Clyde Railway Employees

In September 1888 the railway line was opened to Tooradin needing personnel to operate the station and maintain the lines. Some on the list below began in Clyde as railway employees and were later promoted to Station Master.

Name	Year	Position
William Sawyer	1893	Station Master
J McDowall	1896	Station Master
George Wm. Griffiths	1896	Station Manager
Abraham Cook	1899-1900	Station Master
William Henry Davenport	1903-05	Station Master
Thomas Costello	1903	Station Master
W. T. Lee	1907	Station Master
Robert b. Meikle	1908	Railway Employee
John McGregor	1908-09	Station Master
Richard James	1911 -12	Station Master
Louis Theodore Schmidt	1912	Assistant Station Master
? Green		Railway Employee
Andrew W McFeeter	1911	Railway Employee
Charles Neumann	1913	Station Master
Leo Reginald Winnell	1914	Railway Employee
F. A O'Donnell	1918	Station Master
Albert I. Robert	1919	Station Master
Percy J Zenner	1920	Station Master
Mr Boyce	1920	Assistant Station Master
Geoffrey Lewis Duncan	1922	Assistant Station Master
Walter Donaldson	1922	Engine Driver
William H Marr	1923-1930	Station Master
James Payne	1923	Railway Employee
Richard Hart	1923	Linesman
George Coombs	1923-1925	Station Master
? Anderson	1924	Station Master - returned soldier
J/F? MCCormack	-1925	Assistant Station Master 15 months
C Only	1925 Nov	Assistant Station Master
Michael J Kelly	1924	Station Master
Gilbert/Harry Shelton	1927-31	Railway Employee
George C R Onley	1927	Railway Employee
William H. Marr	1928	Station Master
David J Hayes	1928- 30	Railway Employee
Kenneth S Matthews	1930-1933	Assistant Station Master
James Meaney	1930-1933	Station Master
Albert Wenn	1928-31	Railway Employee
George E Spencer	1933	Railway Employee
William J Woodhouse	1933	Railway Porter
Wally Evans	1933	Station Staff
C Hammond	1934	Station Master?
Alan G Wenn	1939	Railway Employee
Alexander R Hamilton	1940	Railway Employee
Stewart W Rae	1940	Railway Employee
George Marsh	1940	Engine Driver
Frederick Haar	1941	Railway Employee
David Craig	1943	Railway Employee
William Garrett	1946	Railway Employee
Phillip D Pound	1949	Railway Employee
Kellet ?	1951	Railway Employee
William Boyle	1951	Railway Employee
James W Rourke	1952	Railway Employee
Alan R Teague	1953	Assistant Station Master
Hutchinson	1954	Railway Employee
Alan Collins	1954	Railway Employee
Robert G Stuart	1954	Railway Employee
Martin Butler	1956	Railway Employee
James Delbridge	1957	Assistant Station Master
Hans Rady	1957	Railway Employee
Norman Mapleson	1961	Railway Employee
J Bruni	1963	Railway Employee
Mrs Marie Stuart		Station Master

Referring to TROVE newspaper accounts, the Primary School Roll, correspondents, and "A Clyde History" (1978) we've put together this list of many who lived in Clyde and worked on the Great Southern Railway from 1893 to 1981.


Sources
1. Online (TROVE) Newspapers: The Age The Argus,The Dandenong Journal, South Bourke and Mornington Journal,
2. Geo Wm Giffiths South Bourke and Mornington Journal 30 Sep 1896
3. Primary School Rolls, 118 and 3664
4. A Clyde History
5. Electoral Rolls, 1903, 1909, 1912
6. Municpal Directories, 1893, 1899
7. Editors' knowledge

Cranbourne Shire Councillors and Justices of the Peace

Shire Councillors (Cranbourne Shire)

	Member	Shire President or    other role
Alexander Patterson	1860-1873	1872-1873
Edward Malloy	1860-1865 1867-1869
John Falla Dumaresque	1867-1884	Clerk, Treasurer, Surveyor
William Sykes	1873-1876
Thomas Patterson	1875-1881
John Denham Patterson	1888-1889
Richard Grice	1894-1899	1898-99
Henry Clarke Sharp	1898-1903
Frank Brumby	1905-1909	1908-1909
William Hardy	1909-1921	1914-15
Robert Herkes	1910-1916	1915-16
Cyril Croskell	1922-1925 1928-1931	1924-25
John Derrick	1927-1929
Robert Campbell	1931-5193	1937-40
William Ratford	1950-1953
William Brunt Campbell	1953-
Douglas Bowman	1954-1955

Justices of the Peace

Alexander Patterson	1867
John Francis Rutter
Walter Duff	1901
Robert Herkes	1916
Thomas Twyford	1919
Clarence Twyford
Ian C Twyford	1954
Hugh Carruthers Smith	1944

Sources
1. The Argus online
2. The Good Country pp 255-267|
3. Dandenong Journal Jan 1944
4. Editors' personal recollection
5. Victorian Municipal Directories 1901, 1902, 1916,

Churches- Baptisms, Marriages, Funerals

Was it Clyde or Cranbourne? Do you need to check the church's records?
Clyde people often recorded their family events as having taken place in Cranbourne.

Hint / Suggestion
Consider looking at church documents to be the last resort rather than at the beginning of your search.
All events such as Birth Marriage Death have been recorded in the Victorian Registry Office. Church baptisms, marriages and burials from 1836-1985 are also recorded in the Vic Reg office. Copies of documents are available for a fee.

When might it be important to check church records?

• Baptismal / Christening records may indicate where the ceremony took place and conducted by whom. Such information may be clues to the location of the family at the time. Being baptised at Scots Cranbourne Presbyterian church or St Agatha's Catholic church is no guareentee that the baby's family lived in Cranbourne. However, being baptised or married in Clyde Church of England is likely to be a strong clue that the family lived in Clyde.
• Church Records of sacraments/ceremonies other than marriage or funeral, may hold the key that unlocks a family mystery.
• Church Records in the period between 1836-1853 before the Victorian Government established a Registry Office.

My personal story is an example. My father, an abandoned baby was named George Coppin by a Judge.  His adopted mother, a Presbyterian, went to a Methodist minister to have the baby privately baptised and christened as Mervyn Richmond Campbell.  Genealogy websites and Victorian Registry office do not have any details about his birth.There is no birth certificate. Details of his life are recorded in the Ward Register linked to the Infant Life Protection Act (in the  Public Records Office, Victoria) and possibly  a copy in Court documents in Richmond.
We have a some correspondence about his baptism- the only proof of a name change- but no record of his birth.

Where are the church documents?
1. Cranbourne Scots Presbyterian Church documents
2. St Agatha's Catholic Church documents
3. Anglican Church documents ( Clyde and Cranbourne)
4. Methodist Church documents.

You will need to make an appointment to see church documents and possibly pay a Search Fee.

Please refer to the following as initial contacts in your search. The Editor hasn't explored them all and has only listed what has been found on a general internet search.

Presbyterian Church Victorian Archives: 156 Collins St, Melbourne
Methodist Church Archives: Uniting Church Archives 54 Serrel St, East Malvern  9571 5476
Anglican (Church of England) Archives: 203 Flinders Lane Melbourne Tel 9653 4220
Catholic Church Archives:  St Patricks Cathedral, East Melbourne

Family Trees Published On-Line

Has someone else has already researched your family tree?

Here are four free ways to discover this.
In most cases you need to register and sign in each time you use the service

1. Internet Search Engine. Type in the name of your ancestor into an internet search
    engine. (Oops, you've already done that, eh?)

2. Family Tree Circles http://www.familytreecircles.com/
    a) You can enter your family name in the search box at the top of the page then
        register yourself as that family's researcher.  This step should lead you to other
        people who are also searching your family name
    b) Begin an online journal and upload some key family data to this website in the
        hope that other family members will find it.

Subscription Based Genealogy websites each offer 14 days free service to search for your family history.

4. Ancestry.com :  http://home.ancestry.com.au/ 
  
5. Find My Past:  http://www.findmypast.com.au/

You can access both Ancestry and Find My Past at all Casey-Cardinia libraries, either using one of their Internet PCs or using your own device on the Libraries WiFi.  Casey-Cardinia Libraries are at Cranbourne, Doveton, Emerald, Endeavour Hills, Hampton Park, Narre Warren, Pakenham

Library details are available at: http://www.cclc.vic.gov.au/branches
The State Library of Victoria offers this service too.
Check out your local library as it may offer free access to Ancestry.com and Find My Past.

The Clyde History website offers three sections that could be of help in your family history search.
Early Families, Land Owner Resident Index and Who's Who.

Telephone Directory Clyde 1931

Telephones were introduced to Clyde in 1923. This 1924 map shows the telephone lines along Patterson Road, Tuckers Road, Derricks Road, Moores Road, Fisheries Road and Ballarto Road.
Below the map is a list of 1931 Telephone Subscribers. (Using browser buttons this image can be enlarged)

.

