Harkaway Memorial Stone and Avenue of Honour

A Memorial stone to the Great War personnel was unveiled at Harkaway on Anzac Day in 1959, by Cr George Rae. The stone is at the southern end of the Harkaway Avenue of Honour and was instigated by Army Nurse, Jessie Traill, who wanted a permanent memorial stone.  Over 100 people were in attendance to see the stone unveiled including two of the soldiers, Alf Edmonson, who was living in Cheltenham,  and Alex McNabb,  who was living in Berwick. (Information from  Early Days of Berwick)  The Avenue was planed in 1919 and consisted of 29 Red Flowering Gums (Eucalyptus ficifolia).  This post is a list of the names on the Memorial stone, including their Service Number (SN) so you can read their full record on the National Archives of Australia website, www.naa.gov.au

This is the Harkaway Memorial Stone. 

Photograph courtesy of Casey Cardinia Remembers http://www.caseycardiniaremembers.org.au/

Traill, Jessie  When the War broke out, Jessie want to England and joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment and nursed in a military hospital in Rouen, France from 1915 until 1919. After the War, she lived in Harkaway and had a distinguished career as an artist. You can read my blog post on her here and her entry in the Australian Dictionary of Biography here.

Coote, Thomas Hugh (SN 4999) Thomas was born in Ireland and enlisted on January 13, 1916 at the age of 19. He was a farmer and his next of kin was his father, James, of Harkaway. Thomas was Wounded in Action in April 1918 (gun shot wound in left shoulder, penetrating chest was the bland description in his file) and Returned to Australia July 31, 1918 and was discharged on medical grounds on November 16, 1918. Thomas was granted  a Soldier Settlement farm at Rapanyup on his return. You can read about it here on the Battle to Farm: WW1 Soldier Settlement Records in Victoria website.

Cunningham, S - There is an S. Cunningham on the Memorial Stone, I am not sure who this is. It is possibly  Claude Sydney Cunningham (SN 1246) Claude was a 24 year old farmer and his next of kin was his mother, Emma, of Narre Warren sometimes listed as Narre Warren East. He enlisted on March 18, 1916 and Returned to Australia April 30, 1919.
The blog Noble Sons: Harkaway in the Great War suggests that S. Cunningham is Selwyn Bruce Cunningham (SN 7471) Selwyn enlisted on July 2, 1917 at the age of 19. He was  a farmer and his next of kin was his father, Reverend William Richard Cunningham, of The Manse, Korumburra. Selwyn Returned to Australia January 14, 1919. What is Selwyn's connection to Harkaway? There is a report in the South Bourke and Mornington Journal in July 1920 that the Reverend Cunningham had purchased a property in Harkaway. A report in the Dandenong Advertiser of March 18 1937 on the 80th anniversary of the Berwick Presbyterian Church said that William was the Minister there from 1921 to 1925 and William and his wife Amy are listed  in the Electoral Rolls at Berwick in 1924.

Davidson, J  There is a J. Davidson listed on the Memorial Stone. We know that he had  a farewell at the Harkway Hall in August 1915, at the same time as  Robert Munro, Robert Haysey and one of the Fleer brothers (see article below under Robert Munro's entry) and we also know that he was sick in August 1915 (see article immediatley below). What I don't know is who he actually is. I can't find a J.W Davidson with a connection to Harkaway or any neighbouring area. If you know who is he, then I would love to hear from you.

