Skip to main content

Bluestone blocks reveal

Last week we explored the controversy and "blame games" when the Ballan Shire Hall was in such disrepair that it required a re-build. 

Plans were drawn up and tenders were submitted. Rigorous debate surrounded the most suitable location for the new hall. Once the dust had settled and the new building opened, the materials for the original building we dumped and forgotten about until a most unfortunate incident brought the bluestone back to life!

Lunchtime, Saturday 26 January 1901. A devastating fire destroyed John Foley’s Plough Inn Hotel at Myrniong, along with the out-houses and 12-stall stables, which is where the fire was alleged to have started.

Reports indicate that an “unhinged tramp” was seen loitering about the stables and possibly knocked over an oil lamp which quickly ignited, resulting in the enormous blaze. Two valuable horses belonging to Mr Tracey, and the pigs in the sty, were all roasted.

The weatherboard hotel was connected to these outbuildings. Strong winds, compounded by the lack of water, prevented any chance of extinguishing the blaze. The Myrniong store and post-office, located directly opposite the Hotel, was threatened with ignition due to the flames licking halfway across the road.

The property was razed to the ground within half an hour. A few prized possessions were bravely saved, namely Mrs Foley’s piano, some furniture and £5 of liquor. The community rallied, offering John the Mechanics’ Insitute to store what possessions he had managed to rescue. The irony of nature was not lost on the day with a heaving downpour later in the afternoon extinguishing any expectation of fire spreading to the surrounding paddocks.

The loss was devastating for the Foleys as they had no insurance. However, John Foley was not going down easily. Within 6 weeks he was lobbying the Shire President to purchase the old Shire Hall building materials for £50. The high regard that John enjoyed in his community encouraged the Shire to accept his offer, even though it was £30 shy of their valuation. (Also, John’s offer was the highest bid they had received, so their kindness was also motivated by fiscal returns! Three months earlier, the offer for the materials was a miserly £20.) The conditions of sale were drawn up, with payment required in cash.

Council’s philanthropic arm did not extend far! Within 4 months, John was begging with Council to waive his stone-weighing charge of 2 shillings per load due to it being a “serious drawback” financially for him. He argued that since the stone had been purchased from the Council, a rebate should be allowed (similar to the recent re-launch of the “cash for cans” program). The Council Engineer indicated that there were a “good many tons” of stone, to which a Councillor responded that this was a matter of “private business” (between Foley and the Council). Foley was instructed to pay the usual charge and to apply for a rebate afterwards.

By early September of the same year, John had made such good progress on the rebuild of his Plough Inn Hotel that he anticipated it to be completed within weeks. The new hotel, with its bluestone walls, was glowingly admired as presenting “a most handsome building, and will greatly improve the appearance of the township”.

And, 123 years on, The Plough maintains her beauty!


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thomas Ryan, 1866

Here we are in September 1866 Mr Thomas Ryan, 35 years old and the current licensee of The Plough Inn Hotel since 1865. He married his bride, Mary Meehan, 4 years later. They purchased Mr Burke’s store, hotel (The Plough Inn Hotel) and adjoining land. Two years later, the Ryan’s first child was born – Michael. Sadly, Michael passed away in October of that same year, aged nine months. In early 1872, the Ryans welcomed another child to their family – Thomas Jnr (more on Junior next week...) Thomas Ryan (Senior) was considered an “old resident” of Myrniong, but not in the chronological sense! He was a fundamental contributor to the establishment of this new and thriving township. He became a Justice of the Peace in 1868 after much contention due to his Irish hereditary and all that this implied politically. He participated in Coroner Inquests for the region, was a member of the Bacchus Marsh and Maddingley Roads Board (a pre-cursor to the local Council), member of the Myrniong Mechanics I
Post a Comment
Read more

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
Post a Comment
Read more

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.
Post a Comment
Read more