John SAVIGE 1832-1910 and his brother Thomas Smith SAVIGE 1844-1931 were sons of Samuel SAVIGE 1808-1894 and Hannah SMITH 1808-1872 from Northamptonshire, England who settled at Condah & Hotspur in south-west Victoria in the 1870s before moving to Gippsland in eastern Victoria.
Research has shown that John and Thomas SAVIGE moved to western Victoria in 1867. John kept a store at Branxholme, while Thomas was head teacher of "Old Condah" (South Branxholme) School. In May 1870, John took up a selection of land (196 acres) in the parish of Bramburra, which had been part of Crawford Station, the pastoral lease of which was held by John Meikle MESSER. John's selection lay between Crawford {"Smoky" River) and Greenhills ("new" Condah) township near Lake Condah. Thomas SAVIGE transferred from South Branxholme to Hotspur School, then in 1872 he abandoned life as a teacher, taking up a selection of land (80 acres) adjoining that of John. Both brothers later moved to Narracan in Gippsland with their respective families. Thomas selected an allotment of 229 acres) in 1874, while John selected 320 acres in the name of his son John Russell SAVIGE in 1875. John, Emma and their younger children (including Bert) moved to Narracan in December 1876, shortly after the birth of their youngest child Condah.
One of John's grandsons was to become Lt. Gen. Sir Stanley George SAVIGE who served in WW1 and WW2 and was one of the founders of Legacy. A summary of his story can be found on the Legacy website. (click on logo at right)
John SAVIGE b. 1832 Northamptonshire, Eng., married 1856, Sandhurst, Vic., to Emma RUSSELL b. 1835 Monmouthshire, Wales and they had the following children...
Thomas Smith SAVIGE, brother of John SAVIGE was b. 1845 Northamptonshire, Eng and married 1869 Vic to Anne Russell POWELL b. 1849 Adelaide, SA and they had the following children: