Great Stories of Greater Ballarat - Tales of hope, hardship, loss and love
Our region in and around Ballarat contains some fascinating stories from the past - the trials people faced in making their home in a harsh and unforgiving timeThere are some incredible tales from the beginning of Ballarat and regional Victoria; stories of hope and hardship, love and loss. Storyteller Anne E Stewart is able to capture the mood of each time, and portrays with verve and passion the spirit of the people in each mini-saga from the early inception of our Australian heritage.
The twelve stories give a poignant and touching insight to life in our area for people who ventured to this part of the world, looking for fame, fortune and freedom.
Listening to Anne E Stewart's retelling of the tales, it's only moments before you are transported back through time to a way of life unimaginable now, and while only 100 or so years ago, seems another world away.
Below is a short description of each story and the audio sits to the left of this page.
Story One: Lavender and Gold
Italian-speaking Swiss immigrants opened up the goldfields of Jim Crow, and these in time became the town called Daylesford. They dug into the sides of hills, searching for a fortune in gold.
And they found it. Over time they acquired land and turned their hands to farming. This beautiful part of Australia reminded the Swiss of home. The links remain and the memories of the early times resound down through the history of Daylesford, the immigrants playing such a huge part in the shaping of the town.
Laura and Robert Mulraney met, fell in love and were married, only to find out both their families had connections to Daylesford. Following a bushwalk with Robert's grandfather, Dan, Laura feels a strange connection with the place due to the intense aroma of lavender...
Story Two: Raffaello Carboni
When Raffaello Carboni arrived on the Ballarat diggings, the first sight shocked him for a moment. The once beautiful valley was closer to a barren waste; pock-marked with a rabbit warren of mine shafts. It reminded him of the battlefields of Italy where Carboni had fought.
This sturdy Italian was a real dasher, with a touch of red silk at his neck and a broad brimmed hat perched on his head. Fluttering flags caught his attention and he observed canvas flags and banners flying from many tents and shops on the diggings. Memories flooded back to Carboni from his childhood as he took in the surrounds.
He doffed his hat as people from all parts of the globe passed Carboni by. One particular flag caught his eye - the undertakers, a coffin on white background, well-known to all and sundry on the goldfields.
Carboni wanted to try his luck immediately, and success was just a scratch of the surface away. He became a translator of European languages and was in big demand. But the Eureka uprising had the biggest impact of all on the Italian, who put pen to paper and produced the book, 'Eureka Stockade'.
Story Three: Rabbito!
'It's interesting to hear all them greenies talking about rabbit plagues, how they'll be the death of the country.'
Rabbits were the main sustenance for this boy and his family as he grew up, and his mother's stew was the finest around. And of course every good cook has a secret to make things taste just that little bit better than everyone else's attempts at the same dish...
The family lived on the Barwon River - not much of a place with kero tins and hessian bags scattered around the place. A well-tended vegie garden supplied them with spuds and carrots; this patch was his mum's pride and joy.
They had an old pull-along cart and it could take weeks to fill the cart full of rabbit skins. So while some people would like to see an end to rabbits, if not for them the narrator doesn't know how they we would have survived their harsh life.
Story Four: Unaarmin
Unaarrmin, a person of the Wotjobaluk and Gunitjmara tribe in Western Victoria, lived in the early 1840s. His people were proud, skilled at hunting and gathering. As a little boy, Unaarmin lived on a sumptuous diet of yams, fish and eels, as well as other native fauna.
As white settlers came into the area, life changed for the young boy. Many of his people were killed and forced to work the lands for the new arrivals. Time passed and Unaarmin lived off the land and came to be known as Johnny Mullagh.
The game of cricket was brought to the country by the English, and Johnny was a natural. First he played with station people, then the Harrow Cricket Club, followed by selection in an all-black team. He travelled the country playing and left the shores here for England years later. Johnny could never afford to play cricket fulltime, so he lived, forever on the edge of two worlds. Native bushman, skilled hunter and a champion cricketer.
