Monbulk Historical Society

LOOKING FOR CHARLIE THOMAS
MONBULK'S GENTLE GIANT

One of the more intriguing of the early settlers of Monbulk was a man named Charles Corian (or Corion) Thomas. He was an unemployed laborer at South Wandin (Silvan) when he applied for allotment 43 section A on October 10 1893. He initially applied for a Section 42 License but was able to have the block added to the Village Settlement in December.

His path to Monbulk was a little different to many others, although with the same hardships. According to his 1896 marriage record Charlie was born in Barbados, in the West Indies, to Robert Thomas, a distiller, and Jane (nee Fortune). These are the only known records indicating his origins. His date of birth is not known but from the ages given when he was married and when he died it was between November 1862 and February 1863.

It was said by people who knew him that he had been a seaman who jumped ship when in Australia. He was of African ancestry and Barbados had been a British slave colony between the 1640s and 1830s, from which he would have been descended. He was affectionately known as "Blackie" by the locals.

Charlie's block was on what is now McCarthy Road, between the McCarthy and Mitchell families. On November 11 1896 Charlie married Harriett Mitchell (1861-1938), the sister of Henry and Thomas Mitchell who had the next two blocks up. Harriett signed her name with two t's, although her name is also recorded with one. They had three children, Natalie (or Nathalie) born 1897, Harold born 1898 and Margaret born 1903. Harold died shortly after birth and Margaret was about 14 when she died on September 18 1917 at Clifton Hill and was buried at Coburg.

There are very few mentions of Charlie Thomas in newspaper reports about Monbulk, the most prominent was in 1897 when a detailed inspection report mentioned him amongst the settlers.

In 1897 Charlie was able to select the adjoining block 37A and farmed the two blocks until 1906. In 1907 Harriett applied for three adjoining blocks of land between Silvan Road and Moores Road (which was later bisected by Mt. Pleasant Road in 1924). On March 1 1910 Charlie, Harriett, Natalie and Margaret moved onto Harriett's blocks where a 20 x 10 foot hut, with hardwood floor and iron roof, had been constructed.

Harriett mentioned that Charlie was losing his eyesight in 1909 and in a 1916 letter he stated that he was blind in one eye. By 1911 Harriett had moved to the city and in 1916 she was recorded as living in Preston however she was also seemingly on the Monbulk blocks for periods of time. In January 1912 Charlie sought to have the blocks transferred to his name and by November that year Harriett signed them over.

Charlie grew strawberries on the blocks in 1914 and sought to pay out the license with his earnings from that although it wasn't until 1918 when he was able to raise the funds. The Country Roads Board sought to make the Silvan Road the main road out of Monbulk to Lilydale and when they bought a corner of Charlie's block he finally had the money required to get the Title.

In an interview with Dorothy Williams for her book Monbulk - Living in the Dandenongs, it was recorded "Some of the children were scared of a big dark man called Charlie Thomas who lived in Moores Road. He was blind and would find his way along the road by tapping the ground and fences with his walking stick. He was really a very kind and gentle man."

In 1924 Charlie subdivided his land as Thomas's Greenwood Estate and Mt. Pleasant Road was put through, although it was little more than a track.

On one occasion when one of the Seamer girls was receiving harassment from a stranger she called on Charlie to help. The imposing appearance of the tall and strong looking Charlie set the visitor on his way, despite Charlie's gentle nature and blindness.

In the 1930s Natalie set up a hairdressing business in Monbulk. She married Gordon Parker of Colac in 1931, not seemingly related to the Monbulk or Silvan Parker's. Natalie later moved to Geelong and died there on May 12 1980.

Harriett died on November 2 1938 and was buried at Coburg alongside her daughter - Baptist Section P Grave 670. Charlie died on February 27 1946 at Bendigo at the age of 83, which is shown both on his death certificate and his probate, however all the entries on Ancestry have him recorded as 1933 which is the result of one person putting that in and everyone else copying it. We don't know where Charlie was buried.

