Historical information
This plan of land allotments for sale indicates part of the property once owned by the Bacchus family in and around the township area of Bacchus Marsh. The Bacchus family sold their property in Bacchus Marsh to John Aitkins and Robert Nalder Clarke in March 1851. Aitkins and Clarke kept the property for a number of years until April 1856 when these allotments were put up for sale.
Significance
This is a very early land sales plan for agricultural land close to the township of Bacchus Marsh. It therefore provides some clues as to how the early urban development of the township and agricultural development of the nearby area took place. Upon seeing the map in 1911 Bacchus Marsh Express newspaper editor Christopher Crisp wrote "The sale appears to have created the present township, which had a nucleus in earlier times further east", Express, 30 September, 1911, page 3.
Physical description
A single page paper plan showing allotments of land for sale. The subdivided land shown was owned by John Aitkins and Robert Nalder Clarke, but previously owned by the Bacchus Family and was in and around their Manor House (Mansion) property in Bacchus Marsh. This plan shows allotments in the second portion of land to be sold which was located east of the Manor House on the eastern side of the Lerderderg River. The land for sale was made up of 15 allotments.
The plan is pasted into a bound volume containing 76 maps or plans in total.
BMDHS Loc: AR/B12/S4 Bacchus Marsh Township and Nearby Districts Maps Volume
In-house Digital copies: BMDHS, Computer Network: Maps\Bacchus Marsh Township and Nearby Districts Maps Volume
References
- ANCIENT BACCHUS MARSH. (1911, September 30). The Bacchus Marsh Express (Vic. : 1866 - 1943), p. 3. Retrieved August 4, 2024, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article90577242 A copy of this 1856 plan was loaned to the Bacchus Marsh Express newspaper office in 1911. Christopher Crisp, the owner and editor of the Express then published a detailed description and commentary about the plan.