Langwarrin Military Reserve

Before Federation each Colony was responsible for its own defence. The Victorian Volunteer Act 1854 allowed for the establishment of volunteer units. From 1860 many towns had their own Volunteer unit , including Dandenong which was the head quarters of the local volunteers.   From 1884, the Volunteer Forces were replaced by the Victorian Militia Force. The Militia forces were part-time like the Volunteers but they were paid.and they were obligated to attend a certain amount of training each year in the form of annual camps.

The Volunteers and the Militia  trained at various locations in Victoria, such as Werribee and Queenscliffe, but it became apparent that a permanent training ground needed to be established by the Victorian Government and,  in 1886, land at Langwarrin was set aside for this purpose. The land had gentle slopes, natural water supplies and  a variety of vegetation. The reserve eventually consisted of 549 acres or 222 hectares.

Encampment Langwarrin 1887

State Library of Victoria Image H90.90/77

The first Langwarrin camp was held at Easter  in  1887.  The first buildings at the Reserve were stores for the Commissariat Corp; other buildings included caretakers quarters and  stables. Roads, Parade Grounds, and a  rifle range were other structures erected.  Numbers at some camps were large - in the 1890s some camps had over 3, 500 men, plus hundreds of horses. Langwarrin was used to train contingents of Victorians who went to the Boer war (1899-1902).

This is part of an article about the first camp held at Langwarrin

Australasian April 9 1887  

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article142178555

Originally, access to the Reserve was by trains which stopped at Frankston - after that troops, all supplies , horses etc had to be carted or travel down bush tracks to get to the Reserve.  An extension of the Frankston line was established and this reached the Reserve, with the station being called Langwarrin,  in October 1888.

Langwarrin Camp Ground 1897

State Library of Victoria Image H4457

There was, for  a short time, a School on the Reserve. It was the Langwarrin Railway Station School. No. 3023. This had opened in 1890 in the Presbyterian Hall and then moved to  a purpose built school in 1895 on  the south-west corner of the Reserve, near the corner of McClelland Drive and Robinsons Road. This School burnt down, around 1905 and children then attended the Mornington Junction  School which was built on the corner of McClelland and Golf Links Road , near the railway line. In 1919, the name changed to Baxter and it moved to its present location on the six cross roads in 1954. To be more precise, some children attended the Mornington Junction School, other children did not go to school, as this article from the Mornington  Standard tells us. The parents said that they are more than three miles from the school and thus not required to send their children to school,  unless they take  a short-cut through the Military Reserve, which is a bit dangerous on the days when rifle practice is carried out!

Mornington Standard December 16, 1905

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article65825568

The Reserve was handed over to the Commonwealth Government in March 1901 and various training camps were held  intermittently  and in declining frequency until World War One. The Reserve was not used to train men in World War One but it was used to house prisoners of war or internees i.e. German, Austrian and Turkish nationals that were in Australia after war was declared, and the crew of any German ships.  The Internment camp was first occupied at the end of 1914  Huts were built, a gaol was built for those that were deemed to need it. Most of these internees were removed to Liverpool in New South Wales in August 1915.

Victorian Infantrymen in camp at Langwarrin

State Library of Victoria Image H4456

Langwarrin was then used to as a hospital for men infected with venereal diseases, as this was a problem amongst soldiers. At one stage, over 800 men were housed at the Langwarrin Reserve. The Hospital complex had an operating theatre, a dispensary, kitchen, engine house, dental surgery amongst other buildings.  The Langwarrin Camp was closed in February 1921. It was used occasionally for grazing, some training exercises during World War Two, the Frankston small bore rifle club had the lease of some of the land from 1960;  various sub-division proposals came and went and were never acted upon. In 1980 the Victorian Ministry for Conservation took over about 207 hectares of the land, in 1982 the remaining land was purchased and on December 11, 1985 the land became the Langwarrin Flora and Fauna Reserve.

The location of the Langwarrin Military Reserve can be seen on 1938 map, prepared by the grandly named Australian Section Imperial General Staff.

