain. So much so that it was full before the bank had time to settle and grow a reinforcing layer of grass over it. One day it teemed and I had the pump running at top speed but the level was rising fast. Barrie and I spent all night in the rain, digging a spillway channel to prevent it bursting. This event was to be the catalyst for the illness that was to kill him. The old Chrysler The only car we had while our family was growing up used to be a 1927 Chrysler. This car was of a vintage prior to them having starter motors so a crank handle was needed to get it started. When I became too sick, Irma had to perform this task. As the car grew old the cranking would take longer, and we would have to put a rag between the carburetor and the engine (or pour some petrol over it). I never found out why. Once the engine sputtered to life I would have to race around the side and pull out the rag. This was often repeated several times before the engine would get going. With time, even cranking became unreliable, and I would always have to park on a hill where the kids could help me get it rolling, and I would jump in and throw it into gear to get it running. This often had to be repeated several times so at the Mardan Hall it could be over ½ a mile on a cold night. Those were the nights the children were plenty warm. As a special treat the children were allowed to ride up front between the engine and mudguards. They would pretend to steer with the headlight rims.
Shearing time at McIndoes Our neighbors, the McIndoes, had the largest flock of sheep in the district, over 1000 head. It was exciting to watch the shearers at work. These were real professionals who also worked the big sheep stations. Early on they used the hand shears and could work at a fast "clip". Later, when they installed the power drives for the shearing equipment; the record was over 200 sheep each per day. To keep up with four shearers at that rate required a lot of help in tossing, tagging, folding, and baling the fleeces. Shadrack, the attack dog Our dogs would be tied up at night but our neighbor's dog could be heard from a long way off. It always sounded very threatening and our dogs would answer the call, straining at their leashes. This dog, Shadrack, had a vicious streak and could take on 2 or 3 dogs at a time. After the second time Shadrack had attacked out dogs and left the older one, Bert, nearly dead, we had to act. From then on we were very attuned to that howl and responded by grabbing the rifle and racing out to the hill. We were never able to hit the mongrel and eventually had to bring the dogs into the back verandah for protection.
Puppies in the night I was tired, and it was in the middle of the night when as a toddler David, with a fever, remembered the puppies under the house. He started repeating over and over: "I want a pup!" In order to placate him there was no alternative but to get dressed and crawl under the house and up behind the chimney base where the dog and puppies were. There was only 2 feet of crawl space at this point so I came inside very dusty but with the requested pup. David was not to be calmed for too long before he started up again, "I want 2 pups!" So back I went and came back with the whole litter and the mother as well. Lambs in the Kitchen During the spring Barrie and I would have to bundle up against the cold and go check on the new born lambs. Often times we would have to wrap them in up and bring them back to the kitchen. We would place them by the fire, sometimes in the oven, in order to prevent them from dying. This would be followed by several days of feeding them with milk from a lemonade bottle and babies teat. Bees in the chimney The honey was great but not the stings along the way. These bees would swarm in a chimney casually building a hive. This was fine until winter came, and the smoke could not escape. Not only did we have smoke in the house, we often had bees wax as well. One night, when I was sick, a fire was started in the bedroom fireplace. This was the first in some time and the heat dissolved the beeswax from a hive in the chimney. As a result the beehive came down into the fireplace. Fortunately the bees had already fled because of the smoke. There were many times when we would have to climb up on the roof, wearing gloves and a face net, and smoke out the bees with a "smoker" tool. Following this we would have to carefully dislodge the honeycomb while avoiding the bees. The Back Paddock This 80-acre block of land was in Nerrena a 3-mile ride from the main homestead. It had a cabin, natural spring and a lot of stumps. It was very fertile and after we cleared the stumps for firewood it provided for good crops of Potatoes. This is where I misjudged my horse while crossing the creek, I jumped but he didn't and I ended up in the water. It was winter and I was 3 miles from home. The hypothermia I suffered on that day, along with cigarette smoking, had a significant impact on my health.
FENCEPOST #7 - Top of the Hill And so now I have reached the top - the gate to our garden and house. After a few minutes I feel much better but regret I don't have the energy to teach my children what I should. I also feel regret for dragging my wife, Irma, from a comfortable city life into a life of struggles and hardships. I love her for her faithfulness; for the many years of companionship; and for raising our children under very demanding circumstances. John McKinnon Allan died on 7-Aug-1958 from a heart attack brought on by severe asthma.
