The Kirkham family’s imprint on the local region is still visable at a family-owned art gallery in Berwick, as NEIL LUCAS reports in his latest look at the significance of place and street names in the region.
Kirkham Court, Berwick
Edward Francis Kirkham was born in Bath, England in 1828, the 21st son of a family comprising 24 children.
He was the son of his father Thomas’ third wife Jane, the daughter of a Professor of Music in Bath.
Young Edward decided to pursue a career as a ship’s carpenter, and succeeded in doing this. At the age of 16 Edward was working on the Transport Ship Boyne ferrying troops to India.
A few years later Edward married Ann Dallimore and in 1848 they decided to emigrate from England. It appears that the reason for their decision related to one of Edward’s brothers (or half-brothers), Thomas, who had come to Melbourne eight years earlier and was in need of care due to his state of mental and physical health.
They left on the Cheapside in May 1848 holding introductions to a number of well-connected people in the colony. The introductions were signed by Edward’s Aunt Lucy, the music teacher of the young Princess Victoria, and also, following the Princess’ accession to the throne, Queen Victoria’s children. There is no more information regarding Thomas and his situation.
In Melbourne, Edward appears to have obtained employment as a cabinet maker working for a Mr Kemp whose address was Ashby Cottage, Little Collins Street. Edward later worked as a carpenter, but in 1852 moved his family to Dandenong where he worked as sawyer at a sawmill located on the site which later housed the Dandenong Bacon Factory.
Edward and Ann purchased a 10-acre (four hectare) block of land in Dandenong adjacent to a road which was later named after them (Kirkham Road). Edward built a red gum slab hut which he later extended. He began raising cattle on the property but continued using his carpentry skills building a number of homes in the Dandenong area.
Two years at the goldfields in the 1850s operating a store assisted in his financial progress. Edward and Ann produced 10 children – Sarah born in 1848, William 1850, Emily 1852, Elizabeth 1853, Thomas 1855, Frederick 1856, Jane 1859, James 1861, Arthur 1863, and Alfred 1867.
A relation of Edward, Don Kirkham (presumedly a grandson) was a champion bike rider. As Australian Road Champion he travelled to France and rode in the Tour de France in 1914 finishing in 17th place.
Edward, in addition to his cattle raising, continued to work in the area building houses, erecting fencing, and cabinet making. He acquired further land adjacent to his original property and planted fruit trees, gooseberries and strawberries, and established a number of beehives. No doubt his large flock of children assisted with these pursuits.
Edward was involved with the Mechanics Institute and the local Anglican Church to which he donated generously.
Three of Edward and Ann’s children met early deaths – James aged just five years, Alfred 18 and Arthur 24.
Young William Kirkham, who had been born when Edward and Ann were living at Gardiner’s Creek (now Malvern), in 1850 took up farming on leaving school and worked on his father’s farm at Dandenong.
William married Honorah Reedy and they produced six children – Francis born in 1872, Michael 1873, John 1878, Alice 1879, and twins James and Norah 1881. Sadly, Honorah died following complications with the birth of their twins (the twins also died two months later).
Honorah was the seventh child of Michael and Bridget Reedy who had immigrated to Port Phillip in 1841. Following Honorah’s death, William later remarried.
William and Honorah’s son Francis Kirkham followed his father’s occupation and commenced a dairying business at Bangholme, being the first producer to send milk to Melbourne by rail.
He was a member of the Milk Producers’ Association, a Life Member of the Dandenong Hospital, member of the Pakenham Racing Club and involved in many other local activities.
Francis married Margaret Moran and they produced 13 children – Honorah born in 1905, Alice 1907, Francis 1909, Charles 1910, Margaret 1911, Bessie 1912, Edward 1915, John 1915, Henry, 1917, Malcom 1919, Margaret 1921, Helen 1923, and Norman 1925.
The family later moved to Hallam and continued dairying so successfully that Francis was able to acquire the well-admired property Green Knoll, where 200 cows were milked each day.
The Kirkham boys formed a buck jumping team and travelled to events around the State and interstate winning trophies, ribbons, sashes, belts and cups wherever they went. They were described as “riding anything on four legs” – horses, bulls, steers – you name it. It was a dangerous game.
The local paper in March 1910 reporting on the Lang Lang Rodeo noted: “Unfortunately, the day was marred by an incident in which Frank Kirkham, popular member of a family of crack steer riders, was kicked by a steer and received a badly fractured jaw – the steer lashed out with its hind legs, striking him on the jaw and rendering him unconscious. The Kirkham Brothers thrilled spectators with their exhibitions of trick-riding, two of them performing the hazardous ‘double-dink’, one astride the steer, the other sitting on the beast’s neck facing his brother”.
Norman Kirkham, Frank and Margaret’s youngest son was a pupil at Hallam Primary School which at the time (1930s) was a single room school accommodating students from beginners up to Grade 8.
As the students progressed through the school years they moved across the room towards the other side.
Following his schooling at Hallam and then Dandenong High School, Norman worked on the farm at Green Knoll as most of his siblings had married or moved on.
In 1950 Norman married Bette Raymond at St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Dandenong and following his father’s retirement from farming, and later the sale of Green Knoll, Norman took up employment with International Harvester in Dandenong where he rose to the position of paymaster and remained for more than 12 years.
During this time Norman and Bette lived in Dandenong however in 1969 they moved to a nine-acre (3.6 hectare) property in Inglis Road Berwick named Quorn Cottage.
Norman was a talented cricketer and played until the age of 49 years when he switched to lawn bowls at the Berwick Bowling Club where he served as president for two terms and as treasurer for four years.
In the early 1970s, Berwick was in need of a secondary school and the education authorities decided that the Kirkham’s property would be a good site.
After a long campaign and with the support of the local Member of Parliament Rob Maclellan, the department agreed to look elsewhere. The result was that the department worked with the City of Berwick to acquire adjacent sites in Manuka Road which permitted joint-use facilities being developed with the school using the Leisure Centre and playing surfaces during school hours and the community making use of these facilities after school hours.
But this was to all happen again!
In the late 1980s there was a proposal being considered by the Education Department to close the Berwick Primary School on its site in Peel Street (now Pioneers Park), and to re-establish it on another site.
The department chose the Kirkham’s property in Inglis Road. After a long campaign, with the support of the local City of Berwick Council, the Department was “seen off” again and another site was chosen south of the Highway in Fairholme Boulevard.
Norman and Bette raised two daughters, Andrea and Virginia, and in 1996 after over 26 years in Berwick, they moved to a 100-acre (40 hectare) farm Riverview at Yea where they raised beef cattle.
Andrea purchased Quorn Cottage on which she now operates Paperworks Gallery a quaint gallery and art studio.
Andrea has been a teacher for over 30 years and teaches and works with a range of mediums and techniques, including paint, ink, clay, wire, pastel, crochet and pencil. The studio garden is filled with quirky sculptures made from recycled items, once discarded as scrap, reincarnated by Andrea’s husband, David.
