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European Settlement

The Rev James Clow was the first squatter in the area. Other pastoralists of note in the very early years were John Wood Beilby, Julius Politz, J.S.Kerr, Duncan McRae, Edward Barry and Thomas Dargon.

When the pastoral leases were opened up to closer settlement following the passing of a series of Land Acts in the 1860s, new people steadily moved into the district.

The early settlers included the following families:

In ROWVILLE: Bergin, Gill, Golding, Kelly, Row, Sheppard, Sutton, Tampe and Taylor.

In LYSTERFIELD: Barry, Battersby, Brandt, Buckley, Charsley, Dickson, Elsdon, Hyden, Lyster, Powell, Selman, Strettle and Walker.

The names Lysterfield and Rowville are derived from the Lyster and Row families.

People whose families arrived in the first half of the twentieth century include:

In ROWVILLE: Alberni, Bickerton, Crawford, D'Andrea, Dobson, Drummond, Dunscombe, Exner, Finn, Fordham, Gearon, Gibb, Hicks, Hill, Kellett, McIntyre, Manley, Masterton, Raymond and Seebeck.

In LYSTERFIELD: Asling, Bailey, Broughton, Coad, Coggins, Coster, Daniels, Desmond, Dicker, Donelan, Foy, Gaskett, Gillies, Goodsir, Hayes, Hill, Hine, Hobbs, Kinrade, Knowles, Lewis, Lizza, McDougall, McQueen, Moore, Newton, Pearson, Pitson, Reynolds, Simpson, Stewart, Taylor, Thomson, Toms, van Brummelen, Walker, Watson, Williams and Wright.




  • CLOW Rev. James Clow Writes to Governor La Trobe

    In July 1853, Governor Charles La Trobe sent a circular letter to a number of early settlers seeking information about the original European settlement of the Colony. Among the more than fifty replies received by La Trobe was a long letter from Rowville's first settler, Reverend James Clow, telling of the people who occupied the areas along Dandenong Creek and of his experiences with the aborigines in Rowville.

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  • ROW The Row Family of Stamford Park

    This short history of the Row family was prepared by Debra Truin, an HSC student at Scoresby High School in 1981. Her article is based primarily on information provided by Ms Bev Foster, great grand-daughter of Edward Row, and from her extensive research of documents held by the La Trobe library. Reference is also made to Helen Coulson's account of the history of Rowville in "Story of the Dandenongs". This article is reprinted in an abridged form from the Knox Historian with the permission of the Knox Historical Society.

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  • TAYLOR: Stories behind the Rowville-Lysterfield Ward Names

    Knox Council has chosen the name Taylor for the central ward of the three new wards in the Rowville-Lysterfield area. This is a well deserved honour for the members of the Taylor family who over many years have been highly respected in the community. The lady affectionately known as Granny Taylor arrived in the district in the early 1860s. She was then only a two year old child, Sarah Sutton, and had come to Australia from Lincolnshire, England with her parents, Michael and Martha Sutton.

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  • Tirhatuan: Stories behind the Rowville-Lysterfield Ward Names

    At its meeting on 23 July 1996 Knox City Council decided on the names of the nine new wards that will constitute the city. The three wards covering the Rowville-Lysterfield area will be Tirhatuan, Taylor and Friberg. These names recall significant people in the history of the district and their choice by Council is to be commended. This article will tell of the establishment of Tirhatuan, the first homestead to be built in the area now known as Knox. Its first occupant, the Rev James Clow, is a very important figure in the history of Victoria.

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