Samuel came to Belfast with his parents Benjamin and Maryanne on the ship 'Oithona' arriving at Portland on January 30th 1855 when he was 11 years old. In 1865 he marries Selina Ann Daughter of William and Mary Oaff who arrived in Australia on the 'Clara' on the same day as Samuel. They had 6 children. As a stonemason by trade It is probable that he helped his father build the wall around the Consolidated school in 1875. They lived in a stone cottage next door to the Port Fairy Hospital. It was demolished when the new wing was built in 1976. He joined the Manchester Order of Oddfellows in 1863 and was elected Grand Master in 1880. He died when he was 37 in 1881.Early settlerPosed portrait black & white photographpioneer, settler, portrait, people, family, bowyer, samuel, stonemason, clara, oithona, selina ann, william oaff, mary oaff

Selina Ann was the wife of Samuel Bowyer stonemason in Belfast/Port Fairy. Selina arrived with her family, William and Mary Oaff in 30th January 1855 on the ship 'Clara'. She had 6 children. She died in 1924 aged 78 and is buried at the port Fairy CemeteryEarly settler's wifeBlack and white formal portrait of woman seated with an open book and wearing a feathered hat and lace jabotpioneer, settler, portrait, people, family, selina bowyer, selina oaff

Sepia photograph of gentleman with large sideburns dressed in academic gown with white jabot portrait, pioneer, settler, people, church official

Chapman, AlexanderBlack and white Portrait of gentleman clean shaven with neat bow tie pioneer, settler, portrait, people, family

MacKnight, CharlesBlack and white photograph of profile of gentleman with dark hair and curly beard. he has his arms crossedpioneer, settler, portrait, people, family, charles macknight

Mills, CharlesBlack and white portrait photograph of man with hair parted on left and a full outline beard wearing a wide collared jacket and a watch chain is visible on his chestpioneer, portrait, settler, people, family, sailor

Boshter Junior Football Club Port Fairy 1904Black and white photograph of the Boshter Junior Football Club Port Fairy team in 1904"Boshter Junior F C Port Fairy 1904" hand printed in right hand corner of photographfootball, sport, club, team, boshter

This Honour roll used to hang in the hall just inside the front door. We are not sure as to its location at the moment.Black and white photograph of the 1914-18 Honour roll at Port Fairy Consolidated School school, honour roll, 1914-18

Port Fairy State School built 1870’s or as is now known Port Fairy Consolidated SchoolVery early photograph of the school and the fence and could have been the first photograph taken of the School because Thomas Washbourne the photographer was only active until 1880.Pt Fairy State School & Pupils approx 1880 Showing stone fence and taken from the right side on Polding Street. Sepia photographWashbourne photo -handwritten on face of photoschool, polding street, pupils, consolidated school, state school

Award students St Joseph De Cluney Pt Fairy 1907Black and white photograph of 2 females and 4 males formally posed with musical instruments and their certificatesschool, st joseph de cluney, awards, students

WANNON 567 gross tons. Lbd: 167'4" x 26'6" x 11'. Steel hulled, single screw steam coaster, coal burner (burnt briquettes when on Melbourne-Tassie run); 3cyl triple expansion steam engine, 61 nhp; built 1919 at Enkhuisen, Holland, as Boschpolder; 1920 as British flag Rawlinson; 1922 to Canterbury Steamship Co. Ltd. Lyttleton, N.Z, as Gale; 1935 to Belfast & Koroit Steam navigation Co. Ltd., Melbourne, renamed Wannon to ply the Portland, Port Fairy, Warrnambool, Apollo Bay, Melbourne trade route after the loss of S.S.Coramba off Phillip Island. World War 2 as (S-153) carried general equipment, stores to U.S. Army camps at islands such as Woodlark, Kiriwina, Goodenough. Also served at Lae, Finschhafen and Wewak. Returned to owners and in 1957 went to Hong Kong shipbreakers hand tinted photograph of shipship, boat, sea, river, s.s.wannon

Australian Troop Ship 1914-18Not relevant to Port FairyBlack & white photograph of Ship with many derricks and a small boat at her sideAberdeen White Star Line SS Euripidesss euripides, ship, troop ship, wharf

Barque built in Launceston by Jonathon Griffiths Bet.1827-1850Sepia photographThe Barque Sydney Griffiths leaving Port Fairy for London 8th February 1851 Captain J Cowton barque, passenger ship

