Historical information

The Keoghs took up Lot 7 in the Village Settlement in 1905. John Keogh was a big Irishman and cleared many of the giant trees on his Lot 7. They had little water for their crops so grew gooseberries and red currants rather than the more valuable strawberries. Mrs Keogh (nee Cleary) inherited money in 1906 and they built a new weatherboard house. The original bush hut remained as the kitchen. Son James (Jimmie) married Mary Walsh, a teacher at the local school. Jimmie built the small shop on the triangle of land cut off when the CRB road went through. Jimmie and his wife left the district when he joined Victoria Police. Jimmie came back to the area and finally sold the land of Lot 7 to Rimington's Nurseries. He moved his family to Kilsyth. In 1939 the shop was moved across the road to be used as an office by the road builders. It burned down that year.

Physical description

Black and white photograph of a man, woman and young male standing outside a wooden hut. There are crop remnants in the foreground and a wooden paling fence behind the hut.
A label on the front reads A SETTLER'S HUT.
Reverse of photograph has handwritten description by John Lundy-Clarke.

Inscriptions & markings

Front: A SETTLER'S HUT
Reverse: 1905 Keogh's hut on Falls Road then Main Road. This was later the kitchen of their extended home as described in the narrative "Mountain of Struggle". The figures are - Mrs Keogh. John Keogh settler. Son James Keogh.