Most of the information in this post comes from the book Australian Aldershot: Langwarrin Miltary Reserve Victoria 1886-1980 by Winty Calder (Jimaringle Publications, 1987)  The Library no longer has a lending copy of this book, we only have  a  reference copy in the Local History collection, which can be accessed by appointment

Hastings Western Port Historical Society has  copies for sale, if you wish to acquire your own copy of this interesting book.
http://home.vicnet.net.au/~dromana/hastings.htm

The patriotic Mr Rowe, baker, of Narre Warren

This is an interesting article from the Berwick Shire News of November 10, 1915 and illustrates  the fact that the whole community had to make sacrifices during the Great War. As the article says Mr D.H. Rowe, a baker, of Narre Warren,  has been considerably inconvenienced by the quick changes in his staff but he has shown his patriotism in recognising that the needs of the Empire should have consideration before his personal requirements. Donald Hartley Rowe is listed in the Shire of Berwick Rate books from 1912 to 1922. His shop was owned by Sidney Webb. 

Mr Rowe's patriotism.

Berwick Shire News November 10, 1915 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article92090828

Here is the list of Mr Rowe's eight employees who enlisted and their Service Number (SN), if I could find it. As you can see I have only (fairly confidently) identified six of the eight, based on address or the occupation. 

Chitts, Vic. (SN possibly 1715) You would think with such a distinctive name that Mr Chitts would be easy to identify, but not so. There was a Clarence, a Hector and a Russell Chitts who enlisted - Russell was a painter from New South Wales; Clarence was a Dairyman from Sandringham and I have found him and his wife Alice in the Electoral Roll both before and after the War and there is no local connection. That leaves Hector Rudolph Chitts as the most likely, so maybe he was known as Vic. Hector  was nearly 20 when he enlisted on March 7, 1916, his next of kin was listed as his sister, Mrs Downs of East Malvern. His occupation was a farm hand. He Returned to Australia on February 2, 1919.

Currie, Reg (SN 1840)  Reg was the son of Donald Currie of Reserve Street in Berwick and he enlisted on November 6, 1915. at the age of 22.  His occupation was Horse Driver. He Returned to Australia April 13, 1919.

Forrester, George (SN 4810)  George enlisted on November 6, 1915, the same day as Reg Currie. George was born in Shepparton, and his next of kin was his father, Zephaniah Forrester of Taradale. His occupation was baker.  He Returned to Australia July 24, 1919.

Notice of Reg and George enlisting

Dandenong Advertiser, November 18, 1915 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/88663150

Johnstone, Harold. I cannot identify this man. I have looked for Harold Johnson, Johnston and Johnstone and cannot find a man who enlisted with a connection to the area or to the bakers trade.

Lewis, Frederick (SN 3897) Frederick was 24 when he enlisted. His occupation was baker's driver. His next of kin was his father, Caleb Lewis, of Wilson Street, Berwick.  Fred Returned to Australia March 28, 1919. Fred is also on a list of Berwick Football Club players who joined up, read about them here.

Lyons, Charles Jack  (SN 1394) Jack enlisted on September 14, 1914 at the age of 27. He was born in South Melbourne and enlisted in Tasmania, but his occupation was baker, so this is why I assume that he was Mr Rowe's employee. His actual occupation on his enlistment paper was 'stud groom and baker' He Returned to Australia on May 12, 1918, suffering from rhuematism and 'bad feet'.

McGuire, Harry.  I cannot identify this man. I have also looked at any Harry or Henry Maguires, but to no avail.

Rooney, Alfred George (SN 481) Alf was born at Ballarat and enlisted at Ballarat on October 15, 1914.  I came across an article about Alf in the Berwick Shire News of March 28, 1917 and he was awarded the Military Medal for having carried ammunition and water under heavy fire in the desert fighting of August 9, 1916.  The article goes onto to mention that he was employed by Mr Rowe when he enlisted. He Returned to Australia on January 2, 1919.

Alfred Rooney's Military Medal

Berwick Shire News of March 28, 1917  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article92090256

The Shrine of Remembrance

The Shrine of Remembrance www.shrine.org.au has a series of lectures and activities  relating to different aspects of World War One and other conflicts. Some of the topics include our submarine heritage; the lost boys of ANZAC which looks at the men who died on April 25 1915 at Gallipoli and The Other ANZACS - a look at women who served in the war. The full schedule can be down-loaded at www.shrine.org.au/Whats-On
I attended one of these lectures, held at the Warragul RSL and heard Tim Whitford's talk on the Lost Diggers of Fromelles and it was fantastic, so based on this experience I can well recommend the series.

The Visitors Centre at the Shrine is being refurbished and will be opened in August 2014  and in November the new Galleries of Remembrance will open which will display exhibitions relating to Australian at War.

The Shrine of Remembrance

State Library of Victoria Image H30150/16

The Shrine was constructed between 1927 and 1934. There was a competition to design this memorial to the soldiers of the Great war and it was won by Philip B. Hudson and James H. Wardrop. It was built by the Company Vaughan and Lodge and was officially opened by the Duke of Gloucester on November 11, 1934. If you want to read about all the architectural features of the Shrine, click here to access the citation on the Victoria Heritage Database http://vhd.heritage.vic.gov.au/

This is the headline in The Argus of November 12, 1934 about the opening ceremony of the Shrine - you can read the full report in The Argus click here on Trove http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper

Before the Duke of Gloucester dedicated the Shrine, the Premier of Victoria, Sir Stanley Argyle, read the Ode, written by Rudyard Kipling especially for the occasion. The ode was a stately and dignified tribute to the Australian soldiers according to The Argus

Kipling's ode written for the opening of the Shrine - click on the image to enlarge it.

This was published in the Sydney Morning Herald - http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17138809

The Shrine is built of granite, quarried from Tynong. This was a fact that my grandma, who grew up in Tynong, was very proud of! The Visitor Centre which opened in 2003 was also finished in Tynong granite, sourced from a quarry close to the original one.

 The Argus of November 14, 1928 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article3968930

This is a not very clear photograph of the Tynong Quarry - so here is a  transcription of the headline and caption. Click on the picture to get a better view.

Headline: GRANITE FOR AN EVERLASTING SHRINE.

Caption: Certain that the people of the State will approve fully, the National War Memorial Committee has now decided that the Shrine of Remembrance shall be built, not of freestone, which is subject to weathering, but of granite, the most lasting of structural materials. Beautiful silver-grey granite of an eminently suitable kind is available at Tynong, in Gippsland, and workmen are shown in the photograph hewing the blocks of granite from the hillside. Inset:-A fine heap of granite blocks ready for dressing. They measure from six cubic foot upwards.

Aerial of the Shrine of Remembrance, c.1946.

State Library of Victoria Image H2009.12/48

A life beyond the trenches by Mavis Martin

As silence descended over the battlefields of Europe the 11th November 1918, soldiers laid down their weapons to prepare for their homeward journey and civilian life. Henry Thomas Williams of the 38th Battalion was one of the thousands of soldiers whose return to civilian life was marred by the memories of the battle field.  This is a story of how he found solace and a new beginning in the rural tranquillity of Iona.

Henry in uniform

Henry Williams was the cousin of my grandmother, May Rogers, and he enlisted on the 26th January 1917 in the 38th Battalion, aged 33 years.  His unit embarked from Melbourne, on board HMAT Ballarat on the 19th February 1917 and returned to Australia 22nd August 1919. He saw action in France wading through the muddy trenches that ulcerated his legs.

Henry and his bungalow at Little Road, Iona

Henry, like so many soldiers, never spoke of his experiences as he returned to civilian life as a cleaner at Mrs Dauber’s hotel in Lygon Street Carlton. Henry and alcohol became inseparable partners as he tried to erase the memories of war. His decision to seek solace in the country and live with us was beneficial to him as the strongest brew he then drank was coffee. Although he could not reform from every bad habit as the interior of his bungalow was always haze of cigarette smoke.

 Henry like so many soldiers overcame the adversity of war and settled into civilian life. They never forgot the mates that they left behind on the battlefield just as we will always remember their sacrifice.

Henry died aged 78 in 1961 and is buried at the Bunyip Cemetery. Every ANZAC day and Remembrance day we commemorate his memory by placing a token of the soldier’s sacrifice, an Anzac badge or a poppy, on his grave.

Henry working on the farm with Dick Rogers. 