EUMERALLA 906 gross tons, 489 net. Lbd: 190' x 30'1" x 12'5". Steel steamship built by Scott of Kinghorn Ltd, Kinghorn for the Western District Steam Ship Co Ltd., Melbourne. This concern may have been a subsidiary of Howard Smith Ltd, at least held some connection. Powered by a triple expansion engine producing 97 horsepower and of 2 single ended boilers, coal fired. Employed on the Western districts of Victora - Melbourne in passenger-cargo capacity. World War 1 disrupted trade and she spent much time 'laid up'. 1920 owned by Australian Steamships Pty Ltd (Howard Smith). 1928 again laid up, 1934 sold to Young & Co., Sydney who probably acted as agents for Asian interests when she was renamed Mow Li No. 2 in 1934-5. Under that name she sunk at Tinghai on the 12th July 1935 This photograph was almost certainly not taken at Port Fairy but it did work through the Port Fairy Port. sepia photographs.s.eumeralla, ship, boat, sea, moyne river

Black and white panoramic photograph of the Moyne rivership, boat, sea, river, ss casino

Iron Steamship SS Casino in the Moyne River (sank at Apollo Bay in 1932)Black & white photograph of ship near wharfboat, sea, river, ss casino, moyne river, steamer

The Dredge 'Pioneer' brought in to clear sand drift from the Moyne river caused by the South West passage sweeping throughBlack and white photograph of a dredge in Moyne riversea, river, moyne river, south west passage, pioneer, deredge, ship

S.s.Casino crowded with tourists returning after sailing around the bay during Terang Day. The couta boats in full sail possibly did the same thing Hand-coloured photograph of ship and wharfship, boat, sea, river, s.s.casino, couta boats, moyne

The interior of the Saloon on the S.S.Casino showing the elaborate table arrangements and the swivel chairs that were bolted to the floor to allow passengers more comfort when the ship was moving through rough seas.Black and white photographs.s.casino, port fairy, ship, boat, sea, moyne river

S.s.Casino 1910. The people on the decks are tourists coming from Terang and surrounding areas to spend the day at the seaside. The steamer S.S.CASINO was much loved by the whole Port Fairy community- with the possible exception of some of the fishermen whose boats she ran down! Transport of the large quantities of wool, potatoes, onions, grain, sheep, cattle and other produce grown on the rich lands of the Western District Belfast was served by a plethora of shipping, both sail and steam, but only one of the steamers then in the regular trade (S.S. DAWN) would ever be able to get up the river and reap the cost savings of loading against a wharf. It was not unusual for four steamers to be anchored in the bay at once and for seven or eight different steamers to call during a week. A number of inter-colonial steamers also called to pick up produce for delivery to Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide. Production in the Western District was increasing and virtually all of that production had to go through one of the western ports in order to reach markets. By 1882 a meeting 15ft. March, 1882, in the office of auctioneer, J.B. HoIden in Cox Street took action and it was unanimously resolved - that the Belfast & Koroit Steamship Company be formed with a capital of £20,000 in 10,000 shares of £2 each". A number of steamers were offered by letter to the fledgling company, including the new and almost sister ships, CASINO and HELEN NICHOLL. The CASINO was on her delivery voyage from England was due to arrive in Warrnambool to load potatoes for Sydney and, initially, arrangements were made for her to call into Port Fairy for inspection by the BKNS Co directors. She eventually proceeded direct to Warrnambool and the Directors inspected her there. Without hesitation they purchased her even though they had to raise a large bank loan to do so. The CASINO arrived in Port Fairy on Saturday, 29th. July, 1882, steaming triumphantly up the Moyne River, and was greeted by crowds, many of whom had driven in from the surrounding countryside, which gave her “loud ringing English cheers". By 1884 the CASINO could not carry all the cargoes available to her and in December of that year the company purchased the new steamer BELLINGER to provide additional capacity. She helped to open up the intermediate ports of Lorne, Apollo Bay and Port Campbell, but the BELLINGER was not really suitable for the trade and she was sold in 1887, leaving the CASINO to operate alone -as she was to do for almost all of the next 45 years. The opening of the railway in 1890 decreased the cargo available to the steamers and the economic depression of the early 1890's worsened the situation. The weak soon began to fall by the wayside and when the Portland & Belfast SN Co. decided to go into liquidation in April 1895, the Belfast & Koroit Company bought the Portland Company's steamer DAWN on advantageous terms, a substantial part of the payment being in BKSN Co shares. The BKNS Co and the Howard Smith Line came into direct head to head competition and nearly forced the BKNS Co out of existence. Cargo dropped to such an extent that in 1899, they reached agreement that only one ship would run and that the ship which ran would pay a weekly amount to the competitor to stay out of the trade. This controlled service ceased in1909, and competition intensified when Howard Smith placed the newly built, larger steamer EUMERALLA on the run. The BKNS Co survived this competition and even prospered during it partly by extending on a more regular basis, the CASINO'S voyages to South Australian ports Port Macdonnell, Kingston, Beachport, Robe and, on occasions Adelaide. There were setbacks when, on 20 October 1924, CASINO went ashore at the Kennett River, near Apollo Bay, and again, in February l929, when she struck a submerged object at Warrnambool and had to be beached. The railways placed great competitive pressure on the small steamship company and this pressure was intensified when the Great Depression slashed the market for Western District produce, BKNS Co struggled on, paying dividends in most years, and the company planned a big celebration for the CASINO'S fiftieth anniversary in the trade on 29th July, 1932. Disaster struck soon after 9 o'clock on the morning of Sunday I0 July, 1932 when the CASINO was lost at Apollo Bay together with the lives of 10 crew members. Black and white photograph of tourists crowded on the decks of s.s.Casino during a sail around the bay for Terang dayship, boat, sea, river, s.s.casino 1910, transport, 1910, wool, onions, grain, sheep, cattle, steam, terang day