Author's Footnote: I feel I would be unfair if I didn't include the following comments that were made by my mother, Jack's wife, when she reviewed the first draft. She told me about the difficult relationships she had while living on the farm. It started right after her marriage when she went to the farm to find out she would have to share her life with my dad's family having to answer to a strong willed mother-in-law and cook for a hungry family of six. Going from a comfortable city life to the farm was hard enough. It was only worsened by a total sense of isolation. She would eventually make friendships with women in similar situations in the district but initially she had no one to turn to. She couldn't even "call home" as the telephone lines were party lines where any of a number of persons could be eaves dropping, and, if not neighbors, then the local switchboard operator. After that family left and she could focus on her own brood, but she had to live in and maintain the old house, huge as it was, and all its lack of "modern" amenities and constant repairs.
Written in 2002 with assistance from my mother, brothers and sisters. Geoffrey Allan (1942-)
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Richard Allan's Family History - Written by Richard Allan, February 19, 1976 Richard Allan immigrated to Australia in 1851 (on ship THETIS arrived in Adelaide), followed by younger brother David in 1854. They both worked on the Ballarat goldfields for a while but took up land in the Scrub Hill area of Creswick and Dean in 1857. They married sisters from Adelaide about this time. Their own parents, brother and sisters came to Australia in 1860. This is an outline of family history up to date in this area of South Gippsland. My father Alexander Allan was the second son of David Allan a Scots migrant, and his wife Isabel, whose maiden name was Robertson. He was born February 28, 1865, and was some 12 months younger than his elder brother Andrew. There were three younger boys, had one girl who died in her early teens.
Dad and his elder brother Andrew received their education at the Creswick Grammar School, and they walked the five miles each way every day. They also did a vast amount of reading, both then and in later years. Many of the old classics were amongst their favourites. Schoolmates at the school included members of the famous Lindsay family, and also John McKay and Alex Peacock. The latter two who were later honoured for their services to the community with knighthoods, remained lifelong friends.
In 1885, Dad and brother Andrew borrowed two hundred pounds each from their father to try their luck in the South Gippsland rain forest area which was being opened up for settlement. They selected 160 acres each in the Koorooman and Nerrena districts. They came here by train to Morwell and then via Mirboo North to Robert Smiths property to Authoringa at Mardan. There was no train to Mirboo North (Baromi) then, rough horse of bullock transport was sometimes available, also hire riding horses-otherwise you walked.
After locating their selection (which in itself was a major feat), they made their headquarters in the furthest southeastern corner. Then followed 20 years of the hardest toil any man could undertake, but of which they left us very little record except that they eventually won through and established themselves and repaid their father's loan. It was a colossal task for lads of 18 and 19. Many times they must have considered giving up.
In 1903 Andrew married Agnes Lester and the boys dissolved their partnership. Andrew retained most of the original selection, and Dad took the Mardan block, plus about 80 acres known as 116c Parish of Nerrena. In February 1905 Andrew met with an accident which brought about his death only a few weeks before Dad's wedding. His property ultimately went to his wife's brothers. The house which he built and 120 acres were sold shortly after his death to Robert Munroe. Subsequent owners have been William Cook (ex British Army Officer), and Eric Caple who owns it at the present time. Some of the home was shifted from its original site where Uncle Andrew and Dad built it some time prior to 1890.
Early in 1905 Dad added three rooms to the two which were his bachelor quarters. On April 19, 1905, after 40 years of cooking his own meals he married. Mary Matilda McKinnon was the tenth child of a family of 7 boys and 6 girls. Alexander McKinnon, her father, was born on the Isle of Skye, and her mother Mary Jane Roberts from Ulster. The family was all born at Ballan, but came to Mirboo North in the early 1880's where the mother died soon afterwards. Mother spent many years of her early life helping to keep house for her brother John and several other boys of the family at Sprayden. She told us many tales of the early days there and the hardships which the pioneering women seemed to take in their stride. Especially vivid were the stories of deeds performed during the disastrous fires of 1897-98. Two brothers and two sisters fought for days to save their home and the men were both temporarily blinded in the ordeal. Though nobody could see it at the time, there was just one small item of gain from that terrible time. The losses were colossal, but the fire at least got rid of a lot of dead timber which otherwise would have taken years of backbreaking effort.