Cora Lynn War Memorial

The Cora Lynn War Memorial was unveiled on Wednesday, February 22 1922. According to a report in the Pakenham Gazette of March 10, 1922  (reproduced left) the attendance was large, in spite of the showers which fell incessantly.The stone and the machine gun was unveiled by Cr Groves, M.L.A.  I don't know what happened to the machine gun but the memorial is still at Cora Lynn.

 There are nineteen names on the memorial for soldiers from the First World War.  I have researched their service number (SN) so if you are interested in finding out more about these soldiers you can look up their full service record on the National Archives of Australia site or their records on the Australian War Memorial site. I have also included their connection to Cora Lynn or the surrounding area.

Here are the soldiers -
Clarkin, William. Service Number (SN 1522). William was born at Bunyip and enlisted at Tynong on  December 7, 1914 at the age of 21. He died of wounds in France on August 26, 1916. His next of kin was listed as his brother L. Clarkin of Iona, although an annotation on his Attestation paper says it is his eldest brother, John Clarkin of Garfield.

Doherty, Edward Francis  (SN  1218)  Listed as F. Doherty on the memorial and known as Frank. Frank enlisted on  March 9, 1915 at the age of 26. Frank was Killed in Action on August 4, 1916.
Doherty, Louis Michael (SN 12392).  Louis enlisted at the age of 21 on July 17, 1915. Louis returned to Australia in May 30,  1919. Frank and Louis were the sons of John Doherty, Veterinary Surgeon of  Nine Mile Road, Tynong.  Both of the men also had their occupation listed as farmer.

Evans, Harry  (SN 5589). Harry enlisted at Warragul in March 1916 at the age of 37. Harry was from  Cora Lynn and his wife Edith Minnie was listed as his next of kin. He embarked from Melbourne on September 25, 1916 on the HMAT Shropshire A9 and returned to Australia on December 31, 1916 having suffered continually form measles and pneumonia. He was discharged from the Army on February 12, 1917.

Fritz, L –This is Leslie James Fritsch* (SN 2661). Leslie enlisted on July 19, 1915 at the age of 21. He left Australia in October 1915, was invalided back to Australia in April 1916 and died of diabetes on July 16, 1916. He was born in Prahran and at the time of enlistment his mother was living in Warrnambool. His occupation was farm labourer and he was obviously working at Cora Lynn at the time of his enlistment, as the article below attests.

Bunyip Free Press September 30, 1915

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article129630905

Holian John Mildred. (SN 16160)  John enlisted at the age of 22 on December 13, 1915. He was a farmer from Cora Lynn. His next of kin  was his father, Patrick Holian, also a Cora Lynn farmer. John Returned to Australia February 7, 1919.

Huey  John Robert. (SN 3168). John was born at Castlemaine and enlisted at Warragul at the age of 30 on November 24,  1916. His occupation was listed as a labourer and he lived at Cora  Lynn at the time of enlistment. His next of kin was his friend, Mrs Mary Ann Jones of Carlton. John Returned to Australia on June 30, 1918 and was discharged on medical grounds in the October due to Debility, Bronchial catarrh and he had also suffered from paratyphoid and enteric fever.

Jeffers  Raymond Alva (SN 6290). Ray was born at Strathbogie and enlisted at the age of 23 on  May 25, 1916. He was a Cora Lynn farmer and the son of Alexander Jeffers, also a Cora Lynn farmer. Lieutenant Jeffers was awarded the Distinguished Conduct medal and the Military medal. He was in France until at least May 1919 and arrived home in Australia later that year. After the War he moved to Dandenong and spent seventeen years (1946 - 1963)  as a Councillor with the Dandenong Shire and City of Dandenong and was Shire President and Mayor.  You can read an interview in the Dandenong Journal with his his daughter, Mrs Wilma Coleman, here.

Cora Lynn War Memorial

Image: Heather Arnold

Johnson, Charles Tudor  (SN 588).   Tudor, as he was known, was 19 when he enlisted on November 7, 1914. He was a farmer who lived at Cora Lynn and his next of kin was his mother,  Mrs Fanny (nee Bickford) Johnson, of Cora Lynn. Tudor had already attended Dookie Agricultural College when he enlisted, which he did  at Enoggera in Brisbane. His father was Henry George Johnson who for some reason was not listed as the next of kin, as generally fathers are more likely to be the official  next of kin than mothers.  Tudor Returned to Australia on December 23, 1918.

Kinsella, Bertram Michael  (SN 3056)  Bertram was a 29 year old farmer when he enlisted on July 12, 1915. He was Killed in Action September 25, 1917.
Kinsella, Norman Francis  (SN 920).  Norman, who was also a farmer, enlisted at the age of 19 on May 26, 1915. Norman returned to Australia after his overseas service on May 3, 1919. Bertram and Norman were half brothers, the sons of Michael Kinsella - Bertram from his first wife, Eliza Findlay (died 1890); and Norman by his second wife Susan Lockens.

Milligan, Joseph Lewellen (SN 5376)  Joseph enlisted at the age of 21 on March 8, 1916, he was a 21 year old farm hand of Cora Lynn.  His mother was Kathleen Milligan, also of Cora Lynn, was his next of kin. Her name was sometimes listed as Catherine. His father was James Milligan.  Joseph was Killed in Action on February 23, 1917.

Murdoch, Arthur Charles (SN 2634). Arthur was born at Iona but was living in Brighton at the time of his enlistment on October 29, 1917. He was 19 years old and a motor driver.  Arthur Returned to Australia August 22, 1919.  George Murdoch, his father,  owned the Cora Lynn store from 1907 until 1922.

Pederson, Nils  (SN 1249). Nils was born in Norway and was working as a farm labourer at Cora Lynn at the time of his enlistment on February 24, 1915.  He was 21 years old and his next of kin was his father who lived in Norway.  He was Killed in Action in France on September 1, 1918. In his will, dated July 13, 1917, he left everything to Miss Nellie Jeffers of Cora Lynn. Nellie was the sister of Ray Jeffers, above, so I wondered if he was working for the Jeffers. However, also in his file was a letter from Miss Corrie Anderson asking about her friend, Nils, so maybe he was working for the Andersons.  Corrie later married Dan Kinsella, a brother of Bertram and Michael, above.

Corrie Anderson's letter about Nils Pedersen

National Archives of Australia www.naa.gov.au 

First Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1914-1920

Rigby, William Alexander  (SN 2350). A farmer from Mayfield  Cora Lynn, William enlisted on August 16, 1916 at the age of 21.  His next of kin was his father, Isaac Rigby,  also from Mayfield, Cora Lynn. William Returned to Australia on May 12, 1919.

Roper, Thornton Graham  (SN 61922). Thornton was a 20 year old motor mechanic from Cora Lynn and he enlisted on June 24, 1918. His father, James Roper, also from  Cora Lynn was his next of kin, Thornton did get sent overseas and Returned to Australia January 4, 1919.

Scanlon, Joseph Bernard  (SN 3452)  Joseph enlisted on May 9, 1916. He was 21 years old and a labourer. He Returned to Australia on July 5, 1919. Joseph also served in the Second World War from June 1940 to May 1944, in the World War Two Nominal roll it says that he was born July 2, 1900, which only makes him 16 when he enlisted in the Great War, however the Index to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages have him listed as being born 1895, so it seems he knocked 5 years off his age in 1940!
Scanlon, Thomas  (SN 505)  Thomas was 21 when he enlisted on January 12, 1915. He was a farmer. Thomas was awarded the Military medal. He Returned to Australia on April 5, 1919.  They are also listed in some official records with the surname Scanlan. They were the sons of William and Ellen Scanlon of Cora Lynn  one newspaper report in a local paper says they were from Scanlons Drain, Cora Lynn.

Smith, Beith.  (SN 1436)  His first name was also listed as Bert and Berth in some documents but I believe that Beith is correct. He was Killed in Action May 9 or May 10 in 1915 at Gallipoli.  I had a hard time finding who B. Smith actually was until I  found out that Beith enlisted at Tynong on September 21, 1914, aged 19. The Attesting Officer was William Carney, Shire of Berwick President. His occupation was listed as a labourer. He was born at Rochford, near Kyneton and that is where his father lived.

