William Benson

M, #30205, b. Dec 1838, d. 7 Apr 1912
Father*Benson
Probate (Will)* 125/708. William Benson, Residence: Lake Rowan, Occupation: Farmer, Date Of Death: 7 Apr 1912, Date Of Grant: 1 Aug 1912.
This is the last will and testament of me William Benson formerly of Emerald in the State of Victoria, but now of Lake Rowan in the said State Farmer. I give devise and bequeath the whole of my real and personal estate unto my dear sister Margaret Holmes wife of Alexander Holmes of Lake Rowan aforesaid Farmer.1 
Birth*Dec 1838 Cockermouth, Cumbria, England, Dec Q 1838 (Cockermouth) 25 75. Mother's maiden surname: Johnston. As William Benson.2 
Land-Gembrook*9 Apr 1896Selection: GEM-Emerald Town Section A CA5. 18a 2r 5p - consideration £19 - crown grant 9 Apr 1896.3 
Death*7 Apr 1912 Corowa, NSW, Australia, #D5509/1912 (par John & Margaret) - as William BENSON. Death registered at Corowa.4 
Land-Note*28 Nov 1912 Emerald Town A - Allotment 5. Memo No 52216. William Benson died the 7th day of April 1912. On the 1st day of August 1912 probate of the will of the said William Benson was granted to Margaret Holmes of Mulwala in the State of New South Wales Married Woman as executrix. Dated the 28th day of November 1912.5 

Newspaper-Articles

  • 23 Dec 1911: SALES BY AUCTION. TUESDAY, 26th DECEMBER (BOXING DAY). At 1 o'Clock.
    On the Ground, BENSON ESTATE.
    Township of Emerald, Adjoining Emerald Railway Station.
    By Order of Mr William Benson.
    T. W. BUTCHER, will sell by auction, 57 BLOCKS of LAND.
    For week end homes, business sites, this land comprises the most conveniently situated and valuable blocks ever offered to the public on the GEMBROOK LINE.
    1030 FEET ABOVE SEA LEVEL.
    Terms—One-fifth cash, balance spread over two years, WITHOUT INTEREST.
    T. W. Butcher, auctioneer.6
  • 28 Jun 1912: The whole of the blocks in Benson's estate, adjoining the Emerald railway station, have been sold, and preparations are already being made by some of the owners to build.7

Citations

  1. [S35] Probate Records, PROV (Public Record Office Victoria), Probate and Administration Files (VPRS28) / Wills (VPRS7591)
    125/708. William Benson, Residence: Lake Rowan, Occupation: Farmer, Date Of Death: 7 Apr 1912, Date Of Grant: 1 Aug 1912
    VPRS 28/P0003, 125/708; VPRS 7591/P0002, 125/708.
  2. [S332] UK - General Register Office Indexes "Dec Q 1838 (Cockermouth) 25 75. Mother's maiden surname: Johnston. As William Benson."
  3. [S185] Property Titles ; PROV (Public Record Office Victoria), C/T 2793-450 - William Benson of Emerald near Narre Worran.
  4. [S7] Registry of NSW Births Deaths and Marriages "#D5509/1912 (par John & Margaret) - as William BENSON. Death registered at Corowa."
  5. [S185] Property Titles ; PROV (Public Record Office Victoria), C/T 2793-450 - Memo No 52216. William Benson died the 7th day of April 1912. On the 1st day of August 1912 probate of the will of the said William Benson was granted to Margaret Holmes of Mulwala in the State of New South Wales Married Woman as executrix. Dated the 28th day of November 1912.
  6. [S16] Newspaper - The Age (Melbourne, Vic.), Sat 23 Dec 1911, p2
    https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/197380243
  7. [S14] Newspaper - The Reporter (Box Hill, Vic.), Fri 28 Jun 1912, p4
    https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/90368132
Last Edited6 Mar 2024

Margaret Benson

F, #30207, b. Mar 1846, d. 1933
Father*Benson
Married NameHolmes.1 
Birth*Mar 1846 Cockermouth, Cumbria, England, Mar Q 1846 (Cockermouth) 25 95. Mother's maiden surname: Johnston. As Margaret Benson.2 
Marriage*1864 Spouse: Alexander Holmes. VIC, Australia, #M3023/1864, Margaret BENSON & Alexander HOLMES.1
 
