Category: Percydale

Avoca vs Rural Schools: 1875 Examination Insights

In December 1875 the Avoca Mail published the results of the annual competitive examinations for the state schools of the South Riding School District. These examinations, conducted by Inspector Bolam, tested pupils in dictation, arithmetic, grammar and geography, with prizes and certificates awarded to the highest performers in each age group.

Thomas Bolam in 1883

The results provide a comparison of educational achievement across the district. Although Avoca State School entered by far the largest number of pupils, the smaller rural schools performed remarkably well. Bung Bong equalled Avoca’s total of nine prizes despite entering only nine competitors, while the special prizes in every class were won by pupils from outside Avoca. The newspaper regarded this as a disappointing outcome for the town’s principal school and did not hesitate to criticise the performance of its senior classes.

The article below has been transcribed in full because it records not only the prize winners but also the marks they obtained, the number of competitors from each school, and the newspaper’s candid commentary on the results. The children were from Avoca, Avoca Lead, Amphitheatre, Bung Bong, Homebush, Lamplough, Lillicur, Mountain Hut and Percydale.

Avoca Mail, Friday 24 December 1875, page 2

THE STATE SCHOOLS COMPETITIVE EXAMINATIONS.

The results of the above examinations arrived from Mr Inspector Bolam yesterday morning, and we have been furnished with the Inspector's official list through the courtesy of the Board of Advice for the South Riding School District. From the statement of prize-winners which appears below it will be seen that notwithstanding the fact that Avoca has carried off nine out of the 36 prizes offered (counting certificates of merit in the prize-list), the local school comes out of the contest with very barren honors. Avoca competed in each of the four classes, and in each case sent about as many competitors as all the other schools put together. Notwithstanding this, however, the Bung Bong school, which only sent two competitors to three of the classes and three to the other one, carried off nine prizes also (two only being certificates) each child winning a prize. In the competition of the 6th class Avoca, with eight representatives out of a total of seventeen competing, was altogether left out in the cold. In the 5th class, with seventeen scholars against fourteen sent by all the other schools, Avoca managed to carry off a certificate only, but the winner of this may boast that he can show more marks than the winner of the 1st girl's prize in the same class. The members of the 4th class seem to have had better training than their schoolmates of the 5th and 6th, or else they made better effort for the honor of the town. They succeeded in pulling off five out of the ten prizes offered, eleven from Avoca meeting twelve from other schools. In the 3rd class eighteen of Avoca met seventeen from the suburbs, but only succeeded in taking three out of eight prizes, missing also the special and both of the first prizes. The special prizes have all gone to the outside schools, Master William McMahon having won it in the 6th class for Percydale: Master Thomas Sutters, in the 5th class, for Mountain Hut; Master Thomas Abbott, in the 4th class, for Bung Bong, with a special note of praise for "excellent work." having also reached within ten of the full number of marks obtainable; and Master William Rutter, in the 3rd class, for Homebush, with only five short of the total number of marks obtainable. It will also be observed that the boys have carried off the special prizes on this occasion and thus, although accomplished by other schools, retrieved the defeat of last year. We furnish below a table which we have compiled with the view of showing at a glance the number of prizes obtained by each school, with the number of scholars competing:一
SchoolCompetitorsPrizesCertificatesTotal Prizes
Avoca54729
Percydale7303
Amphitheatre3123
Lillicur9224
Bung Bong9729
Mountain Hut6404
Homebush3202
Avoca Lead10101
Lamplough5101
Total10628836
Amphitheatre competed only in the 6th class: Lillicur, Mountain Hut, and Lamplough, in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th; Homebush in the 3rd, 5th, and 6th; while Avoca, Percydale, Bung Bong, and the Avoca Lead competed in all four classes.

We give below the complete list of prize-takers in the order of prizes and classes, with the name of the school which each prize-taker attends, and the total number of marks obtained at the examination. The subjects in which the children were examined were the same in all four classes, viz:-Dictation, Arithmetic, Grammar, and Geography. Only in one case, that of Master Christopher Abbott, of Bung Bong, does it appear that any marks have been given for writing, and in this instance the Inspector makes a note "five marks specially allowed for penmanship." The total number of marks obtainable in the 6th, 5th, and 4th classes was 350, the limit being extended to 400 in the 3rd class.

CLASS VI.— Under 15 years.— Special prize, William McMahon, Percydale, 240. Boys— 1st prize, William John Williamson, Avoca Lead, 237 ; 2nd prize, Thomas Quayle, Amphitheatre, 203 ; 3rd prize, William Loo Ching, Percydale, 181. Girls— 1st prize, Martha Rutter, Homebush, 196 ; 2nd prize, Emily Birkenshaw, Bung Bong, 176 ; 3rd prize, Lillie Sutherland, Bung Bong, 169. Certificates— Edward Bird, Amphitheatre, 170; Albert Scott, Amphitheatre, 165.