Sprayden was just across the road from Mum's new home, and she was always in close touch with her two brothers and a sister who remained there. In fact one of my earliest recollections is of running a sort of courier service between Mum and Aunt Eliza in the old home. It was a rather awesome trip for a little boy of four. A mile or more, and it was only a rough track meandering in and out amongst the fire blackened logs and stumps, relics of the fires 15 years previously. Many a note I carried pinned to the front of my tunic with strict instructions not to wander off the track. The arrival of the telephone in 1915 put an end to those journeys that would have ended for me anyway for I started school at the end of 1915.
Mum's first four children (I was No. 4), arrived in five and a half years, and the next two at longer intervals. The four boys and two girls were born between January 1906, and January 1918. No hot water systems, washing machines or refrigerators in those days. A copper in the washhouse and a Coolgardie safe to save the butter from running next door.
The butter home made from cream skimmed from the big dishes of milk set in the dairy. Bread made at home in a big fire stove and jams and preserves made from fruit out of the orchard. An extremely busy life, but I never heard Mum complain. I believe she was completely happy and contented, and despite some big personal losses, remained that way for most of her long and useful life. During the 19 years of their married life, Dad played big part in household affairs. He maintained a big interest in district activities. One of his earliest public duties was to serve a term on the first Woorayl Shire Council. (President in 1898). He was also a foundation member of the local branch of the Australian Natives Association, and Leongatha Agricultural Society. A member of the 1st Koorooman Hall Committee, and its secretary for a great number of years. Like so many men with like ancestry, Dad was very education minded. He was a foundation member of the local high school council and was still serving on it at the time of his death.
For many years the family cows were milked out in the open, and brother Jack and I were even at a tender age assigned the job of milking them. A big improvement in 1922, Dad had a nice 6 bail cow shed built, and were able to milk in luxury. About this time, Dad bought in Mum's name block 111c where my wife and I were many years later to set up housekeeping. This block was formerly part of Sprayden and had to be sold to facilitate the winding up of Uncle Jack McKinnon's estate. He died in 1918. A bachelor brother and unmarried sister had the use of the rest of Sprayden for their lifetimes. This balance was covered in bracken fern and logs. Jack and I spend every Saturday and every holiday from school out in the paddocks with Dad cutting ferns of pulling one end of a cross-cut saw. It was the accepted thing on farms those days, and many lads in the district did exactly the same sort of thing. I don't remember ever objecting or trying to welsh out of our tasks.
But it wasn't all hard work. For many years there had been a district rifle club and in 1921-22 a Mardan District Cricket Club was formed. The ground uses was part of the block which had been purchased from Sprayden. Dad was made a "Patron" of the new club, and on the opening day he bowled the first ball. It was an underarm "Googlie," and not likely to do much harm to the player with the bat. The batswoman was Mum. In 1927 a Football Club was formed, and used this ground for several years before shifting to a more central location on Dick Coulter's property near the Mardan Hall (Built in 1912). A tennis court was built at the same place in 1927, and used for quite a number of years too before it was shifted to a more central place.
1923 was a very hot and dry year. Tank water got very low and its use was restricted to drinking and cooking. Water for all other purposes was carted from a hole dug in the creek. Method of transport was on a sledge on which a 40-gallon barrel had been lashed. To avoid losing too much, bags were tied over the barrel top to stop the water splashing out. That job was done three times a week for many weeks. Believe me, it was a problem to get the cask to the creek and still a bigger problem to get it out to the top of the hill again still reasonably full of water.
In those days in our area, long distance water pumps were never heard of. To make sure the cattle had enough to drink during summer, a small dam was built by hand in each paddock the creek served. They would not be much use with today's heavy stocking, but they served a very useful one then. Two purposes really, for we kids taught ourselves the rudiments of swimming in those muddy pools whilst the thirst bullocks looked on from the shade of the black wood trees. They say animals don't drink till sundown. Sometimes that water must have been a bit thick by then, but to my knowledge none of them died of thirst -possibly they didn't fatten too well either!! That year 1923 also saw a scourge of caterpillars (the first of many I have seen). They strip all the grain from oats and other cereals, and just drop it on the ground. They will also completely devour crops of maize standing 6 or 7 feet.
