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Families

The names of families who pioneered settlement in the district up until 1950 are listed in the introduction to the category: European Settlement. The stories of many of those old families are listed below.

From the late 1950s urbanisation reached Rowville with the development of the Stamford, Seebeck and Twin Views housing estates. The trickle of new families became a flood during the 1970s, '80s and '90s as housing estates were developed all over Rowville. By the late 1990s almost all Rowville land had been built on and so developers were beginning to move into the green paddocks of Lysterfield. The stories of several of these more recently arrived families are also recorded below and you too are invited to submit your stories to expand this section of our district's history.




  • ASTON Michael and Moya Aston Remember

    Mike and Moya Aston were the second couple to establish their home on what is now commonly referred to as the Seebeck Estate. However, when it was first released to the public about 1960 it was known by the grand name of the Ashbrooke Highlands Estate. The undulating nature of the land with its good outlook across the valley of Dandenong Creek attracted Mike and Moya and they bought the block on the north-west corner of Bareena Avenue and Carrara Road. (The very first house on the estate had been built by Dick White in Seebeck Road directly opposite the intersection with Bareena Avenue.)

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  • AUSTRALIA'S IDOL - NELLIE STEWART

    More than 100 years before Guy Sebastian became a household name in this country, there was a stage performer who was so much loved for her beauty, talent and charm that she became known as Australia’s idol. Her name was Nellie Stewart and the story of her life – including her connections with Rowville and Lysterfield – is a fascinating one.

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  • Bernard Milton Seebeck M.B.E., J.P

    Rowville's grand old man, Bernie Seebeck, passed away on 20 November 2000. Bernie was a wonderful leader in Rowville and as a councillor he fought hard to ensure that the interests of the Rowville community were never overlooked.
    Bernie gave 33 years of continuous service - almost a third of a century - as a councillor with the Ferntree Gully Shire, the Shire of Knox and then the City Of Knox from 1951 until his retirement in 1984.

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  • CLOSTER Frank Closter Remembers

    Frank's father, Leslie Closter, was a market gardener in Burwood in 1938 when he was offered a job by a Mr Bovill in Scoresby. The job was to milk his herd of cows, in exchange for which accommodation and firewood were provided plus a wage of three pounds and five shillings a week.

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  • 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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  • CONNIE FORDHAM REMEMBERS - AGAIN!

    In November 1990 Connie Fordham agreed to be interviewed for what was to become the first of a series of Local History articles published in the News over the next ten years. I’d hoped to interview Connie again for the 101st local history article but a broken shoulder suffered by Connie in a fall shortly after her 94th birthday last year saw that plan put on hold.
    I’m pleased to say that Connie is recovering well and is back at her home in Peppertree Village once more and as full of life as ever.
    Connie came to Rowville in 1935 after she married Frank Fordham and they lived with Frank’s parents for the next ten years. In this article Connie tells of her in-laws and several other neighbouring families she came to know in Rowville.

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  • Exners and Mosigs

    Last month's article (August 2002) about the death of 21 year old Fred Exner in a shooting accident near Dandenong Creek in 1903 was published without any historical references and I apologise for that. The following will provide some context for that story that was originally published in the Dandenong Advertiser on 18 June 1903.

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  • FINN Frank and Kath Finn Remember

    Frank and Kath Finn have been the proprietors of the Rowville Caravan Park and Motel on the hill in Stud Road since 1968. They have both had a long involvement with the Rowville Red Cross and for many years the meetings were held at their Motel. Kath has been the Red Cross representative assisting with vaccinations in Rowville for 25 years. The only sessions she has ever missed were when she was in hospital as a result of the cowardly attacks made on her during two aggravated burglaries in 1991.

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  • FORDHAM Connie Fordham Remembers - Again!

    Connie Fordham recounts stories of the Rowville families she knew in the 1930s to the 1970s. In November 1990 Connie Fordham agreed to be interviewed for what was to become the first of a series of Local History articles published in the News over the next ten years. I'd hoped to interview Connie again for the 101st local history article but a broken shoulder suffered by Connie in a fall shortly after her 94th birthday last year saw that plan put on hold.

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  • GEORGE GILL REMEMBERS
    George Gill was born at Murray House, Dandenong on 22 November 1934 during the time of the biggest flood that Victoria has ever experienced. In fact, the yet to be born George and his parents were lucky to survive the... comments Comments (5) Read more...