CLASS V.— Under 13 years. — Special prize. Thomas Sutters, Mountain Hut, 300. Boys— 1st prize, James Hughes, Mountain Hut, 261 ; 2nd prize. Thomas Geo. Butt, Lillicur, 254 ; 3rd prize, John Schmidt, Mountain Hut, 235. Girls— 1st prize, Hannah Chapman, Bung Bong, 194; 2nd prize, Mary Eliza Clark, Lillicur, 179; 3rd prize, Priscilla Cartwright, Lamplough, 167. Certificates— Joseph Nicholson, Bung Bong, 233; Philip Whalley, Avoca, 216. 

CLASS IV. — Under 11½  years.— Special prize, Thomas Abbott, Bung Bong, 340. Boys— 1st prize, William Mathers, Avoca, 187; 2nd prize, Frederick Frey, Avoca, 180: 3rd prize, Edwin Miles, Avoca, 173. Girls— 1st prize, Emma Miller, Bung Bong, 244; 2nd prize, Margaret McMahon, Percydale, 222; 3rd prize, Anastasia Brennan, Avoca, 162. Certificates— William Henderson, Bung Bong, 156 ;Caroline Beata Butt, Lillicur, 150; Albert Wiltshire, Avoca, 139.

CLASS III.— Under 10½ years.— Special prize, William Rutter, Homebush, 395. Boys— 1st prize, Christopher G. Abbott, Bung Bong, 290; 2nd prize, Alfred Kelley, Avoca, 285; 3rd prize, George Macadam, Avoca, 225. Girls— 1st prize, Lucy Paddon, Mountain Hut, 333; 2nd prize, Flora Frey, Avoca, 215; 3rd prize, Maria Roberts, Bung Bong, 195. Certificate— Oliver Stevenson, Lillicur, 195. 

The statement from which the above is taken, and which shows also the number of marks obtained by the winners in each separate subject, will remain at this office during the next few days for the inspection of parents, teachers, and scholars, or anyone else who may feel interested in the subject. Much surprise, we might even say indignation, has been expressed at the ignominious defeat suffered by the senior classes of the Avoca School, and the results show that not one day too soon has the competitive examination been instituted. It is certain that if our boys are not making the progress they should do it is better to know the worst at once, in order that efforts may be made for improvement. That an improvement may be speedily accomplished at this school is "a consummation devoutly to be wished." 

Conclusion

The achievements of more than one hundred children are recorded and the schools they attended identified.

Although Avoca entered 54 pupils—more than half of all competitors—it won no more prizes than Bung Bong, which entered only nine pupils. This disparity explains the Avoca Mail‘s unusually critical assessment of the town’s school.

Looking back from the twenty-first century, these examination results reveal much more than academic success. They demonstrate that small rural schools with only a handful of pupils could compete successfully against the much larger Avoca School. Schools such as Bung Bong, Mountain Hut, Homebush and Percydale produced outstanding scholars despite their limited enrolments, testifying to the dedication of their teachers and pupils.

Percydale School 1042

From Vision and Realisation, A Centenary History of State Education in Victoria, Education Department of Victoria 1973, Vol 2: 1042 Percydale (pages 724-5)

Early in 1869 William Sutcliff, on behalf of eighteen parents with 32 school age children, sought aid for a proposed school in the Parish of Yehrip at Fiddler's Creek. The Committee, which consisted of J. Dowe, T. Ward, C. Ebeling, J. McMahon, W. Harris, E. Townsend, W. Sutcliff, had collected £31 5s 6d 'towards the cost'. DI Elkington [District Inspector of Schools] reported on 16th of March 1869 and recommended aid. Meanwhile the Committee erected a wooden building 30ftx18ft, with a shingle roof and deal floor at a cost of £102 12s (with furniture). Mrs Caroline Morman conducted a private school in this building during 1869 when the a.a. [average attendance] was about 40. She unsuccessfully claimed salary from the Board from 1st of January 1869. DI Bolam [District Inspector of Schools] again recommended aid in March 1870. The Board granted aid on 31st of August, salary to be paid from 1st of January 1870. The Committee appointed Elijah Gilsenan as master in November 1869. The 2 acre site for a school Allotment 2, Section 9 - was gazetted on 13th of June 1873. By January, however, the NE [net enrolment] had reached 113 and the Wesleyan Chapel next door had to be leased for 5s a week. In 1874 an old residence built by the teacher was bought by the Department for £9. A 30ft x 18ft addition to the school built by Whitty & Co. for £279 10s 3d was completed by October 1877 and a 4 room wooden residence, built by Chas Ludbrook of Ballarat for £280, completed in 1877. In the 1890s the school building also housed the post office and the Registry of Births and Deaths, apparently under the charge of the HT. P.J. Haly was the Correspondent of the 1911 Committee. The school closed officially on 26th of February 1942.

