Historical information

William Box was born in 1834 in Withyham , Sussex England and married Elizabeth Avis Box in 185. They sailed to Australia in1855 aboard the SS Omega.
At first they rented and then purchased land on Jasper Road East Brighton ( now McKinnon / Ormond) that was part of the Henry Dendy Special Survey 1841. An early settlers’ Cottage on the site became their home and they farmed the land while raising 13 children. The Cottage was extended as required.
In 1984 that early settler cottage was found in a dilapidated state by Laurie Lewis, in his Timber Yard in Jasper Rd Ormond.. The Moorabbin City Council, Federal Government, Mr Lewis and CMHS members reconstructed the Cottage in 1985 .

Significance

Box Cottage Museum, a reconstruction of an early settler hut, is named after the Box family who resided there 1865 -1913 . William Box who with his wife Elizabeth Avis and 13 children lived and farmed on the block of land in Jasper Road, East Brighton ( now McKinnon / Ormond) that was part of the Henry Dendy Special Survey 1841
Inscribed in Album “ The early photos in this album were found by Mr (Laurie) Lewis when he was demolishing the Old Box Cottage. He gave them to Mrs Avis Box Eldridge who in turn gave them to me. They were not identified. I believe they rightly belong in the Cottage. I have attempted to identify them and present them in a way they can be preserved as a historical record of the era.” A B Leigh

Physical description

A black and white photograph of William and Elizabeth Avis Box standing outside their Cottage in East Brighton c 1880

Inscriptions & markings

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