According to Australian ANZACs in the Great War 1914-1918 website there is another soldier from Cora Lynn, but for some reason he is not on the War Memorial.
Thomas, James Matthew (SN 6109). James was born in Bendigo and enlisted in Melbourne on March 18, 1916 but on the Nominal roll his address on enlistment was Cora Lynn and his occupation was labourer. His next of kin was his Guardian, Mrs Higgins of North Melbourne. He was 37 when he enlisted and he Returned to Australia on June 2 1919.

*Thank you to Lynne Bradley of the Narre Warren & District Family History Group www.nwfhg.org.au  for discovering the identity of L. Fritz. It's great that we can give him his proper identity. 

Sister Florence Vines - Army nurse

More than 3,000 Civilian nurses volunteered for service during the Great War and I wondered if any came from this area - so I went to Trove and typed in the keywords  'nurses' and 'Berwick', filtered the results down to the 1910 to 1919 period and came upon this article in a January  1919 South Bourke and Mornington Journal.

South Bourke & Mornington Journal  January 9, 1919  page 2.

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article66195348

So, now I knew that Sister Vines from Berwick had served in the War, but what else could we find out about her? I looked up the Electoral Rolls on Ancestry Family History database and found this entry for Sister Vines in the 1914 roll and discovered her first name was Florence. 

Then I did another search on Trove with the key words 'Vines', 'Shepton' and 'Berwick' to try to find out what Shepton was - I thought it may have been the name of a house - but then I found this advertisement which was in  Berwick Shire News  from January to March 1914, which told us that Sister Vines  operated a private hospital in Berwick with Sister Duigan and  the hospital was called Shepton.

Berwick Shire News March 4,  1914

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article89083297

The next step was to find out about  Florence Vine's war service and the National Archives of Australia (www.naa.gov.au) was the place to look, as they have digitised all the service records of Australian who served in the Great War. Florence joined the Australian Army Nursing Service at the age of 29 on June 25, 1915. Her birth pace is listed as Geelong and it also tells us that she did her nursing training at the Ballarat Hospital. She left Australia on July 17, 1915 on the HMAT Orsova. Sister Vines suffered from various illnesses including dysentry and attacks of rheumatic fever and returned to Australian in 1916 to convalesce, went back on active service and left Australia again on June 12, 1917 for Salonika (now Thessaloniki) in Greece but was finally invalided back to Australia in April 1918.

This is Florence's enrolment paper  to join the Australian Army Nursing Service, from her service record at the National Archive (www.naa.gov.au)

What else do we know about Sister Vines? She was the twelfth and last child of Joshua Vines and Mary Nicholls and was born in Geelong in 1885. Her own mother, Mary,  died ten years later at the age of 51 and her father died at the age of 72 in 1906. After the War I have traced Florence through the Electoral Rolls (available on Ancestry)  and it appears that she didn't return to live in Berwick but lived around Malvern, Armadale and Balaclava. In the 1924 rolls she is listed as living with her sister, Blanche, and her occupation is listed  as a Chiropodist (now called a Podiatrist). Florence remained  a Chiropodist until she retired. She died in 1979 at the age of 94.

Finally, we are lucky enough to have a photograph of Florence Vines. This is a photograph of  members of the Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS) most of whom embarked from Australia on the Orsova during July 1915, outside the Ivanhoe Hotel in London, taken about 1916. Florence Vines is on the third row, second from left.  

Australian War Memorial Image P03968.002    www.awm.gov.au

War Herald (web site)

There is an interesting resource developed by Cheryl Ward, called War Herald. This is how Cheryl describes her website - War and empire in Australian newspapers - one hundred years ago, today.  Looking back, the course of history appears inevitable, but how was it seen by the men and women of 1914? War Herald is generated from a daily search of Australian newspapers on Trove.

Cheryl has selected articles from newspapers around Australia from 100 years ago and they form a countdown to the Great War. http://throughtheselines.com.au/war-herald You can subscribe by email so the stories from 100 years ago drop into your inbox on a daily basis.

Cheryl Ward is a playwright who has written a play, Through these lines,  based on the letters and diaries of First World War nurses. The War Herald is a research tool for Cheryl's play. There is more information about the play on the website, http://throughtheselines.com.au/, but it does appear that the play is only touring New South Wales this year. More than 3,000 Civilian nurses volunteered for service during the Great War and in the next blog post we will look at the life of Sister Florence Vines from Berwick.