Showing 34 items matching peter mcgennan
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Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Photograph, Mr. H. Pengilley, c. 10/02/1911
... and timber merchants Messrs. P.J. McGennan & Co. (Peter John McGennan.... (Peter John McGennan) in 1902 for 3000 pounds and had her sailed ...This photograph was taken shortly after the wreck of the SPECULANT at Cape Patton, Victoria. There are people on board the ship and it seems that they are taking the sails down. The barquentine SPECULANT was a steel, three-masted sailing ship built in 1895 in Inverkeithing, Scotland, registered in Warrnambool, Victoria and wrecked at Cape Paton, Victoria, 10th February 1911. The SPECULANT had been involved in the timber trade between the United Kingdom and Russia, until sold to its Warrnambool owners and timber merchants Messrs. P.J. McGennan & Co. (Peter John McGennan) in 1902 for 3000 pounds and had her sailed to Warrnambool as her new port. Peter John McGennan was born in 1844 and worked as a builder and cooper in Holyhead, Anglesea, Wales. He immigrated to Australia in 1869 as a free settler and arrived in Warrnambool in 1871 and undertook management of a property in Grassmere for Mr. Palmer. Peter met his wife Emily in South Melbourne and they married in 1873. They had ten children including Harry who lived to 1965, and Andrew who lived until 1958. (The other children were their four brothers - John who was killed in the Dardenalles aged 35, Frederick who died aged 8, Peter who died aged 28, Frank who died aged 5 weeks - and four sisters - Beatrice who died age 89, Edith who died aged 49, Blanche who died aged 89 and Eveline who died aged 48.) In 1874 Peter starting a boating establishment on the Hopkins River. In 1875 he opened up a Coopers business in Kepler Street next to what was Bateman, Smith and Co., moving to Liebig Street, next to the Victoria Hotel, in 1877. In 1882 he then moved to Lava Street (which in later years was the site of Chandlers Hardware Store). He was associated with the establishment of the Butter Factory at Allansford. He started making Butter Boxes to his own design and cheese batts for the Butter Factory. In 1896 established a Box Factory in Davis Street Merrivale, employing 24 people at its peak, (it was burnt down in 1923); and in Pertobe Road from 1912 (now the Army Barracks building). Peter was a Borough Councillor for Albert Ward from 1885 to 1891, he commenced the Foreshore Trust (including the camping grounds along Pertobe Road), and he was an inaugural Director of the Woollen Mill in Harris Street, buying an extensive share-holding in 1908 from the share trader Edward Vidler. They lobbied the Town Hall to have a formal ‘Cutting’ for the waters of the Merri River to be redirected from its natural opening south of Dennington, to its existing opening near Viaduct Road, in order to have the scourings from the wool at the Woollen Mill discharged into the sea. He sold Butter Boxes around the state, and had to ship them to Melbourne by rail. Peter’s purchase of the SPECULANT in 1902 enabled him to back-load white pine from Kaipara, New Zealand to Warrnambool to make his butter boxes then, to gain profitability, buy and ship potatoes and other primary produce bound to Melbourne. (McGennan & Co. had also owned the LA BELLA, which had traded in timber as well, until she was tragically wrecked with the loss of seven lives, after missing the entrance channel to Warrnambool harbour in 1905. It appears that the SPECULANT was bought to replace the LA BELLA.) In 1911 the SPECULANT had been attempting to depart Warrnambool for almost the entire month of January to undergo docking and overhaul in Melbourne. A month of east and south-easterly winds had forced her to remain sheltered in Lady Bay, Warrnambool apart from one morning of northerlies, when an attempt was made to round Cape Otway; she had to return to shelter in Portland after failing to make any headway. With only 140 tons of sand ballast aboard, the ship would not have been easy to handle. Captain Jacobsen and his crew of nine, mainly Swedes, decided to make for Melbourne, leaving Portland Harbour on 5th February 1911. By the 9th they had reached Cape Otway, where they encountered a moonless night, constant heavy rain, and a heavy sea with a south-easterly wind blowing. After safely rounding Cape Otway the course was changed to east, then north-east to take