Clyde 1931
(* 9 – 12.30, 1.30 – 6; Sat, 9-1)
(* Times indicating when the telephone service was available for use)

Beecher, W. W.	18		Manks, C.	24
Brooks, G.A, Hardys Rd	12		Manks, G.“Mount View”	8
Campbell, R.“Oakwood”	9		Pagan, W.	11
Croskell, C. “Canowindra”	5		Railway Station	13
Dawson, P. B.	27		Ratford, W. J.,Railway Rd	17
Dee, J.	25		Sands, T.E., Grazier	1
Fleming, W.	4		Smart, E J.	20
Funston, G.“Oakbanks”	3		Spencer, A. A.	2
Gamble, John C.“Bernfae”	6		Thomas, R. H.	21
Gillingham, A	7		Twyford, C.W.	14
Hardy. G. S.	26		Twyford, T.A.“Hiltonwood”	16
Harris, W.J.,“Rowena”	10		White, S. P.,Bullarto Rd.	22

Did you know these people?
Arthur A. and Annie Spencer - lived south of Ballarto Road.
Ernest J. and Violet M. Smart - lived in "Yallambee"
Sydney P. and Annie White - lived on north side of Ballarto Road- dairy farmer
Walter J. H. and Alice W. Harris "Rowena" – north of Ballarto Rd
John C. Gamble – Clyde North
George A. and Edith I. Brooks, Holden’s Estate, Corner of Pound and Hardys Roads    

Sources
1. Telephone Book via State Library of Victoria
2. Map from State Library of Victoria.

Crown Land Grants 1838-1862

Victorian Land Memorials [old General Law titles]

Geelong and District Family History

http://geelonganddistrict.com/2011/02/19/not-that-hard-victorian-land-memorials-old-general-law-titles/

This research has been done by Joan Hunt and uploaded to a blog for the Geelong and District Family History society. The internet address is above. 
I was alerted to this blog by a Cranbourne family researcher who gained important details by observing the guide lines set out by Joan Hunt.  I have copied the introductory comment to give you an idea about the contents of the Memorials Library.
Joan Hunt displays 14 photographs of the filing cabinets, shelves and bound books that contain information that you will see in that offfice.

Memorials Library, Melbourne
In the Memorials Library you will find the bound Memorials of the conveyance (or lease or other Instrument) of land under the General or Old Law, relating to land granted by the Crown between 1838 and 1862.  The Torrens System of land registration was introduced on 2 October 1862.

Registrar-General’s Office

Memorials Library at Marland House
10th Floor
570 Bourke Street, Melbourne, Vic 3000

Please let me know about your experiences in seeking early documents.

Military Records

Was your ancestor living in Clyde when he/she enlisted for war service?

Begin here for information about Clyde's soldiers
Clyde History website  Click on this page for history about Clyde's soldiers during WW1.
Clyde Honour Board at Cranbourne RSL.

Internet Search Engine
Hint: Open Advanced Search and type in person's full name in the dialogue box next to the following wording: "this/the  exact word or phrase" 

 In many cases this may be sufficient to find the website with their  military history.

For all wars and conflicts involving Australians.

"Mapping our Anzacs"   http://mappingouranzacs.naa.gov.au/
Register as a researcher at the National Archives website
http://www.naa.gov.au/collection/search/index.aspx


First World War

First World War personnel who embarked overseas. 
AIF Project: http://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/search

Dandenong / Cranbourne RSL Sub-Branch

Meeting Hall - South Gippsland Highway

Cranbourne Vic 3977
Tel:  5996 2769

Secretary: Tel: 0458 180 262
Email: brogers1@bigpond.net.au
President- Mr John Wells OAM  Tel: 0417 544 357

Other sources of information

- Newspapers: Local or State  (Refer to Blogspot page about online newspapers)

- 

- Military history websites  http://www.aif.adfa.edu.au:8888/main.html 

  Excellent site for understanding the Units of the First AIF 1914-1918, the Campaigns etc.
- State Library of Victoria or Public Records Office of Victoria (PROV)
- Some Professional Associations or Union Groups have produced books about their members who enlisted for military service. eg  Teachers - The Education Department War Service 1914-17, and 1939 - 1945  This information can also be found via "Find My Past" website.

Fee Based Internet service
"Find My Past" http://www.findmypast.com.au/
Click the following links to begin
1. Our Collections
2. Life Events - Birth Death Marriage  "Search Now"
Look on the left hand column for references to Military, War

"Find My Past" is accessible, free, from some libraries.

Read more on the Clyde History website: https://www.earlyhistory4clydevic.com/html/0700MapsRoads.html
Questions and information can be directed to the Editorclydehistory@gmail.com