Percydale State School flag in the collection of the Avoca and District Historical Society; donated by the estate of Dorothy Turpin.

Wikitree:

Letters from Maurice Leyden Percydale in 1900

In May 1900 a letter from eleven year old Maurice Leyden of Percydale appeared in the “Young Folks” pages of Melbourne’s Weekly Times. The Young Folks was a feature which first appeared in  1883. Originally a children’s column published alongside the newspaper’s Ladies’ Column, Young Folks offered stories and reading matter for younger readers.

A major change came in December 1892 when the newspaper announced a competition for original compositions by children under fourteen. When the competition commenced in the Christmas issue, the editors introduced a new figure, “Uncle Ben”, to receive the entries. Rather than writing to the formidable newspaper editor, children were invited to correspond with “that kind-hearted old gentleman” and to tell him about their adventures, pets, holidays, and everyday lives. Aunt Connie joined the enterprise a few months later.

The idea proved remarkably successful. Over the following decades thousands of children from farms, mining settlements, and country towns wrote to Aunt Connie and Uncle Ben. Their letters created a unique record of childhood in rural Australia. 

Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic.), Saturday 12 May 1900, page 13

Fond of Shooting. — Percydale, April 18, 1900. — Dear Uncle Ben, — This is the first time I have written to you, and I hope that you will accept me as one of your nephews. I have two brothers, and their names are Phil and George. I have a foal, a ferret and a dog. We have three cows, and I have to feed them every morning and evening. I have about two miles to walk to school. I am eleven years old, and am in the sixth class. We are to be examined in May. We got 95 per cent. last year, and wish to reach the 100 this year. Our teacher is Miss Brown. Percydale is a pretty little place, being situated at the foot of the Pyrenees Mountains. I have a pea rifle, and I often go out shooting. We have had some nice rains, which have made the grass spring up. All the farmers have put their crops in, and they are expecting a better harvest than last year. Would you please send me a collecting card, and I will try and help the poor little children. With love to Cousins Florrie and Connie, not forgetting yourself, I remain your affectionate nephew, — Maurice Leyden. (We are glad to add you to our large family circle, Maurice, and hope you will write again, after a time. Aunt Connie will send a card. — Uncle Ben.)

Maurice wrote again later in the year:

Weekly Times, Saturday 15 September 1900, page 8 

Ferreting for Rabbits. — Percydale, 23rd August.— Dear-Aunt Connie,— I am returning my collecting card with the amount collected 15s 6d. I have kept my card to the limit of the time, three months I was out ferreting to-day and I got six rabbits. I put a net on a very old burrow, and put in the ferret, but I really never thought that a rabbit was in the burrow. After the ferret had been in for about a minute, I heard a rumbling noise in the burrow, and the next moment a black rabbit jumped into the net. I took it home to try and tame it, but it got out of its hutch and ran away. My brother Phil has a pet goat, and also a cart, which the goat draws We have three cows and three calves. I have five rabbit traps and I often set them, but I never get more than four rabbits at a time from them. When I am out ferreting and do not put a net on every opening of the burrow, my dog reminds me of that fact by barking violently up the burrow without a net. Dear Aunt Connie,— as it getting late in the afternoon, and as I have to go for the cows, I will conclude with love. I remain your affectionate nephew, Maurice Leyden.

Wikitree:

Arbor Day

The first Arbor Day in Australia took place in Adelaide, South Australia in June 1889. It followed the American tradition established in Nebraska in 1872. Victoria first held Arbor Day in 1890.

In January 1890 Baron von Mueller, the Victorian government botanist, gave an address to the Australasian Science Association of which he was president elect. In his speech he mentioned Arbor Day:

“The annual “arbor day,” let us trust, will become universal as a legitimate holiday, to which will be looked forward with delight, particularly by the juveniles, who with a life of hope before them can await results from pleasurable action and intelligent forethought. Celebrations like these are not without a lesson to the whole community. The increment to the wood estate of Victoria would be now already 200,000 trees annually if some slight tending followed the impulse of planting.”

In that year, 1890, three miles of avenues in Victoria Park in Ballarat were planned to be planted to celebrate the Queen’s Birthday, 24 May, for Arbor Day. Otherwise preparations were made to celebrate Arbor Day on 21 June. Mr Perrin, Conservator of Forests, hoped 40,000 trees would be planted in the drier areas of Victoria.

I am not sure if the Avoca district participated in that first Arbor Day. However, by 1906 Arbor Day was celebrated in Percydale and by schools at Homebush and Avoca among others.