the vessel to a point six miles off Cape Patton, following the orders of Captain Jacobsen, who told the crew to be very careful with the steering, as the wind and sea was running to leeward. The patent log (used to measure speed) had been out of order for the last four months as no-one in Warrnambool was able to fix it: it was intended to have it repaired in Melbourne. In the meantime the crew measured the vessel's speed by looking over the side and estimating wind strength. This compounded the difficulties of imprecise positioning, as the strong cross wind and sea were acting on the lightly laden vessel to steadily drive it towards the shore. At 3.30am on Friday 10 February 1911 Captain Jacobsen and the first mate were looking over the side of the vessel when they heard the sound of breakers and suddenly struck the rocks. The crew immediately knew they had no chance of getting the SPECULANT off, and attempted to rescue themselves by launching the lifeboat, which was instantly smashed to pieces. One of the crew then volunteered to take a line ashore, and the rest of the crew were all able to drag themselves to shore, some suffering hand lacerations from the rocks. Once ashore they began to walk along the coast towards Lorne, believing it was the nearest settlement. Realising their mistake as dawn broke they returned westwards to Cape Patton, and found a farm belonging to Mr C. Ramsden, who took them in and gave them a change of clothes and food. After resting for a day and returning to the wreck to salvage some of their personal possessions, at 10am on Saturday they set out for Apollo Bay, a voyage that took six hours, sometimes wading through flooded creeks up to their necks. The Age described the wreck as "listed to starboard. All the cabin is gutted and the ballast gone. There is a big rock right through the bottom of her, and there is not the slightest hope of getting her off". A Board of Marine inquiry found that Captain Jacobson was guilty of careless navigation by not taking steps to accurately verify the position of the vessel with respect to Cape Otway when the light was visible and by not setting a safe and proper course with respect to the wind and sea. It suspended his certificate for 6 months and ordered him to pay costs. The location of the wreck site was marked for a long time by two anchors on the shoreline, until in 1970 the larger of the two anchors was recovered by the Underwater Explorers' Club and mounted on the foreshore at Apollo Bay. The bell from the wreck was also donated to the Apollo Bay Surf Lifesaving Club but is recorded to have been stolen. Rusting remains of the wreck can still be found on the shoreline on the southern side of, and directly below Cape Patton. Parts of the SPECULANT site have been buried by rubble from construction and maintenance works to the Great Ocean Road, as well as by naturally occurring landslides. Peter J McGennan passed away in 1920. The Gates in the western wall of the Anglican Church in Henna Street/Koroit St are dedicated to him for his time of community work, which is matched with other prominent Warrnambool citizens; Fletcher Jones, John Younger, J.D.E (Tag) Walter, and Edward Vidler. After Peter J McGennan's death Harry, Andrew and Edith continued to operate the family business until July 11th 1923 when the company was wound up. (Andrew lived in Ryot Street Warrnambool, near Lava Street.) Harry McGennan (Peter and Emily’s son) owned the Criterion Hotel in Kepler Street Warrnambool (now demolished). His son Sid and wife Dot lived in 28 Howard Street (corner of Nelson Street) and Sid managed the Criterion until it was decided by the family to sell, and for he remained Manager for the new owners until he retired. Harry commenced the Foreshore Trust in Warrnambool around 1950. The McGennan Carpark in Pertobe Road is named after Harry and there are Memorial-Stone Gates in his memory. (The Gates were once the original entrance to the carpark but are now the exit.). Peter’s great-grandson, also called Andrew, is a Security Officer in Warrnambool. The Patent Log (also called a Taffrail log) from the SPECULANT, mentioned above, and a number of photographs, are now part of the Collection at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village. The SPECULANT is historically significant as the largest ship to have been registered in Warrnambool, and is believed to have been the largest barquentine to visit