Unaarrmin, Wotjobaluk and Gunitjmara man, was buried with his bat and stumps and sprigs of wattle and blackberry.
Story Five: Lola Montez
A woman dressed in fine clothes and jewels appears on the balcony of Ballarat at lunchtime each day. She is the Countess of Lancefield, Ms Lola Montez.
Mr Cosby, the proprietor has got a big star for the reopening of his Theatre Royal and he presents her to the crowd below.
Out she strides, shouting out for "that scoundrel Henry Seekamp," who slides to the front of the gathering. Within moments, Ms Montez is on the street, flailing Seekamp with a riding whip and protesting loudly.
It's a re-enactment of a famous scene from Ballarat's history - the legendary Ms Lola Montez descended on the diggings and confronted the editor of the Ballarat Times, one Henry Seekamp. The reason for the blue: disparaging comments made by Mr Seekamp...
You've heard of Lola haven't you?Story Six: Lola Montez Part Two
A book came out titled 'The Political and Economic Life of Bavaria with Ms Lola Montez' could not do this period justice, such was the influence of the famous Montez.
Lola's greatest triumph was to enslave King Ludwig of Bavaria, a 61-year-old who became with the glowing Lola. Legend has it that when Ludwig commented on the shape of her bosom and asked if it was all nature, Lola slashed her bodice and bared her beautiful bosom. The king's blind adoration allowed Lola to give full reign to her uncontrollable rages and her delusions of grandeur. She continually interfered with state affairs, enraging the populace. It forced Ludwig to abdicate the throne, and Lola - without a cent to her name - to flee to Switzerland, leaving behind everything.
Once again the ever-resourceful Lola headed for the goldfields of California where reportedly the miners paid $65 dollars to see her perform her famous spider dance.
Story Seven: The Lindsays
The first thing you see when you enter the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery is the imposing stone staircase. Imagine then a little blue-eyed boy holding his grandfather's hand, climbing those steps.When he reaches the top, a painting of gigantic proportions - two naked bodies wrapped in a thin cloth - was an image that would stay with the child forever.
The painting of Ajax and Cassandra, purchased by the gallery in the late 1880s, became like a magnet, and the boy often visited the venue and studied the canvas until he knew every brush stoke. His grandfather showed him other paintings but nothing compared with his object of attraction: the voluptuousness was to become the foundation of much of his art.
It was this single piece of art that influenced one of Australia's best known painters: Norman Lindsay.
Story Eight: The Sojourners
The Chinese community did not always enjoy the affluence and respect that it does today. Early Chinese immigrants, temporary gold fossickers, endured harsh experiences. They were often hired labour for their masters back home who had financed their voyage. Before they could make money themselves, debts had to be paid.
Two brothers left their village near Canton and journeyed to the port of Hong Kong. Lent the twenty pounds each for transport here - 10 for passage, 10 pound for landing fee in Melbourne.
Unscrupulous captains often pocketed the landing fee by taking their human cargo onto Guichen Bay, now known as Robe, in South Australia. The Victorian border was 100 miles away, and travelling by foot was arduous.
Known by the family name Yip, the brothers made it to the Grampians. Other Chinese miners were working the end of an old alluvial site. The brothers stayed and worked long hours for little takings. Depression took hold of the older brother and he eventually lost his life.
Luck is cyclical and turned around within the year and the Chinese struck it rich. The younger brother paid off the out-standing debts and became prosperous landowners.
Story Nine: J Ward
Reports of J Ward, the hospital for the criminally insane in Ararat, tell harrowing tales of people locked up under the lowest of conditions. They shared cells and living quarters with lowlifes, and those unfortunate enough to be mentally affected by conditions doctors had little idea of how to treat.
Letters confirm how difficult it was for families of people at J Ward.