In April 1906 under Horticultural Notes the Leader (Melbourne, Vic) announced:

Mr. A. Sublet, head teacher, State school, Percydale, via Avoca, states that he is willing to forward wattle seed (black and golden wattle) to teachers, on receipt of a stamped envelope

In June 1906 many Victorian newspapers reported on Arbor Day at Percydale including The Argus and The Ballarat Star of 19 June 1906:

The Director of Education states that Arbor Day celebrations in connection with the State schools are now in full swing, a different day being observed in each district, in order to facilitate the despatch of trees from the State nursery. Amongst the various reports received on the subject from State school teachers is one from Mr Sublet, head teacher of the Percydale school He reports that on Arbor Day there, 60 loads of soil were deposited on the school gardens, and large number of visitors and scholars were kept busy. Previous to Arbor Day, the Percydale school nursery supplied 52 schools with acacia seed, and has also sent trees to schools at Homebush, Dunack, Rathscar, Carisbrook, Red Bank, Avoca, Kimberley, and Timor West

Lower Homebush No. 2258 – Arbour Day
Early twentieth century about 1905-1915

Wikitree: Albert Sublet (1871-1958) : teacher at Percydale school 1042 from 1901 to 1908.

Mary Ellen (Minnie) Picking nee Daly, 1884–1923

Mary Ellen Daly, sixth of the eight children of Patrick Daly, a farmer, and Mary Ann Leyden, was born on 5 November 1884 at Percydale. She was baptised on 25 January 1885 in Maryborough.

Daly’s cottage at Percydale

In 1911 at the age of 27 she gave birth to a boy at Footscray, Charles Kemp ne Daly (1911-1989). No father was named on the certificate and he was adopted out.

On 11 April 1914 Mary Ellen Daly married William Henry Picking (1884-1971) at St Monica’s Presbytery in Footscray.

William and Mary Ellen Picking had three children:

  1. Louis Henry Wiltshire (1914-1980) born in Glen Huntly
  2. Arthur Alexander (1919-1992) born in Glen Huntly
  3. Mary Elizabeth (1920-2005) born in Mirboo North

On 19 August 1914 William Henry Picking enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force, giving his occupation as railway employee. He lived at Glen Huntly and his wife was his next of kin. In 1915 Mary returned to Percydale to live with her mother for the duration of the war.

William served with the Field Ambulance at Gallipoli and Lemnos. He became ill and was hospitalised in London. He returned to Australia and was discharged in November 1918.

On William’s return to Australia he and his wife Mary Ellen returned to Glen Huntly in Melbourne then moved to Mardan, near Mirboo North, Gippsland, where William took up farming.

Mary died on 29 April 1923 at Mardan of breast cancer, which she had for 1 year 3 months, and lung cancer, which she had for 4 months.

A year after her death her sisters placed an In Memoriam notice in the Argus:

PICKING (nee Daly).—In sad and loving memory of our dearly beloved sister, Minnie, who died on the 29th April, 1923, at Mardan. R.I.P.
   Her cheerful ways and loving face
   Are pleasant to recall;
   She had a smile for everyone,
   And died beloved by all.
—(Inserted by her loving sisters, M. Shaw, F. Moreland, K. Butcher, and H. Esmonde.)

Notices on the anniversary of her death appeared until 1937:

Age (Melbourne, Vic.), Thursday 29 April 1937, page 1

PICKING (nee Daly). --In loving memory of our dearly beloved ones, Minnie, who died at Mardan, 29th April, 1923; mother, who died at Glen Huntly, 16th March, 1919; father, who died at Percydale, 31st January, 1906; Jack, who died at Rodborough, 20th February, 1913; Jim, who was drowned at Benalla, 6th September, 1906; Arthur, who was drowned at Avoca, 9th November 1899. May their souls rest in peace.

Wikitree: Mary Ellen (Daly) Picking (1884-1923)

[Many thanks to Mary Ellen’s great grand daughter Jane for sharing her family history with us.]

Mary Ann (McCoy) Ah Car (1849-1872), the wife of an opium dealer

Mary Ann McCoy was one of a small number of European women who married Chinese men on the gold fields. Addicted to drink and opium she died age 22 at Percydale in 1872.

Mary Ann McCoy was born in 1849 in Sydney, daughter of George McCoy and Bridget McCoy nee Gunnan.

In the 1850s he McCoy family moved to Victoria. They were at Talbot in 1855 and in Ararat from about 1857 .

In 1867 at the age of about 17 Mary Ann married Ah Car, a Chinese opium dealer. They had no children.

Five years later, on 2 April 1872, she died at Percydale  age 22. A coroner’s inquest held the next day found her cause of death to be “effusion on the brain, the result of alcohol poisoning and excessive smoking of opium”.

Depositions were made by 

  • Her husband, who spoke of her being a heavy drinker and opium smoker. He said that she was 22, a native of Sydney and that she left a father, mother and sister at Ararat and that her father was a farmer.
  • A neighbour, Annie Williams, who had known her for three or four years and also spoke of her drinking and smoking opium.
  • Another neighbour, Catherine Ah Toon, wife of another opium dealer, who was present at her death.
  • The Avoca doctor John McMahon who performed the post-mortem examination.
inquest deposition
Deposition by Ah Car, opium dealer, husband of the deceased Mary Ann Ah Car
Pubic Record Office Victoria Inquest Deposition Files (VPRS24) 1872/84 Female Mary Ann Ah Car: Inquest Given name : Mary Ann; Family name : Ah Car; Cause of death : Effusion in the brain; Location of hearing : Percydale VPRS 24/P0000, 1872/84 (image 5)

Avoca Mail, Saturday 6 April 1872, page 2

An inquest was held by the coroner, L. Worsley Esq., at the Percydale Hotel, on Wednesday last on view of the body of Mary Ann Ah Kar, aged 22 years, the wife of a Chinese opium dealer. From the evidence adduced it appeared that the deceased had been taken ill on the previous Saturday, but no doctor was sent for as her husband did not apprehend any danger until a few hours before her death, when the services of a Chinese doctor were procured. The husband deposed that she had been a heavy drinker of gin for the last three or four years, and also smoked opium to a great extent. Two female witnesses, who had known her for several years passed, corroborated the testimony of the husband. The post mortem examination made by Dr McMahon proved that the cause of death was alcoholic poisoning. The doctor stated that the lungs and heart of deceased were in a healthy state, but that the liver was enormously enlarged, and there was also a serous effusion on the brain. The jury brought in a verdict in accordance with the medical testimony.

Mary Ann Ah Car was buried at the Avoca Cemetery on 4 April 1872. 

On the burial records her religion was stated to be Roman Catholic, her parents and siblings however were Wesleyan.

opium smokers
Chinese opium-smokers
from The Australian Sketcher (18 April 1874)
State Library of Victoria Accession No : A/S18/04/74/13

Opium was not illegal in Victoria until 1905.

In the 1868 Victorian Parliament Report on The Chinese Population in Victoria, there is a mention of “dens of infamy and immorality” populated with “abandoned European women”.

The report expressed concern that the effects of opium would “in the course of time the practice will gradually spread among the European population, and produce as disastrous results upon them as upon the Chinese people”.

Further reading:

  • In the 1867 survey of Chinese in Avoca: Statistics of Chinese Population in Avoca supplied by Howqua, the Chinese interpreter stated
    • 4 Chinese were married to European women in this colony
    • 2 opium-shops.
      • Evils of opium smoking: A man comes to get an intolerable craving for it. If the Government were to impose a heavy duty on opium, the number of opium smokers would be lessened by one-half.
    • 50 Chinese out of 100 are opium smokers.
    • From 11s. to 12s. are spent by rich Chinese on opium per week; 6s. to 7s. by men in middling circumstances; 2s. 6d. to 3s. a week by poor men.
    • To stop opium smoking: A man who sees the evils that spring from it, will of himself cease using the drug.

Wikitree: Mary Ann (McCoy) Ah Car (1849-1872)

Eliza Crowhurst (1844-1919), a devoted mother

Eliza Hale, daughter of Jasper Hale and Mary Nelson, was born in 1844 at Brighton, Victoria. In 1865 she married a miner named George Crowhurst. They had nine children, three born in the Avoca district and six in Parkes, New South Wales.

In 1866 their oldest daughter Harriet was born at Stuart Mill, a gold-rush town forty kilometers north-west of Avoca. In 1868 and 1870 two sons were born to them at Percydale.

On 15 November 1870 Harriet, their oldest daughter, died at Percydale aged four years. She was buried two days later in Avoca cemetery, with her cause of death recorded on the register as pneumonia.

Her grave is marked by a headstone carved by her mother:

To The Memory Of Harriet The Beloved Daughter Of George And Eliza Crowhurst Who Departed This Life The 16 Of Nov 1870 Born 14 Oct 1866 Age 4 Years

Photograph by Neville Rowland

On the reverse side Eliza wrote that Harriet’s headstone was

Worked by her Mother’s hand.

Eliza took the headstone to the cemetery, six miles from Percydale, by wheelbarrow.

A 1963 plaque was erected next to Harriet’s grave by the Maryborough Rotary Club. It is inscribed:

Sacred to the memory of Eliza Crowhurst
A devoted mother who carved the headstone on this grave and wheeled it in a barrow from Percydale to the Cemetery to erect it thereon.
“The memory of the just is blessed”
Mothers Day.           Avoca 1963

Photograph by Neville Rowland

On moving to Parkes, Eliza and her husband settled at Tomingley near Peak Hill, where George Crowhurst operated a mine.

Eliza died on 23 August 1919 and is buried in Peak Hill General Cemetery.

Western Champion (Parkes, NSW), Thursday 4 September 1919, page 6

PEAK HILL
Mrs. Eliza Crowhurst, relict of the late George Crowhurst, died on Saturday morning, at the ripe age of 75 years. For the past twelve months Mrs. Crowhurst had not enjoyed the best of health, and lately it became evident that the end was approaching, and in spite of every care and attention, she gradually sank and passed peacefully away in the presence of her family. Mrs. Crowhurst was one of the oldest residents of Tomingley, having arrived here with her husband and family some 36 years ago, so that she saw the rise and ultimate decay of the once rich mining village.

More then ten years after Eliza’s death, a Melbourne Methodist minister, the Reverend C. Irving Benson, wrote a short piece about Eliza and her daughter Harriet in the Melbourne “Herald” on 13 May 1933 for Mothers’ Day:

A Lonely Grave.

There is a pathetic little slab in the Avoca cemetery. The crudely carved inscription reads: "Sacred to the memory of Harriet, the beloved daughter of George and Eliza Crowhurst, who departed this life the 15th of Nov., 1870. Born 14 of Oct., 1866. Age, 4 years." On the back of the stone are the words: "Worked by her mother's hands."

Try to think what lies behind it. A pair of pioneers make their home in a tent or a hut, and a little lassie is born to them. I think of that little child, the delight of their eyes, playing in the golden sunshine, running to meet her Daddy as he came home from the long day's toil.

Then comes the fell day when the child is sick and fevered. There is no doctor within reach. They try such homely remedies as they know or their neighbours advise. But there they watch in dumb agony and utter helplessness the little life ebb away.

In a home-made coffin they carry the mite to that lonely grave. Then the father hews a rough slab of stone out of the hills, and day after day the mother works with stone and water to smooth it, and her untrained hands, using such tools as are available, grave these simple lines.

Such were the pioneer mothers, Let us honour them with thanksgiving and thanks-living. 

Wikitree: Eliza (Hale) Crowhurst (1844-1919)

Mr Loo Chin of Percydale

When the Maryborough and Avoca Railway was opened at Avoca by the Victorian Governor, among those who attended the festivities were the district’s Chinese residents. In an extensive report of the opening by the Avoca Mail on 24 October 1876 mention was made of a speech given by Mr Loo Chin, of Percydale on behalf of the district’s Chinese residents.

William Loo Ching was an interesting man, who had lived in the Avoca district for six of the more than 60 years he was in Australia.

He was born in Canton (Guangzhou), China, probably about 1830. He came to the Colony of Victoria in the 1850s.

On 9 May 1859, aged 28 (so born about 1831),  he married Anne Lane in St John’s Church of England in Melbourne. He described himself as a storekeeper living in Little Bourke Street. Anne Lane had been born in Ireland, arriving in Victoria in 1855. Anne was the servant of James Darling a Melbourne clergyman. She was introduced to Loo Chin by him. Anne’s sister Elizabeth also married a Chinese man.

marriage certificate
Marriage Registration: Victoria Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages Victoria Marriages Index; Registration number: 1406 / 1859
William LOO CHING; Spouse: Anne LENE; Year: 1859.

William and Anne Loo Ching lived first in Ballarat and later Creswick where William was a storekeeper. 

They  had three children, two of whom died young.  William and Anne were estranged in 1861; on 4 March 1861 William Loo Ching placed an advertisement stating he would no longer be responsible for the debts of his wife Annie. In 1862 Anne Loo Ching successfully sued William Loo Ching for maintenance.

When their daughter Fung Lang (Dora) Loo Ching died in February 1862 there was an inquest. It was mentioned that the father of the child Loo Ching was a wealthy storekeeper at the Chinese Town, Black Lead (Creswick). He was reported to have been very fond of his daughter.

From about 1862 William Loo Ching cohabited with a woman called Julia Millar. They had eleven children.  Two of them were born in the gold fields town of Sofala, New South Wales, in 1865 and 1868. Around this time William also had a child with a Sofala woman, Caroline Green. The child died in infancy. William and Julia returned to Creswick, where a daughter was born to them in 1870. Between 1873 and 1877 three more children were born to the couple at Percydale near Avoca. By 1880 they were living in Sydney where four more children were born.

William and Julia married in Percydale on 5 June 1874 by licenseby a Wesleyan minister called David O’Donnell, a Wesleyan minister. Witnesses to the marriage were Elijah Gilsenan and Mary O’Donnell. On the marriage registration William aged 46 (born about 1828) was recorded as a widower with three children, two of whom had died. He had been born Canton, China. His occupation was Interpreter of Percydale. No information about his parents were recorded. Julia Miller was a spinster, aged 30.

marriage certificate
Marriage Registration: Victoria Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages Victoria Marriages Index; Registration number: 1448 / 1874
William LOO CHING; Spouse: Julia MILLER; Year: 1874.

