After the 1914-18 War, Glenorchy Estate and Glenlivet Station, located between Merino & Digby, were cut up into 38 dairying and sheep blocks. The first Glenorchy School was held in a farm house until a school room was supplied in 1930. There is an undated photograph of school children at SS 4351 Glenorchy on the Vern McCallum Photographs website [Anyone know the date or any names of children ?]. The Glenorchy School was later removed to become a part of the Merino Consolidated School.
Due to falling enrolments SS 1969 Carapook (between Casterton & Coleraine) was closed and moved in the late 1950s or early 1960s to be used as a community hall at Glenorchy.
The Federal Government, in 2003, under the "Saluting Their Service Program" granted $1500 to the Glenorchy Progress Association for the erection of a plinth and plaque outside Merino to commemorate the 38 World War I soldiers who received allotments in the Glenorchy Soldier Settlement estate. The memorial will be situated at the intersection of the Merino-Grassdale and Digby-Glenorchy Roads.
11:00 a.m., Saturday 2nd October 2004
Merino-Grassdale & Digby-Glenorchy Road intersection
Afterwards in the Merino Hall for a free BBQ lunch and lots of talk.
| Original Soldier Settlement Block Allocations, Glenorchy Estate, 1921 Updated : 19 June 2021 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Block | Size | Original Soldier Settler | Names linked to Block |
| LOT 01 | 121 ac | E. J. BARR | Appears to be Ernest 'Ern' James BARR, born ca 1888, son of John BARR and Hannah HATHERALL. Ernest BARR served with the 31st Battalion, 1st AIF and he died in Heywood in 1967. |
| LOT 02 | 121 ac | M. L. KEILLER | Murray 'Ray' La Fayette KEILLER, born 1891, Portland, Victoria, son of Andrew KEILLER and Martha BARTON. Served with the 6th Battalion, AIF and twice wounded at ANZAC (Cape Helles & Lone Pine) and was repatriated to Australia in 1915. He married a Kath DAVIS and died at Heidleberg in 1967. |
| LOT 03 | 133 ac | W. ROWE | Appears to be Walter "Wattie" ROWE, born 1894, Merino son of Samuel ROWE and Janet GALLACHER. Walter served with the 5th Division Ammunition Column, 1st AIF and married Marjorie Ethel KING in 1920. |
| LOT 04 | 140 ac | A. T. KNIGHT | Alfred Thomas KNIGHT, born England 1893, married 1922 to Marion Lucy MORLEY, who was born in South Australia. He served with the 6th Battalion at Gallipoli and 2nd Machine Gun Company in France, twice wounded. Still at Glenorchy in 1939, served with the VDC during WW2 at Merino 1942-1945, but had moved to Adelaide, SA by 1968. |
| LOT 05 | 143 ac | A. C. KING | Appears to be John Albert Claude KING, born 1890 Merino, son of John KING and Sarah MUTCH. He served with the 2nd Pioneers, 1st AIF and married Catherine 'Kitty' GLEN in 1919. |
| LOT 06 | 145 ac | J. A. BRANT | Appears to be John Alexander BRANT, b. 1880, Harrow, son of John Samuel Thomas BRANT and Elizabeth Jane MAYES. John BRANT was married to Alice Emily BROWN from Coleraine in 1907. John served with the 29th Battalion, 1st AIF and his brother Henry BRANT was killed in France while serving with the 38th Battalion, 1st AIF. |
| LOT 07 | 158 ac | T. H. A. WATTS | Thomas Harold Anketell "Harry" WATTS, b. 1887 Caulfield, son of Thomas Salter WATTS and Anna ANKETELL. Carpenter from St Kilda when enlisted in 1914 as Pte 334, 5th Battalion, AIF. RTA as Pte 334, 24th Battalion, AIF in 1918. Married Beatrice Elizabeth RIPPER, still at Glenorchy in 1929. |
| LOT 08 | 131 ac | H. M. SALMON | Harry McKinnon SALMON born 1890, Dandenong, Victoria son of Arthur McKinnon SALMON and Catherine "Kate" MAWBREY was recorded as a Butter Factory Manager when he enlisted in the AIF in 1915. He served with the 29th Battalion, AIF in France where he was gassed in 1918, transferred to the 5th Divisional Train, AIF in 1919 and RTA in August 1919. Harry SALMON had married Vera Constance SABINE in 1915. He signed at Merino in 1921 for a War Medal. A death of a child aged 2y was recorded in Melbourne in 1930 and after that the family ........? |