  • GILL Nellie Gill Remembers

    Nellie Gill is the grand daughter of George and Mary Ann Gill who settled in Rowville on a 155 acre property south of Wellington Road in 1857. George called the property "Somerset Farm" after the county of his birth in England. The property was to remain in the hands of the family for well over 100 years and it was not until the 1980s that the last of the Gills moved away from Rowville. Gill Court off Dandelion Drive is named in honour of this Rowville pioneering family.

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  • GILLIGAN Irene Gilligan Remembers

    The story of the origins and growth of Rowville's first shop is a fascinating one which is a tribute to Irene Gilligan, her husband Bon and their children. Their far-sightedness and willingness to take risks and to work hard rewarded them with a flourishing business that gave great service not only to the people of Rowville but also to thousands of Stud Road travellers attracted by great products and unceasingly friendly service.

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  • Growing Up In Lysterfield in the 1 930s by Heather B. Ronald

    Heather Ronald is a descendant of a well-known Lysterfield family. Her mother, Violet Lambert, represented the south riding of the Fern tree Gully Council for 28 years and her grandfather, Gus Powell, was a noted breeder of horses and the owner of Australia's greatest jumping horse, Mosstrooper. Heather has written several books and articles and her "History of Lysterfield" is available on the Rowville-Lysterfield History Project website at www.rlcnews.org.au The following article was first published in The Knox Historian Vol 4 No 1 in May 1992 and is republished here with Heather's kind permission.

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  • Growing up in Lysterfield in the 1930s

    Heather Ronald is a descendant of a well known Lysterfield family. Her mother, Violet Lambert, represented the South Riding of the Ferntree Gully Council for 28 years and her grandfather, Gus Powell, was a noted breeder of horses and the owner of Australia's greatest jumping horse, Mosstrooper. Heather has written several books and articles and her "History of Lysterfield" is available on the Rowville-Lysterfield History Project website at www.rlcnews.org.au The following article was first published in The Knox Historian Vol 4 No 1 in May 1992 and is republished here with Heather's kind permission.

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  • HOBBS Hedley Hobbs Remembers

    Hedley came to Lysterfield as a child after his parents had been forced off their farm in the Western District by bad seasons. Hedley's mother became the first postmistress in Lysterfield and his brother Gordon built and ran the first store in the tiny community.

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  • Happy Centenary Rowville
    HAPPY CENTENARY ROWVILLE! On the 20 December 1905 the Rowville Post Office was officially opened with Nick Bergin, the local blacksmith, as postmaster. Nick had successfully applied to have a post office established and when asked the name of the... comments Comments (0) Read more...

  • Herbert Bailey Remembers (Part 4)

    At 11.00 am on the 11th of this month we remember those men and women who gave their lives in war. At a time when Australia is once again confronted with the possibility of war it is well to contemplate the realities of the battlefield as recorded by former Lysterfield resident, Herbert Bailey, in his diary written in northern France in the final weeks of World War One.

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  • Herbert Bailey's War Diary

    This is the fifth November edition in which we have published an edited extract from the diary kept by former Lysterfield resident, Herbert Bailey, while he served with the Australian Army in France in the closing months of World War 1.
    Herbert was one of the survivors of the great breakthrough in northern France during which the Australian divisions under General John Monash finally sent the German army into retreat after years of stalemated trench warfare.
    Herbert was gassed and the doctors gave him only months to live. However, on his return to Australia he made a home for himself and his family in Lysterfield whose pure air Herbert always credited for his survival until his nineties.
    As we remember all of those old diggers on Armistice Day we should also reflect on Herbert’s words: "Honour and Glory of War may be all right to read about in history, but to witness it is a far different matter".

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  • Herbert Bailey's War Diary 5

    This is the fifth November edition in which we have published an edited extract from the diary kept by former Lysterfield resident, Herbert Bailey, while he served with the Australian Army in France in the closing months of World War 1.
    Herbert was one of the survivors of the great breakthrough in northern France during which the Australian divisions under General John Monash finally sent the German army into retreat after years of stalemated trench warfare.
    Herbert was gassed and the doctors gave him only months to live. However, on his return to Australia he made a home for himself and his family in Lysterfield whose pure air Herbert always credited for his survival until his nineties.
    As we remember all of those old diggers on Armistice Day we should also reflect on Herbert’s words: "Honour and Glory of War may be all right to read about in history, but to witness it is a far different matter".