Berwick Shire News September 1, 1915

Trove http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article92093269

Dean, Henry (SN 5585)  Henry enlisted at the age of 29 on February 26, 1916. He was a labourer and his next of kin was his father, Thomas, of Harkaway. In August 1918 he was wounded by machine gun fire - a gun shot wound to the left wrist, smashing several carpal bones and another gun shot wound to the buttock, penetrating the thigh - once again the bland description does not give any indication of the horror of the wound.  Henry Returned to Australia on November 20, 1918.
Dean, Herbert Leslie (SN 570)  Herbert was 23, a labourer, when he enlisted on February 22, 1916. His next of kin was his mother, Sarah Dean of Harkaway. Lance Corporal Dean Returned to Australia on January 25, 1919.
Henry and Herbert were brothers, the sons of Thomas and Sarah (nee Meara) Dean. Sarah died  in April 1918 and a short obituary in the Dandenong Advertister (you can read it here) said that she was of an exceedingly kind and generous disposition and that she had two daughters and seven sons. Three of her sons are on active service abroad.  From the the death notice of Thomas in The Argus of April 11, 1924 and the Indexes to the Births, Deaths and Marriages we can establish that Thomas and Sarah had thirteen children - Frederick Thomas (born 1874, birth registered at Elmore), Annie (1876 Elmore), Sarah Jane (1878 - 1879, ten months old, Diggora), John (Rochester, died 1965, aged 83, hence born c. 1882), James (1882 Elmore), Henry (1885, Rochester), William (1887 Elmore), Arthur Alfred (1889 - 1890, seven months old, Elmore), Joseph Leonard (1891 - 1891, two months old, Elmore), Albert Edward (1891 - 1891, 2 months old, Elmore), Herbert Leslie (1892 Moama), Sydney (1894 Moama) and Ruby (1896 Moama).
 I can't work out who the other son was that enlisted, as there is also a J. Dean on the Memorial stone, it's possible that it was either John or James, but I can't find a matching record for them or any of the other sons.   I have found another possible candidate, a James Dean, born c. 1874, see below, so he was not the son of Thomas and Sarah, but he lived locally, so the address fits.
Dean, James (SN 2999)  James was 42 when he enlisted an May 31, 1916, he was a market gardener from Narre Warren North and his next of kin was his wife, Francis. He Returned to Australia on March 28, 1919.  James was granted a  Soldier Settlement farm after the War, you can read about it here.

Drummond, Daniel George (SN 3082)  Daniel enlisted on  July 12, 1915 at the age of 27, he was a farmer and his next of kin was his mother, Margaret,  of Officer.  He married Annie Hopkirk in Scotland before he Returned to Australia April 13, 1919.  Daniel was granted a Soldier Settlement farm, you can read about it here.
Drummond, William John (SN 2902)    William enlisted on January 31, 1916 at the age of 29. He was a baker and his next of kin was his father, William Peter Drummond of Harkaway. He Returned to Australia on September 5, 1919. William was also a Soldier Settlement farm, you can read his file here.
Daniel and William are the sons of William and Margaret (nee Duncan).  Daniel was born in Mitta Mitta and William, was born in the neighbouring town of Eskdale
Drummond, J  There is also a J. Drummond on the Memorial stone - not sure who he is. Daniel and William, also had another brother, Walter Neil Drummond (SN 2571) who enlisted at the age of 18 on June 28, 1915. He was a Blacksmith and had been born in Eskdale. His next of kin was listed as his father, William, of Officer. I presume that William and Margaret moved from Officer to Harkaway in 1916. Walter Returned to Australia April 13, 1919.

Edmondson, Alfred (SN 5493) Alfred enlisted on March 4, 1916, he was a 31 year old farmer and his next of kin was his father, John, of Harkaway.  Alfred Returned to Australia on July 22, 1917 and was medically discharged in November 1917. Alf was present at the unveiling of the Memorial stone in 1959.

Fleer, Cyril August (SN 6263) Cyril was an 18 year old farm hand when he enlisted on May 5, 1916. His next of kin was his mother, Martha, of Harkaway.  Cyril suffered from trench feet, a condition caused by prolonged exposure to water in the trenches which led to swollen feet, blisters, ulcers and even gangrene. He Returned to Australia on April 5 1918.
Fleer, Harold Edward (SN 3112) Harold was Cyril's brother he was also 18 when he enlisted on July 12, 1915. His next of kin was his father Edward of Harkaway and both Edward and Martha gave consent for their son to sign up.  Harold Returned to Australia on April 13, 1919.
Cyril and Harold were descendants of German born pioneer, Carl Fleer, you can read more about him and the other German settlers at Harkaway, here.

Glover, Francis Robert Dean (SN 50059)  Francis enlisted on November 24, 1917. He was 19 and his  occupation was listed as Station hand and his next of kin was his uncle, George Lyon, of Harkaway. There is a letter in his file, from his mother, Edith Glover, who lived in Sydney asking why she was not listed as his next of kin. George Lyon had signed a paper saying that Francis was adopted by him when he was a child and that Francis' father was dead. Francis is the first cousin of Charles Lyon listed below. He served in France and Returned to Australia January 18, 1919. Correspondence in his file showed that in 1938 he was the Station Manager at Carriewerloo Station in Port Augusta, a long way from the rolling hills of Harkaway. As a matter of interest, Carriewerloo Station was where the 1975 film, Sunday too far away, starring Jack Thompson, was filmed.