| LOT 09 | 235 ac | J. McCABE | Appears to be Edward John McCABE born 1896, Sandford, Victoria, son of James McCABE and Catherine FITZGIBBON and he married Melba Adelaide EVANS in 1920. Edward John McCABE served with the 59th Battalion, 1st AIF. Alexander Campbell "Alec."ROSS (aged 67y) took over allotment 9 from Edward McCABE in 1928. |
| LOT 10 | 186 ac | A. LAW | Appears to be Archibald LAW born 1880 Break O Day, son of James LAW and Margaret Salmon DICKSON and he married Anna Jane MELDRUM in 1910. Archibald LAW served as Pte 16932, Australian Camel Corps Field Ambulance, 1st AIF. |
| LOT 11 | 197 ac | W. GROVES | William GROVES born 1880, Woorndoo, son of George GROVES and Ellen DIXON married Caroline STORER at Branxholme in 1904. They had three children, Sydney, Dorothy and Edith. Dorothy married Francis O'MEARA, another Glenorchy Soldier Settler. William GROVES served with the 7th Field Artillery Brigade, 1st AIF. |
| LOT 12 | 214 ac | W.H. SMITH | William Harry SMITH born 1892, Heywood, Victoria, son of Milo John SMITH and Isabella FROST married Florence Lavinia "Florrie" ROGERS at Harefield, England in 1918. They had at least 1 child. William Harry SMITH served (1916-'19) with the 8th Battalion, 1st AIF. |
| LOT 13 | 133 ac | F.L. O'MEARA | Francis Leo O'MEARA born 1893, Toongabbie, son of William O'MEARA and Sarah McELGUNN married Dorothy May GROVES, daughter of William GROVES another Glenorchy Soldier Settler. Francis O'MEARA served with the 59th Battalion, 1st AIF. |
| LOT 14 | 122 ac | S.W. CRAIG | Appears to be Samuel William CRAIG born 1897 Coleraine, son of John "Irish Johnny" CRAIG and Frances PEARCE. Samuel CRAIG married Mary SPONG in 1920. Samuel served with the 1st Field Artillery Brigade, 1st AIF. |
| LOT 15 | 126 ac | H.R. MONTGOMERY | Appears to be Hamilton Ross MONTGOMERY, born 1890 Brunswick, Victoria, son of John Ross MONTGOMERY and Martha BELL. Hamilton MONTGOMERY served with the 13th Light Horse Regiment, 1st AIF and he married Flora McLachlan CAMERON in 1924. |
| LOT 16 | 126 ac | J.L. SEYMOUR | Appears to be John "Jack" Loch SEYMOUR born 1887, Casterton, son of Thomas SEYMOUR and Catherine ANDERSON and he was married to Ada Alice GORRY. Jack SEYMOUR served with the 3rd Light Horse Field Ambulance, 1st AIF as did his brother Norman. Another brother James SEYMOUR served with the 7th Battalion, 1st AIF. |
| LOT 17 | 166 ac | R.J. SHARP | Appears to be Robert 'Robin' John SHARP born 1893, Digby, son of Robert SHARP and Jane HAWORTH. Robin SHARP served with the 4th Machine Gun Brigade and he married Flora Grace EDWARDS. |
| LOT 18 | 603 ac | J. CAMPBELL | Appears to be John CAMPBELL born 1896 at Ballangeich, son of Donald CAMPELL and Margaret STEWART. A brother Stewart CAMPBELL appears to have been a Paschendale Estate Soldier Settler. |
| LOT 19 | 170 ac | R.E. ELSTON | Appears to be Reuben ELSTON, born 1895, Merino, son of James Edward ELSTON and Harriet BISHOP. Reuben ELSTON served with the 5th Pioneer Battalion, 1st AIF and he married Bertha May RICHARDS |
| LOT 20 | 401 ac | D. McKINNON | Appears to be Duncan McLennan McKINNON [MM&Bar], born 1893, Condah, Victoria, son of Donald McKINNON and Ann McDONALD and he married Annie Louisa TALBOT. Duncan McKINNON served with the 24th Battalion, 1st AIF and was awarded the Military Medal & Bar to Military Medal for bravery in the field. |
| LOT 21 | 184 ac | W.A. OWENS | William Alfred 'Bill' OWENS born 1893, Whittlesea, Victoria, son of John OWENS and Emily FRANKLIN. Bill OWENS served with the 58th Battalion, 1st AIF and he married Irene Dorothy COTTER in 1920. |
| LOT 22 | 130 ac | W. TIEMAN | Peter Wilhilmus 'Bill' TIEMAN born 1892, Warrnambool, Victoria, son of George TIEMAN and Catherine NICOL married Edith Ruby EVANS. Bill TIEMAN served with the Australian Army Service Corps, 1st AIF.
