City of Darebin Heritage Study Volume 1 Draft Thematic

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DAREBIN HERITAGE STUDY STAGE 2Maintaining traditional life after European settlementFor many years after Europeans began arriving in Darebin the Wurundjeri and other Kulincontinued to camp at their camping ground the Merri Creek near the confluence of the Yarra(Clark & Heydon, 1998:21-2). Assistant Protector William Thomas first recorded a largeencampment near the confluence in 1841, when he noted the camp contained ‘most of theWoiwurrung, part of the Bunwurrung and about 100 Goulburns’ (Daung Wurrung) (In Clark& Heydon, 1998:57). The preference of the Kulin people for this area was in part based on thefact that government policy had forced their removal from encampments closer to Melbourne,but probably also on traditional preference. The presence of the Kulin people at the MerriCreek also influenced government policy in the selection of sites for a Protectorate station anda school for Aboriginal children at the confluence. The Establishment of the Native PoliceCorps HQ there in 1842 also further cemented the importance of the site as the families ofNative Police corps members established themselves within the camp to be close to theirrelatives. Despite the removal of the police corps in 1844, people continued to camp at theMerri Creek. The Merri Creek School, Protectorate and Native Police Corps are discussed infurther detail in chapters 6 and 7.The location of the camp is generally recorded as being slightly upstream from the confluenceof the Merri and the Yarra. However, it is clear that the number of people at the encampmentsfluctuated and also often included groups from other language groups such as the DaungWurrung and Bun wurrung. (Kyle, in Clark & Heydon, 2004:31). William Thomasfrequently referred to encampments around Heidelberg Road and North of Heidelberg Roadalong the Merri Creek. He also frequently referred to numbers of encampments within a mileof his hut at the Protectorate station. Given that Thomas’s hut was located at approximatelythe Olney or Cox ovals in Yarra Bend Park, this would place encampments well north ofWestgarth Street in Westgarth (Clark & Heydon, 2004:7, 31).In 1844 a great gathering occurred in what is now known as Westgarth where Thomasestimated 675 people “by far the greatest gathering of Indigenous people ever recorded in thecolony.” (Ellender & Christianson, 2001:99-107). This gathering related to justice required bysome people from the Loddon-Campaspe in relation to the murder of one of their own by Woiwurrung men. This was the last public exhibition of Aboriginal justice witnessed by Thomas inthe Melbourne region.Rucker’s Hill in Northcote is also frequently referred to several times in historical texts both asthe location of the last corroboree in the Northcote area, which is recorded as having occurredin 1865 in the vicinity of the site of the Town Hall. This corroboree was recounted byresidents of the time (Swift, 1928:41). Swift (1928:13-4) also recounts that it was commonlybelieved that two chiefs of the Merri Tribe (Wurundjeri) were buried on Rucker’s Hill in whatbecame the grounds of the Presbyterian Church in James Street. A mound of earth formerlymarked the spot.2.2 Migrating to seek opportunityJohn Batman and the Port Phillip AssociationIn June 1835 John Batman sailed across Bass Strait from Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania)looking for new grazing land. After traversing a large area to the north and west of what is nowMelbourne, Batman met with the group of Kulin as described above, and exchanged blankets,knives and other goods, and a promise of similar payments annually, for what he thought wasthe right to own 600,000 acres of land. The transaction took place near a tree “alongside of abeautiful stream of water” (John Batman’s Diary, cited in Harcourt, 2001:155).The area was subsequently divided between the fifteen members of the Port PhillipAssociation, a syndicate formed in the hope of making a fortune from this newly claimedgrazing land. However, Governor Bourke of New South Wales soon ruled the sale illegal andclaimed the land for the British Crown. Nevertheless, Batman’s “treaty” was a catalyst for the20
VOLUME 2: THEMATIC ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORYrush of immigrants from Van Diemen’s Land, the proclamation of the Port Phillip settlementin September 1835 and the beginnings of Melbourne town.The land Batman “purchased” included the present City of Darebin, and all of Melbourne’snorthern suburbs. The location of the site on which Batman’s treaty was signed has been thesubject of considerable discussion by historians for over a century. There are several differentcompeting locations, including the banks of the Plenty River near Eltham, the junction ofMerri and Edgars Creek, just outside Darebin’s boundaries, Edgar’s Creek at Thomastown,and the banks of the Merri Creek in Westgarth. The last possible site is in Darebin.In his recent book, Southern Invasion Northern Conquest (2001), local historian Rex Harcourtputs a case for the Merri Creek site. Harcourt suggests that the transaction took place on thecreek flat at West Bend, an area just to the north of Rushall Station near the southern end ofMc Lachlan Street. It was a favoured camping area, corroboree ground and battle ground. Thissite has a long tradition of folk-lore connecting it with Batman’s treaty, and was even markedwith a rockery and statue of Batman in a property called “Terracedale”, as shown on a 1904MMBW plan. There was a plaque on the bank of the Creek, but the plaque has been removed.A relic commemorating this story has been found in the form of a piece of red gum with apiece of flint-stone attached to a base, made in the 1950s. The wood is believed to have beenpart of an old tree on the site - possibly the tree referred to in Batman’s diary - and the stone issimilar to stone remaining on the site (Harcourt, 2001:195-201). This relic commemorates thestory of the treaty and the belief that it occurred in Westgarth, however it is not conclusiveevidence that the event took place on the site in question. It is unlikely that such evidence willever be found. Nevertheless Westgarth’s possible place in the history of Melbourne’s foundingis noted. The Jaga Jaga brothers, the headmen who agreed to Batman’s treaty, arecommemorated in the name given to the parish that encompasses Darebin - Jika Jika.Early European settlersThe settlers who did come flocking to Port Phillip in the 1830s, firstly from Van Diemen’sLand and then overland from Sydney and the Riverina were overwhelmingly of British andIrish origin, although many, like Batman, were colonial born. From 1839 migrant ships beganto bring people directly from Britain to populate the new Port Phillip District (Broome,2001:48). The people who came to Darebin in the early years included people with capital,who hoped to make their fortune buying and selling land. Few of them actually settled in thearea. They will be discussed in more detail in the section Speculators below.German-born William Rucker was perhaps typical of the European immigrants who dreamedof making their fortunes in the colonies. He established a business in Hobart, before moving toMelbourne in 1837, where he opened a store and one of Melbourne’s first banks. Ruckerbought extensive areas of land, including two prime allotments at the second land sale in thestudy area in 1840. Having prospered from his enterprises, Rucker built a large house in whatis now Bayview Street Northcote in 1841. However, due to an unfortunate choice of businesspartner, Rucker became insolvent two years later. Although his house, Sunnyside, has long beendemolished, his name endures in the geographic landmark known as Rucker’s Hill.Hugh Childers came to Port Phillip with family connections but little wealth, to becomeAuditor-General and Collector of Customs in the 1850s. He resided in Rucker’s house for atime. Andrew Clarke, an army captain who briefly ran sheep at Fairfield, became Surveyor-General in 1853. He is remembered in the name of a street. Both Childers and Clarke weremembers of Victoria’s first responsible government. However, most of the colonial immigrantswere seeking more modest opportunities.Forster has observed that most of the early immigrants who settled in Preston were “littlemen”.The members of both old and new establishments who first purchased Preston land, the soldiers,administrators, merchants and speculators, left little mark on the area.…It was left to men whoarrived in the colony almost penniless, but who obtained a little capital on the goldfields, in21
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City of Darebin Heritage Study Volume 1 Draft Thematic

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