My Dearest Rose,
It is with great sorrow that I write to tell you of the dreadful circumstances that have befallen us. I know your heart will ache, when you hear that your dear brother has been locked up in a hospital for the criminally insane, J Ward at Ararat, it is a part of the Aradale Mental AsylumLittle did I think when we married that my gentle giant would be locked up with reprobates and murderers.
I am not allowed to visit yet because of their concerns about his violent actions and I am busy managing the farm. I will write when I have more news.
Your loving sister-in-law
Eileen
The tenor of the letters suggest J Ward was a living hell, symptomatic of the times in a system knowing no better.
Story Ten: William Buckley's Tale
The name William Buckley has become too well known in the Port Philip district, so I have moved to Hobart Town. People distrust me due to my closeness with the natives.
The colonists seem to accept my peacemaker role between tribes, who held me in the highest regard and I wielded considerable influence with them. But in time this changed as they thought I was too friendly with the whites.
I just wanted to promote harmony between the two races. That's all. And if misunderstandings should arise, it was only a matter of time before the suspicions of either side should fall upon me.
I often wish the whites had never come, and I was back in those happy days, hunting and fishing in our special place on the Barwon River and nearby coast. Looking back those days wandering were the happiest I have known.
Escaping from a poorly supervised penal colony years before, I came upon natives who fed me, but I refused to stay. I now realise the foolishness of this act. Months passed and imagine my joy when my path crossed theirs again.
I was given the name 'Murrangurk', took a wife, and learnt a new language and customs. After 30 years, I forgot my mother tongue and become a go-between for the two cultures.
As I reflect on the fate that has befallen my black brothers - lands stripped away, religious beliefs mocked - I fill with dread on what will transpire in the future.
Story Eleven: Baron Von Mueller
Ferdinand Von Mueller was the Victorian Government Botanist from 1853 to 1896. Offered this heralded position by Governor Latrobe, Von Mueller is credited with finding and documenting more flora than any other person, and was an avid explorer.
Baron Von Mueller came to Ballarat and was the mastermind behind the Botanical Gardens. He was a generous benefactor of gardens around Victoria, and lived a frugal existence so he could spend money on science.
One of his acts was the spreading of blackberry seeds around Victoria creeks, much to the chagrin of people who believe they are more noxious weed than plant.
During his travels around Australia, certain sights reminded him of back home in the Danish-ruled German Duchies. "The shimmer of a desert landscape with its huge horizon reminds me of the horizons of my childhood."
A trained pharmacist, Von Mueller came to Adelaide where he collected specimens before moving to the Ballarat goldfields.
"My great joy was over 500, 000 trees to schools, nurseries, and public gardens around Victoria. I helped to start many botanical gardens and gave lectures to students in country towns."
And why did Baron Von Mueller spread so many blackberry seeds around Victoria?
Simple. "I thought it would be nice for the colonists to have blackberry jam for their breakfast."
Story Twelve: Captain Moonlight
Bushranger Andrew Scott, better known as Captain Moonlight, was born in Northern Ireland. A good learner with great potential, he took to engineering in his youth, being sent to study in London at the age of 14.
He met up with unscrupulous men, and after travelling to New Zealand and America, made his way to the Sydney. Due to his father's ties with politicians and men of the cloth, Scott found out about the need for religious preachers on the Victorian diggings. The lure of a fortune and scams to be meted out brought him to the Victorian diggings.
A personable man and eloquent speaker, Scott made his way to Mount Edgerton near Ballarat, but he made little impact on the hard men of the diggings. They preferred the bottle to the bleatings of a preacher, which infuriated Scott.
He robbed the local bank and headed for Sydney. Captain Moonlight was born. A luxurious lifestyle began, with lavish parties for stars of the stage were held at his home, until the money ran out. Captain Moonlight acquired a yacht by foul means and he made his way to the heads. Apprehended by the police before he made it through, he spent time in Maitland Gaol.
On his release he was charged with armed robbery, and brought to Ballarat. A seven-year sentence followed in Pentridge. Following this, Moonlight returned to crime, hoping to emulate the now-famous Kelly gang.