Melbourne. It is evidence of the final days of large commercial sailing vessels involved in the Victorian and New Zealand timber trade. The SPECULANT is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register VHR S626Black and White photograph of the Barquentine Speculant, on rocks at Cape Patton. Several people are on board. Some sails are still on masts. White hand writing on front "Wreck Speculant On Rocks Cape Patten". On reverse side it states that the photograph was taken by Mr. H. Pengilley Apollo Bay Hotel, Apollo Bay. on front, hand written in white "Wreck Speculant On Rocks Cape Patten". On reverse "taken by Mr. H. Pengilley Apollo Bay Hotel, Apollo Bay"flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, mr. h. pengilley, photograph, speculant, cape patton, apollo bay -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Functional object - Hand operated embossing document press, 1910
... Saltau and Peter John McGennan convinced the Warrnambool Chamber... Saltau and Peter John McGennan convinced the Warrnambool Chamber ...The woollen mill was a vital part of Warrnambool for all but 22 years of the town’s history since it's the establishment in 1847 when the first land sales were held and white settlement began. In 1869 the Warrnambool Meat Preserving Company began operations on the mill site, in 1875, shareholders of the then defunct Warrnambool Meat Preserving Company happily sold the land and buildings on the Merri river to Warrnambool Woollen Mill Company Ltd for £5,000. The site was sold again in 1876 to grazer Robert Hood of Sherwood, who was chairman of directors of the failed company, which couldn’t raise sufficient capital to keep the works operating. The entrepreneurial Hood then used the existing plant to turn his own wool into tweed cloth. But just as the mill was starting to show a profit, a fire destroyed the building and plant on the night of 25 March 1882. So again, the mill was operational for six short years. Insurers only paid a fraction over 10% of the damage, Hood couldn't raise sufficient capital to rebuild on his own, and so the site lay unused until 1910. In 1908 Marcus Saltau and Peter John McGennan convinced the Warrnambool Chamber of Commerce to invest in a secondary industry with local capital. A public meeting in September 1908 agreed to raise £40,000, electing Saltau chairman of directors, a post he held for 34 years. A year later, using mostly local money, the Warrnambool Woollen Mill Company dispatched its first manager, John E. Bennett, to buy a plant and recruit 20 experienced staff from the Yorkshire woollen industry in December 1909. Another year more, the new mill was officially opened on 14 November 1910 by Marcus Saltau as company chairman and town mayor. Eighteen months on, in May 1912, the mill paid its first half-yearly dividend of 2 ½%. It was now working two shifts, with a year's orders to fill. In 1914 the mill ordered its own generator, providing the town with electricity and effectively doubling its plant size by October 1915, six months after Gallipoli. Thereafter, government orders for cloth and military supplies assured the mill’s success right through the First World War and on until 1923. A plant upgrade in 1922 for machinery to make worsted fabric drained profits, which, with a fall in demand, led to a loss in 1925. Profits were restored by the 1930s, despite the Depression, mostly due to tight management and robust marketing. Production boomed again during the Second World War, but soon foreign competition bit into profits, forcing the company to consolidate operations. The ‘50s and ‘60s were golden years for the mill. Security and growth gave the company confidence to trial Australia’s first electric blanket in 1958 and to install Swiss Sulzer looms in 1965. Over time, the building facades took on the modern look that the mill presented until it closed. The Dunlop company bought the mill in 1968, fending off a challenge from Onkaparinga in South Australia, and continued to expand by adding Wendouree Woollen Mill in the same year and Dream-spun Textiles a decade later, in 1979. Soon after that purchase, however, the mill began its slippery slide into decline. Dunlop sold to its former rival bidder Onkaparinga Woollen Co. Ltd in 1982, which in turn was taken over by Macquarie Worsted's only a year later, in 1983. Operations remained stable for a decade until 1994 when the Macquarie Group signaled that its