Thanks to Ancestry we have found images of Harriett Thomas (nee Mitchell) and Natalie Parker (nee Thomas), Charlie's wife and daughter, but have never seen a picture of Charlie who was a well remembered Monbulk resident for decades. If anyone has one then we would love to see it.

We have also heard of references of the Monbulk Mitchell family being related to David Mitchell of Lilydale, the father of Dame Nellie Melba. If that could be confirmed or denied then that would also be appreciated as it is interesting either way.

A FORGOTTEN BOOT REPAIRER
JAAN 'JOHN' ENDEN OF MONBULK

A while back we sought to find details of the shoe repairman who shared Mick Seamer's grocery shop at the corner of Main and Mt. Pleasant Roads in Monbulk. He was there for a short time around 1951-1953 and was located where the Monbulk Pizza shop is now. We were able to eventually ascertain that he was Pat O'Donnell snr.

The topic arose again recently when Coral Marr, the daughter of Jack and Dulcie (nee Seamer) Dennison, mentioned that she had seen a photo of a boot repairer in one of her mother's photo albums. Jack and Dulcie loved Monbulk and its history and recorded memories before they passed away. Dulcie also loved photos and had a number of family photo albums which have since been passed down, with photos of Monbulk from the early days.

Coral brought a few photos in to show and it identified the boot repairer as John Enden. Jack had written a note on the reverse which read "John Enden came from Estonia and had a Boot repairing business on the side of The Butchers Shop about 1932". This was not Pat O'Donnell but another boot repairer who had worked for a short time in Monbulk about 20 years earlier. He was also someone about whom we had no records at all, let alone a photo.

A quick look in the Ferntree Gully and Lilydale Shire Rate Books around 1932 didn't show anything. A search at PROV for wills and probates turned up a Jaan Enden who died in 1978. If he was Estonian then his name may have been Jaan and he was known as John in Australia. So it was off to the Births, Deaths and Marriages website to check for any known history of Jaan Enden. There he was, recorded as being born in Estonia.

Jaan Enden was born in Selli, Rapla, Estonia. He migrated to Australia at some point and was recorded as being in Monbulk about 1932 by Jack Dennison. He married Doris Sarah Rumley Overall in Penguin, Tasmania in 1939 and they had a daughter, Jaanette. He died at Berwick on December 6 1978 and was buried at Springvale. His death certificate has him recorded as having been 78 years of age although on Ancestry his date of birth is given as March 14 1903, making him 75. Doris passed away in 1986 when she was living at Sandringham and is buried alongside Jaan.

We now have another piece of history recorded about a person and business in Monbulk. Thanks to Coral Marr for sharing the two precious, rare and previously unseen images of Jack Dennison with John Enden and the group of 4 standing on the Main Road.

We had no idea that there was a business on the side of the building at some stage. The Monbulk Butchers shop was started by Les McAllister in the early 1930s. After his murder in 1939, Jack Dennison carried on the business for a little while before Jim Gray snr bought it. Jim's sons George and Ron continued the business, after Jim moved to Belgrave to open another shop. Gray's Monbulk Butchers closed in 1978 to make way for the new Woolworths.

***EDIT - Researcher Annie Hills has since looked into Jaan Enden's searchable records and found additional information. Enden arrived in Sydney in 1927 aboard the Cephee which embarked from Marseilles. In 1933 he applied for naturalisation in Melbourne but the form was incomplete. He was able to purchase land in Tasmania as an alien in 1941. He was an alien because of where he was born and Australia were at war. There are no papers on file for him becoming a citizen under this name in the National Archives of Australia.

He's been a labourer, nurseryman and estate agent...and a boot repairer. His family who have done his family tree seem to know little about his past. He kept a low profile until suddenly he was marrying the daughter of the nursery owners in Somerset, Tasmania.

In 1953 he again applied for naturalisation when he wanted to travel overseas and needed a passport. He disappears from the census between 1953 and 1977. When he did travel to England in 1959 his date of birth was recorded as June 20 1900, therefore his death certificate showing him to be 78 was correct and the Ancestry entries showing 1903 are wrong. Thanks for this information Annie.