Halleur, Clarence (SN 1026)  Clarence was 18 years old and a labourer when he enlisted on March 8, 1915. He was born in Harkaway and his next of kin was his mother, Christina. He Returned to Australia April 27, 1919.  Clarence was the son of Rudolph Ernest and Christina (nee Dugard) Halleur also of Harkaway.

Haysey, Robert Ellsmere  (SN 2588) Robert enlisted on May 17, 1915, he was 20 years old and an orchardist. His next of kin was his mother, Anne, of Narre Warren North.  Robert was awarded the Croix de Guerre by the King of the Belgians in February 1918. He Returned to Australia May 30, 1919.

Irwin, James Purser (SN 5035)
Irwin, Horace Mark (SN 967)
Irwin,  Walter Gray (SN 968)
I have done a post on the Irwin brothers in this blog before, part of a series of Brothers who enlisted, you can read about them here.

Lyon, Charles Hugh (SN 412) Charles was the first cousin of Francis Glover, listed above. His  next of kin was his father, George, of Harkaway. He enlisted at the age of 26 on October 13, 1914 in Walebung in Western Australia. Lieutenant Lyon was Killed in Action in Palestine on November 7, 1917.  Charles' mother, Kate, wrote a letter to the Army on December 1, 1917  Lieutenant C.H Lyon is our  only son. The news of his being 'Killed in Action' came direct to me, according  to our dear sons own wish his father being over 70 we did not want him to hear the news unawares. Is it possible for us to ascertain where in Palestine he was killed?  We regret the  country has lost another  of its brave defenders but his place is already filled by our young nephew and adopted son who enlisted last week and hopes to be as true a soldier as his cousin has been since the beginning of the War. 
Charles attended Geelong College and they have  a tribute to him on their website, you can access it here.

McNabb, Alexander (SN 4166) Alexander  was a 25 year old Engineer and he enlisted on December 13, 1915. His next of kin was his father, Donald, of Harkaway. Alex Returned to Australia  December 22, 1918. Alex was present at the unveiling of the Memorial stone in 1959.

Munro, Robert (SN 6542, incorrectly listed as 65421 in the National Archives) Robert's occupation was Quarrry man  and he served as a Sapper, a military engineer, who constructed bridges, trenches, depots, roads etc.  He was 25 when he enlisted on June 5, 1915 and his next of kin was his wife, Ettie, of Berwick. Lance Corporal Munro Returned to Australia April 13, 1919.

The farewell to Robert Munro, Robert Haysey, J Davidson and either Cyril or Harold Fleer was held at the Harkaway Hall on Saturday, August 14, 1915.

 This report was in the Berwick Shire News of August 18, 1915. You can read the full article at http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article92090128

Wanke, Arthur Robert (SN 1427)  Arthur enlisted on March 11, 1916, he was a 27 year old carpenter. Arthur was Wounded in Action on three occasions - Gun shot wound left thigh, Gun shot wound hand and Gun shot wound right leg - as I have said before, the banal description of the wounds does nothing to indicate the severity of them.  He Returned to Australia December 12, 1918.
Wanke, Frederick William  (SN 6379)   Frederick enlisted on April 28, 1916, he was a 26 year old farmer. Frederick Died of Wounds, whilst  fighting in France on May 17, 1918.
Arthur and Fredrick were the sons of Emmanuel and Bertha  Wanke of Harkaway. Emmanuel (also spelt Immanuel) was the son of Ernst Gottlob Wanke and his wife Pauline (nee Schurmann) who settled in Harkaway in 1853. Bertha Wanke was an Aursich, and thus from another pioneering German Harkaway family. You can read more about these early German settlers, here.

Part of a tribute to Fred Wanke from the Dandenong Advertiser of July 4, 1918. 

You can read the full tribute at http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article88817395

Way, Leslie Gordon (SN 4547) Leslie enlisted on January 20, 1916, he was a 23 year old farmer and his next of kin was his father, Edward, of Harkaway. Leslie was gassed on two occasions and he Returned to Australia on March 31, 1919. Leslie was granted a Soldier Settlement farm at Derrinallum, you can read his file here on the Battle to Farm website.