newly rationalised operations left no room for the Warrnambool investment. The final operator of the mill was The Smith Family charity group, which ran the site by agreement with the Warrnambool City Council and a state government grant in that same year, 1994. The mill became more of a fabric recycler than a manufacturer. The site was sold to private operators in February 2003 and rezoned four months later to allow for the mixed housing development. The embossing press is significant for its association with the Warrnambool Woollen Mills 1910-1968, a major employer in the Warrnambool district. The press is also significant as an example of commercial office equipment used in the 19th and 20th century.Press, metal, for Company seal of Warrnambool Woollen Mill, stamping their brand as Western District Worsted Mills Pty Ltd. Metal is black with red and gold floral markings. Inscription of stamp reads "WESTERN DISTRICT WORSTED MILLS PROPRIETRY LIMITED" flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, warrnambool woollen mills, western district worsted mills proprietry limited, worsted fabric, printing press, logo printing press, stamp printing press, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Photograph - Vessel - steam launch, Mrs. A. Dawson, Lady Loch, February 1907 - June 1910
... ". In 1873 he sold the land and boating business to Mr Peter McGennan...". In 1873 he sold the land and boating business to Mr Peter McGennan ...The steam launch “Lady Loch” is towing five rowing boats on the Hopkins River at Warrnambool. All of the boats have many passengers on board. At the time of the photograph, Lady Loch was travelling from the riverbank near Jubilee Park downriver towards Warrnambool and the river mouth. Boating and rowing on the Hopkins River was a very popular activity in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. People would travel a long way to enjoy their leisure time in the Warrnambool district and hiring a boat with a group of friends was a very popular pastime. The Warrnambool Standard promoted an evening excursion in 1909 to aid in a fund-raising event for the Warrnambool Hospital. The excursion was a trip on the steamer Lady Loch, which would also tow boats from the Flett & Sons' boating establishment. Lady Loch was to leave Flett & Son's boatshed on the Hopkins River at 7:30 pm, upstream travelling towards Jubilee Park. The photograph was taken between February 1907 and June 1910 by Mrs A. G. Dawson from the Hopkins River Bank at “Allandale”, which she was leasing. Mrs Dawson took another picture at that time and it was published in the Warrnambool Standard on 24th March 1973. The launch's owner, James Flett & Son, had a boatshed on the bend of the Hopkins River. The Lady Loch was described as “a fine little steamer with a capacity for about 70 passengers.” She was a screw-driven steamboat so hardly disturbed the waters of the Hopkins River, dismissing the fears of local mullet fishermen, as there was almost no wash from the steamer. She measured 52 feet in length, had a beam of 9 feet and weighed about 7 tons. HISTORY OF “LADY LOCH” The Lady Loch was originally bought by Mark Hooper as a pleasure boat and named “Lady of the Lake”, adding to his boating business in Colac. The boat was most likely built by one of the boatbuilders at Lake Wendouree. The little launch arrived at Lake Colac by road from Ballarat on 21st November 1887; her boiler and engine had been transported by rail the day before. Fanny Nelson purchased the launch in June 1888 for her business “Nelson’s Boating Establishment” on the Hopkins River, Warrnambool, and renamed it “Lady Loch”. Some people suggested that the boat was renamed in honour of the wife of the then-current Governor of Victoria, Sir Henry Loch, Governor from 1884 to 1889. The local paper stated that Lady Loch flew the Governor’s colours of yellow, black and blue on her first trip under Nelson’s ownership, Sunday 12th August 1888. HISTORY ASSOCIATED WITH FANNY NELSON’S BOATING ESTABLISHMENT Frances (Fanny) Maria Mann was born in 1828, in Gloucestershire, England. She married Andrew Abernethy II Nelson of County Downs, Ireland (born 1831) in July 1848. The eldest of their six children was born there in 1854. They emigrated to Australia in May 1855. The second child was born in 1856, and the following children in 1859 and 1862 (both in Wangoom) 1866 and 1870 (both in Warrnambool). Andrew and Fanny lived