THE TRARALGON & DISTRICT HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC |
HISTORY OF CALLIGNEE 1874-1914 (John Power) |
| At our April (1986)
meeting, our President, John Power, delivered the first of his talks on Callignee,
accompanied by a comprehensive display of photographs and documents pertaining to the
district. The new Land Act, in 1869, opened the way for selectors to take up land of an area of 320 acres. Callignee, with steep hills, dense bush, and giant trees, approximately 12 miles south-southeast of Traralgon and covering an area of 50 square miles, was then virgin country. The Parish of Callignee includes some parts of Koornalla, Le Roy and Blackwarry, as well as Callignee, Callignee South, and Callignee North. Squatters with large runs had taken up land down in the valleys and on river flats, rather than in the steep hills to the south. While exploring the area, Count Strzelecki had found it very hard to penetrate the dense forests, and reported huge fallen trees lying across each other. Thomas Johnson Tanner, an Irishman, had arrived in New Zealand in 1872 with 30 other relatives, all bearing the name of Tanner. Not long afterwards he made his way to Melbourne and then to Gippsland where he took up his selection at Callignee in 1874 and a short time later, Thomas Dean Tanner, a nephew, selected to the south of his uncle, T.J. Tanner. He was 23 years of age. Prior to 1874, Mr. Whitelaw had surveyed a track, a rough track from Traralgon to the Turton's Creek goldfield. John Bodycomb took up land on the western side of the ridge, giving his previous address as Heyfield and stating his occupation as Miller, with a mill, residence, and 5 acres. George Fick moved to Callignee from Derham after the floods in 1877; he obtained a Publican's license in 1879 and held it until 1884. The earlier settlers had to walk into their selections. As there would be no feed available until land was cleared and sown, they left their horses at either Rosedale or Traralgon, and walked in with their belongings on their backs. To clear the forest was quite a task. Starting from the bottom of the hill, trees were cut part way through, all the way in line to the top where the last one was cut right through, then, (hopefully) a chain reaction would start, bringing them all crashing down. The dried timber, scrub, branches, etc., was usually burnt off in the summer, and was the cause of several bushfires. The timber from huge stands of Mountain Ash and Blackwood provided a profitable industry for the people of Callignee, with a high demand for building timbers and palings in Melbourne in the late 1870's. The palings were "packed" down the hills to be carted away to Traralgon by bullock teams. The first church service was held at the home of Thomas Johnson Tanner. This was a Wesleyan service, conducted by the Rev. M. Batten. Church of England services were regularly held at the homes of Thomas J. Tanner and John Bodycomb by Mr. Moorhouse before he was ordained, until the hall was built. The hall, at the top of the hill on the old Callignee Road, was opened with a concert in 1884, the performers coming up from Traralgon. When the Traralgon Shire was formed in 1879, part of Callignee was included, the remainder remaining in the Shire of Rosedale. Most farmers had been dairying for several years, and produce was taken into either Rosedale or Traralgon, so when Walter Tanner and John Barnes opened up a Creamery, in 1890, life became a little easier. A co-operative was formed in 1893 to build a butter factory; the business started off at the Creamery, until the factory was established on Factory Road, in 1894. During the years 1891 to 1906, a library was operating in the hall. Fire, which had been such a great ally in clearing the land, became a greater enemy when the hills were devastated and many homes were lost in 1898. The Government introduced a Closer Settlement Scheme in 1904, providing for land to be purchased over a period of 36 years. The first holding to be subdivided was "Richmond Vale" in the Carrajung area, and next came the Joseph Draffin estate. More settlers moved into the hills on these smaller holdings, many with names well known in the area today. In time, rabbits appeared, to ravage the land, causing many to leave their property, and World War 1 also brought problems. When the young men on the land answered the call to arms, the pioneers, now growing old, had great difficulty in carrying on the farms alone, and after all the hard work of clearing, bracken fern, blackberry and ragwort crept in and became a great menace - a never ending battle for the farmers. The directory for 1884-1885 shows Callignee as:
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