DONALD LANE
& GHOST ROADS OF THE HILLS

When we produced our book 'When Roads Were Tracks' in 2019 (currently out of print and unavailable...the fourth reprint has sold out) we listed a number of roads and paths that no longer exist. In Kallista there existed Vicars Lane, Orange Lane and Ward Road. In The Patch there was Dixons Road and Dianne Avenue. There were more, along with many more unnamed paths.

Some roads were closed when no longer required and were often absorbed into neighbouring properties when sold by the council but still appeared on map for years afterwards. Some still exist as access tracks and paths but are not officially recognised any longer.

Access paths were required features in many subdivisions. There are two access paths still open that cross from O'Connors Road to View Road in The Patch from the subdivision over 100 years ago. These are not known to be named but locals would refer to them by identifying names of the neighbouring property owners. The path from the bottom of O'Connors Road ends at View Road but until the 1980s it also continued down the other side to Kay's Picnic Ground. That continued path has since closed.

As we are currently going through all the Titles of the district we come across new paths that we didn't know and find that some of them had names. When looking through Kallista subdivisions in what was originally known as the Terry-Quirk Estate in 1919 (now comprising of Owen Street, Rivington Avenue and Hill Road) we found that Vicars Lane was officially recognised but so to was another track coming down from Braeside Avenue. That second track was known as Donald Lane.

Donald Lane would have derived its name from the property 'Braeside' which sits above and was owned by William and Margaret Donaldson. Donald Lane was surveyed in 1919 and existed until May 1985 when the council sold it, although it is likely to have been unused for a while before then.

Here are some images of Donald Lane shown on maps and some other roads which no longer exist.

ISAAC SIMMONS
A MAN WHO ACCIDENTALLY NAMED A TOWN
+ LOOKING FOR A PHOTO OF ISAAC

In 1867 the Dandenong State Forest was created as a timber reserve, which only gave it limited protection as many timber workers and prospectors plied their trade there and it only meant that they weren't allowed to live there. By 1878, just 11 years later, large tracts of the Dandenong State Forest were excised and opened for settlement. The newly opened areas went on to become The Basin, One Tree Hill, Tremont, Upper Ferntree Gully, Upwey, Tecoma, Belgrave (also South and Heights), Selby and Menzies Creek. The State Forest Reserve was further reduced by the village settlement scheme of 1893.

In between the years of 1878 and 1893, timber workers looked through the remaining forest for suitable trees to harvest. In the 1880s one such man was Isaac Simmons. He found a patch of blackbutt particularly suitable for palings which he harvested. In 1893 when that portion of the Dandenongs became part of the new Monbulk Parish settlement, the selectors found a grassed cleared area close to where The Patch Store is now located which was the area that Isaac had worked. The locals started calling the area "The Patch" and by about 1900 it began to become officially used to describe the locality.

Isaac and Harriet Simmons and their family remained in the area and in July 1894 Isaac selected land in the Scoresby Labor Colony (One Tree Hill settlement), which became the origins of Ferny Creek. His selection, Lot 56, was in the far bottom corner of the colony however, at the junction of Sandells Road and Terrys Avenue, which is today in the Tecoma or Belgrave area. His 25 year old son Thomas (1869-1943) also selected the adjoining block, 56A, at the same time. In 1906 Isaac transferred Lot 56 to another son Joseph (1878-1952) and in October 1906 Joseph allowed Belgrave timber miller John Mahony to establish a mill on his land which stood for about 3 years before moving to the trestle bridge. Another adjoining block, 57, was also of interest to Isaac and he tried to obtain it in 1897. In 1898 block 57 was granted to William Anderson, who had married Isaac's daughter Martha in 1893, so it is likely that Isaac played a part in getting it.

The Simmons family history is a little hard to follow on Ancestry as there are some conflicting records. George Simmons (1811-1872) had married Sarah Sweatman (1800-1852) in 1833 and they had three children - Mercy (1833-1913), Thomas (1837-1919) and Isaac (1844-1927). Another daughter, Agnes, was born in 1852 (the same year that Sarah died, although she is recorded as the daughter of George's second wife Maria, which seems unusual as they weren't married then). George remarried after Sarah died to Maria Ferrer (1806-1870) in 1854. The family migrated from England to Aldinga in South Australia about 1858, but Mercy remained in the UK as she had married by then. Both George and Maria lived in Aldinga until they passed away in the early 1870s.