Moonlight's gang took hostages, and the whole saga turned ugly, with a policeman being killed, as well as the armed robber's best friend, Nesbitt. Scott, who as a youth had so much promise, was hanged in 1880.
The twelve stories give a poignant and touching insight to life in our area for people who ventured to this part of the world, looking for fame, fortune and freedom.
Listening to Anne E Stewart's retelling of the tales, it's only moments before you are transported back through time to a way of life unimaginable now, and while only 100 or so years ago, seems another world away.
Below is a short description of each story and the audio sits to the left of this page.
Story One: Lavender and Gold
Italian-speaking Swiss immigrants opened up the goldfields of Jim Crow, and these in time became the town called Daylesford. They dug into the sides of hills, searching for a fortune in gold.
And they found it. Over time they acquired land and turned their hands to farming. This beautiful part of Australia reminded the Swiss of home. The links remain and the memories of the early times resound down through the history of Daylesford, the immigrants playing such a huge part in the shaping of the town.
Laura and Robert Mulraney met, fell in love and were married, only to find out both their families had connections to Daylesford. Following a bushwalk with Robert's grandfather, Dan, Laura feels a strange connection with the place due to the intense aroma of lavender...
Story Two: Raffaello Carboni
When Raffaello Carboni arrived on the Ballarat diggings, the first sight shocked him for a moment. The once beautiful valley was closer to a barren waste; pock-marked with a rabbit warren of mine shafts. It reminded him of the battlefields of Italy where Carboni had fought.
This sturdy Italian was a real dasher, with a touch of red silk at his neck and a broad brimmed hat perched on his head. Fluttering flags caught his attention and he observed canvas flags and banners flying from many tents and shops on the diggings. Memories flooded back to Carboni from his childhood as he took in the surrounds.
He doffed his hat as people from all parts of the globe passed Carboni by. One particular flag caught his eye - the undertakers, a coffin on white background, well-known to all and sundry on the goldfields.
Carboni wanted to try his luck immediately, and success was just a scratch of the surface away. He became a translator of European languages and was in big demand. But the Eureka uprising had the biggest impact of all on the Italian, who put pen to paper and produced the book, 'Eureka Stockade'.
Story Three: Rabbito!
'It's interesting to hear all them greenies talking about rabbit plagues, how they'll be the death of the country.'
Rabbits were the main sustenance for this boy and his family as he grew up, and his mother's stew was the finest around. And of course every good cook has a secret to make things taste just that little bit better than everyone else's attempts at the same dish...
The family lived on the Barwon River - not much of a place with kero tins and hessian bags scattered around the place. A well-tended vegie garden supplied them with spuds and carrots; this patch was his mum's pride and joy.
They had an old pull-along cart and it could take weeks to fill the cart full of rabbit skins. So while some people would like to see an end to rabbits, if not for them the narrator doesn't know how they we would have survived their harsh life.
Story Four: Unaarmin
Unaarrmin, a person of the Wotjobaluk and Gunitjmara tribe in Western Victoria, lived in the early 1840s. His people were proud, skilled at hunting and gathering. As a little boy, Unaarmin lived on a sumptuous diet of yams, fish and eels, as well as other native fauna.
As white settlers came into the area, life changed for the young boy. Many of his people were killed and forced to work the lands for the new arrivals. Time passed and Unaarmin lived off the land and came to be known as Johnny Mullagh.
The game of cricket was brought to the country by the English, and Johnny was a natural. First he played with station people, then the Harrow Cricket Club, followed by selection in an all-black team. He travelled the country playing and left the shores here for England years later. Johnny could never afford to play cricket fulltime, so he lived, forever on the edge of two worlds. Native bushman, skilled hunter and a champion cricketer.
Unaarrmin, Wotjobaluk and Gunitjmara man, was buried with his bat and stumps and sprigs of wattle and blackberry.