The establishment of some local Red Cross units

During the Great War, many of the women in the local community spent their time raising funds and working for the War Effort through organisations such as the Red Cross.  The Cranbourne Red Cross was established at  a meeting held on August 17 1914. The South Bourke and Mornington Journal of August 27 1914 reported on this meeting A meeting of the ladies of Cranbourne was convened by Mrs A. Nash...and it was decided to work for the Red Cross Society.  Mrs Nash had already collected 20 pounds in monetary donations and most of this had been spent on material that her 60 to 70 enthusiastic workers would make up into shirts and socks etc. The items were then forwarded to Red Cross Headquarters in Melbourne where they were shipped off  to the seat of war where they will be used for the benefit of Australian, British and troops of the allies. You can read the full article on Trove,  here.

Mrs A. Nash was Mary Maud Nash wife of Albert, who owned the grazing property Ballarto at Cranbourne. Maud was well connected. She was the daughter of  Theodotus Sumner and his wife Sarah (nee Peers). Her sister Annie was married to James Grice, who was the brother of Richard Grice, land owner in Berwick and Cranbourne, after whom Grice's Road is named - you can read about him here and another sister, Alice, married Charles Ryan - they were the parents of Lady Casey who owned Edrington at Berwick - you can read about Lady Casey here. In spite of being socially well connected it doesn't seem like it was  'happy families' all the time as there was a family dispute over Theodotus Sumner's will - you can read about this here.

Back to the Red Cross - the Berwick Red Cross was also established by the women who were socially prominent (or their husbands or fathers were).  I am not denigrating them at all by saying that, but the reality of life was that at the time, women who came from solid middle class households would likely to have had a good education, have good connections in the town and more spare time to devote to community causes than poorer women. The early records of the Berwick Red Cross were destroyed in a house fire, but I believe it started around September 1914 and it is still going, which is  a remarkable achievement. The Berwick Shire News has a report of the Berwick Shire Council meeting of  September 12 1914 and amongst the correspondence was a letter from Lady Stanley asking for the co-operation of the Council in forming a branch of the British Red Cross Society. The action was listed as 'Attended to'  [Lady Stanley was the wife of the Victorian Governor]

The original members of the Berwick Red Cross (pictured below in front of Kippenross House) were President Mrs Scott Sharp, Secretary Mrs A.E Thomas, Mrs L.D Beaumont, Mrs W. Wilson, Mrs C. Griffiths, Mrs J.B Pearson and Mrs John Brown. As is quite common in reporting from times past women were referred to by their husband's names - Scott Alexander Sharp is listed in the Electoral Rolls as a grazier and his wife is Beatrice May (nee Wimble); Mrs A.E Thomas is the wife of Albert Thomas the founder of the Berwick Shire News which later became the Pakenham Gazette, she was born Elizabeth Cox Southern.  Mrs Lewellyn David Beaumont was Ellie Buchanan, daughter of the Hon. James Buchanan, M.L.C. and his wife Anne (nee Wilson) The Buchanans lived at Ardblair in Berwick and their son Norman was one of the authors of Early Days of Berwick. He writes about his parents in the book.  Mrs W. Wilson was the wife of William Wilson (1860-1936) the owner of the Wilson Quarry. She was Anne Buchanan, a sister of Ellie Beaumont. Mrs C. Griffiths was the wife of Dr Christopher Griffiths and was born Annie Lawry Parkes. Mrs J.B Pearson was the wife of  John Benward Pearson, a grazier, who built Kippenross House  (now part of St Margarets School) in 1911. She was born Olive Gooch and married John, who was the son of William Pearson, M.L.C., in November 1895. Finally Mrs John Brown was the wife of the Berwick Shire Rate Collector. I believe she was Frances Elizabeth Barr, but that's all I know about her.

This fantastic photograph of the original seven members of the Berwick Red Cross comes from the book Berwick Nostalgia:  a pictorial history of Berwick, published by the Berwick-Pakenham Historical Society in 2001. 

The Pakenham Red Cross was formed at a  meeting held on November 26, 1915. You can read the report on the South Bourke and Mornington Journal of December 9, 1915 here. The meeting was convened by Cr Close who started the meeting by saying that all the other townships in the Shire of Berwick had their Red Cross branches and it was time for Pakenham to fall into line and do what it could, as a town, to help those who are so nobly serving their King and Country at the Front. Office bearers were Mrs Greenwood, President; Mrs Wilson, Secretary and Miss Cissie Hagens, Treasurer. The Committee were Mesdames Close, Chisholm, Maher, Ritchie, White and the Misses Thewlis and Mulcahey.

