Town Talk | Street knowledge

Mr J.G.W. Wilmot produced the first survey of the township of Shepparton in 1855. The lithographic map of the survey was issued by the Surveyor General’s Melbourne office. It was dated January 14, 1856. It was titled ‘Allotments in the Township of Shepparton, at McGuire’s Punt, Goulburn River, on the road from Sandhurst to Benalla’.

Street names

The street names are not incorrect. This is how they were originally spelt; this is how they were meant remain – Wellsford, Windham, Fyers and Vaughan. They were named after soldiers prominent in the attack on the Great Redan during the Crimean War: Captain William Augustus Fyers, Major Charles Ash Windham, Major Augustus Frederick Wellsford and Captain Herbert Millingdamp Vaughan.

What did the Crimean War mean to us?

At this time in our story, many of the white people in the country were from Britain — and Britain was at war (1853 to 1856). Towns and streets all over Victoria and NSW were being named after battles and soldiers.

I found the following on the NSW War Memorial site:

“Names like Alma, Inkerman, Balaklava, Sebastopol — battlefields of the Crimean War — and the British heroes and villains of that war like Lords Raglan and Cardigan, the doomed General Cathcart, or the legendary nurse Florence Nightingale can be found on the street signs, and in the titles of suburbs and towns around NSW. That remote and now largely forgotten conflict had an enormous impact on the colony of NSW and its echoes can still be heard in those place names. They remind us of the thousands of British veterans who came to NSW in the decades following the war and the contribution they made to the life of the colony.”

Today, of course, Alma, Balaklava and Sebastopol are in Victoria. Inkerman is in South Australia — although Inkerman Rd is in St Kilda. However, it remains true that across the country, at that time, the war was being acknowledged. It was important.

It is also possible there was a directive to Wilmot; his boss, State Surveyor-General Andrew Clarke, named the township of Yea after Colonel Lacy Walter Giles Yea — and the practice was certainly widespread.

Shepparton’s original street names are a part of our history, our heritage. The ‘echoes’ mentioned on the war memorial site haven’t been heard here — because the names have been changed. We didn’t know until now!

The opening of the History Hub

The official opening of our History Hub is relevant here. The hub — which is located in the former Scouts Hall, next to the Heritage Museum in Welsford St (Wellsford?) — contains the archives of this newspaper from 1896 and the Shepparton Advertiser. The Scouts and the CFA also house memorabilia there.

The histories of our town and our families are contained at the hub, and are available to you during opening hours.

McPherson Media executive chairman Ross McPherson officially opened the facility, and the speakers were entertaining and informative. However, a presentation by John Dainton really grabbed the attention of those present. He showed the first survey of Shepparton, pointing out that the spelling of the street names had been changed. John pointed out that we don’t know when or why, and that further research was necessary.

John has since shared with me an email received in 2021 — from Vinod Moonesinghe — a researcher in Sri Lanka. J.G.W. Wilmot had a coffee plantation on the island, before coming to Australia.

I am researching the life of surveyor J.G.W. Wilmot, who surveyed Shepparton in 1855. He wrote to the Surveyor General on June 23 that he had marked out 22 lots in McGuire’s Punt; he forwarded the plan on July 13. The survey plan that survives was lithographed on January 14. The street names mentioned on the plan are High, Fyers, Vaughan, Wellsford and Windham.

Vinod goes on the mention the four soldiers (Wellsford and Vaughan were killed in the battle for Sebastapol) and the probability that our streets were named for them.

Nothing that has been learned since contradicts this information. However, anything that can be added to our story would be helpful.

And I’d really like to know how you feel about this? Indifferent, interested, annoyed or angry.

And one more thing

The volunteers taking care of our museum and the hub appear to be tireless — but, in truth, they need help quite desperately. If you can spare two or three hours a week, they are a small group of warm and welcoming local people — doing important work for the community. Whatever your skills, they will find something interesting for you to do.

On Sunday afternoon I received an email from Kristy, who is dedicating most of her time to helping the museum. In my reply, I suggested she take some time off. She said “I can’t”.

Please, if we can get 10 volunteers, helping out three hours per week, Kristy might get a day off.

Just drop in to the museum — 10.30am to 4pm, Tuesday to Sunday — or call 4831 8659.

Maybe you’ll discover who messed with our street names, when and why!

That’s all for this week. I want to leave sufficient space for the survey and photos — because this, I think, is important information. To Billy of Nathalia: Sorry, I’ll respond to you next week. I could have an explanation for your discovery.

May it be easy, my friends.

Marnie

Email: towntalk@sheppnews.com.au

Letter: Town Talk. Shepparton News. P.O. Box 204. Shepparton 3631.

Phone: Send a text on 0418 962 507. (Note: text only. I will call you back, if you wish.)