You Yangs - the track to the summit of Flinders Peak

The Geelong Advertiser of  October 12, 1911 published this short report - As a spot for tourists, the You Yangs is one of Geelong's neglected assets. Some time ago it was proposed to have a vehicle track laid to the summit where in time a hospice might be created. Mr J. F. Farrer, M.L.A., has been in communication with the Government Tourist Bureau with a request that Mr. Catani, or one of his staff, should be instructed to survey a well-graded track to the crest of the peak. The secretary of the bureau has notified Mr. Farrer, that the proposal has been remitted to Mr. Catani for consideration. It is estimated that a track would cost £600 (1).

A few months later in January 1912,  the Geelong Advertiser followed up on the matter In furtherance of Government's policy for developing the picturesque portions of Victoria available to tourist traffic it was some time ago suggested that a  road to the top of the You Yangs should be constructed. Mr Catani, chief engineer of the Public Works Department, subsequently promised that the necessary survey would be made. Mr Catani yesterday said that stress of work had hitherto precluded the keepmg of that promise. As soon, however, as the surveyor now engaged at the Grampians concluded his work he would be sent to the You Yangs. The survey of the latter would certainly be made within the present month (2).

A year later, the Government would only go ahead with the road if the Geelong community  contributed £50 towards the cost (3). The money was collected by the Geelong Progress Association of which Mr Jonas Blakiston (4), a local carrier and shipping agent, was President.

There are very few photographs that I could find taken at the You Yangs (as opposed to those taken of the You Yangs). This one, taken by Herbert Bishop is of John Henry Bishop, his father and uncle at the foot of Flinders Peak, You Yangs, taken in 1916. Perhaps, after this photo was taken, they then traversed to the summit and admired the view and the scenery.

State Library of Victoria Image H87.34/218

The track to Flinders Peak was declared open  on August 23, 1913 by the Surveyor General, Mr J. M. Reed (5) after Mrs Anderson, the Mayoress of Geelong, cut a ribbon stretched across the road. 500 people attended the opening including other Government officials - Mr. Catani, engineer-in-chief for public works; Mr. Kermode, of the Lands Department; the local members of Parliament including William Plain, M.L.A. (6) who was one of the chief supporters of the road.  The  Mayors of Geelong, Geelong West, Newtown & Chilwell and the Shire President of Corio were also in attendance. There were a few speeches including one by Mr Richardson, M.L.C  who said it was the first time he had been to the You Yang as  it was not convenient and there was not easy access to the place. He trusted that the road would lead to further attractions. Geelong had not got its fair share in grants for tourist purposes. At Mt. Buffalo and elsewhere large sums of money had been spent (7). 

The Surveyor General, Mr Reed said in his speech The Tourist Bureau, comprising himself, Mr. Catani, and the Secretary for Railways, looked upon the encouragement of tourists as a kind of recreation. They enjoyed the work of improving the beauty spots of Victoria. They had the opportunity of recommending a sum of money for this road, but whatever money they were granted bv the Government was supplemented by generous contributions...Flinders Peak was a decided asset to Geelong... The road was not yet complete, and would be still further improved. Part of the scheme provided for a shelter shed, but there were no funds available at the present time. He would commend this work to the people of Geelong and ask their co-operation in securing a shed. He would like to see it installed for the coming summer season (8).

After Mr Reed's speech a number of trees were planted by school children, members of the Wattle League and the three Geelong newspapers. The whole road was then traversed to the summit of the peak, where Mr. J. Blakiston presented a cast iron indicator placed upon a high boulder; it names the landmarks for miles around... [Mr Blakiston] felt pleased in presenting this indicator to Messrs. Reed and Catani, as representatives of the Tourist Bureau. Mr. Catani returned thanks. He would accept it on behalf of his fellow citizens and fellow colonists. He would take Mr. Richardson to task for saying that there was need to improve the beauty spots of Victoria: they did not require improvement they only needed to be made accessible. He thought a nice place where they could take shelter would greatly improve the You Yangs (9).

The last speaker was Rev. E. L. Watkin, Secretary of the Royal Geographical Society of Victoria who gave a history of the area and on the life of Matthew Flinders, after whom Flinders Peak was named. 