Once again I will try to give these women a name - Cr Close and Mrs Close were William and Agnes, he was a grazier. Mrs Alice Greenwood was the wife of Auctioneer, Arthur Greenwood. I don't know who Mrs Wilson was and Cissie Hagens may be the sister of Marie and Louise Hagens, both listed in the 1914 Electoral rolls as being teachers, or else Cissie might be her nick name and she may actually be either Marie or Louise. Mrs Chisholm is presumably Alice Chisholm, wife of James, a grazier. Mrs Maher is possibly Bridget Maher, the wife of local policeman, Stephen. The Mahers had three sons serving overseas - you can read about them here. Mrs Ritchie may be Elizabeth Ritchie, wife of William. I don't have any information on Mrs White. Miss Thewlis would be the daughter of James and Susannah Thewlis and the sister of Syd Thewlis, who was a Berwick Shire Councillor. Miss Mulcahey  (more likely spelt Mulcahy)  would be connected to early Pakenham landowner, Thomas Mulcahy.


The Koo-Wee-Rup Red Cross was formed on July 7, 1915. It is still going and you can read a history of the Unit, written by long serving member Don Jewell,  here.

 This is a Red Cross Rally in Koo-Wee-Rup, in front of the Royal Hotel which opened September 1915, so this is probably 1916 or 1917.

Photo: Koo-Wee-Rup Swamp Historical Society

I don't know when the Lang Lang Red Cross was established specifically but it was going strong in September 1915. There is an interesting article in the Lang Lang Guardian of September 15, 1915 about the activities of this branch - they are anxious to send Christmas cheer to our boys  and would be glad of donations of tobacco, tooth brushes, bought puddings (as these pack better), cake, biscuits, lollies, and games of any kind, handkerchiefs, or small presents for the boys of whom we are all so
proud.  They also wanted to fill some billies and send them to the soldiers with something to eat, something to smoke, something to use and something to amuse. 

Lang Lang Guardian  September 15, 1915

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article119512872

Beaconsfield Avenue of Honour: Servicemen remembered - now online

We have spoken about the book Beaconsfield Avenue of Honour: Servicemen remembered before in this blog (click here for the link) and the good news is that this book is now fully available on-line on the Beaconsfield Progress Association's new website - this is the direct link to the on-line version of the book http://beaconsfield.org.au/beaconsfield-avenue-of-honour/

The book covers the lives of  the 65 men who were honoured with trees in the Beaconsfield/Berwick Avenue of Honour which runs along High Street/Princes Highway, from the top of the hill down to the Cardinia Creek.  This on-line version makes this well researched information even more widely available and, like the trees in the Avenue, is another permanent reminder of the sacrifice that the 65 men and their families from the Beaconsfield area made one hundred years ago.

Some of the entries  have photographs of the soldiers - here are three  of them 

Private Alec May

Source: Beaconsfield Avenue of Honour: Servicemen remembered

Signaller James Adamson

Source: Beaconsfield Avenue of Honour: Servicemen remembered

Private Edward Dineley

Source: Beaconsfield Avenue of Honour: Servicemen remembered

Vincent Daly and his connection to Nar Nar Goon

This copy of  a post card of Vincent Daly was kindly donated to us from the Traralgon and District Historical Society*   We know from the verso of the card that Vincent was Killed in Action in 1916, that he was a  cousin of Tom Fitzgibbon** of Tyers (near Traralgon) and that he had a  connection to the Pakenham district.  Naturally I wanted to know what this connection to the local area was.

I started at the National Archives of Australia to discover the official information from his service record. His Service record (service number 2848) shows that Patrick Vincent Daly enlisted on July 2, 1915 at the age of 19. He was born in Dalyston and his next of kin was his father, also Patrick Daly, of Cloverdale, Dalyston. He had to get permission from his parents to enlist and this means we discovered his mother was Mrs E.C Daly.  Less than one year after he enlisted Vincent (it seems he was known to the family as Vincent rather than Patrick) was Killed in Action in France on May 15, 1916. 