Mrs LONG who was the widow of William Joseph LONG purchased 'Bill' TIEMAN's block. Mrs LONG was Hannah Neave KENNEDY, born 1878, Chetwynd, Victoria, daughter of Andrew KENNEDY and Hannah NEAVE. |
| LOT 23 | 121 ac | G.A. ORGILL | George Albert ORGILL born 1880, Emerald Hill, Victoria, son of Thomas ORGILL and Emily ALDER married Lilian Mary HANSEN in 1920. George ORGILL served with the 4th Pioneer Battalion, 1st AIF. |
| LOT 24 | 160 ac | W.T. McGREGOR | William Thomas Duncan McGREGOR, born 1888, Audley, near Branxholme, son of Angus McGREGOR and Catherine "Kate" McKENNA. He married Stella Mary PATTERSON in 1916 before enlisting in the AIF. William McGREGOR served as a Sgt with the 39th Battalion, AIF and was wounded on 3 occasions in France. William and his wife Stella both died at Penshurst, Vic. |
| LOT 25 | 192 ac | B. FRANKLIN | Benjamin 'Ben' FRANKLIN [MM], born 1890, Heywood, Victoria, son of William James FRANKLIN and Emma ADAMSON and he married Emily ___. Ben FRANKLIN served with the 13th Light Horse Regiment, 1st AIF and was awarded the Military Medal for bravery in the field. |
| LOT 26 | 375 ac | J.T. O'BRIEN | Appears to be 'Jack' Thomas O'BRIEN born 1891 Edenhope, Victoria, son of Thomas O'BRIEN and Sarah Ann McEWAN who married Margaret ____. Jack O'BRIEN served with the 14th Battalion, 1st AIF. He has a memorial tree in Booroopki Avenue of Honour, West Wimmera and was married to Margaret ___. |
| LOT 27 | 166 ac | C. McCALLUM | Charles McCALLUM born 1895, Digby, Victoria, son of John 'Jack' McCALLUM and Ann BARKER was married to Ellen 'Topsy' COOPER, daughter of William COOPER and Matilda HANCOCK. Charles McCALLUM served with the 59th Battalion, 1st AIF. |
| LOT 28 | 187 ac | W.J. COOPER | William John "Bud" COOPER born 1897 Digby, Victoria, son of Richard COOPER and Bridget SULLIVAN and who married Ethyl May ANDERSON. "Bud' COOPER served with the 3rd Signal Corps, 1st AIF. |
| LOT 29 | 335 ac | G.A. PENNY | Appears to be George Alexander PENNY, born 1895, Mt Gambier, SA and was married to Beatrice May WHEELER. George PENNY served with the 2nd Machine Gun Battalion, 1st AIF and is listed on the Strathdownie Honour Roll. |
| LOT 30 | 532 ac | P.J. FLETCHER | Appears to be Phillip James FLETCHER, born 1888, Cavendish, Victoria son of William FLETCHER and Esther Ann CLEATOR. Phillip James FLETCHER served with the Camel Corps and 14th Light Horse Regiment, 1st AIF and was wounded in 1917. |
| LOT 31 | 381 ac | D.S. ROSS | Appears to be Donald 'Don' Secundus ROSS born 1892, Coleraine, Victoria, son of Alexander Campbell ROSS and Elizabeth McLELLAN. Donald ROSS served with the 1st C. Bde HQs, 1st AIF. |
| LOT 32 | 780 ac | E. McLEAN | Eric Ernest McLEAN was born 1896, Digby, Victoria, son of Ada SIMKIN and he married Ann McPHERSON. Eric McLEAN served with the 16th Battalion, 1st AIF. |
| LOT 33 | 785 ac | W. McINTOSH | Appears to be William McINTOSH 1893-1930, son of James McINTOSH & Christine BALFOUR who died at Digby in 1930. William was married to Nellie Alexandrina HARVEY and had two children, Colin and Lexie. William McINTOSH served with the 46th Battalion, 1st AIF and he died at Digby 1930. |
| LOT 34 | 900 ac | F.C. BURGESS | Frederick 'Fred' Charles BURGESS was born 1883, Digby, Victoria, son of Thomas BURGESS and Jessie BRUNTON. He married May Elizabeth Isabel SIMKIN in 1910 and they did not have any children. Fred BURGESS served with the 46th Battalion, 1st AIF and suffered a severe gunshot wound to the left leg, France, Apr 1917. |
| LOT 35 | 860 ac | C. DOUGHNEY | Charles Arnold DOUGHNEY was born 1892, Digby, Victoria, son of Charles DOUGHNEY and Miriam McCALLUM. Charles DOUGHNEY served with the 58th Battalion, 1st AIF. |
| LOT 36 | 637 ac | S.A. SIMKIN | Sydney Allan Joyce SIMKIN was born, 1886, Digby, Victoria, son of George William SIMKIN and Sarah JOYCE. Sydney SIMKIN served with the 58th Battalion, 1st AIF and George POVEY (46th Battalion) recorded in his diary from France that he met up with Syd SIMKIN while they were both on active service. Syd SIMKIN married Maria HARWOOD. |
| LOT 37 | 440 ac | A.J. BALL | Arthur John BALL was born 1890, Strathdownie, Victoria, son of John James BALL and Mary Jane DOWLING. He married Muriel Alice BURGESS. Arthur John BALL served with the 3rd Field Troop Engineers, 1st AIF. |
| LOT 38 | 1564 ac | H.J. HENRY | Horace James 'Jim' HENRY was born, 1880, Hamilton, Victoria, son of James HENRY and Mary Ann BAGLIN. He was a Stock Agent prior to enlisting in 1914 and served at Gallipoli and in France being promoted to Sgt., Warrant Officer and finally Lt. He served with the 3rd Light Horse Regiment and 13th Battalion, 1st AIF. |
The original soldier settler names in the above list were in the Casterton News in 1921. Some settlers did not occupy their block or moved on soon after occupation.