Dad was an asthma sufferer all his life, probably aggravated by his years of scrub cutting and the attendant smoke of burning off. He had very bad teeth, and the doctor advised their removal. It was to no avail, and his condition worsened. In February 1924 he was hospitalized and later operated on for a lung abscess. He did not respond to treatment and died on June 7, 1924 after 5 months in Stradbroke Hospital, Leongatha. I was going to high school in Leongatha (boarding) and used to go and see Dad on my way home every day except weekends. It was my first brush with death, and I was devastated. His funeral was on a typical June day. It poured rain all day, and I have never before or since been so utterly miserable. However, at thirteen, one's recuperative powers are high, and I returned to school after a week. At the end of the year, just after my 14th birthday, I passed what was then known as the Intermediate Certificate 9Year 10/Form 4).
On Dad's death Mum was beset with all sorts of problems she was ill equipped to handle. She had no knowledge at all of financial matters, and Dad' s long illness put a big strain on money resources, especially as there was a big overdraft due on the property just purchased. In these matter and many others, David Campbell who was married to Mum's sister Katie was always ready with advice which was a great help to her and to us. At this time the two youngest members of the family had still all their school life ahead of them, and the eldest (David) was going to Melbourne Teachers Training College. Isabel and Jack were already at home, and I left school at the end of the year. A brother of Dad's offered to pay for two years schooling for me at the Ballarat School of Mines (one of the few technical schools available then), but from the depths of my fourteen year old wisdom I decided to stay at home and help Jack run the farm and get rid of the overdraft at the bank. Surely a super optimist, but I have never been sorry for that decision. We certainly had our ups and downs, with the downs probably predominating.
In 1925 we decided to give the bracken ferns their final knock by ploughing and bought a plough for the purpose. A double furrow Sunshine mouldboard. A splendid implement which is still usable and with which we did an immense amount of work. But it was quite unsuitable for its original purpose of breaking up virgin soil. For this we used a single furrow hillside plough. Reversible and used with two horses, where the bigger implement need three and sometimes four horsepower. Ultimately, practically the Whole 350 acres were ploughed and cropped.
Firstly of course, all logs and stumps had to be removed. Where possible some stumps by he process of stoving. Burning under earth which had to be shoveled over them. They had to be kept covered all the time they were burning, the first two or three days being very important. Other stumps with no top for burning (and there were dozens to the acre) had to be dug out and the roots chopped off below the plough level. Many of those roots were veritable underground trees, and after they were chopped off, horses had to be used to drag them out of the ground and into a heap for burning.
In many places there were also 20 to 30 mounds to the acre, which had to be got rid of as well. Uprooting trees perhaps hundreds of years previously caused these mounds. In many instances they were huge with vast craters beside them where the tree had originally stood. The mound had to be ploughed first, and then scooped back into the crater. Quite a man-sized job on some of the steep slopes. Often 3 horses had to be used to get enough traction. However there was only room for one man between the handles of the scoop. It was quite a heavy job. There were also a few patches of sword grass to be hoed out. And in places quite a lot of wild currant and black hazel bushes. The latter grew up to 20 feet in gullies and other favoured damp places. A pair of horses and a drag chain pulled out both these types of bushes. Extremely hard on trace chains and swindle bars-we broke them by the dozens, and one's temper sometimes became more than a little frayed.
Maize and potatoes were usually the first crops grown, and we found out that it didn't do to cropland more than a year or two. It was better to get it into grass a soon as possible. The ploughing did end the fern problem much quicker, and it certainly improved the ground surface for future top dressing and grass, hay, and silage harvesting. For many years one of our recurring problems was the rabbit. Every winter we would spend weeks digging out their burrows and killing literally hundreds of them, only to see them multiply during the following spring and summer. It was an endless costly business, which only ended with the introduction some years ago of myxomatosis.