Isaac moved to Victoria about 1867 and married Harriet Ward (1843-1911) that year at Portland. Their first child, also called Harriet, was born in the Shire of Berwick in November 1867. The Shire of Berwick then included the Ferntree Gully area so they may have already been nearby. Isaac and Harriet had 9 children and they all remained in the wider area. Isaac was illiterate (signing with an 'X') and Harriet would deal with correspondence. Isaac died at Northcote in 1927 and was buried at the FTG Cemetery with Harriet. Isaac's older brother Thomas also moved to Victoria about 1869. Thomas had married Grace Morrish in Adelaide in 1860 with their first five children born in South Australia and the rest around the Cockatoo area where Thomas and Grace settled in 1873. Thomas died in 1919 aged 81 and was buried in the Nangana cemetery at Macclesfield.

Isaac's younger half sister, Agnes, is a bit more of a mystery as there are conflicting stories of how she came to Victoria. She became prominent around Melbourne in the 1880s supporting the suffragette movement, running a women only gymnasium in North Melbourne and being a swim instructor at Hegarty's Baths. She teamed up with Miss Geraldine Minet, a lady of means, and they started a failed coal mining venture at the Red Bluff in St. Kilda which became a book 'Enchanted Beneath The Bluff' by Isaac Hermann and Heather Arnold. Agnes lived in St. Kilda but when the 1890s depression hit she chose block 16H in the Parish of Monbulk, which was above Cooks Corner in Kallista, where Christian Grove is now. Agnes eventually moved to the block in about 1902 and remained in Kallista until her death in 1929. She was buried at FTG cemetery in the same plot as Alfred Simmons (1863-1928), who was her nephew, the son of her half brother Thomas. Agnes also featured in the ABC documentary 'Q***r Australia' and we did a post about her a few years ago.

While we have images of Thomas and Agnes, we have never seen a photo of Isaac, for whom we would love to find one of as the person who caused The Patch to be named as such. We have seen photos of other members of Simmons family, and the Anderson, Speedie, Charman etc families that are related by marriage so we are sure that Isaac must have been photographed at some stage.

One photo that we do have identified but does not seem to be identified anywhere else, although it even appears in the State Library archives, is one of brothers Thomas and Joseph Simmons, Isaac's sons, working in Sherbrooke Forest. The photo was taken in 1904 by Fitzroy photographer Erasmus Bede Allan and published in his book 'Tourists' Guide To The Dandenong Mountains' which was published in September 1904. Thomas and Joseph were identified in a 1960 newspaper article in the Free Press and are the only photos we have seen of them.

With many descendants of Isaac Simmons still around, hopefully someone will have an image.

THE CONCRETE BRIDGE

When the Country Roads Board was formed in 1913 many new roads were planned. One of these plans was for a good road between Ferntree Gully and Lilydale, via Belgrave and Monbulk. A new road (now Burwood Highway) was constructed between Upper FTG and Upwey in 1913 and the following year another section was built between Belgrave and South Sassafras (now Kallista), being the Monbulk Road from Micawber's to Emberson Street.

The next section of the new Monbulk Road, from where the Perrins Creek Road begins at Chestnut Hill, through to where the Mountain Grande is, was built between 1916 and 1918. The contract for that section was awarded to John McKimmie and a man named Beckett. It was only supposed to take a year but delays dragged it out to three years during the depths of WW1.

A new bridge would be required on this section where the road crossed the Sassafras Creek close to the start of Baynes Park Road. Until that point all the district bridges had been wooden constructions and these had limited life spans. By 1916 Baynes Bridge and Beagley's Bridge had both already been replaced by newer wooden structures. The CRB was building more modern and durable bridges where required and these were to consist of reinforced concrete.

When the new bridge was built about 1916 it became known as the concrete bridge due to its construction. It was also given four concrete pillars which stood until about 1990 when they were removed and replaced with guard rails.