Story Five: Lola Montez
A woman dressed in fine clothes and jewels appears on the balcony of Ballarat at lunchtime each day. She is the Countess of Lancefield, Ms Lola Montez.
Mr Cosby, the proprietor has got a big star for the reopening of his Theatre Royal and he presents her to the crowd below.
Out she strides, shouting out for "that scoundrel Henry Seekamp," who slides to the front of the gathering. Within moments, Ms Montez is on the street, flailing Seekamp with a riding whip and protesting loudly.
It's a re-enactment of a famous scene from Ballarat's history - the legendary Ms Lola Montez descended on the diggings and confronted the editor of the Ballarat Times, one Henry Seekamp. The reason for the blue: disparaging comments made by Mr Seekamp...
You've heard of Lola haven't you?Story Six: Lola Montez Part Two
A book came out titled 'The Political and Economic Life of Bavaria with Ms Lola Montez' could not do this period justice, such was the influence of the famous Montez.
Lola's greatest triumph was to enslave King Ludwig of Bavaria, a 61-year-old who became with the glowing Lola. Legend has it that when Ludwig commented on the shape of her bosom and asked if it was all nature, Lola slashed her bodice and bared her beautiful bosom. The king's blind adoration allowed Lola to give full reign to her uncontrollable rages and her delusions of grandeur. She continually interfered with state affairs, enraging the populace. It forced Ludwig to abdicate the throne, and Lola - without a cent to her name - to flee to Switzerland, leaving behind everything.
Once again the ever-resourceful Lola headed for the goldfields of California where reportedly the miners paid $65 dollars to see her perform her famous spider dance.
Story Seven: The Lindsays
The first thing you see when you enter the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery is the imposing stone staircase. Imagine then a little blue-eyed boy holding his grandfather's hand, climbing those steps.When he reaches the top, a painting of gigantic proportions - two naked bodies wrapped in a thin cloth - was an image that would stay with the child forever.
The painting of Ajax and Cassandra, purchased by the gallery in the late 1880s, became like a magnet, and the boy often visited the venue and studied the canvas until he knew every brush stoke. His grandfather showed him other paintings but nothing compared with his object of attraction: the voluptuousness was to become the foundation of much of his art.
It was this single piece of art that influenced one of Australia's best known painters: Norman Lindsay.
Story Eight: The Sojourners
The Chinese community did not always enjoy the affluence and respect that it does today. Early Chinese immigrants, temporary gold fossickers, endured harsh experiences. They were often hired labour for their masters back home who had financed their voyage. Before they could make money themselves, debts had to be paid.
Two brothers left their village near Canton and journeyed to the port of Hong Kong. Lent the twenty pounds each for transport here - 10 for passage, 10 pound for landing fee in Melbourne.
Unscrupulous captains often pocketed the landing fee by taking their human cargo onto Guichen Bay, now known as Robe, in South Australia. The Victorian border was 100 miles away, and travelling by foot was arduous.
Known by the family name Yip, the brothers made it to the Grampians. Other Chinese miners were working the end of an old alluvial site. The brothers stayed and worked long hours for little takings. Depression took hold of the older brother and he eventually lost his life.
Luck is cyclical and turned around within the year and the Chinese struck it rich. The younger brother paid off the out-standing debts and became prosperous landowners.
Story Nine: J Ward
Reports of J Ward, the hospital for the criminally insane in Ararat, tell harrowing tales of people locked up under the lowest of conditions. They shared cells and living quarters with lowlifes, and those unfortunate enough to be mentally affected by conditions doctors had little idea of how to treat.
Letters confirm how difficult it was for families of people at J Ward.
My Dearest Rose,
It is with great sorrow that I write to tell you of the dreadful circumstances that have befallen us. I know your heart will ache, when you hear that your dear brother has been locked up in a hospital for the criminally insane, J Ward at Ararat, it is a part of the Aradale Mental AsylumLittle did I think when we married that my gentle giant would be locked up with reprobates and murderers.