In 1871 at Berlin (now Rheola) sixty kilometers north-east of Avoca, Loo Chin was with a party of Chinese miners who found a large gold nugget they named “The Precious” (also known as “The Kum Tow”). It weighed 796 ounces (22.6kg), the sixth largest nugget ever found in Australia.

gold nugget
Replica of ‘Kum Tow’ gold nugget. [M 38741]
Source: Museums Victoria
Copyright Museums Victoria / CC BY (Licensed as Attribution 4.0 International)

In June 1875 Loo Chin was employed as an interpreter in Avoca. A correspondent to the Avoca Mail suggested his English was not good.

In October 1876 at the opening of the Maryborough Avoca Railway Loo Chin presented an address to the Governor of Victoria on behalf of the residents of Avoca.

Opening of the Maryborough and Avoca Railway in 1876 : Reception of the Governor and Chinese procession
Illustrated Australian News of 29 November 1876

In 1877 Loo Chin, then living at Percydale, was recorded in the newspapers scoring a cricket match and playing in another match.

He moved to Sydney in 1880 where he became a merchant living at 47 Smith Street, Surrey Hills. His family adopted the surname Lisson.

In December 1880 he advertised in the Sydney Evening News:

PUBLIC NOTICE.—WM. LOO CHING having
now Opened his commodious premises, is ready
to supply purchasers with the best and cheapest of
GROCERIES. If you wish to save money, do so by
purchasing your Groceries of him. Every kind kept in
stock. Note the address—William Loo Ching, 34,
Lansdowne-street, Surry Hills.

In 1888 William Loo Ching wrote a letter to the editor of the Sydney Daily Telegraph. In this letter he asserted he was 72 years old (born about 1816) and had arrived in Australia 42 years previously (about 1846).

Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW), Wednesday 9 May 1888, page 5

A VETERAN CHINAMAN'S FEW REMARKS.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE DAILY TELEGRAPH.
Sir,— Kindly excuse me for introducing myself. I am one of the oldest naturalised British subjects in Australia. Born in Canton 72 years ago, I emigrated, or rather took passage, at an early age in one of the old sailing boats then trading between Hongkong and London. I served as cabin boy to and fro for several years, and served in various capacities afterwards. I have resided both in Liverpool and Glasgow. I have reared an Australian family of 13, seven of them sons. Was one of the first batch of Chinamen who arrived some 42 years ago in Australia.

In the old days a Chinaman was looked upon as a species of natural curiosity rather than an interloper, and received more tokens of regard and friendship than, I regret to say, are at present shown him. I am sorry to see that my countrymen are not treated now as they were in former years, and am at a loss to understand why the national feeling should be so antagonistic to those of us at present amongst you. Is it because a new and totally different generation has sprung up, who are jealous of their rights and privileges; and fear that they will be encroached upon, or is it a popular fear that Australia will be overrun by us ? and we will make the continent a Chinese one ? To these grounds I say there are some causes for fear, for over-populated China must have some outlet for her vast numbers. As population there gradually increases and means of livelihood become limited, the people must and will seek for other lands where the chances for subsisting are easier. If, therefore, these reasons are correct, then I say the nation is right and is perfectly justified in closing her ports against us, for, to use the old adage, "Self-preservation is the first law of nature."

I, with the majority of my countrymen, those in mercantile and other pursuits, are of one mind, and have been so for years past, that it would be best for Australia to prevent a further influx, as this action would materially tend to benefit, not only themselves, but would make the lot of those of our countrymen lighter. For at present, in the face of hard and struggling times, it is a serious and difficult matter for all of us to eke out anything like a fair and honest living, and it would be a much harder matter for all of us to live were the colony swamped by excessive immigration.

If, therefore, prohibition is enforced, I would implore all trueborn Christian native Australians to be kind to those of us who are "aliens" amongst you and who are seeking for means of subsistence. Treat us not as beasts (as I have seen some of us treated), but bear with us with kindness and civility; for this you will get in return ; and do not forget that although our skins are yellow we have the same kindred feelings as yourselves and a heart beneath our jumpers which beats the same as any man ; for bear in mind that in a very few years indeed our present numbers will be considerably lessened both by death and departure (for a Chinaman's dearest wish is to lay his bones in his own native land), and then Australia will have attained her object of keeping "Australia for the Australians." Such men as self-constituted leaders of anti-Chinese societies and others who demean themselves by offensive epithets and disgraceful utterances against us we treat with silent contempt, as these proceedings not only rebut against themselves, but fail to benefit their cause. We cannot understand how any educated logical gentleman can use these utterances, much less direct others neither to speak, deal, sit, walk with nor acknowledge us.

What we ask for is common justice. (What says our mutual treaty?) If you deal with us, what we give you in return for your money is full value, whether it be in vegetables, cabinetware, or merchandise; This the poor classes can attest to.