near the mouth of the Hopkins River from the late 1850s. Andrew was a keen and successful fisherman who also operated a boat hire business on the lower Hopkins River. Fanny was well known for the ‘hearty meals’ she served There was another boatshed and boat hire business on the Hopkins River, on the corner of Simpson and Bostock Sts. It was owned by Joseph Aberline in 1871 but by August 1872 the boat business had been taken over by Charles Everett. His Colonial Wine Licence of October 1872 was for "a house situated at the Hopkins". In 1873 he sold the land and boating business to Mr Peter McGennan, who built a large boatshed where the Warrnambool Rowing Club stored its boats. In October 1876 the main boatshed and a workshop nearby burnt down but the house, later known as Hopkins Hotel, was saved. Mr McGennan rebuilt the boatshed and continued with his businesses. Andrew Nelson passed away from a heart problem on June 21st 1875 aged 44. Fanny took over the McGennan business to support herself and her 6 children. It was now “Mrs Nelson’s Boating and Fishing Establishment”. In 1877 the Hopkins Colonial Wine Licence was transferred to Fanny M. Nelson and the following year she advertised that the renovated establishment now had boats, fishing gear and accommodation available at moderate prices. She renewed the Colonial Wine Licence for the Hopkins Hotel in December 1883. In 1884 she purchased four new clinker-built rowing boats, two of which were outriggers with sliding seats, to join her sculling boat. Her premises also included the local Post Office. In August 1885 Fanny Nelson called for tenders for a new boathouse to be built on the Hopkins River closer to the river bank and near the Nelson house. It would be “specially built for housing of eight-oared boats, with dressing room and bath for the rowers. There will be a platform on one side and two jetties into the river.” It became known locally as Nelson’s Boathouse. In December 1885 Fanny Nelson was granted a Hotel Licence for Hopkins Hotel; this was her home but it also had six rooms that were separate from the Nelson family’s rooms. She was now proprietress of both the Hopkins Hotel and the Nelson’s Boating Establishment. Fanny Nelson was favourably mentioned as the proprietress of the Hopkins Hotel in the esteemed book “Victoria and its Metropolis” in 1888, one of the very few women mentioned. Andrew Nelson, the third son of Fanny and Andrew Nelson, was a baker and confectioner by trade, and a keen member of the Warrnambool Rowing Club in the team that won the Colac Regatta in 1887. He occasionally helped his mother and brother with the boats and later with the small steamer. Fanny Nelson was looking for a suitable steam launch to run on the Hopkins River in conjunction with her “Nelson’s Boating Establishment” business. Mark Hooper’s steamboat Lady of the Lake was then bought by Fanny through Messers St. Quintin and M. McDonald of Warrnambool. It was transported overland from Colac to Warrnambool by Messrs. Stansmore Bro and the next day, Sunday 5th August 1888, a large crowd of people were on the Hopkins River to have a look at the steamer, which was still to have her boiler and other fittings installed by Mr Hooper. The Lady Loch had a trial run on Saturday 11th August 1888, and the next day the boat took a trip to Jubilee Park and the ‘islands’ at Allansford. Mr Hooper was on board, along with John Steel, her future engineer. T.H. Osborne was at the wheel and there were over 70 passengers. She made the trip back to Nelson’s boatshed at an “easy steam of six miles an hour. The whole trip took one and three-quarters of an hour”. Fanny Nelson sold her complete business “Hopkins Hotel and Boat Establishment” in 1890 to E.S.V. (Edward Samuel Vincent) Chapman. She moved to Melbourne; her address in 1896 was South Melbourne, then later Albert Park. On 26th May 1900, she died from a burns accident and was buried in the Melbourne General Cemetery. Chapman advertised Sunday afternoon Excursions on the Hopkins River in the Colac Herald, with the trip going from his boatsheds to Jubilee Park. Participants disembarked on the landing to enjoy a picnic before returning to Chapman’s boatsheds. In February 1892 the Hotel was transferred to Mrs Chapman, Edward’s wife. The hotel changed hands several times, and changed its name to Hopkins House, then closed its doors in June 1911 after a fire. The building was re-erected but never