Hurling in 1863
HURLING IN GEELONG: From the pages of the Geelong Chronicle Hurling became hugely popular in Geelong in 1863. The sport had been played in Ireland for many years. A similar game, shinty, was played in Scotland. (more…)
HURLING IN GEELONG: From the pages of the Geelong Chronicle Hurling became hugely popular in Geelong in 1863. The sport had been played in Ireland for many years. A similar game, shinty, was played in Scotland. (more…)
HERR CHRISTOFF THE TIGHTROPE-WALKING WONDER 160 YEARS AGO IN GEELONG: From the pages of the Geelong Chronicle Herr Christoff, the renowned tightrope walker, was one of the star attractions when Gardiner’s American Circus came to (more…)
In 1863, there were two main breweries in Geelong: Volum’s Geelong Brewery, in Corio Street and Powell’s Corio Brewery, in Little Malop Street. Other breweries had come and gone over the previous twenty years or so (more…)
On this day – June 19 1841. Society member, Daryl Wight has selected these two extracts from the pages of The Geelong Advertiser from June 19, 1841 . They give the reader a glimpse into (more…)
BARWON BANK In 2021 the then sale of the 1850s house, ‘Barwon Bank’, in Newtown, overlooking the Barwon River, piqued my interest in both its first owner and also its architect. I already had a (more…)
Mr Grove’s Academy Daryl Wight has researched the life of one of the founder of one of Geelong’s early schools. The schoolmaster, Edmund Deane Grove, was a man of some academic promise but his endeavours (more…)
ARCHERY – No bullseye in Geelong. There were several attempts to establish an Archery Club in Geelong in the early 1860s. In October 1861, John Gatliff, describing himself as Honorary Secretary of the Belmont Archery (more…)
ANCIENT ORDER OF FORESTERS. It was a big year for the Ancient Order of Foresters in Geelong in 1863. Three new branches (called Courts) were established that year – at Belmont, Breakwater and Ashby. The Order (more…)
From the pages of the Geelong Chronicle: ALL SAINTS CHURCH, NEWTOWN All Saints Church, on the corner of Noble and Talbot Streets, Newtown, was opened for Divine worship for the first time on Sunday, 8 (more…)
Sydney investor, briefly owner of Osborne House By Daryl Wight Andrew Sutherland Low (1831-94), was a Sydney factory owner, mining investor and real estate developer, who owned Osborne House, Geelong, for a brief period in (more…)
Transcribed and edited by Daryl Wight This letter is a rare example of a female correspondent writing about squatting life in early Victoria. Unsentimental in tone, Mary Jane Muirhead, wife of squatter, Robert Muirhead, describes day-to-day (more…)
of Yarram Yarram and Osborne House By Daryl Wight Robert Muirhead (1813? – 1862), shepherd and squatter, was born in Stirlingshire, Scotland, son of John Muirhead. He was already ‘accustomed … to the management of sheep’ (more…)