non-fictionJames Bodell was born in 1831 near Nottingham, the son of poor parents. At sixteen he enlisted in the army and was sent first to Ireland, then slowly recovering from the great potato famine, and then to Hong Kong, where most of his regiment died of malaria or other tropical diseases. He bought himself out of the army and went to Van Doiemen's Land (later Tasmania) where he kept a hotel, but eventually became disgusted with the atmosphere of a recent convict settlement. In 1856 he moved to Victoria, where the great gold rush had begun, prospered, but finally lost his money in unwise speculation during a period of excessive drinking. In 1863 he volunteered to serve in New Zealand in the Maori wars. Discharged in 1866, he was given a town lot of land as well as farming land by the government at the town of Tauranga, where he was an outstanding pioneer, making money and becoming Mayor. He later made two return trips to England to visit his family in Leicester. In about 1881 he began to write his reminiscences, an ambitious undertaking for a man with so little formal education, and in 1978, on the death of one of his English descendants, the original manuscript was offered to the Bodley Head for publication. It has been edited by Keith Sinclair and presents a unique picture of how the British Empire was colonised and what life in the British army of the time was like. This is a frank, often amusing and colourful account of the Empire seen from below. (Inside cover)james bodell, maori wars

Black and white postcard showing the mountains in distance beyond the valley and township of Buchan Victoriafarming, topography, settlement

Black and white photograph of an old corner post showing mortices to take fence rail at Buggy Creek south of Buchan South Victoria agriculture, farming, land settlement

106 p. : ill., portraits, map, bib., pbk ; 30 cmnon-fictionContents include: Richard Gavin Gardiner Casey [Edrington]; The Police Paddocks and the Native Police Corps; The changing face of Berwick township; Coaches, tolls and local councils; Berwick Mechanics Institute and Free Library; Berwick Primary School [No. 40] and Berwick Grammar School; A century of quarrying in Berwick; The German settlement of Harkaway; Emerald’s first State School No. 2110 (1879-1909); The railway to Gippsland; Early sawmilling in West Gippsland; Tooradin and the coastal villages; Some notable early residents and their homes; The draining of the Koo-Wee-Rup swamp; Guest houses at Upper Beaconsfield; Ada Armytage of Holm Park; The soldiers of early Berwick; Memorials, commemorations and avenues of honour; Bush nursing hospitals; The Melbourne Hunt Club [The "Kennels" at Cranbourne]; Growing up in Berwick in the 1930s & 1940s; Growing up in Beaconsfield in the 1930s and 1940s; Casey Airfield; The history of Maryknoll [Catholic farming community]; The filming of “On the beach”; Memories of Ash Wednesday; Maps of the Casey-Cardinia area. Notable people : William Lyall and "Harewood'; William Clarke and "Springfield'; Sydney Webb and "Holly Green"; Carl Axel Nobelius; Edwin Flack and "Burnbank"; Carlo Catani;. Includes illustrations, portraits, photographs, maps and bibliography. city of casey, cardinia shire (vic.)

In 1917 a large part of the Trawalla estate was acquired and subdivided by the Commonwealth Government for the Soldier Settlement Scheme. Land was subdivided into 93 allotments with sizes from 250 acres to 680 acres. The land was deemed appropriate for grazing and farming.chatham-holmes collection, soldier settlement, langi kal kal, auction, philip chatham, trawalla