Early in 1929 we scraped together 275 pounds and bought a Chrysler touring car and pushed the old buggy into the back of the shed. That car did yeoman service for many years. It never went anywhere without a full complement. It took Jack and I and a cobber up almost to Sydney in 1930 for our first ever holiday. We enjoyed it immensely. Just as well for I wasn't able to afford another one until my honeymoon in 1938. By 1930 we had worked our way out from under that overdraft just in time to get hit by the big depression. Within two years we were back behind where we had started. They were surely a tough few years. But we still managed three meals a day, and quite a lot of fun with district tennis, cricket and football. The dance in the local hall earned a very high reputation far and wide.
In 1924 the SEC ran a high voltage power line through the district linking up the towns. It passed through our place, but wasn't available to farms (unless they were very financial), till 1936. The local hall and churches were connected then, and we had it connected at the farm in 1937. What a boon it was. About the same time we had milking machines installed. I often think how fortunate we were in our choice of parents. Unlike any of his sons, Dad was a kindly and extremely patient man. Loved and respected by a wide circle of acquaintance. We knew him for all too few years. Mum was a perfect made for him. Volatile and outgoing, with an amazing capacity for getting things done. She loved company, and was never happier than when surrounded by young people. Even with her quite big family, there was always room for one or two more.
During the early days of the First World War, we had a neighbour's wife and two pretty little daughters stay with us whilst husband Hugh Richard organized a home for them in Broome. (Richardson once owned Morter's property). Later during the war we had a mother (Mrs. Trebilco) and her three children with us for several months. Thee were not enough ponies to go around, so we had to take it in turn to walk to school. Later on again when Jack and I were in our late teens, Mum gave a home for a considerable time to two little daughters of a niece who was in rather poor circumstances. I suppose we all spoiled them, but Jack especially so, the younger one particularly. She was later to be trainbearer for his bride at his wedding.
About this time we saw quite a lot of two other little girls who belonged to a near neighbour. All four of these little girls are married and three lived more or less locally. We see them from time to time. As well as these partly permanent guests, the house was open to all the young people of the district. It was quite common to have half a dozen extras overnight. This was especially so during the football season, and Mum was "Mum" to dozens of young chaps, and she really did mother them. Darned their socks and mended clothes. A lot of these chaps were working around the district, mostly batching. In some cases, many miles from their homes. Isabel and Marge both helped Mum run a very busy household, and I'm sure we all enjoyed it immensely. Unfortunately we don't see much of that sort of living today.
By the middle 1930's the economy started to improve and with the cows, sheep and potatoes, we were working to capacity. Potatoes started to play a bigger part, and we were soon involved in growing certified seed. It was quite remunerative, though, in those days. It was all hard work, and in some aspects extremely heavy.
On January 1, 1938, my footloose and fancy-free days came to an end. My girlfriend of 12 years joined me in a new home we had built on the front of the property. Once again I must say I have never regretted my actions. Our wedding day was terribly hot-perhaps indication of all the hot water I'd be in all these following years. Then came the terrible days of the Second World War. Included of course was the rationing of so many things we had come to regard as essential. We were allowed a whole two gallons of petrol per week, and you don't do many 1000-mile trips on that much. 1-quarter pound of butter and 1 ounce of tobacco per week. Sometimes we could scrounge a few tailor made cigarettes and still I did not give up smoking, not then anyway.
Still, we survived without any insurmountable troubles. Lots of our cobbers joined the armed forces. Some of those particularly good friends of our football days we didn't see again. Dave and Bob both joined up (Army and RAAF), and were more fortunate than some. Both were in the Education Department by this time. Isabel and Marge went to Melbourne to do war work, and Mum later went to keep house for them in a place they had rented at North Carlton. Marge tried several times to join the armed forces, but was medically unfit. She joined the tramways and became one of their first female inspectors.
The lady in green uniform was well liked and respected by her co-workers. Marge resigned from the tans to marry one Laurie Martin. Unfortunately the marriage lasted only a little over 12 months when Laurie died of a heart attack. It was a terrible blow to Marge-a true homemaker. She later built a home at Bayswater only to lose it shortly afterwards to a new freeway. She then bought a nice place at Seaford and had it very nice indeed, only to lose out once more. This time death took over after many months of ill health and several major operations (June 14, 1968). Like Mum, I never heard her complain, and if any one ever did, she had reason to be at least a little sore at what life had handed out to her.
Isabel had stayed on for a while with Mum at Pigdon Street, Carlton until she too married. Mum stayed on her own for a while until she met with an accident with some cleaning powder. It had very serious repercussions, and on recovering she went to stay with Isabel and Stan permanently at Blackburn. She was wonderfully looked after, and surely Isabel's treatment of Mum was an example which could well be followed by some of our self-seeking, fun loving compatriots. So many forget that someday, they too must be old. Isabel surely denied herself a lot, but she gave Mum a great deal of happiness in her final years.
On Christmas Eve 1964, her long and useful life came to a close. She was buried with her man who went 40 long years before. True to their out going natures, Mum and the girls had a permanent guest for quite a long time at Pidgon Street. A spinster cousin of Dad's made her home with them for several years. They nursed her for a long time after she suffered a stroke, and was confined to a wheelchair. Mum pushed her for miles around the Carlton streets, and waiter on her hand and foot during her final illness. There is rather an ironic twist here. At one time (Aunty) Kate Inglis as we knew her thought Mary McKinnon was nowhere good enough for her favourite cousin-our father. Surely the wheels of fate grind exceedingly small.
In the meantime David and Bob, both teachers before the war had married and returned to their jobs. David who has no family has now retired after finishing as headmaster of one of Collingwood's State Schools. In between times, he and his wife Lesley have had several trips overseas. Bob left the Education Department of management jobs for a long time. With a couple of degrees he had no trouble getting back into the fold a couple of years before his death. He died of a heart attack at Beaumaris High School in 1974. He left a wife and a married daughter Rosemary.
By the end of the war years, Jack and I had families to consider. Jack eventually had five and I had two, and we surely needed those slowly improving finances. But as our grandfather stated when he came to Australia in the 1850's, to succeed one needed to be sober and industrious. Farming was slowly becoming more profitable and with the advent of so much machinery, a good deal easier. Production per farm went up by leaps and bounds with carrying capacity doubled and sometimes doubled again. Export markets were relevantly buoyant allowing scope for improvements which could be paid for within a reasonable time. Unfortunately in 1954 Jack became seriously ill, and we were unable to really capitalize fully on these opportunities. For the next six years his condition slowly deteriorated and so some of his work was undertaken by his son Barrie who of course was unable to cope with anywhere near all of it.
About 1954 we had jointly started the legal ramifications of equally dividing the properties between Jack and I. It involved quite a lot of work as mother was still involved, and was nowhere near complete, when Jack died in 1958. The next few months were the most difficult times in my life. However things were at last finally straightened out. If not with complete satisfaction, at least with as much justice as was possible under extremely difficult circumstances. Unfortunately, to get rid of Jack's private debts and pay probate, the Nerrena property had to be disposed of. The beginning of the 1960 financial year saw the property divided into two separate entities and I, for the first time in my life, responsible for my own affairs only.
Elaine at this time had already taken up nursing and Alex, tired of school after passing the Leaving Certificate decided to come home on the far. The 1960's and early 70's were good to the dairy farmer and perhaps blinded us to what could happen. During the 50's and 60's much, in fact practically all of the plains country in Outtrim, Tarwin Lower and Waratah areas was cleaned up and brought into production. The bulldozers and big disc ploughs doing a mammoth job. The demand for good farmland became more and more buoyant, fed by city finances with income to hide. Legitimate buyers (that is farmers wishing to expand and sons of farmers), were forced ever upwards into paying prices for land which could only be uneconomical, and in some cases downright ruinous. Of course the crunch had to come.
Two years ago (1974), the bottom fell out of the cattle market, followed to a lesser extent by sheep. This past year saw butterfat drop to 50 cents, with a big possibility of it sliding further. All this coupled with a Federal Government, which said "We never had it so good," and which promptly knocked the subsidy off butterfat and superphosphate. Today we hundreds of farmers in this area seeking employment outside their own gates, and where it just is not available, applying for the dole. In 1965, Elaine married Lew Fisher of Korrumburra. They now have two little girls Catherine and Rachel. In 1966, Alex married Lyn Burge, and they have a pigeon pair, Chris and Kerri. In 1967 we built a home in Leongatha and moved there so Alex and Lyn could have the farmhouse to themselves. We formed a partnership, which worked well for some years. Time eventually caught up with me, and in 1974 I had to give up work altogether. Alex and Lyn now run the farm in partnership, and pay us rental. |
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