again became a hotel. it was purchased by the Warrnambool City Council and demolished in 1974 and became part of the Hopkins River Recreation Reserve now King Park. The boatsheds were unharmed by the fire. James Flett & Sons purchased the boating business from Chapman in January 1897. James Flett had already been involved in boating. In 1875 he built a large blackwood lighter on Jetty Flat for Spencer Smith & Co. Some years previously, James Flett had built all of the lighters that were owned by John Young at the jetty. A tragedy occurred on Jan 7th 1899 when William Grayson drowned after he had been boating on Hopkins River with a companion, a jockey named Style. William had fallen into the river and his companion was unable to save him. The boat had been hired from Flett’s shed. Sunday 12th November 1911 it was reported as ‘one of the busiest days of the season’ in Warrnambool. A special train, for the ‘Camperdown Church of England Sunday School’, was run from Camperdown to Warrnambool and Port Fairy, returning in the evening. It was ‘largely availed by all denominations, and the general public from Camperdown district, fully 600 adults and children and about half that number spent the day in Warrnambool. A large number of boats were on the river and the Lady Loch was well patronised. Flett’s boating business was still in operation until Flett advertised everything for sale in January 1916, including the boatshed and the steam launch of Lady Loch. Until that time, both the Flett’s boatsheds and Proudfoot’s boathouse operated boat hire businesses alongside each other. The boatsheds erected by Fanny Nelson became the headquarters for the Warrnambool Ski Club but were demolished in 2004 when a new club building was erected nearby. The photograph of the Lady Loch pleasure steamer represents the social and recreational activities of late 19th-century people from Warrnambool and the local district. It shows an example of the pleasure craft of that era. The history of the Lady Loch includes the history of fishing and boat hire businesses of that period. The photograph is also connected with an early Warrnambool buat builder James Flett & Sons. representing the maritime history of the town.Photograph, black and white, of the steam launch “Lady Loch” towing five rowing boats downstream on the Hopkins River from Jubilee Park towards the river mouth. There are many figures on the boats. The photograph was taken from a property called “Allandale” on the south river bank between February 1907 and June 1910. The photographer was Mrs A. G. Dawson. The “Lady Loch” was owned by Mr James Flett & Sons at that time. Her previous owner was Mrs Fanny Nelson. The photograph is mounted on card.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, lady of the lake, lady of the lake steamer, lady loch steamer, lake colac steamer, hopkins river warrnambool, jubilee park warrnambool, proudfood's boat house, francis maria mann, andrew abernathy nelson iiird, hopkins hotel, nelson's boathouse, chapman's boathouse, flett's boathouse, proudfoot's boathouse, fanny (francis) nelson, james flett & sons -
Wangaratta High School
WHS Teacher Service Honour Board, 1919-1989
Rectangular wooden honour board with gold lettering and a decorative border and WHS logo centred at the top middle of the border. This border reads WANGARATTA HIGH SCHOOL DONATED BY W.H.S. PAST STUDENTS & TEACHERS ASSOCIATIONWANGARATTA HIGH SCHOOL HONOURING TEACHERS 15 & 20* YEARS+ SERVICE 1919 J.W. THOMAS 1941 *DAVE MORRIS 1944 CHRIS MORRIS 1952 BILL O'CALLAGHAN 1960 *MAX GEORGE, *CONSTANANCE RUSSELL, *MYRA BAXTER 1964 MAE OSMOTHERLY, *BRUCE REVELL 1966 *MARGARET MELGAARD 1967 AORIAN TWITT 1968 *JOY STAR, LEN CARTHRO 1969 *NOEL WILLIAMS, HARVEY DIKE 1970 LAURIE BUFFELO 1972 *DORATHY CALDWELL, GEOFF MOAR 1974 *ANNE GELL 1975 BRIAN MALLINDER 1976 *DOUG McGREGOR, *SUE SPILLER, *BLAKE MUDGE 1977 KATE OFER, *DOUG GRIFFITHS, *DOUG LANE 1979 *NEIL FOSTER 1981 *RAY PIKE 1982 *KEVIN McGENNAN, *JENNY SHEARER, *TERRY MAGREE 1984 *JOHN EVANS, CAROL MYLES, JANET HEATH 1985 SUE DAVIDSON, *PETER SMITH, *WARREN COLES, PAUL SCHOLES 1986 *JUDY ROSE, DON HEATH, *REX PIRIE, *PAUL THOMAS, *PAT BRUCE, *SANDY NEWMAN 1987 GEORGE MOHR, *COLIN PIKE, ANNETTE STARIKA, *ROB FINDLAY, *ANNE SCHULZE, KERRY SCHOLES 1988 *GLENN DREW, *ERIKA PIKE *GRAENE STRANG, *PEG CHIVERS, PETER BOYD 1989 DAVID ASHFIELD, *NEIL MORTON DONATED BY W.H.S. PAST STUDENTS & TEACHERS ASSOCIATION