Mr Plain, M.L.A., and Mr Blakiston spent many months trying to interest the Geelong community to fund shelter sheds and in November 1913 he sent on to Mr Blakiston yesterday a plan copy of a rustic hut suggested by the Tourist Bureau as suitable for the You Yangs. It is a solid structure of logs and sap- lings, hexagonal in shape, with 8ft . 6in. head clearance, and roofed with iron. The sides are open, with the exception of a rough frieze behind the log seat. The design is very popular at Fern Tree Gully, and the department suggests that one should be erected at the terminus of the You Yangs road, and another in a sheltered vale near the trigonometrical station (10).

Six months later the shelter shed were still not constructed or as the Geelong Advertiser put it in February 1914 - the proposal to have two shelter sheds erected at the reserve has fallen flat, and it may be remembered that Geelong does not sufficiently appreciate its mountain asset. Perhaps the reason is that it is too richly endowed with coastal resorts (11).

At the end of May 1914 the track was extended by the constuction of  a bridle track which allowed better access and indeed a gentleman aged 84 years completed the climb from the road terminus over the new track to the summit in 40 minutes without distress (12). Work was finally started in September on the shelter sheds (13).  I don't know if the work was completed, it may have been put on hold due to the War, but in 1925 the next newspaper reports I can find, the subject was back on the table. The Geelong Advertiser reported that it might be worth while to consider seriously the erection of some kind of shelter-shed on Flinders Peak, a project which has been mentioned once or twice lately by officials of the Tourist Bureau, and others (14).  There was also concern about the condition of the track and  a newly formed committee wanted to raise money to repair the track so that the work of Mr W. Plain and others who raised sufficient funds to have the track constructed many years ago would not go for nought (16). 

Carlo and Mr Plain, M.L.A and Mr Blakiston and others saw the beauty of the You Yangs but had   a difficult time, it seems persuading the rest of  community of Geelong to contribute to make that beauty more accessible. 

Trove list - I have created a list of newspaper articles in this issue on Trove, access it here.

Footnotes

(1) Geelong Advertiser, October 12, 1911, see here.
(2) Geelong Advertiser, January 6, 1912, see here.

(3) Geelong Advertiser, January 9, 1913, see here.

(4) Jonas Blakiston, died at the age of 82 in 1933. You can read his obituary in The Argus April 17, 1933, see here.

(5) Joseph Martin Reed was appointed the Surveyor General in 1899. You can read his life in this article in the Weekly Times, August 19, 1899, here and his obituary in the Korumburra Great Southern Advocate of June 30, 1932, here.

(6) William Plain (1868-1961), read his entry in the Australian Dictionary of Biography, here.
(7) An extensive report of the road opening was in the Geelong Advertiser of August 25, 1913, see here.
(8) Geelong Advertiser, August 25, 1913, see here.

(9) Geelong Advertiser, August 25, 1913, see here.

(10) Geelong Advertiser, November 15, 1913, see here.
(11) Geelong Advertiser, February 27, 1914, see here.

(12) Geelong Advertiser, May 26, 1914, see here.

(13) Geelong Advertiser, September 19, 1914 see here.

(14) Geelong Advertiser, May 30, 1925, see here.

(15) Geelong Advertiser, September 21, 1925, see here.

Paintings of Lake Catani

One of the paintings exhibited at the Victorian Artists' Society Annual Exhibition of Paintings in October 1911, was Lake Catani, Buffalo Mountains by John Ford Paterson (1).  Lake Catani was part of Carlo's vision to make Mount Buffalo a year round tourist resort. Work in the area began in January 1908 on the road, which was engineered by Carlo, linking Porepunkah and Mount Buffalo. The road was completed in the October. Carlo and the Public Works Department also created a 23 hectare lake, often referred to as a skating lake, through the damming of the Eurobin Creek and the construction of a  weir. In January 1911, this lake was named in honour of Carlo Catani at the suggestion of the Bright Shire Council in recognition of the work undertaken by Catani in opening up the mountain as a tourist resort. Other projects on Mt Buffalo included a golf course and more famously, the Chalet, which opened in August 1910.  You can read more about Carlo and Mount Buffalo in our (2) Victorian Collections, story, here.