2107 ton iron clad monitor vessel with 4'10" loading muzzle. Built in Newcastle, UK in 1868. and arrived in Melbourne in 1870 Harbour service from 1906. Scuttled at Sandringham September 1921Visited Port Fairy 18th April 1871Black & white photograph of HMVS Cerberus and other naval vessels ship, coastal steamer

Victoria (580 tons) was the first warship to be built in England for a British colony. Designed by the British naval architect Oliver Lang she was launched in London on 30 June 1855 by Lady Constance Talbot. Arrived in Australia 1856. Out of service 1882 and broken up in 1895 Visited Port Fairy 1859, 1862 and 1873 (twice) Black & white photographvictoria, war ship, ship, navy, lady constance talbot

Victoria (580 tons) was the first warship to be built in England for a British colony. Designed by the British naval architect Oliver Lang she was launched in London on 30 June 1855 by Lady Constance Talbot. Arrived in Australia 1856. Out of service 1882 and broken up in 1895 Visited Port Fairy 1859, 1862 and 1873 (twice) First warship to be built in England for a British colony. Black & white photographwarship, hmvs victoria

HMAS Huon berthed at the wharf in Port Fairy Nov 1921. HMAS Huon (D50), named after the Huon River, was a River-class torpedo-boat destroyer of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Originally to be named after the River Derwent, the ship was renamed before her 1914 launch because of a naming conflict with a Royal Navy vessel. Huon was commissioned into the RAN in late 1915, and after completion was deployed to the Far East. In mid-1917, Huon and her five sister ships were transferred to the Mediterranean. Huon served as a convoy escort and anti-submarine patrol ship until a collision with sister ship HMAS Yarra in August 1918 saw Huon drydocked for the rest of World War I. After a refit in England, Huon returned to Australia in 1919. The destroyer spent several periods alternating between commissioned and reserve status over the next nine years, with the last three spent as a reservist training ship. Huon was decommissioned for the final time in 1928, and was scuttled in 1931 after being used as a target ship. She visited Port Fairy on a goodwill trip in November .Black and white photograph of naval ship berthedship, boat, sea, river, h.m.a.s.huon, moyne, naval ship

Black & white photograph of Couta boats moored around ship at wharffishing vessels, moyne river

Builder: Evans Deakin and Company. Launched: 8 April 1967. 146 tons. Patrol boat visited Port Fairy in 1979 & 1980First boat in its class for RANColoured photograph of Ship moored in Port Fairy baydefence force, patrol boat, hmas attack, port fairy

Builder: Evans Deakin and Company. Launched: 8 April 1967. Patrol boat visited Port Fairy in 1979 & 1980First of class commissioned Coloured photograph of Naval ship moored in Port Fairy baypatrol boat, royal australian navy, defence force, hmas attack, port fairy

Colour photographpleasure craft, moyne river, boating

Colour photographpleasure craft, moyne river, boating