The Dore sisters sage

The Dore sisters sage - Part 2

I continue this week with more “Dores” and stories to tantalize your curiosity of all things past, and try to answer “how did we get here?”

Last week we met Margaret Dore, who was William Dunbar’s second wife and mother to five of his children, living in Pentland Hills until her passing in 1878.

Margaret immigrated from Limerick, Ireland with her sister Mary Dore who worked as a housekeeper at Ingleston Station. Mary married Peter McCluskey, who also worked on the Station in 1859, around the same time as her sister and William Dunbar married. Peter purchased acreage known as “Rosehill” and owned this land for many years.

Things were looking good for the Dore sisters in the new colony, however, things started to become unhinged when Mary’s husband Peter was sentenced to the Yarra Bend Lunatic Asylum in late 1871. After 6 months inside, he reportedly escaped, dressed in standard Asylum attire and headed back to Pentland Hills!

He was soon apprehended and, a few months later, applied to have the charge of lunacy revoked – a charge that arose in the first place as a result of his alcohol indulgence. Mary requested that she should be relieved from the responsibilities of acting as his authority – a condition of his release. The Judge for the case requested affidavits from the medical doctor who had certified Peter’s insanity, requiring it to state that he was now sane.

Peter rejoined the community, making his social contributions to the district as Justice of the Peace as well as other duties expected of any well-deserving Esquire. However, Mary had to withstand another McClusky mistake-y!

Follow us next week for the strange and intriguing continuation of this tale.

Comments

Myrniong – buzzing with excitement – welcome to another year

Welcome to the New Year – 2024. We will look back to interesting and inspiring accounts of people who shaped our community and paved the way for the fortunate life we experience today. As we gear up for the new year with freshly sharpened pencils (and maybe a carving knife or two), let's take a stroll down memory lane, precisely 160 years back to 1864. Imagine Myrniong, or as it was fondly called, "Blow's Flat," buzzing with excitement. The talk of the town was The Plough Hotel and Store, considered to be the most valuable location for business in the town, and a fancy "first-class farm" that included 60 fruit trees – all up for grabs as an unreserved sale! The sale was offered by the savvy Mr. Alfred Smith, who strategically claimed land at both entrances to the township, and his business partner, Mr. Charles Marden. The reason for the sale? These two fellows were bidding farewell to the district and going their separate ways. This was just the start of a...

Martin Deveny Part 1 – Martin Senior

Martin Deveny came to Pentland Hills as a 41-year-old after a full and adventurous life in England. After serving in the military for over 17 years as a Private in the 88th Infantry he married Mary Cannon in 1854. Their first son, Patrick, arrived in mid-1856. Early the following year, the family headed to Australia for the 3-month journey, boarding the “Anne Roydon”. They landed in Melbourne in April 1857 and shortly after arrived in Pentland Hills. Martin quickly made connections with the locals, renting land from Robert Lawson before acquiring pastures of his own. He purchased many hundreds of fenced acres in Blackwood and Pentland Hills, as well as acres for the family homes. The family home was eventually settled at “Churchbank” which is still present today, located at what was referred to as “Deveny’s Corner”. Once settled in Pentland Hills, Martin and Mary added another eight children, including one set of twins – their last child being born when Martin was 62 years of age. This...

The Dore sisters saga - Part 3

Last week, our focus shifted to Mary Dore, the second of the Dore sisters, who entered into matrimony with Peter McCluskey, an early Myrniong farmer loaded with idiosyncrasies. In this week’s narrative, we delve further into the accounts of history. Peter McCluskey resettled on his farm at Rosehill, Myrniong, dedicating his efforts to raising shorn ewes and lambs for market. Alongside him stood his brother-in-law, William Dunbar Snr. Peter sold his fenced and improved acreage in the celebrated Pentland Hills, advertised as a parcel of land renowned as the “finest agricultural expanse in the colony”. Yet, the tides of fate took a sudden turn in March 1881, as Peter McCluskey faced the grievous charge of Bigamy—a transgression both unforgivable and typically avoidable, entailing the simultaneous marriage to two individuals. He was arrested by the Bacchus Marsh AND Myrniong police, securing his bail release with a sum totaling £300 along with a further two sureties amounting to £100 each....

Let's dish up some history from The Plough

Search This Blog