A picnic ground was established next to the bridge off Baynes Park Road which also existed until about 1990 when it was closed and reverted to bushland. Due to the shallow nature of the creek at the picnic ground many locals used to drive into it to wash their cars. The kids would play under the bridge in summer, which was said to have some large Huntsman spiders residing there.

The reinforced concrete bridge still exists under the Monbulk Road and at 110 years old is the oldest original bridge in the district. Other bridges that had existed in earlier times were all replaced by newer structures after the concrete bridge had been built, and were also converted to reinforced concrete or used concrete culvert pipes in their construction.

Here are some images of the 'concrete bridge', as it is still unofficially known today.

WATER FOR MONBULK
AND THE MONBULK WATER TANK

From the first days of settlement, water was a vital resource for the settlers at Monbulk. With many streams in the district, most properties were either adjacent or close to a natural water supply. Rain water tanks soon became a necessary addition to every settler's structures.

In 1929 a plan to provide the Monbulk township with a gravity fed water supply was being petitioned, to be sourced from the Lyrebird Creek on the Graded Road (now Holden Road), about 100 metres from the Devils Elbow on Olinda-Monbulk Road. This didn't end up happening, probably because the creek is little more than a trickle.

By 1946 the Monbulk CWA requested the FTG Council to make a permanent water supply available for the town. Water supply was to continue being an issue for Monbulk into the 1950s. Discussions were had as to whether water should be pumped from Ferntree Gully or from the Silvan Dam.

Prior to mains water coming to Monbulk in more recent years from about the 1970s, Monbulk had a water supply in the form of gravity fed from a tank on a tower at the top of Moores Road. The tank was similar to the one in Upwey, above the Angliss Hospital, which can be seen from Burwood Highway on the mad mile.

We only have one photo which shows the Monbulk tank in 1969, and don't have records of when it was constructed or decommissioned. If anyone has photos showing the tank or knowledge of it then we would love to hear about it.

Evan Hobbs, who lived on Moores Road for over 30 years sent us the following information - "I'm pretty certain that the pump shed which would've housed the original pump between Silvan reservoir/depository and the gravity feeder tank at the top of Moore's Road still sits in the exact same position and the piping which carried the water to the tank is still in situe, it's why such a prime positioned property sat empty for so many years while houses were being built all around that one particular block the piping and structural footings were all still there and there wasn't a government department set up for the complete removal and restoration of property with the view of someone building on it in the near future but bureaucracy prevailed until about 10 years ago or so when a house was built below the site of the tank and it's my belief that remnants of the infrastructure still remain where it was positioned all those years ago."

A COMMUNITY HOUSE FOR MONBULK?
EXCITING NEWS OF WHAT MAY COME....AND A LOOK BACK

Exciting news has recently been announced that Monbulk may receive a Community House. Community Houses started up in the Dandenongs in the 1970s. The first was at Selby in 1975, followed by Kallista and Coonara in 1976 and then Emerald in 1978. The Kallista Community House closed down around Covid due to the state of the building requiring major repairs and services there have progressed over to the Mechanics' Hall which has recently been upgraded.

Community Houses catered for a changing society that had a need for community spaces in smaller venues than the town halls and mechanics' institutes of earlier days. Today they are known as Neighbourhood Houses and there are 12 in the Shire of Yarra Ranges. They would provide services from childcare, youth and recreation classes, art classes, aged services to many other community programs.

The organising committee would love to hear from the community as to what sort of uses they would like to see available in Monbulk.
A link to the survey. https://monbulkcommunityhouse.org.au/

Community spaces have always been important, and it has been no different in Monbulk.

The need for a public hall in Monbulk was recognised as early as 1898, and land was reserved in Monbulk. In February 1902 a public hall, to be used as a Mechanics' Institute, was being erected in the Monbulk settlement, which was to cost about £200. The hall was erected in the Recreation Reserve, next to the State School, where the current car park is, located between the school and the Hub. Mechanics' Institutes served as community halls and usually consisted of a hall, library and kitchen where various community groups would hold meetings, events or dances. The Monbulk Mechanics' Institute and Free Library opened on Saturday November 22 1902.