Vincent's obituary from The Advocate of June 10, 1916

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article151747110

So now we know the official information what we need to discover is what his Pakenham District connection is.  I looked up the Index to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages (access this here) and found Vincent was born in 1896 to Patrick James Daly and Elizabeth Catherine Dore. Once I found this out I was pretty sure that Elizabeth must have been connected to the pioneering Dore family of Nar Nar Goon, so then I did a search in the on-line newspapers on Trove and found the article reproduced below about the Will of John Dore, which clearly links Elizabeth Daly to John Dore and thus makes young Vincent John Dore's grandson. Lucky for us that there was no privacy issues 100 years ago and newspapers regularly reported the contents of Wills! I also found the lovely obituary of Vincent in The Advocate, (reproduced above) which gives us a fuller picture of him. 

Elizabeth was the daughter of John and Betty (nee O'Connor) Dore of Mt Ararat at Nar Nar Goon. In 1844, John Dore and Michael Hennessey took up the Mount Ararat Run at Nar Nar Goon of 1,900 acres. The partnership existed until 1855 when Hennessey moved to Dandenong. In the 1860s, Dore purchased the 640 acre Mt Ararat pre-emptive right. He later purchased another 387 acres and his son Thomas 300 acres so they held a total of 1,300 acres. The property was later bisected by the railway line when it was built in 1877. You can read more about  the Dore family here.

When John Dore died in 1895, his son-in-law who was also Vincent's father, Patrick Daly was one of the executor's of his will. John Dore's estate was left as a life interest to his son Patrick and his wife Kate and then after their death to his four daughters including Vincent's mother, Elizabeth Daly. Elizabeth was also left a block of land (it was 26 acres) in the Parish of Wonthaggi, where Dalyston is located.

Table Talk May 24, 1895

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article145921610

*The post card of Vincent is part of the Eva West collection at the Traralgon & District Historical Society.  Eva (1888 - 1969)  became the Assistant Shire Secretary at Traralgon in 1924, and the Shire Secretary in 1935 and held this position until 1946.  She was awarded an MBE in 1958. I found this snippet of information on Trove from the Traralgon Record of December 29, 1916 -  At the Accountancy examinations  recently at the Melbourne University, Miss Eva West, of Traralgon, succeeded in passing  the last of the series of examinations necessary to qualify for admission to the Institute of Accountants, this being the first time that any lady in the State has obtained this qualification.....We heartily congratulate Miss West as right throughout the examination she maintained a position amongst the leading candidates. She was a real pioneer in her field.

**Thanks to Gippsland Historian, Linda Barraclough, for the following information - Tom Fitzgibbon of Tyers, who died in 1974 aged 90, is the son of the Ellen Fitzgibbon nee Dore, also mentioned in the will. A number of other photographs of soldiers in the collection appear to have originated from him, but seem more to be locals at Tyers, rather than family.

Celebrating the Armistice at Emerald in 1918

In this third post looking at how people in this region celebrated the end of the Great War in 1918, we will see how the townsfolk of Emerald marked the occasion. The following article is from the Camberwell and Hawthorn Advertiser of November 22, 1918. The article is on Trove and you can read it here and I have transcribed it, below.  To see how Nar Nar Goon, celebrated the Armistice, click here. To see how the Cranbourne Shire celebrated the Armistice, click here.

Camberwell and Hawthorn Advertiser  November 22, 1918

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article153117290

CELEBRATIONS AT EMERALD

At Emerald on Wednesday evening, November 13, a large number of the residents assembled in the local hall to celebrate the recent signing of the armistice. The gathering was most enthusiastic, and a programme of speeches and patriotic songs was gone through. The meeting opened with the doxology and the National Anthem. Messrs. Fairley and Dombrain spoke to the motion: -  'That this assemblage of Emerald citizens and loyal subjects of the British empire give heartfelt thanks to Almighty God for our deliverance from the enemy, and do express our great joy and delight at the success of the Allies and celebration of peace.' This was carried with acclamation.

Cr. Butcher moved, and Mr. Wilson seconded the following motion: -  'That we proclaim our loyalty to the King.' Further resolutions were also carried as follow: -  On the motion of Cr. Nobelius and Mr. McGibbon - 'That we extend our heartiest congratulations to the army and navy' ; on the motion of Messrs. Simpson and Hall - 'That we express our deepest sympathy with those who have lost relatives in this Great War' ; on the motion of Messrs McGibbon and Pascoe - 'That the best thanks of the meeting be tendered to the ladies of the Emerald Red Cross.'

In speaking to a motion of thanks to he chairman (Cr. Butcher), Cr. Nobelius impressed on the audience the desirability of bearing in mind our obligation to the men at the Front, and of making some fitting recognition of their services when the boys come home. The meeting closed with the National Anthem and cheers for the King.

I was surprised to find an article on Emerald  in the Camberwll and Hawthorn Advertiser, but Emerald was part of the Shire of Fern Tree Gully at the time, so it was more closely connected to the eastern suburbs.

This post looks at how Emerald celebrated the end of the Great War. To see how Nar Nar Goon, celebrated the Armistice, click here. To see how the Cranbourne Shire celebrated the Armistice, click here.

Celebrating the Armistice in the Cranbourne Shire in 1918

We are looking at how people in the area celebrated the end of the Great War.  In this post we will see how the children in the Shire of Cranbourne celebrated the momentous day.  To see how the Nar Nar Goon community celebrated Armistice Day, click here. To see how the people of Emerald celebrated, click here.

There was a full report in the South Bourke and Mornington Journal of December 5, 1918 on the 'great day for juveniles' held to celebrate the signing of the Armistice.   The article is from Trove and you can read the full article here, but I have transcribed it below. It must have been an amazing experience for the children, many of whom would hardly have remembered  the time before Australia was at War and most of whom would have had  a soldier in their extended family.

South Bourke and Mornington Journal December 5, 1918

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article66195176

PEACE CELEBRATIONS.

At Cranbourne

A Great Day for the Juveniles.

To celebrate the signing of the armistice,and the consequent cessation of hostilities between the Allies and their foes, the President of the Cranbourne Shire Council (Cr D. M. McGregor) decided to give a picnic to all the children in the shire on Wednesday, November 27. For this purpose the Shire was divided into three sections, centres being established at Cranbourne, Kooweerup and Lang Lang. The following schools attended at the Cranbourne centre :- Cardinia, Currum Downs, Clyde North, Cranbourne, Devon Meadows, Lyndhurst, Lyndhurst South, Pearcedale and Tooradin; a few children from Clyde were also present.

At 11 a.m. the young folk assembled at the Shire hall, and were lined up in fours to take part in the procession, which was headed by the Langwarrian Military band. The march was down Sladen street, along Codrington and Childers streets and up High street back to the Shire hall. This was well carried out, and the teachers were complimented on the fine display made. 

On returning to the Shire hall the children formed three sides of a hollow square round the Union Jack, which was flying from the recently erected flag-pole. The flag was saluted, the declaration made, and cheers given for our King, our Empire, our Commonwealth, and our own soldier boys. All present solemnly bowed their heads in silent remembrance of the lads who can never come back to us - our honored dead.

The Shire President then gave a short address, briefly stating the reasons for the rejoicings. He then introduced Chaplain Captain Gates, who gave a very interesting address on many phases of the war. The National Anthem and ‘Our Splendid Men’ were sung by the whole assemblage, the band leading the singing.

The children were then marched to the picnic-ground, where they were arranged in rows of fifties. A handsome medallion, bearing the inscription, ‘Shire of Cranbourne. Signing of Armistice, Nov. 11, 1918’ was handed to each child. 

Dinner was served, the good things provided were of first-class quality, and the local caterers, Messrs J. Taylor and J.Thorpe, were complimented, on all sides for the excellent viands supplied. 

After dinner, games and sports were indulged in during the afternoon. Races of all kinds for boys and girls were spiritedly contested and the judges, Messrs Callanan and McKenzie, had their work cut out to separate the winners from the rest. The sports were managed by representatives of the various school committees and teachers, with Mr J. H. White as starter. It was unanimously agreed that the kiddies had had a great afternoon.

Shortly after 4 o'clock all again wended their way to the picnic ground, where tea was  heartily partaken of. After enjoying a splendid meal each child was presented with a bag of sweets. Before dispersing ringing cheers were given for President McGregor for his kindly thoughtfulness in giving the children such an enjoyable time.  The President, in a few words, gracefully acknowledged the compliment. 

The merry-go-round was a great source of pleasure, not only to the juveniles, but also to ‘the children of a larger growth’, many elderly folk seeming to enjoy a ride as much as the little ones. 

The Langwarrin Military band played some very fine selections during the day, and added greatly to the enjoyment of the gathering. 

The picnic was a great success in every way. All the arrangements for the festivities were made by the local committee, of which Mr J. H. White was chairman and Mr D. A. Schulze, hon. secretary. The organization for the day was highly praised. All the details had been carefully planned beforehand, consequently everything worked with the most smoothness. The ladies of the town and district again proved themselves to be willing and efficient workers.