There are many postcards and photographs of Lake Catani, but very few paintings, so I was interested to 'discover' John Ford Paterson's painting, which was acquired by the Queensland Art Galley in November 1912 (3). The Hobart Mercury reported on this acquisition  - Two years ago Mr. Paterson made many sketches of the district, and in his finished work conveys a fine impression of the lake. The scheme is grey, with the background of hills and gum forest reflected on the water. A group of cattle is shown in the middle distance. The whole composition and colour scheme are in harmony, and thoroughly characteristic of the painter's final methods. This picture has a special interest as being the last important work painted by him (4).

Lake Catani, Buffalo Mountains -  John Ford Paterson. 1911.

Queensland Art Galley https://blog.qagoma.qld.gov.au/blog-1-0123_007/

John Ford Paterson was born in Dundee in Scotland in 1851 and studied at the Royal Scottish Academy Schools in Edinburgh. He came to Melbourne in 1872, returned to Scotland three years later, where he remained until 1884; when he then came back to Melbourne. He died suddenly at the age of 62, in July 1912 (5). In 1929, the Brisbane Courier wrote this about John Ford Paterson - There was one thing which Mr. Paterson perhaps suggested better than any other of our artists, and that was the mystery of the bush. He has a definite place among those who have worthily interpreted the character of the landscape (6).

In November 1932, the Grosvenor Gallery in Melbourne held a memorial exhibition of John Ford Paterson's paintings. Arthur Streeton reviewed it for The Argus and he described the Lake Catani painting as another rare expression of his gems (7). I am not sure if the word should have been genius and not gems and it was a misprint by the paper, either way, it is high praise from Arthur Streeton.

John was the brother of Charles Stewart Paterson of the firm Paterson Bros, which later monopolized the decoration of wealthy homes and such public buildings as Government House, Melbourne Town Hall, the Parliamentary Library and the Prahran Public Library. Another brother was the artist, Hugh Paterson, who was the father of Esther Ford and Betty Ford, who were also artists. His sister, Mary, was the mother of Louis Esson, the poet and dramatist (8).

I have found three other newspaper reports of paintings of Lake Catani - Lake Catani, Mount Buffalo, Victoria a water colour by Mrs W. G. Torr, exhibited at her solo show at the Society of Arts Gallery in Adelaide in June 1921 (9); Frost and Snow on Lake Catani, by water colourist and printmaker, Elsie Barlow, exhibited with the Victorian Artists' Society in April 1926 (10) and oil painting, Lake Catani,  by William Rowell, exhibited in 1945 (11). 

Mrs W. G. Torr was Mary Frances Torr.  Mary was born in Brighton in Melbourne in 1857 to John and Ann (nee Creswell) Walter. She married David Buchan in 1886, who died in 1891.  In 1912 she married William George Torr (12) who had established Old Oxford House in Adelaide in 1909 as a Methodist Training College. He was also a noted collector of shells (13).  A report of the 1921 exhibition, where the Lake Catani painting was displayed said that the list [of sold paintings] is a sufficient indication of Mrs. Torr's versatility, and of the attractive nature of her pictures. She is well known as an exhibitor at the annual displays of the Society of Arts, a good colourist with an unfailing eye for the picturesque (14). Mary exhibited at the Society of Arts show in September 1925 and the Adelaide Register reported that Mrs. W. G. Torr's exhibits constitute an agreeable show, and her watercolours reveal an intimate communion with Nature out of doors (15).  In 1928 she donated two paintings to decorate Old Oxford House or as it was reported they were given two choice paintings from Mrs. W. G. Torr.  Mrs. Torr is well to the front among artists, consequently her contributions are worthy of a place in the best art gallery in the State (16).  I can't find any references to Mary practising as an artist as Mary Walter or Mary Buchan. Mary died in Brighton in Adelaide at the age of 80 in 1937 (17). 

Elsie Frederica Barlow was born in Emerald Hill (South Melbourne) in 1876 to  Sidney and Charlotte (nee Hemsley) Hake. She attended Faireleight Girls School (18) in St Kilda where she was taught art by Jane Sutherland (19).  Elsie later attended School of Design at the National Gallery in Melbourne (20) and she was a member of the Melbourne Society of Women Painters and Sculptors (21). Elsie was instrumental in establishing the Castlemaine Art Gallery in 1913. She was living in Castlemaine as her husband, Arthur, was the police magistrate in the area and after exhibiting some of her work, she formed the committee to establish a permanent gallery in the town (22).  Elsie died in 1948 in Mentone.

William Rowell was the acting head of the National Gallery art school in Melbourne and died in 1946, aged 48 (23).

Where are these three paintings now? Mary Torr's painting was one of the works sold at her 1921 exhibiton, but that is all I can tell you. 

Trove list - I have created a list of articles on Trove connected to  John Ford Paterson's Lake Catani and the works by Mary Torr, Elsie Barlow and William Rowell. Access the list, here.

Footnotes
(1) The Age October 14, 1911, see here.

(2) The Victorian Collections story Carlo Catani: An engineering star over Victoria was resarched and written by myself and my fellow historian, Isaac Hermann.
(3) Leader November 30, 1912, see here.

(4) Hobart Mercury, December 2, 1912, see here.

(5) John Ford Paterson entry in the  Australian Dictionary of Biography, by Marjorie Tipping   https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/paterson-john-ford-4372

(6) Brisbane Courier, August 10 1929, see here.

(7) The Argus, November 10, 1932, see here.

(8) Information and the quote is from the Australian Dictionary of Biography (ADB) entry, see footnote  5. There is information about Esther Paterson in the ADB entry of her husband, George Gill, here. Louis Esson's ADB entry is here.

(9) Adelaide Register, June 16 1921, see here.

(10) The Herald, April 26, 1926 see here. William Rowell and Esther Paterson, John Ford Paterson's niece, also had work in the same exhibition.

(11) The Age, July 31, 1945, see here.

(12) Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages. I was helped by the information provided in William Torr's ADB entry, see next footnote. 

(13) William George Torr (1853-1939) See his Australian Dictionary of Biography entry, written by Arnold D, Hunt, here. There is  a history ot Old Oxford House in the Adelaide Advertiser of July 13, 1937, here, written on the occasion of its conversion to a Methodist Babies Home.

(14) Adelaide Register, June 16 1921, see here.

(15) Adelaide Register, September 16 1925, see here.

(16) Australian Christian Commonwealth, July 6, 1928, see here.

(17) Genealogy SA www.genealogysa.org.au

(18) Faireleight School,  established in 1870. When Isabella Henderson took over in 1910 she changed the name to Clyde. In 1920, Miss Henderson then opened a boarding school in Woodend, called it Clyde and thus the St Kilda school reverted back to the name of Faireleight. It closed in 1923. It was located at what is now 134 Alma Road, East St Kilda.

(19) Jane Sutherland (1853 - 1928) See her entry in the  Australian Dictionary of Biography, written by Frances Lindsay, here.

(20) Information about Elsie Barlow is from https://www.australian-art-gallery.com/australian-artists/Elsie-Frederica-Barlow-A375.htm This site incorrectly states that she was born in South Australia, she was actually born in Emerald Hill (South Melbourne). She had at least three other sisters born in Victoria -  Rose, Dora and Ruby. Dora, whose married name was Serle, was also an artist and  a member of the Melbourne Society of Women Painters and Sculptors (see next footnote).

(21) Peers, Juliet More than just Gumtrees: a personal, social and artistic history of the Melbourne Society of Women Painters and Sculptors (MSWPS, 1993). There are four references to Elsie in the book.

(22) There are various articles regarding Elsie Barlow and her role in establishing the Castlemaine Art Gallery - Mount Alexander Mail, August 16, 1913, see here; Young Daily Witness March 26, 1924, see here; Brisbane Courier August 28, 1926, see here; The Age, April 27, 1940, see here; 

(23) William Rowell's obituary The Age , August 22 1946, see here and the report of his retirment from the National Gallery due to ill health in The Argus, July 1, 1946, see here.