Death*1933 Yarrawonga, VIC, Australia, #D17203/1933 (Age 87) (par John BENSON & Margaret JOHNSTONE) - as Margaret HOLMES.3 

Citations

  1. [S27] Victorian Government. BDM Index Victoria (Marriages) (online) "#M3023/1864, Margaret BENSON & Alexander HOLMES."
  2. [S332] UK - General Register Office Indexes "Mar Q 1846 (Cockermouth) 25 95. Mother's maiden surname: Johnston. As Margaret Benson."
  3. [S28] Victorian Government. BDM Index Victoria (Deaths) (online) "#D17203/1933 (Age 87) (par John BENSON & Margaret JOHNSTONE) - as Margaret HOLMES, Death registered at Yarrawonga, Australia."
Last Edited6 Mar 2024

Hugh Anderson

M, #30209, b. 1859, d. 3 Feb 1926
Birth*1859 Melbourne, VIC, Australia, #B11303/1859 (par Thomas ANDERSON & Catherine SAYLE) - as Hugh ANDERSON.1 
Marriage*1 Apr 1893 Spouse: Elizabeth Delany. All Saints' Church, St Kilda, VIC, Australia, #M313/1893, Hugh ANDERSON & Elizth DELANY.2
 
Marriage-Notice*22 Apr 1893 ANDERSON—De LANY.–On the 1st inst., at All Saints' Church, East St. Kilda, by the Rev. J. H. Gregory, Hugh Anderson, of Windarra, Boort, eldest son of Thomas Anderson, of Netherwood, San Remo, to Lizzie, younger daughter of the late P.De Lany and Mrs. De Lany, St. Kilda.3 
Death*3 Feb 1926 Armadale, VIC, Australia, #D43/1926 (Age 67) (par Thomas ANDERSON & Catherine SAYLE) - as Hugh ANDERSON.4 
Death-Notice*3 Feb 1926 ANDERSON - On the 3rd February, at his daughter's residence, Mrs. R. Reynolds, "Woolverton", Malvern road, Toorak, Hugh (formerly of San Remo), the dearly loved husband of Elizabeth Anderson, and loving father of Gay and Albert. Aged 67 year.
ANDERSON - The Funeral of the late MR. HUGH ANDERSON (formerly of San Remo) , will arrive at the San Remo Cemetery, TOMORROW (THURSDAY), the 4th, inst. at 2 o'clock.
A. A.SLEIGHT PTY. LTD.5 