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  • Lightwood Park Sub-Division

    When I interviewed Hedley Hobbs for the article that appeared in the December 1997 and February 1998 editions of the News, he showed me an old poster advertising the Lightwood Park subdivision. It was too yellowed with age to copy but it is reproduced here as closely as possible to the original.

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  • Lysterfield Progress Association Hall

    In 1928 Martin Alberni (uncle of Marty Alberni whose story was told in the October and November 1995 editions of the R-LCNews) called a public meeting at which the Lysterfield Progress Association was established with George Swan as President, Jack Newton as Vice President and Bill Taylor as Secretary.

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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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  • RUTH WRIGHT REMEMBERS

    Ruth is the fourth child of the seven children of James and Edith Wright who came to live in Lysterfield in 1919. Ruth is an older sister of Clare Wright whose story about growing up in Lysterfield was told in the June and July 2002 editions of the News

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  • RUTH WRIGHT REMEMBERS

    Ruth is the fourth child of the seven children of James and Edith Wright who came to live in Lysterfield in 1919. Ruth is an older sister of Clare Wright whose story about growing up in Lysterfield was told in the June and July 2002 editions of the News.

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  • SMITH Arthur Smith Remembers

    Arthur Smith travelled across the continent from Western Australia to find that his future rested with Gail Fitzgerald in Melbourne. The story of their life together is one of devotion, hard work and wonderful generosity.

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  • STURROCK (nee BICKERTON) Mary Sturrock Remembers

    Mary recalled that her strongest first impression of Rowville was the smell of percolated coffee brewing on the wood stove of the farm in Wellington Road that her father had bought from Bill Phillips in 1936. She had left Geelong with her father early one morning in his 1928 Chevrolet National to drive to Rowville and of all the impressions made on her nine-year old mind that exciting day, the smell of Mrs Phillip's coffee has always been the most vivid in her memory.

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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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  • THE WAR DIARY OF HERBERT BAILEY

    This is the third time the News has published an extract in November from the diary of the former Lysterfield resident, Herbert Bailey. These extracts remind us of the hardships, suffering and courage of the World War I diggers whose numbers are now rapidly diminishing.
    A copy of Bert's diary is available at the Rowville Library.

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  • TRESISE Max and Sally Tresise Remember

    Max and Sally Tresise were among the very first residents on the Twin Views Estate. The estate had formerly been the sixty acre farm in Taylors Lane of the Raymond family. The Raymonds had sold to developers Wallace and McKay, who appointed Gordon Norris of Dandenong as the selling agent. It was one of the developers, Jack Wallace, who built the first home on the estate at No 2 Norris Road.

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  • The Rowville Progress Association

    The recently formed Rowville and Lysterfield Residents' Association is another example of people coming together in our area with the aim of improving aspects of the lives of the residents of the district. In earlier times similar groups were brought into existence with similar goals: the 1980s saw the formation of the Rowville-Lysterfield Development Group (the parent body of the R-LC News) and the 1960s was the era of the Rowville Progress Association. This article will detail the early days of the latter group and the concerns of its members in that era of Rowville's history.

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  • The Rowville Wishing Well

    In the April 1992 edition of the News, I published an account of the Bergins, one of Rowville’s earliest pioneering families. It was the most confusing research project I have ever been involved in as so many of them had the same names: there were three Matthews, three Nicholases and three Elizabeths and in that 1992 article I did not tease their relationships out accurately. I believe the following correctly tells the story of the Bergins.

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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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  • VANCAM Lois and Ray Vancam Remember

    Lois and Ray Vancam are the longest living residents on the Stamford Estate having moved into their home in Hillview Avenue in 1959. In this interview they recount stories of the primitive conditions on the estate in the early years. Lois, of course, is very well known for her many years of dedicated service in manning the school crossing in Stud Road.

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  • VERN SULLIVAN REMEMBERS
    Vern was born in New Zealand in 1918 to Australian parents, Alexander and Elizabeth Sullivan, who had met and married while on holiday in the shaky isles. After the wedding Alexander and Elizabeth decided to stay in NZ and they... comments Comments (0) Read more...

  • VERN SULLIVAN REMEMBERS
    Vern was born in New Zealand in 1918 to Australian parents, Alexander and Elizabeth Sullivan, who had met and married while on holiday in the shaky isles. After the wedding Alexander and Elizabeth decided to stay in NZ and they... comments Comments (0) Read more...

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