The initial hall was quite small and in 1905 an extension to the Mechanics' Institute was added, with Mr. Parker being the carpenter in charge. The new enlarged hall was opened on October 13 1905 with a concert and ball. In 1907 commencement was made with the work of adding 12 feet and two ante rooms to the Mechanics' Institute. The building was done in a most substantial manner, the foundation consisting of heavy blocks of sound, seasoned timber, with all the other parts in proportion.

By 1909 it was paid off and debt free due to funds raised from events held there. Disaster struck when devastating bushfires hit Monbulk on Tuesday February 4 1913. The school and Mechanics' Hall were burnt down along with many houses. By May 1913 the re-building of the Monbulk Mechanics' Institute had been let to Edward Anderson for £500.

The new hall opened in early 1914. George Gilmour was president of the hall committee for 13 years from the time that it was originally built until 1914 when the new hall was completed. Harold Smith was a long serving secretary during those years. Mr Bowman, who by now ran Nathania Springs, became the new president and Rowland Godfrey also spent time in charge of the hall. The rebuilt Monbulk School opened on March 13 1914.

During WW1 it was the venue for farewells and later for Welcome Home parties. The hall was utilised by many local groups, from churches, schools and sporting clubs to more important and official duties and meetings. The Monbulk Progress Association met there for decades while it was also the venue for the fruit and flower shows. Movies would also be shown there, at first silent ones and then the 'talkies' by the 1930s.

After WW2 it continued to be the venue for many dances into the 1960s but the advent of TV meant that numbers dropped off over time.

In 1972 the hall was burnt down by some local youths and the site has been vacant ever since, becoming a carpark. The need for a community building for the town meant that by 1976 construction began on the Monbulk Community Centre next door, on the corner of Main and Moores Roads where the old tennis courts had been. The Community Centre served its purpose for many years but by the early 2000s was rarely being used.

In 2007 it was announced that a new Monbulk Community Hub would be built on the site of the Community Hall and Senior Citizen's building, which were demolished. The Monbulk Living and learning Centre would house the Yarra Ranges Shire workers, who had been in a shop in the Main Street, and would also incorporate the kindergarten from across the road. For a while it also included VicRoads services. The new buildings were opened in 2011.

2026 marks 128 years since land was first set aside for the community in Monbulk. Two Mechanics' Institutes 1902-1913 and 1914-1972, a Community Centre, 1976-2007, and now the Monbulk Hub, 2011-present, have served generations of locals on this corner site. A new Community House would be another welcome addition.

𝗢𝗖𝗖𝗔𝗦𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗧𝗔𝗟𝗘𝗦 𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗠 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗧𝗔𝗜𝗡
Sometimes there are stories to tell that require more than just a long Facebook post of an entry in our 𝘔𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘛𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴 newsletter. With this in mind, we have created ‘Occasional Tales from the Mountain’, an eclectic series that probes the stories of someone or something from the past in the ridge top communities of the Dandenongs. Like the tale of Dr Harry Sloggett, a sometime naval surgeon who faced down a breach of promise action. Or the property speculator who dreamt of building an electric tramway halfway up One Tree Hill in the 1890s. Then there is the story of a petition to parliament by village settlers reduced to a diet of potatoes and water in 1896.

To access these and other longer stories, visit our website:
https://mountdandenonghistory.org.au/news/occasional-tales-from-the-mountain/

You will also find copies of our 𝘔𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘛𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴 newsletter and lots more there, including our fabulous mapping tool ...

https://lilydale.mailcommunity.com.au/news/2026/08/09/book-preserves-dutch-heritage-for-future-generations/?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook =1786263144
Once again, thank you to the Star Mail for the article about our ‘From the Lowlands to the Ranges’ book launch.

Book preserves Dutch heritage for future generations From the Lowlands to the Ranges: Celebrating Dutch Heritage in the Monbulk District is a newly launched Yarra Ranges book that will preserve the Dutch heritage of families across the region for future generations to come. The Monbulk Living and Learning Centre was filled with families, friends and m...