Newspaper-Articles

  • 24 Aug 1935: THREE STURDY PIONEERS. The Centenary of Westernport's Settlement.
    BY B.H.N.
    IT is just one hundred years since the first house at Westernport, indeed the first in the whole of the eastern portion of this State, was being built.
    Its builder was a man named Samuel Anderson, who, had he but known it, was making history for Westernport in the same way and at about the same time as Batman and Fawkner were laying the first foundations of Melbourne's history. Only three days after Fawkner sailed through Port Phillip Heads, Samuel Anderson, in a ship he had built himself, entered Westernport Bay. A few years previously he had arrived in Tasmania from Kircudbright, Scotland, where the news of the proposed exploration of the colony by the Hentys and Fawkner had reached him. Anderson followed the course of the Bass River, and chose a spot on which to settle, only about two hundred yards from where now stands Bass township.
    Here he built his first home, which was afterwards known as Bass Park. Enthusiastic over his discovery and the beauty or the place and its possibilities, he wrote home to his two brothers, Hugh and Thomas, in Kircudbright, urging them to come out and help him pioneer this part of the colony. Letters in those days took many months to cross the world, so it was not until June, 1837, that the second of the Brothers, Dr. Hugh Anderson, left the Old Country by the ship Andromeda, arriving at Westernport by way of Tasmania some months later. Hugh was a medical graduate, having purposely given up his original occupation as clerk in the Crown Prosecutor's office, and studied medicine and surgery because he thought the knowledge would be of greater value than that of the law, in a new land. He had at first contemplated following Samuel to the Swan River settlement until the latter's change of plans decided him to alter his own, and he went to Westernport instead. Hugh's wisdom in choosing such a profession was at once proved, for he was able to take the appointment of surgeon on an emigrant, ship leaving for Australia. For many years after wards Dr. Hugh had reason to be glad of his profession — or perhaps it might be said that many other people had—for he generously used his skill and knowledge for the benefit of his neighbors and friends, with no thought of reward. The story is told of how on one occasion he dressed a pistol-shot, wound in the head of Truganini, the last queen and only survivor of the Tasmanian blacks. The bullet had struck her in the forehead, but her hard skull deflected it and it passed from the front to the back between the scalp and the skull.
    Five years later the third and youngest brother, Captain Thomas Anderson a master mariner, came out and joined the two pioneers. These three were of the solid, dauntless type, like so many of the early settlers. Men of culture and refinement, they faced their self-imposed exile and the hardships it entailed with tremendous courage. So isolated were they that, to get their letters, they had to come to Melbourne twice a year, walking seventy miles each way through the scrub, and swimming the inlet twice on each journey, their clothes in a bundle on their heads. Hugh and Thomas took up more country adjoining Samuel's original holding, and the three steadily set to work to clear their acres of the dense, almost impenetrable scrub which abounded from north of the Bass to San Remo. Occaionally they had the help of employees, who, however, deserted them for the gold fields, and the Andersons were left to themselves. Their perseverance was at last rewarded, and the cleared land proved a splendid agricultural proposition.
    Wheat was the staple crop for years; indeed, it is said that Samuel Anderson, in the first year of his arrival, grew wheat on the river flats, and built the first flour mill in Port Phillip district.
    In 1854 the brothers purchased a freehold property of 2616 acres at Griffiths Point, and built the house called Netherwood, which still stands, about four miles from sleepy little San Remo, on the eastern shore of Westernport Bay.
    The third was The Grange, built about 45 years ago, opposite where Anderson railway station now stands. With the sale of The Grange in 1912 the properties passed out of the Anderson family.
    Not content with improving his own property, Samuel Anderson explored the surrounding districts. The Wonthaggi coal fields are a monument to his faith. for, after striking coal on the beach at Cape Patterson, a few years after his arrival, he firmly believed that payable quantities existed thereabouts. The coal that he found himself he used in his own forge. Anderson's Inlet, nine miles from the old home, and on which Inverloch stands, was named after him, so was Anderson railway station, on the Wonthaggi line, which was built on the old Netherwood property.
    The peaceful little cemetery of San Remo, overlooking the scenic beauties which had reminded the Andersons so vividly of their own beautiful Scottish hills and lakes, was the last resting place of those grand old pioneers—Samuel, who died in 1863; Dr. Hugh, in 1899, and Captain Thomas, in 1903. Captain Thomas left two sons, Hugh and Patrick, and a daughter, Mary, who still lives, and is the widow of the late Rev. H. E. Potter, of San Remo. Hugh, the elder son, married in 1893 the youngest daughter of Patrick Delany, who, with his wife, Elizabeth, and her brother, William Stephen, arrived by the Champion of the Seas in 1858 from Liverpool and who built the first flour mill in Prahran, at the corner of King and Chapel streets and later another in Flinders-lane. Elizabeth Delany, Elizabeth Delany Patrick Delany6

Citations

  1. [S26] Victorian Government. BDM Index Victoria (Births) (online) "#B11303/1859 (par Thomas ANDERSON & Catherine SAYLE) - as Hugh ANDERSON, Birth registered at Melb, Australia."
  2. [S27] Victorian Government. BDM Index Victoria (Marriages) (online) "#M313/1893, Hugh ANDERSON & Elizth DELANY."
  3. [S14] Newspaper - The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic.), Sat 22 Apr 1893, p46
    https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/138653860
  4. [S28] Victorian Government. BDM Index Victoria (Deaths) (online) "#D43/1926 (Age 67) (par Thomas ANDERSON & Catherine SAYLE) - as Hugh ANDERSON, Death registered at Armadale, Australia."
  5. [S14] Newspaper - The Herald (Melbourne, Vic.), Wed 3 Feb 1926, p21
    https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/244060160
  6. [S16] Newspaper - The Age (Melbourne, Vic.), Sat 24 Aug 1935, p6
    https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/203982822
Last Edited7 Mar 2024
 

NOTE

Some family sections show only the children who were associated with Upper Beaconsfield.

Some individuals may be featured because members of their family were associated with the Upper Beaconsfield area, even though they themselves never lived here.