I am not allowed to visit yet because of their concerns about his violent actions and I am busy managing the farm. I will write when I have more news.
Your loving sister-in-law
Eileen
The tenor of the letters suggest J Ward was a living hell, symptomatic of the times in a system knowing no better.
Story Ten: William Buckley's Tale
The name William Buckley has become too well known in the Port Philip district, so I have moved to Hobart Town. People distrust me due to my closeness with the natives.
The colonists seem to accept my peacemaker role between tribes, who held me in the highest regard and I wielded considerable influence with them. But in time this changed as they thought I was too friendly with the whites.
I just wanted to promote harmony between the two races. That's all. And if misunderstandings should arise, it was only a matter of time before the suspicions of either side should fall upon me.
I often wish the whites had never come, and I was back in those happy days, hunting and fishing in our special place on the Barwon River and nearby coast. Looking back those days wandering were the happiest I have known.
Escaping from a poorly supervised penal colony years before, I came upon natives who fed me, but I refused to stay. I now realise the foolishness of this act. Months passed and imagine my joy when my path crossed theirs again.
I was given the name 'Murrangurk', took a wife, and learnt a new language and customs. After 30 years, I forgot my mother tongue and become a go-between for the two cultures.
As I reflect on the fate that has befallen my black brothers - lands stripped away, religious beliefs mocked - I fill with dread on what will transpire in the future.
Story Eleven: Baron Von Mueller
Ferdinand Von Mueller was the Victorian Government Botanist from 1853 to 1896. Offered this heralded position by Governor Latrobe, Von Mueller is credited with finding and documenting more flora than any other person, and was an avid explorer.
Baron Von Mueller came to Ballarat and was the mastermind behind the Botanical Gardens. He was a generous benefactor of gardens around Victoria, and lived a frugal existence so he could spend money on science.
One of his acts was the spreading of blackberry seeds around Victoria creeks, much to the chagrin of people who believe they are more noxious weed than plant.
During his travels around Australia, certain sights reminded him of back home in the Danish-ruled German Duchies. "The shimmer of a desert landscape with its huge horizon reminds me of the horizons of my childhood."
A trained pharmacist, Von Mueller came to Adelaide where he collected specimens before moving to the Ballarat goldfields.
"My great joy was over 500, 000 trees to schools, nurseries, and public gardens around Victoria. I helped to start many botanical gardens and gave lectures to students in country towns."
And why did Baron Von Mueller spread so many blackberry seeds around Victoria?
Simple. "I thought it would be nice for the colonists to have blackberry jam for their breakfast."
Story Twelve: Captain Moonlight
Bushranger Andrew Scott, better known as Captain Moonlight, was born in Northern Ireland. A good learner with great potential, he took to engineering in his youth, being sent to study in London at the age of 14.
He met up with unscrupulous men, and after travelling to New Zealand and America, made his way to the Sydney. Due to his father's ties with politicians and men of the cloth, Scott found out about the need for religious preachers on the Victorian diggings. The lure of a fortune and scams to be meted out brought him to the Victorian diggings.
A personable man and eloquent speaker, Scott made his way to Mount Edgerton near Ballarat, but he made little impact on the hard men of the diggings. They preferred the bottle to the bleatings of a preacher, which infuriated Scott.
He robbed the local bank and headed for Sydney. Captain Moonlight was born. A luxurious lifestyle began, with lavish parties for stars of the stage were held at his home, until the money ran out. Captain Moonlight acquired a yacht by foul means and he made his way to the heads. Apprehended by the police before he made it through, he spent time in Maitland Gaol.
On his release he was charged with armed robbery, and brought to Ballarat. A seven-year sentence followed in Pentridge. Following this, Moonlight returned to crime, hoping to emulate the now-famous Kelly gang.
Moonlight's gang took hostages, and the whole saga turned ugly, with a policeman being killed, as well as the armed robber's best friend, Nesbitt. Scott, who as a youth had so much promise, was hanged in 1880.