Looking for additional information to identify all Soldier Settlers on Glenorchy Estate. Please EMAIL Daryl at - Daryl Povey
| Additional Glenorchy Estate Names from "Merino / Digby Heritage" Book 1977 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Block | Size | Later Block Settler | Names linked to Block |
| - | - | V.J. BALL | Victor 'Vic' Joseph BALL was born 1893, Strathdownie, Victoria, son of John James BALL and Mary Jane DOWLING. He was a brother of Arthur John BALL in the original list and he married Annie SPRING. Vic BALL served with the 21st & 24 Battalions, 1st AIF. |
| - | - | R. ELLIOTT | Arthur Charles "Dick" ELLIOTT 1889-1952, b. Merino, Victoria son of Johanna ELLIOTT; died 1952 Melbourne, Victoria. Served in WW1 as Dvr 1828, 4th Motor Transport Coy, AIF, enlisted 23 Nov 1914 Melbourne, Victoria, to France 15 Jul 1915, left France 12 Oct 1918 for RTA, embarked 23 Oct 1918 from England for RTA, discharged 23 Feb 1919 Melbourne, Victoria.
|
| - | - | F.E. FIDLER | Frederick 'Fred' Ernest FIDLER was born 1884, Hotspur, Victoria, son of Edward Charles FIDLER and Charlotte Louisa JAMES and he married Emma JAMES. Fred FIDLER served with the 21st Battalion, 1st AIF. |
| - | - | H.C. HANCOCK | Herbert Claude 'Sandy' HANCOCK was born 1898, Digby, Victoria, son of Joseph James HANCOCK and Violet Catherine SIMKIN and he married Annie Margaret SULLIVAN in 1926. Sandy HANCOCK served with the 58th & 59th Battalions, 1st AIF. |
| - | - | J.C. HUSSON | John Cameron "Jack" HUSSON was born, 1884, Merino, Victoria, son of Edwin HUSSON and Catherine CAMERON. |
| - | - | A. ROSS | Alexander Campbell "Alec."ROSS took over allotment 9 from Edward McCABE in 1928 husband of Elizabeth McLELLAN; father of ROSS Donald 'Don' Secundus ROSS and William "Bill" Ross. |
| - | - | ? SHEPHERD | -----looking for information?----- |
| - | - | T. THWAITES | -----looking for information?----- |
| - | - | G.K. VOEGE | George Klaus VOEGE [AKA Colin CAMERON] was born in 1900 at Digby, Victoria. He joined the 1st AIF, 4th Light Horse by enlisting 7-10-1916 aged 16. He was listed as a "charger" at Beersheba, Palestine with the 4th Light Horse Regiment on 31 Oct 1917. RTA 15-06-19, Digby Avenue of Honour Tree No 27, planted by Miss Doris CAMERON. George VOEGE moved to Western Australia, changed his name to Colin CAMERON prior to enlisting in WW2, where he served with distinction, ending the war as Major Colin CAMERON 2/4th Machine Gun Battalion and spent time as a POW of the Japanese on the Burma Railway in south-east Asia. He is named in Rohan Rivett's book "Behind Bamboo" (1945) and Les Cody's book "Ghosts in Khaki" (1997), history of 2/4th Machine Gun Battalion. |
Many of the names of the settlers listed above have been sourced from a book produced for the Back to Merino and Digby celebrations in 1977 and you may be fortunate to find one in a second-hand bookstore. The title of the book is: "Merino Digby Heritage (1977)"