From the press I would ask impartial treatment. If we transgress against your laws or otherwise offend, report us in truth. Neither vilify or for the sake of sensation say aught against us to our detriment. The truth we can bear.

We are not an infallible people, and as our stay amongst you will be but of short duration let us seek our living in peace, for in the course of but a few years' space we, the poor despised Chinaman, will be but an historical person of the past. — Yours. &c.,

WILLIAM LOO CHING,. Sen.
47 Smith-street, Surry-Hills

In 1892 William Loo Ching was one of the merchants representing Chinese residents in Sydney. There had been a riot. The Chinese community was dissatisfied with how Mr Quong Tart resolved a dispute and resolved that he should not represent them in future in matters requiring arbitration. William Loo Ching was described as “the oldest Chinaman in the colonies and a resident in Australia of 51 years”.  The dispute was apparently resolved amicably at a meeting of senior Chinese merchants including Mr Quong Tart and William Loo Ching.

In October 1910 William Looching Lisson died. He was said to be aged 91 but was probably 81 based on his ages when he was married. He was buried in Rookwood, Sydney, in the Old Church Of England Section of the cemetery.

gravestone
Gravestone of William Loo Ching Lisson (1819-1910)
Rookwood General Cemetery Zone B, Anglican Section AAAA, Grave 525-526
Photograph uploaded to FindAGrave by user Q-Here

Related posts and further reading:

William Loo Ching owned real estate in Sydney. To do this he must have been naturalised. I have not found his naturalisation papers. 

1860s, Chinese travelling by stage coach

Stage Coach Laden with Luggage and Many Chinese People
Stage Coach Laden with Luggage and Many Chinese People En Route to the Gold Fields
In the collection of the State Library of Victoria Accession No : H35244 (accessioned about 1900)

This photograph, often reproduced, appears to be of Chinese miners on their way to the diggings at Fiddlers Creek, also known as Percydale, near Avoca, Victoria. It is said to have been taken at Newstead, near Castlemaine.

The style of the coach suggests that the photograph is from the 1860s.

Cobb and Co. coaches from about 1863 set off from Castlemaine when the Melbourne train arrived. They went through Newstead, Carisbrook, Maryborough, Avoca, Percydale, Moonambel, Barkly, Red Bank, Landsborough, Amphitheatre, Eversley, Ararat, Pleasant Creek (Stawell).

The Melbourne curator and  historian Sophie Couchman has written about the photograph and its various interpretations.

coach advertisement
Advertising (1869, November 20). The Avoca Mail, p. 4. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article252153859
Percydale in February 2026
Post 5 indicates the former coach stop.
In the 1860s Percydale had two butchers, a hay and grain store, two hotels, a blacksmith, a dress shop, three banks, two grocers and a Chinese shop. Two churches, Cobb & Co. coach and horse yard, a post office and a police station next to the Temperance Hall. The Chinese population lived south of Fiddler’s Creek, tended market gardens and mined there for gold.

See also

Chinese coins found at Percydale

These coins belong to a member of the Avoca and District Historical Society, who has a small collection of Chinese coins found by her father more than 60 years ago at the Percydale diggings, ten kilometres or so northwest of Avoca.

Four coins found at the Percydale diggings, obverse (‘heads’, with Chinese) and reverse (‘tails’, with Manchu script).

The coin on the upper left is the most legible.

Turn the image 45 degrees anti-clockwise. In the three o’clock position you will see the word 通 ‘tong’, which means ‘circulating’. In the nine o’clock position is 寶 ‘bao’, treasure. Reading these two words from right to left you have the word 通寶 ‘tong bao’, which means ‘currency’. 

The characters at twelve o’clock and six o’clock give the date of the coin, not as a number AD, of course, but by the name of the reign period when the coin was minted. The ‘reign period’ was the name of the imperial era, a bit like ‘Georgian, at the time of George II’. This coin is from the Qing dynasty Kangxi 康熙 period (r. 1661–1722). It was a widely-circulated coin of low value.

The third coin in the grid is another example of this coin.

The second coin down dates from thereign of Qianlong 乾隆 (r. 1735–1796).

They are probably brass (copper and zinc) or copper and lead. Their value was one 文 ‘wen’, a thousandth of a 圓 ‘yuan’ (a dollar, in modern terms). The collective term is ‘cash’.

By convention the Manchu mint marks are taken to have been stamped on the reverse (tails) side. The Chinese characters are on the obverse (heads) side.

The coins have Manchu mint marks. In 1657 bronze cash coins were introduced with Manchu script on the reverse side. Many coins have the Manchu word ᠪᠣᠣ (Boo) on the left. To the right there is often the name of the coin’s issuing agency. This coin appears to have been issued by the mint attached to the Board of Revenue at Beijing.

Similar coins were found at Wagga Wagga; they were possibly used as gambling tokens.

Further reading

Wikipedia: