Thomas Foster Chuck – Photographer

In 1870 this enterprising photographer began collecting photographs of Victoria’s early settlers. His plan was to produce a single large picture containing the portraits of old colonists who settled here between the years 1835 and 1842. He planned to present the...

A Pioneer Grandmother

This photo is of the pioneer great-grandmother of Leith Landauer, PPPG member No. 1388. Great-grandmother Mrs. Louisa Ellen Tyre Davies, nee Allen, arrived in the Port Phillip District on 18 January 1838 from Sydney, New South Wales. She was just six months old at the...

Melbourne’s Mystery Man George McKillop

In Melbourne’s early days there were two McKillops, one named Alexander, the other George. Both were from Edinburgh, Scotland but were not related. Alexander was a Roman Catholic and in his earlier days had studied at the Vatican for the priesthood. However he...

Brighton Cemetery: ‘Not Just a Lot of Old Bones’

Land was put aside in Caulfield for a new cemetery known as the Brighton General Cemetery in 1853. The first 6 Trustees who were elected in 1854 represented people of the different religious denominations who would be buried in the cemetery: Presbyterians, Catholics,...

Brick Walls and Dead Ends

In researching a family tree, it is necessary to find ways to navigate around ‘dead ends’ and to look for cracks in ‘brick walls.’ In other words as genealogists we need to explore all avenues a do a lot of lateral thinking. One of the biggest...

Mountain Cattlemen

The Bogong High Plains are in north-east Victoria. They occupy an area of 3,800 square kilometres and form part of the Great Dividing Range. There are 10 peaks rising above 1830 metres, with the highest areas being very bleak and inhospitable. In those areas above...