President McGregor was delighted with the success of the day's rejoicing, and no doubt feels exceedingly grateful to all, who in any way, helped to make the event what it truly was - a red letter day in the history of Cranbourne.

In this post we looked at Armistice celebrations in the Cranbourne Shire. To see how Nar Nar Goon celebrated the Armistice, click here. To see how Emerald celebrated the end of the Great War, click here.

Celebrating the Armistice at Nar Nar Goon in 1918

I thought we would have  look at how Armistice Day was celebrated in 1918. In this post we look at celebrations in Nar Nar Goon and in  two other posts we will look at how the Cranbourne Shire celebrated the end of the Great War (click here to read) and how the township of Emerald celebrated the Armistice (click here to read) 

This short article was in the Pakenham Gazette on November 29 1918

Pakenham Gazette  November 29, 1918

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article92152288

The following week's edition (December 6)  had  a full report of the activities. The article is on-line on Trove and you can access the article here and I have provided a transcription, below. The day was highly successful with over 1,000 people attending the event, a huge amount of people, nearly everyone in the district must have attended.

Pakenham Gazette  December 6, 1918

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article92152950

NAR NAR GOON

A PEACE CELEBRATION

Wednesday last was a red letter day in the history of Nar Nar Goon, the occasion being a public demonstration  and picnic in connection with the celebration of peace. 

The day was observed as a public holiday, all business places being closed, and it may be safely asserted that most of the residents of the district not only took part in the demonstration but did their best towards making it a success. 

About a fortnight ago the towns people decided that it was desirable that something should be done to mark their appreciation of the glad news that an armistice had been declared and that there was every indication of an early and lasting peace. An appeal was made for funds to meet the expenses of the celebration, and this met with a most generous response, about £50 being raised. 

Wednesday's event was a credit to the town and district, and it will always be looked back upon with interest. Both young and old entered into the spirit of the day, and as a result everything worked smoothly and all had an enjoyable outing.

The day's proceedings opened with a monster procession, which completely eclipsed anything of the kind ever seen in the district, comprising 130 vehicles and numerous horsemen. A number of the vehicles, including buggies, jinkers and lorries, were nicely decorated with greenery and flowers, and there was a profusion of flags, all the Allies being represented. 

An effigy of the Kaiser, the handiwork of Mr Mappin, of Tynong, was mounted on a horse. This was safe guarded by Master J. Ede, in the character of ‘ John Bull’,  and was a special attraction.

Space will not permit of a description of the various vehicles, but it may be said that all were  attractive, those of Mr E. Oram, representing ‘The Day’ and Mr J. Spencer, representing ‘Peace’ being worthy of special mention.

Amongst those with decorated vehicles were :- Messrs A. Harris, M. Dore, J. Mortimer, J. Mulcare, T. Eves, A. Thorn, J. Kenny, J. Gray, S. Collins, T. Garrett, J. Latta, R. Brooke, T. Grigg, E. Oram, J. Spencer, jun., and J. R. Spencer, the last named driving a fine team of four greys in a buggy. There was also a decorated motor, driven by Mr Donald. Some of the riders were in fancy costume. amongst the number being Miss M Raftis (Ireland) and Master Wadsley (England). 

The procession was formed into line at about 11 o'clock, and, headed by the Richmond Juvenile Brass Band, marched from the township to the place chosen for the day's picnic. 

Four returned soldiers, viz., Ptes. W. Comely, P. Neilsson and H. J. Lennon, of Tynong, and Pte. G. Bjursten, of Cora Lynn, held a prominent position in the procession. 

On arrival at the ground judging took place for prizes in connection with the procession, and the awards were as follows: 

Best decorated vehicle: Mr E. Oram, Tynong, ‘The Day’. 

Best Group: Nar Nar Goon. 

Most original character: Master Ede, Tynong, ‘John Bull’.

Special prize: The Kaiser. 

There were about 1,000 persons on the ground, and a sports programme was carried through, providing plenty of enjoyment for young and old.  A merry-go-round was provided for the children. 

Thanks to the excellent management of the committee and the cordial cooperation of all present, the celebrations throughout were a decided success.

In this post we looked at Armistice celebrations in Nar Nar Goon. To see how the Cranbourne Shire celebrated the end of the Great War,  click here. To see how the Emerald township celebrated the Armistice, click here.